"Only those who comprehend the implications of war can be capable of bearing arms."
Akame
.....
And I was sure it could all be over in seconds if I sent the named ones, especially with Gold and Gorr. I'm sure they both could hunt ice bears just as easily.
'Whoa...'
I watched the battle with great interest.
The infantry's fast regeneration. To me, this was a fight where shadow beasts were just beating the shit out of Ice Bears.
The mages with goblin shamans had powerful firepower.
The might of Shadow Soldiers with two Hobgoblins exceeded my expectations. The ice bears were soon overwhelmed and were pushed all the way back to the caves. It seemed like the battle was over--
ROOOOAAAAR!
With a roar that shook the eardrums, something giant appeared from the cave.
"That's..."
It was an ice bear three heads taller than the rest and also much wider.
ROAR!
With a single swipe of its claw, many Shadow Soldiers were swept away.
BOOM!
Craaaaack!
Even their quick regeneration speed could not keep up.
Crack!
Smash!
"Looks like the alpha made his appearance..."
Of course, I knew that a den of bears would have an alpha bear. But the thing's size and power surpassed my expectations.
ROOOOAR!
The giant ice bear slapped away the Shadow Soldiers and ran toward me. Even with its size, its speed far surpassed the speed of the best Lynx.
As it covered the distance between us in seconds, it attacked me with its super sharp icy claws.
Bam!
Bam!
ROOOOAR!
Then suddenly, the bear crashed into the snowy ground. It was confused as to what just happened. The Ice Alpha looked down and saw that its torso wasn't there, and it was bleeding heavily.
The ice lifted its gaze a little bit and saw its other half lying on the snow with a huge axe. Once again, the Ice Bear looked up and saw something it never thought it would ever see. There was a huge black bull standing on its two legs, looking so angry that it felt its soul would leave just from fear.
"Now he realized that he had been sliced in two by the huge axe wielded by this enormous beast. How such a big thing moved faster than him and he didn't even realize was beyond him.
I looked into the eyes of Ice that still had some life left in him. His eyes were filled with despair when he saw Gorr, who looked mad because the Ice Alpha tried to attack me. Before both of us knew it, he was already split into two by Gorr.
And I didn't even command Gorr to attack him; he did it on his own, which told me one thing: he was more sentient than most of my shadows, and he had a loyalty that ran through his very being.
"Gorr, you know you don't have to do that," I said as I looked at him and saw that the angry face was gone, replaced by the look of a puppy who had done some good work and now wanted headpets.
'That goddamn look…'
I scratched the side of my head. He fought faster than I had hoped. I wanted to see the power of the Alpha, but now the appearance of the Alpha had been completely torn down.
But there is no point in regretting it now.
"Well, you did good work. I didn't need to dirty my hands for him!"
The giant ice bear's body was cleanly separated from its lower half. Before it could hit the ground, Gorr grabbed both ends of the body. The beast approached me, then knelt before me.
He placed the bear's split body in front of my feet, as if offering a trophy to his king.
The remaining ice bears were thrown into chaos after losing their leader and were quickly routed by the soldiers. The battle was over. The results greatly satisfied Jinwoo.
Shadow Infantry (Lv. 8)
Shadow Infantry (Lv. 8)
Shadow Mage (Lv. 8)
Shadow Poison Snake (Lv. 5)
Shadow Gorilla (Lv. 3)
Shadow Spider (Lv. 3)
Shadow Goblin Shamans (Lv. 5)
Shadow Dire Saber Tooth Tiger (Lv. 4)...
The soldiers had leveled up here and there, as did most beasts. Since they were the ones who took down the most Ice Bears, they got the most levels. The Shadow Soldiers themselves were my skill, but I didn't gain any level. As I looked at my progress bar and saw, I was far from leveling up.
"But above all else,
"Arise."
You've succeeded in Shadow Extraction.
You've succeeded in Shadow Extraction.
You've succeeded in Shadow Extraction.
I had earned new companions.
ROOOAR!
Including the alpha, I had selected three ice bears. From their shadows, a large black mass rose.
'I expected a bear wearing armor...'
The reality was a little different.
The 'Shadow Beasts' that arose maintained some semblance of a bear but at the same time had a form that seemed to shift between solid and gas. A black steam continuously spewed from their figures.
'The visuals are a bit lacking, but still, they're those ice bears' shadows.'
Their strength and capacity for destruction. I would surely have a use for it. Suddenly,
rooooar
My ears perked up at a cry sounding from a distance. It was not just one or two.
'Looks like there are more dens in the area.'
It was getting a little late in the day. I'll check it out tomorrow.
A bright smile appeared on my face.
...
Pov Switch.
"Uwaaaaak!"
"Kuk!"
His teammates were screaming left and right. Kim Cheol's eyes were wide open.
'There is no way!'
That he, Kim Cheol, would fail like this! He was someone who would become Baekho's elite. He had even received special training for that goal. And now, he was going to fail?! The A-ranker could not accept it.
Their party had endured the cold and hunger and fought with yetis. After that were the ice giants. They had lost two of their members but managed to prevail against them too. The Raid appeared to be going smoothly.
But.
But!!!
The moment they had triumphed over the ice giants, the Ice Slayers ambushed them from all directions, as if they had been waiting. Those bastards had been watching their party, waiting for their stamina to hit rock bottom. What followed was a massacre. The Hunters fell, one after another, in an instant.
"L-leader!"
A fallen Hunter stretched a bloodied hand toward Kim Cheol. Kim Cheol stepped backward. An Ice Slayer appeared out of nowhere and slit the throat of the Hunter on the ground. While the man gurgled and choked on his own blood, the Ice Elf raised his head toward Kim Cheol. The A-ranker screamed,
"U-uwaaaah!"
He turned around and ran into the forest. The forest had ice bears? Those bears were nothing compared to the yetis, ice giants, and the Ice Slayers. Kim Cheol ran with all his might. Watching his figure disappear into the distance, the Ice Elves raised their bows and took aim. But before they could fire, an Ice Elf raised his hand and stopped them. It was an ice elf with hair flowing down to his waist. The other Ice Slayers lowered their bows.
'...'
"The long-haired figure pointed and gestured for Kim Cheol to follow. One by one, the other Ice Slayers disappeared from sight.
Kim Cheol leaped through a bush.
"Pant, pant, pant."
His lungs felt like they were on fire. The image of the White Walkers, smiling while slaughtering his teammates, was still fresh in his mind. The man looked down at his hands. The frostbitten hands were losing their sense of touch. His toes had long since lost all feeling. He couldn't fight properly in his current condition.
'This damn cold... No, if we hadn't starved for the past few days, we would've won.'
To the bitter end, Kim Cheol could not acknowledge his failure. While muttering to himself, Kim Cheol raised his head.
'Anyway, how deep am I into the forest?'
He looked around. The smell of blood poked at his nose from somewhere. The man followed the smell. It was close. Moving through the trees, he came upon a clearing and could not believe his eyes.
'How is this possible?'
In front of the caves were over 20 ice bear corpses, all placed in a way that would keep the place hot. He had wondered why he hadn't come across a single bear!
"What the?"
He studied the corpses. All the corpses had traces of being cut with something. Some of them also had traces of being burned. Sung Jinwoo and his party flashed across Kim Cheol's mind.
"It can't be... those bastards did this?"
No, Kim Cheol shook his head. The wounds on the ice bear corpses were made with a sword. To his knowledge, Sung Jinwoo's party did not have a sword user.
'The two E-rankers didn't even have a weapon.'
There was no way they had survived here. Then there was only one other conclusion.
'The Ice Slayers are also here!'
His heart sank. He had thought that he managed to get away from those elves. To think that he had wandered into another group of them. With great fear in his heart, Kim Cheol held his breath and turned back in the direction he had come from.
Further. Faster.
He wanted to get out of the Ice Elves' territory.
... At the same time.
*Jin-Woo's POV*
"Wuwaaaaang!"
An ice bear fell with a death rattle. The Shadow Soldiers swarmed its body and made sure it was dead.
"Alright."
I was in a different bear den. It had been five days since we entered the Gate. I had gone through three different bear dens since then.
'Looks like I've taken care of every bear in this forest.'
Thanks to that, my army's levels had risen quite a bit. At first, it required two soldiers just to hold back an ice bear. Now, a single soldier was capable of winning one-on-one against the beast. I was satisfied. As the abilities of my soldiers rose, the beasts got used to their new bodies and power, and how to fight. I started assigning them different roles.
"I had 96—yes, most of the names were once out of my reach, but I will assign them later. 86 of them would be assigned to combat, while the other ten would be assigned to the collection of magic cores and corpses. Now that I didn't have to lift a finger to fight or collect drops, life became incredibly convenient for me.
'I don't sense any more Ice bears.'
I should travel deeper into the forest, as I am sure there are beasts more powerful than ice bears, like the yeti I encountered yesterday. Maybe I could find some beast skills related to ice, like Freeze breath or Ice Shards.
Once I got rid of the Ice Elves—no, I should subdue the boss and the five elves, and then travel to the place where they live. Maybe I could find their local village. After all, they must be living somewhere. Maybe I could find a female Ice Elf to engage with. But this is another world, and we are the ones who entered forcefully.
So Ice Elves must have a way to reproduce. I shook my head; it wasn't time to think with my libido.
But even after this, I couldn't get rid of my thoughts about how a Female Ice Elf would look. Would she be as beautiful as the stories describe? How would it feel to be intimate with her? Would it be cold or hot?...
These questions continue to bug my mind... I shook my head again and slapped myself; don't think with your libido, Jinwoo.
There is still about a month to go, at worst several months, until the Dungeon Break. I have no intention of waiting for that to happen.
'Gotta kill that arrogant elf too.'
A mere magic beast that taunted me. Its arrogant smile just annoyed me.
...
*POV Switch*
Kim Cheol's nose detected the smell of cooking meat from somewhere.
Sniff, sniff.
The man's sense of smell had become sensitive due to his hunger. After entering the Gate, all he had to eat for the past few days was a single rabbit. His mouth watered at the smell of food.
Gulp.
The Ice Slayers might be eating somewhere.
'But if there are only a few of them...'
He was confident he could take care of them and steal the food. It was a misguided confidence born out of hunger.
'Let's check it out.'
Kim Cheol did his best to quiet his footsteps and carefully approached the source of the smell. Finally, he came upon a clearing where Jinwoo's team was. Kim Cheol's eyes widened.
'What?'
The smell of meat was coming from their campfire.
'How are they still alive?'
However, he did not see one of the E-rank Hunters.
'Pft. He took the lead with such confidence. He must've died first.'
That much was obvious. But what wasn't obvious was the scene in front of him. How to... analyze all this? Something was weird.
'Wait, their clothes...?'
Warm clothes, blankets, tents, and other equipment entered his sight. They were clearly prepared for the environment.
'How the hell?'
While flustered, Kim Cheol's gaze became fixed on something.
It was a piece of bread next to the meat. There was no way they had found or made bread here. It must've been prepared beforehand. His confusion quickly turned to anger.
'These fuckers...'
Grind.
Kim Cheol ground his teeth. These fuckers had all of this with them and walked away on their own.
'If my hands weren't frozen, no, if only I wasn't hungry, I could've easily taken care of those Ice Elves.'
Thinking about how they greedily hoarded something that should have been shared with the Raid team, Kim Cheol could not help it anymore. He leaped out into the clearing.
"You bastards!"
Park Heejin jumped in surprise and stood up.
"Kim Cheol? How did you get here?"
To be honest, it was hard to say that he was a welcoming sight. It was because the man's eyes were filled with murderous intent. Kim Cheol did not hide his hostility.
"Our party failed to clear the Dungeon because we lacked proper equipment and food. So how the hell are you sitting here with all this equipment and food?"
"That's..."
Park Heejin could not answer. She feared that bringing up Jinwoo would turn Kim Cheol's wrath towards Jinwoo. She did not want to betray the savior of her life.
"From the start, I didn't like the way that man looked at Sung Jinwoo."
Park Heejin closed her mouth. Seeing her defy his will, Kim Cheol's rage increased.
"I don't consider every one of you an accomplice. Who hid all this? I'll spare the rest of you."
The veins in his neck bulged.
"WHICH ONE OF YOU HOARDED ALL OF THIS AND ENDANGERED THE LIVES OF YOUR COMRADES?!!!"
His shouting echoed loudly throughout the forest. Kim Cheol realized he would have to up the ante.
"I'm going to count to three. If no one speaks up, I'll consider all of you equally guilty."
Han Songyi tugged at Park Heejin's sleeves.
"U-unni..."
Park Heejin hugged Han Songyi. Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong also gulped while sweating. Kim Cheol was an A-ranker. Even if they combined their powers, they could not hope to win against him. Still, not one of them betrayed Jinwoo.
"One."
Kim Cheol unsheathed the sword at his side.
Schiing-
"Two."
The Hunters still held their silence.
How dare mere low-level Hunters disobey him? Kim Cheol's anger flared.
'How dare you look down on me...'
His eyes turned red with murderous intent.
First would be this woman. The one who betrayed his team and decided to join the weaklings. Park Heejin would be the first to die.
'Yes. She must've been hiding something. That's why she left my team.'
That was the only reason he could think of. Kim Cheol stepped up to Park Heejin and finished his countdown.
"Three."
Park Heejin closed her eyes.
Suddenly.
"Four."
Bam!
Something struck Kim Cheol on the back of the head, and the force behind it caused the man to fall face forward onto the ground and slide forward for a few feet.
All the Hunters' eyes opened wide.
"Raid Leader!"
...
*Jin-Woo POV*
I struck with such force that my fist was still smoking. I exerted enough strength that he would soon perish due to internal bleeding in his head. So even if something changed, he still would.
I spoke, appalled,
"Who's the fucker that really endangered the lives of his comrades?"
"Jinwoo oppa!"
Han Songyi's eyes were filled with tears as she greeted me with joy.
"Raid Leader!"
It wasn't as much as the girl's reaction, but the two male Hunters also greeted me happily. Park Heejin sighed in relief after realizing I was here. However, I did not have the luxury to return their greeting.
"Shh."
I put a finger to my lips. Halfway rushing to me and giving me a hug, The four Hunters froze up at my gesture. Park Heejin asked, "W-what's wrong?"
I glanced over at the passed-out Kim Cheol. "Kim Cheol was followed."
I felt a powerful presence coming from the forest. Now was not the time to be concerned about Kim Cheol. The real deal was coming from the distance.
Shooo-
Realizing I was looking directly at them, the Ice Slayers released 'Stealth' and showed themselves. There were about 50 of them. One of them stood out from the rest. I stared at the Ice Elf with long hair flowing down to its waist on top of a horse.
'...He's the boss.'
Compared to the ice bears or even the Ice Elves next to him, the long hair was giving off an oppressive amount of pressure. If this wasn't the boss of the Dungeon, who else could it be? It had been a long time, the boss also observed me.
["So it was true. The trash ended up being useful after all."]
["What did you say?"]
....
"I am writing a fighting sense that is longer then 10000 words." - Remark.
So world travel has started to the Akame Ga Kill.
I am currently writing it.
Now to confirm the plot points Esdeath is part of the Harem and other are Shadows.
Now if can suggest me some good shadows both humans and danger beasts it would be great help.
Thanks