The Son Of Ragnar

437  What Next, King Ragnar?

Tyr was confronted by his older brother but he found it insulting that Bjorn would dare raise his sword at him.

"What do you think you're doing, brother?" Tyr questioned, his tone cold and void of emotions.

"You have gone too far," Bjorn responded and all Tyr did was chuckle and before Bjorn knew it, another of his men was right in the torso before he could react.

"Is that far enough for you, Bjorn Ironside?" Tyr mocked, Ragnar didn't recognize the person before him.

Bjorn gritted his teeth because Tyr gave him no choice, Bjorn had to show his loyalty was far greater to Kattegat than it was to his family or he could lose his armring.

The Vikings muttered and murmured, there was no doubt that Tyr was in the wrong but was Bjorn strong enough to halt his brother?

"Bjorn, if that sword is still pointed at me at the count of fi-!" Tyr couldn't finish his sentence because Bjorn had swung at him, attempting to cut his brother in half but Bjorn had seen Tyr fight too many times to know that this wasn't enough.

This swing was to create an opening for a follow-up attack but how would Tyr counter this, that was the question.

But it dawned on Bjorn that Tyr wasn't planning on dodging it and this forced Bjorn to halt his blade mere inches from cutting his brother in half.

Right there and then, Bjorn's weakness was revealed and Tyr smirked in response.

Before Bjorn could retract his sword, Tyr had already closed the distance and landed a blow right at the underside of his jaw, sending him flying to the ground.

"That is the difference between you and me, brother…" Tyr said but before he could proceed, he felt the  Grjötgardbmetallic blade of his father resting on his shoulder.

"That is enough, Tyr…" Ragnar said; he noticed that Tyr's bloodlust had peaked for some reason.

He had heard about such things happening to warriors, it was a state that Erik The Berserker was constantly in but something must have triggered Tyr's bloodlust.

Ragnar retraced it to the rage he felt when he saw the dirt thrown on him by people not even worthy to gaze at him to Tyr.

Tyr took a deep breath the moment his father said this and with it, his axes dropped.

This was enough to calm him down because Tyr's loyalty to his family was on the fanatical side.

'Y-You hit like a girl, I guess being married must have dulled your sense…" Bjorn teased his brother as he got up to his feet.

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"...Bjorn," Tyr muttered and the person that Tyr had seemingly killed woke up, he had used the blunt side of his sword to knock him unconscious.

Bjorn heaved a sigh of relief but he also knew that it wasn't his brother's fault, to say the least.

Bjorn chuckled because Tyr could have easily killed him after he showed his inability to but he didn't despite his frenzy.

"Everyone back to work, there is nothing to see here," Bjorn commanded and the Vikings did just that.

Salgard watched the brothers fight and something about what he just experienced irked him to the soul.

"This feeling…" Salgard thought; it was the same feeling he felt when he encountered the Berserker tribe.

Salgard kept his mouth shut because there was no telling if Tyr was associated with them but judging from his skin tone and how he came here in the first place.

He could question that possibility but the way Northumbria fell was far too easy.

The enemies could have easily crushed their forces so why didn't they?

What did Tyr say to the man that they had captured that made him take such a careless risk?

"Something isn't right," Grjötgard said bluntly.

"You feel it too, brother…" Salgard muttered.

The gigantic man then proceeded to confront Ragnar, they had captured Northumbria but did they plan to hold it? They couldn't hold it with the men at their disposal.

That would be a fool's errand, he didn't care much for what Tyr had done in terms of stopping the Vikings from raping as this was something he, himself, never partook in.

The plan was to raid and get as many treasures as they could get before returning.

The first plan was seemingly successful but how would they get away?

Their ships had been burned so there was no escape even if they wanted to.

"King Ragnar…" Grjötgard said and the conversation he was having with his children came to an abrupt stop.

"General…" Ragnar responded, showing him the respect that he was worthy of.

"We have taken Northumbria thanks to Tyr's genius but what next? The enemies and the other Kingdoms should be on alert for the fall of Northumbria," Grjötgard said, raising concerns to their predicament.

There was no way that at least one person hadn't slipped through the cracks after Northumbria fell.

It was impossible to secure the Kingdom that fast so it was a good guess to assume that someone had gone to inform the others.

"We have the King, the other Kingdoms might be wary but they wouldn't do anything stupid," Ragnar responded.

"King Ragnar, you assume that the others are allies with this Kingdom but if that was the case, why didn't those allies help in the defense of Northumbria?" Grjötgard pressed on and this was a good point.

Ragnar had studied this King and it was clear that the other Kingdoms didn't chip in because he thought he had it handled.

"His pride got in the way, Grjötgard," Ragnar said.

Grjötgard sighed, Ragnar was right but he could tell by Ragnar's face that he too knew something was amiss.

They had far too few men to do anything, they could last at most an hour if the enemies decided to pounce on them without considering their King.

Time wasn't their friend and Ragnar knew it.

They had to get out of there as soon as possible.

-

Thorgard was welcomed with drinks and food, he was starving so this was an offer he couldn't refuse.

He devoured the meal before him without hesitation but he had company, Alf sat across him.

"Do you see? Ecgberht has chosen to stay so what do you intend on doing?" Alf asked the young Viking.

Thorgard, however, was busy with the meat in his mouth.

The seasoning was something else, he hadn't eaten something this good in ages, even in Rogaland.

The flavors melted right off his tongue but he wasn't oblivious that he was within enemy territory.

His eyes constantly scanned the camp, trying his best to establish how many there were but this was nought.

This was a camp that had existed for quite some time, it didn't just spawn out of the blue.

"Ecgberht, I'm afraid there is no convincing him…" Thorgard managed to respond amid the chewing.

"What's your plan?" Alf asked, he was surprisingly eager to know what Thorhard was up to despite being an enemy.

But Thorgard knew he was loyal to riches above all else, typical of someone in his position.

"You do know Tyr has been killed, right? There is no way even he could have survived 13:51

that attack…" Alf wanted to give Thorgard a reality check.

The Vikings for some reason believed him to be this unstoppable force of chaos but he was just a man that wouldn't be able to overcome situations such as that.

He has seen it so many times already, great men fall in battle.

"Are you familiar with the title he has?" Thorgard asked as a smile creased his face.

"Title? Is he not a Prince?" Alf questioned, this showed that while he might know who Tyr was, the information he had on him was severely limited.

"Tyr the undead, you simply can't kill the man…" Thorgard boasted proudly.

"As long as he bleeds, he can be killed," Alf shot down this notion immediately but Thorgard wasn't about to argue and he didn't need to.

The messenger reached them, he was on horseback so it made his travel a lot faster and the proximity they were from the distance they were from the Kingdom aided in the message being delivered within a few hours after its fall.

He said something in a language that Thorgard couldn't understand but the sense of urgency in his face and Alf's stunned facial expression told him all he needed to know.

"I-It can't be…!" Alf blurted out, he was sure he had sided with the winning side because, on paper, the Vikings stood no chance.

"I told you, you can't kill Tyr…" Thorgard bragged as he took a sip from the cup before him.

"That's not just it…!" Alf exclaimed and Thorgard raised a brow because what could be more surprising than a dead man walking?

"Speak up Alf," Thorgard requested before taking another sip.

"Northumbria, it has fallen!" Alf revealed and the moment these words made their way into Tyr's ears, he spat out the drink in his mouth.

"Say what now!?" Even Thorgard couldn't believe this, there was no way that they should have the power to topple a Kingdom with a raiding number.

"You need to leave Thorgard…" Alf whispered, this development would no doubt put Thorgard on their radar and Alf could no longer guarantee his safety because he was with the enemy.

"Hit me and run! A horse is waiting on the east, just keep heading that way!" Alf said and Thorgard knew he had no time to waste.

He slammed Alf right in the face before setting off to which the enemies gave chase.

"You better survive… Thorgard Gardsson," Alf muttered under his breath.