Above the ruins of the Mage Tower, the Fode disciples, Modera, and members of the Thorn of the Rose are confronting the Little Red Dragon.
They rushed here, and although they already knew that the Mage Towers had collapsed, seeing such a tragic scene inevitably brought back memories of that devastating war—most of Dalaran destroyed by the demon lord's city-destroying spell, and the Mage Towers, which they could only look up to in their daily lives, were reduced to dust like toys made of sand.
The ugly spider swarms on the ruins were even more repulsive. They had originally planned to search the ruins to see if they could find any of Merlin's relics, but now they had to give up that idea.
Communication with Rosebayne, who was stationed underground, was even more disastrous. The Beautiful Spider claimed that she would not allow any strangers to enter unless ordered by the Warden.
The tension between the two sides was palpable, which naturally woke up the Little Red Dragon resting in the nearby woods. Alexstrasza, who was not in a good mood, rushed over with her Dragonkin. They started arguing after only a few words, because the Red Dragon had an extreme aversion to these dragon egg thieves' "accomplices" and naturally didn't say anything nice.
Despite the arguing and glaring, neither side actually attacked at first. The Dalaran side was very restrained, partly out of consideration for the other side's Dragonflight identity, and partly because they didn't want to get into a pointless fight.
The Little Red Dragon, however, went too far, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, brazenly using its Dragon's Presence might to intimidate the flying beasts beneath the female mages, causing the Thorn of the Rose women to sway precariously in the air, looking quite disheveled.
Seeing her subordinate being bullied like this, Modera finally couldn't hold back and took action. In an instant, a chilling aura that numbed the entire body erupted forth, and dozens of thick pillars of ice appeared in a white light, instantly imprisoning the Little Red Dragon. This was the eighth-level spell "Extreme Cold Cage".
The icicles moved rapidly inward, compressing the space for the trapped creature to move. The Little Red Dragon's neck, wings, tail, and limbs were immediately trapped by the icicles, making it look like a whole pig being roasted over a campfire.
She desperately turned her head and spewed out a breath of dragon fire, but it only melted two ice pillars beside her. At that moment, Rachel Adams's super-large "Deep Freeze" came, and a bluish-white freezing gas hit the dragon's head with a whoosh.
Alexstrasza, still in the turned-head position, was sealed by a large block of ice and fell freely, crashing to the ground with a loud thud, nearly crushing several Mutant Spiders to death.
The Dragonkin immediately rushed up and smashed the ice blocks, trying to get their owner out.
Rosebayne, who was peering through the hole under the ruins, also reacted. The Mutant Spider swarm immediately sprang into action, all tilting their heads upwards and unleashing a barrage of venom and stingers.
The Thorn of the Rose, however, were prepared. The Violet Barrier released by the seven of them blocked all the attacks without letting in a single drop of venom. It seemed indestructible, but in reality, the pressure from the hundreds of attacks was not insignificant.
The female mages began casting wide-area spells, and Rain of Flames and Blizzards shared the sky above the ruins.
Ordinary spiders might have been driven away by this combination of ice and fire, but the Mutant Spider swarm possessed extraordinary fighting spirit and defensive capabilities, continuing to retaliate against the magic with venom, flying spikes, and webs.
On Rosebayne's advice, the underground Shadra sent out distress signals to the surrounding Forest. As long as they were within its range of perception, all spiders would respond to the Spider God's call, and the Forest within a radius of nearly thirty kilometers began to stir.
Those in the air immediately noticed the anomaly, Modera promptly ordered, "Ascend."
The monks immediately urged their mounts to ascend to higher altitudes. A chilling scene unfolded before them: the treetops of the surrounding Forest were swaying erratically, and tiny black dots rushed from the forest onto the open ground of the ruins, like ants carrying food, gathering in ever-increasing numbers.
Rachel Adams's eyes were grave. "If we rely solely on a strong attack, we'll likely pay a heavy price."
This is a euphemism; judging by the sheer scale of the Giant Spiders' mobilization in the Forest, it would have been virtually impossible for them to conquer the ruins.
They're now in a bind. Retreating isn't out of the question, but at least they can't afford to look so bad: Modera Archmage and Thorn of the Rose scared away by a swarm of spiders will surely become a laughing stock in Dalaran.
Modera was the first to act, and no one dared to blame her; they could only wait for her to make her decision. The Archmage turned to Fode, who was flying far to the side, and said, "Investigator Hanas, please go down there."
From the start of the battle, the Fode disciples watched from a distance, unable to stop these crazy women or participate in the attack. They were secretly pleased to see them suffer setbacks, never expecting that Modera would call on him.
Fode knew that Modera wanted him to mediate, but going down now would only invite an attack. "If you, sir, first lift the Red Dragon's ice seal, I think the other side will feel our goodwill."
Avril immediately objected. "What a joke! You saw that mad dragon's attitude too. Once she's unsealed, she'll only rush up to retaliate against us. The adult's Extreme Cold Cage can't be released a second time in a short period of time."
Arnold was very dissatisfied with the other party's attitude. "Then go down and try to mediate! My mentor and I are not going down there to clean up your mess."
"You rude bastard!"
Seeing that internal strife was about to break out again, Rachel quickly said, "Avril is right, and Fode's suggestion is also valid. I think we can compromise and partially unseal the Red Dragon."
Modera nodded in agreement, and then Fode and Rachel began their descent.
Rosebayne knew that Fode was neutral, and that neither she nor her master had attacked the spider swarm, so she suppressed the spiders' desire to attack.
"Miss Sunstrider, it was all a misunderstanding," Fode called down, shamelessly lowering the Gryphon to a suitable height. "This mage Rachel Adams, has come to thaw His Excellency the Red Dragon."
The magically formed ice was as hard as granite. The Dragonkin had been chiseling at it for a while, but they had only managed to smash off a pile of ice chips from the outside. The Red Dragon remained frozen in the ice like a sculpture.
"Then hurry her up! My Giant Spiders are very hungry, and I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress their urge to eat meat." Rosebayne Byrne, using the pretext of the spiders summoned by Shadra as her own, made no attempt to hide her hostility intimidate her.
If it were Avril, she might have been unable to resist scolding her, but Rachel Adams remained very calm, ignoring everything else and focusing on casting her spell to complete her task.
The ice that had imprisoned the Red Dragon turned into white mist under her control, quickly freeing the Red Dragon. However, the white mist still enveloped the Red Dragon, invading her scales and flesh, leaving her muscles stiff and unable to move.
"Alright!" Rachel put away her staff, tossing out a polite remark, "It seems today isn't a good day for visitors. We'll meet again another day!"
After saying that, she flew upwards without looking back. The female mages gathered together and immediately turned into a group of small dots in the distance, and just like that, they left.