Everyone looked toward the direction of the thunder.
At the far end of the road, a group of upright bear-men were letting out rolling roars.
They wore leather only over their shoulders, while dense clusters of branches stretched from their backs.
"It's the Ursine!"
The warriors in the front row shouted.
The Ursine were not born looking like bears.
Instead, after these believers offered their souls to Volibear, they would develop the form of white bears.
Strange branches would also grow from their backs, making them look a little ridiculous.
Caleb had seen in his previous life that polar bears were apex predators at the top of the food chain.
When you could hear their low growls, you had better hurry back to your group's camp.
As long as you could hear one, it meant it could definitely smell you.
The Ursine here had probably gained not only Volibear's mighty power, but also an extremely sharp hunter's instinct.
"Quick! Spread out!"
Sejuani did not take any chances and immediately roared to the people around her.
The warriors were staring at the Ursine, and after hearing her words, they hurriedly scattered to the sides.
However, the road's width was limited. With tall frozen mountain walls blocking them, the warriors could only temporarily hold their positions.
The first wave of lightning that came crashing down was not aimed at them, but at the mountain above them.
Rocks came plummeting down, and the decision to scatter took effect at precisely this moment.
The warriors were still members of the Winter's Claw, after all, and had experienced several battles.
Calmly watching the falling ice and stone from above, the warriors all kept their composure, studied the gaps, and avoided the first round of attacks.
All except one person.
Olaf's back suddenly took the largest falling rock head-on.
However, the falling stone was the one shattered into pieces by his broad back.
"What a reckless meathead."
Seeing this brute refuse to dodge or move aside, Caleb could not help sighing.
"Eat my axe!"
Olaf hurled the axe in his hand toward the Ursine from afar.
But the leading Ursine caught the axe known as Undertow with one hand.
"Traitors!"
The Ursine seemed furious. The Winter's Claw had once formed a brief alliance with Tak.
However, the Ursine's ways were far too brutal and bloody.
Captives who did not submit to Volibear were all executed in the most painful ways.
Their blood would be smeared across the earth.
When the Winter's Claw cleaned up a battlefield, it could only be considered gathering up everything that could still be used.
But when those Ursine cleaned up a battlefield, they could truly be called fanatical.
Because of that, the Winter's Claw had never again considered allying with the Ursine afterward.
Such vicious methods of battle were difficult even for the Winter's Claw to accept.
The Ursine placed both claws at his sides, as though preparing to call out loudly.
"I hear them calling to Valhir!"
A massive shadow appeared behind the clouds, also a giant bear with both claws spread wide.
Compared with an ordinary massive Ursine, it was many times taller than even the mountain.
"The storm answers!"
Lightning burst from the hands of the leading Ursine, while the branches on his back were also filled with lightning.
A massive thunderstorm was born from the first extremely thick bolt of lightning.
First came the first fork, then the second, the third…
The thunderstorm enveloped Sejuani, who was still commanding the formation. In the instant she looked back, Sejuani and Bristle could no longer avoid the lightning right in front of them, and she was blasted away.
This thunderstorm was nothing short of a disaster for the entire team. Their already scattered formation became even harder to maintain under such violent and efficient ranged attacks.
"So strong… Looks like my own skill really is minor league compared to this…"
Caleb's figure suddenly flashed out from the mountain rock.
Caleb had naturally used Sky Splitter before as well, but during the Black Mist incident in the Twin Cities, his arcane energy had been limited, so he had not dared to call down lightning at full force.
Judging by this Ursine's appearance, this strike also counted as him risking everything.
"Die!"
Youmuu's Ghostblade struck instantly. With a single use of Mortal Steel, Caleb cut off the leading Ursine's arm.
Caleb's sudden ambush naturally caught these Ursine completely off guard.
After all, who could have imagined that an enemy would appear from an ordinary-looking wall?
The Ursine had thought that once the thunderstorm covered the enemy team, victory would be in their hands.
The swordsman who suddenly came charging out proved otherwise.
The lightning that should have continued attacking the warriors now all fell around Caleb instead.
Snow and ice sprayed up. Caleb's figure wove between the somewhat heavy Ursine.
Then came his second Mortal Steel. Caleb could feel the wind coiling around his blade.
"Next comes my favorite part."
Caleb's figure once again vanished into the mountain rock. The lightning chasing him was nowhere near as fast as his movement through the stone.
"Up you go!"
When Olaf charged over to pick up the axe he had thrown, he saw this scene.
Caleb's two blades swept up a violent gale, blowing the entire group of Ursine in front of him into the air.
Then his figure flickered in midair, keeping the Ursine suspended where they could not turn.
It was as if a spiritual wind were holding them aloft.
"By Ornn's beard, what a shame you aren't becoming Sejuani's oathfather!"
Olaf let out a hearty laugh, picked up the axe on the ground, and leapt high into the air.
When Sejuani crawled out of the snowdrift, the expected lightning strike did not come.
She looked around in some confusion. The warriors were all standing guard beside her.
"Those two have already charged ahead," Zev kindly reminded her from her side.
Since the Warmother had awakened, Zev also rushed forward.
His claws were already sharp, but at this point, Zev was one step behind Olaf and Caleb.
Olaf had come seeking death, not the status of oathfather.
But as for Caleb, who had come from afar, that was hard to say.
After all, even when Sejuani, with her long white hair, climbed up from the snow in confusion, that unyielding strength in her still made it difficult for Zev to look away.
"Hahaha, brother, that move of yours is pretty damn good!"
Olaf's twin axes swung constantly, raising a storm of blood among the Ursine.
"The earth should be red with blood. That is how it is meant to look!"
The leading Ursine called upon lightning again, but the figure beyond the mountain did not appear this time.
"I'm here, I'm here!"
Zev was somewhat reckless, but he did have some power.
"Go, go, go, kid! This is the perfect chance to win glory!"
Olaf was still laughing wildly. It seemed that this was not yet the time for him to die.
Zev's twin claws immediately reduced the pressure on Caleb's attacks.
The speed of Mortal Steel kept increasing, and Caleb was still handling things with ease, whether it was Mortal Steel or Last Breath.
These two combat techniques required almost no mana from him.
As long as he drew his sword, he could feel the surging wind swirling around the blade's edge.
"Dual blades one moment, single blade the next. What a pain…"
From time to time, Caleb had to tuck Doran's Blade back at his waist. Personally, he preferred fighting with a single blade.
However, Mortal Steel was indeed a dual-blade sword technique, so using it was extremely troublesome.
But Caleb could clearly feel that as his mastery of the skill grew more refined, another wisp of fierce wind had been added to the faint cherry blossoms surrounding Youmuu's Ghostblade.
"But it really does fit this place perfectly!"
Caleb could not help laughing.
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