Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Then, Jason covered his mouth in shock. He now knew who the black figure was!
“Freak, this can’t be!” Jason gasped in disbelief. That black figure which tore the body of the Ice Howler with its bare hands was really the man whom he saw these two days, the one they just had dinner with in front of the campfire today?
That was right. The person who tore the Ice Howler was Norfeller—the man who always followed behind a certain someone like a shadow!
“Oh my Gosh…” Jason’s eyes were wide open and filled with incredulity. It was as though he did not see Norfeller fight the Ice Howler, but a mouse rape an elephant.
Jason was not the only man who was stunned…
The wretched Bandit, the pretty Priest, and the team of Adventurers that had appeared out of nowhere were all gaping as they watched Norfeller land from the sky and tear the Ice Howler’s body…
That was outlandish…
No one knew what had happened, and no one knew where the young man in a black cape gained his formidable powers to challenge a deadly beast.
The huge wound on its back completely triggered the Ice Howler’s frenzy. Although the man and beast just started fighting, the battle had already been pushed to a feverish climax. Compared to this, the earlier half of the battle led by Jason was a mere warm-up for the beast. Although it was provoked then, the revenge it took was instinctive. In other words, this magical beast that sat at the apex of the Dragon Mountains’ food chain did not treat the Adventurers as its enemies initially. In its eyes, they were like a few irritating flies that it could choose to either blow away with a sneeze or wringle its toes to kill them.
But, the entrance of Norfeller changed everything.
Although that dagger-like blow on the back of the Ice Howler was not fatal, the pain it gave the Ice Howler allowed it to realize that Norfeller was a real enemy for it.
The growls of the Ice Howler became husky and deep gradually. Its pair of red eyes was not as frenzied as before, but filled with hostility and vigilance, and fixed on Norfeller. Any moron would have sensed the dangerous atmosphere.
Anyone who saw their intense and bloody battle would feel that they had walked into a Colosseum. Norfeller was like a ghost that constantly swooped in front of and behind the Ice Howler. His sharp nails also ripped the skin of the Ice Howler every time they went past it. The growls were continuous. Every kind of ice element spells was unleashed like a flood gate towards Norfeller, and despite being powerful, he could only persevere amidst the spells. It was as though Norfeller was a lonely boat in the vast ocean—a little carelessness would bring himself irreversible danger…
In the snowing sky, flying ice cubes flew and slit deep wounds all over Norfeller’s body. Crystal-like ice walls stained with blood of both Norfeller and the Ice Howler were pulled off from the ground. The presence of the deep growls and mad chilly wind intensified the solemness of the battle. From the Eternal Frost to the Frost Shock, all these spells cast instinctively by the Ice Howler turned everything within the radius of a hundred meters into ice and snow.
Although it was like doomsday, Norfeller showed no signs of cowardice. He maintained his ghostly speed as he trapped the Ice Howler with his attacks. No ice walls or ice cubes were able to stop Norfeller’s sharp nails. The high-ranking Vampire continued to tear the flesh of the Ice Howler, staining the snowy white ground with fresh red blood. At the same time, his hoarse recitation never stopped. The oppressing and suffocating magical waves were like a surging tide…
At this time, not to mention the three mages, even an experienced man like Jason was dumbfounded by Norfeller’s extraordinary magical powers. It was filled with a suffocating sense of evilness that gave him the feeling as though he was walking into an ancient tomb that had been sealed for a thousand years. The scariest part was his ability to injure an Ice Howler!
The weakest Adventurer would know that the skin of an Ice Howler was extremely firm, and its innate resistance to magic could render all spells below level-5 insignificant. Only Archmages above level-15 had the ability to injure Ice Howlers. In other words, that Norfeller with superb combat abilities and wicked speed was indeed a true Archmage…
“Oh God…” Jason gasped, and realized he was beyond speechless. That was so scary. How could a talent so proficient in his combat skills and magical spells appear in front of him just like that…?
To other Adventurers, that was totally an out-of-the-world battle. They were all so immersed in watching the exciting battle that almost all of them forgot that the Ice Howler had actually cast a fatal Frost Shock just before Norfeller’s interference…
Of course, no one would realize that a man was sitting by the campfire comfortably in such a freezing weather.
That certain someone was no doubt Lin Li, who was squatting by the campfire. He cast glances at the battle ahead of him while he reached his hands in front of the fire for warmth.
“F*ck, why is it so cold…” Lin Li shrivelled.
“Are you very cold?”
Lin Li heard a clear voice. Looking back, he saw the girl that was chased by the Ice Howler previously. She was staring at Lin Li curiously with her big eyes.
“Yeah, very!” Lin Li replied as he huffed a puff of warm breath on his hands. Only he knew that he was he not lying this time. The temperature that was close to 0 degrees Celsius nearly froze him alive. He had no other choice, either; although the Arcane Combustion he invented himself was powerful, it could only alleviate damage brought about by magic, and was not as invincible as to eliminate the cold…
Of course, the reason for it had a lot of complicated implications. If Lin Li wanted to endure the hassle which was to explain it, he had to talk about things like the clash between the elements of ice and fire, the conversion between mental strength and magical elements, as well as the difference between the instinctive spells and the normal spells. Hence, he just kept his mouth shut, and reached his hands towards the campfire as he focused on enjoying the warmth of it.
From his reaction, a fool would have sensed that he did not feel like chatting anymore.
The strange thing was, that little lady seemed not to perceive Lin Li’s body language. She even leaned nearer to the campfire casually and continued the conversation. “By the way, I heard that that man battling with the beast is your partner, right? He is so powerful! But, since he is your partner, why don’t you go and help him?”
“…” If it was other people without a clear mind, they would think that the girl’s desperation in striking a conversation was an act of ingratiation. Yet, Lin Li was not this type of man. He was always suspicious of anyone who treated him passionately. If a meat pie were to fall from the sky one day, he would be testing the meat pie with Detection Spell to detect if there was a bomb hidden in it.
“Hahaha, I know! You are scared, right? Actually, it’s nothing, don’t be embarrassed to admit it. Let me tell you a secret: I was really afraid too. Hahaha…”
He couldn’t help but admit that this beauty was indeed a talent. From the beginning, she was like performing a one-man stand-up comedy. It was as though she felt no awkwardness when Lin Li’s gaze was fixed on the campfire throughout her monologue. She laughed as she continued, just as if she was laughing at her own jokes.
“Oh, yes. Erm…” After the beauty talked for a good 10 minutes, she finally got to the main point. She fiddled with the hem of her dress and said in a voice only a mosquito could hear, “Erm… Could you introduce your partner to me?”
“Huh?” Lin Li exclaimed in confusion as he rubbed his nose. He could not think of a reasonable explanation for the girl’s interest. Had the world changed? Why would a girl be seduced by Norfeller, a man as cold as ice?
“Heh, don’t be so surprised. Rest assured, I will pay you sufficient commission for that…” The beauty waved her arm generously, and continued speaking, “How about fifty thousand gold coins? As long as you can save my brother, I will pay you fifty thousand. It’s gold coins, by the way, a huge sum of money…”
“Your brother?” asked Lin Li.
“Yes, my brother was taken away by the robbers. I want to save him!”
“Wait… Your brother…?” Lin Li paused as he thought of something…
