The Real Prince Charming!

”Týr!” One of the Vikings down below raised his battleaxe above his head and roared their battle cry as loud as his throat could handle.

”For Týr!”

”Odin owns you all!”

”For the Mighty Thor!”

There was no fear in their eyes as they rushed towards the descending ball of flame. Some threw their axes towards the ball, hoping it would do something against it.

Their fickle resistance almost made Henry clap for them but remembering what he was here for, there was no time to show respect to his enemy and dawdle around.

Because the last time he did, he still regrets it.

Beneath him, he heard the mix of cries from different people. The Vikings were shoving their war cries at him in the sky while the citizens hid in their homes, staring aimlessly at the window as if they’ve accepted that there’s no point in trying to survive.

While the others, especially mothers and fathers, hugged their children close, muttering lullabies to help them fall asleep, their intention was simple. They expected great pain for what was about to come and they hoped that falling asleep would spare them from it.

If only these people knew what was actually coming.

Near the castle grounds, Jarl Ulfred and his close companions stared at the fiery ball of fire in disbelief, others behind him muttered chants and prayers hoping for their Nordic gods to save them.

”Gods, please protect us from harm.”

Jarl Ulfred took a large gulp of his saliva, his grip tightening on his Greataxe.

His eyes wandered around in both fear and curiosity, unlike the rest of the Vikings back in the north, Jarls like him are more aware of matters regarding the other powerhouses beyond the northern realm.

Only a magician of high caliber can do this, the type of magician that can only be counted in two hands.

His wandering eyes soon bore fruit as his sight landed on the floating figure of Henry. His eyes widened in surprise at first, then anger.

”Over there! Strike him fast!” Upon his command, his people behind him quickly armed themselves with smaller axes, the ones they use to throw at people. Others grabbed their long bows.

While doing so, the Jarl kept his eyes on the large ball of fire, watching it as it finally landed on the ground and exploded, spreading around the center and engulfing almost everyone and everything. Not even the tallest building; the church, was spared.

He didn’t bother to see what happened next. Even if the castle stands at the top of a high cliff, tens of miles away from the city, the Jarl didn’t dare to assume that they’re safe in where they’re standing on.

Who knew when another one appears but right on top of their heads?

If the knowledge regarding wizards that was written by his elders and ancestors was right, the only way to stop a wizard’s spell is to kill the wizard himself.

With a raise of his hand, he brought it down in a chopping motion, followed by his loud command, ”Strike!”

Swooosh!

Swooosh!

Fwooosh!

Several hand axes were the first ones to be thrown, the great strength of the Vikings making it possible to reach beyond the limited distance that a normal human is normally limited to.

Strings were also let loose not a second later as the arrows followed next. Their speed was much faster than the hand axes, overtaking almost all the recently thrown hand axes.

However, they didn’t dare to stop in the first wave. They grabbed another arrows and hand axes before preparing to strike again.

Meanwhile, Henry quickly noticed the rain of axes and arrows heading his way. It doesn’t take a genius to know where it came from.

Instead of playing around, Henry decided to do what he actually came here for. To demonstrate Lioncrest’s overwhelming strength.

Blue fiery flames instantly lit his eyes, making him almost look godlike. However, it didn’t end there. Another second later, a small wisp of blue flame appeared in front of him almost as small as a candle.

One might even think a single blow from a mouth would vanish it away.

However, it didn’t stay that small any longer. This is by far, Henry’s most devastating and also the most fear-inducing in his arsenal.

His Flame God Form spell.

The small wisp of flame instantly exploded in all directions, but rather than spreading as a normal explosion would, it was methodical, controlled even.

It grew several flame tentacles that rotated around Henry, slowly covering his entire body in blue flames. At the same time it finished enveloping him, the arrows and axes finally arrived.

However, what should’ve happened next didn’t quite occur as the Vikings expected. No blood spewed nor did a figure fall from the sky.

Instead, they all turned into ashes in an instant. Though considering how far Henry was from the Vikings, their eyes barely saw what happened.

Except for their Jarl, the Vikings readied themselves to strike again, assuming that all of their attacks missed.

”…Strike him again.” Ulfred gave another command, yet his voice was smaller and unsure compared to before; it was as if he was still making sense of what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Henry’s flame-coated figure didn’t stay the same size for long. Just as the second wave of arrows and axes flew towards him, his entire figure finally expanded in an explosion.

His limbs all elongated and increased in size. His body and head turned extremely large.

10 meters

20 meters

30 meters

40 meters

50 meters

And finally, 60 meters in height.

The second wave already struck his figure at 40 meters and during that time, the sight was very clear for all the Vikings to see. Their attacks turned to ashes, it was naught.

Staring at the behemoth that towered over even the high mountains around the Kingdom, most of the Vikings instantly dropped their weapons on the ground.

Jarl Ulfred only heard the clattering of metal on the ground, yet his gaze never left the flame behemoth that was now staring directly at them.

Despite the fear that everyone was feeling, Jarl Ulfred couldn’t help but shed a single tear, ”It looks so…beautiful.”

Those were his last few words before the flame giant opened his mouth, revealing nothing but a single rounded sphere that resembled the sun in all but its color.

The same sphere then released a concentrated beam of flames that burned everything in its path. When it arrived at the front yard of the castle, instead of exploding, it simply burned the entire section into smithereens, to the point that not even ashes remained.

Henry purposely spared the castle, knowing full well that the Ironhold King was locked inside.

Speaking of Ironhold’s King, the man stared at the sheer scale of destruction he was witnessing right in front of his face. His mouth fell agape and his entire body turned shaky from extreme fear.

Despite only witnessing the scene, Rodric felt as if he were among those Vikings, his entire body being submerged in flames to the point that he screamed and backed away.

He wasn’t the one being burned but why did it feel like he should’ve been?

———

In the distance, south of the Ironhold Kingdom, General Liam rode on his horse with a steady pace. Behind him, his 5,000 strong men followed him with unwavering determination to serve the interests of their Kingdom.

It’s been a while since a large-scale army like this was deployed. The last time it did, it was during the Great War. So it’s obvious what the others are thinking.

”Another Great War. Just when I was living peacefully patrolling the streets.”

”Beat it. I’ve been itching for a war like this. The stories those old drunks used to tell us back in the tavern don’t hold a candle to experiencing it myself.”

”I can’t wait for you to take an arrow in the knee, let’s see if you still have the guts to say that again.”

”Hey!”

General Liam couldn’t ignore their antics, rubbing his forehead in dismay. Despite being handpicked for being among the best back in Lioncrest, some of them are still wet behind the ears, only having done skirmish assignments here and there rather than experiencing an actual war.

He only needed to glare at them before they quickly went silent.

General Liam turned his attention back to the front. They rested in a wide space from morning to afternoon, his strategy was simple. They march at night, full of energy, the best time and moment to besiege the Kingdom.

However, General Liam’s grand strategy quickly turned to naught as soon as he caught sight of the large blue spherical flame growing in the night sky.

”What is that?”

”Has the sun gone down?”

His men were quick to point fingers, some who hadn’t yet witnessed magic firsthand found themselves gaping at the scene.

”We better hurry up! Something’s happening over there!” General Liam’s loud voice snapped them out of their stupors, the man snapped the reins of his horse.

Neigh!

”Follow the General!”

At the same time, General Liam kept his eyes on the flame sphere, watching it descend to the ground, the screams and shrills piercing through the night.

’What’s going on? Do the Vikings have a hand in that? Invoking their God’s power, perhaps?’ General Liam’s face was set in a frown. He’s one of the few who know well enough how close the Vikings are to their Nordic Gods, so it’s not a stretch to assume that they can invoke their god’s power at a price.

Before long, the entirety of Ironhold Kingdom was finally wide open for them to see. The first thing that he noticed was that the entire city was submerged in blue flames, seemingly as if it was being controlled and contained within the walls.

The next thing that he noticed was a figure floating in the sky, he couldn’t make up on who it was but it doesn’t take a genius to realize the person behind the flames.

”A wizard? Someone of Master Elias’s caliber?” He murmured under his breath eyes squinted.

”General? What’s our next move?” His close subordinate, a rank lower than his, asked in a stiff tone.

General Liam tightened his jaw, ”There are innocents there at risk, but if we rush blindly without knowing the entire story, we might be inviting doom upon ourselves. We’ll proceed with caution, watch first, and see if we can initiate contact without provoking the wizard.”

The man behind nodded his head and turned to their men, ”You heard the General. We’ll move ahead in leisured pace.”

The message was passed along, reaching the further ends of their massive army.

Together, their horses walked forward, silently whispers passing around the army, some shared their sympathies for the citizens of Ironhold while others expressed their concerns regarding the wizard.

All without knowing that the man they were cautious about was their very own King.