Chapter 344 The Calm Before The Storm PT. 2



Bjorn was huffing and puffing, he did not know that this man was this strong even when they initially crossed swords.

This was the strength of a King, the strongest warrior in said Kingdom but he also wondered why Tryggve was not striking the finishing blow. 

Bjorn could not count how many times this man could have fatally injured him yet he stood. 

The only thing that Bjorn suffered was fatigue.

Tryggve stared at him like he was thinking of something to say.

"Bjorn Ironside, is throwing your life away your idea of redemption?" Tryggve said and this caught Bjorn off guard.

"Throwing my life away? I am still standing, am I not?" Bjorn tried his hardest to remain confident but Tryggve pointed at his clothes with the sword in hand. 

Bjorn looked down and realized that Tryggve had inscribed a message in it while they were fighting.

It read, "fool" but this also told Bjorn how easily he could have been cut as not injuring him would take greater control than injuring him. 

"You are only alive because I allow it," Tryggve said before sheathing his sword. 

"Y-You do not want to fight anymore!?" Bjorn asked him, he hated that Tryggve was looking down on me. 

"I was blinded by the rage of losing my son that I did not realize what King Ragnar might do if he lost and from what I just saw, you have no problem throwing your life away for your family. The will of a coward does not run in your veins and that can only mean you inherited the will of your Father," Tryggve said. 

Each time he crossed blades with Bjorn, his soul cried because he would be no better than the people that took his son's life. 

Tryggve realized that Gryting is who he should be pouring his rage at as it could have simply been a person that admired Ragnar that used his blade. 

If they broke into the armoury, this was possible but the fact that Ludvig was missing and signs showed that someone fled Rogaland last night.

Tryggve heaved a loud disgruntled sigh, he was glad he fought Bjorn or he might have made the greatest mistake in his life. 

"Bjorn Ironside… Tell me, what kind of man is your father?" Tryggve asked, the aura around him settling as his disposition became a lot calmer. 

"I can tell you all about him…" A voice said behind him and it was Rugalf, he had arrived on the scene just in time alongside Eva and Aslaug. 

They had brought him here and judging from things, the battle seemed to have died down. 

Rugalf did not know what happened but he realized it did as it looked like he might not need force after all. 

"King Rugalf… I am…" Tryggve wanted to apologize for ruining such a beautiful day, a day that was meant to be joyous for the couple turned desolate.

A gentle hand on his shoulder told him that Rugalf had no hatred for what he did as he would have done worse if harm was to ever come to Estrid.

"Our children… They will always remain our weakness but they are the best weakness to have for hard men like us so I understand why you did what you did, King Tryggve but now I need you to ask your men to stand down… No more bloodshed," King Rugalf said but Tryggve twitched the moment he heard bloodshed.

He was certain that none of his men killed indiscriminately even though assaulting women was the one thing he could not vouch for but this, he could. 

"What do you mean by bloodshed?" Tryggve asked.

"You have killed quite some people, King Tryggve but if you surrender, I will spare your men any form of punishment…" Rugalf said; Bjorn was intimidated by the presence this man had and he bore a striking resemblance to Erik The Berserker. 

"I have not killed anyone, King Rugalf…" Tryggve established his innocence but Rugalf did not believe the man because he had no reason to. 

"I am sure you did not, so just stop it…" Rugalf tried to reassure him as he did not want Tryggve to feel like he was cornered. 

Rugalf knew what might happen if he did feel cornered. 

Bjorn had met this man before yet he felt like a completely different person, he did not look playful or even in the mood to mess around but considering the situation, that was understandable.

Tryggve knew what Rugalf was going to do even without him saying a word.

"You are going to kill me, aren't you?" Tryggve asked and Rugalf nodded without hesitation to confirm this. 

"That is right, this cannot go unpunished I am afraid but I can guarantee you a warrior's death," Rugalf reassured him. He could have easily chosen the route of deception but instead, he chose the honest one. 

"King Rugalf…" Bjorn called out, and this caught the attention of both Kings. 

"What is it, Bjorn?" Rugalf asked, he saw Bjorn's current state and realized that Tryggve could have easily killed him, the son of Ragnar and one of the major targets for his vengeance yet he did not.

"I have encountered a few enemies that did not belong to King Tryggve. They wore different crests as well," Bjorn informed the clueless Rugalf of what was happening.

Bjorn had no reason to lie but without evidence, all this was useless but he was not going to kill Tryggve on the spot either, everything was going to follow due process. 

"Then who is responsible for these deaths?" Rugalf asked but he was met with no answer.

-

King Ragnar was panting, he was growing exhausted Because he was not just fighting King Rugalf but the long-range archers as well.

Lagertha was in a bit of a bind herself as she had to be careful because Ragnar was not the only target of these archers. 

"King fucking Ragnar! I cannot fucking believe that you have lasted this long! It makes my skills look like that of a child compared to you!" King Gryting praised Ragnar but his demeanour has also changed.

His armour was full of scratches and cuts but unfortunately, none made it to his skin so he remained unscathed. 

Without that armour, he would most certainly be dead but Ragnar soon recalled the warning not to kill him. 

This was the reason he was yet to direct his attacks at his head or he would have taken it by now. 

"I cannot believe I was worried about such a man killing my sons…" Ragnar sighed, this was blatant disrespect to Gryting's skills. 

"You can go 'kill' them…" Ragnar said with a chuckle but he was not done. 

"... And whoever is shooting those arrows! Does it not tire you to fight for a man that cannot even fight his own battles and would rather hunt children that he cannot even kill?" Ragnar mocked but Lagertha was confused as to what her husband hoped to accomplish by provoking them into a reaction but Lagetha soon realized what he was doing.

Ragnar took a stance that Lagetha had not seen since his teenage years and that involved holding his sword with both hands.

"Ragnar…" Lagertha muttered, she realized at that moment that Ragnar was in a lot more trouble than she initially thought. 

Gryting charged at Ragnar, but he threw his weapon like a spear, this move caught Ragnar off-guard and he barely managed to dodge it despite losing a huge chunk of his clothes. 

"That was close…" Ragnar muttered but now, Gryting had lost his only weapon and Ragnar did not see any arrow coming.

This was his chance or so he thought, an arrow impaled him clean through the shoulder. 

"RAGNAR!" Lagertha screamed but this should not have happened. Ragnar realized where he made the mistake. 

Gryting might not be as strong as him but he was full of tricks, that was for sure. 

Ragnar realized he threw his sword to temporarily conceal the incoming arrow from his blindspot, something Ragnar did not register when he turned back for a second to check because the sword had blocked it from his line of sight perfectly before hitting the ground. All it took was this second.

"Are you worried now, King Ragnar?" Gryting asked, he landed a hit that had the potential to swing the battle in his favour.

"I see, so that is what it was…" Ragnar muttered once again, he left the arrow there because he knew he would lose much blood if he yanked it out carelessly. 

"What are you muttering to yourself?" Gryting asked mockingly. 

"You only have three archers," Rsgnaf said as he raised his hand and signalled the number three to Lagertha to which she immediately bolted, leaving both their sights, the arrows that tried to stop her had no luck.

"You bastard!" Gryting cussed, he realized that Ragnar was not fighting him seriously and was simply buying tone to feed his wife this information as a distant cry soon echoed. Lagetha was hunting down the archers as their positions and numbers were established.

"I have no intention of killing you. You are a King but what I am interested in is to know if you are the only one after my sons…" Ragnar said with a blood-curdling tone, he was unfazed by the arrow in him and Gryting at that moment realized he had made a big miscalculation. He should have never picked a fight with Ragnar.