He and Freydis looked at each other and just then, Kranus started talking.
"Gunnar, Wrage. Report on recruits."
"12 recruits have decided that they will follow us on our march to Klorr. The others will remain here, defending Tungvek along with the guards" Wrage exclaid, pointing to a group of boys who made room among the Outposts warriors.
Among them, Dag was able to recognize Kane's face, who along with another of the four groups of leaders had agreed to join them.
"Excellent. Today we will rewrite the history of our nation. The outco of this battle will be decisive for the fate of our Clan. If we don't win, the hatred between us and the Claws Of Fenrir will never cease to exist and the Lies Of Loki will continue to rule over the larger slice of Krypstorm, which includes the two cities in the west. Rember, my trusted warriors... today wolf warriors will not be our enemies after so long ti spent fighting against each other. Your Commander then asks you to respect the deal that has been made between him and Bloodfang, their leader. Only if we work together until the last mont will we be able to defeat the enemy and take back what belongs to us!" Kranus exclaid, in a moderate but decisive tone of voice.
While he finished talking, so n dressed as ordinary citizens brought 7 horses to them, one for each Commander, General, or Master, including Freydis, who did not hold any of those roles but was the woman of Dag, Kranus' secret weapon.
"During the battle, splitting up will be inevitable. Anyway, they are the 6 warriors who will guide you and lead you to victory. Your job will be to protect them, even at the cost of your life. Do you understand?!" Kranus exclaid again, slightly raising the tone of his voice and charging his soldiers for battle.
"Yes, sir!" all the warriors replied in unison, including Outposts soldiers and recruits.
"Well then... guards, open the gates... we will make the mighty Ymir proud of his sons!" Kranus yelled, climbing on his horse and raising his arm to the stone slabs of the door, which imdiately began to flow sideways.
Dag and Freydis climbed on horseback and together with them, Kron, Atran, Wrage, and Gunnar.
When Kranus ca out the door first, his Masters followed him on horseback, while the rest of the army continued on foot, at a sustained pace and punctuated by the drum, which began to sound again, like a constant thunder despite the clear sky.
Slowly, the door behind them closed and the walls of Tungvek beca increasingly distant.
The cold wind that preceded the rising Sun blew nonstop from west to east, slamming into their faces and slowing the pace of the horses, which, however, being accustod to such cold temperatures, continued to advance without complaining.
Even the bodies of Dag and Freydis had begun to accept that cold and it was no longer necessary to carry heavy furs.
The plain opened before their eyes and many of the Outposts soldiers rembered that area by heart, having lived with it for several years.
The 12 recruits, who had never moved so far away from Tungvek, looked around, trying to exploit their knowledge of the geography of the place and arguing with each other about their location, trying to guess where their destination was.
The march continued without interruption and after a few hours of ti, slightly more than the diplomatic mission, where everyone was traveling on horseback, the Randt Mastiff mountains beca clearly visible on the horizon.
"That's the Randt Mastiff. It has several entrances, one on each side... however, the only one large enough for our entire army to enter as a single body is the southern one, the main one, to which we will arrive following the natural slope of that hill" Kranus exclaid, explaining to all his soldiers the situation and indicating the direction to follow.
As he spoke, Atran and Kron were by his side and Dag and Freydis were just behind him, flanked by the Clan Masters, Gunnar and Wrage.
Just as the soldiers tried to realize the information they had just received from their commander, so of them scread sothing.
"Sir, there's soone down there!"
After those words coming from the rear, each mber of the army turned in the direction indicated by the soldier and everyone easily saw a dark figure, well distinguishable in the white snow.
"Who the hell is that? He looks like a man" Gunnar said, who as usual looked at the subject in the distance with a grumpy air, ready to grab his weapons and defend himself.
"Yes, he's just a man and there doesn't seem to be anyone with him. Judging by the way he walks, he looks wounded... look... it barely stands" Dag added, who rested a hand over his forehead to cover his eyes from the cold wind and was able to distinguish more detail than the others.
"What's a wounded man doing alone in the middle of nowhere?" Wrage added, contributing to the general confusion of his comrades.
"Hey, you! Who are you, where do you co from?!" Kron yelled, moving to the right side of his Commander along with Atran, to defend him in the event of an attempted assault.
The soldiers behind them continued to march, confident that a single man would never pose a danger and would never attack an entire army in a suicidal action.
"Answer, stranger! Don't get any closer!" Atran added, reinforcing his colleague's words and threatening the unknown man that he would intervene with strength if he had bad intentions.
The stranger continued to walk another ten ters and then stopped: under him, a slick of blood expanded on the white snow and everyone easily understood that all that blood was slipping from his arm, leaning down and covered with cuts and wounds of all kinds.
His gaze was turned downwards and his long blonde hair covered his true identity.
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