The winter sunlight suddenly dimmed slightly. A whistle sounded from the upper canopy, as if countless birds were beating their wings and taking flight. The young hunter instinctively looked up and saw countless crisscrossing silhouettes of light flashing overhead. He stared blankly, mouth agape.
"F... flying horses!?"
"They're Wind-riding Steeds. Those damn idiots are finished!" Audum complained loudly. "But I can't see a thing!"
"But they're up in the sky!"
"I don't know. All I see is pitch-black!" the dwarf master replied irritably.
The boy hurriedly straightened the dwarf's heavy helmet. "Oh!" Audum exclaimed. "Good heavens, I didn't notice that. I must have been too anxious. Thank you very much!"
"Ha-ha-ha, you stupid dwarf!" Fini's teasing voice carried from afar as the Elf Maiden laughed so hard she bent backward and forward.
"Ah, damn that little brat!" Audum blew his beard in fury. "Just you wait. I'll teach you a lesson."
"Hee-hee-hee, you can't beat me, dear Mr. Audum."
The boy carefully kept out of the space between the two of them. He raised his head and watched the battle unfolding in the sky.
"The Valkyrie Guard!"
Within Valhalla, the vast majority of people had hidden inside their homes or in temporary shelters. The workshops and shops along the streets had all closed their doors, but everyone was watching the war that concerned their future from behind their doors and windows.
Yet the instant the female knights appeared above the canopy, a small cheer rose from behind the entire city.
Skogul and Skogul stood proudly atop Heroic Spirit Warhorses wreathed in white flames. The spears in their hands shimmered with the silver radiance of the sagas. Their golden hair, braided into long plaits behind their winged helmets, streamed in the wind. They carried small round shields, and behind them were