Chapter 41

As Boss Ah Xue made her move, an aura emerged that was on an entirely different level from that of the child.

Her pressure was distinct from that of Sui Xiong; it lacked the vast, expansive feeling of a deity, appearing instead sharp, ferocious, and chilling to the bone. It was as if one had encountered a natural predator, radiating the formidable presence of a creature at the very apex of the food chain.

Her eyes had also transformed. What were once ordinary human eyes were now golden-red vertical pupils. Her fair, slightly plump face was covered in cyan-white patterns, with numerous fine scales emerging across her skin. Horns were slowly sprouting from her temples and behind her ears, a sight that sent shivers down the spine.

"Frost, close the door! Sleet, activate the magic circle!" she said coldly. "And Phil! Come out and fight!"

At her command, the strange child called "Frost" leaped into action. He bypassed Sui Xiong, who was currently locked in a standoff with Boss Ah Xue, and reached the entrance in a single stride. With a wave of his hand, the heavy door slammed shut with a thunderous boom. Then, blue-white lines of light emerged from beneath their feet, instantly filling the air of the entire grocery store; clearly, a powerful spellcaster was at work in the shadows.

Simultaneously, heavy footsteps echoed from the back room—the sound of metal boots striking wooden floorboards.

Sui Xiong, of course, would not sit idly by while his enemies completed their magic circle and surrounded him. He let out a roar, and over a dozen tentacles lashed out simultaneously. He attacked Boss Ah Xue and "Frost" while sending one tentacle to block the back room, sealing the path for whoever was inside.

He had already guessed the identities of those in the shop, so he held nothing back. Even for a deity, if one wanted to show mercy while being besieged by several dragons, it would be a sign that one's own skin was too thick and one was looking for someone to help peel off a few layers.

It was like playing a game: a world-class esports pro might be able to tell an amateur, "I'll fight you with one hand," but if they were facing a top-tier amateur who was nearly at a professional level, that would be nothing more than asking for a beating.

Or, in soccer, the Brazilian team might be able to give the Chinese team a ten-goal handicap, but just try asking them to give the Russian team a ten-goal handicap!

Accompanied by a whistling wind, the tentacles formed from ice magic surged toward their targets. Two flanked Frost, eight besieged Ah Xue, one blocked the back room, and the remaining four guarded Palin. Meanwhile, Sui Xiong continued to condense more tentacles with his frost energy, striving to intensify his assault.

After closing the door, Frost had also shifted into his half-dragon, half-human form: dragon head, claws, and tail, with a human body, all covered in reddish-brown scales and standing exceptionally tall. His claws danced like the wind, each strike accompanied by sharp, air-tearing sounds, as if several blades were dancing in rapid succession. The claws and tentacles collided repeatedly, producing a continuous ringing sound, as if a group of strongmen were wielding axes and chisels against solid ice.

However, his strength was still inferior to Sui Xiong's, and he was forced to retreat step by step. Had it not been for the occasional support from his tail, he would have collapsed and been defeated long ago.

The battle between Sui Xiong and Boss Ah Xue was a different affair. Boss Ah Xue had transformed into a mass of cyan-white cold light, her human form no longer discernible. Eight massive tentacles formed of ice surrounded her from all sides, wrapping tightly around the cold light, only to be strangely encased by a layer of frost. The two layers of ice enveloped each other, constantly eroding one another. Though there was not a sound, it left Palin, who was watching from the sidelines, feeling deeply uneasy.

As a mage, he was not particularly strong, but his basic discernment was decent. His Majesty Void Mask had already gained the upper hand against the half-dragon child and was in no danger of losing, but the battle against the proprietress was a stalemate. Both sides were eroding each other's magic, struggling for control over the frost energy. This type of combat was the most dangerous; the killing intent was hidden in the invisible, much like two high-level mages countering each other with the same spell. It was a contest of magical control and mental fortitude. Once a flaw was exposed, the enemy would surely seize the opportunity, and the result would be death or severe injury.

As for the final front, Sui Xiong did not attempt to break into the back room. The tentacle that flew to the doorway simply collapsed, forming a solid ice wall that blocked the entrance and prevented anyone from coming out.

From the start of the battle, he had decided to isolate the enemies inside and out, dealing with them one by one.

Even a lion hunting a rabbit must be cautious and leave no room for the enemy to exploit!

His tactical arrangement was generally correct. If no accidents occurred, he should be able to defeat the one called Frost first, then subdue the boss named Ah Xue, and finally deal with their reinforcements at his leisure.

However, accidents always happen.

With a loud crash, the floorboards nearby suddenly shattered, and a reddish-brown figure burst out. It was another half-dragon, slightly shorter than "Frost" but possessing equally astonishing strength. Yet, he did not go to rescue Frost, nor did he attack Palin; instead, he charged straight for the back room.

Sui Xiong was startled and sent two more tentacles to intercept, but the newcomer had no intention of clashing head-on. He dropped his body, sliding across the floor and passing beneath the two tentacles to reach the doorway sealed by the ice wall.

With a roar, the half-dragon raised his claws and smashed them fiercely against the ice wall.

Simultaneously, someone inside the back room also launched an attack on the ice wall.

With a thunderous boom, the ice wall collapsed. A tall, sturdy adventurer, covered in heavy armor and carrying a massive broadsword on his back, stepped out. He did not immediately attack, but instead said in a deep voice, "Do you want to destroy Dragon Roar Town?"

Both sides of the fierce battle froze, their movements involuntarily slowing down.

"Snowflake, I told you long ago that your methods are playing with fire and would eventually lead to huge trouble," the big man in heavy armor said in a muffled voice amidst the scattered ice. "Look, the trouble is here now!"

As luck would have it, Palin recognized this person—or rather, this man was a celebrity among the Four Northwest Towns.

"You are 'Armored Magic Sword' Phil? The famous ranger?" he couldn't help but exclaim. "How are you hanging out with dragons? Could it be that you are a dragon too?"

His guess was quite logical. From the current situation, it was clear that this "Good Eye" grocery store was run by a group of dragons in human form. Therefore, anyone emerging from the dragons' back room was likely a dragon as well.

"He is not a dragon, but he is not human either," Sui Xiong said. Because the battle had slowed, he could spare the mental energy to probe the newcomer, and he saw a strange sight. "Honestly, I am also curious about what he is—that armor is completely empty, and I don't feel the presence of a soul or anything of the sort. To be honest, the thing that leaves the deepest impression on me is the sword on his back."

"Buster is a fine sword," the adventurer called "Phil" said in a mechanical-sounding voice. "I repeat my previous question: do you really want to destroy Dragon Roar Town?"

"Yeah! Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Palin also chimed in to persuade them. "If you keep fighting like this, I'm afraid Dragon Roar Town will be finished before a winner is even decided!"

The room was currently swirling with cold air. Both sides were experts in ice magic, and the mere leakage of their energy had dropped the temperature in the grocery store to an alarming degree. Thick frost covered everything unprotected; as far as the eye could see, almost everything was encased in ice.

Palin could also see that because the magic circle covering the store had been damaged in the fight, the cold aftershocks were already leaking out. He could imagine how freezing the air around the grocery store had become. Passersby and adventurers would likely be shivering after just one breath of that cold air—in fact, even as they spoke, several loud sneezes could be heard clearly from outside.

And this was only with the magic circle containing most of the cold. If the entire circle collapsed during the battle and the massive amount of cold air was released directly, the scene would be...

Thinking of what might happen, Palin couldn't help but shiver, even under the protection of Sui Xiong's magic.

Furthermore, with the arrival of reinforcements, the battle was likely to escalate further. He had heard Gerald describe the great battle when His Majesty Void Mask rescued him: the great deity had transformed into a giant ash beast floating in the sky, with dozens of massive tentacles, each as thick as a mountain, facing a terrifying demonic beast that had turned an entire forest into its body, with nearly every tree acting as its limb or tentacle.

That fierce battle had changed the color of the sky and earth; mountains were razed to the ground, forests were turned to ash, and the land was covered in deep, scar-like ravines. The aftershocks of their colliding power had even illuminated the Shadow Plane of eternal night as if it were broad daylight.

If His Majesty Void Mask were to fight with full force here against three dragons and the renowned "Armored Magic Sword" of the Four Northwest Towns, even if the scene wasn't as terrifying as that previous battle, it would still be massive in scale, involving many, and with the cold air leaking out... if even one-tenth of the residents of Dragon Roar Town survived the aftermath, it would only be because both sides had been exceptionally restrained and they were all incredibly lucky...

The kind-hearted young mage truly did not want that to happen, so he tried his best to persuade them, using every word he could think of, employing the negotiation skills he had learned from his uncle, old Soth, to the fullest.

His efforts, combined with the persuasion of "Armored Magic Sword" Phil, finally convinced the three combatants to sit back down and resolve their issues with words rather than fists.

A moment later, the cold air shrouding the grocery store was withdrawn. The two sides, who had been at each other's throats just moments ago, sat back down at the table. Aside from the marks on the floor, it was hard to tell that a terrifying battle had just taken place—one that nearly engulfed the entire town of Dragon Roar and could have led to its total destruction.

The two sides sitting at the table had also canceled their combat states, returning to their daily appearances.

Of course, the dragon trio did not return to the forms they used to disguise themselves as ordinary people to avoid attention, but rather to the true forms they took when dragons assumed human shape.

Since they didn't want to fight, showing their true faces to a deity was the bare minimum of courtesy.

Thanks to readers: Fat Uncle, Bixi, Glancing Shadow, and Someone for their enthusiastic tips. Everyone's support is the motivation for my updates!