Slowly, the viking settlers of Iskjerne Bay would start to experience a change of luck. The arrival of the Rainstorm Dragonship struck fear into the hearts of Erling's knights. The Christians started to withdraw, fighting their way back in the direction they came. The gjallahorn blew loudly, echoing for miles, a newfound boost of morale as the vikings pushed forward, roaring sounds of victory or Valhöll, giving Sigurd Hring a chance to duel with Erling Snake more personally. The two former comrades gazed at one another with hatred, both of them walking slowly towards one another with their swords already prepared to strike. Sigurd would dodge a throwing axe as it flew past him, his eyes still focussing on the opponent in front of him.
"This ends here Snake," the king said as he approached the traitor. "Nice kingdom you have here. Took me a minute to find you!" King Erling lashed out, swinging his blade towards Sigurd's chest. The pagan king would respond by deflecting the blade with his own before trying to cut Erling's arm. Erling was fast however, and managed to evade Sigurd's steel before chuckling quietly. "You should have stayed in Iceland," Sigurd said calmly. "Aw, but don't you want to know how I got here?" Snake asked sarcastically, this time going in for an upward slash to Sigurd's chin. Sigurd would lean back, blocking the swing and redirecting it away from himself with his hand guard. Metal scraped metal, screeching with a small array of sparks from the force of their blows.
Sir Hadrid was walking around setting fire to the viking tents when suddenly an arrow whistled past his head. Looking up, he could see Gwyneth peering down at him from one of the wall towers. She quickly notched another arrow to her bow, but Sir Hadrid was undaunted. He would approach the tower as she fired arrows at him, one after another. He used his kite shield to stop one of the arrows before he tossed the lit torch into the wall tower. The wood was cold and dry, allowing the straw thatches to catch fire rather quickly. Within moments, Gwyneth would find herself trapped in a smoking tower. Sir Hadrid would gaze up at her and laugh loudly, only to be hit in the back of the head by Hrollaug's axe. There was a loud thud, followed by another as Hrollaug ripped the blade out and drove it into his spine. Sir Hadrid fell forward, dead before he could even hit the ground.
Sigurd Hring and Erling Snake continued their duel on the edge of the hill, swords clanking and clashing together with each passing swing. Meanwhile, Lord Bruce of Essex was still inside the tent with Takao and the Emperor, and confusion ensued between the Anglish Norse pagan and the Taiyou autokrator. Bruce wasn't sure what he should do, so he just kept his guard up and prepared to die mentally as he waited for the Emperor to attack him, or else state his case. Gwyneth scrambled to find a way down from the wall tower, which was slowly going up in flames. She gagged and coughed from the smoke billowing around her as she climbed to the outside of the tower and looked around. Seeing a rope attached to the warning bell, she slid her yew wooden bow over the rope, grabbing it with both hands while clenching an arrow between her teeth.
Just then, the outer wall of the viking ringfort started to crumble. Warriors pushed and shoved to get out of the way as the wall came crashing down near the entrance, a loud boom followed by a crashing wave of bricks and dust, forming a cloud which knocked Sigurd and Erling off of their feet. Sigurd's head started pounding. He felt dizzy as he sat up, being temporarily deafened by the loud crash of heavy logs and stones. As he sat up, he noticed people running around in mass hysteria. Dogs were barking. Women were panicking. There was a young child hiding under a table near one of the food tents, plugging their ears and crying in shock. There was ash and cinder, and rubble everywhere. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion as Sigurd staggered back to his feet slowly, ears still ringing. He tried to look around again for Erling Snake, but the Christian warlord had managed to slip away.
Back at the fallen gate, the vikings were holding strong. Gwyneth ziplined down the rope from the wall tower with her bow, landing gracefully on the ground as the Christian raiders continued to withdraw. By now they were retreating, and their flags waved on the wall, signalling them to fall back to the shore. At that moment, Gwyneth and Prince Hrollaug approached Sigurd and stood beside him on the edge of the hill, watching as the Christians retreated to their ship. It was one more victory for the king, but this time it would be short lived. The Soja was still orbiting up above the planet, prowling the skies like a shadowy wolf.
To make matters worse, other strange forces were now at work, and just then a viking herald rode up to the king on horseback. "My Lord Sigurd, I bring a message from the caves. The foreigners have returned. They have powerful weapons, and Jarl Evan is with them," the herald said before Sigurd nodded, waving a hand for him to go away. "Gwyneth," he mumbled. "Yes my king?" she answered. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes," she responded. "I have a new plan. Go fetch Kraiger, bring him before me. Our guests will no doubt wish to see us in person," Sigurd commented while sheathing his sword. Gwyneth nodded and quickly turned to go carry out her orders. Hrollaug placed his hand on Sigurd's shoulder and sighed, offering him a drinking horn filled with mead. Sigurd nodded quietly and took a sip, before staring out silently over the ravaged buildings before him.