"Die! Die! Die!" Avira hollered at the top of her lungs while repeatedly thrusting out her rapier and tossing her throwing daggers. She even launched a wind spell or two, splitting the spiders in twain as she advanced with madness in her eyes.
Avira chose to transform her fear and trepidation into anger and madness. She barely even looked at her slain kills before leaping to her next target. The young princess was now committing a mass slaughter like a natural born exterminator.
Frost kept close to Avira with his glaive, chakra and magic at the ready. Every so often he'd slay a large group of spiders, limiting how many could swarm Avira at once. He also kept a close eye on Borris and Kiba who were following close behind.
The older dwarf who was donned in plate armour from head to toe was like an impenetrable tank. None of the spiders were strong enough to pierce through his equipment thus allowing him to slowly crush them one by one.
Kiba whose job was to guard Borris simply utilised his massive claws and jaws to rend the attacking spiders apart.
Despite the dozens of the deaths among them the spiders continued to charge with abandon at the intruders, as though they had been starved for weeks.
Frost could easily handle this swarm with the use of his aura but chose to restrain himself, appearing roughly equal perhaps even weaker than Avira, letting her experience the joy of being endlessly assaulted.
Far behind them stood the frost wolf Frost contracted as it was too weak to take part in this battle. Frost didn't want Borris to lose his only mount.
As the battle progressed more and more spiders descended from the mountain as if limitless and eventually upper E-ranks and even a few D-ranks came. These spiders were a fair bit larger and were clearly of the huntsman species given their appearance and lack of webbing organs.
The moment these huntsman spiders appeared they charged at Avira, caring very little about where they were stepping. Several unfortunate spiders were thus crushed under their feet as they moved, one or two were even turned into quick snacks, revealing the brutality of these creatures even amongst their own kin.
Frost specifically took note of the D-rank huntsmen before giving an order to Kiba through their soul connection.
Avira needed to face off against the C-rank iceborne huntsman not these D-ranks. Her current victims were nothing but appetisers, inconsequential given the minimal threat they posed.
Upon hearing Frost's command Kiba turned to his master and nodded his head before taking a dominant stance. The young Winged Glacial tiger tensed his entire body causing it to grow in size. His fangs elongated and a bloodthirsty aura pervaded his surroundings as he took a deep breath. His chest proceeded to fiercely expand and a moment later.
"ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!!!"
A primal roar that was so devasting that the nearby spider infested mountain violently shook. Hundreds of new cracks and fissures formed along the mountain's external rock face while the original fissures grew in size, some even caving in on themselves, crushing the spiders dwelling within.
Kiba's mighty roar froze the battlefield, the weaker F and E-rank spiders had their hearts stop in fear as their gazes naturally drifted towards the powerful tiger.
The recently arrived huntsman spiders were also momentarily stopped, their beady eyes shifting from Avira to Kiba.
Avira who was caught by surprise turned to Frost in confusion.
"Give it a sec." Was Frost's response before a few seconds later.
"Scccrrriiiii!!!" A high pitched roar no less deafening than Kiba's reverberated from deep within the mountain and a couple seconds later Frost, Avira, Borris and Kiba witnessed something that made their skin crawl.
From one of the largest fissures a set of long white haired legs covered in deadly hooks appeared. The rock face cracked apart from the pressure as these several metre long legs pulled out the large body they were connected to.
Even with the size increase of the fissure this monster still brushed against the edges as it came into view and the moment it did Avira could swear that something warm dripped down her leg. This thing was truly the stuff of nightmares.
12 bright scarlet eyes filled with malice locked onto them as drool dripped down from a set of fangs that could easily snap their bodies like dried twigs.
The face alone was enough to terrify Avira let alone the long threatening legs supporting it nor the massive abdomen behind it that likely stored dozens if not hundreds of baby spiders who would like nothing more than to feast on her succulent flesh.
Perhaps her only slight saving grace was the fact that the monster's gaze was focused primarily on Kiba rather than her but still her confidence took a severe blow.
She craned her neck to Frost, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she donned an almost pleading look. Begging him to handle it in her place, the thing was just too frightening.
Unfortunately for her Frost had Kiba let loose a challenge just so she could be the one to confront it.
Towards her pleading he innocently smiled, his expression asking for praise since she could now fight against it without having to handle all its weaker kin.
"Kiba keep an eye on Borris while V handles her prey." He brightly said, not so subtly urging V to take care of it.
"Bastard! Asshole! Bully!" Avira loudly cursed with tears forming in her eyes.
"V don't drop your guard." However before she could continue Frost responded in a very serious tone and the next thing she knew her heart lurched. Her skin formed goosebumps and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
She turned around, her hand already tightly gripping the handle of her rapier ready to stab at whatever was attacking her but….
"Eeeeeekkkk!!!!" When she turned around what she saw was the monstrous iceborne huntsman flying through the air with its legs outstretched and massive fangs primed and ready to bite.
She only looked away for a second or two but that was all it took for it to leapt from the mountains and arrive several feet above her.
Her two eyes met with the huntsman's 12 and her soul trembled. In that moment she froze, she forgot to defend herself, there was no fight or flight reflex only all consuming fear….she thus screamed at the top of her lungs, her teeth loudly chattering as her grip on her weapon loosened and that small amount of golden liquid running down her leg threatened to turn into a stream.
"Haaaaaa." Frost somewhat expecting such a reaction was already moving to protect her. He sighed, a little disappointed with her behaviour on the battlefield but nonetheless he moved with speed beholden to his rank.
Moments before the huntsman's fangs were set to devour little Avira Frost appeared before her with his glaive swinging.
"[Claw of the ice wolf]" He activated one of his trademark skills, summoning large ice claws before his glaive which quickly met with the large spider's fangs and legs, halting it in place for a moment before he twisted his body.
Starting from the ground Frost rotated his feet, legs, hips and then shoulders to slap the iceborne huntsman away with his glaive, thoroughly showing off his physical prowess.
"V GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" The moment he sent the iceborne huntsman flying Frost turned around and landed a fiery slap across the practically catatonic Avira's cheek before loudly shouting.
"Eh?" Avira still in a confused state held her reddened cheek, she felt a searing pain that made her want to cry.
"Where are you right now V?" Frost shouted again while covering his surrounding with ice fire, forcing Avira to focus solely on him and his booming voice.
"….The battlefield." The young princess' eyes rolled around as her mind gradually starting working again. She realised Frost slapped her and was instantly angry but a moment later she also remembered where she was and what happened just a second ago.
'I would have died.' Yes if Frost hadn't intervened when he did Avira would be dead simple as that.
Avira's body violently trembled as a fierce coldness stabbed deep into her heart, she didn't want to die, she had so much she still had to do, she was scared.
Seeing the flurry of emotion Avira was going through Frost felt guilty, questioning his motives in bringing her here and asking her to face off against the iceborne huntsman but then he remembered her talent, her gift and willingness to work hard as well as her ambition.
If she was dead set on fighting for the throne then there would be no small amount of situations in which her life would be in jeopardy. Best to experience such things early while a protector was by her side.
Frost made a decision, and he was going to stick to it.
"V a second ago you died!" He spoke harshly making the young woman jump.
"Are you going to die again? Because I won't always be here to rescue you."
"V! You are on the battlefield and the enemy is before you! Do not show mercy!" Frost roared before thrusting his glaive behind Avira, the blade edge narrowly missing her left ear. Behind her she felt a warm liquid splash against her neck. Frost then retrieved his glaive which was covered in the guts of an ambushing D-rank huntsman.
"Or you will die here." Frost flicked the grim off his glaive before turning his back to Avira. He removed the defensive ring of ice fire, revealing the maddened assault of the spiders.
"So choose Princess of Northrend will you stand and fight or will you become its food?"