"King Signy, are you sure it is wise to go there?" Jan was right to question because this was based solely on emotion; there was no other reason for them to return, considering what they had just seen.
The retreating forces soon intercepted them, and Vigar called out to King Signy as he was the only one with the mental faculty to speak as the others were still reeling from the side effects of the explosion, even the foot solders could barely walk but they had to seeing that the alternative was death.
They halted in their tracks as the interaction began; the darkness around them felt like an empty void. They went from a sure victory to losing over 80% of their forces alongside Vestfold.
Vigar narrated what happened, and Signy was speechless; he did not know what to do because this put a dent in his resume as King; he had lost Vestfold.
"Hahaha! You win some, and you lose some." Jan played it off; losing Vestfold did nothing for him because he knew that it was not only their forces that would bear these losses.
But he knew King Askild would deem him an enemy and eventually come for him when he rebuilt his strength.
"We should head back to Vingulmark. I think that is where you are the safest. I hate to say it, but the plan of your little henchmen backfired." Jan said. He was surprised that they would even attempt such a thing, but how could they create explosions that big?
If such a thing could be done, he needed to learn how.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Y-You bastard, you helped Kattegat!" Aksel managed to speak; each word felt like his throat would collapse.
"Did I? You only got this far because of my information before someone thought it was a good idea to go suicide…." Jan mocked, looking right at Vigar.
This was his fault; he wanted to do something so extreme; he tried to blow them up because the possibility that they would lose existed.
He would instead blow them to smithereens than let them have Vestfold, but not only did they lose Vestfold, but he had his men blown up by Tyr.
"I hate to say it, but they got us…." Jan had a satisfied smile as he said this.
"Tyr Ragnarsson…" Signy whispered to himself.
"What was that?" Jan questioned; he was the only one that barely used any honorifics when addressing Signy because right now, Signy was no King.
A king without a kingdom is no king, and Jan realized that Vestfold falling was the best thing to happen for Vingulmark.
"Tyr Ragnarsson, I need to know just who he is…." Signy was more straightforward this time.
"We won't find anything right now. Let's go." Jan led, turning his horse around, but he noticed Signy talking to his men in low tones before turning around to follow Jan.
His men did not, they went in a completely different direction, but Jan thought nothing of this. And with this came the conclusion of a brutally fought war.
-
Ulf was on the verge of a confrontation with Erik, but he knew the kind of man Erik was because Tyr was under his command, so he had every right to butt in.
"Stay out of this, Erik!" Ulf barked. Erik and Ulf got along, but at this moment, they disagreed.
"That is enough, you two." The unmistakable voice of King Askild echoed, prompting Ulf to drop Tyr the moment he heard this as Askild walked up to the child.
"Tyr Ragnarsson. I, King Askild, recognize you as a warrior. Tyr is the reason Vestfold fell; all this was his doing," King Askild praised the son of Ragnar, and everyone was stunned because this was the first time Askild had given another recognition and respect in the manner that he did Tyr.
Ulf hated this but was not the only one; murmurs could be heard, and hateful glares shot at him. At that moment, Tyr realized that everyone was okay with his existence as long as he was not a threat to them in terms of influence because, in the end, he was nothing but an outsider. The burning structures had calmed down, and luckily they did not burn other facilities.
"We won this war because of Tyr Ragnarsson! Why are you all so solemn!!" A random warrior said hesitantly, and the murmurs momentarily stopped.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"We also lost these many men because of Tyr!" Another fired back; Tyr hung his head in shame because he knew that the only reason they were dead was because of him.
They were turning against him; Erik did not interfere as he liked what he was seeing.
Erik knew that everyone needed a push to break, and he was curious to see this little Berserker's breaking point.
On the other hand, Hagen would not let them drive him into despair.
Hagen made his move, but before he could complete it, Bjorn had already forced himself to his feet, and it was apparent that every second on his feet was excruciating.
"B-Bjorn?" Ragnar muttered, Ragnar understood civil unrest and how certain situations had to play themselves out naturally, and this was one of them.
He could not force them to respect or recognize Tyr. Only they could do that, but he was curious about what Bjorn wanted to do.
Bjorn stood beside his brother, but he averted his gaze from Tyr while walking up to him.
"You are all shameless!" Bjorn started his conversation, and the silence followed was one of disbelief.
"You would not be alive even to hate him if he did not do what he did! You all draw breath because of Tyr Ragnarsson, not because of your strength! He is a hero! All hail Tyr Ragnarsson!" Bjorn had to remind them why they were even alive in the first place, and before long, they were chanting the name of Tyr, but Tyr did notice one thing in Bjorn's speech. Bjorn did not call him "brother."