Dungeon of Niflheim

General Bando gazed down at Frost with warmth in his eyes, happy to see the young man again after so many months. Because of him he was able to bridge the gap and ascend to the A-rank, a level respected by all.

From his perspective he owed a rather substantial debt to the young man thus he handed him a badge, a token that represented the War Ursa Battalion and the vaunted fortress of Icethorne. With it in hand Frost would be seen as an ally of the Dukedom, a friend that would receive substantial benefits when in their territory.

Friendship with Icethorne and the War Ursa Battalion was something many people lusted after but even so Jared felt that his gift was rather lacking thus he eagerly anticipated the next time he and Frost would cross paths.

Now months after their first meeting the two men were reunited and Jared had the perfect opportunity to pay back his supposed debt.

'….Jared Bando.' Though his vision was obscured his hearing was clear. It took him a few seconds but eventually Frost remembered the owner of the voice.

An old solider from Furano, a man of the same generation as Douglas and Ryuu yet instead of choosing the adventurer route he instead chose to join the military. Stay tuned to empire

They met during his first foray into the Glacial mountains, a brief yet memorable meeting between the experienced and the inexperienced. Back then he was a Major in the War Ursa Battalion and a person who had reached the upper levels of B-rank. But now it was clear that he'd improved a great deal since then.

Just from his presence alone Bella who Frost had struggled so hard against was shivering in her skin, wary of even the slightest of his movements.

Bella's fear was actually much greater than Frost surmised, the reason being that she didn't recognise Jared's face. All the Generals under Duke Runak were well known throughout the larger monster tribes and nations within the Glacial mountains. This was because they needed to know everything about their enemies' deadliest weapons.

The only exception was the newest General, the 'rookie' who had just recently rose to prominence.

Jared's face was unknown, but his reputation wasn't. The so called 'Rookie General' was vicious, aggressive and hungry for achievements, wherever he went a trail of blood would follow. Since she did not recognise Jared's appearance and given the way her body was reacting she could only assume that he was Icethorne's newest General, the 'Ravenous Beast'.

Bella's assumptions were quickly proven as Jared's tender expression quickly vanished, replaced with a bloodthirsty grimace as he turned to face her. The aura of an A-rank soldier with hundreds perhaps even thousands of deaths under his belt burst forth like a tsunami. The invisible pressure wrapped around the frost giants forcing them all to kneel in the snow.

Each and every one of them felt the spectre of death lean over their shoulders and whisper in their ears as its claws grasped around their hearts making every single beat a struggle. For most of them this was the most fear they'd ever experienced in their entire lives, the pressure of someone at the A-rank was no joke.

The only one able to stay on her feet -albeit barely- was Bella. Her instincts were screaming to either run or submit but thankfully this wasn't the first time she'd experienced such pressure thus she didn't completely collapse.

With a cracking clench of her jaw the scarred woman who stood over 12 metres tall, gazed dead ahead at the 2 metre tall bear beastman as though he was the giant and she was but a frail antlike existence.

"Lord General what has brought someone of your status all way over here?" Though she stuttered a few times Bella spoke directly to Jared in a calm and diplomatic manner, specifically highlighting the fact that someone of his rank and status had no business interfering with their machinations.

Despite being so close to Icethorne territory and attacking people clearly heading towards it, there was still no need for a General to interfere.

A-ranks were seen as the maximum level of strength a nation could muster thus it was usually agreed upon that beings such as themselves would refrain from interfering with lower ranking fights. A-ranks were so strong that lower ranked opponents would struggle to even raise their blades against them let alone hurt them in any way.

This unwritten pact between the nations and major tribes of Nova mainly aimed to prevent A-ranks from slaughtering young talents thus preventing them from reaching their level. Bella was highlighting this pact hoping to dissuade Jared from making any foolish moves. Icethorne was already in muddy waters, it didn't need her frost giant tribe added to the mix.

Jared frowned slightly and reduced the strength of his aura pressing down on Bella.

"A priestess of the inner temple….you can certainly be considered protected under the pact but…." His aura sharply increased causing Bella to cough up blood. "There is a limit to you arrogance!"

"Aghh!" The C-rank frost giants in the surroundings roared in pain as they violently coughed up blood and struggled to remain upright.

"You!" Bella screeched, enraged by Jared's arrogance. She believed that with the mentioning of the pact he'd back off a little and they could come to some sort of negotiation but instead he directly punished her subordinates with his aura.

'What the hell is going on? Is he a mad man?' Her mind spun in all directions as she tried to ascertain what was happening

"Priestess of the inner sanctum you've made two mistakes."

"Huh?"

"First you attacked someone you really shouldn't have!" His aura increased another fold forcing Bella to her knees and in response she quickly glanced at Frost, wondering what sort of identity he held.

"..Bu…" Even if he was a high ranking noble this aggression was uncalled for.

"Second…." An evil smile grew on Jared's lips before he continued. "The General you came across was me and I really don't respond well to threats!" An intense killing intent honed in on Bella making her blood run cold.

'This was not how things were supposed to play out, how did hunting a random group of intruders end up with an A-rank General from Icethorne confronting us?' Bella felt that the world had flipped upside down, never in her wildest dreams did she believe that a General from Icethorne would get involved in this mess and even display unbridled killing intent towards her.

'Who the fuck are you!' Her gaze once again drifted towards Frost who she assumed was the reason for this whole scenario. She had completely forgot about the old dwarf and young female human.

Jared as an A-rank individual normally wouldn't have much cause to interfere in such a battle let alone get personally involved but given that the princess and future Empress of Northrend was the one Bella and her subordinates attacked the pact could no longer restrict his actions.

Making a move on a member of the royal family was tantamount to declaring war thus Jared was free to do as he wished with the would be assassins.

Of course there would likely be some political backlash against Icethorne by the frost giant tribe, a scenario Duke Runak could really do without given Icethorne's current predicament, but Jared didn't care all that much.

The frost giants had been a thorn in their sides for long enough, the attacks on their trade caravans, messengers, the occasional patrol and now their Princess, enough was enough. It was time to put these monsters in their place.

In Jared's mind all it meant was that there'd be an additional enemy to deal with, more blood to decorate his axes.

The whole situation was a bit of shame really, if the General that arrived wasn't Jared or if Bella had just been a little more respectful she could have lived but now, there was nothing she could do.

Jared moved closer to the kneeling woman with his axe in hand. His aura and killing intent were at their maximum level, the 'Ravenous beast' wasn't bluffing.

"Arghh fuck you dog of Runak! Kill him!" Seeing that there was no way to negotiate Bella erupted with her maximum power. She coated her entire body in aura and bellowed out with a primordial roar that helped buff her subordinates, allowing them to fight against the pressure emitted by Jared.

Bella and her frost giants took hold of their weapons and charged towards Jared, but the man only smiled evilly in response.

"Not bad but you're far too slow." He quietly muttered before vanishing like a ghost.

"Urgh!"

"Argh!"

"Oorgh!" In the following moments Jared flashed between the C-rank frost giants, slashing their throats with his aura imbued axe. The mighty giants barely managed to catch sight of his shadow before a geyser of blood burst from their necks bringing them down.

C-ranks were no match for an A-rank but what about Bella, a monster that was at the very least in the upper grades of B-rank and of a powerful bloodline.

Her body was covered in cuts thanks to her fight with Frost, but her strength was all there as was her wit. She knew she couldn't hope to fight evenly against Jared so the moment she saw him move to attack she turned and leapt at Frost, aiming to take the little bastard hostage.