758 Chapter 758: Beware of the skies
Frost's perception of time slowed down to a crawl as he saw the four massive Skarpions attack from all four directions.
Their use of aura, their timing and the still ongoing attacks of their lesser kin made their sudden ambush truly threatening.
The chakra armour he just finished forming would barely last a single second against such a well-coordinated attack.
His mind analysed the situation as fast as possible, churning through possibilities and eventually coming to a disappointing conclusion.
'We can't withstand it.' No matter what action he took, whether he charged to one side and attacked or dramatically increased his defences one of them would suffer a severe, debilitating injury at the very least.
And to be wounded to such a degree here, was a literal death sentence.
As the milliseconds dragged out and the four leaders of the Skarpion tribe moved as one to rend apart Frost and Kiba with their mighty pincers and possibly inflict them with paralytic poison from their stingers Frost bit his lower lip and showed an expression of struggle.
'Fuck it! if we don't leave now our defeat is certain.' Knowing that his decision was merely the lesser of two evils (for now) Frost quashed his reluctance and gave an order to his battle mount, his partner in this ongoing onslaught.
"Fly!" He spoke or rather communicated just one word to Kiba through their soul bond.
And in response, not even questioning his master's decision Kiba with an ever growing smile flapped his massive wings and quickly took to the skies, climbing higher and higher until he was well beyond the reach of the Skarpion leaders and their kin.
Kiba flew high in the air, an action Frost strictly forbade every chance he got. To enter the skies in the Glacial mountains was equivalent to suicide at least for those that didn't already call the place home or who were strong enough to survive against those that did.
Kiba was neither of those according to the words of the Glacial mountains' residents. Even in the external regions, if one wasn't a natural flyer and or moving in a substantial group then they'd need to be at least B-rank if they wanted to have a modicum of security.
In the inner regions it was supposed to be even worse, unless you were at the late stages of B-rank or better yet the peak then you'd be nothing but a tasty snack for those that held dominion in the skies.
Kiba ascending to the point that he was tens of metres above those at ground level was a naked challenge, an intrusion upon the home ground of another.
Unfortunately despite the clear danger and risk Frost saw no other option. If they stayed on the ground the four Skarpion leaders would whittle them down, attack as one and overwhelm the two of them if given enough time.
The rock had been kicked and now it was out for blood.
[Fools] The Skarpion tribe leader coldly mocked, finding the daring of Frost and Kiba to be utterly foolish. No one dares enter the skies, especially here near the door to the realm of Niflheim.
However despite his internal mocking the Skarpion tribe leader was glad, the intruders had voluntarily ran into the maw of another, thus removing the risk to his life and the lives of his tribe.
It was a shame that so many of their weaker kin died in a fruitless struggle but ultimately it was a price he could accept.
His younger comrades, the early stage B-ranks however weren't quite so satisfied with the result. They wished to devour Frost and Kiba themselves, to personally tears them apart and feast upon their impudent flesh.
The youngest, the leader's granddaughter was rearing back in an attempt to leap at the fleeing perpetrators and would have done so if her grandfather hadn't harshly slapped his oversized claw upon her head.
[Foolish girl do you have a death wish?]
[But grandfather!]
[Anything that enters those skies is killed or have you forgotten what dwells there!] The old Skarpion roared in its racial tongue, his fear and anger clearly on display.
He and his granddaughter and every high ranking member of their tribe knew full well what lived above them. A fearsome creature that could easily kill them even if they worked together.
The female B-rank shivered as she remembered the form of that dreadful creature. Her father was eaten by it years ago, he was too far away from the others and was unfortunately targeted.
The beast was hungry and had chosen to feast upon Skarpion. The last she saw of her father was him screeching in agony as that monster grabbed his stinger with its claws, tore off his left pincer with its teeth and dragged him into the skies, never to be seen again.
'How could I forget?' She was so lost in her rage and anger that she forgot one of their tribe's cardinal rules.
But even so she was all amped up for a fight, her muscles tensed for a mighty blow, yet the targets had fled. What was she going to do with all this pent up frustration.
[Launch your poison] One of the other early stage B-ranks feeling just as irritated thought up a compromise and without waiting to hear the opinion of their leader starting firing dollops of concentrated poison at Kiba who was still ascending into the air at this point.
The whole dialogue between the Skarpions happened over the course of a few seconds so Frost and Kiba were still within range, at least for now.
[Oh good idea] The other two early stage B-ranks agreed with their comrade and starting launching balls of poison into the air.
Such actions forced Frost and Kiba to ascend even higher in an attempt to get out of range. Poison fired by a B-rank monster especially an enraged one was not something to take lightly.
Frost tried to dissipate their poison with his ice fire, but the process took too long, the most effective solution was to evade.
[Ahh you fools don't go too far and provoke that monster] The old Skarpion leader didn't stop the actions of his younger kin, he even joined them in their long distance attacks but made sure to sternly warn them not to go too far.
Firing poison into the air could be seen as an affront, a challenge to the beasts that reigned above them. The last thing the Skarpion tribe wanted was to incur their wrath.
Fearful of such an eventuality the B-rank Skarpions limited their attacks to keeping Frost and Kiba airborne and away from their territory rather than simply firing with the intent to kill.
Frost who was doing his best to block any attacks that Kiba couldn't avoid and who had his senses turned up to high gear noticed this shift and knew that it didn't bode well for them.
"Kiba fly now! As fast as you can!" He didn't bother using the soul connection this time and simply shouted in desperation.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
"Garow!" [You don't need to tell me twice.]
Though Kiba's senses weren't as strong as Frost's he too could feel as sense of being watched, being observed from a distance by something far stronger than himself.
He now knew why his master strictly forbade him from ascending beyond a certain height.
Frost completely ignored the antics of the Skarpions as he tucked his body close to Kiba's and urged him to fly in a desperate bid to reach the secret entrance into Niflheim before the thing the Skarpions feared made its move.
Unfortunately "Squawk!" luck was not on their side.
Moments after Kiba started to madly flap his wings and pick up some rather impressive speed, angry high pitched screeches entered their ears. A group of bird like monsters had noticed their intrusion and moved to intercept them.
Their immediately revealed their auras and well developed bloodlust showing that their strength was no weaker than that of the Skarpions.
"Faster Kiba, fly faster!" Frost looked behind and saw shadows in the distance, flying with ease against the blizzard.
"Grrrrr!" Kiba snarled as he flapped his wings with even more force. Through their soul connection he asked his master to toss another stamina potion down his throat so to not run out of strength at the worst possible moment.
Frost wasted no time retrieving another vial from his storage ring and pouring the highly concentrated contents into Kiba's large mouth as they flew.
He had already drunk a stamina potion not 20 minutes earlier so the effects wouldn't be as good but who cared about efficiency when death was hounding your ass.
With his entire focus on fleeing Kiba was able to keep the approaching bird monsters at a safe distance. The enemy was gaining on them but barely, at their current rate they could stay ahead of them for an hour maybe two.
Frost was just about to let out a breath of relief when….
"ROOOOOAARRRR!!" A truly earthshattering bellow reverberated across the region. It was so loud and so heavily influenced by aura that Frost felt blood dripping from his eardrums.
"What the fuck is that!?"