historical

The conclusion of the war drew closer, the soil had absorbed the rain, transforming it from solid earth into mud.

The sun that was hidden behind the clouds fell to the ground, just like their fallen warrior.

It was barely bright but the illumination was enough to see clearly.

"Get King Asmund!" A warrior shouted and for the first time in a month, Askild showed himself in the place he recorded defeat, he looked the same.

The menacing aura that made him so feared was still present and behind him was his army.

Askild was the embodiment of killing intent despite Erik standing a couple of meters behind.

Erik felt small, this was laughable considering his side, Askild had such a presence.

Asmund walked to the walls and saw that Askild had made his move, he was certain that the capture of his son was the reason that Askild was brave enough to do this.

Askild snapped his fingers and Signy was brought to his side, he could feel the heart of his enemies drop the moment Signy was brought.

"I have your son, Asmund!" Askild shouted, and he knew that he had the upper hand but he did not know what Asmund had going on in his head.

"Signy, are you well?" This was the only thing that Asmund asked and he got his answer as his son nodded.

"King Askild, it feels like we have had this dance before.." Asmund teased, his reaction was not what Askild expected. Asmund was not fazed by this whatsoever.

"We have and you lost that dance, I only have one demand.." Askild said. He was getting straight to the point because he did not have time to stall.

"What is it, King Askild..?" Asmund questioned, he was standing majestically on the wall.

"Lay down your life and surrender Kattegat, I will spare your men and your son." Askild's voice had a tone of absolute certainty.

"Hahaha! You have become quite the jokester in this past month if you want Vestfold. You will have to climb over all our corpses.." Asmund said with a broad smile.

The tension in the air was felt by everyone but the two kings, it could even be felt by Erik.

"What is going on?" Skarde asked but he was quickly shushed by Ragnar.

Ulf knew this was his make or break, he still had the confidence of Birger so he knew that Birger would help him make a name for himself. Speaking of Birger, where was he?

Ulf looked around to find him only to see him conversing with Hagen, he got anxious the moment he saw this. His first thought was to go there and see what he was talking about but he thought about something.

"I worry too much, what can he do to me?" Ulf thought to himself, Hagen was an average warrior with no special perks. There was no way Hagen could harm him, he was worrying for nothing. He understood from a fundamental aspect that he did not do anything wrong because that act is what brought them here today.

"Do you want to lose your son, Asmund?" Askild asked and he got no response from Asmund, the Earls beside him looked nervous the moment this question was asked.

"K-King Asmund?" Earl Kjell called out because he knew the gravity of the situation. It looked a lot like he was calling Askild's bluff.

Askild unsheathed his sword and rested it on Signy's shoulder, at this point everyone knew he was not bluffing yet Asmund maintained his silence.

"I will count to 3 if you have not responded to my offer. You will lose your heir." Askild said, and the countdown began.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

Askild raised his sword to prepare for a swing. Signy closed his eyes in anticipation, mentally fortifying himself for the death that awaited him.

"Wait!" Asmund gave in, Kjell heaving a loud sigh of relief. They knew as long as the gates remained closed then there was no way in hell that they could breach.

"I will give you your answer when the night comes," Asmund said, this answer was an acceptable one because he had to think about such a decision.

Askild accepted his terms but they did not leave the area. No, they planned to set up camp right there and then.

"I am aware you know what I will do to him if you try anything funny.." Askild threatened, bringing a smile from Asmund. He was visibly shaking with anger. His calm exterior was cracking.

Bjorn was focused, his eyes at the moment only saw red, he wanted to jump over that wall and just hack away. He remembered how he felt when he took his life but now he did not care about the consequences.

Ragnar noticed that Bjorn was restless, this was not good, he had to find a way to calm him down or there was no doubt that he would be killed.

"Bjorn.." Ragnar called and the moment Bjorn turned to face him, Ragnar grabbed his nose.

Bjorn was taken aback by this as Ragnar protruded one finger.

"I got your nose.." Ragnar teased with a smile, Bjonr burst out laughing not because the joke itself was funny but by how awkward his father was. That laughter soon turned to tears.

"I cannot believe he is gone..!" Bjorn sobbed and this was what Ragnar was waiting for, Bjorn tried to bottle up his emotions.

Signy took note of this, listening in on the conversation as he was curious about the sons of Ragnar but he knew that Ragnar had two sons. There was no way he would have missed the other one because he had a unique skin that was hard to miss.

He looked around and noticed he was not there and wondered if he died in the fight with their raid party.

Signy looked at Bjorn with interest, Bjorn was the weakness of this army but right now he had more pressing issues at hand because he did not know the card his father intended to play but he knew he had to be ready for anything.

He was carted away with Erik as Kattegat gave Vestfold some time to make their decision.

Kjell cursed under his breath, this war could have been over a month ago if Signy listened to him, and he began to believe they would lose this war if they listened to Asmund and Signy.

He was an Earl, and this title meant he had his army, he was not going to sit idle anymore.