Chapter 203 The Eternal Winter Dominion

The Eternal Winter Dominion

The shattered remains of the outer formation dissolved into wisps of black smoke, but the horde did not retreat.

Instead, their movements shifted.

Dozens of cloaked figures broke away from the main swarm, vaulting across the narrow alleyways to occupy the flanking rooftops. Others dropped into the streets below, cutting off the ground retreat, while a third contingent scaled the balconies ahead, sealing the path to the blue pillar of light.

Within moments, the squad was encircled on three sides.

Darian’s expression darkened. "They’ve sealed the route again."

"Not quite," Caelan countered, his eyes tracking the synchronized shifts in the enemy ranks. "They’re dividing us."

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, the zombies struck.

From three separate rooftops, dozens of black-robed zombies lunged simultaneously, their claws and bone blades descending in a coordinated pincer.

"Defend yourselves!" Elder Rowan roared.

His staff swept in a wide, horizontal arc. A heavy wave of Cold Qi erupted, blasting the first rank of attackers backward. Yet before their bodies could even hit the tiles, a second wave dropped from the upper eaves.

Rowan twisted his wrist, driving the butt of his staff upward.

BOOM!

The impact sent a jolt up his arms, forcing him to slide back three steps. His brow furrowed. The kinetic force behind these strikes was noticeably heavier than the previous wave.

They weren’t just attacking in numbers; they were rotating their assaults, forcing him to guard his front while others targeted his blind spots.

"They’re reading our stances!" Nyren said, parrying a downward strike.

"Then don’t give them a stance to read!" Rowan bellowed.

He slammed his staff into the rooftop. A circular shockwave of icy Qi rippled outward, shattering the tiles and forcing the immediate swarm to leap back.

But the reprieve lasted only a heartbeat. The zombies immediately surged forward again, their movements flawlessly synchronized by the invisible web of dark Qi connecting them.

Lothe’s dark eyes swept across the battlefield.

He saw the pattern instantly. The corpses weren’t just fighting; they were herding. By applying pressure on the flanks, they were forcing the cultivators into a compressed kill zone.

A formation nested within a formation, Lothe thought. Clever.

He raised his left hand. Three purple talismans appeared between his fingers.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent them flying.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The talismans adhered to the surrounding wooden pillars and stone eaves. Faint purple light pulsed across their surfaces.

[Spatial Array — Threefold Boundary!]

Intricate spatial inscriptions ignited across the rooftops. Thin, glowing purple lines connected the talismans, weaving an invisible web over the surrounding streets.

A zombie lunged at Lothe from the left.

Lothe didn’t even turn his head. He shifted two fingers.

The spatial inscription directly beneath the zombie’s feet flickered. The creature vanished mid-leap, reappearing ten meters away to crash violently into one of its own comrades.

BOOM!

Before either could untangle their limbs, a razor-thin spatial blade materialized between them.

Shing!

Both corpses dropped, cleanly bisected.

Zhao Meiyun, busy incinerating a zombie with a golden pellet, glanced over with a raised eyebrow. "An Array Master. How convenient."

Lothe ignored him. His focus remained on the shifting lines of his array.

As more zombies charged, he manipulated the spatial nodes. One group found their claws striking empty air as their targets were teleported three feet to the left. Another group suddenly had their positions swapped, causing them to impale each other with their own bone daggers.

Seizing the chaos, Lothe stepped forward.

[Spatial Art: The Void Step — First Form: Spatial Anchor]

He vanished from the roof. A faint ripple appeared in the air above a distant balcony.

Lothe reappeared, his black spear already thrusting downward.

BOOM!

Purple spatial Qi detonated, blowing a zombie through the wooden balcony into the dark street below.

Lothe spun the spear, and a dozen spatial blades manifested around his body.

[Spatial Art: Spatial Blades!]

They shot outward in a spiraling fan.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

One pierced a shoulder joint. Another severed an arm. A third curved around an incoming block to strike the back of a skull.

But the horde adapted.

Several elite zombies halted their charge, raising their palms in unison. Dark Qi gathered between them, converging into a single, massive sphere of corrupt energy aimed directly at Lothe.

Lothe’s eyes narrowed. He snapped his fingers.

The talismans attached to the surrounding buildings flared with blinding purple light.

"Detonate."

BOOM!

A series of spatial distortions erupted simultaneously. The incoming sphere of dark Qi was torn apart by the chaotic spatial shear, dissipating into harmless mist.

However, the recoil caused two of Lothe’s talismans to crack and crumble into ash.

Lothe glanced at the falling debris. "They’re targeting the array nodes."

A zombie suddenly vaulted over a nearby chimney, its blackened palm descending toward one of the remaining talismans.

Before it could make contact, a crimson streak of light pierced its chest.

The creature collapsed.

Seana landed gracefully beside Lothe, her black hair swaying as she withdrew her Blood Moon Sword.

"Are you planning to let them dismantle your hard work?" she asked, her dark eyes gleaming.

"That would be inconvenient," Lothe replied calmly.

"Then I’ll keep them occupied."

She raised her sword. The nine Crimson Blood Pearls orbiting her body accelerated into a blur.

Seana’s expression turned solemn. The number of zombies surrounding them had swelled again, pouring from the lower districts.

She took a slow, measured breath. Crimson Blood Qi surged through her meridians, gathering at her core. The nine pearls drifted outward, spreading across the battlefield like nine drops of blood in water.

Her sword pointed toward the cavern ceiling.

"Let’s end this quickly."

The crimson radiance around her intensified, bathing the dark rooftops in a bloody glow.

[Crimson Blood Sovereign Art — First Form: Crimson Lotus Burial!]

The nine pearls halted.

Then, crimson energy erupted from each of them. Thin streams of Blood Qi spread across the rooftops, weaving between the advancing zombies like a spider’s web.

The surrounding air turned heavy and red.

A massive, intricate lotus pattern illuminated the tiles beneath the enemy formation.

The zombies continued their charge, stepping directly into the crimson territory.

The moment their feet touched the glowing lines, their movements dragged to a crawl. Countless crimson threads shot upward, wrapping tightly around their limbs, throats, and torsos.

Several elite zombies roared, channeling their dark Qi to tear themselves free.

But the threads only tightened, biting into their rotten flesh.

Seana lowered her sword, her voice a soft, lethal whisper.

"Bloom."

The crimson energy erupted.

A colossal lotus blossomed across the battlefield. Its massive petals unfolded one after another, each formed entirely of hyper-compressed Crimson Blood Qi.

The zombies caught within its radius were dragged violently toward the center.

Then—

The petals snapped shut.

BOOOOM!

A deafening crimson explosion swallowed the surrounding rooftops. The shockwave tore through the streets, shaking the nearby buildings to their foundations and sending a cloud of dust and shattered tiles into the air.

When the blinding red light faded, dozens of zombies lay scattered across the ruined tiles. Some had been torn to pieces; others had been reduced to nothing more than wisps of blackened Qi.

Seana exhaled softly.

However, before she could fully recover her breath, a series of sharp, metallic sounds echoed from the surrounding buildings.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The remaining zombies had already adjusted.

This time, they refused to step into the crimson territory. Instead, they positioned themselves just beyond its range, raising their hands to launch long-range projectiles of condensed dark Qi.

Several streams of black energy descended toward Seana.

Her expression changed. She immediately raised her sword to defend.

Before the attacks could reach her, a series of purple spatial ripples appeared in the air around her.

The incoming dark Qi struck the ripples and was instantly redirected, shooting harmlessly into the cavern ceiling.

Lothe landed beside her, his black spear resting on his shoulder.

"That was quite impressive," he remarked.

Seana glanced at him, a small smirk touching her lips. "You’re complimenting me in the middle of a fight?"

"Should I wait until later?"

She chuckled. "Just make sure you survive long enough to say it again."

"Naturally."

Lothe turned toward the approaching enemies, his expression gradually cooling into a mask of cold indifference.

——————————

Meanwhile, on the eastern flank, Nyren was struggling to maintain her footing.

Her Frostveil Sword moved in a continuous blur, releasing waves of silver frost.

[Frostbound Sovereign Scripture — First Form: Frostbound Genesis!]

A thick layer of ice spread across the rooftops, flash-freezing several zombies in place.

She followed with a swift, diagonal slash.

[Ice Art: Frozen Edge!]

A razor-sharp arc of frost shot forward, cutting through the frozen ranks.

Crack!

Several bodies shattered into icy fragments.

However, more zombies immediately descended from the upper tiers of the city.

Nyren shifted her stance, sweeping her sword upward to block an incoming palm strike.

She twisted her wrist, redirecting the force, and drove her blade across the zombie’s chest.

Before she could follow up, another figure materialized behind her. A blackened palm descended toward her spine.

Nyren’s eyes widened. She turned, but the attack was already too close.

Clang!

A pale-blue sword intercepted the strike.

Caelan landed beside her, his sword Qi spreading a protective chill across the rooftop.

"Be careful. They’re attacking in pairs now."

Nyren nodded, her breath misting in the cold air. "I noticed."

Two more zombies approached.

Caelan’s sword flashed, a streak of blue light piercing the first one’s forehead. Nyren followed with a horizontal slash, freezing the second zombie’s legs before severing its neck.

But their respite was brief.

More figures appeared on the surrounding balconies. Their dark Qi gathered, forming several enormous, spectral palms that descended simultaneously.

Caelan and Nyren leapt apart.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The rooftops trembled under the barrage.

Nyren landed on her flying sword, hovering a few feet above the tiles. Her expression turned deadly serious.

She glanced across the battlefield. The zombies were no longer relying on brute force. They were using coordinated, overlapping attacks to exhaust the cultivators’ Qi reserves. Even worse, the dark Qi circulating between them was actively reinforcing their physical defenses.

She couldn’t keep fighting a war of attrition.

Her grip tightened around Frostveil.

The silver Qi surrounding her body began to shift. A deeper, more oppressive cold radiated from her core, dropping the temperature of the entire district.

"Everyone, clear the area!" Nyren shouted.

Caelan glanced toward her, his eyes widening. "Nyren?"

She raised her sword high above her head.

The surrounding frost, and the ambient moisture in the air suddenly converged toward her blade.

[Frostbound Sovereign Scripture — Second Form: Eternal Winter Dominion!]

A terrifying wave of absolute zero erupted from her body.

The entire rooftop was instantly swallowed by a blinding silver-white light. Ice spread across the surrounding buildings like a living plague, climbing the walls, shattering the wooden supports, and encasing the streets in a thick, impenetrable glacier.

The very air seemed to freeze solid.

Then, from the heart of the frozen wasteland, countless jagged ice pillars erupted from the ground, tearing through the zombie ranks and impaling them against the cavern ceiling.?