novelClash of Ice and Snow
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Chapter 344: Clash of Ice and Snow
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Pranav
The world of ice and snow continued to expand as nothing but white could been seen extending into the horizon. The entire world around us was now pure white.
Based on the typical rules, when two Soul Worlds clashed, the end result would depend on the Soul Worlds' power and the strength of their users. If there was little difference, then both sides would have equal chances to win. If one side was far stronger than the other, then the weaker person's Soul World wouldn't be able to do anything other than protect them.
As for us... there was basically no difference, at least on the surface.
What would white be when it was combined with white? Looking around us at this world filled with ice and snow, Zero was surprised that the two master ice mages' Soul Worlds didn't actually clash. They melded perfectly together. This obviously went against the common sense of Soul Worlds, which made her both astonished as well as faintly realize that something was wrong.
The double iciness made the temperature go down even further. This severe cold caused snow to descend from the sky yet again, while the snowflakes—as large as a person's hand—were crystallizations of ice. This life-threatening frost created ice everywhere on the ground, resembling landmines of snow and ice. Yet it was Zero's personal undead army who were the first to be no longer able to tolerate this extremely low temperature.
Normally speaking, they should have long gotten used to ice-cold temperatures since they were from the Ice Plane. Yet the strange part was that in this seemingly warm mortal plane, this not so deadly appearing ice made them quite uncomfortable.
Zero's intelligent high-level undead army discovered to their shock that the situation had spiraled out of their control. They were no longer able to walk on this snowy ground, and their limbs no longer listened to their commands. All this falling snow even obscured their soul vision. This extreme world of snow and ice that two Undead Emperors constructed together made even these Legendary undead as helpless as ordinary humans. This dark and frigid environment was the most direct path to death.
The fact that both of us chose something like a Soul World for large scale area of effect attacks was no coincidence. This was all due to the nature of ice magic.
After all, no matter if it was stealing away the heat or more normal ice magic, it would all be large-scale temperature lowering. In that case, in order for the power of ice magic to reach the peak and maintain its state, it would require a Soul World of ice, the path taken by many top-level ice magic archmages.
A low temperature Soul World of ice and snow wouldn't make ice magic weaker—it would, in fact, even provide terrain bonuses. The same went for fire magic archmages as well. Their Soul Worlds were typically high temperature volcanic terrains filled with magma, which improved the power of their fire.
Two top-level ice magic archmages with very similar Soul Worlds was something within expectations, yet the fact that they actually could combine with each other and further increase the ice magic's power was quite unusual.
However, I laughed, because this "unusualness" was exactly what I expected. As I watched large patches of ice and snow descend, the eternal "Hibernation Chill" contained within it made even the strongest undead into nothing more than prey on a spiderweb. Struggling was meaningless; they could only be frozen.
The ones who found this the most incomprehensible were the Winter Demons as they were supposed to be immune to ice magic. For the first time in their undead lives, they felt the pain of being frozen. This ice and snow was actually capable of making them despair.
When this absolute ice arrived, only then did they discover that they still possessed the ability to feel pain. This cold to the extreme ice damage made their skin crack open, their bones shatter, and their souls freeze over. This ice damage damaged their very foundations and made them finally recall the feeling of pain back from when they were still alive. And, gradually, as the pain diminished and even vanished, their physical bodies were no longer able to resist this extreme cold. They had completely lost their bodies and souls.
"Why are you even combining your powers with mine and increasing the power of this ice domain? Aren't you a living person?"
Zero didn't hide her astonishment. She had discovered that Roland wasn't fighting back against her "Heat-loss Domain;" instead, he was helping add something into it which greatly increased its power. Could it be that he wasn't worried at all about dying inside it? Wasn't he supposed to be alive? He even dared to increase the power of her own Soul World? He was that confident that he would survive longer than her?
Based on common sense, no living being could reach a higher level in ice magic than an undead that wasn't afraid of low temperatures. After all, most ice magic spells were area of effect, and accidentally freezing oneself to death wasn't unheard of. But, for undead ice magic, all that was needed was to lower the temperature, which would naturally cause large numbers of living beings to drop dead. This was also why many liches practiced ice magic together with undead magic.
But Roland was clearly a living person, yet he put himself in such an absolute cold environment. And this cold was sufficient to even freeze the Winter Demons. Still, he kept decreasing the temperature of this area. Was he suicidal?
Of course, I didn't intend to explain anything to Zero. Nor would I tell her that the "Absolute Zero Ice Armor" I was wearing made the temperature outside meaningless, no matter how low it was. Nor would I be telling her that I actually wasn't using a Soul World, but rather a true new world of my own. I didn't increase her Soul World's strength but rather placed it within my Frigidwinter Earth.
"... So you'll comment in your mind, is that it? I can hear everything you're thinking."
"Of course, since it sucks to keep everything bottled in. Besides, it's not like she can hear my thoughts."
I was no idiotic villain who would die because I liked to talk too much. Nor was I some demon king who was addicted to explaining my every move. How could I possibly tell my enemy my secrets? There were even some bosses that liked to mark their own weak spots or favorite individuals with red markings, as if they weren't afraid of their enemies noticing at all.
If my enemy was confused, then let them be confused. It would be even better if they died while not understanding anything.
But the closest undead to me were now right before me. Even if they were slowed down by my Hibernation Chill, I couldn't ignore them. And since Mars was busy recombining himself and wasn't usable at the moment...
"I choose you, Erebella!" [1] 1
"There's never anything good when you call me!"
The giant ice dragon arrived on the winds, with a layer of my "Absolute Zero Ice Armor" secretly applied on her body. Otherwise, even she would become nothing more than an ice sculpture in this fatally cold ice and snow.
When controlling the temperature, no matter if it was fire or ice magic, both its greatest advantage and weakness would be its excellent area of effect. While it was incredibly destructive in a huge area, one of the most common methods of dying was accidentally killing oneself in the process. After all, changing the temperature was an invisible process. It was very possible to either cook or freeze yourself to death.
Since I was an ice mage who wasn't so confident controlling my own ice, I created an "Ice Armor" that could protect myself the moment I obtained my Frigidwinter Earth. With power at the level of a Divine Concept, this "Absolute Zero Ice Armor" required me to only take a set amount of ice damage and would protect me from dying no matter how low the temperature was outside.
But my opponent, Zero, wasn't so easy to deal with. She was unmistakably a SemiGod Undead Emperor. Perhaps she wasn't at her strongest as this wasn't her main body, but she would still be, at the very least, at the Myth rank—an ice mage two power levels above me.
"... As expected, all direct attacks are meaningless?"
I had no intentions of forcefully trading blows with her. Instead, I had my Frigidwinter Earth further decrease the temperature of her Soul World. The result was that her subordinates were indeed affected, but she seemed to ignore the effects. Those snowflakes floated right through the ghost's body. Since the snowflakes didn't even touch her, then even my Hibernation Chill wasn't affecting her at all.
"When I close my eyes, I can't sense anything, as if she doesn't even exist. Is this what 'Zero' is really like?"
Indeed, all ghost type undead creatures had no physical bodies, and the stronger ghosts among them would be impervious to physical damage. However, this didn't mean that they were immune to magic. And I was quite clear on the limitations of Soul Worlds. It was possible to create terrain that would be beneficial to oneself, but making oneself so powerful as to a cheat-like level was impossible. This could only be one of her unique personal talents.
And in the battle so far, I had already tested things out. No matter if I threw a rock or a magic spell at her, everything would pass through her body harmlessly and cause no actual damage.
But ever since we met, Zero hadn't taken any action apart from summoning her Soul World and her own subordinates. It was obvious that her "invulnerability" had costs associated with it.
While ghosts were immune to physical damage, they also had zero physical attack power. Since they didn't have physical bodies, they wouldn't even be able to pick up a normal weapon. They would only be able to use their bodies filled with negative energy to touch a living individual and instinctively absorb their lifeforce. Perhaps Zero had such limitations as well. It wasn't that she didn't want to attack; it was that she couldn't attack. Against a normal opponent, perhaps this ultra-low temperature attack would be more than sufficient.
Erebella flew through the snowflakes as she sent several streams of dragon breath, which obstructed the slowly moving undead from approaching me. And since there was the limitation about how magical pets were unable to surpass their masters in power level, this seemingly powerful ice dragon was only at the peak of Gold, making her nothing more than a weakling with an intimidating appearance... Fine then, judging by the dragon breath that suddenly flew in my direction, Erebella was quite dissatisfied with me.
"Although I've already placed my trap, making this time bomb explode still requires some time... Alright then, let's have Mars play with you for a little while."
Just what form would Mars take after awakening? What form should he be? What abilities would he have? Would he be vicious?
"How should I know? Is there any parent out there who knows before their child is even born about what their abilities and physical appearance will be like? Or what job the child will end up working at?"
At most, what the so-called "parents" could do was provide the most basic necessities, an environment to grow up in, and give the child a name that may contain a specific meaning.
"Mars..."
"You called for me?"
A voice suddenly spoke up behind me. It would seem that he had finished the final recombination.
Mars spoke in a mature, low, male voice. He had a tall and upright figure while his mouth displayed a faint smile. He appeared to be a mature gentleman. Since he obtained plenty of knowledge from his "nutrition, " having such a physical appearance wasn't strange at all.
"A good child actually came out. Did I really receive such a miracle? After investing so many resources, a normal person finally appeared!! Just take a look, he's so polite, he's definitely a good child, a true gentleman in the original meaning of the word! I'm no cursed individual who can only bring forth the strangest individuals around!! Hahahaha!"
"... You're so shameless. Is there any real gentleman who would wear a skirt?"
"No! Don't remind me! Can't you let me be happy for even one minute?!"
It was apparent that Mars' spirit was still in some confusion. He was simultaneously wearing a gentleman's shirt paired together with a skirt. Meanwhile, he had no facial features: his face was blank, with nothing other than a mouth.
"... This is probably a problem created by being a collective will. With too many individual parts, creating a single soul, face, gender, and body becomes uncertain. That's why he's in such a chaotic state."
For once, Harloys acted reliably and came to the same conclusion as me. She was also quite interested in Mars, who we created together.
And as I faced this Mars, an identical existence with unclear features appeared where Little Red was fighting, where one of the Titan Giants was fighting against the Shield Dwarf Guardian Goddess Mary, and also at the other battle, where the gay Wood Elf Guardian God Solo was fighting against the Titan Giant Yins. Mars appeared like a man and also like a woman, human yet inhuman, physical yet also ethereal.
"Yes, Mother is correct."
"... *&*&*!"
Mother? Fine, from a certain standpoint, this wasn't incorrect. Harloys did much of the work herself. But the fact that Harloys' thoughts were nothing but jumbled symbols was doubtlessly the best explanation that her feelings were so complex that words were insufficient to describe them.
"Now then, as Father wishes, I shall show my power. Father, please remember that Mars has no fixed form..."
And when "Mars" started taking action, the human form that he was using to appear before me instantly became meaningless. He transformed back into an ethereal shadow.
Right before us, the earth trembled before it split open and a gigantic bone arm reached out of the ground.
Next, a bone giant as large as a mountain appeared. He opened his giant mouth, a black hole created by countless souls that swirled within it. His green eyes possessed a wicked light that was capable of directly killing the undead. And if you looked at him a bit more carefully, you would discover that this bone giant's bones actually consisted of countless skeleton soldiers, lesser liches, skeleton warhorses and others combined together. He was the combination of innumerable undead!
"... Come meet your deaths."
The bone giant began his hunt. Zero's undead creatures became his prey. A single touch was all it took to make them part of Mars' physical body. This bone giant kept growing even larger and more powerful as he fought.
Similar things occurred at the other battles. The undead campground was now empty, and the few surviving undead were furiously running for their lives. And where Little Red was fighting against Molly, Mars had transformed himself into a full army of undead archers and lesser liches, sending countless undead magic enchanted bone arrows right at Molly.
At the battle where the thunder Titan Giant was fighting against the Shield Dwarf Goddess Mary, Mars transformed into a giant army of rushing undead knights that charged directly at the tremendous giant. Perhaps Mars wouldn't be able to cause any fatal damage, but he could at least successfully attract some of the rampaging thunder and make it slightly easier for Mary.
Nor did Mars stand around idly where the Titan Giant Yins was fighting against the gay Wood Elf God Solo. Here, he transformed into an army of Bone Dragons that flew through the air. Their dragon breath endlessly annoyed Yins. Not to mention, his ability of being able to sense cause and effect didn't apply to these special soulless undead, which greatly affected his sense of judgement.
Just as Mars himself said, as he was created to be a literal incarnation of war, he had no fixed form. Instead, he would choose the most appropriate form for his opponent and constantly evolve and grow stronger through battle.
What, you're saying that I forgot about one battle? The battle between the Goddess of Wealth Beyana and that divine beast lion?
Actually, that battle had finished long ago. In my secret arsenal was a certain Saint-ranked individual, and for this battle he had actually changed his typically lazy personality. He had even volunteered for the most dangerous frontlines. Yet his power was unquestionable—the moment he appeared, he only said a few words to the lion before their battle had ended before it even began.
"My cute little brother, have you heard of me before? No? Wonderful... I mean, that's really regrettable! Hello, my name is Beifeng Herault. I'm a beast tamer. Perhaps we can try becoming friends."
Note:
[1] ED/N: Obvious reference.
| ← Ch. 343 | Ch. 345 → |