Chapter 48

Wild Hunt 6

-:-

3 Hours Later

An unknown location outside the Allied Kingdom’s Area of Responsibility

Norsca is supposedly a group of islands located in the vast ocean west of the Allied Kingdom.

‘Supposedly’ pertained to the annoying fact that the damn island was invisible via some magical means.

When the Nosferatu’s Boeing 777 began it’s final descent, Theo could see nothing but open seas.

Even the highly advanced sensors mounted on the F-22A Raptor could only give Theo an extremely unreliable view of their destination

In an area of unexplained and extremely minor temperature spikes and drops were 6 islands of varying size.

The island only became visible when the 777 was about 1 kilometer above the sea and was only a few moments touchdown.

The runway was located near the shoreline of the largest among the islands of Norsca. Surprisingly enough, it was maintained to a quality similar to standard airports.

This was a large contrast to the backward nature of the Noscan civilization

The relatively decent sized coastal villages were mostly made of rocks, woods, dried leaves and fur.

This area would make a fine Hollywood setting for a Viking film.

The sun has already set by the time the 777 and the Raptor touched down and taxied into surprisingly modern hangars.

As such, the Nosferatu vampires could simply just waltz out of the plane without worry.

A fairly decent number of intimidating men met the group.

20 were manly men with burly muscles, thick beards and emitted an aura of a rabid beast. Clad in red fur of unknown origin, thick hide armor, steel helmets with curved horns and 2 hand battle axes of fine craftsmanship, these were definitely men of considerable experience in the art of warfare.

The last one was an ancient man who looked a few days over 100 years old. While clothed in the similar vein as the 20 warriors, the old man had no armor or weapons. Instead, he had a staff that was decorated with the skulls of many creatures. Some were humans while some were something else.

Based on how the warriors stood vigilantly around the old man, it was easy to guess his high standing in Norsca.

The old man limped towards the Nosferatu group with peaceful smile on his face

“I didn’t expect that our welcoming committee is you, little Ulkov. To what do I owe this honor?” said Nosferatu as shook the old man’s outstretched hand.

“Hahaha! You are the only one that ever calls me ‘little’ and gets to keep his limbs.” Replied the man named Ulkov

“Sadly, everyone is practically children in my eyes. Such is the life of a being that lived before the great flood.”

“True enough. Never the less, I need no reason to meet a friend and a comrade at arms, right?”

“Indeed. I’m glad to see that you’re doing well my friend.”

“As am I old friend. As am I. By the way, who’s the whelp in the black armor? A candidate for your Dawnguard?” asked Ulkov as he shot a curious stare at Theo.

“Ah right. Allow me to introduce you to each other. Due to certain circumstances, I am not allowed to say his true name. For now, just refer to him as either ‘The Boss’ or ‘Boss’. He hails from Vermilion City. Maybe some of your lads have heard of him during their visit there?” said Nosferatu.

“I haven’t heard of him. None from my clan has been through Vermilion City in a while” replied Ulkov as he stood in front of Theo and began sizing him up. “Secret Identities huh? A Superhero? No…. you smell of blood and steel… Quite a rarity for Norscan outsiders to smell like a warrior at such a young age.”

Ulkov’s words made Theo uncomfortable.

Despite being in full power armor, it seemed that the old man could tell Theo’s age for some reason.

Just how much does this guy see?

While Theo was in the middle of mussing, Nosferatu introduced Ulkov.

“This is Harbinger Ulkov, 8th son of Jarl Cetras, one of the famous warlords of Norsca. He is also the druid of Clan Volsung. I think you should have heard of the Great Volsung Raids right?”

“Yes I have. A pleasure to meet you” said Theo while hiding his displeasure.

The Great Volsung Raids were an infamous event that happened 10+ years before World War 1 kicked off.

It was a massive series of pirate raids on the coastal regions around the Allied Kingdoms by the Norscan Clans that was forcefully united under the Volsung Clan.

And as per standard SOP of savages, murder, theft, slavery and rape were rampant at the time.

It took the combined might of the Superheroes of the time and the Allied Kingdom’s military to put an end to the magically infused longboats of the Norscan Raiders.

While the Volsung Raids were infamous, it was often overshadowed by the 2 World Wars that followed it. Thus no one really cared much about it.

And since the savages couldn’t be found by conventional means, the Norscans faded into obscurity.

The Volsung Raids and all the smaller raids that followed after that was the result of the uncivilized warrior culture of Norsca.

While it did produce a large number of powerful warriors that can kill even the most monstrous of beasts, this doesn’t change the fact that Norscan culture in general was a breeding pit for criminal scums.

The world would be a much better place if Theo had his way and slaughtered every man, woman and child of Norsca.

Just to be sure, he would burn everything related to Norsca until they became a figment of lunatic’s imagination.

But since that wasn’t possible at the moment, Theo could only swallow his disgust for these savages.

“With the pleasantries out of the way, let us get down to business shall we?” said Nosferatu.

“Yeah. I’m still pretty much in the dark here as to where the targets are and how to get to them.” Replied Theo

“Same here. While I’ll agree to pretty much anything to help out a friend, I prefer to know who is our enemy so our skalds will know which victims we slew in their ballads” said Ulkov, much to Theo’s silent disgust

“Then allow me to explain the current situation.” Said Nosferatu as he began his explanation. “Our first target is Michele Sway. She is currently on a cruise ship that is ironically named ‘The Sanctuary’ sailing from the Commonwealth to the Allied Kingdoms. Hence the reason why we are at Norsca. Their magic infused longboats and an extremely high aptitude for naval warfare will be a valuable asset to the mission”

“Hold on a minute! Our target is a freaking cruise ship and our mission is a kidnapping with minimal casualties! Bringing the Volsung raiders is like bringing an army to exterminate a rabbit!” complained Theo

“I agree with the young Boss here. There is no honor in killing sheep” said Ulkov

Ulkov’s 20 honor guards also silently nodded in agreement.

“Your reactions are understandable. But remember that the Sway twins are the women of the vampire house of the Cullet. And given the covert nature of the vampire blood war, the chance that the scion of such prominence is unguarded is zero.” Replied Nosferatu

“”~Ohhh~”” said Theo and the Norscans in unison

“Gentlemen, expect fierce opposition. And since there is ‘Love’ in the equation, I doubt that our Norscan allies will leave the battlefield disappointed. I hope you are ready.” said Nosferatu

“OHHH!” roared the warriors.

“Well then. Now that we have that out of the way, I assume the main reason why you came here is to have your whelp go through ‘that’ ritual, correct?” asked Ulkov with a smile somewhere between excited and sadistic.

“Hahahaha! Gone is the impulsive brat that I had to save so many times! Children grow up so fast.” replied the nostalgic Nosferatu. ”You are correct. I want the young Boss here to undergo the ‘Judgement of the Ancestors’ ritual.”

“Thought so. But then again, I have a good feeling that the ancestors will look favorably on the whelp.” Said Ulkov

“Wait wait wait. What the hell is going on here? What ritual? And why do I have to go through it?” asked Theo in confusion

“It is a Volsung custom that tests your compatibility with their infamous longboats” said Nosferatu.

“Only through the ancestors could an outsider be allowed to set foot on our sacred longboats. And only a Volsung and a true warrior have a chance to gain the right to helm it” Ulkov added.

“Consider this a necessary step for the mission. The Nosrcan Longboats have powerful magical enchantments that grant them near invisibility. It is similar in vein to the spell applied to the island themselves. Even I, with all of my power, cant find the island unless someone in the island allows me to find it.” said Nosferatu.

Theo groaned in response.

If the longboats were similar to the island that was capable of hiding from Theo’s sensors, then he had no choice but to accept.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” said Theo

“Fret not. It’s absolutely 100% safe.” Replied Nosferatu

“yeaaahhh… right…” said Theo as he began thinking of countermeasures