Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 478: CDLXXVIII. The Biggest Opponent

"Take this, I brought you a weapon" he said, handing over a huge spiked bat, more than a meter and a half long, consisting of a small tree trunk with iron spikes brutally inserted into it and protruding outwards.

"Not bad, boy. To be a novice, I have to admit that you look pretty threatening now... but I've faced Jotunns stronger than you. I hope that after our fight you will understand what are the points that you need to strengthen. Standing still, I can already see that you tend to leave your right side uncovered and..." 

Before Dag could finish speaking peacefully, the young Jotunn grabbed the weapon from his colleague's shoulders and violently waved it at his opponent, trying to strike him by surprise, screaming at him.

Dag, with a slight backward movement, dodged the shot and stopped talking for a moment, stepping back and preparing for the next attack. 

Oddly enough, Kane lifted his mace from the ground and did not immediately attack, merely watching Dag and studying his movements, trying to figure out how to counter his high movement speed.

"Well, brother... I see you understand that blindly attacking won't get you anywhere... I like you" Dag continued, smiling mockingly, but appreciating the attempt by the Giants Of Ymir's soldier.

Kane waved the spiked bat in one direction, feinting a frontal attack and then attacked sideways, trying to hit his opponent on his side.

The shot was so fast and accurate that Dag could not dodge it in time and was forced to parry it.

*boom*

When the bat hit the hammer's stone head, a loud noise was released and the metal spikes crawled against Dag's weapon, which deflected the blow and slightly unbalanced the soldier, unintentionally emitting an imperceptible electrical discharge.

"Wow! Nice shot! You almost hit me! And it was also powerful! Keep it up!" he exclaimed, not hitting the young warrior on purpose, giving him a chance to keep fighting.

After regaining his balance, Kane stood still, walking sideways and moving his head, trying to focus on Dag, who after parrying the blow with the hammer, had stunned him.

"So?" the young Master asked, ready to continue.

As soon as that word came out of his mouth, the giant dashed towards him and charged a downward blow, intent on hitting Dag from the bottom and knocking him to the ground, ending the fight.

Dag, however, dodged the shot again and soon after placed a hand on Kane's back, making a small jump and resting his foot on it.

Giving himself the push, he jumped backward, landing on his feet and pushing the Jotunn forward, forcing him to put his spiked mace on the ground to avoid falling.

"You're still too slow and predictable... you need reinforcement. Come on, which one of you wants to join us? It's just a demonstration fight, don't be afraid!" Dag exclaimed again, inviting another warrior to turn into Jotunn and help the brave young Kane.

"I'll do it!" a voiceover from the top of the arena said.

Dag turned in that direction and noticed that the voice came from Gunnar, who along with Kranus had reached the meeting place, continuing to nurture a certain hatred for him, after what had happened during the private meeting.

"Gunnar, what are you saying? Master Dag is doing a demonstration for our students, you don't need to intervene..." Wrage sighed, hoping that his colleague would change his mind and avoid making bad figures.

As he and Kranus began to descend the stairs that would lead them to the center of the arena, the soldiers began to shout his name: "Master Gunnar! Master Gunnar! Master Gunnar!" 

"Eheheh! Did you hear them? Step aside, Wrage... our young students want to see their Master in action against an Okstorm rookie!" Gunnar exclaimed, whose words full of contempt towards Dag once again annoyed Kranus.

Dag looked at the Commander of the Ice Giants and nodded his hand, trying to make him understand that he was not worried and that the situation was still under control.

Kranus's respect for Dag grew exponentially, and the ice mage avoided standing between the two challengers, hoping that in that way, the resentment between them would decrease.

"Okay, okay! That's enough, guys... thank you for the support. You, Dag!" Gunnar called, pointing his finger at the young Master, under the frightened gaze of Freydis, who sensed nothing good. 

"Hey, Gunnar" he replied, in his usual quiet tone.

"Do you agree to challenge me in the form of Jotunn or do you prefer to avoid making such a bad impression to my men? Hahah! You still have time to step aside and let us train our warriors as we have always done and collaborate in some other way!" the Master of Arms continued, who as soon as he set foot in the arena, untied the piece above his armor, dropping it to the ground and remaining bare-backed, ready to begin the transformation.

"Why should I refuse? I welcome your challenge but remember... you don't have to use all your power. As Wrage was trying to say before you interrupted him, this is just a demonstration" Dag added, dismissive of the fact that with those words, he would make the figure of a coward in front of the warriors that were watching them.

"Perfect then. If I win, you will walk away from the arena and approach the soldiers only if Commander Kranus officially summons you... if you win, you will train our warriors with us, becoming their temporary Master" Gunnar replied, clearly explaining the conditions that bound their impending fight. 

Dag nodded, looking at Kane and telling him that they would continue their friendly challenge at another time.

Gunnar stepped forward, stopping at the geometric center of the arena and looking up, breathing deeply and closing his eyes, to concentrate.

Meanwhile, a group of warriors ran inside one of the warehouses surrounding the black stone structure and all together carried a giant axe, taller than Gunnar himself, leaving it at his feet.