Dungeon of Niflheim

243 Chapter 243: A rookie mistake

The great frost centipede used the 2nd circle spell [blizzard]. It summoned a large ice boulder above the target, crushing them underneath with blunt force. Like its physical smashing attack, the [blizzard] spell was rather slow in the wind up but pretty destructive when it hits. As with the [ice bolt] spell there were upgraded versions of it, higher up in the circles. [Blizarra] for instance was the 3rd circle variant. It dropped a far larger, denser, and faster ice boulder onto a target.

Frost stood below the oncoming ice boulder with a smile on his face, not wary in the slightest. His innate speed was quite substantial, with deft skill he waved his glaive in an upward slash, aiming to cleave the boulder in twain.

“[Crescent slash!]”Not looking down on the spell Frost shouted the command word for his skill, empowering his glaive’s blade with energy. The blade glowed pale blue, enhancing its cutting power.

Swhing!

The glaive swiftly cut through the air and met the ice boulder, not even slowing its momentum in the slightest, the glaive carved its way through the boulder like a knife through butter. His glaive became a completely different weapon when enhanced with a skill. In that moment he wondered how effective his strike would have been on the centipede’s carapace if he used one of his skills. Surely it would have ended up worse than a scratch.

Luckily he’d have a chance soon enough. The centipede didn’t pause in the slightest after casting [blizzard], it primed its large body for a smashing strike, hoping Frost would be distracted long enough by the spell to not evade in time. The centipede had quite genius level timing, it shot out the moment Frost’s glaive was at its highest point, meaning Frost wouldn’t have time to block with his weapon. Frost however was smirking; his awareness had never left the centipede even as he stared up at the ice boulder. He saw its every move.

The moment the two halves of the ice boulder fell to his side the centipede launched itself with a vengeance, it moved even faster than its previous two strikes, akin to a massive bullet it reached Frost in the fraction of a second.

Aware of its intention Frost masterfully twirled his body around, narrowly evading the centipede’s head. As he spun he brought along his glaive, ready to test out his earlier theory.

Gripping the shaft with both hands, he tensed up his arms to bring the weapon down with impressive force. The centipede however was panicking knowing that it messed up, it tried to quickly swing to the side, but it wasn’t fast enough. Frost brought his glaive down like a reaper cleaving a soul, swift and accurate. He aimed for the exact spot he dented before, aiming to break through.

.....

“[Shattering strike!] Frost used the very first skill he learned back when he entered the realm of adept glaive mastery. Unlike [crescent slash] and [claw of the ice wolf] which could be used at range and enhanced cutting power, this skill enhanced destructive force, he aimed to shatter the carapace not cleave through it.

Boooooooooooom!

An incredible sound reverberated around the area when Frost’s glaive met the centipede’s carapace which was quickly drowned out by an ear piercing screech. Bits of carapace exploded from the point of impact, and blood burst from the wound. The back of the centipede’s neck appeared as though a bomb had gone off, none of the cuts were clean and the exposed flesh was mangled.

The pain caused the centipede’s body to stiffen for a split second before rapidly twisting, the direction was Frost. Instead of continuing to evade, it lashed out horizontally, hoping to whip Frost away. Frost was revelling in the power of his [shattering strike] and reacted too slow.

Bang!

The centipede’s massive body slammed into his side, though not containing nearly the same level of force as its primed smashing attack it still contained a great deal. Pieces of Frost’s ice armour shattered from the impact, and he was sent flying several metres across the room.

“Cough cough,” Frost coughed as the wind was knocked out his lungs. The centipede struck his lower left ribs, it stung but nothing was broken, the armour absorbed over 70% of the blow. He didn’t let his guard down, quickly stabilising his stance when he landed and keeping his eyes on the centipede. There was a good chance it’d go mad from the pain and shock, no longer fighting intelligently. He experienced this a few times when fighting the yetis back in the valley. Once the wounds became too much they’d really revert to their wild nature, attacking with wanton abandon making for in some cases quite a difficult fight.

He was prepared to deflect another attack from the centipede, whether that be physical or magical but clearly he gave the coward too much credit. The thing ran or rather skuttled away into its home, vanishing in a couple seconds, leaving a few bloodstains and pieces of shattered carapace.

“Eh? Its over just like that.” Frost’s lips twitched in shock, completely not expecting such a response. ‘What kind of monster are you?’ His glaive lowered, and his body relaxed as a scowl adorned his face but that was not a wise move.

Rumble rumble

Suddenly Frost could feel vibration coming from beneath his feet, his scowl quickly turned to dread. “Shit!” Almost immediately he leaped backwards but he was a fraction too slow.

Boom!

The centipede burst out from the ice; its jaw opened wide in preparation to devour its foe. It didn’t run, it was a strategic withdrawal so as to fight to its strengths.....ambushing. Centipedes especially monster centipedes are skilled burrowers, able to move through the dirt, ice, or whatever other solid material, like how a fish swims in water.

The great frost centipede burst forth catching Frost’s left arm in its massive chompers. Clamping down hard it broke through the majority of the ice chakra armour, reaching Frost’s fleshy arm. Frost was assailed with pain, but the torment wouldn’t end there. The centipede was still rising and planned to drag Frost with it.

Frost reacted quickly, wrapping his legs around the centipede’s body to anchor himself so as to use more strength. At the same time, he stored his glaive in his spatial ring before reaching over with his right arm to wrench open the centipede’s jaw. He couldn’t allow it to take him up to its full height. Once that happened it would obviously thrash around with him caught by the arm. Even with his strength his arm wouldn’t last long with that range of movement, it’d quickly be torn apart.

“Hahhhhhhhhhhh” Frost roared as he tensed his arm muscles to their upmost, attempting to pry open the centipede’s jaw all while enduring the pain in his left arm that continued to increase. The centipede continued to rise, and its jaw continued to close, even with all his strength he couldn’t outmatch the power of this monster’s jaw. Its razor sharp forcipules broke away more of Frost’s armour, digging deeper into his flesh. Panic was now sewn across Frost’s face; he was too cocky and should have never let his guard down. This was a battle to the death, not a place where he could take it easy like he had been so far. He was so caught up in the division of rank that he forgot that even the most powerful of fighter could be felled when their guard is let down. He felt like an idiot but no matter how much strength he put into prying apart the centipedes jaw it only slowed the inevitable. Eventually however the centipede reached its full height, and its eyes showed a victorious expression, it would have revenge for breaking its carapace, an arm should suffice.

And like Frost predicted the moment it reached its full height with its powerful abdominal muscles it began thrashing side to side hoping to tear Frost from his arm as recompense.

Frost was in dire straits, he hanged onto the centipede with his legs for dear life, limiting the force exerted on his body and his arm in particular but it wouldn’t be able to change the outcome. It took him a lot more energy to hold on than it did for the centipede to thrash around.

This thrashing went on for 60 seconds before the centipede stopped, it glared at Frost through its eyes. Its prey refused to give in, holding onto its body with an iron grip. It barely made any headway into Frost’s arm and grew frustrated. It had an idea however, if Frost wasn’t clamped in its jaws it’d be showing an evil smile right about now.

A shiver ran down Frost’s spine warning him of impending danger. The wild thrashing made it so he could barely tell which way was up anymore, his vision was shaky, and he wanted to throw up. But his instincts were good, with a quick shake of his head he focused, trying work out what was coming.

Suddenly the centipede tensed its entire body, priming it like it did for its smashing attack.

‘Fuck!’ Frost screamed internally as he knew what the centipede planned to do. It was going to smash him apart against the ice floor, it didn’t need to worry about being damaged but the same couldn’t be said about him.

Instinctively Frost reached for the talisman hidden in his robes, preparing to tear it apart, this was a perilous situation, but he hesitated for a second, not willing to waste such a precious chance. That second however removed his ability to save himself, the centipede was about to smash down, he no longer had enough time to activate it, he may lose his arm at the current rate, and that would be the least of his losses. He really underestimated the prowess of his foe.