Chapter 262 Neglect
[Arctic King's Domain (FFF-) (Skill)]
[Special Damage: 50/second]
[Special Buff: +80% to all Ice-Poison Skills used]
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The Domain spread so fast that Sylas couldn't even get out of the way. Whether it was himself or the Basilisk King, they were all enveloped in an instant.
This was clearly a difference in Mastery. The Arctic Emperor Cobra's son could only expand the Domain slowly, but its father could instantly deploy it, layering a large region in the blink of an eye. In that moment, everything within 100 meters was covered, and all of the Arctic King Cobras had their Skills boosted, basically erasing all of the impact Sylas' own Beast Totem had on them.
To make matters worse, Sylas immediately felt a frosty cold. He hadn't had any idea what 50 Damage meant when it was applied to a person. How were his own Defenses calculated? Was it based on his Constitution or something else?
After seeing this technique in action, Sylas had obviously prepared for this, so he asked the Madness Key. His Constitution did directly correlate to his Defense. It was a one-to-one return.
Normally, this wouldn't be seen because his Defenses encompassed his entire body, while most attacks were concentrated into small areas. Essentially, even if his Defenses were 140, it wouldn't mean a single thing. An Attack of 100 could still pierce through him because it was focused on a single region. Blades, arrows, explosives, they were all far too dangerous for him to tank.
However, with a Skill like this one, things were different. His entire body was being targeted, so it spread.
To make a complicated matter simple, 50 Damage per second meant that Sylas could withstand this Domain for only two seconds in his foundational state before he died in the third second.
Even with the 100% buff he received thanks to the Hero's Shield, that would only give him three additional seconds. He had five seconds before his death was permanent.
His mind churned, but there was really no other way. He didn't have a method of countering this Domain. The only path was to run. He needed to leave this 100-meter diameter as quickly as possible.
As though all of this wasn't bad enough, even while he was tanking this Damage, the frost was already invading his body. He felt his movements slow and his veins began to turn blue. His vision swam and it felt as though he could see fluttering silver-blue snow in his vision… but rather than being beautiful, this snow was like the call of a reaper… beautiful to the soul and chilling to the mind.
Those fluttering snowflakes touched Sylas' body and cracking ice began to leap across his body. He could feel his life slipping away already.
His mind churned, but there was really no other way. He didn't have a method of countering this Domain. The only path was to run. He needed to leave this 100-meter diameter as quickly as possible.
"Come!"
Sylas roared to the Basilisk King and they both turned tail at the same time, rushing across the quickly freezing grass and soil in an attempt to make it to the other end.
However, the Arctic King Cobras weren't slow. In fact, the four elites were the first to react, only to be buffeted and supported by the other Arctic King Cobras.
<Chilling Scythes> flew through the air in a torrent, and the 100 Damage of the non-elites paled in comparison to the large, smooth, 200 Damage scythes of the Level 10s.
Sylas felt his hair stand on end, but his body was slow to react and death breathed down his neck. His mind was still working, but his joints were freezing up and his muscles weren't firing at their peak efficiency.
Unfortunately, the frostiness of the scythes didn't slow them down in the slightest. They weren't the fastest attacks that Sylas had ever seen, but that didn't stop them from being much faster than the pace his feet could carry him at.
At that moment, the wooden tower shield smashed into the ground with a dull boom. Waves spread and the frost accumulating along the ground shattered.
A ripple spread out and the scythes that collided against it shattered one after another, but that was only able to stop two of the 200 Damage scythes before the rest bolted through.
Sylas abandoned the tower shield, not because it was moving too slowly, but because he needed more minds freed. He couldn't afford to carry it.
He made a swift decision and pulled out several more ballista bolts, sending them shuttling forward with the greatest strength he could muster.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The scythes shattered one after another, one of them sneaking by and appearing at the back of Sylas' neck.
By this point, Sylas was covered in so much ice that taking a single step felt laborious. If not for his momentum shattering this ice building across him, he would have already collapsed. Even his skin was beginning to turn frightening shades of purple after no more than two seconds.
It felt ridiculous to him before that he could have possibly lost his life in just five seconds. He was still breathing, his heart was still pumping, how could he possibly die so soon?
Maybe this was just how everyone felt when they were just about to die.
And now, it felt impossible for him to dodge such a scythe.
However, that was when the last strand of his mind reached out, clamping down on the technique and churning through it.
"Break!" He roared and the Gluttony Seed pulsed.
BANG!
The scythe shattered and shards of it pierced into Sylas' back and sent him sprawling forward.
He activated <Madness Control> and felt his control over his body skyrocket. He adjusted himself in the air and rolled forward, ignoring the pain and the hot blood running down his back, he popped back up to his feet as the Basilisk King directly tanked one of the scythes.
They should be close, they should be just another second from leaving the range of the Domain.
But when Sylas looked up, he felt his heart hit rock bottom.
He had neglected one thing.
The Arctic Emperor Cobra could still move, and the moment it did… A distance that should have been less than 40 meters away from them expanded, becoming almost 50 meters away.