ryethenovel Chapter 34 [Frost and Fire in the North]
Chapter 34 [Frost and Fire in the North]
Lynch bid farewell to the ruins that witnessed his rebirth and revenge.
He officially embarked on his journey to the northern dwarf mountains, heading towards the two faint calls from the battle axe and his body.
The winter wind in the hills blows against the skin, dissipating the little warmth available and causing a painful sting.
There are no ruins to protect him here, nor any "divinely bestowed strains" within reach; all that accompanies him are the endless gray-white snowfields and rugged black rocks.
The place is desolate; death is the only melody here.
Leaving that cramped ruin, Lin Qicai truly began to experience the vastness and cruelty of the world for the first time.
The confidence brought by the sense of new life was completely worn away by hunger and cold on the third day after leaving the ruins.
He possessed the strong physique of an orc, but lacked the survival skills to match it.
The modern soul named Lynch, upon seeing a plump snow hare in the snow, immediately thought of setting a trap.
He clumsily built a makeshift animal trap out of stones and dry branches, then hid behind a rock and waited expectantly.
As a result, the snow hare merely sniffed warily before hopping and skipping away from the trap that was full of human ingenuity yet completely undisguised.
The orc body named Ger roared as every cell in its body smelled the scent of the snow hare.
Rush up, pounce on it, and get your calories and protein in the most direct way.
Lynch tried to suppress the urge.
But when the hunger in his stomach burned like fire against his stomach wall, the scales of reason began to tip.
On the seventh day, he could no longer bear it.
He abandoned the useless traps and, following his orc instincts, dug out a nest of hibernating snow rats under a patch of snow.
He picked up one of the still-struggling snow rats and looked at its sharp teeth and terrified black bean eyes.
Lynch's stomach was churning, and a wave of nausea surged up.
However, it belongs to the oral cavity of the goer, and it instinctively secretes saliva.
Finally, he closed his eyes and stuffed that bloody, mangled life into his mouth.
The warm liquid burst open in my mouth, thick and with a fishy, sweet taste...
Lynch began to truly accept his new identity as "Gale".
He is no longer a transmigrator with an orc body.
He was just an orc struggling to survive.
They learned to use the orcs' keen sense of smell to track prey, and to use their strong limbs to dig snow caves in the snow that could provide temporary shelter.
The crisis was also approaching amidst the vastness of daily life. It was when I passed by a valley surrounded by a herd of snow sheep and dealt with one that I had just hunted, and we encountered it unexpectedly.
A bear suddenly appeared; at least according to Geer's understanding, it was a bear.
It was larger than any bear Lynch had ever seen on Earth, and its greyish-white fur made it blend perfectly into the snowy landscape.
Those icy blue, gem-like eyes didn't see Lin Qi as a threat at all; rather, they saw him as prey.
Its forepaws sprang forth sharp claws, seemingly polished from obsidian, reaching lengths of half a meter.
The Frostblade Bear simply crouched down, used its hind legs to propel itself, and its massive body transformed into a beam of light as it pounced towards him.
During the long journey, Lynch learned to surrender himself to his physical instincts, holding his battle axe across his chest.
"clang--"
The immense force sent him flying, tumbling across the snow for over ten meters before coming to a stop.
The knuckles of his hands, gripping the battle axe, felt like they were breaking, and the web of his hand was cracked from the impact.
The Frostblade Bear merely shook its head, and the battle axe, powerful enough to split rocks, left only a negligible white mark on its claws.
A pure clash of strength resulted in a complete defeat.
The orc body that Lin Qi had previously possessed was utterly ineffective against the true predators of this land.
Before he could catch his breath, the Frostblade Bear's second wave of attacks came again.
A more rapid claw strike.
The claws made a loud cracking sound as they sliced through the air, and Lin Qi only had time to tumble to the side in a disheveled state.
Even so, the edge of the claw still grazed his side.
The tough animal hide was easily torn open, revealing three deep wounds that exposed bone. Warm liquid instantly stained the white snow beneath him.
The excruciating pain and blood loss caused Lynch's vision to begin to darken.
In that critical moment, he remembered the power of the battle axe in his hand. Yes, I am a human, not a beast, and I still have a weapon.
Then he began to recall the actions he had taken when fighting the two orc warriors.
Thinking is completed in the blink of an eye; the true use of this battle axe is to be driven by willpower.
Facing another attack from the Frostblade Bear, Lynch steadied himself and focused all his consciousness and energy on the battle axe in his hand.
The axe blade has become a concept, an invisible blade capable of dismantling, dissecting, and deconstructing everything.
He sidestepped the Frostblade Bear's massive body.
At the same time, the axe blade in his hand sliced through the thick fur on the bear's flanks.
"Buzz..." The next second.
Under Lin Qi's unbelievable gaze, the bear's charging figure couldn't advance an inch.
The hard bear skin on its side, touched by the axe blade, turned to dust, the fat decomposed into oil droplets, and the muscle tissue disintegrated.
A huge, smooth gash appeared on its body.
Through that opening, you could even see the pulsating tissue inside.
"Aww..." The Frostblade Bear let out a confused growl.
Looking down at the incomprehensible wounds on his body, he felt a tremendous loss of life force.
It turned around, wanting to run away.
But Lynch wouldn't give it that chance again and charged forward on his own.
The battle axe in his hand was no longer a heavy burden, but an extension of his will.
The axe blade lightly touched the Frostblade Bear's limbs, back, and head time and time again...
A single touch could take away a piece of flesh and blood, causing a part of that enormous body to disintegrate.
When Lynch finally placed the axe blade between the Frostblade Bear's eyebrows for the last time, the behemoth collapsed to the ground.
Its corpse was riddled with holes, countless bizarrely expanding disintegrating cavities—a sight that would be somewhat frightening even for a modern person.
But Lin Qi had no time to think. He simply dragged his exhausted body to the side and sat down next to the still-warm corpse of the Frostblade Bear to recover his strength.
He was panting heavily, and the wound on his side was still throbbing, but he had survived.
Lin Qi looked at the battle axe in his hand with a complicated expression.
After treating his wounds briefly, Lin Qi leaned against the bear carcass, gaining a brief respite in the snowstorm.
I must leave here as soon as possible, after a short rest.
The Frostsaber's carcass will soon attract more and more terrifying predators.
He leaned on his battle axe, struggled to his feet, and prepared to continue north.
Raise your head and look towards the end of the snowstorm.
Amidst the swirling snow, atop the rolling hills, he could vaguely make out the outline of a building, half-hidden by snow, yet still clearly showing signs of human intervention.
It was a watchtower built of huge black stones, with a wisp of smoke rising from its top, drifting into the sky amidst the wind and snow.
—A dwarf outpost.
Arrived.