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The Sorrowful Winter King of Frost: Ezekiel the Fallen.
His name alone sent shivers down the spines of countless players in Barbarian Conquest. He was an infuriatingly difficult bastard.
Worse, he was an incredibly rare boss—yet strangely easy to encounter. If you wandered the Green Plains gathering resources when winter arrived, you could stumble upon him without warning.
The first time winter descended and the Swamp Dungeon transformed, players rushed to see the changes for themselves. The initial mobs and boss were manageable enough. But once they reached the King...
Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of players fell before him.
Ezekiel was no laughing matter. He alone could have served as the final boss of his own dungeon, yet the sadistic developers had placed him second in a five-stratum nightmare. And the third, fourth, and fifth bosses were no weaker.
That was why I could not lose. What awaited me and my family deeper in this dungeon would be even more brutal. But I knew that once we conquered it and walked out victorious, not only I but my entire family would emerge as powerful warriors.
"..."
Ezekiel fixed me with his sharp azure eyes and swung his massive frost broadsword. A potent vertical slash slammed into the ground, unleashing dozens of razor-sharp icicles boosted by his Frost Aura. They pierced straight through my Sunflare Protection and stabbed into my body.
I reinforced my body to its absolute limits with Mana Strengthening, then cloaked myself in War Spirit Aura Embodiment. I endured the storm of icicles covering every inch of me while Ezekiel watched with ruthless confidence.
However...
"Red Fang Axe Style—
First Form: Searing Cleave – Burning Claw!"
I unleashed two consecutive strikes with my giant axe, Atlas, and my new hammer. The icicle prison shattered instantly. I stepped forward with Fierce Charging Attack, catching the bastard off guard. Both weapons slammed into him, driving him backward.
CRAAASH!
"Hmph."
He let out a confident grunt. I couldn't see his face, it was made of ice, but I could tell.
This bastard was smiling.
He blocked my attack with his giant sword, then swung his fist faster than I could react.
BOOOM!
A massive explosion of frost mana struck my face, freezing my head and torso solid before sending me flying dozens of meters into the wall.
"..."
He couldn't speak, but his gaze burned with contempt as I coughed up frozen blood and forced myself back to my feet. The tattoos across my body glowed brightly as a pair of phoenix wings burst from my back.
Feathers manifested across the rest of my form. My hands and feet transformed into sharp, bird-like talons. The power of my divine spirit beast tattoo surged through me, and my strength skyrocketed.
"Are you going to laugh at this too?!"
RUMBLE!
The ground shattered. The wall behind me exploded and vaporized. In an instant, I was on him. My axe and hammer rained down in a barrage of Holy Smites, followed by a devastating Searing Cleave and Burning Claw, and then—
"Divine War Demigoddess' Weapon – Axe Form!"
I summoned my Divine War Demigoddess Weapon when he least expected it. The giant blade of burning red divinity blazed with power as it descended toward him.
Yet he was faster than his massive frame suggested. He sidestepped smoothly, punched my ribs, and swung his blade to cleave me in half.
However...
"Second Form – Tomahawk Boomerang!!!"
With a fierce grin, I laughed as the axe spun through the air and slammed into his back, generating a massive explosion. I clenched my fists and detonated the divine weapon.
BOOOM!
"?!"
Ezekiel looked genuinely shocked. He dropped to one knee, half his back destroyed, his balance ruined.
I couldn't waste this opening!
My divine weapon would return later, but detonating it meant it would take time to reappear. Relying on Atlas and my hammer alone, I brought them down on his head with Holy Smite and Shadow Clone, striking him from front and back at once.
CRASH!
CRASH!
CRASH!
Cracks spiderwebbed across his head and armor. But he rose quickly, grabbed my legs, and smashed me into the floor again and again.
"Gaaaah?!"
I vomited blood as I screamed. Channeling my bloodline, red scales spread over my golden feathers, creating a hybrid form of blazing reptile and holy phoenix.
This damn bastard was every bit as strong as I remembered—if not stronger in the flesh.
"HAAAAH!"
With a roar, I swung Atlas and cleaved through his arm, unleashing an explosion of mana and flames that hurled us both away.
BOOOM!
I scrambled to my feet, spitting teeth and blood, only to see him standing once more. He tore away his heavy armor, revealing a sleeker, more agile giant form.
He had entered his second phase.
"Fuck."
RUMBLE!
His giant broadsword shattered and reformed into a long rapier. The heavy tank-type boss had transformed into a lightning-fast monster capable of landing dozens of critical hits in seconds.
"Damn it!"
He closed the distance faster than I could react. Dozens of freezing, piercing strikes tore across my body even as I reinforced it with every scale and defense I possessed.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
"Nnnggh!"
The worst part was the "Strong Freeze" status. My physique offered no immunity, so he kept freezing my wounds with every hit. If my body temperature dropped too far, the blazing power from my tattoo and bloodline would collapse, leaving me weaker than before.
No.
I still had plenty of trump cards.
"Burning Dragon Soul Style!!!"
With a roar, my Soul Aura exploded outward and manifested as a giant multi-headed dragon of flames. It coiled around my body, boosting my power for one final push.
I swung my fists into his torso, smashing him into the wall. I used my wings to close in, but he suddenly regenerated his armor and tanked the blow. Then his armor exploded into sharp icicles that pierced my entire body, followed by his rapier stabbing my chest dozens of times.
"Aaaaggh! Damn cheater! That wasn't in the game!"
I was stunned. He was freely switching between forms! I knew it, this fight was far harder than in the game. He wasn't following any script. He was no longer code. He was a monster that wanted us dead and would do anything to achieve it.
I covered myself in recovery spells as I fell from the sky. He pursued like an azure comet, slamming into me.
But I was ready.
"Ares! Hermes! Fenrir!!!"
I roared, calling my familiars. Ares, my War Spirit of Strength, appeared with her giant sword and clashed with the King for a moment before he destroyed her. She fused back into me, reinforcing my muscles enough for me to kick his face and drive him downward.
Hermes emerged as a blazing tornado, striking from above with a powerful spear of wind and gust that pierced straight through the King's head, shattering it.
"RAAAHHH!"
Yet the King wasn't dead. He was a golem—his scream came from the soul sealed in his core.
His aura erupted. Hermes was decimated but not destroyed, returning to my body and granting me a powerful speed boost.
With both red and green spiritual auras surging, I charged. Fenrir, who had been supporting my family, joined me. He leaped over the King, activating Berserk and Charge. His eyes flared crimson as he turned demonic. He unleashed Aura of Intimidation, Hell Fire, and dozens of Soul Bites, tearing into Ezekiel's soul aura bite by bite while burning it with demonic flames.
Ezekiel went berserk. He forged a giant claw of ice, grabbed Fenrir, and smashed the giant wolf into the ground, forcing a painful cry from the beast as blood sprayed.
"FENRIR! NO!!!"
I screamed. Power surged through my body at lightning speed. With both spirits fused into me, I reached Ezekiel's hand, kicked it with the combined strength of my bloodline, tattoos, and spirits, and shattered it into pieces.
CRAAASH!
"Spiritual Projection!"
I roared, conjuring my Spiritual Projection. Soul, aura, spirit, and divine power merged into a towering giantess. With four enormous hands, I smashed the monster's body again and again and again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ezekiel could barely respond as I poured out every ounce of my energy—and then drew on my own lifeforce to finish him once and for all.
"JUST DIE ALREADY, OLD MAN!"
"Nnngaaaahhhh!"
Ezekiel roared in fury, surging through my assault to unleash his final trump card.
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