Just slash it!
These three simple words revealed Ares’s hot-tempered nature.
It was unmistakably Ares himself.
Mike soared into the air, overlooking the shattered icy plain.
Clearly, these were the remnants of a great battle.
“The creature hidden beneath the icy plain once fought Ares?”
Mike thought he could be bolder.
That creature must have been “slashed” to death by Ares.
Vladimir had also experienced such treatment.
When Ares arrived here, he wasn’t as thoughtful as Morpheus or as nonchalant as Apollo. Ares had one word: charge!
If something didn’t look right, slash it first and ask questions later!
Having found Ares’s traces, Mike felt he needed to do something.
Charging up to thirty layers, Mike raised the Thunderclap Hammer high and whispered, “Thunderclap Strike!”
In this stance and action, Mike was the epitome of a physical mage.
In short, Mike used the Thunderclap Hammer to release a fully charged Thunderclap Strike, striking the shattered icy plain with force!
Red lightning tore through the sky and crashed down, its countless arcs of electricity rippling like mountain ranges, spreading across the shattered icy plain!
Under Mike’s control, the lightning from the Thunderclap Strike aimed downward, trying to capture the hidden presence beneath the icy plain.
Each segment of the Thunderclap Strike that descended weakened significantly, clearly due to the rules of this place.
Boom, boom, boom-
Continuous explosions echoed from the bottom of the icy plain, and Mike even heard a cold snort.
Judging by the sound, it was cooked to a perfect medium-rare!
A thousand Miles away, Vladimir, who was bleeding, even had the mood to hum a song: “Let it go, let it go…”
Suddenly, arcs of electricity appeared on the ice, looking both beautiful and dangerous. Vladimir had a bad feeling and was about to stop his bleeding.
Too late!
The arcs climbed up his gushing blood, traveling from the water to his artery, giving Vladimir a free electromagnetic pulse.
Zzzzz-
Though not scientifically accurate, Vladimir’s body was paralyzed by the electricity. The dignified vampire Duke lay stiffly on the dock, his artery still gushing 130-degree Fahrenheit blood, his body twitching uncontrollably.
This Lightning Vladimir was all too familiar with; it had to be Thor’s doing!
“I… I won’t lie to you again… Master…”
Vladimir weakly and intermittently said, “Please… make me… immune to lightning… I beg you…”
When Mike returned, everything was as usual, except for Vladimir’s hairstyle.
Mike curiously asked, “What happened? New hairstyle?”
Vladimir gave him a meaningful look, his voice trembling slightly, “Maybe it suits my mood and style better.”
Mike nodded, “As long as you’re happy.”
While Vladimir was bleeding, Mike found Chief Harry again.
“You want to solve the problems of cold and hunger?”
Chief Harry listened to Mike, frowning and sighing,
“The curse of winter can be dispelled, and the curse of frigid can be lifted. I believe in your strength. In fact, a black-clad swordsman once did such a thing.”
Mike: ?!
Ares once wore black?
This was news to Mike!
“The most troublesome issue is hunger.”
Chief Harry explained, “Our only food source is the sea, nothing else.”
“If the cold is dispelled, can’t you grow some crops?”
Mike tried to persuade the chief to diversify their economy.
The chief sighed heavily, “This land is cursed. Any food left here rots within half a day.
Seeds planted in the soil, no matter how well cared for, won’t sprout. Our only hope…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Even without saying it, Mike understood.
Whale fall.
Was that the only solution?
For the past three hundred years, through countless cycles, the people of the icy plain had
only this solution!
When everyone starved to death, the cycle would restart.
Harry would meet Cetus again, save it, wait for it to repay the favor, and a whale fall would
sustain them for a while, then everyone would die and come back…
This cycle was the greatest torment!
Cold, cruel, terrifying, and chilling!
Mike returned to the dock, looking into the distance.
Cetus was still playing with the water, spouting and drinking it back.
Cerberus had rolled part of its body into a ball, letting Cetus play with it.
A perfectly good blue whale was being trained like a dolphin.
Mike suddenly asked,
“If I give you an animal that you can never finish eating, will that solve your problem?”
Harry was stunned, instinctively finding it absurd.
How could such a creature exist?
Never finish eating, that’s impossible!
Vladimir’s head was spinning: He can’t be talking about me, right?
Turning me into a pig and leaving me for the Ice Village to solve their food problem?
Though he knew Thor was strict, even a demon god wouldn’t do something so cruel!
Mike indeed wouldn’t do that.
Vladimir had consumed so much prince-grade blood and eaten so many chicken legs to be
nurtured.
Now, he was Mike’s strongest subordinate.
Mike couldn’t bear to lose him.
Moreover, since Vladimir was a key figure on the tenth floor, there were still mysteries to
uncover. He was still useful.
Vladimir had proven time and again.
Though he wasn’t always honest, he was very useful!
Nightmare’s Breeze trembled slightly, and Mike floated up, flying forward.
He stopped at a certain point, looking down.
This was where Cetus chose to whale fall, where Harry met Cetus.
[Do you want to play the historical record with 18+ content?]
Mike raised an eyebrow.
“Play.”
A scene themed [Death and Rebirth] unfolded before Mike.
Strangely, this time the clarity was exceptionally high, as if he were there!
When one blue whale falls, countless forms of life arise!
The scene of Cetus’s death played in slow motion, every detail displayed before Mike.
Soon, the scene sped up.
Marine life grew, thrived, and cycled endlessly…
Whale fall after whale fall, life after life, flashed before Mike’s eyes, imprinting on his pupils,
as if engraving on his soul.
Endless shock and insight, countless thoughts rising and falling, arising and ceasing.
Suddenly, the scene paused, the whole world seemed to stop, and Mike entered a magical
state.
A flash of inspiration struck Mike’s mind, capturing something!
“Lightning.” Lightning elements appeared before Mike, his highest affinity element and his best attack
method.
Next came wind, fire, water, wood (nature).
Elements lined up, collided, fused, mixed…
Something was still missing…
Mike whispered, “Shadow.”
With the final element added, a new elemental cluster appeared before Mike, landing in his
palm, merging into his body.
Time resumed.
Mike raised the Force of Nature, floating above the icy plain, overlooking the land and sea.
He murmured,
“Observing whale fall, witnessing the cycle of life and death, comprehending new spell.”
The staff tilted slightly, countless elemental forces surged out, as if draining Mike’s mana,
Thor’s Sea flickering beside him.
Just the initial move caused a storm!
On the ground, Vladimir looked up, a hint of fanaticism in his eyes, staring at Thor like a god!
The power and tier of this move exceeded Vladimir’s imagination!
This was a master worth following!
“This spell is called…”
The world fell silent, only Thor’s voice echoing.
“All Things Grow!”