Dungeon of Niflheim

748  Chapter 748: Hidden strength (2)

While fiddling with the shards of the broken weapon and reminiscing about the past, Duke Runak continued to explain the true situation of the War Ursa Battalion to the young Frost.

"For years and years we have accumulated an uncountable number of refined gems."

He placed the broken weapon back onto its pedestal. The former owner was once one of these so called gems.

"These elite soldiers are the true bastion that stands between the monstrous nations of the Glacial mountains and the sapient lands directly south." Duke Runak slowly turned his head, revealing a playful smirk and an unmasked pride.

"The War Ursa Battalion that you experienced today is nothing but the outer shell, inexperienced whelps in need of a good grinding." An air of brutality and bloodlust naturally oozed out of him as he spoke.

Those in the military were not soft by any means, they would gladly sacrifice the few for the benefit of the many.

"80%, tens of thousands of men and women who have reached, C, B and even A-rank have remained hidden despite the laborious assault on our gates."

"The Vanguard of the Glacial mountains Liberation Alliance is not worth their time. Only when the true enemy arrives will they take to the field and revitalise the War Ursa Battalion into its true form." The Duke stood tall as he spoke, his bearing, strength and power personified. The true strength of the War Ursa Battalion was much, much greater than what had been shown thus far.

Frost's eyes stretched wide open as a result of the Duke's words; he expected something to be hidden but not to such a degree.

The forces he fought alongside were considered whelps, younglings lacking in experience. Though some elites were added to the mix to manage the formations and strategies such a revelation was hard to accept.

These men and women were strong, immensely strong yet they were only considered the common rabble, not true elites of the Battalion.

How deep did the War Ursa Battalion's foundations run? Frost ruminated on this question before remembering the extent of the carnage, the wounds and the many who died fighting on the frontlines.

He understood and even agreed with the idea of grinding away the chaff to some degree but wasn't it too risky?

"…..Isn't it a bit dangerous to risk so many lives and the safety of the northern wall given Icethorne's current situation." He tentatively asked.

"Hehehe you think the situation right now is perilous, that the risk outweighs the possible gains. That perhaps I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face?" Duke Runak's smile grew as returned to his seat.

"Isn't it?" Frost questioned before stating the known facts.

 "Two Colonels, the leaders of the cavalry corps were nearly lost, narrowly escaping by the skin of their teeth with grievous injuries, one perhaps even crippled."

If this couldn't be considered dangerous then he didn't know what could.

"Well then let me ask you this then, those that died in that assault how many officers were among them?" Runak's smile disappeared in an instant.

"Eh?" Frost didn't know, his knowledge was restricted to the left wing and even then he didn't have much time to notice before being escorted to the palace.

"According to the report I received there were less than a dozen and none of them were of a particularly high rank. None of the upper caste were lost, only injured and even then there's hope for them to return to the battlefield in time for the main event." Duke Runak stated, subtly referring to Colonel Ridge who returned without his right arm.

Such an extreme wound would cripple most but this was the War Ursa Battalion and the Duchy of Icethorne. High level healing potions and even healing mages were openly available to them in times of war.

One of the reasons that the Duchy has remained an unshakeable overseer to the trading routes in the Glacial mountains is because they don't skimp on using their wealth to improve their military power.

Thus Colonel Ridge would return to the battlefield with a newly regenerated arm and a curbed arrogance

"But!"

"Are you going to say that it was merely luck." The Duke already predicated such a response forcing Frost to bite his tongue.

"Hmph young Frost when you reach my level you learn to never rely on such unpredictable measures…luck had absolutely nothing to do with it."

"The weak died while the strong and resourceful remained."

"That's!" Frost wasn't buying it, he was there, chaos ensued and Colonel Casper and even the seven Majors who held back the General from the ravenous horde were almost slaughtered.

"They didn't die Frost and though the situation seemed chaotic to you there was a plan and someone very powerful overseeing the whole situation." He was of course referring to General Katrina.

"Everything was ultimately within her control. Katrina's strength is so overwhelming that even if Vash and all his A-rank allies teamed up they'd at most be able to forge a stalemate." Such a situation would thus then leave Jessica, Jared and Danielle free to slaughter to their hearts content.

"….." Frost was speechless,

'Is Katrina really that powerful? Is it the difference between early and late stage A-rank or is it because of the person herself?'

"In a display of great anger she slaughtered the enemy General with a single thunderous blow, thoroughly intimidating the enemy forces with her immense strength while at the same time allowing our soldiers to appear somewhat fragile in comparison. Thus curbing the high ranks and emboldening the lower….she moved at precisely the right time and to the perfect degree."

The whole thing was a staged production by the upper ranks of the War Ursa Battalion, resulting in an engagement between the common soldiers and the retreat of the higher ranks.

Everything was for the sake of polishing the newly unearthed gems before the main event, a desperate race to provide the War Ursa Battalion with more elites for the true battle. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"...." Frost was silent in response as he processed this information. Being in the thick of it, it was hard for him to understand the greater picture but if Katrina was truly that powerful then what Duke Runak said made sense.

How chaotic and dangerous could the situation truly be if someone so powerful was watching the whole thing like a hawk.

He had underestimated the War Ursa Battalion, General Katrina, Jessica and most of all Duke Runak. A man filled with such far seeing strategies was not someone you'd want as an enemy.

'This man is an absolute monster.' Frost internally commented, looking forward to the day that he could see him take to the field personally or better yet the day he manages to ascend to the S-rank.

Out of all the people he'd met over the past 16 months, excluding his siblings and their guardians Duke Oscar Runak was the most talented and fearful he'd ever come across. The man was strong, truly strong.

'I wonder how he'd compare to Maya once he ascends.' One was naturally gifted and blessed with a powerful body while the other was raised in war and battle, fighting tooth and nail to get where he was, with innumerable to scars as proof of his efforts.

He'd had to ask upon his return but for now he needed to know his current limit.

"How strong are you really?" He asked with a poorly hidden sense of excitement.

If Katrina at the late stage could hold back Vash and six other Generals without losing then what about him.

"Me?" Duke Runak pointed to himself before once again smiling in a playful manner.

"As long as an S-rank doesn't get involved I'm confident in winning even when outnumbered." He was a direct as he could possibly be.

'Fuck! Is that arrogance or simply confidence.'

The War God of the Glacial mountains practically declared himself unrivalled among A-ranks.

The strange thing was Frost believed him.

"Is there no one that's your match in the inner regions?" Surely the Duke wasn't the only one at the very peak of A-rank.

"No! The grand Prince of Karak Kanz and the former patriarch of the large horned ice drakes are both at the half step mark and I've fought the two of them before, neither are my match." The Duke's claim was not without basis.

Many years ago to cement his reputation as War God of the Glacial mountains he duelled those at the peak and remained undefeated.

"And the demonic empire?"

"Unknown but as long as they're still in the A-rank I can win." His strength wasn't just a little higher than the others at the half step, he could actually compete with both the Prince from Karak Kanz and the former patriarch of the ice drake tribe at the same time and come out on top.

With [Night's descent] in hand he was confident in defeating any aggressor that dared to infringe upon the territory of the Northrend Empire.

"….What's the chances of an S-rank making a move?"

The Demonic empire could be found at the very edge of the inner regions and perhaps even stretching into the core regions, a territory where only the strongest could survive.

"….."It's possible but unlikely." Duke Runak thought about his answer for a few seconds.

"There's an unspoken accord that restricts those at the S-rank from interfering in the affairs of the inner and external regions but if the S-rank hails directly from the Demonic Empire then it's considered a grey area."

Though the possibility was small (he assumed) it wasn't zero and unfortunately there was nothing he could do to prepare against such an eventuality. There was no S-rank in the War Ursa Battalion after all.

"If an S-rank does come….then I guess I'll finally have a worthy battle on my hands hehehe."

New year, new outlook and hopefully revitalised motivation, happy 2025 everyone.

Sword_immortal1