Chapter 904

Chapter 904: The Cold Winter Scene

“Have you ever heard of rime ice?”

Inside the carriage, Lolan Hill was talking with a slender blonde girl who was curiously looking out the window.

Along the mountain path, trees were adorned with tiny ‘white flowers’, making their bare branches look lush and beautiful.

“Rime ice?” The girl repeated the unfamiliar word, tilting her head slightly in confusion as she looked at Lolan Hill.

“Although it looks like snow, rime ice is not actually snow,” Lolan recalled the scientific explanation she had seen before.

“It does not fall from the sky like snow nor is it formed by water freezing, but rather, it appears on the trees spontaneously, without reason.”

“In essence, it is the crystallization of colorless water vapor. But because it does not pile up, break, and compress like snowflakes, it remains more complete and beautiful.”

The girl stretched her hand out the window, and a small ice crystal drifted down from the tree canopy, hovering and spinning above her palm before she placed it on a colder book cover and handed it over.

The naturally formed ice crystal displayed a perfect hexagonal shape with intricate branches, appearing very beautiful.

“How beautiful,” the girl carefully leaned forward to look at the ice crystal on the table.

Lolan smiled seeing her interest. This girl was someone she had rescued from underground ruins. Later, she learned that this girl was the key to unlocking the seal of the ruins. Because they needed her blood, Baron Moroz had taken her out of the Iron Hill prison.

“Do you have any other family members?” The girl asked after the girl woke up.

“I don’t know.” The girl shook her head. In her memory, her father was often away. It wasn’t until soldiers came to arrest her that she realized what her father had done.

Her family was arrested due to their involvement with an underground resistance organization. Only her brother escaped because he was away at the time. Her mother died in prison, leaving only her alone.

“Father is probably gone. I heard it from the guards,” the girl said uneasily, fidgeting with her fingers.

“I don’t know if my brother survived.”

“Have you thought about revenge?”

“I don’t know. I hate those who mistreated me, but some of them were just doing their duty,” the girl hesitated.

“I don’t know exactly who to hate, but I feel very sad.”

“Is that so?” Lolan sighed.

Often, when unfortunate things happen, one can find specific people or events to blame, as long as you defeat them, it’s like the snow falling from the sky or the frost forming in the waterways, everything has its trace.

But sometimes, misfortune and sorrow are like the rime ice in the mountains, silently condensing without reason, covering the branches.

You cannot find where it comes from, nor do you know why it happens. Everything just occurs. Even if you want to fight against it, you cannot find the object of your struggle. It’s like hitting thin air, leaving an empty feeling.

If problems could be solved by fighting, it would be simple and straightforward.

Unfortunately, everything is not that easy.

You are not a specific thing, but the entire era and environment that created everything. Countless people are entangled in it, unable to escape, like the cold mist gradually seeping in during the night, no one can avoid the harshness of winter.

Outside their carriage, everything was covered in white ice crystals. A hundred-person caravan slowly made its way through the mountain area towards a distant city.

—

Dragon Tooth Province.

Originally, this was an inland province within the Empire, but after the war, it became a border stronghold in the west of the Empire.

Towering watchtowers sprang up among the continuous mountains, soldiers in white-gray armor occasionally patrolled the observation decks, monitoring the border near Clancia.

These three-story stone towers were stocked with fodder and oil, ready to be ignited to send thick smoke signals to alert the garrison forces stationed behind in case of an attack.

Though

Clancia signed the contract, but the Empire did not fully trust the other party, and there were also many elite legions stationed here.

However, unlike in the past, the flags fluttering atop the high towers were neither the black dragon flag of the Basca family nor the blood rose flag of the Imperial House; instead, they were golden flags with white griffins. They were the lions from the mountainous regions of the Empire’s West, soldiers of the Mountain Kingdom.

The Salus family was a rather unique branch within the Empire. The history of the Griffin Duke was no shorter than that of the Imperial House, being a nation with a similarly long history.

In the era of the Moonlit Kingdom, the Griffin Duchy was a renowned nation among the mountain ranges of the West. The griffin, a fierce demonic beast with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, became their family emblem, and they were indeed skilled at cultivating such ferocious beasts.

Those griffin knights wielding thunder lances moved in groups, weaving through the towering mountains, forming powerful legions capable of slaying dragons.

During the rise of the Moonlit Kingdom, the Griffin Duchy gradually developed, slowly annexing and unifying the various nations of the West. There had even been several conflicts between them.

Then, when the Moonlit Kingdom expanded southward, they encountered the immensely powerful Magic Nation, Oz, suffering significant setbacks.

Afterwards, the expansion of the Moonlit Kingdom came to a halt, and the Griffin Kingdom found it difficult to break through the mountainous regions and engage the Moonlit Empire in a decisive battle on the vast wilderness.

Thus, under the mediation of the Sage Council, the two countries entered into a marriage alliance and merged. The Griffin Kingdom became part of the Moonlit Empire, with the former royal family being ennobled as the Griffin Dukes, continuing to rule over this land.

This move quelled the war and stabilized the rear of the Moonlit Empire, making it stronger.

Now, after the Empire’s defeat, the Regent personally visited the Griffin Duchy and brought numerous promises and conditions. After some negotiations and agreements, the Griffin Duke agreed to send troops, dispatching those mountain legions to the Empire’s South to establish fortresses and city walls to defend against potential attacks.

Subsequently, the Regent turned his attention to thoroughly clearing out the remnants of the Basca family in the South, while continuing to reinforce the safety of the capital, Titania.

“Lord Jielanen,”

A squire quickly walked along the mountain path between the towers, calling out to the patrol knights ahead.

These knights all wore white armor and wide white cloaks, blending seamlessly with their surroundings.

Upon hearing the call, the leading knight turned around. He was robust and handsome, precisely the heir to the Griffin Duchy, Jielanen.

“What is it?” Jielanen stopped, and the knights beside him stood still, looking at the approaching squire.

“It’s a letter sent from the Lionheart Domain.” He held up a sealed envelope with a lifelike griffin emblem.

After receiving the envelope, Jielanen tore open the special contract paper on the outer layer and pulled out the folded letter inside to read.

Not long after, Jielanen put away the letter and placed it back into the lining of his armor.

“Is something wrong?” Grace asked beside him. He and these knights were childhood friends of Jielanen’s, so they didn’t feel too constrained.

“My father wants me to prepare to return in a few days,” Jielanen said, leaning against the cold stone wall and gazing at the distant landscape shrouded in frost.

“It looks like you’ll be going to Titania, where you’ll need to find a suitable fiancée among the noble young ladies,” Jielanen said with a touch of emotion. Unconsciously, he had reached this age.

In fact, among the nobility, he was considered an older unmarried youth. In the upper echelons of the Empire, it was common for nobles to marry at 16, though extraordinary beings retained their youth longer, Jielanen felt he had delayed things a bit too long.

“It’s time to find a suitable fiancée. It would be beneficial for your position,” one of his companions said.

In those times, the mortality rate of infants was high, and if a major noble lineage died out, it could be quite serious.

“Mm, I understand,” Jielanen looked at the world veiled in ice mist, recalling the girls he had met over the years. Some were elegant young ladies from noble families, some were lively and sunny, and others were petite and slender. Most of them had come into his life through rigorous competition and assessment.

He wasn’t particularly averse to these girls.

Much was admired, but whenever he thought about spending his life with such a person, something always felt lacking.

Perhaps what was missing was a girl who could understand his thoughts, ambitions, strengths, and weaknesses, yet still embrace him well.

With these thoughts, he kept delaying, until now.

Unfortunately, the old Griffin Duke had already issued orders. After this return, he would likely be required to find a suitable marriage partner within a certain timeframe, and could no longer delay.

“Your younger sister’s child can already walk. Jielanen, what are you hesitating for? Are you still as weak and indecisive as a sheep?”

“If you rebel against me and have a secret lover, I wouldn’t be so angry. But what’s even more disappointing is that you don’t even have such a lover, wandering aimlessly like a lost lamb.”

“The Salus family needs an heir as fierce as a lion, not someone like you now. A male lion that cannot find a female lion is despised and looked down upon. I hope you understand this.”

Recalling the old Griffin Duke’s reprimand, Jielanen couldn’t help but let out a slight smile.

Although there was a vague figure in his heart, where was that girl now? She was so mysterious; even with the Griffin Duke’s lineage, her whereabouts remained unknown.

Perhaps he could only go see Titania this time. After all these years, you should let go, Jielanen. He said to himself, his thoughts drifting away.

—

At the same time, far in the Northern Region, a world frozen in ice.

Everything in the world was so cold, that icy chill piercing through every bone, seeping into every crevice, making people shiver and curl up, praying amidst their cries for the eternal winter to end soon.

Under the heavy sky filled with snowflakes, a group of black-clad warriors slowly trudged through the snow. They held torches soaked in tung oil, advancing across the wilderness, protecting a small group of black-robed wizards at the center.

Occasionally, demonic beasts attacked amidst the howling wind and snow, their hunger-stricken growls readying them for an assault.

Facing these smaller demonic beasts, the warriors drew their long swords from their waists, cutting through the air with flashing sword marks as they fought. The sounds were drowned out by the wind and snow, unheard by those behind.

Warm blood splattered onto the snow, melting it into grooves before quickly freezing again, covered once more by falling snowflakes.

After the battle, some warriors fell into the snow, frozen stiff, alongside the demonic beasts, slowly buried by the ice and snow.

Praying,

Blessing,

Sighing,

The subsequent troops scattered light blue petals over these fallen warriors before continuing forward. From their gray-black cloaks, they were clearly members of the Treiye family, belonging to the North’s Ravens.

These descendants of the thousand-year-old Mercury Dynasty still lived in this world, accustomed to the intermittent sorrows and calamities in their lives.

“Death treats everyone fairly, regardless of who we are.” This was the motto of the Treiye family.

Compared to other nobles in the Empire, this family was particularly conservative, adhering strictly to past traditions, being restrained and frugal, facing various misfortunes with composure.

“We’re almost at the agreed location,” a wizard with a raven brooch said, flipping through the ancient parchment covered in snow.

“Will we really get to see it? The origin of that family?” another wizard asked worriedly. Along this journey, they had already lost many people.

There was no war, yet there were so many casualties. Times were merciless. Even now, the main branch of the Treiye family was still struggling with dwindling offspring, facing the danger of extinction.

“It’s our last hope. We have to try,” said the wizard, pulling down the hood to shield his face from the icy snowflakes, speaking through the fragments of snow.

“Advance! The Ravens of the Frost.”

In the midst of the snow, the warriors ahead raised their flag once more. A gray-white raven grasped a skull, its eyes gazing into the distance. The amethyst flag from the Second Era still stood firm.

—

Note: Hoarfrost is indeed a beautiful scene. You can search for corresponding scenes on video websites.

(End of Chapter)