Chapter 77

"There are only two options to choose for a warrior who's been insulted. To kill, or be killed. If you can't kill him, then you will die here. Running away after one's been insulted is one thing that I shan't allow. So fight and become a man. Today is the day."

- Thorgil

Disgrace (侮辱) is the 77th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Brodd, a soldier from the late King Harald's army, asks a hooded man if he can relay Wulf's message to Olmar: that after failing to cut through a dead pig, he cannot grant his request to join Canute's army. The hooded man agrees and Brodd and his friends go to tell Olmar. They burst out laughing towards the end of the message and insult him further; Olmar begins to cry, angrily draws out his sword and attacks Brodd. Brodd insists on handling him alone and easily parries him. Thorgil arrives and tells Olmar that after being insulted, his only options are to kill the man who insulted him or die trying. Motivated by Thorgil's encouragements, Olmar charges at Brodd, who's not worried about dodging and prepares to finish off Olmar. The hooded man flicks a coin into Brodd's eye; Olmar's sword slashes through Brodd's neck as Brodd turns to hold his injured face. Brodd's friends draw out their swords to avenge his death. Thorgil congratulates Olmar, then violently dispatches Brodd's friends. Olmar is shocked that he actually killed a person for the first time.

Summary
Olmar sits outside with his head on a table, miserable after his embarrassing failure to cut through the pig in front of Canute. People nearby talk about what happened and comment that he looks stupid. One of the men asks if he can go tell Olmar he failed and will not be joining Canute's army. A hooded man bouncing coins in his hand tells him to do it. The man and a few of his friends approach Olmar to tell him the news, looking forward to teasing him after he was "bested by a dead pig." Once they are out of earshot, the hooded man kills a flying butterfly by flicking one of his coins at it and says the lot of them are as stupid as they think Olmar looks. The man who asked to break the news to Olmar introduces himself as Brodd, a soldier in the late King Harald's army. Flocked by his three friends, he tells Olmar that he's been tasked with relaying Wulf's message. Olmar immediately guesses he's been rejected, but Brodd insists on telling him the message in full. He eloquently relays most of the message, but when he gets to the part where Wulf "regrettably" informs Olmar he's been rejected, the men burst out laughing. Brodd asks Olmar if the pig he tried to strike was wearing chainmail. He asks the others if they should help him find another line of work and points out a cook was looking for an apprentice, then laughs more as he says Olmar would be no good for the job since he can't even cut a pig. Olmar remembers Thorgil asking him not to do anything to shame the family further. He nevertheless angrily pulls out his sword, yelling that true warriors settle their differences with the blade and asking the men to draw their own. This only adds fuel to Brodd and the men's laughing fit. Olmar, crying, swings at Brodd, who dodges and gets angry at Olmar's nerve. Olmar keeps slashing at Brodd. Near a table where Thorgil is eating, a man claims there's a 5-on-1 fight going on by the stands, everyone involved carrying swords. There, Brodd easily parries Olmar while telling his friends to stand back, as it'd be disgraceful if they had to gang up on someone who couldn't even cut throuhg a dead pig. Brodd knocks Olmar's sword out of his hand; Olmar falls to the ground and Brodd tells him to stand up. The hooded man thinks to himself that Olmar is as terrible a swordsman as he heard and that his plan will be difficult to pull off if he keeps being that unskilled. Olmar falls to the ground again. Thorgil, who'd approached to watch, stands above him and tells him to get up, as the battlefield's no place to nap. Olmar tells Thorgil that the men insulted him; Thorgil replies that he knows and that Olmar should get back on his feet and kill the man who insulted him. As Olmar pathetically kneels on the ground, Thorgil pulls him up by the scruff of his tunic and yells at him to stand. He tells Olmar that the only two options for a warrior who's been insulted are to kill or be killed, and that he will not stand for seeing him run away after being insulted. He tells Olmar to fight and become a man, then spins him back in Brodd's direction. He yells at Olmar to picture his gory victory and kill Brodd. Olmar charges at Brodd with renewed vigour; the hooded man thinks to himself that the blow is determined enough for his plan. Brodd is undaunted, as he knows it's easy to dodge a mindless attack you can see coming from a mile away. Tired of playing around, he readies his sword to finish off Olmar. As Olmar closes in on Brodd, the hooded man flicks one of his coins, which lodges itself in Brodd's eye. As Brodd turns and holds his face, Olmar's sword stabs him through the neck. The crowd cheers, while Brodd's friends and Thorgil are shocked at the turn of events. With Brodd now dead, Brodd's friends draw their swords to kill Olmar before he can get away. Thorgil congratulates Olmar, then draws his own sword and tells his brother to leave the rest to him. He violently dispatches the rest of Brodd's friends. Meanwhile, kneeling on the ground with his face covered in blood, a shocked Olmar contends with the fact that he's killed a human being.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Thorgil
 * Olmar
 * Brodd