The Frost Giant King moved first.
Not quickly.
Not recklessly.
He simply stepped forward.
The frozen palace shook beneath his weight.
Behind him, the remaining four Frost Giants spread out with practiced precision.
Not beasts.
Soldiers.
Ancient warriors who had fought together longer than kingdoms had existed.
Jax watched them separate.
"They're trained," he said quietly.
"Good."
His smile widened.
"I've always wanted to test my training against professionals."
The Frost Giant King raised one enormous hand.
No roar.
No speech.
Just one simple gesture.
The four giants attacked.
"Forward!"
Jax exploded into motion.
Crystal Knights surged from both flanks, tower shields locking together as Crystal Spearmen rushed through the gaps.
Crystal Archers loosed volleys of mana-infused arrows while Crystal Mages blanketed the battlefield with shimmering bolts of concentrated force.
The first Frost Giant swung.
Its club crashed through an entire shield wall.
Crystal Knights shattered into black mist.
Crystal Spearmen disappeared beneath the impact.
Before the giant had even finished its swing—
The shadows stood again.
Whole.
Ready.
They charged without hesitation.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every second they bought mattered.
Jax Air Walked over the front line, Requiem already in his hands.
The Frost Giant King met him head-on.
A fist larger than a wagon descended.
Jax twisted sideways in midair.
The blow missed by inches.
Requiem barked twice.
Two concentrated mana rounds struck the King's face.
Ice exploded.
The King barely blinked.
"...Excellent."
Jax smiled.
"So you're tough."
Behind him, the battlefield shifted.
Two Frost Giants broke through the Crystal Knight formation.
They ignored the shadows completely.
Their destination was obvious.
Zee.
The healer.
The support.
The heart of the formation.
Zee planted Sanctaris against the frozen floor.
"Barrier!"
Golden light erupted around the Vixens.
The first giant's club slammed downward.
BOOOOOM!
The barrier held.
Barely.
Cracks raced across its surface.
Zee staggered.
"I can hold them..."
She gritted her teeth.
"...but not for long!"
Warden stepped forward.
Shield planted.
Sword raised.
"Taunt."
One Frost Giant hesitated.
Its head turned.
Then it continued forward.
The second giant never even acknowledged him.
Neither was willing to abandon such valuable prey.
Warden simply tightened his grip.
Then Bunny landed beside him.
The impact cracked the frozen floor beneath her boots.
She looked sideways.
Warden never turned his helmet.
He simply gave the smallest nod.
Bunny grinned.
He's thinking the same thing.
We're gonna combine our Taunt.
She rested World Breaker across one shoulder.
"HEY!"
Both Frost Giants glanced toward her.
She jabbed a thumb into her chest.
"Ugly!"
Nyxian sighed dramatically.
"...That's the best you've got?"
Bunny ignored her.
"You want somebody to hit?"
She slammed World Breaker into the ice.
The entire chamber shook.
"COME HIT ME!"
Warden's voice echoed beside her.
"Taunt."
Bunny roared.
"TAUNT!"
The mana from both skills intertwined.
Merged.
Resonated.
The Frost Giants stopped.
Their attention tore away from Zee.
Slowly...
Deliberately...
Both monsters turned toward Bunny and Warden.
"There we go," Bunny whispered.
Jax saw the opening immediately.
"Zee!"
She looked up.
"You've got five seconds!"
A confident smile spread across her face.
"That's all I need."
Sanctaris erupted with radiant light.
Warmth spread across the battlefield.
Every Vixen felt lighter.
Stronger.
Faster.
Crystal Knights that had been shattered moments before rose once more.
Fresh.
Whole.
Ready to fight again.
"Advance!"
Jax shouted.
The battlefield changed instantly.
Llandra moved first.
Three arrows left Starpiercer so quickly they sounded like one.
Each struck the same Frost Giant.
One shoulder.
One knee.
One ankle.
Golden chains erupted from every impact.
The giant stumbled.
Nyxian smiled.
"Mine."
Lilith's Kiss slipped from her hand like a living serpent.
The whip coiled around the Frost Giant's throat.
Then around one arm.
Then both legs.
It tightened.
The giant struggled.
The whip tightened further.
"...Easy there," Nyxian laughed.
"I wanted him dead."
Lilith's Kiss squeezed harder.
"I know."
She smiled.
"You really do hate Frost Giants."
Llandra's final arrow pierced the creature's exposed eye.
Nyxian yanked with every ounce of strength she possessed.
The giant lost its balance.
It crashed sideways.
Grim hit first.
The Shadow Grimsteed lowered its horns and drove straight through the giant's chest.
Steed followed a heartbeat later.
Both shadow beasts erupted through the opposite side.
The Frost Giant convulsed.
Then lay still.
One down.
Across the chamber, Bunny laughed.
"Again!"
The two Frost Giants hammered against Warden's shield.
Each impact echoed like thunder.
Warden never took a single step backward.
Bunny fought beside him, World Breaker crashing into enormous legs with enough force to fracture enchanted ice.
The two of them weren't winning.
They weren't trying to.
They were anchoring the battlefield.
Buying time.
Exactly as Jax intended.
The final Frost Giant reached Zee's position from another angle.
It never made it.
Fang erupted from beneath the ice.
Massive fangs buried themselves in the giant's calf.
Venom spread instantly.
The giant roared.
Gryph descended from above.
Its talons ripped across the Frost Giant's face, blinding one eye.
Crystal Knights swarmed.
Dozens climbed its body like ants scaling a tree.
Crystal Spearmen drove enchanted spears into every exposed joint.
Crystal Mages concentrated their fire on the same weakened knee.
CRACK.
The Frost Giant collapsed.
Hundreds of shadows descended together.
The giant disappeared beneath a sea of black armor and crystal weapons.
Its roars grew quieter.
Then...
Stopped.
Three giants remained.
The Frost Giant King watched the battlefield with quiet approval.
Not anger.
Approval.
"You have become worthy."
Jax frowned.
"Worthy of what?"
The King slowly raised his axe.
"To bear the burden."
Their weapons collided.
Peacemaker met ancient frost steel.
The shockwave split the frozen floor from wall to wall.
For a brief moment—
Neither moved.
The Frost Giant King smiled sadly.
"I am glad..."
He pushed Jax backward.
"...that it was you."
Jax's instincts screamed.
This wasn't a farewell.
It was gratitude.
He Air Walked upward.
Ran across nothing but frozen wind.
Peacemaker blazed with mana.
The King made no attempt to dodge.
Their eyes met.
For just a heartbeat...
Jax saw relief.
One clean swing.
Peacemaker passed through the giant's neck.
The King's head separated cleanly.
His enormous body remained standing for a single impossible second.
Then...
It fell.
The head struck the frozen floor with a deafening crash.
The King's lips moved one final time.
Barely louder than a whisper.
"...Forgive me..."
CRACK.
The entire mountain shook.
Not the palace.
Not the chamber.
The mountain itself.
Everyone froze.
Even the shadows stopped moving.
Deep below them...
Something answered.
Not with words.
With movement.
A heartbeat.
One so enormous the entire dungeon pulsed around them.
The Frost Giant King had never been guarding the dungeon.
He had been guarding...
Whatever lay beneath it.