The former Ruen soldier, Longzel Edward, standing guard at the cave entrance, had just swayed when he saw a massive figure plummet from the sky, landing on a nearby boulder encased in thick ice. Its leathery wings did not fold but continued to spread, nearly blocking out all light.
The dreamy scales, like frozen crystals, and the fiercely raging deep blue dragon eyes immediately caught Longzel's gaze, making him instinctively sense danger. He promptly hoisted his iron-black straight sword and leaped to the side, rolling away to distance himself from his original position.
Almost simultaneously, the "King of the North," Yurisian, a frost dragon, opened its mouth and spewed a twisting, ice-blue flame toward the cave. Everywhere it passed, the air became transparent and froze solid!
In that instant, the ice-blue flame raised a tide of dreamy light, madly surging into the dark and deep cave, freezing everything along the way.
Although the words "Angel of Imagination, Adam" still flashed in Klein's mind, and he couldn't help but think of Emperor Roselle's description of the Twilight Hermit Society—"its purpose is to revive the original creator, possesses the high-level beings of the 'Spectator' pathway, even the 'Uniqueness', and the way to summon members is through a real dream connecting the east and west of the continent, and as long as the name is mentioned, it can be sensed immediately"—he still instinctively reacted to the danger.
He deftly sidestepped and quickly dodged to a rough area of the cave, trying to use the rock in front of him to hide from the impending attack.
However, the surging ice-blue light was like a tide, flooding every inch of space and freezing everything, and in the cramped confines of the cave, it left no safe place for the target.
Just as the surroundings were about to become an ice coffin, a huge gray-blue figure appeared in Klein's line of sight.
The giant, Grosell, silently stood in front, knelt on his left knee, bent forward, and planted his broad, straight greatsword before him.
A dawn-like radiance rose, forming illusory walls on either side of Grosell, protecting everyone behind him.
The ice-blue "tide" surged in, first split by the vertical sword, then crashed into the dawn light on both sides!
In the vision of Klein and the others, the cave suddenly darkened, and then returned to a dim glow.
They could clearly see that the fire had been extinguished, and the gloomy light outside was now extremely faint as it passed through layers of ice.
At that moment, every inch of space in front of Grosell was frozen, and the giant seemed like a bug preserved in amber!
Following that, the greatsword stuck in the ground emitted patches of dawn-like radiance.
They converged, enveloping Grosell, and then turned into a storm of light, sweeping outward.
Without a sound, a large gap appeared in the ice, as if melted, spreading all the way outside the cave, and Grosell's gray-blue figure vanished from where he stood.
The elven singer, Shathras, whose hair was not yet tied, held her bow, and with the swirl of wind around her, rushed out of the cave without any hesitation. The Viscount of the Ruen Empire, Morbet Sorayast, wearing an asymmetrical black coat, muttered "Don't rush," "Finally here," and strode quickly after Shathras.
The ascetic monk, Snowman, who had been facing the rock wall, also stood up. He made four gestures on his chest, as if drawing something like a cross.
"May the Lord bless!"
With a hoarse, dry voice, he stepped on the cold ice with bare feet and ran out of the cave through the gap.
Klein did not hesitate either. Without drawing his revolver, he, together with Anderson, who was gripping the "Short Tooth of Death," swiftly entered the gap in the ice.
Edwina Edwards, wearing a complex shirt, looked at Danziz, who was trembling under the pressure of the high-level being, and said in a soft but emotionless voice:
"You stay here."
With those words, her light blue eyes darkened, and gust after gust of wind swirled around her, propelling her outside.
"Stay here..." Danziz was taken aback for two seconds. He glanced around instinctively, seeing the rock walls coated in frost and the completely extinguished fire.
The cave was silent, with only him present.
Danziz's trembling gradually subsided. He opened his mouth but failed to say anything, and could only watch the captain's figure disappear at the cave entrance.
Outside the cave, the former Ruen soldier, Longzel Edward, who had rolled aside to avoid the initial attack, saw the "King of the North," Yurisian, flap its wings, ready to take off and distance himself from the beyonders. He quickly steadied himself and pushed his left palm out.
Then, he declared in Ancient Hermes:
"This place is prohibited for flight!"
Instantly, the frost dragon's sky-covering wings seemed to be burdened with an immense invisible weight, making flapping them extremely difficult.
The "King of the North" immediately let out an enraged roar. The powerful sound waves drilled into Longzel's ears, causing him to shake involuntarily.
With a swoosh, the sky-covering wings finally flapped down, lifting all the snow and frost nearby, scattering them into the air.
Yurisian, though with difficulty, successfully took to the air.
At that moment, the "Knight of Retribution" Longzel, his expression turned solemn, and he spoke a sentence in Ancient Hermes:
"Those who defy must be punished!"