An Understated Dominance Novel (Dahlia & Dustin) by Marina Vittori updated 2025-26 - An Understated Dominance Chapter 2642

Chapter 2642

The lake erupted with a thunderous crack as the massive ice turtle broke through the frozen surface. Shards of ice shot into the air, and muddy water surged forward, instantly hardening into jagged slopes along the shore.

Its carapace gleamed with a bluish-gray frost, every scale shaped like chiseled ice—razor-edged and deadly. Two crimson eyes swiveled, locking on the panicked soldiers. When its gaze settled on Matthias, there was something almost… human in that scrutiny.

“Fall back!” Kyle roared, yanking Matthias by the arm.

He’d already tasted the terror of the giant crab; this thing was far worse. The creature loomed larger than the Jingtao’s deck, and the icicles hanging from its shell were each the length of a spear. No ordinary beast—this was death crawling from the depths.

Chaos erupted. Soldiers scrambled toward the camp, boots slipping on the frozen ground. Two fell hard, breathless and wide-eyed.

The monster lifted its head. Its neck was a fortress of layered scales, bristling with needle-like frost. Then it opened its maw—and the world turned white.

The blast of freezing air hit like a hurricane of knives. The lakefront became an instant tomb. Two retreating soldiers froze mid-stride, transformed into glassy statues before they even screamed. They toppled, shattering into bloody crystal.

“Fire!” Matthias tore free from Kyle’s grip, sword flashing as he pointed at the beast.

Cold things fear fire—at least, that’s what he prayed. Kerosene. Explosives. They had to use everything.

The men jolted back to life, fumbling for flint and tinder. But the wind was merciless. Flames sputtered out before they even sparked, except for a few torches shielded in a windless hollow.

The turtle saw the flames and went berserk. With an earth-shaking lunge, it crashed forward. The lakeshore collapsed into a gaping pit of broken ice.

One colossal forelimb scythed down. Three soldiers didn’t even scream—just soared like ragdolls and slammed into an ice wall, leaving crimson streaks that froze in seconds.

“Kerosene! Now!” Kyle ripped a pouch from his belt and hurled it. The bag burst against the monster’s shell, drenching its icy armor in slick amber.

Matthias didn’t hesitate. A spark leapt from his fingertips, and fire roared to life.

Flames crawled across the carapace, a crimson sea against blue frost. The turtle shrieked, a sound that shook the mountains, thrashing wildly, shattering the lake beneath it into churning waves.

But then—the fire died.

The chill bleeding from its armor smothered the blaze like a living thing. Frost crept back, layer by layer, until the flames were gone, buried beneath newborn ice.

Matthias felt his gut twist. This monster wasn’t just armored—it was a furnace of frost. Ordinary fire couldn’t even scratch it.

“Your Highness!” Kyle’s voice cracked like a whip. “Its neck—look!”

Matthias’s eyes snapped to the junction where neck met shell. A single scale, pale and thin, exposed a sliver of flesh—soft, pink, unarmored.

Hope flared. “That’s its weakness!”

He spun to his men, voice ringing across the frozen lake. “Who will strike with me?”

“I will!” came the chorus, spears gripped in white-knuckled fists. Fear burned in their eyes, but so did resolve.

Matthias drew the last explosive charge from his cloak, yanked the fuse, and hurled it. The detonation boomed, rocking the ice, staggering the beast. Scales quivered, peeling back to reveal more of that vulnerable flesh.

“Now!” Matthias surged forward, True Energy exploding under his feet. Two afterimages trailed behind him as he blitzed past a sweeping claw.

Kyle and the soldiers followed, spears aimed at the wound.

The turtle sensed death coming. It whipped its head, trying to smash them all.

Matthias vaulted high, blade blazing with golden light. Steel kissed scale with a shriek, sparks flying—and the armor cracked. Green blood welled, hissing into icy crystals as it hit the ground.

“It works!” Matthias’s cry was raw triumph—until the beast opened its jaws.

The cold storm hit like a tidal wave. His barrier shattered in an instant. Ice crusted over his blade, numbing his arm to stone.

Then—a blur.

Kyle slammed into him, knocking him aside. One-armed, he raised his sword and drove it deep into the wound.

The turtle’s scream ripped the sky. It thrashed, flinging Kyle like a doll. He crashed into the ice, blood spattering, his cloak blooming red.

The soldiers charged, stabbing again and again—but it wasn’t enough. The beast spun and crushed them beneath its rage. Steel snapped. Bones cracked. The lake was a graveyard of broken men.

Matthias staggered up, heart hollow with despair. They had bled for nothing.

And then—

Hoofbeats. Crisp, rhythmic, almost musical.

He lifted his gaze.

Through the whirling snow came a spirit of winter—a deer white as starlight, each step scattering petals of frost. Its eyes, pale blue and ancient, locked on the monster.

The ice turtle froze. Its scarlet pupils flickered—not with rage, but fear. Slowly, it began to back away.