Victoria shook Xanali and Evan's hands before taking her seat beside Edith. The maids quickly entered the room carrying a plate with four cups of hot chocolate on it. Evan felt refreshed, taking a sip of hot chocolate.
"Knowing the history between Thusia and Ghost might help us stop this war before it escalates any further, Princess Victoria," said Xanali.
"This war only ends in only one way. Ghost will die by my hands. I will parade his head throughout my kingdom just like he did to my soldiers," Victoria sternly said.
"Even so. This will take so many lives. We have to try to prevent that," said Xanali.
"They are soldiers, Guardian Xanali. They know death is a part of their job. However, I won't let anyone discrete their bodies as Ghost,"
Evan sighed inside. Victoria seemed just as stubborn as Ghost. However, he couldn't blame her after learning what Ghost did to the Thusians. Although what he did was effective, it was a brutal tactic. Even he felt a chill running down his spine. So it was understandable the thusians lost their courage to fight and ultimately lost the cities they conquered initially.
"If you want to prevent death, ask Ghost to surrender and answer for his crimes. He thinks he is invincible. When he steps into my kingdom, I will show him the Half Immortals can be killed,"
Victoria's lips curved upwards.
"He gave us three days to get the people to safety. I suggest we get them off the island to Idrisal," said Xanali. Among all the kingdoms in Ozer, Idrisal was the only kingdom that wasn't involved in any war. The King of Idrisal and King Maxim had an understanding. In other words, the Idrisal King pledged his loyalty to King Maxim secretly. After conquering the rest of the continent, Idrsial King planned to formally announce Idrisal would be a part of Thusia in the future.
Xanali heard rumors about the dealing between King MAxim and the King of Idrisal. So she knew the thusians would be offered a safe haven in Idrisal. However, Victoria shook her head with a snicker.
"We Thusians don't run with our tails between our legs, Guardian Xanali. We will stay here and end all the threats once and for all,"
Xanali started to get annoyed by Victoria.
"Don't let your anger cloud your judgment, Princess Victoria. Even if you have a way to kill Ghost, you will lose hundreds or even thousands of people as collateral damage. Do the right thing and send them away,"
"I don't recall asking for the Guardian Guild's help, Guardian Xanali. The only reason I am even talking to you is out of respect. We know how to take care of our people," Victoria's voice was cold.
"I think your people might disagree because your people asked for the Guardian Guild's help,"
Victoria frowned. This was a piece of new news to her. She glanced at Edith. Judging by the look on Edith's, it was obvious to Victoria that Edith had forgotten to tell her about it.
"Some people are more afraid and have less trust in their King. If anyone wants to leave, they are welcome to leave,"
"So, will you agree if I announce this to the people? As a Guardian, I am obliged to help people in need. Especially when they are stuck between two armies," said Xanali.
Victoria took a small sip. She pondered what Xanali had said. Deep down, she knew sending away the people was indeed the right move. However, after Ghost destroyed many of the powerful warships, Victoria was not in the state to afford to lose a ship from her fleet. The thusian army needed every ship and soldier. Since Xanali was so keen on keeping the citizens safe, Victoria decided to use Xanali's soft spot to her advantage,
"If you want to get them to safety, bring the Guardian ships to the Golden Port. My warships will escort you, but they cannot travel with you to Idrisal,"
Evan sighed in relief. Finally, a good thing came out of their trip to the Ozer continent.
"My ships are just an hour sailing from the Golden Port," Xanali's answer surprised everyone. She brought the warships of Nagaland itself to escort the Thusian out of Itholan island. Although Victoria kept what happened to her warships a secret, the Guardian had spies within the port. Hence, Xanali knew Thusia had lost several of their warships.
"You came prepared," Victoria exclaimed as Xanali nodded.
"What about the Immortals in your guild, Xanali? Are they going to stand beside and watch let Ghost do whatever he wants?" Edith opened her mouth.
"This time, he's attacking THusia. What if he decided to do the same to another kingdom? Who will stop him then?" asked Edith.
To their surprise, Xanali chuckled.
"You do realize they are just fighting back right? It was King Maxim who started this whole charade,"
"We had the right reason to wage war, Guardian Xanali," Victoria creased her brows.
"Yeah right,"
They couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not. Victoria didn't get furious as she couldn't care less about what Xanali thought.
"Your guild will intervene soon, Xanali,"
Xanali turned her gaze toward Edith. She saw a glimmer in her eyes as though Edith knew something she didn't. After discussing the war for a few more minutes, they all went their separate ways. Victoria headed for the Golden Port with Xanali and Evan, while Edith went to meet Laila.
They had two more days to get the thusians to Idrisal. Until now, Victoria had no clue where or when Ghost would launch the next attack. This time, Victoria had ways to fight him.
She needed to keep Ghost at bay until her father came out of his seclusion. The last time she heard from him, he was just a week away from reaching the Half Immortal stage. With the Cosmic energy running through his veins, he could kill Ghost in a few minutes.
******************************************
Almost a day later, Gaya saw a few cracks forming in the ice shield around Nightmare. A city blue glow appeared in Nightmare's chest. As seconds passed, the cracks grew bigger and wider.
"Human, I think Nightmare is coming out of his shell. Come here," Gaya said to Michael through the earpiece. When the sun rose in the morning, he left the castle to meet Saber. Today was the day he would give Michael an Immortal killing weapon.
"Give me a minute," said Michael.
The chakra gradually lost its glow. When the chakra completely faded away, Gaya stepped closer to Nightmare. Suddenly, the ice shell shattered into pieces. Gaya's hands instinctively raised her hands in front of her face to cover her face. A while later, she gently placed her hand on Nightmare. She tried to lift him in his arms. The moment Gaya touched Nightmare, she felt acute pain in her hand due to the intense coldness of his body. Nightmare slowly opened his eyes. His red pupils flickered in icy blue light. A puff of cold smoke escaped Nightmare's nostrils. In a few blinks of an eye, he transformed into his full form. His crimson-red scale had a tinge of bluishness to it. Nightmare slowly turned his head. To Gaya's surprise, Nightmare breathed frost onto the ground. The ground immediately froze to the point it shattered.
Nightmare did not stop as he kept breathing frost out of his mouth. He created a tall pillar of ice. Under Gaya's gaze, Nightmare's pupils returned to their usual crimson red. As she expected, Nightmare breathed fire, melting the ice statue. Even under the scorching heat, the ice pillar took a few seconds to melt.
Finally, Nightmare turned his gaze toward Gaya. His mouth formed a haughty grin. He quickly breathed frost on Gaya. A thin layer of ice formed around Gaya as Nightmare giggled.
"Are you cold?"
Gaya shattered the shell of ice with a single punch. Her hand went numb. Anyone under the Core Strengthening stage would freeze to death immediately. Nightmare quickly shrunk his body and jumped onto her shoulder.
"Ghost," Nightmare saw Michael appear in the pocket dimension. He walked toward them with a sword in his hand.
It was a fairly large, wide, slightly curved blade made of bronze held by a grip wrapped in gilded, jade-green leather. Dual-edged and razor-sharp, this weapon was made for those looking for power, versatility, and general awesomeness.
The blade had a thin, slightly curved crossguard, just large enough to give the blade the perfect weight balance. The cross-guard had an ornamented hawk beak on each side. Any oblivious man could tell this weapon wasn't created by just any blacksmith. A massive pommel was decorated with a rare gem, no expense was spared for this gorgeous weapon. The blade itself was engraved. Intricate decoration patterns had been carefully etched into the blade, which added mystery and supposedly more power to the weapon. This sword seemed to have been used only on rare occasions. None deserved the weapon more than the greatest fighters of all.
Michael put the sword in his sheath on the back and grabbed Nightmare from Gaya's shoulder. He lifted Nightmare into the air as though Nightmare was a human baby.
"Oh, you're chilly," said Michael.
Just like Nightmare did to Gaya, he breathed frost on Michael's face. But the Dark flames appeared out of nowhere and vaporized Nightmare's frost breath. Gaya walked around Michael to inspect the sword. She unsheathed the sword from his sheath. She looked closely at the sword. She could feel the intense energy radiation from the blade. The blade had a gray shade and didn't feel like it was metal.
"Can this sword withstand the heat of your Dark Flames?" Gaya questioned Michael.
"No, it can't. But it can kill Immortals and Half Immortals," said Michael. Although Gaya was a little disappointed, she expected it.
On the other hand, Nightmare was delighted to show Michael his new abilities, such as frost breath and creating a layer of ice on his body as a defensive measure. Michael noticed that after absorbing the ice dragon's heart, Nightmare's cultivation went from the Core Strengthening stage level 2 to level 6.
"Now that this is over, we have to get to the castle. It's time to initiate the first phase of my attack plan," said Gaya with a grin.
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