" Manny, what is taking you so long? Hurry up and release that gush."
The patrol guard said with annoyance, throwing the skewer to the log while scratching his head. His knees cracked when he got up as he cursed out his aging, believing he would see the lord sooner or later at this rate. Heck, he couldn't perform in bed like he was used to back in the days.
Swoosh*
The torch lit up the bushes, showing the back of a young man who was standing in the shadow, but for some reason, the guard felt odd. He looked taller and burlier than usual, also he couldn't take a look at his face, which raised his alertness.
His hands slowly crept toward the hilt of his sword as he held his breath with focus. Then he carefully walked closely to supposed Manny, who was still passing in the bush.
" Peekaboo!"
Suddenly, a giant man jumped in front of him, hitting him in the gut, which made him puke out all his food. Before he could register what was happening to him, his neck was hit by the man as he lost his consciousness.
" You don't have to rough them up that much, Arne. What would happen if you killed the poor man with your scary face?"
The Vikings in the shadow laughed at Halfdan's humor, pointing at Arne with red faces while Harold finished his business. He then dragged out the young man whose mouth was gagged with his disgusting socks that hadn't been washed in days.
" Blame your dirty attics, my friend. If you have washed your socks, at least you would be eating sweat."
Harold threw the young man next to the unconscious guard, rummaging through their stuff before pulling out an old rope it. He knew every guard had ropes because they needed to capture humans and animals.
" That looks shitty. It might snap if we tighten our muscles."
Arne said with a sigh, gesturing Manny not to move. The poor man nodded with tears in his eyes, gagging due to his dirty socks, which tasted horrible.
" It is strong enough for these two. I don't want to criticize you, but you wouldn't even kill boars with those muscles."
Manny silently accepted the humiliation with another set of tears in his eyes, knowing these men would snap him like a twig if he acted out. Besides, it was already a benevolent act toward them, for they spared their lives while adding more fuel to the fire to keep them warm and safe from the night.
" If my guess is right, the next settlement should be near us because there are guards here. We might even find goods there to supply us while we act like merchants or travellers."
The Vikings nodded at Halfdan's words, agreeing with him on his approach since they were here to take the lord away. The best thing they had to do now is to avoid the attention of others while taking care of some guards to clear their way.
" Then why did we capture them? We could act like we are lost."
Arne asked with a question mark above his head, believing it was cumbersome to knock out these guards.
" Are you freaking donkey? Do you recall the time when we entered the forest last time and lost? What did the guards say?"
Arne recalled the brawl between them and the guards, nodding with a blank face. Certainly, they were big and mean-looking, so people tended to avoid them, and besides, they were carrying their weapons. Hence, it would attract the attention of others.
" Don't worry about the village guards. They would probably think that patrols let us in because there are quite a numbers of patrols around this area."
Halfdan knew Frank people like to sneak into Sussex to plunder items along with their kind. Thus, many people volunteer to guard the forest to hunt as well as look out for enemies, which would result in a weak internal guarding system.
They might have one of the best external defenses when it came to war, but when it came to ambush, they were weak. Especially if they were experienced ambushers like them who grew up in the forest and knew what to do in the forest.