"It could take more than a day... it will be a real war, perhaps the greatest I have ever fought, but... have faith. Freydis and I will come back to you" Dag concluded, getting up and continuing to look at Claire, until, after a few seconds, her eyes closed due to tiredness.

"You're going to stay here, all right? I'd really like to take you with me, but it's too big a risk to your life... moreover, Claire needs protection, just like on the farm, do you remember?" Dag asked Thalos, who responded by looking at him straight in the eye, his tongue dangling from his mouth.

"Well, good. I hope to see you again, my friend" the young Master continued, lowering himself towards the wolf and hugging him, sinking his face into the soft fur of his neck and chest, recalling how important his presence during his exile had been.

When he finished greeting Thalos, who snuggled up on the floor next to Claire as if he was her guardian angel, Dag climbed the stairs and lay under the blankets next to Freydis, hugging her and approaching her.

"I want you to always stand by me tomorrow, my love" he said, his eyes already closed and ready to rest.

"You know I would have done it regardless... but if you need to use your legendary ability to get rid of multiple enemies temporarily, just do that. Don't worry about me, I'll keep my distance in that case" she replied, crouching in Dag's arms and sighing deeply.

Dag sensed that although Freydis had spoken of Claire about courage and optimism until recently, now that the time of departure was approaching, the Shieldmaiden was afraid. 

He stroked her hair and said nothing, resting his chin on her head and sensing her body heat.

Like every time he stood beside her, in a few minutes, he fell asleep.

...

The next day, the arrival of dawn was sanctioned by the sound of drums.

*boom*boom*boom*

The pause between the hits was marked and regular and equally decisive was the awakening of Dag and Freydis, who after suddenly abandoning the dream world, found themselves catapulted into their bed in Tungvek.

Dag sat down and rubbed his eyes, scratching his right arm, on which were all the runic tattoos of his skills. 

His blonde hair, which had become long, was twisted and partially in front of his face, forcing him to grab a lace intentionally left next on his boots and tied it with it so that it did not get on his face again.

"Claire is still asleep. Everything's ready in the bags, last night I also filled your water bag... if we don't make any noise, we'll avoid waking her up and it's going to be easier for her" Freydis said.

After rinsing his face to regain full possession of all his five senses, Dag grabbed the belt with weapons and tied it around his waist, clutching it tightly after finishing fastening the handmade armor.

Freydis, likewise, prepared quickly, tying her hair into a braid, which she did accurately in a matter of minutes and fastened behind her back the shoulder strap to which her spear was attached.

Tying the small bags to the armor and the belt and making sure they had taken everything they needed, the two warriors approached the door, looking back and noting that Thalos, even though he was still lying down, had his eyes open and was looking at them.

With a melancholy heart, Dag slowly closed the door, looking at his four-legged friend's eyes and smiling at him until the last moment, making sure he left the key on the inside of the lock.

The sound of the drum had stopped for a few minutes, when it suddenly began echoing again among the palaces of Tungvek, punctuating the rhythm of the steps that led the soldiers of the Giants Of Ymir army at the assembly point, in front of the main entrance of the white city.

As they walked through the streets, one at a time, almost all the doors of the houses opened, and one or more warriors came out of each of them, who saw Dag, Freydis and other people in armor pass by, joined them, increasing the size of the group, which in a few minutes exceeded 200 units.

*boom*boom*bo-boom*

Upon the arrival of the warriors in front of the giant stone gates, the man who was playing the drum stopped abruptly, raising his arms and crossing the chopsticks above his head.

Next to him, Kranus looked like another person, being fully clothed in a battle outfit.

His robe had been replaced by a similar one, but slightly shorter and blacker, like the boots he wore at his feet.

The long white beard was tied with a black lace at the bottom and the torso was covered with light armor, on which were inexplicably wrapped numerous small chains.

The face was also ready for battle and was painted white, with two blue stripes drawn under the eyes towards the chin.

Instilling fear and looking like a true experienced warrior, Kranus proudly looked at his soldiers as they gathered in front of him, ordering the man with the drum to be silent. 

Along with Dag and Freydis, Kron and Atran advanced more than the others, and after a few seconds, Wrage and Gunnar also popped up from the crowd. 

The strongest and most powerful warriors of the Clan were all gathered together and the still dark sky of dawn emphasized their majesty, so much so that Dag thought that, of all the armies he had seen in his life, that seemed to him the most determined to win a war.