Chapter 166: Ice and Fire
At that moment, a sudden Flame Portal erupted within the White Frozen Realm.
"Such an interesting resonance…"
From within stepped a noble youth with Black Hair, Golden Eyes, his form immediately flaring with shimmering Arcane Radiance. In an instant, he expanded—growing to nearly twenty meters in length—into a colossal Red Dragon.
As the Red Dragon manifested, searing heat surged through the air. Snow-covered ground cracked open, oozing molten Magma, while the raging Blizzard was abruptly choked and suppressed.
Dolo’s frost-laden body slowly thawed, droplets of melted ice streaming down his limbs, yet he collapsed to the ground, barely breathing.
【Dragon's Resurgence】
Kai Xiusu raised a claw, and radiant beams descended from the sky—pure, unfiltered draconic vitality. They poured into the Dragonblood Goblins, healing their frostbitten flesh and preserving Dolo’s life.
"Master…"
"You… came…"
Dolo, barely conscious, forced his eyes open, his voice weak and strained. Within him swelled a crushing sense of defeat—humiliation at having been so easily bested, nearly killed.
"Forgive me… I failed…"
Seeing Dolo safe, the Red Dragon paid him no further mind. Instead, it fixed its gaze upon Duke Oliver, hovering midair, encircled by a swirling Snowstorm, its expression thoughtful.
"An impressive mastery of Ice Strength."
"But the one wielding it… is far too weak."
To Kai Xiusu, the true threat lay not in the human, but in the Horn behind Duke Oliver—its power, its origin. The Frost Giant Bloodline in the man’s veins was merely a vessel—insignificant, disposable.
Seeing the Red Dragon appear, Duke Oliver’s Frost Giant Bloodline flared with ancient hatred, merging with his own simmering fury. A roar of rage tore from his throat.
"Damned Red Dragon!"
"I’ll make you Experience what true Ice means!"
He unleashed the storm—gale-force winds lashed forward, hurling jagged ice shards, freezing breath so intense it could shatter stone. The Snowstorm roared toward the Red Dragon, a tempest of endless winter.
【Graceful as a Dragon】
Kai Xiusu’s Wings pulsed with Spatial Force, his Flight speed bordering on the impossible. His body blurred into a phantom-like streak, effortlessly dodging the onslaught.
Swish—
The Red Dragon shot across the earth, soaring directly above Duke Oliver. Yet instead of attacking, it hovered, calm and deliberate.
Kai Xiusu Contemptuously looked down at the Duke.
"An impressive Spell."
"But… can you truly control this Strength?"
"Pathetic creature?"
The Contempt in the Red Dragon’s golden Vertical Pupil ignited Oliver’s fury beyond reason.
"How dare you—!"
From childhood, he had been taught obedience—to serve the Bosk Duchy, to obey without question. Though noble families outwardly called him "Lord Duke" with polite formality, behind his back they mocked him as nothing more than a “Loyal Hound Duke” or “Barbarian Lord.”
He had never held real power—only the shadow of it, sheltered under the wing of the Bosk Duchy. This had forged a twisted soul: arrogant yet deeply insecure, forced to vent his rage upon his own people.
Now, for the first time, he held power beyond imagination—absolute dominion over all. And yet, this Red Dragon looked down upon him as if he were nothing.
That Contempt—he had endured it his whole life. It was familiar. It was unbearable.
Oliver’s eyes gleamed with icy malice. Runes on his body flared. He threw back his head and screamed:
"Crawler! I will have you die!"
With his cry, jagged Ice Spikes erupted from the ground, piercing upward toward the sky—aimed at the Red Dragon.
Kai Xiusu remained Contemptuous, his chest glowing with a fierce Red Glow, his throat gathering energy. Then—
【Extreme Flame Breath】
A column of Blinding White Flame, concentrated with unmatched ferocity, tore through the storm. It sliced through the Blizzard, shattered the ice pillars, and vaporized the snow and ice in an instant.
Yet the Red Dragon did not press the attack. It simply closed its maw, halting the fire, and spoke—mocking, calm.
"Is that all?"
"Oliver Duke… in my eyes, you’re just a well-trained dog tied to that Horn."
Kai Xiusu’s voice was even, almost bored.
He was provoking him—testing just how far this Frost Giant-blooded man could go, under the Horn’s influence.
The man’s use of Eternal Frost Power was crude—unfocused. He scattered his energy like a mad dog in heat, wasting power instead of channeling it.
To Kai Xiusu, Oliver was no threat. Only an experiment.
An opportunity to test the Horn’s true limits.
And perhaps by design—or perhaps by pure chance—those words struck a nerve.
Oliver’s eyes burned with fury.
"You’re asking for death!"
"I’ll plunge you into eternal slumber!"
With a roar, he tore the Horn from his back and blew into it. A wave of Extreme Freezing Cold erupted from its mouth, conjuring a storm so violent it shook the heavens.
WOOOOOOOOOOO—
The Horn Blast echoed across the sky. The Snowstorm intensified—so powerful it made even the Red Dragon feel the chill, as if plunged into an abyss of ice.
Kai Xiusu unleashed a torrent of fire—walls of flame shielding him from the cold. He stared at Oliver, blowing the Horn, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"This resonance… has reached Legendary Level."
"A pleasant surprise. I didn’t think that Horn could truly awaken Legendary-Level power in a mortal."
"But… his time is almost up."
To Kai Xiusu, Oliver now resembled a bomb on the verge of detonation—his body overloaded with uncontrolled, explosive Strength.
"Come on," the Red Dragon taunted, slowly flaring its Wings, suspended midair by Spatial Force, fire dancing around its form. "Attack me."
"Show me your Strength."
Frenzied, Oliver threw his hands wide. From his palms poured torrents of Freezing Cold, like a raging river of ice.
"No… not enough…"
"More… I need more Strength!"
"Only then can I kill this Red Dragon!"
He greedily drew more power from the Horn, his Eternal Frost Power resonating with his Bloodline. The Cyan Ice Rune on his body blazed brighter, almost blinding.
The Freezing Cold surged forward—like a tidal wave.
BOOM—
The icy flood crashed into the Red Dragon—but the beast simply vanished.
The attack passed through empty air, striking the ground and erupting into towering, jagged ice pillars.
It had all been a Flame Avatar—the most basic illusion of fire.
Oliver, with his limited spellcraft, hadn’t even recognized the deception. He had poured every ounce of his Strength into destroying a phantom.
Meanwhile, the true Red Dragon—using the supernatural speed of 【Graceful as a Dragon】—had already slipped behind him, unseen.
"Experiment complete," Kai Xiusu said, his voice calm. "Your life ends now."
"What a… pitiful creature."
He raised a claw—only the most basic of Dragon Cantrips, the weakest of dragon magic.
Why? Because Oliver Duke now possessed Legendary-Level power output—but lacked any defense, any control.
Had the Blizzard not blocked him, even Dolo could have hacked Oliver into pieces.
【Claw Strike】
A glowing, claw-shaped Magic Force Field appeared behind Oliver—slicing through his frail, untrained body like paper.
As the Red Dragon tore him apart, the Eternal Frost Power—previously sustained only by his Bloodline—lost balance. It erupted in a final, catastrophic burst.
"I hit you—!"
"No—!"
Cold light poured from his mouth, nose, eyes.
Oliver’s body—swollen from overloading—exploded like a burst balloon. Jagged Ice Spikes erupted from every wound, steam hissing from his shattered form.
In the end, he became a jagged, irregular Ice Crystal—a frozen monument, like a glacier buried for millennia.
The Horn fell to the ground, its runes dimming. The Blizzard above began to fade.
"Ugh… fools consumed by Strength," Kai Xiusu muttered, staring at the frozen corpse.
"A half-blood Frost Giant, diluted a thousand times over…
Thought he could take on a Dragon just by holding a relic? How utterly reckless."
(End of Chapter)
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