Summoning the Holy Sword

Watching as the white spiderweb hung from above, Rhode’s eyes glinted in an eye-cold flash. He brandished his sword at it, sending shimmering blade rays slashing upward in an arc. Facing this powerful attack, the spiderweb twisted and changed its shape instantly, before separating into two and continuing to pounce on Rhode. Rhode felt astonished by its retaliation as that was an all-out attack. Even though he didn’t have the power of the Void Dragon at this moment and couldn’t activate special skills, he was still a player at the peak of level 85 at the very least. Although the damage output of a Spirit Swordsman’s swordsmanship wasn’t as high as true swordsmen, not anyone could resist a slash of the blade from them. If it were only an ordinary spiderweb, it would have been shattered and vanished entirely. However, he only managed to slash a gap in it and didn’t rip it apart as expected. This instantly raised his guard. He dashed ahead and released two shadow clones alongside him while evading the web landing on them. Then, the swords they wielded erupted a gorgeous radiance before they flourished at the crystal spider.

The crystal spider climbed up hastily at the sight of the dazzling spiritual blade rays, attempting to dodge this attack from them. But it was apparent that Rhode wasn’t one to be trifled with. The three blade rays streaked toward the upper, middle, and lower portions of the crystal spider, forming an omnipresent net that enveloped it completely. Along with the sound of crisp rasps, the silk that the crystal spider was hanging onto was cut off immediately. The crystal spider that had lost its balance crashed to the ground in a loud bang.

“Ssssss———!”

Even though the crystal spider rolled over with a high-difficulty gymnastic stunt at the critical juncture to avoid cracking its skull, its enormous body continued to plummet. As a result, its legs cracked and shattered upon impact, spurting translucent, faint, blue-colored sticky blood onto the ice layer around the walls. The instant the spraying streams of blood were about to touch the surface, they stopped moving abruptly before solidifying into ice crystals that fell from above and scattering onto the ice surface.

The crystal spider snarled at its unexpected injuries. It struggled to lift its head, gazed upward, and extended both arms. In that instant, its two arms that were about the length of human arms suddenly became as thin as noodles. Not only that, but their fingers also became flat and razor-sharp, flying at Rhode like the tip of a blade. Facing its counterattack, Rhode released his shadow clones again. They dashed ahead like three streaks of meteor, darting past the retaliation and aimed straight for its body.

However, Rhode didn’t expect the crystal spider to swing its arms suddenly like two flexible, crisscrossed whips lashing out to the sides. It retracted its arms and sent out several afterimages that erupted at Rhode’s shadow clones. Facing this counterattack, Rhode sneered and came to an abrupt halt. He swung his right arm and a green card appeared in his hand and merged with his body.

Boom!

Three glaring lightning bolts burst out, smashing the fluttering arms like a heavy hammer, and held them captive. Rhode dove in a trail of afterimages. The blade of his holy sword pulsated with thunder and lightning like a flower blooming in all directions, forming an electric net that wrapped the crystal spider entirely. At this hopeless sight, the crystal spider hissed, widened its mouth, and pounced on him.

At the same time, the others also got into action with the remaining crystal spiders. These creatures were indeed tough to deal with. Even though they weren’t as indestructible as the mysterious ice crystal, they had really strong and tough skin, where even Lydia’s and Erin’s godlike weapons only left minor scars on them. In only a few moments, chaotic battles were taking place everywhere. Lydia expanded her wings, spiraling away from the crystal spider’s attack like a nimble bird. Meanwhile, the two blades in her hands glittered with tens of thousands of golden light dust that enfolded them in multiple layers. The biting cold air shattered, striking and repelling the crystal spider. Facing this attack from Lydia, it could only raise its arms desperately to defend itself and couldn’t retaliate at all.

On the other side, Erin displayed her rare, domineering side. Even though this moon princess was usually as peaceful and elegant as Lydia, she was extremely overbearing in battles. As soon as she darted forward, she instantly sliced off the crystal spider’s silk with her blade, before turning over and smashing it to the ground. Then, she followed up with another attack swiftly, causing it to scramble all around in misery. This was the first time Rhode witnessed Erin’s swordsmanship. If Lydia was the combination of elegance and beauty, Erin would be one with unlimited dominance. Her swordsmanship resembled raging waves and crushing tides. Her momentum and aggression that was capable of smashing all things into powder complemented her performance as a night wyvern.

Rhode nodded to Lydia. He glanced at the presence that was completely ‘solidified’ in the ice layer and knitted his brows.

“Can you sense what it is, Your Highness Lydia?”

“Not really, Your Majesty Rhode. Erin and I sensed a death aura from it, but that doesn’t seem to be all… we can’t confirm what exactly that is.”

“Okay.”

Rhode responded before pondering in silence. Then, he shook his head.

“Let’s move on,” he said.

As they headed deeper, Rhode found out that things weren’t as simple as he had imagined. On the outside, they weren’t able to figure out what enemies the ice-sealed people were fighting against. However, as they entered deeper, they spotted more clues and some seemed to point to prehistoric dinosaurs mutating into disturbing creatures. It was apparent that these creatures were the enemies the inhabitants of this place were battling against. What was strange was that some kind of dense, black smoke also seemed to be released from the creatures. Rhode also realized that on the outside, the corpses seemed to be disintegrated. But as they moved toward the center of the plaza, they were in perfect condition. Not only that, but Rhode also sensed the bone-piercing cold air becoming even colder. Thomas and the rest almost froze to the spot. If it weren’t for Mini Bubble Gum and Canary who cast several defensive enchanted fields and shields, perhaps the commoners would have frozen to death.

It seems like the ice layer was used to imprison those creatures. On the outside, perhaps due to its declining strength, the creatures turned into mist to barely escape from the ice layer. While on the inside, the creatures couldn’t escape due to the stronger imprisonment enchanted field?

Rhode felt increasingly doubtful at this thought.

What exactly are they?

“It seems like this is going to be a violent battle.”

Canary couldn’t help but mutter under her breath. As the group advanced deeper, the number of black creatures that appeared increased and there were almost hundreds of them. On the other hand, the number of soldiers trapped in the ice also rose. It seemed like the black creatures had intended to attack and occupy the pyramid-like structure, while the soldiers were trying to stop them from breaking through. The thick ice layer preserved everything from that time. Gazing at both sides sparing no effort in wrestling one another, Rhode’s group couldn’t help but stay silent. The heavy atmosphere of this life and death battle felt so clear-cut, and not even thousands and millions of years were able to alter it.

As Rhode pondered deeply, they arrived at the foot of the pyramid. As long as one raised one’s head, one could see a tall ice column at the top of the pyramid that resembled a pillar of this sacred palace connected the dome and ground. The biting cold air was at its coldest in this place. It was apparent that this was the core location.

Everyone looked up at the ice column. Then, Mini Bubble Gum made a remark.

“Leader, why does it seem like someone is in there?”