Dungeon of Niflheim

"Though I'm loathe to admit it you're right Frost. I have my ambition while you…are already spoken for." Avira sighed and shook her head before looking into Frost's eyes. She rather regretted not coming to an agreement with Maya and Daki beforehand but unfortunately she couldn't predict the future.

"I'm glad you understand V, and I'm sorry." Frost let out a relieved breath and apologised knowing that his teasing and flirtatious remarks probably didn't help the situation.

"It's fine, I'm sorry to." Avira also apologized knowing that she also held some of the blame.

She reluctantly got off Frost's lap and straightened out her clothes.

"Goodnight Frost….and thank you for being so candid." She spoke softly, her voice slightly trembling, her heart was in pain, but she knew that it was the right decision.

"No problem V, sweet dreams." Frost knew she was vulnerable but comforting her anymore would only worsen the situation.

Avira thus made her way back to her tent where Kiba was still sound asleep. Once in bed however she whispered in a voice only she could hear.

"Get the Empire then get Frost." Seems she wasn't ready to give up on having him as her man.

When morning came Frost and Avira acted the same way they normally did, as if the events of last night never happened. Borris was none the wiser given that he slept through the whole thing.

Once Frost removed the blockading ice wall the group set off, continuing their journey to the fortress city of Icethorne. Today the danger would stem from a less than friendly enclave who were akin to bandits, demanding high tolls from anyone passing through their lands. Those who refused to pay or who carried luggage too appealing for them to pass up would be killed, simple as that.

Frost understood and even supported the idea of taxes, but he vehemently refused to be extorted by a bunch of arrogant bandits. If they deigned to demand tribute from him then they'd quickly find themselves on the receiving end of his glaive.

During the first few hours the group ran across more of the lizard ape monsters who were likely the species that lost their homes to the white clawed scorpions. Most of them were violent, and thin, clearly starving after being driven from their home. Since speed was the aim and Avira had already proven herself Frost and Kiba simply slaughtered any packs that barred their way.

Taking only a few seconds to both kill them and retrieve their magic crystals.

Once it passed noon however they entered the claimed lands of the local enclave/bandits. Frost wore an irritated expression by this point. His heart was internally torn, he both wanted to encounter these greedy individuals while at the same time hoped to be left alone on their journey.

Alas it seems that the moment he wished for an obstacle even partially fate decided to give him one.

"Halt!" Just as the group was passing through a valley between two cliffs they heard the loud bellow of a man.

Seconds later the owner of the voice appeared along with a dozen of his buddies, who quickly surrounded them, leaving not a single escape route.

"Tsk!" Frost loudly clicked his tongue, his irritation building.

"V looks like we've encountered your next opponent."

"Huh?" Avira who was positioned in front of Frost turned around and questioned what he said.

"They're going to ask us to pay a toll and I'm not willing to do so. So we'll fight, which one do you want to face?" Frost grinned with malice, briefly looking like a bloodthirsty demon as he eyed the walking bags of DP. He was never fond of bandits.

"Quick talking amongst yourselves, hand over 20 gold coins, your mounts and…the woman and you can live." Not knowing the danger he was in the brutish bandit that stood just shy of 2 metres tall and carried a massive, spiked club demanded not only payment but Avira and Kiba.

His keen eyes weren't fooled by Avira's bundled up disguise. In his mind a woman only disguised herself so heavily for one of two reasons. The first being beauty, any particularly attractive woman around these parts would quickly find themselves targeted by men such as them, thus the need to obscure their allure.

While the second was because their identity was rather sensitive, whether that meant they were a noble or a criminal it mattered not to these men. As long as they took care of the witnesses then they could play around with her as much as they liked regardless of her background.

The foolish bandit's demand made Frost appear even more vicious. His expression turned cold as his eyes scanned their surroundings.

13 bandits, all buff men with obvious battle experience. Their weapons though nothing special were covered in dried blood, clearly left as a means of intimidation unfortunately they chose the wrong targets.

"Kiba keep an eye on Borris and the frost wolf, V I'll leave the leader to you." Frost boldly announced, caring very little about alerting the bandits.

With a wild smile on his face he leaped from Kiba's back and landed directly before one of the gnarly looking bandits. A beastmen of jackal tribe who had long limbs and prominent canines. His weapon of choice was a pair of bloody hatchets but before he could even get a chance to use them Frost's hands covered his ears and….

Crunch! Squelch!

Frost brutally ripped the man's head from his shoulders resulting in a high pressure geyser of blood erupting from his exposed neck. An instant kill.

"Eh!" The remaining bandits were shocked silly, their comrade was killed instantly they didn't even manage to see what happened. One minute Frost was on the back of his mount talking and the next a blood fountain was erupting from where their friend's head used to be.

Frost wasted very little time, once he tore off the jackal beastman's head he immediately used it as a weapon. Another bandit that wasn't much stronger than the jackal was thus smacked in the face by his friend's head, breaking his nose and obscuring his view.

"Too slow." Those two words being whispered into his ear were the last words he ever heard as Frost's glaive cut him in two with a fierce rising slash. The sudden splitting resulted in a veritable bursting of blood. The red liquid quickly died the white snow as well as Borris and the frost wolf who were innocently standing nearby.

"Tsk I just cleaned my armour." Borris loudly clicked his tongue as he tightened his legs around the frost wolf, ordering it to attack. He was also not a fan of bandits. He saw them as scum, trash that was lower than monsters, he held no reservation when it came to ending lives such as theirs.

Avira however though no longer a virgin when it came to true battles was still rather reluctant when it came to facing non-monsters. The bandits may be awful criminals that would do unspeakable things to her, but they were still people in her eyes. A thought that caused her reactions to slow and her aggression to falter.

"V get moving!" It wasn't until Frost roared with a voice tinged with aura that the young woman swiftly departed from Kiba's back, landing before the bandit leader with her rapier drawn.

The bandit was completely flabbergasted by Frost, his heart lurched in fear, but the moment Avira appeared before him with her thin weapon poised to strike he couldn't help but stand his ground. From her eyes he could tell that not only was this woman a true beauty but that she had never taken the life of a person. He couldn't help but smile at this realisation.

It didn't matter how large the difference in strength was as long as he appealed to this naïve woman he'd be able to turn the tables. He'd done it many times before.

A young noble woman passing through their territory with a contingent of guards wasn't exactly common, but it wasn't uncommon either. These young women were arrogant, thinking that the world was their oyster.

With their training and equipment it was impossible for them to lose to mere bandits so of course upon seeing the rabble on the back foot they'd take to the field themselves and gain all the credit for cleansing their filth from the world.

And of course the moment the prim and proper noble lady took to the field, away from her guards the bandits would suddenly go on the offensive, quickly taking hold of the said women at the expense of a few bloody injuries.

At this point the woman would be their hostage, entirely at the bandits mercy so what would these skilled men do? They'd order the guards to lower their weapons and promise safety only to slaughter them in the next moment.

The formerly proud and arrogant young noble would then be ravished by her attackers, her innocence spoiled, her soul and mind fractured from the abusive torment. The woman would never be heard from again, transported back to their hideout to function as a breeding cow until the day she died or managed to get promoted to a bandit herself.

A common tale that people especially noble women would hear about before they travel somewhere dangerous, but they would never take heed of the warnings, claiming that they would never fall for such ploys.

The bandit leader felt that Avira was of these noble ladies and that Frost and Borris were her assigned guards. As long as he managed to take her hostage then Frost would be powerless to act.

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