“…Eden.”
Asher’s voice was barely audible, his breath forming a white mist that escaped through the gaps of his mask. From the frozen ground, a 10-foot-tall tree sprouted, its branches sparse and its leaves formed completely of glistening ice.
It was like watching the growth cycle in fast-forward. After the tree stopped forming, ice began to spread out from its roots and from it sprouted unique grasses, shrubs and smaller ice trees, mimicking the flora found around the Paladin’s camp.
By the time Ivar and his men realized it, they were surrounded by a surreal forest, made entirely out of ice!
An arched dome of frost enclosed the forest, sealing them within. Asher was nowhere to be found.
Ivar closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. “Truly… he is Kryos’ vessel.”
His expression grew solemn. “If he’s able to form a domain of this magnitude, he must have expended at least 90% of his force.”
But then, Commander Ivar chuckled. “In the end, he’s still a youngling.”
Raising his halberd, he pointed forward. “Advance.”
His warhorse neighed neighed as the order rippled through the ranks. The Scarlet Order Knights began to march forward cautiously, scanning their frozen surroundings.
‘Kryos revealed Eden when Áthánatos killed his wife,’ Ivar thought, recalling the ancient tales. ‘The labyrinth of ice even trapped Áthánatos’ powerful troops. Luckily, he has yet to grasp Eden in its entirety.’
However, his brief relief was shattered by the thunderous sound of hundreds of horses galloping toward his direction.
Alarmed, Ivar turned to his left to see a phalanx of mounted paladins, their spears prepared for the charge.
Leading them were two men: Simon and Moses. Moses was the only one who wielded a battle axe.
“Move!” Ivar roared.
But before his men could react, a massive ice spike—three meters thick and two meters tall—erupted from the ground, splitting his troop into two!
Atop the spike, a Scarlet Order Knight and his mount hung impaled, their blood freezing as it flowed!
Ivar’s eyes narrowed at the sight. Unfortunately, the brief chaos gave the paladins the chance to close the gap and like a dutifully sharpened blade, they ruthlessly tore through the 29 Scarlet Order Knights that were cut off from Ivar.
Snarling in frustration, Ivar activated his force. A shimmering energy surrounded him, but as he prepared to counterattack, a towering wall of ice rose around them, encasing him and a few knights close to him.
When Ivar finally broke through the barrier, he saw Asher sitting atop a crystalline ice column, one leg crossed over the other.
“Human!” A booming voice interrupted.
The captain of Ivar’s forces, who looked like a Goliath, charged toward Asher, his eyes blazing with fury. He wore a set of gauntlets, capable of unleashing compressed air!
The moment he launched the first punch, it seemed as if the air was forced to ripple and implode but Asher evaded the blast effortlessly.
With a light tap of his foot, he shot himself forward.
“Come and die, human!”
The captain bellowed. His whiskers quivered as he clashed his gauntlets together, creating a deafening shockwave before throwing a punch at Asher’s face.
Seeing this, Ivar sighed heavily. “Such foolishness, Captain… don’t you know who stands before you…”
While he spoke, he watched Asher effortlessly evade the blow and stretch forth his arm before his fingers pinned down on the captain’s face.
With a single motion, the scarlet rat mask was pulled off and then he struck.
A vertical slash cut through the air, leaving a crescent of light that lingered for a moment.
Euodias gleamed clean in Asher’s hand. The captain remained frozen in shock—until a thin, blood-red line appeared across his body. In the next instant, he split cleanly into two.
The battlefield fell silent. The remaining Scarlet Order Knights stared, their faces a mix of shock and dread.
“As expected of the Achilles. A man who can transform mere mortals into warriors. I heard you transformed their fear of us into rage, making them fight instead of being afraid. Is that true?”
Asher turned to Ivar but remained silent.
Swoosh!
In an instant, he closed the gap, unleashing a swift slash. Ivar reacted swiftly by blocking with his own weapon, the clash sending sparks flying as the ice beneath their feet slowly cracked.
They separated briefly only to clash again in a flurry of strikes. But after they separated again, tendrils elongated from Ivar’s back, slashing toward Asher.
Although he was able to deflect them, he was forced to retreat.
Seeing an opening, one of the knights shot a bolt.
Clang!
Asher split the bolt in two but staggered. He clenched his teeth and exhaled sharply to ready himself.
Ivar smirked and stepped forward—but his confidence wavered when Asher swung his sword, summoning pillars of ice to rise from all directions.
North, south, east and west!
Alarmed, Ivar leaped high, almost reaching the ice-covered ceiling. Mid-air, he poured his force into his halberd and hurled it toward Asher.
BOOOM
Like a projectile, the halberd streaked down, the impact resulting in a massive explosion that shook the earth.
Deep below, Eleazar and Levi, who were in the dungeons, were shocked. They feared that the building was about to fall so they hurried the slaves.
Thud!
Ivar landed amid the chaos, surveying the aftermath of his strike. His knights lay impaled by thick shards of ice, while a towering ice wall protected Asher.
Through the icy mist, Asher emerged unscathed.
Tendrils sprouted from Commander Ivar’s back again, but instead of attacking, they intertwined, forming what seemed to be two extra arms that wielded twin swords from his back.
Asher’s eyes narrowed. Commander Ivar was no ordinary foe—he was the strongest adversary Asher had ever faced.
“You better bring out your best, Kryos,” Ivar growled, his voice cold. “Or you shall die on Edom’s soil.”
Asher lifted his palm and sliced it. As his blood seeped out, pooling unnaturally as his golden irises dimmed, his voice rang like a whisper.
“… as you wish.”
In the next moment, the air around Asher shifted, heavy and foreboding. The blood on his palm kept expanding until it had taken the shape of a crimson sword!
Duchess Ariel Ashbourne’s voice resonated with his, cold and filled with disdain.
“I’ve always hated these lands but to think you treat us humans in such a manner… I should have eradicated you in my time.”
It was so cold that Ivar frowned. Discover hidden stories at empire
He couldn’t make heads or tails at how Asher was able to manipulate blood. Wasn’t his force supposed to have finished at this point?
It felt like… Asher has an unlimited supply!
“No matter what you do, Achilles. Today, you meet your end!”
Ivar roared and a fearsome clash began. All he had learnt about Asher’s fighting style bore no fruit in their battle as Asher fought like he was possessed by an entirely different being.
Their clash produced earth-shaking tremors and flashes of auras, illuminating the frozen landscape from dawn to dusk!