Chapter 556 - The Strongest Duo, Dog and Flower! (Part 2)

The Ice Emperor’s eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the cavern ceiling. The Winter Knight also focused its senses, confirming the terrifying clash of energies outside. One of the power sources was undeniably Hel.

After realizing the situation, the Ice Emperor and the Winter Knight immediately tried to rush out of the cavern to help Hel. However, before they could get far, vines lashed out, binding them in place.

Lu Ran scratched his ear. “Are you trying to get yourselves killed? What good would you do? You’d just be dead weight.”

“Let me go.” The Ice Emperor struggled, but Six-Path Flower’s vines were unyielding.

“Listen, I can save your sister. I can pull her out of this mess.”

Lu Ran’s words made the Ice Emperor and the Winter Knight stop struggling, their eyes locking onto him.

“Who are you?” The Ice Emperor asked again.

Lu Ran stroked his chin, pondering. “How do I put this... You can think of me as a messenger of the Supreme Divine Dragons. A divine messenger, if you will. In short, I share your sister’s burden. We’re both enemies of the elemental gods. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You understand, right?”

The Ice Emperor’s pupils shrank.

A messenger... of the Supreme Divine Dragons?

He’d never heard of such a thing.

Lu Ran smiled. “There’s much you don’t know. I know more than you can imagine. For instance, I know the Four Supreme Divine Dragons are merely dormant. In a few days, they’ll awaken and suppress all elemental gods. That’s why I’ve held back. Once the Divine Dragons awaken, everything will be resolved. There’s no need to rush.

“However, your sister is too impatient. She charged headfirst into battle, trying to convince the Ice Goddess through force. That was never going to work... Even if she sacrifices her life, she won’t change the Ice Goddess’s mind.’

“You’re really a divine messenger?” The Ice Emperor, skeptical but desperate, clung to this hope.

“Absolutely.”

“Please, no matter what, save my sister. I’ll give you anything.”

Lu Ran waved his hand. “Even as a divine messenger, I’m no match for the Ice Goddess. At most, I can rescue your sister and flee, waiting for the Divine Dragons to awaken. And even that is dangerous. I don’t work for free.’

The Ice Emperor’s heart dropped.

“Let me be blunt. Your sister’s physique is unique. I’m very interested in her blood. I know you have some of it. Here’s the deal. Give me all the resources your sister left you, and after I save her, convince her to donate her blood to me. Deal?

“With her strength, she won’t die from blood loss. Once the Divine Dragons awaken, her worries will vanish. I’ll even put in a good word for her. This is better than her dying pointlessly now. We can discuss the details after I save her.”

“I agree! I agree to everything!” The Ice Emperor nodded frantically, finding the terms reasonable.

If the Divine Dragons were to awaken soon, sacrifices now were meaningless. Moreover, Lu Ran’s offer was sincere, as everything would be settled after the rescue. The Ice Emperor had no reason to refuse.

“Good.” Lu Ran’s lips curled slightly.

What a good brother, selling out his sister twice.

He turned to #18’s projection, which showed the ongoing battle via mini-robots.

“When will you go?” The Ice Emperor asked urgently.

“There’s no need to rush. Your sister’s injuries are still light. Broken limbs can be fixed. I’ll restore them as a messenger of the Life Dragon. Besides, your sister hasn’t reached her limit yet. If I intervene now, she won’t trust me. She still believes she can defeat the Ice Goddess...”

Lu Ran watched calmly. The battle unfolded much as Hel had described. The Ice Goddess summoned her ice elemental gods, but Hel, refusing to call in the resistance, chose to burn her life force for greater power.

The projection showed a scene of extreme violence, with blizzards and ice shards piercing the sky. Hel and her familiars stood firm against the onslaught, their struggle shaking the earth.

The resistance members hidden among the populace clenched their fists, recalling Hel’s final words.

“If I gain the upper hand, stay hidden. If I falter, still don’t intervene. At most, you can lend me your elemental energy to heal. Only act if I call for you.”

This level of divine combat was beyond ordinary Legendaries and Epic-Legendaries.

“Doesn’t my sister have any other allies? When will you act?” The Ice Emperor’s eyes reddened as he watched Hel’s desperate fight.

In the battle, the newly arrived elemental gods also suffered wounds, but Hel’s condition was deteriorating faster.

Lu Ran shook his head. “She has allies, but they can’t help much. If things go as expected, as your sister and her familiars burn their life force, the Ice Goddess will summon the ice elemental legion.

Countless beasts from Transcendent to Overlord rank will come to aid her. That’s when the resistance will intervene, blocking the legion’s advance, but it’ll be a drop in the ocean. As for when I’ll step in, let’s wait until the Ice Goddess summons her legion.”

The Ice Emperor gritted his teeth.

As Hel unleashed her divine skill, fusing and igniting the ten divine cores within her, her power underwent another qualitative leap. A terrifying elemental tide surged backward, the sheer force causing the ice elemental gods guarding the Ice Goddess to crack.

After seeing this, the Ice Goddess sighed, realizing this human had cast aside all fear of death. Like Hel, the Ice Goddess and her gods had long since abandoned their fear of death, seeking only to break the world’s laws and ascend further. After ruling for so long, they were weary of immortality.

The consequences meant nothing to them. The Ice Goddess never imagined a mere human would go to such lengths to stop them.

“You still don’t understand the gap between us. You cannot change our will. We rule this world now, not the Four Supreme Divine Dragons. Since you insist, witness the accumulated might of gods who have stood at the pinnacle for ages.” With those icy words, the Ice Goddess pronounced her final judgment.

As she spoke, the very laws embedded in the Ice Nation trembled. Beams of icy light erupted from across the land. In that moment, every ice elemental lifeform in the nation, from Transcendent to Overlord, felt a stirring in their blood. Born under the Ice Goddess’ decree, they were bound to her will.

Even the current elemental Low and Intermediate Legendaries had ascended from such beings. The earlier ice elemental gods, those not part of the Ice Goddess’s system, had long been devoured by her. Now, at her call, whether the ice giants guarding cities or the wild ice slimes, all turned their gaze in one direction.

The true might of the Ice Nation, an army of ice elemental lifeforms numbering in the hundreds of millions, began to move. As the nation quaked, the gods of other elemental nations cast their final glances.

It’s over...