Findlay stared at the prone and struggling war ursa with a calm and cold gaze. Its full on red claw attack was shattered apart by him and now thanks to its overexertion and prominent wounds it was flat on its belly struggling to find its feet, a prime opportunity.
Findlay felt invigorated, his entry into advanced level axe mastery allowed him to see the world with new vision, to feel a greater connection with his weapon and know new ways in which to use that weapon.
One of which was screaming out in his brain dying to be let loose on the vulnerable prey. Yes the war ursa was no longer the predator but the prey in the eyes of this ice troll commander.
Findlay marched forward firmly, gaining speed with each step until he was running at full speed
"[Glacier crash]!" Findlay shouted out the name of the new skill he just learned, an advanced level skill with devasting power. An azure mist started to escape from his body as he picked up speed and leapt up high into the air.
The mist grew more and more distinct, some formed around his axe, protecting and enhancing it to levels far beyond that of [mountain cleave]. The majority however coagulated behind Findlay in the shape of a giant glacier. This image emitted a frightening chill but more importantly a mighty weight, greatly enhancing the force of his swing.
With his battle axe raised up high Findlay cleaved downwards as his body descended, his aim was the severely damaged left rear leg. It had been dangling there with the bone exposed long enough, it was time to sever it completely.
"Rooooaaaaarrrrrrr!" Of course the war ursa wasn't going to just sit there and allow its body to endure such a devasting blow. It tried to quickly stand up and evade but its limbs refused to listen, the blood loss and severe damage made control difficult. Since it couldn't move away it attacked instead, with a yet unseen skill.
Red energy rapidly pooled from its body towards its head. This red energy formed into a red version of the war ursa's head; it was a skill similar to Frost's [wyvern maw].
The red war ursa head lacked the detail and living quality of the [wyvern's maw] but it was still quite impressive. The red bear head launched forward to intercept Findlay's [glacier crash] with its maw wide open.
Findlay in its eyes was still just a mere ice troll, lower in the food chain. Despite the lethality it felt from this skill it strongly believed that it shouldn't be able to beat its red bear head skill, this arrogance was imprinted deep in its bones.
Findlay lips stretched from ear to ear in a wild smile, showing off his pearly with teeth. He was ecstatic, it'd be a little lacklustre if his new move had nothing to fight against. He pumped in even more of his energy into his skill in response.
Baaaaaaannnnngggggg!!!
An ear shattering bang exploded at the point of contact. The massive azure covered battle axe crashed against the red ursa head, striking upon its forehead with unbridled weight, far too much for it to endure.
He struggled to even remain conscious placing him in an even more vulnerable position than the war ursa earlier.
The monster in question had been blown back several metres and onto its back. Its mind was still in relative shock, the fact that its leg had been severed and the fact that it was on its back hadn't quite clicked yet.
A couple seconds later however the realisation hit it, the pain of losing a limb rushed to its brain resulting in guttural howl before it rolled to its three remaining feet. Its eyes stared at the vacant area around its rear. A clean divide that removed the entire leg leaving nothing but a gruesome wound that was bleeding profusely.
The war ursa's blood loss was already serious even with the benefits brought on by the frenzied state. With such an open wound its time was limited, 10 minutes perhaps less.
The serious of the situation quickly donned on it, the spectre of death that tightly lingered around Findlay throughout this fight now attached itself to it, death was coming, and it was powerless to stop it.
Anger and wrath starting building up to uncontrollable levels. Its gaze drifted towards Findlay the one who effectively killed it.
"Raaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrr!!!!" A wrathful roar filled with piercing bloodlust and unrestrained pseudo aura escaped its bloody maw, exasperating its wounds even further but it was beyond the point of caring.
Findlay's body shivered and was assaulted by the blood lust, pseudo aura and even the literal air forcefully exuded by the roar. His body that had overtaxed itself by unleashing a devasting skill was too weak to counter the war ursa's pseudo aura. He felt pressured and lost control of his limbs from primal fear, his heart even stopped as cold sweat dripped down his spine.
'Fuck!' He internally cursed as his mouth was no longer working, his teeth chattering as his body was in full terror mode like a paralysed mouse in front of a snake. He tried to regain control of his body, but the primal fear was ingrained to deep, he couldn't override it in a short time.
All he could do was look directly at the war ursa as it began charging at him with its three legs. Even if he was going to die he was going to openly face his enemy. His body may be paralysed by primal fear and the beast's searing blood lust, but his spirit would never be subdued, he would keep trying to fight.
'Move! Move! Move! Move! Dammit!' He roared internally, desperately trying to move his limbs and he gained some minor success but not enough to evade the war ursa's maddened charge or raise his battle axe in defence. It seemed as though this was as far as he went.
After fighting such a difficult death defying battle for so long and even coming out on top for the majority of it, he was going to meet his end. A mixture of playing it safe and not taking into account the true cost of using a skill beyond his current means landed him in this position.
If he had another 30 seconds or so he'd likely be able to regain control of his body and get back in the fight. He'd be exhausted and drained but the war ursa wasn't any better, all he needed to do was drag out the fight and he'd be the winner. But 30 seconds in a high level fight where multiple exchanges can happen within a single second was practically eons.
He'd need a miracle or...