Chapter 1708: Zhen Clan Victory- Frosttusk

"What the hell is that thing?!" I heard one of the Tremorscale elders cry in alarm as soon as my presence was noticed.

"Oh, you guys are absolutely fucked!" Zhen Hai declared as soon as he saw me.

The look in the eyes of the Tremorscale warriors was one that I had gotten quite used to seeing under the leadership of minn jarl.

It was a look of shock mixed with fear, but even deeper than that.

We kaijin are considered beings of myths and legends by most of the world, so I could understand the reaction.

This momentary pause at my appearance was usually something I would use to my advantage in battle, an opportunity for a "cheap shot" as Hurricroak would say.

However, perhaps it was due to my nostalgia from being home after all of these centuries, I decided not to immediately attack.

Instead, I floated up to make sure minn Jarl’s family was okay first.

[Master Zhen Hai. First Elder Zhen Long. Are you two alright?]

"Could be going better, but it’s not terrible," Zhen Hai stated first.

"I can see Nepherage and Hurricroak from up here...but no others. Where’s Zhen Liu and your fellow kaijin?" Zhen Long followed up as soon as he noticed the state of the battlefield.

[Multiple things came up at the same time as your letter,] I quickly answered. [The type of things that has necessitated the others being sent in various directions, and minn Jarl being forced to act without any kaijin to support him.]

"Oh...shit."

"Wait, what?!"

[I can explain more later, but for now, we should focus on—]

Bang!

"How the hell are you this tough?!"

"Because fuck you, that’s why!"

"Rargh!"

Before I could finish my sentence, Patriarch Zhen Shi was sent flying towards me and the others. Although, I supposed it would be more accurate to say that Zhen Shi had blocked a nasty attack from the Tremorscale chieftain and was sent flying backwards as a result.

He didn’t look injured in the slightest, however.

"Try that again, you mother—wait a minute, Frosttusk?! When did you get here?"

Seeing me, Patriarch Zhen Shi put down his guard and unfurled his chain-like [Regalia] that he had wrapped around his arms.

This would normally be fatal in a battle like this, but his opponent appeared to be pausing as well. I could see from the corner of my eyes that he was asking why his own warriors weren’t fighting anymore either.

[Just now,] I answered the old man who I would’ve called a friend in my mortal life. [How is the battle going?]

"Well, it could be better," Zhen Shi admitted. "But now that you and the others are here, this battle is as good as ours!"

"I wouldn’t be so sure about that," a deep voice rumbled, interrupting our reunion.

The source of the voice was none other than the chieftain of the Tremorscale Clan, a large warrior who I could see was a Bloodliner of some mutant variant of a Hammertail Lizard.

Although, I think the term I had learned from the library was "Ankylosaurus."

The Bloodliner looked at Zhen Shi with pure contempt before directing his gaze at me.

For a moment, I could see a flicker of fear and surprise at my appearance, but it was quickly replaced by stoicism.

A memory of the Tremorscale chieftain that I used to know came to mind, and I began to realize that this chieftain didn’t look anything like him.

Whether that was due to genetic drift or usurpation, I didn’t know...up until the big lummox opened his mouth.

"Even more outsiders deign to intervene in our noble cause? It appears the honored ancestor was right to cut ties with the shriekers when they had the chance."

At this statement, I couldn’t help but quirk a brow but I kept my mouth shut.

As far as anyone was concerned, I was simply a strange mammoth-man.

"Oh, piss off!" Zhen Hai shouted at the Tremorscale warriors. "We already know that you guys usurped the original chieftain way before we showed up. The Storm Singer Chief said that you even taunted him with the skull of his old friend."

"Lies and slander!"

"He fucking showed us the skull that you had covered in slanderous writing!"

[...]

Minn Jarl’s usual policy was to humiliate and maim his opponents so that they may forever live in shame. I was originally going to do that, but now I’m starting to think I would be doing the planet a favor by popping this fucker’s head like a frozen bubble.

"Regardless, you’re still outnumbered and it doesn’t matter if you received reinforcement in the form of this...thing," the Tremorscale chieftain said in a dismissive tone as he gestured towards me. "And just because you stopped one Blaster Orb doesn’t mean you can stop more."

’Blaster orb? Is that what I froze over?’ I thought to myself as the great lummox before me began to circulate aether into a treasure on his hip.

The Tremorscale chieftain proceeded to summon several more of those weird, supposedly explosive orbs one after the other and had them circle around him like some kind of knock-off version of how Hurricroak fought.

I could sense that they were stuffed full of Ignarii aether and would be dangerous if they had a chance to explode.

Emphasis on the word "if."

"The Lady has bestowed upon us not just one of her beloved Destroyer Beasts, but these wonderful weapons as well," the Tremorscale Chief began to brag like it was something to be proud of. "And with them both, we shall finally wipe away the foul shriekers and claim our rightful place as—"

"ROAR!"

"What the hell?!"

Before, what I could only assume was a stupid gloating speech about how their destiny was written in the stars or some bullshit like that, Nepherage had finished her assigned task of slaying the Citrine-Horn Lindwurm by burning its insides out.

At the same time, Hurricroak had finished escorting Hakon and had now pivoted to raining thunderous hell on the heads of the Tremorscale soldiers.

"It can’t be..."

These back-to-back developments caused the Tremorscale Chief to pause and turn his attention away from me and the Zhen Clan warriors.

This time, I decided to actually make use of the opening this dumbass had decided to present.

[Follow my lead.] I said in [Chaos] speech to the others as I began to concentrate aether into my chest and mouth.

"What? Oh! Right!"

As soon as Zhen Shi saw what I was doing, he immediately began to concentrate aether in his mouth and chest as well, prompting his son and grandson to follow suit.

As the four of us concentrated and circulated our aether in a similar way, a vortex of frost began to form around us as shadows of ancient giants enveloped our forms.

By the time the Tremorscale chief and his elders noticed what was going on, it was too late.

We were already fully charged up and ready to fire.

[Echoing Frost!]

In a coordinated manner, Patriarch Zhen Shi, First Elder Zhen Long, First Master Zhen Hai, and I released a powerful blast of roaring cold winds that caused snowflakes to form as it travelled to its intended target.

One of my favorite aspects of this aether art was the fact that multiple warriors could use it and multiply its power to a degree that surpassed even a Universe-class aether art...in theory.

The four of us combined were able to enhance the attack to being equivalent to a major World-class aether art, which was almost as good.

"Shit!"

"Chieftain, look out!"

"Oh shit!"

Finally sensing the impending doom, the Tremorscale Chieftain first attempted to use those summoned blasting sphere to blow away our attack.

The attempt, however, massively failed.

The cold winds of the attack instantly froze the spheres and rendered whatever explosive payload they had inside them entirley moot.

The bastard then attempted to actually get their shit together and counter attack, but then, it was far too late to do anything meaningful.

Upon the moment of impact, the elite champions of the Tremorscale Clan, including their chieftain, had become encased in a thick layer of ice.

Before they were rendered into ice blocks, though, I could hear the chief muttering a single word in my direction, specifically.

"M-monster..."

[...yeah, I am.]

In another lifetime, I would’ve been offended being called a monster.

But now, in this new life, in one where I have bones and flesh of metal, and the heart of a raging furnace...that is a title I wear with pride.

And it was going to be with this title, that I will the right wrong of my past.

"Okay that takes care of the elites and from the sound of it, the regular soldiers," Zhen Long noted as he looked over the battlefield.

"Now we just have to wait for the matriarch to finish fighting the Tremorscale elder...she can beat that guy, right?"

"Probably," Zhen Shi answered his son. "But worst case scenario...I think the kaijin can help us beat him."

[Who is him?]