The sun rose in all other parts of the world, and Erik was seen just staring at Gustav.
He made sure he was well-fed for his duel later that day, Gustav was surprised as they did not try to torture information out of him, he was here simply because Erik was a deranged warrior that valued battle above all else.
The relationship between Sven and Erik looked to be a fragile one, and it surprised him to an extent that they could work together despite such differences but he also thought that this was an opportunity to exploit these fragile bonds.
Tyr was praised in the camp but he was hit with overwhelming guilt, he knew he could not continue like this, or he risked losing himself in the thrill of battle.
"Tyr, come here," Erik called out to the son of Ragnar his peripheral vision caught the sadness on his face, Tyr was snapped back to reality and he rushed to the side of his commander.
"I heard about your conquest in battle," Erik said, tapping the free spot beside him for him to sit as his gaze left the direction of Gustav and focused on the little warrior before him.
"You should be happy! This is your first taste in battle." Erik tried to cheer him up, this was not because he was compassionate but rather because he wanted Tyr to become a killing machine just like him, it has been years since a kid has sworn their allegiance to him.
"Men were created to be killed, or Valhalla would not exist! This is our trial for the great hall," Erik said, and this change of perspective made what Tyr had done go down easier.
"Y-You are right…" Tyr said, life returned to his dull eyes as he looked at Erik, right in the eyes but he was overcome by a sense of fear the moment his eyes made contact with that of Eriks'.
Erik's eyes felt like he was looking into an abyss, an abyss that was devoid of any life.
"We live only to get into Valhalla," Erik said, breaking eye contact with the child and redirecting it back to Gustav.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Tyr muttered as he noticed Erik's attention was on the imprisoned man, Gustav.
Sven obstructed his view by standing right in front of Erik, and Erik did not take kindly to this.
"What do you think you are doing? Your duel is off until we get whatever information we can from him." Sven said in a stern voice and this forced Erik to get to his feet, towering over Sven easily.
"Sven, get out of my way…" Erik warned and once again, the camp tensed up.
Gustav was taking note of all this and knew that this could ultimately lead to their downfall as none of them were in sync, both units on opposite sides unsheathed their swords, ready to defend their respective commanders.
"And if I do not? Will you raise your sword against me, little Berserker?" Sven mocked Erik and everyone admired his confidence as even other commanders avoided trouble with Erik because once he saw red, only death and destruction await.
Erik did not even reply to Sven and immediately swung his ax in a linear, horizontal motion aimed at taking off his head but Sven avoided it by leaping out of its reach.
"I understand why they call you a berserker now, you really aimed to kill me with that strike, didn't you?" Sven said as a minor cut was seen on his neck.
"Hahaha! You did get out of my way in the end. You have a few screws loose yourself, Sven," Erik said, he was surprised that he could avoid his swing at such a range.
Maybe Sven was not all mouth but Erik was confident he could take him in a battle as well as Sven, they shared this same belief.
Before it could escalate, Tyr jumped between them to try and de-escalate the situation because the enemy was not one another but Vestfold.
Infighting was the last thing they needed at the moment, but this was a bold move from Tyr considering the kind of personality the two men exhibited.
"S-Stop fighting!" Tyr shouted, he could not hide that he was scared like every other time as he was trembling just by being in their presence and he did not know why.
This was simply the mental strain men of their caliber put on others in their presence, it could be killing intent or the idea that they could be cut down at any moment.
"You are in no position to tell us what to do, child," Sven said with a dismissive tone, he did not recognize Tyr as anything but a child linked to a powerful name. Nothing more, nothing less.
Tyr stood his ground, it took every ounce of energy for him to remain on his feet, he could not believe he was even doing this in the first place.
He turned his head back at Erik, to see if Erik was going to back him up but all he saw was the incoming swing of Erik's gigantic ax.
Tyr barely managed to dodge due to his nimble feet and this drew a surprised look from Sven despite the swing being a watered-down variant of the one he had just avoided.
It was worthy of praise that despite his trembling, he could compose himself well enough to avoid the blade that was meant to split him in two from the head, all the way down to the toes.
"Woah! He dodged it!" Sven exclaimed, it was not every day you saw someone so nimble as most warriors sacrificed speed for strength, this was also due to stamina reasons.
"I am not the enemy!" Tyr shouted, he was quite frankly shocked he was about to lose his life for something so trivial and he could not fathom how such mad men rose to such positions of power.
Tyr pointed at Gustav like he was on a mission.
"They are! You are not fighting for yourselves! You are fighting for our King! Honor his name with your actions or our enemies will laugh!" Tyr said and the moment he said this, he was filled with instant regret.
"Crap! I have done it now," Tyr thought to himself as he got a little too caught up in the moment and said more than he should have.
"You are an interesting kid," Sven complimented Tyr's bravery as he turned his back and walked away. Erik, however, was not happy that he interrupted them but he was impressed that he could make Sven sheathe his sword. The Vikings around looked at Tyr with respect.
"That kid… That kid is dangerous," Gustav thought to himself as he watched him diffuse the situation with nothing but words.
"I need to kill him,"
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