NOVPUB
Chapter 180: Irene’s Misfortune?
Her beautiful face remained unblemished by the dirt and debris of war. She wore silver-white armor that made her look like a goddess of war, her cold expression as chilling as a winter night, freezing everything in its icy wind. Then, she commanded her signature element—one few could master on this continent, the element of ice.
She created an icy prison cage, trapping the sword-wielding devil who had been slaughtering the defensive line. The devil didn’t panic when the ice prison appeared; he merely twisted his body and slashed at the cage with his power, instantly shattering it. He then turned to look at Irene, now locked in battle with his comrade from the 7 Devils of Disaster. The devil’s fire element tried to burn her, but she shielded herself with ice armor and counterattacked with her ice spear.
As soon as she appeared on the battlefield, the soldiers’ morale soared, and they shouted a war cry.
"Push back! Lady Irene is here!" the commander shouted at the top of his lungs.
The soldiers then launched a counterattack, their confidence bolstered as Irene held back the threat of the 7 Devils of Disaster. The battle intensified as Irene fought against the fire-element devil and created a clone to confront the sword-wielding devil. She was now facing two formidable opponents on her own, which came as a relief to the defensive line, as their burden was lightened.
Her movements were beautiful as she danced, dodging and striking at the devil with her ice spear. Every motion was elegant yet deadly, and the temperature around her had already dropped, causing parts of the ground to freeze. The fire-element devil was being pushed back, yet his expression showed no anxiety—instead, he looked amused.
"You are truly powerful, Blizzard Witch—no wonder lord Lust Devil is so mesmerized by you and desires you so badly. Why don’t you join us? In the end, we are the victors. Your orthodox and unorthodox cultivators will have no place once our ’god’ descends," he said.
Irene ignored him, continuing her relentless spear attacks and coming within inches of decapitating him with a precise slash. She then created some distance, and her clone, who had been battling the sword-wielding devil, also pulled back to stand by her side. The two devils now stood side by side, facing Irene, and the fire-element devil turned to the devil beside him and asked a question.
"How is she, Karius?"
"She’s much stronger than last time. As expected of the Blizzard Witch, but her growth is truly concerning—she nearly overwhelmed me, even with her clone. How about you, Rexith?"
"I agree. She’s already much stronger than us. Even if we use our Devil forms, we’d still be weaker than her. From my calculations, she’s already at a strength on par with the 7 Devils of Annihilation," Karius said. However, he frowned as he watched Irene. She appeared to be preparing a technique, dispelling her clone in the process. When he sensed the surrounding energy being drawn toward her and the immense cold spreading outward, he realized what she was about to do.
"Shit, stop her! Don’t let her unleash this technique!" he shouted. But even without him saying that, Karius had already dashed toward Irene, moving at a speed too fast to be seen by the naked eye. To their shock, Irene had already completed her preparation and instantly unleashed her technique.
Ice Forest.
The area in front of her instantly transformed into a vast ice field, with ice spikes of varying sizes protruding from the ground. The temperature dropped below -300 degrees Celsius, freezing everything in its path—the landscape and all living beings, making it seem as though the area had been covered in ice for ages. A stretch of about four kilometers ahead of her had become a frozen wasteland, filled with devils who had no time to react to Irene’s attack. Even their faces remained twisted in crazed expressions, frozen by the sheer speed of the attack.
There is no escape from this technique for cultivators weaker than the Duke stage. Even the slightest touch of the cold will freeze them to death. As for Duke stage cultivators, it depends on the toughness of their bodies. If they cannot withstand the cold, it can be deadly for them.
Irene looked at her masterpiece with a serene expression, but her brow furrowed as she glanced at the two surviving devils—members of the 7 Devils of Disaster. They were using their defense techniques to shield themselves, and despite trembling from the cold, they showed no signs of desperation or anxiety. In fact, they were grinning.
"We’re done here. You’re truly a great cultivator, Blizzard Witch, but unfortunately for you, our purpose wasn’t to face you," Rexith said. "Someone has already arrived to pick you up," he added.
Irene frowned deeper, a sense of unease creeping over her. Instantly, she spread her senses to the maximum, and when she scanned the vast ice field she had created, she detected someone standing there. He was a handsome man with black hair and a black cloak, his skin unnaturally pale, as if lacking blood. His red irises locked onto Irene’s direction, and his smile, though enhancing his handsome features, only appeared sinister to her.
Irene was stunned to see that this man was here, in the heart of the battlefield!
"Wasn’t the report saying that the Lust Devil was on the other side of the border, outside the Rivas Grand Duchy? How is he here?!" she thought. Without hesitation, she tried to escape using an escape talisman, but she shuddered as she felt the space around her grow heavy. She knew exactly what it was.
"His domain! This is bad!" she thought. The Lust Devil’s domain could block any kind of escape, so his opponents had no choice but to defeat him or leave the domain area. Without hesitation, she dashed in the opposite direction. She knew facing the Lust Devil would be suicide, and if he caught her, it would be over—she would face a fate worse than death.
She then took out an artifact shaped like a pyramid, emanating a faint low divine grade aura, before activating it. As soon as the artifact was activated, her body was enveloped in light, and a new set of armor appeared to protect her. With this, she could reduce the influence of the Lust Devil’s domain. Looking around, she saw that all of her family’s soldiers were frozen in place, as if under the effect of a hypnotic spell. They were sitting ducks, slaughtered without resistance by the devils.
Irene gritted her teeth in frustration at her powerlessness. If not for the low divine-grade armor, she would have been affected as well. This was one of the terrifying properties of the Lust Devil’s domain: its illusions and hypnotic powers. Opponents trapped within his domain had to contend with his powerful illusions and hypnosis. The illusions could take many forms, all controlled by the Lust Devil, and he could hypnotize his foes to do his bidding—for example...
Irene dodged an incoming attack from her side as she ran. When she saw the attacker, she realized it was the commander of the Rivas battalion. His eyes were unfocused, clearly under hypnosis, and he continued to attack her, preventing her from escaping further. At that moment, she was faced with a choice, either kill her own people or lose any chance of escape.
Not wanting to kill her own people, Irene decided to incapacitate the commander with ice, though it would take longer than simply killing him. However, the situation didn’t stop there. More of her own soldiers began to surround her, trapping her. She gritted her teeth but kept using her ice to trap them, continuing to run with her movement technique.
"Oh, Blizzard Witch, you are truly worthy of becoming one of my harem! Come to me, dear! Let me pamper you to the fullest, and I will show you pleasures you will never forget!" Irene heard the Lust Devil’s voice, and a chill ran down her spine as the voice seemed to grow closer.
She pushed her movement technique to the limit and finally sensed that the edge of the Lust Devil’s domain was near. She didn’t know why the Lust Devil seemed so relaxed, but she didn’t care. She kept using her movement technique, but suddenly, she felt a presence on both sides of her.
"Did you forget about us?" Rexith said as he attacked Irene with fire, while Karius struck her with his sword technique. The attacks didn’t affect Irene due to her armor, but they were enough to distract her for a moment. In that instant, her eyes dilated as she saw the Lust Devil standing right in front of her, his hand reaching toward her face.
"I’ve got you now, my dear."
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In Rivas City, the capital of the Rivas Grand Duchy, the atmosphere was far from usual. The citizens could feel the tension of the ongoing war with the devils. The city’s security had been tightened, and anyone wishing to enter had to pass thorough checks, including those arriving through the teleportation station.
At that moment, a footstep echoed as someone stepped out from the teleportation portal, revealing a handsome face. His blue eyes that common in this area, scanned his surroundings with a serene expression.
Aldrian had finally arrived at his mother’s hometown!
