Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 186  Seeds again

The next morning, Henry and his army, along with a dozen dwarves, including the five elders, made their way along a narrow mountain path. The wind howled around them, biting at their faces and threatening to sweep them off the edge as they marched in a long line. The path had been carved by the dwarves themselves over the centuries, designed for their build and size, offering the humans little room for error. Each step had to be taken with caution, their feet carefully placed on the snowy, rocky trail.

Yngvi, leading the way, pointed ahead. "This way, descendant. We're almost there" - he said, keeping his voice low as they moved forward -"We'll soon be able to spot 'em." Henry nodded and kept following behind the dwarf, his steps firm as if the strong winds were nothing but a breeze. The barbarians were hugging the mountain with fear, not even daring to look down. Their huge frames meant that part of their feet hung off the narrow path, forcing them to walk as if tiptoeing. On the other hand, the dwarves moved with ease, as if they were on a casual winter stroll. "There!" - Yngvi whispered, pointing toward a massive hole in the ground surrounded by skeletal trees. Dozens of Ice Giants with glowing blue veins were guarding it, their jaws crunching on what seemed to be stones - "They can eat anythin'. Accordin' to our ancestors, this valley was once brimming with life. These trees were verdant, and fruits grew on 'em. All kinds of animals roamed the forest. But everythin' changed when the Ice Giants appeared. They devoured all life, leavin' the trees gray and barren." Henry narrowed his eyes as he took in the grim scene below. At that moment, as if carried by the wind, his scent seemed to reach the giants. They immediately stopped eating, turning their massive heads in unison toward Henry and his group. Without hesitation, they began to move, crushing the trees in their path as they advanced. "They've spotted us, my king!" - Yngvi said, turning toward Henry. Henry nodded, already expecting it. Since he had killed one of them previously, it seemed as if their souls had been lingering around him ever since - "It's fine. I've killed a few of them, so they probably sense their comrades' spirits clinging to me." He calculated the distance between them and the advancing giants. "This seems close enough." Henry reached into a pouch and stretched his arms to Leier, who handed him a prepared bow and a few arrows strapped to her back. Despite the narrow, unstable footing, Henry expertly notched an arrow with a Torch Tree Seed, and drew the bowstring back. After a deep breath, he released the arrow just as the Ice Giants dashed towards their mountain. The arrow cut through the wind with the precision, aimed at the giant hole on the ground, the origin of the Ice Giants. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I hope this works…" - Henry could hear Yngvi's hoping voice as he prepared another arrow, before the first could even reach its target, Henry had loosed another, and then another, until he had no more arrow. "It will work" - Henry assured, his voice steady. At that exact moment, the first arrow reached its mark, plunging deep into the hole - "I guarantee, not a single one of those dumb beasts will crawl out of that hole ever again." The words had barely left Henry's lips when a massive explosion shook the mountain. The first arrow had finally found the end of the hole, igniting and exploding with Mana.In that instant, Yngvi and the others felt as if the entire world was on the brink of destruction. The deafening roar of the explosion reverberated through the mountains, causing the ground beneath them to shake violently. Some of the barbarians closed their eyes and hugged the mountain as hard as they could, afraid that the tremors and the wind would make them fall. However, that wasn't the end, and the first explosion was followed by five others. Henry pressed his back against the mountain, bracing himself as snow fell down from above, shaken loose by the force of the explosion. In front of them, the hole erupted with a blinding flash of light. A massive wave of heat and energy surged upward, destroying everything in its path. The Ice Giants were also caught into the explosion. Their glowing blue veins flickered and dimmed, and some of them stumbled and fell as the force of the explosion overwhelmed them. The flames coming out of the hole roared to life, hungrily consuming the trees and even melting some of the snow up the mountain. Henry could hear painful screamed that seemed to be coming from somewhere, as if the mountains itself were groaning in pain, but at the same time were alive. The giant hole that made the lair and the origin of the Ice Giants disappeared together with the dozens of creatures running towards them as the large volumes of snow coming from the top of the mountains swallowed all of them.

Yngvi and the four other dwarf elders were bathed in a strange light. Yngvi swallowed nervously. "Descendant, is it really that simple?" he asked, unable to hide his surprise as snow continued to fall from the mountains, like a white waterfall. Thankfully, the narrow path they were on protected them from the worst of it. "Yes, it's that simple" - Henry said confidently, patting his chest where the remaining Torch Tree Seeds were stored, small seeds that had saved him many times before. The elders looked like they wanted to ask if he had more of those seeds, but before they could speak, they were interrupted by loud howls echoing through the valley. One howl was louder and more sorrowful than the rest, like a mother watching her child die.

"It's the matriarch!" - Yngvi whispered, fear clear in his voice. The matriarch was the most ancient and powerful Ice Giant. According to some texts, it was the first Ice Giant to see the sunlight out of the hole. It was the one to dig the hole with its own hands.