Chapter 135: Dawn
“Moore’s strength lies in his short sword. He acquired this long-lost Wonder during an adventure and immediately advanced from an ordinary Hero to a Great Hero, possessing strength no less than that of a Golden Hero at the peak of the Great Hero rank.”
Alexius’s mind raced with countless thoughts. He needed time. As long as he could stall until the moment night and day transitioned, the ritual would be completed.
At that point, no one would be able to stop the Abyssal Transformation and the descent of Darkness.
Moore did not notice Alexius’s internal struggle. He raised the ice crystal short sword to the level of his lips, then pointed the tip of the sword forward.
“Hoo!”
Moore blew forcefully toward the direction the ice crystal short sword pointed.
This breath, carrying the chill and Moore’s will, was suddenly magnified after passing through the ice crystal short sword. It transformed into a torrent of Extreme-Cold Frost Wind, sweeping out with immense ice and snow.
As the wild wind passed, all the dark worshiper ice sculptures were swept away, dissolving into icy dust. Even their souls were denied passage to the afterlife.
This was the quasi-Treasure Artifact, The Frost Blessing!
It could instantly reshape the terrain, creating an ocean of frost imbued with highly active Mana. It could selectively freeze enemies while protecting allies, and could unleash a biting cold wind to destroy the enemy’s soul and body.
Ace perceived this terrifying change, frantically recording every flashing rune. Thanks to the Insight Perception learned from Bayen, he managed to capture the powerful runes.
Even if he couldn’t comprehend them now, they were the foundation for his future!
“Let the frost purify everything!” Moore Rona roared, raising the ice crystal short sword.
Standing in the ocean of frost, he made the frost dance. It transformed into a giant frost beast, roaring with the entire ocean of frost, charging toward Alexius.
The Divine Descendants—Heroes, Pseudo-Heroes, and Divine Awakened—all mounted gigantic frost beasts, transformed from active ice crystals, and roared!
“Let the frost punish you!”
“Charge! Crush them!”
“For the Ancestor God! For Rona!”
Dikens rode a gigantic frost warthog, roaring and grieving.
He looked at the heavily wounded Divine Descendants. His mind was filled with thoughts of his loving father, his elder brother who anxiously awaited his success, and his difficult second brother. Pain surged within him.
“Alexius, why did you do this! Why did you massacre our kin?” Dikens cried out, his voice hoarse with sorrow.
“Why?” Alexius gave a rare reply to Dikens. He looked at the waves of charging frost descendants, chuckling softly. He dissolved into the pitch-black shadow behind him.
“Because this was the expectation my father had for me! This is my destiny!”
The pitch-black shadow emitted a deathly silence. Countless figures surged within the blackness, struggling to climb out.
A strong, black figure walked to the front of Alexius, guarding him. The other figures scattered, rushing toward the frost descendants riding the ice crystal giant beasts.
“Look at them! This is the frost! They did not die. They merely merged with me, becoming a part of me forever—becoming my shadows!”
Dikens stared in horror at the three shadowy figures charging him. These pitch-black forms were shockingly familiar!
They were Dikens’s family: his kind and resolute father, his brave elder brother, and his difficult second brother!
In that moment, the descendants of the frost engaged in a fierce struggle with their own kin in the darkness before dawn in the Northern March Fortress.
“Blasphemy!” Moore Rona roared, driving his giant beast straight toward Alexius.
“Alexius, you desecrated our kin and blasphemed the Ancestor God! You threw yourself into the Abyss, becoming the running dog of the Darkness! I will kill you, you filthy jackal, and purify your soul with frost!”
“What good is grandstanding? You, who possess pure blood and miracles that mortals can never dream of, how can you possibly understand the difficulties of us with inferior blood?” Alexius did not retreat. He drew a shadow blade from the darkness behind him and rushed straight toward Moore Rona.
“It is because our blood is impure that we are destined to be trampled underfoot by you! My father sacrificed himself to purify my bloodline. He sacrificed his life to ensure I could get closer to the Ancestor God. He cursed me! He robbed me of my power! But did you think I would simply submit?”
Alexius raged, ignoring his wounds as he charged Moore.
These words had been suppressed in his heart for years. During the time he lost his power, he hid, was tempted by the Witch, and paid a heavy price to gain the favor of the Darkness.
“Sophistry!” Moore shouted fiercely. He brandished his ice frost blade, slicing Alexius.
“Frost merely took back the power that was never yours—that was an act of mercy! You are unrepentant and blame the Ancestor God! Your despicable actions and vile thoughts make you a disgrace to the frost! I will purify you on behalf of the frost!”
Moore Rona’s every swing of the ice frost blade brought with it a cold chill that could freeze the soul.
However, Alexius seemed to possess a special power. He ignored the blade’s cuts. He was like a shadow, recovering instantly after being sliced.
“You truly sold yourself to the Abyss and became a shadow! But you are merely a vile Half-Demon. You are inferior to the Great Demon projection beside you, who is at least a pure Demon, unlike you—the shame of the frost, the scum of the Divine Descendants.”
Moore continued to provoke Alexius, all the while analyzing the situation.
Alexius could not sustain this shadow state indefinitely. There must be a limit. It could be time, or it could be some condition. I must test this.
A slight smile played on Moore’s lips. His attack intensified.
The shadow figures and the Great Demon projection attacked Moore from behind, but Moore’s back instantly grew ice crystals, which rapidly formed two giant frost beasts that engaged them in battle.
Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com