242 CCXLII. Never Give Up

"I have been on this island for almost a month, as a prisoner. I knew they had no interest in me, but they were going to use me as bait. I didn't know their target was you, they never talked about it in my presence. Dag, I will not ask you where these giant dark claws leaking out of your back come from, or why your right eye changed color... but I know one thing: if an entire Clan has set a trap for a single warrior, it means that you are the thing they fear the most... and if they fear you, it means that they are afraid of the power you could unleash" she exclaimed, clutching the sword she had gathered from the ground in her hands, remaining focused on her enemies.

"I don't think I would have said that in these circumstances, but... my sister is right, Dag. You're the only one who can get us out of here safely, don't lose hope" added Karl, who looked at his childhood friend, smiling.

At that moment, before Dag could respond, the enemies behind them began to giggle, taking courage to see such numerous reinforcements.

"I advise you to surrender, boy. Maybe we will spare your friends' lives if you freely give yourself up!" exclaimed one of them, walking in front of his companions with two axes in his hand and a bold air.

Dag did not immediately answer, turned and walked toward him, with his eyes pointed at his.

As the distance between the two diminished, the man swallowed empty: his courage was slowly fading as Dag approached.

He stopped, without pulling out his weapons and continuing to look at the enemy in front of him, who began to retreat involuntarily, intimidated by his figure.

"Here I am, I surrender to you" Dag said, raising his arms toward him and joining his wrists, ready to let them tie.

"Uhm? Ah, a wise decision!" exclaimed the man, incredulous to become the one who would capture the mighty Dag.

A second enemy, without approaching, threw a chain towards him, who grabbed it and slowly began to tie it around Dag's wrists.

"What are you doing?" whispered Freydis, while even the enemies on the hill stood still and watched the scene.

Reidar, without saying a word, grabbed an arrow from the quiver and placed it next to the bow, trying not to get noticed, as everyone was focused on Dag.

The chain circled his wrists more than once.

The enemy, who had stored his weapons to tie Dag, left the chain with one hand, to take something from his pocket, perhaps an object to close those handcrafted handcuffs.

But just then, Dag moved his head forward, striking him violently in the forehead.

Before all the other enemies could accomplish what was going on, Dag, moving his arms circularly, freed himself from the chain and cleverly wrapped it around the man's neck, turning his face toward his allies.

He placed his back in contact with that of the enemy, stretching the chain forward and crossing it.

Quickly lowered forward, the chain lifted the man from the ground, instantly breaking his neck, as he twitched his feet, which tried unnecessarily to wiggle his neck out of that vice.

Dag dropped the chain and the enemy's corpse, turning to the rest of the warriors, who looked at him angrily but frightened.

Some of them took courage and charged towards him, who slightly turned his head back, looking at Reidar, that immediately fired three arrows, which hit 3 different targets, killing them instantly.

Dag extracted both of his weapons and began to strike enemies, while Gridd reached him, ordering Freydis and Karl to stand still in position so that they could have warned them when the enemies stationary on the hill have decided to attack.

Using both weapons and dark arms with sharp blades coming out of his back, Dag killed dozens of enemies without taking a single scratch, swirling around himself with mastery and a calm, relaxed expression.

Gridd joined her brother, slamming the blades of her swords at each other, to activate one of the skills she used most often: 'Shards of Light', a Sons Of Freya Clan technique, also used by Taya, which allowed the warrior to enchant the blades of his weapons, giving them greater sharp power and that distinctive light celestial appearance.

She sprinted towards the enemies, cutting two of them in half, simply moving forward and hitting them in the middle of the stomach.

From a distance, Reidar continued to fire arrows, helping his teammates from afar, until, grabbing yet another arrow from his back, he noticed that the quiver was almost empty.

There were only five left and on the other side, there were thousands of warriors ready to charge towards them.

The archer sighed and without hesitation, pulled his dagger from the back of his belt and ran toward Dag and Gridd.

Within minutes, the three of them alone killed about forty men, meaning all the warriors left in the enemy camp.

After finishing the work, Dag walked back to Freydis and Karl, positioning himself between them, as well as Gridd and Reidar, who followed him, all of them blood-soaked.

Dag's two dark arms stuck into the soil behind him and slowly lifted him off the ground so that distant enemies could look better at him, especially that warrior who seemed to be their general.

"I will never be able to save my comrades if I don't resign myself to my dark power, stopping to control it. I have to loosen my grip, I have to let the fluid take over and my survival instincts get the better of me" Dag thought, first looking down at Freydis, then turning back to the enemies at the top of the hill.

While suspended at about 3 meters high, he pointed the Giantbane at them, which with its hot blades shone in the night.

The horned helm man on horseback raised his arm, with the back of his hand facing backward and then, after a few seconds, useful to his warriors to complete the preparations before the battle, moved it quickly forward, ordering the charge.