Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 462: CDLXII. The Enemy Of The Crown

"Enough! I'm sick of all this incompetence! I sent three more men and they couldn't speed up the process! Now I'll go personally and..." 

Shortly before the guard finished criticizing his men, the three soldiers in question hurriedly walked out the door, looking with regret at their superiors.

"So what?! Where are they?! Why did you come out without them? The orders were precise! You're playing with fire!" the guard replied, scolding his subordinates, who were ashamed to look the King in the eye, while he was waiting for a concrete answer.

"They... they're... gone, your majesty..." one of them whispered timidly, with his arms stretched down along his hips and his head lowered, like the other two. 

About ten seconds of silence followed those words, and the crowd of warriors behind the King remained grounded by the soldier's statement.

Between them, Gridd and Reidar were the first to breathe a sigh of relief, finally realizing that what they thought had really happened and Dag and Freydis had managed to escape.

At that moment, the emotions and empathy between them were so strong, that the Shieldmaiden, without thinking twice, turned to the archer and hugged him.

Reidar, who in other circumstances would have been embarrassed and distressed, reciprocated the hug without any problems, happy for his Captain and his woman. 

Egill stood still in the same position and a subtle smile lit up his face, while he tried to hide his pride in Dag, who, deciding to challenge the King himself, had exceeded all his expectations.

Sander and Kjell, who were the only Masters unaware of what Dag was plotting, looked at their companions with a questioning air, looking for explanations.

"You! You who know Dag well... where did they go? Why are they not here? Did they leave their brains in the building?" Kjell asked Karl, who like him had not yet understood the reason for the choice of Dag and Freydis, who had abandoned everyone and fled who knows where.

"I... I... I have no idea! My best friend is gone with my sister, I'm as amazed as you are, Master!" Karl replied, keeping his voice low, not to let the rest of the soldiers guess anything.

"What does it mean they're gone?" King Einar asked, keeping his composure, his arms folded over his chest.

A shiver ran down the back of the three soldiers in front of him, ready to suffer his punishment.

"He killed one of our men and together with the girl and his wolf is... well, he is..." 

"He is...?"

"He jumped out the window and ran away, your majesty" another soldier continued, shyly looking up and confronting his responsibilities.

King Einar, under the confused gaze of all, remained almost impassive and looked up at the sky, which was particularly clear that morning.

The boy made his choice. He knew he would become an enemy of the Crown and chose to betray us and run away. Krypstorm will kill him, I don't need to chase a lost lamb. Gather the last men and follow me to the ship. I'm sick of standing still in this decadent place" Einar continued, turning and walking slowly toward the horses as the crowd of people behind him opened up as he passed.

Karl, Kjell, and Sander were speechless, trying to imagine the epilogue of Dag's gesture, which from that moment on would find himself alone facing the unknown dangers of Krypstorm and having to protect Freydis, who despite her combat skills, was still inexperienced.

"Psst! Hey, Egill!" Sander whispered, drawing the attention of his colleague.

"Uhm?"

"Can you explain to me what the fuck the boy is doing?! Did you know that?!" he asked again.

"He didn't tell me explicitly, but... yes. Inside me, I knew he wouldn't give up. That boy is unstoppable, no one can stand between him and his destiny. His determination fills me with pride, he manages to exceed my expectations every time" the Master Of Healing said, smiling and destabilizing Sander, who did not approve of what had just happened.

"Pride?! Don't say nonsense! Dag just sentenced himself to death with his own hands! He dared to disobey the King's orders and even killed a warrior of his precious Chromed Army! What is he going to do that now? And what will happen to the Iron Alliance? We will never see him again, we've got it all wrong! We shouldn't have given him all this confidence!" Sander exclaimed, making himself heard by his warriors, who, listening to one of their Masters speak in that way of their Warchief, sharpened their ears.

"Perhaps you think you've made a mistake, but not me. If I went back, I'd make the same choices a million times. Dag is and will remain forever the Iron Alliance Warchief! He and the young Freydis were the only two who had the courage to rebel and continue our mission, at the cost of doing it alone, without any help! Warriors, pray to the Gods! Pray that they protect your Warchief and his woman from the dangers of Krypstorm and that they can complete the most important mission ever... to save humanity! Hahaha!" Egill answered aloud, knowing that their speech was no longer secret and trying to lift the morale of his soldiers.

The warriors, in fact, after the words of the wise Master Of Healing, reassessed what had just happened, interpreting it not as an act of madness or cowardice, but a real act of faith, aimed at sacrificing for the achievement of the common goal: freedom.

"Hey! Hey!" What's all this racket! Silence! Can't you see that the King is upset?! You're bothering him, shut up!" a guard yelled, slapping Karl's head, who was one of the few who hadn't even spoken.

King Einar, who had good hearing, could hear the words of Egill and Sander, but being focused on other issues that awaited him at Okstorm, he did not investigate the matter and climbed onto his great white horse in gold armor.