Chapter 226: Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Stands Firm Against Two Academies
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Stands Firm Against Two Academies
"You!"
Hearing the clone speak with such certainty, Tan Han opened her mouth to argue, but in the end, she found herself at a loss for words.
"Heh, what are you two whispering about over there?"
The Wizard Academy had no intention of letting the Witch Academy continue their private chatter. This was a serious battlefield, a three-way confrontation; such behavior was practically child's play.
They had been here for some time now, and the progress was still stuck at the stage of trading barbs. Their patience was wearing thin.
The Wizards, in particular, were already itching for action. They had brought five people in total. Back at their Wizard Tower, they had students specialized in tower control and several formidable wizard apprentices standing guard. Since almost all the powerful academies in the exchange competition were gathered here, they weren't afraid of any surprises.
"Try my Three-Element Thunder Pole Resonance Great Witchcraft." The leader didn't waste words, pulling three spherical wizard tools from his storage equipment.
"The name is a bit long, but is that all you've got?" Tan Han had plenty of experience with the Wizards' tricks, and she knew the power of this leader’s lightning witchcraft was indeed terrifying.
"Tan Han, if you withdraw the ritual now, we won't have to take it this far."
The Holy Angel Academy made their move as well. Since the Wizard Academy had started things off, they couldn't just stand by. The Wizards were willing to buy them time to cast their divine arts, and they were duty-bound to respond to that effort.
"So it begins?" Tan Han moved to intercept the Wizard Academy. However, the Wizards' methods were troublesome, making it difficult to disrupt the divine arts being prepared by the Holy Angel Academy. Do I really have to use my ultimate move right at the start?
"Tan Han, you hold the line. I'm afraid I can't help you with this one." The clone retreated behind her to avoid blowing her cover.
But the other members of the Witch Academy weren't about to just watch.
"Sister Tan Han, we'll help you!"
"Be careful! Don't get in the way, just protect the Tea Party!" Tan Han didn't have the energy to stop them. She could only shout instructions as she faced the entire Wizard Academy delegation alone, her options feeling increasingly limited.
"Why isn't that Yang Yuehan doing anything? Wasn't she shouting quite loudly just a moment ago?"
"Haha! Tan Han, why are you fighting alone? Is the Witch Academy finished? Only one person left to hold the front? As expected of an academy that can't even break into the top tier. I have no idea how you're leading the exchange competition right now!"
"Because you're all idiots! Why else!" Tan Han snapped back without mercy. Since they had already started fighting and neither side would back down, there was nothing left to say.
Only combat would decide who would have the last laugh.
"Holy War Angel, Holy Light Judgment!"
The Angels had finished their divine art prayer. Terrifying Holy Light power transformed into fuel for the divine art, bestowing its blessing upon them.
Now, they were in their true combat stances. Wings of Holy Light and suits of judgment light armor adorned their bodies. The Holy Light was no longer just a special effect or light pollution; it was a sharp, transcendent power at their beck and call.
The four angels from the Holy Angel Academy condensed their Holy Light Judgment into a massive spear of light.
In that instant, Tan Han felt a prickling sensation on her back—a sense of crisis. She had been locked onto by the enemy's divine art.
"Tan Han, this is your last chance!"
"You birdmen, what are you dawdling for?! We didn't pin this woman down just so you could show mercy! Even if Tan Han gives up the ritual, she dies here today!"
"We'll see who dies!"
Tan Han seized an opening to blast a wizard apprentice away. Facing the judgment spear that could completely impale her, she didn't hesitate to down a recovery potion.
"Hurry! Dammit, didn't you see her take a potion?!"
"Since you choose to resist to the death... then... Judgment!"
As their voices resonated in unison, the highly condensed spear of light distorted the air with its leaking radiance. In the next heartbeat, it shot straight toward Tan Han.
But at that exact moment, everyone felt the temperature around them plummet.
The spear of light slammed into a layer of ice. Despite the impact, the terrifying spear shattered the ice and continued forward.
The sudden appearance of that ice had indeed startled the Holy Angel Academy students. For a block of ice to stop their Holy Spear of Judgment—even for a split second—was an incredible feat.
The terrifying attack struck its target, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and shards of ice. As the dust settled, a thick mist of water vapor obscured Tan Han's position.
No one knew if that strike had finished her, but they felt the ambient temperature drop once more. The moisture in the air began to crystallize into snow, drifting down from above.
The bone-chilling sound of ice crystals forming rang out.
Then, a giant hand revealed itself to the crowd. The hand was covered in a layer of ice crystal armor, its fist tightly gripping the spear of light that had condensed into a physical form.
"Is this the extent of your 'judgment'?"
As a hollow, echoing female voice rang out, a massive figure rose. As the figure stood, countless snowflakes swirled down around it, as if cheering for the arrival of a Queen of Ice and Snow.
"This... this is Tan Han?"
The students from the Holy Angel and Wizard Academies looked at the sudden appearance of the massive ice giant, feeling a tangible sense of pressure.
"It's that Ancient Remnant Ice transformation spell! Don't be afraid, everyone! Her weakness is in the chest!" The Wizard Academy reacted the fastest, stabilizing their formation in an instant.
They quickly organized a counter-offensive.
"Haha! You really think we're scared just because you got bigger? You think a trick that can be broken by a single Fireball Spell can deal with us?"
"Your arrogance will cost you!" Tan Han sneered. She knew her weakness wasn't her chest; strictly speaking, transformation spells didn't have such rigid "weaknesses."
Tan Han understood that when Xiao Han broke her transformation before, she had broken the ritual of the spell, not just stabbed her in the chest.
In front of these wizard apprentices, Tan Han was finally moving past the hurdle of the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation spell that she had once found nearly insurmountable.
She didn't shy away from the Wizards' attacks. No matter how much they damaged this body, the Ancient Remnant Ice could repair and regenerate itself!
"Let's recreate your previous failure!"
"Hmph! In your dreams!" Leveraging her current advantage, Tan Han showed no mercy. She immediately took out the wizard who was easiest to kill. However, the opponent triggered a witchcraft at the last second; even after his mangled body hit the ground, he wasn't judged as "dead."
"Die! Haha... Wha... How?! It healed? Impossible! You weren't like this before! Fire! It must be the fire element!"
With the help of the other apprentices, the Wizard leader finally reached the "vital spot." But after landing his confident blow on Tan Han's body, his smile slowly froze.
It turned into disbelief. He quickly tried to rationalize the problem.
"Even the fire element won't work, because you aren't Xiao Han! Now, rest in peace!" Tan Han didn't miss the opportunity to land a heavy blow on him.
Even Tan Han hadn't expected this wizard to be so hard to kill. But she quickly realized—it was likely a Voodoo Gu insect.
It was a witchcraft method where an insect was raised inside the body through a ritual, allowing a wizard to survive fatal wounds or even overdraw their life force to repair their body.
While the method was impressive, the process of feeding the insect was agonizing. Depending on the wizard apprentice's specialization, the Voodoo Gu differed; some required feeding on one's own flesh, and that was considered child's play compared to more demanding conditions.
"Birdman! If you don't move now, it'll be too—"
"We understand."
The Holy Angel Academy wasn't about to let Tan Han eliminate these troublesome Wizard Academy monsters just yet. They couldn't guarantee they could defeat a Tan Han in this state on their own.
"Ice and snow! Freeze them!"
Though Tan Han had transformed into the Ancient Remnant Ice, she wasn't invincible. Due to racial traits, the Ancient Remnant Ice was massive and somewhat sluggish. However, as natural casters, they could command the power of the Remnant Ice to drive the wind and snow.
Of course, the Remnant Ice could also be fashioned into weapons for combat against foes of the same level.
Like these fellows who had transformed into War Angels.
The power of their divine arts was indeed terrifying, enough to cause significant damage to her body. While not fatal, a battle of attrition would be deadly for her.
Because of the Wizard Academy's overconfident "suicide charge" earlier, the tide of battle had suddenly shifted in favor of the Witch Academy.
BOOM!
A sudden, massive explosion erupted from the side. The Wizards were stunned, the Angels were shocked, and even Tan Han was caught off guard—because she was the one who had been hit.
"Stinking witches! You destroyed our war fortress, now taste our power!"
"Haha! So you didn't manage to suppress the dwarves after all! And here I thought you were so capable!"
The Wizard Academy guys quickly used emergency healing spells, overdrawing their bodies so they could move again, all while mocking the witches.
"Hmph. That was nothing."
The area where Tan Han had been hit quickly mended itself. She had almost forgotten about the major headache that was the dwarves. They had never truly subdued them. If Xiao Han were here, there wouldn't be this much trouble.
But there were no "ifs."
"Stubborn! Let's see how you, a single Tan Han, handle a three-way siege!"
Tan Han glanced at the massive fortress. Such a terrifying weapon of war had a massive advantage against her current size; they didn't even need to aim.
But how could Tan Han let them have their way?
She sent a massive block of ice hurtling toward the fortress. Before long, a deluge of wind, snow, and hail buried the structure.
However, even the ice and snow couldn't stop their frantic attacks; it only robbed them of their precision. Those relentless, "cost-is-no-object" attacks still caused Tan Han considerable trouble. She hadn't mastered the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation well enough to perfectly dodge such high-speed shelling.
The battle had reached a fever pitch. This was the downside of the transformation spell: her offensive capabilities were tied to the race she had become. If the Ancient Remnant Ice was crushing weaker foes, it was a guaranteed victory. But when the opponents had sufficient strength, methods, and coordination, it became a grueling war of attrition.
Was the Ancient Remnant Ice powerful?
Naturally. But the attacks had to land to be effective. If they hit, the target was as good as dead or crippled. But landing a hit was difficult, and the wide-scale blizzards were proving insufficient to deal decisive damage to these elites.
After their earlier setback, the Wizards were now determined to play the long game. The ritual was still ongoing; Tan Han was the one who should be anxious. They had all the time in the world to wear her down.
Tan Han's mana wasn't infinite. Even with recovery potions, she would eventually run out.
"This can't go on..." Tan Han had still underestimated how troublesome the combined forces of the Holy Angel and Wizard Academies would be. Her mastery of the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation was still too shallow.
Even she realized the gravity of the situation. She had certainly gotten her fill of fighting in this form, and her understanding of the spell had reached a new level through the heat of battle, but it still wasn't enough.
"It can't go on? Then it's my turn to take the stage."
The illusion clone left behind knew it was time to burn its final embers.
"Hey~ Heh heh~ Everyone, you're having such a grand time fighting Tan Han. Did you forget about me?"
"You! That person from the Witch Academy... are you finally joining the fray?"
As the illusion clone spoke, both the Wizard and Holy Angel Academies tensed up. Anyone who could stand alongside Tan Han surely possessed strength not far below hers.
Though they didn't know why she had waited until now to intervene, they knew the difference between one problem and two. If the Witch Academy played their cards right and this person also possessed such a terrifying spellbook, their current advantage would be shattered.
The terrifying phenomenon that had occurred at the Afuhemi World Tree was still fresh in everyone's minds. Without a doubt, that was a move this witch possessed.
"I heard you also master a method similar to Tan Han's. A spellbook, right? Let's see it!" the Wizards provoked her directly.
Since she had spoken up, it meant things could no longer be stopped. They might as well face it head-on.
"I do indeed have such a method, but I don't plan on using it here."
"I think you're just afraid to use it! You almost bluffed us. Ancient Remnant Ice, and that other one which is clearly fire-based... if you used them together, you'd probably just start an internal feud! Hahaha!"
Tan Han couldn't help but admire the Wizard Academy; they truly were an academy focused on the Truth. They had caught on so quickly. She had actually worried about that herself, but obviously, she didn't need to worry now.
Because Xiao Han wasn't actually here.
"Oh my, you guessed it. But it doesn't matter, I really don't plan on using it here!" The illusion clone pulled out a broom. "This broom is the latest model from the Witch Academy. I don't know the name, but it's definitely fast enough!"
"You! What do you mean by that!" The Wizards realized her implication in an instant, but they suppressed their emotions and asked in a low voice, a sliver of hope still lingering in their hearts.
"You Holy Angel Academy and Wizard Academy folks... you brought so many elites here. Is your home base still secure? If I hop on this broom and bolt right now, I wonder if those bird wings of yours or your hand-crafted wizard tools can keep up with the pinnacle of Witch Academy alchemy?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Watch me! I'm asking you—if I fly out of here right now, are you going to stop me? If only a few of you come, I can kill you halfway there. If an entire academy comes after me, I'll just head to the other academy's base. I wonder if you're willing to guard each other's homes! And I wonder if the ones left behind to guard will even recognize their 'temporary allies'!"
My words stunned them into silence. Who wouldn't be confused hearing that? Who wouldn't feel a seed of doubt planted in their heart?
"You want our ritual? Fine. At worst, Tan Han will keep stalling you while I go steal your base! I wonder how you'll feel if you lose your Floating Island or your Wizard Tower?"
"Boastful talk! You really think you can break through our Wizard Tower's defenses? Tan Han brought so many people back then and still couldn't take it. What are you?"
"But your ritual was lost. How funny. Fine, then I'll go steal the Holy Angels' home! You, whatever your name is—I'll be enjoying your wife a step ahead of you!"
"You! You're shameless!"
Even Tan Han was surprised the clone would say something like that. But the current clone was built upon the subconscious of everyone present who was under the illusion. Perhaps some Holy Angel actually believed in the back of his mind that a witch would do such a thing.
"Witches are like this, didn't you know? Consider this a threat! Either way, we don't lose. Either one of your academies gets completely eliminated, or our Witch Academy takes the points! The advantage is with me. What's your choice? While there's life, there's hope, right?"
The battle had ground to a complete stalemate. Only the sound of the dwarves' cannons continued to echo.
Everyone was hesitating, each harboring their own hidden motives. This was a massive gamble, even if they were confident their homes wouldn't be stolen.
They could destroy the ritual, but they had to weigh the risks. If they destroyed it now, the witches might go on a suicidal rampage.
"Heh! We bet you can't take down our Wizard Tower! Yang Yuehan! I've remembered your name!"
"I don't care why you didn't help Tan Han earlier, but you must have a reason why you can't act! What exactly are you plotting!"
"You want to move against me? Do you know the consequences of attacking me? That's a price you can't afford!"
"This is an exchange competition! I don't believe there's any price we can't afford!"
"Wait, you're actually going to do it? Aren't you Wizards supposed to be 'absolutely rational madmen'?"
"Since we're called madmen, we'll show you just how mad we can be!"
"Wait, Tan Han!"
The illusion clone shouted loudly.
Though Tan Han knew the illusion clone couldn't be killed or injured, she still made a symbolic move to block them to buy more time.
"Haha! I guessed right! Yang Yuehan! You're just a paper tiger! You've been exposed by just this much! Where's your strength? Tan Han! Don't protect her!"
"This is none of your business!" Tan Han was pulled back into the fight. However, the Wizard and Holy Angel Academies had learned their lesson; they didn't engage Tan Han head-on.
They had noticed Yang Yuehan's abnormality, but they didn't suspect an illusion. This was the brilliance of an illusion clone built through the subconscious—it was hard to detect because people don't believe they can be deceived by their own minds. The more confident a person was, the easier they were to trick.
The price, however, was that it was "slightly" uncontrollable.