You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Iori glanced at it and spread his hands helplessly.

He had kindly reminded these people that they might be caught up in the aftermath of the battle, meaning that except for the top-notch imperial weapon users, they should stay away...but it seemed that not many people had this self-awareness.

Could it be that they had some misunderstanding about the scope of Iori and Esdeath's destruction?

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Esdeath was not happy: "You don't seem to take the duel with me seriously, and even use it as a tool to intimidate these people."

"It's just by the way." Iori said lightly, "I am serious."

After saying that, Iori reached out and slowly took off the mask on his face.

"—!"

Everyone, including Esdeath and Akame, was shocked, regardless of whether they knew the truth or not.

The "Emperor" always appeared in public wearing a mask and never revealed his appearance. This made everyone feel awe but also full of doubts. However, they did not dare to test him because of the absolute gap in strength.

They never expected that they would see the true face of the "Emperor" on this occasion!

What’s going on… He’s not severely disfigured, nor does he have any inhuman features. He clearly looks like a normal person, so why does he keep his face covered?

Except for a few people, no one could figure out the reason. After the initial shock, when they calmed down and secretly observed Iori, they were stunned again:

very young!

What a handsome boy!

Judging from his appearance, he is only about sixteen or seventeen years old, with clear and handsome features, and a heroic and resolute look between his eyebrows, which adds a bit of courage that young people lack.

Countless people in the empire have guessed what the emperor would look like, but I'm afraid no one would imagine him to look like this?

Rather than being an emperor who suppressed a country and whipped the world, he was more like a perfect knight and prince in a legendary novel.

Although they were surprised, they did not have the courage to look at Iori for a long time. Most of them just glanced at him quickly for a few times and then looked away. Only Akahime, Chelsea and others were more engrossed... Iori naturally didn't mind.

"Your body..."

Esdeath asked in surprise: "When did it happen?"

She was surprised that Iori actually had a physical body, but at the same time she became excited and more curious about what changes had taken place in Iori.

"Not long ago." Iori smiled slightly, "Thanks to someone's help, I was able to be reborn."

Anyone help?

Esdeath glanced cryptically towards a certain spot in the stands, and saw a white-haired, red-eyed girl in a fur coat looking at her with concern.

"Is it that woman? I don't know where she came from, but you gave her a high position right away. I thought she was your lover, but she turned out to be a witch?"

"Watch your words, Esdeath."

Iori looked directly at her and said in an imperative tone: "You must learn to respect her - because she represents my authority in the cabinet."

"……snort!"

Esdeath said in a cold voice: "You are sounding more and more like an emperor, but have you forgotten our relationship?

I will obey orders only because you are more powerful than me!

What's the point of talking about 'authority'? It's ridiculous. In this empire, apart from you, there is no one I can bow to!

No, even you...it's the same!"

Before she finished speaking, Esdeath had already raised her right hand. The sky suddenly darkened, and thick clouds completely blocked the sun. The atmosphere was stirred by the biting cold wind, and tiny ice crystals floated between heaven and earth. The entire imperial capital was shrouded in severe cold and instantly entered the deep winter season.

This was just the beginning. A thick layer of ice formed out of thin air under Esdeath's feet and quickly expanded around her, covering the entire training ground in the blink of an eye. People in the stands fled in panic. Several obese people had no time to dodge and had their feet frozen. They were turning into ice sculptures at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Upon seeing this, the dignitaries who came to watch the battle were all horrified and began to regret why they came so rashly to join in the fun...Except for those who used imperial tools and those who were fighting, most of the bureaucrats wanted to leave and return home for refuge, or even wanted to flee the imperial capital.

However, they didn't know that this was not Esdeath's limit. She was just being a little more serious. If the Ice Queen went all out, she could create a polar storm that was no less severe than the one in the North. It would be a true change in heaven and earth, and it would be the same no matter where they escaped to!

The reason for not doing so is that large-scale attacks are useless against Iori and would waste energy.

All in all, simply changing the celestial phenomena in the imperial capital is already the result of Esdeath's extreme restraint!

"You still like big scenes as always~"

Iori looked up at the sky, and frowned impatiently after hearing the cries for help coming from the stands.

"It's disgraceful for a minister of a country to be so panicked!"

With a cold snort, Iori grasped the magic sword at his waist, and a momentum rose from the ground, like a towering cloud peak rushing straight into the sky, stirring up the thick clouds, creating ripples, turning them into a huge vortex that began to spin, and then slowly dispersed, with warm sunlight shining through the hole... gradually dispelling the chill in the atmosphere.

At the same time, an invisible impact force swept across the training ground, the ice surface shattered, and the unlucky guys whose feet were frozen were blown away.

Miraculously, although they were knocked unconscious, they only had broken bones at most, and their lives were not in danger. They were all very grateful. After coming to their senses, they seemed to realize something, and their faces changed drastically, and they knelt down in fear and trepidation towards Iori.

Iori was in no mood to listen to their praises and said coldly, "Get lost!"

He didn't even have the courage to look up at Iori's face. Any little thoughts in his mind had long been thrown out of his mind. He no longer had any extra ideas. The powerful bureaucrats who came to join in the fun took the opportunity to leave. Only the fighting faction with decent strength or a certain degree of confidence remained, including Akame and Nadezhda.

"Varied--"

Esdeath's pupils shrank suddenly: "You...what did you do?"

Can the celestial phenomena be dispersed just by the momentum? This is unbelievable!

"Don't be afraid. My spiritual pressure or 'aura' is not strong enough to exert such a large-scale physical influence... This naturally requires the use of some techniques and supernatural powers.

But that's all I can do. I can only disrupt your control, but I can't go any further and use celestial phenomena to attack you."

Iori pretended to be helpless: "Besides, as an 'emperor', I have to take care of the people. It is best if our battle does not affect the people of the imperial capital."

"..."

Esdeath was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "You still have the mood to care about your people at this time. You really have plenty of time!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Ice Queen disappeared on the spot. The speed of her explosion was even more astonishing than before. Even masters like Nadezhda and Will could only see a few afterimages. Among the spectators, only Akame’s dynamic vision could barely keep up.

Iori took a step forward calmly and drew the Kusanagi sword from behind his waist with his right hand. He drew it halfway just enough to block the saber attacking from the side.

Clang!

With force from her wrist, the collision between the sword blade and the knife edge made a crisp vibration. Esdeath only felt a vibration force spreading from the palm of her hand to her whole body, as if a very weak electric current was flowing between her lips and teeth.

Zheng!

The long sword was unsheathed, and the released wind pressure instantly repelled the Ice Queen, and Iori was able to get into a loose sword-holding posture, which did not seem like a duel, but rather a daily practice exercise.

"hateful!"

If the purpose was just to determine the winner, then this lightning-fast fight would be enough to prove that Iori's skills and reactions were far superior to Esdeath's.

But for the Ice Queen, every battle is a fight between hunter and prey. There is no reason to stop until one side is exhausted of willpower and bravery, or one side is unable to rise again.

The cold wind that froze the atmosphere whistled past, and the hard ice spears made sharp sounds of breaking through the air, shooting from all directions!

Iori untied the king's cloak with one hand, letting it be blown away by the cold wind, revealing a black hunting suit made of exquisite fabrics, and raised the sword to cut off the ice spear in front of him. The rest of the ice spears were all blocked by the invisible transparent barrier and broke under the powerful recoil.

When these ice cubes fell to the ground, they created small pits, and seemed to be much heavier than metal of the same volume!

Iori took a look at the ice cubes, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "Compressed energy? Indeed, when fighting against a master, 'quality' is far more important than 'quantity'."

call!

Esdeath crossed the space as fast as lightning, and the sharp saber slashed towards Iori's throat.

——Qiang!

The holy sword and the long knife touched again. Feeling the power on his hands, Iori nodded and wanted to praise Esdeath a few more words, but suddenly he realized something and raised his eyebrows.

"Humph!"

The Ice Queen raised a breathtakingly confident smile, her tall figure displaying her strong and sharp swordsmanship. After realizing that her reaction speed could not catch up with Iori, she chose to launch a strong attack from the front!

The clanging sounds were endless, the collision of swords seemed like an intense symphony, and the penetrating sound made the spectators tense their bodies. Although they were outsiders, they acted as if they were about to be pierced by the blades in the next second.

Esdeath's hard power was obviously weaker than Iori's. After attacking for a while, she was counterattacked twice by Iori who became a little more serious. She was defeated due to the absolute power gap. Even her well-made saber was cut off by one sword!

Clang!

Esdeath condensed an ice blade in her hand and barely blocked Iori's subsequent attack. After breaking the weapon three times in a row, she found an opportunity to jump backwards and escaped from Iori's attack range.

But this is not to admit defeat, but to prepare for the upcoming killer move——

"Mokobo Temo!"

In an instant, the entire space froze!

This is not an exaggeration, but an objective description. Everything in the entire training ground, from the flowing wind to the flying ice crystals, from the raised dust to the moving human bodies, are all frozen in this moment like a photograph!

The only exception is Esdeath herself.

Freezing time and space is her trump card. Although it only lasts for a moment, it is enough for her to kill any enemy.

But just as she was about to take action, she encountered an invisible wall——

【Break the air】!

This high-level ghost technique had already been here before Esdeath froze time and space, as if it had foreseen her moves.

It's not that Esdeath couldn't break through this barrier, but her chance to kill was slipping away...

When time and space began to flow again, the Ice Queen showed a disappointed look -

Then he smiled grimly, like a bloodthirsty beast!

It was at this moment that Iori, who had just regained his mobility, burst into a chilling coldness, extremely pure and condensed, from his bones to his muscles to his nerves, and in the blink of an eye, he was frozen from the inside out into an ice sculpture!

"It's over!" The Ice Queen rushed forward and stabbed Iori with her ice blade.

This is Esdeath's killer move!

When the two sides come into close combat, the compressed energy disguised as ordinary cold air will be injected into the enemy's body. When it reaches a certain amount, it will explode collectively and freeze the person instantly!

Since they were facing a master like Iori, Esdeath deliberately injected a large amount of cold air. Before launching the attack, he also used [Mokobotmo] to make Iori mistakenly think that was the trump card and let his guard down.

Sure enough, victory or defeat was determined in one move!

Should I kill him? No, after he appeared, I became stronger much faster... Then I will knock him to the ground, take him as my slave, and let him continue to be my stepping stone - Esdeath showed a triumphant smile.

Noisy!

A flash of lightning flashed from Iori's left wrist guard——

boom!

The thick thunder fell from the sky, and the position was predicted in advance, just hitting the galloping Esdeath!

“Ugh…Ahhhh!”

A thin layer of transparent ice shattered, and Esdeath, steaming all over, dodged to the side, half-knelt on the ground with difficulty, her entire body almost paralyzed.

"This power... is much stronger than Bud!"

hum! ! !

The huge amount of magic power was activated and flowed in his body, dispelling the cold air like a real flame. The next moment, cold air that froze everything was released from Iori's body, condensing the air and water vapor on the ground into a thick layer of ice, but he himself returned to normal and walked over calmly.

Such a simple and rough "thawing" would of course harm the body. If it were a normal person, even the internal organs would probably rot. However, Iori does not need to worry about this. The materialized body of the soul has extremely strong tolerance in all aspects. At most, it will leave capillary-level damage, and the endless magic power can repair those tiny hidden wounds in just a breath.

Iori is now truly immortal - as long as his head is still there, he can recover to normal even if his heart is pierced.

(In fact, in theory, Iori's body is the 'soul' itself, and he can still be considered alive even if his head is lost, but most of his 'intelligence' is contained in his head, and destroying his head is likely to cause personality problems... He doesn't dare to bet.)

"Not only have you mastered the method of compressing energy and injecting it into the body, but you have also condensed a layer of invisible armor on your body... As expected, in terms of talent, you are the pinnacle of this world."

"The pinnacle of talent?"

Esdeath gritted her teeth and glared at Iori: "If it's not the 'pinnacle of power', it means nothing to me... My all-out effort is just a joke in your eyes, right? Your Majesty the Holy King!"

"You can call me Iori."

Even though he was questioned unkindly, the good-tempered boy still had a gentle expression.

"We are both king and subject, rivals, and friends at the same time."

The Ice Queen didn't want to accept this favor, she raised her head and said angrily: "Use all your strength!"

"This is my best." Iori answered seriously.

"What a joke!"

Esdeath forced her body to move, and she flew across the ground like an arrow, stabbing Iori with her sharp ice blade.

"I don't need you to show mercy—what!"