Tiana softly recited the incantations of water magic. All of a sudden snowflakes were swirling through the air as ice formed in the land and sky, and everything became frozen.
It was a widely known fact in the magical world that the more powerful the spell, the longer an incantation took. Seeing how long it took Snow Celestial Tiana to recite the incantation, and the changes taking place as the space all around them was slowly transforming into a world of ice and snow, Han Shuo knew that this spell of Tiana’s was unusually powerful.
Unlike how he had to deal with Ice Celestial Corey, all Han Shuo needed to do was to get near Tiana at the fastest speed possible. Once he got into close proximity, she would either be dead, or be as good as dead!
Magi were, after all, mere magi – their fragile bodies were eternally their unalterable weakness!
Cold wind whistled as all the water element between land and sky gathered rapidly. Before Han Shuo could get close to Tiana, five crystalline water dragons suddenly formed in the sky, each over ten meters in length and incredibly lifelike.
Using water element to materialize objects, and using them to attack, were feats of water magic any journeyman mage could accomplish. But to form dragons of water that were just like the real thing, as Tiana had done, and five of them at once, this was without a doubt a most astounding feat.
As a necromancer, Han Shuo had a thorough understanding of magic – be it water, fire, or earth magic, all were capable of using the elements of water, fire, or earth respectively to materialize and form objects. However, the larger the object, the greater the elemental energy required. Thus controlling those objects would become increasingly challenging.
If Tiana had been able to form five water dragons of such size the last time at Tarrag Canyon, Han Shuo was certain that he and Stratholme the old monster would have had a far easier time. From the looks of it, after fusing her soul with the Origin Crystal of Water, Tiana had greatly improved in strength.
Once Tiana’s soul had fused with the Origin Crystal of Water, her affinity for sensing and controlling the water element instantly rose to new heights. Not only was she able to create five incredibly lifelike dragons, but she was also able to command them with her soul’s energy and attack as she willed.
Such an accomplishment could more than hold a candle to Kelly in his ape form!
As three of the dozen-meter-long water dragons rushed towards the transformed Kelly amidst the blasts of icy wind, Kelly cried out in astonishment,
Tiana, since when did you possess such powerful strength?
Even as Kelly said those words, his hands were already moving. Having just repelled Ice Celestial Corey, Kelly struck hard at the three water dragons with a palm the size of a small mountain.
Kelly, well over ten meters tall, stood like a towering behemoth. The three water dragons, while matching his height with their length, did not appear nearly as massive due to their slithering movements and lack of girth. Before him, they were like a trio of large pythons.
However, the three water dragons were incredibly agile under Tiana’s control. She could not deny that Kelly in his beastly transformation had astounding brute strength, and did not dare to make it a direct battle of raw power between him and her three water dragons. Instead, they glided around him in an orderly formation, acting in concert with Ice Celestial Corey as he fought Kelly.
Orchestrating this required Tiana’s full concentration, and with Han Shuo bearing down on her with an unholy glint in his eyes, she had no time at all for talking.
Of Tiana’s five water dragons, three were used in attacking Kelly, and the two others were sent straight for Han Shuo, their jaws snapping.
Tiana seemed to know of Han Shuo’s extreme speed, as when the two water dragons flew from her side to attack him, they moved so as to keep him at a distance. Their bodies coiled in such a way that Tiana was in the middle, and only struck at Han Shuo with stretching strikes, making sure to block the paths he could take to attack her.
Those water dragons formed from water elemental may not have been the real deal, but their movements bore even greater agility than actual water dragons, with not a hint of stiffness or languor.
For elementally materialized objects to reach such a level was truly incredible!
From the looks of it, with the fusion of her soul with the Origin Crystal of Water, Tiana’s control over the water element had certainly entered the realm of perfection.
Seeing how easily Tiana blocked off all paths of approach with only her two water dragons, such that she could hide inside their protection and continue to chant other magical incantations undisturbed, Han Shuo could not help but frown. In his mind, he pondered over the methods he could use to deal with her.
If water elite zombie had finished digesting the power it had previously absorbed from the statue of the Ice Goddess, Han Shuo was certain that with him there, he could utilize his innate power to completely disintegrate the five water dragons. However, just like little skeleton, it was currently a crucial time for water elite zombie and he could not be disturbed.
Hmph! Don’t you think you can stop me with just a few water dragons!
Han Shuo snorted. He began moving his hands in circular motions in the air, as though he was doing Tai Chi.
Black bolts of electricity exploded from between his hands, and a small vortex formed in front of Han Shuo’s torso alongside his hand movements. A terrible, devouring force was generated swiftly, and the small vortex seemed as though it pulled on some strange force in the world, growing bigger and bigger until it formed a terrifying grey vortex.
Han Shuo continued to channel energy into the giant vortex, and the all-consuming power of demonic arts fully revealed itself within. The air and the cold winds were all instantly drawn in by this terrible power, and forcibly sucked into the vortex.
The sky, which had been frozen but clear, instantly changed, with sand and rock filling the air as it fell dark all over. The gigantic vortex was like a mythical beast that had waited for eons at the bottom of the abyss, finally emerging and opening its titanic mouth as though it intended to devour the entire world.
The land was in a state of desolation, and it seemed as though nothing could stop this terrible devouring power. The air, the cold winds, and those stone pillars that reached for the sky – all was pulled by the force and sent hurtling helplessly into the vortex.
Even the bodies of the squadron of knights that Kelly had embedded into the earth were forcibly ripped out and sent high into the sky, flying into the gigantic vortex alongside their armour, weapons, and warhorses.
The greater the size of the object, the greater the suction force upon them. The five water dragons were similarly affected by the pull of that power and could no longer maintain their agile states. All five of them were pulled away from their original positions and towards the gigantic vortex high up in the sky.
At that time, even Tiana, who had the Origin Crystal of Water fused with her soul, could not maintain her control over her five water dragons. She could do nothing but watch helplessly as they flew into the center of the gargantuan vortex. The moment she tried to control them with her mental strength, she felt an unstoppable force surging towards her, and very nearly lost control of her own body to fall into the vortex as well.
The towering form of Kelly’s ape body was swaying unsteadily, but then he suddenly let out a great roar, stomped both feet on the ground with tremendous force, and his hairy legs sank deep into the earth. He was like an ancient, sky-reaching tree that had stood in the world for millions of years, unyielding in the face of all that raged around him.
It was worth mentioning that Kelly’s strength was indeed formidable. All large objects had been dragged into Han Shuo’s vortex, all but the behemothian Kelly could remain unmoved simply by sinking his feet into the earth.
Chaos had broken out in the blink of an eye. It was fortunate that the Shrine of Ice had previously evacuated everyone in the surrounding areas, so there were only a few casualties aside from those disciples of the Shrine of Ice who had come to capture Kelly.
In the midst of the wildly raging winds, Han Shuo suddenly stopped and pressed his palms together. A loudly destructive boom was heard from the immeasurable vortex as ice and water, mingled with pulverized rock and human corpses, began raining down.
At that moment, Han Shuo lunged forward, speeding lightning-fast towards Tiana. With a motion of his hands, the Demonic Blades unfurled like a peacock’s tail. The coldest light shone out from within, striking awe in the hearts of those who saw it.
Oh shit!
Shocked, Tiana began swiftly retreating without another thought.
As a mage, Tiana was well aware of her weaknesses. She knew that the moment she let Han Shuo get anywhere near herself, she would have little chance of escaping a gruesome death at his hand, and so she frantically sought to escape his attacks.
As she ran, she also set up layer after layer of defenses. Wall after wall of flat, gleaming ice formed in the direct path between Han Shuo and herself.
Crack crack crack!
With just one strike from Han Shuo, the mirror-smooth ice walls gave up, as though they had been nothing more than dried leaves, and he continued in his relentless pursuit of Tiana without the slightest sign of slowing down.
Retreat!
Tiana called out as she ran.
The Shrine of Ice elites, lead by Ice Celestial Corey and Snow Celestial Tiana, had utterly failed in their joint attack on the Druidic Order’s leader Kelly, all because of Han Shuo’s sudden appearance.
It had not only been a failure, in fact, there had been a reversal of roles. Kelly, who was supposed to be the hunted, had reversed his situation with Han Shuo’s help, and became the hunter instead! Ice Celestial Corey of the Shrine of Ice, on the other hand, had been forced to flee on his own turf.
They were all demigods, and while Kelly’s power was greater than those of Ice Celestial Corey and Snow Celestial Tiana, fighting one against two was still very difficult. But with Han Shuo going after Tiana, the one with the greater threat, Ice Celestial Corey had to deal with Kelly all alone. With Corey having been previously injured by Han Shuo, Kelly had a definite advantage.
Defeat had come so swiftly and suddenly, and the tables had turned in an instant. Han Shuo and Kelly, each with their eyes on the two highest leaders of the Shrine of Ice, began their deadly pursuit within the borders of the Kasi Empire!
