Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

His physique, despite the man being about 40 years old, was very well trained and robust, with a net of veins that ran through his biceps and forearms, the strong points of his musculature.

Continuing to breathe in the same way, Gunnar moved his neck first to one side and then to another, stretching out the joints of the upper body, then opening his arms outwards and began the process of metamorphosis.

In less than ten seconds, what had happened just before to Kane's body, inexperienced in that kind of skill, happened to Gunnar, but three times faster. 

His body grew out of proportion and his height shocked even Dag, who did not believe he could meet such a tall Jorunn.

Gunnar, unlike the other giant warriors, was about 3 meters tall and had such an imposing constitution that the ground vibrated at every step: this helped him over time to earn the title of Master of Arms of his Clan.

"Dag?..." Freydis said, trying to warn her man that her negative feeling about Gunnar had grown more than before.

"Hey, Freydis... don't worry, it's just a demonstration duel. I'm not going to get beaten by this bully!" he said, speaking in confidence with his woman and letting his words be heard by the warriors close to him.

The greenish skin of the huge Jotunn in front of him was illuminated by the rays of the afternoon sun, which timidly exceeded the clouds and somehow managed to reach even the lower part of the arena.

The Giants Of Ymir warriors moved sideways, positioning around the inner walls of the arena, leaving the rest of the space for the two challengers.

Dag, before beginning the duel, focused on Gunnar and silently activated his recognition skills, Niva.

Around the shape of the giant, a dark red and purple aura began to float, as if it was evaporating upwards.

"He's much stronger than Kranus's two bodyguards put together... I can't risk losing, it's a defining moment! If I lost the fight, my credibility would collapse, and Kranus wouldn't trust me the way he's done so far. I have to fight hard!" Dag thought, angrily watching his challenger and moving his arms and legs to warm up his muscles, with both of his weapons in his hands.

"Gentlemen!" Kranus yelled, who was slightly higher than them, standing in the middle of a staircase.

Everyone in the audience turned their gaze to the commander.

"It must be a clean duel and neither should get hurt. As soon as the anger takes over the tactics, the duel can be considered over and without any winner. All clear?" he repeated aloud.

Both Dag and Gunnar nodded, then began looking at each other again.

"All right then... get started!" Wrage exclaimed, officially giving the start of the meeting.

"Whooa!" 

"Go, Master Gunnar!" 

As soon as the warriors realized they were in the middle of an unexpected Masters fight, they began to scream and cheer for their Master, sure that his strength went far beyond that of Dag, much smaller and inexperienced.

Gunnar began to walk towards him, crawling the huge blade of the double-headed axe on the floor and causing it to emit little shiny sparks.

"So... where can we start..." he said, giggling inside. 

Dag remained stationary in combat position, waiting for his enemy to try to attack him.

The Master of Arms stopped about two meters from him and lifted his huge axe upwards, slowly, then resting its long handle on one shoulder.

"Don't look at me like that, kid! Who do you think you are!" Gunnar exclaimed, grabbing the handle with both hands and preparing to shake his huge weapon.

Dag, who was skilled in dodging, immediately began to think about what was the best direction to counterattack, but just then, his body froze, no longer responding to commands.

"What?! What the fuck is going on?! I can't move any more!" he thought, looking at his legs and arms and squinting.

"Hahaha! I killed warriors much stronger than you with my unique skill! Your nerves have atrophied and your body is momentarily comparable to a piece of inanimate wood! Now I just have to choose how to beat you! Hahaha!" Gunnar continued, whose body emitted a kind of green aura, as a result of the skill he was talking about.

"How do I do now?! I will never be able to dodge his shot in those conditions, he will definitely hit me! Grr... rrr..." Dag continued to think, who had to quickly find a way to free himself from that condition of immobility.

"Let's start with something light... this is for the disrespect you had towards me!" Gunnar yelled, turning on himself and hitting Dag's stomach with the knave of the axe handle.

The impact of the weapon on Dag's body, caused a crash, unleashing a small shockwave that propagated through his stomach and leaked from his back, then dissolving into the air.

"Grooagh! Cough! Cough!"

Dag's eyes opened even more, as did his mouth, which began to spit blood. 

"Hahahaha! You can't even kneel in pain! It was easy! Here, another one comes! Aaargh!" Gunnar shouted again, hitting him in the same spot with the back of his weapon and causing him to spit more blood, while the bowels in his stomach writhed in pain.

When the Master of Arms realized that Dag's body had been destabilized, he continued to hit him with the axe pommel three more times, and then ended the series of attacks with a heavy punch directed to the face, which sent Dag flying several meters, until his back hit the wall of the arena.

The soldiers near the wall moved immediately and Dag's body slipped to the ground, but always with tense nerves.

"Fuck! My nerves keep unresponsive... his skill is too strong, I've never suffered anything like that! I have to react at all costs, otherwise, the fight will end sooner than expected!" the young Master thought, who with immense effort, managed to bend his knee and slowly rose to his feet.