The heroes stepped into the heart of the pitch-black cave, where the darkness swallowed every flicker of light. William broke the silence, whispering with trepidation, "It seems no foot has trodden here for an age." With a skeptical glance, he questioned, "Are you truly certain that the one called Maurice lurks here?"
Hardly had he finished his sentence when the darkness of the ceiling split open into a raging hell. A massive flare illuminated the cavern, revealing dragon heads perched above, lying in wait. Henry shot William a silent, reproachful look, as if his eyes were saying: "Did you really have to speak?"
The dragons' fire poured down like a roaring waterfall, turning the cave into a furnace that spared nothing. In moments, the heroes evaporated, vanishing as if they had never existed.
At that moment, the hidden army emerged, led by Maurice, who stood stunned, staring at the empty space. "Evaporated? That is strange..." he muttered.
Suddenly, the silence of the mountain was pierced by the sound of a calm whistle coming from the outside. Maurice turned to find the "Ice Squad" advancing steadily. It was then that the bitter truth hit him: what he had seen was merely the "Mist Deception," an illusion woven by the Ice Lord.
The Ice Lord stepped forward, clutching his cold blade, continuing his mocking whistle before saying, "We almost became a barbecue... So, you are Maurice?" Their eyes locked, and the Ice Lord added with a threat, "I have a long score to settle with you, but let us deal with these beasts first."
Maurice burst into a sarcastic laugh. "Deal with them? Look around you, Ice Lord! These are not mere beasts; this is an army consisting of dragons—one of which you've struggled against before—warriors, mages, armored knights, and bloodthirsty spirits."
The Ice Lord cut him off coldly. "Are you done with your nonsense? Listen up... I will handle the dragons; the rest of you take care of the rabble. And whoever falls, do not expect help—we shall bury you where you drop."
Julian asked anxiously, "Do you not fear for your team?"
The Ice Lord replied with a frozen smile, "Am I a babysitter to fear for them?"
A savage grin spread across the team's faces as they shouted in unison, "Then let the fun begin!"
Oliver tightened his headband and gripped his twin weapons just as the dragons rained fire upon the earth once more. At that moment, the "Ice Covenant Beast" crest glowed, and its master unleashed a crushing frost wave that swallowed the flames and extinguished them. He bellowed, "Did I not say I am your opponent, you winged lizards?"
Utilizing the power of the mist, the Ice Lord's body multiplied into numerous clones that lunged toward the dragons. One dragon snapped its jaws to devour him, but the Ice Lord froze its movement in the blink of an eye. When another tried to ambush him from the side, a thin ice blade from one of the clones was enough to split it in two. The battle raged in the sky, the Ice Lord dancing with his clones among the beasts until he had annihilated them all.
On the ground, the battle was no less fierce. A rain of spectral arrows poured down; Julian summoned a sea of blood to form a giant shield, while Iris harnessed her winds to deflect the arrows back at the archers. The enemy snipers hid behind armored ghosts as the cavalry charged, but a mocking voice caught them from behind: "Not so fast!" It was Oliver, plunging his dagger into the first, then the second, in a flash.
Henry shouted enthusiastically, "Look at that damn brat, thinking he'll defeat more soldiers than me!" Henry struck the ground with his mighty fist, causing the earth to ripple into predatory sand dunes that swallowed the soldiers. Oliver barely escaped by teleporting, yelling, "Are you trying to kill me, you muscle-headed fool?"
Henry laughed back, "I wish I had, just to get some peace from your nagging!"
Volac interrupted them sternly, "Is this the time for bickering?" He drew his bow and fired an arrow that split and multiplied in the air, hounding the armored units with terrifying precision—arrow after arrow hitting the same spot until the armor shattered. He looked at them pridefully: "See? I am the best."
They both barked at him: "You're just showing off!"
On the other side, Harold poured volcanic lava upon the mages and spirits, while Andre charged like a streaking bolt, tearing through the enemy ranks until he reached the head of the snake. Andre pressed his blade against Maurice's neck, gasping, "Do you realize how long I've waited for this moment? To kill you with my own hands and quench my thirst for revenge."
Maurice replied with provoking coldness, "Have I become that important?"
Andre pressed harder, "I see you are quite comfortable facing death."
Maurice answered, "What is there to fear? Have I gone mad to tremble before a twenty-year-old child?"
The Ice Lord intervened then; with a swift movement, he froze Maurice's arm and leg, then shattered the ice with a powerful strike. Maurice's limbs crumbled like glass. As Maurice let out a throat-tearing scream, the Ice Lord leaned in and whispered, "I don't need your fear; I only need to hear your wailing, you bastard. After all you've done, did you think your death would be merciful?"
Suddenly, Maurice's crying turned into hysterical laughter that escalated until it nearly choked him. "You poor souls! Ice Lord... my dear Andre... do you think you've won just because you destroyed my army?"
The Ice Lord's face darkened. "What? Are you hiding some rats behind the rocks?"
Maurice uttered only one word: "Come forth."
A mysterious sense of danger surged through the Ice Lord. He forged another sword and ordered Andre to move away from Maurice immediately. Before Andre could ask why, two knights appeared out of thin air, and the Ice Lord intercepted them with both swords with great difficulty. The surprises didn't end there—from above, a colossal dragon dove down, preparing to prey on both the Ice Lord and Andre.
The Ice Lord was caught in a lethal predicament; if he let go of the swords, the knights would kill them, and if he used more of his power, he would exhaust his limited time, especially as the "Ice Covenant" power was beginning to fade. However, Oliver was faster; with a single touch, he teleported Andre and the Ice Lord back to the team's ranks.
There, shock silenced everyone. The beasts they had slain, the army they had annihilated... they had all returned to life as if nothing had happened! Amidst the heroes' bewilderment, Maurice's mocking voice pierced the silence:
"Let me tell you something, 'heroes'... the army you face now is no ordinary army. It is an army of the dead, following only one master... the one you are looking for, Andre... The Necromancer."