Chapter 106: Law of Three Crows (2)

Varkhane stared at his wound, which was healing much slower than expected, and muttered venomously: "Damn it... what a troublesome Law!"

Winter gave him no room to catch his breath. The skill activated immediately:

Frost Step.

The air tore open as Winter sliced through the battlefield like a flashing blue streak, closing the distance in fractions of a second. Varkhane’s broadsword extended to crash against the frost blade, releasing a shockwave that shattered the stones beneath their feet.

At the moment of impact, Winter activated [Ice Ghost Form].

His physical body dissolved into a semi-translucent frost phantom, passing through Varkhane’s body like a shadow to appear directly behind his back. He rematerialized in the blink of an eye, formed a sharp frost sword, and thrust a decisive strike toward Varkhane’s spine.

However, Varkhane’s combat instincts were terrifying; honed by decades of experience, he twisted his upper body and angled his sword at the very last millisecond to block the thrust.

The two blades ground against each other, tearing through the air with a sharp crackle.

Varkhane answered with a sweeping counterattack, but Winter transformed into [Ice Ghost Form] once more, dodging the blade before stepping back two paces to catch his breath.

Varkhane lunged like a bloodthirsty predator, and they exchanged a series of rapid, violent strikes:Varkhane delivered a massive overhead slash, which Winter blocked firmly, though the raw physical force shattered part of his ice sword.Varkhane immediately pivoted into a lightning-fast thrust toward Winter’s chest, forcing Winter to tilt his torso violently—the blade deflected, grazing and slicing the side of his waist.

Winter created distance, falling back beside Lady Mushroom to catch his breath.

"Do you truly believe that possessing High-Rank Laws is enough to kill me?" Varkhane said, his voice dripping with anger.

He raised his sword slowly, his eyes burning with irritation.

"I know nothing about these two Laws, nor do I care to. Whatever you possess... it will never be enough to kill someone standing at the peak of the Fallen rank."

His final words exploded like a furious roar.

At that exact moment, the black aura returned to wrap around his sword, swallowing it completely.

The weapon looked like a piece of pure night, sharply contrasting with the milky white covering Varkhane’s body.

Winter grimaced, speaking in a calm tone: "Mushroom head, back off now. I’ll take it from here!"

Without hesitation, Lady Mushroom’s small body retreated beyond the battlefield.

Winter pumped dense ice mana from his body.

Frost Step.

Winter shot toward Varkhane, leaving behind a glowing blue trail.

Varkhane felt the aura emanating from Winter’s body and sensed imminent danger; he spread his wings and pushed against the air to gain vertical altitude.

But Winter gave him no chance to evade. The frozen blue aura flared around Winter’s body all at once, its density surging until the air itself seemed to suffocate beneath its weight.

Frozen Ground.

A wave of frost exploded outward from Winter.

In an instant, its range expanded into a massive circle spanning five hundred meters, engulfing the earth, trees, and air alike. The soil froze solid beneath it, tree trunks stiffened, while water vapor in the sky condensed into crystalline shards spinning violently within the icy domain—until every trace of the green forest vanished, turning into a domain resembling the South Pole.

Varkhane attempted to climb higher, but the frost was faster.

A thin layer of ice crept onto the tips of his wings, then spread across the white feathers in seconds. Soon, a transparent, heavy, and solid ice crust encased his wings, rendering movement impossible.

Varkhane’s eyes widened as the ice crept over his white body until it enveloped him completely.

His body dropped like a stone toward the frozen ground.

CRAASH!

The stones of the frozen earth shattered as Varkhane hit the ground, his eyes frozen in absolute shock and disbelief.

"Haha."

Winter let out a cold chuckle and summoned a massive, thick ice sword.

He advanced with heavy, calm steps that made the ice beneath his feet grow even denser.

Winter stood before Varkhane’s frozen body, raising the sword with both hands, determined to sever Varkhane’s head and end the battle.

Suddenly, inside the ice shell, Varkhane’s fingertips moved.

Then a suffocating grey aura erupted from his palm. The crust covering Varkhane’s body cracked, the fissures spreading across it like a black web, before his voice came from behind it—muffled at first, then growing clearer as the pressure built:

"Law of Three Crows... Third Form....Grey Crow."

BOOOM!

The ice shell exploded.

A shockwave swept through the forest, scattering shards in every direction as the layers of ice retreated from the ground under the weight of the grey aura. Even the frost Winter had spread began to melt and recede; the aura was heavy, potent, and spreading steadily.

Winter was forced back several steps, raising his arm in front of his face as the shards and violent winds swept across the area.

And from the heart of the explosion, Varkhane’s body emerged.

He no longer resembled the first black form or even the second white form.

His body was so massive that he appeared like an entirely different monster, nearly double his previous size. The grey aura extended across his entire form, seeping from his shoulders, arms, and wings as if his body could no longer contain that power.

The aura didn’t merely glow; it distorted the air around him, leaving faint ripples in its wake whenever he moved.

As for his eyes, they burned with a sharp crimson glare amidst that ash.

This time, he did not speak. He simply began walking forward in the direction where Winter stood.

Winter braced his feet, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took a stance to retreat if things went sour. But in the next second, Varkhane vanished from before him.

His eyes couldn’t even track the movement.

Varkhane appeared directly in front of Winter, his massive grey body filling his field of vision.

"You’ll regret forcing me to use my third form."

Before Winter could respond, Varkhane’s hand clamped around his neck.

He squeezed.

Winter’s body sank beneath the overwhelming force, Varkhane’s fingers crushing his throat until his veins bulged, while the bones in his neck let out a muffled crackle.

Varkhane’s new physical strength was absurd, and Winter felt as though his neck was on the verge of collapsing.

And at the very moment Varkhane’s grip was about to crush him—Winter’s body transformed into a white, translucent phantom form, and Varkhane’s fingers passed straight through it without finding anything to grasp.

"How troublesome," Varkhane muttered, his crimson eyes lingering on the translucent figure before turning toward Lady Mushroom.

"Well... let’s see if your comrade can do the same."

His massive grey wings snapped open, and he launched forward at terrifying speed toward where Lady Mushroom stood.

Lady Mushroom’s green eyes widened as she saw the Crow coming toward her in his massive new form.

She slammed her staff onto the ground with all her strength.

Spiteful Spores.

The soil quivered beneath her feet, and dozens of small fungal creatures erupted from it. They emerged laughing with their protruding teeth, then rushed toward him from all directions.

Lady Mushroom didn’t stop to watch the outcome.

She retreated backward as the mushrooms raced ahead of her, lining up in an instant around her to form a dense barrier of tiny bodies.

The mushrooms didn’t wait for the Crow to arrive.

BOOOOOOM!

The fungal creatures exploded all at once.

A massive mass of green flame ignited in front of Lady Mushroom, swallowing the path between her and Varkhane, while a wave of heat and toxins surged across the battlefield.

But Varkhane’s shadow kept approaching without slowing down.

"I won’t fall for the same trick twice."

He flew through the air, his sword raised above his shoulder, the grey aura gathering around the blade with mounting density.

Varkhane raised the sword high.

"Severing Wing."

The grey energy compressed over the blade.

Then a colossal grey crow wing materialized behind the sword, dense and sharp-edged, making it look as though Varkhane was wielding a giant wing instead of a weapon.

Varkhane swung his sword, and a massive grey wing exploded from the blade, surging straight toward the green fire.

The wing carved a deep trench into the earth ahead, continuing along the same trajectory.

The flames parted to both sides, as if the strike cleaved reality itself, and Varkhane emerged from the burning gap without slowing for even a moment.

Lady Mushroom was still behind the curtain of green fire, watching the grey wing slice through flames and earth in a single line.

When she saw her green fire part so easily before the attack, Lady Mushroom’s heart constricted and began pounding violently. It was not merely an attack that pierced her defense; it had opened a direct path to her.

Before she could retreat, Varkhane appeared before her. He was so close that she didn’t even see how he arrived.

His grey sword was already raised beside her neck, with only a fraction of a second separating her from its edge.

Her eyes widened, and her hand lunged toward her staff on pure instinct, but her body was not fast enough this time. She realized the truth in the exact moment the blade gleamed.

She was too late.

The sword passed through her neck.

The first thing she heard was the sound of her staff striking the ground, followed by the cold bite of the blade passing through her body.

Her head separated from her body, her eyes remaining open as she stared at Varkhane in utter shock.

Her body stood upright for a moment, the staff no longer between her fingers. Then it lurched and collapsed onto the ice, while her head rolled away amidst the green glow of the fires she had ignited moments prior.

And the shock remained frozen in her eyes until the very end.