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Chapter 1 (Part Two): The Crusher

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A boom.

Snow dust covered the area.

The one being smashed, ought to be squished by now.

No doubt.

Yet the leading Yeti was a bit perplexed.

It knew a human was fragile, but not this fragile. In fact, it did not feel any resistance at all.

It raised its hand, looking over.

Swoosh—

From the dust, a swooshing sound came about.

A figure came out from the snow dust, flying up. It went for almost thirty metre up, before slowing down its ascent.

It was Yvonne, half-conscious.

The Yetis turned to her, heads up.

They growled, alarmed that this human, still resisted.

“Seventh Steps.”

They however, were negligent.

A voice startled them, yet it was too late.

“Flapping Vyrusha.”

A pair of wings.

Red, fiery wings came out, flapping the whole circle of Yetis. As it did, flame licked through all six, thoroughly.

All six, without exception, had flame latched onto them. Their eyes took in the red fierceness, their nose welcomed them in.

The area, thoroughly burned.

UWOOO—

A second.

It took the flame a second to fully engulf them. By the time these Yetis reacted, it was too late.

Their eyes and nose, were terribly burned.

Even if they were alive, their fighting capability was effectively sealed.

The wings of red dissipated.

The arms of the Yetis, plummeted toward him, powerful.

 Yet in vain. They missed.

The culprit jumped high into the air, catching the falling lady. White mana sparked under the man’s boots, he slid through the air, with her on his hands.

After over four hundred metres, he landed.

“You’re okay?”

“Ah…”

Only then realizing his existence, she was too shocked to respond. His shining white armor, his high-quality green spear, his level of Air Sliding, even without her thinking, she already knew.

She noticed a golden star on each shoulder.

This man, was a knight.

And not just any knight.

“27th Scout team, yes?”

“Ah, yes!”

“The others?”

“Th-three of us left behind, covering our rear. The rest, in front…”

“Don’t worry about the front. Patrol team’s on their way.”

“Ah,”

She breathed out.

Her hope of reinforcement, was fulfilled.

“Can you go to them? I’ll have to search the three, they might need help.”

“Sir, wait, my friend, over there!”

She pointed to a place not far away from the Yetis.

There was however, nothing there.

His gaze landed on the location.

Mana flowed into his eyes, his vision penetrated the snow. A figure of a man, in low body heat, appeared.

He understood right away.

“I’ll get him, wait here.”

“Yes,”

He went up into the air, sliding.

He landed right on the location. Nearby, the Yetis were throwing a tantrum, rampaging their surrounding blindly. Ignoring them, he swung his spear.

White mana brushing the snow away, revealing Brann.

Tugging the man onto his shoulder, he slid towards Yvonne.

A white line trailed him.

In two seconds, he reached her.

‘A knight, so fast.’

“Snap out of it, girl.”

“Ah? Yes!”

“What’s your name?”

“Yvonne, it’s Yvonne, Sir.”

“Yvonne, Krone here. I need you to guard the surroundings, ten seconds, at most.”

“Huh? Yes, Sir!”

She did not know why he ordered her so, but she did it anyway. Krone placed his right hand; his fingers at Brann’s back. He focused his eyes on him.

His white mana penetrated into him, seeping. His pale face seemingly turned brighter.

After almost ten seconds, Brann coughed out, regaining consciousness. He could hear the shrieks and howling agony of the Yetis, not that far away.

Wind blowing, the smell of crispy fur reached his nose.

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“Brann!”

“Huh? Yvonne, and…?”

“Brann, right? I need validation. Three of your comrades, that way?”

“Ah… yes, yes, Sir. Please, help them!”

“I will. You two go to your comrades. The patrols will be with them shortly. Don’t worry about any Yetis, they’ll come for me first.”

“Sir!”

Krone slid through the air, leaving them be.

He moved into the direction of where the Yetis came from. Passing the burning Yetis, his eyes noticed something in his front.

Not one, but many.

‘A group?’

In front of the group, two people were running.

One injured; his hands bleeding, barely holding his spear.

The other, with a sword, kept his eyes on their back.

Krone changed direction, landed right by their side.

Startled, they raised their weapon.

“Ah!”

“You’re…”

Noticing his appearance, they were perplexed. They expected reinforcement, but for a knight to come?

In addition, the golden star on his shoulder caught their eyes.

“27th Scouts?”

“Ah, yes, yes, Sir!”

“We got your distress call. Where’s another one?”

“Lu, Lucius, fell in battle,”

“…I see. Your comrades are over there. I’ll handle the beasts, go join them.”

“Sir?”

“Go, you can’t support me like that. Patrol team’s on the way.”

“Hah? Yes Sir.”

When they observed it, it seemed he was alone.

He must have rushed here, knowing how dire the situation was.

A knight was powerful, and was rare. They were an elite bunch, responsible for dealing with harder tasks. In a normal army, a knight would be a leader of a thousand or more soldiers.

Why would a knight be here, ahead of a patrol team?

Plus, his golden star insignia clearly signified his Knight Commander rank.

Usually a Knight Commander would be older, veteran-looking man. He however, seemed to be in his thirties.

He ought to be powerful, more so than any knight.

However, he was still one knight, would that be enough?

The thought crossed their mind, yet they did not have such a luxury to ponder. Their body was haggard, their stamina expended.

As he said, they would not be of help in battle.

UROOH —

Noticing the burned, dying Yetis in their front, the group of new Yetis howled in anger.

Their eyes turned red, visible even from afar.

“Berserk?”

“Damn it, Sir, be careful.”

“Just go, attend your wounds.”

“Yes!”

They rushed towards Brann and Yvonne.

The two, noticing them coming, waited. Their expression was of gladness, yet at the same time, concerned.

One of them were missing, so they prepared their heart for the worst.

Ahead of them, they noticed the red eyes.                

Eight pair of eyes, trampling the snow, rushing forward.

Specifically, they were rushing towards him. Him, a knight with the golden stars, a Kharlussian Knight Commander.

Their instinct clearly told them, there could be none other than him who did it.

Him, the culprit.

Yvonne and the three wanted to flee, yet at the same time, intrigued.

How would he handle them alone? Will he need their help?

Since one of them had severe injury, they attended to him first. At the same time, resting, restoring their mana.

Looking over the situation, his opponents made Yvonne shivered.

One of them was a head taller than the others, bigger.

Rushing, as though enraged bull.

One over ten-metre height.

An Alpha.

A fierce existence, requiring hundreds of soldiers to take down.

‘...Can he do it?’

They reached him.

Krone jumped, passing the four leading the charge.

Landing on their middle, surrounded by all eight.

“Eighth steps, Rising Vyrusha.”

His action baffled the beasts, yet they did not wait.

Their thick arms plummeted onto him.

In that short moment, he hovered the air, clinging to his body like a baby in a womb.

Mana concentrated around him.

Changing immediately into red fire, it encompassed him and all eight beasts.

HOOO—

The fire, as if alive, was howling.

Circling, moving around in a playful joy. Delighted, from the sumptuous meal provided.

KUWOO—

The Yetis howled.

Their arms were the first to be licked by the fire.

Soon, their whole body.

Krone’s spear moved around, guiding the fire towards their face.

Entering every hole available, the fire invaded their senses.

Raging, fierce fire.

To such an extent that their thick fur and skin could not handle it, even for a moment.

Much less would be their eyes, nose and ears.

Not far away, the four witnessing this had a revelation.

The red, fiery flame was not familiar to them, yet they had a feeling of déjà vu.

At that moment, Yvonne trembled.

“He said his name, Krone?”

Hearing the name, the others had the same reaction.

Their brain, finally made the connection.

The red flames, as though a Phoenix rising.                                             

The long-distant, fast Air Sliding.

The Golden Star, and the name, Krone.

Plus, able to take on these vicious beasts, alone.

Could he be..?

Krone “Crusher” Kozak…

The Devastator of the frontline!

He’s real? For real?

The stories they had heard for years crossed their mind.

Krone Kozak, one of their Supreme Commander’s closest knights, was a popular figure among the patrols and scouts.

That was because of his peculiar character; he always helped out on the frontline, beyond the call of duty.

As if he had something left behind, something he wished to seek and meet.

Something he was missing, yearning.

Some said it was the thrill of battle, some said as a tribute to his fallen brothers.

They had heard only stories and theories of it, so they could not be certain.

One thing they were certain from the stories was, that this man, never stayed idle.

Whenever he had time, he would join the patrols, even the scouts.

Since he did not stay in one place, moving from city to city, the story of him was more popular.

He did not stay for long, but the impression he left, was beyond usual. Because of his absence, the stories had been added some spices, sugar, and salt.

Umami too, that stuff dumbed down the brain.

Yet it was exciting.

A kind of inspiring entertainment, after a day’s work.

Sitting around a fireplace, drinking with your buddies, telling fascinating stories.

His, was one of the favourites.

Those who never met him, could only ponder, and wonder.

These four were them. They never met him, only hearing others recalling their experience in pride.

Curiousity held them prisoner, they could not gain freedom.

Especially so for Yvonne, who had just joined the army, then the scouts.

He was like a frontline legend.

Alive, yet untouched.

Known by many, seen by few.

Who he really was, none of them really knew.

In front of her, she witnessed the firestorm, licking the surroundings.

The flames fell onto several trees, eating them alive.

Burning them, as if they were dried up woods.

“Krone Crusher Kozak,”

Many new recruits denied his existence, saying things like it was merely a story to boost morale.

Saying that they were not so naïve, as to believe such prompted up, unreal stories.

Ridiculous stories, like a man taking on hundreds of the horned wolves.

The cunning, three-metre high wolves, all by himself.

She, however, refused to deny the stories.

Since she herself, was the product of his deeds. The many basic and low-ranking Beast Cores he left behind from his kills, were given to new recruits.

This was especially so for promising ones.

She was one of them.

“So he’s real, really real,”

A white line came out from the firestorm, Krone landed halfway away from them.

Turning to look, he kept his guard up.

Within the rampaging firestorm, the giant Yetis were still suffering, burning.

Their strong life force kept them alive, the fire would take time to finish them off.

Of them, faring better was the tallest.

The Alpha.

Within the havoc, it finally noticed him.

Breaking free from the clutches of fire, the Alpha rushed towards him. Clenching its burning fists, it slammed them right onto him.

“Hmph,”

 A line of white, slithered.

For a moment, it lost sight of him.

“Arte Instana,”

From above the Alpha, he did his bad habit.

Krone’s habit of saying the name of his Arte before attacking, was criticized many times.

Yet he did not change it.

The time he took to say it, he used to focus him mind, and mana. This time, he focused so much mana onto the tip of his spears and its surrounding.

He twisted his hand, moving violently into a drill.

A piercing drill.

The split second it took from saying into attacking, was not enough for the Alpha to react.

Krone’s spear burrowed itself onto the Alpha’s thick skull. Drilling sound pervaded the surrounding, piercing everyone’s ears.

As if two metals were clashing, grinding, to see who’s tougher.

Krone purposely attacked from above, even when the skull was tougher there.

Normal knights would usually aim for the ear, having a direct way into their skull. Yet he preferred attacking beasts in their blind spot, as long as he could penetrate its defense.

The Alpha’s palms grabbed him, tightly.

By the time it did, mana appeared all around him, covering him with protective aura.

It was another Arte, Mana Coating, also known as Aurelian Arte.

Its arms pressured the aura, yet it soon loosened up.

The piercing drill had reached its destination.

Krone could feel squishy stuff on the tip of his spear, much like a jelly. He twisted the spear around, then made a rowing move.

Squish!

Squish!

…

Silence.

Soon, the large Alpha kneeled, then tumbled down.

Snow became dusts, covering the whole place. Its burning fur turned the surrounding snow into water.

“Just to be sure,”

He channeled mana into his spear, turning the spear’s head red hot.

A burning smell filled his surroundings. The smell was akin to overcooked eggs.

He raised his brow.

One brow.

“Interesting.”

Feeling that it was crispy enough, he took out his spear.

Not far from him, the firestorm finally took a break.

A short burst echoed, as if burping. The seven Yetis still in its location had turned into overcooked meals.

Charcoal-like, fur all black.

Pitiful.

Truly pitiful.

“Hm, the inner meat should still be edible.”

At the time like this, his thought fell onto turning them into consumables.

‘They did eat our comrades, so why shouldn’t we eat them?’

While some might question such logic, it was not like they had choice.

The condition of the central region did not allow for any waste. They had to make full use of the beasts’ body, to ensure survival.

They did check the stomach of the beasts, just in case there any remains existed. If there were, they would be given proper burial.

As proper as possible, for body parts.

“For Vicious Yetis to be this many, it certainly is rare.”

He turned to the four scouts, walking towards them.

He did not rush, just watching the surroundings. He knew there were still others, hiding.

His instinct warned him of the many eyes still lurking amidst the snow.

Even in this windy weather, these Yetis still could make sense of what was happening with their eyes.

He smirked, finding their behavior amusing.

‘When facing strong opponent, these guys turned like this. How troublesome, but oh well.’

All was well.

Since he could just let the time flow, wait until the patrol arrived, then wiped them all clean together.

He turned to the scouts, whom mouth opened, eyes widened.

He saw Yvonne.

The blonde lady was quite a promising one, already joining scout team at her age. Noticing her calmness, he admired her.

Others her age would already break under pressure.

“Quite a promising girl, hm?”

…?

‘Felt like I’m forgetting something…?’

As he thought of this, he recalled something.

Something related to time?

Something about cleaning together? Something about a certain lady?

Something about promise, and not breaking it again?

…

…

He stopped.

Gulping, he felt as if his life was on the line.

Heart thumping, he cursed his luck.

“Uh, crap! I promised Ju to help her clean the new house!”

…

…

[Promises are meant to be kept, not broken.]

- Anonymous 

==== Chapter 1 (Part Two) End ====