Night fell quietly. After working hard all day, the gardeners retired early to rest. That was also at Silas Frost's request.
After all, they were ordinary people. In a real fight, they couldn't help if anything, they'd only get in the way. Since there was only a single Lizardman to deal with, Silas could handle it alone.
He perched atop the tallest fruit tree, gazing toward the lake in the distance. Resting across his thigh was a trembling blade, faintly glowing under the moonlight.
The night air was cool, the moon bright. Silas yawned, settling into stillness, quietly waiting.
The orchard lay hushed around him. In such silence, even the faintest breeze or rustle of grass would not escape his senses.
"Hmm…"
Then, when the moon climbed high into the sky, a sharp, abrupt splash echoed in his ears. The sound shattered the calm, instantly tightening the grip in his chest.
Without hesitation, Silas straightened, standing firm on the thick branch beneath him. His sharp eyes fixed on the water's surface.
There ripples spread outward in countless rings, as if stirred by an unseen force.
And those ripples surged with terrifying speed, rolling straight toward the orchard.
The vibrations clearly weren't natural. Something unseen beneath the water was cutting through, disturbing the surface and sending the ripples racing outward.
Silas Frost grew tense. His eyes locked on the steadily approaching disturbance, his mind calculating, searching for any clue hidden within.
The ripples grew closer… and larger. Their scale swelled with every passing heartbeat.
"It's here."
Silas's hair shimmered, shifting from black to golden, and a pair of white wolf-like ears sprouted at the top of his head.
In the same instant, one of his strange blades streaked through the air, hurtling toward the lake's surface.
The sudden strike startled the creature lurking below. A massive wave surged upward, colliding head-on with the weapon.
"Bam!"
A tearing gale ripped across the night as Silas appeared beside his weapon. His great saber slid free with a ringing cry, and he slashed forward.
"Wind Spear!"
The raging tempest exploded outward, roaring like a ferocious beast baring its fangs and claws. Within the shrieking vortex, an icy chill seeped through the air, so cold it seemed to pierce straight into the bones.
The towering waves and the tornado slammed against each other. In an instant, the violent surge of water froze solid, transformed into towering walls of ice.
Then crack!
The frozen waves were shredded apart by the howling wind, splintering into countless glittering shards. Ice fragments cascaded down like falling snow, scattering light across the orchard in a dreamlike spectacle. The shards whirled together with the roaring tornado, weaving a majestic, almost divine image in the moonlit night.
"Clank."
Silas descended lightly onto the water's surface, his feet not sinking an inch. Gazing coldly down into the depths, he sneered.
"Trying to run, are you?"
In the next breath, another of his blades shot outward, blocking the creature's path.
"Sit still in the mist… Hyorinmaru!"
At his call, the blade dissolved into icy power. From its hilt unfurled a crescent-shaped chain, and the entire length of the weapon was coiled by the form of an Ice Dragon.
"Come out!"
Silas brought the blade down with a resounding slash.
The Ice Dragon roared to life, plunging into the lake. From the point of impact, a chilling frost spread rapidly across the water, freezing the surface outward in every direction as the dragon dove deeper.
Bang!
The water's surface erupted, and a dark-green giant lizard burst out, landing heavily on the frozen lake.
Before Silas Frost's eyes, the creature shifted into a humanoid form. Its body was covered in dense scale armor that gleamed with natural defense, and its claws dripped with magic-infused water. Wherever there was a source of water, this Lizardman would be terrifyingly difficult to fight.
However… the lake had already frozen solid. Silas smirked. There was no way the beast could still command the water against him.
"Tsk!"
The Lizardman roared at Silas and charged, claws raised high. Water gushed out from its hands as it lunged.
"Perfect!" Silas drew his blade. Behind him, the Ice Dragon formed from Hyorinmaru's power let out a piercing roar and surged forward to meet the attack.
The Lizardman's tall frame suddenly contracted low. Its legs slid smoothly across the ice, gaining frightening momentum. With a flash of its claws, it met the dragon head-on. Razor-sharp water blades carved deep claw marks into the Ice Dragon's body.
Silas watched the charging monster with a cold laugh. With a twist of his wrist, he summoned a solid wall of ice to intercept.
The Lizardman's other claw smashed into the barrier, gouging deep scars into its surface but failing to break through.
The next instant, the wind howled.
"Wind Fang Spear!"
A hurricane exploded outward, shattering the ice wall into glittering shards that swirled into the storm. The raging whirlwind, filled with countless icy blades, slammed toward the Lizardman.
The creature hastily crossed both arms over its head, trying to shield its vital points.
But it was too late.
The storm ripped into it, the icy fragments cutting like thousands of razor-sharp knives. The monster staggered back, howling in agony as its supposedly impenetrable scales were torn free, scattering across the ice like leaves caught in a gale.
At the same time, the Lizardman was struck by the tremendous force of the impact, sent flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily onto the frozen ground.
Though battered and torn, it had managed to endure. Sacrificing a layer of its scales to block the Wind Spear was, in itself, a feat worthy of pride.
"Tch!"
The creature roared, swinging both claws outward. Several razor-edged water blades shot toward Silas Frost's head.
"Ice Dragon's Swirling Tail!"
Hyorinmaru slashed through the air, and wherever the blade passed, the world froze over. The incoming water blades froze solid one after another, shattering into useless chunks of ice that clattered onto the ground.
But that flurry of blades hadn't been a true attack. It was only a distraction.
The moment Silas cut them down, the Lizardman seized the chance to retreat, darting back at full speed in a desperate attempt to flee.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
White smoke burst outward as three silhouettes split from Silas, each brandishing his strange blades. Like lightning, they pierced the frozen lake and reappeared ahead, blocking the creature's escape.
The Lizardman roared again, but this time its cry was tinged with exhaustion. The strength in its voice was waning.
"It doesn't seem that strong," Silas muttered coldly. "Even Erza could handle this."
He smirked, lowering his stance. "This will be quick."
Hyorinmaru howled with power, the Ice Dragon spirit roaring in unison as Silas charged. His blade and the dragon's cry bore down straight toward the retreating Lizardman, shaking the night with icy might.
Just as the Ice Dragon was about to devour the Lizardman, a sharp water blade suddenly sliced upward from beneath the ice. Caught off guard, the dragon's form was cleaved apart.
"What another one?"
Silas Frost's eyes narrowed. He pulled back instantly. One of his clones surged forward, Rasengan glowing in its hand, and struck down at the point where the water blade had erupted.
Boom!
The ice sheet exploded apart, and a colossal form erupted from the depths. This new Lizardman was at least three times larger than the first. It opened its jaws wide, unleashing a massive torrent of water. The surging column swept across the battlefield, obliterating Silas's three clones in an instant.
"So that's it," Silas muttered, staring at the towering creature. "I was wondering why a commission worth 200,000J would be guarding such a weakling. Turns out it's a mother and her child."
His smile sharpened. He tossed Hyorinmaru into the air, gripping it firmly as frost began to coil around the blade.
"Perfect. Let's see if I defeat you, will I level up again?"
In a flash, Silas vanished.
He reappeared where his clone had fallen, Hyorinmaru already in motion.
"Wind Spear!"
A howling whirlwind surged forward, crashing down toward the two Lizardmen. The larger one shielded her child with her massive body. The Wind Spear struck her head-on, the continuous blasts ringing out as they hammered against her scales but even battered, they refused to break.
"Tough enough? Then try this!"
Silas's weapon flickered out of sight. In the next breath, he appeared directly before the massive Lizardman, Rasengan spinning violently in his palm.
Boom!
The impact landed squarely against her torso, detonating with explosive force. The beast was hurled backward, blood spraying as scales shattered and burst apart under the crushing strike.
The smaller Lizardman shrieked in fury, swinging its claws wildly as it unleashed a flurry of water blades, each one slicing through the air toward Silas.
"Die."
Silas lifted Hyorinmaru, his expression cold. With a single motion, he unleashed a barrage of icy bullets, countless shards streaming forth in succession, filling the air like a flock of white birds sweeping down upon their prey.
The storm of frost bullets hurtled toward the smaller Lizardman.
Roar!!!
The massive Lizardman let out a deafening cry, but even that could not change its fate.
The bone-chilling ice bullets shot forth like arrows, slicing cleanly through the water blades and hammering mercilessly into the smaller Lizardman's body.
The younger creature's eyes widened in fear, its face twisting with terror. It tried to run, to resist but it was already too late.
The freezing impact consumed it in an instant, locking the Lizardman child inside a transparent, glimmering ice sculpture.
A faint vibration rippled outward. Tiny cracks spider-webbed across the frozen prison.
At first, the fractures were minuscule but in the blink of an eye, they spread rapidly, branching in every direction.
Crack!
With a thunderous shatter, the sculpture exploded apart.
Countless shards of ice whirled into the night, cascading like a blizzard of frozen glass. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, yet unbearably cruel a fleeting picture of misery frozen in time.
Screeeam!!!
Watching its child die before its eyes, the great Lizardman lost all reason. Howling madly, it charged at Silas Frost, recklessly throwing its life away.
Silas's gaze softened for a brief moment.
"Though I sympathize with you… this is how it must be."
Despite being of different species, the grief before him touched his heart.
"That's why I'll end this quickly."
The Lizardman, stripped of its technique and reason, could no longer stand against him.
Silas's figure flickered and vanished.
The next heartbeat
Hyorinmaru flashed coldly across the battlefield, its blade sweeping cleanly through the monster's neck.
The towering beast froze, eyes wide in shock. Then, with a final shudder of unwillingness, it collapsed heavily to the frozen earth.
....
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