Chapter 347: Acolytes of War

Words : 2238 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 347: Acolytes of War Jadis watched in bemusement as Steingrimur and Runar quietly argued with each other over which of them was going to get to fight Jadis first. She honestly hadn’t expected there to be a literal line of people who wanted to test either her or their combat prowess, but apparently there was. Though, as she thought it over, it really wasn’t that surprising considering the temple she was currently visiting. Charos was the god of war and competition. It made sense that his most devout followers would be spoiling for the chance to pit themselves against a new opponent. Jadis couldn’t overhear everything that was being said, but she could hear enough to tell that it wasn’t just about who got to go first, like Steingrimur had claimed. The short man, whose name she really should learn at some point, seemed to be acting as a voice of reason between the two taller men, basically arguing that brawling with the woman that their holy order had arrested while under custody was just plain stupid. It certainly sent a message, even if Jadis wasn’t entirely sure she was catching all the nuances. However, the two big brutes weren’t having any of it. Both wanted to fight more than they wanted to handle anything political, and neither wanted to cede first go to the other. “Both of you can fight her,” Noll’s growling voice called out, catching Jadis off guard. “It’ll be fairer that way.” The bear man and the high priest both stared at Noll, their brows furrowed and their shoulders set in surprisingly similar ways. For half a second, Jadis wondered if the two were related? She quickly disregarded the idea. Just because one was a Valbjorn and the other was a half Valbjorn didn’t mean that they had any blood ties to each other. “Are you sure?” Steingrimur asked. “I’ve seen her stats. I know she’s strong, but attributes aren’t everything.” “They aren’t,” Noll agreed as he settled back against a far wall to watch the coming show. “You’ll need Runar.” That pronouncement just galvanized the brazen priest in his desire to fight Jadis solo even more. Jadis could practically see the fire burning in his eyes, one that raged not just with wounded pride, but also excitement at the prospect of a challenge. Steingrimur opened his mouth to speak, then shut it as he thought better of what he was going to say. Pointing a finger at Runar, then another at Jadis, he started walking towards a group of older priests standing to the side of the arenas. “If we are going to fight, let’s do this properly. Get your weapons ready, Jadis. No holding back.” Jadis had her axe and maul already, but she had yet to get a replacement for the lance that had been destroyed by the ice dragon, Vetregin. Backing out of the ring, Syd went to the weapon rack closest to Noll so she could pick out something suited to her size. “Thanks a lot, Noll,” Syd whispered as she picked out a halberd that was a bit too small for her but would work well enough. “You’re welcome,” the old wolf replied with perfect magnanimity. In short order, the priests that Steingrimur had spoken to had set up a ritual ring around the training arena, something that they seemed well-practiced at. It took about five minutes to complete, but when they were done the arena had been sanctified with a powerful spell that would prevent anyone within from being knocked below ten health points. It would only work on an individual once, and it only lasted for half an hour, but it essentially worked the same way as Eir’s Protection of the D ritual. A useful spell to prevent accidents from happening when training, but apparently too costly to use all the time. For a fight between Jadis and the two bear men, though, the spell was very much worth the expense. With the ritual completed, Jadis’ three selves stepped into the ring and squared off against the two higher-level warriors. She couldn’t deny that she was thrilled to have a chance to fight against two skilled opponents without having to worry about holding back. She was especially eager to give Runar another taste of her wrath. But fighting both the high-CLR paladin and a high priest of the god of war at the same time... Well, Jadis hoped Noll’s confidence in her wasn’t misplaced and that she wasn’t about to embarrass herself in front of all of her companions and a growing audience of Charos knights. “Kick their hairy asses!” Kerr shouted from the sidelines, whooping and hollering as she pumped a fist in the air. “Show ‘em who has the biggest dick around here!” With Kerr’s raucous cheering to lead them, the others surrounding the ring started joining in. All of Jadis’ companions of course started cheering for her, but to her surprise, some of the Charos priests and even a few knights were cheering for her, too. Whether that was because they didn’t like Runar and Steingrimur, or because they just liked the idea of rooting for an underdog, Jadis couldn’t tell. Either way, with the cheers of her lovers ringing in her ears, she stepped forward to face off against the two powerful warriors. Jadis had some idea of what to expect from Runar. The Valbjorn hadn’t exhibited any outward magical effects during their fight back in Far Felsen. Maybe that was because he’d been holding back and hadn’t cast any smite spells or the like on her. Or maybe his magic was subtle and didn’t make its effects obvious. Or the bear man just didn’t have that kind of magic. That was always a possibility, Jadis supposed. She barely had any magic herself, even though her Mirror Knight class was certainly capable of casting spells. Runar could have made similar choices to her and just not gone the magical route with his classes. There was no way for her to know for sure when it came to things the brute might be hiding, but what she did know was that he was skilled with his mace, he liked to get in close to grapple with his free hand, and he wasn’t afraid to bite. Maybe not the most detailed evaluation of Runar’s capabilities, but she could say that the man’s fighting style wasn’t a complete mystery to her. Steingrimur, on the other hand, was a complete unknown. She’d never seen the man fight, or even hold a weapon. In fact, he still wasn’t holding a weapon and was still just wearing a loose tunic and a pair of plain pants. Maybe that meant he was a bare-knuckle brawler like the short man? That seemed likely, since he hadn’t picked up any weapons while they had been waiting for the ritual to complete. However, Jadis wouldn’t put it past the half-bear man to have some kind of trick up his sleeve. Whatever the case, one thing Jadis felt safe on assuming was that Steingrimur was capable of casting spells. He was a high priest, after all. Even if his other classes were non-magical, that one certainly had to grant some kind of casting ability. “Ready?” Steingrimur called out over the din of the cheering crowd. “Ready,” Runar rumbled loud enough to make the ground quake. “Ready!” all three of Jadis replied in unison. That was all that needed to be said. In one moment, all were standing still. In the next, they moved. Runar charged forward with a vicious roar that shook the air and reverberated inside of Jadis’ armor. With mace raised high, he closed the gap between Jay and himself, aiming straight down the center line. Steingrimur dashed behind him, following in the bigger man’s wake, the flash of some kind of spell glowing from both of his hands. Jadis lost all sense of time as she focused her whole being on fighting then two formidable opponents. Their moves were powerful, precise, and exhibited a level of skill she recognized she had not yet reached. Yet she used every last point in her overwhelmingly high-attribute arsenal to not just hold her own, but actually fight back against the two. Still, for some minutes, the fight was effectively a stalemate as any damage Jadis was able to do to the two was healed by Steingrimur, while the damage they were able to do to her was minimal enough that her massive health pool could handle it. The breaking point occurred when Jadis went for the ring-out on Steingrimur. Tossing her axe into the air overhead, Dys tackled the priest around the waist in an attempt to toss him onto the ground. He countered by slamming his sword into her back, causing a burning pain to eat away at her dwindling health. That was fine. Jadis couldn’t let the fight drag out for minutes longer, otherwise the priest would outlast her just by the fact that he could heal injuries and she couldn’t. So instead she tanked his burning blade while Jay caught the axe and used the pointed back end to attack him. He caught the blow with his shield, the pointed end digging deep into the conjured material. Pulling hard, Dys reared back and tossed the surprised priest into the air while Jay yanked him along with the grip of her axe. In one coordinated move, Steingrimur was thrown out of the arena, landing in a roll just outside of the ring. Jadis had no chance to cheer her success, however, as by devoting so much attention to one opponent left her third self struggling against the other. Runar’s mace bashed through Syd’s guard as he brought the weapon down onto her shoulder. She weathered the blow, staggering slightly under the impact, but she used the opening to sweep at his legs. However, her blow hit nothing as he leapt over the telegraphed move, then struck the same point on her armor again. This time her armor crumpled under the power of the blow and she felt her bone snap. “Shit!” Syd screamed in pain as she desperately tried to back-pedal away from the Valbjorn before he could take advantage of her dangling arm. Jadis tried to use her Mirrored Body’s Shifting Reflection to transfer the wound to one of her other bodies, but because her armor had been bent into her flesh her arm simply broke again as soon as she did so. With a triumphant roar, Runar struck hard and fast, too fast for her to defend herself completely. In a moment, she was airborne as the bear man knocked her off her feet and sent her tumbling out of the ring. Runar’s elated roar was cut short, however, as both Jay and Dys tackled him from behind. The brutish bear was crushed under hundreds of pounds of armored Nephilim as they crashed out of the ring in a pile of rage and flailing limbs. “Get off me!” Runar shouted as she elbowed Dys. “Stop fucking squirming and I will, idiot!” Syd cursed into his face as she struggled to keep the angered bear man from damaging her broken arm any further. Just as the pain was starting to become too much to handle, a soothing warmth washed over Jadis, followed by another warmth that felt strangely invigorating. Looking around, she could see that both Eir and Steingrimur had approached her and both were pumping their healing magics into her bodies. “I can’t believe you got me with that maneuver. It’s fucking kids stuff!” Steingrimur complained, though he didn’t look particularly unhappy. In fact, from the wide grin on his face, Jadis could tell he was actually rather excited. “You won’t get me with that move again.” “Of course she got you with it, you meat sack,” Runar fumed as he finally extracted himself from the tangle of Jadis. “You never remember to guard yourself against tosses.” “You’re one to talk,” Jay snarled at the bear. “I fucking tossed you all over Far Felsen last time.” “Losers don’t get to talk back,” Runar snarled back at Jay. “Shut your snout and go back to fucking priestesses in the baths.” “I’m not fucking anyone in any baths,” Jay shouted as she butted heads with the bear. “And I’m not a loser! You lost in Far Felsen, and this fight was a tie!” “You landed outside of the ring before me,” Runar roared at her, waving his mace wildly in agitation. “You lost!” “We landed outside of the ring at the same time!” Jay yelled and waved her own arms. “It’s a tie!” “Dragon piss! You were out first!” “I have three bodies! Two of them landed on top of you! You were completely out of the ring before I was!” “That’s not how that works!” Runar raged. “Yes, it is!” “No, it isn’t!” “Fine!” Jadis shouted from all three of her bodies at once as they all whirled to look at her mentor still leaning against the far wall. “Noll! Was that a tie or not!?” Noll simply let out a huff as he slowly shook his head in exasperation.

Chapter 347: Acolytes of War

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