Evan used Blink, teleporting directly in front of the man he'd spotted. His abrupt movent drew several curious glances, but he ignored them entirely.
He activated Appraisal, scanning the man's status before breaking the silence with a question.
"Hey, you. What's your na?"
The young man stared back, unblinking, as though considering whether or not to answer. After a mont, Evan added sothing to lower his guard.
"I couldn't help but notice your ice power is… formidable. That's why I'm asking."
At last, the man replied.
"My na is Gard."
"Gard, huh?"
Evan nodded, glancing at his status once more before continuing.
"I see. You've got quite a bit of ice power. You've got a unique skill, don't you? What's the na?
For the record, mine's called Harbinger of Ice."
Gard's expression remained unreadable as he answered.
"I do possess one. It's called Verglas Lord."
At the ntion of the skill's na, Evan fell silent. Ti Difference activated, and once again, he examined Gard's status, focusing only on his na and specific titles.
|Na- Glazard [Gard]
Race- Celestial
Gender- Male
Age- 22
Level- 802
Existence Level- Inferior Sovereign
Titles- […] Celestial King's Disciple […] …|
'…Should I…kill him?'
That dangerous thought crossed Evan's mind, even though his face remained expressionless.
'I an, I have the elental advantage. One punch, and his head's gone. Or I could just use a breath… or behead him. sarthim's flas have gotten hotter, so it wouldn't be hard to lt the skin and bones of a Level 802.'
Evan silently evaluated multiple ways to end the life of the young man standing before him. Even with Ti Difference active, he took a few seconds to consider.
Everyone around watched him with mixed curiosity and confusion, including Arthur. But suddenly, a mory surfaced in Arthur's mind, and his eyes widened.
'This… It's just like that ti with Beatrix!'
He was about to rise from his seat to stop Evan from making a rash decision, but before he could move, Evan spoke.
"Verglas Lord? I see."
Then Evan turned to Charisse, wearing an unreadable look as he said,
"Hey, Charisse, assign this guy to the western side. His ice power is strong enough to handle at least two or three volcanoes on his own."
Gard's Level was above 800, aning he could handle even more than that, but since they had a real battle coming, it was wiser not to burn through all his power at once.
Without waiting for a response, Evan stepped forward, leaving behind the man who remained confused at the unexpected endorsent from Evan, who was clearly close with the Spirits.
"As for , I'll take care of the northern section. I could use sothing to vent on."
With those words, he walked out of the area, leaving behind a tense silence.
Arthur, Artemisia, and Beatrix exchanged glances, all of them sensing that sothing was off. Arthur told Charisse to continue with the proceedings, then turned and followed after Evan.
"What was that about, bro?"
The vibe Evan gave off was the sa silent, threatening one he had when they'd figured out that future Beatrix was responsible for sending him back in ti, which was why Arthur had reacted with shock.
Arthur's question made Evan pause, exhaling loudly as he spoke.
"What was that about? First, there was Eon Sunder Regressio, Arthur.
You and Jamie held back then. Stopped from taking action that would've caused too much fallout."
He ran a hand through his hair, icy mist trailing from his fingers as he literally cooled his head.
"This ti, I was the one who held myself back. Turns out I've got more self-control than I thought. Otherwise, I'd have killed that guy right there."
Arthur's eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to him. If there was anything notable about 'Gard', it was that he was a Celestial.
'Wait…Evan was fighting Celestials before he got sent back in ti!'
"Gard's race... Could it be?" Arthur's question was cut short as Evan's brows furrowed.
"Yeah. That guy—he's one of the bastards who caused to be sent back in ti."
With that, Evan polymorphed into his full dragon form and soared into the sky, leaving Arthur watching in silence.
◇ ◇ ◇
The task of freezing the volcanoes was completed quickly, thanks to the tireless efforts of cultivators skilled in ice and water manipulation. Motivated by the promise of imdiate rewards, they subdued most of the volcanic eruptions within an hour, turning molten rock into solid ice through their combined elental power.
As Arthur and Evan had predicted, not all volcanoes were natural. So had been rigged with explosive traps that triggered when too many people gathered nearby.
The first detonation sent molten rock and ash skyward, but Evan, in his full dragon form, was close enough to freeze it mid-eruption. A chain of explosions followed, all neutralised within seconds by his frost breath. Uniquely, his ice didn't carry the usual low temperature of the elent and was instead warm while maintaining its integrity.
While freezing one of the mountains, Evan was attacked by creatures erging from the cooled craters—Triffid's Vanguards, joined by Devils with blooming flowers on their skulls—Vonun's thralls.
The cultivators, though surprised, quickly retaliated. Injuries occurred, but Arthur used ti manipulation to reverse most wounds, preventing any casualties. With the threats dealt with, the army regrouped and rested before continuing their march.
As they advanced eastward, they encountered more enemies, from waves of Infernal Beasts, to Rogue Cultivators, Vonun's thralls, and tens of thousands of Triffid's Vanguards.
The cultivators who fought alongside the spirits wore magical identifiers that marked them as allies, and anyone encountered without one was imdiately treated as a hostile.
These constant ambushes slowed the army's pace considerably, but by the evening of November 14th, they finally reached a vantage point overlooking Triffid's expanding forest.
Rather than advancing further, the coalition halted for the night, sleeping with one eye open in case of any Infernal Devil attacks.
Fortunately, no such attacks ca, allowing the soldiers to get what rest they could.
At dawn on the 15th, they resud their march, heading directly toward Triffid's Forest.
◇ ◇ ◇
The air was thick with tension as the coalition army advanced toward the forest, the uneasy silence broken only by the sound of footsteps against the earth and the creaking of armour.
Those at the frontlines could clearly see the massive roots shifting, the ground steadily being devoured as the forest spread, creeping ever closer.
A collective, audible gulp swept through the ranks.
Above them, the Spirit Elders hovered, their eyes locked onto the heart of the forest, on Triffid itself.
No eye could miss the towering tree rising from the earth, its colossal trunk dominating the landscape.
Its canopy stretched wide and high, piercing the clouds and blanketing over a kilotre of land beneath it, casting a long shadow over the surrounding forest.
At the sight of the Tree in the distance, Evan, reminded of another massive tree, had three words to say.
"Lios is bigger."
"What the hell is Lios?"
Arthur couldn't help but ask, and Evan hesitated for a mont, considering whether it was okay to share, before shrugging and replying.
"An Ouroboros. Back ho, he's the literal 'World Tree'."
At the ntion of Ouroboros, Artemisia and Beatrix imdiately turned toward him, eyes narrowing.
"This Ouroboros…is he an Iremith?"
Evan silently nodded, confirming that the 'Lios' he referred to belonged to the Iremith Ouroboros family of Aidos.
Arthur had no idea what any of that ant, so he simply turned his gaze toward Charisse.
While he spoke to her, Evan quietly slipped a few magic stones into the Energem Reclair on his right hand, using the ones he had taken from the monster mounts of the platoon he had wiped out a few days earlier.
After that, he silently opened the RHS Archive and scrolled through the list of World Magic Spells, searching for a particular one he would likely need if he intended to make his plans for the Wolf of the END succeed.
'It's risky, but if I play my cards right, it can work…'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a gaze settle on him and turned to et Charisse's grey eyes.
"Please, do not forget, Sir Evan," she said.
"Don't worry, I won't. You just focus on keeping causality off ."
He gave his reply before following Arthur to where the other Elders stood at the forefront of the coalition army.
Then, as if in response to the presence of two destruction users, a pulse of magic power coursed through Triffid's trunk.
A massive flower suddenly blood on the tree's surface, its petals slowly unfurling to reveal the overwhelming power gathering within.
No one needed to give the order for the airborne forces to imdiately descend.
A mont later, the ground shook violently as a massive beam of magical energy erupted from the centre of the flower, a column of searing power aid directly at the advancing armies.
The roar of the beam as it tore through the air drowned out all other sound, scattering the clouds above it.
But the coalition was prepared.
The Spirits summoned one of their restricted artifacts, a relic belonging to a long-fallen Spirit Deity from millennia past.
A colossal shield ford from fortification law energy materialised, rapidly expanding to cover the targeted section of the army.
The beam struck the shield with a thunderous crash, and for a brief mont, space itself fractured under the strain.
The shield held—but just barely.
As the beam finally dissipated, the trees at the forest's edge crumbled into ash, and the soil beneath them turned pitch black.
Evidently, Triffid had spent a significant amount of energy on that single attack.
"Assemble, for war is upon us! Our goal is to bring down the Tree of Creation and halt its corruption of our lands!
All troops, begin your advance!!"
The unified voice of the Elders thundered across the battlefield, echoing like a war drum.
At their command, the coalition army charged forward into the forest. Army-grade magic swept over them, this ti boosting their vitality and amplifying their attack power.
In response, the ground quaked again, and from the depths of the forest, the Infernal Devils erged in force, charging ahead alongside Triffid's Vanguards.
Screams and battle cries filled the air as both sides crashed into each other in a savage collision.
Within monts, chaos erupted.
The skies sward with winged Infernal Beasts, wyverns, and lesser dragons, their riders, Level 800 Infernal Devils, shrieking commands as they dove into the battle.
The clash of blades, the howls of monsters, and the crackling of magic blended into a violent symphony of devastation. Content originally cos from novel-fire
The battlefield turned into a maelstrom of blood, fire, and unleashed power as the two armies collided, as war, in its truest and most rciless form, began.
User Comments
0 comments from readers