This manga is over-hyped. Story would have been half way decent if it didn't go and kill the only interesting character (Askeladd) and then devolve into some lame moral preaching that doesn't even make sense. The sudden character "developments" are way too contrived. Canute went from being a bumbling idiot whose only redeeming quality was being able to cook a decent stew- to being an authoritative prince plotting to overthrow his father- all because of the empty words of a drunk priest and a half baked epiphany? REALLY? Just like that? He got high on some words? The guy who got high on berserker shrooms made for a more compelling plot device.

This story is just a bunch of needless war, gore and some mild nudity. Do not mistake that for realism, because people seem to be getting stabbed, shot by arrows, having their fingers cut off- without incurring any tetanus. It's just incredibly fantastical and silly when we know simple flesh wounds could kill people during that time.

As for the MC, what a wasted potential. He loses a man he was supposed to hate but had come to see as a second father. He lived from fight to fight, simply to duel him and win in an honorable fight for...revenge? He lived with Askeladd's troupe for years, knew they worked for money, and never questioned why they chose to kill his father? Never even thought about "WHY"? In the end he couldn't seek revenge against a man who wasn't even the person who conspired to kill him in the first place. He remains blissfully ignorant of the reality of that day. OKAY At this point i should probably confess i dropped the series at chapter 122 so I don't know if he found out later, and frankly I just don't care.

He's basically now haunted by the deaths he caused and thinks that by being a pacifist he's somehow redeeming himself. His moral platitudes about the "futility of revenge" doesn't even make sense within the story. First of all, its the dark ages, where death and destruction are normal. He feels responsible for the people he killed but we all know he was a mindless killing machine for someone else. If he didn't do the killing, someone else would've. The people he killed would have died even if he wasn't the one to do it. Second, Askeladd had a very satisfying story of revenge against his own father and breaking free. So where does he get off, preaching about the benefits of pacifism? And not seeking revenge? In fact, his moral preaching gets in the way of actual justice. The slave master Ketil rapes and impregnates his slave Arnheid. When Ketil is branded a traitor and has the king come after him, he feels powerless to do anything. He becomes unhinged when he realizes that Arnheid tried to escape, and sought to "punish" her. It's simply a way to get back his agency and get rid of his own feeling of powerlessness- by exerting power over the powerless slave and take back the feeling of control. He beats her with enough force to kill her and the unborn child. He was stopped from killing her on the spot because others intervened. She died later due to the injuries. So he's basically committed needless homicide. Our dear Thorfinn stops Einar from killing the slave-master because "revenge wouldn't do anything". Except, it wasn't revenge, but repurcussion and justice for Einar who sees the love of his life get killed brutally. The Ketil slave master was already branded a traitor and it wouldn't have made a difference if he was killed. But instead, he gets to live, eat the fruits of slave labour and live a comfortable life while reminiscing about the slave he raped and killed. Great going. IF the moral of the story was that he lived his life in regret- that's bull.

Life itself is a precious privilege. Ketil Slaver got to enjoy his. While Arnheid didn't. There's no justice in the path Thorfinn has chosen. His pacifist lifestyle depends on the generosity of his opponents. Another person in his position would have died a long time ago. Hell, he would have died if his opponents used the sword instead of the fist. His pacifist morality is simply a veneer for self gratification, and a way to soothe his own nightmares and live easier with his past. That's him being selfish in his own way. Maybe Einar would have felt better after meting out his own justice. We'll never know because the story has devolved into some pompous self righteous sermonising. BLEH. I need a palette cleanser after this.