Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 180: CLXXX. The Formal Challenge

"And which one of you will be the leader?" 

"We citizens could vote!" 

"Yes, we could choose the Alliance's leader!" 

Dag rejoiced to hear the words of the people, who were so happy with the news that had not even thought about this detail.

"If we choose the leader according to the votes of the people, we would have to involve all the countries of Jordstl and Sjonir... and that would take too much time. So we decided to adopt the simplest and most direct method! Warchief will be the winner of a Masters fight, what do you think?" continued Taya, catching the attention of the crowd, who after hearing the word 'fight' raised their fists to the sky, eager to witness the challenge.

"It almost seems like she's feeling good" Dag said softly. 

"She knows well the people of Hevnen and she also knows what they want and that they would approve the fight from the beginning " Gridd said, as Jens attended the conversation without saying a word.

"Then it's decided! Tomorrow we will fight for the leadership! I will be Dag's challenger unless there are objections among the other Masters!" exclaimed Shieldmaiden, looking at Gridd, who nodded her head.

Taya smiled mischievously, while Dag returned earnestly.

"Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?"

"Can't you fight now?" 

"We want to see the fight!" 

"We want to see what Dag is capable of!" 

"Dag! Show us your power!" 

"He'll never defeat Master Taya!" 

The audience was completely mad and people began to argue with each other, betting on the fate of the fight. 

"Hahahah! Did you hear that, Dag? The people of Hevnen want the fight now! If we didn't please them, we'd disrespect them, don't you think, boy?" said Taya, screaming loudly so that everyone could hear. 

Dag looked down, then looked up at his companions.

Karl and Agnes seemed distracted, talking to a group of people near them, while Reidar was staring at his captain straight in the eye. 

For a few seconds, the two friends looked at each other, until Reidar nodded, trying to tell Dag that fighting was the right thing to do to earn the trust of the people.

Dag approached Taya and looked at the crowd, exclaiming: "I'm ready!" 

Gridd looked at her brother, fearful. 

A few seconds earlier she had encouraged him, but as it was time to fight, she realized that he was about to face a very strong opponent, who would fight with her teeth to gain the leadership of the two Clans. 

"Jarl Trym! With your permission, we would like to play the friendly match for the leadership title here. All right?" asked Taya, leading people to believe that Trym's opinion mattered something.

"Of course, just be careful not to destroy anything!" he replied, obviously. 

Taya and Dag looked into each other's eyes with a defiant look: she seemed very confident, but this did not intimidate Dag, who stood still and looked at her.

Jens made room between the two contenders, moving away from each other.

"Silence!" he yelled, silencing the crowd, which obeyed immediately, even though Jens did not seem like a very authoritative guy. 

"Weapons! Bring wooden weapons to these two warriors!" he continued, as three Sons Of Freya warriors hurried up the stairs to them, carrying training weapons.

They left them on the ground, at the foot of the statue, and Taya and Dag got closer, to choose one. 

As Dag looked at them one by one, before he could choose, Taya aggressively grabbed a spear, then returned to the center of the forecourt.

"The boy seems undecided! Hahaha!" shouted Taya, raising her spear to the audience, who began to cheer her name.

The weapons available were not many and clearly, there were no hammers.

Dag grabbed a one-handed axe and returned to his position. 

"Get away from each other! At my signal, the fight for the Iron Alliance's Warchief title will begin! The first one who will knock his opponent to the ground will be the winner" said Jarl, who served as the referee. 

"An axe? I thought you were using the sword, like in the Arena" Taya said, pointing the spear at Dag.

"One's as good as another, it doesn't matter" Dag replied, deftly turning the wooden axe in his hands, making Taya nervous for his arrogance.

"Taya of the Sons Of Freya, are you ready?" asked Jens, looking at Taya, who nodded her head, confirming.

"Dag, of the Hammers Of Thor, are you ready?" 

"Yes" Dag replied, putting himself in a combat position.

"Let the fight begin!" 

As soon as Jens stopped talking, Taya dashed at great speed toward Dag, who dodged the spear lunge, moving sideways.

In less than a second, she wheeled the weapon and tried to hit him for the second time.

He lowered himself, bending over his knees and dodging again, taking a few steps back.

Then looked at Taya, who seemed anxious to finish the fight and was attacking in a fury, without thinking.

Dag stood still, with the axe in his hand.

Taya, without hesitation, loaded another lunge, but this time the tip of the spear began to shine with celestial light.

She did not come too close and stretched the weapon forward, toward Dag, releasing a shockwave.

"What?!" said Dag, who, not expecting a magic blow, crossed his arms in front of him and tried to parry the shockwave, which caused his feet to crawl to the ground, slightly unbalancing him.

The crowd gasped, believing that the fight was already over, but Dag immediately regained his balance and when he turned to Taya, she was already in front of him and hit him with the rod of the spear on his chest.

Dag tried to stay on his feet, while the Shieldmaiden slipped her hand on the weapon and tried to punch him in the face, moving her other arm.

He dodged the fist and kicked Taya away, which cleverly parried with a spear rotation. 

"Taya's strong point has always been the spear. That weapon is very fast and has an incredible range: she manages to attack me even standing meters away. Moreover, she seems to be able to instill her powers in it" Dag thought, trying to study Taya's characteristics before counterattacking.