I have to agree. It felt like something was missing. I feel like this is kind of suffering from prequel syndrome. I already know the fate of the dead king and the broken empire so this doesn't have the punch it otherwise would have.
While I liked both characters in the beginning they didn't really show any growth during the journey. The lack of any significant secondary characters also left me wishing for more.
I think coming into the last part - the journey was starting to drag a bit. Also, killing Sven is a climax in the main story - but the reasons we want Sven dead are part of the side/back story - so not really invested enough to care if Sven dies or not - unless it happens to be me, then I'm very invested in Sven staying alive. Still enjoyable and overall I think an improvement in his writing.
Yep the last part dragged a bit and also taking the whole black fort with help of seven men I think is a bit overkill for me no matter how skilled the warriors are.
While I liked both characters in the beginning they didn't really show any growth during the journey. The lack of any significant secondary characters also left me wishing for more.