Chapter 801: Chapter 800: Odin’s Gift
Eivor held a stone hammer in his left hand and a stone axe in his right, clad in leather armor, with his face smeared in war paint made of black mud like everyone else.
“Odin is with us!!!!”
Eivor shouted loudly, instantly boosting the morale.
The warriors shouted in unison, clashing their weapons together, creating a clanging noise.
Lucina shook her head, unable to immerse herself in their emotions. She tensed her muscles, bent her knees, and with a strong leap, jumped towards the five stone giants.
Even with her incomplete Witch powers, her body and strength were enough to contend with most monsters.
Lucina leaped into the air, landing on the head of the first stone giant. She steadied herself slightly, swung her great hammer down, and with a clang, knocked its entire head off its body.
The stone giant reached out to grab its own headless neck in search of Lucina, who leaped to the ground. She then quickly dodged the stamp of another stone giant and struck its knee with her hammer, breaking its leg.
At this moment, Eivor and the warriors joined the battle, grouping in teams of five to surround the other stone giants, preventing them from gathering together. The warriors focused their attacks on the stone giants’ legs.
“That’s it! Hit their feet!” Eivor shouted.
He circled behind a stone giant, slashing with his dual weapons, then climbed up its back leg to reach its head, smashing it with his hammer.
The group of warriors had experience dealing with stone giants, but their equipment was simple, so several were knocked away immediately. If it were a real Asgardian official army corps, they would definitely have more efficient methods to deal with such enemies.
After taking care of one stone giant, Lucina went to help deal with the others. With her presence, while the battle couldn’t be called smooth, it was certainly a likely victory.
A stone giant grabbed an old soldier, intending to slam him to the ground. Lucina jumped head-on, swinging her hammer against the giant’s chest, flipping it over entirely, allowing the old soldier to escape from its grasp, jumping onto its head and hacking with his axe.
Encouraged by Lucina, the other warriors’ fighting spirit soared. They sang the battle songs of Asgard, fighting with increasing vigor.
“Don’t forget what we have to do!” Lucina reminded.
Eivor smiled; of course, they hadn’t forgotten. Three stone giants had already been knocked down, and two more were preparing to arrive. He raised his arm and called, helping the warriors who had been knocked away earlier, then ran with Lucina towards the direction of the volcano.
The Asgardians’ physiques were not bad, at least much stronger than that of Earth’s people. Being bashed by stone giants and still standing showed their physical strength was at least half as powerful as a superhero.
Two stone giants couldn’t stop 20 people from escaping. The valley’s interior was quite open, and the stone giants weren’t that fast, so they quickly broke free from the Gray Man’s specially arranged gladiatorial area.
At the same time, the Gray Men on the valley saw the unusual commotion below. Without delay, under the command of a Gray Man leader, the archers began to shoot arrows.
Arrows fell from the sky, and Lucina and her group, unable to care about them, could only run forward swiftly. Arrows rained down on the dry, hard mud ground with thuds.
A few warriors were unfortunate and got hit, struck on the back or thigh. Lucina didn’t think much of it; the stone giants’ heavy blows couldn’t kill the Asgardians, so what use were mere arrows?
But then they dropped, collapsing on the ground motionless.
“Run! It’s poisoned!” Eivor shouted.
They ran out from the valley, escaping the arrows’ reach, and came upon a steep dirt slope leading down to a vast expanse of gray, withered forest below.
In the distance was a giant black volcano, lava flowing from its mouth along the black ridges, forming a river of flames at the edge of the forest.
“Is Surter inside?” Lucina asked.
“Usually, but he might not be there now. Ever since Thor defeated him, he hasn’t appeared much.” Eivor replied.
“Thor…” Lucina murmured softly.
Twelve of the warriors survived. They used their hands and feet, sliding down the dirt slope and climbing over black rocks to reach the inner edge of the withered forest.
Lucina didn’t jump down directly; she still wore that stone collar around her neck. She wasn’t sure if she would break into pieces jumping down, so she climbed carefully.
The group of thirteen hid in the forest, running towards the depths. After a while, when they were sure the Gray Men hadn’t followed, they found a slightly concealed spot to settle. They removed their weapons and equipment, then sat on the ground.
“Ah… finally… made it out…” Eivor sat on the ground, looking up at the gray-black sky, sighed deeply.
“We need to take turns keeping watch and keep moving every day. They won’t let us go easily.” The old soldier spoke.
“I know, but for now, we can rest a bit, and first, let’s try to solve our first problem.” Eivor said. The source of thɪs content is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽
“First problem?” The old soldier was puzzled.
Eivor gestured to Lucina, who came over and set her hammer aside.
“Look, her neck, the stone ring.” Eivor pointed to the stone collar on Lucina’s neck.
“This stone ring limits my strength. I can’t pry it open right now, but I’m sure it’s not fused because I heard the buckle when they put it on me.” Lucina said.
“Damn… that’s a slave stone ring… an Asgardian thing.” The old soldier shook his head.
“Did you know?” Lucina asked.
“Of course, but I didn’t mention it because no one can open it.” The old soldier replied.
“Not necessarily; someone must have opened it before. There must be another way.” Eivor shook his head.
“Quick! Help me take this thing off!” Lucina grabbed Eivor.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, girl! This thing was made by Odin. Whoever wears it loses all their strength and becomes weak and powerless… I’m curious how strong you’d be without it?” Eivor said.
“We have no way to deal with it. This thing was only used on Loki once, he managed to unlock it, but we aren’t as capable as him.” The old soldier sighed.
Eivor stared at the stone ring on Lucina’s neck, circling her body to examine it closely, hoping to find a mechanism to open it manually, but after a while, was still at a loss.
“Oh… this really is Odin’s gift to you… it looks like a single piece; even the best blacksmith in Asgard couldn’t forge such a thing.” Eivor said.
“Stop with the snide remarks… I guarantee it’s not a single piece. Maybe the seams are very fine.” Lucina said.
“Can’t see any seams. Perhaps a spell is needed to open it.” Eivor suggested.
“Maybe Loki knew the spell.” The old soldier said.
“Loki…? Now that you mention it, you reminded me.” Eivor suddenly looked at the old soldier.
The old soldier was baffled, unsure of what Eivor meant.
“This thing is here now. How did the Gray Men get it?” Eivor laughed and asked.
“Are you saying that Loki is here too?” Lucina asked.
“Of course. Do you think those stone idiots have the capability to steal from Odin’s treasury? Perhaps Loki brought it here after removing it himself.” Eivor laughed.
“The Flame Kingdom might not be as pretty as Asgard, but it’s a big place.” The old soldier reminded.
“I know, but since Amara got us out, we should do something to help her. Besides, if she can regain her strength, it would be good for us too.” Eivor said.
The old soldier looked at the others and then at Eivor, finally nodding in agreement.