"A True Warrior" (本当の戦士 Hontō no Senshi?) is the fourth episode of the Vinland Saga anime, produced by WIT Studio.
Synopsis[]
Thors advances through Askeladd's men, beating but not killing them, until he faces Bjorn in a berserker rage after eating the mushroom. He defeats Bjorn and challenges Askeladd to a duel. After a fierce swordfight, Thors defeats Askeladd, but surrenders to save Thorfinn and the villager warriors, and is then slain by a volley of arrows. Thorfinn stows away on the captured ship and swears revenge against Askeladd.
Summary[]
Continuing from the previous episode, Thors takes on a group of Askeladd's men singlehandedly to defend himself, his friends, and his son. Thors easily dodges their attacks and effortlessly defeats them bare-handed, impressing Askeladd. However, Thors chooses not to kill any of them, only leaving them with bloody bruises and broken bones and saving a man from drowning by tossing him an oar to stay afloat. Two of the men ask Bjorn what should they do, however, Bjorn simply twitches and growls in anger. As Thors continues to fight Askeladd's men, Bjorn is overcome by a berserker rage and attacks his allies. They are terrified and say that Bjorn has gone mad. Bjorn tosses two of his men into the air and smashes the floor of the ship in rage. One of the men says that Bjorn will destroy the ship and they all go overboard to save themselves from his rage. As Bjorn bangs his head into the mast, Thors notes that he has eaten a "Berserker Mushroom". Suddenly, the enraged Bjorn notices Thors and charges at him to attack. Thors swiftly counters Bjorn's assault with a punch to the right eye. Ignoring his pain, Bjorn attempts to attack Thors once more, however, the Troll of Jom effortlessly sends the berserker flying with an uppercut. Askeladd's men are left awestruck by Thors' display of power. Thors turns his attention to Askeladd's ship, however, an injured Bjorn gets up one more time to continue their fight.
Meanwhile, Askeladd and his men approach Thors and Leif's ships, which causes the boys to panic. Ari tells the other boys that he would rather die fighting than be captured and sold to slavery. Askeladd tells his men to capture the boys alive and unharmed, otherwise, they won't sell for a high price at the slave market. Askeladd's men use two wooden planks to cross over to Thors' boat and assault the boys. However, Thors throws Bjorn off of the ship and the berserker's body lands on one of the planks, destroying them before Askeladd's men could cross. Then, Thors, with great speed and agility, jumps back onto his ship, much to everyone's surprise. Thors quickly draws his sword and destroys the other plank, causing some of Askeladd's men to fall in the water. Thors tells the rest of Askleadd's crew that they have lost half of their forces and offers to spare their lives if they leave him and friends alone. Askeladd simply chuckles in delight.
While Askeladd's men help Bjorn out of the water, Thors orders the pirates to leave because they can't defeat him. Atop of the fjord, one of Askeladd's archers takes aim at Thors and plans to shoot him in rage. One of his comrades stops him and says not to shoot Thors until Askeladd gives the signal. Leif is impressed that Thors is confident enough to fight two warships by himself. One of Leif's men says that they should fight too, but Leif argues that they will make the situation worse, as there are archers looking down on them from atop the cliff. Leif says that they should leave it to Thors, because is the only one who knows what he is doing. The man tries to argue back, but Leif sternly says that other than Thors, they're all a bunch of inexperienced children who have never been in a real battle and relying on Thors is the only option they have.
However, Thors quickly realizes that these pirates are not the type of men to run away when threatened. Thors notes that the archers on the cliff haven't shot any arrows yet and counts roughly thirty men on Askeladd's ship. Thors says to himself that he could definitely kill thirty armed men by himself, but because their ships are so close, the pirates could jump onto his ship and the boys will have to fend for themselves. Thors looks through the crowd of pirates and glares at Askeladd. Thors points his sword at him and asks Askeladd if he is the leader, before challenging him to a duel in Odin's name. Thors says that if Askeladd wins, then he can do as he pleases, but if he wins, then Askeladd and his pirate crew must leave at once. The former Jomsviking says that if Askeladd refuses, he will lose three times as many men to capture a mere dozen slaves. Askeladd inquires how Thors knew he was the leader and the Troll of Jom's reply is because of the smell. Askeladd laughs in amusement and accepts the duel. Thors orders the boys to stay back near the ship's bow.
Askeladd jumps over to Thors' ship and tells him that he smelled something about him as well and that they have the same smell, while addressing him as the Troll of Jom. Thors is surprised that Askeladd knows who he is and quickly realizes that Floki sent him. Askeladd impressed by Thors's quick deduction and compliments his intelligence. Thorfinn angrily tells Askeladd that his father isn't a bad person like him. Thors tells Thorfinn to stay back like he said. However, Thorfinn continues his childish tantrum and tells Askeladd that his father is strong and will kill him. Askeladd is simply amused and tells Thors that his son has guts. Magni pulls Thorfinn back to ship's bow and tells the boy to shut up. Thors asks Askeladd if he has a wife and kids, but he replies that he doesn't. Thors realizes that he can't sympathize with him and says that they should begin their duel.
Thors starts off by slowly approaching Askeladd to close the distance between them. Askeladd takes note of this and cuts a rope that releases the ship's sail to the ground, a move that was to catch Thors off guard. In an instant, Askeladd quickly moves under the sail and swings his blade at Thors. This sneak attack does surprise Thors, who attempts to dodge it. Askeladd manages to land a cut on Thors' chest, however, it is too shallow. Thors quickly attempts to kick Askeladd, who barely dodges it and backs away from the Troll of Jom. Askeladd's crew and Thorfinn cheer on Askeladd and Thors respectively. Askeladd is surprised that Thors could counterattack so quickly after being cut and realizes that sneak attacks won't work anymore. Askeladd says to himself that fighting an incredible man like Thors was worth coming to the Faroe Islands. Thors looks at the blood on his hand and compliments Askeladd's strength and promises not to hold back. Askeladd says that he glad to hear that. Thors quickly rushes toward Askeladd and overpowers him with series of sword swings. Askeladd is forced on the defensive to avoid Thors' powerful blows. Ari notices this and happily says that Thors has the advantage. Askeladd's crew are nervous that Askeladd may lose. Thorfinn excitedly cheers his father on and tells him to kill Askeladd.
Suddenly, Askeladd notices that his sword has become chipped by Thors' powerful swings and realizes that it will break soon. After dodging his attack, Askeladd thinks that Thors's sword is also becoming chipped and brittle. With quick timing, Askeladd is able to break the blade on Thors's sword with his armor, leaving only its hilt left. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Askeladd goes for the kill, however, Thors counterattacks by quickly hitting Askeladd's arm before his swing, causing him to drop his sword. While Askeladd's arm twitches, Thors takes his sword and places it at Askeladd's neck, leaving the pirate at his mercy. Askeladd realizes that Thors fooled him and the the fight was never in his favor. Thorfinn and the other boys celebrate Thors' victory. Askeladd asks Thors why doesn't he deliver the final blow, and the former Jomsviking replies that there is no need and he simply wants Askeladd to surrender. Askeladd points to his crew and says that he is their leader, and he won't admit defeat in their presence. Askeladd says that if Thors doesn't kill him, the duel will never end, much to the Troll of Jom's frustration.
On Askeladd's ship, an injured Bjorn wakes up to find Askeladd at Thors' mercy. Askeladd's men are shocked that their leader has actually lost. Thors tells Askeladd once more to surrender and withdraw his troops like he promised. Askeladd simply compliments Thors's strength and asks why such a strong warrior would spend fifteen years hiding and wasting his skill in Iceland. Thors replies that he doesn't and the fact that he must rely on a sword, proves that he is imperfect. Thors declares to Askeladd that a true warrior doesn't need a sword. Askeladd asks Thors if he would like to lead his band of pirates, to everyone's shock. After period of silence, Askeladd claims that he was joking and asks everyone is so serious. Suddenly, Bjorn yells that this isn't the time for jokes and jumps over to Thors' ship. Bjorn quickly takes the unsuspecting Thorfinn hostage and threatens to cut off his head with his own dagger unless Thors drops his weapon. Thors curses Askeladd, who sadistically laughs and blames the former Jomsviking for trusting the word of pirates. Askeladd says that he was just having fun and wanted to know more about the notorious Troll of Jom. Outraged, Thors swings his sword at Askeladd's neck, but stops at the last second. Thors tells Askeladd that he violated the rules of their duel, thus declares himself the winner. Askeladd says that he doesn't care and he intends to kill him. Thors understands and tosses his sword into water, to everyone's shock. Askeladd concedes defeat by signaling his men to fire their arrows at Thors. Thors is impaled by countless arrows, which causes Thorfinn to yell for his father in despair.
Despite his injuries, Thors calmly tells Askeladd to honor his word as a warrior and for losing the duel. Askeladd agrees and vows in the name of his ancestor Artorius, that he and his men will withdraw. Thors then requests that Leif bring his head to Sigvaldi, the chieftain of the Jomsvikings. He says that if Sigvaldi believes that he chose to hide to avoid his summons, then his village in Iceland will be punished instead. Leif cries and tells Thors that he can't be serious. Ari and his friends also cry in despair. Thors turns to Bjorn and says that he gave them his life like they wanted, and orders him to release Thorfinn, while giving him a angry glare. Intimidated, Bjorn honors the request and releases the distraught boy, who embraces his father. Thors smiles and weakly comforts his son with a pat on the head, before sighing in relief. Outraged by Thors' death, Ari attempts to kill Askeladd in revenge with his sword. However, the pirate captain easily dodges the boy's assault and punches him away. Askeladd insults Ari and tells him to be grateful that Thors sacrificed himself so he could live. Thorfinn cries in anguish as he latches onto his father's standing corpse.
Afterwards. Thorfinn is shown crying over his father's death underneath a ship. Thorfinn wonders why his father said a warrior doesn't need a sword and why he had to die and Askeladd is still alive. At night, Askeladd and his crew are sailing with Thors' warship in tow. Torgrim reveals that Leif and the others abandoned it because they couldn't sail it without Thors. Unexpectedly, Thorfinn appears on his father's ship, much to Torgrim's shock. Meanwhile, a sleepy Askeladd remembers that twenty-eight of his men were injured by Thors, but none were killed. Suddenly, one his men asks that he come the stern. Torgrim informs him that Thors's son stowed away on his ship. Askeladd's men begin to mock and laugh at Thorfinn and pretend to be afraid. Thorfinn angrily yells at Askeladd for killing his father and swears that he will have his revenge by killing him. Atli says that Thorfinn is just a boy, but is shocked by the look in his eyes. Torgrim asks Askeladd if they should toss him overboard, but Askeladd says no and believes that Thorfinn will die soon enough on his own. Thorfinn cries and calls out for his father.
Characters in order of appearance[]
- Magni
- Grim
- Thorfinn
- Ari
- Hakon
- Thors Snorresson
- Bjorn
- Askeladd
- Mord
- Grimm
- Leif Ericson
- Mols
- Floki (Flashback)
- Atli
- Torgrim
Original Soundtrack[]
| Soundtrack | Starting Point |
|---|---|
| Mukanjyo (TV Size) | OP |
| Intertwined | 14:46 |
| The Real Warrior | 17:51 |
| Utopia | 22:35 |
| Torches (TV Size) | ED |
Differences from the manga[]
Trivia[]
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