Over the skies of the Mountaintops of the Giants.
As usual, Frieren transformed into a meteor, flying past the edge of the Royal Capital.
Without the weight of Trina, her speed from the Haligtree to this snowfield had increased. Crossing the sea, she traversed high mountains and filled skies of snow, finally sighting the edge of the massive landmass.
On the other side was the hazy silhouette of the Royal Capital, as well as a forest emanating the aura of the Black Blade Kindred.
"That is the Forbidden Lands forest."
Melina pointed from afar in her embrace. "For most of the time I can remember, I read books in the room of the lift over there, until the Shattering War."
"The Forbidden Lands are very ancient. You might be older than me; Marika arranged this a long time ago."
On her shoulder, Ranni looked at the snowy scenery with curiosity and murmured, "When I was a child, I was a bit mischievous and wanted to come to the Forbidden Lands, but I was stopped by Lord Father. Later, I learned that this path leads to the Forge of the Giants. Touching it is a capital felony."
"Just rhetoric to scare children. If you win, there is no sin." Frieren swept past the forest disapprovingly.
"Roar!"
Among them, the Black Blade Kindred brandished its claws but could not catch up to her movements.
However, they still served a purpose. Judging by that shrill roar, the Royal Capital would know that someone had intruded into the Forbidden Lands forest. It could only be Frieren's squad; their progress had been exposed.
The silver-haired girl did not stop in the slightest, flying vertically along the cliffs and precipices.
The cold wind cut like a knife by her ears.
The cold was even more intense than in the other snowfield, and the altitude was higher than imagined. No wonder it was called the Mountaintops of the Giants; it lived up to its reputation. Before coming, Frieren naturally hadn't underestimated it, reserving a considerable portion of her mana for this. With a thought, she instantly unleashed a burst to boost her gravity magic to a higher level.
A purple-white meteor cut through the wind and snow, arriving at the mountaintop.
The massive Grand Lift was left behind by the three of them. They didn't need to rely on that mechanism; they forcefully flew up, just like in the Consecrated Snowfield.
This ultra-high mobility to come and go as they pleased was also a strong support for this plan.
Whoosh!
The snowflakes were swept away by the airflow, clearing a small open space for the silver-haired girl to land with Melina. Finally, they were on solid ground.
After leaving the Haligtree, they had traveled non-stop, flying at high speed the entire way. Even Frieren was a bit weary; coupled with the bone-chilling environment, it made her yawn, appearing slightly tired.
Unlike the time she took Flamme to the Kingdom of Berletania, this time she also had to resist the severe cold.
She stretched her waist before feeling a bit more relaxed.
"...They went back. The guarding forces of the Forbidden Lands are retreating."
The movement in her perception made Frieren raise an eyebrow. Sure enough, Ranni also felt something was wrong. "Why did they withdraw so decisively? Is the pressure we put on the Royal Capital great enough? Or do they also need to burn the tree?"
"Probably both. With the Thorns of Refusal sealing the interior of the Erdtree, anyone who wants to become Lord must pass this trial. This is also Mother's plan."
Melina had known the process for a long time, so she wasn't surprised.
And surely, she wasn't the only one who knew. The plan was a series of interlocking links; she only knew one part of it.
"Let's go."
Frieren took a few deep breaths and continued on the journey. After a few steps, however, they encountered a man wearing an iron hat like a bamboo shade. The familiar figure was lying on the ground, gasping for breath, seemingly in great distress.
"You are not the Bloody Finger Hunter I know. This aura of Frenzied Flame... who exactly are you?"
"My name is Shabriri. It seems you are the famous Soul Cinder King. Although the Frenzied Flame has declined, and I know not who harmed the Three Fingers, Your Majesty can still be granted the flame."
"I killed it. It has disappeared forever."
Melina drew the dagger carrying Destined Death and said coldly, "Do you want to try it too? The great sinner of the Lands Between, Shabriri."
"..."
He was stunned. Not out of fear, but an angry accusation: "Do you know what you have done? Kindling Maiden. You could have lived. Let a Tarnished with the potential of a Lord receive the Frenzied Flame to ignite the Erdtree, but now you have ruined the hope."
"That ending which brings despair to the world is not what I need. Your bewitchment is meaningless."
The partners cast looks of disdain.
Could the difficulties and dangers they faced along the way, the life and death they shared, be fathomed by a mere believer of the Frenzied Flame? Bewitchment was meaningless. Everyone had long since bared their hearts and would not be easily stumbled.
How could Shabriri's knowledge and power comprehend other methods?
Freezing Mist!
Frieren stirred the snow at her feet, freezing his legs. He couldn't move a muscle; originally poised to flee, he was now a prisoner.
"I will avenge Yura, but on the condition that you tell me why you are guarding here? Just to incite?"
She was in no hurry to kill; she wanted to clarify the intelligence first.
"Your Majesty, your predecessor already listened to my advice. Remember Vyke? He also learned of the Frenzied Flame here and chose to accept it. Unfortunately, he failed and was sealed in the Evergaol of the Mountaintops of the Giants. And I could only wait for a new King."
"Soul Cinder King, you are the most powerful Would-be Lord in thousands of years, possessing an almost complete Elden Ring. Your Frenzied Flame would be enough to destroy—no, reshape the world."
"You will not go mad. Your Maiden will survive."
"Since the Three Fingers is dead anyway, with one less Outer God's influence, your status then would be a true God, or even surpass it."
Shabriri opened the floodgates and unleashed a torrent of words, persuading with all his might.
But it was fruitless.
"There is no more nonsense to be said between us. Your stirring of trouble in the Lands Between should disappear along with the death of the Frenzied Flame Three Fingers." After speaking, Frieren thrust out her Soul Crystal Sword.
With a crack, it pierced through Shabriri's body. He only trembled once before coughing up fresh blood, his life force plummeting.
Yet there was not a trace of fear on his face; instead, he mocked:
"I am undying. I will occupy other bodies until the Frenzied Flame reappears..."
"Ah!"
Sudden soul agony caused Shabriri to let out a shrill scream. Only at this moment did he notice it was a soul magic attack. Damn it, of all people, he met the mage most skilled in soul killing in the Lands Between.
He struggled, attempting to escape, but Frieren gave no chance. Slashing vertically with the sword, she split the sinner before her in half, fresh blood splattering.
Just in case, she didn't choose to cut horizontally; disposing of him this way was safer.
The Frenzied Flame must absolutely not reignite from dead ashes.
The silver-haired girl casually ignited a wisp of the First Flame, burning the target completely clean. Unfortunately, Yura's soul gave no reaction. It could be considered avenging a comrade she had met once; this was the end of it.
"According to Shabriri, Vyke, the Lord of Frenzied Flame, is still sealed here. We must be careful," Ranni warned.
"If the Royal Capital acts quickly, Castle Sol will also become an obstacle for us."
Melina unfolded the map to show her two companions.
"We need to follow a horseshoe-shaped route to detour to the Forge of the Giants. We cannot bypass the guard of Castle Sol. The old general there has some skill; we must win a quick victory."
After dealing with Shabriri, the squad continued deeper.
The harsh environment of the Mountaintops of the Giants no longer allowed Frieren to fly long distances, so she could only summon Torrent to move together.
Even the spectral steed sneezed; one could imagine the freezing cold.
If the characteristic of the Consecrated Snowfield was a vast whiteness where nothing could be seen, then the snow of the Mountaintops of the Giants was majestic and magnificent, a bone-piercing cold enough to freeze the air into falling blocks of ice.
Whoosh!
A cold wind blew head-on, covering Frieren's eyelashes with a layer of snowflakes, making her lips dry and her skin stiff.
She flicked her finger, lighting several fireballs to guard them.
But this also meant attracting enemies.
"Ahead are the Zamor Ruins, left over from the War against the Giants." Melina could only shout to raise her volume in the wind: "They can drive the power of frost. It is very suitable for fighting here. Beware of sneak attacks."
Before her voice faded, a slender figure leaped from the distance. Accompanied by a Zamor Curved Sword falling, slashing down with the cold wind, it was enough to tear any target apart.
Almost simultaneously, Frieren raised the Bolt of Gransax. Ping! A crisp sound rang out.
In the hard clash, the immense force repelled the enemy, but the latter jumped lightly and vanished into the wind and snow without a trace.
Sorcery: Night Comet!
Perception guided the concealed magic, whistling away with a whoosh.
Since you like to sneak attack in the wind and snow, then take a good look at what a true sneak attack looks like. Under the guidance of Frieren's spiritual power, the Night Sorceries, skilled in concealed assassination, shot out continuously. From time to time, the sound of flesh tearing could be heard in the wind and snow.
Cold as it was, it could not affect Frieren's performance. Moreover, with large-scale perception kept active, she could at least determine the precise location of the enemies.
The Zamor Warriors were caught off guard, seeing only the flashing of Night Comets.
Bang, bang—
Under the continuous attacks, the Zamor Warriors fell with a thud one after another. Instead, the wind and snow's cover was used by the enemy. Since she could use concealed attack magic, she certainly didn't lack stealth magic.
They were forced to dispel the ice and snow.
The result was seeing the silver-haired girl holding a staff in both hands, immediately thrusting it into the ground to apply rolling mana: Ghostflame Ignition.
Grey-black energy rose from the ground, rushing out from bottom to top. In an instant, it enveloped the entire ruins area, transpiring an aura of death. Due to the angle of attack and the cover of heavy snow, it was difficult to dodge. The Zamor Warriors were seen drowning in the Ghostflame one after another.
Too late to scream, and even more too late to counterattack, they disappeared in an instant.
The Fire Monks in the distance felt the commotion and raised their guard, simultaneously dispatching messengers to Castle Sol. The situation was clear: the Soul Cinder King had arrived at the Mountaintops of the Giants.
After one breath.
Looking around, there were no enemies left standing.
Frieren looked with satisfaction at the effect of her first Ghostflame Ignition; it was similar to Godfrey's Earthshaker, difficult to dodge.
Moreover, necromancy magic was amplified by the Prince of Death's Staff, so the power was even superior.
"The Zamor Warriors here have all been cleared out, but at the edge of my perception range, there are still some Fire Monks on guard. They should know the situation and will be on guard."
Melina nodded.
"They definitely received the message from the Royal Capital. Theoretically speaking, the Mountaintops of the Giants are garrisoned by Castle Sol; it is critical."
Sure enough, it was a forbidden ground.
"The Consecrated Snowfield was just a bit troublesome; essentially, it is the road to the Haligtree. This place is different."
Ranni said meaningfully:
"The Giants who believed in the Fell God of Fire perished here, subjugated along with their faith. It is a symbol of the Golden Dynasty's victory, and the danger must be suppressed even more."
"You mean the Giants' Flame that claims to be able to burn the Erdtree?"
"Strictly speaking, it is the flame of the Outer God guarded by the Giants. Once guided, it is enough to burn down the Erdtree. It is a symbol of the Golden Order and cannot be lost."
"Perhaps our future Order may not necessarily be symbolized by the Erdtree, but keeping it is also quite pretty."
"Of course."
Hearing the dialogue between the God and the King, Melina added:
"Although you have your flame, Frieren, it is best to ignite the Giants' Flame and use it to burn the tree, to avoid unexpected complications."
"Rest assured, I will be a good Kindling Maiden."
"That is not a good term."
"Then I'll be a good Lord of Cinder. I have experience being used as firewood three times."
To put it nicely, she was a three-time Fire Linker; to put it harshly, she came out to burn whenever there was nothing else to do. When it came to durability in burning, Frieren dared to claim first place; she had lasted longer than Gwyn. After all, she later learned that everyone recognized the burning of the Chosen Undead of the second generation of Fire Linking supported the world for a long period of peace.
Her efforts weren't in vain. Worthy of a body tempered after collecting the four Great Lord Souls; it was tenacious enough.
Added to the one mid-way Fire Linking later, and one final Fire Linking, adding them up, she had burned longer than Gwyn who started the Age of Fire no matter what.
It was nothing more than doing it again.
Frieren rode her horse forward with high spirits.
However, Ranni and Melina were not so reassured. The closer they got to the Forge of the Giants, the more nervous they became. Could using another kindling succeed? What if it didn't?
Wouldn't they still have to use the Kindling Maiden? Before igniting the Golden Tree, no one knew the result.
The only one who could be relaxed and free was the Soul Cinder King, as if she firmly believed there were several ways to burn the tree. She felt no pressure and continued to explore, even drilling into a catacomb while the two were lost in thought.
Fortunately, the efficiency was very high.
The "Giants' Mountaintop Catacombs" recorded on the map were merely at the level of a stroll for Frieren. She swept it clean in one lap; even the final boss, the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, was not an enemy that could last one round.
The only useful thing inside was probably the new member of the Spirit Ash Legion:
[Fire Monk Ashes]
[Spirit of a zealous Fire Monk, guardian of the Giants' Flame.]
[Capable of performing fire incantations, and significantly resistant to fire.]
[However, after long years of guardianship, the flame has bewitched the heart of the protector.]
Looking at the description, Frieren raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, does this mean the Giants' Flame has a certain bewitching nature? She had to be vigilant.
Another point was the intelligence function. The upcoming enemies excelled in Fire Incantations, which was indeed a threat on the snowy mountain. Not to mention a direct hit, even the melting snow causing an avalanche would be troublesome. Of course, that was for an army; a small squad size didn't need to care too much.
They continued on their way.
After clearing the enemies along the way in passing, a vast snowfield stretched out before their eyes, boundless.
It gave a feeling of being even more endless than the Consecrated Snowfield because it didn't have the wind and snow obscuring the vision. One could see further, even gazing at the Royal Capital.
"Ahead is the Snow Valley; a Golden Order Avatar appears there."
At the same time Melina reminded her, Frieren had already sensed the powerful life form in the snow, wandering blankly in all directions. She had seen similar enemies several times, so she decided to win a quick victory.
Torrent beneath her accelerated and sprinted continuously. At the same time, lightning gathered in her hand.
Bolt of Gransax!
A thunderous clap announced the devastating strike.
____
New Story: Bleach: Dominating Soul Society in One Sting
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