Dungeon of Niflheim

General Jared Bando was the personification of a loyal soldier. Just like his superior Duke Runak he swore to serve the Northrend throne and the Empire as a whole. Thus despite not having much backing from the powerful noble houses situated in the Capital, because of the words left behind by the former Emperor Franz Northrend, in their eyes Avira was unquestionably the rightful heir.

The moment her identity was verified she became his highest ranking liege.

Faced with such unwavering conviction Frost couldn't help but overlap Jared's appearance with that of Findley, their loyalty was frighteningly similar after all.

Thinking of this brought a smile to his lips. "Hahaha truly the living embodiment of loyalty, V's quite lucky."

"…..You should refer to her as Princess Avira or her highness Frost." Jared half seriously insisted but Frost wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"Relax I have permission to call her that plus I'm not a citizen of Northrend." Frost waved his hand on front of his face as though batting away the usual formalities.

"Very well but I'd advise you to be more respectful when in front of the Duke as he may not be as lenient as the Princess and myself." Jared bared his teeth and slapped Frost's back in a friendly manner.

"Ow! Ease up a little." Frost felt a burning pain where Jared slapped him, the old soldier needed to learn how to control his own strength.

Speaking of his strength Frost finally took a moment to view his surroundings. "Urgh" a groan escaped his lips as he took in the debauched scene of carved up Frost giants littered across the now reddened snow.

The C-rank's were cleanly taken care of with a single cut or two, but Bella wasn't quite so fortunate. Bits of her flesh and muscles had literally exploded under Jared's attacks, blanketing the entire area with gruesome chunks. Worst of all was the frozen expression stuck on her deceased head, a face filled with madness and terror.

Frost looked back at Jared who seemed to not have a single blemish or spot of blood on his uniform, even his axes had been cleaned at some point. The contrast was so awkward that it was hard to imagine him being the cause of the nearby devastation….somehow it actually reminded him of his own behaviour as he too liked to be clean.

'Is this how I come across after defeating my foes, walking by with nary a hair out of place or spot of blood on my robes?'

"She was quite strong for a priestess." As Frost was getting lost in his own thoughts Jared spoke up, his eyes focused on the decapitated head with a terrifying visage.

"Such determination and stubbornness….a shame." He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"How so?" Frost asked, curious of his meaning.

Jared removed his gaze from the deceased giant and turned to face Frost. "Within the Frost Giant Tribe only those who reach B-rank can be considered true members of the tribe and once they reach that rank their given official roles." Jared began explaining what he knew of the inner workings of the Frost Giant Tribe.

"To gain the position of priestess one must have a high degree of talent, be female and follow the direct will of their sacred temple which was erected after the ascension of Ymir. Usually their strengths range from the upper early stages to the lower late stages, but this one was actually in the upper late stages, just a step further and she would have been at the peak of B-rank."

'No wonder I wasn't a match for her.' Bella was miles stronger that the Rindar he barely managed kill during the monster stampede. A miracle he lasted as long as he did.

"On top of that she was incredibly stubborn and tenacious, forcing me to use highly devasting attacks to curb her advance….more than half her body's now ruined because of that, haaaaa what a waste." Even this deep into the Glacial mountains it's rare to come across a monster as strong as Bella.

Her corpse was beholden to a plethora of good materials, materials that Icethorne was in dire need of thus for half of it to be ruined it was a substantial loss, a loss that even Jared an A-rank General could understand.

"I see." Frost found his respect for the deceased female giant growing despite their opposed relationship, Nova was a world based on strength after all. He would remember her might and use their battle to fuel his own growth, surpassing her in the end.

Jared and Frost remained silent for a few seconds as varied emotions flowed through their hearts.

"Come on Frost we should get going." Assuming that the health potion had run its course Jared was anxious to return to Icethorne.

Princess Avira agreed to leave with Sergeant Olive after receiving his vow, but she was surely still worried plus given the situation someone of his standing couldn't be away from the fortress for too long.

"Are you not going to retrieve the bodies?" Jared had definitely killed his opponents but there was no sign of him rummaging through them for their held items or usable materials.

"No a patrol team will do that; now follow me the Princess is probably worried sick." Jared was clearly eager to get back so Frost could only follow his lead hoping that these valuable corpses wouldn't go to waste.

"Let's see how fast you can run little Frost." Jared playfully stuck out his tongue before sprinting north, quickly kicking up a trail of snow and dust.

In response Frost who was feeling much better after drinking the high level health potion tensed his legs muscles and charged after the old solider, determined to not fall far behind. It wasn't every day you get to race against an A-rank individual after all.

An hour later Jared (who was jogging lightly) stopped in front of a truly massive gate made of Runic metal. He stood perfectly straight and was breathing normally while Frost who was trailing after him was gasping for air and struggling to remain upright on his trembling legs.

He'd never run so damn fast in his entire life. Every time it seemed that he was gaining on Jared the damn bastard would increase his speed and look back with a provocative smile. And Frost being who he was always replied with more speed resulting in a quick exhaustion of what little stamina remained after his gruelling fight with Bella.

"Not bad, you're much faster than I thought you'd be. Your physical capabilities are quite something little Frost." Jared was all praises for his young friend but in Frost's ears it sounded grating.

"Welcome to Icethorne Frost, the territory of Duke Runak and the northern most bastion of the Northrend Empire." Jared who was about to be swarmed by eager soldiers gestured towards the massive monstrosity that lay before them.

If you considered Furano's or Niflheim's walls tall then the walls of Icethorne reached the clouds. Standing before the southern gate Frost had to tilt his head all the way back if he wanted to see the top.

100 metres that's how tall the damn southern wall was, and that 100 metre wall spanned several kilometres between two rugged mountains that surpassed the cloud line, barring entry and exit for all who dwelled within the inner regions of the Glacial mountains.

The Northern wall that faced the inner regions was even taller, thicker and wider than the south reaching close to 130 metres in height, lying over 15 kilometres further north making the fortress of Icethorne that lay between far, far larger than Furano.

Intimidating didn't even begin to describe the feeling Frost was currently experiencing. The fortress of Icethorne was clearly built for a single purpose…war.

"Impressive right?" Jared reacted the exact same way when he arrived decades ago. For a young soldier trained in the civilised Northrend it was hard to comprehend the need for such an insane fortress, but he quickly learned. Not even a month after his arrival he was thrust into his first true war, a war that was unlike any other he had ever seen.

Now whenever he gazed upon the mighty walls of Icethorne he actually felt that they were rather lacking.

Frost who was like a deer in headlights could only mutely nod his head in agreement. All his previous pride in developing a new outer wall for the Niflheim city-state came crashing down, his walls weren't even a 5th of the one that now stood before him. He felt as though he was just a child playing at Lord.

"General Bando!" A group of soldiers lined up in formation before Jared and saluted him with their arms crossed over their chests.

"At ease, did the Princess arrive safely and has the patrol teams left to attend to our deceased and the bodies of our enemies?" Jared nodded his head in reply, as a superior officer he wasn't required to salute someone of a lower ranking.

"Reporting sir, the Princess and her allies arrived safe and sound with nary a scratch, his lordship the Duke has been informed and will make his way to the palace as soon as he is able." Icethorne was quite a big place and Duke Runak was a busy man, even if it was the princess' arrival he couldn't simply drop his current tasks.

"Regarding the patrol teams Sergeant Gregory and Sergeant Thomas have been sent in response to your request sir. We should have the bodies within our walls before nightfall." A muscular human woman standing over 2 metres tall responding to Jared with fervour in her eyes. She couldn't believe that she was actually getting the chance to speak to her idol.

"Good work Captain, ensure that our deceased and injured comrades receive our highest level of care. Sergeant Olive's squad has achieved great merit and must be rewarded for their efforts."

"Sir yes Sir!" All the solider loudly called and stamped their feet with passion and loyalty in their hearts.

"Alright then, dismissed." Jared waved off the soldiers before then turning back to Frost.

"Once again welcome to Icethorne, Frost."