The Son Of Ragnar

Ragnar, Hagen, and Ulf prepared the boy, with both his hands tied as they didn't know where he came from or what he is capable of despite being a child and had no choice but to follow protocol when presenting him to the King.

"You sure this isn't a bit too much?" Asked Ragnar but Hagen shook his head as he met the frightened glare of the child before looking away almost immediately.

"I have a feeling the gods have great plans for him. I can feel it in my bones, Ragnar." Hagen reassured.

"The gods have no great plans for him, he is just another slave," Ulf spoke, belittling Hagen.

The animosity between both men was clear, and Ragnar knew his brother disliked Hagen but he did not know why and he was not about to step in the middle of their feud as long as it didn't affect their working together.

"You are wrong, brother. That child… is no ordinary child." Ragnar said in a stern voice, with his sight fixed on the road ahead. Ulf could tell by his tone that he meant those words.

"What is going on?" Ulf thought to himself because Ragnar has been acting strange ever since the day started and he took an unusual interest in this child despite him just being another slave.

Was it because of his skin or was it something else? This inadvertently sparked the interest of Ulf as well.

The child came to an abrupt stop, prompting his captors to halt alongside him.

"Move it, we do not have all day," Ulf said in a stern tone prompting the child to instantly be on his guard, the aura the child gave was different from the crying and helpless child they saw moments ago.

"I said move it!" Ulf said, grabbing the boy by the arm. The boy not only escaped the grasp of the much bigger Ulf but disarmed him by grabbing the blade strapped to his waist and pushing it against his neck in one swift movement. He had good movements but it was nothing impressive as Viking warriors his age were stronger in terms of physical strength.

He had an unorthodox fighting style, and this was the single thing that stood out about him.

This was possible because Ulf had his guard down, as it would have been a different story if he did not but despite this, this was impressive for a child.

"Careful now, Ulf. I don't think Valhalla is for you if a child kills you." Hagen said as Ragnar chuckled.

This infuriated Ulf, he immediately kicked the child in the stomach, forcing him to drop to his knees.

He pulled his punch due to the overwhelming size difference as they were to deliver the child to King Askild in one piece because he was unpredictable when in a foul mood and they would rather not be on his bad side but something was clear, this child had fighting experience.

And the three Vikings right there knew he had potential.

"What was that?" Ulf thought to himself, feeling a bit uneasy.

-

Asger, they are making their move!" Arvid warned but Asger's face wasn't one of impending doom, it was one of glee and delight despite his men not sharing this enthusiasm.

"This is it! This is why we are alive! The gods have decided that this is our fate! We did not choose to be here, the gods did and whether you die or live has been decided by them…" Asger said in a thunderous voice, unsheathing his blade as he continued.

"Let's fight and die like warriors, and if we survive, we shall have even greater stories to tell our loved ones in Valhalla!" Asger said, his men seeing how unafraid of death he was rallied behind him as his confidence was instilled in them like a contagious virus.

"We will slaughter every single one of them and the ones we can't slaughter, our sons will slaughter them for us!" Asger said as his men laughed faintly.

Arvil stared in admiration, he completely changed the atmosphere with just a few words and in such a battle as this, morale was very important.

But this didn't change the reality of things, the probability of them emerging victorious from this battle was less than 1%, but these odds were better than 0 and Asger gladly took it.

The enemies were here, Asger braced himself as his men rallied behind him.

He met the eyes of Egil, watching the man unmount his horse as he casually walked towards them without fear, the scars had an effect on everyone but Asger and Arvid who was not moved or impressed by it allowing Egil to instinctively narrow down who Asger was to these two.

"I go by the name Egil. As you know it, today is the day you all will die but our king has offered mercy. He spares the life of the one named Asger so he may tell your stories to the Vikings that came after him. Do you accept the king's mercy?" Egil's words of mercy were delivered like it was a royal decree from Odin himself.

Asger's men shot him glances, they questioned if he would take this offer because they knew if they were the ones presented with this offer they would jump at the opportunity, they were just men after all.

Asger stood for a moment and looked left and right.

"I-I get to live?" He said in a timid voice, with Egil nodding in affirmation.

Things weren't looking, it seems like the offer to give up his men in exchange for his own life was one he would consider, what was the big talk mere moments ago?

These were the thoughts going through the head of his men, cursing why they ever stepped foot on this land, but the sound of liquid hitting the ground soon brought them all back to reality and they could not believe their eyes.

Asger was literally taking a piss right in front of everyone, causing his men to burst into laughter.

"THAT IS OUR ASGER!" They shouted in unison.

"I would have accepted your offer but I would rather die with these low lives," Asger said, stretching forth his arm as Arvid tossed him a spear.

"How about a duel? If you win, I come with you and slaughter my warriors myself. What do you say?" Asger muttered with a devious smirk plastered across the face of Egil as he unsheathed his blade.

"I accept your offer. May the fallen embrace Valhalla," Egil said with a circle being formed around both warriors with no one permitted to interrupt this divine brawl that had been blessed by Odin himself.