Chapter 73: Erin the powerful ice queen!
Chapter 73
CLANG!
Before she could even regain her footing, two more beasts dashed toward her from both sides. Erin gulped loudly, realizing she was about to face a tough battle against three C-ranked beasts that specialized in raw strength and brute force.
And that was it. Erin, the ice queen, was surrounded. Three Lycans circled her like predators toying with their prey, their claws gleaming in the sunlight while malicious intent radiated off their monstrous forms.
"What?" she asked with icy confidence, lifting her sword and resting the flat of the blade against her shoulder. Cold mist seeped off the weapon as she glared at the beasts, her breath fogging slightly in the chilled air around her. "Just because it’s three against one doesn’t mean you lots will win."
Growl!
The beasts howled in unison, and with a small bang, they charged forward. Erin glanced at her feet and smirked. Ice trailed beneath her boots like a path waiting to be followed, her control over the battlefield already beginning.
Looking back up, her eyes widened as one beast lunged first, swinging its claws toward her eyes with killing intent, aiming to gouge them out.
But without hesitation, Erin planted her heel firmly into the ground, twisted her hips, and smashed her leg straight into the beast’s abdomen. The Lycan let out a choked growl as it was sent skidding backward, claws scratching furiously at the dirt to regain balance.
She had no time to breathe. The remaining two Lycans were already there, appearing on either side of her like streaks of shadow, claws swung forward in perfect unison, aiming to decapitate her head.
Before the claws could connect, Erin dropped low, sliding into a split on the ground. The claws sliced through empty air above her head, barely missing by inches.
And as quickly as she went down, she coiled her body like a spring and shot back upright just in time to see both beasts throw a punch at her in unison.
The last Lycan, noticing her mid-air state, crouched low and then, with a loud bang, leapt up toward her. Its punch smashed into her abdomen with bone-shattering force, flinging her out of the air like a ragdoll.
Blood rose in her throat, but Erin gritted her teeth, flipping several times mid-air to redirect the force. She twisted, spun, and landed back on the ground smoothly, boots cracking the dirt beneath her as she steadied her balance.
"Okay. I think..." Erin muttered as she quickly scanned the battlefield. Her sharp eyes caught sight of Jace—he had already finished off his initial attackers and was moving like a phantom from beast to beast, dropping them one after the other with relentless precision.
Kael and Ryker weren’t slacking either. They were holding their own, carving down the numbers steadily. That sight caused Erin to straighten up, a small frown tugging at her lips.
’I... we need to be in prime condition for when the boss appears. If it does—and no, it will then it’ll definitely be a B-ranked one. We’ll need to be at our peak condition for it, otherwise, we’re cooked. Which is why...’ she thought, her icy gaze flicking back to the three Lycans circling her once more.
"I’ll stop playing with you all and just end this fight as quickly as possible," Erin mumbled, cold determination in her tone.
Right on cue, the beasts didn’t waste another second. They bolted straight at her with astonishing speed, claws and teeth flashing with feral bloodlust.
"Ice Veil: Cold Death," she whispered under her breath, eyes locking on the lead Lycan that surged ahead of the others and leapt toward her.
With calm precision, Erin swung her sword upward. The blade’s arc met the airborne beast’s abdomen, carving a deep gash. Instantly, ice materialized, spreading like veins across its flesh. The Lycan was flung out of the air, its body crashing into the dirt with bone-jarring force.
The ice crept rapidly from its abdomen to its hands, crawling up toward its snarling face, freezing everything in its path.
The other two Lycans ignored their fallen comrade and continued their relentless charge.
’Though it’s powerful, it still has a downside. I can only use this skill once every five minutes. No matter how hard I try, I have to wait for the cooldown. Damn it. I need to unlock another skill for my Veil. Otherwise, in a prolonged battle like this one, I’ll surely be dead meat,’ Erin thought, her mind racing even as her eyes remained calm.
But even as the two beasts closed in, claws raised and eyes blazing with hunger, Erin did not falter. Her breathing steadied, her stance shifted, and her icy resolve grew sharper.
One of the Lycans appeared by her right side in a blur, swinging its foot toward her ribs with crushing intent. But Erin, the ice queen, was not just strong. She was skillful—deadly skillful with the sword.
And this Lycan was about to learn that the hard way.
In a split second, Erin immediately raised her sword, placing it directly where the beast’s foot was about to strike.
BAM!
The impact rang out like a thunderclap. The Lycan’s kick smashed into the flat of her blade, rattling her bones and sending a painful shockwave down her arms. The force hurled her skidding nearly four inches across the ground, her boots carving grooves in the dirt.
But she gritted her teeth and held firm. Her arms trembled but didn’t falter, and it was only just in time because the second beast had already leaped into the air, its massive frame falling back down with an axe kick aimed directly at her skull.
Seeing the shadow descend over her, Erin’s instincts screamed. She kicked off the ground, leaping two feet back just as the Lycan’s leg came crashing down.
BOOM!
The beast’s leg smashed into the earth with thunderous force, shaking the ground and sending a shockwave rippling outward. Dirt and dust sprayed high, the earth cracking like brittle stone.
Erin’s sharp eyes scanned her surroundings instantly. The third beast was still half-encased in ice, frozen mid-struggle, its snarls muffled by the spreading frost. A dangerous idea flickered through her mind like lightning.
And once the plan struck, she didn’t hesitate.
She dashed toward the Lycan that had just slammed down from its failed axe kick. Her boots slid across a path of ice that spread under her command, boosting her speed.
Then, with a sudden burst of strength, she leaped upward. Frost coiled beneath her soles, giving her momentum, and she spun mid-air, swinging her leg with perfect precision.
Her boot slammed into the Lycan’s snarling face with bone-cracking force.
WHAM!
The beast’s head snapped sideways as its hulking body went hurling backward at astonishing speed.
And just as Erin intended, its trajectory lined up perfectly. The hurtling Lycan crashed straight into the one still trapped in ice.
CRASH!
Both beasts collided violently. The frozen Lycan’s spreading frost latched onto the other instantly, ice crawling across its body like a deadly parasite.
In a matter of moments, both creatures were locked together in a grotesque embrace, encased mid-air as the ice swallowed them whole.
Erin tensed, sword raised. She was about to deliver the finishing blow when the last Lycan lunged at her. It leaped with frightening speed, claws stretched forward, aiming straight for her eyes.
’I need to finish those tw...’
SWOOSH!
Something whistled through the air at full speed, cutting across her line of sight.
Her eyes widened.
’An arrow?’
BAM!
The icy prison containing the two Lycans shook as the arrow pierced it, exploding with unnatural force. The magic within it spread in an instant.
The block of ice froze solid in mid-air, glimmering like a crystalline coffin. And then...
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
SHATTER!
The frozen mass shattered like fragile glass, splitting into countless shards that glittered briefly in the light before raining down. Along with it came the broken remains of the two Lycans, their bodies collapsing lifelessly onto the dirt with soft, heavy thuds.
All of this happened within the blink of an eye. Erin’s lips curled into a smile. She knew exactly who had fired that arrow. Their timely intervention had saved her precious seconds, giving her the breathing room she needed.
Her focus snapped back instantly. She bent backward in a smooth motion, narrowly avoiding the last Lycan’s claws as they slashed toward her face. The beast snarled in frustration.
Without wasting a single breath, Erin spun upward from her bent stance and swung her sword in an upward arc like an icy uppercut.
SHRRRING!
The blade tore through flesh and bone, ripping the beast’s arm clean off in a spray of blood and ice. The Lycan howled in pain, staggering but not retreating.
It prepared to lunge again, but Erin was already moving. Reading its intent like an open book, she slid beneath its legs, gliding on a trail of ice she conjured across the battlefield. She reappeared behind the beast in a heartbeat.
Her blade, now fully encased in glimmering frost, pulsed with lethal cold. With all the strength and speed she could muster, she swung in a deadly arc toward its neck.
The strike was clean. Effortless.
SHHLICK!
The blade sliced through the Lycan’s throat as if it were nothing. Its head slid off its shoulders in eerie silence before hitting the ground with a heavy thud. The body collapsed a moment later, twitching once before lying still.
And just like that, Erin stood tall amidst the carnage, the trail of ice beneath her feet gleaming faintly as mist curled around her blade.