Chapter 28 Back to the north

Magnus knelt on the ground, looking at his empty left arm with a pale face. His hair gently blew as he looked at his men's corpses with distraught. The rage boiled inside his body, looking at the foolish man who decided to burn his village to the ground.

" Bjorn, you will regret it. I will personally take your head!"

His hoarse voice drifted into the far land, swearing he would get his revenge.

A few hours ago

Erik felt cold and sleepy due to hypothermia but he persisted in waiting in the snow, believing someone would come out from the snow. His eyes felt heavy, yet his arms remained steady.

Crunch*

Suddenly he heard the crunching noise of the snow as he held his breath for a moment to confirm whether it was a person or not. The silhouette in the darkness slowly drew near his body, creating tension in his mind. However, he didn't dare to strike prematurely, knowing this would end pointless.

" Vør, guide us to the village. Yandal, go in the front."

Bjorn didn't notice Erik who was hiding right beside his legs as he proceeded forward. Erik slowly extended his hand out from the snow, observing the last man in the squad with a calm face.

He pulled out a dagger from his back, waiting for the man to pass his direction and that didn't last long as the man went next to him.

Erik who saw the chance of killing his enemy, immediately seized it while blocking his mouth with his thick hand just before he warned his tired comrades.

Pierce*

The cold dagger dug into the throat of the man as he felt his vision getting darker. The white snow was tainted by the crimson blood, indicating the blood bath was just starting.

Erik carefully put the man down before his comrades noticed his body, hence running back to the woods slowly while circling the area.

He could tell there was an expert tracker among them, so he left before he was caught since one was better than none.

" Jorn, where are you?"

One of the men noticed that the last man was missing from the group. He thought Jorn was lost in the snow or was passing somewhere to relieve himself but to his horror he found the warm body of Jorn on the snow with a bloody throat.

" Leader! JORN IS DEAD!"

He shouted with a pale face, signaling others to come in his direction whereas Erik used this chance to escape from there. He was like a hunter in the fields where he would kill anything under his gaze.

" Jorn!"

Bjorn who saw the corpse of Jorn, clenched his fists with fury. He understood he wasn't alone here in these mountains and by the looks of this wound, he was sure that the other party was an experienced warrior with rich experience since he sliced his throat under their nose.

" Leader, look!"

One of the Vikings pointed at the footprints on the snow, thinking it was the footprint of the other party.

Vør who was silently observing the situation, knelt on the ground with a calm face while inspecting the owner of the footprints. His calm eyes scanned around himself, slowly fixating on the silent dark woods.

" It is one person with rich experience. He waited here for hours before meeting with us. He then carefully waited for us to pass through his body while killing the person in the rear in a single motion. He then went to the woods. I believe he is prepared for this since there were no additional prints."

Vør didn't hide the fact that Erik was a deadly man and he was hiding in the woods where they had to go.

Bjorn gritted his teeth with anger, guessing this was a trap but he didn't have another choice.

" Damn, he got us good. Be careful of your surroundings and try to be close to each other. I will walk in the middle."

Bjorn decided to stay in the middle because he was confident about his strength. The looming forest looked deadly under his eyes like a reaper that was waiting for them to enter his domain, yet he had no choice but to confront that reaper.