I am going to admit, writing this chapter was a hell because of all the encounters I had to put in, plus, it resulted in much repetition - at least to my perspective. But regardless of that, I hope you guys like this one!
Also, thanks to KorrieChan, dabzzygirl, and zoeki for reviewing last chapter! You guys are great, as usual! (Also zoeki, I PMed an answer to you for the question you asked in your review.)
Update 7/16/18: Made some fixes to grammar and wording.
Right, now then. Let's see where this last act will take us!
"ASTRID, TAKE COVER!"
Hiccup ran over to Astrid, ducking her down as he grasped his arms around to cover her from the incoming Devastator projectile. It seemed he would be the one willing to risk his life for hers.
However, the projectile never met its target.
Instead, shards of burning metal landed around them, and as Hiccup and Astrid looked up to see what happened, they saw Toothless, Stormfly, and Meatlug with Fishlegs atop her. The Dragons stood there defensively in front of them with their mouths opened and lit.
Hiccup was surprised. With a combined effort of speed and precision, the three managed to actually destroy the projectile before it could make it's mark.
The two Vikings sighed as they stood up on their feet, staring at their Dragons with expressions of thankfulness.
"Thanks, Bud." he said to Toothless with a grin, though shortly that grin would be replaced with a serious face as he would look back towards the Iron Wolf Clan warriors who had already begun battle.
The Hooligan and Warsung Tribes had also clashed, thus, he knew it was time to get in on it.
He quickly mounted up atop Toothless, sheathing the Dragon's Blade whilst keeping his strongest and most sturdy blade unsheathed, and quickly, Astrid followed, getting onto Stormfly.
"Right guys, let's make this quarry go boom." Hiccup began. "Astrid, you and Stormfly will assist with our troops. Give our warriors cover, and give them Hel."
"Got it." she replied back.
"Fishlegs. Focus on blasting away the anvils and lit forges for a fiery show. That will surely send our enemies to a crisp."
The larger Viking nodded. "Alright. And what are you going to do?"
The scrawny lad grinned. "I'm going to deal with the Devastator, and then I am going to collapse that Foundry to cease the production of weapons. If the Devastator was made in there, I won't let another one come out of there."
"Now," he sighed. "You all have your parts, so let's do this!"
The three of them cheered in anticipation and excitement as they flew up into the air with their weapons drawn, flying low below the cliffs around so that they could reach their allies, whilst also remaining out of melee range.
As Hiccup and Toothless ascended in the air, the young Viking looked down and saw how the unfolding chaos below began to slowly pick up. Dozens of warriors were at each other's throats, and arrows flew all over the battlefield like it was a siege.
Though in a way, it was a siege.
Hiccup grunted gutturally. "Right, Toothless. Let's get in close, and take out that foul weapon!"
The Dragon growled angrily, letting out a screech as a purple light glowed from his mouth. Fire began to charge up from within, and after a few seconds, Toothless let out a plasma blast towards the engineers arming the Devastator. However, only one of them received the hit.
The two of them looked back at the remaining engineer who was still operating the war machine, squinting their eyes with clear irritation, and as Toothless circled around to let forth another plasma blast, the Devastator immediately open fired upon Hiccup's allies.
The lever was pulled, and a ball of metal and fire once more came flying out of it's barrel and towards a small but clustered amount of warriors. Seven Warsung and Hooligans were blasted back in flames from the fiery explosion, whilst one of them took the brunt of it as parts of their limbs were severed off.
Hiccup could hear their screams from afar, both men and women.
"Damn!" he shouted. "If we take another hit like that, this battle will begin to turn in their favor. We can't let it happen again! ...Looks like we'll have to improvise."
The Rider steered Toothless back from the machine, hovering a distance away from it as they glanced at the engineer who was still arming it. He was about to reload and fire again.
"Right, Toothless. When he fires again, I want you to fire as well so that both the blast and projectile meet… before it can exit it's barrel entirely. You got it, Bud?"
Toothless nodded his head with a heavy release of air from his nostrils, and without a moment to lose, a plasma blast charged up from inside his mouth, and with all the strength he could muster, he held it in until the time was right.
"Hold…" said Hiccup, watching the engineer load up the iron cannon. He still wasn't ready to fire, but as time passed, the resistance of holding back the plasma blast weakened for Toothless. He could not hold it in any longer.
"Hold on Toothless, you almost got it!"
However, as he was about to get to the point, Hiccup looked down to his right and noticed a line of enemy archers forming up on the other side of the quarry, and quickly the Viking started to panic.
"Take aim!" one of the Iron Wolf archers called out.
"Now, Toothless! NOW!"
Toothless could no longer hold it in, and with a strong burst, he let out his plasma blast before instantly maneuvering forward - just in time as the archers began to fire.
"LOOSE!"
The archers let forth their arrows upon command, but thankfully for Hiccup, the arrows missed, and it was Stormfly who gave a response as she flew over the bowmen with Astrid atop her, breathing down magnesium flames and burning the men to a crisp.
The plasma blast sent out by Toothless as well found it's target, and as the engineer pulled the lever, the projectile was met with an abrupt explosion as both the blast and the metal met, resulting in an explosion as the engineer met his demise.
Hiccup cheered. "Nice going, Bud! …Now let's finish up here! Divebomb, Toothless! Aim for that chimney!"
Toothless roared with intimidation to the enemy, surprisingly loud enough to grab their attention as they looked around in fear from the sound that echoed through the wind like thunder.
"What was that!?" one of them shouted.
"What manner of trickery is this!?" another called out.
Toothless suddenly flew up into the air with lightning fast speed as a screech followed. His speed was fast enough to a point where not even a simple archer or siege weapon could aim and get a hit on the Dragon.
And, as the screech reached its peak and Toothless closed in, he let out a powerful plasma blast onto the Foundry's chimney, completely destroying it - and not only that, but flames and debris bursted outwards from the doors of the large forge.
It was a plasma blast that was large enough to send a shockwave of fire through the chimney and into the structure itself.
The Foundry soon as a result slowly started to collapse in on itself, and the remaining Iron Wolf warriors were cut down and blown to bits as Meatlug's lava blasts towards the anvils and forges nearby sent metal and flames flying over the area.
Hiccup breathed intensely, catching his breath as he looked around at what remained of the camp and quarry. It seemed nothing was left aside flames and debris.
From all that happened thus, far he took the time to get a real breather, landing next to Magnus who had finished up with an enemy warrior. He lightly sighed, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"We're finished with this camp." he said in a calm tone.
Magnus however shook his head. "It's not over… even after losing many good men and women today, we still have one last place to go to before we can make this battle successful. But…"
He looked around, desperately trying to spot the way out of the camp, but all he saw was the main gate, and nothing else aside it that led out. Was it a dead end?
However, a keen pair of eyes from Fishlegs was able to spot a way up as he noticed a path leading uphill and out of the camp. It was a small rear gate.
"Over here!" he called out, getting everyone's attention.
The warriors and maidens of the Hooligan and Warsung Tribes rallied towards the gate that led out onto a wider path, quickly making their way out as Hiccup and Magnus were once more at the front of their forces, with the Dragons at the rear.
It was time to continue on.
...
The path leading slightly uphill was indeed rocky, though it was easier to maneuver through as it provided more space for the warriors to follow along, and by this point, an ambush was very unlikely after taking on hundreds of enemy warriors with just a hundred of their own… although it was at a price.
Soon however, the group managed to stumble back once more into a forested area, and before them, a wide hill leading up laid before them. And at the top, a fortified tower with ballistas surrounding it came into view.
"Hold." Hiccup said in a hushed tone before looking around to inspect their surroundings.
From the distance, he could hear chattering between other Viking warriors. He could also tell that they were speaking in Norse.
"It seems there's no other way to pursue them, except a frontal charge." he said to the group in a soft voice. "I don't know what we can expect once we charge them."
"Doesn't matter, now does it?" scoffed Heather. "I just want to make these bastards pay for their running rampant across the Archipelago. And even if we don't win, at least we'll give them what's coming to them."
"Aye." nodded Sigurd. "Let's give them what they deserve."
Hiccup smirked, redrawing the Dragon's Blade from his sheathe and gripping it tightly in his left hand. "Let's do this then." he responded eagerly. "You with me, Toothless?"
The Night Fury responded with a growl, nodding his head at the scrawny Viking. Today, it would either be death, or victory.
And victory is what they would fight for.
Hiccup pulled his right leg back quietly, raising the sword in his right hand up before with a quick slice downwards, ordering the advance as he yelled to make their presence known; "CHARGE!"
The warriors and maidens rushed up the hill, screaming and letting out bloody cries whilst their weapons were raised. Their speed up the hill was with fury and haste, and it didn't take long for the Viking warriors at the top to eventually notice.
"OUTSIDERS!" one of them called out.
The captain commanding the squad at the top grinned, raising his axe as he tilted his head down from above the tower. "POSITIONS! MAN THE ARROW LAUNCHERS! Let's give them Hel!"
The warriors reacted with speed, forming a line at the top of the hill which barricaded the group's way towards the tower…
But that would not stop them.
However, it was then that Hiccup noticed at the top of the watchtower that two arrow launchers were now being operated, and after a short moment passed, they began to fire down arrows upon them.
"SHIELDS, RAISE!" he shouted loudly, getting the warband to raise their shields up in time, but it was barely enough for them to react as the poor timing caused two Vikings to fall from arrow fire.
Still, they continued their charge, feeling the arrows hit their shields with volley after volley. Soon, they were able to reach the battleline of Völsung warriors, causing the arrow launchers to cease fire, and immediately battle was joined.
The Berkians and Warsung bashed their way through the wall, quickly dismantling it as the fighting then began to spread out across the top of the hill. And although the Völsung had dozens of warriors equal to the Berkians and Warsung, it was not enough compared to what the group had in store for them.
However, compared to how Astrid, Fishlegs, and Heather fought in a similar way during the last encounter, Hiccup, Magnus, and Sigurd fought differently.
As Hiccup joined the battle, his ferocity and agility at that moment took hold of him as he begun fighting the enemy as if he were a wild animal. A wintry wolf. Or even a Dragon. Either way, it was about to become a slaughter for the enemy. Rather than relying on just skill and strategy, this time, he relied on his strength.
As an enemy approached him, he would use his haste and speed to strike out at them before the enemy could strike back, causing them for most of the time to react in raising their shields. But Hiccup didn't stop there. He would then raise both of his blades up and strike down at their protection with brute force - stronger than he could have ever imagined wielding.
As a result, the enemy would end up becoming pinned to the ground on their knees from the brutal attack, and from there, Hiccup would cut down the Viking, through the chest or wherever the enemy was most vulnerable.
Magnus fought with both of his hands on the hilt of his weapon, disposing his shield to the side as he stood in one spot, and allowed his enemies to come to him. Once they approached however, the Warsung Chieftain would reply with a flurry of slices and dices where the enemy would not expect it.
When they struck Magnus, the Viking would press his blade against his foe's weapon, pushing them back, disarming them, or placing them off balance. Afterwards, he would strike at the sides, aiming for the chest or limbs before hacking them down.
After finishing, he looked around himself and gave a growl of intimidation, but it was also provoking.
Sigurd wielded two axes in his hand. Being a Scandinavian, he fought similarly like how Magnus or even Ivar would fight. The lad would bring his axes around in a circle whenever someone attempted to strike him, and then he would counter attack them with hacks and slashes towards mainly the chest.
From there, he would go on a rampage and begin a chain attack. The more he fought, the more he craved finding his opponents and hacking them apart. Sigurd would even become swifter in his attacks, and more precise to where he would wish to strike his foe.
As he finished up with his current opponent, he turned around to face behind him, giving off a warcry as he was ready to slash at what he at first assumed was his enemy. However, familiar scrawny arms stuck out towards the Warsung Viking as he nearly made his attack.
"Whoa, hold!" gasped Hiccup, noticing Sigurd nearly about to strike him.
Immediately, the Scandinavian halted his attack, and held his axes up in the air tightly, slowly lowering them as he, Hiccup, and Magnus looked around at what remained of the enemy force.
All of them were slain… except for one.
Hiccup looked up towards the peak of the tower, noticing the captain as he backed up in a panic, giving off an anxious and intimidated tone.
"D- Don't touch me you filthy outsiders!" he shouted, but this just provoked them.
Hiccup grinned. "Nice try." he replied, before turning to glance at his Dragon. "Toothless, get him down here!"
The Night Fury huffed out air from his nostrils, flapping his wings and flying up towards the top of the tower. He immediately grabbed ahold of the war captain, squeezing tightly with his paws before flying down back to Hiccup where he dropped the captain in the middle of many angry Vikings.
Upon being dropped to the ground, the captain chuckled, but wheezed as Magnus grabbed ahold of his neck, choking him.
The Warsung Chief grunted. "What was Ivar's plan all along!?" he demanded. "Fortified camps were set along our path to this overlook, and an army was already in our way upon landing on the shore! You knew easy that any Dragon would've been shot down if they flew near here, but how did you figure out where we would land!?"
The captain laughed, eyes widened insanely at Magnus. "Fool!" he splurted. "You don't know WHAT you are up against! Our King has had plans for you from the start… and you have underestimated him! You have fallen into his trap!"
Magnus gripped his sword tightly, immediately plunging the blade into right the side of the Viking's chest as he screamed.
"What do you mean, you damned raider!? HOW DID HE FIGURE OUT OUR PLOY!?" shouted Magnus.
The Viking gasped for air, gurgling as if he was choking on his own blood, in which in this case he was. "Fool…" he whispered. "The Fall of Dragons… is just beginning..."
"Fall of Dragons…?" Magnus gasped, staring down at the body with his eyes widened, hoping for an answer. But it was too late. All he stared at now was the corpse of a dead raider.
"Dammit!" Magnus said, sighing in desperation from what he heard. And yet the thought about what he heard still made him very curious. The Fall of Dragons. What was it?
This also struck Hiccup as he looked down at the corpse. "The Fall of Dragons? ...Surely it can't just mean that they're going to try and kill all the Dragons?"
"I don't see how they would." Astrid replied, holding the top of the blade of her axe. "If Ivar had any sort of Dragons at his command, he would turn the tide of war in his favor rather than just upright execute them."
Fishlegs arched his brow, rubbing his chin. "So then what could it be?
Heather sighed, shaking her head as she looked outwards to her West. "It doesn't matter guys… look."
The others turned around to face Heather who stood looking out in the distance, and as they walked towards her, they saw the smoke rising up in the air, as well as the intense fighting that was still going on from afar.
Many were dead on the shore.
Although, it was then that Hiccup noticed a mass of Vikings, Varangians, and Barbarians rallying up as they began running into a different direction. However, they were not running away or retreating.
They were heading towards their direction.
"Dammit! We've been spotted!" Hiccup grunted.
"There's at least three hundred of them!" Sigurd gasped, spinning his axes in circles. "It's time for a slaughter!"
Hiccup then looked Eastwards, and in the distance, he saw the port-hold of Skyrsdok, fortified, and guarded with warriors patrolling and watching from afar. Though it was far, he was at least able to see the fleet of ships ported in it's docks with an iron cog ship guarding them.
An idea soon sparked on him though as he spotted a nearby Devastator. Unmanned, and not loaded.
A grin formed on his face.
"Right, gang! New plan!" he said, refreshed with eagerness. "We can hope to hold them off whilst attempting to use our Dragons to destroy that fleet. Thus, we will improvise."
Sigurd rose a brow. "Improvise? What do you mean, Hiccup?"
"That Devastator right there." he pointed out. "It's not loaded or manned. But there's ammunition piled up next to it that we can use upon that center cog ship. Heather, Fishlegs, you two will man and arm that machine. The rest of us will hold off the army until we can get a shot. Then, we'll finish them off."
"Sounds good enough." Astrid replied in agreement.
"Then it's settled." nodded Magnus. "Everyone, to your positions!"
The warriors and maidens immediately fell into position, forming their ranks along the edge of the cliffs and facing towards the marching force of three hundred Vikings, Varangians, and Barbarians. The sound of their boots stomping could be heard from where they were.
The Dragons and archers lined up behind the line of shield bearers and shield maidens, preparing to give everything they have. And all the meanwhile, Heather and Fishlegs were learning how to arm the Devastator.
Eventually, the enemy came into range.
"Archers, knot!" Hiccup shouted, giving his command, and the bowmen reacted on accord as their arrows were loaded and ready.
"Draw!" he continued on with, and once more they reacted on command, drawing their arrows in a disciplined manner until it was time to unleash Hel upon the enemy.
"LOOSE!"
The arrows went flying like rain in the air onto the enemy, and as they landed, nearly a dozen were hit, but that did not stop them.
Hiccup then decided to apply some pressure. And so, he turned to his Dragon. "Toothless, plasma blast!"
Toothless roared, lighting his mouth up with fire and charging it up before letting it out. The blast as a result was able to take down five, but still, it was not enough.
Hiccup looked to his left and right flanks. "Archers, fire at will!"
Upon command from the young Viking, volleys upon volleys of arrows soon followed as the bowmen started to apply real pressure onto the enemy. Even Sigurd took out his bow and began to snipe the enemy with arrows.
However, the enemy would eventually reach the cliffs, and they soon began to climb up them as if they were climbing ladders. To Hiccup, it was like the Siege of Berk all over again.
"Raise shields, Warsung! Here they come!" Magnus shouted, causing the Warsung warriors at the front to put their shields up like a barricade. And as soon as the first few enemy warriors reached them, they were immediately cut down or pushed off the cliff.
The attack had now begun.
Though, as arrows rained over head, and Dragon fire pounded down on the enemy, a Devastator quickly came rolling into view and prepared to fire towards the cliffs.
"Devastator coming in! It's going to blow us to bits!" Sigurd called out, hacking a Barbarian off the cliff.
Hiccup tilted his head to Sigurd. "You worry about these heathens, I'll have the cannon dealt with! Toothless!"
The Night Fury obliged, spreading his wings wide out as he ran to the left to get a clear shot. A screech then immediately followed as he began to charge up a plasma blast towards the Devastator that was firing at them, and as he did, the sound of his charge echoed like a boom through the wind as it was heard even from afar, and soon enough, he let it out.
The bright purple ball of fire went hurling towards the enemy Devastator, and upon impact, the iron cannon would burst into flames and burning metal as it sent a shockwave of fire out, burning more than two dozen warriors.
"Haha! Nice shooting Toothless!" Hiccup replied, still slashing from behind the shield wall as if his weapons were spears. However, despite all he and the group sent out at the enemy, they still kept advancing.
"There's… so many of them." Astrid sighed, becoming exhausted from continuously fighting on. But Magnus would not let another single warrior or maiden, regardless of both Tribes, fall to the enemy.
"Don't give in! We've got them where we want them… WARSUNG, PUSH THEM OFF!"
The Warsung shield bearers in unison replied with a; "HOO!" raising their shields forward and pushing the current wave of enemies off the cliff in a large blob, causing them to be met by falling to their deaths atop their own men and atop the rocks.
Though eventually, the effort would as a whole prevail as the enemy soon began to slowly flee - especially since the Dragons begun blasting chunks of the cliff down onto them. As a whole, they started routing, but would only be met by arrows being plunged into them.
"Haha! Run then, you cowards!" Sigurd taunted.
Astrid laughed. "You messed with the wrong Vikings today, muttonheads!"
The Warsung and Berkians cheered, mocking the enemy who was retreating and getting impaled by arrow fire. After all they went through; to Hiccup, it seemed that even a hundred along with the right strength, skill, and strategy could prevail against nearly a thousand.
However, there was one more thing for them to do before they could move on.
Fishlegs pulled down the latch of the Devastator, readying it up, and thus the war machine was loaded with an explosive shot, ready to be unleashed upon the fleet.
"That's it!" Fishlegs said. "She's loaded, Hiccup. Let's finish this!"
Hiccup nodded, rushing up towards the Devastator whilst also staring at the fleet in the distance, picturing what it would be as soon as it would explode into debris and flames. He knew that a single shot towards the iron cog ship would conflagrate the stocks of oil and tar aboard it, thus it would be enough to destroy the entire fleet ported near.
And so, with a few simple moves of his hand, he would grasp ahold of the lever that would fire the armed war machine…
…And he would pull it.
...
Stoick looked all around him as he finished up with his remaining opponent on the battlefield. After dealing with the general, the army that he and the other Tribes were facing began to splinter and dissipate as one by one, the enemy remnants fell.
And it was then, that he heard a loud boom.
In the distance, to his West, his saw a great burst of flames and smoke fly up into the air in the form of a fiery black cloud, and immediately, he knew what happened.
"They did it…" he said to himself, grinning almost as if he was in a daydream. "Ah, Hiccup. You're going to make a fine Chieftain someday for Berk-"
However, the attention of Dagur approaching him with the other Chieftains would catch his attention, snapping him out of his daydream. From their looks and expressions, it seemed that they were holding up… though they were also somewhat exhausted.
"Stoick…" begun Dagur. "We really did kick the Hel out of those heathens, didn't we?"
The Chieftain nodded back. "Aye… but at a heavy price."
"And a heavy price, indeed," the Berserker replied. "We lost at least four hundred of our warriors today. It seemed that no matter how many we killed, the enemy still kept refreshing their numbers… but I have no clue where they could have been coming from. The sky like rain and snow maybe? Haha…"
"We can't be certain." Arngrim replied. "Those bastards took out a heavy number for our end, but we also did the same. Let's hope the power shifts in our favor though, because it seems our training was worth it."
Alvin chuckled. "Heh, f'three of those Vikings did not 'ave tha strength ta take down a single Outcast. Took 'em twice tha' amount ta actually do sum'fing."
"And that just rests our case of how skilled we are against our combatant." Mala replied.
Just as they were about to continue their conversation however, Throk, Mala's right hand, rose his voice up as he pointed out towards the distance where he spotted a mob of figures coming to them. "Look!"
Everyone turned their heads to the West, staring down the figures who ran towards them - exhausted, and… familiar. Stoick immediately knew who it was, and soon the Chieftains figured it out as well. They, along with Stoick, and the army, cheered for Hiccup and the group.
"He did it, didn't he?" Snotlout said, smirking. "Now that's what I call being a Viking."
Hiccup jogged with his blades sheathed and drawn. By that point he was exhausted from fighting and going through so much along the path to Skyrsdok's overlook, and even the Dragons, despite having breaks where they could recharge their shot limit, seemed as tired as the others.
As the young Viking approach his father, Stoick gave him a light pat on the shoulder, smiling at him with pride on how his efforts paid off well.
"You did it, Son." he responded cheerfully. "I thought that it was indeed going to be another suicide mission. But by Odin, I was wrong! And for that, I thank him for guiding us through-"
"I- It's not- over yet, Dad. We're no- not done here." Hiccup replied hoarsely, breathing intensely.
The Berkian Chief looked at his son with a smirking face at first, thinking he was making a joke. But one of his brows would arch up as he became curious. The cheering also stopped.
"What are you talking about, Son?" he asked him.
"The trip along the path was a near suicide." replied Magnus, approaching Stoick with his Warsung by his side. "It was a death trap, Stoick. There were camps waiting for us, filled with dozens of warriors from all of the major Clans. All four of them. And then in the end, we were spotted by a large group of Vikings, Barbarians and Rus' Varangians at the overlook. They climbed up the cliffs and tried to overrun us… but we got back at them."
"So how did you get out of there?" asked a familiar voice. A friendly feminine figure came into view, and before Magnus, there stood Eira with a worried look.
Magnus sighed. "Well, we climbed down the cliffs. Took a bit of time, but we managed… mostly."
The young woman approached Magnus, lowering her hood as she counted up all of the warriors that were with him. He and Hiccup combined were more than a dozen warriors short compared to what they had last time. And as soon as Eira closed in on Magnus, she grabbed ahold of him and hugged him.
"...I could have lost you." Eira said to him, feeling his arms wrap around her.
"But I'm here, aren't I?" he replied, splitting after a moment passed - and the two looked at each other in their eyes, staring. The two Vikings slightly chuckled, but their expressions quickly turned back to serious looks as soon as Stoick brought back their attentions.
"Uh… About the camps?" Stoick asked, catching Magnus' glance. "How exactly could they have been there? It's not like Ivar was expecting us."
"...He was." Astrid said, shaking her head. "Apparently, all of this was planned out from the start. But we have no idea on how he could have figured our ploy out. There is no way that we could have been sold out, or even have a spy amidst our ranks. Everyone who is sided with us hates that bastard Ivar-"
A gasp would suddenly interrupt Astrid, grabbing everyone's eyes as Hiccup spoke with a cautious tone. "I wouldn't speak so loudly… Look up there, upon the hill!"
Pointing up towards the hill that laid to the East made everyone change their direction, looking up at the very top of the hill. At the peak, they saw four figures standing there with their weapons unsheathed, giving grim looks at the Archipelago Vikings as the wind blew in their faces. The sunlight from behind the heavy clouds also gave appearance as to who they were.
The Iron Wolf, Bloody Berserker, Broken Axe, and Dark Eye Chieftains stood there. All four of them looking upon the Vikings with nasty looks. It seemed that all the effort Hiccup and the others put in an attempt to stop them had just made them angrier.
Toothless looked up at them, growling loudly as he was tempted to try and take them on. But he knew that he had reached his shot limit at the moment.
However, something followed that neither Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the Twins, or even any of the Chieftains or others had expected seeing before them.
The four Clan Chieftains stepped to the side to spread, almost as if they were making room for a figure to stand in between them - but that was exactly what they were doing, because after a short moment, an evil, tall, and intimidating figure came into view, carrying a long metal rod like a cane. It was at least intimidating for Hiccup, because before him, the leader of the Great Viking Army stood.
Ivar the Boneless had finally shown himself.
The young Lothbrök looked upon the two and a half thousand Archipelago Vikings, and he scoffed in amusement. But his face would soon turn into an evil, pissy expression.
His brows lowered. "How pathetic!" he called out. "After so much killing and hunting from within your precious Archipelago, this is all you bring, TO FACE ME!? And you some how managed to destroy another one of my fleets!"
All eyes were widened at Ivar. For many, they didn't expect him to look slightly older, or even nearly as young as Hiccup. But the young Viking shook his head at Ivar.
"All of this started because you just wanted me dead!" Hiccup shouted, stepping forth. "You made a great enemy, Boneless! We've brought Dragons to the doorstep of your kingdom, and we shall fight with them until you're dead. ALL OF YOU!"
"Us… BE KILLED!? HAH!" laughed Ivar. "Hiccup! You are such a fool, but also bold to call me by my title! I may be a cripple, BUT IN MY EYES, YOU ARE A SLAVE WITH NO FAMILY!"
"He has me, stupid boy!" Stoick said, stepping forward. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is my son! He was brought into this world by my love who was taken and eaten by Dragons! For you, you have no right to call him a slave!"
"How cute…" Ivar responded, unsurprised. "The Slave has a father! ...But what makes you think he can protect you forever!?"
"It's not just him!"
Another voice called out to Ivar, and he felt his senses slightly tingle at the tone. He looked down towards the army, and at the front, he saw a familiar, pale, black long-haired young man who stepped forth with his sword gripped. Magnus came forward to show himself, and Ivar was shocked to see him still alive.
"Magnus…" he said softly to himself. "How… are you ALIVE!? YOU WERE DROWNED! I ORDERED MY MEN TO KILL YOU AND DROWN YOU IN THE OCEAN!"
"IT TAKES MORE THAN JUST PLAIN SEA WATER TO KILL ME, BOY!" spat back Magnus. "You've done nothing but hunt us, kill us, commit genocide on us, and even plunder our VERY lives away! Many innocents died because of you. And honestly, I wonder how those in Kattegat will hold up once you start taking their food for your Great Army! Some Boy-King YOU TURNED OUT TO BE!"
Ivar took this deeply as an insult, gripping his axe tightly with his right hand. And after a small moment of silence followed, he chuckled… and then laughed… and finally cackled.
"You…" he began. "You must be so eager to face me, aren't you!? YOU JUST SIGNED YOUR DEATH WISH!"
Ivar raised his axe high up into the air, taking in a deep breath; and then instantly, he began to shout out in Norse.
"SKEGGOLD! SKÁLMOLD! SKILDIR RO KLOFNIR!"
The Vikings looked at each other, curious as to what Ivar was attempting to do, and after that, he just began to chant it. But even the four Chieftains near him also started to chant it.
However, it did not end there since eventually, there came what sounded like multiple voices, shouting and resonating from atop the hill. And then, Hiccup, the Riders, the Chieftains, the Dragons, and the others soon saw it all.
Along the hill, dozens and dozens of Vikings, Barbarians, and Varangians lined up next to Ivar and began chanting along with him. Fifty on each flank. But to Hiccup, it sounded not like a hundred but…
"No…" he gasped upon realization.
Astrid turned to face him. "What is it, Hiccup?" she asked, tensed up.
"He's brought them all here…" he replied, panicked. "They're here… they're ALL here! Ivar's brought the whole Great Army with him!"
And Hiccup would be proven right. The thousands of voices resonating from behind the hill proved so - and now, the Tribes had no chance against them. Along with that, another dozen Devastators came into view, reinforcing Ivar, and making it definite that he would win then and there.
Ivar would stop chanting, but the rest of the army still continued on. The horrid noise of the chant echoed loudly in Hiccup's ears. He understood well what it meant.
"SKEGGOLD! SKÁLMOLD! SKILDIR RO KLOFNIR!"
Dagur spun to gaze at Hiccup, eyes widened. "What do we do!?"
...One word came to Hiccup's mind as he glanced at everyone. There was no choice at that point.
"Run." Hiccup said.
"What?" Astrid asked, but Hiccup would only repeat himself once more.
"RUN!"
The Vikings scattered, running with desperation filled within them. Their thoughts now was to run to their North, towards the opened plains. But for Ivar, he was going to make it barely an escape for them.
He raised his axe again, but this time, swiped it down vertically. "CHAAARGE!"
The chants turned into screams and battlecries as from atop the hill, Vikings, Barbarians, and Rus' came pouring down the hill like an avalanche. First in their hundreds, and then slowly in their thousands.
Even the Devastators, which were locked and loaded, began hurling a rain of burning metal towards the Tribes.
"INCOMING!" Eira shouted, running as fast as she could with the Warsung.
However, regardless of how fast any warrior or maiden ran, that did not change the fact that the whole Great Army was behind them. And whilst they ran, their brothers and sisters-in-arms fell to Devastator fire.
Even Hiccup, who was attempting to fly away on Toothless along with the other riders, felt something explode from behind him; and in turn, he and Toothless were knocked out of the sky, and towards the ground.
"Brace yourself, Bud!" he yelled, all before landing roughly on his back as he felt his entire world slowly begin fading to black.
...After all he and his friends fought for. After all that they went through just to stop an evil that was threatening to take over their homes and take away their lives. Was this how it was supposed to end? Was he meant to fail along with his best friends and Dragon, and have the enemy soon conquer the Archipelago? This couldn't be the end.
But as his sight became blurry and his vision turned black - he felt a pair of arms grasp around him, almost as if he was about to be carried to safety.
And then, there was nothing...
Next chapter will be a very small time skip. But know that this isn't the end! - Also, I'm going to cut you guys a break on the conflict for next chapter. ;)
But for now,
To be continued...