The Yeti took it to the chest and was hardly phased Instead it just stepped up and started to throw hooks and straights smashing blows against his shoulders and stomach Randidly used the spear as best he could to block the attacks but the Yeti was so large and the spear was so unwieldy up close that he realized it was useless instead Randidly put the spear away and began to dodge and weave through the blows
With its hands continuing to glow with that strange golden Engraving the Yeti struck again and again earning himself many glancing blows and an increasing number of serious ones that sent Randidly staggering seeing stars But as they continued to fight as the cold began to wear on him and Randidly was growing increasingly worried about his ability to hold on the Yeti began to frown
You how many lives have you taken in order to walk this far down this path
What was more surprising than the statement was the fact that Randidly’s own heart dropped and he smiled bitterly as he heard those words He had not forgotten the innocent lives he had taken He had not turned a blind eye to the fact he chose a path that made him willing to kill for strength Even in the Badlands he had broken and shattered the lives of other Spear Users in order to discover his own strength
In a way Randidly was able to justify it in the moment because he knew they would do the same to him to grow stronger and they bore him no ill will for being stronger than them But when the facts of what he had done were presented to him
Some of his sensitivities from pre system Earth had grown numb in this place but not all of them
But then the Yeti continued to speak and Randidly realized that there was some misunderstanding going on here
these strikes should seal the Aether devoured from others Why is it you haven’t gone through withdrawal
Both of the fighters paused looking deeply into each other’s eyes for an answer Randidly’s mind raced Aether devoured from others Was that possible
Well from the way the Yeti was talking and its confusion now it definitely was Which would explain more broadly why the Heretic Path existed Randidly was not the typical recipient of it he just found himself here because
Because he had his own Aether spring that wasn’t the system approved source of Aether But why
It seemed however that the Yeti was tired of Randidly’s lack of answer and was determined to beat the answer out of him if he had to Which was becoming increasingly likely as the chill worked its way deeper into Randidly’s body even as his mana was directed elsewhere As the Yeti began to stalk forward and bulbs of ice formed behind Randidly so close that at least one of them would blast him with its cold snap slowing his movements even further Randidly considered throwing away his Plan A
But then a voice alleviated his worries
Yet again foolish disciple I find you without a spear
Randidly suppressed his grin and said seriously I was just biding my time Waiting for you to finish
Shal snorted Randidly glanced at him Although Shal appeared to be covered in blood none of it seemed to be his there were no wounds on his body Behind him the woman Marco and Teliph stood Randidly didn’t need to ask what happened to the other man
From the look in Shal’s eyes Randidly also didn’t need to explain the mustached man’s absence this level of casualties was expected Hmph you have become dull from overtraining against weaklings Since you were simply biding your time you likely need no assistance to
Obviously Randidly said with relish finally activating the roots he had been so carefully controlling The whole tower shook and then chunks of it fell away as the roots Randidly had been working within the stone work wiggled back and forth destroying the material that held the impenetrable material together
The Yeti yelped as it fell down the ground beneath it collapsing Then it began to howl and roar Not all of the tower collapsed just large chunks of it but the overall structure and shape stayed the same After all Randidly was worried about whether the portal would be maintained if he destroyed the tower Plus the core of the tower was made entirely of that material and Randidly didn’t even know if he could destroy it But he had certainly brainstormed this method to rid the upper floor of any obstacles
Some parts of the floor seemed to be like a half built tower where chunks of the material fell away after Randidly used his roots to destroy the mortar that held it together The rest was relatively untouched although Randidly destroyed most of the lower floors causing the confused guards who were still on them fighting against the mini yetis to crash into a heap at the bottom
Randidly did his best not to think about how many of those men and women died during the fall although it was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid feeling weighed down by their lives
Unwilling to respond to Randidly’s small bragging as the Judgement was sent falling to the bottom of the tower Shal simply walked forward with a snort The others followed although Teliph gave Randidly a strange glance Sighing Randidly followed He felt suddenly very tired and it wasn’t just the cold although that still persisted annoyingly
They walked towards the center of the tower and swiftly found a few mini yetis and the portal But as they were approaching the flickering thing the roaring from below grew louder Shal gave Randidly a withering glance
Buy us some more time If it follows us directly out it might complicate things Shal whispered shortly as he led the rest of the group towards the portal Almost unwilling Randidly went back to the edge of an area where some of the masonry had fallen away to get a better view of the carnage below It wasn’t that he didn’t believe getting rid of the Judgement was a good idea but
But when looked down through the hole in the upper layer seeing how he had basically destroyed most of the floors he could only think of the guards that he had killed Randidly’s face tightened Fucking he knew He knew this was necessary He wanted the power that he could only get by walking this path So why was it so difficult to accept
The Yeti howled upward finally done playing finally displaying the full majesty of a Judgement Bulbs of ice formed and bloomed all around it Huge draconic wings of ice stretched from its back It bared its teeth at him as it raced upwards
Fury filled Randidly’s chest an urge to kill but there was another part of himself a part that had been asleep quite a bit for the past two years but it was beginning to grow increasingly active that just sighed he was only angry because he was upset
Shut the fuck up Randidly whispered his eyes narrowed He raised his hand and shot several Incinerating Bolts downward His training in that regard had paid dividends because they managed to make it through the wave of cold surrounding the Yeti and punch holes in its dragon wings Its flight path faltered but then the creature bellowed and the temperature seemed to immediately drop as if in response to its call
Randidly threw down 7 more incinerating bolts ripping hole after hole through its wings but with the boost of the cold the ice reformed and although Randidly’s attack had stopped it briefly it now began to beat its wings and ascend upwards It was only 2 floors away and it reached out its hand 5 ice bulbs shooting upwards
I said Shut The Fuck Up Randidly’s voice was cold and his eyes burned emerald He felt the power of Inspire fill him and he used it to unleash a huge Incinerating Bolt that ripped downwards towards the Yeti
Chapter 167
Whereas there had previously been a powerful force pushing the temperature downwards now this huge bolt a car size block really of burning incandescent metal ripped downwards railing against the cold and holding it back Such was the proximity to the Yeti that its eyes could only widen and a few dozen bulbs rushed forward to block
But the bolt punched through and even as it was cooling it still remained a very large very dense chunk of metal
It was so large that it pretty much was the same size across as the Yeti’s body and smashed it into the wall of the tower which trembled Then both the bolt and the Yeti began to fall