Chapter 785: Act 137 – Breaking the Cocoon IV (Second Update)
Freya looked around, the open valley was different from the entrance of the previous canyon; at least, the towering azure glaciers were no longer visible, nor the narrow openings and cracks beneath the glaciers. The terrain was no longer a dizzying maze, devoid of the layered ice walls and ice cones and beams converging inwards. Only the steep cliffs on either side and the vast valley floor remained, which was covered in soft snow that had slipped down from the cliffs.
While curiously taking in the scenery, she limped towards the cliff, stepping unevenly; her foot sometimes sank deeply, other times scarcely touching the ground, and she occasionally winced in pain from her wounds. One of her shoulder blades was missing, and her chest armor was battered beyond recognition, a sight that was utterly disgraceful.
After walking for a while, she raised her head to look at the snow-covered cliffs, which seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions. Freya glanced back; the monster was getting closer.
Gritting her teeth, she pondered what she could use nearby. She had left her dagger embedded in the Pale Son when she departed and had forgotten to retrieve it. But even if she had, it wouldn’t be of much use in such a situation.
The only weapon she had left was the carefully protected Lionheart Sword and a few miscellaneous items. Opening her waist pouch, she found several days’ worth of rations, but they were already frozen solid. At the bottom lay a jar of wild berry jam, made by Romaine himself; even Brendel had not received any. However, Freya had always been ungrateful for this particular item, not as a joke—Romaine’s cooking skills were at the same level as an old witch in a fairy tale.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t cook; it was purely because this guy often had eccentric ideas, adding unconventional ingredients to the mix.
Next were the explosive crystals that Antinna had given her; there were six in total. Originally, they were meant for her and Brendel to each have three, but since Brendel found no significant use for them, he had given them all to her before their departure yesterday to better handle unexpected situations during the ambush.
Looking at these items, Freya absentmindedly touched the ring on her hand, feeling a slight calmness wash over her. This ruby ring was initially given to her by Brendel; when they left Bruglas, she had returned it to him out of concern for his safety.
A year later, when Brendel met her again, he was vastly more powerful than before, and thus, he no longer needed the ring, so he had returned it. This ring had changed hands several times between them and held a deeper meaning for the young girl.
Now it seemed the only things at her disposal were the explosive crystals and this ring. The ruby ring could cast a fireball spell once; she had already used it during a battle earlier yesterday, and it was on the verge of recharging. However, it had already proven ineffective against that monster, and she doubted the explosive crystals would provide much hope either.
Freya looked up; the cliff on one side of the canyon was nearly within reach, while she turned back to see that the silver monster had reached the valley floor. They were no more than a mile apart, a distance that, for the monster, could be covered in an instant.
Freya took a deep breath, anxiety flooding her mind again, but then she suddenly remembered she had one more item. In a flurry, she unfastened the buckle of her other waist pouch, and the heavy stone tablet was indeed intact and lying in her pocket.
She sighed with relief. This tablet had been given to her by Brendel, and she recalled how he spoke of strange things when he handed it to her, mentioning the War Goddess and bloodlines—terms she didn’t understand, and Brendel hadn’t explained them. But these things seemed to resonate with her current predicament, and a flicker of hope rose within Freya; perhaps this item could help her escape.
Sadly, she soon discovered that the tablet was still as unresponsive as ever, acting the same as it always had. It might as well have been a real stone, just colder in this weather.
Freya sighed, having doubted more than once whether Brendel had made a mistake; it was just a piece of rock after all. Such tablets weren’t rare; many black markets in Vaunte utilized similar rune tablets to deceive customers, ranging from ancient manuscripts to the rune tablets used by the first-generation witches. Their only commonality was that they were all fakes.
‘Has Brendel been fooled too…?’
Freya thought about these chaotic matters to distract herself from her anxiety, but despite this, she still trembled furiously—she hadn’t considered everything thoroughly when she made this decision earlier. Now, her risky actions didn’t just affect herself, but also intertwined the fates of everyone else with her own choices.
She didn’t know whether this counted as being a reckless commander, but she at least understood this: when everyone had to take a gamble for their only chance of survival, she had to stand up and take on that responsibility.
If she failed, she might not just face d*ath but also scrutiny, possibly bringing trouble to Brendel.
Yet, she ultimately resolutely chose to take this gamble.
What Brendel wanted wasn’t a Freya who did nothing; she felt the same way. At that moment, she seemed to understand what the expectation in Nemeses’s eyes was.
Finally, she tried to smear some of the bl**d from her forehead onto the stone tablet, like the necessary process described in knightly tales to bond a divine artifact with its master. Although it seemed a bit foolish, and indeed, she ultimately failed—the tablet showed no signs of change.
For a moment, the girl felt a wave of disappointment.
But the next instant, she suddenly halted.
Freya quietly raised her head; within her sight was indeed that silver figure, which had somehow managed to circle around to her front. In just a brief moment, she had not expected her speed to fall so far behind that of the creature.
But this time, she did not immediately retreat or turn to run; instead, she slowly unsheathed the Lionheart Sword.
With her hands on the sword, she stood firm, calming her heart, gazing resolutely at the silver monster with her light brown eyes, pointing the sword’s tip towards it.
“Not running?” The silver monster’s large mouth emitted a hollow voice tinged with mockery, “Are you hoping to sacrifice your life to save your companions by leading me here?”
“By your human standards, that could be considered noble—”
“Too bad such actions mean nothing in the long span of time and the entire world. Your choice is destined to be meaningless.”
Freya quietly listened as the monster finished its mocking words, taking the opportunity to gradually ease the pain coursing through her body. Unmoved by its words, she calmly replied, “Less nonsense, monster.”
This response slightly startled the creature, which quickly erupted into loud laughter.
“What do you want to say? You don’t really think you are the War Goddess, do you? Your bl**d merely carries a sparse and mottled lineage, which means nothing to you.” The silver monster contemptuously replied, “Alright, young girl, the game is over for you.”
It raised its hand, the right arm transforming into a silver blade, sweeping directly towards Freya.
Freya had seen this move before; she raised her sword to block, aiming to parry the strike. Unfortunately, while she had estimated the sword’s momentum, she had not accounted for the strength disparity between herself and the monster. The moment the Lionheart Sword made contact with the monster’s right arm, she felt a sense of impending disaster as an overwhelming force surged through where their weapons met. Before she could react, she was sent crashing into the snow.
Freya crashed heavily into the snow; although it was a soft landing, the impact was far more severe than anything she had experienced previously. She could almost feel her chest plate deforming backward, crushing her ribs, and with a snap, a broken rib punctured her lung, forcing her to uncontrollably spit out a mouthful of bl**d.
“Ugh—” Freya coughed up bl**d, but instinctively, despite the intense pain, she rolled to the side, and the monster’s attack had indeed transformed from a blade to a whip, sweeping through the spot where she had been, sending snow flying.
The silver monster seemed caught off guard by the agility of such a lowly silver-tier opponent. It briefly froze before realizing that these were moves it had used before—yet that young girl had noted them after just a glance.
Now aware of this, it rapidly changed its strategy, turning its right hand into a spear and threw it towards Freya’s rolling direction.
It had calculated its lead time, and it was highly unlikely Freya could evade this strike; however, a brilliant light suddenly radiated from the snow, and a pair of golden wings unfurled from within, lifting Freya off the ground, narrowly avoiding the blow.
“A half-formed War Goddess?” The silver monster looked up; Freya had already taken flight, flapping her wings. A silver light filled her eyes, and the Valkyrie mark on her forehead glowed once more, shimmering brightly.
She had been able to display such power unintentionally during the knights’ tournament and again on Ampere Seale’s battlefield; this was the third time she activated the Valkyrie mark in actual combat, and this time, she was clearly much more adept than before.
Since obtaining the Power Stone from Brendel, her strength had increased tremendously in just a day. After entering Milos’s Breath, she had practically reached the level of elite silver classes, and now she had practically leaped into the realm of gold—though it was achieved through external power.
Taking advantage of the monster’s momentary hesitation, Freya wasted no time. She flapped her wings rapidly and turned towards the cliff.
“Trying to run!” The silver monster hadn’t expected that in its moment of distraction, this human girl would begin to flee; it was both surprised and angry, hastily pursuing her. However, after transforming into a Valkyrie, Freya’s speed increased dramatically, and she quickly neared the cliff.
As she approached the cliff, Freya suddenly paused, making a circle in the air, going from the left of the silver monster to the right cliff face.
The creature looked up, seemingly realizing her intention, and it shouted angrily, “You dare!?”
Freya didn’t even glance back at the monster, though the girl from Buche was nervously apprehensive, terrified of missing a step, and didn’t dare respond, let alone mock it.
She glided over the white snow, rounding to the back of the monster, then raised her hand; the ruby ring in her right hand glimmered. “Flame,” an unfamiliar word escaped her lips, and the ring ignited, a fireball the size of a basin shot forth.
The fireball posed no real threat to the creature, but that didn’t mean it lacked power. In fact, when it soared toward the monster, aiming for the cliff above, it soon revealed the true horror of this spell.
Where the fireball struck, it impacted a thick layer of snow, and the explosion hit the rocky wall underneath that supported the snow, creating a massive explosion that cracked the wall and caused the snow above to roll down in torrents, almost triggering a colossal avalanche.
But that was not all.
Earlier, while she had skimmed over the snow, Freya had placed all six explosive crystals sequentially atop the snow mound. The violent magical wave generated by the fireball instantly detonated these already unstable energy aggregators.
In that instant, several bright lights suddenly lit up on the mountain wall, the explosions almost shook the entire valley as the rocky wall below the snow abruptly fell apart, and the thousand-year-old ice above surged down like a flood, rushing toward the silver monster.
“Ahhhhh, d*mn it!” The silver monster finally let out an angry scream.
But Freya’s eyes widened suddenly.
Because the monster’s roar was not out of fear, but rage at being mocked. It quickly bent down, and four long silvery tendrils extended from its back, transforming into long, silver wings in an instant.
It could fly!
“Oh no…” The girl’s heart went cold.
