Gustav's trick did not work and Erik was now faced to face with him, the injuries he inflicted on Erik were not enough to make him even flinch.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "You really are a monster!" Gustav laughed out loud as he equipped another dagger. Gustav managed to take off his ear but injuring Erik was never a feat as Erik did not prioritize defense over offense.
Erik swung his ax vertically in a bid to split Gustav into two but Gustav got out of the way in time as Erik's ax shattered the ground he was standing on. This was terrifying strength and the fact that the ax did not shatter on impact showed that the ax's durability was stronger than your average ax.
"You are nimble!" Erik praised his enemy, Gustav was not a pushover he could kill with ease but this only excited Erik more, before they could continue. He could hear the cheers of his warriors.
"It seems the battle over there has concluded," Gustav said, he knew that he had lost the moment the name of Tyr was being chanted and Erik retracted his Ax because he was not interested in fighting Gustav seeing as the fight was over and Gustav lost the energy he was fighting with moments ago.
"Why did you stop?" Erik questioned his foe, he was enjoying the battle but this did well to kill the buzz they had going.
"You have won this battle, Erik The Berserker," Gustav said, offering his surrender with these words as he dropped his daggers to the ground.
"No! Pick it up! The battle is not over until one of us dies!" Erik shouted, urging him to pick up his weapons but Gustav did not answer him.
"I will be a lot more useful as a prisoner and maybe then we can fight in a proper duel approved by the gods themselves," Gustav said and this brought a broad smile on Erik's face as he was satisfied by this answer.
"Very well then!" Erik approved of his suggestion.
Sven was relaxed despite the screams and the clash of metals around him, he trusted the strength of Erik. There was no way these men would be on the level of Erik but he was surprised that Vestfold would be so careless with such an impatient move despite them having the advantage in terms of numbers.
"Why did they not just use their numbers to crush us?" Sven questioned, talking to himself but like a leech attached to his skin, Oskar heard him.
"They were testing us," Oskar responded to his commander but Sven felt like something was missing. This was too rash for it to be a calculated move.
King Asmund, during his youth, was a monster you would not want to meet in battle so it was surprising that Erik could outsmart him in terms of tactics.
While Erik was an impressive warrior, he was no match for King Asmund in any way meaning that whoever was responsible was acting alone or there was something they were missing.
Sven knew that these were just speculations seeing as they were decoys in the first place. So whether they lived or died did not matter as long as they were of use to their king.
The battle concluded as silence was restored but Erik came down with Gustav tied up.
"Who is that, Erik?" Sven questioned him but Gustav simply smiled the moment he saw Sven. He could tell with a single glance that he was strong but Gustav was now in the camp.
"He is the leader of these men and he is too skilled to just be a foot soldier," Erik said, pushing him to the ground as he stood over him.
"Why did you not kill him?" Sven questioned his fellow commander but Erik was not interested in answering, he owed him no explanation and there was no way for him to force it out of Erik.
The Vikings around noticed the escalating tension between both commanders.
"NO ONE TOUCHES THIS MAN! HE IS MINE TO KILL!" Erik shouted, marking Gustav as his prey.
Gustav knew with this, a certain level of security was guaranteed and that was all he could ask for right now.
The whispers and murmurs showed that this action from Erik might cause a divide, Sven was not having any of this and unsheathed his sword to which Erik reacted with a raised brow.
"What do you think you are doing, Sven?" Erik questioned Sven as the Vikings under their respective units unsheathed their weapons ready to defend the commanders they swore their arm rings to.
"You are not in charge here, Erik," Sven said, using his sword to poke Gustav but not hard enough to pierce through his skin.
"I see you are missing an ear, did he do this?" Sven wanted to remind Erik that he was not talking to one of his underlings but to a man of equal standing with him.
"Sheathe your sword, Sven," Erik said in a tone commanding authority but this did not move Sven, not one bit.
"Surely such a warrior capable of taking a part of the great Erik must have a name…" Sven questioned Gustav and Gustav introduced himself in a calm tone.
"Gustav… Do you believe in an eye for an eye?" Sven questioned and Gustav was confused by this question but Sven did not want an answer because this was a rhetorical question.
Swinging his blade upwards, he took off Gustav's ear with one swing.
"Oops Eik, I think I touched your prey," Sven said with a chuckle, he tried to provoke Erik into a reaction but Erik just started laughing like a maniac.
"Sven! You are one crazy bastard!" Erik laughed out loud and this was enough to eliminate the building tension.
Sven laughed in unison as these men knew on a primal level that they needed to trust each other to hold out as long as possible and now they had a bargaining chip in the form of Gustav.
A prisoner of war, this reminded them of the case with Egil but they did not know if Gustav held that much value.
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