Chapter 1016: Icethorne under siege (5)

Chapter 1016: Chapter 1016: Icethorne under siege (5)

Duke Runak led a large procession of nervous and wide eyed conscripts through the city drawing several on lookers.

"War Marshall!"

"War Marshall!" Everywhere he went soldiers from the War Ursa Battalion and those dwelling within Icethorne greeted him with a military salute and bow, reverence and admiration radiating from their eyes.

To them this man was akin to a God, a man who through his unrivalled talent deterred countless enemies throughout the inner regions. Icethorne and the War Ursa Battalion always invoked a sense of fear and awe within the natives but only Oscar Runak invoked terror. The man was a living legend, an invincible genius without equal.

No one beneath S-rank could match his might, even the infamous grand Prince of Karak Kanz could not best him although he certainly tried time and time again so much so that the two eventually developed a tight bond, becoming both brothers in arms as well as rivals at the same time.

"At ease." Duke Runak would occasionally smile towards these dedicated soldiers, nodding his head and sometimes blessing them with a few words as he led Baron Glorfile, Cavalish and their 5000 strong elites towards the northern wall. Since they were here to lend him a hand it was only proper to show them the face of their enemy.

Many of the 5000 strong army had heard tales of Icethorne and its magnificent walls and impenetrable defences but few actually had the chance to see it in person.

As Duke Runak walked ahead with a steady gait hundreds of them couldn’t help but crane their heads upwards as a massive wall over a hundred metres tall cast a long, dark shadow before their path.

"Wow it’s even more imposing than the legends say." One soldier muttered.

"How can anything breach such a massive wall, I doubt even an S-rank monster would have the ability to punch even a small hole in this thing." Said another.

They struggled to understand the reason behind the Duke’s defeatist attitude, with such a mighty wall even the largest army in the Empire would be powerless against it, like eggs launching themselves against stone.

Unfortunately it wasn’t an army from Northrend that was assaulting Icethorne, but a combined alliance formed by some of the largest and most powerful groups within the Glacial mountains’ inner regions, their enemies weren’t Sapients either thus their methods of attack were quite different.

"Brace yourselves." Duke Runak gave a brief warning before leading the group up the many, many steps leading to wall’s peak.

"Woahhhh!!!"

"THE FUCK!!!"

"AGHHHH!!"

The moment the group reached the top of the wall and saw the veritable sea of enemy soldiers reaching across the entirety of the horizon dozens of these brave men and women lost all feeling in their legs. Some fell to their knees others straight onto their backsides, a bunch even felt a hot sensation running down their legs as their bladders gave out.

Their minds couldn’t even fathom such dizzying numbers; there had to be millions possibly even tens of millions of tiny dots camped beyond the wall and each and every last one of them radiated killing intent.

The aggregate bloodlust was so prevalent that the air for miles upon miles was thick with the stench of blood, heavy and perhaps even slightly toxic. A faint image of what looked like a hellscape even flickered in the sky, symbolising this place as a haven for death and carnage.

The 5000 elites may be experienced, veterans who’s hands had been painted red by blood but none of them were prepared for this. It was like they were returning to their first day on the battlefield, when their senses were overwhelmed and they wanted nothing more than to close their eyes and imagine themselves someplace else.

"Belurgh!" It didn’t take long for some of the lesser experienced individuals to wretch, their stomach contents decorating the floor. 3 soldiers even passed out, the intense bloodlust and sheer hatred in the air knocking them unconscious.

"Haaaaa not only are the numbers abysmal but a bunch of them are useless too." Seeing the state of not just a few but rather hundreds of his so called reinforcements unable to withstand just the passive bloodlust in the air Duke Runak loosed a deep sigh, his heart dreading the extra effort he and his men would have to put in just to carry the defences for an additional couple days.

"Apologies War Marshall, it seems they have the strength but not the mental fortitude but I’m sure with a bit of acclimation they’ll be worthy of a good death." Baron Glorfile unlike the rest of his cohorts, Cavalish included took a long deep breath as though he was relishing in fresh mountain air.

He was also disappointed by the results shown by their elites, but he didn’t blame them too much. The sight before their eyes was truly beyond even experienced hearts. Only someone like him who lived and breathed war for decades could welcome such a sight with a smile on his lips.

His old body instead of reeling in fear or succumbing to the invisible pressure actually grew larger. His back straightened and his muscles tensed but remained limber. His eyes didn’t turn from the sea of countless enemies rather they roamed and savoured as if it was a work of art.

’Truly a magnificent place to end it all, a stage worthy of my entrance into Valhalla.’ Glorfile was an avid follower of the war path as well as the Gods that dominated that aspect. Those like the Baron, followers of the war path strongly believed that dying in battle was the highest of honours and that the greater the stage and the greater the enemy, the greater their welcome would be upon their deaths.

A battlefield like this would certainly have the highest ranked War Gods like Tor, Ballur and Anhuit greet them as if they were long lost friends.

Glorfile couldn’t ask for a better send off thus his body was brimming with excitement, keen to remove the last vestiges of rust from his fists and launch himself into the thick of it.

"Hoh is that General Glorfile I see? I thought the Purple Fist had kicked the bucket already hahahaha." While Glorfile’s body was acting like a fish returning to water the voice of an old man easily in the same age bracket as Glorfile perhaps even slightly older echoed across the wall.

".....It can’t be." Baron Glorfile sensing a familiarity in the voice turned to see the man responsible but the moment he did his entire body shivered.

"Hehehehe you look like you’ve seen a ghost old friend." The man’s body was hunched, permanently slouched as he leaned against a thick cane with a prominent crystal attached to the top. He wore loose fitting robes that scraped along the floor, his every step appearing shaky but at the same time somehow solid and imposing.

His frame wasn’t tall and it certainly wasn’t muscular like the Baron’s but the air around him was no less intense perhaps even more so to a certain degree.

"How in the hells are you still wandering Nova? I’m an ancient freak well past his due date but you, you’re a friggin fossil! This doesn’t make any sense." Baron Glorfile shook his head, his finger pointing at the old man as he insulted him.

"You bastard you’re the fossil, I’m vintage." The old man hollered back unafraid of the mighty Purple Fist in fact you could see an ear spanning smile on his lips and joy clear in his eyes as he looked at the hulking Baron.

"You’ve got to be what a hundred and six years old, you’re literally an antique Roost."

"Hmph a hundred a five but I’m still strong enough to knock you around like the good old days you annoying brat."

This decrepit old man was Roost, a mage of great renown several decades prior and a colleague of Baron Glorfile’s when he was in his prime.

A-rank humans could easily live north of a hundred years old, but it was a bit different for those in the military. Due to excessive wear and tear and the extensive horrors they’d had to witness often those in the military -at least those with high ranks- tended to pass away early. Roost was probably one of if not the oldest military mage capable of entering a battlefield such as this one. Those older would have degraded beneath A-rank, their bodies not longer able to channel the mana required for high circle spells through their mana veins.

"Hoh another old relic and here I thought we’d be the only ones who’d get to enjoy such a sight in our twilight years." As if following Roost’s trail several other well-seasoned soldiers revealed themselves stunning Baron Glorfile once again.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, recognising a few more of those old codgers before looking back at the much younger but far stronger Duke Runak.

Duke Runak donned a proud knowing smile before saying "The roots of the War Ursa Battalion run deep General Glorfile, far deeper than you can possibly imagine." He allowed a snippet of his aura to leak which signalled everyone else with at least A-rank strength to do the same.

A moment later dozens of auras flashed across the top of the wall, each and every single one of them being at the A-rank.

Cavalish who had only been slightly disturbed by the bloodlust and endless sea of enemies littered across the horizon felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

’Holy shit! The War Ursa Battalion’s even more powerful than you feared Master.’ Prince Sedrick as well as Crown Prince Randolph had some inkling into what kind of beast lay dormant in the Empire’s northern most bastion but their knowledge barely scratched the surface.

They had dozens of A-ranks under their employ, far more than any other Battalion under the Empire by a long shot.