Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

173  Ice Giant n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Henry looked at the towering beast before him, trying to figure out how to kill it. Its massive body meant that a single punch could seriously injure or even kill him, despite his strong body.

The king took a deep breath, and the purple fire covering his sword concentrated into a thin layer of flame - "I can't reach its eyes and neck" - he analyzed the beast, which had stopped and was tilting its head curiously at him, or more precisely, at the fire covering him. The remnants of the barbarian, blood and brain pieces, dripped from the creature's fists onto the snow.

Suddenly, the beast's stone-blue eyes shone with a fierce light, as if it was looking at its nemesis. It puffed a freezing breath as its body lowered slightly and its blue veins pulsed and glowed - "DODGE! TAKE COVER!" - Henry screamed to his soldiers, just before the beast began running toward them in a straight line. Seeing the massive creature dashing toward them like an unstoppable ice boulder, the soldiers, including Leier, scattered quickly, diving behind rocks and snowdrifts for cover, but the king stood still.

Henry's heart raced as he watched the beast getting closer. He could hear its massive steps echoing through the valley, making the snow beneath him shake. He didn't dare to blink, afraid the giant beast would suddenly appear in front of him and smash him into pieces. He calmed himself down and tried to reach a peaceful state of mind, waiting for the right moment.

"Now!"- Henry shouted in his mind and immediately activated the Sunfire Steps, rapidly increasing his speed. He dashed to the side at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the ice giant's massive body and leaving a short trail of purple fire burning in the snow as he moved.

The ice giant, unable to stop its powerful movement, crashed into the mountain with a loud explosion, causing boulders of snow to fall. Luckily, no landslide happened. Henry looked at it as his soldiers sighed in relief, seeing the ice giant with its head buried deep within the rocks. It wasn't part of his plan, not that he had one to begin with, but he could accept an easy win.

"It's not over… that monster didn't die" - Henry observed. The ice giant was still breathing, and despite the crash, its fingers were twitching slightly. Leier, also noticed this. "I will finish it, my liege!" - Leier shouted, unsheathing her two short daggers and dashing toward the monster, not caring whether her small blades could pierce its body. Henry watched as she sprinted toward the ice giant, her body seeming to blend into the environment as she activated her Tribal Tattoo. His instincts screamed at him to call her back, but before he knew it, Leier had reached the beast and began to climb up its massive arm, using the ridges of ice on its skin. In no time, Leier reached the ice giant's shoulder, her daggers gleaming in the cold light. With a fierce cry, she plunged one of her daggers into its nape. However, her eyes widened in surprise as the daggers broke in half upon contact with the ice giant's skin, as if they were small twigs. They didn't even leave a scratch.

"Careful!" - she heard her king shout. Before she knew it, the ice giant moved its hand to smash her like a mosquito. The giant hand was too fast, and Leier could only watch helplessly as it fell toward her. She couldn't dodge it, and if it hit her, she would be crushed.

Facing death, Leier had only one thought in her mind - "I don't want to die!" - She still had to avenge her family and serve the king. She didn't want to die. But wishes couldn't alter reality; death was knocking on her door.

"Get down!"- she heard her king shout behind her. Obeying his last order, she lowered her head even further. At that moment, she felt something extremely hot pass right above her, burning a few strands of her hair. The extreme heat was followed by the painful and bizarre scream of the ice giant, which still had its head stuck inside the wall.

When she raised her head, she saw a sword covered in purple fire pinning the ice giant's hand to the mountain, creating cracks all over its skin. When compared to the massive hand, the sword was like a toothpick - "Don't stand there! Get down! The sword won't hold much longer!" - Henry screamed, rushing toward the ice giant, leaving a long trail of purple fire in the snow as he activated the Sunfire Steps.

Leier grabbed this new chance to survive and immediately jumped off the ice giant as Henry dashed toward it like a bullet. Using his momentum, the king jumped over the creature's shoulder and grabbed his sword. He twisted it and increased the flames covering the sword, creating more cracks on the giant's skin. The beast howled painfully and struggled crazily, its other hand trying to hit Henry, but he easily evaded it. "Nothing more than an irrational beast! It only has strength and a hideous appearance" - Henry thought, seeing that the ice giant wasn't even trying to get its head out of the mountain to counterattack - "Let's end this!" The mana inside Henry burned and exploded furiously, though controlled within his circuits, allowing him to exert even more strength. "Solfire Cleave!" he screamed, as the force within the sword managed to cut through the giant's skin and fell toward its neck with impressive speed and unstoppable momentum.

The ice giant gave one last howl that seemed like a wolf crying out to its pack, alerting them of its death. Then, Henry's sword easily cut through the giant's skin, feeling no resistance as it beheaded the creature. The head remained stuck inside the wall as the rest of the body hit the ground lifelessly. It all ended sooner than expected.

"I need a new one…"- Henry said, looking at the cracks on the sword's blade. He couldn't use it anymore. Lately, he had been changing swords faster than he changed clothes - "I still can't use Caelum for more than a few seconds. I need to find a good weapon that will support my Mana and Fire."

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates these past few weeks. I had to deal with some health problems and had no time to write, as I couldn't even tap on my keyboard. It was a hell of a month.

Sorry about that and thank you for the patience.

Stoicist

Creator's Thought