Frostbound

Chapter 278 - I Couldn’t

Chris

I wasn't quite sure when it all went to shit. It seemed like every fight or Wave that extended past a few hours and caused [Avalanche] to max out eventually ended like shit.

With a fight taking that long, mistakes were inevitable. Fatigue and exhaustion both put their hands on the scale after that and Skill and perseverance could only do so much to balance it.

It was only a matter of time before it came crashing down.

My hammer was chipped. I felt it clearly as it happened. The blood-soaked Ice hammerhead had been worn down. The inherent magic did what it could to protect it, and I felt my own mana being used, but it wasn't enough.

Not when it was so saturated in corrosive energies that got continually renewed.

One or two enemies would have been fine. My hammer would have smashed them to smithereens and been no worse off. Sure, it would have had to fight off the accumulated blood, but there was enough power dwelling inside the hammer it would've been fine.

Even ten to twenty foes would've been fine.

Maybe even a hundred.

Not the amount I was facing. That... that was too much for the weapon.

My muscles strained as it pulled the heavy hammer through the air but it filled me with righteous satisfaction to watch as the Orcs deformed so greatly that if it wasn't an instant death, they wished for it.

[Avalanche] pushed my strength to new heights and even though I was trying to hold back, a mere tap tore bloody holes through their flesh. Which only caused the blood problem to get worse.

When chest cavities busted upon my hammer like a grotesque balloon, there was only so much I could do to keep my weapon free from the corrosive liquid.

Which was not much.

My armor was wearing down as well. [Frost Armor] pulled more and more mana to maintain and it started to break off and crack more easily. The structure not as firm. In the back of my head, there had been a chime different than a kill notification and my armor resisted better. I hadn't even noticed, my focus so intent on the slaughter.

I fought on for there was nothing else I could do. Giving up wasn't in my nature and I sure as shit wasn't going to let myself be overrun.

Not now, not ever.

The crack came suddenly. Both hands propelled the hammer through the air and smashed it down onto a Champion in my sight when the vile blood weakened it enough.

The rent was comparatively small when in proportion to the rest of the hammer. Tiny even, but it used my own tactics against me. The same plan we used to deal with the Boss monster of the Baron Wave.

Where we used a small cut to continually dig deeper using fire and ice. Instead, it was blood seeking to destroy my hammer one small crack at a time.

The rent opened up a new area for the blood to go and it wasn't long until more of the small cracks were made. More yet after they were filled with the corruptive energies.

I did what I could, but it was a losing battle from the start. As long as there was more blood to flow, it would continue to eat away at my weapon. And there was more blood to flow.

I wasn't sure what the extent of [Frostbound Hammer] was.

Frostbound Hammer(Legendary):A splinter of the weapon once wielded by the Jotnar King Thiassi thousands of years ago. The ice this hammer was forged from still holds some of his spirit and must be awakened to show its true power. Combine with other splinters to bring back its full might. Only given to the mightiest of warriors with a strong ice affinity and bound to you in frost once summoned.

I'd used it for years. It had been by my side for countless battles, and I still hadn't discovered all its secrets. I knew I could feel where it was. The link between us allowed for that much, but I wasn't sure how far that went.

The other part about it being a weapon wielded by someone else had no bearing on me. I didn't know who Thiassi was. I wasn't even sure what a Jotnar King was exactly, but I could make an educated guess.

If the System was giving out a fragment of his hammer as a Legendary skill, it had to be someone powerful, but how powerful?

It held some of his spirit, what did that mean exactly?

Right now, as it cracked and splintered, it felt like a part of me was cracking and splintering. Like my arm was slowly being ground apart.

Bound to me in frost.

It seemed that the connection was more than just being able to locate it. This was the first time I'd been conscious when my weapon was damaged. The only other time was when the explosion destroyed it but I wasn't awake to feel it.

I was awake now and it hurt.

I'd poured everything I had into the weapon when I summoned it. All I could. My mana, my spirit, and my Laws. All of it. And it was slowly getting pulled apart at the seams.

If this was happening to my beloved hammer, it was happening everywhere. The metal of swords were breaking down. Axes and maces were deteriorating. If this fight continued, everyone would be without a weapon to fight with.

It didn't spell well for what was to come, but that wasn't something I could change and it wasn't something I could do anything about.

I had to push the thought out of my head.

My hammer, my foes, and the battlefield in front of me were all that mattered. Not even the chimes in my head.

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Sinking to intuition over trying and failing to fight off the corrosive blood, I did the only thing that came to mind. I flooded the area with [Desolate Blizzard]. I leaned and pushed on my Ice Law to drive temperatures as low as I could go.

The Blood fought what I was trying to do. It didn't like being altered, even if the temperature around it demanded that it freeze. It laughed in the face of science. It didn't care that I was blasting it with temperatures so low that it should have frozen three times over.

It fought the Ice Mana trying to freeze it. Fought the Law behind the mana empowering such concepts. How it did that was a mystery I couldn't think about right now.

I could only push harder.

Using considerably more power than it should have, the blood around me started to freeze solid. Layer upon layer on my hammer was the first to freeze. My mana coursing through it amplified by its inherent properties.

As I saw that my plan worked, I yanked with [Ice Manipulation]. It wasn't gentle and it wasn't delicate. With the might of my full abilities and mind, I wrenched the blood off my weapon. Another chime.

It cracked apart, some sections trying to stay stuck but I was relentless. I yanked the corrupted ice off in sheets and as new blood froze, I did the same.

The ice fought my influence. The only other time I'd had someone fight for influence over my ice was when sparring with Gabriel.

This was worse.

Still, I couldn't allow it to continue. I wouldn't be powerless without my hammer but I would take a hit. Not least of which because of the pain involved.

I'd been beaten up before. Crushed and speared through. Sliced and cut. Lost a finger, an arm, and an eye. Broken damn near every bone in my body.

Pain wasn't new to me. It was an old friend.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

I used it to fuel my anger. My rage. [Righteous Fury] wanted to activate. It was rearing back and ready to go. It wished to be let out, and I let it.

Its boost washed over me and I started slaughtering all the faster. My legs pumped that much more strength into my swings. My arms dragged my cracked hammer that much faster through the air.

I'd long gotten used to the side effect of the skill, but it was times like this that I let it cloud my head. It dulled the pain, but I let it do just enough to not hinder me.

A mindless brute was the last thing I wanted to become.

I noticed the Orcs getting stronger. The Champions became more and more frequent and arrows from Hunters were flying regularly now. Our side fought back. Arrows and spells were endless in their destruction.

I couldn't see where the front line had gone. The Warriors who had stood at my side either retreated or died. Only a few still stood but I couldn't spare a glance to look back and count.

Austin still lived as his light shone brightly. Jonathan as well as the earth rumbled under my feet. I could feel the steadfast fountain of power he was pulling on. His Anchor was undeniable.

I only feared that it would be literal.

I couldn't even spare thoughts for my family.

Wind howled as I had to pull on it. Arrows that would have landed started to soar by instead. My Wind just enough to blow them off course. The Champions were strong enough that the Wind did basically nothing, but it worked to cut down on arrows impacting me.

I had a few arrow shafts sticking out of me from precise shots and I didn't care to add any more. The shafts were broken to nubs as the fight continued but I could still feel the arrowhead inside me.

It tore skin and muscles as I moved. If I hadn't refined my Body to Stone, it would have been a lot worse but they could only go so deep. My organs were safe and it was a mild nuisance at best, but the pain added up.

Champions approached me in pairs, then trios, then groups. The ratio was now entirely elite that poured out of the Obelisk. The alien construction invisible through the chaos.

Even in the middle of the day, it was impossible to see.

My hammer killed them all.

My Ice couldn't do it. It couldn't stand the onslaught of so many. Not unless I poured more mana than I was willing to in the skills.

My Bloodline burned through my veins as I tapped into more power. [Avalanche] reached its peak and it wasn't enough to keep up with the gradual increase in difficulty.

I was at my peak.

It was as far as I could go.

My Bloodline, [Avalanche], [Fury], all burning as bright as they could go.

The only thing that could any further was [Glacial Presence] and I couldn't waste the mana to get it there. [Avalanche] doubled my physical stats. [Righteous Fury] pushed them 22.5% higher. [Glacial Presence] currently teetered around a 20% boost.

It felt like I was tearing apart at the seams. If my body had been Wood, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it.

A body wasn't meant to be pushed as far as I was pushing. It was why boosting skills weren't stacked to infinity. Why someone couldn't stand in front of 100 Supports and be invincible.

The only reason I hadn't already pulled myself apart was because of my Body of Stone and my high Fortitude. My Bloodline also worked double duty, strengthening and fortifying my body.

Still, it felt like I was on fire even though my entire body was ice cold. Slowly burning out.

My hammer splintered again. My body strained. My mind pushed harder to freeze everything around me.

All sensory details were lost as I had too much to focus on.

I smashed and I smashed and I smashed.

My hammer reaped lives at a speed the Grim Reaper would weep at. It howled as the air struggled to get out of its way. My muscles ripped, tore, and burned to keep its flight steady and destructive.

Frost built around me for no other reason than it had to. My Bloodline plunged my body into sub-zero temperatures and instead of working up heat as I exerted myself, I cooled even further.

As I pulled and pulled on my Bloodline. As my Mana Heart pumped Arctic Mana through my veins. As I pulled on my Law to cool the area around me. It was inevitable.

It was destined.

The corruption couldn't stop it. It could only delay it.

I smashed.

The frost built.

The shouting and cries from others fell away. I didn't even have the reassuring flashes of light that Austin was still alive. I couldn't feel the rumble under my feet caused by Jonathan ripping up the earth.

I couldn't feel the Water drilling down from behind me that my Sister provided.

I couldn't...

I couldn't...

I smashed. I stood my ground and smashed. Crushed. Killed so swiftly and utterly my eyes barely registered the object in front of me before my hammer tore through it.

A cry of primal pain ripped through me. My hammer shattered. The shaft splintering in my hands and the head shooting off in pieces.

The head of ice so cold that it caused frostbite from a touch shattered and went flying through the air in directions unknown. Bodies dropped further away but I couldn't...

My hands bled from the muck covering them. It had pooled and saturated through my ice and gauntlets and the blood now contacted my skin.

My Spirit wavered after my hammer broke. It felt like a piece of me was ripped out and stomped on. The pain was great, but I couldn't...

My hands formed bloody fists and my savagery continued. I didn't need a hammer to leverage my strength. Over 4000 points of it now.

My hands blew holes through chests. They vaporized heads. They wrought the same destruction my hammer would have.

Ice coalesced and formed into a club. I couldn't form it into something better and could only resort to a club. It soared through the are and shattered upon an Orc Champion.

The shards drove deep into its flesh and it fell convulsing to the ground next to the thousands of others.

Another club formed and the same result.

I smashed.

I destroyed.

I stood and broke everything that came near.

The frost around me turned a murky black.

The blood under me froze into disgusting shards of ice.

I yelled and screamed. I roared my defiance to no one and everyone. To the one person that mattered.

Myself.

I pulled on my Anchor. I pulled on my Bloodline. I pulled on everything I could to remain standing.

To remain in front of the tide that would harm those behind me.

But even that wasn't the biggest reason.

I pulled and pulled to stand Victorious when this was all over.

My body destroyed itself slowly because I still stood.