377 CCCLXXVII. Not A Simple Choice

"Master Egill! We have to do something! I'm trying to heal him, but my spell has no effect anymore, the wounds are too severe! He needs your help!" Karl exclaimed, who, with his arms outstretched towards Sander, used all his energies in a desperate attempt to save him, under the helpless gaze of Reidar and the screams of Freydis, who began to punch the barrier, trying to break it and be able to intervene to his aid.

"Master Egill!" Karl said again, who knelt down out of strength.

The long-bearded Master Of Healing stood motionless for a few seconds and drops of sweat began to pour from his forehead.

In front of him, beyond Master Sander and the herd of ravenous wolves bent over him stretched an incredible expanse of corpses, in which it was possible to distinguish Dag and Gridd, while side by side fought against the werewolves, who continued to arrive numerously and that within minutes they would reach the barrier, behind which dozens of allied soldiers were immobile and flickering, terrified at the idea of facing such powerful and mysterious enemies, who in addition to being incredibly skilled in fighting with their bare hands, instilled fear in their minds because of their appearance.

Egill then faced a choice: risk the lives of his soldiers, saving that of his old friend and colleague, or keep his hands still on the staff and prevent the barrier from breaking up.

He was aware that restoring that barrier would not be an easy thing and would take too long, failing to block the ravenous wolves, who dodging Dag and Gridd, headed towards the end of the village.

His hand began to shake and his breath became deeper and deeper, unable to make a decision, despite his experience and wisdom.

Sander screamed again and a violent fist disintegrated the head of a grayish werewolf, intent on biting his ribs, who died instantly.

Just when the Master Of Healing was ready to let go to help his friend Sander, a figure snapped at great speed in that direction, emerging from the fog caused by the frenzy of battle.

Kjell's fiery chains moved proudly through the air, simultaneously striking more than four enemies, whose fur burned instantly, from that intensely red fire, which increased its intensity even more due to the chain-warrior's anger, ready to unleash his full potential.

"Get away from him, sons of bitches! Now you'll answer to me! Aaaargh!" he exclaimed, who, after jumping and landing on the ground, jumped for the second time, releasing behind him a blazing red trail, followed by a violent shockwave, so powerful that it opened a small crack in the snowy ground.

Some of the wolves engaged in biting Sander attacked him from any direction, but while he was in mid-air, Kjell quickly rotated on himself and the flames of his chains spread around him, creating a massive vortex of fire, which incinerated them, tearing their flesh to shreds.

Kjell, not satisfied with his actions, threw both of his chains and grabbed the first wolf that was drifting away.

The chains wrapped around one of his legs, and after the chain-warrior pulled it towards him, his leg broke off, breaking the joint bone.

Moving the chains like two whips, the Crows Of Odin's Master Of Offense grabbed one at a time the five remaining wolves, who, afraid of its power, kept running away.

After killing them all, another werewolf, slightly larger than the others grabbed him from behind, lifting him off the ground and biting him on the shoulder, next to his neck.

Kjell screamed in pain, and just before the bite could cause irreparable damage, Gridd's two swords lodged in the wolf's back, which left his grip, causing him to end up on the ground bleeding.

The giant wolf turned to Gridd with both of her swords lodged in his back and struck her violently with his claws, causing her to crawl into the snow.

Shortly before she fell, with a flapping of wings, she managed to cushion the fall, which caused her minor damage.

A few seconds passed, when the rest of the feral army reached the Egill barrier, hitting it from several directions: the wolves, in the midst of their fierce instincts, struck the huge amber dome with their claws and jaws, trying in every way to break it to go over, with the foretaste of their loot, which would confirm their victory over the Iron Alliance. 

While Kjell managed to get up and detach from the wolf's back the two blades of Gridd, who with a nimble move cut off his throat, Dag stood still, watching the battle from afar.

The scenario seemed apocalyptic: the village of merchants and peasants had turned into a violent battlefield, where dozens of Claws Of Fenrir warriors repeatedly hit the resistant barrier created by Egill, while in front of it, Sander's body was lying in the snow, without moving and Gridd and Kjell fought with all their might, trying to resist as much as possible, hoping that a miracle could get them out of that incredibly difficult situation.

If the barrier had been broken, Egill, Reidar, Freydis, and the rest of the warriors would never have been able to counter those beastly beings and probably all of them would have died, less than a day after their landing on the shores of Krypstorm.

Dag looked at the hammer.

The umpteenth subtle beam of ethereal material entered its stone head and it lit up with intense white light.

Closing his eyes, he returned the four dark arms inside his body, to avoid any dispersion of energy.

"Second phase… control" he whispered, repeating step by step the phases explained in the book and rethinking of the spirit of Magni, with whom he had managed to make contact and who had told him that he was worthy of that skill so strong, that even he, one of the most powerful Berserkr in the nation, had failed to learn.