Ice formation—Ice Spring!
The frost surged upward like a fountain from his feet, but Leo showed no sign of retreat; with a flick of his hand, a horde of ice wolves instantly formed, tearing the ice spring apart, baring their fangs as they lunged at Grey.
Grey immediately conjured two ice swords; a few cold glints flashed, and the wolf pack turned to icy dust.
"Not over yet!"
Grey formed an ice bow, and countless arrows shot out like hunting falcons.
Leo stood proudly in place, gripping with one hand and swinging with the other; a massive surge of magic instantly coalesced into a gigantic ice ape, which unscathed withstood the rain of ice swords.
The two darted among the ice crystals, endless ice formations appearing, a ultimate clash of "static shaping" versus "dynamic shaping".
The ice bow fired continuously, the arrow rain shattered the falcon swarm.
The giant ape roared, its heavy fist shattering a massive hammer.
An ice prison suddenly materialized, imprisoning a roaring tiger.
The wolf king lunged swiftly, its fangs snapping a war axe... Grey and Leo, unleashing true fire, kept upgrading the intensity of their formations.
In the end, Grey even transcended "cold weapons", creating an ice cannon, while Leo's formation produced an ice dragon for a mutual barrage.
The scene shifted in an instant, techniques pouring out endlessly, dazzling to the eye, yet any observant could see Grey gradually falling into disadvantage.
"Looks like I've caught a good show."
As ice crystals burst across the sky, Hope's figure silently slipped past the cloaked figures and reached his comrades.
Naz, focused on Grey and Leo's fight, scratched his head in confusion at Hope's sudden appearance, "Eh? Hope? So you weren't there earlier."
Hope's face stiffened, "Is my presence that unnoticed..."
"It's because you didn't keep up with the group," Elusha retorted, having only realized Hope's absence when he appeared, just like Naz.
Considerate Lucy eased Hope's embarrassment by reiterating the relationship between Grey and the "Zero Emperor" Leo.
"Whoa, Zero Emperor? That's quite a claim."
Hope's gaze held slight contempt as he looked at the intense duel between the senior and junior, stoking the fire: "Last time in Iron Forest there was a self-proclaimed 'Grim Reaper' Eli Gol, but he got hung by Elusha and Naz."
"Now another guy calls himself 'Zero Emperor', and the senior beats the junior, can't even take down a mere Grey."
"These days mages pick titles without sense, never weighing how much they can actually handle."
Hope's voice was low but reached everyone present.
As the junior who was immediately suppressed by senior Leo, Grey was already downcast, and didn't expect his teammates to add more pressure.
What does 'just a Grey' even mean... am I still inferior to Naz?!
A vein bulged on Grey's forehead; gritting his teeth, the power of his magic surged.
Leo's complexion turned even worse; his ice magic surged instantly, pushing Grey back with a single clash, and his gaze toward Hope turned ice‑cold.
"You ignorant fool, how dare you critique me?"
"Let me show you why I dare call myself 'Zero Emperor'!"
The sky‑filled ice crystals suddenly coalesced into a massive soaring eagle, swooping toward Hope with sharper momentum.
Hope, however, let out a light laugh and snapped his fingers.
The carved wooden wall with Habie's cat head reappeared, the "crack crack" sounds echoing as the ice‑crafted giant eagle shattered into shards.
Leo's pupils constricted; his enraged, full‑power spell was effortlessly blocked, "Who the hell are you?"
Hope spread his hands, "Just a passing fairy‑tail mage, that's all."
It's not untrue; Hope was recruited into this mission by Elusha, but hearing that from Leo sounded condescending.
"Bastard, you dare look down on me!" Leo roared, cold air erupting around him, the ground instantly cloaked in thick ice.
Hope didn't indulge him; he gathered magic in his hand.
"Leo! Our battle isn't over yet!"
Grey suddenly stepped between them, "And you, Hope, don't act; I will definitely defeat Leo."
Seeing Grey's resolute gaze, Hope thought better of it; the brothers' conflict was theirs to resolve.
So Hope stepped back decisively, tossing a plant seed; under the 'plant' magic it sprouted into a small tree bearing peach‑like fruits.
"Here, have a peach."
Hope plucked a fruit, handed it to Elusha, and said to Naz, Lucy, and Habie, "This fruit seed was a gift from a client; try it yourselves."
Then Hope fashioned a set of wooden tables and chairs, making it look like he was preparing a picnic.
Everyone watching, including Grey, was stunned.
"No, man."
"I'm still fighting over here, can you at least respect that..." He forced himself to calm, stopped watching his teammates' antics, Grey turned to Leo, "You should finally come to your senses, huh?"
Leo stood proudly, "My dream is to surpass Wu Lu; now that Wu Lu is dead, I must defeat the unbeatable Dailiola to prove I've already surpassed her!"
"No one can stop me from achieving my dream!"
Clenching his teeth, Grey knew empty words wouldn't sway his senior.
Indeed, before reasoning, a good beating was needed.
Grey ripped off his shirt, "Leo! I'm here to stop you!"
Leo also shed his robes, bare‑chested, "Then come at me, try to stop me, Grey!"
The next moment, the two clashed again.
But this collision was even more intense than before, no longer just dazzling magical duels but also fierce physical combat.
Watching the two shirtless fighters, Hope seemed to realize something.
Both brothers actually had a habit of stripping.
Does that mean their master, the female mage Wu Lu, also liked... "Hope, your expression is so lewd."
Habie's voice cut off Hope's thoughts; looking up, he saw Elusha, Lucy, Naz and Habie all giving him disdainful looks.
In fact, Elusha and Lucy had the same thought, but felt it inappropriate to think that about Wu Lu, so they redirected their scorn toward the lewd Hope.
Naz and Habie didn't know why, but since Elusha and Lucy did, they followed suit.
"Heh..."
Hope forced a nervous laugh and quickly changed the subject, "Who do you think will win, Grey or Leo?"