IBHJ Chapter 823

Shirou glanced at the unscathed Surtr and scoffed under his breath. It was pretty clear that this king of giants wasn't going to get hurt by something like that. As a giant, he had insanely powerful strength, but just like Shirou, he'd chosen to unite with the weak. This was one seriously special enemy that absolutely had to be taken out. Shirou didn't make this call just because failing to kill Surtr would make it impossible to stop the giants from invading Pan-Human History, but because once Surtr joined the Council, this organization would become way more terrifying!

Up until now, Chaldea had been able to go toe-to-toe with Council because most of the its members were individuals with crazy personal strength but crappy teamwork, like Sixth Seat and Demonic Bodhisattva. That's how Chaldea had been able to survive and get in the way of the Council's plans. But once Surtr joined the Council he'd definitely unite its members and then it would all be over.

With a killing intent hidden deep in his heart, Shirou was just about to speak when he saw Surtr charge forward with a single, powerful step. The flaming sword in his hand slashed down from above. Shirou, reacting quickly, used Rhongomyniad to fire a wide, devastating blast, but Surtr dodged it easily. Even mid-slash, he managed to pull off a smooth and graceful dodge. "Not good!" Shirou thought as he sent another quick blast, only to see Surtr evade it again. Finally, when Surtr was about to land a crushing blow, Shirou let out another close-range blast, the ground splitting open with a thunderous roar.

Before Shirou could catch his breath, Surtr's next strike came slashing down. It was hard to believe. Usually, the bigger the creature, the stronger its power, but at the same time, its agility and speed would suffer. But Surtr had overcome this and gone beyond common sense. His body was massive, his strength was immense, his ability was powerful, his rationality and wisdom were extraordinary, and what was even more deadly was that his body was incredibly nimble, not just fast, but agile!

Shirou could only transform the holy lance in his hand into a massive Tower of Light to block the attack. An insanely heavy force was transmitted from the Tower of Light. The ground where Shirou stood with his legs apart instantly cracked into two with a crunching sound.

A mocking sneer appeared on Surtr's face. The next moment, flames erupted from the burning sword in his hand, spreading along the Tower of Light towards Shirou.

Shirou wasn't a close combat type to begin with. Although he had greatly enhanced his basic parameters by relying on Skadi's blessing and stacking his own buffs, his physical strength still couldn't match Surtr's.

The Tower of Light was gradually being pushed down. Once it was completely overwhelmed, he would be crushed into a pulp. But strangely, he had to hold back the urge to laugh. Of course, it was because Surtr's actions were within the seventh set of plans he had simulated beforehand!

The Tower was slowly being pushed down. Even Surtr must have thought Shirou had no way to fight back at this point, right? But he was wrong. The Runes of Wisdom glowed on Shirou's brow. The next moment, his body flickered with a black light as the phantom of Nidhogg appeared behind him. Shirou's body suddenly surged with mana. With a boom, his entire body abruptly expanded. In an instant, like a human activating an Ultraman transformation device, his body suddenly enlarged and he became a colossal giant.

It was precisely this sudden expansion of his body that directly knocked Surtr off balance, catching him off guard and sending his body crashing to the ground with a "rumble." Shirou didn't miss his chance, and a giant black sword formed in his hand, its obsidian blade gleaming with a menacing aura. The angle of this stab was very tricky, and Surtr, still reeling from the unexpected fall, had almost no way to avoid.

Just as victory seemed to have been decided, with Shirou's sword mere inches from its target, Surtr displayed an astonishing feat of agility. With a deft turn of his wrist, he contorted his body at an extremely unusual angle, defying the laws of physics. This sudden, jarring movement allowed him to narrowly dodge the incoming stab, the black sword grazing past his skin by a hair's breadth. In the same motion, Surtr brought his own flaming sword around in a devastating horizontal slash, its burning edge cleaving through the air with incredible force, splitting the giant black sword clean in half.

Surtr believed that the whole point of fighting was to prioritize your own safety first, then focus on taking down your opponent. He was confident he could match Shirou, maybe even surpass him, because no matter what kind of battle they faced, he'd never lose his calm. He'd defend and attack with a clear mind, making any sneak attack against him pointless.

"Come on, Eternal King." Surtr raised his sword, pointing at the enlarged Shirou, and said, "You have already used Nidhogg's power to become bigger, show me something better, or you won't be able to defeat me..."

Shirou lunged forward, his holy lance smashing down towards Surtr. The battle between the king of giants and the king of men for control of Pan-Human History had begun. The clanging of their clashing weapons echoed endlessly from the top of the World Tree.

...

A figure darted past, leaving sword afterimages in his wake. With a few quick snaps, the elite giants toppled over one by one. Merlin's graceful swordsmanship allowed him to cut down all the giants in a single strike while still keeping himself spotless. He glanced up at the top of the world tree, watching the battle of kings and listening to the sounds of their combat.

Surtr was incredibly powerful, and he also used Yggdrasil to sweep across the four directions, preventing any reinforcements from helping Eternal King. Even so, Merlin knew Shirou would come out on top. After all, wasn't he the one who had been winning every step of the way?

A soft, gentle voice was spoken from the mouths of all the knights. Not just Merlin, but everyone believed their king would be victorious. Just like the giants believed Surtr would win.

It was a clash of kings. All the focus, all the light, everyone's eyes were locked on the battle of kings at the top of the world tree. Bergelmir slowly got to his feet, lifted his head, and looked at the chaos in Asgard, at the battle of kings raging at the top of the world tree.

"Great Bergelmir, Eternal King has already invaded Asgard and is even fighting with our king. We need to go help him!" A fire general said anxiously.

"Exactly! We only need to send thirty thousand troops. If we do that, there's no way Eternal King can defeat our king!"

"If I do that, how could I ever repay Surtr? How could I repay him for letting all my millions of tribesmen die in Pan-Human History?" Bergelmir had a very sweet smile on his face, but his eyes were full of bloodshot fury. The contradiction between his gentle smile and the ferocity in his eyes made for a bizarre, unsettling sight. This left the generals stunned for a moment, and then they felt a sense of unease creeping into their hearts.

Suddenly, a sickening, wet cracking sound rang out, cutting through the tense atmosphere. Long, jagged arms made of sharp ice crystals stretched out from behind the unsuspecting crowd, catching the generals completely off guard. In an instant, the icy appendages shot forward and pierced right through the generals' chests with brutal force. The fire giant generals let out agonized gasps of shock and pain, their eyes going wide with a mix of confusion, horror, and the sting of betrayal as steaming blood gushed from their gaping wounds.

The normally expressionless frost giants all displayed bloodthirsty, frenzied smiles. One of the frost giants, his face contorted with savage madness, stepped forward and sneered at the dying generals.