The five remaining Contractors immediately recognized the folly of engaging Stallo within the radius of his aura and began to flee in droves.

Yet, during their escape, the probability of being frozen was incredibly high; one by one, pillars of ice erupted beneath their feet, ensnaring them. Not a single one managed to escape the confines of Stallo’s aura before being struck by an Ice Lance. By the time all seven were swept into the Ice and Snow Spiral Tornado, five had already merged, culminating in a single, terrifying, gigantic tornado formed from nine smaller ones!

It was clear that the initially formed single-person Ice and Snow Tornadoes caused minimal damage to the Contractor caught within—mere scraps of injury. But after merging into the colossal vortex, the piercing, agonizing cries sounded like the wails of ghosts and the howls of demons, powerful enough to shatter the will and compel one to cover their ears. The seven Contractors barely lasted thirty seconds within the nine-in-one blizzard before succumbing to near-death states.

At this point, Fang Senyan and the others realized that the initial tornadoes held little killing power; their lethality only reached a terrifying peak after multiple fusions. This explained why Stallo had requested seventeen opponents; had they all attacked, he could have summoned nineteen Ice and Snow Tornadoes immediately upon activating the ability...

Furthermore, escaping the periphery of his aura would likely prove difficult, perhaps resulting in an instantaneous freeze upon reaching the edge. Conversely, this technique proved nearly useless in one-on-one combat or against small groups.

In fact, the Ice and Snow Tornadoes were calculated per person; fewer people meant fewer tornadoes. Naturally, even a single opponent wouldn't just summon one, but at least three. This made the move exceptionally terrifying when outnumbered, but rendered it somewhat redundant in a duel.

Upon victory, the icy aura beneath Stallo's feet retracted with the speed of a giant whale sucking in water, as if an invisible vortex had opened beneath him, reabsorbing the frigid elements within seconds. Prince Stallo stood supremely dominant across the arena, looking completely composed and unruffled, projecting an aura of awe and sheer pressure over everyone present.

The subsequent Contractors learned their lesson and switched to a war of attrition. However, Prince Stallo’s aura, the Summoning of the Extreme North, was exceptionally brutal; the chance of freezing was exceedingly high whenever he moved. Even when someone used instantaneous teleportation for a surprise attack, the Ice Barrier Stallo summoned with effortless grace stood before them like an insurmountable chasm.

After four more bouts, Prince Stallo had a perfect record, achieving effortless victories. His offensive power was astonishingly high. His attack pattern was also simplistic: once a foe was frozen, he would unleash a barrage of Ice Lances, causing the trapped Contractor's health to plummet continuously.

Just as everyone estimated that Prince Stallo’s mental energy must be nearing depletion, Airos—the one previously defeated by Mogansha—stepped forward. He pointed toward Prince Stallo from a distance, and a faint blue light, resembling a wavy curve, was seen connecting to Stallo’s body. It was Airos continuously transferring his own mental energy to Prince Stallo! In just thirty seconds, Airos was estimated to have relayed half of his mental reserves.

This development caused those aiming for a battle of attrition to exchange uneasy glances, sensing something deeply wrong, yet unable to articulate what it was.

Next, a Gunner proficient in mid-to-long-range combat stepped up, attempting to evade Stallo's frost aura. At this point, Prince Stallo would retract his aura back into his body, summon an Ice Wall for defense in front of him, and engage in an exchange of Ice Lances! When fighting without the aura, the single-target spell damage and accuracy of his Ice Lance skill were frighteningly high; the Gunner was usually the one at a disadvantage in this exchange.

Primary Aura: Summoning of the Extreme North, Ice Wall, Ice Lance, and the Ice and Snow Tornado—Prince Stallo displayed only these four abilities repeatedly, yet he silenced the remaining Contractors! It seemed as though he dispatched his opponents casually, like an adult playing with a child, easily stripping the child of any means to fight back. This version of Prince Stallo was truly terrifying.

Of course, this situation was largely attributable to the fact that most of the defending experts had already fought. These Contractors, who didn't even qualify as Reserve Colonists, were naturally suppressed in terms of base attributes by Stallo, who was considered a top-tier expert even among Colonists.

Fang Senyan, however, found himself recalling Prince Stallo’s combat style, feeling a sense of familiarity. Then he saw Zi! A thought flashed through his mind: upon closer inspection, Zi’s fighting style was remarkably similar to Prince Stallo’s.

Strictly speaking, Zi controlled the element of Air, while Prince Stallo commanded Ice. Both possessed the capacity for large-scale area attacks. The difference was that Zi seemed to lack the overwhelmingly dominant area aura that Stallo possessed. However, based on the current situation, Zi’s approach was far more comprehensive and nuanced than Stallo’s. She could hold her own in one-on-one duels yet shine in team battles.

It was evident that Zi had invested significant effort in foundational abilities: the crystalline mental energy orbiting her, the beneficial status buffs increasing her movement speed—she appeared to plan for comprehensive coverage across all aspects, resulting in exceptionally solid fundamentals.

Prince Stallo, conversely, focused solely on killing power! He eschewed everything else; even his summoned Ice Walls could be pushed forward to injure opponents. Even his mental recovery required assistance from Airos.

Their current dynamic offered a genuine parallel to the dynamics in Wuxia novels like The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: Prince Stallo was like a practitioner of the Huashan Sword Sect style—focused purely on lethality, making his approach rapid and sharp. Zi, however, seemed to have mastered everything from the Purple Mist Divine Skill and Chongling Swordplay to Tiyun Zong and Poyujian—a development path bound to be slower, yet resulting in fewer weaknesses, leading to greater long-term growth.

More people stepped forward subsequently, but every attempt ended in utter defeat. A lull began to set in, with moments where no one stepped forward even when the thirty-second time limit expired. Every second delayed allowed Prince Stallo to recover more mental energy, reducing the efficacy of the attrition strategy. At this point, Mogansha couldn't help but whisper to Fang Senyan, "Boss, if you faced him, what are your odds of winning?"

Fang Senyan sidestepped the question, saying calmly, "Zi should have been prepared for this, otherwise, when facing Aldaris, she would have fought him to the very end!"

Prince Stallo had defeated three more Contractors, and the remaining fighters were few. While absorbing the mental energy from Airos, his cold, deep gaze swept over the remaining few, then he stated calmly, "Next."

His tone held no trace of pride or contempt, only an unusual seriousness and gravity! This further underscored Prince Stallo's immense power; despite his usual arrogance, he could treat his opponents with cold objectivity when facing them—at least mastering the virtue of "not becoming complacent in victory."

Fang Senyan felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach. Was he truly forced to step up today? If so, he would have to pay a heavy price to use that item. Even so, Fang Senyan estimated his chances at no more than forty percent. After all, he was currently just a Contractor, not even a Reserve Colonist! The gap in power between him and Prince Stallo, a figure at the pinnacle of Colonists, was vast!

His only advantage lay in the element of surprise.

However, at this moment, the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent. For some unknown reason, an indescribable, massive killing intent descended—no, it seemed to press down upon the battlefield like a physical weight!

Some Contractors with keener senses immediately abandoned all pretense of dignity and dove behind cover, as if proximity to cover offered a shred of security.

Fang Senyan looked down and saw the hairs on his forearms and the backs of his hands standing rigidly erect. Simultaneously, the breathing of everyone else became painfully distinct, as if the world itself had lost all sound.

Killing intent...

Prince Stallo reacted the most violently. He spun around abruptly to face the west, thrusting both hands forward smoothly. A series of massive, rumbling booms echoed through the air as seven crystalline Ice Barriers materialized out of thin air directly in front of him, arranged in a neat, vertical row, guarding Stallo's western flank.

"Zi! What is the meaning of this?" Prince Stallo's voice was level, but laced with a thread of anger.

Zi offered a slight smile. "I haven't done anything!" Stallo remained silent, but Airos roared back, his eyes bloodshot, "You haven't done anything, but you've positioned a master sniper aimed at the battlefield from afar! What you’re doing is no different than cheating!" For some reason, hearing the words "master sniper," Fang Senyan was instantly reminded of that Southern District Contractor who one-shot a Tier Two Legendary Creature!