Conquering His Cold Heart

She appeared before the two young men, protecting them from the oncoming stone club. She licked her lips in appreciation and tightened her grip around her weapon. A comically large hammer that obviously weighed more than a 100kg.

Frost superimposed the image of Maya on this woman\'s back finding them similar for a brief moment.

"SMAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!" The cyclops cared not for the change in target as long as it could crush something it. It\'s massive club swiftly reached this Maggie with impressive force; the very air being pressurised into a sonic boom.

Maggie responded with a joyous chuckle before tensing her already massive arms causing them to bulge obscenely. She didn\'t even bother using a skill or chakra simply retaliating against the 10 metre tall cyclops with her own brute strength. Her hammer swung fiercely dragging the air with it to smash against the cyclops\'s club.

Baaaaaaaannnnnggggggg!

A massive explosion of sound erupted upon contact and Frost and Artemis couldn\'t help their jaws from going agape in awe.

The mighty cyclops was defeated in a match of pure strength. Parts of its stone club fragmented as it was blown backwards as if it was as light as a feather.

The cyclops was even more confused, it turned to look at its raised arm that was supposed to be parallel to the ground in bafflement before looking at its intended prey or rather the one that impeded its path.

It saw Maggie standing tall with a smile and almost mocking look in her eyes. The cyclops wasn\'t the smartest creature, but it was smart enough to know when it was being mocked.

Anger filled it and its raised arm started to tense and reveal thick veins. Its stone club groaned from the increased pressure exuded by its hand.

Maggie\'s smile grew as she readied her stance for another attack, this time a glow surrounded her hammer, she was preparing to use a skill.

"Bullen get your arse out of here you\'ve got the vanguard squads to worry about." While both she and the cyclops readied themselves for a more destructive attack she wrapped her neck around to yell at Bullen who was watching the situation in a daze.

Bullen who was covered in scars and sported a rather frightening visage shivered at Maggie\'s yell, instinctively standing straight and saluting.

"Yes vice leader!" He animatedly responded before leaving the vicinity to aid the rest of the vanguard that he was in charge of.

Frost felt Artemis shiver through their close proximity at the same time revealing his fear towards this woman called Maggie.

"Artemis we\'ll discuss your choice in actions later but for now you\'re free to assist me and the young Frost here in our battle. Be wary of your surroundings and take a defensive approach, watch and learn how B-ranks battle." Maggie gave Artemis an almost threatening glare before winking towards Frost. He fluid changes in attitude were rather surreal.

Artemis audibly gulped as fear wrapped around his heart, dreading the \'discussion\' Maggie mentioned. The fear he had towards this woman was enough to make him completely forget the pressure exuded by the cyclops, whether that was the point or just a coincidence was impossible to tell.

Frost however not knowing much about this Maggie simply looked towards her with fascination as a wild smile grew on his lips.

A few moments earlier, the instance that Frost leaped to the air and was fiercely attacked by the combined attacks of the eldest rindar and the B-rank poison herald, Hamon\'s entire body tensed and the air around him became heavy due to his unrestrained aura. The northern wall underneath his feet cracked from the pressure and the nearby soldiers struggled to breath.

"Maggie take care of it." He released an order through clenched teeth and fury filled eyes. His hands repeatedly clenching and unclenching as he tried to remain calm and keep himself from diving into the action.

He immediately knew the type of monster that launched that violet beam attack and knew that such a foe was too much for Bullen and Frost to handle while also dealing with the regular vanguard duties. Plus Frost might end up being injured due the sudden attack from the rindar and poison herald.

The B-rank monsters were starting to accumulate and take prime roles within the battlefield. Hamon had a clear view of the entire battle and noticed the 3rd and 2nd rindars as well as the other two B-ranks starting to move in earnest. He had no choice now but to send his own B-rank fighters.

Maggie Chambers one of the two vice leaders directly under himself, a hammer user with strength equal to upper mid B-rank. Few in the entire battalion could match her when it came to physical prowess himself included. If he himself couldn\'t enter the field then she was an acceptable substitute, strong, reliable and a charismatic leader plus a good match for a cyclops.

"Hehehehehehe as you command Colonel." Maggie rose from her seated position with her massive hammer before running to the edge of the northern wall and leaping from it with an excited look on her face.

"[Tectonic shift]" After winking towards Frost, Maggie the vice leader of the frost wolf battalion stationed here turned back towards the cyclops and called out the name of an advanced level hammer skill.

Her hammer glowed with the colour of the earth and formed the image of the earth\'s crust. Initially on the swing\'s start up the earth was flat and peaceful but as the hammer rose up the image distorted.

Large plates crashed against one another below the surface causing the earth to explosively rise up, forming an imposing mountain, granting her swing enhanced weight and destructive force that even the earth couldn\'t restrain.

The cyclops wasn\'t holding back either, purple light covered its stone club before transforming into purple coloured electricity that swarmed around it. The skill\'s name was [thunder bash] similar in its destructive nature to Maggie\'s [Tectonic shift]. It will be a contest of raw power vs raw power.

"Rahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Maggie roared out as she swung putting all she had into this swing.

Boooooooooommmmmmm!

An earth shattering boom exploded upon contact and Frost felt the air attempt to push his entire body backwards. He was forced to stab his glaive into the ground so as to remain in place.

Dust, fragments of stone, blood and other debris were swept up in the storm generated from their clash but eventually they subsided and revealed the winner.

Boom! Boom!

The massive ten metre cyclops was blown backwards, its club falling to the ground with a massive dent in the centre. The great beast was pushed from its initial position, skidding across the ground before falling backwards from the residual force with a bewildered and shocked look, unable to conceive how with its overwhelming size it was the one to lose.

On Maggie\'s side she was pushed back a couple inches and the ground beneath her feet sported spiderweb cracks, but she was standing, and her weapon seemed undamaged. However a few drops of blood leaked from her mouth before being quickly wiped away.

\'Ah of course she wouldn\'t come out of such an exchange unscathed.\' Frost noticed the blood and Maggie\'s quick hiding of it. she was still a sapient, her body couldn\'t possibly be a match for the sturdiness of a monster\'s after all. This exchange was to serve as a signal, inspiring their allies with morale and their enemies with fear, she had pushed herself to do so.

Frost\'s hand subconsciously gripped hard around his glaive before he placed his hand on Artemis\'s shoulders.

"You heard the vice leader, watch and learn." He spoke with confidence and slapped Artemis\'s back before leaving him alone and joining Maggie.

"Are you alright vice leader?" He whispered so as not to alert Artemis or the cyclops.

Maggie swiftly wiped her mouth one more time and swallowed any blood that threatened to rush up her throat.

"Perfectly fine, just needed to stretch a little first before the real bout starts hehehehe." She laughed and placed her large, furred hand on his shoulder.

Like Jared Bando, Maggie was a member of bear beastmen tribe, a tribe known for their physical prowess. White fur covered many parts of her skin, and her ears were very similar to that of a polar bear\'s but other than that she looked human. Probably late thirties or early forties, same generation as Douglas, Ryuu and Bastion.

He hadn\'t met her personally yet, but he had heard about this vice leader of the frost wolf battalion. A fierce woman who was very fond of using her fists to solve problems and with strength only below Hamon\'s, but never would he have guessed she could so easily floor a cyclops. That was a member -though bottom of barrel- of the giant race, a monster species with immense physical strength.

His shock was evident on his face as his eyes couldn\'t help but drift between her massive biceps, hammer and the still floored cyclops.

"Hahahahaha its nothing much, my kin are already known to be physically adept and my skills in regards to using my weapon surpass this dull beast\'s." She laughed and harshly wacked Frost\'s back causing him to choke on his breath before sporting a serious look.

"But more importantly it was only using one arm." Maggie knew her capabilities and knew that this creature surpassed her physically no matter how much muscle she developed. The cyclops was a monster and easily 4 times her size, if it really was fair contest she would lose without a doubt.

The short exchange between Maggie and cyclops repeated in Frost\'s mind, he nodded in understanding, realising that what Maggie said was true, the cyclops held its club in one hand while she wielded her hammer with both. But even so.

"That\'s still pretty impressive." Regardless of the cyclops situation Maggie still triumphed over it both with and without using skills, something he himself, Bullen and many of the other B-rank fighters were incapable of doing. Maggie deserved his respect.

"Well aren\'t you a charmer." Maggie smiled from ear to ear before frowning. "Looks like our conversation will have to end here."

The cyclops was steadily getting up and the treeline was rustling.

Maggie gripped her hammer hard and placed it across her shoulders while Frost readied his glaive, adorning it in ice flames and preparing to move.

"Artemis! Skirmish!" Maggie gave Artemis a clear and simple order which caused the young archer captain to shiver and salute on instinct before reading his bow.

The cyclops picked up its stone club before facing Maggie and Frost.

"ME KILL ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!"