My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 122

“How did you stop my Glacier Region? You didn’t even summon a Spirit for help…!”

“I told you. I’ve gotten stronger.”

Thud!

Urka stomped the ground. The earth she stood on cracked, sending debris flying. Before the fragments could fall back down, Urka seized Soro from behind.

Just as Soro conjured ice to match the timing of Urka’s Flamme swing—

Crack!

“…!”

As the sword heading towards her back was blocked by ice, Urka’s eyes widened slightly. She had been sure it would break, so the fact that it didn’t caught her off guard.

Ignoring the numbness from her hand gripping Flamme, Urka was about to chant her skill when she noticed the shards from the ice she hit hovering around her.

“You’re quick on the uptake. ‘Icicle.'”

The tiny ice crystals transformed into sharp spears.

Seeing this, Urka utilized her internal mana to enhance her reflexes. She comprehended the shape, angle, position, and speed of the icicles trying to pierce her from all directions.

Urka was already renowned for her quick movements, and with mana reinforcing her body, Soro could only describe her movements as divine.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dodging the influx of ice spikes by mere inches, Urka tightened her grip on Flamme, shifting from a swinging stance to a thrusting one.

Flamme’s red blade erupted in flames.

“‘Flame Spear!'”

‘That’s the one I need to avoid!’

Soro’s instinct kicked in as he saw Urka’s thrust. He manipulated the ice to create a slick surface, smoothly moving out of Flamme’s trajectory.

Boom!

A fierce blaze surged from the tip of Flamme, scorching the ground of the Duel Arena and smashing into a corner of the spectator area with a massive explosion.

“…That damn black cat…!”

Soro clicked his tongue and gathered mana in both hands.

“This time, you won’t be able to break it!”

Just as Soro was about to concentrate his mana, Urka hurled four kunai she’d stored in her thigh all over the arena. Each kunai had a piece of burning paper depicting a human form wrapped in flames.

“‘Fire Seal!'”

Making a hand gesture reminiscent of ninjas, she activated the skill.

As the paper ignited, flames soared over the Duel Arena. Soro’s gathered mana weakened, and the icicles around Urka started to melt.

“This damn woman…”

Soro conjured a sword from ice and charged at Urka, bold enough due to his confidence in his physical abilities.

“Do you really think that barrier can suppress my mana?!”

Urka, having dodged his sharp thrust, swung her sword.

Crack!

Again, she tried to fend off Urka’s attack with ice, but thanks to the ‘Fire Seal’ effect, she couldn’t create a strong enough ice wall. As a result, the wall was completely shattered by Urka’s sword.

Clang! Clang!

Each time Urka’s Flamme came in contact, the ice sword was severely damaged, losing its function as a weapon.

‘It melts every time it gets hit? What kind of sword is that?’

Normally, Urka preferred short blades like daggers and kunai unless she’d summoned Ignis.

But today, she had been wielding a sword from the start, raising doubts for Soro, who knew her combat style.

‘Does it have some special effect? Well… whatever.’

Thunk!

“Ugh!”

An ice shard that was in Urka’s blind spot turned into a spike and pierced her forearm.

“‘Flame!'”

With the skill activated, Flamme swung out, scorching the ice around Urka.

Clang! Crack!

‘Instead of reacting to my movements, she’s just creating gaps with ice walls and focusing solely on attacking. Plus, those shards from the ice she strikes are turning into ice again, incredibly troublesome.’

Urka clicked her tongue and took a step back to readjust. She believed that continuing to collide attacks wouldn’t be very effective.

Meanwhile, the spectators, watching in disbelief, couldn’t help but be perturbed by Urka’s surprisingly good performance against Soro.

Many had a lot at stake in this gamble event.

Perhaps that’s why loud jeers began rumbling from the stands.

“No! Do better! Damn it!”

“Shit! Stop holding back and go all out! I bet on you! You had a 96% chance!!”

“Hey you bastard beastman! Just take the hits and die!”

“Just because that beastman slave got some treatment, you think he can hang in there! Damn it! Forfeit immediately!”

“Urka you bastard! If you win, I’ll curse you for life!!”

The intensity of the remarks from the spectators was escalating.

Far enough from the Duel Arena that an ordinary human wouldn’t be able to hear it, but it resonated clear as day for Urka, a Beastman Tribe member with heightened senses.

However, Urka paid no mind.

She knew precisely what she had to do.

She was fully aware of why she stood here at this moment.

She had started this duel to aim for the liberation of slaves, but now, she was only moving to secure victory for one person.

“I said to take it slow, but that’s after you’ve been laid out flat on the ground!”

Thud!

With a single stomp, Urka closed the distance Soro had created. She tightened her grip on Flamme.

“Take this!”

“Do you really think this little will stop my mana?!”

Screeeech!

A colossal chunk of ice, resembling a glacier, formed once more.

“Useless! ‘Explosion!’”

Boom!

The ice that burst forth to block Urka detonated. However, within the thick smoke, more ice rose again, threatening her life.

Clang!

“Your struggle is in vain!”

Crack!

“Ugh!”

Urka barely managed to deflect the ice and land on the ground. She closed the gap once more. Yet, while Urka approached Soro from a distance, his magic finished incanting.

“Who do you think you are, Urka!? I’ll show you my true power! ‘Glacier Region!’”

Screeeech!

The moment the skill spilled from Soro’s mouth, ice spread across the entire Duel Arena. The spectacle of the Glacier Region, which Praus’s party had seen at the northern end, unfolded before them.

“!”

As the arena’s cement floor transformed into a frozen surface, Urka couldn’t maintain her balance and slipped. Just as she was about to fall, an icicle shot up from the ground.

Aiming directly for her neck, it was a lethal attack that would not only pierce but was deadly enough to cause her demise.

Whoosh!

Urka just barely managed to twist her body to avoid it, though she felt a slight cut along the side of her neck.

‘Praus’s strategy against the Glacier Region was to break and melt the ice itself, but… I don’t have time for that.’

There wasn’t even a moment to wipe the blood running down her neck.

Crack!

Simultaneously, ice shot up from the frozen ground.

Urka, having leapt high, spotted Soro leisurely standing on the ice. The ‘Fire Seal’ that had weakened his mana was now useless due to the activation of the Glacier Region.

Taking advantage of that, Soro gathered mana and conjured a massive dragon shape from ice.

‘Ice Dragon…!’

“’Chill Breath!’”

As Soro’s words fell, the mouth of the ice dragon opened wide.

A too-fast attack for the airborne Urka to evade.

“Dammit! Ignis!”

Her hair turned crimson, and flame engulfed her body. It was evidence that Ignis had manifested.

Gripping Flamme with both hands, Urka swung her sword at the chill descending upon her.

“’Flame Slash!’”

The flames expelled from her sword surged hotter as the chill and fire met mid-air.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the flames subsided. Urka’s expression went blank at the sight. Desperately she raised her arm to shield her face, but the chill mercilessly poured down upon her. With a short gasp, Urka was swallowed by the cold.

Her breath froze in an instant, and her skin felt as if it had burned.

“Ugh!”

Urka held her breath. She had learned from Praus that inhaling at the moment of cold would freeze her lungs and lead to suffocation.

As if frozen solid, she was unable to move, crashing to the ground.

‘I’m sorry, Praus… I can’t do it….’

As she resigned herself to the fact she couldn’t defeat Soro, flames began to swirl around her, gradually restoring her normal body temperature.

‘What is this… fire?’

Urka felt an unexpected warmth from the wild flames surrounding her.

[…Urka. How do you possess… the necklace I thought I lost?]

‘Ignis’s lost necklace?’

Hearing Ignis’s voice, Urka recalled the necklace that Praus had put around her neck before the duel.

‘So that’s it. Praus foresaw this all along.’

[How you got that necklace is still a mystery, but I’ll worry about it after I take down that brat.]

The towering ice walls began to melt upon touching the flames. Once the flames from the Glacier Region had partly melted, they vanished the moment Urka regained her normal body temperature.

“What is that fire?”

“…The wish of someone who desperately wants me to win.”

“What?”

Urka steadied her stance amid the ice walls. Seeing this, Soro reacted immediately and reached out.

“Do you think I’ll give you the chance to use your skill?!”

Ice spikes shooting out from the walls raced towards Urka. Yet given the now strengthened flames from her Ignis summoning, the small ice attacks melted away before they could reach her.

‘They said the Ice Dragon becomes a hassle the moment it flies. I can’t deal with Soro while also facing the ice dragon above. If it comes to that, I must take it down first—’

Flamme’s blade was engulfed in flames. The explosion of flames grew to at least two meters.

‘What the hell, what power is that….’

Seeing the mana far surpassing his expectations enveloping Urka’s sword, Soro couldn’t help but let out a low curse.

“Ice Dragon!”

Following Soro’s command, the Ice Dragon soared into the air. Its great ice wings flapping swiftly mesmerized Urka’s gaze.

“’Devastation—’”

“’Chill Breath!’”

From the Ice Dragon’s mouth, a breath was exhaled. However, Urka didn’t finish reciting her skill name nor swing her sword.

She knew her skills would weaken upon contact with the chill.

Furthermore, it was the ‘Chill Breath’ she had already been hit by once.

Knowing she could endure it with the necklace, she braced herself and accepted the cold in full.

“Ugh!”

Unlike when it had been used by Praus, Urka’s mana was significantly lower, so the pain she felt through the chill was far greater than his.

Her fingers trembled as though frostbitten, and her entire body felt as if it were burned, but she endured it.

All for the sake of victory.

As she regained her mobility from the flames flickering around her, Urka swung her sword.

“’Devastation Flame Slash!’”

The flames that poured forth were hotter and more massive than any fire she had displayed before. The ice dragon, unable to evade, was forced to confront the searing heat head-on.

“RAAA—!”

The ice dragon screeched as it plummeted, and Urka’s lips curled into a smile.

“—And if I manage to kill that ice dragon, Soro’s mana will deplete, leaving him weakened.”