Chapter 81: The Crystal Swordsman

The open ground ahead was vast and boundless. At its very center, a silvery metal disk was embedded in the snow. It covered several hundred square meters, yet it resembled more an altar to the gods, for its surface was etched with deep, broad grooves—on closer inspection, these formed an enormous hexagram array. In the very middle, a massive six-pointed star magic circle glowed with blue light, surrounded by more than thirty people forming a tight ring around it. I hid not far off, watching intently as Amaterasu entered stealth mode to pressure the opposition. I saw a female player approach as if to touch the array, only to be sharply rebuked by a male player: “Don’t touch it! There might be some kind of trap.”

Startled, the female player withdrew her hand reluctantly.

I crawled forward to a vantage point where I could clearly make out the group. To my surprise, all thirty or so were members of Blaze, led by none other than Blaze Raging Plains. He ordered, “Everyone fall back, let me try.” The crowd retreated into the snow while Blaze Raging Plains, wielding a massive silver-grey sword, stepped slowly into the magic circle. He paced around, found nothing happened, and let out a small sigh of relief.

Seeing their leader unharmed, the other Blaze members surged forward, emboldened. Sometimes, intelligence can be one’s downfall; curiosity can be fatal. As soon as most of the Blaze members stepped onto the array, the pattern on the ground suddenly flared with dazzling blue light, turning everyone within a shade of icy azure.

Sensing imminent danger, Blaze Raging Plains shouted, “Not good! Fall back, quickly!”

Every player turned to flee, but from the array, streaks of blue light shot forth. The magic circle rose up, and from within emerged a figure composed entirely of transparent blue ice, gripping an enormous translucent ice sword—just the blade itself stretched five meters long. The Ice Crystal Swordsman began to stride forth, each step pounding thunderously through the snowy field.

“Scatter! The boss is out!” Blaze Raging Plains roared.

At his command, the mages unleashed a barrage of spells—fireballs, wind blades, stone spikes, ice shards, lightning—each crashing against the boss. Shards of ice splintered and flew, with damage numbers flashing above the boss's head. Yet, the Ice Crystal Swordsman pressed forward, entirely unfazed.

Sensing danger, I immediately used Fiery Eyes to scan the boss: Ice Crystal Swordsman, Level 38 Boss, Description: The magical guardian of the gates of the Ice Blue Kingdom, its entire body is forged from ice crystals, and the greatsword it wields is cast from the coldest frost, able to freeze anything it touches instantly.

As expected, a true boss—this was a major encounter. Unlike before, I chose not to rush in. I was curious to see how Blaze Raging Plains would handle this behemoth. Meanwhile, the Ice Crystal Swordsman raised its sword high, bringing it down in a mighty vertical slash. There was a muffled boom as the snowy ground split open, a deep black scar marking where the blade fell, flinging snow into the air.

The shock of the blow left Blaze Raging Plains and his group swaying unsteadily.

“Attack!” Blaze Raging Plains shouted, launching a horizontal blade of energy at the boss. The mages redoubled their spells, priests cast their supportive skills, and warriors charged in with axes and swords. Each warrior dealt around 500 points of damage, while the mages’ spells reliably hit for around 1000. The priests, while not joining the attack directly, cast heals, shields, armor enhancements, and blessings, tossing the occasional magic missile for good measure.

After a minute, the boss had lost over twenty thousand health points—a testament to the group’s strength.

I remained motionless. Amaterasu whispered beside me, “Master, what should we do?”

“Wait and see,” I replied.

At that moment, the boss raised its greatsword and unleashed three sweeping arcs of sword energy. “Boom, boom, boom”—three tanks on the front line were instantly sent back to the city, each taking a staggering 20,000 damage. But it didn’t end there—the boss crouched low in a textbook starting pose, then shot through the Blaze formation like an arrow, sending a wave of snow in its wake.

The pristine white snow quickly turned crimson as seven or eight columns of light soared skyward.

I was stunned. “Damn, that’s overpowered!”

Seeing such devastation, fear crept into the hearts of the players. Blaze United City roared, his eyes turning red as alternating red and gray lights flashed over his body. These were the berserk skills—Frenzy, boosting attack by 40% and speed by 20% at the cost of 30% defense; Rage of Fire, doubling his HP instantly; and Extreme Defense, raising physical and magical defense by 20% and granting a 40% chance to block incoming damage.

He charged, wildly swinging his greatsword at the boss.

“-2401, -2422, -2411…” Damage numbers poured forth—he had become the main attacker.

But the boss immediately knocked him aside, then from its eyes shot two icy blue beams, sweeping through the Blaze ranks. Those who dodged were safe, but those who didn’t were instantly transformed into ice sculptures mid-stride, then shattered into icy shards with a brittle crack, each losing 4999 HP before vanishing in white light.

This boss’s defense was not high, but its attacks were devastating and swift.

Several Blaze warriors tried to attack from different angles, convinced the boss couldn’t handle them all. But as they pressed in, the boss drove its greatsword into the ground, summoning a pillar of blue light. Seven charging warriors were instantly frozen into statues, then exploded into shards.

“Damn it,” Blaze Raging Plains muttered, in disbelief at the loss of his comrades.

Enraged, he leapt forward, unleashing the Swordsman’s Fivefold Slash at the boss’s chest.

-806
-932
-722
-733
-855

Five strikes, none of them exceeding a thousand damage. Blaze Raging Plains stared in disbelief.

The boss unleashed another barrage of sword energy, sending more Blaze players back to the city. Its eyes swept the field, now nearly devoid of survivors. Blaze Raging Plains crawled from the snow, surrounded by the corpses of his comrades, despair flooding his eyes.

At that moment, Blaze United City stood and said, “Boss, we can’t beat this boss. You go back to the city—I'll hold it off.” With that, his body blazed crimson, radiating red light as he charged the boss.

“Don’t go, brother!” Blaze Raging Plains shouted.

But it was too late—Blaze United City slammed into the boss, erupting in a thunderous explosion. A red mushroom cloud billowed up from the snow, flames swallowing the boss’s figure and painting the snowfield crimson.

A damage number of -7781 flashed above the boss. Blaze United City’s self-destruct skill was truly spectacular. Yet, the boss, rather than collapsing, strode toward Blaze Raging Plains. He frantically fumbled for a return scroll, but a beam of light from the boss’s eyes froze his arm in place, then another froze his legs to the ground—he couldn't escape.

The boss stood before him, raised its greatsword, and brought it down. Blaze Raging Plains’ pupils shrank as a massive wave of snow erupted. But he found himself unscathed—a colossal figure had blocked the blow.

I approached Blaze Raging Plains and said, “Brother, are you all right?” With my Ruyi Staff, I shattered the ice binding his legs and arms. Freed, Blaze Raging Plains clasped me in a grateful bear hug. “Thank you, brother!”

“All right, all right, could you let me go now?” I replied helplessly.

Turning to Dragon War, I said, “Dragon War, finish him!”

“Yes, mate!” he replied, and immediately joined battle with the boss. Dragon War’s massive frame dwarfed the boss, who was utterly unable to resist. There was a crisp clang, followed by the sound of a blade piercing flesh. “-3555!” As the boss shattered into pieces, a shower of crystals and equipment rained down.

“Ding! Guardian boss defeated. Players Weiwei Dragon and Blaze Raging Plains have earned access to the Ice Blue Kingdom!”

We all breathed a sigh of relief. After looting the battlefield, we headed inside. Just as we reached the entrance, a panicked player ran out, shouting, “Help me! Inside there’s—” Before he could finish, something shot out from within, impaling him. I saw it was a blue katana, and my heart skipped a beat. Footsteps echoed, and a figure clad in silver armor emerged.

Blaze Raging Plains and I exclaimed in unison, “Phantom Moon!”