[Sisterly Showdown]

("D-d-d-don't f-f-f-forget to v-v-v-vote...")

Chapter 25: [Battle Between Sisters]

This enormous upheaval left everyone dumbstruck!

Fortunately, there were not many soldiers in the garrison camp at the moment. Most of them had gone hundreds of miles away to take part in the Imperial military's spring drills.

Knight Span was the first to snap out of it. His expression changed drastically as he snatched up a sword from the ground and charged out with a roar. "Who dares attack the local garrison camp?!"

Span was truly panicking. Attacking an Imperial camp was an openly treasonous act of rebellion! They had even burned the flag outside the camp gates. Such a crime had happened right under his nose—if he, the officer left behind to hold the fort, failed to capture the culprit, then the charge of dereliction of duty would be set in stone!

The other officers in the hall also saw red. They grabbed their weapons and rushed out after Span. A few thunderous booms sounded outside, followed by a blaze of red light and, faintly, the groans of people in pain.

The Rowling Family guards first moved to shield Du Wei. Robert's face darkened as he hurried ahead and blocked the hall entrance, only to stare outside in shock. Span and the others who had just rushed out were all lying on the ground. Their clothes and hair looked somewhat singed. Though they groaned continuously in pain, they were unable to stand.

Before them, a silver shadow shot swiftly up the steps outside the hall!

The shadow came so quickly that even Robert could not make out what it looked like. He shouted in a deep voice, "Stand back!"

Robert channeled his battle aura, and a faint glow immediately rose from his sword. Gripping the sword in both hands, he brought it down in a slash. A curtain of light instantly stretched across the steps!

Yet the silver shadow had no intention of stopping. It slammed headlong into the sword curtain Robert had unleashed with his battle aura!

In an instant, Robert felt a chilling cold surge through his sword! The cold made the knight shudder violently. Every finger turned icy and stiff, and he could barely hold the hilt in his hand! Then an immense force crashed through the sword. Unable to withstand it, Robert grunted, feeling as though his entire body had been struck by lightning. He was immediately paralyzed!

Clang!

The sword fell to the ground, and Robert collapsed unconscious. His clothes and hair also looked as though they had been scorched. His lips were pressed tightly together as he fell facedown, clearly badly injured!

The intruder had felled a fourth-level knight in a single exchange. Amid the cries of alarm from the Rowling Family guards, the silver shadow finally stopped in the center of the hall!

The person was, of course, a woman! Clearly, she was the one who had spoken outside just now.

This woman who called Vivian "little sister" was exceptionally tall and strikingly beautiful. Her face could rival that of any man's dream lover. Only the color of her red lips was slightly pale, making her seem somewhat bloodless. Her eyes were bright, yet their gaze was far too cold.

Her face seemed as though it had been carved from ice. Three parts Sha Qi lingered upon it, her brows slightly raised with a trace of scorn and mockery.

She wore a peculiar suit of white light armor, its surface actually patterned with hollowed-out designs. It was hard to believe that such deliberately ornate cutout patterns, which made the already thin armor even more decorative than practical, could provide much protection.

But Du Wei and Solskja could tell that the patterns were all magical runes. Perhaps they carried some sort of magical enhancement!

A long white cape hung from her back, its trailing end dragging across the ground!

White light armor, a white cape—this woman with her exquisite, beautiful face seemed as though she had stepped out of ice and snow.

Yet none of that was what shocked Du Wei!

At this moment, the little noble had shed all his usual calm composure. His eyes were wide open, fixed unblinkingly on the woman before him!

This woman possessed a head of silver hair, white as snow!

That silver hair, her eyes, her lips, her small yet straight nose...

Du Wei stared at her as though struck by lightning!

Because he recognized what the woman before him looked like!!

A few days ago, in the secret passage of the Rowling Family castle's study, inside the chamber below! That magic array which had left him the secrets of astrology! That... great astrologer, magician, and creator of Star Magic... Semel!!

If Du Wei had not known that Semel had died centuries ago, he would have thought that the great female astrologer was standing alive before him!

This unfamiliar woman's appearance was more than ninety percent similar to the face of the phantom Semel had left behind!!!

To everyone else, Du Wei's dumbfounded look perhaps only meant that their young master had been frightened senseless. They merely surrounded Du Wei in the middle while several Rowling Family guards in front pointed their swords at the woman and shouted, "You brazen rebel! How dare you attack an Imperial local garrison camp!"

"Hahahahahaha..." The woman let out a cold laugh. It seemed as though frost from the northern lands drifted within her eyes. "I've already done it, yet all you can do is shout yourselves hoarse trying to frighten people?"

With a light lift of one finger, an ice arrow shot from her fingertip with a whoosh. Before anyone could react, the Rowling Family guard who had shouted just now was struck. His entire body froze stiff, and he toppled over like a board.

That attack had come with extreme suddenness, without the slightest warning! Du Wei finally snapped out of his shock and instinctively glanced at Solskja beside him. In each other's eyes, they seemed to see the same cry of alarm in their hearts!

Instant casting?!

"Rowling Family! Protect the master!! Give it everything we've got!" one guard shouted as he charged forward with his sword raised. More than a dozen Rowling Family guards beside him also yelled and rushed in. In an instant, they surrounded the woman, and over a dozen longswords stabbed down at her from all directions!

The woman gave a long laugh. Her body seemed to make a gentle turn on the spot, and a white halo immediately burst from her! The halo emerged from her body and vanished in a flash, but every one of the dozen or so warriors who had lunged at her and touched it was instantly sent flying!

At once, over a dozen people flew sideways and crashed down in all directions. Some slammed into walls, some struck tables and chairs, and some were hurled straight out of the hall...

People lay scattered all over the floor. No one knew what magic the woman had used, but they had all fainted. The only ones still standing in the hall were Du Wei and Solskja at his side.

"Oh, I didn't expect this. There is actually a magician here." Seeing Solskja's robe, the woman's eyes lit up. Then she gave a cold laugh. "Magician! Where is your badge? As a magician, why aren't you wearing the Magic Association badge?! What level magician are you?"

Solskja immediately blushed. His badge had long since been burned when Du Wei captured him. Faced with her interrogation, he opened his mouth hesitantly, but could not say a word.

The woman shook her head. "I never expected a magician to be among the tiny garrison force in a place like this. Since that is the case, I can duel you according to the etiquette of magicians."

As the icy, beautiful woman spoke, her silver hair drifted softly, like the ice and snow of the northern lands. She lightly raised a finger, and a tiny magician's badge immediately materialized at her fingertip. She gently pinned it beneath the clasp of her shoulder cape and said impatiently, "All right, magician, you may make the first move! I've never liked wearing this sort of badge. Let's settle this quickly!"

Solskja nearly fainted!

Make the first move??

He had seen it clearly! The badge the woman had materialized was a golden three-leaf clover!!! Exactly like the badge that silly girl Vivian wore! She was also a peak expert at the level of a Grand Magician!

Him, a lowly little first-level magician, challenging a Grand Magician of at least the eighth level?

Had anyone ever seen a little mongrel challenge a sacred dragon?

So Solskja's reaction was very direct! His throat made two rattling sounds, then, quite decisively, his head lolled to one side, his eyes shut, and he promptly fainted on the spot!

"..." Watching the mage suddenly pass out in the middle of battle, the icy beauty froze for a moment before curling her lip in disdain. "Coward."

At last, she turned to the only person still standing in the hall... Du Wei.

"And you? A little noble? Ah, I heard your subordinates say you're from the Roland Family, is that right? Are you a member of the Roland Family?"

"Yes." Du Wei's expression did not change. "My name is Du Wei Roland. The current Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Count Raymond, is my father."

"Hmph, you think the Roland name can scare me?" The woman carefully sized Du Wei up from head to toe. "You're only a child. What are you doing here?"

She seemed to lose interest in Du Wei almost immediately and raised her voice. "Vivian! If you don't come out right now, I'll raze this place to the ground! My dear little sister, don't make me lose my temper!! Hand over that little thing of yours like a good girl!"

As she spoke, impatience appeared on the woman's face. Suddenly spreading her arms, her gaze swiftly turned utterly vacant. Then, centered on her body, a whirlwind abruptly took shape and shot straight toward the ceiling!

With a boom, the whirlwind effortlessly tore the hall's roof to pieces. Countless fragments flew everywhere, while the whirlwind slowly spread outward...

"Vivian! Do you think I don't dare?! You should know that there's nothing in this world I wouldn't dare to do!"

She let out a long laugh, forming a strange gesture with both hands... and the whirlwind immediately grew even fiercer! Flecks of snow even began to drift faintly through the surrounding air!

Snowflakes?

Damn it! This was the south!

Du Wei had already thrown himself to the ground the moment the whirlwind ripped apart the roof.

Today, he had finally experienced firsthand the terrifying power of mages! A single mage had effortlessly taken down so many warriors in an instant. Before a mage, all those people had been utterly incapable of resistance.

And besides... wasn't this woman far too formidable?

Weren't mages supposed to be terrible at close combat?

Could it be... Looking at her armor, he had never seen a mage wear armor before... unless she was a dual cultivator of magic and martial arts?!

"Si-sis-sis-sister! P-p-p-please st-st-stop!"

At last, a timid, stammering voice came from somewhere nearby. Wearing her mage's robe, Vivian floated out of the barracks, her body suspended in midair. In one hand, she carried a tiny cage that she had specially made, marked with magical seals sufficient to imprison the little Fear Illusion Demon within.

Vivian's face was full of fear, as though she did not dare face her sister at all. She could only plead, "Sis-sis-sister, p-p-p-please..."

"Poor little Vivian." The icy beauty sneered. "When will you ever understand that the strong must possess the awareness of the strong? You have powerful magic, yet your courage is smaller than a rabbit's!"

As she spoke, she suddenly drew a strange long... flute from her waist!

The flute was jade-green from end to end. Against the silver-white woman, it was like a single touch of lush, living green. Pointing the flute at Vivian from afar, the icy beauty sneered. "Put down the Fear Illusion Demon! Once I have its horn, I'll leave. Otherwise, my dear little sister, I'll have to make you suffer a little."

With that, she flicked the flute, and countless strange rings of light shot from its tip. Lying on the ground, Du Wei suddenly heard a bizarre, sharp, ear-piercing sound all around him!

This was clearly some sort of soundwave attack spell.

Even from so far away, the sound was harsh enough to make his ears ache, as though it could knock him unconscious at any moment. One could only imagine how Vivian felt at such close range.

The little fool seemed terribly afraid of her sister. Her small body appeared to be trembling lightly. She raised a hand and quickly chanted a spell. A diamond-shaped magical shield appeared before her, blocking the stream of incoming light rings as she cried out, "S-sis-sister! Chirp Chirp is the t-t-teacher's p-p-pet! If you k-k-kill it, the t-t-teacher will..."

"Hmph! Everyone in the world may fear that old man, but I don't!" The icy beauty was even more disdainful. "I need that thing's horn! You know that! Without it, I can't forge the final piece of my magical defensive equipment!! Hand it over!"

The instant she finished her last word, the icy beauty shot forward! Like a silver meteor streaking across the night sky, she instantly flew to Vivian's side! One hand reached out, grasping for the cage in Vivian's hand!

"No!" In her desperation, Vivian did not stammer at all. Her body flashed, and she vanished from where she stood, reappearing ten meters away in an instant.

"Haha, my dear little sister, you've become quite skilled with your Emerald Flame Movement Magic! But a timid little thing like you can only use it to run for your life, can't you?" the ice witch sneered.

"S-sis-sister... d-d-don't f-force me!" Vivian looked as though she were on the verge of tears.

"I am forcing you! You pitiful little girl! The moment I see you crying, I get angry!!" the icy beauty shouted. She suddenly raised one hand, and a string of profound, incomprehensible incantations slowly flowed from her lips! A cloud of white mist began to form over her palm! The mist thickened and thickened, spreading outward with threads of frost...

Vivian's face turned white with fright as she cried, "N-n-no, you c-can't! You c-can't use th-th-that kind of magic here!"

"Why can't I?" The icy beauty had already finished chanting. It was as though she held up an enormous iceberg in her hand!

Within the iceberg, something like a shadow seemed to be twisting frantically, as if it might break through the ice and burst out at any moment!!

Vivian suddenly lowered her head and shouted at Du Wei on the ground, "Y-y-you r-run! Run now!!"

Du Wei lay on the ground, stunned when he heard Vivian shouting at him. He could also sense that the magic this icy beauty was about to unleash was no trifling matter! But he was only an ordinary person—how far could he run on two legs?

Before he could move, the icy beauty suddenly smiled. "Oh, my poor little Vivian, why are you so concerned about this young noble? Ah... could he be your little lover? Oh, the young master of the Roland Family—his status barely makes him worthy of you. He's fairly handsome too, though he doesn't seem particularly capable..."

As she spoke, she crooked a finger at Du Wei. Then Du Wei felt his body stop obeying him. It was as if countless ropes had wrapped around him, lifting him into the air and swiftly drawing him before the icy beauty.

"Vivian! Give me your little pet now! Otherwise, I'll use this little lover of yours to refine a soul essence!!" A trace of Sha Qi flashed across the icy beauty's face.

"N-no... th-that's not..." Vivian hurriedly tried to explain. The icy beauty suddenly flashed forward and pounced at her again, but the little fool's teleportation magic truly was formidable. The icy beauty seemed unable to do anything about her in that regard. Her speed was already fast enough, yet she still missed several times. At last, she raged, "If you still refuse to listen to me, I'll start killing people!!"

Vivian's body trembled. A pained expression appeared on her face, as though she had finally made a reluctant decision over the greatest dilemma in her heart.

She sighed inwardly: Teacher, I'm sorry. Poor little Vivian has no choice but to do this.

At last, the little fool raised her head. Looking at the enormous iceberg held in the icy beauty's hand, a trace of determination appeared in her eyes. "S-sister, are you going to r-release the ice dragon? Then... release it!"

Now that her resolve had hardened, her stammering had improved by more than half.

The icy beauty snorted. "Do you think I truly don't dare?"

Her body suddenly shot up into the sky, stopping about twenty meters above Vivian...

A beauty like ice and snow, yet in her hands she held something as massive as an iceberg, countless times larger than her own body...

Then the icy beauty reached out and grabbed, snatching a tiny silver drum beater from thin air!

With a soft laugh, she pinched the beater and lightly struck the iceberg beneath it...

Ding!!!!

That crisp sound seemed to ripple across a thousand miles in an instant! Even Du Wei, who knew no magic, could sense that there was something strange about it! The clear chime entered his ears, traveled along his eardrums, and reached straight into his soul! Even his soul trembled faintly along with that crystalline sound!!

Bizarre! Unutterably bizarre!!!

Then, from within the iceberg, a colossal howl suddenly erupted!!

The howl was like thunder! Like a storm! Like a tidal wave! It jolted Du Wei so hard that his body shuddered, and he felt as though all strength had drained from him! Though he still had no idea what had made that howl, an instinctive terror born from the depths of human nature instantly enveloped his entire body!!

Crack... crack...

Countless tiny fissures began spreading across the iceberg!

Along with them came fierce impacts, one after another! Amid those muffled-thunder-like collisions, something within the iceberg seemed to be trying to break through the ice and emerge!!

"Watch closely, boy of the Rowling Family—my little sister's lover." The icy beauty sneered. Holding the drum beater, she tapped the iceberg again and again. Amid the ding-ding-dong-dong chimes, her face was wreathed in frost. "This is probably the first time in your life you've seen a living dragon!"

...A dragon??

There was no time for shock. Amid an earth-shaking roar, the iceberg's outer layer exploded apart! Then an incomparably enormous head, bearing a strange horn upon its forehead, smashed out through the opening in the ice!

A resounding roar rang through heaven and earth!!

Below, poor little Vivian had already been frightened pale. She tucked the little Fear Illusion Demon into her robe, and somehow the little fool produced a tiny wand from somewhere on her person. She closed her eyes, her expression incomparably solemn, and then clear, ancient syllables began spilling from her mouth one after another...

In an instant, an unmatched blaze surged up behind the little fool, like a wall of flame blotting out the sky! From within those flames came a dragon's roar as well!

At the sight of this, the icy beauty's face suddenly looked as though she had suffered a heavy blow! Her expression changed slightly as she shouted, "Good! Good! I never thought that old fellow would actually pass the Crimson Flame Dragon on to you!! My dear sister, let's see whether your Crimson Flame Dragon melts my Frost Dragon today—or whether my Frost Dragon freezes your Crimson Flame Dragon stiff!!"

Vivian said nothing. She suddenly raised her tiny wand and lightly pointed into the air several times... At once, the countless spaces around them began to twist...

Du Wei felt as though he were riding a train in his previous life—the scenery and space around him seemed to rush backward and change in an instant...

By the time he could finally see his surroundings clearly, he realized that beneath his feet was no longer the military camp!

They had arrived at Half-Horn Mountain!!!

"Hahahahahaha... My dear sister, you really are still so kindhearted it's almost foolish. You spent so much magic power to create an instant-transference magic array and bring us here—were you worried that our battle would harm innocent people? Ha ha... But after wasting so much magic power like this, how much will you have left to command your Crimson Flame Dragon in battle?"

The icy beauty sneered and let out a low chant... Then, the iceberg shattered!!

That gigantic head had fully emerged. What followed was an enormous creature, its entire body covered in scales like crystals of ice and snow!

Looking at that monster—fully the size of a small mountain, with a strange horn on its forehead, a colossal body cloaked in icy cold, claws each as large as a carriage, and two great wings flapping behind it...

So this was a dragon of this world...