Xilan was gloomy under a dark cloud. Hestein stood on the shore and watched Ayla's fleet dock alone. Before the boat could stop, he stepped onto Ella's boat with such force that he almost overturned the entire boat.
He first found Alfred on the boat. Alfred was already awake at this time, but he was still seriously injured and his face was pale. He relied on Mellie to take care of him. Seeing Hestein approaching, he feebly got up from the bed and nodded to Hestein.
Hestein did not return the favor. He strode to Alfred's bed with a sullen face, and without saying a word, grabbed his collar and lifted him up. Mellie was shocked and was about to attack Hestein with magic, but Alfred reached out to stop him. He looked at Hestein's rough face, laughed, and said:
"King of Beasts, if you want to duel, you have to wait for me to heal your injuries first."
Hestein snorted, roughly put him back on the bed, and said, "Very good, you still have the strength to speak. If you are a brave man, just get off the ship and discuss the next plan."
Then, he pushed through the crowd and came to the cabin where Ella was. Seeing Ella's frustrated look, he yelled rudely: "What are you doing lying here? Were you slashed? Or stabbed?"
Amy hurriedly spoke for Ella: "King of Beasts, she..."
"If you are not injured, get off the ship immediately and come to hold a combat meeting!"
Hestein dropped these words and walked out of the cabin without any explanation. Amy cursed behind him angrily: "This beast! Your Majesty is fighting for his territory! Didn't he show any sign at all?"
Gan, who got on the boat with Hestein, heard Amy's voice, stopped, turned around and said, "Boss Hestein has actually been waiting on the shore for several days. He has always hoped to get help from the shieldmaiden sister. Can send back good news. When he saw only a few ships coming, I thought he was about to fall down."
"Hestein...is he waiting for my good news?" Ella raised her head slightly, but soon lowered it again, and shouted self-defeatingly, "What good news can I bring? The one on the other side is The Undefeated Ragnar! He thinks highly of me too!"
She thought she had gotten rid of Ivar, Halfdan, and Sigurd, but Ragnar's magic made them his warriors again. She thought she could use tactics to make up for the magic gap, but the brute strength of those berserker warriors was enough to shatter any plot.
In the end, she couldn't accomplish anything.
"...Sister Shield Girl, you are very powerful."
Gan, who only thought about fighting and killing, unexpectedly began to comfort Ella.
"When we were confronting Ragnar, news came one after another that Halfdan and Ivar had been defeated. Ragnar's soldiers' belief in victory was obviously shaken, allowing Odin's protection to Their influence has become less great. The pressure we face has thus been reduced a lot. Although we are defeated, we will not be completely wiped out..."
"The influence of Odin's protection has become smaller?" Ella suddenly raised her head and asked loudly, "What's going on?"
Mellie's voice came from outside the cabin: "Odin's protection is an extremely rare type of protection. Its effect is divided into three parts: one is to give the protected person a magical power similar to the protection of the God of War; the other is It can summon heroic spirits who are willing to fight for the protected person; thirdly, it can bring certain blessings to the troops commanded by the protected person."
Ella looked outside the cabin - Alfred, who was seriously injured, had stood up and was walking with the support of Mellie.
"I have already seen these three effects." Ella said, "But what happened to the influence of the protection that I just mentioned has become smaller?"
"The beneficial effect of Odin's protection on the unit depends on the unit's belief in whether the protected person can win. If there is no doubt that the protected person can win, Odin's protection can It exerts an exaggerated effect. If it is the opposite, the influence of Odin's protection will be weakened until it is completely ineffective."
Mellie explained methodically, but then the conversation changed: "It's a pity that Ragnar is called the 'Invincible' by them."
…
…
Hestein, Ella, and Alfred sat around a wooden table. Gan, Amy, and Mei Li stood behind them. After listening to Ayla describe in detail the situation they encountered in Upland, especially the fact that Ragnar's men all transformed into "berserkers", Hestein held his head in pain. The momentum completely disappeared.
He had a chance to defeat Ragnar.
Sigurd, Halfdan, and Ivar died in battle one after another, and Ragnar's troops were divided and defeated by him. This caused Ragnar's undefeated reputation to be significantly shaken. It was Ragnar's most vulnerable moment in decades.
However, he was unable to withstand the attack of thirteen elves and was defeated.
Ragnar, who prevailed under such adversity, has become almost a myth as to his undefeated reputation. Odin is the king of the gods and the most powerful god. And presumably in the eyes of those soldiers, Ragnar was almost the incarnation of Odin.
Then, Ella also lost.
Even if she could defeat Sigurd, Halfdan, and Ivar at an extreme disadvantage, she could not defeat Ragnar, who was protected by Odin. This is bound to further increase the soldiers' trust in Ragnar.
All of Ragnar's soldiers will become berserkers under Odin's blessing. Moreover, even in terms of numbers, Zealand is at a disadvantage. Ragnar returned to Upland only to gather the remaining troops and replenish supplies. After he finishes his rest, he will surely come back with a stronger military force. .
"Scipio..."
It was the first time Hestein called Ella this.
"...Is there any way you can defeat Ragna like this?"
Looking at Ella who was silent, Hestein already understood the answer. He slammed the table hard, stood up, and said to Dan behind him: "Let all tribes and everyone pack their things, and we will evacuate Zealand immediately!"
"Evacuate Xilan?" Gan asked with some confusion, "Isn't this the boss's home? If we evacuate here, where should we go?"
"Go grab a piece of land, far away from Scandinavia, far away from Ragnar."
Hestein looked at Alfred, thought for a while, shook his head, then thought for a while, and said: "...On the other side of England, there is a land called Normandy, which belongs to the Alemannic Federation. Let’s just go there.”
