Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Just then, Kjell, with his usual cryptic and mysterious way of doing, unfurled his two chains and approached them, who as soon as they saw him arrive stopped.

"In that way, you won't be able to kill a Jotunn in a million years! Come on, try me, I'll show you!" he yelled angrily at them, making them tremble like frightened rabbits.

"Master Kjell... but if we hit you, you'd risk getting hurt... these are not fake weapons, we're using..." 

"I said hit me! It's an order! If you can't comply with an order, you're not worthy to fight alongside your Masters!" he yelled again, looking them in the eye one by one.

The five warriors surrounded him as they had done with the dummy, two forwards and three behind, ready to strike him as soon as he lowered his guard.

"I'm not as tall as a giant, but with the chains, I'll simulate his own attack range: "Kjell said, shortening the chains and making them the same length as the arms of the training dummy.

Before he could say anything else, he attacked the two warriors in front of him, who luckily managed to raise their shields in time and parry the blow, which made them retreat slightly.

As soon as the other three realized the free moment, they simultaneously tried to attack Kjell, who remained stationary until the last second, before making a twist on himself: swirling the two chains, he struck the weapons of the three warriors, disarming and rejecting them.

Simulating the giants' slow movements, he turned back to those with the shield and hit them with a predictable but loaded blow.

Only one of the two chains impacted the surface of both shields, which made a loud noise.

The two soldiers fell to the ground, not able to retain all that power.

Turning for the third time, while the three warriors behind him were lowered in the hope of picking up the weapons, Kjell hit one with an elbow, and two more with a kick, knocking everyone to the ground.

"Dead, dead, dead, dead... and dead" he said, pointing one at a time to all the warriors who had been knocked out in a few moves, with a tone of disappointed and superior voice.

The five soldiers slowly rose, having suffered a humiliating defeat by their Master, who had beaten them with ease.

"As you can see... you don't need mere tactics if you are not able to apply it in reality! When in Krypstorm you will fight for your life, to stay alive! What will you do if we Masters will be not there, ready to save you? What if we need your help? All the years you've spent training, all the wins, all the defeats... your time has come! You must be strong! Determination alone is not enough!" Kjell continued, opening his arms to the crowd of astonished warriors in front of him.

"Let the second group come forward! Try against the dummy too and try to stay focused, imagining that he is a real Jotunn, ready to kill you. You don't necessarily have to follow my technique, it's personal and comes from my experience. The important thing is to get out of every fight alive and I assure you that by combining the advice of us Masters with your ability and your wits, you will be able to get away with it in any situation!" Dag said, positioning himself next to Kjell and dampening the tension that had accumulated from the moment he began to provoke the soldiers intent on hitting the mannequin.

"These men are not ready... allowing them to come with us, we are only condemning them to death!" Kjell replied, walking away from the center of the arena, with annoyed air, expecting a higher level of combat from the troops.

"It's still our choice!" a voice from the crowd yelled, attracting the attention of everyone, but especially that of Kjell, who suddenly turned back.

"What?!" he exclaimed, trying to pinpoint who had spoken.

"Losing your life for a greater cause is our choice, not yours. You were looking for volunteers... here we are, ready to sacrifice our lives for the Gods and our children, who will proudly tell our stories!" Terje exclaimed again, stepping forward and coming out into the open, not afraid to confront Kjell.

The Master Of Offense walked towards him, stopping a few inches from his face and looking at him defiantly, trying to scare him.

"If you die, no one will ever tell your stories! You will not have eternal glory or such shit, you will only be a shapeless pile of flesh and blood and you will be devoured by crows and insects, slowly, one piece of organ at a time. You will abandon your families, your children, your friends" the Master continued, speaking face-to-face with Terje, who did not seem frightened.

"I'm ready to go" he said, in a cold, determined tone, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, suspicious that Kjell could attack him at any time.

Instead, he walked away and turned his gaze to Dag, who reciprocated, without understanding the state of mind of his ally, always indecipherable.

"I advise you to do everything you have always wanted to do before you leave. Krypstorm is waiting for us" Kjell concluded, putting the chains in place and exiting the arena, heading for Skjegg. 

Dag looked proudly at the young Terje, who had not only managed to stand up to Kjell but had also asserted his ideas, again becoming the spokesman of his companions, who looked at him with admiration.

"Master Kjell has a bit of a rough manner, I apologize to everyone on his behalf. Try to interpret positively what he told you... even though it doesn't look like that, he gives an extreme value to life and cares for each of you. That's why he wants you to fight with your claws and teeth so you can continue to live and travel around the world" Sander said, walking slowly toward the troops of soldiers to apologize to them.