"We can't attack the Dark Legions straight on like my father did. If the Alliance is to stand a chance, we need to weaken them before they can bolster their numbers, but to do that, we need more men."
Hiccup and the others all stood circled around the war-table within the great hall, discussing their next course of action. It was the same stone table Stoick used when Berk was at war against the dragons under the Red Death years ago, and it had been a long time since it was officially used...
But now the time had come once again.
In front of the young chieftain laid a map of all of Midgard, which showed the Archipelago in the center, along with all the three major land masses in the east, west, and north; the eastern continent of Scalmodan, the western continent of Lardalor, and the northern continent of Valnr - which was where Arn came from, as well as the enemy.
Valnr was their main focus, and it would be there where their war would take place.
The continent was divided into two by a mountain range that stretched towards the east and west. Whilst the northern part of Valnr was occupied by the Dark Legions, the south was where Arn's tribe was based.
But even then, Hiccup was not so certain where to start.
"...Honestly, I don't know where exactly we should make the first move. I'm not familiar with this continent, so I don't know what's what," he said, now looking up at Arn who stood to his left.
"But you are, Arn. Valnr is your home, after all."
"Aye," said Arn, glancing down at the map. "But even then, I am not the greatest strategist in the room. All I can say is that the only way we can defeat the Dark Legions is if we kick them out of the south, and drive them back into the north beyond the Obsidian Mountains, which divides the continent in two..."
"...However, you are right about what you said. The numbers we currently have aren't good enough to weaken the enemy. If we set sail with what we have, this Alliance of ours will route before it can make its first victory, and any reinforcements we call on won't make it to us in time… though I may have a solution; probably something I should've revealed a while ago."
"Eh? Is that so?" asked Gobber from across the table, to which Arn nodded.
"The Alsworn Tribe is not the only faction found in Southern Valnr that can help us. There are three other factions that would perhaps be willing to help us, if you can persuade them. One is an elven realm, one is a dwarven kingdom, and the other is a tribe made up of a race that none of you know; they call themselves the votun."
"Together, these factions have helped the Alsworn with keeping stability in Valnr for the longest time, and for the most-part, their leaders were good friends to my father. But unlike the Alliance, we never officially united. We only remained distant allies."
"More dwarves, eh?" chuckled Morgrim. "Hah! I will enjoy meetin' their king!"
Hiccup's mind flooded with ideas at the mentioning of these new factions. Could they really pull it off?
"What can we do to earn their trust?" he asked, heavily intrigued.
"I am not sure," replied Arn, placing a finger down on the map. "But if you want, I can tell you where each of them lie. Knowing where they are will make the journey easier for you."
"Hmph. Might as well," replied the young chieftain with crossed arms. "Let's start with... the votun...?"
"Heh. I think the votun will interest you," nodded Arn. "They are among the strongest warriors in all of Valnr, residing in the most southwestern part of the continent, in a region known as Votunheim. They are half-giant half-humans with muscles that are harder than the strongest rock, and they stand at twice the height of an average man. They are part of the Dragonskarn Tribe, which for hundreds of years has been known for monster-hunting. Their chieftain, Ragnar, was my father's closest friend, and as such, I believe he will be the easiest to convince. With his tribe on our side, the Dark Legions' monsters will become our prey."
Hiccup gave off a look of approval as his eyes continously gazed over the map. "Hmm… How about the elves?"
"The elves, huh?" grinned Arn as his finger landed on a spot west of Aesilgard.
"The light elves of Valnr reside west of Aesilgard. They have the most disciplined army on the continent, and aim towards peace and prosperity. They are part of the realm of Nordell, which is known for its creative use of magic, and thus, the elves there a very intelligent people."
"On the other hand, the King of Nordell, Elendar, is quite a... unique elf, especially since he is known for having a surprisingly close friendship with the dwarven king. We get him join us, and... well- let's just say the enemy won't be having a good time."
Lornduil from across the room smirked with a nod. "Meeting their king will be an honor."
"And with that, there is only one faction left," said Arn as he pointed towards a mountain north of Aesilgard.
"The dwarves that live in the mountain-city of Dalgard are Valnr's best engineers and smithies. Their kingdom, out of all the others, have been attacked by the orcs the most, and ever since they came, the dwarves have been hard at work building weapons and machines of war. It's crazy. However, they are also known for forging the strongest armor on the continent, using a steel-like metal that they call midgarite."
"As for their ruler, the mountain-king Kharinz is a hearty dwarf, but the last time I heard from him, it was nearly a year ago. The dwarves say he's dealing with a problem, and it's one I don't know of. Personally, I think if we can help him with this mysterious problem, he'll repay by joining us. The enemy will be running with cannons shooting at their backs."
"Hah! Ye can bet yerself on that one!" laughed Morgrim.
"So Hiccup," said Arn. "What do you think?"
At first, the young chieftain remained uncertain. Even after hearing all that Arn had to say about the other factions inhabiting the continent, it was nonetheless hard for him to choose.
However, the race that caught his eyes the most were the votun. Clearly, he had never seen half-giants before, yet at the same time, he had a strange gut-feeling about them. Deep down, he believed that they were the most suitable choice.
And thus, the lad's eyes narrowed up to Arn.
"The votun seem like the best to begin with," said Hiccup. "You said yourself that their chief was a close friend to your father, so maybe they'll be the easiest to ally with. Maybe even you can convince them."
"Hmph. Sounds good to me," nodded Arn. "Again, I can assure you, each of these factions won't be a push-over for the orcs."
"Honestly, I am just wondering how our own tribe will hold up," said Astrid, who stood on Hiccup's right. "After the speech you made earlier today, we managed to get more than three thousand of our people into the Alliance. That's more than half our tribe..."
"...However, the vast majority of them are not ready for combat."
"Well at least it's bigger," replied Hiccup, turning his head towards the elven and dwarven king. "What about you guys? Do you plan to bring more men?"
"Aye!" loudly replied Morgrim. "Taemorrow, the rest of Khaz'ardul's fleet will set sail. It'll take a week, but we'll have three thousand more dwarves within our host."
"The same goes for Lightwood," added Lornduil. "An army just as large sails from the realm, but it too will take a week for the fleet to reach Berk."
Hiccup lightly sighed as he placed both of his hands against the table. "We can't wait for that long. We'll need to be in Valnr by then, and even with these numbers, it won't be enough. We still need more men. Hel, maybe even more vikings."
"Don't worry. Once I decide to contact with the Alsworn, I will order its forces to amass. I promise you," Arn assured him. "We'll have another six thousand vikings."
"But what about the Berserker and Outcast tribes?" asked Valka. "We could always try to convince them to help us with-"
"Our disputes with them has grown us an unfriendly reputation, mom," stated Hiccup. "They may have been attacked a few times by the orcs, but I still doubt Alvin and Dagur woulx want to help us."
"And speaking of problems, we still have one problem of our own that we need to deal with. Snotlout."
"Snotlout?" the riders asked in near unison.
"But isn't he practically useless now? Most of his clan left him," stated Fishlegs, to which Hiccup shook his head.
"That maybe be so, Fishlegs. But Snotlout has to pay for what he's done. As long as he's in his village scheming some mad plan, or even my assassination, he's a danger. He must be dealt with."
"That includes his lap dogs Agatha, Wartihog, and Dogsbreath," Astrid added on.
"So how do we go by doing that?" asked Eret. "We only have three hundred vikings available at the moment, and he has managed to fortify the defenses of his town. My scouts reported that we only outnumber him by a hundred. We don't have enough."
"Have you forgotten about us?" asked Lornduil with a light chuckle. "You Berkians literally have a thousand elves and a thousand dwarves guarding your town."
"And as well as a fleet!" Morgrim pointed out. "This amateur 'Snotlout' stands no chance, lad!"
"But what about his men?" asked Hiccup. "Sure they may be loyal to him, but I want to give some of them a chance to surrender. Plus, it's not them I'm going for. It's Snotlout."
And the young chieftain had a good reason for it.
When nearly all of Clan Jorgenson left to rejoin the Berkian Tribe, it was because they realized that Snotlout was merely using them as puppets for his own gain. He led them not in the name of the clan, but in the name of himself, and when the storm that ruined much of Jorgenson Village came, that was when Snotlout showed his true colors, for he started stealing food from his people to feed himself, along with their gold to pay the workers to repair his own hut and hall.
Everything bad that happened was not because of Clan Jorgenson, but because of Snotlout.
Morgrim stroked the bristles of his beard. "So what d'ye want tae do then?"
"Take Snotlout by surprise," Hiccup answered. "We'll take the warriors we have available to attack him, but we'll also need more than that. Lornduil and Morgrim, I need you two to each lend over three hundred elven and dwarven warriors. The amount we'll have will make the attack on his village decisive and quick enough. I will lead them."
"Alright. And what is your plan of attack, chief?" asked Astrid, crossing her arms.
"We'll go through the main gates. It may seem stupid, but since they face the forests, we'll be able to use the woods to sneak up to the village without Snotlout knowing. His men won't expect us once we rush out and charge, and they'll be afraid when they see the elves and dwarves with us."
"...Also, I'll need something to fight with. For now, an axe and shield will do until I can forge myself a proper sword."
"I'll have an axe and shield quickly ready for you, lad," winked and nodded Gobber.
"What about the dragons? Should we bring them along?" questioned Fishlegs.
"Only Toothless," Hiccup replied with his head shaking. "He is the best when it comes to stealth, and he can easily cause our foes to run off in fear. One plasma blast, and I believe we should be able to take down the gate... Eret?"
"Should work," the older viking commented. "Though their walls and defenses are well fortified, their main gates are not. Set them on fire, and they'll break open like-"
"Hang on a moment!" interrupted Ruffnut. "So you're telling me; we're going to sneak up to the main gates of Snotlout's village, scare and beat the living Loki out of his men, and then rush through the town and deal with Snotlout?"
"Precisely. Except I want to give some of his men a chance to surrender."
"Nine hundred against two hundred," said Tuffnut as he lifted both hands up in a thumbs up. "Well what are we waiting for!?"
...
Snotlout stormed out of the great hall in a fit of anger with his sword and shield in hand. He marched towards the main gates with twelve men at his side, as well as Dogsbreath, Wartihog, and Agatha.
"Grr… how could four of our men just disappear?" he grunted as he walked hastily. "I ordered them to guard the gates, and you say they're gone!?"
"Like we said, we're unsure, Snotlout," replied Dogsbreath who carried a great axe over his shoulder. "I was told one of them went out into the woods for some reason - as if they saw something, and when they didn't return, three more followed. Only two warriors guarding the gate remained."
"Well now it's about to be fourteen," responded Snotlout.
Upon reaching the gates, Snotlout and his warriors climbed up the ladders leading atop the walls, and looked over into the forest for anything.
However, they saw nothing.
Snotlout angrily looked back Dogsbreath, Wartihog, and Agatha. "And you say they saw something!? I don't see anything there, you fools! Just forest!"
"We're just telling you what those two guards told us," replied Wartihog - pointing them out down below. "It's not like these woods have wolves or-"
Wartihog's head turned to face towards the woods, and before he could even finish, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw a bloody object flying through the air which landed in front of the two guards at the gates.
"Oh gods!" gagged one of them.
Upon closer examination, they realized that it was a head. A head that belonged to one of the missing four guards.
"What the…" gasped Snotlout. "What is going on here!?"
Suddenly three more bloody heads came flying out from the woods, likely belonging to the other three guards, as they too rolled towards the feet of both warriors down below.
And then it happened…
They heard screaming coming from the woods in the distance, and as Snotlout looked closer he saw a group of familiar figures, moving fast towards them; one of them he recognized.
"Haddock!?"
He spotted Hiccup with an axe and shield in hand as he was swiftly charging the two guards in front of the gates, and at his side were Toothless, Astrid, Arn, Fishlegs, and the Twins - roaring with their weapons in hand.
"CHARGE!" bellowed Hiccup.
What came next totally shocked Snotlout as he heard more battle cries follow. Looking behind them, he saw what he thought was the impossible.
He saw a large group of vikings, elves, and dwarves rushing hastily for the gates. Soon he realized what he saw was no ordinary warband, but an army of nine hundred. An army of three races he thought would never work together, and they just kept on coming.
But that was just the start.
"CALL ALL THE GUARDS TO THE GATE. NOW!" yelled Snotlout.
As Hiccup rushed towards the two guards in front of him, his legs began moving faster, and his feet stomped harder and harder. Upon closing in on the first guard, he immediately raised his axe, and then brought it down...
Just as a fun helpful tip, to those who do not know how to properly say Valnr, it is pronounced V-All-Nerr. Feel free to use this as a reference if needed!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Thanks for reading!