Chapter 12: More Than a Monster

Askeladd looks on with fascination as Thors keeps dismantling his boarding party using nothing but his fists. When Thors pitches one attacker into the sea, he still throws the man an oar to cling to. Two raiders turn to Bjorn for orders, only to find him already lost to a rage brought on by a berserker mushroom, his eyes bloodshot and the veins standing out across his face. Bjorn tears into his own crewmates and hammers the deck planks hard enough to send men flying.

Seeing that nothing will stop Bjorn, the surviving raiders throw themselves overboard, and Thors realizes what the mushroom has done. Bjorn then fixes on Thors and charges. A punch staggers him, yet he lunges once more, so Thors strikes harder and turns toward the second ship. From the water, the raiders trade remarks about the giant's skill, finally grasping why he carries the nickname Troll. Bjorn rises behind him for another attempt, but Thors catches him and hurls him skyward.

Askeladd's second vessel closes in. Among the captured village boys, Hakon wonders aloud whether surrender is the answer, while Ari swears he would sooner die a warrior than be sold into slavery. Askeladd orders his crew to take the youths without wounding them, since scarred or maimed captives fetch a poorer price at market, and two planks are set down to bridge the ships.

Just as the raiders move to cross, the airborne Bjorn crashes down onto one plank, snapping it and dropping into the sea. Thors springs back aboard and shatters the remaining plank himself. He then calls out to Askeladd's fighters, warning that their numbers are already cut in half and promising to spare their lives if they withdraw at once.

The chapter opens on a warning from Thors, who tells the raiders their fighting force is already cut down by half and offers them survival in exchange for retreat. Released on August 31, 2005 across twenty pages in issue 2005-40, it appears in Volume 2 and was adapted into the anime's fourth episode. Its cast includes Thors, Bjorn, Askeladd, Magni, Hakon, Ari, Mord, and a young Thorfinn.