Have I got a treat for you this chapter, guys! Previously there was lots of fighting, and lots of explosions. And now... there's more fighting!
Jokes aside though, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And thanks to KorrieChan and Dabzzygirl(Guest) for the reviews last chapter! You guys are great!
Now, let's dive back into it! (Apologies for any grammatical errors!)
Hiccup, Toothless, and the group of a hundred that was at his side followed him as they ran along a somewhat wide but long dirt path through the forest. Behind him, Astrid lead the fifty Hooligan warriors to his right, and to his left, Magnus led his Warsung warriors.
However, all Hiccup could really think about at that moment as they ran was of what they would encounter along the way. Five minutes or so had passed by since they started running, and so far there was nothing. Not a single Viking, Barbarian, or Varangian.
Hiccup raised his hand up in the air, signaling the group to stop, and by command they did as ordered. However, Magnus and Astrid looked at him confused.
"Why are we stopping?" asked Magnus. "We have no time to waste, Hiccup. We have to continue moving or else our army will-"
"Wait, Magnus." he interrupted, looking around. "Something… isn't right."
Astrid walked forward, still curious. "What are you talking about? So far, our journey through this forest has been smooth without any ambushes or obstacles. What could be go wrong about this?"
"That's the thing, Astrid." he replied, turning to face them. "We haven't been ambushed once. My father said that ambushes were to be expected along this route… something is terribly off here."
"...He's right." Fishlegs replied agreeing as he turned his head to look around. "I think… we're being watched."
It was then that suddenly, Toothless began to growl as he sniffed the air and caught an unfamiliar scent that was not part of the group. They were indeed being watched.
Hiccup raised a brow. "Toothless?"
Toothless' head was now faced towards a group of bushes to the right of the path, and upon falling gaze on it, he growled louder. Then, without even hesitating a single bit, Toothless sent out a plasma blast towards the bushes, instantly lighting them aflame.
As leaves on the bushes were burnt, Hiccup and the others saw enemy scouts with bows armed in hand now revealed before them. The blast from Toothless was enough to not just reveal them, but to also send one of them back covered in fire, thus catching attention.
All of the Warsung and Berkians immediately turned to face to the right, and both sides were soon caught eye to eye with each other, giving off surprising looks.
Heather gasped. "Uh, Hiccup?"
"SHIELD WALL!"
The group quickly reacted to Hiccup's command, and a shield wall was formed at the moment right before arrows were released upon them.
"Let's send them back to the seas!" one of them yelled.
For a time, they all stood there with their shields covering them as a volley of two dozen arrows kept pummeling down on them, placing them in a tight position.
Hiccup looked at Astrid as they ducked behind the wall, and she looked at him.
"What do we do!?" she asked him.
He gave a shrug at first, trying to think on the situation. As he stared back behind the shield wall however, he noticed the archers that they had brought with them ducking there with the Dragons. A smirk formed on his face.
"Quick! When I give the order, open the shield wall!"
Sigurd looked back at Hiccup. "Are you crazy!? They're going to kill our men!"
"Just do as I tell you! Trust me!" the scrawny Viking replied back to him.
The blonde Viking sighed, looking at Magnus who gave a nod at him. "Alright… archers, knot your arrows!"
The archers quickly ran up to the front of the line with their bows in hand, still behind the shield wall, and they attached their arrows to their strings.
And as they did, the advantage soon came upon them, and there was a quick pause of arrow fire. That was when Hiccup gave the order.
"LOOSE!"
The shield wall opened up, and a volley of fifteen arrows flew towards the enemy scouts who stood there like cattle ready for the slaughter, and all of the arrows as a result managed to find their targets, killing nearly half of the scouts.
Hiccup grunted. "Toothless, now!"
The Night Fury roared and jumped up into the air whilst the enemy scouts were unable to reload, and he released another plasma blast upon them, this time hitting four of them, and with more than half of them wiped out, they attempted to flee.
However, Stormfly and Meatlug ran forward just as the wall came apart, and they let loose their flames upon the scouts, finishing them off. Stormfly even let loose her spine shot into a few of them, giving off more damage.
Hiccup raised his hand up in the air as he ordered the group to hold, and he gazed upon the corpses of those that laid before him. The area they had initially hid in was now burning to a crisp as a few trees were lit aflame, and the ground was charred.
"Who were these men?" Hiccup asked, catching his breathing from the suspense and action.
Magnus leaned down as he approach one of them with arrows plunged into their chests. "I don't know, but these scouts don't look like Vikings. Their helmets and armor are somewhat similar, but their hair is too dark and black to be that of Scandinavian. They look more like… Germanians."
"Barbarians?" Hiccup asked.
Magnus nodded. "Indeed. And if there's more of them nearby, then we may as well be walking into a trap."
"Then perhaps we should stay closer, and move faster." Heather suggested, gripping her axe. "If there's more of them hiding out there, best we find them before they find us. Plus, we're just wasting our time right now the more we sit here and talk."
"I agree." said Astrid, petting Stormfly. "I don't want to see our army shattered and routed upon us returning to them. It's best we continue."
Hiccup nodded, facing Toothless and the warriors of the Hooligans and Warsung. "Then let's not say anything else any longer. Let's continue to move! You still with me, Toothless?"
…
The trail lasted slightly longer for the group as they continued to run along it, and by the time that Hiccup and the others had reached a certain point, confusion hit him, as well as Magnus, Astrid, Heather, Fishlegs, and Sigurd.
In front of them laid not the end of the trail, but rather the opened gate of a camp. A camp surrounded by spikes and filled with tents and small huts, along with a wooden watchtower built to overlook everything.
"Magnus." began Hiccup. "This… shouldn't be here, should it?"
Magnus shrugged. "I don't remember this being here before… perhaps we took a wrong turn?"
"I don't know." Astrid replied, crossing her arms. "But maybe, this is part of the trail? The path does not seem to go anywhere else but here, otherwise we would have noticed a different direction along the way-"
"Wait!" Sigurd interrupted, pointing in the distance. "Look over there!"
From afar, movement could be seen as several dozen warriors spotted the Warsung and Berkian troops. Warriors of whom were of the same kind that Hiccup, Astrid, and the others had slain.
"Archipelago Vikings, in sight!" a warrior called out.
The captain of the group gnarled, unsheathing his warblade. "Come on, warriors! Let us show these fools the berserking strength of the Bloody Berserkers! FOR CHIEFTAIN KARVEIN!"
"Barbarians!" Heather gasped.
Magnus grunted. "They were camped here!? Gah! To arms, men! Let's take them out!"
Hiccup nodded in agreement to Magnus as he unsheathed both of his blades, raising the Dragon's Blade up in the air and then yelling to his men: "Forward!"
The Berkians and Warsung rushed towards the camp with Hiccup and Toothless at the front. The Night Fury whilst running let out bolts of plasma blast at the enemy, blasting back three or more Barbarians at a time, and soon enough, they clashed.
As both forces impacted into each other, it was the Berkians and Warsung who made the greater hit against the enemy as they rushed through the lines. Once more, fighting took place around every corner.
The Bloody Berserkers struck out with great force and hasty hits, as their name alone described who they were, but Hiccup's group weren't the ones that came entirely unprepared.
As Hiccup entered combat, he struck out in all directions with both his blades, standing back-to-back with Astrid as the two of them spun in circles to slice at their opponents. Using the same tactics as they did back on the beach, they were able to hold their ground.
At times when axes were thrown, Toothless would run in front of the volley and use his wings as a shield to protect Hiccup and his allies that surrounded him. Arrows were even fired down from the tower upon the group. However, the archers firing would eventually run dry and rush out the tower to aid their allies.
But with much going on around, it was difficult to manage.
"Astrid!" Hiccup called out as he caught the warblade of the Barbarian captain, holding it in place.
"Can't right now, Hiccup!" she replied, swinging her axe at a maiden until eventually cutting them down with a gouge down the chest. "I'm more focused on trying to get these damned Barbarians out of the WAY!"
Hiccup grunted, breaking the weapon lock as he spun his blades around in circle, before crossing them at his opponent's neck, decapitating the captain.
He turned around to face Astrid, gripping his blades. "We can never win like this! These Barbarians will out maneuver us if we remain exposed and spread out, we need to cluster them up and-"
"HICCUP!" Astrid shouted, pointing behind him as a Bloody Berserker rushed him with dual weapons in hand.
However, before Hiccup could react in striking, an axe from afar came flying at the Barbarian warrior that was charging him, gouging his right leg and thus causing him to fall to his knees.
Heather came running in, pulling her axe that she threw at the Barbarian before slicing the warrior at his chest, finishing him off. "More keep coming in. We can't hold any longer, or they'll begin to slaughter us!"
Sigurd growled loudly, cutting down a Barbarian. "Get them grouped up! Let's make a slaughter circle for them!"
"Agreed!" Magnus called back. "Warsung! Formed a shield wall! Group them up!"
The Warsung shield bearers and shield maidens ran together, rallying to Magnus as a line was formed in front of him. Hiccup nodded his head to himself at the idea.
"Hooligans, do the same! Rally up! Shield formation!"
A second line was formed as the Hooligan warriors ran fast and passed any Barbarians that tried to strike them. Thankfully, no Hooligan or Warsung warrior thus far was killed. Two lines were now cornering onto the Germanic warriors, backing them up into a choke point until they were pinned against the spikes.
"Fishlegs, do your thing!" Hiccup called out.
"Meatlug, lava blast around 'em!"
The Gronckle in response immediately began to gargle up patches of molten lava around the couple dozen of Barbarians that remained. But they were about to be met with a fiery death.
Hiccup snapped his fingers, and a blast of purple fire began to charge up within Toothless' mouth, causing the Germanic warriors to quickly panic. After a few seconds, the Dragon released it, and the patches of lava were lit aflame as a small plasmic explosion followed.
"SHIELDS, RAISE!" Hiccup bellowed, ordering the shield wall to rise up to prevent hot temperatures from hitting them. Thankfully, they were out of range.
The Bloody Berserkers all the meanwhile screamed as hot flames spread all across their bodies, until it began to hit their bones.
Magnus sighed. "Warsung, lower your shields! Archers, fire at will!"
The Warsung bowmen reacted to the command, aiming their bows above the wall before releasing arrows upon the burning warriors, finishing them off.
After a short moment, the warriors recovered from their shield walls and were free to spread out from their formation, looking around at the little damage they did to the camp.
Hiccup sighed, staring at Magnus. "Best we burn this camp. We can't take any chances of having them use whatever supplies they have here."
"Agreed." Magnus replied. "Let's be done with this and- ...Wait, what's that noise?"
The sudden sound of many boots hitting the ground caught Magnus' attention, and soon everyone's attention was caught. However, Sigurd would be the first to spot the source of the sound.
"The main gate!" Sigurd shouted.
From outside the camp, over two hundred Bloody Berserkers came rushing in through the front entrance, stopping short as they stood many yards away from the group. The Berkians and Warsung gripped their weapons tight, raising them in front of them in case the enemy was to charge.
However, they did not prepare to rush them… at least not until a large figure stood out from the Germanic battalion. It was a large pale man with long and braced black hair, along with a black beard. His shoulders had dark black fur and feathers, and his armor consisted of strong wool and leather, as well as a grey gambeson.
Before the group, the leader of the Barbarians stepped forward.
It was Karvein, High Chieftain of the Bloody Berserkers.
Karvein growled, laying his eyes upon Hiccup. "Look what vermin has been sneaking through our forests, lads! Hah… fresh meat for the slaughter!"
"Oh boy…" Fishlegs gulped.
Karvein raised his great axe. "BLOODY BERSERKERS! RUSH THEM!"
Immediately battle cries filled the camp as the Germanic warriors charged Hiccup and his group, but Hiccup had a plan up his sleeve.
"Dragons, fire! Toothless, plasma blast! Light the ground up!"
The Dragon obliged, quickly letting forth two charged plasma blasts which not only caused the Barbarians to back up from the heat and halt their charge, but as well as block their way as a line of fire was formed.
Hiccup's voice rose as he gazed to his right. "Quick, everyone! Through the rear gate!"
The Vikings reacted, running into the direction that Hiccup was headed towards with his swords still gripped in his hand. Astrid, Magnus, Fishlegs, Heather, and Sigurd eventually caught up with the rest of the warriors and Dragons behind them once more.
As they ran, the Dragons burnt the camp behind them, and Karvein from afar could be heard roaring in anger.
"YOU WON'T ESCAPE US!" he bellowed. "IF I CAN'T TAKE YOUR HEADS, SOMEONE ELSE WILL!"
Hiccup sighed, shaking his head and refusing to turn around. "There's no going back. We must push on, no matter what stands in our way..."
…
Throughout the group's travel in the forest, all they had seen so far were only trees, tents, and very few Scandinavian Vikings along the route. At times they would see corpses along the road, which Hiccup had assumed to have been slaves and prisoners.
What what surprised them the most by far was when they reached a larger camp, with nothing but trees and the terrain surrounding it.
Hiccup glanced upon it as they hid from a distance within the bushes, only four warriors were guarding the entrance into the camp, but no doubt there would be more. This time however, they were up against Vikings.
"Hmm, those Viking colors seem familiar, but I can't say what Clan they're a part of."
Magnus glanced between Hiccup and the Vikings, shaking his head with a sigh as he wiped off his sweat. "I recognize those brown colors underneath their gambesons… and Gods I never thought we'd come across them."
"Who are they?" asked Fishlegs.
Sigurd rose his voice to speak up. "They're the warriors of the Broken Axe Clan. One of the greatest Clans in Scandinavia, however, they're not from Norway."
Magnus nodded. "Aye… I believe they come from Denmark? Well all I can say right now is that it doesn't matter. What we need to do right now is sneak in there and take them by surprise."
"I've got this." replied Hiccup. "Astrid, Heather, Sigurd, follow me."
The three nodded at Hiccup as they begun sneaking behind him through the bushes, making their way around to the right side of the entrance slowly. However, upon getting closer, less and less bushes became apparent, and then they were at a dead end.
"Damn it!" Heather grunted. "How are we supposed to sneak up to them now? If we run out and try to hide behind the trees, they'll catch us immediately."
They all sat there in the bushes for a moment, silent and thinking, but Hiccup was not sure of what to think. However, Sigurd had an idea up his sleeve.
"Watch this." he said, before letting out a light whistle to catch the guard's attention.
The two guards on the right side, a swordsman and axeman, noticed the sound, and they looked at each other confused.
"What's that noise?" one of them asked.
The other one with his helmet turned to the left, facing the four Vikings' direction. "It's coming from over there! We'd better check it out!"
Astrid looked at Sigurd, wide eyed. "Are you crazy? They'll track our position!" she whispered.
"Not for long…" he smirked. "Hiccup, get ready to strike! Just you and me."
By this point, Hiccup understood the gist of it, and nodded as the two Viking guards got closer and closer. Once they were right in front of their position, he and Sigurd lashed out at them.
Hiccup went for the one without a helmet, aiming towards the throat and dragging him into the bush, while Sigurd went for the one with the helmet who was as well more heavily armored, repeatedly stabbing through his gambesons until he bled out to death. He dragged him as well into the bush.
From the distance, the other two guards noticed their allies being dragged into the wildlife, and they were immediately on alert.
"We'd better check it out!" one of them said.
Sigurd nodded, chuckling. "Everything's going to plan. Astrid, Heather, prepare to strike!"
And that's exactly. what they did. The spearman and axeman closed in on their location, and eventually the two maidens struck out at them, quickly finishing them and dragging them into the bushes.
The coast was now cleared.
"Now!" Hiccup called out with his voice risen up, and the whole group quickly rushed into the camp with their weapons out, and with their Dragons by their side.
However, upon entering the camp, what they all saw was nothing more than empty tents and structures. The whole camp was empty. The smithy was not being operated, the lumber mill was not sawing wood, and the tower was not manned.
Where was everyone?
Hiccup stepped forward, standing in the center of the camp. "Something's not right. Where are they?"
Suddenly before them, a large iron and wooden barred gate opened, revealing an opening with nothing but puddles of water and debris. To Hiccup, something was off.
"Well, I guess the only way now is forward." Hiccup exhaled, releasing a breath of air.
Magnus nodded in agreement. "Let's press forward. We don't know what else awaits us."
The group hesitantly followed behind as they all headed through the gate and into the opening... However, upon entering, they found themselves surrounded by walls of iron and wood all around them. And worse, the way out was blocked.
They all realized now that they weren't in an opening. They were in an Arena.
However… when Hiccup looked up to his left, that was when he saw him.
Before them from above on a large balcony, another Viking Chief stood. He had scars on his face, and wore no shirt aside from a dark leather gambeson. Barely any chest armor. His leggings were dark mail, and his boots were plate. His hair was long and dark, and he had no beard
Most notably however, the Chief did not have a left hand. Instead, it was replaced with the black blade of an axe.
Before them, was High Chieftain Hjalmar, leader of the Broken Axe Clan.
"Hah, fresh sheep to grind up!" he shouted from above, taunting the group.
Magnus stepped forward, his blade remained drawn. "You fool! Release us from this Arena, or I will cut you down myself!"
"RELEASE YOU!?" he bellowed, cackling upon hearing Magnus' threat. "KNOW THIS, OUTSIDERS; YOU ARE NOW WITHIN MY ARENA! YOU WILL EITHER LEAVE ALIVE, OR AS DEAD ROTTEN BODIES!"
Suddenly, the roars and cheers of warriors could be heard as from above, Broken Axe warriors jumped headlong down into the Arena, charging the group and advancing on them with insane fury and bloodlust.
It was a trap.
Hiccup slightly panicked, but regained control of himself as he raised his blades up. "ADVANCE!" he roared, charging with the Berkians and Warsung as Toothless let out a plasma blast, sending a few Broken Axe warriors into oblivion.
Total fighting then broke out in the arena as both sides clashed.
Hjalmar laughed. "NOW, KILL ONE HUNDRED OF MY WARRIORS TO LEAVE… OR YOU MAY DIE TRYING!"