Chapter 96: Invincible

Drott's punches mount past twenty as the crowd marvels that so small a man endures them. Watching closely, Wulf realizes Thorfinn subtly rolls his hips and neck at the instant of impact to bleed the force from each strike. Einar wonders whether this is what Thorfinn meant by the first choice, to simply bear the pain of being hit rather than answer it with violence.

Olmar arrives with Snake to deliver the Ketil family's surrender, and Snake, spotting Thorfinn, shouts for the beating to stop, since he has nothing to do with the farm. Distracted, Thorfinn loses his footing and takes a full-force blow that sends him sprawling, his hair coming loose. Snake calls the stunt insane and berates him for gambling on a hundred punches without a word to anyone, insisting talk could never have settled things. Thorfinn asks whether anyone ever genuinely tried to resolve the matter through talk, or whether they simply drew swords the moment the other side did. Spitting out teeth, he rises and taunts Drott to finish the remaining sixty-eight hits, saying a mosquito stings harder.

The crowd falls solemn as the blows continue, Olmar near tears, until Drott delivers his hundredth and collapses while Thorfinn, face grotesquely swollen, still stands. Drott apologizes for doubting him and hails him a true warrior. Wulf asks why he never struck back to prove his claim of being a former royal guard, and Thorfinn replies that nothing good comes of a peace negotiator arguing with his fists. He tells the soldiers he holds no grudge against men he only met that day and asks why so many had to bleed over a quarrel between Ketil and the king, declaring he has no enemies at all. Wulf, impressed, jokes that Thorfinn should suggest to Canute that he and Ketil settle it with a game of Hnefatafl, then grants him passage to the king. Thorfinn calls Einar to come with him to face the man who began the conflict, and Einar, with much to say, follows.

Wulf recognizes that Thorfinn saps the force from each punch by turning his hips and neck. Olmar and Snake arrive to surrender, and Snake's interruption costs Thorfinn a full blow. Thorfinn endures all one hundred hits without fighting back, earning Drott's respect. He declares he has no enemies and questions why so many died over Ketil and Canute's dispute. Wulf grants Thorfinn an audience with the king, and Thorfinn brings Einar along.

The chapter appears in Volume 14 and adapts to Episode 46 of the anime. Its one-word Japanese title, Muteki, means invincible or unbeatable, reflecting the peace Thorfinn achieves by refusing to fight. The featured quote is his statement that he has no enemies at all and sees no reason for so much bloodshed.