Chapter 6: The Grand Entrance
Komer’s judgment was correct. As the Ice Dragon endured severe pain and roared, using its tail, claws, and breath magic to attack the two agile figures, it realized that these seemingly insignificant human beings were actually extremely tough to deal with. Every tail swipe and claw strike missed by just a little, and only its breath magic forced them to use their combat energy to counter. But that didn’t matter—aside from buying a little more time, it held no real value. Its dragon power was unmatched by any race, the Ice Dragon thought proudly. Trying to exhaust its own strength in this way was nothing but delusion.
Huh? Suddenly, two figures rose above the reed marshes in the Ice Dragon’s wide eyes. The combined sword energy turned into a column of force once again, charging straight at it. The Ice Dragon was overjoyed—these foolish creatures dared to fight it in the air! Wasn’t that seeking their own death? Without further thought, driven by ecstasy, the Ice Dragon lunged forward. Its two dragon feet spread wide before slamming together in the center, generating such immense force that it seemed to distort the entire space. Storms and thunder must have been the best description for this moment. Its mouth opened and closed as thick, ice-blue breath blasts erupted from it. The Ice Dragon no longer wanted to use breath magic—this direct attack could better showcase its power and leave those two with no way to retreat. The entire air was filled with ice-blue breath, so cold that even the sun paled in comparison. The sword energy cutting through the air collided with the frozen air elements, producing a crisp, pleasant sound.
Unable to hold back her laughter, the Ice Dragon’s mouth was too wide to close. At this point, no one could change the fate of those two. The dragon power from its breath and feet was enough to turn them to dust—only then could it heal its wounded body and spirit!
Komer, Rebril, and Sorenberg all stood up involuntarily. Though their expressions remained unchanged, Komer was also surprised. For two strong warriors to engage in such a head-on fight was pure suicide. No matter how powerful their sword energy was, it would be utterly futile against the unstoppable force of the dragon’s breath and feet—they were doomed!
At that moment, the water surface erupted in another loud splash as countless jellyfish-like archers leaped out once more, and a rain of arrows once again covered the proud Ice Dragon. Though startled, the Ice Dragon was not afraid. It flapped its massive wings wildly, causing most of the arrows to fall to the ground under the gusts of wind. The few arrows that did manage to hit it either struck areas protected by scales or the thick parts of its hide, failing to cause any damage. Moreover, even if medicinal arrows managed to hit its body at this point, what would that matter? The Ice Dragon could easily slaughter all these ordinary warriors after dealing with those two powerful foes.
Yet nothing seemed to go as planned. A figure silently rose into the air, surpassing the other jellyfish-like warriors. The long bow in its hands, emitting a dark glow, stood out sharply against the sky, like a deity ready to shoot. It glided slowly above the reeds. “Boom! Boom! Boom!” Three dull, suffocating sounds pierced the air effortlessly and reached everyone’s ears, causing their hearts to jump with each impact.
Three yellowish arrows, moving from slow to fast, flew in a triangular formation straight through the ice shell formed by the dragon’s breath and into its body. Only then did the shocked Ice Dragon realize that the reason those two figures had risen to confront it was merely a decoy—this hidden figure in the water was the real threat. With no time to think further and ignoring the risk of damaging its fragile wings, it flapped them wildly to counterattack. However, the powerful gusts did nothing to stop the three yellowish arrows, clearly indicating they were no ordinary arrows.
They effortlessly pierced the thin wings. The panicked Ice Dragon had no time to strike its prey again. Now, it had to figure out how to avoid these strangely appearing arrows. Its round body performed a graceful roll in the air, and its tail skillfully struck the tail of one of the arrows as it neared, knocking it aside. Yet the immense force from its tail still made the Ice Dragon sense the strange power contained within that arrow—it was a magic arrow!
Before the terror in his heart could subside, two more arrows pierced the dragon’s body like streaks of light. A shrill cry echoed along with the explosion of the magic arrows. The deafening roar of the dragon once again sent shockwaves through the warriors present. Though this roar was far weaker than that emitted by the ice dragon at its peak strength earlier, it still caused many jellyfish warriors to spit blood on the spot. The two swordmasters, caught in the spreading roar and subjected to both the dragon’s breath and its powerful claws, could barely withstand it either. They collapsed and plummeted from the sky into the reed marshes, creating two beautiful splashes amid the screams of the jellyfish warriors.
The magic arrows were deeply embedded in the ice dragon’s round, beautiful body. The air magic contained within exploded suddenly, sending two huge clusters of red petals floating across the water’s surface, turning the entire reed marsh crimson.
There were two deep, bone-piercing wounds—one beneath the ribs and another on the back. The wound beneath the ribs was the most severe. Even from two hundred meters away, Komer could sense the dragon magic emanating from it. This strike was enough to reverse the ice dragon’s cultivation by at least fifty years.
By now, the ice dragon was completely enraged. The repeated blows had driven it insane; it no longer cared that its body was unfit for battle. It breathed out again, unleashing its dragon breath magic. A dark blue ice mist covered the entire reed marsh, turning the air slightly blue as well. This was the ice dragon using the essence of its dragon magic to cast this spell. If this “Wrath of the Ice Soul” still failed to kill these people, it would truly have no choice but to flee in panic. It could feel that the wounds caused by the magic arrows brought not only intense pain but also a dizziness and numbness it feared the most—indicating that those despicable creatures had even coated the arrows with dragon’s breath. It must find a suitable place to hide before the poison took effect. But it couldn’t bear to let these guys live!
“Alright, it’s our turn to take the stage!” At that moment, Komer suddenly bent down calmly, using the wind magic cast by Lebrí beside him—Wind Surge—to make his body light as a fluttering bat, gliding out swiftly. Lebrí also stepped forward calmly but at an extraordinary speed. Only Sorenberg relied entirely on his own combat energy to reach a state where he could soar through the air, creating a giant balloon that shot forward with a whoosh.
As the two top-tier fire spells, “Dance of the Golden Snake” and “Flame Dance in the Heavens,” were unleashed, Komer felt his body grow weak. It was Lebrí who noticed Komer’s superficial strength and gently used Wind Surge to stabilize him, preventing him from falling into the water in shame.
The two powerful fire spells caused the already frozen reed marsh to loosen, and under Komer’s deliberate casting, the intense fire elements suddenly erupted, spreading across the entire marsh. The flying fire elements made even the jellyfish-like warrior soldiers frozen solid on the water’s surface sneeze. Without that sneeze, they would have frozen to death on the surface, turning into eternal ice sculptures.
Lebrí’s Dark Binding, like a web woven from chains of ghosts, enveloped the terrified and enraged ice dragon in layers. The dragon’s breath seemed ineffective against this magic from the depths of hell. It had no idea that its own fierce breath had almost torn apart Lebrí’s self-proclaimed unparalleled Dark Binding. He had to cast three solidification spells in quick succession to barely hold back the ice dragon, which was trying to break free. This ice dragon was too tempting; killing it would undoubtedly yield a tremendous treasure. So Lebrí immediately unleashed his most skilled dark magic.
At the last moment, Sorenberg’s knight’s spear emitted a brilliant glow of two feet in length. Unfortunately, the ice dragon spotted him right away and regarded him as its greatest enemy. Its massive dragon feet ignored the constraints of Dark Binding and struck fiercely, sending Sorenberg flying ten meters away. The overwhelming force made Sorenberg feel like he was spitting blood again. But his defiant nature refused to let this dark knight end his dragon-slaying quest in such an embarrassing way. With a roar, the shiny tip of his knight’s spear spun wildly, transforming into a huge silver ice disc that rushed forward like a giant crystal lantern. The entire spear flew horizontally, as if dragging Sorenberg through the sky, straight at the ice dragon.
Equally enraged, the ice dragon was no less determined; its dragon feet struck again with force, the intense collision once more highlighting the disparity in strength between the two. The sharp sound of the impact drowned out Sorenberg’s muffled groans. Like a toy thrown high into the air, Sorenberg tumbled several times in the air, changing positions yet failing to stabilize himself, before falling miserably into the water. The memory was so vivid that he could still recall this glorious moment decades later.