Chapter 38: Boisterous Matchmaking

The feast had moved ceremoniously to the outer courtyard as the various warriors and lords in attendance decided to have some fun through sparing matches and tug of war events.

As such, Harald stood in the center of a stone ring that consisted of a small pit of heated charcoal and a long rope spread across the circle's diameter, leaving enough space for teams of 15 on each side.

Rounds of betting had rung out throughout the night. As men fought each other for sport and pride, leading up to the main event of the feast.

The Baron roared in proclamation to the jovial crowd before him, "For the tug of war, I'll offer 1000 silver to the team that can best my sons and their 13 female companions."

Shouts and jeers echoed across the ground as people hurled insults at the Baron, "Bah, the bastard Baron's lost his mind. It's impossible to beat a team full of Viking blooded men, no matter how strong your sons are."

Harald swivelled over to the man that fired the ridicule, "So we have a taker then? Form your team and line up on your side of the rope. Make sure we have both sides, similar and nothing has been tampered with. I want no complaints after you get destroyed," as he chuckled.

The battle-scarred men sneered at the challenge, glaring at the hulking Sigvald family before making it over to the center of the circle.

Harald turned to face his boys with a slightly buzzed grin on his visage, "Tear them a new one, my boys, make them feel the pain of our strength. You will soon realize that even small events like these have a purpose." The Baron said as he smacked Thorkell on the shoulders.

Thorkell grunted in approval as he expanded to his full size, preparing for the start of the tug of war.

With the boys getting ready, Harald whistled out to the women, who approached from the side of the circle, introducing themselves to the warriors. Among the crowd was Erika, who glared at the burly Norman before her, still having scenes of the morning's event at the forefront of her mind.

Ragnar smirked as he noticed the exotic shield maiden stop right in front of him, "So lovely to see you after our morning escapade, Erika."

The woman huffed as she ignored the subtle jab of the warrior, stepping in front of him to take the lead of the rope, "I see you still haven't learnt your manners."

Ragnar raised his eyebrows, "Erika, I've already said this, but if you expect me to apologize, I won't. Things happen during war, and we decided to improve our survival."

Seeing Erika looking forward unresponsive, Ragnar sighed as he continued, "Now, Thorkell was planning to anchor, and I was planning to lead. Are you sure you want to coordinate the entire team?"

Erika maintained her stubbornness, refusing to look Ragnar in the eye as she spoke, "I've done these sorts of games before. It was a daily tradition for my father. Sometimes he'd switch to the more brutal sparring, where the first one to get cut would lose, leading to barbaric fights. Though he was ignorant at times and very stupid," She said as she glanced at Ragnar knowingly, "I still miss him to death."

Ragnar kept quiet, allowing Erika to vent her grievances in peace. He was still curious as to her background. He knew through Finan that her father would often maraud across the Irish coast, but beyond that, he knew nothing of her heritage.

Harald interrupted their moment of silence as he came forward to signal the start of the match.

Ragnar figured that he might as well employ some modern tricks up his sleeve. "Thorkell!" Ragnar turned behind to hoarse at his brother, "We need maximum strength after 10 seconds into the start."

Thorkell's expression shifted to one of confusion, but he nodded, trusting that his brother had a plan, "Alright, brother, max power on 10!" he replied with a smile.

Harald looked at the determined expressions on both sides, the crowd buzzing with restless energy, "Alright ya big oafs! We will start on my count, and if you beat my sons, you'll get 1000 coins. If you lose, you get pulled into the firepit at the center."

"PULL!" Harald roared with laughter as he signified the start of the match.

The moment the match started, Ragnar dug his feet into the ground and leaned back nearly parallel with the floor as he used every ounce of his strength to hold back against the 15 men in the opposite team.

Grunts and moans echoed across the pit, above the jeering of the crowd, as both sides strained against the rope, muscles flexing under the tension as the time went on.

Among the twisted expression of pain, Erika's face was one of calm as she played mind games on the lead of the opposing team, acting like the entire event was a piece of cake for her.

The psychological abuse worked as the lead man for the other team faltered, lowly sliding forward as he lost confidence in his team. Everyone on the male team thought that they should have won by now if they were going to win. After all, they faced a team full of females and two men.

"NOW! Thorkell!" Ragnar commanded through clenched teeth as the line suddenly started moving towards their side.

Thorkell roared, his muscles expanding as he put in all of his strength, finally contributing to the tug of war, dragging everyone over to his end. The sudden burst of strength caught everyone on the opposing team off guard, as they had expected it to be a battle of wills for the next minute.

In the brief moment it took the lead to falter, the entire line started rapidly approaching the fire pit at the center, but before any of the men could fall in it, Harald ran to the middle and cut the rope as he pushed the lead man off course.

"Bahah! That's the end of the match, as we wouldn't want any of my men getting burnt on their first day now, would we?" He grinned at the opposing team's disappointing expressions as they realized how strong Ragnar and Thorkell truly were.

The event had raised the prestige of Ragnar and Thorkell in the eyes of the men present. Almost everyone was roaring the name of the Sigvald family, as a small smirk appeared on the visage of Harald, who had organized the entire event to help build up the reputation of his sons.

"Alright, lads, I want everyone to get their rest for tomorrow! It'll be a long trip to the Duke's castle, and I don't want anyone staying awake." Harald winked to his son as laughter rang out among the crowd.

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This chapter is for my new nobles, Syd and Rim. I'd like everyone to welcome our two new Barons!

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