"What are you waiting for? You go support the guards at the mine, the rest of you come with me to attack this dragon!" The elderly frost giant quickly issued orders. Two frost giants sprinted towards the wolf pack, while the remaining dozen and the elderly giant kept their eyes fixed intently on Garon.
Meanwhile, Garon had already torn open the cage and was looking down at the injured White Dragon Mother.
"Leave this place," he spoke calmly.
The White Dragon Mother blinked, understanding that she was of no combat use at the moment and that staying might lead to accidental injury or death. She then stretched her wings and clumsily took flight.
The frost giants did not simply watch the White Dragon Mother leave. They hurled ice boulders several meters in diameter and spears over six meters long, whistling through the air towards her.
Garon's gaze shifted, and all the incoming attacks seemed to slow down. He exhaled a frosty dragon breath, his neck rotating as the frigid wind froze the frost giants' icy projectiles, which then crashed to the ground.
"Slow spell?" The elderly frost giant furrowed his brow deeply, the scars on his face twisting together.
It could not understand the strange powers Garon was wielding.
The slow spell it knew was a simple third-level spell that slowed an enemy's movements, but its effects were nothing like Garon's and far inferior.
At the same time, two swooshing sounds came from the sky.
Two white dragons dove down and landed heavily, positioning themselves in a triangle with Garon, somewhat encircling the group of numerous frost giants.
They took a deep breath and then simultaneously exhaled icy blue frost breaths aimed directly at the area where the frost giants were.
Several frost giants deployed spell-like abilities, and walls of ice rose instantly to intercept the twin streams of frost breath.
Cracks spread across the ice walls with a snap.
When the frost breath ceased, the ice walls collapsed simultaneously, shards scattering all around.
Following that, six adult frost giants, with thunderous footsteps, split into groups of three and marched towards the two white dragons.
The remaining frost giants, upon the elderly frost giant's command, brandished their giant weapons and charged at Garon, the most eye-catching target among them.
The largest and most cautious of them all, the elderly frost giant, however, stayed back, not joining the others in their rush towards Garon.
On the other side, Garon, watching the frost giants whose trampling made the ground tremble, pulled out a staff of flaming red and began chanting a spell, channeling through the staff.
The surrounding fire elements gathered in abundance, the temperature climbing steadily.
As the frost giants closed in within a hundred meters of him, a black and red sphere of solid magma appeared in front of Garon.
The surface of the magma orb, crisscrossed with cracks, flowed with glaring magma, casting a fiery glow around, the emanating heat making every frost giant feel discomfort and disgust.
The frost giants, watching Garon's movements, clustered their icy shields and spread out, remaining vigilant while continuing to advance with large strides.
They constantly shifted their paths, twisting and turning to counter whatever spell Garon was preparing.
After constructing his spell, Garon did not immediately activate it. His platinum dragon eyes indifferently watched the frost giants maneuver.
Behind, the elderly frost giant moved its lips, rapidly chanting a complex and obscure incantation, the surrounding elemental energy bubbling with activity.
It, too, was casting a spell, one that Garon was very familiar with, a spell from the school of Transmutation.
However, the elderly frost giant's casting was slower than Garon's. By the time Garon had completed his spell, it was still preparing.
Meanwhile, several frost giants nearing Garon raised their weapons high, circled to the side, and from various directions, roared as they charged at Garon.
Garon chuckled softly, his power over time extending out like water.
From him as the center, a hundred-meter radius area froze in an instant.
The effect of the time stop was different from what Garon had anticipated—it wasn't related to his age. Since awakening this time, his use of time stop could now freeze an area of a hundred meters.
Within this range, each frost giant's body solidified, like lifelike statues.
One frost giant, closest to Garon and already leaping, was frozen mid-air, allowing Garon to see the excitement on its face up close.
Beyond these frost giants, stray snowflakes and the biting cold wind also stood still, motionless.
Outside the time stop zone, the elderly frost giant, initially slightly startled, suddenly widened its eyes, its face showing extreme shock.
Due to the intense inner turmoil, it even forgot to continue its spell casting.
The failed spell resulted in magical backlash, causing tumult within the elderly frost giant's body.
Yet, it seemed unaffected by
this, its eyes filled with shock, staring fixedly at Garon.
"Black Scale Rings, Time Stop, Time Slow," the elderly frost giant muttered to itself.
It remembered why Garon seemed familiar.
It wasn't Garon himself but the precisely fitted black scales on him.
Over six hundred years ago, when the elderly frost giant was still youthful, it had heard from elders of its tribe about a legendary dragon species, more formidable than even dragon gods, a fearsome true dragon.
"They bear rings of black scales, capable of influencing time—a domain even gods tread carefully."
"If you encounter a Time Dragon, do not think of opposing it; even the mighty titans would not dare confront them."
The memory was vivid, as it had made a deep impression.
"What Time Dragon? Those are just lies concocted by the despicable dragon race. Who has ever seen one?"
It remembered its own rebuttal at the time.
"Could there really exist such a legendary species as Time Dragons?"
The elderly frost giant stared at Garon within the frozen area, feeling a chill in its heart.
Meanwhile, Garon noticed the elderly frost giant's reaction but did not care.
Having lived for over seven hundred years, this creature was rich in experience and knowledge, especially as a true dragon—a sworn enemy of the dragon race. It was not impossible for it to deduce his true identity based on his abilities.
Since time stop consumed a significant amount of time power, Garon did not waste any.
With a thought, the magma orb, burning with firelight, fell towards the ground.
In an instant, as the magma orb touched the ground, surprisingly, there was no explosion or dazzling flame; it merged into the earth like a liquid.
Immediately after, the ground trembled.
Black and red cracks appeared like branching lightning, faintly revealing the glaring magma within.
The black and red cracks spread rapidly, eventually meeting right beneath the feet of the frozen frost giants within the time stop area, forming bubbling pits of magma. In an instant, they exploded dramatically, columns of magma erupted like fountains, precisely engulfing the frozen frost giants, with splashing magma resembling bursting fireworks.
Boom, boom, boom.
Magma rained down, the ground trembled violently, and the high temperatures dispersed the severe cold of the far northern ice plains.
When time resumed its flow, the frost giants, directly struck by the dazzling magma, were unable to stand on the ground.
Their bodies still flowed with high-temperature magma, and where it met the cold air of the far north, billowing white steam rose.