Chapter 2: I Am the Boss (5)
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“This might be the last line of defense for the Ice Palace.”
As Prince Eric casually put his hands on his belly and turned his head with a smirk, he watched the epic clash of forces between enemies and allies.
He couldn’t help but boast to Trissa, who was standing nearby. Despite not seeing eye to eye with the foreign affairs minister, Eric had to admit that the old coot’s daughter was quite impressive—even in the talented Harpist Academy, she was a bright star.
With Trissa on his team, at least he could ensure that his core crew wouldn’t be harmed anytime soon. So, out of sheer face-saving, he had to show enough sincerity and respect to this genius harpist of the empire.
As for the other two harpists, whether they liked it or not, they were now ordered by Eric to follow Trissa’s lead.
Trissa was anxious, but had to put on a calm facade, “Your Highness is right, we’ll have the 60th floor in no time!”
“Hahaha…”
Eric pressed his belly and looked on as the two black knights were being pushed back under the attacks of his skilled fighters. He made a confident conclusion, “We’re going to win!”
“For Lord Kael’thas!”
The flames of souls burned beneath the helmets of the two black knights. Just as those helmets got knocked off, the flames surged like they were about to explode.
Finally, after their twenty-sixth cheer of “For Lord Kael’thas,” they burst into nothingness.
That’s when everyone realized these two knights were merely armor filled with thin air—no bodies inside!
Once the black knights were defeated, the skeleton warriors and zombies they controlled immediatly lost their will to fight. Just a slight lift of swords sent these pitiable undead scurrying into the ground’s cracks like ants, disappearing without a trace.
Tom and Jerry were temporarily dead, and they could only be resurrected if Lin Nan met the quest requirements by the 70th floor.
The strong members of the group returned to respectively report to their masters about “Kael’thas.”
“Could ‘Kael’thas’ be the boss guarding this place?”
“I think so too; otherwise, why would these two black knights only chant that one phrase?”
“Looks like the final enemy hasn’t shown themselves yet; we need to be careful.”
After the two black knights bit the dust, their armor and steeds vanished into thin air, further confirming that they were merely minions of the ultimate boss.
In their view, neither the earlier bone dragon nor the black knights posed significant trouble beyond delaying them a bit.
Thus, it seemed likely that their master, the so-called Kael’thas, wouldn’t be much of a hassle either.
After a brief regrouping, both armies marched toward the palace.
“Creak!”
The sound of the palace doors opening echoed through the air.
As the grand doors swung wide, revealing a breathtaking scene of shimmering blue ice crystals, everyone gasped in astonishment.
Everything, including the floor, was wrapped in a layer of smooth, glimmering ice. Walking on it required utmost balance—one misstep, and a slip was all but guaranteed!
“An alligator monster?”
Hearing Lady Rong Ji’s call, the alligator couldn’t wait to leap ahead but slipped on its own haste and went down with a spectacular faceplant, “Oof!”
Not daring to cry out, it stood up awkwardly and scuttled to Lady Rong Ji’s side.
“Milady, I swear I’ve never been here before!”
“Why don’t you scout ahead? Isn’t your true form an alligator? Surely it’s steadier on all fours!”
Lady Rong Ji didn’t even acknowledge its protest.
Reluctantly, the alligator monster took the command. Some of its subordinates, being aquatic creatures, eagerly transformed into their natural forms.
In an instant, a variety of aquatic reptiles appeared—lizards, toads, water snakes, and giant turtles—all lined up to strut their stuff.
Once transformed, their pace was considerably quicker than human speed. They darted ahead, leaving everyone gaping in shock.
Seeing this, Prince Eric felt a pang of urgency. Unfortunately, the demon race lacked such magical abilities, but quickly, he hatched a solution.
Since everything was ice, why not just melt it away?
“Fire Potion! Prepare!”
Lucky for them, they had stockpiled plenty of potions before setting off, and now was the time to use them.
“Clang, clang!”
Under Eric’s personal command, dozens of potion bottles flew at various spots along the path.
Purple-black flames ignited, melting the hard ice into a bumpy yet walkable trail.
The demon race and Ji Shen’s forces pushed forward like they were in a race to reach the depths of the palace.
What if their so-called boss was just a pretty face? Whoever got there first could jump on it right away!
Not to be outdone, Fu Yetian and Lady Rong Ji hopped onto the backs of two giant turtles, clearly moving faster than the ice melting.
“Those pesky rascals!”
Eric muttered curses while directing his army to lay more potions to clear the path.
Just then, the alligator monster, crawling in front, suddenly froze in sheer terror.
“What’s wrong?”
Lady Rong Ji and Fu Yetian stopped right behind it, casually asking as alligator monster began to tremble.
Before it could respond, they beheld a breathtakingly terrifying sight.
At the end of the hall stood a towering four-meter-high block of ice. Within it sat a man clad in black armor, mounted on a warhorse adorned with fish scale armor, gripping a broad sword so tightly it looked like he was ready to leap out of the ice itself at any moment.
“Who is he?” Rong Ji glanced at the paralyzed alligator monster, “Could it be…?”
“My last checkpoint was because of him! He chased me, and we almost met our doom!”
The alligator monster transformed back into humanoid form, terror etched on its face—no act.
“Rumble!”
Suddenly, the entire palace began to shake violently.
Countless sharp pieces of ice fell from the ceilings, sending the crowd scrambling for cover.
Even so, a fair number of people were pierced by the slender icicles, bl**d gushing forth as they fell, instantly knocked out of commission.
