Conquering His Cold Heart

Chapter 703 Chapter 703 Welcome to Icethorne (end of volume 10)

General Jared Bando was the personification of a loyal soldier. Just like his superior Duke Runak he swore to serve the Northrend throne and the Empire as a whole. Thus despite not having much backing from the powerful noble houses situated in the Capital, because of the words left behind by the former Emperor Franz Northrend, in their eyes Avira was unquestionably the rightful heir.

The moment her identity was verified she became his highest ranking liege.

Faced with such unwavering conviction Frost couldn't help but overlap Jared's appearance with that of Findley, their loyalty was frighteningly similar after all.

Thinking of this brought a smile to his lips. "Hahaha truly the living embodiment of loyalty, V's quite lucky."

".....You should refer to her as Princess Avira or her highness Frost." Jared half seriously insisted but Frost wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"Relax I have permission to call her that plus I'm not a citizen of Northrend." Frost waved his hand on front of his face as though batting away the usual formalities.

"Very well but I'd advise you to be more respectful when in front of the Duke as he may not be as lenient as the Princess and myself." Jared bared his teeth and slapped Frost's back in a friendly manner.

"Ow! Ease up a little." Frost felt a burning pain where Jared slapped him, the old soldier needed to learn how to control his own strength.

Speaking of his strength Frost finally took a moment to view his surroundings. "Urgh" a groan escaped his lips as he took in the debauched scene of carved up Frost giants littered across the now reddened snow.

The C-rank's were cleanly taken care of with a single cut or two, but Bella wasn't quite so fortunate. Bits of her flesh and muscles had literally exploded under Jared's attacks, blanketing the entire area with gruesome chunks. Worst of all was the frozen expression stuck on her deceased head, a face filled with madness and terror.

Frost looked back at Jared who seemed to not have a single blemish or spot of blood on his uniform, even his axes had been cleaned at some point. The contrast was so awkward that it was hard to imagine him being the cause of the nearby devastation....somehow it actually reminded him of his own behaviour as he too liked to be clean.

'Is this how I come across after defeating my foes, walking by with nary a hair out of place or spot of blood on my robes?'

"She was quite strong for a priestess." As Frost was getting lost in his own thoughts Jared spoke up, his eyes focused on the decapitated head with a terrifying visage.

"Such determination and stubbornness....a shame." He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"How so?" Frost asked, curious of his meaning.

"Welcome to Icethorne Frost, the territory of Duke Runak and the northern most bastion of the Northrend Empire." Jared who was about to be swarmed by eager soldiers gestured towards the massive monstrosity that lay before them.

If you considered Furano's or Niflheim's walls tall then the walls of Icethorne reached the clouds. Standing before the southern gate Frost had to tilt his head all the way back if he wanted to see the top.

100 metres that's how tall the damn southern wall was, and that 100 metre wall spanned several kilometres between two rugged mountains that surpassed the cloud line, barring entry and exit for all who dwelled within the inner regions of the Glacial mountains.

The Northern wall that faced the inner regions was even taller, thicker and wider than the south reaching close to 130 metres in height, lying over 15 kilometres further north making the fortress of Icethorne that lay between far, far larger than Furano.

Intimidating didn't even begin to describe the feeling Frost was currently experiencing. The fortress of Icethorne was clearly built for a single purpose...war.

"Impressive right?" Jared reacted the exact same way when he arrived decades ago. For a young soldier trained in the civilised Northrend it was hard to comprehend the need for such an insane fortress, but he quickly learned. Not even a month after his arrival he was thrust into his first true war, a war that was unlike any other he had ever seen.

Now whenever he gazed upon the mighty walls of Icethorne he actually felt that they were rather lacking.

Frost who was like a deer in headlights could only mutely nod his head in agreement. All his previous pride in developing a new outer wall for the Niflheim city-state came crashing down, his walls weren't even a 5th of the one that now stood before him. He felt as though he was just a child playing at Lord.

"General Bando!" A group of soldiers lined up in formation before Jared and saluted him with their arms crossed over their chests.

"At ease, did the Princess arrive safely and has the patrol teams left to attend to our deceased and the bodies of our enemies?" Jared nodded his head in reply, as a superior officer he wasn't required to salute someone of a lower ranking.

"Reporting sir, the Princess and her allies arrived safe and sound with nary a scratch, his lordship the Duke has been informed and will make his way to the palace as soon as he is able." Icethorne was quite a big place and Duke Runak was a busy man, even if it was the princess' arrival he couldn't simply drop his current tasks.

"Regarding the patrol teams Sergeant Gregory and Sergeant Thomas have been sent in response to your request sir. We should have the bodies within our walls before nightfall." A muscular human woman standing over 2 metres tall responding to Jared with fervour in her eyes. She couldn't believe that she was actually getting the chance to speak to her idol.

"Good work Captain, ensure that our deceased and injured comrades receive our highest level of care. Sergeant Olive's squad has achieved great merit and must be rewarded for their efforts."

"Sir yes Sir!" All the solider loudly called and stamped their feet with passion and loyalty in their hearts.

"Alright then, dismissed." Jared waved off the soldiers before then turning back to Frost.

"Once again welcome to Icethorne, Frost."