DOTM: Chapter 262/264

Chapter 262: Division

The weapon Brad used was a very ordinary one-handed sword. Judging by the blade, it resembled a rapier. Its width was not only far narrower than the greatsword Brent wielded, but even narrower than a typical one-handed sword.

When using it, one had to avoid direct clashes and instead look for openings to thrust it through.

Ethan wasn't sure whether Brad was channeling a special energy into the undead's bodies and then shattering their internal energy through precise control, or if the weapon itself had that effect.

If it was the latter, there wasn't much to worry about. But if it was the former, Brad's threat level rose significantly.

Casually cutting down another undead creature, Ethan looked down at the corpse at his feet, frowning.

Brad, who had been nearby, noticed Ethan's actions and paused. "Is something wrong?"

"A little."

From the beginning, Ethan had suspected that this matter was related to Beckford. After seeing such a large number of undead creatures and recalling what Wilson had done in the Sea of Calm, he became even more certain his speculation was correct.

"That guy went to such lengths to accumulate so many undead... would he really waste them like this?"

Looking around, Ethan suddenly understood the true purpose of these undead creatures.

"Brent, these undead are trying to split us up!"

Brent, who had been fighting on the front lines and checking on his comrades from time to time, had been charging back and forth and didn't have the energy or perspective to grasp the changes across the entire battlefield. Upon hearing Ethan's warning, he stopped, stepped onto slightly higher ground, and looked around.

Upon seeing the situation, Brent's face immediately turned grim.

The group of several hundred had already been scattered. He could no longer see the other captains. At this point, only Ethan and Brad's teams remained near him. The nearest group of other captains had been pushed several hundred meters away.

Undead creatures continued to emerge endlessly, attacking and surrounding everyone, using the chaos of battle to keep driving them apart. Even some of Brent's own men had been pushed far away, on the verge of becoming isolated.

"Regroup. Don't get separated."

Realizing the problem, Brent began shouting to his nearby comrades, directing them to regroup and avoid being scattered by the undead. But just shouting had little effect. Adventurers were already used to chaotic melees and instinctively sought favorable fighting positions while avoiding clusters of enemies. Even if they wanted to move toward Brent, most lacked the urgency to act on it.

"Damn it!"

Brent swung his greatsword harder and harder. Fierce flames ignited along the blade, making it look like he was wielding a giant torch. Even the residual shockwaves and sparks from his swings inflicted heavy damage on the undead.

Unleashing his full combat strength, Brent was unstoppable against these ordinary undead. While he couldn't immediately reach the groups farther away, he managed to pull together those who were closer.

Ethan had not drifted far from his team. Even in the chaos, they maintained good formation. Upon realizing the undead's intent, Ethan simply gave a signal, and everyone instinctively moved toward him.

Brad watched the entire process unfold. This not only raised his estimation of Ethan several notches, but also made him take Ethan's crew seriously—none of them were ordinary.

There was no need to mention the big guy. He had seen the undead attack him multiple times, but aside from his clothes getting torn, the man was unharmed, repeatedly tearing the creatures apart. Brad had no idea how the metal claws extended from his hands; he'd watched for a while and still couldn't figure it out.

The girl holding the animal surprisingly fought similarly. She ignored enemy attacks and countered mid-assault. This style was simple and brutal... and Brad couldn't think of a way to counter it.

Compared to them, the woman, while strong, was still within Brad's understanding. So far, he hadn't seen anything particularly unique about her.

But what caught Brad's attention the most was the other man. Carrying a long staff with a curved blade, he remained completely relaxed despite the surrounding undead, as if they didn't exist.

Perhaps, to him, they really didn't. Any undead that came close would instantly freeze into ice sculptures and then shatter into shards with the slightest touch.

"What powerful magic stone equipment."

Brad didn't know about magic. In his eyes, any powerful energy came from magic stone gear. It seemed this was a weapon made from a high-grade ice-attribute magic stone, and the man had mastered it to an advanced level, wielding its power effortlessly.

If Loki knew what Brad was thinking, he would surely mock him for being ignorant, using shallow knowledge to speculate on his deep strength and skill, and mistaking a regular staff for a rare treasure. Where did this bumpkin even come from?

What Loki wouldn't know was that Brad had pegged him as Ethan's "subordinate," which further raised Ethan's standing in Brad's mind.

"A powerful captain and a group of powerful companions... they won't stay in these waters for long."

In just a few seconds, Brad came to the clearest conclusion: it was best not to become enemies with Ethan.

Casually stabbing another undead, Brad led his team to join Ethan's group and then rendezvoused with Brent.

Once regrouped, they began pushing toward the nearest allies.

With a few powerful spearheads, their push was much smoother than before. With Ethan and Brad absorbing pressure from the sides and rear, Brent focused solely on charging forward. Under his lead, they quickly rescued nearby adventurer groups, though they couldn't reach those farther away.

"We may not make it in time."

Perhaps sensing Brent's intentions, the undead began frantically blocking their group. Meanwhile, the separated teams were forced even farther away by increasingly fierce attacks.

Worse still, a thick fog had risen at some point, greatly reducing visibility. They could no longer see what was happening in the distance.

In this situation, it was impossible to determine their allies' positions. Even if they wanted to charge forward, they didn't know which way to go.

"What now?"

Brent seemed to be asking for opinions, though it also sounded like he was talking to himself.

"Do we retreat to the shore now, or continue deeper inland?"

Ethan looked at the surroundings. The undead's attacks had subsided. Under the cover of fog, they were slowly retreating.

"They intended to separate us from the beginning."

Brent glanced around and finally made his decision—to continue advancing inland.

He had anticipated something like this before arriving. It was impossible to retreat just because of a little difficulty. He needed to understand what was happening here and, if possible, eliminate the threat entirely.

The captains who came with him were also mentally prepared. They were experienced adventurers. If they truly encountered something they couldn't handle, they would naturally act accordingly.

"Move forward."

After the delay, most of the undead had vanished. Only a few scattered ones remained nearby. Such small numbers posed no threat, though some would suddenly explode when approached, releasing strange death energy.

"Kind of like poisoning?"

Only one unlucky person got injured due to being too close, but after some observation, one of Brent's subordinates found a way to treat it.

After watching for a while, Ethan walked over to Selene.

"It's like negative energy mimicking an illness or poison. How are your Cure Disease skills?"

The Cure Disease and healing abilities of priests could counter this effect. While Selene wasn't a Holy Light believer, she had a thorough understanding of priest powers. Ethan had also acquired detailed training methods and notes from Varian.

"Not good. I can barely use Holy Light to treat surface wounds."

It wasn't that Selene's vampire nature was incompatible with Holy Light. Even undead in Azeroth could use it. The real issue was her lack of time and exposure. She hadn't yet truly mastered this miraculous power.

"Is this energy affecting you?"

Selene nodded. She was different from typical vampires. Having used Alexander Corvinus's blood and studied Holy Light, she was closer to a human. The overwhelming negative energy here did affect her.

"But it's also strengthened the Shadow energy inside me a little."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 263: Blast It

Being unskilled with Holy Light and more proficient in Shadow was meaningless, because what was lacking now wasn't combat power. Ethan was worried that long-term exposure to this environment would deteriorate everyone's physical condition.

He wasn't concerned about the people on his own ship, but rather the other adventurers, especially the ordinary crew members. Most of them didn't have a full set of magic stone equipment like their captains. The few who did were already the main combat force. Most of the crew used ordinary equipment.

Ordinary equipment had no energy barriers and couldn't stop this energy from eroding their bodies.

As time passed, the effects began to show. Several adventurers who had suffered minor injuries and only received simple treatment started exhibiting various symptoms.

Their faces turned ashen, their bodies were saturated with negative energy, and their eyes dulled with sluggish reactions. Many experienced symptoms like fatigue and chills. A few became extremely irritable, exploding at the slightest provocation and even drawing weapons on their companions.

"Things are getting worse and worse."

Brent's expression also grew increasingly grim. He was now faced with a choice: continue pressing deeper, or stop here, return to the coast before things spiraled out of control, and lead everyone out of this place. If they turned back now, those showing symptoms might still be cured.

Brent struggled with the decision for a moment but ultimately chose to give up.

"I didn't bring everyone here just to watch them die." Brent slammed his greatsword into a nearby rock, gritting his teeth. "We're going back!"

No one objected. Many secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This land was far too strange. First came the endless wave of terrifying creatures, then the dense fog with a strange smell, and now even their companions were behaving abnormally. Who knew what would happen next?

Everyone was glad they were leaving, but after turning around and walking for a while, what appeared before them wasn't the familiar sea or the large ships they had come on, but rather a sheer cliff face that looked like it had appeared out of thin air.

"This is impossible!"

Fazio, the one responsible for tracking directions and mapping the route, had a full team helping him record their path to ensure they could find their way back if needed.

He led everyone according to the recorded markers, only to be blocked by a cliff. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

One person might make a mistake, but there was no way an entire team was wrong.

"Where did we go wrong?!"

Fazio repeatedly checked the records and paced around, comparing notes, but all the information pointed to the same direction—they should be going forward.

"Maybe we didn't make a mistake. Maybe this cliff appeared after we passed by."

Ethan had been observing carefully. After spotting a few inconspicuous footprints on the cliff face, he confirmed his guess.

"Look over there. Those should be the footprints we left when we came through."

The fog had cleared quite a bit, and visibility had improved. Following the direction Ethan pointed, everyone saw the footprints on the sheer, vertical cliff.

"This…"

Brent touched the rock face. It definitely wasn't an illusion. It was a real cliff. And it was this sheer cliff that now blocked their way.

Strictly speaking, this cliff couldn't block some people, including Brent. But they couldn't get everyone across. Unless he was willing to abandon the ordinary crew, they were stuck here.

"Let's try another direction."

He didn't believe there was no way out. With no other choice, the group began following the cliff face forward. The journey wasn't smooth. Occasionally, stone-like creatures burst out from the cliff to ambush them.

"Gargoyles?"

Their appearance was a bit different, but overall, they resembled the gargoyles Ethan knew. Moreover, these gargoyles could merge into the cliff face—something the ones from his memory couldn't do.

Fortunately, these monsters could only ambush from the cliffs and didn't attack from other directions.

Even so, the group suffered further losses, especially among adventurers already heavily affected by the negative energy. Along the way, many turned into undead creatures and had to be killed by their former comrades.

Brent's expression grew darker. Even Brad, who had previously seemed calm and indifferent, now looked grim.

Ethan looked around. If this were an army, they were now like a routed force fleeing in disarray. Morale had dropped to rock bottom. No one knew what to do.

"This can't go on."

Brent had originally been determined to uncover the truth behind this place. But after assembling such a large team, they encountered setback after setback. They were now running without even understanding what they were facing. Ethan began to wonder if this would shake Brent's resolve.

"Everyone halt."

Brent, who had been walking at the front, suddenly stopped. He looked ahead with a solemn expression.

In front of them, the fog was so thick it looked like a wall. But as everyone stopped, the fog parted slowly, forming a pathway, as if inviting them in.

With the fog receding, everyone saw what lay ahead—a massive castle. It occupied a vast area and stood at least a dozen stories high.

"Something like this appearing in a place like this… weird doesn't even begin to describe it."

Logan had put away his cigar long ago. In this environment, smoking was pointless—he couldn't even tell whether he was breathing in the smoke or the stench in the air. Without his favorite pastime, Logan was full of complaints and grumbled whenever he had the chance.

"Anyone with a brain can tell something's wrong here. The real question is, do we even have the choice to refuse?"

Ethan gestured around. The people near him followed his hand and looked around. The fog had completely cleared, and they could now see into the distance.

Only then did they realize that they were trapped in a valley. On all sides were sheer cliffs, and even behind them, a cliff had silently appeared less than a hundred meters away.

Brent also noticed this. He still didn't know who the enemy was, but it was clear they were being forced into the castle.

Of course, he wasn't afraid. This was actually better than before, when they couldn't even see their enemy. Maybe, once inside, they would finally find out who was behind everything. Having a clear target was far better than fighting an unseen enemy.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

After traveling together for a while, Brent had a general idea of Ethan's strength and wanted to hear his opinion.

"My suggestion?" Ethan rubbed his chin. He didn't like playing along with the enemy's game. Being forced to enter a castle by the enemy, his first instinct wasn't to go in, but to blow it up. "What do you think about blasting this place right now?"

"Don't joke." Brent waved his hand, hoping Ethan would give a serious answer. But when he noticed Ethan's expression, his face stiffened. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Of course."

Ethan was speechless. Did his face really look like he was joking? He was clearly being serious.

"How do we blast it?"

Brent looked at the castle in the distance. Even from here, he could tell how massive it was. If they were at sea, they could use the magic stone cannons on their warships to reduce it to rubble, but they didn't have such weapons now.

Ethan motioned for Brent to step back, indicating that he would handle it.

Although he said he'd handle it, Ethan couldn't destroy such a massive structure on his own. He needed help.

"Loki, give me a hand."

Loki wore a look that said "what does this have to do with me" and was clearly reluctant. But he hated this place even more and wanted to leave as soon as possible. So, despite his unwillingness, he stepped forward.

"What are you planning to do?"

"You still remember the Blizzard Jaina cast earlier, right?"

"You want to use that spell? That spell doesn't really do much to buildings…" Loki trailed off mid-sentence as he suddenly understood Ethan's plan. "You want to use the principles of that spell to condense the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters into a more powerful blizzard?"

Loki truly was a genius mage from Asgard. He instantly understood why Ethan needed his help. Only he could use the Casket of Ancient Winters, and the frost energy it contained was far more terrifying than any blizzard Jaina could summon from the icy reaches of Azeroth.

A blizzard infused with this kind of energy could annihilate any structure.

"Sounds interesting."

Loki had never tried something like this before. He was quite willing to cooperate with Ethan and see how he pulled it off. It might even become a new trump card for himself.

Just as Ethan took out the Arcane Spring, a figure slowly walked out from the castle. At the same time, a familiar mental fluctuation made Ethan realize that the person was someone he knew.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 264: Snowstorm Enhanced Edition

"Christina!"

Ethan could never mistake that psychic fluctuation. Back then, this lich had even tried to self-destruct in an attempt to take him down with her.

At the time, he had felt something was off. Their fight hadn't reached the point where self-destruction was necessary, and Christina's reaction had seemed too extreme.

Now, he finally understood. The one he had encountered before hadn't been Christina's true body at all. The woman who appeared now was the lich's real form.

"Loki, the Casket of Ancient Winters!"

He had originally hesitated to destroy the castle out of concern for harming innocents, but upon seeing Christina emerge from it, that concern vanished. It was clearly a trap set by the enemy.

Holding the Arcane Spring, Ethan didn't stop what he was doing. In fact, he moved faster. With his mental power operating at full capacity, the arcane energy stored in the Arcane Spring was fully mobilized.

This time, he was "borrowing" energy from the Casket of Ancient Winters, which was relatively difficult to control. To ensure that the spell wouldn't fail or even backfire, Ethan used all the energy stored in the Arcane Spring without reservation.

The massive energy, enough to destroy Manhattan when fully unleashed, laid a solid foundation for his spellcasting.

Unlike before, when he used a meticulous approach to conserve mana through precise control, this time he chose a more wasteful method to ensure the spell's successful execution.

A massive blue-purple magic circle appeared at Ethan's feet. The pattern grew more complex as it rotated, and the energy it released generated a powerful shockwave, pushing the already retreating Brent back several more steps.

"This energy intensity…"

Brent had been wondering how Ethan planned to blow up the castle. But when Ethan began casting, the overwhelming surge of energy made it clear—he wasn't bluffing. He truly had a way to do it.

After seeing Christina appear, Ethan was even more determined to level the castle. He had a strong feeling that whoever was walking out of it wasn't someone they could welcome as a friend.

Just then, the one named Loki summoned a square casket out of thin air. The moment it appeared, Brent felt the temperature plummet. Looking around, he saw everyone involuntarily shivering. It wasn't his imagination.

"Back! Quick, back off!"

Brent realized this was an extremely powerful artifact. It was already releasing such terrifying cold before being activated. If fully unleashed, who knew what kind of damage it could do.

His judgment was spot on. Even Loki could be affected when the Casket of Ancient Winters was fully opened. He could endure it due to his Frost Giant bloodline, but ordinary people would be turned into ice statues in an instant.

"I'm going to open the Casket of Ancient Winters."

"Wait a moment!"

The magic circle at Ethan's feet grew more intricate. At the same time, he raised the Arcane Spring in his right hand and slammed it heavily to the ground.

The stone at the top of the Arcane Spring emitted an even brighter light. A rotating magic circle appeared in front of Loki. The center of this circle was a void, while the surrounding patterns seemed to protect and stabilize it.

Loki immediately understood what to do, channel the cold from the Casket of Ancient Winters into the center of that circle.

"Now!"

At Ethan's signal, Loki opened the Casket of Ancient Winters. Stimulated by the immense cold, his body turned icy blue, and his blood-red eyes glowed eerily. But no one paid attention to those changes, because the moment the Casket released its cold, it unleashed a terrifying freezing current.

Ordinary people couldn't withstand that cold at all. Brent had to call forward people equipped with magic stone gear to act as a human shield, protecting others from the blast of chilling air.

As Loki continued to pour the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters into the circle, Ethan's enhanced version of Blizzard began to take shape.

The magic circle at Ethan's feet became more complex and expanded, no longer confined to the ground but forming three-dimensional structures in the air around him.

As Ethan pointed his staff toward the distant castle, the enhanced Blizzard spell was finally released.

Though it all seemed elaborate, with Ethan's full effort, it took only seconds. Although Christina noticed Ethan's actions, she didn't even have time to react or speak before a massive magic circle materialized above the castle.

Just as she realized something was wrong and tried to respond, a giant frost meteor, formed from the cold of the Casket of Ancient Winters, shot down from the magic circle and landed directly in front of Christina.

Bang!

The frost meteor exploded on impact. White mist-like cold spread in every direction, turning everything within range into the finest ice particles.

These massive, freezing frost meteors didn't just freeze what they hit. Their overwhelming force shattered everything into particles the moment they were frozen.

Christina had no time to respond before she was completely erased. The lich who once, even with just a clone, had fought Ethan to a standstill and nearly caused him trouble, was now instantly obliterated before she could utter a single word.

More importantly, this was only the beginning.

As the first frost meteor fell, more followed, crashing onto the massive castle one after another.

Blizzard is a spell that inflicts both physical and elemental damage. When mages like Jaina Proudmoore from Azeroth cast it, the frost meteors not only contain intense cold but also countless sharp ice shards. These shards deal terrifying physical damage, and upon impact, they explode like shrapnel, causing area damage.

Ethan's version, however, consisted purely of cold-condensed frost meteors. Fortunately, there were no living targets to worry about. These powerful frost meteors struck the giant castle one after another, first freezing the structure and making it brittle, then the next meteor shattered the weakened area. The released cold would then freeze the newly exposed parts.

On and on it went. Everyone watched in silence as the massive castle was destroyed by Ethan's magic.

Even Brent, who prided himself on having seen many grand sights, couldn't help but swallow as he watched. What he was now thinking was how long he could survive if caught in such an attack.

"No, I should be thinking whether I could escape before the attack landed on my head."

He didn't believe he could survive it. Looking at Ethan, now floating in the air, completely wrapped in blue-purple arcane energy, Brent realized he didn't understand this young man at all.

"Is this the path you've always pursued?"

An attack like that... not even the monstrous entity he once saw could probably survive it. Was this the path an adventurer should take?

He knew he couldn't keep thinking like this. It would shatter the beliefs he had held for years. He could only tell himself over and over—Ethan was a one-of-a-kind existence. He'd only seen one Ethan in all these years. Most adventurers could never reach such terrifying heights. So continuing on his original path wasn't wrong.

Ethan, in the midst of spellcasting, was unaware of Brent's internal struggle. He kept his gaze locked on the distant castle while carefully monitoring every change in the arcane energy.

Like Loki, he had a goal. He wanted to take this opportunity to understand the energy within the Casket of Ancient Winters. If he could analyze or even fully comprehend it, it would further strengthen his water-element magic.

Of course, this observation couldn't go on forever. The rate of energy consumption was alarming. If they pushed too far, both he and Loki would be at risk of backlash.

Seeing that the spell had done its job, Ethan nodded to Loki and began slowly dispelling the Blizzard.

It was as if the whole scene rewound: the frost meteors gradually ceased, and the massive magic circle in the sky dissolved.

The floating three-dimensional circles surrounding Ethan gradually shrank, became simpler, and eventually disappeared, returning to a single flat circle on the ground. The surging arcane energy around him had long since vanished, and as Ethan waved the Arcane Spring, even the circle beneath his feet faded away.

As for Loki, he had already returned to normal. At some point, he had quietly put the Casket of Ancient Winters away and even straightened out his slightly rumpled clothes.

"Very well done. That was a successful and satisfying collaboration."

In response to Ethan's compliment, Loki offered a calm but clearly smug smile. While he had only been responsible for supplying energy, he had to precisely regulate that power to match Ethan's spell perfectly in order to execute the Blizzard.

Recalling the destructive force of that spell, Loki silently hoped that one day, he could cast it himself.

As if reading his thoughts, Ethan suddenly said, "That day will come."

(To be continued.)