It takes me a few moments to return to the world around me. I was encased in a thin layer of ice, (which is still breaking apart right now.) though the same cannot be said about the man in front of me. He has frozen completely into a block of ice.

I don't know what move he was trying to pull of, but I have to admit that if

he had succeeded in doing it properly or even if he managed to do it out of the bubble with full access to the mana outside I would be dead at this moment. That final attack of his was meant to destroy the entire fort and I took it on at point blank range.

Even now I can feel the massive amount of ice mana that has made its way into my body. I would easily say that it is ten times the amount that I had to deal with the previous time I faced the chill.

I can feel it rampaging in my body like a blind bull. Well, this is a well and proper mess. Regardless, it is time for me to focus. After all, this is the only chance that I will get to kill the man in front of me.

he is about as helpless as he can be. One stab into his skull and I am sure that he will die. Well, better to do it quickly. There is lot of ice I have to go through. The man looks like he has been frozen in the ice for a decade. I can feel my vision blurring already.

Grasping my sword I begin to move, though not particularly fastly. I feel like the world around me has turned to jelly. It takes me what feels like an eternity to reach the giant.

Just as I am about to make a move though, I can see the glint of steel in front of me. I barely am able to raise my sword to block the enemies strike.

“To think that you managed to block the snow drive of the young master.“, he speaks. “not many are able to do that, you brat.“

Blocking his strike I realise one thing. The man does not have a lot of mana. If anything he has roughly as much mana as me. His dagger I can hold of easily. At least for a man that is supposed to be at the second circle.

“Are you sure that you are a snowlord.“, I speak to the man, as tauntingly as possible.

“I am more than sure. I am the reason that we even appeared this quickly here. Hiding our tracks was no easy feat, legioner. Without me that commander would be here.“, he replies, fear clear in his voice. “Not even the young master can do what I have done in the last week. The only problem is that the magic that I have used to pull this of has broken my connection to the freeze.“

“you do seem to be so weak.“, I reply. “I am sure I can take you even as I am. You barely have the mana of a first circle....“

I do not get to complete my sentence as the other side suddenly strikes me with his dagger. Even with his limited connection to the freeze (which I assume is their word for the external ice mana.) the man's strike packs a punch.

I barely manage to dodge this strike.

“I have leaked enough secrets of my people, legioner.“, he speaks. “If you die, this little bubble of yours should be broken. If that happens then you will die. To take in the master's strike and not become a sculpture of ice. This bubble of yours is amazing. Something worth studying.“

As he speaks, the man keeps trying to strike me.

With each strikes he hits me a bit better. The only reason that I am able to handle his strikes is that I am also getting better at handling the chill and every moment the bubble of mana is pushing out the ice mana from my surroundings. Not that my situation is getting better. The ice mana inside me seems to be getting wilder, most likely due to the man in front of me.

“how long are you going to be retreating like that, legioner. Your death is fixed. It might be in the next strike or in the tenth strike after this but your death is fixed.“, he speaks.

Hearing the man speak, I can feel my heart sink. The man is supremely confident in his words. Not that he is lying though. He can get me killed easily. Already I can feel the very act of thinking becoming harder.

To be frank I have only one option here, that is the soldiers who are hiding in the formation room. Quite a bit of the fort has been decimated but the formation room should have been safe. It is under the ground for a reason after all.

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The soldiers will be able to take this man, as long as they have the element of surprise. I am sure that most of my strength will be consumed in taking the man to the formation room, but if I pull it off the man is going to die. The only problem now is how to take him to the formation room.

“Well, that might be the case, but do you think that you will be able to leave this place alive. The commander must be on his way.“, I speak, dodging another strike of his. “Seems a bit suicidal?“

“Well, we were not supposed to be here for fighting. We were just sent here to threaten a rogue sage not following the treaty.“, he speaks. “How were supposed to know that we would be finding an orphan here. you certainly have balls of steel. To think that you dare to barge into our land.“

“Last I remembered, this was the territory of the snowwind empire. What claim do you have here?“ I reply, as sarcastically as I could.

“Well, this is our land, legioner. Make no mistake on that. The empire might be hanging their flag in that fort of theirs, but out here is our land.“, he replies, his voice getting serious “the freeze can destroy anything. Even that paltry empire.“

“This freeze of yours does seem to be struggling against the frozen peak my friend.“, I reply. “It isn't even that Impressive of a fort.“

“It will be destroyed ultimately. I can see that you are struggling. What are you planning to do, I wonder. what trick is up your sleeve.“, he speaks, his tone getting more and more irritated “Your steps have too much purpose for a man on the verge of death.“

As he speaks, I am not able to block his dagger. It makes a cut on my left arm. Rather than the wound it is the ice mana that it imparts that is the problem. I can feel the pain of the strike at all. Taking a step back I enter into a defensive stance.

I can't say for certain but I am sure the formation room is behind me. It is not really visible in my mana sense (well, a cloak to hide the core is a very important part of the formation core.) for me to pinpoint its location.

“Well, killing you is the trick. I am of the legion, do you think that I haven't handle worse.“, I reply, trying to sound confident.

“Are you sure you are of the legion, young man.“, he speaks. “I know the status that you orphans have there and are you sure you are of the legion when you do not even know their arts.“

Well, the man is astute or well informed. I will give him that but did he need to be so insulting. Regardless, I have finally found the location of the room. It is right behind me, pretty close by too. Now all I have to do is take the man there with me in such a way that he doesn't realise who is down there.

“The legions arts would be wasted on you.“, I reply, smirking at him. I think so at least.“They are meant for true opponents of the legion.“

“Then you will die, young man.“, he replies.

(After about a minute or so)

After the previous dialogue the man shuts up completely as he begins to strike me with a barrage of blows. Most of them I barely manage to block pushing them away. The man might have mana equivalent to me but the man is physically much stronger than me.

He makes full use of this as he keeps striking me like a cannon. This is to a point that I cannot even dodge the man anymore. All I can do is block him. Thankfully, all I need to do is keep going back or it might have been much more difficult for me.

He also does not need to keep cycling mana to push out the chill like I am having to. Even now I can feel my limbs shivering. How the hell did I even end up in this situation.

Regardless, I guess that I should be quite happy that at the very least the man is not killing me in a single strike. That is what would have happen if the man had the mana of a second circle.

“You are certainly tenacious, legioner.“, he speaks. “Most people would be dead by now.“

“I am not so easy to kill.“, I reply. I hope that the man cannot detect the exhaustion in my voice. I just need a bit more time and a few more steps.

“Well, the next time you say that make sure that you are not standing like a half dead zombie.“, he replies to that. “Not that there is going to be a next time.“

He stresses on this point with another strike. this time the man is aiming at my throat. I block it though, his dagger too close for my comfort. I also cannot feel my right hand anymore. that is not a good sign is it. Also why is everything fading around me.

I do not have long. Not that I need it. the man needs to follow me. just a bit more and I will be able to get rid of him. Just a bit more of distraction and I can sleep.

“Well, why exactly did they send three of you. Even one of you would have been enough to destroy the fort.“, I ask the man. I am so exhausted that this is the only insult that pops up in my mind. Is it even a insult.

He replies with a strike that I am not able to block. Just a bit more. thankfully he speaks which jolts me awake. (What can I say. A man of black mountain is always curious.)

“Well, are you sure that you want to know the answer to that. You are on the verge of death here.“, he replies. “You really should pick better methods of showing bravado.“

Saying that he strikes me again. This time the force of the strike is enough to floor me. My legs really feel like jelly. I could try and get up, but my legs have other plans.

Screw it this is going to hurt. With all of my will, I pull every bit of mana that I had put into pushing out the ice mana and send it to my legs and my arms. It takes every iota of my will to do this. I can feel my body freezing as I jump at the man grasping him in an iron grip.

“You bastards down there what are you waiting for. Come and kill the damn bastard already.“, I scream. Let's hope that my calculations are right and I can hold the man for long enough. Else, the soldiers are in for a crazy fight.

I hear the noise of people shuffling and the men below realising what my plan finally is. At the same time as the bastard in my grasp, actually. He begins to trash about like a crazy man trying to get away but I hold on. As panic leads to desperation for the man below me, I can feel the world fading away and everything becoming black again.