Miss Surtr will ignite the world

The surrounding chill surged wildly, and the snowflakes rapidly grew larger and spread, eventually, like an inflated sea urchin, stabbing out countless sharp spikes that pierced into Surtr's flesh.

Dangerous ice flowers bloom in the air, and scalding blood turns into glistening ice crystals at low temperatures.

"It's working!"

At the edge of the battlefield, Ophelia, trembling, let out a surprised cry.

This was the first time she had ever seen Surtr injured. Even Saber's Noble Phantasm couldn't do any damage to him, and she almost thought he had some kind of absolute defense.

But now it seems that it is not insurmountable.

Ophelia's confidence in the Queen immediately grew.

But her queen's expression at that moment was not very happy.

It's too shallow.

Even with the runes amplified its power, it only managed to pierce a thin layer of skin, and all the vital parts were avoided, so it was far from causing any effective damage.

That physical strength is simply too astonishing.

At this moment, Skadi gained a new understanding of Surtr's tenacity.

If Saber's Noble Phantasm could be attributed to compatibility issues, then this time it's a complete and utter defense.

This level of defense cannot be explained by the armor of a giant.

A moment of surprise, the ice crystals trembled, and scalding white mist rose into the air.

With a swing of his arm, Surtr broke the ice spike and fell back to the ground, a look of lingering fear on his face.

This BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) is really ruthless! What if they stabbed somewhere they shouldn't have?! ^

The Infernal Ice and Flame Hell: Chapter Twelve - I Predicted Your Prediction

On the spacious training ground, Surtr assessed his own condition.

His entire body was riddled with holes of all sizes, his clothes were torn, and his fair skin was stained red with blood.

He looked quite disheveled.

Surtr raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly surprised.

Her physical defenses can be divided into two parts.

One is simply physical strength.

Previously, the only way to improve this aspect was by passively using the Adaptive skill as she took damage.

Not only her defense, but also her overall qualities—strength, speed, defense, and recovery ability—will improve as injuries are healed or she uses power beyond her body's limits.

However, after gaining self-modification, she can now actively control this behavior; this skill is like an adaptive superposition.

However, even EX-level skills have their limits.

Under certain conditions, the improvement in her physical strength is limited.

And that condition is...

Her size.

Generally speaking, the larger the mass of a creature, the greater the potential for modification. If Surtr wants to maintain this size, even if she modifies herself to the limit, the extent to which she can enhance herself is still limited.

But this is already quite unbelievable to ordinary people.

If she were to look up the description of the Twelve Trials of the Noble Phantasm now, she would find that the physical armor, which could originally only withstand B-rank attacks, has now been upgraded to A+ rank. This thing is actually a manifestation of physical fitness, and can even be blessed by the Saint's number.

Compared to her, Talulah's dragon scales are as crisp as potato chips.

The other part is the mysterious stacking of resistance.

This will allow for targeted stacking of certain abilities.

For example, receiving fire damage will stack fire resistance, and receiving wind damage will stack wind resistance.

It's highly targeted and doesn't directly enhance her physical attributes. However, its advantage is that it's not limited by body size; whether it reaches its limit depends entirely on its skill ceiling.

Back in the Underworld, Ereshkigal's full-force curse of death and lightning had little effect on her after she died several times.

Surtr currently does not have the same ice and snow resistance as Skadi.

However, the fact that it could penetrate her physical defenses was already quite impressive. Moreover, according to her perception, the ice caused not only physical damage but also elemental damage; the chilling aura could freeze flesh and blood.

Recovery ability will also be affected to some extent; the ice needs to be melted before recovery can begin.

This didn't bother her much.

If you look closely, you'll see that in the brief moment of landing, just two or three seconds later, Surtr's wounds had completely healed, and his tattered clothes were once again filled with magic.

"Not only is its defense powerful, but its recovery ability is also so fast?"

Skadi murmured to herself, not in a hurry to attack. The main purpose of this confrontation was to gain a comprehensive understanding of her opponent's abilities.

"It's already considered relatively slow, considering there's one more step involved."

"Surtel said."

She currently has several recovery methods, but unfortunately, her recovery abilities cannot be stacked. In reality, she can only choose the fastest one, and using them all at once might cause conflicts.

Currently, Avalon remains the fastest and least resource-intensive option.

This thing is really useful; it can cure external injuries, internal injuries, curses, and diseases. It truly deserves its EX-level Noble Phantasm status.

"Is that so? Then let's continue."

Skadi nodded and waved her staff again, seemingly intending to write something in the air, but Surtr had already arrived in front of her first.

He swung his sword again.

Just as her body was engulfed in flames, Skadi suddenly vanished from the spot.

Surtr's attack missed again.

Instant teleportation.

She wasn't surprised; her opponent had initially avoided her attack in the same way.

Moreover, unlike magic that requires chanting long incantations, Skadi's magic has almost no casting animation.

This is also where runes are superior to other magic.

By using magic to draw the runes or writing them on stones or blocks of wood, one can completely avoid the tedious incantation process and achieve an instant effect.

There's no need to learn even high-speed divine words.

As a magician, the opponent seemed to be intentionally avoiding a direct confrontation with her, while the mobility provided by the rune allowed him to maneuver around her.

This inevitably reminded Surtr of the frustration he felt when fighting the Herrscher of the Void in Honkai Impact 3.

It's unclear how wide this movement range is, or whether it can be used continuously. If it's at the level of Sirin, then no matter how powerful her attacks are, it's useless.

It's worth a try.

Surtr thought to himself.

A glint appeared in his eyes, and with a single swing of his sword, Surtr did not pause even after the enemy disappeared. Without hesitation, he changed the direction of his sword and swung it again diagonally backward.

The crescent-shaped slashes swept across the battlefield.

The next moment, Skadi appeared not far away, a hot wind swept over her, and the firelight illuminated her slightly surprised expression.

She knew where I was going to move to.

The thought crossed Skadi's mind. The firelight was in front of her, but she didn't panic. With a gentle sway of her short staff, her body disappeared from the spot once again.

The slash followed immediately, passing through the empty space and striking the distant wall.

It's quite fast, but you still have to complete a preliminary step, so it's not exactly free-flowing.

However, this should be without prior preparation.

Making a quick assessment, Surtr did not stop. As his opponent swung his staff, he swung his sword again, at an even faster speed than before. The surging flames almost condensed into a beam of light, instantly traversing a distance of tens of meters, shooting towards the sky behind him, and speeding all the way to the end of the clouds.

No one was seen approaching along the way.

Behind her, Skadi's figure quietly appeared.

really.

Skadi slightly raised her head, sensing the lingering traces of magic in the air, and understood. Her opponent could indeed see through her movements; she had never heard of Surt possessing the ability of clairvoyance.

It was dodged?

Surtr turned around and tilted his head.

Was the clairvoyant seeing things incorrectly? Probably not.

Looking into the other's eyes, which radiated a magical light, Surtr also had a realization.

The other party anticipated her prediction.

The other side also has eyes that can see a thousand miles.

Runes? Or is it because of Scáthach?

Scáthach possesses the wisdom of the magical realm, and aside from some skills unique to heroes, she can use almost any skill she wants with a proficiency level of B to A.

The all-seeing eye is naturally among them.

Since Skadi's body is now being manipulated by Scáthach, it's not surprising that she can use the other's skills.

Instant teleportation plus clairvoyance?

A very troublesome combination.

When both sides are of similar level, making predictions about each other is equivalent to making no predictions at all.

While instant teleportation has a certain amount of pre-cast animation, it can be used continuously, suggesting that the displacement distance is not particularly long, at least when it is instantaneous.

However, that was enough for the opponent to dodge.

Ordinary attacks don't seem to have much effect.

Surtr made his judgment.

The Infernal Ice and Flame Hell: Chapter Thirteen - The Great God's Cage

On the edge of the battlefield.

The hot wind, mixed with snow, played with Ophelia's long hair. Although she was in a remote area far from the battlefield, the surging magical energy from within her still made her subconsciously move closer to Saber.

Each strike possesses power comparable to a Noble Phantasm. Is it because they have a physical body that they don't need to worry about mana consumption?

Ophelia watched the battle between the two sides and thought to herself.

Perhaps this is the true strength that ancient heroes should have possessed. Even Sigurd, with his Dragon's Heart, would not have been able to unleash such wide-range attacks so casually after becoming a Servant.

In the current situation, it is impossible to determine who has the upper hand. However, it can be seen from the actions of both sides that they both have similar precognitive abilities. Is clairvoyance really that widespread?

Ophelia muttered to herself, and just then, the battlefield before her changed once again.

She sensed that Saber beside her tensed up instantly.

The next moment, a dazzling light, as bright as the sun, pierced her eyes. A storm of flames raged in the center of the battlefield, and the scalding magic that rushed towards her made Ophelia instinctively take a half step back.

Goosebumps rose on her skin. She shielded herself with her arms, squinted, and fought off the fear rising within her.

Compared to now, the previous attacks were like children playing house.

The flames of the heavenly fire instantly transformed the surrounding environment, turning the frigid winter into the height of summer in an instant. Surtr stood in the center of the flames, sword in hand.

Normal attacks are ineffective.

Then let's increase the power.

There's nothing that one Heavenly Fire can't solve; if there is, then two will do the trick.

"This kind of power."

Skadi silently sensed the magical fluctuations emanating from ahead.

An indestructible body, superb skills, and such powerful firepower.

Any one of these qualities would be enough to make anyone a powerful warrior; imagine how terrifying it would be if they were all concentrated in one person.

As Skadi spoke, she raised her hand, and her short staff traced mysterious runes in the air like a pen.

Opposite her, Surtr held the Heavenly Flame high, the energy in its core already reaching its limit, the surrounding air distorted by the scorching blade.