104: The Arctic – the Ice People!

"It's not coming for you... but it will affect you sooner or later."

Aria's voice became slightly more serious,

"I originally planned to leave today, but before departing, my source Spider Silk perception detected... under the millennia-old glaciers of The Arctic Circle in your Blue Star sea region... a considerably large... ancient ruin is hidden."

"Ancient ruin?!"

Su Chen's pair of giant eyes instantly burst forth with terrifying light, and a surge of excitement ran through all his tentacles like an electric current.

"There must be good stuff inside, right?! The Arctic, you say?! Wait there! I'll take my army and wipe it out immediately!!"

"Big Guy! Let me finish speaking!"

Aria's voice carried clear annoyance. "

That ruin is not ownerless land! I sensed a large number of powerful life signatures inside! The strongest among them... has even reached the Awakening Level!"

"I'm telling you this as a warning, so you can notify those Blue Star people to immediately and instantly stay away from The Arctic region! If you disturb the Awakening Level entity inside, with Blue Star's current strength, no one can withstand its wrath!"

"Awakening Level?!"

However, what Aria didn't expect was,

Su Chen, upon hearing the term, not only wasn't afraid but became even more excited.

His tentacles excitedly slapped the sea surface, stirring up monstrous waves!

"Fantastic! I was just worrying about not finding a new powerful prey! Aria, wait for me at the entrance to the ruins! I'll gather my troops right now and go wipe them all out!!!"

"You...!"

Aria was choked with anger, and a flicker of rage flashed in her dark purple pupils.

"Are you relying on your Abyssal Spider Emperor Transformation Skill again? Let me tell you! Using power of that rank consumes the remnant source divine power of the Spider God inside you!"

"You used it once at the Volcano, and a second time to kill Rlyeh! I estimate you only have one more use left at most! That is your trump card reserved for dealing with the main invasion of the Shadow Scale Clan! It's not for you to waste on exploration!"

"Don't worry, don't worry~"

Su Chen's tone was filled with unquestionable confidence,

"It's just a wild Awakening Level entity; I don't need to use my ultimate Skill to slaughter it!"

"How can you possibly defeat a true Awakening Level without that Skill?! Do you think every Awakening Level entity has a weakness for you to exploit like I did before?!"

Aria's voice rose, carrying the urgency of disappointment.

"Don't count on my help either! The source injuries I sustained at the bottom of Mount Fuji haven't recovered yet; I can't fight at all right now!"

"Relax, relax~ I don't need you. Just watch my performance!"

"Hmph! Arrogant good-for-nothing! All you do is boast!"

Aria was so angry that she stomped her blade-like legs on the other end, making crisp striking sounds.

"I'd like to see how you die later without the Spider Emperor Transformation!"

...Two days later.

The Arctic Circle.

The massive, indestructible ice cap that had covered the region for ten thousand years collapsed and melted over a large area due to unknown reasons, revealing the ancient land sealed beneath for an unknown number of ages.

This place was not a forbidden zone of life.

A magnificent ruin, unimaginably huge, revealed its monstrous and ancient outline from beneath the melting glacier, like a sleeping behemoth.

The architecture was constructed from an unmelting, dark blue ice crystal and an unknown alloy that shimmered with a metallic cold light.

The lines were sharp and rigid, full of cold geometric beauty. The entire ruin exuded an ancient, unyielding, vast coldness,

like a suddenly awakened Frozen City, spanning the pale daylight of The Arctic.

The central plaza of the ruins was comparable in size to a small city.

Tens of thousands of Arctic Bearman warriors, over five meters tall, heavily muscled, and clad in thick, dark blue ice armor, solemnly surrounded a towering altar like silent ice sculptures.

They remained motionless, yet the energy fluctuations emanating from them were all clearly above Rank 70!

The converging pressure almost froze the surrounding air!

At the top of the altar,

an Old Shaman, clad in complex runic ice robes and holding a bone staff, was chanting obscure incantations in a low voice around the central ice crystal flame.

Suddenly—

*Pfft!*

The dark blue ice crystal flame at the center of the altar violently flickered, let out a mournful cry of distress, and then suddenly exploded, shattering into countless flying ice shards!

The Old Shaman reeled backward a few steps as if struck by a heavy blow. The color instantly drained from his white-furred face, and he spat a mouthful of light blue blood onto the altar.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with unprecedented terror, his voice hoarse and trembling:

"Crisis! A great crisis!!!"

"The original divination for the ritual was crystal clear—the destruction of Blue Star's Human Race civilization, the world returning to chaos, the reordering of hierarchy, and my Iceborn Clan... would continue to exist eternally in this isolated pure land!"

"But! Just now! The divination... changed! A massive, cold, immeasurable variable, like the most violent cold current, completely disrupted the trajectory of fate!"

"He... is that Kraken! He will become the protector of humanity, reversing their destined demise! And his existence... will ultimately lead this world... toward an unpredictable abyss of destruction!!!"

The Shaman's voice was like a death knell, striking the heart of every Iceborn warrior.

The plaza was silent for a moment, then erupted in a roar!

"Shaman! If that is the case, what are we waiting for?!"

An Iceborn Elder, whose face was crossed by a massive claw scar and whose aura was particularly fierce, suddenly stepped forward, his ice armor clashing with a metallic sound.

Grinning savagely, he brandished the War Hammer in his hand. "We will charge out now, crush that damned octopus, and pull the trajectory of fate back onto the right path!"

"But... Elder Iron Claw,"

A relatively younger-looking Iceborn warrior, named White Fang, spoke with some concern.

"The humans... will they stand by and watch us attack the Kraken? If they intervene..."

"Humans?! Hahaha!"

Before White Fang could finish, his words immediately drew undisguised sneers and mockery from the surrounding crowd!

"White Fang, did the cold wind blow away your courage?! How could you worry about the threat of those humans?!"

"That's hilarious! Those weak two-legged sheep! The ridiculous metal lumps (Hot Weapons) they used to rely on aren't even fit to scratch our weakest warriors! Though the fireworks they produce are quite pretty!"

Mentioning humans, many Iceborn warriors showed expressions of extreme disgust and contempt.

"Hmph! If it weren't for the restrictions of the Ancient Covenant, my Iceborn Clan would have emerged long ago and completely cleaned out these pests!"

Another voice rang out coldly, "Look at the state they've ruined the Mother Star into! How many species have gone extinct because of them! Do they even deserve to call themselves the Overlords of Blue Star? Bah!"

"Hehe, I've long wanted to taste the flesh and blood of these so-called 'Spirits of All Things'! I hear they have tender skin and meat, and they smell great when roasted!"

"But... but..."

White Fang tried to argue, "Now Blue Star's Spiritual Energy Revival has been ongoing for over twenty days... the humans... will they also..."

"Spiritual Energy Revival?! Twenty days?! Hahaha!"

A louder burst of laughter erupted, almost overturning the cold air in the plaza.

"White Fang, are you not fully awake today? Twenty days?! Even if they drink spiritual energy like water, evolving to Rank 10 would be a miracle! How can they possibly contend with our Iceborn warriors, who average Rank 70?!"