Dungeon of Niflheim

496 Chapter 496: For the empire

“For the empire!!” Hamon roared out at the top of his lungs the final words of his rival, his best friend and most loyal subordinate before lunging straight for Valend, fully intending to bring down one the enemy commanders in retaliation.

“Tsk! Cocky bastard!” Valend clicked his tongue and activated his own aura, not holding back in the slightest when faced against the grand commander of the Furano defensive. Maggie, Vaccos and Frost were powerful as a unit and kept him on his toes, but a fully enraged Hamon was something he really needed to go all out against. That golden shimmer and body decorated in runic inscriptions sent a chill down his spine. If he wasn’t careful he’d end up with more than just a minor wound.

“[Dynamic freezing, rending of the frost giants] Valend with his 10 metre frame leaped from his war mammoth Dulan who was at this point covered in all manner of wounds. High in the air he raised his giant hammer above his head with both hands. White and blue coloured energy transitioned from inside his body to the weapon, infusing it with a devasting chill that made even Frost feel cold. As if that wasn’t deadly enough a massive image of what looked to be some kind of super frost giant formed behind the hammer, appearing almost fully corporal. This was a very, very high level hammer skill, far more than what Frost, Vaccos and Maggie had been pitted against.

Frost who was looking up from on Kiba’s back felt a stifling pressure weighing down on him, his mind becoming blank as he tried to think of countermeasures. Such a move was beyond him. He was reminded of the final move the ice revenant used against him back in the [beginner’s ice magic] monster lair. [Rending of the ice king] a devasting move that called upon powers beyond the level of the user, summoning an aspect of the king of ice.

Valend’s [Dynamic freezing, rending of the frost giants] however felt even greater than that. That image of the super frost giant felt almost godly, it had a presence that mere mortals couldn’t fathom but he could, and a name of legend whispered in his ear.

“Ymir.” Frost muttered the name of the frost giant who reached the ultimate level, becoming a God and transcending mortality. The great crevasse that spanned hundreds of kilometres through the glacial mountains was said to have been formed by the cleaving of Ymir’s axe the day he ascended.

Frost rapidly blinked and his heart became strangled in fear, his hand subconsciously making its way into his robes to feel the teleporting talisman. If such power was to be used here then he’d have no chance at survival.

Hamon however who was the clear target of such a powerful move didn’t even falter for a second. He stopped his forward dash and slammed his hands against several points on his body causing his golden sheen to be overlapped with red fire.

“[War god’s eruption]” Hamon yelled out the command words of his unique skill, one that combined his mastery of the pugilist arts with his command of magic and runes. Using prepared runes and his mana Hamon’s body radiated an intense heat that caused the very ground where he stood to bubble like magma. Following that magic circles formed along his skin, creating defensive barriers that made his body rival the durability of a 4 star weapon.

.....

Finally Hamon placed his arms above him in a cross and stomped the magma like ground. In response the ground erupted like a volcano launching Hamon into the air. Red and golden energy formed across his forearms combing with his magic and the volcano that sent him hurtling into the air Hamon looked like a human meteor. His presence was in no way beneath that of Valend’s in fact he may have surpassed him.

The fighting in the surrounding area was brought to a halt as man, woman and monster alike couldn’t help but be drawn to such a dramatic clash of energy and colour.

Frost who was firmly holding onto the teleporting talisman let go and relaxed his tense body. With Hamon unleashing his own powerful presence and attack he was able to think clearly. There was no way Valend could ever summon something that was in the realm of the Gods or even anything remotely close, he was only B-rank after all. Frost was merely caught up in Valend’s flow thanks to his superior aura, causing him to assume the worst. His body had been temporarily overwhelmed by Valend’s aura in a moment of distraction, a lesson he would not soon forget.

‘You really can’t let you guard down for a moment during high level combat.’ Frost said internally before tearing his eyes away from Hamon and Valend, if someone was going to act they would likely do it now.

And act they did.

The moment Valend’s hammer wreathed in freezing cold energy clashed against Hamon’s red and golden body a giant explosion filled with colour overwhelmed the skyscape and pressed down on the battlefield below. This created a lull, a moment which could easily be taken advantage of.

Frostine who witnessed Hamon’s arrival and his sudden engagement with Valend calmly summoned powerful 4th circle magic the moment contact was made and everyone else was preoccupied in watching the events unfold.

A massive three headed ice snake formed from his magic, an ice hydra. A subspecies of dragon that was rumoured to have unfathomable regeneration capabilities. This spell was stronger than his earlier ice snake spells and clearer drained the frost monarch as his legs became rather unstable as though unable to bear his weight. Like Valend he was overextending himself for a chance to nip this thing in the bud.

“Roaaaaarrrrrr!!!!!” With a mighty roar the great ice hydra lunged at Hamon’s back as he started to descend, his conflict with Valend coming to a rough draw. His arms hurt a little from the clash whereas Valend’s hands were burned by his fire. Now however the two of them were falling back down to the ground, drained of their strength, the perfect time for an ambush.

However Frostine wasn’t facing off against inexperienced rookies. Frost eventually found his feet, but the other officers were well and truly prepared. Just because their commander was on the field didn’t mean they could relax.

In the same moments that Valend and Hamon moved to attack one another, Maggie and Vaccos were ready to make a move on Valend while Ryuu and Jessie were prepared to contain Frostine. Though they were a little unprepared to handle a spell of that level.

“[Ten ton pound]”

“[Whiplash roundhouse]” Maggie and Vaccos leapt into the air and following Valend’s decent the two of them struck him with their weapon skills. Maggie going for his ribs with a heavy hammer blow while Vaccos aimed for his neck with a vicious spinning kick. Both advanced level skills packing some serious wallop, especially on a temporarily weakened target such as Valend.

The prideful frost giant was forced to curl himself into a defensive ball and endure these blows with his durable body, cursing his ally as the blows struck true.

Meanwhile Ryuu and Jessie summoned their firebird and earthen salamander respectively to compete against Frostine’s ice hydra. Their summoned mana apparitions were however quickly handled. One hydra head evenly dealt with each of the creatures thus leaving one free to attack Hamon as he fell.

“Fuck!” Ryuu cursed and spat out blood as he tried to forcibly summon another 4th circle spell to deal with the last head, but he was already overdrawn. His magic circle failed to form, and the old mage fell to one knee, gasping for air.

Hamon felt the killing intent held within the final head and forced his body to turn so as to face it head on. He let out a sigh and frowned before moving to activate his magic in defence, but it seemed as though that was no longer needed. A smile grew on his lips as he caught sight of the young man and tiger cub floating before him, shielding him from the oncoming hydra head.

“Leave it to me” Frost yelled in reassurance to his allies before twirling his glaive in the air, covering the blade in ice fire and imbuing the weapon with his aura, something he’d become far more natural in doing since yesterday’s duel.

Frost’s standard ice chakra covered his and Kiba’s body like tight fitting armour, making them appear like knights of the imperial order. His royal aura permeated around him giving Frost a noble presence and protected him and his battle mount from the pressure of Frostine and Valend.

“[Wyvern’s maw]” Frost utilised his strongest glaive skill. A large wyvern’s head was summoned above his glaive, vicious looking and armed with a great set of teeth but sorely lacking in comparison to Frostine’s hydra. Frost’s royal aura thus infused itself into the wyvern head making it far more corporal and gave it a presence. He then wreathed the beast in his ice flames as the cherry on top before slashing out with his glaive, launching the enhanced wyvern head against the ice hydra with its maw prized open.

“Roar!!” The wyvern roared out with fury as it was launched at the hydra. The two dragon subspecies that were formed of energy brutally battled against one another for dominance. The wyvern head viscously biting down on the hydra’s neck and burning its insides with ice fire whenever it got a chance while the hydra would attempt to squeeze the wyvern head into mush with its much larger form.

Eventually however the wyvern head lost, its form fragmented and dissolving back into natural energy, melding with the world leaving a hydra head that was covered in viscous bite marks and quickly faltering as the ice fire burned away its internal structure.

Frost had successfully stopped Frostine’s sneak attack on the Colonel.