He fought valiantly against several English soldiers, but tragically
he was stabbed in the back with a spear.
I offer you my deepest condolences, Your Highness.
He was eating stewed rabbit.
He left in the middle of eating and…
How
strange this is.
He was just…
I mean…
We will leave immediately.
Get ready.
Thorfinn, do not leave the prince's side.
What?
You're not seroius?
I won't do it!
Hold up, you bastard!
It's your job to protect the prince.
How?
He was too weak to stand.
Will the feeble prince pull through?
This might've been a mistake, Askeladd.
Perhaps killing Ragnar was a bad idea?
Don't speak so loudly.
Most of the other men don't know the situation.
It was the work of the English.
Stick to the story.
I don't know.
You and Ragnar didn't exactly see eye to eye.
The prince is pathetic, but he might catch on.
Nothing to worry about without proof.
The prince is pathetic because Ragnar babied him.
Left alive he would have been a headache.
It's better that he's pathetic.
Easier to manipulate.
He's the perfect stepping stone for attaining power.
Bjorn.
Why have you stayed with me all this time?
What?
Well, because…
that's what I want to do.
Same for me.
I, too, choose my leader.
And my leader should be a man I choose to follow.
I'm joking.
It's a gamble, Bjorn.
If all goes well, that prince may be reborn.
And if it falls through?
He's so pathetic, he may never get back on his feet.
Then we'll abandon him…
if he's an unworthy leader.
So? Is he talking yet?
He's pissing me off.
He hasn't even screamed.
He's acting like a full-fledged martyr. This is why I hate Christians.
There's no power in your kick.
Let me show you how.
You gotta kick someone like…
this!
Well done.
That was weak too.
Kick him in the jaw.
Wait a minute. I'm next.
That's enough!
My God, will you guys take it easy?
We can't very well question a deadman.
Just…
just kill me.
The Lord sees all.
All the sins you Danes have committed.
He still has his spirit.
Do we have shears?
Go look for some.
-Huh? -What?
Shears, right?
Now then,
let me ask you again, English captain.
I want to know three things:
the size of your reinforcements,
how long it will take them to arrive,
and how you knew we were here.
Speak and your life will be spared.
You
you beasts…
will get what you deserve.
A suitable end
is waiting for you.
Here.
Will these work?
Yes.
Captain…
your nails
they're so long.
They really need a cleaning.
Why not trim them a bit?
Dear me, I cut it too close.
Hold him down.
I want to know three things.
Like I said before.
Oh my, I did it again!
Twice in a row.
That's nasty.
Why's he still resisiting?
Go to hell, you Danish bastards!
If only!
If only you hadn't come!
You burned my village!
You tortured and murdered my wife and daughter!
You beasts!
This is our land! Get out!
Is that so?
We're beasts, are we?
Let me teach you ignorant fools some history.
Listen carefully, Saxon.
Or are the people living here Angles?
Well, same thing.
To begin with,
this land never belonged to you.
The first inhabitants were the Celts.
They lived in the forest and worshipped its spirits.
They are the ancestors of the Welsh.
After them,
the Romans came.
They controlled the land,
but they lived with the Celts and imparted knowledge, technology, and culture.
After the Romans left,
you Angles-Saxons took over the land.
That was about 500 years ago.
However, with your arrival you brought nothing to the Celts.
On the contrary, you pushed the Celts into the hinterlands
and took these rich plains for yourself.
Lies!
I speak the truth.
If the Danes are beasts,
then you Anglo-Saxons are just as beastly.
You stole this land with violence,
so we Danes will use even more violence to steal it back.
This is only fair.
Shut up!
No one will believe the words of you barbarians!
A teacher hates the insolence of students who don't listen.
What's this?
Captain?
Now, that I've taken a good look at your face,
your nose seems a bit long too.
Askeladd!
How many, Ear?
Not sure, but there are many. They're coming from the south.
-Enemy reinforcements? -But it's the middle of the night!
The English attacking at night is a real problem.
They're here!
You're too late! You're all going to die!
I hope you Danes murder each other!
Danes?
I'll tell you. It's Thorkell who's coming.
He's a formidable match for you!
It's Thorkell!
Thorkell? What are we going to do?
What?
Did he say Thorkell?
I'm not sure, but I think so.
If it's true, we're in trouble.
Thorkell?
He said Thorkell.
-It can't be. -Is he serious?
Thorkell is coming!
Is that the village?
It seems to be.
All right, surround them!
Vali and Ingolf's men take the left.
Oddr, take the right.
I'll take the center.
The plan is kill everyone!
But not the prince.
Also, there should be a knife-wielding runt.
Don't kill him either.
He's for me to play with.
Thorkell is coming!
Let go of me, you common servant!
How dare you defy my orders!
I'm not leaving Ragnar in this place!
I'm not going anywhere without Ragnar!
Relax, Your Highness.
We only have three sleds. There's no room for his remains.
Then give him a funeral! You must honor the dead!
That's an order!
There's no time for that either.
You!
No! I won't go anywhere with you!
Ragnar!
Ragnar is dead.
He won't come even if you call.
You…
Askeladd!
We've got deserters trying to join Thorkell.
They were hiding in the hay.
It's just as Ragnar said.
Your luck has run out.
It's not just us.
Everyone thinks we're in trouble.
This time we won't make it. Because this time
Thorkell has us surrounded!
Go if you want.
Listen up, you bastards!
Follow the leader you want.
You're free to go if you wish.
I won't blame you.
If you're with me,
then march!
We'll march until Thorkell is lost in pursuit!
March while you eat.
March while you sleep!
You hear me, bastards?
Expect to die if you don't keep up.
No!
Wait, Thorkell!
We're not with Askeladd!
We've come to serve you!
Your leader's name is Askeladd?
Oh, this is a nice sword.
This one's mine!
Wow. That's a lucky find.
If some of his men deserted,
then they must have questioned his leadership.
Poor wretches.
You could have taken them with us.
Not a chance. They're trash.
I have no use for cowards who'd desert rather than fight.
To the east!
All right, we're going after the prince!
Fire it up!
Right! You're leaning too far!
Go back.
No!
Go to my right!
Steady you go.
Slowly!
All right.
Hurry up! Don't hold up the line!
Torgrim and Atli.
WIth me.
Aye.
Take the lead destroying this bridge.
Hurry.
Got it.
This bridge is coming down!
Help if you've got an ax!
I'm exhausted.
Is Thorkell close, Ear?
It's noisy, so I can't be sure.
But we may have time to destroy the bridge.
Stop that! Knock it off.
Monk! What are you doing in there?
-Is there more drink? -If there were, I wouldn't give it to you.
You're insatiable! Of course, there's no more for you.
Don't you get it? We're in a dire situation, monk!
Shit, this water's freezing.
Isn't this river a little shallow?
They'll just walk across.
Destroying the bridge won't help?
Still, we can't leave it standing.
It might piss them off at least.
Askeladd seems to have run out of that ingenuity he's so proud of?
Bjorn! Thorfinn!
-What is it? -Come close.
What?
Bjorn, move the prince to that horse cart and take the reins.
Thorfinn, get in with the prince and stand by.
What are you…
Hey.
Askeladd!
Are you serious?
I have a gift.
With one glance at a man's face, I can tell who he is.
Brash or weak, clever or foolish.
I can even pick out the traitors amongst the loyal.
What?
Kidnap the prince? Brother!
Idiot! Keep your voice down!
Listen to me Atli, this troop is finished.
Let's take the prince and offer him to Thorkell.
Most of the men are already thinking it.
The others will join if we speak up.
You're going to betray him?
Askeladd?
It sounds so bad when you say it like that, Atli.
He's a good leader and he's done us well.
So we're making him take responsibility as our leader.
Don't worry.
We'll get through this, Brother. We have every other time.
Until now.
But consider what's happened lately.
He's made several mistakes.
His luck is running out.
He thought he lost Thorkell, but he found us anyway.
Don't look at me that way.
I admit
he's defiinitely a good leader.
But why did he pick a fight with Thorkell?
Brother.
I think it's unfortunate.
But it can't be helped.
Askeladd took a gamble and it didn't pay off.
That's all it is.
Well done.
This will slow their sleds when coming across.
What if they cross without sleds?
Then they'll spend time gathering food.
Without food, they can't pursue us for long.
All right! Start marching!
They're here!
There's a flash.
I've found
you!
Seriously?
Unbelievable.
-Three men with one spear? Unfathomable! -No, four!
-This is bad. -Damn, we're in trouble.
-We're in serious trouble! -Hey!
Relax, you bastards.
We still have distance between us and we felled the bridge.
Forget that spear.
The bridge?
Who cares about the bridge!
They can just walk across the river!
It's a short delay.
If that's what you think, then we must march.
Time is precious.
Again?
March and march and march!
Do you know any other words?
We cannot win against Thorkell.
Have patience for another day.
Wrecking that bridge will have its effect.
They can't march without supplies.
They'll have trouble bringing it with them.
If they leave it, they'll be soldiers without food.
Without food, they can only march for one day.
Understand, you bastards?
If you do, then march!
There's no guarantee we will survive another day!
Is that so?
Then this is where we part.
Forgive me, but I'm in a hurry.
Subtitle translation by Astrid Oliver