Tyr was about to clash with J?kull again but a man whispered something into his ears that made J?kull lower his weapon.

"Retreat!" J?kull ordered and the battle ceased immediately, which was strange because they were not losing ground in terms of combat because Tyr knew that this was the main force, it was evident by their number so why were they retreating so easily?

J?kull should be confident in taking his head considering he has had the upper hand in this battle throughout but something was strange.

If they were retreating, then their objective must have been completed meaning it was never to wipe them out.

"W-We won!?" A warrior asked; he could not believe how easy it was to push them back and the rest of the Vikings began to shout as they were celebrating the victory.

"You are a genius!" Kolbeinn shouted, shaking and hugging Tyr but Tyr did not share in this excitement.

Tyr could not help but think that they had somehow lost this battle.

He looked around him and noticed the casualties were not even high, a few dead bodies but it did not diminish the numbers of either armyhistorical

Sighvatur had predicted everything, and Tyr danced right in the palm of his hand.

"We need to get back.." Tyr blurted but his voice was drowned out by their celebrations.

"WE NEED TO GET BACK NOW!" Tyr shouted, cutting their celebration short as Tyr led them back to their camp.

The look of urgency in his eyes told Kolbeinn that Tyr had sensed something because, for some reason, it was looking like Tyr's tactical genius was in vain as the enemy still accomplished their objective.

They arrived back in the camp in a few minutes but what they saw only confirmed why Tyr was so paranoid.

They saw the arrows sticking out of Gissur's body showing that he was just out of the battle and they also noticed his house had been shattered.

The battle was fought here, whoever drew Gissur out could not hold him meaning that the stronghold was their target but something was strange even with that because they had no intentions of holding it.

"They got us good. That clever devil Sighvatur got us!" Gissur said and Tyr realized at that moment that their food was gone and water contaminated.

Tyr was reminded of his time in Vestfold, this tactic was a bit too familiar but the thing about this was that the weather made it near impossible for them to hunt for food as Tyr was certain that a perimeter would have been set up around them to make venturing for food Impossible.

"Fuck! This is bad!" For the first time in a long time, Tyr had shown visible worry, and the fact that he was outplayed so severely scared the living shit out of him.

-

Sighvatur was informed by the scout, who had watched the battle, about its progress.

He was surprised that someone saw through the first plan he had enacted but it did not matter.

"They are trapped in the web now.." Sighvatur said with a grin, he was glad that the war had begun because now he could either wait for them to starve to death as the winter was going to make it impossible for them to hunt or he could slowly chip away at their defenses with guerilla tactics, hit and run making it impossible to not only rest but fight back because how effective could they be if they fought on empty stomach.

Sturla was holding the backlines, and J?kull was responsible for the flanks as they had no intention of reuniting but rather, they had new territories to hold.

They had divided their forces but was this a weakness or strength?

What was the next step in their plan?

-

King Ragnar had reunited with his family, and he was glad that he did because this was worth it.

Ragnar's reunion with Bjorn was short-lived as he had to get back to work watching Kattegat because even he was not free of Askild's wrath.

Lagertha lay on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, it was gentle and peaceful.

She was glad that he was here, she never thought this day would come or rather did not expect it so soon even though years had passed.

"I missed you, Lagertha.. I missed everything.." Ragnar began the conversation, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Do you ever think of him?" Lagertha asked Ragnar out of the blue, and Ragnar knew exactly who she was talking about but Ragnar chose silence.

"I think about him all the time. I miss him, Ragnar.. I miss our son," Lagertha said and this was enough for Ragnar to break his silence.

"He chose his path, it will be a hard and tedious path but he is my son. He will emerge out of that dark tunnel all the stronger." Ragnar reassured his wife.

Lagertha giggled when Ragnar spoke, forcing her husband to wonder what was wrong.

"It is the first time since the incident I have heard you refer to him as your son, that is all.." Lagertha reminded Ragnar of his stance.

"I do still love him, you know.." Ragnar blurted out, and hearing him say this was reassuring, to say the least.

"I know you do," Lagertha responded with a wild smile.

"I need to see my brother. I am sorry but you cannot have me all to yourself, my greedy shield maiden." Ragnar said as he got up to his feet.

Lagertha knew this was her window to tell him what if had attempted to do with her but she also did not want to ruin his reunion with his brother.

She was conflicted but she chose to let Ragnar have one day with his brother because she knew he would never see him the same after this.

Lagertha chose to bite her tongue and from a different point of view, this sounded like a selfless act as she chose to allow her husband to see his brother as his brother one last time but only if she knew what Ilf had in mind, she would have taken a different route.