Dungeon of Niflheim

453 Chapter 453: Break in the onslaught

With Frost reinforcing the magic corps, taking on an aggressive approach, new life incorporated their spells as they drove back the endless horde with balls of fire, wind, ice and so much more.

Hamon smiled with glee and no small amount of mocking as the rain of magic filtered overhead into the heart of the monster stampede, blowing apart and pushing back the monster riddled frontlines.

A plentiful volley of arrows arrived on the back of those spells thanks to the supplies brought by Frost.

“Oraaagggghhh push them back!” Bastion who was still on the frontlines alongside the two majors and the elite troops roared out in support as the magic and arrow fire softened up their enemies. His teammates roared out in response before attacking with newfound strength, emboldened by the magic and ranged corps.

Hamon’s smile stretched from ear to ear as he watched the faces of the three rindar’s warp in fury as they witnessed their forces being forcibly pushed back.

“Fuck! Brother we need to sound the retreat, the lesser monsters will only be annihilated at this rate.” The second rindar the one that seemed to be the most calm and collected at the moment shouted towards his elder brother who despite missing an arm was still the most capable among them.

The sounds of the eldest rindar’s teeth grinding against one another could be heard as his eyes spat out flames.

‘Damn bastards!’

Crunch!

.....

One of his teeth cracked from the pressure and drops of blood flowed down his jaw and neck but the pain brought clarity to his mind.

Though he couldn’t bring himself to say the words himself he nodded his head to his second brother who nodded back before calling out for a full scale retreat.

A couple trolls and other more dexterous monsters started to beat down on what appeared to be make shift drums.

The loud booms alerted the maddened monsters. Their ears perked up at the sound before the redness in their eyes diminished and they backed off from their opponents.

These makeshift drums were nothing special but each of them had the aura of the B-rank monsters attached to them and were beat at a certain tempo so as to be easily recognised despite the mad din of the battlefield.

Hamon watched on with a focused stare as the attacking monsters swiftly fell back from the frontlines and the northern wall, retreating back to the Northrend forest.

The three rindars were the last to leave, glaring daggers at Hamon before turning around and joining the horde.

The horde would rest and replenish its forces within the Northrend forest. Out of reach of Furano’s artillery, spells, archers and even surprise charges of the frost wolf battalion’s namesake cavalry.

“All soldiers prepare to rest, head to the medical centre if you’re injured or in need of potions, the smithing station if your weapons and armour need repairs and or replaced. Clean up crews and their protective detail front and centre there’s a lot of corpses that need dealt with; this great northern wall is nothing but a simple step thanks to the staircase made of flesh.” A minute or so after the rindars retreated behind the treeline Hamon gave out his orders before silently letting out a sigh of relief.

‘Finally some much needed rest.’ His heavy gaze then analysed the state of his elite troops and of those on the wall, noting their injuries and the trembling of their limbs.

‘Four more days is a very tall ask.’ People had their limitations, will and potions could only take you so far and Hamon wasn’t confident that they had enough to last the entire stretch.

However he didn’t let his feelings on the matter show on his face, keeping a stern and unyielding expression that exuded strength and reliability, an expression fit for a commander.

“I’m guessing this is the break he spoke about.” Frost lowered his hands and cancelled his partly created magic circle without even a trickle of sweat on his face. He didn’t even have enough to time for a good warm up.

“Yes, we should be able to rest for a spell before engaging in another onslaught.” Ryuu who had already stopped his magic when Frost arrived replied with a contorted smile and narrowed eyes. He had a similar line of thinking to Hamon, fearing that making it another four days was....difficult.

“Ryuu I’ll take everyone down and see to their conditions you handle the report and dealing with the newbie.” Jessie ordered before ushering the rest of the magic corps down from the platform, wasting none of the time they had been granted.

Ryuu couldn’t even argue as Jessie was already descending the stairs. He sighed before standing up from his seat.

“You injured or in need of any supplies?” He asked Frost.

“No I’m good.”

“Haaaaa the benefits of youth.” Ryuu sighed and shook his head before making his way towards Hamon.

“Come with me then. Since you’ve joined us you’ll need to follow military protocols. Given your strength you’ll be granted a position similar to a Major thus while you’re with the magic corps I’ll be assigning you the role of a vice leader, similar to that of Jessie but of course her orders will take priority.”

“Understood.” Frost nodded his head in understanding, fully aware that he’d be bound by Hamon and Douglas’ orders while protecting Furano.

‘Vice leader huh, has a nice ring to it.’ He smiled as he thought of his new title.

A few minutes later all the commanding officers -bar two who were assigned to keep watch over the clean-up teams and the forest- were within the command centre. Some were seated whereas some were standing.

Predominantly the older and more experienced were the seated while the younger stood. Whether this was a respect thing or because of nerves was unclear but it was certainly a contrast that didn’t go unnoticed by Frost. By the way he was seated with Kiba lying by his side like they owned the place.

“Alright that’s everyone, Douglas you doing alright? You up for this?” Hamon called the meeting into session before looking towards the medical bed set up at the back.

“I’ve been better, but I can still listen in, Leo however will serve in my place.” Douglas who was leaning against the bed rest with a fair number of pillows spoke out with difficulty. The top healer of the frost wolf battalion was still hard at work repairing the extensive damage that required a slow process to ensure full functionality.

“Gilianna what’s the prognosis, will he be up and ready to fight anytime soon.”

“Don’t worry Colonel with my deft touch I should have him healed within another 12 hours and back to full fighting force in 24.” Gilianna gave a guts pose as a wide smile adorned her slightly wrinkled face. She was the oldest member of the frost wolf battalion and had been a veteran of war before Hamon had even joined the military. Though her rank was but Captain no one in the battalion dared to looked down on her.

Hamon let himself smile upon hearing Gilianna’s positive response; this was good news. His smile spread amongst the other commanding officers who were also on edge about Douglas’s state.

“Alright then first off I’ll officially state that reinforcements from the capital are due to arrive in four days however this does not mean we can put all our eggs in one basket. Many things can happen on the long journey from the capital and the situation here is ever changing, we will not fight hoping to rely on these reinforcements but fight to end this war ourselves is that understood.” Hamon suffused his aura within his voice, forcing everyone to absorb his words in their hearts.

“Obviously”

“Of course Colonel.”

“No question.” The older members of the group scoffed before replying back, they knew what they should and should not be doing in this war.

“A..a...as you say Colonel.”

“U..understood.”

“Roger.” The younger members stuttered slightly, pressured by Hamon’s aura as well as the daunting prospect of facing this ever growing horde without reinforcements.

Frost however responded calmly fully expecting to hear such orders. His attitude got him a few looks from the other officers, some positive, some negative whereas others were simply curious towards this new youngster.

“Second and I’m sure some of you have already noticed we have a new ally joining us, Frost care to introduce yourself.” Hamon took this opportunity to introduce Frost to the rest of the battalion and the adventurers aiding them.

Some of which however already knew him or had at least heard of him or saw him in action alongside Hamon.

Bagua the C-rank adventurer who was the leader of the adventurer allies involved in Leo’s operation ‘new dawn’ was among those that recognised Frost. He smiled and waved his hand, happy to see another friendly face.

Two others from that night were also here but only Bagua was strong enough to have the right to enter the command centre.

Frost smiled and nodded to him before standing up, ready to introduce himself. All eyes thus turned towards the young dungeon core, each with their own individual thoughts. Frost’s lips twitched as he suddenly felt a little nervous.