This is it guys! Another battle chapter has come!
As with most cases for long and extensive battles, this battle will most likely last up to three or so chapters before we continue moving on, and I plan to make this one quite unique.
Also! I heavily recommend listening to cinematic epic-like music with headphones or earphones while reading this chapter to put you in the mood.
But aside from that, I hope you guys like this one! Enjoy!
"Toothless!"
Hiccup called out his Dragon's name as he ran through the streets towards the Northern wall amidst the chaos that was flying overhead, all while he was passing through crowds of rushing warriors.
"TOOTHLESS!" he shouted more loudly.
And yet even as he kept running and calling out his name, the ground still kept shaking whilst fiery projectiles from distant Devastators flew above him and onto the town.
To him, it felt like Hel unleashed.
For a moment he stopped to catch his breath, coughing as the smoke around him filled the air. He then looked back at Astrid, Magnus, and the three brothers who were still following him.
"There's still no sign of Toothless - or even any of our Dragons!" he said as he straightened himself out. "If we don't find them soon then the enemy will beat us to the ground like ants!"
Astrid squinted her eyes as she looked around. "They're around here somewhere, I know it! They couldn't have gotten far if they escaped from their sleeping stables. Maybe they were just frightened and they decided to-"
Her words would cut off as the sound of several familiar roars caught their attention. From behind, they would spot the Riders rushing towards them with their Dragons at their side, along with Toothless and Stormfly.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called out in relief.
Immediately he began running towards Toothless with haste, meeting him with a tight but surprising hug around his neck. Astrid too, who noticed Stormfly, approached the Nadder to greet her.
"You had me worried, Bud." he sighed before looking up at Eira who was on top Thorwind. "How did you find them?"
"They escaped the stables to find you, just like how you were looking for them." nodded Eira as she dismounted. "We managed to run into them minutes after we heard the first few Devastators fire. It's a good thing we found you in time."
"Aye, but we can't stay here for too long!" Ubba said as he stepped forward. "Ivar's allies are at our doorstep, and we need to fight back! We must keep them focused on the Northern wall so that they are exposed to both our Dragons and siege weapons! If we can hold out long enough, we may be able to-"
"JARL UBBA!"
The voice of a distant warrior quickly caught Ubba's attention. His eyes narrowed to the side as he saw a man running towards him with a few others at his side, low on breath.
The warrior breathed rapidly as he stopped and looked up at Ubba. "My Jarl, Broken Axe and Iron Wolf forces are attacking the Eastern wall! The enemy is flanking us from the East!"
"What!? How many?" asked Sigurd.
"At least two thousand! We don't know who leads them, but we won't be able to hold it if it's left under guarded!"
"Then we'll split up the attack!" Hiccup commanded, catching a bewildered but surprising face from Ubba and his brothers. "Ubba, you Sigurd and Hvitserk can handle the Eastern wall with what warriors you can! The rest of us will handle the Northern wall! I'll see to it that your men there make it out alive from this Helstorm!"
Ubba immediately gave a firm nod, not needing much time to consider Hiccup's decision. "Very well! Hvitserk, Sigurd, follow me! We're going to give our enemy a good butchering!"
With haste the three brothers ran off with the group of warriors behind them, carrying sharpened axes and swords in their hands which were ready for a fight.
Once they were out of sight, Hiccup looked back at the rest of the group before mounting on top of Toothless with his blade unsheathed and ignited.
"Everyone else, follow me! We're going to take the fight to Ivar's right hand man! Give them no mercy!"
The Riders responded in unison with a cheer, following behind Hiccup as they continued their way through the large streets of the town. Whilst they followed, Devastator fire pummeled down around them on the dozens of huts that still stood, causing flames to erupt like a massive bonfire.
And yet even as Strongholm was being pounded, that was not the worst that Hiccup or the others had to see.
Eventually, they would reach the Northern wall of the Fortress, and as they rushed up the stairs to the top of the wall, they saw the true horror of what was before them.
Hiccup dismounted Toothless. He saw before his very eyes thousands and thousands of armored Vikings and Rus' warriors, lined up in position and ready to march forward upon them and the Battleborn Vikings whom they heavily outnumbered.
After all, only five hundred Vikings stood atop the wall.
Ruffnut's eyes widened. "Th- That is a loooot of Vikings." she stuttered.
"No kidding..." said Heather. "Not only that, but they've come more prepared than ever. Look at them, they're all armored up in plating. Vlar must have been really busy building up his war machine."
"Little does he know is that this is where it will crumble." responded Hiccup. "We will blast them apart by the dozens until there is nothing left of them! Vlar will pay on this day for what he and Ivar did to us back at Skyrsdok, and I will make sure of it!"
Confidence flowed through the young man. He quickly turned his glance upon the Vikings that stood around him, raising his voice up to catch their attention.
"Vikings of Strongholm, listen up!" he began. "Before us stands one of the largest armies that I, you, and many others have ever faced! They come with their pretty little Devastators to blast us to smithereens, and they think that they can just take our lives away by force - either through death or slavery! By know that your Jarl has agreed to leave me in charge of this position - and of your very lives! As long as I fight, we push on!"
"And how do ye know that we can win!?" one of them called out. "The Iron Pups and their Broken Axe allies are too many!"
"That's true!" Hiccup nodded. "But we have something that they don't; the trust, leadership, and friendship of Dragons! To us riders, they are our best friends! To our foe, they are savage beasts - but they are anything but savage! With them at our sides, we can show them that even the smallest of allies can make a big difference! Together, we will show them what it means for you to be Battleborn, and what it means for all of us to be Vikings!"
"Who among you will follow me into the fray!?"
The Vikings of Strongholm roared with inspiration, raising their weapons to the sky after hearing Hiccup's speech. Their cheers echoed for many yards around, loud enough for even the Vikings and Rus' warriors in the distance to hear.
Even from afar, Vlar and Hjalmar, who were standing in the center of their battlelines with siege weapons around them, found it amusing that their foe still had the spirit to fight on.
However, even the sight of Hiccup who stood out from the rest of them caught Vlar's attention.
He growled as he chuckled at the scrawny lad. "Who knew this would be where we would meet that weakling Hiccup Haddock again!" he said aloud. "If this is where I shall fight him, then I will gladly not hold back! I will pound him into the ground with steel and fire!"
"I will fight him too!" Hjalmar snarled as if he were like a hungry hound. "After he is crushed I will spill his blood from his scrawny body and cut off his head. LET US KILL FOR OUR KING IVAR!"
The Chieftain's words were loud enough for all of the warriors around him to hear - to both Broken Axe and Iron Wolf. They cheered back at him as they all unsheathed their weapons in unison, and began banging on their shields like drums.
Vlar grinned with enlightenment. "Let the end-game begin!"
From his waist, the Warlord snatched his horn that was ready to sound the march of battle, and with a loud and powerful blow it would bellow across the snow-covered battlefield for miles.
"March forward and slay all who stand in your way! Do not resist, and SHOW NO MERCY!"
The Vikings and Rus' warriors once more roared in a thunderous cheer to the sound of the horn, and with the command given, the first wave of a thousand Iron Wolf and Broken Axe warriors began their march.
From behind, the Devastators continued firing with constant barrages, aiming at the Fortress and the wall that Hiccup and his friends stood on, but it would not be enough to directly hit them or knock them down.
However, even as Hiccup watched the enemy march towards them, the sight of several large moving armored towers on wheels made him shudder. He felt a bad and dreaded feeling sink down into his stomach.
"They're bringing up siege towers!" he shouted. "We need to take them out before they reach the walls, or else we'll be overrun!"
"Agreed!" called out Magnus. "ARCHERS, KNOT YOUR ARROWS! SIEGE WEAPONS, LOAD UP!"
By Magnus' command, dozens and dozens of archers lined up at the edge of the wall with their bows gripped and arrows knotted, all before several catapults and other siege weapons made their way forward as they were quickly loaded up and ready to fire.
Hiccup nodded in approval once he saw that they were ready, and he immediately rose his sword up in the air before quickly swinging it back down. "FIRE AT WILL!"
With the disciplinary advantage at their side, the archers let loose their arrows down onto the enemy's frontline - aiming for any foe that they spotted before swiftly reloading their bows to fire again in constant volley.
The catapults from behind soon then joined in, letting loose ignited boulders at the advancing line whilst the other siege weapons were unleashing what they had at the enemy.
Down below, the enemy warriors began getting shot down by hails of arrow fire and by siege weaponry in the dozens, as well as get crushed and burned by the flaming boulders that smashed into them as if they were grass.
However, even as Hiccup's allies continued firing, the enemy still would not stop their advance. Not even the three siege towers that continued rolling towards his position would stop.
He knew something had to be done.
"Hiccup, we need to stop those siege towers from reaching the wall, or else the enemy will flood in overrun us!"
"I know, Astrid!" he called out to her. "But if we're going to take them out, we'll need to do it from above where their occupied Devastators won't reach us!"
"I think I know what you're thinking Hiccup!" Snotlout replied before quickly rushing over to Hookfang. "Everyone, mount your Dragons! We're going to blast those siege towers to pieces!"
"Then let's get this over with..." nodded Magnus. "...Eira, I want you to stay here and command our allies. They'll need to rely on a leader while we're up there fighting. Do you think you can handle it?"
"...I guess I can." she sighed. "Be careful, love. I don't want to lose you again."
"I'll stay here and help!" Heather replied as she unsheathed her axe. "Don't worry Hiccup, I'll make sure to have her back while you guys are up there. Fishlegs, I'm counting on you not to get yourself killed for me, alright…?"
Fishlegs gave a light chuckle. "I won't die. You know that."
"Then it's settled." said Hiccup. "Eira, I'll keep an eye on Magnus until we return, I promise. For now, we need to do what needs to be done. Riders, mount your Dragons! We have a battle to win!"
The Riders without question rushed to their Dragons and mounted up before following Hiccup up into the sky, and as they went airborne, the winged reptiles let out echoing roars to make their presence clear to the enemy.
As Eira watched them ascend up, her eyes focused back on the archers firing, and she began shouting commands to make them put in more efficiency.
"Aim for the clusters, men! Keep firing!"
Up above, Hiccup and the other Riders were quick to engage with the heavily armored siege towers that were filled with almost two hundred men each - nearly half of the first wave.
And yet as they were about to fire upon the large moving towers, something diverted Hiccup's attention as he gazed at their tops and saw men armed with arrow launchers aiming up at them.
"ARROW LAUNCHERS!" he called out. "Everyone, evasive maneuvers! Spread out!"
The group was quick to spread apart as the arrows launchers immediately began firing, sending barrages of arrows onto them as if a huge group of archers were constantly firing their arrows onto them.
Yet even as the Riders were able to easily dodge each arrow, it was not enough to make them stop firing.
Magnus' voice rose up. "Hiccup, we can't fight them like this! We need to confuse their line of sight and get them to fire a different way! A distraction!"
"How!? They'll just quickly aim us down and-! ...Or perhaps unless their full attention is diverted on one of us!"
"Exactly!" he said. "You and I have the fastest Dragons among the Riders! I'll catch the attention of one of them, and you blast them apart!"
"Alright!" Hiccup nodded back in agreement, watching as Magnus redirected Thorwind towards one of the siege towers, and immediately he began to taunt the warrior atop it who armed the arrow launcher.
"Hey, blondie!" he taunted. "Be a real Viking and make this a one on one! I'm over here! Come on, shoot me down hairless ape!"
Just like that, the man atop the siege weapon became infuriated as he began firing onto Magnus with all he had, but with his back turned, he was easily exposed…
Toothless quickly charged up his attack, and with one plasma blast the Night Fury easily set the arrow launcher alit, along with the man atop it who began screaming in pain as he ran around in circles before foolishly, yet unfortunately, running off the siege tower itself, and to his death.
This act alone was enough for the Riders to maneuver more easily away from the arrow launchers, and as well as repeat Hiccup's and Magnus' attack.
Astrid and Fishlegs both focused on one together. Seeing as how Stormfly was the fastest of the two Dragons, Astrid focused on drawing the attention of the man engineering the arrow launcher, shooting down spine shots from her Dragon and near the engineer's line of sight in an attempt to get his shots off-target. This would in turn pay off as the man could no longer focus properly, and with one blast from Meatlug, the Gronckle sent the man flying off the siege tower in flames which as a result slowly began to set the tower itself aflame.
As for Snotlout and the Twins, though Hookfang was an excellent attacker, his flight maneuver as a result of his rider's abilities surpassed Barf and Belch. Together, both he and Snotlout flew around the final siege tower, distracting the warrior on top of the armed arrow launcher. One thing turns into another as Hookfang's flying turned into dodging before slowly into attacking, and before the man atop the siege tower knew it, green Zippleback gas surrounded him…
And with a single spark from Belch, the Viking bursted into flames which sent him too flying off the now burning siege tower, and soon, all the men inside of the rolling tower began to burn as well.
To that, only one remained.
Hiccup looked down at Toothless, giving the Night Fury a nod of approval.
"Looks like our last blast wasn't strong enough. Alright then, let's see if we can do this again like last time! Divebomb, Bud!"
Toothless gave off a roar as he swiftly flew up and away from the action, getting himself up to a safer distance where he could then perform his attack.
The Night Fury screeched loudly, gaining speed as he began spiraling down towards the remaining siege tower from the high altitude. His mouth was lit with a bright purple color, charging up his flames as he let out a long high-pitched sound that made the enemy almost freeze in fear, and with a devastating blow he unleashed his plasma blast, completely blowing the siege tower to burning rubble.
Not a single Viking or Rus' warrior inside it survived Toothless' attack. Hundreds of the enemy were already slain from the Dragons' firestorm, and from the enemy's point of view, Vlar was beyond anger. He was infuriated.
He slammed his large hammer into the snowy ground with frustration. "I WILL NOT LET THEM TO CONTINUE DELAYING OUR ATTACK!" he roared gutturally. "Hjalmar, give the order for them to scale the walls! Ladders!"
The Broken Axe Chief gave a quick nod at the Warlord before loudly yelling; "LADDERS!"
Suddenly from the enemy ranks, dozens of warriors began running through carrying long and firm ladders in their hands, rushing towards the wall with haste until they eventually reached the troops that were waiting to engage their enemy.
Almost immediately, the ladders were set up like lowering the sail of a longship, and the Iron Wolf and Broken Axe warriors cheered as they began climbing up like rabid wolves towards Eira and Heather who were up top with their weapons out in front of them.
Despite the hundreds of warriors their archers and siege weapons shot down, they were still going up against hundreds of more Vikings and Rus'.
Magnus turned Thorwind around as soon as he eyed a clear shot of attack for his Dragon, and once the opportunity came upon him, he gave the command to his battle-eagered Skrill.
"Strike for Thor…" he calmly said to his Dragon.
Thorwind in response ignited his body and wings with electricity - whilst in the process not shocking Magnus, and with a great and mighty breath he sent a beam of lightning raining down on the enemy, shocking the warriors who were still climbing the ladders by the dozens which as a result sent out a chain reaction to any warrior nearby.
But the enemy did not sit still to this.
Suddenly, a voice shouting "ARCHERS!" caught the group's attention, and down below, enemy archers with bows and crossbows in hand lined up as they began shooting up arrows and bolts at Hiccup and the Riders, causing them to spread out and maneuver from the incoming volleys.
And yet that was the idea.
An opening was clear for the enemy as the Vikings and Rus' once more began climbing the ladders, and as the first warrior reached the top of the wall, they were met with a blade to the neck as Eira jumped at them.
As more reached the top, fighting soon started to spread across the ramparts as the archers laid down their bows and unsheathed their axes and swords, officially engaging the enemy.
Vlar from afar soon noticed that his move was going as according to plan, and knowing that his foe was exposed and occupied, he took the time to his advantage and issued a new command.
He turned back to Hjalmar who stood eager and ready to fight.
"Send the second wave forward along with our battering ram, and deploy the flyers! Now is the time that we even the scales to our favor."
Hjalmar arched a brow. "Warlord Vlar, are you sure that we're ready to-?"
"No questions asked, Hjalmar!" Vlar interrupted. "Blow the horn and give the order! You will join them."
Without much choice, Hjalmar did as Vlar told him, stepping forward with a battle horn in hand - as well as his prosthetic axe raised up to his Broken Axe warriors.
He spun to face them. "Who are the real Vikings!?"
"We are!" they responded back to him.
Hjalmar rose his voice up, calling out once more; "WHO ARE THE REAL VIKINGS!?"
"WE ARE!" his men shouted back, louder than before.
Satisfied with his men's morale, Hjalmar faced back towards the wall with his weapon still raised, shouting "PUSH FORWARD, WARRIORS!" which unleashed the Broken Axe Clan's bloodlust. His warriors roared in unison as they rushed forward with their leader at the front, and what followed was the sounding of another horn.
Suddenly the enemy archers ceased their volleys before quickly falling back which gave Hiccup and the others a moment to breath.
Hiccup looked down at the retreating men, curious. "Why are they running now? They almost had us there!"
"...Hiccup, maybe that explains why." Fishlegs' finger pointed out in the distance towards the enemy lines. Up ahead they saw Hjalmar advancing with nearly a thousand men behind him, but that was not what surprised him the most.
Above the army's ranks, Hiccup caught the horrifying glimpse of more than a dozen winged figures flying through the smoke of the Devastators' fire, and it was then that he felt himself go numb.
What he saw were chained armored Dragons flying towards him with flyers on top of them, ready to have them unleash fire onto the Riders and their allies.
Snotlout gulped. "Now we have a problem..."