Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

189  The Sixth Stage

Henry's eyes swept over the towering Matriarch as he dashed toward her, his gaze locked on the great flow of Mana pulsing through her blue veins. He noticed a concentrated point of energy near her forehead, acting like the source of all the Mana in her body. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"It's from the same species, so it must have one of those cores" - Henry thought, slicing through the spikes the Matriarch hurled at him with ease, not even slowing his pace - "But even if I can reach it, piercing deep enough to kill it will be almost impossible."

The Matriarch was immensely powerful, her defense the strongest Henry had ever encountered in this life. The Mana coursing through her circuits was far greater than his own, Yngvi's, and even Luther's combined. But despite her immense strength, Henry could tell that she wasn't using her power and strength to its full potential. It was lacking on efficiency, wasting a lot of energy with every movement and attack. It was this conclusion that made Henry believe that victory was possible, but it wouldn't come easily.

He needed to get up there, to that weak spot, but the Matriarch wouldn't let him approach without a fierce struggle. A direct assault would likely end with him crushed beneath her massive fists. He needed a plan, a way to bring her down to her knees.

"Let's aim for spot behind the knees! We have to bring her down! If we can do that, I can finish her!" - Henry shouted to his comrades, deciding to join them in targeting the vulnerability at her joints - "Stay focused and be careful!" Leier, who had already recovered from their previous attempt, dashed toward the massive beast. She activated her Inverno Owl Tribal Tattoo, blending into the surroundings like a predator stalking its prey. Her eyes burned with fury and determination, fueled by the memory of Mani being hurled against the mountain, her destiny unknown.

Yngvi and the other elders charged as well, Skybreaker glowing as lightning snakes began to coil around it once more. The Matriarch, recognizing the silver color that broke its protective crown, raised her head and let out a deafening roar. Her skin began to glow with the same blue light as her veins, as if she were drawing every ounce of Mana within her. She seemed to be completely covered by Mana and the surroundings seemed to be affected by it.

"What is this mist?" - One of the elder dwarves muttered as a dense, gray fog suddenly enveloped them. The air grew colder, almost unbearable, as if the mist itself wanted to freeze them, turn them into solid statues. The dwarves, hardened by years of work in the forges, resisted the cold, but they had to fight with all their will and strength.

On the other hand, Leier could feel the biting cold seeping into her bones. Her blood seemed to slow, her feet felt heavy as they began to freeze in place. She struggled to move, her breath coming in short, frosty puffs. Ice threatened her, her leg almost fully covered by ice.

Henry couldn't fully grasp what was happening, but through his heightened vision, granted by Caelum, he could see the truth. The Mana radiating from the Matriarch was transforming the very essence of the raw Mana, bending it to her will. It was as if invisible tendrils were extending from her, seizing control of the raw Mana in the environment.

It was an unimaginable sight. The energy coming from the Matriarch was covering the whole space around them. It was something that Henry wouldn't be able to replicate, even if he burned all Mana within his body. "They are moving…" - Henry thought, watching as the tendrils tugged the mana in the surroundings, forming deadly spikes in the air, ready to strike at Yngvi and his group.

Yngvi and the others, blinded by the thick mist created by the Matriarch, could feel something dangerous coming their way. The air around them grew heavy, and then, cutting through the fog, they saw hundreds of ice spears flying straight at them. It felt like the very Valley they called home was trying to kill them.

"Behind me!" - Yngvi shouted, quickly pulling the three elder dwarves to safety - "Skybreaker! Lightning Dome!" - He smashed his hammer into the ground with all his strength, drawing in as much Mana as he could. The lightning snakes wrapped around his hammer dove into the snow, racing through the ground like flashes of silver. Suddenly, they burst from the earth, shooting into the sky like snakes trying to become dragons, their roars echoing like a storm rising from the ground itself, rebelling against the heavens.

The lightning broke apart the ice spears, shattering them into harmless pieces. The attack also cleared much of the mist that had surrounded them, giving them a brief moment of relief. They could now see the Matriarch, standing still and glowing with a strange blue light. Leier, who had been trapped by the ice, felt the cold grip loosening as the ice around her began to disappear into thin air. But the mist, although pushed back, slowly started to creep in again, closing the space around them. However, before the mist fully obscured the Matriarch's figure, the haggard Yngvi shouted to his king, who was already by the creature's feet - "Descendant! I'll clear the way!" - The urgency in Yngvi's voice told Henry that the old dwarf was about to make a final, desperate move. Yngvi was putting everything on the line, trusting completely in the descendant of Garret, the Son of Fire and Anvil. "Do it!"- Henry shouted back, leaping upward and landing on one of the icy ridges covering the Matriarch's massive form.

He had abandoned his original plan to bring the creature down. The Matriarch seemed unable to move after activating its spell, but Henry knew it would take more than brute force to bring her down. If Yngvi failed, those hundreds of ice spears would be aimed directly at him, making escape nearly impossible. He needed Yngvi to either disperse the mist or weaken the creature for him to strike a fatal blow.

With Henry's approval, Yngvi raised his hammer once more, pointing it towards the Matriarch's head. He took a deep breath, both hands gripping Skybreaker tightly. Suddenly, his entire body was enveloped in a bright silver light, which then flowed into the hammer, making it shine even brighter.

"Snake's Ascension!" - Yngvi roared, and the silver light shot from his hammer, forming the image of a giant snake that slithered through the air as if it had wings, soaring toward the sky, aiming to strike down the Matriarch. Seeing the opportunity, Henry pushed himself to move faster, scaling the Matriarch's form as Caelum continued to flood him with Mana. In seconds, Henry found himself right by the Matriarch's eyes, which seemed alert yet paralyzed, staring at him as if he were nothing more than a bothersome insect. Henry smiled grimly as he twirled Caelum in his hands, positioning the blade right between the creature's enormous eyes. The sword vibrated eagerly, as if it was hungry for the kill. Without hesitation, Henry thrust the blade downward with all his might. The sword pierced through the Matriarch's now-blue skin effortlessly, as if cutting through water.

Suddenly, a surge of powerful energy rushed into Henry's veins. Caelum was absorbing the Matriarch's Mana, channeling it directly into him. He felt his Mana Circuits expanding, his heart racing as his capacity to store Mana grew exponentially. As the Matriarch's life force drained away, Henry could feel himself breaking through to the Sixth Stage. The creature, once so powerful, was defeated.