Victoria’s face stayed expressionless, her voice cold. “Killing you will clear Andrew’s biggest obstacle to becoming King of Gabo Creek. I thought you could be useful, but now I see your nature hasn’t changed since the old days. You’re still fickle and self-serving. You want to play both sides and walk away the biggest winner. That means you deserve to die.”

Matthias roared back, “Victoria, didn’t you approach me to build Andrew’s reputation? And now you say I can’t choose my own side?”

Frost formed along Victoria’s long lashes and brows, and Andrew could feel an extreme chill surging inside her. It was the sign of a highly advanced technique about to explode. It was also her deadliest move, which made even him uneasy.

She replied, “Yes, I came to you for Andrew’s sake. You may be called the number one martial artist in Gabo Creek, but in my eyes, you’re still the same as before: strong but spineless. I’ve never respected you, and if not for Andrew, do you really think I’d even bother meeting you?”

Victoria exhaled a frosty breath. Then, she suddenly spread her hands, striking in every direction with icy precision, her gaze utterly ruthless.

A miraculous scene unfolded as dense, faintly visible energy burst from Victoria’s body. The moment it touched the air, it transformed into nearly transparent icicles.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he realized that Victoria’s martial arts talent was indeed among the top. This was the materialization of inner force, a level far beyond simply releasing it. Even at his current strength, he could not make his energy take physical form.

The sound rang out like ice picks striking a great bell. It was crisp, beautiful, and deadly.

Matthias swung his robe furiously, his face twisted, and he bellowed as he tried to block. Yet, after the first wave, his robe disintegrated into ash, and every attempt to rebuild his defensive aura was shattered instantly.

Blood burst from his mouth as thin crimson cracks formed along his cheeks, freezing over and splitting his skin.

“Victoria!” he screamed, his face contorting in agony.

A thunderous crash followed as he was blasted through the cafeteria’s already-ruined wall and slammed into a tall tree outside, snapping its thick trunk in half. Bent and barely able to stand, he spat a mouthful of dark blood.

Yet in this near-death moment, there was no pain in his eyes, only a slow, twisted smile.

He rasped, “Victoria. You really didn’t hold back. If you weren’t still carrying injuries, that strike might have cost me half my life. But it’s the only one you’ve got, isn’t it? You drained your energy core and ignored the suppressed Pale Specter energy in your body just to kill me…”

He walked back into the dining hall step by step, his staggering gait gradually becoming steady.

Finally, his expression turned sinister as he once again erupted with powerful momentum.

He hissed, “You did all this for Andrew! Victoria, you were born to be heartless and ruthless, a natural killer. Otherwise, you couldn’t have cultivated this ice energy to such heights. But strangely, after a lifetime of being heartless, you’ve finally fallen into the trap of emotion. You disregard yourself to fight desperately for such an insignificant boy!”

He laughed and added, “Victoria, oh Victoria… After hiding in the Peck family all these years, it seems you haven’t improved much. This fatal character flaw of yours is still so easy to exploit!”

Matthias burst into wild laughter, yanking his right hand violently through the air to pull a massive log toward him from a distance.

The murderous intent radiating from him seemed to fill the air itself.

Andrew stared at him, slowly narrowing his eyes. At last, the scent of death hung heavy between them.