**Chapter 41: The Duke’s Guidance (Part 2)**
If I don’t do something soon, I’m going to lose.
The enormous ice hammer came crashing down in an instant, leaving me no time to think. I poured all my energy into activating the Power of Order.
In the blink of an eye, a faint blue glow enveloped my entire body.
My black hair swirled around, and even my pupils took on a layer of deep blue.
The next moment, the Power of Order was unleashed like a tidal wave.
Crash, crash, crash—
Countless thick ice pillars surged up from the ground beneath me, colliding with the ones the Duke had used to trap me. The sound of ice smashing against ice rang sharply in the air, and ice shards pelted my face.
The incoming ice hammer was immediately impeded; after shattering two ice pillars, its momentum dwindled significantly.
I felt a wave of relief, then quickly extended my arms forward.
Palms open.
Inhale.
Boom—!!
Dense ice mist erupted from my palms and flooded my entire body. The massive ice hammer, unable to withstand even a moment of resistance, was knocked into the air as if it had encountered a hurricane.
The ice mist pressed on relentlessly, completely freezing a fan-shaped area dozens of meters ahead. Countless thick ice cones sprang from the ground, blooming like crystal lotus flowers.
What a breathtaking scene!
I expelled a puff of frosty white mist, and the blue glow in my eyes gradually faded.
Hearing the rustling among the hunters not far away made my heart skip a beat.
Oh no, I got too carried away!
I hope Duke Skarlij is okay!
“Uncle Duke!”
“What a terrifying talent…”
A voice echoed from the air.
There was no time to think. I jumped backward, leaping nearly ten meters into the air. At that moment, the Duke’s figure fell from the sky.
Boom!
Ice shards exploded everywhere from the spot where I had just stood.
“Such a waste! This is ridiculous. Do you think I’m some fearsome beast?”
Once I landed safely, I sighed in relief, grateful that he wasn’t hurt.
“What’s this?” The Duke chuckled at my expression. “You’re not worried about me, are you? Do you think you can force me into a corner like this?”
He sheathed his hammer.
“Are you underestimating me?”
“…No.”
I eyed him warily, calculating the distance between us, always on guard for his strange rushing steps.
The Duke clearly saw through my thoughts and started pacing back and forth in front of me, disrupting my judgment while delivering his teachings.
“Your use of the Power of Order isn’t bad, but you lack finesse. Relying solely on brute strength is a mistake. You might handle second-rate enemies just fine, but facing a top-tier opponent, your method of fighting will exhaust you two or three times faster than them. At that rate, it’s just a matter of time before you lose.”
“I’ll tell you something else. In our household, the one with the highest affinity for Frost Order isn’t me or Lafael, but rather my little daughter Peilo… She falls into the rare genius category, and you clearly have to surpass her.”
“By that measure, I’m even worse than Lafael, who’s only second-tier. But neither Peilo nor Lafael nor even Pasifal can match me… Miss Silvya, do you know why?”
“…Experience?”
“That’s part of it, but more importantly… it’s technique.”
“Just watch as I use my second-tier affinity to defeat those first-tier opponents.”
The Duke stopped moving.
He tossed the hammer down and raised his intact arm, clutching at the empty air.
Crack, crack. Crunch.
Countless ice crystals suddenly materialized from the air, drawn towards the Duke’s palm, slowly at first, then rushing in a whirlwind.
The sound of crushing made my teeth ache.
Whoosh—
An icy chill emanated from where the ice crystals congregated, swiftly engulfing the Duke’s entire arm.
It felt like even the air had frozen solid.
I could feel that suffocating cold, even lower than the temperature in my Frost World.
The ice crystals continued to condense in the Duke’s palm, morphing until they finally formed an enormous ice sword.
He gripped the giant sword tightly.
Unlike the previous hammer, the color of this sword was strikingly dark—blue as deep as the ocean, clearly not the typical ice color. With the white mist winding around the blade intensifying, its hue deepened to a dazzling dark blue.
The entire process took merely two seconds.
Duke Skarlij exhaled a puff of breath and smiled at me.
“Moon Step.”
Swish—
That light, eerie step appeared again, and the Duke slid through the air, landing right in front of me.
The giant sword billowed thick white smoke, raised high.
…Isn’t he underestimating me by charging at me like this?
Crack, crack, crack.
With a flick of my small hand, a towering ice wall shot up between his giant sword and me.
At the same time, I crouched low, stepping forward with my right foot, raising my right fist to strike.
“Ha.” The Duke’s laughter startled me.
The next moment, a huge crashing sound of ice shattering echoed in my ears.
Everything happened in an instant; the resilient ice wall crumpled as though made of paper at the touch of the giant sword.
I stared wide-eyed.
What… just happened?!
“Don’t space out!”
In the moment the giant sword sliced through the ice wall, the Duke switched from a downward slash to a palm strike, dashing towards me with a hissing sound like a snake.
I could only manage to raise my arms, but my response was too hasty. My arm couldn’t fully absorb the impact, and the giant sword struck my shoulder.
The immense force sent me flying.
I lost control of my body, tumbling for seven or eight meters through the air before barely landing.
“Ow!”
After rolling several times, my hair fell loose, dusting my face as it tumbled down.
Now I was all dirty.
Dazed, I got up, gently brushing off the dust from my clothes, then rubbed my sore left shoulder, grimacing in pain.
I could tell the Duke had pulled back at the last moment, but that hit still left me dazed.
“Never underestimate any enemy’s move; ignorance is dangerous. You’ve already died once.”
As soon as the Duke finished speaking, Lady Catherine’s furious voice rang out from a distance.
“Skarlij! What are you doing?!”
We both shuddered simultaneously.
I was a bit chilly. I had inadvertently come into contact with the white mist surrounding the giant sword, and the temperature was uncomfortably cold.
I was utterly shocked.
Just how low was that temperature…
Looking closely, the color of the ice sword in the Duke’s hand seemed to have intensified even further.
“This sword is made of ice at an extremely low temperature, tougher than steel. The sharpness of such an ice blade is beyond imagination. Your ice walls simply can’t withstand it; be careful.”
As he said this, the Duke glanced at the lady and waved his hand to reassure her not to worry.
But suddenly, he dashed at me again, this time using the giant sword like a hammer, swinging it horizontally toward me.
The air roared at that moment.
An ambush!
Having learned from my previous encounter, I dared not use an ice wall to block. Instead, I bent my knees and leapt straight up towards his head.
The giant sword swept beneath my feet, the white mist grazing my soles, and the petrifying cold made me shiver, but I didn’t dare hesitate, kicking towards the Duke’s head.
The Duke leaned back, dodging easily, switching the giant sword to his left hand, and swiftly slicing upwards.
The white mist tousled my hair.
Boom!
The ice pillar that shot up from beneath me propelled me higher into the air.
“Wow, ice formed from afar has such great force—impressive.”
The Duke’s surprise echoed from below. I knew he was waiting for me to land, so I quickly built an ice platform to the side, flipped, and pushed off with force, shooting away into the distance.
Then I looked back towards where the Duke was.
“Interesting.”
The Duke exchanged glances with me, then dashed straight toward the spot where I would land.
Not on my watch!
Boom—Boom—Boom!
I swiftly changed direction in mid-air three times, quickly distancing myself from where the Duke was charging, creating quite the gap.
Ha! You can’t catch me now!
Sure enough, the Duke came to a stop.
I couldn’t help but chuckle in triumph.
Now that I was at a safe distance, it was time for my counterattack… I had no defenses against that giant sword, so I had to think of something else.
As I pondered how to win, I adjusted my posture mid-air, preparing for the impact of landing.
Suddenly, I thought I saw the Duke smiling.
In the next moment, those eerie steps appeared again.
Whoosh—Whoosh—!
With two quick slides, the Duke appeared right before I landed.
“Wait! Don’t hit me!” I frantically protected my head.
“Second time.”
Thud.
A light tap on my forehead.
What followed wasn’t the impact I imagined; my petite body was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace.
“You can never let your guard down, because you never know what your enemy is thinking. Your thoughts may already be within their expectations, so relaxing means handing your life over to your enemy. This time, you lost due to a lack of experience.”
The Duke’s voice was soothingly magnetic, instilling an inexplicable sense of comfort.
“See, my talent doesn’t compare to yours at all, yet so far, you’ve been the only one exhausting your strength. The Order Power I used to create this giant sword was likely less than one-tenth of what you’ve burned through. I could make countless weapons like this, but how many times can you use your wide-area attacks?”
I shyly looked up, only to find him gazing gently at me.
He then set me down softly.
“Well, how about we call it a day today?”
“Um…”
I bashfully nodded at him.
Then, with a small wave of my hand.
“Drink!”
The ice mist surged forth once more.
Hmph, you can never let down your guard, just like you said!
