Dungeon of Niflheim

Power wise it was a clear outcome; Frost and his two generals would certainly win against their opponent. The question however was how quickly this victory would come about as the ursa was not the only enemy.

Dozens of E-ranked black bears, D-ranked polar bears and their evolved archetypes the twin headed polar bears and the polar werebears were also present. A devasting force even without the ursa and Frost’s soldiers would need to manage this horde by themselves, a tall order.

“Revenants stand your ground, don’t let a single monster get passed your guard. Lesser yuki-onnas keep casting your magic, bring down as many as you can and those that you can’t slow their charge.” Nanna’s inspiring voice could be heard throughout the dungeon, helping to direct the battle in place of Frost and Findlay, using the bird’s eye view granted by the dungeon menu to her advantage.

“Quarrellers and runic mages keep up the arrows and magic, focus your attacks and take down the bears one by one. You don’t need to kill them all just target the ones you can, the bestial corps will handle the stragglers.” Loki’s adorable voice could be heard following his sister’s, inspiring the weaker but more numerous frost dwarves who were floundering a little due to the severe damage to the ice walls. They had even forgot about their reliable allies waiting behind them.

One such runic mage panicked as a couple black bears charged through the deluge of arrows and magic and made it through a gap in the ice wall. The dwarf rapidly turned around doing his best to take them down before they moved out of range, this however was unnecessary.

“Awwooooooo”

“Groowwwwlll” The moment the two black bears made it passed the ice wall an ice wolf and coeurl pup swiftly appeared by their sides, like silent apparitions they ambushed the unsuspecting prey and brought them down with fierce aggression.

Squelch!

.....

The runic mage could see and hear as the ice wolf and coeurl pup’s powerful jaws bit down onto the black bear’s necks, piercing deep and silencing their roars almost immediately. Kiba didn’t just train his bestial corps to work in groups and rely on their speed but explained how best to take down their opponents, knowledge he gained from Frost as well as his own innate predatory skills. The neck was always a good target, something the ice wolf and coeurl pup were putting to good use.

Their fangs pierced in deep, filling their mouths with the red hot blood of the bears before crack! They increased the pressure and snapped their necks, killing them outright. Swift and accurate, the two then tossed the limp bodies to the side and got back in position, ready to take care of the next bear that crosses their path.

The dismantling corps were long gone at this time as having them in the vicinity during this wave was just asking for unnecessary deaths, something Frost would not condone.

“Gulp!” The frost dwarf runic mage who watched the situation unfold audibly gulped while subconsciously placing a hand around his neck, imagining himself in place of the bears.

His panic however seemed to drift away, instead fire burned in his heart, confidence filling his gaze once again. The mage gripped his staff hard before refocusing on the battlefield in front of him, ready to play his part.

Frost soldiers were strong and well trained, even without his guidance they would bravely hold the line thus allowing their master to fully enjoy his battle.

“Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrr!” The massive ursa roared as it flailed around desperately, trying to dislodge Kiba who had sunk his claws and fangs deep into its hide and continued to rake and carve up its flesh, resulting in it blood dying the surrounding snow scarlet. Kiba however was not letting go, taking advantage of his unique position he brutally tore open the ursa’s skin and hide, attempting to reach the monster’s spine. Unlike the ice griffin the ursa had no wings and its body shape made reaching its upper back almost impossible.

Frost couldn’t help but show a prideful smile as he witnessed Kiba carve into the ursa with it being unable to resist, however such an expression was fleeting.

“[Claw of the ice wolf]” Frost called out his hallmark skill summoning three claws of ice before his glaive as he slashed across the ursa’s foreleg, cutting deep into the tendon and forcing the creature to buckle slightly. He jumped back a second later to avoid the ursa’s right claw.

Frost utilising his speed and more manoeuvrable form dashed around the ursa, cutting up its flesh with his glaive and evading its counterattacks, slowly but surely weakening the creature. The surrounding area was quickly dyed red from the massive beast’s blood, but even so such a method would take a long time.

Findlay followed up with Frost taking control of the ursa’s other side, carving up its flesh with his powerful axe, while Kiba continued to bite and rake into its back and neck. Their teamwork saw that the massive ursa was restricted in its movements, bound to their area of control, away from their soldiers and the other bears but most importantly no longer able to wreak havoc on the ice walls.

Minutes passed by and more and more bears ultimately fell to the deluge of arrows and magic, but many more made it through. Either ultimately confronting the stalwart defenders of the bottom wall, the revenants or making their out way out of the kill box through the gaps opened up by the ursa or ones unfortunately opened up by the upper D-rank twin headed polar bears and polar werebears. They weren’t as devasting as the ursa but a good couple charges inevitably resulted in the already damaged walls crumbling.

The revenants were doing their best to hold back the tide, but it was clear that they were struggling, soon to be literally overrun. The frost dwarves and ice dwarves that had fallen with the ice wall struggled to scramble to their feet in time before being swarmed by the bears, a large amount of losses flashed on the dungeon menu, panicking Nanna and Loki who could see the situation as a whole. In a few minutes their forces would completely collapse. The numbers, size and strength of their enemy being simply too much to efficiently contain. Though they’d likely win this exchange if it continued their losses especially within the frost dwarven caste would be devasting, a retreat needed to be sounded before it was too late.

Boom!

Frost dodged another aggressive counterattack from the ursa by a hair’s breadth, his white and blue robes donning several cuts from the air pressure generated.

“Does this thing ever tire?” Frost loudly complained as he ducked, dodging another swing. They’d been fighting this giant bear for over 15 minutes, whittling it down with their attacks, never taking any risky manoeuvres, taking the safe approach but even still. Frost looked up at the ursa with a deepened frown.

The once beautiful white fur of the creature was pretty much completely red, dyed by its own blood that continued to pour out of its innumerable wounds spanning across its back, neck, legs and sides yet still it stood, its attacks feeling just as powerful and as fast as when they started. Whenever the creature would be forced to buckle it’d simply stand up again as though such attacks were ineffective.

‘This frenzied state is so interesting, it’s almost like I’m fighting something immortal or at the very least undead.’ Frost was amazed by the situation. Anything living and breathing should be susceptible to wounds, their muscles no longer able to function after reaching exhaustion and significant blood loss should drain the body of its strength, heat and even consciousness yet the creature before them seemed unaffected by these hard facts. Many of the wounds covering the ursa’s body were so deep that the bones were showing, some of which with great effort were even broken by either Frost’s glaive or Findlay’s axe yet still it stood. It was impossible for Frost with his curious nature to not be interested in such a situation.

“Master look out!” Suddenly when Frost was lost in his thoughts Findlay loudly shouted before instantly appearing by his side, his battle axe raised, and his legs tensed.

Boom!

The ursa’s right foreleg swung out smashing into Findlay’s axe, pushing him back several metres despite his bracing but that was the extent of the damage. Findlay twirled his axe and shook his hand that had gone slightly numb before letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Master could you please keep focused on the battle this is fourth time I’ve had to intervene.” Findlay showed an aggrieved expression. Like he didn’t have his hands full ensuring his own safety and now he had to keep an eye on his master.

“Ugh!” Frost groaned, not realising that it had been four times that he’d been lost in thought.

“Master can you hear me?” Just when Frost was about retort Findlay’s complaint Nanna spoke to him through the dungeon menu. Frost gave Findlay a hand signal which basically translated as ‘go take care of the ursa while I talk to Nanna’ which got him another aggrieved sigh before Findlay followed his order, dashing forward with his axe and drawing the ursa’s attention.

“Speak” Frost spoke with an authoritative tone, no longer acting casual, Nanna would only interrupt if the situation was urgent after all.