Dungeon of Niflheim

459 Chapter 459: About time

Chaotic melee ensued as monster after monster charged into the braced lines of Furano’s main force. Plus the occasional volley of arrows and magic hammered down upon them generating explosions of blood and flesh,

The elite vanguards who were forced to retreat from the ground they recently gained dashed forward after the first few lines crashed against the bulwark of the regular soldiers, cutting apart the horde just like they did earlier though this time they kept more wary watch on their surroundings. Afraid of being ambushed by the poison heralds who were small enough and fast enough to stab them in the back from a blind spot.

Just knowing that the poison heralds were present in the area taxed their concentration even if they never actually attacked, something the B-rank poison herald knew well. He was an avid researcher into the mind of his victims, knowing full well how to cause damage and drain them of their strength. He would wait until the moment his foes let their guards down, only then would he and his ilk strike and cause the most damage.

The number of dead monsters continued to grow unabated, littering the recently swept clean battlefield with innumerable corpses. Making for an uneven standing and dozens of flesh made shields that blocked arrows and magic.

Slowly but surely the braced lines were being pushed back, no more than half a step every few minutes or so but a noticeable shift.

Hamon stood in open view up on the northern wall with a pronounced frown, his teeth clenched and eyes bloodshot as they took in every last detail of the battlefield. He was playing the long game and knew just how much skin he could put in each sector of the battlefield and how long each of them would be able to endure not just for today but the next day and the days following. None of which looked good even with Frost’s burst of vitality and enthusiasm inspiring the vanguard squads and the braced main line.

Tens of minutes had passed since their forced retreat so that inspiring tactical retreat where in they suffered zero casualties was wearing off. Soldiers and adventurers were finding that their arms and legs were growing heavy. Their eyes in a daze as an endless sea of monsters crashed against them without end, their nostrils chock full of the smell of dead, bleeding flesh.

When an area became sufficiently exhausted and or dazed the poison heralds reared their ugly heads, dashing through the shadows of the larger more brutish monsters they’d stab and or launch poisonous barbs at these men and women before swiftly retreating with an evil smile on their faces. Enjoying their descent into pain and desperate attempts to undo the poison rapidly infecting their bodies.

They moved so swiftly and silently that Hamon and the magic and ranged corps didn’t have enough time to lend supporting fire. The heralds never stayed in the same place long, retreating without hesitation whenever they attacked regardless of whether or not their attacks were successfully. Devasting ambushers that made this long siege far more intricate, an addition that could ruin all of Hamon’s delicate rationing.

.....

His mind ran through dozens of simulations but neither one seemed feasible. He simply didn’t have the manpower or the resources to commit an effective force to hunting down these ambushers and even if he did they’d likely retreat out of harm’s way the moment the group moved. Same if he took on the role himself, he was far too eye catching.

“Gyahhhhhh!” Suddenly while Hamon was cycling through methods to deal with the situation a pronounced scream rang through the area as a poison herald found its body frozen in place. A freezing chill wrapping around its heart and organs, preventing it from successfully retreating. It only lasted a second or two but that was enough.

Schwing!

A large glaive blade sliced through the air and decapitated the herald. Its ugly head with large compound eyes sported a confused expression as it saw the world flip upside down and its vision distort. It saw its own body standing there without a head and blood suddenly gushing forth from his open neck.

A large foot pressed on its decapitated head before stomping down hard and without mercy.

Squelch!

The head exploded in a gory mess causing many of the other poison heralds and even the nearby soldiers to freeze in shock and then audibly gulp as they imagined themselves in such a position.

Frost pulled back his glaive and scanned the area with his eyes, smiling like a hunter finding his prey. He didn’t even bother to look at the burst head beneath his feet before moving to his next target.

“[Icy grasp]” He quickly casted the 2nd circle spell [icy grasp] without an aria, saving time but also weakening its effects. Thankfully it seemed these poison heralds lacked much ice resistance, only having enough to survive in cold weather but useless against his magic.

With this Frost was able to hunt these poison heralds, something he enjoyed doing very much.

Another nearby herald that saw what happened to its comrade was afflicted by Frost’s spell, its body freezing temporarily.

‘Fuck!’ It cursed as it was powerless to resist. Forced to watch as Frost dashed forward with glinting eyes, the sharp blade on his glaive reflecting the light of the sun as it swung for its head.

Schwing!

Another beheading and another poison herald deceased.

“Hahahahaha perfect, this kid really is a lucky star.” Hamon couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he saw Frost’s expert actions. He solved another one of his woes. Having someone young, multi-skilled and strong was a literal godsend. Where others lacked in one area or another Frost was a jack of all trades making him the most fluid solider under his command, able to thrive in all situations.

The poison heralds would have to think twice about attacking now that their retreats could be hampered. These creatures though sporting alright defence thanks to their chitin carapace it certainly wasn’t their strongest suit. More focused on fast attacks than drawn out combat.

Hamon no longer worrying about the poison herald situation pumped his focus into other areas where the soldiers could do some actual damage. He also had the ranged and magic corps focus solely on the treeline, damaging as much monsters as possible as they charged forth.

A group of less than a dozen soldiers waiting on a platform behind him also received a silent look and a nod causing them to smile wildly before charging ahead and leaping from the northern wall.

This group was a set of elite soldiers with C-rank strength, one of Hamon last cards to play before sending in the other B-rank big guns. He wanted to hold off on using them until a little later but unfortunately he no longer had that option. Even with Frost hunting down the heralds the main forces and vanguard squads were struggling to endure the onslaught that sported stronger and denser lines than yesterday.

It was clear that it wasn’t just the poison heralds that reinforced the horde during the 4 hour break. Their numbers were far more plentiful than expected.

After the dozen or so elites charged forth and reinforced the main line Hamon glanced towards his side.

“Looks like I’m going to need you a little earlier than planned Kiba.” Kiba the winged glacial tiger and Frost’s battle mount was lying nearby, watching the battle unfold as he waited for his orders.

Kiba’s ears perked up and he raised his head to look at Hamon with an eager expression, he was growing bored just lying here.

Frost told him to listen to Hamon while they were in Furano and though he would prefer fighting alongside his master he respected strength and right now Hamon was the strongest person here, plus he was also the grand commander.

Hamon initially planned on using Kiba as an emergency relief unit, having him swiftly flying through the battlefield to recover the wounded and or reinforce areas that were about the be overrun, taking full advantage of his wings and unmatched speed.

Hamon smiled mischievously before speaking.

“How does helping out your master sound?” An idea quickly formed in Hamon’s head. Frost couldn’t be left to handle the entire poison herald issue, that was too much for one man’s plate especially if that person already had a target on their back.

Kiba chuffed in glee and nodded his head vigorously, more than happy to do such a task. He had been watching his master from the safety of the northern wall and had been growing frustrated being stationed here away from the battlefield.

Kiba stretched out his wings ready to leap into the air and immediately join Frost but was stopped.

“Whoa there hold your horses and finish listening.” Hamon quickly grabbed hold of Kiba’s left hind leg preventing him from dashing into the sky. This got him a disgruntled look as Kiba retracted his wings that basically translated as ‘hurry up and finish then.’

Hamon lightly sighed before looking towards another solider on the wall.

“Artemis you’re up.” Hamon called to a young man with hawk like eyes and a very large and beautiful bow strapped to his back.

The lips on the young man’s face slowly turned upwards before he spoke in an arrogant tone.

“About time.”