Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1137: Shadows of the Ice City (3)

Watching as the white spiderweb hung from above, Rhode's eyes glinted in an eye-cold flash. He brandished his sword at it, sending shimmering blade rays slashing upward in an arc. Facing this powerful attack, the spiderweb twisted and changed its shape instantly, before separating into two and continuing to pounce on Rhode. Rhode felt astonished by its retaliation as that was an all-out attack. Even though he didn't have the power of the Void Dragon at this moment and couldn't activate special skills, he was still a player at the peak of level 85 at the very least. Although the damage output of a Spirit Swordsman's swordsmanship wasn't as high as true swordsmen, not anyone could resist a slash of the blade from them. If it were only an ordinary spiderweb, it would have been shattered and vanished entirely. However, he only managed to slash a gap in it and didn't rip it apart as expected. This instantly raised his guard. He dashed ahead and released two shadow clones alongside him while evading the web landing on them. Then, the swords they wielded erupted a gorgeous radiance before they flourished at the crystal spider.

The crystal spider climbed up hastily at the sight of the dazzling spiritual blade rays, attempting to dodge this attack from them. But it was apparent that Rhode wasn't one to be trifled with. The three blade rays streaked toward the upper, middle, and lower portions of the crystal spider, forming an omnipresent net that enveloped it completely. Along with the sound of crisp rasps, the silk that the crystal spider was hanging onto was cut off immediately. The crystal spider that had lost its balance crashed to the ground in a loud bang.

"Ssssss———!"

Even though the crystal spider rolled over with a high-difficulty gymnastic stunt at the critical juncture to avoid cracking its skull, its enormous body continued to plummet. As a result, its legs cracked and shattered upon impact, spurting translucent, faint, blue-colored sticky blood onto the ice layer around the walls. The instant the spraying streams of blood were about to touch the surface, they stopped moving abruptly before solidifying into ice crystals that fell from above and scattering onto the ice surface.

The crystal spider snarled at its unexpected injuries. It struggled to lift its head, gazed upward, and extended both arms. In that instant, its two arms that were about the length of human arms suddenly became as thin as noodles. Not only that, but their fingers also became flat and razor-sharp, flying at Rhode like the tip of a blade. Facing its counterattack, Rhode released his shadow clones again. They dashed ahead like three streaks of meteor, darting past the retaliation and aimed straight for its body.

However, Rhode didn't expect the crystal spider to swing its arms suddenly like two flexible, crisscrossed whips lashing out to the sides. It retracted its arms and sent out several afterimages that erupted at Rhode's shadow clones. Facing this counterattack, Rhode sneered and came to an abrupt halt. He swung his right arm and a green card appeared in his hand and merged with his body.

Boom!

Three glaring lightning bolts burst out, smashing the fluttering arms like a heavy hammer, and held them captive. Rhode dove in a trail of afterimages. The blade of his holy sword pulsated with thunder and lightning like a flower blooming in all directions, forming an electric net that wrapped the crystal spider entirely. At this hopeless sight, the crystal spider hissed, widened its mouth, and pounced on him.

At the same time, the others also got into action with the remaining crystal spiders. These creatures were indeed tough to deal with. Even though they weren't as indestructible as the mysterious ice crystal, they had really strong and tough skin, where even Lydia's and Erin's godlike weapons only left minor scars on them. In only a few moments, chaotic battles were taking place everywhere. Lydia expanded her wings, spiraling away from the crystal spider's attack like a nimble bird. Meanwhile, the two blades in her hands glittered with tens of thousands of golden light dust that enfolded them in multiple layers. The biting cold air shattered, striking and repelling the crystal spider. Facing this attack from Lydia, it could only raise its arms desperately to defend itself and couldn't retaliate at all.

On the other side, Erin displayed her rare, domineering side. Even though this moon princess was usually as peaceful and elegant as Lydia, she was extremely overbearing in battles. As soon as she darted forward, she instantly sliced off the crystal spider's silk with her blade, before turning over and smashing it to the ground. Then, she followed up with another attack swiftly, causing it to scramble all around in misery. This was the first time Rhode witnessed Erin's swordsmanship. If Lydia was the combination of elegance and beauty, Erin would be one with unlimited dominance. Her swordsmanship resembled raging waves and crushing tides. Her momentum and aggression that was capable of smashing all things into powder complemented her performance as a night wyvern.

Rhode had to admit that Erin exceeded his expectations. After all, he didn't fight Erin in the game. Instead, his only experience in battling her was in the Land of Atonement. But at that point in time, Erin showed up in her 'wyvern' form, which was why Rhode wasn't aware of her level of swordsmanship. Due to this, he was astounded when he witnessed her domineering battle style.

Compared to Lydia and Erin, Celestina's battle style was much stranger. She also seemed to know that her weapon couldn't deal too much damage to the crystal spider, which was why she didn't engage in close combat. On the contrary, she took advantage of her fast speed, spiraling in midair using her wings. Her black chain sword had transformed into an odd viper that assaulted the enemy. The dark flames from it rolled into the shape of fiery flowers that engulfed the enemies in no time, turning into dense, putrid, and black death mist. It was apparent that she decided to use her unique demonic spells to take down this enemy. Rhode had to admit that her ideas were indeed applicable. Even though he was unaware of the constitution of the crystal spider, its decline in speed and motion while shrouded in black mist proved it wasn't having a great time.

On the other hand, the two crystal spiders who fought against Gracier and Madaras were the most unfortunate. Gracier and Madaras were top assassins who were adept in 'one shot, one kill'. As soon as the two crystal spiders witnessed the two petite figures appearing out of thin air like stealthy ghosts, they swung their arms in vain and spurted out silk. But despite that, they couldn't hit them at all and were incredibly miserable.

Thomas and the others gawked in disbelief. Although they already knew that Rhode's group was powerful, they were perplexed as soon as they saw Lydia's and Celestina's expanded wings. A few of the pious soldiers even knelt on the ground and began praying. Meanwhile, Thomas's eyes glinted in amazement. He held a camera in his hand and recorded everything because to him, nothing could prove his guesses and words more than this evidence.

And at the same time, the battles between Rhode's group and the enemies were almost reaching the end.

After sounding them out, Rhode quickly realized that even though the crystal spiders had strong skin and the silk they sprayed was bothersome to deal with, that was all there was to them. They weren't capable of releasing flames like certain creatures in the Dragon Soul Continent and were only capable of using their strange body parts for battle. After figuring them out completely, Rhode hesitated no more. He retreated swiftly to evade its attack. Then, the blade in his hand erupted in a shimmering radiance as he slashed it forward.

It just took one step to turn the situation around.

Rhode's holy sword trembled constantly. Along with his movement, a dazzling, white holy brilliance emanated from its blade. He discharged two shadow clones and the trio attacked from the left, right, and center. Radiance as bright as the sun's left the crystal spider in discomfort. Although its lower body was in the form of a spider, it was a pity that its upper body still relied on its eyes to see. As soon as the glaring radiance erupted, the scrambling crystal spider shrunk back instantly and crossed both hands before it in a defensive stance. At the next moment, the blade rays of his shadow clones arrived.

Upon realizing the danger, the crystal spider had nowhere to hide anymore. It shrieked and emanated a faint blue radiance all over its body. Judging at this reaction, Rhode's heart sank slightly, but despite that, he didn't hold back. On the contrary, he swung his arm and accelerated the speed of his blade. In an instant, three blade rays that were coalesced to their maximum strength exploded like thunderbolts, penetrating the crystal spider entirely. Upon sensing the approach of its death, the crystal spider let out a mournful shriek before its body swelled up like a balloon. Rhode wasn't foolish enough to fall into its trap. After striking the killing blow, he retreated swiftly and as soon as he moved, the crystal spider self-destructed in a booming explosion, blasting strong gales and white silk into the sky. The airflow spun continuously, forming an enormous whirlwind that sucked in and shredded everything into bits. Fortunately, Rhode's reaction was too quick for it and he managed to evade it safely. After a few minutes, the whirlwind gradually vanished after losing its momentum, leaving behind a crystal-clear corpse that had solidified.

These things sure are a bunch of trouble.

Looking at the corpse, Rhode knitted his brows slightly. Even though apart from its strong constitution, the crystal spider wasn't as tough as certain high-level creatures in the Dragon Soul Continent, this odd ability left Rhode rather worried, especially the whirlwind that formed after its self-destruction. Rhode clearly sensed the energy of space within it. In other words, the whirlwind a space crack that could tear apart everything that was swept into it. The space ability was a high-level skill and rarely seen even in high-level creatures of the Dragon Soul Continent. But now, although the crystal spiders weren't exactly powerful, it was still astonishing for them to possess such an ability.

The crystal spiders don't seem like BOSS level creatures. What if there are stronger creatures than them later… hmm?

As Rhode was worrying about this problem, he swept a glance at the crystal spider's corpse and was taken aback immediately. The exploded crystal spider had completely solidified and turned into a sparkling and translucent crystal like a smashed ice sculpture. But at the next moment, the crystal melted and was sealed entirely in a thick ice layer. But Rhode quickly realized that as the crystal melted, a faint black mist emerged in the ice layer like some sort of life form, twisting and attempting to escape. However, it didn't seem to be able to escape the imprisonment of the ice layer and stopped moving after a few moments of struggle.

What exactly is going on?

Looking at this scene, Rhode couldn't help but feel suspicious. He thought the crystal spiders were inhabitants of this ice-sealed world. But based on what he saw, it seemed like a prisoner of this world instead, one that had finally escaped from prison but was recaptured.

These creatures…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, a series of loud explosions boomed in all directions. Rhode turned around and saw that the others had ended their battles. Celestina, Gracier, and Madaras flew toward him before disappearing in a flash. On the other hand, Lydia and Erin went up to him swiftly, while gazing at the thick ice layer around them cautiously.

"Your Majesty Rhode, that was…"

"I know. I saw it too."

Rhode nodded to Lydia. He glanced at the presence that was completely 'solidified' in the ice layer and knitted his brows.

"Can you sense what it is, Your Highness Lydia?"

"Not really, Your Majesty Rhode. Erin and I sensed a death aura from it, but that doesn't seem to be all… we can't confirm what exactly that is."

"Okay."

Rhode responded before pondering in silence. Then, he shook his head.

"Let's move on," he said.

As they headed deeper, Rhode found out that things weren't as simple as he had imagined. On the outside, they weren't able to figure out what enemies the ice-sealed people were fighting against. However, as they entered deeper, they spotted more clues and some seemed to point to prehistoric dinosaurs mutating into disturbing creatures. It was apparent that these creatures were the enemies the inhabitants of this place were battling against. What was strange was that some kind of dense, black smoke also seemed to be released from the creatures. Rhode also realized that on the outside, the corpses seemed to be disintegrated. But as they moved toward the center of the plaza, they were in perfect condition. Not only that, but Rhode also sensed the bone-piercing cold air becoming even colder. Thomas and the rest almost froze to the spot. If it weren't for Mini Bubble Gum and Canary who cast several defensive enchanted fields and shields, perhaps the commoners would have frozen to death.

It seems like the ice layer was used to imprison those creatures. On the outside, perhaps due to its declining strength, the creatures turned into mist to barely escape from the ice layer. While on the inside, the creatures couldn't escape due to the stronger imprisonment enchanted field?

Rhode felt increasingly doubtful at this thought.

What exactly are they?

"It seems like this is going to be a violent battle."

Canary couldn't help but mutter under her breath. As the group advanced deeper, the number of black creatures that appeared increased and there were almost hundreds of them. On the other hand, the number of soldiers trapped in the ice also rose. It seemed like the black creatures had intended to attack and occupy the pyramid-like structure, while the soldiers were trying to stop them from breaking through. The thick ice layer preserved everything from that time. Gazing at both sides sparing no effort in wrestling one another, Rhode's group couldn't help but stay silent. The heavy atmosphere of this life and death battle felt so clear-cut, and not even thousands and millions of years were able to alter it.

As Rhode pondered deeply, they arrived at the foot of the pyramid. As long as one raised one's head, one could see a tall ice column at the top of the pyramid that resembled a pillar of this sacred palace connected the dome and ground. The biting cold air was at its coldest in this place. It was apparent that this was the core location.

Everyone looked up at the ice column. Then, Mini Bubble Gum made a remark.

"Leader, why does it seem like someone is in there?"