The ambitions of Ragnar’s sons never end. What awaits them on the way to the desired glory? Freedom, love, long-awaited revenge, ruling all swine kingdoms… Which of the brothers will achieve what they dream of? Who will face the harsh profession?
Another attack on Paris will shake the Frankish state again. What will be the effect of putting a new-old king on the throne?
The overwhelming forces of the united kingdoms led by Ivar will stand at the walls of mighty Constantinople. Will the world’s greatest fortress fall under the onslaught of Boneless? Or will the king of Dan finally suffer a crushing defeat?
A war of the gods like never before will shake both worlds. This clash will be remembered forever, and the sons of Ragnar will make surprising choices that will mark the future. The epic finale of a great story!
If that’s not enough for you, I invite you to read an excerpt from the book:
Young Dan held an ax in one hand and a knife from the weapons of the sons of Ragnar in the other. He fought with the first weapon, maneuvering his opponents, and with the second he finished them off.
Another Varangian attacked Sigurd. The young man took his sword cut on the axe, and then delivered the blow himself, but it stopped on the enemy’s shield. Dan drew his ax to him and lashed it again, but his opponent was again shielded. The youngest of Ragnar’s sons wondered how to tip the scales in his favor. He wanted to outsmart the enemy, and finally something occurred to him. He feigned another cut with the axe, this time to the upper chest, and as the warrior swung his shield back, Sigurd tossed the knife in his other hand, caught it blade down, then plunged it into his rival’s thigh. The Wareg screamed in pain and swung his shield, pushing it away from him and wanting to ram his opponent. Sigurd jumped back, then ran quickly to the enemy and slashed him from the side in the other thigh. The second wound was more serious than the first, and Wareg staggered, then fell to his knees. On his knees, he continued to struggle. He swung his sword at his rival, slashing backwards and preventing him from approaching, but Sigurd was in no way threatened. The young man deflected one of these slashes and approached his opponent from behind. As if nothing had happened, he slit his throat with a knife and moved on, looking for another one.
The fighting was in full swing and it didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon. The defenders of Constantinople over time began to adapt to the prevailing situation. They were not winning the clash, but the surprising series of explosions that thinned their ranks and caused confusion was brought under control. Moreover, it was fading into oblivion, though the fire was still burning, consuming buildings, fortifications, and even people. Although this situation was slowly brought under control, the defenders of Constantinople were unable to repel the enemy forces, which were growing every moment. More boats kept appearing, each one carrying more warriors who were extremely skilled in fighting. When at times Constantinople’s forces seemed to gain the upper hand by regrouping, dozens more invaders would soon appear and it would all begin again. In addition, Byzantium lost its ruler. No one saw the Emperor Constantine, who was to command the defense directly. From the moment of the outbreak, the emperor disappeared and no one knew what happened to him, although most suspected that Constantine had died. As a result of such suspicions, the higher-ranking warriors who served the emperor as his closest guard took responsibility for the defense. They were the best of the best, including Herod and Thorad. However, these two disappeared as well, so others took over. Among them was a Wareg named Kitilin, a tall man with a shaved head. Seeing what was happening on the battlefield, he wondered what must be done to repel the invaders. He knew the best way to do that was to block them from entering the city, which was to reclaim the gate and slam it shut. If the gate is closed and secured again, no more boats will enter the city, and what’s more, the enemy forces that have already entered the city will be cut off from reinforcements. These were the simple and logical conclusions of an experienced fighter. He decided to act as quickly as possible, because with every moment more and more defenders were dying and the invader was getting closer to victory.
Kitilin quickly organized the people. He blew a horn and dozens of warriors were packed into a tight formation that was directed towards the gate. By the time they reached the wall, which was swarming with invaders, he had come to the conclusion that he could not cope with his task. Soon, however, he was supported by other Varangians. So the squad grew quickly and soon formed a solid wall of shields that pressed on the enemy.
“A wall of shields!” roared Haakon, fighting in the section closest to the gate. “A wall of shields, and don’t budge an inch! he thundered to his men, making it clear to them that even if they did not know what was going on, they could not be defeated.
Soon two shield walls clashed. Shields crashed against shields and traditional melee combat ensued, where the strength of each warrior, as well as cunning and experience, mattered most. Spears and swords went into motion, which again and again got between the shields and wounded or killed more warriors. The corpse was densely littered, and the screams did not stop even for a moment. The warriors jostled and pressed against one another. Nobody wanted to give in. Everyone knew the price of this clash.Excerpt from Chapter LXX
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