Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !-Chapter 168: Glacial storm

Zarthan burst out laughing.

"What do you think? Of course I’m here to take your life, and at the same time that of this young human."

Dravus roared, his wings opening wide to protect Maxime.

"You’ll have to go through me then."

The two stared into each other’s eyes.

Zarthan didn’t answer, but his posture spoke for him. He threw himself forward, his spear threatening to pierce Dravus.

Indeed, like Dravus, the spear was his weapon of choice!

The two colossi engaged in a fierce battle, their movements shaking the ground and destroying nearby trees.

Meanwhile, Maxime slowly began to open his eyes.

The first thing he felt was a wrenching pain invading his whole body, as if the flames were continuing to consume him from within.

Every breath was an ordeal, every heartbeat a torment.

"For fuck’s sake, that dog should never have been so easy to kill."

"With his face of: I’m stronger and smarter than everyone."

"I should have stabbed him 10,000 times before I let him die."

Maxime’s thoughts were filled with hatred for Oscar.

He felt as if he’d been suffering for hours, and after feeling the flames go out, he felt that the pain was even stronger than before.

After a while, he finally managed to open his eyes.

They were completely bloodshot, and he could feel that his body was extremely weak at that moment, despite the [Nox Limit] talent he had activated.

Tilting his head to one side, he could vaguely make out the moving shadows of Dravus and his opponent, but the shock of his wounds prevented him from understanding what was happening.

"Who’s that son of a bitch again?"

"It wants to finish me off, doesn’t it?" he thought with a slight smile, not really caring.

Maxime just knew that it was Dravus who had carried him this far.

"Come to think of it, if Dravus wasn’t here, I might already be dead."

"Who the hell is the guy who’s fighting him?"

A mighty roar resounded, followed by a thud as the two Dravaks clashed with titanic force.

Maxime tried to move, but his body refused to obey. All he could do was breathe... and endure.

Meanwhile, Dravus narrowly dodged a spear aimed at his head. His breath was short, and his movements were beginning to slow. Zarthan, on the other hand, seemed indefatigable, his attacks becoming ever more precise and deadly.

Simultaneously, a cold, soothing energy began to circulate through his body, dissipating the waves of heat his body was emitting.

But healing was slow, very slow.

boom

The floor on which Maxime lay trembled.

He glanced down and saw that Dravus had just fallen not far from him, his armor destroyed as purple blood poured from his various wounds.

"Losing twice in one day must be tough, eh Dravus?" murmured Maxime with a faint smile, as he lay still on the ground.

The first defeat was against Maxime, and the second was imminent.

Maxime didn’t know how, in this kind of situation, he could still find the opportunity to joke.

But it still made him smile, as if death was no longer something he feared.

Dravus, whose brain was currently completely fried, didn’t hear Maxime.

He tried to stand up, his bloody scales betraying the intensity of the fight.

But he couldn’t, as each attempt seemed to be a struggle against gravity itself.

Zarthan stood over him, laughing.

He placed his foot on Dravus’ chest, making him wince in pain.

His spear held nonchalantly on his shoulder.

"Dravus, pathetic as ever, eh?" he said with a mocking smile.

"Screw you, Zarthan," Dravus replied angrily.

Maxime, still stretched out, observed the scene with a strange serenity.

His bloodshot eyes focused on Zarthan, analyzing Dravak’s every move.

For he knew that, after Dravus, it would be his turn.

Zarthan raised his spear, ready to deliver the final blow to Dravus.

With a final burst of willpower, Dravus raised his arm in a derisory attempt to defend himself. But his strength had deserted him.

Zarthan’s spear plunged, piercing Dravus’ left wing and pinning him to the ground.

A heart-rending roar escaped Dravus’ lips.

Seeing this scene, Maxime suddenly had the urge to get up and smash the hell out of Zarthan.

Dravus was one of his men, despite being a Dravak!

He didn’t deserve to be humiliated like that before he died!

So Maxime tried to stand up, mobilizing all his strength!

He was now mad with rage!

He just wanted to stand up, grab his weapon and defend Dravus, even if it meant dying in the process!

But no matter what he did, he couldn’t move a muscle.

He could only move his head and eyes, and watch his man being tortured before his very eyes.

"Dravus, I’m sorry..." Maxime thought as he bit his lips, the latter black from the previous flames.

It hurt, but compared to the pain coming from all over his body, it was negligible.

And especially compared to the sight of Zarthan torturing his man, it was really nothing.

At the same time, Zarthan was savoring his triumph, a cruel smile forming on his face.

"Pitiful. I’ll get it over with, and then I’ll take my time with the human. Maybe I’ll rip his arms off first. What do you say, Dravus?"

Maxime heard this too, but didn’t show any particular reaction.

He didn’t care about his own fate at the time.

And he didn’t think this Dravak would make him suffer any more pain than he had when burned by Oscar’s flames.

Then something changed.

Dravus, in a last-ditch effort, raised his good arm. But it wasn’t to beg or to strike weakly.

His right hand caught Zarthan by the throat with unexpected force.

The colossus’ eyes widened in surprise.

"You... dare again?!" roared Zarthan, trying to free himself.

But Dravus squeezed with an almost supernatural determination, his hand shattering the scales on Zarthan’s body.

"You think you’re invincible?" whispered Dravus, with a cold smile.

Immediately, Zarthan began to panic.

With his spear still in his right hand, he began to pierce Dravus’ body again and again.

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But Dravus seemed to feel nothing as he continued to tighten his grip on Zarthan’s neck.

Maxime watched the scene with fascination. Dravus’ eyes, though wavering, seemed to burn with a different glow.

"That’s my Dravak warrior!"

"Go on, smash him!"

Maxime’s silent supports seemed to be working.

Dravus continued to tighten his grip on Zarthan’s throat, ignoring the multiple spear blows perforating his already mutilated body.

His breathing was labored, each breath accompanied by a deep rattle, but an indomitable gleam shone in his eyes.

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Zarthan, suffocating, managed to free an arm and thrust his spear straight into the side of Dravus’ torso, shattering countless bones and organs.

Dravus grimaced, but did not release his grip.

As the seconds passed, however, Dravus’ strength began to weaken. His arm trembled, his hand gradually released Zarthan’s throat, until he fell limply to the ground.

Zarthan jumped back, putting a hand to his bruised neck. He choked loudly, his ragged breath betraying the fear that had just taken hold of him. His eyes, wide, landed on Dravus lying on the ground.

"You... You almost killed me..." he murmured incredulously, his voice tinged with anger and terror. He took several steps back, struggling to catch his breath.

At the same time, he was overcome by a monstrous rage.

He had almost been killed by that wretched Dravus!

The same one he’d used to defeat so easily in the past.

But while the fear of death still weighed on his conscience, the atmosphere changed.

The air turned frigid.

A fine silver mist rose from the ground, enveloping the scene.

And it all seemed to come from Dravus, who was still lying on the ground.

Zarthan froze, his Dravak instincts screaming a warning.

His eyes, previously full of arrogance, filled with an almost primitive fear.

"No... It’s not possible..." he murmured, stepping back again.

"Dravus... are you awakening your bloodline?!"

Maxime, too, felt the change. Cold bit at his skin, but he didn’t worry.

He’d survived far worse.

But what he saw next left him speechless.

Dravus’ inert body began to glow faintly.

His scales, cracked and bloody, glowed with a bluish light.

His wounds slowly closed, and a palpable energy filled the air around him.

"What the hell?" growled Maxime, his eyes struggling to stay open.

The aura Dravus exuded, even he could feel its power!

And clearly, even at its peak, it wasn’t something he could defeat!

Zarthan, for his part, was trembling.

"No, no, no! You can’t!"

"How can a weakling like you awaken his bloodline!"

"It’s unfair, unfair!"

"I’m so much better than you, so why do you manage to awaken your bloodline, and I don’t!?"

But regardless of Zarthan’s complaints, the light around Dravus continued to shine, finally reaching its peak.

A titanic roar shook the earth.

The once agonized Dravak slowly rose to his feet, despite the many wounds in his body.

As he stood, he spread his wings with imposing majesty.

His scales had changed, taking on a shimmering silver hue, and his eyes shone with an unearthly intensity.

Zarthan stepped back further, his arrogance evaporating.

"No, don’t you dare! You don’t have the right!"

Dravus turned slowly towards his opponent.

His voice, though hoarse, resonated with undeniable authority.

"You should have thought about that before you came after me."

"When you’re ready to kill, you must also be ready to be killed."

Without waiting for Zarthan to reply, Dravus swiftly extended a hand to the sky.

Simultaneously, countless icicles formed behind him.

"What’s that?"

Zarthan’s eyes were wide open, as he barely managed to digest the information his eyes were transmitting.

But Dravus didn’t answer him.

After more than a hundred icicles in the shape of small spears appeared behind him, he lowered his arm while murmuring:

"Glacial storm."