Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 453: CDLIII. The Offense Against The Crown

The King's soldiers, after hearing 'Hunters Of Ullr', began to murmur something, incredulous to find themselves in front of survivors of one of the Clans who had been erased forever from the face of the planet.

"This is amazing. I myself knew nothing of their existence. And tell me, Hunters Of Ullr... why have you stayed here in Krypstorm so long? I guess you don't have many warriors... you could have tried to travel to Okstorm and start again with a new life. It would have been enough for you to come to the capital and ask for my help" the King exclaimed, rolling up and closing the parchment and then handing it over to Dag.

"Sir, please don't mistake the truth for insolence, but... as you Okstorm men, don't have much information about Krypstorm, so we who have been living in these lands since we were born, never thought of migrating away, not least because we didn't know Okstorm had a King" Orvar confessed, trying to tell the truth in a way that would not offend the sensibilities of men in front of him.

"What did he say?!" 

"They didn't even know of the existence of King Einar!" 

"It's really true what they say about them... they're savages!"

"Yes, they are not real Vikings... they are more like beasts than warriors..." 

The soldiers of the chromed army continued to chat aloud, with the blatant aim of openly mocking the Hunters Of Ullr and all the inhabitants of the Fort, without respect.

The King did not reproach this rude way of doing and merely ignored their words, responding calmly: "There is no need to justify it is never too late to start again. When we're done here, you'll have a chance to come with us to Okstorm... this is a personal favor from your King." 

Orvar and Skaldr looked down again, without explicitly answering and went back to their respective positions, while Dag observed their behavior, happy that they were polite as gentlemen towards those who had never been interested in their needs and had never even heard of them.

"So, letting go of these lesser details. Master Dag, as the leader of these warriors, you'll take full responsibility for your actions. Traveling here to Krypstorm and deprive Okstorm of his strongest warriors, you committed a serious offense against the crown and therefore, you will have to be punished, as well as the other Masters who have accepted your agreement" King Einar ordered, who immediately changed his expression, becoming serious.

"What?!" Gridd exclaimed, who did not think the King could make such a cruel decision without even allowing them to justify their choices.

"My lord... maybe I didn't explain myself well... these men followed me of their own accord, according to a peaceful agreement that..." 

"There is no agreement!" Einar interrupted, raising his voice and opening his eyes wide as if until then he had held back the anger and now was about to explode.

Dag, after being silenced, remained quiet for a few seconds, allowing the King to vent his rage.

"There's no royal seal on that scroll you showed me, which means it's just waste paper! It has no value! Your alliance cannot exist without my permission! You dared to travel out of the allowed territories without referring it to your King!" Einar yelled again, as his bodyguards giggled, imagining that Dag and the others were doomed.

"King Einar, maybe there must have been a misunderstanding... the young Dag tried to explain our situation starting with the Iron Alliance, but there's so much more he should tell. He omitted important details, such as the fact that before leaving for Krypstorm we saved and secured the shores of Runar after they had suffered an attack from the Giants Of Ymir. Dag, showing incredible courage, managed to defeat by himself dozens and dozens of enemy giants, saving the villages of the region and preventing the enemies from being able to attack Skjegg! It's also revenge that pushed us beyond our sea!" Sander said, entering the conversation and trying to take advantage of the fact that he knew the King personally.

"That doesn't make your betrayal less serious, Sander. I'm very sorry for you too... I didn't think a warrior with your story and experience would agree to follow a guy to fight enemies against whom it's impossible to win. Not to mention you, Egill... look what you have become..." the King replied, looking at the two older Masters from top to bottom.

The blood in Dag's veins began to boil.

"But how dare this fellow judge what we have done for the nation?! It's only because of us that no other innocents died! It is only thanks to us that a delegation from Okstorm has been able to land on these lands, unexplored for centuries! He spoke about rules, but with what courage can he criticize us if he has always been absent?! It all happened before his eyes... the creation of the Iron Alliance, the fights for the title of Warchief, the wars between hostile Clans... and what does he do? Does he remember just now our existence?! That's not fair!" he thought, clenching his fists and trying to hold back the anger.

Gridd was the first to notice that her brother was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and grabbed his wrist, trying to calm him down and preventing him from doing something he would regret.

"If I may say so, my lord... as Sander also said, our decision to explore Krypstorm stems from a series of events, it wasn't taken lightly. I ask you to allow Master Dag to explain to you what happened in detail... I'm sure this would change your conception of seeing things! In addition to being the strongest and most promising warrior I have known in my life, Dag comes from Earth and knows the Frostsinners very well. Thanks to his visions and his sense of belonging to this world, he opened our eyes to the truth! Moreover, one of his first concerns was the crown. He made it clear to us all, right from the start, that this agreement had nothing to do with the King and that the Crown would always be above everything" Egill said, who, with his skillful way of doing, spoke a few seconds more than the others without being interrupted by anyone.