The Frost Wolves fanned out. Surrounding him in a wide circle. Their icy gazes fixed on the hulking figure of Judge Jack.
Twenty-one against one. First round. Strength Trial. Defeating them... The objective was clear.
Jack didn't wait. The wolves were fast. And they were pack hunters. They would circle. Probe. Then attack as a group.
He needed to break their formation. Isolate a target. Completely crush it. Before moving to different target.
Jack charged. Not a wild, unfocused charge. But a burst of targeted speed surprising for his size. He aimed for the nearest group of wolves. Hammer held high.
The Frost Wolves reacted instantly. Their silent encirclement became a coordinated rush. Three wolves broke from the circle. Loping towards him. Their icy claws digging into the packed earth.
The first wolf leaped. A pure white blur aimed for his chest. Judge Jack swung the Judgement Warhammer in a wide, brutal arc.
The heavy head connected with the wolf mid-air. There was no cry. Just a sharp crack of bone and a flash of dissipated ice energy.
The wolf was sent flying. A broken, dissolving shape that left a faint trail of frost. Before vanishing completely upon hitting the ground.
Two more wolves were on him. One snapped at his leg. Its icy teeth sparking against his armored greave. The other lunged for his shoulder.
Jack brought the hammer down vertically with immense force. Smashing the wolf attacking his leg into the ground. It didn't just die. It was pulverized. Leaving only a crater of frozen earth and a fading frosty aura.
The wolf on his shoulder was larger. It clung on. Trying to find a gap in his armor. Judge Jack roared. A sound like grinding stone. And he brutally charged.
He slammed his armored shoulder against a massive pillar. Crushing the wolf between himself and the stone. A sickening crunch. Another flash of ice. And it was gone.
He didn't stop at that. The remaining eighteen wolves were closing in. Spurred on by the demise of their pack mates.
They were fast. Faster than normal wolves. Their movements were fluid and precise. And they didn't make stupid mistakes. Some of them were circling wider, others darting in. They weren't mindless beasts. They fought with cunning.
A wave of icy energy pulsed from one of the wolves further back. It hit Judge Jack like a physical blow. Chilling him despite his flaming armor. Winter Breeze. A pack ability.
He felt a slight stiffness in his joints. It wasn't crippling. But it slowed him. Making the fight harder for him.
More wolves attacked. They nipped at his legs. Trying to trip him. Their fangs were trying to break off his armor.
He stepped back. And swung the Warhammer horizontally. A sweeping arc of lethal force. It connected with two wolves. Lifting them off the ground. And sending them spinning away. Dissolving into icy mist. The ground where they had stood was instantly covered in a layer of frost.
He moved quickly. He needed to avoid being surrounded. And constantly hit by their pack abilities. He took a heavy step back. Then surged forward as a charge. Targeting another cluster of wolves.
He used the sheer weight and power of the Warhammer. Not with finesse. But with brutal overwhelming force. Each blow was designed to obliterate. A direct hit meant instant death for the Frost Wolves.
He brought the hammer down. Smashing through the defenses of a wolf trying to leap over his guard. Then he pivoted. Using the centrifugal force of the swing to catch another wolf charging from his flank. The wolf was hammered into the ground with bone-shattering impact.
Seven down. Fourteen to go.
The remaining wolves adapted. They stopped direct frontal assaults for the most part. They circled faster. Testing his perimeter. Darting in from multiple angles. Simultaneously.
They used their ice abilities more frequently. Sending waves of cold wind at him. Attempting to blind him with sudden localized blizzards of snow. Or trying to make him slipped with patches of ice on the ground.
Jack wasn't troubled that much though. He relied on instinct and raw durability. His armor deflected most of the chilling atmosphere.
The localized blizzards did obscure his vision for a moment. But his other senses, amplified in this form, compensated. The ice patches on the ground made his footing precarious. But his heavy weight and wide stance helped maintain balance.
He countered their speed with explosive bursts of movement. And the sheer reach of his weapon. He swung the Warhammer in wide sweeps. Clearing areas around him. Or brought it down in powerful, focused strikes on individual targets.
A wolf attempting to dart past him was crushed by a brutal backhand swing. Another trying to circle behind him was caught by a rapid turn. And a downward smash.
They were persistent. And there were many of them. They didn't seem to tire. Their icy attacks chipped away at his defenses. A constant, chilling pressure. The stiffness from the Winter Breeze lingered.
He focused his strikes. Trying to thin their numbers quickly. Ten down. Eleven left.
A wolf managed to sink its fangs into the joint of his knee armor. The icy cold seeped through. A sharp, burning sensation. He ignored the pain. He simply slammed the hammer down on the wolf's back. Another satisfying crunch. Another icy dissolution.
He was a whirlwind of bone. And shadow. And crushing force. Hammer blows fell like thunder. The ground around him became a graveyard for ice wolves. Marked by fleeting patches of frost. And scattered, dissolving residues.
Eight left. Six. Four.
The last few wolves were the most cautious. They darted in and out. Relying on speed and quick nips. One tried to leap onto his back. Jack shrugged it off with a back slam and violent shake. Then he jumped up, spun and crushed it with a hammer blow. Before it could recover.
Two left. They hesitated for a moment. Their icy eyes were cold and calculating. Then, as if on a silent signal, they charged from opposite directions. Simultaneously.
Jack met them head-on. He blocked one's swipe with a raised arm. The impact was jarring but his armored gauntlet held firm.
As for the other, he swung at it directly with the Judgement Warhammer. The wolf dodged the main impact. But it was clipped by the shaft. Sending it tumbling.
He didn't let the chance up. He followed through. Bringing the hammer down on the stunned wolf with absolute finality.
One left. It was the wolf that had hit his arm. It backed away. Snarling. Its icy aura was flaring.
Jack didn't hesitate. He charged the final wolf. There was no elaborate strategy. Just overwhelming power closing the distance.
The wolf leaped. A desperate final attack. Judge Jack met the leap with a swing of the Warhammer.
The heavy head connected with the wolf's abdomen. Driving it upwards and outwards. It dissolved in the air. Before it even hit the ground. A faint trail of frost was the only sign it had ever existed.
Silence returned to the vast arena. The small portals at the edge flickered and vanished. The air grew warmer. The chill dissipating. Judge Jack stood alone on the packed earth.
Twenty-one Frost Wolves. All defeated.
A moment passed. Then, the ancient voice echoed in his mind once more.
"Round 1 complete. Clearing arena."
The faint residues of frost and the disturbed earth smoothed themselves out. As if they had never been there. The arena floor became pristine once more.
"Proceeding to Round 2."
Judge Jack gripped the Judgement Warhammer. Nine rounds. This was just the first. He was ready.
He shifted his stance. Bringing the Warhammer back to a ready position held low. Where would the portal appear this time? What form would the random opponents take?
Another shimmer appeared. This time it was from somewhere near the opposite side of the arena. From where the ice portal had formed.
This gateway was different. It was not a dimensional portal at all. It didn't swirl with frosty energy. Instead, it was a throbbing orb of light. Pulsing with the deep, earthy hues of brown and grey.
It didn't emanate cold. But a heavy, grinding resonance that vibrated in the air. From this portal. No agile pack hunters emerged. Instead, the ground near the opening began to rise.
Slowly. Ponderously. Five colossal figures pulled themselves from the earth around the orb. As if being summoned from the very stone beneath the arena floor.
They were constructs of solid rock. Roughly humanoid in shape. But massive and uneven. Almost twice as tall and big as him.
Their joints were boulder-sized hinge. Their bodies were sheer cliffs of granite and basalt. Their eyes were fissures glowing with internal fire. And, deep within their chest cavities, faint, molten light pulsed like slow heartbeats. Stone Golems.
Five against one. A stark contrast to the swarming wolves.
These were opponents of sheer resilience. And raw, geological power. Speed would not be their weapon. But mass and unyielding durability.