The Berserk War

Author's Note: Hey, I actually got this done on time, woohoo!

This chapter focuses entirely on Hush's little war on the Berserk Isle, so there is no Hiccup V Stoick drama here. I'm saving those for the next chapter. But still, I hope you guys enjoy this one while I slowly type out the next chapter.

Without further delay, I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Chapter 6 of Assassin's Creed: Deliverance: The Berserk War.

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Savage had his infamous grin plastered across his face. Even though he was forced to wake up early for the siege of Fort Dread, it still seems like a good day.

He has one of the largest armies that the Viking Archipelago have ever seen behind him, and he was about to fight a small group of puny rebels; a sure victory in his eyes.

The victory will surely get him a promotion and grant him the prestige he needs to join the ranks of the other great generals and chiefs in the Templar Order.

He turned his head for a moment to look at the regiment at his disposal. About a hundred of the greatest warriors the Viking Archipelago could produce, thirty musket men to prove their technological superiority over the petty rebels, and two cannons along with their crew to tear through any walls that they toiled day and night to put up.

The proud general couldn't help but grin as he and his sieging force march all the way to Dread Hill from where the combined army of the Berserkers and their allies were waiting to reinforce if it came down to that; but of course it wouldn't.

Their camp wasn't very far from Dread Hill, so in less than half-an-hour, the regiment was standing before Fort Dread.

The fort's walls were made of wooden stakes that cannon balls will rip through with little to no problem. Then the musket men can fire a volley at whoever was still standing near the walls. After that the warriors can charge in and clean up whoever is left.

All of that planning was thrown away when the commander found the Fort's gates wide open and the place looking completely abandoned.

Savage frowned at the sight; he knew that the rebels had caught their scouts, so they could have found out about the incoming army, so this shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Still, he was hoping for some sort of battle. He wanted to have the trill of entering a fight, but also have great confidence that he was going to win. To see the fear in his enemies eyes and hear their pleads for mercy; to gain recognition and prestige for winning with the first army formed by a coalition of Templar tribes.

"What shall we do commander?" His second-in-command asked, also sounding very disappointed at what they found.

"Loot the fort. See if we can find a clue as to where they have escaped to or something precious." Savage growled, although he still held on to a small fabric of hope, "but be careful, they might try to ambush us."

His second-in-command nodded and passed on the orders. Within seconds, the army was pouring into the fort. The cannon crew was the only ones to stay outside the fort while the rest goes in.

As Savage walked through the village with his arms crossed across his chest, he watched as his men checked the tents or bales of hay, which looks like potential hiding spots for the rebels, with little success.

He was getting frustrated as they searched and searched, but came up without even anything precious to take back. Not even a clue as to where they might set up their next base.

The whole place was just empty, except for some useless stuff like hay or pots of oil.

Savage sighed in frustration as another small group of soldiers came up empty handed. The rest of his sieging force was also getting restless with frustration and there were many an angry mumble.

"Alright, call in the canon crew, we are occupying this fort." Savage announced, "I need someone to report to the army what we found here."

The warriors mumbled among themselves, but two of them were quickly chosen to be sent out to get the canon crew back in and report back to the army.

Savage sighed and walked over to the biggest tent in the fort, which he assumed to be something important.

Upon entering, he found that he has entered the meeting tent, where all the planning is done.

He curiously walked over to the large table at the center of the tent and examined the documents on top. There were some crudely drawn maps, inventory lists, and some statistical records which tell that the rebel army was actually larger than Savage first thought.

As he continued to read the papers filled with messy handwriting, he heard a commotion outside and quickly marched out; it seems that he might be getting a battle after all.

Just as he walked outside the tent, a blazing spear tore into the meeting tent, setting it ablaze in the process.

Savage's eyes widen as he backed away from the burning tent; he was that close to dying after all. Upon a brief inspection of his surroundings, he found that the rest of the fort was in similar conditions.

The massive gates of the fort were closed, but a crowd of soldiers were gathered there trying to bash it down as they get shot down one by one by the flaming arrows and spears.

There were flaming arrows and spears flying everywhere, setting tent after tent on fire and burning the whole place to the ground.

The musket men hastily attempted to fire back at the rebels who have climbed up the walls and were shooting from there. Guns were not very accurate in the first place, but a panicking shooter will assure a complete miss.

Savage ran towards the gates to help in bringing it down, calling for the help of anyone within earshot. He was quickly realizing that everything that the rebels left behind were flammable; paper documents, wooden structures, and pots of oil all helped to spread the fires and keep them alive.

He yelled at another small group of warriors who were running away, but they yelled back that they were going to find a well to hide in. Although Savage knew that hiding in well will only make them easy targets, he decides to leave them alone; cowards like them have no place in the army anyway.

When he reached the gates, he found that the number of warriors attempting to break it down was dwindling, but desperation fueled them to keep going.

Savage quickly took the place of a warrior who took a shoot to his leg and was lying on the ground, screaming in pain. The commander couldn't do much for him, however, when another arrow went through his chest and his screaming stopped.

Savage roared in anger and determination as he bashed his shoulder against the massive wooden gates. By the time he smash his entire body's weight against the gate for the third time, he started suspecting that the rebels have put up bracers or extra support at the other side to keep the gate up.

The warrior to his right screamed in pain an arrow took his down, but he was quickly replaced by another warrior. Left and right, more and more warriors were pushing their way to the front to ram down the wall. It seemed that the surviving members of the sieging force were coming to their senses and begin trying their luck at taking down the gate.

Still, even with twenty people ramming the gate at once, it still hasn't collapse. The wood was starting to splinter though, which is a sign of progress.

"Put your back into it, men!" Savage yelled as loud as he can as he bashed the gate again and denting the think wooden stakes slightly.

Just as he finished what he was saying, one of the rebels, who climbed onto the gate, through a barrel onto a warrior's head, breaking both items at once.

Instantly the air was filled with a white powder, and the warriors were coughing the substance out of their mouths, while still trying to ram the gates.

Savage was thankful to the gods that he was he was far enough away to avoid getting covered in the powdery substance, but he yielded his position in favor of checking the powder, since he was sure it wasn't simply flour.

He had to push his way through the crowd of warriors who was gathered around the only casualty of this attack.

The poor warrior's face was all but bloody flesh covered in the white powder and had several wooden splinters sticking out. Savage couldn't help but wince at the sight of the dead warrior.

After taking a deep breath and coughing it back out, the commander bent down to investigate the strange substance that was thrown on them. What little he has felt of the powder told him that it wasn't flour, now that he has taken a closer look, it feels like…

"Run!" He yelled at the top of his lung, but he was too late.

The rebels held their fire while waiting for the warriors to identify the substance. They wanted the Berserker warriors to realize how hopeless they actually are. Once that feeling has been conveyed, a rebel shot a flaming arrow at the dead warrior covered in a pile of gunpowder that they took from the dead cannon crew.

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Hush watched silently as the Berserker army waited for the first wave of invaders to return victorious from his position up in the trees; the shadows of the forest concealing him from any wondering eyes.

There were hundreds of men, nearing a thousand, in the gathered army, but only a small portion went in to attack the rebel stronghold. The rest were just there for show.

Hush knew for a fact that no one tribe could raise an army this size with only a few villages, at most, a few hundred. But with a good number of them joining the rebellion, the Berserkers should have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for even a quarter of the current army.

That could only mean that the Berserkers close allies.

Other chiefs must have sent warriors in order to prove their loyalty or friendship, and Hush wouldn't have been surprised if Dagur's generous allies were also in line with the Templars.

This is bigger than we thought.

Hush silently leapt from tree to tree, closer and closer to the gunpowder division.

Vikings in this particular archipelago has had very little respect for guns and cannons since they can't even dent the hard scales of dragons. But the recent increase in dragon raids are forcing the tribes into alliances, trading and even to raids against one another in order to survive, which is why guns are just starting to become useful.

Still, many tribes only have a small division of them that is usually unskilled at their craft. As a result, the gunpowder soldiers are often set aside from the main army and, although useful, are seen as inferior and dishonorable when compared to hand-to-hand combat.

Hush could easily dispatch this division of the army, which will result in chaos and disorganization; perfect conditions for an ambush.

Just as he leapt onto a branch that was just above all of the musket men, the bombardiers, and barrels full of ammunition and gunpowder, he saw several pillars of smoke rising from the direction of Fort Dread; a signal that only he would be able to see from up in the trees.

Here we go. With a deep breath, Hush steeled himself for the carnage that was about to ensue.

He then threw a Zippleback gas grenade into the midst of the canons, guns and barrels of gunpowder.

As the gas was being released from its container, Hush quickly made his escape by leaping through the trees. He was also needed at the front of the army, where the general was at.

The screams had just begun when the explosion shook the whole forest. Pieces of metal, wood splinters and human parts were sent flying into nearby soldiers. The loud sound, the ringing it left in your ear, sound of animals and birds panicking and fleeing, they all added to the chaos of the situation. Even Hush fell out of the tree he was on during the explosion.

The Assassin quickly leapt to his feet and examined the situation he was in with as much calmness as he could muster.

All around him, Berserker soldiers were breaking formation and descending into utter confusion. Some were fleeing, others were fighting among themselves (clearly confused), and yet there are even those who broke down and were screaming bloody murder.

No one attacked Hush, and he doubted that anyone even noticed his presence as a huge cloud of smoke has covered the entire battlefield.

Hush ear was still ringing, so he couldn't tell if the rebel army has started their attack, although he was almost certain that they already have. Still, he couldn't do much bit stare wide eyed at the death that surrounded him.

He might have been the only Assassin to hate, and maybe even fear, death. To be surrounded by it is to relive a nightmare that he had hoped to leave behind, but he couldn't help it.

The smoke, the screams, the spreading fire; they were all far too familiar.

He would never wish what had happened to his village upon anybody, but here he was, committing the same acts of abomination that destroyed everything he knew and loved.

Sacrifices had to be made, but not like this.

He stood there, leaning against the tree he fell from, watching as the fires from the explosion spread from tree to tree, closer and closer.

He just stayed in that position reliving nightmares until his mind cleared a little bit more and he realized the danger he was in.

He quickly pushed himself away from the tree and dizzily entered into the fray. Swords were clashing and axes were chopping, but Hush couldn't find it in himself to take part in any particular battle that was raging around him. He could hardly even walk straight because of the ringing in his ears, but then again, so did most of those around him.

From experience, Hush knew that the ringing will not go away for a few hours so he couldn't wait it out. Thankfully, he had learnt a treatment to this problem.

He stumbled over to a tree and hid behind it, away from the battle, and held both hands up to his ears, with his fingers touching the back of his skull. Then, he started snapping his index finger down off his middle finger and against the back of his skull.

The sound of his index finger snapping against his skull sounded much like a loud drum; he kept going. Beat after beat, drum after drum, for forty-something times, he repeated the action, but by then the ringing has subsided.

With another deep breath, Hush pulled out a throwing knife with a grimace on his face. He didn't want to kill any more than he already had, but there are also some personal sacrifices to be made as an Assassin.

After switching off all emotions for the time being, he turned around the side of the tree and immediately spotted several targets. The cold, calculative part of his mind quickly took over and he singled out the single, greatest threat, a berserk warrior that was slaying enemy and allies alike.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the blade sunk deep into his targets neck, but that only intensified his fighting until he sent an axe into one of his fellow warrior's head. After that, he succumbed to death.

Berserks are crazy, they push the limits of what is humanly possible and spits into the face of death. But they are still humans, and that means that death will spit back in their face someday.

These are the kinds of people that Hush tolerates the death of the most. It's just that they seem so inhuman when they are fighting in such a blood-thirsty and animalistic manner.

He noticed that the berserk warrior has created much chaos of his own and has many Berserker soldiers fighting one another in a fit of confusion, fear and anger. Hush has no place in such battles.

He instead climbed up a tree that has not yet been set on fire and ran along its branches, throwing knifes at enemy warriors with deadly accuracy. That is his fighting style, impersonal and deadly, while staying hidden.

He continued his killing spree as he ran all the way to the front of the army. While running by, he noticed that the rebels had taken advantage of the chaos and were breaking the resolve of their enemies to fight.

Left and right, the rebels were beating the Berserkers, but there is still some thin hope of victory for the enemy to grasp onto. They need to be persuaded that they can't win and flee right into the traps that the rebels had set up at the opposite side.

Hush needed to convince them that they can't win, and what better way of doing that, than to kill the general in a way such that most of the army can see.

Hush leapt from tree to tree, closer and closer to the general and his large division of bodyguards.

When he reached them, they were already surrounded by rebel warriors, who also seemed to have the same idea. The bodyguards are some of the highest grade warriors that one can find though, and they were furthest away from the explosion, so they held their own against the odds that were stacked against them.

Hush could just leap from a branch and assassinate the general, but the rest of the army won't see it. That also rules out shooting him or throwing a knife, so instead, he had to do something bigger, flashier. An explosion would do.

He pulled out another Zippleback grenade and searched for a place to throw it where it will kill the general without harming any rebels.

Watched the battle carefully and decided that the best spot would be right behind the general. The general will die in the explosion and the surrounding bodies will absorb the blast.

"Take cover!" Hush yelled as he threw the bomb into the huddle of bodies that surrounded the general. The rebels had barely enough time to pull away before the gas came spurting out of the bomb and a spark lit the explosion, successfully killing the general in the process.

The second explosion was not as large as the first, which also had a large number of gunpowder to fuel it, but for a brief moment, a picture of his village burning to ashes filled the mind of Hush.

He quickly diverted his attention away from his dead family and back into the fight before he got emotional again.

All around, Berserkers were fleeing, some stuck around long enough to get swarmed by the remaining rebel warriors, but it was only a minority that was quickly overwhelmed.

The battle is won, Hush has succeeded, but somehow, it doesn't feel like a victory. Ever since he became an Assassin, it never had.

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Dogsbreath laughed heartily as he walked into the new meeting tent, causing Hush to look up from the map he was leaning over.

He wasn't actually reading, just thinking.

"The Berserker army has been decimated!" The rebel general cheered with great joy as he walked over to Hush, ignoring the others present, who were taking inventory and counting the number of casualties on both sides. "Our men have also found that some of Dagur's allies sent some soldiers too. With them out of the way, our victory is assured!"

Dogsbreath's smile dropped, however when he saw the Hush's dark expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hush replied as he turned back towards the map. He didn't speak too fast that his answer would sound like a blatant lie (even though it was), but neither was it too slow that it sounded hesitant. He continued after a comfortable moment of silence in which Dogsbreath walked over to his side. "You should get your men ready to storm the village and arrest Dagur, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Aye, we will in an hour or so," Dogsbreath replied as he rubbed the beard on his chin, "Once my men are ready for battle again."

Hush nodded silently. He was still keeping up his tough act in front of the rebels; it will not do to see their hero break down after a decisive victory. He will have to spend some time alone with Edge when he can, it always help to calm him down after a killing.

"I trust that you and your men can take the Village without me?"

"Huh?" Dogsbreath turned to with surprise written all over his face. "Yeah, but, why aren't you coming?"

"I have other business to attend to," Hush replied calmly. "Do not worry, I'll be there in time for the execution."

Dogsbreath grunted in reply as he put on his helmet. "Very well, then. Executions will be held tomorrow, you can have Dagur, then."

Dogsbreath patted Hush on the back of his shoulder before turning to walk out the tent. "I have to check on my men."

Hush nodded even though the rebel leader couldn't see him and turned back to his thoughts.

He had agreed to help the Berserkers on the condition that he gets to kill Dagur, but the rest of the rebel leaders wanted to execute the dictator in public. So a compromise was reached, Hush will get to kill Dagur in public, as long as he does it in a stunning way.

Hush would've preferred not to have an immediate audience, but he wasn't going to complain. He was making allies, increasing the influence of the Assassins, in the process of reducing the Templars influence.

Still, the amount of influence the Templars currently hold is worrying. He had thought that Alvin was their first attempt at spreading to this part of the world, but they also have Dagur under their belt, and who knows how many of his allies.

The defeat of their combined forces should be a major hit in their strength, but Dagur's allies probably only sent a small portion of their entire army, so they might still prove to be major obstacles.

Nevertheless, as long as the Templars don't get their hands on the Piece of Eden, the Assassins will hold a major advantage against their enemies.

Hush sighed and pulled his hood back on his head in preparation to leave the tent. He needed some time alone to think.

Edge was a great listener; he might take the Skrill out for a little joyride while the rebels invade the village.

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Author's Note: I actually feel quite proud at the way this chapter turned out. It is definitely better then the last (which I admit was a bit rushed…), and might be better than my other chapters?

I don't know, actually, because I'm embarrassed to read my own writing. I'll have to get around to doing that sometime, though.

So what do you guys think of this chapter? Leave your opinions and thoughts in the reviews.

Speaking of reviews, it's time for me to reply some reviews:

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gamelover41592: this chapter was again really good can't wait to see what you have planned next given what just happened also you have to be the first person I know not shipping Hiccup with Astrid

Reply: Thanks you! I guess you'll have to wait a bit more to see what happens to Hiccup and Berk, but it looks like Hush is doing fine on this end (or is he…). Also, about Astrid and Hiccup, well… I do kinda like their relationship, but I need them to hate each other (like really hate, not the kind that ends up with the both of them getting married) for the sake of the plot (Astrid's is like the wild card, Hiccup's actions will sway her opinion about him back and forth).

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Reilly.216: Things aren't looking good, are they? Hiccup mah gave just ruined any chance for a treaty with Berk, all because of his pride and loathing for the people he used to know and the person he used to be. And Hush is going to be fighting a well armed Berserker army with what sounds like a bunch of incapable rebels wielding sticks and stones. Talk about arrows against the Lightning. Still, I'm sure the addition of a Skrill in his tanks might even things up a little.

We can only hope. I look forward to the next chapter!

Reply: Well, Hush may not be in all that bad a position after all. Hiccup on the other hand is trying something risky… we'll have to see if it pays off in the end.

Hush kinda figured that Edge wasn't needed to win this battle, so he's keeping him as some kind of secret weapon.

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Dracologistmaster: Great chapter, though I can see Valka being more than just unhappy with how that turned out. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Reply: Well, Valka can't get angry about what she doesn't know about, yeah ;) Just kidding, she'll kind out. One way or another, she'll find out the truth.

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mc arno: Heaterxhiccup? Génialissime, que de bonheur, au lala tu es un dieu, C'est dur de trouver des fanfiction hiccup qui n'est pas avec Astrid, et dans une histoire si bien ficelé! Tu fais un boulot du tonnerre c'est du grand art, à part pour le temps entre chaque mise à jour, mais tu as d'autres choses à faire sûrement, donc je trouve ça normal... Sinon vas-tu faire payer Beurk pour ce qu'elle a fait à Hiccup? Bon voilà à la prochaine!

My rough translation: Utterly brilliant, that happiness, lala, you are a god. It's hard to find a Hiccup fanfiction where he is not with Astrid, and a story so well put together! You do the job of Thunder, it is great art, except for the time between each update, but you have other things to do for sure, so I find it normal… Otherwise you are going to charge Berk for what she has done for Hiccup? Well, now to the next!

Reply: Whew, translating is not as easy as it looks, even with Google Translate and several other online French translators. I'm still not sure if everything is correct.

But I still got the message.

Thanks for the many compliments, mc arno, I really appreciate them! I know how hard it is to find good fanfictions where Astrid is paired with Hiccup, but I do know one. It is called Heather Together, and you can probably tell that Hiccup is pairing up with Heather for this one.

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SiriusBlackLP: PLS next chapter PLS

Reply: Next chapter, updated. Hope you enjoyed it!

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aslan333: Good chapter

Reply: Thanks a lot!

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Bluetooth: I enjoyed it especially the hiccup-snotlout-astrid fight

Keep it up

Reply: Thanks man, it was probably the best part of the last chapter. I hope that you enjoyed the action in this chapter as well, which is much more descriptive.

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AkaDeca: Please continue this is excellent

Reply: I am continuing this story, don't worry, and thanks for the compliment!

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Guest: Aah! This updated and I didn't see it! It's back

Reply: Haha, sorry for the late update. I will try my best to update this story more consistently.

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assasins death: I think it is better to be hiccupxheather otherwise i love youre storie and i am realy anxious about the next chapter please dont lose to youre chronic laziness and do me a favor of continuing the good work

Reply: Wow, it must be a big deal that I'm not doing Hiccstid, huh? Haha! Thanks a lot for your encouragement, it really gave me the push I needed to write this story! I will do my best to fight my chronic laziness and update more consistently from now onwards.

Thanks again for the encouragement!