Chapter 741: Cold and Heat
Before the words even fell, the Frost Giant slowly drew a massive crystalline battleaxe, dozens of meters long, from his waist and roared as he swung it in midair.
"Swoosh——"
The giant axe whipped up a frigid wind filled with snow and ice, howling through the jagged glaciers, forming a terrifying blizzard that swept, froze, and shredded everything in its path.
In an instant, over a thousand devil soldiers were caught in the blizzard, turned into shattered icy debris swirling in the sky.
"Run!"
"No, no——"
"Lord of the Nine Hells, this damn blizzard is too fast! There's no chance!"
The devils panicked, flapping their wings madly in retreat, but they couldn't escape their fate of being torn apart by the storm.
"Kostchtchie!" Cassius's roar sent ripples through the air, the dragon crystal in his chest radiating blinding light and unleashing a surge of energy.
"Your throne will melt in my dragonflame! The one who dies today——is you!"
Cassius soared high into the sky, spreading his immense wings with a long howl, casting a gigantic shadow on the ground below.
"Such terrifying magical energy!"
"That is..."
The onlookers stared in awe.
The membrane of the red dragon's wings gradually shifted from pale brown to red at the edges, like molten iron, emitting white smoke and distorting the surrounding air.
"Boom——"
A thunderous crack echoed through the sky.
Torrents of dragonflame surged from the wings' edges, as if extensions of Cassius's wings.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of meters... the flames turned into a sky-wide sea of fire, dyeing half the heavens red, blocking the cold winds released by Kostchtchie.
The red dragon hovered in the sky, the dragon crystal on his chest blazing with radiant light, his body blurred by the glow, leaving only a silhouette bathed in brilliance.
At this moment, Cassius exuded an overwhelming heat. Like a glowing celestial body, he recklessly altered the environment, unconsciously distorting the laws of the nearby world.
Behind the red dragon, the air grew scorching and twisted. The last traces of moisture in the ground evaporated, transforming the land into cracked, desolate scorched earth.
Even the devils who thrived in heat were drenched in sweat, their skin scorched. Those closer had molten metal running from their iron armor.
Even Bael, who could bathe in magma, was stunned. He felt the rich fire elements in the air and muttered,
"Is this... an Elemental Lord? Where did this greedy bastard get so many bizarre tricks?"
Bael cursed inwardly, his dread of Cassius deepening.
The devil silently vowed—unless absolutely necessary, he must never go head-to-head with this reckless, terrifying bastard!
In a flash, the wasteland split into two extremes: one half a snow-covered frozen realm, the other a blazing scorched land.
These opposing worlds expanded with immense force, about to collide.
"Boom!!"
The two terrifying forces clashed, triggering an earth-shaking explosion. At their boundary, flames melted snow, and scalding steam billowed, flooding the wasteland.
The fierce cold winds and scorching gales merged, forming a whirlwind tens of thousands of meters wide, engulfing the surrounding area in cataclysmic destruction.
The trembling ground melted rocks and soil into lava under the heat, but the lava quickly solidified under the cold, becoming porous black obsidian, even covered in white frost.
But soon, fire and ice alternated again. Control of the area shifted, frost turned to white mist, rock melted once more, and burning meteors rained from the sky...
Under this disaster, even the land was ravaged beyond recognition—let alone the creatures upon it.
"Shit, the storm's spreading to me!"
"Crap, run!"
"Watch out, meteors! Don't go into that steam cloud! You'll get boiled alive——"
Over a hundred players who were just watching the show fled in panic, screaming and dodging, but still lost their lives.
In this chaotic energy field, even spells failed. Not even teleportation scrolls could save them from the storm.
Standing on the walls of the Bronze Fortress, Langli Baitiao watched the scrambling players with glee and laughed, "Hahahaha! I knew newbies would die there!
Totally worth it to mention in the newbie guide that you could loot good stuff from the boss fight—turns out quite a few believed it!"
Yeah, it was just his twisted amusement.
The veteran players were experienced and had long fled to the ends of the earth. They'd seen thousands die in the aftermath of red dragon battles.
Dying just to watch a fight? Not worth it.
Langli Baitiao's "newbie guide post" had already drawn over a thousand angry replies from dead players, with no signs of stopping.
"Lang-bastard must die!"
"I almost fell for his bullshit! That guy isn't just scum, he's psychotic!"
"He lies, we die."
"Lang-bastard preys on newbies—he deserves death a thousand times over! Unforgivable!"
The catastrophe devastated not only the immediate area but also distant regions, plunging the surroundings into unpredictable weather.
Sometimes howling cold winds and flying snow, other times blazing heat and flowing flames—this disaster could've destroyed a small mortal kingdom on the material plane.
And yet, the cause of this horrifying catastrophe was merely a test of strength between Cassius and Kostchtchie.
They hadn't even truly begun to fight, merely shaping advantageous conditions, observing each other, seeking the right moment to strike.
"Such strong elemental control, it's putting me slightly at a disadvantage."
Feeling the oncoming chill, Cassius frowned slightly and murmured, "Then let me play along!"
"Roar——"
The red dragon roared, stretching his neck and opening his massive maw, a dazzling light shining from his throat, while magical fission particles danced in his chest crystal.
Primal Breath!
"Boom!"
A thick pillar of flame tore through the sky. Its outer blaze glowed orange-red, while the inner flame was a blinding blue-white, painting the heavens in red.
The flame tore through the storm, pierced the fire wall at the energy junction, and surged toward the Frost Giant.
"Foolish beast."
Kostchtchie sneered, calmly raising his thick hand, ancient runes glowing on his grey skin.
Soon, endless cold winds gathered, condensing before him into a massive ice wall, a fortress of frost suspended in the sky.
"Boom!"
The fire pillar struck the ice wall, instantly piercing the outer layer, and the melting snow vaporized into mist before falling, creating a pale curtain in the sky.
But the ice wall was imbued with divine frost power. Even sacred solar flame couldn't easily melt it—its nature was fundamentally different from the primal flame.
Kostchtchie stood from his Frost Throne, lifted his axe, and sneered, "Feeble! You think that pitiful spark can fight me?
Insect, I'll show you——the gap between mortals and demigods!"
Cassius never aimed to defeat the Frost Giant's test—just to disrupt him.
He dove with the howling wind, wings stirring the storm, dragon roar shattering ice cliffs. His massive form streaked like lightning, crossing hundreds of meters in an instant, even leaping over the ice wall.
"Rip——"
With a thunderous roar, his golden, divine-powered claws slashed through the mist, aiming straight for the Frost Giant's throat.
"Die!"
Kostchtchie's bulging left arm rose, glowing with ice-blue runes. His giant axe cleaved through the air, ready to meet the blow.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, a blast of air exploded outward, shaking the area within a hundred meters.
Sounds of shattered ice armor and cracked scales overlapped. The indigo-black blood of the Tannaric Giant and the golden-red blood of the Azudai Red Dragon splattered on the ice, sizzling.
Cassius's claws were injured, half his paw frozen like ice. His huge body was knocked back over a hundred meters.
Kostchtchie had a deep claw mark on his shoulder. Golden light surged from the wound, raising black smoke from the burning flesh with a hissing sound.
Both sides took damage—it was a draw.
"His physical strength rivals mine!" Both the Red Dragon and the Frost Giant exclaimed inwardly.
These two brutish, violent beings had finally met a true rival.
But the Frost Giant's face grew even more serious. A strange sense stirred in his mind—as if he'd encountered a natural enemy?
That hesitation cost him—struck by the dragon's claws, his left shoulder was torn open.
It felt like a rabbit meeting a giant eagle, a goat meeting a dire wolf, a human facing a demon.
No matter what, that feeling had no place in a demon lord—especially not a demigod devil with his own church!
Damn it, how could he fear a mere mortal!
Kostchtchie's rage burned brighter, his urge to kill Cassius intensifying. He once saw the red dragon as a bug, easily squashed.
But now, he was a threat.
He must die! That red dragon is a complete disaster! He will hinder my grand plans!
What Kostchtchie didn't know was that, against the system-granted trait [Frost Giant Slayer], even the Frost Giant God Solrem would be affected.
"Cassius, today is your death day!" The Frost Giant leapt, raising his axe high. Dozens of hundred-meter ice blades pierced the sky, sealing off all space.
"Swoosh——"
Cassius flapped his wings to dodge, finding a gap between the ice blades—but the Frost Giant had predicted his flight path and leaped to strike.
As Kostchtchie swung the axe named "Heart of Winter," endless cold surged out. Space itself seemed frozen. Cassius slowed drastically, struggling even to move, let alone teleport.
This was divine frost power!
At this level, all matter would freeze under its cold, effectively halting time.
Facing the incoming slash, Cassius cast several spells, and rolled forward between the ice blades.
Though he moved swiftly, the axe still shattered his scales and struck his back, freezing a large section of flesh with divine frost.
But Cassius poured his full strength into motion, using momentum to whip his tail. From it, silver-white Flame of Order burst out and slammed into the Frost Giant's shoulder.
Caught off guard, Kostchtchie was knocked down a kilometer.
Seeing this, Cassius wouldn't waste the chance. Ignoring his back wounds, he coiled his body, wings trailing radiant flames, and dove like a meteor toward Kostchtchie.
"Boom!"
The Frost Giant landed on one knee, cracking the ice beneath like a spiderweb, forming a massive crater. His shoulder bore a deep, charred wound from the tail strike.
Kostchtchie stood up from the pit, eyes blazing with madness, brutality, and rage.
Abyssal power erupted from the Frost Giant, dark mist swirling around him. Vicious bone spikes grew from his massive body, black blood dripping from his mouth.
Now, he was more than just a Frost Giant—he was the Lord of a billion devils, the Wrathful Master of the Bottomless Abyss!
"Insect——I will tear you to pieces!!!"
Kostchtchie roared and pounded the earth. Glaciers surged as mountain-sized ice spikes burst from the ground, stabbing toward the red dragon.
"Awooo——"
The red dragon roared, flapping his wings to escape, but the ice storm above froze his wings, and the divine frost in his wounds restricted his movement.
The Frost Giant King seized the moment, leaping thousands of meters high, axe wrapped in polar winds, aiming for the dragon's head.
But Cassius suddenly spread his wings, glowing with pale violet light. He spun several times and instantly broke free from the icy storm, soaring upward.
It was a Tier-10 Dragon Spell——Eternal Freedom!
The Frost Giant's axe missed, but he stepped on a rising glacier and leapt again, chasing after the red dragon with howling winds trailing behind.