Norton wasn't concerned about his broken sword. After it snapped, he deftly tossed it aside and used the remaining half to slay another ghoul. Then, with a flick of his left wrist, the mithril dagger hidden in his sleeve was in his hand. With his brutal left-hand swordsmanship and the razor-sharp ancient imperial blade, dispatching these low-level ghouls was a trivial task. Those that tried to bite him lost their heads, and those that reached with claws had them severed!

In an instant, Norton had slain several ghouls, breaking free from encirclement. Meanwhile, he hadn't neglected his right hand; in a few seconds, he completed over twenty magical gestures while whispering a rapid incantation, summoning a powerful attack spell!

Norton stooped and slammed his right hand onto the ground. Instantly, a bone-chilling wind whipped up, and the surrounding temperature plummeted below freezing. Ice spread rapidly from his palm, ensnaring the feet of those nearby before encasing them entirely in ice. In moments, all the ghouls, crypt horrors, and the Strigoi ghoul king were transformed into ice sculptures!

The scene around them transformed as well; the golden autumn and babbling brook were gone, replaced by a frozen wasteland. The stone bridge, flowing river, and even the fish beneath were encased in a massive block of ice. The flora surrounding the bridge was coated in frost, as if in the depths of winter.

This was the Frozen Domain, a miraculous creation of magic that could freeze even souls—a technique Norton had developed, combining and amplifying ice and extreme cold spells over tenfold. Though its damage was moderate, its vast range and freezing effect made it a perfect control spell. Norton named this magic the Frost Bloom Frozen Formation.

The vampire knight shivered atop her steed—the ice seemed to recognize her and didn't attack. Moments ago, Norton had moved with such speed amidst the ghouls that she hadn't had time to react. Now, with the battle seemingly settled, she stood speechless.

Norton snapped his fingers, and invisible whirlwinds struck the ice sculptures. Though the whirlwinds lacked direct lethality, they disrupted the ice’s structure.

In the next moment, dozens of frozen ghouls shattered into icy chunks, dead beyond doubt. The battlefield was clear except for four crypt horrors and their Strigoi ghoul king master. The whirlwinds cracked the ice encasing them, but they didn’t shatter.

Norton raised an eyebrow, realizing these foes weren’t entirely defeated. As he noted the situation’s improvement, the knight exhaled in relief and turned to speak to Norton, who sharply warned her:

“Don’t relax, it’s not over yet!”

As if to prove his point, the crypt horrors broke through the ice at that moment. Their monstrous strength shattered the geometrically structured ice, several times stronger than natural ice.

Through shattering ice shards and frigid mist, four towering crypt horrors surged forward like steamrollers, swinging their massive arms as they charged Norton and the knight. These desecrated abominations could cleave mountains, a fight Norton didn’t want to engage in directly.

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“Retreat!” he shouted to the vampire knight from the Averell Rasin family. He started backing up quickly, flicking his sleeve to reveal a slender wand from his right arm. He began chanting an intricate series of arcane syllables, preparing another spell.

However, when Norton called out, the vampire knight didn’t retreat. Instead, she chose to fight! Ducking low, she kicked her fallen lance back into her hand. With a war cry, she spurred her half-mechanical, half-undead nightmare mount into motion, charging the foremost crypt horror!

Despite being smaller than a typical vampire knight, the force of a cavalry charge remained formidable. The nightmare, structurally different from a regular warhorse, reached full speed in just a few meters. During the charge, the lance’s tip emitted a faint blood-red glow, indicating magical enhancement.

The crypt horror, immensely strong and resilient, was slow to react. As the knight charged, it barely responded. Despite her youth, she maneuvered adeptly, adjusting the lance’s angle at the last moment for a precise strike.

With a dull thud, the lance pierced the crypt horror’s skull, its tough hide and hard bones unable to withstand the knight’s full-force charge. The lance emerged from the back of its head, killing it instantly.

The monster’s blood seemed to boil, erupting from its pores as crimson steam, reducing it to a shriveled husk, a dry corpse!

“What kind of enchantment is this? So lethal!” Norton’s mind raced as he recalled his extensive reading, but found no weapon with such an effect. Dehydrating a target’s blood upon impact was lethally effective; such an enchantment should be famous… Like his Frost Bloom Frozen Formation, this must be a newly devised magic.

But there was no time to ponder; the battle continued. After downing one crypt horror, the vampire knight was in peril—the remaining three surrounded her, attacking from three sides with clawed arms!

In a dire moment, the vampire knight reacted swiftly! She yanked her lance from the dry corpse, stabbing another crypt horror. Meanwhile, she tilted right, using a black iron shield on her left arm to fend off another’s attack—even as two crypt horrors were handled, the third was an impending threat. She couldn't fend all sides with just two arms!

A crypt horror’s strength was enough to smash stone; a single hit would likely pulverize the slender vampire knight. Though Norton saw her as a lunatic, vampires cherished each other. Even lunatics were beloved by their kind. Plus, in this combat, they’d unwittingly formed an alliance; helping her meant aiding himself.

Resolving quickly, Norton redirected his wand from the feigning Strigoi monster to the unchecked crypt horror. A violet electric glow gathered at the wand’s end, forming a potent attack spell.

In the blink of an eye, Norton, the vampire knight, and the crypt horrors calculated their next moves—attack, defend, or assist. Barely a second or two had passed, yet Norton and the Averell Rasin knight coordinated well in their first team-up.

The knight thrust her lance, piercing a crypt horror’s chest; though lacking the full momentum, the sharp lance killed it through its blood-evaporating enchantment. Meanwhile, another crypt horror felt a forceful rebound before it could land a hit, shattering an arm as it tumbled into the river.

The last crypt horror, caught by Norton’s thunderous Lance of Lightning, was electrified down to its cellular level, exploding into charred remains!

In just two exchanges, four fearsome crypt horrors lay slain. The last hesitated, clutching a painful fracture, too scared to advance. The victory was Norton’s.

The knight turned and nodded at Norton, exchanging a glance to seal their alliance. Norton nodded back, glancing at the downed crypt horror, determining it temporarily harmless. He walked back to the vampire knight, wand aimed at the ice-encased Strigoi ghoul king, saying:

“If you stay put, this fight’s ours.”

For a while, the ghoul king remained motionless, neither attacking nor fleeing nor replying. The knight beside Norton muttered in confusion, “Huh?” as she prepared to investigate, sensing wrong, tried to raise her shield—but realized its magical protection had vanished! Without enchantments, the plain iron shield was nearly useless in expert combat!