Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 476: CDLXXVI. Enough Talk

The boy looked up at Dag and he immediately noticed that tears were flowing out of control from his shiny eyes.

"My father was a Clan warrior and took part in the mission at Okstorm, under the orders of Commander Kranus. He never returned, and the few survivors who managed to come back to Tungvek told all the citizens that a young man named Dag had managed to defeat the entire fleet with his incredible powers" the young warrior answered, confessing everything he knew about his identity, perfectly remembering every single detail and associating with Dag the death of his beloved father.

Dag looked him in the eye, still crying despite continually wiping away his tears.

Behind him, Freydis looked at him displeased, trying to imagine how his man would behave, while Wrage stood still with his arms folded, interested in the speech.

"I feel so sorry for your father, I didn't want that battle. My men and I were just defending our people from a surprise attack. Anyway, now here I am, in front of you. As you can imagine, I am here at the behest of Commander Kranus, who strongly desired my presence. So forget the past and think about the glorious future that awaits us! Together, we will conquer a good slice of the land that has been taken from you over the centuries!" Dag exclaimed, turning to the crowd and trying to give a summary answer to the boy, thus avoiding angering him.

The soldiers, however, did not react in any way to those words, which for the first time did not have the desired effect.

In their minds, there was only one big question: everyone wondered how one of their bitter enemies might have suddenly become an ally who shared their own goals.

Dag immediately noticed their reaction and after ordering the boy to return to his place, he continued: "I know you never imagined that I would become your ally and above all that I could help you. But know that, as evidence of our friendship, I have transgressed my King's direct orders and fled to Tungvek, automatically becoming an enemy of the Crown! Now, before you can think that I'm just a madman who abandons his land and his friends to pursue his ideals, I'd like to know your fighting style. Wrage, your turn!" he continued, passing the word to the Shield Master and showing respect for his interlocutors, most of whom understood that he was not an evil person as told on the streets of Tungvek.

"So, put yourself in position! Show Master Dag the training you've been through during your last workouts! Come on, come on!" Wrage shouted, who, after ordering his men to move, walked toward a rack and grabbed a half-broken metal shield and a spiked bat in his other hand. 

In a short time, the men, who numbered about a hundred, formed a kind of crescent moon shape, consisting of 4 rows of semi-circles, horizontally arranged one after the other and held the weapons, looking at Dag with an air of defiance.

"Obviously none of them will attack you, Dag... this is just to show you one of the most effective efficient war formations against the Claws Of Fenrir" Wrage added, looking proudly at his men.

"Nobody? Why? Let them attack instead! How can I help you if I don't even know their strength? Hey, Freydis!" Dag called, pulling Magni's hammer off his belt and turning to the Shieldmaiden, which he did not expect to be named.

"Yes?" she said, looking around slightly embarrassed, being the only woman among hundreds of men.

"Come beside me. Let's see what these warriors are capable of, but without hurting them... okay?" he asked.

After that question, even though he wasn't looking in that direction, he heard someone among the warriors giggling behind him, probably as he underestimated his strength, but said nothing.

"But... Dag... what do I have to do with all this?" she asked, walking timidly towards him.

"I want to show these men our coordinated fighting style, I'm sure they don't know any of our techniques. In this way, they will have a practical demonstration from two warriors of two different Clans!" he continued, grabbing his hand and dragging her next to him, as Thalos sat and looked at them from his position.

Without asking too many more questions, Freydis pulled the spear from behind her back and twirled it in the air before blocking it with its toe pointing at enemies, demonstrating her ability to handle that type of weapon.

"Soldiers, be careful! You are all using real weapons, if any of you injure Master Dag, you will have to face the wrath of the Commander personally and..." 

"Master Wrage, enough talk. These men wouldn't be able to hurt me even if they all tried together at the same time, let them try, two at a time. Are you ready, Freydis?" Dag asked again, looking at his woman out of the corner of his eye, who nodded her head.

After yet another voluntary taunt, useful to raise the warriors against him to force them to fight to the maximum of their strength, Dag twisted the hammer in one hand and then stopped in the fighting position, pointing a hand at them and urging them to attack.

"Aaargh!" 

The first two soldiers in the row, without waiting for the signal of their Master, sprinted in the direction of Dag and Freydis, wielding an axe and a sword.

The two Okstorm's warriors waited until the last moment, and just when the first of the two attacked them with a vertical sword slit, Dag raised the hammer and parried the blow, blocking the sword in mid-air with ease.

Almost simultaneously, the other warrior attempted to hit him on the side with his one-handed axe, but the shot was so predictable that Freydis slightly raised the tip of the spear to deflect her opponent's weapon and disarm him.

Immediately after that action, the first soldier became distracted, watching his friend's axe fall to the ground, and Dag took advantage of it to push the sword away with the hammer, destabilize his center of gravity, and hit him with a weak kick on his ankles, causing him to end up on the ground.