Ragnar's weapon toss was blocked not by King Ælla but by a man who held up a shield before the weapon could even touch him. This was not the traditional shield because it had spikes around the edges.
This could easily be a weapon as it is a shield, and the size was triple that of a regular shield with the material composed entirely of metal.
It was Wealdhere and this could explain why King Ælla was calm, it was because he had a capable warrior.
Weadhere was a powerful warrior and quite renowned.
He might be in charge of Ecgberht but he was also loyal to Northumbria.
"You…" Weadhere called out Ragnar but now, dialogue could no longer be understood as the translator was nowhere to be seen which was normal.
Ragnar smirked because he could tell that this man was different from the ones he had been fighting.
He was huge so that meant his agility and speed should be against him so that should give Ragnar the upper hand but Ragnar couldn't be more wrong.
The man tossed his shield at Ragnar like a boomerang but Ragnar couldn't do much at that moment.
He knew blocking it would leave him open and dodging it might create an opening for the archers around him.
Ragnar knew he had to think fast and the shield was aimed at bifurcating him from the middle but Ragnar had an idea.
He bent backwards, the shield moving just above him and this made it impossible for the archers to rain arrows on him due to the shield ironically acting as a defence.
Ragnar noticed that he was wide open and charged towards the man with the intent to kill, picking up a sword from one of the corpses in the process.
The archers let loose but Ragnar's propelled movement at the moment of release made each arrow miss their mark.
He had the enemy within his range and he attempted to stab his chest but a clanging sound echoed, showing that his sword met resistance.
Ragnar realized that this man had a chain wrapped around his wrists but this chain was painted to match the color of his clothes so it was hard to discern what it was.
The man proceeded to grab Ragnar by wrapping his arm around his waist and dragged him towards his humongous body.
This was to suffocate Ragnar but this wasn't all, the shield that had missed Ragnar retracted, and the purpose of the chain wrapped around his wrist was revealed.
A smaller fragment of it was attached to it so he could retrieve it in case he missed his target.
Ragnar was going to be impaled from the back but Ragnar sighed the moment this happened.
Weadhere was surprised that he wasn't worried because anyone would panic in this situation.
But Ragnar wasn't anyone, he was a Viking and his name alone was enough to make enemies yield.
"You think you're stronger than me physically just because you have a bigger body?" Ragnar questioned in Old Norse, he stretched his arms apart to break free from his hold before grabbing him by the neck.
Ragnar smirked because the incoming shield was headed right at him but what if he moved out of the way?
No, Ragnar had no intention, of lifting the man off the ground and tossing him right at the incoming weaponised shield.
Everyone was stunned that Ragnar possessed such physical strength but this was the man that could overpower even Erik The Berserker.
"Fire!" King Ælla commanded; he was desperate due to him being within striking distance of Ragnar but Ragnar smiled the moment he saw the hail of arrows.
"Fear does make one do irrational things," Ragnar said, dodging the hail of arrows with relative ease
He was beginning to understand the trajectory of these weapons because they had to control their range due to King Ælla proximity to him.
Ragnar observed and noticed that Weadhere had managed to escape death but he was injured as the shield had dug into him; however, the wound wasn't fatal.
He managed to minimize the damage and Ragnar held his face in disbelief, he was getting excited and knew the gods were watching him.
He planned to give them a show and more warriors came.
Ragnar was surrounded by warriors that could easily pass as Generals but he was unfazed.
"I have to admit, you are all strong…" Ragnar said as he walked towards them.
"... it's a pity your opponent is me," Ragnar said with a smirk, he knew that this might be a close battle considering he was fighting six general-ranked individuals simultaneously alone with archers looking to exploit any openings.
This was going to be a hard battle but it was not one that Ragnar planned on losing.
"W-Why did he not kill me?" King Ælla thought to himself, that Ragnar was within striking distance to end his life yet he didn't do it.
Ragnar was like a possessed man, he charged right into battle and King Ælla felt true fear for the first time in his life.
"So this is how the Pagans fight?" King Ælla thought but this sense of urgency only made him want to eliminate them all the more, this was when the command to send an army to the shore was given.
Coinciding with the current timeframe of his son, Tyr Ragnarsson.
-
Grjötgard was within sight of the wall, he was yet to scale it but he knew that another battle was the last thing he needed right now.
The enemy was aware that they were headed towards the castle but they had no reason to expect that their entry would be by climbing the wall.
They closed the gates the moment the army assembled left it and they manned the walls but their focus was only at the entrance.
It was time for Hagen to shine and he did just that, Hagen knew he had to find a way over the walls and he had the tools for that.
But there was a problem, these people had men roaming around outside the walls, the security was tight and this meant that they needed a decoy.
"Brother, are we doing?" Salgard asked as they hid in the darkness but Grjötgard knew what was going to happen. Ragnar had told them to keep their numbers small yet Grjötgard took a small unit with him instead.
"Men…" Grjötgard called out and they all stood at attention.
"Go and die for me," Grjötgard commanded and Bjorn was speechless, Bjorn wanted to talk but he saw these men cry tears of joy.
It was like they were happy to die and without hesitation, they charged towards the gates to draw everyone's attention and focus there.
They screamed and cheered, they knew all they needed was to buy time for their General and he chose them to do it because he had faith in them.
"What is this? Why is my heart beating so fast?" Bjorn thought to himself but this was simply a result of witnessing what a warrior's passion was like.
Grjötgard always intended to sacrifice them and this was why he showed them the famous dance that made him so feared, it was a tribute to their sacrifice.
This did wonders because it created just the opening they sought.
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