The room went cold as if it was submerged in deep waters. Everyone shifted in their position, the High Chief guards stepped forward and calmly surrounded their master as attention shifted heavily from the WaterLord to the High Chief.

Chen gritted his teeth as he moved closer to his father, his hands shaking anxiously.

Even Commander Garran seemed to sit up even straighter, his eyes narrowed.

It took a while for WaterLord Freya to say anything, but Eamon didn’t even fidget as he maintained his calm and easy look. On the other hand, the WaterLord was looking as if she would like to kill things in the most gruesome ways.

"You....your Clan killed an Ito Clan leader once, your ancestors." She repeated with a flat expression and flatter voice.

The Hinterlands has never been peaceful, in fact, it was recently that it was even relatively peaceful, with the Clans maintaining the fragile peace. Before, they are always at each other’s throat, making war with each other all the time.

"Yes," Eamon replied with a gentle voice. "He even killed him as a normal human. That is to say, my ancestor at that time was not a Knight when he killed your Ito Clan leader."

The room shifted again and expressions shifted. Now, people looked at Eamon with pity because they now see that he was intentionally baiting the WaterLord.

The look on Freya’s face had turned stormy. "You....answer me this, Eamon Rikon. You come all the way from your city, a very stupid idea, and you come here to sprout all this rubbish. Are you really looking to die?"

Eamon grinned. "The masks are now coming off. Why do we pretend before? You already would have killed me. Maybe not now, only after you have stabilized your dominion of this territory. You would have killed me!"

WaterLord Freya smiled. The action appearing like a sea monster snapping. It was just showing too many teeth. "Yes, you are right, Eamon. I would have killed you after you used up your usefulness. But unfortunately, you removed that by coming here. I can’t let you go now.

"My men will move on your city and everything will be mine."

Eamon shook his head, his voice stern as if he was lecturing a child. "If an opponent willingly leaves his shelter and goes into the dead of wolves, what does that tell you? Is he stupid, or does he have something he secretly has to back him up?"

WaterLord smiled wildly. "You? You, Eamon Rikon? You were never a threat. Has never been one! You would have been useful, yes, but hardly a threat to be feared. Why do you think we let you come here into this fortress?"

Eamon grinned in reply. With all the tension in the room, everyone was on edge and was just waiting for the violence to spill.

"You are a fool, WaterLord Freya and Commander Garran. I am disappointed. Do you really think inviting your enemy, no matter how weak they appeared, into your home is wise? You underestimated me. I will show you just how my clan once killed a clan leader."

Even Chen was left stunned by the new turn of events. What was his father thinking? Why was he behaving that way? What’s actually wrong with him? He knew his father had something he depends on, because why else would he want to fight the Athrimir earlier?

But he really did think his father would go through with the threat when he said he’s looking to kill Commander Garran! And even now, before two Master Knights he’s still running his mouth? Chen’s chest tightened as he realized that he would die with his father.

WaterLord Freya did not take the news well. She stood up from her seat and the air groaned from pressure as coldness washed through the room. "You should know my power. From the Elemental Order. I can manipulate water and ice."

Chen stiffened. Water and Ice? Not one? Even Commander Garran and Knight Master Pomona could only control one. Water or Ice.

She took a step forward. "I won’t kill you easily. You’ve offended me too much for that. I’ll kill you slowly, Eamon, but be grateful, I’ll kill your son quickly, I’ll up his head as warning. The rest of your family and Clan members will follow. But you, I will kill slowly."

The Knights of Rikon, Errant Knights all of them moved to the front and formed a living wall, their armor lighting up, cascading light formed around them and they transformed into a moving wall of power around their lord.

It was a technique that combined their powers through their armors. It focused entirely on defense. They could still move and fight individually, but they must not be far from each other.

"We must leave at once, Lord Eamon." His captain said firmly, already taking control of things. Once there’s danger, high danger, then the captain is empowered to use any amount of authority to get out of the situation no matter what his Lord thinks.

WaterLord raised one hand and pushed.

The air in front of her churned with power, ice appeared, ice spears as big as humans, sparkling with blue light as they were empowered by essence.

They blasted forward with a howl, the ground shook and they froze from their passing, darkening the room with the shockwave.

Bam!

They slammed into the wall of light with such force, and while the shield held, it pushed the whole guard backwards. Their armors flared and some of the enchantments burned into them crumbled. Most of the Knights groaned from pain as they overstrained their core. Blood trickled from their nose and their face squeezed with pain.

Eamon gritted his teeth as he fiddled with a ring in his right hand. "This bitch! She’s not holding back! That must have been one of her strongest attacks!"

WaterLord Freya chuckled, frosty fog came out of her mouth as she spoke. "Why should I hold back? Only a fool holds back when fighting any enemy. You can rest assured, Eamon, once it gets to fighting, I always go at my enemy with everything I have.

"Then let’s finish this? Your enchantments are powerful but can they hold up to my next attack?"

Eamon suddenly let out a sigh then, his panicked look wiped away. He clenched his right hand into a fist and shook his head. "Then I will fight you with everything I have as well!"

WaterLord shrugged. "Very well."

Just as she said that, the frost from her mouth spread and covered her face, swiftly enclosing her body, her hair, and the rest of her body. People in the room who are used to her understand what she was doing.

The perfect fighting technique she has. She would turn her body into Ice, empowering herself directly by her element and essence, that’s her defense. Her water attacks would be her offense.

Her voice when she next spoke sounded like many nails writing on ice. "Commander Garran, I will remember to compensate you later for the room."

Then she moved.

Water appeared around her, a rain, a pond, a river. It was a waterfall but strangely, as soon as they appeared all the waters were compressed into a ball in her right hand.

A small, chaotic ball that holding it already caused cracks to form on her ice hand. Then she planted her feet solidly on the ground as if she was a mountain charging at her.

Then, she pointed.

A roar, the sound of a raging storm blasted out as a thin jet of water shot forward.

The water was small and thin, but the force as it was released made Freya grunt as she took a step back. The shockwave even shoved Commander Garran back and blasted around the room, throwing everything aside.

Time seems to slow. And with that attack it seems the WaterLord has forgotten her promise not to kill Eamon quickly or leave a body part of Chen intact.

The water jet crossed the distance in such time that their brain couldn’t process it.

It touched the shield and went through as if it wasn’t there. Every single enchantment on their armor exploded and the guards were already getting blasted away by that and the jet was just reaching the Captain that was standing at the middle in front as the focus of the shield.

The jet hit the Captain and his body was instantly destroyed.

Everything was moving so fast for the Knights to process, not to talk of an ordinary person like Eamon. He couldn’t react at all but something else did.

The ring in his left hand.

A dark, muted green light flashed from the ring, just as fast as the water jet. Even a bit faster. The green light turned into a flood of light and then rushed forward, forming into something that blocked the water jet attack.

When the two collided, it sounded like mountains collapsing. The shockwave caused layers to be peeled from the ground and walls. The bystanders in the room, those not strong enough, were shredded by the projectiles as the shockwave spread.