Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 480: CDLXXX. The Broken Arm

Gunnar made an astonished face and continued to approach him, slowly, knowing that he was in no hurry and already thinking of his victory.

"After the sixth blow you managed to stand up with your own strength... not bad, I must admit. But my skill will continue to take effect as long as I want, weakening your body continuously. Give up and avoid being ridiculed... this duel already has a winner" the Jotunn said, stopping in front of Dag and looking down on him with a malevolent expression.

Soon after, he lowered himself towards him and grabbed him by the blond hair, raising him to his feet.

With one of his huge hands, he shook his head and threw him across the arena, causing him to crawl to the ground as if he was a puppet.

"What the heck are you doing, boy? Come on, unleash your dark power!" Kranus thought, watching the fight closely and knowing that Dag was not working hard as the crowd of warriors continued to cheer and encourage Gunnar.

"Now enough, it seems to fight against a training dummy! Commander! Here's your mighty warrior! The warrior who will help us defeat the Claws Of Fenrir and who will fulfill the prophecy! There he is, in all his power!" the giant yelled, looking at his commander and opening his arms towards him, leaving his double-headed axe on the ground and calling himself the winner.

When he noticed the impassiveness in Kranus's expression, who had no intention of declaring the duel over, Gunnar approached Dag again with an evil expression painted on his face.

He moved his body to one side with one foot and Dag, who had been left for a few minutes with his face on the ground, found himself belly up.

Both of his weapons fell out of his hands, and Gunnar did not hesitate to grab the Giantbane and lift it, looking at it with some interest.

"All this mess for this little toy, Kranus? I didn't think you'd prioritize this nonsense!" Gunnar shouted again, dropping the Giantbane to the ground under the tearful eyes of Freydis, who, trying to keep Thalos calm, continued to hope for a comeback by Dag, increasingly damaged by his opponent's constant attacks.

"Don't you dare... touch my axe again..." the young Master whispered, with a thread of a voice.

"Uhm? What did you say?! Are you still talking?!" the giant answered, approaching Dag again and leaning down towards him, pointing the hole he had instead of his ear towards his mouth, to hear his last words.

"Your filthy hands... they are not worthy..." 

Continuing to speak softly, Dag clenched his fists and activated Call Of The Berserkr, unknowingly to his enemy, who mostly listening to the screams of the crowd, failed to notice that the muscles of Dag's arms and chest were swelling and that his veins were pumping three times the blood.

" to touch my Giantbane!" he yelled, rising from the ground and punching Gunnar's chin, which was in the right position to be hit with no chance of defending.

*boom* 

A much stronger shockwave than before rumbled inside the arena, generating a gust of wind that lasted a few seconds.

The crowd of soldiers gasped and no one dared to speak, looking at the giant's huge body suspended more than 4 meters high.

With only one powerful fist, while his face was completely covered in blood, Dag had managed to lift that enormous weight and make it fly like a leaf.

When Gunnar returned to the ground, he unleashed a heavy thud, which raised a great deal of dust.

When the cloud began to dissolve, Kranus and all the rest of the people there looked smug at the scene: Dag was still standing on his feet and despite his body being totally injured, his muscles had grown considerably and the veins of his arms were so swollen that they throbbed. 

The eyes were injected with blood, both of them, even the purple one, which seemed almost demonic.

In front of him, Gunnar's body was still standing on the ground, having suffered serious damage as a result of the fall from that height: the weight of his bulk, in fact, had contributed to damage his joints and bones, changing the fate of the duel.

Dag said nothing, merely walking towards the Jotunn.

He put his foot on his huge belly and walked over it, climbing over his body and reaching the Giantbane, which was there on the ground. 

He grabbed his axe and for a moment, the crowd around him whispered something, as if they feared that the young Master was going to kill their Master of Arms.

Dag, on the other hand, placed both the axe and the hammer on his belt when he noticed that Gunnar had not completely lost consciousness and the fingers of his hands began to move again.

"Get up and fight" Dag said, stepping back and clenching his fists in front of him, ready to continue.

Gunnar, knowing that his fame depended on the moment during which all his soldiers were watching him, made an immense effort and stood up, looking at Dag with bloodshot eyes, ready to hurt him.

"Your arm... are you sure you want to go on?" Dag asked, who despite the still active Call Of The Berserkr, managed to speak with a calmness that left everyone speechless.

After that statement, the audience's gaze of the arena fell on Gunnar's left arm, which was bent in an unnatural, surely broken way.

The elbow joint seemed completely split, so much so that the forearm had undergone a complete twist, rendering the whole arm unusable.

"Grrr... ggrrraargh!" Gunnar shouted, charging Dag and trying to grab his head with his other hand, as his broken arm dangled behind him, leaving a trail of blood in the air.

Dag looked down and waited for Gunnar to be close enough to throw a second punch on the side of his jaw, followed by another in the middle of his neck, which took his breath away.