Chapter 131: Chapter 131: There’s a Posthumous Skill, Too?

A barrage of piercing Ice Magic erupted. Wherever the cold tide swept, the Northern Warriors suffered heavy casualties.

Wang Xi’s "Snow King" was already at Blue Two Stars, and with the "Bang Bang Candy" Seal and the buff from his "Frost Winter Meditation Technique," even his most basic Ice Blades and Ice Arrows possessed considerable power.

What’s more, these Northern People weren’t wearing a shred of armor.

They were clad only in coarse animal hides, relying purely on their beast-like physiques and battle-honed Combat Techniques to fight. Although the Shamans’ Magic could incite their ferocity and dispel fear, it couldn’t make flesh and blood impervious to harm.

A sky full of ice rained down, instantly riddling the group of Berserkers with holes. Drenched in blood, they collapsed.

Among them, only a few Northern Warriors who had reached the Four-Star Elite Level were still stubbornly clinging to life. Covered in blood, they roared at the sky and furiously hurled Flying Axes at the black-cloaked youth in mid-air.

Wang Xi stood in the air on suspended Ice Mirrors, eight or nine meters off the ground. With a casual swing of his Broadsword, he easily parried away the Flying Axes that were already losing their momentum.

A few more arrows flew at his back, but before they even got close, the Wind Element flowing around his Cloak silently diverted them. They didn’t even touch a single hair on his head.

Anyone who’s ever flown a bomber in a video game knows that an air-to-ground attack is, in most cases, a completely one-sided slaughter.

’A bunch of barbarians thought they could fight a noble Mage? They should just stay down there and wait for death!’

Seeing that more than half of the Northern Elite had fallen, their leaders could no longer stand by. They clenched their fists, roared out orders, and shouted a stream of gibberish.

Immediately after, the group of Shamans turned their gazes to Wang Xi and raised their hands toward him in unison.

WHOOSH—

A sapphire-blue ice mist spewed forth from the mouths of these Female Shamans, converging into a cold current that swept through the air.

Wang Xi was first startled, then amused.

’Using Ice Magic against a Cold High Warlock? Isn’t that just like teaching a fish to swim!’

He raised his hand and waved.

—"Ice Mirror."

A gleaming, oval Ice Crystal Barrier, as tall as a man, condensed before him in the blink of an eye.

The cold current swept over it, splitting and sliding away like a wave crashing against a reef—Wang Xi, standing behind it, was completely unharmed.

Ice Mirror was a Defense Magic with High Magic Resistance, making it especially effective against Elemental Magic, particularly Ice Magic.

Not to be outdone, Wang Xi resumed his assault, unleashing a barrage of Ice Blades and Ice Arrows at the group of Shamans.

However, the Shamans used the same trick, working together to create an Ice Wall that blocked the Ice Magic raining down from the sky.

It was just like a turn-based game.

The two sides went back and forth, but neither could do anything to the other.

’This group of Shamans also has high resistance to the Ice Element. Ice Blades and Ice Arrows alone won’t be enough to kill them,’ Wang Xi thought to himself.

Just then, he noticed the old crone at the very back of the Shaman group suddenly drop to her knees with a THUD. She lowered her head, muttering incantations as intense fluctuations of Magic Power surged from her body.

’Is she starting to channel a spell?!’

The old crone was no simple foe; the title above her head read "Chief Northern Shaman," a Five-Star Elite—the same level as Wang Xi and the Lord of the Magic Forest at this stage.

Wang Xi could tell with a single glance that she was charging up an ultimate.

That wouldn’t do.

He acted decisively, raising his hand and making a grasping motion. A mass of ice and snow rapidly condensed amidst the surging Magic Power.

Then, he fiercely flung his hand toward the old crone.

—"Frost Beak"!

Wang Xi was using his ultimate too, but his casting wind-up was much faster!

An arm-thick Spiral Ice Spear burst forth with a SWISH, diagonally crossing over a dozen meters from above and striking the Ice Wall dead center.

The great strength of the Spiral Ice Spear lay in its piercing power. With a dull THUD, the nearly half-meter-thick Ice Wall was instantly pierced straight through, leaving a large hole.

As ice shards flew, the Ice Spear, without losing any momentum, continued straight for the old crone kneeling on the ground—

It was too late to dodge.

But she showed no intention of dodging, remaining on her knees and continuing to chant.

The Shamans beside her seemed to go mad. With ferocious, twisted expressions, they threw themselves in front of the old crone in unison, using their own bodies as shields to block the spear for her.

PSHCHT! SHKT! SHKT! SHKT!

The Spiral Ice Spear pierced through the bodies of several Shamans in one go, stopping abruptly right in front of the old crone—less than a foot from her wrinkled, impassive face.

The old crone remained unmoved as her companions died before her eyes. The strange sounds from her mouth only grew louder, and the Magic Power surging from her body became even more turbulent.

’How creepy,’ Wang Xi thought.

At the same time, he realized something was wrong; the old crone’s ultimate was about to finish channeling. A strong sense of danger washed over him, and goosebumps erupted all over his skin.

Wang Xi had intended to use "Ice Spike Burst," but the Shamans who had blocked the spear had done something just before they died. Their corpses instantly turned into exceptionally hard ice sculptures, forming a "corpse wall" that firmly shielded the old crone.

This would greatly reduce the effectiveness of "Ice Spike Burst."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wang Xi decisively pulled out his trump card, "Chekhov’s Gun." He poured half of his body’s Magic Power into the black revolver in one go, aimed it at the old crone, and pulled the trigger.

In his mind, Dr. Anton’s voice rang out:

"The trajectory is the path home; the gunshot is the death knell... With this shot, I will cure her of her wicked affliction, freeing her from pain forever."

BANG—

A muzzle flash erupted from the revolver.

A bullet, deep black and emitting an icy mist, spun at high speed and vanished in the blink of an eye.

SPLAT!!

The old crone, who had been kneeling behind the "corpse wall" and muttering, suddenly pitched forward. The chanting stopped abruptly.

Her entire head had exploded.

Instantly frozen fragments of ice scattered, coating the ground in a layer of frost where they landed.

The headless corpse fell to the ground with a THUMP.

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Mase"?」

The Chief Northern Shaman had been instantly killed by Wang Xi’s single charged shot.

The kill notification popped up accordingly.

In addition, kill notifications for the other Shamans also popped up one after another:

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Pamela"?」

「...」

Wang Xi exhaled a long puff of white breath and mentally gave an affirmative answer to all of them.

Four or five deep-green orbs of light rose up, carrying a single blue orb with them, and flew together into the space between his eyebrows.

This was quite a haul!

But just as Wang Xi was feeling secretly pleased, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

His head felt heavy and his vision started to darken.

Faintly, distorted, swaying patches of eerie blue light appeared in his vision.

’What’s going on?’

Wang Xi was startled.

He looked down.

He was astonished to find his entire body burning with an eerie blue flame!

’I’m on fire?!’

The fire wasn’t hot; on the contrary, it gave off a bone-chilling cold. Even with "Snow King" and "Frost Winter Meditation Technique" protecting him, Wang Xi still felt cold... It wasn’t a physical sensation of temperature, but more like the shivering one feels when extremely weak, as body heat rapidly drains away.

The Magic Power in his body began to uncontrollably pour out, as if it were being consumed and devoured by the flames.

A term immediately popped into Wang Xi’s mind:

Mana Burn!

Followed immediately by another thought:

A fucking Posthumous Skill!

The Chief Northern Shaman had been channeling a spell the whole time, and he had jumped to the conclusion that the old crone was charging up an ultimate.

He wasn’t wrong, technically, but the ultimate she was charging was a Posthumous Skill—one that would only trigger upon her death.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when his legs went weak, and he collapsed with a THUD onto the Ice Mirror.

First, he had strafed them with a barrage of Ice Magic, and then he had poured a massive amount of Magic Power into "Chekhov’s Gun." The little Magic Power he had left was quickly burned away by the eerie blue flames on his body.

CRACK!

Immediately after, he heard a crisp cracking sound from beneath him. The Ice Mirror, lacking the support of his Magic Power, was covered in cracks.

Before Wang Xi could react.

SHATTER!

The Ice Mirror shattered.

With a WHOOSH, he plummeted straight down from a height of eight or nine meters.

With his current Physique, a fall from two or three stories high wouldn’t kill him, but his body was completely limp, making injury from the fall unavoidable.

Just as Wang Xi gritted his teeth and prepared for a hard impact with the ground, he suddenly felt his body become lighter, as if he were a feather floating gently down.

He glanced over.

He saw the girl in the grey robe sliding quickly over on a vine, one hand raised as she cast a spell.

It was Goddalir, using the Feather Fall Technique at the critical moment to save him from a bloody fall.

"Gai!"

As Wang Xi landed steadily on the ground, Cinderella rushed over anxiously.

Just as she was about to get closer, he managed to say with difficulty:

"Don’t come closer... Whatever you do, don’t touch me!"

Wang Xi wasn’t sure if the eerie blue flames on his body would spread to Goddalir, so he shouted a warning.

Hearing this, the girl froze in place, too scared to move. She could only watch the blue flames burning on the young man’s body, her expression growing more anxious and terrified, completely at a loss for what to do.

By now, Sofia, Bev, and Pinocchio had finished their battles and rushed over. They were shocked to see Gai’s condition.

"This... this must be the Northern Shamans’ most insidious technique. It rapidly burns an enemy’s Magic Power," the knowledgeable Sugar Witch said in a grave voice.

"Furthermore, once the Magic Power is completely burned away, it will continue to devour the target’s Life Force until they’re nothing but a dried-up husk."

"?!"

Everyone was shocked.

Goddalir quickly asked:

"Lady Bev, is there a cure?"

"I’m sorry, I don’t know much about it."

The pink-gowned, blonde-haired Witch shook her head, her expression grave.

"But for this kind of technique, external forces are unlikely to dispel it and could easily backfire."

When the others heard this, the atmosphere grew heavy.

Were they supposed to just stand by and watch Gai be burned alive?

But Wang Xi had heard her clearly.

After burning away all Magic Power, the eerie blue flames would continue to burn Life Force...

So what if the Magic Power never ran out?

’Fine! Then let’s see who lasts longer!’

Wang Xi’s eyes were calm, but his heart was filled with fierce resolve.

He immediately gave Kaos an order:

’Promote the Meditation Technique Card!’

「70 Experience consumed (819 remaining)」

「Card Promoted!」

「Frost Winter Meditation Technique (Technique Card/Deep Blue Two Stars): 0/600」

The Meditation Technique, which had already been just one step away from a Star Promotion, instantly broke through to Deep Blue Two Stars after this small injection of Experience.

This was also a measure Wang Xi took just to be safe.

He sat on the ground in a kneeling position, placed his hands on his knees, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and began his meditation—with ten times the Magic Power absorption speed, he would directly resist the blue fire consuming his body.

Wang Xi was about to find out whether the fire burned faster or he could absorb faster.

His actions surprised everyone.

Among those present, only Bev and Goddalir understood first, seeing through Gai’s plan—this was a unique advantage of the Ice Heart People, and it had now become Gai’s means of saving himself.

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