Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 410: CDX. The Proof Of Wisdom

After jumping towards him, he lifted him hard and threw him to the ground, falling next to him.

In the next instant, under everyone's incredulous eyes, an arrow penetrated the snow at the exact spot where Karl was walking.

"Ouch! What the fuck, Dag!" the young healer exclaimed, having not yet realized that his friend had saved his life and quickly got up.

All the soldiers behind them, with their weapons already in their hands, looked up and retreated slightly.

Master Sander, trying to be as fast as he could, pulled out his tower shield and placed it in front of him, fearing the arrival of more arrows. 

Dag stood up with agility and shrugged the snow from his armor, looking up and detaching both weapons from the belt magnets.

At that moment, Reidar positioned himself next to him and after extracting an arrow from the quiver, charged it over the Failnaught, and pointed it at the exact spot from which the arrow headed to Karl, ready to fire at Dag's signal. 

He raised his hand in front of his companion's bow, ordering him not to shoot, and other soldiers, who had just drawn their bows, stopped, waiting for the order of their commanders.

"Who's there?!" Dag yelled, accurately recalling that during the battle with the Giants Of Ymir, he had not seen any of them use a bow and arrow.

No one answered. 

After a few seconds, everyone could hear the sound of a bow as it stretched its rope and aimed again at that point.

"Stop! Just shoot at my order!" Dag continued, without looking away from the walls and ordering his men not to counterattack.

A second arrow departed from the same spot as the first, and before it could reach Dag, something happened that left everyone speechless.

A thin bundle of dark liquid splattered out of his chest and the arrowhead pierced it, locking a few inches from his face.

Freydis and Gridd, who were the two who most of all were frightened, believing that Dag was going to get killed, took their hands off their mouths and looked up again, not understanding what he had in mind.

"You're not Giants Of Ymir, are you?!" Dag asked again, throwing the arrow to the ground and letting the liquid flow back into his body.

"What is he saying?" 

"How can he be convinced?" 

"Why don't we just attack? We're ready!" 

The warriors began to chat with each other, tremble from the desire to assault the fort, which despite having very old walls, seemed to have no access point and was closed by a huge vertical opening door, almost impossible to open from the outside.

Kjell, Sander, and Egill stood motionless in their positions, silently, waiting for someone to answer from the other side.

"And who are you?!" 

After only a few seconds of waiting, a male voice answered Dag's question, who immediately replied: "We come from Okstorm. We are an exploratory group of three Clans. We have no intention of attacking you unless you are Giants Of Ymir." 

At those words, the warriors began to look at Dag in a strange way, unable to understand why he had just fomented and incited them to battle and now he was pulling back.

"We are not Giants Of Ymir... but what you say is false! I've heard your men say they're ready for battle! Go away and no one will be hurt!" the voice replied, urging Dag and the others to go away.

He gestured with his hand to Reidar, who lowered the bow, showing the man who was watching them that their intentions were good.

At that point, the one who was speaking, stood up, sticking out the square grooves at the top of the walls.

"If he shoots you another arrow, I'll kill him" Reidar whispered, making sure not to be heard from enemies and reassuring Dag that his shooting speed was faster than those in front of him, having already made the comparison from the time he had gone from the noise of the charging bow to that of the arrow hitting the ground.

Dag nodded slightly, confirming to his companion that he understood.

"What do you want?!" the man asked, who had long black hair, shaved at the sides, and tied in a braid that covered his entire back.

"We just want to rest our tired muscles so we can resume the journey as soon as possible. We're not used to such cold temperatures" Dag said, trying to be as honest as possible.

"Find another place then, this is not a tavern, but a military base!" 

"We headed to this place because we thought it was a Giants Of Ymir base, with which we have an outstanding account. That's why we're armed and ready to attack. When I noticed that you and the other 7 men next to you were all armed with bows, I immediately realized that you were not Jotunns, considering that they prefer close combat weapons" Dag continued, hoping to impress his interlocutor with his sharp dialectic.

The man rested his bow and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"You're smart, boy... if your men are like you, it would be a waste to let you die in the snow, also because it's the snack time for crows right now" the man said, spreading his arms and looking around.

After that gesture, four archers rose to their feet from his right and 3 others from his left.

"How did you do that, Dag?" Gridd asked, stunned.

Meanwhile, Egill approached him, turning his back on the enemies and whispered something in his ear.

"Wise choice, Dag. I knew you wouldn't disappoint my expectations. Very good" he said, smiling.

"With our current numbers, it's better to make friends than enemies. We already have two Clans on our heels, it would be good to recruit new allies" Dag replied, making himself heard only by some of his comrades, who finally realized his intentions, understanding why he was talking in that way.