Bjorn was having difficulty killing, he was focusing on trying to knock them out but this proved difficult, and he was driven into a corner where he was surrounded by two warriors.
Bjorn was certain he was about to die but they both fell, dead, with Tyr appearing from behind him.
"Are you okay, brother or do I need to come to save you every time?" Tyr teased, Bjorn was surprised he could take lives so easily because this was the boy that supposedly had a mental breakdown days ago.
"I-I thought you were dead!" Bjorn shouted, he felt all sorts of emotions well up inside him but Tyr's face did not change upon hearing this.
"I know, that was my intention. I am not sure but someone is working with Vestfold within our ranks." Tyr said, and Bjorn quickly remembered what King Asmund said a month back about a spy giving him information on their whereabouts but Bjorn brushed this off as an attempt to cause unrest.
"How did you get in?" Bjorn asked but Tyr bit his tongue because he knew his brother would not approve of his methods. Bjorn had a far more noble view regarding the battle and that explained why he picked Asger.
Asger had lost in his duel against Egil, and he had admitted defeat. This was not trickery, but rather Egil was naïve in his thinking. Bjorn would never look at Tyr the same if he found out what he did as he had problems even killing without guilt.
"We are in the middle of a war! Focus!" Tyr shouted, this was an effective conversation changer.
Bjorn screamed and cut down one person and another, he felt guilty for every life he took but it was either them or him and he chose him.
Tyr's eyes caught a glimpse of Vigar, and he could not help the primal need to claim his head.
He was a primal warrior like Erik, they existed such warriors but they were rare.
Tyr noticed when Bjorn fought, he was full of openings and this was something that he never showed during their spars. Tyr instinctively knew that Bjorn hated doing this but that was normal.
This was his first war, so it was understandable but there was something familiar with killing. Tyr just felt like it was second nature to him and he did not know why.
"Bjorn! Calm your mind! You are my rival! If I can kill, you should aim to kill twice as many! This is the path we chose, and we will keep killing until we become the strongest Vikings known!" Tyr shouted and these words resonated deeper in Bjorn. He smiled upon hearing this and his openings immediately closed, he was more focused.
Tyr knew if he did not say these words, there was no way Bjorn would not die in this battle but now the probability of him surviving shot up.
Ragnar listened to his words and he realized how important Tyr was to the growth of Bjorn.
The rivalry was the single thing that kept Bjorn going, Ragnar noticed Ulf was on the back foot as he was being pushed back by Aksel.
-
"Is this all?" Aksel asked, Ulf was breathing hard and panting. Aksel was not an ordinary warrior and he was not sure even his brother could defeat him.
"How are you so strong!?" Ulf blurted out but Aksel was not surprised by this question.
"It is more commendable that you have survived this long," Aksel praised him, but this sounded like sarcasm or at least that is what Ulf said.
A curly black-haired warrior stepped between them, before looking back at Aksel.
"What are you doing here, Kåre?" Aksel questioned but Kåre did not respond, focusing his eyes on Ulf.
"Don't you know who that is?" Kåre asked but it was clear from Aksel's face that he did not.
"That is Ulf, the brother of Ragnar," The moment the name Ragnar was called, the look of surprise that crept up on Aksel's face surprised Ulf.
Why did this man know who he was? He knew he was not a threat and had intentionally stayed under the radar for this very reason so who was this man?
"Does it matter, he is an enemy. Step aside…" Aksel said. There was no doubt he possessed the skills to kill Ulf.
"The last thing we need is to provoke Ragnar Lothbrok, we just need to stall them. Do not get carried away…" Kåre warned and Aksel clicked his tongue in irritation but he knew that he was right. The strategy here was to stall for as long as possible.
Ulf heard this and knew something was up, he knew that whatever Askild thought he was doing was quite the opposite.
"I am going to take one of you down!" Ulf shouted, charging at Kåre because he looked weak but all it took was a blink to lose sight of him, Kåre had demonstrated unparalleled speed.
Ulf felt a hand on his shoulder, and he could not believe that he could move before he could even attempt an attack.
"You are mistaken if you think me weak, I am the strongest in Vestfold after my King," Kåre warned, before walking away. Ulf froze, he could have died in the blink of an eye if this man wanted him dead and that thought made him realize that there were monsters worse than his brother.
Ragnar had not fought in a while, there was no way he could fight as he did in his prime.
Aksel charged at Ulf and what followed next was a huge splatter of blood on the floor.
-
Erik was covered in wounds, and he fell face down, crashing into the floor unconscious.
Kjell, on the other hand, was missing an entire arm quite literally.
He was huffing and panting, he now understood why Erik was feared.
He was stronger than Erik on paper, but Erik was still able to take off his left arm and inflict multiple wounds all over his body before he was defeated. His defeat could be because of the accumulation of injuries he had gotten from the beginning of the war until now.
Kjell barely held onto his consciousness as blood was spurting out of his wound.
"You are not here to save me, are you?" Asmund asked his supposed savior.