Dungeon of Niflheim

744  Chapter 744: Wrath of the Iron Bear

A man and a woman, two Majors of the cavalry corps' left wing were suddenly pushed aside by their seriously wounded comrade.

The man bore a look of fierce determination and conviction, and with a powerful sword wielded in his left hand he charged straight for the enemy.

His allies caught by surprise were powerless to stop him. By the time they managed to react he was already swinging his sword at the enemy General.

"Kiros!!" They pleaded, their eyes swiftly becoming red.

"DIE!!!!" The wounded Major known as Kiros lightly smiled upon hearing their voices but then in the next moment he roared like a wild beast.

He injected every last morsel of his aura and internal energy into his sword, summoning a vivid apparition in the form of a golden bear.

With this golden bear by his side Kiros unleased the most powerful slash of his entire life.

Clang!

With a loud metallic clang his sword made contact with the General's razor sharp foreleg. Sparks ignited and the very air exploded as energy smashed against energy.

Kiros' final blow was strong and tenacious, filled with desperation he managed to force back the enemy General's right foreleg.

The A-rank mantis felt a stinging sensation along the end of her limb, Kiros managed to leave a slight wound and even shake her exoskeleton, an impressive achievement in his final hours.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough, while Kiros was severely drained and forced to take several steps backwards exacerbating his already critical wounds she simply swiped down with her left foreleg a moment later.

He managed to stop one attack but what about two or three or even four. His line was already cut, the last of his strength used up in a pointless display.

'Die little fly' She held nothing but contempt for these annoying B-ranks, how dare they impede her path. Kiros would be but the first to die under her might.

With her mandibles vibrating in glee at the prospect of blood the A-rank mantis brought down her left foreleg, aiming to slice Kiros in twain from head to toe.

It'd be easy, sapient flesh was always so soft and simple to cut through. If they didn't have their forged armours, weapons and magic then how could they ever compete with powerful monsters such as her and her kin.

To her having a weak physical body was a sin. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Kiros was as white as a ghost as a veritable river of blood leaked from his intestines and dyed the snow beneath his feet.

He glared at his enemy and refused to drop the sword in his left hand, he would die fighting.

Suddenly however when he readied himself for death he blinked twice in rapid succession before smiling from ear to ear.

'Hahahaha looks like the Gods are blessing me this day.' He internally celebrated, his fear of death vanishing in an instant.

The enemy General was so fixated on the prey before her that she was completely oblivious to her distant surroundings. Kiros only managed to notice due the change to the direction he was facing.

The moment her bladed foreleg was about to make contact with Kiros' head a large black object flew through the air faster than the speed of sound.

This object collided against her outstretched leg with a loud boom and immediately shattered her exoskeleton and almost severed her entire limb.

"Skriii!!" The mantis General let loose a shrill cry as she suffered the feeling of extreme pain.

Kiros and the other Majors may have managed to sting her a little and even draw out a small amount of blood but compared to this they were no different from mosquitoes.

The intense pain brought her out of her raged induced bloodlust finally allowing her to feel that sense of danger once again, a feeling that couldn't be any more profound at this very moment.

Her heart that was beating rapidly in excitement now refused to beat at all, afraid that even the slightest bit noise would draw attention. Her strong body that was protected by a durable exoskeleton started to shiver uncontrollably and she could feel the spectre of death looming all around her as if patiently waiting to take her soul to the other side.

It had been years, decades even since she had ever felt so terrified, a primal fear that only surfaced when faced with a far superior predator.

Holding her shattered left leg close to her chest the mantis General turned around to face her aggressor.

There standing in the air several tens of metres away was Katrina with a blacked expression.

She had ordered the A-rank Generals to stop, to not interfere in the battle of soldiers yet they refused to listen. Not only did this mantis General almost kill Colonel Casper but now instead of falling back she was trying kill the Majors that got in her way.

Was she Katrina someone weak? A vegetarian that the enemy could walk all over. No she was anything but.

Alas it seems that the enemy needed a reminder of her moniker, the Iron Bear of the War Ursa Battalion.

"Leave now." With her aura and bloodlust starting to billow outwards in an intimidating manner, General Katrina glanced at the Majors of the Cavalry corps and ordered them to leave immediately.

This battle no longer concerned them.

Feeling energised and full of spirit each of the Majors, Kiros included- Saluted in her direction and said "Yes General" before quickly running towards the western mountain.

They didn't look back nor did they kill any of the enemy soldiers in the nearby vicinity. They simple ran as fast as they possible could.

The mantis General and the thousands of soldiers charging towards the western mountain didn't dare stop them in fact none of them even dared to move.

The pressure exuded by Katrina was so profound that each and every one of them felt like a set of razor sharp fangs were positioned around their necks.

Katrina didn't focus much on the common soldiers merely intimidating them a little with her presence, a show of force nothing more.

The situation was still on tenterhooks, if she rashly attacked the common ranks then Vash would have no choice but to engage in a full blown war of the upper ranks.

The mantis General however was a different story, her gaze was firmly locked onto this previously intimidating monster.

This foolish woman dared to continue her attack after failing, she dared to test Katrina's patience and because of that she was going to die.

No matter what Vash said or threatened there was no way she was going to allow this bitch to live another day.

Katrina waved her hand slightly and the black object that shattered the mantis General's carapace so easily flew back into her hand.

The object was cylindrical, similar to a narrow hourglass in shape. Its base colour was jet black with a few golden trims along the edges.

This was General Katrina's signature weapon, an upper-5 star staff cudgel made from the femur of an A-rank ape monster and several other high quality materials.

Adding in a significant amount of her own wealth she had it commissioned by the smiths in the Capital for her tenth anniversary as a General in the War Ursa Battalion.

Together with her famous cudgel Katrina invoked fear across the entirety of the inner regions, even those in the late stages had to be wary of falling victim to her weapon's destructive power let alone someone in the early stages like the mantis General trembling before her now.

Her prided exoskeleton was nothing when compared to the might of Katrina's [10,000 tonne cudgel]. A rather boorish name but one that Katrina adored.

Her fighting style was rather simple; she didn't rely on chakra, fancy footwork, feints or magic instead majored in physical strength.

She would hit hard, hit fast and hit accurately. Nothing more and nothing less.

Such a fighting style could be seen as primitive and basic but in that simplicity Katrina was able to get rid of all wasted movements and learn to perfectly control 100% of her strength. Making each and every single one of her blows deadly.

With the cudgel in hand Katrina's aura jumped to another level and the mantis General had to resist falling to her knees in submission. The difference in their levels was just too far apart.

The cudgel could shatter her armour as if it was glass, depriving her of a key advantage.

The two A-ranks stared at one another in silence for several seconds.

In the distance the Majors and their remaining battle mounts charged into the catacombs along with the senior Captains who remained behind.

Moments later the sounds of several explosions going off came from inside the western mountain and the last 300 metres of passages 4, 5 and 6 collapsed, barring all access from either side.

Only when the catacombs had been blocked and the left wing had successfully retreated did Katrina let out a sigh of relief.

The soldiers were safe… now it was time for her to dole out a little punishment upon their aggressor.

Her left hand wrapped around the shaft of her cudgel so hard that her knuckles loudly cracked in response.

A turbid air filled with the scent of blood surrounded her as she stepped down from the sky and touched the ground.

Crack!

The snow, ice and rock crumbled under her feet, unable to endure pressure and weight of her body.

The mantis General visibly trembled and unconsciously took a step back as she approached.

She was afraid.

Katrina's aura continued to grow along with her bloodlust, the stench and pressure was so intense that the soldiers in the vicinity began to see illusions of a dead sea.

"Any last words?"