Chapter 58: Frozen Solid
Turt and Offa both stared at the blue-white light in the sky. The object wasn't large, but the light it emitted was somewhat dazzling.
"What... is that?"
Offa murmured to herself. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt the surrounding temperature drop.
With a bang, the blue light within the clouds turned into a blur, hurtling straight downward. Its speed was too fast, leaving Turt and Offa no chance to stop it.
In front of the city wall, the Holy Emblem Knights who were about to swarm through the city gates instinctively looked up. The next instant, a blue streak of light landed among them.
Thump~
A diamond-shaped object covered in spikes crashed into the frozen ground. The dozen or so Holy Emblem Knights nearby looked at the several-meter-wide crater, their eyes full of confusion.
This thing was a strategic weapon constructed earlier by Amu, who had gathered the ice energy from the "Atard Wall." It had been sealed in an alternate space by Baha.
In principle, once this thing detonated, it would only produce a massive amount of ice. Due to its crude internal structure, its lethality was not strong—it only created a large volume of ice. But that was enough.
Right beneath the city wall, with a rumble, the ice suddenly erupted, spreading outward. Amu descended from the sky, pressing one hand onto the surging ice below.
If the MVP of the Ancient Tree Battle was Bubu Wang, and the MVP of the Heavy Hammer Battle was Baha, then the MVP of the Frost Winter City Battle was undoubtedly Amu.
"Moo!"
Standing within the ice, Amu roared, its eyes glowing with a blood-red light. Ignoring the intense pain throughout its body, it focused all its strength on controlling the spreading ice.
A few seconds later, an extremely spectacular scene unfolded. In front of the Frost Winter City wall, a kilometer-long ice slope appeared, reaching all the way to the top of the wall. Thanks to Amu's control, the ice slope was as smooth as a mirror.
More importantly, over 90% of the Holy Emblem Knights were frozen within this ice slope. They had just breached the city and were all gathered at the base of the wall, intending to charge inside.
On the ice slope, Amu exhaled white frozen breath. It pulled its hand out of the ice and was about to step onto the slope when it collapsed backward. Two eagle claws grabbed its horns and lifted it, flying toward the top of the wall.
Hmm~
After a long horn blast, the Wolf Cavalry behind them charged forward. Their previous task had been to hold off the enemy, so retreating now was simple.
The smooth ice slope would cause trouble for other troops, but the Wolf Cavalry traversed it as if on flat ground. The sharp claws of their dire wolves were perfect for climbing such icy terrain.
All the Wolf Cavalry rushed up the ice slope. On the city wall, the cold air spread, and a frozen "ice sculpture" shattered. Turt gasped for breath. Before he could assess the situation, Wolf Cavalry riders came charging at him.
Without any hesitation, Turt grabbed an "ice sculpture" beside him, leaped backward off the wall, and mingled with the Holy Emblem Knights who were already fighting the Ice Descendant warriors inside the city.
After the Wolf Cavalry crossed the ice slope and reached the top of the wall, they didn't stop. They jumped directly into the city. They had two tasks: 1. Kill all the Iron Wall Legion inside the city. 2. Drive the tens of thousands of Holy Emblem Knights out of the city.
The Wolf Cavalry ascended the ice slope quickly, but the Ice Descendant soldiers behind them were much slower.
"Roar."
The Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, swooped down from above. On its back, Su Xiao controlled Barbatos to spew dragonflame.
Whoosh!
The dragonflame shot straight down, shattering large sections of the ice slope below. As the dragonflame moved laterally, the entire ice slope began to collapse.
After a round of dragonflame breath, the ice slope connected to the city wall turned into crushed ice and large amounts of water, soaking a vast area of frozen ground beneath the wall.
In this area, Holy Emblem Knights were shivering, hugging their shoulders. They had been frozen by the ice, then scorched by the dragonflame. The sudden shift from cold to heat left them drenched. Now, exposed to the cold wind, the discomfort was unparalleled. If not for their protective spells, nearly half of them would have been killed or wounded.
The sounds of screams and clashing metal within the city continued. After another three hours of chaotic fighting, a miraculous scene unfolded.
The Iron Wall Legion inside the city was completely outmatched by the Wolf Cavalry operating at full power, coupled with the numerical disparity. Over 95% of them had been wiped out.
As the city was cleared, the tens of thousands of Holy Emblem Knights originally inside were repeatedly charged by the Wolf Cavalry. After suffering more than half casualties, they were forcefully driven out of the city.
The current situation was this: Frost Winter City, which had been initially captured by the Holy Emblem Knights, was now completely lost due to the appearance of the giant ice slope. The Wolf Cavalry Legion had taken over.
At this moment, the Wolf Cavalry Legion was guarding several breaches in the inner city wall. The top of the wall was also covered with Wolf Cavalry, who were operating 975 ballistae, firing at the area below the wall.
Below the wall stood the Holy Emblem Knights. With the towering wall and the Wolf Cavalry Legion in front of them, and the Northern Border's main army behind them, they were being crushed from both sides.
...
Inside the city, in front of the Ice-Sealed Grand Hall, there was a large staircase. Below it was an open area paved with stone slabs.
In this open space, a female Wolf Cavalry soldier named Yuya, wielding a cyan spear-sword, was waiting. Around her, bodies lay scattered in all directions. She had come to clear the path.
With a rumble, the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, landed near Yuya. She immediately knelt on one knee.
"You and Barbatos are responsible for guarding the sky."
Su Xiao stepped down from the dragon's wing. He needed to go into the grand hall ahead to confirm something. For now, Barbatos was temporarily under Yuya's command.
If no one commanded Barbatos, this fierce beast would run wild.
On the battlefield, Barbatos's destructive power was greater than Su Xiao's. But if it faced a powerful individual, Barbatos would be killed. Its dragonflame was strong, but strong individuals were not afraid of it.
This was why Su Xiao rarely strayed far from Barbatos. Did Barbatos protect Su Xiao? From its size, it seemed so, but in reality, it was the opposite. Without Su Xiao on its back, Barbatos would have died in the earlier battles.
"Understood."
Yuya quickly ran toward Barbatos. She had long wanted to stand on the dragon's back and be a dragon knight. Now, she finally got her wish.
"Yuya, if anything happens to Barbatos, you know the consequences."
Baha spoke, landing on Su Xiao's shoulder as he said it. Amu was currently resting on Barbatos's back.
"Mm!"
Yuya leaped onto the dragon's back. Holding her spear-sword in one hand, she grabbed the black tendrils behind the dragon's neck with the other. After doing this, a flush appeared on her cheeks, and she let out a strange, trembling sound.
"Damn it, don't make such weird noises. Go play somewhere else."
Baha issued a mental command, ordering Barbatos to circle in the sky.
Su Xiao, with Amu and Bubu Wang, walked up the stairs toward the main entrance of the Ice-Sealed Grand Hall.
Soon, Su Xiao reached the main entrance. What he was about to do was best done without witnesses. The Void Tree Fruit was too important. Although the Wolf Cavalry were trustworthy, no one could be sure if they had been marked with some kind of brand.
Just as Su Xiao was about to enter the grand hall, footsteps came from the right. A man in tattered armor, holding a sharp sword, walked over.
"I've lost, Bai Ye."
Turt walked forward, his hair slightly curly and disheveled. As he moved, flames ignited on his body.
"For the sake of Duoyin, I am willing to violate the ancient oath of a knight. Kukulin Bai Ye, you must die here. You monster... you are simply a calamity."
Turt pressed his left hand against the blade of his sword. The sword cut his hand, and after being stained with blood, the entire blade was covered in sparks, parts of it glowing like red-hot iron.
"Turt, you came alone?"
Baha was a bit stunned. In the previous chaotic battle, Su Xiao had scanned Turt's information. He was strong, but that was it—probably within ten strikes.
"Your evil dragon is no longer by your side. I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Don't call me despicable, Bai Ye."
The cape behind Turt also ignited. His current appearance, combined with his look of certain death, made him seem very powerful.
Clang~
Su Xiao drew the longsword from his waist. Pale blue electric arcs surged along the blade.
Bang!
Su Xiao and Turt both vanished from their spots. Flames and Cyan Steel Shadow Energy spread outward.
"Die here, Bai Ye!!"
Turt's roar echoed far and wide.
A moment later, Turt, covered in slash marks, knelt on the ground. Blood dripped from his chin. Banishment had pierced through his chest.
With a scraping sound, Su Xiao pulled the longsword out of Turt's neck.
"So noisy."
Su Xiao flicked the blood off the blade and stepped toward the grand hall. Behind him, Turt fell to the ground with a thud. The light in his eyes faded completely. A legion commander going one-on-one with a Law Destroyer was basically suicide.
Entering the grand hall, Su Xiao passed through a long corridor and arrived at the front hall.
The front hall was spacious, with only a large bed. Lying sideways on the bed was a woman in a purple dress, with fair skin and seductive red lips.
Near this woman was an iron cage covered in patterns. Inside the cage sat Gulu, wearing a Gothic dress, her left arm bitten off.
Gulu sat inside, gritting her teeth in anger. She had almost succeeded in assassinating the Extreme Ice Lord, but at the critical moment, the Apocalypse Paradise's Moon Apostle interfered.
"Are you the War Demon?"
The Eldest Daughter, Ayana, spoke in a lazy tone. She got up from the bed and sat sideways on the cage containing Gulu.
"If you don't want your people to die, leave the Ice-Sealed Hall now."
"..."
"?"
Gulu, inside the cage, tilted her head up and looked at the Eldest Daughter, Ayana. She really wanted to say: "B*tch, if you want me dead, just say so."
With a clang, Turt's sword was thrown to the ground. Su Xiao pointed at the sword on the ground, then at Gulu.
"Hurry up."
"Uh..."
The Eldest Daughter, Ayana, looked at the sword on the ground. After a moment of deliberation, she took out a key and opened the cage imprisoning Gulu.
"I surrender..."
Before the Eldest Daughter, Ayana, could finish her sentence, a slash of light passed by. The world before her eyes spun. With a thud, her head fell to the ground. Taking the opportunity, Gulu immediately went into stealth.
"Oh dear... Do you want to die that badly?"
The Eldest Daughter, Ayana, picked up her head from the ground and nonchalantly placed it back on her severed neck.
"Brother, we have guests. You can... kill to your heart's content now."
As soon as the Eldest Daughter, Ayana, finished speaking, the metal wall behind her was smashed through with a crash. Fragments of metal, brittle from the cold, scattered all over the floor.
A figure in full body armor, hunched over, holding a white ice sword in one hand, appeared beside the Eldest Daughter, Ayana.
The Eldest Daughter, Ayana, and the Eldest Son, Ice Armor. The combination of these two was definitely among the top three in terms of strength in this world.