Chapter 870: Chapter 870 - Taming the Fifth Year - Cold Diplomacy - 4 Behind the three, the deserter army began reacting. Orders shouted. Formations tightening. Beasts manifesting in their bodies like a cascading wave as commanders responded to the now obvious threat. It was too late for negotiation. Too late for peaceful resolution. Too late for anything except violence and consequences. The temperature kept dropping. 20 degrees below the starting point... 25 degrees. 30 degrees. Selphira smiled... Not warmly obviously. With the satisfaction of a predator that had been patient long enough and was finally being allowed to hunt. "Last chance," she said quietly. "Surrender and return to your posts or accept appropriate punishment for desertion." Silence from the army. Movement and mana signatures but no verbal response. "Very well." The temperature dropped another 10 degrees in a single second. And not only that... Selphira’s mana was like a huge pressure making air feel heavier. Not metaphorical weight, the actual physical sensation that made breathing slightly more difficult, that made movement for many feel like pushing through some resistance that shouldn’t exist, that pressed against the senses of every tamer within 400 meters like an atmospheric change before a storm. But before completing invocation, she executed technique not requiring physical beast manifestation. It was a direct application of elemental control she’d perfected during decades of mastering the ice element her beast combination provided access to. And it was a dramatic declaration that would establish the tone for the confrontation to come. Not the kind of technique you used when you wanted to leave room for negotiation. But the kind you used when you wanted everyone present to understand exactly how seriously you took their offense. This wasn’t weather. "First," Selphira announced with a voice cutting through the cold like a clear bell, "we’re going to make you suffer inclement cold. Let’s see if this motivates you to remember that the wall you abandoned is considerably ’warmer’ than staying here freezing under the discipline you deserve for desertion." It was psychological warfare as much as tactical preparation. Making them question whether standing their ground was worth the physical misery. Already working, too. Silver-rank soldiers in enemy formation were reacting to sudden cold with visible discomfort. Shifting weight. Rubbing arms. Breath coming faster as bodies tried compensating for heat loss. It wasn’t temperature level causing immediate damage but was sufficiently unpleasant that maintaining position for extended time would become increasingly difficult as minutes passed. And that was before Selphira deliberately intensified the effect for those who decided to resist instead of retreating. The cold continued intensifying gradually as Selphira exercised more complete control over temperature in the affected area. Some of the Silver-rank tamers were beginning to manifest their beasts early, seeking the warmth that came from their active bond connection. And then Selphira’s Black Tortoise materialized with presence making ground tremble slightly under its massive weight. Black shell gleamed with energy, seeming to absorb light rather than reflect it. Ancient and solid. The kind of creature that looked like it had been carved from a mountain and then taught to move. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 Arturo’s Qilin appeared with a golden aura contrasting dramatically with the Tortoise’s darkness. Earth responded to its presence, becoming more stable, more solid. Light gathered in its horn, a gentle glow that pushed back the frost slightly. Selphira didn’t waste time once it became clear confrontation was inevitable. Her fusion with the White Serpent, Gold 2, also completed in an instant. Her form changed subtly as the serpent’s characteristics integrated with her human body. Skin acquiring white, scaly sheen communicating enhanced defense. Eyes taking sharper quality allowing accelerated perception of enemy movements. Muscles reinforcing with potency exceeding normal human capability. And simultaneously she maintained an active connection with her Black Tortoise, Gold 3, that remained physically manifested beneath her as a massive anchor of elemental power. The Tortoise didn’t need to move to contribute. Its control over elemental water flowing through the field was sufficient. It was a combination that the tamers in the kingdom who could face it also could be numbered on a single hand with fingers to spare. Maybe 3 people total could fight Selphira at full power and expect to survive. Everyone else was simply prey with varying degrees of difficulty. The 35 high-rank tamers they’d brought had manifested their own beasts too in a cascade of energy transforming a failed diplomacy field into an imminent battlefield. Gold and high Silver-rank creatures filled the space. 60+ beasts manifesting. Each one adding to total mana pressure. Each one a double representing a threat that had to be accounted for in enemy calculations. Fire elementals raising temperature locally, countering Selphira’s cold. Earth elementals reinforcing the ground, preventing enemy from creating pitfalls under them. Wind elementals providing air shields, ready to respond to threats from any direction. Coordinated and professional. From the enemy side, the 2 dozen Gold-rank tamers leading rebel forces began their own invocations with urgency coming from recognizing the situation had escalated beyond defensive posturing. And hundreds of Silver-rank tamers behind them mobilized into formations they’d practiced, preparation for confrontation commanders had anticipated might occur but had hoped to avoid through intimidation and manipulation. That hope was dead. But before they could do anything... Before formations could solidify. Before defenses could be raised. Selphira raised both hands forward, fingers extended in gesture directing massive energy she’d been accumulating during previous seconds. Not obvious accumulation. Not visible glow or dramatic aura. Just a subtle gathering that few tamers would recognize for what it was, preparation for a technique that would cost around 5-10% of her current mana reserves in a single expenditure. The water her Black Tortoise provided mixed perfectly with wind control that White Serpent fusion gave her. Two elements working together in a manner amplifying technique’s potency beyond what either alone would achieve. Elemental synergy creating something greater than the sum of its parts. And she launched a large ice attack sweeping across the enemy formation’s front like a frozen tsunami. Not a directed projectile or a concentrated burst. But a massive wave of crystallizing energy expanding in a cone encompassing hundreds of meters width. And when it reached Silver-rank tamer ranks composing the enemy army’s front, it engulfed them fast, not permitting conventional evasion.