Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

The opposing side decisively abandoned the fallen city, yet showed no signs of defeat. Their movements were clean and efficient, clearly demonstrating a power not found in the Sochi comprehension.

Are they guests from the north? It wouldn't be good if they spread what they've seen and heard today. Whether it's a magic gun or a magic grenade launcher, they only unleash their full power when the enemy is unaware of it. Once they've seen it, they'll figure out a way to counter it, especially since our side is outnumbered.

We can't let them get away with this so easily!

Ryūka's eyes narrowed, and he unleashed the magic of ice and snow. Before he could figure out that the [Witch's Infiltration] would taint the [Leader's Proof], Ryūka had no choice but to temporarily seal this trump card and instead focus on training the abilities he had learned from his followers.

After diligently studying with Melanie and making up for his past weaknesses in magic, he naturally gained the same ability to fly through wind and snow after breaking through to the Grand Master level.

As Bu Gang stepped forward, ice spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, launching Liu Xia into the sky. Then, swirling snow and wind swirled around her, propelling her to chase after the departing Frost Iron Knights.

When Ryūka used a move similar to Melanie's, Olivia's eyelids twitched. Was he also a high-ranking official?

Is this kid Melanie's apprentice or something? Why are they using the exact same magic?

Not wanting to alert the enemy, Olivia had no choice but to change her target. She brandished her staff and sword, and four red magic circles shot out scorching lines of fire towards Ryūka.

However, this did not deter Ryusha from his pursuit. He had already determined from the beginning that Olivia was a strong member of the Black Armor Knights, so he naturally waited for Hetia and the others to join the attack.

The silhouette he left behind for Olivia was, of course, a false image created through enchantment. The ray pierced his body, turning it into a pool of melting snow; the real Ryuu had already caught up with the Frost Iron Knight, stabbing fiercely into the back of the last knight!

Clang! A dull metallic sound rang out, and Liu Xia was surprised that her battle aura couldn't break through the knight's armor. The knight, however, only lost his balance slightly, and his heavy body crashed into a nearby house, his weight of over several hundred pounds crushing the stone bricks to pieces.

"Forged from the finest frost iron of the North, boy!"

The other Frost Iron Knights rushed to his aid immediately, skillfully surrounding Ryusha as a dangerous target. One Frost Iron Knight, who was over two meters tall, swung his flail at him.

The heavy attack was far more powerful than that of an ordinary knight, but it did not reach the level of a great knight. When the hammerhead with its prisms grazed Ryusha's forehead and then exploded violently, he finally discovered the secret of this group of heavily armored knights at close range.

The flames erupting from the Frost Iron Knights surprised Ryuga, and their armor remained untouched by winter frost. However, their fighting spirit was so pure it carried no attributes, meaning the flames on their bodies originated from only one source.

Ryuga glanced at Olivia out of the corner of her eye. Olivia had just used fire magic, and Ryuga felt the same familiar magical fluctuations, especially when she was in close contact with the group of heavily armored knights.

This is... a connection to magic?

Meanwhile, another Frost Iron Knight swung a heavy fist, slamming it onto Ryuga's hands, which were used for defense. As the astonishing impact accompanied the explosion, Ryuga also saw dark red magic circuits in the gaps of their armor.

The loud thud of Ryusha falling from the height immediately drew the attention of the others. Hetia and Hefren quickly spotted the Frost Iron Knights on the rooftop. Unlike Ryusha, the two recognized the insignia on their bodies, their pupils contracted simultaneously, and they immediately abandoned their warhorses, leaping onto the rooftop in a few strides and rushing towards Ryusha's direction.

"Don't panic! Maintain formation! Leave that area to Hetia and Miss Hafley!"

Baron and Luca quickly took control of the remaining knights, suppressing the Abyss soldiers who had just surrendered and were now eager to fight again...

Megan, who had just come out of the Lord's Hall, saw Olivia immediately. Although they hadn't seen each other for more than ten years, she recognized her at a glance.

"Damn it, why her of all people!"

Megan was somewhat annoyed, but she charged into the new battlefield like a chariot, her tall body smashing through a Frost Iron Knight, her battle axe held horizontally in front of her, serving as a shield for Ryusha.

"Hey, look who's here. I didn't expect you to still be going through a rebellious phase at your age, Megan~"

Olivia also recognized Megan, and while mocking her, she waited for her subordinates to readjust their formation to deal with the three new female knights who had joined the battle.

“Olivia, reborn from the ashes, it seems you’ve mastered that magic. Compared to a phoenix, you look more like a mother hen protecting her chicks! Ah~ I’m sorry, you should be called a neither-male-nor-female hen!”

Megan's words were equally scathing, relentlessly mocking the old acquaintance before her.

"Meghan, who exactly is she?"

Ryuka stood up from the rubble, patted his dust-covered armor, and asked.

"The daughter of General Traul Nikolai, one of the Ten Celestials guarding the northern border and the Ice Dragon Hunter, and Sophie, the Crimson Sage, another member of the Ten Celestials. However..."

As Megan explained, Olivia's expression gradually turned cold, especially after Megan's last sentence.

"She is an illegitimate child, the product of a one-night stand between two incompatible Heavenly Ranks, so very few people know about her. Moreover, she was abandoned by her mother in the Northern Snow Region when she was young, but her relationship with her father is more like that of a master and disciple than father and daughter."

"Her abilities? Who asked about her family situation!"

Liu Xia's helpless rebuke made Megan shudder, and she quickly added:

"Just like her mother! She has a very high talent for fire magic! Some people even said that she has the potential to reach the Saint rank, but... because her father, General Traul, killed the last ice dragon at the northern tip of the continent, he was cursed, preventing her from ever breaking through to the Heaven rank in this lifetime. However, the fire magic power in her body has been accumulating, so although she is a great mage, her magic power reserves are no weaker than those of a Heaven rank mage. But one day, it will burst her body..."

"General Traul and Ms. Sophie's child..." Haiflian, also a second-generation Celestial, had a strange expression. "They must be over two hundred years old combined, and haven't they spent most of their lives fighting each other, one in the south and one in the north? What about Olivia..."

"So it was a mistake. Her parents were almost 150 years old combined when she was born... so their parenting methods were naturally absurdly wrong, which is why her personality is quite twisted..."

Megan couldn't resist gossiping again. For example, Olivia, abandoned by her mother, was like a boy from a young age, and her handsome face during puberty always attracted a group of girls, a fact she strongly resented. She also believed that she bore most of the blame for her birth on the Crimson Sage Sophie, and out of hatred for her mother, she deeply loathed being a woman…

Seeing Hetia and Hefren listening with great interest, Ryuka couldn't help but flick an ice ball at their butts, angrily scolding the three female knights who were engrossed in a family drama.

"It seems you guys really enjoy these twisted and melodramatic stories. How about I let you experience some twisted treatment when we get back?"

Seeing Ryūka's face darken, Megan felt a tightness in her groin and quickly skipped over Olivia's growth story to introduce her abilities.

"Fire magic goes without saying, but her flames are more like a viscous liquid, extremely difficult to extinguish. At the same time, thanks to her father's tutelage, her close-combat skills as a knight are also quite formidable. However, because her ever-increasing magical power will eventually overwhelm her, and her output of magical power is insufficient, she has been researching a secret technique: using special magic to bind herself to another person, allowing that person to help release a portion of her magical power… It seems she has succeeded now…"

Megan felt the heat emanating from the black-armored knights around her. These people were clearly pure knights, but the abilities they displayed far surpassed hers. This must be due to Olivia's secret technique.

"You've become much more talkative than before, but why do you look like that kid's dog? Megan, have you turned into a slutty bitch wagging its tail at that brat?"

Olivia watched Megan silently, seemingly gathering her anger while simultaneously mocking Megan's current predicament.

"Ugh~ I hate it when a woman like you with such big breasts says things like that. How about I cut them off for you?"

Megan weighed the battle axe in her hand. Having been completely transformed by Ryūsha, she was no longer ashamed of Olivia's mockery. Instead, she shamelessly humiliated their captain in front of Olivia's subordinates.

"Besides, you can't possibly not know, the secret technique that saved your life was developed by your most hated mother..."

"Shut up!" Olivia's expression twisted, and the staff-sword in her hand emitted a blinding red light as she commanded the Frost Iron Knights:

"Get ready! Upgrade your magic to level three and crush them! I'll take care of that bitch!"

"As ordered!"

As Olivia finished speaking, the Frost Iron Knights' black heavy armor began to slowly emit a red glow, like red-hot iron blocks, steaming in the cold winter.

Then, several Frost Iron Knights charged forward with astonishing speed and momentum. Although they lacked flashy combat techniques and even concealed their fighting spirit within their heavy armor, their punches and swords were filled with power and explosive flames, displaying a force no less than that of a normal Grand Knight!

In an instant, the group clashed, turning the buildings and streets of Abyss into ruins. Although Ryusha and his companions were no weaker than these Frost Iron Knights, their weapons struggled to penetrate their heavy armor, failing to inflict fatal wounds. These knights seemed devoid of pain and fearless of death, launching frenzied, dangerous attacks. Even as the blunt force of their battle aura caused their flesh beneath the armor to bleed from their mouths, they continued their frenzied assault, relentlessly attacking with the most basic and unadorned melee weapons.

Olivia, like a firebird, darted across the battlefield, attacking Megan while simultaneously harassing the other three with various spells, gradually depleting the female knights' battle aura reserves.

If Olivia's magical reserves are comparable to those of a Celestial Knight, then even if she and several Frost Iron Knights fought at their highest level, their endurance would far surpass that of the other female knights besides herself. Therefore, Ryuga immediately gave the three female knights an order:

"We absolutely cannot afford to engage in a war of attrition. Concentrate our forces and unleash a powerful burst of damage! Deal with these knights, then leave Olivia to me!"

Upon receiving the order, Hetia's eyes narrowed. She tossed her longsword to Hefren and shouted at her, "Prepare to use that move."

Having said that, she stood in front of the Frost Iron Knight, her body erupting with fierce crimson battle aura. Even the armor on her body cracked, the hair ornament on her ponytail shattered, and her fiery red hair flew through the air like a war demon. Veins bulged on her beautiful face, and even the muscles on her neck visibly twitched.

"Drink it!!!"

With Hetia's furious roar, she seemed to transform into a storm, her crimson battle aura slicing through the space around her at high speed, instantly halting the Frost Iron Knights' advance. Even the fire magic that Olivia shot at her was shattered and swallowed up.

"A quick victory? That suits me just fine! You guys flank around to the side!"

Olivia relentlessly unleashed scorching rays to restrain the unfolding storm, while simultaneously gathering her remaining power to slowly draw a magic circle across the entire battlefield covering Ryūka and his companions. The snow on the ground melted, and even the sky was tinged with crimson. Sensing the changes, Ryūka and his group understood that whatever Olivia was about to unleash, they couldn't let her succeed.

Behind Hetia, watching her unleash her newly mastered combat technique, [Shattered Rose], Hefren's face paled, and she couldn't help but curse:

"That's still just a hypothetical scenario, isn't it?! You want me dead, don't you?!"

Despite her curses, Hefren still charged towards Hetia, her body enveloped in battle aura as she forced her way through Hetia's [Shattered Rose] and suddenly appeared in front of the Frost Iron Knight who was preparing to turn and attack from the side.

"call……"

Ignoring Hetia's long white hair, which had been shattered by her aura, Heflian slammed her spear into the ground, then gripped Hetia's sword tightly, gathered her aura, and slammed the side of the sword against her own spear.

Thump! First came a dull thud, then...

Buzz!

A violent ripple spread through the air, emanating from Heflian's spear like concentric circles on a calm lake. The Frost Iron Knights felt as if their brains were about to explode, their blood vessels trembling! The attack pierced through their specially designed heavy armor, and even Olivia couldn't help but clutch her head and howl.

Heflian was also suffering terribly, and her second strike with the spear became increasingly difficult. However, this astonishing sonic attack was blocked by the vacuum created by Hetia's [Shattered Rose], and did not affect Ryusha and Megan behind her. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

"This is the last time!!!"

Seeing that her attack had an effect on the heavily armored knights, Heflian gathered all her remaining battle aura. The veins on her fair arms bulged beneath her sleeves, which had been shattered by her own sonic waves, and her beautiful, slender muscles were filled with astonishing power. She unleashed her final sonic attack with a special battle aura!

Behind her, Hetia received the order, and the [Shattered Rose] she had been painstakingly maintaining suddenly enveloped the surrounding air like a flower, before unleashing a crimson storm forward!

The compressed air and debris, along with the sound waves emitted by Heflian, engulfed the Frost Iron Knights like a sandstorm! After the dust settled, they all collapsed to the ground, gushing blood and unable to move!

Only Olivia remained standing, feeling a bit of a headache after everything was over, after all, her body was at the Great Knight level.

However, the figure of the black-haired boy came straight towards him like a ghost!

Chapter 20 The Fierce Battle Between the Horned Demon and the Fire Maiden

Just as Ryūsha was about to stab Olivia, Megan was also swinging her massive battle axe, intending to cut off Olivia's retreat. This is what they mean by the ever-changing nature of battle.

For Ryuka, there's only one way to deal with enemies who stand in his way, regardless of whether they are second-generation Celestials or magicians with magic reserves comparable to Celestials.

That is, to conquer or to destroy.

"You have plenty of magic reserves, right? That just so happens that Anjaberg's magic workshop is short-handed. Glenn and the other fire mages are almost unable to keep up with the demand for steelmaking!"

In Ryuka's eyes, Olivia was clearly a giant furnace that could continuously radiate heat. Since she would die if she didn't release the magic power within her, he naturally had to 'help' her.

With a swing of his longsword, Ryusha transformed the battlefield into a landscape of ice and darkness, swiftly suppressing the various fire magic spells unleashed by Olivia. The overwhelming strength, so different from the three female knights, immediately shocked Olivia. This brat was no rookie who had just been promoted to Grand Master; even though he had accidentally taken a heavy punch from the Frost Iron Knight because his weapon couldn't break through the knight's defenses, it hadn't caused him any real damage.

Olivia, who had initially thought the campaign against the Eastern Territory was just a casual outing, was now enraged. Having lost several of her subordinates, her body temperature began to rise rapidly, and her magic showed signs of spiraling out of control. Even the light armor that Ryūka couldn't break through was gradually turning from black to red under the influence of her leaking magic, showing a faint tendency to melt.

What a joke! I finally mastered the secret technique of magic transfer and was about to leave the harsh and cold northern snowfields, and this is the first battle I've fought against?

At this moment, Olivia felt a surge of emotion she had previously resisted. Everyone had always hesitated to fight her seriously because of her two Heavenly Rank parents, which she found utterly repulsive. But under Ryūka's relentless onslaught, for the first time, she hoped this young man would consider her background and show some restraint.

The mere thought filled Olivia with shame and anger. Below the Heavenly Rank, no one could rival her—that was everyone's assessment of her. Yet, this unknown young man was beating her down, and using extremely despicable methods!

Not only did her killing moves make no attempt to conceal the woman's most intimate and vulnerable areas, but Liu Xia, who was blocked by the sea of ​​flames she had unleashed, even condensed thick ice pillars that relentlessly rammed and pierced her unbreakable armor from the air, as if she wanted to crush the flesh beneath the armor into a pulp.

Each time the thick icicles struck Olivia, who was radiating intense heat, the surface layer would melt into water, leaving a large, unsightly puddle on her textured armor. The water would then evaporate quickly, obscuring Olivia's vision and causing her armor to constantly lose strength between being heated red-hot and being quenched in water.

Megan, working in tandem with Ryukatsu, relentlessly harassed and attacked Olivia. While Megan and Olivia had often bickered in the past, Megan had always been mindful of Olivia's background and wouldn't actually retaliate. Now, however, she had become Ryukatsu's loyal hound, faithfully carrying out her master's orders.

"Megan! Give her a good beating in the back! But be careful not to break her body~ Her hands and feet don't matter, I have a lot of use for her body~"

"Yes, my master!"

Megan burst out of Olivia's firestorm like a mad dog, not caring at all that her beautiful purple hair was singed. Even as her voluptuous body was scorched and began to smoke under the intense heat of Olivia's attack, she ignored the pain and slashed fiercely at Olivia's thigh with her battle axe.

Clang! The axe blade sliced ​​through the once-indestructible frost iron light armor. The armor, which had begun to soften due to the high temperature, was deformed by the impact of the axe and embedded itself into the flesh of Olivia's plump, firm thigh. Olivia, enduring excruciating pain, plunged her slender staff sword fiercely into Megan, instantly piercing her shoulder!

"Turn into roast meat, you bitch!"

Olivia roared, and terrifying flames erupted from the sword, intending to burn Megan to a crisp right through her body!

A flicker of panic crossed Megan's eyes. Even with her battle aura protecting her, she couldn't withstand the viscous flames. Just as she was about to retreat, Ryusha stopped her with a stern, merciless command:

"Don't back down! Keep your shoulders tight!"

Megan immediately gritted her teeth, gripped Olivia's sword blade tightly with one hand, and clenched the muscles in her shoulder, enduring the burning flames to prevent Olivia from drawing her sword.

"Are you crazy?!"

Olivia watched in shock as half of Megan's body burned in the flames; even a great knight's body couldn't withstand it!

“I’m so sorry…” Megan forced a smile. “Master told me to squeeze tighter.”

He endured the scorching flames while preventing Olivia from drawing her longsword.

"Are you crazy?!"

Olivia watched in shock as half of Megan's body burned in the flames; even a great knight's body couldn't withstand it!

“I’m so sorry…” Megan forced a smile, “If Master says to tighten, you have to tighten. I’m afraid you’ll understand soon enough…”

"You crazy bitch, you slut!!! You fucking bastard!!!"

Olivia glared and cursed angrily. Megan's words startled her, and combined with what Ryukyu had just said—that it didn't matter if the limbs were cut off as the body would still be useful—a sense of unease crept into her heart.

How exactly did that guy train Megan to become like this? She couldn't help but start to feel afraid...

But if she gave up the staff sword, she would have even less chance of winning! Olivia frantically pulled at the rapier piercing Megan's body, but it remained motionless! At that moment, Ryuka, enveloped in ice, had already rushed through the viscous sea of ​​fire and grabbed Olivia's staff sword!

“abyssalfrostmotes…”

As the chant began, the [Frosty Dust Ice Prison] technique learned from Melanie slowly activated. The surrounding scorching temperature was gradually replaced by the extremely low temperature of icy blue dust, slowly taking away all the heat released by Olivia! The blinding crimson sea of ​​fire instantly turned into an icy blue hell, and the flames on Megan and Olivia's bodies extinguished with blue smoke. Then, ice began to condense on their surfaces!

This astonishing magic filled Olivia with horror! Although she was constantly releasing her own magic to resist, the black-haired boy's magic was like a bottomless abyss, and no matter how much she released, it would be neutralized by his ice magic!

Ryūka was also in a bad situation. Although the magical boosts provided by his countless subjects made him far superior to others at the same level, they were not inexhaustible. If his power was depleted in his battle against Olivia, then everything would be over.

Hetia and Hefren have exhausted most of their power, and now they don't even have the fighting spirit to cross Olivia's sea of ​​fire. The duel has now entered the final stage of one-on-one combat.

For mages, the staff is undoubtedly the most powerful medium for unleashing their power! Ryuu's eyes narrowed. If Olivia's staff sword was made of the same material as her Frost Iron Armor, it should have reached its limit by now!