NOVPUB
Chapter 150: 150
Suddenly, Ragnar’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and urgent. "Father, look!" he exclaimed, pointing ahead to where a faint glow illuminated the darkness. "It’s them!"
Einar’s heart pounded in his chest as he urged his horse forward, his muscles tensed with anticipation. As they drew closer, the outline of Olaf and his men became clearer against the backdrop of the night.
Without hesitation, Einar unsheathed his sword, the gleaming blade catching the moonlight as he charged towards the enemy. His soldiers followed suit, their battle cries ringing out into the night as they descended upon Olaf and his minions.
Olaf and his minion who has been casually strolling heard the battle cry behind them looking back to see a small army heading fast towards them.
Olaf could pick up on the magical presence and there were two there who could pose a problem for him if surrounded so he immediately does what he does best as he begins picking up speed "All man for himself. If you make it a fest is prepared for you when you get back and if you don’t make make sure to take a many as you can"
Saying that Olaf suddenly waved his huge hand at one of his minions, specifically the one that got shot with an arrow, the minion neck was twisted to the back as he fell down, his body thrown his farther away from the speed he went down on.
The others were surprised at that but nobody bothered to ask a question as they began running, soon the sight of a forest appeared in front of them.
Olaf wasted no time as he jumped to a tree from there to next and so on as he went deeper into the forest, minions following behind also did the same but the last minion to get into the forest was pinned by a huge sword to a tree.
A short time after the minion was pinned, the sound of horses followed behind as Einar’s horse came to a halt beside the pinned minion,Einar stretched out his hand grabbing hold of the huge sword at the same time cutting the minion in half. Meanwhile Ragnar’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene. He dismounted swiftly, his movements precise and controlled despite the urgency of the situation.
"Spread out! We need to find Olaf before he disappears into the depths of this forest and leaves the kingdom soil leaving us to deal with reinforcement from Björn" Einar commanded, his voice cutting through the night air with authority. His soldiers fanned out, their weapons at the ready as they began to scour the dense undergrowth in search of their elusive prey.
Meanwhile, Olaf moved like a shadow among the trees, his animalistic senses heightened as he navigated the familiar terrain of the forest. He could hear the distant sounds of pursuit behind him, the pounding of hooves and the shouts of his pursuers growing louder with each passing moment.
His mind raced with possibilities, calculating his chances of escape and weighing his options. He knew that he couldn’t afford to be captured, not when his plans were on the brink of fruition.
Suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye, and Olaf’s instincts kicked in as he ducked behind a tree just in time to avoid a volley of arrows that whistled past him. He cursed under his breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he assessed the situation.
With a snarl of defiance, Olaf leaped out from his hiding spot, his axe gleaming in the moonlight as he charged towards his attackers. His minions followed suit, their eyes blazing with a feral intensity as they clashed with Einar’s soldiers that caught up with them in a savage melee.
The forest echoed with the clash of steel and the cries of the wounded as Olaf fought with a savage ferocity, his axe cleaving through armor and bone with brutal efficiency quickly clearing this batch. Each side is fighting tooth and nail for supremacy.
This stalled him for a while as a familiar smell caught his nose when a silver arrow was swapped away by his axe, he looked where the arrow was from to see Ragnar holding his bow aiming at him.
Not wasting time, Olaf turned back as he began running once again, Ragnar was clenching his teeth in anger as he watched the body of his people that was killed.
In his eyesight he had a clear shot of Olaf but he knew that it wouldn’t be so easy as his enemy won’t just stand there and let it happen so he muttered " "O blessed Mother of the Moon, Gentle yet fierce, in your grace I swoon. Grant me strength in this hour of need, As I draw forth my arrow with utmost speed May your light guide its flight, To strike true and with all might. In your name, I invoke this power, To defend, to protect, in this fateful hour" n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
Ragnaar arms can be seen straining as he muttered the prayer before at the last second aimed the arrow up in the sky, with a quick swoosh the arrow went up quickly into the night sky.
Soon in the dark night sky over the forest a small phantom of the moon appeared brightening the forest, Olaf and his men were taken back from the light. Einar who was on the other side of the forest after they divided themselves up recognized the phantom and using that small monet of brightness he caught the shadow of Olaf and his men escaping so he quickly commanded his men to follow him.
Mahu who has been watching the whole encounter in her realm was surprised when she heard the prayer, for some reason she felt like she could extend a bit of her power to the human praying to her and which she did which caused the moon phantom.
From the phantom descended a small pillar of silver light similar to an arrow as Olaf men who didn’t dodge on their were pierced through, Olaf meanwhile seeing the weight roared out loud as a phantom of a huge red leopard appeared behind him and also roared out loud.
Olaf’s body can also be seen changed after the phantom appeared as he took on the appearance of a werebeast, the ground under his foot sunk like butter as he sped off like quickly into the night quickly getting away from the influence of the phantom moon.
Someone the silver light in an attempt to go after him deviated their path but Olaf dodged them like he had eyes behind his back, soon Olaf’s figure was no longer seen in the forest.
Einar finally got to the position to see his son Ragnar standing and looking down at the body of the fallen soldiers, Einar held his son’s shoulders "They got away?"
Ragnar finally managed to pull his eyes away "Only one of them did, the others" He said as he pointed to the fallen bodies of Olaf minion and the destroyed part of the forest.
Olaf seeing the bodies nodded, this will be enough to calm the nobles. Thinking of that he looked back to his confused son "It is not what you expected right"
Ragnar looked back confused "War i mean" Einar answered seeing his confusion.
"No" Ragnar responded "I remember my young self running around with a sword dreaming about leading men to finish off our enemy, even before this battle I still thought so but it truly is different. Unlike my imagination or dream, the enemy didn’t just stand there and let me win, I never lost men in my dream because I could save them all but in reality their lives were lost before I could do anything" Ragnar said as tears left his eyes.
Einar gestured for the soldier around to disperse and take care of the dead bodies before he held his son. " War, my son, is not the glorious and noble endeavor that poets and bards often paint it to be. It is not a grand adventure where heroes rise and legends are born. No, war is an abomination, a testament to the failure of diplomacy and reason. In our case it is because of Björn ambition"
"In war, Lives are shattered, families torn apart, and futures obliterated. The fields where battles are fought are stained not just with blood, but with the broken dreams of countless souls who believed in the righteousness of their cause"
"My son, as heir to the throne, you must understand that the decision to go to war is never to be taken lightly. It is a decision that weighs heavy on the conscience of any ruler who values the lives of their subjects. You must exhaust every possible avenue for peace before even considering the path of conflict" Einar said, patting his son’s shoulder.
Ragnar nodded wiping his eyes before looking around at the aftermath of his technique "We may have another problem in hand apart from Björn"
Einar understood what was being said so he answered "Was kinda prepared for it already" Saying that he waved his hand where a small statue of Ikenga appeared in the destroyed forest.
