Chapter 100 The Ambush
The forces of Vestfold drew closer to the position of Oskar and Tyr, Oskar had gone ahead of Tyr to scavenge for valuables from the corpses. The dead had no use for jewelry and Oskar was not about to pass up on this opportunity.
"I wonder how much these costs…" Oskar muttered to himself, trying on a ring on his left hand. It was a silver ring with a unique emblem attached to it.
He heard the floor vibrate, the thumping sound got closer with each passing second and Oskar was surprised because they had arrived faster than usual but that was because they were on horseback.
The first thought that entered Oskar's mind was to hide beneath the corpses but that would be useless if they had come to retrieve them, this would make his death shameful.
Oskar was not scared as he entertained the thought but what about Tyr? he had to warn Tyr of the impending threat.
"I won't make it in time…" Oskar said with a defeated sigh, he unsheathed his sword and tried to become a one-man army but an arrow found his neck, and before he could process what happened, another found his forehead.
Signy had killed him from afar with a bow and arrow while on horseback, this was an impressive feat that even the best archers had difficulty with.
Kjell was astonished because it was rare to see such a precise archer, Signy had drawn first blood without even dropping a sweat.
"Secure the bodies of your brothers!" Signy shouted and they did just that, the horses had carts attached to their back, at least a few of them.
They unmounted their horses to load the body of the deceased onto the cargo cart, Signy was on his guard because he knew that someone had to be skilled enough to cause this much damage.
"Be on your guard, there could be more of them," Signy instructed as he remained on his horse.
"There are more bodies ahead," A Viking said, and Signy raised his clutched hand, instructing his men to follow him with without making too much noise.
They reached a new position and saw an ax dug into one of their men's skull, but this was not something to give too much thought because all it told them was that someone killed this person with an ax.
They packed the bodies of their fallen without interruptions, Tyr was nowhere to be seen.
Signy was surprised by how smoothly it went and began to question it, it felt like they had walked right into a trap and his intuition was spot on as the Vikings of Kattegat that took their goods back to their camp had returned.
The battle was not the priority and Signy ordered them to retreat, they had what they came for and a battle would only claim more of them.
They ran and they had the advantage since they were on horses so their foes could not give chase as they were on foot.
"DO NOT ENGAGE!" Signy reiterated and then his eyes widened in horror when he realized who was standing in front of them, it was Erik The Berserker but there was no dead body around him meaning he did not make contact with those he left behind to gather the corpses.
"T-That's Erik! Do not stop! He cannot stop all of us!" Signy shouted, they all charged right at Erik without slowing down, hoping that the horses were enough to topple him.
The first horse sped past him, then the second and third, Erik was making no effort in stopping them and even moved out of their way. He did this for all except one person, and that was Signy. Signy managed to bury two arrows into Erik's body, with Erik dodging the third one aimed at his neck, despite it grazing him.
"I know you," Erik muttered, right before stopping his horse's charge with his massive body, forcing it to tumble to the ground with Signy on top.
"Young lord!" Kjell shouted, he knew there was no way in hell he was about to leave someone as valuable as Signy in the enemy's hand.
"GO! DO NOT STOP! COMPLETE YOUR TASK!" Signy shouted, Kjell hesitated but he knew he had to comply as Signy outranked him. He did just that as they continued on their way back.
Signy understood that Erik could have killed him with a single blow if he wanted him dead so the only reason Erik even bothered to tackle his horse was because he wanted him alive.
"Well, well. If it isn't the son of Asmund. Tell me, are you as strong as your father," Erik asked but Signy did not respond. He was not about to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
"Hahaha! I cannot kill you even if I wanted to, we gambled on someone of importance being sent here, the moment these fine men told us what had happened, but never did I think that the prince of Vestfold would be the one here," Erik rambled. Signylooked relatively calm despite being in the presence of Erik The Berserker. He noticed guts spilled from the corner of his eyes.
"Erik, you cannot kill me and I am not interested in speaking with a primate being such as yourself, take me to your king," Signy said but this only made Erik burst out laughing,
"Where are Tyr and Oskar?" A Viking asked, interrupting their conversation and Erik's attention shifted from Signy to this warrior. He did not particularly care either if they died or not. He knew there was no way that Tyr could be killed by likes of them or at least that was what he believed.
"We found a body!" A voice rang out behind Erik and Erik did not speak a word.
"It is Oskar! He is dead!" The voice concluded and Erik chuckled like a mad man. How amusing that Oskar died in such a pathetic way, he was dead before he could even make a name for himself by dying alone. Erik's chuckle drew a confused look from his men. Erik could not wait to see Sven's face when he hears this news.
"We have found another body!" The same voice shouted and Erik was surprised by this because there was no reason for another body to be found.
"It is…!' The voice said and Erik's chuckle faded the moment the name was called.