Overwhelming Firepower

The world before Lucen turned white, but before that happened, he used every single skill he had to the limit; he even used RELEASE.

He was unsure if the fortress that was enhanced with runes would be able to withstand the Frost Titan's ultimate skill, Eternal Frost.

Still, because the Frost Titan was only able to use a singular arm, the power of the skill should have lessened.

The world Lucen was seeing right now was simply white, a suffocating blankness that pressed in from every side. Sound had vanished.

It was as if he couldn't even hear his own thoughts as his mind was rattled, and the heat was no longer there.

Even the sensation of his own body dulled, swallowed by the Eternal Frost. For a very brief instant, he thought this was death. He should have experienced death before, but he could not remember it.

Then the pain suddenly came back all at once. His vision swam back in fragments, shards of ice piercing stone, walls groaning, men groaning through frozen throats.

The fortress, wrapped in runes and prayers, still stood... But it was blanketed in frost thick enough to swallow whole battlements. Some soldiers were statues now, entombed, their faces still ready for battle, their auras snuffed out in an instant.

Icicles like spears jutted from the walls, and the faint shimmer of warding runes flickered as if choking on ice.

The blessing of Kalderos, the God of the Forge and Flames, had helped the soldiers survive the ultimate skill of the Frost Titan. Many of the Thunderspears have been broken, and the balistae were all destroyed.

'Tch, this is really too much work.'

Daniel sighed. He had quickly hid behind a wall, used a simple spell to strengthen the wall, and then he used his aura mantle to simply strengthen vital parts and concentrated on that. By doing that, he was able to survive with minimal damage.

"Great, this is truly great!"

Thrall, whose spirit tattoos were glowing brightly, was grinning from ear to ear. He was excited that he was once again facing a foe that was impossible to beat by himself.

"It truly was the right idea to join Thornefang."

"Is everyone alright?"

Veronica asked the other soldiers beside her. Most members of Thornefang had formed a shield wall when they sensed the danger, so they did as they were trained. Veronica was the first to react, and everyone followed suit.

Bram was one of the people who had formed a shield wall with Veronica. For some reason, when the attack hit them, he felt his entire body burning up. Unlike most of the soldiers, he had practically no injuries, which confused him.

As Bram was trying to see if he had any hidden injuries, Harlik, who was standing beside Lucen, spoke.

"Are you alright, little leader?"

"Yeah, what are the casualties?"

"... I'm not sure yet, but..." Harlik took a quick look at the surrounding area. "It seems that most Thornefang members survived, but I can spot a few of the new recruits have been frozen."

"I see..." As Lucen was about to give a command, Robert, who was standing behind him, was suddenly trembling.

"Hahahaha!" Robert's manic laugh suddenly echoed through the fortress. "That was amazing! A monster that could control the elements like it was a part of his body. The way the man flowed was incredible."

Robert extended his hand forward, and the mana started flowing in a similar way to when the Frost Titan was getting ready to unleash his ultimate skill. "Just a bit more, and I will grasp it."

While Robert started muttering to himself, Vardon and Sir Thalos, who withstood the attack at a closer range, were trying to stabilize their breathing. They were able to defend against the attack with less damage than they were expected. This was partly because of luck.

Aside from some of the Thornefang members, there were also a few soldiers of the First Fortress who were killed. Even a knight of Stellhart fell to that attack, and a few clerics. Overall, the rate of survival was better than anyone expected.

It was then that the blizzard began to thin. Through the veil of ice and smoke, the Frost Titan's shadow loomed still, one arm gone, its remaining fist planted into the frozen gorge. Its roar rolled out low, a sound that promised the nightmare was far from over.

The Frost Titan seemed to have exerted a lot of energy to use that skill, and seemed to be having a difficult time moving.

"Now's our chance! There's no time to rest! Clerics heal those critically injured, everyone else that can still move, attack!"

Hearing Lucen's roaring command, the members of Thornefang were the first to move and quickly tried to melt the ice enveloping their weapons.

The Thunderspears that were still working properly were already loaded and fired. The metal balls came flying through the air. Unfortunately, many of those fired were not able to hit. The metal balls that hit the Frost Titan did more damage than before.

Seeing that the Frost Titan had weakened made the people feel more energized as they tried in any way they could to attack.

It was a good thing that the Eternal Frost skill the Frost Titan used had killed the other monsters; now they only needed to focus on the Frost Titan.

Lucen then noticed that the Titan's wounds were knitting, ice crawling like veins over its body, the cracks in its armor vanishing with each breath it took. Even with one arm missing, it was recovering faster than before.

'Damn, it sacrificed its defense to enhance its regeneration.'

Vardon, who was catching his breath, also noticed what was happening to the Frost Titan and spoke to Sir Thalos beside him. "Can you still fight Thalos?"

Sir Thalos spat blood into the snow as he grinned like a beast. "Of course, my lord! My body that I trained won't break so easily!" Sir Thalos flexed his muscles to show that he could still move properly.

Vardon's lips curled up a little. "Then break that ice armor surrounding his chest. I will finish it then."

Sir Thalos, who was wearing gauntlets, pounded his fist together. "As you command, my lord!"

Sir Thalos roared as he unleashed the full might of his aura, which was at the fifth mantle, enveloping his entire body like a blazing sun.

He jumped upward to hit the Frost Titan in the chest. Amidst the booming sound of the firing Thunderspears, and fire spells, the Frost Titan saw a human flying towards him.

The Frost Titan, who was still recovering its energy from the ultimate skill it had just unleashed, could not move properly to swat the fly. So instead, it opened its maw as its breath of ice assaulted Sir Thalos.

"You think that's enough to stop me?!"

Sir Thalos withstood the attack with his aura mantle and continued flying towards the chest. When he got into position, Sir Thalos gathered all his remaining strength and put his back into this punch.

The second Sir Thalos's fist hit the Frost Titan's chest, a powerful shockwave was produced, at the same time, an incredible sound was made, it was like metal hitting glass.

Cracks spidered outward from the point of impact, racing across the Titan's chest like lightning through glass.

The ice plating that shielded its core groaned, split, and then shattered in a thunderous cascade. Shards the size of wagons tumbled down, crashing into the frozen river below.

The Frost Titan reeled, its howl cutting through the blizzard, this time not in triumph, but in pain.

Sir Thalos, blood spraying from his mouth, was hurled back by the recoil of his own strike. His body slammed into the snow, carving a crater into the frost. He did not rise at once, but his laughter echoed hoarse and wild. "Hahaha! I've done it, my lord!"

Vardon, who was positioned right in front of the Frost Titan, looked like an ant facing a giant. He held his longsword with a two-handed grip.

"Thank you for your hard work, Thalos. Now let's end this." Vardon mumbled to himself.

He was then ready to use the ultimate technique of the Thornehart swordsmanship. A technique created by the very first Duke of Norvaegard, Edric Thornehart. A technique that, at full power, could cut the very sky itself.

Vardon had his sword over his head, and his entire aura was now gathered upon the sword. He swung the sword downward. It looked like a simple sword strike, but it had so much more to it. The way the aura flowed through the body to the sword, it was like the sword itself became a part of Vardon's body.

[Thornehart Sword Art, Final Form: Endless Sky.]

Vardon's blade cut through the blizzard and the Frost Titan. The blizzard split just enough for a thread of pale light to pierce through, a fleeting glimpse of sky.

If it was Edric Thornehart who did that attack, the very sky would seem like it parted, and everything in front of him would have been sliced in half.

The Frost Titan's chest, already fractured by Thalos's strike, split wide as the sword light tore through it. Shards of ice and flesh cascaded down, the monster's roar breaking into a ragged bellow that shook the gorge.

Vardon the Iron Duke was now on his knees, using his sword as a cane. He had used too much of his aura in that single attack. His stamina was barely holding on.

The Frost Titan, even though it was gravely injured, was still alive and was planning to attack Vardon, who had injured it.

As it was about to use an elemental attack, the mana flow broke, and the Frost Titan was unable to unleash its attack.

"I finally understood the flow of your mana. Now for a brief moment I can hinder you!" Robert excitedly reported that he did just as he said.

Lucen, who also saw that the Frost Titan was still alive, took charge of one of the Thunderspears. He loaded the Thunderspear, and with his marksmanship skill, he aimed at the Frost Titan's deep wound. He adjusted the Thunderspear's angle and fired.

The metal ball tore through the air and hit the Frost Titan's wound at a perfect angle, making the metal ball sink deeper into the Frost Titan and pass through its body. The deep wound made by Vardon's sword grew because of the metal ball.

The Frost Titan was now desperately trying to regenerate. Unfortunately, Lucen, with the help of Harlik, was able to reload the Thunderspear fast enough for a second shot soon after. The metal ball with incredible precision pierced through the wound again, making it even bigger.

The Frost Titan was now unable to roar anymore, as it was like a mountain falling down. Sir Thalos was already running towards Vardon and helped him move away.

The Frost Titan's body lurched, a shudder running through its colossal frame. Cracks raced down its legs as if the very ice it was born from could no longer hold it together. For a moment, it swayed, towering above the fortress like a leaning peak, then it fell.

It was a good thing that both Sir Thalos and Vardon were able to move away far enough to avoid the falling Titan.

The impact was cataclysmic. The frozen river buckled, fracturing in jagged lines that screamed outward in all directions.

A sound like mountains grinding against each other tore through the gorge, deafening and raw. The fortress walls trembled, stones rattling loose, men stumbling as the ground itself convulsed beneath them.

A thunderous boom rolled across the battlefield, echoing for miles. Snow and ice geysered skyward, a blizzard born from the monster's death throes, before raining back down in a suffocating veil. The air reeked of ozone, of frost and blood mingled together, thick enough to sting the lungs.

When the haze began to clear, only the Titan's carcass remained, half buried in the shattered riverbed, its single arm sprawled like a toppled pillar, parts of its frozen body shattered on the ground.