Golden eyes peered through the night. Seeing this, I slowly took a step back, which elicited a low growl from the creatures lurking in the darkness. In my groggy state, I had left my axe behind at camp.
This mountain was home to only a few creatures. Only one of them traveled in large groups…
"Frost wolves."
I couldn't outrun them. There were just too many. Controlling my Máttur flawlessly, I used it to create a dagger made of ice in the palm of my hand while I slowly retreated backward. Turning my back would be a death sentence.
From somewhere in the darkness, a wolf lunged forward. I quickly covered my hand with ice and used it to block the attack. Like clockwork, the frost wolf sank its sharp fangs into my hand; its teeth creating small cracks in the ice coating my hand. This gave me the chance to sink my dagger into its neck and slit its throat in one swift motion.
The wolf fell to the ground whimpering as its body spasmed from the shock. Almost immediately, I could hear a loud commotion coming from behind me, off in the distance.
If I had to guess, the rest of the pack was attacking the camp.
Another wolf lunged forward, this time from behind. It was just one wolf while the rest were in front of me. Defending myself would mean turning my back to the ones in front of me to stop the wolf attacking from behind.
These wolves are smart.
I channeled my Máttur once again, directing it to the balls of my feet and stomped on the ground. Immediately, an ice spike shot out and impaled the wolf before its fangs could get to me. As a result, the mark on my hand grew slightly, and I could feel a slight rush of power.
It still wasn't enough. I was on the edge of a breakthrough, but my progress seemed to slow the closer I got to the first stage.
Seeing that their strategy had failed, the other wolves kept their distance. There were about 12 of them left. From their movements, I could tell they were all planning to attack all at once, but just then…
"EUUK~"
A loud, piercing scream erupted from behind me, stopping the wolves in their tracks. Turning around, I quickly grabbed the object flying toward me. It was my battleaxe, Sun-Kisser, thrown to me by none other than Toke.
"Thank you, big guy. I owe you one."
"Euuk~" he responded as he took his stance beside me.
The gentle giant wielded a warhammer which was twice as big as me. A dark purple tattoo flowed from the back of his hand and flowed halfway up to his elbow, signaling that he was at stage 1 of his assimilation.
The dark purple tattoo also signified that he was under the patronage of Odin. Those blessed by Odin had 2 paths before them: the path of a sorcerer or the path of a berserker. Most blessed by Odin become berserkers.
The berserker path was a path that increases your physical ability to inhuman levels while as a sorcerer you get access to Odin's magic.
Activating their berserker forms increases their physical strength significantly, makes them more violent, and resistant to pain. The drawback is that they sometimes lose control of themselves. This was the perfect ability for Toke, not only because of his size but because of his gentle nature.
Usually, Toke wouldn't even hurt a fly, but the moment he takes his berserk form, all his restraints are gone.
Toke was breathing heavily; warm air escaping his nose and mouth resembling steam. His eyes were a pale shade of purple.
The fact that he responded to me showed he was in control enough to know I wasn't his enemy.
Come to think of it, a pack of wolves attacked the camp and his first thought was to bring me my weapon and come to my aide.
Realizing this, a small smile appeared on my face.
"Watch my back, and I'll watch yours, okay, big guy?"
"Euuk!"
The wolves bared their fangs and charged at us all at once. The first wolf to close the distance had its body explode into blood and guts the moment Toke slammed down his hammer. The sound was reminiscent of a blacksmith striking steel.
At the same time, I decapitated another wolf that lunged into the air toward me. The cold steel cut through the beast's flesh and bone with ease, creating lines of blue streak in the air as it moved.
Their bodies fell as I moved through the battlefield. Even though I was wielding a battleaxe, I moved with grace and precise movements rather than hacking my way through. Almost like an assassin.
This fighting style was an anomaly for someone who fought with an axe. An assassin fighting style while using a battleaxe wasn't common, but it was one I had developed after training with Dag.
Ideally, my aim was always to attack from behind and I mostly relied on my agility rather than brute strength.
Clearly, my build and fighting style were meant for a sword, but being able to execute it perfectly using a battleaxe would catch almost anyone off guard.
It was the strangeness of this fighting style that I was relying on to give myself the upper hand while going up against an unknown enemy. By the time they've adapted to how I fight with the axe, they'll already be dead.
The cold and darkness was my element allowing me to move around seamlessly through the darkness. It felt as if I was at the most comfortable place I could be.
My figure was but a blur as I moved through the snowy forest toward the remaining wolves, who looked to be on the verge of retreating. I leaped onto a branch and moved through the trees until I was in position.
With lethal precision, I dropped down from the tree and buried my axe into the back of the neck of the leader of the pack. The massive wolf keeled over, but before its body hit the snow, several blue lines were drawn in the air as the remaining wolves' heads fell with him.
"Euuk~"
Toke approached me as I skinned the wolves and relieved them of their fur, claws and teeth.
"I'm going to sell most of these and use the rest to make a nice fur coat for you. What do you say, big guy?"
The fur he had now could barely cover him properly, and at times I could see him shivering in the cold. Since I wasn't affected by the cold, I'm planning to buy a leather pouch for myself instead. I needed something to carry my essentials.
Toke nodded.
"Euuk~"
"I'll also take their teeth and claws in case I can sell them to any sorcerer who needs it for alchemy."
Toke waited patiently until I was done collecting what I needed. When I was done, he took the pile of fur and rested it on his shoulder, implying that he wanted to be the one to carry them.
As we walked back to the camp, a strange silence enveloped the freezing forest. It worried me since men of the north weren't known to be quiet.
Suspicious, I held Sun-Kisser in the palm of my hand as I slowly crept forward toward the camp. Toke moved behind me like my shadow.
Parting the branches that obscured my view, my eyes widened as I witnessed the state of the camp.