Dungeon of Niflheim

745  Chapter 745: Wrath of the Iron Bear (2)

"Any last words?" General Katrina asked in a tone so cold that the very air began to freeze.

There was no negotiation, the A-rank mantis was going to die here one way or another.

"G..G..Ge…" overwhelmed by fear the large bipedal mantis stuttered. She didn't want to die.

She tried to talk to Katrina, but the Iron Bear of the War Ursa Battalion gave her no quarter. The pressure afflicting her grew stronger and stronger as did the stench of blood and the sense of incoming death.

Katrina slowly walked towards the female mantis one heavy step at a time, her large cudgel lightly swinging back and forth creating small air explosions as it moved.

The name [10,000 tonne cudgel] spoke volumes -though not completely accurate- about its weight. Just like Maya's heirloom hammers her cudgel was far, far heavier than it looked.

Her visage seemed to grow and grow to the point that the originally two and half metre tall Katrina reached as high as the clouds, dwarfing the mantis General.

This was an illusion brought on by a mix of her own fear and the density and purity of Katrina's aura and natural bloodlust. Her mind generated an image that was impossible to resist and thus straight from the get-go her strength was handicapped.

This sensation was what people felt when facing against someone who was both far superior and of a high rank.

Aura affected ones instinctual and primal fears. Frost would have a similar effect against those in the early stages of C-rank and below. His image would be akin to a giant, an invincible being that they were hopeless to defeat.

A high ranking individual could pressure the masses with their aura alone, significantly limiting the amount strength they could muster.

The mantis General could feel every cell of her body warning her of imminent death.

She was also at the A-rank, how could the difference be so staggering?

'No this is impossible!' She refused to accept this; it was nothing but a mind game.

"Rooaarr!!" Refusing to fall victim to Katrina's intimidation she roared in refusal, attempting to overwrite her instincts.

Her own aura started to churn and fight back against Katrina's. The overwhelming giant thus started to shrink and appear marginally weaker, unfortunately Katrina saw no reason to give her a chance to break free.

"You can die now little bug [Collapse of the heavens]" since the bug had said her piece it was time for her to cross over to the other side.

With her cudgel raised high above her head, aura and internal energy fused together to form what appeared to be a floating city above the clouds.

Trumpets, harps, bells and enchanting songs could be heard and shadows of people dressed in white could be seen interacting with one another.

Such a magical scene gave off an intense pressure similar to that of the meteor that Jessica summoned only on a smaller and more targeted scale.

The mantis General's body suddenly felt tens of times heavier and her every move was a struggle. It was as though a heavenly being, a God was watching her and about to hand out her sentence.

Her aura slowed and the internal energy she summoned to activate her own ultimate skill was chaotic, unbridled as though refusing to be controlled by her.

"KATRINA!!!" She screamed in anguish as the heavenly city started to fracture and fall from the sky.

Frantic and desperate wailing came from the heavenly city as it was torn asunder.

 A violent and chaotic force was released from within the broken city, a force that followed the path of Katrina's descending cudgel.

This immensely destructive force easily blew apart the mantis General's shaky skill activation and proceeded to tear her body apart atom by atom.

The mighty A-rank mantis General with a single swing of Katrina's cudgel was forced prone, unable to resist as her supposedly durable exoskeleton caved in on itself.

Her body was quickly fractured, broken, torn and mashed up into a gruesome meat ball no more than 50cm in diameter.

Katrina didn't hold back in the slightest, destroying every last morsel of the mantis' usable material. The purpose of this battle was not for resources but to send a message and invoke fear amongst the enemy.

And it was a roaring success, 30% of the soldiers in the nearby vicinity passed out while the rest fell to their knees, voided their bowels and screamed in abject terror.

This was the Iron Bear of the War Ursa Battalion, a woman on the same level as the Mana Succubus perhaps even slightly higher.

Over a kilometre west Vash and the other Generals -bar the one who went after Colonel Ridge- glared at Katrina with a mixture of wrath and fear but mostly fear.

"Bitch!" Vash cursed under his breath; his hands balled tightly into fists so hard that blood was drawn.

Katrina's brutal display upended their entire resurgence, the morale that they so delicately recovered was destroyed in that one moment.

His anger was to be expected.

And unlike the rest of the common soldiers, officers and even Generals he was much on the true reasons for Katrina's overwhelming victory.

Yes Katrina was strong, far stronger than the mantis General but it's also true that she took her by surprise, intimidated her so much from the get-go that she couldn't properly defend herself but most importantly the two of them were a terrible match up.

The mantis General boasted an incredible natural defence system and impressive physical strength, areas in which Katrina reigns supreme.

Her cudgel with its frightening density and weight fares poorly against fast and flexible individuals but it completely dominates those who rely on hard outer shells.

The moment such individuals get hit by her cudgel that impressive defensive system of theirs would break apart like a plate of glass.

Even Vash's scales would struggle to endure a direct blow from her [Collapse of the heavens] though he wouldn't be quite so overwhelmed by it like the mantis General.

If she hadn't stupidly remained stationary and tried to fight force with force they she may have been able to retreat somewhat, allowing him and the other Generals to make a move.

Alas due to a combination of bad match-up, surprise and Katrina not holding back in the slightest the battle ended in an instant, leaving them powerless to react and another General short.

"Ahhh!" Suddenly to the east the General sent after Colonel Ridge was sent flying through the air, his left arm nothing but a mangled mess.

Vash refused to lose another General today. "Enough, let's end the battle here today….you win Katrina." He loudly admitted defeat and gestured for a pair of Generals to quickly retrieve their wounded comrade before Jessica finished him off.

Vash and Katrina exchanged looks.

The tension continued to build, and Jessica showed no signs of letting her target go. Another 5th circle spell was in the chamber, ready to be fired at a moment's notice.

She even taunted the two Generals heading over, daring them to try and rescue their comrade just so she could try and kill 3 enemies with a single shot.

Why should the slowpoke Katrina get to kill her target while she is forced to let them go, so unfair.

"Katrina don't force me!" Vash bellowed, his voice heavily tinged with aura.

He was on the very brink of collapse. If Katrina didn't put a stop to the battle this very second he'd start the free for all and see just how many of the War Ursa Battalions precious soldiers he could kill before Katrina and Jessica manage to take him down.

General Katrina seemed to relish in Vash's madness, she let him stew for another second before saying "Enough Jess, let's call it a day."

Colonel Casper had escaped thanks to the actions of his Majors and her while Colonel Ridge was saved by Jessica, their losses were minimal and thus the battle could be considered a roaring success and a perfect point to end on.

"KAT!!" Jessica however was practically fuming; she had charged up a whopper of a spell and was told not to use it. "General Jessica" Katrina spoke up again, this time was an authoritative tone. She wasn't speaking as her friend but as the field Marshall in command of the entire battlefield.

"Tsk!" Upon hearing the official order Jessica loudly clicked her tongue and dissipated her spell.

"Count yourselves lucky, the next time you dare to push your limits I'll encase you all in earth and light you on fire." She threatened the Generals in distance before shaking her butt and flying through the air in a dissatisfied huff. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Her spell list lacked destructive force when it came to individuals that's why slowpoke Kat was able to kill her target first, not because she was weaker.

The two old Generals each had their own strengths and weaknesses.

'Well I can consider us even; I did kill a General earlier after all.' Jessica consoled herself with this fact as she promptly returned to her magic corps.

Katrina meanwhile shook her head, the competitive edge between the two of them was still there after all these years, both a blessing and a curse.

"Today's battle is over; everyone retreat to the wall!" General Katrina's voice encapsulated the entire frontlines and in response a loud chorus of victorious chanting was sent in reply.

The War Ursa Battalion completely crushed the enemy this day and removed the shame from the previous day.

Morale was as high as it could possibly be.