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TWL Chapter 303: When Giants Burn
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 23:16:05 +0000 UTCThe Ice Giant let out a heart-rending scream after being hit by the Igni Sign.
But before Lann could breathe a sigh of relief, the creature leapt twice in fury. Its colossal body caused the mountain to rumble with the crash of shattering rock. Instantly, there was a cracking sound, and the crude greaves of wood and bone fragments covering its legs fell away, falling heavily to the ground.
All that remained on the Ice Giant's skin were charred, smoking patches.
Lann clicked his tongue in frustration. He had only managed to set the monster’s flammable greaves alight, not his own body. A 40% chance wasn’t enough; he would have to try several more times.
"Use that strange sword technique to cut him down!" Coen shouted from a distance upon seeing Lann's action. "Let us distract him with the signs, you prepare for the final blow!"
Lann rolled on the ground to dodge the Ice Giant's furious attack. The next moment, he launched another torrent of flames at the monster's leg. But beyond darkening its blue skin with soot, the sign had no other effect.
"My Igni Sign can burn his body, but it depends on chance." Lann shouted towards Coen. "I need the right timing!"
Coen stood there stunned for a moment, almost being hit by the Ice Giant's punch. He looked at the colossal body shrouded in a freezing mist and found it impossible to imagine it being burned.
"Can your signal achieve something like that?" he muttered to himself. Then, he raised his voice again. "Okay, we'll give you the chance!"
Coen was not as agile as Lann, but he managed to dodge the Ice Giant's attacks by quickly moving to the back of his legs. With his left hand, he formed the Aard Sign gesture, concentrating an intense pressure of telekinetic power in his palm. It was not a devastating whirlwind like Lann's, but it was a compact and powerful blow.
With a thunderous sound, the shockwave reverberated across the mountain. It was a powerful enough impact that even with its titanic endurance, the Ice Giant staggered, almost falling to its knees.
Enraged, he spun around and raised his huge hand to crush the small attacker. But what he found in front of him was a hand glowing with a white glow.
[Axii Sign]
Coen channeled all his energy into the sign, but the result left him stunned. The Ice Giant's will was so overwhelming that the Sign had no effect. It didn't even pause for an instant, at most flickering due to the intense glare.
The giant palm continued to descend with overwhelming force. The wind compressed in the blow was so strong that Coen could barely keep his eyes open.
Suddenly, Black Wind burst onto the scene and struck Coen, sending him flying. The horse, displaying almost human intelligence, glared at him in disdain before disappearing in an instant.
Coen rolled a couple of times on the ground to absorb the impact. The Quen Sign protecting him shattered instantly. Still, that outcome was much better than taking the full blow of the Ice Giant.
"Be more careful," Gerd warned, appearing at his side and helping him up. "This monster can use druidic magic, which means its mental resistance is at the level of a mage... or even higher. Our Axii Signs won't even tickle it."
Coen slapped his chest with his left hand and renewed the Sign of Quen. "Then there is no other option but to fight with our lives at stake."
Gerd shook his head. "At least your Aard Sign is quite powerful and had some effect on the monster. I haven't achieved anything. My signs have no effect, my silver and steel swords are completely deformed, and I can't even get its attention... By the way, can you teach me how to use Aard Sign after this?"
Coen was speechless.
The next moment, the two witchers jumped to avoid the Ice Giant's attack, before with a boom the giant's fist hit the ground, then they launched themselves back into battle.
Above the back of the Ice Giant's neck, an emerald flame suddenly flashed. Iris, her dress billowing in the wind, brandished the black magic scimitar. She slashed fiercely across the creature's neck, but even her tremendous strength could not pierce the thick, icy skin. To make matters worse, her inexperience with the sword caused her to drop the weapon, sending it flying in a chaotic arc.
Iris sighed. A gigantic palm rose to crush her. However, at the last second, her body transformed into an ethereal shadow of emerald fire, dodging the blow with ease.
Instead of retreating, she took the opportunity to launch herself at the Ice Giant in the form of a spectral flame. It seeped into his body through his eyes, ears, and even the pores of his skin.
Possession. An art that every specter and demon possesses.
The Ice Giant was momentarily paralyzed, as if a strange force was trying to control its movements. Although its will and resistance were enormous, Iris managed to slow it down.
Lann's eyes flashed. This was his chance!
A shower of flames erupted from his left palm...
…
Yennefer and the druid's magic blasts never ceased. Thanks to the witchers who kept the ice giant distracted and the protection of the island soldiers, they were able to launch unrestricted attacks.
However, everyone was aware that although their attacks did deal damage, they were not strong enough to finish off the creature once and for all.
Watching the battle from the side, Nanomi let out a sigh.
No soldiers were around her. Her extraordinary appeal, rather than attracting them, kept them away. It was not that the warriors of the Tuirseach clan were insensitive, but the islanders knew that this was a time for combat. They knew that if they remained near the succubus, her attention would be completely diverted from the ice giant.
Nanomi sighed again. She had followed the Elder Blood's son in order to survive, but she never imagined that after choosing a side, she would be dragged into a battle of this magnitude.
She had been living in Skellige for a long time, so she knew the ice giant's reputation well. If she had any other choice, she would avoid facing such an enemy at all costs.
She wanted to turn and run, but something stopped her. She watched as Lann clumsily dodged the ice giant's attacks, and suddenly, she couldn't look away. She felt that if he died, she wouldn't want to continue existing in this world either. And that was saying a lot, because Nanomi had been born during the Conjunction of the Spheres, and her will to survive far exceeded that of any other being.
"Is it just necessary to distract him? Create an opportunity for the final blow?"
She sighed for the third time. An instant later, a powerful wave of chaotic energy emanated from her body.
Her naked torso was covered in a faint dark mist, an ethereal veil that, while concealing, emanated a hypnotic glow. Like a spark falling into a barrel of exotic spices, the very concept of attraction ceased to be an abstraction and became something tangible, spreading through the air and enveloping everyone present.
[Big~man~]
A soft, sensual, and slightly hoarse voice resonated in the ears of all beings on the battlefield.
The ice giant possessed extraordinary mental resilience, immune to hypnosis spells. But what Nanomi had just summoned was no simple mind-altering trick. She was merely unleashing her essence, empowering the innate characteristic of her race and awakening the most primitive desires of those around her.
Not only did the ice giant fall prey to her influence, but so did the Skellige soldiers, Lann's followers, men and women alike, and even Black Wind himself. They all stopped their attacks and stared at the succubus.
Even Iris, who had possessed the ice giant's body, was caught in the spell.
Nanomi nodded in satisfaction and was about to release Lann from her influence when she noticed him quickly scanning the situation and, without showing the slightest sign of being affected, continuing to attack the ice giant with fire.
The succubus opened her eyes in disbelief.
…
[Boom! Boom!]
The ice giant lumbered towards the succubus, ignoring Lann's attacks.
But in the next moment, the giant would regret his action.
The Igni Sign had finally managed to trigger that probability. Something in the giant's body accepted the heat, and it began to burn.
From Lann’s perspective, the monster’s legs didn’t seem to be ignited by the fire outside, but rather the flames were bursting forth from within, as if something inside was being consumed. Was it its blood? Its flesh? Its life energy? Or something beyond biological understanding?
It was a fire without fuel, but its heat and destructive capacity were undeniable.
"God!"
The ice giant's roar echoed across the mountains. The excruciating pain finally broke the succubus' spell on him. The witchers also felt as if a war horn was sounded directly in their ears, awakening them from their trance.
Nanomi, seeing the Tuirseach soldiers unconsciously advancing towards her, dispelled her magic and quickly retreated.
"Don't come any closer! Help Lann finish off the ice giant!"
