Dungeon of Niflheim

747  Chapter 747: Hidden strength

While the post battle operations were underway an officer from the palace came to find Frost.

"Now?" Frost asked with a little reluctance.

Duke Runak was summoning him.

"Yes Sir Frost, the War Marshall awaits you in the palace."

In response Frost turned to Casper, he didn't even get the chance to properly thank him for the 'lesson'.

"Go kid, it's not wise to keep the War Marshall waiting but don't worry you'll always be welcome among the cavalry corps' left wing." Casper sent him off with a smile while the nearby officers such as Major Kursch honoured him with a military salute.

Frost fought side by side with them on the battlefield and even helped repel an enemy General. He had earned his place among them.

"Grrrrr." Kiba received a similar response from the contingent of battle mounts, Avalon even nodded his large head in recognition, filling the teenage cub with pride.

"Thank you all, I wish you good hunting in the battles to come." Frost feeling a strong camaraderie with such dedicated soldiers spoke with joy.

Throughout his time on Nova he had met a great many types of people both Sapients and monsters. Some were trustworthy, generous and kind while others were deceitful, malicious and petty.

Frost liked the former and despised the latter regardless of their race. Whether they were Sapient of Monster it did not matter to him as both could be regarded as his food source.

If he liked someone they could be friends, allies perhaps even something more like Daki, Nanna and Loki but if he felt nothing or negative feelings towards them then they were nothing more than tasty sources of DP.

Soldiers of the War Ursa Battalion, the Kranor enclave and those loyal to the Furano Viscounty were all held in high regard by him and if ever they should happen to wander into his Dungeon then he'd give them a decent chance at survival.

Frost and Kiba after saying their farewells followed the officer back to the palace. Kiba was taken to the Duke's stables and was pampered with care and affection while Frost met with the stern middle-aged man who commanded Northrend's northern most fortress.

"You took part in the battle today, first on the frontlines with the vanguard then with General Jesscia and her magic corps and finally you charged into the heart of the enemy lines with the cavalry corps' left wing….so, how does my Battalion hold up in your eyes young Frost." Duke Runak asked shortly after Frost took a seat.

The two of them were currently in Duke Runak's personal office, a large chamber with high walls littered with war memorabilia. Broken weapons, taxidermy of defeated foes, bloodied medals, dog tags of deceased servicemen just to name a few.

His decorations spoke volumes of his personality, Duke Oscar Runak was a military man through and through.

Frost took a moment to think before replying. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"….Terrifying. I've taken part in some small scale wars such as the defence of Furano in the recent monster stampede, but they pale in comparison to what I saw and experienced today." His hands were still trembling from the adrenaline.

 A few hundred thousand facing off against over a million strong and winning by a landslide. Sure there were a few almost hiccups but overall it was a massacre.

The power behind the soldiers of the War Ursa Battalion, their diverse corps, their battle formations and of course their devasting weaponry shattered all that he knew about warfare.

Everything he had experienced thus far could be considered small scale, minor conflicts and this realisation made his heart tremble in fear.

Before leaving on this excursion he demanded that the outer wall of the Niflheim city-state needed to be completed so as to give him piece of mind in his absence. That was a wall reaching 20 metres in height, less than a fifth of the Northern wall of Icethorne.

He felt so foolish and arrogant in this moment. His relationship with Northrend was quite frankly abysmal due to the sudden coup. Both Sedrick and Randolph viewed him and his budding new territory as enemies.

The two of them were in command of an empire that possessed several battalions just like the War Ursas.

If they really decided to deal with him, a mere 20 metre wall and a barebones military outfit would do little to impede their path.

His Dungeon, his home was in jeopardy. Such a feeling was extremely uncomfortable and further stoked his desire for power.

'I need to quickly expand the Dungeon and fortify the city-state. My own strength is important, but this war has shown that war cannot be decided by the strength of one person.' At least not someone with his strength.

If Maya was still at the S-rank level and had freedom of movement then no matter how desperate Northrend was to be rid of him they would strongly hesitate, such was the power of those at the peak of the mortal world.

His territory was only safe thanks to the war of control between the two princes. The moment it reaches a conclusion however or the moment the pressure lets up, an army would likely be hounding at his door.

"Ah yes you were present for the recent monster stampede weren't you." Duke Runak remembered an intelligence document that he read.

A young, recently ascended B-rank adventurer fought on behalf of the Furano Viscounty, allowing them to hold the line against impossible odds.

The scale was certainly no comparison to their war with the Glacial mountain liberation alliance, but the desperation and smaller defence force involved was in line.

Unfortunately however they couldn't rely on another Battalion coming to their aid in the final hours.

With the stampede brought up Frost reminisced and remembered a crucial fact about that war.

"Duke Runak at the end of the stampede there was a demon, a powerful monster half a step into the A-rank….could they have been?"

"It's highly likely. With this War happening so soon afterwards, it's logical that they had scout forces down south. The one you faced was likely an elite sent to gauge and or interact with the forces displeased with our control over the inner regions….one that evaded our intelligence network."

The Glacial mountains were just too vast to cover themselves and the amount of narrow pathways and rugged routes that passed through the inner belt were in the dozens, far too many to monitor 24/7.

Still even so he considered it an abysmal failure on his part.

"That demon was immensely strong, we only survived because of the forces arriving from Arkheart." Frost remembered the insane disparity between himself and that monster. With just its aura and presence it managed to easily supress himself and the other B-ranks. Only those at the A-rank were able to compete with it.

If that was just a single scouting elite from the demonic Empire then Icethorne's chances at winning this war were minuscule at best.

Though the events of today were eye opening to Frost the enemy they faced was just the Vanguard, the prelude to the real thing.

With a pronounced frown Frost proceeded to ask "Can Icethorne and the War Ursa Battalion really hold out for more than 2 months?" Earlier though winning wasn't possible the Duke was full of confidence when it came to stalling for time.

Furano had to endure the stampede for a week or so before being completely overwhelmed yet Icethorne stated that they could endure for 8 times longer against an even greater force.

Even a 120 metre wall and a stacked contingent of war machines had a limit.

In response to Frost's question Duke Runak simply smiled in a playful manner.

"Hehehe Frost do you really think my War Ursa Battalion and the Icethorne Duchy really revealed all our forces against a mere Vanguard force?"

"Huh?" Frost balked, surprised by Duke Runak's playful tone.

He expected them to hide some trump cards, but Runak's expression led him to believe that there was something far greater at play.

"Allow me to enlighten you my young friend." Duke Runak stood up from his chair and walked towards one of the walls covered in war memorabilia.

"The War Ursa Battalion has been stationed here in Icethorne for more than a century and in that time we've controlled numerous trade routes, handled an immeasurable amount of monster materials and fought in hundreds of wars both small and large scale. Because of this we have accrued an insane amount of assets and battle experience." Duke Runak picked up a broken sword from its pedestal and remembered the former owner of the weapon.

"Those you fought side by side with today were mostly rookies, those with minimal amounts of war experience, supervised by a select few elites….The enemy's vanguard forces are simply the War Ursa Battalion's whetstone."

"Grind away the weak and polish the strong that remain." A brutal method but one that was needed in such dangerous territory.

"Over 80% of our elites and officers have remained stationary either in the city or within the many command centres. It is these men and women that make up the true power of Icethorne and their time can't be wasted on mere improvised trash."