Chapter 264: Chapter 257: "Have You Seen a Frozen World?

"Moon Shadow!"

"Catherine, are you declaring war on Da Yu?"

Rong Bing, captain of the Sword Team, recognized the woman who called herself the "Empress."

Catherine, the captain of the *Moon’s Shadow*, was said to have endured the trials of the mysterious organization "Snow Country" at the age of thirteen. She had ascended to become an S-rank Awakened amidst blood and ice. At eighteen, she inherited Moon Shadow and the Snow Country behind it. Now in her thirties, her methods were even more ruthless and vicious!

She was known as the venomous snake in the shadows.

Their territory was not the Sea of Soaring Dragons, but the Zero-Degree Ice Sea guarded by Katyusha.

In terms of power, neither Da Yu nor Kunwu would fear the leader of such an organization.

But on the vast ocean, snakes and rats lurking in the shadows were more revolting than a straightforward enemy. For instance, they had just expended so much effort to kill the Moonlight Ripple Beast, only for this woman to pop up. It was hard not to suspect she might actually have a trump card to back up her provocation.

The Empress’s cold voice rang out.

"Da Yu?"

"I can’t afford to provoke Da Yu, that’s true. But it’s thousands of miles away, so what can it do right now? My Moon Shadow has been lying in wait for this Moonlight Ripple Beast for days. You people from Da Yu stole my prey, and now you want its blood?"

"How about I drain both of you of your blood today and send it back to Da Yu?"

The Empress’s eyes were as cold as frost and snow.

When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. Although she didn’t know how Shi Ming had corrupted Pandoria, she had used her Sea Serpents to spy on their battle with the Moonlight Ripple Beast and had gotten a rough idea of their strength. ’Perhaps this Shi Ming used that invincible skill to divert the Holy Hall-level corruption, causing Pandoria’s death, and then became the sole escapee?’

Right now, the two of them were exhausted.

It was the perfect time to offer blood for blood and eliminate them!

The Baikal Sea Serpents lurking in the water flicked their tongues with a HISS. They grew more and more numerous, replacing the seafoam as they writhed and churned under the moonlight.

"What arrogance!"

Rong Bing rapidly recovered his Physical Strength while verbally sparring with the Empress.

He vaguely knew that Moon Shadow had two S-rank Awakened.

Only one had appeared so far. It seemed the other, the even more bizarre 2D Girl, Pandoria, was hidden somewhere, and he had to be on guard!

’Today, I’m afraid there will be a second bitter battle!’

’Thankfully, the Beidou Star is rapidly approaching.’

’Once it arrives, with the help of Zhao Li Luo and the power of the Beidou Star, driving Moon Shadow from the Sea of Soaring Dragons probably won’t be a problem!’

...

...

...

Shi Ming propped himself up with Da Han and stood.

’Trying to be the fisherman who profits while others fight?’

’Is it that easy to be that fisherman?’

’Back then, that so-called 2D Girl who used "Man in the Painting" ganged up on me three-on-one with those people from Vortex Country for no reason. If it weren’t for the Star Lamp and the Abyss Lord’s blood, I would have suffered a huge loss. I haven’t even gone to the Endless Ice Sea to settle the score with them, and now they’ve come knocking on my door?’

’They’re courting death!’

Just before his killing intent erupted, he blinked.

The Eye of the World dutifully provided intelligence—

[The Snow Country’s Throne, forged from the skulls of men, with beautiful Frost Poison Serpents slithering over it.]

[The more beautiful the woman, the more wicked she is!]

[This is a woman like a venomous snake. At the same time, she is also a double-S Awakened! The skill "Shadowy Snake Mother" from the Baikal Sea Serpent and the skill "Icebound Gaze" from the Extreme North Snow Woman are both formidable killing techniques. No fewer than 300 B-rank or higher Awakened have died at her hands.]

[Shadowy Snake Mother: S-rank Awakened Skill, ranked 73rd. Summons thousands of Baikal Sea Serpents. Each serpent is an extension of her own body, and she controls them as deftly as her own hands!]

[Icebound Gaze: S-rank Awakened Skill, ranked 58th. When her gaze scatters, she can call down a blizzard with temperatures approaching -120 degrees Celsius, rapidly freezing hundreds of nautical miles and turning the world into a kingdom of ice and snow. When her gaze focuses, she can fix the Extreme Cold Power onto a target, freezing their body and soul, or she can apply a heavy ice-and-snow defense and recover her condition.]

’-120 degrees Celsius?’

’It might work against an ordinary Awakened, but against the Third Law of Absolute Zero, it’s a complete joke...’

CRACK.

Icebound Gaze!

Shi Ming had just steadied himself when he became the focus of the Empress’s gaze. Extremely cold, solid ice formed around his body. The ice seemed alive, rapidly enveloping and solidifying around him, growing ever thicker and colder. The frigid temperature felt as if it could freeze moonlight itself, swiftly stripping all activity from any living thing.

The Empress had directly used Icebound Gaze on Shi Ming.

She would completely freeze this culprit who had caused her beloved subordinate to die from corruption.

"Shi Ming!"

Seeing Shi Ming frozen solid, Rong Bing immediately activated his own trump card skill, Overload Endurance.

To break the crisis, he had to attack what the enemy was forced to defend.

Overload Endurance, at the cost of overdrafting his body, instantly restored his Physical Strength to 50%. This was his final trump card, enough to hold on until the Beidou Star arrived with support! With Overload Endurance active, Rong Bing wielded Kunwu Heaven-Opening and, leaving a sharp black trail of energy, viciously chopped down at the Empress on the deck of the *Moon’s Shadow*!

A full-power strike from him was enough to annihilate an S-rank Sea Beast or destroy a General-class Drifting Ship!

"Hmph!"

The Empress’s gaze scattered, and the Snow Country descended. Layers of solid ice enveloped the *Moon’s Shadow*. Simultaneously, a violent blizzard erupted in the air, the snowflakes like knives cutting at Rong Bing’s skin. Although they couldn’t get through his impenetrable defense, they still served to hinder and slow him down.

CRACK!

Kunwu Heaven-Opening struck the ice-encased *Moon’s Shadow* directly. The violent tremor nearly caused the protected General-class Drifting Ship to collapse and capsize.

But the Empress, standing on its deck, showed no sign of panic.

General Trait! Moon Phantasm!

The *Moon’s Shadow* rapidly faded from view! In its Moon Phantasm state, all damage taken by the General-class Drifting Ship would be reduced by 70%.

Even so, Kunwu Heaven-Opening still tore a huge gash in the four-hundred-plus-meter-long *Moon’s Shadow*. If not for the protection of Icebound Gaze and the damage mitigation from its Moon Phantasm trait, the ship would have been sliced in two. With his strike landed, Rong Bing swiftly dodged away, evading the Empress’s focused gaze and the swarm of attacking Sea Serpents, then began to prepare a second attack.

"A futile struggle!"

"I told you. Today, you will both die!"

Behind the Empress, layer upon layer of snake-like hands appeared.

"Rong Bing, your Physical Strength must be nearly depleted! The Moonlight Ripple Beast pushed you to the brink of exhaustion. Right now, even though you can still fight, the aftereffects will likely be severe. Surrender, and I promise to deliver your intact corpse to Da Yu."

Rong Bing ignored her taunts.

He had weathered his fair share of storms.

He hadn’t backed down from situations ten times more perilous than this!

’Three more minutes, and the Beidou Star will be here!’

’I have to stall for three minutes. Then the tide of battle will turn. With Zhao Li Luo’s recovery abilities, even if Shi Ming is frozen into a block of ice, she can get him up and jumping around again!’

The A-rank skill, Destructive Weapon, coated Kunwu Heaven-Opening.

But before he could charge his next attack, Rong Bing faintly sensed an even more terrifying cold and a killing intent erupting from an unknown corner. He was extremely sensitive to this kind of killing intent.

BOOM!

With a tremendous noise, the eighteen-meter-thick ice encasing Shi Ming shattered. Amidst the exploding shards of ice, a tangible blade of killing intent soared up like an arrow released from a bowstring, shooting toward the *Moon’s Shadow*.

’You call -120 degrees a low temperature?’

’In the face of Absolute Zero, it’s not even fit to be on stage!’

’There are only three seconds left on the Third Law’s usage time for today! But that’s more than enough!’

The clothing covering Shi Ming’s right arm exploded layer by layer. Blood-red crimson patterns emerged, dimming all other colors and seemingly becoming the focal point of power in this stretch of ocean.

Tenfold Power!

BOOM!

The already terrifyingly cold glint suddenly swelled, ten times more powerful than before. With a tacit understanding, Rong Bing used the last of his Physical Strength to activate King’s Hegemony. The cold light descended from the sky, engulfing the four-hundred-meter-long General-class Drifting Ship like an avalanche.

A dazzling, overwhelming flower of exploding ice, each petal a giant, ferociously sharp blade of ice crystal, bloomed across the frost-and-snow-covered ocean under the brilliant moonlight.

The world turned into a vast expanse of white.

Eternal cold, eternal silence.