"These forces.. They are not ordinary soldiers.." Ragnar noted as he watched them easily cut down the men under his command but he was not worried because they had more than enough men under their command.

"Why are they wearing iron suits?" Skarde asked as they found that the warriors of Vingulmark were adjusting to their opponent, something that was unexpected as they began matching their rhythm and fighting on equal footing.

"You take the Vikings of Vingulmark too lightly, watch," Birger said as they regained the upper hand, turning the tide of the battle in a single push, they were hesitant to retreat because they did not want to break formation.

They were able to clear out the camp but they lost a lot of men. That much was to be expected, it was directly proportional to the number of enemies slain.

Askild was not satisfied with their strength because it showed they were not much stronger than the warriors in Vestfold.

The battle was over in little over thirty minutes, and every one of them was slaughtered despite Ragnar telling them to keep a few alive so they could interrogate them.

"I said you should bring me prisoners and not kill them all.." Ragnar blurted out and the calmness in his voice did not do well to portray his displeasure but Birger stepped in on their behalf.

"I apologize for their conduct, but that is their way of fighting. You can command them but you cannot change their way," Birger said bluntly as they descended from where they were, into the fields to see if they could salvage anything from the camp.

historical

Askild's eyes were planted firmly on Birger, he was up to something and he could feel it in his bones.

"We will arrive at Vestfold soon," Birger said and Skarde was suspicious.

"I expected far more resistance, this is too easy.." Skarde said, and he was right.

It felt like Vestfold were leading them into a trap because there was no way of knowing what fate Erik and Sven met despite Askild ruling death out.

"My brother has never been careless, there is no way he will be at the front lines," Birger destroyed the idea that King Asmund was at the front lines but this drew an irritated look from Askild because he had known about this but they were only now just finding out.

"Do not look at me like that, Askild. Nothing would have changed if you knew, the truth is you cannot control Erik so you sent him away with someone who you thought could," Birger said, he spoke without fear because he knew they could not kill due to his knowledge of this area.

"Shut up Birger," Ulf said, grabbing him by the shoulder, something that surprised everyone.

"He might not be your king but he is mine and you will show king Askild the respect he deserves," Ulf warned sternly but the air around Birger changed and what Ulf felt was pure killing intent.

"Ulf, I will count to 5 and if your hand is still on my shoulder, you will lose it," Birger warned, this put Ulf on the spot because everyone was watching to see if he would fold.

He could not lose face here and he knew it, but he was not prepared to lose his hand either.

He hoped Birger was joking but then the countdown began, and each second brought him closer to a moment he could not take back.

"That is enough Birger, did you really think we would let you harm one of our own right where we stand?" Skarde said, and he walked right to Birger.

Birger smiled beneath his helmet as he yanked Ulf's hand off his shoulder.

"Do not forget your promise to me, usurper," Birger said, walking forward to lead the way as they continued their journey.

-

A couple of hours prior, in Kattegat things had seemingly settled but a revelation had shocked Ulrik to the core, a name that should not be mentioned was mentioned as the one that had instigated the violence.

Lagertha was speaking to Ulrik about the name that was disclosed and Lagertha was just as surprised as Ulrik when she heard the name. The look of fear and urgency in her eyes showed that this was not just a random name but someone they knew.

She looked around and could not see Garda, she asked Tiril but even Tiril did not know as her attention was focused solely on her commander so Lagertha could not blame her.

The streets of Kattegat were on high alert and she knew that Garda did not understand what was going on and could easily be targeted as a threat but what followed during her frantic search was a scream that alerted everyone nearby.

It was coming from the dungeon and in it, it was the voice of Garda.

Lagertha recognized it and ran to her straight, and the sight she was was horrific.

The lady Ulrik was questioning was dead alongside the guard that was guarding her, she was stabbed right in the chest.

"What is going on!?" Lagertha asked inwardly as Ulrik soon joined them and he was just as surprised but he did not care much because he had already extracted information from her.

"You.. What are you doing here!?" Ulrik turned his attention to Garda because she conveniently saved Lagertha and showed up here only to be the first to find his prisoner dead.

It was suspicious because they could not rule out anything, a well-coordinated attack was successful the day before so it was not a far stretch to say whoever was responsible had infiltrated their ranks and no one knew who Garda was.

Ulrik pointed his sword at her, pushing it against her neck and Garda looked on in horror as she saw that her life was in danger.

"Put your weapon down, Ulrik. She could not have killed both of them. Look closely, the guard did not put up a fight so it must be someone that he is familiar with, possibly a warrior. Do not be ruled by your emotions!" Lagertha said and Ulrik looked to confirm her observation.

This felt familiar and Ulrik said under his breath.

"We got the wrong person.."