[You have entered the dungeon, Snow Fields of Travium.]

Kang Oh entered the dungeon first.

The raid team consisted of thirty members. They all wore brown fur clothes, which Man Bok had provided them with, and a warm thermal stone was nestled in their chests. Plus, everyone had drunk their cold resistance potions prior to entering!

The party passed through the tunnels and stepped foot into the snowy plains.

[The winter clothes have lessened the cold's effect on you.]

[The thermal stone has lessened the cold's effect on you.]

[Your movement is not slowed.]

[HP does not decrease.]

As expected, the effects of the winter clothes and the thermal stone were incredible.

"Oh, it's not that cold. But..." Sephiro smiled. Then, he subconsciously looked down, but Waryong was nowhere to be found.

He obviously hadn't lost it or sold it. Because he'd be participating in an intense battle, he'd left it with the Tamer Guild.

"We've dealt with the cold, so now we just need to find it."

'It' referred to the Ruler of the Snowy Fields, Travium.

Kang Oh led, and his team followed.

How much time had passed?

The falling snow gradually intensified, eventually becoming a full-blown blizzard.

Plus...

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground shook. Travium was clearly approaching them.

"That way." Sephiro pointed beyond the blizzard.

"Get ready for battle," Kang Oh yelled.

Five of the 100 Fighters stood at the vanguard, wielding gladiuses and large, square shields. They were the team's main tanks.

"Stay in place!"

They were led by Khalidan, another one of the 100 Fighters. He was called 'The Bull'.

The rest of the 100 Fighters were damage dealers. They drew their respective weapons, and stood at the ready. Dion was in charge of this group.

"Let's have some fun," Dion yelled.

"Darion," Kang Oh called.

"Yes?" Darion replied anxiously.

"Do you remember your duty?"

"Yes. Work with the team to protect the priests," Darion immediately said.

"Yeah, take good care of the priests."

"I'll do my best."

"Let's do this."

"Yes!"

Kang Oh looked away and stared at the front once more.

"We'll begin the blessings," Merlin said. She was a middle-aged woman with straight black hair, and was the leader of the Rakan Priests here.

The six priests, her included, clasped their hands together in prayer. Glittering powder or light appeared around the team.

[You have received the Rising Life Blessing. HP and MP regenerate more quickly.]

[You have received the Brave Warrior Blessing. Your strength and speed are increased.]

[You have received the Tough Fighter Blessing. Defense and magic resistance have increased.]

A set of three priest blessings!

The Rakan Priests' blessings were the best of the best. However, their healing abilities trailed behind the other churches' priests.

Sephiro pulled his bowstring a few times, and then notched some arrows. Eder stood in silence, supporting himself with his scythe.

Thud! Thud!

A giant shadow appeared amidst the blizzard.

Gulp.

A gladiator swallowed. He was really feeling the tension.

The Rakan Priests clasped their hands together and softly recited a prayer.

"Steady," Kang Oh said calmly, holding Ubist in his hand.

Thud!

Travium suddenly stopped. It had discovered the raid team.

All of a sudden, a giant bear's head popped out of the blizzard.

Kuhaahk!

It roared.

[You have heard Travium's Roar.]

[You are unaffected by Travium's Roar due to your Indomitable and high Mental stats.]

Kang Oh and Dion weren't affected by the roar. The 100 Fighters had fought on countless battlefields, so they weren't affected much either.

The Rakan Priests, however, were weakened.

"Attack!" Kang Oh ordered, and Dion rushed forward.

Swish.

He swung his gladius and unleashed a black sphere.

Black Sun!

Grr.

Travium bared its sharp fangs.

A clear threat!

It easily blocked Black Sun with its glacial axe. After that, the tanks stuck close to it.

"Hey, you stupid teddy bear. C'mon and attack me!"

"I'll rip out your gallbladder!"

"Attack!"

The tanks did their damndest to attract its attention.

Whizz.

Sephiro shot an arrow. The projectile, which was closer to a javelin than an arrow, bounced off its breastplate.

Bam, bam, bam!

Lumps of bone flew through the air and slammed into Travium's body.

Grr.

Travium snarled. At the same time, it raised its foot and forcefully stomped on the floor.

Stomp!

Boom.

The ground shook as if there'd been an earthquake. After that, the piled up snow surged, and the team lost their balance.

"Be careful of the ground!" Kang Oh yelled.

A giant blue circle appeared on the ground. Those in the vicinity immediately threw themselves out of the way.

Whoosh.

A glacier arose from the circle.

'So far, he's only used skills that we already knew about.'

However…

Travium walked over to the glacier and swung its axe at it!

'It's not doing what I think it is, is it?'

"Eder, create a wall in front of the priests!" Kang Oh yelled desperately.

"Arise!" Eder raised his scythe into the air and cast Bone Wall.

Then...

Boom!

The glacier burst into pieces, releasing ice fragments large and small into the air.

"Uahk!"

It happened in the blink of an eye. Those unguarded by the bone wall tried to find their own means of survival.

Kang Oh continuously swung his sword, deflecting any ice fragment that came his way. Dion just dodged all of them.

Fortunately, they had only brought the best of the best, so they didn't sustain any casualties.

"Attack!" Kang Oh charged at Travium head-on.

It swung its axe downwards. The speed of its axe was beyond his wildest dreams.

'Why is it so fast!?' Kang Oh immediately threw himself out of the way.

Bam.

The snow-covered ground split apart, leaving behind a vertical scar. In the meantime, Dion jumped and quickly swung both of his gladiuses.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

He landed four attacks before he touched the floor.

Of course, Travium's breastplate protected both its chest and its stomach, and its fur was extremely tough, so he hadn't done much damage to it.

Kuah.

It roared and horizontally swung its axe.

"Careful!" Dion yelled.

The charging 100 Fighters immediately ducked.

Whoosh!

The icy axe passed over their heads, releasing incredible wind pressure.

"Eat this." Kang Oh summoned a Fire Bomb and forcefully threw it.

Roar!

Upon contact, the sphere broke and spewed flames. However, the flames dissipated almost instantaneously.

'Tch.'

It didn't do much, as he'd thrown it in the midst of a blizzard.

Then...

Whoosh! Thwock!

A violently spinning arrow struck Travium's shoulder.

Sun Piercing Arrow!

A giant shard of light burst from its shoulder. Then, Travium pointed its axe in Sephiro's direction.

Freeze Cannon!

A blue beam came straight for Sephiro.

"Oh, crap." Sephiro threw himself out of the way.

The place he'd once been standing in was frozen solid. What if he'd been hit by that? He would be frozen solid.

"If it aims its axe at you, dodge!" Kang Oh yelled.

"Yes," his teammates replied curtly, and they began attacking Travium again.

The Rakan Priests hadn't needed to do much yet. Travium's attack pattern was extremely simple, so none of their teammates had taken much damage.

However, they'd soon be needed.

Kuhaaahk!

Travium roared and its eyes glowed blue.

The second phase had begun.

* * *

Boom.

Travium stomped on the floor. However, its objective wasn't to cause an earthquake this time.

A blue ring spread from beneath its feet! Frozen beasts popped out of the snow wherever it spread. Frozen lions, frozen eagles, frozen wolves, frozen crocodiles, etc. With how many different types it'd summoned, it was basically a zoo.

"Warriors, take care of the frozen beasts first." Kang Oh had defeated countless boss monsters. This was absolutely nothing to him. "Darion, I need you and the rest of the team to protect the priests!" he ordered calmly.

"Yes, sir!" Darion gripped his gladius and protected the priests with his teammates.

Kuhang!

The frozen tigers and wolves attacked Darion and his companions.

"You will not pass!" Darion quickly swung his gladius several times. Whenever he swung his sword, a frozen beast would fall to the floor.

Darion was Burkan's student. This level of skill was expected of him.

The other gladiators, who were responsible for the priests' safety, did their duty admirably too.

'That side's fine.' Kang Oh quickly scanned the battlefield.

"Ugh."

Khaladin and his men were blocking Travium's attacks. By entering the 2nd phase, however, Travium had become much stronger. It seemed like they weren't healthy enough to keep this up.

"Priests, please heal the tanks! Mr. Dion, Sephiro, Eder, attack the boss."

"Yes."

After giving the order, Kang Oh began hunting the frozen beasts alongside the 100 Fighters.

But then...

"It's pointing its axe! Get out of the way!" Khalidan yelled.

This time, it was pointing its axe at the priests.

"Damn it! Eder!" Kang Oh called.

There was a tacit understanding between them.

Bone Wall!

Eder raised his hand. A white bone wall rose in front of the priests.

Spurt!

A Freeze Cannon shot out of its axe. But this time, the cannon split into three different beams.

One of them struck the bone wall, freezing it solid. The other two flew at one of the tanks and Eder.

"Summon Eder!" Kang Oh quickly yelled. Because of his quick thinking, Eder remained unscathed.

However...

"Ugh."

The tank quickly raised his shield, but it wasn't enough to completely block the Freeze Wave. Everything below his knees had been frozen stiff.

Realizing that this was its chance, Travium raised its axe and swung it at the immobile gladiator.

"No!" his nearby comrades yelled.

However, Travium would show him no mercy. It swung its axe without hesitation.

"Damn it!" The gladiator raised his ice-covered shield. That's the best he could do.

Whoosh.

The icy axe fell, but Kang Oh's Lightning Breath hit it first.

Kuraa!

He'd landed a direct hit, causing Travium to scream in pain. Obviously, it hadn't managed to swing its axe properly. Because of that, the frozen gladiator had survived.

"I need healing over here!"

"I need some thawing over here too!"

"Lord Rakan!"

The priests cast their holy magic, causing the frozen gladiator's HP to rise and the ice to quickly melt.

"Phew." Only then did the gladiator let out a sigh of relief. He'd almost died.

Then...

"Be careful of the ground!" Kang Oh yelled.

A massive glacier surged from the blue circle on the ground.

Whoosh!

Travium smashed the glacier, scattering ice fragments everywhere! Moreover, the frozen beasts, which they hadn't killed all of yet, went into a frenzy.

Like a harsh winter that only got colder, the battle gradually worsened for the raid team.