Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 408: CDVIII. Who's With Me?

"I haven't been able to see the village before, even when I looked from the top of this cliff, but that's not why I'm pessimistic... what are we going to do once we get there? That man confessed to me and Gridd that their boss wants revenge for the death of his son... they will attack us on sight! What do we do if their number is much higher than ours? I don't want to lose any more men, Egill, I wouldn't stand it" Dag confessed, venting his nervousness with his former Master and looking at him with sincere eyes, as if he was asking for help from someone who, like him, had more experience in this sort of thing.

Egill put his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Before we left, we trained our men to fight the Jotunns. The only battle we've fought since we got here was against enemies we'd never faced, obviously there were losses, we were already prepared for that. But against the Giants... you'll see, it will be different. Our soldiers are ready to fight, Dag and more... they are also ready to reach Valhalla, fighting for what they believe. The question is... is their Warchief ready too?"

After those words, a shiver ran through Dag's back, who had just listened to the words he most feared in his subconscious, emphasized by Egill's superhuman calm, which as if he was reading in his thought, had managed to identify his perplexities from a simple glance.

"I don't know, Egill. I don't know if I'm ready to die. There are too many things I don't know... dying and leaving all these unresolved issues would be the worst thing that could happen to me. I feel like I haven't taken advantage of the time my life has given me. I need to know who my parents are and..." 

"Enough, boy. Stop it. I figured it out. You're not going to die now, Dag from Earth, your time hasn't come yet. But these soldiers don't need a leader who's afraid to die. Teach them how to deal with these difficult moments, as only you can do" Egill continued, smiling and leaving Dag's shoulder, turning the other way and continuing to prepare his belongings, tucking several items into his healer bag.

Dag stood still for a few seconds looking at the ground, reflecting on those words.

Once again, Egill's wisdom had served him to regain the courage that was easy to lose during those difficult moments, finding himself in an unknown and hostile place.

He went out of the cave again, waiting for all his men to be ready to go, and when they gathered before him, ready for orders, Dag cleared his voice and said: "children, men, and women... a huge pile of rotting corpses huddled together on a beach in Runar, among the rubble of smashed wood that a few days earlier was their home. These are the images that appear in my mind when I think of the Jotunns. They came to our land, without asking permission, killing and plundering, with the arrogance of beasts without modesty and conscience. I do not know about you, but I feel an incredible hatred against them, combined with the desire for revenge, in honor of the poor innocent fishermen who were brutally slaughtered. What do you think, are we gonna make them pay for it?!"

"Yes, commander!" 

"Let's kill all those bastards, from the first to the last!" 

"My friend's family was in that village when those sons of bitch arrived! 

"We are with you, Master Dag!" 

Immediately after his speech, the warriors began to give their consent, fomented by the anger that the eyes of their Warchief expressed when he named the Jotunns.

"Among the dozens of Giants I killed during the battle at Runar, there was one in particular, who had tried to steal my axe, I still don't know why. Well, that Jotunn was the son of their Clan leader, Kranus." 

The warriors shut up, however, the news did not seem to scare them and they continued to watch Dag hanging from his lips. 

"Not far from here, in that direction, there is a village, which according to our information should be inhabited by members of the Giants Of Ymir, who on the orders of their commander, seek revenge on me, being aware that I am the murderer of his son. I don't know how many enemies there are in that place, nor how big it is and what kind of walls and defenses it has. What I do know is that my hands are itching to get wet with the blood of those bastards, who slaughtered our people and deserve the same fate! Who's with me, brothers?! Who will help me end their existence and reclaim this land?!" Dag shouted, loading his words with unexpected rage, coming out of the depths of his stomach, as if he felt an urgent desire for blood, recalling past events.

"We're here, Master Dag!" 

"Here we are, Warchief!" 

"We're ready, Master Dag!" 

"No matter how many there are, we will kill them from the first to the last!" 

The warriors continued to appreciate his speech and completely galvanized by it, shouted at Dag their consent, ready to walk and unleash their weapons. 

"Soldiers, remember what your Warchief did for you! He didn't hesitate to risk his life to save us! We owe him the same courage, we must fight to the end, without fear of death! Remember the lessons before embarking on our journey! We've explained to you how giants move and how they fight, what their weaknesses are, what their strengths are! With your knowledge and skills, you have to kill them from the first to the last! You must do it, you owe it to your Warchief! Long live Dag, the Exiled!" Egill interrupted, raising the tone of his voice more than usual to overwhelm that of the soldiers in front of him, who listened to his words and nodded determinedly, ready to respect the will of their leader.