129.
129.
"Hragh!"
[Crunch! Crunch! Crack! Crush!]
With a short battle cry, I squeezed every muscle in my body with the deeply drawn breath and swung the axe with terrifying force.
The direction was, of course, from above to below. Diagonally.
Dids he know that the greatest natural enemy of a tree is, in fact, the stroke of a human axe?
Under my continuous downward blows, the gate, which already had a hole big enough to fit two human faces, split and shattered further.
By the time the axe head finally broke, unable to withstand my strength and the repeated impacts, the initially punctured portion was torn to shreds as if a gigantic beast had clawed through it.
'Fuuu-'
My body, finished with its warm-up, gradually heated up, and I steadied my quickening breath as I grabbed and pulled out the axe blade embedded in the gate.
[Ggudeuk- Ttuk-]
The head of the axe slid down and stuck into the sodden dirt, and through the gap large enough for a single person to pass, the enemy came into view.
They did not seem to clearly grasp the situation, and I drew the sword I had temporarily planted into the ground while wielding the axe.
[Seuk-]
I roughly wiped the mud off the tip of the blade onto the cloth beneath my mail armor, and with the dimly gleaming blade resting over my right shoulder, I slowly crossed through the gate, anticipating the coming battle.
'Sssss- Fuuu-'
The air beyond the gate.
It was damp and chilly, no different from outside the gate. I wondered if this was truly summer weather...
The interior of Glasgow was tidier than I had expected, but due to the limitations of the era and the state of siege, an indescribable stench permeated everything.
'Once the battle is over, I shall have to start with sanitation.'
I would drain or bury all the foul water in the moat into the river, and somehow draw a watercourse into this fortress to wash everything clean.
To do that, I had to put an end to this now.
For our sake, and for theirs.
'Ssssss-'
"Wh-what are you doing...! Stop him! Kill him!"
The pale face I had glimpsed through the hole in the gate was now flushed red as it bellowed orders, and the warriors of Glasgow, frozen for a moment, finally came to their senses and rushed at me with battle cries.
"Y-Yahhhhh!"
"Die!"
Five spears thrust at me simultaneously. The spear strikes came in a slightly staggered rhythm, not perfectly in unison.
Under normal circumstances, anyone standing here would have died or been gravely wounded. But I was no ordinary warrior.
[Ta- Tak!]
A greatsword does not only make sweeping attacks. As I did now, pressing the blade close to my body and deflecting the strikes with short movements near the neck of the sword to create space.
[Huuuung- Seogeok!]
By the time I lunged forward and struck a warrior's neck, they were unable to react in any way.
"You-!"
[Puk!]
"-Gahk!"
I cut the throat of the warrior on the left with a downward slash from the upper left, and without stopping the flow of the blade, drove it right into the chest of the warrior to my right.
[Fwi-rik-]
From that stance, I spun my body like a top until the sword's hilt touched my left temple, and beyond the collapsing headless torso, I cut down the enemy who stared at me blankly.
[Huuuung-! Pushyut! Seogeok!]
At the same moment blood sprayed from the wound where the great sword was withdrawn, a diagonal line was drawn across the body of the enemy felled by the sweeping stroke.
"Uh, uh.. u- Hack!"
As I turned my back indifferently, the blood-spitting enemy collapsed to the ground, and now only the two who had been standing furthest to the right remained before me.
"What... what is this..."
"He's not... not human..."
All of this had happened in the span of a single spear thrust.
In this place, drenched in blood in just one breath, they ultimately chose to abandon their reason.
"You demon-!"
"Oh God!"
'A poor choice.'
They should have known it would not work, but perhaps they had already collapsed mentally too far to have such thoughts.
Two warriors cocked their spears to thrust identically.
I quickly drew the hand axe from my left waist and hurled it while pushing forward.
[Fwik- Fwik- Fwik- Peok! Keok! Huung- Tak!]
The hand axe, flying far swifter than the thrusting spear, split the enemy's helmet with a heavy thud, and the remaining spear was deflected onto the blade of the sword in my right hand at the precise moment.
"You-"
[Seogeok!]
"-Gahk! Kreuk!"
As I swept past the enemy, I ran my blade along the spear shaft and slashed his throat.
Clutching his own throat, the warrior knelt with bloodshot eyes bulging, lasting only a moment before burying his face into the dirt.
[Teolsseok!]
'Fuuu-'
Even my exhalation vibrated with the stench of blood; I did not need to look to know my appearance must be a sight to behold.
"Th-those...! Arrows...! Shoot your arrows...! I said pour everything you have into it!"
The five who had rushed at me must have been fairly skilled warriors, for the rest remained frozen and made no move to act. Only the one who seemed to be the enemy commander gave precise orders, even with a trembling voice.
[Kkiiik- Pyung! Pyupyut!]
The enemy archers faithfully followed the command and hurriedly loosed their bowstrings. Perhaps because of the close range, the arrows flew with considerable accuracy, and I swung the greatsword gripped in both hands to knock them all away.
[Sswaeeek- Sswaeeek- Ung- Ung- Huuung- Ung- Pababak! Pabak! Peoseok! Hududuk! Huduk!]
"What in the...?"
"It's a god... The second coming of Cú Chulainn..."
"Dear God... Lord..."
A man who witnesses an unbelievable divine feat before his very eyes comes to doubt himself and distrust everything around him.
As even the enemy commander who had given the order went completely blank at this unprecedented situation, I stealthily stepped backward and lifted the bar securing the gate.
[Kkiiik- Kung!]
"Konungr!"
"I am coming now, Konungr!"
[Kwang!]
Immediately, Sutrölfr, Guthrum, and Thorbjörn, who had been thoroughly alarmed by my reckless action, threw the gate wide open, and through that space, the enraged warriors appeared.
"Sutrölfr! Guthrum! Cut down all who resist! Spare those who do not! Today, Glasgow and Govan are mine!"
"Yes, Konungr!"
"Understood!"
The eyes of my warriors, gazing upon their King who had slain five men and unbarred the gate not long after entering, were filled with awe. This quickly became confidence, and the army's morale soared as if it would pierce the very sky.
"Did you hear the Konungr's words? Attack! Attack!"
"Kill all who resist!"
[Iyaaaaa-!]
Finally, the obstructing barrier had vanished and only a glorious battle remained.
Amidst the battle cries of the warriors all rushing out at once, led by Seutorolpeu and Guthrum, my own mighty voice, louder than any other, echoed throughout the whole space of Glasgow.
"Surrender! Warriors of Glasgow! Those who surrender shall live! Those who resist shall die!"
"Do not be fooled! Do not be fooled by that devil's words! Do not turn your backs! Fight, I say!"
At my shout in Gaelic, the enemy commander screamed as if having a fit, but restoring a battle line that had already crumbled was a feat only a few blessed generals in history had ever managed.
Unfortunately, unlike his blazing will, the enemy captain was no such great commander, and he soon had to face the sword of Seutorolpeu, who had run faster than anyone else.
"Die, you bastard!"
"You barbarian!"
[Hwik- Tak! Peok!]
"Ugh!"
Seutorolpeu's sword, swung down over his head, was blocked as he raised his shield, but before he could counterattack, the enemy captain was struck in the chest by Seutorolpeu, who had thrown his body into him, and was sent flying.
Seutorolpeu, who had swiftly regained his balance, did not give him a second chance; he drew a hand axe from his belt and aimed it at the enemy's neck.
"Surrender! You fought honorably!"
"...Wh-what are you saying! You beast!"
"What is he saying!"
Unfortunately, though they could not understand each other's words, between warriors the meaning was usually conveyed just by looking each other in the eyes.
There was no sign of surrender in the eyes of the enemy he had pinned beneath him; instead the man kept screeching loudly, radiating nothing but hostility and killing intent. So Seutorolpeu nodded.
"Understood! Then let us meet again in Valhalla, warrior!"
[Seogeok-!]
"Gah—! Gurgle... gak...!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Seutorolpeu cut his throat.
Beyond that sight, I saw the sight of the enemy turning their backs and fleeing in a panic, and my warriors chasing after them.
"Let us go too, Thorbjörn."
"Yes, Konungr!"
"Run! Flee!"
"Save your lives—!"
"Hurry! Hurry!"
Those screaming and fleeing men headed for the only bridge that could cross the River Clyde.
*****
"Hurry up and go!"
"Stop pushing!"
"Ahh— I'm falling!"
[Pungdeong! Pungdeong!]
The stone bridge was utter chaos.
In spite of my voice shouting that surrender would spare them, the panicked enemy kept pushing onto the bridge.
The warriors of East Anglia and Dair, who had been chasing the enemy in confusion but then came to their senses at my thunderous voice, slowly herded the enemy into a narrow space as if driving game.
'A few seemed to have slipped away to the outskirts. It didn't matter.'
By default, the fortress gates of Glasgow and Ghobhainn faced each other along a wide, well-paved road, and midway between them stood a large bridge built by the people of old.
Naturally, along this road, the most important place in the two fortresses, large mansions stood, and in the outskirts where some of the enemy had fled, low houses lined the area around a building with a pointed roof—probably a church.
Unless there was a hidden side door I didn't know of, the waterways were blocked, the main gates were blocked, and ultimately all the people of this fortress could do was hide.
What was urgent right now was to chase down the enemies who had fled headlong to Ghobhainn.
"Do not cut down those who throw down their weapons! Surrender quickly!"
"Approach slowly! Sound the signal!"
[Buuuuung- Buuuu-]
Under the command of Guthrum and Seutorolpeu, who had joined them belatedly, the warriors at the front held their shields in a straight line, extended their spears, and slowly pressed the enemy.
Then, owing to the bottleneck that had occurred on the bridge, the enemies closest to my approaching host quickly threw down their shields and spears and fell on their faces, and thus managed to save their lives.
[Cheok! Cheok! Cheok! Cheok!]
Thus, roughly half of them surrendered and half succeeded in crossing the bridge.
But where they fled held no paradise.
With Ghobhainn already under attack by Halfdan and Djur, there was no way a proper defense could be mounted, for the garrison that should have been protecting Glasgow came running in terrified disarray.
[Buuuuuum- Buuuuuum-]
Just then, Halfdan beyond the walls of Ghobhainn heard the sound of our horns and answered back with his own, and the momentum of the warriors scaling the walls only intensified.
The defenders of Glasgow and Ghobhainn, realizing there was no longer any place to retreat, formed a circular shield-wall while simultaneously keeping Halfdan's army outside the walls and my army beyond the bridge in check.
'It was over. This was nothing but meaningless slaughter now.'
Just look at their armor. Those wearing any of iron could be counted on one hand. They had not been able to hold us back even with the walls, so what possible recourse could they have now that we had crossed both the walls and the bridge?
Though I was a professional warrior, I had no interest whatsoever in meaningless killing.
I walked between my warriors, who had formed a solid shield wall, and stepped to the front of the line.
[Iyaaaa-! Push them! Kill them all! Block! Aaaak-!]
The beastlike momentum of Halfdan's army trying to climb the palisade, and the garrison of Ghobhainn on the verge of collapse.
And beneath them, the garrison of Glasgow looking at us with expressions of utter resignation.
The enemy commander who had defended Glasgow had at least fought honorably, but the enemy commander who should have been leading this fortress of Ghobhainn was nowhere to be seen.
"Warriors of Glasgow and Ghobhainn, lay down your weapons! Has there not been enough fighting! I am Helgi Ragnarsson of Árós! I swear before my god and my name! If you surrender now, I will accept it! But if you resist, I will kill you all!"
—die! —die! —die!
It was as if my loudly shouted voice echoed.
Under that, the garrison of Glasgow, who had been watching each other closely, at last one by one threw their shields and spears to the ground.
[Aaak-! Keuheok!]
Unlike this space where silence had fallen, it was right when the guards on the still-chaotic wall were also lowering their weapons one after another that a familiar head popped up above the wall.
"Haha! Helgi! My brother Konungr! You look short from up here!"
"Oh, for heaven's sake."
Halfdan, covered here and there in dirt and blood, flashed his green eyes through his helmet and shouted, and meeting his gaze, I couldn't help but laugh.