Episode 7: Normanni

In October 1012 AD, King Sweyn halts the raids on England for the season, leaving Askeladd's mercenaries without work. Rather than idle through winter, Askeladd steers them to Francia, where two Frankish factions are locked in a losing siege by the Loire. He decides to back the failing attackers and sends Thorfinn to propose a deal: the band will hand them victory in exchange for half the spoils. Thorfinn grumbles that his kills have earned him nothing, but Askeladd offers the only reward he wants, a duel, on the condition that he bring back a commander's head. Bjorn worries about trusting the boy with negotiation, but Askeladd shrugs that losing a stray child costs him nothing.

At the enemy camp Thorfinn seizes a guard and demands a Norse speaker until he is brought before the leader Jabbathe, who balks at surrendering half the plunder. Thorfinn coolly warns that killing him only sends Askeladd's hundred hardened men to reinforce the defenders instead. Jabbathe relents, vowing to take the boy's head if the promise proves false.

Thorfinn signals the deal is set, and Askeladd's band hauls their boats overland, a sight the guards downriver mistake for a dragon climbing the mountain. When the morning assault begins, Thorfinn asks his interpreter to point out the defending leader, then sprints for the wall, prompting Jabbathe to think he is fleeing and order him shot. Scaling the fort with his daggers, Thorfinn cuts down the crossbowmen menacing the boats and beheads the enemy commander, diving into the water after the falling head.

Askeladd's men storm the emptied fortress, having already looted its treasury, church, and lords' houses. As Jabbathe fumes at being cheated of both spoils and the chance to ambush the departing raiders, Thorfinn climbs aboard alive, throws down his trophy, and demands his duel. Askeladd agrees to another time, ordering his men to row clear of the Franks' arrows.

Airing August 18, 2019 as the seventh episode, this WIT Studio installment is the animated adaptation of the manga's opening chapter, chapter 1, also titled Normanni. Shingo Uchida directed with Atsushi Kobayashi on storyboard, and the screenplay was handled by Kenta Ihara and Hiroshi Seko. Both Jabbathe and the defending officer Olov perish over the course of the siege.