A territory lord, referred to a monster that was so strong in comparison to the competition surrounding it that it dominated the region, becoming a bestial King or Queen. Within the external regions such entities needed to be at least C-rank and were usually variant species that had an edge over their standard kin.
Upon hearing mention of the Iceborne huntsman Mother Callie visibly trembled. Fear and revulsion filling her eyes as the form of the Iceborne huntsman occupied her mind.
"How ungentlemanly of you Frost to ask a woman to talk about such a creature." It was obvious that even mentioning the thing indirectly made Callie nauseous.
Frost was quite frankly surprised by the experienced woman's reaction.
'Hoh so even someone like her has issues with them, heheheh how adorable.' His evil smirk stretched, greatly irritating Callie.
"Tsk bully." Callie pouted before summoning up her courage, she really didn't want to do this but in the end she was a professional.
"The monster..."
"The Iceborne huntsman." Frost teasingly said drawing a fierce glare his way.
"YES the ICEBORNE HUNTSMAN, is still located in the western reaches of the Lambda sector. The shifts in habitats from the recent monster stampede failed to dislodge the creature from its infested mountain.
Therefore any previous information recorded is still considered solid as is the quest to erase the creature from existence!" Callie practically spat her last words, having the sudden urge to bathe and toss salt over her shoulder.
For most women and even a large percentage of men the Iceborne huntsman was the stuff of nightmares. The creature was not ghostly in nature nor was it undead but was considered by many as something far, far worse....a spider.
And not just any spider but a big one, with long legs, sharp fangs, multiple beady eyes and a very aggressive temperament.
Unlike the frost spiders prevalent in the Dungeon of Niflheim this Iceborne huntsman didn't utilise webs instead the creature would silently stalk its prey before literally chasing or jumping at them with it fangs and legs raised, a horror that was a very active hunter.
With legs that stretched more than 2 metres from its body this creature that was covered in white hairs could perfectly blend into any environment within the glacial mountains and once it set its eyes on you there was no escape.
The mountain was its territory any that entered within its domain would be hunted not just by it but also by the legions of lesser spiders that it commanded, a massive den of eight legged horrors.
Callie thanked her lucky stars that she was never assigned to the Lambda sector camp, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that that thing rested nearby.
".....You gonna kill?" After managing to clear her mind of some rather grotesque images Callie asked with a small amount of hope. Frost with his potential and current B-rank status was well and truly a decent opponent for the Iceborne huntsman.
"Possibly, I want to use it as well as its children as whetstones for my companion." Yes the monster Frost had chosen to test Avira against was one that could make even an experienced woman like Callie cringe in horror. He was well and truly diabolical.
Of course the fear was only part of the reason he deemed this monster a good match up. Avira would likely be terrified yes but she'd also have little hesitation in committing a mass slaughter given their form, a silver lining you could say.
"That and more. I've further narrowed down our travel options and gotten a lead on the monster I want you to fight." He did his best to hide his evil intentions, but Avira still shivered, somehow sensing that something was amiss.
"What monster?" She asked both anxious and curious to know, it would be her first kill after all and a chance to display her true worth to the man escorting her to Icethorne.
"It's a surprise, once we near its lair then I'll tell you." He teased.
"Meanie." Avira assumed Frost was simply teasing her not realising his insidious intentions.
"What about you two did you get a good look around? Did the lodgings, food hall and merchandise meet your expectations?"
"Pretty much for me but.." Borris replied while hinting towards the person next to him.
"...It's quite a bit more 'rugged' than I expected." Avira didn't sugarcoat it; she was quite disturbed by the state of the camp. Though she knew it wouldn't be anything like her home in Arkheart she did think that it'd be of a similar standard to Frost's territory. A very unfortunate expectation.
The Niflheim city state even when it was in its early days as a camp was a prime product that offered high quality goods, far beyond any basic camp found in the glacial mountains.
"I think V was spoiled by the amenities in your territory Frost, thus giving her a warped outlook on camps." Borris whispered into Frost's ear. He too was rather taken aback by the standards in Frost's territory, but he at least had decades of experience to see it something unique rather than standard.
Avira blushed from embarrassment, she struggled to look at Frost's face feeling that there'd certainly be a mixture of a mocking and prideful smile on his face, but she'd be wrong.
"I should have expected as much. For you who rarely left the capital it's no wonder you'd assume such things given that my territory was only just recently established." Frost didn't mock her for her views in fact he felt a little guilty for not warning her in advance.
This journey was clearly going to be a bit more uncomfortable than the princess expected alas there was no turning back.
"It's fine, now I know so I'll prepare myself better. Are we leaving now?" The sun was still high in the sky so it wouldn't be efficient to rest in the Beta camp.
"Yes, we'll be heading to the Lambda sector which should take us about two days. There's a camp roughly halfway and one in that sector so we won't need to take rest in the wilderness." A small mercy for the young Princess.
"Our monster target is also in that sector as is the end of our current route, depending how you fair we'll either head northwest or northeast from the Lambda sector."
"One's the long but more safe route and the other is shorter but riskier" Avira stated.
"Bingo." Frost touched his nose and smiled.
"Let's get a move on then, no point waiting around here when there's a monster to hunt and journey to be made." Feeling energised by Frost's smile Avira leapt onto Kiba's back and requested that they head on off.
Something both Frost and Borris were all for.