Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Layered Spellcasting
Under the sweeping tide of black mist, the bodies of Frost Giants severely injured by the Cloud of Fire spell began to shimmer with a dark luster. Their torn flesh and blurred bodies visibly regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye, with flesh budding and skin knitting together. This was a spell-like ability of the Dark Frost Giants, the Dark Blessing.
The Dark Blessing emanating from Balton was many times stronger than that of the previous Dark Guard.
The Frost Giants, having received the Dark Blessing, gasped for air, slowly standing up from the scorched ground and walls filled with wounds.
Balton's gaze was deep as he looked towards the dragons in the sky, saying in the Giant language with a deep voice, "Warriors of the City of Extreme Cold, muster all your courage and strength, and bring down these winged reptiles!"
One after another, Frost Giants shimmering with a dark glow roared in response.
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
These rejuvenated Frost Giants sprang into action.
Some of them directly manipulated magical power, condensing ice weapons such as giant stones and spears in their hands, hurling them at the swiftly approaching wolf pack below or throwing them towards the dragons in the sky.
Others began adjusting the giant crossbows mounted on the city walls.
These crossbows, forged from hard metal and entirely black, had been ravaged by flames earlier, now only showing some inconsequential scorched marks on their surface, unaffected by the high temperatures and impact.
On the crossbows, large bolts over ten meters long were fixed by gears and wires, their sharp tips gleaming with a cold light, hinting at danger.
These bolts were engraved with numerous runes, containing enchantments for armor-piercing, sharpness, and targeting.
"Dragon Hunting Crossbows."
Garon's gaze sharpened.
As arch-enemies, both sides were quite familiar with each other.
Facing true dragons adept at high-altitude flight, the giants had devised these crossbows in Garon's view, possessing formidable power capable of piercing hard dragon scales. Even adult dragons could suffer significant injuries if hit directly.
At this moment, a barrage of stones and ice spears were thrown like a storm.
Roel and Gresha exhaled their breaths, easily melting these already weakened projectiles in mid-air.
After realizing their attacks were ineffective, the Frost Giants not operating the Dragon Hunting Crossbows turned their attention to the wolf pack below, starting to throw attacks at them.
Kriechens and Fred, having spent a good amount of magical power, descended from the sky under Garon's command to assist the wolf pack in battle.
A portal opened in front of Kriechens, from which a multitude of beasts emerged, including dire wolves, manticore lions, terror birds, and griffins. These beasts joined the wolf pack in scaling the towering city walls, while Fred deployed powerful mid-level transmutation spells to pressure the Frost Giants on the walls.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Hunting Crossbows were ready.
Screech!
The grating sound of metal friction echoed.
Then, giant bolts vanished in a flash, leaving behind translucent trails in the snowy sky, aimed at the dragons flying high above.
Roel, Gresha, and Nicole Nina sensed the danger and immediately moved to dodge, each employing their methods to counter the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts.
The red dragon, relying on its strong body and astonishing agility, dodged and weaved, with the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts also changing direction to track it but failing to hit, quickly depleting their magic and kinetic energy.
Nicole Nina's crystal scales lit up brilliantly, and her massive dragon body vanished from the air, breaking the lock-on.
Garon remained motionless as four Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts passed through him.
Balton below was momentarily stunned, his face revealing a hint of joy.
But the next moment, he realized something was amiss.
The silver dragon showed no signs of injury; the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts had only hit afterimages left by high-speed movement. After a brief pause, they turned to shoot again.
The chilly wind dispersed the afterimages.
Silver light flashed, and in an instant, it appeared beside the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts.
Garon extended his claws, firmly grasping the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, two in each claw.
The over ten-meter-long Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts trembled violently in Garon's grasp but couldn't break free. The silver-scaled dragon claws remained unmoved, as if ignoring the strong force roiling through the bolts.
"Nice little gadgets."
Garon looked towards the tallest Dark Frost Giant, smiling lightly.
Magical power surged, quickly infused into the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, cleanly destroying the magic and psychic power from the Frost Giants and successfully taking control.
These Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, each considered a rather precious magical artifact.
Such manipulation by Garon exceeded the imagination of the Frost Giants.
Directly catching the high-speed Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, such reaction speed and strength were almost inconceivable, leaving the Frost Giants below wide-eyed in disbelief.
Under their gaze, the silver dragon suddenly raised its claws, slightly lifting its body.
Invisible and intangible powers of time wrapped around the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, then the muscles under the layers of silver scales forcefully bulged, hurling the bolts towards the Dark Frost Giant with all his might.
The four Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts vanished instantly, disappearing from the sight of all Frost Giants.
Balton's heart tightened, his pupils contracting.
As a legendary creature, he found it hard to believe that he couldn't see the trajectory of the bolts hurled back by the opponent. However, his reaction was also swift.
Balton felt a pinprick-like tingling on the skin over his heart and head.
In that instant, he immediately raised both arms, protecting his heart and head.
The next moment, as if struck by lightning, his body trembled violently, his forearms throbbing with pain.
Hiss! Only then did the whistling sound of the Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts tearing through the air belatedly arrive.
The four high-frequency trembling Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts embedded in Balton's arms, tearing through the skin and flesh, nearly boring through his limbs.
The Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts, designed to penetrate dragon scales, were equally effective against giant skin.
Balton took a deep breath, enduring the pain of his arms being penetrated, pulling out the four massive Dragon Hunting Crossbow bolts as blood gushed out.
At the same time, Balton applied Dark Blessing to himself, with a great deal of evil aura penetrating the wounds, sewing the flesh like thread, rapidly intertwining and healing.
"It couldn't have been purely physical strength; some sort of acceleration ability was used."
"If I had reacted just a second slower, I would be dead."
Balton stretched out his large hand, his rough fingers inching across the scars on his cheek.
Caught off guard and nearly killed, the Dark Lord felt no fear.
His heart pounded like a drum, blood racing, his face twisting into a fierce and distorted smile, excited like never before.
Since becoming the Dark Lord, no, since becoming a Dark Guard, Balton had never experienced such a tense and dangerous battle. This vivid and rapid heartbeat last occurred when he nearly died at the hands of a white dragon.
That time, he won.
The
adult white dragon became his trophy, its scaled hide turned into a skirt armor, its skull hung on the wall of his palace, and the dragon eggs found in the dragon's nest, after being hatched and trained, now lacked the pride and intelligence of true dragons, becoming the Frost Giants' hounds.
"I am protected and blessed by the Giant God; this time, the outcome will be the same."
"The scales and hide of a legendary dragon would make even more dazzling skirt armor."
Balton murmured softly.
Then, his lips curled up, revealing a cruel smile.
A low call emerged from the Dark Frost Giant's mouth.
Observing his actions, Garon's brow furrowed.
The sound of wings flapping and stirring up a gale resonated.
Two white dragons, not more than six meters long, flew out from a corner of the Dark Frost Giant's palace, rapidly flapping their wings and swiftly flying towards Balton, eventually stopping obediently in front of him and landing gracefully.
These two white dragons lacked the proud demeanor inherent to true dragons; their eyes were dim and lifeless, resembling dragon beasts.
Yet, the innate dragon majesty on them was undeniably real.
Seeing this, Garon's gaze grew heavier.
Balton reached out, grabbing the necks of the two white dragons, his eyes gleaming with malevolent cruelty.
"Dragons? Death is your ultimate destiny."
His black hands tightened forcefully.
The two white dragons struggled, flapping their wings chaotically, their limbs trembling, but they couldn't break free from the grasp of the towering Dark Frost Giant.
Crack!
In an instant, the necks of the white dragons were broken, their eyes, already devoid of spirit, completely dimmed.
Balton stared intently at the silver dragon in the sky, using such an act to provoke and stimulate, wanting to enjoy the opponent's anger and fury.
However, to his disappointment, the silver dragon merely looked slightly more stern, not losing a bit of its rationality.
Garon's expression remained calm as he overlooked the Giant City from above, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of the two white dragons and then across the Frost Giants in the city.
Beyond the adult Frost Giants rushing to the walls to join the battle, there were many young Frost Giants inside the buildings, hiding, peeking out with malicious eyes watching the sky.
"If you're trying to provoke me, to make me angry."
Garon's voice was calm, slowly saying.
"Then, you've succeeded."
"This city will turn to ashes in my wrath."
Garon lifted his right claw, the black scales on his wrist shimmering faintly.
Layered Spellcasting!
Utilizing the power of time to transfer spells from the past to the present, as long as the power of time wasn't exhausted, spells could be layered and cast without limit. This was a new ability Garon had developed during his time in the dragon's nest after this awakening.
This ability was not yet stable and mature, but Garon could no longer wait.
Wisps of the power of time emanated from him, entering the river of time, a heart-pounding force swirling around Garon, causing Balton's complexion to drastically change.
Suddenly, a phantom, the water of the river of time from the past, was drawn out, merging with the present.
Within this river of time, the recently successfully cast Cloud of Fire and Infernal Flame Demon, already locked onto the City of Extreme Cold, were recorded.
The power of time, like threads, extended into the river of time, continuously extracting this segment of the river.
Simultaneously, space trembled violently, like a lake surface baptized by torrential rain, stirring up numerous ripples.
Massive clouds of fire, one after another infernal flame demon composed entirely of flames, were replicated from the past to the present. Equivalent to the full-force construction of high-level spells by dozens of high-level spellcasters, nearly at the same time, descended upon the City of Extreme Cold.
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