Chapter 152

Valkras’s domain. There shall be no life remaining there.

This was a saying left by a northern man who feared Valkras.

An orc, who swore loyalty to the ice dragon Skadia by sacrificing its own soul on the ice. Valkras, bestowed with the power of the dragon, ruled as the overlord of the north.

A colossal figure that surpassed the orc’s body. Commanding legions while riding a frost wolf, the cities Valkras passed left behind are unable to ignite even flames.

A world of death and silence.

Life bowed its head and departed from Valkras’s cruelty, causing the earth to give up breathing.

Renowned northern knight orders were dispatched to subdue Valkras, but they all became fodder for his two-edged axe, their skulls strung together to form a necklace for Valkras.

People no longer oppose Valkras.

They could only fervently pray that he would not come to the place they inhabit.

That Valkras walked towards Asies.

Face to face with Asies and Valkras.

Both felt a strange affinity for each other, one that others could not understand.

“You’ve received his power, haven’t you?”

No doubt about it. Valkras felt Skadia’s blessing in Asies. Moreover, her appearance transcended the aesthetic standards of her species and was anything but average.

“You must be the partner of Lord Skadia. How did you leave his nest and come to this place?”

“I am… Lammi’s slave…?”

“Lammi? Who is that?”

“Lammi is Lammi…”

“…?”

She seemed far from being a worthy partner for Skadia.

But whatever her state was, whatever she thought, it mattered little to Valkras. She dared to intrude and massacre his subordinates.

It was Valkras’s duty to make her pay the price and return her to Skadia.

“If you surrender and bow your head right now, I’ll compromise with you for an arm.”

“No… Baschal… give her back.”

A childish protest that couldn’t grasp the situation.

Valkras shook his head with a low sigh. Then, his eyes glimmered as he gripped a dark red two-edged axe and took his stance.

Vroom!

As his tree-like legs pressed down on the earth, the ground sank with a scream, scattering the snowflakes.

Gathering strength with the axe resting on his right shoulder.

For a moment, muscles like steel expanded.

“Don’t die.”

He brought it down.

The command to not die became meaningless in the face of an merciless blow.

The earth split apart.

The trajectory of the strike exposed the tender flesh beneath the ground.

The incident that occurred on the plain surged with the momentum to sweep everything away.

In an instant, Asies’s finely shaped brows flinched.

It was a powerful strike she had never experienced before.

She unfurled a thick layer of ice to protect her body.

Ka-whoosh!

In the next moment, the clash of ice and the blade struck.

The ice screamed as it was chopped down.

A mass of snow and earthen clumps covered the ice, obscuring her vision.

Asies gripped her sword tightly, her senses heightened, when the earth began to pound.

Like a giant crossing a storm.

Valkras charged heavily forward.

With every step he crushed the ground, it screamed and cracked, while the scattered snow exploded into the air, soaring in his wake.

Without a thought of ambushing.

Valkras, proudly revealing his existence, closed in on Asies. Once more, he brought down his two-edged axe with determination.

Boom──!!

A tremendous noise erupted.

Asies’s body did not splatter like firewood. The icy barrier formed from the freezing atmosphere protected Asies once more.

Yet it was extremely rare.

Despite having successfully blocked the attack, a solemnity lingered in Asies’s expression.

Now, she and Valkras were close enough to intersect their weapons. Closer than when Carami approached Asies.

An orc warrior blessed with orcish magic also could not escape the effects of the cold. However, Valkras only had a thin layer of frost on his skin.

Of course, that alone was astonishing.

Having lived his whole life in the north, Valkras was also blessed by Skadia.

Even Valkras could not fully escape Asies’s chill, meaning that Asies’s blessing surpassed even Valkras’s.

From Valkras’s perspective, it could feel unreasonable. He swore by his soul and blood, while Asies simply received a stronger blessing due to her beauty.

But what can one do?

The world is governed by appearance-based principles.

If it feels unreasonable, one must overcome it with one’s strength, and Valkras possessed that strength.

Crack.

The ice groaned ominously.

Fine cracks began to form.

Asies flinched and stepped back.

Boom!

Just a moment later, the ice shattered, and the axe fell onto the spot where she had been standing.

There was no time for relief.

Valkras’s eyes locked onto Asies.

And then he charged.

A furious storm with no finesse or martial arts.

Asies cast a spell in an attempt to halt his charge.

Ice spikes rose from the ground, crossing each other to stab into Valkras’s flesh.

“Such petty tricks won’t work.”

The ice spikes clashed with Valkras but dealt no meaningful damage, and instead crumbled weakly.

Freezing his legs to hold him down had no effect.

They could not bind his feet for even a moment.

Brushing aside all of her magic, Valkras closed in on Asies.

Gripping the axe with his left hand, he pulled his right hand back. A menacing red aura surged over his hand for a brief moment.

Valkras unleashed a fist known as a mace.

“…!”

Asies, who had once again blocked the attack with her ice barrier, saw a different result this time. The shock from the powerful strike that she could not fully absorb crashed down upon her.

Asies’s body was sent flying backward.

This was different from the enemies she had faced until now.

She could feel it instinctively without needing to think deeply.

Asies spun through the air.

Landing a foot on a platform that appeared in mid-air, parallel to the ground.

With a light step, Asies pushed off the platform and launched herself.

Her sword swung diagonally to clash against the two-edged axe.

Kachink!

Ice and metal produced a chilling shriek of impact.

Valkras swung his axe wide and shook off Asies. Once again, Asies soared through the air and repeated her attack using the same method as before.

In between the attacks, she mixed in magic to strike Valkras and force him to divert his attention.

But the situation did not resolve as easily as Asies intended.

Asies’s fighting style combined supple movements and the magic she could manipulate freely.

In contrast, Valkras lacked agility, instead investing everything into raw power.

Each had strengths and weaknesses, making it hard to argue about matchups, but in this case, Asies was at a disadvantage.

Similarly, Valkras blessed by Skadia found Asies’s magic ineffective.

Her specialty was useless at this moment.

Asies’s swordsmanship was undoubtedly excellent, but merely relying on swordplay was insufficient to penetrate Valkras’s indestructible body.

Whoosh!

Valkras struck with a fierce rotational slash that tore through his massive upper body.

Asies, unable to endure the ferocity, was bounced back and slid across the ground.

Valkras rested his axe on his shoulder.

He looked down at Asies with an indifferent expression.

The chosen human of the ice dragon Skadia.

Though he had expected something, it fell far short of his expectations.

Most of the powerful beings opposed to Valkras fell in one blow.

Yet Asies, who had exchanged blows with him multiple times, was undoubtedly superior to them in terms of skill. It was an achievement worth boasting.

However.

“It’s empty.”

It was void.

Though they were lacking in skill, he could sense the fighting spirit in the northern knights, yet he felt nothing from Asies.

Her eyes held a small glimmer of will, but it was far too insufficient to pique Valkras’s interest.

It felt like facing a specter.

His interest waned significantly.

Valkras was a warrior.

The overlord of the north who reveled in slaughter and battle.

After days of growing weary, now that a worthy opponent had appeared, it wouldn’t satisfy him to end it like this.

What should he do to draw out Asies’s fighting spirit?

As Valkras searched the surroundings for something useful, he caught sight of the slaves. Among the slaughtered orcs, the slaves had suffered no harm.

Even wrapped in a translucent ice barrier, it seemed Asies was protecting them.

It was ironic that Skadia’s partner had come merely to save a few slaves, but it didn’t matter. Valkras gestured to his subordinates and then turned his attention back to Asies.

“From now on, I will set a time limit. Come at me with everything you’ve got. Burn with fighting spirit, or those slaves will die.”

The orcs, receiving Valkras’s command, surrounded the ice barrier.

They began to beat upon the barrier with their weapons.

“Help! Please save us!”

The slaves huddled together away from the orcs, retreating toward the center.

A sinister echo rang in Asies’s ears.

Though it was created by her magic and would not break easily, it was certainly not unbreakable. Each time weapons clashed against the ice barrier, shards of ice fell away.

“…!”

To protect them, Asies summoned an ice eagle to fly.

“Kwaaaahhh───!!!”

At that moment, Valkras let out a roar toward the sky. The air trembled with his cry, and the flying birds shattered into pieces.

“What are you doing? You can’t reach that place if you can’t defeat me.”

“……”

Asies’s cold expression began to show some change. Her brows furrowed.

Displeasure.

And clear enmity.

Valkras filled his mouth with a satisfied smile.

“Now that’s a face worth seeing. Yes, that’s it.”

Asies raised her sword and rapidly closed the distance.

A rush of white and blue.

The icy light of her sword danced in a sword dance.

As Valkras defended once with one strike, five successive blows rained down. Whenever Valkras attacked, Asies smoothly transitioned between dodging and striking, landing blows on his body.

A flurry of strikes without allowing even one to hit Valkras. For a moment, her offensive hand showed no sign of slowing.

It appeared to be a one-sided battle at first glance.

Yet the reality was different.

No matter how many times she attacked, she could inflict no meaningful damage on Valkras. With each preceding strike noted to be fiercer, she was still lacking.

A restlessness lurked in the trajectory of the sword Asies created, and Valkras did not miss it.

He drew his axe upwards vertically.

“Ugh…!”

Asies hurriedly laid her sword horizontally to deflect the axe.

However, could it be that her strength was spent?

The weakened blade could not hold, shattering like glass. The ensuing storm struck and she was sent flying backward.

After being thrown for a while, Asies could not properly execute a landing, rolling across the ground and eventually stopping. Her once snow-white hair was stained with dirt.

The impact this time was significant, leaving Asies unable to rise easily.

Would it change anything if she got up?

Her sword was broken.

There was no path visible to penetrate Valkras.

The will that had dwelled within Asies began to falter. The curse seized upon that gap.

To ensure that she would never dare to resist again.

It softly buried the sprout breaking through the harsh cold.

Once upon a time, there was a protagonist in a fairy tale.

Helping the weak.

Understanding their feelings.

Quelling the cries of children.

A heartwarming story for anyone watching.

Despite the trials encountered, the conclusion is a happy ending, as is the nature of a fairy tale.

So────

“Shall I assist you?”

The helper appeared to lift the protagonist, who had sunk to the ground.

Pushing the hesitant protagonist forward.

It was a certain inevitability that a supporter would appear.

Carami emerged leisurely from the fortress.

With the azure and white holy grail swaying.

Playfully shaking it.

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