Child of Destiny

…

Arthur did not immediately make his move when he saw Cobra disappear. He waited for a couple of moments before suddenly stomping into the ground, which produced a strong and cold current that swept in every direction.

He did not find anything at first, but his eyes suddenly turned sharp on the very next moment.

He swiftly raised one of his shields, blocking a seemingly invisible attack that was coming straight at him.

Bang!

Arthur stood firm despite the strong impact of the collision.

He was about to push forward when he sensed a cold sensation behind his head, signifying a deadly attack that was about to arrive.

Given his current position, it was already too late to turn his body and use his shield to block it.

Whoosh!

However, Arthur did not need to do all of that to deal with this ambush. All he needed to do was twirl the spear in his right hand, making it spin with a powerful momentum.

Bang!

The shaft of his spear accurately hit the incoming blade right before it could even reach him.

The dagger’s trajectory changed upon contact, forcing Cobra, who just manifested behind Arthur, to proceed forward, somewhat stumbling.

Swoosh!

Arthur then borrowed the momentum of his actions to finally turn his body, dragging his opponent further forward with his spear, while striking the latter with his shield.

Cobra swiftly adjusted his position midstride while also doing his best to lead his body back, barely avoiding the incoming edge of the shield that was about to strike his face.

Swoosh!

While brushing past Arthur, his body spun during the stride while also slashing at the exposed waist of his opponent.

Shing!

The thing about his actions was so smooth and fast despite the awkward position that he was in.

Hiss!

During his deadly counter, three different snakes suddenly appeared around him and swiftly struck alongside his counterattack.

Bang!

Unfortunately, this perfectly timed and flawlessly executed counter was easily blocked by a thick layer of ice that suddenly manifested before it.

Even if this attack was greatly enhanced through his elemental snakes, most of the momentum of the strike was killed by the layer of frost covering Arthur’s body, which made it easier for his armor to block the rest.

However, despite falling to this counter, Cobra continued with his series of attacks, even circling behind Arthur repeatedly while striking.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His movements were fast, sharp, and deadly, seemingly resembling a coiling snake that had trapped its prey.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Alongside his actions, the three snakes repeatedly appeared, further enhancing all the attacks that he had thrown. That changed the attributes of his regular strikes to their respective elements, which seemed to be different variations of venoms.

The black elemental snake represented the dark corrosion, the green one seemed to carry an extremely potent venom, while the other looked like a deadly mercury.

’Legendary Combat Technique: Dance of the Poison Hydra’

He was dancing around Arthur alongside his daggers, trying to strike down this dragon fanatic.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Unfortunately, no matter how fast Cobra was, Arthur was still able to repeatedly block all his attacks with a calm and steady manner.

His eyes were constantly moving, steadily reading through all the mana signatures in the air while also constantly locking the ghostly figure dancing around him.

His eyes were cold and indifferent, which seemed to be a clear reflection of the element that he was currently controlling.

He minimized all his movements to the simplest and steadiest method, which was somewhat different from his usual style. He was not wasting even a single movement, unlike the usual flashy and arrogant style.

His current style seemed to be calm and calculating.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Alongside his constantly spinning and moving body, his shield and spear accompanied each of his actions. He was also applying the techniques that he had learned from Shin, especially the way to constantly absorb the force of his opponent for every collision, and applying them to the next strike that he was throwing.

’True Nine Dragon Arts: Imperial Tactics – Dragon Dance’

Every strike of his shield and spear resembled a dragon striking down its opponent, particularly whenever he swung his spear around.

Roar!

Violent and thunderous roars of a dragon also accompanied each of his strikes, reverberating in the air.

These roars were also not regular sounds produced by each of his swings. They produced a powerful mental attack that repeatedly assaulted Cobra whenever they erupted.

They were disturbing the concentration of the opposing party, forcing Cobra to commit a grave mistake.

If not for Cobra having a firm mind that had been forged through a series of torturous training since he was young, then he would have most likely slipped now.

Their figures repeatedly clashed with one another, with Cobra acting like a ghost circling his opponent and Arthur acting as a steady and sturdy pillar that could not be shaken.

The silhouettes of an ice dragon and three snakes of different colors were also appearing repeatedly, with the former seemingly fighting the latter three by itself.

In the long run, Cobra was supposed to have a slight advantage in this battle, especially when was a master of poison and venom.

Unfortunately, he could not land a clean hit on his opponent due to the layer of frost protecting Arthur. This made his attacks extremely negligible, especially when the class of his opponent greatly counter his.

He could only rely on his highly advanced techniques alongside his unique and special skills to at least match his opponent’s advantages.

If not for his extreme speed, then he would have most likely been in deep trouble right now due to having a mismatch in terms of classes.

All Cobra could do was to increase the pace of his attacks, making them more unpredictable and harder to read.

However, he later realized that it was getting much harder to move, especially when the entire surroundings were slowly being covered by a thick layer of snow.

He did not know when it happened, but the snow that was filling the ground had become so thick that it started hindering his movements and even exposing his tracks despite being under stealth.

The cold was not ordinary either, since he only realized that he was being affected by it when it had already invaded his body.

Moreover, there was also a certain poison that was invading his body alongside this coldness. It was a type of poison that was slowly freezing his veins, which was slowly affecting the overall performance of his entire system.

He might not have been directly hit by Arthur’s strikes, but he had been affected by the frost poison that was filling the air.

The current surroundings could be considered a Domain Skill due to how Arthur had affected the environment.

Realizing his current situation, Cobra swiftly retreated while suppressing the frost poison invading his body with the unique traits of his elemental snakes.

Instead of worsening his condition, the frost poison became a nutrient of his body and powers.

The jade snake swallowed all the frost poison invading his body before turning it into a more potent poison, which Cobra immediately released by swinging his daggers during retreat.

Swoosh!

The energy that was released by his daggers turned into a pair of huge pythons made of poison, sweeping toward Arthur, who was already about to chase after him.

Hiss! Hiss!

’Elemental Skill: Jade Python – Reverse Venom’

Whoosh!

The pair of elemental snakes coiled around one another, spiraling toward Arthur while opening their mouths wide.

They seemed to be planning to swallow him and bathe his body with the extremely potent venom that their bodies had created.

The thick snow on their path also melted due to the potency of the venom that they carried. The thick snow parted as they flew past it, heading straight to their target.

Hu~!

In the meantime, Arthur adjusted his breathing, releasing a thick and cold fog from his mouth. He then kicked the ground and started sprinting forward while the icy energy surrounding him turned into a huge current that followed after him.

Not long after, this violent current formed a huge figure of an ice dragon, resembling Eira when Arthur and the rest of the Empyrean Talons had first encountered her.

It was a variant version of one of the favorite moves that Arthur loved to use.

’True Nine Dragon Arts: Imperial Tactics – Breaking Through of the Ice Dragon’

Roar!

The huge ice dragon swallowed Arthur’s body while charging forward and colliding against the incoming pair of huge pythons and clashing against it.

Hiss! Hiss!

BOOM!

A massive explosion immediately erupted right after the opposing powers clashed against one another.

It produced a violent current that swept in every direction, further widening the already huge crater that Arthur had created earlier.

However, amid this chaos, two figures suddenly appeared, breaking through the surrounding cloud of smoke and dust.

Whoosh!

Arthur hovered in the air for a moment, along with a pair of ice wings behind his back.

Spreading his arms wide, a huge figure of an ice dragon manifested behind him, showcasing its majestic figure.

After that, Arthur assumed a throwing position, holding the dragon spear in his hand like a throwing javelin.

Swoosh!

The ice dragon then shrank and fused with the spear, setting it ablaze with icy and violent flames.

A huge spear burning with icy flames appeared in the sky, dwarfing everyone.

Arthur did not wait any longer and just threw the spear down, sending it straight toward his opponent.

Whoosh!

’True Nine Dragon Arts: Imperial Tactics (Ice Version) – Spear of the Freezing Winter’

Roar!

The giant spear flew straight toward the ground, transforming into a humongous dragon that was ready to devour everything.

WHOOSH!

Below, Cobra wore a serious expression, lowering his stance.

Holding the pair of daggers, he summoned the three elemental snakes once again. The snakes then coiled together, seemingly attempting to merge.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Not long after, a gigantic serpent appeared, having three heads that represented the three elemental snakes that it fused with.

In terms of size alone, it greatly rivaled the descending ice dragon. Even the aura that it was currently emitting would never lose against the opposing side.

’Black Serpent Art: Killer Move – Age of Ancient Serpents’

Boom!

……