A quick note before beginning! The battle that takes place in this chapter against the Barbarians is an inspiration of the initial battle from the movie Gladiator. It is not exact, but I thought it would be fun to make such a reference of it here in this chapter.
I hope you guys enjoy it!
Two days later...
The two Vikings stood atop a hill, gazing over a vast deforested area where both the Vikings and Barbarians would battle in their thousands.
Both Hiccup and Stoick were slightly anxious, but were ready for what was to come nonetheless.
"Gah, there's still been no response from our message we sent to Karvein." the Chieftain grunted. "Now I am beginning to wonder what happened to our messenger."
Hiccup merely replied with a light shrug, sighing with a shutter as he stared down at the Vikings that were assembling in the distance, representing both the Archipelago Tribes and their new recent ally.
Stoick looked down at him. "Are you okay, Son?"
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine… it's just that I am a little bit nervous."
"So am I son." the Chieftain replied. "...At least, not for myself, but for you."
He looked up at his father, raising a brow. "Me? Why?"
Stoick stood silent, lowering his eyes for a short moment before looking back up at him.
"...I won't be fighting this battle with you, Son. It will just be you, your friends, your Dragons, and our allies."
Hiccup's eyes widened in confusion, looking at his father with bewilderment. "What… but- why? Aren't you always up for a battle? We're Vikings, Dad, and you're the Chief of Berk. We-"
"I know, Son." he said, nodding in agreement. "I know… but this war is exhausting me, and it's not because I am tired of fighting, but because I am aching to see Berk again. So instead of marching into battle with you, I shall be watching over you from up here in case anything goes wrong. It's time that the Vikings recognize their true leader."
"...And, it's time that the Hooligan Tribe sees who their true Heir to the throne of Berk is."
Hiccup's began heart pounding, not with anxiety, but with pride from his father's words. He was right. After all that the old Chieftain had gone through, he realized that it wasn't he that led Berk to victory over the many battles they won, but rather his son.
And now, it was time to see the next one won as well.
"...Thanks for the words, Dad. It really means a lot to me."
Stoick smiled. "Good. Then perhaps it's time that we-"
The older Viking's words cut off as the sudden chirp of a bird caught both their attention. As they gazed over at a nearby tree, they saw a bird hopping around on a branch, looking around at it surroundings.
But to Hiccup, the white and red colors of the bird made it recognizable.
"That bird is familiar…" he said in a low voice. "I saw it the day we marched Northeast to the Grey Plains to help you against Frode. Didn't think it would show up again."
As the bird gave one last chirp, it quickly flew off into the foggy distance as it disappeared completely from their sight.
Hiccup gave a sigh, looking back up at his father who laid a hand on his shoulder, lightly patting him.
"Anyways, I think it's time that we get this battle going. Good luck, Son."
The young lad nodded with a smile, before looking over at Toothless who was sitting patiently, waiting for his rider to get moving.
"Alright, Bud. Let's get this over with."
…
The sound of horses whining echoed around the area as Berkian and Warsung horsemen made their way across the battleline, riding for the woods that stood on the eastern side of the field.
All the while, the Vikings were forming up by the hundreds, marching into place with their weapons at the ready. Since they were positioned atop a small slope, they knew they had the high ground advantage... somewhat.
Hiccup and Toothless, while making their way towards the Hooligan troops, glanced over at their allies, seeing how prepared and disciplined they were, desperately ready for another battle.
But as the two reached the Hooligan line, all of the warriors and maidens immediately stood to face their leader, looking at him with proud gazes as he went down the line towards his friends.
On his left and right, they saluted him, and to his surprise, they addressed him as "chief," despite not yet being the chieftain. After all, he was the reason they came so far.
Nearing the center of the battleline, Hiccup watched as dozens of Vikings rushed to their positions, whilst they prepared their catapults and ballistae near the back of the line.
Eventually, Hiccup spotted his friends from afar having a discussion, particularly with Magnus, Eira, Hvitserk, Dagur, Alvin, and Mala who seemed to be pointing out how they would lead their forces into battle.
Then they too spotted Hiccup and Toothless, and all eyes fell upon them as they both approached the group.
"About time you got here." said Astrid. "Our troops are getting impatient."
Hiccup smirked, crossing his arms. "Good. That will keep them focused on the fight ahead."
"Tha' is 'f there's gonna be a fight." commented Alvin. "We don't know what tha enemy's gunna respond wif. As a matter 'f fact, I don't see why we sent out a messenger."
"I was hoping I could make this a one-on-one fight between Karvein and I," sighed Hiccup, "But now that I think about it, I doubt the barbarians would go along with such terms. They want blood... I should've known it was a stupid idea."
"Hmph," nodded Mala. "Well, at least we know that they can't win this one. We have better equipment, and we have dragons."
"Agreed." spoke Snotlout as he stepped closer to Hiccup. "Let's just hope the messenger makes it back safely."
Hiccup looked back at him. "How long has he been gone?"
"About an hour or so. But we don't know what's happened to him."
"Honestly, I'm just wondering when the barbarians will show up," said Dagur.
"We will see soon enough." responded Eira. "Let's hope these catapults and ballistae do their job well."
Hvitserk smirked. "I can assure you that they'll serve you well enough. They aren't-"
"HEY!" interrupted Dagur, gazing over at several of his Berserkers positioning nearby catapults.
"I ordered you lot to position those catapults forward! They're out of range-"
"Dagur," interrupted Hiccup. "It's good enough."
"What?" questioned the Berserker. "But what about our horsemen? You're risking their lives-"
The lad shook his head. "As long as I lead them, they'll be fine. Alright?"
The Berserker nodded with a sigh, seeing that there was no need to make the order. However, as the group glanced back out towards the woods, a distant scream, which sounded almost like a rallying cry, quickly caught their attention.
Then, a voice from afar shouted loudly in a Germanic tongue; "DU BIST EIN HUNDE! (YOU ARE DOGS!)"
Hvitserk took a step forward, squinting his eyes as he gazed off into the foggy woods.
"Why does that voice sound familiar to me?" he asked.
"I don't know." shrugged Magnus. "But judging by the tone, it seems they've denied our terms. Not a surprise."
After hearing the enemy's response, Magnus was quick to spot the colors of a brown horse coming into view, and atop of it rode a headless rider.
Fishlegs shuddered. "Oh Thor… our messenger is..."
"Dead. And it looks like it's definitely a no." said Hiccup.
As the horse continued riding closer to their lines, Hiccup then noticed a black-bearded figure in the distance coming into view from the woods.
He wore black furs, along with dark wool and leather armor, and in his right hand he carried a two-handed axe that looked ready for the slaughter.
His brows lowered in a glare, knowing who the man was; Karvein, the Chieftain of the Bloody Berserker Barbarians.
"And so the chicken comes out of hiding." chuckled Ruffnut.
Karvein stared across the battlefield, gazing directly at Hiccup who easily caught his eyes. His expression turned even grimmer.
His voice rose up once again, attempting to taunt his foes. "IHR SEID VERFLUCHTE HUNDE! (YOU ARE CURSED DOGS!)"
He then raised his left hand up, and in his grip he held the missing head of the messenger they sent out.
He threw it to the ground in front of him, then rose his great-axe up in the air. Behind him, hundreds and hundreds of figures quickly marched into position, and soon, his whole army came into view.
Once more, he shouted out a taunt. "DU WIRST HEUTE STERBEN, WIKINGER HUNDE! (YOU ARE GOING TO DIE TODAY, VIKING DOGS!)"
He then took a few paces back, still keeping his axe raised until he stood directly in front of his rallied warriors, letting out a bellowing roar that echoed across the battlefield.
Almost immediately, his entire army began roaring and letting out taunts as they rose their weapons up and began swinging them around in a mocking manner.
Snotlout sighed, staring at the Barbarians with a smirk. "They'll be running for the woods once my blade meets them."
Hiccup spun his head to face him. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, Snotlout," he said. "One mistake, and you might find yourself in Valhalla."
"Aye." said Magnus. "For now, let's just do what needs to be done."
Magnus gave out a sharp whistle, and before him came two horses, a white horse and brown horse that both wore metal plated armor.
"As you requested, Hiccup," he said as he handed the reins to the two young Vikings. "One for you, and one for Astrid."
"Horses?" asked Astrid, tossing a glance to Hiccup. "But, can't we just ride our dragons into battle-?"
"Don't worry. This will be the only time we do this," replied Hiccup with a light smile. "Consider this an experiment, if you will... Do you know how to ride a horse?"
The lass gave a nod, and to that, Hiccup responded, "Mount up."
The two Vikings mounted their horses without problem, with Hiccup riding the brown horse and Astrid riding the white horse.
Hiccup then looked back at the others, giving them a nod. "Chieftains, rally with your tribes. Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, mount your dragons and get ready. Snotlout, you'll be in command of the frontal force. On my signal, unleash Helheim upon these barbarians."
With that, they all nodded at Hiccup, going their separate ways to prepare for the coming firestorm.
The two Vikings then ordered their horses to get moving, and on instinct both Toothless and Stormfly immediately began following, making their way into the woods towards the horsemen that were positioned behind the enemy.
As Snotlout watched them ride off, he turned his gaze towards the men that stood near him, ready for orders.
"Prepare the catapults and ballistas!" he called out loudly. "Archers, make ready for attack! Warriors, form up for advance! Let's heat things up for these Barbarians!"
The order quickly spread from rank to rank. Warriors and maidens quickly marched into position whilst the engineers got to work on the siege machines, loading them with harpoons and barrels filled with tar that was ready to be lit.
The archers from behind Snotlout rushed forward into position as a line of fire was set down in front of them, lit by oil which would let them easily light their arrow tips.
While all of this was going on, Karvein and his warriors from afar were still waving their weapons around, constantly mocking the Vikings with roars and screams as they chanted, all in an attempt to taunt them.
Meanwhile in the woods, Hiccup and Astrid along with Toothless and Stormfly eventually met up with the horsemen who were looking eager for a fight, and furthermore inspired once they caught eye of them.
Hiccup rode his horse in front of the two hundred mounted Vikings, smirking.
"Vikings!" he shouted as they cheered back at him in unison.
"Today will be a day that will go down forever in our history! Nearly two months ago, Ivar made an ally with an outside force that had no place amongst Vikings, and now, we will get rid of them!"
He turned his horse around, unsheathing his blazing Dragon's Blade. "Hold the line and stay with me! Together, we will make it through this!"
Hiccup then looked down at Toothless, giving him a nod. "Now, Bud! Light the signal!"
The Dragon quickly obliged as he opened his mouth up and aimed towards the sky, letting out a bright plasma blast that would catch Snotlout's attention on the other side of the battlefield.
The young Jorgenson looked on both his flanks, raising up his hand. "Archers, light your arrows and prepare to draw!"
They obliged on command, igniting their arrows with flames as they knotted them onto the strings of their bows, ready to draw.
By now, Hiccup knew that his allies would fire upon the enemy at any moment, thus they had to get moving. He rose his blade up, ordering the horsemen to ride forward with haste.
"Stay with me!" he shouted.
As the archers and siegery on the other side of the field were ready to fire, Snotlout shouted loudly "DRAW!", causing them to pull their arrows back before Snotlout's raised hand then turned into a fist, and the order was finally given.
"LOOSE!"
The archers on command let loose their arrows, sending them flying towards Karvein and his Barbarians in a wave of fire.
At the same time, the siege engines fired their projectiles, and as the flame-lit barrels from the catapults hit the trees behind them, fire came down from them, raining upon the Germanic warriors like a volcano.
The first volley from the Vikings resulted in almost a hundred Barbarians dead or wounded, but that alone would not be enough against nearly three thousand.
Despite the outcome, the siege weapons and archers still kept firing, burning the forest behind the enemy army. This in turn cut off their retreat. So far, everything was going to plan.
After a bit of time passed, Snotlout then gave out the order for the whole army to advance.
"Archers, hold fire! All Vikings, ADVANCE!"
His voice echoed throughout the entire army, and Magnus, Dagur, Alvin, Mala, Eret, Mogadon, Bertha, Arngrim, and Snoore made ready. All of them began marching towards the enemy as one, leading their Tribes in unison, and as they marched, Karvein continued roaring and mocking them.
It would not take long for them to reach the Barbarian lines though, but when they did, they were met with a massive volley of arrows that came flying at them - almost unexpectedly.
Snotlout, who stood at the very front of the line, immediately shouted out "SHIELD WALL!" to which the Viking warriors rose their shields up. As such, every single arrow was deflected, but that was only the beginning.
Karvein, who stood at the front of the line, glared down at Snotlout who was glaring back at him. He then swung his great axe down, and bellowed to his warriors;
"CHARGE!"
The Barbarians rushed at the Vikings in a massive push, crashing into them just as the shield wall was lowered, and as Snotlout engaged the enemy, he went directly for Karvein as both warriors clashed with one another.
From above, Fishlegs and the Twins flew over the enemy atop Meatlug and Barf and Belch, with Hookfang by their side. The dragons lit up their mouths, and as Karvein turned his eyes up, he saw more fire raining down upon his army.
Then, another unexpected thing happened as a roar from behind the enemy ranks caught many of the Barbarians' attentions. It was the roar of a Night Fury.
Through the flames came Toothless and Stormfly, along with Hiccup and Astrid as they rode through the firestorm with all of the horsemen at their side.
"FORWARD, VIKINGS!"
Hiccup's voice echoed as he charged, smashing into backs of the Barbarian lines with Astrid and the horsemen by his side.
Toothless and Stormfly, upon getting into combat, blasted their fire into the face of the enemy at point blank range, causing dozens of Barbarians to go flying back in flames.
Now the real firestorm began.
While the two Dragons fought together, Hiccup and Astrid both rode and fought side by side, cutting down any foe that had the misfortune of getting in their way, and from atop their horses, it was almost as if they were unstoppable.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" growled Astrid as she swung her blade at a barbarian's head.
Hiccup smirked at her as he stabbed his sword through the chest of another nearby barbarian. "Just keep fighting! For now, all we have to do is-!"
"AGH! HELP!"
The sound of Snotlout's voice immediately cut him off, causing Hiccup to quickly turn his head. In the distance, he saw the young Viking going directly up against Karvein single-handedly, yet it seemed that he was losing.
Hiccup quickly whacked his horse's reins, shouting "HYAH!" as he rode with haste to save Snotlout.
The young Jorgenson, while fighting, was on his knees as he tried holding up against Karvein with his sword - who had his axe pressing down on him.
The Barbarian Chieftain chuckled in a dirty tone as he pushed Snotlout to the ground, landing him on his back.
"I told you that you could not win!" he spat. "Your foolish attempts at stopping me ends here! Blackwood Forest is mine, and soon, your 'friend' Hvitserk will fall to my-"
"GRAAAGH!"
Hiccup's battle cry thundered loudly, catching the Bloody Berserker Chieftain's attention, who was too late to react. With that, the young Viking sliced his blade across the Germanic warrior's left arm, knocking him down to the ground with a gushing wound.
The lad quickly proceeded to dismount, helping Snotlout up, who gazed back at him with bewildered eyes.
"Are you alright!?" he asked the Jorgenson, who nodded back in response.
But the sound of groaning caused their eyes to shift back towards Karvein who laid there, slowly getting up.
Hiccup laid a hand on Snotlout's shoulder, gesturing for him to get back. "Take my horse, and go help the others! They need you more right now!"
Snotlout nodded, mounting atop Hiccup's horse as he quickly rode out of there with his blade gripped in hand, still eager to fight on.
"Win this for us, Hiccup!" he shouted as he rode away.
Once he was out of sight, Hiccup turned back to face Karvein who was looking straight back at him with a glare, gripping his axe with both hands.
"So," the Chieftain grunted. "The little Berkian pup shows himself at last! You were a fool to come here, Haddock! You are weak without your father, and if I can't finish off your friend, then I will kill you instead!"
"Oh shut up!" he growled as the two of them began circling. "You are outmatched and outnumbered! Just look around you! Your defeat is inevitable!"
"YOU'RE WRONG!" he shouted. "I will never be defeated by a low-life such as yourself! You want to fight!? Then come on! Let us see who the BETTER warrior is, Wikinger!"
He rose his greataxe up to his side, rushing Hiccup with such a speed that the young Viking almost did not see coming, and as the Barbarian clashed, he felt his axe get caught off balance…
And upon looking down at where he struck, he saw that his axe was embedded into the ground. Hiccup barely dodged the attack, but he made it either way.
"Looks like you missed." the young Viking taunted as he leaped forward with his blade gripped, and with a mighty strike he sliced at the Chieftain's leg, nearly forcing him down to the ground.
But even that would not stop him.
Karvein tightly gripped his axe, pulling it out of the ground with what strength he had as he re-engaged Hiccup, now getting back into the fight even though he was now limping.
The two fought ferociously, and the fight seemed to be in Hiccup's favor. Since Karvein was of greater stature and strength, the lad focused more on using quick attacks to outmaneuver him. Whenever the chieftain attacked, he dodged and parried in response, and as soon as the opportunity opened up, he struck at the man's limbs, forcing him to slow down.
As for Karvein, although he was a great warrior, he was still arrogant. He continuously underestimated Hiccup, believing he could win.
The Bloody Berserker would use heavy attacks against Hiccup in attempt to get the lad off balance, seeing as he had the advantage of putting weight onto him. And although he was stronger, he still lacked the skill and leverage to deal a blow against Hiccup. The most he had done thus far was get a few punches and bruises onto Hiccup, but that was it.
As a whole, the fight still seemed to be in Hiccup's favor, and as Karvein and Hiccup clashed their weapons together in a weapon lock, the Bloody Berserker was about to go berserk.
"No matter how much I put in, no matter what I do, you still stand!? WHY WILL YOU NOT YIELD, HADDOCK!?"
Hiccup scoffed, pushing back against Karvein's axe with leverage. "I have learned many things along the way that you nor Ivar know about. Your 'king's' arrogance has clouded his mind, and he has ridden himself of his humanity! He is no longer a man! He is a monster! And I assure you, he will die by my blade when the time comes!"
"NEVER!" Karvein spat back as his strength against the weapon lock increased, now slowly turning in his favor. "Ivar will never be defeated! No matter how hard you fight, your army will be beaten beneath our boots, and your Archipelago will soon fall before a rain of steel and fire! I WILL SEE BY MY HAND THAT YOU-!"
"SURPRISE!"
A surprising voice caught both Hiccup's and Karvein's attention. Merely a couple of feet or so above them, Tuffnut came flying in with Ruffnut atop their Dragon, and in Tuff's hand he held a mace that looked ready for a whacking.
And a whacking is exactly what he gave to Karvein as he slammed the mace directly into the Chieftain's face, sending falling head-first into the dirt with a few teeth bashed out.
As he struggled to stand up, he tasted blood spreading in his mouth from the strike Tuffnut gave, and upon looking back at Hiccup, he saw that the young Viking was no longer alone.
With him, Astrid, Snotlout, Magnus, and Eira stood with their weapons in hand, along with Fishlegs and the Twins who were now off their Dragons, ready to beat the living Helheim out of Karvein.
Not only that, but Toothless and Stormfly also stood by their sides, growling at the Barbaric Chieftain.
Magnus took a step forward, raising his sword up near his shoulder. "You have messed with the wrong Vikings for the last time, Barbarian. And now, you will meet your end."
The Bloody Berserker shook his head, anxious. "This- this can't be right!" he stuttered. "Ivar promised me riches after the war was over! He promised that we would win this war! He-!"
Karvein's words were immediately cut off as a piercing roar echoed across the skies, and in that moment, everyone stopped fighting, their eyes now gazing upwards.
Above them, the colors of a purple winged-beast caught their attention as a familiar Dragon flew in with speed. Lightning speed. However, judging by how Magnus in particular recognized it, he knew right there and then that the battle was about to come to a close…
Because the Dragon that flew above them was the Skrill.
Dagur, who caught gaze of it, began to go berserker and hyper.
"Oh, my, gods." he squeaked, laughing in a berserking manner. "It's a Skrill! ...IT'S A BLOODY SKRILL! YES!"
As the purple Dragon glared down at the field, its eyes fell specifically upon the Barbarians that were still standing and fighting, and just by looking at how many there were, it knew that they were all in the right place where it wanted them.
The Skrill's body lit up with electricity as its roar bellowed like thunder, and with a mighty breath, it sent a large and powerful beam of lightning firing down at the Barbarians, causing those who were in its path to scream and flee in terror, only to be quickly struck down.
The power of the lightning was so great, dozens were killed in its wake.
The Vikings cheered at the sight of the mysterious dragon, and with that, the fighting continued, with the Vikings pressing the advance.
Karvein however still kept looking up, unable to express the feelings that were going through him. It was at that moment that he was feeling hopeless.
"...This is impossible." he said, glaring back at them. "You cursed dogs think that you can win!? I'll show you that-"
"Heads up!" Tuffnut laughed as he rushed Karvein with his mace in hand, hitting the large man directly in the stomach which knocked the breath out of him.
Karvein groaned in pain as he struggled to recover his breath, but Tuffnut responded once again by hitting him across his back, sending him towards Fishlegs.
"Come on Fish! Hit him with what ya got!"
Fishlegs crushed his hand into a fist, giving a firm but strong punch to Karvein's face and sending him back towards Snotlout who quickly replied with a kick to his shin.
"Ruff, this one's on you!" Snotlout called out as he pushed the dazed man towards Ruffnut, and she responded by head-butting the Barbarian's head with the use of her helmet, furtherly dazing him which caused him to nearly collapse.
But then, Magnus approached the Barbarian with both of his fists clenched tightly, and with two hard punches to his bloody face, the Chieftain fell to his knees, being unable to now muster the strength to even stand or look up.
He was now nothing more than a broken practice dummy to them.
As the group all crowded around him, Hiccup stepped forward, kneeling down to Karvein's level as he grabbed ahold of his hair and pulled his head up to face him.
Karvein coughed heavily, grinning at Hiccup. "You still haven't won." he said. "The rest of the Great Army awaits you… and I can assure you that Ivar will be victorious when he returns..."
"I doubt that." Hiccup said as he quickly thrusted his fiery blade straight through the Chieftain's chest, before kicking him down to the ground.
Karvein, the Bloody Berserker and Barbarian Chieftain, was no more, and with his death, the remnants of his army routed.
Hiccup looked all around, watching as the remaining Bloody Berserks fled by the dozens. Outnumbered and outmatched, their forces were laid to waste all over the battlefield.
What followed was a unison of thundering cheers as the Vikings roared in triumph over their victory, knowing that another great blow had been dealt to Ivar, and that sooner or later, he would be beaten.
Hiccup exhaled in relief, looking back at the group as Toothless came over to him and nudged his head against his arm, causing the young Viking to chuckle.
"Another victory for us... and another defeat for Ivar." he said.
"Aye... and though this may sound dramatic, I must say, it's all because of you, Hiccup." nodded Magnus. "However, I have a feeling that things will get more difficult from here on out. Once Ivar's allies discover that we've won here, they'll try and further their efforts into beating us."
"It wasn't because of us alone that we won this battle though." replied Eira, turning her gaze upwards. "It was also thanks to our dragons, and to that Skrill that came and-"
Eira came to a stop. Her face expressed sudden confusion as her eyes surveyed the skies, for she saw that the Skrill was no longer in sight. It was gone.
"What the-?" she questioned. "Where did it go?"
"Don't know…" shrugged Hiccup. "...But maybe we'll see it again soon. For now, let's celebrate our victory."
The group raised their fists up in the air, cheering to the sound of victory that spread across the fiery battlefield. Yet as they sounded in their triumph, snow began to fall, accompanied by a comforting, cold chill.
Even Stoick, who stood atop the hill, felt it. He gave a soft sigh to the feeling of the relaxing breeze that blew across the field, letting his muscles relax to relieving feel of victory.
They were one more step closer.