12 Return II

Ragnar looked at his former Jarl Borg who had a defeated and hopeless face.

He just smiled and said.

"No."

Jarl Borg growled, swaying back and forth.

"I said KILL ME!"

Ragnar asked.

"Hmm? What for?"

"We're mortal enemies! There is no way for a defeated Jarl Borg to —"

"Yes, you have defied me and killing you a couple times over wouldn't be punishment enough for that. However, today you've shown me that there are Goblins who can be true warriors, unafraid of even death. Not everyone has the courage to charge into my Goblin Knight platoon with only eight Adult Goblins. Instead of killing you, I'd much rather have you as my Goblin Knight. Show your valor against my enemies. Fight for me, conquer lands, tribes and everything in my path and gain glory!

What do you say, my former Jarl?"

Jarl Borg froze for a moment and then gritted out.

"Are you sure you won't regret forgiving me?"

Ragnar signaled for the Goblin Knights to gather behind him and grinned.

"If I regret, it really would be a new experience."

Jarl Borg paused once more, taking some time to realize that Ragnar was forgiving him.

"What…"

Ragnar looked at his former Jarl Borg in the eyes and said.

"There's no need to be surprised. Take me as your Jarl Borg and swear fealty to me as my Goblin Knight, and you're forgiven. Rollo, make your oath again for our former Jarl to see!"

Rollo immediately jumped out, and happily knelt before Ragnar.

"Gladly, my lord. I, Rollo Blaze as a Lodbrok Knight, swear to take an oath upon this plane that I will be forever faithful to Ragnar Lodbrok's cause and follow him bravely and unflinchingly even in the face of death! I will enforce this oath to the end of my life."

Ragnar nodded to Rollo in approval, and turned towards his former Jarl.

"Your turn."

Jarl Borg solemnly nodded and knelt down before Ragnar.

"I, Bjorn, take Ragnar Lodbrok as my Jarl Borg, and as his Lodbrok Knight, swear to take an oath upon this plane that I will be forever faithful to Ragnar Lodbrok's cause and follow him bravely and unflinchingly even in the face of death! I will enforce this oath to the end of my life."

The moment the rest of the tribe Goblins saw their Jarl surrender, they sighed in relief.

They thanked all their Goblin gods that they would not die today, and all of them knelt down behind their former Jarl, as they solemnly shouted.

"JARL RAGNAR!"

Ragnar laughed out aloud savagely, and released his Goblin Nobel aura to awe his newly recruited followers and said.

"Very well, Bjorn. I accept you as my Goblin Knight, and bestow upon you the family name Ironside."

Bjorn could not believe the change, but he still acknowledged his new status as a follower.

"Thank you, my lord."

Ragnar looked towards the other 60 Goblins and said as he started walking inside the village.

"Lets go inside the village. Bjorn, call all the members of our tribe to the common area including the Goblin women."

Bjorn looked awestruck at Ragnar's backview, when Lagertha sheepishly smiled and whispered.

"Welcome to the Jarl Ragnar's fanclub, Bjorn."

Aslaug looked at this little exchange, she shook her head before quickly following behind Ragnar.

***

1192, Lodbrok Goblin Village

Ragnar looked at all the Goblins one by one, there were about 100 Goblins in his tribe, including his ten Goblin Knights. When he was done looking at all of them, he cleared his throat and shouted.

"My name is Ragnar Lodbrok, I am a Goblin Nobel. From today onwards, I shall be the Jarl Borg of this tribe. We shall not be namless anymore. We shall be called the Lodbrok Clan henceforth.

Goblin Knights, step forward."

The ten HobGoblins who had sworn fealty to Ragnar as Goblin Knights, stepped forward and Ragnar continued.

"Our tribe has a Goblin Nobel in me, and ten HobGoblins in my Knights. We have power enough to even challenge a large Goblin tribe in The Nandini Forest. We just need to increase the counts of our Tribe's normal warriors, and in the coming years I will make sure of that as your new Jarl Borg."

"I dream that one day all of you Goblins will be free of your worries for food and shelter. So that you are able to step behind me on the battlefield and charge towards our enemies without constantly worrying about anything. Even if we die a glorious death, it would be for the name of our LODBROK CLAN! The children of our Lodbrok Clan should be able to grow up in dignity, to be able to reach for their dreams! We may still be an unknown small Goblin tribe, but one day we Lodbroks shall definitely be known throughout this forest and continent!"

Upon hearing the what Ragnar announced, the Goblins almost couldn't believe their own ears.

Some got confused as they had always been so worried about survival that they had never thought about anything else. However, as they looked at each other and verified that they had heard correctly, they burst into a cacophony of cheers that immediately drowned out the newly named Lodbrok village!