Dungeon of Niflheim

396 Chapter 396: Unique monster creation (7)

The real danger had arrived, the ghosts.

The bats though flying monsters with fairly fierce claws and fangs paled in comparison to the threat generated by the horde of ghost monsters. Frost’s forces were unfortunately poorly equipment against such enemies.

The physical attackers fled desperately on the frost troll lieutenant’s order but not all were quick enough, just like the unfortune ice dwarf a fair few were caught by the ghosts ethereal weapons or even by their very hands.

Eerily their fog like bodies would slip through their armour and skin, attacking their very souls, snuffing out their life force yet barely leaving a mark. If the heart and or major organs were avoided the victim may very well survive but the damage would be extensive and regular healing spells and low level potion struggled to heal such injuries given their cursed nature.

An ice wolf that wasn’t quite quick enough with its retreat saw one of its hindlegs caught by the hands of one of the D-rank ghosts, a mourning phantom.

Equipped with a descended jaw, dilapidated lower body, expanded torso and long, large hands perfect for grabbing prey, a very frightening monster.

The ice wolf’s leg was held in place by the ethereal ghost preventing its retreat and within moments the once strong leg covered in beautiful white fur rapidly withered as though it aged decades in that short moment.

“Awoooooo!” The caught ice wolf let out a painful wail, the agony brought on by a rapidly decaying limb was quite intense. Its body flailed desperately trying to escape the mourning phantom’s clutches but to no avail. Its grip was strong and tightening the longer it held the leg in place.

The mourning phantom sported a famished expression as well as delight that its hunger was about to be sated. The withering gradually moved up the ice wolf’s leg, corrupting it further and phantom’s other hand moved to grab the other hindleg so as to accelerate the devouring.

.....

The ice wolf panicked and cried out for aid, fear clearly present in its eyes, it didn’t want to die and certainly not at the hands of this ghastly creature who wouldn’t even spare its soul.

“Sever it!” A loud pained voice floated through the trees and a moment later a large, complicated magic crest appeared in between the ice wolf and mourning phantom.

“[Wall of ice]” A yuki-onna who received the lieutenant’s orders summoned a large wall of ice in between the two monsters, severing the ice wolf’s leg as it rose from the ground thus saving its life.

With the hold being severed the ice wolf’s pulling force catapulted it forward where a coeurl pup was ready and waiting to aid its injured comrade. A lost leg could be mended and meant nothing in comparison to one’s life. The ice wolf was smart enough to realise this. It looked towards the main command bunker where the frost troll lieutenant and yuki-onna were stationed, gratitude in its gaze before relying on its comrade to get it away from the battlefield.

A deluge of ice spells followed once the physical attackers had cleared the area, preventing the ghosts’ forward march.

Ice rained down and sprung from the ground with intense ferocity, yet such aggressive magic attacks barely made a dent. The weaker F and E-rank ghost suffered the most, their ghastly forms twisting and becoming dimmer under the onslaught but very few actually died.

The upper E-ranks and D-rank monsters however were completely unphased, the ice spells having little to no effect on their ethereal bodies with some even being strengthened by them instead. This was not a good sign.

“Mage castes don’t let up, keep firing without end. We need to keep them at bay and deal with the bats first!” The frost troll lieutenant roared out knowing that seeing such a result would be bad for morale. He couldn’t have his soldiers feel disheartened at such an early stage.

Though the lieutenant put on a brave face and sounded confident his hands were trembling with primal fear. He himself was only an upper D-rank monster and one that had very little in terms of defence against such monsters. Just like the unfortunate ice dwarf if he was struck by a reaper’s scythe there’d be very little he could do.

His eyes shook in fear at that moment as he remembered that the reapers weren’t even the strongest of the ghosts attacking them, there was still the wraiths.

“Lady Nanna where are the wraiths?” He needed to know this information immediately as a single attack from one of these creatures could spell the end of any defence he mounted. Even the yuki-onnas would struggle to contain such a beast.

“The two of them are still at the rear of the horde. They seem slower than the rest of the ghosts and the dense arrangement of the trees seems to be causing them a little difficulty. I guess passing through objects isn’t as simple as it looks.” Nanna replied after a few seconds, still struggling to pay close attention to the dungeon viewer while the ghosts ran amok.

“Well at least there’s some good news.” The lieutenant let out a sigh of relief, they could manage the current situation while also killing the bats. The longer it took the wraiths to arrive the better.

The lieutenant then turned to face the yuki-onnas stationed within the same bunker.

“Don’t let up on your 3rd circle magic, keep firing without end.”

“But what about the wraiths and the rest of the ghosts? If we keep firing at this intensity we’ll run out of mana in a matter of minutes.” The first yuki-onna, the one that evolved from the lesser yuki-onna spoke up with a confused tone. She was effectively the leader of the yuki-onnas given her seniority and thought that given her station she should be the one to speak up.

“I know but we don’t have a choice. Only 3rd circle spells really work against these enemies, you guys are the only ones that can effectively kill them, the others can only stall for time. Haaaaaa I know it’s not practical but it’s all we can do, follow my order yuki-onna.” The frost troll lieutenant radiated an air of authority as he spoke, he wouldn’t condone insubordination.

“Tsk!” The yuki-onna, leader of the magic corps couldn’t help but flare up, her pseudo aura as a C-rank monster and her powerful mana radiated out on instinct. The frost troll lieutenant was only a D-rank monster, a stand in for Findlay. Being talked down to by someone so much weaker was a blow to her pride but....

“Haaaaaaa fine, his majesty put you in charge during his and Findlay’s absence, so I won’t go against your orders, but it doesn’t mean I agree with them.” The yuki-onna powered down, easing the tension.

“You wouldn’t be an officer if you couldn’t think for yourself.” The frost troll lieutenant showed a smile, appreciating the yuki-onna’s outburst and subsequent acceptance. Thankfully it didn’t end up in brawl because he would have lost for sure.

“You and your magic corps have free reign in regards to using low-level mana potions, Lady Nanna and Master Loki have also agreed to open up the reserves of mid-level potions. Use them at your own discretion. ‘Surviving this wave is imperative, the cost is irrelevant’ were the words spoken by Lady Nanna.” At his words an ice dwarf came up with a large bag filled with mana potions and handed them to the yuki-onnas and some of their subordinates.

The leader yuki-onna grabbed hold of a mid-level mana potion and showed off a grand smile.

“Hehehehe that changes things.” She tossed the mana potion up into the air before catching it with a flourish. She then proceeded to chant the aria for the 3rd circle spell [blizzara]. The resulting explosion of ice killed an E-rank ghost and injured a D-rank mournful phantom.

“You heard the commander boys and girls, rain ice upon those ghosts.” In response the yuki-onnas, the lesser yuki-onnas, dwarven mages and even the frost troll mage castes in their few numbers all showed maddened expressions. They had been subconsciously holding back a little, fearful about their mana levels and the condition of their mana veins but with an endless supply of mana potions that was no longer a problem. They could go all out with their magic and enjoy the exhilaration it brought.

The frost troll lieutenant smiled and clenched his fist, with the magic corps going all out the ghosts would be held in place.

His gaze then drifted upwards towards the swarm of bats that lingered in the tree canopy and above. The vast majority were being led by the nose by Kiba, but many others moved to attack the bunkers and even chased after the escaping physical attackers.

‘I’ll definitely have to report this situation to Master once it’s all over. We really need a flying corps, Kiba alone is not enough.’ Right now Frost only had access to some low rank owls and the C-rank flyer the glacial manta. That however was not geared for battle merely a material hub. After this wave however he should have access to at least some of these bat monsters. Their speed, swarm capabilities and aggressive attacks could be put to good use.