Chapter 84: The one who crossed the limit
“Sviðrir (The Calm One)!”
Ivan uttered an incantation in Old Norse, driving his bloodsword, Brika, into the ground.
Ugh-.
In the meantime, the magical power that the bloody sword Brika had swallowed was thrown out in reverse, and spread to the surroundings following Ivan’s guidance.
The elves were tainted by Wendigo, a ravenous ice demon, and Ivan captured those who tried to devour the blood and flesh of their comrades. Ivan’s magic suppressed their madness.
However, it could not be completely stopped. The madness continued to leak out.
“Sever the mental link! The world tree is being polluted!”
Baltimoor Iridin shouted with a very distressed expression. Closing the part of their mind that was always connected had the same impact as cutting off their arm.
Following his cry, all the Frost Elves closed their minds. They groaned in pain, but stood firm and unmoved.
The first seven fairies to come down to the material world by making their own bodies, among them, the descendants of Iridin, who chose to live in the harshest environment, took root more actively than other elves.
Having relatively erased the characteristics of the mental body, they did not rely heavily on the World Tree connection. That’s why they were able to close their mind and not be agitated.
On the other hand, the case of the Fairy Legion was different. They were tougher than anyone else, but for an average elf, the connection to the World Tree was as natural as breathing.
However, to sever that connection was not at the level of cutting off limbs, but the same as telling people to stop breathing and cut their own throats.
That was a huge difference. When the Frost Elves gritted their teeth and severed their connection to the World Tree, the Elves of the Fairy Legion hesitated for a moment, the wendigo took advantage of the gap to quickly spread their madness.
“Don’t hesitate! Are you going to topple the world tree!”
Commander of the Fairy Legion, Philaine Greywood, severed the connection to the World Tree with a cold cry. He frowned slightly, but his eyes didn’t budge.
Sacrifice and dedication were important values. It was the fairy legion that was willing to end its own life for the sake of the whole, not for oneself.
The Fairy Legion who had made up their minds closed their minds one after another. Severing his connection to the World Tree, they became alone for the first time in their life. It was the moment when those who had always been ‘we’ became ‘I’.
“Kieek!”
The elves, who were running rampant in complete madness, were subdued. They knocked them out, tied them tightly, and sent them to the rear, those who were trying to bite off their colleagues’ blood and flesh.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the army of giants started attacking. Drums sounded and horns blew.
Even after reducing the numbers yesterday, there were still plenty of snowmen, Sasquatch and Yeti. Their corpses had become wendigos, hungry spirits of ice, so they weren’t weakened.
“Give light to this land and your mercy!”
Holding the old saint’s staff, Delfino prayed to his god. An enormous divine power moved and a new sun rose in the sky.
Wendigo’s rampage has decreased. The shouts of the resentful ghosts also lost their power. But that was only a moment.
‘There are too many. We have to deal with them somehow… … .’
Ivan glared at the enemy camp as he pierced the yeti’s heart. There, he cursed at the lich and the giants who were laughing in the dark.
“Damn it, those who said they hate magic so well yet teamed up with the lich!”
They said if I did it, it was romance, if someone else did it, it was affair. The giants who hated magic and wizards and worshiped the power of the strong body remained silent because they benefited from it.
This is why they are trying to stop the giant from rampaging. Desire always took precedence. Words of mouth could not be trusted, and honor was nowhere to be found.
Although he was not evil by birth, the result of his actions was no different from that of a devil. In general, the end of desire tends to lean toward the evil side rather than the good side.
Ivan looked around. The allies were being pushed farther than yesterday. It was largely due to the loss of connection with the World Tree. To put it bluntly, there was a difference of more than three times between yesterday and now.
Push!
Ivan decapitated the hairy ape, Yeti. Hot blood gushed out and soon froze in the cold temperature of dozens of degrees below zero.
The heat of battle was hot, but the situation on the battlefield was that cold. If this continues, it will collapse greatly.
‘Damn God, there is a battlefield you like. There are giants to be beaten to death. please give me strength! Bless this battlefield!’
He called upon the god of Asgard. Warriors who enjoy blood and battle, specialists in killing giants.
Of course, the god of Asgard did not reject the warrior’s call. He wanted to beat the giant to death, so he hurriedly bestowed his protection as if his body was shaking.
Chijik!
wheein-.
Roaring!
Lightning struck. A violent storm blew and flames rose.
Thor, Odin, Loki, Heimdall and Tyr looked. And he knew that many gods who had not yet revealed their names were watching him.
Ivan felt that the gaze of the god watching over him had grown stronger since he raised the bowl of divine power using skill points a while ago.
It was a very dangerous thing. Because the gods gave him more room to interfere.
He might become a puppet of the gods. The bowl of divine power might be broken due to excessive attention from the gods like last time.
Overcoming such fear, Ivan put the power of God into his body. He held a fragment of transcendent power in his hand.
Ugh-.
Then, as if responding to the power of the gods, the golden bracelet began to tremble. Draupnir, an object made by imitating the golden bracelet that Odin had.
The golden bracelet, which was no different from the original in terms of perfection, shook wildly. He felt the power and will of God pouring into Ivan and revealed his hidden power.
Draupnir, meaning dropper.
A symbol of dignity possessed by Odin, the god who creates eight golden bracelets of the same weight once every nine days.
According to the legend, the golden bracelet began to erupt. Eight new ones were made and presented to the world. Ivan realized that the potential that had been dormant for him was becoming a reality.
There was Ivan with a sword. There was Ivan with a spear. There was Ivan with a shield. There was Ivan with a bow.
Ivan, clenching his fists, stepped forward. Ivan with a wand cast a spell. Ivan with a dagger hid himself in the darkness and aimed at the enemy’s blind spot. Ivan summoned the spirits and gave them orders.
Ivan, the main body of all of this, gritted his teeth at the exhaustion that was rapidly draining his strength. At the same time, he hardened his expression with the feeling of omnipotence.
“Ivan is nine!”
Ferocious Tooth that had been hardening the enemy with the petrifying eyes bestowed by the snake god and cutting off their throats screamed in surprise.
In the meantime, I’ve often seen Ivan use illusions to fight, but now it was different. It was because he knew that all nine Ivans are real.
The sword decapitated the yeti, and the bow pierced their eyes. The spear destroyed the Wendigo’s rotten body, and magic seized its evil spirit.
Hiding in the darkness, he stabbed his foe in the back, closing the distance with a thunderous stride, his fist crushing his chest. As the shield pushed the enemy away, the stronger wolf and raven spirits chewed up the flesh.
All alter egos were created by taking some of Ivan’s abilities. Each one was inevitably weaker than the main body, but if there were eight of them, the overall combat power would have increased significantly.
As Ivan, who had differentiated into nine people including the main body, swept across the battlefield, the battlefield regained its balance in an instant. Allies who were confused came to their senses and began to unite.
It was not the same movement as when they were connected by the world tree. However, as they have been together for decades or hundreds of years, their hands and feet naturally blend together.
As soon as I started to find stability, I heard a shout that reverberated throughout the battlefield.
“What an insignificant worm!”
The world tree has been sealed off. It created chaos and weakened power. Nevertheless, the giants, who saw that they did not collapse easily, finally began to move.
thump, thump!
Every time the giants moved, the ground trembled. As the giants, which were bigger than the giant Wendigo, stepped forward, all the allies took a step back. The advance of the giants, which numbered well over hundreds, was just as menacing.
Shih!
bang!
A giant swung his axe. It was more like a natural disaster than an attack. The ground was dug up and piles of dirt flew in all directions.
The shock alone made the nearby Frost Elves lose their balance and collapse. Of course, those who were physically hit by the attack could not survive.
They could not fight the giant in a situation where they had not fully recovered from the shock of losing their connection to the World Tree. Orders to retreat came from Baltimore and Philaine.
“Retreat! Everyone retreat!”
However, the two of them went forward while shouting like that. It was because they had to buy time for their allies to retreat.
The leader of the Frost Elves reached out. A powerful spirit appeared from the ground and blocked the giant.
The commander of the Fairy Legion drew his sword. He wielded a sword he had honed over a period of time that would not be enough for an ordinary human to sacrifice his life many times.
Roaring!
Spaw!
“Aagh!”
A giant burned in this frigid cold. The guy who pulled out a large tree and tried to swing it cut off her limbs and rolled her across the floor.
Just like that, two, four, eight.
They fiercely dealt with the attacking giants, but there were too many of them. The retreating troops were quickly overtaken by the giants. Even the agile fairies couldn’t escape easily if that large body strode forward.
The front has completely collapsed. The giant’s club hit the floor and crushed the elves. A one-sided slaughter has begun.
At that moment, a familiar voice sounded in Ivan’s ear. Northeastern orcish dialect, an old voice that seems to have detached somewhere.
“Hehehehe, I managed to stay alive. He’s a bloody warrior.”
Ivan shook his head.
“You are… … !”
“Yeah, it’s been a while. Nice to meet you too.”
Tezan, the Seeker of Nature, was sitting on a rock watching him. It was the same appearance he had seen in the eastern forest of the Roman Kingdom one day.
Ivan, who had suffered greatly from him once, raised his guard and looked at him. Then Tezan shook his hand.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. I’m not here to fight you. We came as reinforcements at the request of the elves. It’s like a temporary alliance.”
It was said that the alliance of blood responded to the request of the elves and dispatched reinforcements. Of course Ivan knew. But he just didn’t know that he would suddenly appear like this.
Ivan’s right eye glowed golden. Tezan grinned as his eyes of wisdom looked at him.
“You’ve changed a lot since I couldn’t see you. He also has strange eyes.”
“… You’re a clone. when will you arrive? The situation is not good right now.”
The eight alter egos created by Ivan were disappearing one by one. His colleagues, Philaine Greywood, and Baltimoor Iridin tried hard, but they couldn’t stop the giant’s army. If this continues, it will suffer a devastating blow.
Tezan calmly responded to Ivan’s urgent words.
“He should have arrived by now. Then there will be no problem.”
“what? Who the hell is coming… … .”
Ivan, who was busy swinging his sword and asked, closed his mouth. It was because he felt a powerful presence behind him.
With that thrilling feeling, the five giants who were trampling the rear collapsed on the floor with their heads cut off at the same time.
Ivan could be seen beyond the splattering blood and the fluttering snow.
Green skin, razor-sharp eyes, and small stature.
It was a goblin. A race that is cunning but not smart, cruel but not strong. A weak being who was ignored even by youngsters who have just become mercenaries.
But this one was different. The muscles that make up his body were perfect, and his casually standing posture was flawless.
The old sword that had slashed the heads of the five giants was in its sheath again before he knew it, and was cradled in his arms. Naturally, as if he had never been singled out.
Tezan giggled as Ivan opened his eyes wide.
“He is Karakchi, the strongest swordsman of the Alliance of Blood.”