In all honesty, in individual power alone, Kanganas, Tulas, and Greem were just as powerful as the skeletal ice dragon.
However, this was only a ‘fun’ little hunting game for them. It would be nice to return victorious and with loot in their possession, but they could simply escape and return another day if they lost. That was why they consciously avoided all the opportunities to inflict grievous injuries upon the dragon that required them to be injured in some capacity.
It was a party of strangers put together on a whim, after all. They even had to endure suppression from the planar consciousness of the Chillfrost world as they fought. No one would be willing to risk their lives in this battle. That was why this fight had dragged out for so long.
However, the party’s members were still powerful, after all. It didn’t matter how the dragon struggled or fought with its life on the line. It could not escape its fate of defeat!
However, what made Greem the most curious was the fact that Nax showed no signs of leaving its palace, regardless of how intense the fighting had become or how injured it was. The dragon remained rooted in the palace as it fought against the members of the party.
Greem couldn’t help but become suspicious of its behavior.
“Sand King, you don’t have to keep fighting the dragon anymore. Dig your way to the heart of this place, and see if there’s anything strange there.” Greem teleported around repeatedly, avoiding the dragon’s tackle and tail strikes as he shouted, “I suspect the Ancient Reliquary isn’t with the dragon, but……”
Greem wasn’t communicating with mental messages. He was shouting these words.
Upon hearing this, the members of the party paused for an instant. Even the skeletal dragon was stunned. The soulfire burning in his eye sockets jumped slightly.
So there was something wrong with it.
The members of the party immediately understood the situation when they saw the dragon’s reaction.
No wonder the palace had such an unusually cold aura. This aura wasn’t the dragon’s aura, but the aura of the Ancient Reliquary of Deep Winter.
The Ancient Reliquary might possess powerful ice laws, but it also contained dreadful death laws. In truth, the Reliquary was not a suitable origin artifact for Nax.
However, for the sake of advancing to Fifth Grade, Nax had absorbed the ice laws in the Ancient Reliquary at the cost of its own body. That made its ice powers grow in power and devastation. However, the accompanying death laws converted it into an undead dragon, hated and despised by all living creation.
The intense modification to its soul had made it much more powerful, but it also bound the dragon to this location. Before Nax fully completed its soul modification, it would not be able to take a single step away from the ice palace, much less fly freely in the skies like a proper dragon.
As for why Nax didn’t simply bring the Reliquary with it? The reason was simple!
It couldn’t endure the terrifying and powerful principle powers within the Reliquary at all.
The evolution from law to principle wasn’t just a change of terms.
Laws were fundamental rules that a rule abided and functioned by. They were typically a small branch of a greater principle power.
Take the fire principles, for example. They were an exceedingly large and complete system of power. Meanwhile, the fire laws that Greem had grasped were only a small extension of this massive tree of principle powers.
It wasn’t until he gathered sufficient law powers that Greem could peer into the principles’ secrets through his law powers.
As for completely grasping a single principle power in its entirety…that was not something that a low-grade lifeform could possibly hope to accomplish! Their bodies would not be able to endure the strain.
Fourth Grad. These beings might be akin to ‘gods’ or ‘demigods’ in their own worlds. However, at their essence, they were no more than mortal beings. Their bodies and souls were all composed of material, planar substance.
Since they had not broken free of the planar consciousness’s limitations, they naturally could not ascend beyond the plane and execute the planar principles in place of the planar consciousness.
The planar consciousness controlled all the principle powers within a plane; they would never hand over their authority to an outsider. Even those who were powerful enough to come into contact with the law powers could easily invite backlash from the planar consciousness if they crossed the line.
As such, an ancient artifact containing two principle powers was of unimaginable significance to both Nax and Kanganas!
That was why Nax became utterly horrified and furious when he realized that the enemy had become aware of the Reliquary’s true location.
There was no need for any sounding of horns. With a simple sentence, Greem had pushed the dragon into a corner! It had no choice but to fight to the death now.
Kanganas also had to put in some effort now if he wanted the Reliquary. Playing it safe was not an option. Should the skeletal ice dragon force his companions back with desperate, reckless attacks, Kanganas would have trouble dealing with the dragon’s ferocious attacks and frost breaths alone.
Thus, the battle instantly began to reach a crescendo!
The dragon no longer cared about the devastation of the Reliquary’s power to himself. He started to draw recklessly from the principle powers within the Reliquary of Deep Winter. It converted that energy into an all-engulfing blizzard that devoured every inch of space in the palace.
The battle had finally begun now!
The party could no longer pool their powers in such a harsh environment. They could only fight on their own and await the moment when the Reliquary’s backlash struck the dragon.
Either the dragon would cripple and kill them with this burst of power, or they survived until the dragon ran out of power and was consumed by the Reliquary’s backlash. It was a contest of their stamina and true power.
No one could see or sense anything in the ice palace now!
Everyone’s spiritual senses had been suppressed to the limit by this chilling power. Even with their Spirits as Fourth Grades, their spiritual appendages could not extend beyond fifty meters away from them.
Such narrow ‘vision’ pushed them to a precipice in this dangerous battle. A single mistake, and their bodies could be shredded to pieces and their souls torn to bits.
However, even as dangerous as it was, no party member chose to flee from the palace. It was simple; they didn’t want to lose their chance to obtain the Ancient Reliquary of Deep Winter!
Even though the Ancient Reliquary might not be compatible with their soul origin, and even though they had already promised Kanganas that they would help him obtain the dual-attribute artifact, when the opportunity presented itself in front of them, everyone could have a chance to obtain the Reliquary in a chaotic skirmish.
Truly, who would give up on an opportunity to obtain an artifact?
At least Greem wasn’t one who would give up on such an opportunity!
At this point, it was everyone for themselves. No one could care less about the others.
Greem held the Tome of Corruption in his left hand and the fire coral staff in his right. His entire body was shrouded in the crimson Burning Domain. Shadow Demon flickered in an out of sight beneath him, constantly on the watch for danger.
Greem walked forward without any hesitation, his skin-tight leather armor making him appear taller than usual. He pursed his lips and looked around him with cold eyes. The skin on his smooth forehead split apart as a strange, diamond-shaped crystal appeared.
Greem’s Spirit became incredibly concentrated as it was fed through the focusing crystal. Tremendous fire energy surged out of the Orb of the Fire God and his Heart of Principles, gathering around him, blazing and eager. The moment he sensed the enemy’s aura, Greem would be able to unleash a devastating and unforgettable attack on them!
As for injuring his party members…hehehe, at this point, there probably wasn’t s
uch a thing as a party member anymore!
Anyone that dared to approach him was someone with bad intentions. Greem would not hesitate to strike.
A violent shockwave rippled out from about three hundred and seventy-five meters to Greem’s left. He could feel the energy aura of the dragon and Sand King through the shockwaves.
Sand King’s muffled grunt of pain could be heard through the mist and snow. Judging by the power erupting from the conflict, Sand King had been badly injured. He would probably be forced out of this competition for the Reliquary.
Just as expected, a sky rending roar could be heard, and Sand King’s unique aura quickly fled from the ice palace.
Sand King was out of the equation now!
Greem searched the palace in the mist, wondering to himself who the dragon’s next target would be.
Sshina, Tulas, or himself?
Kanganas was a lich infamous throughout the universe. He would not have earned such infamy if this was the limit of his power. It was almost certain he had concealed his real power.
Under such circumstances, if the dragon wanted a level playing field against Kanganas alone, getting rid of the other people was the best choice.
If that were the case, then the dragon would either choose the weakest, Sshina, or……
Before Greem could finish his thought, the mist parted as the badly injured dragon roared and charged towards him.
A Frost Breath was the first thing to greet him. A bright blue cloud of energy surged towards Greem. The radius was so large and the temperature so cold that it was beyond Greem’s capabilities to detect the specific numbers.
The Chip’s alarms started blaring in Greem’s mind!
Chapter 1267 - A Flock of Freaks
[Beep. Warning. Warning. High-energy low-temperature particle stream surging towards Host. The estimated core impact area will contain energy over 7900 degrees in intensity. Impact radius is estimated to be 216 meters. Suggest that Host conduct evasive maneuver immediately.
[Beep. Detecting unusual ice laws. The effects are unknown. Suggest that Host immediately avoid the area.
[Chaos Physique effect activated. Absorbed and converted 783 points of low-temperature energy damage.
[Innate bloodline ability Energy Blackhole activated. Transferring and neutralizing 1695 points of low-temperature energy damage.
[Fire laws activated, neutralizing 3742 points of low-temperature energy damage.
[Defensive fire forcefield activated, negating 630 points of low-temperature energy damage.
[Elementium resistance negating 561 points of low-temperature energy damage.
[……
[Host will sustain 489 points of low-temperature energy damage.]
A large cloud of ice energy surged forward and instantly engulfed Greem in blue mist as the Chip continued to beep.
The frost rolled forward and clashed violently with Greem’s fire defenses and elementium forcefield. The blazing magical shields were frozen into ice shards in an instant. Even the ice floor beneath Greem’s feet couldn’t endure the cold. Frost rapidly appeared over the floor as the ice itself shattered.
Even Shadow Demon, who was hiding in the shadows, was affected by the ice laws. A layer of ice crystals appeared on its metal body, and it almost seemed like it would be frozen dead on the spot.
Greem’s flowing sleeves immediately turned hard as steel. The frost started to spread from the corner of his sleeves, intent on turning him into an ice sculpture.
The towering skeletal ice dragon roared and charged over.
Should Greem be frozen in ice, he would probably be crushed to pieces by the dragon before he could break free.
Compared to their Dragontongue magic, dragons preferred to end their battles in the most primal, violent way possible!
“Go, Shadow Demon!”
They had only just met, yet the ferocious old dragon had almost forced Greem into a corner. Thus, Greem didn’t dare drop his guard. He shouted an order to Shadow Demon, all while the Tome of Corruption’s pages flipped rapidly in his hand. Ugly wights filled with horrible plagues were summoned, one after another.
These wights were mostly First Grade and were completely useless on a Fourth Grade battlefield. The moment Greem summoned them, they were instantly frozen into sculptures by a passing cold wind.
However, when the skeletal dragon thrashed past, these sculptures erupted, releasing large clouds of yellow poison mist, eroding Nax’s blue bones and causing black spots to appear.
“Plague poison…dammit! This is plague poison! You bastard! How dare you release plague poison in my chambers! I will kill you!” The infuriated dragon lunged forward, its blue jaws snapping at the quickly retreating Greem.
At this point, Greem could no longer hide his powers.
Emerald light flashed from the Tome of Corruption as Greem was surrounded by a poison halo.
The focusing crystal on his forehead glowed as bright as a star as his Spirit violently surged into his fire coral staff. The disguised Orb of the Fire God began to glow brilliantly, emitting the prismatic radiance unique to ultra-grade items.
The next second, all light in the room dimmed. There was only the radiance from the increasingly bright orb. The Orb of the Fire God was like the bright moon in the sky. When it appeared, all other sources of light seemed to lose their color. It was the only thing in the room burning with all its ferocity. Its temperature and brightness rose without stopping; it was…a sun.
Indeed, the Orb of the Fire God was like a miniature sun descending upon the ground. It let off horrifying heat and light as its power continued to rise.
Shock and horror appeared in Nax’s blue soulfire as it charged forward. It could sense that the terrifying sun blazing in the young adept’s hands was an ultra-grade artifact not inferior to the Ancient Reliquary of Deep Winter.
What was scarier was the fact that the adept seemed to be able to control the devastating fire energy within that artifact freely!
Nax could feel this miniature sun rise before it, all while it continued to approach like a moth to the flame. Nax let out a terrified roar and extended both blue wings to their limits. The dragon beat its wings with all it had and barely managed to kill its momentum.
Nax’s claws sunk deep into the ice beneath its feet, ripping twenty deep ridges into the ground.
However, just as its rush came to a screeching halt, Greem’s charging attack had reached its peak as well. Greem waved both his hands together, and a tremendously violent stream of fire energy shot out of the Orb of the Fire God. The flames turned into a one-meter-thick pillar of fire that struck the skeletal ice dragon’s body.
The instant the pillar of fire struck, the dragon felt like it had been thrown into a terrifying, blazing cauldron. Every part of its body started burning furiously, from inside to outside.
What was even more horrifying was the fact that this pillar of fire had also ignited the surging ice energy in its body. Even the ice energy was burning now.
Nax reared its head and let out a roar of agony. It was no longer blue ice energy that surged out of its maw, nostrils, eye sockets, and ears now– it was red, blazing flames.
This single attack had injured Nax’s very soul origin. The dragon retreated into the mist like a whimpering puppy.
Kanganas was rapidly approaching the tall platform in the depths of the mist. All sorts of strange undead swarmed all around him.
Because of these undead wandering everywhere, Kanganas managed to figure out the approximate location of the platform.
However, while he gleefully snuck towards his destination, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned back to look into the mist.
There, a thousand meters away, a terrifying energy aura was rising. It was so powerful that it had managed to suppress the ice energy that was everywhere in this palace. When he felt the traces of heat that pierced through the mist and the oddly searing consciousness attached to it, Kanganas couldn’t help but become nervous, even as
composed and cold as he usually was.
Even though he was quite a distance away, and the chaotic ice energy was obscuring his senses, Kanganas still managed to identify the source of this energy aura in an instant.
Greem…it was Greem, the human adept who called himself Fireman!
Since when did he become so powerful?
The last time they had fought in Morrian Plane, he had over a seventy percent chance to kill Greem. It was precisely because of this certainty that Kanganas had boldly invited Greem on this mission to slay the dragon.
However, judging by the energy aura he was radiating, Kanganas probably did not have any chance of winning. The appearance of such a powerful individual in the party made Kanganas nervous. He was no longer sure if his scheme would succeed now.
However, Kanganas had no idea that even as he was shocked by Greem’s eruption of power, Tulas had already snuck onto the platform and was searching desperately for the Ancient Reliquary of Deep Winter.
The instant Greem’s energy aura erupted in the distance, Tulas lifted his head from the magical runes he was analyzing. He also looked towards the distant battlefield.
“This power,” Tulas couldn’t help but brood in silence, “Even if they aren’t a Fifth Grade, they aren’t far away now! Did that human adept use some sort of explosive magical equipment, or was this his true power? Either way, we would have to be cautious around this fellow now!”
Due to his unique energy system, Tulas wasn’t actually afraid of these same-grade opponents of his. However, out of respect for an ultra-grade powerhouse, he had no intention of finding trouble for himself.
Ultra-Grade powerhouses. Those were terrifying individuals, even in the eyes of the starspirits!
Never mind. Let them fight their own fights. He had best find a way to get the Ancient Reliquary in his hands first.
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