The moment the light of the magic circle faded, Esdeath attacked.
The two now stood quite far apart, despite having been only two or three steps away from each other moments ago.
As the user of Shambhala, Uesugi Ryu could alter his destination slightly during teleportation.
If his goal were simply victory, he could have used that brief positional shift to launch a surprise attack.
But Uesugi Ryu's objective was not to kill Esdeath.
He wanted to completely subdue the Empire's strongest warrior.
Both physically and mentally.
Esdeath flicked her hand.
Thousands of razor-sharp ice spikes materialized in the air behind her.
Amid the drifting snow, they shot forward like a storm, rushing toward Uesugi Ryu.
The moment he arrived on the deserted island, Uesugi Ryu noticed the dramatic change in temperature.
It was several times colder than the snowfall around the Imperial Capital.
More accurately, the temperature was likely around negative fifty degrees Celsius.
The ground beneath his feet was not soil, but a smooth, mirror-like sheet of ice.
A plume of white mist escaped his lips as he looked out across a world that was almost entirely white.
Facing the incoming attack, Uesugi Ryu smiled calmly.
He neither dodged nor raised a weapon to defend himself as Esdeath had expected.
With both hands still in his pockets, a massive cone-shaped pool of blood suddenly appeared behind him.
"So you deliberately chose a battlefield that favors you. But it doesn't matter."
Uesugi Ryu had no need to worry.
The extreme cold froze the blood almost instantly, transforming it into countless sharp crimson spikes.
The blood spikes collided head-on with the incoming ice spikes.
White and red crashed together, covering half the sky.
Using the environment prepared by his opponent, then striking back in exactly the same way.
The collision generated a violent gust of wind that blew Esdeath's long hair backward.
A trace of surprise flashed across her face.
"Blood... liquid manipulation... Is that the Water Dragon's possession?"
Uesugi Ryu's method of countering the attack had completely exceeded her expectations.
Normally, a person could only wield a single Teigu.
Even switching between multiple Teigu was something very few people could accomplish.
Esdeath suddenly laughed, her gaze locked firmly onto Uesugi Ryu.
"Hahaha! It seems you're far more suited to this Teigu than Liver ever was."
Before her words had fully fallen, Esdeath stomped down on the ice and shouted in a low voice.
"Gray Ice Giant Horn!"
Two enormous ice horns, each several meters thick, erupted from the frozen surface.
Skimming just above the ground, they tore through the air and shot toward Uesugi Ryu once more.
Uesugi Ryu pulled his left hand from his pocket and lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The blood scattered throughout the air suddenly seemed to come alive.
It rapidly gathered together, taking the form of a vividly defined crimson dragon.
The blood dragon opened its jaws.
Drawing a straight red line through the white world, it slammed directly into the two massive ice horns.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sound of shattering echoed through the frozen wind.
The blood dragon and the ice horns vanished simultaneously.
At that moment, Esdeath finally understood Uesugi Ryu's intention.
A smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Amusement flickered through her ice-blue eyes.
"You think you can defeat me easily? Then stop hiding!"
Drawing the rapier at her waist, Esdeath slowly advanced toward Uesugi Ryu.
The distance between them steadily closed.
Uesugi Ryu tore off the black trench coat covered in frost and ice shards, revealing the powerful physique beneath.
At temperatures below negative fifty degrees Celsius, frozen clothing became nothing but a burden.
Instead of providing protection, it restricted movement.
Ice crystals landed on his chest.
A second later, they melted into droplets of water and slid down the lines of his muscles.
Even without consciously controlling it, Uesugi Ryu's body temperature was already extremely high.
The severe cold affected him very little.
At most, it reduced his abilities by less than five percent.
Once he entered combat mode and his body temperature rose further, the effect would become even smaller.
Less than ten meters away, Esdeath launched the first strike.
Within the endlessly swirling curtain of snow, a figure broke through the storm.
Uesugi Ryu's golden pupils suddenly contracted.
Reflected within them was the face of a woman twisted with excitement.
Esdeath suddenly swung her rapier.
The blade traced a fan-shaped arc of cold light as it slashed diagonally toward Uesugi Ryu.
The attack's trajectory had already been predicted.
Uesugi Ryu immediately leaned backward to evade.
At the same time, he drove his elbow upward against the direction of the sword's momentum.
Black scales instantly formed along his elbow, extending into crescent-shaped spikes.
They collided violently with the rapier that had just swept past him.
Clang!
The piercing shockwave, accompanied by exploding sparks, tore through the snow-filled air.
The terrifying force traveled through the spike and smashed into the side of the blade.
Crack!
The rapier snapped in half.
The broken upper portion spun away through the air.
Having shattered his opponent's weapon, Uesugi Ryu stomped down and twisted his waist.
His free left hand clenched into a fist and drove forward toward Esdeath's abdomen.
Esdeath's sword arm was still numb from the impact.
Faced with the sudden destruction of her weapon, she showed no hesitation whatsoever.
A rough ice sword instantly formed in her left hand.
She swung horizontally at Uesugi Ryu.
Both attacks were launched almost simultaneously.
The corners of Esdeath's lips rose.
She had clearly decided to exchange blows with Uesugi Ryu head-on.
The punch crashed into the ice blade.
Large cracks instantly spread outward from the point of impact.
Uesugi Ryu's attack was halted.
But Esdeath's situation was hardly any better.
A curtain of blood adhered to Uesugi Ryu's waist and abdomen.
Only two or three centimeters in front of his body, the flowing crimson barrier tightly restrained the incoming ice blade.
Crack. Crack.
The ice armor covering Esdeath's chest shattered first, no longer able to withstand the pressure.
She immediately abandoned the clash and retreated.
The ice sword was discarded where she stood.
The moment she gained distance, Esdeath swept her long leg lightly across the ground.
Countless ice spikes burst upward from the frozen surface.
Like blooming flowers, they spread toward Uesugi Ryu.
Uesugi Ryu quickly withdrew his fist and pressed his right hand against the blood-red curtain.
The crimson barrier instantly disintegrated into blood spheres the size of fists.
As though detonated by an invisible force, they shot forward in all directions.
The blood spheres crashed into the ground.
The instant they made contact, they lost their shape.
Blood compressed under tremendous pressure exploded outward.
Terrifying sonic booms echoed across the white landscape, painting the frozen world crimson.
The snow continued to howl and swirl.
Uesugi Ryu stomped down heavily.
Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ice beneath his feet.
The ice covering his right foot shattered and fell away.
"My left foot's a little numb from the cold, but it's nothing serious."
He looked toward the distance ahead.
Esdeath stood behind an ice wall riddled with enormous holes.
Blood stained the lower abdomen of her military uniform.
Whether it was her own blood or blood created by Uesugi Ryu, even she could not tell.
Esdeath dipped her fingers into the blood on her abdomen and lightly licked it away.
As the taste of fresh blood spread across her tongue, her pupils dilated slightly.
She stared at Uesugi Ryu across the battlefield.
"His strength has improved tremendously compared to before. Interesting."
Hot white steam poured from Uesugi Ryu's mouth and nose.
In the freezing environment, his bare upper body made him resemble a ferocious humanoid beast.
Uesugi Ryu rolled his neck and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
The dense muscles along his arms contracted and expanded with each movement, like the workings of a perfectly engineered machine.
A dangerous smile gradually appeared on his otherwise expressionless face.
Esdeath was looking forward to this battle.
And so was Uesugi Ryu.