537 DXXXVII. Last Survival Chance

"That man... he looks like General Atran! How is that possible?" 

The soldiers began chatting with each other again, finally realizing that the two warriors they were fighting were actually identical.

The gaze of the real Atran, after his last words, gradually rose towards his Commander.

His eyes were full of blood and expressed incredible suffering, as well as his body, marked by the torture he had been forced to endure.

"This man is an impostor... along with my squire misled me and poisoned a glass of wine that was supposed to kill me... after realizing I wasn't dead, they stabbed me several times and when I lost consciousness, they tied me up, locked me in the Outpost stable and stole my armor and weapons. I am the real Atran" the stranger said, confessing to everyone the true story and pointing his dagger at the impostor, who retreated, not knowing how to react.

A minute's silence followed the accusation and the fake Giants of Ymir's General felt all eyes pointed at him.

His gaze, within seconds, changed drastically and an evil smile appeared on his face.

"I don't know how you did it, son of a bitch, but you won't survive again! Aaargh!" 

The Lies Of Loki warrior disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, which quickly dissolved in the air under the action of the wind and after less than a second, appeared next to Atran, piercing his side with the dagger and causing him to bend slightly in that direction.

"Fuck! Atran!" Kron yelled, who ran towards his true friend and positioned himself in front of him as if he wanted to shield him after the enemy warrior disappeared again.

The cloud of black smoke reappeared and the fake Atran grabbed the neck of Kron's armor, who, expecting a frontal attack, failed to wriggle out of his grip and was unbalanced backward, moving away from whom he wanted to protect.

The enemy placed Atran's dagger blade on Kron's throat and took him hostage, threatening everyone else to kill him instantly.

Kranus, Dag, and the other Masters remained on the sidelines, knowing that their every intervention would result in the death of one of their comrades or perhaps two of them, as the real Atran was unable to defend himself properly.

"If you were not resurrected from the realm of the dead, your friend would not have been in danger, you ugly idiot! My job has always been to warn my leader of your stupid plans! Now this man will die, as you will! Hehehe!"

An evil laugh followed the words of the Lies Of Loki warrior, who despite still looked like Atran took on a true psychopathic expression.

Kranus continued to look at the enemy with an impassive look, despite Kron's eyes expressed anger and fear, knowing that his time to die had not yet arrived.

The hostage-taken General dropped his sword and stopped agitating, feeling the dagger's sharp blade very close to his trachea, so close that it began to cut slightly off the shallower layers of his skin, causing droplets of blood to fall to the ground.

"You said your goal was to warn your leaders, right?" the ice mage asked, looking at the enemy warrior with a chilling look.

"Yes, but by now you have sent everything up in smoke! The plan jumped because of this idiot! I'm going to die, that's true... but if I die, I will take him with me!" the shapeshifting warrior replied angrily, continuing to push the blade towards Kron's throat, which closed his eyes to restrain the pain and fear, avoiding grasping the arms of the enemy who might otherwise have made abrupt movements.

"You know that I'm the one who makes the rules here... so I can let you go. You will disappear from my sight, return to your city and notify your bosses about what is about to happen. But to do that, you must let Kron go and give the real Atran back his stuff. I am not afraid to face your Clan, even if you are prepared for our arrival... we will break you" Kranus exclaimed, whose anger was felt by the people around him, who noticed a strange blue aura taking shape around the shape of his body as if his enormous magical power could explode at any moment.

The Lies Of Loki warrior looked around again and after realizing that he had only a few seconds to make a decision, his forehead began to sweat.

Dag focused on his expression and it was very easy to understand that the man knew that if he hurt Kron or Atran, death would come within seconds and would be inevitable. 

And it was just as easy to guess that he didn't want to die. 

"I'm sure there are archers among you... when I'll escape you will kill me from a distance! I'm not dumb enough to fall on your stupid plan, I won't be fooled!" 

"All right then... kill Kron. Kill Atran too if you want... but know that you have to do it quickly because as soon as your dagger blade sinks into my General's throat, your heart will be pierced by a slab of ice and your organs will splash out of your body. I will reduce you to a pulp, you will become food for condors" Kranus replied, while the blue aura around his body increases its intensity.

His words were followed by a moment of hesitation, after which, the enemy warrior, having understood that for him there was no way out but to accept the peaceful agreement that had been proposed to him, said: "All right! All right, fuck! I agree! I will let this man go and you will let me escape freely!"