"Kill!"
Under Fenris's protection, Thor successfully regrouped with the gods of Asgard.
Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep, while the new king, Loki, had yet to appear and take command. Although Thor could no longer lead the charge from the front as he once had, his arrival nevertheless sent Asgard's morale soaring.
"There's no need to be afraid! Fenris is a new friend I made in Midgard!"
Within a matter of seconds, Fenris had already collided with Laufey's towering ice colossus. Every clash between the two behemoths sent terrifying shock waves rolling across Thor's battlefield hundreds of yards away.
Thunderous booms echoed across the shattered battlefield as though crashing down from the heavens. Seeing the unease in the gods' eyes, Thor hurried to reassure them.
He raised his sword high, leveled its blade at the gathered Frost Giants in the distance, and roared, "For Asgard!"
"Kill!"
"For Asgard!"
The gods tore their attention away from the distant battle. Thor's words put their hearts at ease, and the enormous, savage black figure now seemed almost like a pillar supporting them all.
Raising their weapons, the gods charged toward the demoralized army of Jotunheim.
Meanwhile, the Frost Giants had seen their king suppress the monstrous beast that had devastated their army. The two battlefields were far apart, making it unlikely that the creature could attack them again anytime soon.
Laufey's intervention had also rekindled their courage. When they saw the Asgardians they had just defeated daring to charge them again, the Frost Giants quickly formed another surging tide of ice and drove straight toward the Asgardian army.
Battle cries shook the heavens. Just as the two armies were about to crash together once more and spill another spray of crimson blood, a triumphant roar erupted in the distance and swept across the battlefield.
Under the pressure of that fearsome presence, both armies came to a strangely synchronized halt and turned their gazes toward the other battlefield.
Boom!
Shards of ice rained down upon Fenris, only to melt instantly against the tremendous heat radiating from his body.
Fenris slowly straightened. With a casual toss of his left hand, he threw down half of the ice colossus Laufey had created—the construct had already been severed at the waist by a lash of Fenris's tail.
The heavy mass struck the ground with a muffled crash. Deprived of Laufey's control, the ice colossus had completely lost its vitality. Its fall crushed several magnificent buildings into ruins.
As the red glow in the colossus's eyes slowly faded, Fenris released a low growl of satisfaction and brought one foot down upon it.
Crack!
A tremendous force erupted beneath his foot, effortlessly crushing the ice colossus into fragments. The piercing sound of shattering ice instantly spread across the battlefield.
The battle that had been on the verge of erupting fell into an eerie silence.
Neither side had expected the battle they had envisioned to end so quickly. Nor had they expected the overwhelmingly powerful king of the Frost Giants—who had seemingly held the advantage only moments before—to suffer such a complete defeat the next time they looked.
Their confrontation had been extraordinarily dangerous, yet victory had been decided in mere seconds.
Fenris tightened his right claw. Laufey was trapped within it, and his blue face had taken on a deathly pallor. His recent defeat had clearly cost him dearly.
As Fenris gradually increased the pressure, agony tore through Laufey's entire body. A look of struggle immediately crossed his face, and his wide crimson eyes filled with indescribable pain.
"Beautifully done, Fenris!" Thor shouted.
Seeing Laufey imprisoned in Fenris's grasp, the king of the Frost Giants reduced to a helpless captive, Thor's face lit up with delight.
In the distance, the Frost Giants watched their king's miserable condition and erupted into turmoil once again. The formation they had only just managed to rebuild quietly began to fall apart.
Thor was the first to recover from his elation. When he saw that Laufey's defeat had thrown the Frost Giant army back into disarray, he naturally refused to let such a perfect opportunity slip away.
"All of you—attack!"
The morale of Asgard's gods soared. The shadow cast by their earlier defeat vanished completely as they raised their weapons and charged forward with deafening battle cries.
The demoralized Frost Giants no longer had the strength to resist. Their loose formation collapsed almost instantly, and they were quickly thrown into complete chaos. What had once been an evenly matched battlefield had become a one-sided slaughter.
Fenris glanced toward the distant battle before withdrawing his gaze and looking down at the grim-faced Laufey in his grasp.
Noticing Fenris's stare, Laufey turned his head toward him as well.
"Heh."
One glance was all Fenris needed to confirm that the Casket of Ancient Winters was probably not in Laufey's possession.
Otherwise, Laufey could never have displayed such pitiful combat strength.
In that case...
Fenris's savage expression abruptly changed, and the strength in his claw surged without hesitation.
"Ah!"
The overwhelming force struck without warning. Agony flooded through Laufey as sharp pain erupted throughout his body, making him feel as though he were about to be crushed into pulp.
"Cough... cough..."
"Do you really think you've won?"
Cracking noises came from all over Laufey's body. Despite the excruciating pain, a mocking sneer suddenly spread across his face.
"They're nothing but a pack of useless trash. As long as I remain, I can make as many of them as I please."
"You're about to die, yet you still won't shut up."
Fenris's eyes turned cold as he stared at that hideous face, and his grip tightened once more.
Hummm—
At that moment, a brilliant crystalline-blue light suddenly burst from within Fenris's palm.
A biting chill spread through his hand. In the next instant, Laufey seemed to transform into a massive ice sculpture. A bone-piercing cold erupted from him, far surpassing any extreme cold Fenris had ever encountered before.
"Break!"
With a furious roar, a sharp pain stabbed through Fenris's hand. An aura far stronger than anything Laufey had displayed until now suddenly erupted, and Laufey's figure flashed as he escaped directly from Fenris's palm.
"Cough! Cough!"
A fit of violent coughing came from nearby as Laufey reappeared some distance away.
His expression was utterly ghastly, and his eyes overflowed with hatred as he glared at Fenris.
"Trying to run?"
Fenris had long expected a renowned powerhouse like Laufey to possess a few hidden trump cards. Although the sudden escape had caught him slightly off guard, it was still within his expectations.
After all, Laufey was already at the end of his strength. Even if he could escape Fenris's grasp, where could he possibly go?
"Get back here!"
Fenris thrust out both enormous claws and reached viciously for Laufey once again.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]