43

Marauders

"Bang... bang..."

Heavy footsteps echoed in the night, and soon, a massive figure came into view.

It was a huge humanoid creature, even larger than a troll, made of stone, clad in metal armor, and armed with a sledgehammer.

"A Kronan," someone recognized the creature.

"Why are the Kronans here?" someone else asked.

Wayne stretched out his hand, indicating the group behind the big figure. There were many other creatures, most of them humanoid but varied in appearance and race.

"It's a raiding party."

"Marauders?"

Wayne nodded. "A group of marauders who have been around for less than two hundred years. They like to burn, kill, rob, and scavenge."

"This group is a mix of all kinds of races. Kronans, Skrins, horned demons, Vanir... you name it."

He continued, "It seems the Skrins have found some allies."

Forseti asked, "Wayne, have you fought the Kronans before? How are they?"

The Kronans had appeared in the movies multiple times. Forseti remembered the friendly Kronan Thor met in Sakaar and another Kronan warrior Thor defeated at the start of "Thor 2".

But obviously, Forseti's current strength was far from Thor's at that time, so there was no clear reference. Being defeated by Thor didn't necessarily mean the Kronans were weak.

"No, but my father did. According to him, most Kronans are weaker than the Asgardians, but some are incredibly powerful... Their strength can generally be gauged by their size. The big guy in front of us is probably one of the stronger ones," Wayne said.

"Face your doom, big guy!" Suddenly, a voice filled with excitement and provocation rang out.

They turned to see a man wielding a sledgehammer, clad in heavy armor, charging at the massive Kronan.

"Gauce."

Gauce was one of the camp captains, known for his ferocity in battle. He was one of the camp's strongest warriors.

"Boom!"

The Kronan warrior and Gauce's hammers collided with a tremendous noise.

The sheer impact shocked some of the Skrinsians who had just arrived to attack Gauce, causing them to flee in terror, with a few even fainting.

After the clash, both Gauce and the Kronan warrior took a few steps back, seemingly evenly matched.

"Asgardian," the Kronan warrior growled, his heavy voice like the grinding of rocks, full of hatred.

Gauce was undeterred. "Feel the power of Gauce!"

They clashed again, their giant hammers intertwining with thunderous sounds, creating a space around them, as if they were in an arena.

Soon, the Asgardian warriors were in close combat with the Skrins and the Marauders. The camp was filled with the sound of clashing swords and cries of battle.

Forseti clenched his warhammer and struck in front of him.

"Judgment!"

Holy light and flames intertwined, like a hammer of judgment from the sun, piercing through several Skrinsians and emitting a dazzling light.

While fighting, Forseti looked at the many marauders ahead.

According to Wayne, marauders were a group of robbers, burning, killing, and looting, and among them, there were undoubtedly many wicked individuals.

Forseti had been quite unlucky for the past year, unable to complete ten revenges and still two short.

These marauders were clearly intelligent beings, and Forseti hoped to find two villains among them.

However, the Marauders were tougher to deal with than the Skrins. They understood tactics and cooperation, avoiding direct confrontation with the Asgardians, hiding behind cannon fodder, and launching sneak attacks.

Forseti searched carefully for a long time before finding a suitable target.

This marauder was a red-skinned humanoid with horns, resembling a demon but with much less combat power.

With a bow and arrow in hand, he hid among the Skrins' cannon fodder, occasionally releasing arrows at the Asgardian soldiers.

Compared to other marauders, this one was alone, with only Skrins cannon fodder around him, and he was not far from Forseti.

Forseti made a quick decision, wielding his warhammer and clearing a path through the Skrins towards the marauder.

As he closed the distance, Forseti's waist glowed with a golden light, and the pointer of the Holy Light emerged, guiding him to the marauder.

Forseti's mouth twitched.

Prepare to face justice, marauder.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the marauder noticed Forseti approaching.

Startled, he quickly retreated, drawing his bow and releasing three arrows straight at Forseti.

What great archery!

Forseti was surprised and quickly dodged the three arrows.

But three more arrows followed.

This time, he couldn't avoid them, and an arrow struck his chest. Fortunately, he wore inner armor and wasn't injured.

Seeing the marauder shooting wildly and retreating into the night, Forseti gritted his teeth, swung his warhammer, and fired three consecutive Judgments.

"Boom boom boom!"

The three Hammers of Judgment cleared a path, and Forseti immediately chased after the marauder, quickly closing the distance.

The marauder turned pale and shot seven or eight arrows in rapid succession.

Holy Blessing!

Forseti summoned the holy deed, the protection of the divine, and his body was immediately covered in golden light.

He shielded his face and let the arrows hit him.

With the physical strength of an Asgardian and the blessing of Divine Protection, even if the marauder's arrows hit Forseti's bare skin, they couldn't cause significant damage.

The spell fragments of Divine Protection could last for five seconds. During this period, he could fully resist the marauder's arrows and the attacks of the Skrins' cannon fodder.

After a wave of arrows, Forseti had already closed in, with only a few meters between them.

Forseti roared, jumped forward, and his warhammer glowed with golden light.

Holy Light Strikes!

The marauder tried to dodge, but the fist of Verrigan still swept across his arm.

"Boom!"

The holy light erupted, intertwining with flames, blowing away the small half of the marauder.

Sin ends!

Forseti landed steadily, looking down to see the pointer of the Holy Light still pointing behind him.