Adaptive Tactics    

"So, which brothel did you guys crawl out of?"

Will's abrupt statement caught many off guard. The four maidens of the Frozen Asgard Sect were stunned silly, causing the spells they were preparing to shimmer for a moment.

'These guys are too green.'

Gianluigi smirked at the turn of events and unleashed a barrage of wind-based attacks at the stunned maidens. This was part of Natasha's plan. Stall them with a distraction and strike while they are occupied! 

Natasha was confident in Solitary's ability to spew garbage. She was also aware of the fatal weakness most Frozen Asgard maidens had.

They went around casually conducting wanton slaughter in multiple worlds but they had little battle experience with equals. A soldier who was only experienced in shooting a stationary target was useless. This resulted in many of these maidens having somewhat weak minds. But of course, Natasha's plan was not that simple. 

Natasha did not waste time and immediately launched the mainstay of any Frozen Asgard Practitioner. Frozen Asgard Armour!

A membrane of ice formed around Natasha, covering her in a skin-tight embrace. The clothes she wore turned into flakes of light that fused with the membrane. Forming something akin to a mage's robe with pieces of armour on her chest and shoulders. 

A cleric's headpiece with a closed veil covered her head, making her seem like a nun going into battle. A wand made from a dark blue metal materialised in her hand from her system storage. It was a simple wand covered in Norse runes. It was like a sage's staff with the top shaped like a bulbous stick.

'Her armour is almost the same as Francis' own.' Mused Will as he also went into action. Will condensed his area to a ten-meter radius and did his best to sense the water elements around him.

The four maidens were a bit late in reacting but they were after all qualified fighters. Alison reacted the fastest as she quickly used the miniature galaxies she had summoned to deflect Gianluigi's attacks. Meanwhile, Lisa released a burst of mana that resulted in an armour congealing around her. It was a Norse armour that smoothly applied itself to the contours of her body. Her face remained hidden beneath a mask that veiled her face but her body was still in full view. Multiple warrior-like pieces of armour started appearing on her body. Her headpiece changed shape, becoming more like an extravagant helmet.

Her robes transformed, becoming like the compounded layers of a lotus, with layer upon layer of armour plates forming and coming together to create a metallic dress. Waves of dense metal element mana wafted from Lisa's heroic figure. This was of course a spell that Will had seen before. Frozen Asgard Armour: Valkyrie's Guard!

Giselle did not remain idle either. She scoffed as she stood behind Lisa. The space around her morphed, becoming darker and darker. Will, Gianluigi and Natasha felt their ordinary senses shut down as a world of dark silence surrounded them.

Frozen Asgard Niflheim Series: Hela's Dominion!

As the most powerful spell of the Niflheim series of spells in the Frozen Asgard Arts, it commanded a lot of respect and incited even more fear. Will, Gianluigi and Natasha immediately lost control over their ordinary senses.

Will swallowed some saliva as soon as the dominion was set. Not because of the spell's might as one might expect.

'Natasha predicted their movements this far, this is incredible.' 

The real reason he was impressed was due to the fact that the maidens were moving exactly according to Natasha's plan. As darkness descended on the trio of Natasha Will and Gianluigi, Natasha took the chance to ask Will a question via intent.

'Solitary, how long will it take you to break her dominion?'

'I don't know how much mana she has, but if everything goes well, it should only take a few minutes at most.'

After witnessing Solitary's skill and his Guided Strike, Natasha did not doubt that he could break the troublesome Hela's Dominion. Peerless was also capable of casting the skill, so even if Solitary could not break it, he was still expected to be able to combat it in some way. 

Normally to break the Dominion, one has to stop energy from leaking out of their body and wait for the caster to run out of mana. But Lisa was not an ornament. Her main job besides guarding Giselle was also supplying her with mana. In other words…

'For Peerless to break this dominion, I have to separate Giselle from Lisa.' Natasha quickly fleshed out a plan of action in her mind.

What made Hela's Dominion maddening was that it not only isolated one from their 5 senses but also allowed the caster to apply certain debuffs depending on their affinity. Will and co now had to use higher senses and other ways to see around them. As Truthseekers, this wasn't particularly troublesome, but it did put them at a disadvantage.

When Will used Hela's Dominion under the effects of Mystic Harmony during his fight with Ulysses, he could even restrict Ulysses' soul a bit. Although the effect was weak, it was enough to put Ulysses on the defensive from the beginning of their battle.

"Peerless, stick to the plan and hold back Sophia, while I think of a way to separate Gisselle from Lisa. Once I do, Solitary, you break apart this Dominion. Lyra, get ready to take action as soon as the Dominion is down. Gianluigi, once the dominion is down, you know what to do. Palmer, keep focusing on the teleportation circle while Lydia is to remain on standby in case anything happens to you.

 Twin Crescent brothers and Achilles, you should focus on rest. I have a feeling that things are not going to end here. We need your strengths in the future. Alright, everyone, you know what your jobs are."

Within a fraction of a second, Natasha had smoothly imparted her orders via Intent. Gianluigi and Will smirked as they relished the challenges ahead, but not everyone was pleased by the situation because there was uncertainty in their futures. There was no way of knowing whether or not Michael had other Allies hiding. Lydia looked at Palmer nervously but the latter merely kept his confident smile, "Come now Lydia, since when were frozen Asgard Harlots enough to cause you to fret? This isn't the Vicious Hand of Mercedes that everyone back home fears."

Palmer's words spurned Lyra as she narrowed her eyes, "I'm not scared of them, it's Michael that's the issue." Palmer sighed in resignation and continued his job. Will took note of this exchange between his teammates who were outside the range of the Dominion and chuckled. 

Only Will, Gianluigi and Natasha were in range, but the whole team was still able to communicate and monitor each other via Intent. Will quickly shifted his attention back to the girls.

'According to Natasha, each of these girls focuses on one element. Giselle is the only one to really worry about and her specialty is Darkness. She focuses on support but her mastery of Hela's Dominion makes her a pain in the ass. Lisa is a metal type warrior image, often acting as Gisselle's guard. Alison is like Palmer, a space-type mage while Sophia…'

Will turned his attention to the woman who was his designated target. Through his Mental Energy Field, Will was able to filter out the girl's killing intent and information about her flooded his mind thanks to the passive ability of Bloodlust.

'Thanks to Jingsung helping me incorporate Intent into my Area, my ability to see around me is much higher. I don't even need my eyes as long as the enemy releases enough Killing Intent.'

Sophia, according to Natasha, was a long-range projectile specialist who liked to use modified versions of Ragnarok Rain. She was skilled at spell matrix modification and, with the help of her master, had adjusted Ragnarok Rain into a spell she called the Ragnarok Lance. From afar it looked like a long ice needle the size of a spear, capable of easily piercing through ordinary steel at frightening speeds!