Arthur stood at the entrance of the Frost Elf camp, his body thrumming with new power. The icy wind howled around him, but it no longer bit at his skin. His breath came steady, controlled, as he stared at the two Warriors guarding the gate. Their glowing blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, sensing something different about him.
The moment stretched between them, tension crackling in the cold air. Then, as if by unspoken command, both Warriors moved, their spears raised in perfect unison. Arthur smirked.
"Time to test this power."
With a burst of speed that startled even him, Arthur shot forward. The first Warrior lunged with its spear, aiming for his heart. He twisted mid-run, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled an ice dagger at the second Warrior's throat, but it deflected the projectile with ease.
Not bad. But not good enough.
Arthur reached his hands out as if to throw something, the frost Warriors looked confused as to why he was trying to throw nothing. Out of the air a small blue looking orb appeared, it was the Icy Orb he had scavenged from an earlier kill. The Warriors took another step forward, their bodies tensed, ready to strike him down.
"Let's see how you handle this."
He hurled the orb at the Elves. One of the Warriors tried to strike it with his Sword. The moment it reached the Tip of the spear, a blinding flash erupted, flooding the area in a burst of white-blue light. The Warriors let out guttural roars, their three eyes flaring as they staggered backward, momentarily blinded.
Arthur didn't waste a second. The Icy Orb was already dismissed, because if it would be not, there was the danger that it gets destroyed.
He lunged at the first Warrior, driving his dagger deep into its chest. The creature let out a strangled growl, but before it could recover, Arthur yanked the blade free and spun, severing its throat in a clean strike.
[ You have killed a Common Savage, Frost Hunter. ]
The second Warrior, still struggling to regain its vision, swung its spear wildly. Arthur ducked low, closing the distance in a flash. He grabbed its outstretched arm, twisting it sharply until he heard the sickening snap of bone. The Warrior let out a roar of pain, but Arthur silenced it by ramming his dagger through its jaw, driving the blade upward until the tip pierced its skull.
[ You have killed a Common Savage, Frost Hunter. ]
'That was nicely done, I really am way stronger than before, by just consuming one of their friends.'
"But hey, even better, now i have two more of them.
As both corpses slumped to the icy ground, Arthur inhaled deeply, his hunger flaring. He knelt and sank his teeth into one of the Warrior's wounds. The rush of blood sent a surge of energy through his veins, his body absorbing the creature's strength.
The camp had taken notice now. From within, dozens of clicking noises echoed—alarms being raised, warriors stirring, weapons being drawn.
Arthur stood, wiping the blood from his lips. "Now, let's get to work."
Arthur tore through the camp like a storm. He darted between huts, striking from the shadows, cutting down Workers before they could react. His movements were sharper, his reflexes faster. He threw shards of ice like daggers, embedding them in throats and eyes, cutting down his enemies with surgical precision.
A group of Workers gathered near a storage hut, their backs turned as they retrieved weapons. Arthur smirked, picking up a discarded Frost Elf shield. With a powerful throw, he sent it spinning through the air like a razor-edged discus. It crashed into the group, severing limbs and scattering them in chaos. He followed up instantly, using his enhanced speed to dash between them, slicing and tearing until none remained standing.
[ You have killed a Common Feral, Frost Elf. ] [ You have killed a Common Feral, Frost Elf. ] [ You have killed a Common Feral, Frost Elf. ]
Arthur crouched low, panting, his body coated in a thin sheen of frost and blood. More were coming. He needed to thin their numbers before they overwhelmed him.
His eyes flicked toward a pile of ice barrels stacked against one of the huts. A wicked grin formed.
He sprinted toward them, grabbing a burning torch from a fallen Elf's hut along the way. As the next wave of Workers and a single Warrior charged toward him, Arthur lit the barrels on fire and kicked them over. The ice shattered, revealing volatile frost powder within. The moment the flames touched the substance, an explosion rocked the camp.
Ice and debris rained down, sending Elves sprawling. Arthur used the chaos to his advantage, weaving between the disoriented creatures and dispatching them one by one.
Then, a deep, resonant roar shook the air.
Arthur turned slowly.
At the center of the camp stood the Frost Elf Commander, a towering behemoth draped in dark blue armor, it wielded a masterfully crafted ice dagger twice as large and sharp as any other in the camp. Its three eyes burned with fury, its long white hair whipping in the wind. Beside it stood three more Warriors, their bodies tense and ready. Behind them, ten Workers armed with crude weapons formed a line.
Arthur exhaled.
"Well… this will get interesting."
Arthur was now sure he was able to beat the Commander after consuming blood of three Warriors, he had to be able to at least wound it right?
The Commander let out a sharp, guttural command as if saying that Arthur was not worth him fighting personally, and the three Warriors surged forward. Arthur moved, dodging the first spear thrust with a quick sidestep. He leapt over a low sweep, landing gracefully before ducking beneath another strike. The sheer force of their attacks sent cracks through the ice where he had just been standing.
Arthur was pissed, that the Commander wasn't fighting himself, but on the other hand he happily accepted the opportunity to discard of the remaining Workers and Warriors first.
Arthur needed an opening to win.
He rolled under the legs of one Warrior, slicing its Achilles tendon as he passed. The creature stumbled, roaring in pain. Using the moment, he kicked off the ground and landed a brutal punch to the second Warrior's chest, sending it skidding back.
But the third Warrior was already upon him. Arthur barely raised his arm in time, the spear carving a deep gash along his forearm. Pain flared, but he gritted his teeth and countered with a vicious knee to the Warrior's ribs.
He was holding his own.
But the Commander still only watched without moving even one finger.
Arthur stood in the middle of three Warriors, and the ten Workers were just waiting behind the Commander.
Well Frost Elves were porbably of a low rank as far as Monsters of the Cursed Lands go, so their Intelligence was not as high as that of humans went.
Arthur analyzed his Situation real quick, he was wounded and could barely move. Around him three lightly wounded Warriors stood ready to lunge at him at any moment.
Arthur was about as strong if not a little bit stronger and faster than an average Warrior, but if he consumed more blood, he could get even stronger.
'Blood, BLOOD, I need more blood...' Arthur tried to remember not to go insane, but it was hard for him because the more he was wounded, the more his hunger was left unsaturated.
Arthur entered a state of small frenzy, he took his ice dagger and raised his arm, with all his strength he threw it at one of the Frost Hunters.
The Hunter blocked it off easily, but his vision was blocked for a moment. It was only a second, but that second was enough for Arthur, he appeared in front of the Elf that now left his legs completely exposed.
His hands lunged at the upper part of the Hunters right leg, Arthur was so fast that the other two elves were only a few seconds late to react to him.
He gripped the upper part of his enemys leg, and with one crack he broke it in an instant. Just as the Elf wanted to let out a roar, it pushed his spear into Arthurs back, a wave of pain rolled over Arthur.
But in the end it did not matter one bit, Arthur bit with all his force into the broken leg, and ripped out a big part of the skin, mostly covered in blood.
He immediately consumed the little bit of blood in only a single second, feeling all his wounds close Arthur rose to his feet again turning to face the other two Warriors that still were able to fight.
The one he just took out was laying injured on the ground, it now was just able to watch the fight proceed.
And the fight would either be Arthurs' last or most valueable fight he experienced till now.
But looking at the Commander of the Frost Elves, he slowly realized that he was never the one to decide this fight...