The Sage of Einar

Chapter 92: Chaos on the border of the Frankish kingdom

Anders, who was cooking a pork leg, watched as the groups that were going to attack the settlements began to form.

Seeing that somewhat large groups were forming, he pointed at the warriors with the pig’s leg and shouted with all his might.

“Gentlemen! It seems good to me that you are forming your groups of friends and boyfriends, but you must know that we will attack eight settlements.

So I hope they prepare by accepting or removing people, as otherwise, they will not have the numbers to carry out the attack correctly.

If you have doubts or do not know how to count, you can approach the Godi who must be preparing in his tent. “

All the warriors upon hearing Anders’s new orders could only sigh silently as they would have to hang out with people they didn’t like.

However, they followed the orders that the Berserker gave them since they did not have enough courage to face him.

Anders, who was watching everyone start to move with the Godi, smiled and continued to cook the pork leg that he had in his hand.

“There is nothing that opens more hunger that prepares me to kill and burn a Christian village.

Don’t think of it like that, Fenrir. “

The wolf cub only moved his small head to the side without understanding what Anders was saying, since he could only think about the chunk of meat he was cooking on the fire.

After a while and all prepared, Anders gave the order to Fritz to lead all the groups of warriors.

The plan that Anders had drawn was quite simple because they would only go through settlement by settlement, leaving a group of warriors in each one.

When they finished they would go back to the camp, in this way everyone would be reunited no later than the morning of the next day.

Fritz who was riding a horse began to lead everyone through the dense snowy forests and frozen swamps.

On the way through the swamps, Anders could see that there were numerous corpses covered with rusty iron armor that already seemed to have been in place for a long time.

“These corpses I think belonged to the Frankish army, they must have been some poor bastards who died in this swamp.

But being so far from any settlement, I think that is why their corpses rotted in this place. “

The Godi who was next to Anders shook his head and approached one of the corpses from which he picked up a helmet that was quite rusty but had a completely strange shape.

However, he put aside the helmet and picked up from the snow something that caught his attention, using a little force he pulled out a golden eagle from the snow.

It was attached to what seemed to be a kind of base, which had a tube that seemed to have been attached to something; it is just that due to the time it was buried, it is possible that it broke or had been lost over time.

“This thing seems to be a gold standard. It’s just that I’m sure this doesn’t belong to the Franks.

Since I fought against them during the end of the war launched by Emperor Charlemagne.

But I think this belongs to something older, in the temple where I spent my childhood I once heard from the Godi a legend about a group of people who called themselves Romans.

These according to the Godi were a great empire that had managed to dominate the entire West of our land. It is just that at some point their ambition led them to try to conquer us, but to their bad luck, they were not good enough.

Because they died miserably when all the tribes united against them in a great battle that took place in the forests, according to the Godi that event was named the massacre of the Teutoburg Forest.

According to the story of the Godi, the corpses could be piled up, reaching the height of two men. “

Raising the banner the Godi looked at the corpses seriously and turned to Anders.

“We should organize a burial ceremony for these corpses because although they have been enemies of our ancestors they have waited a long time to be returned to earth, there is also the fact that they were warriors who died in battle.

We may find something of value among their corpses, so somehow they are paying us what we are going to do. “

Anders looked at the group of corpses and gave the order that a hole be made in the frozen earth so that the bones could be buried.

Some warriors began to dig into the snow while others removed valuables from the skeletons, which were gathered in a pile of bones.

The rusted weapons and armor were also placed in a large pile to be buried because they were worthless.

After a time the warriors gathered a great booty which was composed of two big bags of silver coins, some jewels, a gold sword, and the gold standard.

“Godi, you can keep the banner as a memento that our people will always win the invaders from the west, I will keep the golden sword.

As for the coins that are distributed among the warriors, by the way, Godi does not intend to make a runestone in the tomb of those Roman bones. “

The Godi scratched his beard “Fritz should be looking for a large rock to place on the great tomb, after that we can continue.”

Anders nodded and curiously took the golden sword that had some Latin letters on it, while on the wizard it had some rubies.

‘I suppose this sword was ceremonial or must have belonged to some nobleman since I don’t think anyone in their right mind used this sword to kill someone.

In any case, it’s mine now and I’ll see to it that I put it to good use by killing a few slaves with it, I just hope Fritz doesn’t take too long. ‘

During the afternoon, Aldous who was taking care of the Duke was surprised when the door to the room he was in was thrown open.

The priest who was visibly upset approached Aldous “Knight Aldous, we are in real trouble.

I hope you can accompany me so that you can hear first hand what one of the messengers that we sent to the nearby towns has to say. “

Aldous took one look at the duke and rose, following the priest who led him through the corridors of the stave church to the kitchen where the messenger was.

In the kitchen, the messenger who was quite tired bit with all his might the piece of bread they had given him.

Eating in a hurry, he had to drink from the jug of water when he saw the knight enter next to the priest because he was choking on a piece of bread. 

Aldous seeing the visibly tired messenger sat down in one of the chairs in the kitchen and placed his hand on the table.

“Messenger, tell me what has happened or what you have seen.”

The somewhat nervous messenger gulped some saliva, and with his sad face began to speak.

“The first villages I went to agree to accept the suggestion he had given us, but when I was about to go to a more remote village.

I could see in the distance how there was a large amount of fire both in the forest and where some villages were supposed to be further away.

I did not want to enter that sea of ​​fire that there was because if I felt that I was entering, perhaps I would never return.

After this, I ran with all my strength towards the village to be able to report.

I hope the knight can spare my life but of one thing I am sure and that is that whatever that fire did must have been human. “

Aldous began to tap on the table, and it didn’t take him long to get up and put his hand on the priest’s shoulder.

“That every man child and adult, who knows how to use a weapon or who can carry a weapon meet in front of the church.

Maybe what we face is a real army, it is only a matter of time before they finish robbing and massacring all the nearby towns.

We’ll be next, so it’s better to die on your feet than on your knees like a miserable slave. “

While this was happening, Anders was using his golden sword to assassinate a woman who tried to escape.

“Where do you think you’re going, if this is just beginning …”

Drawing the sword from the woman’s back, Anders lifted the woman’s corpse by the hair.

“I don’t care if you are dead or alive in the same way you will suffer like the rest of the town.

It’s just that it’s a shame you died, but I’ll see to it that you put your body to good use. “

Fritz who was close to Anders just shook his head and beheaded the old man who was lying on the ground.

“Anders, it’s not normal to talk to the dead, you can’t just kill them and that’s it.”

Anders started to laugh at Fritz’s comment and put his sword on his shoulder.

“When you kill too much, it doesn’t matter if your enemy is alive or dead.

Believe me, that as you get older, you will have to do this because otherwise, the souls of all those you kill will torment you.

My father said that this was because when you kill Christians, they are deprived of the right to go to heaven or hell, so they can only follow you until you die.

Because they are not believers in Odin, they will have to stay in this place thinking while we enjoy Valhalla. “

Fritz looked at Anders’s back as he walked away “I’m glad to have him as a partner and not as an enemy …”