Ethan slammed his staff into the ground, two larger chains shot from behind him and wrapped around the dwarves, pulling them behind him. “Get back! Andrew needs to hear of this at once! I will keep it contained until you can support me!” Ethan yelled over the snowstorm, the wind was picking up considerably tearing on his robes like a wild animal. He summoned a shield in front of him, then a second and a third. Whatever this thing was he wanted protected, even now he still felt unprepared when an attack arrived. Something hit his shields, destroying all three of them in just one second. Only the chain attack he sent out in retaliation managed to disrupt the enemy enough so he could avoid a fatal hit. This enemy was not to be trifled with.
The dwarves were scrambling to their feet, Mason stared at Ethan and took a deep breath. “Don’t you dare die on us or Andrew will have our heads!” he screamed before pulling the others along, away from Ethan. His second scout died shortly afterwards due to another attack by the unknown beast. Working on instincts Ethan created more soldiers for this fight, rather than using his usual template he picked creatures this time around eight large wolves made from ice grew from the ground, the fur covering their frozen bodies was made from sharp ice crystals. They formed a semi circle with Ethan in the middle, frozen teeth crunching as they moved as one unit while still keeping their distance from the enemy.
Taking a deep breath Ethan made sure he was ready for the next attack but suddenly the snow that was held back so far assaulted him from all sides, he still wasn’t sure why snow didn’t obey his command like ice but he could smell the awful sickly scent all around him now, the torrent of snow pushed against him, trying to swallow him while.
Before he could question it any further another attack arrived, this time Ethan could see something like a rod move towards him at incredible speed, his new investment in perception saving him as chains managed to interrupt it the attack, hooks slammed into the rod which was glowing with a soft white light and stopped it in its tracks before it could slam into Ethan’s head.
He raised his staff, ready to launch serrated ice spikes from the ground right into the monster but suddenly he saw the red glow of its eyes again, coming towards him. The rod, which he now realized had multiple black spikes growing off, rose high into the snow covered sky. With the snowstorm right in his face he didn’t even see it, but the‘rod’ was actually a very weird looking antler. The beast turned its entire body before striking downwards, the massive head slamming into Ethan’s chest. The next moment he felt himself flying through the air, the air was forced from his lungs and with wide open eyes he flew at an incredible speed backwards, skipping over the snow covered ground like a stone over water. The ice wolves were already running after him. With a loud snap the chains around the monster’s antler broke apart.
The beast somehow had rotated its body, despite the fact that one of its antlers was locked down tight. When Ethan finally could concentrate enough he used his staff and shot a chain straight from the orb at the top, the hook of it slamming into the ground, slowing his flight enough for him to come to a stop. He groaned and was scared to even touch his chest, he leaned heavily on his staff and felt a bit of comfort when his wolves reached him, their bodies forming a protective ring around him. His chest hurt like hell, the arm holding his staff was burning from the strain and a look at his status revealed his health had dropped more than half from one restricted strike.
In the distance the call of an elk sounded out, but instead of the all so familiar call it sounded wet and sickly, like the creature was trying to use its voice despite illness or injuries limiting its vocal cords. The distorted noise, which was disturbed even further by abrupt changes in its pitch, made Ethan shiver. This was no healthy animal, far from it. The question was how many of these things were out there in this valley?
Ethan ordered his wolves around, they quickly formed two rows in front of him, four of them on each side. A white magic circle appeared on the tip of his staff, a chain shooting out from it which ran the entire length of the wolves bodies, eight smaller ones extended from the sides, connecting to the wolves, the chains melting into their backs forming a natural looking connection. A grin appeared on Ethan’s face, predatory and angry. “Fuck this shit…” he stamped on the ground, a circle of ice appearing under his feet, the edges lifting up a bit. “...I can’t believe this shit, no moment of rest, no respite, no chance to think about what comes next. Fuck this and you…” he pointed into the blizzard. “...in particular!”
Wordlessly the wolves launched themselves forward the moment the chain wrapped itself securely around Ethan’s forearm like it was a snake. His improvised dog sled pulled him along as he broke through the frozen landscape, the wind still tearing at him from all sides on his body but the grin was firmly planted on his pale face. He froze his feet and up to his knee to his sled as the wolves curved around obstacles.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Ethan grabbed his staff tightly as he channeled his mana into it, like a wave the air itself seemed to shiver as he cranked his aura up to the maximum, massive eyes made from his magic appeared all around him. They were glowing with a pale blue light while tiny white spheres launched themselves in every direction. “Come on out you piece of sick venison!” Each word was accompanied by white puffs of his icy cold breath, which was even colder than the temperature in the valley.
The sickly cry of the elk sounded out again, his wolves changing directions rapidly. Without a care for their bodies they launched themselves over the frozen ground, plowing through the snow like no real animal ever could. Ethan used [Arctic Reinforcement] to repair any damage they suffered during their mad chase. Ethan focused his eyes forward, his domain informing him of everything going on inside of it. Suddenly he noticed the shape of the elk, from that point on mental commands came rapidly as his wolves started to circle the beast. Raising his staff large ice spikes launched from it, chains rip the ground apart as they launch itself towards the elk.
Even with his aura he couldn’t get a good look at it, the thing was covered in a ball of ice and snow, what glimpses he got showed him that the elk was anything but normal. Legs with too many joints, massive antlers that looked unnaturally straight and covered in spikes, sharp teeth and an emaciated looking body. What else was the fact that this was the first time he encountered something also using cold based magic.
He continued to circle the elk, the beast turned with him and then…gave chase at an incredible speed. Shocked and in utter disbelief that this beast could move so fast Ethan sent commands to his wolf so they would retreat, he groaned when the wolves changed their course rapidly and pulled on arm. He watched the elk with his aura, focusing its entire strength on the beast but while it slowed down it wasn’t nearly enough to make a meaningful difference, the thing was still gaining on him.
Its long legs were propelling it forward, he could hear the bones and joints cracking and breaking as it sped up, the sound sent a shiver down his spine, combined with the labored breaths of it Ethan wasn’t sure how it could move at all. Still he launched his attacks, like angry snakes, multiple chains launched from the ground, trying and even succeeding to hook themselves into the elk’s mangled body. He knew its level wasn’t high because his chains held, at least until the elk’s flesh gave way and the hooked chains got ripped from its body.
Ethan had crossed almost the entire valley at this point and he couldn’t lead the thing back to the dwarves so he dissolved the chains connecting him to the wolves and ordered an attack, at the same time he used a new chain to stop his momentum, the hook dragged through the frozen snow until he slowed down enough for him to casually dissolve the ice disk under his feet.
He felt two wolves got destroyed while he was still occupied but the moment he could focus he already summoned another soldier, with each wolf's destruction he increased the size of the soldier, when he felt the limit he summoned another equally as large soldier. They stood both twice as tall as Ethan like his runners, but these ones were holding massive spears in their hands, the tip was covered in hooks and the blade serrated.
He summoned walls on his sides, turning them into a funnel right towards his location. The soldiers stood ready, their knees bent, the spears held tight and the tips pointing roughly at the elk’s chest. Using his aura to follow the elk moment as it seemed to be determined in its approach towards Ethan and his soldiers. Then it appeared, blue green blood leaking from its already heavily damaged body.
Bones were sticking out from its legs, the antlers looked sick, tumor-like growths covering them the closer they were to the head, while the tips, which were the farthest away, looked rather normal. The elk let out this gruesome sound again once it spotted Ethan.
Icy soldiers launched themselves forward, their spears pointing directly at their target, without hesitation they rammed their weapons deep into the elk, the beast crying from pain while it vomited red and green sludge, it was heaving rapidly and even more of the stuff was coming out of it, the liquid sloshing around his soldiers legs.
Ethan sighed heavily when it finally stopped moving, the thing was leaking all kinds of fluids at this point. Its wounds even started to foam with green bubbles. He stepped back and kept his distance, the sickness that was infecting this elk would wreak havoc under the dwarves if exposed to it.
He left his soldiers there and gained from distance, thinking about his next move. But before he could even form his first thought one of the soldiers got destroyed, another labored cry sounded from the elk. The beast was…still alive.
