Chapter 1212: Amber Pond (Part 1)

The thunder monsters knew that the battle would not be easy, but they were confident that they would defeat Fromund in the end. However, as soon as he used his Initial Order, everything changed dramatically.

The two dead monsters were only the first of many. It was obvious, considering how easily Fromund had dealt with them.

Everything would have been exactly the same if the thunder monsters hadn’t had Marhen. Only he could save them, and he did.

“Shit… I’m so glad he’s our commander!” One of the monsters exclaimed inwardly, looking at Marhen’s two blue wings. Those wings had become their last line of defense.

The other monsters’ thoughts were similar. In their minds, they compared Marhen to Bathild, and they knew that Bathild would never have done something like this. She would have left them to die, preferring to attack the enemy and defeat it, even if it meant she would be the only survivor on the battlefield.

At the same time, Marhen concentrated his blue flames in front of him, using lightning bolts to create a protective barrier to stop the pillars of fire.

At first, he managed to do so, but when it was time for the next, final charge of Fromund’s attack, the pressure on Marhen became almost unbearable.

He frowned as his wings trembled before opening wide.

Electric discharges, like a multitude of rays, headed straight for the barrier, filling it with energy and making it much stronger and larger.

Fromund raised an eyebrow, watching Marhen’s actions.

“Hah, I like this guy more and more!”

Arayna tilted her head.

“Don’t you prefer to fight against wild, battle-hungry fighters like yourself? Marhen… He’s not like you, I’d say he’s your opposite.”

In response, Fromund’s grin only widened.

“Maybe that’s why I find it so interesting to fight him. I mean, not like the others, but my interest is only growing.”

At that moment, Fromund didn’t know that he would remember Marhen much more than Bathild, who, despite his superior strength, would turn out to be the least interesting enemy among the two main thunder monsters.

Whooooosh.

Marhen flapped his wings, dispelling the pillars of flame moving toward him.

“Stay back. I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do against him.” Marhen waved his hand at the thunder monsters. “I know you want to join in, but Fromund has reached the stage where a single blow from his fist will end your life. You saw what happened to the first two.”

Strangely enough, the monsters nodded and scattered to the sides. They took up the safest positions so that Fromund couldn’t reach them, but they could still help Marhen when he needed it.

This was bad news for Fromund, as fighting them all would have allowed him to quickly finish his task, but he wasn’t upset.

When his Initial Order was active, he could fight 1-on-1 quite effectively.

“So, finally, some worthy opponents have entered the battlefield?” Fromund grinned, walking slowly toward Marhen.

Marhen waved his hand slightly. “A little rude, but you’re right. I’m afraid that only Bathild and I can stand against you in this state.”

With a carefree smile, Fromund scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah, I understand that. I’m afraid I won’t be able to fight your leader. From what I know, Bathild is no match for him.”

The thunder monsters exchanged glances, panic rising in their eyes. They didn’t want to believe it, but something about Fromund made them believe him. He just didn’t look like he was trying to deceive them for some purpose.

“Well, we’ll see what happens next. Right now, each of us has an opponent right in front of us.”

Fromund’s eyes flashed as the blaze ring appeared on his sword for a moment.

“Hell yeah, you’re right about that!”

Before Marhen could come to any conclusions, Fromund lunged forward, quickly finding himself in front of him. Fromund’s speed wasn’t as terrifying as it had been with the spear sign, but it was still much faster than with the hammer sign.

Marhen immediately noticed the difference in speed, but that wasn’t enough. The sword was a new sign in Fromund’s blaze ring, so it was unknown what it was capable of now, but Marhen had a few guesses.

‘The previous two signs gave his body the same properties as the corresponding weapon. If it’s a sword now, then I have to prepare for slashes!’

Then, Marhen saw Fromund’s grin reflected in his eyes as his palm was covered in flames.

Whoooooosh.

A fiery slash cut through the space to Marhen’s right, who managed to dodge at the last moment.

“That’s not all!” Fromund exclaimed as he swung his leg straight at Marhen.

Marhen ducked, letting Fromund’s leg pass over him.

The flaming blade flew on, crashing into the wall with a deafening explosion.

‘I see. Just as I thought.’ Marhen nodded inwardly. ‘I don’t know if he has any other weapons, but if that’s all he’s got, I can fight him.’

When Fromund attacked again, Marhen did not dodge.

Tremble.

With the space shaking, two circles appeared under his palms, made of flames and lightning.

Then, Marhen stepped forward, knocking Fromund’s hand aside with a blow to his wrist.

Surprise was reflected on Fromund’s face as Marhen moved forward, preparing to deliver his first hit to Fromund.

But…

Clutch.

Suddenly, Fromund’s second hand clenched tightly around Marhen’s wrist, stopping his palm right in front of his face.

Marhen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Looks like you figured it out, huh? Well, just because you know how the ability works doesn’t mean you can beat me!” Fromund exclaimed as a hammer appeared in the blaze ring.

Then, Fromund threw Marhen aside as if he were a light puppet.

If it weren’t for Marhen’s agility and wings, he would have crashed into the wall, but instead his feet touched the stone as he landed safely on the surface, looking at the bruises on his wrist.

They were about to continue their fight.

That would have happened if not for the next scene.

Fromund took a step forward when a pebble fell on his shoulder.

“Agh?”

Baffled, he looked up as shock covered his face.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of meters of rock and earth between them split in two, revealing two figures moving toward one colony.