Way of the Knights

Chapter 353 - Frozen Tomb

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*Boom!*

Yet another explosion occurred, sending the frozen road shaking in it's wake. 

A hulking mass of a bipedal creature shot back towards the nearby platform, causing shards of ice to fall on top of its head. This creature is a furry monster with a face only a mother could love. It sported a tall frame, standing for about 30 meters in height and weighs at least several tons. It held a club made out of Ice Laws, radiated with excessive amounts of Frost Toxins, and is a genuine peak Tier 5 Demonic Beast. 

The Ice Troll King, is the last gate keeper that the Guardian sent to test him. 

And while is still suffering from a mild concussion due to Raven's attack earlier, he decided to not let this chance pass and finish this battle once and for all. 

The handle of his hammer lit up and his body started emanating an overbearing aura. 

"Silver Twisting Decimation! Up!" 

All of a sudden, ten silver fist-shaped pillars materialized from beneath the Ice Troll King. These arms then rotated together and sent the beast up in the air. The Ice Troll King groaned in pain due to the sheer raw power behind that attack but Raven's not done yet. 

"Hold!" He yelled, then more arms appeared out of nowhere and held the Ice Troll King up in the air. 

The Ice Troll King couldn't move a muscle. There's an arm holding it's head and neck, there's at least two arms holding each of its arms, the same goes for it's legs. The beast then saw Raven swinging his hammer, it didn't even saw him perform a whole swing before it felt an intense pain on it's body. 

A silver fist manifested and punched his right rib-cage, causing them to shatter and for the troll king to vomit blood. The poor troll couldn't even buck its body in pain because of the tight hold of the arms around its body. 

Raven swung his hammer again and another fist dealt the same damage on the other side. The glossy white fur of the troll is now completely dyed with blood, making it look horrible. 

But since the Ice Troll King is still breathing, it means that Raven's not finished yet. 

Raising his hammer up in the air, the sky rumbled and ground trembled. A massive energy fluctuation was released by Raven's body. As his hair danced with the furious cold air around him. A large mass of gold started accumulating near the Ice Troll King. 

In a blink of an eye, the poor troll found itself staring at what would probably the last thing it would see. 

Two enormous Golden Hands materialized from each side, emanating a destructive force that could send anyone shaking from fear. Each golden hand was presenting an open palm. Raven's eyes glinted with a cold light, he then yelled:

"Praying Golden Hands!" And then he swung the hammer down. 

The two Golden Hands then moved and slammed onto each other with the Ice Troll King in between. There was no resistance from the troll. Its body exploded into a bloody mist as piece of flesh and broken bones dropped to the ground. 

Raven released a long exhale and once again found serenity. He sent the hammer away as well as the Golden Hands as well. He then released some of his Chaos Force around his body to clean himself as best as he could. After doing that, he then resumed walking towards his destination. 

Walking several paces forward, he found himself standing in front of a massive ice sculpture that follows the shape of an egg. 

"I'm here." Raven whispered as he gazed at the massive egg. "The Frozen Tomb of the North." 

And just as he said that, an opening suddenly appeared in front of him as if inviting him inside. Raven didn't waste any time and stepped inside. He had to find the ingredient he's looking for swiftly or else he won't make it to the east in time. 

***

As soon as Raven stepped inside, the entrance closed behind him, effectively preventing him from exiting this place. 

Raven held no panic on his heart. Since there was an entrance, naturally there is an exit as well. The memories he had on this place was quite vivid since it made a deep impression on him, the only thing he's not sure off is how long he'll stay inside this place since he's on a tight schedule. 

His thought were then interrupted by an assault of coldness that made him shiver. 

Raven involuntarily inhaled sharply and that too, didn't feel so good. It was very cold in here, at least five time colder compared outside. Raven could sense the work of Ice Laws here and honestly, he's not that surprised. After all, this tomb was made for someone who ruled the entire north once upon a time. 

Unlike outside, the coldness of this place isn't brought by the hail. In fact, Raven could barely feel any gust of air inside this place. This is the work of Ice Laws, and because this place is completely sealed, it was effectively containing the coldness within. 

The origins of the Frozen Tomb is as old as the Sunken Ivory Castle. But compared to the latter, the Frozen Tomb was actually made in this plane by the late Ice Emperor.

The Ice Emperor is one of the oldest and strongest men, even during the era of Master Sun, the first person to step foot at the Divine Realm. Few people held the title of an 'Emperor' during that era, most of them had that title because of their seniority but the Ice Emperor earned his.

While he might be as old as the other 'Emperors' at that era. He's is by far the strongest compared to them. It was said that just with his breath alone, he could turn an army into ice sculptures. And since he was born when the plane was still young, his understanding of Ice Laws was unmatched. 

According to legends, someone invoked the ire of the Ice Emperor by spouting malicious rumors against his daughter. The poor guy felt confident about his strength but he didn't know the immensity of the heavens. With a gentle wave of the Ice Emperor's hand, he sent a gust of cold wind which then travelled towards the opposite end of the plane and became furious hail that encase the whole south in ice and shred the ignorant guy into pieces. 

That alone caused the whole plane to be wary of angering the Ice Emperor even further. He literally plunge the south in winter while he was still at the north, and he did so with just a turn of his hand. How could everyone calm down with that information. 

Since then, due to the fear of angering him, people would often send him gifts and sacrifices to appease his mood. It was also due to this event that the rules of the north became more rigid. Those who wanted to live or visit the north, shall ask for the Ice Emperor's permission first before doing so. If they were granted access, they shall not stray away from the path given to them or else they will invoke the ire of the Ice Emperor. 

Those who were looking for apprenticeship under him, had to face several challenges to prove their worth. None really had any idea of what the Ice Emperor requires for his disciples since he never shared that information to anyone. 

What most people didn't know is that, the reason why the Ice Emperor was this strong is because he was raised by the Guardian of the North. He was originally a sacrifice for the immortal entity since some northern tribes believed that there was a god living amongst them. 

Raven had no idea what the Guardian saw from the infant that spurred it to raise the child, but it truly happened. The Ice Emperor left some scriptures on his tomb confirming this information, and Raven read them before so he knew that this really happened. 

Unfortunately, the Ice Emperor is very secretive. Apart from this, he didn't left any information about his life. No one knows what happened to him and who built this tomb, the citizens of the north just saw it appear out of nowhere and to their surprise, they found out that it was his tomb. 

He would've liked to know more about the Ice Emperor, but he's on really tight schedule here so he can't go searching freely.

Raven was walking in a smooth surface, completely frozen by the atmosphere here. He could see his reflection on the floor whenever he looked down. 

The interior of the tomb looks like a series of tunnel system, leading towards the depth of the tomb. Raven closed his eyes briefly and remembered the memories of his past. 

He had spent a long time in this place during his past life, not that he wanted too really but that forced him to remember what path leads to what. After doing some process of elimination, he eventually had the paths marked mentally so he resumed walking. 

As soon as one entered the tomb, they will instantly see five tunnels ahead of them. Each of these tunnels lead to different rooms in the tomb. Some are traps, some are not.. Raven chose the leftmost tunnel and followed it until the end.