Chapter 530

Chapter 530: Frozen for Thousands of Miles

Feeling the hostile atmosphere around her, Catherine realized she’d made a mistake. From the start, she shouldn’t have exchanged words with Midi. This human had positioned himself on an unassailable moral high ground within mere sentences. Worse, he’d stirred up the Black Dragon warriors’ emotions, turning them against Catherine and even the eastern temple. Though the Ice Queen saw these warriors as beneath her dignity, anyone would feel uneasy under such collective hostility.

Midi had delivered Catherine an instant humiliation upon entering the arena. Clenching her teeth internally, Catherine stopped responding to his provocations. A violent cold wind suddenly erupted around her, plunging Arena 3 and its surrounding stands into subzero temperatures.

Her answer came through pure force – crush Midi instantly. Brutal, straightforward, and utterly befitting a Child of the Dragon’s style.

The arena flooded with glacial fury.

Death Ice River – the Ice Mages’ awakened Secret Technique.

Compared to Catherine’s onslaught, Shelly’s previous use of this technique seemed like spring drizzle. Even shielded by Black Iron Dragon Flame, Midi felt bone-piercing cold seep through the storm. The conscious-seeming ice wind concentrated its fury on him, sapping his flames’ warmth and slowing his movements. Worse, Midi sensed hidden magic arrays within the blizzard – including a silence array, explaining why Catherine needed no Devouring Sound Orb.

When wielded by a pure-blooded Child of the Dragon, even familiar techniques gained terrifying new weight.

"Let’s see you teleport now!" Catherine sneered as Midi’s flames flickered weakly. Twin white glows bloomed in her palms, striking the ground to spawn two raging tornadoes.

Ice Dragon Dance – an Ice Mage’s area attack skill. Normally, such magic tornadoes froze everything in their path but moved slowly with fragile defenses. Against strong melee fighters like Midi, most mages avoided this skill – the energy cost outweighed the benefits unless making a final push.

Yet the Ice Queen unleashed it against a teleportation-capable opponent.

Something was wrong.

Rather than advancing, Midi immediately used Heavenly Dragon Strike to retreat.

And the next moment, just as he had expected, the seemingly ordinary Ice Dragon Dance began undergoing astonishing changes.

The two tornadoes absorbed massive amounts of icy fragments from the Death Ice River, condensed them within their forms, and transformed into two completely ice-made "Ice Serpent Dragons!"

"Destroy that human. Turn him into an ice sculpture, shatter him to pieces, and devour every last crumb," Catherine commanded in an icy tone, her voice devoid of warmth.

At her order, the Ice Serpent Dragons roared deafeningly before lunging at Midi with bone-chilling ferocity.

The first dragon swung its massive claw downward as it neared him.

Instead of dodging, Midi erupted with Black Iron Dragon Flame and met the strike head-on with his Horn King Greatsword.

A metallic screech tore through the air as claw collided with blade.

The Ice Serpent Dragon howled, its shattered claw crumbling away.

But Midi fared no better – the impact sent him skidding backward across the snow, leaving a thirty-meter trail before he stabilized.

Though he kept his footing, the force made his throat burn with rising blood, crimson trickling from his lips.

This single strike surpassed even Shelly’s full-powered attack from days prior in both concentrated force and raw power.

Midi felt like he’d clashed directly with a level 68 Berserker.

"Merely the opening act," Catherine remarked coolly, flicking her fingers.

The maimed Ice Serpent Dragon regrew its claw instantly while its companion pressed the attack, hemming Midi in from both sides.

Now aware of their strength, Midi abandoned direct confrontations. He teleported frantically between the towering dragons, landing opportunistic strikes when possible.

Yet every wound he inflicted healed immediately as the creatures drew power from the Death Ice River.

Even destroying them would prove pointless – Catherine could simply summon replacements. Only defeating the Ice Mage herself mattered.

But how?

The Ice Queen stood completely exposed at the arena’s heart, not even bothering with her ice shield. This very vulnerability felt like a trap.

"Since when do level 69 Children of the Dragon resort to such clumsy tricks?" Midi taunted, wiping blood from his mouth. "Planning to ambush a level 66 opponent?"

"Hmph… Midi Asreks…" Catherine’s eyes flashed with fury.

She hadn’t anticipated his continued provocations. With her ruse exposed, she saw no need for pretense.

Two more Ice Serpent Dragons erupted from the snow at her gesture – fresh ambushers for when Midi attacked.

Now facing four frost wyrms, Midi found no respite. Their massive frames moved with shocking agility, coordinating attacks seamlessly. The Death Ice River’s domain meant every teleportation only bought momentary relief before renewed pursuit.

Still unsatisfied, Catherine summoned two smaller, swifter Ice Serpent Dragons that harried Midi like living blizzards, herding him toward their larger kin.

The battlefield situation turned critical.

"Stop cowering, Midi Asreks," Catherine sneered from her icy perch. "Your fleeing delays the inevitable. Face me directly instead of being worn down. Though I should mention…" She gestured as two more wyrms coalesced beside her. "…six is far from my limit."

Ice surged around her as seventh and eighth dragons took shape – an unspoken threat of endless reinforcements.

This wasn’t honor offering a duel, but hatred demanding personal execution. Letting ice creatures claim her prey would deny Catherine proper vengeance.

"Fine! You want a direct fight?" Black fire blazed in Midi’s eyes. "You’ll get one!"

Multiple teleports carried him across the arena, slipping past six pursuers to appear before Catherine.

Black Iron Dragon Flame erupted, vaporizing the Death Ice River’s blizzard in an instant. Metallic-black fire scoured the battlefield clean, then surged toward the Ice Queen.

Catherine didn’t flinch. Her smile widened as the two guardian wyrms bit each other’s tails, forming an icy ring.

The temperature plummeted violently, freezing the very air. A pale blue halo exploded from her position like frost blooming across parchment.

Ice Mage skill – Frozen for Thousands of Miles!