Corrosion Aura vs. Ice Creation (Part 2)
"Hmph... Get out of my way!! Ah!! You scum!"
Slick had reached his limit. He could tolerate being mocked, but these mindless, lowly beings also ignored him! He was truly intolerable, but they were all unbearable! Slick twisted his massive body, and with a sudden lash of his huge, thick tail, sent all the ice knights flying.
"Boom... Bang!"
The Ice Knight was whipped away by Slick, horse and all, and then glided through the air in a shimmering arc before crashing down in front of Issui, creating huge craters! The surrounding dust rippled, and the muddy swamp was splashed with muddy water everywhere.
"Suck..."
"Such immense physical strength," Issui thought to myself. Slick, now in his monster form, was naturally unleashing a powerful attack.
The massive dust cloud created by the ice knights' impact with the ground gradually dissipated, revealing the ice knights lying disheveled on the ground and in the swamp. However, upon closer inspection, it became clear that they weren't actually seriously injured, just somewhat disheveled. The ice crystals that formed their bodies had been enhanced by Issui, making them comparable to, or even stronger than, diamond, the hardest substance in nature. While diamond is indeed the hardest natural substance, theoretically, things harder than it exist. Those with immense power can compress energy, achieving a similar level of hardness.
The ability to increase energy density is not something that can be achieved simply by talking about it; most people simply don't possess this ability. After all, controlling energy density is equivalent to indirectly increasing energy intensity, and for a cultivator, increasing energy intensity is equivalent to increasing their own strength. Therefore, we can conclude that increasing energy density equals increasing one's own strength. In other words, by increasing energy density, you can challenge opponents of higher levels. This ability to surpass one's own strength is not something everyone can acquire. It depends on individual talent. Some people may master this ability from the very beginning, while others may not even reach God Level. This is similar to the Mutual Hands Combat Technique of the Lao Wantong in the Condor Heroes world; it's not something that can be learned Mutual Hands Combat being clever.
"Knights of Ice - Charge! Kill!"
Issui's eyes weren't on the Ice Knights lying on the ground; he was only staring at Slick's massive body, thinking about how to deal with him.
"Pat... tap... tap-tap..."
The Ice Knights lived up to their reputation as the strongest warriors. They prepared their ice horses, quickly mounted them, gripped their shields and spears, and charged forward once more.
"Although I despise your ice blocks, I must say they're incredibly hard..." Slick's leftmost snake head looked at its tail, which was slightly red and swollen. The ice was indeed very hard. The sheer strength of flesh couldn't match the strength of this ice, which surprised Slick slightly. After all, ice wasn't very dense; a powerful strike from his tail would shatter even a mountain, yet these ice blocks were completely unharmed. They were truly formidable. But that was all; if he imbued his tail with energy and struck them again, they should shatter.
The Ice Knights have no concept of success or failure. Success cannot make them arrogant, nor can failure discourage them. Their only goal is to attack the enemy in front of them, and they will unleash their most ferocious strike, regardless of whether the opponent is strong or weak.
As the ice knights drew ever closer, Slick lightly stomped his left forefoot on the swamp.
"Whoosh..."
Large amounts of muddy soil, covered with moss, surged and rolled up like ocean waves, rushing towards the ice knights.
If a normal creature were to see this surging, turbulent swamp, it would surely be terrified and try to escape. But the Ice Knights had no concept of fear towards these things. Although they possessed vague thoughts and consciousness, all the information contained in these thoughts and consciousness was to sweep away all enemies in their way along the direction of the Issui eyes.
"Thump... thump..." The Ice Knights condensed freezing power on their bodies, and their ice horses accelerated towards the surging mud...
Issui and Slick stood quietly at opposite ends of the battlefield, silently watching the surging mud and the ice knights galloping forward. The common mindset of the strong is to remain calm at all times, unperturbed by changes, and undaunted even when faced with a collapsing mountain. Only true strongmen can embody this state, and Issui and Slick perfectly expressed it.
"Puff... puff..."
The Ice Knights did not slow down their pace in the face of the surging mud; instead, they accelerated. With a burst of energy, they broke out of the swamp and raised their spears to thrust at their enemy, Slick!
Shrik frowned slightly. Slick thoroughly disliked these Ice Knights. If they were normal people, even if they weren't terrified by the raging mud, they would pause to enjoy the fresh air after emerging from the mud. This was the perfect time for the enemy to strike, because people who had just emerged from the mud were the most vulnerable, their vigilance completely worn down by the impending danger.
But the Ice Knights were different. As soon as they burst out of the raging mud, they attacked Slick, as if they had never experienced anything before. The raging mud was completely like a virtual thing, having no effect on them at all. It was truly terrifying. The Ice Knights were undoubtedly fighting machines.
"Hmph, you'd better show some of your true strength. These petty tricks won't wipe out my Ice Knights." Issui sneered. Still want to hold back? Well, that's not up to you now.
"Alright, since such simple corrosive acid isn't working, I'll show you my true strength. Otherwise, I'll be incredibly embarrassed to be looked down upon by a brat. Innate Domain — Corrosion Aura, Eroding Strong Acid Liquid!!"
Slick suddenly shook his left snake head, which turned from dark gray to dark green, and waves of emerald green light rippled from Slick's body.
Slick opened his mouth wide and spewed out a large amount of dark green liquid. Although it was the same color as the long arrows made from the dark green liquid Slick had spewed before, its power was completely different. This time, the liquid was clearer and had no viscous feel. It was like flowing clear water without any impurities, only its color was green.
"Sizzle..."
The clear, dark green liquid splashed onto the Ice Knight's body, and the once crystal-clear and hard ice crystal body was eroded with large holes, leaving it pitted, uneven, and utterly broken.
Many of the Ice Knights' mounts, their ice horses, were corroded and torn to pieces; some were missing a leg, some were missing half their bodies, and some even had their heads corroded away. Without the support of their warhorses, the Ice Knights collapsed onto the swamp, their freezing power unable to surge forth, gradually sinking into the muddy mire and disappearing. In the end, only two or three Ice Knights managed to charge forward intact. Ignoring the sacrifice of their comrades, they used all their strength to stab Slick's body, venting their frustration.
"Die, you scum!" Slick had completely lost interest in these ice blocks. These mindless idiots couldn't even dodge my acid. What a bunch of fools! Couldn't you have made a strategic retreat? Ah, this is the tragedy of being unintelligent.
Slick's enormous tail was coated with a large amount of energy. With a powerful swing, he sent the two or three ice knights in front of him flying and shattering them.
"Oh, finally bringing out your signature Innate Domain! Such strong corrosiveness, far beyond what ordinary acids can achieve. The pH value probably doesn't even reach 1 (pH value is a standard for classifying acidity and alkalinity in chemistry; the lower the pH value, the stronger the acidity), and it even comes with a special aura domain, not bad."
Issui's eyes narrowed as he watched the water plants within the Corrosion Aura of the grinding pestle turn withered and yellow in an instant, then gradually crumble and disappear. Good heavens, they suffered such intense acidic corrosion just within the aura's range. It seems he can't engage in close combat with him.
"What's wrong? Disappointed with your ice blocks? You can only feel a little proud against those with weak strength. You have nothing to be proud of when facing a strong person like me." Slick said calmly. He felt a little better after dealing with these ice blocks. Next, he just needed to figure out how to get rid of this annoying little guy.
Issui quietly watched Slick. He knew that ice water wasn't actually corroded by acid; rather, the enormous heat released when water and acid came into contact melted the ice. Although ice is very hard and doesn't have the fluidity of water, it is still solid water composed of water molecules, so it can react with strong acids. So, how could ice be prevented from being neutralized by acid and melting away with the heat? This was what Issui was truly thinking about.
"What are you saying? Are you scared? No need to beg for mercy now, it won't work. I'm going to kill you to vent my hatred." Slick had been holding a grudge ever since he was injured by Issui of Ice Knights. He wouldn't be satisfied until he killed Issui to vent his frustration.
Issui carefully thought about the chemistry knowledge he had learned in his previous life. What impressed Issui most was the various strong acids contained in the glass test tubes. He suddenly realized that he could attach a layer of glass to ice, which is basically sand, or silicon dioxide in chemistry. In short, sand is not afraid of acid.
"Eye of Heaven - Frost, Ice Creation - Ice Ant Swarm! Eye of Heaven: Dust, Earth Release - Sand and Earth Crystallization Technique!!"
Issui used two stages of Qi's Ken. First, she created a large number of ice ants. Then, she used the fourth stage of the Eye of Heaven to control the dust from underground to the surface, crystallizing to strengthen the hardness of the sand and making it transparent. Finally, she attached a thin layer of glass to all the ice ants.