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Wood chips flew, and overturned drinks soaked the carpet.
Noah's sneer was especially cold in the palace.
The Alvarez Empire's two strongest forces, "Wizard King" August and "Winter General" Invel, recovered from their shock. They hadn't expected the nonchalant white-haired youth to turn hostile as quickly as he flipped the table.
For some reason, even if Noah didn't agree to exchange for "Fairy Heart," August wouldn't make things difficult for him.
But he hadn't expected Neinhart, that idiot...
Invel also realized how outrageous Neinhart's words were.
Negotiation is about discussing things—you ask for a bit more, I ask for a bit less, and after rounds of back and forth, you reach a result that satisfies both parties. That's called negotiation.
How can you threaten someone right from the start and cut off all discussion?
Now look, he's flipped the table. There's no more talking.
Invel looked at August, who nodded slightly. Having followed August for a long time, Invel immediately understood, adjusted his glasses, and the gaze behind the lenses was as sharp as ice.
An extremely cold aura instantly permeated the air, tiny ice crystals condensed, and the ground rapidly froze with Invel at the center.
As a top combatant of the Empire, Invel naturally wouldn't act personally. Using magic to restrict Noah's range of movement to prevent him from escaping was enough.
"Neinhart, capture him alive. Don't hurt him too much."
"Yes, Lord Invel."
With his superior's command, Neinhart immediately acted, walking towards Noah with a professional fake smile. "Do you think flipping a table can change anything? You ignorant Fairy Tail."
More than a year ago, the Alvarez Empire suddenly launched an invasion war against Ishgar. This military operation was planned by Invel and executed by Neinhart, its purpose merely to test the military strength of the Eastern continent.
Who would have thought that this test would lead the Ishgar Magic Council to reveal a trump card like Etherion?
It's easy to imagine how weak Ishgar's overall military strength was.
If even the official army was like this, how strong could civilian Mage guilds be?
Although Neinhart was only a candidate for the Spriggan 12, he was still one in ten thousand Mages among the Empire's hundreds of thousands of troops. This gave him a sense of superiority when facing the "weak" Ishgar Mages.
The superiority of a strong person wantonly trampling and crushing the weak.
Purple Magic Power surged from Neinhart's body, and the power emanating from the slightly flickering purple light was not weaker than that of the former Ten Wizard Saints member, Jose.
Neinhart confidently reached out and gestured at Noah.
"My magic can materialize your past formidable enemies."
"Come and greet the shadows of your past, your feared enemies!"
The purple light surged wildly, constantly changing form.
But in the end, it failed to materialize any being and scattered with a crash amidst Neinhart's astonished expression.
"How... how is this possible!"
Neinhart, who had come back to his senses, looked incredulous. His unfailingly successful magic had actually failed against a weak Ishgar Mage!
Noah sneered. "Lost Magic, 'Historia of the Dead'—not a bad magic, but unfortunately, since I was born, I haven't encountered an enemy worth taking to heart."
"Most of them, like you, are clowns."
Humiliated, Neinhart not only didn't get angry, but a look of terror appeared on his face, and cold sweat poured down.
Because that voice sounded right next to his ear.
In just a blink of an eye, Noah appeared behind Neinhart as if teleporting, and his left hand, resting on Neinhart's shoulder, easily crushed his bones.
Neinhart's entire body stiffened, unable to muster any courage to look back.
Suppressed by Noah's terrifying power, he felt as if his throat was touched by the Grim Reaper's scythe, capable of taking his life at any moment.
Damn it, why is he so strong... if this continues, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die!
He screamed in fear inwardly, and intense pain came from his crushed right shoulder. Neinhart wanted to call for help, but the cold, piercing gaze of the white-haired youth behind him made him dare not utter a single sound.
Neinhart was completely overwhelmed in an instant, which made Invel feel uneasy, because even he couldn't clearly see Noah's movements when he subdued Neinhart.
Cold sweat broke out on his back. Invel no longer cared about his status as a strong person. This terrifying Ishgar Mage absolutely could not be allowed to leave today—otherwise, he would become a major threat.
Invel slammed his hands onto the frozen ground, and countless sharp, giant ice pillars, like earth spikes, violently burst out from beneath the palace, instantly forming a hell of ice thorns, exuding chilling cold that seemed to freeze even the air.
However, Noah's speed far exceeded Invel's prediction.
Just as the ice pillars were about to converge, Noah threw down Neinhart, and his body twisted and accelerated at an incredible angle, forcefully passing through the gaps in the ice spikes using only his physical prowess.
"What?!"
Invel's pupils constricted, and alarm bells rang in his heart. Daring not to be overconfident, he unleashed his strongest magic spell with full power.
"Ice God's Armor!"
An armor forged from ice instantly appeared on Invel. This magic not only possessed powerful defense and offense but also caused everything that touched the ice armor to instantly freeze and shatter.
The Ice God's Armor, which freezes everything—can Noah break through it?
Absolutely, he can easily!
Noah approached with a shriek that tore through the air, and a terrifying, invisible force instantly enveloped Invel.
The surrounding air was no longer air but solidified steel, and then this steel was violently squeezed by tens of thousands of tons of force.
Under the immense pressure, Invel's proud Ice God's Armor groaned under the strain, and spiderweb-like cracks covered the entire ice armor.
Breathing became incredibly difficult, and the circulation of Magic Power became sluggish under this terrifying heavy pressure. Invel's body was uncontrollably pulled inward and compressed by this force, his bones emitting a creaking wail.
"Ugh ah—!"
Invel let out a painful roar, his Ice God's Armor completely shattered, blood oozed from his nose and mouth, and his entire body was almost crushed into a ball.
"Winter General, that's all you are."
Noah's clothes fluttered slightly, and his left hand suddenly glowed blue. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and even the air began to freeze. "Let me teach you what true cold is."
"Ice Devil Slayer Magic: Ice Demon's Absolute Zero."
A torrent of ice, several times more powerful than Invel's magic, swept out like a spear. Invel desperately put up a hasty defense, but his three ice walls, depleted of Magic Power, were pierced like thin paper upon contact with Noah's magic.
Just as the ice flow was about to engulf Invel, a golden barrier appeared in front of him.
Noah raised an eyebrow, turning sideways to look at August with interest.
"As expected of the 'Wizard King'—these two pathetic fellows are nothing compared to you."