The Son Of Ragnar

The fight for Vestfold intensified, and so did the duel between the two kings.

Askild was fighting seriously and Asmund was making a fool out of him despite not being able to land a blow on him and barely evading his strikes as it felt like Askild got faster and stronger with each swing.

Both sides cheered with Signy also watching the duel, wondering why his father was not using his sword as it looked like he had the upper hand and could bring an end to this war if he would take this duel a lot more seriously.

They were speaking as they fought, and Asmund was being put on the defensive and the whole time, he had a calm look on his face. The gentleness in his eyes never left.

"You chose to fight me instead of taking the life of Birger, is that wise King Askild?" Asmund asked as he narrowly dodged a sword to the face, and he unsheathed his blade to block the next strike.

"I am a man of my word and I have given your brother my word," Askild said and Asmund looked amazed by this as he did not know his brother was worthy of anyone keeping their word as he was a snake that slithered in anything as long as it helped him survive.

"Do you know how I knew about your arrival in Vestfold?" Amsund asked but this was rhetorical and Askild raised a brow. He never once dropped his guard because he knew that a moment of carelessness would cost him his life.

This could all be an elaborate plan to make him drop his guard but he was interested in the information that he had to share.

"What do you mean?" Askild asked as his horizontal slash was parried by Asmund with relative ease.

"Even I cannot see the future King Askild, there is no way I would know your every move if someone on the inside did not tell me about it," Asmund said bluntly and Askild connected the dots quickly as he recalled all the events that have occurred so far and how everything looked to go according to some kind of script.

"That is right, there is a traitor among you. And that traitor might or might not be my brother but if it is not Birger, then that means someone has betrayed you." Asmund said, he was a lot more talkative than usual and this was not to persuade Askild.

Asmund knew there were so many ways to dismantle an army and that was to break their trust.

The swordplay was like a dance between masters, it captivated everyone that watched it.

They were speechless because it was a beautiful sight as no one has ever seen both men fight such an evenly matched battle before.

The forces that attempted to scale the wall returned to their original formation and joined back with the main forces.

Kjell was impressed as the hot oil was Signy's idea, but they knew they could end this war if they lifted the gates and attacked them head-on but it would also leave them vulnerable.

Signy trusted his father the same way his father trusted him, he had no plans of backing him up as his job was to hold up the forte.

"Signy! now is our chance! We can end everything now!" Kjell advised him, he was the little voice in his head but Signy was not listening to the devil on his shoulder.

"We hold our position! We do not give chase or we risk losing the forte. We do not know what other trick Askild has under his sleeves." Signy saw the bigger picture.

Earl Aksel was impressed by Signy's leadership skills as he watched him hold his ground against Kjell despite the temptation.

The battle between Askild and Asmund intensified and none had received any injuries from their exchanges, showing they were evenly matched to a certain degree even though it felt like both men never wanted this fight to end.

But then there was first blood and it was Asmund that drew it, cutting Askild right across his right shoulder with blood dripping down his arm, onto his fingers.

Asmund smiled and Askild looked taken aback because if he was losing to Asmund despite Asmund being past his prime then who in their right mind could defeat him in a battle to drive him back into Vestfold and turn him into a pacifist?

"I have gotten weaker, that swing was meant to take off your arm." Asmund joked about the injuries he inflicted on Askild and Askild smiled as he was excited by this battle.

"You are amazing, Asmund!" Askild said, rushing forward to launch an attack but he was cut once again, again, and again.

He was injured and things were not looking good for him. Bjorn watched the fight and he could not believe what he was seeing.

"Wow!" Bjorn exclaimed, this was the one thing that he never expected to see and to a child's eyes, this was the epitome of excellence.

This is why he wanted to become a warrior and he understood at this moment that his father was not as strong as these men, the man he looked up to because of his strength was nowhere near as strong as these two men.

"Bjorn, stay beside me!" Asger commanded because he understood what would happen if things got out of hand. After all, the possibility of Askild falling in battle looked very likely and there was no way that they could withstand a Vestfold assault if Askild fell because the morale and momentum will be on their side and there was no way the warriors of Kattegat would retain that moral if their king fall, the battle is as good as lost.

Ulf was surprised that this was happening and he wondered what Erik's reaction would be like if he saw the man he revered as a god in such a state.

This is the single sight that would break him.