The Capable Shaman
This time, we successfully Geunbbae'd a small imperial city called Cardia. But the reinforcements that came charging from outside the city kept chasing us, so it took forever to retrieve the hidden Kanpeu warship we'd stashed away.
"They won't follow us this far, right?"
"After all that circling around, we should be fine."
"Whew… finally some room on the Longships."
We transferred the assei who were hogging so much space on the Longships and all the loot to the Kanpeu warship. Now it was finally time to head home!
"Charge!!"
"""Argh!!"""
The other Vikings got fired up at the thought of going home. And so, after several days and nights of cutting through the sea, all our ships pressed onward.
"Drengr!! Land's in sight!"
"Seeing our ancestors' land again feels great!"
"We're almost there—let's push a little harder!"
We thought we'd finally get some rest, but life never goes according to plan.
"Hm? What's with all that smoke near the tribe?"
"You don't think we got raided, do you?"
"Tch, that's the worrying part—it's looking likely."
We Nord folk mainly Geunbbae the Empire, but the tribes raid each other too. Just in case, I had everyone grab their weapons, then pulled together an advance squad to rush back to the tribe with me.
Bodies littered the ground even around the outskirts of the settlement—hoping everyone's okay. We kept pushing forward until our village came into view. There were some unfamiliar bastards milling about awkwardly. And from inside, we could hear shouts and the clash of weapons—still in the thick of battle.
"You dare try to Geunbbaeour tribe?! Everyone ready?!?!"
""""Argh!!""""
"Attack!!"
Our advance squad hit the enemy from behind. They panicked at the sudden assault, but the ones up front stayed frozen, clueless about what was happening. Perfect timing to break their morale! With a mighty roar, we charged straight into their midst.
But smack in the middle of the enemy, I spotted a very familiar face.
"Huh? Son!!"
"Father?! What are you doing here?!"
"Fighting a battle, obviously!"
Blood will out—he clocked the confusion and pulled the exact same tactic I would've. Soon his Huscarls, his elite guard, plunged into the fray too. Just as planned, the enemies' morale shattered. The survivors dropped their weapons and fled.
"Raaargh!"
"M-monsters!!!"
"Run awaaay!!"
"Hey! Are you Nord folk or what!!"
"Abandoning honor?! Huh?! You throwing away your honor?!?!"
Damn it, if you're raiding or invading, see it through! Father and the Huscarls, and even our advance squad, looked pissed at these gutless cowards with no fighting spirit.
"Can't let 'em go!! Slaughter every last one!!"
""""Argh!!""""
And so we cut down every single retreating coward.
With the battle over, it was time for cleanup. First, we figured out who these cowards were.
"Checked their gear—looks like the Red Skull tribe."
"Those chaos cult freaks?"
"Yeah, they must've hit us while our warriors were away."
These guys operated in loose cells, parasites clinging to demons akin to Chaos. Anyway, we owed our perfect defense this time entirely to the shamans who'd joined us temporarily. They'd wrapped the whole village in thick tree roots with their magic, so the cowards could only poke at the outside. Aside from the very start, they never breached the interior.
"Thanks a ton for the help this time."
"We're just eating your food—gotta earn it, right?"
"Honestly, it was boring without you and the warriors, Ulfrik. Glad it worked out."
"Even if they'd broken in, the Jarl and Huscarls would've handled them."
Cheeky bastards… humble, my ass. Gonna drain their blood later for this.
Then, as we cleared the bodies, the Longships pulled in.
"Drengr!!! What happened?!"
"My wife and kids—are they—?!"
"Everyone's safe—don't worry."
I filled the raiding party in on the attack, and they all sighed in relief. Seeing them thank the shamans showed relations between warriors and shamans had improved a lot.
The warm vibes continued. Turning crisis into opportunity, we started cleaning up the village.
"Father, how many days did they attack?"
"About… a week. We had plenty of food anyway, so holing up would've worn them down eventually."
"Figures for live-for-today types. Still, we need to tweak these big expeditions from now on."
This mess happened because we took too many warriors to sack the city. Next time, leave a stronger garrison behind.
"Or just grow the village bigger than this."
"To a size we can't even loot?"
"Honestly? Possible. Once word of your exploits spreads."
Father smirked at the mountain of loot piled in the harbor.
The cowards' attack had trashed the village here and there. But money fixes everything. I handed cash to the shamans staying as guests and asked them to handle repairs.
Fwooooong!!
"Shamans' power is seriously convenient."
"Jealous?"
"Just saying."
Unlike us pure-bloods, they were real jacks-of-all-trades. A shaman with variable creation would be gold on raids, but our Nord shamans, influenced by Great Shaman Helga Skolbson, acted like freelancers and rarely joined raids. Kinda disappointing, but then something unexpected happened.
"A shaman wants to meet me?"
"Sent by Helga."
Helga had handpicked a shaman to send our way. Curious, I checked him out—he looked seriously capable.
"Hakon, how do we fix this spot?"
"Just cover it with grass."
"Uh… is that okay?"
"Out of sight, out of mind."
This guy knows how to geunbbae!! Never seen a shaman with that kind of flexibility.
My interest piqued, so I approached him right away.
"U-Ulfrik?!"
"We weren't gonna half-ass it—!"
"Relax, like that shaman said, out of sight, out of mind. Anyway… what's your name?"
"I'm Hakon Drottle-son. Thrilled to meet you, Ulfrik."
Caught geunbbaeing and still that bold? This guy's no ordinary punk.
I asked why Helga sent him.
"My master said to stick with you, Ulfrik."
"Huh? Grandma said that?"
"I was surprised too, but honestly, I wanted to check out the Drengr who brought back the Berserkr legend myself."
"So… what do you think now?"
"Beyond words—truly magnificent."
His words said one thing, but his eyes screamed doubt. Raised right by Helga—full of spunk. Perfect timing too, since I'd been wishing for shamans on raids. Prospects like this are always welcome.
"But you can't just waltz in on a recommendation."
"Any conditions?"
"Prove your guts!"
Snap!
"Just like master said. I'm game."
"Oh ho… already geared up for a fight."
Time to test each other's mettle!
As we squared up, spectators swarmed in.
"C'mon, don't you all have work…?"
"You'd come watch too if it was Ulfrik, right?"
"Fair. Hey Hakon, no weapon?"
"This staff's all I need."
"Fine, I'll use a staff too."
"You'll regret it…."
What gave him that confidence? This is gonna be good!!
At the referee shaman's signal, I charged. Then, right in my face, something shocking.
"Spirits!!!"
Pfshhh!!
His clothes shredded, and he turned into a 2-meter muscle monster.
"No way—you know Helga's true form too?!?!"
"Learned it straight from master!"
The shaman Helga sent was a muscle mage. Made me like him even more, but fight's a fight!!
Dozens of staff clashes flew by in a blink. I swept low for his legs. He predictably pulled back, so I snapped my staff upward.
Thwack!!!
"Guh?!"
"Hahaha! Shamans suck at martial arts, huh!"
Should've been lights out from a jaw shot, but with Helga's true form spell, his durability was top-tier. Kept hammering his body or spinning overhead strikes to the skull, and he shrugged it off.
"Just like grandma—reducing impact too?!"
"Ngh…!"
In true form, blunt weapons barely work. Should switch to slashes or stabs, but that's no gutsy move! Ditched the staff for fists.
Hakon ditched martial arts too.
"This time it'll be different!"
"Bring it!!!"
Fire and ice floated around him, soaking into his staff. True to muscle mage form, he swung the enchanted weapon.
Roarrrrr!!
Shiiiing!!
"One solid concept, at least!!!"
But that wouldn't stop me! I dove straight through the dancing flames and frost.
Didn't expect me to rush his limbs? He hesitated a split second, gap opened. Smashed his staff with a guts-filled punch.
Crack!!!
His magical conduit was toast. But as a muscle mage, he had one weapon left!
"Spirits!! Dwell in my fist!!!"
"Hahaha! Knew you'd go there!!"
Shaman or not, pure guts! Fire-and-ice fist met mine in a clash.
Instant brawl, crowd went wild.
"""Woooaaah!!"""
But all things end. In the no-defense slugfest, he staggered at his limit. I stopped my fist right at his nose.
Drip drip drip….
Thud!
"G-good fight…."
"Kid… guts!"
A guy I really like just joined our tribe.