Southern Region, Llynun, City Wall.
On the horizon, a colossal beast formed from living Ice approached. It's each step shook the ground and transformed the forest into a land of ice and snow. Around the beast, thousands of high-level ice elementals flowed, following its march.
A cloud of frosty mist seeped out from the army of ice, far denser than a common snowstorm, freezing everything that came too close.
Arthur stood on the city wall, his chestnut hair fluttering in the wind. The roar of cannons drowned out the noisy soldiers who faced the army of Ice Elementals. Around him, hundreds of magic cannons were all pointed towards the feet of the towering Ice Titan as it slowly approached, firing with great vigor.
Thousands of Imperial soldiers fought on the battlefield, ran up and down the walls, and fired magic weapons wherever they could find a place to aim.
Arthur pursed his lips.
To destroy the Ice Calamity, there were four steps.
The first thing they needed to do was deal with the thousands of ice elementals around its feet. These ice elementals were like commanders, each one capable of splitting their attention and forming an army of thousands of smaller elementals. This was already underway.
The second step was to destroy the outer 'ice shell'. The ice Castle created a living Armour out of ice. This ice shell was formed like a bear, and Its height reached 3000 meters tall. It's body was as strong as a mage towers defense, and its regeneration was near instant.
The third step was to confront the ice Castle itself. After the outer shell was destroyed and it could no longer reach the city, they had to turn their attention to entering the Ice Castle.
The fourth step was to kill the High Elf hiding in the castle. This step was the most difficult and had the most unknowns. The world had no idea how powerful a high elf was, but this man was connected to the Curse of Winter, so he had to die. It was possible that creating this calamity was his limit, but it was also possible that it was just a casual act. It was Impossible to know.
As for Arthur, he possessed future sight. His eyes flickered with a golden light as he flipped through the many possible futures that they could face.
He could see the battle up to the point where they entered the Ice Castle, but he had no idea what would happen after that. A higher power seemed to be blocking his ability, leaving everything after that point in time as an unreadable static.
He clenched his fist.
-
Llynun, City Wall.
Standing on another section of the city wall, Rotell was looking into the distance, staring at the ice titan with a cold gaze.
She thought to herself.
'So, this is the first calamity?'
Like many others, Rotell had completely underestimated the severity of the situation. This was not the kind of monster that you could defeat with just a sword. She looked out at the battlefield. Blood stained the snow, blackened skin festered and rotted, and the dead rose into something that looked like an Ice Demon, but also didn't, biting at unwitting soldiers.
Without the might of the empire, was it even possible to stop this monster?
If the ice castle appeared anywhere else, would the cross continent lose an entire region?
How would they deal with the next calamity?
Each thought made Rotell's heart fall further and further.
She couldn't imagine what the heavens chosen were thinking right now. As the first princess of the Hellion Empire, she was already bound by a great responsibility. For those chosen by god, the weight of their duties was unimaginable.
Rotell originally felt bad for the Heavens Chosen. These five... no, these four, individuals were forced onto a stage that they didn't want. They were crowned Heroes and carried the hope for millions of people without reason or rhyme.
Looking at the Ice Titan, Rotell's feelings changed.
The world needed the Heroes.
Without them, was it possible to even survive the future calamities? Not to mention the calamities, was the Dragon of Destruction something that a normal person could defeat?
Rotell thought back to the Book of Calamity.
'Will we need to use those three curses? At first, I hoped that they were there as an insurance, but now....'
Rotell didn't want to see the day when humans were forced to use them.
Her eyes suddenly narrowed.
'There coming.'
From within the cold storm of ice formed at the feet of the ice Titan, hundreds of high-level ice elementals flooded out. Among this wave of ice elementals were three particularly large ones. These three were 'Ice Kings'. Unlike the Ice elementals that they had faced so far, which ranged from the first to third rank, these three Ice Kings stood at the fourth rank.
Rotell narrowed her eyes.
'Are they a higher-level ice elementals?'
If each of the high-level ice elementals had the strength of the Wolf King before Petra's transformation, then these three Ice Kings were of an even higher level, rivaling the Calamity Wolf after its evolution.
Rotell heard a roar.
"Prepare the Earthfire Artillery! Focus the Magic cannons!"
From the city walls, hundreds of shining silver cannons were pointed at the incoming army of ice.
"FIRE!"
Rotell watched as an explosion of lights shot from the city wall and bombarded the incoming wave of ice elementals in a storm. Physical explosions, magic cannon bombardment, waves of fire from the sky, and a series of many other weapons all exploded together in a symphony of arcane fire and light.
BOOM!!
The world shook.
Violent explosions erupted throughout the open field.
There was a moment of calm, before the shockwave reached the city wall and resounded in another explosive roar. Rotell was blasted in the face by the wind, the force nearly throwing her off the wall. She raised a hand to guard her face. Her hair danced in the wind, and her clothes fluttered violently.
Rotell's face was stern.
She recovered from the shockwave and straightened up.
She looked over the battlefield and assessed the damage.
The field just beyond where the main army was fighting had been blasted full of holes. The snowfield that had been bombarded by the cannon fire was vaporized on contact, continuing to billow with black smoke. The environment had changed in a small area from ice and snow to fire and rock.
Rotell turned her attention to the casualties.
Most of the ice elementals in the new wave had fallen, but a few dozen of them broke through the barrage, rushing forward with an even greater momentum.
In addition, the three Ice Kings were completely unscathed.
There was a roar, and one of the three Ice Kinks strode forward, moving with a visible blur. This king took the form of a six-legged horse. The Frostfire that ran down its spine was like a jet engine. It exploded forward, charging towards the city wall with an earthshattering momentum.
BOOOOOM!
A red meteorite streaked down from atop the wall, meeting its charge.
Blue and red flames intertwined, resounding in a clash of hissing flames and flying sparks.
Before the Ice King could reach the wall, a warrior from the Dimebek Family met its charge.
This man wore red robes intertwined with silver armor. He wielded a crimson spear, exchanging blows with the blue horse.
The Dimebek Family was one of the Four Great Families of the Hellion Empire.
The Four Great Families were…
The 'Dimebek Family' was a clan of spearmen, known for wielding crimson spears and charging with an unstoppable momentum. This was the family of the man who resealed the ruins just west of Evergreen Town.
The 'Gallon Family' was a clan of water mages. This long lineage of mages were masters of wind and water, capable of large-scale attacks, and specializing in the changes of the state of matter. This was also Winds 'family'.
The 'Barak Family' was a family of necromancers. They were known for there special method of creating soul constructs and using them to fight. Unlike the traditional necromancers, the Barak family relied less on raising the dead and focused more on the soul.
The 'Azurefell Family' was a family who mastered a unique weapon called the sword chain. They were masters of area control and cold weapons. The Sword Chain could extend great distances and control an area of space. At the highest level, their weapons could hide in the void and ensnare an unsuspecting victim long before they even realised the battle had started.
The current Azurefell Patriarch held the moniker of 'The Spider'.
Back to the Dimebek spearman...
The man stood just under two meters tall.
He faced the Ice King, a ten meter tall giant.
He raised his spear and struck out with great force. His spear collided with the skull of the ice elemental. A sea of flames bloomed from the collision, wrapping around the beast's head, and receiving a scream from the Ice King.
Rotell watched from the wall.
This man's every attack was sharp and direct. His spear was like an arrow, and its every strike was like an explosion. The surrounding snow melted, and the ice elemental began to weaken.
Despite that, the ice King was no pushover. It's body suddenly lit up with a radiant blue light. The Frostfire on its back flared, and a circular ring of light bloomed around its hooves. It smashed down like a mountain to meet the spear.
The blue and red flames continued to clash.
Rotell turned her attention to a group of three men who sat idly on the city wall. They jumped down one after another, following the man from the Dimebek Family.
One of the men wore a black robe with a skeletal shoulder pad, and a half ribcage embedded in the exterior of his armour. He exuded an ominous aura as he sped towards one of the of the remaining two Ice Kings.
The second donned white and blue robes. While running, he released four chains that trailed behind him like tails. He moved towards the last big bird, the final of the three Ice Kings. His chains dragged through the snow and stone, leaving long trenches in his wake.
The last of the three, a man from the Gallon Family, surrounded himself with dozens of spinning spheres of water, each 50cm in diameter. These spheres were formed from compressed water, rotating with a ferocious momentum.
He pushed towards the open field, targeting the loose elementals that were still facing the main army.
While the three Ice Kings were distracted, he made his move.
With a push of his hand, the water balls surrounding him all shot forward. When they reached a group of ice elementals, they would expand and freeze, reshaping into circular disks of ice. These frost wheels would spin violently, slicing through dozens of ice elementals at a time, then return to his side and revert back to there liquid water form.
The man repeated this again and again before raising his hand and grabbing one of the water balls.
He chanted something in his head, and then the water ball dissipated into mist.
The man grabbed the mist and struck out like a whip.
The fog whip expanded to a diameter of three meters. When it passed through a target, it would leave a trail of thousands of tiny holes wherever it passed.
Wherever he would wave this humongous 'whip', ice elementals would dissipate back into snow.
He cycled through these three states of matter, slowly cleaning up the remaining ice elemental army.
-
Our camera turns back to the spearman...
The difference between 'Cultivators' and 'Cultivation Sects' was that cultivators who weren't associated with a sect often had to rely on incomplete cultivation methods. Many had to use special weapons or unorthodox techniques to fully display their power. This was because very few unassociated cultivators, even those from large families, did not have complete methods that could take them from the first realm to the ninth.
Of the nine realms of cultivation, it was uncommon for one not associated with a sect to reach the fourth realm. Even those from large families, the fourth realm was often the limit.
This man was Dilan Dimebek, a Golden Core Cultivator (Third Realm) who practiced the Crimson Driver cultivation technique.
The Crimson Driver Manual was a spear focused technique created by the Dimebek Family. It allowed one to continuously accumulate 'momentum' in a fight, allowing them to increase their speed and power to their limit. This accumulated 'momentum' could be released as an attack when necessary.
The crimson spear clashed with the Horse King. Flames rippled from each strike, bathing the surroundings in flames. The Ice King was knocked back, allowing the crimson spear to chase, stabbing relentlessly.
The spear thrust forward, flashing through the air.
Sing!
The spear tip was met with a wall of ice, quickly conjured by the Ice King.
The horse rose to its hind legs, neighing with a deep reverberating cry.
Boom!
It came down hard, blasting the ground into a crater. Ice and stone flew, bombarding the surroundings.
Dilan did not pause.
He streaked through the flurry of rocks with a crimson light. With a flick of his spear, the incoming stone storm was deflected.
The spear pierced forward, picking up an even greater momentum.
Zeren!
The air practically tore as the spear finally reached the Ice Kings throat. The steed received a serious blow, its towering body reeling back in pain. Where the spear had stabbed leaked a thin stream of 'something', a little like blue blood.
It stomped its six feet, exploding backwards, creating distance.
The Ice King roared, two streams of frost escaping from its nostrils.
A dark blue light began to gather around its feet.
Its body rippled with light.
It was enraged.
With a single stomp, it seemed to disappear.
The earth beneath its feet exploded, reflecting its extreme charge.
It flashed from the side, approaching with abandon. It knew this man was a threat.
The blue comet struck over.
Dilan met it with a sweep of his spear, there collision sending shockwaves through his bones. He could feel the weight of the attack had increased. He gritted his teeth, continuing into the next attack. He could not slow.
The duo continued to clash like this, one striking from unpredictable angles, the other meeting its strikes with pinpoint precision.
Sparks flew amidst the rain of fire and ice.
With each blow exchanged, Dilans 'momentum' slowly increased.
After a long series of exchanges…
Dilan leaped into the air, ending the stalemate.
He rose, like a phoenix, flames wrapping around his body as the air heated up.
The Ice King snorted, showing clear distain for his theatrics.
It struck down with its hind legs, propelling itself upwards. Ice and snow wrapped its body as it chased into the sky. The miniature snowstorm that cloaked the Ice Kings form made it look like a living storm cloud. Violent winds and intertwining ice and snow fused together to create a blue rocket. Through its formless ascent, only two piercing blue eyes shown through.
Dilan retracted his arm, preparing to throw.
He reached his zenith, the blue comet quickly approaching.
With all his might, Dilan thrust his spear.
The sky was split, a red line cutting it in two.
There was a moment of silence, followed by a violent explosion of air filling the void.
When the dust settled, Dilan stood atop the dissipating Ice King, his cloak billowing in the wind. He flicked his spear, looking elsewhere.
The Fallen king had lost its light, its body cracked, and its eyes dimmed.
The first King had fallen.
* * *