Chapter 484 - 484 Chapter 484: Victory?
The rindar was pulled off balance and completely caught by surprise, didn’t he just win? Didn’t Frost collapse due to being unable to continue anymore?
As Frost yanked the rindar’s leg he swiftly rose up to a standing position and readied his glaive to chop off the foot that dared to stand upon his royal head.
“[Earth’s upheaval]” With a mighty roar he activated the advanced glaive skill [Earth’s upheaval], an upward slashing attack that was normally ideal for launching the target into the air but would serve just as well in severing a limb.
A large boulder formed behind the glaive adding to its weight and power. Frost’s aura then infused into blade seamlessly before he swung violently upwards.
Schwing!
With only minor resistance Frost’s glaive cleaved through the rindar’s leg just below the knee cap, separating the foot from the rest of the limb. Blood spurted everywhere and the rindar’s eyes opened up in shock, unable to understand the situation.
Frost with swift movements then grabbed hold of the severed foot and smashed the eldest rindar in the face with it, sending him flying backwards.
The rindar thus crashed against the floor with great force, eliciting a groan and cracking sounds when he landed. With the addition of a bright red footprint adorning his cheek the eldest rindar still sported that look of confusion and shock.
.....
‘What the hell happened!?’ He screamed internally as his mind struggled to truly fathom what just happened. His confusion then swiftly turned to rage as he felt the burning sensation on his cheek and realised some of what just occurred, but when he went to stand up and re-enter the fight he found that his body failed to properly respond. He was only able to make some minute movements.
“Haaaaaaaa take a look at the state of your body and then you’ll know.” Frost who was currently crushing the separated foot with his own spoke in a mocking tone.
The eldest rindar thus looked at his own body and was blown away by what he saw. His arms and legs were pretty much mangled messes, covered in blood and revealing the cracked bones that lay beneath, it was a miracle he could move at all. The realisation of his wounds immediately activated his pain receptors, even the madness of the stampeded couldn’t repress this level of damage.
“Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The eldest rindar howled from the sudden agony, attracting the looks of many of the soldiers in the local area as well as the those standing on the northern wall.
“Hahahaha looks like Frost triumphed after all.” Hamon chuckled and smiled from ear to ear, incredibly impressed with the result, he couldn’t even see any serious injuries on Frost’s body.
‘Looks like I really need to inform the general about him, leaving him as an adventurer would be such a waste.’ Hamon made some mental notes that he’d follow up on once or rather if they made it through this war.
Douglas didn’t laugh like Hamon, instead he smiled gently and finally relaxed his fists somewhat, relieved by the outcome.
“Frost really did it, he beat the rindar.” Bagua who was in the process of taking down a C-rank monster with another squad mate couldn’t help but speak out, blow away by the result.
‘He was weaker than me a couple months ago right?’
More and more soldiers looked towards Frost and the rindar unable to ignore such a victory.
Their stares felt like daggers to the eldest rindar who had finally stopped writhing in pain and forced himself to a seating position.
He glared between his crushed foot and the place it was severed. Normally while his aura was in effect and given the natural resilience of his body it should have been impossible for Frost to so easily sever it but the mangled state of his leg showed that there wasn’t much to cut through. His aura must have been broken by Frost’s leaving only the mangled muscle and cracked bone to contend with.
If he still had his scales and had been in his right mind during his aggressive barrage then things would have been different. His scales would have given a 3 star glaive such as Frost’s great resistance and he would have backed off the moment he felt his hands and legs twist and break down as they clashed against something much harder. Not to disparage Frost’s skills and achievements but in the end the rindar’s wounded state played a major role in his victory, without it Frost would never have been able to contend against him with his current abilities. But alas all that really matters is the result. Frost had triumphed and the rindar had lost. A fact that the eldest rindar knew in his heart but struggled to accept.
Frost glared at the rindar with a sharp look, watching him spasm in pain as he continually attempted to rise to his feet or rather foot. His eyes especially showed a stark refusal to admit his loss, the redness within growing more and more distinct with every passing moment. Soon the pain would once again diminish and his sanity would be completely lost, the rindar would become nothing but a mindless beast.
Frost pressed down hard on the severed foot causing it to burst apart before he twirled his glaive and moved towards the eldest rindar, a chilling expression adorning his face as he did.
Frost wasn’t too keen on duking it out with a fully maddened version of the rindar who no longer felt pain or exhaustion, so he moved to end this fight here and now. Plus though he was doing a very good job at hiding it, his current state was not exactly great.
Though he was clearly the victor and looked fairly undamaged that was merely the external view, inside, his organs were a mess, and his muscles were torn from enduring the rindar’s fierce and relentless blows. Even twirling his glaive caused his lips to twitch from the pain.
Since he couldn’t afford to drag the fight out any longer Frost clenched his jaw and raised his glaive up high with both hands, aiming to decapitate the rindar with one final swing.
“[Claw of the ice wolf]” He lacked the stamina to properly use an advanced level skill and the amount of aura he was able to infuse was minimal, but it should be enough to end this duel.
Schwing!
The sharp and deadly looking glaive blade struck downwards following three claws of ice. Nearby soldiers, the high rankers on the wall as well as the B-rank monsters standing at the treeline all watched this moment with interest. Not a single entity present however rooted for the rindar’s upset, a sad and almost pitiful situation….well only if the person in question was deserving of such sentiments, which the eldest rindar certainly wasn’t. A cruel and malicious being that enjoyed torturing and causing pain to others no matter the species. But to Frost it was simply a matter of eat or be eaten, the eldest rindar was just the next in a long line of entities to be devoured by the young dungeon core, allowing him to grow stronger.
The madness of the stampede completely overtook the eldest rindar in the last moment allowing him to raise his arms up in defence.
Don! Don! Don!
The ice claws struck the rindar’s forearms rending apart the mangled flesh further before fragmenting into pieces after generating cracks on the exposed bone.
However when the glaive blade itself, wreathed in a small band of cold flames followed after them and smashed against the heavily weakened bone.
Crack!
A loud cracking sound resounded in the air and the sharp and deadly looking glaive blade shattered on impact, exploding into at least a dozen shards. Frost’s swing then followed through and slammed against the floor, his face sporting an expression of disbelief as he saw the shattering in almost slow motion.
‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Now of all times you chose to break!’ He internally roared as the glaive broke at the most annoying moment.
“Oh!” However he was quickly brought out of his complaining thoughts by a vicious swipe from the rindar who ultimately since his glaive shattered, still lived and had entered a complete maddened state.
Bang!
The eldest rindar’s left arm smashed against Frost’s glaive shaft, forcibly knocking him backwards before roaring out with an animalistic howl. Blood pooled down its body and the horrible sounds of bones creaking and muscles being torn could be heard as the monster forcible stood up on its remaining foot. All signs of intelligence gone from its expression and its eyes now completely taken over by that blood red colour making for a very frightening visage.
Luckily it appeared that the glaive did at least some damage before shattering as despite the monster being taken over by the madness its right arm failed to move. The nerves and tendons must have been severed, something even the stampede’s madness couldn’t remedy.
Frost who was already quite exhausted now had no weapon in which to fell the creature.
“Well….Fuck!”