Ice Ice Ice Water Ice
"This is just as bizarre as Natsu spewing a water jet. I'm so hungry! When you're hungry, you need to eat. I don't think you'll mind, nephew."
While rubbing his rumbling stomach, Riyao squinted at Larcade, his right hand slightly outstretched, aimed at the white-robed youth.
Larcade's chest heaved, and he took a half-step back with a wary expression, his brows furrowed in a frown. He had absolutely no idea what kind of underhanded tricks this freak who talked a lot of nonsense was up to.
"You should just be a good boy, a boy in the literal sense."
Riyao's lips curled into a smile, and a rich, vibrant green light emanated from his palm.
Rumble--
Before the words were even finished, countless thick, emerald green vines and powerful tree roots, like giant pythons that had been starving for a thousand years, rose from the ground with a piercing whooshing sound, sweeping across Larcade and strangling him!
"What's this?!"
Larcade's eyes narrowed, and he unleashed several sharp, pure white light blades with both palms in a series of strikes, attempting to cleave the wooden cage in front of him.
Sizzle!
The ancient, resilient wood was sliced open by the light blade, leaving a huge gap. Larcade, as nimble as a cat, used the recoil to leap lightly and land firmly on the canopy of a tree ten meters away.
However, before he could even catch his breath, the large tree beneath his feet twisted violently, its thick branches instantly transforming into a five-fingered cage that swiftly grabbed Larcade's ankle!
"Huh?!"
Larcade froze, and before he could even muster his magic to break free, countless trees layered upon each other, completely enveloping him in a giant green cocoon!
As the caster Larcade, was completely swallowed by the Sea of Life, the illusory hunger that directly affected the depths of his soul vanished in an instant, like the receding tide.
Riyao swung his right arm, looked down at the brown-haired girl who was still clinging to his arm like a little koala, and looked utterly dejected.
"Hey, stop gnawing on it. Do you think I'm some kind of chicken that you can just gnaw on?"
Zera's large, bewildered eyes slowly regained their clarity.
He realized that he was biting his junior's arm tightly.
The girl shuddered violently, released her mouth as if electrocuted, and scurried back into the grass three steps away, her hands behind her back and her eyes darting around.
Riyao rolled up his sleeve, which was soaked with drool, and glanced at the girl's small ears, which were so red they looked like they were about to bleed. He couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing on the spot.
"Stop laughing! I'm your senior! You're laughing too loudly, shut up, you jerk!"
Zera was filled with shame and indignation. She stomped her little feet on the mud, her translucent face flushed red, and she protested loudly against the rude behavior of her junior.
However, Riyao didn't take it seriously at all and just shrugged with a cheerful smile.
With Larcade's departure, only a handful of the Spriggan 12 remain on the battlefield, capable of moving freely.
Apart from Irene, August, and Zeref, who were stationed at their respective guilds, the rest of the Spriggan scattered throughout the Sea of Trees were basically surrounded by several main forces from Fairy Tail and other major guilds.
However, in a clearing in the woods a few hundred meters away, the atmosphere was as frigid as the far north.
Gray, Ur, Ultear, and Silver, a family of four, stood side by side on a snowy plain, staring intently at the silver-haired, monocle-wearing young man in front of them— Winter General, Invel.
The entire area was completely frozen into a vast expanse of white snow and ice by the biting cold, with thick icicles hanging from the surrounding towering trees.
However, this extreme cold was firmly contained within a radius of 100 meters by the tree barrier set up by Riyao, and did not affect other nearby battlefields in the slightest.
From the outside, this completely frozen forest stands out starkly in the middle of the lush greenery. It seems that as long as you cross that invisible tree boundary, you can easily cross into the adjacent war zone.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of sharp, piercing sounds rang out from the white mist!
A barrage of ice blades, ice spikes, and massive ice crystal greatswords rained down from Gray and his companions like Tempester, hurtling towards Invel's vital points with a piercing whistle!
However, those fierce and unparalleled Ice-Make Magic seemed to freeze in time the instant they flew within a meter of Invel.
"What the hell?! The ice's frozen solid?!"
Gray pointed at the stern-faced Winter General across from him, his forehead veins throbbing with anger, and stomped his foot hard on the spot.
Someone actually managed to 'freeze' solid ice again?!
Ur and Yin, standing to the side, exchanged bewildered glances, scratching the back of their heads in confusion. They had absolutely no idea what kind of heretical practices these mages from the Western Continent were using.
"My magic isn't as complicated as other Spriggan; it's just simple 'ice' magic."
Invel elegantly raised his white glove, pushed up his monocle on the bridge of his nose, calmly put his left hand behind his back, slightly raised his chin, looked down at others, and was extremely arrogant and indifferent.
In his mind, the few Ishgar ice mages in front of him were nothing more than a group of children playing in the mud in a shallow puddle.
At this moment, Invel's brain was working at high speed, and his indifferent gaze swept back and forth between the four people in front of him.
Should Silver or Gray kill Natsu?
After a moment's consideration, a cold smile appeared on Invel's lips.
Gray is the core of this group. As long as Gray is taken hostage, Silver, the father, will naturally become the most obedient puppet.
Having made up his mind, Invel slowly raised his right hand, and an exquisite hexagonal ice crystal magic circle suddenly lit up in his palm!
[Iced Shell]
The spell name startled Gray and the others.
Before Gray could react, a chilling aura, powerful enough to freeze the soul, swept past at an alarming speed!
Click!
Hard, transparent, pale ice spread upwards in an instant, freezing Gray completely!
"The Iced Shell I used is not the Iced Shell you released with your lives. Although it's not true Iced Shell, it's not far off."
With an indifferent expression, Invel put his right hand back behind his back, his clothes swaying slightly in the wind, maintaining an elegant and discerning aristocratic posture from beginning to end.
However, the temperature in this icy and snowy land suddenly went out of control the next second!
"You're asking for it!"
A sharp, furious roar, filled with overwhelming killing intent, tore through the air!
Juvia's originally gentle and pretty face transformed into a demon in an instant, her eyes surging with a chilling blood-red aura, and the magic power within her body burst forth like a vast and boundless ocean bursting its banks!
Boom--
Countless high-pressure water jets erupted from the ground like enraged dragons, their terrifying pressure tearing through the air with ear-piercing shrieks, snapping all the trees within a radius of tens of meters in half!
"Whoa!"
Ur shrank back in fright, and with lightning speed, grabbed Gray was frozen into an ice sculpture, and pressed him to the ground.
Yin, who was standing next to him, was also covered in cold sweat and instinctively squatted down and covered his head.
Yin wiped the cold sweat from his face and swallowed hard, still shaken.
"This wife is too fierce. I wonder if she'll abuse Gray in the future."
Dozens of high-speed water streams, carrying the domineering power to cleave mountains and rivers, wove together a massive strangling net from all directions, frantically strangling towards Invel!
Invel's expression changed slightly. He raised his hand and tried to freeze the water again, but the endless stream of water blades was impossible to freeze completely in one go.
Winter General dared not be presumptuous and slammed his hands together in front of his chest.
Click!
Three walls of deep blue ice crystals, several meters thick, rose from the ground, forcibly deflecting the incredibly powerful high-speed water blades into the sky!
With a combination of freezing and blocking, the once invincible Winter General was finally forced to retreat three steps in a sorry state by this fierce attack from a fiercely protective husband, barely managing to block the onslaught.