ã€ŠConquering His Cold Heartã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1: Betrothed to a Monster

    ¡°Trust me, Anna. I will give you the most painless death that anyone could ever desire.¡±

    Princess Anastasia saw a dark figure looking down at her. The face of that man wasn¡¯t clearly visible. But she could clearly see his crystal red eyes that harbored the most sinister desire.

    Anastasia panicked and tried to get up from the bed.

    However, that man was quick enough to pin both of her hands above her head and trap her with his body.

    ¡°Your Majesty, p-please spare me. I didn¡¯t d-do anything wrong...¡± Anastasia begged in a trembling voice.

    However, Anastasia¡¯s pleads fell on deaf ears. That man¡¯s killing intent was unhindered. Rather an amused smirk danced on his lips.

    He brought his cold face dangerously close to the Princess and spoke in a ragged whisper, ¡°Oh I know that you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, my dear.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness... Princess... Princess...¡±

    .....

    Anastasia suddenly heard a woman¡¯s voice calling her from afar. She tried to turn her head and look in that direction but that man recaptured her attention.

    He yfully traced Anastasia¡¯s slender neck and muttered in a grim tone, ¡°But I can¡¯t help myself. Your neck looks so inviting that I want to-¡±

    ¡°Anna!¡±

    Princess Anastasia jerked and inhaled sharply. She flung open her eyes to see her handmaid, Ti, giving her a worried nce.

    ¡°Ti...¡± Anastasia heaved a deep sigh.

    ¡®It was just a nightmare...¡¯ she thought to herself and gulped to moisten her dry throat.

    She was thankful that it was just a nightmare and not a reality.

    ¡°Sorry for waking you up, Princess.¡± Ti held Anastasia¡¯s trembling palm and apologized, ¡°Your breathing got unusually irregr and I got worried.¡±

    ¡°You did the right thing,¡± Anastasia gave a feeble smile to her handmaid, who was also her best friend.

    The Princess closed her eyes again. She tried to calm her heart as she kept on lying on the seat of the moving carriage.

    And after regaining herposure, she asked her handmaid, ¡°Are we there yet?¡±

    Ti knitted her brows as she recalled the tall and grim wall that they had crossed long ago.

    ¡°We are already inside the Kingdom of Sorvando,¡± Ti replied in a gloomy voice.

    Anastasia felt the pit of her stomach churning after hearing that.

    Ti was already drowning in an insurmountable sea of fear as well as pity.

    After all, her best friend had been sent away as a tribute bride to King Caspian Heradi, the King who was rumored to be a ruthless monster.

    The infamous tyrant wouldn¡¯t allow his single citizen to leave the sky-high walls of his Kingdom. And the outsiders who somehow snuck inside those walls, never made it back alive.

    No one from the neighboring Kingdoms had ever seen that cruel King. But they all spected him to be a hideous monster.

    Else, why would he hide behind those grim walls of his Kingdom?

    Rumor had it that he was a merciless monster who liked to torture and kill people endlessly.

    And those twodies were heading towards that same monster¡¯s castle.

    Princess Anastasia began to hear the sound of birds and some animals. She flung open hershes to reveal her emerald green irises and peeked out of the carriage window.

    Her pale face instantly looked as though some dark clouds had taken residence there.

    ¡®Why are we going through a forest?¡¯ she thought to herself.

    She pinched the crease of her gown and wished, ¡®I hope the castle isn¡¯t in the middle of a forest.¡¯

    Anastasia had tried not to let all the rumors about King Caspian being a monster to get to her. However, the deeper the carriage went inside the forest, the more she started to believe that the rumors weren¡¯t false after all.

    Soon, Anastasia¡¯s eyes fell on the huge gate that was covered with creepers. She didn¡¯t know whether it was her eyes or her deep-rooted fear, but the creepers made the gate look spooky instead of beautiful.

    After the carriage passed through the gate, Anastasia¡¯s heart began to race as though it was ready to jump out of her mouth. The knot in her stomach never left her.

    So to calm herself, Anastasia took out the mysterious letter that she had received on her seventeenth birthday. She took a deep breath in and went through the contents of that letter again.

    She had already done that countless times on this journey alone because it reminded her why she decided to marry the rumored monster.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at our destination, Your Highness,¡± Anastasia heard the coachman informing them after the carriage came to a halt.

    The evening rays of the sun were slowly fading away when Anastasia and Ti stepped out of the carriage.

    The coachman ced two small leather suitcases beside Ti.

    One suitcase belonged to Anastasia while the other was Ti¡¯s. Even though Sorvando was now going to be her new home, the Princess brought very few belongings with her.

    The King of Sorvando had been pre-informed that the Kingdom of Orsenia would be sending their Princess as a tribute bride for him as a sign of goodwill between the two Kingdoms.

    And Princess Anastasia was at least hoping for some type of wee or at least a guide who could show them around.

    However, she was utterly disappointed.

    Even then, Princess Anastasia forced a smile on her face. She couldn¡¯t me King Caspian for not being weing when Orsenia was practically forcing the bride on him.

    ¡°Ti, let¡¯s go inside. I think we will have to find our own way,¡± Anastasia turned to look at her handmaid who looked pale and stunned for some reason. And she asked with a frown, ¡°Ti, what is it?¡±

    Ti gulped noticeably and whispered in a shaky voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you see how the castle looks? I don¡¯t think it can even be called a castle. It looks so old and... ghastly.¡±

    The handmaid swiftly turned to check if their carriage was still there. The coachman was preparing to leave.

    Ti grabbed both of the suitcases from the ground and said, ¡°Princess, let¡¯s head back. I have a bad feeling about this ce. I don¡¯t think we should stay here for a minute longer.¡±

    The maid was not exaggerating when she said that the castle looked ghastly. It indeed looked like that.

    The grey and ck walls looked as though they had been standing there for several centuries and had witnessed countless events. The pirs of the castle had carvings of some grim creatures which made the castle look like a haunted house at night.

    And to make it even worse, both the girls felt as though something was whooshing past them every now and then. They felt as though someone or something was constantly watching them from the dark shadows.

    There was something off and cold about this castle.

    Princess Anastasia suddenly got cold feet. She wanted to go home. However, she did not have the luxury to choose. She was already betrothed to the King of Sorvando. This castle was her home now.

    Also, she had her personal reason as well.

    Anastasia softly said to her maid, ¡°Ti, you are forgetting that I am doing this for my own sake. The letter said that King Caspian is the only one who can save me from this misery. And even if it is thest thing that I do, I am willing to take my chances.¡±

    Princess Anastasia nced ahead and before she lost the tiny bit of courage that she had mustered up, she took a leap of faith and stepped inside the castle.

    ¡°Wait for me, Princess.¡± Ti tightened her grip around the suitcase handles and ran after the Princess. She was afraid that if she stood outside all alone then something would drag her away to the dark abyss.

    They cautiously walked through the long and eerie corridors of the castle. Even though it was already getting darker, not a singlentern had been lit up. And what was even stranger? They did note across a single maid or servant even after walking for quite some time.

    The whole castle looked deserted and the only thing that they could hear was their own hammering heartbeats.

    Ti was still unable to ept that they hade to the right castle. So she broke the silence and whispered as softly as she could, ¡°Princess, I don¡¯t think anyone lives here. We should go-¡±

    And as if to prove Ti wrong, a man¡¯s scream resounded throughout the huge castle.

    Anastasia inhaled sharply and abruptly stopped walking. Ti almost bumped into the Princess as she was tip-toeing closely behind.

    The scream sounded so gut-wrenching that both the girls were scared to their core.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Ti whispered so close to Anastasia¡¯s ear that she startled the Princess again.

    ¡°Ti!¡± Anastasia gulped and whispered in aining tone, ¡°Don¡¯t scare me more than I already am.¡±

    ¡°Princess, this ce looks dodgy. What if someone forged that letter? Or what if that cruel King was the one to trick you intoing here? Let¡¯s go back.¡± The handmaid muttered desperately.

    However, to Ti¡¯s disbelief, Anastasia walked in the very direction from where they heard the scream.

    And Ti whispered aggressively, ¡°Er... Princess? Shouldn¡¯t we be running in the opposite direction?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can find people somewhere else. So let¡¯s take a look there.¡± Anastasia clutched her fists tightly and began to increase her pace.

    The screams got louder and louder. Ti¡¯s face had already turned pale as she imagined all sorts of bad things that could happen to them. But it was already toote to stop the stubborn Princess. She had no other choice than to follow her.

    Atst, Anastasia found the room from where the sound was echoing.

    There was a small crack in the door. Anastasia¡¯s curiosity got the best of her and she peeked inside.

    The moment she peeked, her eyes widened and her heart stopped. She wished that she had listened to Ti¡¯s words and returned to Orsenia. Because what she just witnessed was enough to give her recurring nightmares.

    Anastasia saw a man dropping dead to the ground with a thud.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2: A Glimpse of Hell

    Through the crack of that door, Princess Anastasia saw two men holding a half-naked man by his arms. There was also a third man who was standing in front of that beaten-up man.

    That poor man was covered in his own blood and sweat, most probably after the extreme torture that he endured. His upper body had a lot of bruises and cuts. And he looked like he was on the verge of death.

    But that was not what frightened the innocent Princess. It was what happened after.

    The tall and fierce-looking man who was standing in front of that injured man stepped closer to him. And before Anastasia could blink, that devilish man made a swift movement and snapped that injured man¡¯s neck.

    And in the next moment, he dropped down to the cold floor... lifeless.

    A soft gasp escaped Princess Anastasia¡¯s lips when she witnessed that horrifying scene. And followed by her gasp, she saw a pair of glowing red eyes slowly turning in her direction.

    The Princess swiftly moved away from the crack of the door and sped her mouth as well as her nose with her palm. She held her breath while her body began shaking like a leaf. And her eyes, they looked as though she had just witnessed a glimpse of Hell.

    .....

    Seeing the Princess in that state, Ti didn¡¯t even dare to ask what she saw inside the room. She could tell that whatever she saw was very terrifying.

    Ti wanted to grab the Princess¡¯s hand and run away from there. Or at the very least, she wanted tofort the petrified Princess.

    However, before she could do any of those, her body stiffened when she heard a chilling voice from inside the room.

    ¡°What shall we do with the body, Your Majesty? Shall I ask a servant to dig a grave?¡±

    ¡®Your Majesty?¡¯ Anastasia repeated it in her head with a stunned expression in her eyes.

    Her heart began to pound very rapidly as if it wanted to escape from her chest. The Princess was already shaking like a leaf. And the sudden realization that she was betrothed to a murderer made her knees give out.

    Anastasia suddenly felt like she would copse right then and there. But Ti swiftly stepped forward, both of her hands clutching the suitcases tightly, and lent her shoulder for the Princess to hold.

    From inside the room, a grim cackle echoed throughout the hall followed by a hoarse voice, ¡°Dig a grave? For this worthless man? Just save the trouble and dump him into the river.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be such a fool, Caspian.¡± Another man spoke in a rtively less frightening voice. However, what he said next didn¡¯t make him sound any better than the previous two, ¡°He¡¯ll only make the river dirty. You better bury him somewhere in the forest. At least his body could be nutritious to some trees.¡±

    ¡°I highly doubt that.¡± Anastasia and Ti heard the King¡¯s voice again. He scoffed and then mocked the man they had just brutally tortured and murdered, ¡°I think even his body would be as useless as him. He didn¡¯t even taste that good.¡±

    Both Anastasia and Ti nced at each other in utter disbelief. ¡°He didn¡¯t even taste that good...¡± This sentence pierced through those frail human hearts and sent a chill shiver down their spines.

    At first, Anastasia thought that she could have misheard her to-be husband. She thought that her ears were ying tricks on her because of what she had witnessed not long ago.

    However, the Princess was proved wrong when she heard the first man agreeing to the King, ¡°Ugh! I agree with His Majesty. He didn¡¯t taste as good as I expected.¡± That man kept on speaking in aining tone, ¡°Hunting this man down was such a waste of our energy. His blood just spoilt my taste buds.¡±

    ¡®What are they even talking about? Did they hunt that man? They were... eating that man? Are they cannibals?¡¯ Anastasia¡¯s mind was bombarded with thousands of questions at once and her mind went fuzzy.

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t even able to perceive the mortal danger that the two of them were already in.

    Ti, on the other hand, was already aplete mess. She was tightly shutting her lips and was silently shedding streams of tears. Her knuckles had already turned white because of the pressure that she was using to grip the suitcase handles.

    Though Ti had not witnessed the brutality that the Princess saw by ident, the insensitivements that those men were making about a dead man was enough to shatter thest shred of hope that she had, hope that the rumors about the King being a monster were false.

    And the handmaid ended uppletely breaking down before the Princess did.

    She kept on gazing at the Princess with pitiful eyes. She hated the fact that her childhood friend and her beloved Princess was about to fall into the hands of a cold-blooded killer.

    As if it wasn¡¯t already the worst day of both of their lives, both of them heard even more shocking statements from the King himself, ¡°Shall we cleanse our mouth with some sweeter blood? I can smell two delicious humans right behind that door.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they are just any humans. They smell like mouthwateringdies,¡± another one spoke as though he was thinking about the most delicious meal in the world.

    All this time, Anastasia was trying really hard not topletely surrender to her fear. However, those sadistic remarks that she just heard finally managed to get to her.

    She felt a chilling pain in her heart. Sweat beads started to form all over her forehead. Her breathing got heavier and heavier. And she started feeling light-headed.

    To add to that, her vision also started to get blurry. She was sure that she would copse at any moment now.

    Before thedies could slip away from the looming danger, they heard some footsteps slowly approaching the door.

    Anastasia could feel that they were in grave danger but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to even move an inch. Her whole body went numb.

    ¡®They¡¯re going to kill us!¡¯ Ti thought to herself as she imagined a fleeting image of her and the Princess¡¯s dead bodies floating in some unknown river.

    And in the desperation of the moment, Ti suddenly entered the fight-or-flight mode. She threw the suitcases in the air, grabbed the Princess by her wrist, turned around, and then bolted from that ce.

    Ti led the Princess towards the main gate of the Pce in the hopes of getting away from the murderers and saving both of their lives.

    She led Anastasia through the same hallways which they had walked earlier. Ti was making the Princess run so fast that the petrified Princess was already out of breath.

    ¡°Ti, I don¡¯t feel good. I don¡¯t think I can run any longer,¡± Anastasia pleaded breathlessly for her maid to stop pulling her. Her heart was pumping so loudly that she felt like her heart was going to explode.

    Ti felt sorry for the Princess but they didn¡¯t have the luxury to rest, especially when those monsters were most probablying after them.

    ¡°Please hold on for a while, Princess. I will take us out of this ughterhouse,¡± Ti promised the Princess even when she was unsure if they would be able to walk out of the castle alive.

    They were outside the castle in no time. However, to Ti¡¯s dismay, the path that led towards the main gate was already well lit-up with countless torches. It sabotaged her n to use the darkness to their advantage and run while hiding from those killers.

    Still, Ti had some hopes left for them because she didn¡¯t see any guards anywhere in the vicinity.

    ¡°If we are lucky enough then we might be able to hitch a ride from a passing carriage,¡± Ti thought to herself as they were getting closer and closer to the main gate.

    However, it looked like Lady Luck was not on their side.

    While struggling to match her pace with Ti, Anastasia saw a dark shadow of something flying above them. At first, she thought that it was arge bird. But could she be any more wrong?

    It was not a bird but a handsome young man.

    He gentlynded in front of the Princess and her handmaid and blocked their path.

    Anastasia and Ti abruptly stopped running to avoid bumping into that man.

    For a brief second, Anastasia and that man¡¯s eyes met each other. And a chill shiver ran down her spine because she recognized those pair of blood-red eyes. They were the same pair of eyes that she had seen in the room earlier.

    Without wasting a second, Anastasia grabbed Ti¡¯s wrist this time.

    ¡°Run!¡± the Princess turned on her heels and dragged her maid in the opposite direction.

    They had only taken a few steps when two more men appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path. Anastasia tried to run to the side but those three men had already closed in and encircled the powerlessdies.

    It was very na?ve of them to think that they could outrun the literal monsters.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3: The Predators

    Both Anastasia and Ti were already out of breath from all that running. And the fact that they were currently being surrounded by three killers wasn¡¯t helping to ease their condition either.

    If thedies hadn¡¯t seen and heard the cruelty of the three of them, then they would have probably noticed how handsome all of them were and how grandly they were dressed. Thedies would have probably perceived them as three exquisite men who were handcrafted by God himself.

    If one was to look at them closely, then their bodily features were to die for. All three of them had pale and smooth skin. They were tall and also had visibly sturdy bodies. And all of them were emanating the majestic aura without even trying.

    However, Anastasia and Ti were too busy offering their final prayers to God so they didn¡¯t have time to admire those killers¡¯ beauty. They were holding each other¡¯s hands very tightly and were clinging to each other. They had already epted that their lives were about toe to an end.

    Thedies kept on waiting for the men to pounce on them or snap their heads or do something very cruel to them.

    However, to their surprise, one of the three menmented in a somewhat warmer tone, ¡°I warned the two of you not to scare these kittens so much. Look at them! They are shivering!¡±

    And another one spoke to thedies in a bit of an apologetic tone, ¡°Did we scare the two of you this bad?¡±

    .....

    He leaned towards the man who spoke at first and whispered to him, ¡°It was not my idea to scare them, you know.¡± Then he usingly turned his gaze towards the other man who was still ring at the girls.

    The man who hade flying stepped even closer and stood directly in front of Anastasia. He then leaned closer to her face.

    Out of instinct, Anastasia leaned backward and tightened her grip on Ti¡¯s palm. She held her breath and avoided having any eye contact with that man. She also tried her best not to be fazed by that closeness of his face... and his icy breath that was hitting her face.

    He kept on ring at her with his smoldering eyes for quite some time. And after a while, he finally asked in a husky voice, ¡°Why were the two of you sneaking around in my castle?¡±

    That voice managed to grab Anastasia¡¯s attention. She stole a quick nce of that man and thought, ¡®He is the King, isn¡¯t he?¡¯

    Anastasia¡¯s breathing had calmed down a little by now.

    However, her fear still prevailed. It didn¡¯t matter if these men were just trying to scare her and Ti by saying that they were ¡®mouthwatering¡¯. What really mattered was the fact that she had seen them killing a helpless man.

    She answered that man while still avoiding eye contact, ¡°We were trying to f-f-find someone. And then we heard a voice. So we happened to fo-follow the voice. We didn¡¯t mean to sneak around.¡±

    No matter how hard the Princess tried to act like she wasn¡¯t scared, she still ended up stuttering a little.

    That man narrowed his eyes at Anastasia and tried to warn her, ¡°That is still called sneaking around. Delicate kittens like you shouldn¡¯t be doing that, especially in a huge castle like this one. Haven¡¯t you heard the phrase ¡®curiosity killed the cat¡¯? You don¡¯t want to be that cat now, do you?¡±

    Anastasia pressed her lips into a thin line and briskly shook her head.

    An amused smirk appeared on that man¡¯s perfect lips. He straightened his back and finally asked, ¡°I wonder if you are my tribute bride from Orsenia?¡±

    Anastasia was now sure that the man who was standing in front of her was in fact her soon-to-be husband.

    All of a sudden, her mother¡¯s words came flooding in her mind ¨C ¡°Try to make the King fall in love with you.¡±

    It made her recall the purpose that she hade here with. And no matter if the King was a killer or not, she had to make him fall for her.

    The Princess swallowed her fear and put aside her conscience.

    She stared deep into his crimson eyes and this time, she spoke in a much confident tone, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, I am your bride from Orsenia. I am Princess Anastasia Vairina¡±

    And even when Ti was still clinging to her, the Princess managed to curtsy to the King of Sorvando and added, ¡°It is an honor to be in your presence.¡±

    Ti, on the other hand, forgot all about the mannerism and kept on staring down while holding the Princess as tightly as she could.

    King Caspian slightly raised his brows at that sudden change in the attitude of his bride.

    That changed expression, however, made Anastasia deduce that he didn¡¯t believe her. So she wanted to show the letter sent by her father as proof.

    She had kept that letter in her suitcase so she looked down at Ti¡¯s hands, only to look at the non-existent suitcases.

    The Princess nced back at the King and spoke in a calm voice, ¡°I would have loved to present the letter from the King of Orsenia to Your Majesty. But it seems like we lost the suitcases somewhere in the castle.¡±

    Those words from Anastasia prompted Caspian to softly chuckle.

    And for a fraction of seconds, Anastasia felt something ticklish in her heart, something that she had never felt before.

    Anastasia gazed at the King¡¯s face properly. He had defined eyebrows that sat well above his dazzling eyes.

    Now that she looked at his eyes again, they didn¡¯t look that frightening. His nose was just perfect. In fact, everything about him looked perfect, from his perfectly symmetrical lips with prominent Cupid¡¯s bow to his sharp jawline to his rtively short blonde hair.

    Soon, she realized that she had been staring at the King¡¯s captivating face. Before the King noticed that, she quickly pulled herself out of her daze and looked away.

    Caspian gazed at the Princess again, this time with a little softer look on his face. Still, he was not done scaring the Princess.

    So he asked her the question which she had been avoiding for a while now. ¡°You witnessed the three of us killing that man, didn¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you interested to know why we did that?¡±

    Anastasia felt a sudden rage as well as fear building up inside of her. She wanted to ask why they did that. She wanted to curse them saying they were worse than monsters for killing a man and then talking trash about him.

    Yet, she tried to put her emotions at bay. She did not want to hear his excuses for killing that man. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

    ¡°I am sure you must have had a reason behind that. You don¡¯t need to exin your personal affairs to me, Your Majesty.¡± Anastasia replied in a soft voice.

    Caspian slightly tilted his head and tried to read what was in her little mind. But her straight face made it difficult for him to read her.

    Nevertheless, Caspian asked a question in an attempt to exin his killing, ¡°Princess, have you ever heard of the superior predatory creatures called Vampires?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard him mention the word ¡®Vampires¡¯.

    And so did Ti¡¯s. Ti was the one who had first introduced that word to the Princess. She used to share the scary stories about the Vampires with the Princess when they were in their early teens.

    Anastasia remembered one characteristic that was always consistent in the Vampire stories that Ti used to share with her.

    They were the blood-red eyes of the Vampires.

    From what she had seen and what she had heard earlier, it didn¡¯t take long for the Princess to join the dots. ¡®He is a Vampire!¡¯ she eximed in her head.

    As though to confirm her, Caspian said in a rtively cold voice, ¡°Princess, right now, you are in the Kingdom that is full of Vampires... and only a handful of humans.¡±

    ¡°And of course, I am a Vampire,¡± he shifted his nce towards the two men standing beside them and added, ¡°and so are these two.¡±

    Caspian leaned closer to Anastasia¡¯s face again to intimidate her. He gazed at the bulging veins on her neck for a fraction of seconds and quickly looked into her emerald green eyes.

    He then whispered in a hauntingly calm whisper, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious to know our diet?¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t answer him. She just kept on staring back at him without even blinking. She was putting on a fa?ade that she was a brave Princess when in reality, she was every bit scared.

    Caspian gave a sinister smirk. He then stated in a chilling voice, ¡°We drink human blood to sustain ourselves. Earlier, we didn¡¯t just kill that man for nothing. We killed him after draining him of his blood.¡±

    All of a sudden, Caspian gave a menacing look to Anastasia. He swiftly brushed his fingers across her neck and pushed back a few locks of her hair.

    Anastasia gulped noticeably. She got goosebumps all over her body because those were the coldest fingers that had ever touched her.

    Caspian leaned even closer to Anastasia, his cold lips softly brushing her ear, his whisper reverberating through her skin, ¡°Since you are my bride, I won¡¯t lie to you. Right now, you look very appetizing to me.¡±

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4: Breaking Point

    ¡°Right now, you look very appetizing to me.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s icy breath and his cold words made Anastasia shudder out of fear.

    ording to Ti¡¯s stories, Anastasia was aware that the Vampires would sink their fangs into their victim¡¯s necks and drink their blood. And right now, a Vampire was so close to her neck that she really believed today was going to be herst day.

    ¡®All these years I was afraid of dying. And I was even ready to marry a King I had never seen to escape my fate. But s, death has finally caught up to me. What a way to die...¡¯ She cursed herself for believing the letter anding here to Sorvando.

    Anastasia closed her eyes, ready to ept her death at the hands of the very person who she thought was going to be her savior.

    However, to her surprise, she heard Caspian¡¯s voiceing from afar.

    ¡°Zenon, lead the Princess and her maid to their respective rooms.¡±

    .....

    Anastasia flung her eyes open, not believing what she just heard. She looked around to see where Caspian was but he had already disappeared, and so had the man with raven ck hair.

    Only a man with light brown hair and a weing smile was standing beside them. Anastasia assumed that he was the one called ¡®Zenon¡¯.

    Zenon bowed to the Princess and formally introduced himself, ¡°Your Highness, I am His Majesty¡¯s advisor, Zenon. Before I show you to your rooms, I would like to apologize for our rudeness earlier.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart was still beating faster than the racing horse but she still forced a smile and said, ¡°It is nice to meet you, Zenon.¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Your Highness,¡± Zenon gave the sweetest smile again. If Anastasia had not witnessed him as one of the aplices in the crime that wasmitted earlier, then she would have believed that he was a very friendly person... vampire.

    Zenon gestured towards the castle while speaking politely, ¡°Your Highness, please follow me.¡±

    Anastasia nodded her head and began following the advisor. Ti also walked alongside the Princess while still clutching her hand like a scared little child. Anastasia nced at her maid, feeling sorry to have dragged her to this hellish ce.

    All three of them kept on walking very silently. They took the corridors alongside the central courtyard of the quadrangle castle. They entered through the main entrance, climbed the staircases, and again walked through the dark corridor until they reached in front of a grand door. Zenon pushed the door open to reveal a grand antechamber.

    The window was covered with red curtains had some intricate designs on them. The sofas and tables looked old in design but the handiwork done on them was very beautiful. A beautiful chandelier that could hold around 50 candles was hanging down in the middle of the room.

    On one side of the wall, there was a firece, above which sat a decorative painting of ady who was giving a bath to two beautiful children. All of the decorative items in the chamber, like the tapestries and the vases, looked very antique.

    There was a door on either side of the living room. Zenon pointed towards the left side and said, ¡°Your Highness, that will be your bed-chamber from now on.¡± He gestured to the door on the right and added, ¡°That room is currently empty. It can be turned into anything that you would like.¡±

    He then turned to face the Princess and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Your Highness, you have traveled a long way and I am sure that you must be tired. Why don¡¯t you rest for a bit? I will show your maid to her room till then.¡±

    Anastasia and Ti nced at each other with a scared look on their faces. They were not ready to part from each other. They had gone through so much trauma and they needed each other right now.

    ¡°Can¡¯t she stay with me?¡± Anastasia pointed at the empty room that Zenon had mentioned and asked, ¡°You said that that room can be turned into anything that I like. Can¡¯t it be turned into Ti¡¯s bedroom?¡± She hoped to keep Ti in her own ¡®territory¡¯.

    But Zenon politely denied, ¡°I am afraid that it is not possible, Your Highness.¡± He bowed before Anastasia could protest again and asked Ti, ¡°Please follow me.¡±

    Though the Princess and her handmaid didn¡¯t want to separate from each other, they were forced to do so.

    Ti finally loosened her grip over the Princess¡¯s hand. She wanted to say to the Princess that everything was going to be okay but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to speak a word. She just gave a feeble smile to the Princess and unwillingly stepped out of the room.

    Zenon closed the door behind and left along with Ti.

    The Princess was left all alone in therge rooms. The onlypanion that she now had was her endless fear and the uncertainty towards her future.

    Before entering the bedroom, her eyes fell in a corner of the living room. Both of the suitcases were already there.

    ¡°That one is Ti¡¯s suitcase though...¡± Anastasia whispered to herself while staring at one of the suitcases. ¡°I hope she wille here soon to take it with her.¡±

    She sighed before opening the door to her new bedroom. When she opened the door, she could see a huge bed, dressing table, wardrobes, and everything that was necessary.

    Suddenly, she felt her stomach twisting at the sight of her new bedroom. The room was more hauntingly spacious than her old bedroom, making her feel insignificant in thatrge castle. She badly missed her old cozy bedroom in which she had spent most of her life.

    ¡®I want to go home...¡¯

    Finally, Anastasia¡¯s emotional barrage was destroyed and the mixture of emotions that she had been holding until now came flooding in the form of uncontroble tears.

    The Princess copsed on the floor and began to cry hysterically.

    Outside, Caspian was elegantly walking down the corridor which led to Anastasia¡¯s room. He wanted to have an borate talk with his bride.

    He recalled how scared she was and thought to himself, ¡®I wonder if she still wants to get married to me after I scared her earlier. I hope she will deny getting married for her own good.¡¯

    Caspian reached in front of her door and was about to knock. However, his hand stopped midair as he could hear Anastasia crying.

    A hint of disappointment lingered on his face. He pursed his lips and thought, ¡®I guess she will run away the moment she will get an opportunity.¡¯

    He then swiftly turned on his heels and walked away.

    Inside the room, Anastasia was still lying on the floor and was bawling.

    She missed her loving parents who had raised her like the Princess she was. They had never said no to any of her requests, they had never raised their voice against her, and they had never let her feel this lonely.

    She missed all of her maids and servants who would always be around her, tending to her every need, making her feel loved.

    The Princess was treated like the Kingdom¡¯s jewel, loved and respected by everyone.

    Yet, here she was, alone in some foreign Kingdom because her fate had been very cruel to her.

    Anastasia had an incurable disease.

    And she hated the fact that she was now stuck in the Kingdom of Vampires in search of the cure to her disease.

    She cursed herself while still crying, ¡°Damn my life! Out of the frying pan, into the fire...¡±

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5: A Prisoner

    Anastasia threw her legs andy t on her back. She tugged her dark ginger hair in frustration.

    And she screamed in her mind while streams of tears rolled down her temples, ¡®Why couldn¡¯t I ever have a normal life like others? And out of all the men in the world, why do I have to marry a vampire? Why do I have such rotten luck?¡¯

    She kept onining, crying, and rolling on the floor for quite some time.

    After crying her heart out, Anastasia finally calmed down a little. Then she scolded herself because Ti wasn¡¯t there to do the honors, ¡®Anna! Don¡¯t sleep on this cold floor! You¡¯ll get sick!¡¯

    She pulled herself together and wiped her tears. She got up from the cold floor while ranting to herself, ¡®The King might refuse to get married to you if he finds out that you are sick. The letter clearly asked you not to let him find that out, remember?¡¯

    The Princess dusted her gown but she felt really dirty after rolling around on the floor, even though the floor was squeaky clean. So she wanted to clean up and change into a fresh set of clothes.

    ¡®I think I should go and look for Ti. I don¡¯t want to catch infection again,¡¯ she thought to herself and walked towards the main door.

    .....

    She tried opening the door. However, no matter how hard she pulled, the huge door didn¡¯t budge. ¡®What the... Did Zenon lock me inside? Or am I too weak to even open a door?¡¯

    She tried pulling the door for a while but she ended up hurting her shoulders. ¡®Mmm...¡¯ she winced in pain.

    She red at the tall and bulky-looking door. ¡®Why did they have to make this door so heavy?¡¯ Anastasiained while gently massaging her shoulders.

    ¡°Hello! Is anyone there? Hello!¡± She lightly banged on the door and called for help, hoping that someone would hear her. ¡°Hello! Will you open the door please?¡±

    Anastasia waited for some time but there was no response from the other side of the door. She stick her ear on the door to hear if anyone walked past her door. She nned to shout for help if she heard some footsteps. However, she heard nothing but deafening silence.

    She sighed in frustration and mmed her back on the door. ¡®For the love of God! Did they have to lock me up like some prisoner? Can this night get any worse?¡¯

    Anastasia began pacing back and forth in the living room, waiting for Ti toe to her room.

    She tightly sped her hands together and thought, ¡®Why isn¡¯t Ti here yet? Is her room that far from here that she is taking hours toe back?¡¯

    Her feet abruptly came to a halt. She felt a pang in her heart because something didn¡¯t feel right. ¡®What if they... what if they did something to her?¡¯

    All of a sudden, her throat went dry. The images of the cold murder started to dance in front of her eyes. Only this time, instead of that man, she saw Ti being murdered in the same way.

    Her whole body was covered in cold sweats in no time. She wiped the sweat on her forehead and her upper lips with a shaking hand.

    Out of the blue, the Princess started to chuckle. She began walking to and fro while trying to console herself, ¡°What are you thinking, Anna? Ti is fine! Maybe her room is way too far away from here. Or maybe she is stuck in some chores.¡±

    She rapidly nodded her head and murmured, ¡°Yes. She must be busy getting to know the things around the castle. Maybe somebody is making her go through the rules of this castle.¡±

    But no matter what she said to herself, she couldn¡¯t help but constantly fear that her maid had already been someone¡¯s dinner. And she couldn¡¯t help but think that she was going to be the next serving for those bloodthirsty monsters.

    ¡®...Right now, you look very appetizing to me.¡¯ Caspian¡¯s words kept on ringing in her ears. She could feel his cold breath on her neck as if he was standing right beside her.

    Anastasia shuddered from the very recollection of that terrifying encounter with Caspian.

    ¡°Aaargh!¡± she grabbed her head with both of her hands and began hitting her head as though she was trying to beat that memory out of her head.

    ¡°I need to sleep. It might help me forget everything.¡± She briskly walked towards her bedroom but then her fear took over again, ¡°Wait! Maybe this is exactly what they want. Maybe they are just waiting for me to sleep. What if they attack me and kill me while I am deep in my sleep?¡±

    She violently shook her head and spoke under her breath, ¡°No, no, no... I should not be sleeping. I should stay vignt. I am not going to be someone¡¯s dinner, not tonight, never!¡±

    To keep herself busy and sane, Anastasia explored all of the rooms that were assigned to her. She found an attached bathroom in her bedroom. She washed her face and arms with cold water. Then she went and sat down in her living room while directly facing the main door.

    Once in a while, she would call for Ti thinking that her handmaid could have forgotten which room she was staying in.

    The other time, she would shout saying that she was hungry. Not that she really wanted to eat, she just wanted to know what was really going on with Ti. But nobody heard her. Or they pretended not to hear her, she wouldn¡¯t know.

    Hours passed by but nobody came to her rescue.

    Her eyes were already tired waiting for the door to open, and her body was already stiff sitting on the sofa. ¡®Maybe I should straighten my back for a while,¡¯ she thought to herself andy down on her back.

    Instantly, her drowsy eyes closed shut but right then, the first ray of the morning sun hit her face. And she was immediately woken up. The Princess had spent the whole night without getting a wink of sleep.

    Anastasia sat up on the sofa and turned her tired eyes to face the window. All she could see was the creepy main gate of the castle in the distance and the forest that surrounded the castle.

    She gently knocked her head on the windowpane and whispered, ¡°I really am a prisoner from now on, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Right then, the Princess heard the creaking sound of the main door that she was yearning to hear for the whole night.

    She quickly turned her gaze towards the door hoping that it was Ti. However, she was disheartened to see that it was the King instead.

    Caspian elegantly stepped inside while Anastasia quickly got down from the sofa and straightened the creases on her gown.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Anastasia greeted him in a feeble voice and curtsied.

    Caspian didn¡¯t respond to her. He just kept on staring at Anastasia with no expression on his face.

    Anastasia felt really uneasy. She quickly broke eye contact with him because the more she stared back at his blood-red eyes, the more she felt as if he would pounce on her at any moment now.

    Her heartbeat was escting rapidly. She tightly clutched her hands together and prayed that he wouldn¡¯t get too close to her like yesterday night.

    Caspian darted his eyes at the Princess from head to toe. He noticed that her eyes were puffy; he had heard her crying so he thought nothing much of it.

    However, when his dark red eyes trailed further down, he noticed a few w-like marks on her forearms and wrists.

    He instantly assumed that she was forcefully sent to Sorvando as his bride. And after witnessing yesterday¡¯s incident, he thought that she wanted to take her own life rather than marry him. In reality, those were just scratch marks that would fade away soon.

    Caspian narrowed his eyes at Anastasia and spoke in his chilling voice, ¡°I will prepare a carriage for you and your maid. Both of you may return back to Orsenia today. If you need it then I can write a letter officially revoking you as my bride.¡±

    Anastasia took a glimpse of Caspian¡¯s face to see if he was just being sarcastic or he was really serious about sending her back to Orsenia.

    He looked dead serious.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6: Kingdom of Nightmares

    ¡°Di-Did I do anything to offend you, Your Majesty? Why do you want to send me back all of a sudden?¡± Anastasia asked in a surprised tone because that was thest thing she expected would happen to her.

    Caspian then bluntly replied, ¡°I thought you would jump at the thought of getting away from a monster like me. Was I wrong or are you going to do so once I leave the room?¡±

    ¡°You are wrong,¡± Anastasia almost instantly shouted back at the King.

    She toned down her voice a bit and added, ¡°You cannot send me back to Orsenia. I am already yours.¡±

    Thest sentence came out a bit wrong. She wanted to say that she was already his bride and that she was not some goods that he could return if he didn¡¯t like it. But as she was a bit frightened by the very presence of the Vampire King, she tried to blurt out her sentences, which made her sound a bit desperate instead.

    Embarrassed, she immediately covered her mouth with her palm and looked away.

    Caspian found that little act of Anastasia to be very amusing. The corner of his lips slightly curved up, almost unnoticeably.

    .....

    However, he was still adamant about sending her away. He took a step forward, prompting Anastasia to take a step back in fear.

    The smile on his face faded away and he spoke in a menacing voice, ¡°I am willingly giving you a chance to get away from me. So why don¡¯t you go back to where you came from while I am still being nice to you?¡±

    Anastasia wanted to say yes and run back to her own kingdom. She indeed thought that it was better to die of her disease than to marry someone who feasted on human blood.

    But then again, it would be a lie to say that she wasn¡¯t afraid of dying. All these years, she had convinced herself that she would dly ept her death when the time came. Butst night proved to her that she was not ready yet. She was as afraid as anyone when death was right in front of her.

    She wanted to obtain the cure. She wanted to live, not just a sickly life but a healthy one. She wanted to explore the world, go on adventures, and enjoy everything that life had to offer.

    So she daringly looked into the enchanting eyes of Caspian and said, ¡°I am not going anywhere. I am already betrothed to you. So I am going to stay right here as your wife.¡±

    Those words from Anastasia managed to strike a chord in Caspian¡¯s cold heart. For a fraction of a second, he wanted to give in to her insistence and keep her with him.

    But he forced himself to assume that she was a proud Princess who cared about not being called names for a failed marriage more than her own safety.

    He gave an intimidating look to Anastasia and spoke in a harsh tone, ¡°Princess, Sorvando is no ce for a sweetdy like you. You already know that this is a Kingdom of nightmares. So I am telling you for the umpteenth time, go home!¡±

    ¡°And I am telling you for the umpteenth time that I¡¯m not going back!¡± Anastasia clenched her gown tightly and bravely spoke up.

    Caspian was baffled by that firmness of the Princess to stay at Sorvando even after seeing him murder a man and even after his countless attempts to scare her away.

    ¡®Maybe she is sent here to spy on me and my kingdom. For all I know, she might not even be a real Princess but just a decoy,¡¯ he suspected that Orsenia was plotting against Sorvando.

    He had seen her scared to her core yesterday. And he had heard her crying hysterically. So when he was giving her a chance to run, there was no way that she would deny it unless she hade to Sorvando with some malicious intent.

    Caspian red at the stiff Princess and took a step forward again. ¡°Why are you being so stubborn, Anastasia Vairina? Do you have some hidden agenda that you are being so hellbent on staying with a predator like me?¡±

    It was true that the Princess indeed had some hidden agenda. So her heart began to race like there would be no tomorrow for her. A few worry lines appeared on her forehead as she questioned herself, ¡®Did I make it so obvious that I am hiding something?¡¯

    Caspian could clearly hear her escting heartbeat. He gave a sinister smirk to Anastasia as if he had caught her red-handed.

    And he slowly taunted her in an intimidating tone, ¡°So, you really do have a hidden agenda, don¡¯t you? I can hear your scared little heart drumming.¡± He gave a smoldering look to her and asked, ¡°Tell me, what are you hiding from me?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart began to beat even faster when he said that he could hear her heartbeat.

    Still, she tried her best to speak calmly as she gazed at Caspian¡¯s enchanting face that was radiating beautifully in the morning light, ¡°I have nothing to hide.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but I beg to differ...¡± Caspian took another step while menacingly staring at the already scared Princess, ¡°...because your heart is clearly telling a different story.¡±

    Without missing a beat, Anastasia spoke half-truth, ¡°It¡¯s because you are standing too close to me.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... It¡¯s understandable.¡± Caspian gave a whimsical smirk.

    He leaned down so that his face was right in front of the Princess¡¯ face and whispered, ¡°I could very easily make you my prey after all.¡± He parted his lips and smiled to reveal his fangs. Then he teasingly ran his tongue over his fangs as he intensely gazed at her neck.

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t tell if he was just trying to intimidate her or if he was serious about killing her this time. She tore off her gaze from his deadly fangs and took a step back as slowly as she could as if her gown would conceal her movement.

    Caspian couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at that futile attempt of the Princess to maintain distance between them.

    ¡°Oh, you cannot get away from me this easily, Princess.¡± He instantly closed the gap between them and stood right in front of Anastasia just so that he could intimidate her. ¡°And just imagine what would happen if you stay with me. You would never know when I would sink my fangs on your slender neck.¡±

    He caressed her neck with the back of his palm and continued in his menacingly deep voice, ¡°I could easily kill you and your parents wouldn¡¯t even know. Do you really want to get married to a beast like me?¡±

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7: Deer and Tiger

    ¡®Do you really want to get married to a beast like me?¡¯ This sentence kept on echoing in Anastasia¡¯s mind.

    She tightened her grip on her gown. Caspian was sending chills to her body with his cold touch and his cold words.

    She stepped back again in fear but her lips were telling somethingpletely opposite, ¡°I am not going to run away from you just because you are a little different from me.¡± And her eyes reflected her desperation to stay when she whispered, ¡°Everyone deserves to be loved, even a Vampire like you.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s face suddenly turned softer upon hearing the word ¡®love¡¯.

    Even though it was a fleeting expression, Anastasia had already noticed it. And she knew that she had just stroked the right chord.

    Thus, she softly spoke in an attempt to convince him to let her stay, ¡°I am already here, and technically, I am already engaged to you. So rather than insisting on sending me away, why don¡¯t you give this marriage a chance? Maybe we will fall in love. Everything could work out between us.¡±

    Frustrated with his fruitless attempts at chasing her away, he ran his fingers through his blonde hair and shouted, ¡°Nothing will work out between us, Anastasia. Nothing! You are a human with fleeting life. And I am a vampire with centuries ahead of me. I am a predator and you are a prey, my prey!¡±

    .....

    ¡°I could easily kill you in the blindness of my hunger. I could twist your neck like a twig. Hell, I could just kill you by ident and you wouldn¡¯t even know what killed you.¡±

    Suddenly, he grabbed her by her shoulders and gently shook her as if to wake her up from her fantasynd. ¡°So tell me, how are things going to work out between us?¡±

    Anastasia was feeling breathless because of all the truth bombs that Caspian dropped on her.

    But she was still adamant about her intention of marrying him, ¡°You are doing fine till now, aren¡¯t you? You haven¡¯t killed me yet. So I am going to trust that you can control your hunger when you are around me. Everything else will work out eventually.¡±

    Anastasia was doing everything in her power to convince him to let her stay.

    Caspian intensified his re on that foolish woman and spoke in his low and threatening voice, ¡°I haven¡¯t killed you yet because you haven¡¯t met me when I am hungry, Princess. Meet me when I am hungry and you will know how many seconds you willst before I lose my control.¡±

    ¡°Then I will give you a reason not to lose your control. I will make you fall in love with me,¡± Anastasia blurted out her actual intention in the heat of the moment.

    As her mother had asked her, she was going to make him fall in love with her. She needed to.

    Caspian could not believe how ady could be so stubborn.

    He let out a frustrated sigh and tried to make her understand for a final time, ¡°A deer and a tiger can never fall in love! And you would be the greatest fool in history if you are thinking that something as hollow as love could restrain my desire to rip out your throat and drink your blood.¡±

    It would be a lie to say that the Princess wasn¡¯t scared. Her legs were shaking underneath the severalyers of her gown. She was barely managing to stand still.

    However, she was not giving up on her cure so easily. She had to stay in Sorvando, anyhow.

    Anastasia was filled with a sudden zeal. She looked Caspian in the eyes and asked, ¡°Have you ever fallen in love with a human?¡±

    Caspian was caught off-guard when she asked a personal question out of the blue. He knitted his brows in tune and denied, ¡°No.¡±

    Anastasia slightly raised her brows and asked, ¡°Then how do you know that you wouldn¡¯t be able to resist your urges to kill the person you love... when you¡¯ve never been in love?¡±

    And she even daringly challenged the King, ¡°Maybe if you have something that is more important than your hunger, then you will learn how to resist. Give me some time to make you fall in love with me. And if I still fail, and if I just make it hard for you, then I will leave on my own.¡±

    Caspian was a little moved by how persistent she was. But he didn¡¯t like the defiance from her. He was trying to send her back for her own good. So to scare her even more, he used his telekinesis power to pull her towards him.

    Anastasia was startled when some unseen force pulled her towards Caspian. Before she knew it, her body mmed against his, sending literal chills all over her body.

    A soft gasp escaped her dry lips. She instantly tried to get away from him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know how I...¡± she gasped again when he put his arm around her tiny waist and pressed her body against his.

    Anastasia gave a questioning nce to Caspian but she was lost in the depth of his eyes when she saw that he was gazing back at her. He wasn¡¯t looking as scary as he did a while ago.

    Anastasia was flustered by that extreme closeness with a man. She could feel her heart skipping a beat and thought, ¡®At this rate, I will fall for him before I can make him fall for me.¡¯

    Caspian slowly trailed his other arm down her hand, making her shudder because of the touch from his cold fingers. Anastasia¡¯s heart began to race because of his ticklish touch.

    He gently grabbed her wrist and raised it close to his eyes while Anastasia curiously stared at his face. He was going to ask her why she was insisting on staying when she was ready to inflict harm upon herself. But the ¡®w¡¯ marks on her wrist had magically disappeared already.

    However, he noticed something else and finally asked in a soft tone, ¡°You are trembling! How can you make me fall for you when you are so scared of me?¡±

    She smiled out of nowhere and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I am not used to being around vampires yet. But I will try not to be scared of you anymore.¡±

    ¡®This woman! How can someone look this innocent?¡¯ It was the first time Caspian had seen her smile. And she looked so beautiful when she smiled that he couldn¡¯t resist her anymore.

    Though he was still unsure if she had some ulterior motive or not, he could feel the warmth from her that he had been longing for.

    It was not that he had never met women who were willing to throw themselves at him. Countless women had tried to win him over in his long lifetime. But they were all after his money and power.

    However, in the case of Anastasia, he felt that something was different. Or it was just him who wanted to believe that this stubborn little woman was different than the rest, he didn¡¯t know.

    What he knew was that he wanted her... to try and make him fall in love with her.

    Caspian abruptly let go of Anastasia¡¯s hand and reverted back to his intimidating self. And then he spoke as though he was doing a charity to the Princess, ¡°Alright! I will give you a year¡¯s time then.¡±

    Anastasia was so lost in his gem-like eyes that she didn¡¯t quite get what he was talking about. She raised her brows and asked in a baffled tone, ¡°A year?¡±

    Caspian put his hands behind his back and replied while exuding a regal aura, ¡°Yes, a year. That is what I give you to make me fall in love with you.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thank you, Your Majesty. I will spare no efforts from my side.¡± The Princess¡¯ eyes lit up after hearing that the King finally agreed to give their marriage a chance.

    However, Caspian being Caspian, he narrowed his eyes at Anastasia and then added a use to their bet. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be so excited yet, love. Because if you fail to make me fall for you by the end of a year then...¡± he narrowed his eyes and continued in his dramatic tone, ¡°your life will be forfeit.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8: Wagering a Year

    Caspian was expecting to see a scared look on Anastasia¡¯s face.

    Instead, she gave a sweet smile that almost instantly melted away the tough fa?ade that Caspian was putting up. He couldn¡¯t help but keep on gazing at the enchanting smile of the Princess.

    And then she spoke in the most melodious voice that he had ever heard, ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡±

    ¡°So you agree to get killed by me if you fail to make me fall for you?¡± Caspian questioningly raised his brows.

    Without even thinking for a millisecond, Anastasia nodded her head, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Caspian scoffed and shook his head at how prompt she was to reply. And he whispered in his seductive voice, ¡°You amuse me a lot...¡±

    To Caspian, it looked as though Anastasia was really confident about winning the bet. He couldn¡¯t tell where she got the courage to even think about cing such a bet in the first ce.

    .....

    But that was not the case. The Princess dly epted to die if she was to fail her ¡®mission¡¯ because she didn¡¯t think that she would live past a year because of her disease anyway. She had nothing to lose.

    Caspian was gazing at her innocent face. He noticed how her long and wavy dark ginger hairplimented her very well. Slowly, his vampire eyes involuntarily trailed down to her tender-looking neck. Her neck looked so inviting that he couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to it.

    Anastasia¡¯s smile faded away from her face the moment she noticed the sudden change in Caspian¡¯s demeanor. She could tell that his hungry eyes were fixated on her pulsating veins.

    And to make the matter even worse, he rubbed his fang with the tip of his tongue as though he was itching to bite her right now.

    The Princess instantly stuttered in panic, ¡°Yo-Your Majesty, w-we just had a deal, didn¡¯t we? You are t-t-to give me a year before you kill me.¡±

    But he kept on leaning towards her neck and whispered in his spellbinding voice, ¡°I am not going to kill you, love. I just want a little taste.¡±

    His voice reflected his immense desire for Anastasia¡¯s blood and he looked as though he was possessed by something unholy. His pupils dted and his fangs elongated even further.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart hammered inside her chest. She didn¡¯t know what kind of scary trick he was going to pull off again so she immediately jumped several steps back from the King.

    However, he kept on taking a step forward with every step she took away from him.

    ¡°Your Majesty? Your Majesty!¡± Anastasia tried calling out the sane Caspian but it seemed like he was long gone. She kept on backing away until her legs hit the sofa and she tumbled and happened to sit down.

    Caspian didn¡¯t waste a second to take advantage of Anastasia¡¯s vulnerability. He pressed his hands on the headrests of the sofa so that Anastasia was held captive in between his sturdy arms. And slowly, he brought his face very close to her neck.

    Anastasia¡¯s body turned stiff and her eyes widened as she could feel his cold breath caressing her neck. And she heard him whisper, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be scared. A taste is all I need.¡±

    Her instinct told her to push that man aside and run but her body refused to even move an inch.

    So she desperately tried to push him away with her words instead, ¡°Y-You are not t-trying to go back on your own wo-words, right? Wh-¡±

    Suddenly, a soft gasp escaped her lips and she froze in ce because she felt something sharp on her neck. She could feel Caspian¡¯s fangs grazing her neck. She abruptly closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly, preparing herself for the pain that woulde when he would tear off her neck.

    That never happened though.

    Thankfully, Caspian had snapped out of his trance. He realized what he was going to do to the woman he had agreed to give a chance to. And instead of biting her, he gently pressed his cold lips on her neck and kissed her as a way to apologize to her.

    But his ego didn¡¯t let his mouth say the same. Instead, he ended up whispering threats in her ear, ¡°It¡¯s a reminder to you. If you fail the bet then that will be the exact ce where I will dig my fangs and drain the life out of you.¡±

    Anastasia, on the other hand, was still trying toprehend what happened just a moment ago. She wasn¡¯t even paying attention to his threats.

    She looked stunned as several thoughts crossed her mind, ¡®Did he just... did he just k-kiss me? Oh dear lord! Will I have to go through this sort of thing often? I don¡¯t think I am prepared for... This marriage thing is going to be harder than I thought.¡¯

    She was brought back to reality when Caspian suddenly stood straight and pped his hands. ¡°Okay, we have a deal then.¡±

    The almighty King held his head high and dered, ¡°The trial for our rtionship starts from today.¡±

    There was an awkward silence between the two for a while. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

    The fragile Princess looked up at the hard shell of the King and wondered if she had made the right decision by provoking the King into wagering a year. She hoped that he wouldn¡¯t deliberately make it hard for her... and she really hoped that he wouldn¡¯t try to kill/kiss her every now and then.

    Caspian had wanted to send Anastasia back to Orsenia but now that he had agreed to let her stay, he had to validate their marriage.

    He thought about it for a while and informed Anastasia in a serious tone, ¡°Since we have agreed on a trial period of a year, let¡¯s not do the wedding vows yet. We will directly have our wedding celebration tonight. So, you should get ready for the ball. I will have your handmaid sent here.¡±

    Upon hearing him say that he was going to send Ti to her room, she instantly forgot everything and happily sprung up from the sofa. She had no problem with not saying the vows. She was just d to hear that Ti was still alive and that she was going to meet her soon.

    She bowed the King with gratitude and said, ¡°I will get ready. Thank-¡± Suddenly, she held her stomach with both of her palms and winched as though she was in great pain.

    From the way Anastasia was holding her stomach, Caspian could tell that something was definitely wrong with that fragile human.

 Chapter 9

    9 A Tearful Reunion

    ¡°What happened? Are you not feeling well?¡± Caspian hastily asked in a worried voice. He could hear a vicious noiseing from the Princess¡¯s stomach. It sounded as if there was a thunderstorm going inside her stomach.

    Anastasia¡¯s cheeks and ears turned red with embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m just a little hungry,¡± she replied softly and pressed her lips into a thin line.

    ¡°Oh, I will send a human right aw-¡± Caspian awkwardly paused for a second and corrected himself, ¡°human food... I will have someone bring human food right away.¡±

    Caspian had never hosted a human before so it never urred to him that they needed to be fed frequently.

    ¡°That would be lovely,¡± Anastasia gulped and gave a forced smile because she was reminded again that she was his food.

    As the conversation between them started to turn awkward, Caspian gestured towards the door said, ¡°Er... I will see myself out then. I will have Zenon pick you up before the ball. You may also bring along your handmaid so that she can apany you throughout the ball.¡±

    Without waiting for Anastasia to say something, he swiftly turned on his heels and walked towards the door.

    Anastasia suddenly widened her eyes because she had forgotten to ask one very important question to him. ¡°Umm... Your Majesty, I wanted to ask you a question to you, if that¡¯s okay,¡± she shouted before Caspian reached the door.

    .....

    ¡°Go on,¡± Caspian stopped on his track and waited for her question while slightly turning his head to the side.

    ¡°Do you...¡± Anastasia contemted for a second if it was really okay to ask what she was going to ask. ¡®Since I will be his wife, I think it is my right to know,¡¯ she thought to herself and cleared her throat. And then she blurted out, ¡°Do you have other wives or mistresses?¡±

    She asked it because she wanted to know her position in the castle. She wanted to know if she needed to be wary of some bloodsucking jealous woman who could possibly try to murder her out of spite for trying to steal their man. It was already a pain for her to be wary of the man himself.

    Upon hearing that question, the corner of Caspian¡¯s lips curved up a little. He turned around and asked cheekily, ¡°Why? Are you nning to back away from the marriage if I say that I do?¡±

    After everything had finally fallen in ce, there was no way that Anastasia was going to back down now.

    So she boldly replied, ¡°No. I am just trying to know if I have otherpetitors or not. If I do then I will have to work harder to win over your heart.¡±

    Caspian was yet again impressed by her determination. ¡°Your work is going to be a lot easier then. You don¡¯t have anypetition,¡± he smirked and snidely added, ¡°at least not inside the castle.¡±

    For a fleeting moment, Caspian swore that he saw her face drop when he said thest sentence. He smirked at the thought that the woman in front of him was most probably a jealous type.

    Well, he was really bad at reading a woman¡¯s face because Anastasia was nowhere near jealous.

    Rather, she was scared thinking that she could be in danger from not just the King but from other women as well. ¡®Maybe he has some mistresses somewhere outside the castle. I better not go out of the castle at all,¡¯ she gave a reminder to herself.

    It was not umon for the Kings and wealthy Lords to have several wives and even some mistresses. So the news itself didn¡¯te as a surprise for Anastasia.

    Anastasia heard her door creaking open when she was lost in her thoughts. She nced at the door to see that the King had already disappeared from the room.

    ¡®Are all the vampires this fast? Can they all fly?¡¯ Anastasia imagined some random woman flying from above the sky, picking her up and then throwing her on the ground from a height. She shuddered at the thought of dying like that.

    ¡®I better not leave the room,¡¯ she thought to herself as she rubbed her arms.

    And even though the main door was wide open right now, she didn¡¯t dare to walk out of the room fearing that she would meet other vampires or worse, the King¡¯s mistresses if they happened to be visiting the castle.

    After a while, she heard some light footsteps. She knew exactly who those footsteps belongs to because she had been hearing them since her childhood.

    ¡°Princess!¡± Ti stood at the door with her eyes full of tears.

    ¡°Ti!¡± Anastasia ran towards the door and embraced her only friend and the only person that she could rely on from now on.

    The Princessined as streams of tears began to roll down her cheeks, ¡°Where did they take you? I waited for you for the whole night. But you never came!¡±

    Both of them instantly began to wail in each other¡¯s arms.

    Ti spoke as she sniffled, ¡°I am so sorry, Princess. I wanted toe but they had me locked up in one of the rooms of the servant quarter. I begged them to let me out but no one listened.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I am d that you are okay, Ti. I was so worried thinking the vampires might have done something to you. I had never been this scared in my life.¡± Anastasia sobbed as she tightly wrapped her arms around Ti.

    Ti was also in the same state as the Princess. And she replied breathlessly, ¡°I¡¯m also happy to see you well, Princess. I was scared thinking the King might have done something bad to you. I couldn¡¯t even sleep the whole night.¡±

    Ti abruptly pulled away from the hug and asked, ¡°Did hee to your room? He didn¡¯t do anything bad to you, right?¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t reply to Ti¡¯s question because it was hard for her to categorize what kind of things fell under the ¡®bad¡¯ category.

    She recalled everything that Caspian did to her. He had tried to send her back to Orsenia, he had constantly tried to scare her, and he had even kissed her on the neck.

    At one moment he would appear to be very gentle and at the very next moment, he would act like the predator he was.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Ti moved her gaze all over the Princess¡¯s body to search for her answers.

    The handmaid didn¡¯t see any kind of bruises on the Princess, which was a good sign. Her hair and her dress were a mess though. The Princess hadn¡¯t even changed out of the gown that she was wearing yesterday.

    She even darted her eyes around the living room and peeked through the open door of the bedroom. The bed looked untouched so she sighed in relief. She didn¡¯t want her fragile Princess to be touched by that monster King.

    Ti then stared at the swollen red eyes of the Princess and asked, ¡°You also didn¡¯t sleep the whole night, Princess?¡±

    Anastasia shook her head innocently, ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t sleep just like you.¡±

    Ti gave a wistful smile to the Princess and wiped her tears. She sighed and revealed why she was here, ¡°Princess, I was asked to prepare you for the wedding celebration happening tonight. Are you aware of it?¡±

    Anastasia nodded her head and smiled, ¡°Yes. The King informed me a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Are you okay with it... with marrying a vampire?¡± A few worry lines appeared on Ti¡¯s forehead as she questioned the Princess in a worried tone.

    If it was up to Ti then she would have already taken the Princess back to Orsenia. And if she knew that it was the Princess who had insisted on staying here in Sorvando then she would have probably smacked Anastasia, disregarding that she was the Princess.

    Anastasia smiled hesitantly and answered in her soft voice, ¡°It might take me some time to adapt but I think I will be okay.¡±

    To Anastasia, Caspian was the definition of the forbidden fruit. He tempted her in more ways than one, but having him came at a price.

    One of the obvious temptations to get married to Caspian was the hope of getting the cure to her disease so that she wouldn¡¯t die at a young age. But ironically, the price of that decision was that she was going to constantly be in mortal danger from now on.

 Chapter 10

    10 Catching Up

    ¡®Even in the face of danger, our Princess doesn¡¯t back away from having a positive outlook towards the future... I have to bow to her willpower.¡¯ Ti gave a pitiful smile to the Princess.

    If the Princess was going to stay in Sorvando no matter how dangerous the ce was, then Ti was going to try her best to make the Princess feel asfortable as she could.

    As always, Ti was going to devote herself to taking care of the Princess in the hopes of making her dull life a little brighter.

    Ti took in a deep breath and then exhaled all the negativity that she had been inhaling since yesterday. She promptly put on a cheerful smile on her face and then said to Anastasia, ¡°Princess, I will give you a warm bath, and then I will give you an amazing body massage. Your body must have turned sore after that long carriage ride.¡±

    Anastasia curved the corner of her lips downwards and gave a puppy-eyed look to Ti, ¡°Yes, my body has be so stiff,¡± she gave a demonstration by moving her arms around and winced, ¡°I cannot even move my arms properly.¡±

    Ti gave a sorry look to the Princess. She angrily stomped towards the suitcases while mumbling very angrily, ¡°I would have given you a body massage yesterday itself if that brat who led me to my room hadn¡¯t locked me up like a criminal!¡±

    Ti was about to carry the suitcase to bring it to the bedroom but just then, a few of the pale-looking maids lined up outside the main door while carrying several items in their hands.

    Noticing their porcin-like faces, Ti sprinted to where the Princess was and stood in front of her like she was her shield.

    The maids politely bowed their heads to the Princess and then asked her, ¡°Your Highness, we have brought some warm water for your bath and we have also brought some food. Would you like us to prepare the bath and the breakfast for you?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, please. Thank you!¡± Anastasia gave a sweet smile to the maids.

    Ti, on the other hand, was judging the maids in her mind. ¡®Tsk! They are going to prepare the bath and the breakfast at the same time? Don¡¯t they know that the food will get cold if they do that? Ugh! Are they all new or what?¡¯

    Ti and Anastasia kept on standing right where they were as the maids ran here and there, making sure that everything was in order.

    After all of them left, Ti closed the main door. And she suggested to the Princess, ¡°Your Highness, I think you should eat first. The food will get cold by the time you finish taking a bath.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think so too. I¡¯m famished,¡± Anastasia agreed and turned around to nce at the table that the maids had set at one corner of the living room.

    She nced at Ti and said, ¡°You must be hungry as well. I don¡¯t think the vampires are going to serve you any food at the servants¡¯ quarter. So you better eat with me from now on. They have brought plenty, it will be more than enough for both of us.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Ti dly epted because she too was very hungry. And she had also already spected that she was not going to get any food in a ce that was full of vampires.

    Both Anastasia and Ti sat down in front of the table.

    However, Anastasia had a disappointed look on her face when she saw the food. There were several food items there but everything looked... weird. She had never seen even one of the dishes before.

    And she was not even sure if she was hungry anymore.

    Anastasia looked to her side and saw that Ti was already digging in. ¡°Is it good?¡± she asked with some hesitance.

    Ti mumbled with a mouthful of food, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so good. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my hunger or if it¡¯s the food but everything is unexpectedly delicious.¡±

    Anastasia reluctantly picked up a spoon and looked at a bowl of stew. She couldn¡¯t tell what was in the stew but she knew that there were a lot of things in there. She scooped out whatever came to her spoon and put it in her mouth.

    She slowly chewed it to realize that it was a piece of very tender and juicy meat. Her eyes twinkled. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious.¡± She scooped out another piece from the stew and this time, she found a piece of potato.

    ¡°I told you it is good,¡± Ti mumbled as she emptied a bowl.

    Anastasia nodded happily, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like a bowl of surprise. You don¡¯t know what you will get. I like it.¡±

    Outside the main door, Zenon was carefully listening in to the conversation of the Princess and her handmaid. He let out a sigh of relief and thought, ¡®I am d that she likes it. I had to run all the way to the human settlement and steal their food.¡¯

    ¡®Aaahh! Stealing food is no fun. I will have to hire some human cooks... and maybe a few human maids as well,¡¯ he spoke under his breath as he walked away from there.

    After the Princess and Ti had their fill, Ti went to check the water in the bathroom. Thankfully, the water was still lukewarm. Ti took out afortable gown for the Princess to wear after the bath so that she wouldn¡¯t have to restrain her breathing for the whole day.

    ¡®I will have her change into the ball gown at dusk,¡¯ she thought to herself and went to call the Princess for the bath.

    Ti helped Anastasia to get out of her gown and take a nice bath. The two of them caught up with each other. Ti didn¡¯t have much to share. So it was the Princess who was doing the talking most of the time. She couldn¡¯t keep any secret from Ti so she ended up sharing all the conversations that she had with the King.

    ¡°Since when did you learn how to talk like that with a man? What were you even thinking leading him on like that?¡± Ti scolded the Princess for provoking the King into a bet like that. She gave a long lecture to the Princess for taking that monster that lightly and inviting her own death.

    Anastasia had a hard time convincing Ti saying that she was going to be careful when dealing with the King.

    After the bath, Ti made the Princessy down on the bed and gave a rxing body massage to her.

    ¡°Ah! This feels so great. Your hands have magic, Ti,¡± Anastasia muttered in a sleepy voice. ¡°The King has said that I can bring you along in the ball tonight. So, you should also get ready. I think I will take a nap till then,¡± her drowsy eyelids finally shut close and she floated to her dreand.

    Ti covered the Princess with a thin nket and slowly and carefully got down from the bed. She smelled her hair and twitched, ¡®Yup, I better clean myself up while the Princess is asleep.¡¯ She gently closed the door behind, carried her suitcase, and left for her own room.

    Right after Ti left the Princess¡¯ room, someone pushed open the door and walked right in without even knocking.

 Chapter 11

    11 Enemy Territory

    Though Caspian had already made it clear to Anastasia that they would be meeting at the ball, he couldn¡¯t help but keep on thinking about Anastasia the whole day. And before he knew it, he found himself in her bedroom.

    Anastasia was so deep in her sleep that she didn¡¯t even realize that someone was in her room and was watching her.

    Caspian gazed at the serene face of the Princess. She looked even more innocent in her sleep. Her ginger hair was still wet, making it look even more beautiful. And her smell... she smelled like freshvender.

    Caspian was already enchanted by this innocent woman who forcefully came into his life.

    A soft smile appeared on his lips as he thought, ¡®From the level of eagerness that she had shown earlier, I had thought that she would already be working on enhancing her looks to try and get my attention tonight. Not saying that she doesn¡¯t already have my attention... but look at her sleeping like a baby!¡¯

    He let out a soft chuckle and dragged himself out of the room. He still had a lot of preparations to do for the night.

    Ti walked back to the Princess¡¯ room after taking a bath. She was carrying her fine gown with her so that she could change into it after preparing the Princess.

    She thought as she clutched her gown, ¡®As I am the only one to attend the ball from the Princess¡¯ side, I don¡¯t want to bring disgrace to her by dressing sloppily... that also on the day of her wedding celebration.¡¯

    The Princess was still asleep when she reached her room. There was still a few hours left before it was dusk so she let the Princess get some more sleep.

    .....

    In the meantime, she worked on her own hair and even did some makeup. Without even changing into her fine gown, she already looked like a nobledy from a higher ss family.

    The much-awaited dusk finally arrived. Ti walked over to the bed and gently nudged the Princess, ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s time for you to get ready.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... it¡¯s morning already?¡± Anastasia asked in her half-asleep state.

    Ti smiled and politely replied, ¡°It is evening, Princess. And you have to get ready for your wedding ball.¡±

    Anastasia gasped and flung her eyes wide open. She instantly sat up on her bed as if she hadpletely forgotten that she was no longer in Orsenia.

    She looked around in her new room and scoffed, ¡°I wasn¡¯t dreaming, was I?¡±

    Ti gave a wistful smile and shook her head.

    Suddenly, Anastasia raised her brows as she noticed that Ti had already groomed herself up. ¡°Oh, look at you. You look so beautiful.¡±

    Ti shyly smiled and humbly replied, ¡°You are just ttering me, Princess,¡± She then went and grabbed a gown that the Queen of Orsenia had specially prepared for the wedding day. ¡°Princess, allow me to prepare you for the ball.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Anastasia got out of her bed to let Ti help her out with her gown as well as her hair and makeup.

    After a few hours, they heard a knock on the door followed by a familiar voice, ¡°Your Highness, I hope you are ready for the ball. I am here to escort you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are ready. Give us a moment,¡± Anastasia shouted from inside the room, though it was not really necessary considering the sharp hearing of the vampires.

    Ti stood in front of the Princess for one final look. She nced at her masterpiece from head to toe and gave a satisfied nod.

    ¡°You are ready, Princess. Though I would have preferred to make you stand out less in the ball, I bet the vampires will smell you out anyway. So I took the liberty to make you look your best. After all, this is one of the big days of your life.¡±

    Anastasia gave a thankful smile to her friend. But it didn¡¯t take long for that smile to wither away and be reced by anxiety.

    She held Ti¡¯s hand and reminded her again, ¡°You have to stay by my side throughout the ball, okay? There is no doubt that the guests will all be vampires. So you can¡¯t walk around alone.¡±

    ¡°I have no intention of leaving your side, Princess.¡± Ti let out a ragged breath and gulped.

    The two of them then walked out of the room to find Zenon waiting by the door. He was also dressed very grandly for the asion.

    He bowed to the Princess and said with his cheerful smile, ¡°Follow me, Your Highness.¡±

    Ti offered her arm for the Princess to hold and the two of them followed the Royal Advisor.

    It was already dark outside but unlike yesterday, each and every corner of the Pce were well lit. Anastasia looked around in awe because the ghastly castle looked beautiful because of the lights.

    After exiting the part of the castle her room was in, Anastasia saw a few vampires walking around in their fancy clothes. ¡®They are most probably the guests,¡¯ she thought as she quickly ran her eyes around.

    Every once in a while, the girls would feel a gust of wind whooshing past them. They didn¡¯t think much of it. They just thought that the weather was a bit windy today.

    After walking for a while, Anastasia could hear soft musicing off from a hall a little further ahead. And the closer they reached that hall, the louder the music as well as the sound ofughter and talks.

    Zenon elegantly stopped in front of the grand door of the ballroom. He gave a gentle bow to the Princess and gestured inside the hall, ¡°Your Highness, we have arrived at the ball. His Majesty will join you shortly.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Zenon!¡± Anastasia gave a polite nod.

    Both Anastasia and Ti took a deep breath in before they courageously stepped inside the ballroom full of vampire nobles.

    And the moment they entered the hall, everyone went quiet, even the music. It was as if everyone and everything were frozen in time. Everyone¡¯s judgmental eyes were fixated on them, sending chill shivers down their spine.

    Thedies felt as though they had just entered the enemy territory.

    Thankfully, that awkwardnesssted for a few seconds only and everyone resumed what they were doing. But those few seconds must have been the longest seconds in Anastasia¡¯s life.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait over there,¡± Anastasia pointed at one empty corner of the ballroom and quickly pulled Ti along with her.

    They stood there while cluelessly looking at the vampires who had gathered for the celebration.

    Anastasia¡¯s heartbeat was increasing steadily even though the vampires were behaving no differently than the humans. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Some were dancing to the music, some were happily talking with each other while holding a ss of red wine each.

    ¡®Red wine...¡¯ Anastasia¡¯s heartbeat leaped the boundary at once.

    ¡®That¡¯s no red wine! That¡¯s blood!¡¯ the Princess widened her eyes and screamed in her mind.

    ¡®Well, at least the castle doesn¡¯t look like an abandoned haunted house anymore...¡¯ she tightened her grip on Ti¡¯s arm and screamed again, ¡®it looks like a haunted house full of ghosts!¡¯

    Anastasia turned her nce at Ti. She looked nervous but it didn¡¯t seem like she had figured out what they were holding in their hands yet. If she had then she would have already pulled the Princess back to her room.

    And as though two of thedies sensed Anastasia¡¯s fear, they gave a menacing re to her and inched closer in her direction.

    Anastasia panicked thinking that they were Caspian¡¯s mistresses and they were out for her blood. ¡®Oh no! What should I do? Should I run? Should I pretend not to notice them? Should I y dead?¡¯

    To her relief, she noticed Caspian entering the ballroom. And ironically enough, she felt safer in his presence.

 Chapter 12

    12 Stupid Heart

    Caspian entered the ballroom while adorning his full royal attire. He was wearing a fitting waistcoat over a white shirt. The white coat had golden embroidery around the neck and the rims of the sleeves. He was wearing a matching pair of breeches, the lookpleted by a pair of knee-length boots and a red cape.

    Caspian was seamlessly exuding the aura of confidence and sophistication.

    Zenon and the dark-haired man from the other day, Vincent, were walking on either side of the King. These three men were the most powerful, most feared, and the most alluring trio of Sorvando.

    All the men feared their fury and all women desired at least one member of this trio.

    The moment the trio walked in, the vampire noblemen present in the ballroom bowed their heads to the King while all the nobledies curtsied as seductively as they could.

    Caspian couldn¡¯t care less about all the women swarming around him to get his attention. His eyes were busy searching for someone in particr. ¡®Where is the smell ofvendering from? Let¡¯s see...¡¯

    ¡®Ooh! Found you!¡¯ It didn¡¯t take long for Caspian to discover Anastasia who was hiding in one corner like a timid mouse.

    And the moment his eyes met hers, he felt something magical happening in his cold heart. ¡®What kind of feeling is this? I¡¯m feeling so uneasy but at the same time... I think I like it.¡¯

    He automatically inched closer towards Anastasia as if he was hypnotized by her beauty. He felt as though an invisible rope was tugging him towards her.

    .....

    He nced at her face which looked livelier than before. Her cheeks and her lips were painted to look rosy. She was wearing a court gown with a low and oval neckline and puffy sleeves. The heavily boned bodice made her waist appear even smaller and her bossoms prominent.

    The crimson color of her gownplimented her pale skin as well as her hair. Half of her hair was neatlybed backward and pinned while the long tresses of curls covered a side of her bare shoulders.

    In short, Anastasia looked like a rare rose that bloomed in the castle¡¯s garden after centuries.

    And Caspian was in a great dilemma. One part of him wanted to pluck that rose and keep her hidden from the others. But another part of him wanted that rose to thrive and wanted the world to appreciate her beauty.

    Anastasia also watched in awe as God¡¯s finest creation inched closer and closer to her. He looked so captivating that she was unable to tear off her gaze no matter how hard she tried. ¡®I know that I should be on my guard when I am around him but why do I feel so secure instead? It doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡¯

    Caspian stood in front of the spellbound Princess and held out his hand for her to hold. He shed a warm smile and spoke in a hypnotizing voice, ¡°Come, wife. Let me introduce you to everyone.¡±

    ¡®Wi-Wife? Right! I am his wife!¡¯ Anastasia felt her warm blood rushing to her cheeks and ears after hearing Caspian addressing her as his wife.

    Anastasia wanted to take his hand but at the same time, she didn¡¯t want to leave Ti alone, not even for a minute. She nced at Ti who was also not willing to leave her alone.

    Seeing the hesitation in Anastasia¡¯s eyes, Caspian nced at Vincent and pointed his brows towards Ti.

    Vincent, Caspian¡¯s close friend and also a nobleman, instantly understood what the King was trying to say. So he stepped forwards and held out his hand towards Ti, ¡°Mdy, may I?¡±

    Ti was surprised when that handsome killer was addressing her as ady. She was confused as to how to react. But before she knew it, she was already holding his hand and was allowing him to take her away from the Princess.

    Caspian then held Anastasia¡¯s hand and led her to the center of the ballroom.

    Once again, Anastasia felt the piercing gazes from everyone in the ballroom. Even though a piece of soft music was continuously ying in the background, and even though this was supposed to be one of the most magical moments of her life, Anastasia felt as though she was being dragged to her execution.

    Caspian then darted his eyes around the hall and addressed everyone, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, all of you already know why I have invited you here today.¡±

    He took a nce of Anastasia and announced with a tinge of happiness, ¡°May I present my lovely wife to all of you, Princess Anastasia Vairina of Orsenia.¡±

    Mild cheers and ps filled the hall when the King made the announcement.

    Anastasia tried her best to ster a smile on her face. But in her heart, she was wishing, ¡®I wish I could disappear into thin air. Is it just me or are all of them drooling while looking at me?¡¯

    Most of the vampires were indeed staring at Anastasia as if she was some rare delicacy.

    And Caspian was no fool to not see the hunger in their eyes. So he gritted his teeth and spoke in a loud and menacing voice, ¡°I expect all of you to treat her respectfully from today onwards. Any harm that you do to her, I will pay it back in ten folds.¡±

    With thatst sentence, Caspian was able to send chills down everyone¡¯s spine, except one.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when Caspian spoke in her defense like that. She stole a quick nce of him and wondered if he was just saving her for himself or if he really cared for her safety. ¡®Either way, I shouldn¡¯t be fooled by his sweet talks and his appearance. He is the Devil in disguise.¡¯

    Caspian put a smile on his face and ended the introduction session, ¡°That is all I have to say. Enjoy the food and music.¡±

    The moment Caspian ended his speech, the music ying in the background took over.

    Caspian faced Anastasia and held out his hand with a polite smile, ¡°May I have a dance with you, wife?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart fluttered again. One smile from him and she would forget that he was a bloodsucking monster.

    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty,¡± Anastasia gave a flustered smile and held his hand.

    With his other hand, Caspian took Anastasia¡¯s free hand and ced it on his shoulder. Then he gently ced his hand on her tiny waist and pulled her close.

    Caspian began to lead Anastasia while matching his footsteps with the beat of the melodious music. He was unable to avert his gaze away from his beautiful wife.

    He was slowly trailing his eyes from her rosy cheeks to her plump lips, and down to her smooth neck and shoulders. Her luscious curls weren¡¯t doing much to cover the slender shoulders.

    ¡®She sure knows how to entice me, barely covering her shoulders like this,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself and smirked.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, waspletely avoiding looking at him. She knew that her heart would betray her the moment she would look at Caspian.

    ¡®I had ced a bet to make him fall for me, not the opposite!¡¯ she was screaming in her mind and was trying hard to resist Caspian¡¯s charm. But the way he made her dance and the way he was being so gentle with her was only making it harder for her.

    Caspian was noticing how she was doing everything to avoid looking at him rather than trying to seduce him. He assumed that his bold wife was nervous because of all the vampires so he leaned closer to her ear and asked, ¡°Are you feeling ufortable?¡±

    Anastasia breathed in sharply. It was quite the opposite. She was feeling the mostfortable while dancing with him. She was feeling as if she was floating high in the clouds. And that scared her.

    ¡°No, Your Majesty,¡± that was all she could reply without giving away how she was feeling.

    Caspian pressed his lips into a thin line and slightly tilted his head. He didn¡¯t like her constantly addressing him as ¡®His Majesty¡¯ so he whispered to her, ¡°Why don¡¯t you refrain from being so formal with me? Call me Caspian... or husband. It¡¯s your choice.¡±

    That suggestion from him prompted Anastasia to look into his eyes. Both her gaze and her heart were stuck on him. Her heart had never betrayed her like this ever before, drumming so loudly when she was with someone who could hear her heartbeat.

    She took a deep breath to calm her heart but it didn¡¯t do much. ¡®What is wrong with my heart? I need to put a rein on my stupid heart and focus on receiving that cure. I will just run away with Ti the very day I fulfill my objective.¡¯

 Chapter 13

    13 Monstrous Women

    Caspian and Anastasia danced for some more. The other couples also joined the dance floor and danced along with the newlyweds.

    After quite a while, the current music ended. And before the new piece of music could start, Caspian felt a gentle tap on his shoulder followed by a sweet voice, ¡°Caspian, care for a dance?¡±

    Anastasia saw a woman who had blonde hair like that of Caspian and her looks... well they were to die for. And within split seconds, Anastasia came to a conclusion, ¡®She is one of his mistresses?¡¯

    But the response from Caspian debunked her conclusion, ¡°Aunt Edith! You just arrived?¡± Caspian let go of Anastasia¡¯s hands and turned to greet his aunt.

    Edith chuckled and teased Caspian, ¡°Oh, I arrived hours ago. But your eyes were glued to your wife for you to notice me.¡± She tilted her head to get a good look at Anastasia and asked Caspian, ¡°Won¡¯t you introduce me to your wife?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Caspian smiled and turned to look at his wife.

    He gestured her toe closer and when she was standing by his side, he introduced his aunt to his wife, ¡°Anastasia, she is my dearest aunt, Lady Edith Heradi.¡±

    Anastasia gave a low curtsy to Edith and spoke in her soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Edith.¡±

    Edith gave a warm smile and caressed Anastasia¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a sweet child?¡± Edith took Anastasia¡¯s hands in her palms and asked, ¡°So, you arrived at the castle yesterday?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, Lady Edith,¡± Anastasia replied in her usual, melodious voice. She could tell from Edith¡¯s cold hands that she was also a vampire. But for some reason, she was not scared of her. Maybe it was because of her serene face or because of her warm smile. Either way, she liked Caspian¡¯s aunt.

    Edith then gave a corner-eyed look to her nephew and asked Anastasia, ¡°He is not troubling you, is he?¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± Anastasia shook her head even when Caspian had done nothing but trouble her since the moment she stepped her feet in the castle.

    Edith gently rubbed her thumb on Anastasia¡¯s knuckles and asked her, ¡°I live close by so if you ever feel lonely then feel free to visit me from time to time. Deal?¡±

    Her warm demeanor made Anastasia smile. She nodded her head and agreed, ¡°I will remember to visit you, Lady Edith.¡±

    ¡°Good girl!¡± Edith gave a genuine smile and gently patted Anastasia¡¯s hand. And she turned her gaze towards Caspian to say, ¡°Okay, child, you owe me a dance on this happy asion.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Caspian outstretched his hand towards his aunt. After she held his hand, he gave an apologetic look to his wife for having to leave her alone.

    In response, Anastasia gave a reassuring smile and slightly nodded signifying that she was going to be okay. For a while, she kept on watching Caspian and Edith dancing gracefully to the beautiful piece of music. But she was startled when another pair almost bumped on her as they danced.

    As she was standing in the middle of the dance floor without any partners, she walked a little further away from the main dance floor. She kept on watching Lady Edith, the one vampire who was very sweet to her and who didn¡¯t look at her as if she was some lifeless pouch that stored blood for them to relish on.

    She was intrigued when she recalled the way Edith spoke like a very old woman when she only looked like she was in her early thirties. And she wondered if Edith was Caspian¡¯s own aunt or just someone who was a distant rtive.

    ¡®Lady Edith looks too young to be Caspian¡¯s biological aunt... They share the same surname though,¡¯ Anastasia was utterly baffled the more she thought about it.

    Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a cautiously soft yet chillingly provoking voice from behind her. ¡°So, you are the human who His Majesty had to take in as a charity case?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s immediate response was to flinch as the cold breath brushed her bare shoulder. She could feel goosebumps running through her whole body. Slowly, she turned around to see the two women who were trying to approach her at the beginning of the ball.

    Both the women had a beautiful appearance. One had brte hair and blood-red lips. She was wearing an elegant soft pink gown. While the otherdy had ck hair and rtively light makeup done on her face. She was wearing a silk red gown.

    Though both of them looked beautiful on the outside, they had this re of anger in their glowing red eyes which frightened the Princess. ¡®Oh, God! I¡¯m so dead.¡¯ Anastasia gulped and her body went stiff all of a sudden.

    The brte woman darted her eyes to see if Caspian was looking at them. She noticed that he was upied with Lady Edith. And a grim smile appeared on her blood-red lips.

    She looked back at Anastasia who was standing defenseless in front of them. She was going to take the chance to belittle the nasty human.

    She leaned close to Anastasia and whispered after taking a whiff of her hair, ¡°What is an ugly thing like you doing with our Majesty? Did your mamma and papa hate you? So much so that they had to send their daughter to be the juice box for His Majesty?¡±

    Even though Anastasia was scared for her life, she couldn¡¯t stand it when that filthy-moutheddy talked trash about her dear parents. She clutched her fists and spoke through her fear, ¡°My parents weren¡¯t aware that this whole Kingdom was filled with monsters like you. Else they would have never sent me here.¡±

    That woman scoffed and dramatically pressed her chest with her palm. ¡°Ah! She can speak!¡± She nced at her friend and mocked the Princess, ¡°And she is a feisty one.¡±

    She raised her palm and poked Anastasia¡¯s lips with her long fingernails. She then narrowed her eyes and threatened Anastasia, ¡°Be careful of your razor-sharp mouth. Run it carelessly in front of His Majesty and he will slit your throat on the spot.¡±

    The dark-haireddy elegantly covered her lips as she chuckled. And she scorned, ¡°I wonder how many days she willst. I bet on a week.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she willst that long. My bet is three days at most.¡± Unexpectedly, the brte woman made a swift swipe across Anastasia¡¯s neck with her fingernail.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Anastasia tilted her head and touched her neck because she felt a sudden pain as if she had a paper cut. She was right. She felt a burning sensation on her neck.

    But that wasn¡¯t what shocked Anastasia. It was what that woman did after.

    Anastasia was traumatized when that monstrous woman sucked the tip of her fingernail and moaned as if she was enjoying the taste of her blood. ¡°Mhmm... Scratch what I said earlier. She won¡¯t even survive this ball.¡±

 Chapter 14

    14 Ten Folds

    Anastasia suddenly felt weak in her knees. ¡®What is she trying to say? Is she hinting that she is going to kill me in this ball? Or is she going to kill me right now?¡¯

    That monstrous woman stretched her hands again, this time, aiming for Anastasia¡¯s cheek.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart was beating so fast that she felt like she was going to pass out on the spot. ¡®Caspian!¡¯ She wanted to scream and call for help but she couldn¡¯t even move her lips, leave alone make an audible sound.

    ¡°Your Highness, may I have a dance with you?¡± Anastasia heard a familiar sound from her side just when she thought that she was going to get bitten to death by that woman.

    Without thinking for another millisecond, Anastasia turned to her side and took the hand that was being offered to her, ¡°Zenon! Yes, why not.¡±

    Zenon red at those two women who were trying to intimidate the Princess. If looks could kill, then those women would have dropped dead by now.

    Seeing the fury in Zenon¡¯s eyes, those women spared no time in scurrying away from there.

    When they were gone, Zenon reverted to his cheerful self in a sh. He gently swayed with the beat of the music and asked the Princess, ¡°They didn¡¯t do anythi-¡± before he couldplete his question, his eyes fell on the slight cut on Anastasia¡¯s neck, ¡°They did that to you?¡±

    Anastasia gave a wistful smile and tried to brush off the matter, ¡°It¡¯s just a scratch. It will heal in no time.¡±

    .....

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be taking such serious offense so lightly, Your Highness.¡± Zenon nced across the hall to see where Caspian was. ¡°I will have to deal with those women before His Majesty gets angry.¡±

    Zenon was about to head out but Anastasia was still in shock from what those women did to her. And she didn¡¯t want to be left alone. So she insisted, ¡°It¡¯s just a scratch, Zenon. Let¡¯s not create a fuss on this happy asion. If they try to repeat it in the future, then you may punish them.¡±

    Zenon didn¡¯t have the heart to defy the Princess. So he nodded his head and kept on dancing with her.

    Though Anastasia was dancing, her mind was still stuck on those women. ¡®Who were they anyway? Will I be meeting those women in the future as well?¡¯

    She dreaded the thought of meeting them again. And just to be sure, she asked Zenon, ¡°Zenon, will you tell me who those women were? Are they His Majesty¡¯s mistresses?¡±

    Zenon looked surprised to hear what the Princess was assuming. However, he got why she would ask that. So he politely denied it, ¡°No, Your Highness, they¡¯re not. They are the daughters of a noble family. Though one of them had her eyes on His Majesty from a long time.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Anastasia nodded. She felt relieved that they were not Caspian¡¯s mistresses. ¡®That means I won¡¯t be seeing those bullies often. That¡¯s good.¡¯

    Zenon was exceptionally good at leading the dance. Anastasia¡¯s heart calmed down within a matter of a few minutes. He made her twirl around to the music. And that was when she saw Ti standing close by, alone.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t want Ti to go through the same horror as her. So she abruptly stopped dancing and said, ¡°Zenon, thank you for the dance. My handmaid will apany me.¡±

    Zenon gave a polite bow to the Princess and agreed to her request. ¡°Of course, Your Highness. I will be close by, so if you need anything or if someone tries to offend you again, then feel free to give me a sound. I will be right at your service.¡±

    Anastasia looked into Zenon¡¯s red eyes that were partially being concealed by his light brown hair. His eyes would look like a crescent moon most of the time because he would have that constant smile on his face. She felt that Zenon was the friendlier and more considerate vampire among the trio whom she encountered murdering a man.

    She smiled and made her way towards Ti while thinking, ¡®Ha! A friendly murderer! Everyone present here has murdered humans, haven¡¯t they? And yet I seek protection from them...¡¯

    Suddenly, Anastasia¡¯s feet stopped midways. Her expression turned dull as though she went into a state of trance. And she heard a faint whisper in her head, ¡®Come find me...¡¯

    Ti came running towards Anastasia and waved her hand in front of the Princess¡¯ face. ¡°Princess?¡±

    Anastasia snapped out of her trance and saw Ti standing in front of her. Her dark brown eyes were twinkling and her face was beaming for some reason.

    ¡°Ti?¡± Anastasia gave a baffled look to Ti and asked in a concerned voice, ¡°Where did that man take you? Are you alright?¡±

    Ti smiled and coiled her dark hair around her finger. And she shyly replied, ¡°Lord Vincent took me outside and showed me around the ce. There¡¯s a beautiful garden outside, with a huge fountain in the middle.¡±

    Anastasia pursed her lips and gazed at Ti¡¯s rosy cheeks. She gave a hug to Ti and whispered, ¡°Oh, Ti! Even you are smitten by their pretty faces, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Ti¡¯s face turned redder when the Princess easily pointed out her inner feelings. She had spent the whole afternoon lecturing the Princess to be cautious of the Vampire King and here she was, harboring feelings for a vampire.

    Ti pulled away from the hug and whispered back while looking guilty, ¡°They are pretty irresistible, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at that unexpected confession from Ti. But soon her face turned serious when her eyes fell on Caspian. He was now dancing with the very woman who had tried to hurt her just a while ago.

    Caspian was smiling ear to ear. He looked genuinely happy to be dancing with her. She scoffed at that scene and thought, ¡®What kind of rtionship do they have? Does he smile like that to every other woman he meets?¡¯

    She heaved a sigh and curled her upper lip in disdain. ¡®This is the exact reason why you shouldn¡¯t be falling for him, Anna. He is a womanizer and unworthy of your love. Remember that you are just going through all of this for your own sake. It¡¯s okay to be selfish in this Kingdom full of monsters. You have to protect yourself and your stupid heart.¡¯

    Anastasia began feeling a burning sensation in her heart. For some reason, she couldn¡¯t bear to see her husband entertaining that woman.

    Anastasia tightly clutched her fists and nced back at Ti. Ti was smiling to herself, and she guessed why. She wanted to warn her bewitched friend as well but there were just too many sharp ears around them.

    ¡®Come find me...¡¯ Anastasia cocked her head to the side and winched. And she got this overwhelming urge to go somewhere... to find someone.

    So she inconspicuously asked Ti, ¡°Will you take me to the fountain, Ti? I need to breathe in some fresh air. It¡¯s too hot in here. I feel like I¡¯m burning.¡±

    Anastasia thought that she was asking Ti to go outside so that she could have a private chat with her maid. She waspletely unaware that someone was messing with her head.

    ¡°Sure, Your Highness,¡± Ti gestured towards one of the doors and said, ¡°This way.¡±

    Caspian noticed his wife walking out of the ballroom with her handmaid. Though he was dancing with someone else, his eyes kept on following Anastasia until she disappeared from his view.

    That brte woman who Caspian was dancing with was feeling ecstatic as Caspian himself had asked her for a dance. She was resting both of her palms on his sturdy shoulders while both of Caspian¡¯s hands were on her waist.

    Thatdy didn¡¯t miss her chance to express her feeling towards Caspian again, ¡°Your Majesty, I know that your human wife won¡¯t even be able to satisfy your needs.¡± She slowly trailed her hands down to his chest while whispering, ¡°So if you want someone who can handle you then I- Aaahhh!¡±

    Suddenly, she felt excruciating pain in her waist and grimaced in pain. Her face turned even paler than it already was.

    Caspian had punctured holes in her waist with his sharp ws that he protruded from all of his fingers. Blood dripped from her wounds like waterfalls and her soft pink gown turned red.

    He looked into her eyes with fury and grimly spoke, ¡°I feel like you were not paying attention to my announcement at the beginning of the ball. So let me remind you again, Beth. Any harm that you do to my wife, I will pay it back in ten folds.¡±

    ¡°And this is me paying you back for what you did earlier.¡± He narrowed his eyes and pulled out his fingers from her body. His ws as well as his fingers were covered in blood. He retracted his ws then casually wiped his fingers on Beth¡¯s gown and said with a devilish smirk, ¡°I will have someone send a new gown to your mansion.¡±

    Caspian winked at Beth and walked away.

    Beth was in a lot of pain. Her wounds were healing but her face looked like it would burst anytime now. She clenched her fists and thought while shaking with anger, ¡®You¡¯re going to pay for this, Caspian. You cannot get away this easily after insulting me in the hall full of nobles.¡¯

 Chapter 15

    15 Trouble in the Garden

    Ti led Anastasia to the garden that was outside of the ballroom. A few torches were being lit up in the garden as well. But the beautiful silvery light cascading from the moon was overshadowing the brightness from the sparse torches.

    Anastasia was amazed to see that this haunted castle had a beautiful garden that was actually well-maintained. It even had flowers that she had never seen before.

    She excitedly touched an orange flower with some hues of blue and green. It looked as though it was a bird that was spreading its wings and was ready to fly. And she whispered, ¡°I wonder what this flower is called. It looks really interesting.¡±

    Ti smiled and answered, ¡°I learned from Lord Vincent that it¡¯s called the bird of paradise.¡±

    The two of them walked deeper into the garden while appreciating the beautiful and eye-catchy flowers. The burning sensation that Anastasia was feeling calmed down to some extent.

    Anastasia finally saw the fountain that Ti was talking about. The fountain had the sculpture of a mermaid holding a water pot in her hands. And a silver stream of water was flowing down from that pot.

    The scenery was so captivating that Anastasia forgot the reason why she brought Ti outside. ¡®This garden is so mesmerizing. I shoulde here often,¡¯ she took a mental note while her eyes wandered around.

    Suddenly, Ti felt a gust of wind blowing her hair. She jerked out of her daze and looked around to see that the two of them were alone in the garden. The garden that she had found beautiful when she came with Vincent now became unnerving all of a sudden.

    Ti realized her mistake and hurriedly spoke in a worried tone, ¡°Princess, let¡¯s go back inside. I don¡¯t think we should be out here when everyone else is inside. Some vampire with bad intention might sneak upon us.¡±

    .....

    When Ti said thest phrase, Anastasia finally recalled what she had wanted to say earlier. And she wanted to say it before they went back inside.

    She held Ti¡¯s hands and then she said in a serious note, ¡°Ti, as you said, we shouldn¡¯t be falling for these vampires¡¯ sweet talks and their handsome faces. I know how irresistible they can be at times. When they smile at you, you feel your heart melting away. Your body automatically surrenders to them.¡±

    Ti gave a nervous chuckle and asked, ¡°Your Highness, why are you saying all this to me?¡±

    ¡°Because I can tell that the vampire called Vincent has already swooned you over. That is what they do, Ti...¡± Anastasia¡¯s face showed a hint of discontent, not towards Ti but towards herself. It was as if she was saying all those things to herself rather than to Ti.

    The Princess tightened her hold of Ti palms and continued, ¡°They lure you in with their sweet talks or pressure you with their threats. And ultimately, they turn you into their food. You should always remember that, to them, you are nothing more than a living bag of blood.¡±

    The Princess¡¯ words were scaring Ti even more. ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t be affected by their charm.¡± And she said with a sense of urgency, ¡°Now, let¡¯s go back inside, Princess. We cannot be roaming around like this in the dark.¡±

    Anastasia had dragged Ti in a whim and she also knew that they were in the wrong ce, considering how far they hade from the bustling ballroom. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go back.¡± Anastasia let go of Ti¡¯s palms and held one of her arms instead.

    After they started to head for the ballroom, Anastasia sighed and said in a tired voice, ¡°Ugh! When is this ball going to be over? I¡¯m already tired. And I can¡¯t even breathe properly because of this bodice.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, it will be over soon. I cannot wait for all the vampires to return to wherever they came from. We already have enough vampires in the castle.¡± Ti was cautiously looking around and was making the Princess walk very fast.

    Both thedies felt a gust of wind pass by again.

    Anastasia stiffened her shoulders because of the cold. ¡°It¡¯s quite breezy today, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Before Ti could answer the Princess, they found themselves in the presence of someone else.

    ¡°Did someone justpliment me saying that I was the breeze? d to know that I¡¯m fast for human eyes.¡± They heard a cheeky voiceing not too far away from them. A tall and dark figure was standing cross-legged under the shadow of an oak tree.

    The figure emerged from the shadows to reveal a porcin face. He had a crooked smile on his face as he advanced towards thedies.

    Though he looked like a noble vampire from how he was dressed, that smile alone was enough to give chills to thedies. Ti held the Princess¡¯ arm tightly because she could tell that they were going to get in trouble. She wanted to make a run towards the ballroom but that man was already standing in front of them.

    Ti gave a gentle bow to that man and tried to go around that man.

    But that man shifted to the side and blocked their way. ¡°Why are the beautifuldies like yourselves unapanied? It is unfair that no one is appreciating two of the most beautiful fairies strolling in this garden.¡±

    Ti took the initiative to give a witty reply, hoping that man would leave them alone, ¡°We were here for some fresh air, milord. Now, I have to escort Her Highness to the ballroom or else His Majesty wille here searching for her.¡± She bowed again and said, ¡°If you will excuse us...¡±

    But he spread his arms, blocking their way, and inhaled the cold air. He looked at Ti with his glowing red eyes and smirked. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the hurry, darling?¡± He shifted his hawk-like eyes on Anastasia and spoke in a teasing whisper, ¡°I¡¯m sure His Majesty won¡¯t mind if I entertain both of you for a while.¡±

    ¡°The night is still young after all.¡± He gave a whimsical smirk to Anastasia and then swiftly took her palm in his hand.

    He leaned down to kiss her on her knuckles. And he ended up giving a wet kiss on her knuckles instead of a peck.

    Anastasia¡¯s facial expression changed from scared to that of a disgusted one. She was so frozen that she could not even pull her hand away from that pervert.

    That man kept on gripping the Princess¡¯ hand while gawking at her. And he tried to rile up the Princess against the King, ¡°I saw His Majesty dancing with otherdies. What is His Majesty doing with the otherdies when you have looks to die for?¡±

    He let out a grim chuckle seeing the Princess frozen like a statue. He pulled Anastasia¡¯s hand away from Ti¡¯s hold and teasingly asked the Princess, ¡°Why don¡¯t you run away with me, pretty bird? I promise that I won¡¯t even look at any other woman except you.¡±

    While he was saying those cheesy lines, his sharp gaze was stuck on Anastasia¡¯s neck, making both of thedies scared to their core.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart was already out of control. She could see the same hunger in his eyes as she had already seen in a few vampires by now.

    She forcibly pulled her hands away from his grip and finally found her voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we have to leave. My husband won¡¯t like it if I stay out for too long.¡± She nced to her side and ordered her handmaid, ¡°Ti,e. We are leaving.¡±

    Anastasia grabbed Ti¡¯s hand and began to sprint away from that sick vampire.

    But that vampire caught up to thedies in the blink of an eye and pulled Anastasia.

    The Princess¡¯ back mmed against that vampire¡¯s cold frame. An exasperated gasp escaped her trembling lips.

    ¡°Let me go, you monster!¡± Anastasia elbowed that man in the gut and tried to run again.

    But he wrapped Anastasia in his arms while shouting in an irritated voice, ¡°You cannot get away from me that easily, Princess. Not without letting me taste your blood.¡±

 Chapter 16

    16 Psychopath

    Anastasia tried throwing her arms and legs to escape from the clutch of that irate vampire. She was also screaming the names of the vampires that she knew woulde to her rescue, ¡°Zenon... Caspian... Help!¡±

    However, her action provoked that vampire even more. He tightened his grip around her waist and spoke like a rabid animal, ¡°Nobody is going to hear your feeble screams ande to your rescue, Princess. Nobody cares about a few missing humans. So shut your damned mouth already.¡±

    But the Princess screamed even louder, ¡°Zenon... Ze-¡±

    That vampire sped Anastasia¡¯s mouth with his ice-cold palm and muffled her voice.

    Ti was helplessly looking around for something that she could use to beat that vampire with. And Anastasia kept on elbowing that vampire again and again.

    That crazy vampire chuckled maniacally seeing the Princess still struggling to get away from him. And he whispered in her ear, ¡°Your elbows are doing nothing more than tickling me. So be a doll and let me savor your taste now.¡±

    Immediately after saying that, that vampire made Anastasia tilt her neck. He bared his fangs and was ready to dig them in the Princess¡¯ neck.

    In all thatmotion, he didn¡¯t realize that Ti had picked up a decorative rock from the side and was sneaking from behind him.

    Before he could bite Anastasia, Ti raised that rock above her head and hit that vampire right at the back of his head.

    .....

    However, all it did was anger that vampire more than he already was. He rolled his eyes and curled his upper lips in irritation. And he sneered, ¡°That... was rather foolish, fair maiden!¡±

    His mind snapped because of that hindrance from Ti so he pushed the Princess aside and swiftly turned to face Ti.

    ¡°Princess!¡± Ti screamed in panic seeing the Princess tumble to the ground and threw the rock away. She was about to rush towards the Princess but before she could move a muscle, that vampire grabbed her by her hair.

    He jerked her head backward and growled, ¡°Your foolish action is now going to cost you your life, dear. You are going to be the sacrificial goat instead.¡±

    Ti watched in horror as he elongated his fangs and leaned in.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± Within a split second, Ti felt excruciating pain in her neck. And in the next second, she could feel her blood being drained out of her body. She wanted to push the vampire away and run but her body refused to move a hair as though she had been paralyzed.

    ¡°Let me go! Please...¡± For the first few seconds, Ti feebly begged for that vampire to stop.

    But soon, she felt her heart getting colder and her head getting lighter by the second. Her breathing was slowing down and she felt that her end was very near.

    The happy memories that she and the Princess had together began to sh in front of her eyes like moving pictures. She also recalled the Queen asking her to take care of Anastasia. A drop of tear rolled down her cheek as her gaze fell on the stunned Princess.

    Anastasia was still on the ground, helplessly watching Ti getting bitten and silently shedding tears.

    And with thest bit of her strength, Ti screamed to her best friend whom she had sworn to protect, ¡°Anna, run!¡± She saw the Princess shaking her head while sping her mouth with her palm. So she mouthed, ¡°Please... run...¡±

    Anastasia clenched her fists and pushed herself up from the ground. She almost instantly dropped down again because her legs were refusing to listen to her. But still, she forced herself up hoping to run towards the ballroom and call for help.

    The Princess dragged her feet towards where the sound of music wasing from.

    However, that vampire had no intention of letting the Princess escape from his clutch. He dropped Ti to the ground and left her to die. And he caught up to Anastasia before she could even take a couple of steps.

    He grabbed Anastasia by her shoulder and whispered, ¡°I told you I wasn¡¯t going to let you go before I taste your blood.¡±

    That vampire circled the shaken Princess and stood in front of her. He stared right into Anastasia¡¯s soul while licking Ti¡¯s blood that was smeared all over his mouth. ¡°Your friend¡¯s blood was quite tasty.¡±

    ¡°Now let me taste yours. I willpare and let you know whose blood tasted sweeter.¡± He gave a wicked smile to Anastasia and pushed the hair away from her neck. He then parted his lips to show the protruded fangs.

    Anastasia¡¯s vision was already blurry because of all the tears that were filling the rims of her eyes. But she could tell what he was going to do. She tightly shut her eyes and gripped her gown.

    She held her breath when she felt the shadow of that vampire covering her face. ¡®I¡¯m sorry father, mother. I couldn¡¯t keep my promise. Sorry!¡¯ she thought and was ready to ept her death.

    However, it looked like death just liked to tease her time and again by getting too close to her.

    ¡°How dare you touch my wife?¡±

    She felt a gust of wind hitting her face and when she opened them, she saw Caspian standing in front of her instead of that vampire. She looked around to see that mad vampire hanging on one of the branches of the oak tree.

    Caspian gently held Anastasia by her shoulders and asked while looking all over her body, ¡°Wife, are you okay? Did he hurt you somewhere?¡±

    Before Anastasia could bring herself to answer his question, Caspian found several bruises on her elbows that she got from hitting that vampire and falling to the ground.

    And his fury knew no bounds.

    Caspian instantly flew to grab that vampire by his neck. He flew higher and higher while holding that perpetrator and screamed with madness, ¡°Who gave you the right toy your hands on my wife? You thought I would let this matter slide?¡±

    He threw that vampire to the ground with great force, so much so that a crater was formed right in the middle of that beautiful garden.

    That psychopath coughed up some blood that he had just drank and tried to get up.

    Before that vampire could get up and run away, Caspian flew down and straddled him.

    He ferociously grabbed that man¡¯s cor and snarled at him, ¡°You are going to pay for what you did! I¡¯ll execute you right here and now! But before that, I¡¯m going to break each and every bone in your body, wait for it to heal, and break it all over again.¡±

    That vampire was still showing no signs of remorse and was ring back at Caspian in a mocking way.

    Caspian gritted his teeth and instantly bare his ws. He punctured holes on those filthy palms that touched his wife. Then he grabbed one of his hands and broke it as if his hand was nothing more but a twig.

    ¡°Aaaaaahhhhh...¡± the criminal screamed at the top of his lungs but after a few seconds, he began to chuckle and provoked Caspian even more, ¡°Are you even worthy to be called our King? Trying to kill another vampire for trying to prey on a mere human?¡±

    Now Caspian was fuming even more. He retracted his ws and clenched his fists. ¡°She is no mere human! She is my wife!¡±

    Caspian immediately started to throw a barrage of punches right on that psychopath¡¯s face. But he was smirking even when his lips had started to bleed.

    Caspian was outraged to see that unchanging attitude. ¡°You still have the guts to smirk? I¡¯m going to wipe that smirk off of your face. Hell, I¡¯m going to wipe your whole face off of your bones.¡±

    Caspian kept on beating that vampire mercilessly until Zenon and Vincent came rushing to the scene.

    Vincent saw that Ti was lying unconscious close by. Her neck was still bleeding profusely. So he immediately picked her up from the ground and disappeared into the night.

    Zenon stopped the King and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I will take care of this man.¡± He nced at the Princess who had turned into a weeping statue and added, ¡°I think the Princess needs you the most right now.¡±

    Caspian gave one final punch right on that man¡¯s nose and spit on him before getting up.

    He rushed to his wife¡¯s side and wiped her tears with the sleeve of his shirt. He then wrapped Anastasia in his warm embrace and consolingly whispered to his hysterical wife, ¡°Anastasia, it¡¯s okay now. Don¡¯t cry.¡±

    But that just made her cry even louder. All of her pent-up emotions came bursting out of her.

    For the first time after centuries, Caspian felt very protective of someone other than himself. He felt his heart aching hearing her wail like that.

    Caspian gently stroked her ginger hair and kept on consoling her, ¡°I¡¯m here now. You are safe. I¡¯m sorry that I waste. I promise I will never leave your side again. I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Anastasia was barely hanging on to her consciousness by a thread. And the moment she felt that she was in safe hands, her weak heart gave up and she cked out.

 Chapter 17

    17 Dying

    Anastasia was lying on her bed, still out cold.

    A little further away from her bed, Zenon was sitting on a chair and was waiting for her to regain her consciousness. He took a deep breath in and thought, ¡®When will she wake up? Is it even normal for humans to stay unconscious for a whole night?¡¯

    No. It was not normal at all. It was one of the symptoms of her disease.

    Anastasia was dying.

    And she was forced toe to Sorvando as a tribute bride to find the cure for her disease.

    Princess Anastasia had always been a sickly child. She started showing the signs of her deadly illness in her early childhood years.

    She would faint if she performed physically straining activities like running and horseback riding. If she yed in the water for a little bit longer, she would easily catch cold and fever. She was always underweight, no matter how nutritious food she had.

    Not just that, she would also sweat profusely during her sleep, making her susceptible to cold.

    And that was one of the reasons why the Princess grew very close to Ti. Back in Orsenia, her handmaid would also sleep in her room so that she could take care of the Princess during the night as well. As they would spend most of their time together, they became inseparable by the time they were teenagers.

    .....

    ¡®I hate my fate! What did I ever do to deserve all this?¡¯ Anastasia would constantly curse her cruel fate. She hated the fact that no one was able to cure her disease or even name her disease.

    The King and Queen of Orsenia had left no stones unturned to treat their beloved daughter. They had her checked by all of the royal physicians of the court. They even invited famous doctors from other nations but all of them failed to diagnose the Princess¡¯s illness.

    Rather, they imed that the Princess would not live past the age of eighteen. And they suggested to the King and Queen that they fulfill her every wish before that age.

    Everyone in the Pce had already epted that fate of the Princess, even Anastasia herself.

    The King and Queen spared no effort in ensuring that their beloved daughter lived a wondrous, but safe, life before she would sumb to her illness.

    The King would constantly try to console his worried wife, ¡®We should make the most out of the time that we can spend with our daughter. She should never know the feeling called sadness.¡¯

    Unexpected to everyone, on her seventeenth birthday, the Princess received an anonymous letter that sparked hope in everyone¡¯s heart.

    In the letter, it was written that the King of Sorvando had the cure to her illness. But there was a catch. In order to get that cure, the Princess would have to marry the King and also make him fall in love with her.

    The letter emphasized that the cure wouldn¡¯t work unless the King offered it to her out of pure love.

    Desperate for a chance, any chance, the King and Queen decided to send the Princess to Sorvando as a tribute bride. If there was even a single percent chance that their daughter would survive past eighteen, they were going to take that chance.

    Anastasia had no intention of marrying anyone in this lifetime, considering how short her lifespan was. But she saw how happy her parents were when they read that letter. She liked seeing them smiling and full of hope for a change.

    Thus, she agreed with them just so that she could see them smiling and lively. Even if she was to die, she thought that her parents would be at ease knowing that they tried everything that they could to treat her.

    Zenon abruptly got up from his chair and stared down at Anastasia with hopeful eyes.

    Anastasia was softly fluttering her longshes and was moving her fingers.

    Zenon was about to rush out of the room to inform Caspian but he heard Anastasia calling out for him, ¡°Zenon?¡±

    He turned around to see that Anastasia was now fully awake.

    She looked around hoping to see Ti and suddenly she recalled the horror that the two of them went through yesterday night. She breathed in sharply and asked with eyes full of tears, ¡°Zenon, where is Ti? Please tell me she is al-¡±

    ¡°She is alive and well. We called in a physician to check both of you. He stitched the wounds on your handmaid. And a human maid is looking after her. She will recover soon.¡± Though it was not Zenon who had hurt Ti, he looked apologetic for not being able to protect them.

    Anastasia had thought that she had lost her best friend in yesterday¡¯s unfortunate encounter. And when she heard that Ti was recovering, she thanked heaven for the benevolence.

    ¡°What happened to that man who attacked us?¡± Anastasia asked in a whisper.

    Zenon could see a glimpse of terror in her eyes so he instantly replied in a soothing voice, ¡°He was taken into custody yesterday. Right now, he is facing his judgment for attacking the Queen of Sorvando. You can rest assured that he will never see the daylight again.¡±

    ¡°Queen of Sorvando?¡± More than feeling relieved to hear that the vampire who tried to kill her and Ti was getting punished, she was shocked to hear Zenon calling her the Queen.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. You¡¯re married to our King so naturally, that title is yours. His Majesty will officially instate you as the Queen in the crowning ceremony which will be held very soon,¡± Zenon then gave a reassuring smile and informed the Queen, ¡°I will go and let His Majesty know that you are awake.¡±

    ¡°He was so worried about you that he refused to leave your bedside for the whole night. He just left a while ago to get some food and also deal with that criminal.¡± Zenon bowed to the Queen and disappeared from the room like a puff of smoke.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart was at it again, beating like crazy for that vampire husband of hers.

    ¡®He stayed by my side the whole night? And he is going to crown me as the Queen? Why is he doing all this?¡¯ She pressed her palms on her chest and furrowed her brows.

    She vaguely recalled how Caspian had beaten that vampire and how he hadforted her when she cried like a child.

    She bit her lower lips and pressed her chest even harder. Her heart was about to fly out of her chest. ¡®Please heart, stop behaving like this!¡¯

    ¡°Wife! You¡¯re awake?¡±

 Chapter 18

    18 Searing Jealousy

    ¡°Wife! You¡¯re awake?¡± Anastasia found Caspian swooshing in and standing by her bedside, staring at her with a worried look on his face.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Anastasia smiled without even trying. She tried to push herself up on the bed but her body felt very sore.

    ¡°Careful! Let me help you,¡± Caspian offered to help her sit up. He held Anastasia¡¯s hand with one of his hands and he slid the other one under her back and gently pulled her up. He arranged the pillows behind her back so that she could leanfortably.

    Anastasia was baffled by how gentle and careful he was being with her right now. It was as though the scary and intimidating side of him was non-existent.

    He sat on the bed by her side. Anastasia looked down at her hands and started ying with the nket¡¯s cover. She didn¡¯t know how to face him after showing her vulnerable side to him yesterday.

    Caspian pinched her jaw to make her look at him. He looked into her emerald green eyes and asked in his husky voice, ¡°How are you feeling? Are you feeling pain anywhere?¡±

    Anastasia felt butterflies in her stomach when his beautiful eyes reflected concern for her wellbeing. The walls that she tried to build around her heart were so weak that they crumbled down that very moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling okay,¡± her words came out as a melodious whisper.

    Caspian took her hand and looked at the bruises on her elbow. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡± he asked with genuine curiosity because he couldn¡¯t tell if those bruises would be painful or not.

    .....

    Anastasia gently pressed on her grazed skin and inhaled sharply. ¡°It hurts when I touch it. But it will healpletely within a week.¡±

    Caspian felt a prick in his heart when Anastasia winced after touching her bruise. He got up to pick an ointment that the physician had left and sat back on the bed.

    ¡°Let me put this on you. It might help ease the pain,¡± Caspian squeezed the ointment on his fingertip and took Anastasia¡¯s hand. He gently rubbed the medicine on the bruises while also blowing his cool breath.

    Anastasia bit the inside of her lower lip and held her breath as she watched Caspian puckering his lips. She didn¡¯t know what was soothing, the ointment or his breath. But whatever it was, she felt a little relieved.

    After Caspian applied the medicine on both of her hands, Anastasia gazed into his scarlet eyes and said, ¡°Thank you! Both for now and for yesterday. I would have probably died if you were a little-¡±

    Anastasia gasped and widened her eyes because she felt a sudden pull and the next thing she knew, Caspian was tightly wrapping his arms around her waist.

    His touch made her feel as if thousands of lightning bolts were running up and down her body. And she breathlessly thought, ¡®I think I will melt away in his arms if he keeps on embracing me like this.¡¯

    Caspian could feel Anastasia¡¯s heart thumping loudly over his chest. Her heartbeat was like music to his ears. His lips curved up a little upon hearing her increasing heart rate. And he could tell that it was not from fear but something else. He loved how she was not trying to pull away from the hug or push him away.

    Caspian rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to die! Not from anyone else¡¯s hands.¡±

    Anastasia softly chuckled because the Caspian that she knew was back. But she was not even scared of his ¡®threats¡¯ anymore. Rather, she calmly whispered back, ¡°I know. I¡¯ve made a promise to you.¡± Her face hardened with resolve as she further added, ¡°And I n on keeping that promise.¡±

    ¡°You better do.¡± Caspian tightened his grip even more and calmly threatened her, ¡°If you die or leave me before a year isplete, then I will personally massacre everyone in Orsenia.¡±

    Though Caspian was threatening her, all that Anastasia could hear was his concern for her safety. Without her giving a shred of effort, she felt that she had somehow already left some mark in Caspian¡¯s heart.

    So she instantly used this opportunity to take a step closer to winning their bet. She rested her head on his shoulder and promised again, ¡°I won¡¯t leave you. I swear on my parents.¡±

    She made herself believe that she was just ying pretend. However, she was as lost as Caspian. Even his cold embrace gave warmth to her. She felt as if she was being embraced by the warm morning sunlight.

    Her face turned gloomy all of a sudden and she expressed her dissatisfaction over her actions, ¡°It was very foolish of me to leave the hall. I endangered Ti¡¯s life as well. I don¡¯t know what I was thinking, roaming around the garden like that when the castle was full of vampires.¡±

    Caspian pulled away from the hug and ced his hands on her shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t get too hung up on that tragedy now. Ti is fine. She has lost some blood so she is a bit weak right now. But she should be up and about in a day or two.¡±

    A frown line appeared on his forehead when he further said, ¡°Besides, it was my fault that I couldn¡¯t protect you. I should have never left your side when I already knew that some vampires could target you, regardless of your status as my wife, or more specifically because you are my wife.¡±

    Caspian removed the hair that was covering her shoulder to check the scratch mark on her neck. He was relieved to see that the wound wasn¡¯t that big. But he still apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Beth did this to you. I should have known that she would try such dirty tricks to scare you. She¡¯s always been a little... possessive of me.¡±

    Anastasia felt a shooting pain in her heart at the mention of that woman. From his words and his expression, she felt that he was very close to her.

    ¡®If she was not his mistress then what is she? Is she his lover?¡¯ And for some reason, she felt her heart clenching at the thought of them happily dancing together yesterday.

    ¡®I asked him if he had ever loved any human but I never asked if he was in love with some vampiredy... ordies. How many other women are there in his life?¡¯ She tried to suppress that sour and burning feelings in her chest by digging her nails in her palms. But no matter what she did, the feeling wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    ¡°Hey, is-is something wrong?¡± Caspian nced at her downturned lips and frowned.

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t bring herself to speak. She could feel chills inside her chest and her breathing got heavier and heavier.

    Now, Caspian was worried out of his mind. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re not about to faint again, are you? Does it hurt somewhere?¡±

    ¡®My chest hurts!¡¯ she wanted to scream at him and pound his chest for no reason but she pressed her lips into a thin line and violently shook her head.

    Caspian sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair in frustration. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with his wife or how he could help her, and it was killing him to be this helpless. He hastily got up, ¡°I¡¯ll call the physician. Please hold on until then,¡± and rushed towards the door.

    Finally, Anastasia couldn¡¯t take it in anymore and she shouted while ring at Caspian¡¯s back, ¡°Do you love that woman? Or any other woman?¡±

 Chapter 19

    19 Look At Me!

    Caspian¡¯s hand was already reaching out for the door handle when Anastasia shouted exasperatedly. His hand stopped midair and he raised his brows in amusement.

    He turned around to see Anastasia ring at him. Her lips were still downturned and her chest was heaving furiously.

    Caspian bit his lower lips to stop himself fromughing because he finally understood what was going on in his wife¡¯s little head. But he still ended up chuckling. He slowly moved his feet towards the bed while teasing Anastasia, ¡°Oh dear love! Don¡¯t you look cute when you are burning with jealousy?¡±

    Anastasia gasped when he named her sour feeling in her heart. She instantly looked down and tried to deny her true feeling, ¡°I¡¯m not jea- well, maybe a litt- ugh!¡± she sighed and buried her face in her palms and whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    Caspian was beaming as he gazed at that sweet and embarrassed little action of Anastasia. He sat down on the bed again and held her wrists to move them away from her face.

    Anastasia was still looking down so he firmly ordered her, ¡°Wife, look at me.¡±

    And as if she was under some spell, she instantly obeyed him. Her longshes gave way to her emerald green eyes and she looked into the pair of longing eyes that were so close to her.

    Caspian¡¯s gaze slowly moved down from her beautiful eyes to her plump and soft lips. He parted his lips and let out his cold breath that was burning with desire.

    Anastasia could feel his breath softly brushing against her lips and jaw. Her jealous heart found some serenity before it was reced with sudden panic. She saw Caspian¡¯s tempting lips inching closer and closer to hers.

    .....

    And in that panic, she pressed her lips into a thin line as if to hide her lips, and she turned away.

    A hint of disappointment lingered on Caspian¡¯s face when his wife disobeyed him. ¡°Are you scared of me?¡± he asked while sounding sad.

    Anastasia shook her head but still refused to look at him.

    He kept on gazing at her cheek that had turned red because of excessive blushing. And her cheek looked so inviting that his desire to taste her got ever so stronger.

    He got this urge to push her back and bite her then and there.

    And he did just that.

    He pushed her on the cushion that he had stacked earlier and held her wrists on either side of her head.

    ¡°Caspian?¡± a whisper escaped Anastasia¡¯s lips at that sudden aggression from him.

    And before she could think what he was going to do to her, Caspian leaned forward and nibbled Anastasia¡¯s cheek, without his fangs of course.

    ¡°Aaah!¡± Anastasia widened her eyes in surprise and gasped. And she hurriedly asked him, ¡°Caspian, what are you doing?¡±

    Anastasia felt his smirk on her cheek and she heard his ragged whisperced with craving towards her, ¡°If this is what it takes to make you say my name then I¡¯m willing to do this every day.¡±

    Anastasia inhaled sharply and tightened her fists. His whisper had managed to awaken something deep down in her chest.

    Caspian closed his eyes and staggeringly inhaled the sweetvender scent of his wife. He then bathed her in his cool breath again before sucking her cheek to give a wet kiss.

    Anastasia bit her lower lips and she couldn¡¯t help but softly moan when his tongue tickled her cheek. She felt a very new sensation in her body. She felt something running down from her heart to her navel, and she liked it. ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯

    Before she could get out of her daze, she felt his cold lips kissing the hollow of her neck. A sudden rush of pleasure ran through her body which made her writhe and arch her back.

    But when she felt his teeth grazing her neck as he kept on softly nipping her all over her neck, her trauma from yesterday¡¯s incident resurfaced.

    She recalled the look on Ti¡¯s face when she was being bitten by that vampire. She was overwhelmed with the horror that she felt when she was about to get bitten.

    ¡°Caspian! Stop! Please!¡± she pleaded because she was afraid that he would bite her.

    Caspian immediately stopped his shenanigans and left his grip on her hands. He gave a guilty look to her and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m-I¡¯m sorry. It was not my intention to scare you.¡±

    Caspian sighed because he was surprised with himself. He was surprised how he would keep on apologizing to her even though he had never done that to anyone else before.

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes were full of fear and Caspian felt even guiltier for letting his urges take over him.

    And he couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®Why am I like this when I¡¯m with her? She makes me feel all kinds of emotions that I never thought I would ever feel. I get scared for her, I feel so overprotective of her, and I even felt jealous when I saw her dancing with Zenon.¡¯

    He gently caressed her ginger hair and finally answered his wife¡¯s questions that were born out of her jealousy, ¡°Anna, I want you to know that there aren¡¯t any other women in my life apart from you. I never believed in love so I never fell in love with anyone.¡±

    Anastasia looked into Caspian¡¯s eyes and she saw nothing but sincerity in his answer. And she felt really happy to know that.

    He took her hand and then kissed her on the knuckles. And he said while giving her a loving gaze, ¡°But with you, I¡¯m willing to challenge my own belief. I really want you to make me fall in love with you, Anastasia.¡±

    And he silently thought to himself, ¡®In fact, I think I¡¯m already starting to.¡¯

    Something blossomed inside Anastasia¡¯s heart when Caspian genuinely asked her to make him fall for her. She could somehow see that he was not asking it as a challenge, it was more like a cry for help. She felt as if he was deprived of love for his whole life and he craved it.

    ¡®I need to know more about his past, and also his family,¡¯ she took a mental note to herself.

    And his every action, from giving her the title of the Queen to looking after her all night long, everything suddenly made sense to her. ¡®He was doing all that because he wants to be loved in return.¡¯

    And to her own surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him in her warm embrace.

    Needless to say, Caspian was also surprised by the first sign of affection from his wife. By now, he already knew that she was bold with her words but very timid with her actions. So the hug was a pleasant surprise for him.

    The corners of his lips curled up with mirth. He also wrapped her tiny frame and pressed her tightly against his body.

    While still hugging, Anastasia asked in a sad whisper, ¡°Caspian, if you don¡¯t love anyone then why do you have mistresses?¡±

    Caspian pulled away from the hug and asked while knitting his brows, ¡°Who told you that I have... Oh, wait! I told that to you...¡± He chuckled and then yfully pinched Anastasia¡¯s nose.

    And then rified her concerns, ¡°I was just messing with you. I don¡¯t have any mistresses, nor do I have any lovers or wives. As I said, you are the only woman in my life. And you haveplete rights over me.¡±

    The moment he said that she hadplete rights over him, Anastasia couldn¡¯t even hide how she was feeling. She was gleefully smiling and was radiating joy.

    Caspian chuckled and asked whimsically, ¡°Are you that happy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Anastasia kept on grinning and innocently exined the reason for her happiness, ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about any jealous womening after my life.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you were happy about?¡± Caspian scoffed at that answer and tried to correct his jealous wife, ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯re not beaming because you now know that you have me all for yourself?¡±

    Anastasia gave a mischievous look to Caspian and shyly smiled.

    And Caspian fell once more. He was one step closer topletely losing himself in the depth of her love.

 Chapter 20

    20 Harshest Punishment

    Caspian spent more time than expected in Anastasia¡¯s room.

    The vampire who had attacked Ti and Anastasia was still in the court while being guarded by four of the Royal Guards. The councilmen were waiting in the court for their King to arrive and give his final verdict.

    As everyone was getting restless in the court, Zenon rushed to the Queen¡¯s room to get the King.

    He knocked on the main door and politely reminded Caspian, ¡°Your Majesty, all of the councilmen are waiting to hear your judgment.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡± Caspian gave a soft gaze to Anastasia and then asked her, ¡°How do you wish that criminal to get punished? I have him in the court right now. You were one of his victims so I will do as you say.¡±

    Anastasia was baffled by that question from Caspian. ¡®What am I supposed to say? I don¡¯t even know what kind of punishments are given to the criminals here.¡¯

    She contemted for a while and reflected back to how that vampire had almost drained all the blood from Ti. Her blood boiled when she recalled the dreaded look on Ti¡¯s face when she was holding on to her dear life.

    And she replied while clutching her hands together, ¡°I am not that well aware of the types of punishment. But he almost killed my best friend. So I want him to get the harshest punishment of thisnd.¡±

    Caspian had thought that Anastasia was a girl with a soft heart. He was even half expecting her to ask him to let that vampire walk free. But he liked how she did not even flinch while asking him to give that man the harshest punishment.

    .....

    Still, he wanted to reconfirm with her so that she wouldn¡¯t regret her decisionter on. ¡°The harshest punishment of thisnd is the death penalty.¡± He got up while saying, ¡°I will have him beheaded and cremated right away.¡±

    Anastasia had forgotten that she was in a Kingdom of vampires. In Orsenia, the harshest punishment used to be life imprisonment.

    So she hastily held Caspian by his sleeve and changed what she had said earlier, ¡°Give him the harshest punishment which does not involve killing him.¡±

    Caspian smiled and dly agreed, ¡°Sure. He will be drained out of his blood and locked inside the coffin to face the eternal damnation.¡± If Anastasia hadn¡¯t said anything then this was the punishment that he was going to give to that bloodsucker.

    Anastasia¡¯s grip on his sleeve slipped after hearing that. She wanted the punishment to be a little lighter but this sounded even more awful than death. And she didn¡¯t know whether she did the right thing by changing the punishment or suggesting any punishment at all.

    ¡®Maybe I should have just kept quiet,¡¯ she thought to herself while sighing.

    Before he went away to the court, Anastasia quickly asked him, ¡°Caspian, can I go and visit Ti? I want to see how she is doing.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I will ask Ze-¡± Caspian paused for a second. Even though hepletely trusted Zenon, he didn¡¯t really feel like letting his wife spend more time with Zenon than with him. So he said, ¡°I wille by after finishing the matters in the court. And I will take you there.¡±

    Anastasia shook her head when he said that he would be personally taking her to the servants¡¯ quarter. She didn¡¯t want to bother him so she suggested, ¡°You don¡¯t need to escort me there yourself. You can ask Zenon to show me the way.¡±

    But that just triggered the jealousy button of Caspian and he asked with a frown, ¡°Why? You prefer to be escorted by Zenon rather than me?¡± He almost looked hurt when he said that.

    ¡°What? No!¡± Anastasia instantly denied it and she rified what she really meant to say earlier, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to trouble you by making you visit the servants¡¯ quarter, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s mood instantly lightened when Anastasia put it that way. And he gave a satisfied smirk before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I grant you full freedom to trouble me.¡±

    He extended his arm to ruffle Anastasia¡¯s hair. ¡°I will send in the maids to take care of your needs. And I wille and pick you up a littleter.¡±

    Anastasia nodded and smiled. ¡°Okay. I will wait for you then.¡±

    After Caspian left the room, Anastasia leaned back on the pile of cushions. And she started to reflect on their conversations and other things that happened between them.

    Subconsciously, she raised her hand and gently caressed her cheek with her fingertips. ¡®What was I thinking shouting at him like a typical jealous wife? But I... I was jealous.¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡± She ruffled her hair madly and flopped down to the bed. ¡®What is happening to me? Why did I feel so happy when he said that I am the only woman in his life? Why do I keep on wanting to hug him and say that everything is going to be okay? Why do I see the pain behind those deadly eyes?¡¯

    There was a war going on inside her head. One part of her was asking her to give in to Caspianpletely, to embrace him, to be his perfect wife. Another part of her was still hung up on being selfish and just pretending to love him.

    She covered herself with the nket and curled up like a cocoon. ¡®At this point, can I even say that I am pretending? A touch from him and I melt like a candle!¡¯

    Anastasia heard a gentle knock on her door and heard a soft voice, ¡°Your Majesty, we have brought some breakfast for you. May wee in?¡±

    ¡°Yes,e in,¡± she shouted while still being wrapped up in the nket.

    Anastasia heard her doors opening and some light footsteps approaching her. She took in a deep breath and then slowly got up.

    She turned her head to see two women. One of them looked like she was in herte forties while the other one looked to be in her mid-twenties.

    They bowed to the Queen and the older maid introduced both of them, ¡°Your Majesty, I am Martha and she is Holly. We will be your personal maids from today onwards.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and gave a gentle nod. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Martha, Holly.¡±

    Martha ced a small over-bed table on the bed and Holly set a te of freshly toasted bread with poached egg and fried bacon strips on the table. Holly also brewed a cup of hot tea for the Queen. The breakfast looked warm and also looked visually appealing than yesterday.

    ¡°Your Majesty, we will be back after a while to prepare a warm bath for you. We will take our leave for now,¡± Martha spoke with great politeness and gave a gentle bow.

    Before they left, Anastasia asked them, ¡°Martha, may I ask you a question?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Martha gave the same polite bow and smiled.

    ¡°Are both of you humans?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are.¡± Martha was beaming for some reason and she took the moment to express herself, ¡°And we are also aware that Her Majesty is also a human. We are very blessed to have a human Queen in this Kingdom.¡±

    Holly further added to what Martha had said, ¡°And we are extremely happy to be serving you, Your Majesty.¡±

    They had this hint of relief in their voices, and also some kind of hope. And Anastasia felt really happy to see both of them smiling.

 Chapter 21

    21 The Sadist

    Caspian was looking down on that criminal vampire from his borate seat that proudly rested on a raised tform inside the King¡¯s Court. All the other councilmen were sitting on either side of that spacious hall.

    And that criminal vampire was standing in the middle of the court while facing the King. Even now, he was not showing a trace of remorse on his face. He was tantly ring at the King.

    Caspian leaned back on his chair and rested his chin on his palm. Anastasia had already decided the punishment for that vampire for him. And he was going to do exactly what she desired.

    ¡°Councilmen, I have already briefed you about the crime that Lord Bartmitted yesterday.¡± Caspian had a sinister smile on his face as he gave his final verdict on the case, ¡°And I have decided to send him into eternal slumber, never to be awoken again.¡±

    The courtroom was filled with gasps and whispers because this was never an option for Caspian. He had never sent any vampires into a slumber before, stating that it would only be a waste of space and that the criminals didn¡¯t deserve to keep on existing.

    However, no one dared to question their King¡¯s decision.

    ¡°Do you have any final request to make before you go to your sweet and long nap?¡± Caspian mockingly asked Bart to which Bart replied without missing a beat, ¡°Yes, I do, Caspian.¡±

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Caspian rolled his eyes at that boldness of that criminal, ¡°And now you even dare to address your King like that!¡± Caspian snapped his fingers and gestured his guards to show him his ce.

    And the guards immediately hit Bart behind his knees to make him kneel before the King. And then hit him at the back of his head to make his forehead touch the floor.

    .....

    Caspian gave a satisfied smile before asking in a piercing voice, ¡°Let¡¯s hear your final request, you old fool.¡±

    Bart dared to lift his head to re at Caspian again and shouted, ¡°I want justice for my daughter. I want her murderer to be punished.¡±

    ¡°Your daughter was murdered?¡± Caspian furrowed his brows and was genuinely interested to know the story.

    Bart scoffed in disbelief and snarled at the King, ¡°Yes, a certain someone who calls himself the King of the vampires had her beheaded and burned just because she fed on some humans! I didn¡¯t even get to see her!¡±

    Caspian had beheaded and burned a lot ofdies until now so he was confused regarding which one that psychopath was talking about.

    Zenon, who was standing by the King¡¯s side, leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

    ¡°Ah!¡± And Caspian pped his hands as though he had solved a great mystery and calmly walked down the steps to tower in front of that vampire. ¡°So that troublemaker was your daughter. I can see that the apple didn¡¯t fall far away from the tree.¡±

    He furiously kicked that vampire to push him on his back and stepped on his chest. Caspian gave a death stare to that man and screamed madly, ¡°I was not the one who killed her, it was you! You should have properly taught the rules to your daughter.¡±

    Caspian angrily picked that man by his cor and snarled while baring his fangs, ¡°She went into a killing spree and murdered more than 10 humans in a single night! If everyone starts doing that then we will run out of food in a day or two. Did you expect me to worship that spoiled brat?¡±

    Bart pped away Caspian¡¯s hands and snarled back with an using look on his face, ¡°The whole world is full of our food. If you just allow us to hunt in the neighboring Kingdoms then the problem will be solved. You are the King! Can¡¯t you evene up with such easy solutions rather than killing your own?¡±

    Caspian¡¯s cold body began to fume with rage. ¡°Zenon!¡± His hoarse and malicious voice resounded throughout the court, ¡°Prepare the coffin. I¡¯ll be in the punishment room.¡±

    Caspian grabbed Bart by his shirt and ran while dragging him behind.

    He took Bart to the same room where Anastasia had seen him murder a human before. That room had seen countless death and countless tortures in the past two centuries ¨C the ruling period of Caspian.

    Caspian had always found the cold smell of the room and the dark atmosphere to set the mood for him... to torture and kill.

    Killing and torturing were the only things that had provided him some amusement in his long and lonely life. And unlike other Kings, Caspian would be happy when the crime rate was high in his Kingdom. The more the crime, the more the chance of relishing himself in the thrill of killing the criminals.

    Caspian spared no time in tying that vampire¡¯s wrists with the weighty chains that hung down from the ceiling. He quickly got a hammer and some nails from the table that was full of such tools.

    And he stood in front of Bart with an eerie grin on his face.

    Bart red at Caspian with unfaltering pride and cursed him, ¡°What are you smiling at, you sadist son of a bitc- Aaaaaaahhhhhhh...¡± Suddenly, Bart¡¯s agonizing scream filled the room as well as the hallway.

    Caspian had dipped the iron nails in the poison made out of deadly nightshade, a nt that was lethal to vampires. And he had hammered them down on both feet of that vampire who tried to kill his wife.

    Bart felt unbearable pain in his feet, the kind of pain unknown to him until now. He clenched his teeth in an attempt to stop screaming and giving satisfaction to the sadist King who was smiling and watching him. But he ended up salivating and looked disgusting as though he was turning into a rabid dog.

    ¡°What did you do to me, you rascal? Just kill me already! Kill me!¡± Bart nged the chains and shouted as the poison started to make his legs go numb.

    ¡°Rx, old man... I¡¯m not killing you. I am going to bless you with long life in afortable coffin.¡± The sinister smirk never left Caspian¡¯s lips.

    Amused by the pleading, Caspian tilted his head like an excited puppy. However, he had tilted just enough to make the upper half of his face covered by shadow. That only made him have an uncanny resemnce to the life-size dolls kept in haunted houses.

    And he spoke in such a calctedly calm voice that for the first time ever, Bart felt literal chills running down his spine, ¡°Now, now, old man... How do I start torturing you? Ooh! Forgot for a second that I already started.¡±

    A grim chuckle of Caspian echoed inside the room. That chuckle itself was enough of torture to Bart.

    ¡°Now what shall I do next?¡± Caspian started swinging the hammer in his hand as though he was ying with a harmless pen. He then slowly circled Bart while enthusiastically mocking him, ¡°Mmm... My mind is already flooding with so many ideas that I¡¯m unable to decide.¡±

    Caspian began pacing back and forth while mumbling callously, ¡°Bleed you out... skin you alive... take out some of your organs... poke your eyes... pry out your fangs that you so craftily tried to sink into my wife¡¯s neck... so many choices!¡±

    The poison had already begun affecting Bart. His legs were already paralyzed by now and the fear that he had never felt until now was engulfing his mind. ¡°Please spare me! I will never repeat my mistake again. I will stay out of the capital if you ask me. But please, spare me...¡±

    Caspian threw the hammer aside and nonchntly said, ¡°Toote for that.¡±

    He then bare his ws and swooshed around Bart a couple of times. And when he stopped, there were several deep cuts on Bart¡¯s wrists, neck, and ankles.

    Cold blood began pouring out from those wounds like a waterfall. Bart kept on pleading and crying to be forgiven but to no avail.

    Caspian let out a satisfied sigh after seeing that vampire screaming and begging in fear. ¡°This is what you get for trying to snatch away my amusing wife from me.¡±

    ¡°Tsk! You have so much blood! What a waste.¡± Caspian whispered as he watched the growing pool of blood under Bart¡¯s legs. ¡°If only you were human... all this blood is making me hungry.¡±

 Chapter 22

    22 Paranoid

    Anastasia didn¡¯t have much appetite even though the breakfast looked delicious. She rested her chin on her hand and yed with the teacup for a while.

    ¡®Maybe I should have asked the maids to prepare the bath first. Maybe then I would have had some appetite.¡¯

    ¡ª

    ¡°Oh, I have such a big appetite today!¡± Down in the punishment room, Caspian was now sitting on a chair while holding a ss of blood.

    He was gleefully watching Bart as his blood was being drained from his body. And because of theck of blood, Bart¡¯s body was slowly turning into ash-grey color. His young-looking skin from before was now all wrinkled.

    Caspian swirled the ss and inhaled the sweet aroma of human blood. He took a sip and moaned, ¡°Mmm... blood never tasted this good.¡±

    He licked his lips and went and stood in front of Bart. He made Bart smell the aroma and taunted him while making his lips touch the rim of the ss, ¡°Do you want a sip or two to heal your wounds, old man?¡±

    Bart was instinctively attracted by the smell and he tried to drink the blood. But Caspian dropped the ss and spoke yfully, ¡°Oops! It slipped from my hand.¡±

    Caspian smiled and went to sit on the chair again. And he ordered Zenon who was standing behind him, ¡°Zenon, why don¡¯t you break all the breakable bones in him and put him in the box?¡±

    .....

    ¡°What? No, no, no! Please don¡¯t break my bones,¡± Bart struggled to whisper and plead. Breaking bones when he was already drained out of blood would mean that he wouldn¡¯t have sufficient energy left for healing. And he would rot in anguish till eternity.

    ¡ª

    Back in Anastasia¡¯s room, she took a sip of her tea and was subconsciously conversing with herself, ¡®I haven¡¯t even changed out of my yesterday¡¯s dirty gown yet... but why does it feel sofortable as if I¡¯m not wearing...¡¯ she looked down at her chest and widened her eyes in horror and screamed, ¡°...my bodice!¡±

    She sped her mouth with her palm and then hurriedly got out of her bed to check herself in the mirror. She ran in front of the dressing table and panicked, ¡°Oh god! Was I looking like this the whole time?¡±

    Anastasia was covered in nothing but the sheer linen chemise on her upper body. To her relief, she was still wearing her under petticoat on her lower body which wasyered enough to protect her dignity. ¡®But my upper body!¡¯ she screamed in her mind again.

    ¡®Who took off my stomacher and my bodice? I¡¯m almost naked! And I was talking with Caspian in this state!¡¯

    She reflected and tried to remember if she was covering her body with a nket or not. ¡®But I think I was covering myself with the nket the whole time... no... only my lower half was covered with the nket!¡¯

    ¡®And he was ki-kissing my all over my neck! He saw me, didn¡¯t he?¡¯ Anastasia nced at her reflection in the mirror and covered her chest with her hands. She furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip so hard that she almost cut herself.

    She restlessly began pacing back and forth in the room again while overthinking everything. ¡®Wait... who undid my clothes? I hope it was either Martha or Holly.¡¯ She pushed her dark ginger hair away from her face and let out an exasperated whisper, ¡®I will die of shame if it was Caspian.¡¯

    Anastasia chuckled nervously and waved off her hand, ¡®No way! Why would he take off my clothes when there are plenty maids here. I¡¯m just being paranoid.¡¯

    Her expression turned pale again. ¡®But he was the one who sat by my bedside the whole night. What if he saw me sweating and took off my bodice? And what if he...¡¯

    She inhaled sharply all of a sudden and uttered under her breath, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m asking the maids.¡± She then nced towards the door and shouted, ¡°Martha! Holly! Can you hear me?¡±

    Martha came running to the room in no time and bowed, ¡°Your Majesty, you called me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Martha, will you tell me who undid my clothes?¡± Anastasia asked in a single breath.

    Martha lowered her head and replied a bit apologetically, ¡°His Majesty asked me and Holly to help you out of your gown. We wanted to change you into your bedgown but since you were unconscious, the task became almost impossible. So we just made sure that you were in breathable clothes.¡±

    She deeply bowed to the Queen and apologized thinking she had angered the Queen, ¡°We are sorry if we offended you, Your Majesty.¡±

    Anastasia let out a huge sigh of relief upon hearing that. And she waved her hand, ¡°No, why would I be offended? Since my handmaid is... sick, I was just curious to know who helped me. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Martha softly smiled and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, shall we prepare the bath for you? I think you¡¯re already done with your breakfast by now.¡±

    She turned to look at the table only to find that the breakfast was untouched.

    She looked concerned and asked Anastasia, ¡°Your Majesty, was the food not to your liking? If that¡¯s the case then you could have ordered us to bring something else. We would have dly prepared it for you. Is there anything specific that you would like to eat?¡±

    Anastasia felt bad when the maid looked somewhat anxious after seeing her te full of food. So she gave a wide smile and denied that. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to prepare something else. I was about to eat. The tea was a little hot earlier. Now it must be just the right temperature for me.¡±

    Anastasia trotted towards her bed and then sat down in front of the table, ¡°I will eat it now.¡± She took a bite of her toast and gave another order instead, ¡°Martha, why don¡¯t you prepare the bath? I will finish eating by then.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty,¡± Martha rushed out of the room in an instant while feeling d that the Queen was eating.

    Anastasia closed her eyes and forcefully chewed the food, not because they tasted that bad, but because she didn¡¯t want to eat, and having to eat became more like a punishment for her.

    ¡ª

    In the punishment room, Zenon and a few others nailed the coffin with Bart inside. And they took the coffin to the cemetery where all the other criminals from Caspian¡¯s brother¡¯s time were buried half-alive.

    After enjoying the torture show, Caspian headed towards Anastasia¡¯s room to escort her to her handmaid¡¯s room. He reached out his hand to push the door open and that was when he saw his hands and clothes covered in blood.

    ¡®Bloody hell... she will faint if she sees me like this,¡¯ he thought to himself and went to take a bath first.

    ¡ª

    After some time, Holly and Martha went inside Anastasia¡¯s room with buckets of warm water in order to prepare the bath. And after emptying the te, Anastasia went to her bathroom and let the maids help her wash up.

    Mid bath, Anastasia asked for the loofah and scrubbed the knuckles where that criminal had kissed her.

    ¡®I have to get rid of that filth...¡¯ Anastasia was gritting her teeth and was rubbing her knuckles with great force, so much so that Holly stopped the Queen and stole the loofah from her hand.

    Holly was afraid that the Queen would end up hurting her skin. ¡°Your Majesty, you should get out of the water now. Else you could catch a cold.¡±

    Anastasia finally came out of her hate-filled daze after hearing Holly mention the cold. There was a high chance of her catching a cold if she kept on staying in the water for too long. So she instantly let the maid finish up and dress her up.

    Anastasia chose a simple light blue gown made out of silk to wear for the day.

    The maids also helped Anastasia with her hair. After her hair dried, the maids puffed and pinned the front section of her hair. While the back section was barrel curled and pinned to form a beautiful and borate bun.

    Anastasia was quite impressed with that new kind of hairstyle. ¡°This is the first time I am wearing this hairstyle. And I like it so much. Thank you!¡±

    The maids were ttered by the Queen¡¯s appreciation.

    They would have probably spent some more time with their new Queen but they bowed and ran out of the room when they saw their King.

    Caspian stood behind Anastasia and stared at her reflection. Anastasia nced at his reflection and gave a soft smile to him.

    Even without any makeup on and even without the extravagant gown, Anastasia¡¯s beauty was too much for him to handle.

    And he praised her in his deep whisper, ¡°You look... breathtaking.¡±

 Chapter 23

    23 Sunlight

    ¡°You look... breathtaking.¡±

    Anastasia blushed a little after hearing that sincere praise from her husband. ¡°I¡¯m ttered,¡± she whispered with a gentle nod.

    Caspian would have loved to keep on gazing at his beautiful wife. But he couldn¡¯t keep her from meeting the one person he knew that she deeply cared about. He walked to Anastasia¡¯s side and held out his hand in a gentlemanly manner. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s go and visit your handmaid.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± Anastasia lightly ced her hand over his palm and got up on her feet. After she straightened the pleats of her gown, Caspian lend his arm for her to hold.

    Anastasia tucked her palm on his forearm as lightly as she could. She was barely touching the creases of his coat.

    But Caspian firmly pressed her palm down on his forearm and pulled her close. He looked down at the Queen whose height barely came up to his shoulder and smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so careful when touching your own husband, Anna.¡±

    Anastasia looked up to steal a nce of Caspian and instantly looked away.

    Caspian gave a soft chuckle and led her out of her room.

    Anastasia¡¯s room was on the first floor of the building. On that floor, there were rooms on one side of the corridor while the other side had walls with small windows. But the windows were always covered with thin curtains even during the day. So the light was a little scarce in the corridor.

    .....

    In the fantasy books that Anastasia had read and the folk tales that she had heard from Ti, vampires were often portrayed as night creatures who were vulnerable to the sun and holy objects.

    And looking at the corridor right now, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that was true. ¡®I wonder if the sun hurts him.¡¯

    Caspian slowly led Anastasia down the stairs. The corridor alongside the central courtyard of the castle had huge columns and an open view on the sides facing the courtyard.

    The bright sunlight harshly fell on Anastasia¡¯s face and shoulders. She turned to look at Caspian but he was calmly walking in the shadow that was just enough for him. ¡®Is he deliberately avoiding the sun? Does the sunlight kill him?¡¯ Anastasia felt very ufortable because her curiosity was killing her.

    ¡°What is it, Anna? You want to ask me something?¡± Caspian could tell that Anastasia was fretting about something as she was constantly looking at his hands and his feet.

    Anastasia nodded her head and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Not to be rude, but I wanted to know if the sun is harmful to you. I had heard that the sun ki- umm... it...¡± she went quiet as she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say the word.

    Caspian¡¯s lips curled up in amusement when he got to know that she was worried about him being in the sunlight.

    They were already near the back exit of the central wing of the Kilerth Castle. Both of them got out of the building and went out in the bright sun.

    Anastasia was holding her breath and her eyes were glued to Caspian¡¯s face that was being hit by the direct sunlight. She was worried that something bad would happen to him because of her demand to see Ti.

    He gently patted her palm and teasingly reassured her, ¡°The mere sunlight won¡¯t kill your mighty husband, Anna. Nor does it kill any other vampires.¡±

    Anastasia let out the breath that she was holding in and whispered, ¡°The folk tales are a little misleading then. That¡¯s good to hear.¡±

    ¡°Is my wife worried about me?¡± Caspian asked with a whimsical grin on his face as he began leading Anastasia along the narrow path of the backyard that had huge Wentworth elms trees on either side.

    Anastasia tightened her grip on his coat¡¯s sleeve and agreed without missing a beat, ¡°Of course I am. I had heard that vampires would burn to their death in the sunlight. And I haven¡¯t seen a single vampire along our walk. So isn¡¯t it a given that I would be worried?¡±

    Caspian felt a tingle in his heart upon hearing that reply. He couldn¡¯t help but lovingly gaze at that intriguing woman of his.

    Every vampire in thend knew how invincible Caspian was and nobody ever showed their concern for his safety. And for him to have someone worry about his safety felt nice for a change.

    They took a right turn to head towards the servant quarter that was located at the east side of the castlepound.

    Caspian held out his free palm to feel the sunlight that fell on him every now and then through the gaps of the trees. And he shared, ¡°The sunlight causes us a little difort. Our normal body temperature is quite lower and the sudden warmth from the sun stings a little.¡±

    ¡°That is one of the reasons why you won¡¯t see many vampires roaming around in the daylight. And the other reason is that we don¡¯t walk.¡± Caspian was making sure that he wasn¡¯t walking too fast for Anastasia.

    Anastasia suddenly remembered him flying on the first night that she met him. So she asked to quench her curiosity, ¡°Can all of the vampires fly as you do?¡±

    Caspian puffed his chest a little and praised himself, ¡°No, your husband is the special one.¡±

    Anastasia blinked twice because she was pretty sure that all of them could fly. ¡°Then how did we not see that culprit approaching us? All Ti and I felt was a breeze.¡± Anastasia clutched the side of her gown with her free hand.

    Caspian couldn¡¯t me his human wife who had never seen a vampire before in her life for not knowing anything about his kind.

    So he briefed some things for her, ¡°Just like humans, we vampires also have several bloodlines. And our abilities differ depending on our bloodline. The flight and telekinesis power of mine are unique to my nobility. Apart from me, my aunt Edith and her son also have those abilities.¡±

    ¡°And as for the other vampires, they all can run at a great speed, almost undetectable by human eyes. So, all you feel as they pass by will be a gust of wind. I can also run like that, obviously.¡± Caspian gave a boastful grin again.

    Anastasia was listening very attentively to what he was saying. She had to know about the vampires if she was to survive in the castle full of them.

    ¡®Telekinesis? So he was the one who had pulled me that day?¡¯ Anastasia remembered the time she was pulled towards Caspian by some unseen force. ¡®Lady Edith has a son. And vampires can run like wind...¡¯ she repeated the gist of what Caspian told him in her mind.

    She wanted to ask other things as well but they were already in front of the servant quarter.

    The maids and servants were bowing their heads to the King and Queen who had graced them with their visit in their quarter.

    So Anastasia thought of asking further questionster on. Now that she was in the servant quarter, she was eager to see Ti with her own eyes.

 Chapter 24

    24 Will She Turn?

    The servants¡¯ quarter had two separate buildings for men and women. Both the buildings were two-storied. And Ti¡¯s room was on the ground floor, at the very end of the corridor.

    Caspian and Anastasia were led by a maid to Ti¡¯s room. She knocked and opened the door for the King and Queen to enter.

    Anastasia slowly peeked inside the room from the door, fearing that she would see Ti in a very pitiful state. And the moment she saw that Ti was sleeping peacefully, she pulled her hand from Caspian¡¯s hold and then rushed inside.

    Caspian also followed behind her.

    Anastasia sat on Ti¡¯s bed as softly as she could but Ti felt the mattress sink in a bit and was instantly awoken.

    ¡°Princess... are you okay?¡± that was the first thing Ti asked the moment her gaze fell on Anastasia¡¯s tear-filled eyes.

    Anastasia gently took Ti¡¯s palm in her hand and then nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m okay... What about you?¡± She nced at Ti¡¯s neck and found two puncture wounds that had been stitched up. And she asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Ti wrinkled her nose and pinched her fingers to gesture, ¡°Just a little.¡± She gave a reassuring smile to Anastasia and said, ¡°Other than that I am fine.¡±

    Caspian went and stood by Anastasia¡¯s side to inspect Ti. And Ti abruptly prepared to get up to greet the King.

    .....

    Caspian waved off his hand and ordered, ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t have to. I just wanted to see what my wife¡¯s best friend looked like. I wanted to remember your face.¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t know how to respond to that so she gave an awkward smile to the King and averted her gaze to look at Anastasia. And Anastasia awkwardly pointed her brows at Caspian, then wrinkled her nose and gently shook her head as if to say, ¡®Don¡¯t mind him.¡¯

    Ti smiled and nodded because she understood even when no words were spoken.

    Caspian furrowed his brows and pouted because he felt as though he was being excluded from the conversation. And heined like a baby, ¡°Do the two of you have some kind of signnguage or something? Wife, why are you having a secret conversation right in front of me? Are you back... front-biting about me?¡±

    Anastasia lightly face-palmed herself and chuckled. She turned to look at Caspian and teasingly replied, ¡°Husband! I am not ¡®back-front-biting¡¯ about you.¡± She then gently pushed him aside and asked, ¡°Will you let me have a private talk with her, please?¡±

    Caspian rolled his eyes and turned to face away from them. But didn¡¯t move an inch further away from where he was standing before. And he smiled to himself because Anastasia had referred to him as ¡®husband¡¯ for the very first time.

    Ti was raising her brows and was watching the two of them bantering like new lovers. And she wondered what happened between them overnight.

    Ti then looked at Anastasia and silently moved her lips to ask, ¡°What happened between you two?¡±

    And Anastasia replied in a simr fashion, ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m just being nice to him.¡±

    Caspian was focusing his ears very hard but he could not even hear a little breath. ¡®They sure know how to talk stealthily. I¡¯m damn sure that they are talking about me.¡¯ He was itching toin again but he bit his lower lip and kept quiet.

    ¡°So, who is looking after you?¡± Anastasia wanted to know if someone reliable was there to take care of Ti¡¯s needs or not.

    ¡°The maid who opened the door earlier is taking care of me. She is really nice to me so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Ti nced at Caspian and back at Anastasia, and silently said, ¡°She is a human.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and nodded, ¡°I know. And what about the food?¡±

    Ti tightened her grip on Anastasia¡¯s palm and reassured her, ¡°They are feeding me healthy foods. I will recover in no time. Don¡¯t worry so much.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and gently caressed Ti¡¯s dark hair. ¡°Is there anything that you need? Or anything that I can help you with? If there is then feel free to tell me.¡±

    ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡± But a frown line appeared on Ti¡¯s forehead and she asked, ¡°Although there was something that I wanted to ask. That vampire didn¡¯t hurt you after I fainted, did he?¡±

    Anastasia patted Ti¡¯s palm and replied, ¡°No.¡± She stole a nce of Caspian and said, ¡°His Majesty came to the rescue just in time. And he has already punished the criminal. You don¡¯t have to fear that vampire anymore.¡±

    Ti let out a great sigh of relief. She was more than happy to know that she had managed to buy just enough time for Anastasia to escape from that vampire unscathed.

    Ti then opened her mouth to ask something but she decided against it and pressed her lips back together.

    However, she asked it anyway after Anastasia pressured her to ask what was in her mind. ¡°Umm...¡± she toned down her voice a bit and asked, ¡°Will you ask His Majesty if I will turn into a vampire or not? Isn¡¯t the vampire bite supposed to turn humans into vampires?¡±

    Ti had been consumed by this thought ever since she regained her consciousness. She feared that she was also going to turn into one of the same monsters that terrorized her and Anastasia. And she feared that she would try to harm Anastasia just like that vampire tried to harm them.

    But Ti didn¡¯t have the courage to ask if she would turn into a vampire to anyone else.

    Anastasia nced at Caspian, who was still turning away, expecting him to give an answer to Ti¡¯s question. She knew that he was hearing the question perfectly well.

    But Caspian pretended not to have heard it and kept on ncing out of the window.

    So Anastasia finally asked him, ¡°Caspian, is Ti going to turn into a vampire?¡±

    Caspian smirked because he was now needed by his wife. He turned around to face her and asked as if he didn¡¯t know why they were having that thought, ¡°Why would she turn into a vampire?¡±

    ¡°Sh-She was bitten by one so... Isn¡¯t that how one turns into a vampire?¡± Anastasia creased her brows seeing the nk look on Caspian¡¯s face.

    Caspian gave a light chuckle and gave her a piece of advice, ¡°Anastasia, you shouldn¡¯t believe everything that you hear from rumors. Rumors reach your ears after being modified countless times. So there will be a vast difference between rumors and reality.¡±

    ¡°So, she won¡¯t turn into a vampire?¡± Anastasia asked again just to reconfirm.

    Caspian nodded and further rified, ¡°Yes, she will not turn. Vampires aren¡¯t turned, they are born just like humans. But the birth rate is very low aspared to the humans.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t know that. Thank you!¡± Anastasia gave a smile to Caspian and turned to give one to Ti as well. And she happily said to her handmaid, ¡°You heard him. You don¡¯t have to fret over it anymore.¡±

    Ti let out a huge sigh of relief. She had already nned to take her own life than turn into a monster that could potentially kill her best friend.

 Chapter 25

    25 Old Man

    After having a chat with Ti for quite a while, Caspian escorted Anastasia towards her room.

    When they reached a little further away from the servants¡¯ quarter, Caspian asked Anastasia, ¡°You seem pretty close with your handmaid. When did you two first meet?¡± He wanted to know how many years it would take for Anastasia to be as worried about him as she was for Ti.

    A sweet smile appeared on Anastasia¡¯s lips as she recalled the first time she had met Ti. ¡°I met her when I was six years old. She was 7 at that time. Her mother used to work in our castle and she had brought Ti with her that day.¡±

    ¡®Eleven years, huh!¡¯ Caspian thought to himself and asked again, ¡°Then when did you start... liking her?¡±

    Anastasia chuckled and replied, ¡°I did not have any friends to y with so I instantly liked her. And after that day, she did note back for more than a week, I was really sad. So I demanded my father to let Ti stay with me. And from the very next day, Ti and her mother started living in the castle. We were inseparable after that.¡±

    Caspian smiled and thought, ¡®We already live in the same castle. So that is a start.¡¯ He also noticed how easily her father had fulfilled her demand.

    Caspian nced at Anastasia who was walking a little further away from him.

    She was breathing in the fresh air and was admiring the beauty of Wentworth elms trees whose branches were hanging down, almost touching the ground.

    It was Anastasia¡¯s first time being outside her room in the broad daylight. And the Kilerth Castle looked anything but ghastly.

    .....

    The central wing where she resided could be seen a little further ahead from where they were walking right now. The sandstones used to build the castle varied in color from stone to stone. Some leaned more towards ck while some towards grey in the color spectrum.

    Anastasia finally understood that the building naturally had grey and ck color rather than by the fading away of the paint. The castle wasn¡¯t painted at all on the outside, unlike the castle in Orsenia.

    However, the castle still looked old. And the decorations and furniture inside also were vintage. And it intrigued her a lot.

    So, Anastasia turned to look at Caspian, who was already looking at her, and then asked, ¡°Caspian, do you know how old this castle is?¡±

    Caspian gave a nod and replied, ¡°Of course. My brother had it built during his reigning period and I often used toe here to watch the construction of this castle. After the construction waspleted, we shifted here from our old castle.¡±

    Anastasia was baffled to hear that the old-looking castle was younger than Caspian. She shot a quizzical nce at him and asked, ¡°So it is less than 20 years old?¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Caspian smiled and gave Anastasia the exact number, ¡°It is around three hundred and fifty years old.¡±

    Anastasia abruptly stopped her feet and turned to face Caspian. Caspian also stopped and looked at her. She had a stunned look on her face so he asked, ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Anastasia pointed at the castle and stuttered, ¡°Y-You just said that the castle is 350 years old.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Caspian puckered his lips and added, ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So you said that you watched this castle getting constructed!¡± Anastasia still had that confused look on her face.

    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Caspian now knew why Anastasia looked so surprised. But he still pretended not to know what she was implying and asked, ¡°Ah! I get it. Do you want to know something specific rted to the construction? Maybe you want to know how many workers were used.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Anastasia scoffed and gently stomped her feet on the ground. ¡°I want to know about you! How old are you?¡±

    Caspian simply sighed and started walking. ¡°I don¡¯t want to scare you by telling you my real age.¡±

    Anastasia pouted andiningly shouted at him, ¡°Caspian! Why are you running away?¡± She gathered her gown and ran after Caspian. ¡°Wait for me!¡±

    Caspian could hear light footsteps closing in behind him. He pressed his lips tightly to suppress hisughter and began walking even faster.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Suddenly, Caspian heard a thud sound apanied by Anastasia¡¯s cry. He turned around to see that Anastasia was sitting on the ground while holding her ankle.

    He instantly sprinted to her side and asked very worriedly, ¡°What happened? Did you sprain your ankle?¡± He nced at her shoes with a slight heel and got angry, ¡°Why are you wearing such tricky shoes?¡±

    Anastasia was smiling all this while because she was just pretending to be hurt. It was a trick that she would often use on Ti.

    When he was about to take off her shoe, she wrapped her arms around his arm and said, ¡°Caught you!¡±

    Caspian nced at Anastasia¡¯s face to see her grinning widely. And he burst intoughter seeing that yful side of her. ¡°Oh, you even know how to fake injuries, huh?¡±

    Anastasia teasingly nodded her head. ¡°Now answer my question,¡± she asked a bit authoritatively.

    But Caspian clicked his tongue and kept on ying along, ¡°Since you sprained your ankle, I have no choice but to carry you to your bedchamber.¡±

    ¡°Carry me? No. You cannot-¡±

    Caspian disregarded her protest and swiftly lifted her in his arms.

    ¡°Caspian! Put me down!¡± Anastasia wriggled her body and tried to get off his hold.

    ¡°Sure.¡± To make her quiet, Caspian pretended that he was about to drop her. Anastasia gasped and grabbed the ruffles of Caspian¡¯s shirt.

    Caspian smirked and said, ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t want to let go of me.¡±

    ¡°Caspian! You were about to...¡± She subconsciously stopped midways as her emerald eyes were stuck on Caspian¡¯s perfectly crafted face. He had a constant smile on his face as he walked slowly. She didn¡¯t want to protest anymore because she was feeling as if she was flying high in the clouds.

    When they entered the central wing of the castle, Caspian looked at the old walls which reminded just how old he was. He gave a quick nce to Anastasia and then said, ¡°I¡¯m four hundred and seventeen years old.¡±

    Anastasia held her breath and kept on staring at Caspian for a good few seconds. But then she chuckled and dismissed him, ¡°You are lying!¡±

    ¡°Why would I lie to my wife?¡± Caspian asked with a straight face.

    Anastasia chuckled again thinking he would join in herughter. But he never did. And with a bewildered look on her face, she tried to make him confess his age again, ¡°But you just look like you are 22 or 23... Why do you look so young if you were that old?¡±

    Caspian carefully climbed up the stairs while saying, ¡°That¡¯s because we vampires age very sluggishly after reaching a certain age.¡±

    ¡°And to humans, we look like we didn¡¯t age a day because they will perish away before they can see any significant changes in our appearance.¡± Caspian suddenly felt his stomach twisting at the thought of Anastasia perishing away after a few decades.

    They finally reached Anastasia¡¯s room. And Caspian gently put her down on her feet.

    He noticed displeasure in Anastasia¡¯s face and thought that she hated him now that she knew how old he was. He leaned down to look at her face and asked, ¡°Do you still want to make this old man fall for you?¡±

    Contrary to what he had thought, Anastasia gave a wide smile and enthusiastically replied, ¡°Mhmm... if you have lived that long then you have seen things which I never have. That means I can make you my personal library from whom I can hear countless stories about great adventures.¡±

    And right there, Anastasia broke a piece of shell that was guarding Caspian¡¯s cold heart.

    ¡°I will share all of my adventure stories with you. Or even better, we can go on our own little adventures every now and then.¡± Caspian smiled and gave a kiss on Anastasia¡¯s forehead, making her heart skip a beat for him.

    Caspian kept on gazing at Anastasia¡¯s soft lips for a while, contemting something. ¡®She is my wife after all. Isn¡¯t it natural to want her?¡¯

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Anastasia gave a questioning nce because her husband seemed to be lost.

    Caspian smiled and gently caressed Anastasia¡¯s lips with his thumb. And he finally vocalized his inner thoughts, ¡°Wife, let¡¯s have our first night today. I wille by to pick you up in a few hours.¡±

    ¡°First...¡± Anastasia wrinkled her brows and was about to ask something but Caspian was faster than the wind. He had already left the room to deal with some stately affairs.

    Anastasia let out a sigh and whispered, ¡°First night of what? Dinner?¡±

 Chapter 26

    26 The Hooded Vampire

    ¡°First night of what? Dinner?¡± Anastasia pouted her lips and thought, ¡®He could have at least said what we would be doing so that I could prepare myself ordingly...¡¯

    She sighed again because she did not like the fact that he could disappear from her room before she could even say aplete word. ¡®I should ask him not to run like that when he leaves my room from now on.¡¯

    Anastasia went and stood in front of the mirror. She thought while checking her reflection, ¡®I hope this dress will be okay for whatever he has nned for the night.¡¯

    Anastasia was now left all alone in the room with a couple of hours left for the day to end. She tried to upy herself but the loneliness finally caught up to her.

    Without Ti around and also her collection of some reality-escaping novels, Anastasia was bored out of her mind. There was nothing that she could do to keep herself entertained in that lonely castle.

    She flopped on her bed and let out a long, exasperated noise. And she scolded herself, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring any books with you, Anna?¡±

    She pouted and poked her cheeks with her fingers. ¡°Did you think that you were going to die on the very first day? Or did you think that you would find something more interesting than the books here?¡±

    A soft smile appeared on Anastasia¡¯s lips because her brain sent an interesting image of her husband in front of her eyes. And she whispered in her daze, ¡°Well, Caspian¡¯s interesting.¡±

    And she abruptly widened her eyes and pped her lips for saying that out loud. ¡®Don¡¯t say such scandalous things, you stupid mouth!¡¯

    .....

    Anastasia sighed again and got up from the bed intending to call Martha and Holly.

    However, she had just met her personal maids and didn¡¯t really know how to indulge them in conversations without making it awkward for both parties. So, she didn¡¯t bother calling them in either.

    Anastasia then went to her antechamber from where she could see the front view of the castle. She stood by the window and kept on staring to see if she would see something interesting. But all she could see were some birds that would fly by every once in a while.

    Her eyes suddenly widened with excitement because she noticed a ck blur running from the castle to the tall wall until it vanished from her sight.

    ¡°Oh! I think that was a vampire! I can see them run! Sort of...¡± She lightly pped because that had been the most exciting thing that she saw in the past two hours.

    She let out a deep sigh and sat down on the sofa. As there was nothing better to do, she began to recall her earlier interaction with Caspian. ¡®So he was born in the early 1300s huh! I wonder how the world was like back then.¡¯

    Anastasiay down on the sofa while facing the firece. She trailed her eyes around at the paintings and tapestries that were hung on the wall.

    ¡°Wait!¡± she suddenly looked back at the painting that was hung above the firece. An extremely beautiful woman was bathing two little children.

    She had already seen that painting a couple of times while she lounged in her antechamber. But now that she looked at it again, she had a hunch that the woman in that painting was Caspian¡¯s mother and the children were him and his brother.

    Anastasia got down to closely inspect that painting. Though the colors of the painting were already cracking and had started to peel off, it was still beautiful.

    She squinted her eyes and looked at the face of the babies to see if one of them looked like Caspian.

    And her eyes twinkled when she inspected the face of the younger child who looked around three years old. ¡°Ah! This one resembles his eyes and nose. Maybe this is indeed him and his family.¡±

    She then giggled and thought, ¡®But why is was he painted naked? And why is it hung in this room?¡¯

    Anastasia then shifted her nce at the child who looked around eight years old and then thought, ¡®This must be Caspian¡¯s brother.¡¯

    She recalled Caspian saying that his brother was the King before him. Her face turned gloomy all of a sudden because she knew what that meant. ¡®His brother is already...¡¯ she sighed and thought, ¡®I guess he doesn¡¯t have any other close rtives than Lady Edith and her family.¡¯

    And she felt the pit of her stomach churn. ¡®I cannot even imagine having to live such a long life.¡¯ She gazed at the painting again and lightly touched on that child¡¯s face. ¡®Doesn¡¯t he miss his family? He must have felt very lonely.¡¯

    ¡ª

    A little far away from the Kilerth Castle, in the forest that surrounded it, a vampire in a ck hooded cloak was frantically waiting for someone.

    ¡®She asked me to be here at 5. So why isn¡¯t she here yet?¡¯ that vampire thought to himself as he tapped his fingernail on his crooked front teeth.

    He had already scanned the surrounding with his red eyes for the hundredth time within a matter of 5 minutes. It almost looked as though he was trying hard not to be seen by the other vampire than the one he was waiting for.

    That vampire sighed in frustration and then took out his brass pocket watch from his ck waistcoat. ¡®It is already 6 minutes past five!¡¯

    He looked in one particr direction and thought, ¡®Come on! Where are you? The others will notice if I disappear for too long.¡¯

    He lightly paced around for a bit because he was getting anxious by the second. His eyes and ears were alert all of a sudden when he heard someone running towards him. And the corner of his lips pulled up because the beautiful woman that he was waiting for was finally standing not too far away from him.

    ¡°Beth!¡± he called her name in the softest whisper and instantly closed the gap between them.

    He gazed at her beautiful eyes and her cherry-red lips. Those lips made him recall the hot and passion-filled kiss that they shared yesterday after the ball. So he leaned in for a kiss but Beth pressed her finger on his lips and stopped him.

    ¡°Elias, I would have loved to devour you... but the others might recognize my scent on you if you do that. So we better be careful, until the main task for today isplete.¡± Beth gave the sweetest smile to that man.

    Elias gave a sad smile to Beth. Though he would have loved to im her lips right there, what Beth was saying was valid. He didn¡¯t want to be caught by anyone, especially Zenon. ¡°You are right. I shall resist the temptation for now then.¡±

    ¡°We can arrange a rendezvous some other time. It shall be your reward after you close that human¡¯s chapter forever.¡± Beth winked at him and slipped a small vial inside his waist pocket.

    She then yfully ran her finger on his cheek and seductively whispered, ¡°Make sure that human takes it. Force her, trick her, I don¡¯t care. All I care about is the result.¡±

 Chapter 27

    27 A Vial of Poison

    Elias was one of the servants of the castle who served the guests in the celebratory ball night yesterday. And after Beth was wounded by Caspian, he had offered to help her clean the wound and the bloodstains from her dress.

    Beth saw that as an opportunity to use him to exact her revenge.

    Elias easily fell prey to Beth when she made him dream about the Kingdom and a beautiful Queen.

    She wove an borate fake n where she said that after killing Anastasia, she would win over the grieving King¡¯s heart first and get married to him. And they would kill the King together after which she would be crowned the Queen. She then promised to make Elias her King.

    That too good to be true n would easily take years but that didn¡¯t matter for Elias. A few years would pass by in the blink of an eye in their long life.

    ¡°Force her, trick her, I don¡¯t care. All I care about is the result.¡± Beth smiled as she caressed Elias¡¯ lips with her fingertip.

    ¡°Leave that to me. I have already thought of a way to bring out the result in our favor.¡± Elias yfully bit Beth¡¯s finger and sucked it.

    Beth curled her toes inside her shoes in disgust but put on a bright smile on her face. ¡°I always had my eyes on you, Elias. I regret not confessing to you sooner.¡±

    She pulled her finger out of his mouth and added, ¡°After our n is a sess, it is only a matter of time you and I will rule this Kingdom together.¡±

    .....

    Elias gave an evil smirk and smoldered his eyes to say, ¡°I cannot wait for that day.¡± He instantly sighed and said, ¡°Now I have to go back. Else the others will find out that I sneaked out of the castle.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t forget to meet me right here at midnight.¡± Beth then spoke a bit sternly, ¡°And give me the good news.¡±

    Elias pondered upon that matter for a while and suggested an alternative, ¡°It might be too dangerous toe here at midnight. The investigation could be going on after the deed is done. So let¡¯s meet tomorrow at 12 during the day. Most of the vampires will be indoors at that time.¡±

    Beth nodded her head and agreed, ¡°Okay. We will meet tomorrow then. And celebrate our little sess.¡±

    ¡°Until we meet again,¡± Elias gave a longing stare at Beth¡¯s lips, and with a heavy heart, he parted from the woman who was just using him as a pawn.

    Beth¡¯s sweet expression almost instantly vanished from her face the moment Elias disappeared from her view. She red at her finger with disgust and anger.

    ¡°And that disgusting servant had to do that!¡± She took out her kerchief from her pocket and aggressively wiped her finger. And she angrily threw the kerchief on the ground and stomped on it a couple of times.

    She then clenched her fists and red at the Kilerth Castle that appeared in a distance. She gritted her teeth and arrogantly bbered, ¡°I wanted to make you mine, Caspian. And you not only rejected me but also went as far as to humiliate me in front of everyone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just you who knows how to pay back. I also know how to hold a grudge.¡± She chuckled to herself and whispered, ¡°Learned from the best.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how you will feel when I break your new toy,¡± She had a grim smile on her face as she turned around and ran faster than the wind.

    ¡ª

    Elias had been working in the castle for quite a few years and was familiar with the daily routines of those in the castle. So he managed to get inside the castle without being detected by anyone.

    It was already evening. And he had to feed that poison to the King¡¯s wife before she would have her dinner if he didn¡¯t want the poisoned food to be sent back untouched.

    He had already nned out everything beforehand. All he had to do was put the n in motion.

    So without wasting any time, he visited the female servant¡¯s quarter. He sneaked into one of the rooms and asked a startled maid, ¡°Olive, did you find out what I asked you to?¡±

    Olive was the maid who was looking after Ti. She was around 19 years old but had a babyface.

    Olive gave a nervous smile and replied after a nod, ¡°Yes. Ti said that Her Highness has a sweet tooth.¡±

    The vampire furrowed his brows and asked with a steely nce, ¡°And am I supposed to know what food she likes by deciphering the words you said?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I meant to say she likes anything that is sweet, like desserts or candies.¡± Olive was clenching her hands together and was looking down the whole time.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Elias rubbed his chin for a while and then gave an order to Olive, ¡°Then take a cake and tea to Her Highness¡¯ room without raising any suspicion.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m-I¡¯m sorry, sir. But I¡¯m not supposed to.¡± Olive didn¡¯t understand why she would need to do so when she was not even assigned to attend Anastasia.

    Elias scoffed and spoke very slowly and threateningly, ¡°That is why I am asking you to do so without raising any suspicion.¡±

    He immediately smiled to show his crooked teeth and then vaguely hinted at what he was nning. ¡°Taking the tampered food to the King¡¯s wife shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem though. The human maids and servants are all new so the others won¡¯t know who is assigned to whom yet.¡±

    Olive¡¯s heart sank when he mentioned ¡®tampered food¡¯. He had already threatened her to gather the information earlier and now, she knew what he was going to make her do.

    And just like she had thought, Elias revealed his intention, ¡°I have something special for Her Highness.¡±

    Elias took out the vial that Beth had given him. And then took Olive¡¯s hand in his cold palm, sending goosebumps all over her body.

    ¡°This is supposed to be lethal to humans,¡± he said as he ced that vial in Olive¡¯s palm.

    But Olive refused to hold that vial because obviously, she was terrified of the consequences if she would get intertwined in something as worse as murdering the King¡¯s wife.

    Even though she was scared of that vampire to her core, she pleaded to him in her trembling voice, ¡°I already gave you the information that you needed, sir. Please leave me out of this!¡± The rims of her eyes were already glistening with tears.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be mistaken that I¡¯m giving you a choice here, darling!¡± Elias forcefully closed her fingers to make her hold the vial properly.

    He gave a mocking smile and threatened her further, ¡°Drop it and I will drop you from the top of this building.¡±

    Olive¡¯s heartbeat was now drumming like crazy. She kept on standing like a statue while holding the cold vial of poison in her hand.

    Elias then instructed her as though he was the head of the servants, ¡°Before you leave for her room, pour the content of this vial in her tea. Make sure that you watch her drink the tea before you leave the room.¡±

    He leaned close to Olive¡¯s already sweaty face and spoke in a spine-chilling voice, ¡°I think I don¡¯t need to remind you to keep your mouth shut...¡±

    Elias snarled to show his deadly fangs and red at her with his glowing red eyes. ¡°...Unless you have a death wish.¡±

 Chapter 28

    28 A Deadly Cuppa

    Olive sneaked into the kitchen that was specifically set up by Zenon for the humans in the castle. She was already covered in cold sweats just by thinking about the thing that she was going to do.

    ¡®How did I even find myself in this situation?¡¯ She started to question her whole existence as she was hastily shuffling through the ingredients that were on the table and in the kitchen cab.

    ¡®My life turned upside down within a matter of a single day. Why did my mother send me to work here in the castle even when she hated the vampires? Had she just said no then I would have been living a peaceful life on the farm. Did money be more important to her than her daughter¡¯s safety?¡¯

    She tried to find some kind of sweet food that was already prepared. But she didn¡¯t find anything. She began panicking even more thinking that her life woulde to an end soon. She abruptly crouched down on the floor and hugged her knees.

    ¡®I cannot even run away now. They will easily catch me. But how can I kill someone? I think I should just let that vampire kill me instead. I don¡¯t want to be a murderer,¡¯ she thought to herself and she began to silently shed her tears.

    But the thought of getting bitten, tortured, or defiled by that vampire before finally getting killed sent chilling shivers down her spine. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she feared getting discovered by some vampire just by hearing her heartbeat.

    She gulped to moisten her dry throat. And when she did, she recalled that there was a solution to this problem in her pocket. ¡®I should drink that poison myself!¡¯

    With her shaky hands, she took out the vial and red at the light purple liquid for a few seconds. She slowly opened the lid and a minty smell entered her nose. Her trembling hand inched closer and closer to her mouth. Her lower lip touched the cold ss that sent goosebumps all over her body.

    She inhaled sharply and immediately closed the lid. She buried her face in her knees and screamed in her mind. ¡®Why should we lower ss people always sacrifice our lives for those in the higher ss? Isn¡¯t my life equally valuable as that of that Princess?¡¯

    .....

    Her mind was filled with hatred towards everyone. And she pushed herself up with a determined look on her face. ¡®If I have to kill someone to live then so be it.¡¯

    She looked through the cab again.

    She gathered a couple of items like bread, tangerine, cream, and some berries. She was going to make a quick dessert for the King¡¯s wife. Side by side, she put a kettle over the firewood to make some tea.

    Olive took a fancy ss bowl andyered the bowl with pieces of bread. She squeezed in some tangerine, spread the cream over the bread, and topped it with the berries.

    ¡®The dessert is ready. Now for the poison...¡¯

    She poured the tea into a teapot. And she slowly and steadily began pouring the poison in it.

    She was so focused on not spilling the poison that she didn¡¯t even hear the chef entering the kitchen.

    ¡°Olive, what are you preparing?¡± he asked from the kitchen door.

    ¡°Haa!¡± Olive got so startled that she spilled some poison out of the teapot and into a bowl that was right beside the teapot.

    ¡°Oh, careful!¡± the chef ran inside to see if Olive was okay.

    Olive¡¯s back was facing the door so she quickly dumped the poison in the teapot and slipped the vial in her cleavage.

    ¡°Are you okay? I didn¡¯t mean to startle you.¡± The chef looked very apologetic.

    Olive nervously smiled and stuttered, ¡°It¡¯s o-k-kay, Mr. Madok.¡±

    Madok couldn¡¯t help but ask when he saw the tea and dessert, ¡°Who are these for?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to treat Ti. So I prepared it for her,¡± Olive came up with a lie without even missing a beat.

    And before the chef would ask any further questions, she gave a dismissive smile to him and turned towards the cab to take a cup.

    She was about to choose a fancy one but Madok suggested from behind, ¡°That cup is for the King¡¯s wife. You might want to take another one.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Olive pressed her lips together and then picked up a rather in cup.

    She quickly arranged everything in a tray and gave a nod to Madok before leaving the kitchen.

    Her heart began to drum again. She was nervous because someone had seen her in the kitchen with the food that she was going to give to Anastasia.

    ¡®If that vampire finds out that someone saw me then he will be furious. What shall I do?¡¯ She walked aimlessly while fretting over the matter.

    She slowed down for a while and thought of meeting that vampire and revealing the problem. ¡®But I don¡¯t even know his name! And nor do I know where to find him...¡¯

    She tightened her grip on the tray and thought, ¡®I will just go along with the n. I will sneak back and clear the evidence before anyone else finds her dead.¡¯

    She didn¡¯t know whether it was her strong will to survive or it was her suppressed bloodlust, she was not backing away from murdering the woman who had done nothing to harm her.

    ¡°Your Highness, may Ie in?¡± she knocked on the huge door which matched the description given by Elias.

    There was no answer for a while so she tried knocking again, ¡°Your Highness? I have brought some tea.¡±

    Anastasia had fallen asleep on the sofa in her antechamber. She was woken up when she heard a soft voiceing from outside.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Anastasia rubbed her eyes and yawned.

    She heard the door creak open and a light footstep approaching her. ¡®Ah! That was some good sleep!¡¯ Anastasia thought to herself and forced her eyes open. The dim evening light was trying its best to keep things visible in the room.

    Anastasia slowly got up and stretched her arms while thinking, ¡®It¡¯s already dusk... so why am I being served tea at this houuuuur...¡¯ her mind hit a snag when her eyes caught the sight of the dessert.

    ¡®Never mind that. I could enjoy a tea whenever if they serve desserts like this.¡¯ Anastasia¡¯s eyes were sparkling as the maidy down the tray on the table.

    She watched the maid put the bowl of dessert in front of her and watched her thin hands as she started to brew the tea.

    Anastasia was so absorbed in the tea brewing process that she didn¡¯t even realize this maid was not her personal maid but someone else.

    Anastasia shifted her eyes from the teacup to the bowl in front of her because the maid was taking too long to brew the tea and the dessert was looking very appetizing.

    ¡®I will have the dessert first. I feel so hungry just by looking at it.¡¯ She grinned like a baby and grabbed the bowl to dig in.

    ¡°Thank you for the dessert,¡± she happily said and scooped a heap of cream and berries. The sweetness spread in her mouth and she closed her eyes as she floated in the food heaven.

    ¡°Ah! This tastes so good!¡± Anastasia praised the maid and kept on stuffing her mouth with the sweet dessert.

    In between the eating, she took a nce at Olive¡¯s face and realized that she was Ti¡¯s caretaker. Her babyface was easy to remember.

    Anastasia wanted to ask why she was here instead of her personal maids. However, she felt that it would be rude to ask that while gobbling up the tasty food that she had brought.

    ¡°The tea is ready, Your Highness.¡± Olive pushed the teacup in front of Anastasia and added in a sweet voice, ¡°The dessert will taste even better if you have it along with tea.¡±

    Olive was not even scared anymore. The adrenaline rush had taken over her mind and body. It would be a lie to say that she wasn¡¯t eager to see Anastasia take a sip of that poisonced tea and choke to death.

    ¡°I know, right? It tastes so much better with tea,¡± Anastasia excitedly put the bowl aside and took the teacup in her hand.

    She brought the cup close to her nose and inhaled the minty aroma. ¡°Ooh! Smells very tasty,¡± Anastasia smiled as if the aroma touched her soul.

    The corners of Olive¡¯s lips pulled up when the rim of the cup touched Anastasia¡¯s lower lip. ¡®Yes, that¡¯s it. All you need is a sip or two.¡¯

 Chapter 29

    29 Poison!

    ¡°Wife, are you having your dinner?¡±

    Olive almost had a heart attack when she saw the King walking inside the room. She swiftly picked up the empty tray and bowed her head low so as not to show her face. While the King¡¯s attention was focused on his wife, she sneaked out of the room like a mouse.

    The alluring voice of Caspian prompted Anastasia to look at him before she could take a sip of her tea.

    Anastasia shook her head and replied to Caspian with a sweet smile, ¡°No, I¡¯m just having tea. How could I eat first when we are going to have dinner together?¡±

    ¡°We are?¡± Caspian raised his brows in surprise because he didn¡¯t know how she got that idea. He squinted his eyes and was dismissive, ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if that is a good idea. You might lose your appetite if you eat with me.¡±

    Now Anastasia was confused by what he had meant when he said they were going to have their first night before he left earlier. ¡°Er... then what did you mean by our first-¡±

    ¡°Why are you drinking from that cup?¡± Caspian interjected in between as his eyes fell on the in cup that Anastasia was holding very close to her mouth. ¡°That cup is supposed to be for the servants.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. Maybe that new maid got confused.¡± Anastasia brought the cup close to her lips again but Caspian immediately stole the cup from her hand.

    And he said sternly, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so forgiving, Anna! A day is more than enough to memorize such simple things.¡± It didn¡¯t register in Caspian¡¯s mind that Anastasia was referring to that maid as ¡®new¡¯ because she was not her personal maid.

    .....

    He tapped his nail on the cup and gave his wife some advice, ¡°If you keep on forgiving them saying this is a small mistake then they will get bolder and bolder by the day. You need to keep them under control.¡±

    Anastasia gave him a puppy-eyed look and pouted, ¡°Can¡¯t we control themter? I just want to drink the tea. It smelled so good.¡±

    Caspian felt bad for having lectured his wife when she was enjoying her food. He wanted to give the cup back to her but the tea was now already cold because of his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! But this is already cold.¡± Caspian put that cup on the floor so that she wouldn¡¯t drink it and said, ¡°Let me ask that maid to bring hot tea and in the proper cup.¡±

    Caspian went outside and saw the maid at the end of the corridor. She was running for some reason so he shouted, ¡°Hey, you! New maid!¡±

    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Olive abruptly came to a halt. She was now scared to her core. She thought that Anastasia was already dead and she was going to be incarcerated or killed or something worse for her action.

    But she heard him order in a normal voice, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe here for a moment?¡±

    Caspian went back inside and sat beside Anastasia while facing her. She was enthusiastically scraping the leftover cream from the bowl and was licking the spoon. And his mind wandered wildly in no time.

    But he was quickly pulled out of his wild imagination when Anastasia turned to see him all of a sudden and boasted, ¡°I saw a vampire running today. Though all I saw was a blur.¡±

    ¡°You did? Where?¡± Caspian asked in a deep whisper while gazing at the cream that was stuck on her lower lip.

    Anastasia pointed the spoon out of the window and replied like an excited toddler, ¡°From there. Someone crossed the wall.¡±

    Olive lightly knocked on the open door and asked in a very scarcely audible voice, ¡°Your Majesty, how may I be of your service?¡± Though she would have loved to run away rather than returning back to Anastasia¡¯s room, she wanted to buy herself some time by not raising suspicion.

    She noticed the cup on the floor and wondered if Anastasia took some sips or not. ¡®If she did then I better run for my life. The King already saw my face!¡¯

    Caspian turned towards the door and he narrowed his eyes at the maid. He could hear the hammering of her heart and could see the terrified look on her face. But he dismissed it thinking that she was nervous because she was new.

    He gave a cold re to her and ordered in a tyrannical way, ¡°Bring a cup of hot tea for Her Majesty. And serve it in the proper cup. Does a King need to remind a maid how to do her job properly?¡±

    Seeing her still standing there while hanging her head low, he shouted at that maid, ¡°Stop standing there and go!¡±

    Olive was startled by that sudden growl from the King and she ended up dropping the tray that she was sping over her chest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty. I will bring the tea right away.¡± she abruptly picked up the tray from the floor and ran.

    Caspian was visibly disappointed at that maid. ¡°Isn¡¯t she a bother to you?¡± he asked Anastasia andined to her, ¡°I already dislike her. She is way too clumsy and dirty.¡± He sneered in disgust while recalling the light purple stain that he saw on her white stomacher.

    ¡°I just met her this once. It is hard to tell with just one meeting,¡± Anastasia replied very obliviously.

    ¡°What do you mean you just met her this once? Isn¡¯t she the one who is assigned to you?¡± Caspian was now a tiny bit suspicious of that maid¡¯s clumsy behavior.

    Anastasia shook her head while cing the bowl on the table. ¡°She was the one who was taking care of Ti. I wanted to ask her why she served me food instead of my personal maids but it felt a bit rude to do so.¡±

    ¡°Anna!¡± Caspian instantly fisted over his mouth and speechlessly stared at his na?ve wife.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t-¡± He was about to scold her for being so innocent but then he remembered something that Anastasia mentioned just a while ago. ¡°Wait! Did you say that you saw a vampire jumping the wall?¡±

    Anastasia nodded, somewhat scared by his hardening face.

    ¡°When?¡± he jumped up on his feet and asked with a sense of urgency.

    ¡°Maybe about an hour ago,¡± Anastasia replied not knowing why Caspian was panicking all of a sudden.

    ¡°What was the color of the blur? Do you remember?¡± Now, for some reason, Anastasia felt as though Caspian was seriously interrogating her.

    ¡°ck...¡± Anastasia furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°Is something wrong? Why are you so worried?¡±

    But Caspian buried his face in his palm and closed his eyes instead of answering Anastasia¡¯s questions. His mind had already gone into detective mode. ¡®ck cloth... A servant went outside when it is not the day for collection, neither taxes nor blood. That clumsy maid was not her personal maid. Purple stain...¡¯

    He abruptly opened his eyes and red at the empty bowl, ¡®Poison!¡¯

 Chapter 30

    30 Flying Under the Moon

    Within a sh, Caspian was able to connect all the dots and concluded that someone was plotting Anastasia¡¯s assassination.

    He nervously scratched his brow and leaned closer to Anastasia. He anxiously wiped the cream off of her lips and asked her in a scared voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t that food taste weird? Are you feeling some difort somewhere? Any pain? Anything abnormal?¡±

    Seeing Caspian that frantic, and hearing him ask all those questions, something finally dawned upon Anastasia. She recalled her teacher once mentioning the smells of varieties of poison in one of her lessons.

    Her teacher had made her take a whiff of a vial of poison that gave off a minty smell and had said, ¡®It is the most used poison because it easily blends in with the food¡¯s smell. If you are served some food that has a minty smell, then make sure to have the person who served it to taste that food first.¡¯

    Anastasia covered her mouth with a distraught look on her face. The thought that everyone was constantly trying to take her life ever since the day she came to Sorvando became too unsettling for her.

    ¡®I should have rather spent my remaining life peacefully in Orsenia than bing greedy anding here. At least no one tried to kill me in Orsenia.¡¯ The rims of her eyes were fighting to hold off her tears.

    Caspian¡¯s heart sank when he saw her like that. He thought that the poison was already taking effect and he hastily picked up Anastasia in his arms, ¡°I will take you to the physician. Please hold on.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Anastasia whispered while trying hard to swallow her tears, ¡°It was the tea that had poison. I didn¡¯t drink any.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t know what to think of that statement from Anastasia. He had countless questions in his mind but he didn¡¯t think there was time for any chit-chat. ¡°What if the food that you ate also had poison? I¡¯m not going to take any chances, not with you.¡±

    .....

    He gazed at the wet eyes of Anastasia and instructed her in a haste, ¡°Hold on to me tightly. If you get scared then tight shut your eyes. We will reach there in no time.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t debate with him any further because what he said was also true. ¡®The smell of poison in the dessert could have been masked by that strong smell of tangerine!¡¯ she thought to herself.

    She then put her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck and tightly clutched her wrist with her palm.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Caspian was already walking down the corridor and the moment she nodded, Caspian ran as though he was the embodiment of speed itself.

    ¡®Oh, holy mother of God!¡¯ Anastasia was so scared by that whishing run that she instantly closed her eyes and buried her face in Caspian¡¯s chest.

    The second they were out of the castle, Caspian pushed his heels and lifted himself and Anastasia in the air.

    Anastasia gasped and opened her eyes to check what had happened. She peeked over Caspian¡¯s shoulder. The full moon looked bigger and closer for some reason. She slowly turned her head to look around and was startled to see the tall trees below them.

    Her whole body turned stiff fearing that Caspian would mistakenly drop her to the ground.

    Caspian felt the stiffness of her body. He slowed down a little so that Anastasia would feel a little less frightened. ¡°We are almost there,¡± Caspian shouted while the cool summer breeze was hitting both of them.

    Obviously, this was her first time flying and she felt like her stomach would get upset because of the fear of height and speed rather than the suspected poisoning. Anastasia buried her face in his chest again and prayed in her heart that they would reach their destination soon.

    From one of the towers of the Kilerth Castle, a shadow was watching Caspian flying under the light of the moon. ¡®Where is he going at this hour? Did something happen?¡¯

    That shadow jumped down from the tower and began to follow Caspian from below.

    The physician was a human who lived in a nearby town called Silver Keep. It was the only town in the Kingdom of Sorvando that was full of humans. All the others parts of the Kingdom were upied by vampires for generations.

    When the King and the Queen reached over the human settlement, Caspian slowly descended to the ground. He immediately rushed inside that physician¡¯s home which also served as a clinic.

    ¡°Carl! Are you home?¡± Caspian shouted at the top of his lungs and gently made Anastasiay down on a bed.

    Carl was a middle-aged human with grey hair and a round belly. He was the same physician who had looked after Anastasia and Ti the other night.

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Carl came running from the other room to see the King and the Queen. ¡°Did something happen to Her Majesty again?¡± he asked while darting his eyes at Anastasia.

    ¡°Someone poisoned her food. Check if she has ingested the poison or not.¡± Caspian hastily ordered that physician and watched him instantly check Anastasia¡¯s eyes, her lips, and her tongue.

    Without saying a word, Carl took out his pocket watch and began taking Anastasia¡¯s pulse.

    While the physician was counting the pulse, Caspian could hear the loud ticking sound of the watch that it made every second. With each second, his anxiety was also building up. That one minute felt like forever for Caspian.

    Carl finally looked at Caspian and asked, ¡°Do you know what kind of poison it was?¡±

    ¡°The stain of that poison looked light purple,¡± he replied. Other than that, he had no knowledge about the poisons that would be lethal to humans.

    And Anastasia also shared what she knew, ¡°The tea smelled like mint. I think there is a poison that smells like that. But I did not drink that tea. I had dessert though. There was no such smelling off from it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Carl touched his chin and looked like he was thinking something.

    Caspian was already getting restless, waiting for that ¡®slow¡¯ human to speak. He couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and he shouted indignantly, ¡°Well? Is she poisoned or not? Spit it out already!¡±

    Carl was unfazed by that furious King. He would have the patient¡¯s family yelling at him all the time so this was nothing new to him.

    And he replied the King in a calm and soothing voice of his, ¡°From the initial inspection, it does not look like Her Majesty has been poisoned. However, I will have to keep her under observation to make sure that she is indeed clean.¡±

    Carl walked over to the drawer to take something out and exined further, ¡°There are a variety of poisons that match the descriptions you two have given me. And some of them start affecting the patient after about an hour or two. So Her Majesty will have to stay here for a while.¡±

    Caspian was at great unease knowing that there still was a chance his wife could have been poisoned. He was engulfed by the ming rage. And he wanted to rip that maid¡¯s heart out at that very moment and kill everyone else who was involved in this heinous assassination attempt.

    ¡°Caspian? Is something wrong?¡± Caspian heard a voiceing from behind him. He turned around to see that Vincent was standing at the door.

    Vincent nced at Anastasia and asked in a cold but worried voice, ¡°Is Her Majesty ill again?¡±

    Caspian swooshed over to Vincent¡¯s side and blurted out, ¡°Vincent, I¡¯m d that you are here. A maid served Anastasia some poisoned food. Stay by her side, will you? I have to catch that maid before she tries to run away.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Vincent readily epted and the moment he did, Caspian was already gone.

    Vincent walked inside the room and quietly stood in one corner, keeping an eye on the physician. Caspian had a reputation of being a cruel King. And he didn¡¯t want Carl to try something funny to harm the Queen as a way to get back at Caspian.

    While waiting, Carl asked a few more questions to Anastasia about her health. And Anastasia was very careful while giving replies because she didn¡¯t want this physician to know about her chronic illness.

    While Carl and Anastasia were busy with the conversation, Vincent was the first one to hear someone screaming in agony in a distance. But he just ignored it thinking the humans liked to scream at night.

    However, the screaming and crying became louder and louder. And a woman with bloodied clothes and a huge bite mark on her stomach appeared at the door. ¡°Mr. Carl! Please help me!¡±

 Chapter 31

    31 Poison for Poison

    Caspian flew back towards the castle at his greatest speed. If a human was to try and locate him right now then they wouldn¡¯t even be able to see a passing blur in the sky.

    ¡°I have to catch that maid before she even thinks about getting away from my clutch,¡± he thought to himself as he flew past the forest and finallynded near the kitchen to check if she was brewing tea.

    Even though he knew that that maid wouldn¡¯t be that dumb to actually follow his order after already poisoning his wife¡¯s food, he wanted to start somewhere.

    When he barged inside the kitchen though, he didn¡¯t think that he woulde across what he was seeing at that moment. He saw that the servant who was wearing the uniform of a chef was convulsing on the floor and his mouth was covered in some kind of foams.

    Caspian immediately went to his side and asked, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong? Did someone poison you?¡±

    However, Madok was not in the condition to speak. He was gagging and choking. And the veins on his temple and neck were bulging as though they would pop at any moment now. It looked like he was going to die soon.

    Madok held out his hand towards the King and gave a pleading look, ¡°Help...¡±

    Upon seeing that man¡¯s courage to ask help from the King, Caspian assumed that he was a witness and someone was trying to get rid of him. ¡®I think he knew the real culprit behind the attempted assassination. Or at the very least, he might know who that other aplice vampire was.¡¯

    So out of instinct, Caspian picked up that chef to bring him to the physician.

    .....

    Madok¡¯s heartbeat was already slowing down. And before Caspian could even reach the main gate of the castle, Madok¡¯s heart stoppedpletely.

    Caspian abruptly came to a halt when he knew it was already toote. And he empathetically whispered to that dead man, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you became one of the victims of their ploy.¡±

    He looked down at the face of that chef and analyzed it. He could tell from the bloodshot eyes and purple lips that he had struggled a lot before dying.

    And the thought of the possibility of Anastasia dying after going through simr struggles made his stomach churn very sourly. ¡®She was about to drink that poisoned tea! Had I been even half a secondte then she would have drunk it... I hope that food was not poisoned as imed by Anna.¡¯

    Caspian carried that man to the punishment room and gentlyid his body down on the cold floor. He closed that man¡¯s eyelids and clenched his fists so tightly that he almost dug holes in his palms. He became so furious that he silently swore, ¡®I will kill everyone involved after making them look just like this man... red, purple, and cold.¡¯

    Caspian then ran to Zenon¡¯s workroom. Luckily, he was still working even though the work hours were already over.

    Caspian hastily ordered him, ¡°Zenon, one of the human maids tried to poison Anastasia. Anastasia was saying that it was the same maid who looked after her handmaid. And I suspect a vampire servant smuggled the poison inside the castle. Someone might have ordered him to do so. I want you to lead an investigation and bring all the culprits to me.¡±

    ¡°I will look into it, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon didn¡¯t require the situation to be repeated.

    Before Zenon left, Caspian added resolutely, ¡°I have left Anna in the physician¡¯s home at Vincent¡¯s care. Before I go pick her up in an hour, I want all of the culprits to be captured and brought to me.¡±

    Zenon bowed and replied confidently, ¡°I will have them kneeling before you within an hour.¡± He then ran out of his workroom without wasting any time.

    Caspian pondered upon the things that he needed to do while he waited. And he remembered the poisoned tea that was still in Anastasia¡¯s room. He feared that someone would drink it or worse, someone would mistakenly feed that to Anastasia again.

    ¡°I better have it get ridden,¡± he mumbled to himself and ran to Anastasia¡¯s antechamber to check if it was still there.

    To his relief, the teacup was untouched from where he had left it before. He then called the maids to get rid of the poisoned tea and containers.

    When two of the vampire maids arrived though, a sinister idea came to his mind. ¡®Why not feed this tea to that same maid? And if there are any other human aplices then I will feed this to them as well. If the others are vampires then a deadly nightshade will do. Poison for poison...¡¯

    He nced at the maids and ordered them while pointing at the teacup, ¡°Bring that teacup to the punishment room. And get rid of that teapot and that bowl. There are traces of poison in them.¡±

    The maids were confused as to what the poisoned food was doing in the Queen¡¯s room and where the Queen was. One of the maids even assumed that the King had killed his wife. However, none of them dared to say a word as it was not their ce to. They simply did as they were ordered.

    Caspian went downstairs to the punishment room before the maids did. He was itching to go and stay beside Anastasia. However, he was also itching to know the faces of the perpetrators and give them the fitting punishment.

    A maid came in the punishment room and Caspian gestured her to put that teacup on the table full of torture tools. Sheplied while consciously avoiding looking at the dead body lying on the floor in another corner of the room.

    She bowed and was about to leave the room when Caspian heard a whooshing noise and ordered her, ¡°Wait! I have some other things that you need to do.¡±

    Secondster, one of the guards came in while dragging a woman with a babyface. He stopped in front of the King and bowed.

    He then asked while clenching the jaw of that struggling woman and lifting her head to show to the King, ¡°Your Majesty, is she the one who poisoned the Queen? I found her running in the woods but she refused to talk.¡±

    A devilish smirk appeared on Caspian¡¯s lips when he saw that familiar face. ¡°Yes. She is the one. And don¡¯t worry, I will make her talk.¡±

    That guard left his hold on Olive and went to stand at the corner in case he was needed by the King.

    Olive was barely able to stand on her trembling feet. For one, she was scared of the punishment she was going to get from the King, and next, her heels were already bleeding because of the friction caused while she was dragged by her hair.

    Caspian nced at the purple stain in Olive¡¯s dress again and then asked the maid, ¡°Check behind those stains if she is hiding any kind of container.¡±

    Olive¡¯s eyes widened a little with fright and her heart jumped. She was in such a hurry to run away that she didn¡¯t even realize there was a stain on her stomacher. And she hadpletely forgotten about the vial.

    Caspian had suspected there would be some container in her cleavage because the blob of stain looked like it spread from the inside. And the reaction from her just confirmed his theory.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the maid dragged Olive to the side and harshly put her hand in between theyers of her clothes.

    Olive inhaled sharply because she felt vited, and she tried to resist that maid and stop her hand from fondling her.

    But that maid gave one tight p to Olive because she had already felt a bottle behind the chemise. She then shoved her hand in Olive¡¯s sensitive area and pulled out a bottle without a lid.

    That maid walked towards the King and presented the vial to him, ¡°Your Majesty, this is what I found.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes at that bottle and picked it up. He smelled the bottle and his sharp nose caught a variety of smells. Two of the obvious ones were the minty smell and the smell of Olive. Apart from that, he could also smell another faint scent on that bottle with which he was familiar. But he could not quite link where he had encountered it or on whom.

    Caspian then nced back at his maid and asked her, ¡°Gather all the newly hired human maids and servants here. And do it fast.¡± He suspected that there could be other human aplices aside from Olive.

    After that maid left the room, Caspian immediately went and stood in front of Olive. He showed that vial to her and he asked in an infuriated tone, ¡°Why did you do it? Who gave you this vial? Tell me who is behind my wife¡¯s life!¡±

    Olive was already shaking like a leaf and when she heard Caspian¡¯s enraged screams, tears rolled down her cheeks at once. She clutched her gowns and began crying like a baby.

    She was already caught with evidence and it was pointless to plead not guilty. So instead, she apologized, ¡°Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.¡±

    Caspian snarled at that wailing maid and growled, ¡°Your crime is unforgivable. And you are going to pay for it.¡±

    He immediately pushed that maid down on the cold and rocky floor. And he jumped at that maid to bite her.

 Chapter 32

    32 A Shred of Courage

    Vincent was on high alert when a woman who looked like she was in her early twenties appeared at Carl¡¯s porch.

    ¡°Mr. Carl! Please help me!¡± she breathlessly pleaded in agony while tightly clutching the door handle with one hand and pressing over the wound in her stomach with the other.

    Her grey colored gown was soaked in blood, sweat, and dirt. Her gown was torn in several ces as though someone had tried to force themselves on her. Her light red hair was all ruffled up and dirty.

    At first nce, it looked like that woman was attacked by a vampire, and that she had freed herself from the clutch after putting up quite a fight.

    ¡°Ruby! Holy heavens! Who did this to you?¡± Carl ran to the door to aid that dying woman.

    It looked like she had barely managed to drag herself there with her staggering feet. And the moment she got someone to lean on, her knees gave outpletely, almost making both of them copse on the floor.

    But Carl was able to regain his footing and handle the weight of that woman. He then led her to an empty bed beside the one where Anastasia was resting.

    Anastasia took a nce at that woman only to recall how Ti was in a simr pitiful state yesterday. The trauma from yesterday¡¯s attack resurfaced again and her hands and feet went cold. So she turned away from that woman and tried not to listen to her woeful cries.

    Carl instantly began the treatment procedure. He cut the clothes around the bite mark in order to clean the wound. However, he was taken aback when he examined the bite mark.

    .....

    From the looks of it, it appeared that Ruby was mauled by some kind of animal. Unlike the usual four distinct puncture marks that a victim of a vampire would have, Ruby had a huge bite mark caused by digging of all of the teeth.

    And to add to that, she had w marks on her arms and legs. It was a well-known fact in Sorvando that the ws were limited to very few bloodlines. And none of them had ever attacked any humans like this before.

    Thus, Carl asked that struggling woman, ¡°Ruby! I need you to tell me what attacked you. This does not look like it was from a vampire. I need to know the details so that I can give proper treatment to you.¡±

    All this while, Vincent had been digging his ws on his palms and was standing while facing away from that patient. The smell of her fresh blood was making it extremely hard for him to control his urge to feed on that woman.

    Ruby clenched her fists in pain and she answered Carl while whimpering, ¡°No, it was not a vampire. It looked like arge dog. But I didn¡¯t get to clearly see what it was. It attacked me when I was in the woods behind the town.¡±

    ¡°Dog huh? As I thought.¡± Carl then dipped a cotton swab in a solution and lightly brushed it against the wound.

    However, Ruby squirmed in pain and screamed, ¡°Argh! It burns like hell.¡± When she felt the same burning sensation again, she sped Carl¡¯s wrist tightly and begged, ¡°Please don¡¯t do whatever you did just now. I can¡¯t bear it.¡±

    Carl sighed and nced at Vincent to ask for his help. But Vincent looked like he was the one who needed help. He was now pinching his nose and was holding his breath.

    So he turned around to look at Anastasia and then asked her, ¡°Your Majesty, may I please trouble you for a moment. The nurses have already left for their homes and I don¡¯t have anyone to help me at the moment. Will you be kind enough to help me for a minute or two?¡±

    Anastasia sat up on the bed and turned to face Carl. She nced at Ruby who was now biting her own finger to stop herself from screaming. Anastasia was not sure how she would be of any help to Carl so she asked dismissively, ¡°He-Help you? But I don¡¯t know anything about medicine or treating a patient.¡±

    ¡°I only need you to hold her in ce while I clean her wound and apply medicine,¡± Carl was in desperate need of some assistance so he added, ¡°I promise it won¡¯t take much time. It will only take a minute.¡±

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t deny Carl even when she was afraid to be near that woman. She nodded her head and got down from her bed. Then she stood beside Ruby¡¯s bed and asked nervously, ¡°Umm... where should I hold her?¡±

    Carl hastily made Ruby cross her arms over her chest. And he instructed the Queen, ¡°Please hold her head with one hand and her arms with the other.¡±

    ¡°Or...¡± Carl paused for a second and said, ¡°At the second thought, you may press her arms with your body.¡± Carl further added while looking at Anastasia¡¯s lean wrist, ¡°It might be difficult for you to hold her once I resume cleaning her wounds again.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes involuntarilynded on that huge and gruesome wound of Ruby. The wound looked so ghastly that it looked as though the dog was trying to chomp on that woman¡¯s meat. And almost instantly, she felt sick in her stomach and felt like throwing up.

    However, she couldn¡¯t back away now because Carl was already dipping the cotton swab in a cleaning solution and was ready to wipe Ruby¡¯s wound.

    So, Anastasia did as she was told. She practicallyy on top of that unknown woman¡¯s chest to hold both of her hands in ce. And she also held Ruby¡¯s head down after apologizing to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry in advance for doing this to you. Please bear the pain for a while.¡±

    But before Carl could even begin his work, Vincent stood in front of them and scolded Carl, ¡°What do you think you are doing? Did you be that mighty that you are ordering around your Queen?¡±

    ¡°It is alright, Vincent. It will be over in a minute.¡± Anastasia lifted her head to look at Vincent who was standing at the other side of the bed.

    And to her horror, Vincent was baring his fangs and was ring at the blood gushing out of Ruby¡¯s wound.

    ¡°Vincent! Please stand back. You don¡¯t want to do this right now,¡± she politely ordered her husband¡¯s friend but it was apparent that he was already consumed by his hunger.

    Vincent snarled at the Queen and also at Carl to scare them off. And he said in a deep growl, ¡°Leave her to me or else-¡±

    ¡°Or else what?¡± Anastasia burst up all of a sudden.

    She was already fed up with everyone trying to kill her or intimidate her. And she was already fed up with the vampires showing off their dominance and cruelty over the weak humans.

    She mustered up the courage to look at his face directly and she screamed at Vincent with all her might, ¡°Or else what? You¡¯ll kill me?¡±

    Vincent walked over to Anastasia¡¯s side and leaned closer to her face. He narrowed his bloodthirsty eyes and sneered, ¡°If you keep on provoking me then I just might fulfill your wish.¡±

    And in the heat of the moment, Anastasia took off her shoe and hit Vincent right on his cheek with the heel. ¡°Then kill me. Come on!¡±

    She hit him again on the other cheek as well and screamed, ¡°Kill me and end this nightmare for me... once and for all! Come on! Do it!¡±

    Vincent snapped out of his hunger trance after getting hit by the Queen. He saw Anastasia furiously ring at him with her big green eyes. Her whole face had already turned red and she was offensively pointing her shoe at him.

    He realized that he had tried to attack them so he instantly backed off. He bowed his head and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for misbehaving, Your Majesty. The smell of blood clouded my mind and I lost control. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    A drop of tear rolled down Anastasia¡¯s cheek no matter how hard she tried to hold it in. But she still ordered one of the most dangerous vampires in a stern voice, ¡°If you can¡¯t control your urge to kill then get out of here. Nobody needs to die tonight.¡±

 Chapter 33

    33 The Devil Incarnate

    ¡°You are going to die tonight, no matter what.¡± Caspian¡¯s grim cackle resounded throughout the punishment room.

    By now, Olive was tied up with the chains. She had puncture marks on her neck from Caspian¡¯s attack earlier. Rather thanpletely draining her blood from her body, he was letting her bleed out slowly and painfully. Caspian still had to extract information from her.

    Caspian was towering in front of Olive like a shadow of death. His red eyes were ring right into her shattered soul.

    More than Olive, the human maids, and servants who had lined up at the end of the room were trembling in horror.

    They had no idea why they were brought inside the room. But seeing the dead body in one corner, they were bound to believe that all of them were in grave danger. They all feared that after Olive was killed by that cruel King, it would be one of their turns to be his prey.

    Some were trembling at the cruel sight of that chained and bleeding maid, some were holding the cross hanging on their ne and praying, while some were already on the verge of losing their consciousness.

    Caspian clenched Olive¡¯s jaw with the sharp tips of his ws and asked in a soul-piercing voice, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you tonight. But it is, of course, your choice how painful you want your death to be. If you want a quicker death, tell me who gave you the order to kill my wife?¡±

    Olive was in a very tight spot right now because she had no idea what that Vampire¡¯s name was. She still tried to give some answer so that the King wouldn¡¯t bite her again, ¡°He was a vampire. He came to my quarter and asked me to find out what Her Majesty liked to eat. And after an hour or so, he came to me again and handed over the poison.¡±

    ¡°And you simply agreed to poison the Queen?¡± Caspian pierced that maid¡¯s cheek with one of his ws.

    .....

    And the room was filled with Olive¡¯s miserable screams.

    Caspian then narrowed his eyes at her and attacked her with a series of questions, ¡°Did he bribe you? What benefit was there for you? And who is that vampire? I want his name. Did he act alone or were there several other instigators?¡±

    Olive¡¯s voice trembled as she answered the King, ¡°I don¡¯t know if there were any others. And I don¡¯t know who he was. He never gave me his name. He threatened to kill me if I didn¡¯t do as he said and forced me to poison Her Majesty.¡±

    Caspian was frustrated that he was not getting any useful information from this maid. He ended up digging all of his ws in her cheeks and yelled, ¡°And look where thatpliance brought you! You still are going to die. The only difference is that you are going to face a much worse death now.¡±

    Olive¡¯s agonizing screams filled the hearts of the other humans with terror.

    Caspian left his clutch on Olive¡¯s jaw and asked her while pointing at the humans behind him, ¡°Did any one of them help you in carrying out today¡¯s n?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she struggled to even whisper because of the burning pain.

    Caspian then pointed towards the corpse of Madok and asked, ¡°Did you kill him to silence him?¡±

    Olive already had enough on her te so she had not even noticed that there was a dead body in that room. She widened her eyes upon realizing who it was. And she violently shook her head to deny that usation. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him. I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then who killed him? That same vampire?¡± The frown line on Caspian¡¯s forehead was getting deeper and deeper.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so...¡± Olive¡¯s eyes now looked very drowsy. She had lost a lot of blood by now so she was starting to get lightheaded. ¡°I had not even told that vampire that he had seen me preparing-¡±

    She suddenly stopped as if she recalled something.

    ¡°Well,¡± Caspian questioningly raised his brows.

    And Olive whispered while hanging her head low with guilt, ¡°I had spilled some poison in a bowl. Maybe he had it somehow... I killed him... But it waspletely unintentional.¡±

    ¡°But you did kill him. And you were intentionally going to kill my wife.¡± Caspian red at his bloodied ws intending to kill that maid.

    He then spoke in a chilling voice, ¡°You are of no use to me now.¡±

    From the way Caspian was giving a death stare to her, Olive knew that her end was near. But she still tried to justify her action, ¡°I had no other choice than to follow his order. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Please spare my life.¡±

    ¡°You always have a choice. Always. And you chose to poison the Queen.¡± Caspian suddenly swiped his ws across Olive¡¯s stomach, making her scream in anguish. One of the cuts was so deep that her stomach was opened. Needless to say, it looked gruesome.

    Those who were watching from behind were all petrified. All of the humans were aware by now that Olive had tried to poison Anastasia. But they were not used to witnessing such horrifying scenes. And one of the young maids copsed at that sight.

    Caspian strangled Olive and snarled at her, ¡°I despise the betrayers. And I don¡¯t give second chances to the betrayers.¡±

    He wanted to slice the throat of that maid and end her but he resisted. That would be too easy. ¡°Had you given me the name of the one who had pulled your strings then maybe I would have given you an easy death. But you brought this upon yourself.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, Caspian was now offering Olive the same tea that she had prepared for the Queen. ¡°Drink!¡± he ordered in a devilish voice.

    Olive was in no condition to even open her lips. The pain was already too much for her to tolerate. Though she was already on the brink of her death, having the poisoned tea would only make her pain worse. So she managed to whisper a clue to the King hoping for a quick death, ¡°He had crooked front teeth.¡±

    Caspian hardened his face and nced at the guard who was standing beside the corpse. That guard immediately understood what he had to do and rushed outside.

    ¡°If it was any other day then I would have loved to savor torturing you. But my wife is waiting for me.¡± Caspian flicked his ws and said with a sinister smirk on his lips, ¡°As you have no further value to me... go to hell!¡±

    With a swift motion, Caspian dug his ws in her chest and pulled out the beating heart.

    The room was filled with gasps and screams and the sound of a few more maids copsing to the floor.

    Caspian finally focused his attention on the other humans present in the room. He slowly walked towards them.

    The sound of his shoes clicking on the cold floor alone was enough to instill fear among all those poor humans. And the way he was casually holding the heart in his palm and the way he was ring at them, they all believed that their King was a devil incarnate.

    He gave a piercing gaze to those who were somehow still standing and ordered them, ¡°Wake those three up, will you?¡±

    The humans couldn¡¯t even produce any sound. They just nodded and instantly leaned down to wake up the unconscious maids. Though it took a while for all of them to wake up, Caspian patiently waited for them.

    When all of them were finally awake, Caspian showed the heart to them and spoke in his bone-chilling voice, ¡°The owner of this heart dared to poison the Queen today. An innocent man lost his life because of her.¡±

    ¡°Let this be a warning to all of you.¡± Caspian slowly uttered so that the maids and servants would engrave what he said in their minds, ¡°I won¡¯t tolerate any lies and betrayals. Report to me or Zenon immediately if any of the vampires try to force your hands.¡±

    Caspian threw the heart behind him and bluntly gave them a suggestion, ¡°If you cannot report then kindly kill yourself before performing any treacherous act. Save yourself from the torture that I will put you through.¡±

    ¡ª

    Zenon and a squad of vampire soldiers were searching throughout the forest for any piece of clues ¨C any footsteps, smell, anything that could potentially lead them to the main culprit.

    ¡°Lord Zenon,¡± one of the soldiers shouted not too far away from where Zenon was. ¡°I think I found something.¡±

    Zenon immediately zoomed towards that area. That soldier pointed towards a small kerchief that was lying on the ground. Zenon crouched down and inspected it.

    A deep frown appeared between his brows when he saw an alphabet embroidered at one corner of the kerchief. And he whispered in contempt, ¡°B...¡±

 Chapter 34

    34 Brave

    After getting a good scolding from Anastasia, Vincent was standing outside the physician¡¯s house with a glum look on his face.

    Everything that happened in his trance slowly came back to him, the way he was about to attack that patient, and the way Anastasia had hit him with her shoe while yelling at him.

    ¡®How am I going to face Caspian? He trusted me to look after Her Majesty and I...¡¯ Vincent face-palmed himself and heaved a sigh.

    Inside the room, Anastasia, Carl, and Ruby were still in a state of shock.

    Anastasia was still holding her shoe and was breathing heavily. Carl was looking at Anastasia and at the door. Ruby was utterly stunned from barely escaping death today, not just once but twice.

    Carl finally broke the silence and asked the Queen, ¡°Your Majesty, we need to treat Ruby fast. Why don¡¯t we wash our hands and resume the treatment?¡±

    Anastasia dropped her shoe to the floor and nodded.

    After washing their hands, Anastasia held Ruby again and Carl started to clean Ruby¡¯s wounds.

    Ruby clenched her teeth and tried her best not to scream. She didn¡¯t want to attract that vampire again and end up getting killed for real.

    .....

    Like Carl had promised earlier, it didn¡¯t take much time for him to clean the wounds. The burning sensation that she was feeling in her stomach was soothed greatly the moment Carl applied the cold ointment over it.

    ¡°You may leave her now, Your Majesty,¡± Carl said to Anastasia while putting a bandage over Ruby¡¯s wounds.

    He also applied the ointment to the scratches on Ruby¡¯s body.

    While doing so, he tried to indulge thedies in a conversation. ¡°Ruby,¡± Carl pointed his brows towards Anastasia and introduced thedies, ¡°She is our new Queen. She came to Sorvando as a tribute bride two days ago.¡±

    Ruby gave a smile to Anastasia and greeted her, ¡°It is my honor to personally meet you and get help from you, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that I could be of some help,¡± Anastasia politely returned the smile to thedy.

    Carl further expressed his gratitude towards the Queen, ¡°I would like to thank you for saving our lives, Your Majesty. I¡¯ve never seen a human bravely standing up against a hunger-driven vampire, that also against one of the fearsome trios.¡±

    Even though Anastasia was in the physician¡¯s ce and even though her body felt warm, Ruby had failed to notice that Anastasia was also a human.

    And when Carl said that, Ruby¡¯s respect towards the Queen increased greatly. She appreciatively nced at the Queen and whispered through her pain, ¡°I will also aspire to be as brave as you, Your Majesty.¡±

    Anastasia gave a nervous smile to Ruby because she knew she was anything but brave. It just happened to be her sheer luck that Vincent followed her order. Else she was ready to face her inevitable death a little sooner than predicted. She was ready to end her suffering once and for all.

    After finishing the treatment of Ruby, Carl bowed to the Queen and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m extremely sorry for my impudence, Your Majesty. I made the Queen of our Kingdom assist me.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing to apologize for, Mr. Carl. It is my duty to help my people,¡± Anastasia said with a polite smile.

    Anastasia¡¯s gentle demeanor, her brave nature, and her kind words enchanted both Carl and Ruby. Never in their wildest dreams had they thought that their Queen would be theplete opposite of their King. And to add to that, she was a human. As fellow humans, they greatly admired her.

    Carl smiled at the Queen and expressed his wish, ¡°I hope you will always stay the way you are, Your Majesty. Innocent and brave. This Kingdom is in the desperate need of a Queen like you.¡±

    ¡°I will try my best,¡± Anastasia wasn¡¯t even sure if she would survive another day or what they meant by ¡®their Kingdom needed a Queen like her¡¯. But she still replied so as not to be rude.

    Carl cleaned up the table and then took out his pocket watch to check the time. It had already been two hours since the Queen arrived at his ce.

    ¡°I need to perform another check on you, Your Majesty.¡± He asked the Queen to lie down on the bed and did another round of inspection on the Queen. And he finally confirmed, ¡°There is no poison in your system. You can rest assured now.¡±

    Anastasia let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I appreciate your help, Mr. Carl. And I also wanted to thank you for taking care of my handmaid. She is doing well, all thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°That is nice to hear.¡± Carl then took a quick nce towards the door and asked, ¡°You are free to leave for the castle, Your Majesty. Will you be going with Lord Vincent or will you wait for His Majesty?¡±

    Anastasia was already exhausted and all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed. ¡°I think I will go with Vincent.¡±

    Anastasia got down from the bed and prepared to leave.

    Before she walked outside, Carl said to her in a worried voice, ¡°And please be mindful of your surroundings, Your Majesty. You live in a very dangerous ce.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Anastasia gave a polite nod to the physician and nced at Ruby to say, ¡°I wish you good health.¡± And she walked outside to find Vincent.

    Vincent was standing a little further away from the house. When he saw the Queen walk out of the door, he rushed to her side and asked, ¡°Is it okay for you to leave?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The physician said that I was not poisoned,¡± Anastasia nced at his cheek to see if he was hurt but she couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for hitting you earlier.¡±

    ¡°Please, you don¡¯t have to apologize to me. It was me who was at fault.¡± Vincent bowed to Anastasia again and asked, ¡°Will you forgive me for trying to attack you?¡±

    After a moment of silence, Anastasia softly spoke, ¡°I am no vampire but I already know by now that it is hard for vampires to control their urge, especially when encountered with blood.¡±

    Anastasia then started to walk ahead in the dark road while saying, ¡°And I also know that you bear no ill will towards me. You also saved Ti the other day. So, I haven¡¯t held any grudge against you.¡±

    Vincent was closely following Anastasia. Upon hearing her, he let out a quiet sigh and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡±

    Vincent kept on following Anastasia for a while thinking she would stop. But she kept on walking as though she was thinking of walking all the way to the castle.

    So Vincent asked the Queen, ¡°Your Majesty, it will take around two hours to reach the castle on foot. I hope you are not nning on doing that.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s feet stopped on track when she heard that. ¡®I will faint before I even reach halfway. I think I should have waited for Caspian.¡¯

    And as if Vincent had read her mind, he offered, ¡°I can carry you back to the castle if you do not object. Or we can wait for Caspian toe. But he is a stubborn man. He might not return until he captures the criminals. And we don¡¯t know how much time he will take.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath in and turned around. ¡°I will trouble you to give me a lift to the castle then. I¡¯m already exhausted and would like to rest as early as possible.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Vincent swiftly carried Anastasia in his arms and asked, ¡°Please hold on tightly.¡±

    Anastasia hesitantly put her arms around his neck and got ready to bear the impact of getting whish.

    But instead of running, Vincent turned his head to the side and red at something in the distance.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Anastasia asked while following his gaze towards the woods.

    Vincent shook his head and replied, ¡°No. I just felt as if someone was watching us. But I think it was just an animal.¡±

    Vincent then prepared to run and warned the Queen, ¡°I will start running now.¡±

    And in the next moment, both of them disappeared from there.

    From the woods in the distance, a pair of glowing amber eyes were watching those two. And when they vanished from sight, those eyes also disappeared from there.

 Chapter 35

    35 A Deal with the Devil

    In the punishment room, Caspian had already dismissed the human maids and servants.

    The guard who had left the room to search for the vampire with crooked front teeth had brought back two vampires that matched the description. Both of them were kneeling on the floor and Caspian was leisurely sitting in a chair in front of them.

    ¡°Tsk!¡± Caspian rolled his eyes and mumbled, ¡°I should have kept that woman alive. Who knew there would be two of them with crooked teeth?¡±

    He suddenly growled at them to ask, ¡°Either tell me which one of you tried to kill the Queen or I¡¯ll kill you both!¡±

    And both of those servants denied the usation. Again.

    After living in the castle for years, Elias knew very well that Caspian wouldn¡¯ty his hand on an innocent. Caspian had a bad reputation for being cruel but ironically, he was also the man of virtue.

    Caspian was indeed cruel, but only to those who broke his absolutew. And until proven guilty, Elias knew that he was safe. So he kept on ying the innocence card.

    With a swooshing sound, Zenon entered the punishment room and asked Caspian toe outside. And when they were standing far enough from the punishment room, Zenon showed the kerchief to Caspian. ¡°I found this in the forest. The smell is still intact so she must have lost it very recently.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the embroidered alphabet. He took a sniff and suddenly everything became as clear as the day to him.

    .....

    ¡°Beth...¡± he whispered in a low growl.

    Zenon also agreed to Caspian, ¡°I thought so too. But can we charge her with just this? Her father won¡¯t allow us to bring her in for punishment that easily.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I¡¯m going to present solid evidence which even he cannot deny.¡± A devilish smirk crept on Caspian¡¯s lips. He got a brilliant idea to get rid of both of them without dirtying his hand.

    He went inside the punishment room again while carrying that kerchief in his hand. He sat on his chair and focused his attention on their faces.

    He then showed that dirty kerchief to them and said with a smile, ¡°Look what I found in the forest. A belonging of Beth.¡±

    Elias¡¯s eyes widened ever so slightly upon hearing Beth¡¯s name.

    And that was all that Caspian needed to know which one of them was the aplice of Beth. In a blink, Caspian crouched down in front of Elias and whispered menacingly, ¡°Boo!¡±

    Poor Elias was scared just by that whisper and flinched.

    Caspian cocked his head to the side and gave a creepy re to Elias. And he asked in an intimidating tone, ¡°Why did you do it? What did Beth promise you?¡±

    Elias still tried to y innocent and said in a somewhat shaking voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know any Beth, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian clicked his tongue and turned to look at another servant. And he asked him, ¡°Do you also not know who Beth is?¡±

    That servant bowed his head and replied, ¡°I just know that she is the daughter of Lord Bartholomew. I don¡¯t know her personally, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian turned to re at Elias and said, ¡°Now that is what your answer should have been if you were not guilty. Everybody knows who Beth is.¡±

    Caspian then waved off his hand to that innocent servant to dismiss him. He immediately ran out of that room of horror without wasting a breath.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Caspian asked in a chilling voice to which the servant replied in an undertone, ¡°Elias.¡±

    Caspian began circling that servant and pretended to sympathize with him, ¡°Elias, I don¡¯t know what Beth told you but know that she was just using you to get back at me for not marrying her. And you fell right into her trap. Pathetic!¡±

    Elias was now hanging his head low in fear. He knew that he was already doomed. He knew that he was going to be killed by the very person he wished to kill someday.

    However, to his utter disbelief, Caspian proposed a deal to him.

    ¡°Lord Bartholomew is a respected man and if he pleads for his daughter, I won¡¯t be able to deny him. Beth will walk free while you will get brutally killed. But I want her to be punished for all the trouble that she has caused me. So why don¡¯t you help me and I will let you walk free after a few years in prison.¡±

    Elias¡¯ eyes twinkled at that deal from the King. As the saying goes, everyone saves themselves first in the face of danger, Elias forgot about all the borate future ns that he had made with Beth and was eager to take the deal.

    ¡°I will do anything you say, Your Majesty.¡± Elias kept on bowing his head to the King and was unable to see the sinister smile that Caspian had on his face.

    ¡°Very well then.¡± Caspian briefed everything that Elias was to do. After brainwashing Elias, Caspian asked the guard to lock Elias in the dungeon that was located outside the castle.

    Caspian finally heaved a sigh and sprinted outside to go to the physician¡¯s home. But he stopped when he saw Vincent leaning on the wall not too far away from the punishment room.

    ¡°Vincent! Why are you here? I asked you to stay with Anastasia, didn¡¯t I?¡± Caspian shouted at his friend with a deep frown.

    Vincent narrowed his eyes at Caspian and satirically said, ¡°So I should have been sitting in your wife¡¯s room while she is sound asleep?¡±

    Without any warning, Caspian instantly kicked Vincent on the leg and made him fall to the floor.

    ¡°Ouch! Thought so...¡± Vincentughed while getting up and dusting off his clothes.

    Caspian gave a side re to Vincent and walked to head towards his wife¡¯s room.

    Vincent was shouting from behind and wasining as Caspian walked away. ¡°Hey! I don¡¯t even get a thank you for safely bringing your wife back? Hello! Are you even listening? And if you even want to know, she was not poisoned. She is safe.¡±

    Caspian had deduced that much when Vincent said that Anastasia was sound asleep in her room. So he kept on walking away without paying much attention to Vincent.

    After reaching upstairs, Caspian went inside Anastasia¡¯s antechamber and stood in front of her bedchamber door. He raised his hand to knock but froze midair. He kept on contemting for a while whether or not to wake her up.

    In the end, he put his hand inside the pocket and thought, ¡®I think I should let her get some sleep. I can talk with her tomorrow.¡¯

    He walked outside and closed the main door behind him. Even though he was longing to see Anastasia and talk with her, he forced himself to walk away.

    However, when he had not even reached halfway across the long corridor, he heard a screaming from Anastasia¡¯s room. It sounded as though Anastasia was terrified of something.

    ¡°Anna!¡± Caspian instantly ran back to Anastasia¡¯s room with an anxious look on his face.

 Chapter 36

    36 Take It Off

    ¡°Mother! Why are you sending me away like this?¡± Anastasia desperately asked her mother as she was being pulled away by Caspian.

    Anastasia tried her best to free herself from Caspian¡¯s grip but she was too weak. All she could do was cry and beg her indifferent mother, ¡°Mother! Please! Ask him to stop... I don¡¯t want to marry a vampire. Please, mother! Save me, please!¡±

    But her mother kept on cackling maniacally and continued watching her being dragged.

    Caspian then tried to make Anastasia get inside the carriage that was waiting for them. Her hands and feet went numb when she realized that the carriage was full of human corpses. There were mutted bodies and blood everywhere.

    Caspian pointed at an empty spot in the middle of that gore and whispered from behind her, ¡°Get in, love. I¡¯ve saved a special seat just for you.¡±

    ¡°You monster! Leave me!¡± Somehow, Anastasia managed to free herself before Caspian put her inside that hellhole.

    She ran back to her mother and grabbed the rim of her dress. ¡°Mother, he is going to kill me! Please save me from that monster! Don¡¯t send me to that hell.¡±

    Her mother ran her finger across Anastasia¡¯s neck and said sarcastically, ¡°My baby! Caspian is your only salvation.¡±

    Her mother then red at her with burning eyes. And she shoved Anastasia back while yelling, ¡°Now spend your life in hell!¡±

    .....

    Anastasia abruptly drifted back into the pit of never-ending darkness. ¡°Nooooooooooooo!¡± she screamed while trying to grasp onto something... anything.

    Suddenly, a wed hand grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her up. That person was none other than Caspian.

    The two of them floated in the air under the bright moonlight. She forgot everything that she saw just a moment ago and started to hover around in the air with him. Her heart was filled with happiness like never before.

    However, out of the blue, Caspian sank his sharp fangs on her neck and started to drink her blood.

    ¡°Caspian! Stop! Please!¡± she begged and tried to w him and push him away, but nothing seemed to work.

    After almost draining her of her blood, Caspian finally looked at her with his blood-smeared mouth and gave a repulsive smirk. ¡°You are my hundred and thirteenth wife. Oh, sorry!¡± He smiled even sinisterly and whispered near her ear, ¡°You were!¡±

    And the next thing she knew, Caspian grabbed her head with both of his hands and snapped her neck.

    ¡ª

    Anastasia shot open her longshes and sprung up on her bed while screaming at the top of her lungs, ¡°Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡±

    ¡°Anna!¡± Caspian flung open the door to Anastasia¡¯s bedchamber and rushed in. He got up on the bed and held Anastasia¡¯s tightly clenched fist with one hand and cupped her sweat-dripping chin with another. And he asked in a panic, ¡°Anna, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    However, seeing a pair of deadly red eyes up close right after waking up from that nightmare made it even worse for Anastasia. And she screamed even louder.

    The only source of light in the room was the faint light of the full moon cascading inside through the window by her bed. And Anastasia couldn¡¯t tell who was grabbing her at that moment or where she was at the moment. Her mind was still disoriented.

    She instantly pped away Caspian¡¯s hands from touching her. And she pushed him back with all her might. Without knowing who he really was, she screamed in a terrified voice, ¡°Get away from me, you monster!¡±

    After that nightmare, her reaction probably wouldn¡¯t have been any different even if she had known that the man on her bed was her husband and no one else.

    Caspian felt a shrilling pain in his heart upon hearing his wife calling him a monster.

    He gnashed his teeth and spoke in a hurt voice, ¡°Wife, you can call me anything but that. I am not a monster... at least not to you.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes widened a little when she finally recognized Caspian¡¯s voice. And amidst her ragged breathing, she kept on staring at the dark figure with a deep frown between her brows.

    After a while, her eyes adjusted to the silver light from the moon. And her eyes also confirmed that the dark figure was indeed Caspian.

    She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. She was trying to figure out if she was still in her nightmare or if she was awake.

    She gulped to ease her parched throat and whispered, ¡°Caspian? Is it really you? Or am I still dreaming?¡±

    She held out her hand and brought it close to his cheek. But her fingers were hesitant to touch him.

    Caspian leaned a little forward so that he was in her hand¡¯s reach. He then held her hand and pressed it against his cheek. And he lovingly whispered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s really me. It¡¯s your husband.¡±

    He took her hand and kissed her palm. And he asked while pushing away her hair drenched with sweat, ¡°Did you have a bad dream?¡±

    Anastasia closed her eyes and let out a huge sigh of relief. And she lightly nodded her head.

    Caspian felt sad that his wife was not even getting some peace in her sleep. He sighed and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you are having a really hard time here. I became too greedy when it came to you and now you are paying the price for my decision.¡±

    Anastasia opened her eyes to look at Caspian. Even though she could not see his facial expression clearly, she knew that he was feeling dejected.

    She held his hand and she tried to make him feel better by saying, ¡°It would have been harder if you weren¡¯t this caring towards me. I¡¯m very grateful to have you as my husband.¡±

    Caspian gave out a soft chuckle and gently nudged Anastasia¡¯s forehead with his finger. ¡°Silly woman! You know you are really bad at lying, right?¡± His voice reverted to sounding sad, ¡°Everything bad that has happened to you, it has happened because I am your husband...¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s not...¡± Anastasia suddenly shuddered with cold when a gust of cool breeze came rushing in from the window to hit her sweat-drenched body.

    Caspian instantly went and closed the window.

    Anastasia rubbed her shoulders and continued, ¡°...you know that¡¯s not how I feel, Caspian. I have not med you for those misfortunate things that happened, and neither should you.¡±

    Caspian walked back towards the bed while speaking in a distressed way, ¡°They were not misfortunate, they were carefully nned acts of revenge aimed at me.¡±

    ¡°nned revenge?¡± Anastasia was a bit confused thinking how the first attack on her was a nned one. It looked like a random attack from a blood-thirsty vampire.

    Caspian sighed and brushed the topic aside, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste the night by talking about these things. We will talk tomorrow.¡±

    His sharp eyes could clearly see that Anastasia was drenched in sweat and she was shivering from the cold. Her thin bedgown was sticking to her chest because of her sweat. The lower half of her body was covered with a nket but he suspected that she was sweating inside.

    So he pulled the nket away from her body, surprising Anastasia. She gasped because the gown was resting way up on her thighs. She hurriedly asked while trying to pull the nket to cover herself again, ¡°Caspian? What are you doing?¡±

    But Caspian threw the nket far away from her reach and gawked at her slender thighs while Anastasia pushed down her gown as much as she could. He cleared his throat and asked in a deep and sultry voice, ¡°Wife, why don¡¯t you change into another bedgown?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about humans but...¡± He slowly trailed his longing eyes up to her waist and to her breasts. Her wet gown was dding her womanly curves so perfectly that Caspian couldn¡¯t help but admire every inch of his wife¡¯s tempting body.

    ¡°...but erm... I feel like you shouldn¡¯t be sleeping in that wet gown.¡± Caspian let out a ragged breath and uttered in a seductive whisper, ¡°Let me help you take it off.¡±

 Chapter 37

    37 Their First Kiss

    Caspian¡¯s fingers were already itching to get rid of the curtain that was covering the view he yearned for. His eager red eyes longed to see his wife in her natural glory, his mouth craved her taste, and his body felt the hunger that he had never felt before.

    He could tell that this hunger was different. The urge was even more intense than his hunger for blood. It was so strong that he was barely able to hold himself from jumping on the bed and pinning Anastasia down with his body.

    He wanted to rip those clothes apart and worship every nook and crannies of her body with his tongue. He felt this unbearablepulsion to taste the tititing body of his wife... he needed to.

    So he let out a ragged breath and uttered in a seductive whisper, ¡°Let me help you take it off.¡±

    His words made Anastasia gasp so suddenly that she almost choked. She closed her eyes and gulped hardly. And when she opened her eyes, she could see from the corner that his hand was already approaching her shoulder.

    ¡°Ta-Take what o-off?¡± she leaned away from him and asked with haste. Her emerald eyes were questioning her husband¡¯s intention.

    The moment her question dropped, Caspian¡¯s cold lips lightly grazed her ear and she could hear his sensual whisper, ¡°Your gown... it¡¯s wet... and so are you.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heartbeat was instantly out of control. She parted her lips and breathed in sharply as the dizzying sensation took over her. There was something about his voice, it was so unbearably enticing that she wanted to surrender herself to whatever he was about to do to her.

    But all of this was very new to her. And she tried to send him off by saying, ¡°No, I¡¯m not wet.¡± She fanned her burning cheeks and ears with her palms and added, ¡°I¡¯m just a little hot.¡±

    .....

    But that reply seemed to backfire on her as he was now on the bed... one of his folded knees in between her thighs and the other knee straddling one of her thighs. His hands were already tracing her waist and his face was now so close to her that their hot and cold breath was intermingling in harmony.

    Even in the insufficient moonlight, Anastasia could swear that she had never seen a man this angelic in her life before. She was captivated by her husband¡¯s face and was unable to tear off her gaze no matter how much she tried. It was as though he was able to imprison her consciousness just with one look of his eyes.

    And she heard his desperate whisper while his eyes were fixated on her lips, ¡°Yeah, that too. But not just a little, you are extremely hot.¡±

    As though he wasn¡¯t close enough already, Caspian leaned further down towards her. His spellbinding face blurred and all she could focus on were his lips.

    His lips got even closer to her and they were now lightly brushing her yielding lips. His cool breath was infiltrating her parted lips and so were his words, ¡°You are so hot that you are melting my icy body into a puddle.¡±

    To Anastasia, that light brushing on her lips was enough to send shivers down her spine. He made her whole body tremble, not in fear but in anticipation of something which she had never experienced before.

    His whisper reverberated on her ear again, sending a series of sparks in her heart, ¡°Wife, I don¡¯t think I can control my cravings any longer. I want you. I want you now.¡±

    His whisper was so loud and clear on that quiet night that Anastasia¡¯s mind was filled with thousands of questions. But she didn¡¯t need to wait long to find her answers.

    Anastasia found Caspian¡¯s lips dangerously close to her lips again. And this time, his lips didn¡¯t just brush against her lips, he imed them.

    She could feel his tantalizing lips moving against her now tightly closed lips. For a second, she was afraid of whatever it was that Caspian was going to do to her. But his lips felt so soft against hers that she was surprised a vampire could be so gentle.

    With every soft jab of his lips, she felt him trying to pry open her lips. And as if she was hypnotized by him, she obeyed the unspoken order of her husband.

    She ever so slightly parted her lips and the moment she did so, his tongue invaded her mouth like a hurricane and swept away all her senses. His sweet taste that entered her mouth was so dizzying that she had to knot her fists in his shirt to keep her from falling back.

    His soft kiss now increased in intensity. He began kissing her fervently as though he had been waiting for hundreds of years for this very moment.

    His kiss was now hungrier and raw. His tongue was constantly pushing its way into her mouth. His lips were licking and sucking her tender lips. And his teeth were nipping her lower lip every once in a while.

    Caspian was making her feel emotions that she never knew that her body was capable of feeling. And surprisingly enough, she didn¡¯t want him to stop. She wanted him to keep on kissing her until the moonlight would give way to the sunrays.

    This was Anastasia¡¯s very first kiss and she was a little worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to meet her husband¡¯s expectations. But before she knew it, she was already wrapping her slender arms around his nape and was kissing him back with equal passion.

    She could hear Caspian¡¯s suppressed moans every now and then. If she could only decipher what those moans meant, then she would know that she was fairing far better than what she credited herself with.

    After quite some time, Caspian left her lips to let her catch her breath. Her lips began to tremble after that long and passionate first kiss. And she lovingly gazed at Caspian¡¯s longing eyes with bated breath. She was feeling as though her stomach was now home to hundreds of butterflies.

    And just when she thought that they both had reached the peak of their bodily pleasure, she felt Caspian¡¯s palm slowly moving up her waist and then crawling even further up to her breast.

    She thought it would move further up to her neck or jaw but could be any more mistaken?

    He gently pinched her hardened nipple and kneaded her breast with such motion that she felt a burst of emotion running down her stomach and further down.

    Anastasia abruptly grabbed his wrist. And she couldn¡¯t help but squirm and moan in great pleasure, ¡°Mmm... Caspian!¡±

    A satisfied smirk appeared on Caspian¡¯s hungry lips. He slipped the strap of her bedgown from her shoulder and leaned down to give a warm kiss on her breast.

    Anastasia arched her back and gripped his blonde hair with her slender fingers. She hyperventted in pleasure and moaned some more, ¡°Cas-pian...¡±

    And he looked back to see that she was biting her lower lip as though she greatly enjoyed that kiss.

    He smirked again and whispered in his deeply seductive voice, ¡°I like my name even more ever since I started hearing it from your beautiful lips. And I like it even further when you say it in that hushed tone.¡±

    Anastasia had no idea what Caspian was hinting at yet, even after he said those words to her.

    So he dropped some more hints, ¡°Wife, weren¡¯t you asking me what the first night meant? Let me show you.¡±

 Chapter 38

    38 The Paralyzing Urge

    ¡°Let me show you,¡± Caspian slid his hands up from her breast to her shoulder. He gently pushed her down on the bed and slipped the other strap from her shoulder as well.

    ¡°Show me?¡± Anastasia asked with bated breath. She was so caught up in that new sensation running all over her body that she didn¡¯t even realize her husband was seeing her half-naked.

    Caspian straddled her petite body and smirked, ¡°Yes, let me show you what heaven feels like.¡± He passionately imed her gaping lips again. The sweet taste of Anastasia¡¯s mouth was already so irresistible for him that he kept on wanting more.

    But he also wanted to taste more than just her mouth. He slowly traveled his lips to her jaw and lightly bit her there. He then moved further down and kissed on that fragrant hollow of her neck.

    Caspian then began showering her with kisses all over her neck. He nipped below her ear and whispered to his squirming wife, ¡°You smell so good... I could bathe myself in your aromatic fragrance...¡±

    All this while, Anastasia was pressing her lips together and suppressing her moans. Caspian wanted to change that. He wanted her to scream his name in her rousingly melodious voice.

    So he trailed down her smooth neck and chest while pecking her. He admired her womanly curves with his crimson eyes and leaned down to appreciate them with his lips and tongue.

    He lightly bit her hardened nipples and kissed them. And to his great satisfaction, he got the response that he had wanted from his wife.

    Anastasia tightly gripped his hair on his nape and heaved her chest, involuntarily shoving her sensitive breast into his mouth. And she let out a breathless moan, ¡°Caspian...¡±

    .....

    But then she cupped his jaw and lifted his head away from her. She looked into his beautiful red eyes and whispered, ¡°Caspian, w-wait...¡±

    Caspian gave a puppy-eyed look to Anastasia and asked, ¡°You want me to stop?¡±

    To be honest, Anastasia didn¡¯t want him to stop. She had lifted his head because the burst of tingling sensations was too much for her to handle so she wanted to take a breather.

    The corner of Caspian¡¯s lips pulled up after that silence of his wife, apanied by her longing eyes. He pulled her hand away from his jaw and ced a kiss on her palm. ¡°I¡¯ll take your silence as a ¡®no¡¯ to my question.¡±

    Caspian then vigorously began to kiss and suck and lick those treasures of his wife. Never in his life had he thought that there was something else that he would enjoy more than feeding on the blood of the humans.

    He continued to tease his wife with his shower of kisses so that she would be rxed for what wasing her way.

    His every touch and every kiss were sending wild tremors to Anastasia¡¯s whole body. She curled her toes in an attempt to contain the overwhelmingly pleasing feeling that was crawling under her skin and in her most sensitive areas.

    She writhed her body and bit her lower lips to prevent herself from sounding like a desperate woman.

    But nothing seemed to work. And she ended up letting out a series of whimpers and moans while screaming her husband¡¯s name. The sparks in her heart had already turned into massive fireworks.

    Now Caspian didn¡¯t want to wait any longer to fully im his wife. He slid his palm under Anastasia¡¯s bedgown and lightly caressed his wife¡¯s smooth thigh.

    His palm was slowly making its way up towards her hips when suddenly, Anastasia gasped and caught his wrist. And she asked in a somewhat panicked tone, ¡°Caspian, stop!¡±

    And almost at the same time, something happened to Caspian. His heavy weight suddenly fell on Anastasia¡¯s tiny frame, prompting her to be worried, ¡°Ca-Caspian, are you alright?¡±

    But Caspian was in no condition to speak. He was clenching his teeth that were itching to turn into fangs. The knot at the pit of his stomach kept on growing. He tried to get away from his human wife but his body was paralyzed.

    He tight-shut his eyes and let out a suppressed growl in an attempt to hold in his sudden urge... the urge to bite his wife.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Anastasia to guess why he was acting differently. She thought that he was angry at her for stopping him. And she feared that her nightmare wasing true. She tightened her fists and carefully whispered with her trembling lips, ¡°Caspian... you are scaring me right now. You... You¡¯re not going to feed on me, are you?¡±

    Caspian forcefully lifted his head from Anastasia¡¯s chest while fighting an inner battle with himself. He opened his eyes to give a sorrowful look to his wife and uttered in a suppressed voice, ¡°I would never...¡±

    Anastasia was now worried for him again because she felt that something was not right with Caspian. His eyes were no longer red but had changed into some other color. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly what color they were in that dim moonlight. But she was sure that they were no longer rich red.

    ¡°Your eyes...¡± She furrowed her brows and slowly lifted her hand to touch Caspian¡¯s face but he swiftly turned his head away and growled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    He was already trying hard to resist her and he knew that he would lose it the second her soft hand would caress him.

    Anastasia felt a prick in her heart after hearing his harsh tone. Caspian had growled at her for Anastasia¡¯s own good but that didn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t feel hurt by that sudden outrage of his.

    After some more seconds, Caspian finally got the strength to push himself up from Anastasia and jump out of bed. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to control his urge for long if he was to stay in her vicinity.

    So the moment he jumped out of the bed, he rushed out of the room like a gust of wind.

    Anastasia kept on lying on her bed, unmoving. She didn¡¯t know what to think of everything that just happened.

    She wanted to feel happy about her first kiss but because of how Caspian abruptly left her, she got mixed feelings about the whole situation. She felt as if she just had the sweetest dessert ever but at the same time, it left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

    And she didn¡¯t know why but she felt like crying. She felt a lump in her throat. She tried to swallow it away but it wasn¡¯t leaving her. Her eyes began filling up and her lips were downturned.

    Anastasia was all ready to cry her heart out but right then, she felt that someone was standing by her bedside.

    ¡°Anna...¡± Her eyes twinkled when she heard Caspian¡¯s voice again. She turned to see that Caspian was holding a silk robe in his hand.

    ¡°I brought you my robe. You should change into this. You might catch a cold if you sleep in that bedgown,¡± Caspian slid his hand under Anastasia¡¯s back and helped her up. ¡°Shall I help you change?¡±

    Anastasia swiftly pulled up the straps of her bedgown and shook her head. ¡°I can change it myself.¡± Then she got down from her bed and took the robe from Caspian¡¯s hand.

    She nced at Caspian hoping he would leave the room. But since he kept on staring back at her, she softly whispered, ¡°I will go and change it in the bathroom.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Umm... I will see myself out then,¡± Caspian sounded downhearted, as though he was greatly regretting what had happened earlier.

    It was indeed true that he was feeling dejected. How could he not, when he had to fight the urge to feed on his own wife? He had never felt that paralyzing urge to sink his fangs on someone ever before.

    Caspian was thinking of keeping himself as far away from his wife as possible. And he prepared himself to run out of the room.

    ¡°No, wait!¡± Anastasia grabbed the sleeve of his shirt to stop him from running away yet again. She wasughing in her head while thinking, ¡®I must havepletely lost my mind. Why do I want to stay by his side even when I know that I am his food?¡¯

    Caspian was gazing at her and he asked after she didn¡¯t speak for quite a while, ¡°Is there anything else that you need?¡±

    Anastasia tried her best not to say it. She pressed her lips tightly but that couldn¡¯t stop her from speaking either. And she finally blurted out to her husband, ¡°I need you.¡±

 Chapter 39

    39 Intoxicating Smell

    ¡°I need you.¡±

    The gloomy Vampire King chuckled all of a sudden after hearing that desperate reply from his wife.

    He ruffled Anastasia¡¯s already messy dark ginger hair and teased her, ¡°I knew you were bold but I never knew to what extent.¡±

    ¡°No, I just...¡± Anastasia struggled toplete her sentence and make Caspian understand that all she wanted was to sleep by his side. She thought that her husband wouldugh at her if she was to say that out loud.

    Caspian took a deep breath in and pursed his lips. He, of course, understood that his wife wanted him to continue giving pleasure to her.

    He tucked her hair that was covering her face behind her ears. And he said in a dejected voice again, ¡°I would have loved to please my wife for the whole night but I don¡¯t want to risk it again. You saw what happened to me earlier, didn¡¯t you? I could hurt you.¡±

    Anastasia violently shook her head and tried to rify, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that when I said I needed you. It¡¯s just that... I don¡¯t want to have nightmares again. I would have asked Ti to sleep with me. But since she hasn¡¯t recovered yet, I don¡¯t have anyone else whom I can ask to sleep with me.¡±

    The innocent face of Anastasia melted away Caspian¡¯s resolve to stay away from his wife. ¡®I should be fine as long as I don¡¯t try to get intimate with her. My hunger for her seems to grow when I do so,¡¯ he thought to himself and then gave a loving gaze to his wife.

    He lightly caressed her hair and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s sleep together in my room then.¡± He knew that his wife was still not fullyfortable with him seeing her naked frame. So he understandingly said, ¡°I will wait in the antechamber. Get changed ande outside.¡±

    .....

    He noticed how her downturned lips suddenly curled upward and widened to form a grin. She then agreed in her softest voice which sounded like music to his ears, ¡°Sure. I will change quickly ande outside.¡±

    Caspian left the room with a soft smile on his face.

    Anastasia also smiled while looking at the door and she didn¡¯t waste a second more. She quickly got out of her bedgown and slipped into the robe that Caspian had brought for her.

    She looked down to check out the robe and thought, ¡®Er... this is his robe... but I just have to sleep for half the night in this. It should be no problem.¡¯

    When Anastasia walked out of her bedchamber, Caspian couldn¡¯t help but feel something warm spreading across his heart.

    Anastasia was drowned in his ck and golden robe. The sleeves were longer than her arms and the robe was trailing behind her feet like a train of the gown. She had managed to tightly secure the robe by tying thece around her waist. But the neckline rested a bit low, revealing just the right amount of her cleavage.

    Caspian curved the corner of his lips to form a smirk. And he thought to himself while his red eyes were glued to Anastasia, ¡®She looks like a kitten. Fiercely cute.¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Anastasia trotted towards Caspian and he found her even cuter when she walked like she was taking baby steps.

    He would have loved to see her walk all the way to his room but he also feared that she would trip on that long robe. ¡°Let me carry you.¡±

    ¡°No, I can wa-¡± Before Anastasia couldplete her sentence, he briskly picked her in his arms and began walking down the gallery that connected their rooms.

    Anastasia had never been to the west side of that building, and obviously, she had never been to Caspian¡¯s room either. So she carefully looked around to try and memorize the path to her husband¡¯s room.

    After about a minute or two, Caspian came to a halt and pushed a huge door open. Anastasia stared at the paintings that were hanging on the walls of Caspian¡¯s antechamber and thought to herself, ¡®So all I need to do is walk straight in this direction...¡¯

    Caspian then took her inside his bedchamber. His chamber was bigger than Anastasia¡¯s and was probably the most extravagant room in the whole castle.

    The ceiling of that room had sterworks with intricate designs that were painted in white and gold. The walls were covered with plywood that had beautiful carvings. And the huge bed in the middle of the room also had baldachin above it which added beauty to the lonely bed.

    Caspian gentlyy her down on the right side of his bed because that was where she was sleeping in her bed earlier. He tucked Anastasia inside the nket and blew out all thenterns that were lighting up the room.

    Anastasia turned her back at the empty side of the bed and curled up. She could hear Caspian taking off his clothes and wondered, ¡®What is he going to wear? I bet this robe was the one that his maids had prepared for him for the night...¡¯

    Suddenly, she imagined him without his clothes, which sent a tingling sensation all over her body again. And she had to pinch herself to snap out of such immodest and wild thoughts.

    It didn¡¯t take long for her to feel the dip in the mattress behind her. She felt him tugging the nket and preparing to lie down beside her. ¡®Please don¡¯t be naked,¡¯ she silently hoped.

    ¡®But does it matter?¡¯ She knew that there was a huge gap between the two of them. ¡®It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going toe any closer to me after what happened earlier. All I need to do now is sleep and then run to my room early in the morning before my maidse to wake me up.¡¯

    However, as if to prove her wrong, she felt Caspian wriggling closer and closer to her. She also wanted to wriggle, but away from Caspian and not towards him. However, there was no space left for her to shift.

    Her heart was already starting to act up from anticipation and she hated it that her body was reacting that way ¨C desperate.

    She drew in a sharp breath when she felt Caspian¡¯s cold hand around her waist and his cold frame aligned perfectly against her back. He was naked!

    ¡°Goodnight wife,¡± she heard his low voice followed by a kiss at the back of her head.

    Anastasia held his palm that was caressing her belly and whispered back, ¡°Goodnight Caspian.¡± And she closed her eyes hoping that her nightmare wouldn¡¯t catch her now that her husband was by her side.

    She took a deep breath in and the corners of her lips pulled up a little.

    Until now, she had never really given much thought to his scent. But now that she was so close to him, she couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the intoxicating fragrance that was emanating from him.

    He smelled like a garden in spring.

    To be more precise, he had that petrichor smell ¨C the pleasant smell of the first rain that drizzles after long and dry weather. And she liked it a lot.

    ¡ª

    A big ck creature was running across the forest and woods of Sorvando at a great speed. It was crushing and breaking anything and everything that came in its way, from the tree branches to a few small trees.

    Every once in a while, it would turn to the moon and howl as if it was in agonizing pain.

    After running for hours, that creature entered the territory of the neighboring Kingdom of Sorvando called Xanmar.

    It entered an old andrge castle. The servants and maids of the castle stepped away from the path and bowed to that gigantic ck wolf as it passed by.

    That wolf crashed inside one of the rooms of the castle and destroyed everything that came in its sight. Loud growls along with the sounds of items smashing and shattering on the ground could be heard outside the room.

    Nobody dared to enter that room to stop that mad wolf, not even his father. ¡°Let him be,¡± was the order his father gave to everyone in the castle.

    After destroying everything that was destroyable in that room, the wolf calmed down a little.

    A series of cracking and breaking sounds were heard from the room and after a while, a naked man sat on the heaps of torn papers and broken furniture.

    He had an enormous build even as a man. His tight and toned muscles were glistening with sweat and smeared with dirt. But if a woman was to look at him, they would only see how handsome he was.

    His raven ck hair fell just below his neck. His sharp nose and kissable lips added to his beauty. And his amber eyes were majestic enough to enchant any woman.

    His amber eyes caught sight of a painting that was resting not too far away from his hand. He reached out for it and intently gazed at the portrait in the painting.

    And he whispered in a betrayed tone, ¡°How could you marry someone else, Anna?¡±

 Chapter 40

    40 Everard Crestfire

    ¡°How could you marry someone else, Anna?¡±

    Everard gently caressed the portrait of Anastasia. Anastasia was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

    He gazed at her eyes which reminded him of the beautiful forests. Her ginger hair looked soft even in her portrait.

    And her pale face looked so pure that the thought of someone defiling that innocent woman made him feel enraged from the deepest corner of his heart.

    ¡°I should have asked your hand in the marriage that very same day. But no... I had to stay quiet thinking I would do so after I became the King.¡± Everard clenched his teeth and felt like beating himself up for letting that sweet and beautiful woman slip through his fingers.

    Everard was friends with Anastasia¡¯s brother, Alexander. The two Kingdoms, Orsenia and Xanmar were on very good terms. And both the Kingdom had sent their Princes to study in another foreignnd so that they could acquire the best of the best education.

    Everard and Alexander met each other in the Kingdom of Lavinya for the first time. They both were very young when they first met.

    Both of them were of the same age and both of them were under the care of the same teacher, Rupert. He taught them almost everything that a Prince needed to learn, from diplomacy to fighting.

    And as both of them came from simr family backgrounds, and as their families supported their friendship, they became best buddies in no time.

    .....

    They would return to their Kingdom twice or thrice a year. And then they would go back to Lavinya to continue their education so that one day, they would be an adept ruler.

    Last year, Alexander had invited Everard to his Kingdom so that the two of them could spend their vacation together.

    And that was when Everard got to meet Anastasia, the most beautiful woman in existence.

    Anastasia hade running at the gate to wee her brother as soon as their carriage arrived at the castle of Orsenia.

    Hervender smell was the first thing that had garnered his attention towards her. And Everard¡¯s eyes were left wide open upon seeing that beautifuldy running towards them with open arms.

    He had almost opened his arms for a hug as he was caught in the trance of her beauty. Thankfully, he controlled his thoughts and didn¡¯t embarrass himself in front of his friend and that beauty.

    ¡°Brother! I missed you so much.¡± Anastasia held her brother in a warm embrace.

    ¡°Anna! My lovely sister. I missed you too.¡± Alexander picked Anastasia off the ground and spun his dear sister.

    Everard was unable to tear off his gaze from thatdy who had a sweet smile stered to her face.

    Alexander then introduced his sister to his best friend, ¡°Anna, this is my friend, Eve.¡±

    Everard narrowed his eyes at Alexander and took charge of his own introduction. ¡°I¡¯m Everard Crestfire, Mdy.¡± He held out his hand for Anastasia and added with a gentle nod, ¡°Crown Prince of Xanmar.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.¡± Anastasia curtsied and gave her hand to Everard. And she introduced herself, ¡°I¡¯m Princess Anastasia.¡±

    Everard kissed Anastasia on her knuckles and said with an enchanting smile on his lips, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Alex.¡±

    ¡°Alright,e on. I will show you to the guest room and also show you around the castle.¡± Alexander pulled Everard away from his sister and dragged him inside the castle while shouting to his sister, ¡°I will find youter, Anna.¡±

    Everard turned his head to catch a glimpse of Anastasia again before she vanished from his sight.

    Everard then turned to look at his friend and said, ¡°You never told me that your sister was this beautiful.¡±

    Alexander scoffed and replied nonchntly, ¡°Well I never told you she was beautiful because I think she looks like a scarecrow. Can¡¯t you see how thin she is?¡±

    Everard raised his brows and asked with all seriousness, ¡°Are you serious right now? She is the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. And you are calling her a scarecrow? To that sweet sister of yours?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m calling her a scarecrow because that¡¯s exactly how she looks.¡±

    Everard narrowed his eyes and further chastised Alexander, ¡°I never knew you were this heartless to your sister.¡±

    ¡°Oh,e on! All brothers are heartless to their sisters.¡± Alexander left his hold on his friend and walked ahead of him while speaking in a rather grim tone, ¡°And trust me, she looks sweet to you because you just met her. She isn¡¯t anything like she looks.¡±

    Everard couldn¡¯t see the expression on Alexander¡¯s face to know if he was just being sarcastic or was serious.

    But from the way Alexander sounded right now and the way he had hugged Anastasia earlier, he could see clear discrepancies in his actions and his words.

    The pair arrived at the guest room where Everard was supposed to stay at. Alexander then opened the door and rested his case about his sister, ¡°She is a real pain in the arse once you get to know her better.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Everard rolled his eyes thinking Alexander was being protective of his sister. He walked inside his room to find that all of his luggage was already inside. He jumped on the sofa and looked at his friend¡¯s face.

    Alexander looked like he was trying to avoid having eye contact.

    And Everard smirked and said, ¡°You¡¯re deliberately saying bad things about your sister to protect her from me, right? You never said anything bad about her before today.¡±

    Everard gave a smoldering look to Alexander and asked, ¡°Am I that bad of a choice for your sister?¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Alexander sighed and turned around, ¡°It¡¯s quite the opposite. I think you are too good for my sister. I am just trying to protect you from her.¡±

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Everard acted as if he was going to puke and mockingly said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection, Alex. I¡¯m not your wife! And let me be the judge of if I¡¯m too good for her or not.¡±

    Alexander disregarded what Everard just said and said a little sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t fall for that brat, I am warning you.¡±

    Everard smirked andy down t on the sofa. He could tell that Alexander was acting weird because his friend didn¡¯t want him to develop any feelings for Anastasia. And because Alexander was being so dismissive, Everard felt like actively pursuing Anastasia.

    Everard clicked his tongue and said to his friend, ¡°I cannot promise that to you, Alex. Your sister has already caught my interest. And what¡¯s wrong with having me as your brother-inw? I would give every happiness in the world to your sister.¡±

    However, Alexander acted as though he didn¡¯t hear a word his friend just said. He started to walk away while saying, ¡°Get freshened up. We will have our lunch and I will show you around.¡±

    Everard kept on looking out of the door until his friend disappeared.

    And he whispered to himself, ¡°Why is he acting like this? Does he somehow know that my father is a werewolf? But even if he knows that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. It¡¯s not like I am one.¡±

    His dark eyes darkened even more and he prayed, ¡°I hope I will never be one.¡±

 Chapter 41

    41 A Forbidden Pursuit

    Everard couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Anastasia¡¯s beautiful face the whole time he was in his bath.

    He finished freshening up and changing into clean clothes and waited for his best friend toe and take him to greet the King and Queen of Orsenia.

    As promised, Alexander came to pick up his friend.

    ¡°Here¡¯s what we are going to do,¡± Alexander briefed the n that he had made for the day, ¡°We¡¯ll greet my parents. Then we will have lunch. After that, I will give you a tour of the castle and also a tour of the Capital.¡±

    ¡°Will Anastasia join us on the tour?¡± Everard couldn¡¯t help but ask that so that he could tease his friend.

    Alexander gave a corner-eyed look to Everard and led Everard towards the throne hall without saying another word along the way.

    ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t ignore your special guest!¡± Everard kept on hovering around Alexander and trying to make him speak.

    However, the two of them arrived at the throne hall before Everard was sessful.

    Alexander gave a low bow to his parents who were sitting on their respective decorated thrones on the elevated tform. ¡°My sincere greetings, Your Majesties.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Wee back, dear son,¡± King Desmond had a huge grin on his face upon seeing his son.

    Queen Helena was also ecstatic to see her son after several months. ¡°Wee back, dear.¡±

    Everard also gave a bow to the King and Queen of Orsenia and greeted them. ¡°I offer you my greetings, Your Majesties. May the Kingdom prosper under your rule.¡±

    ¡°We are d that you finally graced thisnd with your presence, Crown Prince Everard,¡± King Desmond politely weed the future King of Xanmar to the Kingdom of Orsenia.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who is grateful to have been invited to your beautiful Kingdom,¡± Everard gave a polite smile.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you such a gentleman?¡± Queen Helena could only praise the well-mannered Crown Prince. ¡°Make yourself at home while you are here, Prince Everard. If you feel that we arecking in offering something for yourfortable stay then please, feel free to let the Head Servant know.¡±

    ¡°I will, Your Majesty. Thank you for showing me your generosity,¡± Everard replied with the same warm expression on his face.

    The Queen turned to look at her son and ordered him, ¡°Take good care of your friend, Alexander.¡±

    The two Princes bowed to the King and the Queen before heading out of the throne hall.

    Alexander then began showing all the important buildings and beautiful gardens to Prince Everard.

    Everard showed the most interest in the Royal armory of Orsenia. Firearms were the revolutionary weapons that were discing the traditional weapons like bows and arrows, and swords. And Everard was impressed to see that the armies of Orsenia had already adapted to the change.

    ¡°Our Kingdom is a little behind in the modern weapons. Maybe I should send some of my men to learn the new way,¡± Everard said to Alexander while admiring a flintlock pistol.

    ¡°Sure, I would be happy to arrange a training workshop for the Xanmar troops,¡± Alexander agreed without thinking for a second.

    Everard narrowed his eyes and mocked his friend, ¡°You don¡¯t even think a second when I say that I want my men to learn your military secrets, something that concerns your national security. But why are you so stingy when I say that I want to learn more about Princess Anastasia?¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Again!¡± Alexander held his head with both of his hands and said in an irate voice, ¡°Stop talking about my sister already! Would you tolerate me if I be this pesky regarding your sister?¡±

    ¡°Er... well, since I don¡¯t have any sister, I don¡¯t mind you talking about them,¡± Everard gave a mocking smile to Alexander. And he instantly asked, ¡°By the way, when are you showing me your sister¡¯s residence? I would love to give her a visit.¡±

    Alexander smacked Everard¡¯s head and shouted as he headed out of the armory, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. Now, if you want to see the Capital, then follow me. Or else, go back to your room and stay there for the rest of your days here.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so mean to your best friend,¡± Everard quickly caught up to Alexander and put his arms around his friend¡¯s shoulder.

    The two of them had a lot of fun, exploring the bustling streets, enjoying street foods, watching a street y, and many more.

    Simrly, Alexander had arranged several activities to keep his friend busy and entertained during his stay in Orsenia.

    The next day, they rode their horses to the nearby forest and went hunting. Another day, they were busy discussing the possible future cooperation between Orsenia and Xanmar with King Desmond. And then the next day, they simply indulged themselves in good food and some activities like sword fighting.

    Everard was well aware that Alexander was doing everything in his power to keep him from even identally encountering Princess Anastasia. For some reason unknown to him, she wouldn¡¯t even join them at the dining hall to have meals together.

    ¡°Let me meet Princess Anastasia,¡± he asked Alexander as he leisurely sipped on some quality wine in the beautiful garden behind Alexander¡¯s personal quarter.

    It was hisst day in Orsenia, and he wasn¡¯t returning home tomorrow unless he got a proper audience with the only Princess of Orsenia.

    Alexander denied his request like always, ¡°You don¡¯t need to meet her. She will just ruin our happy mood.¡±

    Everard stared deep into the ss of his red wine and asked with all seriousness, ¡°Are you restricting me to pursue her because I am not a King yet? Will you let me court her and eventually marry her once I take over the throne?¡±

    Alexander¡¯s facial expression turned sad all of a sudden. ¡°That¡¯s not why I am not allowing you to see her.¡±

    Everard leaned a little closer to his friend to study his expression. He couldn¡¯t tell what Alexander was worried about, though.

    So he tried to reassure his friend, ¡°If you are worried that I will lose my interest in her after marrying her, then I assure you that it isn¡¯t in my blood to be unfaithful to my woman. She will be my one and only woman until the day I die.¡±

    ¡®That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about. I don¡¯t want you to be alone for the rest of your life if my sister...¡¯ Alexander silently thought to himself as a wave of emotion hit him, and the rims of his eyes got filled with tears. But he quickly turned his head away before Everard could see his eyes.

    Alexander didn¡¯t think that he would be able to hold back his tears, so he abruptly stood up from his seat. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± And he immediately took off.

    Everard could feel that there was something that Alexander was not telling him about Princess Anastasia. He just wished that his friend would be direct rather than always beating around the bush.

    ¡®Is Anastasia perhaps already promised or engaged to someone else? But if that were the case, then he would have said it outright.¡¯

    Everard thought of going after Alexander and confronting him, but his thoughts were interrupted by the woman whom he had been longing to meet this whole time.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness,¡± he heard a sweet voice directed at him.

    Everard¡¯s heart almost stopped when he heard that melodious voiceing from behind him.

    He turned around to take a look at the Princess with bated breath.

    The gentle wind was softly blowing her loose dark ginger hair. She was wearing the sweetest smile on her lips. Her emerald green irises looked so vibrant and deep that he wondered if it was possible to get lost in her eyes.

    Everard forgot about everything that had been bothering him for the past few days after taking a single nce at the innocent-looking Princess.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Princess Anastasia. Your brother and I were just talking about you,¡± he stood up and took her hand to politely kiss her knuckles.

    Anastasia looked around the garden and queried, ¡°I don¡¯t see my brother.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he just went inside. He¡¯ll be back.¡± Everard gestured for Anastasia to take a seat and asked, ¡°I bet mdy is here to meet Alex.¡±

    Anastasia gave a yful smile and replied, ¡°Crown Prince Everard is keeping my brother all to himself. So I thought of paying a visit myself.¡±

    Ti was apanying Anastasia like she always did. She helped the Princess to sit down and stood behind her.

    ¡°You were right toe here then. I will scold Alex for giving less attention to his sister,¡± Everard said in a calm voice. But inside his heart, he felt as if hundreds of firecrackers had been lit up at the same time.

    He had several things in mind that he wanted to ask the Princess. But now that she was sitting beside him, he didn¡¯t know why he was feeling so nervous.

    ¡®Is it because of the wine?¡¯ He cursed himself for insisting on drinking wine in the middle of the day.

    Anastasia was also not used to talking with people other than Ti and her immediate family members. So she went quiet after exchanging the initial pleasantries with Everard. She looked towards the back door of the building and hoped that her brother woulde out soon.

    Though Everard lookedposed on the outside, in his mind, he was trying to think of a nice topic that he could use to start a proper conversation with the Princess.

    But in his nervousness, the first thing he blurted out was, ¡°Is mdy avable for courtship?¡±

 Chapter 42

    42 Birth of the Wolf

    ¡°Is mdy avable for courtship?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Anastasia looked at Everard in shock. She was so shocked that she forgot all herdy-like mannerisms.

    Ti was equally shocked to hear Prince Everard. She was contemting whether she should leave the two of them alone or whether she should take her Princess away from such a bold and shameless man.

    Everard also couldn¡¯t believe himself. ¡®Did I just dive into the question that was supposed to be the climax of our talk? What the hell is wrong with me?¡¯

    His ears had already turned red because of the embarrassment. But he still tried to y it cool and calmly asked again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I am overstepping, but I wanted to know if mdy has some prior engagement with any suitors. Alex never tells me anything.¡±

    Anastasia could feel her whole body heating up. Her cheeks and ears had already turned red. She looked down and stuttered, ¡°I d-don¡¯t have any.¡±

    Everard suddenly felt a sense of relief after hearing that the Princess indeed was not seeing any suitors. He then thought of directly asking the Princess if she would like to give him a chance.

    But before he could ask anything in a more embarrassing way, Prince Alexander saved both of them.

    ¡°Anna, what are you doing here?¡± Alexander asked from afar as soon as he saw Anastasia sitting beside Everard.

    .....

    Anastasia hastily got up from her seat and walked towards her brother. And she expressed her displeasure towards her brother for ignoring her ever since he came back. ¡°Brother, you didn¡¯te to me, so I came to you.¡±

    Alexander wanted to dismiss her, saying he would see her tomorrow. But he couldn¡¯t even pretend to be rude to his sister. He knew how fragile his sister was, so he couldn¡¯t think of hurting her even a little.

    He lovingly gave her a hug and asked her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not visiting you. Eve doesn¡¯t leave my side for a second. He¡¯s such a pain.¡±

    He didn¡¯t fail to notice the expectant look in Anastasia¡¯s eyes. So he gave a smile to his sister and asked, ¡°Would you like to join us for lunch?¡±

    ¡°Can I?¡± Anastasia asked with excitement.

    ¡°Of course, you can,¡± Alexander then nced at a maid-in-waiting and ordered her, ¡°Prepare lunch for the three of us. And make sure to bring appropriate food for the Princess.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Your Highness,¡± the maid gave a bow and left.

    Everard had thought that Alexander would chase away his sweet sister, but unlike what he had thought, he invited her to join them.

    ¡°Did you finish that adventure novel that I sent youst winter?¡± Alexander asked his sister after settling down in the chair.

    Anastasia¡¯s face instantly lit up, and she happily replied, ¡°Yes, I finished that within three days after you sent it to me. The story was really beautifully written. I felt as though I was the one who climbed those mountains and reached the peak.¡±

    ¡°I thought you would like it,¡± Alexander was visibly happy to know that he could at least do something to help brighten his sister¡¯s boring life inside the four walls of the castle. ¡°I will try to find some more good books for you.¡±

    ¡°I would love that.¡± Anastasia smiled and then said, ¡°Now enough about me, brother. Tell me how your training went this time? And when¡¯s your study going to end?¡±

    Alexander looked sad instead of answering his sister.

    So Everard answered in his stead, ¡°It will take another year for us toplete our studies.¡±

    ¡°Still one more year...¡± Anastasia¡¯s beaming face turned gloomy all of a sudden.

    She looked at her brother and expressed her woes, ¡°I don¡¯t like it when you return back to Lavinya after spending merely a week or two here in the castle. And you don¡¯te back for another six or seven months.¡±

    Alexander also wished to spend more time with his sister. However, he had to take the burden of the whole Kingdom one day. No matter how much he wanted to stay back, he had toplete his studies so as to be an adept ruler.

    Everard was closely watching those two. He could clearly see that they longed for each other¡¯spany. That made him guess that Alexander didn¡¯t want his sister to get married because he hadn¡¯t even had a chance to spend some proper time with her.

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, then I can wait for 2-3 years before asking her hand in marriage. Or I will wait until my father hands over the Kingdom to me. I¡¯m just 19 now. So there¡¯s no need to hurry.¡¯

    Little did Everard know that the Princess didn¡¯t have that many years left to live.

    After having lunch together, though Alexander was giving a constant re to Everard, he kept on putting efforts into making small talks with Anastasia.

    He mostly talked about the ces he and Alexander had traveled to together, the different races of people they had met, and also the literature and the art of those races.

    He seemed to have hit right on the spot because the Princess began to open up to Everard as well. She genuinely seemed interested to see the world through Everard and her brother¡¯s eyes. She couldn¡¯t do that herself, no matter how much she wanted to.

    After seeing how Anastasia enjoyed Everard¡¯spany, Alexander stopped ring at his friend. He couldn¡¯t deny that Everard had the ability to charm everyone he met.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go horse riding?¡± Everard nced at the setting sun and suggested after talking for hours. ¡°There¡¯s a different kind of pleasure in riding a horse at dusk.¡±

    Anastasia wrinkled her nose a little and politely denied, ¡°I am afraid that I won¡¯t be able to do so. I easily catch a cold.¡±

    ¡°Then...¡± Everard suddenly got a great idea, ¡°How about I try my hand at painting? I would love to paint you.¡±

    ¡°How about we call it a day? Anna must be tired by sitting here all day,¡± Alexander tried to cut their interaction short.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not tired,¡± Anastasia replied with a smile. It wasn¡¯t always that she got to have someone else apany her than Ti.

    ¡®Just for today,¡¯ Alexander thought to himself and arranged all the materials required for painting.

    Everard was as good with brushes as he was with swords and pistols.

    By the time it was nightfall, Alexander had painted two portraits of Anastasia. One to give to the Princess and one for himself.

    ¡°You¡¯ve painted me to be more beautiful than I am,¡± Anastasia praised Everard¡¯s painting skill after taking a look at the portrait.

    Everard was beaming with happiness to get praise from the Princess. But he modestly said, ¡°My painting looks beautiful because mdy was kind enough to show her beauty.¡±

    The next morning, after thanking the King and Queen for their hospitality and after thanking his friend for the invitation, Everard was ready to set off towards his own Kingdom.

    Anastasia and Alexander were standing near the carriage to send him off.

    Before he left, he kissed Anastasia on her knuckles and boldly asked her, ¡°Mdy, will you write letters to me when you write one for your brother? I would love to hear from you during my stay in Lavinya.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and politely cleared her intention, ¡°I will write letters to you if you promise to be my friend. I¡¯m not avable for suitors.¡±

    She knew better than to lead a man into thinking that he had a chance of courtship with her when she wasn¡¯t even sure if she would be alive tomorrow.

    Everard, on the other hand, thought that he would be able to win both Anna and Alex¡¯s hearts if he kept on trying.

    So he wasn¡¯t going to miss a chance to be Anastasia¡¯s friend. He agreed with a smile, ¡°Friends, we are then.¡±

    For the next year, Anastasia became Everard¡¯s pen pal. Anastasia would write letters to both Alexander and Everard as she had promised. The two of them were even on a nickname basis already.

    She would mostly talk about the novels she read in her letters.

    And Everard, in turn, would send some novels along with the letters, even though he would get scolded by his friend every time he would buy new books for Anastasia.

    Everard was sure that if he was to ask Anastasia for courtship again, then she would definitely ept him. He had even thought of several ways to try and persuade her.

    However, little did he know that thest he would hear from the Princess would be about her getting married to the King of Sorvando.

    The news came as such a great shock to Everard that it literally transformed his life forever. He turned into the very thing he wished he would never be ¨C a big bad wolf.

 Chapter 43

    43 Monsters?

    Everard was still sitting stark naked on the pile of mess that he had created.

    The color of his irises had finally reverted back from bright amber to ebony. However, his eyes were still focused on the painting of Anastasia.

    After witnessing Anastasia willingly being carried by someone else, he wasn¡¯t sure if he still had the right to hold on to her portrait.

    ¡°What do I do with you now that your owner has married someone else?¡± he mockinglyughed at the portrait and his own fate.

    He then red at the portrait with a hint of anger in his eyes and mumbled in a husky voice, ¡°And you told me you weren¡¯t avable for the suitors! What changed, Anna? Was he able to win your heart by doing something that I didn¡¯t do for you?¡±

    He clenched his teeth and was about to crumble that portrait.

    However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so. He could never.

    Instead, he carefully rolled the portrait to keep it in a safer ce. He then stepped out of that room without caring about the condition that he was in.

    Thankfully, a few of the maids rushed towards him while keeping their heads down.

    .....

    One of them was carrying a silk robe in her hand, and she asked in a little shaken voice, ¡°Your Highness, would you like us to help you with your clothes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he spread his arms and let the maids dress him up.

    And without caring how dirty he was, he walked towards his private chambers.

    But before he could walk inside, a beta wolf with a strong build stopped him. That man bowed to the Crown Prince and asked without showing a hint of fear in his voice, ¡°Your Highness, His Majesty expects an audience with you.¡±

    Everard was in no mood to meet or talk with anyone. So he denied rudely, ¡°But I don¡¯t expect an audience with anyone. Just leave me alone.¡±

    Everard opened the door, but that man was adamant, ¡°Your Highness, it was your first transformation. So there are certain rituals that you must follow before you can rest. We have to wee you to the Crestfire pack. And the alphas from other packs are also on their way to congratte you and witness the ritual. So I¡¯m afraid we cannot dy this anymore.¡±

    Everard heaved a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his jet-ck hair. He clutched his hair and screamed in great frustration.

    He never wanted to be a part of this ¨C to be a part of the stupid pack and be bound by stupid rituals and rules. He wanted to stay out of that world more than anything.

    But his fate justughed at him and gave him a back-to-back smack on his gut. First, the woman he had developed feelings for was married to some other man, and now, he was being dragged into the world he wanted no part in.

    The beta wolf felt sympathy towards the young Crown Prince. He was well aware of Everard¡¯s stand on werewolf packs. He understood how angry and frustrated he must be feeling.

    So he said in a calm voice, ¡°I will ry the message to His Majesty that you are in a bath. I will be back after half an hour.¡±

    Everard rushed inside his bedchamber without sparing a nce at the beta wolf.

    Hey on his bed with all kinds of emotions running rampant inside his heart and his head.

    After a while, he heard the maids in his bathroom, probably preparing a bath for him.

    But he couldn¡¯t care less.

    ¡®They can take their rituals and shove it up their butts.¡¯

    He closed his eyes, nning to get some sleep.

    He was dog-tired after his continuous travel from Kingdom to Kingdom. Some days, he had traveled on his horse, and the other days, he had traveled on his paws. And he hadn¡¯t even taken any breaks to sleep in the past three days.

    To add to that, he broke every bone in his body during the full moon night. He didn¡¯t remember much from that night except seeing Anastasia being carried away by that man. But he did remember the pain that he had to go through, alone, in the woods of Sorvando.

    Every inch of his body was screaming to get some rest and recuperate.

    However, the moment he closed his eyes, his bitter memories shed in his mind.

    He recalled rushing from Lavinya to Orsenia on his horse after reading that heartbreaking letter from Anastasia.

    Alexander had also followed him. He was equally angry as Everard because his parents didn¡¯t even consult him once before sending off his sister to some unknown Kingdom as a tribute bride.

    However, when the two of them had reached Orsenia, it was already toote. Anastasia had already reached Sorvando.

    Everard had asked Alexander toe along with him to rescue the Princess. But for some reason, Alexander was okay with his sister being married off to a rumored monster.

    ¡®Monster...¡¯

    ¡®Wait!¡¯

    Everard suddenly flung his eyes open. He just realized that something about that man who carried Anastasia away was wrong.

    ¡®How the hell did he run so fast? Even my ¡®supposedly better¡¯ eyes could barely keep up with his speed!¡¯

    Everard abruptly sat up on his bed. His eyes had changed their color to amber again.

    He looked at the rolled portrait that he was still holding and mumbled, ¡°Who the hell did she marry?¡±

    He felt a chill in his heart and asked himself again, ¡°No, ¡®what¡¯ did she marry?¡±

    Everard closed his eyes and tried to clearly think if he indeed saw that man running at an unprecedented speed. No matter how many times he looked back into his memory, the answer was the same.

    ¡®I thought that ¡®monster¡¯ was a little too far-fetched when I heard the rumors. But that speed... that speed is too unrealistic for a human to achieve. Is he... is he really a monster?¡¯

    Everard frantically threw the portrait inside his bedside drawer and rushed out of his room while still wearing his bed robe.

    ¡®What if Anna is being held captive against her will? More importantly, what if her life is in danger? I can¡¯t let anything bad happen to her.¡¯

    Everard clenched his fists and resolutely walked to find the person who might have answers to his questions. ¡®I need to find the truth.¡¯

    He went straight towards his father¡¯s study and pushed the door open before the guards could even react.

    ¡°Father, tell me, what kind of a monster is the King of Sorvando?¡± he shouted as soon as he entered the King¡¯s study.

    He didn¡¯t even bother to greet his father, the King of Xanmar and the alpha of the Crestfire pack.

    His father, Alfred Crestfire, nced at Everard without much change in his expression. But deep inside, he wondered what his son got himself into.

    Being the alpha, he was able to sense it when Everard had turned into the werewolf even though he wasn¡¯t close. And he was expecting his son toe home since new members of the pack were automatically attracted towards the alpha¡¯s location.

    Alfred had thought that Everard was going through a temper tantrum because he had turned into the thing he never wished to be.

    However, the matter looked worse than that. Else Everard wouldn¡¯t be asking about the King of Sorvando before throwing some more tantrums about his new identity.

    Alfred took a deep breath in and then closed the files that he was studying. He pointed at the chair in front of him and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat first?¡±

 Chapter 44

    44 A Cold Body

    The next morning, Zenon, along with a few of the vampire servants, went down to the dungeon that was under the central courtyard of the Kilerth castle.

    As they walked down the cold stairs of the rocky dungeon, their senses were overtaken by the sweet and metallic smell lingering in the air.

    Zenon widened his eyes and sped towards the passage that was in between dungeon cells.

    And he came to a halt when he saw a dead body lying there on the cold passage. ¡®Why is it here? And since when?¡¯ he thought to himself as he ran possible scenarios in his mind.

    Zenon nced at the cells that were on his left as well as his right. He saw the prisoners cowering together at the furthest corners of the cells. They all looked scared out of their minds.

    Soon, Zenon was joined by the servants. Their reaction didn¡¯t change much even after seeing the cold blood-drained body. They knew that only one man would be bold enough to leave a dead body after helping himself.

    ¡°One of you can take this body out of here. Dump it somewhere where it won¡¯t rot and start to smell,¡± Zenon gave out the order in a cold and indifferent voice.

    The moment he gave the order, some of the prisoners inhaled sharply and stiffened their bodies, some didn¡¯t even dare to breathe, while some of them wet themselves.

    As if it wasn¡¯t already enough for them to witness a blond man drag a prisoner out of the cell and brutally kill that man by drinking his blood yesterday, they heard that that dead man was going to be ¡®dumped somewhere¡¯ as if his life had no value.

    .....

    One of the servants picked that body on his shoulder as ordered by Zenon and disappeared from sight.

    Zenon was staring at the blood stains on the floor when he heard someone whisper from the cell, ¡°Monsters. They¡¯re monsters. He murdered. The so-called King murdered him. He¡¯s a bloody monster! He drank that man¡¯s blood!¡±

    Zenon red inside the cell and spotted the man who was whispering just now. It looked like he recognized Caspian as their King.

    That man was crouching in the middle of the other human prisoners and he looked as if he was in trauma after witnessing something which he shouldn¡¯t have.

    Zenon sighed and thought, ¡®Why did His Majesty have to drain that man right here? Now today¡¯s blood is going to taste bad. All of these pigs look scared... Well, better drain that man who looks the most scared. If he¡¯s kept here with others then eventually he will end up scaring everyone and spoiling everyone¡¯s blood.¡¯

    Zenon pushed his light brown hair away from his forehead and ordered the servants while pointing at that whisperer, ¡°For today, bring that man.¡±

    All the prisoners in all the cells got scared to their core, especially the man that was chosen.

    ¡°No! Please spare me. Please!¡± That man went down on his knees and bowed to Zenon. ¡°I will never-¡±

    Before he could plead and scare the others even more, one of the servants unlocked the door of that cell and the other gagged that man and carried him on his shoulder. And that servant leisurely walked away with that prisoner as if he was a human and not a vampire.

    The vampires were forbidden from showing their powers down here because, yes, they didn¡¯t want their food source to get scared and their food to taste bad.

    And it had worked, more or less.

    Most of the prisoners knew that they were vampires anyway.

    The only difference was that they had not witnessed the vampires hunting down their prey and drinking their blood, which was until yesterday.

    Some of the prisoners began to silently shed their tears because they now knew what was waiting for all of them. They knew that once they were chosen, they would be killed like that prisoner yesterday and their family wouldn¡¯t even get to see their bodies.

    Zenon held his arms behind his back and started to walk towards the stairs of the dungeon. The remaining servants also followed after him.

    He was thinking hard about how to make the situation right. And after a while, he ordered, ¡°Ask the human chefs to prepare decent food for the prisoners as well. I hope they¡¯ll stop whimpering if they get to eat cooked food instead of raw.¡±

    ¡°I will pass the message, my lord,¡± the servants bowed and went away.

    Zenon then took a mental note to himself, ¡®And if some more prisoners arrive here then I will have to prepare a separate ce for them. This batch is already ruined; I don¡¯t want them to ruin the neers as well.¡¯

    He climbed some more stairs while narrowing his eyes. ¡®And I will have to reprimand His Majesty for killing that man in the dungeon. And also for drinking too much blood in one sitting.¡¯

    ¡®Ah! Why does he act so recklessly at times?¡¯ Zenon reached the door to Caspian¡¯s private chambers and knocked. ¡°Your Majesty?¡±

    However, he got no answer. He thought that the King was probably brooding about something and walked inside the antechamber.

    ¡®Whoa! Even this room smells of humans. I hope he didn¡¯t bring a human here and drank their blood.¡¯

    He knocked on the bedchamber¡¯s door again and called Caspian once more, ¡°Your Majesty?¡±

    He waited for a while but still, there was no answer.

    ¡®Is he trying to avoid me on purpose? He knows that I am going to nag him. Well, he brought it upon himself.¡¯

    Zenon sighed and reached out his hands to push the door open without waiting for Caspian to answer.

    ¡°Your Majesty! Why did you-¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Caspian¡¯s hoarse morning voice interrupted Zenon.

    Caspian was sitting on his bed with one of his legs hanging out the bed. He was all naked if it wasn¡¯t for the nket covering his lower body. His blond hair looked disheveled. And he was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

    ¡°Your Majesty, you should be more responsible. How could you leave the de-¡±

    ¡°Mm... is breakfast ready?¡± Suddenly Zenon heard a female voice which was already enough to startle him.

    Caspian never brought women inside his bedchamber.

    For a second there, he forgot that his King had a wife now and was ready to walk closer to the bed to prevent another murder.

    But he got startled again when he saw the Queen waking up. She was stretching her arms and was yawning with her eyes half-closed.

    Zenon¡¯s mind was bombarded with all kinds of thoughts. ¡®Queen! She was sleeping right beside the King! The King is naked! Did I just walk in to disrupt their... their... their heir-producing activity?¡¯

    ¡®Ahhhhhh!¡¯ Zenon felt like tearing his hair off for not waiting outside. He screamed in his mind demanding his legs to move but he just froze.

    Caspian, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to mind Zenon¡¯s presence there. Caspian had nothing to hide. And Anastasia was fully dressed.

    However, the way Zenon kept on staring at Caspian as if there was something wrong in the bedchamber ticked him off.

    ¡°What is it, Zenon? Did youe here to stare at me or do you have something important to say?¡± Caspian asked again in monotone.

    And his voice suddenly woke both Zenon and Anastasia.

    Anastasia flung her eyes open to see Zenon near the door. She instantly flopped down on the bed and covered herself with the nket as if to hide from Zenon.

    Zenon, on the other hand, finally got control over his body and shouted awkwardly, ¡°I will be waiting in your study. But you don¡¯t have toe right away if you don¡¯t want to. Your Majesty.¡±

    And he disappeared from the room in a sh.

    ¡®What was that about?¡¯ Caspian frowned and turned to look at his wife.

    She had curled herself into a ball.

    A smile automatically appeared on Caspian¡¯s face seeing the human cocoon. Yesterday night¡¯s wonderful memory made his smile even broader.

    He leaned down and merrily whispered to Anastasia, ¡°Good morning, dear wife.¡±

 Chapter 45

    45 yful Bickering

    ¡°Good morning, dear wife,¡± Caspian whispered. He waited for his wife to take that nket off and show her face to him.

    However, Anastasia neither showed her face nor said a word to him. She kept on staying curled up inside the nket.

    Caspian yfully bit his lower lip. And he gently tugged the nket.

    But his shy wife tightened her hold on the nket even more.

    ¡°Anna...¡± Caspian teasingly pinched her waist and sessfully made her squirm. But that was it.

    The Vampire King couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at his shy wife. And he asked, ¡°Wife, are you going to stay inside that nket for the whole day?¡±

    There was no answer. Nor any kind of reaction.

    Caspian got a great idea to further tease his wife. ¡°Ah! I get it. You must already be craving to kiss me until you are breathless. Here Ie then.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Anastasia suddenly squeaked and peeped from under the nket.

    .....

    She furrowed her brows and chastised Caspian, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up before Zenon entered the room? He saw us in one bed!¡±

    Caspiany down on the bed and rested his head on his palm. He gazed into his wife¡¯s emerald green eyes and asked yfully, ¡°So what if he saw us? We¡¯re not having a secret affair now, are we?¡±

    ¡°No, but...¡± Anastasia covered her face again and said in a muffled tone, ¡°He saw us! And why are you still na... Why aren¡¯t you wearing any clothes yet?¡±

    ¡°Because you are wearing my robe, remember?¡± Caspian started poking Anastasia¡¯s shoulder so that she would stop hiding from him.

    Caspian heard Anastasia¡¯s muffled voice again, ¡°Fine. I will go back to my chamber and change into my gown. And I will have this robe sent over if this is what you will be wearing for the rest of the day.¡±

    Anastasia suddenly sprung up and threw the nket away with a jerk. She unintentionally threw away the only thing that was covering her husband¡¯s family jewels.

    ¡°Oh, good lord!¡± Anastasia turned her neck so fast that it even made a cracking sound.

    ¡°Ah!¡± She instantly held her neck with her palm.

    Instead of pulling the nket and covering himself, Caspianbeled his wife as a perverted woman. ¡°Oh, wife! Are you that desperate to see me naked? You could have just said so instead of making me look indecent when the door is wide open.¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s not it!¡± Anastasia shouted in denial.

    She then pursed her lips and tight shut her eyes out of embarrassment. She subconsciously began to sway her body back and forth while inwardly cursing herself, ¡®Why did I have to throw that nket so enthusiastically? Now he thinks I did that on purpose!¡¯

    The friction from the nket earlier had caused Anastasia¡¯s hair to be static, and quite a few strands of her hair stood up as if they wanted to escape from Anastasia¡¯s head.

    Caspian was enjoying seeing her static hair move when she was restlessly swaying her body. He puffed his cheeks and pressed his lips together to prevent himself fromughing at his wife.

    But that only made it worse for him. He ended upughing out loud, prompting Anastasia to turn her head towards him.

    ¡°Why are you- haaaaaa... Cover yourself up, will you?¡± Anastasia jumped out of the bed and ran.

    She wanted to lock herself up in her bedchamber so that she wouldn¡¯t embarrass herself anymore. She also didn¡¯t have the intention to learn about the male anatomy today.

    However, in her hastiness, she forgot that the robe that she was wearing was too long for her. And she ended up stepping on the robe and tripping down head first.

    Thankfully, Caspian managed to grab the cor of the robe and prevented his wife from hitting her head on the floor.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Caspian swiftly picked Anastasia in his arms. He had a few frown lines on his porcin face when he scanned his eyes all over his wife¡¯s body.

    It took a few seconds for Anastasia to know what happened in those few seconds. And when she realized that she was in Caspian¡¯s arms somehow, her heart started to hammer in her chest.

    As if it wasn¡¯t already embarrassing for her, her husband¡¯s sculpted chest was right up her face. And she didn¡¯t know where to look. Or rather, she was having a hard time trying not to look at her husband¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Your knees look red,¡± Caspian announced himself.

    He took her back to his bed and made hery down.

    And he scolded her, but in a gentle voice, ¡°Why did you have to sprint like that? I was just teasing you a little.¡±

    Caspian swiftly pulled the nket from the bed and wrapped it around his waist. He didn¡¯t want to make his wife run again.

    He then pushed his wife¡¯s robe to reveal her knees and gently pressed his cold palms over them. ¡°I heard once that the cold prevents the bruises from turning blue.¡±

    He nced at his wife¡¯s face only to see her gaze fixated on his chest.

    Caspian chuckled at that sight, and he asked her, ¡°And you don¡¯t have to be so shy around me. You can stare at me to your heart¡¯s content. I¡¯m all yours, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Anastasia was so lost in the beauty of her husband¡¯s marvelous body that she didn¡¯t hear a word he had said till now.

    She suddenly jumped back to her senses and saw Caspian gazing at her.

    She quickly looked away and asked, ¡°Did you say something?¡±

    Caspian chuckled again. He looked at his wife¡¯s rosy cheeks and said in his low but deep voice, ¡°Now you¡¯re back to being shy. I wonder how long it will take for you to getpletelyfortable around me.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t answer because she was not in a state to. Her mind was busy scolding her for ogling her husband¡¯s body. She pressed her palm on her cheeks and kept on staring at the window.

    And Caspian wondered silently, ¡®And I wonder how long it will take for you to madly fall in love with me. Because I am already at your mercy. I want you to fall deeper than me.¡¯

    Suddenly, Caspian¡¯s sharp ears caught the sound of some vampires running in the direction of his private chambers.

    ¡°It must be the servants. Wait right here,¡± he said to Anastasia.

    He locked the door to his bedchamber as he stepped outside to his antechamber.

    He didn¡¯t want his wife to feel more ufortable than she already was.

    Unlike what Caspian had thought, Zenon and Vincent walked inside his antechamber.

    Vincent couldn¡¯t help butugh at the condition of his friend. ¡°What in the hell? Why are you wearing a nket? Did the King suddenly get poor overnight?¡±

    Vincent held his stomach and kept onughing out loud.

    Caspian rolled his eyes at Vincent and then looked at Zenon. He mockingly asked his advisor, ¡°Do you finally have something to say?¡±

    Zenon awkwardly cleared his throat and informed the King, ¡°Your Majesty, we are ready to head towards the residence of Lord Bartholomew. Beth¡¯s aplice in poisoning the Queen is also ready.¡±

    A subtle smirk danced on Caspian¡¯s lips. He then asked Zenon, ¡°Did you make it clear to that traitor what he is supposed to do there?¡±

    Zenon gave a polite nod and answered, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. We¡¯ve made sure that he will do as we¡¯ve asked him. We¡¯re going to take one bird down today.¡±

 Chapter 46

    46 Centuries Vs Days

    ¡°We¡¯re going to take one bird down today.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod to Zenon. ¡°Good.¡±

    But then he furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Are the servants on leave or something? Why aren¡¯t they here to help me get dressed?¡±

    Zenon¡¯s gaze unintentionally fell towards the door of the bedchamber when he answered, ¡°Oh, I thought that His Majesty wouldn¡¯t want to be disturbed. So I stopped them. But now we must head out.¡±

    Vincent raised his brows in surprise and nced at Zenon. He quickly narrowed his eyes in suspicion and asked, ¡°What was Mr. King so busy with that Mr. Tight Schedule let him off the hook, that also when we are nning to travel?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know,¡± Zenon raised his head a little and gave a corner-eyed look to Vincent. He was acting as if Vincent was someone who was beneath the scope of knowing the full truth.

    Vincent folded his arms and demanded to know the truth, ¡°What are you two hiding?¡± He sniffed twice and red at Caspian as if he found what the King was guilty of. ¡°And why do I smell a human here? Did you have a human all to yourself?¡±

    Vincent inched closer towards the bedchamber since the smell wasing from there. He was expecting to see a bloodbath in there.

    However, before Vincent could get any closer to the bedchamber, Caspian had him in a chokehold.

    .....

    ¡°Yes, I did have a human all to myself. So what? Am I not even allowed to enjoy every once in a while?¡±

    Vincent tapped on Caspian¡¯s arm and shouted while coughing, ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯re t-the King. Why would I care if you broke the rule that you passed yourself?¡±

    Caspian let go of his hold on Vincent and pushed him towards the main door.

    ¡°Hey, I came here to chat with you. Stop pushing me out of the chamber.¡± Vincent protested but Caspian didn¡¯t heed his request.

    After pushing his friend outside, Caspian gave an order to his advisor, ¡°Zenon, send the servants in.¡± He also lightly pointed his brows inside his bedchamber, gesturing Zenon to send Anastasia¡¯s personal maids as well.

    Zenon understood what his King meant to say. So he gave a bow and went outside.

    He saw Vincent waiting in the corridor to enter Caspian¡¯s antechamber again. So he instantly scolded that fidgety vampire, ¡°Ugh! Don¡¯t you have anything else to do other than following me and trying to butt into His Majesty¡¯s business?¡±

    Vincent sneered and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re the one to talk when all you do is tail Caspian everywhere.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my job! Now, stop being a baby!¡± Zenon had enough of this man. He grabbed Vincent by his cor and dragged him away.

    Caspian went back inside his bedchamber and saw Anastasia standing by the window that was covered with mesh. Her hair was gently being blown by the breeze. Her sweet scent filled the entire room.

    Caspian admired his wife¡¯s tiny frame with his eyes. He couldn¡¯t resist the inviting aroma so he went near his wife and hugged her from behind. Her body was giving off such a pleasant warmth that he could feel that warmth slowly crawling inside his heart.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mind the cold body of her husband. His embrace, though cold, was enough to make her feel warm.

    No words were exchanged between them for a good while. There was no need to.

    In his heart, Caspian wished to embrace his wife for the whole day. However, he had his own duties as a King and also as a husband.

    He had to punish the ones who had tried to take away this warmth from him.

    Even though he was unwilling to leave his wife, Caspian softly whispered to her, ¡°Anna, I won¡¯t be in the castle today. Ti is still recuperating. So if you get bored then you can visit the library. I will ask one of the servants to take you there.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for being so thoughtful,¡± Anastasia turned her head and smiled at her husband. If she had ess to the library then she was sure she wouldn¡¯t even miss her handmaid.

    ¡ª

    Six of the Royal Guards were standing in front of the castle gate.

    Elias was handcuffed for the show. He was standing in the middle of those Royal Guards.

    Rather than to protect their King, the Royal Guards were joining the travel in order to keep Elias in check if he ever tried to run away.

    After some time, the fearsome trio walked out of the castle.

    Caspian was adorned in his full royal attire. He was exuding the aura of sophistication as well as danger like always.

    Zenon and Vincent also didn¡¯t look any less threatening than their King.

    Zenon was going along because it was a part of his job to assist the King with almost all important decision-making and negotiations.

    Vincent, on the other hand, was simply tagging along because he wanted to see some drama that was going to happen at Lord Bartholomew¡¯s mansion.

    Caspian didn¡¯t mind his presence since Vincent had always proved to be of some help in one way or another. Also, Vincent was that friend who wouldn¡¯t leave Caspian¡¯s side no matter how much Caspian tried to get rid of him. He would always find some excuse to stick close to Caspian.

    The King stood in front of the prisoner and asked, ¡°Are you ready to save yourself?¡±

    Elias gave a low bow to Caspian. He replied to the King in a timid voice, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. Lord Zenon has already briefed me on what I need to do. I will not disappoint you.¡±

    At this point, Elias was grateful to the King for having given him a second chance at life. And he was going to do anything that the King demanded to earn that second life.

    ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s leave then,¡± Caspian walked and stood in front of everyone. And then he added, ¡°I will run along with all of you.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vincent questioned Caspian because it was very unlike him to opt to run when he could fly and cover the distance much sooner.

    Caspian nonchntly replied, ¡°If I reach there before all of you then I don¡¯t know for how long I can hold myself from tearing off Beth¡¯s head.¡±

    Though he spoke very calmly, everyone knew the temper of their King. They knew he would do exactly what he told.

    Also, everyone was well aware of Lord Bartholomew¡¯s position as well. He was a very influential nobleman who could easily sway the other noble houses. If his daughter was killed by Caspian then he could provoke other noble houses into overthrowing Caspian¡¯s monarchy.

    Vincent gleefully pped his hand. And he cheerfully spoke to lighten the heavy mood, ¡°Why the long face, everyone? Our King will be walking alongside us and not flying above us. Aren¡¯t you happy to be apanied by the King?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we are, milord,¡± one of the Royal Guards replied with a grateful bow.

    Caspian red far ahead in the forest and mumbled, ¡°Crystal Cliff, here wee.¡±

    In the next second, Caspian ran at the top of his speed.

    All the others also followed their King. They were all trying to catch up with the King but there was considerable distance between Caspian and all the others.

    Vincent sighed and thought as he tried to catch up with Caspian, ¡®Ah! And he said he didn¡¯t want to rush. He can¡¯t even control his legs.¡¯

    He frowned and thought again, ¡®But is he really serious about killing Beth? He¡¯s known Beth for centuries now. And he is willing to kill her for someone who came into his life some days ago? What kind of enchantment spell did his wife cast on him? Is she somehow controlling him?¡¯

    Suddenly, he recalled getting pped by Anastasia¡¯s shoe. He ced his hand on his cheek and wondered, ¡®Maybe Caspian also got the taste of his wife¡¯s beating. And instead of getting scared like I did, maybe he liked it. That¡¯s why he wants to keep her around. Maybe that¡¯s why he behaves so differently when he is around her.¡¯

    Vincent looked ahead at his friend¡¯s back. He snickered at the thought of that scary King crouching on all his fours and Anastasia standing in front of him with a shoe in her hand.

    ¡®I would kill to see Caspian jumping like a dog.¡¯

 Chapter 47

    47 Investigation

    After running for about half an hour, Caspian was the first one to arrive at the Crystal Cliff.

    The Turner n as well as other small houses under the protection of the Turner n resided in this part of Sorvando.

    Although Lord Bartholomew wasn¡¯t a King, his lifestyle was no less than a King. His mansion was big enough to be a wing of the Kilerth Castle. He had countless vampire servants who worked for him. And he had even named his mansion ¡®Nightcastle¡¯.

    Having lived a couple of centuries, he was able to amass a decent fortune for him to afford avish lifestyle for himself and his family. It was true for most of the vampire nobles.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Bartholomew?¡± Caspian stopped in front of the mansion and asked the footservant who came running to greet him.

    The footservant politely gave a bow to the King. And he answered while escorting the King towards the main guest hall, ¡°Lord Bartholomew will join you in a minute, Your Majesty.¡±

    No one in the Nightcastle had expected a visit from the King himself. Everyone who saw the King felt pressured by his sudden visit. The butler of the mansion started ordering all the maids and servants to make sure that they served the King properly.

    Soon, Caspian was joined by Zenon and Vincent as well. Zenon stood behind the King while Vincent made himself at home and sat beside his friend.

    ¡°Are the others outside?¡± Caspian asked Zenon.

    .....

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. All of them have arrived,¡± Zenon answered.

    After a while, a man with grey hair, a mustache, and a rtively short build walked inside the hall. He was wearing a waistcoat and a pair of trousers tailored to fit his sturdy build. He held a cane with a golden handle even though he didn¡¯t have the need for it.

    He gave a low bow to the King and greeted him, ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty. May you live till eternity.¡±

    He then sat in front of Caspian and asked with a fake smile on his face, ¡°To what do I owe this pleasure of being visited by the powerful trio, Your Majesty?¡±

    Caspian nced at Lord Bartholomew with a straight face and jumped straight to the point. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I am here as a part of an investigation, Lord Bartholomew.¡±

    ¡°Investigation?¡± Bartholomew¡¯s brows twitched just a little upon hearing that word. He had seen the Royal Guards outside, along with the handcuffed Vampire. But he didn¡¯t know what that Vampire had to do anything with him.

    Caspian calmly replied, ¡°You might not be aware of this but there was an assassination attempt against my wife.¡±

    ¡°Assassination?¡± A deep frown appeared on Bartholomew¡¯s clear face. And he asked in a stern voice, ¡°Where is this conversation going, my King?¡±

    Before he could conclude that the King was colluding something against his lordship, Caspian rified, ¡°I caught the servant who was behind the poisoning. Our investigation brought it to light that the mastermind behind the assassination was a noblewoman. We are just here to make that servant take a nce at Beth.¡±

    Lord Bartholomew mmed his cane against the floor and eximed, ¡°Take a nce at Beth? What are you implying exactly, my King? Are you using Beth of trying to kill your wife?¡±

    Caspian tried not to lose his temper. He didn¡¯t want his n to get ruined. ¡°I am not using her. I simply want that prisoner to see Beth and clear her name. We will be visiting all the noblewomen until he identifies the culprit.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you all be going to the culprit rather thane here? I decline to let some random prisoners see my daughter.¡± Bartholomew was ring at the King now that he knew that his daughter¡¯s life could be in danger.

    Caspian narrowed his blood-red eyes at that Lord. And he asked, ¡°I hope our Lord knows that trying to interrupt the investigation process and dying justice is punishable byw.¡±

    Bartholomew scoffed and mmed his cane on the floor again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you taking that forced marriage with that human a little too seriously, my King?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to suggest that a Queen¡¯s life is worthless?¡± It took all the willpower for Caspian to stop himself from beating that Vampire up.

    Vincent then said in a yful tone, ¡°Come on, Lord Bartholomew! What are you so afraid of? It¡¯s not like Beth would havemitted a crime against a royal family member. She is smart to know that it is punishable by death. If you could just bring Beth outside then we can be on our way. We have a lot of mansions to cover.¡±

    Bartholomew thought for a few seconds. He knew his daughter would act rudely sometimes but he was sure that she wouldn¡¯t go as far as trying to poison the King¡¯s wife.

    He looked back at the King and agreed, ¡°Alright, I will send Beth outside.¡±

    He asked the Butler to inform Beth and all of them waited inplete silence.

    After a while, Beth came to the hall. She greeted everyone. And then she asked in her most polite voice, ¡°Did you call for me, father?¡±

    Bartholomew gave an unyielding re to Caspian while talking with his daughter, ¡°Yes. Some noblewoman had tried to assassinate the King¡¯s wife.¡±

    Beth pressed her fingertips over her lips and pretended to be shocked. And she asked while feigning ignorance, ¡°Who could ever think of doing something so outrageous?¡±

    She nced at Caspian and asked while disying worry lines on her forehead, ¡°Is she okay? I hope she is.¡± But deep down in her heart, she wished to hear that Anastasia was on her deathbed.

    Caspian gave a smile to Beth and replied in a mocking tone, ¡°She is very much alive and well. I really appreciate you for showing your concern.¡±

    Beth could only mask her displeasure with a wide fake smile on her face.

    Bartholomew further exined the situation to his daughter, and how she needed to show herself to the prisoner outside.

    Caspian was giving a piercing re to Beth the whole time to see if there would be any change in her facial expression, perhaps a hint of remorse.

    However, she was good at maintaining a smile on her face.

    ¡®I wonder how long you can keep up the act of innocence,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go outside and send our uninvited guests home,¡± Bartholomew got up from his seat and gestured at everyone to get the hell out of his mansion.

    Beth had also seen Elias from her bedchamber window. She was cursing him silently for getting caught and leading everyone to her home. Though she wasn¡¯t showing it outside, her mind was in turmoil.

    She was frantically thinking and trying to console herself, ¡®Even if that stupid servant says that I was the one to rope him in, my father won¡¯t allow Caspian to imprison me. I don¡¯t have to be scared. All I have to do is deny all the usations. Even if I am taken as a prisoner, my father will get me out of there in no time. No one can harm me if I keep my mouth shut.¡¯

    However, things weren¡¯t going to be that easy for her since Caspian had already decided the oue.

    She had poked the sadist King¡¯s heart by trying to kill someone who was dear to him. And it was time for her to pay the heavy price.

 Chapter 48

    48 Tradition

    Caspian, Zenon, and Vincent walked outside the entrance of the mansion. They stood at the side of the porch.

    Zenon nced at Elias and gave him a slight nod, gesturing to the prisoner that Beth would soone out.

    They were soon followed by Lord Bartholomew and Lady Beth.

    The moment Elias¡¯ eyes fell on the Turners, he pointed at Beth and shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°She is the one who threatened me into poisoning our Queen. She is the main perpetrator.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Beth had a shocked expression on her face when she turned to look at Caspian. ¡°I haven¡¯t even seen him before,¡± she instantly denied the usation.

    Elias was quick to provide more information, ¡°She¡¯s lying. We met during your wedding ball, Your Majesty.¡±

    He turned his gaze at the King and pleaded after falling down on his knees, ¡°Your Majesty, I was just a na?ve man who was threatened into following her orders. Please punish her. She¡¯s the one who tried to assassinate the Queen.¡±

    ¡°Impudence!¡± Bartholomew mmed his cane on the floor so hard that he left a crack on the tile. ¡°How dare you put the me on my innocent daughter? Why would she try to harm anyone from the castle?¡±

    Elias pointed at Beth again and shouted, ¡°Because she wants to steal the position of the Queen! She told me herse-¡±

    .....

    Sling! sh!

    Before anyone could react, Bartholomew ran down and shed Elias¡¯ throat with the pointy de that was hidden in his cane.

    Thankfully, one of the Royal Guards was quick enough to hit Bartholomew¡¯s arm and prevented him from beheading Elias. However, he did manage to cut Elias¡¯ throat.

    Two of the Royal Guards immediately held Bartholomew and another took his de away from him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hold me. I will kill this Vampire right here for pinning the me on my daughter,¡± Bartholomew tried to fight off the guards but they were among the strongest of the Vampires. Lord Turner was unable to get out of their hold even though he was also one of the strongest Vampires.

    Caspian frowned at Bartholomew and warned him in a cold voice, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t act so rashly, Lord Bartholomew. You are making your daughter look like a real criminal by trying to kill her user without going through a proper trial.¡±

    Bartholomew calmed down a bit after hearing the King. And the guards didn¡¯t restrain him anymore.

    Beth, on the other hand, was acting like a damsel in distress. She was covering her mouth with one of her palms while she was leaning on a pir as if she was having difficulty holding her ground.

    ¡°Is he alright?¡± Caspian nced at Elias and asked the guards without showing much change in his expression.

    It almost looked as if he had expected Bartholomew to act like that.

    ¡°He should be alright after a while, Your Majesty,¡± one of the guards replied.

    Elias was holding his neck and was trying to stay still so that his muscles would reattach properly. He hadn¡¯t thought that Bartholomew would try to kill him right in front of the King and all the Royal Guards.

    He was deeply shocked after getting a rtively deep cut on his neck. He was filled with rage towards Bartholomew as well as Beth. Thus, he was even more motivated to do as the King had asked him.

    After the situation calmed down a bit, Elias threw the bomb that had been nted in his mind, ¡°I demand trial by blood duel.¡±

    Everyone who heard him was dumbfounded, especially the Turners and their servants and maids.

    ¡°That is ridiculous!¡± Bartholomew shouted and was ready to strike Elias with his fist.

    However, he was instantly stopped by the Royal Guards who were standing behind him.

    Even though he was restrained by the guards, he shouted at the King, ¡°Blood Duel was the thing of the past. Let¡¯s not go there. Let¡¯s take the modern route.¡±

    Beth nced at Caspian hoping he wouldn¡¯t allow something like that to take ce. This time she was seriously scared of what was about to happen.

    And she pleaded to the King while shedding tears, ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t allow it. Those days are long gone. Besides, I am not even a criminal here. He is obviously trying to frame me. Why would I try to kill your wife? The real culprit might be wandering freely while you all waste your time here.¡±

    Caspian was, however, unaffected by those tears and that shameless denial.

    He replied to the Turners with a straight face, ¡°I agree that Vampires have stopped demanding a trial by blood duel in the recent years. However, let¡¯s not forget that even a King has no right to stop it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unfair!¡± Beth ran and stood in front of the King. Her wet eyes red at the King¡¯s emotionless face. And she shouted again, ¡°He is a man and I am a woman. I will obviously be the one to die!¡±

    ording to Vampire tradition, a blood duel was allowed between the user and the used. And if one party demanded trial by blood duel then the other party had no privilege to decline it.

    And as the name suggested, the duel would be bloody and ruthless. It would only stop when one of the parties died.

    Caspian felt satisfied to finally see fears in Beth¡¯s eyes.

    However, he pretended to support Beth and said in a whisper, ¡°Beth, think about it. It¡¯s not that difficult and it¡¯s not unfair. You have the noble blood in you. You are stronger than you think. All you have to do is win the duel and you are free.¡±

    Beth, the fool, was a little touched by that ¡®kind¡¯ gesture of Caspian.

    And she nodded her head. ¡°Yes, you are right. He is merely a servant with thinner blood. I can easily win against him.¡±

    ¡°Beth! Are you out of your mind?¡± Bartholomew shouted from below. ¡°Ady doesn¡¯t need to fight to prove her innocence. I will have someone fight in your stead.¡±

    Elias was quick to refuse in a mocking tone, ¡°You know that¡¯s not how it works, Lord.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Bartholomew tried to jump at Elias yet again while screaming in fury, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you can talk to me in that tone after using my daughter of being an instigator of the assassination attempt. And don¡¯t you think that you are going to get away with your crime by asking for a blood duel.¡±

    Elias red at Bartholomew without any fear in his eyes. He was backed by the King himself, no matter what he was saying to Beth at the moment.

    Bartholomew looked in the direction of the King and this time, he pleaded while showing some respect, ¡°Your Majesty, if you cannot stop the trial then please, allow me to choose one of my servants to fight in ce of Beth.¡±

    Sadness took over him when he further said in a low voice, ¡°She is the only family I have. I cannot lose her as well.¡±

    Vincent looked at Caspian¡¯s face, trying to read his friend¡¯s mind. He wondered if he would spare Beth¡¯s life since Bartholomew was pleading so much.

    However, Caspian proved him wrong. ¡°I am extremely sorry, Lord Bartholomew. We all know the rules. It¡¯s the tradition set by our ancestors. Who am I to step on the tradition that was passed down from one century to another?¡±

    Bartholomew understood that Caspian was not going to back down. Now, he could only trust the skills of his daughter.

    Elias wiped the blood from his neck to reveal his healed neck. He got up on his feet and red at Beth. And he said in a stern voice, ¡°We are going to have a blood duel right here and right now.¡±

 Chapter 49

    49 Blood Duel

    Within the next half an hour, a fighting space had been created in the Nightcastle¡¯s garden.

    The King, as well as the Lords, were sitting in the shaded area of that garden. They were going to observe the duel to ensure that the blood duel would take ce fairly.

    The Royal Guards were closely standing behind Lord Bartholomew so that they could apprehend him if he tried to interfere in the duel.

    The servants and maids weren¡¯t allowed to stay in the periphery of the fighting arena.

    Caspian didn¡¯t want to give the chance to those from the Turner house to interfere in any way.

    After Beth and Elias stood in front of each other, Caspian dictated the rules, ¡°You two are not allowed to keep any weapons with you. Same with the poisons. You are only allowed to fight with the other person using your own strength and your blood ability if you have any.¡±

    Beth glowered at Elias and murmured, ¡°Too bad you don¡¯t have noble blood in you. You invited your own death.¡±

    Elias gave a cold smirk and said, ¡°We will see who will get to live to tell the tale.¡±

    Caspian nced at the both of them and asked, ¡°Are you two ready?¡±

    .....

    Both of them gave a nod without taking their eyes off their opponent.

    And Caspian gave out the order, ¡°You may begin the duel.¡±

    The moment Caspian opened the floor for the duel, Elias sprinted towards Beth while Beth snatched the bracelets from her wrists and turned them into spiky four-finger knuckle rings.

    The noble blood in her allowed her to change the shapes of any metal as per her desire.

    Elias went straight for Beth¡¯s heart.

    But Beth wasn¡¯t some humandy who only knew how to actdy-like. She knew how to defend herself in a fight. And also attack if her life was in danger.

    She stopped Elias¡¯ attack with her wrist, and at the same time, she punched Elias in the throat with her sharp and pointy rings.

    Elias instantly retreated and put some distance in between them. He had holes in his neck, and he was bleeding as well.

    Bartholomew smirked and proudly mmed his fist on his armrest. He wasn¡¯t allowed to carry his cane after what he had done earlier.

    ¡®Argh! Both father and daughter go for the neck!¡¯ Elias thought to himself as he held his neck.

    Thankfully, the spikes weren¡¯t that thick. Also, Beth had just punched his throat and didn¡¯t sh his throat as her father did. Else it would have taken quite a while for Elias to heal. And in a blood duel, it could very well mean that he would never get to heal.

    Without caring about the holes in his neck, Elias went in to try and strike Beth again.

    ¡®Predictable move, idiot!¡¯ Beth thought of using the same trick again since Elias was aiming to punch through her chest this time as well.

    However, when he was close enough, Elias changed his attack. He kicked her leg instead of punching her.

    Beth tripped and fell to the ground.

    Taking advantage of the situation, Elias kicked her in the gut to keep her down.

    ¡°You bitch! You tricked me into poisoning our Queen, and yet you act as if you are innocent! Bitches like you need to die!¡± Elias was shouting as he repeatedly kicked Beth in the gut.

    Caspian smirked. Not because Elias was kicking Beth. But because Bartholomew was getting worked up by the second.

    ¡®Keep it up, Elias. Keep on disrespecting Beth and also the Turner family. That will invite your death sooner,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself as he enjoyed two of the perpetrators fighting to kill each other.

    Caspian had promised Elias a short period in prison if he killed Beth today. However, Caspian didn¡¯t have any intention to keep his word, not to the one who tried to kill his wife.

    He wanted both of them to die. And by looking at how things were going right now, it looked like he would be killing both the birds with a single stone.

    After kicking Beth multiple times and disrespecting ady with foul words, Elias finally leaned down to rip out Beth¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Beth! Get up! Now!¡± Bartholomew suddenly got up from his seat and shouted.

    That distracted Elias for a second, and right at that time, Beth pushed Elias away from her. She immediately got up and straddled Elias. She sat on his chest and began to repeatedly beat his face with her knuckle rings.

    After making sure that he would not move for some time, Beth snatched the thick ne from her neck and turned it into a sharp de.

    She grabbed Elias by his hair and pointed the de at his neck. And she screamed, ¡°A peasant like you dared to mock me and kill me? Now, look where that got you!¡±

    Elias gave an evil smirk and mumbled, ¡°It got me right where I wanted.¡±

    Instead of beheading him instantly, Beth frowned and was confused by what he meant.

    And that was her next big mistake in her life after trying to kill Anastasia. In that short moment of confusion, Elias flipped Beth down and sat on top of her.

    Beth tried to attack him with her de, but it wasn¡¯t in her hand anymore. Elias had already stolen it.

    ¡°Thanks for the de, sweetheart,¡± Elias mockingly winked at Beth.

    And before she could even react, he grabbed her by her hair. And with one single sh of the de, Elias separated Beth¡¯s gorgeous head from her body.

    ¡°Nooooooooooo...¡±

    The whole Nightcastle was filled with the gut-wrenching scream of Lord Bartholomew. He sprung up from his seat and ran towards the fighting ground.

    The Royal Guards immediately tried to restrain the Lord, but Caspian gestured not to do anything. They bowed and stayed put in their original ce.

    Before Bartholomew reached the fighting ground, Elias punched through Beth¡¯s chest and crushed her heart so that she wouldn¡¯t be revived even if someone reattached her head correctly.

    ¡°You bastard! Leave her body alone!¡± Bartholomew punched Elias and sent him flying.

    Before hended, Bartholomew was already below him. He kicked Elias down to the ground with a smash.

    Elias coughed blood and pleaded to the King as he received a barrage of punches from Bartholomew, ¡°Your Majesty, please stop him.¡±

    Bartholomew was far too strong than Beth. In fact, the two of them couldn¡¯t even bepared.

    ¡°Your Majesty... He¡¯ll k-kill me...¡± Elias pleaded to the King again.

    However, Caspian couldn¡¯t care less.

    He spoke in a cold voice, ¡°You asked for a trial by blood duel when things could have been resolved with some more investigation. You even killed my childhood friend. Do you expect me to take your side?¡±

    A sudden realization hit Elias. He felt as if his heart dropped from its ce.

    Bartholomew stopped beating Elias as he already looked like a pulp. But he did kick him down to the ground and stepped on his chest.

    The lord nced at the King and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m avenging the death of my daughter. I will dly receive the punishment after I kill this bastard.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod and permitted Bartholomew to act as he pleased.

    Elias felt Bartholomew tugging his hair. He tried to look at the King, but his sharp vision had turned blurry due to bleeding in his eyes.

    He scoffed and thought to himself, ¡®He never had the intention to let me live, did he? And I fell right into his trap.¡¯

    A smile appeared on his face. A smile of pity towards himself.

    ¡®I was too greedy,¡¯ he chastised himself.

    Elias felt Bartholomew pulling his head with great force. His whole body, especially his neck, was in extreme pain. He screamed in agony as he felt his head being separated from his body. He had never imagined that he could go through this much pain ever.

    He felt dizzy as if he was rolling on the ground. And suddenly, he felt his consciousness slipping away.

    ¡®Ah! So this is it. This is how my life ends...¡¯

 Chapter 50

    50 Smell of Books

    Back in the Kilerth castle, as ordered by Caspian, the head of the servants personally came to escort Anastasia to the library after she finished her breakfast.

    Anastasia¡¯s maids, Martha and Holly, also followed the Queen to keep herpany and tend to fulfill her needs while she was in the library.

    The head servant took the threedies outside of the central wing of the castle. There was a separate building on the east side of the castlepound that was dedicated to the library.

    ¡°Is that the library?¡± Anastasia asked the head servant when they walked closer and closer to a small one-roomed building.

    The head servant politely replied, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    Anastasia nced at the building again and pursed her lips.

    When Caspian had mentioned that there was a library in the castle, Anastasia had thought that it would be a huge one since Caspian had lived long enough. She had thought that in the course of hundreds of years, he would have gathered quite a lot of books.

    But she wasn¡¯t quite impressed with the little building which could pass as a hut.

    ¡®But then again, it¡¯s not like I will need hundreds of books. I won¡¯t have time to read them all anyway. A few books shall suffice,¡¯ Anastasia thought to herself as she stood in front of the hut, no, library.

    .....

    The head servant pushed the door open and informed Anastasia, ¡°Your Highness, please wait here for a while. I will quickly light up the library. It¡¯s really dark inside.¡±

    He ran inside after getting a nod of approval from Anastasia.

    Anastasia waited at the doorstep of the library. The head servant was taking his time. So she slowly stepped inside, wondering why he was taking so long to light just antern.

    When she stepped inside, she didn¡¯t see any books in that windowless room. Rather a few decorative arts and a huge full-body portrait of Caspian were hung on the wall.

    Anastasia smiled after looking at her husband¡¯s painting and then looked around. At the end of the room, she noticed stairs that led to the underground floor. She could see faint lightsing from below.

    ¡®Oh, so the library is underground,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    She turned around to see that Martha and Holly were hesitating to step inside the room. So she called them, ¡°Why are you two standing there? I am nning to find and read something, so you two bettere in if you don¡¯t want to get sunburn.¡±

    The two of them reluctantly stepped inside.

    And Anastasia asked them, ¡°Come. Follow me.¡±

    ¡°B-But the head servant told us to wait,¡± Holly stuttered while looking around at the cold and dark room without any windows.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Come.¡± Anastasia gathered her gown and started jumping down the stairs.

    She was too excited to see the library and check out the book collections.

    ¡°W-Wait for us, Your Majesty,¡± Martha also ran after the Queen, fearing she might trip. They had seen their King¡¯s rage yesterday night. She definitely didn¡¯t want her heart ripped out of her body if the Queen hurt herself.

    When Anastasia reached the end of the stairs, the yellow lights from the beautiful chandelier hung in the middle of the library were being reflected on her face. Severalnterns were also hung all around the different corners of the library.

    ¡°Wow!¡± Anastasia was awe-struck.

    The library wasn¡¯t just huge. It was massive. It was round in shape and had two stories. In the story that she was in, she could walk around in circles and look for books. She could further go down and look for other vast collections of books. And there, she could also sit on the round table that was kept right under the chandelier.

    She was amazed to see thousands of books and scrolls neatly stacked on the shelves. And she also loved the scent of the books lingering in the air.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± the head servant came and stood in front of Anastasia. And he informed her, ¡°The books are arranged ording to their genres and in alphabetical order.¡±

    He specifically pointed at one corner of the shelves and said, ¡°You may find adventure fiction in that corner.¡±

    Anastasia felt her heart skipping a beat when she heard that. The corner of her lips curved up a little when she thought, ¡®Caspian remembered?¡¯

    The head servant then bowed to take his leave, ¡°Your Majesty, I hope you enjoy your time here. If you need any assistance, then you may ask one of your personal maids to find me.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Anastasia smiled and then asked him, ¡°And what do I call you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Percy, Your Majesty.¡±

    Anastasia smiled again and said in a polite voice, ¡°Percy, I really appreciate you taking your time to light so manynterns and candles. I will make good use of them.¡±

    The cold and unchanging expression on his face suddenly brightened. He smiled and bowed to the Queen. And he left the library for the Queen to enjoy.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Anastasia rubbed her palms together with excitement.

    And she ran to the corner where Percy had said that she could find adventure novels.

    ¡°Your Majesty, you shouldn¡¯t run.¡± Holly ran after the Queen as if she was running after a toddler who had just learned to run.

    Anastasia looked at all the books, old and new, in awe. After going through some of the titles, she picked out a book with a grim-looking castle on the cover. It was titled ¡®The Castle of Montiro¡¯. For some reason, she felt like giving it a read even though it was a horror fantasy.

    She went downstairs and took a seat. She looked at her maids and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you two also pick some books and sit down?¡±

    Martha politely bowed and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to read, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°And neither do I. Wee from a poor family,¡± Holly also added.

    Anastasia then enthusiastically asked, ¡°Shall I read this to you both then?¡±

    ¡°If you wish to read it to us, then we won¡¯t deny it,¡± Martha replied. She didn¡¯t sound too excited though.

    ¡°Sit down. I will read it,¡± Anastasia ordered and began the story.

    As Anastasia kept on delving deeper into the chapters of the book, the maids¡¯ interest in hearing the story peaked.

    The story was about a Princess who had run away from her soon-to-be husband¡¯s castle. The King pursued her. But she was able to escape from his clutch, thanks to a young man who helped her hide in a church.

    The story was really interesting and attention-grabbing.

    Martha and Holly had been getting nightmares even with their eyes open after seeing Olive getting murdered yesterday. They were haunted by the image of her body with a hole in her chest. They were also haunted by Caspian¡¯s blood-smeared mouth and Olive¡¯s blood-covered heart in his hand.

    But thanks to Anastasia, they were able to forget those images, at least for a while.

    ¡°Your Majesty, shall we bring your lunch here?¡± Martha asked when she heard Anastasia¡¯s stomach grumble.

    Anastasia pressed her stomach and nodded with a stupid grin on her face. ¡°I would appreciate that. Bute fast. I will hold the story until you return. And bring your lunches along with mine.¡±

    Martha was touched by Anastasia¡¯s gesture. However, she drew the line, ¡°We will quickly have our lunch while the chef prepares yours. And Your Majesty may enjoy the story while we are gone. You don¡¯t have to wait for us.¡±

    Anastasia frowned andined like a baby, ¡°Come one! That¡¯s no fun. I will read another novel until you two arrive. I am reading this book with both of you.¡±

    Both Martha and Holly were happy because they really wanted to further know what happened in the story. They had stopped the story at a cliffhanger where the Princess was about to be captured by a mysterious knight.

    They both bowed to the Queen and were ready to leave the library.

    But Anastasia suddenly asked them, ¡°Oh, and who is serving Ti?¡±

    ¡°Ti?¡± Martha subconsciously repeated the Queen¡¯sst word.

    ¡°Yes, my handmaid who is ill.¡± Several frown lines appeared on Anastasia¡¯s face when she mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t think that the maid who served her before is still avable... after she tried to poison me yesterday. She must have been imprisoned.¡±

    Anastasia saw both Martha and Holly¡¯s faces drop all of a sudden.

    Holly¡¯s hands were trembling even when she had clutched her gown tightly. She looked terribly scared.

    And so did Martha.

    Anastasia felt that something was seriously wrong, so she asked in a serious tone, ¡°What is it? Why do the two of you look so scared?¡±

 Chapter 51

    51 Can¡¯t I Be Both

    ¡°Why do the two of you look so scared?¡±

    Martha looked down and replied in a little shaken voice, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Your Majesty.¡± She swiftly tugged Holly¡¯s trembling arm and asked, ¡°Holly, we have work to do. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The two of them quickly turned around and began to stride towards the stairs.

    However, Anastasia got up from her chair and asked, ¡°No, wait.¡±

    She ran and stood in front of the two of them and asked in a soft voice, ¡°Is something bothering you two? Does it have something to do with that maid who tried to poison me?¡±

    Martha and Holly kept on looking down without answering the Queen.

    Anastasia lightly held Holly¡¯s trembling hand and asked, ¡°Or did some vampires scold you for what happened yesterday? You can tell me everything. If someone has been threatening you two, then I can help. It wasn¡¯t your fault that I got too excited about the food and fell into the trap.¡±

    How could those poor maids tell the Queen that it was the King who had threatened all of them?

    So Martha politely lied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with yesterday, Your Majesty. Why would anyone threaten us when the culprit has already been caught?¡±

    .....

    However, Anastasia didn¡¯t believe them. Holly still looked like she was going to pass out at any moment now. Her face had already turned pale, and her forehead and upper lip were covered in sweat beads.

    So Anastasia asked again, this time, she showed her authority, ¡°Martha, I order you to tell me exactly what happened that the two of you look so shaken. You need to tell me everything. I promise that I won¡¯t put your lives in danger.¡±

    Martha took a deep breath in and finally opened her mouth, ¡°That maid, the one who tried to poison you yesterday, she was brutally killed in front of our eyes. She got killed in front of all the maids and servants. He warned that would happen to us if we tried to cause any harm to you.¡±

    Holly broke down into tears when she stuttered in her daze, ¡°We saw him ripping her h-heart out. Her heart was still b-b-beating in his hand.¡±

    Anastasia felt a pang in her heart, and cold sweats covered her body upon hearing such brutality. She couldn¡¯t even imagine what her maids must be going through when they saw that gruesome scene live.

    ¡°Who did that?¡± Anastasia asked in a whisper, even though she could guess who could have done that.

    ¡°H-His Majesty,¡± Martha whispered while keeping her head down.

    Suddenly, Holly tightened her hold on Anastasia¡¯s palm and begged the Queen, ¡°Your Majesty, will you please make some excuse and fire me from this job? I don¡¯t think I can survive in this castle. Not with all the vamp-¡±

    Martha elbowed Holly on the waist and whispered aggressively, ¡°What are you saying, Holly? Don¡¯t be disrespectful to the Queen. And definitely don¡¯t say such things out loud!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t scold her,¡± Anastasia asked Martha in a sad voice.

    She shakily breathed in and breathed out.

    She recalled how she had witnessed Caspian brutally killing a man on the very first night that she came to the castle. She was terrified for her life, and she wanted to run away. So she could actually understand why Holly wanted to do the same.

    Anastasia looked at Holly¡¯s moist eyes and tried to calm her down. ¡°Holly, why don¡¯t you take sick leave for some days? If you still feel that you won¡¯t be able to stay here, then I will see what I can do.¡±

    Holly nced at Anastasia with grateful eyes. And she whispered, ¡°Thank you for saying that, Your Majesty. But I won¡¯t take sick leave. I don¡¯t think I can stay alone for the whole day doing nothing.¡±

    Anastasia gently patted Holly¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Then see how you feel after 2-3 days. If you still want to leave, then I won¡¯t stop you.¡±

    Anastasia looked at both of them and apologized, ¡°And my sincere apologies for my husband¡¯s behavior. I¡¯m sorry that you two had to witness his bad side because of my carelessness.¡±

    Martha slightly shook her head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize to us, my Queen. We are already grateful towards you for treating us with kindness.¡±

    The maids then left for the kitchen to get lunch for the Queen.

    Anastasia sat back on the chair. She was greatly scared and restless. And most of all, she was very conflicted.

    She recalled how Caspian showed so much worry for her when she was almost attacked by that dangerous vampire, and when she was almost poisoned. Even this morning, he looked so worried when she tripped on the floor.

    And then she recalled how he had almost killed that stalker vampire right in front of her eyes. She recalled how he had sunk his teeth into that man in the cold room.

    At one moment, he would behave like a docile rabbit, and at the other moment, he would behave like an unruly lion.

    She couldn¡¯t understand how a person could have such a stark difference in their behavior.

    Anastasia heaved a deep sigh and rested her head on the table.

    And she mumbled to herself, ¡°Which one is the real you, Caspian? Are you that infamous monster? Or are you that affectionate vampire that I see? The kind husband who greatly worries for your wife?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I be both?¡± A familiar manly voice echoed in the library.

    Anastasia got startled by that sudden intrusion. She looked up to find Caspian going through the novel that she was reading.

    Anastasia gave a slight smile to her husband and wondered how much he had heard beforeing in.

    ¡°Caspian, when did you return?¡± she asked.

    Caspian put the book down on the table and replied with a straight face, ¡°Just when you were contemting whether I am a monster or your loving husband.¡±

    There was an awkward silence between the two for a while.

    ¡°Umm...¡± Anastasia cleared her throat and got up from her chair. She asked as she walked towards the shelves, ¡°I need to find another good book. Will you rmend something to me?¡±

    Anastasia began to aimlessly fumble across the shelves to escape the awkwardness.

    Caspian walked and stood right behind her. He reached out his hand and picked up a book from the shelf.

    He handed the book to her and said, ¡°Try reading this. I remember enjoying it a couple of years ago.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Anastasia said in a whisper. She grabbed the book from Caspian¡¯s hand and turned around.

    Caspian was still standing in front of her while gazing down at her.

    Anastasia looked away and timidly tried to scurry away from that dangerous situation. Her heart was starting to pound madly, not because of fear but because she felt that her husband would try something else.

    And he did.

    He stretched his arms and reached out to hold the bookshelf. He had imprisoned Anastasia in between his arms.

    ¡°Anna...¡±

    He prompted Anastasia to look into his spellbinding eyes.

    And when he had her attention, he said in a low but deep voice, ¡°Before you came into my life, I agree that I was a monster. I¡¯m not saying that I¡¯ve already changed. I¡¯m still the same monster who kills vampires and humans alike.¡±

    Caspian had a look of desperation on his face when he gazed at his wife¡¯s lips. And he softly whispered, ¡°But now, I do that for you.¡±

 Chapter 52

    52 Fiery Desire

    ¡°But now, I do that for you.¡±

    ¡®Why would you kill for me?¡¯ Anastasia wanted to ask her husband. However, she couldn¡¯t voice it.

    But Caspian answered her question without her asking him. The look in her eyes was enough for him to know what she wanted to ask.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stand it when someone tries to harm what is mine. If anyone tries to harm you, then I will ughter every one of them.¡±

    Caspian lifted his hand and brought it closer to his wife¡¯s face. He lightly caressed her cheek with the back of his palm and adored her lovely face.

    And he asked her with great expectation, ¡°Tell me, Anna. If I ever say that I truly fell in love with you, would you ever be able to reciprocate this monster¡¯s feelings for you? It would be unfair to me if only I fell in love with you. And it would be unfair to you as well.¡±

    Anastasia felt her heart hammering in her chest. And she asked herself, ¡®Would I be able to love him? But haven¡¯t I already started to? Even though he is scary at times...¡¯

    She kept on gazing at her husband¡¯s mesmerizing eyes. Instead of answering his question, she asked her own question to Caspian, ¡°Haven¡¯t you already fallen in love with me? Feeling the need to protect what is yours... isn¡¯t that what love is?¡±

    She goofily pointed her brows at the novel that was on the table and added, ¡°At least that¡¯s what that novel told me.¡±

    .....

    Caspian chuckled at that sudden ad-lib of his wife. And he whispered, ¡°I guess the novel is correct.¡±

    He gently touched his wife¡¯s lips with his thumb and asked, ¡°But you are yet to answer my question.¡± He needed to know if Anastasia would love him back.

    Anastasia clutched the book closer to her chest. She could see the desire and need for love in Caspian¡¯s eyes. And she didn¡¯t wish to hurt him by dodging his question.

    Her eyes trailed to his face when she whispered, ¡°I will reciprocate your feelings.¡± And she silently thought, ¡®I think I already am.¡¯

    Caspian couldn¡¯t exin how happy he felt when Anastasia agreed to love him back. Without even trying, a beautiful smile curved on his lips.

    He gazed at her, and he tried to read his wife¡¯s face.

    Her emerald green eyes that were fixated on him looked like they were yearning for his love. Her breathing had be ragged. Her heartbeat had topped the chart. And her parted lips looked like they were demanding to be kissed.

    How could Caspian deny her the pleasure when she looked at him like that?

    Caspian rested his cold palm over her neck and leaned forward. His eyes were fixated on his prize.

    However, when his lips were close to brushing against her warm and plump lips, Anastasia inhaled sharply and turned away.

    Caspian didn¡¯t know if he misread the situation or if she was teasing him on purpose. So he lightly pinched Anastasia¡¯s chin and made her look at him.

    And he asked, ¡°Wife, is something bothering you? Or were you just teasing me?¡±

    Anastasia knew that this wasn¡¯t the right time to ask it. But she did it anyway. ¡°Caspian, rather than killing that maid who tried to poison me, don¡¯t you think imprisoning her would have been better?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Caspian denied outrightly.

    A subtle frown was visible on Caspian¡¯s forehead. ¡°Humans like her don¡¯t deserve to breathe the air and pollute it. Neither do they deserve to acquire the space in a prison cell. The only ce they deserve to be is in their tomb. No, they don¡¯t even deserve a tomb.¡±

    As they were already talking about it, Caspian took the chance to further update Anastasia about what he had done this morning.

    ¡°I found the main culprits who had conspired to poison you. I made them kill each other,¡± Caspian said in a very nonchnt voice.

    ¡°They killed each other?¡± Anastasia was surprised to know that there were more people behind it. And she was a little put off to know that Caspian had killed them as well.

    Caspian leaned a little closer to her face and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know who they were?¡±

    Anastasia gave a nod.

    And Caspian replied, ¡°Beth and a servant named Elias.¡± A hint of anger could be seen on his face when he took their names.

    ¡°Beth? You mean that-¡±

    ¡°Yes, the same woman who tried to intimidate you at our wedding ball,¡± Caspian replied.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead?¡± Anastasia couldn¡¯t believe her ears. She was also surprised to know that Caspian had noticed those women bullying her that night.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she someone from the noble family?¡± she asked worriedly.

    ¡°Noble or not...¡± Caspian pulled Anastasia close to him and said, ¡°No one can even think of causing you any harm.¡±

    A sudden fire rose in his heart when he felt his wife¡¯s warm body against his. He couldn¡¯t control himself any further.

    Anastasia wanted to prohibit Caspian from killing everyone who tried to cause her harm. As she was a human in a vampire Kingdom, she was sure that the vampires would be dissatisfied with their King if he started killing vampires for her.

    However, before she could utter a word, Caspian wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and her nape. And he vigorously imed her lips.

    Anastasia unintentionally dropped the book from her hand after the sudden intrusion of her mouth.

    ¡°Mmh! Caspian...¡± she tried to resist, thinking they were in the library.

    But not just his smell, his taste was also so much intoxicating that Anastasia couldn¡¯t help but part her lips even further to let him in.

    Anastasia also wrapped her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck and reciprocated the sweet yet invasive kiss.

    All of her senses were taken over by Caspian, and he was the only thing that she could focus on at the moment. She forgot where they were. And she forgot what they were discussing just moments ago.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± she moaned as the pleasure she felt kept on getting better and better with each stroke of Caspian¡¯s lips.

    Caspian was no better. He kept on pushing deeper and deeper; his hands slowly sliding down to her hips. His moans of satisfaction kept on reverberating on Anastasia¡¯s lips as his wife kissed him with equal fiery desire.

    ¡®No one has the right to take this away from me,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself as his wife melted like butter in his arms.

 Chapter 53

    53 Attacking the King

    The mes of desire peaked in Caspian¡¯s callous heart. He could swear that he heard his cold heart beating.

    He slid his hands further down to his wife¡¯s thighs. His sturdy and cold palms picked Anastasia up in his arms. And as though they had done this countless times, Anastasia wrapped her legs around her husband¡¯s waist to support herself.

    Caspian gently mmed Anastasia¡¯s back on the bookshelf, eliciting a shocked moan from her.

    Caspian lifted his lips away from his wife¡¯s lips to see her face.

    Anastasia was hopelessly breathless. She was gasping and breathing from her mouth. Her pale face looked rosy. And her dark ginger hair was almost drenched in sweat.

    Caspian was pleased with what he saw. He smiled and pushed the hair locks away from his wife¡¯s neck.

    He immediately closed his eyes and inhaled his wife¡¯s sweet scent. This scent had the power to control him and make him lose his mind.

    His mind was telling him to control his carnal desire, to not take this any further. But he couldn¡¯t control himself.

    ¡®I won¡¯t go as far as yesterday,¡¯ he convinced himself.

    .....

    Yesterday night, he had to suck a human dry to control his thirst for his wife¡¯s blood. It was the same man that Zenon found lying dead in the dungeon this morning.

    Caspian convinced himself that he would stop before he would feel that uncontroble thirst again. He had made sure to drink some blood beforeing to see his wife.

    And he leaned down to get closer to his wife¡¯s neck. He ced a soft kiss on her neck.

    The moment his cold lips touched Anastasia¡¯s sensitive neck, she arched her back and thrust her chest on Caspian¡¯s neck.

    Caspian was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of Anastasia¡¯svender scent so close to his nose. He swiftly carried her to the table and ced her on top of it.

    He entangled his fingers with her aromatic hair and secured them behind her neck. He gazed at her enticing neck with appreciative eyes.

    He leaned again and gently nipped her neck this time.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± a low and melodious whisper fell on his ears.

    Caspian was now all over her neck; kissing, nipping, and tasting her. He showered her with his cold kisses.

    But those cold kisses were making Anastasia feel hot like never before. She wanted to get out of her tight bodice. The tightenedce of the bodice was constricting her from taking in the air that she needed.

    She grabbed her bodice and asked her husband breathlessly, ¡°Take it off! I can¡¯t breathe.¡±

    Caspian dlyplied. He tore off the bodice, revealing the thin linen chemise.

    Anastasia gasped to catch her breath. Her chest was violently rising and sinking as she breathed.

    Caspian took a moment to appreciate that beautiful sight. Under the golden light of the chandelier, his wife looked like a goddess who had juste out of the river after taking a pleasurable bath.

    ¡°Can you look any more beautiful?¡± he praised his wife in a ragged whisper.

    He again dived down to appreciate his wife¡¯s beauty with his lips. He nted several kisses on her shoulders and slowly moved his lips further down. He gave a wet kiss on the exposed half of her breast.

    Anastasia bit her lower lip and grabbed Caspian¡¯s blond hair with her delicate fingers.

    He lightly bit her breast with his teeth and made her thrust her chest. He bit her again, a little harder this time.

    Anastasia moaned again. She never knew that when done rightly, pain could also give her pleasure at times.

    ¡°Mmh! I can¡¯t get enough of you.¡± Caspian looked at Anastasia¡¯s lips again. He hadn¡¯t had enough yet.

    He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body. He nced at her with a serious look on his face and asked, ¡°Shall we go to our bedchamber?¡±

    ¡°Our?¡± Anastasia raised her brows and smiled.

    Caspian rubbed his palm on her back and nodded, ¡°Yes, our. I will ask the servants to shift your belongings to my room. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°And sleep on the same bed every day?¡± Anastasia sounded a bit nervous.

    Caspian smiled and pecked Anastasia¡¯s lips. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? You are my wife. And it is only natural that we share the chambers as well as the bed.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s cheeks turned redder. She mumbled to her husband, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    Caspian kissed Anastasia¡¯s cheek and whispered in her ear, ¡°I want you to say yes.¡±

    ¡°Now, shall we leave for our bedchamber?¡± Caspian whispered and kissed below her ear.

    Anastasia tilted her head and tightened her hold on Caspian¡¯s hair even more. And she whispered back, ¡°You are the King, Caspian. Can you even... ahh... afford to spend your time in the bedchamber in t-the middle of the day?¡±

    ¡°I am the King. I can do whatever I want,¡± he replied in his resolute voice. He sounded like he wasn¡¯t going to back down until Anastasia agreed to it.

    And to make her agree, Caspian kept on arousing her desire. He kept on kissing and nipping all over her neck.

    Suddenly, they both heard the noise of utensils ttering down the stairs.

    ¡°Get away from our Queen!¡±

    Swoosh!

    Caspian turned his head to see a copper ss flying directly at his head. He caught the ss before it hit his face. He then crushed the ss as though it was a sheet of paper and tossed it aside.

    And he red at the two women in maids¡¯ gowns and growled, ¡°How dare you hit a King?¡±

    Caspian was ready to run towards them and snap their heads.

    However, Anastasia was quick to hold his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she ordered him as though she knew what he was about to do.

    Both Martha and Holly instantly dropped down to their knees.

    Holly, who was the one to shout and throw the ss, kowtowed and apologized in a terrified voice, ¡°My sin-sincere ap-p-pologies, Y-Your M-Majesty. I thought a v-vampire was biting our Q-Queen. Please forgive my insolence.¡±

    Anastasia covered her eyes with her palm. Zenon discovered them in the same bed in the morning, and now this. She had never been this ashamed in her life before.

    Caspian, on the other hand, openly dered, ¡°I was kissing my wife. Try to remember how I look from every angle so that you won¡¯t hit me the next time you find your King kissing your Queen.¡±

    The room turned awkwardly silent.

    Anastasia was shocked to hear her husband. She gave him a questioning re and pinched his arm as if that was his punishment.

    Caspian simply shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I mean, they are your personal maids. There¡¯s no harm in warning them so that they know their ce.¡±

    ¡°We will keep that in mind, Your Majesty,¡± Martha replied while controlling her voice from trembling.

    Holly was silently shedding tears, thinking this was herst moment. She was sure that the King would rip her heart out at any moment now.

    However, contrary to what the maids had thought, Caspian was actually impressed by their braveness. They were mere humans, but they were ready to fight a vampire, thinking he was hurting their Queen.

    Caspian didn¡¯t need to see their tears to know what they must be going through at the moment.

    So he said in a much calmer voice, ¡°I see that the two of you have developed a sense of loyalty towards your Queen. I have taken a liking towards both of you. So, you don¡¯t have to be so scared around me. But that doesn¡¯t mean that you can get away from me if you dare to betray my trust.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. We will forever stay loyal to our Queen,¡± Martha replied while bowing her head low.

    Holly didn¡¯t say a word, but she couldn¡¯t exin how relieved she was to know that she wasn¡¯t going to die today.

    Martha pulled Holly up, and she said to the King, ¡°We will bring another serving of lunch to Her Majesty.¡±

    Martha wanted to run out of the room before the King changed his mind.

    ¡°Bring her lunch to my bedchamber. We¡¯re leaving,¡± Caspian ordered the maids.

    He immediately picked Anastasia in his arms without any hesitation, and without waiting for his wife¡¯s approval.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t protest because she wanted to disappear from there. She simply buried her face in Caspian¡¯s chest so as to avoid the maids.

    He walked and stood in front of the maids. And he further ordered those maids, ¡°Also, ask the cleaning maids to clean this mess you two have caused. I don¡¯t want rats eating my precious books.¡±

    The King and the Queen disappeared from the library in the next moment, only leaving a gust of wind behind.

    Holly sat down on the stairs. Though she was relieved, her legs were still shaking like a leaf.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Martha crouched beside Holly and asked worriedly.

    Holly lifted her hand and asked Martha, ¡°Will you pinch me? I want to know if I am still alive after throwing that ss at the King.¡±

 Chapter 54

    54 This Rage

    Everard finally got the time to crash on his bed after sitting through the ritual for the whole night and half a day.

    He was surprised that he was able to stay sane during that tiresome ceremony. And he was d that he didn¡¯t go mad and start beating everyone up after going through so many things in the past four days.

    If he had acted that way, he would have been in great trouble since the alphas of all the packs were present in the ceremony. He would have all eyes on him for the foreseeable future. It was thest thing he wanted, to be under constant supervision.

    ¡°Ah! Bed!¡± he mumbled to himself as his sore body felt the softness of the mattress.

    He closed his eyes to finally get some sleep.

    But only if it was that easy!

    Though his body was telling him to fall asleep for two days straight, he couldn¡¯t push away what he had learned from his father.

    ¡®King Desmond sent his daughter as a tribute bride to a Vampire! Could he make any dumber decision as a King and as a father?¡¯

    He covered his eyes with his palm and sighed in frustration.

    .....

    ¡®But I can¡¯t pin all the me on Anna¡¯s father. How would he know that creatures like vampires exist when the ones who know have made a pact of secrecy with those monsters?¡¯

    From his father, he came to know that the werewolves had made a pact with the vampires a few centuries ago.

    He was told that in the past, the vampires and werewolves would constantly hunt each other down. It went on for years and years. During those years, both vampires and werewolves had to face a huge loss on their sides.

    Both were on the verge of extinction.

    Vampires didn¡¯t breed that easily. Werewolves could give birth more frequently. However, protecting and raising the newborns was an impossible task when the vampires didn¡¯t even spare the cubs.

    While they were busy massacring each other, another weaker species called humans had spread all over the world like pests. Though they weren¡¯t anything special like werewolves and vampires, humans had the power of numbers.

    And some of the humans who knew about the supernatural predators even began to gang up and hunt them down.

    So to protect themselves from those pests, the werewolves and the vampires teamed up and massacred those human hunters.

    After that, the alphas and the vampire royals made a pact to never interfere in one another¡¯s lives and territory. And they also agreed to keep each other¡¯s secrets.

    King Alfred had warned Everard not to disclose any of the secrets to anyone, especially to his human friend from Orsenia. He had warned Everard that by doing so, he would put himself and his friend in danger.

    ¡®But I have to rescue Anna from that monster¡¯s den. Leaving her with a vampire is like leaving a cat with a mouse. He will y with her until he gets bored, and in the end, he will devour her.¡¯

    His eyes looked bloodshot because of his rage as well as theck of sleep.

    He wanted to run to Sorvando this instant and bring Anastasia along with him.

    However, his body didn¡¯t have a drop of energy.

    And to add to that, he was now a werewolf. His alpha ¨C his father ¨C wouldn¡¯t allow him to meddle in the vampire¡¯s business.

    Even if he was to sneak away from his castle, he wouldn¡¯t be able to scale those sky-high walls when he wasn¡¯t in his werewolf form. And if he tried to enter the territory of Sorvando through the main gate, he was well aware that he wouldn¡¯t be allowed in since he now had a clear werewolf scent following him.

    He was lucky the other night that he wasn¡¯t caught by any of the vampires.

    Everard didn¡¯t know whether it was his luck or whether the vampires had forgotten the werewolves¡¯ scent, but his father had emphasized enough that he was lucky to have returned alive after entering the vampire¡¯s territory.

    ¡°Argh! What should I do?¡± Everard mmed his fists on the bed.

    He had never felt this helpless in his life ever before.

    His head was filled with countless questions. ¡®How do I sneak inside those damned walls? Do I have to wait for another full moon to do so? What if that bloody vampire kills Anna by then?¡¯

    Everard grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it. And he let out a muffled scream of frustration, ¡°Aahhhhhhh!¡±

    He threw that pillow on the wall. It burst, and the feathers flew all over the chamber.

    And he screamed at the top of his lungs again, ¡°Arghhhhhhhhhhh! What the hell am I supposed to do?¡±

    He covered his eyes with his forearm and tried to figure out a n.

    However, he was so exhausted that he finally fell into a deep slumber.

    ¡ª

    ¡°No...¡±

    Several frown lines appeared on Everard¡¯s forehead while he was still deep in his sleep.

    ¡°Anna... don¡¯t!¡±

    He was tossing and turning on his bed. It seemed as if he was having a nightmare.

    ¡°He¡¯s a vampire! He¡¯s going to be the death of you!¡±

    He mumbled as a single drop of tear rolled down his temple.

    ¡°No!¡±

    Everard suddenly sprung up on his bed. He was drenched in sweat. His breathing had gotten heavier. And he looked confused and disoriented.

    He looked around his chamber to see that the feathers had been cleaned. He nced at themp table beside his bed to find a basket of fresh Golden Noble apples.

    The green apple was Everard¡¯s favorite fruit. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist munching them, but he didn¡¯t even want to touch them at the moment.

    He looked out of his open window to see that it was still daytime. But he was sure that it wasn¡¯t the same day that he fell asleep in.

    ¡®How long was I out for?¡¯ he thought to himself as he got out of the bed and walked out of his bedchamber.

    ¡°Your Highness,¡± one of the maids bowed to the Crown Prince.

    ¡°How long did I sleep for?¡± he asked while stretching his arms.

    ¡°You slept for three days, Your Highness,¡± she politely answered.

    ¡°I slept for three whole days?¡± Everard raised his brows in surprise and almost snapped at the maid, ¡°Then why the hell did nobody wake me up? I had things to take care of!¡±

    That maid gripped the sides of her gown and bowed. ¡°Apologies, Your Highness. But His Majesty forbade us from waking you up.¡±

    Everard gritted his teeth and ruffled his ck hair in frustration. ¡°Argh! That old man!¡±

    The maid waited for the Crown Prince to calm down. And then she asked in a low voice, ¡°Shall I prepare some food for you, Your Highness? Or would you like to take a bath first?¡±

    ¡°Do I look like I want to eat or take a bath?¡± Everard suddenly growled at his maid and startled her to her core.

    Everard felt sorry for that maid after seeing her trembling hands. She wasn¡¯t even looking at him out of fear.

    ¡®Ugh! What the hell is wrong with me? Why would I shout at her when she did nothing wrong.¡¯ Everard took a few deep breaths in to calm himself down.

    ¡°Prepare the food,¡± he replied in a little calmer voice although he wasn¡¯t in the mood to do anything.

    The maid bowed and moved her feet really fast so that she could escape from there faster.

    Before that maid left, Everard asked her, ¡°And do you know where Jerome is?¡±

    That maid flinched a little and stopped. And she replied as calmly as she could, ¡°Lord Jerome is in the training field, Your Highness. Do you have some message for him?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Send him to my study,¡± Everard ordered.

    He suddenly remembered that he had thrashed his study after returning from Sorvando. So he asked, ¡°By the way, is it fixed yet?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Good. You may leave.¡±

    That maid sprinted outside the moment she got the permission.

    Everard frowned at his own behavior. He loathed himself for scaring that innocent maid.

    ¡®This rage... is what I hate the most about the werewolves! I¡¯ve always despised my father for being overly aggressive. But now... look at me!¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t help but notice that he was bing the very thing he hated the most.

    Everard took a moment to calm himself down and headed to his study.

    He wanted to send a letter to his friend to ask her about her situation. At the moment, that was the only solution he came up with to get in touch with Anastasia.

    ¡®I will think of a way to rescue her after I gather more information.¡¯

 Chapter 55

    55 Writing a Letter

    Everard was frantically tapping his foot on the floor as he sat in front of his desk to write a letter. He dipped his quill in the ink and ced it on top of the paper.

    However, he couldn¡¯t even write a single word.

    ¡°Do I still address her as ¡®Dear Anna¡¯ or do I write something else?¡± That question had been bugging him for a while now.

    After much consideration, he wrote ¡®Dear Anna¡¯ in the top left corner of the paper.

    ¡®Even though she is a married woman now, she is still my friend. I have every right,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Soon Everard heard the sounds of the footsteps approaching his study.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Everard said before he heard the knock on the door.

    ¡°Your Highness, did you call for me?¡± Jerome, the beta of the Crestfire n, bowed and asked.

    Everard looked at the tall man and asked, ¡°Can our messengers deliver the letter to Sorvando castle? Or even our letters won¡¯t enter those tall walls?¡±

    .....

    Jerome politely replied, ¡°If the letter has our Royal seal then I¡¯m sure the letter will reach the King of Sorvando.¡±

    Everard cleared his throat and said, ¡°I¡¯m not writing to the King. You must have heard that Alexander¡¯s sister was sent as a bride to that King. I want to write to her.¡±

    Jerome had already suspected that was the case. So he further shed the light on the matter, ¡°Then I would suggest that you don¡¯t write anything that would potentially offend the Vampire King. If you are lucky then your letter might reach your friend. But of course, after being read by him.¡±

    Everard snickered at the predicament he was in.

    He looked at Jerome and dismissed him, ¡°Thank you. That was all.¡±

    Jerome, however, had something more to ask. ¡°His Majesty was wondering when we shall prepare the carriage for your return to Lavinya.¡±

    Everard red at Jerome and mockingly asked, ¡°Why? His Majesty is so eager to send his son away already? Besides, shouldn¡¯t I stay here for good? Now that I turn into a damn rabid animal every full moon?¡±

    Jerome gave a polite smile and said, ¡°We will send some of our men to help you during the full moon. With them to aid you, your transformations won¡¯t be much big a problem to you or to the others.¡±

    Everard mmed his fist on the desk and argued, ¡°What are you saying? What if those men can¡¯t contain me? What if I hurt innocent people?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, they are professionals. Also, there are only a few full moons left before youplete your studies. His Majesty suggests that you return to Lavinya soon.¡± With that, Jerome firmly put forth the King¡¯s wish.

    He bowed to the Crown Prince and walked out of the room without giving Everard a further chance to argue more.

    Everard clenched his fists and snarled while ring at the closed door, ¡°This bloody man! He always acts so high and mighty!¡±

    Everard took a deep breath in and focused his attention back on the paper on the desk. He was about to dip the quill in the ink when he noticed that he had snapped the quill.

    ¡°Ah! What a waste!¡± He threw that quill in the dustbin and grabbed a new one from his drawer.

    He dipped it in the ink and wrote a sentence down. However, he instantly crumpled that paper and threw it away.

    After thinking for a while, he put down a few sentences on another paper. But he wasn¡¯t satisfied with that as well.

    After crumpling around 20 sheets of paper, Everard was finally satisfied with the one he was looking at.

    ¡°Okay, this will do,¡± Everard sighed.

    He folded the paper neatly and put it inside an envelope. He stamped the Royal seal on the envelope and sent it in the hands of a messenger.

    ¡ª

    Back in the castle of Sorvando, all the maids and servants were busy preparing for tonight¡¯s special asion.

    All the nobles of the major houses were invited to the castle for the coronation ceremony of the Queen.

    Zenon had made it clear to all the vampire servants and maids that they were not to repeat the simr mistake as Elias. They all had been informed of what he did and how he was killed for his treacherous act. So the atmosphere of the castle was a bit more tense than normal.

    The monarch and his consort were in their bedchamber. Anastasia was sitting in front of her dressing mirror while Caspian was lying down on the bed and gazing at his wife¡¯s reflection.

    Martha and Holly were helping Anastasia with her hair and makeup.

    Anastasia smiled at her husband¡¯s reflection and asked, ¡°Caspian, don¡¯t you have somewhere else to be?¡±

    ¡°I would rather be here than somewhere else,¡± Caspian replied as he kept on staring at his wife as though he was hypnotized by her beauty.

    ¡°You¡¯re making them nervous!¡± Anastasia tried to make him understand.

    Her personal maids indeed looked stiffer than usual.

    However, Martha politely denied, ¡°We¡¯re fine, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian pointed his hand at Martha and said, ¡°See. She doesn¡¯t mind my presence.¡±

    Anastasia shook her head and asked, ¡°When are you going to get ready? Your servants have been waiting for you in the dressing chamber.¡±

    ¡°They can wait.¡± Caspian pointed at the set of the gown that was hung beside the dressing table and said, ¡°I want to see how you would look in that gown before I go.¡±

    ¡°Then you will have to wait for another hour.¡± Anastasia gave up on trying to make him leave the room.

    She focused on her own reflection in the mirror. Martha and Holly were doing a great job in preparing her. However, on days like this, she couldn¡¯t help but miss her handmaid.

    Caspian saw her zoning out. A hint of sadness was lingering in her eyes.

    He recalled their previous conversation and said, ¡°Anna, I¡¯m sorry that we couldn¡¯t invite your brother today. It¡¯s unsafe for him toe here when the aftermath of the previous incident hasn¡¯t died down yet. Lord Bartholomew hasn¡¯t shown any signs of retaliation yet. But we never know when one¡¯s heart changes.¡±

    Anastasia turned her head to look at her husband. She gave a nod and smiled. ¡°I understand. I wouldn¡¯t want something to happen to my brother because of me either. We will invite my family here when the time is right.¡±

    Caspian gave a sad smile. He wasn¡¯t sure if the time would ever be right.

    Caspian finally got up from the bed and said, ¡°I think I will also get dressed.¡±

    When Caspian ran out of the chamber, the maids audibly let out a sigh of relief.

    It prompted Anastasia tough because she knew her maids were just trying to be polite when they said that they weren¡¯t bothered by their King¡¯s presence in the room.

    Anastasia looked at their reflection and said while smiling, ¡°You two should start to get used to him. He isn¡¯t that scary when you don¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±

    Holly pouted and replied as if she was talking to her younger sister, ¡°My Queen, you are saying that because His Majesty loves you a lot and doesn¡¯t get angry at you. But he¡¯s definitely scary for the rest of us.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Anastasia looked down and awkwardly chuckled. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and her ears.

 Chapter 56

    56 The Queen

    ¡°You are ready, Your Majesty,¡± Martha nced at Anastasia from top to bottom and said with a satisfied smile on her face.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± Anastasia asked somewhat nervously.

    She didn¡¯t know why she cared about her looks so much today.

    ¡®Maybe I am worried about the judgmental looks that the vampire nobles are going to give me at the ceremony. I don¡¯t want to give way for criticism, other than the obvious fact that I am not a vampire,¡¯ Anastasia thought to herself while ncing at her reflection in the mirror.

    Holly took a few steps back and gazed at the Queen while pressing her palm over her chest. And she praised the Queen, ¡°You look like a rose blooming in the snow, my Queen.¡±

    Anastasia was wearing a white gown with golden embroidery works done on it. Countless pearls were embedded on the stomacher of the gown making it look even more extravagant.

    She was wearing very heavy pieces of jewelry that Caspian had gifted her this morning. Her ne had onerge ruby in the middle while two smaller rubies on either side of thatrge one. The rubies were further encircled with small diamonds. She was also wearing a matching pair of earrings, as well as a ring.

    Her look for the night waspleted with the long red coronation mantle. In the middle of that mantle, the royal symbol of Sorvando ¨C a phoenix rising from the ashes ¨C was woven with golden threads. The mantle was so heavy that Anastasia wished the ceremony would be over soon so that she could take it off.

    ¡°Is Her Majesty ready?¡± Caspian knocked on the door and made his presence known.

    .....

    Before the maids could answer, he opened the door and stood at the door.

    ¡°Oh, sweet heaven!¡± Caspian held his breath and gazed at his wife¡¯s ethereal beauty.

    Caspian walked in without taking his eyes off his wife.

    ¡°You two did a great job,¡± Caspian gestured for the maids to leave the chamber.

    And when he was alone with his wife, he took her hands and gently kissed her on her knuckles. ¡°Do you know how beautiful you are?¡±

    ¡°I could ask the same to you.¡± Anastasia looked like she was already lost in her husband¡¯s otherworldly eyes.

    Caspian gazed at her lips and inhaled sharply. And he whispered in his low husky voice, ¡°Wife, if you keep looking at me like that then I will have to cancel the ceremony and keep you up the whole night.¡±

    Anastasia snapped out of her daze and looked away. She whispered to her husband as a soft smile lingered on her face, ¡°Let¡¯s head towards the hall then. We can¡¯t keep all the guests waiting for long.¡±

    Caspian forcefully tore his gaze away from his wife and turned around. He offered his arm for Anastasia to hold. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The two of them walked out of the room. Martha and Holly also walked behind their Queen while helping her with her mantle and gown.

    When they reached outside the throne hall, they could hear some noises made by the guests. They all went silent after the guards announced the presence of their King and Queen.

    ¡°Are you ready? Or do you need some time to gather your breath?¡± Caspian asked Anastasia in a soft voice. He had been noticing that her breathing was getting heavier and heavier as they approached closer to the hall.

    Anastasia appreciated the concern shown by her husband. She quickly took in a few deep breaths. And then she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Here we go then,¡± Caspian led his wife inside the throne hall.

    Inside, all the vampire nobles were sitting in their respective seats. There was a raised tform at the front of the hall. And today, there were two thrones instead of one.

    When Anastasia and Caspian walked down the empty aisle, soft music filled the room. Everyone got up from their seats and turned their gaze on the couple.

    Anastasia was feeling overwhelmed by the piercing gazes from all those red eyes. She was trying her best not to look down at the floor. She didn¡¯t want them to think that their Queen was a weak human.

    So she looked up ahead at the thrones. And she kept on saying to herself, ¡®I can do this. I just have to go there and the ceremony will be over in no time. Calm down.¡¯

    Just as she had thought, the crowning didn¡¯t take that long.

    After Caspian addressed the guests, Anastasia stood in front of Caspian.

    A courtdy brought an extravagant gold crown embedded with arge sapphire and smaller diamonds.

    Caspian held the crown and dered, ¡°From here on, I instate Anastasia Vairina as the Queen of Sorvando.¡±

    The King of Sorvando crowned the Queen.

    The hall was filled with soft music apanied by the hails from the vampire nobles, ¡°Long live the Queen.¡±

    They all bowed to their Queen even though most of them didn¡¯t like bowing to some inferior creature who would most certainly not live long.

    Most of them thought that the King was stupid for dering Anastasia as the Queen. They didn¡¯t understand why the King would even bother when she would die in a couple of decades.

    But they couldn¡¯t voice their opinion, and neither could they whisper. By now, all of them had heard what had happened to Beth. And even though the King wasn¡¯t directly involved in her death, they were sure that he was the one responsible. They all loved their lives. So they quietly epted their new Queen.

    Caspian, on the other hand, achieved what he had wanted. With this ceremony, he formally established Anastasia¡¯s position higher up in the power hierarchy. And the vampire nobles were scared to even whisper bad things about Anastasia because of the recent deaths from blood duel.

    After the formal ceremony was over, all the guests moved towards the openwn for the informal greeting session.

    Caspian led Anastasia around and introduced her to the main family members of the powerful noble houses. Anastasia tried her best to remember the names of all the houses.

    After a while, Anastasia found a vampire who she was fond of. She happily walked to her and greeted her, ¡°Aunt Edith, how are you?¡±

    Edith smiled and gave a hug to Anastasia. ¡°I¡¯ve been good, darling.¡±

    Caspian also greeted his aunt. Edith expressed her sadness towards the recent assassination attempt on Anastasia.

    ¡°My poor child, I hope you aren¡¯t shaken,¡± Edith held Anastasia¡¯s hand. She looked visibly worried.

    Anastasia shook her head and replied with a smile on her face, ¡°Caspian is here to take care of me. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Caspian was ttered when his wife said that.

    Suddenly, a tall man with a simr build as Caspian came and stood behind Lady Edith. He had neatlybed that shoulder-length blond hair. He was wearing a ck waistcoat, a pair of white trousers, and ck boots.

    From the color of his hair, Anastasia guessed that he was Caspian¡¯s rtive.

    And she was right.

    He nced at Caspian and casually greeted him, ¡°Hello, cousin. I was gone for a few weeks and it looks like you found yourself a pretty wife.¡±

    Caspian greeted him with coldness, ¡°Maybe my streak of bad luck ran away along with you. You should have stayed away for some more.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s cousinughed scornfully. And he threw a satire, ¡°Oh, are you trying to say that you were surrounded by good luck in my absence? Then care to exin why your wife almost died twice in the span of a week?¡±

    Anastasia was very ufortable as she was standing in the middle of the two of them.

    ¡®Why do I feel like they are enemies rather than cousins?¡¯ she thought to herself while trying her best not to show the difort in her face.

    Caspian gritted his teeth and said in a hateful tone, ¡°Keep this up and I will whoop your arse right here.¡±

    ¡°Please, give it a try. We shall see who wins.¡± His cousin was about to throw back some more insults at Caspian when his mother stopped him.

    ¡°Ah! These two! Shut it already!¡± Edith red at her son and ordered him, ¡°Greet the Queen, will you?¡±

    He smiled and gave a polite bow to Anastasia. He took her hand and said after losing his mocking tone, ¡°Apologies, my Queen. My cousin brings out the bad in me. I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright,¡± Anastasia smiled back and gave a nod.

    He then ced a kiss on the Queen¡¯s knuckles and introduced himself, ¡°You can call me Hamilton, my Queen.¡±

 Chapter 57

    57 Eve

    The next day, Caspian was sitting on his throne. The ministers and the councilmen had gathered in the hall. They were all going through the cases that had been forwarded by the human councilmen of the Silver Keep town.

    Zenon was standing beside Caspian and was going through the parchments one by one. ¡°A man named Jayleen Harper, age 32, has been used of **** and murder of three women. He is currently in the custody.¡±

    He flipped to another parchment and read, ¡°A woman named May Wilson, age 25, brutally murdered her old husband...¡±

    When everyone was busy listening to the reports, a messenger silently walked in and bowed everyone in the room. He passed the letters that he was carrying to one of the Royal Guards and then walked away.

    That guard handed over the piles of letters to the King.

    Caspian frowned and red at the letters for a while. ¡®What is this unpleasant smell?¡¯

    He quickly shuffled through the envelopes until he found one letter in particr with the seal of a growling wolf.

    ¡®Royal seal of Xanmar? And... since when were we in talking terms?¡¯ Caspian thought to himself and tore the envelope.

    The subtle but pungent smell hit Zenon¡¯s nose as well. He stopped reading the reports and nced at the King. ¡°Is everything okay, Your Majesty?¡±

    .....

    Caspian gave a nod and gestured for him to continue with the reports.

    He, on the other hand, opened the letter.

    He narrowed his eyes when he saw the first two words.

    ¡®Dear Anna?¡¯ Caspian¡¯s frown lines deepened. He nced at the bottom of the letter and read, ¡®Yours truly, Eve.¡¯

    ¡®Eve? Is she a friend of Anna¡¯s? She never mentioned that she had a friend in Xanmar.¡¯

    Caspian shrugged and folded the letter. ¡®Well, Orsenia shares a border with Xanmar as well. So I guess, it¡¯s not that unusual.¡¯

    Caspian rested his chin on his knuckles and pondered, ¡®But is there a Princess with the name Eve in Xanmar? As far as I know, Xanmar only has a Crown Prince. Ah! Nevermind. She might be a first or second cousin of the Crown Prince.¡¯

    After the meeting was over, Caspian headed towards the library to find Anastasia.

    Anastasia was reading ¡®The Castle of Montiro¡¯ along with Martha and Ti in the library.

    The moment the maids saw the King, they got up from their seats and bowed. And they left their King and Queen alone.

    ¡°Caspian, is your meeting over?¡± Anastasia asked her husband with a smile.

    ¡°Yes, after long boring hours.¡± Caspian took out the letter from his pocket and said, ¡°You never told me that you have a friend named Eve.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard the name. ¡°Eve? He sent me a letter here?¡± She reached out her hand to get the letter from Caspian.

    However, Caspian raised his hand so that Anastasia wouldn¡¯t be able to reach it. He raised his brows at his wife and asked, ¡°He? Eve is a ¡®he¡¯?¡±

    Anastasiaughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s his nickname that my brother gave him. And I also started to call him by that name. He hates it though.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes and thought, ¡®He hates it enough to use that name himself? I wonder if his intention was to deceive me in particr...¡¯ He regretted not reading the letter earlier.

    Anastasia held out her palm and asked, ¡°Can I get the letter?¡±

    But Caspian put the letter back inside his pocket and asked, ¡°Tell me more about this Eve person. And who is he to you?¡± A hint of jealousy could be felt in the tone of his voice.

    Anastasia sat back down in her chair and answered her husband truthfully, ¡°He is the Crown Prince of Xanmar, Everard Crestfire. He is my brother¡¯s friend. But he became my friend as well after we began exchanging letters for the past year.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t like it at all. His heart was burning with jealousy when he imagined his wife sharing promiscuous words with some Prince.

    He stood beside his wife and tucked her reddish-brown hair behind her ears. He then crouched down beside her and asked while trying his best to control his voice, ¡°And what kind of letters, may I ask?¡±

    Though Caspian was asking politely, Anastasia could feel the hostility that he was giving off.

    She turned to face her husband and tried to clear whatever he misunderstood, ¡°We used to talk about the normal things ¨C weather, health, art, and literature. Mostly, I used to talk about the novels that he used to send me.¡±

    However, that further pushed Caspian¡¯s jealousy to the edge.

    He ced his palm on Anastasia¡¯s thigh. And he asked while rubbing his thumb on her thigh, ¡°And he also used to send gifts to you.¡± He further asked her in a calm yet chilling tone, ¡°Are you sure that he is just a friend and nothing more?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart began to pick up the pace.

    Caspian looked visibly angry and jealous.

    She ced her palm on top of his and tried to calm him down. ¡°Caspian, I assure you that there was nothing more between us. Sure, it all began when he asked me if I was avable for courtship but-¡±

    Caspian scoffed and rolled his eyes. He tightly grasped Anastasia¡¯s palm. His beautiful eyes now looked like that of a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

    And he asked in a threatening tone, ¡°So it was not just a normal friendship, was it? Why did you agree to be my bride when a Crown Prince was dotting on you?¡±

    Anastasia grimaced in pain and tried to get out of his tight grip. ¡°Caspian... you¡¯re hurting me.¡±

    However, Caspian didn¡¯t listen to her.

    He grabbed both of her hands by her wrist and used her openly, ¡°There a hidden agenda behind youing here, isn¡¯t there? Else why would you insist on staying here with a monster like me?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s heart skipped a beat because that was true.

    Anastasia endured her pain and blurted out the half-truth, ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a hidden agenda behind meing here. My parents had already given up on me when they sent me here. And I insisted on staying here because I wanted to be loved by someone.¡±

    A few drops of tears rolled down Anastasia¡¯s eyes because of the pain in her wrists.

    Caspian¡¯s grip on her wrists was getting tighter by the second.

    And she whispered painfully, ¡°I wanted to be loved by you, Caspian. Believe me, that is the only reason why I insisted on staying here.¡±

    Caspian was keeping track of her heartbeat and he knew that she wasn¡¯t lying. But even then, he was having a hard time putting his trust in her words.

    He red at his wife and asked in a harsh tone, ¡°I¡¯m sure this friend of yours would have also loved you enough if love is what you wanted. Whye to me when you didn¡¯t even know if I would ever love you?¡±

    Caspian snickered and pointed out the w in her words, ¡°Hell, you hadn¡¯t even seen me before. Neither did you know how old I was. You didn¡¯t know if I already had a wife. When you knew nothing about me, why did you agree intoing here?¡±

 Chapter 58

    58 Just a Friend?

    Anastasia opted to tell the half-truth again. She whispered in a shaken voice while looking down at her hands, ¡°I had no choice but toe here.¡±

    Caspian felt a sharp prick in his heart after listening to that confession. She wasn¡¯t denying that she would have been loved by Eve.

    But she further spoke while shedding her tears because the pain in her wrists was getting unbearable by now, ¡°But I never saw Everard as anything more than a friend. Even if I hadn¡¯te here, I would have never married him.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t hear Anastasia¡¯s heart skipping beats. He knew that this was also the truth. And he knew those tears were real.

    What he hadn¡¯t realized yet was that she was crying because of him.

    Caspian felt bad for tantly using his wife of having some hidden agenda. He left his grip on Anastasia¡¯s wrist and hugged her tightly. He closed his eyes and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted your intention.¡±

    Anastasia also put her arms around him. She pressed his head over her chest. She leaned down and kissed his head.

    And she further exined truthfully, ¡°I had clearly told Everard that I wasn¡¯t interested in courtship with him. And he never insisted again. He agreed to be my friend. Besides, I sent him letters because he resides in the same boarding house as my brother in Lavinya. And I write letters to him when I write one for my brother.¡±

    Caspian felt even worse after hearing that. He regretted not listening to her first andshing out at her.

    .....

    He looked into her forest-like eyes and apologized again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I admit that my jealousy took the better of me.¡±

    He gently kissed her chest and looked at her angelic face again.

    And he expressed how he truly felt when he heard about Everard, ¡°You are the first woman I am serious about. And I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of you having some romantic feelings towards another man before you came here. More than that, I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of you still having feelings towards that man.¡±

    ¡°Shhh... It¡¯s okay.¡± The corners of Anastasia¡¯s lips curved up very subtly.

    She felt a little happy to know that Caspian was capable of being jealous of another man. And what was more surprising was that he even admitted it openly.

    Anastasia caressed his cheek. She leaned down and gave a warm kiss on her husband¡¯s lips.

    But Caspian pulled away because he saw something on her wrist.

    ¡°Oh, no!¡± His eyes widened when he saw his fingermarks on them. His fingermarks looked dark red on her pale wrist.

    He lightly held her hands and inhaled sharply. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t even realize when...¡±

    Caspian felt disgusted by himself. He truly felt like a monster.

    Anastasia pulled her hands away and hid the marks on one of her wrists with her other palm. And she said with a smile on her face, ¡°It will disappear soon. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Caspian looked at his wife¡¯s smiling face in disbelief. And he asked in a sad voice, ¡°How can I not worry when I am the one who did that to you? And how can you still smile at this monster?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± Anastasia tried to calm him down.

    However, Caspian got up and asked, ¡°Anna, get up. Let¡¯s go and see the doctor.¡±

    But Anastasia grabbed onto the chair and shook her head. ¡°The doctors can¡¯t do anything about it. It will disappear soon, trust me.¡±

    Caspian was angry at himself. He held his head and mumbled, ¡°But I hurt you...¡±

    Anastasia got up and put her arms around his neck. And she tried to console him, ¡°My skin is a bit too sensitive than other people¡¯s. That¡¯s all. It didn¡¯t hurt that much.¡±

    ¡°Liar.¡± Caspian kept on looking at his wife with a sorry look on his face.

    Anastasia dismissed him calling her a liar and tightly hugged Caspian. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She then whispered, ¡°It will fade away.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes. So don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Caspian put his arms around her waist as lightly as he could. He feared that he would break his wife if he hugged her tightly. ¡®I need to learn to be gentle with her,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    After holding each other in an apologetic embrace, Caspian finally handed over the letter to Anastasia.

    He waved the torn envelope and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t addressed to anyone in particr on the envelope. So I thought that the letter was for me. But I didn¡¯t go through the contents of the letter when I saw that it was addressed to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Anastasia took the letter from him.

    She unfolded it and put it on the desk instead of reading it immediately. She didn¡¯t want to make him feel that she was too eager to read the letter. But she also didn¡¯t want him to think that she was hiding something. Hence, she opened it for him in case he wanted to take a peek at the contents of the letter.

    However, Caspian put his trust in his wife. He caressed her hair and said, ¡°I still have some agendas to attend to. I will see you tonight.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and gave a nod.

    After Caspian left the library, she sat down on her chair. She grabbed the letter and started to read it.

    ¡®Dear Anna,

    Before I ask anything else, I believe that a congrattion is in order on getting married to the King of Sorvando. Congrattions, Anna!

    Now that the formality has been taken care of, I wanted to know if your new life has been treating you well. As your friend, and as your well-wisher, I cannot help but worry about you.

    Your brother and I were both upset when you went away without even waiting to bid goodbyes to us. So you owe us both an apology the next time we meet.

    I don¡¯t have much to say in this letter. All I wish is for you to be safe and sound. I hope that the King is treating you well. And I hope that he has been giving you the respect that you deserve.

    I also wanted to ask you, are you not scared? Of the new environment and new people? Or have you adapted to your new home? Are you happy?

    Write back to me.

    Yours Truly,

    Eve.¡¯

    Anastasia put the letter down on the table. She had deep frown lines in between her brows.

    For the first half of the letter, she thought that Everard was worried about her since she got married out of the blue.

    However, when she read the questions that Everard had asked, she couldn¡¯t tell whether he knew about the existence of the vampires. Or whether he was asking those questions out of genuine worry and nothing more.

    Everard had written the letter to be confusing. He wanted the letter to reach Anastasia¡¯s hand even if the King went through it first.

    So he couldn¡¯t afford to straight up ask her if her vampire husband was threatening her or if he was trying to make her his meal. And neither could he say that he was willing to rescue her from the monster¡¯s den.

    ¡®Are you aware, Eve?¡¯ Anastasia sighed.

    But she dismissed that possibility since she could somewhat guess that the existence of the vampires was unknown outside of the Sorvando borders. Outside the borders, vampires were merely thought to be mythical creatures and were limited to fiction.

    She leaned back on her chair and dwelled upon Everard¡¯s questions.

    ¡®Am I scared?¡¯ she repeated his question in her mind.

    ¡®Of course, I am scared, Eve. I can never afford to lose my guard because I fear someone still wants me dead. The one I can lean on for safety is my husband. But I cannot fully depend on him. I can never tell what triggers him and when he will snap at me.¡¯

    ¡®Have I adapted here?¡¯

    She smiled mirthlessly and answered to herself, ¡®Definitely not. I feel like I am a guest here. I wonder if Sorvando will ever be my home.¡¯

    ¡®Am I happy?¡¯

    She thought back to the times she had spent here in Sorvando until now. There were times when she had cried. And there were times when she hadughed.

    However, the only answer she coulde up with was, ¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯

 Chapter 59

    59 Inquiry

    Caspian¡¯s thoughts were all over the ce after he walked out of the library and went to his study.

    For one, he couldn¡¯t believe that he hurt his wife just because she got a letter from her male friend. And second, though he didn¡¯t want to think much about that friend of his wife, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

    ¡®Everard Crestfire... Son of the current King Alfred Crestfire.¡¯

    He tried to recall if there was anything peculiar about the Crestfires. But he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint his finger. ¡®Why do I feel so uneasy about that surname? I feel like I am forgetting something important.¡¯

    Caspian tried to put those thoughts aside and work on the files that were pending. He tried his best to focus on the files. However, his mind was stuck on that one name ¨C Everard Crestfire.

    After wasting almost half an hour, he decided to do a little background check on that man.

    He called Zenon in and asked his trusted source of information, ¡°Zenon, do you have any information on the Crown Prince of Xanmar?¡±

    Zenon answered without having to think even for a second, ¡°Everard Crestfire. Age 20. He is the only son of King Alfred Crestfire andte Queen Amira Crestfire. He currently resides in Lavinya for his study purposes.¡±

    Caspian nodded and asked again, ¡°Anastasia¡¯s brother also studies in Lavinya?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, they both willplete their studies soon,¡± Zenon answered with confidence because as a Royal Advisor, it was his job to keep track of all the Royals of the neighboring Kingdoms.

    Caspian felt a little relieved as the story matched with what Anastasia had told him.

    But he had this gut feeling that there was something more. ¡°Can you tell me more about the Crestfires?¡±

    ¡°The Crestfires?¡± Zenon didn¡¯t know what his King wanted.

    So he gave a general answer, ¡°The Crestfires came into power about a hundred and fifty years ago. And they have been ruling over Xanmar ever since. The Crestfires even expanded their territory over time. But they don¡¯t interfere with the border on our side because of the pact.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t have a pact with the Crestfires.¡± Caspian was certain of it since he would have remembered it if he had made some kind of deal with them.

    Zenon shook his head and answered, ¡°No, we didn¡¯t make a pact with the Crestfires separately but your ancestors had made a pact with all the werewolf ns in the past.¡±

    ¡°Werewolves?¡± Caspian abruptly mmed his fists on the desk and got up from his chair. The chair toppled down behind him and the desk broke into half.

    He towered in front of Zenon and raised his voice, ¡°You are telling me that the Crestfires are werewolves?¡±

    Zenon politely took a step back and answered, ¡°Yes, they are one of the werewolf ns.¡±

    Caspian now knew why he got that unsettling feeling earlier.

    ¡°Is that Crown Prince also a werewolf?¡± Caspian shouted again.

    He was getting even more restless than before because he was aware of one of the main characteristics of the werewolves. He knew that if they liked someone then they wouldn¡¯t easily stop pursuing them. Their whole life would revolve around that one person.

    Zenon noticed the restlessness in Caspian¡¯s eyes. And his aggression was pretty obvious given that the study was now a total mess.

    He didn¡¯t know what triggered his King so much. But he calmly answered, ¡°As far as I know, the Crown Prince is not a werewolf yet. The King, however, is the alpha of the Crestfire pack.¡±

    Caspian instantly ordered Zenon, ¡°Confirm it right away. I want to know everything about Everard Crestfire. And I am serious when I¡¯m saying everything.¡±

    Immediately after ordering Zenon, Caspian rushed out of the room as if he was in a great hurry to reach somewhere.

    Caspian went straight to the library, only to find that it was already locked.

    ¡®She should be in the bedchamber then,¡¯ he thought to himself and rushed back to the main wing of the castle.

    Just as he had thought, he heard his wife¡¯s voice from the bedchamber. She was being attended by her personal maids.

    Caspian flung open the door of the bedchamber and ordered the maids, ¡°Leave us alone.¡±

    The maids didn¡¯t need to hear it twice. They both ran out of the room as fast as their feet could take them.

    Anastasia got up from the chair that was in front of the dressing table and turned to face her husband.

    Caspian instantly held out his hand and asked Anastasia while trying hard not to sound rude, ¡°Anna, may I take a look at the letter? I am not doubting you but I need to confirm something.¡±

    ¡°But I... just told everything to you...¡±

    ¡°I know. But I need to see the letter. Please.¡± Caspian kept on extending his hand towards her.

    Anastasia sighed and went to take the letter out of a drawer.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t like how Caspian was trying to invade her privacy even when she had already exined to him just a while ago that Everard was her friend. However, she didn¡¯t want to give him a reason to suspect her.

    Besides, she had nothing to hide. So she handed the letter over to Caspian.

    Caspian pinched the letter with the tips of his finger as though he was holding something repulsive. He lifted it close to his nose and took a sniff. He instantly regretted it.

    ¡°Ugh! It stinks!¡± He turned away from the letter and gagged as if he was going to throw up.

    Anastasia thought that he was teasing her. She fisted on her hips and raised her brows at him. She scoffed and asked, ¡°Really, Caspian? Are you here to tease me?¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t answer her because he was too busy trying to figure something out. He was thinking whether that god-awful smell belonged to Everard in particr or everything in his castle smelled like wet dogs.

    Without wasting any more time, Caspian pinched both sides of the letter. He went through the contents of the letter in an instant. He didn¡¯t find anything suspicious at the first nce.

    So, he went through it again. He wanted to know if there were any kind of warnings or hidden messages in that letter.

    And his eyes got stuck on a paragraph.

    ¡®I hope that the King is treating you well. And I hope that he has been giving you the respect that you deserve...¡¯ Caspian narrowed his eyes as he read those sentences.

    He couldn¡¯t help but feel that Everard was subtly giving a warning to him in case he read the letter.

    ¡®I also wanted to ask you, are you not scared?¡¯ Caspian red at the letter as if he was going to put holes in it just by staring.

    Anastasia had been standing by his side and watching him go through the letter again and again. He looked like he was trying hard to find fault in that letter.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± she asked when he didn¡¯t take his eyes off of the letter.

    However, Caspian was lost too deep in the letter. He didn¡¯t hear his wife asking him a question.

    After a while, he finally looked away from the letter and scoffed.

    He had reached the conclusion, ¡®He knows, doesn¡¯t he? He knows that I am a vampire. Doesn¡¯t that mean he already had his transformation? I think the pact clearly stated that werewolves aren¡¯t allowed to reveal the secret of the existence of vampires to humans. If he was still a human, he wouldn¡¯t know about us.¡¯

 Chapter 60

    60 Enough!

    Caspian went and sat down on the bed while still pinching the letter.

    He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that Everard was indeed a werewolf no matter what Zenon had said earlier.

    And he began to contemte all sorts of things. Like how that werewolf was probably smitten by his wife. And how he could have already left a mark on his wife and coulde to Sorvando to get her back.

    Caspian threw the letter on the floor and let out a heavy breath.

    Anastasia silently picked up the letter from the floor and went towards the drawer to keep it safe.

    Caspian watched Anastasia treasuring that filthy letter but he kept quiet.

    He did not want to question his wife again and make a big fuss out of this without knowing for sure if Everard was a werewolf.

    However, he felt like his heart would explode if he didn¡¯t settle this matter right now.

    ¡°Anna,¡± Caspian looked at his wife and called her in a soft voice.

    .....

    Anastasia turned to look at her husband and calmly asked, ¡°You read the letter. Do you believe me now that he is no more than a friend?¡±

    Caspian adjusted his position on the bed. He refrained from answering her question.

    Anastasia frowned and said a bit bitterly, ¡°If you want to read our previous conversations as well then I can write a letter to Orsenia asking them to send Everard¡¯s letters here.¡±

    Caspian felt the bitterness of her voice hitting his heart. He tried to calm her down by saying, ¡°No, Anna, that is not what I want. I am not doubting your intentions here.¡±

    Anastasia wiped the sweat beads from her upper lips and bluntly asked, ¡°Then why do you still look like you don¡¯t fully trust me yet? What do I have to do to make you believe in me?¡±

    Caspian took a deep breath in and restlessly rubbed his chin. And he blurted out what was in his heart, ¡°I agree that I am doubting his intention. You told me yourself... that he wanted to court you and possibly get married to you. And from what I read in that letter, I feel like he still hasn¡¯t given up on you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you got that idea.¡± The frown lines on Anastasia¡¯s forehead darkened.

    She inhaled deeply and asked while showing displeasure towards this nonstop questioning and suspicion from Caspian, ¡°Do you want me to write to Everard and directly ask him his intentions? Is that what you want?¡±

    Caspian got up from the bed and stepped closer to his wife. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± He softly kissed her on her lips to calm her anger.

    But she pulled away from him and tightly pressed her lips together.

    Caspian knew he was overstepping the boundary of his wife¡¯s tolerance level. But he held Anastasia¡¯s hands and he questioned her anyway, ¡°I just want to know if he did anything... anything suspicious to you?¡±

    ¡°Suspicious how?¡± she red at him and asked in a monotone.

    ¡°Erm... this question might sound out of the ce but... here it goes.¡± Caspian looked at Anastasia with a serious look on his face and asked, ¡°Did he ever bit you or leave some kind of mark on you?¡±

    Anastasia felt a sudden sourness in her heart and her face looked stunned. She could not believe that her husband just asked that.

    She was so enraged that she pulled her hands away from him and took several steps back. And she screamed at that distrustful man in front of her, ¡°Did you just question my chastity?¡±

    ¡°No, no! Never!¡± Caspian closed the gap while panicking a little. He never thought that his wife would interpret his question that way. ¡°I was simply asking if he ever bit you. Or maybe you found some unexinable marks on you after meeting him.¡±

    Anastasia scoffed in disbelief. It hurt her pride as a woman when her own husband used her of being involved in indecent acts with another man. It hurt her pride that her husband thought so lowly of her.

    She regretted opening up her heart to the vampire who would never get human emotions.

    Her heart ached so much that she felt as if she would faint. She wanted to escape from that room and go somewhere to cry.

    However, she didn¡¯t want to run away without defending herself. She did nothing wrong and running away without speaking up would only confirm his vile usations.

    So she poured out her rage while also shedding the tears that she couldn¡¯t control, ¡°How is that any different than questioning my purity? I was a Princess. Not some courtesan! And he is a Crown Prince who has a reputation to uphold!¡±

    ¡°Anna... that¡¯s not-¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t let her husband speak. She red at her husband and gritted from between her teeth, ¡°He is not someone who goes around biting a woman... unlike some species that I know.¡±

    Caspian tightened his fists and raised his brows at Anastasia. The apologetic look on his face disappeared and was overtaken by his cold self.

    And he asked his wife in a chillingly threatening voice, ¡°Did you just use me that I go around biting women? I am a monster. Sure. But I do have my conscience.¡±

    Anastasia scoffed and wiped her tears but they rolled down almost instantly.

    She shouted without screening her words and without worrying if her husband would snap her neck, ¡°A monster with a conscience? Ha! Don¡¯t make meugh. You have such great conscience that you feast on blood and relish the killing. And you use your wife of sleeping around with men when she gets a damned letter from a friend.¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Caspian roared like never before. His rage had reached the brim and was spilling over. His eyes looked as if he was looking down at a prey.

    Anastasia was shaking with rage and fear. However, she raised her head to match his re. And she asked in a mocking tone, ¡°What? You want to feast on my blood now that I am a shame to be called your wife?¡±

    ¡°I said enough!¡± Caspian shouted again while baring his fangs and ws. He looked like a true monster who came straight out of a nightmare.

    Anastasia felt light-headed and her heartbeat hammered like never before. And yet, she tore off the shoulder of her gown and disyed her bare shoulder.

    She then shouted in anger and disgust, ¡°What are you waiting for? Have at it then. Come on. Suck my blood and get it over with. Isn¡¯t this what you do to all the other humans? Kill them if they speak against you?¡±

    Caspian grabbed Anastasia by her shoulders. He looked down at her while emitting so much rage that she thought he would bite and kill her for real.

    Suddenly, Anastasia felt a gust of wind hitting her face. And almost simultaneously, she heard the loud sound of several doors getting mmed.

    Anastasia¡¯s legs were barely holding the ground when she was shouting at the ferocious vampire who could easily snap her like a twig.

    And when he left the chamber, she immediately tumbled to the ground.

    Martha and Holly came running to the room after a while. They were terrified when they saw their Queen lying on the floor, covered in tears and sweat, her hair disheveled, and her clothes torn.

    ¡°Your Majesty, are... are you okay?¡± Martha knelt down beside Anastasia and asked in a panicked whisper.

    Anastasia wiped her tears with the back of her palm and whispered an order, ¡°Take me back to my old chamber.¡±

 Chapter 61

    61 Back to Square One

    Anastasia¡¯s personal maids did as they were ordered.

    They took Anastasia back to the chamber that she had been assigned previously. They also gathered the few belongings that the Queen had brought with her from Orsenia. They left everything new that Caspian had gifted her back in Caspian¡¯s chamber.

    ¡°Your Majesty, is there anything else that we can do for you?¡± Holly asked the Queen who was lying down on the bed of her old chamber while facing the wall.

    Anastasia mumbled in a soft voice, ¡°Both of you are dismissed. Close the door behind.¡±

    ¡°When shall we bring the lunch? It¡¯s already past your lunch time,¡± Martha said in a concerned voice.

    After the sudden turn of events just a while ago, Anastasia didn¡¯t feel like putting a morsel in her mouth. So she politely denied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating. Leave me be.¡±

    The maids were concerned for Anastasia¡¯s health. However, they weren¡¯t that close enough to force the Queen into eating.

    So they bowed to their Queen and left her alone.

    Anastasia¡¯s tears had been rolling down her temple for a while now. They weren¡¯t taking the name of stopping. She was too deeply hurt not to cry.

    .....

    The pillow was wet because of her tears. But she didn¡¯t even have the energy or will to change it with another.

    She closed her eyes. She wanted to fall asleep so that she could forget everything that had happened today. And when she woke up from her sleep, she wanted this mess to get cleared up on its own.

    Anastasia was already feeling light-headed a while ago. So, she fell asleep in no time.

    ¡ª

    Anastasia got woken up by a loud knock on the door.

    She furrowed her brows and waited for whoever was on the other side of the door to leave on their own.

    However, the knocking didn¡¯t stop. She heard a worried voice of Martha from the other side, ¡°Your Majesty, we have brought dinner for you. Shall wee inside?¡±

    Anastasia was feeling hungry. She had skipped her lunch as well. But she was in no mood to chew and swallow food. It was too much work for her at the moment.

    So she turned on her bed to look at the door and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat. You two may rest for the night.¡±

    ¡°But, Your Majesty-¡±

    ¡°Please, Martha,¡± Anastasia abruptly cut off her maid¡¯s sentence and asked, ¡°I want to be left alone.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight, Your Majesty. Call us if you need anything.¡±

    Anastasia heard the maids walking away from her antechamber.

    She unfolded the nket and covered herself. And she closed her eyes again without caring to take off her tight gown.

    ¡ª

    Caspian returned to his chamber after having a long day.

    He was in a foul mood for the whole day. He had shown his anger to almost everyone who had the misfortune of crossing his path today.

    He didn¡¯t think much when he didn¡¯t find Anastasia in the chamber. He thought that she was in the only other ce where she could possibly be ¨C in the library.

    The servants helped him take a bath and change into his night robe.

    After dismissing everyone, hey down on his soft bed.

    Finally, his anger subsided to some extent.

    He waited for his wife toe to the chamber. And while he did so, he reflected back on his actions. He knew he was in the wrong. So he tried to busy himself by thinking of things to say to his wife to apologize to her.

    Almost an hour passed. But there was still no sign of Anastasia.

    He called Percy and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the Queen? Why isn¡¯t she here yet?¡±

    Percy gave a polite bow to the King and answered, ¡°I heard that the Queen wished to return to her old chamber. Her maids have shifted the Queen¡¯s belongings back to that chamber.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Caspian got instantly triggered again. He clenched his fist and ordered, ¡°Bring her here this instant. If she resists, tell her that it¡¯s an order from the King.¡±

    Percy bowed without saying a word and left for the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    After a while, Percy came back with the news, ¡°The Queen refused toe back here.¡±

    Caspian cackled in anger and ran his fingers through his blond hair. He gave an eerie smile and mumbled, ¡°Ah! She¡¯s testing my patience today.¡±

    Caspian got up to go there himself.

    However, Percy bowed to the King and dared to give advice to the angered King. ¡°Your Majesty, I think it would be better if you go and talk to Her Majesty when your anger subsides. The issue might only get bitter if you try to force her back now. Besides, I also heard from Her Majesty¡¯s maids that she skipped her lunch as well as dinner. She sounded too weak to me.¡±

    Caspianughed again and towered in front of Percy. And he said in a mocking tone, ¡°I see that the Queen has already managed to earn the loyalty of my men.¡±

    Percy was unfazed by the King. He had worked in the Kilerth castle for long enough and knew how to appease the King.

    Percy gave a polite bow and replied calmly, ¡°My loyalty lies with you, Your Majesty. I wouldn¡¯t want to see your rtionship with the Queen falling apart further because of something that you said in your anger. It is the only reason I am stopping you and nothing more.¡±

    Caspian was silent. He went into his deep thought.

    It seemed like Percy hit the right chords of the King¡¯s heart with his words.

    Caspian took a deep breath in and asked, ¡°She hasn¡¯t had any food?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Percy replied to the King.

    Caspian felt bad for what he did in the afternoon. He didn¡¯t like it when he heard that Anastasia wasn¡¯t eating. He knew she must have been deeply hurt by his words.

    He wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them as soon as possible. He wanted to go and see his wife. He wanted to ask for her forgiveness and feed her himself.

    But his emotions had been deceiving him today. It would flip in an instant. And he didn¡¯t want to repeat what had happened in the afternoon again.

    He knew that Percy was right. He needed to take control of his emotions before seeing Anastasia again.

    Caspian thought for a while and then ordered Percy, ¡°Ask the Queen¡¯s handmaid to take her dinner to her. She should be able to do that much, right?¡±

    Percy was pleased with the King¡¯s decision. He gave a bow again and said, ¡°Ti has recovered significantly, Your Majesty. I will order her this instant.¡±

    Caspian kept on standing there at the door for a while. He sighed and then closed the door.

    Hey down on the bed and got lost in his thoughts, ¡®She took her belongings as well? She shouldn¡¯t have gone that far. She could have kicked me out of this chamber instead. I would have stayed in the guest chamber until she decided to let me back in.¡¯

    Caspian caressed the empty side of the bed and whispered, ¡°She must be very mad at me.¡±

    ¡ª

    Anastasia was unable to fall asleep again. After all, she had spent half of her day sleeping.

    She heard a knock on the door again. She was about to dismiss whoever it was. But she heard the voice that she had missed.

    ¡°Your Highne- I mean... Your Majesty, may Ie in?¡±

 Chapter 62

    62 I Needed You

    Anastasia got up from the bed and ran to open the door.

    Ti was standing behind a food trolley. A vampire servant had helped her to bring it upstairs.

    Ti gave a sad smile to her friend who looked like a mess, and said, ¡°Long time no see, Anna.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and she pushed the trolley aside. She instantly pulled Ti in her embrace.

    ¡°Ti! I missed you. I needed you so much!¡± Anastasia felt like crying again now that she had found a shoulder to lean on.

    Ti hugged Anastasia back and replied while sniffling, ¡°I am here now. I¡¯m sorry that I took my time.¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t be.¡± Anastasia looked at her friend with teary eyes and pulled her inside the chamber.

    ¡°Whoa... why are you sitting in the dark? I will light thenterns first.¡± Ti went to the antechamber to fetch a burning candle.

    Ti pushed the trolley inside Anastasia¡¯s bedchamber while carrying a candle in one of her hands. She lit the room generously.

    .....

    And the two of them sat on the bed while facing each other.

    Ti then immediately scolded Anastasia, ¡°I wasn¡¯t here for a week and you already look so thin. And why are you skipping your meals? Do you want to fall sick and lie down in bed for a month? Why are you torturing your body like this?¡±

    Anastasia guiltily looked down. Streams of tears kept on rolling down her eyes.

    Ti didn¡¯t know the full story of what had happened but she guessed that it had something to do with the King. It hurt her to see her friend in that state.

    She wiped Anastasia¡¯s tears and gave her a pitiful nce. She wanted to ask what had happened but she wanted to feed the Queen first.

    She took a bowl of mushroom soup in her hand and extended a spoonful of soup in front of Anastasia¡¯s mouth. ¡°You should have something.¡±

    Anastasia looked at the soup and shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± she mumbled like a pampered child.

    Ti was as stubborn as Anastasia when it came to feeding her. She took the Queen on a guilt trip. ¡°Anna, I don¡¯t want you getting sick because I will be the one who has to tend to you. It will be hard on me since I haven¡¯t fully recovered yet.¡±

    Anastasia nced at Ti¡¯s neck. She wasn¡¯t wearing bandages anymore. So she could see the sewn puncture marks that were yet to fully heal.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee here. You should be resting,¡± Anastasia looked at Ti and said in a concerned voice.

    Ti put the spoon back in the bowl and stirred the soup while scolding Anastasia again, ¡°And whose fault is that, that I had toe here? If you had had your food then I wouldn¡¯t need to be here to force you into eating.¡±

    ¡°Here,¡± Ti offered another warm spoonful of soup and asked again, ¡°Drink it before it gets cold. I will have to warm it up again if you don¡¯t drink it soon.¡±

    Anastasia finally agreed to have the meal. She didn¡¯t do it because she wanted to eat; she did it because she didn¡¯t want to be a burden to Ti.

    Ti fed the whole bowl of soup and proceeded to feed Anastasia the rest of the food items as well. Anastasia cleared everything since she was starving, and also because Ti wouldn¡¯t let her get away without finishing everything.

    After finishing the dinner, Ti finally asked Anastasia, ¡°Tell me what happened? Did the King do something to you?¡±

    A few frown lines appeared on Anastasia¡¯s forehead. She nodded and replied, ¡°Everard had sent a letter to congratte me on my marriage. Caspian got jealous and things escted.¡±

    ¡°Escted?¡± Ti had been seeing the torn sleeve of the Queen¡¯s gown. And she asked in haste, ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything bad, did he? Did he try to force himself-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Anastasia tried pulling the torn sleeve up and said, ¡°I did this myself.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath in. She exined everything that Caspian had said to her and everything that she said to him in return.

    And she finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see his face anytime soon. So I asked Martha and Holly to shift my belongings back here.¡±

    The Queen suddenly felt a cold shiver in her heart. She nced at Ti and asked in a worried voice, ¡°Martha and Holly are fine, right? I hope they didn¡¯t get punished because of me.¡±

    Ti smiled and reassured her, ¡°They are fine. They are the ones who arranged the trolley for me.¡±

    Anastasia heaved a deep sigh of relief. She then nced at Ti and asked her, ¡°I did the right thing, yeah? By speaking up? I know that I should be trying to please him. But I couldn¡¯t keep quiet and take his insults.¡±

    Ti held Anastasia¡¯s hand and gave her a soft smile. She nodded her head and agreed with her friend, ¡°That was the right thing to do. You shouldn¡¯t let others step all over you, no matter who they are. I¡¯m sure the King will realize his mistake and will apologize to you.¡±

    Anastasia rested her head on her knees and mumbled, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t care if he apologizes or not. I don¡¯t care if he never wants to look back at me. I simply wish to spend my remaining months or year in peace. I don¡¯t care about the cure for my illness anymore. Honestly, I don¡¯t think there is one. I was just clinging onto a non-existent hope.¡±

    Ti couldn¡¯t say a word to console her friend. She had never believed that her friend¡¯s illness could be cured by some vampire. Several doctors, shamans, and experts had already checked Anastasia. And none of them could cure her. How would being loved by a vampire change anything?

    Ti shifted closer to Anastasia and caressed her hair. That was all she could do for her friend ¨C stay by her side.

    After a while, when Anastasia had calmed down a little, Ti helped her clean her face and change into her light andfortable bedgown.

    While Anastasia got on the bed, Ti prepared to take the trolley back to the kitchen and rest for the night.

    She then said while blowing thenterns, ¡°I am thinking of officially returning to your service from tomorrow. I will see you tomorrow then, Anna.¡±

    However, Anastasia turned to look at the handmaid and asked her, ¡°Ti, why don¡¯t you sleep here with me today? I don¡¯t want to be left alone.¡±

    Ti fidgeted her fingers and said, ¡°I am not allowed to-¡±

    ¡°If anyone asks, then say that it was an order from me. Come back after changing your dress,¡± Anastasia gave a pleading look to Ti.

    And Ti couldn¡¯t say no. ¡°Okay. I will be back soon.¡±

    A servant was waiting outside for Ti. He took the trolley from her and swooshed it away.

    ¡®I don¡¯t think I will ever get used to the vampires,¡¯ Ti thought to herself as she slowly headed downstairs.

    When she reached the main exit below, she got startled when she saw a silhouette of a man in the darkness.

    Caspian emerged from the shadows and asked her, ¡°How¡¯s the Queen? Did she eat?¡±

    Ti took a deep breath in and bowed. And she replied in a monotone, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. She had her dinner. She is resting now.¡±

    Caspian cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Is she... is she still angry with me?¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t know where she got her courage from. But she bluntly answered the King, ¡°She is bound to be angry when her husband said hurtful words to her. I wish you hadn¡¯t broken her spirit and her will to survive, Your Majesty.¡±

    Ti bowed to the King again while gritting her teeth and strode away from there.

    Caspian scoffed and mumbled, ¡°Even her handmaid is as feisty as her. I think I should ask Zenon to assign more duties to her from tomorrow. That¡¯s no way to speak to a King. She should know her ce.¡±

    He disheveled his hair in frustration and slowly climbed the stairs.

    While heading back to his empty bedchamber, he kept thinking back to Ti¡¯s words over and over again.

    ¡®I think I should give Anna some time to calm her anger down. I will talk to her when her anger towards me decreases to some extent.¡¯

    He had frown lines in between his brows as he reiterated Ti¡¯s words in his mind, ¡®Broken her spirit and her will to survive...¡¯

    For some reason, that particr sentence kept on bothering him.

    ¡®She isn¡¯t having suicidal thoughts, is she?¡¯

 Chapter 63

    63 Staying Apart

    The next morning, Anastasia woke up feeling a little lighter.

    She had stayed up until midnight while chatting with Ti. She had stayed apart from Ti just for a week, but she felt as though it had been a lifetime. So, talking with her brought back sce to her heart.

    They talked about their life in Orsenia, and how everything took a drastic turn after they came to Sorvando. And they promised to be there for each other in thisnd full of monsters.

    Anastasia turned to look at the side of the bed that Ti had used. But the side was empty.

    ¡°Ti? Where are you?¡± Anastasia called for her handmaid.

    Now that Ti had decided to return back to work, Anastasia expected Ti to be by her side at all times.

    ¡°I¡¯m preparing a bath for you.¡± Anastasia heard Ti¡¯s voiceing from the bathroom.

    Anastasia got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom.

    Ti helped the Queen take her bath. While Martha and Holly took charge of dressing her and doing her hair.

    .....

    While the personal maids were busy preparing the Queen for the day, Ti took the liberty to go to the kitchen so that she could tell the chef what Anastasia liked and what she disliked.

    Anastasia had thought that there would be some sh between her new maids and Ti regarding their duties. However, Ti adapted to the new work condition very smoothly. The coordination between the three of them was impable.

    Anastasia was d to see Ti getting along with Martha and Holly.

    ¡°Would you like to head to the library, Your Majesty?¡± Martha asked the Queen once Anastasia had had her breakfast.

    Anastasia shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I will skip visiting the library today.¡±

    Anastasia decided not to leave her chamber today since she didn¡¯t want to identally run into Caspian.

    Rather than going to the library, she asked Ti, ¡°Ti, I will give you a few names of the books that I have been wanting to read. Why don¡¯t you go along with Holly and grab them for me?¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Your Highn- Your Majesty,¡± Ti bowed to the Queen.

    Anastasiaughed at how Ti would almost always address her as the Princess.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh at me, Prin- my Queen. I am trying!¡± Ti emphasized as she left the room with Holly.

    As Ti had been addressing Anastasia as either ¡®Princess¡¯ or ¡®Your Highness¡¯ for most of her life, she was having a hard time adjusting to Anastasia¡¯s new title.

    After they brought the books from the library, the Queen sat down on the sofa of her antechamber and started a new book.

    ¡ª

    Caspian, on the other hand, was restless like never before.

    Before going to the throne hall in the morning, he walked by the corridor leading to Anastasia¡¯s chambers several times wishing that she would step out even if it was just for a second. He wasn¡¯t yet aware that his wife was intentionally trying to avoid him.

    He could barely focus while he was in the meeting with his ministers, councilmen, and advisor in the throne hall.

    After the meeting was over, he went to the library to see if she was there. However, the door of the library was locked.

    ¡®She must be in her chamber then,¡¯ he thought to himself and went to his study.

    After reaching there, he called Percy.

    And he asked the head of the servants, ¡°The Queen hasn¡¯t asked for me yet? Is she still angry at me?¡±

    Percy bowed and answered the distraught King, ¡°From what I heard from Her Majesty¡¯s maids, she has been busy reading her books in her chamber. She doesn¡¯t wish her study session to be disturbed by anyone.¡±

    Caspian disheveled his neatlybed hair in frustration and sternly said, ¡°Ah! You sly old man. You didn¡¯t answer both of my questions.¡±

    Percy politely bowed and suggested, ¡°I think Your Majesty should give Her Majesty some time.¡±

    Caspian frowned but nodded.

    ¡ª

    That day, Anastasia spent her entire day reading the book. Caspian spent the entire day thinking about his wife.

    The next day also passed in a simr fashion.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t leave her room. And Caspian didn¡¯te to see her either.

    For the maids, however, the day was a little different. They were also assigned other tasks besides waiting on the Queen.

    There were three of them now. So, Percy asked them to wait for the Queen in shifts.

    One of the maids was avable for Anastasia at all times. While the other two would do other chores of the castle when they weren¡¯t attending to the Queen.

    ¡ª

    Another day also passed by. It went by as normally as it could in a vampire¡¯s castle, except for the King and the Queen of course.

    Anastasia had still locked herself in her chambers.

    ¡°Are you sure Her Majesty will be okay if she stays in her chambers like this?¡± Martha worriedly asked Ti when they were helping the gardener.

    Ti gave a smile and nodded. And she replied reassuringly, ¡°She will be fine. She enjoys being outside when she can but she is not much of an outdoor person.¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t reveal that Anastasia wasn¡¯t an outdoor person because her body wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief then.¡± Martha then continued to clip the dry twigs.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, was in her antechamber. She had asked the sofa to be rearranged so that she could face the window as she read the books.

    She was sipping on tea and was lost in her imaginary world.

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t lying when she said that she could forget everyone and everything if she had some books with her.

    Apart from Ti, books were her onlypanion for almost her whole life. She would escape the bitter reality of her life by losing herself in the story. She would imagine herself as one of the characters of the novels. And she would experience love, adventure, sadness, happiness, and everything through them.

    For the past three days, she was so immersed in the story of a novel called ¡®The Journey to the Wild¡¯ that she forgot all of her problems.

    She forgot that she was in Sorvando, she forgot that she was married to a Vampire King, she forgot that she had a fight with him, and she forgot that her lifespan was getting shorter and shorter.

 Chapter 64

    64 Troubles and Revtions

    It was now the fourth day since Anastasia went back to her old chambers.

    Caspian was getting ready to head to the throne hall for the meeting even though he wasn¡¯t looking forward to it.

    He had called for Percy. And when he arrived at the dressing chamber, Caspian asked him sourly, ¡°Is she doing fine without my interference in her life?¡±

    Percy bowed and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would bepletely fine without their husband¡¯s presence.¡±

    Caspian raised his brows and asked, ¡°So, you¡¯re not going to ask me to give her some more time today? Am I finally allowed to see my wife? Has her anger finally subsided?¡±

    Percy wasn¡¯t an expert on women¡¯s behavior, but he tried his best to answer his King, ¡°In my opinion, the Queen should have calmed down by now. But as far as I know, Her Majesty has been reading non-stop. So I don¡¯t really know whether it¡¯s a good sign or bad. Why don¡¯t you ask Her Majesty yourself, my King?¡±

    Caspian frowned at the man and said, ¡°You¡¯re as sly as ever, Percy. After asking me to give her some time to calm her anger down, now you¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t know anything? Ugh!¡±

    Caspian walked out of his room, wishing he had barged into Anastasia¡¯s chamber sooner. Because now, he felt even guiltier for not apologizing to his wife for so many days.

    ¡®She has been reading non-stop, huh?¡¯ He recalled what Percy had said to him.

    .....

    He regretted showing the library to Anastasia. ¡®If she didn¡¯t have any books then maybe she would have been bored by now. Maybe she would have wanted to talk to me if she wasn¡¯t so upied.¡¯

    Caspian stood in front of the main door to Anastasia¡¯s chambers and knocked lightly.

    ¡°Who¡¯s it?¡± he heard her soft voice.

    Her voice felt like music to his ears since he heard it after what felt like a year to him.

    ¡°Anna, it¡¯s me. Can we talk?¡± he asked from outside the door.

    He was expecting his wife to invite him in, but he got his heart broken instead.

    ¡°I have nothing to talk about. Please, pretend that I don¡¯t exist. And I will do the same.¡±

    Caspian clenched his fist and stopped himself from barging in. But he asked again in a hurt voice, ¡°Why are you saying that, Anna? Please, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    However, there was no reply.

    ¡°Anna? Anna!¡± he mmed on the door and called her, but she didn¡¯t say a word.

    Caspian was alreadyte for his meeting. So he sighed and thought of checking on his wife after the meeting was over.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Your Majesty, should we send some men to reinvestigate this particr matter?¡± Zenon turned to look at the King.

    And he asked for the King¡¯s opinion, ¡°This particr woman disappeared from her home without any traces. Her parents said that she was badly injured so she couldn¡¯t have run that far. But no one found her. Maybe someone kidnapped her?¡±

    Caspian was leaning on the backrest of his throne and was lost in his own sorrow. ¡®Ah! How can she be so heartless?¡¯

    He was unable to ept that his wife, who had said that she would do anything to make him fall for her, would act so distant.

    His mind was filled with a lot of questions, ¡®Has she forgotten our bet? Does she not care if she dies? How can she stay locked up in her room? And more importantly, how can she ask me to pretend that she doesn¡¯t exist? Is she trying to test me or something?¡¯

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Zenon leaned a little closer to Caspian and tried to get his attention.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Caspian gave a clueless nce to his advisor.

    So Zenon exined the case they were discussing again and asked if they should send someone to Silver Keep for reinvestigation.

    Caspian casually waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother so much. If the council didn¡¯t find her then maybe she doesn¡¯t want to be found. She must have run away with her lover. Let her be.¡±

    Zenon gave a nod and moved on to the next case.

    But Caspian suddenly interrupted Zenon and asked everyone present in the hall. ¡°All of you... most of you have wives, right?¡±

    The vampires were confused by that question that the King asked out of the blue. But those who were married and whose wives were still alive and well nodded their heads.

    Caspian cleared his throat and then awkwardly asked, ¡°Give me a suggestion then. What should I...¡± He took a deep breath in and continued, ¡°What should I do to make my wife talk with me? She umm... she has been avoiding me for a few days now.¡±

    The ministers and councilmen were confused if they were to actually give suggestions or if they were supposed to wait for their King to start ranting.

    Zenon was barely holding in hisughter after seeing the looks on everyone¡¯s faces.

    Caspian was waiting for them to speak up. He kept on looking at the confused vampires, expecting some answers from them.

    Zenon cleared his throat and asked the confused vampire nobles, ¡°Well, you heard His Majesty. Why are all of you so silent?¡±

    ¡ª

    Caspian was in his study. He was thinking back to what a councilman had suggested, ¡®Gift her something that she likes...¡±

    ¡®I know she likes sweet food, but... I don¡¯t want to use the same tactic as that dead maid. She likes to read novels, but if I gift more books to her then I will be pushing her further away. And I don¡¯t really know what else she likes.¡¯

    He rested his chin on his palm and thought, ¡®Shall I ask Anna¡¯s handmaid?¡¯

    But he shook his head and dismissed that thought. ¡®I feel as if that maid hates me. She might give opposite suggestions to me, and Anna might hate me more than she already does.¡¯

    He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Zenon walked in with a piece of news, ¡°The spies who I sent to gather more information about Everard Crestfire returned today. Would you like to listen to the summary of their findings?¡±

    Caspian¡¯s eyes twinkled, and his ears perked up. He adjusted his position on the chair and eagerly looked at Zenon. ¡°Yes. I am all ears.¡±

    Zenon started with the piece of information which he thought the King wanted to hear the most. ¡°The Crown Prince had his first transformation on thest full moon. He is in Xanmar at the moment. But he will return to Lavinya soon.¡±

    ¡°By thest full moon, do you mean he transformed not more than a week ago?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. Just a week ago,¡± Zenon gave a nod.

    Caspian had a hint of relief dancing on his face after hearing that.

    He then thoughtfully rubbed his chin, ¡®Anastasia was already here in Sorvando when that wolf had his first transformation. Then I was worried for no reason. Even if he liked her, he didn¡¯t get the chance to mark her.¡¯

    Zenon could see that his King was lost again. So he asked, ¡°Shall I continue, or would you like me to stop for now?¡±

    ¡°You have the report given by the spy, right?¡± Caspian asked as he got up from his seat.

    Zenon nodded and asked the King, ¡°Yes, it is in my study. Shall I bring it to you?¡±

    Caspian tapped on his desk and agreed, ¡°Leave it here on my desk. I will look into itter.¡±

    Immediately after ordering his advisor, Caspian headed towards Anastasia¡¯s chamber.

    When Anastasia didn¡¯t talk to him for four days straight, Caspian was almost sure that he had made baseless usations against her. If she had some hidden agenda, then she would have tried to win him over already.

    However, he still had some doubts regarding the mark. He wasn¡¯t an expert on werewolf marks. But he wondered if Anastasia was marked by Everard without her knowledge.

    He didn¡¯t want his wife to be a werewolf¡¯s mate. And he definitely didn¡¯t want that werewolf toe and take her away from him.

    But now that he knew for sure that Everard wasn¡¯t even a werewolf when he had met Anastasia, all his doubts were cleared.

    He wanted to apologize to Anastasia for having hurt her feelings.

    Caspian stood in front of the main door to Anastasia¡¯s chamber. He knocked on the door and said authoritatively, ¡°Anastasia, we need to have a talk.¡±

 Chapter 65

    65 Puppy

    ¡°Anastasia, we need to have a talk,¡± Caspian wasn¡¯t asking this time, he was stating it before barging in.

    He pushed the door to Anastasia¡¯s chamber open. And before his wife could protest, he was standing in front of the window and facing her.

    Anastasia was lying down on the sofa. She was holding the book above her face as if she was deliberately hiding it from Caspian.

    ¡°I said I don¡¯t have anything to talk to you,¡± Anastasia mumbled without taking her eyes off the book that she was holding.

    Caspian took the book from Anastasia¡¯s hand so that he could see her face.

    ¡°Give it back!¡± Anastasia tried to reach for the book.

    However, Caspian slid it under the sofa. He then sat down on the sofa, trapping Anastasia in between him and the sofa¡¯s backrest so that she wouldn¡¯t be able to run away from him.

    Anastasiay back down and faced the backrest of the sofa to hide her face again. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

    Caspian held her arm and gently shook her. And he asked in a sad whisper, ¡°How long are you going to punish me, Anna?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Until I¡¯m dead,¡± Anastasia mumbled without missing a beat.

    ¡°How can you say such cruel words?¡± Caspian tried to make Anastasia face him.

    But she was adamant about not seeing his face.

    Caspian heaved a sigh and rested his back on the backrest while making sure that he wouldn¡¯t squeeze his wife.

    There was a silence between them for a while.

    After a while, Caspian started to speak in a low voice, ¡°Anna, we vampires aren¡¯t the only freaks of nature. There are other creatures out there who possess supernatural abilities like us.¡±

    Caspian badly wanted to share that her friend was a werewolf. However, she was but a human. And he didn¡¯t want to risk waging another inter-racial war just because he revealed the secret he was supposed to keep.

    So instead, he tried to clear the misunderstanding between them without revealing the secret. ¡°And please, believe me when I say this, I specifically asked you if your friend had ever bitten you because I suspected him to be one of those creatures.¡±

    Anastasia was listening to him, but she didn¡¯t show that she was curious to know more.

    Caspian leaned down and rested his chin on Anastasia¡¯s arm. ¡°Anna, I did not doubt your chastity. I was simply worried about you.¡±

    He gazed at his wife¡¯s face. She was still pretending to be asleep.

    So he gently caressed her lips and asked, desperate to hear his wife¡¯s voice, ¡°Wife, say something, will you?¡±

    Anastasia finally opened her eyes and looked at her husband¡¯s face which was very close to her. She was nning to avoid Caspian for the rest of her life, but with the way he was looking at her right now, she was unable to resist talking to him.

    ¡°Those creatures¡¯ bites are fatal to humans?¡± she asked, though that wasn¡¯t the first thing she wanted to know.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I was worried,¡± Caspian whispered. And he asked her in an apologetic voice, ¡°Will you forgive me now?¡±

    Anastasia disregarded his question and asked her own, ¡°Why did you suspect that Eve was one of those creatures? And what kind of creatures are you talking about?¡±

    Caspian straightened his back and looked out of the window. He thought for a while and answered, ¡°You remember how I smelled the letter, right?¡±

    ¡°You said it stunk,¡± Anastasia replied while gazing at his face.

    Caspian lightly nodded his head and said, ¡°It reminded me of the smell of those creatures. That¡¯s why I suspected that your friend was one of them. Those creatures ughtered us, vampires, in the past, so we don¡¯t speak of them anymore.¡±

    Caspian cleverly made sure that Anastasia wouldn¡¯t probe further and pushed that topic aside.

    And he instantly expressed how he had felt for the past four days, ¡°Anna, do you even know how much I missed you? I couldn¡¯t even focus on any of my work or any of the meetings. All I kept on thinking about was you and how to apologize to you.¡±

    He gazed at his wife¡¯s beautiful face and pleaded, ¡°Please don¡¯t push me any further. I don¡¯t think I can endure the indifference from you anymore.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s felt a pinch in her heart when she saw her husband¡¯s face. The expression on his face told her that he was being honest.

    She tugged her husband¡¯s shirt and pulled him close. She then put her arms around his waist and pressed him against her body.

    Caspian was more than happy to be resting his head on his wife¡¯s chest. He slid his arms under his wife¡¯s back and hugged her tightly.

    ¡°Does this mean you forgave me?¡± Caspian asked in a whisper.

    Anastasia ran her fingers through Caspian¡¯s blond hair and whispered back, ¡°How could I not forgive you when you were looking at me like a puppy?¡±

    Caspian burst into uncontrobleughter. He raised his head to look at his wife¡¯s face. And he asked her while chuckling, ¡°Did you just call the most dangerous man on thisnd a puppy? Are you sure that¡¯s how you see me?¡±

    Anastasia frowned and mumbled in her defense, ¡°You did look like a puppy a while ago.¡± And then she agreed to him as well, ¡°But yes, sometimes you look like you want to eat me. You¡¯re a veryplex man.¡±

    Caspian stoppedughing and thought to himself, ¡®I did want to taste your blood that day... badly. I felt something... something bad awaking inside of me. Which is why I can¡¯t afford to meet you with an empty stomach.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I scared you,¡± Caspian apologized, and pushed himself up with the help of his arms.

    He towered above his wife¡¯s face and whispered to her, ¡°I¡¯m not that hard to understand if you spend some more time with me.¡±

    He then asked her, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe back to our chamber? It feels so empty without you around.¡±

    Anastasia, however, pursed her lips and shook her head.

    Caspian furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Why? Are you still angry with me? Tell me, what can I do to make it up to you?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Anastasia raised her hand and yed with thece that was dangling down from Caspian¡¯s shirt.

    And she stated her reason, ¡°My maids aren¡¯t that used to being around you yet. And when I am there, our bathing routine and dressing routine also sh. We confuse our maids and servants. So I think it will be better if I stay here.¡±

    Caspian unintentionally gave that puppy-eyed look to Anastasia and asked, ¡°Then, can¡¯t we take our baths together? Our helpers will get used to our routine with time. Besides, that¡¯s not a valid reason for a husband and wife to stay in separate chambers.¡±

    Anastasia smiled after seeing his puppy gaze. But she was firm on what she said, ¡°Give my maids and me some time. We are humans in the world of vampires. We will need some time to get used to this ce... and also you.¡±

    It hurt Caspian when his wife said that she needed some time to get used to him.

    However, he didn¡¯t want to push his wife and make her feel ufortable.

    So he agreed, but with one condition, ¡°Then you¡¯re not allowed topletely avoid me as you did for the past four days. I cane here anytime I want, and you cane to my chambers whenever you please.¡±

    Anastasia gave a nod and said, ¡°Agreed.¡±

    Caspian rested his head back on his wife¡¯s chest and wrapped her in a hug. And he whispered with a sly smirk on his face, ¡°Then I am sleeping here tonight.¡±

 Chapter 66

    66 Say My Name

    After eating her dinner in her chamber as usual and changing into her bedgown, Anastasia was ready to retire for the night.

    ¡°I will have my dinner and will be back,¡± Ti said to the Queen as she picked up the trays in her hand.

    ¡°Okay, you can take your time,¡± Anastasia walked to her antechamber along with Ti so that she could pick up her book.

    Anastasia and Ti had been sleeping in the same chamber for the past few days just like they used to when they were in Orsenia. It was a bit different here though. There was only one bed here, so they slept together.

    The main reason why Ti had been apanying Anastasia was that thetter hadn¡¯t stopped getting nightmares.

    And Ti had been taking care of her friend even during the night. She would wake Anastasia up if she felt that Anastasia was having bad dreams. She would also make sure that Anastasia wouldn¡¯t be covered in sweat for too long if she got nightmares.

    Ti reached out her hand to open the main door. However, she was startled when someone pushed the door open.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Ti bowed when she saw the King. She then stepped aside to let the King enter the antechamber.

    Anastasia smiled slightly when she saw Caspian at the door. She asked him while picking up the book from the sofa, ¡°You are really going to sleep here tonight?¡±

    .....

    ¡°I don¡¯t lie.¡± Caspian walked towards Anastasia without losing his gaze from her.

    Ti turned around and gave a questioning nce to Anastasia.

    Caspian saw his wife looking at Ti, so he ordered the handmaid without even turning around, ¡°Ti, if your duty for tonight is over then you are dismissed.¡±

    Anastasia also gave a nod to Ti.

    Though Ti wasn¡¯t that fond of that King, it was not her ce to protest or speak anything against him. So she bowed to both of them and closed the main door after exiting the antechamber.

    Caspian looked at the book in Anastasia¡¯s hand. He couldn¡¯t help but get repulsed by the sight of it.

    He held out his palm, and the book got pulled on its own. He narrowed his eyes at the book and ¡®scolded¡¯ it, ¡°My wife chose to ignore me because she had you. Now I am back. So your service is no longer required.¡±

    He swiftly tossed the book back on the sofa.

    And Anastasia couldn¡¯t help butugh at her husband. She pointed at the book and teased her husband, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are jealous of this book!¡±

    Caspian stood right in front of his wife. He put his hands on her waist and gazed at her cheerful face.

    And he whispered in his seductive voice, ¡°It kept you away from me, didn¡¯t it? Obviously, I am jealous. It¡¯s mypetition. I will have to be far more entertaining than that book to win you over now.¡±

    His voice enchanted Anastasia¡¯s mind and heart right away. She put her arms around his neck and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so jealous. It can¡¯t sleep beside me and keep me away from my nightmares.¡±

    ¡°You were having nightmares again?¡± Caspian looked worried all of a sudden.

    Anastasia nodded her head.

    Caspian pressed her tiny frame against his body and said with a little frown, ¡°Then you should havee to our chamber. You didn¡¯t have to sleep here alone and torture yourself.¡±

    Anastasia looked up at her husband and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep alone. Ti slept with me, and she took good care of-¡±

    ¡°What? You slept with Ti?¡± Caspian raised his brows at Anastasia.

    Anastasia chuckled and mocked her husband, ¡°Oh, now you are jealous of Ti as well.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes at his wife and spoke yfully, ¡°You cheater! How could you?¡±

    He lightly grazed Anastasia¡¯s cheek with his teeth and said in an using tone, ¡°You were sleeping with your handmaid here when I was sleeping there alone in our bed?¡±

    Anastasia also yfully narrowed her eyes at Caspian. And she asked as if she was challenging him, ¡°Yes, I slept with my handmaid. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    Caspian leaned down and nipped Anastasia on her neck. He then whispered in her ear, ¡°I¡¯m going to punish you, of course. You¡¯re not allowed toy down on the same bed with anyone except me.¡±

    He then caressed her back. His hands kept on moving further and further down to her hips.

    Anastasia bit her lower lip and tried to control herself from falling right into her husband¡¯s trap.

    However, that proved to be difficult when Caspian leaned down and sucked the hollow of her neck.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Anastasia lifted herself on her toes as the tingling sensation overtook her body. She was shot off-bnce just with that one kiss on her neck. And she had to grab Caspian¡¯s shirt to hold herself in ce.

    That soft moan of hers felt like music to Caspian¡¯s ear. The way she grabbed his shirt was enough as a signal for him to keep on going.

    Caspian lifted his head from her neck and gazed at her luscious lips. He instantly felt like kissing her vigorously, biting her lips, and drawing in that sweet taste of her.

    However, he was going to take it real slow, he wanted to make his wife want more. He asked her in a ragged whisper, ¡°Do you want to know how much I missed your lips?¡±

    Anastasia was so hypnotized by his gaze and his voice that she nodded her head without even realizing it.

    Caspian gave a whimsical smirk to his wife. He leaned closer to her lips and whispered again, ¡°Oh, I wanted to kiss you so bad. Worship every nook and crannies of your body with my lips and my eyes. And make you moan my name.¡±

    He suddenly squeezed her hips and took her by surprise.

    ¡°Caspian!¡± she held his wrist and tried to move his hand up from her hips to her waist.

    But Caspian squeezed those hips even harder and made her flinch.

    ¡°Caspian! Wait!¡± Anastasia curled her toes as a wave of sparks coursed through her body.

    ¡°Yes, say my name.¡± Caspian had a satisfied smirk dancing on his lips. He kept on massaging her hips and pressed her body against his as if there was any space left in between them at all.

    Anastasia grabbed his cor with one of her hands while the other kept on holding his wrist. And she asked in an exasperated whisper, ¡°Oh, Caspian! What... are you... doing?¡±

    Caspian pressed his cheek against her face. He felt her burning like never before. He liked the warmth she was giving off. He smiled and whispered to her, ¡°I¡¯m doing exactly what I said I would do. I¡¯m punishing you, dear wife.¡±

    His cool breath caressed Anastasia¡¯s neck, making her shiver in excitement and anticipation.

    He looked at her face again, his eyes worshiped the demanding look in her eyes, and he inched closer to her lips. He ever so softly brushed his lips against hers, his cold breath mingled with her hot one.

    Anastasia parted her lips slightly, her fuller lips waiting to be blessed with her husband¡¯s taste. She drew in her breath through her mouth and gulped to moisten her parched throat. She waited in anticipation to get swept by the heavenly taste of her husband¡¯s mouth.

    However, Caspian brushed his lips on hers again and teased her, instead of kissing her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anastasia nced at his lips and then at his blood-red eyes.

    Caspian put a little gap in between their faces. His eyes were filled with desire greater than hers. But he was making her wait in the name of punishing her when in reality, he was punishing himself as well.

    The anticipation was killing Anastasia. Every part of her body was telling her to go for the kiss, to pull her husband and pry his mouth open.

    So she pushed her heels up and softly stroked her husband¡¯s lips with her own. A wave of warmth ran in her mouth. She went in for more and pressed the tip of her tongue against his lips.

    But Caspian wasn¡¯t done punishing her. He wanted to make her beg for it.

    He pulled his lips away from her, and he asked, ¡°Tell me, wife, how badly do you want to kiss me?¡±

 Chapter 67

    67 Your Eyes

    ¡°Very badly,¡± Anastasia answered with a bated breath.

    Caspian gazed at her lips and smirked, satisfied by her answer, as well as the desire that he saw in her face and heard in her voice.

    He lightly brushed his lips against hers again, and he ordered in his low and deep voice, ¡°Say it again, wife. Show me how much you desire me.¡±

    Anastasia could feel his words reverberating on her lips and flowing into her body, giving goosebumps. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck even tighter and pulled him down.

    A fervent desire took over her mind and body. She gazed at her husband¡¯s lips and asked, ¡°I want to kiss you and taste you, Caspian. Please, allow me.¡±

    Caspian pecked on the top of her nose, deliberately avoided her lips, and then bent towards her ear. He could see her ear already flushed with blood. He teasingly bit her ear lobe, and he whispered raggedly, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. You should beg some more.¡±

    Caspian slowly slid his hand from her hips to her waist, feeling the curves of her body. He made her turn around with a swift motion of his hands. And he gently pressed her against the backrest of the sofa.

    He tightly pressed his body in alignment with hers, his manhood got nudged against her hips.

    ¡°Mmh...¡± the softest moan escaped her mouth when she felt something hard.

    .....

    Anastasia drew in a sharp breath. She was greatly embarrassed when she understood what part of her husband was touching her hips. Though it was from above her gown, and though she was fully clothed, she felt like she waspletely naked in front of her husband.

    Caspian made her lean down on the backrest of the sofa by putting his body weight on her back. He nibbled her ear, and he whispered bewitchingly, ¡°If you beg some more then I might even give you the greatest pleasure you could ever desire.¡±

    ¡°I just... want a kiss,¡± Anastasia breathlessly whispered back and tried to turn around to face her husband.

    However, Caspian¡¯s heavy body was still pressing her. She was trapped between her husband and the sofa with no possible way to escape or even make the slightest movement.

    She felt her husband¡¯s cold hands freely roaming around her back. They slowly made their way to her stomach. And then they traveled further up to her breasts.

    ¡°Cas... aaahh...¡± She was about to protest, but she abruptly felt her husband squeezing and massaging her breasts.

    ¡°Mmh... so...¡± she arched her back and rested her nape on her husband¡¯s shoulder. She turned her head and whispered on his cheek, ¡°...is this your way of p-punishing me?¡±

    Caspian squeezed her even harder and agreed in his husky voice, ¡°Damn right! This is your punishment for avoiding me... and driving me insane by asking me to pretend that you don¡¯t exist. Do you still want me to pretend that you don¡¯t exist?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Anastasia replied in an aroused whimper.

    She closed her eyes and let him ¡®punish¡¯ her because even the punishment was pleasurable.

    ¡°Hnngh!¡± Anastasia flinched when Caspian unexpectedly pinched her hard nipples and rolled them.

    Her heart started drumming inside her chest like never before. She had never experienced this kind of pleasure until now. She felt as if something heavenly exploded in her chest, and the sparks shot down to her navel and everywhere else.

    Caspian gently rubbed his body against his wife¡¯s body. He never stopped massaging her breasts while he kissed and nibbled vigorously on her neck and shoulder.

    ¡°Nngh... Caspian... what...¡± Anastasia crossed her legs, and her body shuddered as the wave of pleasure hit her in ces she never imagined.

    She unintentionally mmed her back against her husband¡¯s chest. She felt as if her husband was controlling her body with the little tricks that he was doing with his hands and mouth.

    ¡°What are you-¡± she whimpered again but couldn¡¯t evenplete the sentence.

    Caspian squeezed Anastasia¡¯s cheeks with his palm and turned her head to the side. He pinched her chin and kept on gazing at her, contemting whether or not to go for her lips.

    He wanted to deprive her of what she wanted since he had been deprived of what he wanted for the past four days.

    However, he couldn¡¯t resist his urge anymore. And the urge grew ten folds when he gazed at her puckered lips.

    Caspian finally let go of the idea of simply teasing his wife and going to sleep. He closed his eyes and stroked his lips against hers. He felt as if his heart exploded with immense satisfaction as her soft and wet lips burned against his lips.

    ¡°Mmph...¡± Anastasia moaned in his mouth, she let him in without resisting for a second. Caspian¡¯s tongue encroached her mouth, his taste flowed in hers like a wave of a tsunami.

    Caspian made her turn around again. He tightened his grip on her waist, pulled her closer than she already was, and pushed himself in. He grabbed her hair and gently tugged her head backward.

    ¡°Aah!¡± she opened her mouth.

    And Caspian dove in again. He appreciated how his wife weed the thrusting of his tongue and even reciprocated it.

    ¡®She is a quick learner,¡¯ he thought to himself while he savored the sweet and intoxicating taste of his wife.

    Their lips moved against each other in great harmony, their body exploded with pleasure, and their heart filled with an even greater desire. They both wanted more.

    The searing mes of desire coursed through Caspian¡¯s body. He swiftly picked Anastasia in his arms. He wanted to take her to the bedchamber.

    However, the moment he took a few steps, he felt it again ¨C the paralyzing urge to sink his fangs into his wife¡¯s neck. The feeling he wished that never returned came knocking on his head.

    ¡°Argh!¡± He struggled to keep holding his wife without hurting her. He felt his fangs tearing his gums and protruding out.

    ¡°Caspian?¡± Anastasia saw him closing his eyes and tightly shutting his lips. She didn¡¯t need to guess what was happening to him. She was now afraid as well as concerned, afraid that he would bite her, and concerned that he seemed to be in great pain.

    Caspian¡¯s breathing got heavier than before. All he could hear was her little heart pumping the blood. He opened his eyes, and all he could see was her inviting slender neck.

    He didn¡¯t want to suck her dry like his other victims. But he did feel this need to sink his fangs into her skin and get a slight taste of her blood.

    ¡°Caspian!¡± He suddenly heard his wife shouting at him and snapped out of his daze. He felt her soft and warm hands cupping his cheeks, and instead of fear, he saw a hint of concern and appreciation in her eyes.

    Anastasia gave him a soft smile and whispered, ¡°Caspian, your eyes... they...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He hurriedly put his wife down, and he asked her in an apologetic tone, ¡°Are you not scared? I must look like a hideous monster at the moment.¡±

    Anastasia curiously touched one of his fangs. She shook her head and calmly replied, ¡°You did not bite me, did you? And why should I be scared? You look so beautiful. Your grey eyes suit you so much.¡±

    ¡°Grey?¡± Caspian shot a quizzical nce at Anastasia as if she had just said something very absurd.

    Anastasia smiled and nodded, ¡°They look beautiful.¡±

    Caspian instantly rushed inside the bedchamber. He stood in front of the mirror with a stunned expression on his face.

    His eyes... were indeed grey. And he mumbled in an utterly shocked voice, ¡°How is this even possible?¡±

 Chapter 68

    68 New Discoveries

    Caspian caressed his under-eye in a shocked manner. He knitted his brows in tune and kept on gazing at his grey irises.

    ¡®What is wrong with my eyes? Am I losing my vision or something?¡¯

    He looked out of the window to check his vision. However, there was nothing wrong. He could still see as clear and as far as his red eyes.

    He turned to see his eyes in the mirror again.

    ¡°Why do you look so shocked? Grey eyes aren¡¯t a good thing for vampires?¡± Anastasia stood behind Caspian and asked him with a hint of worry in her voice.

    Caspian was as clueless as Anastasia. He had never heard of any vampires whose eye color changed like this. And he definitely hadn¡¯t seen his eyes changing colors before this, even when he was more than four centuries old now.

    Caspian blinked his eyes rapidly, and he mumbled to his wife, ¡°I have not a single clue.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go and see a doctor... a vampire doctor?¡± Anastasia asked while furrowing her brows.

    Caspian replied while rubbing both of his eyes, ¡°There isn¡¯t such thing as a vampire doctor. We heal on our own, so there¡¯s no need for a doctor.¡±

    .....

    He opened his eyes and nced in the mirror again. The grey color of his irises finally reverted back to its original blood-red color.

    ¡°They¡¯re red again!¡± Anastasia eximed in relief.

    Caspian also let out a sigh of relief. ¡°They are...¡±

    He turned to face his wife. She still looked a little worried for him, which he greatly appreciated. He wrapped her in his embrace and whispered, ¡°Thank you for worrying about me. But I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing serious.¡±

    Anastasia put her arms around his back, and lightly stroked him. ¡°I sure hope so.¡±

    Caspian pulled away from the hug to look at his wife¡¯s face. He pinched her chin and leaned for a soft peck on her lips. He then apologized to her, ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for spoiling the mood.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She pointed her brows towards the bed and said, ¡°I think we should rest for the night.¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡± Caspian swiftly lifted his wife off the floor and headed for the bed.

    He gently ced her down. Then he proceeded to unfold the nket and tuck his wife in.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you change into your robe?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian, who was still in his shirt and trousers.

    Caspian gave a yful grin to his wife and asked, ¡°Do I need to put my robe on when I am sleeping with my wife?¡±

    Anastasia narrowed her eyes at Caspian. She recalled how he had done the same once before. She instantly turned to face the window and covered her face with the nket.

    Caspian expected her to shout at him. He thought that she would either chase him back to his chamber, or she would make him change into his robe and return.

    However, unlike what he had thought, he heard Anastasia speaking in a muffled voice, ¡°Blow off thenterns and candles before you strip down, my shameless husband.¡±

    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s some progress!¡± Caspian chuckled and teased her.

    But before she would change her mind, he blew off all the light sources in a blink. He took off all of his clothes and jumped on the bed.

    He pulled the nket up and snuggled beside his wife. However, he instantly wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°Ugh! This bed reeks of your handmaid¡¯s smell.¡±

    ¡°She smells nice!¡± Anastasia defended her handmaid.

    To which, Caspian agreed. ¡°Yes, she does. But I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    He then rested on his back and wriggled side to side.

    ¡°What are you doing? Stop it!¡± Anastasia slightly turned her head to the side and scolded her husband for being a nuisance.

    Caspian answered while still rubbing his back on the bed, ¡°I am getting rid of her scent by rubbing my own.¡±

    And he shouted as if he was talking to the lingering smell of Ti, ¡°Get out of my wife¡¯s bed! This side of the bed belongs to me!¡±

    Anastasia heaved a sigh and left her husband to whatever he was doing.

    Caspian finally stopped wriggling like a worm. He shifted closer to his wife, and he spooned with her. He entangled his fingers with hers and closed his eyes to get the rest.

    ¡°Goodnight, Anna,¡± he said with a smile on his face.

    Anastasia tightened her grip on her husband¡¯s hand and greeted back, ¡°Goodnight, Caspian.¡±

    ¡ª

    Ti woke up early in the morning as usual.

    It wasn¡¯t time to wake the Queen yet. Also, Martha was the one with the morning shift today. So she went to see Percy to ask if there was any task that he would assign to her.

    Percy was in themon room of the servants as usual. This room was near the servants¡¯ quarters. Here, the maids and servants could gather and socialize. This was also where Percy would assign the daily tasks to the maids and servants.

    ¡°Ti, you¡¯re early!¡± he said when he saw Ti in the room.

    Ti gave a respectful bow, and asked, ¡°Is there anything that I can help you with?¡±

    Percy looked through the parchment that he was holding. And he asked, ¡°Yes, why don¡¯t you take a few human maids with you and clean the ground floor of the central wing?¡±

    He sighed and muttered, ¡°The vampires do the job way too fast and leave several spots. They won¡¯t listen no matter how many times I tell them to clean slowly.¡±

    Ti smiled and bowed again, ¡°I will make sure to clean all the spots.¡±

    As Percy had ordered, Ti took Holly and three other maids with her to do the cleaning. They carried a half-filled bucket and a mop each and then headed towards the central wing.

    They all spread out and began to clean the stone floors. Side-by-side, they were also dusting the corners of pirs, doors, and windows, where dust had settled down.

    While moping one of the corners of the building, Ti came across a very old-looking ck wooden door. It had a huge lock as well as a heavy iron knocker on it. The door had gathered some dust on it, so Ti pulled a piece of cloth from her apron¡¯s pocket to dust the door.

    As she was dusting, the door creaked open on its own.

    ¡®It wasn¡¯t locked, or did I just break this door?¡¯ Ti examined the lock to find that it wasn¡¯t fastened properly.

    She slowly peeked through the gap of the door and discovered a flight of stairs, which by the way, looked as if they hadn¡¯t been cleaned in centuries. The corners of the stairs had gathered an iprehensible amount of dust.

    ¡°Whoa! Did no one ever clean this ce? Where does it lead? Is it an abandoned basement or store or something like that?¡± she asked herself.

    She looked around to see if she could find anyone whom she could ask those questions to.

    However, there was no one around who could give her the answers. So she decided to clean the stairs, as well as whatever was down below.

    ¡®I will report it to Mr. Percyter,¡¯ she thought to herself. She then picked up the bucket and the mop.

    And she pushed the door further open and stepped inside the dark stairs.

 Chapter 69

    69 The Dark Dungeon

    ¡®Ugh! The corners of these stairs have piles of dust. They never cleaned this ce, did they?¡¯ Ti was rambling in her mind as she scrubbed the corners with extra force.

    She was slowly climbing downstairs while cleaning one stair at a time.

    When she reached the end of the stairs, she had thought that she would reach a room. However, with the help of the dim light that came in through the door that she had left open, she could tell that she was standing in a corridor and not a room.

    ¡®Umm... I should have brought antern with me,¡¯ she thought to herself as she squinted her eyes and tried to make sense of what this ce was.

    She got an unsettling feeling in her heart as she took some more steps. ¡®Er... I think I should clean this ce upter. I can¡¯t clean properly without seeing anyth-¡®

    Ti drew in a sharp breath, and she sped the mop and the bucket tightly when she suddenly heard a nking noise.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Ti turned to face the dark area from where she heard the noise.

    However, instead of getting an answer, she heard some more rattling noises.

    Ti slowly started to step back while threatening whoever was trying to scare her, ¡°I am t-the handmaid of t-the Queen. If you d-dare to do anything stupid to me then, you¡¯ll f-face the consequences.¡±

    .....

    Ti inhaled sharply again when her back was pressed against some cold iron rods. She quickly turned around and tried to see past the iron bars that were right up her face.

    She faintly saw something moving behind the bars. She wanted to run away that instant. However, before she could act, something suddenly grabbed her leg and startled her to her core.

    ¡°Haahhhh!¡± Ti screamed, dropped the bucket, and randomly moved the stick of the mop to scare off whatever was grabbing her. ¡°Leave me! Leave!¡±

    However, she stopped trying to beat and poke the owner of the hand when she suddenly heard a frail voice of a woman, ¡°Please don¡¯t shout. I just want to ask you a favor.¡±

    Ti finally stopped screaming. She covered her mouth with her shaky palm and took a moment to calm her breath.

    She crouched down, or rather, she dropped down because her shaken knees couldn¡¯t hold on anymore. She looked behind the bars and she could finally see a silhouette of a woman.

    The woman took the chance to hold Ti¡¯s hand and she whispered cautiously, ¡°I see that you don¡¯t have red eyes. So I am assuming that you are a human.¡±

    Ti also replied in a whisper, ¡°Yes, I am a human. And... so are you?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± that woman gulped and shifted closer to the bars. And she asked in a desperate whisper, ¡°Listen, I have a 5-year-old daughter, Daisy Wilson. Please tell her that her mother is sorry. Please tell her that I loved her.¡±

    Ti already had several thoughts running in her mind when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she slowly started to see silhouettes of other humans far in the corners.

    Some humans were chained to the walls, some were crouching down on the floor, some were sleeping, while some were swaying back and forth as if they had already lost their sanity.

    Ti could finally tell that she was not in some basement, but this was a dungeon. And she was looking at the prison cells.

    Ti gulped in fear and asked that woman who was still grabbing her hand, ¡°What is this ce? Why are all of you locked up here?¡±

    That woman suddenly shouted, ¡°Can¡¯t you see? We are the damned food for those red eyes! They are going to devour us all! We will all die.¡±

    She gripped Ti¡¯s hand even tightly, pressed her face in between the bars, and red at Ti. And she gave a piece of advice to Ti with a shaken breath, ¡°You also better run from here before they lock you up as well.¡±

    Ti was stunned when that woman confirmed the fear in her mind. She always had a question as to how all these vampires survived, and where they would get their daily share of blood from. Finally, all of her questions were answered.

    ¡®They are keeping all these humans as pigs waiting to be ughtered,¡¯ Ti thought to herself as she shivered in fear.

    ¡°Run from here. And find my daughter. My home is in Silver Keep. My daughter must be all alone and scared. Please, tell her I love her! Please, please, please...¡± that woman whimpered and pleaded to Ti.

    Ti felt nauseous after realizing how these vampires were treating the poor humans ¨C locking them up in the dark and cold dungeon and making them wait for their death.

    Ti hurriedly pulled her hand away from that woman and got up. She rummaged her hands on the bars. She found a huge lock on the door. She tried pulling it to see if that would alsoe off, however, it did not.

    She held the bars and thought hard about what she could do to help all the humans here. ¡®If I tell Anastasia everything that¡¯s going on down here, she might be able to do something, right? Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡¯

    She crouched back down and consolingly patted that woman¡¯s hand. And she whispered to her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will try to find some solutions, and I will try to set you all free. Then you can tell your daughter on your own, tell her how much you love her.¡±

    Out of the blue, a burst of maniacalughter filled the dungeon.

    Ti was barely hanging on thest bit of her courage here by staying inside the dungeon that was probably meant to be a secret from all the humans residing in the castle. And that loud cackle from one of the prisoners wasn¡¯t helpful at all.

    ¡°Shhh... keep it down, please! The vampires might hear you! I am trying to help you here,¡± Ti asked in a panicked whisper.

    However, that woman who was chained in the same cell as the pleading woman spoke monotonously, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re acting to be so brave, but you cannot help us escape this hell. There is only one way to escape from here, and that is death.¡±

    The pleading woman crawled closer to the chained woman and tried to make her shut up, ¡°But there¡¯s no harm in trying! Let her try. She might be able to sneak us out!¡±

    The chained woman grabbed that pleading woman by her hair, mmed her down on the ground, and made her cry in pain and bleed.

    Ti watched everything unfold in horror. She wanted to stop them from fighting each other. However, they were at the far corner of the cell.

    The chained woman then aggressively whispered at that wailing and wounded woman, ¡°We cannot sneak out of here unless we can run faster than those vampires.¡±

    She spat on that wounded woman and pushed her away. She gave an angry re to Ti and scolded her, ¡°And you, don¡¯t give hope to these pathetic fools when your own life is in danger, you wretched little bitch!¡±

    After she said that, her gaze shifted behind Ti. She started to chuckle, and that chuckle slowly turned into a maniacal cackle.

    Ti, on the other hand, was still crouching down. However, her body was trembling in fear. She could sense someone standing behind her. And from the way that womanughed at her, she was sure that it wasn¡¯t another human maid.

    Ti felt her heart drop when she heard a deep voice from right behind her.

    ¡°May I know what you are doing here, little kitten?¡±

 Chapter 70

    70 Feisty One

    Ti was frozen in ce upon hearing that chillingly calm voice.

    All the other human prisoners also cowered in the corners of their cells in fear. Nobody dared to make a single noise, afraid that they would be taken away from their cells.

    Ti knew that she was caught in the act which she wasn¡¯t supposed to do. So she was scared that the vampire behind her would do something to her. ¡®Oh, dear lord! Please save me.¡¯

    She gripped her gown and tried to think of a way to run from there.

    Her eyes fell on the mop that was lying on the floor near her feet. She slowly moved her hand to grab that mop as a way to defend herself if that vampire behind her tried to do anything funny.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did the cat get your tongue?¡± that vampire leaned close to her ear and whispered, ¡°I am asking you a question. What are you doing here in the dungeon, Ti?¡±

    ¡®Lord Vincent?¡¯ Ti finally recognized the voice when he took her name.

    She leaned her shoulder away from Vincent and took a peek at his face. When she reconfirmed that it was him, she gave a subtle bow and answered, ¡°I was cleaning the stairs and the corridors here. I will finish it in no time and head out.¡±

    Vincent narrowed her eyes at Ti and then pointed to the wet floor. And he asked her, ¡°I am no expert in cleaning but, I know that the floor isn¡¯t supposed to be flooded with water like that.¡±

    .....

    He brought his face dangerously closer to her, his blood-red eyes red down at her when he used her of nning something, ¡°Were you really cleaning here? Or were you probably offering hollow hope to our blood stocks here? Say, by saying that you would miraculously try to save them somehow.¡±

    It dawned upon Ti that Vincent had been listening in to her conversation with the prisoners. So she immediately went into the defensive mode.

    She asked him while slightly shivering in fear, ¡°Milord, if you let me walk out of here unharmed then we can pretend that none of this ever happened. I would have nevere down here if I knew that this was a dungeon. But now that I know, I will never set my foot inside here again. So please...¡±

    They suddenly heard a soft chuckle from that chained woman when Ti said that.

    Ti knew that everyone was probably thinking of her as an opportunist woman who was just trying to save her own arse, now that she was in real danger.

    However, she didn¡¯t care unless she could somehow escape from the predicament she was in at the moment. She could then carry out her original n of telling everything to Anastasia and saving all the humans who were imprisoned here.

    However, Vincent wasn¡¯t someone who could be easily swayed by some hollow words.

    He gave an evil smirk to Ti. And he whispered to her in a threatening voice, ¡°Do you think that I would trust your words at face value and let you step your foot out of that door? Do you take me as a fool who would let you walk out with the secret that you¡¯re carrying?¡±

    Ti was now shivering greatly. She couldn¡¯t believe that he, out of all the vampires, could look this scary. He had apanied her at the wedding ball of her friend. He seemed like a nice man at that time.

    But looking at him now, she believed that he was simply putting on an act that day.

    Right now, she could see her death ring down at her. And yet, she daringly red back at Vincent, and subtly warned him, ¡°If you try to do anything to me then the Queen will definitely punish you, milord. So, it would be better for you if you leave me alone.¡±

    Vincent chuckled at that na?ve maid. He lightly pinched her chin, and then asked in a chilling tone, ¡°Oh, dear! Do you think that I wouldn¡¯t hurt you just because you are the Queen¡¯s handmaid? If you¡¯re thinking that then I hate to burst your bubble.¡±

    Vincent trailed his hand from her chin to her neck. He touched her bulging veins and muttered, ¡°You are the Queen¡¯s handmaid, not the Queen herself.¡±

    Ti closed her eyes in fear when she felt his cold fingertips on her neck. Her own fingertips were touching the mop. However, she didn¡¯t have the courage to use it. What was she going to do with it? Tickle that vampire?

    Vincent, on the other hand, kept on threatening her, ¡°I can put you behind the bars right now and nobody would know where you disappeared to. And you know what? The next time I visit this dungeon, I might as well choose you as my next meal.¡±

    He leaned close to her ear. His cold lips happened to brush against her ear when he whispered, ¡°I bet you are delicious, little kitten.¡±

    Something ignited inside Ti when he said that he was going to imprison her and then eat her. That was her will to live for another day. She didn¡¯t want to die at the hand of a vampire and be his food.

    In the heat of the moment, Ti grabbed the mop and mmed it on Vincent¡¯s head with great force.

    The stick simply broke into half.

    There was no reaction from Vincent except blinking and looking at Ti with a confused expression on his face.

    Ti wasted no time. She dug that broke half of the stick that was still in her hand right into Vincent¡¯s neck.

    That elicited some reaction from him since the wood pierced his neck deeply. ¡°Argh! What the hell?¡± he snarled at Ti.

    However, before he could do anything to her, Ti screamed from her gut and head-butted Vincent.

    ¡°Aahhh!¡± Vincent covered his nose with his palm and toppled backward.

    Taking that opportunity, Ti ran toward the door. She ran so fast that if she took part in a race then she would have definitely won a gold medal.

    Vincent saw her running for her life and couldn¡¯t help butugh. He wiped his blood from his nose, and then pulled out the stake from his neck.

    ¡°Mmh!¡± He touched the hole in his neck and thought, ¡®Caspian was right. This one is feisty.¡¯

    Vincent picked himself up from the floor. He headed for the stairs while continuing tough.

    He stepped out of the dungeon¡¯s door and looked around. Ti was nowhere in sight.

    ¡°Now, where did that kitten go?¡± He sighed because he could only think of one ce where she could probably take refuge in.

    Hezily slouched and mumbled to himself, ¡°No... I am definitely not going to face the Queen. I don¡¯t want to get pped by another shoe. I already bled enough for today.¡±

    Vincent heard a familiar gush of wind. He turned around to see Zenon.

    He folded his arms and made a snarky remark, ¡°And now youe!¡±

    Zenon nced at Vincent¡¯s bloodied nose and neck. He furrowed his brows and asked Vincent in an annoyed voice, ¡°What were you doing in there? I got aint. Were you the one who was causing amotion down in the dungeon? Don¡¯t tell me you tried to fight someone in there.¡±

    Zenon narrowed his eyes at Vincent and asked in an using tone, ¡°Or worse, don¡¯t tell me you tried to steal a human.¡±

 Chapter 71

    71 me Game

    ¡°Hey, do you take me for a thief?¡± Vincent yelled back at Zenon for using him like that. ¡°Don¡¯t think so lowly of me, you arse! And why the hell would I try to fight some weak creatures? They would die from a punch of mine.¡±

    Zenon nonchntly pointed his finger at Vincent¡¯s neck and asked, ¡°Then how do you exin the blood on you?¡±

    Vincent sneered and tried to wipe the dried blood from his neck. He chuckled again upon recalling how Ti had attacked him and said, ¡°Well, I did not fight a human, but a human did try to fight me.¡±

    Zenon waited for Vincent to exin more, but Vincent looked as if he was lost in his own thoughts. So Zenon waved his hand in front of Vincent¡¯s face and asked, ¡°A-And? I guess you have some exining to do.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Vincent gave an unapologetic smile to Zenon. Then he exined, ¡°I saw the door to the dungeon wide open and decided to check it out since I heard some voices. I saw Ti, maybe she was trying to clean the dungeon. But when I found her, she was talking with the prisoners. And I-¡±

    ¡°She found out about the prisoners?¡± Zenon asked again in disbelief.

    Vincent narrowed his eyes and said in a satirical tone, ¡°Since she entered the dungeon, isn¡¯t it obvious that she came across those humans?¡±

    ¡°W-Well, who opened the door for her? How did she get inside?¡± Zenon again gave the same suspicious look to Vincent.

    Vincent scoffed and shrugged, ¡°How the hell would I know, Zen? Aren¡¯t you the one who is in charge of the keys to the dungeon? Why are you looking at me like I was the one to steal your damned keys? If anything, you were probably the one who carelessly left the door unlocked.¡±

    .....

    Zenon was now a little restless. He sighed and asked Vincent, ¡°And? Where is she now? What did you tell her? You made everything clear, right?¡±

    Vincent gave a guilty smile and scratched his head.

    And Zenon raised his brows and repeated his question very slowly, ¡°You made everything clear, right?¡±

    ¡°Umm... I wanted to make everything clear, but...¡± Vincent slowly took a few steps back and maintained some distance between him and Zenon.

    ¡°But what? What did you do?¡± Zenon narrowed his eyes because he was almost sure that Vincent had done something stupid.

    Vincent cleared his throat. And he briefed further, ¡°But... she drove a stake through my neck, head-butted me and broke my nose, and then fled before I could say that I was just being sarcastic.¡±

    ¡°You were being sarcastic?¡± Zenon closed the distance between him and Vincent. He red at that stupid friend of his, and then he asked in a stern voice, ¡°And what were you being sarcastic about exactly?¡±

    Vincent blurted out while slowly backing off, ¡°She was saying to the prisoners that she would try to free them. So I thought that it would be fun to tease her and maybe scare her a little bit so that she wouldn¡¯t dare to go back to the dungeon again or even think about helping the prisoners.¡±

    ¡°What exactly did you tell her? Out with it already!¡± Zenon suddenly snapped.

    Vincent kept on walking backward and said, ¡°I said that I would imprison her in the same dungeon. And I might have...¡± he emphasized the word again, ¡°might... might have said that I would drink her blood the next time I was hungry.¡±

    ¡°You... you threatened the Queen¡¯s handmaid saying that you would... Ahhhhhh!¡± Zenon covered his face with his palm in frustration and screamed, ¡°And why on earth would you do that?¡±

    ¡°It was fun?¡± Vincent was ready to run away any moment now.

    However, Zenon sprung forward and grabbed Vincent by the cor of his shirt. He mmed Vincent into the stone wall.

    And he snarled at that stupid lord, ¡°Fun? Vincent! Do you even realize that your small joke could put a strain on the rtionship between our King and our Queen? They just made up yesterday!¡±

    Zenon restrained himself from throwing his fists at Vincent. But he kept on giving an earful to him, ¡°Do you have the slightest idea how hard it has been for everyone when the King and Queen were fighting with each other? The Kingshed out at anyone and everyone. He is finally back in his cheerful mood. And congrattions! You might have just ruined it again.¡±

    Vincent raised his hands in the air and tried to reason with Zenon, ¡°Hey, in my defense, it was not my fault that Ti found out about the dungeon. And also, since when does Caspian have a cheerful mood? As far as I can recall, he alwaysshes out on others.¡±

    Zenon scoffed and questioned Vincent, ¡°Really? Are you going to y dumb now? Weren¡¯t you the first to avoid His Majesty saying he was in a bad mood? Didn¡¯t you run off to your mansion saying that you would only return when the King¡¯s mood lightened?¡±

    Zenon pushed himself away from Vincent and said mockingly, ¡°And aren¡¯t you back here in the castle today after your minions told you that the King was in a better mood now? You are an utterly selfish and terrible friend, you know that?¡±

    Vincent nodded his head and agreed, ¡°I know that I am a selfish and terrible friend. But I do find my life precious. What was I supposed to do by staying around him anyway? I didn¡¯t want to be a dummy for him to throw his punches on.¡±

    Vincent suddenly frowned at Zenon and asked, ¡°And why are you here scolding me? Shouldn¡¯t you be finding Ti and making things clear to her? By now, she must have vomited everything to the Queen.¡±

    ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Zenon angrily shouted at Vincent.

    And he ordered Vincent, ¡°Please find Ti and tell her everything before any misunderstanding arises between the Queen and the King. I don¡¯t have any energy left to deal with His Majesty¡¯s sour mood today.¡±

    Zenon turned around to take a look at the dungeon.

    However, Vincent stood in front of him. And he asked in a politer tone, ¡°Why don¡¯t you clear the air? I have a feeling that I might mess it up even more if I try to talk to Ti. She might think I came to kill her and who knows, she might stake my heart next. She¡¯s too unpredictable.¡±

    Zenon gave an amused smirk and mocked Vincent, ¡°Is Vincent, the mighty one, scared of a human maid?¡±

    Vincent gave a wide fake smile and replied, ¡°Well, not the maid, but I am scared of the one whom she serves.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re afraid of the Queen?¡± A hint of disbelief was lurking in Zenon¡¯s eyes.

    Vincent hadn¡¯t told anyone that Anastasia had pped him across his face with a shoe. She indeed looked a little intimidating when she snapped at him when they were in the doctor¡¯s home. And by admitting it, he didn¡¯t want to tarnish his reputation of being one of the most feared Vampires of thend.

    So he gave different reasoning, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be afraid of the Queen? Caspian has been enchanted by her. And who knows, he mighte after me if I anger his precious wife.¡±

    ¡°You always find ways to increase my work for me, Vincent.¡± Zenon rolled his eyes at Vincent and asked him, ¡°Stay right here and guard the dungeon until I return. If I find it unguarded when Ie back, then I won¡¯t allow you to have a single drop of blood while you are here.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. The lord will now be a guard.¡± Vincent sneered at Zenon and walked to lean next to the door.

    Zenon smirked and teased Vincent, ¡°The position of the guard suits you.¡±

    He then rushed to the ce where he thought he would find Ti at the moment.

 Chapter 72

    72 Clearing the Air

    Zenon stopped in front of Anastasia¡¯s door. He stretched his hand to knock on the door but stopped when he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching closer to the door.

    The door opened, and as he had expected, he saw Ti along with Anastasia.

    Both Ti and Anastasia were startled to their core when they saw Zenon standing right outside.

    Anastasia immediately held Ti by her hand, pulled her back, and hid Ti behind her. She then red at Zenon as if to warn him not to take a single step closer to Ti.

    Zenon half raised his hands as if to say that he wasn¡¯t there to hurt them. And he spoke in a low voice, ¡°My Queen, I am not here to do anything to Ti. It seems like there has been a slight misunderstanding between her and Vincent. So, I am simply here to clear the confusion.¡±

    However, Anastasia didn¡¯t believe him. She had already heard everything from Ti, about the dungeon that was right below them, about the human prisoners who were kept like animals, and about what Vincent had told her.

    So Anastasia clearly told him, ¡°I don¡¯t think there is any confusion to clear, Zenon. I don¡¯t want to hear any lies.¡±

    Anastasia then tried to move out of the door along with Ti. She was going to demand an exnation from Caspian. And she was going to demand him to let all the humans go.

    However, Zenon spread out his hand and blocked their path. He then pleaded to the Queen, ¡°Your Majesty, I am not going to tell any lies. Please, let¡¯s sit down and talk this out calmly. Let me exin everything properly to y-¡±

    .....

    Anastasia closed her eyes and gestured for Zenon to stop speaking.

    She then looked into his red eyes and said in a rather hurt voice, ¡°Zenon, I know that vampires need human blood to survive. But I didn¡¯t know that the humans were kept right here in such a terrible condition. And I cannot ept that they get ughtered every day. I cannot live in the same castle where the humans are rotting underneath.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath in and then asked Zenon again, ¡°So please, let me through. I need to talk with Caspian.¡±

    Zenon, however, didn¡¯t move an inch from where he was standing. He asked resolutely, ¡°Will you please hear me out before you go and find His Majesty?¡±

    Anastasia sighed. She was sure that Zenon wouldn¡¯t try to harm her or Ti in any way. So she thought of hearing what he had to say first.

    She turned on her heels and headed towards the chairs. She was tightly holding Ti¡¯s arms all the while.

    She sat down and asked Zenon, who had followed her inside her antechamber, ¡°What is it that you wanted to say? I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    Zenon stood in front of the Queen. And then he exined, ¡°I won¡¯t deny what Ti saw in the dungeon. There are human prisoners there. And yes, we vampires use them as our source of food.¡±

    Anastasia felt a shrilling pain running in her heart when Zenon didn¡¯t even try to deny or hide that fact.

    And Ti was worried sick that Zenon would drag her to the dungeon and lock her there before Anastasia could do anything to protect her.

    But both of them kept on stiffly listening to Zenon.

    ¡°However, I would like to make it clear that we don¡¯t imprison humans at random. Those who are down there, aren¡¯t helpless and innocent humans. All of them havemitted some heinous crimes. And that¡¯s why they are here. They are getting punished for their crimes. But rather than giving them a life sentence or a death sentence, we use them as our food source.¡±

    Ti suddenly shouted at Zenon, ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s really what¡¯s happening? The woman I talked to was saying that she had a five-year-old daughter at home. She was saying that her daughter was all alone.¡±

    ¡°I think you talked to a prisoner named May Wilson.¡± Zenon turned his gaze to Ti and said, ¡°Her daughter became all alone because she killed her husband, the only other family member her daughter had apart from her. That woman was having an affair with another man.¡±

    ¡°So, what happened to the child?¡± Anastasia asked worriedly.

    Zenon looked back at Anastasia and politely answered, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the child, Your Majesty. As per His Majesty¡¯s order, she has been sent to a new family who was willing to adopt her.¡±

    A sudden relief got reflected on both Anastasia and Ti¡¯s faces.

    And Zenon took the chance to further clear things out, ¡°In the past, we vampires used to hunt humans just like how predators hunt their prey. But it didn¡¯t work that well since Sorvando only has a handful of the human poption.¡±

    He had a subtle smile on his face when he said, ¡°After King Caspian took over the throne, he made certain changes. He passed thew that vampires weren¡¯t allowed to freely hunt down humans.¡±

    ¡°So they are allowed to do it in secret?¡± Anastasia gave a questioning nce to Zenon.

    Zenon shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that either. What I meant is that the vampires need to take permission from the King for how they are going to source their food. Either they can request their daily ration of blood from the castle. And we will have it delivered to their homes. Or they can get permission to hire blood servants.¡±

    ¡°Blood servants?¡± Anastasia asked in a whisper because the name itself sounded awful.

    Zenon gave a nod and replied casually, ¡°Yes, they are hired only to get blood for the household.¡±

    Zenon saw the look of horror in Anastasia¡¯s eyes, and he immediately blurted everything out, ¡°But we won¡¯t allow just anyone to be the blood servants. They should be healthy, and they should also be willing.

    ¡°Most of the blood servants are hired by the powerful and rich houses. They are treated with proper care. They have the highest pay among the servants and there is a minimum number of hire per house. We know they won¡¯t survive if we draw out blood daily from just one human.¡±

    Anastasia was obviously notpletely okay to hear that. However, she knew it was much better and more organized than hunting humans and terrorizing the human vige.

    She cleared her throat and then asked, ¡°The blood that the castle delivers is of the prisoners in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I hope that I did put your heart at ease.¡± Zenon kept on looking at Anastasia¡¯s face to see if she was satisfied by his answer or not. He could still see that she had some questions.

    And as he had thought, Anastasia looked at him and asked, ¡°What will happen if one day all the humans stopmitting crimes? And what if no humans volunteer to be a blood servant?¡±

    Zenon could tell where that question wasing from. He could tell that the Queen was worried, thinking that the vampires would go back to their previous ways of getting their food.

    So he gave a brutally honest answer, ¡°Humans will never stopmitting crimes even when they know that they will get killed for it. And about the blood servants, humans will always need money. They will do anything to provide afortable life for their family.¡±

    Zenon gave a subtle smile and said with confidence, ¡°In short, there will never arise a problem in the current system.¡±

 Chapter 73

    73 ns

    ¡°Did the Crown Prince return to Lavinya?¡± Romulus, the alpha of the Atkinson n, asked his informant.

    The informant bowed to the alpha and delivered the message that he had brought from the capital, ¡°Yes, Alpha. He set off for Lavinya today.¡±

    Romulus was counted among the powerful alphas of the new generation. Though he was in his early twenties, he was admired by many for being one of the most capable alphas to be leading a pack.

    The tall man had short light brown hair, thick brows, dark brown irises, a button nose, and a chiseled jawline. His looks alone gave off an intimidating vibe. And even when he was calm, he would emanate a powerful aura.

    At the moment, Romulus was admiring the beautiful bougainvillea flower in his garden. He asked the informant again, ¡°Any other interesting news rted to the new wolf?¡±

    The informant proudly puffed his chest and replied with a smile on his face, ¡°I happened to see a messenger leaving for the forbiddennd. And when I poked around, I got to know that it was the Crown Prince who sent the letter.¡±

    Romulus diverted his gaze from the flower to the informant. His eyes had a hint of curiosity in them. ¡°By forbiddennd, do you mean Sorvando?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alpha.¡±

    Romulus raised his brows in delight. ¡°Interesting! And why would a newly turned wolf send a letter there? Is he nning something amusing?¡±

    .....

    The informant smiled broadly and then revealed what he had found out, ¡°I heard that Orsenia¡¯s Princess was sent to Sorvando as a tribute bride. Since our Crown Prince is on good terms with the Crown Prince of Orsenia, he might have sent the congrattory letter to his friend¡¯s sister.¡±

    ¡°A congrattory letter, huh?¡± Romulus nodded his head. However, he couldn¡¯t quite believe that it was as simple as that.

    ¡°Does he not know yet what Sorvando¡¯s tall walls hide?¡± the alpha asked the informant again.

    However, this time, the informant disappointed the alpha, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the answer, Alpha.¡±

    Romulus inhaled the sweet fragrance of red flower and ordered, ¡°Find the answers, Lorenzo. Dig deeper. And I also need to know everything that Everard does, what he eats, how he thinks, and every little detail about him.¡±

    The informant understood what his next task was. So he bowed to the alpha and said before leaving, ¡°I will prepare to leave for Lavinya.¡±

    Romulus gave a nod and dismissed Lorenzo.

    And when he was alone in his garden, he whimsically smirked and thought, ¡®It¡¯s about time that I start to get closer to the future King.¡¯

    ¡ª

    ¡®It¡¯s about time I think of an escape n,¡¯ Everard thought to himself as he stared outside the window of his carriage.

    ¡®If my father sends people to assist me in my transformation the next month, then I won¡¯t be able to get inside Sorvando. They will most probably chain me down in some deste location. I can¡¯t let that happen.¡¯

    He clenched his jaw and thought resolutely, ¡®I need to see Anastasia again. And I need to talk to her privately.¡¯

    Suddenly, several worry lines appeared on Everard¡¯s face. ¡®I specifically asked her to write back to me. And I even stayed back in Xanmar, thinking she might send the letter there. But the letter never came.¡¯

    He sighed and thought, ¡®If the letter hasn¡¯t arrived in Lavinya as well, then I need to understand that either the letter never reached her. Or she might be in real danger.¡¯

    Everard closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand. A beautiful image of Anastasia smiling at him appeared in his mind. ¡®Anna... please hang on until the next full moon. I will rescue you from that monster¡¯s ws.¡¯

    And he silently prayed, ¡®I hope that I won¡¯t be toote by then.¡¯

    ¡ª

    Back in Sorvando, Anastasia hadpletely forgotten that she had yet to send a reply letter to Everard. After all the drama that followed after receiving the letter from him, itpletely escaped her mind.

    And she was now hatching the ns of her own.

    She was sitting at the table in her antechamber to have her breakfast. However, after Zenon left the room, her mind was consumed by all the information that he had provided her.

    And although Zenon had exined everything to her regarding how the vampires got their daily doses of blood, she still wanted to make it sure with her own eyes.

    Her eyes suddenly sparkled when she got an idea. ¡®Right! Aunt Edith must have blood servants, right? I think I should give her a visit. I want to know if whatever Zenon said was the truth.¡¯

    But then she frowned and thought, ¡®But I doubt that Aunt Edith would treat them poorly. She wouldn¡¯t represent all the vampires.¡¯

    She took a deep breath in and thought for a while.

    In the end, she decided to visit Caspian¡¯s aunt anyway.

    ¡®Even if the blood servants in her mansion are treated well, those servants might know how the others in their circle are getting treated by their masters.¡¯

    Keeping that in mind, Anastasia finished her breakfast.

    She got up from her chair and walked towards the door while mumbling to herself, ¡°Now let¡¯s find Caspian and ask him to prepare the carriage for me.¡±

    However, she suddenly got cold feet. She furrowed her brows and shook her head.

    ¡®I think I should take it slow. If I ask him that I want to visit Aunt Edith right after discovering about the dungeon then he might think that I am trying to run away or something. He is very quick to assume things.¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s just head to the library for now. But where¡¯s Ti anyway? She didn¡¯t get herself into another trouble now, did she?¡±

    Anastasia sighed because it had been quite a while since Ti had left the room, saying she would get a ss of water.

    ¡®She seemed quite shaken by today¡¯s incident. I better ask her to get some rest for today when shees back.¡¯

    Anastasia was pacing back and forth in her antechamber when she heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± she asked, thinking it was Ti.

    However, she saw a vampire she didn¡¯t recognize at her door.

    That vampire bowed to the Queen and greeted her, ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty. I am Francis, the Royal Messenger. I¡¯ve brought an invitation letter from Lady Edith.¡±

    Anastasia looked delighted to hear that. She took the letter from him and thanked him.

    After the messenger left, Anastasia opened the letter and read it. And to her luck, Lady Edith had invited her for lunch in her mansion today.

    Anastasia smiled and muttered happily, ¡°I think Lady Luck is smiling on me today. It would be rude to reject an invitation from her, right? Now, let¡¯s find my husband.¡±

    ¡°Where could he be at this hour though? In the throne hall or in his study? I guess I will have to check both the ces.¡±

    Anastasia stepped out of her chamber to find Ti in the corridor. She was hurrying towards the chamber with a tray in her hand.

    ¡°Leave the water in my room and follow me, Ti,¡± Anastasia stood in the corridor and ordered her handmaid.

    ¡°We are going somewhere?¡± Ti asked after catching up with Anastasia.

    Anastasia smiled and nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s go on a little trip.¡±

 Chapter 74

    74 Study

    Ti obediently followed Anastasia.

    Ti was the one to often start a conversation when the two of them were together. However, at the moment, Ti was as quiet as a mouse.

    So, Anastasia took the lead and asked, ¡°How are you holding up, Ti? Is the incident that happened in the dungeon still haunting you?¡±

    Ti let out a heavy sigh and replied, ¡°Considering how it happened just a few hours ago, no, I am not holding up great. No matter what the royal advisor said, the pitiful sight of the prisoners in the dungeon and the fact that I narrowly escaped from the ws of Lord Vincent won¡¯t change.¡±

    Anastasia could see Ti¡¯s hands slightly shaking. She held her handmaid¡¯s hand and tried tofort her, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that Vincent meant no harm and only tried to scare you. But he overdid it. He is a pretty docile one among the vampires if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°He might be docile to you since you are the Queen. To me, it looked like he was going to tear me apart right then and there.¡± Ti gulped and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I will do if Ie face-to-face with him again.¡±

    Anastasia reassuringly patted Ti¡¯s palm and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I will talk with him.¡±

    The two of them arrived at the study of the King in no time. They didn¡¯t need to knock on the door because Caspian had sensed theming to him, and he was already waiting at the door for them.

    And as soon as his eyes fell on his wife, he held her hand and brought her inside his study.

    .....

    And he instantly began to apologize, ¡°Anna, I should have told you earlier about the diet of the vampires. You didn¡¯t need to find out that way. And I don¡¯t know how much Zenon told you, but those humans, they are all dangerous criminals of the human society.¡±

    Anastasia nodded her head and replied, ¡°I know. Zenon exined a lot of things to me ¨C about the criminals as well as the blood servants.¡±

    Caspian looked into her eyes and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not mad, are you?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Anastasia shook her head. ¡°Vampires also need to survive, right? It¡¯s not your fault that the main diet of vampires is human blood. Nature made your kind that way. If anything, I am thankful that you have passedws making human hunting illegal.¡±

    Caspian heaved a deep sigh of relief.

    He had been so worried when he found out from Zenon about the incident in the dungeon that he had been thinking of things to say to Anastasia so that she wouldn¡¯t avoid him for another week.

    And he was d to see that she wasn¡¯t in a sour mood.

    Anastasia then showed the invitation letter that she had received from Lady Edith. ¡°I actually came here because of this. Aunt Edith has invited me for lunch. I wanted to ask you to prepare a carriage for me.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian face-palmed himself and beganughing after seeing the invitation letter.

    Anastasia furrowed her brows. ¡°I don¡¯t think I said anything funny.¡±

    Caspian controlled hisughter and looked at Anastasia¡¯s confused face. And he said, ¡°I had asked Aunt Edith for a favor a few days ago. You had locked yourself up in your room. And I thought that maybe if she was to invite you then you would be willing to get out of your room, get some fresh air.¡±

    Caspian then pointed at the letter and chuckled again, ¡°And it just arrived now.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Anastasia wasn¡¯t sure whether to appreciate her husband for his concern or not. She looked at the letter and muttered, ¡°I guess I don¡¯t really need to answer this invitation then.¡±

    ¡°No... I didn¡¯t mean to say that.¡± Caspian held Anastasia¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°The invitation came a bitte, yes. But I want you to go there. I¡¯m sure you will like Aunt Edith¡¯spany.¡±

    Caspian caressed Anastasia¡¯s cheek and asked, ¡°It will be like a little adventure, don¡¯t you think? You will get to explore other ces of Sorvando, apart from this castle. Or not... I might have to ask you to shut the windows of the carriage. I don¡¯t want the vampires gawking at you like you¡¯re their food.¡±

    Anastasia smiled at his concern and gave a nod. And she showed her enthusiasm to go there. ¡°And it would be rude not to ept your aunt¡¯s invitation. As she has invited me for lunch, I am pretty sure that she went through some troubles like finding a human chef and making sure to prepare an actual lunch for me.¡±

    Caspian agreed, ¡°Yes, she might have prepared a lot. So it would be a waste not to go.¡± He then asked her, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait here for a while? I will ask the servants to have the carriage ready.¡±

    ¡°I will take Ti along with me,¡± Anastasia added as Caspian was about to leave the room.

    Caspian looked at her and gave a nod. ¡°And I will have some of the Royal Guards follow the carriage.¡±

    After Caspian left the room, Anastasia peeked out of the door to check on Ti. She was standing close by. Anastasia then darted her eyes around the study.

    Two sides of the wall had shelves full of books, files, and rolled parchments. At another corner, there was a desk and a chair. The desk looked newer than the rest of the furniture.

    She walked closer to the desk. It was full of files and stationeries. Her eyes fell on the file that was spread out in the middle of the desk. And she caught a few words here and there ¨C turned, moon, werewolf.

    Before she could skim over the file some more, Caspian stood in between her and the desk like a tall wall.

    He gave a nervous smile and informed her, ¡°The carriage will be ready in ten minutes. If you have to prepare then...¡±

    Anastasia gestured on her body and asked Caspian, ¡°Is this getup okay for the visit?¡±

    She was wearing a turquoise-colored gown with puffed sleeves. Her hair was braided and secured into a neat bun. Her eye makeup looked fresh. And though she ate her lip color during her breakfast, her naturally rosy lips were adequate to make her look perfect.

    Caspian nodded without wasting a second. ¡°You look really beautiful.¡±

    He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. He then further informed her, ¡°Aunt Edith¡¯s mansion lies in the outskirts of the capital, in Carmineville. So, in the carriage, it might take you about half an hour to reach there.¡±

    Caspian looked at his wife¡¯s face and asked, ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem, right? Or do you want me to personally take you there?¡±

    Anastasia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. And she said while smiling, ¡°I¡¯m not yet used to flying with you. It¡¯s too fast and too high for myfort. I would rather travel in the carriage.¡±

    Caspian yfully ced his palm on his chest and teased her, ¡°Ouch! A carriage has won over me.¡±

    Anastasia burst intoughter. She gave a gentle push on Caspian¡¯s chest and said, ¡°Stopparing every non-living thing with yourself, Caspian. You¡¯re too much at times!¡±

    Caspian gazed at that cheerful face of his wife and whispered, ¡°But it¡¯s worth it. I get to see youughing.¡±

    He then elegantly held out his hand and asked, ¡°Come, I will see you off.¡±

    Anastasia ced the invitation letter that she was holding on Caspian¡¯s desk. She took his hand and left the room along with Caspian.

 Chapter 77

    77 Something Amiss

    ¡°I thought you said you were busy. Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t want to join us, Hamilton?¡± Lady Edith red at her son while waving her hand at the servant to dismiss him.

    Hamilton took a sip of the fresh blood. He gently swirled the cup and replied to his mother, ¡°Well, since my cousin¡¯s wife is here, I changed my mind.¡±

    He shifted his gaze to Anastasia. And then he spoke to her, ¡°I would love to know more about my new rtive.¡±

    Anastasia was looking down at her te while stiffly munching on the pie. And when she heard Hamilton talking to her, she panicked and abruptly coughed. She almost choked on the pie.

    ¡°Easy, Your Majesty!¡± Hamilton put his cup aside and got up to pour a ss of water to Anastasia. ¡°Here.¡± He handed over the ss to her.

    Anastasia gulped down half a ss of water at once. She put the ss down and then gave a gentle nod to Hamilton, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± he replied and sat back down in his chair.

    The previous servant returned with another cup full of red liquid for Lady Edith.

    Anastasia inhaled deep and quietly, and she looked back down at her te.

    .....

    Hamilton noticed the difort that Anastasia was having. He picked up his cup and nonchntly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We didn¡¯t kill any humans to extract our lunch.¡±

    Anastasia gave a nervousugh. She stole a quick nce at Hamilton and shot the dart in the dark in a calmer tone, ¡°I am aware of the blood servants.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hamilton raised his brows and nodded. He took a whiff of the aromatic blood. And then spoke as if he was enchanted by the blood, ¡°So, Caspian doesn¡¯t hide things from you.¡±

    Anastasia swallowed her food and answered, ¡°It was Zenon who told me about the blood servants. But yes, Caspian also provides answers to my questions.¡±

    Hamilton gave a nod. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that he is not being a brat to you too.¡±

    Anastasia gave a smile and focused on her lunch.

    She wanted to finish it quickly so that she wouldn¡¯t have to pretend to be okay when two of the vampires were leisurely sipping on human blood right next to her. Though she knew that no humans were harmed, it was quite unsettling for her.

    And to make the lunch bearable, she kept on repeating in her head that they were having tomato juice and not blood. It worked to some extent, at least until she avoided her gaze with the cups.

    But she couldn¡¯t keep on avoiding it when Hamilton kept on asking her questions after questions.

    ¡°I was actually curious about one thing, Your Majesty.¡± Hamilton gave a piercing gaze to Anastasia and asked, ¡°Does Caspian talk about Percival with you?¡±

    ¡°His brother? No, he... does not actually.¡± Anastasia pressed her lips together. She looked a little down because Caspian would never talk about his family with her.

    Lady Edith sighed after seeing Anastasia sad. And she asked Hamilton in an irate voice, ¡°Hamilton, stop! No discussion of work on the lunch table.¡±

    Hamilton gave a shrug and denied the ¡®usation¡¯ from his mother. ¡°I was just asking her a normal question.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Edith said dismissively. She nced at Anastasia and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He has been obsessed with Percival for these past few years.¡±

    Anastasia nced at Hamilton and asked, ¡°What kind of work do you engage yourself in?¡± She was curious to know what the mother and son were arguing about.

    Hamilton swirled his drink and answered proudly, ¡°I like to call myself a historian.¡±

    Anastasia munched and swallowed a piece of sausage. She then nced at Hamilton and asked him again, ¡°You are... writing a biography on Caspian¡¯s brother?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Did Caspian tell you that?¡± Hamilton raised one of his brows and asked.

    Anastasia took a nce at Lady Edith and then shook her head. ¡°No, I guessed since Aunt Edith just told you not to discuss work here. And you were talking about thete King. So...¡±

    Hamilton was amused by her lucky guess. He smiled and leaned forward. He then passionately spoke, ¡°I wanted to immortalizete King Percival and his works.¡±

    Suddenly, he sighed and knitted his brows together. He gave a nk stare at the table while he further spoke, ¡°But the situation surrounding his death was a little mysterious. And I had been digging around about that event, and following leads to uncover everything that happened that day.¡±

    ¡°But for some reason...¡± Hamilton nced at Anastasia and continued, ¡°Your husband doesn¡¯t like what I am doing. And he has been giving me cold shoulders ever since I decided to write that biography.¡±

    ¡°You look like a reasonable person.¡± Hamilton kept on giving icy look to Anastasia and asked, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s so wrong about it? What¡¯s wrong about wanting to record his history, his legacies?¡±

    Anastasia pursed her lips for a moment and then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t see anything wrong with it, per se.¡±

    Hamilton raised his brows and asked, ¡°But?¡±

    ¡°But I think I get Caspian¡¯s point of view about not wanting a biography on his brother¡¯s life,¡± Anastasia replied while furrowing her brows.

    Hamilton leaned back on his chair and asked, ¡°And why does Her Majesty think that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just my guess but...¡± Anastasia inhaled deeply and said, ¡°You said that the situation surrounding his brother¡¯s death was mysterious.¡±

    Hamilton ced his cup back on the table. He folded his arms and prompted Anastasia to speak further, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    She cleared her throat and replied with a serious expression on her face, ¡°Maybe, Caspian started giving cold shoulders to you because he had alreadye to terms with his brother¡¯s death. It¡¯s been two centuries if I am not wrong.¡±

    Anastasia adjusted her position to face Hamilton. And she continued, ¡°So when you began digging again, and when you tried saying to Caspian that something was amiss about that death, maybe he got afraid that his old wounds would reopen again.¡±

    Hamilton kept on giving little nods for a while. And he spoke in aining tone, ¡°That could be one possible exnation for his behavior. But it would have been easier for me to understand him if he just properly talked with me.¡±

    Lady Edith, who had been quietly listening to the conversation until now, suddenly pointed out, ¡°You are the one who was ignorant, Hamilton. It hasn¡¯t been that long since Anastasia came here, you know. And even whencks knowledge about the past, she understands Caspian better than you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because she is his wife! So, isn¡¯t it a given that she understands Caspian better?¡± Hamilton tried to argue with his mother.

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Edith red at Hamilton and tried to knock some empathy into him. ¡°You¡¯re his cousin, for heaven¡¯s sake! You¡¯ve known each other for centuries! It¡¯smon sense to know that Caspian would be hurt if you went around poking about Percival.¡±

    While the mother and son were having their argument, Anastasia quietly stuffed thest piece of corn nugget in her mouth and pretended she was invisible.

    Hamilton frowned and asked his mother in a disgruntled tone, ¡°So, what do you want me to do? Give up on my work? Throw away everything that I have researched andpiled until now?¡±

    Edith let out a sigh and calmed herself.

    And she suggested in a rather softer tone, ¡°Try not to shove it into Caspian¡¯s face that you are still working on Percival¡¯s biography. And if you do find out what was amiss about the death, sit down with him and share the information. Try to be there for him. Don¡¯t be an absent cousin.¡±

 Chapter 85

    85 Close, Yet Far

    Caspian headed towards his castle after giving out the orders to capture the one responsible for the incident in Silver Keep.

    While on his way, Caspian was thinking of meeting his wife before entering the courtroom. Now that the seeds of doubt had been nted in his mind after visiting Silver Keep, he had more reasons to go and see his wife.

    ¡®I hope no one tried to sneak into the castle to meet her,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself and flew even faster.

    When he reached the castle, it seemed things didn¡¯t go as he had nned. The moment he reached the gate, he was greeted by a few ministers who were waiting for the King with some urgent matter.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I just received a word about the Turners,¡± an old-looking man said after giving a polite bow to the King.

    ¡°What about the Turners?¡± Caspian asked in agitation.

    That man bowed again in fear that Caspian would punish him foring to him as the bearer of bad news. However, since he had already garnered Caspian¡¯s attention, there was no way out of it other than giving full information.

    And he responded to the King in the most courteous manner he could, ¡°Your Majesty, I heard that they have started to go around, meeting the heads of the other major houses.¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Caspian¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t fully into the conversation. So he was unable to decode the hidden message at the moment.

    .....

    The old man took a deep breath before saying everything clearly, ¡°I think that Lord Bartholomew isn¡¯t satisfied with just killing that servant. After all, it was his beloved daughter who had lost her life. My guess is that he is going around, trying to bring the major houses to his side.¡±

    Caspian closed his eyes and clenched his teeth upon hearing what that old man had to say. He was already angry because of a possible werewolf attack. And now this.

    He grumpily walked towards the throne hall, asking, ¡°And what do you think Bartholomew is going to do? Are you thinking the same thing as me?¡±

    The old minister and the others followed the King.

    And though the old vampire wasn¡¯t a mind-reader, he answered confidently, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I also think that Lord Bartholomew might try to do something that might directly affect you and your rule.¡±

    Caspian was now enraged beyond measure. He protruded his ws and angrily snarled, ¡°What does he take me for? A pushover who will get scared by a few houses banding together?¡±

    He gritted his teeth and then further mumbled in his hoarse voice, ¡°Maybe I should have killed all of the Turners for trying to pull off a murder of a Royal family member.¡±

    Caspian chuckled as if he was out of his mind. And he kept on mumbling with determination, ¡°Yes... Maybe I should really do that before Bartholomew can rally the sheep and protest against me or do something to anger me further.¡±

    The ministers exchanged a worried nce with each other when they saw how enraged Caspian was.

    None of them would have wanted to stay anywhere near him when he was that angry. However, it was their duty as ministers of the Kingdom to try and give appropriate suggestions to their King.

    So one of them politely said to Caspian, ¡°Your Majesty, why don¡¯t we go to the throne hall and discuss what we can do about this matter with everyone? There are also other agendas for the court today.¡±

    The minister reminded the King since he wasn¡¯t heading to the throne hall but towards his own chamber, or so they thought.

    Caspian abruptly stopped on his path and turned on his heels. He didn¡¯t even realize that his feet were automatically taking him toward his wife¡¯s chamber.

    He wanted to visit her. Yes. But he didn¡¯t wish for Anastasia to see him now. He could tell from the expression on the ministers¡¯ faces that he was looking like a monster at the moment.

    Caspian wanted to take some time for a while and calm himself down before visiting his wife. However, he knew that the ministers wouldn¡¯t stop hovering around him until he went to the hall and discussed today¡¯s agendas.

    Caspian sighed in frustration and said to the ministers, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s look at everything.¡±

    He forced his feet to move in the direction of the throne hall. And while he walked at a normal pace, he informed the ministers, ¡°I have some things to take care of today. So, let¡¯s wrap up today¡¯s agendas quickly.¡±

    ¡ª

    Caspian was constantly eyeing therge wall clock that was hung on the wall that was opposite his throne.

    It was almost two in the afternoon.

    ¡®She should be here at any second now,¡¯ Caspian took a deep breath of relief and thought to himself.

    Caspian hadn¡¯t forgotten about his promise to take Anastasia to visit the capital of Sorvando today. His anticipation of his wife walking through the door of the throne hall was increasing with every tick of the second hand of the clock.

    In fact, that was the only thing that was keeping him sane in the hectic meeting with all the ministers and the councilmen.

    The clock kept on ticking. Every second felt like an hour to him. And every minute felt like a day.

    The clock was already indicating that it was half past two now. But there was no sign of his wife.

    ¡®Where is she? I clearly asked her toe and rescue me from this hellish meeting. Did she forget?¡¯

    Caspian was now starting to get restless. He was constantly tapping his feet while looking at the clock.

    The vampires inside the hall were discussing several things among themselves. They were trying toe up with a solution to the Turner case.

    Caspian couldn¡¯t care less. All he wanted to do was dismiss the meeting for today and get the hell out of there. But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to disrespect the vampires who were only trying to think for him.

    ¡®Anastasia... please... I would be grateful if you would hurry up a bit,¡¯ he thought to himself as he sighed restlessly.

    The clock soon stroked three. And Anastasia was still nowhere to be seen.

    ¡®Did she just stand me up after agreeing to visit the capital with me today?¡¯ Caspian scoffed and rolled his eyes. ¡®Was I the only one who was eagerly looking forward to today?¡¯

    Caspian mockingly smirked at himself and thought, ¡®And I stayed up all night yesterday, nning for things to do with her. And here she is... a no-show...¡¯

    ¡®She must be thinking that she is doing me a favor by allowing me to do my duty. Why can¡¯t she understand that all that I want to do at the moment is be with her, spend some quality time with her?¡¯

    Caspian kept on rambling in his head for quite a while.

    And by now, a lot of negative thoughts were flooding into Caspian¡¯s mind.

    ¡®I hope she isn¡¯t having tea with that or any other werewolf. I won¡¯t be surprised if it was actually the case.¡¯

    He had deep frown lines in between his brows as he imagined his wifeughing and drinking tea with her friend. He was greatly disturbed just by imagining that fake scenario. If he witnessed that for real, he didn¡¯t know if he would be able to stop himself from attacking that man at first sight.

    He tried to console himself, thinking that his guards would have already informed him if his wife had any visitors. But that didn¡¯t do anything to calm his mind.

    Caspian narrowed his eyes and thought, ¡®What do I do? Shall I go and find my wife?¡¯

    After contemting for a while, Caspian reached a decision, ¡®Yes, I think I should end the meeting for the day. I am not listening to anything anyway. And Zenon is also not here to summarize everything for meter on. So, there¡¯s no point in staying here.¡¯

    As Caspian was thinking of dismissing the meeting, Vincent suddenly barged inside the throne hall.

    Vincent didn¡¯t even think it was necessary to greet all the officials in the hall. He simply rushed over to the tform where Caspian was.

    And without bowing to the King, he pointed towards the exit of the hall and hastily said to his friend, ¡°Caspian... the Queen...¡±

 Chapter 89

    89 Werewolf Hunt

    Zenon took that broken piece of the heel from Jasper.

    He also thoroughly examined it and even sniffed it. He noticed that the foot of that heel had some white y stuck on it ¨C the same type of y that was found around the damaged trees. He confirmed that the blood on it was from an animal and not from a human or a vampire.

    And he noticed one major thing.

    He looked at Jasper and said to him, ¡°It looks like it¡¯s from the shoes of a woman. I¡¯m not sure if the owner of this thing is the real culprit. But there¡¯s a high probability that she knows something even if she isn¡¯t the one we¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Jasper gave a nod and then looked at his boys. And he immediately ordered them, ¡°You all heard him. We¡¯re looking for a woman who might be missing a heel of her shoes. The humans must already be inside their houses. Search each and every corner for that shoes. If you find such shoes in anyone¡¯s house, capture the owner of that shoes.¡±

    Zenon also added to what Jasper had just said, ¡°And if any woman looks nervous or scared upon seeing you all...¡±

    He frowned upon realizing something and mumbled to himself, ¡°They always look nervous and scared when they see us... especially when we knock on their doors at night.¡±

    Zenon looked back at the soldiers again and continued, ¡°Well if they look unusually terrified or show any hostility, then you might want to bring her to me. Keep in mind that if that same woman is the culprit then she will have super strength. She might be a werewolf, so you all should be careful when handling her. And try not to get bitten.¡±

    As most of the vampires present here were only a century old or less, they had never encountered a werewolf in their lives.

    .....

    Some of the vampires looked a bit nervous when they were reminded about the werewolf again. The others were curious to see what a werewolf looked like and how strong they were.

    Zenon then turned to look at Jasper and said to him, ¡°I will also be looking around in Silver Keep. She must be hiding there somewhere if she hasn¡¯t already returned to where she came from.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord. I hope we will be sessful in capturing her this time,¡± Jasper said with a huge smile on his face. He was the most excited about this ¡®werewolf hunt¡¯.

    With that, everyone present there dispersed in several directions so that they could cover all parts of the town within no time.

    Jasper went after the soldiers while Zenon went along with the Royal Guards who had tagged along with him since the morning.

    The Royal Guards knocked on the doors of the humans one by one. They looked around the houses for anything suspicious, they interrogated the women in the house. And they were especially interested in the shoe racks while doing the search.

    Zenon was disappointed every time the guards came outside and told him that they didn¡¯t find anything in the houses they checked.

    He sighed when one more house was in the clear. And he thought to himself, ¡®I hope that culprit is still hiding here somewhere. If the culprit is indeed a werewolf then we shouldn¡¯t let them escape and go back to Xanmar before we interrogate them. Who knows what secret they are going to take back with them?¡¯

    Zenon thought for a while and asked himself, ¡®Should I deploy some more soldiers?¡¯

    While he was lost in his thoughts, he didn¡¯t realize that Vincent was approaching him from the back.

    Zenon almost punched Vincent on his throat when Vincent quietly ced his hand on Zenon¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Hey! Rx buddy, it¡¯s me,¡± Vincent raised his hands in the air in surrender and said whileughing.

    Zenon frowned and asked harshly, ¡°What the hell are you doing here? Don¡¯t you have anything else to do that you even followed me here?¡±

    Vincent scoffed and replied with the same bitterness as Zenon, ¡°Don¡¯t think so highly of yourself. I didn¡¯t even know you were here, nor do I know what you¡¯re doing here. I couldn¡¯t care less.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you here, if not to torture me and follow me around like a puppy?¡± Zenon rolled his eyes at Vincent because he didn¡¯t believe that Vincent was there for some other purpose.

    Vincent folded his arms and angrily shouted after being insulted like that, ¡°I used to tag along with you thinking that you were my friend. But okay... if you get that agitated by my presence then I won¡¯t ever show my face to you.¡±

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Zenon couldn¡¯t care less about Vincent¡¯s tantrum right now because he had some bigger issues to solve.

    Vincent had thought that Zenon would apologize to him. But he looked even angrier. So he pouted and shouted before stomping away, ¡°And for your kind information, I have some unfinished business here. I met a very interesting woman today.¡±

    Zenon¡¯s attention suddenly peaked when he heard Vincent saying that he met an interesting woman. He zoomed and stood while blocking Vincent¡¯s path.

    And he asked, ¡°What woman? Where did you meet her? Was there something peculiar about her?¡±

    Vincent folded his arms and smirked. He was happy that Zenon was giving him attention. But he wanted to make Zenon guilty for his burst out earlier.

    So he mockingly asked, ¡°Why do you care? Why are you suddenly interested in the woman I am going to see? Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t want to see my face again?¡±

    ¡°I never said that!¡± Vincent was already on edge so he blurted out his situation, ¡°I am also looking for a woman right now. To be more precise, I am looking for someone who might be a merciless murderer. That¡¯s why I wanted to know why you thought that woman was interesting. You never find anyone interesting unless they are psychopaths or murderers.¡±

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Vincent mmed his palm on his chest and said in a monotone, ¡°That¡¯s one way of asking for someone¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°Please! I am really desperate. His Majesty might get furious at me if I don¡¯t find that woman by midnight,¡± Zenon pleaded as though his life depended on Vincent¡¯s answer.

    Vincent was now a little serious after seeing Zenon panicking like that. He was a cool-headed one among the three of them. And to see him this restless was something worrying.

    Vincent patted Zenon on the shoulder and tried to calm him down first, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you think Caspian will get angry at you. But I bet that he won¡¯t even remember whatever it is that he ordered you to do. The Queen is sick and he was still with her when I exited the castle.¡±

    ¡°The Queen is sick?¡± Zenon asked in surprise. ¡°What happened to her?¡±

    ¡°She has a fever. But she will be fine, Caspian is taking good care of her.¡± Vincent pulled Zenon to the side and asked in a serious tone, ¡°Anyway, tell me more about this woman you are searching for.¡±

    Zenon briefly exined all the events that led to the situation he was currently in. And he concluded, ¡°So I wanted to know if you found her interesting because she was showing some traits like violence and super strength, or if she did anything peculiar that caught your eyes.¡±

    Vincent pondered upon it for a while. He was simply intrigued by her because she was desperately trying to hide her face from him. ¡°I met her in Carl¡¯s clinic this morning. I wanted to see her again because I felt like I had seen her somewhere before.¡±

    Zenon¡¯s eyes instantly lit up when he heard that she was in the clinic in the morning. They had found the dead dog early in the morning today.

    So he thought that if this woman that Vincent met was the same woman that everyone was looking for, maybe she was in the clinic after being attacked by that poor dog before it died.

    He hastily asked Vincent to confirm the same, ¡°Was she hurt somewhere? Maybe there were scratch marks on her that she got from a dog¡¯s ws? Or maybe there were bite marks on her?¡±

    Something suddenly clicked in Vincent¡¯s mind when Zenon asked if she had bite marks on her.

    He looked at Zenon with wide eyes and replied, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it! I saw her in the same clinic a few days ago! And she had a huge bite mark on her stomach that day!¡±

 Chapter 98

    98 Intertwined Destiny

    ¡°Xanmar?¡± Everard¡¯s interest instantly peaked when he heard that the young man was from his Kingdom.

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ve been to Xanmar before?¡± Lorenzo asked while leaning a little forward. He was still waiting for Everard to shake his hand.

    Everard, however, stared at Lorenzo for quite a while without answering or returning his greeting.

    He noticed how Lorenzo had a tiny frame and a baby face. And unlike most people of Xanmar, his hair was golden brown. He could easily pass as a foreigner if he didn¡¯t mention where he was from when he introduced himself.

    The Crown Prince was trying to recall if he had seen that man somewhere before. Before saying a word to him, he wanted to know if that man was a friend or a foe to the King and to him.

    Lorenzo was now starting to get a little ufortable from the constant re from Everard. ¡°Er... Is... Is something wrong?¡± He put his hand away and asked again, ¡°Did I offend you in some way? If I did then I would like to apologize.¡±

    Everard nonchntly replied, ¡°No. I was lost in my own thoughts.¡± He then further questioned Lorenzo, ¡°So, you are originally from Xanmar or you migrated there?¡±

    Lorenzo replied while giving an innocent smile, ¡°I am originally from Xanmar. But my grandmother is from Lavinya. I think her gene was dominant in me.¡±

    ¡°Ah! So where¡¯s your hometown?¡± Everard questioned again and took a sip of his liquor.

    .....

    And Lorenzo replied without showing any signs of agitation from that excessive questioning from Everard, ¡°I¡¯m from Misty Moon Grove. It is a very wonderful ce. If you ever visit Xanmar then I suggest you visit that town at least once. It is really famous for a dish called Moon Pie.¡±

    From the way Lorenzo was bbering everything about his hometown and about himself, Everard didn¡¯t suspect that Lorenzo knew about his true identity. And he didn¡¯t think that Lorenzo was there to harm him.

    So, he also introduced himself to his drinkingpanion. ¡°My name is Ever- Everton.¡± He made up some random name and continued, ¡°And I am also from Xanmar. But I haven¡¯t been to your town yet.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god! You¡¯re also from Xanmar? Talk about coincidences!¡± Lorenzo happilyughed. ¡°Where in Xanmar exactly, Mr. Everton?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from the Capital,¡± Everard couldn¡¯t think of any town¡¯s name in an instant. So he simply told the truth.

    ¡°Oh, really? I was in the Capital two days ago!¡± Lorenzo said while smiling ear to ear.

    Everard gestured for thedy in waiting toe over to the table. And he asked Lorenzo, ¡°What would you like to drink? You can order anything. As I said, you will be my guest.¡±

    Lorenzo was touched by that gesture from Everard. ¡°Thank you for your warm wee, Milord.¡± He then looked at thedy and asked, ¡°Can I get a ss of red wine please?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. I will be right back with your order, Milord.¡± Thedy bowed the gentleman and went to the counter.

    Everard then asked his newpany, ¡°So, how are things in the Capital?¡± He was indirectly trying to know if anything bad had happened back at his home.

    ¡°Everything is as it used to be. Nothing new.¡± Lorenzo smiled and gave a nod to thedy when she served his drink to him.

    He swirled the ss and then took a whiff of the wine. He took a sip. And he suddenly looked at Everard and said, ¡°Ooh! I heard that the Crown Prince was in the capital for a few days. But I heard that he already left for his studies.¡±

    Everard gave a nod and pretended as though he wasn¡¯t the same Crown Prince who Lorenzo was talking about.

    Lorenzo took another sip of his wine and then took the chance to ask, ¡°So, is something troubling you, Milord? You look like your heart and mind aren¡¯t in alignment.¡±

    Everard almost thought that the young man could read his mind when he said that.

    And seeing Everard giving him suspicious looks, Lorenzo politely said, ¡°It¡¯s written all over your face that something is deeply troubling you.¡±

    Everard gave a mirthless smile. He had never been the one who could hide his true emotions. So he believed the man.

    And he didn¡¯t know if it was the liquor or if it was the setting and the mood, he felt like sharing what he was feeling with the man he just met.

    ¡°I had a woman in my heart for a long time. But unfortunately, she was married off to someone else.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t notice it, but Lorenzo¡¯s eyes suddenly glimmered with excitement. And the corners of his lips curved up slightly.

    Everard tightened his grip on his ss. And the frown lines between his brows got deeper when he further spoke, ¡°I was really devastated when I heard that news. I was a wreck. But now... my heart is ying some sick joke on me. It is now feeling things for a woman I barely saw for a minute.¡±

    Lorenzo¡¯s eyes widened just a little. ¡°A woman you barely saw for a minute?¡± he asked with great curiosity.

    ¡°I¡¯m going mad, aren¡¯t I?¡± Everard mockinglyughed at himself.

    However, Lorenzo didn¡¯tugh or agree with Everard. He shrugged his shoulders and simply replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay to feel that way. It happens to everyone. My heart beats faster every time I see a beautifuldy.¡±

    Lorenzo chuckled and snorted. And he continued, ¡°And may I remind you, it happens at least thrice a day!¡±

    Everard shook his head though. ¡°No, it¡¯s... it¡¯s different in my case. For some reason, I feel as if that woman is... I don¡¯t know... someone who is my family? I felt this strong urge to protect her when I met her. It doesn¡¯t even make any sense!¡±

    ¡°Protect her, huh?¡± Lorenzo inquisitively looked at Everard and asked with all seriousness, ¡°Not pull her close and kiss her or you know... get intima-¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Everard mmed his fist on the table before the young man could evenplete his sentence. And he growled in anger, ¡°I¡¯m not some sick bastard! Stop thinking so lowly of me!¡±

    Lorenzo got startled by that sudden aggression from Everard. He nervously smiled and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Milord. I didn¡¯t mean to anger you. I was simply trying to confirm something.¡±

    ¡°Confirm what?¡±

    Lorenzo sat at the edge of his chair and leaned forward. He was very close to Everard¡¯s face. And before Everard pushed him back, he whispered, ¡°Since you¡¯re from Xanmar, I would like to ask you something. Can you... can you shift?¡±

    Everard instantly knew what Lorenzo was trying to ask. ¡°You are one of them too?¡± he also asked in a whisper.

    And Lorenzo gave a nod. ¡°Yes. I shiftedst year.¡±

    Everard narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Which n?¡±

    ¡°Atkinson. And you?¡±

    ¡°Crestfire.¡±

    Both of the men leaned back on their chairs. They took some moments to sip on their drinks and acknowledge the fact that both of them shared a simr fate.

    And after a while, Everard asked, ¡°So, what were you trying to confirm? Is there something I need to know? I¡¯m new to all this so, it would be helpful if someone would tell me what the hell is wrong with me. Is my other side ying tricks on me?¡±

    Lorenzo sighed and then asked with some hesitation. ¡°Have you heard about the concept of ¡®mate¡¯ before?¡±

    ¡°Mate? Do you mean friends?¡± Everard asked with a frown.

    Lorenzo swirled his wine ss and smiled. ¡°Guess you haven¡¯t.¡± He took a sip of the wine and slowly exined, ¡°It¡¯s something that people of our kind are very eager about. All of us have a mate who already exists out there. They are someone with whom our destiny is intertwined.¡±

    ¡°Intertwined how?¡± Everard was really interested to know.

    And Lorenzo seemed excited to impart the knowledge that he had. ¡°They are our lifelong partners, our love of life. And one of our duties is to find them because, without them, we will be iplete. They say that there will always be this hole in our hearts if we don¡¯t find our mate. And that constant pain will eventually be the cause of our demise.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t know how to react to something like that. For him, the concept of ¡®mates¡¯ sounded like something that was straight out of a fiction novel.

    But until a few weeks ago, if someone had told him that humans could shape-shift into wolves during the full moon, he would have thought the same. So he didn¡¯t dismiss Lorenzo no matter how absurd he sounded right now.

    Rather, he asked, ¡°How do we know if someone is our mate?¡±

    Lorenzo happily answered, ¡°Our raw instincts will win over our logical thinking capability. We will feel strong emotions when they are near us. And by that, I mean a strong sexual attraction. That¡¯s why I asked if you felt like kissing or doing something more to that woman earlier.¡±

    Everard sighed in relief. ¡°There was no such attraction. I simply wanted to protect her and make sure that she was okay.¡± He went silent and thought to himself, ¡®I guess... that was what I was feeling. Maybe my heart was beating faster because I felt pity towards her.¡¯

    Lorenzo thought for a moment and nodded. He then said, ¡°Then maybe she wasn¡¯t your mate. If she was then you would be dying to meet her again. It is impossible to stay apart once you¡¯ve found each other.¡±

    Everard thought about Anastasia. She was the one whom he was dying to meet. He had gone mad when he found out that she was married off to someone else. He had felt like tearing his chest and ripping his heart apart because it was hurting that much.

    ¡®If anyone, it must be Anna,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    ¡°What if she is already married then?¡± Everard asked skeptically, ¡°Does that mean I will die?¡±

    Lorenzo gave a sly smirk as if he had the Crown Prince right where he wanted. And he suggested nonchntly, ¡°That means you will have to snatch her back. Dying for love is too overrated.¡±

 Chapter 104

    104 Snuffing Out the Light

    ¡°Take her to Carl or call Carl here?¡± Vincent asked for more rification because he wasn¡¯t sure what Caspian wanted to be done to Ruby ¨C actually let her go or pretend to let her go.

    Caspian red at the end of the dungeon when two of the vampire guards brought Ruby out of her cell.

    They were tightly grabbing her by her arms. And one of the guards was standing behind Ruby with a clenched fist. He was ready to throw a fist on Ruby¡¯s head if she tried to attack the vampires now that she was unchained.

    Anastasia slowly turned her head when she saw her husband¡¯s death re.

    She couldn¡¯t see the subtle signs of hostility that the vampire guards were disying, like their facial expressions and their tight grip. Ruby and the others were a little too far for her eyes to see clearly. So, she was relieved to see Ruby out of the cell.

    Caspian took the chance to swiftly carry his wife in his arms. And he was startled to his core when her burning skin felt like the hottest day of summer when she touched his skin.

    He nced at Vincent and quickly added another instruction to let Vincent know what he really wanted to be done with Ruby. ¡°Make sure that she doesn¡¯t go anywhere until she ispletely healed. I bet she will have to stay there for a long time for her wounds to healpletely.¡±

    Vincent read between the lines and understood that Caspian was asking him to take Ruby to a ce where she would be under constant watch.

    And the only such ce in the Kingdom was the Istion Center where vampire criminals were kept. The security level of that Istion Center was insanely tight.

    .....

    Once a vampire was sent in there, there was no chance of them escaping from that Hell on Earth.

    Even then, those who hadn¡¯t seen the ordeal of the Istion Camp considered those prisoners to be lucky because their crime wasn¡¯t severe for them to be tortured to death or put to an eternal slumber after being tortured. They were allowed to keep on living in exchange for their manualbor.

    However, only the inmates knew how difficult their lives were. They were overworked and underfed. They were caged like animals in their individual cells which were as small as coffins. They had to do all sorts of jobs that the others wouldn¡¯t even dream of doing like cleaning the sewers and hunting rats.

    At times, the inmates wished that they were killed because death looked easier than this living hell.

    Caspian wanted to send Ruby there so that she would be away from Anastasia¡¯s eyes. And she wouldn¡¯t be able to run away or run rampant. He thought of moving his interrogation session there to the Istion Center itself.

    ¡°Okay, I will take her to the clinic. You take care of the Queen,¡± Vincent said to Caspian while giving an understanding gaze.

    Caspian¡¯s hands were now burning from Anastasia¡¯s bodily heat.

    So he quickly gave another order before finally rushing Anastasia back to her room, ¡°And, ask Zenon to conduct a thorough search for the intruder, in case that intruder is still roaming around in our Kingdom.¡±

    Vincent watched Caspian and Anastasia disappear from the dungeon.

    Before doing anything, he heaved a deep sigh of relief.

    He was amazed by the power that Anastasia held over that ruthless King. He was sure that if it wasn¡¯t for Anastasia, all of the vampire guards would be lying dead on the floor. And he didn¡¯t know how badly he would have been beaten and bruised by Caspian for doing something he didn¡¯t like.

    He sighed again and thought to himself, ¡®How can someone like Caspian change so drastically because of a woman? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or bad in the long run. But for now, it¡¯s thanks to Anastasia that I am saved.¡¯

    Vincent then turned to look at Ruby and the guards.

    Ruby was really grateful towards the kind Queen for speaking on her behalf. She was already aware of how brave the Queen was. But today, seeing her going against that monstrous vampire made her respect towards the Queen leap even higher.

    ¡°Can I go home?¡± she asked Vincent in a feeble but hopeful voice.

    She had thought that the vampires would let her leave for her home since most of the wounds on her body had almost healed on their own.

    However, to her utter dismay, Vincent shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re neither going home nor going to the doctor. You are going to another prison where no matter how much you shout, there will be no one around toe for your rescue.¡±

    ¡°But... but the King just said that-¡±

    ¡°The King put up an act in front of his wife.¡± Vincent hardened his re and said, ¡°There¡¯s no way you can now go back to your home again. You are a lone wolf in the Kingdom full of Vampires. It¡¯s you against the world now.¡±

    Ruby felt as if she had found a ss of water when she was extremely thirsty. But the water turned out to be sand when she tried to drink it.

    ¡°But the Queen just asked to free me. You can¡¯t do this to me! You can¡¯t go back on your words!¡± She shouted in protest.

    ¡°Leave my hand! Let me go!¡±

    She screamed and tried her best to get away from the grip of the vampires.

    ¡°I want to go home... You can¡¯t imprison me forever! This isn¡¯t fair. It wasn¡¯t my choice to turn into this hideous thing. You can¡¯t treat me like an animal... I want to go home... Please... Leave me alone...¡±

    The guard who was standing behind her punched her head to make her fall unconscious. He was afraid the King and the Queen would hear her screams, especially the Queen.

    However, Ruby still kept on squirming and wriggling to get away from those monsters. But she was already very weak after the continuous torture from the guards and the King.

    So after a while of putting up the fight, she epted her fate and stood there like an emotionless doll.

    Vincent felt slight pity towards Ruby. She looked like someone had just snuffed out the light out of her soul. However, there was nothing that Vincent could do when he didn¡¯t have any say over the matter. He was simply following the order.

    But he did give a few pieces of advice to the lone wolf, ¡°Don¡¯t let the false hopes get to you. It will be hard for you to survive if you cling to something that will never happen. You will never be free in thisnd. Learn to live by keeping that fact in your mind. And if you don¡¯t want to get tortured till eternity, either wish that that werewolf who bit you will get caught. Or if you know something, speak it out loud.¡±

    Ruby was as silent as the dead.

    ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± Vincent looked at her dead eyes and asked.

    She was as unresponsive as before.

    Seeing her unresponsive, Vincent snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. ¡°Ruby? Hello?¡±

    Ruby was still unmoving. She was staring nkly without even blinking. And her arms were dangling freely, almost like she had no control over her body.

    Vincent could at least hear her breathe. So he assumed that Ruby had fainted or had fallen asleep with her eyes open.

    The only thing that mattered to him was that she was still alive under his watch. So, he disregarded her dead fish eyes and ordered the guards, ¡°One of you can carry her on the shoulder. And all of you can wait for me by the castle gate. I will meet Zenon real quick and then join all of you.¡±

    ¡°Where are we taking her?¡± One of the guards asked curiously.

    Vincent took a deep breath in and replied, ¡°We are taking her to the Istion Center.¡±

 Chapter 107

    107 Jealous?

    Alexander and Lorenzo were sitting face to face in front of the tea table in Alexander¡¯s extravagant dorm room.

    Alexander was sitting on the same sofa in which Everard was sleeping soundly like a baby.

    ¡°So, you met him at the Chamber of Sallust?¡± Alexander inquired the man in front of him.

    ¡°Yes, Milord. We happened to drink together. But Mr. Everton drank quite a lot.¡± Lorenzo then held out his hand towards Alexander and introduced himself, ¡°I am Lorenzo, by the way.¡±

    Alexander shook that young man¡¯s hand and replied, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Lorenzo. I¡¯m Alex.¡±

    Alexander then asked again, ¡°I hope my friend here didn¡¯t give you much trouble.¡±

    ¡°No, of course not. I enjoyed hispany.¡± Lorenzo nced at Everard and said in a bit sadder tone, ¡°It looks like he is dealing with some troubles with somedies. But you¡¯re his good friend. I bet you already know.¡±

    Alexander faked a smile and nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± That smile on his face quickly faded away when he repeated what Lorenzo had said to him in his head. ¡®Trouble with somedies? More than one?¡¯

    A personal maid who was assigned by Orsenia to serve their Crown Prince walked inside the room while carrying a tray.

    .....

    She served tea to both of them and walked away after bowing.

    And Lorenzo asked Alexander, pretending to be oblivious of Alexander¡¯s true identity, ¡°It looks like Milord is from a high-ss family. You even have maids here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I happen to be a spoiled son,¡± Alexander smiled and took the cup of tea in his hand.

    He was about to take a sip of his tea when Everard suddenly sprung up from the sofa. Alexander spilled a few drops of tea because he was startled by his friend.

    ¡°Eve!¡± he gave a re to his friend.

    But Everard nonchntly took that cup from Alexander¡¯s hand. ¡°Is it for me? It smells good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee!¡± Alexander mockingly said to Everard, and then wiped his hand with a kerchief.

    ¡°Oh, Lorenzo!¡± Everard finally noticed the young man. ¡°Were you the one to bring me here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Everton.¡± Lorenzo smiled ear to ear.

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± Everard took another sip of the hot tea. He didn¡¯t sound drunk at all when he further asked, ¡°How can I repay you, Lorenzo? I made you listen to all my ramblings and even made you drop me here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Mr. Everton. Please don¡¯t treat me like a stranger after we had that heart-to-heart conversation with each other,¡± Lorenzo said in a very sweet voice.

    But Everard insisted. ¡°No, please. Let me return your favor. Or else, I will forever feel indebted to you.¡±

    For some reason, Alexander didn¡¯t like the presence of Lorenzo at all. He disliked his merry behavior and how he was talking with Everard and him. It was clear to him that Lorenzo was trying to get close to the two of them, especially Everard.

    And what Lorenzo said next proved that he was right.

    ¡°If you really want to return the favor, then please, allow me to apany you when you go to the Chamber of Sallust. I would love to get to know you more.¡±

    Alexander hoped to hear his friend denying that man¡¯s request. But he was shocked when Everard easily epted.

    ¡°Sure. I would also love to hear more about you and your n.¡±

    ¡°His n?¡± Alexander asked Everard in a surprised tone.

    ¡°Oh! Lorenzo hasn¡¯t told you?¡± Everard pointed his palm at Lorenzo and said, ¡°He is also from Xanmar.¡±

    ¡°From Xanmar?¡± Alexander raised his brows in concern. He didn¡¯t want his friend to fall victim to a well-thought-out n of the enemies.

    Everard could guess what Alexander was thinking from that look in Alexander¡¯s eyes.

    But he disregarded his friend¡¯s concern and tried to make Lorenzo good in front of his friend, ¡°He taught me several things about the people of my Kingdom. And he is a cheerful and yful person to be around. I hope you two will also get along with each other.¡±

    Lorenzo instantly agreed, ¡°That would be lovely.¡±

    Alexander faked yet another smile. And then he watched the two of them talking andughing with each other. For the first time ever, he felt like an outsider when he was with Everard.

    He had hoped that Lorenzo would get the hell out of his room when he finished his tea. However, Lorenzo was way toofortable overstaying his wee.

    Atst, he got up from the sofa when he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He couldn¡¯t keep on listening to his friend, exposing a lot of personal things about himself to that stranger who clearly looked like he had some hidden motive.

    He nced at Everard and asked in an agitated voice, ¡°Eve, don¡¯t we have a ss to attend? It¡¯s almost midday. I bet our professor is waiting for us.¡±

    ¡°But it is the weekend today, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lorenzo asked in a polite manner.

    Alexander gave a fake smile to Lorenzo and spoke as calmly as he could, ¡°We have sses on weekends as well. So, Lorenzo, why don¡¯t you excuse the both of us?¡±

    Everard sensed the hostility that his friend was emitting. So he lightly tugged his friend¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Alex, it¡¯s alright. Our professors won¡¯t mind waiting for a minute or two.¡±

    But Alexander kept on ring at Lorenzo as if to tell him to get out of his room.

    ¡°Oh! I am extremely sorry. I didn¡¯t know that I was disturbing both of you.¡± Lorenzo quickly got up and gave a gentle bow to Alexander. And he spoke in his sweet voice which disgusted Alexander even more, ¡°Please excuse my rudeness, Milords.¡±

    ¡°Please, you don¡¯t have to apologize.¡± Everard also stood up and tried to politely send Lorenzo off. ¡°I will meet you soon then. That is if you will be staying at your grandmother¡¯s ce for some time.¡±

    Lorenzo smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes, Mr. Everton. I will be here for a few more days. I will see you around then.¡±

    Lorenzo gave a bow to both of the Crown Princes and then left the room.

    ¡°We have sses today?¡± Everard asked Alexander as soon as Lorenzo was out of the room.

    Alexander sat back down on the sofa and nonchntly replied. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everard looked at his friend and scoffed. ¡°Then why did you say that and chase that poord away?¡±

    Alexander gave a re to Everard and replied, ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see that he is clearly trying totch onto you for his personal gains?¡±

    But Everard wasn¡¯t ready to see the truth yet. ¡°Why would you even think that? He doesn¡¯t even know who I really am.¡±

    ¡°I seriously doubt that.¡± Alexander took a deep breath in before calmly talking to his friend and trying to make Everard see from his perspective, ¡°But even if he doesn¡¯t know that you are the Crown Prince, he saw how rich you are. These days, people will do anything to get closer to the rich ones so that they can get some personal favors and reach higher ranks themselves.¡±

    Everard simplyughed it off and brushed it off by saying, ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like someone who would try to leech off of me.¡± His expression became a bit serious when he further said, ¡°He genuinely wanted to help me because he saw how pathetic and heartbroken I was.¡±

    ¡°Eve!¡± Alexander sighed again. He didn¡¯t want his friend to fall into the trap of that sweet talker. ¡°You should be wary of him, not revealing your inner thoughts and feelings to him. He can use those things against you, for god¡¯s sake!¡±

    However, rather than thinking about what Alexander had just said to him, Everard smiled ear to ear.

    He sat beside his friend and rested his head on the headrest of the sofa. And he jokingly said, ¡°Just say that you are jealous of Lorenzo. And that you are afraid that I will get close to him and make him my friend.¡±

    Alexander rolled his eyes and curled his upper lip in disdain. But he seriously asked Everard, ¡°Will you stop meeting that man if I say that I am jealous and that I am afraid that I will lose you to him?¡±

    Outside, Lorenzo was quietly eavesdropping on their conversation.

    His face was no longer merry. It was rather stiff like a rock.

    He quietly walked away from there while thinking to himself, ¡®I think I will have to do something about this Crown Prince of Orsenia.¡¯

 Chapter 109

    109 The Silent King

    In the King¡¯s absence from the official matters, Zenon had taken the liberty to deploy all the 60 soldiers who were under themand of Commander Jasper in search of Ruby.

    Zenon was dead set on finding Ruby first and then only telling everything that had happened to the King. He wanted to minimize the rage of the King by first finding the werewolf responsible for causing all the problems in the castle.

    All the soldiers spread out in search of the runaway wolf. They ran across all the towns, viges, forests, and woods of the Kingdom.

    However, rather than finding Ruby, the soldiers were sessful in making all the vampires of the Kingdom aware that something was going on in the castle.

    Lord Bartholomew and his men were no strangers to this recent manhunt that was taking ce throughout the Kingdom.

    ¡°Did you find out who they were looking for?¡± Bartholomew asked one of his private guards who he had sent to gather information.

    That guard bowed and then revealed all the information, ¡°Yes, Milord. They were looking for a red-headed woman. A human.¡±

    ¡°A human?¡± Bartholomew furrowed his brows and then asked, ¡°What do they want with that human? Is she a criminal? Or is she someone important to the Queen?¡±

    The guard lowered his head this time while answering, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Milord. They were simply asking some of the vampires if they had seen a human running around. When I asked what she did and why they were looking for her, they simply chose to ignore.¡±

    .....

    ¡°It was your job to dig further. You should havee back with the whole information!¡± Lord Bartholomew snapped at that ipetence of his guard.

    The guard kept on lowering his head and listening to some more insults from the Lord.

    ¡°I pay you well and feed you well. And you cannot even find something as simple as that? Shame on you bottom feeders!¡±

    Bartholomew mmed his cane on the floor and startled that poor guard.

    Suddenly, the guard recalled how one of the soldiers was instructing the other to be mindful of the smell of the sweetest blood.

    ¡°Ah!¡± He looked at the Lord with wide eyes and said, ¡°Milord, I remember something. The soldiers were saying that that woman¡¯s blood smelled the sweetest.¡±

    Bartholomew scoffed in disbelief, ¡°Ha! Don¡¯t tell me that the King who punishes the vampires for illegal hunting is now utilizing his forces to hunt down a human because of her sweet blood! Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I heard, Milord,¡± the guard bowed to Bartholomew. ¡°I am not sure if they were hunting her because the King was after her blood or not. But it is true that they did mention her having the sweetest blood.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Bartholomew sat down on the sofa. He rested his chin on his palm and went into deep thoughts.

    After a while of thinking, Bartholomew ordered his guard, ¡°Then let¡¯s look for that woman. Let¡¯s find out what¡¯s so special about her.¡±

    ¡ª

    It was almost dawn when Jasper finally returned to the castle.

    He looked extremely tired. He had been running around for the whole night after all.

    And he finally returned when he had some information on Ruby.

    ¡°Commander, please, take a seat,¡± Zenon asked themander after leading him inside his workroom.

    Jasper instantly started to speak after sitting downfortably, ¡°Some of myds were tracking her blood trail while all the others were looking everywhere in the Kingdom. The werewolf girl is no longer in our territory. But-¡±

    ¡°But?¡± Zenon gripped the edge of the table he was resting his back on.

    ¡°But we do have a guess as to where she could be.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Zenon asked restlessly.

    Jasper let out a sigh of frustration and replied, ¡°The blood trail led us to the wall that we share with Xanmar. There were bloodstains on the walls as well. Our guess is that she climbed the wall and went to the other side.¡±

    ¡°Darn it!¡± Zenon shouted in rage and mmed his fist on the table, breaking it in two.

    He covered his face with both of his palms. He was having difficulty suppressing his urge to smash everything that was in the room.

    ¡°Now what the hell am I going to say to the King? That we can¡¯t touch her now?¡± Zenon snarled again.

    He was angry at everyone who was responsible for taking Ruby to the Istion Center. And he was angry at the King as well for trusting Vincent with such an important task.

    And he mumbled to himself, ¡°He should have given that task to me or any othermanders. We wouldn¡¯t have been in this mess at all.¡±

    Jasper was surprised to see Zenon losing his temper like that. And seeing how he was even angry at the King, he was a little scared for his own safety. He wanted to get out of that room before Zenon did something to him in his blind rage.

    But thankfully, Zenon was back to his normal calm self within the next few minutes.

    He looked at themander and said in his polite voice, ¡°Thank you for your hard work,mander. Now that the matter is settled, I think I should go and talk to the King.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that we couldn¡¯t capture her,¡± Jasper said with a bow.

    However, Zenon dismissed him by saying, ¡°There was nothing you could have done when she already crossed the border.¡±

    He then calmly walked towards the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    Upon reaching the main door, Zenon gave a knock and said from outside, ¡°Your Majesty, I need to talk to you for a while.¡±

    After a few seconds, Caspian came out of the room and locked the door behind him. He then asked his advisor, ¡°Zenon, what took you so long toe and see me? I have been dying to know what all those screams and uproars were about.¡±

    Zenon looked the King straight in the eyes. It was not his fault that Ruby had run away. So he answered Caspian without any kind of guilt or fear in his eyes, ¡°The werewolf was being transported by Vincent and two other guards. She somehow managed to bite those guards and run away.¡±

    ¡°Wh- What did you just say?¡± Caspian was stunned to hear that. And he was even more surprised at how he wasn¡¯t informed about this sooner.

    Zenon replied with the same confidence, ¡°The guards are currently being treated by an old vampire with some knowledge regarding the werewolves. I had deployed the soldiers under themand of Jasper to look for Ruby. I was just informed that the blood trail led them to our border with Xanmar. She is already out of our hands now.¡±

    Caspian was dumbfounded by everything that Zenon was saying.

    And taking advantage of the King¡¯s silence, Zenon further added, ¡°And the werewolf who could have possibly bitten Ruby is also nowhere in our Kingdom. We¡¯ve searched the whole Kingdom thrice since yesterday morning. We would havee across that other werewolf if it was still here.¡±

    Caspian still couldn¡¯t say a word back to Zenon. He was already stressed out because the condition of his sick wife wasn¡¯t improving much. And now, the one lead that he had on finding out about the intruder was also lost.

    Zenon, on the other hand, was prepared to see the King¡¯s fury. But he was surprised when Caspian simply leaned back on the door and silently stared at the floor.

    For some reason, the King¡¯s silence scared Zenon more than his violent behavior. So Zenon asked the King after some hesitation, ¡°Do you want me to punish those guards and reprimand Vincent?¡±

    But the King¡¯s answer surprised Zenon even more, ¡°How¡¯s Vincent? He wasn¡¯t bitten, right?¡±

    Zenon nodded in confusion. ¡°Vincent is alright. He said that he chased after that wolf for a while but decided to save the guards first. They were in terrible condition when they were brought here.¡±

    ¡°How are the guards now?¡± Caspian asked without showing any signs of aggression on his face.

    Zenon was surprised yet again. He took a deep breath in and replied, ¡°Their consciousness has returned. But their healing hasn¡¯t kicked in yet. The werewolf venom that had spread in their bodies has been contained though, with the help of the wolf¡¯s bane. They might need about a week to healpletely.¡±

    ¡°We had wolf¡¯s bane here?¡± Caspian asked with a little frown in between his brows.

    And Zenon answered, ¡°No, there was no need of wolf¡¯s bane before this incident. So we didn¡¯t have it in our reserve. The soldiers had to search for hours to get that nt.¡±

    Caspian pondered about it for a while. And then he said what he was thinking to Zenon, ¡°I think we should start to collect those nts. Who knows? We might need it in the future. It¡¯s better to be prepared.¡±

 Chapter 112

    112 A Kind Man

    An extremely handsome man with blond hair and tall stature was walking down the street of the small town of Lavinya.

    He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of ck trousers under a long ck overcoat. He was covering his broad palms with a pair of white short gloves and covering his red eyes with a pair of ck sunsses. He was carrying a nk leather briefcase with one hand while with the other, he was carrying a ck umbre.

    All thedies, married and unmarried, young and old, couldn¡¯t help but stare at that man and giggle among themselves as he passed by.

    That handsome man was well aware of all the attention he was getting. He would asionally nce at the prettiestdies and give a nod or a gentle smile to them.

    ¡®Ladies,dies everywhere, and not a single one avable to drink,¡¯ he thought to himself and sighed.

    ¡°Mr. Hamilton.¡±

    He suddenly heard a man calling his name.

    Hamilton stopped walking and turned around to find a young man who he didn¡¯t think he knew. But still, he waited for that man to catch up to him.

    That young man stopped in front of Hamilton and took a moment to catch his breath.

    .....

    And he finally spoke, ¡°Mr. Hamilton. It¡¯s so nice to finally see you in person. I am a great admirer of your writing. I read one of your recent articles about the lost history of the world. You exined everything in such a detailed manner that it felt like you had seen everything with your own eyes.¡±

    ¡°Well, I could have,¡± Hamilton said in a yful voice and smiled at his admirer.

    That manughed and said, ¡°You have a good sense of humor, Mr. Hamilton. I am d to have met you.¡±

    Hamilton liked it when people praised his works. So he held out his hand and asked the admirer, ¡°It is nice to meet you too. But I didn¡¯t quite catch your name.¡±

    ¡°I am Jay,¡± he shook Hamilton¡¯s hand. He was a little startled though when he felt the sudden coldness of Hamilton¡¯s hand.

    And Hamilton smiled and said, ¡°My hands and feet are always cold.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Jay smiled and gave a gentle bow to his idol, ¡°Thank you for talking to me. I hope I will get to publish my articles alongside yours someday.¡±

    ¡°And I wish you all the best for your future endeavors,¡± Hamilton politely replied and headed towards the carriage that was waiting for him at the end of the street.

    The coachman bowed and opened the door of the carriage for Lord Hamilton when he came and stood at the entrance of the main road.

    Hamilton settled down in the carriage and then ordered the coachman, ¡°Take me to the capital. I want to roam thisnd for a few more days.¡±

    He rested his head on the soft cushion that was ced for hisfort and took off the sses before closing his eyes. He was waiting for the carriage to move when suddenly, he inhaled the sweet smell lingering in the air.

    He immediately flung his blood-red eyes open. They were glowing with excitement.

    But he didn¡¯t want to lose his control in the public ce and also lose the prestige that he had worked hard to maintain even in this foreignnd. So he closed his eyes back again and asked the coachman, ¡°What¡¯s taking so long? Why aren¡¯t we moving yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Milord. It looks like a beggar is blocking the path and asking for coins from all the carriages,¡± the coachman replied.

    Hamilton sighed and put his sunsses back on. And he looked out of the window to see a woman stopping the carriages one by one and asking for a ride.

    ¡®She¡¯s the one I am smelling?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    That woman was wearing a shabby gown that had holes in several ces. To add to that, her gown had patches of blood clots as if someone had beaten the hell out of that poor woman. He noticed her feet leaving bloody prints as she walked forward.

    And that fresh blood smelled so sweet that he couldn¡¯t resist calling her.

    ¡°Hey! Come here,¡± he shouted from the window.

    She came and stood beside the carriage in no time. And she kept on looking at him with hopeful eyes.

    ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± Hamilton asked her.

    And that red-headed woman pointed ahead and said, ¡°I¡¯m going in that direction. Will you give me a ride? I would have walked but my feet are really tired. A corner of your carriage will be enough for me to crouch on.¡±

    Hamilton couldn¡¯t decide if inviting that woman inside the carriage would be the right thing to do. ¡®I will want to sink my fangs into her neck if I sit together with her.¡¯

    And he cursed himself for being impulsive, ¡®Why the hell did I even call her?¡¯

    He knew that the right thing to do would be to leave that town as fast as he could, without her. But seeing her pitiful face, he couldn¡¯t chase her away.

    ¡°Okay, I will give you a ride,¡± he replied monotonously.

    ¡°Thank you, Milord,¡± she instantly ran to the other side of the carriage so that she could get inside before the lord changed his mind.

    She stood by the door and looked at Hamilton.

    The coachman came and opened the door after some hesitation. He wasn¡¯t sure why the lord would let a beggar inside his luxurious carriage.

    But rather than letting her get inside, Hamilton stepped down from the carriage.

    The woman looked confused.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Hamilton asked while adjusting his overcoat.

    ¡°Ruby,¡± came the short answer.

    Hamilton nodded his head. ¡°Okay then, Ruby. Why don¡¯t we go shopping first? People will think that I beat you up if they see you like this in my carriage.¡±

    Ruby looked down at herself. She really needed a change of clothes. And if possible, she also needed a good bath.

    But she wasn¡¯t sure if epting that kind man¡¯s offer was the right thing to do. However, before she could even think whether or not to ept the offer, Hamilton started to walk ahead.

    ¡°Maintain two feet distance from me, okay? I don¡¯t want to look like an abuser,¡± he said as he kept on walking at a fast pace.

 Chapter 116

    116 Tangled

    Everard scoffed at that insult from Hamilton. He couldn¡¯t believe that someone would talk to him like that apart from his father and Alexander.

    Hamilton wasn¡¯t done mocking Everard though. He pinched his nose with his glove-covered fingers and made another derogatoryment, ¡°Now, if you would back off a little, I would finally be able to breathe.¡±

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Everard snarled at Hamilton in anger. He was ready to pick a fight with that man who behaved as if he was the King of the world and he was ready to show that man his ce.

    Thankfully, Alexander arrived at the spot right in time and asked, ¡°Everard, do you know them?¡±

    Everard turned his head to look at his friend and replied, ¡°I know thedy. And I was trying to get to know the gentleman with a foul mouth here.¡±

    Ruby felt happy when Everard acknowledged to that gentleman that he knew her. But she was worried about the growing tension between Everard and the kind man who had brought her there.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Alexander gave a polite smile to thedy thinking that she was a distant rtive of his best friend. He thought they were rted because Everard was being hostile towards that gentleman who probably came along with her.

    So as to calm down the tension between the two gentlemen, he held out his hand towards Hamilton and introduced himself politely, ¡°I am Everard¡¯s best friend, Alexander. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    Hamilton had been staring at Alexander ever since he arrived there. He shook Alexander¡¯s hand. But rather than introducing himself first, he asked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if this is out of my line or out of the context but... are you rted to Queen Anastasia?¡±

    .....

    All three ¨C Alexander, Everard, and Ruby, were surprised to hear that man mention Anastasia¡¯s name.

    Hamilton finally smiled and said to Alexander in a much politer tone, ¡°Considering how surprised you are, I assume that you are her... brother?¡±

    Alexander raised his brows in surprise and gave a nod. ¡°Yes, I am her bother. And you-¡±

    ¡°You are Her Majesty¡¯s brother?¡± Ruby couldn¡¯t contain her joy after hearing Anastasia¡¯s name and she happened to exim at the wrong time.

    It was now the three gentlemen¡¯s turn to be shocked.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Hamilton nced at Ruby and asked, ¡®You know the Queen? Are you from Sorvando?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Everard furrowed his brows and asked Hamilton before Ruby got the chance to speak, ¡°You¡¯re from Sorvando as well? How do you know Anna?¡± He then took a quick nce of Ruby and asked, ¡°And why are you asking where she is from just now? Don¡¯t you two already know each other?¡±

    Every one of them was utterly shocked and confused when the threads of coincidences got all tangled up.

    Hamilton took a deep breath in and then turned to look at Ruby. He pointed at her and asked, ¡°You first. How do you know the Queen? Who are you? Where are you from?¡±

    Ruby¡¯s heart rate began to escte from the fear that she was going to be found out.

    From the sound of it, it looked like the man she had traveled with for the whole day was from Sorvando. And the fact that he was always covering his eyes with the sunsses, and the way he was covering almost every inch of his body with clothes made so much sense to her now.

    ¡®He¡¯s a vampire, isn¡¯t he?¡¯ she asked the question to herself. It was the question to which she already had an answer.

    Now that she thought back to how she ended up traveling with a vampire, she was terrified to her core. ¡®How could I not suspect a thing? Why did I have to end up in a vampire¡¯s carriage?¡¯

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± Hamilton asked when he heard Ruby¡¯s heart hammering like crazy.

    Ruby was starting to sweat even on that chilly night. She looked at the vampire and gulped.

    ¡®I don¡¯t want to be dragged away after finally finding the man who turned me into a werewolf. I didn¡¯t run away from Sorvando, run around almost every street in Xanmar, and travel all the way here just to be taken back to that hellhole again.¡¯

    She took a deep breath in and looked at Hamilton while disying false confidence. Then she spun up a lie to prevent being dragged back to Sorvando, ¡°I got a chance to meet with Queen Anastasia when she was still a Princess. I¡¯m from...¡± She didn¡¯t know which Kingdom Anastasia was originally from. So she simply said, ¡°I¡¯m from her Kingdom, not from Sorv... something.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re also from Orsenia!¡± Alexander was happy to find someone who was from his Kingdom.

    Ruby smiled and instantly agreed. ¡°Yes. Orsenia.¡± She then bowed to Alexander thinking that he was either a Prince or a King if he was the Queen¡¯s brother.

    Hamilton felt as though she was not being truthful. So he was about to probe further.

    However, Everard questioned him again. ¡°And may I know who you are? And how do you know Anna?¡±

    Hamilton was agitated when Everard kept on calling the Queen by her nickname rather than addressing her by her full title. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t the Queen¡¯s brother or cousin.

    ¡°Anna? Are you someone close to her?¡± Hamilton asked rather bitterly.

    ¡°I am her friend.¡± Everard narrowed his eyes at Hamilton and stressed, ¡°A good friend.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm...¡± Hamilton also narrowed his blood-red eyes at Everard. But his sunsses were hiding his angered expression.

    ¡°And I am her close rtive now. But I still address her properly,¡± he asserted because he didn¡¯t like Everard for some reason. He was repulsed by his very presence. And he kept on wanting to pick a fight with him.

    Ruby was slowly backing off from Hamilton. She wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth upon realizing that the kind man wasn¡¯t just any vampire but he was that cruel King¡¯s rtive.

    ¡°You¡¯re her rtive?¡± Alexander stood in between those two riled-up men and asked Hamilton while showing his eagerness to get some information about his sister.

    Hamilton instantly calmed down upon seeing that puppy-eyed look on Alexander. Alexander¡¯s eyes reminded him of the gentleness of Queen Anastasia.

    Hamilton smiled again and held out his hand once more. And he finally introduced himself, ¡°I am Lord Hamilton Heradi of the Kingdom of Sorvando. I am the first cousin of King Caspian.¡±

 Chapter 117

    117 Misunderstanding

    Alexander and Everard were a little surprised to hear that the rich blond man was actually royalty.

    Ruby, on the other hand, started to feel lightheaded upon realizing that she had taken help from and traveled with that monster¡¯s cousin.

    ¡°You are my brother-inw¡¯s cousin? What a way to meet!¡± Alexander was immensely happy to have met Hamilton.

    ¡°Shall we go somewhere where we can sit down and talk?¡± he asked Hamilton while pointing towards the slightly busy street. ¡°I would love to hear more about Sorvando, especially about how my sister is doing.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Why not?¡± Hamilton instantly agreed. He was there in the Capital to spend a few days anyway. So he didn¡¯t mind somepany, at least one of thepanies.

    ¡°Pleasee this way.¡± Alexander gestured towards the street that would lead to his dorm room.

    The two royalty ¨C Hamilton and Alexander, started to walk ahead.

    And Everard finally got the chance to focus his attention on Ruby. He looked at her, only to find her digging her nails into her palms and breathing heavily as though she was having a panic attack.

    ¡°Are... are you okay?¡± he asked in a concerned voice.

    .....

    Ruby turned to look at Hamilton first. He was still close by. So Ruby looked at Everard and asked him breathlessly, ¡°May I talk to you in private?¡±

    Everard looked around. The only person who was near them was the coachman of the carriage that Ruby and Hamilton came in. So he replied, ¡°We are alone.¡±

    ¡°Not quite.¡± Ruby instinctively grabbed Everard¡¯s hand and pulled him in the opposite direction of where the vampire was headed.

    Everard wasn¡¯t sure what was going on but he didn¡¯t mind being dragged by Ruby. He also had a few questions for her, starting with who she really was.

    After making sure that they were far enough for the vampire¡¯s ears to catch on to their conversations, Ruby finally stopped dragging Everard. She left the hold on his hand and looked into his ebony eyes.

    ¡®They look different from before,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    Everard broke the eye contact first because this woman was beginning to stir something in his heart again.

    He cleared his throat and then asked, ¡°So, you were going to tell me something?¡±

    ¡°Umm... yes.¡± Ruby had a lot of things to say to him. She also wanted to ask a lot of questions to him. She had thought about all the things that she wanted to say during the ride. But now that she was standing in front of him, her mind went nk.

    The silence between them was getting nerve-racking now.

    So, Everard broke the silence by asking, ¡°Er... what¡¯s your name? I don¡¯t think I caught it before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ruby. Ruby Thompson. And I am from...¡± She turned to see if the vampire was somewhere around. When she didn¡¯t see him, she continued, ¡°I am from Sorvando. I lied earlier.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from Sorvando?¡± Everard frowned and asked, ¡°Then why did you lie? Are you sure that you aren¡¯t already acquainted with that rude man?¡±

    ¡°No. I didn¡¯t know that he was the King¡¯s cousin.¡± Ruby nervously gripped her palms together. And the panic attack returned again. She began having a difficulty in breathing, her head started spinning, and her visions also started to get blurry.

    ¡°Ruby!¡± Everard quickly caught her by her waist when she was about to copse to the ground. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you sick? That man didn¡¯t hurt you, did he?¡± he asked in a deeply worried voice.

    Ruby grabbed her head and got back up on her feet. But she could barely stand because her knees were trembling. So she went and sat down on the porch of a closed shop.

    Everard also followed her and sat down beside her.

    After taking a few moments to calm her heart, Ruby turned to face Everard. And she asked him with a straight face, ¡°You are a werewolf, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Everard was dumbfounded by that direct and most unexpected question.

    All the conversation that the four of them had earlier finally caught up in his mind. He widened his eyes upon realizing that if Hamilton was the King¡¯s cousin then he was also a vampire.

    ¡®Oh, hell no!¡¯ he was angered at the thought of Hamilton. And he suddenly got scared for his friend. ¡®Alex is with him! What do I do now?¡¯

    Everard wanted to run to his friend in case that vampire tried to do something, that is kill his friend and drink his blood.

    But his gaze fell on Ruby. She was staring at him and waiting for an answer. He cautiously slid away from Ruby, thinking that she was also one of those creatures.

    And after staring at Ruby for a few more seconds while contemting his next move, he answered her question with a question, ¡°How do you know what I am? Are you also a...¡± He meant to ask her if she was also a vampire.

    But Ruby gave a nod and replied, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m also a werewolf.¡±

    ¡°A werewolf?¡± Everard was getting shock after shock from Ruby.

    She took a deep breath in before speaking further, ¡°A werewolf that you created.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Everard jumped up on his feet and stood while maintaining a considerable gap between him and Ruby. His jaw almost dropped upon hearing that.

    ¡°Well I was-¡±

    Ruby was trying to exin further but Everard already had something else in his mind.

    ¡°What did you just say? How can I have a daughter who is around the same age as me? That doesn¡¯t even make any sense!¡±

    Ruby didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry upon hearing Everard. She just kept on staring at him in disbelief.

    Everard took another step back from her while shaking his head.

    ¡°I knew you were trouble the first day I met you! For all these days, you made me feel pathetic for no reason. And now you are trying to make a fool out of me?¡±

    ¡°Sir, will you first listen to me? I didn¡¯t mean to say that I was your daughter. What I meant was that-¡±

    ¡°You know what? We¡¯re done here. I don¡¯t have any obligation to keep on listening to your lies. I don¡¯t even know who you are, for god¡¯s sake! You are just a random woman whom I took pity on once.¡±

 Chapter 118

    118 My n

    Right after shouting at Ruby, Everard swiftly turned around to leave from there. He didn¡¯t want to hear anything from Ruby.

    However, Ruby wasn¡¯t done talking. She wasn¡¯t going to give up so easily without even pleading her case.

    So she shouted with haste, ¡°You¡¯re the one who bit me and turned me into this thing!¡±

    Everard suddenly stopped his foot in midair. He turned to look at Ruby again. But he thought that this was another lie of hers because he had no recollection of biting anyone ever.

    ¡°Er... Miss... Look...¡± Everard ran his fingers through his shiny ck hair in agitation. ¡°I don¡¯t want to keep on standing here and listening to your lies. I don¡¯t know why you are trying totch onto me like this. Maybe it is because I showed some kindness that day. Or maybe because you know my real identity that I am a-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying!¡± Ruby said defensively. ¡°You are my only hope in surviving what I am running away from. So, please, will you please listen to what I have to say?¡±

    ¡°Why should I... Ugh!¡± Everard couldn¡¯t say no when Ruby was looking like she was going to break down into tears any second now.

    He sighed and said, ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll give you a minute then. Go on.¡±

    Ruby gulped and mustered up the leftover courage in her before beginning her sad story. And she started exining in a shaky voice.

    .....

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you don¡¯t remember or if you are denying to remember but we met for the first time in the woods of Sorvando. It was a few days prior to our second meeting in that town. I heard the agonizing scream of a man in the woods and went to see if I could do anything to help. But when I got there, instead of finding a man, I found a big ck wolf with shiny yellow eyes.¡±

    Ruby nced at Everard¡¯s eyes. And for a split second, his eyes glowed amber in color. ¡°Yes, those same eyes.¡±

    Everard furrowed his brows and tightly shut his eyes. The bits and pieces of memories of his first transformation were slowlying back to him. He recalled hearing Ruby¡¯s voice when he was running around in pain.

    Ruby inhaled deeply and summarized what he had done to her, ¡°And that wolf ¨C you ¨C bit me on my stomach, dragged me around the woods, and left me to die.¡±

    Everard covered his face with his palm because as she kept on speaking, he kept on recalling everything that he did to Ruby.

    He recalled seeing a terrified woman in the woods. He recalled chasing her. He recalled how she had stumbled to the ground. And he recalled pouncing on her even when a part of him was screaming not to.

    ¡°I lost my consciousness after that. But somehow, when I came back to my senses, I got up and went to see the doctor. And I survived after almost dying again.¡± Ruby¡¯s pupils dted as she kept on recounting everything. ¡°And now, I am turning into the same thing as you. I can run faster, heal faster, hear things that humans can¡¯t, and see things that humans can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I can grow fangs and ws! And what¡¯s more shocking than that is that I can even fight vampires now.¡± She scoffed at herself and kept on speaking, ¡°And because I am bing this thing, I was tortured repeatedly by that monster King. He kept on digging his ws into my heart, asking who bit me.¡±

    Streams of tears rolled down her cheeks as she recalled how much pain she was in. ¡°I knew it was you who bit me. But for some reason, I felt this unexinable sense of...¡± Ruby scavenged in her mind to find a word to exin how she had felt. And she came up with one word that almost fit, ¡°Loyalty.¡±

    She stroked Everard¡¯s right heartstrings when she uttered that word. He had also felt this strange sense of loyalty towards her; this strong urge to protect Ruby at all costs. And he was amused when he heard that it was the same for her.

    Ruby looked into Everard¡¯s eyes which were filled with guilt, and she said in a soft voice, ¡°I felt this sense of loyalty towards you. I just couldn¡¯t give you up to those monsters even when I was on the verge of death.

    I can¡¯t go to my home because every vampire will be looking for me. And the only person I could think of was you. So I came to you after wandering around Xanmar for days.¡±

    ¡°How did you know where to find me?¡± Everard asked in a tamed voice.

    Ruby shrugged and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just did.¡±

    She sniffled and continued further, ¡°But I didn¡¯t know that the man I traveled with was that very King¡¯s cousin. If he finds out that I ran away from the King¡¯s clutches, he might drag me back and throw me into the same dungeon or somewhere worse.¡±

    Ruby suddenly fell to her knees and pleaded while joining her hands and crying, ¡°Please! Save me from all those monsters. I don¡¯t know anyone else whom I can ask for help.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing? Please, get up.¡± Everard held Ruby by her shoulders and made her stand up on her feet.

    He felt his heart tearing apart after hearing Ruby¡¯s agonizing story. And he felt even guiltier upon realizing that he was the one who caused her all that pain to her.

    And he even wondered, ¡®Was I sensing her pain?¡¯ But he instantly brushed off that thought, ¡®How can I? That doesn¡¯t even make any sense.¡¯

    Although some of the things weren¡¯t adding up like how she turned into a werewolf from his bite, he was also a new werewolf with limited information. So he pushed all the questions aside thinking he would ask Lorenzoter.

    And he apologized to Ruby while stuttering, ¡°I- I¡¯m really sorry, Ruby. It-It was never my intention to harm you. But I was not in the right state of my mind that day. Hell, I wasn¡¯t even in the right body.¡±

    He took a step back from her and said, ¡°If I could take back what I did to you, then I would dly do so. But I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s possible or not. I didn¡¯t even know that I could turn a human into a werewolf by biting them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that I got you all tangled up in this werewolf and vampire¡¯s enmity. I¡¯m sorry that they tortured you. But...¡± He took a deep breath in because he couldn¡¯t believe that he was actually going to say it.

    However, he did anyway, ¡°But now that you are here with me, I won¡¯t let any vampirey a finger on you. I turned you into a werewolf, so it is my responsibility to keep you safe from now on.¡±

    Ruby couldn¡¯t be any happier when Everard actually behaved like the angel she had imagined him to be. She smiled through her tears and gratefully said, ¡°Thank you for saying that. You have no idea how much it means to me.¡±

    Everard surprised her even further by saying, ¡°And since I turned you, or created you, or whatever you want to call it...¡± he heaved a sigh again and said, ¡°I will consider you as a part of my Crestfire n from here onward.¡±

 Chapter 119

    119 Enmity

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to get in touch with my sister after she got married. I sent her a letter two days back. I am expecting a reply soon. But it would provide sce to my heart if I hear about her from you. How is my sister?¡± Alexander asked Hamilton after being seated on the sofa of his dorm room.

    Hamilton dly answered the worried brother, ¡°I met the Queen just about a week ago. My mother had invited her to our residence for lunch. She looked happy.¡±

    A soft smile appeared on his face when he recalled how she had admitted to having fallen in love with that mean cousin of his. So he further added, ¡°And it seems like my cousin is treating her really well. She said that they had fallen in love.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes twinkled upon hearing that. It was the very thing that he wanted to hear.

    ¡°Yes, her Majesty said it herself.¡± Hamilton gave a nod and said, ¡°My cousin is someone who is difficult, I will be honest with you. He isn¡¯t someone who shows affection, nor does he expect it from others. But with her, he is different. He went against most of the councilmen and dered her his Queen.¡±

    Alexander couldn¡¯t express how happy he was to hear that. The prejudiced opinion that he had about his brother-inw based on all the rumors that he had heard was slowly being reced by a positive image that Hamilton was painting in his mind.

    And the desire to go and meet both his sister and brother-inw increased further.

    ¡°I hope I will be allowed to enter the border of Sorvando. I really want to meet both of them,¡± he said to Hamilton.

    Hamilton smiled and said, ¡°I bet my cousin will wee you with open arms. But I would like to warn you...¡± He finally took off the sunsses that he was wearing to reveal his red eyes to Alexander.

    .....

    Alexander¡¯s attention was instantly on those red pair of eyes.

    And Hamilton continued, ¡°Most of the residents of Sorvando have one thing inmon. And that is our red eyes. People often associate red eyes with evil... I mean, some of us are evil. But I do hope that you won¡¯t get scared by our looks.¡±

    Unlike what Hamilton had thought, Alexander¡¯s reaction waspletely different. ¡°You had been hiding those eyes all this while because you were afraid people would not like it?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Hamilton truthfully replied.

    And Alexander said with a subtle smile on his face, ¡°If you ask me then I would say that those are really beautiful eyes. You should unt your uniqueness more often. Who knows? Maybe others will like it too?¡±

    Hamilton smiled andfortably leaned back on the sofa. ¡°You know what? I am really d that I met you. The Queen had mentioned that I reminded her of you. Now, I am really ttered to have beenpared to you. You are a really fun person to be around.¡±

    ¡°Shepared me with you, huh? Then I would love to know you more so that I can defend my position as her only brother,¡± Alexander yfully replied.

    And Hamilton ended up bursting intoughter.

    The two of them were getting along with each other and enjoying each other¡¯spany when Everard came rushing inside the room.

    ¡°Alex! Are you okay?¡± he shouted as soon as he entered.

    Alexander was somewhat startled by that sudden intrusion. ¡°I¡¯m okay. Where were you all this while? And...¡± He looked behind Everard and asked, ¡°And where is that guest of yours?¡±

    Everard nced at Hamilton. His eyes were instantly captured by those blood-red eyes of Hamilton. Needless to say, he was repulsed by those predatory eyes. He was repulsed by Hamilton¡¯s very presence in the room.

    ¡°Eve?¡± Alexander called him again, worried that the two of them would start to verbally quarrel with each other again. He didn¡¯t understand why the two of them were so hostile towards each other.

    Everard came and sat beside his friend so that he could directly face Hamilton. And rather than replying to the questions of his friend, he looked at Hamilton and asked in an off-putting way, ¡°When are you leaving? Isn¡¯t it already time for your bed? Or other activities that you do during the dark?¡±

    Hamilton narrowed his eye at Everard upon hearing thest part of the question. ¡°And what activities are you referring to, may I ask?¡±

    Alexander gave a nervousugh and ced his hand on Everard¡¯s knee to ask him to stop talking. And he nced at his friend and spoke for Hamilton, ¡°We haven¡¯t even had dinner yet. So, what¡¯s the hurry? What about you? Will you also join us for dinner?¡±

    ¡°I have other ces to be.¡± Everard turned his gaze at Hamilton and said, ¡°Shall I escort you out while I am on my way?¡±

    Hamilton chuckled in agitation. He already disliked Everard ever since that pungent smell entered his nose for the first time. And now, he was giving more and more reasons to dislike him further.

    He gave a piercing gaze to Everard and asked without beating around the bush, ¡°Why are you so eager to get rid of me? Shouldn¡¯t you first be thanking me for safely bringing your woman here? Or whoever she is?¡±

    Everard scoffed and replied while getting flustered, ¡°First of all, she is not my woman. She is... she is someone I know. And secondly,¡± He looked at his friend and said with a smile, ¡°We have an early morning ss tomorrow. My friend here needs to get his sleep if he is to wake up in time.¡±

    Alexander gave a corner-eyed look to Everard as if to say, ¡®Really? The same old tactic I used?¡¯

    He knew that there was no early morning ss the next day. So he dismissed what Everard had just said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the sses, Lord Hamilton. I am not letting you leave without having dinner with me. And if you aren¡¯t nning on returning to Sorvando right away, might I also arrange a ce for you to stay?¡±

    Hamilton appreciated the gesture from Alexander. But he politely refused, ¡°I think my coachman will have arranged a ce for me by now. And as for the dinner...¡± He wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°I am not really feeling hungry.¡±

    Everard scoffed and rolled his eyes. And he mumbled to himself, all while ring at Hamilton, ¡°I bet you aren¡¯t hungry. I ruined the mood for your dinner, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    Though Alexander didn¡¯t hear Everard, Hamilton heard it all too well. He felt this sudden jolt of anger upon hearing how rudely Everard was talking to him.

    And he asked Alexander while trying his best not to let the anger get reflected in his voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Who is he again? Why does he think that he can talk to me when I am not interested in talking to him in the slightest? He doesn¡¯t even know how to say a simple ¡®thank you¡¯ when I did a favor to him.¡±

    ¡°Eve?¡± Alexander looked at Everard and raised his brows. ¡°He safely brought your guest here, didn¡¯t he? I think you should be more polite to him. And why don¡¯t you introduce yourself?¡±

    Everard sighed and looked at Hamilton with disinterest. And he gave a fake introduction, ¡°I¡¯m Everton. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Alexander red at Everard and said with a stern voice, ¡°Your real introduction, Eve. He is my rtive.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Everard rolled his eyes at his friend. He didn¡¯t want to expose his true identity to a vampire. But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t say no to his friend¡¯s request when the request sounded more like an order.

    So he nced at Hamilton again. And this time, he gave his real introduction, ¡°I am the Crown Prince of Xanmar, Everard Crestfire. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    Hamilton¡¯s ears perked up and his eyes had a hint of realization in them. He knew his history, obviously. The corners of his lips curved up but that simply hid how he was truly feeling at the moment.

    And he said as politely as he could, ¡°And everything finally makes sense. Almost everything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it does,¡± Everard also replied with a fake smile on his face. ¡°And thank you, for bringing her to me. You were of great help today.¡±

    Hamilton abruptly got up on his feet. And he replied while buttoning up his overcoat, ¡°I am d that I was of some help to the Crestfires.¡±

    He then nced at Alexander and said, ¡°Thank you for inviting me to your ce, Crown Prince Alexander. I had a lovely time. Maybe we can catch up tomorrow and you can show me around?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Alexander also got up and replied. ¡°But I am still sad that I couldn¡¯t host a dinner for you.¡±

    Hamilton smiled and said, ¡°Well, I am on a special diet. So, it¡¯s okay, really.¡± He then put his sunsses back on and said, ¡°I will see you tomorrow then. When will you be free?¡±

    ¡°At around two in the afternoon,¡± Alexander replied.

    Hamilton gave a nod. ¡°I will see you at two then.¡±

    He nced at Everard and added sternly, ¡°I would prefer to breathe properly, Crown Prince. I hope you will understand my problem and be considerate. And don¡¯t worry, I will safely drop my Queen¡¯s brother back here.¡±

    ¡°I sure hope so,¡± Everard replied and gave a mirthless smile.

    When Hamilton finally left the room, Alexander looked at his friend and asked, ¡°What was that all about? It sounded like some codenguage to me.¡±

    Everard heaved a deep sigh of relief after the vampire was finally gone. And he replied, ¡°Let¡¯s just say that Xanmar and Sorvando have an ugly history.¡±

    ¡°Ugly history? And you two were hostile to each other because of something that happened in the past between your Kingdoms?¡± Alexander found that reasoning hard to believe.

    Everard shrugged and nonchntly replied, ¡°I guess? Does it make sense to you if I say that I could feel the enmity in my blood?¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Whatever!¡± Alexander gave up trying to understand them. ¡°Oh, by the way, where is thatdy? And who is she?¡±

    Everard also got up when he remembered where he had left Ruby. ¡°Oh! Right! I had left her with Lorenzo. She¡¯s... someone who needs my help and someone who I am responsible for.¡±

 Chapter 120

    120 Brewing the Tea

    More than a week had passed since the disappearance of Ruby from Sorvando.

    Anastasia was finally able to get back up on her feet.

    And Caspian had resumed his duty in the court. He had a lot to catch up on.

    Anastasia was sitting down on the sofa of her antechamber. She had a new novel in her hand. She wanted to go back to the old routine that she had before she had fallen sick.

    However, since she was apanied 24/7 by Caspian for so long, she could barely focus on her book. She was craving for his presence by her side, and she was craving his attention.

    ¡°Your Majesty, would you like a cup of tea?¡± Ti asked the Queen. She had been watching her for a while now. And she could tell that Anastasia was utterly bored. ¡°Maybe the tea will freshen up your mood?¡±

    Anastasia looked at her handmaid and gave a nod. ¡°Yes, please. I think the tea is exactly what I need at the moment.¡±

    ¡°I will be right back then.¡± Ti pointed at the novel that Anastasia was holding and further added, ¡°And I would love to listen to what¡¯s written in that book. I heard that you read the books for Martha and Holly. I would like it if you did the same for me too.¡±

    Anastasia smiled brightly because she caught a hint of jealousy from Ti. ¡°And I would like to read it for you too.¡±

    .....

    Ti smiled back and then went out of the room.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, put the book aside and stared out of her window. The day was very pleasant. The sun was mildly warm. A gust of breeze would pass across every now and then. She also noticed that the trees in the woods were starting to change their colors.

    She rested her head on the sofa and thought to herself, ¡®It has been so long since Ist stepped out of this castle. It would be lovely if I could grab a horse and travel around as I pleased.¡¯

    A gust of wind blew in through the window, and along with it came a dried leaf. Itnded on Anastasia¡¯sp. She picked it up and looked at it. Her face suddenly turned gloomy.

    ¡®Autumn is approaching huh...¡¯

    She got up from the sofa and went to stand by the window. She looked outside and directly stared at the sun even though her eyes hurt because of the brightness.

    ¡®What if this is thest time I see this warm sun? Soon it will start to rain. And then it will start to snow... I will be eighteen soon...¡¯

    The more she thought about it, the gloomier she felt. The rims of her bright forest-like eyes were glistening with tears.

    ¡®Why am I thinking such things? I will be fine... Will I be fine?¡¯

    She didn¡¯t have an answer but she wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths in. The soreness that she felt in her throat started to soothe.

    ¡®I should live in the moments. If I get healed, that¡¯s amazing. If not, I should make the most out of the time that I have left with me. Sulking will only make me die faster.¡¯

    A whileter, Ti returned to the chamber while carrying a tray with everything required to prepare a freshly brewed tea.

    She set the tray on the table and began preparing the tea for the Queen.

    And while she did that, Anastasia keenly watched Ti. Even the simplest thing such as brewing and preparing the tea made her feel intrigued.

    ¡°How do you always manage to get the taste right? I don¡¯t see you measuring the amount of milk or sugar before pouring it into the cup,¡± she asked Ti after taking a sip of the tea.

    Ti smiled and replied, ¡°I have been doing this for so long, Your Majesty. I just know.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Anastasia enjoyed the tea along with the view that she saw from her window.

    After finishing the refreshing tea, a thought came into her mind.

    ¡®Why don¡¯t I prepare tea for him and take it to where he is? That way I will get an excuse to see him.¡¯

    She nced at Ti and excitedly asked, ¡°Ti, why don¡¯t you bring me the required ingredients to make tea? I want to prepare it for Caspian.¡±

    Ti furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°But will he be able to digest it? It¡¯s not his typical diet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he will be fine.¡± Anastasia thought back to all the times she had spent with her husband this past week. And she said, ¡°He used to taste all the foods before he fed them to me, remember? Doesn¡¯t that mean he can eat other things besides... besides the obvious?¡±

    Ti had seen Caspian going to the bathroom after he finished feeding Anastasia. And she had guessed that he went in there to throw up. But she wasn¡¯t so sure about that since she never saw it with her own eyes or heard it with her own ears.

    So she replied, ¡°I guess he will be fine. I will bring another lot then.¡± Ti then grabbed the tray and left the room again.

    After waiting for another 15 minutes, Anastasia finally got what she wanted. She and Ti went to find Caspian in his workroom.

    ¡°Anna, should you be walking already?¡± Caspian hurriedly went to the door to hold her hand when he saw her entering his workroom.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Anastasia replied happily upon seeing her husband. She liked how he came to receive her at the door.

    Caspian saw Ti entering the door right after. And when he saw her carrying the tray, he said to Anastasia, ¡°You could have called me to your chambers if you wanted to sit with me while enjoying your tea.¡±

    ¡°Shh... follow me.¡± Anastasia guided Caspian back to his chair and tried to make him sit down.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Caspian asked whileughing because his tiny wife was struggling to even move his arm.

    Anastasia giggled and said, ¡°Sit down! I¡¯m going to make a cup of tea for you.¡±

    ¡°Er... you¡¯re going to make tea for me?¡± Caspian asked skeptically. He was raising his brows thinking about where she got that idea from. ¡°You do know that I don¡¯t drink tea, right?¡±

    ¡°Maybe you will like the tea that I make for you.¡± Anastasia whimsically grinned and then looked at Ti. She then asked Ti to ce the tray on the table. And she also asked, ¡°Guide me, okay? I will do as you say.¡±

    ¡°I will, Your Majesty,¡± Ti replied with a polite bow.

    ¡°It¡¯s your first time making the tea, huh...¡± Caspian was already skeptical about liking the tea. But he didn¡¯t want to ruin the happy mood that his wife was in for some reason. So he kept quiet and watched her preparing the tea for him.

    ¡°Oh... its color came out really nice,¡± Anastasia said while excitedly looking at her work. She looked at Caspian and said, ¡°I will taste it first, okay?¡±

    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Caspian was looking at his wife while resting his cheek on his palm. He was unable to stop smiling the whole time.

    Anastasia took a sip from the cup. Her eyes instantly widened. She was pleased with herself and towards Ti for guiding her.

    ¡°Here.¡± She happily presented the cup to Caspian.

    Caspian took the cup in his hand and built up some courage before taking the first sip. He instantly raised his brows and praised his wife, ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, wife. This cannot be the first time you prepared the tea.¡±

    ¡°You like it?¡± Anastasia asked while smiling ear to ear.

    ¡°It tastes so good! How can I not like it?¡± Caspian then chugged the tea in one go because he didn¡¯t want the warm tea to cool down before he could enjoy it.

    He then took his wife¡¯s hand and ced a kiss on the back of her palm. And he sincerely asked her, ¡°May I have the luxury to enjoy the tea you prepare every day?¡±

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t be any happier. ¡°Of course. I will brew it every day.¡±

    ¡°But just for me. No one else is allowed to enjoy it.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and agreed. ¡°Just for you.¡±

 Chapter 121

    121 Soft Moans

    ¡°Your Majesty, is something troubling you? Perhaps the sickness is ring again?¡± Ti asked, worried that something was troubling her Queen again.

    Anastasia stopped pacing by the main door to her chambers and shook her head. She gave a subtle smile to Ti and shyly replied, ¡°I was hoping that Caspian woulde here early after performing his duties to the Kingdom. But I guess he has a lot to do. He barely left my side for all these days.¡±

    ¡°I bet he has piles of matters to attend to.¡± Ti smiled upon seeing the blush on Anastasia¡¯s cheeks.

    She then walked to her friend and teasingly said, ¡°It seems like someone has gotten so used to her husband¡¯s presence that she can barely stop thinking about him now. You¡¯re addicted to him, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s whole body began warming up. She couldn¡¯t even look at Ti¡¯s face without getting flustered.

    ¡°I guess I am,¡± she mumbled and stormed off towards her bedchamber.

    And Ti teased Anastasia from the antechamber itself, ¡°Do you want to brew him the tea again, my Queen? Shall I bring everything that is necessary?¡±

    ¡°Ti...¡± Anastasia couldn¡¯t stop blushing when Ti teased her even further. ¡°Don¡¯t tease me like that... You¡¯ll know what it¡¯s like when you fall in love with someone. And I will also mercilessly tease you then.¡±

    Tiughed at that remark from Anastasia. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tease you anymore.¡±

    .....

    She walked inside the bedchamber and took out a bedgown for the Queen to wear for the night. And she teased Anastasia again, ¡°I think if you wear this, you can keep your husband by your side for another two days.¡±

    ¡°Ti!¡± Anastasia was surprised at how Ti was enjoying teasing her. ¡°What did you eat today? You are being very naughty.¡±

    Ti giggled and replied, ¡°I might have drank the leftover tea that you prepared JUST for His Majesty. And I might have fallen in love with you.¡± She dramatically held out her hand to hold Anastasia by her chin, then she sarcastically added, ¡°And I might be plotting to steal you away from your dear husband.¡±

    Anastasia burst out intoughter upon hearing that. ¡°Oh, Ti... You are being really indecent today. I¡¯m sure you ate something bad.¡±

    The twodies continued giggling and teasing each other. Ti also helped Anastasia to change into that beautiful soft pink gown that she had chosen for Anastasia for the night.

    Their giggling was cut short when they heard the main door opening.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Ti gave a bow to the King while he was walking inside. And then she smiled at Anastasia once more before excusing herself from the room.

    Caspian was able to hear theughter of the two of them from outside the room. So he asked while looking at Ti closing the main door behind her, ¡°You two looked like you were having a fun talk.¡±

    ¡°She was having more fun than me,¡± Anastasia replied while smiling.

    ¡°What were you two talking about?¡± Caspian finally turned to look at his wife.

    Anastasia was standing by the bedside. ¡°Well, she was mostly teasing me for being restless. And she... um...¡± She got distracted because of Caspian¡¯s gaze on her, and she forgot what she was going to say.

    Caspian didn¡¯t mind since he wasn¡¯t focusing on what she was saying anyway.

    He was in awe to see his wife in that pink gown made out of silk. The gown had a deep-cut neckline that revealed just the right amount of cleavage of his wife. And the gown sat so well on her body that it felt like her second skin. He could clearly see the outline of her body... her enticing body.

    Anastasia cleared her throat and looked away. ¡°Let¡¯s sleep then, shall we?¡± She turned to push the nket aside so that she could climb on the bed.

    Anastasia breathed in sharply when she suddenly felt Caspian¡¯s arm around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder.

    ¡°I missed you so much,¡± he whispered in her ear.

    The cool breath and his hoarse voice sent a tingling sensation down her spine. Anastasia put her hand on top of his and whispered back, ¡°And I missed you too. I¡¯ve never missed you this badly ever before.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Caspian was very happy to hear that. He smiled and gave a soft peck on Anastasia¡¯s warm cheek.

    Anastasia took a deep breath and nodded.

    ¡°Then I shall make up for making you feel that way.¡± Caspian¡¯s lips touched her ear when he whispered.

    Another wave of tingling sensation ran down her heart.

    Caspian immediately pushed her dark ginger hair away from her neck and gently traced his lips from her jaw down to her slender neck.

    Anastasia tilted her head to the side to allow Caspian to continue what he was doing. And when she felt him lightly nibbling on her neck, a soft moan escaped her delicate lips. She instantly sped her mouth with her palm. Now she was the one who was being indecent.

    ¡°You know I like to hear your soft moans, don¡¯t you?¡± Caspian asked in a ragged whisper. He tried to take her hand away from her mouth, but she insisted on covering her mouth.

    A sly smirk appeared on Caspian¡¯s lips. He shifted to the other side of her shoulder and whispered in the other ear, ¡°Are you challenging me, my wife? I will make you moan even if you cover your lips.¡±

    As soon as he finished saying that, he swiftly slid his hand up from her waist to her breast. And he squeezed it so hard that Anastasia lifted herself on her toes and moaned louder than before.

    ¡°See, I told you,¡± Caspian victoriously smiled and pinched her hard nipple.

    Anastasia was taken by surprise when Caspian suddenly did that. But she was in both pain as well as pleasure. And she liked it a lot. She took Caspian¡¯s other hand and ced it on her other breast.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Caspian nipped her on her neck and whispered, ¡°So you like it, huh?¡±

    ¡°I love it,¡± Anastasia replied breathlessly.

    Caspian was surprised how she epted it instead of shyly denying it. But then again, his wife had a habit of surprising him at the most unexpected times.

    He obliged to her gesture and then massaged her breasts, slightly gently this time.

    His wife was letting out soft moans every now and then. Those soft moans were tempting him greatly. He wanted to kiss every inch of his wife¡¯s body. And he wanted to taste her, fully.

    Caspian swiftly sat down at the edge of the bed. He grabbed Anastasia by her wrist and pulled her.

    Her body got mmed against his chest, eliciting another tantalizing moan from her.

    Everything about his wife ¨C her fragrance, her tenderness, her soft moans, and the expectant look in her eyes ¨C everything was so irresistible that he couldn¡¯t help but grab that beautiful gown of hers and tear it apart.

 Chapter 122

    122 Sacred ce

    Anastasia was taken aback when Caspian tore off that beautiful bedgown like it was nothing.

    Her gown now looked like a cape. The only difference was that she wasn¡¯t wearing any dress underneath. It was her bare body.

    ¡°Caspian...¡± She hurriedly pulled whatever parts of the silk gown she found stuck on her body and tried to cover herself.

    But Caspian held her wrist and didn¡¯t allow her to cover that beautiful body of hers when he hadn¡¯t even begun anything yet.

    She lowered her head and tried to loosen her hand from his grip. But she wasn¡¯t able to do that. ¡°Caspian... please...¡± she whispered breathlessly. She was way too flustered to be standing in front of her husband in her birthday suit.

    Caspian let go of her hand. But he instantly put his arms around her waist and his legs locked her inside the little prison that he had created. He then tightly pressed her body against his own. A sudden burst of aroma entered his nose. He was simply enchanted by how good his wife smelled.

    But she still looked somewhat ufortable.

    So, he looked up at her beautiful face and uttered under his breath, ¡°Wife, there¡¯s nothing on your body that I haven¡¯t seen already. I gave you a bath once, remember?¡±

    Even so, Anastasia gently pressed her hands over her chest and whispered back, ¡°I do remember. But... But that was different.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Oh, was it now?¡±

    The corners of Caspian¡¯s lips slightly curved upward because a splendid idea crossed his mind. He gave a soft kiss on the hands that were covering her chest.

    And he yfully whispered, ¡°Then I shall give you a bath again.¡±

    He gently pushed Anastasia¡¯s palm away from her breast, gave a soft kiss on that sensitive skin of hers, and went for yet another peck.

    Anastasia sharply inhaled and tightly pressed her lips together. Her heart rate was already beyond what was normal.

    Caspian was loving the sound of her escting heartbeat. It was like music to his ears.

    He wanted to hear her heartbeat rising even further. So he grabbed her hands again and ced them on his shoulders.

    ¡°Mhmm... So beautiful...¡± He marveled at the sight of his wife¡¯s beauty. And he continued whispering in his sensual voice, ¡°Let¡¯s bathe together after we finish what we are doing at the moment. And I will let youpare if thest time was any different than this time.¡±

    Anastasia felt like her cheeks and ears were on fire. And the hair that she had let down wasn¡¯t helping at all.

    Caspian was still admiring his wife¡¯s tender and smooth body. ¡°I still cannot believe that all of this is mine and only mine,¡± he said in a ragged whisper.

    Anastasia recalled the vow that she had made to herself in the afternoon. And she motivated herself to be more confident. ¡®Yes, let¡¯s live in the moment. I don¡¯t want to waste a second more. He is my husband. There¡¯s no need for me to feel shy in front of him. I can-¡®

    ¡°Nnngh...¡± Anastasia suddenly arched her back and moaned when she felt Caspian sucking her breast.

    A warm wave of pleasure washed her body. And she knew that a tsunami was on its way.

    As she had expected, she kept on feeling the tingling sensation running from her breasts down to her stomach and further down between her legs.

    Caspian was sucking and nibbling one of her breasts while he was pinching and rolling the nipples of the other one.

    ¡°Aahh...¡± Anastasia wrapped her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck.

    Every time he would bite her sensitive nipples, she would moan and try to put some distance between his lips and her body. But at the same time, the excitement wouldn¡¯t allow her to do so, and neither would Caspian.

    The excitement that Anastasia was feeling was heightened even further when his cold tongue woulde into contact with her breast every now and then.

    ¡°Hahhh... Cas-pian...¡± she eximed when she suddenly felt his cold hand on her hips.

    Caspian further tore off the remaining silk gown that was still covering Anastasia¡¯s back. He wanted nothing between him and her. Not even a piece of cloth.

    Caspian raised his head and looked at his wife¡¯s face. He liked the expression on her face. The disy of pleasure on her face stirred up his desire even further.

    He gently pped both of her cheeks down there.

    ¡°Aaahh!¡± Anastasia was a little surprised at first.

    Caspian liked that sound she made. So he smiled and spanked her again.

    ¡°Nnnghh...¡± Anastasia jumped a little when she felt a mix of pain and pleasure.

    And out of nowhere, Anastasia felt his cold fingers between her legs. ¡°Oh my god!¡± Her heart almost leaped out of her mouth when she felt that jolt of pleasure, the kind of pleasure that she had never felt in her life before.

    She thought that it couldn¡¯t get any better than that. But oh, how wrong she was.

    The way she felt when her husband¡¯s fingers were sliding against her sensitive skin, she thought that she wouldn¡¯t regret a thing even if she was to die tomorrow.

    ¡°Ah! Oh my god! Why d-does it f-feel so good?¡± Anastasia whimpered in ecstasy.

    Caspian suddenly grabbed Anastasia¡¯s cheeks with his free hand and ordered her very authoritatively, ¡°Don¡¯t take god¡¯s name when I am the one who¡¯s giving you pleasure.¡± He pulled her close and gently bit her tongue. And he asked her, ¡°Say my name, wife.¡±

    She smiled in disapproval but also instantly obliged, ¡°Caspian...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Caspian amorously kissed his wife¡¯s tender lips, all while rubbing his finger on her other lips. And he asked her again, ¡°Are you enjoying it?¡±

    Anastasia was already feeling weak in her knees. She was only able to stand up because she was tightly gripping Caspian¡¯s shoulders and supporting her weight. Or else, she would have melted like butter and copsed on the floor a while ago.

    So, she smiled and nodded her head. ¡°You already know the an-answer, Caspian. I love it.¡±

    She took a deep breath in and looked into his beautiful red eyes. She cupped his cheeks and leaned closer to his face. And she professed how she was truly feeling about him, ¡°I love you, Caspian. I love you so much.¡±

    ¡°And as do I, Anna. Very much.¡± Caspian smiled and gazed at her plump and moist lips.

    Anastasia leaned further down and gently brushed her lips against his. She wanted to take it slow since she wasn¡¯t sure if she would be able to handle receiving pleasure from both ends.

    But Caspian wanted her. Badly. He ced his palm at her nape and pushed her close to his lips. And he attacked her like a predator that had been deprived of proper food for hundreds of years.

    He pushed his way inside her mouth in an instant and began kissing her fervently. And at the same time, he pushed his finger just a little so as to give her a tease of what wasing her way soon.

    ¡°Mmmhh...¡± Anastasia bit Caspian¡¯s tongue because of the jolt of pleasure that she felt down there.

    Caspian didn¡¯t mind it. Rather, he liked his fierce tigress.

    Anastasia moaned inside his mouth when the intensity of the thrust increased between her legs.

    Her moans were way too arousing for Caspian. And he was all over her body. He was kissing her hard, grabbing her hair, rubbing his fingers, and tightly sping his legs around her.

    After a while of moaning, and breathlessness, Anastasia quickly crossed her legs and curled her toes, unable to contain the thing that was beginning to drip down her sacred ce.

 Chapter 123

    123 How Are Babies Made?

    Caspian picked Anastasia up in his arms and gentlyid her down on the bed.

    Anastasia quickly pulled the nket to cover her bare skin. The little bit of confidence that she had mustered up a while ago disappeared the moment her back touched the soft bed.

    ¡°Uh-uh!¡± Caspian raised his brows and shook his head to disapprove of that action of his wife. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet, wife. That was just a warm-up for the real thing.¡±

    Anastasia nervously wiped the sweat beads from her hairline, and she thought to herself, ¡®R-Real thing... There¡¯s more than that?¡¯ But she didn¡¯t vocalize her thoughts, thinking that Caspian would tease her for not knowing.

    Caspian smirked and winked at his wife. Then, he began unbuttoning his shirt while intently gazing at his wife¡¯s half-covered body.

    Anastasia deeply breathed through her mouth when her eyes fell on her husband¡¯s sculpted body. The muscles on his chest and stomach looked so toned that she couldn¡¯t help but lust over her husband.

    Caspian¡¯s smile broadened upon seeing the longing in Anastasia¡¯s eyes. He dropped the shirt on the floor. And he raised his arms and ran his fingers through his blond hair, just so he could show off his angelic body to his wife.

    Anastasia¡¯s heart had calmed down slightly. But after seeing her husband¡¯s half-naked body, especially his muscr arms, her heart began hammering again. Her throat parched in an instant. She gulped, but it did nothing to ease the thirst that she was feeling.

    Caspian chuckled upon hearing the increasing heart rate of his wife. And he could feel his own heart beating somewhat audibly.

    .....

    He then took off his boots while she guiltily enjoyed the strip show.

    And before taking off his trousers, Caspian enchantingly said to his wife, ¡°I hope you will allow me to give you the ultimate pleasure tonight, dear wife.¡±

    ¡°Ultimate p-pleasure?¡± Anastasia deeply inhaled and dared to ask this time, ¡°There¡¯s... there¡¯s something more pleasurable than what we just did?¡±

    Caspian gave a suspicious look to his wife and asked, ¡°Do you really not know about it or are you ying innocent? Everyone of your age knows that there¡¯s more, especially the Princesses, because they are expected to bear heirs for their husbands and continue the family line.¡±

    Anastasia pressed her cold palms over her burning cheeks and softly mumbled, ¡°I was never taught such things because... Well, I don¡¯t know why. I just never was.¡±

    Caspian was amazed to hear that from his wife. He was a little surprised that his inws provided all kinds of knowledge but the reproductive education to their daughter. But he didn¡¯t dwell much upon that thought.

    He slowly unbuttoned his trousers and asked Anastasia as he did so, ¡°You weren¡¯t taught, huh... So tell me, how do you think babies are made?¡±

    Anastasia covered her face with the nket when Caspian was about to drop his trousers as well. And she breathlessly mumbled, ¡°I have a guess. But I don¡¯t know if I am right.¡±

    Anastasia felt the bed dipping right next to her. And she felt her husband¡¯s heavy arm and a leg on her. Her heart raced even further. She felt as though her heart would explode if Caspian did something erotic to her right now.

    Caspian pulled the nket away from her and threw it down the bed. He rested his head on his palm. And he asked Anastasia while looking into her expectant eyes, ¡°Do tell, my Queen. How are babies made?¡±

    ¡°Umm...¡± Anastasia nervously whispered, ¡°You... Er... You do something to me d-down there.¡±

    Caspian was enjoying teasing her. And to make her even more flustered, he asked again, ¡°Mhmm... Do what? Be more specific.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Anastasia sharply inhaled and grabbed the pillow. She swiftly covered her face with the pillow.

    And Caspian heard her muffled voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Caspian chuckled to himself and took that pillow away. He threw that aside and leaned down to give a passionate kiss to Anastasia. When the sweet taste of hers entered his mouth, the desire that had calmed down a little rose back again.

    He lifted his head to look at his wife. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if your parents didn¡¯t teach you anything about all this.¡±

    He took Anastasia¡¯s hand and ced it on his chest. He slowly guided her palms down to his stomach. And further down to let her feel his manhood that was eager to be touched.

    Anastasia was softly gazing at her husband¡¯s extremely handsome face. But when her palm felt something hard, her eyes widened in realization.

    ¡°I am ready to teach you everything. Tonight.¡± Caspian smirked and gave a gentle kiss on her forehead.

    But his gentle behavior instantly changed into the pr opposite. He straddled Anastasia in an instant, almost startling her.

    He rested his hips on her thighs and leaned down. And he vigorously kissed her mouth while his hands yed with her breasts.

    Anastasia was feeling explosions inside her chest and her belly. She didn¡¯t mind his husband kissing her a little more aggressively than he normally used to. She also kissed her husband back with equal passion.

    And amidst the kissing and tangling of their tongues, a daring thought crossed her mind.

    When Caspian pulled away from the kiss to let Anastasia breathe, she took the chance to cup her husband¡¯s face. And she asked while gulping and gasping for breath, ¡°Let¡¯s have a baby.¡±

    She had calcted the approximate time that she had left. Even if she was unable to obtain that mysterious cure, she believed that she had enough time to give birth to a baby, that is, if they conceived right away.

    Upon her death, Anastasia wanted to leave someone behind for her husband whom he could call his own.

    Caspian, obviously oblivious to the real reason behind his wife¡¯s wish, was delighted to hear that request. His love for his wife began to bubble in his heart. He couldn¡¯t imagine his wife saying anything more romantic than asking to have a baby.

    ¡°I would love to have a baby,¡± he smiled ear to ear and whispered excitedly.

    Anastasia¡¯s expression, however, suddenly changed. She looked somewhat scared.

    Caspian teasingly smiled and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    All of a sudden, he felt like kissing and nipping Anastasia all over her neck. He felt like leaving love bites all over her neck and her shoulders. But he scratched that thought of leaving marks on her. He didn¡¯t want to identally feed on his wife. He feared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop himself once he started.

    He smiled at his wife again and asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to go back on your word now, are you?¡±

    Anastasia gave a nervous smile and shook her head.

    ¡°Then what happened?¡± Caspian leaned down to kiss Anastasia¡¯s neck.

    But Anastasia stopped him and said with haste, ¡°Your eyes have turned grey again. Are you... feeling okay?¡±

    Anastasia was a little scared because by now, she knew what would happen when his eyes turned grey. She didn¡¯t want him to lose control.

    ¡°My eyes are grey? I feel fine though.¡± Caspian blinked and rubbed his eyes. And he asked her, ¡°Are they gone?¡±

    Anastasia shook her head.

    Caspian was now sad and confused. He didn¡¯t know whether to stop for today or whether to continue with their n of making babies tonight.

    Anastasia put her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck and pulled him close to her chest. And she consolingly said, ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing. Maybe your eyes change color when you are arous- when you want me.¡±

    Caspian took a deep breath. He put his arms under his wife¡¯s back and tightly hugged her. He was at least thankful that he wasn¡¯t craving her blood at the moment. All he was craving for was her ¨C to make love with her.

    He softly kissed her shoulder and thought to himself, ¡®I hope it¡¯s nothing rming. And I hope I won¡¯t lose my control like the previous times.¡¯

 Chapter 124

    124 Bewitching Grey Eyes

    In a house that was in the middle of a forest, far away from the human settlements, loud thudding and smashing sounds could be heard.

    If someone were to hear that noise from outside the house, they would believe that the house was being robbed.

    But the reality was way different than that.

    ¡°I missed you so much, love,¡± a man who looked like he was in his early thirties breathlessly whispered to his woman.

    He was carrying a gorgeousdy in his arms and was vigorously thrusting his hips.

    The woman had her arms and legs wrapped around her husband. Her loud moans were proof of how much she was enjoying the intimacy.

    She looked at her husband¡¯s fanciable face and she also breathlessly whispered back, ¡°You should havee home earlier if you missed me this much.¡±

    ¡°You tend to be a little aggressive when you¡¯re pent up.¡± She bared her fangs and dove in to bite her husband.

    ¡°Mmm... Look who¡¯s talking!¡± The man grabbed his wife by her hair and pulled her away from his neck. He smirked and bared his own fangs. And he went in to bite his wife¡¯s inviting neck.

    .....

    ¡°Aahhh!¡± The woman arched her back and moaned loudly. ¡°Your bite is so addictive. Nngh...¡±

    The man looked at her with his bewitching grey eyes and licked the blood off of his lips. ¡°You taste as good as ever, love.¡±

    The woman smiled and ruffled her husband¡¯s sweaty blond hair. And she leaned to kiss his eyes.

    The man pecked his wife¡¯s nose and asked in a whisper, ¡°You really love my eyes when it turns into this color, don¡¯t you?¡±

    His wife hugged him tightly and lovingly replied, ¡°How could I not love it? It¡¯s thanks to these eyes that I get to spend my eternity with you.¡±

    The man smiled and teasingly said, ¡°Hey, I am the one who made that possible, not my eyes. Love me more.¡±

    The woman¡¯s red eyes shined with excitement. She looked at her husband with a wide grin on her face. And she asked, ¡°Second round?¡±

    The man jumped on the bed along with his wife. He straddled her and pinned her wrists above her head. He then gave a whimsical smirk.

    And he whispered raggedly, ¡°Hell yeah! And then third, and fourth... and so on and so forth...¡±

    His wife yfully snarled at him and said challengingly, ¡°Bring it on, husband.¡±

    ¡ª

    ¡°Caspian, is it really necessary to do this?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian as he carried her to the bathroom.

    Caspian pushed the door of the bathroom with his shoulder while replying to his wife, ¡°Yes, absolutely. I am going to give you a nice COLD bath.¡±

    Anastasiaughed at how he emphasized on the cold. ¡°Caspian... I can call Ti and ask her to help me with my bath. You don¡¯t have to do this, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah? And then allow your handmaid to rob me of my happiness? That¡¯s a huge no.¡± Caspian let Anastasia stand on her feet after entering the well-furnished bathroom.

    Anastasia quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it.

    And Caspian instantly fisted on his hips and gave a re to her.

    Anastasia giggled again and asked, ¡°What? It¡¯s slightly chilly at night these days. And I cannot catch a cold after just recovering.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes but agreed with his wife, ¡°Okay, I will allow it this once then.¡±

    He then looked at the bathtub that was filled with water. He went to dip his hand in it. He nced at his wife and said, ¡°Well, the water is obviously hotter than my body. But I guess it¡¯s cold for you. Do you want me to ask the maids to prepare a warm bath?¡±

    However, Anastasia didn¡¯t quite like the idea. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be seen like this by the maids. And by the time we cover ourselves properly, we will finish bathing.¡±

    Caspian looked at his wife with a wide grin on his face.

    Anastasia smiled back and raised her brows. ¡°Now what, dear husband? I don¡¯t think I said something funny.¡±

    ¡°But you definitely said something to make me smile.¡± Caspian went and stood in front of his wife. He leaned down to see his wife¡¯s face, and he teasingly said, ¡°Just now, were you afraid that I would let the maids see me like this? Is that why you are ready to take a cold shower? Because you got a little jealous?¡±

    Anastasia covered her eyes andughed. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even thought about that, Caspian.¡±

    Caspian clicked his tongue and sighed. ¡°You could have at least made me feel good by showing a little sign of jealousy, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you want me to be jealous?¡± Anastasia couldn¡¯t stop herself from chuckling. She put her arms around her husband and gave a peck on his lips.

    And after that, she said in a somewhat serious tone, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to ever make me feel jealous, husband. I don¡¯t want to waste my time worrying about some other woman who might possibly want a taste of you.¡±

    Caspian got a mncholic vibe from her. So he hugged her tightly and reassured her, ¡°I have my eyes on you only, Anna. You know that.¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Anastasia buried her face into his chest and whispered.

    After staying in each other¡¯s embrace for a while, Caspian looked at his wife and said, ¡°Now, let¡¯s quickly take a bath and then go to sleep. I don¡¯t want to keep you awake for the whole night.¡±

    When Anastasia gave a nod, Caspian took the towel from her body and put it aside. He lifted his wife and stepped inside the bathtub while carrying her. And he gentlyy down his wife in the tub.

    Anastasia sharply inhaled when she felt the coldness of the water.

    ¡°Is it too cold?¡± he asked.

    She shook her head and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s bearable.¡±

    Caspian quickly knelt beside her and leaned to rify something he had said earlier, ¡°I mean, I could keep you up all night if you want me to. But you only recently recovered so... I thought of cutting you some ck.¡±

    Anastasia yfully sprinkled some cold water on Caspian¡¯s face and giggled. And she teasingly said, ¡°Your Majesty, unfortunately, you are right. I cannot keep up with your stamina.¡±

    ¡°Thought so,¡± Caspian gazed at his wife¡¯s cheerful face with eyes full of love. He gently caressed his wife¡¯s cheeks and pulled her in to give a soft kiss on her lips.

    Before he got consumed by his desire again, he quickly pulled away and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s bathe for real now.¡±

 Chapter 125

    125 Appreciation

    ¡°Greetings, Alpha Romulus,¡± Lorenzo fisted over his heart and bowed to the alpha of his n.

    Romulus was happy to see the trusty informant of his. ¡°Lorenzo! You are finally back from Lavinya, huh? You took your sweet time toe and see me.¡±

    Lorenzo gave a subtle smile and replied, ¡°Please forgive me, Alpha. There was an unprecedented event that needed my immediate involvement. And because I stayed there for a little bit longer than I had previously nned, I was able to dig out some fascinating news for you.¡±

    ¡°I expect nothing less from you.¡± Romulus was way too eager to hear the information that Lorenzo had brought back. So, he instantly asked, ¡°Tell me, Lorenzo. What have you found out about the Crown Prince?¡±

    Lorenzo smiled and proudly said to his alpha, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you are already seated, Alpha. What I am going to say next will greatly shock you.¡±

    Romulus¡¯ eyes shined when he heard that. He shifted to the edge of his chair to listen to this news that Lorenzo imed to be shocking.

    And then, Lorenzo revealed all of the findings, ¡°First of all, I found out who the Crown Prince wasmunicating with when he had sent that letter to Sorvando. It turns out that our Crown Prince is madly in love with the wife of the Vampire King.¡±

    The corner of Romulus¡¯ lips curved up slightly to form a sly smirk. ¡°Interesting. Not what I had expected, but still, interesting.¡±

    ¡°I bet what you will hear next will be far more interesting than this.¡± Lorenzo took a deep breath before continuing.

    .....

    He then asked his alpha in a serious tone, ¡°Alpha, have you heard about the mythical wolves that are said to be born every few centuries whenever the werewolf poption is at risk of extinction? The ones who are supposed to be the great savior of the wolves because they possess the power of the moon goddess herself?¡±

    A deep frown line appeared on the alpha¡¯s forehead. ¡°You mean the ones who are said to be able to create the werewolves?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alpha.¡±

    ¡°And you are bringing this up now because?¡± Romulus questioningly raised his brows though he already had a guess why he was bringing up this issue now.

    Lorenzo¡¯s cheerful persona was reced by an extremely serious one. He gave a slight nod to Romulus and said, ¡°Yes, Alpha. You are right if you guessed the Crown Prince to be that mythical wolf.¡±

    ¡°Holy goddess!¡± Romulus abruptly got up from his chair and stood in front of the short man. ¡°You better not be joking about this. That is a pretty serious matter.¡±

    ¡°I would never dare to joke about such matters with you, My Alpha,¡± Lorenzo replied while looking into Romulus¡¯ eyes. ¡°I have seen the proof with my own two eyes. Or else, I wouldn¡¯t dare to raise this matter here.¡±

    ¡°What? What proof? Is he going around turning people into werewolves?¡± Romulus had a look of dread in his eyes.

    All of the werewolves considered their powers to be a sacred gift from the moon goddess. And to think that a na?ve wolf was going around bestowing that sacred gift to random humans crushed his soul.

    Lorenzo noticed the anger that was brewing inside of his alpha. So he was quick enough to give him the true picture of what he had witnessed. ¡°No, Alpha. The Crown Prince isn¡¯t that stupid to do something like that. He happened to turn one woman by ident. I learned that it happened when he transformed for the first time. So, it is understandable.¡±

    ¡°When he transformed for the first time? Did the Crown Prince trust you with all these pieces of information? Or you found it out yourself?¡± Either way, Romulus was already impressed by Lorenzo¡¯s information-gathering skill.

    Lorenzo then exined how he got to know everything. ¡°Do you remember that unprecedented event that I was talking about earlier? It was the sudden arrival of the werewolf that the Crown Prince had created. And I had the chance to talk with her. The Crown Prince also confirmed what thatdy had said.¡±

    ¡°Ady?¡± Romulus asked curiously.

    Lorenzo subtly smiled and added, ¡°And what¡¯s even more interesting is the fact that she is originally from Sorvando. We now have our own personal source of information regarding vampires.¡±

    ¡°And...¡± He further emphasized, ¡°It looks like the werewolves created by the Crown Prince are loyal to him and not to the alpha of the Crestfire n. From the way she described the pull... I¡¯m pretty sure that...¡±

    Lorenzo took a pause for a brief second. A hint of confusion glimmered in his eyes. But he quickly concluded, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that she felt the sire bond towards Prince Everard. She traveled all the way to Lavinya in search of her sire.¡±

    Romulus was now smiling ear to ear. He spread out his arms and then hugged his informant. ¡°You are indeed brilliant, Lorenzo. I did the right thing by sending you to Lavinya. You have made me proud.¡±

    For Lorenzo, being acknowledged by the alpha was the highest level of achievement that he could ever hope for. His chest was puffing with pride. But he calmly added, ¡°I still have a lot to share, Alpha. About this mythical wolf as well as my progress with him.¡±

    Romulus patted Lorenzo¡¯s shoulder and started to head towards his private meeting room. ¡°Then let¡¯s talk over a fine dinner. You must be tired as well as hungry after the long journey.¡±

    Lorenzo couldn¡¯t be any happier. ¡°Sharing the meal with the alpha himself... Thank you for bestowing this mere servant with such great opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Romulus nced back at Lorenzo and praised him again, ¡°Who told you that you are my mere servant? You are the most important wolf of my n. Our n is going to thrive further because of this information that you brought me.¡±

    ¡°I am d that I could be of your service,¡± Lorenzo finally smiled widely and proudly trotted behind the alpha.

    ¡ª

    It was already time for dinner, but King Alfred was still pacing back and forth in his study. He had a lot of things on his mind.

    ¡®I wonder how Everard is coping with the sudden change. I hope he hasn¡¯t done anything stupid. And I hope he is not drowning himself in self-loathing.¡¯

    He kept on thinking about his son and the future of his n.

    After a while, he heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°Your Majesty, may Ie in?¡± His beta asked from outside the door.

    Alfred stopped pacing and answered, ¡°Jerome, yes,e in.¡±

    Jerome walked inside the room and bowed to the King. ¡°Your Majesty, the dinner is getting cold. I think you should have dinner and rest for the night. You have been getting less and less sleep these days. It isn¡¯t good for your health.¡±

    Alfred nodded his head and walked outside his study with his arms behind his back.

    While on his way to the dining room, he asked Jerome, ¡°The full moon will soon be upon us. Have you chosen theds to be sent to Lavinya?¡±

    Jerome gave a nod and replied, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I have my eyes on a few of the best wolves of the n. Do you want to see them yourself before sending them off?¡±

    Alfred heaved a sigh and shook his head. ¡°I will trust your judgment, Jerome. Just make sure that theds are strong enough to handle Everard.¡±

    ¡°I will choose three of them for the task tomorrow then.¡± Jerome looked at the King and asked, ¡°And maybe we can send them to Lavinya a few days prior so that the Crown Prince can get acquainted with them? That way, the Crown Prince can put his trust in them to aid his transforma-¡±

    Jerome stopped speaking when the King suddenly entered a coughing fit.

    ¡°Your Majesty, are you alright?¡± he held the King by his shoulders and asked in a concerned voice.

    Alfred stopped coughing after about a minute. He cleared his throat and answered, ¡°I think it¡¯s because the season is changing. It¡¯s starting to get chilly.¡±

    ¡°I will ask the maids to dress you up in warmer clothes from tomorrow,¡± Jerome replied while offering a kerchief to the King.

    The King took the kerchief and looked at Jerome with appreciative eyes. ¡°Thank you, Jerome. You didn¡¯t have to do all this. But I really appreciate the way you take care of me.¡±

    Jerome gave a subtle smile to his alpha and said, ¡°I am simply keeping yourpany, Alpha.¡±

    He looked around the hallways and sighed.

    And he said in a rather glum voice, ¡°I feel like thisrge castle and empty halls haunt people. I know you can feel lonely even when you have the whole n who calls you family.¡±

    Alfred gave a subtle smile to his beta. He patted Jerome on the shoulder and asked, ¡°Jerome, when the timees, show your devotion to my son as well. He has a lot to learn. And I cannot think of a better person to teach him everything about the Kingdom as well as the n.¡±

 Chapter 126

    126 n for the Full Moon

    After having a heavy dinner, Everard was sitting on the sofa of his dorm room. He was holding the letter that Alexander had given to him. It was the letter from Anastasia.

    By now, he had gone through that letter more than 50 times. Still, he was unable to ept what was clearly written in the letter.

    And he was closing his eyes and mumbling to himself, ¡°She is happy with her husband? How can she be happy with that damned monster? Ruby said that Anna witnessed that monster torturing her. She even spoke up for Ruby! There is no way in hell she can still look at that monster¡¯s face without feeling disgusted or scared for her life.¡±

    He clutched the letter tightly and sighed. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what must have happened... It¡¯s definitely that monster husband of hers who dictated her what to write in this letter. Or, she just wrote all the lies so that Alex wouldn¡¯t be too worried about her.¡±

    ¡°Ugh!¡± He threw that letter on the table in frustration.

    Lorenzo had made Everard aware of how he wasn¡¯t supposed to talk about the werewolves and the vampires with the humans. And the frustration was eating him up from the inside because he couldn¡¯t make his friend understand how Anastasia could be in real danger without telling him the exact reasons why.

    ¡°And why the hell would Alex believe that rude bastard¡¯s words over mine? That red-eyed bastard filled Alex¡¯s ears with all the good lies. Why can¡¯t Alex sense that? Ugh! But how would he? He doesn¡¯t even know a drop regarding his damned brother-inw. And that blond bastard made him believe that he is a saint. And Anna¡¯s sugarcoated letter confirmed his lies.¡±

    Everard got up from the sofa and went to stand by the window. He looked outside at the night sky. The moon was closer to being whole again.

    And he thought with determination in his eyes, ¡®I should pack my things and head towards Sorvando before my father sends his minions here. I¡¯ll camp near the border before the full moon. And when the nightes, I will scale the walls and go to fetch Anna myself. No one is going to save her from the clutches of that monster if it¡¯s not me.¡¯

    .....

    ¡®Lorenzo said that most of us can retain our consciousness from the second transformation onwards. I really hope that it will also be true in my case. I don¡¯t want to identally hurt Anna instead of saving her.¡¯

    While he was drowning himself in the thoughts, he heard a soft knock on the door. He knew who it was right away.

    He nced at the closed door and said, ¡°Yes, Ruby. The door is not locked.¡±

    Ruby gently pushed the door open and then peeked inside. She gave a wide smile to Everard when her eyes met with his. And she asked in a soft voice, ¡°I umm... I was wondering if you needed anything.¡±

    Everard raised his brows and asked her politely, ¡°Ruby, how many times do I have to tell you? You¡¯re not my maid. They can take care of my needs. And don¡¯t walk alone at night. The night streets are not friendly to thedies.¡±

    Ruby gave a subtle smile and said, ¡°But still... You are providing me a ce to live and you are putting food on my table. So, the least I could do is help you in one way or another.¡±

    Everard sighed. He had said the same thing countless times. And he said it again, ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel obliged towards me, Ruby. I already feel guilty for putting you in this situation. I don¡¯t want to feel guiltier by making you work for me.¡±

    Ruby smiled and gave a respectful bow to the Crown Prince. ¡°I will go back to my room then. Have a good night, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard gave a nod to Ruby. But as she was about to close the door, he asked, ¡°On second thought, why don¡¯t youe inside and sit with me for a while? I have a few things to tell you.¡±

    Ruby walked briskly and happily into the room.

    ¡°Please, take a seat,¡± Everard pointed at the sofa and he also sat down in front of her. He could see how happy she was to be in hispany. And he felt bad because the thing that he was about to say to her wasn¡¯t happy at all, it was depressing.

    ¡°Ruby... Er...¡± Everard rubbed his palms together and then awkwardly asked, ¡°You know that the full moon is approaching, right?¡±

    ¡°Umm... Yes, of course,¡± Ruby said with a nod. She could take a guess what this talk was going to be about. ¡°Are we going to talk about how werewolves and full moon are rted?¡± she asked curiously.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Everard nodded and then got to the point, ¡°From the way you can already grow fangs and ws, I believe that you will have your first full transformation this full moon. I believe that you already have some idea about what will happen to you.¡±

    As expected, Ruby¡¯s smile withered away from her face. ¡°I do have some idea. I think that I will be breaking all of my bones. And my body will change into a wolf. And maybe... I will go wild... like you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible that you might run wild like me.¡± Everard heaved a deep sigh as the look on Ruby¡¯s face turned gloomier. ¡°I would have loved to say that it¡¯s going to be easy. But it is not. You will wish that you would rather die than go through such pain each month. But from what I have heard, it will get easier with time.¡±

    ¡°I sure hope so,¡± Ruby didn¡¯t know what else to say than that.

    Everard kept looking at her sad face. He would have liked to offer her some constion. But he would rather be truthful and prepare her for the uing full moon than provide her with a moment offort or keep her in the dark.

    ¡°Ruby, I would have sent you to Xanmar with a letter addressed to my father. It would have been easier for you during the full moon if you were under the watch of other wolves. But ording to Lorenzo, they might treat you like an outcast because you are an anomaly.¡±

    Ruby carefully listened to what Everard was saying.

    ¡°So, I need you to be prepared when the full moones. I have located a secluded ce. I will take you there tomorrow. And I want you to prepare strong chains for yourself so that you can tie yourself up during the full moon. That way, there¡¯s less chance of you running rampant in the town. We don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t want the townspeople to cause you harm, thinking you are a wild beast.¡±

    Ruby was already sweating just by listening to what Everard was saying.

    He was making it sound as though she would be all alone during the full moon. And the thought of being tied up in some secluded ce, going through a drastic change and excruciating pain, that also all alone made her feel like puking.

    She looked at Everard with terror in her eyes and asked, ¡°But you will be there with me during the full moon, won¡¯t you, Your Highness? You will also transform alongside me, right?¡±

    Everard felt a pang in his heart when Ruby asked him that question. She sounded terrified to her core.

    He looked away from her and replied, ¡°I think I will be somewhere else during the full moon. That¡¯s why I am telling you all of these in advance. I don¡¯t want you to be clueless and I certainly don¡¯t want you to... to be gone when I return.¡±

    Ruby was now horrified when Everard confirmed that she would indeed be alone during the most difficult phase of her life.

    She didn¡¯t say it, she thought she had no right to say it, but deep down in her heart, she wished that Everard would stay by her side. She didn¡¯t want to be left alone.

    And even though she didn¡¯t utter a word, Everard could see in her eyes what she wanted to say. Or rather, he could feel the pain that she was feeling at the moment.

    He had been nning to go to Sorvando during the full moon and rescue Anastasia for a while now. But now, upon seeing Ruby getting terrified and hearing her heart beating like never before, his heart started to falter.

    ¡®Should I stay back?¡¯ he wondered.

    But he instantly shook away that thought. ¡®No. What am I even thinking? I have been waiting for the full moon for so long. I cannot go back on my word now. Especially not when I know that Anastasia¡¯s husband is a ruthless and sick monster.¡¯

 Chapter 127

    127 Recalling

    ¡°... And that is it for today, Your Majesty.¡± Zenon inhaled deeply after speaking non-stop for a few minutes.

    Caspian was looking down at a pile of papers and files with great disinterest. ¡°This is a lot of work for today, Zenon. Are you sure this is legal? Making your King work overtime like this?¡±

    Zenon gave a guilty smile and replied, ¡°I would have loved to lessen your workload, Your Majesty. But these are all urgent matters that need your immediate attention. All the works piled up when you were absent from the court.¡±

    Caspian rubbed his face and made a grumbling sound. ¡°Alright... I guess I have no other option.¡±

    ¡°I will take a leave then.¡± Zenon gave a bow to Caspian and turned to leave.

    But before he left, Caspian asked a question, ¡°Oh, Zenon, how¡¯s the collection of wolf¡¯s bane going? How much do we have until now?¡±

    Zenon wrinkled his nose and shook his head. ¡°Definitely not enough, Your Majesty. I think we will have to send someone out of the Kingdom and gather the nt from other Kingdoms as well.¡±

    Caspian gave it some thought and then agreed. ¡°Do it then. Send someone whom we can trust.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon gave a nod and also asked, ¡°Is there anything else that needs my immediate attention?¡±

    .....

    Caspian shook his head but instantly changed his mind. ¡°Yes, actually!¡± He cleared his throat and said, ¡°The Queen hasn¡¯t yet inquired about the runaway werewolf. But, I think she will soon do that.¡±

    He sighed and asked, ¡°What can we do about that? We don¡¯t have a wolf to show her. And I am afraid that the Queen will assume we killed that wolf if she doesn¡¯t see that wolf in person.¡±

    ¡°Umm...¡± Zenon knitted his brows and held his arms behind his back.

    Caspian patiently waited for Zenon toe up with a brilliant idea that would save him from the wrath of his wife.

    Zenon finally spoke after thinking for a while. ¡°Why don¡¯t we create fake alibis? Doctor Carl is already aware of our situation. So we can ask him to testify to the Queen that he looked after Ruby. And we can make something up like... she was sent to some other Kingdom for further treatment or something like that.¡±

    Caspian looked impressed by Zenon¡¯s proposal. ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea. Well done, Zenon.¡± And he further asked, ¡°But what about her parents? Anna is a quick-witted woman. She... might cross-verify.¡±

    ¡°Then I will keep them in the loop. I¡¯m sure that they will cooperate when they hear the full story of what went down.¡±

    Caspian was happy with Zenon¡¯s idea, and he gave the approval to proceed, ¡°That should work. Brief all three of them about what they are supposed to do and say if and when they meet the Queen.¡±

    ¡°I will, Your Majesty.¡± Zenon gave a bow and left from Caspian¡¯s workroom.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Martha!¡± Anastasia was delighted to see Martha after a long time. ¡°How are you? And how is Holly? I haven¡¯t seen the two of you in a long while.¡±

    Martha was a little surprised by that warm wee from the Queen. But at the same time, she was happy with the humbleness of the Queen.

    After Anastasia pulled away from the hug, Martha gave a respectful bow and answered, ¡°We both are doing well, Your Majesty. We used to update ourselves about your health from Ti. We all were worried about you. I hope you arepletely healed now.¡±

    Anastasia gave a nod and agreed, ¡°Yes, I am back to my normal health now. Thank you for worrying about me and helping Ti from the background. You all did well. I am indebted to all of you.¡±

    ¡°We were simply doing our duties, Your Majesty.¡± Martha gave a polite smile and then asked, ¡°Shall I prepare a warm bath for you?¡±

    Anastasia gave an awkward smile upon hearing the word ¡®bath¡¯. She got shbacks about how Caspian had given a quick yet sensual cold bath to her yesterday.

    And she replied to Martha, ¡°I think I will skip the bath this morning. I bathed at night yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You bathed at night? But none of us prepared the bath for you or helped you out,¡± Martha sounded a bit concerned for the Queen.

    ¡°Umm...¡± Anastasia gently bit her lower lip and turned her gaze away from Martha. And she quickly mumbled, ¡°His Majesty helped me with the bath.¡±

    Anastasia peeked at Martha, only to find her looking down and smiling ear to ear.

    Martha didn¡¯t need to listen to any other details to guess what might have happened between the King and the Queen. She was happy to know that the King was treating his Queen well.

    Anastasia inhaled deeply and before Martha dwelled too much in her thoughts, she asked her personal maid, ¡°I¡¯m quite hungry, Martha. Why don¡¯t you bring me breakfast instead?¡±

    Martha gave a polite bow and said, ¡°I will bring the breakfast as soon as possible, Your Majesty. Would you like to have a quick snack until breakfast is ready?¡±

    ¡°Some quick snacks...¡± Anastasia smiled after recalling another beautiful moment from yesterday. And she softly asked, ¡°A cup of tea would be lovely.¡±

    ¡°I will have Holly bring it to you right away, Your Majesty.¡± Martha gave a wide smile to the Queen and then quickly walked out of the room.

    The moment Anastasia heard the door to her room getting shut close, she flung herself onto the bed and buried her face into the soft pillow.

    And she mumbled in a muffled voice, ¡°Ahhhhh... Why did I have to say that he gave me a bath? Now she knows...¡±

    She suddenly stopped mumbling and sniffed the pillow. She could smell the enchanting scent of her husband on that pillow.

    She buried her face into that pillow again and thought, ¡®I miss him already... Ahhh! Why am I being like this these days? It hasn¡¯t even been two hours since he left me.¡¯

    Anastasia was lost deep in her thoughts about her husband and about the lovely night they spent yesterday.

    She was hugging the nket and smiling to herself.

    Every once in a while, she would touch her lips and then shyly cover her face with her palm. ¡®His kisses are so addictive...¡¯

    She was still getting that tingling sensation in her heart and in her stomach every time she recalled their kiss and several other things.

    nk! Crash! Thump!

    ¡°Argh! Oww!¡±

    Anastasia was suddenly startled when she heard the painful cries of a woman.

    ¡°Ruby?¡± Anastasia mumbled to herself and swiftly got down from her bed. She rushed to the antechamber only to find Holly picking up the broken ceramics.

    Holly had stumbled and fallen down on the carpet in the antechamber, along with the tray that she was carrying.

    And though Holly¡¯s scream wasn¡¯t that gut-wrenching and loud, Anastasia happened to think that it was Ruby¡¯s voice that she was hearing.

    ¡°Holly, are you alright?¡± Anastasia crouched down beside Holly and looked at her for any signs of wounds.

    Holly gave a bow to the Queen and blurted out, ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, Your Majesty. But I broke the pot and cup. And I spilled everything. I apologize for the mess that I¡¯ve created. I will clean it right away and bring you another one.¡±

    Anastasia gave a soft smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Holly. Take your time.¡±

    She then went back to her bedroom with a lot of things in her mind.

    ¡®Right! I hadpletely forgotten about Ruby. How is she? I should ask Caspian about her when I take the tea to his study today.¡¯

 Chapter 128

    128 Mindless Monster

    After Zenon left the room, Caspian stared at the pile of papers for quite a while.

    Just like Anastasia, he also had been so used to his wife¡¯s presence that he couldn¡¯t help but miss her, especially after spending a romantic night with her yesterday.

    He recalled how she had asked to have a baby. His heart warmed up on its own and a soft smile formed on his lips.

    He suddenly covered his mouth with his palm and screamed in his mind, ¡®Ahhh... Why is she so cute? She always says the most unexpected things to me and makes me feel something funny in my stomach.¡¯

    Instead of focusing on his work, he kept on thinking about his wife and getting distracted.

    He didn¡¯t even realize it when Vincent entered the room. He was lost in his own fantasynd. He abruptly woke up from his daydream when Vincent called him out.

    ¡°Whoa! Do you even know how to smile? Why is this the first time I am seeing you smiling like this? That also when you are alone?¡± Vincent pretended to get goosebumps and teasingly said, ¡°Ugh! You are giving me chills. Stop creeping me out.¡±

    Caspian picked up a thick book that was on his desk and instantly threw it at Vincent.

    Vincent caught it with ease and threw it back on the desk.

    .....

    Caspian rolled his eyes at Vincent and rudely shouted, ¡°Stoping into my study uninvited and ruining my mood.¡±

    Vincent gave a teasing smile and flicked his brows at Caspian. ¡°Ruining your mood, huh? What were you thinking about? What made you smile so creepily?¡±

    Caspian looked daggers at Vincent and asked rather threateningly, ¡°Do you want me to punish you for losing that werewolf girl? I still haven¡¯t punished you, remember?¡±

    Vincent quietly turned on his heels and headed for the door... at an irritatingly slow pace while dragging his shoes on the floor.

    Caspian grabbed his hair in irritation and asked angrily, ¡°Vincent, if you don¡¯t want to leave, you may sit down. You don¡¯t have to be so overdramatic.¡±

    Vincent grinned and immediately hopped towards the sofa. He thenfortablyy down as if it was his bed.

    Caspian sighed and shook his head. And he finally took one of the files from the pile and started to look into it.

    However, his heart kept on lingering on his wife and the events of yesterday.

    ¡®Why do the colors of my eyes keep on changing these days? Could what Anastasia said about it be true? Does our eye color change when we... when we indulge ourselves in sexual pleasure?¡¯

    He raised his eyes from the file to look at what Vincent was doing. He found Vincent looking at him and smiling.

    ¡°Vincent, can I ask you a question? It¡¯s somewhat personal so...¡¯

    Without even hearing the question first, Vincent excitedly agreed. ¡°Ask me, what is it? I won¡¯t tell anyone, not even Zenon.¡±

    ¡°Um...¡± Caspian thought for a while regarding how he was going to ask such things. After a while, he started off by asking vaguely, ¡°Have you ever heard of vampires whose eye colors can change?¡±

    ¡°Our eye color can change?¡± Vincent skeptically questioned Caspian back instead of answering him.

    Caspian now seemed a bit concerned for himself. And he vaguely said again, ¡°Yeah, I heard that it can change into grey.¡±

    ¡°Pfff...¡± Vincent furrowed his brows and scolded Caspian, ¡°Who told you such a stupid thing? And why are you believing such an absurd thing? We all know very well that our eyes are red, it may vary how deep or light that red is, but it¡¯s red nheless.¡±

    Caspian ran his fingers through his blond hair in frustration and spilled it out, ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t have believed it if I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes!¡±

    Vincent sat up straight and gave a questioning nce at Caspian. ¡°You saw a vampire with grey eyes?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Me!¡±

    ¡°What? H-How? How is that even possible? Are you sure you saw it right?¡±

    Caspian abruptly got up from his seat and mmed his fists on the table. ¡°Of course, I saw it right! Else why would I bother asking all this to you?¡±

    ¡°Wow! Uh...¡± Vincent didn¡¯t know what to say because that was something he hadn¡¯t expected. He stared at Caspian, who was now pacing back and forth. He focused especially on his eyes. And after a while, he asked, ¡°Then... can you show me? Your grey eyes?¡±

    Caspian stopped pacing and nced at the open door of his study. He shot his arm in the air with great force and the huge doors mmed shut on their own.

    Vincent was startled by that sudden action of his friend. He gave a nervousugh and mumbled, ¡°I keep forgetting that you can do that.¡±

    He was nervous because he thought that he might have asked something that angered his friend greatly. And he was afraid that Caspian was going to do something to him.

    However, unlike what he had imagined, Caspian calmly came and sat beside him on the sofa.

    And he said in a low voice, ¡°I cannot show you my grey eyes. I don¡¯t think I have control over it. It just happens when... Er...¡± He took a deep breath and mumbled while looking down at his palms, ¡°It happens when I... try to get... umm... when I try to get... you know...¡±

    ¡°Er... no, I don¡¯t,¡± Vincent whispered back in a clueless manner.

    Caspian looked into Vincent¡¯s crimson eyes and blurted out, ¡°It happens when I try to get intimate with my wife. And when that happens, I lose my control almost all the time.¡±

    ¡°Lose control as in?¡± Vincent asked with a deep frown between his brows.

    Caspian pushed the strands of his stray hair away from his forehead and replied with guilt in his eyes, ¡°I want to feed on my wife when my eyes turn grey.¡±

    Vincent, however, didn¡¯t understand the depth of it. So he simply replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal though? She is a human after all. I had always wondered how you manage to share the same bedroom with her without wanting to feed on her. But I guess-¡±

    ¡°No, Vince... What I feel isn¡¯t the normal thirst we feel when we are near humans.¡± Caspian looked restless when he recalled how bad that thirst was.

    All of his pent-up emotions came bubbling up, it was clearly visible on his face how much he hated it. ¡°That urge I feel is paralyzing... and sometimes I don¡¯t even have control over my mind. All I see is her veins and all I hear is her blood coursing through them. I fear that I will end up hurting her... or even killing her in my blindness.¡±

    Caspian looked like he was going to break down when he pleaded, ¡°That is why I wanted to know if you¡¯ve experienced something simr. I want to know what the hell is wrong with me!¡±

    But Vincent didn¡¯t have an answer. ¡°I... Umm... I¡¯m not sure, Caspian. I have never spent time with a human. So... I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±

    Caspian looked at Vincent with eyes full of tears and asked in a pained whisper, ¡°What if I am turning into a mindless blood-sucking monster? What if I do something to her by ident?¡±

    Vincent felt pity towards his friend for probably the second time in his life. He had seen Caspian this vulnerable when he had lost his only family member. He could understand what his friend was going through right now. He understood that Caspian didn¡¯t want to lose his new family member and was greatly troubled by it.

    ¡°Hey...¡± Vincent pulled his friend for aforting hug. He gently stroked Caspian¡¯s back and consoled him, ¡°I will try to find the answer, alright? And don¡¯t say such stupid things. Nobody¡¯s turning into a monster. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Caspian rested his forehead on Vincent¡¯s shoulder. And when he closed his eyes, a single drop of tear fell down on hisp.

 Chapter 129

    129 A Dance with Death

    Anastasia was sitting down on the sofa of her antechamber. She finished drinking the tea that Holly had brought again. Right then, Martha walked inside the room with a tray full of freshly cooked delicious breakfast.

    ¡°Oh, the breakfast is already here? I just finished my tea.¡± Anastasia put the cup aside and nced at the tray.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Martha set the tray on the table and said while spreading out the dishes, ¡°I apologize for what had happened earlier. Holly is a rather entric woman. I don¡¯t know what she was thinking when she brought your tea. Now your food will get cold.¡±

    Anastasia waved her hand and said, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not full by just a cup of tea. So, I will have breakfast right away.¡±

    She then picked up the spoon and fork and looked at all the dishes that were in front of her.

    One bowl, in particr, caught her eyes. It looked like some kind of herbal juice. So she pointed at the bowl and asked Martha, ¡°And what is that, Martha? Some kind of tonic for my health?¡±

    Martha had a look of horror on her face when her eyes fell on the bowl. She quickly grabbed that bowl and put it back on the tray. She then instantly fell down to her knees and bowed to the Queen.

    And she apologized, ¡°I am extremely sorry, Your Majesty. I didn¡¯t realize I brought it here along with all the other food. It was right there in the kitchen along with all the dishes, and I happened to grab it in my absent-mindedness. Please forgive me for my ipetence, Your Majesty. I will ept any punishment that you give me.¡±

    Anastasia was grabbing the spoon and fork in front of her chest and was looking at Martha with a very confused look on her face. She had no idea what Martha was apologizing for. ¡°Will you first tell me what mistake you did before you ask to be punished?¡±

    .....

    Martha looked at the bowl that she was holding over herp, and she replied, ¡°This is a medicine for the vampires but a deadly poison for humans. And if you had drunk it, thinking it was a medicine for you then... then...¡±

    Martha instantly began to shed tears. She couldn¡¯t believe how she was about to take the life of such a nice Queen because of her carelessness. ¡°Please punish me, Your Majesty. I don¡¯t deserve to serve you anymore.¡±

    Anastasia sighed noisily and threw the spoon and fork on the table.

    The nking sound startled the already scared maid. She bowed even lower and asked to be punished, ¡°Please punish me for being careless. I deserve to be punished, Your Majesty. I will ept any punishment.¡±

    Anastasia could tell that what Martha did was unintentional. She knew that Martha wouldn¡¯t dare to poison her or cause her any harm, even in her dreams. But even though the mistake was an honest one, Anastasia felt sour upon realizing that she could have died if she had identally drunk that thing.

    She already had a grim reaper dancing above her head. And an idental death was thest thing she wished upon herself at the moment.

    She red at the crying maid and asked in a rather stern voice, ¡°Take everything away. I lost my appetite now.¡±

    Anastasia abruptly got up on her feet, scaring Martha again. Then she headed for her bedchamber.

    Before she entered the room, she turned her head and asked Martha, ¡°From today onwards, Ti will be the one responsible for my food and drinks. You and Holly can help Ti with other things... like how you helped her during my sickness.¡±

    Martha and Holly had never directly served Anastasia when she was sick. And Anastasia indirectly asked them not to show their faces in front of her from now on.

    Martha was a little sad to hear that. But at the same time, she was aware that she got off easy. If the King was present in the room at the moment, then she knew that her heart would be beating outside of her body by now.

    So she quietly agreed to the Queen¡¯s order. ¡°I will let Ti and Holly know about your wish, my Queen.¡±

    Anastasia mmed the door to her bedroom and then went to sit down on her bed. She tightly clutched the bed sheet in anger and clenched her teeth.

    She didn¡¯t know where all that anger wasing from. But she was shaking with rage now that she had time to visualize her lifeless body lying cold in the antechamber.

    The image of her heartbroken husband appeared in her mind. She imagined him hugging her cold body while wailing and screaming.

    And she couldn¡¯t help but feel her heart getting crushed into a hundred pieces. She felt a lump in her throat. She tried to hold her tears, but she ended up lying t down on the bed and crying while tightly hugging the pillow that her husband had used the other night.

    Never had she imagined that she would be this devastated just by the thought of her grief-stricken husband.

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± she heard Ti¡¯s voice from outside her bedchamber.

    But she continued to cry her eyes out without caring that Ti was waiting outside the door.

    Ti invited herself in and ran to crouch by the bedside. She gently tapped on Anastasia¡¯s shoulder and asked worriedly, ¡°Anna? What happened? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anastasia suddenly lifted herself up and flung forward to grab Ti for a tight hug.

    She was hupping and choking while bursting into tears.

    Ti¡¯s eyes filled with tears. Her heart ached to see her friend in such a state. ¡°Anna? Are you this upset with Martha? She didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± She sniffled and asked while stroking Anastasia¡¯s back, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, please. I cannot see you crying like this.¡±

    Anastasia gulped hard and sniffled. And she poured out all of the emotions that she had tried hard to keep to herself.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I have a normal life like all the others? Why was I born with such a stroke of rotten luck? Tell me, Ti... Why would God give me everything just to take it all away? What¡¯s the point of having everything when I can¡¯t even enjoy simple things in my life?¡±

    Ti quickly wiped the unruly tears that overflowed from the rims of her eyes. She lovingly caressed Anastasia¡¯s hair.

    Even she had questioned God countless times before. She always wondered why he would be so unfair to a girl who had done nothing wrong. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Anna. I¡¯m sorry that God robbed you of a healthy life. You didn¡¯t deserve all this.¡± She couldn¡¯t say anything else to her friend except sympathize with her.

    Anastasia hugged Ti even tighter and whispered while coughing and choking, ¡°I don¡¯t want to d-die, Ti. I want to live... I want t-to live a long life. But why does death keep on teasing me?¡±

    ¡°Shh... Calm down... We will find a way to heal you. You will live. I won¡¯t let you leave me that easily.¡± Ti consolingly rubbed Anastasia¡¯s back. But she herself was now devastated.

    The two of them cried in each other¡¯s arms for quite a while.

    When the Queen calmed down a little, Ti pulled away from the hug and asked, ¡°Shall I bring you something to eat? I will have everything freshly made in front of my eyes.¡±

    Anastasia wiped her eyes and nodded.

    Ti patted Anastasia¡¯s palm and then got up on her feet to head toward the kitchen.

    ¡°Ti?¡± A question had been bugging Anastasia for a while now. So she asked her, ¡°Martha said it was a medicine for vampires. Who got sick? It¡¯s not... Caspian, is it?¡±

 Chapter 130

    130 What If?

    ¡°Oh, no, no... It was not for His Majesty. I think it was for other vampire guards who got hurt,¡± Ti replied although she wasn¡¯t fully certain.

    Anastasia was a little relieved to know that the medicine was not for her husband. But she was a little confused. She asked in her nasal voice, ¡°I thought that vampires didn¡¯t need any medicine. Don¡¯t they all heal on their own?¡±

    ¡°They... do.¡± Ti furrowed her brows because now, she was also confused.

    Anastasia raised her brows and asked, ¡°So, why do they need medicine then?¡±

    ¡°It never crossed my mind that they don¡¯t need medicine. So I never asked anyone.¡± Ti patted her wet eyes with both of her palms and asked, ¡°Shall I find it out for you?¡±

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to know that or not. So she simply shrugged.

    Ti gave a short smile and said, ¡°I will see if it¡¯s worthy of your time and attention.¡± She gave a gentle bow and said, ¡°I will bring breakfast for you shortly.¡±

    Ti left the Queen alone in her chambers and went outside.

    Anastasia got up from the bed and then headed to the bathroom while scolding herself, ¡®Why did I suddenly burst out like that earlier? That was very unlikely of me. I hurt Martha for no reason.¡¯

    .....

    She grabbed a jug of cold water and mumbled, ¡°But she was careless... I could have died. I don¡¯t want to die any sooner. Ugh! Nevermind then. From now on, I am going to put my trust in Ti only. At least she will never make such mistakes when ites to me.¡±

    Anastasia sshed her face with cold water and then looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked puffy and red after crying earlier.

    She poked her eye bags with her fingers andined to her reflection, ¡®Look what you did to your face! Now if Caspian sees me like this, then he will definitely know that I cried, and he will want to know the reason why. What are you going to tell him?¡¯

    While grumbling, she grabbed a towel and wiped her face. She also blew hot air from her mouth on the towel and then used it to gently pat her eyes, hoping that the puffiness would settle down before noon.

    ¡®I don¡¯t want him to see these eye bags. Go away, please...¡¯

    She came out of the bathroom only when Ti came back with a bowl of hot beans paired with juicy steak and some bread.

    Anastasia did happy little ps upon seeing the food. She had regretted sending all the food back earlier because her stomach was grumbling for a while now.

    ¡°Thank you for the food!¡± Anastasia went to the antechamber and sat at the table to have her breakfast.

    She quickly grabbed the spoon and then ate a mouthful of beans. She stuffed a couple more spoons in her mouth. And after swallowing it, she finally asked Ti, ¡°Did you find out anything?¡±

    Ti came a little closer to the Queen and said in a low voice, ¡°Do you remember that woman who was kept in the dungeon while you were sick?¡±

    Anastasia instantly raised her head and gave Ti her full attention. ¡°Ruby. Yes. What about her?¡±

    Ti took a deep breath in and then leaned closer to Anastasia¡¯s ears. And she whispered, ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it from me, okay?¡±

    After getting a nod from Anastasia, Ti whispered again, ¡°I heard that woman was being taken somewhere from the castle. And on the way, she bit two of the guards and ran away.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Anastasia felt likeughing when she heard that. ¡°How can she bite the vampires and run away? Are you sure that you aren¡¯t talking about some other vampire prisoner?¡±

    Ti nodded her head. ¡°That¡¯s what I was told, that it was that red-headed woman.¡± And Ti revealed what she had heard, ¡°I don¡¯t know if she was a vampire or not, but whatever she was... turns out, her bite is lethal to the vampires.¡±

    At this point, Anastasia didn¡¯t even know what to believe and what not to believe. She just let Ti finish what she was going to say.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see it but ording to Martha, those guards were foaming from their mouth and they had really bad wounds on their neck and back when they were brought back here. She said they were stinking like rotting bodies by the evening because their wounds didn¡¯t heal on their own.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Anastasia covered her mouth with her palms. She was in shock upon hearing that.

    Ti finally concluded what she had to say, ¡°And I heard that a lot of vampires went in search of the medicine. And those guards are still being fed some kind of poisonous nt which apparently heals the bite wounds.¡±

    ¡°Umm...¡± Anastasia had frown lines on her forehead. She needed some time to process all the information. So she asked Ti, ¡°Thank you so much, Ti. I think you also haven¡¯t had your breakfast. Why don¡¯t youe back after eating?¡±

    Ti gave a bow to the Queen. ¡°I will take a leave for now then. Enjoy your breakfast. And I hope you won¡¯t think much about this vampire business. The less you know, the less your head will hurt.¡±

    Anastasia gave a soft smile and nodded.

    But one by one, Anastasia started to recall all the things that Caspian had said to her on that day.

    ¡®He said there are things in this Kingdom that he cannot reveal. He also said that she wasn¡¯t an average girl and that she could take in more of that torture. He mentioned that he needed to capture that intruder before it harmed vampires...¡¯

    She fisted over her mouth and pondered, ¡®What if... there are other supernatural beings who look like humans, just like how vampires can pass as humans? And what if they can actually harm vampires? It¡¯s not ¡®what if¡¯ anymore, is it? They already harmed vampires... No, SHE already did. That¡¯s why Caspian was hell-bent on finding that intruder...¡¯

    ¡°Oh, my God! What have I done?¡± Anastasia covered her face with both of her palms and sighed.

    She closed her eyes and began self-loathing, ¡®I kept on demanding her to be freed when I didn¡¯t even know the full story... No, I turned deaf ears to what Caspian was saying. He did say everything hinting that she was a dangerous woman. But no! I was so stubborn. I trusted her over my husband based on one meeting with her! And now two of the soldiers are hurt because of me...¡¯

    She looked at the ceiling and mumbled worriedly, ¡°What if she had done something to Caspian when he let her go because of your stubbornness?¡±

    And her heart was filled with fear when another thought hit her mind, ¡°What if shees back to exact revenge?¡±

 Chapter 131

    131 Murderer

    After reaching Silver Keep, Zenon went straight to Carl¡¯s clinic. He wanted to ry the message from the King on the earliest day possible.

    Unlike the other days, Carl¡¯s clinic had a ¡®closed¡¯ sign pasted on the door.

    ¡°Closed?¡± Zenon furrowed his brows and then mumbled to himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t know the doctors also take leave. What is he busy with?¡±

    Although the door said that the clinic was closed, the door was still open since it was the only way that could be used to get inside the house. So, Zenon thought of going inside and seeing if the doctor was in the house.

    ¡°Doctor Carl?¡± he stood at the end of the stairs and gave a voice. ¡°Are you home? I had some urgent matter to discuss with you.¡±

    Zenon heard a set of footsteps approaching, so he waited for a while, hoping that it was the doctor who wasing down.

    However, he was disappointed when he heard the voice of a middle-aged woman. ¡°Yes, who¡¯s it?¡±

    The moment that woman noticed Zenon¡¯s red eyes, she stopped mid-stairs. And a cloud of fear and anger hovered over her face.

    ¡°A vampire?¡± She gave a piercing gaze to Zenon. And though she was scared, she spoke up, ¡°What is a vampire doing in my house?¡±

    .....

    Zenon didn¡¯t like the kind of vibe that woman was giving off. But he guessed that the doctor had shared how he and Vincent had threatened him thest time they saw him. So he said while keeping his calm, ¡°I have brought a message from the King. I need to say it directly to Doctor Carl.¡±

    ¡°Be my guest and do that. My husband is dead!¡± she gritted through her teeth while trying her best not to control her extreme emotions.

    ¡°Excuse me? Doctor Carl is dead?¡± Zenon was too stunned to hear that news. ¡°My deepest condolences to you, ma¡¯am. Uh...¡±

    He could see that woman fuming with rage, but he still asked, ¡°I¡¯m sure this is not the right time, but may I know when and how that tragic incident happened? He seemed healthy thest time I saw him.¡±

    That woman was nowpletely taken over by her emotions. She didn¡¯t care if the man standing in front of her was a vampire. She spat right in front of him and screamed, ¡°How dare youe to my house after murdering my husband and asking me how he died? I¡¯m sure it was one of you who did it! Don¡¯t you have any shame left?¡±

    She even took off her shoe and threw it at Zenon while shouting, ¡°You murderer! Get the hell out of my house this instant! You don¡¯t get to taint my house with your filthy presence! Get lost!¡±

    Zenon dodged the shoe. But it stung his heart upon hearing the baseless usation.

    So he tried to clear the air, ¡°I assure you that none of us had anything to do with your husband¡¯s demise. But from the sound of it, he didn¡¯t have a natural death. So, if you tell me what happened, maybe I can help you in identifying the real culprit.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need help from the likes of you, you monsters! I know it in my bones that one of you was-¡±

    That woman was suddenly interrupted by a young man. ¡°Mom, who are you shouting at? Who are you cursing? Just stop it already! The whole town can hear y-¡± That man stopped behind his mother and looked at Zenon with a frown.

    And the woman began shouting again while pointing at Zenon, ¡°They are the ones who killed your father! I have every right to curse them.¡±

    The young man stepped in front of his mother and tried to ask politely but failed at it. ¡°Look, we are already grieving. So, it would be nice if your kind stoppeding into our house and stopped sprinkling salt on our wounds.¡±

    Zenon sighed and defended himself again, ¡°I already made it clear to your mother that we are not the killers. We didn¡¯t have any enmity with him. In fact, he was the only trusted doctor of the King. He was the one to treat Her Majesty every time. And she recently recovered from her illness. So I came here on His Majesty¡¯s behalf to thank the doctor for his service.¡±

    Both the mother and son exchanged nces with each other.

    And the son finally spoke in a polite way, ¡°Then I am happy that my father was able to serve the King and the Queen.¡±

    Zenon gave a nod and asked, ¡°If he was murdered, didn¡¯t you file a case?¡±

    The son simply shook his head and said nothing more.

    And Zenon questioned again, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to find your father¡¯s murderer? He was a good man. So, if you want the culprits to be punished, then I will do all that I can to help you.¡±

    The son took a deep breath and replied, ¡°My father hanged himself.¡±

    Zenon was dumbfounded again. He didn¡¯t understand why anyone of his status would want to kill themselves.

    Thedy sat down on the stair and began to mumble while recalling the incidents that had taken ce.

    ¡°A few days before taking his own life, he had told me how he was threatened by some vampires. But he said not to worry about it. He said that he had settled all the misunderstandings. But... dayster, I found him...¡± She broke into tears before she could even finish her sentence.

    ¡°We found him hanging on one of the trees at the edge of the woods,¡± Carl¡¯s son finished his mother¡¯s sentence and sat down to offer his shoulder for his mother to cry on.

    Zenon took a deep breath and asked one final question, ¡°Were there any marks of fangs on him?¡±

    ¡°I wish there was,¡± she mumbled while crying. ¡°At least then, we would know for sure that it was one of the vampires who did it. Now, I don¡¯t even know if that was a nned murder or... or if he took his own life... I don¡¯t want to believe that he took his own life. That would mean that I couldn¡¯t clearly see through his smile.¡±

    She buried her face in her palm and whispered, ¡°All he ever knew was helping sick people. He was always cheerful and forever ready to look after his patients. Who would want such a kind man dead?¡±

    ¡°I will do what I can then. I will send some-¡± Zenon suddenly caught someone shouting a familiar name. He turned his ear toward the door and listened in.

    He heard a faint voice shouting from afar, ¡°Fire! Fire! The Thompson¡¯s house is burning down!¡±

 Chapter 132

    132 Fire

    Zenon¡¯s eyes widened in utter shock when he realized who the Thompsons were.

    ¡®Ruby¡¯s parents!¡¯

    Without wasting a second more, Zenon rushed out of the doctor¡¯s clinic and headed towards the edge of the town. By the time he reached there, the house had already been engulfed by the mes.

    A lot of people had gathered in front of the house. But barely a few of them were actually helping in putting out the fire.

    He looked at a young man who was standing in front of the burning house and asked him, ¡°Where are the Thompsons?¡±

    That man was too scared to speak when he noticed the red eyes. But he did point towards the house with his shaky hand.

    Zenon didn¡¯t wait for a second more. Although he was extremely vulnerable to fire, he swooshed inside the burning house hoping to save the lives of the runaway wolf¡¯s parents.

    The spectators were confused as well as amazed to see a vampire putting his own life on the line for the sake of the humans.

    Zenon was shouting and searching each and every room of the house in search of the couple. He was extremely cautious not to let the mes touch him. Atst, he found the couple in the kitchen.

    .....

    The two of them were in sitting down on the kitchen floor while embracing each other. The fire hadn¡¯t touched them yet. But the kitchen was filled with thick ck smoke.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Zenon jumped inside the kitchen and asked the couple.

    But the two of them didn¡¯t respond to him at all.

    Zenon was already starting to get affected by the extreme heating off from around him. He was sweating profusely and was hoping that he wouldn¡¯t identally catch fire.

    Now that he found the couple, he didn¡¯t waste any time checking their breath or waiting for their response. He swiftly picked both of them and carried them on his shoulders. And he rushed out of the house.

    Upon reaching outside, he put both of them on the ground. And he instantly shouted even though he was breathless, ¡°Check if they are alive!¡±

    A few people gathered around the couple to check for their pulse.

    Zenon was gasping and darting his eyes around the area. He located a well nearby and immediately ran in that direction. Without thinking for a second, he jumped inside the well.

    His body made a sizzling noise uponing into contact with cold water. And he heaved a deep sigh of relief when his body cooled down.

    ¡®Ahhhh... Taking a dip in the water never felt so good.¡¯

    After his body cooled down for a bit more, Zenon climbed out of the well and went back to see the couple who he had taken out of the burning house.

    A woman came up to him and then said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. You tried to save them but... it seems like they had already died from suffocation.¡±

    Zenon took a good look at that middle-aged woman¡¯s face. And he asked her, ¡°Are you sure? That they are dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I am a doctor. I am pretty confident of my skills,¡± the woman humbly replied.

    Zenon gave a nod and then said, ¡°Thank you. I will leave the Thompsons in the care of the townspeople then.¡±

    He turned on his heels and was about to run from there.

    But the young man who he had talked to earlier stood in front of him and asked aggressively, ¡°I heard that Ruby was taken away by the vampires. What did you do to her? What did you do to her parents? Were you the one who started the fire?¡±

    Zenon felt enraged by all the usations that he was getting today.

    He instantly grabbed that man by the cor and then snarled at him, ¡°We did nothing to her. She abandoned her parents and this Kingdom and ran away to live her life somewhere else. And I don¡¯t know who started the fire. Maybe you do? Were you the one to do so? Shall I take you into custody and show you how the real interrogation works?¡±

    That young man was terrified to see Zenon¡¯s rage. He looked down and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I shouldn¡¯t have made an usation. Please forgive me.¡±

    Zenon pushed the man away and shouted at him loudly so that everyone could hear him, ¡°If you weren¡¯t so busy watching the house burn and had instead done something to save those poor souls then maybe, they both would still be alive. It¡¯s easy to me others for your ipetence. Now go and try to put the fire out before the whole town burns.¡±

    After lecturing the man, Zenon headed for the castle so that he could send some vampires to do an in-depth investigation of both cases.

    While on his way back, only one thing was in his mind.

    ¡®How are all three of them dead? The doctormitted suicide and the Thompsons were caught in an ident? I don¡¯t think those two are open and shut cases. There¡¯s definitely more to it. I need to find the real culprit.¡¯

    ¡ª

    ¡°What did you say? All three of them are now dead? Just like that?¡± Caspian was shocked to hear the news.

    Zenon looked down and nodded, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I thought there was more to it than the eyes meet. So, I have sent an investigation team to look into both cases.¡±

    ¡°I feel the same way.¡± Caspian nodded and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Something doesn¡¯t add up. Especially because of how those very three are linked to that werewolf case. I don¡¯t think these deaths are random and can be treated as separate cases. My gut says that both are linked.¡±

    Zenon agreed with what the King said and made spection, ¡°Someone definitely knows something. This might have been a nned murder. We need to think who could benefit from their deaths.¡±

    Caspian looked at Zenon and asked, ¡°Ruby? Could she be the one? She was the one who was close to all three of them. Often, it¡¯s the close ones that stab on your back.¡±

    ¡°It could be her. We cannot rule out that possibility.¡± Zenon frowned and further mumbled, ¡°Or... maybe we are missing to see something. Something that is in in sight. But I don¡¯t know what it is or who it is. And it has been bugging me ever since I came back.¡±

    Zenon pressed his palm over his forehead and then uttered to himself, ¡°Maybe that intruder is still inside our territory. We could have missed spotting it. Could it have something to do with those deaths?¡±

    ¡°Only time will tell,¡± Caspian said in a heavy voice. ¡°I hope the truth surfaces soon.¡±

    He patted Zenon¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°And I am sorry that you had to face all the hatred and usations from the humans. I will make sure to let them know that they are in no position to raise their voices at us or against us.¡±

 Chapter 133

    133 An Unexpected Guest

    Caspian was buried by all the papers and files that he had to look into by tonight.

    He was trying his best not to get distracted by anything, especially not by the deaths that he learned about a while ago.

    He had finally managed to finish looking into a file and was about to move on to the next. But right then, a guard knocked on the door of his study.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Caspian looked at the door and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    The guard gave a bow to the King and said, ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Hamilton is here to see you.¡±

    ¡°Hamilton?¡± Caspian instantly wrinkled his nose and knitted his brows together. ¡°Why is he here? Did he mention the purpose of his visit?¡±

    The guard gave a soft bow and replied, ¡°No, Your Majesty. He simply stated that he wanted to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Why?¡± Caspian sighed because he now knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish all the works that were still pending. He rubbed his face and then rested his on the chair. And he ordered in a very disinterested way, ¡°Send him in.¡±

    Shortly after, Hamilton walked inside the room with his head held high and his pride overflowing from him.

    .....

    He instantly threw his suitcase on the sofa and then made himselffortable.

    Caspian ced the quill down on the table and narrowed his eyes at his proud cousin. ¡°Sure, invite yourself and make yourselffortable. It¡¯s not like I have a lot of things to do. I have all the time in the world, just like you.¡±

    Hamilton gave a smirk and matched Caspian¡¯s energy. ¡°Oh, I am really d that I am not disturbing you then. Else I would feel terrible for having stopped by.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, why are you here?¡± Caspian crossed his arms and rudely asked.

    Hamilton crossed his legs and leaned back on the sofa. And he asked with the same rudeness, ¡°Why? Can¡¯t I evene and see my cousin as I please? I missed you. That¡¯s why.¡±

    Caspian suddenly burst into fakeughter. And he said in between hisughs, ¡°Please cousin, we both know that it¡¯s not true.¡±

    Hamilton winked and said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re right. I lied.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s expression suddenly turned serious. And he asked with a frown, ¡°So tell me what you want before I kick you out. I am busy. I don¡¯t have time to entertain you.¡±

    ¡°I came here to-¡±

    Hamilton was interrupted when a guard announced from outside, ¡°Her Majesty is here.¡±

    ¡°Let her in,¡± Caspian eagerly looked at the door and thought, ¡®Just in time to save me from him.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, just the person I wanted to see...¡± Hamilton mumbled to himself and looked at the door with a wide smile on his face.

    And the moment Anastasia entered the room, he got up and gave a bow to the Queen. ¡°Greetings, my Queen. I hope you are in good health.¡±

    ¡°Hamilton!¡± Anastasia smiled at him and replied, ¡°Yes, I am good. And what about you?¡±

    Anastasia went and stood in the middle of the room while Ti quietly entered the room and went to set the tray at the King¡¯s table.

    ¡°Oh, I am good, Your Majesty.¡± Hamilton nced at Caspian and threw a satire, ¡°I am d that at least one of you cares about me.¡±

    Anastasia gave a soft smile and said, ¡°Oh, we both care about you as well as Aunt Edith. Please don¡¯t say that.¡± She looked at her husband and asked, ¡°Right, Caspian?¡±

    Caspian monotonously replied, ¡°Sure. Yes.¡±

    She smiled at her husband and then turned to ask Hamilton, ¡°Would you like some tea? I am going to...¡± She stole a nce at Caspian and said, ¡°...make one for His Majesty.¡±

    Caspian raised his brows in a reprimanding manner. ¡®You promised me you wouldn¡¯t make tea for anyone else!¡¯ he was shouting in his head.

    Anastasia understood what his gaze meant. So, she was thankful for Hamilton¡¯s answer.

    ¡°You are going to make tea? The thing that humans drink? Ugh! No, thank you!¡± He then nced at Caspian with a shocked expression on his face and asked, ¡°And you drink it? The tea?¡±

    ¡°Yes. So what?¡± Caspian asked in an unbothered voice.

    Hamilton kept on staring at Caspian with a shocked look on his face while Anastasia went and stood by Caspian¡¯s side so that she could brew a cup of tea for her husband.

    ¡°What?¡± Caspian asked Hamilton with a frown.

    Hamilton simply raised his hands in the air and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to know why you are... drinking that thing.¡±

    Caspian rolled his eyes and mumbled, ¡°Then don¡¯t ask.¡± He looked at his wife and yfully said to her, ¡°She makes the best tea.¡±

    Hamilton chuckled to himself and sat back down on the sofa. And he whispered so that only Caspian could hear him, ¡°I heard that love is blind. But I had never seen it make the tongue lose its sense of taste. You sure you can stomach that tea?¡±

    Caspian unsuspectingly covered his mouth with his palm and whispered back, ¡°You sure you want to keep on bbering? I wonder if you can grow another tongue if I cut it.¡±

    Hamilton rolled his eyes at Caspian and then focused his attention on what Anastasia was doing.

    And he appreciated the Queen, ¡°I would never drink the tea you make but I think I can watch you brew the tea countless times. You are making it look like some exotic art.¡±

    Anastasia looked at Hamilton and smiled brightly. ¡°You tter me, Hamilton. But you will have toe here every day at this same time if you want to watch me brew tea. I won¡¯t do this elsewhere.¡±

    Hamilton raised his brows at Caspian. He had a lot of questions in his mind. But he decided not to ask them and spare himself a headache.

    ¡°Are you done making the tea?¡± he asked when Anastasia handed over the cup to Caspian.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Anastasia gave a nod and then walked towards the sofa so that she could have a small chat with Hamilton before she left the two cousins alone.

    Hamilton looked at Anastasia and then enthusiastically said, ¡°You will never guess who I met during my recent trip.¡±

    Anastasia had no clue. So she simply asked without much expectation, ¡°Who did you meet?¡±

    Hamilton gave a wide smile and excitedly said, ¡°Alexander!¡±

    ¡°Alexander?¡± Anastasia widened her eyes upon hearing her dear brother¡¯s name. And she eagerly asked, ¡°You mean my brother?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Your brother!¡± Hamiltonughed and happily dered, ¡°It was such a happy coincidence. We had a lovely chat and-¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Caspian looked at Hamilton and asked, ¡°You met her brother?¡±

    Hamilton frowned and asked, ¡°How many times do I have to repeat myself? Yes, I met the Crown Prince. And he even invited me to his dorm. He also showed me around Lavinya.¡±

    Caspian looked a little jealous that his cousin met Anastasia¡¯s brother before he did. He wanted to ask all the details but he decided to quietly sip his tea.

    ¡°Tell me everything,¡± Anastasia turned to face Hamilton and got ready to hear more about her brother. ¡°How did you stumble upon him? Did you two know someone inmon?¡±

 Chapter 134

    134 Gifts

    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t know anyone inmon.¡± Hamilton furrowed his brows a little and corrected himself, ¡°Actually, I happened to stumble upon ady who was looking for... Uh... I don¡¯t know if you know him or not. She was looking for your brother¡¯s friend, and I gave her a ride to the capital.¡±

    ¡°My brother¡¯s friend?¡± You mean Ev-¡±

    Caspian suddenly choked on the tea that he was drinking and began to beat his chest while coughing violently.

    ¡°Caspian!¡± Anastasia immediately got up on her feet and ran to her husband¡¯s aid. She gently stroked his back and lightly patted his head so that he would stop coughing.

    ¡°What happened? Are you okay?¡± she asked him after he finally stopped coughing.

    Caspian gulped hard and gave a nod. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I guess the tea went down the wrong pipe.¡±

    Anastasia nced at Ti. She was still standing in one corner of the room without making a sound. ¡°Ti, will you hand me the kerchief?¡±

    While Anastasia was busy looking at Ti, Caspian nced at Hamilton to ask the question that was bothering him.

    Hamilton was giving a ¡®I knew this was going to happen!¡¯ look at Caspian. He didn¡¯t understand why Caspian would drink something that disgusting.

    .....

    However, Caspian ignored the look of disdain from his cousin and whispered while covering his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the woman you gave a ride to was called Ruby!¡±

    Hamilton instantly widened his eyes and whispered back, ¡°How the hell do you know that? You got spies after me?¡±

    Anastasia looked at Caspian and asked, ¡°Husband, remove your hand from your mouth, will you?¡±

    Caspian immediately did so and gave a smile to his wife.

    Anastasia tilted a little and gently patted the kerchief on her husband¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°I can do this myself, you know...¡± He felt a little flustered in front of his cousin and tried to grab the kerchief from his wife¡¯s hand.

    But Anastasia gave a light p on his hand and whispered, ¡°Almost done.¡± And after wiping his mouth, she carefully examined his face and said happily, ¡°Done.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, love,¡± Caspian held his wife¡¯s hand and gave a quick peck at the back of her palm.

    Hamilton suddenly disturbed their lovey-dovey moment, ¡°Hey, you two! Stop making me feel jealous! Don¡¯t act all touchy-feely in front of me and make me miss the wife that I don¡¯t even have.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and shyly pulled her hand away from her husband¡¯s grip.

    Caspian also chuckled and teased his cousin, ¡°Maybe you should get a wife then. If you are incapable of finding someone, then I can arrange your meetings with thedies from all the powerful houses. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°No, thank you!¡± Hamilton then quickly diverted the conversation away from where it was about to head. ¡°My Queen, don¡¯t you want to see all the gifts that your brother has sent for you?¡±

    ¡°He sent gifts for me?¡± Anastasia smiled ear to ear and then again headed towards the sofa.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hamilton grabbed his briefcase and opened it to take out the gifts.

    First, he took out two books and said while handing them over to Anastasia, ¡°He said these are about adventures and said that you will enjoy them.¡±

    Anastasia happily grabbed the books from Hamilton and read the titles of the books, ¡°Gulliver¡¯s travel... Robinson Crusoe...¡± Her smile widened when she flipped the pages of the books and inhaled the fresh smell of the paper. And she spoke as if she was intoxicated, ¡°These will keep mypany for a few days now.¡±

    Caspian was constantly tapping his feet and Hamilton was starting to get agitated by the sound.

    However, Hamilton still kept his cool and took out another gift that Alexander had sent. It was a really beautiful shawl which was dark red in color.

    The moment Anastasia touched the shawl, her heart melted because of how soft it felt in her hands. ¡°Oh... this is so soft!¡±

    Hamilton smiled and said, ¡°This is called Pashmina. It is something that is really hard toe by in this part of the world. These are made from high-quality wools of a breed of mountain goats. So I can tell that your brother had it imported from a foreignnd across the oceans.¡±

    Anastasia was impressed. ¡°Really? No wonder it looks so beautiful.¡±

    Hamilton then narrowed his eyes at the shawl and mumbled, ¡°But I wonder why he sent this with me. He said that he was going to visit soon. He could have given it to you himself. That way he could have seen your reaction.¡±

    Anastasia gave a quick smile and looked down at the shawl. She sighed and softly said, ¡°I guess he wanted me to use it sooner. It¡¯s too lovely to be kept inside his wardrobe for another two months.¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Hamilton nodded.

    Anastasia then recalled where they had left their conversation earlier. So she asked, ¡°Right! You were saying earlier that you stumbled upon ady who was looking for my brother¡¯s friend.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes! I almost forgot to tell you,¡± Hamilton nced at Caspian with a questioning nce.

    And Caspian abruptly got up from his chair and said, ¡°Anna, why don¡¯t you give the two of us some time? I have something important to discuss with him first. I will send him to your antechamber once I finish talking to him. And you can...¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Anastasia quickly grabbed her gifts and got up on her feet. And she apologized to her husband, ¡°I forgot to even ask if I was disturbing the two of you. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I will just need a few minutes with him,¡± Caspian replied a bit restlessly.

    Anastasia looked at Hamilton and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave without meeting me. I would love to hear about my brother before you take a leave.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave, don¡¯t worry.¡± Hamilton got up on his feet and gently bowed to the Queen. ¡°I will see you in a while then.¡±

    After Anastasia left the room, Caspian shut the door close and then immediately asked, ¡°Tell me, this woman that you gave a ride to, Ruby, how she looked?¡±

    Hamilton raised his brows and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t your little spies tell you how she looked?¡±

    Caspian had already run out of patience by now. So he growled in rage, ¡°Answer me already! I am not in the mood to y your word games today.¡±

 Chapter 135

    135 A Friendly Chat

    Hamilton didn¡¯t like how Caspian was treating him like somemoners.

    But seeing how he was boiling with anger, he answered without weaving any riddles and mockery into his words, ¡°Well, when I first stumbled upon that woman, I thought she was a beggar because she was covered in blood and dirt. She was wearing a ragged gown that was barely doing anything to cover her body. She had no shoes on. But after she took a bath, turns out, she is beautiful and has red hair.¡±

    ¡°Red hair...¡± Caspian pped his hands as if he was waiting to hear that. And suddenly, he broke into aughter that sounded so menacing that even Hamilton felt chills in his bones.

    ¡°W-What are youughing about?¡± Hamilton sat back on the sofa and asked, ¡°You know her?¡±

    Caspian indignantly mmed his fists on the table, putting a huge crack on it. And he growled at his cousin again, ¡°Do you have any slightest idea about what you did?¡±

    ¡°Er... No?¡± Hamilton had been feeling uneasy abouting to the castle today. And he had thought of sending the gift through the hands of his servants at his home. But he wanted to deliver the gifts directly to the Queen.

    Seeing Caspian¡¯s rage, he was now sure that he shouldn¡¯t havee at all.

    Caspian took a leap andnded right in front of Hamilton in the blink of an eye. In the next second, he grabbed Hamilton by his cor and shouted, ¡°That woman was a fugitive! She ran away from Sorvando while she was being taken to the Istion Center.¡±

    Caspian protruded his fangs and snarled right in front of his cousin¡¯s face, ¡°And guess what?¡±

    .....

    Hamilton turned his head away from Caspian¡¯s terrifying face. He was worried that Caspian would dig the fangs on his neck and tear out a chunk of his skin or do something worse.

    ¡°What?¡± Hamilton gritted.

    Caspian clutched Hamilton¡¯s cheeks and forcefully turned his head. And he shouted in his bone-chilling voice, ¡°You aided that very fugitive to run away! Do you even know what she is? Do you have any idea what she did to the vampires here?¡±

    Hamilton dared to grab Caspian¡¯s wrists and push him away with great force.

    Caspian flung back and his back got mmed on the thick stone wall of the room.

    Hamilton was also a proud Heradi. The same blood was coursing through his veins. So he also shouted back at Caspian while matching the pitch of the voice, ¡°I will know if you tell me! And I have sharp ears just like you! You don¡¯t have to shout in my ears, dammit!¡±

    Their quarrel was disturbed when a royal guard flung the door open and asked the King, ¡°Is everything alright, Your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Caspian looked at Hamilton, who was ring back at him and panting, and said to the guard, ¡°Just a friendly chat with my cousin.¡±

    When the royal guard bowed and closed the door again, Caspian took a few deep breaths and tried to speak a bit calmly, ¡°Do you know about the werewolves?¡±

    Hamilton gaped his mouth and stared at Caspian without uttering a word. In his mind, everything was making much more sense now.

    ¡°She¡¯s a werewolf too?¡± he finally asked after sitting on the sofa and crossing his legs.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Caspian coldly replied. ¡°She escaped after biting two of our guards. They would have been dead if theds hadn¡¯t found the medicine in time.¡±

    Hamilton closed his eyes to contain the anger that was building up inside of him. And he mumbled while loathing himself for having helped the one who had caused harm to his kind, ¡°But she didn¡¯t smell like one... Else I would have never let her stand anywhere near me, let alone offer her a ride!¡±

    Caspian sighed and looked at Hamilton. And he sympathized with his cousin, ¡°Yeah, she hadn¡¯t fully turned into one. So, I can¡¯t really me you for not recognizing what she truly is.¡±

    Hamilton mmed his head on the backrest of the sofa and then asked, ¡°Do you want me to go and get her? If she¡¯s still there in the capital then I know where to find her.¡±

    Before answering that question, Caspian questioned his cousin, just to confirm what he already knew, ¡°You met Everard, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Hamilton gave a surprised look to Caspian upon hearing that name. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Caspian sighed and went to sit down beside Hamilton. His brows were already twitching just by the thought of that person. ¡°Unfortunately, he is also a friend of Anna, not just of Alexander. So, I do know who he is. And I also happened to find out what he is.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hamilton curled his upper lip in disdain and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that they are friends with him. He¡¯s aplete arsehole. He started to show off his attitude the moment our eyes met.¡±

    Caspian closed his eyes and grumbled, ¡°I knew it!¡± He then ran his fingers through his hair and spoke what was in his mind for a while now, ¡°I had also felt it in my bones that it was him... that ck wolf... I knew that was him.¡±

    Hamilton knitted his brows together and leaned forward. And he asked with curiosity, ¡°What ck wolf? What did he do?¡±

    Caspian clenched his fists and said, ¡°That woman said that she was bitten by a wolf here in Sorvando. That¡¯s how she is turning into a werewolf. We were questioning her about that other wolf but she never opened her mouth. I had my suspicion that the intruder was him. And vo! Turns out it¡¯s him! Else why would she go running to him after fleeing from here?¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh...¡± Hamilton was not even surprised anymore. He heaved a sigh and shrugged, ¡°Then maybe you should thank me for giving a ride to that red wolf. Now, at least you know who had breached our walls.¡±

    Caspian suddenly recalled what Zenon had said earlier. He had suspected that the intruder was still hiding inside Sorvando and that intruder was the one to murder those three humans.

    ¡°When was thest time you saw Everard? Was he there in Lavinya when you first reached there with that woman?¡±

    Hamilton nodded and replied, ¡°He was the first person toe running as soon as I stepped into the capital of Lavinya. And yes, he was still there when I left.¡±

    Caspian darted his eyes up and down at Hamilton. His overcoat looked a little dusty so Caspian asked, ¡°You came here without stopping at home?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hamilton rolled his eyes at Caspian and openly threw a satire, ¡°I wanted to deliver the gifts myself. But thanks to someone, now I am regretting that decision.¡±

    Caspian pretended to straighten the cor of Hamilton¡¯s clothes and then asked with a slight smile on his lips, ¡°You sure that Everard wasn¡¯t closely following behind you? Or Ruby?¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Hamilton wrinkled his nose and replied, ¡°Everard knows what I am. What we are. So he wouldn¡¯t dare to openly follow me. And Ruby is always following him around like a little puppy.¡±

    Caspian wasn¡¯t surprised that Everard knew about their secret. ¡®He knew about us, huh... He is a Crown Prince after all. He can easily dig out information just like how I dug out information about him. But I bet we are not a secret to them anyway. Also, now, he has Ruby!¡¯

    He pinched his chin and further thought, ¡®If they are still there in Lavinya, then... they weren¡¯t the ones behind those murders. Unless that Prince gave out an order to other wolves.¡¯

    ¡°Why do you ask though?¡± Hamilton suddenly broke Caspian¡¯s concentration. ¡°You¡¯re afraid he wille back again? Oh!¡± He pped his forehead and said, ¡°I forgot to ask. Why did hee here in the first ce? Unlike them, we haven¡¯t done anything to their kind. So, why the hide and seek?¡±

    Caspian gave a mirthless smile and gritted from between his teeth, ¡°I bet the reason for his intrusion was something a bit more personal to him.¡±

    ¡°Personal how?¡± Hamilton asked curiously.

    Caspian contemted whether or not to say it to Hamilton.

    Hamilton wasn¡¯t someone to gossip around; he didn¡¯t have many friends, to begin with.

    So, Caspian revealed, ¡°Apparently, he fancied my wife. And that ck wolf appeared in the woods soon after Anastasia¡¯s arrival in Sorvando. I guess that wasn¡¯t a coincidence.¡±

    Hamilton instantly pressed his lips together in an attempt to stop himself fromughing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Caspian raised his finger and warned Hamilton.

    But Hamilton burst intoughter anyway. And he mumbled while covering his mouth andughing hard, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I don¡¯t want tough but I can¡¯t help it...¡±

    Heughed for some more and eximed, ¡°Bloody hell! So our mortal enemy is after your wife?¡±

 Chapter 136

    136 Let Her Be

    ¡°Okay, so, what do you want to do with that werewolf girl?¡± Hamilton asked after getting enoughughter for the day.

    Caspian recalled what Hamilton had said about Ruby; he recalled him saying how she followed Everard around like a little puppy.

    So he asked, ¡°Did it look like the two of those werewolves were well-acquainted?¡±

    Hamilton thought back to the night he had met Everard for the first time. And after a few moments, he replied, ¡°They said that they knew each other. But it didn¡¯t look like they knew each other very well.¡±

    However, he was quick to add, ¡°But then again, he was acting overly protective of her. And she looked like she was infatuated with him. So... I don¡¯t really know.¡±

    ¡°Infatuated by him, you said?¡± A subtle smirk appeared on Caspian¡¯s lips. And he asked again, ¡°Did it look like he was also interested in her? Or was he simply protecting her because she was also a werewolf?¡±

    Hamilton scowled at those absurd inquiries from Caspian. ¡°Er... Why does it matter how he felt? Just tell me this much, do you want me to go to Lavinya and fetch her myself, or do you want me to give you the exact location and you will send your soldiers there?¡±

    Caspian leaned on the sofa and carefully weighed each of the options that he had.

    ¡®She is already under the protection of the werewolf prince. It means that the very attempt to bring her back might be the main catalyst for another war between vampires and werewolves, especially considering how Everard must be itching for a reason toe to Sorvando again. And not to mention Ruby¡¯s parents are dead now. She will surely me me for it. It might create another separate problem.¡¯

    .....

    ¡®But...¡¯ Caspian had that sly smirk on his lips again. ¡®If I let her happily run after her Prince, then who knows... maybe she will be able to melt his heart. And hopefully...¡¯ A frown appeared on his forehead when he thought, ¡®...he will stop running after my wife.¡¯

    ¡°So?¡± Hamilton questioningly raised his brows at Caspian. ¡°What did you decide?¡±

    Caspian got up from the sofa and headed toward his chair. And he replied as he walked, ¡°I¡¯ve weighed the pros and cons of bringing her back. I believe that bringing her here will only cause greater problems. So, I will let her be for now.¡±

    ¡°Let her be?¡± For Hamilton, this came as a great shock because Caspian wasn¡¯t the type of man to forgive even the smallest mistake of the others.

    Caspian would make it his mission to punish someone who caused him the slightest difort or broke his smallest rule just to show that he was the King and he had the power to do so.

    But now, he was letting an enemy off the hook even when she had almost killed two of the vampires. That didn¡¯t make any sense to Hamilton at all.

    So, he frowned and asked in a much more serious tone, ¡°Did something happen to you? That werewolf didn¡¯t bite you, right? Is your mind functioning well?¡±

    Caspian sat down on his chair and glowered at Hamilton.

    He then rified why he was taking the decision to not take any action against Ruby, ¡°You know that Everard is the Crown Prince. You also know that he is an arse. You saw it yourself.¡±

    Caspian adjusted himselffortably and further exined, ¡°If I bring her back from his clutches, there is bound to be some bloodshed. It might even lead to a full-fledged war if all the werewolves are as irrational as their Prince. Also, that wolf girl made me realize that we aren¡¯t prepared for war. At least not right now.¡±

    Hamilton was a hundred percent sure that if Everard any had say in the political matter then he would definitely lead both the Kingdoms to war again. He had experienced first-hand how hot-headed Everard was.

    And considering how he was next in line to be the King, Hamilton could already see at least some type of dispute happening in the future.

    So, he casually suggested, ¡°You know, it¡¯s written down in the pages of history that the trick is to kill them before they kill us.¡±

    ¡°The werewolves?¡± Caspian asked.

    Hamilton nodded and exined how. ¡°Our ancestors used silver daggers and silver arrowheads for that purpose. They didn¡¯t just rely on their fangs and ws because it was almost impossible not to get bitten by those wolves in closebat.¡±

    Caspian scoffed at that idea and asked, ¡°Are you suggesting that I start piling up silver daggers now?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Hamilton cleared his throat and gave an even better option, ¡°My dear cousin, you do know that a few centuries has already passed, yeah? Humans have now invented quite a useful tool.¡±

    ¡°And what might that be?¡± Caspian was curious to know since Hamilton had more exposure to the world of humans than he did.

    Hamilton happily shared his knowledge, ¡°They call it pistols. It¡¯s quite a handy tool. All you will need to use the pistol is good aiming skills and a lot of silver bullets. You pull the trigger and the bullet will almost instantly prate your enemy, even when they are quite far from you.¡±

    Caspian was really amazed just by listening to the description of that weapon. ¡°Do you possess it?¡± he asked because he wanted to see that weapon with his own eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t own it!¡± Hamilton sneered and added, ¡°I have never felt the need to own it. But now, I think I should purchase one. Not that I don¡¯t trust my fangs and my fighting skill. But...¡± he wrinkled his nose and continued, ¡°But god, do they stink! I will die because of their stink before I die from their venom.¡±

    The two of them discussed some more about the pistols and where to purchase them. Hamilton was more than happy to take the charge of leading the purchase if it was ever necessary.

    And after everything was said and done, Hamilton picked up his suitcase and got up to take a leave. ¡°I will talk with Her Majesty for a while and will go home. I will get back to you regarding the pistols.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Caspian had a genuine smile on his face when he said, ¡°I really appreciate you dropping by today. I got to know a lot of things.¡±

    Hamilton smirked because this was probably one of the rare times Caspian actually praised him. He then happily replied, ¡°Well, I am d to know that my cousin isn¡¯t as bad as I had made him to be.¡±

    He then gave a nod to Caspian and headed for the door.

    But he stopped when he suddenly recalled that he had the paper with him, the one that he found in the town when he was with Ruby.

    ¡°Oh!¡± He put his hand inside the pocket of his overcoat. He even held the paper to show it to Caspian.

    However, he dropped it back when he recalled the words of his mother. She had reprimanded him for not being thoughtful of Caspian¡¯s feelings by poking around about Percival. He was also well aware that the piece of paper that had simr handwriting to the previous King proved nothing.

    So, Hamilton thought that it would be unwise to raise the issue now and anger Caspian.

    ¡°You have something more to say to me?¡± Caspian nced at Hamilton¡¯s pocket and asked, ¡°Or show me, perhaps?¡±

    Hamilton shook his head and mumbled, ¡°Nevermind. It¡¯s nothing important.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t think much of it. He simply nodded. ¡°Okay. See you around then.¡±

 Chapter 137

    137 Night Ritual

    It was already veryte at night when Caspian finished looking at all the urgent paperwork.

    He nced at the huge wall clock that was hung on the wall of his study and mumbled to himself, ¡°Anna might be asleep by now. I wanted to talk with her for a bit before sleeping...¡±

    Caspian sighed and then rubbed his eyes. And he got up from the chair to head toward his chamber first.

    He grabbed his stomach and thought to himself while walking down the hallway, ¡®I¡¯m starving! I could drink a gallon of blood and still not be full.¡¯

    When he opened the door to his chamber, the table of the antechamber had already been set up with dinner.

    He went and sat down on thefortable sofa. The aromatic blood was too enticing for him to do anything else first.

    Caspian picked up the golden cup elegantly and brought it close to his lips. He gave a gentle swirl to the cup and then deeply inhaled the aroma that it gave off.

    He took a sip from the cup and instantly closed his eyes. ¡°Mmm... tastes so good! Especially after a long day of work.¡±

    Two of the maids swooshed inside while Caspian was enjoying his dinner. They bowed to the King and, as usual, they went to the bathroom to prepare a bath for him.

    .....

    Before Caspian ced the cup on the table, the maids swooshed out of the room while a few of the servants entered.

    One of them prepared the robe, the other prepared the necessary things in the bathroom, while another came and helped the King to clean his mouth.

    Caspian then went to the bathroom and immediately spread out his arms so that the servants could help him out of his clothes. He wanted to finish bathing faster so that he could go and quietly cuddle with his wife.

    He then stepped into the tub and submerged himself in the water. He sat up and asked the servants, ¡°Help me finish bathing faster. I¡¯m already tired.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the servants replied and instantly began to move their hands faster.

    Some of them rubbed the mixture of herbal scrub on Caspian¡¯s arms while the others began rubbing it on his legs.

    Caspian rested his nape on the rim of the tub and closed his eyes to enjoy the rxing bath.

    The servants did as the King had asked. They finished scrubbing Caspian¡¯s body and washing his hair within a few minutes.

    Caspian dunked himself in the tub again and got up on his feet.

    The servants immediately surrounded him while carrying the towels. After patting him dry, they helped him put on his sleeping robe.

    Caspian smiled to himself thinking that he was only going to need the robe for a few minutes until he entered his wife¡¯s chambers.

    The servants bowed to the King once they were done. And they left the room.

    Soon after, Caspian also ran out of his chambers.

    Upon reaching in front of the main door to Anastasia¡¯s chambers, he pushed the door open as quietly as he could. If Anastasia was already asleep, he didn¡¯t want to wake her up.

    However, to his happy surprise, he found his wife sitting on the sofa and reading a book with great concentration, so much so that she didn¡¯t even notice Caspian entering the room.

    Anastasia was facing the window.

    Caspian stood behind her and then wrapped her in a hug from behind.

    A subtle smile appeared on Anastasia¡¯s lips when she felt Caspian¡¯s arms around her shoulders and his chin resting on her head.

    ¡°Hey, dear husband,¡± Anastasia greeted Caspian while her eyes were still on her book.

    ¡°What are you reading?¡± Caspian extended his arms and then turned the book to look at its cover. And he answered himself, ¡°Gulliver¡¯s travel...¡±

    Anastasia folded the top corner of one of the pages to put a marker. She then closed the book and put it aside so that she could give her undivided attention to her husband.

    She held his palm and said, ¡°My brother has good taste in books. A few chapters in and I am already in love with the Lilliput.¡±

    ¡°Lilli what? What¡¯s that?¡± Caspian asked as he leaned down and softly kissed Anastasia¡¯s cheek.

    Anastasia turned to look at her husband and answered while gesturing with her hands. ¡°It¡¯s a Kingdom where small people live. They are barely 6 inches tall.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian looked at his wife from head to toe and then teasingly said, ¡°Just like you? Are you also from that Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Anastasia abruptly stood up on the sofa and then pressed her lips together. She fisted on her hips and ¡®angrily¡¯ said, ¡°I am not that small! Look! I am taller than you.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Your Majesty. Whatever you say.¡± Caspian chuckled and quickly swept his wife off of her feet. He leaned down and sucked her lower lip, taking her by surprise.

    ¡°Mmm... Caspian!¡± Anastasia pushed Caspian away and whispered while trying to sound aggressive, ¡°That hurt, honey! Were you trying to bruise my lips?¡±

    ¡°Never!¡± Caspian leaned closer to her lips again and teased her further, ¡°Tell me where it hurts. I will give you a good massage with my lips. Oh, or even better... I will give you a tongue massage.¡±

    ¡°Caspian...¡± Anastasia covered her eyes with her palm andughed.

    Caspian gazed at that enchantingugh of his wife with a wide smile on his face. And he briskly headed towards the bedroom.

    He gentlyy his wife down on the bed. And he also climbed on the bed toy down beside her. He gave a peck to his wife and then asked, ¡°Did you talk with Hamilton?¡±

    Anastasia turned to face her husband and put her arms around his chest. She gave a nod and answered, ¡°Yes, I did. Isn¡¯t it amazing how they met? I bet my brother was happy to meet a member of my new family.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s smile widened when Anastasia said that they were her new family.

    The two of them talked for a while. Caspian was relieved to know that Hamilton didn¡¯t mention a word about Ruby to Anastasia.

    He had hoped that Anastasia would not remember about Ruby for a few more days.

    However, he was disappointed as well as a little nervous when she finally mentioned that wolf¡¯s name.

    ¡°Umm... Caspian, about Ruby...¡±

 Chapter 138

    138 Is That Why?

    Caspian hadn¡¯t given much thought to the matter regarding Ruby, especially after he acquired new information about her from Hamilton in the afternoon.

    ¡°Ruby? Oh... Er... She...¡±

    So, he couldn¡¯t say anything to Anastasia except stutter.

    He began thinking of a lot of reasonable exnations that he could give to his wife. However, the only exnation that kept oning back to his mind was what Zenon had suggested to him ¨C asking the doctor to lie for them. However, that idea didn¡¯t work anymore since the doctor was now dead.

    ¡°Caspian...¡± Anastasia gently ced her palm on his cheek. She could clearly see the hesitation in his eyes.

    She was aware that she was putting Caspian in a difficult position by mentioning Ruby¡¯s name. Caspian had mentioned before that there were things that he couldn¡¯t share with her.

    So, she tried to be understanding and said, ¡°Caspian, I¡¯m really sorry that I threw a temper tantrum in the dungeon. You were trying to make me understand that Ruby was a dangerous woman but I wasn¡¯t ready to listen to your side of the story.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t know where she was going with this conversation. He wondered if Anastasia had somehow managed to find out that Ruby was a werewolf. But he wanted to bepletely sure before opening his mouth. So, he thought of listening to what she had to say first.

    ¡°She ran away, didn¡¯t she?¡± Anastasia asked with a sad look on her face.

    .....

    Caspian was a little surprised that she knew about that incident. ¡°Yes, she did,¡± he replied in a low voice, thankful that he didn¡¯t spin up any lies earlier.

    He was even more surprised when she further said, ¡°And I also heard that she bit two of our guards before she ran off. I heard how sick they got. I¡¯m sorry for being stubborn and asking you to release her. I forgot that I was in the Kingdom full of supernatural beings and thought that she was an innocent human based on my single interaction with her.¡±

    Rather than being angry at who revealed such sensitive information to her, Caspian felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from his head. He was so d that he didn¡¯t have to lie to her.

    He held out his hand and gently caressed Anastasia¡¯s lips. ¡°Indeed, you heard it right. Two of our guards were on the verge of death because of her attack. And yes, she isn¡¯t an innocent human.¡±

    He sighed and further added, ¡°Sometimes, our eyes can be deceiving. But I am d that you found out the truth.¡±

    Anastasia nced at her husband with eyes full of questions. She wasn¡¯t sure if she would get the answer but she asked anyway, ¡°You were hesitating to tell me what she was on that day. May I know it now? Is she also a vampire? Or maybe she is one of the dhampirs?¡±

    Caspian¡¯s expression instantly changed upon hearing that question. Although his wife already knew a great deal about the things that Ruby had done, he wasn¡¯t ready to share what she actually was. It wasn¡¯t his secret to tell.

    So he turned his gaze away from her and replied, hoping that his wife would understand and hoping that she wouldn¡¯t ask that question ever again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Anna. I cannot reveal that information to you. Our ancestors had made a blood pact with their kind, saying that we would never reveal their secret to humans. And they had done the same.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Anastasia pressed her lips together and nodded. She didn¡¯t know what the blood pact meant. But from the way how seriously Caspian was taking it, she assumed that it was something pretty serious.

    Caspian pulled Anastasia closer to his chest and further emphasized, ¡°It¡¯s a secret that I need to take to my grave. So, I hope that you understand the situation that I am in.¡±

    Anastasia tightened her grip around her husband and whispered, ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t ask you about her anymore. Just know that I deeply regret what happened because of me.¡±

    Caspian ced a soft kiss on her head and whispered back, ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault. Don¡¯t me yourself. If anyone, it was my fault for not sending the right person with her. Vincent underestimated her and almost paid that price himself. But at least I am d that he wasn¡¯t hurt.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± she whispered.

    There was a silence between the two of them.

    Caspian closed his eyes and said while caressing Anastasia¡¯s back, ¡°Goodnight, wife.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight,¡± Anastasia replied and she also closed her eyes.

    Within a few minutes, Caspian was close to falling asleep. However, a realization crossed his mind, and all of a sudden, he flung his eyes open.

    ¡®Oh hell!¡¯ Caspian recalled his own words, ¡®It¡¯s a secret that we need to take to our grave! And... Zenon... He shared it with those humans who died, didn¡¯t he? Is that the reason they¡¯re all dead?¡¯

    He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. He thought of finding out more about that blood pact tomorrow and tried to go back to sleep.

    However, all he did was close his eyes and think about a lot of things till the morning rays of the sun entered the chamber.

    ¡ª

    With the full moon getting closer and closer, Everard was getting more and more anxious.

    He couldn¡¯t help but think about the possibilities of how things would go down that night.

    ¡®What if I get surrounded by a lot of vampires before I reach Anna? I¡¯ve never fought with any vampire before and I don¡¯t know how strong they are. Hell, I don¡¯t even know how strong I am in my werewolf form.¡¯

    He sighed and sipped the tea that his maid had brought for him about an hour ago.

    ¡®Ruby said that she was able to bite two of them and run. Maybe it¡¯s not that hard to fight them.¡¯

    He sipped the cold tea again and thought, ¡®But she had caught them off-guard at that time. They all might be extra cautious now that they know what we can do to them.¡¯

    Everard heaved a sigh and mumbled, ¡°Breaking into Sorvando and then again breaking into the castle isn¡¯t going to be an easy task.¡±

 Chapter 139

    139 Postponement

    ¡°And not to mention my smell! It¡¯s going to be harder to break in, isn¡¯t it?¡± Everard put the cup down on the table and got up on his feet.

    He brought his wrist close to his nose and sniffed. He didn¡¯t find his natural body smell to be disgusting. But he recalled Hamilton¡¯sments about his smell.

    ¡®That vampire was constantly saying that I smelled like a wet dog. And he would instantly turn his head and locate me when I tried to secretly follow him and Alexander. If I don¡¯t do anything about my smell, then I think those vampires will find me before I find Anna.¡¯

    ¡®Right!¡¯ He pped his hands in delight when he recalled that Ruby didn¡¯t have that body odor. ¡®Should I take Ruby along with me? I can be the distraction while she goes and gets Anna.¡¯

    However, he dropped that idea when he recalled how painful his first transformation was and how he wasn¡¯t in the right state of his mind. ¡®She will end up hurting Anna for sure. That¡¯s a really bad ide-¡®

    ¡°Wait!¡± he mumbled when he suddenly realized something. ¡°Ruby scaled the wall when she wasn¡¯t in her werewolf form... She said she climbed the wall, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    Everard grabbed his ck hair tightly and groaned. Then he cursed himself for being so thick-skulled. ¡°Why did I make myself believe that I could only climb over that wall when I was in my werewolf form? Ugh! Why was I so single-minded?¡±

    He recalled how Ruby was able to extend her fangs and ws. He had never done it before, but he looked at his palms and thought of extending his ws.

    And as if by magic, sharp ws protruded from all his fingers.

    .....

    ¡°Whoa!¡± He giggled like a baby who just found out how his new toy worked.

    He then examined his ws and did some shing hand movements. After a while of moving his fingers, waving his hand, and shing a few books that were in the room, he went to stand in front of the wall of his room.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what else you¡¯ve got.¡± He stretched his hands and neck and then dug his ws into the wall. He then tried to pull himself up with the pure strength of his arms.

    ¡°The hell!¡± he eximed when he climbed the wall as if he was built for it.

    He felt likeughing at himself when he found out that he could have climbed the wall with ease all this time.

    And he grumpily mumbled, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of this before? I can go and rescue Anna whenever I want! It doesn¡¯t have to be the full moon!¡±

    He jumped down and spiraled into deep thoughts.

    Everard was looking out of his window when he spotted Ruby on the road. And he thought to himself again, ¡®It doesn¡¯t have to be the full moon...¡¯

    He waited for Ruby toe knocking at the door and peeking in with a wide smile on her face. It had be like a ritual by now.

    And soon enough, he heard the soft knock on the door. He didn¡¯t realize it, but he was smiling when he asked her toe in.

    But rather thaning inside, Ruby opened the door just a little and peeked in with a smile on her face. ¡°Good morning, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard¡¯s smile widened further. ¡°Good morning. Did you sleep well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. How could I not when the bed here is really soft?¡± Ruby said with a smile even though she missed her bed back at home.

    She cleared her throat and asked Everard, ¡°And what about you, Your Highness? Did you sleep well?¡± She looked around the room that was in shambles and spected, ¡°It looks like you were up early. Not a typical morning, was it?¡±

    Everard also darted his eyes around the mess that he had made and nodded his head. ¡°Yes, I had a lot of things in my mind and couldn¡¯t really get enough sleep. But it¡¯s okay. I got enough sleep to get by with the day without getting cranky... I hope that I won¡¯t get cranky.¡±

    Ruby gave a sad smile and kept on standing at the door. She wanted to ask what was bothering him so much. But the words would always get stuck in her throat when she would remember that she was someone who was way beneath the level of the Crown Prince.

    Everard quickly grabbed a pouch from his drawer and then put it in his pocket. He looked in the mirror and quicklybed his hair. And he walked towards the door.

    He pulled the door fully open and then said to Ruby, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s head to the market and see if we can find the chains that are stronger than you.¡±

    Ruby gave a nod and stepped aside.

    After Everard locked the door, they both started to walk down the corridor.

    Ruby was walking behind the Crown Prince, thinking that he wouldn¡¯t like to be seen with her.

    But Everard turned to see her and asked, ¡°Why are you walking behind me? It will be hard to talk with you. Walk beside me.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s heart fluttered a little when she saw Everard holding out his hand for her. She smiled and gently touched his palm with the tip of her fingers.

    Everard grabbed her palm and then pulled her close to him. And when she began walking side by side, he left his grip on her hand and said, ¡°Hey, I have been thinking...¡±

    Ruby lifted her head and gazed at the beautiful ebony eyes of the Crown Prince.

    He also looked into her light brown eyes and said, ¡°I have been thinking that maybe I should postpone my travel by a few days... I think I should travel a few days after the full moon.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard him. And she asked, ¡°That means you will stay by my side during the full moon?¡± A sense of relief was reflected in her voice when she asked that.

    Everard gave a soft smile to her and yfully said, ¡°I think it would be nice if I had someone screaming louder than me when I turn.¡±

    Ruby looked down at the floor and smiled ear to ear. She was so happy that she felt like she would pass out. She felt that just the mere presence of Everard would make her first transformation go smoothly and painlessly.

    She gazed at Everard again and softly whispered, ¡°Thank you for being so considerate, Your Highness.¡±

 Chapter 140

    140 Something Unexpected

    Ruby and Everard were walking down the corridor when they stumbled upon Alexander.

    ¡°Eve, where are you headed?¡± Alexander casually asked out of habit.

    Everard, however, gave him a re and threw a satire, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know we were still on talking terms and that you were still interested to know about my whereabouts.¡±

    Alexander narrowed his eyes and said in a monotone, ¡°How many times do I have to tell you that Hamilton is a nice person, not to mention that he is someone I need to respect no matter what. Besides, you are the one who didn¡¯te with me even when I invited you. So, why are you the one who¡¯s angry at me? I should be the one to get angry.¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯te because he¡¯s an arsehole. I don¡¯t like him,¡± Everard said a bit assertively.

    Alexander was tired of listening to the same reasoning that didn¡¯t even make any sense considering how the two of them only interacted a few times with each other.

    So he angrily scolded Everard, ¡°Then that¡¯s your problem, Eve, not mine. Stop acting like a baby and treating me like a traitor for hosting a guest you didn¡¯t like.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I am not acting like a baby.¡± Everard folded his arms and tried to defend his action. ¡°I don¡¯t know... I just don¡¯t like that man and when I saw how you were showing him around, I kinda felt... angry, alright.¡±

    ¡°Well, now you know how I felt when you were hanging out with that new friend of yours, that Lorry or Enzo or whatever he was.¡± Alexander averted his gaze from Everard and added, ¡°If I was to behave like you then I would have been angry with you a long time ago.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Lorenzo is a nice guy!¡± Everard tried to speak for his new friend.

    But Alexander gave him a re instead. ¡°Sure...¡± he rolled his eyes and headed towards his own dorm room.

    Everard now regretted poking Alexander and unleashing his angry side. So he turned around and tried to calm his friend down, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry! I won¡¯t get angry with you. Can you do the same?¡±

    Everard thought that it would be enough to make his friend talk.

    However, Alexander entered his room and deliberately mmed the door so that Everard would know that he was still angry.

    All this while, Ruby was awkwardly standing beside Everard with her head down. And after listening to the two friends quarreling with each other, she nced at Everard and asked, ¡°Shall we postpone today¡¯s n? I think you need to be with your friend today. It looks like both of you have missed each other greatly.¡±

    Everard wanted to go after his friend and clear their misunderstanding. However, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to postpone the n with Ruby.

    ¡°We need to find the chains by today. If we are unable to find something suitable for you, then we will have to ce an order to the cksmith, which will take some time. So, we can¡¯t postpone this any further than today.¡±

    He took a nce towards Alexander¡¯s door and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯s not going anywhere. I will talk to him aftering back from the shopping.¡±

    Everard then started to walk again.

    And Ruby sprinted and caught up with him so that she could walk side by side with him.

    ¡ª

    It had already been about an hour since Alexander walked inside his room after showing his anger to Everard.

    By now, he had given up looking at the door, hoping to see Everard running inside the room.

    He was lying down on his bed and was thinking about a lot of things.

    ¡®He changed ever since that Lorenzo walked into his life. And now, he is always with Ruby.¡¯

    He sighed after listening to his own thought because he was sounding like a jealous wife.

    However, shortly after, he started toin again. ¡®I¡¯m not saying that he should give all of his time to me. In fact, I am happy that he spends time with Ruby. I don¡¯t have to hear himmenting about Anna¡¯s marriage. It looks like he is ready to move on, but...¡¯

    Alexander abruptly got up from his bed and mumbled, ¡°But I am his best friend. Shouldn¡¯t he at least spend some time with me? He used to stick with me like glue and now, he is growing distant by the day. I am not ready to see him behaving like a stranger.¡±

    Alexander was lost in his own thoughts when he suddenly heard somemotion outside.

    He went to the window and looked down to find a fancy carriage approaching their building.

    From the way the coachman was dressed, he knew in an instant that it was a carriage from Xanmar.

    And Alexander instantly gritted his teeth, ¡°I swear that if it¡¯s Lorenzo then I am going to ask him to go back before Everardes back. That shorty has done enough to estrange the two of us already.¡±

    However, unlike what he had thought, two of the men whom he had seen before stepped out of the carriage.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they the messengers from Xanmar?¡± Alexander squinted his eyes to see more clearly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s them. But why are they here in a carriage? And why the two of them?¡±

    Alexander decided to go outside and wait by Everard¡¯s door so that he could receive the message on Everard¡¯s behalf. He had done that a couple of times before. So, even though he was angry with Everard at the moment, he stepped out of his room.

    By the time he reached Everard¡¯s door, the messengers were already waiting outside.

    Both of the messengers immediately bowed to the Crown Prince of Orsenia.

    ¡°Are you here to drop some message for Everard?¡± Alexander asked while looking at their hands to see if they were holding any scrolls.

    One of them was indeed holding a scroll.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Is he not inside his room?¡±

    Alexander shook his head and replied, ¡°Everard stepped outside just a while ago. I don¡¯t think he will be back anytime soon. May I receive the message for him?¡±

    However, unlike before, they didn¡¯t show any initiative to hand over the scroll to Alexander.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness. We were asked to deliver this message directly to His Highness,¡± the one who was carrying the scroll replied.

    Alexander respected their wish. But he couldn¡¯t help but notice how both of the messengers looked tensed. So, he asked worriedly, ¡°Did something happen back at Xanmar?¡±

    The messengers were carrying sensitive information. But they were well aware that Alexander wouldn¡¯t misuse it. They were also aware that Everard would share the message with Alexander anyway.

    So, one of them replied to the Crown Prince, ¡°His Majesty suddenly fell ill. And he has requested His Highness¡¯ presence in the castle. We are here to take the Crown Prince back with us, not just to deliver the message.¡±

 Chapter 141

    141 Roaming Aimlessly

    Alexander felt a chill shiver in his heart upon hearing the news about Everard¡¯s father.

    ¡°The King fell ill?¡± Alexander asked again, just to confirm if he heard it right the first time.

    The messenger looked down and said with a nod, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°W-What happened? Is it something serious?¡± Alexander asked while clutching his hands together.

    The messengers looked at each other. And one of them replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we are not allowed to reveal further details, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± Alexander heaved a deep sigh. His hands were starting to get cold because he had already assumed the worst.

    He was greatly worried for his friend. He could already imagine Everard getting anxious and even angry.

    He nced at the messengers and then asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t one of you go and meet our teacher and take a leave of absence for him? And... if you wish to head for Xanmar right away, I can also help you in looking around for him.¡±

    The messengers readily epted the offer from the Crown Prince because they wanted to return to Xanmar at the earliest time possible. Furthermore, they believed that Alexander would be more familiar with the ces that Everard might possibly be in at the moment.

    .....

    All three of them then stepped out of the building.

    One of the messengers went to get the leave of absence on behalf of Everard. While the other messenger and Alexander went in either direction to look for Everard.

    The first ce that Alexander went to was the Chamber of Sallust. That ce had be Everard¡¯s favorite ce ever since he met Lorenzo.

    After asking one of the servers of the Chamber of Sallust, he got to know that Everard wasn¡¯t there.

    He sighed and thought to himself, ¡®Where could he be?¡¯ He recalled how Ruby was standing beside Everard when he had met him earlier.

    ¡®Could he have gone to her ce?¡¯ But he instantly wrinkled his brows and shook his head. ¡®No, why would he go there? She is the one who usuallyes to his ce.¡¯

    He slowly walked out of the Chamber of Sallust and thought as he did so, ¡®But there¡¯s no harm in checking. Maybe he had to help her with something...¡¯

    Keeping that in mind, he reached the ce where Ruby was currently staying at. He stood at the door and knocked, ¡°Ruby, are you there?¡±

    He waited for a while for the answer. But when no reply came from there, he decided to walk away.

    However, before he did so, he tried calling Ruby once more in case she didn¡¯t hear him the first time, ¡°Ruby?¡±

    He furrowed his brows and thought to himself, ¡®What if he is in there and he is prohibiting Ruby from answering because he is angry with me?¡¯

    So he further decided to state the purpose of his visit. ¡°Ruby, is Everard in there with you? Tell him that the messengers from Xanmar are here with an important message.¡±

    He then waited for a while to get the reply.

    And while he waited, an old woman opened the door from the adjacent room and asked Alexander, ¡°Are you a friend of Ruby?¡±

    Alexander smiled and said, ¡°Er... you can say that. Do you know where she is?¡±

    The old woman then informed him, ¡°Ah! I don¡¯t know where she is. But I do know that she went out in the morning. She hasn¡¯t returned since then.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Alexander gave a polite nod and thanked the old woman. He then walked out of there without having any specific destination in his mind.

    ¡®I think he is with Ruby. But where could they possibly go?¡¯ He pondered as he walked down the street.

    If Everard was alone, then he was sure that he would either find Everard challenging someone from the University for a duel, or he would be in arge bookstore nearby their University.

    However, with Ruby by his side, Alexander didn¡¯t know where to find Everard.

    Even then, he walked around the town, peeking inside each and every shop to see if he could catch a glimpse of his friend.

    On the way, he stumbled upon the messenger who was also looking for Everard.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t find him yet?¡± Alexander asked the messenger.

    The messenger dejectedly shook his head. ¡°No, Your Highness. I looked inside each and every shop in that direction. But he is nowhere.¡± He looked really restless as well as tired by now.

    It would have been easier for the messenger to follow Everard¡¯s scent and find him but unfortunately, the messengers were not werewolves.

    Alexander also shared where he had looked, ¡°I looked for him in the Chamber of Sallust, and all the shops on the way back.¡±

    The messenger heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait by the dorm, Your Highness? The Crown Prince mighte there and we might miss him again if he decides to leave for somewhere else.¡±

    Alexander wanted to continue the search.

    Alexander could tell that the messenger was asking him to wait by the dorm because thetter was feeling bad for making him roam around aimlessly.

    However, he also thought that the messenger had a good point. Thus, he agreed, ¡°Okay, I will wait there. If hees by then I will let him know that some urgent matter hase up.¡±

    The messenger bowed gratefully and then immediately rush in the direction where both of them hadn¡¯t checked yet.

    And Alexander went towards their dorm.

    ¡ª

    It was already pitch dark and yet, there was no sign of Everard. The messengers were also standing by the door of Everard¡¯s room alongside Alexander.

    All three of them were tired, hungry, and restless by the time Everard finally decided to show up.

    And when he saw Everard at the end of the corridor, almost instantly, Alexander shouted at him, ¡°Do you have any idea how long we have been waiting for you? Couldn¡¯t you have simply told me where the hell you were going when I had asked you instead of starting a fight with me?¡±

    ¡°Rx, Alex!¡± Everard frowned.

    But he didn¡¯t want to start another fight again. So he gently tapped on Alexander¡¯s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

    Alexander kept on looking at Everard and contemted whether or not to ry the news. In the end, he sighed and stepped aside. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to say the news to his friend so, he let the messengers do their job.

    The messengers bowed to their Crown Prince. And one of them handed over the scroll without saying a word.

    Everard furrowed his brows and took the scroll. He wondered why all three of them were looking so sad.

    ¡°Why do you all look so serious? What is it?¡± he asked while unrolling the scroll.

    Alexander closed his eyes and hoped that the worst hadn¡¯t happened.

 Chapter 142

    142 Homebound

    As Everard went through the contents of the scroll, he started to get chills in his heart. His palms trembled slightly, and his breathing started to get irregr as though he was trying hard to control his emotions.

    ¡°Eve?¡± Alexander walked closer to his friend and asked, ¡°How¡¯s your father?¡±

    ¡°Umm...¡± Everard cleared his throat and wiped his nose. ¡°He¡¯s being looked after by the royal physicians.¡± He looked at Alexander with glistening eyes, but gave a subtle smile to his friend. ¡°He¡¯s going to be fine. I think he¡¯s just overreacting and calling me there because he missed me.¡±

    Alexander nodded and said in a mncholic tone, ¡°I also hope that it¡¯s nothing bad. I wish that he will recover soon.¡±

    He then spread his arms and gave Everard a tight hug.

    Everard was trying hard to maintain hisposure. But as soon as he felt the warmth of his friend, streams of tears rolled down his eyes. He closed his eyes and buried his face into Alexander¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°It says his health condition is quite serious, Alex...¡± Everard hugged his friend back and finally broke down. ¡°What am I going to do if something... if something happens to him? I¡¯m not ready!¡±

    Everard wiped his tears but instantly shed more than what he had just wiped. ¡°I¡¯m not ready for anything. I can¡¯t... I don¡¯t want to lose him...¡±

    Alexander was also trying to control his tears. But listening to Everard¡¯s broken voice made him emotional.

    .....

    However, he controlled himself and consoled his friend while gently stroking his back, ¡°Nothing¡¯s going to happen to your father. You said it yourself, didn¡¯t you? He¡¯s just being a little overdramatic. He¡¯s a strong man. He¡¯ll pull through.¡±

    Alexander then pulled away from the hug because he didn¡¯t want to keep his friend there for long. ¡°Eve,¡± he pointed his brows at the messengers and then said, ¡°They¡¯ve been waiting here since the morning. I think you should hurry up and leave.¡±

    Everard wiped his wet eyes and sniffled. He nced at the messengers and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    One of the messengers nced at the door to Everard¡¯s room and suggested, ¡°Your Highness, if you need, we can help you pack your belongings.¡±

    Everard ran his fingers through his raven ck hair and swiftly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I will need anything. Let¡¯s just go.¡±

    He didn¡¯t feel like packing his belongings because he wanted to make himself believe that he was not going to stay there in Xanmar for long. He wanted to believe that he would return as soon as his father recovered.

    The messengers bowed to the Crown Prince and led the way.

    Everard nced at Alexander and apologized before following the messengers, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alex. I shouldn¡¯t have-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Eve. I know.¡± Alexander gave a sad smile to his friend and gently nudged him, ¡°Now go.¡±

    Everard turned on his heels and began walking down the corridor.

    Alexander kept on watching Everard rushing away. ¡®Wait!¡¯ Something suddenly struck Alexander¡¯s mind. ¡°Eve, what about Ruby?¡± he shouted from the other end of the corridor.

    Everard suddenly stopped on his path and turned around. ¡°Er... I think I will take her with me. Yeah, I will take her along. So, don¡¯t worry about her.¡±

    ¡°Okay, take care!¡± Alexander waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Ande back soon. I don¡¯t want to stay in the boring lectures without you.¡±

    Everard smiled and waved back. And in an instant, he turned around and ran at the top of his human speed.

    The smile on Alexander¡¯s lips immediately faded away. He sighed deeply and whispered, ¡®Eve... I really hope that you wille back...¡¯

    ¡ª

    ¡°The Crown Prince is back!¡±

    Everard¡¯s sharp ears caught someone in the capital shouting and running away.

    He took a deep breath in and slightly pushed the curtain on the window of his carriage to look outside. His heart always used to warm up when he used to see the familiar streets of his kingdom. He would feel that the fresh air of his kingdom was his escape from all the hardships that he had to endure at his university.

    However, this time, he felt as if those streets were his shackles instead of his escape.

    Ruby nced at Everard¡¯s face. She noticed how crestfallen he looked, as though someone had plucked every bit of other emotions from him.

    Everard dropped the curtain and then closed his eyes again. He hadn¡¯t spoken a word since they started the journey. And he intended to do so until and unless it was absolutely necessary to speak.

    Ruby took a deep breath in and looked away from the Crown Prince. Her gaze happened tond on the messengers.

    She could see that even after two whole days of traveling with them, they were still giving her the contemptuous look as if she was a courtesan whom the Crown Prince had picked up somewhere on the street.

    Ruby had no other option than to avoid their judgmental re.

    After traveling for a few more minutes, the carriage reached the castle.

    Unlike the other times, there was no grand wee for the Crown Prince. All the guards bowed their heads as the carriage passed, and that was it.

    ¡°My Prince.¡± Jerome came to receive the Crown Prince. He bowed and greeted, ¡°Wee back. We all have been expecting you.¡±

    Everard walked ahead of Jerome while asking, ¡°Where¡¯s my father? How is he?¡±

    Jerome¡¯s attention was, however, somewhere else. He was looking back at the shy woman who was keeping her head low and following him and the Prince.

    ¡°Jerome?¡±

    The beta¡¯s attention was finally back on Everard. And he immediately replied, ¡°His Majesty is in his bedchamber. He is...¡± He took a deep breath in and replied, ¡°You can see for yourself, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard let out a sigh of frustration and rushed towards his father¡¯s bedchamber.

    Ruby was about to follow Everard but Jerome stood in front of her and stopped her.

    And he asked with utmost curiosity, ¡°May I get your introduction?¡±

    Ruby gulped with nervousness and then answered while still keeping her head down, ¡°I am Ruby Thompson.¡±

    ¡°And...¡± Jerome raised his brows and waited for Ruby to speak further. But when she didn¡¯t say anything else, he asked again, ¡°May I know your rtionship with the Crown Prince.¡±

    Ruby herself didn¡¯t know what she was to the Crown Prince. She definitely wasn¡¯t his friend, she wasn¡¯t his maid, and she wasn¡¯t his family although he did say that she was.

    And in her confusion, she mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Crestfire n.¡±

    Jerome frowned because he was sure that there were no Thompsons in the Crestfire n. And he was angry at Ruby for lying to him.

    He looked down at Ruby and asked in a harsh tone, ¡°Tell me who you really are, Miss. Or else, I don¡¯t care if you came with His Highness. I am going to dump you like trash if you don¡¯t speak the truth this in-¡±

    ¡°Jerome!¡± Everard shouted from the end of the hallway.

    Jerome instantly stepped aside from Ruby and held his head low.

    Ruby was already on the verge of breaking into tears. And when she saw Everard, she was greatly relieved.

    Everard walked up to them and looked Jerome in the eyes. And he spoke in amanding tone, ¡°She is a kin of mine. I will exin the detailster. But until then, I demand everyone to treat her with respect. Show her to a guest room.¡±

    Jerome didn¡¯t like how Everard easily gave her the status of a family. However, he didn¡¯t want to argue with the Prince at the moment. So, he agreed to the Prince¡¯s request. ¡°I will do as you have asked, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard nced at Ruby and said in a bit softer tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was in a hurry and I forgot about you. You should rest while I will go and meet my father.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Ruby gave a bow to Everard, thankful that he came back and saved her from possible humiliation.

    After watching Jerome and Ruby head towards another wing of the castle, Everard made his way to the King¡¯s chamber.

    He stopped in front of the door to his father¡¯s room and mentally prepared himself. After taking a moment to himself, he finally signaled the guards at the door to announce his presence, although it wasn¡¯t quite necessary to do so.

    ¡°His Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived,¡± one of the guards made the announcement and pushed the door open.

    Everard felt a pinch in his heart the moment his eyes fell on the bed.

    His father was lying down on the bed, looking all frail and weak. Never in his life had he seen his father in that condition. And it pained him further thinking how his father would have looked like without his stronger immune system.

    ¡°Everard, my son.¡± King Alfred held out his palm and asked in a weak voice, ¡°You came?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Everard took some heavy steps and went inside. He took his father¡¯s hand and asked after gulping, ¡°What happened to you?¡±

 Chapter 143

    143 Scandalous Question

    As usual, Anastasia was sitting in her antechamber and was busy reading the novel that her brother had gifted her. She had been reading nonstop for about five hours now. And her eyes were starting to get a little blurry.

    Thus, she lifted her gaze from the book and looked out of the window. She appreciated the cool breeze that was gently caressing her face.

    She pushed the few stray strands of her hair away from her face and then marked the page in her book.

    ¡®I think I should take a walk in the garden. The sun isn¡¯t that harsh these days.¡¯

    With that thought, she put the book aside and got up on her feet.

    ¡°Ow!¡± She almost stumbled because she didn¡¯t realize that her legs were numb at the moment. ¡°Mhmm...¡± She grimaced and lightly pped her thighs. ¡°Come on... Let me walk....¡± She talked with her legs and tried to move both of her feet.

    After her legs finally stopped hurting, Anastasia turned around and walked toward the main door.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Ti, by the way? I thought she went to grab some sweet snacks for me. She should have been here by now.¡± She walked while mumbling to herself.

    ¡ª

    .....

    Ti was still in the kitchen. She had asked the chef to prepare a carrot cake for the Queen. But he took quite some time because he didn¡¯t have enough ingredients.

    ¡°How much longer is it going to take?¡± Ti asked the chef for the umpteenth time.

    The chef looked at Ti, a bit irritated, and answered, ¡°If you know how to make it faster, then you are free to try. I will leave the kitchen for you.¡±

    Ti gave a nervous smile and a gentle bow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that the Queen is unattended at the moment, so I was worried that she might need something while I am not there.¡±

    The chef heaved a sigh and replied in a bit calmer tone, ¡°It will be ready in about five minutes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ti smiled and awkwardly kept on standing there in the kitchen.

    The chef then cut a slice of the cake and ted it. And he also decorated the cake with frosting. He took a final nce at his work of art and then said to Ti, ¡°It¡¯s ready now. I hope that the Queen will like it.¡±

    ¡°She will. It smells really delicious.¡± Ti grabbed a tray and then shifted the te on the tray. And she quickly scurried away from the kitchen.

    She was hurrying towards the central wing when she spotted Anastasia taking a stroll in the garden. ¡°Oh god! What is she doing alone here...¡± she murmured and then headed to the garden.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what are you doing out here alone?¡± Ti asked from afar.

    Anastasia was happy to see Ti. She was even happier to see the cake that she was carrying in her hand.

    ¡°I wanted to get some fresh air,¡± she replied with a wide smile on her face.

    Ti stood in front of the Queen and then reprimanded her, ¡°The air is too cold for you to be walking around like this. You aren¡¯t dressed enough.¡± She then pointed her brows towards the castle and asked, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go back.¡±

    However, Anastasia wanted to stay there for a bit longer. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring warm cloth for me? I want to sit down for a bit.¡±

    Ti wanted to say no. But at the same time, she didn¡¯t want to deprive Anastasia of the smallest pleasure that she was seeking.

    Thus, she handed the te to the Queen and said, ¡°Wait here for a while then. I will be right back with something.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Anastasia smiled ear to ear and asked Ti, ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring me the Pashmina that my brother sent me?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ti was happy to see Anastasia excited about her new clothing item.

    Anastasia then sat down on a bench to enjoy her carrot cake while Ti left for the Queen¡¯s room.

    Ti was climbing the stairs when she stumbled upon Vincent. She bowed and greeted him, ¡°Good afternoon, Milord.¡±

    ¡°Good afternoon, Ti,¡± Vincent replied cheerfully.

    Ti tried to walk past him, but Vincent shifted to the side and stood in her way. ¡°I had been meaning to talk to you for a long while now. But why can¡¯t I find you anywhere these days?¡±

    Ti kept on looking down when she replied, ¡°I mostly stay inside the Queen¡¯s room these days. Maybe that¡¯s why...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Vincent rested his elbow on the railing of the stairs and then said in a yful tone, ¡°Then I should consider today as my lucky day. How have you been, Ti?¡±

    Ti was already getting restless. She wanted to get back to the Queen as fast as she could. So she quickly answered and tried to excuse herself, ¡°I have been well, Milord. Thank you for asking. Now, if you will, please excuse me. I have some work to do.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Vincent stepped aside and gave way to Ti.

    Ti climbed the rest of the stairs and began to head towards the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    After walking for a while, she realized that Vincent was following her. But she didn¡¯t pay attention to it and kept on walking ahead, thinking that his destination was somewhere else. However, he ended up following her to Anastasia¡¯s room.

    Before opening the door, Ti turned around to face him and asked, ¡°You would like to meet the Queen, Milord? If so, then she isn¡¯t here. She is out in the garden.¡±

    Vincent looked into her eyes and answered in his deep voice, ¡°Why do you think that I want to meet the Queen? It was you who I wanted to meet and talk to, but you said you were busy. So, I thought of following you around until you were free.¡±

    Ti felt as if her heart stopped beating when Vincent used his enchanting voice to talk to her. Her face instantly turned as red as tomatoes.

    And she stuttered, ¡°I d-don¡¯t think I will be free until lte at night. S-So, you s-should stop following me, Milord. You will only waste your t-time.¡±

    A corner of Vincent¡¯s lips slightly curved upward. He liked seeing Ti flustered instead of angry and uptight.

    And he asked in a much more enticing voice, ¡°Then... would you mind if Ie and find youte at night?¡±

    Ti instantly coughed and covered her mouth with her palm. ¡°Ex-Excuse me?¡± Her whole face and ears turned the color of ripe cherry upon hearing such a scandalous question from Vincent.

    Vincent took the chance to make Ti even more flustered. He leaned a little closer to her ear and whispered to her, ¡°I really need you to ept my apology, Ti. It¡¯s been killing me, you know.¡±

 Chapter 144

    144 Damsel in Distress

    Ti felt like her heart woulde out of her mouth, not because she was afraid of Vincent, but because of how close he was standing to her.

    She was so nervous that she escaped into the Queen¡¯s room. And when she was inside the antechamber, she shouted without even sparing a nce at Vincent, ¡°I ept your apology, Milord. Now you don¡¯t have to follow me. I ACCEPT.¡±

    Vincent folded his arms and leaned on the door of Anastasia¡¯s room.

    He kept on smirking because he was enjoying this a lot ¨C teasing Ti.

    And he teased her even more, now that she was reacting the way he wanted her to. ¡°You ept? Do you mean you ept my proposal to meet youte at night?¡±

    Ti abruptly turned her head in disbelief. She could see that Vincent was greatly enjoying himself.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that!¡± Ti said in a stern voice, finally not giving Vincent the satisfaction by losing herposure.

    She turned around to fully face Vincent and added further, ¡°I said I ept your apology for scaring me to my core and making me stake your throat. Now, if that wasn¡¯t clear enough, I shall ask Her Majesty to help me write a formal letter of eptance of your apology. How does that sound, Milord?¡±

    Vincent stood up straight and cleared his throat at the mention of the Queen. He gave a nervous chuckle and then replied, ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I understood. And I am relieved that I have finally been forgiven.¡±

    .....

    ¡°That¡¯s great then.¡± Ti gave a forced smile to Vincent and walked inside Anastasia¡¯s bedchamber to fetch the shawl that the Queen had demanded.

    After grabbing the shawl, she took a deep breath in and thought, ¡®Please begone...¡¯

    She then slowly walked outside to the antechamber. She sighed in relief when she didn¡¯t see Vincent still waiting for her.

    She furrowed her brows and thought to herself, ¡®Why does he have to tease me like that? Does he not have anyone else who he can tease and do whatever? And why do I keep falling for his petty mockery?¡¯

    She mmed her fist on her chest and scolded her heart, ¡®This thing... Don¡¯t make weird noises when he is around! He can hear you. And I think that¡¯s why he takes pleasure in teasing you every chance he gets.¡¯

    Ti walked down the corridor and reached the staircase. She took the turn to go down the stairs, only toe across a vampire maid who was rushing at the top of her speed.

    ¡°Oh my God!¡± Ti jumped a little as she was startled. ¡°Whoa! Whoa!¡± In her shock, she happened to step on the rim of her gown.

    ¡°Oh... no, no, no...¡± She tried her best to maintain her bnce and tried to grip the railing of the stairs, but she couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Arghhh...¡± She epted her fate and closed her eyes to embrace the fall.

    She stumbled down a stair and was ready to keep on rolling down when suddenly, she heard someone rushing and then felt someone grabbing her by her waist.

    Ti thought that the vampire maid who had startled her was back to save her, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Thank y-¡±

    She opened her eyes only to see Vincent looking down at her and smiling. ¡®Oh! Uh...¡± She cleared her throat and got back up on her feet.

    Needless to say, her whole face turned red again.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Vincent asked in the softest voice possible. He still had his arm around Ti¡¯s waist. He looked into her eyes and said, ¡°I think I did the right thing by waiting around for you toe.¡±

    For a second, Ti¡¯s gaze was stuck on Vincent¡¯s remarkable face. She had forgotten to breathe. However, in the next moment, she sharply inhaled and quickly averted her gaze.

    She then gave a slight bow to the lord and hurried down the stairs.

    Vincent held his arms behind his back and smirked whimsically. ¡°No ¡®thank you¡¯ for me?¡± he shouted from the top of the stairs.

    Ti wanted to say it; she was grateful that he saved her from the fall and possible fractures. However, she was too flustered to say it at the moment. Thus, she kept on running away.

    Vincent then took a deep breath in and thought to himself, ¡®Well... I think a hello to the Queen wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡¯ He had a lively smile on his face as he made his way to the garden.

    When he reached the garden, he saw Ti helping Anastasia wrap the shawl around her head and her neck. He adjusted his posture and then headed towards the area where the two of thedies were standing.

    ¡°Vincent.¡± Anastasia gave him a warm weing smile the moment her eyes fell on him.

    Vincent gracefully bowed and greeted Anastasia, ¡°My Queen.¡± He then turned his gaze on Ti only to see her swiftly turning her head away.

    ¡°You came back from the King¡¯s study?¡± Anastasia asked Vincent.

    Vincent shook his head and replied while stealing nces at Ti, ¡°No, I was just roaming around the hallways, saving a damsel in distress.¡±

    Ti¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. And she hoped that Vincent wasn¡¯t petty enough toin to the Queen that she ran away without thanking him.

    The way Vincent kept on peeking at Ti didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the Queen. The corners of her lips curved up slightly upon seeing the positive tension in the air.

    She adjusted her shawl and asked Vincent an indirect question, ¡°And could that damsel in distress be someone I know?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Vincent answered with a grin on his face.

    Anastasia was now smiling ear to ear. She nced at Ti but directed her question at Vincent, ¡°And may I know what happened to the said damsel in distress?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Vincent nced at Ti again and began narrating the previous incident, ¡°She got startled by some careless maid and was about to fall down the sta-¡±

    ¡°I am very grateful that you saved me, Milord,¡± Ti abruptly cut Vincent off in the middle so that he wouldn¡¯t speak of the embarrassing moment any further.

    Vincent smiled and said to Ti, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mention it, Ti. I happened to be right there and I simply did what I could.¡±

    Ti looked down and subtly rolled her eyes because she could tell that he came there following her because he wanted to hear her saying ¡®thank you¡¯ to him.

    So, she boosted his ego further, hoping that he would leave her alone, ¡°I have to say it where it¡¯s due, Milord. I am really thankful that you saved me from getting hurt.¡±

    Anastasia gave a smile to Vincent and she also added, ¡°Thank you for saving my friend, Vincent.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but feel as if she was the third wheel there. So she stretched her arms and then yawned. ¡°Ah! I feel likeying down on the bed now.¡±

    ¡°I will take you there,¡± Ti instantly held Anastasia¡¯s arm so that she could also escape Vincent.

    However, Anastasia shook her head and said, ¡°No, I feel like walking alone. I need some alone time to process a few things that I have in my mind.¡±

    Ti wanted to cling to Anastasia and go along with her anyway. But it wasn¡¯t her ce to be stubborn. So she pulled her hand away from Anastasia and bowed. ¡°I wille to the chamber in a while then.¡±

    ¡°Rest well, Your Majesty,¡± Vincent also gave a respectful bow to the Queen. He was happy that she was giving him a chance to have a proper talk with Ti.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anastasia gave a smile and then left.

    Ti gave an awkward nce to Vincent and tried to walk away from there. She thought that anywhere would be better than standing in front of him and giving him a chance to y with her heart any further.

    However, Vincent stood in front of her again and then asked in a serious tone, ¡°Ti, can we look past our past differences and start afresh? I don¡¯t like this awkwardness between us. And I definitely don¡¯t want you to run away every time you see me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t do that...¡± Ti looked away and defended herself.

    ¡°Yes, you do,¡± Vincent said with a frown. And he said with the same seriousness, ¡°I want to befriend you, Ti. At least give me a chance to redeem my previous actions.¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t know why he was so adamant about befriending her when she was nothing but a mere handmaid of the Queen. However, she didn¡¯t want to argue any further with Vincent. And she wanted to get away from there.

    Thus, she agreed to his request. ¡°Sure, I would like to befriend you as well, Milord. It would be an honor.¡±

 Chapter 145

    145 A Step Ahead

    Anastasia was walking down the corridor and was about to reach her room when she saw Percy heading towards her from the other end of the corridor.

    Percy bowed to the Queen when the distance between them lessened.

    Anastasia waited by the door because it looked like Percy had something to say to her.

    As she had thought, Percy walked up to her and then said, ¡°Your Majesty, the King has requested your presence.¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡± Anastasia asked with a hint of happiness sparkling on her face.

    Percy pointed in the direction where he just came from and answered the Queen, ¡°He¡¯s in his chamber, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he is already in his chambers?¡± Anastasia was surprised to hear that her husband had finished his duties very early. But at the same time, she was also happy because she would get to spend more time with him rather than with the books.

    Percy led the Queen to the King¡¯s chamber and pushed the door open.

    Caspian was already standing by the door, eager to see his wife¡¯s face.

    .....

    ¡°Wife.¡± He instantly extended his hand for his wife to hold; his face lit with joy at seeing his wife after six whole hours of separation.

    Anastasia¡¯s situation was quite simr to Caspian¡¯s. She tried her best not to feel lonely by drowning herself in the world of fiction. However, there would always be this restlessness in the deepest corner of her heart, arising from the desire to be in thepany of her husband.

    She held Caspian¡¯s hand and walked inside the room with a wide grin on her face. ¡°Youpleted your work quite early today,¡± she praised her husband.

    Caspian smiled at his wife and then nced at Percy to give him a nod.

    When Percy closed the door and walked away, Caspian wrapped his arms around Anastasia¡¯s waist and pressed her body into his. He instantly felt the tender heat from her body, which warmed his heart as well.

    He bent a little and locked his eyes with her beautiful green eyes. He then said in a loving whisper, ¡°I missed you so much that I could barely read a sentence from the file, so...¡±

    He gazed at her beautiful face and gently caressed her lips with his thumb. His thirsty eyes glided down to look at her lips, and he instantly leaned down to give a soft peck to his wife.

    Caspian then said again, ¡°So, I thought that instead of sitting there in the study and depriving myself, I would rather spend my time with my precious wife.¡±

    Anastasia raised her brows and yfully asked, although she wasn¡¯t oblivious to the feelings of her husband, ¡°Oh, is that so? You couldn¡¯t focus on anything else, huh?¡±

    Caspian tightened his grip across her waist and agreed. ¡°Obviously. How would I be able to focus on anything else when I see my wife roaming around alone in the garden?¡±

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that. She had already thought that he would probably see her from his window.

    Caspian lifted his hand and slightly adjusted her shawl wrapped around her head. He couldn¡¯t help but appreciate her, ¡°You know what? Red really suits you. I don¡¯t know if I ever said this before, but... you look like a red rose that freshly bloomed in the snow when you wear red.¡±

    ¡°You never cease to tter me,¡± Anastasia smiled ear to ear while her heart fluttered as usual. And she further added, ¡°If you like red on me, then I will try to put on red dresses more often.¡±

    Caspian couldn¡¯t be any happier. ¡°I would really love that.¡±

    Anastasia swiftly wrapped her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck and lifted her heels from the ground. She had only taken one nce at her husband¡¯s perfect lips when a wave of desire washed over her heart.

    And she couldn¡¯t resist locking her lips with her husband¡¯s. She instantly felt an explosion of tingling sensation in her heart. Even though her eyes were closed, she could feel her husband¡¯s gaze on her.

    So she opened her eyes and pulled away. ¡°Close your eyes, husband. I bet I don¡¯t look pretty so up close,¡± she said while giggling.

    However, her husband inhaled deeply and kept on looking at her lips with his hungry eyes. ¡°I just can¡¯t seem to take my eyes off of you. You look pretty from any angle. And I don¡¯t want to miss out on even a single expression that you make.¡±

    ¡°Caspian!¡± Anastasia giggled again and rested her forehead on his chest so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to look at her.

    But that didn¡¯t stop Caspian. He swiftly picked his wife in his arms and whimsically narrowed his eyes. ¡°Nothing can stop me from looking at you now, dear wife.¡±

    And Anastasia looked at him with a surprised yet happy look on her face.

    Caspian lifted his arm that was under her back and brought her face inches away from his. He leaned and pressed his cold lips on her. His tongue was quick enough to force its way into her mouth and hungry enough to gather all the sweetness from her lips.

    Anastasia curled her toes and gently touched her husband¡¯s sharp jawline. ¡°Mhmm...¡± she couldn¡¯t resist moaning in his mouth when he wildly invaded her.

    And neither could he.

    He felt as if there was still some gap between him and his wife. So he lifted his lips and swung her to make her wrap her legs around his waist. And he tightened his arms so much that her breasts were now tly pressed into his chest.

    Caspian went in for a fervent kiss again.

    Anastasia slowly traced her palm on his back and reached his nape. She held him by his golden hair and kissed him back with equal fire.

    Soon enough, she was out of her breath.

    Caspian could sense that. So he spared her from intense pleasure and loosened his lips from hers.

    She thought that her husband was ready to destroy her innocence in the middle of the day. So, she hurriedly warned him with a bated breath, ¡°Caspian, it¡¯s too early for that, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Caspian immediately burst intoughter and teased his wife, ¡°I was thinking of taking you on a tour to the Capital, but it seems like my wife wants to... continue this.¡± He yfully shifted his gaze from his wife¡¯s face to her chest. ¡°If you want that, then I am not against it.¡±

    Anastasia gaped her mouth and instantly crossed her arms above her chest. Her ears burned when she realized that she was a step ahead of what Caspian was thinking.

    ¡°Umm... A tour sounds about right at the moment,¡± Anastasia replied while catching on her breath and shyly looking away.

 Chapter 146

    146 A Taste of Freedom

    ¡°Ready when you are, my wife,¡± Caspian said after properly carrying Anastasia for the flight.

    Anastasia tightened her grip around Caspian¡¯s neck and pressed her forehead on Caspian¡¯s shoulder. And after tightly shutting her eyes, she replied, ¡°I am ready.¡±

    Caspian could see how nervous his wife was. So, he consolingly said to calm her down, ¡°I promise I will fly as slowly as I can. So, you don¡¯t have to worry, okay?¡±

    Anastasia nodded her head without lifting it from his shoulder.

    Caspian subtly smiled and then walked towards the window instead of the door.

    Anastasia could feel that they were heading in the opposite direction of the door, so she asked, ¡°We¡¯re jumping out of the window?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Caspian looked at the window that wasrge enough for him to stand on. And before flying through, he warned Anastasia onest time, ¡°Brace yourself. We¡¯re going to fly now.¡±

    Anastasia instantly held her breath and braced herself for a sudden jump. However, even after waiting for a while, she didn¡¯t feel anything.

    So, she half-opened her eyes and then tilted her head just enough to take a peek at her surroundings.

    .....

    She was surprised to see that the two of them were already hovering midair.

    Caspian was flying backward so that the pressure of the air wouldn¡¯t directly hit his wife¡¯s head and body.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± he asked when he saw her curiously peeking.

    ¡°Alive?¡± That was the only word she coulde up with at the moment because she was d that she hadn¡¯t fallen to her death by now.

    Caspian chuckled at that response as he could clearly tell that she was still scared.

    And he tried to make her see past her fear, ¡°I won¡¯t let you fall, Anna. You have to trust me. Try opening your eyes and looking straight ahead. If you don¡¯t look down, you won¡¯t feel that scared.¡±

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t sure if doing what he said would make her feel less scared. But she was ready to give it a try.

    She slowly lifted her head and turned a little to look at the sky instead of Caspian¡¯s shirt.

    Her heart instantly skipped a beat when she saw the slightly cloudy sky stretching far and wide. Every now and then, the warm light from the sun would seep through the clouds and caress her face.

    She could also see different kinds of birds flying around them. Everything looked so surreal and peaceful that, though she was still scared, she felt a sense of freedom.

    ¡°Is it always this beautiful up here?¡± she asked her husband in a spellbound whisper.

    Caspian smiled upon hearing his wife¡¯s question. And he cheekily replied, ¡°I never really noticed until I flew along with you. Now I know how marvelous each flight could have been if I were flying with you.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and gently shook her head. ¡°You always tease me...¡± she mumbled.

    ¡°No. I am not teasing you. I am telling you the truth.¡±

    Caspian looked deep into Anastasia¡¯s emerald green eyes and said with all seriousness, ¡°Flying had never been this fun before. It always made me feel lonely. It was a constant reminder that I am always above everyone, away from the reach of others. That¡¯s why I preferred running along with the others. But now... I think I will appreciate flying if I get to carry you every time I do so.¡±

    Anastasia could understand the pain behind his words. She knew how difficult and lonely life could be when one was at the top of the system.

    She then sympathetically said to her husband, ¡°Then I will try to get used to this so that we can fly more often.¡±

    She took a deep breath in and darted her eyes around the sky to win over her fear.

    Caspian slowly turned around so that he could fly forward and let Anastasia feel the soft breeze and also let her see what was ahead of them.

    The soft breeze instantly tried to blow away Anastasia¡¯s shawl from her head. She rested her head on Caspian¡¯s shoulder so that her precious shawl wouldn¡¯t fly away.

    Caspian also slowed his speed further to let his wife enjoy the view of the vast sky ahead of them.

    Anastasia tried not to consciously look down but she could still see the woods that they were flying above. Slowly, the woods got thinner and thinner and a few houses started to appear here and there. And after a while more, she could see a whole town down below. The buildings and roads looked so tiny that she could guess how much higher they were flying from the ground.

    By now, she didn¡¯t realize it but she was already used to the sight below her. She was eagerly watching the town that looked like it was built hundreds of years ago.

    ¡°Shall we go down and look around?¡± Caspian asked while hovering in one ce.

    Anastasia looked down and tried to see if the capital was bustling with vampires or not. However, her human eyes didn¡¯t allow her to do that.

    So she asked Caspian in a little worried voice, ¡°Will it be okay to do that? Won¡¯t people recognize you? And won¡¯t they react in a certain way if they see me?¡±

    Though Anastasia didn¡¯t spell it out, Caspian understood what she was thinking. So, he gave her aforting smile and rified, ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged for your safety. Besides, I will be walking hand-in-hand with you. No one will dare to lift their eyes and look at you.¡±

    Earlier, Percy had alerted the royal guards about the King¡¯s desire to roam around the Capital.

    And by now, all of the royal guards had already spread around in the capital, making sure that everything would be in order when the King and the Queen arrived there.

    Anastasia agreed to head down to the capital when Caspian said that everything had already been taken care of. She didn¡¯t want anymotion to happen in the town because of her mere presence. And she definitely didn¡¯t want all the vampires of the town to look at her like a walking jar of blood.

    Caspian then gracefully lowered himself from the sky, along with his wife. He also hoped that no one would dare to act out and make his wife ufortable.

 Chapter 147

    147 Sparkly Dresses

    Caspian let Anastasia stand on her feet once hended on one of the busy streets of the capital.

    He held out his hand for his wife and said with a wide smile on his face, ¡°Let me show you the proof that vampires aren¡¯t as boring as you might think.¡±

    ¡°I never said that,¡± Anastasia mumbled and clung to her husband¡¯s arm rather than holding his palm.

    Caspian didn¡¯t mind that. Rather, he folded his arm so that it would be easier for his wife to hold onto him. And he proudly said, ¡°I know you didn¡¯t say that. But let me show you anyway.¡±

    Before beginning their walk, Caspian darted his eyes around the area.

    He spotted his royal guards on rooftops, on the street, and inside some of the shops. They were all dressed to blend in with themon folks so as not to announce to everyone that the King was around.

    Caspian then looked around in front of him.

    A few of those who noticed him and also recognized him gave a respectful bow to him. The others who were unaware of the King¡¯s presence amidst them simply continued with their thing in an unbothered manner.

    Caspian looked at his wife. She looked a little restless, so he patted her hand and reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. They all are busy in their own world. They won¡¯t even notice us.¡±

    .....

    Anastasia gave a short smile to Caspian and looked ahead of her.

    Since the day was starting to get cooler, a lot of vampires of the capital were out and about.

    Some of them were taking a stroll around the street, some were gathering in small groups and making ns for the night, while some were browsing the ancient-looking shops.

    In short, the capital was a hubbub ofughter and talks.

    Until now, Anastasia had only been around the royal vampires and the vampires who served them. And she was used to seeing them acting very sophisticated andposed.

    But now that she was amidst themon vampires, she saw that they were not much different from the humans. They did look somewhat more reserved than the humans, but they were enjoying themselves and celebrating their daily lives.

    Caspian and Anastasia slowly walked forward.

    Caspian didn¡¯t need to exin much to Anastasia since everything was pretty much self-exnatory.

    The shops and stores mostly offered fashionable clothing items and decorative items. Some of them sold pieces of art, while some sold musical instruments.

    Anastasia could see how almost all of the vampires were dressed elegantly.

    ¡®No wonder there are so many stores dedicated to fashion items,¡¯ Anastasia thought to herself.

    And she also noticed how some of the vampires had humans following them. It looked like those humans were the blood servants, considering how they had several bandages on their wrists.

    After walking for a while, Anastasia¡¯s eyes fell on one of the buildings that had soft musicing out of it. She could see a lot of red eyes entering that building while wearing sparkly clothes and with heavy makeup on.

    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± Anastasia asked curiously.

    Caspian took a nce at that building and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a ce wheremoners gather for a group dance.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a ballroom then?¡± Anastasia looked at Caspian and raised her brows.

    ¡°Er...¡± Caspian scratched his forehead and replied, ¡°I think it¡¯s rather a ce for performing wild dances. I heard it¡¯s not that sophisticated to look at.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Anastasia nodded and then averted her gaze to the other side of the path.

    A whimsical smirk appeared on Caspian¡¯s lips. He slowed down the pace of their walk and asked his wife, ¡°Do you want to go there and watch? Or maybe, we can also dance in a song or two?¡±

    Anastasia furrowed her brows and immediately shook her head. ¡°You just said that it¡¯s a ce for themoners. I don¡¯t think a King should go inside such a ce.¡±

    ¡°Well, they won¡¯t know that I am the King.¡± Caspian grinned and quickly pulled Anastasia towards one of the stores nearby.

    ¡°Caspian? Where are we going?¡± Anastasia asked while trying to keep up with her excited husband.

    Caspian looked back at her and vaguely answered, ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±

    As she had suspected, he led Anastasia inside a store that sold shiny and over-the-top dresses.

    ¡°Caspian! Don¡¯t tell me we are going to wear those!¡± Anastasia asked in a breathless whisper.

    Caspian simply gave a knowing smile and gestured for Anastasia to enter the shop before him.

    Anastasia drooped her shoulder and shook her head. ¡°Caspian, no!¡±

    ¡°Caspian, yes!¡± He held Anastasia¡¯s wrist and pulled her inside the shop.

    Two of the royal guards soon came and stood outside of the shop so as not to let anyone enter. And one of them ran inside to clear the shop if any other customers were inside.

    ¡°Hey! What do you think you are doing by asking my customers to leave?¡± the shop owner, a middle-aged woman shouted at the royal guard who had asked two of the customers to leave the shop at that instant.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t like that they were causing inconvenience to the store owner and the customers.

    The guard red at the shop owner and said while asserting dominance and gesturing at the monarchs, ¡°You are in the presence of the King and the Queen. Show your respect to them.¡±

    The demeanor of thatdy flipped like a coin. She had a huge grin on her face when she nced at the King and the Queen. ¡°My sincere apologies, Your Majesties.¡± She almost touched the counter that was in front of her with her forehead while bowing to the monarchs.

    ¡°Good evening, Your Highnesses. How may I be of your service?¡± she asked while ncing at Anastasia¡¯s eyes.

    Anastasia turned to look at her husband and tugged on his sleeve. She was gesturing to him that she didn¡¯t want to buy anything and that she didn¡¯t want to go and watch others dance.

    However, Caspian didn¡¯t listen to his wife and instead looked at the shop owner. And he ordered, ¡°Show your best dresses for both of us.¡±

 Chapter 148

    148 Pr Opposites

    As soon as the shop owner got the order from the King, she whooshed around herrge shop for a few seconds and returned while carrying a pile of clothes in her arms.

    She thenid those clothes on the counter, and before showing the clothes to the King and the Queen, she went to grabfortable chairs for them.

    ¡°Please, take a seat, Your Majesties,¡± thedy politely asked her esteemed guests.

    Caspian helped Anastasia to sit down and then he also took his seat by her side.

    The shop owner immediately began to show the collection of dresses that she thought would be somewhat appropriate for the monarchs.

    First, she disyed a waistcoat and a pair of trousers that were ck in color but shimmered in the light. ¡°You may wear these with a in white shirt.¡± She nced at the shirt that Caspian was wearing at the moment and said, ¡°The shirt that you are wearing right now will also look great with these.¡±

    ¡°If you want something a little bit extravagant, then I have one in royal blue color.¡± She was about to put it aside and show another pair.

    However, Caspian stopped her, ¡°I will try the first one. Now show something for the Queen.¡± He turned his head to look at his wife and then further added with a smile on his face, ¡°Preferably something red.¡±

    Thedy gave a nod and then shuffled through the clothes that she had chosen. She found a gown that matched the color that was desired by the King and then pulled it out from the pile.

    .....

    ¡°How do you like this, Your Majesty,¡± thedy showed the gown to the King instead of the Queen.

    And Caspian replied a bit crudely, ¡°First, show it to the Queen. She is the one who is going to wear it.¡±

    Thedy gave a nervous smile and turned to the side to disy the gown to the Queen. ¡°Is this to your taste, Your Majesty?¡± she asked as politely as she could.

    Anastasia looked at the long red gown that thedy was disying by holding it in front of her.

    The gown was shimmering when the light fell on it. It looked like it was a tight-fitting gown; it didn¡¯t have any pleats on it and it looked like it didn¡¯t have any other pieces that needed to be worn together.

    Anastasia checked the bust and waist. The bodice was beautifully sewn inside the dress. She liked how it had full sleeves but wasn¡¯t really sure about the low neckline of the gown.

    ¡°You should give it a try,¡± Caspian leaned towards her and whispered. He was also looking at the dress, and needless to say, he couldn¡¯t wait to see his wife in that dress.

    Anastasia gave a nod to Caspian.

    And Caspian asked the storedy, ¡°Will you help her change into this gown?¡±

    ¡°dly, Your Majesty,¡± the storedy said with a smile. She looked at the Queen and then asked while gesturing towards a door that was on the other end of the room, ¡°Please follow me, Your Majesty.¡±

    Anastasia got up and then did as the store owner asked.

    After entering another room, the storedy locked the door and then looked at the Queen while slightly narrowing her crystal red eyes.

    ¡®I never thought that I would have to help a damn human to get changed,¡¯ she thought to herself with a slight feeling of hatred towards the Queen for no reason, except for the fact that she was a human.

    ¡®I thought that our King announcing a human as a Queen was a baseless rumor. But it looks like it is true! And what¡¯s more?¡¯ She tightened her grip on the gown that she was holding and thought with a look of anger reflected on her face, ¡®It looks like the King has fallen head over heels for this mere human.¡¯

    Anastasia carefully took off her shawl and then turned around to look at the owner. She happened to catch a glimpse of thatdy¡¯s angry face.

    She had already expected to face discrimination from the ¡®superior race¡¯ today. She had also expected that a lot of them would be unhappy with her as the Queen of a vampire nation. Thus, that disdainful look didn¡¯t affect Anastasia that much.

    So as not to give more reasons to thatdy to hate her, Anastasia smiled and spoke in her usual polite voice, ¡°My handmaid would have helped me out, but she isn¡¯t here at the moment. And my husband is being a little impulsive today. I am really sorry to have troubled you.¡±

    Thedy was quick enough to realize that she was not keeping her emotions to herself. She was now a bit scared that the Queen wouldterin to the King and have her punished for hurting the Queen¡¯s ego.

    So she hastily pulled a smile and said while waving her hand, ¡°No, Your Majesty. It¡¯s not a problem, really. It is my honor to be at your service.¡±

    She then immediately went and stood in front of the Queen and began to help her out of the gown that she was wearing at the moment. She wanted to appear like a saint even though she still hated having to wait for a species that she considered being beneath her.

    Caspian was waiting right outside the door, impatient to see his wife and also listening in to the conversation that was going on inside so as to make sure that his wife was safe at the hands of that vampire.

    After waiting for quite a while, thedy finally opened the door of the changing room.

    Caspian¡¯s gaze instantly got stuck on the gorgeous beauty who looked like a freshly plucked rose in that red gown that enhanced her curves. Anastasia looked so beautiful that his eyes widened and his lips slightly parted on their own.

    The gown lifted her bosoms, slimmed down her already tiny waist, and gave an illusion that she had broad hips.

    The pearl ne and diamond earrings that she was wearing looked more prominent now.

    Caspian didn¡¯t realize that he was holding his breath and was staring at his wife like a fool.

    Anyone who saw the King at the moment would be clearly able to tell that he was falling in love with his wife all over again.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± Anastasia shyly looked at Caspian and asked if the gown that she was wearing looked okay.

    Caspian finally took a deep breath and replied in a spellbound voice, ¡°You look absolutely stunning!¡±

    He walked inside the changing room, unable to withstand that small distance between him and his wife. He gently held her palms and gazed at her innocent-looking face and then at her exquisite dress.

    His wife¡¯s persona and the gown that she was wearing were pr opposites. But at the same time, they both went so well together that he found his wife to be cute, gorgeous, and alluring, all at the same time.

    Anastasia was already flustered by the way her husband was gazing at her. So she pointed her brows at the shawl that was sitting on a chair and asked, ¡°Shall I cover myself with it? This gown looks a little-¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Caspian instantly protested. ¡°You are going to do no such thing. You look perfect.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Anastasia asked in a skeptical voice.

    Caspian lifted Anastasia¡¯s hand and bent down to kiss the back of her palm. ¡°I am a hundred percent sure.¡±

    Though a little unsure about her look, Anastasia was happy that her husband liked it. Also, she thought that she was only going to use it for like five or ten minutes. So, she agreed to wear it.

    Caspian then gave a bright smile to his wife and asked, ¡°Wait for me to get changed now. It won¡¯t take long. And we shall take a leave from here.¡±

 Chapter 149

    149 Silly Dance

    ¡°Your Majesty, everything is ready,¡± one of the royal guards came inside the store and said to the King.

    He, along with the other guards, had already been inside the Hall of Entertainment and taken necessary security precautions in secret.

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s head there then,¡± Caspian replied while taking onest look in the mirror and adjusting his cufflinks.

    Anastasia was standing behind Caspian and intently looking at his reflection with a constant smile on her face.

    Caspian also looked at her and gave her a wink. ¡°Do I look that good?¡± he asked yfully.

    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she replied with a subtle smile and looked away.

    Caspian gave a chuckle and held out his hand to grab his wife¡¯s palm. He then led her towards the door of the store while saying, ¡°Alright then, wife. Let¡¯s go and see how they do it.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anastasia took a deep breath in and attempted to look confident enough in her slim-fitting and a little revealing dress.

    She looked up at the sky when she walked hand in hand with Caspian. It was already dusk by now. The dim and orange sunlight beautifully cascaded on the buildings and roads, giving them an amazing glow.

    .....

    ¡°The town looks so beautiful,¡± she darted her eyes around and whispered to her husband.

    Caspian gave a smile and replied to her, ¡°Just wait until nightfall. It will look like a whole new world here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to stick around until nightfall?¡± Anastasia asked while keeping her eyes on the road.

    Caspian darted his eyes around the town and replied, ¡°It won¡¯t be fair if I don¡¯t show you the Capital when it is in its full glory.¡±

    The two of them got ready to cross the road. Caspian put his arms around his wife¡¯s shoulder and waited for a few vampires who were running to pass.

    Anastasia happened to look at the vampires who were standing by the roadside. She suddenly looked a little nervous when she realized that that horde of vampires, both male and female, were already looking at her with great interest.

    That action of those vampires didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Caspian. He pulled his wife closer to him and gave a piercing re to them so as to protect his wife from the ogling vampires.

    Though Caspian wasn¡¯t dressed in his royal attire for those vampires to know who he really was, all of them got scared of Caspian from the way he was emanating an intimidating aura.

    Before the royal guards had to butt in and chase those vampires away, they scattered on their own, not wanting to get into trouble with Caspian.

    As soon as Caspian and Anastasia crossed the road and reached the building of the Hall of Entertainment, they could hear the upbeat music again.

    They looked at each other before entering the building. Now that they were about to actually go inside, both of them were eager to explore whaty ahead of them.

    A beautifuldy came to wee them inside the hall. She gave a wide smile to the couple and said while gesturing down the stairs, ¡°Wee to the ce that never sleeps. Pleasee in.¡±

    Anastasia was happy just by the fact that thedy didn¡¯t give her a judgmental look for being a human.

    And she happily walked down the stairs along with her husband.

    The two of them reached arge open hall that was filled with the sound of music and the smell of alcohol.

    Anastasia was surprised to see that the hall was full of vampires and humans alike.

    Now that Caspian and Anastasia were dressed like avid partygoers, both of them blended really well with the crowd.

    Everyone was swaying their hips and tapping their feet without following any basic etiquette of dancing. The dance indeed looked too wild for both Anastasia and Caspian; they had seen nothing like it before.

    Caspian led Anastasia to a corner with less crowd. He leaned close to his wife and spoke when his lips touched her ear, ¡°Shall we copy what they all are doing?¡±

    ¡°I guess?¡± Anastasia shrugged and grinned in amazement.

    Caspian liked the readiness of his wife. He observed what the vampire in front of him was doing and then slowly began to copy the steps.

    Anastasia giggled at how silly her husband looked when he tried to move his feet and hips. But soon, she also copied her husband.

    And both of them began to giggle while performing the silly-looking dance.

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes were not just on her husband. Every now and then, she was also darting her eyes around to see what the other people were doing so that she and her husband wouldn¡¯t stand out too much.

    While observing the others, she noticed how almost all of the humans who were standing at the side of the dance floor were holding a ss each, probably alcohol. The vampires were holding sses containing red liquid in them. And from the way how both the species were interacting with each other andughing, this ce felt like a neutral zone thatcked any discrimination.

    Anastasia¡¯s attention was especially grabbed by a human and a vampire who looked like a couple because of how flirtatious they were and how close they were standing.

    The woman was standing with her back pressed against the wall. The vampire was standing in front of her, his body pressed against hers. That woman had one of her legs wrapped around his. And they were talking with each other while looking at each other seductively, and also stealing a kiss every now and then.

    Caspian also turned around to see what his wife was looking at. And when he saw the couple who were all over each other, he looked at his wife with a yful smirk on his face.

    ¡®Is that what you want, huh?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He then grabbed Anastasia by her wrist and pulled her until her body got mmed into his.

    ¡°Caspian?¡± Anastasia was surprised by that sudden pull.

    Caspian ced his hand on her waist and asked while slowly sliding it down to her hips, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t your attention be on me, my dear Anastasia?¡±

    Anastasia widened her eyes when she felt her husband grabbing her hip. She held his hand and ced it on her waist. And she whispered guiltily, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to look but they were just too... attention-grabbing.¡±

    Caspianughed at what his wife said. ¡°So, now you won¡¯t even deny it, huh? Are you being affected by the air of the surroundings or what?¡± He leaned down and kissed her on her shoulder. And he asked in a seductive whisper, ¡°You¡¯re starting to sound like a bad girl.¡±

    ¡°No, I-¡±

    Anastasia was about to deny the usation when her eyes fell on that very couple again. Her body suddenly went stiff, her eyes widened, and she gripped her husband¡¯s arm.

    She saw that vampire grabbing that woman by her hair and sinking his fangs into that woman.

    For a second, she had thought that he was simply kissing her. But when she realized that he was actually sucking her blood, she was terrified to her core.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Caspian asked while following her re.

    A suppressed and breathless whisper escaped her lips, ¡°He¡¯s killing her...¡±

 Chapter 150

    150 Noble Bastard

    ¡°He¡¯s killing her...¡±

    Out of nowhere, Anastasia recalled the time when she was attacked by a psychopathic vampire in the garden. She recalled how that vampire had sunk its fangs into Ti, and how terrified she looked.

    She could feel her vision turning blurry. She felt suffocated and began gasping for air. Her head started to spin and she was also getting cold sweats by now.

    ¡°Anna, I am right here.¡± Caspian instantly wrapped his arms around Anastasia¡¯s shoulders and pressed her head into his chest so as to prevent her from witnessing that horror. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. Calm down.¡±

    He was ready to ask his royal guards to intervene thinking that the woman was in danger, but then he saw that woman grabbing that vampire¡¯s hair and letting out soft moans. He realized that she wasn¡¯t being forced but rather, she was voluntarily participating in that charade.

    However, that didn¡¯t give that vampire the right to freely feed on a human in public.

    ¡®What the hell is he thinking by feeding in public like that?¡¯ Caspian red at that vampire in rage. He was angry that his wife was traumatized by that action of his.

    So he clenched his teeth and held out his hand. He pointed his palm at that vampire. The veins in his forearms swelled and his fingers stiffened.

    And in the next moment, that vampire got pulled backward while hitting and smashing anything that was in the way and got mmed against Caspian¡¯s palm.

    .....

    Suddenly, the upbeat music stopped and the hall was filled with gasps and exmations from the people who were surprised and startled by themotion that just urred.

    ¡°Arghh!¡±

    ¡°Whoa!¡±

    ¡°What the hell! What was that?¡±

    A few of those who were around Caspian happened to witness how he dragged that vampire to him without using anything but his mind. Some were amazed by his ability while some were jealous but pretended to despise it.

    ¡°How did he do that?¡±

    ¡°He must be from a noble family to pull off something like that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, noble bastards always like to cause trouble.¡±

    Anastasia, on the other hand, was further startled when she looked up and saw her husband lifting that vampire up by his neck.

    That vampire was choking; his feet were dangling in the air and his hands were desperately trying to get himself out of Caspian¡¯s grip.

    ¡°Caspian!¡± Anastasia clung onto her husband¡¯s shirt and tried to shake him in an attempt to urge him to put that vampire down. ¡°Let the others deal with him,¡± she said while looking around for the royal guards.

    The woman, whom that vampire was digging his fangs into, came running and shouted at Caspian, ¡°What are you doing? Put him down this instant!¡±

    Another vampire also walked up to Caspian and agreed to that woman. ¡°Yeah, why are you disturbing everyone? Just put him down already.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t care what any of them were saying. He ignored them all. Rather, he bared his fangs and snarled at the vampire who he was lifting, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you aren¡¯t allowed to feed directly on a human in public?¡±

    That vampire dug his fingernails into Caspian¡¯s palm and tried to speak, ¡°She¡¯s my woman! You c-can¡¯t tell me where and when I am allowed to f-feed on her!¡±

    Caspian got further enraged when that vampire talked back to him. So, he mmed that vampire down on the stone floor with great force. A small crack ran along several pieces of the stone.

    And he scolded that vampire, who was now grabbing his neck and was coughing, ¡°If she is your woman then feed on her at your damned home. Don¡¯t go around doing that in public and causing inconvenience to others.¡±

    The vampire guards had surrounded their King by now. They were pushing away anyone who was standing too close to the King.

    They were not even letting that woman go and check up on her man.

    Caspian looked at one of the guards and asked, ¡°Teach him all the rules so that he won¡¯t repeat this again.¡±

    ¡°Who are you to teach me the rules? I can do whatever the hell I want.¡± That vampire got up on his feet with the intention to fight Caspian and ¡®take¡¯ his honor back.

    But before he did that, he noticed how a human, Anastasia, was clinging to the vampire who was picking a fight with him over a small issue.

    So, he pointed at Anastasia and raised his voice at Caspian, still oblivious that the same vampire was the one who made the rules, ¡°Don¡¯t try to act like an innocent one when you are also with a human. I bet you also feed on her from time to time. And I bet that after smelling the blood of my woman, you are also dying to bite-¡±

    One of the royal guards instantly grabbed that vampire¡¯s head from behind and snapped his neck. He didn¡¯t want the King to be angrier than he already was and further lose his temper in front of all the citizens.

    The whole hall was filled with gasping sounds again when they saw that vampire dropping unconscious on the floor.

    Anastasia was sping her mouth with her palm and holding her breath thinking that the royal guard killed that vampire just like that.

    Caspian could guess what his wife was thinking. So he reassured her, ¡°He is not dead. He will wake up after a while.¡±

    Anastasia nced at the woman who was with that vampire. She wasn¡¯t crying or wailing to mourn the death; she was simply shocked and scared. So, Anastasia believed in Caspian¡¯s words.

    Caspian then looked at that woman and asked, ¡°Are you his woman for real or did he just spew some nonsense?¡±

    That woman was too scared to speak a word. She had never seen any of the vampires disying such strength and ability as Caspian before. But she did manage to give a nod to Caspian.

    Caspian then looked at the royal guard who had snapped the neck of that vampire and ordered, ¡°Take the two of them back to their ce. Oh, and pay for any damages that I caused here. I will head out first.¡±

    The guard gave a bow to the King without speaking and revealing thetter¡¯s title.

    In the next moment, Caspian picked Anastasia up in his arms and asked, ¡°Hold on tight.¡±

    And when Anastasia wrapped her arms around his neck, Caspian whooshed outside that ce. He didn¡¯t stop even after reaching outside. He took a leap and carried Anastasia to the rooftop of one of the buildings of the capital.

    He carefully let Anastasia down on her feet while still holding her hand. And when he made sure that she had a strong footing on the tiles of the roof, he looked at her and apologized, ¡°I am really sorry for what happened earlier. I wanted you to enjoy your time but... things didn¡¯t quite go as I had expected.¡±

    Anastasia simply gave a smile and looked up to stare at the moon.

    The moon was almost in the shape of a full moon. However, the bright light from the moon also fell dim when she turned her gaze to look down at the surroundings.

    All of the houses, shops, and roads were so well-lit that it looked like she was standing amidst the sea of bright stars. And all the buildings with old architectural designs looked so beautiful that she felt as if she was transported to some fairnd.

    She also noticed how the vampires were whooshing past the roads very frequently than in the evening. There were so many vampires who were simply standing by the roadside and talking. All the shops were extremely busypared to how empty they were just a while ago.

    The whole capital looked lively as though the day had just begun.

    ¡°It looks so beautiful from up here,¡± Anastasia said in a soft whisper.

    Caspian nodded and agreed with her, ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    While Anastasia was darting her eyes around the capital, Caspian had his eyes on her. Her eyes were sparkling from the reflection of hundreds ofnterns and torches. Her face was also reflecting that subtle yellow hue, making her look even more dazzling.

    ¡°So, do you want to look around for a bit?¡± he asked when Anastasia turned to look into his eyes.

    Anastasia was feeling a little tired by now. However, she still wanted to explore the capital. So, she asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a round of the capital by air?¡±

    She specifically asked that because she didn¡¯t want any misfortunate events like earlier to happen again. She wanted them to avoid any possible interaction with the townspeople.

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡±

    Caspian took off his waistcoat and made Anastasia wear it. He then lifted her in his arms, and when she was ready, he hovered in the air just enough to fly without facing any physical obstacles.

    While looking down at the lively town below her, a thought crossed Anastasia¡¯s mind. ¡®Would Caspian also like it if I were to offer him to feed on me?¡¯

    But she quickly pushed that thought aside. ¡®It will be like teasing a sleeping lion. I better not do something that stupid just because someone else was doing it.¡¯

 Chapter 151

    151 Hurting a Lot

    Everard was sitting by the bedside of his father even when Alfred was asleep at the moment, and even when there were a lot of others to look after the King.

    Ever since the day he arrived, he had barely left his father¡¯s side because he was too worried about his father¡¯s health. It had been worsening by the day instead of improving.

    After about half an hour, Alfred opened his eyes to see his son staring at him. He heaved a sigh and then said to his son in a barely audible voice, ¡°Everard, you should go and rest while you can. Don¡¯t sit here by my side for the whole day and night.¡±

    Everard simply ignored what his father said and instead asked, ¡°How are you feeling right now, father?¡±

    Alfred wanted his son to leave his side and rest. So he lied while directly looking into Everard¡¯s eyes, ¡°I am feeling a little better than earlier. My chest isn¡¯t burning as much.¡±

    He nced at the nurses who were standing at one corner of the room and said to Everard, ¡°They are capable of taking care of my needs.¡± He took a deep breath in and cleared his throat. And he further spoke with great difficulty, ¡°So, why don¡¯t you go and sleep for a few hours? Maybe eat something as well? At this rate, you will fall ill by the time I recov-¡±

    Alfred was trying to hold in the coughing fit that he was about to have until his son left the room. However, he ended up coughing nonstop before he even finished what he was about to say.

    Everard instantly knew that his father was lying to him. He quickly grabbed the kerchief of his father and offered it to him. And he supported his father¡¯s back and head while he coughed.

    Alfred wiped his mouth and his eyes after the coughing fit finally came to a halt. His son helped him to lie back down on the bed. He looked at Everard; his son sat back down on the chair again. And he cursed himself for not being able to hold it in for a little bit longer.

    .....

    Alfred held his son¡¯s hand and asked again, ¡°Son, I won¡¯t get any better even if you sacrifice your sleep and hunger for me. So why don¡¯t you at least put my heart at ease? You should go.¡±

    Everard looked at his father¡¯s pitiable face. His father looked worried for him instead of himself. He didn¡¯t want to make his father worried, so he finally agreed to leave.

    ¡°Okay, I will be in my room for a while then. You should also rest and think about your own recovery.¡± Everard gave a pat on his father¡¯s hand and then got up to leave.

    He had taken only a step towards the door when he heard a few footsteps approaching his father¡¯s room.

    ¡°Are you expecting any guests?¡± he turned to look at his father and asked.

    The King gave a subtle smile and replied, ¡°Why would I want anyone to disturb me when I can barely open my eyes? It must be some well-wisher who heard about my illness.¡±

    Everard furrowed his brows and stood while facing the door. He thought of greeting whoever it was and sending them away within a minute or two after they said their greetings to his father as well. He didn¡¯t want anyone to disturb his father.

    He heard the guards at the door announcing that it was the alpha of the Atkinson n.

    While the guards pushed the door open, Everard thought to himself, ¡®Atkinson n? Isn¡¯t that Lorenzo¡¯s n?¡¯

    Everard saw a tall angry-looking man standing at the door.

    That man was dressed in a golden brown suit, the same color as his hair. He proudly stepped inside the room while locking his gaze on Everard rather than at the King.

    Everard had briefly seen that alpha once before during his ritual. But he had never formally talked to him or any of the other alphas for that matter. And he forgot who was supposed to greet the other first. So, he simply stepped aside and let the man see the King.

    Romulus finally turned his gaze to the King and then greeted while bowing his head, ¡°My King, I heard that you had fallen ill. So, I came here to see how you were.¡±

    King Alfred slightly gave a nod and said with a gentle smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m in pretty bad shape, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Romulus had a sympathetic expression on his face. He then said in a sad voice, ¡°I would have said that you don¡¯t look so bad, but that would be a lie, Your Majesty. I hadn¡¯t imagined that your illness was this serious.¡±

    ¡°Well, now you know,¡± Alfred coughed again and turned his head to look at his son.

    And he introduced Romulus to his son, ¡°Everard, he is the alpha of the Atkinson n, Romulus Atkinson.¡±

    Everard nced at Romulus and gave a nod.

    Romulus gave a respectful bow to the Crown Prince and said, ¡°It is my honor to finally see you again, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Mr. Romulus,¡± Everard replied with a slight smile on his face.

    Romulus then took the chance to ask, ¡°If you will be staying here in the capital for a while, then I hope that I can invite you for a dinner at least once.¡±

    Everard was a bit skeptical. ¡°I am busy looking after the King. I don¡¯t think I will have time to visit you. I am nning to return to Lavinya as soon as he recovers.¡±

    Romulus nodded. ¡°It is understandable, my Prince. I will extend the invitation some other time then.¡± He then refocused his attention on the King and praised Everard, ¡°You have raised the Crown Prince well, Your Majesty. It is very apparent how affectionate he is towards you.¡±

    Alfred admiringly looked at his son and said, ¡°It is my wife who raised him well. I was busy looking after the Kingdom and the n...¡± He felt a sharp sting in his heart. He missed histe wife a bit too much at the moment.

    He closed his eyes and mumbled, ¡°She would be so happy if she saw how Everard grew up to be a fine young man.¡±

    Everard looked away and gulped. He also missed his mother greatly. His heart ached when he felt the pain in his father¡¯s voice.

    It hurt more than usual when he recalled what Lorenzo had said to him about the mates.

    He sighed and thought to himself, ¡®I never tried to see it... But he was hurting a lot, wasn¡¯t he?¡¯

 Chapter 152

    152 Sowing

    Romulus had a short conversation with the King. After seeing how serious the King¡¯s health was, he didn¡¯t want to keep on lingering around for much longer.

    So, he nced at the sick King with the intention to conclude their short meeting and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I think I should take my leave now. I don¡¯t think I should make you waste your energy by letting you talk to me. I would rather you to use that energy to recuperate sooner.¡±

    King Alfred gave a nod, happy that the guest was about to leave, and replied, ¡°I really appreciate that you came all the way here to the capital to check up on my health. I know you are a busy man, especially considering how you¡¯ve got a whole batch of new wolves.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not so busy that I wouldn¡¯t have time for you, Your Majesty,¡± Romulus said with a slight smile on his face. ¡°May the Moon Goddess bestow good health upon you.¡± He gave a bow to the King and upon getting his approval, he got up and turned around to walk out of the room.

    ¡°Everard, why don¡¯t you see Lord Romulus out?¡± the King gestured for his son to follow the alpha.

    Everard gave a slight bow to his father and also instructed the nurses, ¡°I wille back after a few hours. But if anything happens, call the royal doctor immediately and also send someone to call me. I wille right away.¡±

    ¡°We will do as you say, Your Highness,¡± one of the nurses replied to the Crown Prince.

    Everard went out of the room and caught up with Romulus, who was walking down the corridor at a slow pace.

    When Everard started to walk side by side, Romulus gave a smile to the Crown Prince and politely said, ¡°You didn¡¯t need to trouble yourself, my Prince. I wouldn¡¯t want you to walk me out when the King needs you by his side. I can see myself out.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright, Lord Romulus. I was going to rest for a while anyway.¡± Everard gave a slight smile and continued walking along with the alpha.

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s a relief then.¡± Romulus instantly snatched the chance to have small talks with the Crown Prince in an attempt to get on his good side, ¡°So, how is your stay in Lavinya, my Prince? I hope that you don¡¯t get homesick that often.¡±

    ¡°So far, it has been good.¡± Everard took a deep breath and said in a rather mncholic voice, ¡°I do get homesick at times. There were times when I wished my father would send someone to pick me up... But I never expected that I would being home because of my father¡¯s illness. He never got sick like this before.¡±

    ¡°Yes, our kind doesn¡¯t get sick that easily.¡± Romulus and Everard took a turn to the left and headed toward the main gate of the castle.

    ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± Romulus asked, though he already had a guess what the King was suffering from, ¡°Did they find out what kind of illness it is?¡±

    Everard pressed his lips together. An overwhelming storm of sadness swirled in his heart.

    He shook his head with great difficulty and answered, ¡°Unfortunately, the doctors haven¡¯t diagnosed his illness yet. All they are doing is giving him tonics to relieve his cough and his heartburn. Other than that, they aren¡¯t doing much... and...¡±

    ¡°And it is making you frustrated because you are feeling helpless...¡± Romulus looked into Everard¡¯s ebony eyes andpleted Everard¡¯s sentence for him.

    Everard clenched his fists tightly and gave a nod. ¡®It is that apparent, huh?¡¯ he thought.

    ¡°I think I will be overstepping, but... would you like me to give you some insights regarding your father¡¯s situation?¡± Romulus was giving off a suspenseful vibe when he asked that, as though he knew some deep secrets about the King.

    Everard turned his head to look at Romulus. He had a serious look on his face. Thus, Everard agreed to hear what Romulus had to say.

    ¡°It¡¯s been years since the Queen died.¡± Romulus dered as though that sentence alone was enough to make Everard understand the depth of the situation.

    Everard furrowed his brows, waiting for Romulus to speak further.

    The two of them reached outside.

    Around five men, who clearly were werewolves, were standing while resting their arms behind their backs. As soon as they saw Romulus, one of them ran to get the carriage for their alpha.

    Romulus stood while facing the Crown Prince. He looked into the Prince¡¯s expectant eyes and began speaking his mind, ¡°I don¡¯t know if everyone else in the castle, including the King, is unaware of the root cause of his illness, or if they are deliberately trying to hide it from Your Highness. Whatever the reason, I think you have the right to know exactly what is going on with your father. I don¡¯t want you to have any regret or anger,ter on, thinking if things would have been any different if you knew.¡±

    Everard felt a sharp sting in his heart. ¡°You mean, the others know what my father is going through, and yet they aren¡¯t telling me?¡± he asked with a frown.

    ¡°Not just that, you also know what is happening to him?¡± Everard wondered if everyone but he was aware of the King¡¯s health condition.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid I am aware of what is happening to the King. I am sorry that everyone kept you out of the loop, Your Highness.¡± Romulus gave a slight bow to the Crown Prince as if he was also deeply saddened by the fact that the truth was being kept from Everard.

    He further spoke as if he understood why Everard was being excluded. ¡°But I don¡¯t me them, Your Highness. I think they all must be trying to protect you from the bitter truth. If I were in their shoes, I would also try to do the same, especially considering how you are a new turner and how little you know about this other side of us.¡±

    ¡°What truth, Lord Romulus? I want you to tell me.¡± Everard asked restlessly, his face getting red with anger.

    Romulus was happy on the inside. He had sessfully sowed the seed of distrust and doubt in the heart of the Crown Prince towards the others. However, on the outside, he looked so heartbroken and empathetic that anyone would want to lean on his shoulder and cry during their hard times.

    The two of them could hear the rhythmic noise that was being produced by the wheels of Romulus¡¯ carriage. Soon enough, the carriage stopped in front of them, and the coachman opened the doors of the carriage for the Head of the Atkinson n.

    And before Romulus got the chance to speak, they heard a voice from inside the carriage.

    ¡°Everton? Everton! It is indeed you! What are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 153

    153 Maniption

    ¡°Lorenzo?¡± Everard was a bit surprised to hear his voice.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I cannot believe I am seeing you here!¡± Lorenzo instantly jumped out of the carriage and excitedly held out his hand for a handshake.

    Romulus instantly pped away Lorenzo¡¯s hand and then said, ¡°Lorenzo! That¡¯s not a very polite way to greet your Crown Prince.¡±

    ¡°Crown... Prince?¡± Lorenzo looked so shocked and gave this look of betrayal to Everard that if there were a medal for best acting, then he would definitely receive it.

    Everard closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose upon seeing that expression on Lorenzo¡¯s face. If it were any other time, then he would have been thrilled to be reunited with Lorenzo, and he would have apologized for having lied to him about his true identity.

    But right now, he was already restless to know about his father¡¯s illness, and Lorenzo¡¯s sudden arrival only pushed his curiosity further.

    He opened his eyes to look at Lorenzo.

    Lorenzo instantly gave a bow and then greeted him in an using tone, ¡°Long live Your Highness.¡±

    Everard sighed and asked Lorenzo, ¡°Can I talk to you in a minute? Lord Romulus and I were having an important conversation.¡±

    .....

    Lorenzo gave a nod and immediately turned to go back inside the carriage.

    ¡°You two know each other?¡± Romulus also kept up with the act.

    Everard looked at Romulus and asked whilepletely ignoring his question, ¡°May I know what is wrong with my father?¡±

    Romulus was more than ready to spill the beans. ¡°Before I say anything, I assume that you already have enough knowledge about the concept of werewolf mates.¡± He took a step closer to the Prince and then asked in a low voice, ¡°Or they haven¡¯t had the chance to talk about that topic as well?¡±

    ¡°I do know a few details,¡± Everard replied while furrowing his brows. He could now already guess where this conversation was headed.

    And just as Everard had thought, Romulus proved that the former had been right all along.

    ¡°Then you must also have heard how difficult it is for us werewolves to stay apart from our mates. If you were thinking that those things you heard about the mates were just myths or that they were overly romanticized versions of the truth, I must say that you were wrong.¡±

    Everard was all ears. He listened without interrupting the alpha.

    ¡°Once a partner dies, almost all of the cases till now suggest that the other will follow soon after. The King¡¯s case was out of the ordinary since the Queen had died a long time ago. I am not saying that His Majesty should have... you know....¡±

    Everard sped his hands together and gulped.

    ¡°What I am trying to say is that he must have suppressed his heartbreak until now somehow because he couldn¡¯t leave his Kingdom and his n in the hands of the others. And now that Your Highness hase of age and has also received the blessing from the Moon Goddess, I think his heart and mind finally caught up with the loss.¡±

    Everard scoffed, his eyes glistening with tears, and looked away. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat again and said in a heavily guilt-ridden voice, ¡°You mean... my father is suddenly on the verge of death because I turned into a werewolf?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Romulus stood in front of the Prince and tried to console him. ¡°No, my Prince, that was not the meaning behind my words. What I meant to say was that maybe it¡¯s time that you let your father rest the burden that he has been handling alone for all this while. Let him know that you are ready to relieve him; that you are ready to take after both the Kingdom and the n. You need to allow him to grieve his beloved wife.¡±

    Everard clenched his teeth and red at Romulus, his eyes glistening amber with rage.

    He then asked while trying his best not to show the rage in his voice, ¡°What are you implying, Lord Romulus? Are you saying that I should let my father die and then take his throne? You do know that your words can be misinterpreted, and you can be charged with treason, right?¡±

    Romulus lowered his gaze, unhinged by that usation. ¡°I only speak the truth, Your Highness. You are trying not to see it, but deep down, you also know that His Majesty¡¯s days are numbered.¡±

    Everard wanted to deny it, but he had thought the same.

    The corner of Romulus¡¯ lips curved up ever so slightly. And he further tried to manipte the Crown Prince, ¡°So, don¡¯t you think that it is better to let your father see you on the throne and allow him to pass in peace, rather than put that heavy burden on him till the day he passes away? He deserves at least a day without all his burdens. That way, his heart will be at ease when his time finallyes.¡±

    Everard was so angered and hurt by that directness of Romulus that he was unable to stand his sight.

    He red at Romulus with his shiny amber eyes and snarled, ¡°I want you to leave, Lord Romulus, before I charge you of treason against the King.¡±

    Romulus simply gave Everard a soft smile and said while bowing, ¡°You will know that I was right once you sit down and calmly think this through again. See you around, my Prince.¡±

    Everardpletely forgot about Lorenzo and stormed inside the castle without sparing another nce at the carriage.

    The moment he entered his room, he mmed the door close and screamed at the top of his lungs in utter rage and frustration.

    His scream of despair was heard by almost everyone in the castle; it was that loud. A few of the maids who were walking past his room got terrified and ran away from the vicinity as soon as they could.

    Everard took off all of his clothes and boots and flopped down on the bed. He then covered his eyes with his forearm and began to silently shed the tears that he had been holding in until now.

    ¡®I am not ready! I am not ready... I can¡¯t lose him... Not yet...¡¯

    Although he was being trained and taught for his whole life to someday sit on the throne and take over the responsibilities of the King, the very thought of it terrified him to the core because that would mean he would lose his father, and suddenly, he would be responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives.

    Until now, his immediate ns for the future were very simple ¨C rescue Anna, graduate, live freely, and enjoy the air of his Kingdom while slowly learning about the Kingdom from his father.

    However, life threw the most difficult hurdle at him, and out of the blue, all of his ns were now doomed.

    He wanted to live a carefree, or rather, less burdensome life for at least a few years. But with his father¡¯s health worsening by the day, he could now see himself getting tied to the throne until the day he would be in his father¡¯s current situation.

    Everard was scared for his father, yes. He didn¡¯t want to lose his only family. But more than that, he was scared for himself, terrified even.

    So, in order to make himself feel better, he started to look for someone to me his situation on.

    ¡®If only Mother was still alive... Would my father be this sick?¡¯

    ¡®What if I hadn¡¯t turned? Would my father still be okay?¡¯

    In the end, he clenched his fist and then pinned all the me on Anastasia¡¯s parents.

    ¡®If only they hadn¡¯t betrothed her as if she was some unwanted child, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have turned into this hideous monster that somehow made my father see me as a man capable of handling the Kingdom.¡¯

    ¡°Your Highness?¡±

    He was suddenly pulled out of his guilt trip and his me game when he heard a voice that provided him a sense offort.

 Chapter 154

    154 A Promise

    Everard pulled a nket to cover the lower half of his body and turned his head to look at the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± he said after wiping the corners of his eyes.

    Ruby pushed the door wide enough for her head, and as usual, she took a peek inside the room. When she saw the Crown Prince lying on the bed with just a nket barely covering the lower half of his body, she instantly pulled the door shut.

    Everard was used to stripping in front of his male servants. And he was also used to being seen half-naked by his maids. So, this was nothing new to him.

    However, Ruby wasn¡¯t used to seeing gorgeous men without their clothes on. She felt as if she had sinned just by taking a glimpse at Everard¡¯s body.

    Flustered, she asked from outside while stuttering, ¡°Y-Your Highness, are you okay? I heard you scre- Um... So... I came here to check up on you.¡±

    ¡°You cane in and talk, Ruby,¡± was the only reply that she got, so she walked inside the room while keeping her eyes on her feet.

    She stood in front of the door and asked again, ¡°Did something happen, Your Highness?¡±

    Everard stared nkly at the ceiling, and replied in a mncholic voice, ¡°What¡¯s there left to happen? Everything is already in shambles.¡±

    .....

    Ruby slowly lifted her gaze, careful not to look anywhere else but at his face. She could see that he was swallowed by sadness, understandably so. She quietly sighed and stood there without uttering another word because she had no words to console his heart.

    Though she was feeling empathetic towards what her sire had been going through, she thought that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fully understand him since it wasn¡¯t her father who was on the deathbed. And she thought that she didn¡¯t have any right to ask him not to worry when she wasn¡¯t the one who was suffering.

    Everard, however, was expecting a few kind words from Ruby. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say something?¡± he asked after finally turning his gaze on Ruby.

    Ruby looked down at the rim of her beige gown and said in a low murmur, ¡°I wish I could say that everything is going to be alright.¡±

    Everard let out a gloomy chuckle. He turned to stare back at the ceiling and mumbled with a hint of contempt in his voice, ¡°So, even you are saying that my father is going to die soon?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to even think that, Your Highness.¡± Ruby denied Everard¡¯s assumption with haste. ¡°I am just not sure if it is my ce to... offer constion to you. And I often don¡¯t know when it is appropriate to speak, or what is the appropriate thing to say.¡±

    Everard recalled what Romulus had said to him earlier, about how everyone around him was purposely hiding information from him. He didn¡¯t understand why they thought it was necessary to do so. It was his father who was ill. And he had full right to know what his father was going through, no matter how bizarre the whole thing sounded.

    He nced at Ruby again. And he said very painfully, ¡°Right now, I think you are the only one whom I can fully rely on. Others just know how to sugarcoat things and hide important details from me. So, I want you to speak your mind, Ruby. You have full right to speak, and there¡¯s no need to filter out anything or hide anything from me.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s heart was ted to hear how much Everard valued her opinions and thoughts. But at the same time, she felt saddened that there wasn¡¯t anyone else in this huge castle in whom he could put his trust.

    She felt the urge tofort him because she was also in great difort seeing how down he looked. She quickly moved her feet, and when she reached beside Everard¡¯s bed, she made herselffortable on the floor.

    Though he had asked her to speak her mind, she couldn¡¯t think of anything to say to him to ease his heart.

    So, she raised her hand and brought it near Everard¡¯s silky hair so as to gently stroke him on the head. But she hesitated again and folded her stretched-out fingers.

    Everard noticed her hesitation and he grabbed her arm before she could pull it away. He ced her palm on his head and said after closing his eyes, ¡°Stay here for a while. I want to fall asleep.¡±

    The corners of Ruby¡¯s lips pulled up a little. She shifted even closer to the bed and then started to gently stroke the Prince¡¯s raven-ck hair. She even began humming in her melodious voice while caressing his hair.

    That was how her mother used to console her whenever she used to feel down; that was the lovenguage that she knew.

    The subtle smile that had danced on her lipssted for a brief moment only. The thought of her parents haunted her. ¡®They must be worried sick about me...¡¯ She felt a sudden twisting in her stomach.

    She grimaced when a terrifying thought crossed her mind, ¡®The vampires didn¡¯t do anything to my parents, right?¡¯

    She gulped hard and furrowed. ¡®No, they wouldn¡¯t do that. They wouldn¡¯t hurt a human unless they are criminals... But what if they did?¡¯

    Her breathing started to get irregr when she delved deeper into her thoughts, ¡®What if they categorized my parents as criminals because of me and hurt them? They are the ones with power, their words are thew. And they are the damned monsters! They can do anything.¡¯

    Everard opened his eyes and looked at Ruby because her soft strokes were getting stiffer and stiffer by the second, and he could also hear her breathing noisily and her rising heartbeat. He saw fear in her eyes, and worried, he asked, ¡°Is something bothering you? Or perhaps, someone? Jerome hasn¡¯t been too harsh on you again, has he?¡±

    Ruby immediately put a smile on her face when she saw Everard looking at her. She shook her head and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t crossed paths with Lord Jerome since our first meeting.¡±

    She smiled brightly and then gratefully added, ¡°The maids here are treating me like a valued guest. It¡¯s a little awkward for me though since I am not used to being treated with such hospitality.¡±

    Everard turned on his side while grabbing onto the nket. His sculpted body was now right in front of Ruby¡¯s eyes.

    Ruby inhaled sharply and instantly looked down.

    Everard gazed at her long eyshes and asked again, ¡°Then what is troubling you? You clearly look like something was up.¡±

    Ruby smiled and tried to dodge the question. ¡°What trouble would I possibly have when a lower-ss woman like me is being treated like a guest in a castle? You don¡¯t need to worry about me, my Prince.¡±

    He had been addressed that way countless times, but for some reason, Everard felt something in his heart when Ruby addressed him as ¡®my prince¡¯.

    However, he shook that feeling off and sternly said, ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me what¡¯s troubling you, then you might as well get out.¡±

    Ruby quickly gazed at the Prince with a scared look on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide anything from you, Your Highness. I just thought that my troubles aren¡¯t worth mentioning when you already have more than enough on your te.¡±

    She was worried that the Prince would lose his trust in her as well. So, before he had to ask again, she answered truthfully, ¡°I miss my parents... I am afraid that the vampires might have done something...¡±

    Everard held Ruby¡¯s hand which was now resting on his head. He brought it in front of his chest and made a promise to her, ¡°I will send someone to fetch them here.¡±

 Chapter 155

    155 A Brief Happiness

    Ruby¡¯s happiness knew no bounds when she heard the Crown Prince saying that he would bring her parents to Xanmar.

    ¡°You will do that?¡± In her excitement, Ruby grabbed Everard¡¯s palm with both of her hands and eximed in disbelief.

    Everard gave a nod. ¡°I am not someone who gives false hopes.¡±

    Now that he wasn¡¯t in a position to go to Sorvando himself, he was also thinking of asking the others to rescue one more person along with Ruby¡¯s parents. All he needed to do was choose the right people and do proper nning before sending them on the mission.

    Everard agreed with himself inwardly and replied to Ruby with a subtle smile on his face, ¡°But first, let¡¯s see how the situation of Sorvando is. If those vampires aren¡¯t patrolling as much as before then I can send some spies to fetch them.¡±

    ¡°Human spies, right?¡± she asked just to confirm.

    She didn¡¯t want to further endanger her parents¡¯ lives by letting the vampires see them with the werewolves. That would just be too foolish since the vampires would easily be alerted by the smell. And if those werewolves weren¡¯t killed by the vampires on sight, she was afraid that those werewolves would lead those red-eyes right to her.

    Everard nodded. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think it would be wise to send the werewolves to Sorvando after the incident with us.¡±

    Ruby couldn¡¯t agree more. She smiled ear to ear and then bowed her head to her savior, ¡°Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Highness.¡± When she bowed, she realized that she was gripping Everard¡¯s hand. She swiftly let go of her hold on him and awkwardly rested her hand on herp.

    .....

    Everard, on the other hand, wished that she would address him as ¡®my prince¡¯ more often. However, he didn¡¯t vocalize his inner thought.

    Rather, he remembered something else and asked Ruby, ¡°I hadpletely forgotten about the full moon! I lost track of it. When¡¯s it again?¡±

    Ruby was so d that he asked.

    When they had disappeared for the whole day in Lavinya, the two of them had bought the chains, and Everard had taken her to show the cave that he thought was appropriate to use during their transformation. They had nned everything for the full moon night.

    But that nning had gone into ruins now that they were in Xanmar. In the rush, Ruby had forgotten to pack the chains, and now she had no idea where to buy such strong chains, or which ce to use to iste herself during her transformation.

    ¡°It is tomorrow, my Prince,¡± she replied with a sense of urgency.

    A subtle smile formed on Everard¡¯s lips. He cleared his throat to quickly hide his smile, and he pondered upon a few things.

    He had thought that he would rify everything to Jerome ¨C regarding who Ruby really was and how he came to be acquainted with her. But he got so upied by his father that he didn¡¯t have time for any chit-chats with Jerome that was unrted to his father.

    And now, he was contemting whether or not to tell everything to Jerome, especially because he felt betrayed by him.

    After thinking about it for quite a while, he decided to put his ego aside and reveal everything to Jerome for Ruby¡¯s sake. He didn¡¯t want his father¡¯s beta to treat Ruby as if she was a woman who he hired for pleasure. Before everyone in the castle also started to think the same, he wanted to shut them all up with the truth.

    ¡°Ruby,¡± Everard looked into her light brown eyes and asked, ¡°Will you ask a maid to call Jerome here?¡±

    ¡°Sure, Your Highness.¡± Ruby immediately got up on her feet, thankful that he didn¡¯t ask her to go and call that scary man herself.

    She found a few maids-in-waiting right outside the room. And she passed the order of the Crown Prince to them.

    After that, she went back inside the room without bothering to knock again. However, she immediately regretted her decision because Everard had gotten up from the bed to get dressed.

    And she saw him. Butt-naked.

    She sharply inhaled and tight-shut her eyes. ¡®Oh, dear lord! Please forgive me!¡¯ she screamed in her mind while turning on her heels and running towards the door.

    However, as she was running without opening her eyes, her body got mmed against the wall instead.

    ¡°Argh!¡± she screamed even though the impact didn¡¯t hurt much.

    She pressed a palm on her forehead and the other on her chest, and then crouched down.

    Without caring to dress, Everard was watching every move of Ruby with an amused look on his face. And the moment she crouched down in an udylike manner causing her gown to puff and look like a pumpkin, Everard burst into chuckles.

    Ruby was about to crawl through the door, thinking she was being very discreet until now.

    However, Everard stopped her and ordered yfully, ¡°No, no, no... Don¡¯t run! Stay!¡±

    As if she was an obedient puppy, Ruby turned into a statue.

    Everard then said to her while putting his pants on, ¡°You know... when we revert back into our human form, our clothes won¡¯t magically stitch back together.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s eyes turned as round as a saucepan upon realizing the hidden meaning behind his words. Her whole face turned a light shade of red when she further realized that if she had transformed together with him, it was inevitable that he saw her in her birthday suit as well.

    She covered her mouth with her trembling palm and then asked in a muffled voice, ¡°W-Will you please ask Lord Jerome to prepare a separate space for me tomorrow?¡±

    And without even asking to be excused, she crawled out of the door. When she was outside, she got up and dashed without caring that she was wearing a gown that was much longer for her.

    For that brief moment, Everard forgot all about his worries andughed out loud. He was greatly entertained by Ruby¡¯s scared voice and her childlike demeanor.

    ¡°She can be cute at times,¡± he mumbled to himself while still chuckling.

 Chapter 156

    156 Pure Evil

    After the carriage came to a halt in front of the manor of Romulus, Lorenzo quickly stepped out of the carriage and ced a stool in front of the carriage door before the coachman could do so.

    Romulus gave an appreciative nod to Lorenzo and stepped out as well.

    The werewolves who had gone along with their alpha also ran out of their carriage to walk behind him.

    ¡°But yes, it¡¯s a shame that things didn¡¯t go as we had nned,¡± Romulus continued his talk with Lorenzo.

    Lorenzo sighed and agreed with the alpha. ¡°I had assumed that the Crown Prince would be weing to me, and I had hoped that the three of us would sit down somewhere to have a nice conversation.¡±

    Romulus held his arms behind his back. He didn¡¯t me Lorenzo for miscalcting the behavior of the Crown Prince because he was well aware that he was the one to mess it up.

    ¡°We probably would have gotten the chance to sit down with him if I had kept my mouth shut. I should have used your friendship with him to slowly push my ns for him. But I rushed it. And when he finally saw you, he was more interested in what I had to say, rather than in you.¡±

    Although Romulus¡¯ voice was really calm andposed, Lorenzo could see from the side of his eyes that the alpha was clenching his jaw and fists.

    In an attempt to calm down the anger of the alpha, Lorenzo tried to assure him that they would get another opportunity again. ¡°I am sure that the Crown Prince will not be as cold as today when I meet him the next time. I will try my best to convince him to sit down with you for a friendly chat.¡±

    .....

    The tightened fists of Romulus didn¡¯t be any loose. However, he did give a nod and agreed to Lorenzo. ¡°I will leave that to you then. Arrange my meeting with him.¡± He gave a nod to the werewolves a little further away, who had stopped their wrestling to greet him.

    Then he continued giving instruction to Lorenzo, ¡°And before you arrange my meeting, you should also talk with him and prepare him so that he won¡¯t think of me as a traitor to the throne, but as his ally instead.¡±

    ¡°I will do my best, Milord,¡± Lorenzo said with a slight bow.

    Romulus¡¯ eyes fell on a few of his n members who were examining the samples of weapons that the sellers had sent them.

    ¡°You are excused for today, Lorenzo,¡± Romulus said to his important piece of the power game and changed his direction.

    ¡°I will report to you tomorrow then.¡± Lorenzo stopped right where he was, and gave a low bow after facing the alpha¡¯s back.

    Romulus suddenly stopped on his track and turned around. He gestured for Lorenzo toe closer. And when Lorenzo came running and stood in front of him, he asked, ¡°I almost forgot to ask... Are the assassins in motion already?¡±

    ¡°They reached Lavinya three days ago. They have set up their base and are waiting for your orders, Milord,¡± Lorenzo replied with an unhinged expression on his face.

    Romulus touched his chin and weighed the benefits and drawbacks of his n.

    After thinking about it for a few minutes, he finally focused his attention on Lorenzo and asked, ¡°Pull them back from Lavinya. I don¡¯t think that the Crown Prince will be a hurdle to us now that our Crown Prince is back in his castle. I¡¯m pretty confident that Everard isn¡¯t going anywhere at the moment.¡±

    He tapped his foot on the ground. His eyes looked more evil than usual, and a sly smirk formed on his lips.

    He then turned to pick up the rifle from the samples and aimed it at the target that was ced a little further away from where he was standing at the moment.

    While adjusting his aim, he further spoke like a cunning fox, ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill the only heir of Orsenia and create chaos when I don¡¯t have enough supplies of weapons to sell. It would be a pity if an internal war breaks out for the throne and I cannot take advantage of it.¡±

    BANG!

    A loud firing sound echoed throughout the area, followed by a man¡¯s scream and a few footsteps running in that man¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Oh, shoot!¡± Romulus clicked his tongue while looking at the servant he had just shot fire on.

    That servant was squirming on the ground, grabbing his leg and screaming in pain. A few of the servants who were nearby picked up that injured servant and took him away without any fuss. It looked as if it was a daily urrence there in the manor.

    Romulus casually threw the rifle back on the hand of the man who was examining the weapons and nonchntly said, ¡°Ugh! I hate it when theye and stand in front of the target when I am clearly going to shoot. Do they keep their eyes in their pockets or what?¡±

    Lorenzo was trying not to get fazed by what he had just witnessed because it was his first time seeing someone get shot by the alpha.

    He gave an awkward smile to the alpha and turned to look at the target again, and then at the ce that had a small pool of blood.

    The fake smile from Lorenzo¡¯s face faded away upon realizing that the gap between the target and the pool of blood was at least 8 meters. There was no way one would identally miss the shot and hit someone who was standing that far away from the target.

    Lorenzo forced himself to face the alpha and gave a bow before looking into his eyes. ¡°I will call the assassins back. Then, I will take my leave for today,¡± he said in one breath without even lifting his head.

    While bowing, he noticed that Romulus¡¯ wasn¡¯t digging his nails into his palms anymore.

    Romulus¡¯ suppressed anger had finally subsided.

    ¡°Remember to arrange that meeting sooner,¡± Romulus said in reply.

    Lorenzo didn¡¯t know if he was imagining it or not, but he sensed a hidden warning in the alpha¡¯s voice just now. He quickly put on a wide smile on his face before raising his head. And his jolly persona replied to the alpha, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, Alpha. I will take care of it.¡±

    Lorenzo then turned on his heels and walked as fast as he could, while also making sure it wasn¡¯t too obvious that he was trying to disappear from the manor.

    After watching Lorenzo scurry away from there, Romulus turned to look at a man who was standing at the far corner of the manor.

    He was a burly-looking man with an equally terrifying face. Most of the people, even the werewolves, trembled at his sight. It was no wonder why Romulus made him his beta.

    ¡°yer!¡± Romulus shouted and gestured for that man toe to him.

    yer obediently came and bowed to the alpha.

    Romulus gave a nod and then started to walk in the direction of the main entrance of the manor. His beta as well as his guards followed.

    While they were walking, Romulus asked the man who looked like a giant in hisparison, ¡°Did you do the cleanup?¡±

    yer didn¡¯t even bother to look at the alpha or tone down his harsh voice when he replied, ¡°Do you even have to ask?¡±

    Romulus sighed and looked up to give a corner-eyed re to his beta. However, he didn¡¯t sound as angry when he reprimanded the giant, ¡°You know what? You would be so perfect if you knew how not to run your mouth like that in front of me.¡±

    ¡°My mouth doesn¡¯t take me ces, my skill does,¡± came the simplest and unbothered reply from him.

 Chapter 157

    157 Offering rification

    The day of the full moon had finally arrived. The whole atmosphere of the castle was different.

    Everard had never noticed this kind of atmosphere before.

    Now that he thought about it, he was never at the castle during the nights of the full moon. He would either be in Lavinya, or he would be sent somewhere ¨C either to his cousin¡¯s mansion or on some tour.

    And now that he was present in the castle, and finally, in a loop with the secrets, he could sense the tension and gloominess in the air.

    ¡°All the staff here aren¡¯t werewolves, are they?¡± Everard asked Jerome when the two of them were walking down the corridor to the King¡¯s chambers.

    He was wondering if the human staff would be sent away from the castle before nightfall or if there would be some kind of curfew imposed on them.

    Considering how it was the full moon, he was sure that the castle would be crawling with the werewolves during the night. He was sure that there wasn¡¯t enough space in the dungeon for everyone to go through their transformation in there.

    Jerome nced at the maids who bowed as they walked past the corridor. He then pointed his thumb over his shoulder and replied to the Crown Prince, ¡°Most of the maids and servants are humans. You should be able to differentiate them with their smell.¡±

    Everard licked his dry lips and scratched his chin. He then breathlessly spoke, ¡°But Ruby doesn¡¯t have that smell. So, I was wondering if there were others like her who don¡¯t give off that distinct scent.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Ruby...¡± Jerome heaved a deep sigh and spoke as he exhaled, ¡°...is an anomaly. We never had someone like you, my Prince. Even if someone like you existed in the past, we have no information ¨C neither about them nor about the wolves they created. So, I cannot give you much insight regarding this matter.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Everard rubbed his nape and scratched his elbow. He pushed his raven-ck hair away from his face, and then asked Jerome again, ¡°And all the human staff know about the werewolves that lurk in this castle?¡±

    ¡°They do, Your Highness.¡± Jerome sounded somewhat guilty because he could guess what was going on in the Prince¡¯s mind.

    He was the only one who had no idea about the existence of the werewolves when the others in the castle were aware of it.

    Thus, Jerome tried to reason why they knew and why the Crown Prince did not.

    ¡°The maids and servants who work here have been serving the crown for generations. Their grandfathers and their grandfather¡¯s grandfathers had been serving the royal family. Thus, they all are raised with the knowledge about the werewolves because almost all the Kings in the past were also werewolves.¡±

    Everard suddenly stopped on his track and then asked in an utterly confused voice, ¡°So... the treaty that we have with the vampires doesn¡¯t epass these maids and servants? I thought we weren¡¯t allowed to reveal our secret.¡±

    Jerome was also confused thinking about where the Crown Prince got that idea from. ¡°I think the treaty says that we cannot reveal each other¡¯s secrets; we werewolves cannot reveal the secret about vampires. But it doesn¡¯t matter if we reveal ours.¡±

    Everard pinched the bridge of his nose because he was insanely pissed that they kept the existence of werewolves a secret from him when it was clearly not necessary to do so.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that for all this while, only I was oblivious to the fact?¡± Everard scoffed because he was feeling betrayed.

    ¡°The King had his reasons,¡± Jerome looked down and kept his answer short.

    Everard couldn¡¯t even be mad at his father because he was lying ill on his bed at the moment.

    He gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger, and he mumbled with a bated breath, ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t even care anymore.¡±

    Everard ran his fingers through his hair in a fidgety manner and stormed towards his father¡¯s chambers.

    Jerome suddenly had a hint of fear in his eyes when something crossed his mind. He ran to catch up with the Crown Prince and then asked while walking side by side, ¡°Your Highness, you haven¡¯t talked about the existence of the vampires with anyone, right?¡±

    ¡°Why does it matter?¡± Everard asked without sparing a nce at Jerome.

    The two of them were close to the King¡¯s chambers.

    Jerome raised his hand and gestured the guards not to open the door for a while.

    ¡°Now what, Jerome?¡± Everard turned to face Jerome and shouted in frustration when the guards stood in front of the King¡¯s door rather than pushing it open for the Crown Prince.

    ¡°I need to tell you something first.¡± Jerome stood in front of the Crown Prince and said in a soft whisper.

    Everard leaned his shoulder on the wall. He red at Jerome while digging his fingernails into his bicep, and he mumbled in monotone, ¡°Spit it out.¡±

    Jerome didn¡¯t mind the rudeness of the Prince. He could see that the Prince was already getting fidgety because of the inevitable transformation that would ur at night.

    So, he talked very calmly with Everard, ¡°I don¡¯t know how true it is, but I heard there lived a powerful High Priestess back in the days. They say she was the one to perform the ritual of the blood pact. It¡¯s said that if either of the species snitches on each other, then there are going to be severe consequences.¡±

    ¡°How severe?¡± Everard asked with a frown on his forehead. If it wasn¡¯t severe enough, then he had some people to whom he wanted to reveal the secret.

    Jerome revealed what he had heard, ¡°I heard that whoever you tell the secret to will die. However, there are records of people misusing it in the past. So, eventually, it was circted that those who tell the secret are the ones who will be harmed.¡±

    Everard closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall. He sighed deeply in relief, thinking about how he didn¡¯t tell Alexander about the vampires.

    He felt indebted to Lorenzo because he was the one to emphasize how he wasn¡¯t supposed to ever reveal the secrets about supernatural beings to humans.

    ¡®Lorenzo... I shall talk to him soon. I didn¡¯t even get the chance to rify things to him yesterday,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    ¡°Are you okay, Your Highness?¡± Jerome was scared by the way how Everard was closing his eyes without saying a word. ¡°You haven¡¯t told anyone... have you?¡±

    ¡°Thankfully, no.¡± Everard opened his eyes and turned to look at the closed door to his father¡¯s room.

    He let out a sigh again and asked Jerome, ¡°Are you sure I need to tell my father now? About that sire thing?¡±

    Jerome also heaved a deep breath, not sure how the sick King would take that new information about his son.

    However, at the same time, he believed that they didn¡¯t have much time on their hands to wait and see. ¡°Yes, I think we should tell him now. He might have some information about... you.¡±

    Everard agreed with Jerome. He wanted to learn more about himself, about the kind of wolf he was. ¡°Let¡¯s do this then,¡± he mumbled while eyeing the door.

    He thenpleted the sentence in his mind, ¡®Let¡¯s get this over with before nightfall. I don¡¯t know what I will do or where I will go if I am not chained.¡¯

    He didn¡¯t want the incident of the past to repeat again.

 Chapter 158

    158 Sire Bond

    Everard¡¯s heart sank the moment his eyes fell on his father.

    The King looked awfully weaker than yesterday. His eyes were swelling, he was breathingboriously, and the night robe that he was wearing looked wet due to excessive sweating.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you changed his clothes yet?¡± Everard red at the nurses and scolded them.

    He went and stood by his father¡¯s side. He gently held his father¡¯s palm; the temperature was way too cold for a werewolf.

    He red back at the nurses, who were now rushing towards a drawer, and then chastised them some more, ¡°He is already suffering from cold, and yet, you two keep him in his wet clothes instead of keeping him warm?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t scold them too hard, Everard.¡± Alfred slightly tightened his grip on Everard¡¯s palm and spoke while taking the nurses¡¯ side, ¡°I was asleep until I heard you at the door. Maybe they didn¡¯t want to disturb my sleep, that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t wake me up to change my clothes.¡±

    However, Everard wasn¡¯t going to take that as an excuse. He kept on shouting at those poor nurses, ¡°Do you two have any idea what you should and what you shouldn¡¯t do? You two are supposed to be the nurses. Should I be the one to teach you how you are supposed to take care of your patient?¡±

    Both of the nurses bowed their heads in an apologetic manner. And one of them apologized to the furious Crown Prince, ¡°We are extremely sorry, Your Highness. We will change his clothes right away.¡±

    Everard¡¯s brows knitted in tune when he noticed that one of the nurses was someone new.

    .....

    ¡°Where¡¯s the other nurse? The one with the unibrow?¡± Everard asked the nurse whose face he was familiar with.

    That nurse gave a polite bow and then replied to the Prince, ¡°She resigned from her position yesterday evening, Your Highness. She said she had some personal matters to take care of.¡±

    Everard gave a nod and didn¡¯t dwell much upon it. He stepped aside from his father¡¯s bed and said, ¡°Well, go on then. Change his robe.¡±

    The nurses immediately sprinted towards the King¡¯s bed, pulled the curtains, and then began to do their job.

    Everard and Jerome silently waited for the nurses to finish their task.

    After the nurses opened the curtains again, Everard ordered them, ¡°You may leave us alone for a while.¡±

    The nurses gave a polite bow and walked out of the room as ordered.

    Everard went and sat down on the edge of his father¡¯s bed while Jerome stood by Everard¡¯s side.

    ¡°What is it?¡± King Alfred looked at his son even though his vision was a little blurry, and he asked, ¡°You two were mumbling about something... Sire, was it?¡±

    Everard was a little happy to know that his father¡¯s hearing was still as sharp as ever. He pulled the nket over his father¡¯s chest and properly tucked him in.

    He didn¡¯t know how to break the information to his father so he nced at Jerome for help.

    Jerome took a step closer to the King and started, ¡°Your Majesty, it seems like our Crown Prince got a special blessing from the Moon Goddess.¡±

    ¡°Special blessing?¡± the King asked with a bated breath.

    Jerome then recounted everything that he had heard from the Crown Prince, from how he had his first transformation in Sorvando, to how he could create werewolves, and how he had identally created one.

    When Jerome said that Everard had turned Ruby into a werewolf, Everard was worried that his father would be mad at him.

    However, unlike what he had thought, his father held his hand with a wide smile on his face.

    ¡°My dear son! You have no idea how special you are... You have the power of the Moon Goddess.¡± Alfred looked at his son with pride. He gently patted his son¡¯s hand and said, ¡°But you have to make sure to use your power wisely ¨C only when there¡¯s a dire need for it.¡±

    Everard nced at his father¡¯s pitiable face and said, ¡°I will do that, father.¡±

    Jerome didn¡¯t want to interrupt the father and son¡¯s bonding moment. However, he wanted to ask a few questions to the King. So, he went ahead with it.

    ¡°Your Majesty, do you know anything about how the sire bond actually works?¡± Jerome wanted to know that because when he heard how Everard felt about Ruby, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was the mate bond rather than the sire bond.

    The King thought for a while and then answered, ¡°I had once found an interesting manuscript. It said that the sire bond is as sacred as the bond between family members. The sired arepletely loyal to their sire and will do anything to show their loyalty. They will follow each and every order from the one who sired them and will even die for their sire if the situation arises.¡±

    Everard widened his eyes a little. He could now understand why Ruby kept on following him around and agreeing to almost everything that he asked of her.

    ¡®But that¡¯s so messed up... Does that mean she doesn¡¯t have her free will now?¡¯ he thought to himself, feeling a little bad for Ruby.

    He even felt a little saddened thinking that every little thing that Ruby did for him, she did it because of that weird bond between them rather than out of her heart.

    ¡°And what about the sire?¡± Jerome asked again. ¡°How will they feel towards the ones they sired?¡±

    ¡°They will feel the need to protect them,¡± the King replied in a brief sentence.

    Jerome was not satisfied with the answer. The mates felt the same way towards each other. So, he asked again, ¡°Will the sire also fight with their life if the lives of their sired ones are in danger?¡±

    He asked this because he had seen that fire in the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes when he came to Ruby¡¯s rescue on the day of their arrival. He could feel that if he had put a scratch on Ruby, the Crown Prince would have put a hole in his body in return.

    The King breathed inboriously and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think the sired will ever put their sire in that situation in the first ce.¡±

    Jerome¡¯s question wasn¡¯t answered yet. So, he went in to ask again, ¡°But what if-¡±

    However, the Crown Prince raised his hand and stopped Jerome. ¡°I think that is enough for today, Jerome. Father needs to rest.¡±

    He could see that his father¡¯s skin was getting mmy and cold. He was having great difficulty in breathing, and his heartbeat was very weak.

    Everard nced at a bucket that was kept by the King¡¯s bedside. It was giving off the subtle smell of vomit.

    Everard nced at Jerome and asked, ¡°Why is his condition getting worse? He only had a bad cold and heartburn until yesterday. But what is all this?¡±

    He suddenly got this feeling in his gut that something was awfully wrong, but he couldn¡¯t point out exactly what was wrong.

    He furrowed his brows and asked in confusion, ¡°Howe so many other things are happening to him today? Aren¡¯t the doctors administering the medicines properly?¡±

 Chapter 159

    159 He Will

    Jerome replied to Everard in a worried voice, ¡°The doctor said that his body was rejecting food since yesterday night. They said that it is causing harm to his digestive system as well as his immune system. And the medicine they were giving the King was merely to reduce his pain.¡±

    Everard sighed and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the doctor?¡±

    ¡°He is currently running some tests. He is working hard to find the cause behind His Majesty¡¯s sudden change in symptoms.¡±

    Everard took a towel and started wiping the sweat beads from his father¡¯s forehead. ¡°I thought there were several doctors who were looking after my father. Shouldn¡¯t one of them be present here all the time instead of leaving him in the hands of those ipetent nurses?¡±

    Jerome gave a nod to Everard and replied, ¡°I will ask them to be here by His Majesty¡¯s side.¡±

    King Alfred was watching his son very dearly. He was happy to see how much his son cared for him and how worried he was for him.

    Everard checked to see if his father¡¯s robe was wet again. It was slightly better than earlier, so he covered his father with the nket again.

    ¡°My Prince.¡± Jerome was now starting to get restless because the talk with the King went on for much longer than he had expected. ¡°We have to hurry now. We don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Everard suddenly felt an overwhelming sensation all over his body. He nodded and then gave a gentle bow to his father. ¡°You should rest, father. I think I won¡¯t be able to check up on you tonight. It¡¯s the full moon, so... But I will have the others stay by your side.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Ah! Yes. The full moon...¡± King Alfred coughed a few times and instructed Everard in a breathless whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t try to fight it once the full moon is out. Let the feeling consume you. Then, you¡¯ll be able to transform quickly. The pain won¡¯t eat you up if you do that.¡±

    ¡°I will keep that in mind,¡± Everard said with a subtle smile on his face.

    Everard was about to turn around to get out of the room when he heard his father¡¯s feeble voice, ¡°Son!¡±

    He looked at his father¡¯s face. His father was trying hard to gather his breath first.

    After a moment, he put on a smile on his face, and said, ¡°Everard, I am really proud of you. Your mother would also have said the same if she was here.¡±

    ¡°Father... There¡¯s no time to be emotional. You should rest,¡± Everard said after gulping when he saw tears rolling down the corners of his father¡¯s eyes.

    Alfred cleared his throat and said in a low whisper, ¡°Know that I¡¯ve always loved you, and I always will.¡±

    ¡°Father...¡± Everard closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

    ¡®Why is he making it sound as if this is thest time he will see me?¡¯ Everard thought to himself.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t put a strain on yourself, Father. I wille and find you after the night is over.¡±

    Alfred closed his eyes and nodded.

    Everard took onest nce at his sick father before abruptly turning on his heels and heading out of the room.

    Jerome gestured for the nurses who were waiting by the door to go inside the King¡¯s chamber. He asked one of the guards to call for the doctor, then he also followed the Crown Prince.

    It was already past the time that he led the Crown Prince to the dungeon. The full moon would be up soon, and when it was up, he wanted to stay by his alpha¡¯s side.

    While walking at a faster pace, Everard asked Jerome with great worry, ¡°Won¡¯t my father also transform tonight?¡±

    ¡°He...¡± Jerome took a deep breath and nodded. ¡°He will.¡±

    ¡°W-What?¡± Everard stopped on his track. He had half expected the answer to be ¡®no¡¯. He felt his heart being crushed when Jerome said that his sick father would also go through the horror of transformation.

    He took a moment to process that information and asked Jerome in disbelief. ¡°But he is so sick that his heartbeat is barely audible! Hell, he can barely breathe! Will he even be able to withstand the transformation?¡±

    A hint of fear, sadness, and anxiety ran across Jerome¡¯s eyes.

    He sped his hands together and replied confidently while looking straight into the Prince¡¯s eyes, ¡°The alpha is an experienced wolf. He knows how to transform within seconds and then revert back to his human form within a minute of his transformation. I would like to believe that he will be fine.¡±

    Everard could see the hidden emotions behind Jerome¡¯s confident-sounding voice.

    All of a sudden, Everard¡¯s knees gave out. His back mmed against the wall, and he slid down to sit on the floor.

    ¡°My Prince, are you alright?¡± Jerome immediately crouched down and tried to pull Everard off the ground.

    But Everard swatted Jerome¡¯s hand away and buried his head between his knees while grabbing his hair with both of his hands. His eyes were already glistening with tears and his breathing was getting irregr.

    ¡°Please tell me that he will make it through the night...¡± Everard demanded while sniffling and uncontrobly rocking back and forth.

    Jerome grabbed Everard by his shoulders and tried his best to assure the Prince, ¡°He will survive the night. You don¡¯t have to worry. Our King isn¡¯t that weak.¡±

    Everard wanted to believe Jerome, he desperately wanted to believe that his father would be alright.

    But he just could not.

    Jerome felt a sharp sting in his heart when he noticed the moonlight that seeped in from the window near them.

    ¡°Your Highness, we have to hurry!¡± Jerome grabbed Everard by his arm and pulled him up on his feet. He quickly gestured for the guards who were close by to clear the perimeter of any humans.

    Jerome had already prepared the dungeon to be used by the new wolves who hadn¡¯t gained a proper grip on their transformation process yet. He had prepared a separate space for Ruby as she had desired.

    Right now, he hoped that he would be able to lead the Crown Prince to the dungeon before his transformation began.

    However, since the moon was already out, and Everard was in a really vulnerable emotional state, his transformation began in an instant.

    Crack!

    Everard¡¯s wrist bone suddenly snapped.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± His scream echoed throughout the corridor of the castle.

    Jerome bowed to the Prince and immediately said, ¡°Please excuse me for what I am going to do.¡±

    Everard wasn¡¯t even listening to what Jerome was saying. He was already consumed by the pain. His consciousness was juggling between his human side and his werewolf side, each trying to take control over Everard¡¯s mind and body.

    Jerome quickly lifted Everard on his shoulder and headed toward the dungeon at an unmatched speed.

 Chapter 160

    160 Animals

    Romulus was sitting cross-legged in the dark cer of his manor. The darkness didn¡¯t bother him at all; he could clearly see everything that he wanted to see.

    He could see the subtle red color of the wine in the ss that he was holding, he could see the gloomy colors of the cold stone walls, and he could see the woman in a dirty white gown who was lying on the floor in front of him.

    The woman was letting out muffled screams through her gagged mouth. While screaming, she was also struggling to untie her hands that were tied behind her back with a strong rope. Her legs were also tied so as to stop her from crawling or walking. There was evidence of struggle around her ankles; she had visible bruise marks that were bleeding freshly.

    Romulus swirled the wine and took a whiff. ¡°Aah...¡± he let out a pleased moan, the wine smelled strong, just as he liked it.

    He took a big gulp of the red wine and then let out another moan. ¡°Mmhh... Wine never tasted this good.¡± He looked at that struggling woman¡¯s bleeding ankle and then at her face. And he mumbled, ¡°Maybe because I am apanied by a beautifuldy like you?¡±

    The muffled screams of that woman got even louder. Streams of tears began to roll down the corners of her eyes and dropped on the cold floor. There was already a wet patch below her temple from all the crying that she had done earlier.

    Romulus cupped over one of his ears and leaned a little closer to that woman. ¡°What did you say?¡± he asked. Then a secondter, he sarcastically answered, ¡°Are you saying that you would also like to drink some wine?¡±

    The woman closed her eyes and began to cry while gagging. She almost passed out because she was choking badly.

    Romulus heard the door of the cer creaking open and then closing again. From the sound of the footsteps, he could tell that it was his trusted beta.

    .....

    ¡°yer, just in time for the starter.¡± He pointed at the bottle of wine at the side and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you pour yourself a ss of wine and prepare yourself for the main course?¡±

    ¡°You better not be thinking of doing that!¡± yer stood in front of his alpha and looked at him with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

    ¡°Oh, why not?¡± Romulus chugged the wine and shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t try to ruin the fun, yer. You can share her with me, you know.¡±

    yer rolled his eyes and shook his head. And he said in a monotone, ¡°You¡¯re disgusting. We¡¯re not animals!¡±

    Romulus gazed at the moonlight that cascaded inside the cer through a small round window that sat right above that woman.

    He looked through that window and gave a sly smirk. He then got up on his feet and asked as he started to unbutton his shirt, ¡°Oh, but we are, aren¡¯t we? Animals... superior to all the others.¡±

    yer looked utterly disgusted by the alpha. He did not shy away from expressing it. ¡°I was better off when I didn¡¯t know this side of you. It¡¯s a mystery to me how you¡¯ve managed to maintain your pure persona in front of the whole world until now.¡±

    Romulus took off his boots next and pushed the chair aside. He looked into yer¡¯s dark brown eyes and replied with a crooked smile on his face. ¡°I can maintain that persona, thanks to people like you, who like to get their hands dirty for me.¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± yer snapped his neck side to side. And he said while stretching his arms, ¡°When your alpha gives an order, you don¡¯t have much choice, do you?¡±

    yer stretched his muscles further and then expressed his discontentment, ¡°But I must say, Alpha, thosest drops of poison were a waste on the King. He was going to die in a few weeks anyway.¡±

    Romulus¡¯ eyes were now glowing red in color. In those eyes, one could see the evil that lurked deep inside his heart.

    He gave an evil smirk; his icy-cold voice echoed in the moonlit cer, ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like waiting for a few more weeks, possibly a few more months, for the King to die. You do know that our fleets of weapons are waiting on the other side of the ocean.¡±

    He sighed and further added, ¡°The King shouldn¡¯t have angered me by suddenly advocating the peace and ruining my business. Hopefully, his son is wiser than him and is also moldable. If not, then well... may the Moon Goddess save him from my ws.¡±

    yer heaved a deep sigh, and almost instantly, his eyes glowed amber in color. His voice turned harsher than usual, almost like a low growl, when he spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you are so obsessed with the weapons dealings when you already have the monopoly over liquor import.¡±

    Romulus patted yer¡¯s shoulder and said proudly, ¡°Money, my friend, money. It controls everything. It even has the power to overthrow the King.¡±

    ¡°Kill, you mean,¡± yer emphasized.

    Romulus simply gave a crooked smile and turned his gaze at the woman on the floor. His eyes fell on her prominent unibrow and then trailed down to see her eyes.

    She was looking at him with terror in her eyes. Her back was pressed against the cold stone wall, and she was trembling like a leaf. Now that she had heard the terrifyingly evil talks between the two men, she knew that they weren¡¯t going to spare her.

    As those red eyes moved up and down her body, she could only curse herself for falling victim to her greed.

    The alpha slightly parted his lips and ran his tongue over his canine. He loved seeing that exact look of terror in his victim¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What poison did you use, by the way?¡± he asked with a bated breath and then protruded his sharp fangs.

    yer¡¯s body made a loud crack; he was already starting to transform. He let out a muffled groan and then answered in a single breath, ¡°You know the usual, wolf¡¯s bane extract.¡±

    ¡°Nice. I will be damned if he lives the night.¡± Romulus licked his lips while looking at the nurse.

    He looked like the devil incarnate when he spoke to yer in a growl, ¡°Feel free to join my meal. We have a shred of evidence to clean.¡±

    In a sh, Romulus transformed into arge wolf with the purest white fur. He turned his head up and howled to the Moon Goddess.

    His howl was followed up by the howl of yer, and a lot of other werewolves in and outside the manor.

    The white wolf then red at the nurse with his red haunting eyes and snarled, scaring the soul out of that poordy. Toxic saliva was dripping down his fangs as he gawked at the fresh meal in front of him.

    Before that woman could blink, the white wolf pounced on her, dug its sharp fangs into her ankle, and chomped it off of her body.

    A gut-wrenching scream resounded throughout the cer even though her mouth was gagged.

 Chapter 161

    161 Lonely Night

    By the time Jerome reached the dungeon while carrying Everard on his shoulders, Everard was digging his ws into Jerome¡¯s back. Everard¡¯s bones were constantly cracking and breaking, and he grabbed onto the only thing that was in his sight.

    Jerome didn¡¯t mind that at all. He looked at the guards who came to the dungeon along with them and ordered them, ¡°Chain the Crown Prince. Quick!¡±

    Four of the guards grabbed onto the Crown Prince¡¯s limb, each with great care. They didn¡¯t want to cause further pain to him by identally grabbing onto his broken bones. They then carried him to the corner where thick and strong chains had been attached to the wall.

    One of the guards grabbed a chain that was supposed to go on Everard¡¯s wrist and then tried to put it on him.

    However, Everard snarled at that guard and shouted at him in his growling voice, ¡°Leave me alone!¡±

    ¡°But, Your Highness...¡±

    Everard¡¯s amber eyes suddenly shone in the dimly lit dungeon. He was trying his best to hang onto his consciousness. But the push and pull had already made him furious. He head-butted that guard and roared again, ¡°I said, leave me alone!¡±

    He hit that guard so hard that the guard began to bleed from his head.

    Jerome quickly took over and said to the Crown Prince, ¡°My Prince, remember what your father said. Don¡¯t try to fight it, and it will be over soon. But we have to tie you up, in case your wolf sidepletely takes over your consciousness and tries to cause mayhem here.¡±

    .....

    They were, of course, going to lock the door of the dungeon behind the Crown Prince. However, if a rabid wolf was left freely, one could never tell how long the door would hold.

    Jerome sessfully locked the cuff on one of Everard¡¯s wrists.

    Everard was still trying to fight, but Jerome tightly grabbed his head and wrist and asked the others, ¡°Quickly! Tie him up! We have to be ready too. I can already feel iting.¡±

    Crack!

    ¡°Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± Everard¡¯s scream resounded throughout that dungeon cell when his rib bone suddenly snapped in two.

    The guards took that chance to cuff the Prince¡¯s ankles and wrist.

    Jerome jumped on his feet and ordered the guards while taking in heavy breaths, ¡°Alright, run back to your posts.¡±

    The guards didn¡¯t need to hear it twice. The transformation was already knocking on their consciousness, and they all wanted to get it over with sooner thanter.

    Everard could see them all leaving from the corner of his eyes, leaving him alone and chained. He didn¡¯t want to be alone like thest time. The trauma from that time was still fresh in his mind.

    So, he shouted at them, ¡°Where are you all going, you bastards! Stay here!¡±

    Snap!

    ¡°Aaaarghhh...¡± his agonizing scream pierced through the silent and lonely night.

    This time, the bone on his leg cracked. He suddenly fell to his knees. Tears started to roll down his eyes as if the dam in his eyes suddenly broke down.

    He still tried to look up at the door through his blurry vision, hoping to see at least one person there. But there was no one. And the door had already been shut close.

    Everard¡¯s heart was already in emotional turbulence. And the fact that he was left to deal with his transformation alone made him feel heartbroken and utterly lonely.

    He banged his head on the stone floor and let out a guttural murmur, ¡°S-Stay! Don¡¯t leave me alone, you arseholes!¡±

    The shes of memories of thest transformation began to dance in front of him. He recalled being alone in that forest, screaming in pain, and shouting for help. He had felt as if he was thest man on Earth.

    And this time wasn¡¯t any different.

    He began to wail like a child who had been abandoned in the middle of the forest by their parents.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared... I¡¯m so scared... Please...¡± Everard sobbed while gasping for air.

    After a while, he looked up at the door again and screamed furiously, ¡°Open the door! Whoever is out there! I can¡¯t breathe, dammit!¡±

    However, there was no one to listen to his pleas. Even if they were, they wouldn¡¯t dare to open the door for an unstable werewolf who was going through his transformation.

    ¡®Ruby...¡¯ Everard suddenly recalled her. ¡®Where is she? At least she would agree to stay by my side, wouldn¡¯t she? I need to call her.¡¯

    With that thought in mind, Everard filled his lungs with as much air as he could. And he shouted so loudly that he thought he burst his vocal cord and lungs, ¡°Rubyyyyyyyyyyy...¡±

    There was no answer.

    Though his throat was already dry and hurting, he called her a few more times.

    Again, there was no answer at all.

    ¡®I need to find her.¡¯ He thought to himself resolutely. ¡®I don¡¯t want to be alone...¡¯

    Everard then started to pull himself forward in the hopes of breaking the chain and running away from there.

    However, the cuffs were designed in such a way that the more one would try to get out of it, the tighter it would be.

    Nheless, Everard turned to face the wall and grabbed the chain of one of his wrists with both of his hands. Then he clung onto that chain and tried to pull the chain by putting the force of his whole body weight in it.

    The ring on the wall to which that chain was attached creaked a little.

    For a moment there, Everard¡¯s hopes went up. He believed that he could break free.

    But the very next moment, his efforts went down the drain when his shoulder dislocated.

    ¡°Arghhh! Son of a-¡±

    He copsed down on the floor again, his back mmed hard against the stones.

    Everard had forgotten the instructions given by his father and Jerome. His mind was not in the right state to be able to think rationally.

    Rather than trying to give in to the overwhelming wave of emotions that were trying to sweep him off, he did his best to resist it.

    He was breathing in and out of his mouth, trying to contain the inexplicable amount of pain that he was feeling all over his body at the moment. His broken bones needed to reform into the shapes of the bones of the wolves. However, Everard was using all his willpower to stop the bones from reforming and reattaching themselves.

    Everard continued doing that for more than half an hour. He was not allowing his body to go with the flow.

    He was still lying t on the cold floor. He was covered in sweat and tears, his long hair was all damp, and his clothes were tattered. His body looked as though someone was trying to butcher him into pieces but left after breaking his bones instead.

    Suddenly, he felt something hurling inside his stomach. He gagged and felt something warm running up to his throat, but he tried to hold it in.

    He had been trying to withstand the transformation for so long that his internal organs had ruptured.

    A mouthful of blood came gushing out of his mouth. He coughed uncontrobly and spat the blood on the ground.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± He was shocked to see the blood he just vomited.

    ¡ª

    On the other end of the dungeon, Ruby was in no better condition than Everard.

    She was covered in sweat, and her wrists and ankles were bleeding because she also had been struggling to get out of the chains that bound her.

    Earlier, she was listening to the heart-wrenching calls of Everard.

    However, she wasn¡¯t able to answer because before being tied up, she had thought that it was a good idea to gag her mouth with clothes.

    After trying for all this time, she was finally able to spit the cloth out of her mouth, because her jaw snapped wide open.

    She was in so much pain that she used that jolt of agonizing sensation to shout Everard¡¯s name as loudly as she could.

    ¡°Eeeeeeeeeve!¡±

 Chapter 162

    162 Dessert

    While the Kingdom of Xanmar was drowned in agonizing screams and howls, the Kingdom of Sorvando was flourishing under the beautiful moonlight.

    The vampires especially liked to stroll during the full moon nights because those nights were too beautiful not to enjoy.

    And among such vampires, Caspian was also one of those who admired the serene moon and the lovely night.

    After ordering themanders to patrol the borders and watch out for any possible intrusion, Caspian was walking down the corridor that led to his chambers.

    While walking, he met with Percy and asked the head servant, ¡°Did you prepare everything that I asked for?¡±

    Percy was walking with his hands behind his back, a step behind the King. He gave a gentle nod and answered, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. Everything has already been prepared. I hope the setting will be to your liking.¡±

    Percy couldn¡¯t see it, but the King was smiling ear to ear. He already looked excited.

    However, Caspian didn¡¯t disy the excitement in his voice while he further spoke, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I like it or not. If the Queen likes it, then I will be pleased as well.¡±

    ¡°Ti also helped in selecting the variety of dishes as well as with the decorations. So, I would like to assume that everything is to the Queen¡¯s liking,¡± Percy replied reassuringly.

    .....

    In his heart, Percy was hoping that the Queen would like the things that the King had asked to be prepared. If she did not, it would be he who would get scolded by the King.

    Caspian nodded and then gestured for Percy that he was dismissed.

    After reaching his chamber, Caspian went through his usual night routine of having his dinner and then taking a bath.

    This time though, instead of changing into a nightrobe, Caspian changed into another fresh set of formal outfits. He wore a white shirt with a pair offortable ck trousers. He also wore a ck waistcoat that had intricate patterns made out of golden threads, and a pair of ck leather boots.

    Caspian also asked the maids to do his golden hair. He then checked himself in the mirror. He looked at his own reflection and proudly smirked. He didn¡¯t even shy away from praising himself, ¡®Thanks to my parents for blessing me with these good gics. I can simply charm my wife with my handsome face.¡¯

    He picked up a bottle of perfume from his dressing table and then sprayed a few puffs of perfume on his neck and his wrists.

    He looked at the mirror onest time before turning around and rushing down the gallery.

    ¡°Anna... I¡¯ming in,¡± he announced his presence after reaching outside his wife¡¯s door. And then he entered the room without bothering to wait for his wife¡¯s reply.

    Anastasia was sitting down on the couch of her antechamber while facing the main door. Even at this hour, she was so immersed in her books that she hadn¡¯t heard Caspian calling her from outside.

    When she suddenly heard therge door creaking open, she was a little startled.

    But sheposed herself quickly when she saw her husband walking in, looking as if he was ready to go somewhere, and smelling as if he was carrying a whole garden of flowers with him.

    Caspian had thought that his wife woulde running to him and hug him the moment she would see him. However, it was Caspian who looked at his wife as if he was enchanted, and then swooshed to stand in front of his wife in the next second.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t bored alone, were you?¡± he asked while holding out his hand for his wife.

    Anastasia showed the book to her husband and teasingly said, ¡°I was busy with your rival. It offered me goodpany.¡±

    Caspian instantly rolled his eyes and pretended to turn on his heels.

    Anastasia burst intoughter at that reaction from her husband.

    Caspian also turned to face Anastasia again whileughing, and still holding out his hand.

    Anastasia quickly put the book aside and took her husband¡¯s hand. Once she was up on her feet, she couldn¡¯t help but admire her husband¡¯s beautifullybed blond hair and his skin that appeared smoother than usual.

    Caspian put his wife¡¯s palm on his shoulder and then immediately covered his face with his palm. ¡°Careful, wife. You might hurt your eyes if you keep on staring at my dazzling face for too long.¡±

    Anastasia chuckled at that self-praise of her husband. She grabbed Caspian¡¯s wrist and pulled his hand away from his face. ¡°Someone¡¯s in a good mood today,¡± she mumbled while staring into her husband¡¯s gorgeous eyes.

    She then stood on her toes and gave a quick peck to her husband, surprising him, and making him think that it was the result of all the effort that he put into readying himself.

    Caspian leaned down to steal another kiss from his wife and then whispered in her ear while making sure that his cold lips brushed against her ear, ¡°I¡¯m always in a good mood at night. I get toe to your chamber and spend the night cuddling with you... And I also get to do a lot of other fun things.¡±

    He then looked at his wife and yfully winked. A smile automatically formed on his lips because his wife was already blushing as though that was the most embarrassing thing that she ever heard.

    She further covered her face with both of her hands when she felt that her husband¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t leaving her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say such things out of the blue, Caspian,¡± she chirped like a tiny bird.

    The shyness of his wife had always been Caspian¡¯s weakness because he always felt like taking it as a challenge and making her want him. He took a deep breath and controlled his urge to lift his wife in his arms and rush inside the bedroom.

    ¡°Anna.¡± He held Anastasia¡¯s chin and made her look at him. He looked into her emerald green eyes and then asked her before he got lost in the depth of her eyes, ¡°Did you have your dinner?¡±

    Anastasia could only gulp and shake her head when she was under that captivating gaze of her husband.

    Caspian¡¯s gaze moved from her eyes to her lips. He gently brushed his thumb across his wife¡¯s lips and whispered in his ragged breath, ¡°I have prepared the dinner for you in a wonderful location. But I will take you there only if you agree to be my dessert.¡±

 Chapter 163

    163 Absolute Darkness

    ¡°Eeeeeeeeeve!¡±

    Everard heard the agonizing scream that came from a distance.

    ¡°Ruby?¡± he mumbled in a breathless whisper, and he immediately coughed up blood again.

    ¡°Ru-¡± he tried to call her name so as to make her aware of his location, and to make her believe that he was doing okay. However, he entered a coughing fit again and vomited a lot of blood.

    ¡°Everaaaaard!¡±

    He heard her desperate scream again. He could tell from her voice that she was also having great difficulty turning.

    He pressed his forehead on the floor and spat out the leftover blood from his mouth. He then bit his lower lip and used his dislocated shoulder to push himself up from the floor.

    It hurt so bad that he bit his own lips while trying to suppress the pain and the screams. The wound on his lips was, however, nothingpared to the broken bones and ruptured organs of his.

    He was now crouching down on his broken legs, taking in short painful breaths, and contemting what he was supposed to do next.

    .....

    ¡°Argh!¡± he rested his forehead back on the floor when he felt his stomach hurling again.

    He grimaced in pain and closed his eyes tightly to drop the tears that were making his vision blurry. He could now see the pool of blood that he had already vomited.

    ¡®At this rate, I am going to die tonight!¡¯ he screamed in his mind.

    For a split second, he was able to recall his father and what he had said before he walked out of his father¡¯s chamber.

    He closed his eyes and lightly banged his forehead on the floor. ¡®Right! I am not supposed to fight this pain and this overwhelming feeling.¡¯ He kept on taking short breaths through his mouth and kept on repeating a word, ¡®Right... Right... Right...¡¯

    Everard was trying his best to fight the pain until now. But now that he remembered, he decided to embrace the pain.

    He clenched his jaw and shouted in his mind as if he was shouting to that other part of him that was eager to take control, ¡®Hurt me as much as you can! Bring it on!¡¯

    He suddenly let his stiff body loosen up and whispered, ¡°Take the reins...¡±

    And as if onmand, his whole body started to shudder.

    In the next moment, he felt as if he was being crushed by a grown elephant because he could feel and hear almost all of the bones in his body breaking, cracking, and popping.

    ¡°Arghhhhhhh... Nooooo... Ughhh...¡± he kept on screaming in anguish and squirming on the floor.

    He wished that his pain would go away, but it only kept on escting. At one point, he wished that the angel of death woulde to him and take his soul. He felt that death would be hundred times easier than going through with the transformation.

    For a split second, the noise of his bones cracking suddenly stopped. He sighed and thought that he made it, he thought that he was now a wolf. But could he be any more wrong?

    The very next moment, he could feel his bones reattaching and healing on their own. Not just that, he could feel his muscles tearing apart and then healing again.

    The pain became so unbearable that he could feel his consciousness dwindling.

    And suddenly, everything turned ck.

    Everard was scared by that sudden darkness. He looked around and tried to find at least a tiny flicker of light. But he was unsessful.

    ¡°Hello?¡± his voice echoed as though he was in arge hall. ¡°Anybody there?¡± he asked, but there was no answer.

    He then tried walking around in order to find a door, a wall, or anything that he could touch.

    ¡°Hello?¡± he shouted as loudly as he could.

    But he couldn¡¯t hear anything except the sshing sound that he produced while walking on what felt like water that came to his ankle.

    Even after what felt like a couple of hours, Everard was still walking aimlessly in that dark room. Neither did hee across any door to get out of that room, nor did he find anyone to whom he could ask for help.

    He became so frustrated and felt so enraged that he looked up and roared. And he screamed for help, ¡°For heaven¡¯s sake! If anyone is listening to me then get me out of here!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness?¡±

    Everard suddenly felt goosebumps running through his whole body when he heard the most soothing voice in the whole world.

    He almost teared up with happiness when he asked back, ¡°Ruby? Is that you? Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    He could feel the relief with which she said that word. And immediately after, he could hear her sniffling and sobbing.

    ¡°Ruby?¡± He furrowed his brows in worry and instantly asked, ¡°Where are you?¡±

    ¡°In the dungeon...¡± came the short reply.

    Everard didn¡¯t know how he was going to get to her, but he instinctively replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I aming to get you.¡±

    Out of nowhere, Everard suddenly saw a huge door forming in front of him.

    The door unlocked on its own. A bright yellow light entered through the door, almost blinding him.

    Everard looked around and realized that he was still there in the same dungeon cell where Jerome had locked him.

    He blinked a few times because he felt as if something was wrong with his eyes. But nothing changed, so he didn¡¯t dwell much on it.

    Suddenly, he felt this unparalleled urge deep down in his heart.

    ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯ he grimaced and asked himself.

    At first, he thought that he was hungry. But that was not it. Then he thought that he was in pain. But that was not pain either. The feeling was so new to him that he felt this extreme difort when he couldn¡¯t figure out what he was feeling.

    He felt as if he needed something... As if he wanted something.

    However, he didn¡¯t know what that thing was.

    ¡°Eve...¡± Ruby¡¯s pain-filled whisper echoed in his head.

    Almost instantly, he got overwhelmed by that new feeling.

    His mind, his heart, his body, his whole existence desired something very badly.

 Chapter 164

    164 Insatiable Desire

    Everard closed his eyes tightly and shook his head to try and shake off that feeling overwhelming feeling. However, the desire that sprouted from the deepest corner of his soul couldn¡¯t be shaken off that easily.

    ¡®What is this feeling?¡¯ he asked himself breathlessly. He could hear his own breath so loudly that it drowned everything else, even his heartbeat that was drumming inside his chest. ¡®Why do I feel like I am going to be swallowed whole?¡¯

    Everard gulped hard a few times in an attempt to moisten his parched throat. But that only hurt his throat further and he ended up gasping for breath.

    As he had thought, that feeling slowly started to take over all his senses. He started to feel light-headed, his vision started to get blurry, and his whole body started to sweat profoundly.

    For a second, he thought that he was going back to that dark ce, wherever it was.

    He wasn¡¯t ready to go back to the same ce from where he had just barely escaped. ¡®No, no, no! I can¡¯t get stuck in that wet and dark ce again!¡¯ He abruptly pushed himself up from the ground.

    To his surprise, he wasn¡¯t feeling one bit of pain in his body unlike how he had felt before cking out.

    He looked down at his hand to finally realize that he had woken up in his wolf form. He took a moment to gaze at hisrge paws, the shiny ck fur, sharp ws... and the tight cuffs around his legs.

    He disregarded the cuffs and tried extending and retracting his ws. He was further surprised to see how easily he was able to control his ws as though he had done that countless times already.

    .....

    The brief moment of rity vanished when he was again overtaken by that same insatiable desire. He didn¡¯t know what it was that he wanted. All he knew was that he wanted something, now. And he knew that to get that thing, he had to break free from his chains and get out of the dungeon.

    He knew that the thing that he desired was out there somewhere. He could feel something tugging on his heart.

    Without wasting a breath, Everard turned to face the wall. His whole body started to heat up and shudder because of the anger that he was feeling after looking at those heavy chains that were used to tie him up like some cattle.

    He red at those chains with his eyes that looked like burning embers in the dimly lit dungeon. If it was a person who he was ring at with those eyes, they would have wet themselves in fear.

    Everard aggressively growled while baring all his fangs, and he leaped forward to bite the ring that was holding the chains to the wall. He couldn¡¯t bite through that thick iron ring, but he was able to cling onto it using his fangs.

    ¡®Pull it!¡¯ he screamed at himself.

    He didn¡¯t care if he lost all his fangs because he guessed that they would be back the next time he would transform. The only thing that he cared about was getting out of there and following whatever was pulling him.

    He quickly pressed all four of his legs on the wall and pushed himself back with great force.

    ng!

    The iron ring dropped on the stone floor, and along with it fell two of the chains that were linked to the cuffs of Everard¡¯s left limbs.

    He repeated that same tactic and pulled out the other iron ring as well.

    Though the cuffs were still tightly sped around all his limbs, he was now at least not attached to the wall. So, the moment the other iron ring dropped on the floor, without sparing a second to think, Everard leaped on all his fours and ran towards the door.

    Bam!

    He rammed his whole body against the door with such a great force that, though the door was made out of the strongest and thick pieces of wood, it broke right in the middle. But the crack on the door was too small for his enormous body to slip through.

    ¡°Hold the door!¡± Everard heard someone shouting out the order from afar, and almost instantly, he heard several footsteps marching.

    As the footsteps outside approached closer to the cell he was in, Everard backed off a little so as to gain the momentum for his next attack on the door. He could already see a few guards lining up in front of the door with their backs pressed against the door.

    He let out a loud growl to warn those guards. But when they didn¡¯t heed his growl, he bent his front legs a little and took a leap again. He mmed his body at such a great speed and used so much force that he sent the door flying, along with the guards who were standing in front of it.

    ¡°Stop the Crown Prince!¡± Everard heard someone shouting from behind.

    So, he immediately picked up his pace and ran even faster.

    Far ahead, he saw two of the guards turning into wolves right before his eyes.

    One of them kept on standing right on the narrow corridor of the dungeon, waiting to ambush the Crown Prince, while the other ran forward to block the stairs that led them out of the dungeon.

    Everard turned his head to look behind him. A lot of guards were running after him while trying to grab the chains that were still attached to his limbs.

    He wished that they all would leave him alone. He was already feeling overwhelmed by that strange feeling in his heart, he didn¡¯t need everyone to work together and further overwhelm him.

    Before any one of them could get to him, Everard pushed himself further and ran straight ahead at a greater speed than before. Just when the wolf that was running in his direction thought that it had him, Everard jumped above that wolf and quickly took the stairs.

    Now that he was out in the open, the moonlight caressed his ck fur and made him shine even in the night. For a brief second, he looked up at the beautiful full moon. The full moon looked so captivating that he couldn¡¯t resist howling to the moon.

    He could hear a lot of other wolves following his suit and howling simultaneously.

    He, on the other hand, continued running like a blur of shadow across the moonlit path.

    Everard didn¡¯t know how but he felt that his feet were taking him exactly where he needed to be. The closer he got to the other side of the castle, he could sense the strong invisible force drawing him closer.

    Jerome had previously ordered the guards to block the exit of the castle thinking that the Crown Prince might try to run toward Sorvando again. He had also ordered more guards to be stationed in front of the exit as well as around the walls of the castle.

    However, unlike what Jerome had predicted, the Crown Prince broke into the castle and headed towards the other entrance of the dungeon.

    After heading down the stairs and taking a few turns, Everard forcefully broke the door and barged into one of the cells of the dungeon before anyone could catch up to him.

    However, he suddenly stopped right where he was when his amber eyes fell on another majestic wolf.

    It was wearing a coat of white fur with a few spots of red on it.

    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Everard heard the soft voice in his head.

    And almost instantly, he felt as though everything finally fell into the right ce.

    Everard closed the gap between himself and Ruby. He looked at her with awe and breathlessly replied, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

 Chapter 165

    165 Affection

    Before Everard even realized it, he was already standing very close to Ruby. He closed his eyes and didn¡¯t hesitate even once before rubbing his forehead against Ruby¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± he repeated again.

    Though he didn¡¯t speak, Ruby was able to hear Everard¡¯s voice in her head, just like how she had heard his plea a while ago, even before she hadpletely turned into a wolf.

    After listening to his voice in her head, she had felt extreme anguish and frustration deep down in her heart. His initial plea had bothered her so much that she couldn¡¯t help but think that Everard was in trouble somewhere.

    Although Everard had said that he woulde to her, she felt as if something was terribly wrong with him.

    She wanted to escape and find him, and if needed, rescue him. But she couldn¡¯t do that since she was chained in some cold dungeon. That had motivated her to make her transformation process quicker. She used every bit of willpower and courage to embrace the pain and eventually, embrace her new identity.

    However, by the time she transformed, she had exhausted every bit of energy in her. She couldn¡¯t even move for a few good minutes.

    ¡°Eve...¡± that was when she had whispered his name in her mind.

    And that was when she was consumed by such an overwhelming sensation that she had felt as though she would die if she didn¡¯t see Everard sooner. She was sweating and squirming on the floor while trying her best to suppress that agonizingly ticklish feeling deep down in her heart.

    .....

    When that feeling didn¡¯t fade away, she had tried and tried to get out of her chains, however, all her efforts were in vain.

    Before she could break herself out of those chains, Everard was standing right in front of her in his captivating wolf form. An overwhelming sense of relief and satisfaction washed over her heart. Her amber eyes glistened with tears upon seeing Everard, and she automatically eximed, ¡°You¡¯re here!¡±

    When he looked into her eyes with relief and appreciation, she couldn¡¯t be any happier. And what more? He even walked up to her and started showing his affection by rubbing his forehead with hers.

    ¡®Affection...¡¯ she thought to herself. And suddenly, a question arose in her heart, ¡®Is he showing his affection, or is he simply relieved that I didn¡¯t die while transforming?¡¯

    She didn¡¯t know how to separate her thoughts and how to telepathicallymunicate with Everard yet. Until a while ago, she had no idea that telepathy was even possible.

    Due to theck of practice to separate those two, she had identally voiced those questions out loud to Everard.

    She was startled when Everard¡¯s voice echoed in her mind, ¡°Both.¡±

    Ruby sharply breathed in and turned into a statue with embarrassment.

    Thankfully, or not so thankfully, her face was saved when a bunch of wolves as well as guards came rushing down to the dungeon.

    Everard quickly turned his re toward the cell¡¯s door while also giving a low growl.

    His one look was enough of a warning to them and make everyone stop right outside the door. No one dared to enter the cell. They were also not in a hurry to catch Everard because he was already inside a cell now, and they all were standing at the only exit.

    Everard kept on ring at them and tried to give them an order to leave him alone. Now that he was with Ruby, he didn¡¯t want anyone of them to stand there and be an eyesore.

    ¡®I am in full control of my wolf form. You all may leave,¡¯ Everard ordered those guards who were cautiously looking at him and Ruby.

    However, none of them moved an inch.

    Everard then turned his re to the wolf who had tried to jump him earlier. He triedmunicating with that wolf thinking that he wasn¡¯t able to use telepathy with those who were in their human form. Still, there was no reply from that wolf as well.

    ¡®Ugh! What the hell is this? Are you all deliberately not following my order or are you all deaf?¡¯ Everard screamed in his mind.

    Not one of them moved a hair or took one step back.

    Everard then sighed in his mind and simply turned around with the intention of ignoring them until they left.

    He was a little startled when his eyes fell on Ruby though. She was curling on the floor while burying her head under her fluffy tail and was also softly whimpering.

    ¡°Ruby, are you alright?¡± he asked her. Seeing her in distress, he evenforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t do anything to you when I am standing right here.¡±

    Ruby gently lifted her head and looked at the ck wolf who was standing not too far away from her. Then she revealed what was actually bothering her, ¡°I am not yet used to hearing your voice in my head. So, I was a bit startled when you screamed.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear lord!¡± Everard drooped his head low when he found out that it was him who was giving headache to her. ¡°I am really sorry. I didn¡¯t realize that.¡±

    Everard suddenly felt like sitting down beside Ruby and cuddling with her. Her fur looked really warm, soft, and... inviting.

    He looked at the door again. Everyone was still standing right there as if they all had suddenly turned into marble statues. He rolled his eyes and without caring about what they would think of him, he went and made himselffortable beside Ruby.

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Ruby abruptly lifted her head and tried to give space for the Crown Prince.

    ¡°No, stay,¡± he whispered.

    His whisper resonated in her head so softly that she felt as though he was directing whispering to her ears. She felt goosebumps running down her body, and it also stirred up something dormant in her heart.

    She was, however, wary of all the people watching them. ¡°But they all are-¡±

    ¡°No buts. I want to sleep. I am tired,¡± Everard quickly shut her down so that she wouldn¡¯t try to skid further away from him.

    Ruby gulped and quickly buried her face under her fluffy tail again. She couldn¡¯t disobey him.

    The Crown Prince smiled inwardly and didn¡¯t shy away from shifting closer to Ruby.

    Those who were quietly watching the Crown Prince until now quickly turned their heads away. Some cleared their throats and walked away from the door, while some of those who were standing at the front hastily shut the broken door.

    One of them even picked up the piece of wood that had fallen out of the door and then tried his best to put it back temporarily.

    Everard was finally happy that they all were out of his sight.

    He was, however, serious about cuddling with Ruby. But he wasn¡¯t quite able to find afortable position and kept on shifting here and there around Ruby.

    While he was doing that, Ruby was holding her breath and trying not to let her heart explode due to extreme excitement.

    Everard finally made himselffortable by spooning with her from behind and resting his head on her shoulder.

    ¡°Let me sleep for a while,¡± he whispered again.

    Ruby could only hold her breath and slightly nod her head in approval.

 Chapter 166

    166 Ominous Thing

    ¡°Jerome, where are you?¡± King Alfred asked in his wheezing whisper after he regained consciousness for the umpteenth time. He was cking out and then regaining his consciousness every now and then.

    The King looked much worse than he looked just a while ago before the full moon shone. Though he was able to revert back to his human form, his body didn¡¯t have enough energy to heal all those broken bones and torn muscles.

    And because of that, Alfred still had a broken rib, a twisted calf, and a toe that still resembled a wolf¡¯s.

    Jerome was unable to bear that pitiful state of his alpha, and thus, he was standing in front of the window while staring at the full moon with his glistening eyes. And he was wondering what sin his alpha hadmitted for him to be treated this badly by the Moon Goddess.

    When he heard the King, he quickly sniffled and then turned to look at him. ¡°I am right here, Your Majesty,¡± he answered and closed the distance between him and the King¡¯s bed.

    The King turned his gaze at the shadowy figure. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to make sure that it was Jerome. However, all he could see was the tall figure hovering near his bed.

    ¡°Jerome? It is you, right?¡± Alfred coughed a few times, blood sprinkled out of his mouth every time he coughed.

    Jerome quickly grabbed a kerchief and wiped the King¡¯s mouth. ¡°Yes, Alpha, it¡¯s me.¡±

    He felt as though someone had stabbed his heart with a silver dagger when he saw the King fighting to catch his breath. He could even hear the King¡¯s chest rattling when he breathed.

    .....

    Alfred, on the other hand, felt a bit relieved to hear Jerome¡¯s voice. ¡°Hmm... Stay where I can sense you, Jerome. My senses aren¡¯t working properly.¡± He then closed his eyes to catch his breath after speaking the whole two sentences.

    Jerome could see the King shuddering with cold and in a lot of pain, so he pulled the nket up to his neck and made sure to properly tuck him in.

    He then turned to look at a doctor and asked, ¡°You had stacks of medicines that could help relieve the pain, didn¡¯t you? The pain seems to be getting worse for him. Will you give a dose to him now?¡±

    The doctor gently bowed and answered, ¡°We gave a strong dose to him the moment he reverted back to being a human, but it seems like that medicine isn¡¯t working for him anymore.¡±

    ¡°Then give him another one!¡± Jerome shouted in an irate voice. ¡°Can¡¯t you see how much pain he is in?¡±

    The doctor took a deep breath and softly replied to Jerome, ¡°There is another pain relief that I¡¯ve prepared by using the Devil¡¯s Trumpet. It is much stronger than thest one that we administered on His Majesty, but...¡±

    ¡°But?¡± Jerome frowned at the doctor and asked.

    The doctor nervously scratched his head and replied, ¡°But there are some unpleasant side effects, like entering a state of delirium and dysphoria. So, I wouldn¡¯t rmend it to the King.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter as long as it lessens his pain,¡± grumbled Jerome.

    However, the King, who had been silently listening to their conversation until now, waved his hand and spoke under his breath, ¡°Jerome, it¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to leave this world without knowing whether I am dreaming or whether it is happening for real.¡±

    Jerome turned to face the King and looked at him with immense pain in his eyes. ¡°You will be fine, my King. Don¡¯t say such ominous things when the Moon Goddess is watching you.¡±

    Alfred gulped and forced his eyes open. And he spoke in his ragged voice, ¡°You can deny it as much as you want, Jerome. But I can sense my life slowlying to an-¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that!¡± Jerome abruptly cut him off and said consolingly, ¡°You will be fine once the full moon passes. So, please, don¡¯t lose your will just yet. You have to hold on for a bit longer.¡±

    The King closed one of his eyes when a droplet of sweat trickled down from his brow and entered his eye.

    There was a deafening silence in the room for a while.

    After some time, the King cleared his throat and then ordered Jerome with extreme difficulty, ¡°Bring my son to me, will you? I want to see him onest time.¡±

    Jerome clenched his jaws and closed his eyes. He was unable to bear what the King had just said to him. The King sounded so sure about not surviving the night that it crushed Jerome to his core. He wanted to argue with Alfred and say that he was going to be fine when the morning arrived. However, deep down in his heart, he could sense that the King was right.

    He forcefully swallowed his tears and then bowed to his alpha, ¡°I will bring him here at once.¡± He turned toward the door and stepped out of the King¡¯s chamber to fetch the Crown Prince.

    However, after taking a few steps down the corridor, he didn¡¯t feel like leaving the King alone, not even for a few minutes. So, he stopped a guard who was on patrol duty and then ordered him, ¡°Bring the Crown Prince to the King¡¯s chamber at once. It¡¯s a direct order from the King.¡±

    The guard bowed to Jerome and instantly ran in the opposite direction to where he wasing from.

    ¡ª

    ¡°What do you mean by I have to be your dessert?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian in a breathless whisper, even though she was clearly aware of what he meant by that.

    Caspian swiftly picked his wife up in his arms with great ease. He had a lot of practice by now.

    He gave a meaningful smile at her and whispered, ¡°You know what I mean, Anna. I know you do.¡±

    Anastasia simply snuggledfortably in her husband¡¯s arms and said nothing.

    ¡°I will take it as a ¡®yes¡¯ then,¡± Caspian said with an expectant smile on his face.

    He then headed for the window instead of the door. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know that Caspian was going to take her flying.

    Anastasia put her arms around her husband¡¯s neck and tightly clung to him.

    When she braced herself, Caspian gave her a heads-up, ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to be in the air now.¡±

    After getting a nod from Anastasia, Caspian flew under the glistening moonlight with his dearest person close to his chest. The soft breeze was gently blowing her hair, causing hervender aroma to embrace his senses.

    Caspian looked at his wife¡¯s angelic face; the moonlight was bringing out the best of her beauty. And the way she was closing her eyes and pressing her head into his chest stirred up genuine happiness in his once callus heart that had now started to soften.

    ¡®Nothing can be any more perfect than this,¡¯ he thought to himself as he flew toward their destination.

 Chapter 167

    167 Fervent Kiss

    It didn¡¯t take long for Caspian and Anastasia to reach their destination.

    Caspian hovered in the air for a while; his gaze was on the beautiful setting that Percy and the others had prepared for the two of them. This was his first time seeing it and he was absolutely satisfied with how the setting appeared from where he was at the moment.

    Before lowering down, Caspian asked Anastasia, ¡°Wife, will you open your eyes? I want to show you something before wend.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already arrived?¡± Anastasia asked in a surprised tone because she had thought that Caspian was going to take him somewhere far. But they came to a halt after flying for what felt like a minute or two.

    ¡°Yes, we are here. You haven¡¯t gotten habituated to flying with me yet.¡± Caspian replied without taking his gaze away from the setting below, ¡°So, I didn¡¯t want you to feel dizzy the whole time you sat down to have your dinner.¡±

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t appreciate her husband enough for keeping such little things in mind.

    When she opened her eyes, she looked around and found out that they were near the keep that was on the west side of the Kilerth castle. ¡°So, where are we going to sit down?¡± she asked.

    Caspian turned a little to the side so that Anastasia could see the roof of the keep.

    Anastasia¡¯s jaw instantly dropped and her eyes sparkled when she saw therge heart shape made out of hundreds of red rose petals.

    .....

    Ti, along with a few other maids, had spread arge white sheet there on the roof for the King and the Queen to lie down on. They had decorated that white sheet with rose petals to make the ambiance more romantic.

    Beside that heart, they had set up a small table with varieties of Anastasia¡¯s favorite food items. They had even prepared antern if the King and the Queen needed it. However, the silver light from the moon seemed more than enough to light up that whole ce and along with it, their moods.

    ¡°It looks so beautiful, Caspian...¡± Anastasia said with a bated breath. She turned to look at Caspian and grinned widely. ¡°This is such a great surprise! I didn¡¯t think that everything would be so...¡± She pressed her lips together and tightly closed her eyes as if she was trying not to burst with excitement.

    ¡°Everything would be so...?¡± Caspian asked while slowly and elegantly lowering down to the roof.

    Anastasia gazed at Caspian¡¯s eyes which were looking like a pair of crescent moons. She grinned again and mumbled in a low and embarrassed voice, ¡°...Romantic! The heart, the moonlight, the dinner.... It looks like something straight out of the romance novels and... and I never thought that I would be lucky enough to experience it.¡±

    Caspiannded right in the middle of that heart shape and gently put Anastasia back on her feet. He pinched her chin and made her look into his eyes. He bent a little closer to her face and whispered seductively, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that you never thought I could be this romantic?¡±

    Anastasia gently held Caspian¡¯s wrist and said while giggling like a happy child, ¡°Honestly... yes!¡±

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Caspian was seriously surprised at the honesty of Anastasia. He also joined in with Anastasia and started to chuckle. ¡°Well, then I am d that I proved you wrong.¡±

    He skillfully twisted his palm and held Anastasia¡¯s wrist instead of her chin. He then smoothly wrapped her arm around his nape and leaned forward. He looked deep into her eyes that were shining under the moonlight, and he asked in his hypnotizing voice, ¡°You like it then, huh?¡±

    Anastasia wrapped her other arm around his nape as well and gazed back into his charming red eyes. Caspian¡¯s cool breath was tickling her lips and neck so softly that it sessfully awoke the desire in her. She was more interested in tasting her husband than tasting the dinner which was now starting to get cold.

    Without breaking the passionate eye contact, she also replied in an equally mesmerizing voice, ¡°I like it. This will probably be one of the most memorable nights of my life.¡±

    Caspian ced one of his hands on her waist while the other at the back of her head. He stepped a little closer to her and said in a seductive whisper, ¡°Then I shall do everything in my power to make it that way.¡± His eyes moved from her eyes which were filled with desire to her plump and soft lips.

    Anastasia saw his eyes move. She slightly parted her lips to give an invitation to her husband.

    Caspian immediately leaned even closer to his wife¡¯s face, their lips a breath away from touching each other. But he didn¡¯t kiss her just yet. Rather, he listened to her melodious heartbeat, one of his favorite music these days.

    The wait and the tension in the air were too much to handle for Anastasia. Her heart didn¡¯t take much time to beat at an unprecedented rate.

    She began breathing in and out through her mouth, and as her hot breath caressed his neck, Caspian¡¯s desire also broke the walls.

    He was thinking of teasing her further by making her wait for a while more. However, he was pleasantly surprised when Anastasia pushed her heels off the ground and entangled her lips with his.

    Everything about his wife was so perfect that he found her to be irresistible, especially when she took initiative like this. By now, she had even learned how to skillfully use her sweet tongue to pry open his lips. And when that sweet taste of hers entered his mouth, he could barely keep on staying still.

    He tightened his arms around his wife and pressed her body into his. There was barely any space left between them for the air to pass through.

    He then fully opened his lips to let his wife in and do what she pleased. He was surprised at how she was pressing his head down with her hands and vigorously frolicking her tongue in his mouth. He was so aroused by the aggressiveness of his wife that he couldn¡¯t resist letting out a throaty moan.

    ¡°Mmmhh...¡± his moan reverberated on her lips, exciting her even more.

    After enjoying the kiss for quite a good while, suddenly, Anastasia pulled away from the kiss and gave a whimsical smirk to her husband.

    Caspian instantly raised one of his brows in amusement because he had never seen that... naughty look on her before.

    Before he could guess what she was about to do next, Anastasia spread out her arms as if she was a free bird. She started giggling uncontrobly and forcefully pushed herself backward, catching Caspian by surprise.

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa!¡± he tried holding his wife in ce, but then, he realized what his wife was trying to do.

    So, he let himself slip. He let her fall as well but used his arms to cushion hernding on those hundreds of fresh rose petals. Caspian also allowed himself to perfectlynd on top of her, without crushing her tiny frame.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a feisty one!¡± Caspian looked at her and said with a burst of surprisedughter.

    Anastasia shamelessly agreed, ¡°I am the wife of the feistiest vampire King. I have to act the part, right?¡±

    Caspian was dumbfounded. He simply kept on smiling ear to ear and looking at his precious wife. Had he known that a moonlit dinner would excite this bookworm so much, he would have arranged it daily, or at least whenever there was adequate moonlight brightening up the sky.

    Anastasia smiled and wrapped her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck again. And she pulled down her dumbfounded husband to give him the most fervent kiss ever.

    Caspian closed his eyes and dly allowed his wife to take control for once.

    He thought to himself while kissing her back with equal intensity, ¡®This has got to be the best day of my life yet. She is the epitome of perfection. How did I get so lucky?¡¯

 Chapter 168

    168 Under the Moon

    Anastasia and Caspian were now lying down hand-in-hand, breathless after the lengthy and fiery physical exertion.

    The white sheet that they were sleeping on had patches of pink and red smeared on it. The colors got transferred when all those red petals got crushed and some even pulverized under the constant thrusting and mming of their bodies on them.

    Anastasia had no idea where her husband had tossed the pieces of her gown. At the moment, she didn¡¯t care about them. As there was no one around to see, she was satisfied with barely covering her body with the sheer linen chemise that her husband had offered her after finishing their intense skin-to-skin exercise.

    The chemise fell down to her thighs; her smooth legs were glistening under the silvery light, and so were her thin arms and her slender neck.

    Though the cool breeze was blowing unhindered at this hour, her sweaty and hot body was pleased with it. The breeze would blow her unkempt dark ginger hair every now and then.

    A few locks of her hair suddenly floated along with the breeze and rested on Caspian¡¯s bare chest, but he didn¡¯t mind it or bothered to remove it.

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes were fixated on the full moon that still shone brightly, while Caspian¡¯s eyes were fixated on her face, which looked more beautiful than the moon.

    From the corner of her eyes, Anastasia could see that her husband had been intently gazing at her for a while now. A smile blossomed on her lips and she asked him softly, ¡°Do I look that captivating?¡±

    ¡°Is that even a question that you need to ask?¡± Caspian was quick enough to reply. "I can barely take my eyes off of you."

    Anastasia turned to look at him and gave him an appreciative smile.

    Caspian gently rubbed his thumb at the back of her hand and asked her, ¡°You must be hungry after all that heavy exercise earlier. Shall I ask the maids to heat up your dinner, or maybe, ask them to prepare something fresh?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Anastasia hummed for a while and replied while a yful smile danced on her lips, ¡°I¡¯m already full after eating you... However, you had your dessert. So, I guess I will also have some a whileter.¡± She instantly bit her tongue in embarrassment after hearing the words that came out of her mouth.

    Caspian burst intoughter. He shook his head and asked his wife while continuing tough, ¡°What did you eat for lunch today? Did you eat something funny? You have been acting strange today.¡±

    Anastasia shyly smiled and covered her face with the palm that wasn''t entangled with her husband''s palm.

    Caspian turned to face Anastasia and shifted closer in order to snuggle with his source of warmth. He spread out her arm in order to use it as the pillow, but he ended up resting his head on her soft chest.

    Anastasia stamped her lips on his disheveled blond hair and began softly caressing his head as well as his bare back.

    Caspian also put his arm around her and then closed his eyes.

    The two of them didn¡¯t share another word with each other. They simply enjoyed each other¡¯spany which brought sce to both of their hearts.

    After cuddling in silence for quite some time, Anastasia turned back to stare at the moon. She lifted her free hand in the air and spread her fingers as if she was going to capture the moon in her tiny palm.

    Caspian also followed her hand and looked up at the moon. ¡°You want to touch it?¡±

    ¡°I would touch it if I could,¡± Anastasia replied in her jolly voice while looking at the moon with one of her eyes closed and pretending to hold the moon between her fingers.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I cannot take you there to the moon, but I can definitely get you closer to it.¡± Caspian abruptly sat up and looked down at his wife. He then said with a huge grin on his face, ¡°How about a quick dance under the moon? Do you trust me enough to dance in the air?¡±

    Anastasia knitted her brows in tune and skeptically replied, ¡°Er¡­ I do trust you, but... the thought of dancing with no firm ce to put my feet on scares me a little.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Caspian immediately got up on his feet to gather the clothes that were scattered all over the roof.

    Anastasia sat up and keenly watched her naked husband picking up all of her clothes first.

    He brought that pile of clothes to his wife and knelt down in front of her. He rested his palms on Anastasia''s knees and then tried to convince her further, ¡°I won¡¯t spin you around or let you put a strain on your body. I can¡¯t exin it now, but I promise it will work. And of course, I would never let go of you.¡±

    Anastasia felt as if her heart just did a backflip inside her chest.

    ¡®Dancing under the moon¡­ in the air¡­. That¡¯s going to be even better than what was written in that romance novel I read!¡¯ she screamed with excitement in her mind.

    Caspian could clearly see the excitement on her face. She was smiling like a hopeless romantic. So, he squeezed her knees and said, ¡°Let me get dressed first. And I will help you with your gown.¡±

    Before Anastasia could nod her head, Caspian rushed like a gust of wind and ran around like a hurricane for a few seconds. After gathering his clothes, he began to dress himself up.

    Anastasia got up on her feet when Caspian was about to button up the cuffs of his shirt. ¡°Let me help you,¡± she extended her arms and offered to help.

    ¡°Sure, wife.¡± It was now his turn to grin like a hopeless romantic. He happily held out his arms.

    Anastasia helped him with his cufflinks and then also helped him to tuck his shirt inside his trouser.

    When her hand mistakenly touched his bottom, he jumped and teased his wife, ¡°Ow! You are enjoying this, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± Anastasia¡¯s hand moved faster than her brain, and she pped her husband¡¯s bottom. She was surprised by her own action, however, she acted as though she did that on purpose. She flipped her hair with some fake attitude and said, ¡°Maybe I am enjoying it. So what?¡±

    Caspian raised his brows and gave her a surprised look. He chuckled and said again, ¡°You definitely ate something funny in the afternoon.¡±

    She flipped her hair using her hand this time. She was constantly maintaining an absolutely straight expression on her face but was struggling to suppress herughter on the inside though.

    Caspian grabbed his wife¡¯s wrist and mmed her into his chest. He cupped her cheeks and pecked her lips. Then he yfully asked, ¡°Either that, or you are apletely different person who is disguised as my wife.¡±

    Anastasia was now unable to control herself and burst intoughter.

    After getting fully dressed, Caspian also helped Anastasia with her gown. He also ran his fingers through her messy hair, which was enough to make it look tidier than before.

    When both of them were ready, Caspian elegantly held out his hand while giving a subtle bow to his wife. Then he asked, ¡°My wife, may I have a dance with you?¡±

    Anastasia held his palm with equal elegance. She curtsied him and politely answered, ¡°Yes, my dear husband. I would love to have this dance with you.¡±

 Chapter 169

    169 Dancing in the Moonlight

    Caspian took Anastasia¡¯s hands and put them around his neck. He then grabbed his wife¡¯s tiny waist and asked her in a low, seductive whisper, ¡°Step on me.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Anastasia didn¡¯t know what he meant by that.

    Caspian tapped one of his feet and said while pointing his brows there, ¡°Step on my shoes. Don¡¯t worry about them getting dirty.¡±

    Anastasia did just as she was asked. She carefully adjusted both of her feet on his shoes while also making sure to hold him tightly with her hands.

    Caspian smirked in amusement when his short wife became rtively taller and her face was closer to his. After making sure that Anastasia wasn¡¯t going to slip off from his shoes, he whispered again, ¡°Here we go then.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath and braced herself for the flight. This time though, she kept her eyes open, and instead, gazed at her husband¡¯s perfect face as the two of them slowly began hovering in the air.

    Caspian was careful enough to fly as slowly as he could so that he wouldn¡¯t end up making his wife feel dizzy or cold.

    A few strands of hair fell on Anastasia¡¯s face and got stuck on hershes as they kept flying higher. She closed her eyes and tried shaking her head, but it wasn¡¯t working.

    ¡°Let me.¡± Caspian softly blew on her face. His heart skipped a beat when she gave an appreciative bright smile. ¡°Have I ever told you?¡± he asked.

    .....

    ¡°Told me what?¡± Anastasia slightly raised her brows, and the smile hadn¡¯t left her lips yet.

    ¡°That your smile is too captivating?¡± Caspian gave her apliment, finallying to a halt.

    Anastasia smiled even happily and said in her enchanting voice, ¡°Thank you! I like your smile as well.¡±

    ¡°I only smile for you,¡± came the simple reply. Then he teasingly said, ¡°Now stop looking at me for a second and look at the moon.¡±

    Anastasia giggled and turned her head to the side. The moon looked so close that she thought she could reach it if she extended her hand. ¡°Whoa! It looks so bright and pretty from up here.¡±

    Caspian smiled and replied without moving his gaze away from his wife¡¯s face, ¡°Yes, it looks really bright and pretty.¡±

    He then slowly began to sway his shoulders from side to side; she also automatically began to sway along with him.

    Though there were no live musical instruments ying for them, the whooshing sound of the wind, the soft rustling of the tree branches and leaves, the low chirping of the crickets, and the distant pping and cooing of the birds were more than the perfectbination of sounds for them to dance to.

    Caspian skillfully twirled around, shook his hips, and every now and then, he would lift themselves higher only to freefall for a brief second.

    At first, Anastasia was at her wits¡¯ end when he did that freefall move. However, she gradually got used to it and even liked the rush of adrenaline that she would feel at those exact moments.

    ¡°I see that you are enjoying it,¡± Caspianmented when his wife¡¯s grip around his neck wasn¡¯t stiff anymore, and the expression on her face went from being concerned and scared to being jolly and excited.

    Anastasia wriggled her body, somehow making that wriggle look really elegant, and then gave a nod. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve always wanted to do adventurous things but never could.¡± The pitch of her voice kept on increasing as she spoke, ¡°And this is the most daring, exciting, and the romantic thing that I have done until now. So, yes! I am enjoying this dance to my core.¡±

    ¡°And so am I.¡± Caspian remembered his wife once mentioning how she loved hearing adventure stories. He had seen her drowning herself in adventure novels more than in romance ones. He also recalled the time when he had made her a promise to take her on little adventures every now and then.

    He hadn¡¯t been able to do that with all the unfortunate things that kept happening to his wife and his Kingdom. He hoped that their bad time had passed now.

    Caspian lovingly looked deep into his wife¡¯s emerald eyes and then renewed his promise again, ¡°Let¡¯s do this more often. And I don¡¯t mean just this dance. Let¡¯s go on adventures. Let¡¯s travel together. You can try different foods, I can try you in different ways.¡±

    Anastasia tilted her head backward and giggled. Caspian couldn¡¯t resist that slender neck of his wife, so he leaned and went in to give a wet kiss on the hollow of her neck.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Anastasia grabbed Caspian¡¯s hair and quickly picked herself up.

    For a split second, she was reminded of the nightmare that she had a long time ago. She had seen Caspian sucking her dry and snapping her neck right under the moonlight. She recalled how she used to be scared of her husband.

    But now, there was love and only love for him in her heart.

    She gazed at her husband with love-filled eyes and thought, ¡®It¡¯s amazing how my worst nightmare mended itself and became my best reality.¡¯

    Caspian stole a kiss from her lips and resumed to excitedly recite all the things that he wanted to do with his wife. ¡°We can enjoy warm sunrise and beautiful sunset. We can enjoy the views from the mountains and enjoy the vastness of the oceans. I will teach you how to ride the horses, and I will teach you how to y in the snow.¡±

    He inhaled deeply and sighed, ¡°Oh! There are so many things that I want to do with you that even an eternity won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    Caspian looked at his wife¡¯s face and suddenly paused, his eyes almost looking moist.

    Anastasia could guess what her husband might have been thinking at the moment. So, before he got sad and the night turned sour, she tightened her hold around his neck and said with a smile, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want anything more from this life. Let¡¯s do all those things that you mentioned. I want to see what this world has to offer along with you.¡±

    Caspian quickly moved his hands from grabbing her waist to folding them around her hips, and swiftly picking her up. Anastasia was also quick to wrap her legs around his waist. Their eyes were on the same level now.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do all those things,¡± he whispered in her ear.

    He then gazed at his wife¡¯s soft lips. He bent forward and closed his eyes.

    Both of them allowed themselves to melt in each other¡¯s warm embrace and tender kiss.

    ¡ª

    While the King and the Queen were having the time of their lives, it was only fair that the soldiers were also doing the same.

    ¡°Hey! Look what we have here!¡± one of the soldiers was looking back at his friends and shouting.

    ¡°What? A dead deer?¡± the other soldier sarcastically shouted from quite afar.

    ¡°No, you fucking idiot!¡± the first soldier shouted back in an agitated voice. He turned to look at the tired young couple who were on the ground, covered in sweat and dirt, hugging each other while ring at him at the same time. ¡°It looks like we found ourselves some rats!¡±

    ¡°We are the vigers!¡± the young man assertively shouted at the vampire, unhinged pride being reflected in his voice.

    The vampire soldier cackled like a maniac and then spat on the ground near that young man¡¯s feet. ¡°If you were vigers, what would you do here in the middle of the forest that is also incidentally very close to the border?¡±

    ¡°We-¡±

    ¡°Uh-uh!¡± The soldier crouched down in front of the couple and red at them with his hungry red eyes. And he said in a voice that slowly crept under that couple¡¯s skin, ¡°And if you were the vigers, why were you running away? Why were you raising your voice just a while ago? Vigers know better.¡±

    He further protruded his fangs and smirked. And he scared them even more because he was enjoying the look on their faces. ¡°The vigers don¡¯t raise their voices on a vampire who can suck them dry.¡±

    He abruptly grabbed the woman by her neck.

    That woman immediately began to choke and struggle. The man tried to fight the vampire, but he was no match. He got pped right on the face so hard that he thought his cheek fell off.

    The vampire then snarled at that man while still choking that woman, ¡°I know that the two of you are rats from Xanmar, I can smell your filthy scent, although very subtle. Now tell me before I finish off your partner in crime. Who sent the two of you rats here?¡±

 Chapter 170

    170 A Slip-Up

    The young man, however, kept on denying the fact that he was a spy sent from Xanmar.

    ¡°Please! I am telling you that we are not spies.¡± That man crawled on his fours and fell on the vampire soldier¡¯s feet.

    He grabbed that vampire¡¯s leg and literally begged for mercy, ¡°We are the vigers. We¡¯ve been living in Sorvando for generations. You cannot do this to us! You cannot misuse your powers on innocent and powerless humans.¡±

    The woman was by now choking so badly that she could barely breathe. She was kicking her legs on the ground and was trying to scratch that vampire¡¯s wrist in order to get out of his hold, but to no avail.

    No matter how much he pleaded, it didn¡¯t look like that vampire was going to let go of his friend.

    That man couldn¡¯t bear to hear his friend gasping for air and fighting for her life. ¡°I told you we are just vigers!¡± he screamed at the top of his lungs and dug his teeth into that vampire¡¯s hard skin.

    However, all he did was barely put his saliva on that vampire¡¯s trousers and did nothing more than anger that soldier even further.

    ¡°You filthy animal!¡± that soldier left his grip on the woman and instead pushed that man back to the ground and strangled him. He gritted his teeth and furiously roared at that man, ¡°You know that I am the one with power here. Spit out the facts, or you two will be nothing more than mere casualties if you keep this up.¡±

    The young man¡¯s eyes looked all big and red as if they were going to pop out of his head at any second now. His friend was busy coughing and catching her breath, and wasn¡¯t able to fight for him at all.

    .....

    ¡°Calm down, Scott!¡± Commander Jasper leisurely walked towards the area where that struggle was happening.

    The man thought that he was going to be saved when he heard a mature voice, probably someone from a higher rank, asking his oppressor to calm down. However, his hopes of surviving crashed underwater when he heard what that man said next.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them the wrong way. If you are going to kill them, why not enjoy their blood first?¡±

    Scott looked into that struggling man¡¯s bulging eyes and gave an evil smirk. He loosened his grip around that man¡¯s neck and said to hismander, ¡°You¡¯re right,mander. It would be a waste to kill them just like that.¡±

    He then lifted that young man by grabbing the cor of his shirt and threw him beside his previous victim.

    That man bent down on his knees and began to cough violently. His friend wrapped him in her arms and immediately began to cry at their misfortune. The two of them didn¡¯t even dare to run or even crawl away because they were very well aware by now that it was going to be fruitless.

    Scott straightened his back and then went to stand by Jasper¡¯s side.

    Jasper asked without taking his eyes off of that couple, ¡°So, tell me more about them. I got words that you had detained some spies.¡±

    Scott also turned to re at that poor couple. Then he exined everything that had taken ce, ¡°I spotted them sneaking around in the forest and heading towards the vige area. At first, I thought that they were some random young couple who came to the forest to have some fun.¡±

    ¡°They could have been doing that. Kids these days...¡± Jasper snorted and shook his head while examining the couple¡¯s clothes.

    Both of them were wearing the types of clothes that humans from Sorvando normally wore. And judging by their light brown hair and pale skin, they looked like they were the natives of Sorvando.

    He wondered if Scott had made a mistake and had detained the real vigers.

    However, after a few incidents that had happened in the past, Jasper had decided to stop doubting Scott¡¯s idental luck. He had a tendency to solve most of the issues by ident, or rather, things would somehow automatically fall into ce when he was involved.

    So, before doubting Scott¡¯s im that those were the spies from Xanmar, Jasper wanted to hear Scott out, ¡°What made you doubt them? What gave way?¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have started running away from me if they had nothing to hide. The moment their eyes fell on me, they turned on their heels and ran.¡± Scott then suddenly wrinkled his nose in disgust and also said, ¡°When I caught them and got close to them, I could smell a foreign scent that was utterly disgusting.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Jasper furrowed his brows skeptically because he couldn¡¯t smell anything bad on them. He got closer to them and bent down to take a whiff.

    The couple hugged each other tighter and cowered in fear.

    Jasper looked back at Scott and said in a little disappointed voice, ¡°All I smell from them is the dirt and your scent.¡±

    Scott bowed and replied, ¡°That pungent smell was very subtle though. Maybe it wore off because of the struggle earlier.¡±

    Jasper sighed because he now believed that Scott had made a poor judgment this time. ¡°Humans do run from us when they see us at night, Scott!¡± he mumbled assertively.

    Themander was now thinking of letting them go.

    But the woman took that moment of silence to speak for herself and her friend, ¡°We weren¡¯t doing anything bad. We were simply picking up wild berries for our cookies.¡± She even took out a few squished berries from a small pouch around her waist and pleadingly asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you believing us?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your home then? And what¡¯s your rtionship with that man?¡± Jasper held his arms behind his back and asked in an authoritative voice. He thought that it was only fair to ask them a few basic questions before letting them go.

    The woman sniffled and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her gown, and then she replied, ¡°We live right there in the Nether Creek. And he is a good friend of mine, who is also from the same vige. He was helping me to pick the berries.¡±

    Jasper didn¡¯t understand why they needed to pick berries at night when the forest would be crawling with wild animals as well as a few vampires who loved taking strolls at night.

    Thus, he asked that woman, ¡°Why do you need berries that badly though?¡±

    Without being fazed or waiting to think for a second, she replied, ¡°I am leaving for my aunt¡¯s house tomorrow. And I wanted to bake some cookies to take as gifts for her.¡±

    Jasper nodded understandingly. ¡°Nothing like the home-baked cookies, I heard,¡± hemented, and then casually asked, ¡°So, where does your aunt live?¡±

    ¡°She lives in er...¡± that woman closed her eyes and knitted her brows for a split second as if she was trying to recall her aunt¡¯s address. But she immediately opened her eyes and confidently answered, ¡°She lives in Silver Keep.¡±

    Jasper was quick enough to catch that hesitation and subtle change in her expression. And when she mentioned that her aunt lived in Silver Keep, his eyes slightly widened with interest.

    The seed of doubt had now been nted in his mind. He cleared his throat and then tactically asked while making it sound as though he was simply curious, ¡°Oh, your aunt lives in Silver Keep? That town is really close to my house so I go there quite often. I might even know your aunt. What¡¯s her name, by the way?¡±

    The woman stole a quick nce at her friend and then answered that friendly-looking vampire, ¡°Her name is Trisha Thompson.¡±

 Chapter 171

    171 Goodbye

    ¡°Trisha Thompson, you say?¡± themander asked while raising his brows in delight.

    The woman nervously nodded her head and hoped that the vampires would now let them off their hook.

    The man, on the other hand, gulped in fear.

    ¡®She should have said any random name but that! Maybe we would have had a chance at surviving if she did that!¡¯ he screamed furiously in his mind. On the outside though, he didn¡¯t show any signs of panic and hoped that the older vampire was simply bluffing when he said that he knew everyone in that town.

    Jasper was indeed bluffing when he said that his house was near Silver Keep. He wanted to make them believe that he went there often and knew most of the townspeople.

    He was simply trying to catch them off-guard if that woman was lying to him about having an aunt in Silver Keep.

    However, it worked out better than he had thought since that woman was indeed caught off-guard and she ended up giving out the only real name of the resident of Silver Keep that she was aware of.

    And unfortunately for her, that was also the only name that themander recognized.

    Jasper nced at Scott; thetter was trying his best to hold in theughter. Themander gave a slight nod to Scott.

    .....

    The corner of Scott¡¯s lips slightly curved up to form a crooked smirk. He proudly puffed his chest, knowing that he was going to be appreciated by themanderter on.

    Jasper turned his gaze at that woman again and then spoke as if he hadn¡¯t suspected anything yet, ¡°Ah! I feel really sorry for Mrs. Thompson. Their grown-up daughter suddenly disappeared from their home. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson must be grieving their loss.¡±

    The woman suddenly realized her mistake. In her distress, she had given the names of the same person who she and her friend hade to retrieve.

    Before she would speak and do further damage, the man took over the conversation. ¡°Yes, they both are grieving their lost daughter. That¡¯s why she wanted to go there and stay in her aunt¡¯s home to offer somefort to them.¡±

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s very thoughtful of her.¡± Jasper slowly closed the distance between himself and the couple while speaking in his calm voice, ¡°But I guess you two haven¡¯t heard the news yet.¡±

    ¡°News? What news?¡± the man asked with genuine confusion. A subtle hint of fear was visible in his eyes.

    Jasper stood a foot away from those tensed and scared humans and then said in a rather whimsical tone, ¡°They don¡¯t live in Silver Keep anymore.¡±

    Both of the humans felt a pang in their hearts because ording to the information their Crown Prince had given them, the two of them lived in that town.

    The woman quickly wiped the sweat bead that trickled down her forehead and tried to cover up her error, ¡°Really? Last I heard from my aunt, she didn¡¯t mention anything about moving to another ce.¡±

    Jasper nodded his head as if he believed them. ¡°I bet she didn¡¯t mean to move to another location without informing her niece.¡±

    ¡°Wh-Where did they shift to then?¡± the man asked because he genuinely wanted to know. If the vampires bought their sob story then he thought that it would make their task easierter.

    However, he got petrified when Jasper suddenly protruded his fangs and snarled right in front of his face. And in the next second, he got pulled by his cor and mmed against the thick trunk of a tree. He struggled when he was back to getting choked again.

    Jasper was done ying games with those obvious rats who had breached Sorvando¡¯s territory.

    He dug one of his ws into that liar¡¯s neck, making sure not to pierce any vital nerves and kill him in an instant.

    ¡°Aahh...¡± that intruder gagged and gargled blood.

    The woman was now covering her mouth with her palm and was letting out a muffled scream. Tears started to fall down like a waterfall when she saw her friend¡¯s white shirt getting soaked with blood.

    ¡°Please leave him...¡± The woman mumbled while sobbing. She was still staying in her character, thinking that there was still a small percent chance that the older vampire didn¡¯t think of them as spies, and just wanted to snack on them. ¡°We did nothing wrong... Please... Why are you doing this to us?¡±

    Jasper looked over his shoulder and red at that woman with a disgusted look on his face.

    And he furiously yelled at that woman, ¡°You did nothing wrong? Do you want to y the innocence card right now? Okay! You wanted to know where your ¡®aunt¡¯ shifted to, right? Guess what, you dumb bitch? They both shifted to hell after their house burned down to the ground!¡±

    Both that man and the woman who came to rescue the Thompsons were stunned and terrified to their core.

    Jasper turned his crystal-red eyes at the man in front of him and snarled like a monster from Hell, ¡°And guess what? My boys had investigated the family of the Thompsons. And I know for sure that they had no living rtives. So, the moment your dumb friend lied that the Thompson was her aunt, she signed both of your death certificates then and there.¡±

    That young couple¡¯s face dropped in an instant.

    That man darted his tear-filled eyes around in search of his friend. He tightly shut his eyes and let the tears roll down once his blurry vision found her.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry...¡± he saw her mouthing to him.

    When they had signed up for this dangerous mission, both of them were also prepared to die. They were aware that a lot of things could go wrong, and unluckily for them, it did go wrong.

    ¡°Goodbye,¡± he mouthed back to that woman. He then rummaged his tongue inside his mouth to try and take out his fake tooth. That fake tooth was filled with a deadly poison that would cause instant death.

    ¡°Now, now...¡± Jasper noticed the man desperately trying to do something with his tongue. He correctly guessed what he was trying to do. So, he instantly let go of his grip around that man¡¯s neck and immediately clutched his cheeks to make him open his mouth.

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the hurry?¡± he mumbled to that man, and instantly ordered his soldier, ¡°Scott! Don¡¯t let that woman kill herself.¡±

 Chapter 172

    172 Free Meal

    The moment Scott got the order from hismander, he instantly whooshed near that sobbing woman and grabbed her by her hair.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± She opened her mouth wide when her hair suddenly got jerked back.

    Scott found a small tooth-like capsule on her tongue and was quick enough to bend her down and smack at the back of her head, making that tooth drop out of her mouth.

    The woman immediately stretched out her arms and tried to grab that poison from the dirt. Now that it was a hundred percent sure that the vampires were going to kill her, she wanted an easy death. But luck obviously wasn¡¯t on her side today.

    Scott¡¯s eyes were sharp and fast enough to notice what that woman was going to do. So, he dragged her away from that poison¡¯s reach and made her kneel in front of him.

    His killer instinct was back on the track again. He cackled like a psychopath and creepily hissed in that woman¡¯s ear, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you can get an easy death after trying to fool vampires.¡±

    By now, Jasper had also forcefully pulled out the poison from that man¡¯s mouth. The fact that the spies were ready to kill themselves was enough for Jasper to know that they wouldn¡¯t talk no matter how much they were tortured.

    Thus, he decided to kill the filthy spies since they wanted to die so badly.

    The King had also given them authority to kill all the intruders on sight. And Jasper didn¡¯t want to miss out on the free meal either.

    .....

    So, he grabbed that delicious-looking man¡¯s light brown hair and jerked his neck to the side. He gazed at the veins on that man¡¯s neck that were bulging so fast that it was really tempting.

    ¡®It would be a waste not to feed on him,¡¯ he thought.

    Jasper gave a smile and whispered to that man in his bone-chilling voice, ¡°You wanted to meet the Thompsons, right? Let me send you right after them.¡±

    ¡°What are you waiting for then? Kill me already!¡± the young spy shouted as if he wasn¡¯t scared of that vampire one bit.

    Jasper leaned closer to that man¡¯s neck, and whispered while smirking, ¡°I will. Don¡¯t worry about it. But just so you know, I will make sure to give you the most unpleasant death. You should have known better than to sneak into the Kingdom of Nightmares.¡±

    Before digging his fangs into his meal¡¯s neck, he ordered Scott, ¡°What are you waiting for, Scott? Enjoy your catch before it gets bitter.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,mander,¡± Scott excitedly bowed to Jasper. He saluted his luck because getting to directly sink fangs into the humans was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for lower-ranked vampires like him.

    He grabbed that petrified woman by her shoulder and tilted her head away. He then wasted no time in sinking his sharp and hungry fangs into the delicate skin of his prey.

    ¡°Aahhhhhhhh...¡± The woman¡¯s scream traveled far and wide in that quiet forest as her skin and muscle got torn apart without any mercy.

    Crows that had nestled down on the branches of the trees to rest for the night got startled by that shrieking scream. They flew out of the branches and started to hover above the trees while cawing loudly.

    That agonizing scream of that woman felt like satisfying music to Scott¡¯s ears. He was flying high up on cloud nine when that sweet and warm blood oozed into his mouth.

    ¡®Mmhh... This must be what heaven feels like...¡¯ he moaned and thought to himself as he let himself drown in ecstasy.

    Feeding from the pouch or cup could never top that ting feeling of directly feeding from their prey.

    Jasper also finally opened his mouth wide and sank his fangs right into the main arteries of that terrified man¡¯s neck.

    That man had thought that he could take the pain in and die a dignified death without screaming and giving satisfaction to those blood-drinking monsters.

    However, the moment Jasper¡¯s fangs pierced his veins, the pain was so unbearable that he screamed louder than the woman. ¡°Arghhhhhhhhhhhh...¡±

    ¡°Get off of me!¡± The pain was so bad that he wanted to fight off that vampire and run away. But he was unable to even move his finger; he felt as if his whole body had been paralyzed somehow.

    Still, he used all of his strength and tried his best to move his body. But he was only making it painful for himself by tiring himself out. In the end, he just epted his fate and let that vampire suck his blood, not that he could do anything anyway.

    He was slowly starting to feel lightheaded, his vision had been blurry for a while now. And the constant draining pain that he was feeling on his neck made him wish that he had bitten that poison the moment his partner gave out the name of the people they were supposed to retrieve.

    ¡°I¡¯m never going to forgive you for today, you dumb bitch!¡± he screamed and cried in anguish.

    That woman thankfully didn¡¯t hear him cursing her using hisst few breaths. All she could hear was her own screams.

    Even though he was drowning himself in the delicious blood and was in the middle of ecstasy, Jasper could sense a few of his other soldiers rustling in the vicinity. So, he pulled out his blood-smeared fangs and shouted before diving in again, ¡°Come out before I suck him dry. Firste, first serve.¡±

    Around five-six vampires came out of the shadows in an instant. They weren¡¯t going to say no when theirmander was being kind enough to share his meal.

    They all hovered around both of the humans. Some of them grabbed the wrists of those humans, while the others eagerly waited for their turn.

    The quiet and cold night near the border got a little livelier as the screams of the humans and the cawing of crows continued to travel across the forest. For those lucky few vampires, it felt like a feast apanied by live music.

    ¡ª

    The guard who was ordered to bring Everard to the King¡¯s chamber had been running around the dungeon, crazily searching for the Crown Prince, because the Prince wasn¡¯t in the cell where he was supposed to be.

    ¡°Do you know where the Crown Prince is?¡± he stopped a few guards who were patrolling the dungeon and asked them for information.

    However, the guards had just begun their shift. So, they exchanged nces with each other and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t he in his cell? There on the north side?¡±

    ¡°No! I was there just a while ago.¡± That guard began running again while shouting, ¡°The door is broken!¡±

    ¡°What? Really?¡± He heard one of them shouting, but he didn¡¯t have time to answer them. He simply took off from there.

    Likewise, he asked several other guards who he met on the way.

    Some of those who knew about the escape and the whereabouts of the Crown Prince were standing guard in front of the cell that the Prince was currently in. And most of them had run off to guard the walls and gates so as not to let the Prince escape from the boundary of the castle.

    So, that guard had a hard time getting information about the Prince¡¯s current location. All he could do was go around each and every cell in the dungeon, hoping that he was still inside the dungeon and also hoping that he hadn¡¯t gone rabid, and peeking in to see if he could find the Prince or his wolf form.

    After tiringly running around for quite some time, thankfully, he found a guard who had seen the ck wolf entering the other end of the dungeon.

    He finally arrived at the dungeon cell that was being guarded by a few humans and werewolves. He was now sure that he had found the Crown Prince.

    However, he had yet to confirm that, so he asked the guards in his breathless voice, ¡°Is the Crown Prince in there?¡±

 Chapter 173

    173 The Howls

    One of the guards who was standing in front of that broken door nodded in response.

    The guard who had to deliver the message from the King then walked closer to the door so as to inform the Crown Prince that his presence had been requested.

    However, the other guard came forward and stopped him on the way. ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡± he asked in a hushed tone.

    ¡°I need to-¡±

    ¡°Shhh!¡± The other guard shut him up and took him to the other corner of the corridor. He didn¡¯t want the new guard to disturb the Crown Prince if he was in the middle of... something private.

    And after taking him there, he asked, ¡°What do you want with the Crown Prince?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a direct order from the King. He was asking for the Crown Prince.¡± The guard quickly rified his purpose.

    ¡°Oh! But he is still in his wolf form. I don¡¯t think it is wise to let him leave this cell before he reverts back to his human form.¡±

    ¡°Then ask him to revert back to his human form! It is an urgent matter!¡± the guard said in a bit irritated tone. ¡°None of you thought that it was necessary to send someone to stand outside his previous cell, in case someone came looking for him. I have been running around in search of the Crown Prince for 12-13 minutes now.¡±

    .....

    He further added in a low voice, ¡°And you know how delicate the King¡¯s condition is.¡±

    Both of the guards were suddenly startled when they saw a blurry figure leaping above them and whooshing past them.

    They both exchanged a confused nce with each other because it took them both a second to register in their minds what they had seen in the passing.

    ¡°Was that the Crown Prince?¡± the guard who had brought the message asked.

    The other guard turned to look at the door behind him and saw how all the guards looked surprised. The shards of the broken door that they had carefully put back together were everywhere. ¡°Was that the Crown Prince?¡± he asked them.

    ¡°Yes!¡± one of them shouted back.

    And another one immediately shouted in panic, ¡°What are we doing here then? Shouldn¡¯t we be running after him? What if he tries to run outside the castle?¡±

    The guard who had brought the message mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t think he is going outside the castle. I think he heard me.¡± And he immediately ran towards the stairs to make sure that the Crown Prince was indeed going where he thought.

    After running for a while, the guard was able to see a dark shadow-like blur at the end of the corridor that led to the King¡¯s chambers. He finally sighed and thought to himself, ¡®Task aplished!¡¯

    The ck wolf was running down the moonlit corridor at the top of its speed. The bright moonlight that was cascading through the windows suddenly started to get dimmer and dimmer when the dark clouds crept in front of the moon.

    ¡®Oh,e on! Why is this corridor so long?¡¯ Everard screamed in his mind when no matter how far he ran, he felt as if he was running further and further away from his father¡¯s chamber and not closer.

    ¡°Owooooo...¡±

    The ck wolf suddenly skidded on all its paws and came to a halt when the deafening silence of the long corridor got prated by the gut-wrenching howl that escaped from the King¡¯s room.

    ¡®What was that?¡¯

    Everard¡¯s heart started to hammer inside his chest at an unprecedented rate because the howl that he had just heard didn¡¯t sound like an ordinary howl. Somehow, he could feel the weight of heavy grief that the howl carried in it.

    ¡°Owooo... Owwo... Owwo... Owoooooooooooo...¡±

    Soon enough, the whole castle echoed with simr grief-stricken howls, almost as if all of them were mourning for...

    ¡®No...¡¯

    Everard¡¯s big shiny eyes instantly welled with tears. A cold shiver ran down his spine, all the way to the tip of his tail, making the ck fur on his body stand up.

    ¡®Father...¡¯

    He shook his head to jerk away the tears from his eyes and looked forward. He could see a few of the royal guards running toward him while shouting something at him. He could see their lips moving, and he could hear the noise they were making, but he didn¡¯t understand a word they were saying as if they were speaking in some iprehensible voice.

    He could see them desperately pointing toward the King¡¯s chamber and gesturing for him to go there.

    Everard¡¯s breathing got heavier and heavier. He lifted his front leg and tried to walk forward. However, all of his feet began to tremble so badly that he ended up copsing to the floor.

    ¡°Your Highness... Please... The King...¡±

    He finally picked up a word or two from the guards. And those few words were enough for him to confirm the reason behind those soul-crushing howls that were now echoing far and wide.

    Everard suddenly felt as though someone had plunged their fist inside his chest and had ruthlessly pulled his heart out of his body. He whimpered in anguish and curled up into a ball.

    ¡®No... This cannot be happening... This is all just a really long nightmare...¡¯

    He was so devastated, angry, and confused that he somehow made himself believe everything that happened tonight was all in his head. He tightly closed his eyes and screamed, ¡®This isn¡¯t real! None of this is real! How can a man turn into a fucking wolf? I¡¯ve been stuck in a nightmare for way too long.¡¯

    And he started to bang his head on the floor loudly while shouting at himself, ¡®Wake up! Wake up, Everard! Wake up! Please!¡¯

    Crack! Snap!

    Everard howled in pain when his bones started to twist and break again. He began squirming, stretching, twisting, and turning his body as if he was suddenly possessed by something. His whole body began to break and reform at such a rapid rate that he didn¡¯t even get the time to breathe.

    He was howling and grimacing in utter pain.

    Everard had never gone through this kind of anguish in his life ever before. The physical pain of reverting back to his human form, as well as the emotional trauma that he was going through right now, exceeded the hours-long pain that he had gone through a while ago during his transformation.

    Even those who were watching him could feel his suffering and turned their heads away, unable to see the misery of their Crown Prince.

    A couple of maids who hade running to offer the Prince¡¯s clothes were crouching down far away behind a pir. They were covering their ears, unable to hear the heart-wrenching screams that enveloped the whole corridor.

    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t wish this kind of pain even on my enemies,¡¯ one of them thought while tightly shutting her eyes. ¡®Even the eternal damnation would be less painful than this.¡¯

    The painful howls gradually changed into ragged screams. And the scream gradually turned into devastated sobbing.

    ¡°Bring His Highness¡¯ clothes!¡±

    The maids were suddenly startled by that harshmand from one of the royal guards. They immediately pushed themselves up on their feet and ran toward the Crown Prince.

    ¡°Please get up, Your Highness,¡± one of the royal guards said while grabbing the Crown Prince by his arm.

    The other royal guards also surrounded him and grabbed him to pick him up from the floor.

    Everard didn¡¯t protest. He couldn¡¯t protest.

    His body felt too weak and sore everywhere, and his voice had died down. He let his body loose, almost as if he was a living corpse, and let the guards do what they wanted.

    The maids and the royal guards worked together to decently cover up the Crown Prince¡¯s body.

    Two of the royal guards then put his arms around their shoulders and carried him toward the King¡¯s chamber.

    The moment the huge doors to the King¡¯s room opened, Everard widened his eyes and breathed in sharply.

    ¡°No!¡± a breathless whisper escaped his trembling lips.

    His heart shattered into a thousand pieces upon seeing the cold, lifeless body of his father, lying peacefully on the bed.

    ¡°Move!¡± He used all his strength and pushed both of the guards away from him.

    And almost instantly, he fell down on his knees. His nape and his back got drenched in cold sweats. All the colors from his face disappeared, along with his ability to react to his father¡¯s death.

    He looked almost as lifeless as his father.

 Chapter 174

    174 Unfulfilled Wish

    Jerome was in his wolf form when the Crown Prince came inside the King¡¯s chamber and fell down on his knees.

    Along with the grief of having to lose that one person who he had been following his whole life, he was also feeling this extreme sourness in his heart because of the way his alpha had passed away.

    The alpha¡¯sst wish was to see his son¡¯s face onest time before the angel of death imed his soul. Even until his veryst breath, he kept on taking Everard¡¯s name, asking where he was and how he was. He kept on clinging onto his life with a single thread, waiting for his son to walk in through the door.

    However, in the end, he wasn¡¯t that lucky to fulfill his dying wish.

    For a split second, Jerome felt like shing his ws across the Prince¡¯s chest foring in thiste. He felt like shouting at him for making the King pass on to the afterlife with a heavy heart and an unfulfilled desire.

    It took a great deal of determination for him to put aside his anger toward the Crown Prince.

    Jerome swiftly reverted back to his human form, grabbed a spare towel, and wrapped it around his waist. He then nced at the Crown Prince.

    Everard was still looking like a lifeless statue. His moist and puffy eyes were fixated on the King¡¯s cold face.

    Jerome closed his eyes and deeply sighed. He rubbed his eyes with his palms and then rubbed his whole face. He let out a shaky breath and walked towards Everard.

    .....

    He patted Everard on the shoulder and tightly gripped it, almost as if he wanted to hurt the Prince.

    In his head, he was screaming at the Crown Prince, ¡®All he wanted even at hisst breath was to see your face and hold your hand. But you didn¡¯te!¡¯

    However, he filtered out his thoughts and asked in a passive-aggressive voice, ¡°What took you so long, Your Highness? Thete King was waiting for you, you know...¡±

    ¡°He was waiting for me...¡± The moment Everard heard Jerome, his already shattered heart felt as if it was being crushed into further smaller pieces. It hurt so bad that if someone told him that something invisible was slicing his heart open, he would believe them.

    Everard¡¯s tears finally started to well up again. He rested his head on Jerome¡¯s arm, closed his eyes, and began to silently shed his tears.

    Jerome¡¯s eyes were also glistening with tears. He looked up at the empty ceiling and tried to contain his eyes. But he couldn¡¯t do that at all. The tears began rolling down his temple the very next second.

    Jerome sniffled and said to the Crown Prince in a ragged whisper, ¡°He asked me to say that you would make a great King. And that...¡± He breathed in through his mouth to cool down his sore throat andpleted his sentence, ¡°And that he loved you.¡±

    It now became extremely unbearable for Everard. He grabbed Jerome¡¯s arms and began to cry his heart out.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to say goodbye to him...¡± he whispered in between his soul-crushing cries and hups. ¡°And I didn¡¯t even get to say that I loved him too... I never said that... I never said that I loved him... ever...¡±

    He looked at the bed through his teary gaze and mumbled in his broken voice, ¡°And now, I will never get to say it...¡±

    Everard mmed his fist on his chest and angrily shouted at himself, ¡°I should have said it when I had the chance! I should have said it instead of shutting him down and walking away! Why the hell did I even walk away? I should have been here when he passed away! I should have stayed by his side!¡±

    ¡°Not by the side of some...¡± Everard bit his tongue and let out a disgruntled scream while pulling his hair. ¡°Aaaahhhhhhhhh...¡±

    Jerome was equally devastated as Everard about the loss of the King. And seeing Everard shouting and crying made him want to do the same.

    However, he swallowed his tears and gently patted Everard¡¯s head. He then tried his best to speak in a consoling voice, ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault, Your Highness. You walked away because you had to. Besides, you had been taking care of your father continuously for several days and nights in a row.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but... you don¡¯t understand!¡± Everard now felt disgusted by how he went running to a woman he barely knew for a week or two instead of running back to his sick father. And he screamed in utter anguish, ¡°I should havee back here as soon as I got a hold of my mind! At least then, I would get to stay by his side until hisst breath.¡±

    His emotional state spiraled down again with regret.

    And he beat himself up on his chest while shouting at himself, ¡°At least I would get to say that I loved him too...¡± That became his greatest regret out of everything.

    ¡°I am sure that he always knew.¡± Jerome grabbed Everard¡¯s wrist so that he wouldn¡¯t break his own chest. He knelt down in front of Everard and consolingly said, ¡°I¡¯m sure he knew how much you loved him. So, please, don¡¯t let yourself break like this.¡±

    Though Jerome said that, he himself was breaking down on the inside. Only he knew how much it hurt when suddenly the very person who you lived for disappeared from the face of the Earth. He had been living for his alpha until now. He had been dedicating his whole life to his alpha.

    And now that the alpha was no more, the very purpose of his life was lost.

    He was feeling as if a huge hole had been punched in his chest, almost as though a whole chunk of his life was now missing.

    In the end, he sat down along with the Crown Prince and shed his tears to mourn the death of his beloved alpha.

    ¡ª

    While Everard was drowning in the sorrow of the death of his father and going through agonizing pain, Ruby was also feeling everything that he was feeling. She felt a throbbing pain in her heart as though someone had pierced a dagger in it; she was convulsing on the floor, shouting and screaming in pain.

    She could hear Everard¡¯s thoughts and got to know about the King¡¯s death. She wanted to flee to his side, but since she was still in her wolf form, the werewolf guards didn¡¯t allow her to leave her cell.

    As she wasn¡¯t able to be on his side, she tried consoling him by talking to him telepathically.

    ¡®What is happening? He can¡¯t hear me or is he not talking back to me?¡¯ she asked herself when no matter how many times she tried to talk to Everard, she didn¡¯t get a single reply.

    Somehow, she felt as if she wasn¡¯t able to get through to him, almost as if he hadpletely shut her out of his mind.

    ¡®What if he shut me out because he could hear everything I said to him? It would only make him irritated. He is already going through so much pain... I shouldn¡¯t be a bother to him.¡¯

    She instantly decided not to think of a word in her mind considering how he was able to hear her inner thoughts earlier.

    Instead, she began pacing around in her cell in circles to keep her mind calm.

    She tried to revert back to her human self so as to get out of the cell. But she didn¡¯t know how to do that. She was feeling too restless to focus on changing back to being human.

    Thus, she impatiently waited until the cold night passed.

    The guards finally left her alone when she began her transformation again. And the moment she was back in her human form, she slipped into the clothes that she had prepared beforehand.

    Ruby then took off to find her grieving Prince, in case he needed her.

 Chapter 175

    175 Grief Talking?

    After crying and sulking for what felt like several hours, Everard had finally calmed down a little.

    Jerome had already left the chamber to oversee the necessary protocols that were to be carried out after the death of the King.

    Everard took a deep breath when he saw the warm morning rays of the sun touching his feet. He didn¡¯t want to, but he had to keep his emotions under control now. So, he finally got up from the cold floor and dared to walk closer to his father¡¯s bed.

    He sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at his father¡¯s face with wistful eyes.

    ¡®At least he is no longer in pain anymore,¡¯ he thought to himself after looking at his father¡¯s resting face.

    The maids and servants had already groomed thete King¡¯s body and had put him in his royal attire. People from all over the Kingdom would being to pay theirst respect to thete King.

    Everard slowly extended his arm to hold his father¡¯s hand.

    He sharply inhaled and instantly pulled his hand away when his fingertips touched the cold and stiff hand of his father.

    The rims of his eyes glistened again, but he didn¡¯t let the tears fall down. He was well aware that soon enough, people would start to flock in to offer their condolences to him. And he didn¡¯t want to appear weak in front of all those people by showing off his puffy red eyes.

    .....

    He was now going to be their King.

    He needed to act like one.

    After putting up a lot of courage, Everard held his father¡¯s hand again. Although he didn¡¯t get to say his goodbyes when his father was still alive, he wanted to say it before the others would start to pour in.

    ¡°Father...¡± He looked at his father¡¯s serene face and whispered in a low voice, ¡°I hope that I was a good son to you. I... I never really got to spend enough time with you and mother though. I was always in Lavinya for as long as I can remember.¡±

    He looked at his father with deep longing and mumbled in a painful voice, ¡°If only you had lived for a little longer.... Maybe we would have been able to spend some father-son time.¡±

    Everard breathed in through his mouth and leaned down to kiss his father¡¯s knuckles. He then gently patted his father¡¯s palm and whispered, ¡°I love you, father. I hope that... that you are listening from wherever you are. And please, please forgive me for beingte.¡±

    ¡°If only I could turn back time...¡± he closed his eyes and hung his head low.

    A drop of his tearnded on the King¡¯s cold hand.

    He then rested his forehead on his father¡¯s knuckles and made a promise to himself and his father, ¡®I will try to make up for it by being a great King as you wished me to be.¡¯

    The moment with his father was interrupted when suddenly he heard somemotion outside the door.

    He could hear a back-and-forth between the guards and Ruby.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, His Highness wants to be alone. And no, I cannot let you inside the King¡¯s chamber.¡±

    ¡°But I just want to see him, just for a moment. Please.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, ma¡¯am. Please try to be respectful to the bereaved person. Now, if you keep on insisting any further, then I will have to respectfully drag you away.¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to make sure he is okay. Just a minute will be enough.¡±

    ¡°Okay! That¡¯s it! I have to take you away now. You are unnecessarily causing a scene here.¡±

    Everard clenched his teeth and took some time to collect himself. He then slowly left his hold on his father¡¯s hand and went to get the door.

    The moment he opened the door a little, Ruby peeked inside and heaved a deep breath when she saw the state he was in.

    She walked closer to the door and said from outside, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Everard. I¡¯m so sorry for what happened to your father. Are you o- How are you doing?¡±

    For a moment, Everard simply kept on looking at Ruby, thinking back to everything that happened yesterday. The longer he looked at her, the closer his brows drew together, creating a deep frown line on his forehead.

    He med Ruby for not being able to apany his father during thest moments of his life. He regretted it a lot. Even if he wanted to, he could never turn back time and change what had already happened. And the only way he could forgive himself for not fulfilling his father¡¯s dying wish was by putting the whole me on Ruby.

    After trying his best to control the rage that was boiling inside of him, he asked Ruby with a straight face, ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    Ruby was obviously confused by that out-of-context question. ¡°Er... I did something?¡±

    ¡°Yes. During the night. What did you do to me?¡± he asked in a stern tone, almost as if he was interrogating her.

    Ruby thought that he was now talking about the voices in his head, so she apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you heard my inner thoughts earlier. I was really worried about you when I-¡±

    Everard suddenly grabbed Ruby by her neck, pushed her back, and mmed her against the corridor wall.

    The corridor got filled with sudden gasps from a group of maids who were heading towards the King¡¯s chamber. The royal guards gestured for the maids to stand right where they were. But they didn¡¯t dare to interfere with what the Crown Prince was doing to a woman.

    Ruby looked into Everard¡¯s eyes which were burning with rage and asked while struggling to breathe, ¡°Ev-Everard... W-What are you d-doing to me?¡±

    ¡°I was the one asking that question!¡± Everard snarled like a madman at that poor woman and suspected her intention, ¡°You did something to me, didn¡¯t you? Are you into witchcraft or something? Because the way you controlled my mind and made me dance to your tunes yesterday, that is something only a witch can do, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ruby gripped Everard¡¯s wrist and pushed his hand away from her neck, surprising Everard with her strength. She was utterly shocked to her core because never in her dream had she thought that Everard would use her of something like that.

    She was greatly hurt. But since Everard was going through grief, she tried to understand his erratic behavior.

    Therefore, she answered in a low and soft voice, ¡°There is no such thing as witchcraft, Everard. Why would you even think that way? Even I felt the same way yesterday. I felt this unexinable connection with you that was much greater in intensity than before. I don¡¯t know much about this werewolf thing, but, if I am to believe what I¡¯ve heard until now then that pull that we felt is the result of the ma-¡±

    ¡°It was the result of the sire bond and nothing more!¡± Everard eximed furiously and pulled his hand away from Ruby¡¯s grip.

    He red down at her and purposefully said hurtful words to her, ¡°Don¡¯t forget your ce, you damned woman! You¡¯re here only because I took pity on you. Else, you would have met your death by now. Be thankful that you are still alive. Don¡¯t dream of things that are out of your reach, and stay the hell away from my sight from today onwards.¡±

    Ruby had no idea why Everard was now apletely different person than yesterday. She thought that it was grief. She wanted to believe that it was grief and nothing more.

    She didn¡¯t want him to push her away for something that she had no control over. She didn¡¯t think that she would be able to live with herself if Everard suddenly turned cold and distant to her.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Everard mmed his fist on the wall right beside Ruby¡¯s face, greatly startling her, and screamed right in front of her face, ¡°GET OUT!¡±

    So as not to let things escte even further, Ruby gave a subtle bow and politely said, ¡°I will be in my room. Please call me if you need me.¡±

    She swiftly turned and started to walk away from Everard while clutching her gown and holding back her tears.

    Ruby jumped a little when she heard Everard shouting from behind, ¡°I won¡¯t be needing you anymore, you witch! Just be grateful that I am not kicking you out after what you did to me!¡±

    Ruby focused her eyes on the end of the corridor and tried not to listen to what he was saying.

    However, she felt a pinch in her heart when she heard him shouting some more, ¡°And you don¡¯t get to address me as ¡®Everard¡¯! We aren¡¯t that close! We never will be, not even in your dreams.¡±

 Chapter 176

    176 An Unexpected Scroll

    It had been a few days after the full moon.

    Caspian was sitting down on his throne while looking down at Commander Jasper, who was standing in front of the tform and was giving the briefing.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been keeping an eye around the border. There hasn¡¯t been any activity since thest time. And we haven¡¯t found any new holes beneath the wall as well.¡± Jasper concluded his daily briefing and slightly bowed his head to the King.

    Caspian tilted to the side and rested his hand on thefortable armrest of his throne. ¡°Hmm...¡± he let out a throaty sound and was lost in his thought for a while. ¡°What about that hole that those two spies had used?¡± he asked after a while.

    ¡°It has already been sealed shut, Your Majesty,¡± Jasper replied and bowed again.

    ¡°Good job, Commander Jasper. I will leave the patrol of the border in your hands.¡± Caspian turned his gaze on a royal guard who entered the hall and walked towards the stairs that led to his throne.

    He could already tell where the scroll was from because of the subtle stench that it carried. He kept on ring at that scroll and thought to himself, ¡®Now what, Eve? Are you still sending letters to my wife? Have you written aint to her saying that I killed two of your birds?¡¯

    When the guard began climbing the few stairs, Caspian turned his gaze back on themander and rested his chin on his knuckles. Then he asked themander, ¡°Oh, by the way, the supply of blood is enough for your men, right? They¡¯ve been working hard these days. They should be well fed.¡±

    Jasper gave a grateful smile to the King and replied, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. It is enough. Thank you for your concern.¡±

    .....

    Caspian gave a nod. After dismissing themander, he finally turned to look at the royal guard again.

    The guard bowed to the King and extended his hands to offer the scroll that he was carrying. ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty. It¡¯s a message from Xanmar.¡±

    The moment that royal guard announced that he had brought a message from Xanmar, the throne hall was suddenly filled with gasps and whispers from the councilmen and the ministers.

    They all were aware of the recent encounter that Jasper and his soldiers had with the spies that were sent from Xanmar. And they were wondering if that letter was some kind of warning or retaliation from Xanmar, although it would be very foolish of those from Xanmar to own up to the spies that had illegally entered the territory of Sorvando.

    For a split second, Caspian wanted to order the guard to burn down that scroll because he was already getting agitated by the stench.

    However, he didn¡¯t actually give out that order because he was also curious to know what was written inside. But he still didn¡¯t want to touch that smelly scroll. So, he ordered his guard, ¡°Why don¡¯t you read the scroll for me? And for everyone else? Let¡¯s listen to what they have to say.¡±

    The royal guard bowed and then did as the King had asked.

    ¡°Respected King Caspian of Sorvando...¡±

    ¡ª

    While the guard was reading the message from Xanmar, Anastasia was heading towards the throne hall, followed by Ti.

    Ti was carrying a tray full of necessary ingredients for the tea.

    As they got closer and closer to the throne hall, the two of them noticed that the density of the guards had increased. Both of them were feeling a little ufortable when those guards stiffly bowed to Anastasia as they walked by.

    Ti moved her feet a bit faster and caught up with the Queen. And she asked her in a whisper, ¡°Is it really necessary to brew the tea to His Majesty in the throne hall? Can¡¯t we wait until he returns to his study? They might be discussing some serious matters in there, and we might be distracting them with our tea.¡±

    Anastasia slowed down her pace when she heard Ti. She was also contemting whether it was appropriate to go inside the throne hall with such ame excuse as serving tea to the King.

    However, she immediately thought otherwise.

    ¡°I think His Majesty will be distracted if I don¡¯t bring him his tea,¡± she mumbled to Ti and kept on moving forward because she didn¡¯t want Caspian to keep on waiting for her to show up. It was already way past the time for his daily cup of tea.

    Furthermore, Zenon had informed her that there were a lot of agendas that needed to be looked after by Caspian today.

    ¡°He might be staying in the throne hall for quite a while today. So...¡± Anastasia sighed and continued walking.

    Ti kept her head low and kept on following the Queen because she had no other choice even when she wasn¡¯tfortable with all the guards¡¯ gazes following the two of them.

    Anastasia and Ti were heading for the back entrance that only the King used to get inside the throne hall. Anastasia didn¡¯t want to go through the main entrance and alert everyone of her presence in the hall.

    However, two of the guards who were guarding that back entrance immediately bowed their Queen. And one of them was quick to announce, ¡°Her Majesty, the Queen, is entering the hall.¡±

    Anastasia nervously smiled at the guards and thought to herself, ¡®You did not need to announce me like that...¡¯

    Since it was already done, Anastasia had no other option than to quickly get inside the hall.

    The entrance directly led Anastasia and Ti behind the King¡¯s throne.

    Anastasia was startled a little when she saw someone quickly running down from the tform. She took a deep breath in and emerged from behind the throne. Her eyes fell on the huge hall sparsely seated by a few vampires.

    She saw them standing up from their seats and bowing down to her. She was feeling a bit nervous to be standing in front of them like that. But she collected herself and subtly nodded her head to acknowledge everyone¡¯s greetings.

    She then quickly turned her gaze to look at her husband. Caspian was still sitting on his throne, looking at her with a wide smile on his face.

    Anastasia hadn¡¯t realized that she was holding her breath. She finally let it out and walked closer to her husband¡¯s throne while smiling back at him.

    ¡°I was wondering if you woulde here or not,¡± Caspian said to her after she stood right next to him.

    Anastasia gestured for Ti to put the tray on the table that was in front of Caspian, and then she replied to him, ¡°I heard that you had a lot of work today. So, I thought that you would like some refreshment.¡±

 Chapter 177

    177 Sudden Outburst

    When the councilmen and ministers heard that the Queen had brought refreshments for the King, they assumed that she had brought their staple diet, although they couldn¡¯t smell it from where they were.

    However, they were utterly shocked when they heard their King.

    ¡°A warm cup of tea would be perfect at the moment. I need to wash down a certain unpleasant scent that I had to inhale just a while ago.¡±

    Anastasia had no idea what kind of unpleasant smell her husband was talking about. But she was d that she decided toe to the throne hall albeit her fear of the scornful re from the vampires who were present there.

    ¡°I will prepare it right away then,¡± Anastasia happily said to her husband and immediately began to brew the tea.

    The other vampires were watching the Queen preparing the tea for their King with disgusted looks on their faces. They couldn¡¯t help but think that this was some kind of an inside joke between the King and the Queen. And they all waited for the monarchs to drop their act.

    However, Anastasia didn¡¯t stop.

    She was so consumed in brewing the best cup of tea for her husband that she had forgotten they weren¡¯t alone there. And Caspian was also so focused on watching his wife¡¯s delicate hands swirling the spoon in the teacup that he alsopletely forgot that he was in the middle of discussing something important with the council.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Anastasia proudly handed over the teacup to her husband after she finished preparing it.

    .....

    Caspian held the saucer and the teacup. He appreciatively gazed at the steaming hot cup of tea. He felt as though the aroma of the tea was the best today. Maybe it was because he had been struggling to breathe properly until a while ago.

    When he brought the cup very close to his lips to enjoy the taste, he was almost startled by a loud vampire who shouted out of the blue.

    ¡°Your Majesty, in my opinion, you should ept the invitation from Xanmar. It will be a good opportunity for us to investigate their ns from up close.¡±

    ¡°Xanmar?¡± Anastasia picked up the very word that Caspian wished she wouldn¡¯t hear.

    It was the Minister for War and Finance who had shouted out loud. He did that because he felt pity for the King when he happily decided to drink that ¡®poisonous water¡¯, probably to appease his wife.

    However, he unintentionally gained the wrath of the King because he almost revealed everything in front of the Queen.

    Caspian clenched his teeth and ced the cup on the saucer that he was holding. He then turned his icy-cold re at that minister and asked in a bone-chillingly calm voice, ¡°Lord Frannd, did I say that the floor was open for opinions?¡±

    ¡°Please excuse me, Your Majesty.¡± The minister gave an apologetic bow to the King and then sat back down on his chair, satisfied that he had done his job.

    Though the King was angry at him, he thought that it was only a fa?ade that he put up in front of the Queen. ording to him, he thought that the King was secretly grateful for protecting him from having to taste that poison.

    He even thought that the King would praise himter, once the Queen was gone. However, he was disappointed when Caspian ordered him in the same cold voice.

    ¡°Please leave from this hall, Lord Frannd.¡±

    When that minister didn¡¯t immediately leave the hall, Caspian protruded his fangs and growled at that poor vampire, ¡°I said, leave!¡±

    Everyone in the hall jumped a little when the King suddenly lost his temper.

    Lord Frannd didn¡¯t need to be told twice to leave. He instantly got up and ran at the top of his speed.

    Now, the others wondered if they were supposed to keep on staying or if they were also supposed to leave the hall. They all were thankful when they also got the order next.

    ¡°The court is dismissed for today. We will discuss the remaining matters tomorrow.¡±

    The rest of the vampires immediately began to swoosh out of the hall. They knew better than anyone that when the King protruded his fangs, it was better to run than stay by his side and risk facing his wrath.

    While the vampires ran out of the hall, Anastasia wondered what this was all about.

    ¡°Why did you abruptly dismiss the court?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian once the whole hall was empty, except for the few royal guards. ¡°Was it because of me? Did I do something?¡±

    ¡°No! It wasn¡¯t because of you.¡± Caspian sighed and picked up the cup again.

    He quietly took a few sips of tea in order to calm the boiling rage inside of him.

    ¡°How¡¯s the tea?¡± Anastasia asked in an attempt to reduce the tension-filled air around them.

    Caspian gave a subtle smile to his wife and replied, ¡°Very soothing.¡± He immediately focused on quietly drinking the tea.

    Anastasia awkwardly turned to look at her handmaid. Ti was stiffly standing near the back entrance, away from Caspian¡¯s view.

    ¡®Should I have listened to Ti and stayed away from the throne hall?¡¯ Anastasia asked herself. She had definitely not hoped for this sudden rage from her husband.

    While waiting for Caspian to finish his tea, she couldn¡¯t help but think about the sentence that she had heard from that vampire who was kicked out of the hall first.

    ¡®Invitation from Xanmar? What was he talking about? Was that an invitation from the King of Xanmar?¡¯ She thought about all the possible events that the King of Xanmar would invite Caspian to. And she thought of one possible event, ¡®Is Eve finally getting married?¡¯

    Her attention was back on her husband when she heard him cing the saucer on the table.

    She then gestured for Ti to gather the cups and tray. While Ti did her task, Anastasia wondered if asking about the invitation would be appropriate at the moment or not. However, she hesitated because she could clearly see that her husband was still angry.

    ¡®I better ask himter, when he isn¡¯t angry. Or never...¡¯ she thought.

    Caspian could feel the constant questioning gaze from his wife. At first, he had thought of hiding the information from Anastasia. But then again, no matter whether he liked the friendship between his wife and that werewolf or not, he thought that she had the right to know.

    So, he looked at his wife and then said with a straight face, ¡°King Alfred Crestfire has passed away. Your friend Everard has invited us to his coronation ceremony.¡±

 Chapter 178

    178 Persuasion

    Anastasia¡¯s face turned very gloomy in an instant upon hearing the news about the death of Everard¡¯s father.

    ¡°Wh-¡± Anastasia¡¯s words got stuck in her throat.

    She gasped for breath and took support from the throne¡¯s armrest. Though she didn¡¯t personally know King Alfred, his sudden death came as a great shock to her.

    Caspian got up from his throne to support his wife because she looked like she would copse at any moment now. He held her by her arm and asked while looking at her pale face, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Anastasia nodded and took a deep breath in. Finally, her words came out of her mouth, ¡°Eve¡¯s father passed away?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Caspian gently stroked his wife¡¯s dark ginger hair in an attempt to console her. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Anna. Were you also close with thete King?¡±

    ¡°No, but still...¡± She felt very sorry for Everard. ¡°How did he pass away?¡± she asked again.

    Caspian slightly shook his head and answered her, ¡°I have no idea. The scroll was more of an invitation for the coronation ceremony. It didn¡¯t mention anything more about thete King¡¯s demise.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Anastasia nodded her head and dejectedly turned her gaze toward the back entrance that she had used earlier. ¡°I will be in my room then,¡± she said to her husband and began walking away, closely followed by Ti.

    .....

    ¡°You sure you are okay?¡± Caspian caught up with his wife and asked again.

    Anastasia looked at him and gave him a subtle smile. ¡°I will be.¡± Other than that, she didn¡¯t say another word.

    Since Caspian had chased away his council members, he didn¡¯t have any more cases to discuss. So, he decided to follow his wife back to her room.

    The three of them walked in silence until Ti took another corridor to head for the kitchen area.

    ¡°So, when¡¯s the coronation ceremony?¡± Anastasia looked at her husband and asked in a low voice.

    ¡°Er... it¡¯s after two days,¡± Caspian replied a bit hesitantly.

    He didn¡¯t have any intention of attending that werewolf¡¯s coronation ceremony. Rather, he was mad at Everard for even sending the invitation toe to his filthy kingdom.

    ¡®I¡¯m sure the whole nation stinks. As if I would step my foot in his stinking kingdom!¡¯ That was the only thing that kept on repeating in Caspian¡¯s head when his royal guard was reading the invitation out loud.

    ¡°Are we going there?¡± Anastasia asked innocently.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t catch it but, for a split second, Caspian¡¯s facial expression had stiffened with anger. This was exactly what Caspian was afraid of when that minister had spilled the information in the throne hall earlier.

    Caspian went silent for a while. However, before it became too obvious that he was angry, heposed himself and said to his wife, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can free up my schedule. I am still catching up on the previously piled-up work. And new files get piled up on a daily basis.¡±

    Anastasia felt a pinch in her heart when Caspian made it clear that he didn¡¯t want to go to Xanmar. She could guess why her husband didn¡¯t desire to go to that kingdom. He never really liked Everard even after she had cleared his doubts.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t want to put Caspian in a difficult spot by insisting on going to Xanmar. However, she didn¡¯t want to miss her chance to meet people that she cared about ¨C Everard, Alexander, and maybe a few of the other familiar faces from Orsenia.

    So, she looked at her husband¡¯s face again and politely said to him, ¡°Since Everard is my brother¡¯s best friend, I think my brother will also attend the ceremony... I will get to meet my brother. You will also get to meet him.¡±

    She took a step closer to her husband and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Zenon to manage your schedule for a few days?¡±

    Caspian wasn¡¯t yet showing any eagerness to go to the kingdom that would be crawling with those stinky wolves. He wrinkled his nose and said to Anastasia, ¡°But your brother will be here in a month or so. Why don¡¯t we grandly wee him here instead of briefly meeting him there in someone else¡¯s kingdom?¡±

    The two of them had arrived in front of Anastasia¡¯s chambers. Caspian pushed the door open and both of them walked inside the door.

    Anastasia immediately stood in front of her husband, looked into his blood-red eyes, and then tried to persuade him further, ¡°We will also wee him here to Sorvando. But it has been so long since Ist met him. I miss my brother greatly. And...¡±

    She wanted to bite her tongue, but at the same time, she also wanted to be truthful to her husband. ¡°And honestly, I think Everard can use one more sympathy from an old friend.¡±

    Caspian furrowed his brows and inhaled deeply from his mouth. He even averted his gaze from his wife.

    It was pretty obvious that he didn¡¯t like what his wife was asking of him.

    Anastasia held the sleeve of his shirt and said in her softest voice, ¡°Besides, Everard is also going to be the King of our neighboring kingdom. So, I think it will be a good idea to maintain a peaceful rtionship with him from the very beginning of his tenure. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t say a word even when he wanted to say a lot of things to her.

    Amidst his silence, Anastasia suddenly recalled how Sorvando was surrounded by sky-high walls from all sides. She pursed her lips and thought to herself, ¡®Why would he want to have a good rtionship with the neighboring kingdom? He built the walls around Sorvando to iste his kingdom! He is obviously not interested to mingle with the humans!¡¯

    Although Caspian looked really uninterested, Anastasia was still determined to go and meet her brother and Everard. She could never tell if she would ever get to meet them again.

    She cupped her husband¡¯s cheeks and made him look at her. She then tried to make him see how the trip wouldn¡¯t just be about attending the coronation. ¡°Caspian, you said that you wanted to see a lot of new ces with me. Xanmar IS a new ce for me.¡±

    Caspian held Anastasia¡¯s wrists and tried to dodge what Anastasia was implying. ¡°Then why don¡¯t we go to Lavinya? That is also a new ce. We can meet your brother there, after he returns from Xanmar.¡±

    Anastasia drooped her shoulders and whined, ¡°But that¡¯s not the same! I don¡¯t know even remember thest time I was invited to another Kingdom like this. Even if I was, I was never allowed to go. So, please don¡¯t deny this invitation. I bet that you also haven¡¯t stepped out of the borders of Sorvando in a long while. We can take this as an opportunity to travel together. Can we not?¡±

    When Anastasia put it like that, Caspian couldn¡¯t deny her because it hadn¡¯t been many days since he promised to go on adventures with her. Although he hated the destination, he didn¡¯t hate hispany.

    So, he looked into his wife¡¯s emerald eyes and said in a soft voice, ¡°You are right. We can make the most out of this travel. I will ask Zenon to free my schedules.¡± He gently pinched his wife¡¯s cheek and asked, ¡°Happy now?¡±

    Anastasia gave a soft smile to him and happily wrapped her arms around him. ¡°Thank you so much, Caspian. I promise it will be a memorable journey.¡±

    Caspian was also happy to see how excited his wife was. However, deep down, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little ufortable.

    He hugged his wife and gazed at the woods in a distance through the window.

    He then thought to himself, ¡®I am damn sure that those spies were sent by that bastard. What did he want to find out? Background information about Ruby? Or did he want some kind of information about my wife? He better not be after my wife!¡¯

 Chapter 179

    179 nning for the Journey

    After hugging for a while, Anastasia pulled away from her husband and asked him, ¡°Shall I ask Ti to pack my belongings then? How many days will we be traveling for?¡±

    ¡°Mmmm...¡± Caspian hummed for a while and then answered his wife, ¡°Since we will be traveling via carriage, it will take two days for us to reach the capital of Xanmar from here. So, we will be traveling for around five days.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then.¡± Anastasia gave a nod and then said with a smile on her face, ¡°I will ask Ti to pack things ordingly. Oh, by the way, I can bring her along with me, right?¡±

    Caspian shrugged his shoulders and gave a whimsical reply, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get stuck with me as the only one who can help you get dressed and groomed then you should probably bring her along.¡±

    Anastasia chuckled and replied, ¡°Then I am definitely inviting her as well. You are of no help when ites tobing my hair.¡±

    Caspian slightly frowned and said in a challenging tone, ¡°Hey, at least I can help you get dressed without identally touching your bottom. I openly dere it when I do that.¡±

    Anastasia pressed her lips tightly and closed her eyes in an attempt to hide the smile that was lurking around her lips.

    Caspian grinned and kissed his wife on the forehead. He then briefed the traveling ns for this impromptu trip, ¡°If we are going to reach the capital of Xanmar by the coronation day then we will have to begin the journey early in the morning tomorrow. So, prepare ordingly. I will have to n everything for the journey. So, I better head out now.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anastasia smiled and before Caspian left the antechamber, she thanked him one more time, ¡°Caspian, I know that you are only agreeing to go there to Xanmar because of me. Thank you for going out of your way to fulfill my demands. It really means a lot to me.¡±

    .....

    Caspian smirked and sarcastically said to her, ¡°Well, I am just being practical. If I don¡¯t fulfill your demands then you will shut yourself in your chambers for another week. It¡¯s better to travel together with you than stay apart from you for a week.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s whole face turned red in an instant. She shyly turned away from her husband and mumbled, ¡°You made a good choice.¡±

    ¡ª

    Caspian was in the middle of a meeting with Zenon when Vincent also came knocking on the door of Caspian¡¯s study.

    ¡°Vincent! I was waiting for you. Come in,¡± Caspian said while gesturing for Vincent to get inside and take a seat.

    ¡°I came as soon as I received the message.¡± Vincent was in a happy mood because it was rare for Caspian to call him to his study. When he did call him, it normally meant that they were going somewhere on a small mission or to carry out an investigation. So, he excitedly asked before even taking his seat, ¡°So, are we going somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Caspian pursed his lips and answered, ¡°We¡¯re going to Xanmar.¡±

    Vincent knitted his brows together and gave a look of disbelief to Caspian. ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t mess with me. Tell me the truth already!¡±

    Caspian heaved a deep sigh and replied to Vincent while scribbling a few things on the paper that Zenon was holding out for him, ¡°Believe it or not but we are leaving for Xanmar early in the morning tomorrow.¡±

    Vincent rested his back on the backrest of the chair and stared at Caspian and Zenon for a while. It seemed like they were discussing and writing down the itinerary for a long trip.

    The first thing that came to Vincent¡¯s mind was that Caspian himself was going to investigate the case rted to the spies who had infiltrated Sorvando a few days ago. ¡°Are we going on some kind of secret mission?¡±

    Caspian shifted his gaze from the paper to Vincent and then finally gave him theplete information, ¡°We are going to attend the coronation ceremony of the new King.¡±

    Vincent raised his brows in surprise. ¡°The old King is dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Caspian then gave further details to his friend, ¡°We will travel via carriage to go there. I will send a few soldiers beforehand to make sure that we aren¡¯t being lured into some trap. I still don¡¯t trust that Crown Prince. He is a cunning wolf. I know it. We will only cross our border when the soldiers confirm the news about the previous King¡¯s death.¡±

    Both Vincent and Zenon agreed to Caspian.

    Caspian handed out the paper to Zenon and then ordered him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you prepare everything ording to this? And make sure that the Kingdom functions smoothly even in my absence. Also, increase the number of guards on patrol duty, especially around and in the castle.¡±

    ¡°I will take care of everything, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon said while bowing to the King and then left the study immediately to prepare for the King¡¯s journey.

    Caspian finally gave his full attention to Vincent. He took a deep breath in and then said to his friend, ¡°You already know what going to Xanmar means. We will be letting ourselves be surrounded by those creatures. So, I need you to stand by my side and be vignt of the surrounding at all times. If they try to do something stupid, then we have to be ready to retaliate.¡±

    The yfulness on Vincent¡¯s face was already reced by a rather serious expression. He gave a nod and agreed with Caspian. ¡°I will be ready for anything. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    After briefing the route n and other security details to Vincent, the two of them separated for the day.

    Vincent returned back to his mansion while Caspian headed for the Wintertide Mansion along with a few royal guards.

    ¡°Cousin!¡± Hamilton mockingly spread out his arms the moment Caspian stepped inside the mansion like a gust of wind.

    However, he was surprised when Caspian actually swooshed to him and gave him a hug.

    ¡°Huh!¡± Hamilton looked like a statue when Caspian pulled away from the hug. ¡°Well, that¡¯s new!¡±

    Caspian feigned ignorance to Hamilton¡¯sment and asked while catching his breath, ¡°Hey, how are you? And where¡¯s aunt?¡±

    ¡°Mother has gone to some kind of social gathering, I suppose,¡± Hamilton led his cousin to the main living room and gestured for him to take a seat.

    After settling down in front of his cousin, he asked while slightly furrowing his brows, ¡°So, Caspian, what brings you here? You haven¡¯t been spying on me, have you?¡±

    Caspian frowned and grumbled, ¡°And why the hell would I need to spy on you? Are you plotting to take over my throne or something? If you are then you can surrender here and now.¡±

    Hamilton rolled his eyes at Caspian and got up on his feet. He zoomed out of the living room and returned after a few seconds while carrying a huge box.

    He ced it in front of Caspian and then said while pointing his brows at the box, ¡°These came in not long ago. Are you perhaps here to see them?¡±

    Caspian had no idea what he was talking about. So he knitted his brows in tune and asked in a confused voice, ¡°What¡¯s inside it? Don¡¯t tell me it is bones and skulls of a random person that lived a thousand years ago.¡±

    Hamilton drooped his shoulders and asked in a monotone, ¡°Seriously?¡± He opened the box and rummaged while asking, ¡°What did you ask me to get for you? It¡¯s exactly that.¡±

    He then pulled out a weighty pistol from the box and threw it at Caspian. ¡°Check it out. Doesn¡¯t it look amazing?¡±

 Chapter 180

    180 Unintentional Mess

    Caspian looked at the small toy-like thing that his cousin threw at him. He had a deep frown on his forehead while he examined that object.

    The pistol was made out of walnut wood. It also had a few pieces of silver attached here and there, which Caspian thought was there just for decoration purpose.

    He looked at Hamilton and then asked, ¡°What the hell is this? When you described it to me thest time, I thought it would look... I don¡¯t know... Scary?¡± He pointed at the pistol and said in a disgruntled voice, ¡°But this thing looks exactly like the handle of a cane.¡±

    Needless to say, Caspian was unimpressed by the pistol. He didn¡¯t believe that the piece of wood that he was holding would even graze the werewolves, let alone kill them.

    Without saying a word, Hamilton grabbed the pistol from Caspian, aimed at his left arm, and then shot him without hesitating for a second.

    It took a second for Caspian to let what happened to sink in.

    ¡°OWWW!¡± he grabbed his wound and finally shouted in pain. ¡°You piece of turd! Why the hell would you shoot me?¡±

    Caspian¡¯s guards immediately barged inside the living room and surrounded Hamilton, ready to pulverize the attacker the moment they got an order from their King.

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Rupert, one of the King¡¯s guards, asked for the King¡¯s order to engage in a fight with Hamilton.

    .....

    Hamilton threw the pistol on Caspian¡¯sp and half-raised his arms in the air. ¡°Rx, everyone! I¡¯m not interested to be bound by the burden of the throne. I was just demonstrating to my cousin how the weapon worked.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty! Are you alright?¡± Rupert turned to look at the King¡¯s arm and asked with a worried look on his face.

    Caspian was sweating and groaning in pain. He was feeling as if his whole arm would fall off. The pain was unlike what he had experienced until now.

    ¡°Does it look like I am okay?¡± he snarled his fangs at his royal guard and grimaced.

    He slowly lifted his palm from his arm and looked inside the wound, only to groan in pain and anger after realizing that something was stuck inside his wound.

    Caspian closed his eyes and rested his head on the backrest of the sofa. Then he shouted in anger, ¡°Do something, you pieces of shit! Else the wound will heal with that shiny thing stuck inside my arm.¡±

    Rupert looked over his shoulder and gave a death re to Hamilton for hurting the King for no reason.

    Hamilton didn¡¯t miss the death re from the royal guard. He scoffed and spoke while sounding a little guilty, ¡°Alright! Alright! I will help to take the bullet out. You don¡¯t have to look daggers at me.¡±

    He then slipped past the guards and walked out of the room to look for something that he could use to pluck out the silver bullet.

    He went to the storeroom, and while running around and rummaging through boxes, he scolded himself, ¡°What the hell was I thinking? I could have shot on the damn wall! Now, he is going to snap my neck the moment I take that bullet out of his wound.¡±

    After searching for about a minute, he finally came across a pair of tweezers. ¡°This should do it,¡± he mumbled and then rushed to his cousin¡¯s aid.

    While on the way, he ordered a maid to bring water and clean towels to the living room.

    When he arrived at the living room, the guards had already helped Caspian to take off his waistcoat and his shirt. They had used his shirt to tie up his arm above the wound so as to limit the blood flow and stall the healing process to some extent.

    Hamilton immediately crouched beside Caspian and took over. He looked at the open wound of his cousin.

    Since vampires had higher muscle and bone density than humans, the wound didn¡¯t look that bad. There was a hole in Caspian¡¯s arm that looked smaller than the size of the bullet. And since the bullet couldn¡¯t pierce through Caspian¡¯s bone, it got stuck inside his arm.

    Hamilton took a deep breath in and looked at Caspian¡¯s face.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Quick! Take it out!¡± Caspian immediately shouted at him.

    ¡°Okay...¡± Hamilton tried his best to keep his hand steady. But the way Caspian was ring at him wasn¡¯t helping at all. So, he looked at Caspian and asked, ¡°Turn your head away. You are distracting me.¡±

    Caspian gave a death re to Hamilton before finally looking away.

    Hamilton then used the skill that he never knew he had, and after a few failed attempts, he finally pulled out the small silver bullet from Caspian¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Hah!¡± he sighed while holding the bullet in front of Caspian¡¯s eyes. And then he said, ¡°It¡¯s out!¡±

    Caspian instantly swatted away Hamilton¡¯s hand and frowned, ¡°Get that thing away from my face, you idiot!¡±

    He would have punched Hamilton in the face if he was still crouching by his side. But he was already standing at the other corner of the room.

    And before Caspian got up from the sofa, Hamilton ordered the maids who were waiting by the door, ¡°Clean up the King¡¯s wound and bring him a fresh set of clothes.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t protest when the maids came and stood by his side.

    While the maids did their job, Hamilton asked Caspian with a smirk on his face, ¡°How do you find the pistol now? Does it still look like the handle of the cane or does it look scary?¡±

    Caspian gave his cousin an icy re and grumbled while baring his fangs, ¡°Come here and I will tell you.¡±

    Hamilton gave a dismissive smile and said sweetly, ¡°No, thank you. I am fine here.¡±

    After the maids finished cleaning his wounds, Caspian¡¯s guards helped to untie the shirt that was still around his arm. The bullet wound didn¡¯t take long to heal after that.

    Caspian got up on his feet and tried moving his arm around. He poked the area where there was a wound just a while ago. He didn¡¯t feel any trace of pain.

    The maids helped him change into a new shirt and a waistcoat.

    And when he finally felt alive and well, he looked at Hamilton and gestured for him toe closer.

    Hamilton took a step back instead and asked his cousin, ¡°Can¡¯t you let it slide this time? I truly didn¡¯t know that the bullet would hurt us as well. Well, I expected it to hurt, but I didn¡¯t expect it to hurt that badly.¡±

    Caspian sighed and asked his guards, ¡°Bring him to me, please.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Hamilton frowned and spoke before the guards could take a step toward him, ¡°I¡¯ming...¡±

    He hesitantly inched closer to the middle of the room, praying that his cousin wouldn¡¯t break his neck or his backbone. Those two took hours to heal.

    Hamilton immediately closed his eyes when Caspian closed the gap between them and aimed for his neck.

    However, he was surprised when instead of feeling his neck getting snapped, he felt his cousin¡¯s arm resting on his shoulder.

    Hamilton opened his eyes and gave a confused look to Caspian.

    Caspian was smiling ear to ear while his eyes were glued to the box full of pistols.

    He even praised Hamilton, ¡°You did a great job, cousin. I am really impressed by this amazing weapon.¡±

    Hamilton raised his brows and asked in a confused tone, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to do anything to me?¡±

    ¡°No. Why would I?¡± Caspian asked while grinning at Hamilton.

    Hamilton pushed himself away from Caspian and asked suspiciously, ¡°Okay, what is it? What are you thinking? I am damn sure that you are going to do something much worse to me. I know you. You aren¡¯t going to forgive me just like that after what I put you through just now.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s grin became even wider.

 Chapter 181

    181 Empty Threat

    ¡°What? No!¡± Hamilton eximed and took several steps back from Caspian. ¡°There¡¯s no way I am doing that!¡±

    Caspian gave a mocking smile to Hamilton and then nced at the sofa. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the same pistol that Hamilton had used to shoot him and pointed the pistol at his cousin.

    He then spoke in a calm yet utterly bone-chilling voice, ¡°Okay, you have two options with you. Either you be my wife¡¯s personal guard for a week. Or you stand there and I will shoot you. But I will close my eyes while shooting you, so the bullet cannd anywhere.¡±

    Caspian cocked the pistol, the same way he had seen his cousin doing it before shooting him. He then pointed the pistol at Hamilton¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°And if one of those shiny bulletsnds in your pretty eyes, I am pretty sure that you cannot grow them back. So...¡± He gave a creepy smile again and said in the same chilling voice, ¡°Choose wisely.¡±

    Hamilton sighed in frustration because neither of the options was any less bad than the other. He gave a pleading look to his cousin and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you simply snap my neck and call it even?¡±

    Caspian shook his head and pointed the weapon at Hamilton¡¯s heart. ¡°I wonder what will happen if this bullet gets stuck in your heart,¡± he mumbled with a sinister look on his face.

    ¡°Er...¡± Hamilton gave a nervousugh and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s not find that out at the moment, okay? You can always test it out on the prisoners at the istion center. Oh! I know... Why don¡¯t we head there and see if it can also kill vampires?¡±

    Caspian chuckled eerily and shook his head. ¡°Nice try, cousin. But, no. Right now, we are talking about you.¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡± Hamilton growled in frustration, but he couldn¡¯t argue with Caspian anymore because he already knew this wasing his way.

    .....

    He drooped his shoulders and finally came to terms with his punishment for being careless earlier. ¡°Okay, then. I wille along with you and the Queen. But I won¡¯t be her personal bodyguard. I will go there as your cousin, nothing more and nothing less than that.¡±

    Caspian smiled and finally lowered the pistol that he had been pointing at Hamilton. ¡°We have a deal then. The carriages will leave at 7 AM tomorrow. Free up your schedule and be there at the castle in time.¡±

    Hamilton furrowed his brows and asked with an unimpressed look on his face, ¡°We are going there by carriage?¡±

    ¡°Yes, unless you want to volunteer to carry my wife all the way to the capital of Xanmar, we need to go there via carriages.¡± Caspian also further borated on the travel n, ¡°And, we won¡¯t be staying there in Xanmar. We will leave after watching that bastard getting crowned. So, we should be back home by the fifth day. You can inform Aunt Edith ordingly.¡±

    Hamilton heaved a deep sigh as if he had just lost a huge bet. And he sarcastically replied, ¡°Okay, I will be there, Your Majesty.¡± He further said in a sluggish voice, ¡°Make sure to take care of my diet though. I won¡¯t be carrying my own sks of blood.¡±

    ¡°I would never keep you hungry, cousin. What do you take me for?¡± Caspian smiled and looked at the cocked pistol that he was holding. He was happy that Hamilton acted on his impulse earlier because it made his task easier.

    Originally, Caspian hade there to the Wintertide Mansion to ask his cousin to apany him on the journey to Xanmar. As Hamilton was more or less on a simr power level as Caspian, he wanted his cousin to be by his side, in case something bad was to happen on the trip to the enemy kingdom.

    Caspian, however, was almost sure that Hamilton would never agree to travel together with him. But taking a bullet to his arm did the trick. So, he was never really angry about the shot that Hamilton fired at him.

    Now that it was confirmed that Hamilton would being along, Caspian held out his hand with the pistol on it and asked, ¡°Umm... how do we undo this thing?¡±

    Hamilton looked at the pistol with contempt as if that pistol was the reason he ended up getting tangled up with Caspian¡¯s unreasonable demand.

    He instantly grabbed it and pointed it at the wall this time. ¡°I guess, like that?¡± he answered, and pulled the trigger.

    However, apart from hearing the sound of the trigger clicking, nothing else happened.

    ¡°Huh!¡± Caspian nodded his head and actually believed that his cousin had nullified the loaded bullet somehow, not realizing that the pistol wasn¡¯t working. However, he pretended to know what his cousin just did and mumbled, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that? It¡¯s pretty obvious.¡±

    Hamilton gave a corner-eyed look to Caspian and grumbled, ¡°I did nothing, you idiot!¡±

    He then immediately face-palmed himself and cursed his fate, ¡°I forgot that you have to manually insert the bullet in the barrel first. This was the sample that was previously loaded by the sellers. Argh! I was afraid that you would shoot me when the pistol was empty!¡±

    ¡°What? I was threatening you by pointing an empty thing at you the whole time?¡± Caspianughed at his cousin¡¯s carelessness. ¡°You dumb arse!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,ugh at me. That¡¯s why I was born, right? To beughed at by you.¡± Hamilton gave a re to Caspian and threw the pistol back inside the box.

    Afterughing at his cousin for a while, Caspian finally calmed down, and raised an important and serious question, ¡°But hey, what¡¯s the use of that pistol if you have to put the bullet inside it every time you have to shoot a werewolf? By the time you insert another bullet after shooting the first one, they wille at you and bite you.¡±

    Hamilton also agreed that it was the fatal w in that marvelous invention. There was no point in bringing that weapon to a fight where even half a second would make a lot of difference.

    ¡°I will talk with the inventors and ask them toe up with an upgraded version of this weapon,¡± Hamilton reassured his cousin. He looked at the box full of pistols and sighed thinking that they were useless now.

    Caspian also clicked his tongue and said in a sad voice, ¡°I was hoping that we could bring a few of those pistols with us on our journey. Although impressive, it¡¯s sad that they aren¡¯t very useful to us.¡±

    Until now, all the royal guards were listening to the conversation between Caspian and Hamilton.

    Rupert cleared his throat and asked the King, ¡°Your Majesty, if you don¡¯t mind, may I say something.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Rupert. What is it?¡± Caspian looked at his guard, expecting him to say that it waste and they should return to the castle now.

    However, Rupert dared to give a suggestion to the King, ¡°I think we should still carry one pistol each. We can load it with one bullet beforehand. And we could use it to bluff the enemy. They might get fooled after the first shot is fired.¡±

    Caspian stole a quick nce at Hamilton and nodded his head. ¡°I think that¡¯s also not a bad idea.¡± He pointed at the box and said to his cousin, ¡°I¡¯m taking all of that. Teach my guards how to use it.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡± Hamilton raised his brows in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s already evening. How can I teach them how to use it in such a short period of time?¡±

    Caspian went and sat down on the sofa. He looked at his guards and excitedly asked his cousin, ¡°They are fast learners. Just teach them.¡±

 Chapter 182

    182 Sugar

    nk!

    Anastasia inhaled sharply and woke up from her sleep when a gust of wind frolicked the curtains and pushed a metal brooch off the bedside cab.

    She turned her head toward the window to check what it was. However, since the curtain was closed and it was now staying still, there wasn¡¯t ample light in the room.

    Anastasia took a deep breath in and then gulped. ¡®I guess it was just the wind,¡¯ she thought.

    She then closed her eyes to go back to sleep again, but she got startled when something cold suddenly touched her foot.

    Anastasia quickly turned her head to the other side, only to find her husband sleeping soundly beside her.

    ¡®When did hee back?¡¯ she sighed and wondered.

    She had waited for her husband toe back until it was way toote in the night. She had finally gotten on her bed when she started to feel extremely drowsy.

    Anastasia turned to face her husband. She was only able to see his outline. And yet, a smile bloomed on her lips.

    .....

    She gripped the thick nket and happily thought to herself, ¡®I thought he would be sleeping in his bedchamber tonight. But I guess...he quietly snuck in.¡¯

    ¡°How long are you going to stare at me, Anna?¡±

    Anastasia got startled when she heard her husband¡¯s hoarse whisper. She smiled in embarrassment and quickly buried her face into her soft pillow.

    ¡°You were awake?¡± she asked with her muffled voice.

    Caspian put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. ¡°Maybe...¡± he whispered back and rested his leg on his wife¡¯s thigh.

    Anastasia looked at her husband¡¯s face. She could vaguely see her husband beaming at her. She slowly lifted her hand and brought her fingers close to his lips. She wanted to feel her husband¡¯s smile.

    Caspian dly let her feel around his lips. He then gently held her hand and nted a soft kiss on her palm. ¡°You didn¡¯t stay up untilte to wait for me, did you?¡± he asked in a low voice.

    Anastasia smiled and wrinkled her nose. ¡°Maybe...¡± she replied.

    Caspian sighed because he knew she would do that. He pressed her head against his chest and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, wife. I had a few things to discuss with Hamilton. And it was alreadyte before I realized it.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to be sorry.¡± Anastasia closed her eyes and cuddled with her husband.

    Caspian also closed his eyes and asked, ¡°You will be okay though, right? The journey is going to be a long one. And I know that you don¡¯t do really well during long travels.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s main concern was also the same. She was hoping that she wouldn¡¯t end up falling sick again. ¡°I will be alright if we take short breaks in between the travel,¡± she replied to her husband.

    Caspian had already taken the breaks into ount while nning the journey. Still, he asked her, ¡°If you don¡¯t feel well, then you have to tell me immediately, okay? We will stop and rest.¡±

    Anastasia slightly nodded her head. ¡°I will.¡±

    Caspian pressed his lips on his wife¡¯s forehead and then asked, ¡°Okay, now you should catch your sleep. I don¡¯t want you to be sleep deprived on the first day of our trip.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm...¡± Anastasia mumbled, the drowsiness already dancing in her eyes.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±

    Both Anastasia and Caspian were woken up early in the morning by Ti¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I¡¯ming in!¡± Ti gave a warning before pushing the main door open using her shoulders with force. Carrying a tray with one of her hands was definitely making it hard for her to push that huge door open. She knocked on the bedroom door again and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, are you awake?¡±

    ¡°Come in, Ti,¡± Anastasia gave a sound from her bedroom.

    When Ti walked inside the room, Anastasia was standing near the door while yawning and rubbing her eyes.

    Caspian, on the other hand, was still sleeping.

    ¡°My Queen,¡± Ti offered a warm ss of water to the Queen.

    After Anastasia took the ss, Ti said while keeping her head down, ¡°I will prepare the bath for you.¡± She then immediately rushed inside the bathroom.

    Anastasia gulped down the water and set the ss on the table. She turned to look at her husband. He was still sleeping while facing the window and curling into a ball.

    ¡°My Queen,¡± Anastasia¡¯s attention was caught when she heard a polite voice from her antechamber. ¡°It is time for His Majesty to get ready,¡± Caspian¡¯s maid said while bowing to Anastasia.

    Anastasia gave a nod and replied, ¡°I will send him to his chamber.¡±

    That maid bowed again and disappeared from the antechamber like a puff of smoke.

    Anastasia walked closer to her husband and sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°Caspian...¡± she called her husband while gazing at his bare back, but he didn¡¯t even budge.

    Anastasia then wriggled a little closer to him and held his shoulder. She leaned down and whispered softly in his ear, ¡°My dear husband, it is time for you to wake up. We have to leave soon, remember?¡±

    ¡°Mmmm...¡± Caspian let out a throaty groan; his eyes were still shut.

    Anastasia bent down further and softly kissed him on his cheek. ¡°Get up...get up...¡± she asked while pinching his cheek.

    Caspian finally turned to lie down on his back, his eyes still closed. But instead of getting up, he wrapped Anastasia in his arms and pulled her down.

    ¡°Hey...¡± Anastasia giggled as her body got mmed against her husband¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Let me sleep for a little longer,¡± he mumbled while sounding sleepy.

    She pecked on his chin and replied, ¡°You can sleep again in the carriage if you are still feeling sleepy. But for now, you have to get ready. Or else, we will make everyone wait for us.¡±

    Caspian tightened his hold on his wife even more and mumbled in his throaty morning voice, ¡°I am the King. I am allowed to make everyone wait for me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure...¡± Anastasia sarcastically replied to her husband. She then yfully blew cool air on his eyes.

    Caspian chuckled and finally opened his eyes wide. ¡°Okay, okay. I will get up, but only after I get my daily dose of sugar.¡±

    Anastasia furrowed her brows and shook her head. ¡°You sure know how to sweet talk me into kissing you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right.¡± He swiftly rolled Anastasia over andy on top of her. He then moved his gaze from Anastasia¡¯s eyes down to her lips.

    Anastasia gave a shy smile. ¡°Caspian! We are going to bete...¡± she whispered. Her heartbeat was slowly escting.

    Caspian instantly closed the unbearable gap between his and his wife¡¯s lips. ¡°Mmm...¡± he let out a satisfied moan when he tasted the sweetness of his wife¡¯s mouth.

    Ti happened toe out of the bathroom at that exact moment.

    ¡®Oh, dear lord!¡¯ Her whole face turned red and her eyes widened upon seeing the King and the Queen getting intimate with each other. And rather than running out of the room, she turned on her heels and shut herself inside the bathroom again.

 Chapter 183

    183 Starting the Journey

    ¡°Anastasia, are you ready?¡± Caspian asked while standing in front of Anastasia¡¯s bedroom door.

    Ti opened the door for the King. She bowed to him and then stepped aside.

    Anastasia was sitting down in front of the dressing table and was giving herself some touch-ups. She looked at Caspian¡¯s reflection in the mirror and then said with a smile on her face, ¡°Almost ready.¡±

    She picked up the bottle of perfume and brought it close to her neck. After spraying the perfume behind her ears and checking herself in the mirror onest time, she said, ¡°Okay. I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Caspian turned to look outside of the main door and then gestured for a few servants who were waiting at the door toe in. ¡°Take the luggage and load them,¡± he ordered them while pointing at the luggage that Ti had kept by the bedroom door.

    The servants immediately walked inside and carried the luggage out of the chamber.

    Caspian then walked inside the bedroom and offered his hand to his wife. ¡°Let¡¯s go then, shall we?¡±

    Anastasia held Caspian¡¯s hand and gave him a nod.

    The two of them walked hand-in-hand and headed outside the room.

    .....

    Ti also closely followed them.

    When the three of them reached in front of the main entrance of the castle, four carriages had already been lined up, ready for the travel.

    The royal guards, coachmen, Zenon, and Vincent bowed to the King and the Queen the moment they all saw the monarchs.

    Caspian led Anastasia towards one of the carriages that was parked in the middle. And while walking towards the door of that carriage, he asked Zenon, ¡°Isn¡¯t Hamilton here yet?¡±

    ¡°He is-¡±

    Zenon was about to answer the King when they all heard Hamilton¡¯s voice from the carriage that was just behind the one that Caspian and Anastasia were going to use. ¡°I¡¯m already here, Your Majesty. You made me wait here for five whole minutes. Let¡¯s go already!¡±

    ¡°Good to have you here, Hamilton,¡± Caspian said while looking at the closed carriage window. Though Hamilton didn¡¯t show his face, he was genuinely happy to hear Hamilton¡¯s voice.

    The coachman opened the door of the carriage and prepared a footstool for the Queen to step on.

    Caspian helped his wife to get inside the carriage. And before he also got in, he looked at Zenon and asked, ¡°You will be able to handle everything, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zenon gave a confident smile and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about anything here, Your Majesty.¡± He then bowed to the King and said, ¡°Enjoy the trip.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Caspian said with a mysterious smile on his face.

    After Caspian also got inside the carriage, Zenon nced at Ti and said while pointing at the carriage at the forefront, ¡°You can use that carriage. The others are already inside.¡±

    Ti gave a polite bow to Zenon and turned to head toward the carriage that she was supposed to use.

    However, Vincent stood in front of her and asked, ¡°Ti, why don¡¯t you apany me? I don¡¯t think I can sit alone in the carriage for two whole days. I will get bored out of my mind within an hour if I have to sit alone.¡±

    Ti wasn¡¯t sure if she was even allowed to share the carriage with the lord. And she wasn¡¯t sure if she actually wanted to share the carriage with Vincent even if she was allowed to.

    ¡°Er... I don¡¯t think I should be sharing the carriage with you, Milord.¡± Ti gave a polite bow to Vincent and tried to walk past him.

    However, Vincent was quite insistent about it. ¡°Oh,e on, Ti. You don¡¯t have to be shy. You agreed to be my friend, didn¡¯t you? What good is a friend if they can¡¯t even give mepany?¡±

    ¡°But, how can I...¡± Ti awkwardly looked past Vincent and looked at the carriage that she was supposed to use. She wanted to run past him and get inside that carriage.

    Caspian was listening to their conversation from inside his carriage. They were already a few minuteste. He didn¡¯t want those two to dy the travel even further. So, he looked out of the window and asked his wife¡¯s handmaid, ¡°Ti, why don¡¯t you do as Vincent has asked you? We are gettingte.¡±

    Ti was surprised to get a direct order from the King. She bowed to him and agreed, not that she had any other option now, ¡°Right away, Your Majesty.¡±

    Vincent focused his gaze behind Ti. He saw Caspian gesturing for him to get inside the carriage as well. He smiled at his friend, thankful that he wouldn¡¯t be lonely throughout the travel.

    ¡°Right this way, my friend,¡± Vincent pointed his palm inside his carriage and urged Ti to get in.

    After giving a hand to Ti, he also stepped inside the carriage.

    When all four carriages were upied, the royal guards bowed to the King and then ran ahead to clear the way for the carriages. A squad consisting of fifteen soldiers had already left for Xanmar yesterday night to validate the information about the coronation.

    When the royal guards disappeared from view, all four of the carriages also started to move.

    Caspian waved his hand at Zenon as the carriage passed by. And when the carriage was out of the main gate, he finally turned to look at his wife.

    Anastasia was busy watching the scenery outside. She was cing her arms on the window and resting her chin on her knuckles. As she was taking in the fresh air, her wide smile stered to her face.

    Caspian could hear Anastasia¡¯s heart beating louder and louder. This was the first time he had seen her getting excited about something that wasn¡¯t him or her books.

    Caspian got up and shifted to sit down in front of Anastasia. He wanted to see the excited look on her face. Needless to say, he didn¡¯t regret shifting there because he was able to see his wife¡¯s child-like excitement.

    ¡°Are you that happy?¡± he rested his elbow on the window and asked while gazing at his wife¡¯s face.

    Anastasia looked at him with a wide grin on her face. ¡°Yes!¡± she eximed and went back to staring out of the window.

    Caspian suddenly found himself holding his breath. His heart tingled with happiness upon seeing that happy puppy in front of him. He breathed in through his mouth and smiled, unable to take his eyes off of his wife¡¯s face.

    ¡®I¡¯m d that I agreed to this trip,¡¯ he thought to himself as he captured that excitement of his wife with his eyes.

 Chapter 184

    184 Closing the Window

    It had almost been about half an hour since Anastasia started to look outside the window.

    She was appreciating each and everything that her eyes were able to capture ¨C the trees with a few leaves intact on their branches, the birds that were flying to look for food, the soft morning breeze, and the sparse sunlight that fell through the branches of the trees.

    She was so engrossed in the view outside that she almost forgot she was traveling together with her husband, not that he minded though.

    However, Caspian was a little concerned when she sneezed continuously for a couple of times.

    He slightly tilted his head to catch her attention and said in a polite voice, ¡°Anna, I think we should close the window for a while. Else, you might catch a cold.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Yes, of course,¡± Anastasia sniffled and said in a little disheartened voice.

    Although she was feeling cold, she was also greatly enjoying the view. The scenery of the woods wasn¡¯t just pleasing to her eyes, but also to her heart. Her heart was ecstatic, almost as though it was getting a taste of freedom.

    However, she also needed to take care of herself. So, she pulled her hands away from the window and rested her back on the soft cushion.

    Caspian closed the windows so that the chilling breeze wouldn¡¯t get to his wife¡¯s heart. And after making sure that the cold air wasn¡¯t getting inside the carriage anymore, he shifted to sit by Anastasia¡¯s side again.

    .....

    He held out his hand and cupped her cheeks. Her cheeks were already icy cold, and so was her nose.

    ¡°I should have asked you to close the window a while ago,¡± he mumbled to himself while taking the scarf from Anastasia¡¯s neck and wrapping her head as well as her neck with it. He also buttoned up the thin light-green sweater that she was wearing outside her gown of the same color.

    Anastasia was gazing at her husband¡¯s beautiful eyes and longshes as he worriedly tried to make her warm.

    Caspian then took both of her palms and started to rub them with his cold hands. Right now, her hands were as cold as his.

    He furrowed his brows and asked her while still rubbing her cold palms, ¡°Anna, you shouldn¡¯t be so careless. I don¡¯t want you to get sick before we even reach our destination.¡± He was really worried about his wife¡¯s health, which he had sensed by now that it was more fragile than most humans on her age.

    He further said in an apologetic tone, ¡°I am not that affected by the cold. And I can¡¯t tell if the breeze is too cold for you... If you hadn¡¯t sneezed, then I wouldn¡¯t even have noticed that the cold was affecting you.¡±

    Anastasia snuggled with her husband. She rested her head on his shoulder and replied with a wide smile on her face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, love. I got a little carried away because it had been a while since Ist saw these woods.¡±

    She entangled her fingers with his and brought his hand close to her lips. She gave a soft kiss on his knuckles and whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t make you worry about me anymore, okay? I will be careful.¡±

    ¡°You better not go back on your words,¡± Caspian pouted his lips and continued rubbing her hands again.

    When her hands started to get warmer than his, Caspian slipped her hands inside the pocket of his overcoat. He then put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her even closer to his chest.

    ¡°Let me know if I give off chills instead of warmth,¡± he asked his wife, knowing all too well that she would keep on hugging him even if she would feel as though she was hugging a huge block of ice instead of him.

    ¡°You are warm.¡±

    He let out a quiet sigh of relief when he heard his wife¡¯s soothing whisper. He was d that his helpers made him wear an extrayer of warm clothing citing that the weather was starting to get chilly in the morning.

    ¡ª

    After about two hours into the journey, all the carriages came to a halt when they reached an open and sunny area.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian got woken up by Ti¡¯s voice for the second time today. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He then looked down at his wife to find her soundly sleeping while resting her head on his chest.

    ¡°Anna,¡± he softly whispered to her and said, ¡°We are taking a short break. Do you want to get outside for a while?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± Anastasia groaned in her half-asleep voice.

    Caspian gently caressed his wife¡¯s soft hair and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s stretch our legs. Come.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath in and finally opened her eyes. She lifted her head and asked in her sleepy voice, ¡°Where are we?¡±

    Since Caspian was the one to n out all the routes as well as the ces they were supposed to take breaks at, he answered even when he hadn¡¯t peeked outside yet, ¡°We just crossed Silver Keep. We will soon enter another town.¡±

    Anastasia raised her brows in surprise and eximed, ¡°We crossed Silver Keep just now? I thought Silver Keep was way too close to the castle.¡±

    Caspian chuckled and knocked on the door.

    While the coachman opened the door from the outside, Caspian answered his wife, ¡°It is close when we travel by air. Your husband is faster, remember?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Of course!¡± Anastasia lightly tapped her forehead and got up on her feet.

    Caspian jumped out of the carriage first so that he could hold out his hand for his wife.

    Anastasia held Caspian¡¯s hand with one of her hands while with the other, she held his shoulder.

    She was about to step down when Caspian put his arm around her waist and swiftly carried her out of the carriage.

    Anastasia wasn¡¯t expecting him to actually carry her, she was simply expecting him to help her step down. But when he lifted her and put her down, warm blood rushed toward her cheeks and ears, especially because everyone was watching the two of them.

    To add to her embarrassment, Hamilton walked closer to the two of them and said to Caspian in a teasing voice, ¡°It looks like the Queen weighs nothing more than a small flower. I bet you could have carried her to Xanmar and back if you really wanted to.¡±

    Caspian gave a corner-eyed look to Hamilton and replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect her from the wind if I had done that. Unless someone volunteered to run at the front while shielding me and my wife from the air pressure.¡±

    Hamilton knew what Caspian was implying when he said that. But he simply ignored Caspian and then gave a polite bow to Anastasia, ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty. I hope you are in good health.¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± Anastasia replied while giving a polite nod to Hamilton. She also happily added, ¡°I am really d that you joined us for this trip. The more the merrier, right?¡±

    Hamilton smiled at Anastasia and said after turning his gaze at his cousin, ¡°Well, I am happy that my cousin extended the invitation to me as well. I am looking forward to a memorable trip.¡±

    ¡°And so am I.¡± Vincent came and stood next to Hamilton. He nced at Hamilton and said with a straight face, ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you, Lord Hamilton.¡±

    Hamilton gave a subtle smirk and replied, ¡°Likewise, Lord Vincent.¡±

 Chapter 185

    185 Bonding

    ¡®Is it just me or...are the two of them giving off a hostile vibe?¡¯ Anastasia thought to herself as she watched that small exchange of conversation between Hamilton and Vincent.

    Before any of them could speak much, Caspian intervened, ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t we freshen up before continuing our journey?¡±

    Hamilton stretched his arms and announced lethargically, ¡°I¡¯m hungry, cousin.¡±

    Before Caspian could speak, Vincent asked rather firmly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have dinner yesterday, Lord Hamilton?¡±

    Hamilton gave a mirthless smile and replied, ¡°Well, if everyone¡¯s stomach would still be full from yesterday¡¯s dinner like you then the blood consumption would be down by half.¡±

    Caspian had thought of going on a short walk with his wife. However, it looked like those two needed a babysitter. So, he gestured to his wife that he was going with those two, and then went near them.

    He put his arms around each one of their shoulders and dragged them away while feigning ignorance to that disy of bad blood between the two of them, ¡°It¡¯s a pretty lovely day, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not that hot unlike how it used to be a month ago.¡±

    Hamilton rolled his eyes andmented bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you haven¡¯t burned to a crisp in that overcoat. Take it off already! You¡¯re making me feel ufortable.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell Caspian what to do when you yourself are covering yourself from head to toe,¡± Vincent spoke without missing a beat.

    .....

    Hamilton sighed and asked in an irritated voice, ¡°And don¡¯t speak on my cousin¡¯s behalf when I am talking with him and not you. You¡¯re not his wife, for god¡¯s sake!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m his best friend!¡± Vincent asserted while looking past Caspian and ring at Hamilton.

    Hamilton instantly sneered and mumbled, ¡°More like his only friend.¡±

    Caspian had had enough of those two bickering with each other. ¡°Gentlemen!¡± he gritted from between his teeth and gripped both of their shoulders. ¡°Stop making a scene already! Our enemies are beyond the border. So, save your hatred forter.¡±

    ¡°Who said I hate him?¡± Hamilton groaned and loosened Caspian¡¯s grip on his shoulder. ¡°He is the one who started getting hostile with me for no reason.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not being hostile.¡± Vincent also denied the ¡®usation¡¯ from Caspian and tried to rify, ¡°I just... don¡¯t like your attitude. I don¡¯t like how you act like you are the King when you clearly are not.¡±

    ¡°Whoa! Whoa!¡± Caspian spread his arms and pushed those two away from each other. ¡°Let¡¯s not go that far, okay boys? Why don¡¯t the two of you walk in the opposite direction? I don¡¯t need any bloodshed here.¡±

    However, Vincent clenched his fists and kept on snarling at Hamilton, ¡°And I don¡¯t like how you disrespect my friend. Only I can do that. Also, I am not good at ying pretend or hiding my true emotions from showing on my face. So, sorry if I offended you, but you offended me first.¡±

    Hamilton scoffed in disbelief. He stopped walking and stood while facing Vincent. He was looking at him while gaping his mouth.

    ¡°Only you can disrespect Caspian?¡± He raised his brows as if that was the most absurd thing that he had ever heard in his life. ¡°Where did you get that idea from, Lord Vincent? He is my cousin first. And your friend after that. It is my birthright to disrespect him. So, just shut up and stop trying to im all the fun.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Stop it you two!¡± Caspian shouted at them and stood in the middle.

    However, Vincent pushed Caspian aside, puffed his chest, and took a step closer to Hamilton as if he was ready to throw hands at him. However, he only threw his words instead. ¡°If it¡¯s your birthright then it is my earned right. I earned the right to disrespect him after I stuck by his side for over a century now.¡±

    ¡°Wait for a second!¡± Caspian folded his arms in front of his chest and gave a questioning re to both of them. ¡°Are you two even listening to yourselves? You two are fighting about who gets to disrespect me, right in front of me? What the hell? Do you both need a smack on your heads?¡±

    All of a sudden, both Hamilton and Vincent burst intoughter and even shook hands.

    Caspian narrowed his eyes and fisted on his hips. ¡°Huh! So you two were colluding together and fooling me? Since when did the two of you grow so close with each other?¡±

    ¡°Er...¡± Vincent raised his brows and nced at Hamilton.

    Hamilton nonchntly shrugged and replied while trying his best to hold hisughter, ¡°This morning.¡±

    ¡°But this wasn¡¯t nned, okay? We just went with the flow.¡± Vincent then turned to look at Hamilton and said while wheezing, ¡°Ah! I never had this much fun teasing him before.¡±

    ¡°Me neither,¡± Hamilton crouched down because he started tough violently after seeing Vincentughing like a rattling chain. ¡°Oh, heavens! We should definitely do this often...¡± he spoke with his wheezing breath.

    Vincent bent a little and rested his palms on his knees. And he also spoke whileughing as if he just lost his mind, ¡°His face... his face was worth seeing when he thought we were going to fight.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t like how the two of them were banding together to make fun of him. And seeing themugh at him made him further irritated.

    So, he smacked both of them on the back of their heads. However, he held back when doing that, so the two of them simply felt a tickle and didn¡¯t feel like their head would explode.

    ¡°Keep onughing, you arseholes! I¡¯m outta here,¡± Caspian shouted harshly, and then turned on his heels to catch up with his wife.

    Anastasia was still standing by their carriage while sipping on a cup of warm tea. Ti was standing by her side to give herpany. And the twodies were watching the three menughing, curious to know what was so funny that they looked like they would choke soon if they didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Why are theyughing?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian as soon as he approached her.

    Caspian shook his head and replied with a straight face, ¡°Let¡¯s just say, they got amon topic to bond over.¡±

    Although Caspian was angry at them forughing at him and trying to make a fool out of him, he was happy that the two of them were talking with each other. Since he didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with Hamilton before, Vincent also didn¡¯t like Hamilton that much.

    But now that he was trying to work on the rtionship with his cousin, he was happy that his friend was doing a lot better than him already, even though it was at the cost of peace of his mind.

 Chapter 186

    186 Camping

    ¡°Anna, we are resting here for the night,¡± Caspian said to his sleeping wife after the carriage came to a halt.

    Anastasia was lying down on the seat of the carriage while using Caspian¡¯sp as a pillow.

    Caspian gently tapped on his wife¡¯s cheek as she didn¡¯t get up the first time he called her, ¡°Anna, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm...¡± Anastasia pouted her lips and covered her eyes with her wrist.

    Caspian gazed at her with a soft smile on his lips. ¡®Should I just carry her? She is still sleepy,¡¯ he thought to himself and slowly put his hand below her nape and her knees.

    However, before he could carry her in his arms, Anastasia sat up and said with haste, ¡°I am awake. I am awake.¡±

    Caspian sighed and gave a nod. ¡°You could have still pretended to sleep so that I could have carried you,¡± he said in a little disheartened voice. He looked into her eyes and asked, ¡°Can I carry you inside the tent?¡±

    Anastasia, however, wasn¡¯t a fan of that idea. ¡°I think I will walk. Everyone will be watching us.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± he asked and gave a shrug.

    .....

    Anastasia wrinkled her nose a little and shook her head. ¡°So... I don¡¯t want them to stare at us or feel ufortable because of us.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but...¡± Caspian took Anastasia¡¯s hand in his and entangled his fingers with hers. Then he asked her in with anticipation, ¡°Do you feel ufortable when I carry you?¡±

    Anastasia replied without missing a beat, ¡°You are my husband. Why would I feel ufortable?¡±

    Caspian grinned whimsically and knocked on the carriage door. ¡°So, it¡¯s settled then,¡± he mumbled.

    Anastasia widened her eyes after realizing why he had asked if she would feel ufortable. And before she could resist or say anything, Caspian swiftly picked her up in his arms. Anastasia instantly wrapped her arms around his neck out of instinct.

    Caspian climbed out of the carriage; and as expected, the two of them grabbed the attention of everyone who was traveling with them.

    Most of them bowed their heads in an attempt to offer privacy to the King and the Queen.

    Vincent and Hamilton were, however, looking at Caspian and Anastasia with wide grins on their faces as if they were ready to do something mischievous.

    Caspian red at them and warningly shook his head.

    Thankfully, Anastasia didn¡¯t see them grinning because she was pressing her forehead on Caspian¡¯s chest. She was too shy to make eye contact with the others while her husband was carrying her.

    Hamilton pretended to tie his mouth withce and watched Caspian head towards a huge tent while giggling to himself.

    ¡°So, this will be our chamber for the night.¡± Caspian stood in front of the tent that Jasper and his men had put up. Since they were around the border, they had taken care of everything that the traveling team needed for the night, including food for the Queen and her handmaid. ¡°How does it look?¡± he asked his wife.

    Anastasia finally lifted her head and turned to look around her.

    She saw a gigantic tent right behind her. And it looked so sturdy that it almost made her question if someone had uprooted a castle and brought it there for them.

    There were also several smaller tents that were set up around that huge one in the middle.

    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Caspian asked, worried if his wife would like to spend the night in such a ce. The tents were set up in a small clearing that was surrounded by the forest. So, he was afraid that his wife would get scared or ufortable with the surrounding.

    However, Anastasia was too upied admiring the tents that she had no time to look around at the surrounding.

    ¡°Yes, I like it,¡± she whispered. She could see a few pairs of eyes peeking at them, so she urged him, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside then.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t do any dy. The guards pulled the curtain-like doors for them, and Caspian walked inside their temporary castle with his wife.

    Anastasia was even more surprised when she saw the tent from inside. It wasn¡¯t just a single huge ¡®room¡¯ as she had thought; there were severalpartments inside that tent.

    Caspian gave a tour of the tent to his wife. He walked inside one of thepartments that were right by the side of the main entrance. ¡°So, this is the meeting room,¡± he said while showing the ce where several chairs and tables were already arranged.

    He then showed her the bathroom space. Just like the meeting room, the bathroom also had all the necessary things, even a bathtub that was already filled with warm water.

    Likewise, he showed a dining room. And then finally, he led his wife inside their bedroom. The bedroom had a huge bed and even a dressing table. The floor was also covered with a thick rug. If she had been brought there blindfolded, then she would have believed that this was a castle and not a tent.

    Anastasia was having a hard timeprehending how the soldiers brought all those things, that also for a single night. ¡°Was this all necessary? Do you always travel like this?¡± she asked after her husband put her down on her feet.

    Caspian put his arms around his wife¡¯s waist. He lightly pinched her chin and gently lifted her face. He looked at her lips and whispered, ¡°If I have to travel long distances, I normally run or fly until I reach the destination. This is the first time I am camping like this.¡±

    He leaned down and gave a soft kiss to Anastasia on her lips. And he whispered in her ear, ¡°Since I am traveling with my wife, and since this is the first time camping, I wanted to make it a memorable one.¡±

    He gently nibbled her ear lobe and then whispered again, ¡°And obviously, I wanted to make the stay asfortable as I could. Just for you.¡±

    Anastasia was really touched by that gesture of her husband. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

    ¡°How can you be so sweet?¡± she asked while burying her face in his neck. And almost instantly, she felt her heart pounding with excitement when her husband¡¯s enchanting petrichor smell entered her nose.

 Chapter 187

    187 How Many Gallons?

    ¡°I¡¯m here to meet the soon-to-be King. I am his old friend,¡± Lorenzo said curtly when he was stopped by a few guards from wandering around the corridors of the castle.

    One of the guards had seen the short man in the castle a few times before as well. So, he believed that Lorenzo was indeed an old friend of Everard.

    He gestured towards the waiting area of the castle and said, ¡°His Highness is taking a bath at the moment. Please wait there. We will inform him about your arrival and let you know.¡±

    ¡°I was invited by him. So, will you inform him right away that I am here?¡± Lorenzo asked in the same stern voice.

    The guards didn¡¯t like taking orders from anyone unless it was someone of higher authority from the castle. They simply looked away and were about to leave.

    Seeing that, Lorenzo tried to assert dominance by puffing his chest a little and lifting his head. And he said again, ¡°I was asked toe here at this exact time. So, if he gets angry at me for beingte, then know that I am ming the two of you for not informing him right away.¡±

    The guards gritted their teeth at that rude ¡®child¡¯. They wanted to throw him out of the castle for trying to talk down on them. However, they swallowed their anger and gave a mirthless smile.

    ¡°I will inform him right away,¡± one of the guards said while trying not to sound rude. Then he walked towards Everard¡¯s chambers.

    ¡®I hope Everard will believe that I had an appointment with him. Or else, I will be aughing stock in front of these pathetic guards.¡¯ Lorenzo folded his arms and started tapping his foot on the floor.

    .....

    ¡®Come on... How long do I need to wait? I have been trying to meet him for the whole day.¡¯ He was getting impatient by the second. Since it was already night, he was worried that Everard would deny meeting him. ¡®I don¡¯t want to return without meeting him. I don¡¯t want to disappoint the alpha by saying that I didn¡¯t meet him today as well. He keeps high expectations from me. I should meet his expectations.¡¯

    Thankfully for him, the guard returned with a favorable piece of news. ¡°His Highness will meet you in his chambers. Please follow me.¡±

    ¡°See, I told you!¡± Lorenzo boasted to the guard, but in his head, he was greatly relieved that his lie wasn¡¯t caught.

    The guard led Lorenzo to the personal chambers of Everard and let him in.

    However, without giving him any further instruction, that guard left from there.

    ¡°Umm... okay... I will find Everard myself,¡± Lorenzo mumbled to himself when the guard disappeared from his side in a sh.

    ¡°Your Highness?¡± Lorenzo whispered as he tiptoed around the antechamber.

    There was no answer. So, he wondered if he should sit down and wait for the soon-to-be King toe outside of his bedchamber.

    Just as he sat down on the chair that was in front of a tea table, he heard Everard¡¯s voice, ¡°Lorenzo, is that you? You cane inside.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Yes, Your Highness,¡± Lorenzo happily jumped up on his feet and walked towards the door from where he had heard Everard¡¯s voice echoing.

    However, unlike what he had thought, that room was the bathroom and not the bedroom.

    Everard was lying down in the bathtub. He was resting his head on the rim of the tub, and his arms were hanging out from either side of the tub. He was closing his eyes and didn¡¯t give any response to Lorenzo even after sensing his presence inside the bathroom.

    Lorenzo wondered if he should have waited outside after all. For one, Everard wasn¡¯t dressed. And second, the whole bathroom was reeking of booze. And to add to that, Everard looked as though he had been staying inside the bathtub for quite a while. The tips of his fingers had wrinkles on them.

    ¡®It doesn¡¯t look like a good time to talk with him,¡¯ Lorenzo thought to himself.

    ¡°Umm...¡± he opened his mouth to ask Everard for the leave.

    However, Everard looked at him and then asked in a lethargic voice, ¡°Speak, Lorenzo. You look like you want to say something to me.¡±

    Lorenzo wondered if Everard was sober enough to remember that they didn¡¯t have any meeting nned beforehand.

    However, since Everard had summoned him, he thought that he didn¡¯t remember.

    So, he took his chances and said, ¡°You had asked me to be here today. You said that you wanted to talk to me. That¡¯s why I am here.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everard adjusted his position and sat while bending his knee forward. ¡°Is that so?¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Itpletely escaped my mind. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Everard looked around and then pointed at a stool that the maids used while giving a bath to him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit down? Let¡¯s talk then.¡±

    Lorenzo gave a nervousugh and then asked, ¡°Um.... Aren¡¯t you going toe out of the bath? I think the water is already cold.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Everard dipped his hand inside the water as if his whole body wasn¡¯t already submerged in it. ¡°Ha!¡± he looked at Lorenzo and nodded his head. ¡°You¡¯re right! The water is already cold. How did you know that? You didn¡¯t even dip your finger here.¡±

    Lorenzo wondered just how many bottles Everard had chugged down for him to be that drunk. Werewolves had high resistance to liquors. And for them to get this drunk, they would need to chug a couple of gallons.

    ¡°It was just a lucky guess,¡± Lorenzo politely replied and then gave a hand to Everard. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get up? I will help you get dressed. And we can talkter.¡±

    Everard looked around the bathroom while narrowing his eyes. ¡°Where are all the maids? Did they all die or what?¡± he shouted angrily.

    Even when he was drunk, his voice didn¡¯t sound slurry at all. If it wasn¡¯t for the senseless things he said, Lorenzo wouldn¡¯t have guessed that Everard was not in the right state of his mind.

    ¡°You asked them not to disturb you, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lorenzo threw a guess.

    Everard chuckled and nodded his head. ¡°I think so. Why am I getting so forgetful these days?¡± he mumbled to himself and grabbed Lorenzo¡¯s wrist to get up.

    However, the moment Lorenzo pulled Everard up, thetter copsed right down into the tub.

 Chapter 188

    188 Lonely

    Everard immediately sprung out of the water and gasped for air as though someone was holding him down in the water and was choking him.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked breathlessly when he saw Lorenzo standing right next to him. Furthermore, he jerked his hand right away from Lorenzo¡¯s wrist when he realized that he was grabbing that man.

    Lorenzo bowed his head as low as he could and then replied, ¡°I was just trying to help you get out of the water, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Help me?¡± Everard stepped out of the tub and then grabbed the bathrobe to wrap himself with. While slipping inside the bathrobe, he recalled some pieces and fragments of his conversation with Lorenzo.

    He cleared his throat and then asked while looking over his shoulder, ¡°Did we have a meeting?¡±

    Lorenzo¡¯s heart skipped a beat because Everard sounded different than earlier, almost as if he was suddenly a different person. To be more precise, he almost sounded menacing.

    Lorenzo didn¡¯t dare to lie anymore. He was sure that Everard was now sober. He kept his head down and said in a low voice, ¡°I thought I would check up on you and give youpany since tomorrow is the big day for you. When I met you a few days ago, you said that you didn¡¯t want to feel lonely anymore. So, I thought I could cheer you up a little.¡±

    ¡°I was drunk when you met me thest time?¡± Everard turned to look at Lorenzo and asked while frowning because he didn¡¯t recall saying that to anyone.

    Lorenzo sped his hands together and replied, ¡°You might have been, Your Highness. There were a few bottles of alcohol in the room at that time.¡±

    .....

    Everard sighed in disappointment. He was disappointed in himself for relying on alcohol to forget about his problems for quite a while now.

    He had started drinking so much that he was mostly under the influence for the whole day and he couldn¡¯t tell dream from reality. He was also having problems remembering a lot of things these days.

    ¡°Thank you foring, Lorenzo. I was indeed feeling lonely.¡± Even though he was already sober, Everard epted how he was truly feeling and walked out of the bathroom.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit down and talk for a while since you are already here?¡± he asked as he sat down on the chair in his antechamber.

    Lorenzo was so d that he wasn¡¯t thrown out of the chamber after lying to get inside. He followed Everard out of the bathroom and took a seat beside him.

    Lorenzo finally lifted his head and looked at Everard. He was already lost in his deep thoughts, sadness was prominent on his face. And he couldn¡¯t help but feel pity towards Everard.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked in a way that showed genuine worry toward Everard.

    Everard¡¯s pupils still looked dted when he replied, ¡°Yes. As okay as a frog resting inside a boiling pot.¡±

    ¡°Everyone needs to leave this Earth eventually. It¡¯s only a matter of time...¡± Lorenzo mumbled mncholically.

    Everard closed his eyes and kept on nodding his head. ¡°I know... I know...¡± That was all that he could say.

    Lorenzo stared at Everard¡¯s face for a while. He wondered if Everard had epted his father¡¯s death yet. He couldn¡¯t tell.

    Everard could see from the corner of his eyes that Lorenzo was staring at him. So, he asked, ¡°What do you have in your mind? Are you also here to say that I should stop drinking?¡±

    ¡°I would never say that. Everyone grieves in their own way,¡± Lorenzo replied in the most polite manner.

    There was silence in the room for a while. Lorenzo was there to talk well about his alpha. Although Romulus already had a few meetings with Everard by now, something wasn¡¯t working well between the two of them. And Lorenzo was there to show his alpha in good light so that Everard would start favoring Romulus.

    However, seeing Everard, he knew it was no time to talk about business. So instead, he quietly sat by Everard¡¯s side. He believed that at times like this, someone¡¯s mere presence would make the mood a lot better.

    After a while of silence, Everard turned his gaze at Lorenzo and asked about the very person Lorenzo was thinking about, ¡°I never got to ask this to you before. You are close with your alpha?¡±

    ¡°Alpha?¡± Lorenzo was a little startled because he was caught off-guard. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not that close with him. I just run some lowly errands for him,¡± he hastily replied and gave a nervousugh.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Everard furrowed his brows and said while furrowing his brows, ¡°He never fails to mention your name when we meet. And I also saw you traveling together with him the first time I saw you here in the castle. So, I thought you two were very close.¡±

    Though Lorenzo wanted to establish a better rtionship between his alpha and Everard by using his friendship as leverage, he also didn¡¯t want to ept that he was close with his alpha and make it backfire on him. He didn¡¯t want Everard to think of him as a spy for Romulus. He wanted Everard to keep on seeing him as his friend.

    So, he lied again, ¡°No, we are not that close. But I think he sees me as a hard worker and thus, remembers my name. He even gave me a ride that day because we were going to the same destination.¡±

    He took a pause to look at Everard¡¯s reaction. And when he saw Everard listening to him attentively, he emphasized, ¡°He really cares about each and everyone in his n. I respect him a lot. In fact, everyone respects him a lot.¡±

    The two of them then talked about Romulus and the Atkinson n for more than an hour.

    Lorenzo couldn¡¯t be any happier when Everard actively asked questions about his n. That way, he got to boast about his n as well as his alpha.

    Everard, on the other hand, didn¡¯t care much about the n and the alpha. All he cared about was the time that was easily passing by as Lorenzo rambled on about everything in detail.

    When there was nothing more to ask about the n, Everard took Lorenzo by surprise when he suddenly said, ¡°Lorenzo, by any chance, has Ruby contacted you?¡±

    ¡°Ruby?¡± Lorenzo furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°You mean thedy who I met in Lavinya?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Er... No...¡± Lorenzo wasn¡¯t sure why Everard was suddenly asking that. So he questioned, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Everard heaved a deep sigh like never before. He closed his eyes and mumbled, ¡°I had brought her here with me. I had promised to take care of her and also said that I would find her family. But...¡±

    ¡°But?¡±

    He stared at the nk ceiling and grumbled, ¡°I said some awful things to her. And now, I cannot find her anywhere. To add to that, I haven¡¯t heard anything from the people I sent to Sorvando. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s taking them so long. I thought she woulde here on her own if I found her parents.¡±

    Lorenzo¡¯s heart started to beat faster when he heard Everard. He didn¡¯t care about Ruby or her parents. All he cared about was that small piece of information.

    ¡®He sent people to Sorvando!¡¯

    He tried not to get too excited because this was something his alpha would like to hear. He calmed himself down and then asked unsuspectingly, ¡°When did you send people to Sorvando? They might be on their way back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been more than two weeks I guess.¡± It was evident that Everard was still optimistic about their return. ¡°Maybe her parents shifted somewhere else and they are still looking.¡±

    Lorenzo pursed his lips and thought restlessly, ¡®How can he miss something so obvious? If it¡¯s been weeks then...even their bones must have rotten by now.¡¯

    He didn¡¯t say that to Everard though. He wanted to deliver that information to his alpha first. He sped his hands nervously and decided to take a leave for today.

    ¡®Something might already be brewing between the Kingdoms because of his one foolish act. I should inform the alpha right away.¡¯

 Chapter 189

    189 Rarest Thing

    ¡°Did you freshen up?¡± Caspian asked Anastasia when she walked inside their bedroom for the night.

    Anastasia¡¯s hair was still somewhat wet even though Ti had done her best to dry it with the towel. She gave a nod to her husband and replied, ¡°Yes, I did. Aren¡¯t you going to freshen up as well?¡±

    Since the bathroom was upied by his wife, Caspian was still in the same clothes that he had worn during the day for the travel. ¡°Yes, I am going to do that now.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm...¡± Anastasia stood in front of the dressing table and checked herself in the mirror. Something had gotten inside her eyes, and she was trying to get it out. But her hair kept on falling in front of her eyes and was making it difficult for her to see her reflection clearly.

    Caspian went and stood behind his wife. He gathered all of her hair and held it in ce for her. And when he did that, he said to her, ¡°But before taking a bath, I need to have a meeting. So, it¡¯s going to take some time for me to be back. Until then, why don¡¯t you have your dinner? Maybe Ti can also join you.¡±

    Anastasia removed thesh that had gotten in her eyes. She then smiled at her husband¡¯s reflection and said thankfully, ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, then I will eat with her. I was worried that she would be alone.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s okay. She¡¯s also your friend after all.¡± Caspian spread her hair once again and said, ¡°Enjoy your dinner. I will try to finish my work faster ande back. But if I amte, you can go ahead and sleep, okay?¡±

    After Anastasia gave her approval, Caspian left the room and headed toward the meeting room. Before entering the room, he asked one of his servants to serve the Queen and Ti their dinner.

    And he also ordered one of his royal guards, ¡°Send the Sergeant inside. He¡¯s arrived already, hasn¡¯t he?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. He has been waiting. I will send him in right away.¡± The royal guard bowed and then walked out of the tent.

    Caspian waited inside the meeting room for the leader of the squad, who had gone to Xanmar to gather information. When a tall and bulky vampire entered the room, Caspian gestured at the seat in front of him and said, ¡°Take a seat, Nichs. I hope you aren¡¯t that tired yet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m good, Your Majesty. I got to rest for a while as I waited for you to summon me,¡± Nichs replied respectfully.

    Caspianfortably leaned back on his chair and crossed his leg. He then asked his trusty soldier, ¡°So, what did you find out? Tell me everything.¡±

    Nichs rested his arms on the table with a serious look on his face. And he briefed with the same seriousness, ¡°My squad infiltrated several cities of Xanmar. I also infiltrated the capital with a few others. And we all found out the same thing. The previous King has indeed passed away. The coronation is tomorrow. The Crown Prince is going to be crowned in front of the mass. And I also heard that all the alphas will be present during the coronation. We will have to tread cautiously.¡±

    ¡°And who are among the invitees?¡± Caspian was curious to know if he was the only King who had been invited or if the other rulers were also invited to the ceremony.

    Nichs had made sure to check that as well. So, he confidently replied, ¡°Invitations were sent out to the Kingdom of Orsenia and Lavinya as well. They are the most important allies of Xanmar, so it is understandable. And they have also sent out the invitation to five other Kingdoms beyond the ocean.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Caspian hummed.

    He was a little relieved to hear that the invitation wasn¡¯t fake, although his doubts weren¡¯t that high regarding the authenticity of the invitation. Only someone who waspletely out of their mind would lie about the death of their parents.

    He was, however, relieved to hear that he wasn¡¯t the only one from the outside Kingdom who had been invited to the coronation. If others weren¡¯t invited, then he would have been forced to believe that Everard hadid out some kind of trap for him.

    ¡°And any other news that needs my immediate attention?¡± Caspian asked the Sergeant.

    Nichs shook his head and replied, ¡°No, Your Majesty. That was all from my side.¡±

    ¡°You and your squad did a great job. You may rest for the night.¡± Caspian gave praises where there were due. And he also further asked, ¡°Also, both you and your squad will be working together with my royal guards from tomorrow. Please apany them on this journey since you are more aware of the roads and towns of Xanmar.¡±

    ¡°We will do our best to make your travel smooth andfortable, Your Majesty.¡± Nichs bowed his head and left the room.

    Caspian also headed out of the meeting room, only to find Vincent and Hamilton waiting for him outside.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have dinner together?¡± Hamilton took the initiative to ask his cousin. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since west sat down together as a family.¡±

    Caspian was, however, itching to get out of his clothes. He pointed at himself and replied, ¡°I have yet to take a bath.¡±

    ¡°What the hell were you doing until now?¡± Vincent asked with a frown. ¡°I was thinking of enjoying dinner together with you. We never travel like this. So, I thought we might as well enjoy it while we get the chance.¡±

    Caspian also frowned a little and protested, ¡°I am the King. I have a lot of duties, unlike you two.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and he is also a married man.¡± Hamilton came forward and said teasingly, ¡°So, he probably doesn¡¯t want to spend time with his brothers anymore.¡± He turned to look at Vincent and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Vincent.¡±

    Vincent pretended to get hurt and agreed with Hamilton, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s drink our sorrows away. We¡¯ve lost our brother to his wife.¡±

    Caspian fisted on his hips and asked the two of them, ¡°Why do you two sound like drunk humans? Did you two gentlemen sniff some funny nts in the forest?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Vincent put his arm around Hamilton¡¯s shoulder and turned to face the exit of the tent, ¡°He is calling us crazy now. Let¡¯s go, brother. We have no ce here.¡±

    Caspian sighed and turned to look at the dining area. He could hear the soft murmur of his wife and her handmaid. She was having a good time with her friend.

    He then turned to look back at his friend and cousin who were acting crazy. He couldn¡¯t deny that this was a rare asion for them; the very fact that Hamilton and Vincent were walking shoulder to shoulder was the rarest thing that he had witnessed until now.

    He didn¡¯t know if he would get to travel like this with his friends again. So, he decided to follow them.

    ¡°Okay, wait. I aming.¡± Caspian ran and caught up with the two of them.

    Vincent instantly put his arm around Caspian¡¯s shoulder as well and sarcastically weed him, ¡°We are honored by your presence, Your Majesty. Now, let¡¯s drink under the stars.¡± He led Hamilton and Caspian toward the table that he had asked the guards to prepare earlier.

    However, Caspian stopped before reaching the table. And he asked the lords, ¡°Why don¡¯t we save this drink forter? Since we are in the forest, why don¡¯t we go deeper inside and hunt down some beasts?¡±

    Hamilton looked at Caspian as if he was crazy, and then asked while gagging, ¡°You want to drink animal¡¯s blood?¡±

    ¡°What? No, you idiot!¡± Caspian red at Hamilton for even thinking that. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that we hunt them. You know... to calm our predatory instinct.¡±

    His expression turned a little bit sour when he muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t want my killer instinct to surface after meeting the half-animals in Xanmar.¡±

 Chapter 190

    190 Winner

    ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± Hamilton agreed with Caspian in an instant. ¡°I need to blow off some steam before I step foot in Xanmar. That wolf had an ego bigger than his head before he was even a King. Now that he is going to be the King, I am pretty sure he will try to talk down on us unless he matured after his old man¡¯s death. So, I better keep my killer instinct in check as well.¡±

    Vincent was standing in the middle of Caspian and Hamilton, wondering if he would be the one to hold these two hotheads back if something unfavorable was to go down.

    ¡®I just hope that it won¡¯te down to that,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Vincent then took a deep breath and agreed as well, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hunt down some beasts then. I don¡¯t want the two of you jumping to kill the werewolves the first time you get a chance.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Hamilton nced at Caspian and asked while giving a challenging smirk, ¡°What¡¯s our target?¡±

    Caspian epted the challenge and replied to Hamilton, ¡°Whatever catches our attention first.¡± He further said while hinting at their childhood, ¡°You know the deal. The first one to strike a killing blow wins.¡±

    ¡°Ready?¡± Hamilton turned to look deep into the forest and asked his cousin.

    ¡°Wait! Are you two trying topete? What¡¯s going on? Set some rules first,¡± Vincent frantically shouted at those two who already looked in sync.

    Caspian looked at Vincent and asked, ¡°Just follow the lead.¡± He then answered Hamilton, ¡°Ready when you are.¡±

    .....

    Hamilton took the running stance and shouted in excitement, ¡°Then here we go.¡±

    Both Hamilton and Caspian immediately took off in the same direction.

    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Vincent shouted at them and followed soon after.

    The two cousins ran deep into the thick forest like a harsh gust of wind. They ran past several herbivorous animals, jumped over the huge tree trunks lying on the path, and even jumped across the tall tree branches as if they were highly energetic teenagers.

    Vincent was having a hard time catching up with the two of them even when he was running without performing stunts like those two.

    ¡°What are you two? Monkeys? Just slow down!¡± he shouted breathlessly. However, they didn¡¯t listen to him at all.

    Hamilton¡¯s blood-red eyes glistened when he caught the glimpse of a red stag that was almost double the size of normal deer found in that area.

    Not just in size, it also looked double the weight of the normal deer. Its horns were sorge and beautiful that they looked like the crown of that majestic creature.

    Hamilton and Caspian exchanged a knowing nce with each other. And almost instantly, the two of them stopped running in that direction.

    Vincent also caught up with them soon and stopped behind Caspian. ¡°So, what are we looking at?¡± he asked Caspian in a whisper and peeked ahead. Before Caspian answered him, he widened his eyes and eximed, ¡°Whoa! That¡¯s some huge damn stag. It¡¯s taller than us!¡±

    ¡°Are the both of you going to hunt that one?¡± Vincent asked again after seeing both of their eyes glued on that majestic stag.

    Caspian nodded his head and said in an excited whisper, ¡°Yes. Whoever kills it wins.¡±

    ¡°So, am I also a part of it?¡± Vincent asked to make sure that the cousins wouldn¡¯t try to kill him if he was to interfere with their prey.

    Caspian looked over his shoulder and gave a sly smirk to Vincent. ¡°If you can keep up with us, then sure, feel free to join the hunt.¡±

    Vincent frowned and shouted at Caspian for looking down on him, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t mock me! There¡¯s only a few seconds difference in our speed, okay? Don¡¯t you dare tease me!¡±

    Vincent forgot that he was in the middle of the hunt and shouted so loudly that he alerted the red stag about their presence.

    That stag stopped grazing on the luscious grass and immediately began to run away.

    Hamilton instantly shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± And he took off that very second.

    Caspian and Vincent also rushed after Hamilton. Their speed was almost simr, and before they knew it, they had all surrounded the stag from several directions.

    All three of them bared their ws and fangs and were instantly in hunting mode. The hunting instinct that they had suppressed within them naturally got unveiled in their glowing red eyes.

    The stag obviously found them as threats. It began to jump around madly, swinging its heavy andrge horns around in the hopes of intimidating the predators.

    However, unluckily for that stag, the predators weren¡¯t somebody who could be intimidated.

    Caspian and Hamilton were standing on either side of that stag while waiting for an opening to strike. They were facing the chest of that stag so that they could strike it down with one sharp blow of their hands.

    Vincent, on the other hand, was standing while facing the stag head-on. He was aiming to give a killing blow on that stag¡¯s head.

    Hamilton was the first one to jump in for an attack.

    However, the stag was jumping around so much that his blow only grazed the spine of that animal.

    Out of reflex, that stag swung its head with such great force that Hamilton¡¯s shirt got stuck on its horn, and he got thrown away.

    ¡°Aaahh!¡± he grimaced when his head got smashed against a huge tree trunk.

    Before he could go in for a strike once more, Caspian swooped in and punched into that stag¡¯s chest.

    However, Caspian miscalcted how tall that stag was. His blow didnd on that stag¡¯s chest, but he missed that animal¡¯s heart.

    Although that stag didn¡¯t die in that instant, it did copse to the ground.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± Vincent gasped upon seeing how tall that stag was even when it was sitting down.

    Caspian went for the kill again. However, that stag became even more violent now that it was injured. And since Caspian covered the distance between him and the stag at a slower speed, the stag was able to kick Caspian right on the chest with its hind leg.

    Caspian also got thrown away by that beast. ¡°Argh!¡± hended on his back and groaned.

    Even when it was wounded, the stag quickly got up on its feet in an attempt to run away.

    However, Vincent spread his arms out and stood in its path like an obstacle.

    The stag lowered its head and pointed its long and sharp horns at Vincent. And without wasting a second, the stag ran right toward the tiny creature in an attempt to ram its horns through that creature¡¯s small body.

    Vincent wasn¡¯t intimidated by the size of that stag. No matter how big it looked, he knew that he was much faster and stronger than that beast.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Caspian shouted from the back when Vincent didn¡¯t move an inch. He knew that the beast¡¯s attacks were powerful.

    The stag was already about to skewer Vincent. However, right before it was able to do so, Vincent grabbed onto its horns and tried to stop that stag by force. The stag was able to push the vampire for a while. But Vincent stopped skidding back once he arranged his footing on the ground.

    And before Caspian or Hamilton could interfere, he jumped high in the air. He sped his hands together, and as he dropped down, he banged his fists right in between that stag¡¯s horns with such a great force that the stag copsed on its knees.

    The stag¡¯s head drooped down to the ground, indicating that it was dead.

    Vincent nced at the royals. He pointed at the dead stag and asked breathlessly, ¡°So, does this mean I am the winner?¡±

 Chapter 191

    191 Grounded

    Caspian, Vincent, and Hamilton hunted down at least a dozen of big and small creatures that they found interesting and challenging. It was already way past midnight when the three predators returned to the camping site.

    The soldiers and guards who were scouting the area while the King was hunting also regrouped at the camp.

    ¡°Ugh! Now I need to take a bath again!¡± Vincent sighed while looking at his bloodced hands. He sounded very exhausted. After all, he had expended this much energy after a long time.

    He sat down at the table that wasid for them earlier and then mumbled to his friends, ¡°I think my bones are getting old and rusty. Why the hell am I this tired after hunting down a few animals?¡± He shook his head and said with determination, ¡°This won¡¯t do it. I need to start training my body again. I have to get my stamina back. At this rate, I will die if I get into a fight.¡±

    Caspian kneed Vincent on the thigh and scolded him while breathing raggedly, ¡°Don¡¯t say that when we are heading to the enemy territory. You are tired because we ran around too much. We reached the foot of Scarlet Hills in search of those damned tigers.¡±

    ¡°Right! It might be because of that as well.¡± Vincent nodded his head while catching his breath.

    But then his eyes fell on Hamilton who was sitting down in front of him. He wasn¡¯t breaking a single sweat and was calmly sipping on the blood that the maids served them. Surprised, he asked, ¡°Why are you looking like you just came from a light stroll in the garden? We are feeling like our lungs will explode over here.¡±

    Hamilton swirled the cup that he was holding and simply replied, ¡°I like to exercise daily, which the two of you clearly don¡¯t like.¡± He then gave a sarcastic smirk and added, ¡°Also, I am a bit younger than both of you. So, I guess, that¡¯s another perk.¡±

    Caspian scoffed and then said, ¡°Being young doesn¡¯t have anything to do with your stamina. Don¡¯t you remember how Percival used to beat us at everything even when he was a lot older than us?¡±

    .....

    Hamilton smiled after recalling the fond memories of their childhood. ¡°Yes, but he was at the peak of his youth. We were just children in hisparison.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s smile turned sad when he realized that he had unintentionally mentioned his brother¡¯s name.

    Vincent noticed how quickly the smile on his friend¡¯s face was dying down. So, before his elevated mood turned sour, he made Caspian hold the cup of blood and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you have your dinner? The Queen might be waiting for your return. You also need to clean yourself.¡±

    Caspian smiled again after recalling that he had someone waiting for him. ¡°Yes. Sometimes she likes to keep on waiting for me no matter howte it is. I better head inside soon.¡± He then began to take sips from his cup.

    Hamilton was watching the interaction between his cousin and Vincent. He could see why Caspian kept him around. He could see that Vincent was someone who kept Caspian grounded.

    He took a deep breath and thought while taking smaller sips of blood, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have shut him off. Mother was right. I never tried to understand him. I was so busy denying Percival¡¯s death that I pushed Caspian away.¡¯

    Caspian met Hamilton¡¯s eyes and flicked his brows because he had been staring.

    Hamilton smiled and shook his head. But he thought to himself, ¡®I hope that we will close this huge gap between us. Caspian is also making a conscious effort to mend our estranged rtionship.¡¯

    He then wondered if Anastasia was actively involved in making Caspian take the initiative to invite him on the journey.

    He gulped down the contents of his cup and then thought, ¡®Whether she was involved or not, I can tell that Caspian is slowly changing for the better. She definitely has a positive impact on his life.¡¯

    After catching their breaths and drinking to their fill, the three of them parted for the night.

    Caspian¡¯s servants had already prepared the bath for him. They helped Caspian to get rid of the blood and the smell from the hunt. And after getting dressed in a clean and aromatic night robe, Caspian headed towards the bedroom to catch some sleep.

    He was d when he saw his wife sound asleep on the bed. He would have felt guilty if he was out there enjoying the hunt, while his wife was restlessly waiting for him.

    He blew thentern and then climbed on his side of the bed. He wriggled close to his wife¡¯s warm body and hugged her. Then he closed his eyes. It didn¡¯t even take a minute for him to fall asleep.

    ¡ª

    The next morning, Caspian opened his eyes to see his wife hovering above him. She gave a wide smile the moment he opened his eyes.

    He smiled back and whispered in his hoarse morning voice, ¡°Anna. You¡¯re already awake?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She leaned down and nted a kiss on his forehead. ¡°Did you get enough sleep? I think you came backte yesterday.¡±

    Caspian held his wife¡¯s hand and yawned. ¡°Mhmm... I went for a hunt with the boys. And before I knew it, it was already past midnight. But I feel like I slept enough. We both slept in the carriage during the day.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes twinkled when he mentioned the hunt. She asked eagerly, ¡°You went for a hunt? What did you catch?¡±

    She was expecting to hear things like a rabbit or a deer. However, she was surprised when Caspian took the names of dangerous animals.

    ¡°We hunt down a red stag, three tigers, two wild boars, a leopard, a couple of bison, elks, and a few wolves.¡±

    Anastasia kept on staring at her husband, trying to wrap around the fact that her husband was not someone ordinary but a deadly vampire.

    ¡°Are you scared? Should I not have said that?¡± Caspian asked Anastasia while feeling a bit worried that his wife would think of him as a monster. He sat up on the bed and gently shook his wife¡¯s hand. ¡°I won¡¯t go hunting again if you don¡¯t like it.¡±

    Anastasia, however, gave a short smile and shook her head. ¡°No, that was not it. I was just amazed to hear how you casually mentioned that you took down tigers and leopards.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian sighed in relief after hearing that.

    Anastasia then casually cuddled with Caspian and proudly said, ¡°I am lucky to be your wife. I don¡¯t have to fear a thing in the world. I feel really safe with you.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s lips curved up on their own. He caressed his wife¡¯s hair and hoped that he would always be able to make her feel that way.

    ¡®I hope the werewolves won¡¯t cause any problem. I don¡¯t want any fights, at least not today. I just want her to meet her brother and return right away.¡¯

 Chapter 192

    192 Lodging

    ¡°When will we reach the capital of Xanmar?¡± Anastasia asked Caspian as they walked out of their temporary castle.

    Caspian took out his pocket watch from the waistcoat pocket. He looked at it. It was 6 AM, the exact time they were supposed to start their journey in. ¡°If we stick to the schedule and don¡¯t face any interference, then we should reach there by 4 in the evening.¡±

    ¡°The coronation ceremony is in the evening?¡± Anastasia asked the most important question. In all the excitement, she had forgotten to ask about it.

    Caspian adjusted the cor of his shirt and answered the Queen, ¡°The letter said that the ceremony will formally begin at 11 AM. But I don¡¯t know if the crowning will be done at that time or not. Whatever the case, we should reach there for the celebratory ball.¡±

    ¡°Ah! We are going to miss most of the ceremony then...¡± Anastasia let out a quiet sigh. She had hoped that she would get to spend at least some time with her brother. But it already seemed like she would just get to wave her hand at her brother and nothing more.

    Caspian saw the sadness on her face even though Anastasia was not trying to show it. He didn¡¯t want his wife to think that they were going to bete because he had nned for them to bete.

    So, he made her aware, ¡°The letter arrived a bitte for us. Else I had no problem staying there in Xanmar for a night and attending the ceremony from the morning.¡±

    Anastasia took a quick peek at her husband and then smiled. ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t my concern. It¡¯s just that, I thought I could spend a considerable amount of time with my brother. But it looks like I will have to keep the meeting short.¡±

    She heaved a sigh and asked her husband, ¡°We are returning today itself, right?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I have nned for now.¡±

    Caspian and Anastasia had reached in front of their carriage.

    Caspian gestured for the coachman to open the door for them.

    Anastasia gave her hand to Caspian so that she could easily get inside the carriage. She took the same window seat as yesterday.

    Caspian also climbed inside the carriage after his wife. He sat beside Anastasia, and then he ordered everyone tomence the journey immediately.

    The coachman closed the door of the carriage. All the others also got ready to begin the journey. And when royal guards started to run at the front, all the coachmen instructed the horses to pull the carriage forward.

    The soldiers who were under the supervision of Sergeant Nichs had surrounded the carriages from all sides. They were maintaining a distance though so that when they entered the border of Xanmar, the werewolves wouldn¡¯t be alerted of the presence of the Vampire King in their territory.

    Nichs was running at the forefront, by the side of three of the royal guards. He asked them while running, ¡°You all remember, right? The moment we step foot in Xanmar, we cannot run like this. We don¡¯t know who can keep up with our speed. We don¡¯t want them chasing after us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we remember. We are going to hire the horses and ride them,¡± Rupert answered the Sergeant and then picked up his speed.

    Inside the carriage, Caspian had wrapped Anastasia in her shawl like yesterday although she was saying that she wasn¡¯t cold yet.

    He then took her hand in his and picked up the conversation that they were having earlier, ¡°If you want to spend more time with your brother then I will see what I can do. If we can find a good ce to spend the night in, we might as well stay there for a night and return home tomorrow morning.¡±

    Anastasia looked up at her husband¡¯s face with a wide smile. ¡°Really?¡± She leaned her head on his shoulder and happily thanked him. ¡°I am looking forward to it then. But I don¡¯t think we need to be worried about the ce to stay in. I am sure that Everard won¡¯t let us be stranded after inviting us all the way to his Kingdom. There must be guest quarters in his castle.¡±

    Needless to say, Caspian wasn¡¯t amused by that idea.

    Even if he was to spend the night in the werewolf territory, there was definitely no way he was going to stay in the beacon of the enemy territory any longer than he needed to.

    Even though the werewolves weren¡¯t nning to trap him and his fellow vampires, staying there in the castle meant giving them a chance to try that.

    ¡®We will be at a great disadvantage if they were to do something,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself. Keeping that in mind, he said to Anastasia, ¡°Let¡¯s see how things go first. If everything goes well then we will discuss thatter on.¡±

    The smile from Anastasia¡¯s lips faded a little. She wasn¡¯t sure why her husband sounded skeptical, and she wasn¡¯t sure what he meant by ¡®if everything goes well¡¯.

    After pondering upon it for a while, she concluded that her husband was a little jealous when she was talking about Everard so freely. So, she decided not to take Everard¡¯s name during the journey. She didn¡¯t want her husband to have even the slightest doubt about her rtionship with Everard.

    And in her heart, she swore to herself, ¡®I should make sure to keep my distance from Everard while I am there. Caspian gets jealous very easily. I don¡¯t want to fuel his jealousy further and give him the wrong idea by taking too much of Everard¡¯s time. Yes, let¡¯s keep the talk short; that is if I get an audience with Everard in the first ce. And let¡¯s not insist on staying there in his castle.¡¯

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Caspian asked Anastasia as she went silent after he said that they would discuss the lodgingter. ¡°You aren¡¯t mad at me, are you?¡±

    Anastasia was brought back to reality from her deep thoughts. She held Caspian¡¯s arm and snuggled with him. ¡°Why would I be mad at you? I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Caspian leaned down to get a peek at his wife¡¯s face.

    She looked at him and smiled. ¡°Yes. I was just thinking that since Everard hadn¡¯t invited us to stay there, it wouldn¡¯t be nice of us to invite ourselves in. If Alexander isn¡¯t returning to Lavinya tonight, then we can find somewhere to stay at. Or maybe, we can invite my brother toe with us right away, if he doesn¡¯t mind skipping his sses for a few days.¡±

    Caspian was very happy to hear everything that Anastasia said, especially the part where she said it wasn¡¯t good to stay at Everard¡¯s castle.

    ¡°Okay, we can try inviting your brother then,¡± he replied. That was the option that Caspian was mostfortable with since it didn¡¯t involve staying a night in the enemy territory.

 Chapter 194

    194 Dove

    Ti covered her mouth with both of her palms. She couldn¡¯t believe that someone like Vincent had such a painful past. And it hurt her even more to listen about his gut-wrenching story.

    Vincent¡¯s blood started to boil with rage upon recalling the torture that he had been through in the past. Although that incident had happened over three hundred years ago, it was still fresh in his mind as if it had happened just yesterday.

    He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he further told his story, ¡°The only reason I survived all that was because the onlookers liked seeing me getting beaten to a pulp, over and over again. I was the only skinny vampire who could throw a punch or two. And I also fell under the ¡®rare¡¯ category because I had ws. Thus, my opponents weren¡¯t allowed to kill me. But they would beat me until I would be unrecognizable and until I could no longer lift a finger.¡±

    Ti¡¯s eyes were already filled to their brims upon hearing that. She couldn¡¯t even imagine Vincent going through such cruelty.

    Vincent breathed in and exhaled through his mouth a couple of times. He was trying to calm the anger that he felt toward his captors.

    He gulped and then further revealed what he had to go through, ¡°I had already lost hope for my future. But I didn¡¯t have the courage to die. So, I was just trying to earn one more day of my life and I was trying hard to earn a few drops of blood to keep me going.¡±

    ¡°I am so sorry, Lord Vincent.¡± Ti gazed at Vincent¡¯s heavy eyes that were hiding all his pain, fear, and anger until now. She couldn¡¯t believe that someone who was so yful and lively had such a terrifying past. ¡°I had no idea that you had been through so much,¡± she whispered.

    Suddenly, a subtle smile appeared on Vincent¡¯s face, and a sense of relief appeared in his eyes. He gazed at Ti. He was happy to see that genuine worry in her eyes.

    He took a deep breath and said to her, ¡°But who knew that Caspian woulde to me like a knight in shining armor? I still can¡¯t believe how he single-handedly finished off all those illegal merchants who had kept countless vampires like me. He freed all of us from those monsters and gave a fitting end to them.¡±

    .....

    Vincent¡¯s smile widened as he recalled that day. And he began to recount a few things that had taken ce.

    ¡°I was so impressed by Caspian¡¯s bravery that I clung to his leg and begged him to take me in. I had no ce to go, no rtives, and nothing to go back to when Caspian freed me from that horrible ce. And since I had been locked up for a long time, I didn¡¯t have the courage to even think about living without a master.

    So, I said that I was ready to be his servant for the rest of my life in return. At that time, I had no idea that he was a Prince. If I knew, maybe I would have been reluctant to get close to him and beg him. But I am d that I begged. Caspian took pity on me and brought me back to the castle with him.

    He also reunited the others with their families if they had any, and if they didn¡¯t, he sent them to other lords as helpers, somewhere they would be treated fairly.¡±

    Ti was also impressed by Caspian. Her respect towards both of the gentlemen increased by leaps and bounds upon hearing Vincent¡¯s heart-wrenching story. ¡°So you served His Majesty then?¡± She was curious to know how Vincent went from being a servant to being a lord.

    Vincent smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, he never asked me to serve him although I insisted countless times. He said it was his duty as a Prince to save the citizens in need. And rather than making me his servant, he allowed me to stay in the castle like a guest. He would asionally ask me to spar with him, and he woulde and talk with me. I thought that he would toss me out of the castle once he was bored.¡±

    Vincent chuckled and then said, ¡°Well, he did toss me out. But to my new house. I couldn¡¯t believe that while I was staying there in the castle as a guest, he was building a small and cozy house for me, not far from the castle. I didn¡¯t want to ept such a generous gift from him. I had said that a small corner in the castle would be more than enough for me. But he said that I could either live on the roads or ept the house.¡±

    He shrugged and then said whileughing, ¡°Well, the house sounded like a better option than the roadside. So, I shamelessly epted it in the end.¡±

    ¡°That was very nice of him,¡± Ti mumbled in a surprised manner.

    She could hardly believe that someone as terrifying and as cruel as Caspian had such a soft side to him. But then again, she had seen how he treated Anastasia. He would behave like apletely different person in front of Anastasia. So, it wasn¡¯t that much of a surprise.

    ¡®So, the King is as harmless as a dove to those he cares about,¡¯ she thought to herself, thankful that her friend was among those few that Caspian cared about.

    Vincent was still happily singing praises of Caspian. ¡°Caspian would asionally call me to the castle, saying he wanted me to train him. He said that I had a good experience as a fighter and he wanted to learn from me. I knew that it was all a lie. But I still went and taught him, or to be more precise, I pretended to teach him. When he paid me for my service, I knew then that he was trying to help me without making me feel as if I was leeching off from him.¡±

    ¡°Later, I started sitting together with him in his private lessons. He taught me all the things that I know now.¡± He had a wide smile on his face when he said, ¡°And everything that I own now, knowledge as well as wealth, it is all because of him. Even this life... I owe it to him.¡±

 Chapter 196

    196 Anything for You

    As though Alexander read Everard¡¯s mind, he looked at his friend and said, ¡°Now that I am here, I will make sure to give you goodpany.¡± He gave a subtle smile and said, ¡°I can follow you around like your bodyguard for the day if you want me to.¡±

    Everard chuckled and finally gestured for his friend toe inside his room. As he walked towards the sofa, he jokingly agreed to Alexander, ¡°Sure. I would love to be protected by my friend if anyone tries to assassinate me before I even begin my reign.¡±

    ¡°Hey... don¡¯t say that!¡± Alexander gently nudged Everard for speaking negatively on such an auspicious day.

    Everardughed and shrugged. ¡°I was just saying...¡±

    After taking the seat, Alexander looked around the room. He had thought that Everard would be surrounded by maids and servants and that he would be too busy to even spare a nce at him. However, when he didn¡¯t see a single soul in the room, he was a little surprised.

    ¡°Where are everyone though? Shouldn¡¯t you be doing something?¡± Alexander looked at Everard¡¯s bare chest and asked, ¡°Like dressing up or something?¡±

    Everard looked at the door and frowned. ¡°Yes! I should be taking a bath and getting ready! But I don¡¯t know what the holdup is. I thought I was alreadyte.¡±

    As though right on cue, a couple of maids appeared on the door and then bowed to Everard and the Crown Prince of Orsenia.

    ¡°Why are you all sote?¡± Now that Alexander was by his side, Everard reprimanded the maids in a much calmer tone.

    .....

    One of the maids answered on everyone¡¯s behalf, ¡°We were ordered to give you a few minutes with the Crown Prince of Orsenia.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everard didn¡¯t need to ask who had given out the order. He looked outside the door. And although he didn¡¯t see Jerome in the vicinity, he subtly smiled, thankful for being considerate.

    He looked back at the maids and then ordered, ¡°Well, what are you all waiting for then? Start doing whatever you¡¯re supposed to do.¡±

    All the maids bowed their heads and spread out to do their tasks.

    And while his bath was still being prepared, he looked at Alexander and asked, ¡°So, how have you been? You aren¡¯t bored alone, are you?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask that?¡± Alexander sighed and slipped down a little on his chair.

    He stared nkly and then mumbled in aining tone, ¡°I have been bored, lonely, tired, and everything. I have to sit down in those long lectures alone. Each day, I have to spar with someone I have never seen before.¡±

    Alexander turned his head to look at Everard and mumbled sadly, ¡°And I have to sit down alone to eat. I try to upy my free time by doing something like reading books or taking a stroll alone. But I cannot help but think that things would have been much more interesting if you were by my side.¡±

    He looked down at the floor. He pursed his lips and then said, ¡°I just wish that the remaining months will pass quickly.¡±

    Everard consolingly patted his friend¡¯s hand. ¡°I missed you too, Alex. I missed you a lot. And I¡¯m sorry. I wished to return as soon as my father¡¯s health recovered but...¡±

    ¡°No, I am sorry.¡± Alexander readjusted his posture and then looked at Everard¡¯s sad face. ¡°I am sounding selfish when you are the one who is having a hard time than me... Our situation can¡¯t even bepared. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Alexander asked Everard, ¡°How are you holding up? Are you okay?¡±

    Everard took a deep breath and shook his head. ¡°I am barely staying sane.¡±

    Alexander¡¯s attention was grabbed by the sudden nking noise that came from the bedroom. He turned his head to find a maid gathering all the empty bottles from the corner of the bed.

    He felt a sudden pang in his heart to see the number of bottles that were lying around. He looked back at Everard in surprise and asked him, ¡°You¡¯ve been drinking?¡±

    Everard scratched his forehead and looked away in shame. But he admitted what he did, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s the only thing that is keeping me from goingpletely off the rails. It is the only thing that I can rely upon these days.¡±

    ¡°Eve!¡± Alexander abruptly got up and stood in front of Everard. When Everard looked up at him, he asked in a devastated tone, ¡°You could have written a letter to me, you fool! I would have packed my things ande running to you. You could have relied upon ME! We¡¯ve been friends for almost our whole lives. You should know that you have the privilege to order me around when you are in such a dire condition.¡±

    Everard simply gave a sad smile and said, ¡°To be honest, I even thought of summoning you. But I didn¡¯t want to trouble you and be a bother.¡±

    ¡°Why would you ever be a bother to me?¡± Alexander sighed and cursed himself for noting to Xanmar earlier. ¡°I should have been there for you... I should havee here on my own.¡±

    Everard looked down again and said in an embarrassed tone, ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to pull the reins of my mouth these days. I have been hurting everyone and anyone with my words. I didn¡¯t want you to see that ugly side of me. You did the right thing by noting here.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have let that sidee out?¡± Alexander mumbled in a low voice.

    ¡°Your Majesty, the bath is ready,¡± a maid informed Everard.

    Everard got up on his feet and then patted Alexander¡¯s shoulder. He didn¡¯t want his friend to sulk around while he bathed. So, he said while smiling, ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself for what I did, Alex. What¡¯s done is done. But I do expect you to stay by my side for the whole day and cheer me up.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Alexander also pulled a smile and replied, ¡°That¡¯s the least I can do for you. If you want then I can stay here for a few more days and help you get ustomed to your new routine as the King of Xanmar.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Everard grinned and hugged Alexander. ¡°I would really appreciate it, Alex. I will hold you to it.¡±

    Alexander looked at Everard¡¯s happy face. He could tell how much he appreciated that simple gesture.

    ¡°Anything for you, Eve,¡± he said from the bottom of his heart.

 Chapter 197

    197 The Parade

    ¡°Your Highness, it is time,¡± Jerome gave a polite bow to Everard and informed him that they were going to leave for the Great Hall.

    Everard was standing in front of the mirror. The maids had finished dressing him for the asion and had already left the room. At the moment, the only ones who were present in the room with Everard were Alexander and Jerome.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± Everard asked while looking at his reflection.

    Everard was wearing a pair of ck trousers and boots, a white shirt, and a red coat with beautiful golden embroidery on it. Apart from that, a red ceremonial mantle that fell down to his ankles was attached to his shoulders.

    Jerome looked at Everard¡¯s reflection and replied, ¡°You look perfect for today¡¯s ceremony, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard shifted his gaze from his own reflection to Alexander¡¯s reflection. And he asked again, ¡°Alex? What do you say?¡±

    Alexander locked his eyes with Everard¡¯s reflection and then answered, ¡°You finally look like you are ready to be the King of Xanmar. I can already sense the powerful aura emanating from you.¡±

    ¡°You tter me, Alex,¡± Everard gave a smile to his friend and turned around. He looked at Jerome and said, ¡°And thank you for always having my back, Lord Jerome. So, what are we all waiting for? Let¡¯s go and let everyone see what their King looks like.¡±

    Jerome was extremely happy to see that newfound confidence in Everard. It finally looked like he had epted his fate and given in to his unavoidable future responsibilities.

    .....

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Jerome ran ahead of Everard and led the way.

    Before stepping out of his room, Everard looked at his friend and said, ¡°Alex, you are going to stick by my side for the whole day like you had promised. You better not leave me alone, not even for a second.¡±

    Alexander smiled and gave a gentle bow. And he sarcastically replied, ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty. This humble servant shall do what his master wants from him.¡±

    Everard chuckled at the demeanor of his friend.

    The two of them then walked out of the room simultaneously.

    Both of their guards began following them. The royal guards of Xanmar were surrounding the two of them from all four corners, while Alexander¡¯s guards were walking behind the guards of Xanmar.

    ¡°So, how are you feeling?¡± Alexander asked as they approached closer and closer to a grand carriage that was decorated for today¡¯s purpose.

    Everard clutched his fists and thought, ¡®As if I am going for a public execution...¡¯ However, his answer to Alexander waspletely different, ¡°I¡¯m feeling as if I am ready to conquer the hearts of all of my citizens.¡±

    Alexander gave a huge smile to Everard and nodded in approval. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, my friend. Keep it up.¡±

    The whole castle was in a festive mood, unlike how gloomy it looked just until yesterday. The whole castle was decorated for the asion, even the corridors were decorated with fancy flowers and curtains.

    All of the maids and servants looked really busy; they were rushing here and there, shouting out orders at each other, and preparing the castle for the celebratory ball and congrattory dinner that was going to be held during the night.

    ¡°Everyone seems really busy,¡± Alexander said after looking around at themon hall that they just passed through.

    Everard¡¯s eyes fell on the open-style ceremonial carriage that was waiting for him at the main door. It was also decorated with flowers and small gs of Xanmar.

    Jerome stood by the door of the carriage and gestured at it while giving a low bow to the soon-to-be King. ¡°This way, Your Highness.¡±

    Everard gave a nod and stared at the grand carriage for a while. He also looked around to see how everyone was waiting for him to get on the carriage.

    Though everything still felt extremely unreal to Everard, he was sure of one thing ¨C that from today on, he was going to inherit what his father had left for him. So, he took a deep breath and stepped toward his future.

    After Everard got up on the carriage, Alexander pointed at his own carriage and said, ¡°I will be right behind you.¡±

    However, Everard gestured for Alexander to stop and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you hop on with me? You just said that you will stick by my side, remember?¡±

    Alexander grinned and said in a low voice, ¡°What if the people think that I am your wife?¡±

    A few of the guards with sharp ears pressed their lips together in an attempt to control theirughter.

    ¡°Ugh! Why do you have to be so irritating?¡± Everard curled his upper lip in disdain when he saw his friend quite adamant about his decision. He sighed and said, ¡°Alright, follow me in your own carriage then. I will see you there in the Great Hall.¡±

    ¡°See you there,¡± Alexander replied and strode towards his carriage.

    Alexander refused to sit down together with Everard because he didn¡¯t want the people of Xanmar to get confused regarding who their ruler was.

    Although Everard was wearing the ceremonial mantle that would clearly distinguish who the soon-to-be King was, Alexander was also in his royal outfit that could pass him as the one who was supposed to be crowned today. So, he didn¡¯t want to steal his friend¡¯s thunder and confuse the people of Xanmar.

    After everyone was ready, the horses, carriages, footsoldiers, and guards headed towards the castle¡¯s main gate while following a band that yed a beautiful piece of celebratory music.

    Everard had thought that he would start to see the crowd once he reached the main streets of the capital. He had thought that the crowds would be waiting for him in the Great Hall.

    However, he was greatly surprised when he was greeted by loud cheers and ps from the people who were eagerly waiting by the main gate to catch his one glimpse.

    ¡®Are all these people here to see me?¡¯ Everard thought to himself while darting his eyes around the crowd.

    An overwhelming sense of happiness and pride erupted in his chest. Heughed to himself and slowly raised his hand in midair.

    He then watched his people shouting and cheering for him even louder when he smiled and waved his palm at them. He could also hear his people praising him saying things like, ¡°Long live the King¡± and ¡°All hail the new King¡±.

    Everard took a deep breath. The rims of his eyes glistened upon seeing that much love and respect from his citizens.

    He kept on waving his hand at the public and thought to himself, ¡®I didn¡¯t know that I already had such a good reputation among my people. Is it the trickle-down effect of my father¡¯s reputation? If so, I must do everything in my power to preserve it.¡±

 Chapter 198

    198 The Coronation

    Everard and the others who were with him during the parade arrived at the Great Hall just in time. There was only five minutes left until the coronation ceremony began.

    Thus, as soon as the carriages reached in front of the main door of the Great Hall, a squad of soldiers who were just below the rank of the royal guards spread out around the area to protect Everard from any unnecessary attempts at interaction from the citizens.

    When the perimeter was secured, the royal guards then marched inside the hall while creating a passage for the King to reach the altar.

    Even though the hall was filled with thousands of people, not a single one of them were uttering a single word. Instead of the chattering sounds that were floating in the hall just a few minutes ago, the hall was now filled with soft music from several instruments.

    Everard stood at the foot of the steps of the Great Hall and looked at the huge door.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are getting cold feet now,¡± Alexander stood behind his friend and said in a whisper.

    Everard was pumped up by all the cheering he received on the way to the hall. His confidence had been filled to the brim. Thus, he smirked and replied to his friend, ¡°Oh, I am ready, Alex. I was just admiring myst few seconds as the Crown Prince of this Kingdom.¡±

    Alexander was happy at to see the confidence of his friend. His upright posture and the tone of his voice proved that he was saying the truth. ¡°Okay then.¡± He nced at Jerome, who was standing a few feet away from him and then said to Everard, ¡°I guess I am entering the hall through the back door. So, all the best, Eve.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! I will see you up there,¡± Everard replied to his friend. Without turning behind, Everard climbed up the stairs like a true King.

    .....

    When the guards at the door saw Everard heading towards the door, one of them shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°Attention! The Crown Prince of Xanmar, Everard Crestfire, the firstborn son of thete King Alfred Crestfire is entering the hall.¡±

    All the royal guards who were making a path for Everard saluted the moment the announcement was made.

    Themoners eagerly craned their necks and looked towards the door to get a glimpse of their new ruler. They were going to proudly tell the story of this historic day to their family and their children. And catching a glimpse of their new King was a must to make their visit worthwhile.

    Everard looked around the hall with his eager-looking eyes. Thousands of eyes were on him. He could feel that they were looking at him as a hope for the same, if not a better future than they already had. He could feel his shoulders getting heavy with each step he took toward the altar.

    ¡®So, this is how it feels to be the King...¡¯ he thought to himself, his eyes now fixated on the altar at the center of the grand hall.

    He saw Alexander and Jerome climbing the altar with haste. He also saw the alphas of all the ns already standing there and looking at him. Some of them, like Romulus, looked happy; some had no expression at all; while some were almost ring at him as if they were warning him that they had their eyes on him.

    Everard didn¡¯t give much attention to the alphas. He averted his gaze from them and looked at the tall and glorious figure of the Moon Goddess that stood right behind the altar.

    She was depicted as a beautiful woman with floating hair, a soft gaze, and a mysterious smile. The index finger of her left hand was pointing up at the sky; a small broken chain was hanging down from that finger. Her right palm was resting in front of her stomach; this palm was holding a full moon.

    Everard now understood each and every message the Moon Goddess¡¯ sculpture was trying to send.

    ¡®For all this time, everything was right in front of my eyes!¡¯ he thought.

    The High Priest gestured for Everard to kneel down in front of the Moon Goddess.

    Everard did as he was asked.

    The High Priest then addressed the crowd, ¡°Today, at this auspicious time, we are going to crown a new King. He is the one and only heir of ourte King. And I can attest to the fact that he possesses all the skills and knowledge required to rule this Kingdom, and ultimately, keep on maintaining the peace and prosperity that ourte King has given us. Now, you all shall witness the coronation of our new King.¡±

    While the priest began performing the necessary ceremony, Everard looked up at the Moon Goddess and prayed silently, ¡®I am grateful towards you for bestowing me with this great power. Thank you for seeing me as someone worthy of this power. Please keep on looking after me even in the future. I will be in your care.¡¯

    Everard closed his eyes when the High Priest stood in front of him and chanted something while cing his hand on Everard¡¯s head.

    After the incantations wereplete, the High Priest gestured for his apprentice to bring forth the crown. He then gestured at Jerome to step forward and do the honors.

    Jerome came forward and took the crown in his hand, the same crown that histe alpha used to wear. He took a deep breath and put a smile on his face. He shifted his gaze from the crown to Everard. He saw the image of histe King in Everard, and he hoped that Everard would do justice to the crown.

    Jerome put the crown on Everard¡¯s head.

    The moment the cold crown touched his head, Everard felt this overwhelming emotion. However, unlike how he had been paranoid for these past weeks, this time, he felt a great sense of pleasure upon bearing the weight of the crown.

    ¡°I hope that you will carry your father¡¯s legacy forward, my King,¡± Jerome whispered to the new King, to the person he was going to follow from now on.

    Everard got up on his feet and gave a wide smile to Jerome. ¡°I will try to do justice to my father¡¯s name,¡± he replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡± Jerome smiled back at the King. He then looked at the crowd and announced at the top of his lungs, ¡°All hail the King!¡±

    The silent crowd suddenly erupted in celebration of the new King.

    Everard had never thought that he would witness so many people cheering for him. He proudly smiled and waved at the crowd that came to witness his coronation from far and wide.

    After a while, he turned to look at his friend.

    Alexander looked happier than Everard himself. He gave a low bow to his friend, the new King of Xanmar.

    Everard also turned his gaze at the alphas.

    They all gave a low bow to him.

    Everard proudly smiled at them and turned back to wave at the crowd that was still cheering for him.

    ¡°I thank you all foring all the way here to show your support. Let the new era begin,¡± he shouted at the crowd, making them cheer even louder.

 Chapter 203

    203 The Ballroom

    It was already 6 in the evening. Since the nights were starting to get longer, the darkness arrived faster, prompting the maids and servants to light up the whole castle with candles,nterns, and torches. The whole castle shined like a beacon of light.

    ¡°Your Majesty, it is time to head towards the ballroom. All the guests are waiting for your arrival,¡± Jerome bowed and said to the new King.

    After returning from the Great Hall, Everard was busy greeting and attending to the alphas of all the ns, the councilmen, the ministers, and all the Kings and Crown Princes of the ally Kingdoms.

    He had just gotten a chance to sit down and take a sip of the red wine. But Jerome arrived like an eclipse of his happiness.

    ¡°Is it time for the ball already?¡± he asked with a deep frown on his forehead.

    Jerome gave a gentle nod and replied with politeness, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. It¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Alexander?¡± Everard asked, worried that his friend was all alone this whole time.

    Even though they had agreed to stick together for the whole day, they couldn¡¯t do so. It would have been inappropriate for Alexander, the Crown Prince of Orsenia, to tag along in the private greeting sessions of Everard with the Kings and Crown Princes of other Kingdoms.

    ¡°He is already in the ballroom,¡± Jerome replied.

    .....

    Everard gulped down the wine as if it was water and then got back up on his feet. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± he said while straightening his cream-colored coat that he had changed into just a while ago.

    Four of the royal guards, who had now sworn to protect Everard, immediately followed him. During his stay in Lavinya, after great efforts, he had managed to make his guards agree to not follow him literally everywhere. He had already been used to roaming around freely.

    Now that he was back to being tailed by stiff, bulky men in uniform, he felt a little ufortable. However, he made himself understand that it was for his own protection and didn¡¯t try to dismiss them. There were a lot of werewolves around him, and he didn¡¯t know whom to put his trust in yet.

    Before reaching the ballroom, Jerome rushed off somewhere and came back within a few seconds. And he offered a beautiful porcin mask to the King.

    Everard took the mask from Jerome, but he was confused as to why Jerome handed that to him. ¡°Is it a masquerade ball?¡± he asked while knitting his brows in tune.

    ¡°Er...¡± Jerome gave the same confused look to Everard and said, ¡°You were the one who ordered to make it a masquerade ball.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Right!¡± Everard closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.

    ¡®I must have said that when I was drunk,¡¯ he thought. He didn¡¯t say that to Jerome though. He didn¡¯t want Jerome to double-check his every order before executing it just because of this one slip.

    Everard looked at the mask in his hand. The mask looked like the upper half of the face of some ancient angel. It was painted cream in color, except for the eyes. The area around the hollow of the eyes had intricate designs that were painted with golden color.

    Everard handed it back to Jerome and asked, ¡°Help me put it on.¡±

    They stopped in the middle of the corridor and Jerome made sure to perfectly secure the mask in ce. He also made sure to make thece invisible by hiding it under Everard¡¯s silky long hair.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Jerome informed the King.

    Everard looked at Jerome¡¯s face and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s yours?¡±

    Jerome put his hand inside his pocket and unfolded a small paper mask that only covered his eyes. ¡°Here,¡± he showed it to the King and quickly put it on.

    Everard envied Jerome¡¯s mask because it looked way too lighter than his. He sighed and asked Jerome, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have gotten something like that for me as well? Mine is really heavy.¡±

    Jerome politely replied, ¡°You are the King now. I can¡¯t let you wear something that looks very cheap like mine.¡±

    Everard scoffed and then resumed walking again. When he reached the doors of the ballroom, his ears were blessed with the soft music that echoed even outside of the hall.

    He sighed in relief and thought, ¡®This is much better than the non-stop chattering from all those people. I guess I can finally enjoy it a little... I hope I can.¡¯

    The guards at the door were ready to announce the presence of their King.

    However, Everard suddenly stopped them and asked, ¡°Just quietly open the door. I don¡¯t want everyone to bow to me again. It¡¯s exhausting, really.¡±

    The guards ironically bowed and then pushed the door open for Everard and the others.

    The music sted outside the moment the door flung open. And along with the music, the happy chatter andughter of his countless guests also poured out.

    Barely a few people who were very close to the door recognized the King and bowed their heads. The others were too busy tapping their feet to the beat.

    Everard grabbed a ss of wine from the tray of a maid who passed by, and he looked around therge ballroom.

    The hall was filled with guests from different parts of the world. They were wearing fancy clothes and masks of different shapes and colors. Even with the masks on, he recognized a few people in the hall, those who he had closely interacted with during the day. The rest, he had no idea who they were.

    He then slowly walked around the hall, sipping on his wine, and looking around for someone specific. ¡®Ruby... I was hoping that she would at leaste to congratte me. But I guess I was being overly optimistic. I hurt her beyond repair, didn¡¯t I?¡¯

    He climbed the stairs of the hall in a dejected manner. He was cursing himself for going overboard that day.

    He, however, still had a glimmer of hope that Ruby would be there in the hall somewhere. He had included Ruby¡¯s name in the guest list for tonight¡¯s ball, hoping that she would return.

    After reaching the balcony of the hall, he looked out for any woman with red hair. He thought that he wouldn¡¯t see a single woman with red hair in the sea of his guests. Unlike what he had expected though, he saw at least 6 red-headed women in the hall. And three of them had simr body structures to that of Ruby.

    ¡®Ugh! And I had to make this a masquerade ball!¡¯ he cursed his drunk self for making the dumbest decision of his life.

 Chapter 204

    204 New Entrants

    Everard emptied his wine ss and then decided to talk with all those three women to check if one of them was his sired wolf.

    The first woman he had his eyes on was the one wearing a full mask, and a crimson-colored gown. She was standing alone in a corner of the ground floor. Since she was alone, Everard hoped that it was Ruby.

    While he made his way to that cautious and scared-looking woman, he grabbed another ss of red wine. He was rushing to get to that woman.

    However, he got utterly disappointed when she suddenly vanished from his sight the moment his vision was blocked for a millisecond by a huge column.

    He angrily mmed his hand on the railing of the balcony and screamed in his mind, ¡®Where did she go?¡¯ Since she disappeared, now he was even more sure that it was Ruby whom he just saw.

    Everard¡¯s anger calmed down a little when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind him.

    ¡°That¡¯s your third ss of wine, if I am not wrong.¡±

    Everard smirked and then turned around. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry even if this was my third bottle, Alex. You have no idea how many bottles it takes for me to actually get drunk.¡±

    Alexander snatched the ss of wine from Everard¡¯s hand nheless, and lectured him like a strict elder brother, ¡°Well, I am in no mood to know how many bottles make you drunk because this is your big day. And I don¡¯t want you to ck out for the most part of it. Don¡¯t you want to remember each and every moment of such an important day of your life?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Oh,e on, Alex!¡± Everard tried to snatch back the ss of wine and mumbled in an agitated tone, ¡°Cut me some ck. I promise that I won¡¯t drink until I am on the verge of cking out. I will stop once I start feeling a little tipsy.¡±

    Even with half of his face covered, Alexander could see the desperation on Everard¡¯s face. He took pity on his friend and said while handing out the ss, ¡°Okay, just this ss and no more. If you take another ss even after finishing this one, then you are wee to find another babysitter.¡±

    Everard chuckled and said, ¡°There won¡¯t be any need-¡±

    Everyone¡¯s attention was suddenly grabbed when the guard at the door announced, ¡°Please make way for His Majesty Caspian Heradi, the King of Sorvando, and Her Majesty Anastasia Vairina, the Queen of Sorvando.¡±

    The moment the guard finished announcing the names, a small-scale panic ensued inside the ballroom, especially among the werewolves who were aware of the true identity of the King of Sorvando.

    Whispers started to float around the hall.

    ¡°Did I just hear Sorvando?¡±

    ¡°Was he even invited? Or did hee here on his own?¡±

    ¡°What did our King have in mind when he invited an enemy here?¡±

    ¡°Shh... they can hear us. Stop making it worse!¡±

    Just like all the guests, Alexander was also surprised because Everard had not once mentioned that he had invited Anastasia and her husband. When he didn¡¯t see them along with the other monarchs in the morning, he assumed that they weren¡¯t on the invitee list and didn¡¯t ask anything.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that you had invited Anna as well?¡± Alexander excitedly asked Everard while eagerly gluing his eyes at the door, waiting for his sister to appear.

    Surprisingly, Everard was the one who was the most surprised and who was in an extreme panic right now. ¡®When the hell did I send an invitation letter to Sorvando? Jerome had restricted me from inviting them saying that it would be unwise to do so. So, when...¡¯

    Everard forgot everything that he was thinking when his eyes fell on the new entrants.

    Not just Everard, but everyone else was dumbfounded when they saw the most elegant couple walking inside the hall, closely followed by two tall and equally sophisticated gentlemen.

    The King of Sorvando was adorned in a white shirt paired with a ck waistcoat and ck overcoat. He was wearing a pair of trousers that matched the color of his coats, and a pair of handmade ck leather boots. He was wearing a half-mask, painted ck and golden in color, that perfectly fit on his face as though it was his second skin.

    The Queen of Sorvando was wearing a gold sequin gown that had designs made from countless gold and silver discs sewn into it. The gown had a boat neckline which perfectly revealed her beauty bones, and the sleeves of her gown were tight-fitting until her elbow and below that, it floated down like budding roses. Her half-mask was designed to look like a golden butterfly which perfectlyplimented her dress.

    Likewise, Vincent and Hamilton were also wearing their best formal attire, and they were also wearing masks that covered the upper half of their faces.

    As they all made their way to the center of therge hall, everyone who was already present in the hall noticed a very unique attribute that those gentlemen shared. They all had blood-red eyes that looked so dangerous, yet at the same time, so captivating that none of the guests could look away from them.

    Not just the guests, even the old werewolves who hated the vampires based on their bitter history were captivated by those vampires who exuded immense confidence as they strode right in the middle of a group of werewolves.

    The young group of werewolves was giving an intense re to the vampires, ready to intervene in case they were here for the trouble.

    Sensing that tension in the air from the balcony, Alexander asked the dumbfounded friend of his, ¡°Eve, aren¡¯t you going to wee them?¡±

    Everard finally snapped out of his trance state after getting poked by Alexander. He gave up trying to recall when he sent out the invitation to Sorvando. He assumed that he had done that when he was drunk out of his mind, and then made his way toward the grand staircase.

    Alexander also happily walked behind Everard, while constantly looking down at his beautiful sister, hoping to make eye contact with her.

    However, Anastasia was too nervous to look around at the sea of people she didn¡¯t recognize. She was busy trying to look as confident as her husband.

    She was even seeding in looking confident. But in her mind, she was restlessly talking to herself, ¡®Eve, brother, where are you two? Please find us soon.¡¯

    Her eyes instantly lit up when she heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°Anna!¡±

    She happily turned in the direction from where she heard the husky voice. She saw a tall man in his cream-colored outfit and the mask that matched the outfit.

    ¡°E- Your Majesty!¡± Anastasia gave a wide smile to Everard. Her eyes immediately fell on another man who came and stood beside Everard. She controlled her urge to immediately run to that man, and greeted that man with a wide grin on her face, ¡°Brother! It¡¯s nice to see you here.¡±

 Chapter 214

    214 Bait

    Hamilton didn¡¯t stillpletely believe Vincent. However, he let Vincent step outside the stall and use the tap.

    After sshing cold water on his face, Vincent indeed looked refreshed.

    Seeing that, Hamilton asked, ¡°So, are you ready to go back then?¡±

    Vincent, however, lightly pressed his palm over his stomach and replied, ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little hungry. I will go and see my blood servant first.¡±

    ¡ª

    ¡®Hmm... As expected. The vampire is finally hungry, huh!¡¯

    What Vincent and Hamilton didn¡¯t realize while they were talking was that a werewolf was standing close by and was listening to their conversation. Both of their smelling senses had been numbed to the scent of werewolves by now. And they couldn¡¯t tell that there was a werewolf nearby.

    The werewolf was none other than Romulus.

    An amused smirk appeared on his lips when he heard Vincent announcing that he was hungry. ¡®I was sad thinking that I would be deprived of the vampire drama when only one of them sipped that wine. But I guess, one will also suffice for today.¡¯

    .....

    His plotting mind immediately began to work. He narrowed his eyes and made ns in his head, ¡®If he will head for his waiting area then...¡¯ He looked behind him and smiled, ¡®That¡¯s where I need to go.¡¯

    ¡ª

    ¡°Hungry? Are you sure that¡¯s the only thing you are feeling at the moment?¡± Hamilton looked at Vincent suspiciously, thinking he was hiding how he was feeling for real.

    Vincent was now a little agitated by the same question that Hamilton had been asking him for a while now. ¡°Oh, good lord! Yes! I am just hungry and nothing more. Will you stop asking me questions now? Because I am hungry and I might as well bite you if you keep on irritating me.¡±

    Hamilton didn¡¯t mind that sudden outburst from Vincent. He was simply d that Vincent still had the energy to shout at him.

    So, he smirked and then patted Vincent on his shoulder. ¡°Okay, buddy. See you in a while then. Don¡¯t take a lot of time though. Else I mighte looking for you again.¡±

    Vincent took a deep breath and replied in a calmer voice, ¡°I won¡¯t be long. See you in a while.¡±

    After that, Hamilton walked out of the bathroom and headed for the hall.

    Vincent, on the other hand, headed in the opposite direction. He was going to find his blood servant and ask him to draw half a cup of fresh blood for him.

    ¡®I hope half a cup will suffice for now,¡¯ Vincent thought to himself as he strode towards the waiting room that was offered to him. However, he wasn¡¯t quite sure if that would be enough. He was feeling extremely hungry, especially after emptying everything that was in his stomach.

    ¡ª

    After listening to where Vincent was going, Romulus was hastily running around to fetch bait for Vincent. A werewolf bait.

    However, it was easier said than done, especially because he hadn¡¯t prenned it.

    Initially, what Romulus had in mind was that the vampires would puke moments after drinking the wine. He had thought of two oues after that.

    The first one was that the vampires would start to attack everyone blindly by using them of poisoning the wine.

    And if they didn¡¯t attack on their own, the second oue that Romulus had in mind was that they would start to attack the others in the main ballroom after smelling his blood that he was nning to ¡®identally¡¯ stter on them.

    But he had to drop that n because only one of the vampires had drunk the wine. That one vampire also looked very calm even when quite some time had passed.

    However, when he was heading for the hall that he was originally supposed to be in, he heard the vampires whispering that one of them was feeling sick. So, he thought ofing up with a spontaneous n.

    He wanted to snatch someone who was loitering around, separate from their small pack. And he wanted to kill that werewolf and frame Vincent for it. But the problem was, he didn¡¯t find a single werewolf who was by themselves at the moment. His task became even harder since the area that they were in at the moment was behind the main ballroom where not many were allowed to enter.

    ¡®I should have arranged some baits beforehand!¡¯ Romulus was sighing and cursing himself as he ran around the corridor in the hopes of stumbling with someone.

    But to add to his misfortune, instead of stumbling upon a single werewolf, he came across a group of werewolf guards who were patrolling the area.

    ¡°May I help you with something, Alpha Romulus?¡± One of them bowed to him and asked because he looked a little restless.

    Romulus forced a smiled and denied, ¡°No, I was just stretching my leg.¡±

    The guards then bowed and walked ahead of Romulus.

    ¡®Argh! He¡¯s already nearby!¡¯ Romulus screamed in his head when he saw Vincent around the corner.

    And in the state of confusion, he couldn¡¯t think of anything except throwing himself as bait. He protruded the w of his index finger and then slit his palm a bit deeper so that he wouldn¡¯t heal before the vampire even arrived.

    He frantically looked around and saw a wine ss lying on the floor. He quickly smashed it with his leg and then sttered some of his blood on the ss.

    He took a deep breath and proudly thought to himself, ¡®This should do the trick.¡¯

    ¡ª

    When Vincent approached the ce where Romulus was standing, he suddenly widened his eyes when a very sweet smell entered his nose. His feet automatically stopped on the path. He gulped hard because the blood smelled much sweeter and more enticing than what he was used to.

    ¡®A werewolf?¡¯ he asked himself because the aroma that he was inhaling now was simr to that of Ruby¡¯s blood.

    Vincent felt his fangs itching to extend from his jaw. He tried suppressing the urge to feed immediately.

    However, his eyes restlessly looked around for the source of that aroma. All the senses in his body were screaming at him to find and feed on whatever he was smelling.

 Chapter 224

    224 Smirk

    Vincent could see Ti¡¯s stiff shoulders rxing a little. So, he further said with all honesty, ¡°This was probably the first time a woman selflessly did something for me. You even risked your life just so you could prevent the others from seeing that monstrous side of mine. And I... I couldn¡¯t resist appreciating you.¡±

    When Ti still didn¡¯t say a single word, he headed for the door. He didn¡¯t want to keep on making her feel ufortable by opening his heart more than what was needed at the moment.

    Before he left the room though, he looked at her onest time and said, ¡°Just so you know, I don¡¯t regret it. The kiss. I hope you feel the same way.¡±

    When Ti heard the door mming shut, she finally let out a deep sigh of relief and instantly drooped her shoulders. She was d to hear all the rifications from Vincent. However, at the same time, she wondered what the kiss really meant. And she wondered how it was going to affect their rtionship from now on.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do if not regret it? Am I supposed to cling to it, or am I supposed to think of it as a wonderful dream and then move on?¡±

    ¡ª

    Before returning back to the hall and reuniting with Caspian and the others, Vincent looked for a human maid of the castle and asked her to deliver a serving of healthy food and drinks to the Queen¡¯s waiting room. He wanted to make sure that Ti wouldn¡¯t pass out after he almost drained her of her blood.

    After making sure with his own eyes that Ti received the food and drinks, Vincent finally headed to the ce where he was supposed to be.

    When Vincent entered the hall, he saw that the King and the Queen were sitting together with the Crown Prince of Orsenia and having a conversation with him.

    .....

    He noticed that Hamilton was also sitting beside Alexander, and there was an empty seat beside Hamilton, probably saved for him.

    When his eyes met with Hamilton though, Vincent was weed by a rather mischievous smile from him, making the former wonder if thetter hade to the waiting area and had heard his moans by any chance.

    ¡®Maybe I am just imagining it. Just y it cool,¡¯ Vincent thought to himself and walked toward his own people without sparing a nce at everyone else who was in the hall.

    Vincent took his seat by Hamilton¡¯s side and asked Hamilton in a whisper, ¡°What did I miss?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. But you sure took your time,¡± Hamilton smirked and patted Vincent on his shoulder as if he was praising the gentleman.

    Vincent knitted his brows together and gave a questioning nce to Hamilton. However, he didn¡¯t voice out the questions that were in his mind as he didn¡¯t want the others to listen to them as well. He was well aware that apart from them, there were a lot of other people in the hall who had the super hearing ability. And he didn¡¯t want all of them to listen into his private matters.

    So, he simply replied, ¡°Yes, it took longer than I expected. I couldn¡¯t find Samuel, so...¡±

    A whimsical smirk danced on Hamilton¡¯s lips. He was ready to tease Vincent, however, he had to stop when he saw Caspian looking at Vincent.

    Vincent¡¯s gaze met with Caspian¡¯s and he saw Caspian flicking his brows at him while looking a little concerned.

    Vincent smiled and shook his head to say that he was doing fine. But he wondered if he needed to inform the King about how he had sucked Ti¡¯s blood because technically, he hadn¡¯t vited anyw. However, he still thought that it was important to let him know, but not right now.

    ¡®I will inform him once we get out of this ce,¡¯ he thought to himself. His mind then began to wander around the series of events that had taken ce. He was furrowing his brows while thinking, ¡®I just hope that Ti won¡¯t start ignoring me again.¡¯

    Hamilton interrupted his thoughts by leaning to his side and then mumbling in a whisper, ¡°You couldn¡¯t find Samuel, huh?¡±

    Vincent looked at him and nodded. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know where he went. So, I had to wait.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Hamilton smiled and looked away.

    And Vincent couldn¡¯t help but think that Hamilton had some dirt on him. Thus, he leaned to Hamilton¡¯s side and asked in a whisper, ¡°Why do you keep on smiling like that? Do you know something?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to know something?¡± Hamilton raised one of his brows and asked a rather cryptic question which confused Vincent even more.

    Seeing his confusion, Hamilton first asked, ¡°You are full, right?¡±

    Vincent nodded his head, not knowing why he was asking that. ¡®Does he know that I drank a bit too much?¡¯ he wondered.

    His question was answered when Hamilton inserted his hand inside his pocket and then took out the dirty handkerchief with bloodstains on it. He handed that to Vincent and then said, ¡°You had dropped this on the corridor. I found it when I came to check up on you.¡±

    Vincent got a little nervous thinking that Hamilton had heard or seen him wildly relishing Ti¡¯s blood. But then he quicklyposed himself thinking that Hamilton would have probably intervened if he was indeed around when he was feasting on Ti like that.

    Vincent took the handkerchief from Hamilton and quietly slipped it inside his own pocket without asking anything or exining anything.

    However, Hamilton was too curious to keep quiet. So, he cleared his throat and then teased Vincent, ¡°How did things go with Ti?¡±

    Vincent instantly looked at Hamilton with wide eyes. ¡°What do you know?¡± he asked, ready to scold him for not intervening if he had indeed been there in the waiting area when he was feasting on Ti.

    Hamilton simplyughed and then said while trying his best to keep his voice down, ¡°Rx. I just heard a few things. So, I was simply curious if it went well.¡± He even gave a wink to Vincent and smirked slyly.

    After seeing him winking, Vincent assumed that Hamilton was there when he was kissing Ti. So, he rolled his eyes and tried to shush the entric vampire who was about to reveal his moment to the world, ¡°Just shut up, Hamilton. Everyone has ears.¡±

    Hamilton couldn¡¯t help but be amused by that shy vampire.

 Chapter 225

    225 Leaving Tonight?

    Until now, Caspian, Anastasia, and Alexander were talking about simple things like their health, how Alexander was performing in his studies, and how the married life of Caspian and Anastasia was going on.

    Caspian and Alexander were also discussing a few things about each other¡¯s respective Kingdoms. The two of them were naturallyfortable talking with each other. Both of them had heard good things about each other from Anastasia, which had already set a level of trust in their minds.

    Anastasia was slowly making less and less contribution to the conversation. Her whole body was aching due to the continuous travel. And she was starting to wish that she could go back to her waiting room and rest.

    However, at the same time, she didn¡¯t want to leave because she wanted to be around her brother. She was forcing herself to try and focus on the conversation so that she wouldn¡¯t notice the back pain and the pain in her joints.

    Though she was doing her best to hide how she was actually feeling, Alexander could see that his sister was just pretending to be into the topics of the conversation. Knowing the history of his sister¡¯s health, he was well aware that it was about time she went to rest for the night.

    Thus, he looked at her and then asked, ¡°Anna, why don¡¯t I show you to one of the guest rooms? I will send some maids to take care of your needs. You can rest for the night if you want to. The ball will go on until midnight. So, you don¡¯t have to wait for it to end.¡±

    Anastasia, however, didn¡¯t want to ept the offer since it would mean that they would be spending the night in the castle. Also, as it wasn¡¯t Everard, the owner of the castle, who was offering her to use one of the guest rooms, she simply couldn¡¯t ept it.

    ¡°Oh, I am fine, brother. I don¡¯t need a guest room,¡± Anastasia said with a smile. ¡°If I want to rest then I could use the waiting room. But I don¡¯t want to go and rest, and miss out on all the fun.¡±

    Alexander had already guessed that she would say something like that. But he still tried to persuade her. ¡°There aren¡¯t any fun activities left anyway. So, why don¡¯t you go and rest? You look so tired.¡±

    .....

    ¡°But I want to talk to you. I am meeting you after such a long time,¡± Anastasia looked down and pouted just the way she used to if she wanted her brother to agree with her.

    Surely enough, Alexander couldn¡¯t keep on insisting. He sighed and shook his head. And heined to Caspian, ¡°She always does this to me. She is one stubborn person.¡±

    Caspianughed because he couldn¡¯t agree more. After all, it was her stubbornness that made him change his mind about sending her back to Orsenia. He ced his palm on top of Anastasia¡¯s and then said to Alexander, ¡°I know how stubborn she can get when she wants something.¡±

    ¡°Ah! So, you have also been a victim of her stubborn behavior, huh,¡± Alexander looked at his sister and joined in theugh.

    Anastasia frowned and tried to deny that usation. ¡°I am not being stubborn! Is it wrong to want to stay here with all of you and chat for a bit more?¡±

    Caspian took his wife¡¯s hand and then held it between his hands. Earlier, during the carriage ride, he had said that he didn¡¯t want to stay here in the castle because he had only seen the negative sides of staying there. He hadpletely forgotten to take his wife¡¯s stamina into consideration.

    He could also clearly tell that his wife needed to rest. Even though his soldiers had found another ce for them to stay, he would be making his wife unhappy. Finding another ce meant leaving early from there. And he didn¡¯t want to separate her from her brother very early unless Alexander also agreed to join them.

    Since Caspian had seen how Everard was so dependent on Alexander, he doubted whether Alexander would agree to leave the castle too soon or if he would agree to leave at all.

    Thus, to settle the matter, Caspian looked at his wife and said, ¡°Anna, why don¡¯t you do as your brother said? You can talk with him in the morning.¡±

    Anastasia was surprised to hear Caspian say that. But she wasn¡¯t still sure if Caspian wanted to spend the night here in the castle or if he was just asking her to rest for a while and then leave for another ce a whileter.

    So, she asked curiously, ¡°We aren¡¯t leaving tonight? Are we going to spend the night here?¡±

    Alexander was surprised when his sister asked if they were not leaving tonight. He wasn¡¯t going to let Anastasia strain her body by traveling non-stop.

    So, he instantly looked at Caspian and said, ¡°Of course, you are going to spend the night here. You came from so far, there¡¯s no way Everard would allow all of you to leave right away.¡±

    Caspian gently patted his wife¡¯s hand and said while nodding, ¡°Yes, I think leaving tonight would be too tiresome. So, I think we should ept your brother¡¯s offer and let him arrange the rooms for us. We can leaveter during the day tomorrow. Or...¡±

    He turned to look at Alexander and then said, ¡°If you would ept my invitation to join us and let me host you in our Kingdom, then we could leave in the morning. Anastasia would really like that. So, what do you say, Prince Alexander?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Er...¡± Alexander smiled skeptically after getting the invitation out of the blue. Also, he had already given his word to Everard that he would extend his stay in Xanmar and support Everard emotionally during his transition period from being the Crown Prince to handling the role of the King.

    But at the same time, he was now in a dilemma after getting invited to Sorvando by Caspian. ¡®What do I do? Should I go along with them? Or should I stay here?¡¯ he wondered to himself.

 Chapter 226

    226 Before the Winter

    ¡°Yes, brother. Why don¡¯t you join us tomorrow?¡± Anastasia leaned a little close to her brother and asked, ¡°It would be nice if I got to spend some more time with you. Seeing you only for a few hours will just make me miss you even more when I head home.¡±

    Alexander looked at his sister. She looked as though she greatly missed him, and everyone else back at Orsenia. After all, she had never been away from their parent¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that she would want to spend some more time with him.

    However, he wasn¡¯t sure if Anastasia wanted him toe along with her to Sorvando because she missed him or if it was because her health was deteriorating faster than before.

    ¡®What if it¡¯s thetter?¡¯ he questioned himself. Just thinking about it made him feel really uneasy in the pit of his stomach.

    He wanted to talk with Anastasia in private. He wanted to know if she was going to bepletely cured or not. He wanted to know if his sister would make it past her eighteenth birthday. If not, then he wanted to prioritize spending his time with his sister rather than with Everard.

    And almost as if Anastasia read what Alexander was thinking, she smiled mirthlessly and said, ¡°I would like to show you around my new home before the winter hits hard.¡± She looked at her husband and then back at her brother. And she said, ¡°The weather in Sorvando during winter is a bit harsher than in Orsenia. I don¡¯t think we can visit anywhere properly if it snows heavily, or if we face the snow storm.¡±

    Almost instantly, Alexander¡¯s eyes glistened with tears and his heart clenched in pain. He understood what his sister really meant when she said that she wanted to show him around before the winter.

    ¡°Ah! I see...¡± he forced a smile and nodded so that Caspian wouldn¡¯t get suspicious that something was off. From the way she was speaking cryptically, he could tell that Caspian wasn¡¯t yet aware of Anastasia¡¯s health condition.

    Nevertheless, Caspian could feel the tension in the air. And he also noticed how both Alexander and Anastasia looked somewhat sad.

    .....

    ¡®Is there something that I don¡¯t know?¡¯ he furrowed his brows and wondered to himself. However, since he didn¡¯t know what the exact cause of that sudden gloominess was, he didn¡¯t have any specific questions to ask.

    He thought that it was because of somemon trauma the two of them shared, and then let it be at the moment. ¡®If it is something that I should know, then I am sure that Anna would have told me.¡¯

    Now that Alexander was sure that there hadn¡¯t been any improvement in his sister¡¯s health condition, he wanted to spend at least a few days with her.

    ¡°Sure, I think traveling together will be fun.¡± Alexander sniffled and then took a deep breath. He then nced at Caspian and jokingly said to him, ¡°And I will also get a chance to monitor how my sister is being treated in her new home.¡±

    Caspianughed and openly agreed, ¡°Please, you are very much wee to do that. And I also allow you to give suitable punishment to me if I am treating her wrong.¡±

    Alexander alsoughed and agreed with Caspian. ¡°Then I guess it is settled. We are leaving tomorrow morning.¡±

    After saying that to Caspian, he looked towards the door and thought, ¡®If I say that I would like to spend some time with Anastasia, Everard would understand, right?¡¯

    ¡ª

    Outside in the main hall, Everard had gotten so drunk after drinking that alcohol that was specially brewed for the werewolves that he got knocked out. He was already tipsy before he even drank that special alcohol. And when he added half a ss of the strong alcohol to his digestive system, he couldn¡¯t handle it.

    Jerome wanted to take him back to his bedroom and then let him sleep for the night. However, he didn¡¯t do that after hearing what Lorenzo had said to him.

    Lorenzo had pointed out how Everard¡¯s reputation would be at risk if he was carried away by the guards back to his room.

    ¡°Then what do you suggest? Letting him stay here unconscious is helping in protecting his reputation?¡± Jerome had asked Lorenzo furiously.

    And Lorenzo had agreed while speaking in a very low whisper, ¡°Yes. At least not all the people in the hall know that he has been knocked out already. But if the guards carry him away, it will only be like announcing to everyone that the King couldn¡¯t handle his alcohol and passed out in his own celebratory party.¡±

    He further made Jerome doubt his own decision saying, ¡°And just think about it. People won¡¯t need a big issue to gossip about. They will say that our King was so happy about ascending the throne that he drank until he lost consciousness. And what if they point out their fingers at our King saying that he isn¡¯t grieving his father¡¯s dea-¡±

    Jerome instantly covered Lorenzo¡¯s mouth since a few of the werewolves who were around them started to turn their heads and look at them. ¡°Okay, okay, I got it. I will just let him be then.¡±

    Lorenzo sighed inwardly because he knew that he had just averted the n of his alpha from getting ruined. He didn¡¯t want to look like someone who couldn¡¯t follow the alpha¡¯s order properly. He didn¡¯t want to lose his credit in front of his alpha; it had taken a great deal of time and effort to get that close to the alpha. And he didn¡¯t want to go back to being a nobody just because Everard couldn¡¯t handle his alcohol.

    Just when he was about to sit back down in front of the passed-out King, Jerome grabbed him by his cor and then snarled at him, ¡°Just so you know, I haven¡¯t forgiven you for bringing that filthy alcohol to the castle and letting the King get drunk on it. You are the one who is at fault here. Don¡¯t forget that.¡±

    Lorenzo pretended to be afraid and nodded his head. ¡°I won¡¯t repeat something like this again. I didn¡¯t know that the King was already drunk before I gave him that alcohol. Else-¡±

    Jerome tightened his hold on Lorenzo¡¯s cor even more and then said in a low growl, ¡°I have a very good memory, kid. Prince Alexander had given you clear instructions to keep him away from alcohol saying that the King was already drunk. And you did just the opposite. I don¡¯t know what your game is, but don¡¯t you dare test me. If anything goes wrong tonight, you will be the first person I am killing.¡±

 Chapter 229

    229 Fences

    ¡°I am so sorry that Jerome tried to me you when I was the one to pass out,¡± Everard sat down in front of Lorenzo and then apologized for Jerome¡¯s behavior.

    Lorenzo forced a smile and said while maintaining hisposure, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Your Majesty. I understand why he did that. So, I am okay.¡±

    ¡°You might be okay with it, but I am not!¡± Everard mmed on the table indignantly and then said angrily, ¡°He should know how to treat my friends. If he keeps on disrespecting the few friends that I have then he is going to drive everyone away from me. And I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    Lorenzo looked down from the balcony. He could see Jerome and Romulus standing in one corner and drinking wine.

    A piece of the earlier incident shed in front of his eyes. He recalled how Jerome was the one saving him when his own alpha was trying to take his life. He could tell that even though Jerome had threatened to kill him, it was just a threat and nothing more, unlike his alpha who tried to kill him for such a small reason.

    ¡°Lord Jerome was only doing that because he cares for you a lot, Your Majesty.¡± Lorenzo kept on looking at Jerome and mumbled, ¡°Please don¡¯t get angry at him... because I am not angry at all. He did what he needed to.¡±

    ¡°He cares for me, I know. But that doesn¡¯t give him the right to treat you the way he did.¡± Everard rested his head on the backrest of his chair and then closed his eyes.

    And he gave a piece of advice to Lorenzo, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t let other people walk all over you, Lorenzo. If you allow them once, then they will repeat that over and over again because they think they can get away with it every time.¡±

    ¡°I will keep that in mind,¡± Lorenzo replied, although he knew that he was just some nobody who didn¡¯t have much say in how he was treated. If people with the power wanted to walk over him, betray him, or belittle him then there was nothing he could do about it, especially if it was his own alpha.

    .....

    ¡®Am I even standing on the right side of the fence?¡¯ he wondered to himself. He sighed when he fell deeper into the rabbit hole of his thoughts, ¡®But it¡¯s not like I deliberately chose to stand where I am standing today. I was born into the n.¡¯

    He looked back at Everard and then thought, ¡®Is it possible to jump to the other side of the fence?¡¯

    Lorenzo recalled the stories about the werewolves who had managed to break free from their alphas. However, they became lone wolves, which was a worse fate for the creatures that thrived in packs. They would get humiliated and even hunted down by every other werewolf.

    He breathed shakily and then thought to himself, ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible though...¡¯

    Everard suddenly opened his eyes when he recalled that Anastasia was in his castle. ¡°Ah! I almost forgot about her!¡± he mumbled to himself and then got up on his feet.

    He looked around the hall in search of Anastasia; he had already forgotten that Alexander had taken Anastasia and the others to the other hall.

    ¡°Are you looking for someone?¡± Lorenzo asked Everard so that he could be of some assistance.

    Everard nodded and asked, ¡°Where are all the guests from Sorvando?¡±

    ¡°Ah! The Crown Prince of Orsenia led them to the other hall earlier,¡± Lorenzo replied.

    ¡°Hmm... Alright then. I think I should go and see how they are doing.¡± Everard straightened his clothes and then ran his fingers through his silky hair. He then gargled his mouth with in water, hoping that it would take away the smell of alcohol.

    Lorenzo¡¯s heart started to drum louder when he saw the King getting ready to leave. He instantly got up and stood next to Everard because he didn¡¯t want to be left alone. If he would be left alone then he was sure that his alpha woulde to him and ask him to do things that he might not like.

    ¡®I don¡¯t want to cause any harm to the King, at least not today. Not when he is the only one who is truly on my side,¡¯ he thought to himself and asked Everard, ¡°May I tag along with you?¡¯

    Everard gave a nod and smiled reassuringly because he could sense a subtle hint of fear in Lorenzo¡¯s voice. ¡°Sure. I wasn¡¯t going to leave you alone anyway.¡±

    Lorenzo sighed in relief and then began following the King closely while keeping his head down on his feet. He didn¡¯t want to identally make eye contact with his alpha.

    Everard¡¯s head was getting clearer and clearer. The effect of alcohol was slowly wearing off.

    He was, however, very nervous when he was getting closer and closer to the other hall. ¡®I wonder what Anastasia might be thinking of me? I didn¡¯t even wee her properly, and neither did I take care of her as the host of the ball. I got drunk instead and passed out...¡¯

    Everard looked at Lorenzo and thought while regretting his earlier behavior, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have drank that alcohol that Lorenzo offered to me. After all, Lorenzo did warn me that it was really strong. I should have believed him and not taken it as a challenge instead.¡¯

    When the two of them reached the door, Everard turned to look at Lorenzo and then asked, ¡°How do I look? Be honest.¡±

    Lorenzo hummed while looking at Everard from head to toe. He held out his hand and patted down a few strands of hair that were flying out. He also adjusted the mask a little. ¡°I think you look fine,¡± he replied.

    Everard then took a deep breath and gestured for the guards to open the door of the hall.

    The moment the door opened wide, Everard¡¯s eyes searched for Anastasia. A subtle smile appeared on his face when his eyes fell on the golden butterfly mask. Anastasia sat there so beautifully that he almost instantly forgot everything that was happening outside.

    ¡®I want to dance with her,¡¯ a low voice resonated inside Everard¡¯s head. He smiled to himself and then confidently headed towards Anastasia. ¡®I am going to ask her right away.¡¯

 Chapter 230

    230 To the Ballroom

    The light and happy mood that the vampires were instantly turned into a gloomy one when they saw Everard walking in.

    ¡®Couldn¡¯t he have simply stayed outside?¡¯ Caspian sighed in irritation and thought to himself. ¡®How can he be so shameless ande here with his head held high when he was trying to pick a fight with me just moments ago?¡¯

    Everard, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t focusing his attention on the vampires at all. His eyes were glued to Anastasia. And he was thinking of several ways he could ask Anastasia for a dance. ¡®How should I approach her? Should I simply hold out my hand and then ask if I can dance with her? Or do I have to say something more impressive?¡¯

    ¡°Everard! You took long enough toe back,¡± Alexander looked at Everard and then said with a weing smile. He was hoping that Everard was sober enough to participate in the conversation now.

    Everard smiled and replied, ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m sorry that I took so much time.¡± He looked at Anastasia and then apologized to her as well, ¡°I am sorry that I couldn¡¯t give my proper attention. But I hope your brother took good care of you on my behalf?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Anastasia gave a quick smile to Everard and said, ¡°My brother is giving us goodpany. There¡¯s no need to worry about us. We are being taken care of. And it¡¯s okay if you have to tend to the needs of your other guests first. There are so many, after all.¡±

    Everard guiltily smiled and mumbled, ¡°Yes, there are a lot of guests tonight. I hope my bet- my assistant is looking after everyone¡¯s needs because I am too new to all this.¡±

    Lorenzo quickly ran and then brought a chair for the King. He ced it beside Alexander and gestured for Everard to take the seat.

    ¡°Come, join us,¡± Alexander patted the chair and looked at his friend.

    .....

    Everard smiled and sat down, although he would have loved to ask Anastasia for a dance immediately and take her away to the main hall outside. He didn¡¯t really want to sit down with all the vampires, but he had no choice but to do that anyway since the others were expecting him to join in the conversation.

    Alexander immediately held his breath when Everard sat down beside him. He was still reeking of alcohol, and it made Alexander wonder if Everard had sobered up or if he drank even more beforeing there.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± he asked Everard to check how tipsy he was.

    Everard nodded his head and replied, his eyes busy looking at Anastasia, ¡°I feel fine. Great actually.¡±

    Caspian red at Everard and rambled in his mind, ¡®Of course, you would feel great when you are checking another man¡¯s wife right in front of him!¡¯

    If it wasn¡¯t for the mask that was hiding the deep frowns and disgust on his face, everyone in the hall would have witnessed how enraged Caspian was at the moment.

    Since he wasn¡¯t looking away from his wife, Caspian cleared his throat and tried to grab Everard¡¯s attention by asking, ¡°King Everard, I hope you are enjoying your day?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. I am.¡± Everard gave a short answer and then focused his attention back on Anastasia. And he asked her, ¡°Anna, it¡¯s been a while since west saw each other. Are you adjusting well in your new castle?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been a while,¡± Anastasia gave a subtle smile and turned to look at her husband. She could tell what kind of expression he was making beneath that mask. So, she said in a soft and spellbound voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know how I got so lucky. I have adapted well to my new home. I almost feel as though I have been living there for a long time now.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I see...¡± Everard pursed his lips and kept on nodding his head, not knowing whether he should believe what she was saying or not.

    Though half of her face was covered, from the way she was looking at her vampire husband, he felt as though she was saying the truth. However, at the same time, knowing that he was a vampire made it really hard for him to believe that Anastasia was being treated well and that she was happy.

    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me vampires possess some kind of ability to enchant the humans...¡¯ He thought of a possibility as to why Anastasia looked so spellbound by her vampire husband.

    Everard suddenly grimaced because his head hurt very badly. He felt as though someone was hammering nails into his head. ¡®I think I should stop thinking about whether she is speaking the truth or not. It is going to make my head explode if I keep on thinking about that.¡¯

    He decided to leave that topic for now and took a deep breath. He turned to look at Alexander and then asked, ¡°I think our guests should have some fun, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Er...¡±

    Before Alexander could answer, Everard replied to his own question, ¡°How about we all go to the ballroom and then let out feet loose? It¡¯s boring to just stay here and talk.¡±

    Anastasia was the first one to agree. She held her husband¡¯s hand and then asked him, ¡°Why don¡¯t we dance? I think it will be fun.¡±

    The corners of Caspian¡¯s lips curved up in an instant. The only time he had danced with his wife with proper music was when he had thrown a ball to wee Anastasia to Sorvando. However, at that time, the two of them weren¡¯t that close, so the dance wasn¡¯t that ttering.

    ¡®I was forcing her to dance at that time, wasn¡¯t I?¡¯ Caspian felt guilty when he recalled how their first dance was.

    ¡®Let¡¯s make up for that time,¡¯ he thought to himself and then whispered to his wife, ¡°Yes, I think it will be fun.¡±

    Anastasia happily smiled ear to ear and turned to look at everyone in front of her. ¡°Let¡¯s go then. Let¡¯s enjoy ourselves for a bit.¡±

    ¡®This wasn¡¯t how I imagined it would go,¡¯ Everard dishearteningly thought to himself. But then he got an idea. ¡®I could still dance with her while exchanging partners. Maybe I will even get a chance to get truthful answers from her.¡¯

    Everard swiftly got up from the chair and then said to everyone while gesturing towards the door, ¡°I hope all of us without the partners can find ourselves a partner to dance with. Let¡¯s head to the ballroom and dance to the tune.¡±

 Chapter 231

    231 The Maroon Gown

    ¡°Miss Ruby?¡±

    Ruby was startled to her core when she heard a voice from outside the door. ¡°No, no, no! I cannot be caught!¡± She quickly turned to look at the window of her room with the intention to escape.

    However, before she could even properly think about doing that, a maid who had been closely serving Ruby during her stay in the castle pushed the door open.

    ¡°Miss Ruby!¡± She instantly widened her eyes and then ran inside the room to hold Ruby¡¯s hands. ¡°Where were you for all these days? The Crown Pri- Er... the King looked for you everywhere! He even mobilized the soldiers to look for you in the town. Do you even know how much you have troubled him by disappearing?¡±

    Ruby had no idea that Everard had mobilized the soldiers to look for her in the town. That touched Ruby¡¯s heart a little. However, she was still sad thinking that Everard wasn¡¯t looking for him anymore.

    ¡°But all his troubles also disappeared when I disappeared, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°What? No! He-¡±

    ¡°He isn¡¯t looking for me anymore, is he? I bet he has already forgotten that I ever existed.¡± Ruby gave a sad smile and looked down.

    But the maid disagreed. ¡°Miss Ruby! Why are you even thinking such things? For all I know, the King has been a mess ever since you disappeared. I heard from other maids that he often passes out from drinking excessively. And even in his unconscious state, he keeps on asking for you.¡±

    .....

    Ruby looked at the maid to see if whatever she was saying was true or if she was just making things up to make her feel better. It didn¡¯t look as though the maid was lying. Still, she asked skeptically, ¡°He kept on asking for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. One of the maids heard him asking about you yesterday.¡± The maid narrowed her eyes andiningly said, ¡°She was so jealous of you. She was saying bad things about you so I even scolded her.¡±

    Ruby subtly smiled and tightly gripped that maid¡¯s hands. Then she thankfully said, ¡°I am grateful that you took my side. But you don¡¯t have to pick fights with other maids because of me. I won¡¯t be staying in the castle anymore, but you will. So, you will have to get along with-¡±

    ¡°What are you even saying?¡± the maid frowned at Ruby. ¡°Aren¡¯t you hearing what I am saying? The King needs you, Miss Ruby. You cannot just abandon him and leave the castle.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know the things that he said to me, Alma. He-¡±

    ¡°Oh, but I do. I...¡± Alma looked down at their hands and spoke while sounding a little disheartened, ¡°I heard it from the others how he shouted at you and... what kinds of things he said.¡± She looked back into Ruby¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°But I swear to the goddess that he still deeply cares about you.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Alma¡¯s eyes twinkled suddenly when she said, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me then you can go and check the guest list for tonight¡¯s ball. I saw your name on it. He must have put your name there hoping that you woulde.¡±

    She slightly tilted her head to the side and emphasized, ¡°Today is the big day for him after all. I think that he expects to see you tonight. So, why don¡¯t you go to the ball and meet the King?¡±

    Ruby simply looked away, not sure what to think anymore. She had already made up her mind that she was going to run away, and disappear from Everard¡¯s life for good. However, after listening to Alma, she was in a dilemma.

    A conflict between her heart and her mind was going on. Her heart was telling her to listen to Alma and believe her. Her mind was urging her to leave without showing her face to Everard. She was sure that if she saw him again, the resolve that she had built about running away would weaken or disappear altogether.

    She gulped her tears and looked at the wardrobe full of clothes and jewelry. And she thought to herself, ¡®I should just leave. He might just be asking about me because he feels guilty. But I don¡¯t want an apology or sympathy from him. That¡¯s not what I want from him anymore...¡¯

    Ruby sniffled and kept on thinking, ¡®And what I want from him, it is impossible to get now that he has been crowned as the King. To me, he is like a bright star in a clear night sky that I can never touch.¡¯

    Alma could see the conflict in Ruby¡¯s eyes. And seeing her looking at the wardrobe, she correctly assumed that the side that wanted to leave was winning.

    So, she made ast effort to change Ruby¡¯s mind about not seeing Everard, ¡°I think you should at least meet him once before you decide to leave. That way, you will never regret your decision even if you decide to leave tonight.¡±

    ¡°I know how important he is to you. So, at the very least, I think that you both deserve to say a final goodbye to each other.¡± Alma hoped that Ruby would agree to her and attend the ball; and wished that the King would handle the rest once he met Ruby.

    Ruby couldn¡¯t argue with Alma¡¯s reasoning. She nodded her head and softly mumbled, ¡°I think you are right. I should at least see him once...¡±

    Alma excitedly smiled and then said to Ruby, ¡°Great! Then let me prepare you for the ball dance. I will make sure that you look your best.¡±

    Alma looked so excited that Ruby couldn¡¯t deny her request. So, she simply gave a nod and let Alma take care of the rest.

    The maid ran towards the wardrobe and then asked while rummaging through the gowns. ¡°Which gown do you want to wear tonight? Everyone will be looking their best. So, you should also look your best.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s eyes finally fell on the maroon-colored gown that she had been looking for. She took a sigh of relief and then said while pointing at it, ¡°I would like to wear that one.¡±

    Alma took that gown out of the wardrobe and said with a wide grin on her face, ¡°You are going to look outstanding in these.¡±

    After about an hour or so, Ruby looked no less than ady from some rich household. The maroon gown emphasized her curves, and alsoplemented her red lips as well as her red hair that was tied into a loose bun. A few locks of her curly hair rested at the sides of her rosy cheeks, making her look even more beautiful.

    Alma kept on staring at Ruby¡¯s reflection. She was still feeling as though something was missing. ¡°Ah!¡± she snapped her fingers and suddenly ran out of the room.

    ¡°Er...¡± Ruby furrowed her brows and wondered, ¡®Am I supposed to find the ballroom now? I guess so...¡¯

    Before she could leave, however, Alma returned with a mask and made Ruby wear it. The glittery maroon mask covered just her eyes and nothing more. Alma had selected that mask to make sure that Everard would recognize her even in the middle of the crowd.

    She finally gave a satisfied smile to Ruby and then said, ¡°Now you are ready to blow everyone¡¯s mind.¡± She gestured towards the door and then said, ¡°Let me guide you to the ballroom.¡±

 Chapter 232

    232 Ball Dance

    The moment guests in the ballroom saw the King, and the tall and captivating gentlemen with red eyes approaching the center of the dance floor, they all happily cleared the space.

    Everard looked around at the crowd and went to ask a random but elegant-looking woman for a dance. The woman was standing with her partner. However, when the King himself asked her for a dance, she was more than happy to participate.

    Hamilton and Alexander also immediately followed Everard¡¯s lead and went to ask thedies who were standing alone for a dance.

    Vincent, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t really into it. All he could think about was Ti. ¡®It would have been wonderful if she could alsoe here,¡¯ he thought to himself and pouted.

    Hamilton smirked as though he could read Vincent¡¯s mind. Then he patted Vincent on his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Just pick anyone. Don¡¯t keep on standing there like a sore thumb.¡±

    Vincent inhaled deeply and hesitantly looked around at the crowd. He saw a woman intently looking at him and smiling as if she was already enchanted by him. So, knowing that she wouldn¡¯t say no to him, he walked towards that woman and asked, ¡°May I have this dance with you.¡±

    The women beside her almost went crazy when they heard Vincent¡¯s manly voice that instantly roped everyone¡¯s hearts. The woman who was asked was barely managing to hold herself together.

    She still managed to give a soft smile to Vincent and then elegantly ced her hand on his palm. She then said in her most polite voice, ¡°Yes. I would love to.¡±

    Vincent was feeling a little ufortable because of all the hungry gazes from thedies around there. ¡°Great!¡± he mumbled and then quickly took that woman towards the center of the hall.

    .....

    Right when he reached the center, Everard gestured for the musicians to y a new song.

    The hall immediately went silent. Everyone¡¯s attention was now at the center of the hall which was filled with five couples.

    Slowly, a piece of soft and melodious music began to float in the air and bless everyone¡¯s ears.

    Since it was Everard¡¯s day, the others let Everard and his dance partner to start dancing first.

    Everard looked at the woman in his arms and began to gracefully lead her. Although she looked very happy and danced beautifully, Everard couldn¡¯t wait for the song to end so that the others would also start to dance and he could soon change partners.

    The song ended after a few minutes. And everyone in the hall pped and cheered for their King.

    However, Everard didn¡¯t look that happy about it. He turned his gaze towards Anastasia and then gestured for her to enter the dance floor.

    Anastasia happily looked up at Caspian¡¯s face and asked, ¡°Dear Husband, may I have this dance with you?¡±

    Caspian chuckled at the goofy expression that his wife was making when she asked that question to him. He held her hand and then said while making her face him, ¡°Sure, my dear wife.¡±

    Anastasia ced one of her hands on Caspian¡¯s shoulder, while Caspian held his wife¡¯s waist and pulled her close.

    The next piece of music was already ying. It sounded even more beautiful than the first song.

    And Caspian began to dance while elegantly leading his wife. After a while of dancing, he smiled and then whispered to her, ¡°Dancing to the beats of music doesn¡¯t sound that bad, does it?¡±

    Anastasia giggled after recalling the time when they had danced under the moonlight with no music other than the sounds of nature. She looked into her husband¡¯s mesmerizing red eyes and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we canpare the two. That dance without the music has a separate ce in my heart.¡±

    Caspian smiled broadly and then nted a soft kiss on his wife¡¯s forehead.¡±It¡¯s very special to me as well,¡± he whispered.

    Since Everard was dancing very close to the couple, needless to say, he was unintentionally hearing almost everything that Anastasia and Caspian were saying to each other.

    And even though he could clearly hear how honest the two of them sounded, he was still unable to ept that it wasn¡¯t just a fa?ade but the whole truth.

    Everard gritted his teeth and then hoped for this piece of music to end soon. Since all the couples who were currently participating would have danced to one song with each other, he wanted to ask Anastasia for the next dance.

    ¡®I need to ask her myself.¡¯ He was being too bull-headed for his own good.

    While thinking about Anastasia, Everard didn¡¯t realize that he had increased the pace of his dance so much that the woman he was dancing with was having trouble catching up with his moves. Inevitably, she stepped on her gown and almost tripped to the floor.

    Thankfully, Everard caught her by her arm in time and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    The woman awkwardly smiled and then nodded.

    When Everard tried to continue the dance with her, she bowed her head and said, ¡°I think I should rest, Your Majesty.¡± She grimaced and said, ¡°I believe I have sprained my ankle.¡±

    She lied even though she hadn¡¯t hurt her ankle at all. She was clearly seeing how much the King was uninterested in dancing with her. She could tell by his constant gaze that he wanted to dance with the Queen of Sorvando. So, rather than being a pawn, she wanted to step aside and save herself from being humiliated on the dance floor.

    Right then, the music began to fade and eventually came to a stop.

    Everard didn¡¯t waste a second in leaving that woman and heading towards Caspian and Anastasia.

    He looked at Caspian straight in his eyes and then asked him as politely as he could, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, King Caspian. But could I steal my friend for a dance, please?¡±

    Caspian wanted to say no to Everard¡¯s face. However, he couldn¡¯t do that since everyone in the hall was staring at them. And he didn¡¯t want to make Everard look good by acting rude to him.

    Thus, he pulled the corners of his lips upward and nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± He let out a deep sigh and said as though he was joking, ¡°Just one song though. Else, I wille and snatch her back.¡±

    Everard forced a smile back and agreed, ¡°Understood.¡±

 Chapter 233

    233 Permission

    After getting permission from Caspian, Everard turned to face Anastasia with a genuine smile on his face. He elegantly held out his hand towards Anastasia and then asked, ¡°Anna, may I have this dance with you?¡±

    Although Caspian had already given permission to Everard to dance with her, Anastasia looked at her husband with a questioning nce.

    Caspian gave a reassuring smile to her and approvingly nodded his head. Since a lot of people from around the world were currently watching them, Caspian trusted Everard to stay within his boundaries.

    Anastasia finally looked at Everard after getting approval from her husband. She took his hand and said politely, ¡°Yes. I would love to dance with you.¡±

    Everard pulled Anastasia¡¯s hand closer to him and then gently leaned down to kiss her on her knuckles.

    Caspian tightened his fists as he watched that ¡®filthy¡¯ mouth of Everard kissing his wife¡¯s hand. It was taking a great deal of willpower for him to stop himself from pushing Everard away from Anastasia.

    ¡®It¡¯s just for five minutes,¡¯ he stepped aside from the dance floor and kept on repeating to himself while Everard and Anastasia began to move their feet to the beat.

    At first, Anastasia was stiffly cing her hands on Everard¡¯s palm and on his shoulder. She found it difficult and awkward to dance with Everard although she considered him a friend.

    Maybe it was because of the way he was looking at her with a smile stered on his face, or because he kept on trying to pull her close no matter how much she kept on maintaining the gap between them, this particr dance was making her feel very ufortable.

    .....

    And in order to make things somewhat bearable, Anastasia finally expressed her condolences. She looked at his face and said, ¡°Everard, I am really sorry about your father. It greatly pained me when I heard about his demise.¡±

    Everard, who hadpletely forgotten about everything else after he started to dance with Anastasia, was suddenly reminded of one the worst things that had happened to him. He slowed down the pace of their dance. And the smile on his face was reced by a sullen look.

    ¡°How are you holding up, Everard? I hope you are coping well with the grief.¡± Anastasia was genuinely trying to know if Everard was doing okay.

    Everard looked into Anastasia¡¯s emerald green eyes and then replied to her in a gloomy voice, ¡°Thank you... for worrying about me. So far, I have been trying to keep my acts together, but I am failing miserably at it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Anastasia replied sadly.

    Everard cleared his throat and kept on tapping and moving along with the escting rhythm of the music.

    When his eyes fell on the vampire who was ring at him from the side, Everard finally remembered that he was thinking of questioning Anastasia.

    He wanted to get honest answers from her. So, he made Anastasia twirl to the music and took her a bit further away from Caspian. And when he felt that Caspian wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him whisper, he said to Anastasia, ¡°Anna, I have been dying to ask you a few questions.¡±

    While dancing, he turned back in the direction where Caspian was, and then asked Anastasia in a whisper, ¡°How are you? Really?¡±

    Anastasia slightly drew her brows close when she heard that question because it made her wonder if Everard somehow knew about her illness. She wondered if her brother had told Everard about it. So, she asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    When Anastasia didn¡¯t immediately answer, Everard thought that Anastasia was indeed hiding how she truly felt about having to live under the same roof with a monster. So, he rephrased his question, ¡°Are you okay living with him?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Anastasia gave a smile when it was clear that he wasn¡¯t asking about her illness. She tilted a little to catch a glimpse of her husband and then looked back at Everard to answer with a genuine smile on her face, ¡°He is my husband, Everard. Why wouldn¡¯t I be okay?¡±

    Everard was determined to uncover the truth. So, he hinted to Anastasia that he knew what kind of creature Caspian was. ¡°Anna, trust me when I say that I know what he is.¡±

    The smile from Anastasia¡¯s face suddenly vanished when Everard mentioned that.

    Everard leaned a little closer to Anastasia and softly whispered to her, ¡°I don¡¯t think he can hear us from there if we talk to each other in whispers. I brought you quite far from where he is. So, you can be honest with me.¡±

    He restlessly looked into her eyes again and then shot her with several questions, ¡°How does he treat you? Does he threaten you? Does he physically hurt you? Is he keeping you there like a hostage? Is that why you never replied to my letter? Or did you even get my letter?¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Anastasia frowned when she heard such usations about her husband. She had no idea what or how much Everard knew about Caspian. But she was sure that he knew something for him to question her like that. And she was determined to clear all the negative things that he was saying about her husband.

    She looked into his curious eyes and answered him honestly, ¡°Eve, I don¡¯t know what you heard about my husband, but I can assure you that the rumors about him aren¡¯t true. He is a very loving husband. He never...¡±

    Everard heard the first sentence that Anastasia said to him. But after that, his mind was suddenly taken over by some kind of overwhelming emotion.

    He suddenly felt as though something was tugging at his heartstring with great force. His feet started to dwindle and miss the beat. His breathing was getting heavier by the second. And his irises... his irises began to flicker amber in color.

    Since Anastasia was looking at his eyes, she didn¡¯t miss that flickering glow. At first, she thought that she was hallucinating things because of fatigue. But his eyes kept on doing that even when she blinked a couple of times.

    ¡°Eve?¡± She looked at him worriedly when he stopped dancing altogether and started to look around as if he was looking for something. And she asked with a confused look on her face, ¡°Your eyes... What¡¯s happening to you?¡±

 Chapter 234

    234 Escted Quickly

    ¡°This is where the King is right now,¡± Alma gestured towards the door of the ballroom and said to Ruby with a happy look on her face. ¡°I will ask the guards to open the door for you.¡±

    Ruby quickly grabbed Alma by her wrist and then said with a soft smile on her face, ¡°Alma, I am really grateful for everything that you¡¯ve done for me until today. Thank you!¡±

    Alma smiled back at Ruby and replied, ¡°I was just doing my job, Miss Ruby. But it is true that I have never felt this close to someone I serve. It was really a pleasure working for you. So...¡± She took a deep breath and then whispered, ¡°So, I really wish that you will change your mind about leaving.¡±

    Ruby simply gave a mirthless smile and looked down.

    Alma patted Ruby¡¯s hand and then said, ¡°I will inform the guards.¡±

    She walked closer to the guards and then whispered to them that it was Ruby. The guards instantly looked at the woman in the maroon gown. Everyone in the castle, even those who weren¡¯t aware of her before her disappearance, now knew who Ruby was because of the fuss Everard had caused after she disappeared.

    They quickly pushed the door just enough for Ruby to sneak inside the hall.

    Ruby thanked Alma once again before finally stepping inside the hall.

    ¡®Where could he be?¡¯ Ruby thought to herself and started to look around the hall.

    .....

    The moment she opened up her mind, and her eyes started to look for Everard, she felt an overwhelming sensation soaring in her heart. It was the exact strong sensation that she had felt on the full moon night.

    ¡®Oh god no! Not right now!¡¯ She clenched her jaw and her fists and screamed in her head.

    That irresistible feeling that desired emotional attachment, as well as carnal pleasure, began to crawl deep under her skin. Every part of her body was screaming to her to find Everard and smother him with kisses.

    ¡®What the hell am I even thinking at a time like this? Ugh!¡¯ she closed her eyes and got angry at herself.

    However, her body didn¡¯t stop acting out. Her whole body began to sweat and tremble with desire, and a small part of her mind that was still half-conscious was extremely disgusted by how her body, her mind, and her heart were acting.

    ¡°Hey! You stepped on my gown!¡±

    Ruby heard a woman shouting at her. And when she tried stepping away, she heard another man shouting at her saying that she stepped on his shoe.

    ¡°Excuse me! I¡¯m sorry!¡± she apologized in an almost inaudible voice. Then she gripped her gown and ran towards the area that was somewhat empty inparison to every other ce in that hall.

    And almost instantly, she flopped down on the floor because she didn¡¯t want Everard to find her in that pathetic condition, mauled by her raw desire.

    For the best, or for worst, Ruby sat down right in time because that was exactly the moment when Everard managed to break out of his daze for a split second and look around the hall in search of her.

    ¡®Is Ruby here?¡¯ he wondered and darted his eyes around all the corners of the hall. However, he was greatly disappointed when he didn¡¯t find her.

    Right then, Anastasia tapped on Everard¡¯s shoulder and asked while looking at him with great worry, ¡°Eve? Your eyes... What¡¯s happening to you?¡±

    Everard felt his heart drumming like crazy again. Once again, he was swept by the raw desire that was buried deep in his heart.

    His eyes twinkled when he looked deep into those pair of emerald eyes. And he thought to himself, ¡®It is her! It has always been her!¡¯

    Unfortunately, since he had concluded that it wasn¡¯t Ruby who was making his heart and his mind go crazy like this, he attributed his overwhelming emotions and desires to Anastasia. He assumed that it was Anastasia who was making him feel that way.

    And without even taking another moment to think it through, he pulled Anastasia closer to him, cupped her cheeks, and then leaned closer to her lips.

    Anastasia widened her eyes when she saw his lipsing at her. She felt cold sweat running down her spine. Everything around her seemed to slow down and eventually stop ¨C the music, the dancing couples, the guests, everything.

    She even felt her own heart stopping when suddenly, she felt Everard¡¯s warm lips pressed against hers, and his tongue trying to pry open her tight-sealed mouth.

    The very next moment, she felt a sudden gust of wind crashing against her face. And before she knew it, Everard was lying at the other end of the hall with Caspian sitting on top of him.

    Her breathing started to get heavier and heavier when her teary eyes saw the damage that had already taken ce. There was a huge hole in the wall, right above the entrance of the hall. A whole chunk of a pir was missing on the other side. And there were several craters on the floor.

    The guests were either running out of the hall or were cramped at the corners of the hall, trying to stay away from getting in the middle of that terrifying fight.

    Everything escted so fast that the whole hall was in a state of chaos.

    Anastasia¡¯s ears were ringing from the continuous and loud crashing and banging noises. She focused her attention back on Everard and Caspian.

    To her horror, she witnessed Caspian continuously and relentlessly mming his fists on Everard¡¯s face and his chest, the floor, and anywhere his fistsnded.

    Both Hamilton and Vincent were trying to hold Caspian back, but they were failing miserably. She also saw a few others trying to break the fight, but no one was sessful.

    Anastasia widened her eyes in fear thinking that Caspian might have already killed Everard.

    She wanted to shout and ask her husband to stop. But her voice had already died down and betrayed her. Thus, she mustered up her remaining strength in her legs and ran towards her husband.

    When she reached there, she dropped down on her knees behind Everard¡¯s head, and she leaned down to shield Everard¡¯s face from getting hit.

    Caspian looked at his wife resting her head on Everard¡¯s chest in horror and screamed, ¡°Anna! What do you think you are doing?¡±

    Anastasia closed her eyes and mumbled while shedding tears, ¡°Enough already, Caspian! Stop! Please!¡±

 Chapter 235

    235 Copsed

    Caspian¡¯s eyes were glowing with fury before Anastasia came to shield Everard from him. And now that his wife was trying to protect the same arsehole who dared to kiss her, his rage knew no bounds.

    His fist was hanging midair, a few inches away from Anastasia because she swooped in out of nowhere and covered Everard with her body. If it wasn¡¯t for his quick reflexes, the blow would havended on Anastasia instead of Everard.

    Caspian clenched his jaw and tightened his fist even more, so much so that the pale skin around his knuckles turned white. Then he looked at his wife and asked in a low growl, ¡°Get away from him!¡±

    However, Anastasia didn¡¯t listen to what Caspian was saying. She was trembling and was shedding tears thinking that Everard was already dead.

    Everard¡¯s face was covered with cuts, scratches, and blood. It wasn¡¯t that bad considering how many punches he got from Caspian, and how many times he got thrown and mmed against the wall, pir, and floor. But hey there without moving a muscle, making Anastasia assume the worse.

    Anastasia was sobbing non-stop, and she replied to Caspian using her shaky breath, ¡°I said stop! You¡¯ve already killed him! Just stop!¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t killed him yet!¡± Caspian growled in rage and tried to punch Everard¡¯s stomach.

    However, when Caspian was distracted by Anastasia, Hamilton had gotten enough time to tightly and properly grab Caspian¡¯s dominant hand making it impossible for Caspian to move his hand, let alone throw a punch.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Caspian turned to give a death stare at his cousin and snarled at him, ¡°Leave my hand. Now!¡±

    .....

    ¡°As the Queen said, you should stop now,¡± Hamilton said in an unyielding tone. And he further said while trying to pull Caspian up with the help of Vincent, ¡°Stop making a scene and making this worse.¡±

    ¡°I am making a scene?¡± Caspian growled in rage and pushed his whole body to elbow Hamilton in the stomach.

    ¡°Caspian! Get a hold of yourself!¡± Vincent pulled Caspian towards himself so that he wouldn¡¯t try to elbow Hamilton again.

    Caspian finally got up, his feet still straddling Everard¡¯s body, and then he snarled at Hamilton again, ¡°He is the one who kissed my wife in front of me! In front of everybody! And I am the one causing a scene?¡±

    He turned to re at Everard¡¯s unmoving body and then shouted, ¡°I should kill him right here for the crime he hasmitted. What I did until now doesn¡¯t even count.¡±

    And before Hamilton or Vincent could take any action, Caspian raised his leg and kicked Everard right in between his leg while screaming, ¡°Let me help you control yourself, you bastard!¡±

    ¡°Arghhhhhhh!¡± Everard¡¯s throaty scream echoed throughout the hall, followed by pitiful looks and collective whispers from those who witnessed the scene, ¡°Ooooooh!¡±

    Everard turned on his side and curled himself into a fetal position. He was in so much pain that he thought his lower body got paralyzed after that kick from Caspian.

    Anastasia finally lifted her body to look at Everard. She wiped her eyes and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw him grumbling and wriggling in pain.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡± she mumbled while looking at Everard¡¯s face.

    Everard scoffed and then whispered while grimacing in pain, ¡°Of course, I am. I¡¯m not going to die from a few punches from that thing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank god!¡± Anastasia closed her eyes in relief.

    And as she was already feeling light-headed and nauseous, and was only holding onto her consciousness by a hair, the moment she knew Everard wasn¡¯t dead, she happened to copse forward, resting her head on Everard¡¯s shoulder.

    Caspian was watching everything that was unfolding in front of his eyes with great disgust. And when he saw his wife ¡®leaning down¡¯ on the very creature he despised the most, he pulled his hands away from Hamilton and Vincent¡¯s grip with great force. He couldn¡¯t bear to see his wife showing ¡®affection¡¯ to Everard. Thus, he stormed out of the hall with his heart full of rage and hatred towards Everard.

    Caspian¡¯s Royal Guards, who until now were busy stopping or checkmating the Royal Guards of Everard, also followed their King.

    Vincent also ran after all of them so that he could stop Caspian if he tried to do anything stupid.

    Hamilton, on the other hand, stayed behind so that he could watch over the Queen.

    Alexander, who was being stopped by Jerome until now, finally forced his way out from the crowd and then ran towards his sister.

    He immediately knelt down beside Anastasia. He grabbed her by her shoulders and then pulled her up, only to find out that she had passed out.

    He gently tapped on Anastasia¡¯s cheek and called her, ¡°Anna! Anna! Can you hear me? Anna!¡±

    When Everard heard Alexander desperately calling for Anastasia, he pulled himself together and sat up while facing the brother and sister. ¡°Oh, lord! Is she okay?¡± he asked worriedly. He then held out his hand to hold Anastasia¡¯s hand.

    However, Hamilton swooped in between Everard and Anastasia, and then swiftly picked Anastasia in his arms.

    He looked at Alexander and said, ¡°I am taking Her Majesty back to our carriages. I am assuming that the King would want to leave after everything that happened just now.¡±

    Before Alexander could say anything, Everard got up on his feet and then said authoritatively, ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to take her in such a state. Can¡¯t you see that she is unconscious?¡±

    ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Hamilton sternly said while ring at Everard as if he also wanted to throw a punch or two at him.

    ¡°I am alsoing along then,¡± Alexander said while stepping in between Hamilton and Everard. He was worried that something bad had happened to his sister. And since he had already received the invitation from Caspian, he thought of going along with his sister so that he could take care of her.

    Everard looked at Alexander and scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re also going with them? But you are staying here for two weeks, remember?¡±

    Alexander looked at his sister¡¯s wet eyes. He gently wiped a drop of tear that rolled down her temple and replied in a sad low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can fulfill that promise now, Eve. Not after how you humiliated her in front of the world.¡±

 Chapter 236

    236 No Goodbyes

    ¡°After I humiliated her?¡± Everard scoffed again and tried to reason with his friend, ¡°Look, Alex. I did not mean to cause all this chaos. And I am sorry about what I did to your sister in the heat of the moment. But...¡±

    ¡°But you don¡¯t know the full story. Your sister shouldn¡¯t be with that crazy bastard! Can¡¯t you notice that there¡¯s something off about him...¡± He gave a side re to Hamilton, who was a second away from losing his patience, and then said to Alexander, ¡°...and all the others from Sorvando?¡±

    Alexander sighed and said with an exasperated expression on his face, ¡°Eve, stop all this nonsense. Please, I beg you.¡± He pointed at his sister and emphasized, ¡°She is already MARRIED, for god¡¯s sake. Stop dreaming about her already! End your obsession with my sister. You are making me sick!¡±

    He then looked at Hamilton and asked in a politer tone, ¡°Lord Hamilton, I think we should leave.¡±

    However, after how he ¡®felt¡¯ about Anastasia earlier, Everard was convinced that he was the one who should be with her, not that blood-sucking monster. He didn¡¯t want to let her leave his castle that easily.

    So, he stepped in front of both Hamilton and Everard to stop them from leaving. He even gestured for the guards to close the door.

    He then made Alexander face him and then said, ¡°But look at your sister¡¯s condition!¡± He gestured his brows at Hamilton and said to Alexander, ¡°You should be making him leave her here so that she can get the proper care. My doctors and nurses will look after her. YOU can look after her.¡±

    ¡°No offense to your doctors or nurses but...¡± Hamilton narrowed his eyes at Everard and said, ¡°I think our maids can take better care of our Queen than them. Besides, I am sure that she just fainted from the horrors that you made her go through. She will be fine once she steps out of this filthy ce.¡±

    Alexander wasn¡¯t sure about what Hamilton said. But he definitely didn¡¯t want to stay back or make his sister stay back. He didn¡¯t want to be the reason for the crack in his sister¡¯s marriage.

    .....

    ¡°I will hire some other doctors from the town to look after her. We are leaving,¡± Alexander said with finality.

    Hamilton gave a mirthless smile to Everard and said, ¡°Now, if you don¡¯t mind, ask your guards to open the door, please. That is if you want them intact. We are leaving either way.¡±

    Everard was, however, still adamant about keeping Anastasia in the castle. He looked at Alexander with an expectant look in his eyes and said, ¡°Stay here with Anastasia. At least until she regains consciousness. Then she can decide on her own if and when she wants to leave.¡±

    ¡°Wha-¡± Hamilton scoffed at that ridiculous request from Everard. ¡°Are you seriously thinking that the Queen would want to stay here? After everything you¡¯ve done today?¡±

    Everard red at the red-eyed creature and snarled, ¡°You aren¡¯t her, are you? Who knows? She might be willing to stay here forever?¡±

    ¡°Live here forever, my arse!¡± Hamilton rolled his eyes and then decided to ram the door open. He was heading for the door when Everard grabbed him by his arm.

    For a split second, Hamilton felt like taking the pistol out of his inner pocket and then shooting Everard in his heart. But he shook his head and closed his eyes. He heaved a deep sigh to suppress his anger from rising to a dangerous level. He didn¡¯t want to do something that wouldn¡¯t just impact him but two whole Kingdoms.

    ¡°I said, you aren¡¯t allowed to decide for Anastasia!¡± Everard shouted from behind.

    His voice was so sharp that Anastasia twitched because of it. And in no time, she fluttered her eyes open.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Hamilton sighed in relief and then looked at her to ask, ¡°How are you feeling now?¡±

    Alexander and Everard both went and stood in front of Hamilton to take a look at Anastasia.

    Anastasia furrowed her brows and looked around her. She was still feeling disoriented, but she clearly remembered what was happening right before she fainted. She was d to see Everard and her brother, looking all fine.

    However, she got a little worried when she didn¡¯t see her husband around. ¡°Where¡¯s Caspian?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Umm...¡± Hamilton knitted his brows together and replied, ¡°He went outside.¡±

    ¡°Outside?¡± Anastasia slid down from Hamilton¡¯s hold and instantly tried to run towards the door. However, her legs weren¡¯t that supportive of her decision, and she almost twisted her ankle while trying to run the moment shended on the floor.

    All three men instantly grabbed her to keep her from falling.

    She took a shaky breath and asked while standing properly, ¡°Outside where?¡±

    Hamilton was greatly relieved to see how she wanted to run after Caspian the moment she opened her eyes, proving his point that she wouldn¡¯t want to stay behind. He replied to the Queen with a subtle smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think he is preparing to leave.¡±

    ¡°Leave?¡± Anastasia restlessly looked at her brother and at Hamilton, and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we leaving yet then? Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Before anyone could say anything, she made her way toward the door.

    Alexander ran after his sister without even exchanging proper goodbye with his friend. He was too worried about his sister to remember all the formalities.

    ¡°Ask them to open the door for her. Else I am going to smash it down,¡± Hamilton said to Everard while giving him an icy re.

    Everard couldn¡¯t deny that vampire¡¯s request, which sounded more like an order and a threat, even when it poked his ego. He could see how restless Anastasia was. And he saw how she didn¡¯t even spare a nce at him before taking off.

    ¡®I will let you go for now,¡¯ Everard thought to himself and then gestured for his guards to open the door. ¡°I will see you soon, Anna,¡± he shouted.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t even stop for a second and turned to look at Everard before storming out of the hall.

    Everard was hurt. Neither Anastasia nor Alexander turned to at least wave a hand at him before leaving him there, making him feel alone and humiliated. He clenched his fist and kept on staring at the door although he couldn¡¯t see them anymore.

 Chapter 237

    237 Life Advice

    Hamilton took a step forward to stand beside Everard. And he asked in as polite a voice as he could, ¡°Can I give you some life advice?¡±

    Everard pulled the corner of his upper lip in disdain and rolled his eyes. ¡°Oh, please. I don¡¯t need the likes of you to give me any life advice.¡±

    But Hamilton did that anyway. Without even sparing a nce at the werewolf King, Hamilton said in soft whispers, ¡°Do yourself a favor and bury whatever feelings you have for our Queen. It will save both you and your Kingdom.¡±

    Everard was enraged by the way how Hamilton was acting like someone who was close to him, giving him advice and all. However, since that vampire was already assuming that he had feelings for Anastasia, he clearly stated how he truly felt, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I tried to do that? But she isn¡¯t someone who I can give up on.¡±

    Hamilton scoffed in disbelief that the werewolf actually dared to say that. He gave a side-re to Everard and reminded him once again, ¡°I think you should hammer a fact in your head. She is already married to someone else. You should make peace with your residual feelings.¡±

    But Everard simply disregarded what Hamilton just said and then mumbled firmly, ¡°I finally know that Anna and I are meant to be together. I don¡¯t care if she is married because I know what kind of creature she is married to. I am not letting her stay in that ce which can turn into her grave at any moment.¡±

    Hamilton¡¯s anger towards Everard was about to cross the limit. He couldn¡¯t bear to listen to him berating his kind and also berating his Queen.

    ¡°Just stop talking nonsense and keep your intrusive and repulsive thoughts to yourself,¡± Hamilton snapped at Everard.

    However, Everard wasn¡¯t going to take orders from someone like Hamilton. ¡°You can warn your dear King, Lord Hamilton,¡± he said in a mocking tone. ¡°I am going to make her mine, one way or another. And I won¡¯t stop at anything until I do that.¡±

    .....

    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know when to stop, huh,¡± Hamilton mumbled in a low growl.

    He was about to give an earful to Everard, but he instantly clenched his jaw and fists tightly. His fangs and ws had protruded involuntarily. His body was demanding he take action against that filthy-mouthed werewolf.

    He was even darting his eyes around the hall to calcte who and how many people would lunge toward him if he was to attack Everard then and there. He was confident that he could take out at least a few of them.

    However, he stopped himself, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be a fool like this stinking dog. He¡¯s just a child who doesn¡¯t know the world properly. Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡¯ He put a lid on his anger and decided to walk out of that damned ce that was crawling with werewolves.

    As he stormed out of the hall and headed towards the area where their carriages were parked, he kept on hearing a set of footsteps following him closely.

    He turned around to see that it was Everard who was following him. He narrowed his eyes and openly bare his ws. Then he asked that fool without turning around or stopping, ¡°What do you want now? Don¡¯t tell me you want to fight because it won¡¯t be a fair fight if it¡¯s just you and me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in no mood to indulge you in your fantasy,¡± Everard said while catching up with Hamilton. He walked past the vampire and said, ¡°I am going to see off the people who are dear to me.¡±

    Hamilton scoffed and said while walking ahead of Everard, ¡°I think you are forgetting that you have angered your dear person¡¯s husband greatly. Be my guest if you insist on following but I cannot guarantee that you will survive if youe face-to-face with him again.¡±

    Everard caught up with Hamilton again and turned to re at him. Then he said without a hint of fear in his voice, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I am someone weak and fragile who is easily scared by your verbal threats alone.¡±

    He looked forward at the corridor that wasing to an end and further added, ¡°What scares me most is the thought that you people will do something very bad to her if I don¡¯t intervene soon enough.¡±

    Hamilton shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t know, do you? The Queen is thest person anyone on ournd will dare to-¡±

    Before he couldplete his sentence, Everard cut him off and said while grimacing, ¡°You don¡¯t know how much it hurts not being able to do anything. You don¡¯t know how much it hurts seeing someone dear to you with another man... seeing her with a mons-¡±

    This time, Hamilton interrupted Everard in the middle and said with the same pain flowing in his heart, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I know how much it hurts. It hurts so bad that you wonder if your heart literally split in two. It hurts so bad that you will think the only way for it to stop hurting is to have her, one way or another.¡±

    The two of them stopped when the carriages of Sorvando came into view, along with Anastasia, Alexander, and Caspian.

    Anastasia looked like she was crying; she was tightly holding onto Caspian¡¯s sleeve while doing so. Alexander seemed to be exining something to Caspian.

    And when Everard took a deep breath and decided to head there, he stopped again when he saw Anastasia resting her head on Caspian¡¯s chest, and Caspian hugging her as tightly as he could.

    Hamilton smiled thinking that the misunderstanding between those two had been finally resolved.

    He then stood in front of Everard and pointed his brows at Anastasia and Caspian. Then he aggressively whispered, ¡°Just take a look at her. Does she look like someone who can stay apart from her husband even for a minute? Does she look unhappy to be with him? Or scared of him? And does it look like my cousin would ever do any harm to her?¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t say a word. He simply clenched his jaw and furrowed his brows in disappointment. Then he turned on his heels and walked back towards the hall.

    Hamilton smirked and then shouted from behind, ¡°Do her a favor and stop repeating such a mistake again. Don¡¯t ever try toe in between her and her husband. If you ever truly loved her then don¡¯t try to ruin her happiness, Your Majesty.¡±

 Chapter 238

    238 Disappear

    When the fight between Everard and Caspian had just begun, there were a few people who were greatly enjoying the fight. One of them was obviously Romulus.

    He was trying his best to hide his evil smirk as he watched Everard getting thrown around mercilessly and getting beaten to a pulp.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t even need to do anything,¡¯ he was standing in a corner of the hall, enjoying the scene and apuding in his mind. And he was thinking to himself, ¡®He did everything himself. The goddess is great. I wanted to take my revenge. I was just thinking of something small, like making him piss himself or something along the line to make him feel as humiliated as me.¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at this point, ¡®But this is far beyond my expectation. I bet that pathetic King will never forget this humiliation in his life. I mean... I would probably jump off a cliff and dive into ice-cold water just to freeze my brain if someone beat me up at my own celebratory ball. Fucking loser!¡¯

    While he was enjoying watching Everard getting smashed into a pie, at the same time, there was someone who was worried to death.

    Ruby was still pressing her back against the cold pir while covering the lower half of her face with both of her palms.

    She wasn¡¯t just scared because someone who she deeply cared for was getting the beating of his life. She was also terrified because the one who was beating him up was the same person who had given her lifelong trauma. It was the same person who she was running away from. The same person who had almost seeded in killing her.

    ¡®Oh dear god! What should I do?¡¯ she thought to herself as the space in front of her was getting more crowded, given that everyone was running towards the corners to save themselves from the sh between the two dangerous people.

    Through the gaps between the legs of the crowd, she watched Everard getting multiple hits on his face. She was horrified to see how Everard wasn¡¯t able to defend himself at all. He was just taking fist after fist.

    .....

    ¡®I should go and save him,¡¯ Ruby thought to herself as her heart clenched like hell. She was desperate to put an end to the fight. She couldn¡¯t bear to see how much pain Everard was in. She could hear his painful groans, and she could almost feel the pain that he was feeling.

    She staggeringly pushed herself up on her feet while taking the help of the strong pir behind her. Her legs were trembling like a leaf. Though she was trying her best to hide how she was feeling about the presence of Caspian right in front of her eyes, her body couldn¡¯t be lied to. It feared that monster like it was supposed to.

    Ruby took a few deep breaths in. She looked at how two other vampires were trying their best to hold and contain the monster King. She then looked at Caspian¡¯s back with determination. ¡®I should run at the top of my speed. Then I have one chance. Just one. I should bite his neck as hard as I can.¡¯

    She breathed in again and nodded to herself, ¡®That should put an end to the fight. Even if it means that I will die in the process. Now, I don¡¯t have any more time to dy. Or else, that monster will kill him. I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened... No! That¡¯s not going to happen. Not on my watch.¡¯

    Ruby closed her eyes and tried to calm herself by heaving a deep breath onest time.

    However, when she was diverting her mind from fearing death by trying her best to calm herself before jumping for a sneak attack, her sharp ears happened to pick something up.

    ¡°He deserves that for kissing someone else¡¯s wife. If it was my wife who he kissed, I would have cut his throat by now.¡±

    Ruby abruptly opened her eyes. Her palms, which she didn¡¯t even know when she had fisted, slowly loosened on their own. Her throat went dry in an instant, and so did her will to jump in and attack the very creature she feared the most to save the person who she cared about.

    And when she heard that man¡¯s voice, she wondered if she had heard it right or if it was her ears that were ying tricks on her.

    She gulped to moisten her dry throat. She decided to double-check what she heard and then tapped on the shoulder of ady who was standing right in front of her.

    And when thatdy turned around, she asked, ¡°Umm... Can you tell me why they are fighting?¡±

    Thedy raised her brows as if she was listening to something very amusing. ¡°Didn¡¯t you witness what happened earlier?¡± she asked in a little excited tone.

    Ruby shook her head, not sure if she wanted to hear what happened.

    But before she could prepare her mind, she heard thedy whispering, ¡°King Everard kissed the Queen of Sorvando. I think he fancies her. But s...¡± that woman giggled and then continued, ¡°The Queen¡¯s husband was very unhappy about it. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be? So, look what that kiss led to.¡±

    The moment Ruby heard that it was Queen Anastasia who Everard had kissed, she felt as though her whole body had been dipped into icy cold water and then thrown into the pit of burning fire. She began sweating profusely.

    She felt as if her whole world had been turned upside down.

    She drooped her shoulders and thought to herself as the tears began to stream down her cheeks like an unstoppable waterfall, ¡®Of course. He fancies someone as beautiful and as kind as Queen Anastasia. I could neverpete with her, not even in my wildest dreams. I was just a mere case that he took pity on... His distraction for a while.¡¯

    Sheughed through her pain for having dreams that were beyond her reach. She then mixed with the group of people who were running out of the hall. She slowly walked down the corridor while thinking to herself, ¡®At least it¡¯s all clear now. He is someone who I cannot even dream of.¡¯

    She heaved a deep sigh and stared nkly at the long corridor ahead of her. ¡®This all ends now. I should disappear from his life.¡¯

    While she was lost in her thoughts, Ruby suddenly happened to bump into someone. ¡°Excuse me,¡± she mumbled in a breathless whisper.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright.¡± The man looked at Ruby¡¯s lifeless face. And he asked, ¡°Why is a pretty woman like you looking so sad? Is there anything I could do for you?¡±

    Ruby initially thought of ignoring that man and kept on walking. However, she changed her mind soon because she wanted to get out of the castle as soon as she could. She stopped on her track and asked that man, ¡°I would be grateful if you could give me a ride.¡±

 Chapter 239

    239 Shivering

    All the carriages and horses from Sorvando and Orsenia had already traveled for about an hour after getting out of the castle of Xanmar.

    This time, along with Anastasia and Caspian, Ti was also riding their carriage so that she could take care of Anastasia if something was to happen to her again.

    And it looked like Ti did the right thing by insisting to ride along with the monarchs because Anastasia was showing signs of fatigue and motion sickness.

    Both Ti and Caspian got worried when Anastasia began tightly closing her eyes and gagging once in a while as though she was going to throw up at any time.

    ¡°Your Majesty, do you want to bite on a piece of fresh lemon? I had restocked it from the castle,¡± Ti asked Anastasia with the intention to help her.

    Anastasia vigorously nodded her head. ¡°Yeah, I think I need it.¡±

    When Ti took out a lemon from her bag, Anastasia instructed her, ¡°Give me a small piece only. Else I won¡¯t be able to chew anything for the next hour.¡±

    Caspian was quietly watching the two of them interacting with each other. He could see why Anastasia was so fond of Ti. The handmaid knew everything about Anastasia, and she knew how to take care of her.

    Ti washed and cut the lemon. And while handing it over to Ti, she noticed how Anastasia¡¯s scalp was covered in sweat beads. She furrowed her brows and then pressed her palm over Anastasia¡¯s forehead.

    .....

    She took a sharp breath and widened her eyes, rming both Anastasia and Caspian.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Caspian asked, and he also lifted his hand to press it against Anastasia¡¯s cheek. A piece of his soul left his body when he found out that Anastasia was almost as cold as him. He questioningly looked at Ti for an answer.

    Ti took a deep breath in and replied, ¡°I think she was having a fever back there in the castle. And now, the temperature went down more than what was required.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s pupils dted when she recalled how her body had warmed up abnormally after getting kissed by Everard. And then she witnessed the sh between her husband and Everard. She was obviously scared to her core. Since she was also already weak and tired from the continuous travel, it didn¡¯t take long enough for the fever to take over her body.

    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Caspian looked at Ti and asked worriedly.

    Ti took a deep breath and looked at her friend. She knew what needed to be done. She looked back at the King and then answered him, ¡°I don¡¯t think heading towards Sorvando will be a wise thing to do.¡±

    She gazed at Anastasia. The Queen was now closing her eyes and then slowly munching on the piece of lemon. And Ti mumbled with a sense of urgency, ¡°Her fever will return shortly. She needs to rest. Else the fever will take longer to heal.¡±

    Caspian instantly got up on his feet and then banged on the carriage wall.

    The carriage stopped shortly. The Royal Guards who were riding the horses also stopped and one of them asked from outside, ¡°Your Majesty, is everything alright?¡±

    Caspian opened the window and then instructed the guard, ¡°Find a ce to stay. We are spending a night here. And also, find a doctor for the Queen.¡±

    The guard would have liked it if they were to get out of the border of Xanmar as soon as possible. It would have been easier to protect the monarchs. But then he looked at the Queen; she didn¡¯t look like she would be able to endure another 6-8 hours of journey.

    So, without arguing with the King about how they should be leaving the enemy Kingdom as soon as they could, the guard agreed, ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡±

    The coachman then parked the carriage at the side of the road so that they could wait there until the guards found a ce to stay for the night.

    Caspian looked out of the window. Though it was pitch ck outside, he could see that they had already arrived at the outskirts of the capital. Although it was still a part of the capital, the area where they were right now looked more like the countryside than a town.

    ¡®I hope there aren¡¯t that many werewolves here,¡¯ he thought to himself while narrowing his eyes at the few houses in distance.

    He then shifted his gaze to his wife. She was starting to shiver now. Just like what Ti had predicted, it looked like her fever was slowlying back. ¡°Anna, are you feeling cold?¡± he asked without touching his wife.

    Anastasia crossed her arms across her chest and then tucked her neck. She shivered even more and then spoke with her trembling lips, ¡°Mhmm... I think I should take a nap.¡±

    Caspian looked sad because he couldn¡¯t even dare to embrace his wife. His embrace would only make her feel colder.

    Ti quickly rummaged through her bag again and then took out a light nket that she had packed, just for situations like this. She got up on her feet and then unfolded the nket. She then bowed to the King and said, ¡°Please excuse me, Your Majesty.¡±

    Since Ti was looking at the small space between him and his wife, Caspian understood what she meant. So, he got up and shifted to the other side of the carriage to give space to Ti.

    Ti quickly covered Anastasia¡¯s body with the nket and then sat down beside Anastasia.

    Anastasia leaned towards Ti and rested her head on Ti¡¯s shoulder so that she could get warmth from her.

    Caspian sighed, he could only watch and not do anything for his wife. ¡®If only I was warm...¡¯ he thought and looked out of the window again.

    Then he thought to himself, ¡®I think I should carry Anastasia back to Sorvando at dawn. We cannot stay here in Xanmar for several days, not after what happened earlier. If we head out while it is still a bit dark, then we won¡¯t grab the attention of the vigers or the werewolves. The others cane back in the carriages and horses.¡¯

    Soon, there was a knock on the door of the carriage. And before Caspian could look at the door, the previous guard appeared at the window and informed Caspian, ¡°One of our soldiers had already scouted a ce to stay. I also double-checked. We can spend the night there.¡±

    Caspian nodded appreciatively and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s head there then.¡±

 Chapter 240

    240 Inn

    While the guard was still standing there at the window, Caspian heard Vincent from outside, ¡°Caspian, is everything alright? What happened? Why have we stopped here?¡±

    Caspian waited until Vincent came into the view and then pointed his brows at Anastasia. ¡°She isn¡¯t feeling well. So, we will be spending a night here.¡±

    Vincent instantly furrowed his brows and wrinkled his nose in disapproval. ¡°Is it right to stay here in Xanmar? They might already be after us. What if they find us and attack us in the middle of the night?¡±

    Caspian took a deep breath and said exasperatedly, ¡°I know. I have also taken that into consideration. That fool might have given orders to his wer- soldiers to follow us and capture us. But...¡± He turned to look at his shivering wife and said, ¡°Just look at her! Do you think she can travel the whole night?¡±

    Vincent turned to look at the Queen. She did look pale and was shivering badly even when Ti was tightly hugging her. His eyes met with Ti¡¯s.

    And Ti said in a pleading tone, ¡°She cannot travel tonight. Please try to understand.¡±

    Vincent gave a nod to Ti and then looked at Caspian. ¡°We can only spend one night then. No more than that. I will ask all the guards and the soldiers to be vignt. If a fight ensues then I suggest you take the Queen and leave the enemies for us to handle.¡±

    Caspian nodded in agreement. He was really d that he brought Vincent along with him.

    The guard who had gone to find the ce then led the way while everyone else followed him.

    .....

    It didn¡¯t even take three minutes for them to reach the said ce. Caspian was d that he asked the carriage to stop at the right ce. They didn¡¯t have to travel a greater distance to reach their destination for the night.

    The inn where they were taken didn¡¯t look like much. It looked like a small countryside farmhouse with a wide space avable for all the carriages and horses to rest. There were barely two or three other houses in the surrounding. And the rest was vast fields. It was a perfect ce in the sense that there weren¡¯t many ces where the enemies could hide if they were to attack.

    ¡®Whoever found this ce did a good job,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself while darting his eyes around the surroundings.

    He got up on his feet and then said while leaning closer to his wife, ¡°Anna, let me carry you to your room.¡±

    Anastasia opened her eyes and replied in a feeble whisper, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Caspian wrapped Anastasia properly in the nket and then lifted her along with it. The coachman had already opened the door for them, so Caspian carefully stepped out of the carriage and followed one of the guards.

    The guard took the King and the Queen to one of the best rooms that the inn had to offer.

    An elderly couple was standing at the door of the room to wee their rich guests.

    ¡°We are happy to have you here,¡± the old man said with a huge smile on his face, while the old woman simply smiled and then pushed the door open.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Caspian gave a subtle smile and walked inside the room.

    The room was nothing special. In one corner, there was a bed that looked barely wide enough for the two of them. On the other side, there was a small table and a chair. And the floor was covered with what looked like a rug made out of sheep wool. Other than a jar of water on the table, the room had nothing more to offer.

    Caspian heaved a deep sigh and then looked at the bed. He wondered if the bed sheet was clean enough to put his wife down.

    Seeing the reluctance from Caspian, the old woman smiled and said, ¡°I changed the sheets before you arrived.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod and then finallyy his wife down on the bed. He properly tucked her in and then turned to look at the old woman. ¡°Will you prepare a hot bowl of soup for my wife? I will ask her handmaid to guide you about her taste.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure,¡± the old woman happily agreed. And she also asked, ¡°What about you and all the gentlemen outside? Shall I prepare a hot meal for all of you?¡±

    ¡°Er...¡± Caspian was dumbfounded when the woman suddenly asked that question to him.

    Right at that moment, Ti arrived in the room while huffing and puffing. She had heard the woman¡¯s question. And seeing the dumbfounded look on Caspian¡¯s face, she answered the old woman instead of Caspian, ¡°Our master and the others already had their dinner. We came here after attending a ball. So, we just need the rooms and nothing more.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The old woman nodded her head. She looked at Ti from head to toe and then turned to look at Caspian. And she asked, ¡°Is she the one who will guide me to prepare the soup?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Caspian gave a nod and looked at Ti to order her, ¡°Ti, why don¡¯t you go along with her and prepare what Anna likes?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Ti bowed.

    And the twodies walked out of the room.

    The old man also followed after them so that he could prepare rooms for all the other guests.

    Caspian then looked at his guard who was still standing at the door and ordered, ¡°Ask everyone to stay alert. Take turns to patrol the area.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the guard said after bowing.

    And before the guard left from there, Caspian asked, ¡°Did someone leave to find a doctor?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have sent Henry,¡± he replied.

    Caspian sighed in relief and said, ¡°Okay. Go and pass the order to everyone else.¡±

    After the guard left, Caspian closed the door and went to sit down beside his wife. He looked at her with a sad look on his face. He couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty because he felt as though he was the reason why she was in this state right now.

    ¡®I should have never allowed that bastard to take her away. I know she didn¡¯t have a fever until she danced with me.¡¯ He gently caressed his wife¡¯s cheek and thought, ¡®She must have been shocked when he...¡¯ He suddenly clenched his jaw when he was reminded of that incident.

    And cursed Everard, ¡®I swear I am going to break that mouth if I evere face-to-face with him again.¡¯

 Chapter 241

    241 Growing Suspicious

    Anastasia slowly opened her eyes when she felt Caspian caressing her cheek. She could see him lost in his own thoughts, looking sad, guilty, and angry at the same time.

    ¡°Caspian,¡± she called him using her feeble voice and pressed her palm over his.

    Caspian instantly looked into Anastasia¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Yes, love? Do you need something?¡±

    Anastasia looked deep into her husband¡¯s eyes. Her eyes were full of confusion and questions. She was in need of some answers.

    While traveling, she had enough time to go through her memory about the unfortunate incident at the castle, over and over again. And no matter how many times she looked through her memory, she couldn¡¯t quite get the answer to one particr question.

    How did Everard survive such heavy blows from Caspian?

    To add more to the mystery, almost half of the guests who remained inside the hall were observing that deadly fight as if they were witnessing something very normal. They didn¡¯t seem rmed even when those strong walls, pirs, and floors were being damaged so easily.

    And to top that, Anastasia clearly remembered that when she looked at Everard¡¯s face after regaining her consciousness, the cuts and bruises on his face had disappeared as though they were never there in the first ce.

    Also, not to mention how Everard¡¯s eyes were flickering like a burning candle right before he did something inexcusable to her.

    .....

    ¡®What is he?¡¯ she wondered. ¡®Is he also a vampire? Or something simr?¡¯ Anastasia asked herself, but couldn¡¯t quite voice out her query.

    She had a hard time making Caspian understand why she was shielding Everard from getting beaten. Even Alexander had to vouch for his sister saying that she had never ever entertained Everard¡¯s advances on her.

    And now, she didn¡¯t want to scratch the already healing wound and make it worse by asking Caspian if Everard is also something more than just a human.

    The way his eyes were glowing right before he kissed her, she assumed that he was possessed by some evil. If vampires existed in this world, she thought that other things could too.

    ¡°Are you feeling pain somewhere? What are you thinking? You look lost.¡± Caspian asked again, waking Anastasia from her deep thoughts.

    Anastasia gave a subtle smile to her husband. ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯t thinking much,¡± she whispered.

    For now, she consoled herself with the made-up answer ¨C that Everard kissed her when he was being possessed by some evil, and that evil made him invincible which exins how he came out unharmed even when he was attacked mercilessly by one of the strongest vampires.

    She decided not to dwell much upon it and ask any kind of questions to her husband that was rted to Everard.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Caspian leaned down to nt a soft kiss on Anastasia¡¯s forehead and then said, ¡°You must have been startled earlier. I am sorry that I got mad at you when you weren¡¯t even at any fault.¡±

    Anastasia took her husband¡¯s hand and kissed his palm. And she said with a polite smile on her face, ¡°If I was in your shoes, I guess even I would have gotten mad if you tried to protect the other woman from me.¡±

    Caspian suddenly chuckled and whispered, ¡°I can already imagine that. You would have probably smacked me then and there.¡±

    ¡°I would have,¡± Anastasia said while giggling.

    Caspian looked serious again, and he said while running his fingers through his wife¡¯s wet hair that was sticking to her scalp, ¡°Still, that was no way to behave with my dear wife. And I sincerely apologize for how I shouted at you back then.¡±

    ¡°Apology epted,¡± she replied with a somewhat serious look on her face.

    Though she tried to deny it, deep down, her sensitive heart felt a prick every time she recalled how he had raised his voice at her. And she wished that she would never have to hear his harsh voice again.

    Caspian pressed the back of his palm at the side of Anastasia¡¯s neck. She was still burning with fever. He sighed and said, ¡°The fever hasn¡¯t gone down yet. I hope it isn¡¯t as serious as thest time. Else, I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself for putting you under such stress again.¡±

    Anastasia suddenly wrapped her arms around Caspian¡¯s neck and pulled him in for a hug.

    Caspian resisted. ¡°I¡¯m cold,¡± he sounded concerned.

    ¡°So?¡± Anastasia made him rest his head on her chest anyway and whispered, ¡°My fever will go down sooner.¡±

    Caspian knew that arguing with his wife was pointless. So, he simply eased his posture and snuggled with her.

    Anastasia began caressing the beautiful blond hair of her husband which was looking even more beautiful as the light from thentern was directly being reflected on it.

    She sighed deeply when she recalled Caspian and all the guards getting anxious about making a stop there. Considering how such a big fight broke out between the two Kings, it was quite understandable for the guards to be wary of the possible danger.

    Although Anastasia was pretty sure that Everard would never send out soldiers to chase after them, especially since he was in the wrong, she was also worried thinking that he might actually have done that. ording to her, Everard was under the control of something evil, and she wondered if it could make Everard take such actions as sending an army after them.

    ¡®It would be bad if that really happened,¡¯ she thought to herself with great worry.

    She lightly gripped her husband¡¯s hair and then apologized to him, ¡°Caspian, I am really sorry that we needed to make a stop here solely because of me.¡±

    ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to apologize for that,¡± Caspian replied without missing a beat. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault that you got sick. If it¡¯s anyone¡¯s fault, then it¡¯s mine for... startling you like that.¡±

    Anastasia grimaced when she heard that. It pained her when her husband was taking the me for something that he wasn¡¯t even guilty of.

    Caspian lifted his head to look at her and further said with a gloomy face, ¡°Besides, if things hadn¡¯t taken such a bad turn then we were already going to spend a night here in Xanmar. So, don¡¯t think much about it. We all needed some rest.¡±

    Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

    And in came Alexander¡¯s voice, ¡°Your Majesties, the doctor is here.¡±

    Caspian tilted his head in surprise because he wasn¡¯t expecting Alexander to inform them that the doctor was there, he was expecting his guard to do so. Nevertheless, he got up and went to open the door.

    His guard Henry, Alexander, and a middle-aged man carrying a wooden box were at the door.

    Caspian gestured his hand inside the room and weed the doctor, ¡°Please, doctor, will you take a look at my wife? She has a high fever.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Milord,¡± the doctor bowed to Caspian, assuming he was someone of high status considering how he was dressed and how he even had personal guards patrolling the surrounding.

    When the doctor walked in, Caspian looked at Alexander and then invited him, ¡°Pri- Umm... Alexander, please,e in. You must be worried about her.¡±

    Alexander gave a nod and walked in while taking big steps.

    Caspian then finally focused his attention on Henry and thanked him, ¡°I appreciate how fast you were able to bring a doctor here.¡±

    Henry gave a polite bow to the King and said, ¡°Oh, actually,¡± he looked at Alexander and said, ¡°he also came along with me. He was the one who found the doctor, I simply apanied him.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Anyway, thank you. You may leave.¡± Caspian politely saw the guard off and then closed the door.

    When Caspian turned around, Alexander was standing by the head of the bed while looking down at his sister with a worried face.

    The doctor had his toolbox set up by the table, and he was examining Anastasia. After checking her eyes, tongue, and her pulse, he asked a few questions to her like what she had for dinner, if she had seen something that triggered her, and if she had done some activities that were too straining.

    After getting answers from Anastasia, he finally concluded, ¡°It looks like she is tired, both mentally and physically. It is better if she rests for at least a week.¡±

    He looked at Alexander, since he was close by, and then said to him, ¡°I will leave a few medicines for her fever. Make sure to feed it to her twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, after she eats something. And also make sure that she eats lots of nutritious food.¡±

    The doctor kept on looking at Anastasia for a while. He wasn¡¯t quite satisfied with his examination. So, he asked her to lean on her back.

    Anastasia was struggling to do as she was asked. Caspian quickly came and helped her to lie on her stomach.

    The doctor narrowed his eyes and carefully looked at Anastasia¡¯s back through his monocle. He noticed a few red spots that were merely visible to bare eyes. He leaned even closer when he noticed a small lump at the side of her neck. He felt it with his fingertips and wondered if it was a vein or a lump of muscle.

    ¡®Either way, this shouldn¡¯t be here. And neither should those red spots,¡¯ he thought. However, since he didn¡¯t know if those were actually causing any problems for Anastasia, he didn¡¯t mention it right away.

    But he did notice one thing ¨C that Anastasia was really fragile and weak for her age.

    He finally lifted his head and then said, ¡°Her body looks really weak for some reason.¡± He looked at Caspian and asked, ¡°Does she get sick too often?¡±

    Alexander hastily gave a smile to the doctor and intervened, ¡°Thank you, doctor. She had a rough day, so she must be feeling really weak. I¡¯m sure she will recover in no time.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean-¡± the doctor was about to say something more.

    But Alexander firmly patted the doctor on his shoulder and asked in a rather stern tone, ¡°Do you have enough doses of medicine for her? Or do I need toe along with you and get it from your clinic?¡±

    From the way he was speaking, the doctor understood that Alexander didn¡¯t wish for the information to be divulged. So, he gave a slight bow and replied, ¡°No, Milord. I have brought enough doses with me.¡± He then weighed and separated powdered medicine for Anastasia, and then handed it over to Alexander.

    Alexander was about to pay the doctor, but Caspian quickly intervened and settled the payment.

    ¡°I thank you for your service,¡± Caspian said with a smile. And he gestured towards the door and said, ¡°Let me see you off. I will-¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry when I am here, brother-inw,¡± Alexander quickly stepped in again, fearing that the doctor would say something to Caspian. He personally led the doctor outside of the inn and also asked one of his guards to escort the doctor back to his clinic.

    Caspian watched the doctor leave on a horse from the small window of the room that was covered with mesh. And he couldn¡¯t help but feel like Alexander was deliberately sending the doctor away faster, almost as if he was trying to hide something.

    ¡®That doctor was about to say something, wasn¡¯t he?¡¯ Caspian thought to himself while deeply furrowing his brows.

    ¡®Is Alexander hiding something from Anastasia?¡¯ he wondered while looking at his wife. He was growing more and more suspicious that there was something wrong with his wife¡¯s health. And he wondered if she was aware of it.

    ¡®I hope I am just overthinking.¡¯ He looked towards the door when he heard Alexander¡¯s footsteps. Then he thought to himself, ¡®But just in case, I think I should talk with Alexander in private.¡¯

 Chapter 242

    242 Taking Care

    Alexander came back to Caspian and Anastasia¡¯s room after dropping off the doctor at the door.

    He gave a gentle nod when he saw Caspian standing right by the open door and held out his hand to disy the medicine that the doctor had prescribed to Anastasia, ¡°I forgot and took it with me.¡±

    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s alright,¡± Caspian took the medicine from Alexander¡¯s hand and then asked him, ¡°Do you want to sit by your sister¡¯s side for a little longer?¡±

    Alexander looked inside the room to see his sister closing her eyes and resting. He didn¡¯t want to disturb her, so he shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Your Majesty. She needs to rest for now.¡± He bowed his head to Caspian and said, ¡°I will trust her to your care.¡±

    Caspian slightly curled the corners of his lips and then agreed. ¡°Sure. You don¡¯t have to worry about her. You should also rest well, Prince Alexander.¡±

    Alexander turned around to see Ti rushing toward the room while carrying a tray in her hand. He waited for Ti to reach there and when she bowed to him, he asked her, ¡°Ti, take good care of the Queen.¡±

    ¡°I will, my Prince,¡± Ti replied with a polite bow, and when Alexander departed from there, she bowed to Caspian and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I have brought some mushroom soup and drinking water for the Queen.¡±

    Caspian took the tray from her hand and then asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring the necessary things to give her a tepid bath? I will feed this to her.¡±

    Ti gave a bow and then rushed back to the kitchen, while Caspian walked inside the room and put the tray on the table that was beside the bed.

    .....

    He swirled the soup with the spoon and then dripped a few drops of the soup at the back of his palm to check the temperature. ¡®Seems about right,¡¯ he thought to himself and shifted his gaze to his wife.

    ¡°Anna, let me help you to sit up. You can go to sleep after having this soup and taking a dose of your medicine.¡±

    Anastasia opened her eyes and gave a nod.

    Caspian stacked the pillows behind her back and then helped her to sit on her bed. He then took the bowl in his hand and started to feed her with great love.

    After drinking a few spoons of the soup, Anastasia didn¡¯t feel like having it as it was tasting really bitter due to her sickness. She shook her head and said while wrinkling her nose, ¡°I¡¯m done. No more, please.¡±

    However, Caspian narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t eat back there saying you were not hungry. I know you said that because we would also be forced to eat along with you. So, you should at least finish this bowl of soup. Else, you will get weaker if you take your medicine on your empty stomach.¡±

    Anastasia reluctantly forced down a few more spoons of the soup and struggled again. ¡°Caspian... I really can¡¯t have anymore.¡±

    ¡°Okay, this is thest spoon, I promise,¡± Caspian said while holding a spoonful of soup before Anastasia¡¯s mouth.

    Anastasia unwillingly opened her mouth and then closed her eyes while forcefully swallowing it. She took a deep breath through her mouth and immediately covered her mouth with her nket.

    Caspian smiled and put the bowl down on the table. ¡°No more. I know.¡± He then poured a ss of water and gave it to her. ¡°Here. I will prepare the medicine for you.¡±

    Anastasia took the ss from him and looked at him with appreciative eyes. He didn¡¯t seem to mind all the work at all.

    She sighed and mumbled, ¡°I should have brought either Martha or Holly together with me. Then you wouldn¡¯t have to do all this.¡± She looked him in the eyes and apologetically said, ¡°I trouble you so much...¡±

    Caspian furrowed his brows and very gently flicked on Anastasia¡¯s forehead. ¡°Who told you that you are troubling me? And who told you that I would have left these tasks to some maids? I wouldn¡¯t have let anyonee near you anyway.¡±

    He lovingly caressed her cheek and said, ¡°I like taking care of you. As your husband, it¡¯s my job.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and buried her face in the ss she was holding.

    Caspian ruffled her hair and then went back to mixing the medicine with some warm water so that it would be easier for Anastasia to take it.

    When Caspian handed over the medicine that already looked bitter, Anastasia took it and gulped it withoutining. She felt like she had nagged him enough, and didn¡¯t want him to feel bad for her.

    ¡°This medicine wasn¡¯t bitter?¡± Caspian asked when she gulped everything without even stopping to breathe.

    Anastasia quickly gargled her mouth with the in water and replied, ¡°It was. But it¡¯s okay because-¡± She narrowed her eyes in concern when Caspian suddenly turned into a statue with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°Umm...¡± She watched Caspian slowly turning his around and then looking out of the window. So, she asked in a worried whisper, ¡°Is there any problem?¡±

    Caspian quickly looked back at Anastasia with a smile on his face and replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He pointed at the ss that she was holding and asked, ¡°Are you done with that?¡±

    Anastasia nodded and handed the ss to Caspian.

    Right then, Ti entered the room without even bothering to ask for permission first. The door was already open, so she took the liberty and went to stand by Anastasia¡¯s bed while holding arge bowl of lukewarm water and clean towels.

    Caspian made room for those things on the table and while Ti was putting those things down, he asked her, ¡°Have you packed some thick clothes for the Queen?¡±

    Ti gave a nod and replied, ¡°I had packed a woolen hood.¡±

    ¡°Bring it to me,¡± Caspian ordered while soaking one of the towels in the water.

    ¡°Right now?¡± Ti asked in confusion, and rified what kind of cloth it was, ¡°It is something that she only uses during travels.¡±

    Caspian wrung the towel and said without even sparing a nce at Ti, ¡°I know. Bring it here. And make it quick.¡±

    Ti bowed and immediately ran out of the room.

    Anastasia was now sure that there was something going on. She gave a worried nce at the window, but she couldn¡¯t see anything since a sheet of mesh was nailed over it. ¡°We aren¡¯t going somewhere, are we?¡± she looked at Caspian and asked.

    Caspian wiped Anastasia¡¯s forehead with the towel and replied in a calm tone, ¡°No, we aren¡¯t leaving. But... I wanted to prepare, just in case.¡±

    Anastasia still looked worried. So, Caspian gently pinched her cheeks and pulled them up as if to make her smile. And he whispered softly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about while I am at your side. Even if something was to happen, I will protect you with my life. You understand?¡±

    That didn¡¯t make Anastasia feel any better, rather it made her feel as if she was a liability to everyone.

    And as if Caspian read her mind, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink too much and me yourself again. Just close your eyes and try to sleep.¡± He carefully wiped her neck and lovingly whispered, ¡°And let your husband take care of you.¡±

 Chapter 243

    243 BANG!

    While Caspian was busy taking care of Anastasia, all the royal guards and the squad of soldiers were on high alert. The royal guards were positioned at several spots inside the inn, while the soldiers were patrolling outside the inn.

    While patrolling the surroundings, Nichs, the leader of the squad decided to expand his patrol area and then ran towards the main road.

    One of his soldiers saw him leaving and went to inform the others about it.

    Nichs stopped after covering some distance. He carefully looked around at the vast field. ¡®Why the hell are these fields covered with these crops?¡¯ he thought to himself, bothered by the crops as they hindered his search.

    ¡®What if those damn wolves are crawling through the fields right now?¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but wonder.

    Suddenly, he heard a whooshing sounding from behind him. He quickly protruded his fangs and turned around to see one of his own soldiers approaching him.

    ¡°Sergeant.¡± That soldier gave a bow to Nichs and said, ¡°You could have sent one of us rather thaning here yourself.¡±

    Nichs retracted his fangs and then said while darting his eyes at the field in front of them, ¡°I just felt like taking a look around here. But these damned crops are making me really ufortable.¡±

    The soldier looked around and spotted a huge tree nearby. He then looked at the surroundings and asked, ¡°Sir, do you want me to climb that tree and look around? These crops aren¡¯t that tall. So, I should be able to clearly see everything from the top of the tree.¡±

    .....

    Nichs looked at the tree. It looked pretty sturdy. So, he gave his permission. ¡°Alright. Take a look around and tell me if you see any movement.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sergeant.¡± The soldier instantly disappeared from there and was on the top of the tree in the next few seconds.

    Nichs kept on looking at his soldier for any signals from him.

    The soldier was carefully looking around as though he was a bird looking for its prey in the middle of that pitch-ck night.

    His red eyes widened when he suddenly saw the crop moving. He kept on staring at that particr ce for a while, only to realize that it was caused by the wind.

    After looking around the whole area, he looked back at Nichs right there from the top of the tree and shook his head, gesturing that there was nothing to worry about.

    Nichs gave a nod and lifted his hand to signal for him to get down from there.

    However, both of them suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in the same direction at once.

    Nichs could hear the crops rustling far away in the distance, while the soldier could also see the exact spots where the noises wereing from.

    He looked back at the Sergeant and then signaled that enemies were approaching. He looked at that area again and then counted the spots where he could see the crops moving. He then signaled to Nichs to say that there were five of them.

    Nichs red ahead of him and then thought to himself, ¡®If the two of us ambush and attack them before they attack us, then we could probably take down all five of them right here.¡¯

    He looked at his soldier and asked how far they were.

    The soldier was about to answer, but he suddenly turned his head to get the shock of his life. He clenched his jaw in rage and quickly but softlynded on the ground. In an instant, he ran back to where Nichs was standing.

    And he immediately whispered in Nichs¡¯ ear, ¡°Sir, there are at least 30 of them following those 5 at the front.¡±

    Both of them looked at each other with the same thing in their minds.

    ¡°We need to alert the others right now,¡± Nichs mumbled, and the two of them took off towards the inn without wasting half a second.

    Nichs was faster than his soldier in reaching the inn. He quickly gestured for the ones who saw him toe closer, and then immediately ordered, ¡°We are going to be attacked soon. At least 35 of them are on the way. Get in your position and prepare to fight back.¡±

    Soon, when the others also joined in, Nichs looked at one of them and asked, ¡°Inform the royal guards about our situation.¡± After that soldier ran inside the inn, Nichs asked everyone who was present there, ¡°All of you have the pistols, right?¡±

    Everyone nodded and tapped over their inner pockets.

    And Nichs gave out another order, ¡°Target one werewolf each, and fire when I say so. And make that one shot count.¡± He took out his own pistol, and upon seeing the soldier who had gone inside join them again, he said with a determined look on his face, ¡°16 of them should drop dead after the shots are fired. Am I clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± everyone replied in the softest whisper.

    Everyone then dispersed throughout the wide ground of the inn and positioned themselves in such a way that they would have a visual advantage over the enemies. Then they all cautiously waited for the enemies to arrive, everyone prepared to shoot and y all of the enemies even at the cost of their own lives.

    Soon enough, the whole squad could hear the rustling sound in the field. And with each second that passed, the sound became louder and louder, until one of the enemies was visible.

    It was a man who was crawling on all fours through the field. He peeped out of the paddy field, and then looked around at the inn. He saw all the carriages and horses that were sitting at the inn¡¯s ground.

    ¡®Come on, rascals. Show yourselves,¡¯ Nichs thought to himself while narrowing his eyes at that man and pointing his pistol at his head.

    That man looked back inside the field and then gestured his head towards the inn, signaling everyone to charge all at once.

    And when almost half of them were out of the field, loud consecutive sounds went off.

    BANG! BANG! BANG!

 Chapter 244

    244 Trouble in the Inn

    The moment the soldier went in and informed Henry, one of the royal guards, he ran around spreading the information to all the others that they were under attack.

    Rupert, another one of the King¡¯s guards, ran towards the room where the King and the Queen were staying so that he could alert the King about the imminent danger.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± he restlessly called the King and then knocked on the door.

    The King instantly opened the door and came outside. He locked the door behind him and asked Rupert, ¡°What¡¯s all themotion about?¡±

    Rupert kept his head low while replying to the King, ¡°Your Majesty, it looks like some of the werewolves dide after us. I was informed that there are around 35 of them on their way. Our soldiers are already in the battle position. However, I suggest that-¡±

    ¡°That we leave right away?¡± Caspian asked, almost sounding ready to do so without any hesitation.

    Rupert looked at the King with a slight hint of disbelief lingering in his eyes. When they used toe under simr attacks and ambushes in the past, even though they would suggest escorting the King away, Caspian was too proud to do so. He would stay behind with all the others and make sure to y the enemies with his own hands, while also getting help from the others.

    However, since it was the first time Caspian was agreeing to leave the battlefield like this, Rupert was a little taken aback. But he did understand why the King was doing so.

    Thus, he gave a gentle bow to the King and said, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I suggest that you and the Queen stay out of the enemy¡¯s reach. You can take the sky, while the five of us will follow you from the ground. And the soldiers will stay behind and deal with those enemies. The elite squad is more than capable to deal with the lot.¡±

    .....

    Caspian instantly agreed to the suggestion. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡±

    ¡°Then I will inform all the others,¡± Rupert replied.

    He was about to rush to the others when Caspian stopped him and asked, ¡°Did you inform Hamilton and Vincent?¡±

    Rupert had almost forgotten about them. He instantly replied, ¡°I will inform them as well.¡± And he left from there like a gust of sudden rush of wind.

    Caspian turned towards the door of his room so that he could prepare Anastasia for the travel. But he suddenly remembered that Anastasia¡¯s brother was also present in the inn and that he wasn¡¯t a vampire. His guards as well as he were humans.

    ¡®If the werewolves were to somehow get inside the inn, then Alexander wouldn¡¯t stand a chance,¡¯ he was worried for his brother-inw.

    ¡®I¡¯m sure that bastard of a King wouldn¡¯t hurt his best friend though...¡¯ He wondered if he could leave Alexander behind. However, he shook his head and pushed that idea out of his head. ¡®Considering how they are here to attack us, I don¡¯t think he cares anymore.¡¯

    He turned around to see if there were anyone else around. He wanted to ask a few of his guards to escort Alexander to safety. However, no one was in front of his eyes at the moment.

    ¡®I think they all are preparing themselves,¡¯ he thought to himself and then decided to do something on his own.

    Right then, he saw Ti returning while holding the hood in her hand. Caspian rushed in front of her, and he immediately asked her in a hurry, ¡°Ti, prepare the Queen for travel. Make sure to dress her warmly.¡±

    ¡°Prepare her for travel?¡± Ti eximed in a worried voice.

    Caspian took a deep breath and replied while nodding, ¡°Yeah, something urgent hase up. So, prepare her in a minute or two.¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t ask for any specific detail. From the way the King looked and sounded, she understood that something very bad was about to go down.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± She bowed and quickly ran to the room.

    Caspian, on the other hand, ran in the opposite direction and headed to find his guards.

    However, on the way, Caspian came across Hamilton, who looked very concerned.

    ¡°Cousin, is it true?¡± Hamilton asked while clenching his fists.

    Caspian nodded while breathing heavily. ¡°Yes. Get ready to departure,¡± he ordered with haste and looked ahead at the corridor to sprint again.

    But Hamilton grabbed Caspian by his arms and asked, ¡°What about the Crown Prince?¡±

    Caspian looked over his shoulder and replied, ¡°Yeah, I am going to order two of my guards to stay with him and take him to safety.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just leaving him behind?¡± Hamilton asked with a deep frown between his brows.

    Both of them suddenly stopped like statues and perked their ears. They could hear a rustling sound in a distance.

    ¡°They¡¯re already here!¡± Caspian mumbled and then asked Hamilton while turning back towards his room, ¡°Pass my message to my guards. I will leave with the Queen before the battle starts.¡±

    Hamilton left his hold on Caspian¡¯s arm, but before Caspian could disappear from his sight, he firmly said, ¡°I will stay behind with the Crown Prince and make sure he is safe. You should take all of your guards.¡±

    Caspian frowned and turned around to give a concerned look to his cousin. ¡°But what about you?¡±

    Hamilton sighed and smiled. And he said in a consoling tone, ¡°I will be fine. And I can protect the Crown Prince better. You already know it.¡±

    Caspian couldn¡¯t disagree with his cousin. So, he simply gave a nod and said while firmly patting Hamilton¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I will put my trust in you then. Protect him, and yourself too. Don¡¯t let those damned things get very close to you.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Hamilton pointed his jaw towards the room, and then asked Caspian, ¡°You better hurry.¡±

    Before Caspian could even take a step, they heard the loud bangs from several pistols going off at once.

    Both Hamilton and Caspian exchanged a knowing nce with each other. And in the next millisecond, both of them ran in the opposite direction of each other as if they were nothing but a passing gust of wind.

    Caspian almost broke down the door when he barged inside his and Anastasia¡¯s room at such a great speed.

    Anastasia and Ti were already huddled together after getting frightened to their core by those loud noises. And their souls almost left their bodies when suddenly someone barged inside the room like that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. It¡¯s me,¡± Caspian raised his hands in front of his chest to calm thedies and said breathlessly.

    Anastasia looked into Caspian¡¯s eyes and asked in a dry whisper, ¡°Wh-What was that just now?¡±

 Chapter 245

    245 Prayer

    ¡°I will exin on the way,¡± Caspian answered his wife and darted his eyes on her from her head to her toes.

    Ti had just finished changing Anastasia from that party wear to a morefortable gown. But she was yet to make Anastasia wear the hood and the shoes.

    ¡°A-Are we being attacked? W-Who?¡± Anastasia mumbled. ¡°B-Bandits?¡± she asked, even when deep down in her heart she had a different guess as to who those attackers were.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time to-¡± Caspian suddenly heard the swooshing soundsing from behind him. He instantly turned around to find all five of his royal guards standing by the door.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± They all said in unison and waited for their orders.

    Caspian could already hear the battle cries and the screams of the injured ones. He could tell that they only had half a minute before some loose werewolves would start to make their way inside the inn. And Caspian couldn¡¯t afford to let anyone get in the vicinity of his sick wife.

    He grabbed the nket from the bed and wrapped it around Anastasia in such a way that only her nose and mouth were visible.

    ¡°Bear with me. We are going to fly,¡± Caspian whispered near his wife¡¯s ear and immediately carried her as if she was an infant, pressing her head on his shoulder with one hand and holding her up by her thighs with the other.

    He then turned to look at his guards and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s head in the direction of our border. We will make a stop at the first vige that wee across in an hour. Until then, keep on following me closely.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± all of the soldiers shouted and got ready to run after their King and their Queen.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take off now,¡± Caspian informed his wife, and after making sure that he was holding her properly, he ran along the corridor of the inn at a rather slow speed.

    Upon reaching the back door of the inn, he kicked the door with his foot with all his might. The door flew away in the air without any trace. And in the very next moment, he and his wife were in the air while all the royal guards followed them from the ground.

    There was barely any moonlight brightening up the night. If it wasn¡¯t for their sharp night vision, the guards wouldn¡¯t have spotted their King who was wearing attire that was the color of the night.

    If any humans were to look at the sky, they wouldn¡¯t even see the shadow passing by, which was good for them because they didn¡¯t want any of the vigers giving directions to the werewolves if some were able to escape from the inn unscathed.

    ¡ª

    Back in the inn, in the room, Ti was still standing there like a statue, unable to think what to do or where to go.

    She was still in a confused state after seeing everyone fleeing from there in the blink of an eye.

    By now, even she could hear the roars and screams of the ongoing battle. And every time she blinked, the noises seemed to be getting closer and closer.

    ¡®Was I just... Was I just abandoned here?¡¯ Suddenly, the thought haunted her mind. Cold sweats ran down from her neck and down to her spine.

    Her throat and her lips parched badly. She felt as though her tongue had turned into the coarsest sands from the desert. ¡®Was I just left here to die?¡¯ Dark clouds of fear hovered on her face.

    Her heartbeat was already drumming after hearing the sounds from the pistols earlier. And now, she felt as if someone was grabbing her lungs tightly and stopping her from breathing. She felt aching in her chest and started to feel lightheaded thinking that it was herst day on Earth.

    Without even realizing it, streams of tears were already gushing down her cheeks.

    Smash!

    Ti suddenly jumped when she heard something getting smashed against the wall, and side by side felt a tremor under her feet. The tremor suddenly started to get stronger and stronger. And now, she could also hear the footsteps getting closer and closer.

    She was sure that the enemies had already entered the inn. She was aware that the number of vampire soldiers wasn¡¯t even half the number of the enemies. She recalled someone shouting the number earlier while she was in her room. And considering how the King, the most powerful vampire, was so worried that he had to run away, Ti was sure that the enemies were also vampires.

    Thus, she believed that all the vampire soldiers who were on their side had already met their ends. And she assumed that those enemy vampires were on their way to kill all those who were still in the inn.

    Smash! Thud!

    She heard some sses getting smashed, and something heavy thudding on the floor.

    ¡®No, no, no...¡¯ Ti began panicking thinking that her death was about to knock on her door soon.

    She looked in front of her to see the door ajar. She still had a small ray of hope in her heart that somehow, she could save herself from the fangs of those enemies.

    ¡®I¡¯m not ready to die yet!¡¯ she screamed in her head. ¡®I haven¡¯t even said my goodbye to Anna. I cannot leave her like this! No!¡¯

    She gulped and mustered up some courage to move her feet. She rushed to close the door. She locked it and then immediately pressed her back against the closed door. She tightly closed her eyes in fear; she was already trembling like a leaf.

    Suddenly, she heard the footsteps stopping right outside the door. Her heartbeat stopped when she heard someone trying to unlock the door.

    ¡®This is it,¡¯ she thought with a stunned look on her face.

    She lifted her trembling hands and sped them together to pray. She quietly prayed in her head when she felt the door handle rattling against her back. ¡®Oh dear lord! Thank you for a wonderful life. I am really grateful for this life. Thank you!¡¯

    Ti held her breath when the enemy outside the door was sessful in unlocking the door.

    She suddenly got pushed down to the floor when the door flung open. ¡°Aah!¡± a squeak involuntarily left her mouth, making her presence known.

    She heard the footsteps getting inside the room. She kept on lying there on the floor with her forehead touching the floor. She knew she was going to die.

    And she thought to herself as her tears dropped on the rug and got soaked by it in an instant, ¡®I guess this fate was sealed the day I stepped my feet in Sorvando... In the end, I was bound to die at the hands of a vampire...¡¯

 Chapter 246

    246 Confusion

    After parting ways with Caspian, Hamilton immediately rushed toward the room where Alexander was staying in. However, he slowed down when the room was near, and ran at a normal human speed so as not to rm anyone and so that their secret wouldn¡¯t be revealed.

    When he reached his destination, Alexander¡¯s guards were already standing guard in front of the door.

    Hamilton was surprised to see that his guards were carrying barrel guns and pistols instead of the weapons that were mostmon ¨C swords. He hadn¡¯t really noticed it before, so he was amazed to see them carry modern weapons.

    ¡®But what¡¯s the use when they won¡¯t even be able to see the enemiesing?¡¯ Hamilton thought to himself with a sign of worry written on his face.

    The guards bowed to Hamilton, and one of them asked, ¡°Is there any information on the situation outside, Lord Hamilton?¡±

    ¡°The enemies are closing in very fast,¡± Hamilton replied. He then tried to warn them, ¡°The enemies are really fast on their feet. So, try to keep up with them.¡±

    ¡°We will, Milord,¡± the same guard replied.

    Hamilton then stared at the door and said, ¡°I wish to stay in the room with the Crown Prince.¡±

    He wanted to take Alexander away to somece that would be rtively safer. That meant that he would have to somehow carry Alexander while also maintaining the secrecy... or not.

    .....

    However, that wouldn¡¯t be possible if he let the guards know about his n because the guards wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with him, and although he was strong, there was no way he could take everyone with him.

    So, when the guards looked confused by his statement, Hamilton pretended to give a nervous smile and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any personal guards. So, I thought I could use the Crown Prince¡¯s protection.¡±

    The guards immediately respected his wish and then informed the Crown Prince about it.

    ¡°Your Highness, Lord Hamilton wishes to stay with you. Shall we send him in?¡±

    Alexander opened the door the moment he heard his guards. It looked like he had also prepared himself for the ongoing battle. He was carrying a sword with him, unlike his guards.

    And when his eyes fell on Hamilton, he immediately gestured for him toe inside. ¡°Lord Hamilton, please feel free toe in.¡±

    Hamilton stepped into the room in the blink of an eye and then closed the door behind him. And the moment he did that, he turned to look at Alexander and said, ¡°Prince Alexander, I am going to make an absurd request. But please, hear me out first.¡±

    Alexander was confused when he heard that Hamilton was going to make a request when there was a battle going on. But he still gave a nod and asked, ¡°What kind of request?¡± He suddenly felt a knot at the pit of his stomach and asked, ¡°Is my sister okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is safe. Caspian and the guards will protect her well.¡± Hamilton didn¡¯t disclose that the King and the Queen had already left the inn so as not to rm Alexander for no reason. And he also didn¡¯t want Alexander to think that Caspian had abandoned everyone else and run away on his own.

    Hamilton then said in a rather authoritative tone, ¡°The enemies outside aren¡¯t your usual enemies. They are really strong and fast.¡± He breathed out as if he hated saying that. And then he continued, ¡°So, I want to take you somewhere else. It isn¡¯t safe for you to stay here.¡±

    ¡°Go somewhere else?¡± Alexander frowned and replied with a reluctant smile, ¡°But I don¡¯t think that would be wise. My guards are also among the best of the bests from my Kingdom. And King Caspian¡¯s guards are already engaging those attackers outside. So, I doubt that leaving the inn is necessary. And to add to that, my sister is also here, so...¡±

    Alexander even stepped in front of Hamilton and said, ¡°If by chance anyone seeds in getting inside this room, then I will protect you.¡±

    Hamilton covered his eyes with his palms and smiled. He was grateful as well as ttered to see how Alexander didn¡¯t even hesitate when he said that he would offer protection. ¡®If only you knew...¡¯ Hamilton sighed inwardly.

    Suddenly, Hamilton¡¯s ears perked up when he heard Vincent¡¯s voice outside. ¡®What¡¯s he still doing here? Caspian hasn¡¯t left yet?¡¯ He got worried for his cousin and immediately went to open the door.

    ¡°Lord Hamilton?¡± Vincent said with a surprised look on his face.

    Hamilton slightly tilted his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re still here.¡±

    Vincent let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I was here to... see how the Crown Prince was doing. But it looks like you¡¯re going to stay with him.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will be here.¡± Hamilton looked over his shoulder to see a confused look on Alexander. He looked back at Vincent and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you with the King?¡±

    ¡°Ah! I stayed behind,¡± Vincent said truthfully.

    ¡°Stayed behind?¡± Alexander stepped in and asked Vincent with great worry, ¡°The King left the inn? What about my sister? Where is she?¡±

    Vincent had assumed that Hamilton had already told everything to Alexander. But when the Crown Prince asked those questioned, he turned his questioning gaze at Hamilton.

    Hamilton took a deep breath and finally revealed, ¡°The King took the Queen to a safe ce already. So, I was asking you the same. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Alexander took a sigh of relief when he heard that his sister had been taken to a safe ce already. He was about to answer Hamilton when suddenly, all of their attention was captured by a loud crashing sound on the outer wall of the inn.

    Hamilton and Vincent exchanged a worried nce with each other.

    And Hamilton immediately ordered, ¡°Vincent, go and take a look. I will guard the Prince.¡±

    Hamilton instantly pushed the door shut while Vincent immediately ran away from there to keep the werewolves from entering the inn.

    Alexander¡¯s guards, on the other hand, all looked shocked and confused when Vincent disappeared right in front of their eyes like a puff of smoke.

    ¡°W-Where did he go?¡± one of the guards mumbled in a scared voice.

 Chapter 247

    247 Search

    Vincent was running down the corridor to reach the front door of the inn when something struck his mind. ¡®Did I just expose myself to those humans?¡¯ He sighed exasperatedly when he suddenly recalled how he had just disyed his superhuman ability to those bunch of guards.

    He abruptly came to a halt on his path and mumbled while widening his crystal-red eyes, ¡°Humans... Ti!¡±

    Suddenly, Vincent felt something burning inside his chest and felt a knot at the pit of his stomach.

    ¡®Did they take Ti with them?¡¯ he wondered to himself.

    Everything happened so fast that they couldn¡¯t coordinate anything or flow the information properly. And just like how both he and Hamilton had stayed behind to protect Alexander, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he found out that they had forgotten about Ti.

    ¡®Something tells me that they might have left Ti behind. I have to make sure that she is safe before I go and guard the front door,¡¯ Vincent thought to himself and turned to head toward Ti¡¯s room.

    Upon reaching her room, he flung the door open while simultaneously calling her, ¡°Ti! Are you in here?¡±

    He looked around the room to find it empty. He was about to close the door when he noticed that there was a hollow space under the bed.

    ¡®Could she be in there?¡¯ he thought to himself and rushed to check. He didn¡¯t find her there, and there wasn¡¯t any other ce in the room where she could have hidden.

    .....

    So, he sighed in relief thinking that Ti was safe with the royal guards. He believed that one of them had carried her away.

    Vincent then got out of the room and immediately rushed back towards the front door again. However, he hadn¡¯t even reached anywhere near the front door when suddenly another thought crossed his mind.

    ¡®What if she is with the other maids and servants? The others will at least be able to defend themselves. But if push came to shove, I doubt that they will care about giving a hand to a human.¡¯

    He clenched his jaw and immediately rushed back again, this time toward the rooms that were assigned to the maids and servants which were near Ti¡¯s room.

    He flung one of the doors open, almost prompting the servants to attack him thinking that he was a werewolf.

    ¡°Oh lord! Please excuse me, Milord,¡± one of the servants who was very close to punching Vincent pulled away his fist and apologized.

    Since everyone in the room was male, Vincent didn¡¯t ask anything and simply ran to barge inside the maids¡¯ room. He didn¡¯t have time to waste by knocking on the door and waiting for the maids to speak.

    A series of hisses weed him into that room. But just like earlier, the maids immediately bowed and apologized when they saw Vincent at the door.

    Vincent looked at each and every maid¡¯s face and also darted his eyes around the room. And when he didn¡¯t find Ti there, he asked, ¡°Has any one of you seen Ti?¡±

    One of the maids answered the Lord, ¡°Earlier, she said that she had to tend to the Queen and ran without even checking into her room. I had to drop her belongings-¡±

    Vincent instantly shut the door behind him and rushed towards the King and the Queen¡¯s room without even thinking anything. He wondered if she was still there.

    ¡®If she isn¡¯t there then she must be with the royal guards. She isn¡¯t a fool to be roaming around when a battle is going on.¡¯ Vincent thought of checking that one room and then finally going back to keep the werewolves out of the inn. By now, he was starting to believe that Ti was not here in the inn.

    When he reached a small empty hall that separated the King¡¯s room from the others, suddenly something came shooting through the wall andnded right in front of Vincent with a thud on the floor.

    Vincent saw that it was a person. But before he could figure out who it was, that man suddenly got up and faced Vincent while baring his ws and sharp fangs.

    Vincent smirked when he saw the glowing yellow eyes that were ring at him.

    ¡°Oh! What do we have here?¡± he sarcastically asked and kept on looking at that man as if he was nothing more than an insect that happened to fly in through the window.

    The man growled and shouted, ¡°You will know who I am when I gut you like a fis-¡±

    Smash! Thud!

    Vincent dusted his bloody hands and then asked while looking at the immobilized body of that man thaty on top of several broken shards of a vase, ¡°Gut me like a what? I didn¡¯t quite catch that?¡±

    That man was still ring at Vincent with the same hateful eyes even when he was bleeding profusely from the three shes that he had across his throat.

    Vincent gave a smile to that wolf to taunt him even more. Then he leaned down and said to that man, ¡°I hope you have a nice journey.¡±

    Before that man could even move a finger or bat his eyes, Vincent dug his ws right through that man¡¯s ribcage and pulled out his heart. He did that so effortlessly that it seemed like second nature to him.

    Vincent threw the heart aside and wiped the blood on his ws and palm on that very dead werewolf¡¯s clothes.

    He suddenly looked towards the King¡¯s room when he heard the door getting locked.

    ¡®Could it be her?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    However, he didn¡¯t immediately run toward the room thinking that it could be a werewolf who somehow managed to get in.

    He slowly moved his feet. But since the corridor had floorboards on them, he couldn¡¯t walk as quietly as he had hoped. He clenched his fists and jaw when the floorboard creaked every time he took a step ahead.

    ¡®Great! Now if there¡¯s a werewolf inside, he or she already knows my presence!¡¯

    Vincent then simply epted his fate and walked as if he owned the whole building. When he reach in front of the door, he thought that he could open the lock without making a sound. However, he didn¡¯t have that luck. It made so loud cking noise that his sensitive ears were about to bleed.

    He then protruded his fangs and his ws, in case the person inside the room immediately jumped at him.

    And he gently pushed the door. He slightly narrowed his eyes when he felt that something or someone was there, pressed against the door.

    He readied himself for any sudden attack, and he pushed the door with mild force.

    ¡°Aah!¡± He heard a squeak from none other than the very woman he was looking for.

    ¡®Oh hell!¡¯ He instantly sped his mouth when he saw Ti lying still on the floor. ¡®What have I done?¡¯

 Chapter 248

    248 Comfort

    Vincent¡¯s heart left his chest when he found Ti crouching on the floor with her head resting on the rug. His hands were alreadyced with the strong smell of the werewolf blood. So, he couldn¡¯t quite tell if Ti was hurt and if she was bleeding or not from the angle she was lying.

    He wanted to call her, but his voice got stuck in his throat when he saw her unmoving.

    He slowly walked inside the room while trying to take a look at Ti¡¯s forehead to see if she was badly injured. He could hear her breathing, but he wasn¡¯t sure if she was still conscious.

    ¡®Why did I have to push the door so hard?¡¯ Vincent cursed himself in his mind and stopped behind Ti.

    He gulped and slowly held out his hand to touch Ti on her back. But he sharply inhaled and refrained from doing so when he saw the state of his hand ¨C all red and sticky with dried blood. And to add to that, his dirty ws were still on full disy.

    Vincent immediately held his hands behind his back. He retracted his fangs and then happened to subconsciously clear his throat.

    He saw Ti shuddering in fear.

    And his words finally came out of his mouth when he realized that she was still conscious, ¡°Ti! Are you okay?¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how relieved Ti was to hear his voice until she turned to look at him with teary eyes and instantly got up on his feet to jump at him.

    .....

    Vincent¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he felt Ti¡¯s warm hands around his neck and her soft body pressed against his cold and rock-hard body.

    ¡°Oh, thank god, it¡¯s you!¡± Ti didn¡¯t care about all the formalities and simply wrapped Vincent in her arms. She was so d that she got to embrace Vincent when she had already given up her hopes and was ready to embrace death instead.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Vincent cleared his throat again and said in a consoling voice, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Ti was so shaken while she waited for someone to snuff the light out of her that the moment she heard Vincent¡¯s kind words, she instantly broke down into tears.

    Vincent could feel Ti quivering as if she had been stranded on a mountain for days. He lifted his hands to hold her and tell her that she was now safe with him. But his hands stopped a few inches away from Ti¡¯s back when he suddenly recalled how he had plucked out someone¡¯s heart with those same hands.

    ¡°I thought I was going to die...¡± Ti sobbed while still trembling like never before.

    Vincent suddenly felt a piercing sensation in his heart. He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain. And unable to see Ti in such a state, he tightly hugged her back without caring about his hands that were soaked in the enemy¡¯s blood.

    He gently rested his chin on Ti¡¯s head and softly whispered, ¡°Ti, you are safe now. I am here, aren¡¯t I? Please, don¡¯t cry.¡±

    Ti felt greatlyforted by his words. The loud screams and roars that were piercing her ears until now suddenly seemed to settle in the background. And the way he hugged her so tightly, she felt as though she was in the safest ce on Earth.

    She slowly began to calm down, reassured by Vincent¡¯s constant soft pats on her back.

    Right then, Vincent suddenly lifted his head and looked back towards the door when his ears caught a few pairs of footsteps running inside the inn. He wanted to go and check if they were the enemies who had managed to escape the eyes of the soldiers outside.

    However, since Ti was still tightly holding onto him, he couldn¡¯t quite bring himself to leave her alone again.

    And Ti¡¯s hold on him wasn¡¯t the only reason he couldn¡¯t go away. ¡®What if I leave her alone and someone finds her before Ie back?¡¯ he thought while tightening his hold on Ti. ¡®I don¡¯t think I can rest easy if something happens to her in my absence.¡¯

    ¡®Lord Hamilton can handle the intruders, if there are any. I¡¯m not moving from here.¡¯ Since Hamilton was there with the Crown Prince, Vincent decided to stay there with Ti until everything settled down.

    ¡ª

    After Hamilton sent Vincent to go and take a look around the inn, Alexander looked at Hamilton with a lot of questions in his mind.

    ¡°You are here to guard me?¡± Alexander asked the moment Hamilton closed the door behind him. ¡°I thought you wanted to stay with me because this room was heavily guarded. From what I noticed, you don¡¯t have any personal guards.¡±

    ¡°Umm... Please...¡± Hamilton gestured for the Crown Prince to take a seat on the bed, while he dragged a chair and sat down while facing Alexander.

    He then tried to answer as honestly as possible, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t have any personal guards. I do have them. But I didn¡¯t bring them here since my cousin had only extended the invitation to me. Besides, I do believe that I am the second strongest va- umm... man after the King himself. So, I am confident that I can handle myself without my guards.¡±

    Alexander nodded his head and answered his unanswered question, ¡°So, you wanted to stay by my side in case someone broke into my room.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hamilton gave a subtle smile and said, ¡°You are our esteemed guest after all. You had received me well when I was in Lavinya. Let me return the favor this time. I want to make sure that youe out unharmed when this battle is over.¡±

    Alexander was happy to see how Hamilton looked very serious when he said that. He looked towards the door and then asked, ¡°I guess, we aren¡¯t stepping out of this room now. Are you still nning to take me somewh-¡±

    Hamilton suddenly sprung up on his feet and stood while facing the door. He could hear themotion that was going on inside the inn ¨C the sound of something crashing and thudding.

    He took a deep breath and narrowed his blood-red eyes. He clenched his fist and took a battle stance, ready to take action if enemies were to suddenly burst open the door.

    And he replied to the Crown Prince, ¡°I don¡¯t think the time is in our favor to do so. I am going to do my best to keep you from harm¡¯s way.¡±

 Chapter 249

    249 Spawn of Satan

    Both Hamilton and Alexander were growing anxious by the second, not knowing when the battle was going to be over, and if they would have to face any of the enemies.

    Hamilton could hear the faint screams and growls, which was a sign that the soldiers were still fighting the enemies. And in his heart, he was wishing that the soldiers wouldn¡¯t let any of the werewolves find their way inside the inn.

    ¡®I think Vincent was the one who caused that crash earlier,¡¯ Hamilton thought to himself as he recalled hearing those crashing noises close by. He got a little worried for his new friend though. ¡®I just hope that he is okay. I mean... he is Vincent. He must be okay... Right?¡¯

    Hamilton red vacantly and wished for Vincent¡¯s safety. ¡®Even if you¡¯re hurt, just hang on a little while longer. I wille and check on you the moment all the uproar dies down.¡¯

    Hamilton suddenly perked his ears when he heard a few pairs of footsteps closing in.

    ¡°Is there any problem?¡± Alexander questioned Hamilton when he saw the Lord in an alert position, almost as if he heard the enemies closing in.

    Hamilton instantly replied in a low growl, ¡°I think the enemies have broken inside the inn.¡±

    Alexander didn¡¯t know how Hamilton was able to tell that. But he believed Hamilton and immediately drew his sword. He didn¡¯t waste any time in stepping ahead and standing beside Hamilton.

    Hamilton turned his head to look at Alexander. And although he apuded Alexander¡¯s courage in his heart, this was not his kind of battle. So, he asked the Crown Prince politely, ¡°You might want to step away from the door, Your Highness. Leave everything to me if ites down to a fight.¡±

    .....

    Alexander looked determined to fight alongside Hamilton though. ¡°How can I make you do all the work while I leisurely stand back? We will fight together if they are somehow able to win against my guards and get inside.¡±

    ¡®Your guards wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if ites down to a fight,¡¯ Hamilton said in his head and asked Alexander again, ¡°You are already very important to both the Queen and the King. So, I don¡¯t want you to have a scratch on you. Please stand back.¡±

    Alexander was going to insist on fighting together, however, he was interrupted by a sudden scream from one of his guards.

    ¡°Look out... F-Fire!¡±

    Both Alexander and Hamilton heard the sounds of the pistols and barrel guns being shot simultaneously, which was closely followed by short screams, several thudding sounds, and finally a loud victorious growl.

    In the blink of an eye, Alexander suddenly found himself standing with his back pressed against the wall on the opposite side of the door.

    And before he could even bat his stunned eyes, he saw the door being turned into countless shards. A sharp piece of the wooden shard came shooting toward his eyes.

    Alexander was rotating his wrist to slice the shard with his sword before it hurt his eyes. But the speed with which it came at him was so fast that he was sure he would lose one of his eyes for good.

    However, right when he was about to close his eyes and try to duck, a gust of ck wind came gushing toward him and the shard disappeared from before his eyes.

    ¡®Wh-What just happened?¡¯ He drew in a sharp breath and blinked several times.

    He was finally able to focus on what was happening in front of him. Hamilton was standing between him and someone who was standing at the door. Through the gaps between their legs, he noticed how the corridor had been painted red with stters of blood. A chilling pain pierced his heart when he saw a severed hand and guts lying right outside on the floor.

    ¡®Who is capable of doing something so gruesome? What kind of a person is so heartless to give such a horrible death to a fellow human?¡¯

    Alexander¡¯s heart was filled with rage when he saw the devastating state of his guards. He slowly moved to the side and shifted his re upward to see the culprit. He wanted to pierce his sword through the heart of that heartless man himself.

    However, to his utter shock, who or what he saw at the door didn¡¯t even look like it was human. He saw a really thin man who looked more like a beast. He had sharp nails that looked more like ws, he had sharp teeth which looked as though they were filed to resemble fangs, and to add to that, his glowing amber eyes looked like that of some animal.

    ¡®What on Earth is that... thing?¡¯ Alexander thought to himself while breathing heavily.

    He narrowed his eyes when he saw how that man was even drooling from his mouth almost as though... as though he was some kind of rabid animal.

    ¡®Is it even human? There¡¯s no way in hell that thing is a human.¡¯ Although Alexander wasn¡¯t a strong believer in Heaven and Hell, the way it kept on fixating its hungry eyes on Hamilton, Alexander believed that it was a spawn of Satan that had somehow escaped hell.

    The Crown Prince finally understood why Hamilton kept on saying that the enemies were really strong and fast, and kept on asking him to stand back.

    ¡®But what about him?¡¯ Alexander was now worried for Hamilton, thinking that he would be killed in a simr fashion as his guards. And the dreadful thought crossed his mind, ¡®And then it wille after me... Does that mean I am going to...¡¯

    Suddenly, that spawn of Satan lunged forward at Hamilton while spreading all its ws and opening its mouth wide as if it was going to cling onto Hamilton¡¯s body and was going to bite him.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Alexander shouted at Hamilton.

    And then came the second greatest shock of the night. Alexander saw something that almost made him question his reality.

    He didn¡¯t see the action clearly because it happened too fast for his eyes. But what he did see was the aftermath. He could see that Hamilton had somehow defeated that rabid man. That man¡¯s bodyy a few feet away from where Hamilton was standing.

    And Hamilton... Well, he was holding something that looked like a beating heart.

 Chapter 250

    250 A Mere Game

    The moment Alexander¡¯s eyes got stuck on the heart that soon stopped beating in Hamilton¡¯s hand, the sword that he was holding slipped down on its own while making a loud nging noise on the floor.

    Hamilton almost immediately flung the heart out of the door as if it was nothing but a dirty rock that he had picked up from the ground.

    Since his ws were all dirty with blood, he didn¡¯t want to retract them back before cleaning his hands properly. So, instead of retracting both his ws and fangs, and pretending like he was a normal human, he held his hands in front of his chest and kept on facing away from Alexander.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to witness that,¡± Hamilton apologized while still looking out of the door, in case there were some more werewolves on the way. ¡°Are you doing okay?¡± he asked and looked over his shoulder after tightly pressing his lips together.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Alexander was startled out of his daze when he heard Hamilton¡¯s gruff voice.

    Hamilton faced the door again and said, ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t too shaken by what you just witnessed.¡± He immediately held his breath so as not to let the sweet aroma that was lingering in the air to expose his primal instinct.

    ¡°Oh! Er...¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes involuntarily trailed to look at the dead body of that spawn of Satan. And this time around, he happened to notice every gruesome detail on that body ¨C from a huge hole in the chest to the bone that was sticking out of one of the hands.

    Alexander instantly covered his mouth with his palm and gagged because of that ghastly scene. He turned his head away and tightly closed his eyes, only to be haunted by the image of the remains of his guards¡¯ body parts that he had seen earlier.

    He dropped to his knees and immediately hurled everything on the floor.

    .....

    Although Alexander was well-trained in the arts of the battlefield, he had never been present in a real battle. The only wounds and injuries that he had seen until now were the ones that he and the others had sustained during the training. And those used to be very minor injuries like small cuts or bruises.

    Inparison, the sights here were an abomination that the sheltered Crown Prince couldn¡¯t stomach.

    To add to that, the gut-wrenching realization hit his mind again. ¡®They are all dead! My guards! That thing tore them all apart!¡¯

    The Crown Prince was greatly saddened and disturbed by the loss of his trusted guards. The anger that he had felt earlier after seeing the remains of his guards was still there in his heart, but it was very faint.

    He now knew that there was no way in hell he could have pierced that thing¡¯s heart with his sword. He knew he would have been shredded into pieces before the tip of his sword could reach anywhere near that rabid thing.

    ¡®Right! How did Lord Hamilton manage to kill that thing? That also with his bare hands!¡¯ the thought finally crossed Alexander¡¯s mind while he groaned and gagged. ¡®Or does he have some weapons?¡¯ he wondered.

    Alexander slowly turned his head to look at Hamilton with his blurred vision. From where he was right now, he didn¡¯t find anything suspicious about that fearless man.

    Right then, Hamilton turned his head to take a look at Alexander because Alexander didn¡¯t stop gagging and coughing. It sounded as though the Crown Prince was having some difficulty and was also in great pain.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he looked over his shoulder and asked Alexander with deep frown lines between his brows.

    ¡°No,¡± Alexander replied breathlessly. He took out a kerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes as well as his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t be of any help,¡± he apologized while getting back up on his feet.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I told you I would protect you.¡± Hamilton turned his back on Alexander again and said, ¡°And you might want to take a seat while facing the wall.¡± He slightly turned his head to look at the corpse of the werewolf thaty dead in the room and grumbled, ¡°I can hear some more of these creatures heading this way.¡±

    Alexander heaved a deep sigh upon hearing Hamilton addressing that animalistic man as a creature. He was now absolutely sure that the thing that had killed all of his guards wasn¡¯t a normal human. He was certain that there was more to it.

    He tried to take a few steps with his wobbly legs so that he could drag the chair and do as Hamilton had asked of him.

    However, before he could even get to the chair, Alexander was also able to hear something swooshing down the corridor right outside.

    ¡®They are here!¡¯ The Crown Prince widened his eyes in fear.

    Within a split second, two more men who resembled the dead one were standing there at the door. Those two already looked hurt. One of them had a small hole on the right side of his bare chest. The other one was missing a chunk of flesh on his neck and was also missing a thumb. Nheless, both of them didn¡¯t seem to be affected by those injuries the way they should have.

    They were, however, breathing in abored manner, probably because they were already tired from the battle they had outside.

    The one with the missing thumb looked at the dead body of his fallenrade. Instantly enraged, he turned to re at the vampire who was standing not too far away from them.

    Hamilton was very calm, almost as though he didn¡¯t even see the two of them as worthy opponents.

    And that enraged werewolf growled at the top of his lungs before jumping in the air to attack the proud vampire.

    Just like before, Hamilton pierced that wolf¡¯s chest with his ws and pulled the heart out without even breaking a sweat. He threw that dead werewolf on top of the earlier one. Then he flung the warm heart to the werewolf that was still standing at the door.

    That werewolf happened to catch the heart of his fallen pack member. As he looked at the heart in horror, he heard the vampire saying, ¡°Ugh! Why do you all have to make it so obvious that you want to bite my neck? Try something new. I¡¯m already bored.¡±

    That werewolf turned his glowing yellow eyes at the vampire who was behaving like some immortal god. His blood started to boil when he saw a smug smirk on that vampire¡¯s face.

    He scoffed in rage and asked in a low, challenging growl, ¡°Bored? You¡¯re saying you¡¯re bored! Is this some kind of game to you?¡±

    The smirk on Hamilton¡¯s face suddenly disappeared. The yful look on his face was now reced by a much more terrifying expression. He looked so dangerous that the werewolf was forced to rethink if he did the right thing by vocalizing what was in his mind.

    Hamilton then cocked his head from side to side, and asked in a cold threatening tone, ¡°Do you think that you would still be alive if I didn¡¯t think of this as a mere hunting game? You would be dead the second you arrived here.¡±

 Chapter 251

    251 Doomed

    The werewolf¡¯s face turned pale upon hearing that blood-curdling threat from Hamilton.

    However, he still tried to look tall in the face of danger and shouted back while trying his best not to tremble, ¡°You think this is a mere hunting game? We are fighting for the honor of our King and you damned thing think this is a mere game?¡±

    Hamilton felt a wave of rage hitting the center of his chest when he heard that werewolf mentioning its King.

    ¡°Hmm... So, it was indeed Everard who sent you loafers after us?¡± Hamilton grumbled while narrowing his eyes.

    Alexander, who was standing still like a statue until now suddenly spoke up, ¡°Everard was the one to send you all after us?¡± He furrowed his brows and red at that grotesque creature and shouted until his eyes teared up, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare malign him in front of me! Everard would never stoop this low! And why would he even have any connection with people like you who clearly aren¡¯t even humans?¡±

    Hamilton stayed quiet and let that werewolf answer the provoked Crown Prince. Rather, he wished that it would give an answer so that he could freely warn the Queen¡¯s brother that his best friend wasn¡¯t the same person he used to be.

    And to his utter relief, that fool of a werewolf did shout back at the Crown Prince. ¡°Why would he have a connection with people like us? Because he is one of us! He is our future alpha!¡± That werewolf then pointed at Hamilton and continued in an using tone, ¡°And these red-eyes dared to humiliate our King! So, on his behalf, we are here to kill all the vam-¡±

    sh! Thud!

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough!¡± Hamilton mumbled in a low growl while looking at the headless body that was still standing.

    .....

    The headless body slowly fell forward, prompting Hamilton to take a few steps back so that his clothes wouldn¡¯t be ruined by the stters of blood.

    Hamilton happened to lift his hands in the air and turn to his side as he stepped back. And for a split second, Alexander was able to see theplete form of Hamilton.

    He felt a chill shiver running down his spine when he noticed how instead of some weapons like a dagger, Hamilton had sharp and long ws as his weapons. He would have brushed it off by thinking that those ws were fake ones that the lord had custom-made to suit his fighting technique. However, Alexander also saw Hamilton¡¯s face. The terrifying look on his face, along with his sharp fangs.

    ¡°L-Lord Hamilton?¡± Alexander knitted his brows in confusion and stuttered. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was in some sort of dream or if everything was real. And if they were INDEED real, he couldn¡¯t make sense of the things that he just saw. ¡°What are you?¡± he asked in a trembling voice.

    Hamilton suddenly turned into a statue. The headless body fell right on his foot, ruining his expensive boots. He let out a disgruntled sigh and then pushed the body aside with his foot.

    And since he had already disyed several feats that were unachievable by normal humans, he decided toe clean with the Crown Prince.

    Hamilton retracted his fangs and slowly turned around to face Alexander.

    Alexander subconsciously took a step back when he saw how Hamilton¡¯s ws were still on full disy. He feared that Hamilton would hurt him as well.

    Hamilton half raised his hands in the air as if to say that he wasn¡¯t going to attack Alexander. He then looked the Crown Prince right in the eyes.

    Alexander immediately looked away, scared to even directly look into those very eyes that he had once called beautiful.

    Hamilton took a deep breath to calm his residual anger and then spoke in a very polite voice, ¡°Your Highness, I understand that all this might havee as a shock to you. And I understand that you might be scared of me at the moment. But I want to reassure you that I mean no harm to you. As I have said earlier, I am here to protect you.¡±

    He slowly put his hands down and then said, ¡°I also understand that you might have countless questions in your mind, which I will try to answer as truthfully as I can. So-¡±

    ¡°What are you?¡± Alexander instantly asked in a single breath, and finally looked at him again.

    Hamilton cleared his throat and then gave a to-the-point answer, ¡°We are vampires.¡±

    Alexander suddenly felt as though something hard fell right on top of his head. He was so dumbfounded to hear the answer that he even forgot to breathe for a while.

    Hamilton almost thought that the Crown Prince had fainted with his eyes open when he didn¡¯t move for a good minute. He knitted his brows together and tried calling the shocked Prince, ¡°Your Highness? Are you... Are you alright?¡±

    Alexander suddenly drew in a sharp breath and took a couple of steps back, until his back was pressed against the cold wall. He looked as if he felt greatly betrayed by Hamilton. And he asked in a throaty whisper, ¡°What do you mean by ¡®we¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Umm...¡± Hamilton nervously looked away and then heaved a deep breath. And he answered as softly as he could, ¡°By ¡®we¡¯, I mean... most of the people with red eyes in our Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Re-¡± Alexander held his head with both of his hands and crouched down. ¡°Oh my god!¡± he eximed and instantly got back up on his feet. He usingly looked at Hamilton again and mumbled, ¡°You mean everyone from Sorvando?¡±

    ¡°Er... No, not everyone. We have humans as well.¡± Hamilton then braced himself for the other questions that were about toe at him.

    And just as he expected, Alexander asked about Caspian, ¡°The King also has red eyes! Does that mean...¡±

    Hamilton gave a nod and answered, ¡°Yes. He is also a vampire.¡±

    The moment Alexander heard that, he dropped down to his knees again. He was in great shock. Why wouldn¡¯t he be? He thought that his sister was in good hands. But he was discovering now that she was living with the blood-sucking monsters that he had only read about in fantasy books.

    ¡°My sister was sent to her doom, wasn¡¯t she?¡± he mumbled, and slowly, the darkness engulfed him whole.

 Chapter 252

    252 Getting Answers ¨C I

    ¡°Prince Alexander!¡± Hamilton eximed and went near Alexander when the Crown Prince suddenly copsed down to the floor.

    He wanted to shake the Crown Prince to try and bring him back to his consciousness, however, he couldn¡¯t quite bring himself to do that with his bloody hands.

    ¡°Prince Alexander! Please, wake up! Your Highness,¡± Hamilton tried calling him again but it was of no use.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Hamilton growled in frustration and quickly looked around to see if he could find anything useful. He saw a ss of water lying on the table close by. He swiftly went to grab the ss, and he sshed the whole ss of water onto the Prince¡¯s face.

    Alexander instantly gasped for air and opened his eyes. ¡°Aaah!¡± He got startled when he suddenly saw a pair of red eyes hovering right above his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s me. It¡¯s just me,¡± Hamilton swiftly maintained some distance from the Crown Prince and mumbled in a reassuring voice.

    However, Alexander was scared of him now that he knew what kind of a creature Hamilton was. He quickly sat up and pushed himself back until his back was pressed against the wall. He kept on breathing in very heavily while looking at Hamilton with fear in his eyes.

    ¡°Prince Alexander, you don¡¯t have to be scared of me. I am not the enemy here.¡± Hamilton sighed when his words weren¡¯t doing the trick. Alexander looked even more terrified.

    So, Hamilton quietly made himselffortable on the floor, a little further away from Alexander. He then asked in as polite a voice as he could, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other questions that you would like to ask me? I apologize that I wasn¡¯t truthful about my real identity the first time we met. And I hope I can regain your trust. So, you can ask me anything. Please.¡±

    .....

    Alexander gulped to reduce the dryness of his throat. He thought for a while. Just a while ago, he had thousands of questions in his mind. But his mind went all nk when he actually wanted to ask them to Hamilton.

    So, Hamilton took it upon himself to break the ice once more. He looked at Alexander with a soft look on his face and introduced himself to the Crown Prince once again, this time, focusing on his vampire side, ¡°Prince Alexander, if you don¡¯t have any questions then let me start by reintroducing myself. I am a vampire, which you now know. I am almost four hundred years old.¡±

    Alexander suddenly turned his gaze to Hamilton¡¯s face when he mentioned his age. ¡®What? He looks like he is the same age as me,¡¯ he thought with a stunned look on his face.

    ¡°Now, when I say I am a vampire, you might be wondering if I drink blood,¡± Hamilton paused to analyze Alexander¡¯s reaction when he mentioned blood.

    And as he expected, Alexander¡¯s interest suddenly peaked when he mentioned that topic.

    Thus, Hamilton answered himself. He nicely and slowly put down all the facts, hoping that Alexander wouldn¡¯t start to freak out again. ¡°Most of us have humans who are employed in our houses. And their main job is to eat healthily and offer a small amount of their blood to us. We don¡¯t harm any humans to acquire our main diet.¡±

    He also made sure to sing some praise of his cousin. ¡°Your brother-inw was the one to pass thew that strictly prohibited the vampires from hunting freely like some savages or animals. We do not resort to violence to get what is needed for our bodies. We only acquire it from those who are willing to give.¡±

    Alexander furrowed his brows as if he doubted what Hamilton was saying.

    So, Hamilton further added, ¡°The only time we take the blood from them without their will is when the human criminals are on death row. Their blood is distributed among the lower ss vampires by the Crown.¡±

    Hamilton didn¡¯t want to dump all the information on Alexander at once and scare him to his core. So, when the Crown Prince didn¡¯t ask any follow-up questions, he decided to stop.

    The two of them sat down in silence for quite a while.

    Hamilton was constantly looking towards the door; he was still on high alert if any enemies were to sneak inside.

    After some time, he suddenly heard Alexander¡¯s low voice.

    ¡°So, no one has ever attacked my sister to...¡±

    Hamilton turned to look at the Crown Prince, happy that he was finally speaking up. And he answered, ¡°No. She is our Queen. No one would dare to attack her unless they have a death wish. They will immediately face the consequences from our King.¡±

    Alexander was looking at the facial expressions of the Lord. He didn¡¯t see any signs that told him that Hamilton was lying to him. However, he didn¡¯t know if he was to believe him or not. He had learned about human behaviors and not vampire behavior.

    And seeing that confused look on Alexander¡¯s face, Hamilton further supported his im, ¡°You might have noticed it yourself. The King and the Queen deeply love and respect each other. If you ask me, I have rarely seen this caring side of my cousin. And it sometimes amazes me when I see him so devoted to the Queen. He treasures her greatly. And I can vouch that he would never let anyone put a scratch on her.¡±

    Alexander went silent again. He thought back to each and every moment that he had shared with his sister and brother-inw.

    He recalled how the two of them looked at each other, their small caring gestures for each other, and the way his sister desperately ran back to her husband after the misunderstanding. He also recalled how enraged Caspian was when Everard kissed her. And he recalled how the King was treating his ill wife himself.

    Everything that he had witnessed today pointed out that what Hamilton said about the two of them was true.

    Above everything else, he had seen how a smile would bloom on his sister¡¯s lips whenever she gazed at her husband¡¯s face. He had never seen her that excited and happy, not even when she drowned herself in her favorite books.

    And for her to love something or someone more than the books was proof that they were very important to her.

    ¡°Does my sister know?¡± Alexander asked, worried that his sister¡¯s heart would break if she wasn¡¯t already aware of the truth. ¡°Does she know what you all are?¡±

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253 Getting Answers ¨C II

    Hamilton smiled and replied to Alexander, ¡°She knew about us from the very first day. I heard that my cousin even tried to send her back to Orsenia because he thought that she would never be able to ept someone like him as her husband. However, she insisted on staying.¡±

    He softly smiled while thinking about the ideal couple and said, ¡°And look where they are now. They can¡¯t even spend a few hours away from each other.¡±

    Alexander finally took a deep breath in relief. He was able to give a subtle smile after hearing all that. But at the same time, he felt a little bad because he knew the real reason why his sister insisted on staying in Sorvando even after discovering the truth.

    Alexander looked down and closed his eyes. And he thought to himself, ¡®She must have been so scared at that time. To think that she was brave enough to insist on staying there even after knowing that her to-be husband was a¡­¡¯

    He pitied his sister¡¯s fate and was angered by the circumstances that pushed her to where she was right now. He was also a little hurt because his sister didn¡¯t think that she could share the truth about her husband with him. ¡®She might have fallen for him now. But I can¡¯t imagine how terrified she must have been initially. And that fool endured all that alone¡­¡¯

    He at least feltforted thinking that Ti was with her the whole time. ¡®Otherwise, that silly sister of mine wouldn¡¯t even have had a single person to share her woes with.¡¯

    Alexander sighed and opened his eyes again. For now, he decided to keep himself from overthinking and assuming things on his own. He thought of asking everything to his sister in detail when the problem at hand settled down.

    ¡°You said that she was taken somewhere safe, right?¡± Alexander asked while looking at Hamilton.

    Hamilton instantly nodded and replied, ¡°Yes. Caspian took her with him. And his royal guards also went after him.¡± He turned to look at the corpses lying in the corner of the room and said in a low deep voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think any of these creatures would be able to track them. And even if some of them did, the royal guards are strong enough to deal with them.¡±

    .....

    Alexander¡¯s attention was suddenly brought back to the topic that was eating him up from the inside.

    ¡°Right!¡± He also took a quick look at the corpses and then asked Hamilton again, ¡°What are those things? You keep on referring to them as ¡®creatures¡¯, but what are they? I know that they aren¡¯t humans. And I don¡¯t think they are vampires either. Their eyes were different.¡± He looked at Hamilton¡¯s closed lips and added, ¡°And so were their teeth... or fangs¡­ whatever you call them.¡±

    Hamilton averted his gaze from Alexander and looked down at his bloody shoes. And he slowly spoke, ¡°I am not exactly allowed to tell you what they are. There¡¯s this ancient curse¡­ Or you can call it a protection spell if you look at it from our ancestor¡¯s perspective. It restricts us from revealing each other¡¯s secrets.¡±

    Alexander knitted his brows together and asked innocently, ¡°Ancient curse? What happens if you reveal the secret?¡±

    Hamilton lifted his head and spoke without chewing his words, ¡°You will die.¡±

    Alexander felt a sudden chill running down his spine. His face instantly dropped, thinking that Hamilton would kill him if he kept on asking about the secret.

    Hamilton realized how his words sounded like a threat, and quickly rified what he meant, ¡°It¡¯s because of that curse that I was talking about. It was cast to prevent the two species from revealing each other¡¯s secrets to the humans and to preserve themselves.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Alexander took a deep breath and nodded. He figured that those creatures were indeed different from the vampires, but equally dangerous.

    He suddenly recalled what thest man had said before he met his end. His heart started to beat like crazy when he remembered that man saying that Everard was also one of them. ¡®What did he mean by that? How on Earth is he even associated with such creatures?¡¯

    And what he couldn¡¯t believe, no matter how much he tried to make sense of today¡¯s attack was that Everard was probably the one to give out the orders. ¡®He would never send out such creatures after us, no matter how much his pride was hurt. At the very least, he would never give orders to hurt me and Anastasia.¡¯

    He then came back to the initial question again, ¡®But how is he one of them? He doesn¡¯t have yellow eyes! And he definitely doesn¡¯t have fangs like them. I have known him my whole life! He can never be one of them. I don¡¯t know why they were so desperately trying to frame him for such a lowly attack. But there is no way in hell that he would stoop so low.¡¯

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡±

    Alexander was startled when he suddenly heard Hamilton¡¯s voice.

    Hamilton was a little worried about the Crown Prince¡¯s condition. He was worried that the Prince would go into another shock. ¡°You look really distressed. And your heartbeat is elerating at an rming rate. Are you sure you are fine? Shall I ask someone to find a doctor soon?¡±

    Alexander looked a little surprised when he mentioned his heartbeat. He pressed his palm against his chest and asked, ¡°You can hear my heartbeat?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Hamilton gave a quick smile and said, ¡°We have heightened senses, so¡­¡±

    Alexander had more questions about this, but right now, he had some pressing questions to ask. He looked at Hamilton, straight in his red eyes, and then said, ¡°I know it is a secret and all. But I just need to confirm something. Earlier, thatst creature was saying something about Everard.¡±

    He inhaled deeply and then asked, ¡°What did he mean when he said that Everard is one of them? He wasn¡¯t being serious, was he?¡±

    Hamilton didn¡¯t know the easy way to put it. He knew that Alexander would feel greatly betrayed by his friend no matter how he revealed the truth. But he knew he had to rify things, for Alexander¡¯s own safety.

    ¡°Think back to the time when the two Kings fought each other. And keep in mind that Caspian is probably the strongest vampire in ournd. You will find your answer.¡±

 Chapter 254 - The Aftermath of the Battle

    <h4>Chapter 254 The Aftermath of the Battle</h4>

    Nichs looked around the ground that had turned into the battlefield to look for any signs of werewolves that were still breathing. Most of the bodies on the groundy unmoving, a few were still struggling and were trying to get back up on their feet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone escape from here. Finish them off,¡± Nichs shouted out the order to his worn-out soldiers.

    All of his soldiers had put up their best fights. More than half of them had to fight two werewolves at once. And fighting while also defending themselves from the attack was very challenging for them.

    A few of those who still had their stamina walked up to the enemies who were still breathing. And they all did what their leader ordered them to do.

    Nichs spat on the ground and thought, ¡®Their stench mixed with the smell of their blood is making me nauseous.¡¯

    He pinched his nose and kept on ranting in his head as he walked around to make sure that his soldiers didn¡¯t miss anyone, ¡®I guess their stench was nature¡¯s way of protecting them from us. Ugh! I wouldn¡¯t go near them even if they were thest species on the to quench my thirst. I would rather die or go into eternal slumber.¡¯

    Nichs nodded his head after examining all the bodies. All of the werewolves that were lying around were dead.

    He then thought of returning to the ce where all of his soldiers had gathered.

    After taking a few steps, his toe hit something. He looked down to see a pistol. He fisted on his hips and then mumbled, ¡°These things didn¡¯t kill as many of those filthy things as I had expected. That was such a waste of silver. We all need to train properly before we can make good use of these.¡±

    .....

    He picked up the pistol and then put it inside his pocket. He then headed back to check up on his soldiers.

    ¡°Is everyone here? How is¨C¡± Nichs suddenly clenched his teeth and grimaced when he saw three of his soldiers lying on the ground.

    They all had their mouth muffled with a piece of their own clothes. They did that while the battle was still ongoing to keep their fellow soldiers from hearing their painful screams and to not let their morale down.

    Now even though the battle was over, and even though all three of them were visibly in a lot of pain, they all were still trying their best to hold in their scream while their fellow soldiers were giving first aid care to their wounds.

    Nichs went near them and looked at them closely. Two of them had bite marks on their neck, while the other one had a bite mark on his palm. Those with bite marks on the neck were in a much more serious condition.

    One of the soldiers who was helping to clean the wounds noticed how Nichs¡¯ face was full of worries. So, he reassuringly said, ¡°Sir, they are going to be okay.¡± He quickly looked at one of the soldiers who was smashing some dried herbs in a bowl, and then said to Nichs, ¡°I ran inside and got that from the maids.¡±

    ¡°Is that the wolf¡¯s bane?¡± Nichs asked with a slight sense of relief on his face. He was proud to see how his soldiers weren¡¯t just relying on him to take important decisions that were in the best interest of everyone.

    The soldier turned to look at the Sergeant and replied, ¡°Yes, Sergeant. You don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡±

    Nichs gave a nod and sighed in relief. ¡°Good. Treat their wounds. The sooner they take the medicine the better. And take them all inside after you finish administering those herbs to them.¡±

    He then looked around at all his soldiers. ¡°Is anyone else hurt?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No, Sergeant,¡± the soldiers replied simultaneously.

    Nichs still darted his eyes around at his soldiers and found a lot of them with several scratches on their bodies.

    He went to take a closer look at one of their scratches. It didn¡¯t look that bad aspared to the bite marks, it wasn¡¯t even close to the scratches that they would get while sparring among themselves, but it didn¡¯t look like it was healing as it should have.

    He frowned and then asked that soldier, ¡°Are you sure that this is okay?¡±

    That soldier looked at the scratch marks on his arm and replied, ¡°I think it will take longer to heal than the normal wounds. Other than that, I think it¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    Nichs wasn¡¯t convinced though. So, he asked all of his soldiers, ¡°Everyone, drink and put that herb on your scratches. I don¡¯t want you all to leave anything to chance. What if it gets worse as time passes? Don¡¯t be careless and treat it right away.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sergeant.¡± The soldiers were happy to see how their leader cared for them.

    The Sergeant then decided to go inside and inform everyone that the battle had finallye to an end. ¡°I will go inside and see the situation. And I will let you all know our next move. We will probably be moving from here soon. So, wrap everything real quick and get as much rest as you can before we get the order from the King.¡±

    He looked at one of the soldiers and ordered, ¡°Also, don¡¯t leave any weapons behind. I have two with me.¡±

    Nichs then quickly ran inside the inn to find someone with higher authority than him. ¡°They all must be in there,¡± he mumbled as he headed in the direction of the King¡¯s room.

    He felt a chill and widened his eyes when he saw a corpse lying on a pile of broken shards. He narrowed his eyes and ran at an even faster rate, worried that some werewolves could have headed for the King¡¯s room as well.

    He felt somewhat relieved when he didn¡¯t encounter any more bodies on the way. He then hastily knocked on the door of the King¡¯s room and announced, ¡°Your Majesty. It¡¯s Nichs.¡±

    Unlike what he had expected, Vincent opened the room and asked hurriedly, ¡°Is it over?¡±

    Nichs darted his eyes inside the room to see the scared handmaid of the Queen. He answered while his eyes were fixated on Ti, ¡°Yes, everything is over.¡± He then turned his gaze to Vincent and asked, ¡°Where are the King and the Queen?¡±

 Chapter 255 - Next Order

    Chapter 255 Next Order

    Caspian was sitting by the bedside of Anastasia with a deep frown on his forehead.

    Anastasia was covered with three thick nkets. However, she was still shivering as though she was stuck at the top of the tallest mountain. While flying to the vige they were currently in, the nket that she was wrapped in wasn¡¯t able to keep the chilling breeze from getting to her.

    And as a result, no matter how many nkets wereyered on top of her right now, the freezing wind that had managed to prate her heart was making it really hard for her.

    ¡®Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have brought her here with me. The soldiers could have taken care of those damned werewolves, couldn¡¯t they? I panicked for no reason and now look where it got her!¡¯

    Caspian grabbed his blond hair with both of his hands and then cursed himself for acting like someone weak. ¡®I should have stayed put!¡¯ he screamed in his head again.

    The royal guards were standing outside the room, and some were patrolling the house they were taking shelter in.

    A young couple was kind enough to let them stay in their house for the night.

    John and Henry, who were patrolling the house, stopped in front of the main door after making sure that there wasn¡¯t any danger lurking around.

    Henry then asked John, ¡°How much time has it been since we arrived here?¡±

    .....

    ¡°I think about half an hour?¡± John looked at Henry and answered while giving a shrug.

    And Henry mumbled to himself, ¡°It took us around an hour to reach here. And we rested for half an hour. That means, the battle should have been over by now, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    John agreed with him. ¡°I think so. At most, it should have onlysted for about half an hour. They all must be cleaning up the mess by now.¡±

    After thinking about the situation for a while, John looked at hispanion and then said what he was thinking, ¡°What should we do then? Shouldn¡¯t one of us go back to inform them about our current location? We haven¡¯t decided where to regroup yet. And considering how they attacked us out of the blue, it isn¡¯t good for us to stay separated for too long. If another horde of those wolvese at us again then the five of us won¡¯t be enough to defeat all of them.¡±

    Henry couldn¡¯t agree more. He frowned and then mumbled, ¡°The King should have given out his order by now. But¡­ I guess he is too busy taking care of the Queen. How about you go and ask the King for his next order? We should regroup soon and leave this cursednd.¡±

    John gave a nod and said, ¡°You stay here on the lookout. I will go and see the King.¡± After saying that, he immediately ran inside the house to find the King.

    Before entering the room, he asked those who were standing outside the room in a whisper, ¡°Has the King given out his next order yet? About regrouping?¡±

    Isaac shook his head and said hastily, ¡°I was also thinking about the same thing. Why don¡¯t you ask the King?¡±

    John gave a nod and then announced himself, ¡°Your Majesty, may I see you for a minute?¡±

    ¡°Yes, John. Come in.¡±

    John opened the door and then bowed to the King. And he asked after taking a few steps inside the room. ¡°Your Majesty, I think it¡¯s about time that one of us went back now. What is your order?¡±

    Caspian cleared his throat and nodded. ¡°Yes. The battle should be over by now. Go back and give them our location. They might already be on the move, so be mindful as you travel there. Try not to miss them.¡±

    John gave a deep bow to the King and readily epted the order, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I will be back with them.¡±

    Caspian took a deep breath and said before the guard left, ¡°And in case something happens and we are unable to regroup here, don¡¯t bother looking for us again. Head straight back to the Kilerth Castle. We will also head there if another problem arises.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I will do as you say.¡± John then swiftly left the room.

    As he was running back at the normal speed for humans, he almost collided with the hostess of the house.

    ¡°Oh! Please excuse me.¡± John gave a subtle bow and immediately left.

    The young hostess took a deep breath and then made her way toward the room where her guests were staying in.

    She stopped after reaching the door that was guarded by three tall men. She bowed to them and asked in a very polite voice, ¡°Umm¡­ I wanted to check up on thedy. She looked really weak when she came here. So¡­¡±

    ¡°I think she is doing fine.¡± Isaac gave a nod and tried to dismiss her, ¡°Just your good thoughts are enough. Thank you!¡±

    Thedy took a deep breath in and insisted, ¡°There aren¡¯t any doctors around this area if things get worse for her. So, I wanted to make sure that she is really okay. Please.¡±

    ¡°We already saw the doctor beforeing here. You don¡¯t have¨C¡±

    ¡°Let her in.¡±

    They heard Caspian¡¯s voice from inside the room.

    Isaac took a deep breath in and opened the door for thedy.

    Thedy smiled and walked inside the room. She looked at Anastasia and asked in a worried voice, ¡°How long has it been since she started to shiver like that?¡±

    Caspian grimaced in pain and replied, ¡°She has been like that since we arrived here. No amount of nket seems to be working.¡±

    ¡°May I?¡± she pointed at Anastasia and asked.

    Caspian looked at her and gave a nod.

    Thedy then walked close to the bed and felt Anastasia¡¯s forehead with her palm. A deep frown line appeared between her brows. And she mumbled, ¡°She is too cold.¡±

    ¡°Can you do something about it?¡± Caspian asked, hoping that she knew some home remedies or something to bring Anastasia¡¯s temperature back to normal.

    Thedy hastily replied, ¡°Let me get some firewood. I will light a fire for her. The heat from the fire will help her more than the nkets.¡±

 Chapter 256 - Fireplace

    <h4>Chapter 256 Firece</h4>

    The firewood started to crackle as the mes began to engulf them whole. The cold room was already getting warmer than before.

    Thedy who lighted up the fire looked back at Caspian and then asked him politely, ¡°Sir, if you sit down with your wife in front of the fire then her body will warm up sooner. And when her body gets warm, you might want to tuck her back in the nket.¡±

    Caspian nodded and then immediately walked toward the bed to wake Anastasia up.

    Thedy spread a thick rug in front of the firece so that the two of them could sit down.

    Caspian carried Anastasia in front of the firece and put her down on the rug. ¡°Sit here for a while, okay?¡± he whispered to his wife and then stood behind his wife while maintaining a decent distance between him and the firece.

    Thedy waited for Caspian to sit down as well. But when she didn¡¯t see that he intended to do so, she spoke up again, ¡°Umm¡­ Your wife is still shivering. She will feel the warmth faster if you¡­ disrobe her and sit by her side. The warmth from your body will also be of great help if you could also do the same.¡±

    Caspian kept on staring at that woman as if she had just said something very absurd.

    Thedy hung her head low and quickly added, ¡°And when you take her back to her bed, make sure to extinguish the fire. Else you two might suffocate.¡± After saying that, she quickly ran out of the room since her work was done.

    Caspian, on the other hand, took a deep breath in disappointment. ¡®But my body isn¡¯t warm.¡¯ He was saddened when he recalled what thatdy asked of him.

    .....

    Anastasia slightly turned her head and tried to look at her husband. Although she didn¡¯t see the expression on his face, she knew what was going on in his head. So, she consolingly mumbled, ¡°Caspian, it¡¯s alright. The fire is warm enough.¡±

    Caspian didn¡¯t say anything. He simply stared at his wife¡¯s gorgeous hair and kept on standing right where he was.

    Anastasia held out her hands in front of the firece so that they would get warm faster. However, her hands got tired before she could even feel the heat of the fire.

    ¡®I think I should sit closer,¡¯ she thought to herself and tried to push herself up with great difficulty.

    Caspian quickly came to her aid and asked as he held her by her arms, ¡°Hey, is everything okay? Why are you trying to get up?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Anastasia grabbed a hold of her husband¡¯s wrists and then said, ¡°I wanted to sit closer to the firece.¡±

    ¡°But this is already way too close¡­¡± Caspian replied while knitting his brows together.

    ¡°My hands are short so...¡± Anastasia pouted.

    ¡°Any closer than this and your hair might identally catch on fire,¡± Caspian protested again. When his wife didn¡¯t reply, he sighed and then asked, ¡°Shall we do as thedy had suggested? Your clothes are thick, and it seems like the warmth from the fire will take time to reach your body.¡±

    Anastasia also knew that it was the fastest way that her temperature would rise back to normal. So, she feebly nodded her head and agreed.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Caspian mumbled and then ran towards the door to lock it from the inside.

    He quickly returned to where his wife was, and then stood behind her back. He then helped her take off her hood, loosened thece of her bodice, and one by one, he helped her take off the pieces of her gown.

    When Anastasia stood there in her linen chemise, she looked towards the bed and asked, ¡°Will you get one of the nkets?¡±

    Caspian did as she had asked.

    Anastasia then looked at her husband¡¯s palms. Since he had been standing too close to that burning fire, his palms had already turned red. So, she asked him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and lie down on the bed? You should also rest while I sit here for a while.¡±

    However, Caspian was against that idea. ¡°What if you doze off in front of the fire? I will stay right here.¡± He then sat down before Anastasia could, and then held out his palms in front of the fire so as to absorb more heat.

    ¡°Caspian! What are you doing?¡± Anastasia quickly bent down and pushed his hands away.

    But Caspian held out his hands again and said, ¡°I am trying to warm myself up so that I can help you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to¡­¡± Anastasia replied while furrowing her brows.

    However, Caspian didn¡¯t move an inch. He kept on enduring that excruciating heat and asked his wife, ¡°Quick. Take off the rest of your clothes and sit by my side. The fire might die down soon. And I don¡¯t know how to light it up again.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t have the energy to keep on arguing with her husband. So, she gave up and quickly took off her sheer chemise as well.

    Caspian rubbed his hands together and patted the empty space beside him. ¡°Come. Sit down.¡±

    Anastasia looked at the nket that was lying beside Caspian. She quickly picked it up and ced it on Caspian¡¯sp.

    Caspian understood what she wanted to do. So, he quickly pulled it up until it covered his chest.

    Anastasia thenfortably sat down on her husband¡¯sp and rested her back on him as if he was the backrest of the chair. She then pulled the nkets from the sides and then tucked them in such a way that Caspian waspletely covered from that intense heat.

    Caspian smirked when his wife was still thinking about him when she was in that condition. But he popped out his arms from the nket-prison anyway and took Anastasia¡¯s hands in his. He then started to rub his palms against hers.

    Anastasia gently hit her head against Caspian¡¯s chest and protested, ¡°Caspian, you don¡¯t have to. Put them back inside.¡±

    However, Caspian gave a peck on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, ¡°I have to. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    Then he continued holding out his palm in front of the fire no matter how much it hurt. And he either rubbed them against her palms or pressed the warm palms on her cheeks and her forehead.

    Soon enough, Anastasia¡¯s eyelids started to get heavier and heavier as her body¡¯s temperature began to climb. Shefortably rested her head on her husband¡¯s chest and traveled to her wonderful dreand.

    Caspian, on the other hand, broke free from the nket-prison and wrapped the nket around his wife. He put his arms around his wife¡¯s waist and kissed her head.

    ¡°Please get better soon, Anna. I can¡¯t bear to see you like this,¡± he whispered.

 Chapter 257 - 257 Regrouping

    257 Regrouping

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± John¡¯s low voice was followed by a soft knock on the door.

    Caspian had alreadyid Anastasia on the bed and tucked her in. She was still in her deep sleep. So, before the guard at the door made another sound, Caspian quickly went to open the door and stepped out of the room.

    He closed the door behind him and then walked a little further away from the door. Then he asked John, who was still trying to catch his breath after a long journey, ¡°What¡¯s the report? Are everyone here?¡±

    John bowed to the King and then answered while breathing heavily, ¡°Three of our soldiers were hurt in the battle. So, those three have stayed behind, along with the other two who will be taking care of them. The blood servants are returning in the carriage. I have given them the location.¡±

    ¡°What about the Crown Prince? Is he alright?¡± Caspian asked with haste.

    John took a deep breath in and gave a nod, ¡°Yes. He is unharmed. However, he looks very shocked since all of his guards were killed, or may I say, dismembered mercilessly.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Caspian grumbled while furrowing his brows. He was saddened to hear that, but he was at least d that no harm came to his beloved wife¡¯s brother. He was now worried about his cousin, so he quickly asked again, ¡°And what about Hamilton? Is he alright? And Vincent? How is he?¡±

    ¡°They are also unharmed. And so are the maids and servants.¡± John suddenly looked towards the King¡¯s door and added, ¡°Oh, and the Queen¡¯s handmaid also joined us. Lord Vincent carried her all the way here saying that the Queen might need her. I can send her here if her service is needed right now.¡±

    Caspian suddenly widened his eyes when he recalled how he hadpletely forgotten about Ti. He took a sigh of relief upon hearing that she was fine. After all, she was the only friend that his wife could rely upon.

    .....

    He took a quick look at the door behind him, and then looked back at John to reply, ¡°No, let her rest. The Queen is also resting.¡± He darted his eyes around the empty corridor and then asked again, ¡°Has everyone settled? Since this vige seemed rtively safe, I asked Henry to find a few other houses that would let us stay. I hope everyone found a ce to stay for the night.¡±

    ¡°I am sure that the houses were enough, Your Majesty. They must have settled down by now.¡± John had run straight back to the King when the others were still roaming around, trying to find a suitable room in the pre-determined houses. So, he replied, ¡°I will go and check once more, and I will inform you afterward. But they are capable of finding houses on their own even if the rooms aren¡¯t adequate. Your Majesty doesn¡¯t need to be worried about everyone.¡±

    Caspian nodded his head and ordered, ¡°Alright, make sure that everyone can rest properly. We are heading out early in the morning tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I will ry the message to everyone, Your Majesty,¡± John said with a bow.

    ¡°Oh! And¡­¡± Caspian held out his hand to stop John from immediately running away and then asked, ¡°Where is Nichs? Ask him to report to me when he is ready.¡±

    John gave a nod and replied, ¡°I will find him and pass your order.¡± He then asked, ¡°Is there anything else that needs to be done right away, Your Majesty?¡±

    Caspian thought for a while and then asked, ¡°By any chance, do you know where the Crown Prince is staying?¡±

    John held his head low and replied, ¡°I am not sure, Your Majesty. I will find that out and then inform you.¡±

    ¡°No, I will look at that on my own. You should first make sure that everyone is settled,¡± Caspian replied and then dismissed John from there.

    John bowed again and left in an instant.

    Caspian, on the other hand, turned to look at his guards who were standing outside the door to his room. And he ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone go inside. And if the Queen asks for me, I will be at the Crown Prince¡¯s ce. Come and get me right away if she needs me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the guards replied simultaneously and bowed their heads as a gust of air hit their faces.

    Caspian ran out of the house at a lightning speed and then ran around the vige while trying to catch the voices that he was looking for.

    After running around for a while, his ears finally caught Hamilton¡¯s voice. Since Hamilton had informed him beforehand that he would be guarding the Crown Prince, he thought of going to see Hamilton and then asking about everything in detail.

    He walked inside that house as if he was a passing breeze, and then stopped in front of the room from where he was hearing Hamilton¡¯s voice. He softly knocked on the door and said, ¡°Hamilton, it¡¯s me. I aming in.¡±

    Before Hamilton could say a word, Caspian barged inside the room, only to find out that Hamilton wasn¡¯t alone in that room. Alexander was also quietly sitting down on a chair in one corner of the same room.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian cleared his throat and then greeted his brother-inw, ¡°Prince Alexander, you are also here. I was actually looking for you. I heard that you lost all of your guards. I express my deepest sympathy.¡±

    Alexander slowly raised his gaze from the floor to look at Caspian. He looked at Caspian¡¯s red eyes that shone like a pair of crystals under the faint candlelight. And ignoring everything that Caspian just said to him, he mumbled, ¡°Those eyes¡­ I never imagined they would mean something more than just a pretty color.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Caspian gave a confused smile to Alexander and then turned to look at Hamilton for answers.

    Before Caspian tried to defend himself or deny anything, Hamilton blurted out, ¡°He knows. About us. And he also knows that Everard is not a normal human.¡±

    Caspian instantly parted his lips and took a deep breath in from his mouth. He looked back at Alexander; the Crown Prince was still staring into his eyes.

    Caspian pressed his lips together and then slowly walked closer to the bed where Hamilton was sitting down. He sat down at the other end of the bed, and then slowly asked the Crown Prince, ¡°Do you resent me for hiding my real identity?¡±

    Alexander softly smiled and finally looked away from Caspian. He then softly spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t even know how I am supposed to feel just yet. A lot of things happened in one night. I am still trying to process everything.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod. After a while of silence, he looked at the gloomy face of Alexander and then said, ¡°However you feel about me, please don¡¯t me your sister for hiding who she was married to. She was simply trying to protect the identity of our kind and was trying to keep them inside the tall walls of our Kingdom.¡±

 Chapter 258 - 258 Sleepless Night

    258 Sleepless Night

    The night was already about toe to an end. Caspian was nning to leave for Sorvando as soon as all the carriages and horses arrived. Thus, he wanted everyone to get some rest before starting the new day.

    Caspian and Hamilton left Alexander alone in the room to rest after they had a brief conversation.

    Alexander, however, couldn¡¯t even get a wink of sleep no matter how exhausted he was. He kept on tossing and turning on the bed, thinking about all the new pieces of information that he had discovered tonight.

    And the more he thought about them, he felt as though he was going to lose his mind.

    ¡®Argh!¡¯ He covered his face with his palms and screamed in his head, ¡®How the hell am I supposed to act in front of them tomorrow? Am I supposed to act like I don¡¯t know what they all are? Or am I supposed to be scared of them?¡¯

    Before he could think of any answers to his questions, his mind got flooded with several other questions.

    ¡®How is Anna able to love someone like that? Or was that all just a perfect act from her side? And how is that husband of hers able to cure her illness? It doesn¡¯t seem like he even knows how to treat a fever. So, how is he going to treat the illness that even the doctors from all around the world couldn¡¯t cure?¡¯

    His heart suddenly became really heavy when he linked everything that was in his head to one particr event.

    ¡®On Anastasia¡¯s seventeenth birthday, who sent that letter to her? Who on earth imed that the King of Sorvando had a cure for my sister¡¯s illness?¡¯

    .....

    Alexander suddenly sat up on the bed. His heart started to beat so fast that on that quiet night, he could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

    He slipped out of the bed and walked over to the table to find a ss of water. He chugged down the whole ss of that cold water and then mmed the ss on the table. He then rested his hands on the table and thought again, ¡®What if that letter was written by someone as a mere joke?¡¯

    Alexander hung his head low and grimaced in pain. His heart aches with the thought that his sister might have endured everything for nothing.

    He kept on dwelling on that topic for quite a long time. He was so worried for his sister that he felt like something was eating him up from the inside.

    And before he realized it, someone came to knock on the door.

    ¡°Your Highness, all the carriages have arrived. Would you like me to bring you a change of clothes?¡±

    Alexander suddenly felt a chill shiver running down his spine when he recalled that he was wearing the same clothes that had witnessed yesterday¡¯s gruesome battle. He suddenly felt his whole body itching and felt the need to shed ayer of his skin.

    ¡°Your Highness?¡± he heard the same voice again along with a knock on the door.

    Alexander hastily replied, ¡°Yes. Bring me a fresh pair of boots as well.¡±

    He then instantly took his shirt off and threw it on the ground in such a way that it was apparent how he felt greatly disgusted by it. Why wouldn¡¯t he be? It had blotches of blood that were transferred from the clothes of the soldier who carried him.

    Just like Alexander, everyone else was getting ready to leave the vige. Not a single one of them wanted to keep on staying in the Kingdom where they could be attacked at any moment.

    Caspian also changed into much morefortable and simpler clothes. He didn¡¯t want to announce to everyone that he was someone from a higher ss by wearing fancy clothes like what he was wearing for yesterday¡¯s ball.

    After changing his clothes, Caspian went near the bed and then softly pressed his palm over his sleeping wife¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Mmmm¡­¡± Anastasia furrowed her brows and groaned in her sleep when she suddenly felt something cold against her forehead.

    Caspian let out a sigh of relief. Surprisingly, her body temperature stayed normal after she sat down in front of the fire.

    ¡®Maybe she got the fever because she was just too shocked after what happened.¡¯ He gently caressed Anastasia¡¯s cheek with the back of his fingers and thought, ¡®I hope her temperature will remain stable now. We have to cross the border by afternoon, anyhow. It¡¯s going to be difficult if her fever returns.¡¯

    Caspian suddenly heard a knock on the door, apanied by a low voice, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Caspian swiftly walked toward the door and then opened it with a slightly guilty look on his face.

    Ti gave a bow to the King and said while looking past him, ¡°I came to see how Her Majesty is doing. Is she okay?¡±

    Caspian opened the door wide and stepped to the side to let her in. ¡°Why don¡¯t you see for yourself?¡±

    Ti quickly ran towards the bed and stopped when she saw Anastasia still in her deep sleep.

    Seeing her hesitation, Caspian closed the door and then said, ¡°Her temperature is stable for now. Why don¡¯t you wake her up and help her get dressed? We will leave when she is ready.¡±

    Ti looked at the King and gave a subtle bow.

    Before she turned her head away again, Caspian apologized to her, ¡°Ti, I wanted to apologize for leaving you alone yesterday. I could have asked someone to bring you along, or I could have at least asked the servants back there to stay with you. But everything happened so fast that Ipletely forgot about your safety.¡±

    Ti was dumbfounded when she heard that considerate apology from the King. ¡°Er¡­¡± She stuttered and quickly turned her gaze towards the Queen.

    She then gulped and replied in a low voice, ¡°I haven¡¯t taken anything to my heart, Your Majesty. You did the right thing by prioritizing the Queen¡¯s safety. I can be reced easily. But she is irreceable.¡±

    Ti subtly smiled while looking at the serene face of her friend and mumbled, ¡°If I was in your shoes, then I would have done the same.¡±

 Chapter 259 - 259 Solidified

    259 Solidified

    When the darkness of the night was being chased away by the subtle light that fell on thend, several eagles and countless crows started to hover above yesterday¡¯s battlefield.

    Before leaving, the vampires had lined up all the dead bodies of the dead werewolves on the ground as if they were some decorative disy.

    And although the sounds of gunshots and the battle cries hadpletely stopped several hours ago, not a single viger was wandering outside of their houses. They knew better than that.

    Due to that reason, the vige was looking like a ce that had been deserted.

    Though none of the vigers were outside, slowly a few sets of footsteps could be heard near the vicinity of the battleground. And slowly, a few men came into view.

    They all stood in front of the ground where the bodies were on disy. And they couldn¡¯t help but get angered after seeing all the dead bodies of their fellow pack members.

    ¡°Go and check inside for any other corpses, although I doubt we can find any,¡± one of the bulky-looking men ordered all the others.

    All the others quickly dispersed from there and ran inside the inn.

    The bulky man then walked while examining all the bodies one by one. He noticed how quite a few of them had bullet holes in their chest and other parts of their bodies. And almost everyone was either missing their heads or their hearts. Some of them had deep sh marks against their chest and neck.

    .....

    ¡®They all were well-trained vampires,¡¯ that man concluded to himself when he didn¡¯t see any wasted sh marks on the dead bodies. They were all deep and urate. ¡®They all aimed to kill. And they did seed.¡¯

    He was still surprised by the fact that he found some bullet holes in a few of the bodies. ¡°Did the human guards do that?¡± he wondered and then leaned down beside a body with a distinct bullet hole on the left side of the chest.

    ¡°But this shouldn¡¯t have killed him even if the bullet prated right through his heart. The heart should have healed,¡± he mumbled to himself and carefully looked for any other marks that could possibly be the main cause of death. But he was surprised when he didn¡¯t find any other signs of death.

    He narrowed his eyes and then thought, ¡®Is the bullet still inside his heart? Is that why he died?¡¯

    He turned that body to see at the back. Just like he had thought, he didn¡¯t find any hole in the back, indicating that the bullet was indeed stuck.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he grumbled and then turned that body again. And without even flinching, he spread out his ws and dug them right into that body¡¯s chest.

    He pulled the heart out to examine it closely. His eyes suddenly widened when he saw the heart. It wasn¡¯t red or ck. And it definitely didn¡¯t look or feel like a heart at all.

    It had somehow turned into a hard stone-like substance that looked dark grey in color. No matter how much he tried to squeeze, and no matter how many times he smashed it against the ground, the rock didn¡¯t even get chipped.

    ¡°How the hell is this even possible?¡± that burly man grumbled in frustration.

    Suddenly, he was disturbed by a man who stood behind him and reported, ¡°Sir, there isn¡¯t a trace of anyone inside the inn. And there are no corpses as well. We checked each and every corner of this ce.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ everyone from our side died, huh?¡± That man got up on his feet and then turned around to face the person who reported. He narrowed his eyes and then asked in a growling voice, ¡°And what about the owners of this ce? They should know something about the enemies. How many of them were hurt, and how many of them got killed? They could also know who got killed. Find the owners and get all the information for me.¡±

    That man gave a bow and then turned around to look at all the others who were standing near the door of the inn.

    Then he ordered all of them, ¡°You heard the yer. Spread around the vige and find those who owned this ce. Use all means necessary. And bring them back here, alive.¡±

    Those men quickly dispersed from there. The man who looked like he was second in the hierarchy from the beta of the Atkinson n was also about to rush towards the other houses of the vige when yer suddenly stopped him and asked, ¡°Wait. I need you to look at something.¡±

    That man turned around to face the yer again. He saw the yer presenting a rock-like object to him. He took that from yer¡¯s hand and then looked at yer¡¯s face with a questioning gaze.

    ¡°What does that look like to you?¡± yer asked without breaking his gaze from the solidified heart.

    The man looked down at his hand and then answered without thinking twice, ¡°A rock?¡±

    yer gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at that man. And he asked again in a rather threatening tone, ¡°Look again. And tell me what you see.¡±

    That man felt a chill shiver in his heart. He quickly looked down at the object in his hand again. This time, he looked at it very closely. He examined the shape very minutely and then suddenly, his eyes widened and his hands became stiff when he realized what it was.

    ¡°It¡¯s a heart!¡± he whispered with his breath. ¡°And not just any heart. This is one of our people¡¯s hearts, isn¡¯t it?¡± He looked at yer for confirmation.

    yer narrowed his eyes at him and asked, ¡°What made you say that?¡±

    The man let out a quiet sigh and then pointed at a very small, almost invisible hole at the center of the heart. And he replied, ¡°Here. You can see a silver bullet stuck inside if you see closely.¡±

    ¡°A silver bullet?¡± yer quickly snatched that heart back from that man¡¯s hand and then looked through the hole that he showed. His eyes widened just a little when he also noticed a bullet stuck inside that heart.

    He then clenched his jaw and tightened his hold on that heart. And he grumbled in frustration, ¡°And of course, those vampires know that silver is poisonous to us.¡±

    The man also nodded his head with a dreaded expression on his face. ¡°Now, I have one more thing to fear other than identally getting poisoned by silver through food. I have to be wary of silver bullets as well!¡±

 Chapter 260 - 260 Gathering Information

    260 Gathering Information

    yer and the other man continued examining other bodies as well, especially the ones with bullet holes in them.

    After quite a while, they came to the conclusion that the silver bullets alone didn¡¯t do much damage to a werewolf¡¯s body. However, when it came down to the heart, the silver bullets were bad news.

    They discovered that, if the bullets did as little as graze past the heart, their hearts seemed to turn into rocks, possibly leading to instant death.

    ¡°I should inform the alpha right away. He seems to be greatly underestimating those red-eyes,¡± yer mumbled to himself as his eyes dted.

    The other man who was crouching by his side also heard him. And he looked at that giant man and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we also inform the King? Or at the very least, the beta of my pack?¡±

    yer slightly turned his head and gave a piercing side re to that man. And he asked in a low rumbling voice, ¡°You want to inform that old man?¡± He scoffed and mockingly said, ¡°Try to recall what he did after our King was humiliated in that hall that was full of important guests from all over the world.¡±

    That man lowered his head and answered disappointedly, ¡°You are right. He did nothing and asked us to do nothing.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± yer narrowed his eyes at that man and gritted from between his teeth, ¡°Why? Because Jerome is a coward who doesn¡¯t want to risk getting kicked out of his dwindling position.¡±

    He got up on his feet and then kept on ranting about the Beta of the Crestfire n, ¡°All he does is hover around the King as if he is still a baby who doesn¡¯t know how to walk, and he keeps on restricting the King from taking any sensible action. I am sure he was the one to convince the King into letting such a serious offense slide.¡±

    .....

    He turned his head in the opposite direction of their capital and looked in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and grumbled, ¡°Being a King of another Kingdom doesn¡¯t give that vampire a pass to humiliate our King like that. By humiliating our King, he humiliated all of us. He humiliated our whole race.¡±

    The other man clenched his fist and looked down at the all bodies thaty in front of them. And he agreed with the yer, ¡°You are right. That¡¯s why we wanted to join hands with you when we heard that you wanted to take revenge on behalf of the King, on behalf of our future alpha. We couldn¡¯t just sit around and act as if nothing happened during that ball.¡±

    He then hung his head low and sighed in disappointment. ¡°But those vampires killed all of our brave volunteers. Just how many of them were here? As far as I am aware, that Vampire King had just brought a handful of guards with him. So, how did they manage to kill so many of us? They should have been able to capture everyone and bring them back to the capital to face the judgment.¡±

    yer clenched his jaw and his fists and red at the dead body in front of him. And he screamed in rage in his mind, ¡®These many werewolves should have been enough to y each and every one of those vampires as well as that Crown Prince. But they are the ones who got killed instead! I wonder how many of those vampires these useless bastards were able to kill.¡¯

    Just when he was wondering if the other party incurred any loss on their side, the men who had gone in search of the owners of the inn returned and stood in front of him.

    yer looked up and darted his eyes around in search of the extra person they had brought along with them. But to his utter dismay, they had returned empty-handed. ¡°Where is the owner? I thought I asked you all to bring the owner alive.¡±

    All five of those men hung their heads low and then answered, ¡°It seems like the owners of the inn escaped. And as for the vigers, they said they didn¡¯t witness the battle. All they heard were the gunshots and the screams. And one of the vigers at the far end of the vige said that he heard a lot of carriages and horses leaving after an hour or so.¡±

    yer closed his eyes and scoffed in disbelief. He clenched his teeth in rage. All of the veins on his forehead and neck started to visibly bulge when he asked in a low growl, ¡°So, you are saying that none of the vigers have any information regarding the battle?¡±

    The man who had spoken earlier began to tremble slightly. And his voice cracked as he answered, ¡°Y-Yes, Milord. We couldn¡¯t get any useful information. I apologize on behalf of all of us.¡±

    yer suddenly jumped on his feet and stood in front of that man within a matter of a second. He towered over that man like a tree and then growled as he looked down on that man, ¡°Apology won¡¯t be enough to know if your fellow wolves were sessful in hurting or killing at least one of those red-eyes now, will it?¡±

    ¡°No, sir.¡± the werewolf hung his head low in fear.

    ¡°Then go and search for anyone who witnessed the battle. If not the owners, find someone else!¡± yer snarled at that man.

    The angry beta was clenching his fists tightly so as to resist raising his hand and unintentionally killing that wolf from the other n. If it was someone from his own n then he would have smacked the life out of the wolf by now.

    All five of the werewolves were about to rush towards the vige once more when they all heard someone¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Umm¡­ Hello!¡±

    They all turned their heads to look in the direction from where the voice wasing.

    yer furrowed his brows when he saw a young boy standing far away from them. His eyes were glued to the corpses thaty on the ground. But the beta didn¡¯t see an iota of fear or disgust in that boy¡¯s eyes. All he saw in those light-brown eyes was a determined look and a hint of rage.

    ¡°What is it, boy?¡± yer asked in his hoarse voice.

    The boy took a few steps forward and replied, ¡°I saw them. The red eyes.¡±

 Chapter 261 - 261 Cillian

    261 Cillian

    The rage on yer¡¯s face was almost instantly reced by a rather curious expression. He walked towards the boy with a subtle smirk on his face when he sniffed the smell that the boy was giving off.

    ¡°You saw the red eyes leaving?¡± yer went and stood a few feet away from the boy. And he asked, ¡°Tell me more about it.¡±

    The boy looked at yer straight in the eyes. He was brimming with confidence when instead of giving straight answers, he proposed a deal to the infamous yer. ¡°If I tell you everything I saw here, will you take me along with you? I want you to take me in as your apprentice.¡±

    yer scoffed and then suddenly burst intoughter when he heard the boy¡¯s absurd demand. He looked over his shoulder and then asked the men behind him, ¡°Hey, look how brave this kid is! He is braver than all of youbined.¡±

    The men behind him pretended not to be hurt by yer¡¯s words andughed alongside him as if they just heard the most hrious joke of the decade.

    The boy folded his arms and then shrugged. ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to make a deal with the only person in this whole vige who actually saw the incident, then I have nothing to say.¡± He even turned around and said while pretending to walk away, ¡°Goodbye, gentlemen! Have a nice trip back to the capital.¡±

    He suddenly stopped on his track when he heard yer speaking in a threatening tone from behind him.

    ¡°You are mistaken if you are thinking that you can walk away from here without revealing everything you saw. I know a lot of tactics that can make you talk, boy.¡±

    The boy looked over his shoulders and asked in a mocking tone, ¡°What kind of tactics, Sir? You will torture my family to make me talk? Ooh! I know. You will break my limbs and try to squeeze the information out of me. And what¡¯s the worst that you can do? Kill me, right?¡±

    .....

    He looked ahead and then said while walking away, ¡°I am sorry, Sir. But none of those tactics is going to work on me. You can¡¯t make me open my mouth against my will.¡±

    yer clenched his fists in anger and roared, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare underestimate me, you big mouth. I know the likes of you. Big talk on the outside but hollow on the inside.¡±

    ¡°Respectfully, Sir, I¡¯m not underestimating you!¡± The boy shouted back.

    He swiftly turned on his heels and red back at yer. The hidden pain in his heart was now spilling out of him as he further spoke, ¡°If I had underestimated you then I wouldn¡¯t have demanded to be your apprentice, Sir yer.¡±

    yer narrowed his eyes at that boy and asked in a somewhat softer voice than before, ¡°If you know who I am, then why would you even want to follow me?¡±

    The boy walked towards the burly man and spoke with vigor, ¡°Because you are one of the strongest warriors I know. I have survived these 17 years all on my own. And I can keep on struggling on my own for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Then why?¡± yer asked while giving a piercing gaze to the boy who didn¡¯t look 17 at all. He looked way younger than that.

    The boy stopped a foot away from yer and answered, ¡°Why? Because I know what is about to happen to me soon. And when that happens, I don¡¯t want to be a lone wolf. I want to belong somewhere. And if that somewhere is by your side, then I am even willing to put my life at stake.¡±

    ¡°You are willing to put your life on stake, huh?¡± yer raised his brows.

    The boy puffed his chest a little and then agreed, ¡°Yes, sir. I have nobody who you can use against me. I have nothing to lose. So, if I can get recognized by you by enduring some pain, or even a near-death experience, then I am willing to bet my life in the hope of a little better future than what I see right now.¡±

    ¡°Who told you that I won¡¯t kill you right away?¡± yer snarled at the boy and disyed his wed fingers.

    And in the next second, he swiped his hand across that boy¡¯s neck.

    yer smirked at that boy when he didn¡¯t even flinch or blink his eyes. What he found more impressive was that his ws had slightly grazed that boy¡¯s neck. And the boy was brave enough to stand unaffected, without showing a hint of fear in his eyes.

    yer smiled and asked that boy, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The boy gave a slight bow to the tall man in front of him. A few rays of the morning sun fell on his hair, highlighting his chestnut brown hair color. ¡°My name is Cillian.¡±

    ¡°So, you haven¡¯t had your first transformation yet?¡± yer asked again.

    ¡°No, Sir,¡± Cillian looked back at yer¡¯s brown eyes and answered.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± yer took a deep breath and said, ¡°What if you run to find other alphas once you transform? All the efforts I put in you will go in vain.¡±

    Cillian confidently looked at yer and replied, ¡°I will devote myself to the alpha you follow. I have never known my true n. So, if I believe that I am from your n, then maybe I won¡¯t go and find some other alphas.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, boy,¡± yer grumbled. However, the boy had sessfully garnered his attention. So, he was willing to give the boy a chance. ¡°But let¡¯s see how well you can keep your word. Who knows? You might originally be from our n. Even if you aren¡¯t from my n, I hope you won¡¯t forget your master once you find out the true n that you belong to.¡±

    Cillian¡¯s light brown eyes brightened with joy. ¡°Does that mean I am your apprentice now?¡± he asked in an excited voice.

    ¡°Only if you give some crucial information about the battle,¡± yer replied without mincing his words.

    Cillian smiled ear to ear and then nodded his head. ¡°I will tell you everything that I saw. Where shall I begin? I saw a lot of things.¡±

 Chapter 262 - 262 Reporting

    262 Reporting

    ¡°And who do we have here?¡± Romulus looked at Cillian from head to toe and gave a questioning nce to his beta.

    yer looked at the lean boy who was standing by his side and then answered, ¡°I have decided to take him as an apprentice from today. His name is Cillian. And he is an orphan.¡±

    Romulus raised his brows and kept on looking at yers in disbelief. After a while, he scoffed and tried to make sense of what his beta said. ¡°You must be joking, right?¡± Heughed for a while and then asked again, ¡°But really, tell me who he is.¡±

    yer took a deep breath and answered with a serious look on his face, ¡°I just told you. I wasn¡¯t lying.¡±

    And before Romulus could ask any further questions about Cillian, yer gave a brief report, ¡°Milord, I have bad news from the secret mission.¡±

    Romulus¡¯ facial expression turned serious all of a sudden. He went to sit down on the chair that was mounted on an altar as if it was his throne. He looked down at yer and the boy and asked in a grim voice, ¡°Tell me everything.¡±

    yer gazed down at the floor and then briefed what he saw back there in the vige, ¡°All of the werewolves who had volunteered to go there were dead. When we reached there to investigate, their bodies were lined up in front of the inn that those vampires were staying in.¡±

    Romulus narrowed his eyes and then asked, ¡°Apart from that, what¡¯s the bad news?¡±

    yer turned to look at the boy and asked him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell the alpha everything that you saw back there?¡±

    .....

    Cillian bowed his head and confidently started to tell the tale, ¡°I was coincidentally stopping in the same vige yesterday. I heard sting noises and then sounds of people fighting. The battle went on for quite a while. When the noises settled down, I got out of the house and then went to examine the surroundings. And to my horror, I saw a lot of werewolves lying dead on the ground.¡±

    He took a deep breath in and then continued his side of the story, ¡°At first, I thought that it was a fight between the packs. But then I saw a few men standing near the door of that inn and realized that they weren¡¯t giving off the distinct smell.¡±

    ¡°So you saw them?¡± Romulus grumbled and then clenched his jaw.

    ¡°Yes, alpha.¡± Cillian gave a nod and continued with a bit of excitement in his eyes, ¡°I noticed that all of them had distinct red eyes. I was intrigued, so I decided to watch them for longer even when my instinct was telling me to run away from there. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t notice me because¡­ well, I have been hiding and running from dangers my whole life.¡±

    Romulus restlessly tapped his foot on the floor and asked in a low growl, ¡°Come to the point, boy.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Please, excuse me.¡± Cillian gave a nervous smile and then continued afterposing himself, ¡°I saw them doing something. I didn¡¯t get a closer look but it seemed like they were treating the wounds of the injured ones. And¨C¡±

    Romulus suddenly chuckled and said, ¡°Treating the wounds? Really? Maybe they were praying for their dying friends.¡±

    Cillian gave a bow and then dared to correct the alpha. ¡°Actually, they were feeding and rubbing some kind of herb. And the injured ones weren¡¯t screaming in pain or anything. So, I believe that they were indeed treating the wounds.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Romulus suddenly got up on his feet and growled. ¡°There¡¯s no cure for our bite!¡±

    ¡°Not that we know of,¡± yer corrected his arrogant alpha and further said, ¡°They fought against us in the war. They must have found the cure to our bite. And they live on for centuries. Surely, they must have someone who actually fought in that war, and has knowledge about each and everything that could harm us and things that could protect them.¡±

    yer suddenly took out the solidified heart from his pocket and then held out his hand toward the alpha.

    Romulus had a stunned look on his face because he instantly recognized what that thing was. And he asked his beta, ¡°What do you mean by something that could harm us?¡±

    yer passed the heart to the alpha and then answered him, ¡°I found bullet holes in a few of the bodies. And upon further examination, I found out that those bullets weren¡¯t just any normal bullets, but they were made out of silver.¡±

    Romulus widened his eyes even more; his eyes almost looked as if they were going to pop out of his skull. He inspected that solid heart closely to find a silver bullet lodged inside of it. He sat back down on his chair with a thud, as if he felt greatly defeated by the vampires.

    The alpha held his head with his hand and let out a twistedugh, almost spooking the poor boy who wasn¡¯t used to his creepy behaviors yet.

    Then he mumbled to himself, ¡°Silver bullets, huh! And here I was thinking that those ancient creatures were still living in the past. But it looks like they have caught up with the rest of the world. Not bad, not bad.¡±

    He suddenly looked up at the ceiling and let out a grim cackle.

    Cillian looked dumbfounded as he watched the alphaughing like that. It almost looked as if the alpha had lost his mind. He gulped and then thought to himself, ¡®What¡¯s with that terrifyingughter? It¡¯s giving me chills in my heart.¡¯

    Cillian jumped a little when the alpha suddenly gave a death stare to him.

    ¡°What else did you see?¡± Romulus asked in a low growl.

    Cillian subconsciously shifted closer to yer. When his shoulder brushed against yer¡¯s elbow, a sense of relief hovered on his face. He lowered his head to avoid Romulus¡¯ piercing gaze and then finally replied, ¡°I saw them lining up all the corpses. And after about an hour or so, some of them ran off at the speed of the wind. And some of them rode on the carriages.¡±

    Romulus narrowed his eyes and asked again, ¡°None of them were dead?¡±

 Chapter 263 - 263 Benevolent

    263 Benevolent

    Cillian felt threatened when the alpha asked him if any of the enemies were dead. He almost felt as if the alpha would kill him on the spot if he didn¡¯t give a satisfying answer.

    He had never felt this terrified of someone ever in his life before. Yes, he used to get bashed by rich people every once in a while. He was used to being pushed around by the people in power. However, the only emotion that he felt towards them was anger, not fear. But this person in front of him, there was something about him that made him terrified to his core even when he hadn¡¯tid a single finger yet.

    ¡°I d-don¡¯t think so, Milord,¡± Cillian happened to subconsciously stutter.

    Romulus mmed his fist on the armrest of his chair and growled, ¡°What? Not a single one of them died?¡±

    yer stepped in front of the scared boy and replied, ¡°There were some casualties on their sides as well.¡±

    Romulus looked past yer and said while ring at Cillian, ¡°But that tiny man said otherwise. Wasn¡¯t he the one who witnessed it?¡±

    yer stretched his arms as if he was really tired of standing. And then suddenly, he changed the tone of his voice from formal to informal one. ¡°Milord, you are being quite aggressive towards the boy. Stop scaring the poor soul and stop confusing him.¡±

    Romulus rolled his eyes and rested his back on the chair. ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t shout anymore,¡± he said in a much calmer tone.

    yer smirked and then looked at the boy. And he asked Cillian in a soft voice, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be scared of him. He is a temperamental one. Don¡¯t mind him too much and speak without making an error.¡±

    .....

    Cillian gave a subtle smile to yer. He took a few deep breaths and then answered again, ¡°I saw them carrying a few bodies and putting them inside a carriage. That particr carriage left in a different direction than the rest of the carriages.¡±

    ¡°Were any of those bodies dressed in rather fancy clothes?¡± Romulus asked with a curious expression on his face.

    Cillian took some time to recall the detail. He looked at the alpha and then answered confidently, ¡°They were dressed in armor. I think they were the guards.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Romulus closed his eyes and kept quiet for a while.

    yer waited for a while. And when the alpha didn¡¯t speak a word for quite some time, he said, ¡°I think none of those who you targeted were killed.¡±

    ¡°How many of those red eyes did you see again?¡± Romulus looked at the boy and asked.

    Cillian cleared his throat and then replied, ¡°I think around 15. A few of the others came out of the innter. But half of them were humans, I think. They didn¡¯t have red eyes.¡±

    Romulus nodded his head and mumbled to himself, ¡°The King wouldn¡¯t travel with just five guards now, would he? He had cleverly hidden the others outside the castle.¡±

    yer then gave his own opinion on the matter. ¡°Even then, they were still outnumbered. However, they were powerful enough to wipe out all the wolves that we sent. They aren¡¯t the ones who we should be taking very lightly, Milord.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it a given that they were powerful?¡± Romulus had a proud smirk when he said, ¡°Those who came here must be the most powerful ones of their Kingdom. And the werewolves that we sent were just some expendable pieces of the chess piece.¡±

    He suddenly got up on his feet and then started to walk back and forth along the aisle with his hands behind his back.

    And he said as if the oue was exactly what he had expected, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect those weak sheep to wipe out the red eyes in this attack. Of course, it would have been wonderful if they had gotten lucky. But, that sneak attack will surely do its job.¡±

    ¡°And that is?¡± Cillian unintentionally spoke what he was thinking. He instantly covered his mouth with his palm and hid behind yer.

    Romulus gave an evil smirk and answered as his eyes shone in delight, ¡°It will create tension between the three Kingdoms. The friction was bound to happen anyway. But I just added a little fuel to the spark. Now, all I have to do is wait for that spark to turn into untamable mes within no time.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± He spread his arms and looked up. And he spoke like an excited child, ¡°It¡¯s going to be so much fun to watch everything unfold in the near future.¡±

    Romulus began to cackle dramatically as if he could already see what the future held.

    yer rolled his eyes and shook his head. He had seen Romulusughing like this countless times, and he was already fed up with that grimugh of the alpha.

    ¡°I will excuse myself then,¡± he said in a whisper so that he wouldn¡¯t interrupt his alpha¡¯s daydream. He then turned on his heels to take a leave.

    Romulus suddenly stoppedughing and looked at yer. His beta and the boy were heading for the door. ¡°Are you really taking that boy in?¡± he questioned his beta¡¯s benevolent act again. Normally, yer wasn¡¯t someone to do any charitable work or take pity on an orphan. Thus, Romulus was still unable to believe that yer was being serious earlier.

    yer raised and waved his hand without turning around to see his alpha. And he replied as he kept on heading for the door, ¡°Yes. I am going to train him.¡±

    Romulus narrowed his eyes at the door when both of them walked out and disappeared. Then he mumbled to himself, ¡°I can¡¯t believe he was actually serious. But why waste his precious time on that skeleton-like boy? If he wanted to train someone then I could have provided talented and healthy boys to him.¡±

    He sighed and then mumbled, ¡°Well, I guess the mighty yer also has some soft spot¡­ picking up boys like that.¡±

    Outside, yer led the boy toward a separate building.

    Cillian quietly followed the man. He was relieved to be out of that room before he fainted out of fear.

    yer opened the door to one of the rooms of that building and then replied, ¡°This is a guest room. You can stay here until I arrange a more permanent room for you.¡±

    Cillian was in awe when he saw the size of that room and all the expensive things that he saw inside. ¡°This is amazing!¡± he eximed with a stunned look on his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too used to it. Your permanent room wont¡¯ be thisvish. Alright, I will see you tomorrow,¡± yer said that much and then walked away before Cillian could ask anything.

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Cillian looked inside the room and thought as he smiled ear to ear, ¡°I guess I can sleep on the bed tonight.¡±

    He instantly jumped on the bed with his dusty and dirty clothes on. He giggled like a happy child and looked around the room filled with things that he had never seen before ¨C expensive paintings, vases, heavy furniture, and whatnot.

    Suddenly, he heard someone walking down the corridor. He had left the door to his room open, so he quickly jumped out of the bed and headed toward the door.

    Just as he was about to close the door, his eyes fell on the most beautifuldy he had ever seen.

    ¡®Whoa!¡¯ he eximed in his mind and gaped his mouth as thatdy walked past his door. ¡®Who is she?¡¯ he peeked out of the door and kept on following thatdy with his eyes until she vanished from his sight.

 Chapter 264 - 264 Outdated Castle

    264 Outdated Castle

    Prince Alexander pushed the window of the carriage open. He looked out of the window with keen eyes. The harsh cold wind was continuously hitting his face and hurting his cheeks as if the wind was carrying countless invisible sharp razors along with it.

    However, it was his heart that hurt the most. Outside of the window, he noticed how the area was covered with tall trees as far as his eyes could see.

    ¡°The castle is in the middle of the woods?¡± Prince Alexander asked Ti when they were approaching the Kilerth Castle.

    Ti turned her head to look out of the open window and gave a nod. ¡°Yes, Your Highness. We will reach there soon.¡±

    Since Alexander had sent his carriage to Orsenia, Vincent had offered to travel with Hamilton and let Alexander use the carriage that he had shared with Ti.

    Normally, Ti wouldn¡¯t have traveled along with the Crown Prince. However, when Alexander saw her standing next to the carriage that he was supposed to use, he asked her to ride along.

    This was the second day that they were traveling together.

    And during the travel, Alexander asked thousands of questions to Ti. Though initially, he wanted to sit down with his sister and listen to her point of view before listening to anyone else, he got all the information from Ti first so that he couldter verify what his sister told him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you two ever feel scared or lonely?¡± Alexander closed the window again and asked Ti. ¡°It looks like you two didn¡¯t have any ce to go to when you felt like escaping from the castle, even if it was for a few hours.¡±

    .....

    Ti took a deep breath in and answered, ¡°To be honest, it does feel lonely at times. We felt like prisoners when we first came here. Everywhere we looked, all we could see were the vampires. But we soon started getting used to it. And now, we have other humans as well. They look after the needs of Her Majesty.¡±

    Alexander looked down at his hand and heaved a deep sigh. The more things he listened from Ti, the more powerless he felt.

    Ti¡¯s face turned sad as she watched the lively Prince looking so gloomy. The frown lines on his face hadn¡¯t disappeared from his face since yesterday.

    She gulped and then tried to show the upsides of the Kilerth Castle as well. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much though, Your Highness. The Queen¡¯s health never allowed her to travel around while we were in Orsenia as well. And this Castle is spacious as well as has a huge library. You already know she doesn¡¯t need anything more than that.¡±

    Ti subtly smiled and added further, ¡°Besides, the King frequently takes her to the nearby towns and other ces. I dare to say that she is happier here. We even went to Lord Hamilton¡¯s mansion once. But she got sick after we returned. So, it¡¯s for the best I guess¡­ how the castle is in a secluded area.¡±

    Alexander nodded his head and looked at Ti. And he murmured, ¡°It amazes me how you two are able to stay this positive even after all the things that you two went through.¡±

    ¡°We have to stay positive.¡± Ti gave a smile and said, ¡°Else, I don¡¯t know if we would have survived this long if we constantly feared everything and everyone in thisnd.¡±

    The two of them continued to talk until the carriages came to a halt.

    ¡°I think we arrived.¡± Ti slightly pushed the window and peeked outside. ¡°Yes, we are here,¡± she announced again.

    Alexander was also about to look out of the window when he heard someone open the door.

    The coachman looked at the Crown Prince and then said in a polite voice, ¡°We have arrived, Your Highness.¡±

    Alexander gave a nod and stepped out of the carriage.

    He was then weed by Caspian. ¡°Wee to the Kilerth Castle, Prince Alexander. I hope you will like it here.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± Alexander responded with a subtle bow and then turned to look at the century-old castle that stood tall in front of him.

    His lips slightly parted on their own when he looked at the castle that looked like it was straight out of some fantasy novels ¨C old and dark grey, slightly cold, and mysterious.

    ¡®The castle looks amazing,¡¯ he thought to himself with a stunned look on his face.

    Caspian, on the other hand, felt as if the Crown Prince didn¡¯t like his castle which had outdated architecture. He also looked at his castle and said after sighing, ¡°It looks a bit old and outdated, but we have everything that we need here.¡±

    Alexander looked at Caspian and said with a smile on his face, ¡°No, I really like it. It¡¯s hard to see this kind of castle in other Kingdoms. So, I would love to explore all the corners of your castle.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Of course. Anastasia and I will give you a tour around this castle.¡± Caspian instantly smiled and then looked at his castle once more, this time with a little pride.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon stood in front of the King and bowed to him.

    Caspian gave a wide smile and nodded. ¡°Zenon! I hope nothing went wrong in my absence.¡±

    ¡°Of course, not, Your Majesty.¡± Zenon then turned his gaze towards the Crown Prince and bowed. ¡°I heard you would be joining us, Your Highness. I would like to heartily wee you to Sorvando.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure,¡± Alexander said with a soft smile on his face.

    ¡°He is my Advisor, Zenon.¡± Caspian introduced them and then gestured his hand toward the main entrance of the castle. And he asked the Crown Prince, ¡°Please, let¡¯s go inside. I will lead you to your chamber.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Alexander said with a nod and then looked around to spot his sister. He found Ti already standing by Anastasia¡¯s side.

    Caspian followed his gaze and when he saw the Prince looking at Anastasia, he understandingly said, ¡°I will visit your chamber along with her after freshening up.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! I would really appreciate that,¡± Alexander gratefully replied. He had a lot to catch up with his sister.

    Zenon then led the way while Caspian and Alexander followed him. Hamilton and Vincent also came and joined them soon after.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Zenon,¡± Vincent said from the back.

    Zenon looked over his shoulder and said after giving a subtle nod, ¡°Good to see you too, Vincent. And it¡¯s nice to see you again, Lord Hamilton.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s always good to be here,¡± Hamilton mumbled while looking at the tall ceilings of the castle.

    Caspian turned his head to look at Hamilton and Vincent and then asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you both stay here for the night?¡±

    Both of the lords readily agreed because they had a lot of things to talk about, with each other and with Caspian.

    The King looked at Zenon and asked him, ¡°Zenon, prepare the guest chambers for them as well.¡±

    ¡°I will, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon agreed and kept on walking down the long corridor, while all the others followed.

 Chapter 265 - 265 Understanding Feelings

    265 Understanding Feelings

    After personally guiding Alexander to his chamber and making sure that he had everything that he would need, Caspian went straight to the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    He found Ti helping Anastasia out of the travel clothes. ¡°Please don¡¯t mind me,¡± he mumbled and then went near the dressing table. He dragged the chair to the side and sat down while facing his wife.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get changed before staring at your wife?¡± Anastasia mockingly asked Caspian since he kept on staring at her without even blinking.

    Caspian smirked, but brushed off herment and asked her another question instead, ¡°How are you feeling? Still feeling a little dizzy?¡±

    Anastasia shook her head and answered, ¡°Now that I got out of the carriage, I don¡¯t feel that dizzy. A little rest and a warm bath, and then I should be fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Caspian turned his gaze to Ti and then asked her, ¡°Ti, how¡¯s her temperature? I was keeping track of it, and so far it was normal.¡±

    Ti looked at the King and instantly replied, ¡°I just checked a while ago. It is normal.¡±

    Anastasia smiled, grateful that she had people who cared for her so much. But she didn¡¯t want them to constantly worry about her. So, she said to both of them in a ratherining tone, ¡°I keep on telling both of you that I feel fine. Why don¡¯t you both believe me? I am perfectly fine. I don¡¯t think the fever will return after two days now. So, you both should stop constantly treating me like a sick person.¡±

    Caspian got up on his feet and then took a step closer to his wife. He looked at her with a loving gaze and then softly said, ¡°You keep on getting sick. I just want to make sure that I don¡¯t overlook the state of your health until it is toote.¡±

    .....

    Anastasia gently patted Caspian¡¯s hand and looked at him with appreciative eyes. And she said in a somewhat worried voice, ¡°At this rate, you will be the one to fall sick. You should also go and get freshened up. Don¡¯t worry about me so much.¡±

    Caspian wanted to say something but he sighed and nodded his head. He took Anastasia¡¯s palm and then softly kissed her knuckles. And he looked into her beautiful green eyes and said, ¡°I wille to pick you up before dinner time. I think your brother would love to talk with you.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± Anastasia¡¯s felt a subtle prick in her heart. She forced a smile on her face and nervously asked, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about time I came clean with my brother, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He deserves to know all the truth.¡± Caspian looked at Ti and guessed, ¡°Although, I bet that he already knows all the details.¡±

    Ti looked down at the floor and nodded her head.

    Caspian looked back at his wife and said, ¡°But I think he would still want to hear your side of the story and try to understand your true feelings.¡± Hefortingly patted Anastasia¡¯s hand and further said, ¡°Don¡¯t stress over it too much. He is your brother. He will understand your heart.¡±

    Anastasia knew very well what he was referring to. She took a deep breath and smiled widely. ¡°Yes. I am sure he will understand why I feel this way about you. And I really hope that before he leaves, he will see you with the same respect as I do.¡±

    Caspian was grateful that Anastasia was thinking about his reputation; not just his, but his race¡¯s reputation.

    He kissed Anastasia¡¯s hand again and said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°After everything that he saw back there in that vige, I won¡¯t be surprised if hebels us as the monsters. But I really hope that he won¡¯t hate us or be scared of us.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Anastasia looked at him with conviction and then added, ¡°I will make sure that he won¡¯t.¡±

    Caspian put his faith in his wife and then headed toward his own chambers. While walking down the gallery, all he could think about was things that he could do for Alexander to regain his trust, the trust that might have dwindled after seeing Hamilton fighting the werewolves.

    He had already heard the full story from Hamilton. At first, he was angry at him for carelessly disying that demonic form to his brother-inw. However, after knowing how Alexander was now somewhat aware of Everard¡¯s true nature, he was a little relieved.

    He hoped that his brother-inw would reveal that information to Anastasia on his own. He wanted both of them to be wary of their friend.

    Caspian gave a nod to the maids and servants who greeted him when he reached in front of his chambers.

    After entering the chamber without even realizing it, he mumbled to himself, ¡°Alexander didn¡¯t look as nervous around me as he did yesterday. I think Ti said some good words about me.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes but suddenly smiled thinking back to the time when Ti used to openly hate him. ¡°I guess she doesn¡¯t hate me as much as she did back then.¡±

    Caspian was finally out of his deep thoughts when he heard one of the servants speaking very loudly.

    ¡°Your Majesty, shall we help you get ready for the bath?¡±

    Caspian looked at that servant with deep frown lines between his brows. And he grumbled while gently massaging his ear, ¡°You don¡¯t have to shout in my ears! You could have spoken normally. Now, my ears hurt!¡±

    All the servants and maids who were in that room nervously looked down.

    The one who got scolded lowered his head and quietly thought to himself, ¡®But Your Majesty didn¡¯t respond when I called you so many times¡­¡¯

    Caspian curled his upper lip and rolled his eyes. Then he swiftly held out his arms to the side and asked, ¡°Help me out of it. Quick. I have a lot of things to attend to.¡±

    Two of the servants instantly began undressing the King while the maids ran towards the bathroom to make sure the temperature of the water was still right. They had prepared the bath a while ago, not knowing when the King would arrive.

    When everything was ready, Caspian went inside the bathroom and stepped into the bathtub. The tub was filled with water that was slightly warmer than his body. He dipped himself in the water and sat there while closing his eyes.

    ¡®Ah! This feels really nice!¡¯ he thought to himself. He felt rxed and happy to be home after such a long and tiring journey.

    Soon, however, a few frown lines appeared between his brows when he suddenly recalled something that had been bugging him for two days now.

    ¡®What was that doctor back in Xanmar trying to say?¡¯

 Chapter 266 - 266 What is it?

    266 What is it?

    Caspian and Anastasia were standing in front of the door to Alexander¡¯s chamber. Anastasia took a deep breath and looked at Caspian¡¯s face. She gave a nod to her husband, signaling that she was ready to face her brother. In turn, Caspian looked at the vampire guards who were guarding the Crown Prince and asked, ¡°Announce our presence.¡±

    The guard gave a bow and immediately announced the presence of the King and the Queen.

    ¡°Oh, yes, pleasee in.¡± They heard Alexander¡¯s voice from the other side of the door and soon, Alexander himself opened the door and weed the two of them inside his chamber.

    Caspian and Anastasia walked inside the room and all three of them made themselvesfortable on the sofa that faced each other.

    ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡± Alexander asked Anastasia as soon as she sat down.

    Anastasia gave a smile and nodded. ¡°Yes, brother. I was feeling a little dizzy a while ago. But now, I feelpletely fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then,¡± Alexander sighed in relief and rested his back on the backrest of the sofa.

    After that, a deafening silence fell in the room. All three of them were waiting for each other to bring out the topic that they had been avoiding discussing during their travel.

    When no one took the initiative for quite some time, Anastasia cleared her throat and then spoke to her brother, ¡°I heard that you lost all of your guards in the battle. Are you¡­ are you okay?¡±

    .....

    Alexander pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. His pupils dted when he said in a breaking voice, ¡°They didn¡¯t deserve such gruesome death, Anna. I couldn¡¯t even look at their dead bodies properly before sending them home.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t know much about the battle, except the fact that her brother¡¯s guards were all killed. She didn¡¯t know the depth of it because Caspian and the others didn¡¯t talk about the battle when they were around her.

    She lowered her head when she saw her brother¡¯s devastated expression. And she expressed her sympathy, ¡°I am really sorry that you lost all of them. I express my deepest condolences.¡±

    Anastasia then turned to look at her husband and again asked the question that her husband had been avoiding answering, ¡°Do we have any information on who those attackers were? What did they want from us? Were they trying to rob us or something?¡±

    Alexander widened his eyes and looked at the two of them in surprise. ¡®He hasn¡¯t told her yet?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Caspian took a deep breath and kept on looking at Anastasia. He hadn¡¯t shared what he knew about the attackers because he wanted her to hear it from her brother. If he was to tell her that Everard was the one to send those men after them, he feared that Anastasia would use him of speaking ill about Everard because of his jealousy.

    So, even now, instead of answering Anastasia himself, he looked at Alexander, hoping that he would volunteer to give the answer.

    Alexander took the hint and then replied to his sister¡¯s question, ¡°I heard from one of those people that they were attacking us to avenge their King.¡±

    ¡°Avenge their King?¡± Anastasia looked very confused as to who that King was. She even thought that it was some King that Caspian had angered in the past.

    It took some real courage for Alexander to speak against Everard, who was his best friend since they were kids. However, he didn¡¯t want to keep Anastasia in the dark. He wanted her to avoid him at any cost.

    So, he gulped and then rified which King he was talking about. ¡°Yes. They came to kill us just because they felt that Everard was humiliated in front of everyone.¡±

    ¡°T-They came to kill us because Everard felt humiliated?¡± Anastasia repeated what her brother said to her. Her heartbeat began escting with rage and confusion. And she asked while looking at her brother through her teary eyes, ¡°Everard wanted us dead because his ego was hurt? Is that what you were saying?¡±

    She turned to look at her husband and grabbed his arm. She shook Caspian¡¯s arm and asked him in a shaking voice, ¡°Please tell me that¡¯s not true¡­ Why would Everard do that? He was the one who wronged me. He doesn¡¯t have the right to get angry after what he did to me in that hall full of people!¡±

    Her heart ached when Caspian also confirmed what Alexander had said. ¡°That¡¯s true. It was confirmed that they were Everard¡¯s men.¡±

    Anastasia covered her mouth with her palm and shook her head in utter disbelief. She hadn¡¯t even imagined in her dream that Everard would do such a thing. ¡°How could he do that?¡± She looked at her brother again and asked in a whisper, ¡°He didn¡¯t even spare you? He was going to kill us all because he got beaten in front of his guests? That¡­ that doesn¡¯t even make any sense!¡±

    Alexander wiped the sweat that was starting to trickle down from his temple. His face looked as if a dark cloud had made itself at home. ¡°I also don¡¯t want to believe that. The Everard we know would never do something so stupid. But¡­¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Anastasia frowned and asked in rage, ¡°But because he is a King now, he suddenly shed his skin like a snake?¡±

    Alexander clenched his jaw and gritted through his teeth, ¡°The snake would at least look like its older self even after shedding ayer of its skin. A snake would still be a snake.¡± He looked at Caspian with a questioning gaze and mumbled, ¡°But I don¡¯t think he is the same Everard we once knew.¡±

    Though Anastasia got the gist of what his brother was trying to say, she felt as though there was some more depth to his words.

    She wiped her eyes to clear her vision that had blurred due to tears and asked Alexander while knitting her brows, ¡°You know something, don¡¯t you? What is it?¡±

 Chapter 267 - 267 Warning

    267 Warning

    Everard didn¡¯t know how he was going to make Anastasia understand the real meaning behind his words. Even he didn¡¯t know what Everard really was.

    However, he still had to try to make her understand that Everard was different, in a bad way.

    Thus, he used the same method that Hamilton had used with him. He looked his sister in the eyes and asked her, ¡°Anastasia, you know how strong and fast King Caspian and the others are, right?¡±

    Anastasia nervously looked at her husband and nodded her head.

    Everard then further asked, ¡°Do you recall what you witnessed in that hall? How Everard was unhurt even after¨C¡±

    Anastasia widened her eyes andpleted her brother¡¯s sentence, ¡°Even after getting so many blows from my husband! Yes, I clearly remember everything.¡± She looked at her husband and emphasized, ¡°He didn¡¯t even have any bruises on his face when I looked at him after I regained consciousness.¡±

    When Caspian didn¡¯t look surprised, she asked him, ¡°Did you beat him that badly knowing that he would be able to endure it? Do you know something that we don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I knew that he would die from a few punches from me,¡± Caspian mumbled and kept on looking down at the floor with an unchanging expression on his face.

    ¡°I thought that he did all those things because he was possessed by some evil. But that¡¯s not it, is it?¡± Anastasia pressed her palm over her drumming chest and asked again, ¡°What do you know, Caspian? Tell us.¡±

    .....

    Alexander had already tried asking that to Hamilton. And he was told about the ancient curse. He was sure that King Caspian was aware of that curse and wouldn¡¯t risk his sister¡¯s already short life by spilling the secret.

    However, he didn¡¯t want to take even the slightest chance. Thus, before Caspian could open his mouth, he shouted in fear, ¡°Don¡¯t ask that! I learned from Lord Hamilton that vampires aren¡¯t allowed to speak about them.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Anastasia looked at her brother with a stunned expression on her face. ¡°Do you also know something that I don¡¯t know?¡± she curiously asked Alexander. It seemed like she was the only one who was out of the loop.

    Caspian let out a quiet sigh of relief when he didn¡¯t have to give someme excuse to his wife. He was d that Alexander was speaking on his behalf because if it was just him, he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be able to properly exin anything about Everard because of the hatred that he felt towards that werewolf.

    Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose because his head was now starting to hurt. And he softly mumbled, ¡°I have some clue as to the real nature of Everard. But I am not exactly sure what he is.¡±

    ¡°What he is¡­¡± Anastasia repeated her brother¡¯s words in confusion. ¡°Do you mean to say that he is not a normal human? Do you also think that he might be a vampire?¡±

    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t a vampire.¡± Alexander gulped hard as his throat had already parched. His dry throat didn¡¯t get any better though. So, he got up to get a ss of water from the tea table nearby. He chugged down the whole ss of water and turned around to look at his sister.

    He gazed into her questioning eyes and then slowly began to recount the things that he had seen in the battle.

    ¡°All of my guards were in pieces in a matter of a few seconds. The thing that came after us were definitely not humans.¡± The frown lines on his forehead deepened when he recalled the image of those gruesome creatures. ¡°They all looked as if they were spawns of Satan.¡±

    Anastasia couldn¡¯t quite imagine what her brother meant by that. ¡°What do you mean by the spawn of Satan? How did they look like?¡± she asked, although she wasn¡¯t sure if she was ready to hear what her brother had to say.

    Alexander sat back down on the sofa and then questioningly looked at Caspian before answering his sister.

    When Caspian gave a nod, he exined all the details, ¡°Their eyes were glowing yellow as if they were some wild animals. Not just their eyes, they had sharp teeth and ws that resembled wild carnivorous animals. And they were breathing and drooling as if they were rabid animals on the hunt. Also, they were fast¡­ really fast. I wouldn¡¯t have been alive if Lord Hamilton wasn¡¯t there to protect me.¡±

    Anastasia was too dumbfounded when she heard that. The way he exined them, Anastasia could only picture the vampires in her head. But at the same time, her brother was denying that they were vampires.

    She held her head with both of her hands and asked, ¡°So, what are they?¡±

    Alexander shrugged and answered, ¡°I am not sure. Whatever they are, they are really dangerous and merciless. We humans are no match for them.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that Everard is also like them?¡± Anastasia asked while grabbing her stomach. Her stomach was starting to hurt because she suddenly started getting nervous as well as scared. The yellow eyes of Everard that she saw from up close were starting to sh before her eyes and haunt her.

    Alexander took a deep breath. He also didn¡¯t want to believe all those things even when he witnessed everything with his own two eyes. He still wanted to believe that everything that he saw and heard was an borate nightmare.

    He wanted to wake up from the nightmare and forget everything ¨C everything about his brother-inw and about his best friend. However, he knew that the sooner he epted the reality, it would be better for both him and his sister.

    Thus, though he didn¡¯t want to say it, he hesitantly mumbled, ¡°Yes. I am pretty sure that Everard can also turn into that thing, whatever that is. So¡­¡± He clutched his fists and forcefully made himself speak, ¡°So, I suggest that you stay away from Everard from now on. I don¡¯t want you to share any letters with him or try to meet him or do anything to contact him.¡±

    Caspian couldn¡¯t exin how thankful he was to Alexander for warning Anastasia and making his job easier. He then added to what Alexander just said, ¡°Your brother is right. He sent out an army to do the unthinkable just because he felt humiliated. He didn¡¯t even care that you and your brother were also staying at that inn. It¡¯s better topletely cut off ties with such a person. I¡¯m not saying that just because he isn¡¯t human because neither am I. I am saying that because of the things he did to you, to us.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t say a word. She kept on staring vacantly, her mind filled with hundreds of questions about Everard and that battle that took ce.

    ¡®What did you do to yourself, Eve? Did you do something to turn yourself into a monster? Or were you just perfectly hiding that side of you until now?¡¯

 Chapter 268 - 268 No Salvation

    268 No Salvation

    ¡°I will leave you two alone now,¡± Caspian got up from his seat and announced when the room suddenly fell silent again. He looked at Anastasia and hinted to her to have a proper conversation with her brother, ¡°You two must have a few things that you would like to talk about in private.¡±

    Alexander didn¡¯t want to look rude by agreeing to Caspian. So, he wasted no time in politely denying, ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no need for any privacy between the three of us.¡± He pointed at the sofa and asked Caspian, ¡°Please take your seat. I would love for the three of us to continue our conversation.¡±

    Almost as if taking the clue, Anastasia¡¯s stomach rumbled very loudly. ¡°Umm¡­¡± She pressed her palm over her belly and apologized to the gentlemen, ¡°Please excuse me.¡±

    Caspian slightly pulled the corners of his lips and said while pointing towards the door, ¡°I will excuse myself and ask the maids to serve dinner for the two of you. The two of you may carry on your conversation over the dinner as well.¡±

    This time, Alexander didn¡¯t insist that Caspian stay over. He gave a slight bow and said, ¡°If you say so, then sure.¡±

    Caspian instantly walked out of the room so as to let the siblings talk in private.

    When the door of the room was shut close, Anastasia finally asked her brother, ¡°What are you going to do about Everard, brother? Are you going to confront him for what he did?¡±

    Alexander¡¯s face was instantly taken over by a look of disappointment. He sighed and then answered, ¡°To be honest, I have no idea. A part of me wants to head to Xanmar right away and demand an exnation for his crime. But then another part of me doesn¡¯t even want to see his face, ever. And I am torn apart in the middle. I don¡¯t know what I am supposed to do.¡±

    Anastasia got up and went to sit down by her brother¡¯s side. She looked at her brother¡¯s sad face from up close and asked him, ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t think going there is the right idea. What if he attacks you again?¡± She had fear in her eyes when she asked that to her brother.

    .....

    Alexander gave a sad smile and mumbled painfully, ¡°After what happened that day, I cannot even bring myself to say that he won¡¯t attack me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t be taking risks by going to the very ce where he can do whatever he wants.¡± Anastasia took a deep breath, and although she didn¡¯t want to say it, she said it anyway, ¡°You wanted me to cut off ties with him, right? Why don¡¯t you also do the same? I know it will be harder for you since you have been very close with him ever since the two of you were kids, but¨C¡±

    ¡°I will do that.¡± Before Anastasia could evenplete her sentence, Alexander clenched his fists and said with determination. ¡°I think our friendship ended the minute he decided to send people after us. He doesn¡¯t even think that our friendship is more important than satisfying his ego.¡±

    He turned his head away from Anastasia and quickly wiped a drop of tear that rolled down his cheek. He sniffled and then whispered in a broken voice, ¡°Our friendship is beyond salvation now.¡±

    Although Alexander thought that he was sessful in hiding his tears from his sister, Anastasia could tell from the way he was continuously sniffling. Just like how their mother used to console her when she used to cry during her childhood years, Anastasia stretched her hand and lightly patted her brother¡¯s back.

    Alexander instantly rested his elbows on his thighs and covered his face with his palm. He couldn¡¯t keep his true thoughts and feelings to himself anymore.

    Thus, he finally burst out, ¡°How could he betray us like that, Anna? Why would he want us dead over such a trivial matter? He kissed a married woman in front of the crowd, and he got beaten by her husband in front of the same crowd. That matter should have settled down right there. Why would he go as far as sending such monsters after us?¡±

    He lifted his head and tightly clutched his palms together. He grimaced as if he was in great pain, and asked the questions that were eating him up, ¡°And since when did he turn into that monster? Was he born like that? If he was, then why did he hide it from me? I was his best friend! Why did he hide such a big secret from me?¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes also glistened with tears, her mind desperately trying to search for any hint or any abnormal behavior that Everard could have disyed in the past. But she couldn¡¯t find any such clues in her memory.

    ¡°Maybe he was afraid that he would lose you?¡± Anastasia subconsciously mumbled.

    Alexander¡¯s eyes teared up again. He felt a great difort in his throat and even felt a hammering pain in his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose and softly murmured as he let his warm tears roll down his cheeks, ¡°I would have dly epted him if he had just confided in me. If you could ept a vampire as your husband, then I am sure I would have been able to ept what Everard truly was. Maybe I could have understood him better...¡±

    He slightly turned his head to look at his sister¡¯s face. His tears were continuously trickling down as he spoke in a distraught manner, ¡°You know what¡¯s funny, Anna? My stupid heart would still readily ept that fool if he was toe to me and apologize¡­ even after that fool tried to have us all killed.¡±

    Anastasia wiped her eyes and looked up at the ceiling to hold her tears. This was the first time she had seen her brother this devastated.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you send a letter to him?¡± Anastasia looked at her brother¡¯s face and said, ¡°I think you should demand an exnation from him, and get closure¡­ or do whatever feels right after reading his reply.¡±

    She then held her brother¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°But don¡¯t do anything reckless like challenging him to a fight or going to Xanmar. You are the Crown Prince and you know better. But as the previous Princess of Orsenia, I still want to say that your action will not only reflect upon you but upon the whole Kingdom. And that incident isn¡¯t just about us anymore. It¡¯s about the three Kingdoms. So, we will have to be mindful of our actions. Please keep that in mind.¡±

 Chapter 269 - 269 Content

    269 Content

    The siblings were sitting down in the dining room of the castle which was barely used. Since nobody used it anyway, the tables and chairs in that room looked simple and really old.

    Anastasia was curiously looking around that dining room because she had never been there before. She was always served food in her own bed chamber or in her antechamber. And she felt a little strange thinking how there were several such rooms in the castle which she had never entered.

    The chefs had prepared a spread of food that Anastasia usually preferred to eat for dinner like pot roast, curry,mb gravy, roasted potatoes, and several other mouthwatering dishes. They guessed that the Queen¡¯s brother would also have simr taste as her since they were from the same ce.

    And rightly so, Alexander was reminded of home when he saw all the food that he was familiar with. He softly smiled and said to his sister, ¡°It feels like we are having dinner in Orsenia. All that¡¯s missing is a bad joke from our father and theughter of our mother.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and looked at her te. ¡°Yes. I miss our family dinner too. But we rarely ate together.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± Alexander took a deep breath as he cut the beef roast, and said in a sad voice, ¡°I was barely home. I don¡¯t know why our parents didn¡¯t trust the teachers of Orsenia and sent me to another Kingdom. I surely learned a lot of things about the world, but I haven¡¯t had a chance to learn about my own Kingdom. I haven¡¯t gotten any chance to interact with our own people because of which, I am not that aware of the thought process of our people.¡±

    Anastasia understood what her brother meant to say. So, she suggested, ¡°Then you should focus on meeting the citizens after you return from Lavinya for good. It¡¯s only a matter of a few months now.¡±

    Alexander swallowed the juicy beef and said while tapping his fork on the piece of beef on his te, ¡°This is really tasty. But it is quite different than what we eat at home.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and agreed, ¡°I think the chefs here put some new ingredients. They cook most of the dishes based on Ti¡¯s exnation. So, I bet the chefs experimented a lot to prepare the dishes based on her exnation alone.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Oh!¡± Alexanderughed and said, ¡°Then I will find a cookbook with most of the recipes from our Kingdom and send it to you. It will be easier for your chefs to prepare the dish by following the cookbook rather than by trying to decode Ti¡¯s exnations.¡±

    Anastasia alsoughed along with her brother and agreed. ¡°I thank you in advance then.¡± She suddenly recalled the previous gifts that her brother had sent her and further added, ¡°And I really liked the shawl and the books that you sent in Lord Hamilton¡¯s hand. I really enjoyed the stories.¡±

    ¡°I am d to hear that,¡± Alexander looked at his sister¡¯s content face and was happy to see her face glowing like that. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a huge library here. You don¡¯t lock yourself in the library every day, right?¡±

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t.¡± Anastasia wrinkled her nose thinking Ti had mentioned every little detail to her brother. She ate some roasted potatoes and then said to her brother, ¡°But I do borrow a lot of books from the library and read them in my own chamber. Only during the day though.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Alexander gave a nod and asked, ¡°And what else do you do to engage yourself?¡±

    Anastasia shyly looked down at her te and replied, ¡°I spend time with Caspian. He likes to spend a lot of time together.¡± She smiled to herself when she further revealed how Caspian normally acted. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for his advisor who hounds him toplete his tasks in time, he would spend the whole day hovering around me.¡±

    Alexander took a peek at his sister¡¯s face. He saw a genuine smile on her face. And even though he hadn¡¯t had any romantic affairs with anyone yet, he could tell that the look on her face was the result of the genuine love that she felt towards her husband.

    He wanted to ask a lot of questions to his sister regarding her husband. However, now that he saw his sister smiling like that, it was enough to clear all the doubts in his heart.

    ¡®Both of them love each other dearly, don¡¯t they?¡¯ he thought with a content smile on his face.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, realized that she had subconsciously spoken to her brother thinking that she was speaking to Ti. ¡®Did I say too much?¡¯ she questioned herself and nced at her brother¡¯s face. When she saw him smiling ear to ear, warm blood rushed to her cheeks and her ears out of embarrassment.

    In order to divert the conversation away, Anastasia cleared her throat and quickly said, ¡°Would you like to see the library? I will show you around tomorrow. You will find it really fascinating.¡±

    Alexander nodded while still smiling widely. ¡°I would love that.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Anastasia looked down at her te again. She thought for a while and again said with some enthusiasm, ¡°And I will also show you around the castle. What about the capital? Shall we go there too? It looks livelier at night though.¡±

    Alexander suddenly ced his knife and fork on the te and then looked at Anastasia with a serious look on his face. He let out a sigh and said what he was thinking, ¡°Anna, I am sorry but I think tomorrow I will head for Orsenia.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Anastasia knitted her brows because she was under an impression that her brother was at least going to spend a week with her.

    Alexander looked sad when he gave his reason, ¡°If everything had gone smoothly, then I was nning to stay here for a while. But things have changed. I should go and personally visit the grieving families of my guards. They lost their lives protecting me. That is the least I can do. And... I should also talk with our father before things escte.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Anastasia softly whispered. Although she would have loved it if her brother stayed with her for a few more days, she agreed with her brother. If their father started to assume things on his own and take action against Xanmar, then the peaceful rtionship between the two Kingdoms woulde to an end.

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°I will ask Caspian to prepare a carriage and a few guards for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Alexander smiled and gently caressed his sister¡¯s hair. He was sad for having to leave his sister sooner than he wanted to, but it was the price of being the Crown Prince. Duty toward the Kingdom came before everything else.

 Chapter 270 - 270 Revisiting the Past

    270 Revisiting the Past

    Alexander was already preparing to go to bed when he heard the guards at his door announcing from outside, ¡°Your Highness, His Majesty is here to see you.¡±

    Alexander didn¡¯t waste any time getting to the door. He opened the door and weed his brother-inw with a warm smile on his face.

    Caspian also returned the smile and said while walking inside the room, ¡°Anna told me that you wished to head for Orsenia tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Alexander sat down on the sofa after Caspian made himselffortable. He looked at the King and said what he had said to his sister, ¡°I have a lot of things to sort out with my father. I didn¡¯t get to properly exin everything in the letter that I sent to him in haste, in the hands of the coachman. If I don¡¯t see my father soon, he will be worried about me.¡±

    Caspian nodded his head in agreement. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that unfortunate event, then I would have insisted that you stayed here for some time. But I know what¡¯s important at the moment. So, I will have the carriage ready for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I will be in your debt, Your Majesty,¡± Alexander said with a polite bow.

    Caspian also further extended his help. ¡°Anastasia was asking me if I could send a few guards to apany you till the capital of Orsenia. However, I feel a little uneasy knowing that you were also one of the targets of those creatures. So, if you don¡¯t mind then how about I ask a few of my well-trained men to apany you during your stay in Lavinya as well?¡±

    Alexander was surprised that Caspian was willing to lend some of his men to guard him not just for a few days but for months. But he didn¡¯t want to burden Caspian with his safety. Thus, he politely declined, ¡°I am grateful for your offer, but I think I will be fine if they would just apany me to my home. I will hire new guards before leaving for Lavinya.¡±

    Caspian wasn¡¯t backing down from his offer though. He was genuinely worried about Alexander¡¯s safety. ¡°You saw how strong and fast those people from Xanmar were. If they nned another assassination, then I am afraid that your guards won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Regarding that¡­¡± Alexander heaved a sigh and then spoke in a low and sad voice, ¡°I have some doubts that Everard was the one behind that attack. No matter how many times I think about it, I still can¡¯t bring myself to believe that he would stoop as low as ordering an attack over a matter that was already settled.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s face suddenly turned hard and cold as though the colors from his face evaporated away in an instant.

    Alexander felt a chill in his heart and sudden difort in his chest when he saw how the expression on Caspian¡¯s face changed. He wondered if had angered the King by being too honest about his thoughts.

    However, Caspian clenched his jaw and agreed with him. ¡°Even I have some doubts regarding the main person behind that attack. If we look at it from the surface, it looks like Everard sent those people in a whim of his drunken state. But he just became the King. I think it is easier for others to pretend to be him or give orders on his behalf.¡±

    ¡°So, you also believe that he might not be the real culprit?¡± Alexander¡¯s face lit up slightly in the hope that what Caspian said was true.

    Caspian gave a nod and though he didn¡¯t want to shield Everard, he didn¡¯t want to unintentionally manipte the Crown Prince and give him that gentle nudge that could potentially lead the Kingdoms into a great war.

    If Orsenia and Xanmar were to engage in a war, Caspian was sure that Orsenia would expect assistance from Sorvando at some point. He wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it since he was also a victim of the attack. And also because he is the husband of the ex-Princess of Orsenia, there was no escaping the war.

    Thus, he truthfully replied to Alexander, ¡°The reason why I made him the main culprit earlier was because I didn¡¯t want Anastasia to be in contact with him anymore. He had done things that could potentially endanger her safety some time ago. So, I had to viinize¨C¡±

    ¡°He had done things to endanger Anna?¡± Alexander suddenly interrupted Caspian and asked as he disyed a deep frown line between his brows.

    ¡°What exactly did he do?¡± he asked curiously. After all, he was aware of how devastated Everard was after learning about Anastasia¡¯s betrothal. And he hadn¡¯t returned to Lavinya for weeks. It was very much possible that he caused some scene in front of Caspian and Anastasia that he wasn¡¯t yet aware of.

    Caspian¡¯s answer was, however, far more shocking than what Alexander had expected.

    ¡°There were several incidents happening in the nearby woods and the towns. We found that something was damaging a lot of trees and was killing animals and pets. I found outter after a thorough investigation that he had secretly crossed the boundary of Sorvando.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Alexander inhaled through his mouth and looked at Caspian with a dumbfounded look on his face.

    Caspian¡¯s face hardened with anger again. His eyes sharpened with hatred when he exined further without hiding most of the details, ¡°If it was just animals and trees, we wouldn¡¯t have been that rmed. Butter on, we discovered a female victim who got bitten by him. A lot of humans from a nearby town lost their lives because of that one main incident.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Alexander covered his face with his palms and shook his head in disbelief. ¡°No, no¡­ No! He couldn¡¯t have done that¡­¡±

    ¡°But he did.¡± Caspian narrowed his eyes and further added, ¡°And I learned from Anastasia that he had pursued her before she was betrothed to me. Since that incident happened a few days after she arrived here, I am pretty sure that he wasn¡¯t here at random.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Alexander eximed and confirmed Caspian¡¯s theory, ¡°Everard had indeed disappeared for a few weeks after Anastasia was sent here. And yes, before disappearing, he was really mad that Anastasia was betrothed.¡±

    ¡°I thought so... But thankfully, he didn¡¯t get close to the castle when he was here. I don¡¯t know what he would have done to Anna if he had found her and if I had let my guard down thinking that he was a harmless friend of hers.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he did all those things here¡­¡± Alexander mumbled in utter disbelief.

    The more Caspian revealed the things that he didn¡¯t know about Everard, Alexander felt as if his heart would explode from shock.

 Chapter 271 - 271 Revealing the Information

    271 Revealing the Information

    Caspian kept on sharing more details with Alexander so that he could judge his friend on his own after all the information about his bad deeds was also at his disposal.

    ¡°And the female victim that I am talking about was called Ruby.¡±

    Alexander widened his eyes when he heard that very familiar name.

    Caspian gave an understanding gaze and further rified, ¡°Yes, I am talking about the same Ruby who you met in Lavinya. I learned it from Hamilton that she was there in search of Everard.¡±

    ¡°If she is the victim, why would she go looking for him?¡± Alexander was now very close to losing consciousness because of information overload. His brain was unable to properlyprehend the overwhelming things that Caspian kept on revealing about his friend.

    Caspian leaned back on his sofa and pushed his golden hair away from his face. He looked Alexander in the eyes and openly answered, ¡°This is the main reason why I don¡¯t want Everard anywhere near Anastasia. Yes, she was his victim. He had brutally bitten and mauled her, people had assumed that she was dead. But next thing we know, she had also turned into the same creature that he is.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Alexander was now sweating a lot. The cor of his shirt and his back was almost drenched in the cold sweat, and so was his hair. He wiped his forehead and asked in a stuttering voice, ¡°Wh-What do you mean by she also turned into the same creature?¡±

    Caspian clenched his fists when he recalled how Ruby had bitten his guards and caused panic among the vampires. And he replied while grinding his teeth, ¡°She also turned into that thing and bit two of my guards. They would have lost their lives if it wasn¡¯t for the cure that all of our soldiers searched for persistently. Their bites are extremely dangerous to both vampires and humans.¡±

    Alexander gulped and gently massaged his throat. He suddenly felt a little lightheaded when he recalled the gruesome scene of the mangled bodies of his guards.

    .....

    Caspian, on the other hand, kept on giving out all the details. ¡°And you might have noticed with your own eyes how Ruby is still defensive of Everard. I had locked her here to get the information from her. But she never revealed the identity of Everard; it was us who found that out on our own, muchter.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes, angry about the things that Ruby had done in the past. And he muttered, ¡°It almost looked as though she was very loyal to him. She was ready to die rather than reveal who was the culprit behind all those incidents happening in the town. Later, she escaped from here and the next thing I know, she was already with Everard. From what I heard, she had gotten really close with him in a matter of a few days.¡±

    Alexander nodded his head and softly mumbled, ¡°Yes, to me, it almost felt as if she worshipped Everard. And Everard also happily kept her around¡­¡± He furrowed his brows and asked while looking at Caspian¡¯s face, ¡°What was she doing, really? Was she there to take revenge on Everard? It does look that way to me now.¡±

    Caspian noisily breathed out and debunked Alexander¡¯s theory, ¡°I doubt that she was there for revenge. From what I know, those creatures are very loyal to each other. Maybe she felt connected to him or something. But I can guarantee that she wasn¡¯t there for revenge. Whatever she showed, it was her true emotions.¡±

    Alexander didn¡¯t even want to ask anything anymore. He felt as though he never really knew Everard at all. All he knew was the side of him that he was willing to show to him.

    ¡®So, he was willing to confide in that girl he had never met before, rather than in me¡­¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Caspian, on the other hand, finally came to the main point that he wanted to convey to Alexander. He looked at Alexander¡¯s gloomy face and voiced his concern regarding Anastasia, ¡°If he has the ability to takeplete control over other people¡¯s lives like that, you know, practically turn them into a new creature and make thempletely loyal to him then I fear that he would do the same thing to Anastasia if he got the chance.¡±

    Alexander felt a loud hammering in his chest when it finally dawned upon him that it was a possibility. ¡®Yes! If he could do that to Ruby, he could very well do that to Anastasia as well!¡¯ he screamed in his mind as he recalled how he was desperate to meet Anastasia. ¡®Was he nning to turn my sister into that monster?¡¯ his throat parched just by the thought of it.

    Caspian read Alexander¡¯s face and asked, ¡°You also think that he would do that if he got the chance, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alexander heaved a deep sigh and didn¡¯t utter a word. He was too stunned to even move his lips and form some words.

    Caspian also sighed and then said, ¡°That was the reason why I made him the culprit behind that recent attack on us. I don¡¯t know if he was the real person behind that attack or not, but honestly speaking, I don¡¯t want him anywhere near my wife. I treasure her dearly, and I don¡¯t want him toe in between us, which I know he will if he is given the chance.¡±

    He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles looked white. And he grumbled in rage, ¡°After how he forcefully tried to have his way with her right in front of my eyes, I hope you won¡¯t me me for trying to keep my wife away from his reach.¡±

    Alexander gave a nod and guiltily replied, ¡°I am more ashamed that I didn¡¯t beat the life out of him when he openly pursued my sister in the past.¡± He pinched the bridge of his nose and added, ¡°Please protect my sister. Our parents entrusted her to you. You have every right to keep her away from harm¡¯s way.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for understanding.¡± Caspian let out a sigh of relief and asked, ¡°But I haven¡¯t told all these things to her. I didn¡¯t want to ruin her friend¡¯s image in her eyes. So, I hope you keep these things to yourself. I am only telling you all this because I thought you deserved to know the whole truth about your friend.¡±

    Alexander tried to force a smile on his face but failed.

    Caspian then warned Alexander, ¡°Now that you know how dangerous the people of Xanmar are, I hope that you also understand why you will have to avoid war at all costs. It will be a one-sided battle if they have a lot of those creatures.¡±

    ¡°And regarding that attack¡­¡± Caspian cleared his throat and spoke in a somewhat calmer tone, ¡°I will carry out an investigation from my side and share the findings with you. If you find something, please make sure to share the information with me as well. You can directly write to me. And we shall further discuss the course of actions that we need to take based upon our findings.¡±

    Alexander nodded his head and agreed with Caspian. ¡°I will write to you the moment I get closer to the truth. And I thank you for warning me. Else, I would have let my past attachment cloud my judgment easily.¡±

 Chapter 272 - 272 Subtle Suspicion

    272 Subtle Suspicion

    The King and the Crown Prince discussed a lot of things rted to the Kingdom, the potential war, and methods to avoid the war.

    They weren¡¯t ready to be involved in a war that would cost a lot of lives and resources. And they were definitely not ready to practically cause mass hysteria.

    The hundreds of years old secrets would undoubtedly start to unveil among the public once they were to witness the unusual creatures running around on the battlefield at an iprehensible speed, massacring everyone left and right.

    The only things that woulde out of the revtion of the secrets would be panic and chaos among the oblivious humans. And of course, great economic setbacks for the Kingdoms involved.

    After concluding their political talks, Caspian got up from the sofa in order to leave the Crown Prince to rest. ¡°I think I will leave you be, Prince Alexander. Please try and get some rest.¡±

    ¡°I will try,¡± Alexander gave a mirthless smile to the Crown Prince and gave a subtle bow.

    Caspian then made sure that both of them were on the same page about the Crown Prince¡¯s departure time tomorrow. ¡°I hope that you will start your journey after having your breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Alexander gave a nod and also added, ¡°Anna was saying that she wanted to give me a tour of the castle. Maybe I will do that too before having breakfast. And I will head home.¡±

    ¡°And what did you think about keeping my men as your guards while your stay in Lavinya?¡± Caspian had a few worry lines on his face when he asked that.

    .....

    Alexander was still not sure about using another King¡¯s people to shield himself. And although he trusted Caspian and Hamilton, he wasn¡¯t quite sure if the other vampires would have the same level of control over their thirst for blood.

    He didn¡¯t want to identally unleash another kind of monster in the sea of humans while trying to protect himself from one.

    When Caspian saw that Alexander was still hesitant about epting his guards, he tried to make the Crown Prince see through his lenses.

    ¡°Even if Everard wasn¡¯t the one to organize that attack, there are others who were behind that. And they obviously have those creatures under theirmand. So, in my opinion, I think it is wise to let my men guard you. Even if a horde of them were toe and attack you, my men will at least be able to take you to safety.¡±

    Alexander couldn¡¯t deny that Caspian was wrong about that. But he expressed his concern first, ¡°I would dly ept them. But¡­ isn¡¯t their main diet supposed to be human blood? What if they¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian understood what was actually bothering Alexander. So, he reassured the Crown Prince, ¡°Yes, their main diet includes blood. However, they are well-trained to suppress their instinct to hunt. And they are capable of finding the willing blood servants themselves.¡±

    He further emphasized, ¡°Trust me, their diet will be the least of your problem.¡±

    Since Caspian said that much to him, Alexander agreed to take Caspian¡¯s men to Lavinya. ¡°I will dly ept your benevolence then, King Caspian.¡±

    A glimmer of relief appeared on Caspian¡¯s face when Alexander epted it. He firmly patted Alexander¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I will arrange things ordingly then.¡±

    Caspian then nced at the door with the intention of leaving Alexander to rest for the night. However, before he bid goodnight to the Crown Prince, he suddenly recalled something important that he had yet to discuss.

    ¡°Oh, and¡­¡± He looked at Alexander with a questioning nce and then asked, ¡°I also wanted to ask something to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sure,¡± Alexander looked curious to know what it was.

    Caspian took a few seconds to prepare himself before saying, ¡°I actually wanted to talk to you about Anastasia¡¯s health.¡±

    Alexander suddenly widened his eyes as he was caught by surprise when Caspian mentioned her health.

    Caspian also instantly caught how rmed Alexander looked. Now, he was sure that there was something that Alexander was hiding.

    And thus he asked, ¡°Is there something that I should know? I am just asking because she seems to be weaker than other humans her age. She gets sick a little too often. And I can¡¯t help but get worried about her.¡±

    By now, Alexander had calmed his nerves. He put on a fa?ade and replied confidently, ¡°Ah, yes. She catches cold and fever very easily than the others.¡±

    He didn¡¯t see Caspian¡¯s questioning gaze fading away. So, he further exined, ¡°I guess that¡¯s because she was overly protected by our parents since she is the pampered youngest child. And she wasn¡¯t allowed to do normal activities like walking in the rain or ying outside in nature. I think that somewhat affected her immunity.¡±

    ¡°So, there¡¯s nothing that I need to worry about?¡± Caspian raised his brows, still not quite satisfied with Alexander¡¯s answer.

    Alexander gave a nervous smile and nodded. ¡°She should be fine if she maintains her previous lifestyle and doesn¡¯t do anything physically straining.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian¡¯s sharp ears caught Alexander¡¯s heart skipping a beat when he spoke thest sentence, almost as if he had just lied. He didn¡¯t use the Crown Prince of lying though. He simply heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I will keep that in mind then.¡± He patted Alexander on the shoulder, a bit strongly, and thanked him.

    After that, he finally bid the Crown Prince goodnight. ¡°I hope you will sleep well. I will take my leave now.¡±

    ¡°I hope you have a good night,¡± Alexander gave a polite smile and then apanied the King to the door.

    Caspian walked out of the room. However, rather than heading towards the Queen¡¯s room to get some sleep, he decided to visit Zenon first. Since Hamilton and Vincent were staying over, Zenon had also stayed back to give thempany.

    Caspian found all three gentlemen in the guest room that was assigned to Hamilton.

    He knocked on the door and walked in. The three of them were holding a ss each and Vincent was sharing his side of the story about the battle.

    ¡°Hey, cousin. Come join us!¡± Hamilton asked in a cheerful voice when he saw Caspian standing behind Zenon.

    ¡°In a while. I have some important things that I need to look into for now,¡± Caspian replied in a haste. He then gazed at Zenon and asked, ¡°Zenon, why don¡¯t you meet me in my study room?¡±

 Chapter 273 - 273 Secret Investigation

    273 Secret Investigation

    Hamilton frowned when Caspian called Zenon to his office. ¡°What? It¡¯s past midnight! Let the man take some rest, you workaholic King.¡±

    Caspian knew that he was killing the mood of the room. However, he didn¡¯t want to waste a whole night after what they all went through.

    So, he said in an apologetic tone, ¡°I know it is past midnight. But I still have a lot of things to sort out. I can¡¯t exactly go and sleep when there are so many things to take care of.¡±

    Zenon looked at Hamilton and said with an unbothered smile on his face, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright, Lord Hamilton. I stayed here thinking that the King might need me to do something. It¡¯s my duty to assist him whenever he needs me. So, I am okay.¡±

    Hamilton shrugged and mumbled, ¡°Well, if you say so¡­¡±

    Zenon chugged down the whole ss of blood and quickly got up on his feet. He looked at Hamilton and Vincent, and then asked, ¡°I think you two might have to continue without me. I will listen to the two of you some other time.¡±

    After getting an agreement from the both of them, Zenon turned to look at the King and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s head to your study room, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian and Zenon then disappeared from the room in an instant.

    Upon entering the study, Caspian went to sit down on his chair while Zenon closed the door and sat down in front of the King. And he formally asked, ¡°I already got the major information about the recent attack. What is your order, Your Majesty?¡±

    .....

    Zenon sounded as though he was ready to send a whole army of soldiers to Xanmar right away if the King gave that order to him.

    Caspian was surprised to see that rage lingering on the usually calm face of his advisor. He cleared his throat and then tried to ease Zenon first. ¡°Yes, about that, I think we should investigate who was behind that attack first. I doubt that it was Everard. Even if it was indeed him who gave out the order, I doubt that it was him who came up with the idea.¡±

    ¡°We have to try and solve that issue without much bloodshed.¡± He furrowed his brows and looked Zenon in the eyes. And he emphasized, ¡°I want no war, Zenon. I want that matter settled as quietly as possible.¡±

    Zenon took a deep breath after listening to the King. The rage on his face slowly washed away. And he finally responded, ¡°I will send some men to reach to the depth of that matter. And I will keep what you said in mind. No war.¡±

    Before Zenon stormed out of the room to n and give out orders to the others, Caspian gave another task to his trustworthy advisor.

    ¡°Zenon, I might just be a little paranoid. But¡­¡± Caspian sped his palms together and then sighed. He wasn¡¯t sure if what he was going to ask was right or wrong. Thus, he had a difficult time trying to form a sentence.

    ¡°What is it, Your Majesty?¡± Zenon could tell that something was bothering the King a lot. And he was almost sure that it had something to do with the Queen. ¡°Is there something that you would like to share with me?¡± he asked since the King confided in him every now and then.

    Caspian looked at Zenon and heaved a deep sigh. After internally struggling for a while, Caspian finally spilled what was in his head, ¡°I think that there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t know about my wife.¡±

    Zenon shifted at the edge of his chair and attentively listened to what the King had to say.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I might just be overthinking. But¡­ I think that Alexander was trying to hide something from me¡­ about the Queen¡¯s health.¡±

    ¡°The Queen¡¯s health?¡± Zenon repeated.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Caspian gave a nod and then exined, ¡°You know how the Queen keeps on getting ill. She had a high fever while we were staying at that inn. And Alexander had called a doctor to check her. However, when he was trying to say something more¡­ other than the reason behind her high fever¡­ Alexander interrupted that doctor. And without letting him speak another word, he personally led that doctor away.¡±

    ¡°It almost looked as though Alexander was deliberately trying to hide something from me.¡± Caspian ran his fingers through his blond hair with an uneasy expression on his face. He looked at Zenon and asked, ¡°Tell me, Zenon. Am I thinking a bit too much, or is my suspicion valid?¡±

    Zenon thought for a while and calmly replied, ¡°From the way the Crown Prince led the doctor away, I would say that he doesn¡¯t want you to discover something about the Queen¡¯s health.¡± He sighed and asked the King, ¡°Should I look into that matter too?¡±

    Caspian instantly hesitated. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on his palm. And he mumbled in a confused manner, ¡°I don¡¯t know, Zenon. If there was something to worry about, then I don¡¯t think Alexander or Anna would have hidden it from me.¡±

    ¡°Well, it might be something minor that doesn¡¯t need your attention,¡± Zenon said to try andfort the King. ¡°But if you want to uncover the truth, then I can carry out an investigation in secret.¡± He said that thinking that the King wouldn¡¯t obviously want his wife to know that he was investigating her behind her back.

    Caspian thought about that matter for a while. He didn¡¯t want to bear the guilt of suspecting his own wife and brother-inw if he didn¡¯t find anything serious.

    However, at the same time, the thought that there was indeed something that they were hiding from him was eating him up from the inside. The curiosity in his heart had exceeded the limit for it to be left alone.

    In the end, he looked at Zenon and ordered him to carry out a secret investigation. ¡°I don¡¯t want Anna or Alexander to know that I am digging up information about her. Carry out the investigation in extreme secrecy.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡± Zenon got up from his seat and bowed to the King. He then instantly rushed out of the room to carry out the King¡¯s order.

 Chapter 274 - 274 Overthinking

    274 Overthinking

    Even after Zenon left his study room, Caspian kept on sitting there with his back leaning against the backrest of his chair and his vacant gaze falling at the empty chair in front of him.

    Although he was feeling tired and wanted to sleep while embracing his wife¡¯s warm body, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to go to her chambers. The fact that he asked Zenon to carry out an investigation on her was making him feel uneasy to the core.

    ¡®How will she react if sheter finds out that I am digging up information about her?¡¯ he clutched his fists together and wondered. ¡®She will surely be unhappy if she finds that out. And she might even get angry at me for suspecting that her brother was hiding something.¡¯

    He could already imagine Anastasia¡¯s angry face and her using re.

    Caspian knitted his brows together and then convinced himself otherwise. ¡®But what if it¡¯s something serious? Wouldn¡¯t Anna be happy to know the truth about her own health?¡¯

    His face turned gloomy again. And he argued with himself. ¡®But what if Alexander is hiding something because it¡¯s not something that¡¯s too serious and he didn¡¯t want Anastasia or me to get too worried.¡¯

    Caspian closed his tired eyes and thought back to each and every little detail that the doctor from Xanmar had told them.

    He repeated some of that doctor¡¯s sentences that were stuck in his head, ¡°Her body looks really weak for some reason. Does she get sick too often?¡±

    He opened his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. ¡°He somehow knew that she gets sick very often. And he was trying to say why he thought so. It was clearly happening not just due to the fatigue but because of something else.¡±

    .....

    ¡°There must be some serious reason behind her illness. That doctor looked very concerned when he was checking her neck and her back,¡± Caspian concluded on his own.

    ¡°But if there¡¯s something serious, and if Alexander knows about it, shouldn¡¯t he have told me what it was? Why was he trying to conceal it so badly? And what about Anna? Is she or is she not aware that he is hiding something?¡±

    Caspian shook his head and scoffed at his own thought. ¡°Of course, she is not! Else she would have already told me all about it. She doesn¡¯t have to hide anything from me.¡±

    While Caspian was busy thinking about Anastasia and her health, Anastasia on the other hand was still waiting for Caspian toe to the room.

    Although it was way past her bedtime, she was still lying down on the bed with her eyes wide open in that dark room.

    While waiting for her husband to arrive, all sorts of things wereing to her mind. And the thing that was upying her mind the most was Everard.

    The facts that she learned about Everard from her brother came as a shock to her. Though she had maintained herposure in front of her brother and her husband, now that she was alone and she had the whole night at her disposal, she couldn¡¯t help but overthink everything.

    ¡®Since when did he be that monster? Was he born that way? Or was he forcefully turned into one? Is it even possible to turn a human into a monster?¡¯

    Anastasia racked her brain for a while and thought to herself, ¡®I don¡¯t think people can be turned into something so terrifying.¡¯

    ¡®Whatever the origin, the only thing that matters is that Everard is also one of them. And now he is the King. Will he even be able to rule over the humans when he himself isn¡¯t one?¡¯

    Anastasia was more worried about the fate of the people of Xanmar and also about the fate of the people of the neighboring Kingdoms of Xanmar.

    ¡®What if that attack on us was indeed instigated by Everard? That would only prove that his humanity has already left him. I dread the future if that¡¯s true. He cannot be trusted to maintain the peace among the Kingdoms.¡¯

    Her mind suddenly traveled back to the time when Everard had kissed her. The glowing yellow eyes kept on haunting her every minute. She tightly shut her eyes and shook her head as if to shake that image off of her head.

    She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. And she couldn¡¯t help but be scared. ¡®What if he is still harboring feelings towards me? Else why would he do that? And what if he tried to take Caspian down for marrying me?¡¯

    She pped herself on her forehead and tried to deny it. ¡®No, why would he still have feelings towards me? He might have done that because he was too drunk to distinguish between right and wrong.¡¯

    She darted her eyes around the dark room and ran countless possibilities in her head. ¡®But what if he acted upon his inner desire because he was too drunk to care about his status? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that he hasn¡¯t yet given up on me?¡¯

    ¡®And if it is true that he is that dangerous, wouldn¡¯t that put Caspian in danger too? What if he attacks Sorvando just because of me? And what if he attacks Orsenia too just to get back at my parents? Now that he is the King, he has the authority to act however he wants.¡¯

    The more she went down the rabbit hole, the more she was afraid that people who were dear to her were going to get hurt because of her existence alone.

    She couldn¡¯t stop overthinking and fearing for everyone¡¯s safety.

    The very friend who was once very dear to her was now slowly turning into the very person who haunted her.

    Anastasia closed her eyes and prayed to God from the depth of her heart, ¡®Dear lord! I haven¡¯t talked to you in a long while. Yes, I was angry at you for making my life a living hell. But right now, it looks like my life is about to take an even worse turn. Not just my life, but everyone who I hold dear in my heart.¡¯

    She was so scared that even her inner voice was trembling. She took a deep breath and joined her palms over her chest.

    And she continued her prayer, ¡®If you have some pity left in you, please make sure that you protect everyone who is close to my heart. Please don¡¯t extend my bad luck to all the others around me. I want to be the only one to bear the burden of that bad luck. Please, God. Listen to this poor child at least once.¡¯

 Chapter 275 - 275 A Promise

    275 A Promise

    Anastasia slowly opened her eyes when the morning light that entered the room through the small gap between two curtains fell right on her face.

    Her eyes fell on Caspian¡¯s sleeping face. ¡®When did hee here?¡¯ she wondered. Since she couldn¡¯t remember Caspian getting on the bed, she thought that he must havee to the room when she was in her deep sleep.

    She slowly lifted her hand with the intention to touch her husband¡¯s beautiful face. But she stopped herself when the tips of her fingers were hovering over Caspian¡¯s sharp jawline.

    ¡®He must be really tired. I should let him get enough sleep,¡¯ she thought to herself and carefully pulled her hand away from Caspian¡¯s face.

    However, she was startled when Caspian suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand towards him. He softly kissed her palm and then ced it on his cheek.

    Then he mumbled in his deep morning voice, ¡°Mmm¡­ Your hand is so warm that it can melt my heart just from a single touch.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and wriggled to shift closer to her husband. Her head fit perfectly in the curve between Caspian¡¯s chin and his chest.

    ¡°Were you already awake?¡± she asked in her soft voice.

    Caspian wrapped his leg over Anastasia¡¯s thigh and shifted even closer to get more of his wife¡¯s warmth. He put his arm around her waist and then whispered, ¡°I wasn¡¯t until I felt someone gawking at me and trying to touch my face.¡±

    .....

    Anastasia giggled and asked, ¡°No, you were closing your eyes. How could you tell that I was gawking at you?¡±

    ¡°So you were gawking!¡± Caspian said as if he had caught Anastasia red-handed.

    Anastasia looked up to see Caspian¡¯s face and then pinched his cheek. ¡°And you were lying to me!¡±

    ¡°Well, what I said wasn¡¯t a lie. You were indeed looking at your husband¡¯s unbearably handsome face.¡± He looked down at his wife to find her staring at him. He smirked and added, ¡°And she is still staring.¡±

    Anastasia smiled and buried her face into Caspian¡¯s neck again.

    Caspian, on the other hand, proudly smiled and further teased his wife, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to look away. I can understand your need to keep on staring at me since I am that endearing.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡­ You are,¡± Anastasia said in a muffled voice.

    Caspian¡¯s teasing and proud smile suddenly turned into a genuine one, the one that was filled with affection towards his wife. He slowly caressed his wife¡¯s back with his hand and then nted a soft and long kiss on her head.

    He rested his chin on her head and then thought to himself, ¡®Whatever Alexander is hiding from me, I have to find it. I¡¯m sure I am just overthinking it. But no matter what I will uncoverter, I shouldn¡¯t me Alexander. I am sure he was simply trying not to make both of us too worried.¡¯

    Caspian tightened his hold on his lovely wife and then promised her in his heart, ¡®And no matter how fragile you are, I will make sure to take good care of you.¡¯

    While Caspian was making promises in his heart, Anastasia was oblivious about it. She was simply happy to be in her husband¡¯s arms. His tight hug had sessfully made her forget about all the problems and all the results of her over-imagination that were cluttering her mind.

    After cuddling for quite a few minutes, Caspian tapped his wife¡¯s back and then asked, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. Your brother was saying that he wanted to take a tour of the castle before having breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Anastasia suddenly pulled away from Caspian¡¯s hold and then said while looking at him, ¡°Yes, I had to give him a tour before he left for Orsenia. We both should get ready.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Caspian finally let go of his wife and sat up on the bed. He pulled Anastasia up as well and then said, ¡°I will also join the two of you on the tour. And you two can enjoy the breakfast while I have his carriages and guards prepared.¡±

    Anastasia quickly slid out of the bed and then went to grab a warmer robe that Ti had prepared for her yesterday.

    Caspian, on the other hand, headed outside so that he could send Ti inside to get the Queen ready for the day.

    He found Ti waiting in the corridor and asked, ¡°Oh, you were already here! Why didn¡¯t youe to wake us up?¡±

    Ti bowed to the King and replied, ¡°I thought that both of you must have been really tired from the journey. But I was only going to wait for a few more minutes.¡±

    Caspian liked how Ti was getting more and more considerate. He gave a nod and then asked her, ¡°Anna is waiting for you. Make sure that she also eats something light yet energizing. Although we can¡¯t see any symptoms on the outside, she might not have fully recovered yet. So, take care of her diet.¡±

    Ti gave a subtle bow and agreed to the King¡¯s reasonable request. ¡°I will make sure to take proper care of her.¡± Before Caspian disappeared from there like a passing gust of wind, she further added, not as a maid but as a friend of Anastasia, ¡°And thank you for worrying so much about her.¡±

    Caspian smiled and replied, ¡°I am her husband. If I don¡¯t worry about her then I don¡¯t know who will.¡±

    Ti entered the chamber with a wide smile on her face. She went inside to find Anastasia staring at herself in the mirror. She gave a bow and then greeted the Queen, ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Ti,¡± Anastasia smiled at Ti¡¯s reflection in the mirror and then turned around to directly look at her.

    Ti was still smiling, so she asked, ¡°You look happy.¡± She thought that the reason behind Ti¡¯s smile had something to do with what was in her heart. So, she teasingly asked, ¡°May I know the reason behind that smile?¡±

    Unlike what she had expected to hear, Ti smiled further and replied, ¡°I am just happy to see how much the King worries about you. Never had I expected a man like him to be so soft at heart.¡±

    ¡°Soft at heart...¡± Anastasia also smiled ear to ear and nodded in agreement, ¡°That he is.¡±

 Chapter 276 - 276 Tour of the Castle - I

    276 Tour of the Castle ¨C I

    ¡°Brother! Good morning!¡± Anastasia happily greeted Alexander when he opened the door of the guest room where he was staying at.

    Alexander smiled at his sister and then turned his gaze at Caspian who was standing beside Anastasia. He bowed his head to both the King and the Queen. And he greeted both of them, ¡°Good morning, Your Majesties.¡±

    After exchanging some pleasantries, Anastasia looked at her brother and then gestured her hand toward the corridor. And she asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we start by visiting the throne hall?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Alexander agreed, and then stepped out of the room.

    The three of them walked down the corridor while being followed by a few servants and the maids.

    As they were slowly heading towards the throne hall, Caspian mentioned a short history to Alexander. ¡°So far, three Kings have sat on the throne that I am going to show you. My father, my brother, and me. But I have made a few changes in the throne ording to myfort.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear.¡± Alexander looked at the locked door at the far end of the corridor and then asked the current King, ¡°Do you feel some sort of connection with the previous Kings when you sit down on the throne?¡±

    Anastasia widened her eyes a little, knowing that talking about Percival upsets her husband. She quickly took a peek at her husband¡¯s face, only to see his subtle smile. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked ahead at the corridor.

    Caspian, on the other hand, answered Alexander, ¡°Yes. Sometimes I do feel like I am being watched over by them from the shadows. I like to believe that they are aware of every decision that I make while sitting down on that throne. And that belief somewhat keeps me away from making any bad decision that can adversely affect my people.¡±

    .....

    Alexander was impressed to see how respectful Caspian was to the memories of his deceased father and brother.

    When the three of them reached in front of the backdoor of the throne hall, the guards pushed the door open. And they bowed their heads when the Royals passed by.

    The three of them stood by the huge throne and looked down at therge empty space ahead of them.

    Alexander was darting his eyes around the hall with great interest. The throne hall of this castle looked much different than the one in Orsenia. He saw how definite numbers of seats were ced on either side of the hall instead of an empty open space.

    The pirs of the hall were huge, and the ceiling was high. He noticed how there were weird-looking creatures carved at the top of the pirs and the corners of the ceiling. ¡®Those are some nice wood carvings,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Alexander then finally looked at the throne, which looked really old. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen something like this before,¡± he mumbled as he ran his fingertips along the armrest of the throne.

    Caspian also looked at the throne and said, ¡°It¡¯s a very old style of the throne. Maybe that¡¯s why.¡±

    After looking around at the hall for some time, Caspian then led both his wife and his brother-inw towards his study room which was close to the throne hall.

    ¡°And this is where I normally work on the stately affairs,¡± Caspian said as he stood very close to the door. He looked around the room and said, ¡°There¡¯s not much to see here though. Just some books and files that I have been working on.¡±

    Since Caspian was standing near the door, Anastasia and Alexander were also standing very close to him.

    Alexander darted his eyes around the room and said, ¡°You have a nice ce to work in.¡±

    From there, the three of them roamed around several rooms of the central wing of the castle. Caspian obviously didn¡¯t mention the dungeon that was behind the old door of the ground floor.

    When they were about to finish the tour of the central wing, Anastasia nced at a servant and then signaled something to him.

    That servant rushed ahead to open the door to the library and a few of the maids also rushed after him to light up the library.

    After the Royals reached the courtyard of the central wing, Anastasia took the lead again. She led them all out of the central wing and after walking for a while, she pointed towards the small independent room that came into view.

    ¡°And that is one of my favorite ces in this castle,¡± she said with a wide smile on her face.

    Alexander assumed that it was the library since Anastasia looked really excited, and was even hopping a little as she walked toward that small room.

    ¡®But it is really smaller than I had imagined,¡¯ Alexander thought to himself. He was also a little saddened, thinking how even that small room full of books would be more than enough for his sister tost her lifetime if she wasn¡¯t cured soon.

    Anastasia entered the library and then turned to look at Alexander and Caspian. She then waved at the two of them like an excited little child who was ready to show their new toy and shouted, ¡°Come here, quick!¡±

    Alexander suddenly smiled looking at that childish side of his sister. He then mumbled to Caspian, ¡°Please excuse her child-like excitement. She really loves the books.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mind seeing her like that.¡± Caspian also smiled as he looked at that bright smile on Anastasia¡¯s face. And he further replied to Alexander, ¡°And I am aware of her love for the books. She once locked herself up for days in her room when she was angry at me.¡±

    Alexander looked at Caspian with a little concerned look on his face. He couldn¡¯t believe that his sister was capable of throwing temper tantrums like that.

    ¡°All she needed to stay inside her room were a few books.¡± Caspianughed and then further added, ¡°That was the only time I regretted showing the library to her. I was afraid that she would keep on ignoring me for a very long time since there are endless books in the library, and she had seen them all.¡±

 Chapter 277 - 277 Tour of the Castle - II

    277 Tour of the Castle ¨C II

    Alexander suddenly burst intoughter when he heard that his sister kept her husband on edge by locking herself up. He was even somewhat proud of his sister, for she was able to wrap a powerful vampire like Caspian around her little finger.

    He looked at the spellbound face of Caspian and then said, ¡°Then I am happy that you sorted things out with her because I agree that she is capable of forgetting everything and everyone around her if she has enough good books with her.¡±

    Caspian nodded and then agreed, ¡°I learned it the hard way. And from then on I am very cautious that I don¡¯t anger her. Her anger is more dangerous than that of anyone I know. The others challenge me head-on when they are angry with me. But she gives me a silent treatment and keeps me on my toes.¡±

    Alexander chuckled upon hearing that because he had also gotten Anastasia¡¯s silent treatment a few times. ¡°That¡¯s her,¡± he mumbled as they closed in towards the door of the library.

    When Anastasia heard the two of themughing and talking about her, she furrowed her brows and fisted on her hips. And she asked two of her favorite persons, ¡°You two were backbiting about me, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    Alexanderughed even more and replied, ¡°How is it backbiting when you were seeing and hearing us? We were openly talking about you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Anastasia pouted her lips and gave a soft re to her brother. And she asked in a little suspicious voice, ¡°What were you saying about me? Did you say bad things about me to my husband?¡±

    Alexander was, however, already upied with something else to give a reply to Anastasia. He looked around the empty room in surprise and asked his sister, ¡°I thought this was the library. What is this ce?¡±

    A proud smile appeared on Anastasia¡¯s face when her brother got confused like her. She was proud because she already knew about the secret, and she could already tell that her brother¡¯s mind was going to be blown away when he would see the grand library hidden under that simple-looking room.

    .....

    She turned to her side to reveal the stairs behind her. And she spoke as if she was doing some grand reveal in a magic show, ¡°Let me show you what lies beneath these stairs. Why don¡¯t you follow me, brother?¡±

    Alexander slightly raised his brows and then gave a nod to Anastasia. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Anastasia slightly lifted her gown and then turned around. And before Caspian or Alexander could stop her, she rushed down the flight of stairs as if she was going to miss a carriage if she didn¡¯t run.

    ¡°Anna, be careful!¡± Caspian shouted from behind, fearing that she would tumble down the stairs. But by the time he said that, she had already reached downstairs.

    She looked at the gentlemen from below and replied, ¡°I am fine.¡± And when she saw her brother slowly climbing down the stairs while looking around at the vast library with wide eyes and an open jaw, she asked, ¡°Are you surprised? I was so amazed when I first came down here.¡±

    Alexander looked as though someone had put a spell on him. The countless books and scrolls in those tall book selves looked like a dream to him. Just like Anastasia, he was also fond of reading new books and collecting them. And this library here looked like a candynd to him.

    ¡°I am bbergasted!¡± Alexander eximed and scoffed at that unbelievably huge library.

    Anastasia happily giggled after seeing that look of disbelief on her brother¡¯s face.

    Caspian was standing at thest stair with his arms crossed over his chest and was looking at the sibling duo with a constant smile on his face. He was surprised how the two of them not just shared simr looks, but also shared simr interests.

    And at times like this, he would greatly miss his brother. Although he and his brother were nothing like each other in terms of interests and skills, they greatly treasured each other.

    Caspian quickly brushed off the sadness that was about to take over his mind, and then refocused on Anastasia and Alexander. He watched them running around the library, looking at the books and happily talking with each other.

    ¡®It¡¯s a shame that he is returning to Orsenia today,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself. ¡®If he had stayed here for a bit longer, then I am sure Anastasia would have been livelier than usual.¡¯

    Alexander suddenly turned to look at Caspian and asked in a little loud voice that echoed throughout the library, ¡°Your Majesty, I must say that you have really great collections of books here. How many years did it take for you to collect all these?¡±

    Caspian smiled and answered, ¡°I would say, somewhere around three hundred years.¡±

    Alexander kept on looking at Caspian with a straight face for a few seconds. He then suddenly burst intoughter thinking that Caspian was making a joke.

    ¡°You do have the collection that looks like it would indeed take that many years to gather them.¡± He kept on chuckling and then asked again, ¡°You must have mobilized a lot of people to get these books for you, right? I even found some books which are written in foreignnguages. They must have traveled around the world to get these books for you.¡±

    Caspian blinked twice and then replied in a serious tone, ¡°No, I was telling you the truth. It did take me three hundred years to gather all these books here. And no, I didn¡¯t ask the others to get them for me. Well¡­ some, but not all. I collected most of the books that are here on my own.¡±

    Alexander was, however, still thinking that Caspian was making a joke. He looked at Anastasia whileughing and then said, ¡°He is really good at making jokes.¡±

    However, to his surprise, he didn¡¯t find Anastasiaughing. She looked nervous for some reason, and she was avoiding making eye contact with him. Alexander suddenly furrowed his brows and hisughter also gradually came to a stop.

    ¡°He is telling a joke, right?¡± he asked a little skeptically.

    Caspian was surprised that Alexander wasn¡¯t believing him at all. He looked at Anastasia and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t told my age to your brother yet?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Anastasia nervously scratched her cheek and then finally raised her head to look at her brother.

    He was looking at her with eyes as big and round as a saucer.

    She nervously smiled and then said to him, ¡°He is not lying. He is much older than you think.¡±

    Alexander went silent for a while. He then pointed his thumb over his shoulder and asked, ¡°How old is he exactly?¡±

    ¡°Four seventeen,¡± Anastasia blurted.

    Alexander thought that his ears were ringing. He rubbed his ears and then asked again, ¡°Four what?¡±

    Anastasia looked at Caspian, and then back at her brother. And she repeated, ¡°Four hundred and seventeen years old.¡±

    Alexander suddenly smiled and denied it, thinking that both Anastasia and Caspian were pulling his leg. ¡°No. You are just messing with me, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Anastasia slowly shook her head and mumbled, ¡°Vampires don¡¯t age as rapidly as us. And they live for a long time.¡±

    Alexander suddenly felt as though something very hard hit his head. ¡°Huh!¡± he whispered and turned to look at Caspian with a look of disbelief in his eyes. ¡°He is more than four hundred years old? But he doesn¡¯t look a day over 25!¡±

 Chapter 278 - 278 Bidding Goodbye

    278 Bidding Goodbye

    Anastasia and Caspian were standing outside the castle, beside the carriage that was prepared for Alexander.

    A few servants were loading the carriage with the belongings of the Crown Prince, and also a few gifts that Anastasia had prepared for her parents in such a short duration of time.

    Five of the soldiers who were assigned as the guards for the Crown Prince of Orsenia were also in a standby position nearby.

    Caspian looked at his wife when he didn¡¯t hear her speak for quite a while now. He was saddened to see her gloomy face. Her eyes looked as though they were barely holding in all the tears.

    Caspian gave a side hug to his wife and pulled her close. He consolingly rubbed her arm and then said while looking at her, ¡°Anna, don¡¯t be so sad. We can invite your brother once more when all the matters are settled down.¡±

    Anastasia rested her head on Caspian¡¯s chest and then held his palm that was rubbing her arm. She wanted to agree with what her husband was saying.

    However, she couldn¡¯t even open her mouth because she knew that the moment she would open them, she would break down into tears. And right now, she didn¡¯t want to cry and look weak before even bidding goodbye to her brother.

    Caspian didn¡¯t force his wife to speak, and also didn¡¯t say anything after that. He simply gave her his shoulders to lean on and kept onforting her.

    After a few minutes, Alexander came out of the castle while being followed by Percy, the head servant of the Kilerth Castle. Percy was guiding the Crown Prince after he finished getting ready for the long journey ahead of him.

    .....

    When Anastasia heard the sounds of the footsteps approaching her, she looked over her shoulder to see her brother.

    Caspian quickly let go of his hold on Anastasia, allowing her to walk toward her brother.

    Alexander took big steps and stood in front of his sister in no time. Before he could open his arms for his sister, Anastasia came and hugged him since there was no one around who would judge her for breaking the protocol and hugging her own brother.

    Alexander also wrapped his sister in his arms, and almost instantly, his eyes filled with tears.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you, Anna,¡± he said in a soft whisper while trying his best to control his voice from breaking down.

    Anastasia hugged her brother even more tightly and whispered back in her cracked voice, ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you too, brother. I wish you could have stayed here with me for a few more days. I didn¡¯t even get to hear your interesting stories from Lavinya.¡±

    Alexander smiled through his tears and caressed Anastasia¡¯s hair. He pulled away from the hug and said while looking into her innocent eyes, ¡°I wished that too. I wanted to spend some more time with you. But the situation didn¡¯t allow it.¡±

    No matter how strong and understanding Anastasia wanted to be, she couldn¡¯t help but shed tears when the time for her brother¡¯s departure was closing in.

    Alexander felt his heart breaking when he saw the streams of tears rolling down from his sister¡¯s eyes. He gulped and then wiped her tears. And he said to his sister in a mncholic voice, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. We will meet again.¡±

    ¡°When?¡± Anastasia instantly asked while giving a questioning gaze to Alexander.

    Alexander went silent because he couldn¡¯t promise when they would see each other again. There were a lot of uncertainties ahead of them.

    Anastasia sniffled and then wiped her eyes. She didn¡¯t want to send her brother off while looking so sad. And she answered her own question, ¡°Let¡¯s meet after you sort out everything.¡±

    ¡°I will eagerly look forward to that day,¡± Alexander said as he lovingly stroked Anastasia¡¯s hair.

    And as a final piece of advice, he said with a serious look on his face, ¡°Stay healthy and happy. Don¡¯t run around like a wild child. And stay warm. Your body isn¡¯t that used to extreme cold, so make sure you take care of your health.¡±

    Anastasia pulled a smile on her face and gave a nod. ¡°I will take care of myself. And you should do the same.¡± She turned to gaze at the guards who were on standby and then looked back at Alexander to say, ¡°And don¡¯t go anywhere without them. You never know who the enemy might be or what they are nning next. Stay alert at all times.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I will.¡± Alexander proudly looked at his sister. His sister, who he always saw as a na?ve little girl, was now a cautious and knowledgeable Queen.

    Caspian, who had been watching and listening to the siblings, finally joined them. He shook his hand with Alexander and then said, ¡°I too hope that we will meet soon. I will stay in contact with you via letters.¡±

    ¡°And so will I. I will write to you if I make any progress on my side,¡± Alexander replied while firmly shaking Caspian¡¯s cold hand.

    Caspian then pointed at the soldiers and then said, ¡°They will be traveling together with you. And they will stay with you until you dismiss them. But don¡¯t send them back before the dangers around you are identified and taken care of.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for going out of your way to ensure my safety. I owe you a favor in return for your help,¡± Alexander said as he gently bowed to Caspian.

    Caspian smiled and said, ¡°Please, Prince Alexander¡­ You don¡¯t need to think that you owe me any favor. I am just performing my duty as your brother-inw. I have capable manpower, so I am lending their service to you. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    Alexander smiled brightly and then looked at his sister again. He was d that she was with someone who was so considerate and powerful. Also, not to mention how devoted Caspian was to his sister.

    ¡®My heart can rest easy,¡¯ Alexander thought to himself as he patted Anastasia¡¯s head.

    He then bowed to both the King and the Queen of Sorvando, and said to them, ¡°I will take my leave for now.¡± He nced at Caspian and further added, ¡°Thank you for epting my sister and looking after her.¡±

    After exchanging a few more words, Alexander got inside the carriage. The vampire guards mounted their horses and got ready to leave for Orsenia. Soon, they all started their long journey.

    ¡°I will see you again,¡± Alexander shouted from the carriage as he looked back and waved his hand at his sister.

    Anastasia also waved back and smiled while her eyes glistened under the warm sunlight.

 Chapter 279 - 279 Some Clues?

    279 Some Clues?

    Caspian walked Anastasia back to her chamber after she watched her brother¡¯s carriage vanish into the forest.

    After leaving her to Ti¡¯spany, Caspian headed towards his study room to see if Zenon had left anything on his desk.

    ¡®I bet there are piles and piles of files that I have to go through. I haven¡¯t been around for a week after all,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself as he heaved a deep sigh. He could already imagine himself getting drowned in the sea of papers.

    However, unlike what he had expected, there weren¡¯t any papers on his desk yet. ¡°Was he too busy to bring all the papers here?¡± he mumbled to himself while looking at his desk.

    He then went to find the guards at his door and asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Zenon here this morning?¡±

    The guard bowed his head and replied, ¡°No, Your Majesty. He hasn¡¯te here since you had a meeting with him yesterday night.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian nodded and then asked again, ¡°Then, have you seen him around?¡±

    The guard kept his head down and answered, ¡°I am not aware of his whereabouts, Your Majesty. Would you like me to send someone to fetch him?¡±

    Caspian shook his hand and denied it. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. He must be busy doing something.¡±

    .....

    Caspian looked back inside his study with the thought of keeping himself busy. However, he suddenly remembered that he had guests.

    ¡®I better go and see what Hamilton is doing,¡¯ he thought to himself and then headed towards the guest room where his cousin was staying in.

    After reaching in front of the door, he gave a knock and then called, ¡°Hamilton, it¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    Caspian heard Hamilton¡¯s hoarse morning voice. He furrowed his brows thinking that Hamilton was still sleeping and then pushed the door open.

    Hamilton wasn¡¯t on the bed as Caspian had imagined. He was standing half-naked in front of the mirror and then wiping his face with a towel.

    ¡°Good morning, cousin,¡± Hamilton threw the towel on the bed and greeted Caspian as he picked up his shirt from the suitcase.

    Caspian went and sat down on the chair nearby. And he asked Hamilton, ¡°Did you just wake up? Prince Alexander already went home. You could have at leaste to bid him farewell.¡±

    Hamilton smiled and replied as he buttoned up his shirt, ¡°He came here to say that he was leaving. I was still sleeping though because I went to bed veryte.¡±

    ¡°So, you got to see him before he left then.¡± Caspian nodded.

    Hamilton tucked his shirt inside his trouser and waited for Caspian to say what he came there to say. But when his cousin didn¡¯t speak even when he finished adjusting his clothes, he sat down on the bed and then asked, ¡°What is it? Why do you look so lost?¡±

    Caspian shook his head and then sighed. ¡°Nothing much. I was just thinking about something.¡±

    Hamilton waited for Caspian to borate on it, however, he looked lost again. He understood why Caspian¡¯s mind kept on wandering around though.

    ¡°You must be thinking about that incident,¡± he mumbled.

    Caspian was brought back to reality. He sped his hands together and then nodded his head in agreement. ¡°I have asked Zenon to find out the real culprit responsible for that attack. I hope we will find him soon.¡±

    This time, Hamilton was the one who went silent. He thought for a while and then asked Caspian, ¡°So, you don¡¯t think it was the King who ordered the attack?¡±

    Caspian shrugged and replied, ¡°I am not denying that fool is capable of doing something stupid like that. But at the same time, I want to believe that he isn¡¯t that stupid enough to push his Kingdom towards a war just because he felt humiliated.¡±

    ¡°I mean, he got what he deserved, right?¡± Caspian looked for Hamilton¡¯s affirmation.

    Hamilton also agreed that what Caspian did to that King was justifiable. Any man would have done the same if someone behaved inappropriately with their wife, that also right in front of their eyes.

    ¡°I think you should have beat him up some more,¡± he said with a serious look on his face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know the things that he said to me before we departed from the castle.¡± He recalled hisst interaction with Everard and then said, ¡°I didn¡¯t say this to you before because I didn¡¯t want to ruin your mood which wasn¡¯t that good to begin with. But¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Caspian leaned forward and perked his ears, thinking that Hamilton had some clues regarding that attack.

    Hamilton cleared his throat and then took a deep breath before sharing what Everard had told him, ¡°It looks like that werewolf is too fixated on our Queen. He was saying things like how he finally knew that he and our Queen were meant to be together and how he didn¡¯t care if she was already married to you.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s body reacted on its own before he could even properly process what he just heard. His sharp ws protruded on their own and his eyes shone as if he was ready to kill everyone and anyone who was in front of him.

    Hamilton quietly slipped away from Caspian¡¯s direct line of sight, not wanting to face Caspian¡¯s piercing re.

    ¡°And?¡± Caspian¡¯s cold re followed Hamilton. And he asked in a low growling voice that was enough to stir up fear in anyone¡¯s heart, ¡°What else did that bastard b about?¡±

    Hamilton took a deep breath again and replied, ¡°From what he said to me, it sounded as though he wasn¡¯t ready to give up on our Queen just yet.¡±

    He also clenched his fists in rage and said, ¡°I will quote his exact words to you. ¡®I am going to make her mine, one way or another. And I won¡¯t stop at anything until I do that.¡¯¡±

    Caspian instantly got up on his feet and smashed the chair that he was sitting on. He screamed in rage and kept on kicking the shards of the chair while imagining that he was hitting Everard.

    ¡°That bastard said that? Is he that eager to meet his dead father?¡± He shouted and continued kicking the chair, ultimately turning those woods into dust. He even damaged the floorboard a little in the fit of his rage.

    He then headed towards the door while announcing, ¡°I am going to Xanmar right now and killing him on his throne.¡±

 Chapter 280 - 280 Root Cause

    280 Root Cause

    Hamilton hurriedly jumped out of the bed and rushed to stand in front of the door so as to stop Caspian from taking any decision in haste.

    ¡°What do you mean by you are going to Xanmar right now?¡± He pressed his palm over Caspian¡¯s chest and pushed him back. ¡°I know you are angry and I know that you want to shut him up for good. But you shouldn¡¯t let your emotions take over your judgment.¡±

    Caspian red at Hamilton and asked in a loud voice, ¡°Then what do you want me to do? Do you want me to sit down and wait for him to make his other move?¡±

    ¡°Now I am pretty sure that Everard had orchestrated that attack on us because he wanted to kill us all and kidnap my wife!¡± he screamed at the top of his voice, his eyes looking as deadly as that of a lion that was being teased by a pack of hyenas.

    ¡°Caspian! Just calm down for a moment!¡± Hamilton snapped back at that unruly vampire and quickly opened the door to check the corridor outside. He wanted to make sure that the Queen wasn¡¯t listening in to those screams of Caspian.

    When he just saw a few guards in the vicinity, he closed the door back in relief. He was also relieved that the room where they were in at the moment was very far away from the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    However, he still scolded his cousin. ¡°What if the Queen was around and she overheard your scream? I thought the doctors asked you to keep her away from mental stress as well as physically straining activities. Don¡¯t make her worry for no reason! Else her sickness will re again.¡±

    Caspian calmed down a little after Hamilton mentioned that. But his anger hadn¡¯tpletely subsided to think clearly.

    So, he simply argued again, but in a much softer tone, ¡°As I said, I don¡¯t want to sit back and wait for that bastard to make another move. If I take care of the root cause of the problems that we might face in the future then my wife won¡¯t be stressed out in the future again.¡±

    .....

    Hamilton sighed at that imprable mind of Caspian. ¡®Maybe I should have kept it to myself,¡¯ he thought to himself as he regretted quoting Everard¡¯s exact words and then making Caspian angry. ¡®Maybe it would have been better if I used subtle hints to warn Caspian about Everard.¡¯

    However, now that everything was done, Hamilton tried to make Caspian understand that there was no benefit in acting out of anger.

    ¡°Yes, you should take care of the problem at its root. But right now, you don¡¯t have sufficient evidence that point that Everard is the culprit. Though he said those things to me, there¡¯s still no guarantee that he was the one behind the attack. And we don¡¯t know if that filthy werewolf was just running his mouth or if he is actually capable of taking such drastic action.¡±

    ¡°Arghhhhhhhh!¡± Caspian grabbed a handful of his hair and screamed in frustration. He crouched down and then grumbled, ¡°What the hell am I supposed to do then?¡±

    Right at that moment, they heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are you being so loud?¡±

    They heard Vincent¡¯s voice from outside. Hamilton was so relieved to hear Vincent¡¯s voice because he wasn¡¯t sure how many more minutes he would have been able to keep his bull-headed cousin inside the room.

    He quickly opened the door and then weed Vincent inside. ¡°Hey! Come in.¡±

    As Vincent walked inside the room, looking at Caspian with a confused expression on his face, Hamilton tried to clear up Vincent¡¯s confusion, ¡°Ask your friend to hold his horses. I told him what that werewolf King said to me. And he thinks he can take down that King right inside his castle.¡±

    Vincent already knew what was messing up Caspian¡¯s head since Hamilton had already shared everything with him yesterday night.

    He knelt down beside Caspian and patted his friend¡¯s shoulder tofort him. ¡°Caspian, this is not the time to act irrationally. We need to take calctive steps, or else, everyone and everything is bound to be doomed.¡±

    Caspian was still holding his head with both of his hands and crouching down like a child who had just lost a game.

    Vincent took a deep breath in and tried to break through into Caspian¡¯s shielded mind, ¡°You asked Zenon to carry out the investigation, right? Wait for him to provide you with the results of his investigation.¡±

    Vincent tightened his grip on Caspian¡¯s shoulder and then further said with determination, ¡°Be patient until then. But if you find out that Everard was the one behind that attack, I will support your decision even if you want to wage a war against Xanmar. I will be ready to fight at the front line.¡±

    Caspian finally raised his head and then looked at his friend¡¯s face. His sharp eyes were burning with anger. He then nced at Hamilton.

    And in response, Hamilton resolutely said, ¡°I am always against anything that disturbs my current peaceful life. And whoever it was, they have already made their first move to ruin this peaceful life of mine. So, I am ready to ruin their peace as well.¡±

    After listening to those two, a realization dawned inside Caspian¡¯s mind. ¡®This is not my personal war that I can settle by killing Everard. This involves everyone. I shouldn¡¯t be taking any rash decision, or else, it wille back and bite me¡­ Not just me but everyone.¡¯

    Caspian heaved a deep sigh and then finally got back up on his feet. He looked at Hamilton and said, ¡°Thank you for revealing that werewolf¡¯s cheap thoughts. I will keep that at the back of my head for now.¡±

    Hamilton was still not moving an inch away from the door. He raised his brows and asked Caspian, ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re not going to run towards Xanmar as soon as I step aside, right?¡±

    Caspian sighed and replied, ¡°I won¡¯t. At least not yet.¡±

    Both Hamilton and Vincent let out a sigh of relief. But they were still not letting Caspian get away from their sight.

 Chapter 281 - 281 Mental Breakdown

    281 Mental Breakdown

    While the royals of both Sorvando and Orsenia were busy trying to uncover the real culprit behind the attack and the real motive behind that attack, the King of Xanmar didn¡¯t have a clue about that incident.

    Everard was in his new study room, trying to figure out how the tax system of his Kingdom worked. For the past three days, he was buried in the piles and piles of files and scrolls that were rted to the taxes. And right now, he was at the point where the word tax made him want to vomit.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a rest for a while, Your Majesty?¡± Jerome asked Everard when he saw the King pinching the bridge of his nose and gagging while looking at the file in front of him.

    Everard, however, shook his head and mumbled, ¡°I can¡¯t afford to rest at the moment, Jerome. I can¡¯t figure out a few things. And I want to clear these issues before I take a rest or do anything else.¡±

    Jerome sighed in defeat because he once again became unsessful in trying to make the King take some rest, which he had been trying for the past few hours. Yes, he was happy to see the King working nonstop. However, he was doing so at the expense of his own health.

    ¡°Shall I call the Minister of Finance? You can ask the things that you are confused about,¡± Jerome suggested, hoping that with the help of the minister, the King would at least be able to solve whatever was bothering him a bit faster than he would on his own.

    However, to Jerome¡¯s displeasure, Everard denied his suggestion. ¡°I would like to solve this issue on my own.¡±

    Jerome looked at Everard with a pitiful nce and then asked, ¡°Then shall I at least send some refreshments for you? You should stay hydrated and full. Else it will affect your ability to concentrate on your work.¡±

    Everard was now starting to get agitated by Jerome¡¯s voice. Thus, in order to get rid of his constant nagging, he agreed. ¡°Sure.¡±

    .....

    After Jerome went outside, Everard rubbed his forehead and then turned his head to look outside of the open window.

    He recalled thest time he had seen Anastasia. The shes of memories started to dance in front of his eyes.

    He recalled how Anastasia was hugging Caspian and wondered, ¡®Is she even aware of what her husband really is? I just can¡¯t believe that she would show her affection to a monster like that.¡¯

    Everard pushed his ck hair away from his face and restlessly started biting and peeling the dried skin of his lips. ¡®She must be under some kind of illusion, or she must have no idea about the real identity of those creatures.¡¯

    ¡®There¡¯s no way she actually loves that bloodsucker!¡¯ he screamed in his head and identally peeled a bit too much skin, causing his lips to bleed. ¡°Aah!¡± He sharply inhaled and then licked the blood off of his lips.

    He suddenly recalled the moment when he had shared his first kiss with Anastasia. The corners of his lips curved up on their own. And he subconsciously started to gently brush his lips with the tip of his finger after closing his eyes and living that memory once again.

    ¡®That feeling that was overflowing in my heart, there¡¯s no way they were a lie.¡¯ He imagined Anastasia standing close to his face and he reached out his hand as if he was going to touch her. ¡®It¡¯s a shame that I didn¡¯t realize that sooner, that she was the one who was doing that to my heart.¡¯

    Suddenly, Hamilton¡¯s aggressive whisper rang in his ears. ¡°Just take a look at her! Does she look like someone who can stay apart from her husband even for a minute?¡±

    Everard clenched his jaw and abruptly opened his eyes. But Hamilton¡¯s voice kept on repeating in his head. ¡°Does she look unhappy to be with him? Or scared of him?¡±

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± Everard shouted in frustration and got up on his feet. He covered his ears as if that would help him in forgetting everything that Hamilton ever said to him. He even restlessly paced back and forth in the room, trying to shake off that voice that was echoing in his head.

    However, that vampire¡¯s words kept on haunting him no matter what he did.

    ¡°Do her a favor and don¡¯t ever try toe in between her and her husband. If you ever truly loved her then don¡¯t try to ruin her happiness, Your Majesty.¡±

    As if those voices weren¡¯t enough to hurt his head, the shes of Anastasia hugging her husband and looking at her husband with a loving gaze started to y over and over in his head.

    And Everard grabbed his hair with both of his hands and screamed, ¡°Argh! Stop! Stop! I don¡¯t want to see it! Argh!¡± He suddenly threw his hand as if he was trying to erase that memory from his head.

    Smash!

    A huge flower vase that was kept as a decoration close by got shattered into pieces, and finally, brought Everard out of his fit.

    Everard kept on looking at that broken vase while panting loudly. He was breathing as if he had just run up and down a tall hill several times in a row.

    He sighed and gulped. He ran his fingers through his hair and mumbled, ¡°What the hell is happening to me? Am I going mad or something?¡±

    Before he could dwell on it further, he heard a soft knock on the door.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I have brought some refreshments. May Ie in?¡± One of the maids asked from outside the door.

    Everard cleared his throat and then went back to sit on his chair. He straightened his clothes and pretended as if he hadn¡¯t just gone through a breakdown.

    Then he answered in a calm voice, ¡°Yes,e in.¡±

    As soon as the maid pushed the door open, her eyes fell on the shattered pieces of the vase. But she quickly pretended as if it wasn¡¯t there and walked towards the desk.

    As she wasying down a te of fruit sd and a ss of juice on the table, Everard asked her, ¡°Send someone to clean it up. The wind knocked it down a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Although the maid was sure that there was no way that strong vase was knocked down by the wind, she bowed her head and then walked out of the King¡¯s study.

 Chapter 282 - 282 Digging Deeper

    282 Digging Deeper

    It had already been a few hours since Everard broke the expensive vase that was in his new study. The ss that contained the fruit juice was empty, while the te of fruit sd hadn¡¯t been touched yet.

    When Jerome came around to check up on the new King, he was disappointed to see the untouched te. And he was saddened to see the King still buried in the papers and files.

    But he was at least happy that the King had now taken refuge in working tirelessly rather than drowning himself in alcohol to forget his pain and loneliness.

    Still, working without even eating and drinking was a bit too excessive.

    Thus, in an attempt to make the King move from his seat and give rest to his eyes as well as his mind, Jerome asked the King, ¡°Your Majesty, I have set up your lunch in the garden. Why don¡¯t you take a short lunch break and then get back to your work again?¡±

    Everard was so focused on the file that he was holding that he didn¡¯t hear a word that Jerome said to him.

    After not getting any kind of response from the King, Jerome cleared his throat and then said in a voice that was louder than before, ¡°Your Majesty, it is already your lunchtime.¡± This time he managed to catch Everard¡¯s attention.

    However, without even lifting his head to look at Jerome, Everard replied, ¡°Okay, send it in.¡±

    Jerome sighed and tried to emphasize, ¡°Everyone had put a great effort into setting up your lunch in the garden. Why don¡¯t youe to the garden and enjoy your lunch? They will also feel appreciated if you go and acknowledge them.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Is it really necessary?¡± Everard asked as a small frown line appeared on his forehead.

    Jerome looked at the King¡¯s busy eyes and then answered, ¡°It is not necessary, but everyone would be happy if you go there and appreciate their effort.¡±

    There was a chilling silence in the room for a while. Everard kept on going through the file as if he would forget everything the moment he looked away from it.

    Jerome, on the other hand, kept on standing in front of the King¡¯s desk. He didn¡¯t want to give in to the King¡¯s silence and send the lunch inside because he thought that the King probably would not eat the lunch as well.

    ¡°Give me a few minutes then,¡± Everard finally said when Jerome didn¡¯t budge from before him.

    Jerome bowed and left the King¡¯s side, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t have toe to the study again to call the King.

    After a couple of minutes, Everard finished going through thest page of the file he was studying and suddenly dropped the file on the table.

    He rubbed his chin and then thought to himself, ¡®I heard that there are several distilleries run by Romulus. And the alcohols from his distillery are quite famous, aren¡¯t they? So, why is he paying so little amount of tax?¡¯

    ¡®Have they been evading the taxes for all this while? The amount they pay each year has always been around the same. So, it¡¯s not that their sales suddenly dropped this year.¡¯

    Everard closed his eyes and ran some scenarios in his head.

    ¡®If they were evading the taxes, then the Minister of Finance should have been aware of it and informed my father. Did my father look the other way? Or was it the Minister of Finance who never reported it to my father?¡¯

    He got up from his seat and then went outside to find Jerome. If anyone would know if the previous King was purposely not punishing Romulus for evading the taxes, then it would be Jerome, who was virtually the previous King¡¯s tail.

    He found Jerome waiting for him in the hallway.

    Jerome gave a quick smile and began to lead the King towards the garden thinking that Everard was there to have his lunch.

    Everard followed Jerome without asking him to stop. And while on the way to the garden, he asked Jerome, ¡°Do you know anything about the tax that alpha Romulus¡¯ distilleries pays each year?¡±

    ¡°What exactly do you want to know?¡± Jerome asked since he felt that there was a hidden question behind what Everard asked him just now.

    Everard held his hands behind his back and then rephrased his question, ¡°Did my father give them some tax subsidy? The amount they pay is very less than what I imagined.¡±

    Jerome knitted his brows together and answered while shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t think he ever offered a subsidy to the distilleries. He was against the idea of his citizens consuming such harmful things. If anything, he would have added more tax to reduce the production.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Everard narrowed his eyes and grunted.

    They had reached the middle of the beautiful garden where the servants had set up a table and lunch for their King.

    Jerome pulled the chair for the King to sit on.

    Everard didn¡¯t quite feel like sitting down and eating when he had a lot of things on his mind. However, since he was already there, he thought it would be disrespectful to simply leave and waste the food that his servants had prepared just for him.

    Thus, he sat down and then grabbed the knife and fork. Before eating though, he looked at Jerome and asked, ¡°Prepare the carriage. I want to visit the distilleries and see them for myself. But do it in secret. I don¡¯t want them to know that we areing.¡±

    For a split second, Jerome thought that Everard was specifically targeting the distillery because it was the alcohol from one of those distilleries that made him too drunk and ultimately made him do things that put him in a pinch.

    However, seeing how serious Everard was at the moment, he quickly assumed that the matter was something serious.

    Thus, he gave a bow to the King and walked away after saying, ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡±

    Everard, on the other hand, munched on some green beans and thought to himself, ¡®Why hasn¡¯t Lorenzo visited me recently though? Maybe he would have some idea about this matter.¡¯

 Chapter 283 - 283 Small Talks

    283 Small Talks

    As soon as Everard was full, he got up from his chair so that he could head for the distilleries to inspect them. He also wanted to confiscate the ledgers that were maintained by those distilleries so that he could see how much profit they were actually making, and find out if they were cheating taxes.

    As he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly fell on the servants and maids who were standing in line, a little further away from where the table was. For the first time, he noticed how they weren¡¯t his usual maids and servants but those who used to serve his father.

    Although he didn¡¯t even recall what he just had for lunch, Everard gave a nod to them and said, ¡°The food was good. I enjoyed it.¡±

    He then left from there while being followed by his guards and headed straight towards the front gate of the castle.

    He met Jerome midway and asked, ¡°Are the carriages ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Jerome replied and returned back towards the parking area along with the King.

    Everard quickly got inside the royal carriage and when he saw Jerome who was about to go and sit in another carriage, he asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit with me? I have a few things that I need to ask you while we are on the way.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Of course, Your Majesty,¡± Jerome dly climbed the same carriage as the King.

    ¡°Where are we heading first? Which distillery?¡± Everard asked Jerome.

    .....

    And Jerome replied, ¡°I thought that we could first go to the one that is close to alpha Romulus¡¯ manor. That is where alpha is usually found. If you had any queries about the distillery then you could directly ask him.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Everard hummed and went silent for a while. He thought that rather than beating around the bush by asking other employees of the facility, it would be better to directly ask the person in question.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s head there then.¡± He gave the permission to Jerome.

    And Jerome informed the coachman about their unchanged destination for their short journey.

    The royal guards also mounted their horses and began riding alongside the carriage of their King.

    Everard closed his eyes and rested his head on the cushion. He started wondering if this was the reason why Romulus was hovering around him ever since he came back to the Kingdom.

    ¡®Did he need me to do him a favor by reducing the taxes that he owes? Was that why he was trying so hard to get on my good side?¡¯

    After traveling a short distance, he opened his eyes and then asked Jerome, ¡°What do you think of alpha Romulus?¡±

    Jerome knitted his brows in confusion and asked, ¡°What do I think of him as in...?¡±

    ¡°As in, how do you find him as a person?¡± Everard rified what he wanted to know from the beta candidate.

    Jerome thought for a while and then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know him personally. But judging from what others say about him, and my short interaction with him a few days ago, I find him to be a responsible person. He is very dedicated to everything that he does. I think that is the reason why he sessfully became the youngest alpha.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because his father died?¡± Everard bluntly asked while showing no emotion on his face. And he even went as far as saying, ¡°After taking the oath in theing full moon, I think I will take over his position of being the youngest alpha.¡±

    Jerome smiled ufortably and then replied, ¡°That is one factor. But the moon goddess won¡¯t just ept anyone as the alpha. They should have that quality in them. And there is a chance that the alpha candidate will get rejected in the ceremony if he or she doesn¡¯t possess those qualities.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Everard clenched his teeth and then looked out of the window. He didn¡¯t think that being cunning was one of the traits necessary to be an alpha. He wanted to reveal the outrageous things that Romulus had said to him once, but he decided not to.

    Instead, he wanted to ask Jerome something that was bothering him. ¡°Let me ask you something personal. Feel free to answer me without hiding your true emotion.¡±

    After getting a nod from Jerome, Everard asked, ¡°Why do you want to be my beta? I heard that no young ones applied for candidacy after finding out that you were going to bepeting for the position. Don¡¯t you think it is about time you retire from beta¡¯s position and give the chance to younger people?¡±

    Jerome looked at the face of the young King. The once cheerful boy had now turned into someone serious. The innocence in his eyes had been reced by emptiness.

    He took a deep breath and then replied, ¡°I had promised your father that I would look after you until the day I die. And I intend to keep that promise. Also, I believe that I am still capable enough to guide you and be a pir that you can rely upon.¡±

    Everard felt a prick in his heart upon the mention of his father. He slowly turned his head to look at Jerome and asked, ¡°Can you fully devote yourself to me without holding any reservation in your heart? You can no longer treat me as a mere shadow or recement of my father if I am to choose you as my beta. I want you to treat me as me.¡±

    Jerome smiled and nodded his head without even thinking for a second. ¡°I deeply respect your father. And the respect that I have towards him in my heart won¡¯t go anywhere. However, I also equally respect you, not because you are his son, but because you are the King who I serve now.¡±

    Jerome further spoke from the depth of his heart, ¡°And if you are going to be the alpha, I want to support you as your beta. It is true that I have been treating you as a kid until now. That is because I see you as someone in need of my guidance. And I want to keep on guiding you until you be capable to take decisions on your own.¡±

    ¡°After you see me as a capable person, you are going to leave my side then?¡± Everard asked while narrowing his eyes at Jerome.

    Although he didn¡¯t like this old man that much because of how he constantly kept on nagging him about every small thing, after listening to him, he found out that he wasn¡¯t ready to let this old man retire yet. After all, Jerome was the only person who was close to a father figure to him now.

    Jerome smiled and replied, ¡°After I see you as a capable person, I will keep on watching you from the shadows. I will only intervene when I feel like you are walking down the wrong path. Else, I will support you until myst breath.¡±

 Chapter 284 - 284 Confrontation

    284 Confrontation

    It didn¡¯t take that long for Everard and his guards to reach the distillery owned by Romulus.

    When they entered the gate of the distillery, Everard noticed how everyone was running around as if they were already aware of his arrival.

    Everard looked at Jerome and then mumbled, ¡°Our smell is really a disadvantage in situations like this, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Jerome smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes. I think it gave away our presence. And not to mention our sharp vision. They must have seen using from a distance.¡±

    Everard looked out of the carriage window and stared at the facility in front of him. He narrowed his eyes at that facility and softly said, ¡°Maybe I should have sent you ahead so that you could have confiscated the important documents for me. I think they might have hidden everything by now.¡±

    ¡°This will be our lesson then,¡± Jerome replied in a calm manner.

    The carriage soon stopped at the doorstep of the distillery. When the coachman opened the door for the King, Everard stepped out and looked at the facility.

    A middle-aged nobleman who looked after the distillery on behalf of Romulus was already standing in front of the carriage along with several other higher-ranking officials of the distillery.

    They all bowed to the King and that nobleman also weed the King. However, his weing words weren¡¯t that weing.

    .....

    ¡°Good evening, Your Majesty. It is a great honor to have you here in our humble facility. But you shouldn¡¯t have troubled yourself bying all the way here. If you had just sent a word, we would have sent our finest batch of alcohol to the castle.¡±

    Everard simply smiled and put that nobleman in his ce. ¡°Are you saying that I am not allowed toe here? I hope you aren¡¯t hiding something, are you?¡±

    That nobleman became all red within seconds. He didn¡¯t know how to respond to that direct question from the King. Thus, he nervously smiled through his fear and then took some time to reply.

    ¡°Wh-Why would we hide anything from you, Your Majesty? I wasn¡¯t saying that you aren¡¯t allowed toe here. I was simply implying that you didn¡¯t need to trouble yourself. I was just trying to say that we would have brought anything to your doorstep if you had simply given a word to us.¡±

    ¡°But then I would have given trouble to you.¡± Everard smiled again and then spoke in a calm voice, ¡°Oh, and I am not here to buy the alcohol. I am here for an official matter. Why don¡¯t we sit down and talk about it?¡±

    The moment the King said that he was there for an official matter, the nobleman started to sweat profusely. He looked at his staff as if he wanted to say something with his eyes. And he asked the workers while hesitating greatly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you all arrange a ce for His Majesty?¡±

    All those workers ran toward a small room that was adjoined by the distillery.

    And without waiting for them to arrange the chairs, or to be more precise, let them hide important documents under the pretext of arranging the chairs, Everard followed those workers despite the nobleman¡¯s effort to stall him.

    As expected, he found a few of the workers pretending to neatly arrange the files on the desk when Everard entered that room.

    One of the workers blurted when he saw the King standing very close to him, ¡°Umm¡­ we were just cleaning the dust. I think the maids didn¡¯t properly clean this room today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me. I will be gone in a few minutes.¡± Everard then went and sat down on a chair that was inside the room. Then he looked at the workers with an eerie smile on his face.

    The workers couldn¡¯t even maintain eye contact with the King. They put their hands behind their backs and hung their head low as if they were guilty of something.

    The nobleman tried to minimize the tension in the air by asking one of the workers, ¡°Mr. William, will you go and ask the maids to serve some refreshing drinks to the King?¡± And he turned to look at the King and kept on ordering that worker, ¡°And if His Majesty wishes to have a taste of our fresh batch of the beverage then offer that as well.¡±

    Everard raised his hand and denied, ¡°No, I¡¯m good. A ss of warm water will do.¡±

    William bowed and then hastily ran out of the room, while all the others kept on standing inside the room. They all looked restless and were covered in sweat.

    The King looked at the nobleman and asked, ¡°What do I call you?¡±

    ¡°I am Hendrix Wilson, Your Majesty,¡± the nobleman replied while slightly bowing to the King.

    And without dilly-dallying further, Everard looked at the nobleman and came straight to the point. ¡°Lord Wilson, I was looking at the list of our Kingdom¡¯s major taxpayers. And it caught my interest when I saw that alpha Romulus¡¯ name barely made the list. After all, he owns a lot of businesses. And for his name to be at thest of the list didn¡¯t make that sense to me.¡±

    Hendrix was already turning pale. And although he was trying hard to hide his fear from being reflected on his face, Everard could smell it.

    Everard further spoke, ¡°After digging a little more, I found out that the distilleries don¡¯t pay that much tax even when the beverages from these distilleries are the most popr ones in the Kingdom. So, that brought me here.¡±

    He leaned a little forward and asked while ring at Hendrix with his glowing yellow eyes. ¡°Let me see the ledger where you keep the record of your profit and loss.¡±

    ¡°O-Of course, Your Majesty,¡± Hendrix gave a bow and turned to look at one of the workers who was standing behind him. ¡°Fetch that file for His Majesty,¡± he ordered.

    And when that worker walked toward a drawer, Everard asked in a sharp tone, ¡°Make sure that ledger is the real one and not the fake one.¡±

    That worker suddenly twitched a little, which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Everard.

    A sly smirk appeared on Everard¡¯s lips. He folded his arms and casually threatened everyone present in the room, ¡°If I find out that it¡¯s a fake then I will seal this distillery for the foreseeable future. I bet that the alpha wouldn¡¯t like that.¡±

 Chapter 285 - 285 The Fake

    285 The Fake

    The worker who was tasked to fetch the ledger by Hendrix was now looking as though he was in a great dilemma. He pulled the drawer, but he kept on staring inside without even pretending to rummage through the files.

    Hendrix furrowed his brows and restlessly mumbled in his head, ¡®Come on! What¡¯s taking him so long? He isn¡¯t scared of the King, is he?¡¯

    That worker definitely looked scared. Hendrix suddenly got furious at that worker who was frozen in ce because of that simple threat from the King.

    ¡®Our alpha is more dangerous than the King!¡¯ Hendrix was looking at that worker¡¯s back and was screaming in his head. ¡®If he gets an air that the King got his hands on our misconduct, then we are all as good as dead.¡¯

    And although that staff wasn¡¯t obviously able to hear his thoughts, Hendrix kept on screaming in his head, ¡®You better not give the real file to the King, you idiot!¡¯

    On the other hand, it was very apparent to Everard that they had indeed maintained a fake file for situations like this. However, he didn¡¯t interfere with that worker¡¯s visible ride on the rollercoaster of dilemma. Instead, he patiently waited to see which file that worker would hand over to him.

    Each second felt like an hour to all the workers present in the room. Hendrix was getting impatient by the second because he could see that it was only making the King suspect them even more.

    And since that man was taking too long, Hendrix sprinted toward that drawer himself and pushed that worker aside. ¡°Why were you taking so long to fetch the file that is right in front of your eyes?¡± he shouted.

    He then tried to cover up that awkwardness by nervouslyughing and saying to the King, ¡°He is rtively new here. And I think he got a little nervous since we don¡¯t normally get a chance to be in the presence of Your Majesty.¡±

    .....

    Hendrix quickly grabbed the fake ledger and then walked toward the King while saying, ¡°Please excuse him for his behavior and for making you wait this long.¡±

    Everard waved his hand and replied with a mirthless smile on his face, ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t matter. I too get nervous from time to time when I enter my new study room. I am also new to my position.¡± He looked at that worker who had turned pale with fear and said, ¡°So, I understand his nervousness.¡±

    Everard took the file from the nobleman and then opened it right there.

    The nobleman was expecting that the King would take the ledger with him and leave. And he was thinking of running to the alpha¡¯s manor and informing him about the sudden visit from the King.

    However, it looked like the King was going to take his sweet time and look at the file then and there.

    Hendrix nervously looked out of the door and thought to himself, ¡®I hope that William has thatmon sense in him. I hope he sent someone to inform the alpha about this. Or else, we will be doomed if the King catches on to our deceits and demands for the real file.¡¯

    Just when Hendrix was thinking about William, he appeared in view while being followed by a maid.

    William saw that the King was busy with the ledger. So, he looked at Hendrix and then gave a nod as if to say something.

    Hendrix understood that he had indeed sent someone to fetch the alpha, and he sighed in relief.

    Everard took the ss of water that the maid offered to him. He drank the whole ss in one go and then began flipping through the pages of that file.

    The records showed that the sales were indeed very low and that thepany wasn¡¯t earning much profit. Everard was already sure that he was looking at the fake ledger. However, he still kept on flipping through the pages just to give stress to all the liars. He even started flipping the pages angrily so as to stress them out of their minds.

    His n was to throw the file at Hendrix in the end and then demand the real file. If they showed their reluctance, he was nning to ransack the room and take all the important documents back with him.

    He wanted to show everyone that the alpha wasn¡¯t as nice as he looked. After all, Everard had seen that cunning side of Romulus before his father passed away. And no matter how much Romulus tried to mend his image in front of Everard, the King wasn¡¯t buying it.

    As per his n, Everard suddenly threw that ledger right at Lord Hendrix and startled him to his core. He then red at that man with his yellow eyes and asked in a chilling voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I would seal this distillery if you tried to dupe me? And yet, you try to do the exact thing?¡±

    Hendrix tried to act as if he didn¡¯t know what the King was talking about. And then he said while ying the fool, ¡°But that is the real ledger, Your Majesty. Why would we try to deceive the King? We don¡¯t want to getbeled as the crown¡¯s enemies, Your Majesty. We would never deceive you.¡±

    Everard simply ignored that man and snapped his fingers at the previous worker who was too scared to give him any file. Then he asked that man, ¡°I think you know where the real file is stored. Why don¡¯t you do us a favor and save my men from the trouble of searching it?¡±

    That worker looked at Hendrix with questioning eyes.

    Hendrix stood in front of that man and once again tried to reason with the King, ¡°Your Majesty, please believe me when I¨C¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Everard snapped this time and got up on his feet. He pped his hands and then asked in a loud voice, ¡°Guards, tear this ce down and bring me the real ledger of thispany.¡±

    The royal guards wasted no time in entering that small room. And despite the futile attempts of Lord Hendrix to stop all the guards by himself, they all started to open all the drawers and ransack the ce.

    Everard sat back down on his chair and watched the ce being torn apart.

    Jerome, on the other hand, was watching everything in silence. He wanted to stop the King from vandalizing the ce like that. It was owned by one of the alphas, and although it might not have been Everard¡¯s intention, Jerome feared that all the other alphas would use him of targeting them.

    However, since the guards came in so fast and acted on the King¡¯s order right away, Jerome kept silent, hoping that the issue wouldn¡¯t get bigger than it looked.

    While searching the ce, one of the royal guard¡¯s eyes fell on a small hole that was on the wall. He went there to examine it, to the horror of Hendrix, and quickly noticed that it was a keyhole. He quickly turned to look at the King and said while pointing, ¡°Your Majesty, there¡¯s a¨C¡±

    Right at that moment, they all heard a cold greeting from outside the room, ¡°Your Majesty! To what do I owe this pleasure?¡±

 Chapter 286 - 286 Playing With Fire

    286 ying With Fire

    [Half an hour earlier]

    ¡°Cillian! Eyes on your enemy!¡± yer shouted at his young disciple when he saw him getting distracted.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Cillian quickly looked away from thedy who he kept on seeing around in the manor. He looked at the wooden statue in front of him and then aimed his sword at that statue¡¯s neck.

    yer came and stood beside his disciple. And he scolded Cillian for not giving his full attention in the practice session. ¡°Why do you keep on looking behind you? Is thatdy more interesting to you than learning to fight? If that¡¯s so, then I will dly take you back to the ce I found you and leave you there.¡±

    Cillian hung his head low and then apologized to his master. ¡°Please forgive me, sir. I was simply wondering who thatdy was since I keep on seeing her.¡±

    yer turned his head to look at thatdy who disappeared from his sight in no time. He then looked back at Cillian with a deep frown between his brows. And he pped his disciple on the back of his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask the things that you don¡¯t need to know. Else you will find yourself in deep trouble.¡± He raised his voice further and asked, ¡°Do you understand me?¡±

    Cillian tightened his grip on his sword and then replied in a firm and loud voice, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Cillian then began swinging his sword at that wooden enemy while yer watched Cillian¡¯s hand movements and the clean cuts on that statue.

    .....

    While the two of them were busy, Romulus saw them in the practice field and made his way toward them. He wanted to see the progress of his beta¡¯s student. And if he wasn¡¯t performing well, he wanted to tease yer for his disciple¡¯s failure.

    He went and quietly stood next to his beta.

    Cillian was so focused on his target that he didn¡¯t even realize that the alpha was watching him with great interest. He simply kept on chipping the wood of the statue with every strike he made.

    Romulus then asked yer in a soft whisper, ¡°Why are you teaching him to graze the skin of the victim? Or is he capable of only doing that?¡±

    Cillian¡¯s ears caught thatment from the alpha. And his mind automatically directed him to put some more force into his strikes.

    m!

    Instead of cutting the neck of that statue clean, his sword got stuck and he struggled to pull it out.

    Romulusughed while looking at that struggling skinny boy. And he poked yer with his elbow and taunted him, ¡°His body doesn¡¯t have enough muscle to put the force required to cut through that thick neck. Why don¡¯t you fatten him up first?¡±

    yer furrowed his brows and then bluntly asked the alpha, ¡°I guess you have a lot of free time in your hand, huh? Should I find some work for you so that you can get out of my face?¡±

    ¡°Tch!¡± Romulus gave a corner-eyed nce to his beta and then looked at the boy again. ¡°You don¡¯t evene to see me unless you have something to report or unless I call you. I was so bored without your presence.¡±

    Romulus sighed as if he was deeply hurt and then said in a dramatic way, ¡°But I guess you don¡¯t feel the same way. You seem upied with your new toy.¡±

    Cillian was still struggling to pull his sword out. But when he heard the alpha, it took him a great effort not tough out loud. And he struggled even more. He couldn¡¯t exert any effort into pulling the sword as he was using all his might to keep his mouth shut.

    Sensing his student holding theugh, yer went and swiftly pulled that sword. But instead of handing it over to Cillian, he pointed that sword at his alpha and asked, ¡°If you are that bored then I challenge you to a sword duel. And no cheating allowed.¡±

    Romulus smiled ear to ear and then looked at one of the servants who was around. ¡°Bring me my sword,¡± he ordered.

    While waiting for his sword to arrive though, a guard came and informed him, ¡°Alpha, someone from the distillery is here. He is saying that there¡¯s been an emergency in the distillery.¡±

    ¡°Emergency? What happened?¡± Romulus asked while knitting his brows together.

    Before that guard could answer, that man came running towards the alpha while being followed by a few guards who were trying to stop him from approaching the alpha.

    Romulus raised his hand and then dismissed the guards. He walked towards that man and then asked immediately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you all start a fire or something?¡±

    That man shook his head and then rested his hands on his knees. He then answered the alpha while huffing and puffing, ¡°Milord, the King¡­ He¡­¡±

    ¡°King?¡± Romulus furrowed and asked the first thing that came into his head, ¡°Did he die or something?¡±

    That man shook his head again and then replied while pointing in the direction of the distillery, ¡°He came to our distillery without even notifying us.¡±

    Romulus instantly clutched his fists when he heard that Everard was there in his facility. ¡°What the hell does he want?¡± he asked that man with a growl.

    That man had no idea why the King was there. ¡°I have no clue, Milord. But he wasn¡¯t there to taste and buy the alcohol.¡±

    Romulus then correctly guessed that it had something to do with the taxes. ¡®Is that fool trying to bring me down because I tried to kill his fake friend right in front of him? Or did he find out that I almost killed his real friend and also his love interest?¡¯

    Instead of hastily running towards the distillery to face the uninvited guest, Romulus closed his eyes and thought for a while. He was thinking about the best course of action that he could take if the King was there to investigate his tax fraud.

    After a while, he opened his eyes and then looked behind him. yer was standing a few feet away from him. So, he gave an order to his beta, ¡°yer, I want you to fetch that frozen heart for me. After that, send our men to the other distilleries and ask them to hide all the important files.¡±

    Romulus looked ahead of him and then mumbled, ¡°You chose the wrong person to y with, Everard. I am the fire that has the power to burn you down.¡±

 Chapter 287 - 287 A Shocking Revelation

    287 A Shocking Revtion

    ¡°Your Majesty! To what do I owe this pleasure?¡± Romulus asked the King in his chilling voice.

    His lips were giving the King a weing smile. However, his eyes were telling a different story. They were glowing red, which the alpha wasn¡¯t doing on purpose.

    Everard looked at that angered alpha and gave a wide smile. He knew that he had poked the right chord of the alpha¡¯s brain for him to openly disy his threatening eyes.

    Without losing his smile, Everard replied to the alpha, ¡°I was just carrying out the routine check of the facility. But when I demanded the profit and loss ledger, your staff handed me a fake file.¡±

    Romulus instantly red at Hendrix with using eyes.

    And as if he was doing Romulus a great favor, Everard asked, ¡°I bet you weren¡¯t aware of their misconducts. You should fire all the employees who are stealing from you.¡±

    Romulus clenched his jaw and his fists. He then grumbled in his cold voice as he continued to re at Hendrix, ¡°Yeah, I bet. Thank you for opening my eyes to their crimes, Your Majesty.¡±

    Everard smiled and then further said, ¡°If it was anyone else who came here to inspect, they would have ced the me on you. But I know you aren¡¯t that kind of a person. Lorenzo keeps on singing your praises.¡±

    Romulus looked at the King and then gave a nod. ¡°Thank you for finding out the truth yourself and also informing me. I will carry out an internal investigation regarding this matter.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Yes, you should.¡± Everard gave a sly smirk, knowing that Romulus didn¡¯t have anywhere to escape now. He then looked at the guard who was about to say something before the arrival of the alpha. And he asked, ¡°Yes, you were saying something earlier. Did you find where they were hiding the real ledger?¡±

    The guard instantly pointed at that wall where he had found the keyhole and answered, ¡°There¡¯s a keyhole there, Your Majesty. I think they are hiding it there.¡±

    Everard was looking at Romulus and Hendrix when that guard said that. Romulus showed no change in expression but Hendrix subtly widened his eyes as if that was true.

    And wasting no time, Everard held out his hand and asked Hendrix, ¡°Lord Wilson, why don¡¯t you hand me that key? I don¡¯t want to damage the alpha¡¯s property.¡±

    Romulus was already fuming in his head. He hated how Everard was acting so smugly just because he was the King. And he hated how the royal guards correctly figured out the ce where the ledger was being hidden.

    So, to not let the situation escte further, he did the thing that was hisst resort for resolving the current crisis.

    He pulled out the solidified heart from the pocket of his overcoat. He held it out in front of the King and then said, ¡°Your Majesty, I had something very important to discuss with you. I was about to head for your castle but right then, I heard that you were here. So, I came running to you.¡±

    Everyone in the room was now curiously looking at that heart that Romulus was holding in his palm. Some were trying to figure out what it was, while some had already figured it out and were anticipating hearing something shocking.

    Everard thought that shape was familiar, but he couldn¡¯t guess what Romulus was showing him. Thus, he looked at Jerome with a questioning gaze.

    And Jerome imparted his knowledge to the King, ¡°That¡¯s the heart of a dead werewolf. It turns that way when¨C¡±

    ¡°When ites in contact with a silver object,¡± Romulus cut Jerome in between and then answered the King.

    Everyone in the room gasped in shock because it was illegal to own silver weapons in Xanmar.

    Everard was the only one who looked confused. ¡°How did ite in contact with the silver object then?¡± he innocently asked, thinking that the heart had turned that way because someone was conducting some kind of sick experiment on the heart of a dead werewolf.

    And instead of answering the King in the room full of people, Romulus asked the King, ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk about this matter in private? This is something serious.¡±

    Before Everard could agree to it, all of the staff of the distillery scurried out of the room in a hurry.

    Jerome then said to the King, ¡°I think you should listen to the alpha first, Your Majesty. It indeed looks serious.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Everard gave a nod and then asked his guards, ¡°Everyone, wait outside.¡± He then looked at the alpha and continued ordering his guards, ¡°And don¡¯t let anyone escape away from this facility. I still have to question the workers regarding the fraud.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the guards said in unison and then marched out of the room.

    Jerome, however, didn¡¯t leave the King¡¯s side.

    And Romulus also didn¡¯t mind his presence because he wanted someone to confirm the things that he had to say about the werewolf. He closed the door of the room and then dragged a chair to sit down in front of the King.

    He handed that heart to the King and let him examine it.

    After looking at it for a while, Everard gave that heart to Jerome and said, ¡°I had never seen something like this before.¡± Then he focused his attention on Romulus and asked, knowing all too well that Romulus was doing all that to distract his attention from the ongoing investigation, ¡°So, what is this about? It better be worth my time.¡±

    The corners of Romulus¡¯ lips slowly curved upward. But before a smile could fully form on his lips, he opened his mouth and said while pretending to be devastated, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to say this to you. But I hope that you will forgive me for not finding out about this sooner.¡±

    Everard frowned a little and asked again, ¡°What did you find out, Lord Romulus?¡±

    Romulus then pointed at the heart that Jerome was still inspecting and then answered, ¡°That¡¯s the heart of someone who went behind your back and attacked our valued guests from Sorvando and Orsenia.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What?¡± The moment Everard heard that, he felt his heart sinking, and his temperature rising at an rming rate. His eyes looked stunned and he felt cold sweats trickling down his spine.

    He gulped hard and then asked in a shivering whisper, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

 Chapter 288 - 288 Averting Crisis

    288 Averting Crisis

    ¡°Yes, it is very hard to believe.¡± Romulus pretended to be distraught and spoke while looking down at the floor. And he continued to act innocent. ¡°I was shocked too when I first found out that some werewolves had attacked the inn where the guests from Sorvando and Orsenia were staying at.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t even know what to think anymore. He was too stunned to hear that news.

    And instead of him, Jerome questioned the alpha, ¡°When did that happen? And how do you know about this and we don¡¯t?¡±

    Romulus heaved a deep sigh and then said, ¡°I found that out when a few of my men identally discovered the freshly dug mass graves of the werewolves. Upon further investigation, we found out some of the werewolves from¡­¡± He looked Jerome in the eyes and then continued, ¡°¡­from the Crestfire n had led an independent attack on our esteemed guests.¡±

    ¡°From my n? What do you mean they led an independent attack?¡± Everard eximed in fury. ¡°Did they hurt Anastasia and Alexander?¡± he asked again, this time he looked deeply worried and scared.

    Romulus immediately shook his head and answered, ¡°Luckily, they were unhurt. I think those¡­ those men from Sorvando were able to protect them well.¡±

    Everard closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh of relief. And for the first time, he was thankful to the vampires for protecting his friends from his own people.

    The King then opened his eyes and asked again, ¡°Who led that attack again?¡±

    Being the most cunning person, Romulus pinned all the me on the man who was from the Crestfire n. ¡°I found out that the one who led the attack was Graham. I heard that he was trying to recruit the men in that attack.¡±

    .....

    ¡°And he brainwashed a lot of the young wolves and pushed them towards their death,¡± Romulus said without feeling the slightest bit of remorse even when he was the one who had indirectly brainwashed all of them by using Graham as a scapegoat.

    He looked at Jerome again and said, ¡°If you doubt what I just said, then you can ask around. You will find a lot of witnesses.¡±

    However, Jerome readily believed Romulus¡¯ words since Graham hade to him as well.

    Everard clutched his fists and asked Jerome in a low growl, ¡°Who is this Graham? Do you know him?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. He is one of the most talented men that we have in our n.¡± Jerome also clutched his jaw and fists after saying that. He was angry at Graham for doing something that stupid. And more than that, he was angry at himself for not taking Graham¡¯s rage too seriously.

    ¡®I should have sat down with him and made him realize that the revenge he was demanding was out of the question,¡¯ Jerome thought to himself.

    He then dragged a chair and sat beside the King. And he revealed what he knew, ¡°Graham was very riled up that night¡­ the night of your coronation. He was saying that he didn¡¯t like how the King of Sorvando insulted you in front of the whole crowd. And he was asking what actions we were going to take against him.¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Everard was managing to hold himself down by a thread. He was grabbing onto the armrest of the chair very tightly as if he was trying to stop himself from rushing to find that said person and kill him.

    ¡°But I clearly said that he shouldn¡¯t be thinking about revenge. And I asked him to forget that the fight between you and King Caspian ever happened.¡± Jerome frowned and then said after breathing heavily, ¡°When he went away after meeting me that night, I thought that he had given up on avenging you. But it looks like I was wrong.¡±

    Everard quickly got up on his feet and then walked towards the door while ordering Jerome, ¡°We are finding that man right now. I want to question him directly.¡±

    Romulus was more than happy to hear the King saying that. He quickly went to open the door for the King and said, ¡°Please feel free to ask for my help as well. I wanted to be sure that I brought the right information to you. So, I pretty much already have all the information that you might need.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t want to depend on Romulus for information. He wanted to make sure that he got the untainted version of the information from the source.

    So, without even replying to the alpha, Everard walked out of that room and walked toward his carriage.

    And although Jerome hadn¡¯t forgotten the true purpose they came to the distillery for, he didn¡¯t remind the King about the file that he was looking for. There was a much more serious matter at hand now. Thus, he also ran after the King and got inside the carriage.

    The royal carriage soon disappeared from sight, along with all the royal guards who hade along.

    Romulus smirked happily as he had sessfully averted the problem that he was facing at the moment.

    ¡°What did you say to the King, Milord?¡± Hendrix rubbed his hands together and asked the alpha with a nervous smile on his face. ¡°It looks like he didn¡¯t take our real ledgers.¡±

    The smug smirk from Romulus¡¯ face disappeared in an instant when he heard Hendrix¡¯s irritating voice. He towered over that poor man and then asked in a growl, ¡°Why was I paying you all that money when you can¡¯t even solve such trivial problems yourself?¡±

    The look on the alpha¡¯s face was so terrifying that Hendrix dropped down to his knees in fear. And he immediately began pleading to the alpha, ¡°Please forgive me, Milord. Next time, I will make sure that I don¡¯t let such problems arise. Please forgive me this time.¡±

    However, his pleas fell on deaf ears. Romulus grabbed that man¡¯s hair and made that man look into his glowing red eyes.

    To the horror of Hendrix as well as everyone who was standing close by, Romulus spread out his ws and then mumbled in a blood-curdling voice, ¡°I am sorry, Hendrix. But there won¡¯t be next time for you.¡±

    And before that man could remember his wife¡¯s face for thest time, Romulus plucked out that man¡¯s heart without breaking a sweat.

 Chapter 289 - 289 The Mysterious Man

    289 The Mysterious Man

    Away from all the confusion and distress that budded from that one incident, and away from all the clutter of the city area, a man with blond hair and crimson red eyes walked into the bedroom after taking a fresh bath.

    He stood in front of the mirror and pulled the towel that he was wrapping around the lower half of his body. He looked at his sculpted reflection in the mirror as if he was admiring himself. And slowly, he started to dab the towel on his stomach to wipe a few water droplets that were not ready to drop down yet.

    After making sure that he wiped himself properly, he threw that towel on the bed that wasn¡¯t made yet. He then walked towards the bed and opened a suitcase that he had brought along.

    He took his time to select a set of clothes from a few sets that were inside the suitcase.

    ¡°I think this will do,¡± he mumbled after unfolding a ck pair of trousers and holding it in front of him.

    He turned to face the mirror again and put on his neatly fitted clothes one by one. After throwing in a ck overcoat on top of his ck waistcoat, he properly arranged the cuffs of his white shirt and stared at his reflection again.

    He smiled at his own reflection and winked. ¡°If only looks could kill,¡± he smiled and mumbled to his reflection.

    He then put on his ck boots, and toplete his look, he wore a ck hat that hid the upper half of his face.

    ¡°Okay, all set.¡± He suddenly looked very serious andposed. And after letting out a deep breath, he narrowed his red eyes and murmured, ¡°Now let¡¯s take care of that anomaly that is trying to ruin my perfect ns.¡±

    .....

    After saying that, that man walked out of the room like a very distinguished gentleman. Without even trying, he was making it too obvious that he was a man from a noble ss.

    When a woman, who was the owner of the guesthouse, saw her guesting downstairs, she asked in the most polite voice, ¡°Mr. Herald, are you heading out to your usual ce?¡±

    He smiled at that woman and replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, Mrs. Green. I have somewhere else where I need to be.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The woman gave a nod and said, ¡°I hope you have a good day, Mr. Herald.¡±

    ¡°Likewise,¡± he replied as he gantly walked out of the guesthouse and towards the main road that was a little further away from where he was staying.

    Though it was already evening, the sun was still brightly shining on the street that he was taking. So, he put his hand inside the pocket of his overcoat and then pulled out a sunss. He wore it, perfectly covering his red eyes, and then continued walking towards the main road.

    As soon as he reached the main road, he instantly grabbed the attention of a few carriage drivers who were looking for a business.

    ¡°Do you need a carriage, good sir?¡± one of the coachmen who was waiting for clients bowed to Herald and asked in a polite manner.

    Herald waved his hand and replied politely, ¡°No, thank you. Have a good day.¡±

    He encountered a lot of coachmen who asked if he needed a ride. And along with those coachmen, he also captured the hearts of thedies who suddenly lost theirposure upon seeing such a handsome man walking alone.

    It was nothing new for Herald as he always caught the eyes of a lot of people whenever he went out in the viges and towns. And since it was nothing new, he kept on walking as if everyone was invisible to him.

    After walking for a while, he saw a coachman who didn¡¯t look that interested in calling the attention of the people walking down the road.

    Herald approached that coachman and gave him a piece of paper with an address written on it. And he asked, ¡°Care to take me to that ce?¡±

    That young coachman looked at the address and although he was furrowing his brows as if he had some questions, he didn¡¯t ask anything. Rather, he nodded his head and replied, ¡°Sure. Please take your seat.¡±

    Herald got inside the carriage that didn¡¯t look fancy at all.

    After the customer settled down, the coachman closed the door and climbed the carriage to take the customer to his destination.

    When the carriage started to head towards the destination, Herald began to massage his knuckles one by one. After massaging the knuckles, he then started to massage the tips of his fingers, all while looking out of the window and feeling the cool breeze that was constantly hitting his face.

    ¡®The air isn¡¯t that bad here. It¡¯s a shame that it is tainted by that man¡¯s awful breath.¡¯ He sighed and then began to massage his shoulders as well as his neck.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the carriage to reach its destination. The carriage came to a halt and then the coachman announced, ¡°Sir, we have arrived at the address that you gave me. But are you sure that this is the right ce?¡±

    Herald looked around at the open surrounding that was not that far away from the town, but also not that close. ¡°Yes, this is the right ce,¡± he replied.

    The coachman jumped down and then opened the door of the carriage.

    Herald got out of the carriage and handed a heavy pouch to the coachman.

    The coachman was bbergasted when he peeked into the pouch filled with gold coins. He instantly held out that pouch in front of Herald and said, ¡°Sir, it won¡¯t cost you this much for that short distance. Just a single gold coin will be more than enough.¡±

    Herald smiled and then waved his hand, denying to take the pouch back. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I have plenty of money. I am the King, after all.¡±

    He suddenly covered his mouth as if he had said that by mistake. He then pressed his index finger over his lips and asked that dumbfounded coachman, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone that you gave a ride to me. I ran out of the castle to get some fresh air.¡±

    The coachman gave a nervous smile and then bowed. ¡°Sure, Your Majesty. Your secret is safe with me.¡±

    Herald slyly smirked and then looked at the manor in a distance. His smirk suddenly vanished from his lips and instead a vengeful re appeared in his eyes.

    And he silently thought, ¡®You are going to pay for what you did, Mr. Alpha.¡¯

 Chapter 290 - 290 First Kill

    290 First Kill

    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that you sent those werewolves after those vampires because you wanted to avenge me?¡± Everard asked Graham in a bone-chilling tone.

    Graham had proudly exined how he had recruited all those werewolves within a short span of time and how they had carried out the perfect revenge n on behalf of their King.

    And even when he was sensing that the King was somewhat angry, he agreed to what the King had asked without any hesitation. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I couldn¡¯t just sit around and watch when our mortal enemy dared to throw fists on our newly appointed Ki¨C¡±

    A fist came flying in andnded right on Graham¡¯s face before he could even finish his sentence.

    Everard had punched Graham so hard that he copsed on the floor the very next second.

    ¡°How dare you think that you could do as you please and then say that you did it on my behalf?¡± Everard shouted so furiously that his eyeballs looked like they would pop out of the socket.

    However, Graham didn¡¯t learn his lesson yet. He instantly got up on his feet and defended his action.

    ¡°But Your Majesty, that vampire might have thought of you as someone weak if we hadn¡¯t taken any action. And he might have tried to do something simr in the future as well thinking that you would keep quiet anyway. So, I wanted to let him know that he messed with the wrong person and that he would never be able to get away afterying hands on you.¡±

    Everard suddenly grabbed Graham by his neck and dangled him in the air without breaking a sweat. He looked Graham dead in the eyes and then snarled, ¡°And now, do you think that they will just fold their arms and sit around when you attacked their King!¡±

    .....

    He mmed Graham¡¯s back against the cold hard floor and straddled him. He strangled Graham using both of his hands and shouted in rage, ¡°And do you really think that I will let you live when you almost killed Anastasia and Alexander?¡±

    Jerome hurriedly came and grabbed Everard by his chest. And he tried to pull the King away from Graham since the poor werewolf was gasping for air and was ready to pass out.

    ¡°Your Majesty! You will kill him if you keep that up! Please don¡¯t let your anger cloud your judgment.¡± Jerome pleaded for Everard to stop while trying to drag him away. However, he couldn¡¯t make Everard budge at all.

    ¡°He could have killed Anastasia and Alexander if it wasn¡¯t for that vampire, Jerome!¡± Everard screamed and almost instantly, his eyes got filled with tears at that dreadful thought. ¡°I would never have been able to forgive myself if something had happened to them.¡±

    And knowing that the man he was strangling was the one who had nned that attack, Everard couldn¡¯t control himself anymore. He protruded his ws and then dug it right into Graham¡¯s throat.

    Graham coughed up blood from his mouth and his neck also started to bleed profusely.

    Jerome didn¡¯t want the King to dirty his hands by killing someone from the n. He didn¡¯t want that more specifically because the full moon was nearing. And he didn¡¯t want the members of the Crestfire n to go against the one and only candidate of the alpha. He didn¡¯t want someone else to be selected as the alpha of the n just because of the one mistake from Everard.

    Thus, he tightened his hold around Everard¡¯s chest and used all the energy in his body to stop Everard from killing Graham in the fit of his rage.

    Everard, however, forcefully leaned forward to free himself from Jerome¡¯s hold and snarled right in front of Graham¡¯s face, ¡°I am going to finish you right here and now and make an example out of you so that from now on, the others won¡¯t dare to do anything stupid on my behalf.¡±

    ¡°What will Anna and Alex think of me now? I might lose my friends because of your stupid action and your stupid revenge, you moron!¡± Everard made another sh across Graham¡¯s chest and mentally prepared himself to kill Graham.

    Graham¡¯s face had already turned purplish by now because of the suffocation. He was finally thinking that maybe he had made a mistake by trying to take the matter into his own hands. When his mind was fully on the revenge n, he forgot to consider the fact that the Crown Prince of Orsenia was a very good friend of the King.

    He covered the wound on his throat with his palm to control the bleeding and then mumbled with great difficulty, ¡°Please for¡­give me, Your Ma¡­jesty.¡±

    However, by now, it was already toote to amend his mistake by asking for forgiveness. In Everard¡¯s eyes, what he had done was something very unforgivable and unforgettable.

    Jerome saw how Everard had his ws held out as if they were the paws of an animal that was ready to kill its prey. And realizing what the King was about to do, Jerome shouted while grabbing Everard¡¯s arm, ¡°No, Your Majesty! You can punish him after the fair trial but not now. Else, people might not take this positively even if he is in the wrong.¡±

    His words fell on deaf ears.

    ¡°You were the previous beta, weren¡¯t you? Your words will be enough proof that he deserved this,¡± Everard said in the most chilling tone ever.

    And without wasting another second, he forcefully pulled his arm away from Jerome¡¯s hold and punched his ws into Graham¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Arghhhhhh¡­¡± Graham¡¯s agonizing scream echoed far and wide. He could feel something sharp poking against some organs inside his chest, and he knew that his end was near.

    Everard clenched his jaw tightly and heaved a deep breath before holding what felt like a heart in his palm. He felt so disgusted by the texture of that beating heart that for a split second, he wanted to pull his hand out of Graham¡¯s chest and do as Jerome had asked of him.

    But then an image of Alexander and Anastasia lying dead on the heap of other corpses shed in front of his eyes.

    ¡®They could have ended up like that¡­¡¯ Everard thought to himself and before he would get a second thought, he forced himself to pull the heart out.

    And just like that, Everard took someone¡¯s life for the first time ever.

    ¡°Nooooooo¡­¡± Jerome watched the King in horror, aware that this would lead to a big problemter.

    Everard was horrified by the sight that was in front of him as well. He looked at the warm heart that still pumped a few times in his hand. Goosebumps ran throughout his entire body and he felt like throwing up.

    So, he quickly tossed the heart aside and then got up on his feet.

    And while he was still under extreme stress after taking someone¡¯s life, he ran away from the scene.

 Chapter 291 - 291 Frenzy of Sneezing

    291 Frenzy of Sneezing

    While Everard sitting down alone at the edge of a small cliff and was drowning in the sea of guilt after killing someone, someone else was busy looking towards the manor of alpha Romulus and plotting something devilish.

    ¡®You are going to pay for what you did, Mr. Alpha,¡¯ Herald thought to himself and then slowly began heading towards the manor.

    After walking for a few minutes, Herald took a small vial from the left pocket of his waistcoat. It contained some kind of liquid in it.

    Herald looked at the vial and then whispered to it, ¡°You better work. Or else I will have to work a lot harder than what I have nned for tonight.¡±

    He pulled the lid of that vial and then poured a few drops of that liquid onto the tip of his finger. Then he dabbed that finger below his ears and on his wrist. He repeated that process until he was giving off some kind of strange smell. That strong smell didn¡¯t seem to bother him though.

    Herald then looked around to see if there was anyone in the vicinity. He saw that the carriage that had dropped him off had already disappeared. And there wasn¡¯t anyone around who could possibly see him unless they had sharper vision than him.

    He then looked at the sky and thought to himself, ¡®Okay, which path shall I take? The road or the sky?¡¯

    He narrowed his eyes at the sky that was now starting to get darker and thought, ¡®It isn¡¯t that dark yet. So, I guess I should take the road. I can use the sky after finishing off my job.¡¯

    After making that decision, Herald looked at the manor that was straight ahead of him and stretched his arms a few times. And then in the next second, he ran so fast that he was practically invisible to normal human eyes.

    .....

    Shortly after he neared the manor, he saw a few werewolves at the gate.

    One of them was looking directly in his direction. But Herald kept on running nheless.

    It looked like those werewolves¡¯ vision also couldn¡¯t catch up to Herald¡¯s speed because that werewolf simply looked away.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± another werewolf looked at Herald and asked the first werewolf.

    The first werewolf simply shrugged and asked, ¡°The wind?¡±

    The second werewolf didn¡¯t think that it was the wind. However, he didn¡¯t get to think much because all of a sudden, his nose started to itch very badly. He rubbed his nose violently but the itch didn¡¯t go away. He then tried blowing his nose aggressively but to no avail. Instead of feeling relieved, he began to sneeze very loudly and unstoppably.

    And not just him, the other werewolves who were in the vicinity also began to sneeze uncontrobly.

    They were so busy sneezing and rubbing their nose that none of them noticed the ¡®wind¡¯ jumping over the fence and heading for the manor.

    The same phenomenon repeated with the other werewolves who were inside the manor. Not a single one of the werewolves was in the right state to notice that someone had broken inside the manor. And the humans, well they wouldn¡¯t be able to see Herald anyway considering how fast he was running.

    And just like that, Herald was able to get inside the manor with great ease.

    After reaching the inside part of the manor, Herald finally came to a halt. He hid behind the corner of the thick pir and looked around. When he didn¡¯t see anyone around, he slowly headed towards the one ce where he had heard he would find the person he was looking for.

    He walked down the long corridor with caution and then at the end of the corridor, he came across the door that led him to the cold and dark dungeon.

    ¡®Ugh! What kind of god-awful smell is that?¡¯ Herald thought to himself when he inhaled some kind of rotten smelling from that ce.

    He looked around carefully to make sure that there wasn¡¯t anyone else down there in the dungeon.

    Instead of someone, his eyes fell on the blood stters that had covered the walls as well as the floor. And not just that, there were even some pieces of clothes that were stuck on the walls.

    ¡®That monster!¡¯ Herald widened his eyes at the sight of the horrible state of the dungeon. ¡®He killed humans here, didn¡¯t he?¡¯

    He looked around for some more and closed his eyes when he saw something stuck on one corner of the floor. ¡®Minced human flesh¡­¡¯ Herald knitted his brows and pinched his nose in disgust. ¡®He didn¡¯t just kill the humans, did he? He ate them¡­¡¯

    Herald then looked towards the entrance of the dungeon with determination and then thought, ¡®I still had some doubts about this decision of mine. But now, I don¡¯t think I will feel any pity or remorse towards him.¡¯

    Herald suddenly heard someone approaching the dungeon. ¡®Must be him,¡¯ he assumed and quickly went to stand in the darkest corner of the dungeon.

    The heavy footsteps slowly started to get closer and closer. And Herald spread his fingers and protruded all of his ws.

    He was going to ambush and attack his prey as soon as it came into view.

    The person who was walking down the stairs of the dungeon sneezed loudly when he smelled the same smell that had driven all the other werewolves into a frenzy of sneezing.

    ¡°What the hell smells so bad?¡± That person mumbled as he continued to walk down the stairs while sneezing again and again.

    ¡®Okay, here hees!¡¯ Herald narrowed his eyes at the end of the stairs.

    And the moment he saw someoneing into view, he was about to rush in. But he suddenly stopped himself from doing that when he saw that the man was carrying a helpless woman in his arms.

    The woman looked as though she was unconscious.

    When Herald¡¯s attention was diverted for a split second because of that woman, the man who was carrying that woman happened to notice Herald who was standing in the corner like a thief.

    He immediately dropped the woman on the floor and leaped towards Herald at once. He used his big hand to choke Herald and then asked in a throaty groan, ¡°Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 292 - 292 Assassin?

    292 Assassin?

    Although Herald was being choked by a really tall and muscr man, who looked more like a demon instead of a man, he didn¡¯t look fazed at all.

    Rather, he curiously looked at the facial features as well as bodily features of that man who was towering over him and then asked in a very calm voice, ¡°You¡¯re not the alpha, are you?¡±

    ¡°I am the one who does the questioning here! Now, answer me, or else, you won¡¯t see the light of the day.¡± yer threatened Herald and let out a low growl in order to intimidate him. As he was angry, his eyes shone brightly, and the color of his eyes was clearly visible in that dark dungeon.

    Upon seeing the amber eyes, Herald sighed as if he was greatly disappointed. ¡°Yes, definitely not the alpha. I should go and find him soon before everyone starts to recover,¡± he mumbled to himself and acted as if yer was invisible to him.

    When yer heard that man mentioning the alpha for the second time, he got enraged because he could tell that the man was there with some bad intentions toward his alpha.

    ¡°Why the hell are you after the alpha? What do you want? Are you an assassin?¡± yer suddenly shoved the man he was strangling into the wall with great force.

    A deep crack ran along the wall of the dungeon when Herald¡¯s head got banged onto that stone wall. However, he didn¡¯t even flinch.

    yer had expected the man¡¯s head to crack open when he banged that man¡¯s head against that stone wall using brute force. But when he saw the opposite happening, he was now sure that the man wasn¡¯t someone ordinary.

    Also, he had been trying to choke that vampire¡¯s neck for a long while now. But he was breathing perfectly fine. And for that man to easily withstand such great force, yer knew that he had to be someone really strong.

    .....

    yer was also sure that the man wasn¡¯t a werewolf because he didn¡¯t smell like one at all. He smelled really awful.

    He looked at the dark sunss that the man was wearing as if he was deliberately hiding his eyes. And suddenly, something struck in his mind.

    ¡°Who on Earth are you?¡± yer asked Herald, already guessing the answer.

    An evil smirk appeared on Herald¡¯s lips. And he said in the most bone-chilling voice ever, ¡°I am the phantom that your alpha managed to piss off. And I am here to give him a nice warning.¡±

    Herald then dramatically took off his shade to show off his crimson-red eyes.

    The moment yer saw the red eyes glowing in the dark, he felt goosebumps running down his whole body. Usually, he was not someone who would feel threatened by merely looking into someone¡¯s eyes. But for some reason, he felt the chills down to his bones.

    yer looked at that man who still didn¡¯t show any sign of fear whatsoever. ¡®Why does he show no fear when he is literally surrounded by us? Just who the hell is he? He is not the King of Sorvando, is he? I don¡¯t think he is.¡¯

    While yer was wondering who he was dealing with right now, Herald got bored with being cornered by that tall man. He grabbed yer¡¯s wrist and lifted it away from his throat with great ease.

    yer got shocked once more when he felt a sudden pain running up his arm to his shoulder de. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but deep down, he already knew that this vampire was probably even stronger than him if they were topare each other strength-wise.

    ¡®This is no ordinary vampire,¡¯ he thought to himself as he felt cold sweats running down his spine. He freed his wrist and pushed himself a little further away from that vampire.

    He positioned himself in between that vampire and the staircase and then thought, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t let him escape from here. Else, the alpha won¡¯t evenst a minute if this vampire is here with some malicious intent¡­¡¯

    yer looked at the way the vampire was smiling and screamed internally, ¡®He is definitely here with some malicious intent.¡¯

    As if to prove him right, Herald warned yer, ¡°I don¡¯t have any intention to harm you, Mr. tall man. I am here for your alpha. So, if you value your life, then step aside and I will go and find the person that I am looking for.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± yer forced a smile and asked, ¡°Do you think you can find him that easily? You will have to go through m¨C¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡± Before yer couldplete his sentence, Herald interjected in the middle, ¡°You can make my task easier by telling me where I can find him. If I know exactly where to find him at the moment then you will probably be saving some innocent lives because if anyone interferes with my search for your alpha then I will have to silence them.¡±

    yer was furious to hear all the nonsense that the vampire was spewing out. He instantly protruded his ws and snarled, ¡°Do you think that I will sell my alpha that easily? And do you think that I will let you escape from this dungeon and let you wander around the manor, killing everyone in sight? Never! Not on my watch!¡±

    ¡°I thought you would say that.¡± Herald smiled. ¡°You have my respect for being this loyal to your alpha. But really, does he deserve this loyalty that you show to him?¡± He pointed his brows at the woman who was still lying unconscious on the floor and asked, ¡°Even when you know such dirty deeds that your alpha does in this dark dungeon?¡±

    He disgustedly spat on the floor and said in an using tone, ¡°But you look like you are his aplice. Else, why would you willingly bring that woman here when you know what¡¯s going to happen to her? She is going to be locked in here until your so-called alpha feels like hunting, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    yer felt a sharp pain in his chest when Herald made a correct guess. He had never liked this dark side of his alpha. But even then, he had been facilitating his alpha¡¯s disgusting flesh fetish like a loyal dog.

    ¡°Just shut up!¡± yer shouted at the top of his lungs to shut the sounds that were getting louder and louder in his head. And before that vampire couldpletely take him down the guilt trip, he leaped in the air to finish off the vampire.

 Chapter 293 - 293 Crossing Paths

    293 Crossing Paths

    yer was really close to digging his ws into Herald¡¯s chest. And he thought that he could actually take care of the vampire right then and there.

    However, Herald easily grabbed yer by his wrist, kicked him in the gut, and then mmed him down on the floor.

    ¡°Not so easily, Mr. tall man,¡± Herald gave a smirk and twisted yer¡¯s arm.

    yer grunted in pain and tried to resist. But he couldn¡¯t free his hand at all. So, he kneed Herald on the stomach and tried to push that vampire off of him.

    But no matter how many times he kicked and kneed Herald, Herald didn¡¯t show any sign of pain, nor did he leave his hold on yer.

    Rather, Herald even teased the werewolf who was infamous for being the strongest and cruelest among their kind. ¡°Ooh! Yes. I was feeling itchy right there.¡± Herald smiled at the werewolf who was using all his might and trying to push him away.

    However, though Herald wasn¡¯t showing that he was being affected by the kicks, he was feeling the pain. Thus, to stop yer from continuously kicking him, he locked yer¡¯s arm using both of his hands and snapped his hand as if he was breaking a twig.

    ¡°Arghhhhhhhh¡­¡± yer¡¯s voice echoed throughout the dungeon once again and even traveled outside.

    And the moment yer took a brief pause from the kicking, Herald banged his head onto yer¡¯s forehead so hard that the werewolf cked out.

    .....

    Herald took a deep sigh and looked at the unmoving body of yer. And he mumbled to himself, ¡°He was one hell of a strong man. But¡­¡± He got up on his feet and praised himself, ¡°He wasn¡¯t strong enough to incapacitate me.¡±

    Herald looked towards the stairs of the dungeon. Suddenly, the proud smile on his face was reced by anger and disgust.

    He narrowed his eyes and then thought to himself, ¡®Now, let¡¯s not waste any more time. I need to find that anomaly before the others recover from their sneezing fit¡­ I bet most of them have already recovered.¡¯

    Herald quickly made his way toward the staircase. He looked at the woman lying unconscious on the floor as he passed by and thought, ¡®Well, I guess you will get to live¡­ whoever you are.¡¯

    ¡®Because I am going to end the life of the very person who wanted to end yours.¡¯ He gritted his teeth and then started to climb up the stairs.

    When he walked outside of the dungeon, he could still hear a few of the werewolves sneezing and sniffling.

    ¡®It didn¡¯t affect that tall man that much though,¡¯ he wondered to himself and kept on sneaking and scanning the area.

    After looking through several rooms and passing a few corridors, Herald wondered if the alpha was even there. ¡®Maybe he went somewhere else? Else, ording to the whispers that I heard, he is always in the dungeon around this time. And he stays there for an hour or two.¡¯

    He furrowed his brows and pondered, ¡®Did he, by chance, got extremely affected by the smell of the herb that I am wearing? And he strayed away from his usual routine? Should I have just killed everyone who got in my way? Maybe then, I could have found him easily.¡¯

    He sighed because it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Everything was already done and his n was already in motion. ¡®Let¡¯s just find him anyhow and get the job done.¡¯

    Herald quickly hid behind a tall indoor nt when he heard someone.

    ¡°I tried to find the cause behind the sudden sneezing problem. But¡­ I didn¡¯t find anything.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you doing here in front of me? Go back and try to locate the main source of this god-awful smell. I feel like my nose is about to drop!¡±

    ¡°Yes, alpha!¡±

    Herald¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up when he heard someone addressing the rude-sounding person as the alpha. ¡®Atst¡­¡¯

    ¡°And where the hell is yer? Has anyone seen him?¡± Herald heard the irritating voice again.

    After some silence, Herald heard someone whispering to the alpha. ¡°I saw him taking that guest to the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I almost forgot abou¨C Achoo! Ugh! I thought the stench was settling down. But it¡¯s getting stronger again! Do something!¡±

    Herald heard the footsteps dispersing very quickly. ¡®Should I finish him right here? Or should I wait until he goes to the dungeon?¡¯

    He recalled all the bloodstains that he saw in the dungeon and then made a decision. ¡®The dungeon it is. I am going to wash off his victim¡¯s blood with his blood.¡¯

    When all the noises died down, Herald walked out of his hiding ce and then went back towards the dungeon.

    Upon reaching the door of the dungeon, he could hear a few people murmuring. ¡®I guess someone found the unconscious one.¡¯

    Without caring if there were more than one werewolf in the dungeon, he stepped in.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    A man asked when they heard someone locking the door of the dungeon from the inside.

    They didn¡¯t sound rmed yet though.

    Herald eagerly walked down the stairs and before the others came into view, he replied in a threatening tone, ¡°Someone you wish you never crossed paths with.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Do you want to die or something?¡± Someone walked towards the staircase to see who was trying to be funny in the presence of the alpha.

    ¡°No. But I¡¯m sure you want that because¡­¡± Herald came into everyone¡¯s view and said in a chilling tone, ¡°If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t be approaching me this carelessly.¡±

    That man widened his eyes when he saw the red pair of eyes that were ring at him. ¡°A vamp¨C¡±

    Before he could even finish his sentence, Herald snatched the heart out of that man¡¯s chest. That man¡¯s body dropped to the floor with a loud thud.

    Romulus, as well as the other two werewolves who were trying to wake yer up were stunned by everything that unfolded in front of their eyes.

    Herald gave a death re to all three of them and asked in a spine-chillingly cold voice, ¡°Okay. Who¡¯s next?¡±

 Chapter 294 - 294 Rest Well

    294 Rest Well

    ¡°What are you waiting for, you idiots!¡± Romulus shouted as soon as he saw Herald looking at him and taking a step towards him. ¡°Finish him already!¡±

    Both of the werewolves who were unfortunate enough to have heard yer¡¯s screams earlier had no choice but to charge at the scary-looking vampire and defend their alpha from the intruder.

    Herald stood right where he was even when he saw both of the werewolves sticking their ws out anding at him from two separate directions.

    One of them was aiming for Herald¡¯s heart while the other was aiming to bite his neck.

    When the two of them leaped in the air at once, Herald hovered in the air and flew backward. Those two almost collided with themselves. But they somehow managed to use each other tond on their feet.

    And when they were about to jump again, Herald shot himself forward and grabbed both of those werewolves by their cor. Then he flew straight past Romulus and towards the wall.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Both of the werewolves got mmed against the stone wall so hard that they could feel their internal organs rupturing inside their chests.

    Romulus, on the other hand, was drowning in fear upon seeing that vampire flying around in the dungeon, killing his pack members as easily as killing bugs. And the reason why he was scared wasn¡¯t just because of that. It was because he was seeing his strongest man lying unconscious on the floor, probably after facing off against this very mysterious vampire.

    When Herald dropped both of the werewolves to the floor, both of them started to cough up blood. They weren¡¯t in any state to get up on their feet and fight Herald again.

    .....

    ¡°Let me put you off of your misery,¡± Herald gritted through his teeth and slowlynded on his feet. He was about to finish both of them when he heard loud knockings on the door.

    ¡°Alpha! Is there a fight going on?¡± Someone asked from outside.

    Romulus finally snapped out of his daze upon hearing that voice. He looked over his shoulder only to see the vampire looking back at him. Both of them kept on looking at each other without moving a muscle.

    The people outside were now starting to bang on the door thinking that their alpha was really in some big trouble.

    ¡°Alpha! Please, answer us! Are you okay?¡± Someone kept on asking, desperate to hear alpha¡¯s voice.

    But Romulus didn¡¯t dare to speak. He was very much aware that the moment the vampire would decide to attack him, he would be far from being okay.

    Herald slowly turned to face Romulus, ready to attack him. The people outside were close to breaking down the door and he didn¡¯t want to kill more than what was necessary. He was there for Romulus. And Romulus was standing right before his eyes. So, he thought of finishing the alpha quickly and escaping.

    Romulus, on the other hand, was looking for an opportunity to run away from the dungeon. The way that vampire was giving a death re to him, something in his head asked him to run as far away from this vampire as he could.

    If it was any other vampire then he wouldn¡¯t have left a chance to relish the kill. However, he could already tell that he wouldn¡¯t be a match for this vampire.

    Thus, he slowly turned his head to look at his one and only escape route.

    Herald could read what was in Romulus¡¯ mind because of the way he was looking at the stairs instead of facing him.

    And just when Romulus raised his foot, Herald said in a low growl, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have turned your back on me.¡±

    Romulus felt his heart sinking when he heard that cold threatening voice. His ears instantly caught the swooshing sound and within a spilt second, rather than running toward the stairs and leaving his back open for attack, he turned to face the vampire.

    He turned right in time to block the hand that wasing right at his heart. He grabbed that vampire¡¯s hand and opened his mouth to bite.

    ¡°Old trick!¡± Herald scoffed mockingly and punched Romulus right in the face with his other hand.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Romulus took several steps back and held out his wed hands in front of his face so as to guard it against such direct punches again.

    Romulus suddenly felt some warm liquid trickling down his nose and pressed his palm on his nose to see what it was. ¡°Blood!¡± he widened his eyes in shock.

    ¡°Blood?¡± Someone eximed from outside. ¡°Alpha! Wait for us! We are close to breaking this door down. Please hold on for some seconds.¡±

    Herald let out a satisfied smirk when he smelled the sweet scent of the alpha¡¯s blood. ¡°It¡¯s unfair how even a bitter person like you has this sweet-smelling blood in you,¡± Herald mumbled and immediately leaped to finish off the alpha before the other werewolves would start to crawl in.

    Romulus deflected the attack of the vampire and leaped backward.

    Herald instantly closed the gap between them and threw another punch right on Romulus¡¯ nose and mouth.

    Romulus groaned and snarled at Herald while showing his bloody fangs.

    ¡°Disgusting!¡± Herald wrinkled his nose after seeing the bloody teeth of Romulus. ¡°But I like it that you look this disgusting.¡± He smiled and muttered while flicking his ws, ¡°I wonder how you will look when your whole body is covered in your own blood.¡±

    ¡°Why the hell are you after me? And who the hell are you?¡± Romulus shouted in an attempt to stall Herald until some meat shields broke into the dungeon.

    Herald suddenly got all serious when he heard that question from Romulus. He slowly started to close the gap between him and the alpha.

    Romulus slowly backed off until his back got pressed against the cold wall of the dungeon. He sharply inhaled as he got startled when he felt that cold on his back.

    Herald liked seeing that fear in Romulus¡¯ eyes. He red at the werewolf and replied in a throaty whisper, ¡°All I wished for was to live a really peaceful life. And I wanted the same thing for the person who is very dear to me. But you dared to ruin that peace for the both of us. So¡­ you are going to pay for that grave crime with your life.¡±

    He looked into the soul of that werewolf he hated and whispered, ¡°Rest well, you arsehole.¡±

 Chapter 295 - 295 Bodies

    295 Bodies

    ¡°Rest well, you arsehole.¡±

    Romulus felt Herald¡¯s voice creeping under his skin. His mind told him that he was in immense danger right now. And there was nothing he could do to stall the vampire until the ipetent meat shields broke in. The only option left was to fight the vampire head-on.

    However, before he could even prepare himself, he saw a set of sharp ws swinging right at him.

    Herald had shed his ws against Romulus¡¯ neck without showing any mercy.

    Romulus widened his eyes in utter shock when he felt warm liquid flowing down his neck. He held his breath and quickly grabbed his neck in order to stop the bleeding until his healing kicked in.

    But before the wounds on his neck could heal on their own, Romulus felt such excruciating pain in his neck that he thought his head would fall off of his neck.

    He looked at the vampire and saw him enjoying the pain that he had inflicted. That disgustingly proud smirk on his face made Romulus¡¯ eyes to instantly turn red with rage. He felt his blood boiling inside his veins.

    ¡®No, I¡¯m not going to die at the hands of a vampire!¡¯ he screamed in his head and decided to put on the fight of his life. ¡®Right now, only I can save myself.¡¯

    Romulus gave a death re to Herald and let out a deep growl as a warning sign.

    .....

    Herald didn¡¯t even take a defensive stance even after seeing that offensive stance of the werewolf. Rather, he looked Romulus dead in the eyes and grumbled, ¡°For every life that you¡¯ve taken and for every people that you¡¯ve put in danger, I am going to drown you in your own blood.¡±

    ¡°As if I will silently let you have your way!¡± Romulus shouted in anger and instantly kicked Herald in the chest so as to push him away from him.

    However, instead of getting thrown into the air like the others who Romulus had fought before, Herald gabbed Romulus¡¯ leg and twisted it.

    ¡°Arghhhhh¡­¡± Romulus growled when he felt excruciating pain in his hip.

    Herald didn¡¯t leave Romulus¡¯ leg yet. He twisted that leg even further topletely break it at the hip joint, and while Romulus kept on screaming in agony, he easily pushed that werewolf down to the floor.

    Herald straddled the werewolf who was wriggling in pain on the floor and looked at him with immense hatred in his eyes. He flicked his ws in front of him and before Romulus could attempt any futile attack on him once again, he swished his hands across Romulus¡¯ body, leaving him with several cuts and deep wounds.

    The intensity of Romulus¡¯ gut-wrenching scream increased even further. There wasn¡¯t a single ce on his body that wasn¡¯t bleeding and that wasn¡¯t in extreme pain.

    ¡°Get off of me!¡± Romulus shouted as tears rolled down his temples.

    ¡°I will get off after I finish you.¡± Herald ced his ws on Romulus¡¯ chest and spoke as if he was about to do a great favor to Romulus, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t take long now. I would have tortured you more but your minions are about to break that reinforced door that you had built.¡±

    Herald raised his hand once more to sh his ws against his prey¡¯s chest.

    However, he paused when he heard someone grunting. He turned his head thinking it was one of the two werewolves who he hadn¡¯t finished earlier. But he was somewhat surprised to see that it was yer who was awake.

    ¡®What the hell happened?¡¯ yer tried to recall how he lost his consciousness and looked around the room.

    He got the shock of his life when he saw his alpha pinned down by that mysterious vampire who he had fought earlier.

    ¡°I thought you would be asleep for a little longer,¡± Herald said in a mocking tone and focused his attention back on Romulus.

    yer immediately shouted while pushing himself up on his feet, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare do anything to him!¡±

    Herald raised his hand in the air once again and mmed his fist into Romulus¡¯ chest. ¡°Toote!¡± he mumbled, and within a split second, he was holding Romulus¡¯ beating heart in his hand.

    yer froze on his track when he saw his alpha¡¯s lifeless body on the floor.

    A loud crashing sound was heard at that very moment. The werewolves who had been trying to break the door open finally managed to break it.

    Herald instantly took out a kerchief from his pocket and then wrapped it around the exposed lower half of his face.

    As the other werewolves started to rush down the stairs, Herald looked at his next targets. ¡®They have seen my face. I can¡¯t let them live now,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    And in the blink of an eye, Herald managed to fly around the dungeon and even break himself out of that dungeon by breaking the thick stone wall.

    As he merged with the darkness of the night and flew higher and higher, he heard loud screams and gut-wrenching cries of several werewolves. He let out a sigh after disappearing in the dark clouds and then looked at the three hearts that he was still holding in his palms.

    ¡°Sorry, you had to die for that worthless scumbag. May your souls rest in peace,¡± he whispered to the hearts and then dropped them to be found by the werewolves.

    And as he kept on flying, he took off the kerchief and wiped his bloody hands with it.

    ¡°I should get rid of all this evidence,¡± he mumbled as a reminder to himself and disappeared within the clouds.

    Back in the dungeon, all the werewolves were mourning the death of not just their alpha, but also their beta.

    Some were gathered around the lifeless bodies of their pack leaders, some were running around in order to catch the culprit, while some were still in utter disbelief that such tragedy had urred right under their noses.

    Amidst all that chaos, the unconsciousdy who yer had dropped in the dungeon finally regained consciousness.

    She pushed her red hair away from her face and looked around the dungeon in horror.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she whispered.

 Chapter 296 - 296 Wildfire

    296 Wildfire

    The news about the murder of Romulus and yer spread far and wide like wildfire within a very short span of time.

    All pack members of the Atkinson n instantly knew about the death of their alpha since they felt a great sense of despair deep down in their souls. They all wailed and cried to mourn the untimely death of two of their important figures.

    Some of them even thought of ending their own lives because of the connection they had with their alpha and beta. They felt as though the world hade to an end and there was no purpose in being alive anymore.

    However, not everyone was affected this severely by the news. Among them, there was one person who felt neither happy nor sad because of the demise of Romulus.

    In a mansion in another town, a man with average height and a confident posture was spreading his arms while his servants were dressing him up. His kind dark-brown eyes looked lost in their own world. And his facial expression gave a familiar vibe. He looked very approachable and friendly.

    When he was almost done dressing up, there was a soft yet urgent knock on the door.

    A man walked in while holding a letter in his hand and then said while handing over the letter, ¡°I think what we all felt earlier wasn¡¯t a random feeling. Someone brought the news from the capital.¡±

    ¡°Read it for me.¡± The lord of the mansion sat down on a chair and allowed his servant to put the shoes on him.

    The man who had brought the letter opened it and then read it out loud for everyone in the room to hear.

    .....

    ¡°Respected sir,

    We are deeply saddened to inform you that a tragic incident has taken ce in the manor. Both our alpha and beta lost their lives in a mysterious manner. And currently, we all are in deep sorrow and trouble.

    We would like to request you toe to the manor and take charge of the investigation of the assassination. We would also be a littleforted if you step in as the Acting Alpha until the formal selection is carried out in theing full moon.

    Sincerely,

    Jake Greyson.¡±

    The lord heaved a deep sigh after listening to the contents of the letter. He got up on his feet and pulled the sleeves of his shirt. And he murmured without showing any sadness on his face, ¡°I would have loved to say that I am surprised to hear the news, but I am not. He was too ambitious and unruly. This was bound to happen one day or another.¡±

    The man who brought the letter looked a little disappointed to hear that. But he maintained hisposure and asked, ¡°So, what do you n to do about this matter?¡±

    The lord put on his coat and replied as he buttoned it up, ¡°Why do you think I am all dressed up? I have no choice but to go to the capital and find out the person or organization who orchestrated my brother¡¯s assassination. I should thank them in person for ridding the world of that fool.¡±

    The other man hurriedly put the letter on the table and then said, ¡°Then I am alsoing along with you. Just let me change my shoes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Ethan. I will head there first. You can catch up with meter on.¡±

    ¡°Regulus! Wait! I don¡¯t think you should¨C¡± Before Ethan could protest against that decision, Regulus stormed out of the room and disappeared from view.

    ¡ª

    The news about the assassination of Romulus and yer reached the ears of Jerome as well. And unlike Regulus, he looked really restless and worried. He was worried not just because of the sudden death of the alpha of the other n, but because Everard happened to meet Romulus that very day.

    He was pacing back and forth in his workroom in the castle and was mumbling to himself, ¡°I just hope that that visit to the distillery won¡¯te back to bite us.¡±

    ¡°The King didn¡¯t have a fight with Romulus though. So, I think he should be fine.¡± Jerome aimlessly darted his eyes around the room and kept on walking back and forth, contemting whether or not he should ask the King to initiate an investigation regarding the sudden tragedy.

    After thinking about it for quite a while, Jerome shook his head and concluded, ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be a wise decision to meddle in that matter. They might think that we are just trying to cover up our tracks in the name of investigation. Yes, it is better to stay away from that matter unless theye to us and ask for our help.¡±

    Jerome sighed and pressed his palm on his head. ¡°I think my head will burst if I keep on thinking about this.¡±

    He decided not to dwell on that topic for now and then went to sit down on the chair.

    ¡°Jerome?¡±

    He instantly got up on his feet when he heard Everard¡¯s voice from outside the room before the door was unlocked.

    He bowed to the King and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, did you need anything? I thought you would be in your bed by now.¡±

    Everard walked inside the room and then sat down on Jerome¡¯s chair. He rested his head on the backrest and stared at the ceiling above him. He heaved a deep sigh and then asked, ¡°Jerome, have you ever killed someone?¡±

    Jerome suddenly felt his heart sinking when he heard that question from Everard. His mind made him think that it was Everard who had killed Romulus and yer, and a few other werewolves from the Atkinson n.

    ¡°Y-You killed someone?¡± he asked the King in horror.

    Everard frowned and then looked at Jerome. He looked really disturbed and fidgety. ¡°What do you mean? You saw me kill that man in the afternoon!¡±

    ¡°Oh! Ah! Hmm¡­¡± Jerome sighed in relief.

    And seeing Jerome getting rxed all of a sudden, Everard widened his eyes and asked in a hurt tone, ¡°What¡¯s with that expression? Did you just assume that I killed someone other than that man?¡±

 Chapter 297 - 297 Drowning in Guilt

    297 Drowning in Guilt

    Everard felt a stinging pain in his heart when Jerome didn¡¯t immediately deny the random usation. ¡°You did think that I killed other people as well, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Jerome guiltily scratched his chin and apologized, ¡°Please forgive me for assuming things, Your Majesty. You were nowhere to be found for a few hours, and I¡­ Umm¡­ I apologize again. I am not in the right state of my mind.¡±

    Everard was dumbfounded when Jerome epted that he indeed thought that way. He got up on his feet and stood while directly facing Jerome.

    Then he asked in an even more hurt voice, ¡°Why would you even think that? I am not a serial killer, Jerome! I was drowning in guilt so I wanted to be left alone. Even now, I can¡¯t seem to forget that eerie feeling that took over my mind at that time. That¡¯s why I came here to see you, thinking you would help me.¡±

    Jerome kept on hanging his head low for offending the King.

    Everard looked at Jerome with a sad look in his eyes and mumbled in his guilt-ridden voice, ¡°I think I will take my own life if I ever¡­ kill another person again. The burden, the guilt¡­ It¡¯s just too much for me to handle.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t know how much Jerome felt at peace when he said that. Everard had disappeared for quite a few hours after he had killed Graham in the heat of the moment. And since he was nowhere to be found, Jerome almost believed that the real culprit behind the other mysterious deaths was also Everard.

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Everard asked Jerome when he saw thetter lost in his deep thoughts.

    Jerome took a deep breath and replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He tapped his foot on the floor for a while and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I think I don¡¯t need to remind this to you but¡­ I think you should start working on controlling your rage from now on. Else, just like today, you will end up doing things that you will regret.¡±

    .....

    Everard knitted his brows together and nodded his head. ¡°I never knew the anger couldpletely take over my mind like that. At that time, all I could think of was violence and nothing else. It was like¡­ It was like I waspletely a different person.¡±

    ¡°Yes, our rage is very strong and dangerous.¡± Jerome¡¯s irises dted when he further mumbled, ¡°And if we let it take control of our rational mind, we will be no more than some savage animals roaming in the forest.¡±

    There wasplete silence in the room for a few minutes. Both of them were reflecting on the things that had happened during the day.

    ¡°What happened to Graham¡¯s body?¡± Everard asked in a low voice.

    Jerome cleared his throat and answered, ¡°I had the room cleaned up. And I handed over his body to his family. I made them aware of the things that he did and how his action adversely affected you. They were obviously not happy about how he died without even getting a chance for a fair trial. But they aren¡¯t angry at you since how he tried to take thew in his own hands was a serious crime.¡±

    Everard felt the pit of his stomach twisting very badly when he heard that Graham had a family. ¡°Does he have any children?¡± he asked, hoping to hear a ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.

    However, he felt his heart aching upon hearing Jerome¡¯s reply. ¡°Yes. He has two sons and a daughter.¡±

    ¡°How old are they?¡± Everard gulped and shakily breathed out, preparing himself to feel guiltier than before.

    Jerome could tell how Everard would feel after hearing the answer. But he didn¡¯t try to conceal the information because he wanted Everard to take the full burden of killing someone like that.

    ¡®At least it might prevent him from repeating the same mistake in the future,¡¯ Jerome thought to himself and then replied, ¡°The sons are 14 and 12 years old. And the daughter is 8. And now, they just have a single mother who they can depend on.¡±

    Everard felt like punching himself in the gut for acting out rashly and not even thinking about the consequences before he ripped the heart of that man like that.

    He sat down on the chair again and held his head with both of his hands. And he started cursing himself, ¡®What have I done? I stole their father from them! They might not have anything against me now because they don¡¯t understand much¡­ But in the future, I am sure that they will resent me greatly¡­ I just earned more enemies, didn¡¯t I?¡¯

    After a long battle in his head, Everard lifted his head to look at Jerome and gave an order to him, ¡°Please take care of their needs¡­ That is the least I can do.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Your Majesty,¡± Jerome replied and gave a slight bow to the King.

    Everard turned his head and looked at the open door. He thought of going back to his bedchamber and drowning himself in the ocean of guilt for the rest of the night.

    Just when he was about to get up from the chair, Jerome cleared his throat and said, ¡°Your Majesty, there¡¯s something that you might want to know.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Everard asked.

    Jerome sped his hands together and replied, ¡°Earlier, I received the news that there had been an incident in the Atkinson manor. Um¡­¡±

    ¡°What incident?¡± Everard narrowed his eyes and sarcastically asked, ¡°Did they burn down the whole distillery to hide their tax fraud or something?¡±

    Jerome sighed and replied in a serious manner, ¡°I would have been happy if that was the news that I was going to deliver to you. But it is something more serious.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Everard was still thinking it was rted to the investigation that he had carried out during the day.

    But he was stunned when he heard Jerome.

    ¡°Both the alpha and the beta of the Atkinson n were murdered, along with three other werewolves of the same n.¡±

 Chapter 298 - 298 Bad Feeling

    298 Bad Feeling

    ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡± Regulus asked one of the guards as soon as he reached the gate of the mansion.

    The guard bowed to the guest in panic and stuttered, ¡°I d-don¡¯t think anyone has moved him from t-the ce where he was l-l-lst found.¡±

    ¡°And where might that be?¡± Regulus¡¯ voice sounded as calm as the sea even when he looked like he was in a hurry to see the dead body of his brother.

    The guard kept on bowing his head when he answered, ¡°In the dungeon, Milord.¡±

    Regulus instantly headed towards the dungeon at a speed that was faster than the wind. He briefly paused when he reached the broken-down door of the dungeon. He narrowed his eyes at the damaged steel door and then ran down the stairs.

    A man in histe fifties immediately stood in front of Regulus and gave a low bow. ¡°We were waiting for your arrival, Milord,¡± his voice sounded heavy, almost as if it was taking a great deal of effort for him to control himself from breaking down right then.

    ¡°Mr. Jake Greyson, I presume,¡± Regulus asked while slightly raising his brows.

    That man raised his head a bit and then replied, ¡°Yes, Milord. I was the one who sent that letter to you.¡± He then slightly stepped to the side revealing the gruesome murder scene to the newly arrived guest.

    Regulus looked at the dead body of Romulus. There was no change in his expression whatsoever. He looked at the body from the head to the toes. He saw how the body was covered in wounds, around the neck and the chest.

    .....

    Though he didn¡¯t show how he felt on the outside, he felt a prick in his heart when he saw the hole in his brother¡¯s chest.

    He slowly walked towards the unmoving body without shifting his gaze from it. He stopped right in front of the heart that was lying beside the body and then finally asked, ¡°So, nobody saw who the culprit was? Is that why you were asking me to carry out the investigation?¡±

    Jake faced the young lord and then replied, ¡°Yes, Milord. I wasn¡¯t here at the time of the incident. But after talking with some of the men, I found out that they heard loud screamsing from the dungeon and they tried to pry the door open. However, by the time they opened the door and ran inside, everyone who was here with our alpha was already dead.¡±

    Regulus looked at the yer and asked while narrowing his eyes at him, ¡°Are you sure they weren¡¯t fighting among themselves? I mean¡­ if I was yer then I would have probably yed my brother a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Er¡­¡± Jake knitted his brows and breathed ufortably. He then pointed towards the far end of the dungeon and said, ¡°Our men said that they heard a loud crashing noise as they ran down the stairs. The assassin probably escaped by breaking the wall over there.¡±

    One of the servants who was listening to the conversation ran towards the huge hole in the wall while carrying antern.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Regulus hummed when he noticed the hole that was big enough for a man to jump through.

    He walked towards that hole and then slowly leaned forward to see outside. He narrowed his eyes and tried to find the spot where the assassin hadnded. However, he looked a little disappointed when he didn¡¯t see any footprints over there.

    ¡®Is my eyesight getting bad or are there really no footprints outside?¡¯ Regulus thought to himself and heaved a deep sigh. ¡°I guess I will have to look around in the morning again,¡± he mumbled and then turned on his heels to finally look around the room.

    He carefully examined each and every lifeless body and tried to guess how their lives were ended. He noticed how three of the bodies were missing their hearts.

    ¡®Did the culprit eat their hearts or something?¡¯ Regulus turned his head to look at his brother. A slight hint of disgust lingered over his face. ¡®If that¡¯s the case then I bet the culprit was trying to get revenge on my brother. I mean¡­ he did gobble up many¡­ hearts and all¡­¡¯

    He narrowed his eyes at his brother¡¯s lifeless body and sighed. ¡®If only you hadn¡¯t been greedy, maybe you would be alive today.¡¯

    He then looked away from his brother and said while walking away, ¡°I would like to rest for the night. Send a search party to look around the vicinity of the manor for any unidentified footprints or any clue that might lead us to the killer.¡±

    Jake walked behind the young lord and gave an update to him, ¡°I have already sent out several search parties for that purpose. But we haven¡¯t found any clue until now. I will immediately inform you if we do find something.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Regulus slowly climbed the stairs and asked, ¡°Show me to my room. I ran so fast that my calves hurt like hell.¡±

    Although Jake didn¡¯t like how Regulus wasn¡¯t taking his own brother¡¯s assassination seriously, he couldn¡¯t force Regulus into taking the lead in the investigation as soon as he arrived.

    ¡®I just hope that the killer won¡¯t run away from the Kingdom by tomorrow morning,¡¯ Jake thought to himself and then walked ahead of the young lord to show him to his room.

    He opened the door of one of thergest guest rooms in the manor and then said, ¡°I had asked the servants to prepare this room for you. I hope you will get a good night¡¯s rest.¡±

    Regulus looked inside the room and casually mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can sleep well because this isn¡¯t my own room.¡± He walked inside the room and then said after sitting down on the bed, ¡°But this will have to do for tonight.¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Jake looked a little confused after hearing what Regulus said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to stay here with us? I thought you would help us to find and punish our alpha¡¯s murderer. Also, we all were hoping that you would like to step up as the alpha since you are the first pack member who has the im to that position.¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± Regulus gave a smile to Jake and said innocently, ¡°I will do everything that you expect of me. I was just saying that my brother¡¯s bedchamber would be morefortable for me since it is the best chamber of this manor.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Jake held his breath and kept on looking at Regulus with a dumbfounded look on his face.

    He didn¡¯t like Regulus¡¯ carefree nature at all. And he didn¡¯t like how Regulus¡¯ priority was sleeping in afortable room rather than capturing Romulus¡¯ assassin.

    ¡®I have a very bad feeling about him being the alpha,¡¯ Jake thought to himself as he watched Regulus gettingfortable on the bed. ¡®I think I should discuss with the others and start looking for someone else who might be a better fit for the role.¡¯

 Chapter 299 - 299 Narrowed Down

    299 Narrowed Down

    ¡®Yes, I should definitely bring this issue up with the others. Else, our n is bound to be doomed if we leave it in the hands of Regulus,¡¯ Jake thought to himself and then walked away after closing the door to the guest room.

    He directed the others to wake Regulus up if they found some clues or pieces of evidence. Then he headed straight towards the house of one of the older pack members of the Atkinson n in order to discuss the matter that was bothering him more than the death of Romulus and yer.

    ¡ª

    Early in the morning, after discussing the matter regarding the next alpha, Jake returned to the manor with a few of the elders of the n.

    Since he was the advisor of the previous alpha, he led the discussion and put forth his grievance regarding the carefree nature of Regulus.

    After listening to Jake, the elders were convinced that if they handed over the role of the alpha to Regulus that easily then they would all be doomed.

    Thus, overnight, they had reached a conclusion that they were going to let every able-bodied man topete for the position of the alpha.

    And they hade to the manor to bring this decision in front of the one who had the first im over such an important position of the n.

    ¡°I hope he won¡¯t get angry at us for deciding all this without him.¡± One of the elders who had seen the angry side of the previous alpha got a little nervous when they were about to walk inside the front door of the manor.

    .....

    Jake took a deep breath as he led all the elders down the corridor. And he softly mumbled, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t even respect his dead brother then he doesn¡¯t have any right to lead us all.¡±

    The other elder added rather arrogantly, ¡°And we are the oldest members of the n. He should respect our decision and do as we say. He isn¡¯t our alpha yet. He¡¯s just a candidate. It doesn¡¯t matter if he gets angry or whatever.¡±

    When they all reached the guest room where Regulus was staying in, Jake softly knocked on the door and said, ¡°Milord, I wanted to discuss a few things with you. May Ie in?¡±

    He waited for a while to get a reply. But when he didn¡¯t hear a word from the other side of the door, he decided to open the door. He was too restless to wait around when there was another equally important matter to take care of.

    ¡°Excuse me for the intrus¨C¡± Jake stopped midsentence when he didn¡¯t see anyone in the room. ¡°Lord Regulus?¡± he called the young lord to check if he was somewhere else in the chambers.

    However, just like earlier, there was no answer.

    ¡°I think he is somewhere else,¡± Jake looked at the elders who were standing behind him and then said in an apologetic tone. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all wait in the meeting room by the alpha¡¯s room? I will bring him there.¡±

    The others agreed and were about to walk away when they heard loud footstepsing from the other end of the corridor.

    Regulus swiftly ran and stood in front of everyone within seconds. He looked at everyone and said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was this important. All of the elders are here to greet me personally, I see.¡±

    Some of the elders sighed and rolled their eyes at that calm yet an arrogant man in front of them.

    Jake tried to defuse the tension in the air by saying, ¡°Um¡­ Lord Regulus, why don¡¯t we sit down and discuss a few things?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I was going to say the same.¡± Regulus walked inside his room and then sat down on the bed before Jake could ask him toe to the meeting room.

    Thus, the others also entered the room and then awkwardly stood in front of Regulus since there weren¡¯t enough chairs for all eight of them.

    Jake cleared his throat and then began the conversation, ¡°We all were discussing something during the night. And we thought that¨C¡±

    ¡°First, there¡¯s something important that you all should listen to.¡± Regulus intervened with Jake and started to exin everything that he was doing during the night. ¡°Unlike all of you, I wasn¡¯t busy talking for the whole night. I was looking for clues that could lead us to the killer. And I found the three hearts dumped a few meters away from this manor.¡±

    ¡°Three hearts?¡± Jake asked while furrowing his brows.

    ¡°Yes. The three missing hearts.¡± Regulus gave a nod and further borated his theory, ¡°Meaning, the killer wasn¡¯t one of the family members or close ones of my brother¡¯s victims.¡± He looked into Jake¡¯s eyes and emphasized, ¡°Victims¡­ meaning someone who he¡­¡±

    ¡°Who he¡­?¡± Jake looked confused since he wasn¡¯t aware of the disgusting fetish of the dead alpha.

    Regulus sighed and shook his head. ¡°Nothing. Just know that he did something awful behind the closed door of the dungeon. So, my point is, the killer wasn¡¯t someone who was directly rted to my brother¡¯s dungeon victims.¡±

    ¡°Not rted to dungeon victims¡­ Umm¡­ Okay. So, you are close to finding who the killer is?¡± Jake mumbled and waited for Regulus to exin it in a way that he would understand.

    Regulus shook his head and replied, ¡°Not that close just yet. But at least now we know can cross out the few possible suspects.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no good,¡± One of the elders arrogantly said. ¡°Crossing out one or two people doesn¡¯t do us any good. The killer might cross the border by the time you narrow it down to one or two suspects.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but I have already narrowed it down to a few people, kind sir,¡± Regulus said with an innocent smile on his face.

    ¡°You have?¡± Jake raised his brows in a surprised manner.

    Regulus shrugged and casually answered, ¡°I mean, there aren¡¯t many wolves who are stronger than yer, are there?¡±

 Chapter 300 - 300 Warning

    300 Warning

    ¡°What do you mean by there aren¡¯t many wolves who are stronger than yer? How does that narrow down the culprits?¡± the arrogant elder who was still looking for reasons to talk down to Regulus asked a bit rudely.

    Regulus crossed his legs and then looked at that elder straight in the eyes. And he corrected that elder, ¡°Culprit. Not culprits. If you had gone down to the dungeon and looked around instead ofing to me and asking stupid questions, then you would have known that the assassination was carried out by a single person.¡±

    ¡°How can you be so sure that it was just a single person?¡± that elder asked another question just because he didn¡¯t want to back down and look like he was giving in to the young lord. He wanted to look tough in front of all the others.

    Regulus didn¡¯t show it but he was starting to lose his patience as that old man wasn¡¯t giving him a chance to speak and exin things in his own pace.

    Thus, he gave a mirthless smile to that rude elder and said without munching his words, ¡°Another stupid question again! That¡¯s why I am telling you that you should have looked around the crime scene yourself.¡±

    ¡°But I just¨C¡±

    That old man was about to defend himself but Regulus interrupted him in the middle and gave him a cold re. And he warned that man in the most chilling voice yet, ¡°I might not look it but my anger is dangerous than that of my brother. So, if you don¡¯t want an untimely death like my brother then I suggest that you hold your tongue until I finish my exnation.¡±

    Everyone in the room felt goosebumps running down their bodies when they heard that warning.

    The arrogant elder adjusted his coat and then looked away while producing weird noises from his throat. He felt a little ashamed as well as scared when Regulus gave a warning without filtering out a word.

    .....

    When the room fell awfully quiet, Regulus took a deep breath in to calm his anger and then casually threw a satire at everyone, ¡°If you all had spent some time to inspect the crime scene of your alpha instead of gathering somewhere else and spending the whole night talking then maybe you all would be aware of the gravity of the situation by now.¡±

    All the elders as well as Jake held their heads down in shame.

    And Regulus finally exined what he had discovered by now, ¡°I know that the assassination was the job of a single person because the pattern of wounds that were inflicted on the victims were simr. And the way how they were killed was almost identical. Everyone died because that culprit plucked their hearts out. And the size of the hole in their chest is almost identical, meaning the holes were carved out by the same person.¡±

    Regulus leaned a little forward and then looked at everyone¡¯s faces. Then he asked them, ¡°And one of you were asking me how I narrowed down the culprits, and h h h. How do you think I narrowed them down?¡±

    None of the men dared to answer him because he had just warned them that he would kill them if they didn¡¯t hold their tongue.

    Regulus smirked at that absolute silence and answered his question himself, ¡°Just think about it yourself. There were five of them in that dungeon. One of them, yer, is the undefeated wolf of our n. And for a single person to finish all five of them that easily, I don¡¯t think someone weak would have been able to attain that feat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I was saying that the culprit is someone who is stronger than yer.¡± Regulus got up from the bed and started to pace back and forth with his hands held behind his back.

    He narrowed his eyes as he got lost in his deep thoughts for a while.

    For the first time, Jake noticed a hint of anger on Regulus¡¯ face. It seemed like he did indeed care about his brother¡¯s death, and that he was doing all he could to get to the murderer of his brother.

    Regulus suddenly stopped in front of Jake and then asked while looking into his eyes, ¡°Tell me, Jake. The only ones who are stronger than yer are the alphas of the other ns, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Jake panicked for a second when Regulus suddenly asked such an outrageous question to him. But he quickly regained hisposure and nodded his head. ¡°You are correct, Milord.¡±

    The others were looking at Regulus with wide eyes, trying to think if he was being sarcastic or serious. If he was indeed being serious then that was a very bold thing to say.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be using other alphas without having a hard evidence on hand.¡± The arrogant old man couldn¡¯t resist talking. He didn¡¯t want Regulus to go around using the alphas of the other ns and give birth to an inter-n war.

    Regulus turned his head to look at that old man, almost scaring the soul out of him. However, instead of punishing that man for speaking when not asked to, he agreed with that man, ¡°Yes, I cannot use them without being a hundred percent sure. That¡¯s why I need proofs. And I want all of you to help me collect that proof.¡±

    All of the elders agreed with Regulus. If they worked together then they were sure that they could catch the culprit sooner.

    ¡°Okay, I think the discussion isplete for now.¡± Regulus ended the meeting after asking, ¡°See how you can contribute to the investigation and tell me what each of you will be doing. That way you all won¡¯t be repeating the same task.¡±

    Although the elders hade to the manor for apletely different reason, none of them dared to raise that issue since they didn¡¯t want to get on the bad side of Regulus. And since Regulus was now taking the investigation seriously, Jake also didn¡¯t want to raise that issue and anger the young lord.

    After everyone exited the room, Regulus grabbed a hold of Jake and then softly asked, ¡°Jake, how much do you know about the new King?¡±

 Chapter 301 - 301 Accusation

    301 usation

    ¡°About the new King?¡± Jake knitted his brows, wondering where Regulus was getting at by asking that question.

    Regulus tightened his clutch on Jake¡¯s shoulder and then nodded. ¡°Yes. The new King.¡±

    ¡°I just know a few generic things like where he studied and what he looks like,¡± Jake replied in a rather confused manner.

    ¡°Everyone knows where he studied, Jake!¡± Regulus took a deep breath in and then went to sit down on the bed again. He looked at Jake and asked a few more specific questions. ¡°I wanted to know what kind of a person he is. Is he also a werewolf? And if he is, how strong is he? I bet the Crestfires are going to select him as the next alpha, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Jake was now sure that Regulus was even suspecting the King ofmitting the murder of his brother. His face instantly turned pale because of nervousness.

    And instead of answering Regulus¡¯ question, he asked, ¡°Why would you think that the King might have something to do with our alpha¡¯s assassination? The King recently came back from Lavinya. I don¡¯t think he had any time in his hand to have enmity with our alpha.¡±

    Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that it was the King who killed my brother. I am just keeping him under suspicion because he was thest outsider who met Romulus.¡±

    ¡°He was thest outsider?¡± Jake looked at Regulus with a confused expression on his face.

    Regulus gave a re to Jake and asked sarcastically, ¡°I came all the way from my hometown and I already know who my brother met, what he did, and even what he ate for hisst meal. But you don¡¯t know anything even when you were here with my brother?¡±

    .....

    Jake hung his head low in embarrassment and apologized. ¡°Please excuse me, Milord. I will ask around and get a full update regarding everything.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need now.¡± Regulus rolled his eyes andy down on the bed while still facing Jake.

    He couldn¡¯t me Jake for not knowing anything because he knew how his brother was. ¡®He probably never even let this old mane near him. I doubt that Romulus ever took this man¡¯s advice even though he was the advisor. So, he must have made himself scarce.¡¯

    After thinking that, Regulus updated his brother¡¯s advisor about his brother¡¯s activities before he died.

    ¡°I heard from our men that the King came to the distillery for an inspection yesterday afternoon. Though I heard that no physical fight happened between him and my brother, I heard that the King was trying to shut my brother¡¯s pet project because of the tax fraud.¡±

    Jake nervously sped his hands together because using a King of something as big as murder without any solid proof was like inviting the destruction of the whole n.

    He gulped and then tried to make Regulus see how absurd he was sounding. ¡°I bet that was just a mere coincidence. Why would the King take someone¡¯s life just because of a small issue of tax fraud? I don¡¯t think we should discuss things about the King now.¡±

    Regulus was, however, not willing to clear off Everard¡¯s name from the list of the people who were under suspicion for the murder of Romulus. ¡°I know that nobody would kill someone over such a small issue like tax fraud.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes and mumbled, ¡°But for some reason, I am getting this uneasy feeling regarding the new King¡­ I will have to look more into him. Maybe there was some problem between the two of them that we don¡¯t know of.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°No buts.¡± Regulus cut Jake off in between and said, ¡°Oh, and uh¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes at Jake and said in an using tone, ¡°Apart from all the dead ones, you never told me that there was someone else in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Someone else?¡± Jake furrowed his brows and tried to think who the young lord was talking about. ¡°Oh! The guest of our alpha¡­ Umm¡­ Itpletely escaped my mind.¡± His face turned all red because Regulus had been catching his mistakes again and again.

    ¡°Guest of my brother, huh!¡± Regulus took a deep breath, knowing that his brother was going to do something disgusting to her. ¡°How long has she been staying here in the manor?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s been about a week or something. I heard that our alpha met her at the King¡¯s coronation and since she didn¡¯t have any ce to go, he offered shelter to her,¡± Jake replied rather confidently.

    Everyone was aware of that woman¡¯s presence in the manor because of the unmissable red hair that she had.

    Regulus scoffed and then mumbled, ¡°King¡¯s coronation! Coincidence much?¡± He looked at Jake and then asked, ¡°You sure that the King didn¡¯t have anything to do with my brother¡¯s murder? What if he deliberately sent that woman to my brother so that she could spy on him and provide information about his daily activities? Or what if he was here to rescue that woman because my brother kidnapped her?¡±

    Jake slightly tilted his head and asked in an obvious tone, ¡°If the King was here to rescue her then why didn¡¯t he take her with him? And why would a King need to send some spies and kill someone discreetly when he can directly send his soldiers and capture anyone in the Kingdom if he so desires? He can create fake evidence and hang anyone he wants.¡±

    Regulus shrugged and questioned back, ¡°Because he was too impatient to do all that? Ugh! I don¡¯t know...¡±

    There was silence in the room for a while. After hearing Jake¡¯s reasonings, Regulus started to think that it wasn¡¯t probably the King who killed his brother.

    ¡°How did my brother treat her?¡± Regulus sighed and asked in order to understand how his brother viewed that woman.

    Jake answered without missing a beat, ¡°He treated her with kindness. She is a very innocent and kind woman, so none of us treated her badly.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Treated her with kindness...¡± Regulus scoffed and asked again, ¡°Where is she right now? I was thinking of questioning her. Maybe she saw something while she was down there in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I doubt that she saw anything. From what I heard, she was unconscious for the whole time.¡± Jake looked at how Regulus was about to get mad again and instantly corrected himself, ¡°I think she is in her guest room at the moment. I will ask someone to send her to you.¡±

    ¡°Send her to the meeting room that my brother used,¡± Regulus asked Jake.

    Jake gave a polite bow to Regulus and took his leave, ¡°I will send her to the meeting room right away.¡±

    Regulus took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. And he mumbled to himself, ¡°I hope she saw the killer. Or at least heard his voice. It would be so much easier... Or... I hope she will confess if she is the real killer or assisted the killer in any way.¡±

 Chapter 302 - 302 Interrogation

    302 Interrogation

    When Regulus went to the meeting room, he found a woman sitting on a chair with a gloomy expression on her face. She looked so lost in her thoughts that she didn¡¯t even hear Regulus entering the meeting room.

    Thus, he cleared his throat a bit loudly to make his presence known to the woman. And when she looked at him, he gave her a subtle nod and asked, ¡°Are you the one who was there in the dungeon when the assassination happened?¡±

    The red-headed woman abruptly got up on her feet and bowed her head. And she answered the kind-looking man, ¡°Yes. It was me.¡±

    Regulus pointed at the chair that she was sitting on and asked politely, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your seat? You don¡¯t have to look so rmed. I just want to ask you a few questions.¡±

    The woman gave him a nod and sat back down on the chair.

    Regulus also took a seat that was in front of that woman. And for a few seconds, he looked at her and tried to read her.

    ¡®Somewhat scared, sad, and restless¡­¡¯ he concluded. Then he questioned himself, ¡®Why is she scared? Is she scared of me, scared because of the incident in the dungeon, or is she scared because she is hiding something?¡¯

    Since she was the only person present in the dungeon who came out alive, Regulus had already suspected that the woman might have something to do with the assassination.

    ¡®Just because she is a woman, it doesn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t have a hand in those murders. Who knows? Maybe it is her who killed everyone because they were about to do something to her. Or maybe she helped the one who killed them. Anything is possible.¡¯

    .....

    With that thought in mind, Regulus began his questioning. ¡°First, let me start by asking you your name, Mdy,¡± he said in a soft voice.

    The woman slightly lifted her gaze to look at Regulus. And she answered, ¡°Ruby. Ruby Thompson.¡±

    ¡°Thompson¡­¡± Regulus narrowed his eyes a little and said, ¡°Never heard of that surname before.¡±

    Almost instantly, Regulus saw that woman¡¯s expression changing into that of extreme fear. He could also hear her heartbeat rising very rapidly.

    He could tell that the woman was hiding something from him. Thus, he asked another question, ¡°Where are you originally from? I don¡¯t think I have seen a fair and red-headed woman in this region before.¡±

    Ruby took a deep breath in and answered without concealing anything, ¡°I am originally from Sorvando.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Regulus immediately got up on his feet and cautiously looked at Ruby. ¡°What are you?¡± he asked, even when he was clearly getting the scent of a wolf from her.

    Ruby clutched her gown with both of her hands and then replied very softly, ¡°I am just like you, Milord.¡±

    Regulus kept on looking at her with disbelief in his eyes. ¡°Sorvando is nond of the werewolves. So, how is it possible that you are from there?¡± His eyes gleamed with doubt when he further asked, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that you are a spy of that nation.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Ruby denied the usation without missing a beat.

    She shook her head and gave a pitiable look to Regulus. ¡°I am not their spy. I am a fugitive of Sorvando who ran away from captivity after injuring two of their guards.¡±

    When the doubt in Regulus¡¯ eyes didn¡¯t vanish, Ruby also got up from her seat and then tried to prove her innocence, ¡°Alpha Romulus knew everything about me. He brought me here to give shelter to me for a few weeks until I found a ce for myself. I had even found a small ce in the town, and I was ready to shift there in a day or two.¡±

    Regulus, however, simply scoffed and then mumbled what was in his mind, ¡°Alpha Romulus is dead. So, I don¡¯t know what he thought about you or if he knew anything about you at all. And you were found at the crime scene. So, right now, you are one of the suspects.¡±

    ¡°Suspect?¡± Ruby almost couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. ¡°Why would I do something like that to the person who put a roof over my head when I had no ce to go?¡± she screamed in a broken voice.

    Regulus shrugged and threw in some mad theories, ¡°Maybe he was trying to do force himself on you and you didn¡¯t like that? And you killed him in a whim of rage? Or maybe you were his prisoner and not a guest as everyone believes you to be. And the only way out of this manor that you found was to kill him?¡±

    Ruby grabbed the ends of her hair and asked in utter confusion, ¡°Force me? Prisoner? What are you even talking about? Alpha Romulus was a great man! I thought you were his brother. How can you even put such baseless usations on someone who just lost his life?¡±

    Regulus took a deep breath and walked over to the window. He looked outside while holding his arms behind his back. And he softly mumbled, more to himself than to Ruby, ¡°I am his brother. Yes. That¡¯s why I know how he is and how he thinks.¡±

    He then looked over his shoulder and asked Ruby, ¡°Tell me, were you one of the victims of my brother? You can be honest with me. Or were you a spy sent from the vampire Kingdom? You would blend right in among us since, somehow, you are a werewolf. Maybe those vampires asked you to eliminate my brother because... Well, I know he is the greatest arsehole to ever live. So, perhaps, he did something to anger those vampires?¡±

    ¡°I told you already¡­¡± Ruby breathed in with great difficulty upon the mention of the vampires. ¡°I am not a spy. I am a fugitive! And I am not Alpha Romulus¡¯ victim or prisoner or anything of that sort.¡±

    ¡°Then exin to me why exactly you were there in the dungeon? Did someone take you there? Did you follow someone? How did you end up in there?¡± Regulus turned on his heels and looked Ruby straight into her soul.

    ¡°I¨C¡± Ruby sighed in frustration and looked down at the floor. She had been trying to remember how she ended up there in the dungeon since yesterday. But there seemed to be a gap in her memory.

    She gulped restlessly and then softly mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t remember going there to the dungeon at all.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Regulus narrowed his eyes with suspicion once more. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what a person with ulterior motive would say¡­ ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯¡­¡±

 Chapter 303 - 303 Hazy

    303 Hazy

    ¡°No! I really don¡¯t remember how I ended up there in the dungeon!¡± Ruby raised her voice a little when Regulus made nderous allegations on her. ¡°And I definitely did not have any ulterior motive towards alpha Romulus.¡±

    Regulus folded his arms and took a step closer to Ruby. Although his facial expression didn¡¯t look that intimidating, his posture told a different story. ¡°Then tell me why you were there in the dungeon if you didn¡¯t have any ulterior motive?¡±

    Ruby knitted her brows together and looked down at the floor. The frown line in between her brows kept on getting deeper and deeper as she tried her best to remember how she actually ended up in the dungeon.

    She kept on getting more nervous as she could feel Regulus¡¯ re on her. ¡®I have to remember¡­ Or else, they will all think that I am the one who killed all those people¡­¡¯

    Ruby closed her eyes and tried to think back to thest memory she had before finding herself on the cold floor of the dungeon, surrounded by all the people who were mourning the death of their alpha and beta.

    ¡®Please God, give me the opportunity to defend myself¡­¡¯ Ruby nervously sped her hands together and kept on repeating in her head as she scavenged through her memory to try and find thest thing she recalled before waking up from her unconscious state.

    Regulus waited for a while for Ruby to speak up. However, the longer she kept her eyes closed, the more restless he was getting. ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything to say, then I will lock you in the dungeon.¡±

    Ruby abruptly opened her eyes and eximed, ¡°No! Please! I am trying to rec¨C¡±

    ¡°Maybe then you will recall what actually happened.¡± Regulus took one more step towards Ruby and red down at her. ¡°I will dly help you to jog your memory, Miss Ruby,¡± he further grumbled with the intention to actually act out on the threat he had just made.

    .....

    ¡°No, wait! Ple¨C¡± Ruby shuddered as goosebumps ran throughout her body. ¡°I¡¯m trying¡­¡± she whispered as she suddenly felt the whole room spinning uncontrobly.

    Regulus quickly grabbed Ruby by her waist when he sensed that she was losing her bnce and was about to hit the floor hard.

    He looked down at Ruby¡¯s innocent face as she happened to rest her head on his chest. For a second, he even felt pity for the youngdy who he believed was most likely telling the truth.

    ¡®Should I just let her be for now? I can keep her under house arrest and question her again,¡¯ he wondered to himself when suddenly, he saw Ruby opening her eyes in a stunned manner.

    Ruby abruptly pulled herself up on her feet and looked at Regulus with that same confused expression on her face. ¡°I just recalled something,¡± she mumbled while looking as though she herself was still trying to figure out if what she saw was real.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Regulus folded his arms again and inquired.

    Ruby furrowed her brows and darted her eyes aimlessly as she answered, ¡°I was sitting in my guest room and I was lost in my own world when I suddenly heard a knock on the door. I thought that it was a maid but¡­¡± She heaved a deep breath and looked back at Regulus.

    ¡°But?¡± Regulus asked as a slight frown line appeared in between his brows.

    Ruby cleared her throat and then continued to tell what had actually happened before she had that gap in her memory. ¡°But it was the beta who was at the door.¡±

    ¡°What did he want with you?¡± Regulus asked with keen interest.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that he wanted anything from me. He just brought tea!¡± Ruby clutched the sides of her gown with both of her hands as she tried to make sense of the actual purpose of yer¡¯s visit to her room.

    She again went back to darting her eyes around aimlessly and kept on speaking, ¡°I thought it was unusual for him to personally bring tea for me. But he said that he bought some tea leaves from a new seller and that he wanted me to taste it. He was saying he wanted to know if that tea was good enough to be given to the alpha.¡±

    ¡°Are you an expert on tea?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Ruby was caught off guard by the question from Regulus.

    Regulus narrowed his re at Ruby and repeated his question for her. ¡°I asked if you are an expert on tea.¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­ No, I am not,¡± she replied, still confused if there was such thing as a tea expert.

    Regulus nodded his head and then gestured for Ruby to keep on speaking.

    ¡°Umm¡­ As I was saying¡­¡± Ruby took a deep breath and tried to pick up her pace from earlier. ¡°Lord yer wanted to know if that tea was good enough to be given to Lord Romulus. I clearly remember inhaling the sweet aroma of that tea and then taking a few sips from the tea cup¡­¡±

    The frown lines on Regulus¡¯ forehead disappeared

    Ruby closed her eyes and mumbled while massaging her forehead with the tips of her fingers, ¡°And after that¡­ I remember my sight and my hearing going hazy. And the next thing I know¡­ I woke up in that dungeon after hearing all the crying and wailing.¡±

    Ruby¡¯s eyes welled with tears when she recalled those devastating cries from the werewolves who had gathered around the dead bodies of their alpha and the others.

    ¡°Alpha Romulus and Beta yer had already lost their lives by the time I regained my consciousness.¡± Ruby wiped her eyes and sniffled.

    ¡°So, you didn¡¯t see or hear anything as they got ughtered like that?¡± Regulus asked as the sliver of hope vanished from his eyes.

    ¡°Then exin to me why exactly you were there in the dungeon? Did someone take you there? Did you follow someone? How did you end up in there?¡± Regulus turned on his heels and looked Ruby straight into her soul.

    ¡°I¨C¡± Ruby sighed in frustration and looked down at the floor. She had been trying to remember how she ended up there in the dungeon since yesterday. But there seemed to be a gap in her memory.

    She gulped restlessly and then softly mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t remember going there to the dungeon at all.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Regulus narrowed his eyes with suspicion once more. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what a person with ulterior motive would say¡­ ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯¡­¡±

 Chapter 304 - 304 Letter from Orsenia

    304 Letter from Orsenia

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Regulus grumbled and looked away from Ruby.

    Ruby could see on Regulus¡¯ face that all the expectations that he had about finding a clue about the killer¡¯s identity shatter.

    ¡°I know that it would have been a great help if I had regained my consciousness a bit earlier. I apologize that I wasn¡¯t much help to you,¡± she said while bowing her head.

    She genuinely wished that she could help Regulus to catch his brother¡¯s killer. However, right now, she was saddened that she couldn¡¯t be of much help.

    Regulus was still conflicted about whether what Ruby had said was a hundred percent true. So, he looked at her and said, ¡°I think you should stay here until the killer is caught. I might need to question you again.¡±

    Although Ruby had already nned to leave the manor and move into her new cozy ce, she agreed to what Regulus had asked of her. ¡°I will cooperate with you to capture the killer. If I recall something else apart from what I just told you then I wille to you and inform you right away.¡±

    She knew she had to stay in the manor if she didn¡¯t want Regulus to put her under suspicion. She looked troubled when she further mumbled, ¡°It seems like I am still forgetting a lot of things because of the shock. I will do my best to fill the gap in my memory.¡±

    Though Regulus could already guess that it was yer who put Ruby to sleep and then carried her to the dungeon as per Romulus¡¯ order, he still nodded his head. ¡°Sure. If you recall something thene to me right away. Something that you think is useless might actually be the key to finding the murderer.¡±

    Ruby gave a low bow to Regulus and then stepped out of the meeting room.

    .....

    Regulus kept on looking at the door until it shut on its own. He then closed his eyes and thought to himself, ¡®I need to know more about her. How she is from Sorvando when she is a werewolf, why she was there at the King¡¯s coronation ball, and why my brother brought her here. I need to know everything.¡¯

    ¡ª

    Everard was in his study, surrounded by crumpled-up papers that were thrown all over the floor. He was trying to write a letter to Alexander exining how some rouge people from his n acted out on their own and tried to hurt them.

    ¡°Ugh! This doesn¡¯t sound right!¡± Everard crumpled another paper and then tossed it on the floor, angered at himself for not being able to pen a simple letter by apologizing to his friend.

    He spread out another fresh sheet of paper in front of him and then dipped the nib of the quill in ink. And he wrote a few words in it, casually mentioning how he came to know about the unfortunate incident and how he had already killed the man behind that attack.

    ¡°No!¡± Everard threw the quill on the table and grabbed his hair with both of his hands. ¡°If I say I killed that man without fair trial then he might think I have finally lost my mind.¡±

    He suddenly looked very worried and scared when he further mumbled, ¡°What if he thinks that I pinned all the me on some innocent man to hide the deeds that I did in my drunken state? He knows that I was drunk out of my mind that night! And I even said a lot of things¡­¡±

    Everard recalled his fight with Caspian and pped himself on his forehead. ¡°And I did a lot of things that looked outrageous from other¡¯s perspectives! Argh! What do I do?¡±

    He bit the cuticles of his finger and contemted what his next course of action should be. ¡°Should I meet Alexander and exin everything in person? Maybe I will sound more believable in person than through the letter?¡±

    A sudden knock on the door disrupted Everard¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Who¡¯s it?¡± Everard asked agitatedly because he had asked everyone not to disturb him for a few hours.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Jerome opened the door to the King¡¯s study and then softly said, ¡°A letter just arrived from Orsenia. So, I thought that you might want to take a look.¡±

    A sudden gust of wind hit Jerome¡¯s face. When he opened his eyes, the letter was already in the hands of Everard.

    ¡°It¡¯s from Alex¡­¡± Everard gulped and kept on staring at the envelope for a while. He was afraid to tear the envelope and read the contents of the letter because he feared that his best friend might have written something that would break his heart.

    After a while, he slowly walked towards his table and then tore off one side of the envelope. He took out the letter and a familiar scent hovered around him. He took a deep breath and then whispered to himself before opening the letter, ¡°I hope that he isn¡¯t under the impression that I was the one to attack him and Anna. He should know that I would never even imagine doing something like that.¡±

    Everard began going through the contents of the letter.

    Jerome kept on watching the King¡¯s expression from the door. When he saw Everard¡¯s eyes reaching halfway through the letter, he noticed how Everard began to panic. He could even hear the King¡¯s escting heartbeat.

    ¡°What is it, Your Majesty? You seem worried,¡± Jerome asked curiously.

    Everard was too focused on reading the letter. He reached the end of the letter and finally raised his head to look at Jerome.

    And he answered with tears glistening in his eyes, ¡°Alex¡­ He¡­ He knows!¡±

    ¡°What does he know?¡± Jerome asked while already guessing the answer himself.

    Everard sniffled and looked up at the ceiling. He fisted his palm to crumple the letter in his hand and then mumbled in a heartbroken voice, ¡°He knows that I am not human! He said he witnessed the men turn into monsters and rip his guards apart. And he is asking me if I was the one who¡­ who ordered all those ¡®monsters¡¯ to go after them!¡±

 Chapter 305 - 305 Arrogance

    305 Arrogance

    ¡°Monsters¡­¡± Everard whispered, heartbroken that his one true friend hadbeled him as a monster.

    Jerome also felt heartbroken upon hearing what Alexander wrote in the letter. More than the whole race being called the monsters, Jerome felt bad for the King for having to hear such a cruel word from his dearest friend.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t take what he said to your heart, Your Majesty,¡± Jerome walked inside the room and said to Everard.

    However, it seemed like Everard had already taken those hurtful words to his heart. He looked at Jerome with teary eyes and said, ¡°But he is right. We do resemble the monsters when we spread out our fangs and ws. I bet he was shocked as he witnessed those men kill all of his guards.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Everard suddenly widened his eyes and asked himself, ¡°How did he survive if all of his guards were killed right before him?¡± A sudden cloud of fear lingered over his face, not knowing whether his friend was wounded by those rouge wolves. ¡°He wasn¡¯t hurt, was he?¡± he mumbled in a shaky voice.

    Jerome heaved a deep sigh and tried to ease the King¡¯s heart. ¡°I bet the vampires came to the rescue of the Crown Prince. After all, he is the Vampire King¡¯s brother-inw.¡±

    The second Jerome mentioned the Vampire King, instead of easing Everard¡¯s heart, his words had the opposite effect on the King.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention him in front of me!¡± Everard gave a re to Jerome as if he was going to suffocate Jerome just by looking at him.

    He rolled his eyes and slowly turned his head towards the window. In an instant, countless thoughts started to haunt his mind. Everard literally had to p his head to stop overthinking everything and have another panic attack on the spot.

    .....

    ¡°Right¡­¡± He suddenly gritted his teeth and red his nose in anger. ¡°Didn¡¯t Alex see the real faces of those vampires that they hide behind those perfect porcin faces? Didn¡¯t he see their monstrous sides as well?¡±

    Jerome instantly nodded and gave his opinion to the King. ¡°If those vampires killed all those men then they must have disyed their true powers... and also their true faces. Since the Crown Prince was unharmed even when his guards were killed, my gut says that he must now know about the vampires. I am sure he witnessed them in action.¡±

    A sudden tingle of joy danced on Everard¡¯s face when he listened to Jerome. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean he also knows who his sister truly married?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Jerome didn¡¯t know how to react to the sudden change in Everard¡¯s emotions. However, he didn¡¯t want to make the King angry or sad again. Thus, he offered some hollow constion to the King. ¡°I would like to assume that the Crown Prince knows it¡­ that the one who his sister married is also a vampire.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Everard subtly smiled and got lost in his own world of imagination. ¡°Then doesn¡¯t he think that Anna¡¯s husband is also a monster? He should have realized by now that leaving his sister in Sorvando is basically like abandoning her at the doorstep of hell.¡±

    Everard nodded to himself and took a sigh of relief. ¡°If Alex knows that then he must already be doing preparations to bring his sister back to Orsenia.¡±

    He again looked gloomy when he further mumbled, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he thinks of me as a monster too. It also doesn¡¯t matter if I can never have Anna. All that matters is that she will now be safe from the clutch of that blood-sucking creature.¡±

    Jerome gave some time to Everard to collect his emotions that were going haywire at the moment. And he waited for the King to remember it himself that the immediate matter that he needed to be worried about wasn¡¯t Queen Anastasia but to dere his innocence in the attack.

    However, when Everard kept on going on and on about the safety of Queen Anastasia and how she would no longer have to endure living with the vampires, Jerome took it to himself to nudge Everard.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I don¡¯t think you should dy rifying your non-involvement in that attack.¡± Jerome had a serious look on his face when he further spoke, ¡°If the King of Sorvando also thinks that you were the one who had orchestrated the attack on them then we might not be able to protect this Kingdom from being attacked.¡±

    Everard simply rolled his eyes and arrogantly grumbled, ¡°Why do I have to prove my innocence to that vampire? If he wants to attack then let him do so. We have a whole army who will be ready to defend the borders on my singlemand.¡±

    Jerome felt a prick in his heart when Everard wasn¡¯t being serious about the issue at hand. ¡°We cannot afford another great war between vampires and werewolves, Your Majesty!¡± he said assertively. ¡°Countless lives will be lost, and we might even go extinct if other Kingdoms see us as their enemies and band together to get rid of us monsters.¡±

    ¡°We are not monsters!¡± Everard snapped back at Jerome for using that very word that Alexander had used in his letter.

    ¡°But the humans will always see us as monsters. That is the truth.¡± Jerome took a deep breath to pitch down his voice and softly added, ¡°There¡¯s a reason why these borders exist, and there¡¯s a reason why we made a blood pact with our enemies to protect our true identity.¡±

    Everard was still not ready to listen to anything that Jerome was saying. He just thought that Jerome was being paranoid since Xanmar had enjoyed a peaceful era for a very long time.

    Jerome, seeing that undying stern expression on the King¡¯s face, tried to get to Everard¡¯s heart again. ¡°Even Orsenia might join hands with Sorvando since it was their Crown Prince who was almost assassinated, not just your childhood friend.¡±

    Everard felt a prick in his heart when he heard that. Still, he tried to suppress that painful sensation in his heart by making himself believe that Orsenia would never side with Sorvando if a war would indeed break out. ¡°Why will they join hands with Sorvando even after knowing what they truly¨C¡±

    Jerome didn¡¯t let Everard finish his sentence though. ¡°No matter what creature the King of Sorvando is, he is still the son-inw of the monarch of Orsenia. The King of Orsenia will definitely take Sorvando¡¯s side and not yours.¡±

    Everard felt attacked when Jerome pierced his heart with his sharp tongue.

    Seeing the sad expression on the King¡¯s face, Jerome urged again, ¡°That¡¯s why I am urging you to quickly take action. Clear the misunderstandings between you and the Crown Prince. And it would be better if you write an apology letter to the King of Sorvando as well.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°That apology will be indirectly heard by Queen Anastasia as well.¡± Jerome looked Everard in the eyes and asked, ¡°Do you want her to keep on believing that you sent people after her and her brother?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Everard looked down with a guilty look on his face.

    Jerome finally got time to look around the room. He looked at the mess Everard had made by throwing papers everywhere on the floor. He pursed his lips and asked the King while pointing towards the paper on the table, ¡°Please take the seat. I will also help you to pen down the letters.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t want Anastasia and Alexander to keep on thinking that he tried to murder them. Thus, he epted Jerome¡¯s help and went to take his seat.

    He grabbed the quill and asked Jerome after straightening out a paper, ¡°Tell me how to start. I always end up writing some stupid sentences.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Your Majesty.¡± Jerome heaved a deep sigh of relief and sat down in front of Everard. ¡°Okay, so these are the things that you should include in the letter¡­¡±

 Chapter 306 - 306 One Last Time

    306 One Last Time

    Alexander was still in his own Kingdom, patiently waiting for Everard to send a reply to his letter.

    Although he had almost believed on his own that there was no way Everard was innocent, he still wanted his friend to defend himself and rify that the whole thing was simply an unfortunate misunderstanding or probably a step taken by some enemies to pull him down.

    Alexander looked out of his bedchamber window which directly overlooked therge gates of the castle. And he mncholically mumbled, ¡°I really hope that you were not in cahoots with those murderers, Eve. Please make me believe that you are not like them. Please¡­¡±

    The Crown Prince kept on pacing back and forth in his bedchamber. Every time a horseback rider entered the premises of the castle, he would eagerly look out of the window and then wait for the footsteps on the corridor to stop in front of his door.

    When the message didn¡¯t arrive as he had expected, Alexander was slowly growing restless.

    He looked at therge clock that was hanging on the wall. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t the reply letter be here by now?¡¯ he wondered. ¡®It¡¯s already been three days since I sent the letter to Xanmar.¡¯

    After pacing back and forth while gluing his eyes at the gate for a few more hours, Alexander saw yet another horseback rider entering the castle gate.

    ¡®I wonder if this rider is the bearer of Everard¡¯s message,¡¯ Alexander thought to himself and kept on following the messenger with his eyes until he disappeared from view.

    He then rested his forehead on the window pane and heaved a sigh. He felt tired just from pacing around the room for half a day.

    .....

    When nobody approached his door even after considerable time had passed since the arrival of thetest messenger, Alexander now gave up hope that the letter would arrive at all.

    ¡®He wouldn¡¯t send a letter if he was behind everything just like how everyone¡¯s suspecting, right?¡¯ Alexander gloomily scoffed to himself and then finally sat down on the sofa to ease his tired legs.

    Unexpectedly, he heard a set of footsteps rushing down the corridor and stopping in front of his door. After he heard a soft knock on the door, someone announced from outside, ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s a message for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming,¡± Alexander huffed and jumped out of the seat in an instant. He was too eager to read the letter, or more precisely, he was too eager to prove himself wrong.

    He opened the door to find one of his messengers standing with extended hands that were holding a sealed envelope.

    The messenger bowed when Alexander took the letter from his hand. ¡°His Majesty has requested you toe and meet him as soon as you finish reading the letter.¡±

    ¡°I understand. You¡¯re dismissed. Thank you!¡± Alexander quickly closed the door to his chambers and turned on his heels.

    He didn¡¯t waste a second in tearing off the seal and sitting down on the sofa to read the reply from Everard.

    Alexander¡¯s eyeballs moved from side to side at a great speed since he was skimming through the contents of the letter way too fast.

    When he reached halfway through the letter, he finally let go of the breath that he was holding for quite a while now. A sense of relief lingered on his face and the deep frown that was carved on his forehead finally started to disappear.

    ¡®So¡­ that was the work of some rouge people from his n huh! That¡¯s right¡­ the Everard I know would never send those monsters to attack us. He is not that heartless¡­¡¯ Alexander thought to himself while a great sense offort slowly began enveloping his heart.

    And he quickly resumed reading the rest of the contents of the letter.

    Everard had written how he still was responsible for the action of those rouge men since he was half responsible for the fight that urred in the ballroom. And he also apologized for the part he had yed in giving rise to the fight between him and the King of Sorvando in the first ce.

    Everard also mentioned how he had already punished the main perpetrator of the attack. And finally, he had asked Alexander to meet in person so that they could clear any leftover misunderstanding between them.

    ¡®If you still doubt what I¡¯ve written in this letter so far, I hope you will give me a chance to clear my name, Alex. I am ready to meet you at the time and ce that is preferred by you.¡¯

    Alexander gulped and continued to read the remaining contents of the letter. ¡®I will try my best to answer all the questions that you might have about me and my n. I would like you to see for yourself that we are not monsters, that I am not a monster.¡¯

    The Crown Prince felt a slight prick in his heart upon reading that sentence. He even felt somewhat guilty and ashamed of himself for calling Everard a monster in the fit of his rage.

    He uneasily breathed out from his mouth and resumed again. ¡®I am still the same person whom you¡¯ve known since your childhood. I will be waiting for your letter. I hope we will meet soon.¡¯

    ¡®Your friend, Eve.¡¯ Alexander rested his head on the headrest of the sofa and closed his eyes after finishing reading the letter.

    He pressed the letter on his stomach and questioned himself. ¡®Should I trust this letter or not?¡¯

    ¡°I think I should¡­¡± Alexander mumbled as he breathed heavily. He opened his eyes to stare at the familiar handwriting of the letter again. ¡°If he indeed had any bad motives then he wouldn¡¯t sound so desperate to prove his innocence, would he?¡±

    ¡°I agree that he has somehow be something that is beyond myprehension. But even then, I don¡¯t think that he would easily forget all the moments that he had shared with me and send a horde of that creatures after me¡­ after us.¡±

    Alexander looked determined about his decision to trust his friend. ¡°I should inform His Majesty about this recent development. He was even more disappointed in Everard than me. I should clear the air before the ministers corner His Majesty to strike back on Xanmar for attacking me.¡±

    The deep frown on his forehead returned when he further thought, ¡°And I should also send a report to Sorvando before King Caspian buckles himself for war. It would be a shame if regional war sprouts from a misunderstanding.¡±

    He quickly folded the letter and put it in his waistcoat pocket. He got up on his feet and then mumbled with all seriousness as he walked towards the door, ¡°Eve, I am putting my faith in you onest time. Please don¡¯t make me regret this.¡±

 Chapter 307 - 307 Fake Apology?

    307 Fake Apology?

    As he was reading the letter that had just arrived from Xanmar, Caspian had a frown carved so deep on his forehead that Zenon and the ministers present in the throne hall were starting to get visibly restless.

    Zenon¡¯s curious eyes were staring at the King without even blinking, waiting for the King to finish reading the letter and let everyone know what the newly appointed King of Xanmar had written.

    At one point, the royal advisor got so curious that the thought of walking closer to the throne and taking a peak at the letter fleeted through his mind.

    ¡®I hope we don¡¯t have to start preparing for war,¡¯ Zenon clutched his fists and thought to himself as he pushed the urge to step closer to the King aside.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± King Caspian narrowed his eyes and groaned while clutching his jaw to show a subtle hint of disbelief upon finishing reading the letter.

    ¡°What does the letter say, Your Majesty?¡± Zenon finally asked, unable to hide his curiosity any longer.

    Caspian brought his brows together and red at the letter. ¡°He is iming that he is innocent. That werewolf.¡± He let out a subtle scoff and further said with a sarcastic tone, ¡°And he is even apologizing on behalf of the ¡®real culprit¡¯ who he has apparently already punished!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Is that so?¡± Zenon¡¯s brows curled together to make a frown. He looked down at the hall full of ministers, all silent but waiting for the King to dere his decision regarding that werewolf matter.

    Caspian slowly shifted his deep re at his advisor, handed over the letter, and then asked, ¡°What do you think of it? Do you think he is speaking the truth, or is he simply asking a fake apology because he finally realized that he cannot afford to go to war?¡±

    .....

    Zenon took the letter and then took some time to skim-read it while Caspian patiently waited for him to finish reading.

    After reading the letter, he met Caspian¡¯s gaze and answered, ¡°For now, why don¡¯t we see this letter as proof that the King of Xanmar desires peace and not war? As the saying goes, innocent until proven guilty. The men that I had sent to Xanmar should return soon with the news. Then we can decide what to think of this letter. But for now, I think it is in our favor to believe King Everard.¡±

    One of the ministers who had been listening to the conversation between the King and the Advisor decided to speak on the same matter. ¡°I think we should do as Lord Zenon has suggested. If the King of Xanmar is saying that he had no involvement in the attack, has punished the culprit, and has also apologized to us on their behalf, then I believe we should not actively seek revenge.¡±

    Caspian looked into that minister¡¯s eyes for quite a few seconds.

    That simple eye contact was enough to make that minister nervous. He broke eye contact with the King and lowered his gaze. And he immediately stuttered, thinking that the King was about to explode, ¡°It was simply my suggestion, Your Majesty. The final decision rests with you.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his gaze at that minister and fumed, ¡°If I was actively seeking revenge then I would have returned to the castle that same night and yed that wolf in his sleep, Lord Francis.¡±

    The King rested his back on his throne and grumbled while still ring at the minister who was unable to meet the King¡¯s eyes, ¡°I know the risks. That¡¯s why I am staying quiet even when my wife was humiliated in front of the crowd. That¡¯s why I chose not to take any immediate action even when I had to carry my sick wife and flee in the darkness of the night because those animals thought it was wise to attack us.¡±

    ¡°We understand your frustration, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon stepped in front of the King and tried to divert Caspian¡¯s attention to himself. ¡°Just give me some time and we will find out whether this letter states the truth or not.¡±

    ¡°If whatever was stated in the letter was false then¡­¡± Caspian looked at Zenon through his brows and slowly uttered in a terrifying tone, ¡°I am going to have him assassinated and make it look like someone from some other n did it.¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Zenon held out his hand as if to nudge the King and say that it was a terrible idea to do so.

    However, Caspian gave an icy re to his advisor and groaned in a low yet deep voice, ¡°That way, you don¡¯t have to worry about a war breaking out, Zenon. Isn¡¯t that what you are afraid of? The war?¡±

    Zenon gave a subtle yet visibly ufortable smile and answered, ¡°Of course, I am afraid of the war. But I am also afraid that our King, who values justice, will give punishment to the one who doesn¡¯t actually deserve it.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that what he did to my wife alone doesn¡¯t qualify him for his death?¡± Caspian abruptly snarled at the poor man who was simply wishing that the King wouldn¡¯t spark an unnecessary fight between the two Kingdoms.

    Zenon slightly bowed his head and politely replied, ¡°I am not saying that he doesn¡¯t qualify for the punishment that you wish upon him. I am simply stating that we should wait for a few more days until our men find out what really happened.¡±

    Caspian looked down at all the ministers who were avoiding making eye contact with him. He recalled a recent report made by Zenon about Lord Bartholomew¡¯s growing supporters. They were starting to say that Caspian was a dictator who barely thought about the overall betterment of the vampires.

    So as not to lose the support of his current ministers, Caspian suppressed his anger towards Everard and asked for their opinion as he slowly exhaled, ¡°What do you all think that we should do? Should we wait for a few more days or should we start preparing for war with our mortal enemies?¡±

 Chapter 308 - 308 Disturbing Fact

    308 Disturbing Fact

    Caspian waited for the ministers to reply to his questions. However, the ministers simply clutched the armrest of their chairs or clutched their fists and then maintained silence in the hall.

    The King felt a little agitated by that reaction from the ministers and asked in a stern voice, ¡°Don¡¯t act as if I always suppress all of you and coerce you into agreeing with all my decisions.¡±

    Zenon awkwardly smiled to himself and thought, ¡®But that¡¯s how you make them feel by shouting or simply ring at them¡­¡¯

    After hearing the King say that, a minister finally dared to put forth his view though. ¡°I agree with Lord Zenon here. I think waiting a few days to cross-verify the truth of the letter is our best option at the moment. If a war can be avoided by simply epting the apology then I think waiting does no harm.¡±

    Soon, the other ministers also agreed one by one.

    Even Caspian wasn¡¯t willing to sacrifice the life of his valuable soldiers just to satisfy his thirst for revenge.

    Thus, after listening to everyone¡¯s opinion, Caspian finally spoke, ¡°Okay. Since all of you have suggested that waiting is better, I think I can spare a few more days and wait for our men to gather truthful information.¡±

    Everyone in the hall heaved a quiet sigh of relief after hearing the King¡¯s words.

    ¡°Today¡¯s session is dismissed.¡± Caspian got up from his throne and was about to leave the hall when his feet suddenly halted. He turned to look at the ministers one more time and added before leaving the hall, ¡°Have a goodnight, everyone. Please excuse me if I came as a bit overbearing tonight. I hope you will try to understand the position I am in.¡±

    .....

    The ministers looked somewhat delighted when the King wished them goodnight, which in itself was extremely rare. And to add to that, the King even apologized to them for his dominating behavior. They happily bowed to the King as he stepped out of the throne hall through the back door.

    Zenon followed the King out of the hall since his workroom fell on the way.

    ¡°Still nning on working?¡± Caspian asked when he noticed Zenon closely following him.

    Zenon caught up to Caspian and replied while walking side by side with the King, ¡°Oh yes, Your Majesty. I don¡¯t have anything better to do at home. And there are still piles of things that I must sort out by tonight. So, I guess I will be here for the night.¡±

    Caspian sighed because Zenon had been working tirelessly for the past few days and nights. He looked at Zenon¡¯s face and said empathetically, ¡°I know we can go on for days without sleep. But even so, I think you need to let your mind rest, Zenon.¡±

    He looked straight ahead at the corridor and made a sarcastic remark to push Zenon to take some rest, ¡°I don¡¯t want your tired mind to give me some stupid suggestion. These days, I cannot rely just on myself to make any decisions because that wolf has sessfully rented a huge piece of my mind.¡±

    Zenon softly smiled and gave a nod to Caspian. ¡°Then I must ensure that my mind is well rested and ready to offer you brilliant suggestions as always.¡±

    Caspian finally smiled and patted Zenon¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Alright, I will go and see what the Queen is doing. I bet she is restlessly looking at the door by now.¡±

    Zenon understood it was Caspian who was desperate to see his wife. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you suggest to the Queen that she bring the tea for you twice a day? She will be less restless if she gets to see you more often during the day.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian raised his brows and gave an appreciative gaze to Zenon. ¡°That¡¯s a brilliant idea right there. I might as well ask her to do so.¡±

    His eyes further twinkled when he mumbled happily, ¡°Ooh! Or¡­ I can ask her to have lunch together with me as I sip on the lovely tea that she brews. That way I can spend some quality time with her in the afternoon as well. And I can also ensure that she is eating her greens as well. I heard she only demands pastries and cakes for lunch. I am no human but I don¡¯t think too much sweet is good for her already tricky health. I hope she won¡¯t¡­¡±

    Zenon was happy to see the spark in the King¡¯s eyes. He would have loved to hear the King go on and on about his wife. But his destination had arrived.

    Thus, he dared to stop the King and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I will look into an urgent matter and retire for the night. I hope you have a stress-free night.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod and replied, ¡°You too, Zenon. Do not overwork yourself. The situation isn¡¯t so dire yet that you need to start looking like a vampire that went into eternal sleep.¡±

    ¡°I will try not to look like that,¡± Zenon replied as he smiled and pressed his palm on his pale cheek.

    After the King continued walking down the corridor, Zenon entered his workroom so that he could prepare for tomorrow¡¯s agenda before going home.

    ¡®Betterplete nning for tomorrow by tonight like always. Else I will have to run the meeting blindly if somethinges up in the morning.¡¯

    Zenon sat down on his chair and began to work on the n. He was arranging agendas for the next day so that the meeting would run smoothly and everyone¡¯s time would be properly utilized.

    After working on the agendas for almost an hour, he finally closed the file and yawned. ¡°Okay, I think I will sleep a little. I really miss my hard bed at this point.¡±

    Just as he was about to leave the room, he heard a subtle knock on the door.

    ¡®It better be something urgent,¡¯ he sighed and then asked while looking at the closed door, ¡°Come in.¡±

    Zenon¡¯s heart picked up the pace when he saw the spy who he had sent to Xanmar for gathering information.

    The spy gently bowed and said, ¡°I was going to report to you tomorrow morning but the guards said that you were still here. So, I came by right now¡­ I hope that I¡¯m not¨C¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not disturbing me,¡± Zenon answered that spy¡¯s unasked question and looked at the file that he was holding. ¡°So, do you have aplete report?¡±

    The spy handed over the file as he answered, ¡°It¡¯s notplete, but it is all I¡¯ve got for now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zenon wondered if the half information would be any good.¡±

    ¡°My men are still there, gathering the remaining information. I came here because I¡­¡± The spy pulled out another file from the inside pocket of his overcoat and heaved a deep sigh. And he continued as he held out that file towards Zenon, ¡°I found a very disturbing information about our Queen.¡±

 Chapter 309 - 309 A Big Lie

    309 A Big Lie

    ¡°A very disturbing information?¡± Zenon couldn¡¯t help but instantly get worried when he heard that. ¡°What kind of information?¡± he asked after grabbing the second file that the spy was handing out to him.

    The spy immediately hesitated to answer Zenon¡¯s question. Rather, he waited for Zenon to open the file and find the answer for himself.

    Seeing the hesitation in that spy¡¯s eyes, Zenon didn¡¯t waste any time opening the file to read. He wondered if the Queen was acting as a spy for all this time after all. He couldn¡¯t think of anything else when the spy mentioned the information as ¡®disturbing¡¯.

    However, the moment he read about the actual disturbing fact, Zenon wished that what he had thought was true rather than what he had just read.

    ¡°No¡­ This can¡¯t be true¡­¡± he whispered in utter dismay and tightly clenched his jaw as though he was in physical pain. And for a while, he kept on looking at one particr word on the file ¨C death.

    Zenon finally raised his eyes and looked at the spy, who too was looking very sad after finding out the bitter truth. ¡°Is this information really true? Is our Queen suffering from an unknown terminal illness?¡± he asked, just to make sure that the spy had not mixed up the files and handed out the file that he was not supposed to.

    The spy hung his head low and softly replied, his voice coated with a hint of sympathy and sadness, ¡°Yes, Milord. As you had asked, I met with the doctor who had treated the Queen in Xanmar. He immediately warned me that our Queen was suffering from some unidentifiable illness that is sure to take her life in less than a year.¡±

    ¡°He knew?¡± Zenon closed the file and hardened his face. He was angry at that doctor for hiding the fact from the King. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he say anything back then?¡±

    The spy took a deep breath and answered, ¡°The doctor confessed that he didn¡¯t say anything because a man in the room didn¡¯t let him say anything. And he said that he kept quiet thinking they already knew about the illness¡­ Just as the King and the doctor had suspected¡­¡±

    .....

    That spy darted his eyes around at the floor, hesitating to speak once more.

    ¡°As they had suspected¡­?¡± Zenon slightly tilted his head to the side and demanded to know everything that the spy knew.

    The spy sighed heavily and answered, ¡°I had sent someone to Orsenia while the rest of us did the digging in Xanmar. Apparently, he found out that the illness of the Princess ismon knowledge in Orsenia.¡±

    ¡°Oh, dear lord!¡± Zenon abruptly sprinted towards his table and dropped the files in his hand on the table. He then began massaging his temples with the tips of his fingers as though he was trying to contain his head that was about to burst.

    ¡°Everyone in Orsenia knew that our Queen doesn¡¯t have enough time with her?¡± He asked himself, shocked at that revtion.

    The spy could understand why Zenon was freaking out. ¡°The public doesn¡¯t know that her illness was terminal, but the people inside the castle seemed to know that her illness is incurable. The Queen wasn¡¯t healthy even as a child. And yes, the Queen is also aware of her condition.¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Zenon sighed in disbelief. He rested his back on the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest. At this point, he was already imagining the reaction from Caspian, and he got even more furious on behalf of his King.

    ¡°They all knew that the Queen is going to die and yet they sent her here as a tribute bride? What kind of parents does that?¡± Zenon closed his eyes in confusion as he tried to stand in Anastasia¡¯s parents¡¯ shoes and tried to think from their perspective.

    However, he couldn¡¯t logically imagine the reason why they would willingly send their sick daughter to another country as a bride when her final days were nearing.

    ¡®Shouldn¡¯t they have kept her at home and tried to give her afortable life during herst days? Why marry her off?¡¯

    Zenon kept on pondering about it while standing like a lifeless statue. ¡®Or did they think that she was going to die anyway and wanted to take advantage of their dying daughter instead of taking good care of her? Our King doesn¡¯t have a very good reputation outside of Sorvando after all. Is that the reason why they didn¡¯t hesitate sending her here to the ¡®Monster King¡¯?

    The advisor still couldn¡¯t think of any good reason why they would want to send Anastasia here to Sorvando. Something was not clicking.

    ¡®Establishing goodwill cannot be the reason since no King would be happy if they knew that their wife was already ill when he married his bride and soon died because of it. So, what could be the real reason?¡¯

    ¡®Or was it our Queen¡¯s wish to experience married life before she passed on? But there are many other Kings and Princes with good reputations out there. Yes! Even that werewolf King dotted on her. If she just wanted to experience what married life felt like then she could have married him years ago. Why our King?¡¯

    Zenon opened his eyes in confusion when he couldn¡¯t get to the conclusion on his own. He looked at the spy who was still patiently standing right where he was a while ago and then tried to get the answer from him.

    ¡°Did you also happen to find out the reason why our Queen was sent here as a tribute bride?¡±

    The spy looked at Zenon as if he was already expecting that question. However, he disappointed the advisor by replying, ¡°I am sorry, Milord. I don¡¯t have the answer to that question at the moment since that was not our goal in the first ce. However, I did find out that she was sent here as a tribute bride in a haste, right after her seventeenth birthday. It was said that even the Crown Prince wasn¡¯t aware that she was sent here.¡±

    ¡°So, only the King and the Queen of Orsenia took the decision to send her here, huh¡­¡± Zenon wondered to himself while massaging his jaw. ¡°What does the King of Orsenia want from this rtionship?¡±

    Since Zenon wasn¡¯t so sure, he looked at the spy and gave him another task. ¡°Find out the reason behind our Queen being sent here as the tribute bride.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord,¡± the spy bowed his head and epted the order.

    Before leaving though, he asked the royal advisor, ¡°If I happen to stumble upon the King and he asks me about the Queen, am I supposed to answer him?¡± He wanted to know if the advisor intended to pass on the message to the King right away or not.

    Zenon thought for a while and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t reveal this information to anyone for now. Not even to the King. I want to find out the real purpose of our Queen¡¯s arrival to Sorvando before I say anything to the King.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The spy bowed again and quickly disappeared from the room.

    Zenon himself wasn¡¯t sure why he didn¡¯t want to inform the King right away about such a big lie from the Queen¡¯s side. He wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to protect the King or the Queen.

    However, he convinced himself that he was doing the right thing for now by thinking, ¡®It¡¯s not like I am not loyal to the King anymore. I am simply trying to giveplete information to him. Yes, I am simply trying to give theplete information. There¡¯s no harm in withholding the information for a few days. I sure hope there¡¯s not.¡¯

 Chapter 310 - 310 Relieving Stress

    310 Relieving Stress

    ¡°How was your day?¡± Anastasia weed Caspian with a warm smile on her face.

    The moment Caspianid his eyes on his wife, he forgot almost everything that was worrying him. He closed the door to Anastasia¡¯s bedchamber behind him and then entered the room while smiling back at his wife.

    He looked into his wife¡¯s green eyes and without uttering a word, he tightly embraced his wife¡¯s warm body.

    Anastasia¡¯s smile broadened when her husband rested his chin on her shoulder and gently pressed his cheek against hers.

    Anastasia could hear the soft sigh that her husband let out very close to her ear. ¡°You had a long day, huh?¡± she whispered to him and began patting her husband¡¯s back in aforting manner.

    Caspian pressed his lips on his wife¡¯s cheeks and replied, ¡°You can say that.¡± He gently pulled away from the hug while still resting his arms on Anastasia¡¯s waist. And he asked her, ¡°How was YOUR day? How did you keep yourself busy while I was not here?¡±

    Anastasia gently turned her head towards the bed and pointed her brows to show a book that she had ced face down. ¡°I was enjoying that new novel that I came across in the library.¡±

    ¡°Meaning you had a wonderful day.¡± Caspian smiled again and gave a soft peck on his wife¡¯s lips.

    Anastasia happily wriggled her body as if she was dancing and sprinted back towards her bed. She grabbed her book and put it on the table beside the bed. Then she patted the bed while looking at her husband.

    .....

    ¡°You want to lie down? Let me give you a back massage. It will help you relieve your stress.¡±

    Caspian was interested in the idea of receiving a back massage from his wife. However, he didn¡¯t want to make his wife perform any kind of activity that demanded physical exertion. Thus, he denied it right away.

    ¡°My stress already disappeared the moment I saw your lovely face. Just sleep beside me and I will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please.¡± Anastasia gave a puppy-eyed look to Caspian and continued tapping on the bed. ¡°I will be fine, trust me. Hop on the bed.¡±

    Caspian smiled and shook his head. Knowing his wife, he knew that she wouldn¡¯t give up until he agreed to her request. So, he said while unbuttoning his shirt, ¡°Okay, okay. But you have to stop the moment I say so.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Anastasia walked back to the spot where her husband was standing and helped him to unbutton the remaining buttons. She took his shirt and put it aside on the chair of her dressing table.

    Caspian couldn¡¯t stop himself from lying down on the soft bed on his stomach. ¡°Aah! This feels so great!¡± he mumbled in a muffled voice. He felt as though he was sinking into the warm embrace of his wife when he inhaled hervender smell that was still lingering around on the bed.

    Anastasia shortly climbed onto the bed after Caspian. Naturally, she sat down on his thighs while straddling him and stretched her arms before starting.

    ¡°Mmm!¡± Caspian jerked when he felt his wife¡¯s soft fingertips touching his lower back ever so lightly.

    Anastasia raised her brows in amusement and asked enthusiastically, ¡°Did I just discover your weak spot? Are you feeling ticklish?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Caspian quickly denied the spection made by his wife because he didn¡¯t want her to use that new discovery and tickle him in the future as well. ¡°I was simply startled by your touch, that¡¯s all.¡±

    However, Anastasia already had a wide, naughty smile dancing on her lips. ¡°Oh, okay,¡± she mumbled. And to test her theory, she lightly touched Caspian on the same spot.

    Caspian jolted again, followed by hisugh that he failed to contain.

    ¡°Did I startle you again?¡± Anastasia leaned down and whispered into Caspian¡¯s ear in a teasing voice.

    And Caspian finally epted that he was indeed ticklish. ¡°Ah! Okay, you got me.¡± He looked over his shoulder to look at his wife¡¯s face and whispered back, ¡°So, I think you should get off my back now. I don¡¯t think back massage is my thing.¡±

    However, instead of getting off, Anastasia straightened her back and this time, she pressed her palms on his back while exerting some force.

    ¡°How do you feel now? Still ticklish?¡± she asked after repeating the same movement of her palms for a few times.

    Caspian rested his cheek t on the bed and smiled ear to ear. ¡°No, I¡¯m not ticklish anymore,¡± he answered in a rather rxed tone. His wife¡¯s hands felt as though some small creatures were dancing on his back.

    And it felt greatly rxing, unlike the very painful massage he received once every blue moon from his servants. Anastasia¡¯s hands were so gentle aspared to the harsh hands of his vampire servants that Caspian almost fell asleep. His eyelids were trying their best to shut close even when he didn¡¯t want to fall asleep when his wife was working hard for hisfort.

    Soon though, he woke up from his half-asleep state when he caught Anastasia breathing heavily. ¡°Anna, I think you should stop now. You must be tired,¡± he asked while looking over his shoulder.

    ¡°A little, yes.¡± Anastasia smiled at her husband and rested her palms on his back. She didn¡¯t want to fake it and say that she wasn¡¯t tired since she knew her limit.

    ¡°Should I return you the favor then?¡± Caspian asked as he waited for his wife to sleep beside him.

    However, Anastasia declined the offer. And rather than sleeping on the bed, shey down on her husband¡¯s bare back, covering his cold body with her warm and soft body. She rested her head on Caspian¡¯s shoulder and then whispered to her husband in a loving voice, ¡°I missed you.¡±

    ¡°I missed you too,¡± Caspian whispered back to Anastasia. Since his wife had made herselffortable on top of him, he decided to let her sleep like that and rested his head back on the pillow.

    The two of them remained in that silence for a while. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of Anastasia¡¯s heartbeat, apanied by the extremely soft sound made by Caspian¡¯s heart.

    After a very stressful day, the peace and warmth felt like heaven to Caspian. Even the issue rted to Everard felt very small to him at the moment.

    After getting enough of the quiet moment, Caspian slowly turned to rest on his back so that his wife couldy on top of him and he could see her face. Anastasia also adjusted herself ordingly once she knew what her husband wanted.

    And when she rested her head on his chest, Caspian put his arms around her and softly said, ¡°I got a letter from Xanmar today.¡±

    He decided to bring up the topic because, although Anastasia wasn¡¯t showing it, he knew that his wife was also stressing out because of the very subject. And for now, he decided to tell her the exact things that were written in the letter so that she wouldn¡¯t think too much about the possibility of a war breaking out.

    ¡°Really?¡± Anastasia immediately lifted her head to look at Caspian¡¯s face and asked, ¡°What did the letter say?¡± Her heart began to race faster because of fear. She feared that Everard might have said something that could ignite a great dispute between the Kingdoms.

    Caspian lifted his hand to tuck his wife¡¯s hair behind her ears and then replied in a consoling voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It was an apology letter.¡±

 Chapter 311 - 311 A Good Dream

    311 A Good Dream

    The next day, Caspian woke up early in the morning to find his wife sleeping peacefully beside him. She looked so deep in her sleep that Caspian didn¡¯t dare to move at all, fearing he would wake his wife up if he did.

    He kept on staring at his wife¡¯s serene face and thought back to the things that had happened yesterday.

    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Everard was being truthful in the letter or if he was simply acting to have apologized when he had some other hidden motives. ¡®I sure hope that he isn¡¯t secretly preparing for any kind of battle while pretending to apologize.¡¯

    Caspian¡¯s mind wandered around and recalled all the things that he had heard from Hamilton. He clutched his jaw in anger and cursed Everard in his mind. ¡®And I sure as hell hope that he doesn¡¯t harbor any funny ideas about my wife anymore. Or else, I will be the one dering war even if that bastard doesn¡¯t have any ns to go into war with me and my Kingdom.¡¯

    Obviously,ying a single finger on the Queen of the Kingdom would be equivalent to dering war. And Caspian hoped that Everard wasn¡¯t a fool to do so.

    Caspian spent his morning by simply lying on the bed beside his wife and thinking about all kinds of things. The sunlight had brightened up the whole room by the time Anastasia finally rubbed her eyes and opened them.

    ¡°Good morning, dear husband,¡± she greeted him in her throaty morning voice.

    Caspian finally snapped out of the rabbit hole of his thoughts when he heard his wife greeting him first thing in the morning and moving closer to him to give him a tight hug.

    A soft smile automatically bloomed on his face after receiving that sweet gesture from his wife. He also fully turned to face Anastasia and put his arms around her. ¡°Good morning, dear wife. Did you sleep well?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she whispered and gave a nod. She looked into his eyes and then further said in a happy manner, ¡°I saw a very good dream today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? What did you see?¡± Caspian showed his interest to hear about his wife¡¯s dream.

    Anastasia smiled and answered, ¡°In my dream, you and Everard were good friends. And I saw that both of you were happily drinking tea while discussing about the future of two nations.¡±

    The smile from Caspian¡¯s face faded away in an instant when he heard that. He took a deep breath in and abruptly sat up on the bed.

    Anastasia looked a little saddened by that reaction from her husband. ¡°You didn¡¯t like what I said?¡± she asked in a guilty voice.

    Caspian got out of bed and went to grab the shirt that he had worn the day before. He began buttoning his shirt without facing his wife.

    Then he said in a disinterested tone, ¡°I don¡¯t think I would consider drinking tea with him and talking about my Kingdom a happy dream. No matter what he does from here on forth, I can never forget what he did to you in the ball.¡±

    ¡°Neither can I!¡± Anastasia pushed herself up from the bed and said while defending herself, ¡°But if putting that one unpleasant memory behind me will mean that thousands and thousands of people will enjoy the peace for years toe then I am ready to forget about it.¡±

    ¡°And if there¡¯s a chance that the people of Sorvando and Xanmar will forget about their enmity then isn¡¯t it better to have a friendly rtionship with Everard than to treat him as an enemy forever?¡± Anastasia sounded serious when she asked that question. It looked like she was determined to mend the fracture between the two Kings.

    Caspian turned to look at his wife and asked her in a hurtful tone, ¡°Anna, a few days ago, you were ready to give up your friendship with that man! Even your brother asked you to maintain your distance from him. Don¡¯t you remember what kind of description your brother gave about him and his people?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I remember, Caspian.¡± Anastasia slipped down from her bed and slowly inched closer to where Caspian was standing. ¡°But after you told me what he had written in that apology letter, I don¡¯t think we should be looking at Everard in the same light as before. Just because a few of those men attacked us doesn¡¯t mean that everyone from Xanmar is bad.¡±

    ¡°Most of the people in Xanmar are someone who can kill us, vampires, as well!¡± Caspian sounded desperate to make Anastasia understand the gravity of the situation. ¡°No vampire will want to have a good rtionship with their kind because of that very reason.¡±

    Anastasia also tried to reason with Caspian that being able to kill vampires didn¡¯t mean they would actually go around killing vampires left and right. ¡°We can always start somewhere, can¡¯t we? Maybe the friendship between you and Everard would be the very reason for a peaceful rtionship between the citizens of both kingdoms. They can learn from their rulers.¡±

    ¡°Anna, please, that¡¯s never¨C¡±

    ¡°And¡­¡± Anastasia held Caspian¡¯s arm andpleted what she was about to say before letting him speak again, ¡°He apologized to you. Maybe this is where you can extend the hand of friendship with him. You can send a letter to Xanmar by epting his apology and¨C¡±

    ¡°He apologized. Yes.¡± Caspian pushed Anastasia¡¯s hand away from his arm and said in a harsh tone, ¡°But I don¡¯t see why I should sit with him and have tea together when I don¡¯t even like the damn tea!¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± That revtion came as a shock to Anastasia.

    Caspian immediately closed his eyes when he realized what he had just said to her even though it wasn¡¯t really his intention to hurt her. He sighed to express contempt at himself and extended his arm to hold his wife¡¯s hand.

    And he said in a much softer voice, ¡°Anna, I didn¡¯t mean what I said. Please forgive me. It just came out of my mouth even when I really really really like the tea you make.¡±

 Chapter 312 - 312 Waiting

    312 Waiting

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± Anastasia gave a forceful smile to her husband so that he wouldn¡¯t feel bad about himself for the whole day.

    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t mean it like that,¡± she further added, even when she doubted that her husband had been pretending to like the tea that she had prepared for him for all this while, just because he didn¡¯t want to hurt her feelings by saying that the tea tasted bad.

    Caspian, on the other hand, believed that his wife really understood him. He let out a subtle sigh of relief and held both of her palms. He brought them closer to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

    Then he expressed how he felt about this friendship thing that she was talking about, ¡°Anna, I don¡¯t really think I can maintain a friendly rtionship with Everard. Even if I try, I know I will end up getting annoyed by him.¡±

    Anastasia didn¡¯t say a word. She knew that her words had no meaning in this matter anymore. She simply tried to maintain a neutral expression on her face so that Caspian wouldn¡¯t overthink. As a result of his overthinking, she didn¡¯t want any problems to arise between them.

    Caspian could still see the discontent that was hidden behind her perfectly neutral expression. He gently massaged his thumb on her knuckles and softened his voice. ¡°If you really insist, I could try faking it, but¡­ it will only backfire in the long run. So, I think it¡¯s better to leave the rtionship as it is.¡±

    After already witnessing her husband¡¯s bitter reaction earlier, Anastasia didn¡¯t want to keep on insisting on something that was not in her control. The future that she had imagined was only a pipe dream after all.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to fake it.¡± Anastasia then said with finality, ¡°I think we should leave this topic here. It was just my dream after all.¡±

    Caspian felt a little bad for not being able to fulfill his wife¡¯s wish. However, he hated the idea proposed by Anastasia from the deepest corner of his heart. How would he extend his hand of friendship to the man who he didn¡¯t even wish to see again?

    .....

    He hugged his wife and softly said, ¡°I am sorry, Anna.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be,¡± Anastasia replied while softly smiling. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She then broke free from the hug and said while gently pushing Caspian¡¯s chest with her palm, ¡°Now, you should go and get ready for your day, Your Majesty. I don¡¯t want to keep you here for the whole day.¡±

    Caspian pressed his palm over Anastasia¡¯s and even though he wanted to stay with his wife for a little longer, he decided to focus on his duty for now. He wanted to check if the spies were back from Xanmar yet.

    ¡°I will see you in the evening,¡± he whispered before storming out of the bedchamber.

    After getting ready for the day, Caspian finally headed out for his workroom. And as soon as he got there, he was greeted by Zenon.

    ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty,¡± he bowed. And immediately after, he began to brief the King about all the tasks that were scheduled for the day.

    Caspian, however, wasn¡¯t interested in listening to all those things. Even then, he waited for Zenon to finish speaking before finally asking his question, ¡°Zenon, did the spiese back with any reports?¡±

    Zenon felt his heart drop when he heard the question. For a second, he froze because no matter how many times he had reminded himself that he didn¡¯t want to say anything about the report rted to the Queen until the spy brought some more pieces of evidence, he felt the urge to answer truthfully when the King questioned him.

    However, he controlled his urge to be truthful because they were already in a crisis rted to the werewolves. He didn¡¯t want the King to go through another problem rted to the Queen who, at the moment, was the King¡¯s biggest emotional support.

    Zenon was well aware that the Queen was someone whose betrayal would surely drive the King mad.

    ¡®This is all for the good of the King and for the good of this Kingdom,¡¯ Zenon reminded himself before tantly lying to the King.

    ¡°No, Your Majesty. There are no reports yet. But I am expecting that they will be here by tonight or early in the morning tomorrow. After all, it¡¯s been quite a few days since they left.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Caspian furrowed his brows and restlessly tapped his fingers on the table.

    Zenon was trying his best to remain utterly calm so that the King wouldn¡¯t suspect him of lying or hiding anything from him. He didn¡¯t want the King to think that he was also betraying the trust.

    Caspian nodded his head after a while. He didn¡¯t suspect Zenon one bit because his advisor had never once broken his trust before. ¡°Alight then. Keep me updated.¡± He dismissed Zenon and began working on a few files that needed his immediate attention.

    The day passed very slowly for Caspian. He had to sit through all the long meetings that he really had no interest in for now. He had to work on the files that he didn¡¯t wish to read.

    And it seemed like Anastasia had decided not to serve the tea to him because it had already been way past the usual time and yet, Anastasia was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡®She is mad at me, isn¡¯t she?¡¯ he asked himself while looking at the huge wall clock on the wall of his workroom. The hour hand was already pointing that it was 5 in the evening.

    ¡®What should I do? Should I leave everything and go see her?¡¯ he wondered. However, he shook his head and forbade himself from doing that. ¡®If I procrastinate today, then even more work will pile up for tomorrow. I better finish everything in the schedule before I go see her.¡¯

    Even though he didn¡¯t want to, Caspian forced himself to stay back and work.

    Another reason why he didn¡¯t want to leave his workroom early was that he wished to read the report brought by the spy as soon as it arrived. And if the spies came after he went to rest for the night, Zenon would wait until the morning to hand him the report, which he didn¡¯t want.

    ¡®I want to read the report before meeting Anna. That way, I will have correct facts at my disposal if she is mad at me because of that wolf.¡¯

 Chapter 313 - 313 The Truth

    313 The Truth

    Every now and then in between his work, Caspian would wonder why his wife didn¡¯te to see him in his study today. Although he believed that it was because of their argument in the morning, he couldn¡¯t help but think if it was because she suddenly fell sick again.

    And the more he thought about it, the more restless he began to feel. Thus, he called one of the maids and ordered her, ¡°Go and see if the Queen¡¯s health is alright. And ask if she is ang¨C Ask if she needs anything.¡±

    The maid immediately went to find the Queen. And although she didn¡¯t take long to return with her answer, Caspian was already pacing back and forth in the room wondering if he should have gone to meet Anastasia in person rather than sending someone else.

    ¡°How¡¯s the Queen?¡± Caspian asked the moment he saw the maid at the door of his study.

    She bowed her head and replied in a polite manner, ¡°She is in good health, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Did she say anything else?¡± Caspian asked, wanting to know if Anastasia gave her the reason for noting to see him during the afternoon.

    The maid kept on bowing her head and answered the King, ¡°When I asked if she needed anything, she said that she had everything that she required. Other than that, she didn¡¯t say anything to me.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t say anything, huh¡­¡± Caspian nodded his head and mumbled to himself, dissatisfied by the answer he got. Nheless, he dismissed the maid and sat back on his chair to continue his work.

    He grabbed the file on the table and began reviewing it. But his mind wandered around and he was back to wondering why his wife was mad at him.

    .....

    ¡®Or am I simply overthinking it? She could have fallen asleep during the day and missed my usual tea time¡­¡¯

    He subconsciously began scribbling on the file that he was holding as he fell down the rabbit hole of his thoughts.

    ¡®I should have gone to see her myself instead of sending the maid. At least I would know what Anna is thinking. But now that I sent that maid already, I can¡¯t go and see her. It might make her feel as if she is under constant surveince.¡¯

    ¡®Argh!¡¯ He suddenly mmed his fist on the table and collected his scattered thoughts. ¡®Just stop thinking already! You can go and ask her directly when youplete all the tasks. It will be nighttime by then.¡¯

    That was his way to motivate himself to focus on his work instead of constantly thinking about his wife.

    Somehow, he managed to put his mind to his work after consciously forcing himself to focus on the files on his desk. And after working tirelessly for several hours, Caspian raised his tired eyes to look at the clock again. It was already half past 9.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it was already thiste! I guess¡­ the spies won¡¯t be here tonight,¡± he mumbled to himself. His expectation about getting to know the real mastermind behind the attack in Xanmar by tonight crumbled apart.

    ¡°Argh!¡± He grumbled in frustration and pressed his fingertips over his closed eyes. Now that he had given up hope about the arrival of the spies, he regretted not visiting his wife in the afternoon and not going to her chamber sooner.

    ¡®I should have gone to see Anna at least once rather than burying myself in the files. What if she is even angrier at me for not checking up on her during the day?¡¯

    Worried about his wife getting angry at him, he was ready to retire for the day. ¡®I hope that she won¡¯t explode as soon as she sees me. Or worse, ignore my whole existence for days!¡¯

    Just when he grabbed the door handle to open the door, he heard a knock from outside.

    ¡°Zenon?¡± he asked, thinking that no one else would be outside his door at this hour. When he saw that it was indeed Zenon, he further probed with a subtle hint of curiosity in his eyes, ¡°What is it?¡±

    And to his delight, Zenon held out a file saying, ¡°We have a report from Xanmar.¡±

    ¡°From our men?¡± Caspian asked while raising his brows and grabbing the file from Zenon¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian sprinted back towards his table and took his seat, followed by Zenon who stood in front of the King¡¯s desk.

    Zenon saw the King already going through the contents of the report. Thus, rather than exining what was written in the report, Zenon let Caspian read everything himself.

    Caspian¡¯s eyes moved at a great speed while going through the file, almost giving an illusion that even the whites of his eyes were blood-red in color.

    After finishing going through the whole report in less than a minute, Caspian abruptly closed his eyes and held his breath. His mind was trying to make sense of everything that he had just read and was trying to associate the names mentioned in the report with urate images of people.

    However, there were several names in the report that he didn¡¯t recognize.

    ¡®Just who the hell were those people? Graham¡­ yer¡­ Romulus¡­ And what was their end goal?¡¯

    Since he didn¡¯t personally know those people in the first ce, there was no way he could urately specte their end goal.

    In the end, he opened his eyes and asked Zenon, ¡°Did you read the report?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I did.¡±

    Caspian threw the report on the table and said while pointing at it. ¡°It says that the main perpetrator behind the attack on me and the others was the alpha called Romulus. But they didn¡¯t mention his reason behind doing so.¡±

    Zenon nodded his head and exined what he understood, ¡°Since the alpha, as well as his close associates, were assassinated, their motive behind that attack also died with them. Our spies could only uncover that the alpha was indirectly controlling the person called Graham and orchestrated the attack that day.¡±

    Although his spies had done a great job in digging out who the mastermind was, there were still so many holes in the story that Caspian couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy about the whole mystery.

    He intermingled his fingers and mumbled out in confusion, ¡°Let¡¯s assume for the time being that the dead alpha attacked us just because he hated our presence in their Kingdom. Let¡¯s say he did it because of his natural instinct.¡±

    Caspian heaved a deep breath and narrowed his gaze at the file. And he kept on weaving his own theory.

    ¡°Then who killed him and the others? Everyone who was directly or indirectly rted to the attack was killed. Is someone deliberately trying to hide their crime by killing them and pinning all the me on the dead? Or is the killer actually on our side? If not on our side, then not against us.¡±

    Zenon could sense that the King still had some suspicion that King Everard was the one who was behind everything. However, since he had analyzed the report countless times before finally presenting it to the King, he was sure that King Everard was not the one to me.

    He held his arms behind his back and pointed out, ¡°The man called Graham was apparently killed by King Everard without holding a fair trial. But there is no single piece of evidence that points out that King Everard was the one who murdered the others as well. In fact, he is yet to figure out that the dead alpha was the main perpetrator behind the attack. So, it is highly unlikely that he is their killer.¡±

    Caspian rested his head on the headrest of his chair and gazed at Zenon. When his advisor pointed that out to him, the doubts that he had about Everard were slowly disappearing.

    He also knew how skilled all his spies were in terms of digging out information.

    Thus, he decided to believe that Everard was indeed not guilty. He decided to believe that the apology letter that he had received from Everard was indeed not deceitful; that there was no hidden agenda behind sending that letter apart from stopping the unnecessary war.

    ¡°Okay then.¡± Caspian mmed his palms on the table and then said to Zenon with finality, ¡°Since the main culprits of the attack are already dead, I will put this case to rest.¡±

    Zenon was happy that the Kingdoms had avoided entering a full-out war with this.

    Caspian got up from his chair and ordered Zenon, ¡°Arrange my meeting with Crown Prince Alexander. I bet he would love to hear that his childhood friend was not after his and his sister¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°I will send a messenger to Orsenia right away,¡± Zenon replied, without caring that it was veryte at night.

    Before Zenon could leave the King¡¯s study though, the King gave another order to him. ¡°And Zenon, also try to find out who assassinated those werewolves. If they are on our side or if they are neutral, then it isn¡¯t a problem.¡±

    Caspian started to walk towards the door and said with a deep frown between his brows, ¡°But if they are against us then it will be a problem in the future. Someone could have killed those mere pawns to cut off the link to protect themselves from being exposed.¡±

    Zenon bowed his head and agreed. ¡°I will order the spies to keep on looking for the assassin.¡±

    He followed the King and replied with an equally grim expression on his face, ¡°Considering how those werewolves were killed in cold blood, I would like to believe that the assassin is greatly powerful. If that person decides to go against us, then they might create some serious problems as you said.¡±

 Chapter 314 - 314 Angry?

    314 Angry?

    Caspian took a deep breath in and calmed himself down before he gently knocked on his wife¡¯s bedchamber.

    He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t get any response at all since it was already way past the Queen¡¯s usual bedtime. Or even if he got the response, he was afraid that his wife would not even look at him and go right back to sleep.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry that I amte¡­ No¡­ Say, I would like to apologize for beingte. I had a lot of work today.¡¯ He was practicing the things that he could say to his wife in case she opened the door and turned right away from him.

    However, to his surprise, not only did he get permission to enter the room, but he could also see that his wife was dressed in a lovely bedgown.

    ¡°You¡¯rete,¡± Anastasia said in a sleepy whisper while leaning her body against the heavy door and resting her head against it.

    Caspian instantly smiled upon seeing his wife¡¯s eyes which were barely open. ¡°It looks like I woke you up from your deep sleep,¡± he mumbled.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, wife.¡± He leaned in to give a soft kiss on her forehead and then swiftly carried her in his arms.

    Anastasia instinctively put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was only dozing off,¡± she replied.

    Now that the one who she was waiting for was finally here, she loosened up her body and closed her eyes as if she wanted to sleepfortably now.

    .....

    Caspian closed the huge door and carried Anastasia inside the bedchamber. And as he slowlyy her down on the side of the bed which she had already warmed, he apologized to her in a soft whisper, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, I swear. I had a lot of things to do today.¡±

    When Caspian pulled the nket and tucked her in, she slightly opened her eyes to look at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, love. I understand.¡± After saying that, she turned to her side and patted the empty and cold side of the bed. ¡°Come. You must be really tired.¡±

    ¡°Very.¡± Caspian heaved a deep sigh of relief seeing his wife acting normally. He wanted to ask why she didn¡¯t bring the tea to his study today. However, since her eyes were yearning to get some rest, he thought of asking that in the morning.

    Although he hadn¡¯t freshened up, nor had his dinner yet since he was too eager to see his wife, he thought of skipping them for tonight and quickly removed all his clothing to get in bed with his wife.

    When he snuggled with her and his cold body touched her, Anastasia suddenly giggled and said in aining tone, ¡°Caspian! You¡¯re naked again!¡±

    Caspian shamelessly rubbed his body against her even more and nonchntly whispered in his raspy voice, ¡°It¡¯s not like this is something new for us.¡± And he further said in a teasing manner, ¡°Besides, I know you like it when I sleep like this.¡±

    Anastasia¡¯s eyes were now wide open. She was pursing her lips and was trying her best not to giggle again. She didn¡¯t want to confirm that what he said was true, she was too shy to do that.

    However, she couldn¡¯t hold herugh for longer and she ended up bursting.

    ¡°See!¡± Caspian proudly smirked and looked at his wife¡¯s cheerful face. ¡°I know you like it,¡± he whispered in her ears, sending a wave of goosebumps all over her body and making her squirm.

    His gaze softened as his wife continued tough sweetly. ¡®Ah! I missed this sound,¡¯ he thought to himself. He was really d that his wife wasn¡¯t mad at him after their argument in the morning. At least, she didn¡¯t look mad at the moment.

    Anastasia grabbed Caspian¡¯s arm andy it down to use it as her pillow. She then shifted even closer to him and put her arm around his chest.

    Caspian also wrapped his arm around his wife and pressed his soft lips on her dark ginger hair. ¡°Your hair smells really nice,¡± heplimented her.

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Anastasia looked up at him and said with a slightly guilty look on her face, ¡°Ti gave me a nice oil massage on my head today. The massage was so good that I ended up falling asleep for the whole day. And I¡­¡±

    Caspian couldn¡¯t exin the relief he felt when he heard his wife¡¯s innocent words. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s the reason why I didn¡¯t get my tea today, huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± she apologized while wrinkling her nose and giving a guilty gaze to him. ¡°When that maid came to ask if I was in good health, I was just about to enter my bath. And by the time I was done bathing, it was already toote in the evening.¡±

    She subconsciously began tracing the tips of her fingers on Caspian¡¯s back when she further exined herself, ¡°I thought of bringing the tea to you, but I felt like I would only extend your work hours at that point by distracting you. If I knew beforehand that you would stay there until it was thiste, I would havee and apanied you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He gently stroked her back and intently gazed into her pure eyes. ¡°Although you deprived me of the taste of your tea and your sweet smile, I will forgive you.¡±

    The corners of Anastasia¡¯s lips slightly curved up to form a beautiful smile.

    Caspian leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. And right after, he parted his lips and kissed his wife so vigorously that it was evident how much he missed her for the whole day. The thought that his wife was mad at him had drained his energy greatly. Thus, he needed to replenish that energy by pouring his love on her and getting the love back from her as well.

    While kissing and tasting her sweetness, he slightly pushed himself up and made her lie down on her back. He gently rested his chest on hers and then pulled away from the kiss to look at her smiling face.

    She already looked flustered, no matter how many times they had done this before.

    Caspian, on the other hand, could also see the anticipation in her eyes. He traced the outline of her lips with his thumb and said in a raspy, enchanting voice, ¡°Anna, I love you. A lot.¡±

 Chapter 315 - 315 Proof of Love

    315 Proof of Love

    ¡°And so do I, Caspian.¡± Anastasia slid her thin fingers along Caspian¡¯s tough shoulder and gently rested her palm on his neck. She looked into his deep red eyes and whispered back to him, ¡°I love you too.¡±

    Caspian smiled softly upon hearing his wife¡¯s sweet confession. His gaze softened when he saw his wife smiling back at him. Her smile was as bewitching as always. And he couldn¡¯t help but lean down again to taste the sweet nectar of his wife¡¯s mouth. He could never get enough of that taste.

    His lips eagerly dove in to im his wife¡¯s plump and moist lips. The gentle jabs from his wife¡¯s lips were enough to burn the fire of desire in his heart.

    ¡°Mmph¡­¡± he let out a throaty moan in his wife¡¯s mouth and closed his eyes. The images of the structure of his wife¡¯s lips danced in his head as he traced the texture of her lips with the tip of his tongue.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    When he heard the softest moan of his wife echoing in his mouth, he could barely resist sliding his palm under her back and holding her in his tight embrace. He was, however, careful not topletely rest his heavy chest on his wife.

    He gently pried open her mouth with the help of his tongue so that he could kiss her even deeper and with even more passion. He craved his wife¡¯s warmth a little more than usual today.

    He invasively frolicked the inside of her small mouth and sucked every bit of moisture from there.

    ¡°Nghh!¡± Anastasia was moaning in protest when Caspian sucked her lips until they hurt a little. She didn¡¯t want to roam around the castle with swollen lips the next day.

    .....

    However, when he kept on sucking and even nipping her lower lip, she grabbed his hair at the back of his head and pulled his head away from her.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Caspian squinted his eyes and pretended that he was hurt. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± he asked, his eyes fixated on Anastasia¡¯s lips.

    Anastasia let go of her hold on his hair and answered while gently rubbing her palm on the area where she had grabbed, ¡°Because you were biting me! My lips will turn all red tomorrow if you do that.¡±

    Caspian, being as mischievous as ever, gave a smirk and brought his face very close to Anastasia¡¯s face. He looked into her eyes and said in his raspy voice, ¡°Then you can wear your red lip color tomorrow. No one will guess what¡¯s underneath it.¡±

    Anastasiaughed while showing a slight hint of denial on her face and eximed, ¡°No! I will have to ask Ti to do it for me. But I don¡¯t want a single person to see the proof of what we did tonight.¡±

    Caspian couldn¡¯t hold in hisugh for longer when he saw that shy expression on her face. Her cheeks as well as her ears had turned rosy by now. He slightly pushed himself up and supported his upper body using his elbows.

    And he teasingly whispered, ¡°Oh, but I want everyone to see the proof of our love. Everyone should know that their King and Queen are making an effort almost every night to give them the heir to the throne.¡±

    ¡°Caspian! Wha¨C What are you even saying?¡± Anastasia eximed in disbelief and kept on staring at her husband with her jaw wide open.

    Caspian smiled ear to ear upon seeing that stunned look on his wife¡¯s face. And as if to prove that he was going to do exactly what he had just said, he pushed the locks of hair that were covering her neck from both sides, and intently gazed at her slender and inviting neck.

    Anastasia breathed in sharply through her mouth because she felt as if he was going to bite her and leave the marks of his fangs on her. ¡°Umm¡­¡± She gulped to moisten her dry throat and asked with a shaky breath, ¡°Ca-Caspian? Y-You¡¯re not going to bite me are you?¡±

    ¡°Bite you?¡± Caspian broke his gaze from her neck and looked into her eyes which showed a very subtle hint of fear. He realized that he had gone too far with his joke and softly pecked her lips.

    He looked at her again and asked in a loving manner, ¡°And just why would I do that? You¡¯re not a random prisoner for me to feed on. You are my wife.¡± He gently pressed his lips on her forehead and saidfortingly, ¡°I would never feed on you even if I am starving to death.¡±

    However, instead of feeling relieved to hear that, Anastasia instantly countered him. ¡°I would never want you to starve like that. If that day everes when you have no other option but to feed on me then¡­¡±

    She gently cupped his chiseled jaw with her palms. Her heartbeat was rising for some reason. Nheless, she finished her sentence, ¡°Please don¡¯t forcefully stop yourself from doing that. I wouldn¡¯t mind if you take some of my blood.¡±

    Caspian was really surprised to hear that, and even a little angry. A deep frown appeared in between his brows when he sighed.

    ¡°Anna¡­¡± He looked at his wife¡¯s innocent face and reprimanded her, ¡°You should never permit a vampire to drink your blood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not permitting to just any vampire, am I?¡± She wrapped her arms around her husband¡¯s neck when he suddenly wanted to get up. She pulled him close to her chest and looked at his beautiful face while slightly tilting her head.

    And she added with nothing but pure intention, ¡°You are my husband. And I would rather not see you struggling with hunger.¡±

    Caspian let out another sigh again and scolded her for being so na?ve. ¡°Your life is greater than my hunger, silly! If I get a taste of your blood, even I don¡¯t know what I will do to you in the blindness of my thirst.¡±

    He held her wrist a little tighter and asked her as if he was giving an order, ¡°If you ever find me alone with you when I am in my extreme hunger then you should kick me in the gut and run the other way. That¡¯s the only thing that you are allowed to do in that situation. Do you hear me?¡±

    When Anastasia simply lowered her gaze instead of agreeing to him, he pinched her cheek and said, ¡°But rest assured, that situation will never arise.¡±

    ¡°Ow! Ow! Why are you pinching me, Caspian?¡± Anastasia wrinkled her nose and tried to push Caspian¡¯s hand away from her cheek. ¡°It hurts!¡±

    Caspian scoffed and nipped her nose. ¡°I am not even pinching you that hard. Don¡¯t pretend!¡±

    Anastasia giggled and asked while raising her brows, ¡°Shall we sleep or¡­?¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes and shook his head. ¡°You are not allowed to sleep tonight.¡± He suddenly threw the nket away and sat up while straddling her body.

    He pushed a few stray strands of blond hair away from his eyes and said in his deep voice, ¡°Wife, tonight I am not going to go easy on you.¡±

 Chapter 316 - 316 Love Hungry

    316 Love Hungry

    ¡°Are you going to turn into a love-hungry beast or something?¡± Anastasia covered her mouth with her palms and teasinglyughed at her husband.

    However, that didn¡¯t work out in her favor since Caspian smirked instead of protesting or saying otherwise. He gently traced his palm along her womanly curves and rested it right below her left breast.

    And gently pushing her breast upward with a circr motion from his thumb, he asked in his utterly enticing raspy whisper, ¡°Do you want me to act like a love-hungry beast? Is that what it is?¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Anastasia slightly wriggled her body to the side, already regretting what she said as a joke. She held his firm wrist and said after licking her lips, ¡°I was simply trying to be sarcastic. I didn¡¯t mean it at all.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­¡± Caspian wrinkled his nose and let out a disagreeing sound. ¡°But it¡¯s a little toote to take back your words.¡±

    He gently grabbed her breast and began massaging it with such a light hand that Anastasia couldn¡¯t help but bite her lower lip and moan in pleasure.

    Caspian felt something in his heart when he heard that arousing moan of his wife. He immediately leaned down and kissed her neck.

    Anastasia instantly giggled and tried to hide her neck by tilting her head to the side. Tonight, she was feeling way too sensitive around her neck for some reason.

    ¡°Caspian! No tickling please¡­¡± she pleaded when Caspian kept on kissing all over her neck with his wet lips.

    .....

    Caspian, however, greatly enjoyed hearing herughter and continued kissing her. He smiled to himself when she failed at her attempts to push his head away from her neck. And so as to hear that divine giggles of his wife even more, he rolled his tongue around the hollow of her neck.

    ¡°S-Stop!¡± Anastasia grabbed Caspian¡¯s hair once more and tried to pull him away. However, her efforts were futile. She was already tearing up fromughing excessively. And instead of pushing or pulling him away, she wiped the corners of her eyes instead while trying her best to suppress herugh.

    Caspian finally spared her when she stopped fighting. He lifted his head and looked at her cheerful and somewhat teary face.

    ¡°You are not the only one who is allowed to tickle-attack,¡± Anastasia suddenly shouted and pulled herself up by wrapping her arms around her husband¡¯s neck.

    Caspian didn¡¯t know if something powerful had suddenly possessed her body. But, Anastasia was somehow able to push him down on the bed and even managed to climb on top of him.

    Now that their positions were reversed, Anastasia bit her lower lip and gave a naughty look to her husband. It looked as if she had something mischievous in her mind.

    Rightly so, Anastasia leaned down and nipped her husband¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Caspian smiled ear to ear and eximed as if he was hurt by that harmless bite from his wife.

    It motivated Anastasia to bite and kiss her husband on his neck with even more intensity and passion. She giggled and continued kissing, sucking, and nipping Caspian all over the neck.

    Caspian didn¡¯t realize until now that even he was somewhat ticklish around that area. However, he gripped the bed sheet with both of his hands and bit his lower lip to control hisugh. He didn¡¯t want to give her the satisfaction and encourage her to continue with her frivolous act.

    Anastasia suddenly lifted her head after kissing the hollow of his neck. And when she saw his face, she immediately understood that he was simply pretending not to be affected by the kisses that she showered on him.

    ¡°You cheater!¡± she eximed and beganughing heartily.

    ¡°How am I the cheater?¡± Caspian asked as he grabbed his wife¡¯s thighs.

    Anastasia rested her hands on his arm and asked whileughing like a free spirit, ¡°How does it feel to get the taste of your own medicine?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± He slipped his hand inside her bedgown and slid them upward towards her hips. ¡°The medicine tasted sweet so I didn¡¯t mind. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure¡­¡± She gave a teasing nce to him and kept on giggling as she poked the tight muscles on his chest.

    Caspian rested his hands on her hips and gazed at his wife¡¯s face which was glowing in the dim candlelight. His heart skipped a beat upon seeing how lively his wife looked at the moment. It seemed like the love that he had for his wife in his heart was growing exponentially by the day.

    Deep inside his chest, he could feel the gentle thumping of his own heart. And he didn¡¯t realize it but, his eyes were glistening with happy tears.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Anastasia asked after noticing the tears in his eyes.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Caspian smiled.

    Anastasia leaned down once more and brought her face close to his. She looked into his eyes full of mystery and asked, ¡°Then why do you look like you are about to cry?¡±

    Caspian gently massaged her hips and answered, ¡°I am not crying, silly! I am just¡­ happy. Really really happy.¡±

    He slid his arms further up and along with it, he pushed her bedgown up to her chest. He held her thin waist and said, ¡°I can feel my heartbeat at times. And I realize how alive I feel when I am with you. It makes me feel like the luckiest man on Earth.¡±

    Anastasia was really touched by his words. Even her eyes slightly teared up because she felt the same when she was with him. She quickly took off her bedgown which was barely covering one of her breasts at the moment. She threw the cloth aside andy on top of his bare chest.

    She closed her eyes and replied in an equally loving tone, ¡°And I also feel the luckiest because I got to see this whole new world because of you. I feel like I am living in a fantasynd. Every day feels like a new adventure when I am with you.¡±

    Caspian was both happy as well as sad upon hearing that because the new world that she was talking about was full of danger.

    He wished that he could take her away from this ¡®fantasynd¡¯ and keep her somewhere in a safe and secluded ce so as to protect her from all kinds of monsters. He wanted to protect her from any potential danger that could arise in the future.

    He tightened his hold around her waist and closed his eyes. And he wondered if he could really keep on protecting her in the future.

    ¡®Should I arrange a ce somewhere? Just for the two of us? I don¡¯t know what danger wille knocking on our door¡­¡¯

    However, he quickly dismissed that idea thinking that it would be even more dangerous if an enemy found out about that secluded ce and ambushed them while they were alone there. ¡®No. She will be safer here amongst my men. This castle won¡¯t fall that easily no matter who attacks.¡¯

    ¡°Anna?¡± He suddenly felt that Anastasia was breathing as if she had fallen asleep.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± she responded in her sleepy voice.

    Caspian smiled and kissed her head when he realized that she had fallen asleep on his chest. ¡®She must be tired. She was already in her deep sleep earlier,¡¯ he thought to himself and moved his hand very carefully to pull the nket from the side.

    He decided to let his wife sleep on him and covered both of them with the nket. And after kissing her head again, he whispered softly, ¡°Goodnight, dear wife.¡±

 Chapter 317 - 317 The Runaway

    317 The Runaway

    Faraway from the rtively peaceful night in Sorvando, the same night seemed to be a little harsh on select few people in Xanmar.

    Regulus was still doing everything in his power toe closer to catching the murderer of his brother. No matter how bad his rtionship with Romulus was, he still wanted to find the culprit and give them the harshest punishment.

    After all, his pride didn¡¯t allow him to let the murderer of the bearer of his family name roam around freely.

    ¡°Has there been any progress, Milord?¡± Jake asked Regulus after joining the young lord in the garden in the middle of the night.

    Regulus was sitting down on a rocking chair with his legs crossed. He had a burning cigar in between his lips. Although the weather was a little chilly, Regulus was enjoying the soft cool breeze, and also thepany.

    Regulus lifted his eyes from the battered and bruised man who was kneeling in front of him with his head down and nced at Jake who had just joined him.

    ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of hearing a very interesting story,¡± he replied without removing the cigar from his mouth.

    ¡°Interesting story?¡± Jake asked with a glimmer of curiosity reflected in his eyes.

    ¡°Yes, this man was telling me why he ran away from Xanmar amidst all this chaos. It took a lot of convincing to make this man talk, you know...¡±

    .....

    Regulus looked back at the trembling man and rested his headfortably on the backrest of the chair. He slowly started to rock the chair back and forth and blew out the smoke of the cigar.

    He rested his arm on the armrest of the chair and asked the man with golden-brown hair, ¡°Did I ask you to stop?¡± A hint of passive-aggressiveness was evident in his voice when he asked that.

    The man who was kneeling down flinched a little when he heard that calm voice that managed to send tremors in his heart. He slightly lifted his head to reveal that it was Lorenzo who was in that pitiable state.

    He fisted over his knees and gulped before resuming what he was saying earlier before Jake came and interrupted him.

    ¡°As I was saying, it was never my intention to run away from Xanmar. But when I felt that excruciating pain that night, I was terrified. I knew that something horrible had happened to the alpha. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself toe here and see what had happened.¡±

    The frown lines in between Regulus¡¯ brows deepened when he slightly leaned forward and said in a reprimanding tone, ¡°Are you listening to yourself? You aren¡¯t making any sense! Why would you decide to leave the Kingdom when you felt the demise of your alpha? Unless you had something to do with it.¡±

    Lorenzo instantly lifted his right hand towards the sky and shouted, ¡°I swear on the moon goddess that I had nothing to do with ourte alpha¡¯s death. I wouldn¡¯t even dare to think about it, not even in my dream!¡±

    Regulus wasn¡¯t having any of it though. He turned his head to look at Jake and asked, ¡°Remind me what my brother did to this man again, what he did before he passed away.¡±

    By now, Jake had stopped seeing Regulus as someone who was incapable of handling the position of the alpha and had started to respect him.

    He looked at Lorenzo with using eyes and instantly answered Regulus, ¡°Thete alpha had grown unexpectedly close to this man who was a mere informant for us. However, a few days before he passed away, he had some disagreement with this man.¡±

    Jake darted his eyes along all the bruises which had turned blue and purple by now. And he finished what he was saying, ¡°And because of it, this man was punished severely and was kept under house arrest.¡±

    Regulus shook his foot that was resting on top of the other leg. He took a puff of the cigar and then spun his theory like always, ¡°Since you were beaten to a pulp like this over some disagreement, you took your revenge by killing him and the others, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Lorenzo froze for a while upon hearing that absurd theory. And he immediately denied the usation, ¡°I was still under house arrest when the alpha died. How could I have killed him? Even if I had somehow escaped, I would never be able to kill so many people, all of whom were way too stronger than me.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you hired someone to take your revenge for you while you were still locked up.¡± Regulus casually used him again and leaned back.

    Lorenzo, on the other hand, desperately tried to prove his innocence, ¡°Where would someone like me get the money to hire an assassin? And how would I be able to send an assassin after my own alpha when my wills were literally bound by the bond?¡±

    ¡°So, let¡¯s assume for a while that you had no hand in Romulus¡¯ death.¡± Regulus paused as if he was thinking of something.

    He then gave a piercing re to Lorenzo and tried to probe into Lorenzo¡¯s mind in order to check if he was worth keeping alive.

    ¡°After you felt that bond being broken, you took the chance to break free amidst all the chaos and run away? You were desperate to get away from the shadow of my brother, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I ran away¡­¡± Lorenzo dabbed the corners of his eyes with the back of his palm. He could sense the smell of bloodlust that the acting alpha was giving off at the moment. And he whispered in his trembling breath, ¡°I just know that I wanted to live. That¡¯s all¡­¡±

    ¡°Why were you still lurking near the border then?¡± Regulus put the cigar on the ashtray that was on the ground. ¡°You should have crossed the ocean before my men found you and dragged you back here,¡± he added.

    ¡°I guess¡­ I couldn¡¯t leave my life here in Xanmar that easily,¡± Lorenzo mumbled.

    Regulus leaned forward and looked at a scared face of Lorenzo. Lorenzo quickly averted eye contact, which made Regulus think that he was hiding something.

    ¡°Spill it out, whatever it is that you are thinking,¡± he asked in a stern voice.

    The sudden sharp voice of Regulus made Lorenzo flinch again. And he immediately mumbled, ¡°I wanted to return to the capital and meet the King. I wanted to ask for his help since I have no other people to rely upon.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Regulus raised his brows and leaned back on the chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. ¡°So, even a peasant like you has a good connection with the King, huh?¡± he wondered out loud at that revtion from Lorenzo.

    Lorenzo realized what he had blurted out in his fear. He didn¡¯t want Regulus to suspect that he was always unfaithful towards thete alpha.

    So, he instantly tried to correct himself, ¡°No, it¡¯s not what you think. I¡­¡± He looked at the advisor of the Atkinson n who was still standing behind Regulus and was silently listening to their conversation as it yed out.

    He wasn¡¯t sure how much the advisor knew about the devious ns of Romulus. What he knew was that he didn¡¯t want to spill everything in front of Jake and ruin the perfect image of thete alpha in his mind.

    Thus, he looked at Regulus and requested, ¡°I would like to speak to you in private, Milord.¡±

    Jake was obviously offended when a suspect was seeking to talk privately with Regulus. ¡°How dare you say that?¡± he immediately shouted. ¡°Are you afraid that all your dirty deeds will be known by everyone if you speak in front of me? I am not going anywhere!¡±

    Jake seemed adamant about staying there.

    Regulus, on the other hand, sensed that what Lorenzo was going to say was rted to what his brother did in secret.

    Since he knew that his brother wasn¡¯t someone with a good personality deep down, he gestured his hand and asked Jake, ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave us alone, Mr. Greyson? I will keep you in the loop if he spills something of relevance to the case.¡±

    Jake couldn¡¯t deny it when Regulus asked him to leave. ¡°I will leave you to it then.¡± He bowed his head to the lord and gave a re to Lorenzo before disappearing from the garden.

    After the advisor left, Lorenzo quickly looked up at Regulus and said, ¡°I would have taken this to my grave. But since you are thete alpha¡¯s brother, I will tell this to you.¡±

    ¡°Tell me what?¡± Regulus slightly raised his brows and became attentive to what Lorenzo was about to say.

    Something told him that he was going to hear about some ugly deeds that his brother did.

 Chapter 318 - 318 Back in Trap

    318 Back in Trap

    Lorenzo took a deep breath in before revealing the true intention of Romulus to Regulus.

    ¡°Thete alpha had his own ns in ce. I didn¡¯t know much detail but I believe he wanted to see the downfall of the current King. And under hismand, I had befriended the King before he was crowned. I spied on the King for our alpha. And I did everything that he asked me to do.¡±

    Regulus didn¡¯t suspect for once that Lorenzo was making this stuff up. Rather, he thought to himself, ¡®That sounds very much like my brother.¡¯

    And he asked Lorenzo, ¡°What was this disagreement that made you get those bruises and also the house arrest as the punishment? Was it something to do with the King?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± Lorenzo adjusted his legs a little now that both his legs were starting to feel numb from kneeling down for almost an hour.

    And as Regulus was looking at him expectantly, he further borated, ¡°The alpha had asked me to make the King drunk on the day of his coronation, but not that drunk that he would pass out. However, although I followed the alpha¡¯s instruction regarding the amount of alcohol that I should have given to the King, he happened to pass out. And¡­¡±

    Regulus rolled his eyes andpleted Lorenzo¡¯s sentence, ¡°And he got furious with you. So much so, that he had you battered ck and blue.¡±

    Although that wasn¡¯t the only reason why Romulus had punished Lorenzo, he didn¡¯t borate further. He didn¡¯t want to let Regulus know that Romulus was angry because the King had insulted him while protecting Lorenzo from his wrath.

    And although he didn¡¯t like how he got treated for the small mistake that he did, Lorenzo lied and said, ¡°I got punished because I deserved it. I never harbored any kind of ill intention towards thete alpha. And I assure you that my loyalty always lied with him and not the King.¡±

    .....

    ¡°And yet you were willing to take help from the King instead of seeking it from the brothers of your own n?¡± Regulus raised one of his brows and asked. He wasn¡¯t quite convinced about where Lorenzo¡¯s loyaltyy.

    Lorenzo, being the sweet talker as always, tried to convince Regulus otherwise. ¡°Yes, milord. I agree that I couldn¡¯t think properly because of the distress I was under after losing the person I have always looked up to. But I wanted to seek help from the King because even though I don¡¯t consider him my true friend, he believes that I am a trustworthy friend of his.¡±

    ¡°Trustworthy friend, you say¡­¡± Regulus touched his chin and went into deep thought for a while.

    Despite Jake and the elders of the n advising him against it, Regulus hadn¡¯t stopped keeping the King under the cloud of suspicion.

    In fact, after making his men snoop around the castle, he found it even more suspicious that the King¡¯s location at the time of his brother¡¯s death was unknown. No one in the castle was able to confirm where the King was at that time.

    And when Lorenzo mentioned how the King considered him to be a friend, Regulus got a brilliant idea. ¡°If you were indeed loyal to my brother as you im, then I want you to extend your loyalty to me as well. I want you to use your friendship and find where the King was at the time of Romulus¡¯ death.¡±

    Lorenzo looked a bit stunned to suddenly hear that Regulus now wanted him to act as a spy for him. ¡®He was suspecting me to be the murderer just a few minutes ago. Now he suspects the King?¡¯ he wondered.

    ¡°Are you willing to lend me a hand or not?¡± Romulus asked in a little harsh tone when Lorenzo didn¡¯t immediately answer him.

    Lorenzo hated the fact that just when he thought he had escaped from the ws of someone as dangerous and selfish as Romulus, he was caught right back in the trap by Regulus. He was going to be a puppet once more.

    He lowered his head and thought to himself, ¡®I don¡¯t really want to betray King Everard¡¯s trust again¡­ I don¡¯t want him to discover all the bad things I had done to him.¡¯

    His thought was disrupted when he heard Regulus¡¯ passive-aggressive threat.

    ¡°If you deny working for me then I will assume that whatever you just told me about your loyalty and everything else was just a lie. Also, I want to let you know that I don¡¯t like to let disloyal people walk around freely. So, choose your next words wisely.¡±

    It was already apparent to Lorenzo that Regulus didn¡¯t intend on letting him leave the manor. And considering how Romulus would turn into apletely different person in his rage, he didn¡¯t want to test Regulus¡¯ anger. They were brothers after all.

    Thus, Lorenzo bowed his head to show hispliance and dered, ¡°I will do as you say, Milord. I am at your service.¡±

    ¡°Good choice.¡± Regulus was happy with how things turned out.

    When his men brought Lorenzo to him, he didn¡¯t have much expectation since he was already aware that Lorenzo wasn¡¯t a fighter. He was also aware that Lorenzo had only disappeared from his house after the death of his brother.

    The only reason why he was interested in questioning Lorenzo was because of the fact that he had suddenly entered Romulus¡¯ inner circle within a matter of a few months. So, he wanted to know if Lorenzo held any specific talent that made him earn Romulus¡¯ trust.

    Needless to say, he was not disappointed by the oue of the interrogation.

    Regulus finally got up from the rocking chair and held his arms behind his back. The creaking sound of the chair filled the awkward silence between the two of them.

    Lorenzo lifted his head and took a nce at the lord who was standing in front of him and looking down at him. ¡®What am I supposed to do now?¡¯ he asked himself, not sure if he was allowed to get up yet.

    Regulus kept on looking at the bruise marks on Lorenzo¡¯s face and asked something that he had been wanting to ask for a while now. ¡°Why the hell have your bruises not healed yet?¡±

    Lorenzo subconsciously touched his swollen under-eye and answered, ¡°Oh, um¡­ I think I was given some kind of herb that slows the healing.¡±

    ¡°Before they beat you up?¡± Regulus asked while furrowing his brows.

    Lorenzo simply gave a nod.

    Regulus heaved a sigh and finally gestured for Lorenzo to get up on his feet. He patiently waited until Lorenzo got up after great difficulty. And he briefed, ¡°I will have some men arrange a room for you in the guest quarter. From today on, you will work directly under me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± Lorenzo¡¯s voice barely came out when he agreed to do something that he didn¡¯t want to.

    Regulus narrowed his eyes and deliberately asked, ¡°What was that? I didn¡¯t quite hear you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± Lorenzo looked at Regulus and loudly agreed to work for him.

    Regulus nodded his head and gave out his first order to Lorenzo, ¡°I want you to go to the castle first thing in the morning tomorrow and have an audience with the King.¡±

    He hovered his finger over the bruises on Lorenzo¡¯s face and further said, ¡°Maybe gain his sympathy by showing your bruises and telling him how cruelly my brother treated you. Make him believe that you are on his side. And when the time is right, discreetly ask him about his whereabouts on the day we lost our alpha.¡±

    ¡°I will do that, Milord.¡± Lorenzo slightly drew his brows together when he agreed to Regulus¡¯ order. He didn¡¯t voice out his question but Regulus seemed to understand what was in his mind.

    Thus, Regulus answered the unasked question, ¡°Yes. I have some doubts that the King might have been the one who murdered Romulus. He also had some disputes with Romulus a few hours before he got killed. It wasn¡¯t that big of an issue but still, I don¡¯t want to leave any stones unturned.¡±

    It appeared to Lorenzo that Regulus was simply being thorough in his investigation by doubting the King. It didn¡¯t seem like Regulus had hard evidence against Everard.

    Lorenzo also didn¡¯t think that the King was the one who was responsible for Romulus¡¯ death. And he was willing to help Regulus in clearing any subtle doubt that he had towards the King.

    He straightened his back and held his arms behind his back. And he said in a confident voice, ¡°I will help you uncover the truth, Milord.¡±

    ¡°I expect nothing less.¡± Regulus slightly leaned forward and said while ring directly into Lorenzo¡¯s scared soul, ¡°And keep in mind that you will answer to no one but me.¡±

 Chapter 319 - 319 Valentineâ€™s Day Special

    319 Valentine¡¯s Day Special

    [A few excerpts from Anastasia¡¯s Secret Diary.]

    1st June

    Today, I decided to maintain a log of my day-to-day activities here in the castle of Sorvando. I don¡¯t know if I can survive that long in this castle now that I know what kind of a man I have been betrothed to.

    So, I will be writing everything that happens to me here so that the people who care about me can find out what kind of life I had here¡­ or not.

    I¡¯m not sure if this diary will find its way back to Orsenia. But I hope that if something happens to me then my parents will at least be immediately informed about my death, if not the cause of my death.

    I¡­ have a strong feeling that my so-called husband will be the death of me.

    I fear him.

    Just a while ago, he came to my room and threatened me saying that he would snap me like a twig if he got hungry¡­ that was the gist of it.

    And he tried to chase me back to Orsenia. I would have dly returned to my dear home if it wasn¡¯t for myself.

    .....

    Yes, I am being a little selfish by being adamant about staying here. But at the same time, foolish. I don¡¯t know if I am doing it right by deciding to stay here. The future will tell eventually.

    Ah! I really hope I will be able to meet Ti soon. We had been separated as soon as we arrived here. . . .

    I just remembered what I witnessed after arriving here in this hellish castle.

    My hands won¡¯t stop trembling¡­ No¡­ I don¡¯t think I am going to write the evil that I saw. I want to erase it from my head.

    Sigh~

    Anyway, I was told that I have to attend the ball tonight. I will. I have to, no matter how much I dislike it. I really hope nothing will go wrong.

    3rd June

    Ah! I had already forgotten about this diary! So silly of me. But¡­ I had my reasons to forget. After all, it¡¯s been a crazy time here. A lot of things happened to me. Bad things¡­ And maybe something good? I don¡¯t know¡­

    Sorry for dropping a blob of ink on you, my dear diary. I got lost in my thoughts for a while. I was just confused about what to write and what not to write.

    Okay. After thinking about it again, I thought that I would first mention why I didn¡¯t write continuously.

    Sigh! It was terrifying¡­ Ti endangered her own life to save mine. She pushed me aside and was ready to sacrifice herself at the hands of that vampire.

    Yes!

    A vampire.

    I didn¡¯t write it before thinking I wouldn¡¯t need to. But turns out, this Kingdom is full of vampires.

    And mother, you won¡¯t believe it but, even my husband is one of them. That¡¯s why I was terrified to my core.

    Father, whatever happens to me, don¡¯t try to seek revenge because¡­ I hate to admit it but, you will be defeated. They are far too strong, beyond ourprehension level. And fast. Nothing can stop them.

    Ah! I strayed away from what I was going to write.

    Returning back to the main topic¡­ I am fine. Ti saved me, and¡­ so did the King. I witnessed with my own eyes how he beat that attacker to a pulp. He was furious! And¡­ I felt really safe in his arms.

    I know I am contradicting myself. Even I am confused about what to believe and what to feel.

    Feel¡­

    I heard from Lord Zenon that he, the King¡­ my husband looked after me the whole time I was unconscious.

    Right! I was unconscious after that attack on me and Ti. I was shocked. Oh, I heard Ti is doing okay. The wounds on her neck were stitched up. Now, she needs to rest, they say. I hope she will recover soon.

    I will go and meet her in a while. Um¡­ he told me that he would take me there.

    Oh dear heavens! I don¡¯t know if I can face him. He¡­

    He has suddenly started to treat me tenderly, lovingly if I dare say so. I don¡¯t know what changed his mind about me. Could it have been that attack on me? Maybe he just pitied me seeing how weak I am aspared to him.

    But¡­ I can¡¯t help but feel anxious¡­ no¡­ happy? No idea! I guess being treated kindly was a change of pace for me.

    It was unexpected, but it wasn¡¯t bad.

    Yes. I hate to admit it but it wasn¡¯t bad at all.

    He¡­ I don¡¯t know if I should be mentioning it here but¡­ I think I am going to. I don¡¯t think anyone will be reading this diary anyway. So¡­ here it goes.

    He came to my chamber earlier to check on me. At first, he was reminding me of our bet. Oh, I haven¡¯t mentioned it before, right? Yes, to avoid being sent back to Orsenia, I ced a bet with him. We have an agreement now.

    If I can make him fall in love with me within one year then I will be spared. Else, at the end of one year, I will see my end at his hands.

    It¡¯s not a bad deal for me since¡­ you know why.

    My point is, at first, he reminded me that I wasn¡¯t allowed to die before a year. He was threatening me that he would kill everyone in Orsenia if I die before that. But, surprisingly, his threat didn¡¯t scare me. Well, not after everything that happened afterward...

    I¡¯m shy just thinking about it again.

    He¡­ made me feel things I had never felt before. He embraced me and did a lot more things. I feel flustered to even mention it here. My whole body was¡­ excited. I could feel goosebumps running down my body as if they were fireworks lit in celebration.

    Ah! I can still feel the tingling sensation all over my body just thinking about it again.

    HE KISSED ME ON MY CHEEKS AND NECK.

    He was even trying to kiss me on my lips!

    How scandalous!

    My heart was thumping so loud that I could hear my own heartbeats.

    Oh, wait! But since I am his wife, I think he is allowed to do so. It wouldn¡¯t be scandalous.

    Still, he was brave to approach me like that after trying to force me back to my home.

    Anyway, I have a feeling that I will easily win this bet with him. It seems like he wants to be loved badly. At least that¡¯s how I felt after hearing him out. In that case, I will make him fall head over heels for me.

    PS. A note to self, he likes it when I say his name. I am going to address him as ¡®Caspian¡¯ from today on. I hope I won¡¯t stutter.

 Chapter 320 - 320 Valentineâ€™s Day Special - II

    320 Valentine¡¯s Day Special ¨C II

    18th October

    I NEVER, NEVER spent such a lovely night.

    My loving husband, Caspian, came barging into my chambers, startling me since I was immersed in my book.

    Almost instantly, my whole chamber smelled like a garden full of sweet-smelling flowers. When I looked at him, I was almost blinded by the dazzling face of my dear husband. I don¡¯t know if it was just me but he looked very handsome than usual.

    Yes, yes! I know you are going to say that he always looks like an angel who just descended from heaven. But what I was saying is that he looked even more enticing¡­ beyond my capacity to stop myself from lunging at him and smothering him with hugs and kisses.

    You know what I did.

    I did just that.

    I instantly threw my book away and got up from the sofa. I embraced him and kissed him softly. His lips felt tender as always.

    I knew he was in a good mood since he was being yful, just like most of the nights.

    .....

    I was unable to point it out at first, but something felt different about his demeanor yesterday. He was too sure about what he wanted to do.

    At first, I thought that he was going to do the usual¡­ bury me in his kisses and then carry me to bed.

    But! He said to me that he had prepared dinner for me in a separate location. And he shamelessly said that he would take me there if I agreed to be his dessert!

    Ah! I still feel shy when he says things like that out of the blue.

    But I am not that innocent either. I knew what I was up for. And I readily agreed with his demand. I wanted to be his dessert. I wanted to give him my all.

    After all, my dear Caspian is simply irresistible.

    I surrendered myself to him and he swiftly carried me in his arms as if I were as light as a feather. I assumed he would take me outside to the garden somewhere. But, oh, was I wrong!

    He gantly headed toward the window as if he was carrying the trophy of his bravery. And he leaped out of the window along with me.

    By now, I obviously trust him with my life. Still, I haven¡¯t gotten used to flying with him yet. I need some time to get used to the wind and the height. But resting my head on his chest is reassuring nheless.

    Ah! Let me exin the best part about that night now. Never had I ever imagined that Caspian was such a romantic man! I thought that it was simply going to be a casual dinner somewhere. But when he asked me to open my eyes, I almost teared up with happiness.

    He had prepared a huge heart made out of beautiful and freshly picked rose petals for me!

    There were foods as well, but I couldn¡¯t care less about that at that time. All I saw was the big heart that showed his love and dedication toward me. Ah! He keeps on making me feel like the heroine of a fantasy novel, and this surprise was the best until now.

    And right then, I had already made up my mind that I was also going to make his night as memorable as I could.

    I believe that rtionship flourishes if there¡¯s both give and take.

    Once wended right in the middle of that beautiful heart, I immediately took the initiative to give back to him ¨C by kissing him obviously. He earned that kiss!

    One thing led to another and¡­ I found the perfect time to show him that I was willing to do a lot more than just kiss.

    And oh! I am never going to forget that dumbfounded look on his face when I dived back and made both of us fall on top of the roses.

    Even he looks cute at times when he has that surprised look on his face.

    Now, I don¡¯t need to describe it here about how good it felt when he did all those things to me. Every inch of my body knows it. And even if I tried to exin the things I feel at such times, I will fall short of words. The ecstasy I feel cannot be described by the words that I know.

    Let me try to articte it using one word though¡­ Heavenly.

    Would it be bad to say that it feels heavenly? I don¡¯t think so.

    After we bothy down for a while to get back our lost stamina, he carried me again. Oh my heavens! And then we danced under the moon! The whole sky was our dance floor. The full moon, our light. And the sounds of nature our music.

    Everything felt so divine.

    It was the happiest and most memorable night of my life yet!

    5th December

    I had a small argument with Caspian today. I had seen a dream and I suggested that he be friends with Everard. But my efforts were futile. Caspian seems to hate Everard from his guts. I hope it will change in the future, but right now, I don¡¯t see them having any friendly rtionship at all.

    In the middle of the argument, Caspian blurted out that he had never liked the tea. Although he immediately said that he liked the tea I made, and he didn¡¯t mean what he said, I think he spilled out what was in his heart.

    I decided not to bring tea to him from today on. I don¡¯t want him to forcefully intake something that he doesn¡¯t like. Tea isn¡¯t his typical diet after all. I don¡¯t want him to get sick. I think he was just drinking it because he couldn¡¯t say no to me.

    .

    .

    .

    I feel restless now. He hasn¡¯te to the chamber even when it is thiste in the night.

    Did I make him mad? I sure hope not.

    Should I have brought that tea to him? He is not angry at me, right? Or did I make him feel that I am favoring Everard again? That would be the worst!

    Ugh! And I even fell asleep in the afternoon! Ti insisted on giving me a head massage when I mentioned that it hurt a little. If I was awake, maybe I would have changed my mind about that tea.

    Now, it¡¯s toote...

    6th December

    Turns out, I was only worrying for nothing. My dear husband had a lot of work. So, he came inte yesterday.

    But as soon as he came in, he began kissing me and teasing me.

    Ah! What a relief it was!

    He even apologized foring inte and waking me up. I hadn¡¯t gone to sleep yet. I was waiting for him. But I think my eyes looked tired.

    Nevertheless, everything is good between us husband and wife.

    Oh! And I slept on his bare chest for the whole night! How careless of me! How could I fall asleep after teasing him so much and leading him on?

    Sigh!

    But I think I was just too tired¡­ I hope everything is fine with me, as far as ¡®fine¡¯ goes in my case.

    Ah! Nevermind that. I am just happy that Caspian and I slept together like that. He says he loves my warmth. Sleeping on top of him means I gave all of my warmth to him.

    Oh, Anna¡­ You can¡¯t stop smiling now, I see.

    Okay, that¡¯s it for now. I think I should brew that tea for him. He was so sad that I didn¡¯t bring it to him yesterday. I don¡¯t want to make him sad. Besides, it¡¯s my excuse to go and see him.

    I can¡¯t help but miss him even when it hasn¡¯t even been a few hours since Ist saw him.

 Chapter 321 - 321 The Boy

    321 The Boy

    After ending the conversation with Regulus, Lorenzo was escorted to the guest quarter by two men who used to work in the manor for Romulus. Now that Romulus was no more, they all naturally began serving Regulus, who they believed would take the position of their previous alpha.

    ¡°So, this is where you will be staying from now on.¡± One of the men pushed the door to one of the rooms of the quarter and gestured for Lorenzo to get inside.

    Lorenzo was skeptical to enter the room when he saw how grand it looked aspared to his previous shabby room.

    And to add to that, right now he looked like someone who had just returned after fighting a battle for days. He was covered in bruises, sweat, and dirt. And he felt as if his presence alone would ruin the room.

    The other man saw the reluctance that Lorenzo showed. And he said while pointing at the door that was at one corner of the room, ¡°You can use that bathroom if you want. I will have the maids bring some spare clothes to you.¡±

    Lorenzo instantly felt grateful towards that man. He gave a subtle bow and said with a soft smile on his face, ¡°I would really appreciate that.¡±

    After both the men left from there, Lorenzo kept on standing by the door and looked around the room. ¡®I don¡¯t deserve this luxury at all. I don¡¯t fit here.¡¯ That was all he could think of at the moment.

    He held his stomach with his arms and painfully crouched down right where he was. His pupils dted as his mind started to wander. He sighed after thinking how his life took a 180-degree turn in a matter of just a few days.

    ¡®And I thought I was going to win in life! I thought I was the luckiest man to have been favored by the alpha. But¡­ I was nothing more than a decorated ve who didn¡¯t even have as much value as the dirt stuck on his shoes.¡¯

    .....

    Lorenzo sighed once more in despair. Once again, he was forced to be that very thing when all he wanted to do was run away from the ordeals of being a part of the n which barely treated him right.

    When he was lost in the depth of his distress, he didn¡¯t realize that he was being watched by someone from the corner of the corridor. And before he could even react to the footsteps as light as that of a cat, someone jumped at him from behind and made him fall head-first on the floor.

    For a split second there, Lorenzo was scared that Regulus had sent someone to finish him up. His heart almost jumped out of his mouth because of the fear.

    ¡°W-Who is it? W-What are you trying to do to me?¡± he asked with trembling lips. He even lifted his head and tried to look behind him to see who was attacking him out of the blue. However, he couldn¡¯t see who it was.

    And instead of answering, the attacker sped Lorenzo¡¯s mouth with their palm and tried to bang his head on the floor again.

    Lorenzo resisted, thinking that some kid was trying to y a prank on him. The palm that he felt over his mouth was too thin and small to be that of an assassin¡¯s. At least that was what he thought because although he was not that good at fighting, he easily managed to push himself up on his knees while the attacker was still clinging to his back.

    The attacker tried smashing Lorenzo down to the ground with all force again but to no avail.

    Lorenzo grabbed that attacker¡¯s wrist with one of his hands and used his body to push that attacker to the side, on the ground, using all his force.

    ¡°Argh!¡± that attacker grunted, revealing that the voice belonged to a boy who was probably in his teen years.

    Lorenzo took a quick peek outside of the door to see if there were any other men who were standing in the corridor. When he saw no one around, he was sure that the boy was acting independently and wasn¡¯t ordered by anyone, especially not by Regulus.

    After confirming that the boy was alone, Lorenzo focused back on the attacker.

    The boy had managed to stand on all fours. But he was still taking his time to get up on his feet. It seemed as if he was having difficulty breathing after being mmed to the ground like that.

    ¡°Who the hell are you? And why are you after me?¡± Lorenzo leaped and pinned the boy down to the ground before he couldpletely recover from that fall earlier.

    He saw that the boy had covered the lower half of his face with a piece of cloth. Apart from that, he noticed how the boy had a very thin frame.

    He grabbed the boy by his cor and asked while shaking him a bit, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    Since that boy didn¡¯t answer, Lorenzo reached out his hand to grab the mask.

    The boy grunted and tried to keep his head out of Lorenzo¡¯s reach.

    They both struggled for a while. But in the end, Lorenzo managed to snatch away the cloth that was covering the boy¡¯s face. And even though he was now looking at the boy¡¯s skinny face, he wasn¡¯t sure if he had ever seen this boy before.

    When the boy started to re and snarl at Lorenzo, Lorenzo wasn¡¯t sure why the boy was after him at all. So, he asked, ¡°Do you even know me? What is the meaning behind attacking me like this?¡±

    The boy, however, kept on ring his nose and ring at Lorenzo as if he hadn¡¯t still given up on the idea of killing Lorenzo right then and there. The hatred in his eyes was so deep that Lorenzo felt a little intimidated by that boy.

    Before things could escte further though, a maid who was given the task to bring some spare clothes for Lorenzo arrived there.

    She instantly widened her eyes upon seeing the two men struggling on the floor.

    And when she recognized the boy, she instantly eximed in fear, ¡°Master Cillian!¡±

 Chapter 322 - 322 Impulsive Revenge

    322 Impulsive Revenge

    ¡°So your name is Cillian?¡± Lorenzo frowned at the boy when he heard the maid calling his name.

    ¡°Yes, I am Cillian.¡± The boy also grabbed Lorenzo by his cor and tried to push him down to the ground so that he could have the upper hand. However, he struggled to do so.

    Nheless, he bravely red at Lorenzo and screamed, ¡°And you should remember my name because I will be the one to send you off to hell.¡±

    ¡°Sirs!¡± The maid sped the clothes in her hand tighter and hastily warned the both of them. ¡°You two should stop fighting. It is the middle of the night and the other guests here might wake up if you keep on fighting like this.¡±

    However, both of them disregarded the warning from the maid and pretended as if they didn¡¯t hear a word that she said just now.

    And they continued to try and get the upper hand on each other. Lorenzo was simply defending himself while Cillian was trying to break free from Lorenzo¡¯s grasp so that he could punch him in the face.

    Cillian was unsessful though. Since he was faring far better in his sword skills, he had assumed that he could take down the man who he was dealing with. He had assumed that he could at least give a few scars to Lorenzo, if not kill him.

    However, he was utterly pissed at himself for not being able to do anything.

    ¡°Sirs! Please!¡± The maid, once again, tried to intervene in their fight and stop them. ¡°It will be bad if the new lord finds out about this,¡± she warned them yet again.

    .....

    Cillian suddenly red at the maid and then shouted in his rage, ¡°Then ask the new lord why he is allowing this killer to stay here as the guest instead of punishing him!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Lorenzo knitted his brows in confusion and asked, ¡°Killer? You think I am the killer?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Cillian managed to hit Lorenzo in the gut with his knee and snarled, ¡°If you weren¡¯t the killer then why are you covered in bruise? It looks like somebody just beat you up for the crime that youmitted. But it bothers me how they are letting you sleep here instead of chopping your head off right away or letting you rot in the same dungeon forever!¡±

    ¡°I am NOT the killer!¡± Lorenzo shouted back at that usation again. He had already heard enough of that baseless usation from Regulus already. And he was pissed that someone else also thought the same. ¡°Why would I kill my own alpha?¡±

    Cillian was not ready to listen though. He was being too emotional to listen to anything that Lorenzo had to say.

    When he heard that they had captured someone who might have something to do with the death of yer, he was acting on his impulse. He wanted to take revenge on behalf of yer.

    He wanted to kill the person who took away the first person who had shown kindness to him, who had taken him in, and who had shown him how he could be a part of something great. When he heard that yer had been killed, he felt like his whole world had copsed again. He felt hopeless, alone, and lost¡­ again.

    And he had promised himself that he would get his revenge anyhow. He wanted to show his loyalty to the person who had saved him from the depth of despair and given him new hope.

    Thus, rather than listening to Lorenzo, Cillian was dead-set on beating him up.

    ¡°I am telling you! I had nothing to do with the death of the alpha!¡± Lorenzo shouted once more when Cillian tried to pull his wrist down and bite him.

    The maid was now scared that someone with a higher position would be disturbed by their scuffle, and woulde there and beat them both. And since she was used to seeing the servants and maids being killed just because they were in the wrong ce at the wrong time, she was afraid that she too would be the victim.

    So, she threw the clothes that she was carrying on the bed and ran to find someone.

    Soon, she returned with two of the servants.

    ¡°Please ask them to stop!¡± she pleaded while pointing at those two who were fighting.

    The servants instantly went to grab Lorenzo and Cillian, and instantly pulled them away from each other.

    Lorenzo was standing calmly while Cillian was trying to break free from the servant¡¯s hold and lunge at Lorenzo.

    ¡°Sir, is there any problem?¡± the servant who was holding Lorenzo asked him since he looked calmer.

    And Lorenzo immediatelyined, ¡°This boy is trying to attack me for no reason. He just came at me.¡±

    Cillian instantly countered in a loud voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t attack him without any reason!¡± He pointed at Lorenzo and used him again, ¡°He is the one who murdered your alpha! Do you think he deserves to be treated like some distinguished guest?¡±

    Both the servants exchanged a nce with each other as if to ask the other if they knew anything about it. However, both of them weren¡¯t aware of anything yet.

    ¡°I am telling you for the tenth time that I am not the killer!¡± Lorenzo shouted in frustration. ¡°If I was the killer, do you think I would be here? I would already have been torn into pieces and fed to the pigs!¡±

    The servants, as well as the maid, found Lorenzo¡¯s words to be logical. After all, theirte alpha¡¯s brother was the one who was looking after the case of the murder.

    And they were sure that he wouldn¡¯t just let the murderer of his brother to freely walk around the manor and even arrange a guest room for him¡­ unless he was the one who had his brother assassinated.

    But they believed that it wasn¡¯t the case since Regulus had been working tirelessly to capture the murderer. Although he said mean things about his dead brother at times, they all knew by now that he had a clean heart. He would speak his mind rather than keep things in his heart and specte.

    Seeing all of them falling silent, Lorenzo took the chance to exin his situation further, ¡°I just came back after being interrogated by Lord Regulus. And after knowing that I was innocent, he asked me to stay here and closely work for h¨C for the n again.¡±

    The servant who was grabbing Cillian instantly eximed, ¡°You heard him! Lord Regulus has already imed him to be innocent. So, respectfully, don¡¯t try to create a ruckus in the middle of the night and disturb everyone. All of us are working hard to catch the culprit. You should be respectful to them as well and allow them to rest properly.¡±

    It seemed like Cillian finally came back to his senses. He stopped struggling and fighting to break from the servant¡¯s tight grip on his arms.

    However, he didn¡¯t apologize for what he just did. He simply clenched his jaw in defeat and nced at the open door.

    Lorenzo sighed and said to the boy, ¡°Alright, if you don¡¯t have anything else to say then please step out of my room. I believe that you are very distraught right now. So, I will forgive you this time. But your sorrow doesn¡¯t give you the right to attack any innocent person who came under the slightest suspicion.¡±

    He recalled how the King was also under the suspicion of Regulus. And he mumbled as the frown line between his brows deepened, ¡°Being suspected doesn¡¯t mean that they are indeed the killers. Please be mindful of it.¡±

 Chapter 323 - 323 An Old Acquaintance

    323 An Old Acquaintance

    After Lorenzo asked Cillian to get out of the room, Cillian gave Lorenzo a hateful re. He wasn¡¯t one bit regretful about attacking an innocent man.

    Even after Lorenzo exined that he was innocent, Cillian viewed him as someone with a shady personality and didn¡¯t want to apologize until he heard from the others that the man indeed had nothing to do with the murder of yer.

    After rolling his eyes at Lorenzo and throwing the grasping hands of the servant away, he finally walked out of the room.

    However, just when he stepped out, he almost stumbled into someone who was walking down the corridor in a hurry.

    Cillian didn¡¯t even bother lifting his head up to see who it was. He simply wanted to go around that person and go back to his room.

    But he stopped when he heard a sweet voice addressing him.

    ¡°Cillian?¡±

    His face suddenly lighted up.

    It was Ruby who had decided to step out of the room to check what the noises were all about. Since her room was only a few rooms away from Lorenzo¡¯s room, she was able to hear themotion earlier.

    .....

    However, she didn¡¯t want to step out to check until themotion died down. She didn¡¯t want to get entangled in unnecessary things again.

    But her curiosity didn¡¯t allow her to stay still in her room either.

    Ruby darted her eyes inside Lorenzo¡¯s room, wondering if Cillian had gotten himself in trouble. And when she saw the person she was extremely familiar with, her eyes widened in shock.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t that¡­¡¯ she thought to herself after seeing the man with visible bruises on his face as well as hands.

    She drew in a deep breath to call Lorenzo¡¯s name. However, she didn¡¯t speak when Lorenzo gave her a warning re and shook his head very subtly.

    Ruby gulped and looked at Cillian again, who, by now, was staring at her. And she asked with a voice full of worry, ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    Cillian¡¯s expression stiffened. He looked at the floor and answered monotonously, ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±

    Ruby furrowed her brows in worry. ¡°Were you the one who got into a fight just now?¡± she asked, hoping that Cillian wasn¡¯t the one to beat Lorenzo up.

    However, Cillian¡¯s reply made her feel a sting in her heart.

    ¡°Yes. I heard that they had caught someone who might have had a hand in the death of Lord yer. So, I attacked him.¡±

    Ruby, not knowing anything about the subject, looked at Lorenzo with eyes full of questions. She even wondered if Lorenzo was indeed the killer they were searching for. With the killer still atrge, everybody was suspecting each other at this point. And Ruby wasn¡¯t any different.

    However, Lorenzo quickly defended himself, hoping Ruby wouldn¡¯t blurt out any unnecessary details that might drag the King into the conversation.

    ¡°Lord Romulus interrogated me and I have already proven my innocence to him. If he doesn¡¯t believe the Lord¡¯s judgment and still thinks that I am the killer then there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±

    Cillian slowly turned his head around and gave a side-re to Lorenzo as if he was about to do something again.

    Ruby could see the evident bad blood between the two men. She didn¡¯t want the matter to escte once more.

    Thus, she quickly stood behind Cillian and said while pushing him away, ¡°I think you should head for your room, Cillian. If you don¡¯t believe this man then you can directly ask Lord Romulus about it when the dawnes.¡±

    Though initially, Cillian didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with Ruby after hearing that thetter was under suspicion, the two of them slowly established a bond after Ruby clearly exined her circumstances to the boy.

    And since Ruby was the one asking him to calm down, Cillian thought that what she said was reasonable enough.

    He decided to sleep on the matter for tonight and then said to Ruby, ¡°Okay, I will do as you say.¡± He pointed his brows at Lorenzo and further warned her, ¡°But stay alert of this man. You should also head back to your room.¡±

    Ruby smiled and gave a nod. But she didn¡¯t actually follow Cillian because she wanted to ask Lorenzo what he was doing there and how he ended up in the situation he currently was in.

    Cillian, on the other hand, wanted to escort Ruby back to her room. And when he didn¡¯t hear any footsteps behind him, he turned around and waited for Ruby to join him.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Er¡­¡± Ruby pursed her lips and quickly gave him an excuse, ¡°I was going to take a stroll.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep?¡± Cillian wondered. He was aware that Ruby wasn¡¯t exactlyfortable continuing her stay in the manor, and would often wander around alone.

    Ruby gave a nod and replied, ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±

    ¡°Okay then. But don¡¯t stay out for long. Cold weather isn¡¯t that suitable for us.¡± Cillian gave a soft smile to Ruby and then finally walked away from there.

    Ruby took a nce inside Lorenzo¡¯s room. Since the servants and the maid were still inside, she decided to go for a short walk.

    As soon as she stepped out of the guest quarter, the cold wind hit her face a little too hard. She closed her eyes tightly and immediately folded her arms in front of her chest.

    She looked up at the sky covered with fog and clouds and thought to herself, ¡®It¡¯s not snowing and yet I feel like the cold is piercing deep down into my bones.¡¯

    She rubbed her shoulders and blew out hot air from her mouth. She looked around at the surrounding that was void of any people at the moment.

    Her face suddenly turned sad when it hit her that her life had be aplete mess. Just like this quiet night, her life had also be very lonely. The more she thought about it, the more she began remembering the blissful days that she had spent together with Everard.

    A sudden and sharp sting in her heart made her crouch a little. ¡°Ouch!!!¡± She grabbed her chest and coughed a few times to ease the pain in her heart.

    After a while, the pain stopped. And she sighed and wiped her ssy eyes.

    ¡°Ugh! I should stop thinking about him and causing pain to myself.¡± She reminded herself yet again.

    She then swiftly turned her head around to look back at the guest quarter that she had left behind her. ¡°I think I should go back. Lorenzo must be alone by now.¡±

    Ruby turned on her heels and before heading back, she cautioned herself, ¡°Don¡¯t ask anything about¡­ the King. Just ask how he ended up here and leave. And¡­ don¡¯t give away much information about yourself. He is the King¡¯s friend after all.¡±

    She heaved a sigh and mumbled with a determined look on her face, ¡°I don¡¯t want the King to know about my whereabouts or the situation that I am currently in. I¡¯m done receiving his pity and his help.¡±

 Chapter 324 - 324 Unintentional Revelation - I

    324 Unintentional Revtion ¨C I

    When Ruby returned to the guest quarter, she saw that the door to Lorenzo¡¯s room was already closed.

    ¡®The others must have left already. But should I be disturbing him right now?¡¯ she wondered.

    Before she could hesitate and go back to her room though, Lorenzo opened the door to his room as if he was expecting Ruby toe back.

    Now that he was alone, he didn¡¯t deny recognizing her. He gave a gentle nod to Ruby and then weed her inside the room. ¡°Miss Ruby, pleasee in.¡±

    Ruby also returned his warm gesture by smiling at him and then entered the room.

    Since they were still in the territory of the manor, they both were a bit cautious. They didn¡¯t want people to see them together and assume that they were up to something.

    Thus, to avoid any kind of suspicion, Lorenzo closed the door and began to speak in the softest voice possible.

    ¡°How have you been, Miss Ruby?¡± he began the conversation with a generic question even though he had hundreds of questions in his mind.

    Ruby was awkwardly standing near the door while facing Lorenzo. She nodded her head and replied after some reservation, ¡°I¡¯ve been good. And what about you, Mr. Lorenzo?¡± She looked at the bruises on his face and added, ¡°Did that boy from earlier do this to you?¡±

    .....

    Lorenzo subconsciously touched the bruise on his face and answered while smiling, ¡°Oh, no, no. This was not done by him. I already had them before he tried to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ruby pursed her lips and nodded again.

    The two of them stood in awkward silence for a while. Both of them wanted to know how the other ended up there in the manor. However, both of them couldn¡¯t immediately bring that sensitive conversation up.

    In order to break the silence, Lorenzo pointed at the chair behind Ruby and asked her to sit. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat and make yourselffortable?¡±

    Ruby looked behind her and noticed that there was only one chair. She looked back at Lorenzo again and asked, ¡°And what about you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Lorenzo looked down at his condition and chuckled in embarrassment. Then he pointed down at the floor and added, ¡°I will sit down right here.¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­ at least sit down on the bed.¡± Ruby gestured at the bed since she didn¡¯t want Lorenzo to treat himself as if he was beneath Ruby and sit on the floor.

    Lorenzo gestured at himself to show the pitiable condition of his clothes and tried to make light of the situation, ¡°I haven¡¯t even had a chance to take a bath and change into nicer clothes since I was busy being interrogated and attacked for no reason at all. The floor is good for now.¡±

    Ruby didn¡¯t have any words to console him. Thus, she quietly took a seat on the only chair avable in the room.

    And when both of them settled down, Ruby took the chance to speak first and asked what she really wanted to know, ¡°Why did they want to interrogate you? Did they think that you were also linked to the killer somehow?¡±

    Ruby didn¡¯t realize that she had unintentionally given her situation away.

    And before she could correct herself, Lorenzo quickly picked up on that. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®you were also¡¯? Were you also dragged here because they thought you had a hand in that unfortunate event?¡±

    Ruby heaved a deep sigh. Since Lorenzo had already picked up what she didn¡¯t really want to reveal, at least not right now, she had no choice but to exin herself.

    ¡°Unlike you, I was apparently present there in the dungeon at the time of that cold-blooded massacre.¡± Ruby pressed her lips into a thin line and pretended to smile in order to hide the sourness that she felt after speaking the truth.

    Lorenzo was looking at Ruby with eyes full of shock. ¡°W-What do you mean by that?¡± he questioned, unable toprehend the sentence that Ruby just said.

    Ruby sighed again and rubbed her nape in frustration before rifying what she just said. ¡°Somehow, I was unconscious and then ended up in the dungeon.¡±

    Although she now had a guess as to what might have happened that night, she decided not to reveal anything regarding that matter and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know who took me there or why they took me there. But when I regained consciousness, I found out that there had been several murders right around me. Everyone was bawling their eyes out and they were already looking for the murderer by then.¡±

    ¡°Holy goddess!¡± Lorenzo sped his mouth with his palm in shock. He had no idea that Ruby was even deeper in the mess than him.

    However, he was sure about one thing¡­ that Ruby had nothing to do with the murders. Ruby was still a na?ve woman in his eyes, and he didn¡¯t see why she would be involved in the murder.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry to hear that,¡± he softly mumbled after making eye contact with Ruby.

    And before Ruby could divert the conversation and start questioning him, Lorenzo further asked, ¡°But I bet they have already cleared your name from the incident, haven¡¯t they?¡±

    Ruby held her palms together and answered with some hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ve been questioned a few times. Although I have been able to convince Lord Regulus of my innocence, I believe that he isn¡¯t a hundred percent convinced yet.¡±

    She looked around at the room she was in right now, which greatly resembled her own room here. And she added, ¡°That¡¯s the reason why I am still a ¡®guest¡¯ here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Lorenzo pitied Ruby for what she was going through.

    And although he more or less understood most of the things that Ruby just exined, he still didn¡¯t understand one thing.

    Thus, he bombarded her with the questions, ¡°Howe you ended up being unconscious and then waking up in the dungeon? Who brought you here to the manor in the first ce? Was someone trying to frame you for the crime they were about tomit?¡±

 Chapter 325 - 325 Unintentional Revelation - II

    325 Unintentional Revtion ¨C II

    For a second there, Ruby was forced to rethink everything after hearing Lorenzo¡¯s question ¨C Was someone trying to frame her?

    With a deep frown on her forehead and her dted pupils, her mind wandered around for a while in order to try and figure out the answer to that question.

    However, no matter how much she thought about it, she didn¡¯t see why anyone would think that framing someone like her would work in the first ce.

    ¡®Thinking logically, how on earth would I be able to finish off five strong men on my own? On top of that, I am a woman. No one would believe that I would be able to kill those men, not even in their drunken state!¡¯

    Sheughed in her head at that absurd idea and then thought to herself, ¡®No, I wasn¡¯t being framed. I was there just by ident. And if anything¡­¡¯ Her eyes and her expression darkened when she further thought, ¡®If anything, I was saved from something very bad that was about to happen to me. I was lucky that they were murdered.¡¯

    ¡°Miss Ruby?¡±

    Ruby was startled back to reality when she heard Lorenzo¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know who brought you here to the manor?¡± Lorenzo pulled his brows together and asked as he recalled something, ¡°Were you, by any chance, kidnapped from the castle? One day you were there and then the next, I remember everyone looking around the castle and the capital for you. His Majesty was greatly saddened after you suddenly disappeared.¡±

    Ruby felt her heart sinking when Lorenzo brought Everard up in the conversation. That was thest thing she wanted to happen.

    .....

    And before she was engulfed by the guilt for running away from the castle after hearing that Everard was indeed sad after her disappearance, she decided to forget that she ever heard Lorenzo mentioning that.

    She forcefully chuckled and then said to the confused Lorenzo, ¡°Oh, no. I wasn¡¯t kidnapped.¡±

    ¡°You were not?¡± Lorenzo raised his brows in disbelief. He even wondered if Ruby was trying to protect someone by lying right now.

    ¡°No,¡± she replied firmly, and with a stern expression on her face.

    And since Ruby had already told almost everything to Lorenzo, she didn¡¯t think that hiding this one thing was now necessary.

    Thus, she rified, her eyes full of guilt because of her past decision, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that framing part but¡­ nobody dragged me here to the manor against my will. I was already living here in the guest room. I was thinking of shifting to a ce that I had found for myself but¡­¡±

    She scoffed at her own bad luck and mumbled mncholically, ¡°But before I could do that, I somehow ended up being the main suspect for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Suspect for a few days?¡± Lorenzo eximed, afraid that Ruby also had to go through a simr kind of situation as him, or worse than that. ¡°This new lord didn¡¯t threaten you too much, did he?¡± he asked again.

    Ruby simply shrugged and said while smiling, ¡°It¡¯s been a few days since the first time I was interrogated. And I have already forgotten most of the things. I¡¯m not someone who holds grudges for simple misunderstandings.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not a simple misunderstanding!¡± Lorenzo tried to make Ruby understand the depth of the situation, not realizing that she was saying that just because she didn¡¯t want to keep on talking about herself.

    ¡°A misunderstanding in this case might make you the main culprit and make you bear all the consequences. You know what I am trying to say right?¡± He looked at Ruby with raised brows.

    Ruby darted her eyes around for a while as if she was trying toe up with a fitting reply. And after a while, she looked at Lorenzo and said, ¡°After staying in the vicinity of the new Lord for a few days, I havee to the conclusion that he is a man who doesn¡¯t trust people that easily. That¡¯s just how he is.¡±

    She probingly looked at Lorenzo and asked, ¡°He also mistook you for the culprit, didn¡¯t he? That¡¯s why you are here.¡±

    Lorenzo chuckled and looked down. He clicked his tongue at the bad reputation that he had earned and mumbled, ¡°So, everyone here already knows about me, huh?¡±

    Ruby pointed her thumb toward the door and replied, ¡°I heard it from Cillian earlier. That¡¯s why he attacked you, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Right.¡± Lorenzo scoffed after recalling that wild boy and shook his head. ¡°I have never seen anyone as mad at the death of the alpha as him.¡± He looked up at Ruby again. And since he also noticed that she was somehow acquainted with the boy, he asked her, ¡°Who is he anyway? I don¡¯t think I ever saw him here before.¡±

    Ruby wrinkled her nose a little and answered what she knew, ¡°I don¡¯t think he is mad because he lost the alpha. In fact, he isn¡¯t a part of this n¡­ or any n.¡±

    Lorenzo frowned and asked with a hint of anger evident on his face, ¡°Then why was he attacking me like that?¡±

    ¡°The beta was also killed, if you¡¯re not aware yet.¡± Ruby sighed upon recalling how he was probably the one who might have drugged her. But she pushed that thought aside for now and said, ¡°I heard from him that the beta saved him and gave a purpose to his life. I believe he saw the beta as the father figure. But after a short time, he lost his savior. I bet he is in anguish.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lorenzo grunted and slowly nodded his head. He even felt a little bad after knowing that boy¡¯s situation. ¡°He lost the one who gave meaning to his life, huh... That should drive anyone mad.¡±

    Ruby took the chance to speak for Cillian and asked Lorenzo to forgive the boy for his childish behavior. ¡°I hope you can forget what he did to you tonight. In the fit of his desire for revenge, he did what he thought was right. But I assure you that he is not someone who deserves your hatred. If you talk to him when he is calm, I am sure he will listen to you.¡±

    ¡°I will take your advice and talk to him then,¡± Lorenzo reassured her. He also didn¡¯t want a boy constantlying after his life. Thus, he thought that it would be better to rify things properly.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Ruby finally asked her real question again, ¡°Howe they assumed you were somehow linked with the murder? Did something happen to you that led them to believe that?¡±

    Lorenzo had managed to dodge that question earlier. However, he couldn¡¯t keep on doing that since he now knew that Ruby was also living here in the guest quarter. They were bound to cross paths with each other again.

    Thus, he replied with as much sincerity as he could, ¡°Umm¡­ I somehow got to work for thete alpha recently. But I ruined the task that he had assigned to me. And the alpha was not someone who could easily excuse small fries like us. So, I was severely punished even though my mistake wasn¡¯t that big.¡±

    He pointed at the bruises on his face and said, ¡°These were not given by Lord Regulus. I got it from the punishment that I got from thete alpha.¡±

    Ruby felt bitter when she saw that dejected expression on Lorenzo¡¯s face.

    Lorenzo further exined, ¡°And after feeling the great sorrow in my heart after the passing of the alpha, I thought of escaping the Kingdom on a whim. I even escaped. But somehow, I was found and brought back. I was suspected just because I wanted to get away from the shadow of thete alpha.¡±

 Chapter 326 - 326 Spy Mind

    326 Spy Mind

    Ruby greatly pitied Lorenzo for the way things turned out for him. Likewise, Lorenzo also felt bad for Ruby for having to stay back in the manor just because she found herself in the middle of the unfortunate events that were happening there.

    And after sharing a few things about him and gaining pity from Ruby, Lorenzo decided to ask something that had been itching him for a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I am crossing my line by asking you this, but I can¡¯t help but get curious. Why did you leave the castle ande here? And when? Didn¡¯t you know that the King had deployed his soldiers to look for you?¡±

    Ruby had already predicted that Lorenzo wouldn¡¯t let her leave the room without asking these questions to her.

    And although she didn¡¯t wish to give the answers to him, she didn¡¯t want to rudely get up from there either.

    Thus, so as not toe off as rude, she gave a roundabout answer to Lorenzo. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to keep on burdening His Majesty. He has already done enough for me. So, I decided to walk on my own path. But since I didn¡¯t know much about this Kingdom, I took help from a gentleman who was offering it.¡±

    ¡°Thete alpha offered a ce for you to stay until you found your own?¡± Lorenzo spected after putting together the pieces of information that he had heard from Ruby until now.

    Ruby gave a subtle smile and nodded. ¡°But I didn¡¯t know then that he was the alpha of the Atkinson n. I had just assumed that he was an ordinary man.¡±

    Her face turned a little gloomy after she said that; maybe she was thinking about how she got stuck in this ce because she took help from a man who most probably had a lot of enemies.

    .....

    She sighed and looked at Lorenzo with the intention to leave for her room now.

    However, Lorenzo wasn¡¯t done questioning her yet. Before she could express her desire to retire for the night, Lorenzo shot her with the next questions.

    ¡°When did thete alpha offer his help to you again? Did you meet him during one of his visits to the castle?¡±

    Ruby held her breath and scratched her temple with hesitation. However, since Lorenzo was curiously looking at her, she blurted out the truth.

    ¡°I met him after the coronation ball.¡±

    Lorenzo felt a pinch in his heart because that was the exact day when his fate began to change for the worse.

    After taking a moment to calm his heart, he gulped and looked at Ruby. ¡°You were present at the coronation ball? I thought you had disappeared way before the coronation.¡±

    Ruby didn¡¯t reveal all the details because she was ashamed to share that she was hiding in the dungeon of the castle itself. Thus, she just gave a short reply to Lorenzo, ¡°Umm¡­ I came back to see how he was doing that night.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Lorenzo gave a nod and asked again, ¡°But you didn¡¯t meet him, did you? I was also present at the ball but I didn¡¯t see you.¡±

    Ruby looked down and shook her head. Right now, she wasn¡¯t even trying to hide the fact that she was sad.

    Since Lorenzo got to know that Ruby was also present at the coronation ball, he was sure that Ruby saw everything that happened at the ballroom that day.

    And he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she decided to leave the castle that very day. When he had spent a few days in Lavinya, he had witnessed how Ruby had started to devote herself to Everard. He had also witnessed how depressed Everard looked after Ruby was nowhere to be found.

    So, he wondered what happened between the two of them that led Ruby to leave Everard¡¯s side even after seeing that Everard needed her attention.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see how the King got into a fight with the King of Sorvando? He was pretty beaten up.¡± Lorenzo asked, just to make sure if Ruby witnessed that fight or not.

    A deep frown appeared on Ruby¡¯s face. And she even started to breathe heavily and look around as if she was greatly troubled by that question of his.

    ¡®She did witness it¡­¡¯ Lorenzo thought to himself, wondering why she didn¡¯t stay back to look after Everard.

    And suddenly, something clicked in Lorenzo¡¯s mind. He recalled how Ruby was tortured by the vampire King in the past.

    So, he immediately asked, ¡°Did you run away from the ball after seeing that the King of Sorvando was also present there? Were you afraid that he would recognize you and take you back to Sorvando to punish you?¡±

    Ruby breathed loudly upon the mention of Caspian. The fear that Caspian had instilled in her heart was too deep-rooted. Her hands began to tremble and she had to sp her palms together to make them stop shaking involuntarily.

    She gulped and replied, ¡°I was indeed shocked to see that monster King there. And yes, I was afraid that he would see me.¡±

    ¡°But?¡± Lorenzo raised his brows and kept on waiting for Ruby to speak more. From her tone, he didn¡¯t feel like that was the end of what she wanted to say.

    Indeed, Ruby had something more to say. She took a deep breath while still hanging her head low. Her eyes turned ssy when she said in a weak whisper, ¡°But that wasn¡¯t the reason why I decided to leave the castle. I told you before that I didn¡¯t want to keep on burdening His Majesty.¡±

    Lorenzo nodded his head as his mind was busy trying to connect all the dots. ¡®Yeah, seeing that vampire King shouldn¡¯t have been the main reason that pushed her to run away. She had run away from the castle a few days before. She just came back to the castle that day to see King Everard on his most important day.¡¯

    Lorenzo closed his eyes and held his forehead with his palm as he tried to get to the root of all the things that Ruby said to him.

    ¡®She came back on the coronation day because she still cared about King Everard. But she was nowhere to be found when the soldiers searched for him. Meaning... she didn¡¯t want to be found?¡¯

    Although there was no need to get the answers, Lorenzo¡¯s spy mind couldn¡¯t help but be curious. Old habits die hard.

    ¡®She was still willing to take help from a man she didn¡¯t know before, but she was done taking help from her own sire¡­ Something did happen when she was in the castle, didn¡¯t it?¡¯

 Chapter 328 - 328 Involuntary Reaction

    328 Involuntary Reaction

    The next morning, Caspian¡¯s eyes opened at his usual time. He grunted a little when his chest felt a little heavier than normal.

    He opened his eyes to find that Anastasia was still sleepingfortably on his chest. He couldn¡¯t help but smile when he ran his mildly warm palms over her bare back.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Anastasia let out a throaty voice when she felt Caspian¡¯s hands on her. They were a little colder than her body even when he was absorbing some heat from her as well as the warm nket.

    ¡®I think I should let her sleep,¡¯ Caspian thought to himself when Anastasia didn¡¯t show any signs of waking up any time soon.

    He tightly held Anastasia with his arms and slowly shifted on his side. And he gentlyy his wife down on the bed beside him.

    Seeing Anastasia opening her eyes in her half-asleep state, Caspian brought his face closer to her and said after nting a soft and loving kiss on her forehead, ¡°Go back to sleep. I will see youter.¡±

    Anastasia smiled at Caspian and went right back to sleep as if she didn¡¯t open her eyes in the first ce.

    Caspian chuckled and shook his head seeing how it didn¡¯t even take a second for her to go back to her dream.

    He then cautiously removed the nket and got out of bed while trying not to make the slightest sound.

    .....

    But the bed creaked a little, prompting Anastasia to change her side in her sleepy state.

    Caspian let out a quiet sigh when Anastasia continued sleeping. He picked up his clothes from yesterday and began putting them on while staring at his wife¡¯s back which was slightly showing.

    He pulled the nket to cover her backpletely and got ready to leave for his chambers.

    But before heading out, his face turned a little serious. ¡®I was thinking of updating her about Everard¡¯s case after waking up but it seems like she won¡¯t be waking up soon. I guess¡­ I will update her in the afternoon when she brews the tea for me.¡¯

    After deciding to do so, Caspian ran back to his chamber so that he could freshen up and have a big breakfast before starting his long and boring day at work.

    When Caspian entered the antechamber of his room, he saw that the maids and servants were already running around while doing their tasks.

    When they noticed the presence of the King, they all stopped and bowed. And they resumed doing their work.

    A couple of maids immediately came to him and bowed saying that the bath was already ready. Since he didn¡¯te to the room yesterday night, they had prepared the bath early knowing that the King would want to get in the tub as soon as he arrived.

    Caspian gave a nod and went to the bathroom, followed by a couple of servants whose job was to help the King to take the bath and change into a fresh set of clothes.

    When Caspian returned after taking a short and warm bath, his breakfast table had already been set. There was a huge ss jar on the table, along with a beautiful wine ss.

    Caspian¡¯s eyes glowed brighter when he inhaled the scent of fresh blood. As he hadn¡¯t had anything since yesterday afternoon, he immediately sat down to be served.

    A maid poured the fresh red blood from the jar into the ss.

    And Caspian immediately grabbed the ss and looked at the red liquid. He elegantly gave a swirl to the liquid and brought the ss close to his nose to take the aroma in. His fangs instantly elongated as if they were ready to dig into the flesh of the prey.

    He gently rubbed one of his fangs with the tip of his tongue and rolled his eyes at the fangs that would involuntarily elongate at times. And heined in his head, ¡®This is why I am afraid to sit together with Anna for breakfast or dinner.¡¯

    Then he scolded his own fangs as if they could hear him, ¡®Don¡¯t get too excited you darn idiots! Now go back!¡¯

    He retracted his fangs back to their normal size and finally took a sip of his still-warm drink. He instantly closed his eyes and relished the sweetness of the fresh blood.

    Without waiting further, he then chugged down the whole ss in one breath and put the ss down on the table.

    He gave a look to the maid and the maid instantly understood that the King wanted more. She immediately poured some more blood into the King¡¯s ss. And Caspian chugged it down once more.

    He finally felt as if his stomach was somewhat happy after drinking two sses at once. If not for his own policy, he would have loved to have some more. But he didn¡¯t want to overindulge himself when his citizens were following his rules and limiting their blood consumption to a minimum.

    Being the King, he didn¡¯t want to take advantage of his position and leave a bad impression on his maids and servants by drinking more than what was required for the daily functioning of his body.

    After asking the maids and servants to have their breakfast as well, he finally stepped out of his chamber to head for his study room.

    ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty.¡±

    Caspian was greeted by Zenon on the way.

    The King gave a nod and slowed down. He put his arms behind his back and asked his advisor, ¡°Were you going to find me in my bed?¡±

    Zenon awkwardly smiled, recalling how he had actually done that a few times. And he replied while walking a step behind the King, ¡°Umm¡­ it¡¯s not that urgent but I thought you would want to hear the message as soon as it arrived.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Caspian asked as his eyes fell on the door of his study room that was ahead of him. He sighed as he wondered if Zenon had brought a piece of bad news early in the morning.

    ¡°Did something bad happen?¡± he asked again.

 Chapter 329 - 329 News From Orsenia

    329 News From Orsenia

    The guards opened the door of the study as soon as they saw the King heading there.

    And after entering the study room, Zenon replied to the King, ¡°No, nothing bad happened. I just wanted to inform you that the messenger I sent to Orsenia just arrived with the news about the meeting with the Crown Prince.¡±

    Caspian wasn¡¯t expecting the meeting to be fixed this soon. He looked over his shoulder and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t send the horseback riders?¡±

    ¡°No. I sent the messenger on foot. Since it was an issue that needs to be resolved soon, I didn¡¯t feel like wasting the time on the road by pretending that we need a horse,¡± Zenon replied.

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Caspian turned around to look at Zenon and raised his brows in surprise. ¡°I thought being reckless was my job and not yours,¡± he made a satirical remark on the usuallyposed advisor of his.

    Zenon chuckled and replied as he watched the King taking his seat behind the desk, ¡°I wasn¡¯t being reckless, Your Majesty. Just efficient. The messenger was in and out of Orsenia while it was still dark.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± Caspian nodded while still giving Zenon a satirical look. ¡°And how did he enter the castle of Orsenia again? Did he happen to break in? Or did he pretend that he arrived there in an invisible horse?¡±

    Zenon smiled as if he was caught by the King.

    When Caspian gave a narrow-eyed look to Zenon, he stood in front of Caspian and then narrated what he had asked the messenger.

    .....

    ¡°I specifically asked the messenger to be cautious about the surroundings and ordered him that he wasn¡¯t supposed to be seen by anyone except the Crown Prince or our soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the Prince.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Caspian sighed and said, ¡°So he broke in.¡±

    Zenon thought for a while with his brows raised, and then awkwardly replied, ¡°Er¡­ he was let in¡­ by our soldiers¡­ So, he wasn¡¯t technically breaking in.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Whatever!¡± Caspian rolled his eyes at Zenon and asked, ¡°So, when¡¯s the meeting? And where?¡±

    Zenon¡¯s face suddenly became serious as if he instantly wore the mask of the King¡¯s advisor. He looked Caspian in the eyes and answered, ¡°I had asked the messenger to agree to any time and date the Crown Prince would suggest. And you two are going to meet at the border of Sorvando and Orsenia at 8 PM tonight.¡±

    Zenon turned his head to look at the wall clock that was hanging on the wall behind him. And he added, ¡°He might have already set off on his journey for the meeting.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Caspian nodded and praised how things were going at a great speed. ¡°That¡¯s great then. I hadn¡¯t expected the meeting to be tonight, but I appreciate it. The faster we are done with that case, the better.¡±

    Zenon agreed with the King and further rified that the meeting was happening this soon because of the willingness of the Crown Prince as well.

    ¡°The messenger told me that the Crown Prince also received the letter from the King of Xanmar stating his innocence in the attack. And apparently, the Crown Prince had also sent a letter to Sorvando to fix a meeting with you. But we were faster in approaching him. And when our messenger proposed to have a meeting, the Prince readily agreed to it since he had already made up his mind about the meeting.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d that things worked out just fine,¡± Caspian replied. And he looked at the clock and asked, ¡°So, when are we heading for the border then?¡±

    Zenon readily replied to the King about their departure time, ¡°We will reach the border in time if we head out at around 3:30. I suggest that we cancel our meeting with the ministers and focus on the files instead.¡±

    Caspian looked at Zenon with vacant eyes and grumbled as if he was greatly displeased by what he just heard, ¡°I am done looking at the files for a few days. I worked my butt off yesterday. I will vomit if I see one file on my desk today.¡±

    Zenon looked at the King¡¯s desk to see that the King had indeed looked at all the files that were pending. Since there weren¡¯t any new files to look focus on at the moment, Zenon smiled and asked, ¡°Then, shall we go and visit the town today? We can¨C¡±

    Before Zenon could state the purpose of their visit, Caspian mmed his palms on the desk and got up. ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Zenon couldn¡¯t help but scoff and shake his head at that childish excitement of the King. He was looking too happy just because he didn¡¯t have to go through the files until his mind went numb.

    As they walked down the corridor, Caspian suddenly frowned and asked Zenon, ¡°Where¡¯s Vincent these days? I haven¡¯t seen him aroundtely.¡±

    Zenon pursed his lips and answered sarcastically, ¡°Oh, he is always around. But I guess he found someone else to pester.¡±

    ¡°And who is that someone else?¡± Caspian slowed down a bit so that he would walk side-by-side with Zenon.

    Zenon smiled and looked down as he stepped on the stairs. He cleared his throat and replied while his smile never left his lips, ¡°I think you already know who that is, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Who? Hamilton?¡± Caspian sounded a bit jealous when he asked that. ¡°Has my cousin beening to the castle that often?¡±

    Zenon looked at Caspian as if he was looking at someone dumb. And he stated the obvious, ¡°He¡¯s always around Ti! Sometimes he even follows Ti to the Queen¡¯s chamber!¡±

    Caspian suddenly stopped on his track with a slightly irritated look on his face. He looked at Zenon and then ordered him, ¡°Tell that bastard that His Majesty has summoned him. How can hee to the castle and go home without even greeting me once?¡±

    Caspian frowned at himself when he felt as if he was sounding a bit jealous. So, he instantly corrected himself, ¡°I mean, I am not jealous or anything that he has found otherpanies than me. But¡­ he ought to greet me at least once a day, right?¡±

    Zenon sped his palms behind his back while visibly suppressing hisughter. He then nodded and replied in a suppressed voice, ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°You¨C¡±

    Before Caspian could scold Zenon forughing at him, Zenon sped up to head towards the garden, hoping he will find Vincent somewhere around.

 Chapter 330 - 330 Nightmares

    330 Nightmares

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Ti screamed at the top of her lungs and abruptly woke up from her nightmare.

    She was holding out her trembling palm in front of her face as if she was trying to hide from someone¡¯s attack. Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat even in that cold weather. And she was panting and gasping for air.

    Ti heaved a deep sigh of relief when she found out that she was only dreaming. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her cold palms as she took some time to recover from her nightmare.

    ¡®Why do I keep on dreaming about that dreadful night? Please, no more¡­¡¯

    She was already sick and tired of still being haunted by the night which she thought was going to be herst.

    Ti lifted her head and pushed the hairs that were sticking to her forehead and her cheeks. She clutched the nket with both of her hands and thought back to the same night.

    She recalled how terrified she was when she kept on hearing the gunshots, and screaming and shouting of all those people. She recalled how petrified she was when she heard someone approaching the room that she was in.

    ¡°Thank god it was Lord Vincent who came to find me that night¡­ I would have died of fear if he wasn¡¯t there for me,¡± she whispered as her eyes got filled with tears. That night had a horrible impact on her mind. And even though quite a few days had passed already, she hadn¡¯t gotten out of the trauma.

    Even the slightest noise would startle her to the core. And she was still having recurring nightmares where monstrous people came and tried to kill her.

    .....

    Waking up all scared in the middle of the night had been her routine now.

    She took a deep breath again and mumbled to calm herself, ¡°I should sleep now. I don¡¯t want to bete to serve Her Majesty tomorrow.¡±

    Ti gulped and tried to go back to sleep. But her dry throat was making her feel really ufortable. So, she slowly stepped out of the bed to drink some water. She looked at the table to find that the ss was empty.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± she rolled her eyes at herself for not remembering to refill the water in her room.

    ¡°I guess I will drink in the morning,¡± she mumbled and was ready to go back to sleep when her eyes fell on the small pocket watch that was lying on the table.

    She widened her eyes and eximed, ¡°What? It¡¯s already five?¡±

    Ti ran towards the window and slightly lifted the curtain to see that it was still pitch nk outside. ¡°I hate when you can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s morning or not by looking outside¡­¡± she whispered with a frown on her forehead.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time to sleep.¡± She was somewhat happy knowing that it was already morning. She didn¡¯t have to go back to sleep and risk seeing the nightmare again.

    She hopped back to her bed and started to fold the nket. After making her bed and cleaning the room, she grabbed a pail from the corner of her room and got ready to fetch a pail of water so that she could wipe her body.

    Ti ran out of her room while shivering on that cold morning.

    Upon reaching the well that was used by all the maids and servants to fetch water for themselves, she saw Martha who was sitting down beside the well while pressing her back.

    ¡°Martha? Are you okay?¡± Ti ran to her side in a hurry.

    Martha smiled and answered while grunting, ¡°No. This winter is not that good for me. I was trying to get some water to water the nts but my back is jammed now. I couldn¡¯t move, so I was sitting here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you poor thing¡­ Let me help you.¡± Ti quickly helped Martha to get up on her feet. She even gave a quick back massage to Martha on the spot so that she could at least walk slowly.

    ¡°Ah, it feels much better now.¡± Martha appreciatively smiled at Ti and grabbed her pail again.

    Ti furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°What do you think you are doing? You should go to the kitchen and sit in front of the firece. Or go back to your bedroom and warm yourself up.¡±

    Martha sighed and said while looking towards the garden in the distance, ¡°I should fill the container over there. I don¡¯t know why nobody fills it these days.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the task of other maids, right?¡± Ti asked while still furrowing her brows.

    ¡°It is. But when I go and try to water the nts, there is never a drop of water there.¡± Martha looked a little defeated when she said that. ¡°And I don¡¯t want Mr. Percy toe and say that I haven¡¯t watered the nts even when it¡¯s been hours. So, I wake up early these days and fill the container myself before watering the nts.¡±

    Martha tried to fetch the water from the well again even though her back pain hadn¡¯tpletely vanished yet.

    Ti didn¡¯t want Martha to hurt herself. So, she took the bucket from Martha¡¯s hand and offered to help. ¡°I will fill the container. You should at least change into warm clothes. Your cloth is all wet at the back.¡±

    Martha felt a little guilty epting Ti¡¯s help. But nheless, she was d that she didn¡¯t have to work until she felt like she broke her bones. She smiled at Ti and patted her cheek lightly. ¡°Thank you, Ti. I will go and boil some water for your bath.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no! I can do that myself.¡± Ti eximed.

    But Martha smiled and said, ¡°I had already taken some water to the kitchen earlier. It will be more than enough for the two of us.¡±

    ¡°Then thank you, I guess,¡± Ti gave an awkward smile and began fetching the water from the well.

    After fetching a bucket of water, Ti headed towards the garden where they kept therge container.

    By now, the surrounding was starting to get a little brighter so she had no problem walking and staying on her track. The fog hadn¡¯tpletely cleared yet though, so it was difficult to see too far.

    She poured the whole bucket of water into the container and turned around to head toward the well again.

    She was in her own world when suddenly, a dark figure appeared right in front of her.

    ¡°Oh my god!¡± She got startled and eximed while tightly closing her eyes.

    ¡°Good morning.¡±

    She looked up only when she heard that overly familiar voice.

    ¡°Lord Vincent!¡± She sighed and smiled. And she immediately questioned him, ¡°What are you doing here? It¡¯s quite early, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Vincent gave a bright smile and replied sweetly, ¡°I like taking a stroll in the morning. The air is really fresh. And so are the¡­ people.¡±

    ¡°Er¡­¡± Ti scratched her neck and looked down in embarrassment. ¡°I haven¡¯t even taken a bath yet.¡± And she even tried to sneakily smell herself to check if she was giving off an awful smell.

    Vincent smirked when he witnessed Ti trying to smell her clothes. And he teasingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I like the smell of your sweat.¡±

    Ti¡¯s ears and cheeks turned red when Vincent acknowledged that he could indeed smell her sweat.

    ¡°Um¡­ I n-need to t-take a bath,¡± she stuttered and ran away from there.

    Vincent turned on his heels and watched Ti running away in embarrassment. He smiled while following Ti with her eyes and mumbled, ¡°I guess¡­ I will take a few rounds of the castle then.¡±

 Chapter 331 - 331 Slackerâ€™s Job

    331 cker¡¯s Job

    Ti ran back towards the well and stood there while thinking if she should take a bath first or fill the container with water before bathing.

    Ti bit her dry lips and contemted her options, ¡®Argh! What should I do? If I bathe first then I might get dirty or wet again after carrying the water. But if I carry the water first, I might encounter Lord Vincent again. And I don¡¯t want to go in front of him again while giving off this smell!¡¯

    She knitted her brows together in confusion. While she was confused, without even realizing it, she had already fetched a pail of water from the well.

    Ti subconsciously looked down at the bucket full of water. She looked at her own faint reflection in the water and tucked the stray hair strands behind her ears. She gently touched her cold cheeks and ran her fingertips along her dry lips.

    ¡®Aah! They¡¯ve be so dry.¡¯ She smacked her lips to moisten them. And she wished she had taken better care of herself. ¡®I should have rubbed some coconut oil before going to sleep. I can¡¯t believe Lord Vincent saw me in this condition.¡¯

    She realized how she had a deep frown in between her brows and quickly massaged her forehead as if she was trying to wipe the line that was still visible.

    She carefully looked at her reflection and kept on worrying about her face, ¡®I should start frowning less. I don¡¯t want any wrinkles so soon.¡¯

    Crack!

    Ti breathed in sharply and almost dropped the bucket in the well when she heard someone opening the door a bit loudly in a distance. She looked back to see a couple of vampire maids speeding in the direction of themon bathhouse and sighed.

    .....

    She furrowed her brows again and thought to herself, ¡®Maybe I should take a proper bath today. Martha said that she would boil the water for me.¡¯

    Since it was the winter season, Ti used to take a proper bath once every few days. The other days, she used to wipe her whole body with clean water and a towel instead of waiting for her turn to use themon bathhouse.

    As the vampire maids didn¡¯t really care if they had hot water or not, they used to go and use the bathhouse as soon as they woke up. And until Ti waited for her water to boil, all the stalls in the bathhouse would be packed.

    So as not to bete in serving the Queen, Ti did what most nobles back in Orsenia did ¨C wiping her body with wet towels.

    However, since she happened to meet Martha early in the morning today, she was in luck.

    Ti turned her head towards the garden to check if she could see Lord Vincent around. It was quite brighter already. And she didn¡¯t see Vincent in the vicinity.

    ¡®I guess he already headed somewhere.¡¯ Her lips turned downward and her longing eyes kept on looking around for a while.

    She suddenly pped her cheek with her palm and pinched herself to wake up from the daydream.

    And she resolutely mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s good that he already went back. Now I can fill the water container before I go and take a bath. That way, my fresh clothes won¡¯t get wet.¡±

    She was about to dunk the bucket that she was grabbing with one of her hands when she realized that it was already filled with water.

    ¡°Huh!¡± She raised her brows thinking when she fetched it. But she shrugged and carried the bucket to the garden again.

    After going back and forth several times, she finally managed to fill the container to the brim.

    ¡°Ah! Finally done!¡± Ti eximed while huffing and puffing. She rested her hand on her waist and stretched her back. ¡°Even I feel like my back is going to break after carrying so many buckets of water. I don¡¯t know how Martha does this every day!¡±

    She frowned when she recalled that it was actually someone else¡¯s duty. And she cursed at the cker in her head, ¡®I wonder who thatzy-arse is? Whoever it is, they shouldn¡¯t have any problempleting this task, right? They are far stronger and faster than us humans. Argh!¡±

    While walking back to her room with the empty bucket, she grimaced in pain.

    She entered her room and mumbled after curling the corner of her upper lip in disdain, ¡°Ugh! Just thinking about it is making me mad. I think I will go andin to Mr. Percy. Martha is too scared to speak for herself.¡±

    Ti decided to put forth theint when she met Percy and took out a fresh gown and apron to wear after the bath.

    She gathered her clothes and picked up her bucket again before heading toward the kitchen.

    ¡°Martha! Is the water ready?¡± Ti shouted before she even entered the kitchen.

    ¡°Oh, yes. It¡¯s ready,¡± Martha replied from inside.

    As soon as Ti entered the kitchen, Martha grabbed the bucket from her hand and poured the boiling water into the bucket.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing along?¡± Ti asked when she saw Martha emptying the water in her bucket.

    Martha smiled and said while pouring icy-cold water into the pot again. ¡°I will go after you. The warmth from fire is soothing my back pain.¡±

    Ti knitted her brows and blurted out her n after seeing Martha still struggling to sit down, ¡°I am going to meet Mr. Percy andin that somebody is not doing their job properly.¡±

    Martha instantly widened her eyes in horror and ran towards Ti to hush her. She sped Ti¡¯s mouth with her palm and whispered near her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t go around saying such stupid things. And you don¡¯t have toin because of me. You might get into unnecessary troubles.¡±

    Ti pushed Martha¡¯s hand away from her mouth and bravely spoke up, ¡°Martha¡­ They will always keep on suppressing you if you don¡¯t retaliate. But if you are scared, I can speak on your behalf. And don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t drag you in if you are scared.¡±

    Martha, however, looked very tense and scared. ¡°No, Ti. You don¡¯t understand¡­ You should be extra careful since¡­¡± She heaved a sigh instead of clearly saying what she wanted to say.

    And Ti tried guessing why Martha wanted to warn her. ¡°Since I am a human? Since I work for the Queen?¡±

    Martha simply shook her head and warned her again, ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything that will attract others¡¯ attention toward you. No matter what everybody is saying these days, we are still the prey living amidst the predators.¡±

    Ti smiled and calmly replied, ¡°But they all do have a heart. You don¡¯t have to worry. They won¡¯t kill me just because I pointed out that they weren¡¯t doing their duty properly.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°I will be fine¡­¡± Ti cut Martha in the middle and said, ¡°Alright, I will head for the bathhouse now. If I amte in taking her morning tea then Queen Anastasia will say that her stomach is upset because she didn¡¯t get to drink her tea in time.¡±

    Ti giggled and ran out of the kitchen, leaving Martha worried about her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why but¡­ I have a bad feeling about this,¡± she mumbled.

    Martha then crossed her palms in front of her chest and closed her eyes. And she prayed for Ti, ¡®Dear lords, please look after that foolish child. She doesn¡¯t listen to anything I say. Please don¡¯t let anything happen to her because of me.¡¯

 Chapter 332 - 332 Slander

    332 nder

    Upon reaching themon bathhouse, Ti saw that all the stalls were empty at the moment.

    ¡°Oh! It looks like I get to choose today.¡± She happily smiled and trotted towards a bathroom stall that had the nicest wooden washing tub.

    She put her fresh clothes aside and then poured the hot bucket of water into the washing tub. Then she quickly fetched a bucket of cold water from the bathhouse to mix it with the hot water.

    Ti then closed the stall door and began undressing.

    There was no bathtub avable for the maids and servants to bathe in. It was a privilege that was only avable to the nobles. But Ti was still happy with the washing tub and the individual stalls because she didn¡¯t have to bathe in front of otherdies, with her undergarments on, as she did back in Orsenia.

    Ti sat down on the stool and dipped her hand in the washing tub to check if the water was of the right temperature. And after adding a few pitchers of cold water to the mix, she started to pour the warm water on her body.

    She took out a bar of fragrant soap that her mother had made for her and began rubbing it all over her body.

    ¡®Ah! This smell always reminds me of home,¡¯ she thought to herself while smiling wistfully.

    She looked at the bar of soap. It was now already very small. ¡®I wish I had brought more of these,¡¯ shemented.

    .....

    She instantly shook her head and scoffed at her idea. ¡®If I had packed some more things then my luggage would have been bigger than that of the Prin¨C the Queen.¡¯

    Ti sighed and continued bathing while a lot of things hovered around in her head.

    After a while, when she was about to change into a fresh set of clothes, she was suddenly startled by the loud thud of the bathhouse door.

    ¡°Don¡¯t m the door like that!¡±

    Ti heard a maid shouting at the other maid who had just entered the bathhouse.

    Ti didn¡¯t mind them and continued putting on her dress. When she was minding her own business, still inside the bathing stall, she suddenly heard a maid mentioning her name.

    And she couldn¡¯t help but eavesdrop on them.

    ¡°Ugh! I am so angry at that maid called Ti,¡± one of the maidsined in a loud voice.

    And the other one immediately agreed, ¡°I am so d that you brought it up. Even I can¡¯t stand her sight these days¡­¡±

    Ti knitted her brows together in confusion thinking about what she had ever done to them that they were backbiting about her in the bathhouse.

    Those maids kept on talking about Ti as they carried the cold water into the empty stalls.

    ¡°Me neither! I don¡¯t understand what Lord Vincent sees in that woman. If I knew that he was that interested in maids then I would have gone out of my way to please him and seduce him.¡±

    ¡®The hell?¡¯ Ti red at her closed door with deep frown lines on her forehead and shock in her eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Even I would have made my advances on him if I knew that he didn¡¯t have any reservations towards maids¡­ Ugh! I can¡¯t stand it that the Lord would prefer that human over us.¡±

    One of the maids loudly dropped her bucket, startling Ti again and almost making her squeak in fear.

    Ti was quick enough to sp her mouth with her palm. She closed her eyes and even though she wanted to stop listening, she couldn¡¯t do so because they were talking way too loudly.

    ¡°Maybe she did something to trap the Lord in her non-existent beauty.¡±

    ¡°You know what? I want to know what she did. I bet she either used her body or her blood to lure our Lord.¡±

    The other maidughed out loudly and almost choked. ¡°Body? I bet she would break if our Lord tried to do anything to her. I bet my coins on blood. She must have offered her blood to the Lord.¡±

    Ti gritted her teeth and plugged her ears with her index fingers. She was unable to keep on listening to the nonsensical that they were bbing about.

    ¡®Please stop assuming things on your own and ndering me!¡¯ she screamed in her head.

    But obviously, those maids didn¡¯t stop yapping.

    ¡°No¡­ Why would he always follow her like a puppy if it was just blood? He can get as much blood as he wants! He is the King¡¯s favorite. I bet the King wouldn¡¯t deny him even if he was to choose the prisoners himself. I am sure she¨C¡±

    ¡°Maybe Lord Vincent is just enjoying the hunt, you know.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by hunt?¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t allowed to chase those humans and hunt them down. So, maybe he is just doing the same, but in a non-violent way. I guess he is chasing her around for the whole day andter¡­ he enjoys the¡­¡±

    The maid audibly slurped her saliva and mumbled in a tone that disyed her inner desire. ¡°The warm and tasty blood directly from her veins¡­ Ah!¡± She even moaned and spoke in a sultry voice, ¡°I would chase a human around for the whole day if I get to feed on them every night.¡±

    ¡°Tsk! You and your hunger! I am thinking about seducing the rich Lord and livingfortably for the rest of my life. And all you can think about is blood. You are pathetic!¡±

    Ti suddenly heard one of the doors getting mmed hard. At this point, she was even holding her breath so as not to give away her presence. She was hoping that the fragrant smell of her soap was masking her natural smell and concealing her presence.

    She feared that if they found out about her presence in the bathhouse then she would be preyed upon.

    Ti hung her head low andined inwardly, ¡®I thought that they didn¡¯t see us as cattle anymore. But I was so wrong¡­ I get it now. Just because the King and a few others don¡¯t see us that way doesn¡¯t mean that everyone would think like them.¡¯

    And as though whatever they had said already wasn¡¯t enough, they continued to badmouth while pouring freezing water on themselves.

    ¡°You know what Beatrice, think about this again once your belly is full. We have already lost our King to a human from some other Kingdom. Now, for whatever reason, Lord Vincent is also showing interest in a human. If this keeps on happening then we will lose all the eligible bachelors to those darn humans. We have to do something!¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± The other hungry maid shouted. ¡°We can¡¯t offer them our blood. So, all we can do is wait for those flies to die. We can try our luck afterward.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Why are you so dumb, Beatrice?¡± The other maid shouted, almost rupturing her own eardrum. ¡°We know that Lord Vincent wouldn¡¯t mind falling for a maid. So, all we have to do is push that Ti or Tilly or whatever out of the picture.¡±

    ¡°Ow! Don¡¯t shout Marce!¡± Beatrice grumbled and continued speaking in a lethargic manner, ¡°I envy that handmaid but I don¡¯t want any trouble. You can try to seduce the Lord yourself. If you be sessful then let me work in your mansion.¡±

    While they continued ndering the Queen and her, Ti could only close her eyes and wait for those maids to finish bathing.

 Chapter 333 - 333 Hiding Fear

    333 Hiding Fear

    Ti got out of the stall that she was in after she stopped hearing the maids rambling on about how they were going to try and steal the favor that Lord Vincent was showing her.

    Ti¡¯s hands were shaking a little because one of them was being pretty specific about what she was going to do to Ti in order to remove her from the path ¨C identally colliding with her and injuring her beyond ¡®repair¡¯, putting hurdles in her everyday tasks and forcing her to leave the castle on the pretense of not being able to serve the Queen properly, etc.

    She slowly headed towards her room, her mind nk, and her eyes vacant. It looked like she went into shock after hearing all those merciless words from the vampire maids.

    After reaching her room, she slowly put the bucket down on the floor and went to sit down on her bed. She heaved a deep breath from her mouth and wondered, ¡®Did I make a blunder?¡¯

    She lifted her legs and rested them at the edge of the bed. She hugged her knees and buried her face in between her knees. And she kept on thinking about how things ended up turning out this way.

    ¡®Now that I think about it, Lord Vincent always followed me around. Sometimes scaring me to death, and the other times, apologizing for it. Then in Xanmar he¡­ ended up kissing me.¡¯

    Her stomach rumbled when she recalled how she had made Vincent drink blood from her wrist, andter, how he kissed her as if they were lovers.

    She closed her eyes tighter and kept on thinking. ¡®I was determined to pretend that the kiss never happened between us. But then he appeared in front of me like an angel when I was thinking that it was thest day of my life. He saved me.¡¯

    ¡®And ever since then, he hasn¡¯t left my side. I also stopped trying to push him away because I was grateful that I was alive because of him¡­ I¡­ I started to appreciate him with all my heart.¡¯

    .....

    Ti frowned at the way things turned out and then murmured, ¡°But I never thought that my appreciation for him would be so dangerous, not just for me but for Lord Vincent as well as the Queen! They were ndering the Queen because of me!¡±

    If time allowed, Ti would have loved to shed some tears in the hopes of making her heart feel a bit lighter. However, it was already time for her to head for the central wing of the castle and serve the Queen.

    She pulled herself together and gently dabbed her fingers on the rims of her eyes. She blinked several times to make her tears disappear and then jumped out of her bed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on what¡¯s important,¡± she mumbled to herself and smiled. ¡°I bet they were only expressing their frustration because they were feeling lonely.¡±

    She nodded to herself and made herself believe that those maids were just talking and that they wouldn¡¯t actually do things to her that they said they would do.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the kitchen and take the tea to Her Majesty.¡±

    Ti pped her hands and headed out after locking her door.

    As soon as Ti entered the exclusive kitchen that was used by the chefs to prepare the Queen¡¯s food, the chef greeted her and pointed at the tray that he had already prepared. ¡°The tea is ready.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, chef,¡± Ti gave a polite nod to the chef and then carefully carried the tray outside.

    While she was about to enter the premises of the central wing, she heard someone swooshing towards her at a great speed. By now, she had somewhat adapted and was able to perceive if a vampire was running around her.

    Ti quickly turned around in fear that the maid from earlier was about to crash with her.

    However, she felt greatly relieved when she saw Vincent warmly smiling down at her.

    ¡°Lord Vincent!¡± she brightly smiled back at him. A soft and relieved whisper soon followed out of her mouth, ¡°It¡¯s just you¡­¡±

    Vincent furrowed his brows and slightly tilted his head to the side. And he asked after shrugging and slightly raising his brows, ¡°Were you¡­ expecting someone else?¡±

    Ti quickly shook her head and denied, while still maintaining that soft smile on her face, ¡°Umm¡­ No, I wasn¡¯t.¡±

    Vincent¡¯s gaze slowly shifted from Ti¡¯s face to the tray that she was holding. The empty cup on the tray was ttering against the teacup. The ttering sound was very subtle but obviously, it wasn¡¯t that unnoticeable for a vampire.

    He worriedly looked back at Ti¡¯s face and asked while taking a step toward her, ¡°Ti, did I scare you just now?¡±

    Ti lost her smile for a split second when he asked that. But she quickly put on an even wider smile on her face and denied again, ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. I¡¯m okay.¡±

    She instantly sped the tray tighter so as to stop her hands from shaking. She didn¡¯t want anyone to know that she was still suffering from the shock that she underwent in Xanmar. She knew that everyone already had enough to worry about, and she didn¡¯t want to add to the already existing problems.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vincent held out his hand in order to hold Ti¡¯s hand. He wanted to support her hand because he knew Ti¡¯s hands were shaking and that she was just lying about being okay.

    However, before he could touch Ti¡¯s hand, she took a step back and turned around. ¡°Um¡­ I will bete if I linger around here for long. And Her Majesty¡¯s tea will get cold.¡± After saying that, she immediately started to walk towards the back door of the central wing.

    Vincent pulled his hand in slight disappointment and held it behind his back. But he didn¡¯t think much about it and caught up with Ti.

    Ti looked at Vincent with a slight nervousness in her eyes and asked him, ¡°You¡¯re going to greet the King?¡±

    Vincent clicked his tongue and replied as the corners of his lips curved upward, ¡°I think I will go and greet the Queen first. I only briefly met her yesterday morning. She was telling me an interesting story about herself but I had to leave because you pushed me out of the room.¡±

    Ti opened her jaw in disbelief and defended herself, ¡°It was time for Her Majesty¡¯s breakfast! If you wish to chat with her for longer then you should visit her in the afternoon.¡±

    Vincent scoffed and folded his arms in front of his chest. And he asked in an using tone, ¡°Are you indirectly asking me not to follow you?¡±

    Ti stepped inside the door of the central wing and replied as she walked down the empty corridor, ¡°Maybe.¡±

    Vincent rolled his eyes at Ti but kept on walking alongside her. ¡°Well, I have already made up my mind and I am not changing it because someone doesn¡¯t want me there. I¡¯m sure the Queen enjoys mypany.¡±

    ¡°Maybe the Queen is just being polite.¡± Ti shrugged and looked at him with a teasing smile.

    Vincent instantly stopped on his track and asked Ti with all seriousness, ¡°Are you being serious? The Queen is only being polite with me? Does she not enjoy mypany?¡±

    Before Ti could say that she was just being sarcastic, her attention was grabbed by someone else swooshing from ahead of her.

 Chapter 334 - 334 Mockery

    334 Mockery

    ¡°Ah! Vincent! Good thing I found you right away,¡± Zenon said after swooshing in and standing in front of Ti and Vincent.

    Vincent shifted his attention from Ti to the one who had disturbed his talk with Ti. He looked at Zenon while slightly narrowing his eyes and grumpily greeted him. ¡°Zenon. What are you doing here?¡±

    Zenon looked at Ti first and gave her a polite nod even when his position didn¡¯t require him to.

    Ti smiled and bowed to the Lord. And feeling that she was interrupting some confidential talk from happening, she bowed to Vincent as well before quietly taking her leave.

    Vincent sighed after watching Ti walk away from there. He frowned at Zenon as soon as Ti disappeared from sight and crudely spoke to him, ¡°Ugh! What do you want?¡±

    Zenon maintained a calm smile on his face and replied to the pissed vampire lord, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything from you but the King does.¡±

    Vincent suddenly became attentive when he heard Zenon mentioning the King. He stopped frowning and asked, ¡°Does he have any order for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zenon lost his smile from his face and ryed the King¡¯s message to Vincent. ¡°The King is angry at you because you haven¡¯t gone to greet him for days. He asked me to summon you right away.¡± He pointed his thumb behind him and added, ¡°He is waiting for you right there on the staircase.¡±

    Vincent immediately felt guilty for not showing his face in front of the King. And he was even a little scared thinking that the King was really mad at him for doing so.

    .....

    He looked at Zenon with fear in his eyes and asked, ¡°He is not going to punish me for it, is he?¡±

    Zenon simply turned around and slowly started to walk toward the staircase.

    ¡°Hey! Answer me!¡± Vincent ran after Zenon while asking for an answer.

    Zenon gave a side-re to Vincent when he started to walk beside him. He also didn¡¯t like how Vincent had neglected his duty towards the King and decided to scare Vincent, even though it was only for a minute or two.

    ¡°Yes, the King is so mad that he has chosen a very harsh punishment for you.¡±

    Vincent gulped in fear as soon as he heard that from Zenon. ¡°W-What kind of harsh punishment?¡± he asked in a suppressed whisper. ¡°I-Is he going to send me to the border? Or is he nning on throwing me to the dungeon?¡±

    Zenon shrugged and nonchntly replied, ¡°Could be anything. He hasn¡¯t told me anything yet.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Vincent held his head with both of his hands and dramatically looked up at the tall ceiling of the corridor. ¡°What if he bans me from ever visiting the castle? That would be the worse!¡±

    Zenon slightly bit the inside of his lower lip and turned his head away in order to hold in hisughter. He was greatly enjoying putting Vincent through the trouble.

    Vincent, on the other hand, was unaware of Zenon¡¯s trickery and began thinking of the things that he could do to plead for the King¡¯s pardon.

    He took a deep breath in and straightened his clothes before turning at the end of the corridor and reaching the staircase.

    Just to get the extraugh, Zenon stood at the corner and gestured for Vincent to take the lead, making Vincent believe that he wasn¡¯t ready to appear in front of the angry King and face his wrath.

    Vincent sighed and fisted his hands before slowly turning the corner with his head held low.

    As soon as he did, he was greeted by the King¡¯s stern and satirical voice, ¡°Finally. Lord Vincent has decided to grace me with his presence.¡±

    Thinking that the next thing that the King would do was announce the punishment for him, Vincent instantly dropped to his knees and apologized while deeply bowing to the King.

    ¡°Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn¡¯t mean to appear disloyal and ignorant by being absent. I will alwayse and greet you first thing in the morning. So please, don¡¯t punish me by banning me from the castle¡¯s premises.¡±

    Caspian knitted his brows in utter confusion when Vincent suddenly appeared in front of him and bbed on. He slowly lifted his gaze away from Vincent and looked at Zenon to ask if he knew what the hell was going on.

    Zenon was standing behind Vincent and was fisting over his mouth to stop himself from snickering right in front of the King.

    Caspian instantly understood that Zenon was in on what was going on and cleared his throat. ¡°Vince¡­¡± He crossed his arms in front of his chest and yed along. ¡°I thought that you were my only friend who never betrayed me. But¡­¡±

    He made his voice sound even more dramatic and emotional. ¡°But even you have started to show your true colors now. I mean¡­ not even greeting me once while you are inside the castle! That is outrageous!¡±

    Caspian almost lost it when Vincent jumped a little and lifted his head to look at him like a hurt puppy.

    But he still managed to hold in and harshly shouted to hide hisughter, ¡°You don¡¯t deserve toe here when you don¡¯t even think that it is necessary to show your respect to the King, if not to your friend.¡±

    Vincent genuinely believed that he was going to be banned from entering the castle again. He immediately crossed his hands together and pleaded again, ¡°Your Majesty! Don¡¯t say that. Please, I beg you. I don¡¯t have anywhere to¡­ go¡­¡±

    He suddenly slowed down and came to a halt when he heard Zenon snickering from behind. He furrowed his brows and quickly turned his head to see Zenon freelyughing now.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Vincent looked ahead at the King¡¯s face to see that even he was letting out suppressedughter.

    ¡°Oh hell no! Both of you were just messing with me?¡± he shouted in anger.

    Caspian suddenly burst out inughter and shouted at Zenon. ¡°Hey! I was handling him so well. Why did you startughing? You messed it up, Zenon.¡±

    ¡°Please excuse me, Your Majesty,¡± Zenon said while trying his best to control hisughter. But he couldn¡¯t do so, and he ran outside towards the main gate of the castle.

    Vincent quickly jumped up on his feet and dusted off his knees while shouting at Caspian again. ¡°How could you do that to me? You made a fool out of me!¡±

    He red at Caspian, now that he knew that he wasn¡¯t in any trouble. And he shouted again, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve to be treated this way just so that you can get augh out of me. I also have some pride, you know.¡±

    Caspian climbed down a few stairs that were left and put his arm around Vincent¡¯s shoulder. He was still chuckling when he apologized, ¡°Okay, forgive me, alright? But hey, I never asked you to drop down on your knees. You did that yourself.¡±

    ¡°Because!¡± Vincent took a deep breath to calm himself down and spoke much more softly than before, ¡°I thought that you were going to punish me. That snake of a man told me that you were enraged at me.¡±

    Caspian kept onughing and leading Vincent toward the gate.

    ¡°Are we going somewhere?¡± Vincent asked when he realized that they were heading toward the main gate.

    Caspian finally stopped chuckling and cleared his throat. And he nodded. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s roam around the town and see what my people are up to.¡±

 Chapter 335 - 335 Shutting the Desire

    335 Shutting the Desire

    After taking a leave from Vincent, Ti quickly made her way towards the staircase so as to go to the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    On the staircase, she almost again got startled when she encountered the King who was standing right there as if he was greatly angered by someone or something.

    Ti quickly bowed her head low and greeted the King very politely, ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Ti!¡± Caspian put on a smile on his face and nodded in response to Ti¡¯s greeting. He noticed that she was carrying a tray with the cups and pots that were meant for the Queen. So, before Ti passed by, he asked, ¡°Are you going to the Queen¡¯s chamber?¡±

    Ti gave a polite nod and answered, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I will go and wake her up.¡± And thinking he might have some orders for her, she kept on standing in front of the staircase.

    As she had thought, the King looked at her and ordered, ¡°Then ry a message to the Queen for me, will you? Say that I will be out in the capital this morning. But I will make sure that I will return by the afternoon, before leaving for the border between Sorvando and Orsenia again.¡±

    ¡°Orsenia?¡± Ti repeated the very familiar and homely name, not realizing that she was unintentionally questioning the King.

    However, Caspian didn¡¯t mind it at all. Rather, she further rified it to her so that she could in return rify his ns to the Queen. ¡°Yes. I will be having a meeting with Crown Prince Alexander at 8 PM there. I will give further details to the Queen myself.¡±

    Ti gave a bow to the King again and replied before taking her leave, ¡°I will make Her Majesty aware of your ns for the day.¡±

    .....

    Ti then quickly and carefully climbed up the staircase and began walking down the long corridor that led her toward the Queen¡¯s chamber.

    While on her way, at the end of the corridor, she saw a couple of maids giggling to themselves and walking in her direction. At their sight, she couldn¡¯t help but recall the conversation that she had heard between Beatrice and Marce.

    ¡®What if these maids also harbor simr feelings toward me?¡¯ Ti couldn¡¯t help but wonder as they were getting closer and closer to her.

    When they got right in front of her, Ti lowered her head so that she wouldn¡¯t make any eye contact with them. And as they passed by, she ufortably held her breath even though they weren¡¯t doing anything to her like passing remarks on her or giving her a death re.

    She finally let out her breath after making sure that the maids were far behind her. And although she was carrying that heavy tray, she managed to run towards the Queen¡¯s chamber so that she wouldn¡¯t encounter anyone further.

    After entering the antechamber, she stood in front of the Queen¡¯s bedroom and softly knocked on the door. ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s me,¡± she made her presence known so that the Queen wouldn¡¯t hurriedly get up to grab her clothes.

    ¡°Ti, good morning!¡± She was greeted by Anastasia from the other side of the room.

    Ti thought that the Queen would still be asleep when the King asked her to ry the message on his behalf. However, it looked like the Queen was already awake by now.

    Anastasia opened the door to her bedroom and weed Ti with a sweet smile on her face.

    Ti returned the smile and greeted the Queen, ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty.¡± She then entered the room and asked whileying down the tray on the bedside table, ¡°When did you wake up?¡±

    ¡°Just a while ago.¡± Anastasia adjusted her nightgown and sat on the edge of her soft bed.

    Ti began brewing the tea for the Queen while engaging her in a conversation. ¡°Oh¡­ You must have been really tired then. You normally wake up a little bit earlier than this.¡± She was d that the Queen woke upte because she was a littlete in bringing the tea for her.

    ¡°You could say that.¡± Anastasia¡¯s corner of the lips slowly turned upward as she recalled how she had spent the whole night by sleeping on Caspian¡¯s chest. She then silently kept on watching Ti doing her things while waiting for the tea.

    Ti also silently brewed the tea instead of rying the message of the King right away. Her mind kept on slipping to the incidents of the morning and she wasn¡¯t able to properly focus on the important matters.

    After a while, the whole bedroom was covered by the sweet aroma of the tea. Ti carefully poured the tea into the teacup and handed the cup as well as the saucer to Anastasia.

    Anastasia brought the teacup closer to her nose and waved her hand as if she was gathering and inhaling the aroma of her tea. And after taking a sip, she praised the tea, ¡°It tastes wonderful, Ti.¡±

    She looked at the tray and asked a little disappointedly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring another cup? I told you so many times that you should have tea together with me. But you never seem to obey me.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I forgot¡­¡± Ti gave an apologetic smile to the Queen.

    She had been making this apology for quite a while now. But it was the truth. She had be somewhat forgetful, especially during the morning hours. She would either be distracted by the thoughts of Vincent, or by the recollection of her nightmare.

    Anastasia, unaware of what Ti was going through, pursed her lips and mumbled in aining tone, ¡°You always say that¡­¡±

    Ti smiled and sped her palms together. ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t forget about it tomorrow,¡± she said firmly.

    She then walked around the bed to go to the other side and pulled the nket. She took it near the window to dust the nket before folding it when her eyes suddenly fell on the trinity of Sorvando.

    They were talking loudly and walking towards the main gate. It looked as if they were bantering with each other about something.

    And as if Vincent sensed Ti¡¯s presence, he turned his head around. He gazed directly at the window and met eyes with Ti.

    Ti took a sharp breath and quickly pulled her feet backward. She didn¡¯t know why she was suddenly hiding though. She was about to peek through the window again when she suddenly recalled all those disgusting things that the maids were saying in the bathhouse.

    Ti furrowed her brows and thought to herself, ¡®I think it¡¯s better if I maintain some distance from him. I shouldn¡¯t let my status sully his. He doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡¯

    With that thought, she backed off from the window until her legs touched the bed. ¡®But what if he is still waiting for me to appear at the window again?¡¯ she thought to herself as great difort surrounded her heart.

    She tightened her grasp on the soft nket and clutched her jaw. ¡®Control yourself, woman!¡¯ she shouted at herself in her head so that she wouldn¡¯t fall weak and give in to her heart¡¯s desire.

    After a few seconds, Ti took a deep breath and folded the nket as calmly as she could. After cing it aside, she walked towards the wardrobe to take out Anastasia¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°Oh!¡± She suddenly turned on her heels when she recalled that she had a message to deliver. She looked at Anastasia and then said, ¡°My Queen, His Majesty had asked me to deliver some messages to you.¡±

 Chapter 336 - 336 Escalation

    336 Esction

    ¡°Oh, so he is going to meet my brother today, huh?¡± Anastasia raised her brows and nodded her head in slight amusement after hearing the message that Caspian had sent to her.

    She set the teacup down on the table and got up on her feet. Slowly striding towards the mirror, she wondered out loud, ¡°I wonder when Caspian got to know about this meeting. Maybe this morning? He got up and went out of the room very early.¡±

    Anastasia looked at her reflection in the mirror and wondered if Caspian was taking her to the border as well.

    She turned her head towards the wardrobe and asked Ti who was pulling out a gown at the moment. ¡°Ti, at what time did you say that the meeting was again?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tonight at 8, Your Majesty,¡± Ti replied without turning her head and looking at the Queen.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Anastasia nodded and looked back at the mirror again. And she understood that she wasn¡¯t going to participate in the meeting tonight.

    ¡®I guess they fixed the meeting in a haste.¡¯ She thought to herself.

    Although she was a bit disheartened to know that she wouldn¡¯t be meeting her brother tonight, she tried to cheer herself up. ¡®But I only met him not long ago. And I bet that even if we were to meet, we wouldn¡¯t have time to talk about anything else except¡­ the apology letter from Everard.¡¯

    Anastasia took a deep breath and pondered about the direction that tonight¡¯s meeting would take. She wasn¡¯t yet aware of the recent developments regarding the case of Xanmar.

    .....

    She was still under the influence that the apology letter from Everard didn¡¯t have any value for her husband. She had more or less gauged the worth of the letter when Caspian got angry at her for suggesting that he hold out the hand of friendship to Everard.

    Thus, she was bound to be restless. She was worried that the peaceful era woulde to an end soon. And it pained her even more when she couldn¡¯t help but put the me on herself for being the main reason for the dispute.

    Thinking straight from her perspective, the fight escted because of that unholy kiss that she didn¡¯t seeing.

    She dropped herself down on the chair and frowned deeply. ¡®Why would Eve even do that to me? Did he mistake me for someone else? Or did he have some hidden motives behind it?¡¯ she had several questions in her mind that she wanted to ask to Everard.

    Anastasia shakily breathed in and closed her eyes. She rubbed the frown lines on her forehead. Slowly, her palm rested on her lips. She looked disgusted as she recalled that kiss from Everard. And as if she was trying to remove its existence in the past, she wiped her lips with the back of her palm.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Anastasia eximed. She only realized how hard she was wiping her lips when she suddenly felt a prickling pain at her lower lip. Her lips, which were void of moisture at the moment, happened to crack.

    Ti ran to Anastasia¡¯s side in an instant and leaned in to look at her face. ¡°What happened? Did you hurt yourself?¡± she asked while removing Anastasia¡¯s hand from before her mouth.

    Anastasia licked her lower lip and shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not a big deal. My lips cracked a little.¡±

    Ti furrowed her brows and looked guilty for not taking proper care of the Queen. ¡°Give me a second.¡± She quickly rummaged through the dressing table¡¯s drawer and took out a jar containing coconut oil.

    The oil had hardened because of the cold. But Ti still managed to scrape it. She then looked at the Queen¡¯s lips and put the oil generously on her lips.

    And while doing so, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the mncholic expression on the Queen¡¯s face.

    ¡°Is something bothering you, my Queen?¡± she asked.

    Anastasia¡¯s somber expression didn¡¯t change. Rather, she looked even more lost when she asked a question to her handmaid, ¡°Ti, do you think things would have been any different if I had never met Everard?¡±

    Ti could see the regret in Anastasia¡¯s eyes.

    However, she didn¡¯t let Anastasia stay all gloomy for long. She crouched beside Anastasia and held her hand. She looked her friend in the eyes and said in a consoling manner, ¡°Anna, you know that it does us no good by dwelling in the past. I had seen you genuinely enjoying King Everard¡¯spany. It isn¡¯t your fault that he broke the vows of a pure friendship.¡±

    Anastasia looked away from Ti, but with a soft smile on her face.

    And before Anastasia med herself further, Ti tugged gently on her hand and said after Anastasia looked at her again, ¡°And didn¡¯t you say that he sent an apology letter? Don¡¯t think about those things too much. I know in my heart that everything will be okay.¡±

    Anastasia finally took a deep sigh of relief and smiled widely. ¡°Do you really think so?¡± she asked while knitting her brows.

    And Ti, with a calm expression on her face, gave a nod. ¡°I know so.¡± Ti lifted her hand and gently wiped the oil from the corner of Anastasia¡¯s lips. She looked into Anastasia¡¯s eyes again and asked, ¡°So, don¡¯t hurt yourself over it. Okay?¡±

    Anastasia enclosed her lips into a thin line and nodded in response. Ti¡¯s words greatlyforted her.

    ¡ª

    Away from the castle, in the heart of the Kingdom of Sorvando, Caspian was doing a patrol while being apanied by Zenon and Vincent.

    They didn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary until they came across a small group of vampires who were handing out pamphlets to a store owner nearby.

    Caspian didn¡¯t think much of it until they started to exin what that pamphlet was about.

    ¡°We have lived under these tyrannical rulers for a very long time, fellow brother. Now it is time for us to take matters into our own hands. We have stayed in fear of persecution for too long. It is now time for us to raise our voices against the heinous monarchy system. The world isn¡¯t the same anymore. And we have to adapt ordingly.¡±

    Caspian narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth when he heard those vampires talking absolute nonsense about his and his ancestors¡¯ ruling.

    He turned his head to look at Zenon. He wanted to see if this was what his advisor wanted him to see because even though Zenon said that they were just going out for a normal walk around the capital, he knew his advisor wouldn¡¯t do anything without any purpose in mind.

    Just as Caspian had suspected, Zenon seemed satisfied by that encounter. He pointed his brows toward the so-called activists and asked in a whisper, ¡°Guess who is leading all this?¡±

    Caspian sighed and whispered back in irritation, ¡°Bartholomew?¡±

    Zenon gave a nod and went back to staring at the activists.

    Vincent leaned closer to Caspian¡¯s ear and asked him, ¡°I bet my money that they will be chased by that store owner.¡±

    Caspian wasn¡¯t so sure about that anymore because until he saw all this, he didn¡¯t think that Bartholomew had already created such a mess in his capital. He had thought that Bartholomew was only approaching the noble houses with his wicked agendas against him. But it looked like he was now moving on to brainwash the rest as well.

    Suddenly, his attention was grabbed by themotion caused by the store owner.

 Chapter 337 - 337 Rejection

    337 Rejection

    ¡°Get your arses out of my store before I call the soldiers and have them drag you all to your graves! Who do you think you are to talk badly about our King?¡±

    The store owner was baring his fangs as well as ws at those activists as he snarled at them. It looked as though he was ready to tear those vampires apart for speaking ill of the King.

    The activists quickly scurried away from the store. And the store owner even spat on the pamphlet that they had given him and threw it at those vampires as they were running away.

    Caspian smiled upon seeing the event that unfolded. He felt happy knowing that even though Bartholomew and his minions were trying to sully his name and get more people on his side, the people weren¡¯t that fool to readily fall victim to his maniption.

    Vincent was also happy to see Caspian¡¯s confidence returning. He patted Caspian¡¯s shoulder and then said, ¡°See, I told you that the store owner would chase them. They were being too bold¡­ trying to speak against the monarch who is protecting all of them from the outside world.¡±

    Zenon was keeping his eyes on the direction that those activists ran to. And he quickly asked the King. ¡°Your Majesty. Do you want me to send some men after them? We can bring them in for questioning.¡±

    Caspian thought about it for a while and then replied, ¡°It might be the exact thing they want us to do. When we release them after questioning, they might try to make me look bad in front of everyone by saying things that I didn¡¯t do.¡±

    Vincent narrowed his eyes and grumbled, ¡°Or Bartholomew himself might rally some people in front of the castle and protest demanding their release. They can make a show out of it if we are not careful.¡±

    Caspian nodded in agreement and rified his intention for now. ¡°Either way, I don¡¯t want to give them any unnecessary attention. So, let them be for now. I have faith in my people. They will control these pests for me.¡±

    .....

    Zenon couldn¡¯t deny that what the King predicted wouldn¡¯t happen. Seeing how Bartholomew was taking calctive risks until now, he also felt that capturing his minions would give them an upper hand.

    ¡°Okay, then.¡± Zenon sighed and said while looking at the King, ¡°I will let them be for now. But we will have to think of a permanent solution to suppress Bartholomew¡¯s propaganda. It will look bad for us if this keeps on escting.¡±

    Caspian also thought that Bartholomew needed serious punishment for his actions. However, right now, his hands were full of other bigger problems that had been looming over him for quite a while now.

    Zenon then pointed in the direction where they were supposed to go and asked the King, ¡°So, shall we continue with our original route? We still have a lot of ces to cover before we can return to the castle.¡±

    Caspian gave a nod. But before continuing their patrol, he looked towards the store owner from earlier and said, ¡°I will go and meet him. I have to thank him for defending me earlier.¡±

    ¡ª

    In the capital of Xanmar, Lorenzo had finally arrived at the castle. Although he didn¡¯t have any prior appointment with the King, he was sure that Everard would be ted to see him.

    However, he felt a little disappointed when he saw that the security of the castle was tighter than before. His carriage was not even allowed to enter the main gate of the castle.

    Lorenzo got off the carriage that Regulus had rented for him. He went to the guards and then asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t I enter the castle? Is there any reason for doing this?¡±

    The guard was doing some entries of the carriages that he had allowed to cross the gate, along with the records of the passengers of those carriages.

    And without even raising his head from his file, the guard asked Lorenzo, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the alpha of the Atkinson n was murdered? We are just being extra careful.¡±

    Lorenzo couldn¡¯t argue with the guard about that because it was their duty to protect the King at all costs. However, he was also determined to protect Everard¡¯s reputation and side-by-side, protect his life as well.

    Thus, he asked the guard again, ¡°I don¡¯t think you recognize me but I am a good friend of the King. I couldn¡¯t contact him for the past few days. So, I am here to greet him.¡±

    The guard couldn¡¯t be less bothered. He nonchntly replied, ¡°We aren¡¯t allowing anyone to enter the castle until they have some urgent business or if they have received the pass from His Majesty himself. So, if you are just here to greet him then you can go back to your house and write a letter to the King.¡±

    Lorenzo sighed in slight frustration and tried to bargain with the guard again. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand! I am not just any friend, I am His Majesty¡¯s close friend. On the coronation day, I was with His Majesty all day long.¡±

    The guard finally raised his eyes from the file to look at Lorenzo. He looked at the slightly short man from his head to his toes. The man with the golden brown hair was wearing pretty decent clothes for a man who didn¡¯t have any personal guards along with him.

    That guard then looked behind his as if he was looking for someone. He looked at the other guard who was even busier than him and gave up on whatever idea he had in his mind.

    He looked back at Lorenzo and asked while knitting his brows together, ¡°Are you, by chance, the Crown Prince of Orsenia?¡± He sounded polite when he asked that.

    A subtle frown appeared on Lorenzo¡¯s forehead when he heard that name after quite a while. He slightly narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

    The guard unintentionally rolled his eyes at Lorenzo and harshly asked, ¡°Then why were you saying that you are the King¡¯s close friend?¡± He gestured towards the carriage that Lorenzo had taken and said, ¡°Please, don¡¯t hold the line anymore. You are wasting everyone¡¯s time by being arrogant.¡±

    Lorenzo scoffed when the guard called him arrogant. But he couldn¡¯t say anything to the guard. He knew the guard wouldn¡¯t hesitate to push him away.

    Seeing that there was nothing he could say to the guard to convince thetter to let him in, Lorenzo decided to go back for now.

    ¡°At least let His Majesty know that a man named Lorenzo was here to meet him, will you?¡± Lorenzo asked the guard, hoping that Everard would leave a pass at the gate for him so that he could enter the castle premises when he came there the next time.

    The guard sighed at the persistence of the man. But he still scribbled Lorenzo¡¯s name on the top corner of his file and nodded his head. ¡°Okay. I will pass the message to the King. You may go now.¡±

    Lorenzo pursed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He turned on his heels and climbed back inside the carriage that he came in.

    When the coachman was turning the carriage around, Lorenzo nced at the guard from the window and thought, ¡®I hope he won¡¯t forget to deliver the message. Else I will have to think of some other ways to contact His Majesty.¡¯

 Chapter 338 - 338 Lost in Memories

    338 Lost in Memories

    While Caspian was gone from the Castle, Anastasia spent her morning taking a hot bath and eating her breakfast.

    After her belly was full, shey down on the sofa while facing the window and a thick book in her hand.

    She probably would still have been worried sick regarding the meeting that Caspian and her brother were going to have tonight. But after getting the constion from Ti, she stopped worrying about it and rather focused her attention on keeping herself warm.

    ¡°Ti, pass me the nket, will you?¡± Anastasia asked her handmaid who was busy gathering all the tes and bowls from the table.

    ¡°Ah, sure.¡± Ti quickly put the utensils on the tray and ran towards the bedchamber. She ran back with the nket in her hand and spread it to cover the Queen¡¯s lower body that she had rested on the sofa.

    ¡°Is this okay? Is the cold entering from anywhere?¡± Ti asked Anastasia while tucking the nket from all sides.

    Anastasia gave a smile and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not cold anymore. Thank you, Ti.¡± She then went back to reading her book.

    Ti straightened her back and looked at Anastasia for a while. She wondered if it was okay to leave the Queen alone for a while.

    Anastasia felt the continuous gaze from Ti. So, she looked up at her and asked, ¡°Is¡­ something wrong?¡±

    .....

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Ti pointed at the tray behind the Queen and said, ¡°I was wondering if I should take those dishes back to the kitchen right away or if I should take them back after a while.¡±

    Anastasia understood that Ti was worried about her. Thus, she reassuringly said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright. You can take it back. And you should also go and eat your breakfast while it¡¯s hot.¡±

    ¡°I can sit with you if you want¡­ until the Kinges back,¡± Ti offered to givepany to Anastasia if she was to feel lonely. She didn¡¯t want Anastasia to go back to overthinking and unintentionally hurting herself.

    Anastasia smiled and reassured Ti again, ¡°I will be fine. You said yourself that Caspian won¡¯t be here until it is afternoon. You shouldn¡¯t stay hungry for my sake.¡±

    Ti finally relented to Anastasia¡¯s concern for her. ¡°Alright, I will be back as soon as I can.¡±

    ¡°You can take your time. Don¡¯t choke on your food,¡± Anastasia said with a smile.

    Ti gave a polite bow and went to pick up the tray.

    After Anastasia heard Ti shutting the door behind her, she heaved a sigh and looked out of the window. She could see that it was still foggy outside. At times, she could even hear the wind howling.

    ¡®The cold is increasing day by day, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ she thought to herself as a mncholic smile appeared on her face. ¡®I wonder when it will start snowing.¡¯

    She became even sadder when she recalled her childhood memories. She would always sit by her window and watch her brother running around in thick snow, having a snowball fight with his attendants.

    At that time, she didn¡¯t quite understand why she wasn¡¯t allowed to y outside. And she used to get jealous of her brother for always getting to enjoy himself while she used to be shut behind her doors.

    ¡®I want to y in the snow with Caspian¡­ At least once,¡¯ she folded her knees and thought while resting her jaw on her knees.

    Her mind kept on repeating all those past memories of her when she was in Orsenia. Some of them were sweet, some were sad, and some were even devastating. But even then, she wouldn¡¯t trade those precious memories of her life in Orsenia with anything.

    ¡®Ah! I wish I could meet our parents.¡¯ Anastasia took a deep breath in and wondered how often her parents missed her.

    While thinking about it all, Anastasia didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed already.

    She heard the knock on the door followed by Ti¡¯s voice. ¡°Your Majesty, I am back.¡±

    Anastasia raised her head in surprise and looked at the closed door. ¡°Come in, Ti,¡± she asked.

    Ti slightly pushed the door open, barely wide enough for her to squeeze through. And after closing the door shut, she walked toward the Queen. Though it was subtle, it looked like Ti was limping.

    Anastasia instantly noticed the way Ti was walking. And upon further watching her closely, Anastasia noticed that Ti¡¯s gown had some dust around her knee area.

    Anastasia instantly straightened her back and asked her friend in a deeply worried tone, ¡°Ti, what happened?¡±

    Ti gave a nervous smile and shook her head. ¡°Nothing. I um¡­ fell down on my way here. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Anastasia was even more worried when she heard that. ¡°Are you sure you are okay?¡± She put her book aside and quickly got down from the sofa.

    ¡°I am okay¡­¡± Ti emphasized and tried to calm Anastasia down.

    However, Anastasia was already crouching down in front of her and was about to lift Ti¡¯s gown.

    ¡°Anna!¡± Tiughed in embarrassment and quickly stepped back. ¡°What are you trying to do? If the King saw us now, he would smack me on the head thinking that I made you kneel down before me.¡±

    ¡°I am just trying to check if you are hurt.¡± Anastasia quickly hopped and grabbed Ti¡¯s gown again.

    But Ti bent down and pressed her gown so that Anastasia wouldn¡¯t lift it. ¡°I am not hurt!¡± she kept on giggling because of Anastasia¡¯s behavior.

    Anastasia looked up at Ti and pouted. ¡°Come on. You don¡¯t have to be shy in front of me.¡±

    However, when Ti didn¡¯t cooperate, Anastasia narrowed her eyes and said in a stern manner, ¡°Your Queen is ordering you to sit down and show your knees to her.¡±

    Ti sighed and chuckled when Anastasia used her Queen card on her. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± she mumbled and sat down on the carpet.

    Anastasia also sat down beside her and slowly and carefully lifted the gown.

    Both of thedies gasped in shock when Ti¡¯s knees were revealed. The knees were badly bruised, with slight traces of blood as well.

 Chapter 339 - 339 Tripped

    339 Tripped

    ¡°Ti!¡± Anastasia eximed after taking a few moments to let it sink into her mind that Ti was hurt more badly than she had expected. ¡°This isn¡¯t okay! This is far worse from okay!¡±

    She pulled her hand away from Ti¡¯s gown and asked in a sad tone, ¡°Why were you trying to hide it from me?¡±

    Ti was still looking at the bad condition of her knees. Even she hadn¡¯t expected that it would look this bad. She had just assumed that she might have slightly grazed the outeryer of her skin at most.

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t checked¡­ I didn¡¯t know the bruises were this bad,¡± Ti replied softly, still in disbelief.

    Anastasia asked while pushing herself back on her feet, ¡°Where did you fall anyway? To have bruises this bad, you must have hit yourself really hard on some tough surface.¡±

    When Ti heard that question from Anastasia, she had a shback of what had really happened to her.

    She was hurrying back to the Queen¡¯s chambers after having her hot breakfast. While she was walking down the path beside the garden that was lined up with trees, she heard someone swooshing towards her from the back.

    She even tried to get out of the way. However, before she could do so, she found herself on her fours on the ground. She was able to instantly get up on her feet as the pain hadn¡¯t seeped in yet. And she looked around to see who she had collided with. She was expecting that person to apologize to her.

    But when she didn¡¯t find anyone in her vicinity, it dawned upon her that it might have been that maid who was jealous of her.

    .....

    Without wasting any more time by standing there where very few people walked, she ran for the main wing of the castle.

    And when she climbed the stairs, she realized how much pain she was in. She slowly limped towards the Queen¡¯s chambers. Before entering the chamber, she stretched her knees a little so that the Queen wouldn¡¯t see her limping.

    In the end, her n didn¡¯t work as the Queen noticed it right away.

    ¡°Ti?¡± Anastasia furrowed her brows when Ti looked lost instead of answering her. Thus, she asked again, ¡°You didn¡¯t topple down the stairs, did you?¡±

    Before Ti even answered her, Anastasia circled Ti while carefully looking at thetter¡¯s body to see if she had wounds in other ces as well.

    Ti gave a nervous chuckle and lied, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t fall down the stairs. I tripped on a small branch in the garden and fell down. I happened to hit those decorative rocks. Maybe that¡¯s why the bruises look blue and yellow already.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you poor thing¡­¡± Anastasia knitted her brows together in worry and sighed. ¡°I think I have some ointment for bruises. Let me check the drawers.¡±

    After saying that, Anastasia rushed towards her bedchamber.

    Ti didn¡¯t want to trouble the Queen. So, she shouted from the antechamber, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I also have some medicine from thest time. I will put it on before sleeping.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± Anastasia shouted back at her. ¡°You need to clean those bruises and treat it right away. The bruises might turn even worse if not treated right now.¡±

    Seeing that the Queen wouldn¡¯t budge until she found the ointment, Ti tried pushing herself up. But when she pressed her palm on the floor to support herself, she instantly regretted it.

    ¡°Ssss¡­¡± she breathed in sharply and looked at her palm. She had badly grazed her palm as well. She checked the other palm. The condition of that palm was also simr to the other.

    ¡®Did I get pushed that badly?¡¯ she tried recalling the incident.

    Someone had pushed her at her back using force that was more than what was necessary to make her fall down.

    Ti arched her back to check if her back was hurting as well. And she was right. She felt the pain right in the middle, alongside her backbone.

    Ti frowned and sighed. She wondered if she would keep on finding new ces that hurt, and she also wondered if the pain would keep on increasing by the hour. ¡®What if I can¡¯t move my whole body by tomorrow? Who will serve the Queen?¡¯

    At the moment, she was more worried about Anastasia than herself.

    ¡®Yes! I need to treat all the bruises right away. I don¡¯t want them to get worse than they already are,¡¯ Ti then grabbed at the foot of the table that was right beside her and pulled herself up even when she felt excruciating pain in her knees.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± she grunted in pain and eximed in her mind, ¡®The pain is already getting worse!¡¯

    She took in a deep breath and looked through the bedroom door. She saw Anastasia rummaging through her drawer. It seemed as if she was panicking because she was unable to find the ointment that she was looking for.

    ¡®I think I kept it under that tin of coconut oil,¡¯ Ti thought to herself and then slowly dragged her feet towards the Queen¡¯s bedchamber.

    ¡°Can¡¯t find it?¡± Ti asked after standing beside Anastasia.

    Anastasia indeed was panicking at the moment. She looked at Ti and vigorously nodded her head. ¡°I think I saw it somewhere here, but I can¡¯t find it.¡±

    ¡°Let me check.¡± Ti held out her hand to reach inside the drawer.

    She saw a notebook that was blocking the corner. She pulled it out and kept it in front of the mirror. She then bent down a little to see the tin of coconut oil. She took it out as well and there was the jar of ointment.

    ¡°I found it,¡± Ti looked at Anastasia and smiled.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Anastasia hastily grabbed the jar and finally breathed in relief. She then pointed at the chair and asked her handmaid, ¡°Take a seat. I will help you.¡±

    Ti hesitantly smiled and shook her head. ¡°Umm¡­ I think I can do it myself.¡± She held out her palm in front of the Queen and demanded the ointment.

    However, Anastasia held Ti¡¯s wrist instead and made her sit down. She smiled at Ti and said authoritatively, ¡°Now, don¡¯t move an inch until I say otherwise.¡±

 Chapter 340 - 340 Reverse Role

    340 Reverse Role

    Ti knew better than anyone that once Anastasia was determined to do something, then speaking against her will would be of no use.

    Thus, shefortably sat on the chair and said after sighing, ¡°Okay, you win.¡± She politely bowed to the Queen and said teasingly, ¡°I will be in your care, my Queen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Anastasia finally smiled and opened the lid of the jar. ¡°Lift your gown,¡± she ordered.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Ti did as she was asked without hesitation this time because she knew that if she was to show her hesitation, Anastasia would do it herself. And she didn¡¯t want to make the Queen act like herdy-in-waiting by making her do a lot more than what was necessary.

    When Ti revealed her bruises again, Anastasia heaved a deep sigh and knelt before Ti.

    Ti instantly got ufortable when she saw the Queen kneeling down in front of her. ¡°Umm¡­¡± she held out her hand as if to stop the Queen and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t I at least sit down on the floor? This doesn¡¯t seem right at all.¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­¡± Anastasia brought her finger in front of her lips and shushed Ti. ¡°It will be over before you know it. Besides, it might be ufortable for you to sit down on the floor. You¡¯ve hurt your knees, so¡­¡±

    Anastasia was aware that Ti was feeling uneasy because she was kneeling before her. Thus, she suggested, ¡°Just close your eyes if you don¡¯t want to see me like this.¡±

    Ti nodded and instantly closed her eyes.

    .....

    Anastasia closely looked at the bruises. Since the bruises didn¡¯t have any dirt on them, thanks to the severalyers of the gown, she softly blew on the bruises and began applying the ointment on Ti¡¯s knees.

    Ti inhaled sharply when the cold ointment came in contact with her skin. And she identally clutched her fists when she felt the burning sensation on the area where the ointment was applied.

    ¡°Argh!¡± she gritted through her teeth and quickly released her fists.

    Anastasia furrowed her brows and held Ti¡¯s hand to inspect her palm. She hadn¡¯t noticed it earlier. But now that she closely looked at it, she saw that Ti had grazed her palms as well.

    ¡°It looks like you hurt your palms as well¡­¡± she mumbled in a worried manner.

    Anastasia felt a prick in her heart to see her friend in this condition. ¡°You should be more careful from now on, Ti. It hurts me to see you getting hurt like this.¡±

    Ti let out a shaky breath and softly said in a whisper, ¡°I apologize for making you worry about me.¡± She gritted her teeth and a few frown lines appeared on her forehead. Then she further added in a resolute voice, ¡°And yes, I will be more careful from now on.¡±

    The way she was speaking, it seemed like Ti had something else in her mind.

    After applying the medicine to Ti¡¯s knees, Anastasia pulled Ti¡¯s hands and was about to apply the ointment when the former noticed some dirt on thetter¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Er¡­ I will get a wet towel.¡± Anastasia got up on her feet.

    However, Ti quickly pinched Anastasia¡¯s gown to stop her from leaving and said, ¡°I can do that myself. I will wash my hand ande.¡±

    But Anastasia was adamant. ¡°No. You should let your knees rest for now. I won¡¯t allow you to walk around, at least for an hour or two.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°No buts.¡± Anastasia pushed Ti¡¯s grip away from her gown and left for the bathroom.

    Ti heaved a sigh in difort and awkwardly scratched her neck. She then hung her head low for not only making the other maids speak badly about the Queen but also for getting hurt and making the Queen look after her.

    She slowly lifted her head again and stared out of the open window. Although all she could see right now were the naked branches of the trees in a distance, the image of Vincent looking at her from the ground danced in front of her eyes.

    Ti clenched her jaw and thought to herself, ¡®I should really be careful from now on. Careful not to let Lord Vincent get any closer to me. My greed is putting all of us in a pickle.¡¯

    Anastasia came back with a wet towel in her hand. She was about to kneel down again when Ti stole the towel from the Queen¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t kneel in front of me again. And I can wipe my hand myself.¡±

    Anastasia chuckled and nodded her head. She bent down to grab the jar of ointment though.

    As she waited for Ti to finish cleaning her palms, someone knocked on the door.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Anastasia turned her head towards the door of her bedchamber and asked.

    Ti, on the other hand, already had some idea as to who it could be. If it was the King, he would already be inside the room by now. Since the King wasn¡¯t there, there was only one other person who woulde knocking at the Queen¡¯s door.

    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s me,¡± Vincent replied from outside the door.

    ¡°Vincent! You cane in,¡± Anastasia replied.

    Ti closed her eyes and silently grunted. Just when she had thought that she was going to maintain her distance from Vincent, he came to find her.

    As if to prove her right, Vincent asked from outside the door. ¡°Is Ti with you, Your Majesty?¡±

    Anastasia looked at Ti and smiled when she saw her hiding her eyes with her palm. ¡°Yes, she is,¡± she replied while smiling widely.

    By now, Anastasia was well aware that the reason for Vincent¡¯s frequent visits was because of Ti. And she had no problem with it.

    ¡°I aming in,¡± Vincent announced before slowly opening the door.

    He then slowly walked inside the antechamber while looking around to see if thedies were there. And when he didn¡¯t see them there, he thought that maybe they were in the bedchamber.

    So, without showing himself in front of the bedchamber¡¯s door, he asked, ¡°Should Ie backter? I think I came at the wrong time.¡±

    Ti looked up at Anastasia and mouthed to her, ¡°Ask him to leave.¡±

    However, Anastasia walked toward the door while saying, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s totally fine. You shoulde in and check up on Ti.¡±

 Chapter 348 - 348 Nothing Important

    348 Nothing Important

    Caspian knew who was going to be at the door and why. So, without even inquiring further, he said in a bit louder and more authoritative tone, ¡°Give me a few minutes, Zenon. You can wait for me in my study. And we will head out right away.¡±

    It was indeed Zenon who was at the door. After hearing the King¡¯s order, he bowed even though he couldn¡¯t see the King and replied, ¡°I will do as you said. Everyone is waiting for your order.¡± He reminded the King that everybody else was already ready to head for the border so that the King wouldn¡¯t keep them waiting for much longer.

    After hearing the sound of the footsteps getting fainter and fainter, Caspian buried his face into Anastasia¡¯s neck and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you, Anna.¡±

    ¡°I will miss you too,¡± Anastasia whispered back while gently running her fingers through the beautiful blond hair of her husband.

    And before she forgot, she asked him to pass along her message to her brother, ¡°And please tell my brother that I am doing fine. Also, ask him not to worry about me since I am really happy here.¡±

    She genuinely meant what she said. After all, Caspian never made her feel that she was unloved or uncared for. Even in Sorvando, she was still as pampered as she was back in Orsenia.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Caspian¡¯s face beamed with joy when Anastasia said that. ¡°Anything else that you want to say?¡± he asked.

    Anastasia shook her head and asked Caspian while patting his hand, ¡°Alright now. I think you should clean up and leave. Else everyone will think that I am deliberately keeping you here.¡±

    ¡°No one will think like that,¡± Caspian said with a little frown on his forehead. ¡°But you are right. I should really go now.¡± He then took a deep breath with the intention to leave.

    .....

    He got up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom after jumping down the bed.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, lightly pressed her stomach and sighed. She was a little bit sad because she had already given up hope about having a baby. She also didn¡¯t wish to conceive a baby anymore since she didn¡¯t really know how much time she had left.

    With that thought in her mind, she sat up on the bed and pushed her gown to cover her legs. And she thought in her mind, ¡®I think I should ask Martha to prepare some tonic for me. I don¡¯t want any idental conception.¡¯

    She then got out of bed and straightened her gown. After patting andbing her hair with her fingers, she looked at the mirror and thought, ¡®I should also ask her to prepare a bath for me.¡¯

    Anastasia was distracted from her thoughts when Caspian came out of the bathroom. His hair and neck were all wet, and so were his trousers.

    ¡°Oh, Caspian!¡± Anastasia knitted her brows and pursed her lips.

    Caspian smiled as he knew what she was going to say. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will change my clothes before leaving.¡± When he saw Anastasia¡¯s eyes lingering on his hair, he further added while nodding, ¡°And yes, I will ask the servants to dry my hair too. But it will dry on the way nheless. I will have to fly somewhat faster than what I had nned.¡±

    ¡°Make sure to fly carefully,¡± Anastasia showed her concern. ¡°And rest if you feel tired.¡±

    Caspian was sure that he wouldn¡¯t feel tired because he had had long journeys in past as well. Countless times. Still, he felt good when his wife was showing her concern for his safety and well-being. ¡°I will do that,¡± he said with a bright smile on his face.

    Anastasia didn¡¯t have anything more to say. So, she stepped forward and gave Caspian a quick hug. ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± she said as she finally looked at him and waved her hand.

    ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± Caspian¡¯s voice sounded somewhat sad. He held his wife by her arm and pulled her close to hug her once more. He closed his eyes as the fragrant smell ofvender lofted around his nose. He took in his wife¡¯s scent and whispered, ¡°Ugh! I already miss you.¡±

    Anastasia let out a soft chuckle and whispered as she tightened her arms around his neck, ¡°I am ttered. But you should really go now. Bye.¡±

    Caspian hummed for a while and finally broke away from the hug after a great effort. He looked at his wife¡¯s beautiful face before pecking her and turning towards the door. ¡°Have a good night,¡± he said as he walked out of the bedchamber.

    ¡°I will,¡± Anastasia replied even when she wasn¡¯t sure if she would get any sleep at all.

    While walking out, Caspian happened to take a look at the table. He saw an open notebook, ink, and quill lying there.

    ¡®Was she writing a letter to send with me?¡¯ he thought and turned his head to look inside the bedchamber. He wanted to ask Anastasia if she had prepared any letter but she had already entered the bathroom.

    Thus, he took a step toward the table and looked at the notebook to see what she had written there.

    However, before he could thoroughly go through the notebook, Anastasia opened the door and asked, ¡°You are still here?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Caspian pointed at the table and asked, ¡°Were you writing a letter?¡±

    Anastasia suddenly felt a sting in her heart when she remembered that she had left her secret diary on the table. She didn¡¯t want Caspian to find out about its existence. So, she quickly sprinted towards the antechamber and stood in between the table and Caspian.

    She then replied while slightly panting, ¡°No, I was not.¡±

    But when Caspian tried to look at the diary, she tilted her body to cover his view, knowing that he would be able to read the contents of the diary from where he was standing. And she quickly made something up, ¡°Umm¡­ I was just scribbling some nonsense while reading the book. It¡¯s nothing important.¡±

    She then made a hand gesture to shoo Caspian out of the antechamber and said, ¡°You¡¯re alreadyte.¡±

    Caspian pped his palm on his chest and pretended to be hurt by her words. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you are so eager to get rid of me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± Anastasia eximed to defend herself.

    However, Caspian smiled in amusement seeing her getting so nervous. And he calmed her down, ¡°I know, I know. I was just pulling your leg.¡± He then winked at her and turned around.

    Before he exited the room, he lifted his hand to give her a subtle wave and said without facing her, ¡°And I am still waiting for your tea. Why don¡¯t we have it together after I return tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°That sounds lovely.¡±

    He heard Anastasia shouting back at him.

    Caspian smirked as he had just suggested having the tea together after seeing the word ¡®tea¡¯ in Anastasia¡¯s notebook.

    He happened to catch a glimpse of the contents of her notebook before Anastasia obstructed his view. And he caught some words and sentences here and there.

    And he couldn¡¯t help but grin when he recalled thest sentence that his wife had written in her notebook. He softly reiterated that sentence, ¡°I can¡¯t help but miss him even when it hasn¡¯t even been a few hours since Ist saw him.¡±

    Caspian¡¯s lips curled up even more prominently when he muttered to himself, ¡°I thought it was just me. But I am happy to know that she also feels the same way. Ah! I wish I read a few more sentences. I want to know what else she has scribbled there.¡±

 Chapter 349 - 349 Secret Diary

    349 Secret Diary

    Martha stood outside the Queen¡¯s door and took a deep breath. The very familiar part of the castle made her recall the horrible thing that was about to happen at her hand.

    Her hands started to tremble in fear. She wasn¡¯t sure why the Queen was suddenly trusting her with her day-to-day needs even after what she had done in the past.

    ¡®What if I do something again that will put the Queen¡¯s life at risk?¡¯ she couldn¡¯t help but let that idea get into her head. After all, she had almost identally taken the Queen¡¯s life by offering her the tonic that was meant for the injured vampires.

    After that incident, Martha was ready to offer herself to the King to be his meal. However, unlike what she had expected, nobody ever came to reprimand her or punish her.

    The only punishment that she got was directly from the Queen. She wasn¡¯t supposed to directly serve the Queen and that was all.

    The only other change that had been done in the castle after Martha¡¯s mistake was that the kitchens were separated. The kitchen used to prepare the food and drinks of the Queen was separated from the kitchen used by others who needed it. Also, only the Queen¡¯s chef and Ti were allowed to enter the Queen¡¯s kitchen. And that was all.

    After taking multiple deep breaths to calm her nerves, Martha finally gathered the courage to knock on the door.

    ¡°My Queen, it¡¯s me,¡± Martha said in a soft voice from outside the door.

    Martha was afraid that she would get a harsh wee from the Queen. However, the Queen¡¯s voice sounded as sweet and soft as ever.

    .....

    ¡°Oh, Martha. Come in. Come in. I was just waiting for you.¡±

    That kind voice of the Queen further helped Martha to calm her nervousness. She quietly pushed the huge door open.

    As soon as her eyes fell on the Queen who was folding her arms in front of her chest and was standing by the window, Martha gave a deep bow and greeted the Queen. ¡°Good afternoon, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Good afternoon, Martha.¡± Anastasia gave a warm weing smile to her and asked, ¡°It¡¯s been a long while since Ist saw you. How have you been?¡±

    Martha kept on bowing while answering, ¡°I have been doing fine. It¡¯s all because of Your Majesty¡¯s kindness. I will forever be grateful to you for not being harsh towards me even though the mistake I made was punishable by death.¡±

    Anastasia took a deep breath and smiled. She had never acted as harshly to anyone as she had acted in front of Martha. But she was also aware that the punishment would have been rather drastic if she had let Caspian handle it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about what happened in the past and turn over a new leaf,¡± Anastasia suggested as she walked away from the window.

    ¡°You are as kind as always,¡± Marthamented with a sigh of relief.

    Anastasia had been itching to take a hot bath for a while now. So, she instantly ordered her maid-in-waiting. ¡°Martha, why don¡¯t you prepare a bath for me? I would like to freshen up and change my clothes.¡±

    Martha gave a bow and immediately walked out of the room to head for the kitchen and bring a bucket of hot water.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, sat down on the sofa and resumed wondering if Caspian had managed to go through her personal diary while she was in the bathroom or not. That one thought had been eating her since earlier because she had written all sorts of things in that diary.

    And the things that she had written in the diary weren¡¯t a quarter as bad as the mysterious letter that she had kept inside the diary as if it was some bookmark.

    As soon as Caspian left her antechamber earlier, she had hurriedly checked the envelope. She was at least happy to find that the glue that she had used to seal the envelope wasn¡¯t tampered with.

    ¡®I hope Caspian will never read my diary. No¡­ I should make sure not to leave that diary lying around like that.¡¯ Anastasia curled up her knees and hugged them after heaving a deep sigh.

    And she thought to herself again, ¡®Yes. I think I should find a secret ce to hide that diary. Although Caspian doesn¡¯t ever open my drawers, I don¡¯t think it would hurt to find a safe, not-so-obvious ce to hide it.¡¯

    With that thought in her mind, Anastasia sprung up from the sofa and began walking around her chambers, looking at every nook and cranny where she could hide her secrets.

    She looked under the table, inserted her hands in the corners of the sofa, and looked inside her wardrobe and almost everywhere, including the bathroom.

    In the end, tired, she sat down on the sofa. She didn¡¯t find any ce to be that safe and secret. And she even wondered, ¡®Should I just burn everything? By the time he is back, everything will turn into ashes.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, I think that¡¯s a wonderful idea!¡¯ Anastasia eximed in her mind.

    She turned her head to look at the firece that was on her left side. ¡®No one would be suspicious about anything if I say that I was feeling too cold.¡¯ She nodded to herself and convinced herself that it was for the best. ¡®Yes. I shouldn¡¯t be keeping something that could bring huge cracks in our rtionship.¡¯

    Anastasia kept on looking at the firece until her eyes started to burn. A lot of things were running rampant in her mind, like what would have happened if the letter hadn¡¯t arrived to her at all, and what if Caspian had never been a part of her life and such.

    Though their rtionship was formed based on some random letter from an unknown sender, she couldn¡¯t imagine her life without Caspian now.

    And while she was thinking all that, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Caspian would feel after she died.

    Suddenly a stream of tears began to roll down her face.

 Chapter 378 - 378 The Announcement

    378 The Announcement

    ¡°Is it true? Did Beatrice really attack the handmaid of the Queen?¡± one of the maids asked another maid who was standing beside her, her eyes following Vincent and Ti who were getting away from the crowd.

    The other maid shifted her gaze from Vincent and Ti to look at Beatrice who was tied up at the front corner of the courtyard. ¡°I am not sure. But I think I heard someone mentioning in the passing that it was Marce, not Beatrice.¡±

    Another maid closed in and then whispered, ¡°I heard Mr. Percy saying that not only did Marce beat Ti until she couldn¡¯t move, but she also tried to do the same to the Queen.¡±

    ¡°To the Queen?!¡± Both of the other maids eximed in shock.

    ¡°Shhh!¡± the maid who joined themter shushed them and whispered, ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it from me. I will get in trouble if it¡¯s not true.¡±

    Just like those three maids, everyone was talking and specting about what could have happened yesterday night. There were barely a few who were specting that there could be something going on between Lord Vincent and Ti after they swooshed by.

    ¡°Have you ever wondered why Lord Vincent is the one who is always carrying Ti whenever she gets hurt?¡± one of the maids who was standing at the far end of the courtyard asked a servant who served Lord Zenon.

    The servant simply furrowed his brows and replied in a nonchnt manner, ¡°Because she is hurt? And perhaps she can¡¯t walk at the moment?¡±

    ¡°No, I know that.¡± The maid cleared her throat and tried to brew some theory, ¡°But why Lord Vincent? Can¡¯t someone else do that job? Like you or even me for example?¡±

    .....

    The servant shook his head in a disinterested way and replied, ¡°Miss Ti isn¡¯t someone who is receable. She came along with the Queen from Orsenia. Do you think the Queen and even the King would trust her safety with us random servants?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The maid crossed her arms and changed her mind about whatever theory was brewing in her head. ¡°I think that might be the case. She is important to the Queen after all.¡±

    Everyone suddenly stopped gossiping and became attentive when they sensed the King walking towards the courtyard. He was apanied by Zenon, Percy, and a few soldiers. As soon as he stood in front of them, everyone bowed deeply to show their respect.

    Nobody dared to even breathe properly thinking they would irk the King in the wrong way. The matter looked serious if the King presented himself in front of everyone.

    Zenon quickly took the charge of addressing the crowd. ¡°I don¡¯t know if any of you heard what went down yesterday near the well over there. So, I am going to briefly exin what happened.¡±

    Zenon quickly walked everyone through the incident. The courtyard was filled with gasps and shocks every time Zenon mentioned the cruelties done by Marce and Beatrice.

    When he mentioned how Vincent had to take care of Marce right on the spot to protect the Queen, almost everyone was terrified. Nobody dared to question Vincent¡¯s action though. They all understood it was necessary if he was to protect the Queen.

    Zenon also didn¡¯t forget to mention how Ti was going to take about a month topletely heal. It surprised some of the vampires because they had never imagined humans were that fragile that one solid push would do such severe damage.

    Yes, almost all of them had hunted down humans in their early years. However, they had never stuck around to see how long it would take for those humans to heal, who they had attacked but showed their ¡®mercy¡¯ by not killing the prey on some rare asions.

    After Zenon finished briefing everyone about the incident, Caspian finally stepped forward and carried on. ¡°Now you might be wondering why Beatrice is tied up there.¡±

    Caspian turned his head to re down at Beatrice, almost making her heart fail right on the spot. She was very close to losing her calm because she was thinking that her end was very near.

    The King then faced everyone else again and continued, ¡°She not only did attack and threaten a fellow maid, although she only imed that her dead friend had forced her hands intoing along, she also neglected her duty to report the harassment to the guards on duty.¡±

    ¡°Had she stopped her friend herself or reported her friend to the guards, the Queen wouldn¡¯t have had to bear all the insults and her life wouldn¡¯t have been endangered. Her inaction led to a life being lost, one hurt badly, and the Queen only recently regained her consciousness after getting terrified to her core.¡±

    Caspian held his arms behind his back and said in a growling voice, ¡°Marce and Beatrice breached the trust that I put in everyone residing inside this castle. The two of them disrespected the Queen and her handmaid because they thought they could do so just because they are physically weaker than us.¡±

    ¡°So, I need to punish the one that survived even aftermitting such a crime.¡± Caspian took a pause.

    Everyone standing there thought that Beatrice was going to be tortured and killed right in front of them.

    However, Caspian¡¯s announcement shocked them all. ¡°Beatrice is going to serve the rest of her lifetime in the Istion Center.¡±

    That came as a shock to everyone because to the vampires, that was a fate worse than death. Beatrice also looked at the King with a terrified look on her face.

    ¡°No¡­¡± she whispered weakly. ¡°I would rather die¡­¡±

    Everyone looked at her with pity.

    Caspian, however, made it sound as though he was showing Beatrice mercy. ¡°I am allowing her to live so that she can spend the rest of her days reflecting upon what she did.¡±

    The King then gave a nce to the soldiers behind him. They almost immediately reached in front of Beatrice and grabbed a hold of her. And although Beatrice began to plead and shout saying that she would rather give up her life for her crimes, they dragged her away.

    The air around the courtyard was filled with terror.

    Caspian then further announced, ¡°From this day on, if anyone dares toy a finger on the humans residing inside this castle or speak a bad word about them, they will meet the same fate as the maid who just got dragged away.¡±

    ¡°If anyone doesn¡¯t like what I just said, they are free to pack their things and leave. I don¡¯t need anyone here who cannot co-reside with the humans.¡± Caspian immediately turned on his heels and left the courtyard, leaving the remaining things to be handled by the others.

    Percy stepped forward this time. He saw how uptight everyone was even when the King left them already.

    ¡®That¡¯s a good sign,¡¯ he thought to himself and said out loud, ¡°Alright everyone. You heard what His Majesty just said. If anyone feels that they won¡¯t be able to co-reside with the humans, whatever the reason, they are encouraged toe forwards and resign from their designated posts.¡±

    Nobody moved for quite a while.

    So, Percy reassured them, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You will get the severance payment. And you won¡¯t get punished for admitting that you want to leave. You can leave the castle right away after terminating the contract.¡±

    Slowly, a handful of the maids and servants began to step out of the crowd.

 Chapter 382 - 382 Reuniting with the King

    382 Reuniting with the King

    The carriage that Lorenzo rented came to a halt in front of the huge gates of the castle yet again. This time, he got out of the carriage before the guards coulde and ask for his pass or the purpose of the visit to the castle.

    He went to find the guard who had denied him entry to the castle before. Although the guard was extremely busy, Lorenzo managed to get that guard¡¯s attention. ¡°Good afternoon, gentleman. I was here yesterday morning as well. I am Lorenzo.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Good afternoon, Mr. Lorenzo.¡± The guard instantly looked in his direction and gave a bow to him.

    Lorenzo was a little surprised to receive such a greeting because the same guard hadn¡¯t hesitated to harshly send him back from the gate when he came to visit yesterday.

    Lorenzo quickly understood why the guard was being nice to him.

    The guard gave a polite smile to him and said, ¡°I delivered your message to the King yesterday. The King has left a pass for you.¡± He gestured towards a post by the gate and asked Lorenzo, ¡°Pleasee this way.¡±

    Lorenzo gave a slight nod and began following the guard.

    The guard shuffled through a box that was on the table inside that post and quickly grabbed a parchment paper. He then handed over the paper to Lorenzo while saying, ¡°Here¡¯s your pass, Sir.¡±

    Lorenzo grabbed the paper and looked at it. It had his name written on it and also had a royal seal on top of the paper. ¡°Oh, thank you very much! I will forever be indebted to you,¡± he said to the guard, extremely happy that the guard had actually passed his message to the King.

    .....

    The guard looked somewhat embarrassed when he replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, Sir. I was just doing my job.¡±

    ¡°Even then, thank you!¡± Lorenzo said again. He was indeed really grateful towards the guard because he didn¡¯t have to wait several days trying to contact King Everard, while on the side, being constantly pecked by Regulus.

    Lorenzo went back to find his rented carriage and got inside it. ¡°Take me inside the castle,¡± he ordered the coachman.

    ¡°Will we be allowed to go inside?¡± the coachman asked while looking at the carriages that were turning around from the gate itself.

    Lorenzo looked at his pass and said with a proud smile, ¡°Yes. I have the pass to go inside.¡±

    Unlike yesterday, Lorenzo¡¯s carriage wasn¡¯t stopped from going inside the castle. Soon, the coachman stopped the carriage near the main entrance of the castle.

    And after getting out of the carriage, Lorenzo asked the coachman, ¡°Wait for me. I will return in an hour or so.¡± He then made his way toward the King¡¯s study room, hoping that no one would stop him again.

    Unlike how he had expected though, the guards checked his pass at several entrances before he reached the King¡¯s study atst. Even at the door of the study, there were two guards who demanded to see the pass before announcing Lorenzo¡¯s presence to the King.

    ¡°Send him in,¡± came the order from the King.

    As soon as the guards opened the door for Lorenzo, he was greeted by the open arms of Everard.

    ¡°Lorenzo! Where have you been? You suddenly disappeared after my coronation. I was starting to get worried!¡± Everard gave a warm hug to his old acquaintance and then looked at him happily.

    Lorenzo¡¯s heart warmed up upon receiving such a warm wee. He smiled and answered while lightly scratching his jaw, ¡°Er¡­ some things came up. I¡¯m sorry for making you worried, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Everard sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re here now. So, I forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Come, sit.¡± He gestured for Lorenzo to take a seat in front of his desk and jokingly said, ¡°I almost thought about issuing a missing person notice all over the country.¡±

    Lorenzo sat on the edge of the chair and looked down. A sad smile danced on his lips as he mumbled, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been for nothing. I was indeed a missing person.¡±

    ¡°W-What?¡± Everard instantly knitted his brows in worry when he heard Lorenzo. And he immediately asked in a serious tone, ¡°Did something happen? Wait! Did yourte alpha actually do something to you? He was threatening to kill you at my coronation if I remember it correctly.¡±

    Lorenzo didn¡¯t want to gain sympathy right after meeting the King. However, since the conversation was heading in that direction anyway, he looked at the King and began retelling his bad luck.

    ¡°The alpha was really mad at me that day. And he umm¡­¡± Lorenzo cleared his throat and took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°He locked me up and had me battered up.¡±

    ¡°He beat you up?¡± Now that Lorenzo mentioned it, Everard noticed a few light bruises on Lorenzo¡¯s face. ¡°Are those the bruises from when he beat you?¡± he asked, angered.

    Lorenzo nodded and replied, ¡°He had me take some herbs to prevent me from healing.¡± He smiled and lightly touched his cheekbone while saying, ¡°It looked way worse than this just until yesterday. I think the herb¡¯s effect is wearing off. So, I am healing pretty quickly.¡±

    ¡°Your bruises are still visible! Just how much did he beat you?¡± Everard frowned. He waspletely shocked as to how his friend was treated so cruelly. ¡°Then what happened? Tell me everything in detail. And¡­¡± Everard held out his hand and reassuringly patted Lorenzo¡¯s hand before saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide anything from me.¡±

    ¡®But I still need to hide a few things,¡¯ Lorenzo thought to himself in his heart. ¡®I don¡¯t want you to resent me. I am sorry!¡¯

    Lorenzo had given it much thought. About how he had deceived the King by blindly following thete alpha¡¯s order. He even wondered if the King would forgive him if he was to be honest about all the schemes that thete alpha had woven to trap Everard. But he shook off the idea since he had also yed an active role in those schemes.

    Thus, Lorenzo only told the half-truths, which would put him in a favorable spot with the King. He began telling how he was tortured, how he had thought of leaving the Kingdom and he even had left the Kingdom.

    Then he lied again. ¡°But I came back after learning about the death of the alpha. Since he is no more, I don¡¯t have anyone to fear.¡±

    Everard leaned back on his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. His head was hurting after listening to all the things that his friend had to go through at the hands of thete alpha.

    He took a deep breath and looked at Lorenzo with a sad look on his face. ¡°I am sorry you had to go through all that, Lorenzo. I should have looked for you when you suddenly went out of contact but there were certain things¡­ weighing me down.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Your Majesty. I understand that you were busy since¡­ that unexpected assassination happened,¡± Lorenzo replied.

    Everard hummed and went into deep thought for a while. Then he asked Lorenzo again, ¡°But I don¡¯t understand one thing, Lorenzo¡­ Why would he punish you like that? I mean, I always knew that he wasn¡¯t a good man like he always tried to portray. But to punish you so mercilessly! Why? And to what end?¡±

 Chapter 385 - 385 Warmane Mansion

    385 Warmane Mansion

    Back in Sorvando¡¯s capital, the carriage that Vincent and Ti had used to travel arrived in front of a huge mansion that almost looked as grand as the central wing of the Kilerth castle.

    Inside the carriage, Vincent was sitting on the opposite side of Ti, watching her sleep on the seat before him so that she wouldn¡¯t identally fall down or roll over as the carriage was moving.

    Now that the carriage came to a halt, Vincent looked out of the window at his mansion. A tingling sense of warmth danced in his heart as he looked at the ce where he barely came to sleep only.

    The same mansion that always reminded him of his life without actual family members was looking very inviting today. He couldn¡¯t wait to go inside and show Ti around.

    ¡°Ti?¡± Vincent held Ti¡¯s shoulder and gently shook her to wake her up from her sleep. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± he whispered.

    ¡°Oh? We¡¯ve arrived already?¡± Ti mumbled as she opened her eyes and blinked several times as if to shake off the sleep from her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s pretty close to the castle, huh.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is very near.¡± Vincent gave a warm smile to Ti and carefully slid his arms under Ti¡¯s head and her thighs. He gently carried Ti in his arms and said, ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons why you can find me in the castle very early in the morning and tillte at night.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ti smiled. In a way, the short distance between the castle and Lord Vincent¡¯s mansion had saved her life.

    The coachman of the carriage had already opened the door of the carriage for the two of them.

    .....

    Vincent was careful not to leap as he stepped down the carriage. He gave a little nod to the coachman and thanked him. ¡°Thank you for bringing us here, Benjamin. You may return to the castle now.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Milord,¡± the coachman bowed to Vincent and started to prepare for the return.

    When Vincent finally made Ti face his mansion, Ti¡¯s eyes glimmered and her lips slightly parted on their own.

    The dark and grey colors of the stones, the massive pirs that held the mansion, and the architectural design of the mansion could easily make one believe that they were still in the castle. One could even say that this mansion was a child of the Kilerth castle in that sense.

    ¡°You look happy,¡± Vincent saw the corners of Ti¡¯s lips curving up slightly andmented.

    Ti smiled even more widely and looked at Vincent. ¡°I never imagined your mansion to look like this,¡± she said in response.

    ¡°Like what?¡± he asked while heading towards the main entrance of the mansion where his butler, housekeeper, and a few maids and servants had lined up to wee them.

    Before the carriage moved from the castle, Vincent had asked someone to run to his mansion and pass his message to the housekeeper. Everyone looked eager by his arrival.

    Ti looked down at her legs that were hangingfortably on the lord¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Simr to the castle. And I had never imagined that one day the sight of simr buildings would bring me joy.¡±

    Vincent chuckled and tried to make Ti confess something. ¡°Could the reason for your joy be because of the fact that you are going to stay with me for a month?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not what you think, Milord,¡± Ti instantly refuted the ¡®usation¡¯ as civilly as she could.

    And she immediately said what was in her mind, ¡°I was saying that because your mansion reminds me of the castle.¡± Her voice had a hint of sadness when she further added, ¡°Hopefully, while I am here, I won¡¯t miss the castle that much.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you miss the castle, I promise,¡± Vincent smirked as he kept on gazing at Ti¡¯s dumbfounded expression.

    ¡°Wee back, Milord.¡±

    Both of their attention was grabbed by the weing voice of the housekeeper, Penelope, of the mansion.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Vincent acknowledged the housekeeper with a nod, ady who looked like she was in herte fifties.

    Vincent took a nce at Ti and introduced her to Penelope as well as everyone, ¡°This is Ti, the handmaid of the Queen.¡±

    Penelope gave a smile to Ti and politely said, ¡°Wee to the Warmane Mansion, Miss Ti.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Miss.¡± Ti returned the smile and also didn¡¯t forget to make an apology, ¡°I apologize for the intrusion and any inconvenience I might put you all through because of my presence here.¡±

    Vincent immediately frowned at Ti and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize when I practically begged you toe here and also begged the King and the Queen to allow me to bring you here. It¡¯s alright. They all understand your situation.¡±

    To make her feel less awkward, Vincent looked at everyone standing there and asked, ¡°You all are happy to have Ti here, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± Everyone replied no matter how they felt about having Ti there.

    Ti was already feeling a bit embarrassed to face all of the workers of the mansion because of how their Lord was carrying her in his arms. And now, she felt even more embarrassed as everyone¡¯s eyes were on her.

    Still, she smiled at everyone who she could see from the position she was being held and then looked at Vincent. Her eyes looked as though they were asking the Lord to carry her away to her room as soon as he could.

    However, since almost all of the workers of the mansion were present there, Vincent thought of making an announcement to avoid the situation of the castle repeating here as well, although he didn¡¯t believe it would since he deeply trusted the people who worked in his mansion.

    He cleared his throat and said in an authoritative tone, ¡°I should let everyone know right now that Ti will be staying with us until she fully recovers. And during her stay here, I hope all of you will treat her as you would treat the mistress of this mansion.¡±

    ¡°Mistress?¡± Penelope almost busted everyone¡¯s eardrums by eximing loudly.

    Not just Penelope, everyone was shocked by Vincent¡¯sst sentence, including Ti. They were all looking at Vincent with eyes as wide as the saucepan and they were wondering if he was serious.

    It was not that their master never brought any women home before. It was just that he had never said this before. If anything, he would ask them to get rid of the women he brought as soon as the night was over.

    Vincent slightly raised his brows and looked at everyone¡¯s stunned faces. And he asked rather sternly, ¡°What? Did I say something wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not, Milord,¡± Penelope spoke on everyone¡¯s behalf.

    Instantly, her face beamed as if she was embraced by the warmth of the moonlight. She almost squeaked with happiness as sheid her eyes on Ti and said, ¡°We will treat her like the mistress. She shall have everything that she desires.¡±

    And everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

    They were all happy because they were all thinking that atst, their master had found someone who would help him to put his roots in the mansion instead of always rushing to the castle or elsewhere.

    Ti held her breath and turned her head towards Vincent¡¯s chest to hide her face. Her ears as well as her cheeks were burning from embarrassment.

    Atst, Ti asked in a whisper, unable to contain the awkwardness, ¡°Milord, can we go in? I am a bit tired.¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± Vincent looked at Penelope and asked, ¡°Is everything in order?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord. I have prepared the room that you asked for Miss Ti,¡± Penelope replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Vincent began walking down the corridor while at the same time, asking Penelope a few more questions. ¡°Did someone go to get the nurses? And food items and chef for Ti?¡±

    Penelope walked behind Vincent as she answered the Lord.

    ¡°Stephan has sent some of the men to Silver Keep to deliver your message to the prospective nurses and chefs, and also to gather the food items. I am hoping that at least some will answer the call by tonight or tomorrow morning because the reward you mentioned is pretty high considering the type of jobs.¡±

    Ti was surprised that Vincent was going to hire nurses too. ¡°Milord, that was unnecessary,¡± she said while looking at Vincent. ¡°I just need to lie down on the bed. I don¡¯t need a nurse for that.¡±

    Vincent nced at that worried face looking at him and rified his intention behind hiring the nurse. ¡°You never know when you will need an assistance of a human. I thought it would be better to have at least one human by your side in case something happens to you. We don¡¯t know much about your body, so¡­¡±

    Penelope also agreed with Vincent, ¡°Yes, it is wise to have a nurse around. We could have taken proper care of you, Miss, but I am afraid we aren¡¯t much experienced in that regard.¡±

    Ti didn¡¯t protest since she knew they were right.

    Penelope walked ahead of them when they neared the end of the corridor. She opened the door to a huge room for Vincent and Ti to enter.

    Vincent looked inside the room in satisfaction and said to Ti with a smile, ¡°This will be your room during your stay here. Do you like it?¡±

 Chapter 388 - 388 Convincing the Lord

    388 Convincing the Lord

    Regulus finally stopped stepping on Lorenzo¡¯s chest and went to sit down on his armchair.

    The guard grabbed Lorenzo by his cor and made him kneel down in front of the Lord. And as if Lorenzo wasn¡¯t already threatened enough by the Lord himself, the guard also bent down and gave a threat, ¡°Do what Lord Regulus has asked of you or I will be fulfilling the Lord¡¯s wish and dig up your grave right where you are.¡±

    Regulus smirked and mockingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t threaten the poor man too much. He might wet his pant before he says a word.¡±

    The guardughed at the joke and went back to standing in front of the closed door.

    When the room fell silent, Lorenzo finally began to mumble, ¡°Milord, first of all, I would like to rify that I have always been on thete alpha¡¯s side and now, I am naturally on your side. Not on the King¡¯s side. I have never been on the King¡¯s side. He is from a different n. I wouldn¡¯t be able to be on his side even if I wanted to.¡±

    Regulus rested both of his arms on the armrest and clenched his jaw. He didn¡¯t have anything to counter that argument of Lorenzo since it was a well-known fact that all the members of the n were innately loyal to their alpha.

    Lorenzo slowly raised his head to look at Regulus. His chest and his back were still hurting from getting mmed on the ground like some coconut. So, he spoke while suppressing his pain, ¡°And secondly, I am trying to protect you, Milord. Not that woman. Not the King. You.¡±

    ¡°By not being truthful with me?¡± Regulus folded his arms and raised his brows. The death re that he was giving to Lorenzo was telling that the fury inside of him was ready to boil out at any moment.

    Lorenzo had to choose his words very wisely. He knew that right now, denying anything was going to cost his life. So, he was going to weave his words in such a way that Regulus would be bound to believe he meant no harm.

    .....

    ¡°I agree that I tried to conceal the truth even when I was aware of Ruby and her rtionship with the King. But, I had to confirm a few things before I let you in on the whole truth.¡±

    ¡°What kind of things?¡± Regulus asked.

    Lorenzo slightly bowed his head and said, ¡°If the time I spent with the King has taught me anything about him then it is the fact that he is just a sheltered young man who didn¡¯t even know about any of the werewolf business until he turned into one first. He is just a na?ve young man who can be easily manipted by the likes of me.¡±

    Regulus clenched his fist and howled, ¡°Just get to the point already!¡±

    Lorenzo looked at the angry face of Lorenzo and spoke as calmly as he could. ¡°I personally don¡¯t believe that such a man is capable of murdering five men in cold blood. There is no reason to because he doesn¡¯t have any deep-rooted hatred toward ourte alpha. There is no enmity between the n, neither is there any years-old grudge.¡±

    Regulus scoffed at how Lorenzo was openly taking the King¡¯s side. ¡°And when you are bbering such things right to my face, am I to believe that you aren¡¯t biased toward the King?¡±

    ¡°You could say that I am biased towards him.¡± Lorenzo didn¡¯t deny it, rather he embraced it. ¡°But, the truth is that I do trust the close observation that I carried out. He is someone who speaks his mind out, someone who cannot hide anything in his heart ¨C a pretty straightforward person for a King. I can¡­¡±

    Lorenzo paused for a second in hesitation. But he breathed in and said what he was going to say. ¡°And although I haven¡¯t found out where the King was when the murder took ce, I can still vouch on his behalf for the time being.¡±

    ¡°My brother basically kidnapped the only wolf who was directly sired by the King!¡± Regulus mmed his fist on the armrest of the chair and broke it in half.

    He clenched his teeth in anger and shouted at Lorenzo thinking he was the one who was na?ve. ¡°How can you be so sure that the King didn¡¯t murder my brother? I am now almost sure that it was the King who was behind all the murders. He killed them all because that woman was taken away from him.¡±

    Regulus grabbed the broken piece of the armrest and shot it right on Lorenzo¡¯s head. And he screamed again, ¡°Now tell me I am wrong!¡±

    Lorenzo¡¯s heart began trembling greatly when the nail stuck at the end of that shard of wood got pinned onto his head. A hot stream of blood started to trickle down his forehead and down to his eyes.

    Even then, Lorenzo managed to control his voice from trembling or breaking down. He calmly looked into those glowing yellow eyes of Regulus and questioned him.

    ¡°Then why is that woman still here in your captivity? She was right there in the dungeon when the assassination happened, wasn¡¯t she? If it was the King who murdered them all, why didn¡¯t he take Ruby with him? I am sure he had a second to spare before the others broke the door down. Why didn¡¯t he take Ruby with him if he killed them all because of her? Why leave her here to be kept hostage again?¡±

    Regulus couldn¡¯t say a word in reply. He simply frowned and was forced to give his theory another thought.

    And to prove the King¡¯s innocence further, Lorenzo added a few more facts he knew. ¡°Besides, the King is still looking for Ruby. He doesn¡¯t even know that she is here. And I didn¡¯t tell him either. So, it couldn¡¯t have been the King, Milord.¡±

    Lorenzo dared to get up on his feet after openly dering that the Lord was wrong about the King. He straightened the cor of his coat and said, ¡°But still, for the peace of your mind, I am determined to find out the answer to the question that you originally tasked me with.¡±

    He then bowed and said while fixating his gaze on the drops of blood that fell down on the floor, ¡°Allow me to take my leave, Milord. I was nning to visit the King early in the morning so that I could chat for longer.¡±

    Lorenzo didn¡¯t straighten his back just yet. He was afraid that he would see the Lord jumping at him with the intention to kill.

    However, luckily for him, he heard the guard opening the door.

    ¡°Thank you, Milord,¡± he said while still bowing. And he sprinted out of the room at the top of his speed.

    Regulus, on the other hand, rested his head on the backrest of the chair and smiled ear to ear. And he mumbled in an eerie voice, ¡°So, I had the greatest weakness of the King locked inside this mansion the whole time and I didn¡¯t even know? My brother, he really thought ahead of time, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    He cackled as if he had just invented the greatest weapon against the enemy and then mumbled while ring at the ceiling, ¡°Thank you for the woman, brother. I will use her to the fullest.¡±

 Chapter 389 - 389 Special Request

    389 Special Request

    Lorenzo ran at the speed of the wind to get back to his room and then mmed the door shut as soon as he was inside. He rested his back against the door and finally drew a few deep breaths. His ears were alert for a while. He was praying that nobody followed him to his room to finish him off.

    Oh, and how grateful he was when he didn¡¯t hear any footsteps outside.

    ¡°Thank you, Moon Goddess,¡± he whispered while closing his eyes.

    Lorenzo¡¯s knees finally gave up on him and he copsed down to the floor. Until now, he was pretending to be unafraid of Regulus and was pretending to have an actual n regarding the King. And now that he was back to being alone, his whole body started to tremble in fear.

    He wiped the blood that was starting to clot on his eyshes and then whispered under his breath, ¡°Oh! I am still alive! I am alive! Thank the Goddess! I am still breathing¡­¡±

    He slowly lifted his fingers and then touched the wound on his head. It had already healed by now. Hey t on the floor and stared at the nk ceiling. His eyesight instantly became blurry as his eye rims were now filled with tears. After what just happened, he felt like wailing like a baby.

    However, he still managed to calm himself down by thinking that everything would eventually fall back into ce.

    ¡®I just need to prove the innocence of the King. I know he is innocent. And I will be set free. I will leave this ce after solving this case. I can go to another Kingdom again and start my life there. Yes¡­ It¡¯s just a few days more and I will get my freedom again.¡¯

    He gulped a few times and kept on knitting a sweet dream. ¡®After all, what use will Lord Regulus have for a man like me once I solve this case right? Yes, I can go on my own after that. He doesn¡¯t want someone like me to serve him for a lifetime¡­ He wouldn¡¯t want me to serve him for my whole life, right?¡¯

    .....

    After rambling on in his head for quite a while, a sense of relief finally enveloped him and calmed his drumming heart.

    Lorenzo finally got the strength to push himself up from the floor.

    Since his clothes were all dusty and even torn in some ces, he took off all his clothes and searched for another good pair of clothes from the pile again. After grabbing a fresh set of clothes, he didn¡¯t forget to put the pass in the pocket of the new coat.

    He cleaned himself before dressing up and then finally, headed out of the mansion to hire a carriage.

    Just like yesterday, he had no problem getting inside the castle.

    After getting through several security checks, he finally found the King in the garden.

    Everard was sipping his morning tea and eating some light snacks when Lorenzo stood beside him and bowed.

    ¡°Lorenzo! You¡¯re here!¡± Everard was happy by that intrusion since his mind was drifting to all the things that went wrong in his life. The sadness was getting to him when his cheerful friend came along. ¡°Come. Grab a chair and sit down.¡±

    Everard immediately looked behind him and ordered one of the attending maids to bring some more tea and refreshments for Lorenzo.

    He then looked back at Lorenzo and asked, ¡°Howe you are here so early? Not that I mind it. But did you have any¡­ special request perhaps?¡± He took a sip of his tea and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be shy if you have one.¡±

    Lorenzo gave an awkward smile and shook his head. ¡°No, I just came here to chat with you. I thought I could offer you some...¡± He suddenly paused mid-sentence and then looked at Everard as if he wanted to ask something.

    Everard simply smiled and asked casually, ¡°You want something. What is it?¡±

    Lorenzo cleared his throat and pulled the chair closer to Everard. Then he took a deep breath before asking in a serious manner, ¡°Will you forgive me if I told you that I was sent here to extract the information out of you?¡±

    Everardughed it off thinking that Lorenzo was cracking a joke. However, when the expression on Lorenzo¡¯s face remained unchanged, Everard furrowed his brows and set his cup on the table.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t being serious, are you?¡± he asked, still thinking that his friend was just pretending to be serious.

    Lorenzo immediately got up from the chair and then knelt before the King. He lowered his head and then said, ¡°Yes, I am being serious. I came here under the order of Lord Regulus. I am sorry if I broke your trust, Your Majesty. But please hear me out first, will you?¡±

    Everard scoffed as he stared at the man who he thought was his friend. ¡®Was he lying to me the whole time?¡¯ he waspelled to rethink his whole friendship with Lorenzo. His body temperature began to slowly rise along with the anger and distrust in his heart.

    The guards who were standing behind the King were all on alert.

    ¡°Do you want us to escort the man out of the castle?¡± one of the guards asked the King.

    Everard waved his hand and sighed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hear you out then,¡± he grumbled.

    Lorenzo kept on lowering his head when he talked. ¡°I told you before how I was punished by thete alpha. And after his death, amidst all the chaos, I had even managed to run away from this Kingdom. But Lord Regulus¡¯ men caught me and brought me back. The Lord suspected that I was the murderer.¡±

    Everard scoffed and rolled his eyes as the usation sounded too ridiculous. ¡°Yeah, right!¡±

    But when Lorenzo lifted his head and looked at him in the eyes, Everard knitted his brows and asked, ¡°Are you the killer?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Lorenzo eximed. ¡°How could I take down those five strongest men of my n? I couldn¡¯t even think of doing such a thing.¡±

    Everard quietly sighed in relief and asked rather mockingly, ¡°Then what? Now I am under suspicion of your new to-be alpha?¡± He was not expecting Lorenzo to agree with him.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. The new lord doesn¡¯t trust people that much. And he thinks that somehow, you are linked to his brother¡¯s murder.¡±

    ¡°What nonsense is that?¡± Everard shouted at Lorenzo. He was greatly offended that Regulus would even think that way. ¡°Why would I ever kill him?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why he thinks that way. But he forced me into serving him. Just this morning, he beat me up mercilessly because I refused to use my friendship with you to get what he wants.¡± Lorenzo looked pitiable when he asked, ¡°I was hoping that you would help me clear his suspicion, Your Majesty.¡±

    Everard chuckled angrily after hearing that. He wasn¡¯t just offended but also enraged by the whole situation. ¡°The audacity! Who does he think he is that he can send my friend to spy on me? Why doesn¡¯t hee to me and ask me face-to-face if I killed his brother? Is he afraid that I will kill him or what?¡±

    He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. ¡°Pathetic! Only cowards resort to such disgusting tactics.¡± He red at Lorenzo and shouted, ¡°Ask him toe to me if he wishes to question me.¡±

 Chapter 390 - 390 Refocus

    390 Refocus

    ¡°Please, Your Majesty.¡± Lorenzo bowed his head low and pleaded, ¡°Please try to understand. He is not someone to be trifled with. He is¡­ he is dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Then even more reason for me to talk with him directly, don¡¯t you think?¡± Everard ground his teeth. He didn¡¯t like how Lorenzo was treating him as someone who would be scared of some random man.

    Lorenzo raised his head to look Everard in the eyes. He could see the displeased look in the King¡¯s eyes, and he could guess what the King must have been thinking.

    So, he tried to convince the King otherwise, ¡°Your Majesty, I am not saying that he is dangerous for nothing. He is the brother of thete alpha! And if he is anything like thete alpha, which I think he is, then you should be really cautious. Those lots are madmen. They can do anything to anyone. They won¡¯t hesitate at all.¡±

    Jerome had arrived at the garden a little while ago and he was listening to the conversation between Everard and Lorenzo in silence.

    But when he heard Lorenzo saying such things about histe alpha and the new alpha-to-be, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Lorenzo was just spewing some nonsense.

    ¡®Thete alpha seemed like a really wonderful person. Was that not the case? Or is he making things up? But¡­ why would he need to say such things about his own n heads? Does he have some personal agenda?¡¯

    He gestured for one of the King¡¯s guards to follow him and then took him a little further away so that he could question the guard.

    When the two of them were alone, Jerome turned to face the guard and asked, ¡°What is that man saying to the King? Why is he using Lord Romulus and Regulus to be dangerous people?¡±

    .....

    The guard wouldn¡¯t have spilled any private conversation of the King to the others. However, since it was Jerome, he didn¡¯t hesitate to talk. ¡°Sir Lorenzo was warning our King how Lord Regulus sent him to gather information.¡±

    ¡°Information about what?¡± Jerome frowned.

    The guard borated his answer, ¡°From their talks, I am guessing that Lord Regulus suspects that his brother was murdered by our King.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Jerome eximed and clenched his fists in anger. But he controlled himself and asked, ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°And our King was asking Sir Lorenzo to send Regulus to him. But Sir Lorenzo was warning His Majesty how they are dangerous people.¡±

    Jerome was looking confused as well as angry as he kept on thinking about many things.

    The guard looked at the acting Beta and also added, ¡°If it helps¡­ Sir Lorenzo was also saying how he was beaten up this morning. He was saying how Lord Regulus was forcing his hands. And umm¡­ when he arrived here yesterday, his face was even covered with bruises. I don¡¯t think he is lying about anything.¡±

    Jerome gave a nod and then began to walk back toward the garden to hear the rest of the conversation between the King and Lorenzo.

    It looked like Everard had chosen to believe Lorenzo for the time being. He was asking, ¡°Okay, okay. Then tell me how I can help you. What do you want to know?¡±

    Lorenzo finally took a deep breath in relief. He then crossed his palms together and then said in a very polite voice, ¡°Your Majesty, I know that you don¡¯t have anything to do with that assassination. But¡­ just for the sake of calming Lord Regulus, I would like to ask you¡­¡±

    He cleared his throat multiple times because he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask the King what he was going to ask.

    However, even when he didn¡¯t ask directly, Everard could easily tell what Lorenzo wanted to know. ¡°You want to know if, by chance, I had a hand in murdering yourte alpha?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lorenzo grimaced and mumbled, ¡°I know you don¡¯t have a hand in it. I just want to know where you were when the murder happened. I heard that you visited the distillery on the same day. If you could tell me where you went after that then¡­ I would happily take my leave.¡±

    Everard¡¯s face suddenly turned dark after hearing that. He was forced to recall how he had gone to find Graham in his house and how he had killed that man by plucking his heart out.

    ¡°I er¡­¡± he wanted to say where he was when the murder happened but he could barely focus. He looked down at his hand that had taken a life. He clenched his jaw upon recalling that day that still haunted him.

    His breathing suddenly started to get heavier because he could still feel the texture of the beating heart in his palm. And he could still feel the warm blood that gushed all over his palm when he pulled that heart out of that man¡¯s chest.

    His hand began to tremble so noticeably that he had to force himself to grab the armrest of the chair.

    Fearing that Lorenzo would assume something worse after seeing the condition of the King, Jerome stepped into the scene and then answered on behalf of the King. ¡°His Majesty had gone for fresh air that evening. He was taking a stroll through the forest that lies on the outskirts of the town.¡±

    Lorenzo looked confused as to why Jerome just spoke on behalf of the King. And he was also confused by how the King was reacting and how he was even shaking.

    Jerome looked at that confused expression on Lorenzo¡¯s face and then further spoke as if to support what he had just said, ¡°I was following His Majesty closely. So, Mr. Lorenzo, I hope you got your answer. His Majesty doesn¡¯t have a hand in the misfortune that befell yourte alpha. And I hope that you will convince the new Lord regarding the same.¡±

    Lorenzo forced a smile on his face and then bowed to Jerome. ¡°Thank you, Lord Jerome. I have been trying to convince Lord Regulus that he is mistaken if he thinks our King was the culprit. And now that I know where he was, I will try to make him refocus his energy on the others who might be the actual killers instead of fixating on His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you better do that Mr. Lorenzo.¡± Jerome smiled back at the young man and also said, ¡°Our King already has much bigger conflicts to solve. I don¡¯t think it is wise for you to take His Majesty¡¯s time either.¡±

    He looked at the King and said as if he was trying to warn the King too, ¡°His Majesty needs to focus his time on solving the actual problems at hand rather than entertaining you for hours.¡±

    Lorenzo felt a bit embarrassed when he was called out like that. But he also couldn¡¯t deny that he indeed was taking a bit too much time from the most important man in the Kingdom just so he could solve his own problems.

    He quickly got up on his feet and then bowed his head in front of the King. ¡°I would like to apologize for taking too much of your time, Your Majesty. I am also grateful for it since you answered my question even after knowing that I was forced to do so by Lord Regulus.¡±

    Everard finally broke out of his trance when Jerome gave a gentle tap on his shoulder. ¡°Hmm?¡± He saw Lorenzo bowing in front of him and asked, ¡°You are leaving?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Lorenzo straightened his back and further said, ¡°Also¡­ I hope that you will keep our secret¡­ How I revealed things about Lord Regulus.¡±

 Chapter 391 Approaching Ceremony

    Chapter 391 Approaching Ceremony

    When Lorenzo walked away and disappeared from the garden, Everard finally focused his attention on Jerome. ¡°Did youe here to eavesdrop on me and Lorenzo or did you have something more to say to me?¡± he asked rather harshly.

    ¡°It was a mere coincidence, Your Majesty.¡± Jerome didn¡¯t take the King¡¯s tone to heart because he was used to Everard¡¯s mood swings by now. He gave a gentle bow to the King and finally stated the purpose of his visit. ¡°I came here to remind you that all the preparations for the full moon have beenpleted.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everard took a deep breath in and looked in the distance. A subtle hint of sadness loomed over his face because he began missing his father.

    Jerome watched the expression on Everard¡¯s face turn sour. But he still said what he had to. ¡°Everyone from our n will gather at the Great Hall for the ceremony. And since no one objected or challenged your candidacy to the position of the alpha, the elders are supporting my candidacy as your beta.¡±

    Everard looked at Jerome and gave a nod. ¡°I hope you will be my beta then. I can¡¯t think of anyone else who will devote themselves to me as you do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ttered, Your Majesty,¡± Jerome smiled slightly.

    However, his heart was also very heavy because he was also missing thete alpha to whom he had promised to dedicate his life to. But he quickly sighed and thought to himself, ¡®But in a way, I will still be working for him. He asked me to look after his son.¡¯

    He slowly started to recall thest moments of thete alpha. It still pained him when the image of thete alpha shed before his eyes. In his opinion, a great Alpha and a great King like him never deserved to leave the Earth as he did.

    ¡®If only I could ease his pain when he passed away¡­¡¯

    Jerome suddenly got pulled back to the present when he heard Everard asking him a question.

    ¡°Do you think I will ever be half as good as my father? When ites to the roles as both the King and the Alpha?¡±

    Jerome smiled and replied, ¡°I sure hope you will. To be honest, I wish for you to surpass your father.¡±

    Everard scoffed and shook his head. He looked down and mumbled, ¡°I could never surpass him. But at the very least, I hope I will be able to follow the path that he has paved for me.¡±

    ¡°And I will help you in every way I can.¡± Jerome bowed to the King and said, ¡°I think you should get ready for the day, Your Majesty. I will be in my workroom if you need me.¡±

    After taking his leave, Jerome went straight to his workroom and sat down on his chair. Since the full moon was right at the door, he had a lot of work to do.

    He looked at the list of things that he was supposed to do and mumbled to himself, ¡°Umm¡­ let¡¯s see. I¡¯ve already sent an invitation to all the elders. The venue is being handled by our men. The statue of the goddess has been polished. Sacrifices have been prepared. And¡­¡±

    Jerome took a deep breath in and looked in front of him. There was a huge frame that was kept facing the wall. And he mumbled, ¡°And the portrait of thete alpha has been copied¡­¡±

    He kept on staring at the back of the painting. And his mind began to wander to the past again. He couldn¡¯t help but keep on thinking about how thete alpha was during hisst few days and what was happening to him ¨C his fading vision and hearing, his heavy breathing, his thin arms and legs, his reduced temperature, and his pale face.

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t even able to digest the food properly.¡± Jerome held his head with both of his hands and kept on mumbling, ¡°Even his lips had started to turn blue because he was throwing up so much!¡±

    ¡°Does losing one¡¯s partner make us go through such extremities?¡± He was forced to think about that because he had never heard of any wolf showing such symptoms before dying. They normally passed on rather easily.

    A sudden urge to know more about this rose in his heart. ¡°I think I should ask some of the men to go around and gather information about the werewolves who lost their partner early. If they all also went through the same thing then it¡¯s nothing. But if they did not then¡­¡±

    Jerome stopped himself from thinking any further but deep down in his heart, the situation surrounding the death of thete King was still poking him like a thorn.

    Without any further dy, he went outside to find the werewolves fit for the task in his mind.

    On the other side of the castle, Everard was changing into a suitable outfit for work when someone knocked on the door.

    A maid went to open the door and check. Soon, she came inside while being followed by a clerk.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Everard asked while looking at the clerk through the reflection in the mirror.

    The clerk bowed his head in front of the King and answered while presenting the envelope that he was holding, ¡°Your Majesty, a letter from Orsenia has arrived.¡±

    Everard had asked the administrative staff who worked under him to bring the letters to him immediately if they were from Orsenia or Sorvando.

    Now that the letter was finally here, Everard turned around and held out his hand. ¡°It¡¯s from Alex!¡± he mumbled to himself in a restless manner. And as soon as he grabbed the letter, he tore off the envelope and began to read it.

    After reading the letter, he looked somewhat distressed. ¡®Alex finally invited me to Orsenia to have a meeting. But¡­ the date he chose coincides with the day of the full moon! If I go there, I won¡¯t be able to make it back to the ceremony in time¡­¡¯

 Chapter 394 - 394 To the Town

    394 To the Town

    On the other side of the mansion, Regulus stretched his arms and finally got up from his chair. Though the fight was still going on, he was done watching it since he had already drawn his satisfaction from somewhere else.

    ¡°Are we going somewhere, Milord?¡± one of his men asked when they saw him slowly walking towards the gate.

    Regulus had a broad smile of victory on his face. He held his arms behind his back and replied, ¡°Now that the King¡¯s prize is secured in the dungeon, I think I should go to the town and order something nice to wear. I will be meeting him soon, after all.¡±

    ¡°Shall we join you?¡± that man asked again.

    Regulus, however, waved his hand and then said, ¡°No, I wish to go alone.¡±

    But he did order his men, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and talk with Jake? Ask him if all the preparations necessary for the full moon have been finished. Also¡­ ask if our ceremony can be finished before the Crestfire n¡¯s ceremony. I wish to attend their ceremony and see who they are going to choose as their alpha.¡±

    ¡°I heard that they are going to choose King Everard,¡± one of the men answered proudly.

    However, Regulus knitted his brows in anger and said in a cold tone, ¡°Did I demand an answer? Just see to it that our ceremony will be over soon.¡±

    All of his men bowed their heads in fear and agreed.

    .....

    Regulus rolled his eyes at his men and turned around. Just after taking a few steps though, he stopped again and looked over his shoulder. When he saw who he was looking for, he asked, ¡°Cillian. Let¡¯s see if you can catch up with me.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Cillian looked surprised when Regulus called him.

    ¡°Yes. You.¡± Regulus faced ahead and shouted before rushing towards the gate, ¡°Try to keep up.¡±

    Cillian looked at the others who were looking at him with eyes full of jealousy. He quickly looked at the gate and then mumbled while panicking, ¡°But I am not a werewolf yet¡­¡±

    Regulus was already too far away to hear him.

    And someone shouted at Cillian, ¡°Even so, you better start running if you don¡¯t want His Lordship to get cross at you.¡±

    Cillian gulped anxiously and took the advice. He instantly began to run towards the gate, but at a speed that was not anywhere near that of the werewolf speed.

    The others beganughing watching Cillian run like a man.

    ¡°Ah! Poor kid is never going to catch up with Lord Regulus,¡± someonemented whileughing and tearing up.

    Cillian clenched his jaw when he heard thatment and promised in his heart. ¡®I am going to turn this full moon, no doubt. And I am going to show you all how fast I will run.¡¯

    ¡ª

    Regulus reached the nearby town in no time. When he stopped and looked behind to see if Cillian was near, he didn¡¯t see the boy anywhere near.

    ¡°I guess he is not that good a runner,¡± he mumbled to himself while breathing slightly heavily. He was still unaware that Cillian hadn¡¯t yetpletely turned into a werewolf and wasn¡¯t even a member of the Atkinson n yet, or any other n for that matter.

    ¡°Nevermind that kid.¡± He turned to face the town and then read a small signboard with the town¡¯s name written on it. ¡°Silkbay?¡± he wrinkled his nose. ¡°What kind of name is that? Is the town covered with silk or something?¡± He snorted and then began walking down the road rather slowly.

    Since he had never been to this particr town before, he began observing all kinds of shops and people there. The town was bustling with people since the afternoon was particrly warmer.

    After walking for a while and skipping a few tailor shops, Regulus decided to enter a tailor shop that looked fancier than the rest of the others he hade across with.

    ¡°How may I help you this fine afternoon, Milord?¡± the tailor immediately came to greet Regulus, not because he recognized who he was but because he recognized the expensive material that Regulus¡¯ clothes were made from.

    Regulus was exuding the aura of a nobleman, which he was.

    He smiled at the tailor and expressed his desire to order a suit while his eyes were looking around at the materials in the shop, ¡°I wish to make a very nice suit to wear in front of the King.¡±

    Although Regulus could have easily asked Jake to line up the best tailors from the country in the mansion, he wanted toe down to the town himself. He wished to escape from all the things that were upying his mind even if it was for a brief hour.

    ¡°Oh!¡± The tailor smiled ear to ear thinking that he had finally caught some rich man in the. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I have all the materials that gentlemen are wearing these days. Please take a seat.¡±

    After making Regulus sit down, the tailor instantly pulled out the sample pieces of clothes for Regulus to choose from.

    ¡°This is imported all the way from Italy¡­ And this is from Orsenia. This one is from the local market,¡± the tailor was briefing as he flipped through the samples.

    Regulus found the one from Italy to be of premium quality. The material was soft to the touch and the ck color also looked regal. ¡°I like this one,¡± he said while pointing out the material.

    After the tailor finished taking the measurements, Regulus paid the tailor in advance and said, ¡°Have it delivered to the Atkinson Mansion by tomorrow night.¡±

    ¡°Atkinson mansion?¡± The tailor held his breath, finally realizing how important the person in front of him was. He immediately bowed his head low and promised, ¡°I will have it delivered as soon as I finish it, Milord.¡±

    ¡°You better.¡± Regulus smiled and stepped out of the shop.

    He further explored the town for some more time. And when he reached the edge of the town, he sighed and finally decided to go back to the mansion. Just after taking a few steps back, he began hearing all the men shouting to get his attention.

    ¡°Carriage? Do you need a carriage ride, sir?¡±

 Chapter 395 - 395 Carriage Ride

    395 Carriage Ride

    Regulus¡¯ attention was sessfully captured by all the coachmen who were shouting for his attention. He turned his head to see several carriages waiting in line for the travelers to rent them for their journey.

    Although he didn¡¯t need to rent a carriage to get back to the mansion, Regulus felt like using one because he would get to enjoy some more time alone before he got dragged back into the drama in the mansion.

    Regulus walked slowly while examining the carriages, the horses, as well as the coachmen so that he could decide which carriage to take. And one particr carriage caught his attention, or to be more precise, one particr coachman.

    ¡®Why isn¡¯t he calling me like everyone else?¡¯ Regulus thought to himself. ¡®Is he already booked by someone else or he just doesn¡¯t care if he gets the customers or not?¡¯

    ¡®Well, let¡¯s ask him.¡¯ Regulus quickly made his way towards that particr coachman. And when he was near, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are you not looking for any business today?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am, Sir,¡± that coachman replied while giving a subtle bow to Regulus.

    Regulus looked inside the window of the carriage that was parked right beside him. He didn¡¯t see anyone inside so he asked, ¡°Then why weren¡¯t you calling me like everyone else? Isn¡¯t that bad for your business?¡±

    ¡°And yet here you are, Sir,¡± the coachman replied politely in response. ¡°People who don¡¯t like the coachmen shouting at them for their attention approach me. You can call it my business tactic.¡±

    Regulus smiled because he was quite impressed. ¡°That¡¯s pretty smart. You were trying to differentiate yourself from the others huh? And it worked like a charm on someone like me.¡±

    .....

    ¡°Indeed, Sir.¡± The coachmen then swiftly opened the door of his carriage for Regulus and then gestured at him to get inside the carriage. ¡°Where may I take you, Sir?¡±

    Regulus grabbed the handle at the door and then asked, ¡°Have you ever heard of the Atkinson Mansion?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have.¡± The coachman gave a wide smile, and said somewhat proudly, ¡°I gave a ride to someone just about a week ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Really?¡± Regulus had already ced his foot on the carriage to get inside. However, he suddenly ced his foot back on the ground and then turned to properly face that coachman.

    ¡°And who was that, if I may ask?¡± He was curious to know since everyone who had business in the mansion had their own carriages. And those who didn¡¯t own the carriages were good at running.

    The proud smile from that coachman¡¯s face suddenly faded away when Regulus asked him that question. He widened his eyes a little as if he was horrified to have spilled the information.

    Then he awkwardly waved his hand and answered, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to say that I gave a ride to him to the Atkinson Mansion. I just left him close by. I was simply trying to say that I know where the Atkinson Mansion is since I had been there¡­ near the mansion just thisst week I think.¡±

    Regulus was now even surer that something about that particr traveler was off. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and then asked again, this time in a cold manner, ¡°I wish to know who that man was anyway. Will you tell me or should I¡­ make you tell me?¡±

    The coachman suddenly began to sweat even though it was winter.

    Not just that, Regulus also noticed how that coachman¡¯s heartbeat suddenly began to escte, that too at a faster rate.

    When the coachman saw that cold re that Regulus was giving him, he scratched his head andughed nervously. Then he answered, ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t know who that man was. I don¡¯t ask their names, and they don¡¯t tell me theirs. I just happened to remember the destination, that¡¯s all.¡±

    The coachman then cleared his throat and then gestured inside the carriage again. ¡°Why don¡¯t you climb inside? I will take you to your destination in no time.¡±

    Regulus wanted to insist that the coachman answered him. However, he refrained from it since he could feel the eyes and ears focused on the two of them.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Regulus forced a smile and then got inside the carriage.

    The coachman let out a quiet sigh of relief and quickly shut the door of the carriage. He then got on his own seat and grabbed the reins of the horses. And soon enough, the carriage was making its way down the road.

    Inside the carriage, Regulus was clenching his jaw and fidgeting his hands and legs nonstop. He was getting impatient by the second because he had a hunch that the traveler who the coachman dropped near the mansion could have something to do with his brother¡¯s assassination.

    He kept on ncing out of the window every now and then to see if they were out of the Silkbay town yet.

    ¡®I shall stop the carriage in the middle of nowhere and then threaten him to spill the name. I am sure he knows who that man was. It looked like the coachman was deliberately hiding that man¡¯s identity earlier.¡¯

    Soon, Regulus noticed the board that thanked the visitors. The carriage was out of town.

    Regulus had to force himself to stay quiet for a little while longer. And when he was sure that the carriage was out of sight from the town, he loudly banged on the carriage door and shouted, ¡°Stop the carriage.¡±

    The carriage came to a halt within seconds.

    ¡°Is there a problem, Sir?¡± the coachman asked from outside, without getting down from his seat.

    And before he knew it, something came at him like a dark storm and pushed him down to the ground.

    ¡°Argh!¡± he screamed in agony because he hit his back hard. And before he could make sense of what was happening to him, he saw Regulus straddling and hovering over him while grabbing him by his cor.

    ¡°S-Sir?¡± He looked confused as well as scared.

    Regulus shed a smile very innocently and then asked in a chilling tone, ¡°You will tell me who that man was.¡±

 Chapter 396 The Identity

    Chapter 396 The Identity

    ¡°That man?¡± the coachman asked while breathing raggedly. He was so afraid that he would be beaten to a pulp by the man hovering over him that his mind had stopped functioning properly and he couldn¡¯t think to who Regulus was referring.

    Regulus tightened his clutch on that coachman¡¯s cor and lifted him slightly. He looked that man dead in the eyes and repeated, ¡°The man whom you dropped near the Atkinson Mansion.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Er¡­¡± the coachman gulped dryly and seemed to be in a dilemma.

    He was recalling back to the time when the regal-looking man had given him a pouch full of gold coins and had asked him not to reveal his travel to anyone. He somewhat felt indebted to keep the secret safe with him because he had epted arge sum of money from that man.

    ¡®Would he be in trouble if I revealed who he was?¡¯ He looked at Regulus who was still giving him a death re and wondered, ¡®Why is this man desperate to know who I had given a ride to anyway?¡¯

    While the coachman was thinking about a lot of things, Regulus was running out of patience. So, he suddenly mmed the coachman¡¯s head on the rocky ground and grabbed him by his neck.

    When the coachman began coughing and gasping for air, Regulus looked down at that man with his glowing yellow eyes and asked in a low growl, ¡°Do you remember the name yet? Or should I do something more to jog your memory?¡±

    The coachman was now terrified to his core because he could clearly see those yellow eyes that were staring right into his soul. And not just that, he was being strangled by that dangerous man in the middle of nowhere. No one woulde to his rescue. Hell, no one would even find him for days if he was killed there.

    He grabbed and pulled Regulus¡¯ palm with all his might so that he would be able to breathe a little. And when he sessfully loosened the grip on his neck to some extent, he drew in a sharp breath and spoke in a broken whisper, ¡°The King. He was the King.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Regulus felt something cold spreading from his chest to his whole body. He took a deep breath and stopped strangling that poor man.

    He also straightened his back and quickly took a few steps away from the man lying beneath him. He pushed his hair away from his face using both of his hands and then turned his back on the coachman.

    "The King..." he mumbled softly.

    He fisted on his hips and then finally, he beganughing out loud as if he had just heard something very pleasing.

    Regulus was indeed pleased by the answer of the coachman because until now, he was still doubtful if the King had any hand in the assassination that took ce in the dungeon of the Atkinson Mansion. But now, he had a witness to support his case. He had finally cracked the case.

    However, to still be fully sure, Regulus controlled his celebratoryugh and then turned around to face that coachman again.

    The coachman was sitting upright while massaging his neck and coughing every now and then.

    Regulus stood in front of him again and then asked, ¡°Do you recall the exact day that the King traveled in your carriage? And do you remember the time? At least a rough estimate of time?¡±

    The coachman didn¡¯t want Regulus toe at him again and strangle him to death. So, he quickly raised his palm in stop motion and then shouted, ¡°Please let me think properly. Don¡¯t hurt me. I will speak.¡±

    Regulus didn¡¯t move an inch. He simply gave a nod and then waited for the man to speak on his own.

    The coachman closed his eyes and covered his face with his palms. He was racking his brain in order to remember what was asked of him. But he was under so much duress that he couldn¡¯t recall the exact date at all.

    However, something suddenly struck his mind. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Regulus. And he mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t remember the exact date but I remember that it was around dusk. And¡­ I don¡¯t know if it is of any relevance to you or not but¡­ that day while I was heading towards the town, the¡­¡±

    He looked Regulus in the eyes and then continued after heaving a deep breath, ¡°I don¡¯t know if they were people like you or if they were actual wolves. But I heard the wolves howling so loudly that it almost felt like¡­¡±

    ¡°Felt like they were mourning someone¡¯s death.¡± Regulus looked somewhat sad, which was very unlike him.

    ¡°Yes!¡± the coachman eximed. He couldn¡¯t have described it better.

    Regulus clenched his jaw and asked the coachman onest time, ¡°Are you sure that it was the King? Because if you are lying right now, you are going to be responsible for a lot of bad things that are going to happen in the future.¡±

    The coachman didn¡¯t know what Regulus meant by that but he nodded his head and agreed. ¡°Yes, Sir. It was the King himself. He gave me a pouch of gold coins and said that he had escaped from the castle to get some fresh air.¡±

    ¡°Fresh air, huh!¡± Regulus scoffed and then whispered under his breath, ¡°That sounds like him. He does need a lot of fresh air, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    He nced at the coachman again and then said, ¡°Don¡¯t leave the town. I might need you as a witness someday. And when that timees, I wille and find you.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes at the dumbfounded coachman and then asked him in a threatening tone, ¡°Do you understand me? If you dare to leave this town then I will hunt you down no matter where you go.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Sir.¡± The coachman looked down in fear.

    Regulus put his hand inside his pocket and then tossed a few golden coins at the coachman. ¡°I will go on my own from here. And don¡¯t you dare forget what I just said to you.¡±

    ¡°O-Of course, Sir. I won¡¯t forget.¡± The coachman kept on hanging his head low and didn¡¯t move at all as if he was a statue. He was frozen after hearing the threat from Regulus. He knew in his bones that this man was capable of doing what he just said.

    ¡°All right then.¡± Regulus turned to face in the direction of the mansion and in no time he disappeared from there while leaving a small dust storm behind.

    The coachman coughed and waved his hand in front of his face. When the dust settled a little, he looked at the gold coins that were scattered around his feet.

    His heart began to drum again. And it began beating so fast that his chest hurt, and he was even having difficulty breathing properly. He grabbed his chest and began panting and sweating like a pig. It looked like he was going to get a heart attack and die right there.

    It took a great deal of effort for him to collect hisposure.

    When he finally came out of his daze, he wiped the sweat from his face and mumbled to himself, ¡°I better get out of this town as soon as possible. No¡­ I better leave Xanmar at once. I can tell that something really bad will happen to me and my family if I don¡¯t leave. I don¡¯t want toe in between that man and the King. I will be dead. And so will my family.¡±

 Chapter 397 Tomorrow

    Chapter 397 Tomorrow

    ¡°You called me, Your Majesty?¡± Jerome asked Everard as soon as he entered Everard¡¯s study.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Everard was going through some written details for the uing ceremony when Jerome entered the room. He lifted his head from the notes on the desk in front of him and then looked at Jerome.

    Then he said in a somewhat distraught tone, ¡°I am in trouble, Jerome. And I seek your advice.¡±

    ¡°Trouble?¡± Jerome immediately stood in front of the desk and asked with a deep worry line between his brows, ¡°What kind of trouble?¡±

    Everard sighed and pulled out the letter that he had received from Orsenia in the morning. He handed the letter to Jerome to see and then said, ¡°Alex wants to meet me the day after tomorrow.¡±

    Jerome frowned when his eyes fell on the date and time that the Crown Prince wanted to have the meeting on. He looked at the King and then said in a protesting manner, ¡°But you have to attend the ceremony on that day. You cannot leave for the meeting.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Everard leaned back on his chair and then asked Jerome, ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Jerome slightly shrugged and then replied in a nonchnt way, ¡°You obviously send a letter stating how you already have some pre-engagement that very day and then give an alternative date and time for the meeting.¡±

    Everard shook his head because that wasn¡¯t what he wished to hear. ¡°Don¡¯t you see the ce where the meeting is to be held? That town is near the border of Orsenia. And if I send a letter now, it won¡¯t reach him in time, meaning he will be on the journey expecting me to arrive at the location.¡±

    Jerome looked at the letter in his hand again. He pursed his lips and slightly shook his head when he realized that Everard was right. And he expressed his dissatisfaction, ¡°Why would the Crown Prince decide the ce and time of the meeting without consulting with you first?¡±

    Everard looked down at his hands and mumbled, ¡°I mean¡­ He is afraid of me. Isn¡¯t that it? He doesn¡¯t want to give me time to prepare something to ¡®ambush him again¡¯, I guess.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t you! He already knows that!¡± Jerome threw the letter back on the desk and then fisted on his hips. ¡°You sent the apology letter already. So, what¡¯s there to worry about? You are his friend! Why does he need to be wary of you? It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±

    Everard softly chuckled upon seeing Jerome getting agitated on his behalf. ¡°Can¡¯t me him though. I did break his trust in a way. I wasn¡¯t open with him.¡±

    Jerome disagreed. ¡°You protected him by doing that. He would have been dead by now if you had been open to him and told him all of your secrets.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know that¡­¡± Everard knitted his brows and added, ¡°¡­I guess.¡± He wondered if Caspian told Alexander about the old agreement between the vampires and werewolves. But soon he dismissed that idea.

    ¡®Why would that vampire say anything that will put me in a good light though? I won¡¯t be surprised if he has already filled Alex¡¯s head with some nonsense regarding our kind.¡¯

    Everard looked at Jerome and then said, ¡°I need to meet Alex as soon as possible. The more I dy meeting him, the more he will hate me or be scared of me. I don¡¯t know what kind of perception he has of me after hearing things from those vampires. I am sure it¡¯s not good.¡±

    Jerome couldn¡¯t agree more. ¡°You are right. Why don¡¯t I send the letter to someone who will be faster and will also be discreet? You two can meet at the same location as suggested by the Crown Prince but one day after the original meeting n.¡±

    Everard shook his head and replied, ¡°No. I was thinking tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± Jerome knitted his brows and instantly disagreed. ¡°It¡¯s impossible! I am guessing you are thinking about going to the capital of Orsenia, which takes two days by carriage. And¨C¡±

    Everard cut Jerome in the middle and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be going via carriages. I can just¡­¡± He shrugged and then said, ¡°Run.¡±

    ¡°Bad idea!¡± Jerome eximed immediately. He mmed his palms on the desk and leaned towards the King. And he said while directly staring into the King¡¯s eyes, ¡°You are the King. You cannot go anywhere without your guards. And running in a pack will definitely attract attention.¡±

    ¡°We will go in the night then. And we will return tomorrow night.¡± Everard spoke like a child who was trying to convince the parents to let them go and y outside.

    However, Jerome was pretty adamant. It was his job to stop Everard from doing anything foolish. ¡°What if someone attacks you? Your guards might not be enough if another n decides to try something foolish.¡±

    ¡°Nobody will know!¡± Everard also leaned forward and shouted to make his point, ¡°We all can disguise ourselves asmoners. Not everyone knows what I look like.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. But at least one person might know what you look like. And even if you disguise yourself, you cannot hide your smell. One tracker will be enough to let others know that it''s you.¡± Jerome was now clenching his teeth as if he wanted to p the stupid child.

    Everard leaned back as if he was retreating but still, he didn¡¯t stop mumbling, ¡°Then I can empty a bottle of perfume on me. Just saying. You know. It¡¯s not impossible if you really think about it. And I promise that I will be back on the day of the ceremony.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that!¡± Jerome mmed his fists on the table again and grimaced as though he was in physical pain. ¡°You cannot just go to someone else¡¯s Kingdom unannounced when you are a King! What if the King of Orsenia thinks of you as a threat andunches an attack on you?¡±

    ¡°I know that Alex won¡¯t allow that to happen,¡± Everard replied, somewhat unsure of what he just said.

    ¡°Do you?¡± Jerome straightened his back and folded his arms in front of his chest. And he said in a reprimanding tone, ¡°Now don¡¯t think about doing something stupid. Just stay put in the castle until the ceremony. I will send a letter to Orsenia on your behalf.¡±

    Everard suddenly sprung up on his feet and said in a low growl, ¡°No, you will not.¡±

 Chapter 398 Laying out the Plan

    Chapter 398 Laying out the n

    ¡°I am the King and you should obey me!¡± Everard growled at Jerome while giving him a piercing re.

    Jerome simply scoffed, unaffected by that weak threat from the King, and growled back, ¡°To obey you or not is my decision. And let me be clear about one thing. I won¡¯t obey the King when I know that he is about to make a stupid decision and is possibly getting himself in deep trouble.¡±

    Everard instantly drooped his shoulders and then said in a lousy manner, ¡°I just want to meet my friend and clear his doubts so that we can keep on being friends! Why don¡¯t you understand me?¡±

    ¡°I do. I do understand you.¡± Jerome took a deep breath to calm the anger that was rising in his chest and then said, ¡°But you should also try to understand how I feel. What will I say to everyone if something happens to you on this journey?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t die, if that¡¯s what you mean.¡± Everard frowned and then sat back on his chair.

    Jerome sighed when all he could see in front of him was a young man behaving like an angry child. And for a split second, he wanted to cheer that angry child by agreeing to his request. ¡®But he cannot leave!¡¯ he eximed to himself in his head.

    He cleared his throat and then gave another alternative as a peace offering, ¡°What if I mention how important the ceremony is and invite the Crown Prince to attend the ceremony?¡±

    Everard red at Jerome through his brows and asked calmly, ¡°Why do you think the location for the meeting is in his own Kingdom? He doesn¡¯t trust anyone in my Kingdom.¡± He scoffed to himself and mumbled, ¡°How could he trust anyone when he was nearly killed?¡±

    Jerome quietly walked towards the window and then stared outside. He was silent for quite a long time.

    Everard also didn¡¯t speak a word, fearing that he would only distract Jerome from whatever he was thinking.

    After some time, Jerome finally turned around to look at the King. ¡°Since you are insisting to go¡­¡± He heaved a deep sigh and then suggested his own n, ¡°How about having a single guard by your side?¡±

    ¡°I am listening.¡± Everard ced his elbows on the desk and entangled his palms to rest his chin on.

    Jerome came and stood in front of the desk again and then continued speaking, ¡°I will send out all of your guards right now. Each of them will be allocated a certain part of the whole path.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Everard looked very confused.

    Jerome exined what he was thinking. ¡°They will be responsible for checking for any threats and securing the safest route. And that particr guard will be responsible for taking you from one point to another. And then from there, another one of your guards will apany you to the next point.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I will be apanied by one guard at a time¡­¡± Everard nodded.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jerome also gave a nod andpleted what he was saying. ¡°And the process will repeat until you reach the capital of Orsenia. If we do that, the disguise might actually work since you won¡¯t be traveling in a pack. Hopefully, you won¡¯t attract any attention to yourself with that¡­ bottle of perfume of yours.¡±

    ¡°You are a genius, Jerome!¡± Everard smiled ear to ear and got up from his chair. He then spread his arms as if he was going to give a hug to Jerome.

    Jerome knitted his brows together in confusion and sort of closed his shoulders.

    Everardughed at that reaction and instead of giving Jerome a hug, he patted Jerome on the shoulders to show his appreciation. ¡°Thank you for understanding me, Jerome.¡± He smiled again and said politely, ¡°See, no one can understand me better than you. I really hope to see you as my Beta.¡±

    The corners of Jerome¡¯s lips curved up slightly upon hearing that. He gave a gentle bow to the King and said in a sarcastic manner, ¡°And I hope to see you in the ceremony. I can¡¯t be the Beta without my Alpha, you know.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Everard was looking as excited as a puppy when he said, ¡°I am so looking forward to this full moon. So, there¡¯s no way I will miss the ceremony.¡±

    Jerome¡¯s smile turned somewhat sad when he saw the excitement on Everard¡¯s face. He could guess one reason why Everard was that eager about the full moon. And being an alpha of the Crestfire n wasn¡¯t that reason.

    He cleared his throat and mumbled while looking down at the floor, ¡°You know¡­ it might take you some time to hone the ability to summon all the members of the n during the full moon. So, you shouldn¡¯t be disheartened if you cannot summon everyone to the great hall after your ascension.¡±

    Everard wasn¡¯t disheartened to hear that. Rather, he was being more optimistic. ¡°I won¡¯t know until I try,¡± he replied happily.

    Jerome didn¡¯t want to snatch the happiness of Everard. So, he simply gave a nod and then diverted the conversation. ¡°I think I should get to work right away. I will gather your guards and do some nning. Then I will see them out.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Everard pped his hands and then said in an equally excited tone, ¡°I will get myself ready for the journey. Oh, and ask the maids to prepare a small bag with a change of cloth and some food for the journey. And send it along with the guards. Ask them to carry their own ration as well.¡±

    Jerome bowed and agreed. ¡°I will do as you said.¡±

    food for the journey. And send it along with the guards. Ask them to carry their own ration as well.¡±

    Jerome bowed and agreed. ¡°I will do as you said.¡±

    He was about to exit the study when he suddenly recalled something. Thus, he looked back at the King and then said, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t take any guards inside the castle of Orsenia. They won¡¯t see you as a threat if you go alone. And it will also be easy for you to sneak into the castle if it is required.¡±

    Everard smiled and copied Jerome. ¡°I will do as you said.¡±

 Chapter 399 - 399 Waiting Restlessly

    399 Waiting Restlessly

    ¡°Can I leave now?¡± Everard asked the tired Jerome for the umpteenth time. ¡°Look! It¡¯s already dark outside like you said.¡±

    Jerome was sitting on a chair beside the King. Both of them were facing the windows of the King¡¯s chambers.

    Jerome let out a heavy sigh and then said while staring at the King with an indifferent look on his face, ¡°That¡¯s not called dark. That¡¯s called dusk. You need to wait until it¡¯s dark, preferably until 10 PM or so, if you don¡¯t want to stand outside Orsenia¡¯s castle, shivering with cold and waiting for the morning to arrive.¡±

    Everard rolled his eyes at Jerome and went back to staring outside the windows again. He didn¡¯t argue with Jerome because he knew that the man was right.

    ¡°Until then,¡± Jerome cleared his throat and then said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you jog around the garden to warm up for the long journey?¡± He pointed at Everard¡¯s shoes and asked, ¡°Those are new, aren¡¯t they? You will know if they arefortable while running or not.¡±

    Everard was already bored out of his mind by now. He had finished dressing up and emptying the bottle of perfume on him in the afternoon itself. And since then, he was impatiently waiting for the night to arrive.

    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Everard got up from his chair in an instant and began jumping right on the spot to boost his own morale. He looked at Jerome and asked him, ¡°Do you want to join me?¡±

    Jerome already knew that Everard would end up getting bored or restless if he was left alone. That¡¯s why, he nodded his head and agreed. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s take a fewps along the castle¡¯s boundary walls.¡±

    He also got up on his feet and then gestured for Everard to take the lead.

    .....

    Everard instantly sprinted out of the chamber, closely followed by Jerome. The two of them ran down the corridor at a very high speed, prompting the maids and servants to scream and stick to the walls.

    They reached the wall of the castle in no time. And both Everard and Jerome began running side by side.

    After taking around 5ps around the castle, Jerome looked at Everard and asked, ¡°So, do your feet hurt? Or are the shoes fine?¡±

    ¡°They are fine,¡± Everard said with a smile.

    The two of them kept on running around until they began sweating a little.

    Jerome finally stopped and then said while taking deep breaths, ¡°I think we ran for almost two hours straight. Why don¡¯t you rest for a while and then have your dinner? By the time you digest your dinner, it will be time for you to finally leave.¡±

    ¡°Why, yes.¡± Everard pushed his raven ck hair away from his sweaty face and said after gulping, ¡°I think I should have a heavy dinner.¡±

    Jerome gave a nod and said before running, ¡°I will go ahead and ask the maids to set up the dinner table.¡±

    Everard, on the other hand, began to walk towards the main entrance of the castle at a slow pace. When he reached the door of the dining hall, he saw the maids and servants running back and forth from the kitchen.

    Suddenly, all of the workers stopped in their tracks when they noticed their King. They all bowed.

    Everard waved his hand and said considerately, ¡°You can take your time. Don¡¯t rush. I have quite a few hours at my hand.¡±

    The maids and servants seemed grateful when they heard that.

    Jerome, who was still in the dining hall, pulled the King¡¯s chair and then asked the King, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your seat while they finish setting the table for you?¡±

    Everard walked inside the hall and then after sitting down, he ordered Jerome, ¡°Why don¡¯t you join me for dinner tonight?¡±

    Jerome gave a subtle smile and nodded. He then went to sit down on the chair that was on the opposite end of the painfully long dining table.

    ¡°So, are there any things that need my immediate attention?¡± Everard asked just for the sake of breaking the silence even when he wasn¡¯t in the mood to do any work, not before leaving for Orsenia.

    Jerome went silent for a while as if he was seriously thinking about assigning some tasks to the King after dinner.

    However, he was thinking about something else. ¡®I wonder if it is wise to inform the King about the team that I created to investigate the matter regarding thete King¡¯s death.¡¯

    He looked at the King who was looking all happy and was darting his eyes on the delicious food that was being brought to the table. He shook his head and then thought to himself, ¡®I think it is better to stay quiet. I don¡¯t want to ruin his mood for no reason.¡¯

    Everard looked at Jerome again and asked while crossing his fingers, ¡°Anything?¡±

    Jerome shook his head. ¡°No. I don¡¯t think there is anything that needs your attention for now.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Everard happily eximed and pped his hands. Then he ordered the maids who were standing behind him, ¡°Serve the food to both of us.¡±

    The maids began to decorate tworge tes with mouthwatering dishes, mostly meat items.

    And when they were done serving, Everard gestured for Jerome to start the meal before digging in.

    ¡°The food had never tasted better!¡± Everardughed after swallowing a mouthful of roastedmb.

    Jerome also agreed with the King. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely tasty. I wonder if it is because we expended our energy by running around for hours.¡±

    ¡°Could be.¡± Everard took another huge bite of the roastedmb.

    The two of them went back to the King¡¯s chamber after finishing the dinner. Both of them had stuffed themselves until they couldn¡¯t breathe. So, they rested leisurely on the sofa, while staring at the moon that almost looked like a perfect circle.

    After quite a while, Everard adjusted his position on the sofa and said while breathing heavily, ¡°I hope Lorenzo is doing fine¡­¡± He looked at Jerome and then asked him, ¡°If hees here when I am not here then treat him with kindness. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t have revealed everything to me if he had any ulterior motives.¡±

    Jerome had never really liked that man. There had been instances when he even questioned his friendship with the King.

    However, he still agreed to the King¡¯s request. ¡°Of course. I will be as polite as I can.¡±

    Everard smiled and patted Jerome¡¯s shoulder. He then looked at the huge clock on the wall and then said with a tinge of happiness, ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s finally time for me to go.¡±

 Chapter 400 - 400 The Journey

    400 The Journey

    Everard was standing in front of the huge mirror in his bedchamber. A maid was helping him tie his hair into a small ponytail because he thought that they would only distract him if he let them float around his sweaty face.

    While the maid was busy tying up his hair, he looked at his rtively pale-looking clothes and asked Jerome, ¡°Does this lookmon enough? Nobody will recognize me, right?¡±

    Jerome looked at the King¡¯s reflection in the mirror and nodded. ¡°Yes. I think it looks like something an average nobleman would wear.¡±

    ¡°Nobleman?¡± Everard raised his brows slightly and then asked while staring back at Jerome¡¯s reflection, ¡°But I thought you wanted me to look like amoner.¡±

    Jerome was the one who had approved the clothes for the King. So, he said, ¡°I thought that if you dressed like a very poor man, others could look down on you if you were to find yourself in any difficult situation. So¡­ I think this looks perfect.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Alright.¡±

    The maid bowed her head to the King when she finished doing his hair and then left the chamber.

    Jerome immediately gave a sound to someone who was standing outside the room for all this while. And when that man walked in, Jerome asked that man, ¡°You already secured the route for the King, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± That man kept his head lowered. He was dressed like amon viger and was also carrying the backpack of the King.

    .....

    Jerome looked at the King and then briefed him on that particr guard¡¯s duty, ¡°He will take you from here to the Caransi Vige. It will take about an hour and a half to reach there.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Everard began tapping his shoes on the floor, ready to run the moment Jerome would stop speaking.

    Jerome looked at Everard from his head to toe and then said, ¡°If you feel tired, don¡¯t be shy to ask your guards to take a short rest. And if anyone suspicious follows you or tries to pick a fight with you, let your guars handle them.¡±

    Everard nodded once again. ¡°Mhmm. Anything else?¡±

    Jerome thought for a while and then shook his head, ¡°I think that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Okay! Great!¡± Everard gave a wide smile to Jerome and ordered, ¡°Look after the Kingdom in my absence. I will return as soon as possible.¡±

    Jerome gave a bow to the King.

    Everard then looked at his guard and said, ¡°Okay. Lead the way.¡±

    The guard instantly gave a subtle bow to the King and then began running at a rtively slow pace since they were still inside the castle.

    However, once they were outside the wall of the castle, the guard looked at the King and said, ¡°I will increase my pace now, Your Majesty. Please tell me if the speed is too much.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Everard gave a go-ahead to his guard.

    And the moment he did, the guard ran at such a great speed that there was a huge distance between the two of them. Everard was amazed by it. He also quickly caught up with the guard and the two of them began running side-by-side.

    Since they were still in the town, Everard was somewhat nervous thinking that someone would recognize him and follow him.

    However, although he got a few nces from those whose eyes could keep up with their speed, none of them showed any change in their expression. Everard looked at the man who was staring at him from a distance. That man quickly got disinterested in him and looked away.

    Everard smiled delightfully and thought to himself, ¡®I am practically invisible! No one recognizes me. I should do this more often. This is so much fun!¡¯

    For someone who was used to attracting people¡¯s gaze and praises everywhere he went, this was like a boon.

    After running for what felt like half an hour, the two of them were now very far away from the settlements. They were running along the narrow paths with barren fields on either side of them.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much going on here, is there?¡± Everard tried to strike up a conversation with his guard.

    The guard looked at the King. He followed the King¡¯s gaze and then replied, ¡°Yes. Since it is winter, there are very few crops that grow.¡±

    ¡°It would have been nice if I could see some trees at least.¡± Everard pursed his lips.

    The guard looked ahead at the path and said, ¡°We could have gone through the forest as well. But I chose this path since I can see if any danger approached. The forest can get tricky at night.¡±

    Everard couldn¡¯t deny that it was great thinking on the guard¡¯s part. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    He drew in a deep breath of fresh air and then looked at the moon above him. It looked like the moon was following him. He smiled at the moon and thought, ¡®At least the moon looks beautiful.¡¯

    After an hour passed, the guard finally began to slow down.

    Everard could see a few lights close by. So, he asked, ¡°Is that Caransi Vige?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the guard replied while his eyes actively searched for the other guard who was supposed to take over the duty of guarding the King.

    Soon enough, he spotted a man near the entrance of the vige. ¡°There he is,¡± he mumbled. He looked at the King and said, ¡°He will be with you for another few hours.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Everard gave an appreciative smile to the current guard.

    The two of them came to a halt when they reached in front of the other guard. The current guard passed the King¡¯s bag to him and said, ¡°Good luck to you.¡±

    That guard gave a bow to the King and said, ¡°I will lead you from here, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Then I will be in your care,¡± Everard said with a polite smile.

    That guard then immediately began to run, closely followed by Everard.

    Everard looked around the vige as he ran past several houses. It looked like most of the people here were asleep by now. He then looked up at the moon and sighed with a sense of relief. He was feeling as though the Moon Goddess was watching over him.

    He looked at the road ahead and then thought, ¡®I just hope that she will still be by my side when I reach Orsenia. I want things to clear between me and Alex.¡¯

 Chapter 401 - 401 The Gate

    401 The Gate

    After running for almost about eight hours, with short breaks in between, Everard could finally see the castle of Orsenia at a distance. It was already six in the morning by now. And the night was slowly giving way to a beautiful day.

    Everard¡¯s eyes glistened with tears when he saw that beautiful castle that held some wonderful memories.

    Since Everard was slowing down a little, his guard turned his head to look at the King¡¯s face. His heart sank when he saw the King¡¯s teary eyes because he thought that the King was so tired to run that he was tearing up.

    ¡®And I made the King run without even asking him if he wanted to rest!¡¯ the guard cursed himself in his mind.

    He then instantly asked the King, ¡°Your Majesty? Would you like to rest for a while before you went inside the castle? I can find a guesthouse for you.¡±

    Everard looked at the guard with knitted brows and scoffed. ¡°What? No. We are already here. So, why would I want to waste my time resting?¡±

    The guard immediately rified why he asked that question, ¡°But Your Majesty, your eyes look tired. They are watering. I thought that it might be because you haven¡¯t slept a wink for the whole night.¡±

    Everard cleared his throat and looked ahead at the castle in embarrassment. He sniffled and then replied in an awkward voice, ¡°My eyes are watering because the air around here feels different. Don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±

    The guard gave a nod and kept on running beside the King until they were too close to the castle.

    .....

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± the guard slowed down and asked, ¡°Are you going to go through the main gates or are you going to jump the wall?¡±

    Everard also slowed down and came to a stop by taking huge trees as cover. He then looked at the guard and answered while breathing heavily, ¡°I think I should announce my presence at the gate. I am the King after all. I cannot be careless regarding such matters. I don¡¯t think they would like it when they find out that I sneaked in.¡±

    ¡°I think you are right.¡± The guard then took off the bag that he was carrying on his back and asked the King, ¡°Would you like me to find you a ce to take a shower?¡±

    Everard pursed his lips and shook his head. ¡°I think I will do that in the castle.¡± He then held out his hand to grab the bag and carried it.

    The guard wasn¡¯t so sure about the King¡¯s idea of taking a bath in the castle itself. However, it wasn¡¯t his ce to speak.

    So, he bowed to the King and mentioned, ¡°This is where I will leave you then. I will wait right here. So, pleasee and find me when your meeting is over. Then we shall head back to Xanmar.¡±

    Everard didn¡¯t want the poor guard to keep on standing under a tree in the winter. However, he was also unsure how his meeting with Alexander would go since he was basically giving a surprise visit to his old friend. The visit could as well turn into a disaster.

    Thus, he thought for a while and then ordered his guard, ¡°Wait here for about an hour. If I don¡¯te outside, then know that the meeting is going well. In that case, go and find some ce to rest and eat. And meet me here at 7 PM sharp.¡±

    The guard didn¡¯t show it but he was very grateful for the consideration that the King was showing him. He bowed again and said, ¡°I will do as you ordered, Your Majesty. And I wish you good luck with your meeting.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Everard smiled and then took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before facing the castle and slowly making his way toward the main gate.

    The closer he was getting to the gate, the clearer he could see the faces of the guards of the castle. All of their eyes were fixated on Everard because he was the first visitor of the day.

    Unlike what he had expected though, they weren¡¯t talking much about him. The guards were used to seeing random people approaching the gate since the citizens often did that in the hopes of meeting their King and expressing their sorrows and troubles in front of him.

    Everard stopped in front of the huge metal gate and looked at the guard who was standing on the other side of the gate.

    Before he could ask that guard to let him enter, the guard looked him in the eyes and ordered, ¡°You should go back to your home, Sir. The King won¡¯t be seeing any visitors today. He is very busy these days.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everard looked past that guard to see the familiar paths and gardens and said, ¡°I didn¡¯te here to meet the King. I came here to meet the Crown Prince.¡±

    The guard frowned as if that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard in his life. He sneered and then said, ¡°Sir, the Crown Prince never sees any visitors. So, I think you shoulde back after a few days and meet the King. But only during visiting hours.¡±

    Everard heaved a sigh. He knew that the guards wouldn¡¯t just let anyone pass. Thus, he finally decided to reveal his identity.

    He looked at that guard and introduced himself in a coherent manner, ¡°I would like to introduce myself to you. I am Everard Crestfire, the ruling King of the Kingdom of Xanmar. And the Crown Prince is my dearest friend. So, I demand you to let me enter the castle and meet him.¡±

    The guard kept on looking at Everard for quite some time. His expression was unchanging.

    Everard frowned and repeated himself again. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? I just said that I am the King of Xanmar. Now, move along, and let me enter.¡±

    The guard, along with a few other guards, suddenly burst into loudughter as though they had heard the funniest joke of all time. Some were tearing up, some were holding their stomach, and some were resting their palms on their knees whileughing in a boisterous manner.

    Everard¡¯s ears turned red with embarrassment because he had never felt this insulted in his life before. He clenched his jaw and mumbled, ¡°Hey, I am not lying!¡±

 Chapter 402 - 402 Donâ€™t Ignore Me

    402 Don¡¯t Ignore Me

    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± The guard who was standing in front of Everard snorted in between hisugh and taunted Everard even more. ¡°If you are the King of Xanmar then I am the General of Orsenia.¡±

    All the othersughed even louder when they heard thatment from their fellow guard. None of them suspected for even one second that what the visitor was saying could be actually true.

    It was not their fault for not believing Everard¡¯s words though. Right now, Everard didn¡¯t even look like a nobleman, let alone a King.

    His clothes were covered with dust and sweat from all that running. Even his face and tied-up hair looked very dirty as a result of dust particles being stuck in his sweat. To make matter worse, Everard was carrying a traveler¡¯s bag. And he wasn¡¯t apanied by any guards, nor did he arrive there in a grand carriage.

    Theughter and mockery from the guards didn¡¯t take a name of stopping.

    The more theyughed, the more Everard¡¯s blood started to boil. Rather than embarrassed, Everard was starting to get angered by all the mockery he was facing.

    ¡°Just turn around ande back at ater date, Sir.¡± Another guard, who sensed the anger on Everard¡¯s face suggested to him. ¡°You might have an urgent business, but we cannot do anything when the King is busy. It is better if you return home for now.¡±

    Everard took a deep breath to calm his anger to some extent. He grabbed the bars of the gate and stared at the guard in front of him. Then he threatened that guard in a much controlled low growl, ¡°If you don¡¯t stopughing right now, I am warning that you all will regret it.¡±

    All the guards who heard Everard felt provoked rather than feeling threatened. Some more guards came and stood right in front of Everard, giving him a death re.

    .....

    ¡°What did you just say? Did you just threaten us?¡±

    They all did stopughing, but now, they looked at Everard as if he was a rabbit and they all were wolves who were hunting that rabbit.

    ¡°You will be the one with regrets if you don¡¯t go back to where you came from this instant!¡±

    Everard couldn¡¯t hold in his anger anymore. ¡°I am not going back without meeting Alex!¡± he shouted at the top of his lungs. He red his nostrils and mmed his palm against the iron bar of the gate, causing it to bend on impact.

    All the guards were now slightly scared by what just transpired right in front of their eyes. They all had just witnessed something that shouldn¡¯t have been possible. Someone just bent a thick iron rod with their bare hand.

    ¡°H-Hey!¡± One of the guards who were inside the gate shouted at the one who was standing outside, on Everard¡¯s side. ¡°W-What are you waiting for? Drag this man away from here before one of the King¡¯s Guards spots themotion.¡±

    Two armed guards who were quietly holding their position until now, on either side of the gate, marched towards Everard and grabbed his arms from both sides.

    One of them politely requested, ¡°Sir, let us escort you away.¡±

    Everard gave a side re to one of the guards who was holding him a bit too tightly and said in a low chilling tone, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to escort me away. Get your hands off me if you don¡¯t want your Crown Prince to be mad at you for mistreating his best friend.¡±

    ¡°Sir, please!¡± the other guard who was holding him spoke. ¡°Respectfully, don¡¯t make our job any harder.¡±

    ¡°Then do your damn job better!¡± Everard red at that guard and asked in a cold tone, ¡°Run to the Crown Prince and inform him that his best friend is here to have an urgent meeting with him.¡±

    ¡°Sir, please¨C¡±

    Everard suddenly elbowed both of the guards in their stomachs, making them crouch and grimace in pain. Before the other guards could run outside to suppress the ¡®madman¡¯, Everard grabbed those guards by their necks and mmed them into each other.

    While doing so, he was careful not to use even a quarter of his true strength.

    He pressed both of those guards against the gate the others were trying to open and further ordered them, ¡°Say to the Crown Prince that his best friend, the King of Xanmar, risked his life bying all the way here alone but you lot stopped him at the gate, manhandled him, and tried to send him back without even letting him enter the gates.¡±

    ¡°What kind of a monster is he?¡± the guard who had initially mocked Everard happened to think out loud in his stunned state. He didn¡¯t mean to shame Everard or call him names. Rather, he was truly impressed by that inhuman strength that Everard was disying.

    Everard was, however, obviously ticked by that word. ¡°I am not a monster!¡± he snarled at that guard so terrifyingly that it looked as if that guard was blown away just by the frequency of Everard¡¯s voice.

    Everard kept on ring at that very guard and shouted, ¡°Either go and inform the Crown Prince about my arrival or let me enter!¡±

    That guard was now too afraid to even talk back to Everard. The way Everard was urging them to call the Crown Prince, he was sure that whatever that man had said until now was all true.

    The guard quickly crawled and then picked himself up from the ground. He then ran towards the Crown Prince¡¯s quarter to inform about the arrival of someone who imed to be the King of Xanmar.

    After seeing that guard stumbling and running from there, Everard finally managed to suppress his intense anger. He let out a deep breath and let go of his hold on those poor terrified guards who he was pressing against the gate.

    As soon as Everard let go of them, they both touched their chest while panting and coughing. They thought that their chest was going to burst open because of how much force Everard was using to press them. And although they were free now, and although they had loaded rifles with them, they didn¡¯t dare to move a finger against Everard.

    All of the guards kept on awkwardly staring at Everard every now and then while Everard was folding his arms and looking through the gate with his impatient eyes.

    He was waiting for his friend toe to him. And while waiting, he was chanting in his head, ¡®Alex, forgive me foring here without informing you first. But I had to. Please don¡¯t ignore me. Please don¡¯t ignore me. Please don¡¯t ignore me.¡¯

 Chapter 403 - 403 Old Friend

    403 Old Friend

    ¡°Your Highness!¡± the guard who had gone to inform the Crown Prince eximed with a sense of urgency as soon as he was allowed to have an audience.

    ¡°Whoa! Calm down!¡± Alexander knitted his brows after seeing that guard breathing heavily and sweating profusely. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why do you look so¡­ distressed?¡±

    That guard¡¯s chest was rattling as he began speaking without properly breathing first, ¡°At the gate¡­ There¡¯s a man¡­ He ims to be¡­¡± He gulped dryly and said while pointing outside the door of the Crown Prince¡¯s chamber, ¡°You shoulde, Your Highness. He is waiting at the gate.¡±

    Alexander was way too confused as he couldn¡¯t make sense of what the guard was trying to say. He was sounding too iprehensible as he was whispering and breathing out words. ¡°Who¡¯s at the gate? Are you asking me toe with you?¡±

    The guard gulped several times to moisten his throat and then took a few deep breaths before speaking again. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like one but he is iming to be the King of Xanmar.¡±

    The moment that guard mentioned the King of Xanmar, Alexander¡¯s vampire guards who were standing outside his chamber exchanged nces with each other. They were instantly on high alert. Two of them hurriedly entered the Crown Prince¡¯s chamber to inspect and guard the windows.

    Alexander also suddenly became nervous when the vampire guards began to walk around the room, shutting all the windows and closing all the curtains. They were making him feel as if he was in life-threatening danger.

    ¡®Why did hee here unannounced when I had arranged the meeting for tomorrow?¡¯ he anxiously bit his lips and thought to himself. ¡®But it might not be him¡­ What if it¡¯s some random man that he sent here? Or someone else entirely.¡¯

    Alexander looked at the guard and asked him, ¡°What did he look like?¡±

    .....

    The guard¡¯s eyes dted when he uttered a single word, ¡°Super-strong.¡±

    ¡°I guess¡­ that does sound like him¡­¡± Alexander softly chuckled at that answer from the guard. He then raised his brows and asked again, ¡°How many others are with him?¡±

    ¡°He came alone,¡± the guard kept his reply short.

    One of the vampire guards instantly asked Alexander, ¡°Shall I go and check if that¡¯s him? I had caught a glimpse of him while I was in Xanmar.¡±

    Alexander pondered for a while. ¡®If that¡¯s Eve, he must havee here with the intention of resolving issues with me. But what if he gets the wrong idea when he sees my vampire guards?¡¯

    He looked at his guard and said firmly, ¡°No. I should be the one to go.¡± Alexander immediately got up on his feet.

    ¡°What if he came here with the intention of attacking you?¡± The vampire guard instantly stepped in front of the Crown Prince in order to stop him. ¡°And what if he didn¡¯te alone? He could have hidden his guards or soldiers in the vicinity.¡±

    Another guard also stood next to the first guard and agreed. ¡°Yes, Your Highness. You shouldn¡¯t go outside until we make sure that it is safe for you. It could very well be a direct attack as he came here without any invitation.¡±

    The guard from the gate, however, disagreed with those foreign guards of the Crown Prince. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting but, if he was here to attack the Crown Prince then he wouldn¡¯t have announced himself to us and missed the element of surprise by insisting that we inform the Crown Prince of his arrival.¡±

    ¡°He does have a point,¡± Alexander agreed.

    The vampire guard spoke, ¡°We still have to be fully sure that it is the King of Xanmar and that he came here in peace.¡±

    Alexander sighed at the over-protective nature of his vampire guards. He knew that they only meant to protect him. However, he didn¡¯t want to give Everard a reason to be wary of him by showing off that he had epted the protection of the King of Sorvando.

    Alexander looked at the vampire guards who were blocking his way and said, ¡°How about this? I will appear alone in front of the gates. But, you all can follow me closely, while hiding away from his sight. And when I make sure that he isn¡¯t a threat, you all can rest easy.¡±

    One of the vampire guards instantly spoke, ¡°But if he is a threat then we will take him under control and drag him all the way to Sorvando. We will let our King decide what to do with him.¡±

    Alexander nervouslyughed and said, ¡°I sure hope it won¡¯te down to that. Let¡¯s all be optimistic.¡±

    After deciding on the formation using which they would protect the Crown Prince, the vampire guards finally let him step out of his rtively dark chamber.

    Alexander was quick on his feet. He was eager to know if it was his old friend who was at the gate. And if it was, he was also eager to know why Everard decided toe to the castle at an earlier date when he had clearly mentioned the date, time, and ce of their meeting.

    At the gate, Everard was close to losing his patience when his eyes finally caught sight of his friend. ¡°Alex!¡± he let out a soft whisper with happiness because he wasn¡¯t even sure if Alexander woulde to him in the first ce. He was afraid that Alexander would deny meeting him and send him back.

    Alexander also recognized Everard when he walked closer and closer to the gate. A part of him was happy to see Everard happily waving at him. And the other part of him was wary that Everard might be up to something bad.

    Still, he suppressed that suspicion in his heart and waved back at Everard.

    Everard was over the moon when he saw Alexander waving and smiling back at him. ¡®Oh! Has he forgiven me after reading my apology letter? It doesn¡¯t feel like we ever had a misunderstanding, to begin with.¡¯

    ¡°Alex!¡± Everard shouted excitedly when Alexander was only a few steps away from him. ¡°How have you been, my friend?¡±

    Alexander smiled and replied while showing a hint of relief on his face, ¡°I¡¯ve been well.¡± He then gestured for the guards to open the gate for Everard.

    And as soon as they opened the gate, Everard ran inside like a lost puppy who was reuniting with his master after days. He immediately hugged Alexander whileughing with extreme happiness.

    Alexander also hugged Everard back without holding back. He alsopletely forgot about all the reservations that he had towards Everard after finding out about his nature.

    For that brief moment, both of them felt as if they had been transported back to the time when they had no secrets and no enmity between them. Best friends. That¡¯s what they were.

    After a while, they both pulled away from the tight hug and looked at each other. Their eyes held regret and deep longing for each other. Both of their eyes were glistening with tears, their throats sore, and their lips holding a mncholic smile.

    Alexander sniffled and then finally broke the silence, ¡°Why do you look like you haven¡¯t bathed for a month?¡±

 Chapter 404 - 404 Ask Me

    404 Ask Me

    Everard burst intoughter when he heard Alexander¡¯s question. He naively scratched his head and then casually replied without feeling any shame. ¡°Well, I have been running through those dusty roads for eight hours straight. I must stink too, right?¡±

    Alexander widened his eyes and gaped his mouth when he heard the response. ¡°What?¡± he eximed. ¡°You¡¯ve been running for eight hours straight? What happened to your carriage? Did it break down somewhere?¡±

    Everard¡¯s heart warmed when he saw that worried look on his friend¡¯s face. ¡®That is my friend right there,¡¯ he thought to himself as a soft smile appeared on his face.

    He swiftly made Alexander turn around and put his arm around his friend¡¯s shoulder. Then he said while leading Alexander towards the quarter, ¡°No, it didn¡¯t break down.¡±

    Alexander looked at his friend¡¯s beaming face and asked again, ¡°Then why did you run for that long? And how can you even run for that many hours? Are you trying to tire yourself out to death or what?¡±

    Alexander hadpletely forgotten that his old friend wasn¡¯t the same normal human anymore.

    Upon hearing that question, Everard awkwardly chuckled and then disclosed, ¡°Believe it or not but¡­ I can now run more than just eight hours without getting too tired.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Alexander suddenly felt his heart sinking because he was reminded of how his friend was different now. ¡°Right¡­.¡± he mumbled, slightly displeased by the current predicament, and kept on lightly nodding his head.

    Everard could sense the sudden change in Alexander¡¯s mood. He slowly retreated his arm that was resting on Alexander¡¯s shoulder so as not to make things too awkward between them.

    .....

    But despite that, he carried on the conversation about the current him so that his friend would eventually ept the new him wholeheartedly. ¡°I actually started my journey yesterdayte at night. I started running from my castle until I reached here about half an hour ago.¡±

    Once more, Alexander was taken by surprise. ¡°It only took you eight hours to cover that great distance?¡± he asked while giving a doubtful look to Everard.

    ¡°Yes. I can now run faster than the carriages.¡± Everard smiled at Alexander and then looked at the path ahead of them.

    ¡®He started his journey yesterday night and not two days before, huh! Why though?¡¯ Alexander wondered to himself in utter confusion.

    When he recognized Everard at the gate earlier, he was thinking that Everard might not have received his letter at all ¨C the reason why Everard came to meet him at an earlier date than what was mentioned in the letter.

    However, it was now clear to Alexander that Everard came to meet him at an earlier date on purpose and not because of theck ofmunication.

    He gave a suspicious look to Everard and stopped walking. He then turned to face Everard and asked with an abrupt change in his tone from sweet to stern, ¡°You received my letter, right?¡±

    When Alexander saw Everard slightly nodding his head, he immediately folded his arms in front of his chest and asked with a deep frown, ¡°Why would youe here with such haste when I clearly mentioned our meeting point and everything in that letter?¡±

    Everard knew that if he didn¡¯t rify himself properly right at this moment, Alexander¡¯s visible doubt would grow even stronger, ultimately creating some unnecessary tension between the two of them.

    Thus, he was quick enough to answer, ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t havee here uninvited like this, but the situation demanded it.¡±

    ¡°How do you mean?¡± Alexander¡¯s stiff body posture eased to some extent. He was open to listening to Everard¡¯s situation.

    Everard began organizing his thoughts so that he could reveal just enough information to Alexander without putting his friend¡¯s life at risk.

    Alexander, on the other hand, was patiently waiting to listen to the kind of excuse that Everard was about to give. He was going to be the judge of whether the ¡®situation¡¯ that Everard mentioned was that dire or not.

    After thinking for a while, Everard replied calctedly, ¡°There¡¯s a very important ceremony that requires my presence tomorrow. The ceremony was fixed a long time ago and I cannot afford to shift it to another date since a lot of people are already invited.¡±

    The frown lines on Alexander¡¯s forehead were slowly disappearing as he listened to Everard.

    Everard could also see that he was slowly regaining Alexander¡¯s trust.

    Thus, he further added, ¡°I mean, I would have shifted the ceremony to ater date if it didn¡¯t involve a lot of people¡¯s schedules. Since I couldn¡¯t do that, I decided toe here today so that I could resolve the issues between us faster.¡±

    He looked at Alexander¡¯s face with a soft look in his eyes and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want us to be estranged from one another. So, I wanted toe and talk with you as soon as possible. I hope you are okay with me being here.¡±

    Alexander dropped his folded arms and took a deep breath in. He cleared his throat and then gave a nod to Everard. He also managed to pull a smile when he said, ¡°Of course. Why wouldn¡¯t I be okay with you being here?¡±

    A huge smile appeared on Everard¡¯s face the moment he heard his friend.

    Nheless, he didn¡¯t shy away from expressing something that was slightly pricking his heart. ¡°A part of me was afraid thinking you would be angry at me for appearing in front of the gate. You had called me near the border for the meeting and¡­ it made me think that you didn¡¯t want me anywhere near your castle.¡±

    ¡°No! It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s not¨C¡±

    Everard saw a sh of fear in Alexander¡¯s eyes. He had always been bad at lying. So, Everard cut him off and said with a huge smile, ¡°I am d that I was wrong.¡±

    Alexander gulped and then mumbled while looking down at his shoes, ¡°I umm¡­ didn¡¯t want either of us to travel a long distance for the meeting. So, I chose the ce that would require both of us to travel for just a day.¡±

    He was only telling a half-truth, which Everard had already seen through. Everard didn¡¯t mind it though. He could understand his friend¡¯s point of view.

    Alexander, on the other hand, stole a ce of Everard and said after scoffing lightly, ¡°Now I know that covering the whole distance was no problem for you.¡±

    Everard shrugged and casually said, ¡°Well, now you know.¡±

    The two of them resumed heading towards Alexander¡¯s quarter. They both were silent as they walked at a rather slow pace.

    Although Alexander had a lot of questions in his mind, he didn¡¯t know how many of them would be appropriate to actually ask to Everard.

    Everard didn¡¯t have many questions in his mind. But he was ready to answer any and every question that Alexander would ask him. After all, that was why he traveled this great distance in haste. To answer his friend and resolve any misunderstanding between them.

    They were close to Alexander¡¯s chamber in no time.

    By now, Everard was unable to stand the awkwardness between them. And the silence was too hard to bear when he could hear their own footsteps echoing as they walked down the corridor.

    ¡°Are you still scared of me, Alex?¡± he finally broke the silence.

    Alexander was silent. He turned his head to take a nce at Everard¡¯s face.

    Everard looked sad and also hurt, probably by that silence that spoke louder than words.

    And seeing that gloomy and hurt expression of his friend, Alexander sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to think and how to feel anymore, Eve. I need answers before I can answer your question.¡±

    Everard spread his arms and then said with desperation, ¡°Then ask me. Ask me anything. And I will answer.¡±

 Chapter 405 - 405 Back and Forth

    405 Back and Forth

    Alexander looked at the door of his chamber which was a few steps away and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a seat first.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Everard gave a nod and followed his friend.

    Alexander stopped when he reached in front of his chamber. However, before entering, he looked behind him. The corridor was empty except for a few maids who were running around. He was d that his vampire guards decided not to show themselves.

    ¡®I guess they didn¡¯t see Eve as a threat.¡¯ He took a sigh of relief and then gestured for Everard to enter the chamber.

    Upon entering the chamber, Everard looked around at the furniture and decoration which hadn¡¯t changed much from hisst visit.

    ¡°It still looks the same!¡± he said while darting his eyes around the room and smiling.

    Alexander also looked around the room and mumbled, ¡°I guess it does. I am barely home and I don¡¯t see why I should change the things around here.¡±

    Both of them made themselvesfortable on the sofa, opposite each other.

    It was now Everard¡¯s turn to wait patiently for Alexander to speak.

    .....

    After thinking for some time, Alexander broke the silence in the room by saying, ¡°I heard from Anna¡¯s husband that your kind and their kind made some kind of pact¡­ So¡­¡±

    Everard¡¯s brows slightly twitched when he heard that. He pressed his lips into a thin line and thought to himself, ¡®I can¡¯t believe he actually mentioned it to Alex.¡¯ But then again, he wasn¡¯t grateful towards the Caspian. ¡®I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t reveal it for my benefit.¡¯

    Alexander cleared his throat and then continued, ¡°So, I won¡¯t ask you to reveal what kind of hu¨C what you are. But I would like to ask something.¡±

    His heart began to ache a little when he recalled what he had witnessed. He took a deep breath and asked while digging his nails into his palms, ¡°Do you also eat humans?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everard scoffed at the absurdity of that question and defended himself, ¡°We don¡¯t eat humans! Why would we even do that? We aren¡¯t like your¡­¡± He clenched his teeth and mumbled, ¡°¡­new rtive.¡±

    Alexander instantly frowned because he felt attacked by what Everard just said. He indignantly grabbed the armrest of the sofa and immediately defended Caspian and his kind, ¡°They just borrow blood from humans!¡± He further emphasized in a rather loud voice, ¡°WITHOUT KILLING THEM!¡±

    ¡°Borrow blood?¡± Everard let out a grim chuckle when he saw that rage looming in those kind eyes of his friend. And he hated how Alexander was defending the bloodsuckers.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as borrowing blood!¡± He rolled his eyes and said with utmost hatred towards Caspian, ¡°Who said that nonsense to you? The very man who kills humans for food?¡±

    Alexander got even angrier by Everard¡¯s demeanor. ¡°You are in no position to say that when your kind tears humans¡¯ flesh as if they are nothing but mere vegetables!¡± he screamed at Everard while ring at his friend.

    ¡°My kind isn¡¯t as cruel as¨C¡±

    ¡°Just shut up and listen first!¡± Alexander didn¡¯t let Everard finish what he was saying. Just now, he was barely able to stop himself from throwing a fist or two at Everard for what those monsters did back then.

    He kept on ring at Everard and also shouted while clenching his fists, ¡°I witnessed everything with my own eyes, for lord¡¯s sake! And it was horrible. Everything was so horrible that I was shaken to the core! I would have been dismembered into pieces like my guards if it wasn¡¯t for King Caspian¡¯s cousin who stayed behind and protected me.¡±

    This time, Everard didn¡¯t try to defend his kind because he hadn¡¯t witnessed what had happened during the attack, Alexander had.

    ¡®Maybe things were as bad as he is saying¡­¡¯ he thought to himself when he saw tears umting in the rims of his friend¡¯s eyes. ¡®Those eyes aren¡¯t lying.¡¯ He felt a pang in his heart after seeing the face Alexander was making.

    Alexander was feeling as though something was clogging his throat. He kept on taking deep breaths and tried to control the rage that was boiling inside his heart.

    ¡®This isn¡¯t like me,¡¯ he covered his eyes with his palm and thought to himself. ¡®Why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?¡¯ he was trying to figure out what he was feeling at the moment. Was it rage? Was it grief towards his fallen guards? Or was it something else entirely?

    Alexander lowered the pitch of his voice a little when he asked, ¡°Now tell me why I shouldn¡¯t be afraid of you, Eve? The first encounter I had with your kind and their kind made me believe that they are good while you are not. Tell me why I should believe anything that you are saying to me right now?¡±

    He rolled his eyes and also said in a passing whisper, ¡°I bet you can also grow fangs and ws like them. Of course, you would talk in favor of them.¡±

    Everard felt deeply hurt by his best friend¡¯s words. However, he couldn¡¯t me Alexander for what he thought about the werewolves.

    After taking a deep sigh, he bend forward and finally spoke, ¡°I understand why you don¡¯t trust me at the moment. I mean, if I was in your shoes, maybe I would also think the same. My kind tried to¡­ take your life while they saved you.¡±

    He looked deep into his friend¡¯s eyes and said softly, ¡°But Alex, you cannot judge all of us by what happened that night. I assure you that not all of us act like those fools. Take humans for example. You cannot develop a wrong impression about all of the humans just because you encountered a handful of murderers and thieves.¡±

    Alex looked away and kept quiet. He could see the logic in Everard¡¯s words. But he couldn¡¯t just forget everything that he saw that night.

    Everard came and sat beside Alexander. ¡°Alex.¡± He grabbed his friend¡¯s attention before he turned his head again.

    ¡°I am not asking you to forgive those who tried to kill you and everyone else who traveled with you. I have already apologized on their behalf and I will keep on apologizing as many times as you ask me to.¡±

    He ced his palm on Alexander¡¯s knee and asked as politely as he could, ¡°I am just asking you to be more open towards my kind. We aren¡¯t as bad as you think. We go around like normal humans, doing normal things. It¡¯s just that we can¡¯t control our trans¨C¡±

    He took a deep breath before he revealed what he would turn into during the full moon. He scratched his forehead and mumbled, ¡°Sure, we may look frightening with our fangs and ws but¡­¡±

    Everard looked down and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t they also look frightening? They also have those things. And they look like dead people walking amongst the living.¡±

    He looked up at Alexander again and asked, ¡°You can ept them but not us?¡±

    Alexander understood what Everard was trying to say to him. He looked ahead at the empty sofa and said, ¡°I am being a hypocrite, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Everard also looked ahead and asked casually, ¡°Would you punch me if I said yes?¡±

 Chapter 406 - 406 Laughter

    406 Laughter

    Alexander turned his head to look at Everard and asked nonchntly, ¡°Would you bite me if I punched you in your face?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Everard frowned and immediately shouted defensively, ¡°Why would I bite you, you arse?¡±

    The two of them kept on looking at each other¡¯s faces for a few seconds. And as if they had both been holding in theirugh for some time now, both of them suddenly burst into peals ofughter.

    As they wereughing to their heart¡¯s content, Everard started to p Alexander¡¯s thigh and shoulder. Alexander didn¡¯t protest for a while, but the seemingly harmless p was painful.

    Alexander abruptly pped Everard on the back of the head and scolded him, ¡°It hurts! Stop pping me whileughing. This habit of yours is annoying at times.¡±

    Upon seeing the frown on Alexander¡¯s forehead, Everard folded his lips inside his mouth to control his hystericalughter and wiped his tears.

    What he didn¡¯t realize was that the heavy dust particles attached to his eyshes now got smudged and it looked as though he had dark circles around his eyes.

    Alexander had barely managed to hold hisugh earlier. But when he saw those eyes, he couldn¡¯t stop himself fromughing again. He pointed his finger at Everard¡¯s eyes and mumbled whileughing, ¡°You look like a damn roon with those eyes.¡±

    ¡°Roon?¡± Everard scoffed because he thought that Alexander was only joking.

    .....

    However, Alexander was now holding his stomach with both of his hands as he began tough more and more hysterically.

    Everard pouted and swiftly got up on his feet. He sprinted and stood in front of the huge mirror in the room, only to find out that Alexander wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°What the¨C Ugh! I look disgusting!¡±

    He sighed and then looked at the backpack that he brought from Xanmar. It was sitting on the sofa that was on the opposite side of Alexander. And he muttered while slightly knitting his brows, ¡°I guess I should have taken a bath as soon as I came here.¡±

    Alexander pinched his nose and then teased Everard even more, ¡°Yes, I should have asked the maids to prepare a bath for you. You stink!¡±

    ¡°You little¨C¡± Everard bit his lower lip as if he was threatening a little kid.

    But that only made Alexanderugh even more.

    Everard fisted on his hips and then pretended to be angry at Alexander, ¡°I swear that if you don¡¯t stopughing right now then I am going to bite you for real.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay... I will stop now,¡± Alexander said in his suppressed voice and then pressed his palm over his mouth to stop himself. His shoulders were still moving up and down though.

    ¡°Tsk!¡± Everard rolled his eyes at Alexander and began to unpack his backpack. He first took out the leftover food from the bag. Then he pulled his fresh set of clothes out and ced it on the sofa.

    Alexander got curious about what his friend was doing since Everard¡¯s back was concealing his activity. So, he also got up from the sofa to go and take a look.

    When he saw Everard¡¯s clothes, he asked, ¡°Oh, you want to take a bath right now? Shall I ask the maids to prepare the bath for you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Everard was pouting when he set the bag aside and then sat down on the sofa with a thump.

    Alexander silentlyughed when he saw how Everard hadn¡¯t changed much, at least behavior-wise. He was still the same quirky and outspoken man that he knew. Alexander also reminisced about how Everard always loved to poke fun at him but he couldn¡¯t handle it when he was made fun of.

    ¡®This is very typical of him!¡¯ Alexander thought while staring at Everard¡¯s pouted lips and suppressing his smile. He shook his head and then went outside to find the maids.

    As soon as he came back inside, he sat beside the things that Everard had spread on the sofa. ¡°I¡¯ve ordered the maids,¡± he informed.

    Everard just nodded in response. His head was facing the other way because he was too embarrassed to show his face to his friend.

    Alexander¡¯s attention was soon caught by a small box and he asked Everard while pointing at it, ¡°And what¡¯s that? Did you bring a peace offering for me?¡±

    Before Everard could even answer, Alexander proceeded to take the box on hisp so that he could take off the lid.

    Everard quickly snatched the box back from Alexander and said while narrowing his eyes, ¡°This is my food for the travel back home. Don¡¯t you dare touch it!¡±

    Alexander was somewhat offended by what Everard just said. So, he folded his arms in front of his chest and questioned, ¡°You thought that you needed to pack food for the return travel as well because I am that stingy?¡±

    Everard looked the other way again and replied, ¡°Who knows? What if you had denied recognizing me at the gate earlier? What if you didn¡¯t let the MONSTER enter your castle?¡±

    Alexander pursed his lips when he heard Everard referring to himself as the monster. He was now feeling guilty for giving his friend a name that seemingly hurt his ego.

    He looked down and apologized to his friend. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I called you that, Eve.¡± He took a deep breath in and then truthfully said, ¡°To be honest, I was terrified thinking that I was always around someone who could turn into¡­ such a scary form.¡±

    ¡°Wait what?¡± Everard looked at his friend and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Know what?¡± Alexander slowly tilted his head and stared at Everard in confusion.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Everard held his head and closed his eyes upon realizing that he never told Alexander how he wasn¡¯t always the way he was now. ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    He heaved a deep sigh and looked at his friend again. Alexander¡¯s eyes were demanding answers to the question he didn¡¯t know.

    Everard heaved another sigh before revealing something about himself, ¡°I haven¡¯t always been like this, Alex. I have always been an oblivious human. I had no knowledge about the thing I am now, and neither did I know about the existence of vampires. I was just leading a normal human life until recently when I suddenly turned into this thing that you call a monster.¡±

    His breathing began to tremble when he recalled his very first transformation. The fear of the unknown that he felt at that time, the excruciating pain, the guilt of identally biting Ruby, and the change that was too drastic began to suddenly pour out and overwhelm Everard.

    Not just his breathing, but his whole body began to tremble when he thought back to it. He was slowly epting the reality of his situation now. However, every now and then, his identity as a werewolf would haunt him. It would make him question if he was in an borate dream or if everything was real.

    Alexander¡¯s eyes glistened when he saw his friend in that state. He could tell that the change wasn¡¯t something that he wanted but was somehow forced upon him.

    He consolingly patted Everard¡¯s shoulder until Everard calmed down a little and was ready to speak again.

    And surely enough, Everard shook his head and whispered as his eyes welled with tears, ¡°I never wanted this, Alex. I was never ready for all the things that are happening to me right now¡­ And with my father gone¡­ I cannot even run from it¡­¡±

 Chapter 407 - 407 Absentmindedness

    407 Absentmindedness

    Alexander could finally see how much his friend was suffocating and how much he was suffering alone, bearing the consequences of something that he didn¡¯t even want in the first ce.

    However, he was having a hard time fully understanding his friend because he didn¡¯t know a lot of things. He didn¡¯t even know what his friend was, to begin with. He just knew that his friend wasn¡¯t a vampire like his brother-inw, but was something with simr speed and strength.

    And although he didn¡¯t mean to ask, he subconsciously voiced out his thought, ¡°Just what are you, Eve? What happened to you? How did you suddenly turn into that thing? Did someone do something to you that made you the way you are?¡±

    In his absentmindedness, Everard also answered his friend with full honesty, ¡°You know how much I liked your sister, right? I still do. And when I heard that she was sent to Sorvando to be married to the King, I couldn¡¯t bear to just let her go.¡±

    Everard¡¯s heart began to clench when he was reminded once more of the pain that he felt when he realized that Anna was slipping away from his reach. He was reminded of the heartbreak that probably woke the dormant side of him.

    He sped over his heart and then mumbled in a broken voice, ¡°So, I went to Sorvando to stop her from sacrificing herself to someone she didn¡¯t even know. You also saw me leave. And¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I reached there¡­ realized that I was toote¡­ the throbbing pain in my chest kept on growing¡­ I could barely breathe.¡±

    In the past, after witnessing Everard feeling over the moon when he used to read Anastasia¡¯s letter for the hundredth time, Alexander had obviously at some point realized that the feeling that Everard had towards his sister was genuine.

    However, he could never ept his friend falling for his ill sister. At that time, everyone had already epted that Anastasia¡¯s fate was sealed and she was going to lose her life during her eighteenth year on Earth. So, he didn¡¯t want to be constantly reminded of his sister whenever he met his grieving friend.

    ¡°I am sorry that you had to go through such a great heartbreak.¡± For whatever it was worth, Alexander apologized to his friend. But he didn¡¯t see how it had anything to do with Everard suddenly changing into that thing¡­ until Everard spoke the next sentence.

    .....

    ¡°I believe the heartbreak triggered the dormant side that was already present in my blood.¡±

    Alexander felt as though he understood but at the same time, did not. He knitted his brows in confusion and asked, ¡°W-What do you mean by your dormant side? You didn¡¯t be that thing because someone did something to you?¡±

    Everard wiped both of his eyes with his palms and then sniffled. He scoffed at his own helplessness in the matter and replied, ¡°Yes. Someone did something to me. My father¡­¡±

    ¡°Your father turned you into that thing?¡± Alexander asked in shock.

    Everard took a deep sigh and muttered while staring nkly, ¡°My father was also that very thing and he obviously passed his blood to me too.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s hereditary?¡± Alexander asked in an attempt to grasp more knowledge about his friend¡¯s condition, or whatever it was.

    Everard gave a nod and said, ¡°It is. I now know that a handful of the unlucky ones in the 11 ns of my Kingdom awaken that dormant side at various stages of our lives.¡±

    ¡°And the awakening of that side is normally triggered by something intense. For some it is anguish, for some, it is hatred, for me it was a¡­¡± He let out a shaking breath and finished his sentence with a whisper, ¡°¡­heartbreak.¡±

    After a brief pause, he also revealed something that he initially meant to hide, ¡°And we aren¡¯t a ¡®thing¡¯. Our kinds are called werewolves.¡±

    There was absolute silence in the room for quite some time. Alexander didn¡¯t know if his ears rang or if he heard Everard correctly. Thus, he didn¡¯t know how to react to it.

    And when Everard also didn¡¯t speak any further, Alexander turned to face Everardpletely.

    Although previously he had refrained from asking what his friend really was, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked, ¡°Werewolves as in the humans who can turn themselves into wolves?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Y-You mean you can turn into a literal wolf? Or do you call yourself that because your fangs and ws resemble that of a wolf?¡±

    ¡°I mean that we can turn ourselves into giant wolves. Quite literally.¡±

    By now, both of them were so engrossed in the conversation that they forgot they weren¡¯t supposed to be having this conversation.

    One needed to unburden himself by letting out all of the secrets that were weighing him down. The other needed answers so that he could understand his friend better. And they carried on with the conversation.

    ¡°D-Do it then,¡± Alexander asked very bravely and rather impulsively too.

    Everard furrowed his brows in confusion when his friend made such a demand out of the blue. ¡°What?¡± he asked, wondering if his friend was just joking or if he was being serious.

    ¡°I said, do it.¡± Alexander himself didn¡¯t have the slightest idea why he was asking such a thing to his friend. But he knew that he had to see it with his own eyes in order to believe it. ¡°S-Show me the proof,¡± he further insisted.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Everard was dumbfounded. He was grateful that his friend was willing to see the new him. But at the same time, he felt somewhat ufortable when his friend asked that of him all of a sudden.

    Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t do that at the moment.

    So, he exined it to his friend, ¡°I can only turn into a wolf during full moon night after the moon rises. The other times, I can merely protrude the fangs and ws.¡±

    Alexander gulped when he heard that. ¡®So that was what those attackers were doing at that time¡­ using half of their ability¡­ What if it was a full moon? Would they have been invincible?¡¯

    The more Alexander heard about the werewolves, the more he wished to know. And right now, he also wished to see. He looked at Everard¡¯s harmless-looking face and then his normal-looking teeth.

    Then he mustered up the courage to ask, ¡°Show me your fangs and ws then.¡±

 Chapter 408 - 408 Real or Fake

    408 Real or Fake

    Everard felt really self-conscious when Alexander showed his interest in seeing him in his most hideous form. ¡°Why would you even want to see me like that?¡± He was afraid that if he was to disy his fangs and ws, Alexander would always remember him as a monster. ¡°I look¡­ terrifying and disgusting.¡±

    Alexander was unfazed. He already knew what to expect.

    So, he kept on staring at Everard¡¯s face and said, ¡°That is for me to decide. You said I was being a hypocrite, right? I¡¯ve seen what¡­ they look like with those red eyes and fangs. And to be honest, I was afraid and shocked at first but I didn¡¯t feel the same way after seeing them protect me.¡±

    He gave a little smile to his friend and said, ¡°I know that you won¡¯t try to hurt me like those rabid men. So¡­ I think I can handle seeing you.¡±

    There was no way Everard would back out after hearing how Alexander felt about the vampires even after witnessing them at their worst. He also wanted to show Everard that he wasn¡¯t a threat and that he wasn¡¯t someone he should be afraid of.

    He quickly got up on his feet and then stood while facing Alexander. ¡°Okay then. I will show you.¡±

    Alexander gave a nod and braced himself for what he was about to see. He watched Everard close his eyes and breathe in and out as if he was a bit nervous about it. He thought that it would take time to somehow bring out those razor-sharp teeth and elongate the nails.

    However, the Crown Prince was almost startled when Everard opened his eyes the very next second.

    Everard¡¯s irises were giving off a yellow glow, not like the color of the sunflower but like the color of the zing fire.

    .....

    Alexander slowly moved his gaze down to Everard¡¯s mouth.

    Everard slightly opened his mouth when he saw his friend¡¯s gaze stopping at his lips. His canines were so sharp and long that they looked like they could tear off just about anything. And all his other teeth also looked so sharp and strong that they looked like they could even crack bones with a single bite.

    Alexander¡¯s heart began to shake when shes of those werewolves who attacked them came to his mind. The vivid images of their blood-covered mouth and fangs were shing before his eyes when he saw Everard¡¯s new sets of teeth.

    But he didn¡¯t let those memories ruin the image of his harmless friend. He quickly trailed his gaze down to Everard¡¯s ws. The ws looked really sharp and sturdy.

    When Alexander didn¡¯t speak even a word after seeing him, Everard mustered up some courage to ask, ¡°So? What do you think?¡±

    He was hoping that Alexander wouldn¡¯t run away from the room in fear, or call him a monster right to his face.

    To his relief, Alexander¡¯s reply was something much unexpected but better than what Everard had imagined.

    ¡°I know that they are real but¡­ for some reason, I can¡¯t help but feel like you are wearing fake fangs and ws... and eyes. I guess it¡¯s because I am too used to your normal face.¡±

    Everard¡¯s eye rims were suddenly filled with tears. He let out a sigh of relief and chuckled lightly upon hearing that kind of response from his friend. He was happy that his friend didn¡¯t look terrified of him or thought of him as hideous.

    ¡°So, you wouldn¡¯t be scared of me if I suddenly turned into this form without any warning?¡± Everard asked, just to be sure.

    Alexander shrugged and replied in a nonchnt manner, ¡°I guess. I mean, you are still you. Fangs or not.¡±

    Everard suddenly jumped forward to give his friend a tight hug for epting him even with all the change that he had gone through. His nose and throat turned sore because he suddenly felt like crying out loud.

    But he controlled his emotions from taking over him and whispered to his friend, ¡°Thank you for being so kind to me, Alex.¡±

    Alexander also gulped to ease the soreness in his throat.

    ¡°Kind¡­¡± he scoffed after recalling how much mistrust he had developed towards the friend who he knew his whole life. He felt guilty for ever suspecting that this friend of his would ever be capable of sending the horde of werewolves to finish him off just over some small dispute.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I was too hard on you before. I didn¡¯t know any better,¡± Alexander whispered back to his friend while constantly patting his back.

    After finally pulling away from the hug, Alexander saw that Everard had already reverted back to his normal self.

    He cleared his throat and then sniffled. And when Everard took the seat beside him once more, he asked, ¡°What else can you do? I mean, what else has changed? Can you do a lot more stuff even when you aren¡¯t a¡­ wolf?¡±

    Everard smiled. He now knew that his friend was genuinely curious about him and nothing more. So he answered while showing some enthusiasm. ¡°Emotionally, I am still a human, the same Everard that you knew. But I am now much stronger, faster, have high stamina, heightened senses, and many more.¡±

    The Crown Prince nodded his head and said, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s why you could cover such a great distance by running, huh!¡± He curiously looked at Everard and probed further, ¡°What¡¯s the difference anyway? Between the human you and the wolf you?¡±

    Everard rested his back on the sofa and then heaved a deep sigh. He had terrible memories linked with both the times that he had changed into a wolf. He didn¡¯t wish to remember those terrible things.

    Nheless, he answered while staring nkly at the wall, ¡°Turning into a wolf during the full moon isn¡¯t a choice, but it¡¯s rather forced. You lose control over your own body. It feels like some mystical force takes control over your own body and turns you into apletely different thing.¡±

    ¡°It¡­ sounds really bad¡­¡± Alexander grimaced as he felt the pain in Everard¡¯s voice. ¡®Should I stop all this questioning? I think I know enough to understand him a little,¡¯ he thought to himself and looked down.

    When Alexander was thinking of stopping the questioning, Everard was suddenly reminded of something very important.

    ¡°Wait!¡± he suddenly shouted and pushed himself to the edge of the sofa.

    He looked like he was in great shock and was terrified of something. He abruptly sped his mouth tightly and eximed in his head, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have said any of these things to Alex! What the hell did I do?¡¯

 Chapter 409 - 409 I Deserve to Die

    409 I Deserve to Die

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alexander looked at his friend¡¯s aghast expression and asked, ¡°Why do you look so terrified?¡± He couldn¡¯t understand why his friend suddenly looked as though he just saw someone die.

    Rather than answering, Everard kept on sping his mouth tightly and sitting there motionless as though he had suddenly turned into a statue.

    Seeing his friend like that, Alexander lifted his hand so as to grab Everard¡¯s shoulder and shake him. However, he changed his mind at thest moment thinking that it might not be a good idea, and ended up gently poking Everard on the arm.

    ¡°Eve?¡±

    Everard finally turned to face Alexander. However, he looked as though he was about to break into tears. And before Alexander could ask anything, he removed his palm from his mouth and began apologizing profusely.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Alex! I should have nevere here¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to do that¡­¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± Alexander asked as fear slowly started to creep into his heart. He didn¡¯t understand why his friend was apologizing to him in the first ce.

    However, rather than exining the reason for his apology, Everard just kept on repeating his words. ¡°I am really really sorry¡­ I wouldn¡¯t havee here if I knew this would happen.¡±

    ¡°What happened? Tell me what happened first. Why are you even asking for forgiveness?¡± Alexander was baffled by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

    .....

    Everard¡¯s voice suddenly began cracking and his tears rolled down his eyes when he further said, ¡°I don¡¯t even deserve to be alive after what I did to you¡­¡± He got up on his feet and said while shaking his head, ¡°I can¡¯t ever forgive myself for what I just did¡­¡±

    He messed his ponytail by pulling his hair and then said while hupping hysterically, ¡°I deserve to die¡­ I am going to hell for what I just did¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh! Right!¡± Alexander whispered monotonously.

    It finally dawned upon Alexander why Everard was suddenly acting so strangely. He felt his heart sinking to his stomach when he asked in his dazed state, ¡°I am going to die, aren¡¯t I? Because you revealed what you are to me¡­¡±

    Everard copsed to the floor on his knees and kept on shedding tears while trying not to break downpletely. ¡®What the hell did I do?¡¯ he kept on questioning himself. He couldn¡¯t fathom how he could be so stupid to make such a great mistake.

    A lot of things were going on inside his head at the moment. He was trying to think back to how and when he began revealing everything to Alexander.

    ¡®I didn¡¯te here to share my damn secrets! I came here to make amends¡­ All I needed to do was tell him how sorry I was for not controlling my citizens. That was it. But I had to spill everything without any filter! I even showed my disgusting form! Why¡­ Just why¡­¡¯

    Alexander¡¯s mind, on the other hand, was simply nk. His eyes were staring at Everard having a meltdown. However, his brain wasn¡¯t registering what his eyes were seeing. And neither was his brain functioning properly because he was as shocked as Everard.

    Everard¡¯s silent cries slowly began to get louder and louder until it sounded like he was wailing in sorrow.

    And why wouldn¡¯t he be in anguish when he literally signed his friend¡¯s name in the Book of Death?

    *m!*

    ¡°What¡¯s with all the noise? My eardrums are going to burst!¡±

    Both of them got startled when they heard the door suddenly opening and mming shut, followed by someone¡¯s voice right beside them.

    It was one of Alexander¡¯s vampire guards named Henry. He, including the others, were in the vicinity, listening in to the whole conversation between Everard and Alexander so that they could bust inside the moment they sensed danger.

    Although Henry didn¡¯t sense any immediate danger inside the room, he busted in because he couldn¡¯t stand Everard wailing like a child, especially when he was wailing without any reason.

    ¡°H-Henry? What are you d-doing here?¡± Alexander stuttered once his mind processed the gravity of the situation in his chamber.

    For a second, he was afraid that Everard would flip out when his eyes met with that of the vampire guard. However, there was little to no reaction from his side.

    Henry, on the other hand, looked somewhat irritated by the mere presence of Everard.

    Alexander didn¡¯t want the situation to get any worse than it already was. Thus, he looked at Henry and asked him in a defeated tone, ¡°Henry, please leave us alone.¡±

    ¡°I was going to do just that. But¡­¡± Henry turned his gaze from the Crown Prince to the King and said in a condescending tone, ¡°I couldn¡¯t just sit and listen to His Majesty bawling his eyes out over something that¡¯s not even true. I was worried that¨C¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by not true?¡± Everard abruptly cut him off in the middle and asked, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes as he did so.

    Although Henry would have loved to see Everard being all depressed and losing his mind for some more time just for the sake of seeing him in misery, he didn¡¯t want the Crown Prince to suffer as well.

    Thus, he looked at the King who didn¡¯t look any better than a beggar at the moment with disheveled hair and a runny nose. He wrinkled his nose and revealed what he meant to say earlier, ¡°With all due respect, you were wrong about the blood pact.¡±

    ¡°I was wrong?¡± Everard suddenly felt like a fool when he heard that. ¡°You mean everyone was lying to me all along?¡± He wondered if everyone around him was purposely keeping him in the dark.

    Henry slightly shrugged his shoulders and then said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what your people told you about the blood pact but it¡¯s not what you think.¡±

    Everard was all ears. He quickly wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt and asked Henry in a rather authoritative tone, ¡°Quickly exin everything to me.¡±

    Henry clenched his teeth when Everard was acting as though he had the authority to order him. However, he didn¡¯t want to start a fight with the King of the enemy kind.

    Thus, he took the responsibility of entering the room in the first ce and answered Everard, ¡°You didn¡¯t reveal the secret of us vampires to the Crown Prince. You revealed your own. The pact doesn¡¯t restrict us from revealing our own secrets to humans. And since the Crown Prince was already aware of what we are, you didn¡¯t break the pact.¡±

    Alexander heaved a quiet sigh of relief when he heard that, while Everard sighed quite audibly.

    Everard was very relieved to know that he didn¡¯t identally put his friend¡¯s life in danger. He let out a soft chuckle and expressed his thankfulness, ¡°Alex is safe, huh! I don¡¯t need to kill myself to repent for the sin.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯tmit any sin, to begin with.¡± Henry turned his back so as to leave the room. And while he headed towards the door, he mumbled, ¡°So, I guess you don¡¯t need to repent for something you didn¡¯t even do in the first ce.¡±

 Chapter 410 - 410 Clarification

    410 rification

    Once Henry left the room, both Alexander and Everard looked at each other with relief in their eyes.

    That look of relief in Alexander¡¯s eyes, however, was soon reced by guilt. He looked down at his palms and said feebly, ¡°Umm¡­ I am sorry about him.¡± He said while referring to Henry.

    He didn¡¯t want his friend to feel betrayed, so he exined himself, ¡°Anna and King Caspian convinced me to take a few bodyguards so that¡­ you know¡­ I would be safe if those rogue people came to attack me again. I apologize if I hurt your feelings.¡±

    Alexander was ready to see Everard getting angry at him for letting those vampires stay so close to him.

    Unlike what he thought though, Everard waspletely calm. ¡°No, you don¡¯t need to apologize. I totally understand.¡±

    Alexander lifted his gaze and looked at Everard to see if he was being sarcastic or if he was being serious.

    Everard pulled the corners of his lips and said honestly, ¡°I am d that Anna sent them with you. She was right. You could have been attacked on the road. So, it¡¯s good that they are with you.¡±

    He looked at the closed door and went into deep thought for a while. Then he said in a low voice, ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t sense them having any malicious intent towards you. I can see why Anna trusts them so much. They really do have control over their hunger, huh?¡±

    Alexander felt greatly relieved after hearing his friend¡¯s genuine words. He smiled and then nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Yes, they are provided with small amounts of blood on a timely basis. In secret, of course. And they seem content with it.¡±

    .....

    In order to change Everard¡¯s view about the vampires, he also further exined, ¡°Anna told me that there are blood servants who voluntarily choose that particr job. Their blood is drawn on a timely basis, but keeping their health in mind. They don¡¯t hunt or kill humans. In fact, there is aw restricting human hunting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Everard shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°¡­good.¡± Although he still didn¡¯tpletely believe Alexander, he sure hoped that everything that Alexander said was true.

    He clenched his jaw and thought, ¡®I can never forgive that King if I ever find a single bite mark on Anna¡¯s body.¡¯

    Alexander pursed his lips and waited for Everard to say something more. But when Everard kept silent, he asked something off the top of his head.

    ¡°By the way, did you already know that Henry and the others were here? You didn¡¯t seem that surprised earlier.¡±

    Everard held the bridge of his nose as if he was bothered by some smell and then revealed, ¡°Yes, I was already aware of their presence when I saw you at the gate. But I didn¡¯t want to make a fuss about it at that time. I wanted to eventually ask why they were here but I never got the chance until he bust in and you told me about them on your own.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Alexander pursed his lips again and nodded. He was impressed with how Everard was aware of them even when they hid so well.

    Once again, the room was filled with silence.

    Everard took his time to get up on his feet and settle down on the sofa that was in front of Alexander. Both of them kept on staring nkly until something struck Everard¡¯s mind.

    ¡°You know¡­ now that I think about it, I think I always knew about it. About the actual blood pact. But since my father never told me what we truly were until I turned into a wolf and found out myself, I had a misconception that we weren¡¯t allowed to reveal our secret to any humans. Because he kept the secret well-guarded from me, his son.¡±

    He paused for a while and looked at Alexander, wondering about something. Then he quickly continued, ¡°But I had my misconception cleared. I think it was Lorenzo who corrected me some time ago¡­ that the blood pact didn¡¯t restrict me from revealing what I was to you. Or it was someone else¡­ I forgot the detail.¡±

    ¡°But yes!¡± Everard let out an angry chuckle and mumbled, ¡°I was betrayed by my own mind and behaved so pathetically¡­¡± He felt his ears getting hot when he recalled how Henry had seen him in a wretched state.

    He drooped his shoulders and spoke under his breath in a defeated manner, ¡°I hope they won¡¯t tell their King about my state today. I bet he will enjoy listening to it.¡±

    Alexander heard as well as understood Everard even though he was just mumbling. He cleared his throat and consoled Everard, ¡°Er¡­ I will order them not to say anything. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Everard smiled at his friend. Although he was sure that those vampires wouldn¡¯t miss any detail while reporting back to their King, he didn¡¯t want to dwell much on it.

    Everard mmed his back against the backrest of the sofa and then groaned, ¡°When will your maids finish preparing the bath for me anyway? I am feeling itchy to the point where I want to take off my skin too.¡±

    ¡°They should be done by now.¡± Alexander turned his head towards the door and said, ¡°I think they didn¡¯t want to disturb us.¡± He looked back at Everard and said, ¡°I asked them to prepare the bath in the room where you stayed thest time you were here. You can go ahead and rest.¡±

    Everard showed his thumb in response but didn¡¯t immediately run out of the room.

    Alexander wondered if he was trying to avoiding in contact with the vampire guards. So, he asked, ¡°Do you want me toe with you? Or do you want me to ask the maids to prepare the bath right here?¡±

    Everard stretched his arms and then said after getting up, ¡°You cane with me. I think we still have a lot to talk about.¡±

    Alexander smiled and replied while following his friend, ¡°I think we do.¡±

    When the two of them got out of the room, they didn¡¯t see Alexander¡¯s vampire guards anywhere.

    Seeing Alexander frantically looking up and down the corridor, Everard chuckled and spoke loudly as though he also intended those guards to hear him, ¡°They are good at hiding themselves physically but they should learn to hide their smell too. They don¡¯t give off a strong smell like us, but I guess I have a really strong sense of smell.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he could hear faint footsteps scurrying about. He smirked and shook his head at theirck of discretion while following the Crown Prince.

    ¡®They aren¡¯t even trying to hide their presence anymore,¡¯ he thought to himself and kept on walking forward.

 Chapter 411 - 411 The Man Named Romulus

    411 The Man Named Romulus

    After both Alexander and Everard entered the guest chamber, Alexander quickly headed for the bathroom to check if the bath was indeed ready or not. He noticed that the tub was full, but still went ahead to dip his finger to check the temperature of the water.

    He turned to look at Everard, who was already taking off his dusty clothes and asked, ¡°The water isn¡¯t very warm. Shall I ask the maids to add more hot water?¡±

    Everard dropped all of his clothes on the floor and answered as he also entered the bathroom, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I can¡¯t wait to bathe anymore.¡±

    And without waiting for Alexander to move aside, he stepped into the tub, sshing water all over Alexander¡¯s trousers and shoes.

    ¡°You arse!¡± Alexander shouted and immediately sshed some water right on Everard¡¯s face.

    Everard simplyughed off that reaction from Alexander and even teased him, ¡°You want to help me take a bath?¡± He even leaned forward to show his back to Alexander and said mockingly, ¡°Go ahead. You can rub the soap on my back.¡±

    Alexander rolled his eyes and turned on his heels. He stepped out of the bathroom while asking, ¡°Shall I call someone to assist you then?¡±

    Everard chuckled and replied while still teasing Alexander, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want anyone other than the Crown Prince to help me out.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Alexander scoffed at that audacity of Everard and shouted, ¡°Then you can go ahead and drown yourself in the tub because that¡¯s not going to happen.¡±

    .....

    Everard burst intoughter when he heard his friend losing his calm over something so small.

    Alexander also ended upughing even though he was angry at the moment because Everard¡¯sugh was really contagious. He then dragged a chair from the corner of the room and ced it near the door so as to chat with Everard while he bathed.

    After watching Everard rub soap all over his face quite aggressively, he asked something that he wanted to ask earlier, ¡°Eve¡­ How does one turn into a wolf though? I mean, I got it that it¡¯s kind of forced but¡­ how exactly?¡±

    Everard wiped thether from his eyes and then looked at Alexander¡¯s curious face.

    Alexander folded his arms and shared the idea that he had in his mind. ¡°Like does some magic dust fall off from the full moon that only your kind can see or absorb or something like that? And it somehow transforms you into a wolf¡­¡±

    Everard wanted tough out loud when he heard that absurdity from his friend. However, he clenched his teeth and controlled himself because he didn¡¯t want his friend to feel humiliated.

    He began to casually rub the soap on his arms as he tried to appease his friend¡¯s curiosity.

    ¡°I would be the happiest person on Earth if the process of transformation was as easy as you said. But sadly¡­¡± He heaved a deep sigh and continued, ¡°¡­the process is way too excruciating. Literally every bone in your body breaks and reforms so, you can guess how unbearably painful that would be.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Alexander covered his mouth with both of his palms. His eyes were wide open because of shock. ¡°And to think that you have to go through that each month!¡± he eximed in a muffled voice.

    Everard put the soap aside and washed his face. His mind began to wander to the memory of his first transformation.

    He cleared his throat and continued to speak after swallowing, ¡°My first transformation was the worst. I don¡¯t even recall most of it. I don¡¯t remember how I ended up in the woods in the first ce. All I remember is seeing the full moon. And suddenly, my whole body started to convulse.¡±

    ¡°Soon, my bones were breaking. I felt as though someone was ying with my voodoo doll, breaking all my bones mercilessly. The pain was never-ending.¡± Everard slipped into the tub until the water came to his neck.

    And he mumbled while staring at the ceiling, ¡°I even bit someone that night after turning into the wolf. Neither my body nor my mind was in my control.¡±

    Alexander¡¯s heart was beating rapidly when he heard that. ¡®So, I should stay away from him during full moons¡­¡¯ he took a mental note. Then he asked, ¡°I-Is that person okay?¡±

    Everard gulped and mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I lost contact with her.¡±

    ¡°Her?¡± Alexander suddenly raised his eyes and tried to confirm his suspicion, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that person is¡­¡±

    ¡°Ruby,¡± Everard answered.

    ¡°Oh¡­ my god!¡± Alexander eximed again. A lot more things suddenly started to make sense now. ¡°So, you, Lorenzo, and Ruby didn¡¯t include me in your conversations because at that time you thought I would die if you revealed the secret to me?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± came the short reply.

    Alexander held his head with his palm because he finally understood that Everard wasn¡¯t drifting away from him because he found newpanions. He closed his eyes and thought, ¡®He was deliberately maintaining the distance because he wanted to keep me safe! And I doubted his intention.¡¯

    After talking some more about Everard¡¯s abilities and experiences so far, the two of them finally began talking about the disputes and misunderstandings that arose because of the attack in Xanmar. Everard exined his side of the story once more and Alexander also expressed his understanding.

    Alexander heaved a sigh and then kept Everard in the loop regarding the recent developments. ¡°So, I had a meeting with King Caspian as soon as I received yourst letter. I didn¡¯t want things to escte than they already had.¡±

    Everard got out of the bathtub and grabbed a towel to wipe his body. And he asked while drying his hair, ¡°What was his response?¡± He sneered and said somewhat degradingly, ¡°I bet he still believes that I was to me for that attack even after I sent a letter to him too.¡±

    However, he was surprised to hear Alexander¡¯s response.

    ¡°No. Actually, he was the one to convince me that you had nothing to do with the attack.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everard scoffed in disbelief. He wrapped the towel around his waist and asked again, ¡°Are you sure about that? Or are you simply making stuff up so that I wouldn¡¯t hate him as much as I do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not making it up!¡± Alexander emphasized. ¡°He had sent¨C umm¡­¡± He was about to reveal that Caspian had sent spies to Xanmar but he stopped himself from revealing it.

    ¡°He had sent what?¡± Everard raised his brows, sensing that Alexander was trying to cover something up.

    ¡°Er¡­¡± Alexander pursed his lips and tried to change the topic, ¡°I will ask the maids to bring your clothes here. You didn¡¯t bring it with you, right?¡±

    Everard stood in front of Alexander and looked down at him with narrowed eyes. And he asked in a straightforward manner, ¡°You¡¯re hiding something from me. What is it?¡±

    Alexander was now in a dilemma. ¡°What?¡± He let out a fakeugh and mumbled, ¡°I am not hiding anything. What are you even saying?¡±

    All Everard had to do to make Alexander talk was fist on his hips and then stare at Alexander with a chiding expression on his face.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I lied¡­¡± Alexander furrowed his brows and thought, ¡®I mean, King Caspian himself gave me permission to reveal the identity of the main perpetrator of the attack. So, I don¡¯t think he will mind if I tell Eve how he sent spies to Xanmar. Else, how can I prove that the real culprit is different from the one who was punished by Eve?¡¯

    ¡°Well?¡± Everard restlessly tapped his foot on the floor, urging Alexander to hurry up and answer him.

    And Alexander cleared his throat and said, ¡°King Caspian had¡­¡± He paused for a brief second and continued, ¡°He had carried out an investigation from his side. And he found out that the man who was behind the attack was not you.¡±

    Everard rolled his eyes and grumbled, ¡°Of course, it wasn¡¯t me! I clearly mentioned it in my letter.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Alexander gave a nod and casually revealed, ¡°It was the man named Romulus Atkinson. Someone assasina¨C¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Everard was totally shocked when he heard that name.

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Thinking that Everard might believe King Caspian to be the one behind that culprit¡¯s murder, he quickly said, ¡°That man was assassinated before we could confront him. I mean, when we found out that that man was behind the attack, he was already dead.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no¡­¡± Everard closed his eyes and mumbled in utter confusion, ¡°I know that he is dead. But¡­ are you sure that the information that you just gave me is a hundred percent true?¡±

 Chapter 412 - 412 New Nurse

    412 New Nurse

    Vincent was leaning on the wall while watching the newly appointed nurse performing a routine check-up on Ti.

    After he watched the nurse take Ti¡¯s pulse and check her eyes and tongue, he walked closer to the bed and asked, ¡°How¡¯s her health, Mrs. Abney?¡±

    Mrs. Abney was a middle-aged woman with quite a few years of experience in her field of work. Her warm voice and innately caring nature for the patients was what got her selected among a few other candidates who appeared at the doorsteps of the Warmane Mansion for the job interview.

    She turned to look at the Lord and answered him in herforting voice, ¡°Other than her back, her vitals are showing improvement, Milord.¡±

    She looked back at Ti and gently held her palm. And she further said, ¡°The Mistress was telling me that she was having a problem with her arms and legs.¡±

    This was the first time Vincent was hearing about it. Thus, he asked in a shocked tone, ¡°What? What happened to her arms and legs?¡±

    Ti, who was listening to their conversation silently until now looked at that restless expression on Vincent¡¯s face and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Mrs. Abney understood that Ti didn¡¯t want Vincent to worry too much about her.

    Thus, she supported what Ti was saying, ¡°Not having full control of motor function after such a bad fall is a normal reaction. With some light routine exercises, like this one for example¡­¡± She demonstrated by pumping her fists and said, ¡°¡­she will be back to normal in no time.¡±

    .....

    Vincent furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Abney gave a warm smile and said in herforting voice, ¡°I have treated a few patients with simr problems. So, you can rest assured, Milord.¡±

    Vincent let out a deep sigh and gave a nod. ¡°I will leave her in your care then,¡± he said while entrusting Ti¡¯s health to the nurse.

    Mrs. Abney then turned to look at the tray that a maid had brought earlier. The tray was lying on the bedside table and contained a water bag filled with cold water.

    She gently picked it up and then asked for Vincent¡¯s help, ¡°Milord, will you help the Mistress toy on her side? I need to press this on her back.¡±

    ¡°Why, of course.¡± Vincent quickly took off his shoes and climbed on the bed because there was no other way to get closer to Ti. She was sleeping on the other end of the wide bed and that end was upied by the nurse. So, he walked on his knees and reached Ti¡¯s side.

    Ti¡¯s heart was racing when she felt Vincent¡¯s cold hands slipping under her body. She drew in a sharp breath and clutched her gown when the cold seeped through her rtively thick clothes.

    Vincent nced at Ti¡¯s blushing cheeks and said after smirking, ¡°Please excuse me. I am going to turn you now.¡±

    Ti bit her lower lip and turned her head to the other side before giving a nod.

    Vincent was very gentle and careful when he helped Ti. Ti felt a stinging pain in her back but she closed her eyes and didn¡¯t make a sound. And yet, Vincent could see that she was in pain.

    ¡°Did I hurt you even more?¡± he asked while looking guilty for not being gentler.

    Ti shook her head and mumbled, ¡°No, it¡¯s not because of you, Milord. It hurts when I try to move even a bit.¡±

    Vincent kept on furrowing his brows as he intently stared at Ti¡¯s delicate face.

    Mrs. Abney was waiting for the Lord to move aside from her patient. But when he did not, she cleared her throat because her hands were already freezing as she was still holding that cold water bag.

    Vincent broke out of his daze and sat down on the bed instead of hovering over Ti.

    Mrs. Abney looked at Ti¡¯s back and then tried to loosen theyers of the gown so that the cold from the water would easily reach Ti¡¯s back. And while she tried to do so, she mumbled so as not to fill the room with awkward silence.

    ¡°It would be really nice for the Mistress if it snowed. We could use the snow instead of cold water. Snow is more effective in such cases.¡±

    She was unsessful in what she was trying to do even after she tried for a while. Thus, she smiled at Vincent and asked another favor from him, ¡°Milord, will you help me remove the Mistress¡¯ clothes? I need to¨C¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Ti eximed while ring at the nurse in shock. She was feeling embarrassed for something that she didn¡¯t even say.

    Even Vincent was feeling mortified by the demand of the nurse. So, he turned his head away and fisted over his mouth while pretending to cough.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A soft whisper of realization escaped the nurse¡¯s mouth. She bowed to both of them and apologized, ¡°Please excuse my insolent behavior. I had assumed that you two were a¡­ married couple.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Ti looked at the nurse with wide eyes and shook her head, ¡°We are not.¡±

    ¡°Yet.¡± Vincent smiled at the nurse and corrected Ti, ¡°We¡¯re not married yet.¡±

    Ti would have loved to give a death re to Vincent for saying such things in front of strangers. ¡®If only he wasn¡¯t sitting behind me right now!¡¯ she eximed in her head.

    Mrs. Abney looked down and smiled. Although the two of them imed that they weren¡¯t married, she could clearly see some spark between the two of them. And she didn¡¯t judge them for their feelings.

    Thus, she boldly asked Vincent, ¡°Just help me loosen her gown around her back then.¡± She shed the water bag in her hand and said, ¡°I need to press this directly on her skin.¡±

    Ti opened her mouth to protest, ¡°Milord, I think it would be better if you called for a¨C¡±

    However, by the time she was about to make her request, Vincent was already reaching for theces around her stomach.

    She drew in a sharp breath and bit her lower lip when she felt his cold fingers dancing on her back as he slightly pushed the gown towards her bottom.

    She thought that he would stop but when he kept on going lower and lower than what she expected, she suddenly lifted her hand and grabbed his palm.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough¡­¡± she said in a ragged whisper.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Vincent snapped out of his dazed state and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± His face soon turned red with embarrassment and he decided that it was better to leave Ti alone with the nurse.

    ¡°I will wait outside,¡± he mumbled before rushing out of the chamber.

 Chapter 413 - 413 Hope for Future

    413 Hope for Future

    Mrs. Abney watched Vincent disappear from the room. She had a subtle smile on her lips when she turned back to look at Ti.

    She then informed Ti about what she was going to do. ¡°I will now apply pressure on your back with the cold water bag. Tell me if your skin gets unbearably cold.¡±

    After Ti gave a nod to the nurse, the nurse gently pressed the bag.

    There was no change in Ti¡¯s expression because she didn¡¯t feel the cold right away. However, after a few minutes, she finally felt the cold prating her bones.

    She looked at the nurse and then said how she was feeling, ¡°Mrs. Abney, I think my skin around my back has gone numb. I didn¡¯t feel the cold on my skin, but now I can feel it in my bones.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Mrs. Abney nodded her head and lifted the water bag away from Ti¡¯s back.

    ¡°Is that bad?¡± Ti asked in a worried voice.

    Mrs. Abney shook her head and said in a reassuring way, ¡°Oh, no. It¡¯spletely normal to feel that way.¡±

    However, Ti still had several worry lines on her forehead.

    .....

    Thus, after putting the water bag back on the tray, Mrs. Abney said while covering Ti¡¯s back, ¡°Mistress, now that I am here to take care of you, let me worry about your health. I will do my best to help you recover in no time.¡±

    Ti looked at Mrs. Abney and finally smiled. Her eyes, however, were glistening with tears.

    ¡°Is something still bothering you, Mistress?¡± Mrs. Abney asked when she noticed that mncholic look on Ti¡¯s face.

    Ti smiled even more widely when she heard Mrs. Abney¡¯s question. She wiped her nose and then mumbled while staring nkly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just¡­ miss my mother when I look at you. She also used to be so worried about me. And you are doing the same. So, you reminded me of my mother.¡±

    Mrs. Abney felt a slight prick in her heart when Ti expressed her sorrow. The way she was speaking, Mrs. Abney wondered if Ti¡¯s mother was no more. So, she asked subtly, ¡°Is your mother not around?¡±

    Ti sniffled and then replied, ¡°She is back at our home in Orsenia.¡±

    Mrs. Abney had heard that the current Queen was from the same Kingdom. So, she probed further, ¡°So, you came here with the Queen then?¡±

    Ti nodded her head. ¡°Yes, I apanied the Queen. Until now, I barely missed my mother because I used to be too busy for that. But now that I am bedridden, a lot of thoughtse to my mind. I miss my mother frequently. And after talking with you¡­ I miss her even more.¡±

    Mrs. Abney couldn¡¯t help but smile upon hearing such kind words from Ti. She sat down at the edge of the bed and then gently caressed Ti¡¯s hair as though she was her own daughter.

    She could see the yearning for motherly love in Ti¡¯s eyes. Thus, she warmly said, ¡°While I am here, I will take care of you on your mother¡¯s behalf then.¡±

    Ti gulped when she felt something in her throat. She smiled at Mrs. Abney and said in a soft voice, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Vincent was standing in the hallway, in front of the door to his own chamber. Since his room was adjacent to the room where Ti was staying, he could clearly hear the conversation going on in Ti¡¯s room from where he was currently standing.

    And after eavesdropping on the conversation between Ti and Mrs. Abney, he was happy that he made the right choice in selecting the nurse.

    He entered his chamber with a broad smile on his face andy down on his huge bed. And after staring at the ceiling and thinking about a lot of things, he finally mumbled, ¡°I think I should take Ti to Orsenia to meet her mother before sending her back to the Kilerth Castle.¡±

    Vincent was beaming when he imagined Ti getting excited in the future after he would break the news to her. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see her jump on her feet and then embrace me in her excitement¡­¡± He smiled and even felt somewhat embarrassed by his own thoughts.

    He kept on weaving scenarios in his head where Ti was impressed by him and rewarded him with hugs and kisses. And while he did that, he was twisting and turning on his bed as if he was a teenager who was daydreaming about his first-ever love.

    After quite a while, he finally calmed down and came back to his normal self. He sat up straight on the bed and then thought, ¡®When we go to Orsenia, should I take the opportunity to talk with Ti¡¯s mother too?¡¯

    His eyes glowed with excitement. ¡®Yes!¡¯ He pped his hands and then softly muttered to himself, ¡°I think I should get her mother¡¯s permission in advance so that I can propose to her when the time is right.¡±

    Impressed by his own nning for the future, Vincent jumped out of the bed and hopped out of his room like a happy rabbit. He went to his mansion¡¯s garden in the backyard and screamed at the top of his lungs while facing the rich-blue sky.

    The excitement and happiness that was bubbling up in his heart were so overwhelming that he had to let it out.

    After screaming at the sky, he ran back inside the mansion and then towards his own chamber.

    However, right when he was about to enter his chamber, he saw Mrs. Abney walking out of Ti¡¯s room. Thus, he stopped to greet her and said, ¡°I hope everything went well.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Abney smiled and gave a nod.

    And Vincent gestured towards the opposite end of the hallway and said, ¡°You may head towards your room and take a rest then. I hope Penelope has prepared everything that you might need.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes!¡± Mrs. Abney said with a happy squeak. ¡°Miss Penelope showed me around the room that I was supposed to use. It looks great. I am very thankful to you, Milord, for treating me so kindly.¡±

    ¡°Why, of course.¡± Vincent walked with Mrs. Abney and said, ¡°You will be looking after someone who is very dear to me. So, I should treat you well so that you will return the favor to me by taking good care of her.¡±

    Mrs. Abney was smiling ear to ear when she heard that.

    And she couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°I think the marriage between our King and the Queen had a positive impact on at least a few vampires like you.¡±

    Vincentughed and simply agreed, ¡°Yes, I think it did. I wouldn¡¯t have met Ti otherwise.¡±

    Though Mrs. Abney had some reservations before applying for the position of nurse at the mansion of a Vampire Lord, she was happy that she applied.

    She found everyone in the mansion to be very open to humans. And to be in a vampire¡¯s ce and not be seen as some inferior species was very hard toe by.

    She heaved a sigh and said while still smiling, ¡°I wish to see more vampires treating us humans with more kindness in the future.¡±

    Vincent also nodded and said in a serious tone, ¡°I hope so too. Without humans, we cannot survive. So, it is only fair that we treat humans as our equals, if not as someone superior to us. For if humans were to cease to exist, we would go extinct too.¡±

    Mrs. Abney lifted her gaze to look at Vincent¡¯s face. She saw the sincerity in his eyes. And she praised him, ¡°I hope more vampires will share your way of thinking.¡±

 Chapter 414 - 414 Five

    414 Five

    It was around 4 AM in the morning. Jerome was still sitting on the chair in his workroom, checking the wall clock every two minutes. And because he was watching the pendulum swinging for almost the whole night, without getting a wink of sleep, he was beginning to feel dizzy.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± He massaged his forehead and mumbled to himself, ¡°When did His Majesty start to head back from Orsenia anyway? I thought he would be here about two hours ago.¡±

    He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He then rested his chin on his crossed palms and thought while being worried about the King¡¯s safety, ¡®I hope no obstacles arose in his travel back¡­ Or in his travel there¡­ or during his time in Orsenia.¡¯

    Letting the King leave his sight and not getting any information on his whereabouts was taking a toll on Jerome¡¯s peace of mind.

    He closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. And mumbled again, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t arrive in time for the ceremony tonight then there is no telling what the people will say or do.¡±

    All his worries suddenly vanished when he heard themotion outside, near the gates. He quickly got up from the chair and rushed outside in no time.

    He was running at such a fast speed that he skidded when he tried to stop himself before he collided with the guards who were standing in front of Everard.

    ¡°Whoa! Jerome!¡± Everard was taken aback by Jerome¡¯s presence because it was still way too early in the morning and he didn¡¯t expect Jerome to still be there in the castle.

    Jerome gave a deep bow to the King and greeted him, ¡°Wee back, Your Majesty. I hope you didn¡¯t face any trouble during the travel.¡±

    .....

    Everard looked at his guard who had apanied himst and then thanked him before sending him off for resting.

    He then finally focused his attention on Jerome, who was patiently waiting for the King to answer him. ¡°The travel was really smooth, thanks to your idea of having just one guard at a time.¡±

    ¡°I am d to hear that.¡± Jerome heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. He began to walk beside Everard.

    And then he asked again, ¡°And how did the meeting with the Crown Prince go?¡± He nced at Everard¡¯s face. The King just looked a bit tired. He neither looked sad nor angry. So, he made a guess, ¡°I hope that it went well too.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. It went really well.¡± Everard had a huge smile on his face when he said that.

    Jerome was relieved to hear that too. After listening to the gist of things that were bothering him for the whole day and night, he stopped questioning the King for now.

    ¡°I will ask the maids to prepare a warm dinner for you. You should then get enough sleep before the ceremony begins.¡±

    Everard was d that he didn¡¯t have to ask Jerome to stop interrogating him. He was tired from all the running and was feeling way too sleepy because he hadn¡¯t had any sleep for two nights straight.

    ¡°Yes, please. I will dive right into bed after eating something light.¡± Everard kept on walking towards his chamber while ordering Jerome, ¡°Ask the maids to bring the food to my bedroom. And ask them to prepare the bath too. I want to bathe before eating.¡±

    Right after saying that, Everard chuckled to himself because he recalled how Alexander was teasing him for looking dirty and smelling bad.

    Jerome slightly tilted his head to the side when he heard the Kingughing to himself. And as he headed down the other corridor to pass the King¡¯s message to the rted maids, he wondered if something good had happened in Orsenia.

    ¡®I hope the two of them worked out their differences.¡¯

    ¡ª

    Everard was already deep in his sleep when the maids came to inform him that his bath was ready.

    Seeing the King fast asleep on the sofa, they were reluctant to wake him up. So, rather than disturbing the King¡¯s sleep, one of them grabbed the nket from the bedchamber and covered the King as gently as she could.

    And without making any sound, the maids left the King¡¯s chamber.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time for you to wake up.¡±

    Everard knitted his brows and groaned when he heard Jerome¡¯s voice in his sleep.

    Seeing the King going right back to his sleep, Jerome pleaded again, ¡°Your Majesty, we are going to bete. Please.¡±

    Everard gulped and finally forced his eyes open when he heard Jerome begging him to wake up. ¡°What time is it?¡± he asked in his throaty voice, his eyes still shut close.

    ¡°It¡¯s already five!¡± There was a sense of urgency in Jerome¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Five?¡± Everard flung his eyes open and then narrowed them at Jerome for disturbing his sleep. And he even scolded the poor man, ¡°Why would you wake me up so soon then? I was having such a nice sleep! I will eat and batheter when I wake up.¡±

    He pulled the nket and covered his face rather angrily. And then said in a grumpy voice, ¡°Now, leave me alone! And don¡¯t wake me up until I get up on my own.¡±

    Jerome kept on staring at the nket for a few seconds, contemting if he should let the King sleep for a few more minutes or if he should try to wake him up again.

    ¡®There are so many preparations left to do. I better wake him up now. Else we are going to bete.¡±

    Thinking that, he dared to speak again, ¡°Your Majesty, if we don¡¯t start preparing right away, we aren¡¯t going to make it to the Great Hall in time.¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡± Everard flipped the nket with his legs and red at Jerome. ¡°It¡¯s just five, for heaven¡¯s sake! Just how much preparation time do you need from me? I haven¡¯t slept for two whole days! And you expect me to attend the ceremony with just an hour of sleep?¡±

    Jerome blinked twice and then mumbled in a somewhat confused manner, ¡°Uh¡­ You¡¯ve already slept for more than 12 hours, Your Majesty. It¡¯s¡­ 5 PM, not 5 AM.¡±

    It was now Everard¡¯s turn to be baffled. ¡°W-What did you just say? It¡¯s already 5 PM?¡±

 Chapter 415 - 415 Preparation

    415 Preparation

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. It¡¯s about time that we head for the Great Hall. That¡¯s why I came to wake you up.¡± Jerome humbly said to the King.

    Everard whined like a child upon realizing that he slept for 12 hours straight because he was still feeling sleepy even after sleeping for that long.

    And although he would have loved to pull the nket and go right back to sleep for a few more hours, he knew that he couldn¡¯t do so since today¡¯s ceremony would be iplete without him.

    He forced himself to drag his body out of the sofa and then sluggishly walked towards the bathroom.

    Seeing the King finally awake, Jerome ran out of the King¡¯s chamber so that he could ask the maids to prepare his bath and breakfast/dinner.

    Everard waszily brushing his teeth with his eyes closed when he heard a few maids greeting him. He simply waved his hand at them and let them rush in and out of the bathroom.

    After a while, a maid informed, ¡°Your Majesty, your bath is ready.¡±

    Everard was still closing his eyes when he stepped inside the tub, and he nearly slipped and fell down. Startled, he was finally fully awake.

    Several maids helped him with the bath so that they could make the King ready by the deadline that was given to them by Jerome. As soon as Everard was out of the bath, they dried him and then led him to his dressing room.

    .....

    Everard examined the new suit and mumbled to himself, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that it will tear into several pieces in a few hours.¡±

    The maids helped him get dressed within a few minutes. And like before, quite a handful of them were hovering around him. Some of them werebing his hair, some were helping him choose the essories, and some were helping him with his shoes.

    Within 5:30 PM, Everard was ready to head towards the dining hall.

    He was presented with several mouthwatering dishes. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m famished!¡± he mumbled as he inhaled the aroma that was floating around in the dining hall.

    As soon as he took his seat, he began munching on a huge piece of turkey leg. Since he hadn¡¯t had proper foodst night, he stuffed himself with several other dishes until he couldn¡¯t breathe anymore.

    Jerome soon entered the dining hall and when he saw the King leaning back on his chair, he asked, ¡°Your Majesty, shall we head out now? All the preparations have been done.¡±

    Everard raised his hand and mumbled while making a stopping gesture, ¡°Give me a minute. I need to breathe.¡±

    Jerome pursed his lips and kept on standing right where he was until the King was ready to get up and leave.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Everard finally got up on his feet. And as he was walking down the corridor, while being followed by Jerome, he asked, ¡°What do I need to do as soon as I reach there in the hall?¡±

    Jerome heaved a deep sigh before answering, ¡°You will be an audience to thepetition where the candidates for the beta of the n will fight against each other.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Everard looked excited upon hearing that. ¡°Then I will see you in your battle mode today, huh?¡± He squirmed with excitement and squealed, ¡°It¡¯s going to be fun.¡±

    Jerome scoffed because he was under so much pressure right now, and Everard was enjoying it.

    Sensing the anxiousness of Jerome, Everard gave him a pat on his shoulder and said with a bright smile, ¡°I know you are going to prevail over the others. Just rx and show them who the boss is.¡±

    Jerome gave a nervous smile and said, ¡°You really have too much faith in me.¡±

    ¡°That I do.¡± Everard smiled and turned to look at all the carriages that were waiting in front of the main entrance. He looked back at Jerome and then said while beaming, ¡°All the best, Jerome. I hope to see you as my Beta. So, you better win.¡±

    Jerome looked at the King. He could feel the warmth that Everard was emitting. And he felt somewhat proud that Everard didn¡¯t continue to spiral down the wrong path.

    Seeing Everard¡¯s innocent and warm smile, he felt motivated to win. ¡®I have to protect this smile of his. I cannot forgive myself if he goes back to behaving the way he did right after losing his father.¡¯

    His eyes glistened when he recalled the vow he had made to thete King. ¡®He won¡¯t forgive me if I fail to protect the King,¡¯ he thought to himself and looked ahead with a determined look on his face.

    ¡ª

    Not just the castle, the Atkinson Mansion was also bustling with all the preparation that was going on for the night.

    Unlike the King who was heading for the Great Hall for the ceremony, the members of the Atkinson n had gathered in the Atkinson Mansion for the ceremony to instate the alpha and the beta of the n.

    ¡°How long until the ceremony begins?¡± Regulus restlessly asked Jake.

    Jake was busy looking at the guest list. He was checking to see how many of the guests were yet to arrive for the ceremony.

    He lifted his head and then answered Regulus, ¡°About an hour left, Milord.¡±

    Regulus sighed and then began tapping his leg on the floor. Ever since he had that coincidental encounter with the coachman and learned that it was the King who was the real culprit, he was restlessly waiting for this night to arrive.

    He intended to crash the gathering of the Crestfire n and confront Everard for killing Romulus in front of the mass so that Everard wouldn¡¯t be able to sweep the matter under the rug.

    Regulus stepped out of the mansion to stare at the sky. The full moon was yet to rise. He narrowed his eyes at the empty sky and thought to himself, ¡®Just you wait, King Everard. I am going to make sure that you pay for what you did.¡¯

 Chapter 416 - 416 Let Us Begin

    416 Let Us Begin

    When Everard arrived at the Great Hall, he was greeted with a respectful bow from a huge crowd.

    ¡°Wow!¡± He raised his brows in surprise when he noticed how the huge hall that could amodate thousands of people was almost half-full.

    ¡°Are all of them from the Crestfire n? Or are all the ns present here today?¡± He questioned Jerome curiously.

    Although he was previously informed that this was an exclusive ceremony to which only the members of the Crestfire n were invited, Everard wondered if he heard it right the first time after seeing such a huge crowd of people.

    Jerome proudly darted his eyes around the Great Hall. ¡°Yes, they are all from the Crestfire n.¡±

    All the werewolf members of the Crestfire n from around the Kingdom had gathered there for the ceremony to witness their new alpha taking the vow. It was a big deal for everyone since the to-be alpha was also the King, just like thest alpha.

    They were all cheering for Everard as he walked down the aisle and headed towards the stage that was prepared for him, just below the huge statue of the Moon Goddess.

    Everard felt somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention that he was getting. It was no less than his coronation day where arge number of people were cheering for him.

    ¡®I need to get used to this kind of greeting, huh?¡¯ He nervously let out a sigh and tried his best to keep his head held high.

    .....

    After Everard took his seat at the center of the stage, the crowd was soon addressed by Jerome.

    ¡°Thank you, fellow brothers and sisters, foring all the way here to witness the selection of our new alpha.¡±

    There was a burst of cheering and pping once more when Jerome said that and looked over his shoulder to take a nce at Everard.

    Everard nervously smiled and waved his hand while looking at the cheerful crowd. He could see that a lot of expectations were woven with those cheering from all those people.

    ¡®I should at least try to be half as good an alpha as my father was,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    After the cheering calmed down a little, Jerome continued addressing the crowd, ¡°We have prepared some fun activities for all of you. So, until it is time to formally start the ceremony, I urge you all to go around and enjoy yourselves.¡±

    The crowd erupted into loud cheer once more.

    Under the leadership of Jerome, the members of the Crestfire n who were in the capital hade together in advance to prepare a grand feast as well as other fun activities to keep the guests entertained.

    And seeing the people scatter around and outside the Great Hall to check out the small stalls around the corners, Everard was amazed to see how the ceremony looked more like a festival than some serious gathering.

    When Jerome came to take a seat beside Everard, thetter tilted his head to the side and mumbled, ¡°Jerome, I was thinking¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Jerome turned to face Everard.

    And Everard asked something that was bothering him, ¡°Won¡¯t it be a problem when all these people start to turn into wolves after the full moon rises? What if somebody goes mad and starts to go around the vige, terrorizing the sleeping people?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Jerome shook his head and quickly replied, ¡°You will be formally presented as the next alpha in front of the Moon Goddess way before the full moon rises. So, by the time the full moon will be at its peak, these people will be long gone. Only a few of us will stay behind.¡±

    Everard felt somewhat ufortable when he heard that. ¡°Can¡¯t we also return to the castle before the moon rises? What if I start to¡­ behave uncontrobly?¡±

    Jerome could understand Everard¡¯s concern. However, there were some traditions that needed to be followed, ¡°I am afraid we cannot leave, Your Majesty. You need to receive your blessing from the Moon Goddess once you turn into a wolf too. She will grant you the full power that you will receive as an alpha. You need to stay until then.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everard took a deep breath and then nodded his head. He thought something for a while and then asked again, ¡°I can call anyone I like here, right? After receiving the blessings and all?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Jerome gave a nod and also pulled a smile because he didn¡¯t want to discourage Everard before the ceremony even began.

    After all, the moon of a person before the transformation could also have a significant effect on the mood of the wolf.

    Everard was now looking forward to the ceremony to begin soon. He couldn¡¯t wait to use his new-found powers to summon Ruby to him.

    ¡®I am going to apologize to her as soon as she appears before me.¡¯ He nervously breathed in through his mouth and tightened his fists. He then looked up at the statue of the Moon Goddess and prayed, ¡®I hope she will forgive me for all the rude things I said to her.¡¯

    He didn¡¯t know if the sire bond was making him this obsessed with finding out the whereabouts of Ruby, but he did know that he wouldn¡¯t feel at ease until he formally apologized to her and tried to make things right with her.

    After about half an hour or so, Everard¡¯s anxiety was at the breaking point. He grabbed a hold of Jerome and then asked him, ¡°Can¡¯t we begin the ceremony now? I will get mad if I have to wait for another minute.¡±

    Jerome gave a nervous smile because it really looked like Everard was about to lose his mind. He wanted to let all the people loosen themselves up before taking them through tightly scheduled fights and the boring oath-taking ceremony.

    However, seeing Everard¡¯s restlessness, he thought of starting the ceremony a bit earlier than he had nned.

    ¡°I will begin the ceremony right away then,¡± he informed Everard and then disappeared.

    After talking with a few people and ordering some others, Jerome finally stood before the crowd and then made an announcement.

    ¡°Fellow brothers and sisters, I hope all of you have freshened up by now. I would like to request you all to grab the seats close to you because we are now going to formally start this ceremony.¡±

    The crowd erupted into cheers again.

    And when the noise settled, Jerome shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Let us begin!¡±

 Chapter 417 - 417 Old Man

    417 Old Man

    ¡°Yes!¡± Everard pumped his fist while trying to be discreet after witnessing Jerome take down the third challenger for the position of the Beta. And he pped while also looking at Jerome with a proud smile on his face.

    Not just him, almost all of the people present there were in support of Jerome since he was thest Beta who always cared for the people and never misused his power and position.

    The announcer who was standing in the middle of the fighting pit asked Jerome to take his seat in the audience row for the time being.

    And he continued, ¡°And now, we are going to witness the fight between the two young wolves who are famous for being the strongest in their own parties.¡±

    Two young men jumped inside the fighting pit while disying their inhumane abilities. The crowd cheered for them too since everyone enjoyed the fights, no matter who they supported.

    The fight was over in no time when one of them broke the ankle of the other with a solid kick.

    The fighting continued until it was time for thest two winners to fight against each other for the position. One of them was Jerome, while the other was a young man called Owen.

    ¡°Now, this fight will decide the fate of the Beta of our n.¡± The announcer was hyping everyone up with his loud voice. ¡°Let¡¯s wee them inside the pit!¡±

    Owen entered the arena with a shy move. He grabbed both of his knees and jumped the tall wired fence as if it was nothing. Jerome, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes at that shiness and entered the fighting arena through the door.

    .....

    Owen smirked at the old man and tried to get on his nerves by passing a rudement, ¡°Are you too tired, old man?¡± He flexed his muscles and then continued to speak derogatorily, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go and rest and let this young man bear the burden of the n?¡±

    Jerome simply smiled and thought to himself, ¡®Does he think that it¡¯s easy to bear such a huge burden?¡¯

    ¡°What? Cat got your tongue?¡± Owenughed while pointing at the old man and looking around at the audience so that they wouldugh along with him. ¡°He can¡¯t even say anything! Look! Hahahaha¡­¡±

    However, instead ofughing along, the whole crowd went silent, making Owen feel greatly humiliated.

    Jerome smugly smirked at that brat and asked, ¡°If you are doneughing then shall we get this over with? We have a tight schedule. And I hate it when people try to ruin what I have meticulously nned for a whole month.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Owen gritted his teeth and instantly bared his fangs.

    ¡°Begin!¡± the announcer shouted and ran outside the pit just in time to avoid getting hit by Owen who was already enraged by the partiality that all the members of the n were showing.

    Owen bore his ws as well and leaped forward to jump at Jerome.

    Jerome was calmly standing right where he was. And just when Owen was about to grab his neck with his wed fingers, he tightly gripped both of Owen¡¯s wrists and mmed him down like a ragdoll.

    The crowd erupted with joy when they saw that mouth-runner getting mmed on the floor face-down.

    Owen had let all the easy victories from earlier get to his head. Now that he got to know first-hand how strong Jerome was, he was finally on his guard. He quickly slipped out of Jerome¡¯s grip and maintained a gap between the two of them.

    The one who was known for overwhelming the opponents with a barrage of offensive moves was now ying defense.

    Jerome was an experienced man. So, he also didn¡¯t let that one lucky move get to his head. He could tell that this young man wasn¡¯t full of ego for nothing. He was the strongest among all the others he had fought until now.

    The two of them circled around each other while taking a defensive stance.

    And when Owen didn¡¯t show any initiative to attack again, Jerome bore his fangs and ws and finally leaped to get closer so that he could beat the life out of that young man.

    He was aiming to dig his set of left ws into that young man¡¯s arm and then beat him up with his right fist. However, right at thest second, Owen managed to dodge the attack. He came out with a light scratch on his arm.

    Jerome didn¡¯t let that man rest or catch his breath. He immediately jumped in again. He pretended that he was going to use the same move as before. However, at thest second, he changed the move and smashed his strong leg right at that man¡¯s abdomen.

    Owen was sent flying. If it wasn¡¯t for the wired fences, he would have crashed somewhere much further.

    While the two of them were fighting and the crowd was cheering for Jerome nonstop, Everard was sitting at the edge of his seat and holding his breath. He wasn¡¯t even blinking. His heart would pound every time Jerome would throw a blow at his opponent. And his heart would skip a beat every time Jerome would take a minor hit.

    ¡®Just win it already, old man!¡¯ Everard screamed in his head. He knew that he could easily control his Beta but he didn¡¯t want that rude man to be his Beta. He wanted Jerome and no one else. ¡®Just finish him off already!!!¡¯

    The fight was still going on even when half an hour had already passed. It was the longest fight ever. And for the restless King, it felt like several hours instead of just half.

    ¡®Oh,e on!¡¯ Everard was clenching his jaw and fidgeting his legs. He was ring at Jerome¡¯s back from the stage and was scolding Jerome in his head, ¡®Just knock him down already, Jerome! Why are you afraid to throw punches at your opponent? Don¡¯t make mee down there and beat him down for you!¡¯

    Although both Jerome and Owen had sustained countless injuries by now, and both of them werepletely drained of their stamina, both were unwilling to give up.

    However, it was already clear to everyone who the winner was going to be.

    Jerome¡¯s sheer will to fulfill thete King¡¯sst wish was keeping him going while Owen was barely moving at this point. It was just Owen¡¯s pride that didn¡¯t let him give up the fight.

    Jerome drily gulped and then tightened his fist as much as he could. He spat blood on the floor and mumbled in a breathless whisper, ¡°Just go down already! You can¡¯t even take one more hit from me!¡±

    Owen kept on standing with his staggering feet, denying to give up.

    Jerome heaved a sigh and then shrugged. ¡°If you wish to die, then so be it.¡± He let out a loud cry and charged at Owen with all his leftover energy.

    Owen got punched right in his nose.

    Finally, his eyes rolled to the back and he got knocked to the ground.

    ¡°And the winner is Lord Jerome!!!¡± the announcer shouted from outside the fighting arena.

    The whole crowd got up from their seat and cheered and pped for their Beta.

    Everard finally let out the breath that he was holding and closed his eyes in relief. A soft smile appeared on his face when he mumbled to himself, ¡°Good job, old man. Thanks for not leaving my side.¡±

 Chapter 418 Crashing

    Chapter 418 Crashing

    In the Atkinson Mansion, the ceremony was running way ahead than in the Great Hall.

    1

    There were only two contenders for the position of the Beta. Among them, one of the contenders gave up one minute into the fight.

    Although nobody seemed to suspect any foul y involved, a few of theckeys of Regulus were well aware of what had gone down a few hours before the formal inauguration of the ceremony.

    As the elders of the ns didn¡¯t show any interest in letting Regulus choose his own beta, he took matters into his own hands by threatening the candidate chosen by the others and forcing him to give up during the fight.

    And since it didn¡¯t take much time in the selection process of the Beta of the n, Regulus and the winner of the fight, Carter, took the oath together.

    As soon as Regulus finished talking with the elders to appease them, he found Jake and then dragged him to the door of the hall. And he informed Jake, ¡°I will head out for a while. Hold the fort for me.¡±

    Jake was against the idea from the moment Regulus had expressed his n to crash the ceremony of the Crestfire n.

    Thus, he tried to convince Regulus otherwise for onest time, ¡°Milord, is it necessary to do it today? Why don¡¯t we ask for an audience in the King¡¯s Court and discuss this matter more civilly?¡±

    Regulus instantly red at Jake with his bright yellow eyes and asked in a low growl, ¡°Was that man acting civilly when he massacred those men right here in the dungeon? Was he civil when he killed my brother?¡±

    He scoffed and muttered angrily, ¡°I mean, to be honest, I am d that that sick bastard isn¡¯t alive anymore. But he was still my brother by blood. And nobody messes with the Atkinsons and lives happily ever after.¡±

    Jake couldn¡¯t say a word more when Regulus was looking at him as though he was a piece of meat.

    He took a step back and mumbled softly, ¡°Then, I suggest that you return before the full moon rises. You still need to get the blessing from the Moon Goddess for today¡¯s oath to be valid.¡±

    Regulus inserted his hand in the pocket of his newly tailored coat and took out a pocket watch. It was 8 PM.

    He put the pocket watch back inside his pocket and said, ¡°There are roughly three more hours left until the full moon will be at its peak. Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t n on abandoning the n any time soon.¡±

    Regulus instantly looked over his shoulder.

    Everyone present there in the hall was lost in their own world.

    He looked around until his eyes fell on the handful of men who he trusted. Obviously, Carter was one of them.

    Regulus pointed his brows out of the door and gestured for them to follow him before stepping out of the hall.

    His men also quickly followed the suit and walked out of the hall while trying to be discreet.

    After watching the troublemakers vanishing from sight, Jake finally let go of the breath that he had been holding in for a while now. Although it was his job to offer proper pieces of advice to the alpha of the n, he was already used to getting ignored as well as terrified of the alpha while giving the advice.

    He looked out of the door and then thought to himself, ¡®Maybe I should consider resigning from my position. It seems like he is even worse than Lord Romulus. At least he used to be discreet while attacking the enemies, unlike Lord Regulus, who loves direct confrontation.¡¯

    ¡®And he is going to confront the King! The King!¡¯ he eximed while lightly bashing his head against the door. ¡®He will be the death of us! The Atkinson n will perish!¡¯

    Jake then clutched his fist over his heart and thought while grimacing, ¡®If this continues, then I will soon die from heart failure. I should go and talk with the elders. Maybe they will allow me to retire¡­¡¯

    ---

    Back at the Great Hall, Everard and Jerome were standing side by side while facing the statue of the Moon Goddess.

    One of the elders of the n had already initiated the oath-taking process.

    Everard was staring at the feet of the statue that came to his eye level. And he was wondering if his father was watching over him and the n at the moment.

    ¡®Father, I don¡¯t know if you can see all this. But if you are then I would like you to give us your blessing. Please watch over us. Watch over me. I only know a few things about this n and werewolves¡­ I might make mistakes. So, guide me along the way.¡¯

    And as if Jerome heard everything that Everard was saying in his heart, he nced at Everard and gave him a pat on his shoulder.

    Everard broke out of his trance and turned to look at Jerome. He was met with a warm smile from Jerome, and also a warm sentence.

    ¡°We got this.¡±

    Everard smiled back at Jerome and nodded his head. ¡°Yes. We got this,¡± he repeated.

    The elder who was reciting something in an ancientnguage then gestured for both Everard and Jerome to touch the feet of the Moon Goddess.

    When they obeyed, he asked them to repeat after him. ¡°On this sacred altar, I¡­¡±

    Both Everard and Jerome took their own names.

    And the elder continued, ¡°¡­take this eternal oath with my free will, and pledge that I will dedicate my mind and my soul for the preservation of our Crestfire n. I will dedicate my life to keep the n unified, and I will dedicate my efforts to keep our n away from any outside dangers.¡±

    Everard and Jerome repeated the oath, word by word.

    After that, they were directed to make a small cut on their palms and drop their blood on the grand chalice that was sitting at the feet of the statue of the Goddess.

    Everard was expecting some kind of magic to happen before his eyes because everyone was making such a big deal out of this oath-taking ceremony. However, he was a little disappointed when their blood simply diluted in the water that was already in the chalice.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± he asked Jerome in a rather disheartened tone.

    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± Jerome pointed his thumb over his shoulder and then said, ¡°Now, we greet everyone and it¡¯s over for the time being.¡±

    ¡°O¡­kay¡­¡± Everard pursed his lips and slowly turned around.

    When both Everard and Jerome turned to face the crowd, the crowd seemed delighted by the newly appointed heads of their n. They showered the two of them with flowers and petals that they had brought along with them and pped as well as cheered for them.

    Amidst all the cheering, only a few of them noticed that some of the werewolves who had just arrived there weren¡¯t from their own n.

    ¡°Who are they? They aren¡¯t looking for any trouble, are they? Do we need to inform someone?¡± one of the young men who was standing near the huge door of the hall asked his friend.

    Regulus happened to catch that and gave a sly smirk to that man. And he said in a rather sweet voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am only looking forward to congratting the new alpha.¡±

 Chapter 419 Intruders in the Hall

    Chapter 419 Intruders in the Hall

    Immediately after lying about the purpose behind his visit, Regulus and his men began pushing through the crowd to make their way toward the altar.

    1

    ¡°Argh! Who the hell just shoved me to the side?¡± one of the werewolves of the Crestfire n grunted and looked behind when he felt someone pushing him aside with much greater force than what was necessary.

    All he saw was some more people shouting and getting mad at someone who pushed them too.

    Soon, themotion that was caused by Regulus and his men was noticed by Jerome as well as Everard.

    ¡°Who the hell are they?¡± Everard frowned at the disorder that was arising and asked his newly appointed Beta.

    Jerome was already on his guard by now because though the ceremony crashers were still quite far away from the altar, he recognized the distinct smell that they carried.

    He abruptly gestured for some of the werewolves who were standing near the corner of the altar toe to him. And as they were inconspicuously making their way toward Jerome, he informed the King, ¡°It seems like they are some uninvited guests from the Atkinson n.¡±

    Everard instantly looked rmed because he knew that they were bad news. ¡°Why now?¡± he looked at the intruders and grumbled.

    Jerome took a deep breath and replied, ¡°They can¡¯t be here at this hour for any good reason.¡±

    ¡°Milord.¡± Jerome¡¯s close subordinates stood before him and bowed their heads.

    Jerome instantly pointed at the intruders and gave those men an order, ¡°Go to them and politely ask them to leave.¡± Since they were heading straight for the altar, he also added, ¡°If they want an audience with the King then ask them to visit the castle tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Milord.¡±

    Those men instantly rushed down the altar and made their way toward Regulus and his group of men.

    Everard¡¯s eyes were still following the intruders. And while he watched them, he was getting this unsettling feeling in his heart.

    ¡®Lorenzo must have exined everything to Romulus¡¯ brother, right?¡¯ he wondered if these people from the Atkinson n were on his back because of Romulus¡¯ death.

    Before he could dive deeper into his thoughts, Jerome came closer to him and whispered, ¡°Your Majesty, we shouldn¡¯t be distracted by the intruders. Our men will take care of them. Shall I announce to everyone that they can now enjoy the feast? They have to be out of the capital before the full moon rises.¡±

    Everard nced at Jerome and gave a nod of approval. ¡°Yes, you should do that. We can¡¯t afford any idents to ur because of the members of our n.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    Jerome then walked to the center of the altar and cleared his throat before shouting his lungs out, ¡°Fellow brothers and sisters. We have prepared a grand feast for all of you to celebrate the beginning of a new era for our n. Please enjoy the feast to your fullest before you depart for your hometowns.¡±

    Everyone was waiting for further instructions. And when they received one, the crowd that was gathered around the altar began to scatter around to serve themselves some food from the buffet tables that were ced at several ces, inside and outside the Great Hall.

    When the people began to disperse, Regulus clenched his teeth because he wanted to create a big drama in front of everyone.

    Seeing the chance slipping past him, he ran at an even greater speed, dodging everyone who stood in his way, and he soon reached the foot of the altar.

    The men who had gone down to stop Regulus and the others only managed to stop everyone except Regulus.

    Jerome recognized the man and knew that he brought no good news. Thus, he quickly sprinted to the side from where Regulus was about to climb the altar.

    He stood on the way and pretended to politely greet Regulus, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s good to finally meet you in person. If I am not mistaken, you must be Lord Romulus¡¯ brother, Regulus.¡±

    Regulus also faked a smile at Jerome and nodded, ¡°Yes, I am. And you must be the loyal Beta of thete Alpha. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡±

    ¡°You are right.¡± Jerome kept on standing in Regulus¡¯ way and further introduced himself, ¡°I am now the loyal Beta of the current Alpha as well.¡±

    He then slightly narrowed his eyes at Regulus. The displeasure in his heart got reflected in his eyes when he said in a satirical manner, ¡°You¡¯re a bitte, Milord. Else you could have witnessed the battle as well as the oath-taking ceremony.¡±

    Regulus could tell that Jerome was pissed at him foring in uninvited. But he didn¡¯t care. He simply smirked and said brazenly, ¡°Oh, I thought it would be rude to leave my own ceremony. Else I would havee here earlier than I did.¡±

    He then slightly tilted his head and looked past Jerome to take a nce at the King. He smirked when his eyes met with that of Everard¡¯s.

    Everard simply feigned ignorance and turned to face the other way. He wanted Regulus and his men to be gone from the Great Hall.

    Regulus scoffed thinking that Everard was unable to meet his eyes because the pompous King was guilty of killing Romulus and the others.

    He kept on narrowing his eyes at Everard¡¯s tall figure and climbed a step. He then said to Jerome while keeping his eyes locked on Everard, ¡°Lord Jerome, I was hoping that I could congratte His Majesty on bing the alpha of this glorious n. Since I have been chosen as the new alpha of the Atkinson n, I thought that we ought to congratte each other and establish a connection.¡±

    Jerome wasn¡¯t swayed. He climbed down a step and answered while tilting his body to the side as if he didn¡¯t want Regulus to even see Everard, let alone meet him and talk to him, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t allow it, Milord. You know that only the members of the Crestfire n have that privilege today.¡±

    He turned to look at the other men of the Atkinson n who were ring in his direction. They clearly didn¡¯t disy any harmonious intention.

    Jerome looked back at Regulus and further said, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe back to the castle tomorrow? I will leave a pass at the gate for you, and a few of your men if you would like.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but since I¡¯m already here¡­¡± Regulus took some more steps and stood beside Jerome. He looked up at the man who was taller than him and smiled. Then he finished what he was saying, ¡°¡­Can¡¯t you make an exception for me? I promise I will keep it short and sweet.¡±

    Before Jerome could protest or stop Regulus from taking another step toward the newly appointed alpha, Regulus forced his way toward the center of the altar.

    He stood in front of Everard with his head held high and then greeted Everard while hiding the murderous intention that was bubbling inside his heart, ¡°It¡¯s a lovely night, isn¡¯t it, Your Majesty?¡±

    Everard¡¯s heart skipped a beat when Regulus suddenly stood in front of him and greeted him with a smile that he knew was fake. Nevertheless, he also forced a slight smile on his face and replied, ¡°Yes, indeed. It¡¯s a very wonderful night.¡±

    ¡°I am Regulus Atkinson.¡± Instead of bowing before the King, Regulus held out his hand for a handshake and said, ¡°I am pleased to have finally met you."

 Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Testing the limits of the azure spark quail (2)

    ''Perhaps if we do it some more I''ll get better acquainted at taking such a monster.'' Maya thought before her right foot slowly stretched out in search of the monster that wreaked havoc on her delicate body.

    She quickly found it standing straight upwards, still as rigid and as hot as the beginning of the night.

    Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear as he felt Maya''s movements, curious as to what she was doing.

    "How the fuck can you still be this hard!?" Maya question in shock. It was as if their love making over the past 10 hours or so never happened.

    "Oh I can easily go again if your up for it?" Frost asked with malicious intent. His left hand sliding under the sheets totch onto Maya''s quiver cheeks.

    "Bastard don''t even think about it, you''ve destroyed my delicate and frail body enough for one night!" Maya argued back through clenched teeth, powerless to stop Frost''s naughty hands.

    "Hoh frail and delicate you weren''t frail and delicatest night. If I remember at one point didn''t you use your overwhelming strength to shove me down and start¡­."

    "Ahhh s¡­shut up! Not another word!" A pink blush grew on Maya''s face as Frost''s words conjured up a certain point of their activitiesst night.

    "And for someone so frail you certainly left a fair amount of markings." Frost drew Maya''s attention to the many bite marks around his chest and abdomen before chuckling. Maya was anything but innocent, full of wild passion and a sexy figure to show for it.

    "If you don''t shut up I''ll give you another marking right here right now!" Maya suddenly emitted a chilling bloodthirst as her jaw erged and became filled with razor sharp wolf teeth. A marking from that would be anything but pleasant.

    "....."

    "....." The two lovers stared at one another in a silent stand-off. Frost was wagering whether he should continue to tease her or not.

    His mind drifted back to the feeling he got when Maya marked him before he ovepped that image with her current set of razor sharp wolf teeth. A chill ran down his spine.

    He thus stopped caressing her ass and kept his mouth shut.

    "That''s better hmph!" Maya''s jaw returned to her usual dainty one and she showed a triumphant smile before cutely giggling. That however caused her to be hit with waves of pain once again, taking the steam out of her victory.

    "Pfft" Frost forced himself to hold back hisughter and wiped a solitary tear from his eye.

    A few secondster he looked down at Maya. He saw her body quivering slightly, signs of exhaustion and intense muscle pain. His eyes showed deep affection as well as guilt.

    "Haaaaaa" after letting out a small sigh Frost manoeuvred himself to straddle over Maya.

    "W¡­What the hell do you think you''re doing!?" Maya acted like a cat that had its tail stepped on,shing out to hide her fear. She really couldn''t do anything about his weapon right now. Frost just had to wait patiently for it to go down naturally.

    "Just rx I''m not going to doing anything bad." Frost responded in a gentle tone before covering his palms in a thinyer of cold mes. He then gently ced his palms onto Maya''s back and started massaging her with his cold hands, hoping to alleviate her pain somewhat.

    "Mmmmm" Maya let out a moan, as Frost caressed her back. There was no sexual connotations just a deep set of care andfort. Maya rxed herself and enjoyed her massage, thinking that perhaps the pain was worth it in the end.

    "I saw Sam doing this for L one night in the dungeon. He called it a massage and stated that it''s a technique every man should know if he wanted to have a happy life."

    "Mmmmm" Maya moaned again as Frost pushed down on her shoulders.

    "I didn''t really understand what he meant at the time, but I do now." Frost continued his motions, relieving a great deal of pressure and pain from Maya''s back. Considering her body shape she was quite prone to taught shoulders and a tense back. Frost''s touch was working wonders, she needed to make sure he supplied her with such bliss on the regr.

    Maya was able to enjoy her lover''s delicate touch for around 5 minutes before a certain distraction overpowered her rxation.

    "Frost. I know you mean well and it''s not as though your massage isn''t good cause it is and it''s exactly what I need right now but the mood''s kind of ruined when that monster of yours keeps stabbing me in the ass whenever you move." Maya couldn''t take it anymore; it was too big and noticeable to ignore.

    Frost stopped his movements and sat back, his weapon still rock solid and pointing upwards directly above Maya''s bountiful cheeks. He scratched the side of his nose, feeling a little embarrassed but there wasn''t anything he could do about it. If the thing actually calmed down when he was caressing his girlfriend''s soft and smooth back then there''d be a problem.

    "Haaaaaaa well thanks to you I''m feeling a fair bit better [heal]." Maya let out a deep sigh before casting a healing spell, alleviating another dose pain.

    "Care for another round then stud?" Maya turned around and winked at Frost before raising her hips upwards, encapsting Frost''s protrusion in her cheeks.

    "...Damn you''re gonna be the death of me." Frost said before instantly taking Maya up on her offer.

    One round of course turned into three. Maya was forced to kick Frost out the bedroom so as to stop him from trying anything more and to stop herself from further giving into her own desires. Her body was truly at the limit this time.

    Thus Frost was forced out of his own bedroom with a mixture of a reluctant and satisfied expression. Thanks to the azure spark quail and his massage he managed to relieve himself much more this time but still he felt that he still had a lot more to give.

    ''I wonder how Daki will fare when ites to stamina?'' His mind wandered to his other girlfriend who was patiently waiting for him toe and pick her up. Unlike Maya she wasn''t inexperienced. In fact Daki had the bloodline of a subus a species known for their expertise in the bedroom.

    She even had a reputation for draining all her previous partners dry resulting in her many rtionships being rather short term.

    The moment Frost first heard this he couldn''t help but imagine how he''d fare in such a high level exchange.

    Ascivious grin grew on his lips as he turned his head to look back at the bedroom door.

    ''I''ll just have to make sure I get a lot of practise before then.''

    Maya on the other side of the door shivered the moment Frost made his internal vow but she was in too much ''difort'' to take notice. Seems like her ''hardships'' were far from over.

    With his romantic time ending early,, Frost was forced to start working. He sat on the sofa and brought up the dungeon menu.

    "Finy can you report on what happened while I was resting?" Frost immediately called his chief general for a report.

    "Certainly master."

    "Can you do it in person I''ve got something else to discuss with you." Frost still needed to inform Finy about the issues regarding his evolution to B-rank. Rying the information his father gave him yesterday took the backseat when his other option was getting intimate with Maya.

    "¡­..Alright please give me a couple minutes to finish up here." Finy responded curtly before ending themunication.

    A couple minutester Finy teleported to the private space. However he was flooded with dozens of small gashes across his body, each leaking droplets of his ruby red blood, dyeing his skin and clothes.

    Frost''s eyes opened up in surprise before he immediately removed a mid-level health potion from the dungeon vault and tossed the vial to Finy.

    "Thank you master." Finy caught the vial and downed the contents in a few gulps. His wounds started closing several secondster and his lost blood was gradually being reced.

    "[Clean up]" Finy then cast [clean up] magic removing the blood and stains before taking a seat.

    "Were you in the middle of battle when I called?" Frost moved to the kitchen and started preparing some tea.

    "Just finishing off the current wave''s upper ranks, the rest can be taken care of without me." Finy responded back, highlighting the fact that his absence from the battlefield was alright.

    "Got it¡­. How have we been faring?" Frost ced two mugs on the counter and added some tea leaves before starting up the kettle magic device.

    "Practically speaking considering what we were up against we''ve been doing pretty good. The additional ronsos, other C-rank monsters and upper D-ranks certainly helped. While you were convalescing the dungeon suffered from 3 waves, two of which were night raids containing more ghosts and undead monsters.

    fairly easy pickings for the ronsos as well as the cold me traps you installed in the third and fourth sections. But inevitably especially with the current wave losses were inevitable. Many of our weaker D-ranks perished as well as 3 frost revenants, 1 frost revenant knight, 3 lesser yuki-onnas and unfortunately we also lost a ronso." Finy frowned as he brought this information up.

 Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Losing a ronso

    Frost''s hands froze in ce when he heard Finy mention that a ronso was lost in battle. That was the first C-rank monster to die among his forces, a serious blow- the ice revenant was just in a state of depleted energy and would be back in the fight after another couple days of rest, so it didn''t count.

    "That''s not good. How did he die?" Frost asked with a pronounced frown. The ronsos were quite important to him given his direct involvement in their species establishment. Losing one of them struck a cord in his heart, filling him with a sense of loss and anger.

    Finy let out a sigh before exining what happened. He knew his master would feel dejected at hearing the loss of one of the ronsos, so he exined in detail.

    "This wave contained quite a mixture of different reptiles, drakes, lizards, snakes and even crocodiles. A lot of avenues to cover thus our upper ranks were spread quite thin. The drakes and crocodiles were both hard hitters with tough defences, refusing to go down even with extensive injuries.

    Whereas the snakes and lizards utilised their impressive speed and agility to make up for the drakes and crocodile''s shortings. They also had venomous variants that dealt a significant blow to our forces." Finy frowned and took a breath before continuing.

    "Seeing the danger Khuno, Kiba and myself all took to the battlefield alongside 14 ronsos and several other C-ranks. Unfortunately none of us were on our A-game given the exhaustion from the previous waves plus leading the reptiles were 5 C-ranks each in a heavy state of frenzy.

    3 of them, a drake, a lizard and a snake were all within the range of entry level C-rank whereas thest two were mid rank, a crocodile monster known as the demon spiked zi. A fierce creature weighing several tons, chock full of armoured scales and devasting teeth.

    Its physical traits even outssed those of the mid ranked drakes you defeated previously master." Frost had just about finished making the tea, but his eyes opened up wide in surprise when Finy described the demon spike zi.

    The drakes were by far the most physically gifted species he''d everid eyes on, but Finy was saying that a creature with the same ranking surpassed even them. His surprise quickly changed to shock.

    ''How on Nova were our losses so low if that was the case?''

    "Thankfully however it was a purely physical entity with no magic capabilities and no breath attack¡­.it just took a lot of damage to finally bring it down." Finy covered his right shoulder. The demon spiked zi managed to dislocate it with a fierce swipe of its tail sending him flying across the field and through a bunch of trees.

    A rude awakening but one that alerted everyone else of the creatures physical capabilities. Finy however felt the frustration once again from his limitations, his strength had stagnated. He was truly struggling against his recent opponents, something that was set to only grow worse.

    "What of thest C-rank?" Frost asked as he carried over the two cups of tea.

    "It was a massive snake known as a baltic anaconda, over 12 metres long and with a girth of over 4 metres. This thing was an absolute monster, it practically yed around when faced against me and Kiba. Knocking us down with a swift flourish or easily dodging our strikes with its insane flexibility." Finy shivered as he remembered the look in the snake''s eyes.

    It looked at him as though he was simply prey, a gaze full of mocking.

    "It managed to instantly devour an ice dwarf. Stretching its jaw to an unimaginable size it swallowed him whole, like he was nothing but a snack. We couldn''t even react in time to stop it, powerless to watch as the lump that was ourrade gradually descended down the beast''s gullet. Getting crushed by its powerful internal constricting muscles.

    Within 20 seconds the lump had been reduced to the size of an artic horned rabbit¡­..that was when things really went downhill." Finy was visibly shaking at this point; his hands were clenched into tight fists and his teeth were grinding against one another.

    Frost took the seat opposite his general and passed him his tea before cing a hand on his shoulder, pacifying him and asking him to continue.

    Frost himself was no longer in quite a joyous mood, he felt regret in choosing to abandon his duties in managing the dungeon for intimacy with Maya but at the same time he recognised that despite the horrible situation the dungeon was still standing. Finy was here before him with many minor injuries but nothing too major and the losses suffered weren''t that bad considering.

    The dungeon didn''t actually need him overseeing everything, something that was both a good feeling as well as a lonely one.

    "Thank you master." Finy took the cup and sipped its contents before carrying on.

    "The sight of the ice dwarf being devoured filled a lot of the lower D-ranks into a state of panic. Their reactions dulled and the strength behind their attacks weakened resulting in many of them perishing." Finy wasn''t kidding when he said the majority of their lower D-ranks perished, Frost would need to spend a fair chunk to rece them all.

    "The silver lining to this however meant that the ronsos and other C-rank monsters had less to defend, they could instead direct their energy into attacking thus we ended up in a pseudo stalemate with each side clearing out their weaker counterparts."

    "Near the end of the battle the C-rank lizard and entry level C-rank snake -slightly smaller but of the same species as the baltic anaconda- perished under thebined efforts of Khuno and the majority of the ronsos leaving the devil spiked zi, frost drake and the bigger and nastier baltic anaconda.

    Clearly a good sign of our pending victory, moral sky rocketed, and the remaining D-ranks seemed to be reinvigorated." Finy paused and took a calming sip of tea before continuing.

    "The remaining baltic anaconda then made its move. I don''t know if it was angered by the loss of the other anaconda or if it had just gotten enraged at the fact that its prey had dared to fight back but the redness in its eyes amplified, and it began to attack in earnest and far with better precision.

    It reared itself upwards and hissed loudly, knocking its surrounding attackers into a temporary daze but it didn''t attack right away instead this was an order. A momentter weaker snake monsters that specialised in poison reacted. They stop what they were doing and heeded the anaconda''s orders.

    They moved swiftly towards three of the ronsos attacking the anaconda in mass, utilizing their temporary dazed state to swarm them and bite down on their flesh, pumping them full of their special toxin."

    Frost frowned he could understand where this was going. The result of losing a ronso or even a couple ronsos was to be expected but the scarier thing was the anaconda''s ability tomand the other monsters with such precision. This was a sign that the upper ranked monsters that were attacking the dungeon were notpletely under the influence of the frenzied state, a far more dangerous adversary.

    A mindless beast was easy to deal with but one that could think, n, and more importantly be patient was a much different enemy.

    "The venomous snakes were swiftly killed by the ronsos once they regained their faculties but unfortunately the poison was already inside their bodies. The snakes suicide attack had worked, sacrificing many lower ranked entities to harm or even kill a few higher ranked ones, a useful strategy.

    The ronsos gradually found their bodies failing them as the battle progressed, they lost strength, their visions darkened, and they were wracked with pain. Our other forces did their best to pick up the ck, but we were already struggling. The demon spiked zi was still raring for battle as was the frost drake and many upper D-rank monsters, there was nothing we could do.

    Inevitably one of the ronsos sumbed to the poison, he copsed to his knees unable to stand¡­..the baltic anaconda wasted no time, striking at that exact moment. It opened up its jaw wide and swallowed the ronsos whole just like with the ice dwarf." Finy snapped his fingers describing how fast the situation went down.

    Frost felt an eery chill down his spine, a frightening way to go.

    "However¡­." Finy looked directly into Frost''s eyes, his gaze filling with pride as well as frustration.

    "Unlike the ice dwarf the ronso, your ronso didn''t go down without a fight. He knew that this was the end of his life, so he decided to go out with a bang." Finy mmed his cup of tea against the coffee table.

    "In hisst moments, as his body was consumed by the anaconda and inevitably crushed by its constricting muscles he filled his entire body with cold mes. Ones at a much higher level than what he could do normally.

    He expended his life force to summon high mortal grade cold mes and burned himself along with the baltic anaconda in a silvery ze of freezing fire...his brave act brought the beast to the gates of hell.

    He showed it that ronsos weren''t prey and that attempting to feast on them would result in death." Finy remembered that at that moment he could swear he could hear the ronsoughing as he and the anaconda burned together in the sliver mes.

 Chapter 422: Chapter 422: How to break the protective limitation

    Frost was silent in response to Finy''s report. The magnitude of the threat that his monsters faced and the bravery of one of his ronsos blew him away.

    "After his valiant death and the death of the baltic anaconda we all rose up against the remaining invaders with fervent aggression, no longer caring for defence. Many of us ended up with quite serious injuries but we sessfully took down the remaining frost drake and the demon spiked zi.

    I got off easy due to my role primarily being support but you may wish to check in with Kiba and Khuno when you get the chance, their injuries were quite brutal." Right now the clean up job was underway and should bepleted within the next ten to fifteen minutes, Finy nor Khuno or Kiba were necessarily required to take part.

    "¡­.I see thanks for your thorough report and sorry that I left you alone to deal with such an extreme threat." Frost sighed, pained by the loss of a ronso but at the same time full of pride due to his final act. He ced a hand on Finy''s shoulder reassuring him that it was over, that he could take a much needed break now.

    "No thanks needed master. It is my duty and honour to serve you." Finy performed his usual military salute, but his hands were still trembling. He felt that he didn''t perform well enough, if only he was B-rank such a thing would have not had had to happen.

    Frost sat back on his chair and brought up the dungeon menu.

    "I''ll rece all the lost monsters from the past 12 hours and send some more mid and low level health potions to the medical centre.

    That should be enough to bring everything back to order while you and I discuss a certain topic." Frost thus spent tens of thousands of DP to rece his lost monsters and restock the medical centre to deal with therge amount of wounded that was set to arrive in a few minutes.

    "¡­..What topic?" Finy inquired only just remembering now that Frost requested to speak with him in person.

    "It''s regarding your inability to evolve to the next archetype." Frost didn''t beat around the bush and as a result Finy felt a sharp pain in his heart as though Frost just brutally stabbed his weak spot. His expression clearly portrayed his feelings about the matter.

    "Rx Finy the problem isn''t on your end but mine." Frost quickly ayed hismander of his misunderstanding. Finy had done absolutely nothing wrong. Dark had ced limitations on his children to serve as protection for them as well as safeguard the power bnce of Nova.

    Frost thus described his talk with Dark, filling Finy in on all the aspects of these so called limitations as well as the possible loopholes that were ced within. Although Dark''s answer was anything, but clear cut Frost understood the gist of what he was getting at and had some idea of how to get passed the protection.

    "So to prevent me from rising through the ranks at an abusive rate Dark God-sama ced limitations on the dungeon system to better reflect the true nature of evolution that happens outside the dungeon dimension."

    "Yes that sums it up well. Outside the rate at which monsters actually evolve to the next archetype is incredibly rare, especially in the higher ranks i.e. above C.

    To impose fairness, protection and to technically deprive us of the golden spoon that we''d been born with so far this limit is imposed on any monster attempting to reach B-rank and beyond and will remain in ce even if I myself reach A-rank or higher or I establish dozens of floors within the dungeon.

    There will always be a barrier making attaining upper ranked monsters through evolution far harder." Dark however didn''t go into any detail regarding his or his siblings ability to purchase B-ranks or higher monsters directly once their power reaches a sufficient level but that was a long way in the future at least for him.

    Finy subconsciously smiled and his back straightened as a weight was lifted from his shoulders, he wasn''t the problem.

    "So for me to reach B-rank at your current level of power I will need to attain far more than what''s normally required?"

    "Correct. My Father stated that the energy you''d need may even be more than your body could handle and that you''d need to hone your skills so much and or prove that in some way you have already surpassed the capabilities of your current archetype.

    And even then there''s still a good possibility of failure just like in the wild, we may have to attempt this breakthrough more than once¡­.." Frost frowned as he looked at his right hand man, his ice trollmander. Should he really push him to the point that his life could easily be forfeit.

    If the energy within his body proves to be too much he could lose his trusted general but more importantly the monster he relies on most.

    Finy was more than just a monster or a general he was practically family, his first named monster and the very first one that he could converse with, their was bond strong.

    Finy could see the conflicting emotions in his master''s eyes and couldn''t help but feel warm, his master truly cared about him.

    "Master please allow me to attempt this forced evolution." Finy was sick and tired of feeling frustrated, so what if there was a risk he was willing to take it as long as it meant he could help his master.

    "Finy"

    "Please master, I want to do this."

    "...Haaaaaaa" Frost stared silently towards Finy before letting out a deep sigh and shaking his head.

    "Fine but we still don''t know exactly what we need to do."

    "I''m sure you already have some idea otherwise you wouldn''t feel so conflicted in telling me about it." Finy smiled and let out a slight chuckle causing Frost to feel a little embarrassed. It was true he did have a n in mind.

    Frost reached out and summoned something from the dungeon vault, a magic crystal.

    "Father said that energy was required to bridge the gap. DP can''t be used and in the wild monsters grow by beating and devouring their opponents, feasting on their flesh and life energy."

    "The dungeon provides a constant environment filled with dense amounts of mana, but that mana sustains each of you removing your need to eat. You can''t however store vast amounts of this mana within you thus simply staying within the dungeon and waiting isn''t an option.

    I can''t send you out of the dungeon to embark on a killing spree either because every monster summoned by the dungeon is strongly connected to it, leaving it is practically impossible especially for any length of time." Frost had run a few tests with his monsters and found that the higher ranked ones could stay out for longer, but the difference was a matter of minutes, not enough to doing anything other than chasing down some escaped prey.

    In the future Frost wanted to test if a tolerance could be built up by the same monster repeatedly leaving for periods at a time but that was something for the future and if possible would take a long, long time to establish, time he didn''t have.

    "All the life energy from invaders is absorbed by the dungeon once they die leaving none for you guys. I don''t think there''s away for me to stop that or even minimise it thus that''s also not an option. However magic crystals are left when a monster dies just like their flesh and corpse.

    These crystals are usually used to power magic devices and all manner of things in viges, towns, cities and across kingdoms and empires. Monsters also tend to eat their opponents magic crystals thus I''m guessing the mana/energy contained within should qualify for the energy requirement.

    How much however I''mpletely in the dark about." Frost boldly stated his hypothesis which had quite a strong reasoning and if proved true would be a rather easily achieved requirement. The dungeon vault was stock full of thousands of magic crystals retrieved from the stampede so far.

    Frost had wanted to test the effects these magic crystals may have on his summoned monsters before but never got around to doing it. His earlier guess was that they would likely provide a minor amount of experience but perhaps this was the correct way to use them.

    Frost tossed the crystal over to Finy and gestured for him to try and absorb it and get a feel for the change in his body.

    Frost withdrew a mid D-rank magic crystal, not the highest that he had but enough that Finy should be able to feel a change if his hypothesis was proven correct.

    Both Finy and Frost grew excited, the two of them quite enjoyed the process of trial and error.

    Finy held the D-rank magic crystal in his hand and closed his eyes. The process to absorb it was quite simple, he just needed his mana to make contact with the crystal and suck out the mana held inside.

    "Huuuuummmmm" The magic crystal let out a humming sound and started glow as Finy rapidly absorbed its contents.

    20 secondster the crystal lost its shine and started to crumble, it was now deprived of its mana a useless crystal without any magical properties, useless.

 Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Brutal training

    Finy let out a long breath as the magic crystal waspletely deprived of all its energy and crumbled away in kes of now useless material. The kes weren''t even pretty to look at, a dull grey colour filled with imperfections.

    "Well?" Frost asked gingerly, his fingers were crossed as he hoped his hypothesis was correct because if it wasn''t he''d truly be stumped.

    Finy repeatedly opened and closed his fist, sensing any changes in his body no matter how minute.

    "There''s definitely an additional stream of energy within my body. it''s small and inert but it''s there." Finy could feel this foreign energy settling down in his body, different from the mana he naturally absorbed while present within the dungeon.

    With time he''d likely be able to meld this stream into his flesh, organs, blood and even his mana veins, gradually saturating them to the point that he''d be forced to either explode or evolve, withtter obviously being the aim in such an endeavour.

    "Master I believe your theory is correct. As long as I continue to absorb the energy from these magic crystals I''ll be able to build up enough power to qualify for evolution." Finy''s eyes sparkled with excitement as he spoke, the path, which was nothing, but darkness now had a powerful light beckoning him towards it. He would reach B-rank of this he was sure.

    Frost let out a sigh of relief and a wide grin adorned his lips.

    ''That''s one requirement done and dusted then.'' As long as he kept Finy and his other monsters supplied with the magic crystals of the deceased invaders they should be able to evolve into their higher archetypes.

    "Now we just need to achieve the other parameters. Honing your skills to the point that they reach the criteria for B-rank." Frost had a good idea about this avenue as well given his own entry into B-rank.

    "You''ll likely need to bring your axe mastery to the advanced level and know an advanced level weapon skill or bring your magic capabilities to 4th circle¡­.." Frost frowned before continuing.

    "The weapon mastery route will be our best option given that your magic capabilities are far less developed. Do you think you can achieve this?"

    For monsters like Finy advancing through weapon mastery and magic circles without evolving is a very tall ask. Their species archetypes are far more restricting in terms of development whenpared to sapient races and monsters such as Daki and Druakai.

    The orcs themselves were already quite a varied race with a fair level of leeway in regards to personal development but when a member of that race has been born through generations of natural sexual reproduction, the line between sapient and monster blur even if said monster is of low rank.

    Finy was a monster created by Frost and the dungeon, summoned through the use of DP, simr to those created within monsterirs. Their talents and abilities were usually set in stone and only by evolving would they be able to utilise higher orders of magic and or hold a higher level of weapon mastery.

    Finy was gifted with a powerful body, knowledge and inherent skills from the onset instead of being born and growing day by day thus he like many other monsters suffered from these limitations. Bridging this gap wouldn''t be any easier than containing the energy required to break through Dark''s evolution protection.

    Finy frowned and looked down at his hands in silence, contemting Frost''s question. He more than anyone knew the capabilities of his own body. His axe mastery was at adept rank and after he reached level 49 it showed very little signs of improvement but even, so it was far better than his magic talents.

    Frost was correct in that regard. His capabilities as a magic user were pretty abysmal. Consisting of the [ice bolt] spell and nothing else, a means to attack at range, nothing more. Bringing that up to 4th circle capabilities was a definite no go. In fact Finy even doubted that it''d improve much once he achieved his evolution. He was not a magic based monster.

    His chakra use was a little better especially after seeing his master put in such devotion into his cold me development and the capabilities of the ronsos, but he was still a long way off. Weapon mastery was his only option.

    "It''s not as though I have much of a choice, I need to improve my weapon mastery to the advanced level otherwise I''ll remain C-rank forever." Finy responded with a self-mocking smile, but his fists were clenched tight.

    "I''ll start training immediately." Finy rose from his seat, his body expressing both determination and a slightck of confidence. His task was monumental especially given his narrow timeframe. Frost needed him to reach B-rank soon. The stampede was growing more and more deadly, and thete stages were just around the corner.

    "Finy" Frost called out once he stood up.

    "Yes master."

    "Head to the training space and prepare yourself. I''ll be sparring with you personally and I will not go easy on you. If we want you to quickly improve we''ll need to really put the pressure on so when we''re not training your in the thick of the battlefield relying solely on your axe and no weapon skills.

    Father said you needed to show a power that is beyond your current rank so having you face off against high level opponents that may even be stronger than you will be the best method to push you over the edge." Frost stood up from his seat as he spoke and ced both his hands on Finy''s shoulders before looking him dead in the eyes.

    "This method will be risky, dangerous and oh so brutal." A sadistic smirk grew of Frost''s lips making him look like a certain someone. "Last chance, do you want to embark upon this path?" Frost knew he needed strength to effectively deal with the ever growing monster waves but if Finy wasn''t up for taking such a risk he wouldn''t force it. Some things just weren''t worth the cost.

    Finy''s eyes shook as he felt his master''s powerful gaze. He could feel Frost''s care for his safety but more than that he could feel the trust he had for him. The trust that he would never betray him and the trust that if he chose to embark on this dangerous path that he''d make it through to the other side.

    Finy''s contradiction of both determination and ack of confidence broke apart leaving only determination.

    Finy grabbed onto the hands on his shoulders and replied with an eager and confident tone.

    "Without hesitation master, even if my path is littered with fire and a road of des I''ll still walk through it." Finy then moved into a full military salute, banging his fist against his chest with an audible thump before vanishing into a space warp. He teleported to the training space instead of back into the dungeon.

    "¡­..You cane out now." Frost watched Finy leave with a smile before turning his head towards the bathroom and calling out.

    A momentter Nanna and Loki appeared from the doorway with slightly embarrassed expressions. The two of them had woke up before Frost and had been in the bath, preparing for the heavy work schedule Frost had promised them.

    When they were done and set toe out they noticed Frost speaking with Finy and that the topic was quite serious, so they didn''t interrupt, staying silent in wait until it was over. They didn''t think however that Frost had already noticed them, now it looked like they were purposefully eavesdropping.

    "Have you two eaten yet or did you both head straight for a bath once you woke up?" Frost beckoned them over; he wasn''t mad in slightest. He knew the two of them were in the bathroom when he got up since unlike his bedroom the bathroom wasn''t soundproof.

    "No we haven''t eaten yet master." Loki answered honestly as usual before taking a seat next Frost.

    "Do you want me to prepare breakfast again?" Nanna asked with an expectant smile, her eyes darting to the kitchen and towards the cupboard were her apron was hanging in particr.

    "That would be lovely but how about we cook together." Frost hadn''t had much opportunity to do any cooking since he separated from Sam and L and to be honest he missed it.

    Nanna responded with slightly uncontroble squeal of glee before dashing to the kitchen to remove her apron as well as one for Frost. She''d cooked several times with Maya but not with Frost her master and saviour, her emotions were hiked up to eleven.

    Frost smiled and shook his head before he, Nanna and even Loki worked together to quickly prepare a light breakfast that would fill their stomachs.

    With Frost present Nanna was allowed to try a more difficult dish, the three of them worked hard to prepare four portions of salmon with avocado and a simple rice congee. Simple ingredients but very appetising when prepared well.

    For the group of three with very little cooking experience however it was a little ambitious. The salmon was overcooked and the rice in the congee was very soggy, but the avocado was nice (the one thing that didn''t need cooking). But even so it was quite tasty, none of them left a single morsel on the te feeling that they were duty bound to finish their own creation.

    Once they were all done Frost asked the kids to deliver Maya''s portion to her in bed since she was incapable of leaving it in her current state. He highlighted the fact that they should knock and let her know that it was them entering and not him before he teleported to the medical centre on the sixth floor.

 Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Brutal training (2)

    While Nanna and Loki personally delivered Maya''s breakfast to her Frost teleported to the sixth floor''s second section where the medical centre was currently set up.

    Here frost dwarf priests, ice dwarf apprentice priests and frost troll witch doctors were stationed at all times so as to take care of the endless amount of injured monsters. Patching them up with their healing magics and generous stock of health potions thus allowing them to get back into the fight that much sooner and quite frankly in more than a few cases staving off death.

    Frost arrived at the entrance of the medical centre through the warping of space. The scent of medicinal herbs, health potions and blood filled the area, and he could hear grunts and roars full of pain. The healers were so busy that they didn''t even register Frost''s arrival.

    ''Seems that this ce is also in need of manpower.'' Frost opened up the dungeon menu and purchased an additional 3 frost troll witch doctors and ice dwarf apprentice priests as well as 10 frost dwarf priests.

    The 16 new monsters suddenly materialised a few secondster from individual magic crests. They all turned to face Frost once they became fully corporal.

    "You''re all assigned to the medical centre here. Speak with the frost troll witch doctor in charge and do your best to treat the wounded that arrive here.

    "Yes master." Both the ice dwarves and frost trolls replied back inmon tongue while the frost dwarves grunted with determination before walking into the medical centre eager to work.

    "Milord." Khuno spoke through clenched teeth. He rose from his resting area with great difficulty to greet Frost.

    His blue skin and gant white fur was dyed in blood and multiple deep wounds that exposed his bones could be seen. The skin around was starting to rapidly heal and close off the areas, clearly he had received one of mid-level health potions in stock. They were reserved for the most serious of injuries and the upper cast of Frost''s forces.

    However even with the powers of a mid-level health potion it''d take Khuno sometime to fully recover. The stronger the body of the taker the more potent the potion needed to be. Bing unbelievable strong had some downsides. If Maya was injured for example a mere low level health potion wouldn''t be able to do much.

    "Whimper" Following Khuno''s greeting was a whimper from Kiba. The big cat was lying prone with deep w marks spanning across his back as well as gruesome bite marks on his hind legs and wings.

    Frost briefly looked over Khuno but the moment he heard that whimper he couldn''t help but tremble and feel a tug at his heart. He moved instantly to Kiba''s side taking the mid-level health potion from the attending frost troll witch doctor, choosing to care for him himself.

    Kiba was barely passed his kitten stage, a young cub with a lot of growth left in him.

    Frost petted him gently on an area without injury -which was quite difficult- and made soothing sounds as he slowly poured the potion''s contents into his mouth. The potion swiftly went to work, eliminating Kiba''s immense pain and healing his wounds.

    Kiba looked up at Frost with ssy eyes before his vision went dark, he passed out from exhaustion.

    "Kiba really overworked himself in thest wave. Though he wasn''t the strongest fighter we had he was the most nimble. He took it on himself to be everywhere at once, thus he ended up like that." Khuno spoke with deep regret. He knew that Kiba was practically still a young cub and that he shared a special bond with Frost, yet his hands were tied, their opponents were unrelenting.

    Frost continued to stroke Kiba as he began purring in his sleep.

    "I''ve really pushed him a lot. Thinking that he desired battle experience given his nature andck of it back in Kranor. An asional fight is one thing, but I practically dropped him into a war."

    "...." Khuno had no reply.

    "The battles are only going to get even harder, tell me what do you need?" Frost looked at Khuno with a fiery gaze, the feeling of guilt returning. He shouldn''t have engaged in intimate activities with Mayast night well at least not for the entire night and morning, the dungeon should be his number one priority at the moment lest something happens that he''d regret.

    He looked back down at Kiba, losing him would be something he''d definitely regret.

    "Haaaaaa if you could create another 5 of myself or Finy we''d be golden but since that''s likely impossible we need to at least strengthen what we can summon and those we already have." There was no shortage of monsters gaining experience over the waves, but many died before they could evolve. The C-ranks however were only recently summoned, they''d take some time to evolve to mid or upper C-rank.

    "Spill it." Frost was in no mood for waiting, he asked Khuno to speak his mind.

    "Weapons would be good for some but more importantly armour. A lot of the wounds we suffer could be deflected or at least minimalised by a good set of armour. That alone would spare us a lot of deaths especially in the lower ranks while the upper levels would be able endure attacks from physically superior foes such as the frost drakes."

    "The mage cast could do with specialised spells that help to restrict, slow and divide the horde to more manageable groups. I''d also advise you to radically increase the amount of traps in the sections before our defence line. I know you need to think for the future in regards trap cement, but I believe we''re beyond that point milord.

    Best to buy them now and deal with our current situation and then use some of the DP we earn to move them to another part of the dungeon and or simply deactivate them creating a sort of fake trap that wouldn''t end up in death or injury but would still keep adventurers on their toes." Khuno had been in the thick of battle ever since his creation.

    He and Finy were the two mainmanders of Frost''s entire forces, so he had ample experience in regards to what work against the waves and what didn''t. This knowledge expanded to environmental factors as well as weaponry.

    Frost frowned as he imagined the cost involved in achieving each of the steps Khuno mentioned. The weaponry and armour that was still being fashioned by the frost dwarf smiths was suited for the lower ranks only, i.e. the goblins. Outfitting the ronsos, the frost trolls and even some of the beast monsters was beyond the smith''s current capabilities.

    Frost would have to fork out a hefty lump of DP to purchase 2 and 3 star armours readymade. He just didn''t have enough time and resources to create these things in house. The cost for dealing with the stampede was starting to catch up with the ie it provided.

    Frost felt a headacheing on but if he wanted to survive this event without running from the fight he needed to put everyst bit of skin into the pot. Once you ride the tiger it''s damn near impossible to get off.

    Frost shook his head and let out a sigh before bringing up the dungeon menu.

    "I''m authorising you to have greater budget in terms of DP management. You can now purchase traps, armour and weapons with a limit of 20,000DP per day. Spells, monsters and anything else beyond that will still need to go through me but I''d appreciate detailed requests. These powers however are only temporary, my father has put a limit on how much I can delegate to my monsters.

    You''ll have this budget and the allotted permissions for 5 days, use them well." Frost clicked a few buttons on the screen before the automated voice confirmed Khuno additional permissions.

    Khuno was silent for a few seconds before immediately saluting. "It will be done milord." A smile grew upon his face, his master trusted him wholeheartedly, a very moving gesture.

    Khuno spend no time at all delving into the dungeon menu looking to spend that first 20,000DP. He was currently still confined to the medical centre while his injuries heal and his stamina recovers somewhat, idle time that could be put to good use.

    "In regards to gaining a stronger fighting force I''ll be personally training Finy whenever there isn''t a wave and when there is the two of us will be in vanguard position. I won''t be squirreling away to ''convalesce'' anymore at least not as often or as long."

    "¡­..Sorry" Khuno felt a little guilty as thanks to his talk with Finy he understood what Frost meant by convalescing.

    "It''s fine. There''ll be plenty of time for that once the stampede is over and we start cracking down on developing the external camp." Frost waved his hand absolving Khuno of any guilt.

    "My father told me the reasons for Finy''sck of evolution as well as the vague method to resolve it. Hopefully with enough brutal training we''ll be able to see him rise to his next archetype."

    "That would certainly make things a lot easier¡­..give him my best wishes."

    "Will do." Frost then left Khuno to his spending and gently removed himself from Kiba''s side before teleporting to the training space. it was time to begin Finy''s brutal training.

 Chapter 425: Chapter 425: Brutal training (3)

    Frost appeared in the training space where Finy was dutifully waiting with his battle-axe standing by his side. This was the first time Finy had been allowed to train within this space, so he was quite curious from the moment he arrived.

    Like Frost he checked the room, its dimensions, its materialposition and its miraculous ability to endure even a full blow from his weapon.

    "Well what do you think?" Frost asked with a smile, understanding Finy''s current emotions.

    "It''s durable¡­..that''s not really a good sign for me is it?" Finy trembled as the realisation donned on him. A hard floor meant Frost and him could go all out in their attacks without fear of damage (to the room).

    "Well that depends on your viewpoint." Frost''s expression became quite sadistic, very much like that of Maya''s. Finy''s fear only grew as he looked at his master''s disturbing smile, he slightly regretted agreeing to this brutal training.

    Schwing! Don!

    Frost''s primary ive suddenly appeared from his storage ring before the butt smashed against the ''durable'' floor, highlighting its weight.

    "Shall we begin?" If Maya could see Frost''s expression right now it''d be like looking in a mirror. He had fortunately or unfortunately learned an awful lot from his guardian.

    Finy replied with a twitching smile before grabbing hold of his battle axe, he was in for a world of hurt and he knew it.

    For the next few hours Frost yed the role of Maya while Finy yed his role. Frost brutally hounded after Finy with his ive constantly keeping his ice trollmander on the back foot. Smashing him against the floor, walls and even the ceiling showing little to no mercy.

    Finy was forbidden from using anything other than his battle axe while they fought, no skills, no magic just pure old fashioned weapon mastery. Frost attacked the weak points in his form, making Finy improve through physical abuse, the same way he learned.

    He tossed Finy a low level health potion before teleporting the two of them to the soon to be battlefield, the next wave was nigh.

    This intense training regime only escted over the next few days. Finy would be rushed immediately from training to the battlefield wherein he would be ced in the vanguard alongside Frost. Still restricted to only using his battle axe when ites to attacking, and he was required to be on the attack throughout the entire wave.

    Frost really wanted to push Finy''s limits to the upmost, he wouldn''t improve otherwise.

    After beating the waves Frost made Finy absorb tens of magic crystals at a time before resuming the brutal training in the training space.

    Maya joined them on asion. She couldn''t personally train Frost''s monsters, but she could generate training materials for the two of them in the training space, something that stopped their regr duelling from getting boring.

    She took the fact that Frost would have to prioritise the dungeon''s management as both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because she''d likely no longer be incapable of leaving the bedroom due to Frost''s insatiable appetite but bad for the same reason. She did however understand his reasoning thus she restricted herints to a little moping, something Frost appreciated very much.

    With Frost onsite for every wave and with the purchases made by himself and Khuno they managed to sessfully endure the following waves. Losses were still rather abundant among the lower D-ranks, but the defence line continued to hold¡­.though it had been pushed back even further to thest section of the second floor.

    Boooommmmm! Don! Don! Don!

    Finy was sted across the training room, his over 4 metre tall stature skidded across the white floor like a t stone on water before smashing against the wall.

    "Ughhhh!" Finy groaned as his entire body was wracked with intense pain. His entire body was covered in nasty looking bruises and every area of muscle was trembling from overexertion.

    He powerlessly slumped downwards, his ass reaching the floor while his battle axe remained tightly entwined in his hands. He refused to let go of his weapon even in his current state.

    "Haaaaaaa you''re improving but it seems advanced mastery is still out of sight¡­..we need to increase the danger." Frost was frowning, he let out a sigh as he looked over Finy''s current state. The repeated doses of magic crystals saturated Finy with so much energy that his skin wriggled and glowed whenever he overexerted himself.

    A good sign that his body was reaching the limit of what it could safely contain.

    "Bypassing the protection protocols established by Dark God-sama will not be easy even with Finy''s talents." Maya chimed in from the side, she was watching over their brutal training with sharp eyes. Despite be a summoned monster Finy was making strides in terms of improvement but reaching B-rank soon seemed to be beyond him at least while the protection was still in ce.

    Finy wasn''t the only one who benefitted from this gruelling training. Frost managed to stabilise and understand his advanced level ive mastery, getting some much needed experience under his belt.

    "Do you think going off the deep end will let him bridge the gap?"

    "Hard to say. One''s instinct for survival can allow people to ovee incredible things. Experiencing the reality of death can draw out one''s innate talent but it can also and in most cases result in that person''s death." Maya replied before looking at Frost with a pronounced frown.

    "It''s your call. Whether you and him want to take that risk is up to you." She shrugged her shoulders neither agreeing nor disagreeing with tossing Finy into the deep end.

    Rumble!

    Suddenly the entire training space violently trembled as did the rest of the dungeon.

    "Seems as though thete stages have begun." Frost clenched his fists causing them to crack, a sense of urgency washed over him.

    "The monsters we have to contend with will be even more powerful now." He let out a deep sigh and looked at the still sitting and exhausted Finy.

    Thete stages not only have the risk of containing B-rank monsters the number of C and D-ranks will increase. Thankfully however the amount of low ranks and frequency of the waves should also greatly decrease. The B-ranks unlike the low rank monsters have far more control over their actions as well as the monsters that follow them.

    The waves that do decide to enter the dungeon instead of rushing south will be far more controlled making them far more dangerous.

    The strongest monster Frost and his forces had faced against so far was upper mid C-rank. Powerhouses that only Khuno and Frost could handle solo. That however was soon to change.

    "Finy we''ve ran out of time. Thete stages have arrived meaning even stronger monsters wille, stronger than you can currently handle." Finy shivered as Frost''s words sunk in. He forced himself to look up and stare into Frost''s eyes, revealing his determination. He was ready to put his life on the line, hoping to grasp the opportunity granted by such a situation.

    Tossing Finy into the deep end meant having him fight against a superior opponent solo without any backup. Fighting Frost was brutal and effective but there was no chance of death, the deep end didn''t have that safety bar.

    "Haaaaaa looks like Finy''s made his decision and I''d be a terrible master if I refused to acknowledge that determination¡­..we''ll be going with the ''tossing him into the deep end'' n and hope for the best."

    Maya nodded her head before teleporting out of the private space.

    "Get some rest I''ll discuss the situation with Khuno and the others." Frost moved towards Finy and ced a hand on his shoulder before teleporting away. Things were starting to get very, very dangerous.

    Last section of the 2nd floor.

    "Khuno."

    "Milord?"

    "Finy''s training is working but not fast enough we''ve decided to go with a more drastic approach to help him ovee thatst hurdle."

    Khuno visibly frowned in response, he knew that such a method posed great risk to his colleague but understood that Finy wouldn''t hesitate to try it if it meant helping Frost.

    "When an upper C-rank monster arrives on the scene Finy will be sent to handle it, alone."

    "¡­..Understood." Khuno let out a sigh before nodding his head in eptance.

    "How''s everyone else doing? Were they shaken up by the tremors?"

    "No seems everyone else is used to them by now, me and the ronsos however found them a bit disconcerting. No damage was caused to the defences or our forces though, we''re ready and waiting for the next wave."

    "Very well. We''re now in the endgame Khuno the waves will likely be stronger but also more sporadic meaning longer resting intervals and hopefully after several days we''ll be free of this war. The B-ranks should hold no interest in our home and redirect the majority of the remaining stampede against the soutnds. Leaving us free to convalesce and develop the external camp." Well the dungeon anyway.

    Once the waves stop interfering with the dungeon and the area outside bes safe he and Kiba will be making their way to Furano to help out in its defences. A grand battlefield filled with B-rank monsters and B-rank sapients still awaited the two of them.

 Chapter 426: Chapter 426: The late stages

    After informing Khuno of his intended ns with Finy, Frost discussed their measures in handling thete stage waves. Dealing with smaller hordes but with greater individual strength required a different kind of strategy after all.

    Once everything was set Frost teleported to the private space, leaving Khuno and his officers to handle to change in protocols among his forces.

    "Loki, Nanna are you both ok?" The moment he arrived Frost asked about their status, the shaking was prevalent everywhere and was violent enough to knock someone unprepared off bnce.

    "We''re fine master but our cups and tes fell over and smashed." Nanna responded back while her eyes darted to the remnants of broken ceramic which Maya was currently in the process of disposing -couldn''t have the two children handling something so sharp and dangerous.

    "Good, good." Frost walked up to Nanna and Loki and ruffled their hair with affection before kneeling down, cing himself at their eye level.

    "Thete stages have begun which means the most intense phase of the monster stampede is over and we''re close to the end of this war." Frost said with a smile.

    The mid stages of the monster stampede were always the most dangerous for the regr inhabitant of Furano and the other bastion towns.

    The number of monsters present during that stage as well as their diversity, their aggressive intensity and of course their attack frequency was unsurpassed whenpared to the early andte stages. The mid stages always resulted in the most deaths among the defenders as well as took up the vast majority of ammunition, supplies and even time.

    For most it was epted that once thete stages arrived they had already won. Reinforcements would be arriving and only the best of the best would be taking to the field, the average military man or woman as well as adventurer would serve solely as back up from that point.

    This situation was true for the dungeon as well. A solid unpassable bulwark wasn''t needed for thete stages and quite frankly would be pointless. The dungeon''s impromptu defences were nothing in the eyes of the higher ranked monsters, a simple jump, step or light swing could see them annihted. In fact utilising such defences would likely serve as a limiting factor rather than a boon.

    It was far more effective for the upper ranked forces such as the ronsos, ice revenants and yuki-onnas to face down the invaders in openbat.

    Furano and the other bastion towns behaved in the same way. At thete stages the upper C-rank fighters as well as the B-rank fighters primarily take position in front of the northern wall as despite it being over 10 metres high it wouldn''tst long against the monsters present at this stage. They were the wall, thest and pretty much only defence line.

    If the monsters made it past them then there wasn''t much the people of Furano could do.

    The same held true in Frost''s mind. If thete stage invaders made it past his C-ranks then his D-rank monsters would be nothing but cannon fodder.

    "Are you two ready?" Frost asked with a serious expression, Nanna and Loki would have to be on point while rying information between himself and the officer ss monsters.

    "Un" The two nodded their heads with gusto, they were ready for such responsibility.

    Frost then looked towards the ravishing beauty that was both his guardian and girlfriend. She had just finished cleaning up the damaged crockery and sashayed herself over towards him.

    Once Maya was in front of him she opened up her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She pulled his head downwards leaning it against her bountiful chest, Frost felt a heavenly softness against his face one which he found enchanting but was puzzled as to the reason why he was being granted such a reward.

    Maya stroked the back of his head as she pushed him deeper into her cleavage.

    "Rx Frost, you''re almost done." She spoke in a soothing tone. Nanna, Loki and his many monsters likely didn''t see it, but they didn''t have her perspective. Maya knew that Frost was quite stressed and anxious at the moment. He just hid it well and usually with excitement.

    Though he had the body of an adult and was fiercely intelligent he only had a few months of life experience, and for a decent chunk of that he''d been embroiled in an ever intensifying war. It''d be strange if he wasn''t nervous at this stage. There had been so much death during the mid-stages and now thete stages had arrived, a stage that promised even more powerful intruders.

    Frost''s entire body trembled at Maya''s words. His false front faltered, and he allowed himself to be worried, to be afraid. He remained entwined in Maya''s embrace and cushioned by her motherly assets, enjoying thefort that they provided.

    Nanna and Loki wisely left the two of them alone, upying themselves with their homework -something that despite the seriousness of the stampede Maya still made them do regardless.

    Eventually Frost and Maya''s position became rather ufortable for the both of them, so they relocated to the sofa where Frost received ap pillow as he monitored the dungeon through the menu.

    Around half a dayter -farter than they were used too- the next wave arrived, the first one of thete stages.

    Whereas thest wave easily held over 150 monsters this one barely had 70. The weakest one present however was mid D-rank and low and behold a prime target for Finy''s ''tossing into the deep end'' n was in charge.

    A war ursa, an upper C-rank monster that was the evolved form of a regr ursa. Bigger, badder and whole lot more powerful. The hallmark of the war ursa battalion, partners to their high ranking officers.

    The thing was a purely physical beast that weighed several tons and spanned at least 8 metres lengthwise. Its fur was snow white with streams of light blue near it limbs and neck. Its teeth and ws long enough to pierce all the way through a man''s body and still have some leftover.

    Two mid C-rank frost drakes were shadowing by its side looking rather small inparison. Another 5 entry level C-ranks could be seen at the edges, normally powerful andmanding entities in their own right but next to this war ursa they were nothing.

    "Well there goes the possibility of the first wave being easy." Frost said with a frown.

    ''To think an upper C-rank would arrive during the first wave, what terrible luck.''

    Frost opened up amunication channel with Khuno and Finy.

    "Khuno the first wave is here and it''s a strong one, 5 entry C-ranks, two mid and one upper rank, a war ursa¡­..dealing with that one will fall to you Finyst chance to back out."

    "Would never dream of it master, let me at it." Finy responded back while mming his forearm against his chest, he was ready to fight.

    "Very well, Khuno you know the n. You, me and the other C-ranks will deal with the majority of the forces in the dungeon''s first section while the upper D-rank officers provide support. Nanna and Loki will serve as go-betweens keeping us abreast of how everyone is doing, and Finy will take care of the war ursa, any questions?"

    "No."

    "No." Finy and Khuno both replied firmly, they knew all they needed to.

    The reason the fight was being brought back to the first section; the winter hignds environment was for a few reasons.

    First it gave them a lot of leeway in regards to a forced retreat. They could fall back several sections and not involve the weaker forces holding up on the lower floors.

    Second, the traps installed would do very little against the new intruders thus waiting lower down and hoping for them to pick them off or cause injury was pointless. If they are going to die it''ll be by the hands of Frost and his C-rank forces.

    Third the winter hignds room suited their battle ns better than the other sections. It was practically an open field right at the start of the dungeon, easy for them to keep an eye on each other''s situation and reinforce one another quickly if need be.

    The ice revenants, frost revenants, their knight variants as well as the frost troll lieutenants would form a pseudo wall grabbing the intruders attention. Frost would also stand at the forefront here emitting his aura and unbridled bloodlust making for an attractive target.

    The yuki-onnas would be behind them casting from the rear while the ronsos taking advantage of their colour scheme would hid under the snow like the frost goblins and ambush the unsuspecting enemy.

    However Frost didn''t ce much hope on such an ambush working, the invading monsters were of high enough rank to have good instincts after all.

    Frost ended themunication and looked upwards at Maya.

    "Looks like I have to go to work." His smile was full of reluctance. The feeling offort on the back of his neck was quite blissful.

    Maya replied with an enchanting smile before leaning down and nting a peck on his forehead.

    "Be safe and good hunting."

 Chapter 427: Chapter 427: War ursa

    With his girlfriend''s blessing Frost rose up off herp and entered a space warp, teleporting him to the dungeon''s first section where his elite troops were ready and waiting. The over 12 hours without a single wave had worn their nerves thin, always on edge waiting, not knowing when the next battle woulde.

    With Frost''s arrival however everyone present nearby felt invigorated. Those with the ability to make facial expressions smiled wildly as their blood started pumping in excitement, their lord and primemander had arrived, battle was nigh.

    Back in the private space Maya rubbed her thighs, they had be slightly numb from housing Frost''s head. She was smiling but internally quite nervous, monsters that could truly threaten Frost wereing.

    "Frost will be preupied with his battles, so he''ll be relying on the two of you to keep watch and spot any signs of danger." Maya looked towards the two phoenix kin would were slightly trembling in front of the floating core. Multiple screens were showing the winter hignds section from all manner of angles.

    "Un!" Nanna and Loki nodded their heads and grunted, their eyes remaining fixed on the screens. They knew what they had to do.

    ''Haaaaaaa so simr.'' Maya sighed and shook her head before getting up and moving to the kitchen. She still couldn''t take an active part in dungeon management, but she could easily procure refreshments.

    "Milord."

    "Master" Finy and Khuno both stepped forward the moment Frost arrived, each sporting fire in their eyes and wild smiles on their faces. Seeing their expressions allowed Frost to eliminate any remnants of anxiety. A wild almost mad smile quickly grew on his face mirroring that of his monsters.

    "The horn''s calling once again boys and girls. I hope you''ve brought you''re A-game because the stampede certainly has."

    "Uwaaaaagggggghhhhhhh!" Everyone roared out in reply causing Frost''s smile to grow further.

    "Good answer. Let''s give these invaders our very best wee! Move out!" Frost raised his ive up high before moving into position.

    His elite troops mirrored his actions, getting into position before the enemy charged through their doors.

    Frost stood alongside the ice and frost revenants with his ive standing vertical against the ground. (Think Gandalf against the balrog or Hannyabal against Luffy saying you shall not pass, very imposing.)

    To his right was Finy caressing his battle axe, eagerly waiting for the arrival of his destined foe. His blood lust and pseudo aura emanating subconsciously.

    "Rx Finy. Your opponent is stronger than you are so you must be inplete control of your emotions if you want survive." Frost immediately poured a bucket of cold water on hismander''s unrestrained excitement.

    "¡­.Yes master, thank you." Finy thanked Frost for his advice and retracted back his bloodlust.

    Khuno was hidden beneath the snow along with his ronso kin, ready to leap out at the opportune time. Frost enlisted his entire crew of C-rank monsters, no need for managed shift rotations anymore. This first wave would not make it past the winter hignds.

    A couple minutester a cacophony or roars could be heard as a swarm of high ranking monsters in a frenzied state barrelled through the dungeon''s ''narrow'' entrance, demolishing parts of it as they passed.

    Bears, lesser drakes, yetis as well as wolves charged forward and quickly caught sight of the wall made of revenants as well as the heavy threatening pressure emitted by Frost.

    "Rooooaaaarrrrrr!" Their frenzied state as well as the pressure emitted by their leader the war ursa left no hesitation, they all charged forward with their sharp teeth prominently disyed in threat.

    "Revenants hold your ground, let theme to us. Yuki-onnas pelt them with your magic once they reach within 100 metres. Ronsos act as you see fit, you''ll know what timing is best."

    "Yes sir." The revenants and yuki-onnas replied loudly while the ronsos silently smiled, keeping their presence hidden.

    Stomp! Stomp!

    As the D-ranks roared and charged head first towards Frost and the revenants the war ursa made its presence known. Even among the other C-ranks and dozens of D-ranks it was hard to miss.

    It walked through the dungeon''s entrance alone and took an eyeful of Frost and the monsters surrounding him. It could feel the threat posed by Frost and scowled. Unlike its lesser kin the war ursa retained some intelligence, so it knew the threat Frost, and this set up posed to its life, but it couldn''t exactly retreat.

    The mana vein''s corruption resulted in a pounding desire to attack and devour, stalling its advance was the best it could do.

    Let the weaker more animalistic monsters charge in first, test the waters.

    ''Tch higher ranking monsters certainly pose far greater danger.'' Frost frowned as he felt himself and his forces being calmly judged and evaluated. A patient and forward thinking adversary was dangerous.

    He looked to his side where Finy was standing, whose gaze was focused on the war ursa.

    ''He''s got a real uphill battle ahead of him.'' Frost couldn''t help but feel worried.

    "Khuno and I will do our best to separate the war ursa from the rest, what happens after that will be on you."

    "Understood master, I won''t let you down." Finy''s bloodlust and pseudo aura surfaced once again, forcing the war ursa to focus on him. However its reaction was anything but positive, it scoffed at Finy, mocking his disy of strength.

    Finy of course red up in anger but managed to collect himself thanks to Frost being by his side plus the war ursa couldn''t really be med for its disdain. He was beneath it in the pecking order at least strength wise. Frost already made it clear to him that he wouldn''t be able to survive let alone win if he relied on his physical strength. He had a good brain, he just had to use it.

    The moment the horde crossed the 100 metre line the yuki-onnas let loose their spells, breaking up the advancing lines and slowing their progression.

    "Revenants raise arms and brace!" Frost roared out hismand and in response moved from a stalwart stance to an attacking one. Frost did the same with his ive.

    Booooooommmmmmm!

    A massive sonic boom reverberated throughout the area when the opposing sides fiercely shed. Bits of blood and runic armour exploded outwards, but the defence line remained in ce.

    Schwing!

    Frost shed downwards blowing away a lesser drake like it was nothing while his eyes remained focused on the war ursa that was slowly marching towards them.

    Suddenly the many hidden ronsos leapt out from underneath the snow sessfully catching a few monster unawares but many other reacted swiftly enough to withstand the ambush. What ensued was a bloody brawl between high ranking monsters, one that wouldst a fair amount of time.

    Frost rebounded several foolish attackers, injuring them but not killing them. Even at his level he''d need to deal out a few attacks or at least one with his full focus if he wished to kill. He was currently donned in a thin yet robustyer of ice chakra armour making him appear quite gant.

    "It''s making its move." He loudly announced to Finy who was still nearby as well as Khuno who had revealed himself and was currently holding a yeti by the throat. The twomanders redirected their gazes to the upper C-ranked war ursa.

    It had sent the D-ranks ahead to test the waters and was quite d it did, a messy battlefield was beneficial to its survival given Frost''s presence.

    The 7 other C-ranks under its charge moved in next further muddying the waters, making it harder for Frost''s monsters to manoeuvre between opponents.

    Its gaze remained on Frost for most of the time, it did briefly nce at Khuno before frowning. Estimating that Khuno was roughly equal to it in power, another danger that it wished to stay clear of.

    The war ursa began scanning the muddied waters looking for a safe approach, an opponent that it could sink its teeth into.

    An unfortunate ronso was pushed to the edges of the battlefield by one of the entry C-ranks and got caught in its sights. Moving at a speed almost unimaginable for its size the war ursa dashed ahead, arriving before the unfortunate ronso in a fraction of a second.

    The area around the ronso grew dark, obscured in shadow by the war ursa''s bulk. He trembled as an intense sense of impeding doom filled his body. He looked up just in time to see the war ursa''s massive ws crashing down against his chest. He had no time to defend himself or even retreat, the swipe was true.

    Bang!

    The unfortunate ronso felt his ribs crack and a searing sharp pain across the majority of his torso before finding himself airborne. The weight behind the war ursa''s attack was akin to a mountain, far heavier that what the ronso could withstand even if he was truly prepared.

    He soon found himself careening through the air, smashing through some invading monsters before being caught by Khuno who sported a menacing re.

    "Cough cough" The unfortunate ronso violently coughed up blood as he held his chest in pain. The wound was devasting but thankfully not fatal, the armour the ronso wore made sure of that.

 Chapter 428: Chapter 428: War ursa (2)

    Khuno followed his own suggestion and used his newly given permissions to outfit each of his ronso kin in some armour, primarily around the torso which was their most exposed area and the most prone to being wounded.

    He had to incorporate Frost in the purchase due to how high it was but each of his ronso kin now sported chest tes as well as pauldrons making them look even more badass.

    The armour for them was of low level 3 star, an alloy made of a small amount of frigid iron and steel whereas Khuno''s was upper 3 star, made from a higherposition of frigid iron as well as being lined with the skin of a frost drake.

    This said armour saved the unfortunate ronso from an instant death granting him the opportunity to down a low-level health potion. Though the taste certainly didn''t agree with him it was better than dying.

    "An opportunistic ambusher." Frostmented with a frown. The war ursa would do anything it could to avoid being caught in direct confrontation with him or Khuno, that was clear.

    He then nced towards Finy.

    ''Perhaps it won''t be that hard to iste the two of them.'' Frost noticed the way the war ursa perceived Finy, prey nothing more nothing less. Only he and Khuno were a true threat to it whereas Finy was roughly on the same level as the regr ronsos in its eyes.

    Frost then shared a look with Khuno who nodded in response. The sooner the duel began the safer his other monsters would be.

    The war ursa would likely aim for the head next time, leaving no opportunity to heal. It was currently licking the ronso''s blood from its ws with a mocking smile, taunting the other ronsos as well as Khuno.

    "Finy, Khuno and I are going to start. Move to an open area and we''ll flush it in your direction." Frost spoke while intensifying his grip on his ive and showing a fake pissed off expression, tricking the war ursa.

    Finy nodded before looking around the battlefield.

    Frost and Khuno then made their moves, attempting to nk the war ursa while Finy prepared. Such moves however were easier said than done. Many D-rank monsters not knowing the danger or simply too frenzied to careunched themselves at Frost and Khuno impeding their path.

    The war ursa appeared gloating as it nodded its head to the two mid ranked frost drakes, ordering them forward. Its gaze then moved away from Frost and Khuno searching for another susceptible target.

    "Roar!" The two frost drakes did as ordered and ced themselves in Frost and Khuno''s path before ferociously sucking in the ambient mana. Their chests expanded and glowed blue before their jaws opened wide and a dense beam of blue energy fired out, it was their draconic breath attack.

    "Reckless bastards!" Khuno cursed while coating his halberd in cold mes and swung upwards. Frost mimicked Khuno''s actions.

    The two fierce beams of dense energy were instantly deprived of their momentum, shattered and sent upwards into the dungeon''s ceiling, away from the chaotic battlefield.

    If Frost and Khuno didn''t act in such a way many ronsos and revenants would have been caught in the st. The frost drakes didn''t care about injuring their rades'' but Frost wasn''t of the same mind.

    This manoeuvre however allowed them to lose sight of the massive war ursa for a few seconds, a few seconds that the war ursa made very good use of.

    "Arggghhhhh!" Tens of metres from where it was originally an ice revenant and ronso yelled out as they were assaulted. The ice revenant was literally overrun by the war ursa and was currently trapped under its right forepaw while the ronso was aggressively bitten on the shoulder and tossed half way across the battlefield.

    The ronso''s quick reactions saved it from having its head bitten off but the injury was anything but light.

    The revenant however wouldn''t be granted the same grace, it was pinned, and no one could save it.

    The war ursa turned around and looked straight into Frost''s eyes before grinning maliciously.

    Crack!

    It drastically increased the force of its right forepaw, causing the revenant''s runic armour to groan and crack before shattering into fragments, exposing the vulnerable core.

    At this point the war ursa looked down at the terrified ice revenant before suddenly shoving its head within the now open cavity and devoured the ice revenant''s core, instantly killing him.

    Crunch! Crunch! Gulp

    It chewed the solid core fracturing it into smaller pieces before swallowing the remnants. A warm sensation filled its body as it did, filling it with power. But it didn''t revel in the taste for long.

    Frost and Khuno increased their pace doggedly chasing after it but only managed to catch its shadow. By the time they arrived the revenant was already gone, all that remained was a collection of runic armour scraps. One C-rank down and two injured within 10 minutes of battle¡­.not the best start.

    "Nanna tell everyone to keep tight and watch their backs, this war ursa is an insidious ambusher that can kill with a single well prepared strike before swiftly retreating."

    "Understood master, good luck." Nanna responded back rapidly before doing as instructed.

    The battlefield thus underwent a subtle change, no ronso or revenant moved solo and each of them whenever possible kept tabs on the war ursa.

    This change worked quite well. The war ursa continued its ambushes but its targets became much more resilient, no longer being caughtpletely off guard. Injuries still happened but it wasn''t given the chance nor the time to kill it targets.

    Frost and Khuno gradually boxed it in, reducing its range of movement while also guiding it towards a more open area. Of course Frost and Khuno worked extra hard to not let the war ursa on to their n, thus it took a little longer but eventually the war ursa was right where they wanted it.

    At the edge of the battlefield there was a several metre wide void that was guarded by Frost and Khuno, beyond them was the war ursa, barred from re-entering the muddy waters behind them. A fierce expression could be seen on its face as it realised that it was pressed up against the wall and that it''d been hoodwinked by Frost and Khuno.

    Its fury was paramount, it believed it was the grand instigator and strategist when in fact it was nothing, but a puppet controlled by Frost.

    The war ursa tensed its body and prepared itself for a likely unwinnable battle. Its pseudo aura was in full swing, almost to the point ofpletion. Enough to threaten and pressure the ronsos and revenants but before Frost and Khuno it held no effect; in fact it was pressured instead.

    Frost smirked mockingly; he could feel the war ursa''s fear. Shame however that he wouldn''t be the one to smack it in the face, that honour would be left to his trusted right hand.

    As Frost and Khuno smiled, thetter even chuckling Finy made his presence known, appearing from the other side of the void, the side with the war ursa.

    "Hello fat ass I''m the one who''s going to send you to the gates of hell." Finy loudly dered before dashing towards the war ursa with his battle axe raised overhead and his [enrage] skill activated to the maximum.

    "[Mountain cleave]" His battle axe shone with a bright azure light and his arm and back muscles bulged obscenely as he greeted the war ursa with a mighty swing of his axe.

    Schwing!

    Caught unawares due its focus on Frost and Khuno the only people it deemed a true threat Finy''s axe made clear contact with the side of its massive face. The sharpened edge sliced through the war ursa''s unprotected skin, leaving a nasty gash spanning through the beast''s left eye, blinding it.

    "Roaaaaaaarrrrrr!" The war ursa roared in rage and pain before swiping at Finy with its paw but met with nothing but air.

    Finy leaped back milliseconds after slicing through the war ursa''s eye. He could have dealt an even deeper blow if he continued his downward trajectory but that would have left him open to the beast''s ws. He was the weaker party, the war ursa could take blows from him but he couldn''t do the same.

    "I think I''ve pissed him off master, he won''t be leaving my side anytime soon." Finy spoke through a wild grin, his heart pumping a mile a minute as he felt intense pressure. The invisible yet certainly real spectre of deathtched onto him, whispering in his ear of his impending doom.

    His pseudo aura wasn''t as developed as the war ursa''s something that it immediately made clear as it redirected it''s whole attention towards him. It pushed back his pseudo aura encapsting him in its pressure, it was almost suffocating. Finy even felt his heart stop for a second and the image of the already massive war ursa became evenrger.

    ''Fuck, this isn''t the deep end it''s the fucking sea!''

 Chapter 429: Chapter 429: War ursa (3)

    The war ursa unleashed its entire fury upon Finy pressuring him with its unbridled bloodlust and pseudo aura before charging forward. Its left eye was a bloody mess, but its right eye was still good, and it was locked solely on Finy.

    Finy visibly trembled and clicked his tongue as he braced himself for the charge, ready to dodge at the opportune moment. A full strength charge from a bear that weighed over ten tons was not something he''d be able to endure. If he wished to win this battle he couldn''t afford to be hit cleanly even once.

    Frost and Khuno smiled lightly as they watched on, struggling to hold back a chuckle. Finy well and truly pissed it off and then some. Whether that ends up being a good thing only time will tell.

    Now however since the war ursa had fixated upon Finy the two of them needed to delve into the muddy waters behind them. Even without the war ursa there was still two mid C-ranked frost drakes as well as five entry level ones in y. Powerful opponents that cared little about inflicting damage to theirrades or even themselves.

    The frenzied state imbued by the mana vein''s corruption filled them all with a mad ferocity and a numbness to pain. Without the two of them managing the battlefield the casualties would sky rocket.

    Four monsters had already been lost, an ice revenant, two frost revenant knights and a ronso plus those with heavy injuries numbered close to a dozen. Blood, flesh, scales and runic armour littered all over the battlefield while roars, screams, grunting and shes of weapons reverberated throughout the entire winter hignds.

    Frost gave a knowing look to Khuno who nodded his head in understanding, they couldn''t stand here and monitor Finy''s battle, they were needed elsewhere. Plus having them watching on the side lines would make this battle pointless. Finy needed the true threat of death, something that wouldn''t arise if Frost and Khuno were able to leap to his aid at a moment''s notice.

    "Finy the floor is yours, don''t die." Frost spoke bluntly before turning his back to their battle, his fists however were tightly clenched revealing his worries.

    "Good luck brother!" Khuno shouted loudly before joining his lord, turning his back and delving back into the muddied water to hunt.

    Bang!

    Finy narrowly dodged a wide swipe from the war ursa, distracted momentarily by Frost and Khuno''s words almost met him with serious injury.

    He jumped backwards and noticed his heart beating a mile a minute and that a cold sweat had formed along his forehead and down his back. His hands and legs were trembling, partly from excitement but mainly from primal fear, something he had only felt from Maya and Frost yet this time the entity was doing their very best to kill him.

    As the feelings washed over him a mad smile grew on his lips and the trembling stopped. Like master like servant Finy was a battle junkie, he found his current situation exhrating.

    Boom!

    The War ursa roared out before sweeping up arge amount of snow and tossing it at Finy temporarily obscuring his vision.

    ''Shit!'' Finy cursed internally as his senses went haywire trying to guess what angle the war ursa would attack from. The spectre of death made its presence known once again, releasing chilling whispers into his ear.

    Fractions of a second passed but he couldn''t see the war ursa in the slightest and the loud sounds of the nearby battlefield affected his hearing. Smell was also a no go, the area was chock full of the smell of blood and iron, he was blind in all his senses.

    As the milliseconds passed the feelings of dread brought on by his primal fear and the spectre of death grew and grew, making his mind chaotic and body heavy but it also made him extremely sensitive. His eyes darted all over for even the slightest sign while his ears did the same, doing their best to iste him from the loud cacophony of the nearby battle.

    People when in extreme circumstances can push beyond their limits achieving incredible strength, speed, reactions or even just rity of mind, slowing down their sense of time. Finy was starting to enter this special circumstance, the zone if you will. A state that would allow him to survive against a superior enemy perhaps even triumph if yed well.

    In this state he should be able to better understand the wall barring him from entering advanced mastery and subsequently B-rank.

    Unfortunately he wasn''t given enough time to delve deep into this zone. The war ursa suddenly appeared from his left, its jaw was wide open revealing its razor sharp teeth that could shred his flesh apart with ease.

    Finy reacted on instinct; his battle axe smoothly swung out while he leaped away the moment the war ursa reared its head.

    Schwing! sh!

    The battle axe swung without any wasted movements and with a fair amount of force. The edge met with a few of the war ursa''s teeth generating a loud sh. Finy used this force to leap further back, utilising the war ursa''s charging momentum to push him out of harm''s way.

    Hended half a dozen metres away and once again took a braced stance, his battle axe once again at his side ready to be swung out at a moments notice.

    His eyes showed a strange serenity as he examined the war ursa in its entirety. His breathing also slowed down and his shaking stopped, he could see and react to the war ursa which meant he could fight it. That primal fear was slowly being overtaken by his excitement and determination.

    The war ursa however growled will shaking its head, the battle axe struck hard against his teeth and though they didn''t break the vibration was quite ufortable. This difort allowed the war ursa to calm down its wayward emotions slightly, taking another more informed look at Finy.

    However Finy looked the exact same, still beneath it in the food chain thus its fury returned. This damn prey not only destroyed its left eye it escaped multiple times and even damaged its mighty fangs. Finy needed to die.

    The war ursa''s eyes or rather eye grew a deeper shade of red, the frenzy brought on by the mana vein''s corruption started affecting it more.

    "Roooooooaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!" The war ursa let loose a magnificent roar before scattering an even greater lump of snow, once again obscuring Finy''s vision.

    This time however it wasn''t going to go easy on this prey. The war ursa tensed its entire body and leaned forward before swaths of red energy covered its body, it was using a skill and from its form a charging skill.

    Finy had actually witnessed this skill once before when he fought against the standard ursa solo several days ago. Unfortunately he was caught cleanly by the bear''s charge sending him carolling through the air with heavy injuries. So much so that he was forced to recuperate for the next few waves.

    Now it was an even stronger monster using this charging skill and his vision waspletely obscured, the situation wasn''t ideal. However he was currently in a very good state, his senses were all on full whack and his confidence was raised after sessfully dealing with the war ursa''sst attack.

    Seeing that his vision was once again obscured and the fact that the war ursa had intelligence and the known track record for being an ambusher he didn''t take what wasing lightly, fully expecting something beyond what he could normally deal with.

    ''It''ll likely use some sort of skill.'' He surmised while shuffling his feet against the snow to get a better foothold.

    A few millisecondster the enhanced war ursa appeared dead ahead. Its entire head and forelimbs were protected by a red energy shield, dramatically increasing its charging force as well as frontal defence.

    Finy winced but wasn''t caught off guard, he expected such a move.

    He moved seamlessly, striking out with his battle axe once again while also leaping back hoping to negate much of the beast''s charge.

    This time however the same tactic wouldn''t quite work. Finy''s battle axe sliced through the air once again aiming for the war ursa''s exposed teeth but before it could reach them it stuck harshly against the red energy shield and was strongly rebuffed.

    The war ursa''s charge wasn''t affected in the slightest in fact it appeared as though the thing was continuing to gain momentum; Finy was going to be literally overrun.

    However the smart ice trollmander wasn''t done yet. A wild smile still adorned his face and time seemed to flow far slower than normal. He didn''t have a choice if he didn''t somehow break though his limits and enter the zone he was a dead ice troll.

    With the strong rebuffing of his battle axe Finy kicked against the snow and performed a backflipunching him backwards with enough speed to not be caught by the war ursa.

    His window to act was short, however. The moment his feet touched the ground again the war ursa was milliseconds from smashing into him. Such an attack would likely see his chest blown apart and his shoulders dislocated, killing him at that point would be a simple task.

    Finy immediately kicked off the ground, this time he wasn''t leaping backwards but up and forward with a twist. The change in momentum was so sudden that the war ursa couldn''t react. By the time it realised what was happening Finy was rising above its head and out of reach.

    It tried desperately to stop him but only managed to brush up against Finy''s foot. Its charge skill had been perfectly evaded.

 Chapter 430: Chapter 430: War ursa (4)

    Finy was currently flying above the war ursa thanks to his agile and well timed jump. He avoided the beast''s sudden and powerful charge skill that would have seen his body destroyed if he was cleanly hit.

    The war ursa didn''t even manage to catch his foot as his body rose and spun in the air, avoiding it by a hair''s breadth. But a hair''s breadth was all that was needed.

    Finy''s smile grew as he witnessed the war ursa''s confusion and utter disappointment as it barely brushed against his foot. He then raised his battle axe.

    "[Enrage], [mountain cleave]" He activated his [enrage] skill to fill his body with some much needed strength. Without it cutting deep into the war ursa''s flesh would be a very difficult task. He also added his strongest axe skill [mountain cleave] to the mix, he was aiming for a devasting blow. One that would likely reduce the beast''s charging ability as well as burst speed.

    With his muscles bulging obscenely and his battle axe coated in azure energy Finy swung downwards once he passed the front half of the war ursa''s body. He aimed for its back legs; an area not protected by the red energy shield.

    Schwing! Squelch!

    "Roaaaaaaaarrrrrr!" The axended cleanly over the war ursa''s left rear leg cutting deep and sshing the surrounding area in blood. The war ursa roared out from the sudden attack. The red shield protecting its front body flickered in and out of existence as it lost control of its charge.

    Its left rear leg lost all ability to hold its weight and the war ursa immediately tilted crashing harshly into the snow, generating a veritable explosion of the stuff. The force behind its charge was enough to shake the surrounding area and even crack the floor''s foundation that was protected by several feet of snow.

    Finynded lightly on his feet several metres from the war ursa. His breathing was a littleboured and his arms were trembling slightly. [Enrage] was quite a draining skill especially if used multiple times over a short period. Thankfully Finy deactivated it the moment it was no longer needed.

    His eyes drifted over his battle axe that was now covered in the war ursa''s blood. He felt something during thatst attack. He didn''t even need to think about his movements, his body just made them. He felt more attuned with his battle axe, that it was a part of him and not just a simple weapon.

    ''Is that the feeling of advanced mastery?'' Finy queried in his mind as he tried to recall the feeling of that moment.

    The war ursa however struggled to stand, its face was significantly scuffed thanks to it charging into the floor but more than that was what was left of its left rear leg. Finy''s attack used his entire strength and then some. Along with an upper 3 star quality weapon the wound was anything but shallow.

    The entire rear leg as well as where it connected to the main body was mangled. Blood flowed liberally, staining its white fur as well as the surrounding snow. The bone could be clearly seen and sporting a major crack, though Finy failed to sever it entirely the damage was extensive. The war ursa would likely struggle to put much weight on that leg, thus limiting its speed and manoeuvrability.

    Even if it did decide to ditch this battle with him it wouldn''t be able to dash around the battlefield ambushing hisrades like before. It was here to stay.

    The war ursa pulled its head out of the snow and shook off what was attached. Its mind was slightly dizzy thanks to the high impact but the shaking and pain from its rear leg managed to quickly resolve that.

    It turned around and looked at its rear leg and almost fainted. Its body sported a serious injury, a possible fatal injury if they were in the wild and it was caused by something weaker than it, damn prey nothing more. The redness in its eye deepened, the frenzied state bing more prominent and inadvertently reducing the pain it felt.

    Its gaze then moved to Finy who was looking at it with a smile, one that felt mocking.

    "Roooooaaaarrrrrr!!!!" The war ursa unleashed the greatest roar it had done in its entire life, alerting many of invading monsters stuck in the muddied waters.

    They all perked up their ears and turned towards the direction of the roar.

    "Oh no you don''t!" Frost appeared before an entry level C-rank monster that suddenly turned around and tried to dash to the war ursa so as to lend it aid. With a mighty swing of his ive he send the monster flying backwards and barred its path.

    "Everyone keep these invaders here; none are to interfere in Finy''s battle am I clear!?"

    "Yes milord!" Khuno yelled out in confirmation as he also beat back an entry level C-rank.

    "Yes master!"

    "Understood! Themander will have his duel!" The ronsos and revenants both responded back while firming up their containment. Not a single monster would get past them and cross the void.

    "Nanna, Loki call out any runners."

    "Yes sir." Nanna and Loki replied with gusto as they opened their eyes even wider and brought up a couple more screens leaving no area unwatched.

    Frost then nced at the war ursa and his right hand man.

    ''Looks like he''s faring quite well.'' He smiled with pride. Within a few minutes Finy had already forced the war ursa to give up its pride and call for aid -though given its personality it likely didn''t care much about honour or pride but still an impressive feat.

    Finy heard his master''s orders and couldn''t help but feel relieved. Though it seems as though he''s beening out on top in this duel there hasn''t been a single second he hasn''t been staring death in the face. He had zero room for distractions and or interference from other monsters. One good strike was all it took for his previous effort to go up in smoke.

    The war ursa had four legs, simply losing the use of one wouldn''t stop this duel, it''d only make it a little easier.

    Finy prepared himself once again, gripping his battle axe with both hands and staring down his enemy, analysing its every movement.

    The war ursa seeing that no one wasing to its aid forced itself to turn around and face its opponent. The majority of its weight was ced on its uninjured legs, but its stance still looked solid. Since charging was no longer a good option it needed to attack another way.

    It raised its left fore paw before coating it in red energy, another skill.

    Finy tensed his hands around the axe''s shaft and shuffled his feet against the snow as he braced.

    With a violent motion the war ursa swung its left forepaw summoning five tendrils of red energy in the shape of ws. It was a skill that looked simr to Frost''s [w of the ice wolf] butrger and far more deadly.

    The five ws spanned several metres eliminating Finy''s ability to dodge to the left or right and they moved with such speed that he barely had time to react.

    He relied on that feeling of connection he had with his battle axe to move on instinct. He fluidly swung down making contact with the five red ws.

    Booooommmmm!

    A loud booming sound exploded on contact. Finy felt as though he was faced against a mountain, his axe and arms trembled in their attempt to repel the five red ws. His feet dug in deep as he was slowly pushed backwards. He waspletely pinned by the five red ws and the war ursa knew this.

    It smiled viciously before moving, doing its best to keep it left rear leg off the ground.

    While Finy struggled to deal with the five red ws it generated another five and sent them flying from another angle.

    "Fuck!" Finy loudly cursed as he spotted the second attack creeping up on his left.

    "[Enrage]! Ahhhhhhhh!" He swiftly activated his [enrage] skill for the third time giving him a sudden increase in physical strength. It allowed him to cleave apart the first five ws but even, so he didn''t have it in him nor the time to swing his axe to fend off the other five.

    Relying on his survival instincts Finy instantly dropped to the floor. the second set of red ws flew over his chest, cutting it up slightly but more or less he dodged it sessfully.

    However without anyone repelling them the five red ws continued through the air, carving up the snow before hitting a D-rank monster a yeti. The poor yeti was cut up into five pieces without much effort.

    Finy gulped as he saw this and ced his hands on his chest that now sported five searing gashes.

    ''That was close.'' The spectre of death wasn''t looming for nothing.

    Finy looked up at the war ursa who was once again preparing to throw another set of ws at him.

    ''Like hell I''ll just sit here and take that!'' Knowing that waiting around was a sure fire way to get pinned again Finy rose to his feet and dashed towards the war ursa in a zig zag manoeuvre.

    Previously he wanted to avoid entering closebat especially with him on the attack given the war ursa''s capabilities, but the situation had now changed. With one of its legs out ofmission the war ursa would be slower to move about making closebat safer especially now that he knew about its long range abilities, those red ws were quite deadly after all.

    Only by being in closebat would he be able to deal any damage to the war ursa, plus it''d be a lot easier to dodge those deadly red ws skills.

 Chapter 431: Chapter 431: War ursa (5)

    Finy ran like his life depended on it because it very much did.

    Hoolll! Fwooom!

    He rapidly changed direction as the war ursa sent out another dose of those red ws.

    The five red ws missed him by a small margin before flying beyond into the muddy waters behind him. A lesser drake suddenly lost its tail while the revenant fighting it was forced to desperately avoid what remained. But Finy didn''t have time to care about what was happening beyond his current scope. He needed to enter closebat as soon as possible if those red ws were to stop.

    Without a moments dy he was on the move once again, dashing to and fro as he moved in on the war ursa.

    His opponent however was no slouch it knew exactly what Finy was trying to do so it did everything in its power to obstruct his path. not only was it repeatedly sending those long range w skills with differing strength and speed -to mess up Finy''s timing- it also kept moving away from Finy, keeping the distance between them.

    Gradually however Finy did make his way in close. He quickly learned the war ursa''s tactics with his heightened senses making predicting its moves easier.

    From an outside perspective or even the war ursa''s perspective it looked like Finy was dancing. Moving with such finesse and elegance that dodging the red ws appeared easy and without effort.

    Finy was rapidly improving thanks to the constant threat of death. Getting hit by just one of those ws could result in serious injury.

    "Let''s see you use those red ws now!" Finy taunted while standing in front of the war ursa with his battle axe primed and ready.

    Falling for the taunt the war ursa stretched back both of its fore paws before activating its skill on both. 10 fierce looking red ws appeared above its paws before being violentlyunched like a cross towards Finy.

    "Idiot" Finy mocked while leaping upwards and over the war ursa. At such a close distance the red ws didn''t have time to pick up their tremendous speed nor expand to their full breadth, they could be dodged with a simple well timed jump.

    The war ursa however was no idiot, even in its tentative state it could still understand the limitation of its red ws. If they didn''t strike true that was fine, there was really on one way for Finy to go¡­. up.

    With a vicious grin the war ursa followed Finy''s body as he rose into the air with its eyes before it opened up its jaw revealing its razor sharp teeth, ready tounch a devasting bite. A red energy surrounded its jaw and teeth enhancing its crushing power, a biting skill likely no less potent than the red ws.

    In an instant its neck was craned backwards beforeunching at the mid-air Finy.

    "Guess you''re not aplete idiot." Finy felt a deadly chill down his spine as the war ursa''s massive jaw swiftly moved to consume him. But he was prepared for this.

    He grabbed hold of his battle axe and smoothly ced the heads vertically within the massive jaw in ce of his sulent flesh.

    Crunch!

    The war ursa''s massive jaws mmed down on the battle axe resulting in a fountain of blood escaping. The war ursa may be an upper C-rank monster with terrifying biting power but with a well-ced blockage that can actually be a vulnerable weakness.

    The force exerted up and down upon the battle axe served to push the sharp des deep into its gums. A very painful feeling that even the further frenzied state couldn''tpletely block. Tears appeared in the war ursa''s eyes as its mouth filled with its own blood.

    Finy''s battle axe was now firmly in ce preventing it from closing or even opening its jaws any time soon. The crisis was sessfully averted and now it was time for Finy to attack.

    With his primary weapon current lodged within the war ursa''s mouth and likely not leaving anytime soon Finy had to be a little creative if he wished tounch a decent offensive.

    Unlike Frost he didn''t have a spatial ring equipped that housed spare weaponry -perhaps something he''d have to look into in the future- but he did have other means.

    As his body drifted across the war ursa''s back his target came into sight, the severely mangled left rear leg. He didn''t need anything too devasting to breach an already open wound. So Finy started kneading his chakra to form a dense ice spike. He didn''t care much about how it looked as long as it was sturdy and had a sufficient grip it''d do.

    Within milliseconds Finy summoned a metre long ice spike with around 20cm diameter. It was rough and jagged, unappealing in terms of aesthetics, but such a structure may actually deal more damage.

    He gripped the spike with both hands and violently stabbed it into the open and mangled wound. The open flesh made a great entry point as the ice spike easily prated, tearing up another section of the leg and socket area.

    It did howevere to aplete stop once it reached the bone, shattering into sharp fragments that prated the surrounded flesh.

    "Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!" The war ursa roared in agony. Its remaining good eye clouded overpletely, bing blood red. It lost itself into aplete frenzy, a beast driven purely by madness.

    Finy knew that it was time to make a quick exit, so he rotated his body around so that his feet rested on the exposed area of the ice spike.

    He then kicked off shoving the ice spike even deeper into the war ursa''s bloodied flesh while also retreating. Not a moment too soon either.

    The instant he pushed off a set of red ws was fired his way, a reckless manoeuvre but the war ursa was beyond thinking rationally.

    The red ws flew past its body and even carved up a section of the wounded left rear leg all so it would have the chance to kill Finy.

    Unfortunately even with his impressive reaction Finy wasn''t quite fast enough, the red ws brushed past his left arm, opening up five deep gashes before carrying on through the air.

    Finynded on the snow several metres away, blood dripping profusely from his left arm and pooling on the ground below. His left arm was injured quite badly, though he''d likely be able to move it using his entire strength was no longer possible.

    This was the difference in rank, hended several clean blows yet the war ursa just had to graze him to do devasting damage. Thankfully it was just a deep cut and not the loss of the limb. Mid-level health potions had their limits after all.

    He covered his left arm with his hand and winced from the pain before reaching around to the small potion bag around his waist. He removed a mid-level health potion and swiftly downed the contents.

    Frost had prepared a few of such potions for this exact battle, price was not a concern if it meant he could reach the next level of power.

    Taking one now would mean he''d have to wait a while to use the next one but a loss in strength from his arm and given the amount of blood he was losing he couldn''t afford to take any risks. He needed to be at full strength at all times when confronting the war ursa, lest he be too slow to react and end up with far more than a few gashes.

    He tossed the empty bottle away and kept his eyes locked on the war ursa, ready to move at any moment. The health potion got to work several secondster gradually closing his open wounds and recing his lost blood -the most important aspect, being numb and weak meant slower reactions after all.

    The war ursa took this time to wrench out the battle axe lodged in its mouth. Using its paws it tore the thing out,pletely ignoring the pain and volume of blood before twisting the axe around. It then began chewing the axe with its razor sharp teeth.

    Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

    A horrible sound escaped its jaws as it chewed the 3 star battle axe. The shaft was easily dealt with, but the axe head took a fair amount of effort. Its teeth grinded against the pykrete, groaning as they battled in terms of toughness.

    Eventually however the teeth won and the mighty 3 star battle axe that served by Finy''s side since he received his name cracked and fractured into pieces.

    The war ursa looked at Finy tauntingly before swallowing what remained. It then smiled with a bloodied yet now empty mouth.

    "Bastard!" Finy loudly cursed, that axe of his had sentimental value yet now it was nothing but scrap in a bear''s belly. Of course he knew that willingly cing his weapon within the war ursa''s mouth could result in such a scenario but seeing it in reality was far more disturbing. That was his weapon, his partner and something he felt a true bond with, even more so during this battle.

    His hands clenched hard to the point that blood was drawn, Finy was pretty pissed off.

 Chapter 432: Chapter 432: War ursa (6)

    The war ursa continued to smile madly, baring its bloody fangs at Finy. His weapon was now history, what was he supposed to fight it with now? That ice spike served only good at further damaging already mangled flesh. Useless against bone and quite likely its resilient fur.

    Finy clenched his teeth and fists drawing blood from his fingers. He was truly enraged by the loss of his weapon but not because he was powerless without it but for sentimental reasons. That weapon was with him since creation and went through an evolution the same time he did, there was a strong bond between the two. He was emotional but unfortunately this was neither the time nor the ce.

    "huuuuuu" Finy let out a restrained breath, calming his emotions before bringing up the dungeon menu. The war ursa had given him a moments reprieve so as to gloat; he''d be stupid to not utilise such a time effectively.

    Though hecked a spatial ring like Frost and Maya he had been granted the ability to retrieve things form the dungeon vault. With a few clicks a brand new battle axe roughly equal in quality and materials as the one he just lost appeared in his hands.

    The process of retrieval was slower than a spatial ring and required him to use the dungeon menu thus he couldn''t retrieve his spare axe mid-flight thus he had to use the ice spike earlier.

    Don!

    The butt of the heavy axe crashed against the ground. It was in pristine condition and at least 20% heavier than hisst one. A little harder to wield but should suit his current needs perfectly. Finy needed to breach the gap between adept and advanced axe mastery after all.

    A less wieldy weapon should force him to understand the connection between him and his weapon that much more, a risk he was willing to take.

    Frost had prepared a few battle axes for him, same with Khuno but with halberds. Each of which had slight differences i.e. different material makeup or weight that would suit different situations. A heavier axe in this case though slower to attack would contain more force, something that was clearly needed if he wished to cleave through the war ursa''s bones.

    The war ursa''s gloating swiftly stopped the moment it saw the new axe and heard the heavy don as it crashed against the ground.

    "Roaaaaarrr!" It roared in protest before firing off with its long range red ws however given its wounded and maddened state the uracy wasn''t quite as on point. Unfortunately this actually made dodging harder.

    Finy frowned before raising up his axe, it was time to test how it felt in battle.

    "[Mountain cleave]" Finy activated his greatest axe skill covering the weapon in a dense beam of azure energy before shing downward within immense ferocity.

    Smash!

    With the added weight and the use of a skill the red ws shattered into pieces, a few fragments passed by Finy''s cheek, leaving minor scratches but with the health potion still in effect these wounds healed almost instantly.

    "Well that felt good." Finy smiled wildly as he raised the battle axe back up and rested it on his shoulders. The bnce of the weapon was very simr to his previous one even with overall greater weight it also had a simr texture along the handle. He easily connected with it, perhaps even more so than his primary one. The weight felt more in line with his current strength.

    The war ursaunched another five red ws at the smiling Finy not realising that its wounds were affecting its skill''s strength nor Finy''s current state.

    Finy saw the five red ws but didn''t run or dodge instead he reared up his battle axe once again and struck down.

    sh!

    There was certainly a difference without using [mountain cleave] but he no longer felt pinned and two secondster the red ws shattered once again under his new axe.

    A strange expression appeared on Finy''s face as he retrieved his axe and looked deeply at the heads. He felt something when he struck down, a nagging feeling that pointed out the ws in his swing.

    His wild smile stretched from ear to ear as his gaze drifted over to the war ursa who looked as though it had seen better days. A limp leg that was nothing more than a mangled mess, its jaws still bleeding profusely and blinded in one eye. The once intimidating threat that was the war ursa was so badly wounded that it appeared to be barely hanging on, Finy did that.

    "Again, hit me again!" Finy loudly demanded, wishing for the war ursa to send another set of red ws his way as training material.

    "Roar!" Infuriated further by Finy''s attitude the war ursa reared up on its single working rear leg before viciously swiping with its forepaws, creating 10 red ws each stronger than the previous ones. It put a fair amount of energy into this attack, a little too much in fact.

    The war ursa suddenly stumbled and copsed onto its belly leaving it in a very vulnerable position but Finy was a little preupied to take advantage.

    ''I just had to go and open my big mouth.'' He cursed himself internally as the spectre of death wrapped around his limbs and even his heart, filling him with fear. This attack was fast, strong and incredibly deadly and he no longer had the chance to dodge, he had to take it.

    He gripped the shaft of his axe and stared dead ahead, seeing nothing but thick, sharp red ws formed of energy flying his way. Every fibre of his body was screaming either run or that this was the end of him. His axe would not be able to stop these ws and he''d end up carved up into dozens of pieces, scattered across the snow¡­..at least with his current strength.

    There was no better opportunity to force him over the threshold, just like how frost fared in his sh with Rock. While enduring an overwhelming force with his ive he punched through and achieved adept mastery as well as his first skill. Finy simply needed to do the same, the risk however was incredibly high.

    A single misstep and he was dead, but it was this risk that made it possible in the first ce. His body needed to be filled with dread and be forced to ovee death.

    A fiery gaze filled with determination could be seen in Finy''s eyes. He braced himself against the snow, shuffling in for a better foothold while raising his new battle axe up high above his head.

    "[Enrage], [mountain cleave]" He activated his skillbo, granting him extra physical strength as well as empowering his battle axe.

    Energy surged out from within Finy, a light red mist covered his body filling him with intense aggression. His eyes turned a deep shade of blood red simr to the war ursa''s and his muscles bulged out with snake like veins. Whereas an azure coloured energy spread out across his axe, forming a dense beam around the de edge, greatly increasing its sharpness and crushing force.

    Finy used these skills to their upmost, putting in all he had.

    As Finy began cleaving downward time slowed and that nagging feeling returned. He subtly followed the directions given by that feeling and as a result his axe sped up and grew in force. His connection with it seemed to grow more in tune and an invisible wall started to breakdown.

    His eyes released a glint along with his axe before he made contact with the ten crossed red ws sent out by the war ursa.

    Boooooooommmmmmmmm!

    An incredible boom reverberated through the battlefield as the axe and red ws made contact. Plumes of snow were blown away from the surrounding area and many monsters still fighting in the muddy waters couldn''t help but turn their heads towards the loud explosion.

    There they could see Finy with his entire body tensed and bulging holding back the ten red ws with his battle axe. The red coloured energy and the azure energy grinded against one another with neither refusing to give in. Their fierce sh sent sparks of energy flowing out and the area around started to twist, the force involved was strong enough to affect the surrounding mana.

    Finy was breathing hard, and his feet were being gradually pushed back but his eyes revealed a mad glint, and a bright smile adorned his lips. He could feel it, the door was breaking down and he could feel the light of knowledge washing over him.

    His body felt reinvigorated, and his axe became lighter, the force pressing on him from the red ws no longer felt so terrifying.

    ''This is advanced mastery.'' He had broken through; his gambit had paid off.

    Stomp!

    With his newfound strength Finy took a forceful step forward before roaring out and tensing his arm and back muscles even further.

    Smash!

    The terrifying red ws shattered apart revealing the vulnerable state of the war ursa.

    Finy recalled his battle axe and stared at the war ursa with a cold and calm look in his eyes. The rewards from reaching advanced axe mastery continued to wash over him. He smiled with satisfaction as new knowledge filled his mind.

    "With this I should be able to break those bones of yours."

 Chapter 433: Chapter 433: War ursa (7)

    Finy stared at the prone and struggling war ursa with a calm and cold gaze. Its full on red w attack was shattered apart by him and now thanks to its overexertion and prominent wounds it was t on its belly struggling to find its feet, a prime opportunity.

    Finy felt invigorated, his entry into advanced level axe mastery allowed him to see the world with new vision, to feel a greater connection with his weapon and know new ways in which to use that weapon.

    One of which was screaming out in his brain dying to be let loose on the vulnerable prey. Yes the war ursa was no longer the predator but the prey in the eyes of this ice trollmander.

    Finy marched forward firmly, gaining speed with each step until he was running at full speed

    "[cier crash]!" Finy shouted out the name of the new skill he just learned, an advanced level skill with devasting power. An azure mist started to escape from his body as he picked up speed and leapt up high into the air.

    The mist grew more and more distinct, some formed around his axe, protecting and enhancing it to levels far beyond that of [mountain cleave]. The majority however coagted behind Finy in the shape of a giant cier. This image emitted a frightening chill but more importantly a mighty weight, greatly enhancing the force of his swing.

    With his battle axe raised up high Finy cleaved downwards as his body descended, his aim was the severely damaged left rear leg. It had been dangling there with the bone exposed long enough, it was time to sever itpletely.

    "Rooooaaaaarrrrrrr!" Of course the war ursa wasn''t going to just sit there and allow its body to endure such a devasting blow. It tried to quickly stand up and evade but its limbs refused to listen, the blood loss and severe damage made control difficult. Since it couldn''t move away it attacked instead, with a yet unseen skill.

    Red energy rapidly pooled from its body towards its head. This red energy formed into a red version of the war ursa''s head; it was a skill simr to Frost''s [wyvern maw].

    The red war ursa headcked the detail and living quality of the [wyvern''s maw] but it was still quite impressive. The red bear headunched forward to intercept Finy''s [cier crash] with its maw wide open.

    Finy in its eyes was still just a mere ice troll, lower in the food chain. Despite the lethality it felt from this skill it strongly believed that it shouldn''t be able to beat its red bear head skill, this arrogance was imprinted deep in its bones.

    Finy lips stretched from ear to ear in a wild smile, showing off his pearly with teeth. He was ecstatic, it''d be a littlecklustre if his new move had nothing to fight against. He pumped in even more of his energy into his skill in response.

    Baaaaaaannnnngggggg!!!

    An ear shattering bang exploded at the point of contact. The massive azure covered battle axe crashed against the red ursa head, striking upon its forehead with unbridled weight, far too much for it to endure.

    The moment they made contact the red ursa head cracked, arge fissure opened up along the pseudo skull. The battle axe then easily cleaved its way through, splitting the thing in twain. Shards of red energy splintered off before the entire head dissolved, it was no match for the might of Finy''s [cial crash].

    The war ursa froze in shock as it witnessed the shattering of its prided skill. Time for it seemed to slow as it was powerless to watch as Finy''s axe continued along it original trajectory with barely any momentum lost.

    Hoooowwllll!

    The air howled as the battle axe carved through the air before.

    Schwing!

    The enhanced de edge met with the mangled flesh of the war ursa''s left rear leg. It cut through it like it was butter, almost immediately reaching the durable bone. Bear''s had very tough bones no matter the rank so it could be imagined how strong the war ursa''s were.

    Several clean attacks from him while using his full strength as well as a skill and the sharpness of an upper 3 star weapon resulted in a mere crack. Now however such a possibility was impossible.

    ng!

    The axe made contact with the war ursa''s thick leg bone and after a fraction of a second it began cutting through with little resistance. Another fraction of a secondter it exited through the other side of the leg and smashed against the snow covered floor.

    The residual force sent plumes of snow flying all over the ce as well as blowing the several ton ursa away. Finynded on an area of dirt- after blowing away all the snow-, his battle axe cutting deep into the dungeon''s floor.

    A look of shock could be seen on his face as he stared at thepletely severed rear leg lying next to his axe and the exposed dirt around him. His hands that held the battle axe''s shaft were trembling, numbed from the resulting rebound of force.

    ''Such devastation¡­.. I should have aimed for something more valuable ugh!'' Finy regretted not aiming for the undamaged rear leg or its spine or perhaps even its throat. With such a powerful attack, decapitation wasn''t off the table.

    A sharp groan escaped his lips as the cost of using such a high level skill attacked his body.

    "Cough!" blood ran up his throat and out his mouth, his vision grew dizzy, and his entire body trembled violently. He fell to a half kneeling position and relied on his battle axe to remain upright as the sudden exhaustion took over.

    He just used an advanced level skill at its maximum power after fighting an uphill battle, the cost was too be expected thus his regret at choosing an easier target was quite deep.

    He struggled to even remain conscious cing him in an even more vulnerable position than the war ursa earlier.

    The monster in question had been blown back several metres and onto its back. Its mind was still in rtive shock, the fact that its leg had been severed and the fact that it was on its back hadn''t quite clicked yet.

    A couple secondster however the realisation hit it, the pain of losing a limb rushed to its brain resulting in guttural howl before it rolled to its three remaining feet. Its eyes stared at the vacant area around its rear. A clean divide that removed the entire leg leaving nothing but a gruesome wound that was bleeding profusely.

    The war ursa''s blood loss was already serious even with the benefits brought on by the frenzied state. With such an open wound its time was limited, 10 minutes perhaps less.

    The serious of the situation quickly donned on it, the spectre of death that tightly lingered around Finy throughout this fight now attached itself to it, death wasing, and it was powerless to stop it.

    Anger and wrath starting building up to uncontroble levels. Its gaze drifted towards Finy the one who effectively killed it.

    "Raaaaaaaaaawrrrrrrrrrr!!!!" A wrathful roar filled with piercing bloodlust and unrestrained pseudo aura escaped its bloody maw, exasperating its wounds even further but it was beyond the point of caring.

    Finy''s body shivered and was assaulted by the blood lust, pseudo aura and even the literal air forcefully exuded by the roar. His body that had overtaxed itself by unleashing a devasting skill was too weak to counter the war ursa''s pseudo aura. He felt pressured and lost control of his limbs from primal fear, his heart even stopped as cold sweat dripped down his spine.

    ''Fuck!'' He internally cursed as his mouth was no longer working, his teeth chattering as his body was in full terror mode like a paralysed mouse in front of a snake. He tried to regain control of his body, but the primal fear was ingrained to deep, he couldn''t override it in a short time.

    All he could do was look directly at the war ursa as it began charging at him with its three legs. Even if he was going to die he was going to openly face his enemy. His body may be paralysed by primal fear and the beast''s searing blood lust, but his spirit would never be subdued, he would keep trying to fight.

    ''Move! Move! Move! Move! Dammit!'' He roared internally, desperately trying to move his limbs and he gained some minor sess but not enough to evade the war ursa''s maddened charge or raise his battle axe in defence. It seemed as though this was as far as he went.

    After fighting such a difficult death defying battle for so long and evening out on top for the majority of it, he was going to meet his end. A mixture of ying it safe and not taking into ount the true cost of using a skill beyond his current meansnded him in this position.

    If he had another 30 seconds or so he''d likely be able to regain control of his body and get back in the fight. He''d be exhausted and drained but the war ursa wasn''t any better, all he needed to do was drag out the fight and he''d be the winner. But 30 seconds in a high level fight where multiple exchanges can happen within a single second was practically eons.

    He''d need a miracle or...

 Chapter 434: Chapter 434: War ursa (8)

    As Finy kneeled against his battle axe and tried his very best to move his paralysed limbs- with very little effect- his eyes stared dead ahead at the massive war ursa charging straight for him with its jaw wide open. Blood from the wounds he caused sputtered out and painted its teeth red making for an even more frightening image than normal.

    Time slowed down once again for Finy, but this was not advantageous it simple dragged out the time he stared death in the literal face.

    With its desperate and reckless charge the mighty war ursa arrived before him in a couple seconds. He could feel its blood filled breath against his cheeks and could see deep down its throat as its jaws opened up to devour him, ast act before it inevitably dies.

    Unfortunately Finy didn''t have ess to cold mes so he couldn''t mimic the actions of the brave ronso who lost his life a few days ago and even if he did he was in no state to use them effectively.

    Ice started to from along is skin in sharp protruding spikes, rather flimsy and thin but should at least agitate its throat as it swallowed him.

    "[Sky fall]" Suddenly above Finy and the war ursa Frost appeared with his ive in hand and a fierce expression on his face. His ive was pulled back and his air borne skill in affect, summoning four simr looking ives made out of energy around him before he and the ives shot down towards the war ursa.

    Frost had very little time. He noticed the battle''s state thanks to the presence generated by Finy''s [cier crash]. He saw his prided general ovee his limits that were so harshly imposed and triumph over his superior enemy. But that pride was short lived as danger swooped in almost immediately.

    Understanding the desperate situation he sted back the three monsters attacking him and dashed to Finy''s aid.

    His loud call and summoning of his ive skill didn''t even draw the war ursa''s attention, all it saw before it was red, it cared not for anything but devouring Finy. The timing was going to be tight.

    "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Letting out his desperation Frost roared out as he repeatedly kicked against the air, frantically trying to speed up his descent by any means.

    Fractions of seconds passed as the three entities moved closer to one another. The war ursa had its jaw encapsting most of Finy''s head and was beginning the short process of biting down. Finy was still desperately trying to move, aiming to shuffle back his head even slightly so as to grant his master more time to aid him yet he barely even bought a fraction of a second.

    But at this level ofbat even a fraction was something.

    When the war ursa''s sharp teeth started scraping against Finy''s head and slowly piercing into his skull Frost arrived. His true ivended roughly where Finy''s axe had previously protruded and cut through with ease.

    The sharp de prated through the upper jaw, passing or rather a little through the edge of Finy''s nose before continuing through the lower jaw decimating the muscle, halting the beast''s contraction.

    The other four energy formed ives swiftly pierced along its back and shoulders pinning it in ce and preventing any sudden movements. Not enough it instantly kill it or even severely damage it (normally) but it was enough for Frost to appear behind Finy and wrench open the war ursa''s jaw and retrieve him for that death trap.

    Crunch!

    The moment Finy was freed the war ursa''s jaws quickly snapped shut despite being pierced by Frost''s ive. Pain was a mute subject in its current state, it probably didn''t even realise Finy escaped.

    Finy''s eyes were wide open in shock, his heartpletely stopped beating as narrow streams of blood flowed down his head. He was literally in the process of being eaten when Frost swooped in and rescued him from the jaws of death.

    The shocked feeling gradually passed and feeling returned to his limbs now that the danger was gone. He brought up his hands to his face and head. There was pain in the area where the war ursa''s teeth began puncturing and his blood was warm¡­. he was alive.

    His gaze drifted towards the young man who looked like an elf standing before him, shielding him from the war ursa. The man was emitting his full blown aura and had his eyes locked fiercely on the war ursa.

    Frost''s heart was beating a mile a minute, if he was just a fraction of a secondter Finy would have been toast and he would have lost his most trusted monster, one who had beaten the odds to achieve advanced mastery despite the limitations of his archetype.

    He wasn''t going to take any chances with his general''s life, he ced himself directly in front of the war ursa and exuded his full blown aura and watched it for even the slightest moves. A desperate creature especially one as powerful as a war ursa was not a foe to take likely.

    An upper C-rank monster''s life force wasn''t anything to sneeze at. Frost felt that this wasn''t the end of this insidious ambusher, so he prevented it from seeing Finy, redirecting its residual ire towards himself.

    "Nanna get someone to guard Finy while I deal with this bear!" Frost roared out an order while he summoned his spare ive and dashed forward in full attack mode. The best offence is a good defence. If he kept attacking the war ursa it wouldn''t have time to attack Finy. He just needed someone to take care of guarding him from any other opportunistic ambushers.

    "Yes master." Nanna responded quickly, aying Frost''s fears. A nearby ronso arrived a momentter by Finy''s side, guarding him from any attacker while he regained hisplete faculties.

    The war ursa finally realised that something was wrong. Its mouth didn''t feel filled with the head of an ice troll instead there was arge pole piercing its upper jaw and lower jaw together. It then saw Frost charging forward with his secondary ive and all rational thought left its brain once again. Another enemy to eat.

    It tried to roar but the ive pinned its mouth shut. It had powerful biting force but poor releasing force- simr to a crocodile. All that escaped was a muffled groan before it met Frost''s charge with a charge of its own. The energy formed ives had already receded returning back to their formless and loose state.

    The wounds left were deep and painful looking, but nothingpared to the missing leg and as previously stated the war ursa was beyond the point of feeling pain.

    It let loose with a wide swipe enhanced by the red ws to which Frost could easily dodge but Finy and the Ronso were behind him.

    With a twirl of his ive he swung out and smashed it against its paw.

    Crack!

    The red ws summoned as well as one of its actual ws was shattered by the ive that was covered in a narrow yet dense amount of solid ice chakra. Frost however was knocked back by the residual force, his physical strength losing out.

    ''Damn that thing''s got some power behind it.'' Frost internallyplimented the war ursa. Despite suffering extensive injuries that affected its bnce, power and even the control of its own movements he still lost in a power exchange against a simple angry swipe.

    Its aggressive movements though still strong enough to fend off Frost weren''t enough to deal any injuries to him and came at a cost. Blood flowed profusely from the major leg wound when it swiped at him, elerating its already major blood loss.

    As long as Frost made this a battle of attrition he''d likely win without much danger but that didn''t really sit right with him.

    Things can always go wrong so he felt it''d be best to end this fight as soon as possible plus this wasn''t the only battlefield. The longer he was away from the main area behind him the higher the risk was for his other monsters.

    He also believed that a dragged out battle would be insulting to his and Finy''s opponent. The war ursa was the most powerful entity he and the dungeon had ever faced. It was the leader of the wave and deserved to be beaten in a grandiose fashion. Not a logical reason but an emotional one that stemmed from Frost being a bit of a battle junkie, a warrior.

    Frost regained his bnce and twirled his ive, covering it in cold mes this time.

    "Well then let''s put you out of your misery and get back to the main battlefield." He pointed the ive''s de at the war ursa as he dered before once again dashing forward, going for a frontal assault.

    The war ursa wanted to yank out the ive that was impeding its jaw, but Frost gave it no time.

    "Grrrrrrrrr" With a muffled roar it sent out a shot of five red ws while preparing another shot on his other paw.

    Frost charged dead ahead with his ive.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" He summoned his own energy ws to sh with the bear''s. His were stronger but outnumbered 5 to 3 thus they ended in a stalemate. His dash however was unimpeded, Frost found himself in front of the war ursa once again.

 Chapter 435: Chapter 435: War ursa (9)

    After their exchange of w skills ended in a stalemate Frost ended up before the war ursa''s snout with his ive primed and ready for a deadly strike.

    His speed was astounding but nothing the war ursa hadn''t seen before. It reoriented its remaining fore paw and its summoned red energy ws to attack Frost''s current position. A deadly attack if it reached the target and if not at least Frost would be prevented from going ahead with his own attack.

    Frost however sported a smirk, his eyes not even wavering for a second as he watched the war ursa take a swing at him.

    "[Ice spike]" Frost called out the name of a 2nd circle spell and a magic crest rapidly formed on the floor between him and the rapidly approaching paw.

    Thinking that a mere 2nd circle spell would be able to block the red ws or even dy it for a fraction of a second was an impossibility, but Frost wasn''t aiming for that.

    Ice swiftly formed in the shape of a dense ice spike from the magic crest and mmed against the war ursa''s fore arm, avoiding the deadly ws and even its horizontal momentum. Striking vertically, careening the swipe on an upward trajectory, away from Frost and straight towards the war ursa''s own face.

    The timing of Frost''s rebuff was perfect, the poor war ursa had no time to react. Its prided red w skill was shot directly against its own face.

    5 nasty gashes instantly appeared along its face and neck, deep, wide and bleeding profusely. Its visage was barely recognisable as flesh split apart and sloughed off revealing the bone underneath. A gruesome and terrifying sight, so much so that even Frost felt a little guilty about his actions. But that feeling was brief.

    Frost moved onto the next phase of his attack. He gripped his ive hard with both hands, tilting the de downwards in preparation for a powerful upswing.

    "[Earth''s upheaval]" At hismand energy flowed from his body, coating his ive in a deep green lustre before forming the image of a weighty rock behind him, enhancing the force behind his swing.

    Bang!

    With a loud sh Frost''s skill enhanced ive mmed against the war ursa''s chest. The de cut it open a little, but the primary function of this move was to send the target airborne, aunching skill.

    The war ursa however despite being severely injured still weighed several tons. A single upswing from Frost was hardly enough tounch something of its mass skyward. He did however seed in knocking it to a standing position and about a metre from the floor but that was enough.

    Not even rxing in the slightest after his upswing Frost twisted his ive and recalled it back to his side, saving some of the residual force before.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]!" The moment his ive was back in ce Frost activated another advanced mastery level skill. Energy was once again summoned from his body causing him to wince from the drain.

    Soon the image of a wyvern''s deadly maw appeared behind the ive and roared out. The fact that the skill [wyvern''s maw] was manoeuvrable and had some form of sentience made it the most costly of his high end skills but also the most powerful.

    Frost viciously swung his ive, catapulting the wyvern straight into the war ursa''s exposed torso.

    "Rooooaaaaarrrr!!" The wyvern roared out and bared its deadly fangs before sinking its teeth into the war ursa''s torso and shredding it to absolute pieces.

    The resulting impact sent the partially airborne war ursa flying backwards with the wyvern head.

    It crashed onto the soft snow over ten metres away, back first and violently convulsing. Its face was destroyed by its own skill and looked pretty much like a horror scene whereas its torso wasn''t much better.

    The wyvern went to town on eating it. Itsrge sharp teeth eviscerated its fur, skin, fat, muscles and even fractured some of its ribs resulting in it looking like an open carcass. It received a direct strike in a vulnerable area from a B-rank fighter, the level of damage was too be expected.

    Its frenzied state allowed it to not suffer from the immense pain one would usually feel in such a situation, but it was done. The damage was too extensive, even the undead wouldn''t be able to get back up from what Frost just hit it with, the battle was over.

    "Hu hu hu hu" Frost suddenly felt a little dizzy and started breathing heavily as the feeling of exhaustion assaulted him. Using [sky fall], [earth''s upheaval] and [wyvern''s maw] all in quick session was quite a tall ask. Thankfully he was young and within the dungeon so the feeling of weakness would quickly fade.

    "Master" Finy with the help of the guarding ronso walked over to Frost. He had aplicated expression on his face. He achieved the goal set out by his master but in the end still needed to be saved by him.

    "Haaaaaaa just feel proud Finy, the mission was high risk in the first ce. The fact that you''re alive regardless of the reasons is a win." Frost sighed and shook his head understanding his ice troll''s personality.

    "¡­.I guess you''re right master." Finy silently took in what Frost said before smiling and agreeing with him. He fought against a superior enemy and came out alive and improved, he seeded.

    His gaze drifted over to the war ursa that was on itsst breath with a thankful look. It was because of it that he was now one step closer to evolving.

    Frost smiled as he also looked at the dying war ursa with thanks.

    Half a minuteter the beast finally croaked, and a high quality stream of life energy flowed into Frost making him feel refreshed and incrediblyfortable, like he just partook in a delicacy. A slightly mad glint appeared in his eyes as the pleasure washed over him, this really was a feeling one could get addicted too.

    Finy also felt a change. He opened up the dungeon menu and examined his own status.

    Name: Finy

    Race: Ice trollmander

    Rank: C

    Level: 50/50

    Skills: [Axe sh], [mountain cleave], [cier crash], [invigorating shout], [enrage], [mad charge], [ice stomp],[frost breath]

    Passive: [war buff], [medium ice resistance], [pseudo aura], [advanced axe mastery]

    Magic: [ice bolt]

    It now showed his level as 50/50 instead of the horrible 49/50 he''d been faced with the past few days. His new skill [cial crash] was also disyed as was his upgrade to advanced axe mastery. His magic was still pretty pitiful holding but a single spell [ice bolt].

    Frost had offered a few times to purchase some magic skill books for him, but he refused, finding that they''d be better spent on perhaps the yuki-onnas or other magic based monsters. He didn''t really need magic too much, relying on physical closebat and chakra usage instead.

    He''d use the [ice bolt] spell asionally when at range but that was just so he could do something while he closed in on his enemy, magic was not his forte.

    His smile couldn''t help but grow as he saw a small notification at the bottom of his status.

    [evolution now avable]

    Confirmation of his sess. Now all he needed to do was make sure he had enough energy to break through the final barrier. Luck would also y arge part, as evolution was no longer a guaranteed sess.

    "Master my level''s now hit the maximum. I can start the evolution process." Finy said with a happy tone, unable to hide his excitement.

    "Good, but not now. Since chance is involved I want you in your absolute best state. We''ll finish this wave, get you a full check up at the medical centre and fill you chock full with magic crystals till the point your about to burst. Then we''ll attempt it." Frost looked up at his ice trollmander with pride, but he knew such an important event shouldn''t be rushed.

    "Understood master, I could do with some more practise with my advanced axe mastery." Finy caressed his axe, and a wild smile grew on his face. His energy levels were gradually returning, enough to deal with D-ranks at least.

    "Fine but don''t take any risks, ronso please stick by his side the entire time. Make sure nothing happens to him." Frost didn''t argue against Finy re-joining the main battlefield as he was confident that the danger would be controlled.

    "Of course milord, no harm wille to themander." The ronso replied with a military salute before looking at Finy with fierce intensity, he was going to watch him like a hawk.

    This sported a chuckle from Frost and an annoyed grunt from Finy who felt as though he was being treated like a reckless child.

    With Frost''s return as well as Finy''s the rest of the battle continued to grow in their favour. Even the C-ranks fell one by one by either Frost''s and Khuno''s actions or thebined movements of the ronsos and ice revenants.

    It was long and gruelling but after over an hour of constant battle the wave was over, and silence had returned to the winter hignds.

 Chapter 436: Chapter 436: Findlays evolution

    82 enemy and 15 friendly corpses littered the blood soaked snow of the winter hignds section. The thick stench of death, flesh and metal assailed the noses of the survivors. Many of which were injured, some very badly. A brutal result but in the end a victory and that''s all that mattered at this stage, surviving the ordeal to fight another day.

    "Alright, everyone that can still move safely make your way to the medical centre, those who can''t, stay where you are, and the transfer team wille get you. Finally those in critical condition don''t give up, the healers will arrive soon with plenty potions to see you through, you just need to fight until then." Frost loudly proimed while covered in the blood and guts of those he just smited.

    His booming voice and natural charisma drew the attention of everyone present. His powerful visage filled his monsters with strength and lessened their pain.

    Those who could move did as instructed while those who couldn''t stayed where they were to avoid further injury. They also encouraged the critically injured to keep fighting until help arrived.

    Nanna and Loki already sent down orders to the medical centre and were in the process of teleporting the much needed medical staff and their supplies.

    Frost reunited with his left and right hand, both of whom sported simr attires to himself.

    "Looks like the two of you had your fill of fun hehehehehe." He chuckled as noticed Finy and Khuno were more red than blue.

    "You should look in the mirror milord you''re far more drenched than either of us hehehehehe." Khuno teased Frost back causing him to finally take in his current appearance.

    "[Clean up]" He instantly casted clean up magic on himself as well as Finy and Khuno, removing the saturated blood stains as well as the horrible smell that he now started to notice now that the battle was over.

    The three chuckled lightly but clear signs of pain were in their voices. 15rades died here today and all of them were of high rank. 4 ronsos, 5 ice revenants, 2 yuki-onnas and 4 frost revenant knights. Not the most they''ve ever lost but certainly the most in terms of power. Thete stages really weren''t kidding around and that was just the first wave without a B-rank.

    The three heads couldn''t help but be wary of the future.

    However Khuno tried to lighten the mood a little. He looked over at hisrade, Finy before pping his back.

    "Well looks like someone''s going to get the opportunity to reach milord''s level, can''t say I''m not jealous hahahahaha"

    Finy smiled genuinely appearing a little smug before replying.

    "It wasn''t easy but yes and don''t worry I''m sure you''ll get your chance soon." He mmed Khuno''s back hard as some sort of revenge, leading to the two of them lightly tussling which brought a genuine smile to Frost''s face.

    "Finy teleport to the medical centre for a full check-up, I''ll call you when we''re ready." Frost spoke in a serious tone, breaking up their tussle.

    "Yes master." Finy, who was currently in a headlock, responded curtly before wrenching himself free from Khuno.

    "Khuno you''ll be present as well; it should serve as a good example for when you eventually make the same transition."

    "Y¡­yes milord." Khuno coughed out of embarrassment before standing straight and saluting Frost.

    Multiple space warps opened around the winter hignds, some depositing people while others transporting them to another area in the dungeon or in Frost''s case the private space.

    "Master wee back." Nanna and Loki both announced before running towards him head first, wrapping him in a hug.

    "Good work Frost." Maya made her presence known next, smiling gently as she looked at her young master. She nodded in approval after seeing no injuries (at least major ones) and that he''d taken care of the blood bath he just took. Being covered in monster blood and guts was not an appealing look especially on someone like Frost.

    Under the children''s lead he sat himself down on the sofa and listened to their reports as well as Maya''s praising of said work. This caused Nanna to blush slightly while Loki arched out his chest with pride earning them some affectionate hair ruffles.

    After recing all the lost forces the four of them sat down for a pleasant meal, separating personal and professional life. This was followed by a rxing bath which Frost felt he sorely needed. Loki decided to join him as did Nanna but given that she was a girl and almost a teenager they couldn''t go in together, so Maya joined her on the female side to keep herpany.

    With Frost fully dpressed from his battle it was time to y with the dice¡­..Finy''s evolution.

    Frost, Finy, Khuno, Kiba, Maya and even the kids all teleported to the training space. A roompleted isted from the outside meaning no chance of interruptions. Nanna and Loki were also ordered to keep quiet throughout the entire process, just in case.

    "Well how are you feeling?" Frost asked Finy who was the current centre of attention.

    "Great master. No injuries and I''m in tip top shape." He replied while animatedly mming his chest. The docs patched him up with potions and spells of all kinds to make extra sure.

    "Good. What about your energy levels, can you eat anymore?"

    "Urgh!" Finy loudly groaned and showed a nauseous expression. The moment he was healed up Frost had him teleport here ahead of everyone and start stuffing himself with magic crystals, topping off his already maxed out body.

    His skin felt itchy and was bulging or rather swelling up, causing no small amount of difort and even pain. He literally felt he was going to explode ten crystals ago but pushed through to his current state.

    Frost rested a hand on his shoulder and sent a small stream of his own mana into Finy''s body.

    ''Damn he''s like a veritable keg about to explode. All he needs is an idental spark.'' He was smiling as he thought this since it was the exact situation they needed right now.

    Dark''s protection required unreal amounts of energy to break through and on top of that was the energy requirements needed to reconstruct the monster''s body into one equivalent of B-rank, a very different degree of power and life force. An already difficult prospect with a rtively low chance of sess was made even harder thanks to the limitations ced on Frost and his siblings.

    Finy''s path was going to be anything but smooth.

    "Thanks to my father''s machinations your evolution process into B-rank will likely be very different from your first one." Frost remembered Finy''s transformation into an ice trollmander after he granted him his name. A process that was quite magical and smooth,sting less than a couple minutes, with no signs of pain or difort.

    Frost gazed at Finy with a concerned expression.

    "Not only will this process likely be painful and filled with pitfalls we have no idea what you''ll evolve into. The resulting archetype will be based entirely on your own path just like in nature." Previously he''d been able to choose the direction of his monsters evolutionary path so as to best suit the dungeon''s needs. That feature has thus been removed for the higher ranking evolutions.

    Finy visibly frowned before nodding his head. He wasn''t in the dark to such a scenario. Channelling such levels of vtile foreign energy through his body was most certainly going to hurt. Even just sitting here he could feel it trying to escape the confines of his body. But he was still willing to embark on this path.

    Frost smiled reassuringly before taking a step backwards.

    "I''m going to start the process, are you ready?"

    "Mmm go ahead master." Finy responded with a determined gaze and somewhat mad smile.

    Nanna and Loki looked on with reddening eyes, their worry evident as they tugged onto Kiba''s fur. Whereas Kiba and Khuno had eyes filled with jealously, thetter even clenched his fists tight as he sorely wished to be in Finy''s position.

    Maya was silent, she was prepared to act if things went downhill, to do her job as Frost''s guardian.

    Frost receiving Finy''s go ahead clicked on the dungeon menu, starting the process before stepping further back, next to Maya. He grabbed her hand causing her to smile gently.

    ''He''s nervous hehehehe.'' Maya giggled inside as she felt Frost''s hand that was sweating and lightly trembling, yet his face showedplete confidence. A side only she was privy to know of a secret between the two of them.

    Once Frost started the process Finy felt a restriction on his bodye loose and his body naturally started the evolution process. The stored energy within started to move, gradually circting his body and picking up speed with every rotation.

    Once several rotations hadpletely.

    "Urgh!" Finy let out a painful groan as blood rushed out his mouth. His skin ballooned out thanks to the rotating energy, forcing his blood to the surface. The blue coloured ice troll now looked red all over, the pain could be easily imagined.

    "Arggghhhhhhhh!!" Eventually the pain was too much for Finy to remain silent. He roared out as he felt his body being torn apart from the inside, the rotation speed of the energy bing more and more aggressive. Seams along his muscles burst open leaking blood and streams of the violent energy crashing throughout his body.

    Maya and Frost quickly moved in front of Nanna and Loki to protect them from being struck by a rogue burst.

 Chapter 437: Chapter 437: Findlays evolution (2)

    Blood continued to leak from Finy''s body, faster and faster as the energy became more and more wild. This was an endurance race between the protection barrier ced by Dark and Finy''s own body seeing which one would give out first. A brutal process that caused all those watching to frown and clench their fists as they were powerless to help him.

    "You can do it Finy!"

    "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Nanna and Loki resorted to cheering him on despite being advised to keep quiet. They couldn''t help themselves; Finy was part of their extended family; they didn''t want anything bad to happen to him.

    Frost initially wanted to tell them to stop and remain quiet lest they interrupt Finy''s focus, but Maya tugged his sleeve before he could speak. She then gestured with her chin towards Finy, telling Frost to look at him.

    Finy''s groaning and painful roars as well as his trembling all lessened the moment he heard Nanna and Loki''s adorable cheering. Their words impacted him positively.

    Frost''s eyes opened up wide as he realised this before he too cheered Finy on. Khuno and Kiba swiftly followed and soon the entire room was filled with people cheering on Finy as his body was devastated by the rampant energy.

    Minutes passed with Finy in this deplorable state that intensified every second. He was exhausted and was struggling to keep his eyes focused; his breathing was heavilyboured, and every single millimetre of his body was in agony. For him this ordeal felt as though itsted hours not minutes.

    Every time he felt that he couldn''t go on he''d hear the cheering from his family granting him another extension of willpower, but their cheers were quickly falling on deaf ears. All his senses were overloaded by the intense pain that he struggled to make out their voices and even see properly. He was truly on hisst legs, this protection set up by Dark was not an easy thing to surpass.

    The rampant energy continued to cycle through his body at immense speed, forcibly expanding his mana veins and body without care for the damage and pain it caused.

    Suddenly when his vision was beginning to darken the energy violently mmed against something causing him to spurt a serious amount of blood and radically tremble.

    But before he could get his bearings the energy mmed against this thing once again, resulting in another fierce tremble throughout his body.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Loud bangs could be repeatedly heard and felt by Finy as well as those observing.

    What the rampant energy was striking against couldn''t be seen but the aftershocks could certainly be observed, it was definitely hitting something.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    ''It must the protective barrier father ced'' Frost surmised what was causing the obstruction. The energy within Finy''s body was gaining enough speed and momentum to strike against this barrier and now the true fight had begun.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Finy was violently knocked up and down, side to side, back to front in pretty much all directions as the energy mmed itself against this invisible barrier. Each sessive m caused Finy to spurt blood and violently tremble. His mind waspletely overloaded, he didn''t know which way was up or down and his vision was nothing but a blurry mess.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The attacks grew more and more frequent causing more and more splits across Finy''s body before finally there was a loud crack. This was followed by another and another before he felt somethingpletely shatter and was granted a sudden sense of freedom with an absence of pain. The barrier was down.

    Around 70% of the rampant energy was expended during this violent exchange, thus there was no longer that horrible bloated and intense burning sensation in his veins.

    That remaining 30% coagted together and seeped into his pores, revitalising every inch of his body before gradually transforming it at the atomic level.

    A bright glow arose from Finy. It grew every second until he was encapsted in a dense sphere of light, hidden from the eyes of everyone else in the room.

    The next phase of his transition had begun. The hard part was over, but this thing still wasn''t set in stone. Finy could fail at any time.

    The energy levels could be insufficient toplete the transformation, he could lose consciousness midway or fail for a possible 100 other reasons. This was the step that relied solely on his luck.

    Minutes passed and everyone waited on baited breaths, they weren''t cheering anymore. Just staring silently at the sphere of light that asionally undted to show that something was still happening. Nervousness gripped each and every one of them, Frost especially who stood with clenched fists and bloodshot eyes.

    After another ten minutes of this patient agony therge shining sphere starting to shrink and dim. Its form altered from spherical to that of a humanoid. Two arms, two legs and a head, Finy was clearly not bing some unrecognisable monstrosity.

    His humanoid form of light appeared to be a fair bit shorter than Finy was previously. Where he was originally around 4 metres tall this form was likely between 3 and 3.5 metres. Rather strange considering he was moving up in rank, a strangeness that didn''t go unnoticed.

    ''Is this going to be a fail?'' Frost questioned silently in his mind before shaking his head, refusing to jump to conclusions so early in the game. All he could see right now was the outline of his possible shape, no energy, aura or even presence could be felt as of yet. Behind the light form the inside was nothing but rapidly transforming cells, still in their transformation period.

    After another minute or so Finy''s new form appeared in greater detail. The light almostpletely faded starting from the bottom. His skin appeared to still be blue but of a lighter shade and his leg muscles were smaller, matching his overall shortened frame. But they were very toned, and Frost could immediately tell that they contained far more power that their appearance suggested.

    He was the same way, despite being B-rank he wasn''t buffed up the wazoo. The inner workings of his and now Finy''s muscles were categorically different from those of standard muscles.

    The rest of Finy''s body was much the same, but unlike before when he was simply donned in the bare minimum of clothes he was now equipped with a full set of shiny gear. His chest and arms were protected by a thin silverly scale mail that was clearly of high quality, peak 3 star at the very least.

    His groin and upper legs were covered in some sort of toughened monster leather that was decorated with blue lining that screamed of the ice element. The colour scheme and quality of the armour and even the light clothes hidden underneath portrayed elegance, nobility. This was enhanced by the changes to Finy''s face.

    Though it was evident that he was still the same person his face was far more refined and clean cut, less wild, more intelligent as if he took after a certain someone he was close too.

    A beautiful silver coloured oval gem could be seen embedded within his forehead, reflecting the light in the room and adding to his new impressive visage.

    Sharp gasps escaped the lips of many in the room as the lightpletely faded and revealed Finy in his entirety. His presence arrived at the same time, his aura naturally overflowing.

    Kiba and Khuno both fell to their knees, visibly trembling out of primal fear. Whereas Nanna and Loki felt nothing thanks to the swift actions of Maya who enveloped them in her own aura before narrowing her eyes and clenching her fists, ready to move out a moment''s notice.

    Frost was forced to take a step back as Finy''s full blown aura permeated his body. His arms grew goosebumps, and he felt a stifling weight on his heart and lungs. Finy was strong, stronger than himself.

    At this realisation Frost''s lips turned upwards into a wild smile before he startedughing, a mad glint glowing in his eyes. Finy had seeded, he had beat the odds and entered the realm of B-rank.

    Gradually Finy''s aura receded, falling back within the confines of his new body allowing Kiba and Khuno to catch their breaths. His eyes were still closed but his eyelids started to flicker, he wasing to.

    Finy slowly opened up his eyes revealing their ice blue hue. He groggily looked around the training room, blinking on asion as though he was waking from a deep sleep.

    Eventually he focused upon Frost, his eyes opened wide, and arge smile grew on his lips. His aura then once again enveloped the surrounding area, Frost most of all, as though he was eliciting a challenge.

    Maya''s frown deepened at this action, she clicked her tongue and started moving towards Finy, but she was stopped.

    Frost outstretched his hand stopping Maya from interfering, he knew Finy through and through, this was not a challenge but simply him disying his abilities to him. Like a child showing off to his father.

    Frost unleashed his own aura and despite it being weaker than Finy''s. Finy''s aura showed subservience, allowing his to take the dominant role.

    Finy then fell to his right knee and crossed his left arm over his chest like a knight prostrating himself before his king.

    "I hope I''ve met your expectations master."

 Chapter 438: Chapter 438: Findlays evolution (3)

    "I hope I''ve met your expectations master." Finy said while looking up at Frost with a confident gaze.

    Frost was silent for a few seconds before erupting in a joyousughter.

    "Met them hah! You''ve seeded them Finy hahahahaha." Frost swiftly moved forward and aided Finy to his feet. He then squeezed Finy''s arms and mmed down on his shoulders before turning around to face everyone else.

    "Well what do the rest of you think?" He asked with a bright smile. Frost was currently over the moon and did nothing to hide his emotions.

    Maya who was wary of Finy''s newfound power let out a small sigh and shook her head before smiling.

    Kiba and Khuno who were previously forced to their knees thanks to Finy''s aura looked at one another before smiling wildly. Kiba chuffed and arched his chest out roughly tranting as ''I''ll be at his level soon''. While Khuno had clenched fists and fire in his eyes, desperate tounch himself into battle so as to progress through to his max level.

    Their jealously was obvious but it wasn''t negative in anyway, they thought only the world of Finy.

    Nanna and Loki didn''t really understand the change in Finy''s power due to Maya protecting them but given Frost''s expression it was clear that he seeded in his evolution.

    They quickly popped out from behind Maya before dashing forward to Finy.

    "You''ve gotten shorter." Loki instantly pointed out his new height.

    "Your face is different." Nanna being a little bit more tactful chose to focus on a more vaguement.

    "Hahahahaha I suppose I have gotten shorter Loki but I''m still more than twice your height." Finy teased Loki back with a gentle expression. He ced his hand over Loki''s head before bringing it back to his own body marking where the little phoenix kin reached.

    This caused Loki to be speechless before growing red in his cheeks and stomping the floor, looking absolutely adorable as he did. He repeatedly mumbled that he was still growing making him look even cuter. Maya had catch herself from a stumble as she waspletely taken by his actions.

    Having dealt with Loki, Finy then turned to look at Nanna who trembled when caught in his gaze, wary about him retorting herment back to her someway.

    ''No I''m fine, I was neither negative or positive.'' Sheplimented her forward thinking as she returned Finy''s gaze.

    "Is it a good different or a bad different?" He asked teasingly.

    "....Good" Nanna though about her answer before replying honestly, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. Finy looked a lot better appearance wise. Though there were still some rough parts, and he was still clearly a troll he couldn''t be considered ugly in anyway. Of course he still paled inparison to Frost, Maya, Loki and herself but it was a definite improvement.

    Finy''s smile stretched from ear to ear at her shy response before he ruffled her hair in an affectionate manner.

    "Thank you for the praisedy Nanna." Nanna with still red cheeks nodded in reply before hiding back behind Maya, causing the Fenrir to swoon once again, cuteness is power.

    Finy turned back to his master before speaking "It seems I pass in terms of appearance but that''s obviously secondary¡­.shall you do the honours or shall I?" His expression portrayed a clear arrogance.

    "Oh! I''ll be doing it of course." Frost smirked and responded teasingly before moving a little away from the group and bringing up an erged version of the dungeon menu.

    "Let''s take a look at your brand new status." With an exaggerated flourish Frost manipted the dungeon menu to bring up Finy''s brand new status for everyone in the room to see and marvel at.

    Name: Finy

    Race: Ice troll lord

    Rank: B

    Level: 1/60

    Weapon Skills: [Axe sh], [mountain cleave], [boomerang axe], [whirlwind sh], [cier crash], [holmgang], [spinning blizzard], [giant''s axe]

    Racial Skills: [empowering shout], [greater ice stomp],[ice breath], [focused power], [Focused rush], [ice nket protection]

    Passive: [greater war buff], [high ice resistance], [aura], [advanced axe mastery], [minor regeneration]

    Magic: [ice bolt], [ice shield], [ice partisan], [ice fog], [frost nova], [summon ice axes], [protect], [ice enchantment]

    The new status screen was a fair bit more developed especially in the magic section which used to house but a single 1st circle spell.

    "An ice troll lord huh?" Frost was cupping his chin as he read the information outlined on the status screen. From what he knew of the troll species, Lords were of very high status. Their intelligence and leadership qualities usually made them chieftains ofrge prosperous tribes or part of the ruling ss in city states and monster focused countries.

    He could surmise that Finy''s next evolution would likely make him either an ice troll king or emperor the very peak of the ice troll''s ruling archetypes and a position that seemed to suit Finy to a tee.

    He couldn''t help but nod in agreement as he imagined his right hand man''s future potential.

    Finy twitched nervously as everyone examined his status in depth. He felt as though every part of him was exposed, an awkward feeling.

    Thankfully after a few minutes Frost asked him to disy some of his new skills allowing him not focus on that uneasy feeling.

    He started with his weapon skills. [Boomerang axe] and [whirlwind sh] were both adept level skills. The former was a long ranged skill that saw Finyunch his axe at a distanced target before it returned to his hands. It was a delicate skill that needed a fair amount of practise to easily catch the returning weapon.

    [Whirlwind sh] was a spinning skill, Finy and his weapon were covered in a green energy before they started rotating at pace like a dangerous top. A skill that was very violent andcking in control, seeing everything nearby as an attack target.

    [Holmgang], [spinning blizzard] and [Giant''s axe] were advanced mastery skills. The first was the same skill Bastion used to pull Rock towards him and away from Frost a couple months ago. A chain of energy from his axe would wrap around the intended target and violently pull them towards the user.

    [Spinning blizzard] was an enhanced version of [whirling sh] adding the ice element to the attack and being even more destructive. Whereas [Giant''s axe] had the energy used coagte around his weapon and extend it to three times its original size i.e. making it the size of a giant''s weapon.

    Nanna and Loki both cheered as Finy disyed his skills, awed by their overwhelming power whereas Khuno looked on with an analysing gaze, gaining personal insight into his own moves.

    For his racial skills there was only really a single new skill, the rest were just powerups of his previous ones. [Ice nket protection] was a very unique skill that matched well with Finy''s traits as a leader and support ss. Whereas [empowering shout] increased the strength and offensive based abilities of his allies, [ice nket protection] was a defensive enhancement.

    A nket of ice aspected energy would cover the intended allies, providing some magic resistance as well as keeping their muscles cool and sapping out their exhaustion.

    With this Finy really became a true militarymander. With him on the battlefield even if he didn''t fight personally his forces would see a dramatic improvement in their capabilities.

    Finally there was the much anticipated magic. Finy was never much for using magic except for when he could only attack from a distance, that however was now a thing of the past. The silver gem embedded in his forehead was not just aesthetically pleasing but of a practical nature. It naturally enhanced Finy''s ability to control and absorb mana, making him a powerful wizard.

    His magic spells were thus expanded to amodate this change.

    None of his magic were spells that Frost didn''t know about or even knew himself but the fact that they were attached to Finy made him a veritable jack of all trades, perfect for any situation.

    Frost was more than pleased with the oue, Finy went beyond his expectations once again. He was all smiles and head nodding while Finy openly disyed his capabilities.

    "Hahahahaha perfect absolutely perfect, with your new archetype I''m no longer even remotely worried about our defences. Let thete stages throw their worst at us, we can handle it hahahahaha." Frostughed out loud as a heavy weight lifted itself from his shoulders. He no longer needed to think about blocking off the dungeon''s entrance.

    Even if a B-rank monster came he was confident that with Finy by his side they could deal with it.

    His raucousughter spread amongst his warriors, Finy, Khuno and Kiba all looked forward to the next wave and those that followed after. Nanna and Loki also looked forward to it but more to the fact that with Finy''s new strength they wouldn''t have to say goodbye to as many friends.

    Maya however felt as though Frost and the other men were getting a bit ahead of themselves, arrogance leads to downfall after all, but she kept silent for the moment. Right now was a time of celebration, she can lecture themter.

 Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Testing the capabilities of an ice troll lord

    Frost purchased a bottle of high C-rank sake -as well as a C-rank fruit juice for the kids and Kiba- in celebration. It was right to reward the efforts of his subordinates if he was to be apetent leader.

    The adults and children toasted to Finy before drinking with relish.

    Following that Finy returned to the dungeon''s forces letting them bask in his achievement as well as aying their fears of theing waves.

    Frost, Maya and the kids teleported to the private space where they fell back into their regr schedules. Nanna and Loki worked hard on their reading, writing and numbers with Maya''s asional oversight while Frost sat on the sofa and began nning his external camp ns in earnest.

    Maya quietly warned him of his overconfidence when they returned, warning him about nting gs with his ''Let thete stages throw their worst at us'' statement. He took her warning to heart well at least on the surface, it was hard to not be overconfident when Finy the ice troll ''lord'' was now by his side.

    14 hours passed until the next wave arrived, a stark differencepared to what they had to previously deal with. With such a wide time frame Frost and his monsters were more than able to get some much needed rest between the waves meaning they would always be a full strength.

    In the winter hignds section where over half a day ago blood dyed an area of several hundred metres squared and corpses stretched as far as the eye could see. That disastrous battlefield was once again a beautiful white.

    The dismembering corps had more than enough time to take care of the corpses, storing the valuable materials -which given that the majority of monsters were high D-rank was pretty much the entire thing- and shuffling off the leftovers to the side for the dungeon to absorb naturally resulted in a clean te.

    Frost stood with Finy, Khuno and Kiba by his side. The dungeon''s C-ranks and upper D-ranks stood behind them creating a wall of people. There was no ambush nned this time, just a straight up mud fight. Frost as well as Finy himself wished to test the limits of his new archetype.

    "The wave like thest one contains roughly 80 enemies primarily made up of upper D-ranks. There''s no upper C-rank monster this time but there''s 4 mid C-ranks and 6 entry C-ranks." Frost announced the wavesposition with a light-hearted tone, not worried in slightest. In fact he even sounded a little disappointed.

    "That''s perfect, without a higher levelled leader we can better rely on the ronsos and ice revenants and test how far my buffing capabilities can go." Finy however was more than happy with the waveposition finding that it suited their experiment better.

    "Alright then I''ll leave the entiremand to you, Khuno and I will go where you tell us." Frost mmed his ive against the snow, readying himself for battle.

    "Understood." Finy responded back with a small smile before turning around to face the monster forces stationed behind them.

    "Everyone the next wave is upon us so it''s time to shape up and ready our weapons. I''ll be inmand of this battle and will be using my new abilities to buff up each and every one of you. Thus you should find yourself stronger, faster and far more resilient to damage making for an easier fight." Finy took in the form of every monster.

    "This however is not an excuse to take it easy. I''ll be testing the limits so Master, Khuno and myself will have limited involvement in this battle. The onus will fall on your shoulders to deal with this wave including the mid C-ranks...you ready?"

    "Rahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" All the C and D-ranks present roared out in response more than eager to test their mettle in battle alongside their new and improvedmander. They could already feel their strength improved thanks to Finy''s [enhanced war buff] and looked forward to his non passive buffs.

    Finy raised his axe above his head and unleased a snippet of his aura before roaring out with them. He then turned around to face the dungeon''s entrance.

    A momentter the wave appeared, crashing through the narrow opening that had partially repaired itself from the previous wave.

    ''I should probably put aside some DP to erge and enhance the entrance and gates between the different sections.'' Frost said internally as he noticed the broken stone archway that lookedcking inparison to whaty behind it.

    Like before the Yuki-onnas were assigned to the rear and only fired off their magic once the enemies crossed the 100m threshold, slowing down and slightly damaging the rampaging horde.

    Finy held his right hand up signalling for the frontline to wait. The instant when the horde reached the 20 metre mark he swiftly dropped down his hand and activated his new and improved [empowering shout], targeting the ronsos and ice revenants nearby.

    A magical vibration spread out from Finy and entered the bodies of the ice revenants and ronsos filling them with great power, strengthen their muscles and organs. They let out a powerful roar before charging forward straight at the horde, madness was in their eyes or rather wild excitement.

    Baaaaannnnnggggg!

    The contact of the two charging waves generated a loud bang but unlike before when the two sides were roughly evenly matched this time the mass amounts of D-rank monsters were sent crashing backwards with twisted and in some cases broken limbs. This sudden reverse in momentum wrecked the hordes chargending more than a few in hot water.

    Ronsos and ice revenants continued unabated tearing into the momentarily shocked horde resulting in first blood.

    "Wow" Frost couldn''t help butment as he watched on the side lines, Khuno nodded in agreement.

    "They''ve all been enhanced to the very peak of entry C-rank so despite their smaller numbers they have no problem smashing through the horde''s charge." Khuno exined the reasoning behind such a situation.

    "It also helps that the monsters in this wave aren''t bears, boars, drakes or other hard hitting species though to be honest I think the result would have been quite simr just not as dramatic."

    The ronsos and ice revenants madly swarmed over the horde killing monster after monster. After less than a minute ofbat already 10 of the original 80 had been killed with nothing more than a bruise and a few scratches on their side.

    The enemies this time were made up of wolves, lizards, frost trolls and worms. Unfortunately the frost trolls and even the 3 entry C-rank ice trolls were highly frenzied, negotiation was off the table just like with all the previous monsters.

    For the mid C-ranks 2 were demon spiked zis, while thest two were a giant frost ape and a frost mouth raptor (think a dinosaur carnivore,rge velociraptor).

    The ape had a lot of physical power and was far more nimble than it looked but its defences couldn''t bepared to the other three. It alsocked ws, dozens of razor sharp teeth and a spiked tail. It did howevere with a rock club that was more than enough to break the bones of some ronsos and send ice revenants flying.

    Finy smiled evilly as he witnessed an ice revenant skid across the floor after blocking the ape''s mighty swing.

    Though it wasn''t necessary for Finy to actively take part in this battle given the boons he granted the ronsos and ice revenants he had just achieved a new level of power. Not testing his new strength was impossible.

    "Looks like you''re the lucky one." He sarcastically muttered under his breath while staring at the giant frost ape. Gripping down on his battle axe -that unfortunately didn''t go through a metamorphosis along side himself- he prepared to move out, signalling for the ronsos and ice revenants to focus on other areas -which they were more than happy to do.

    A void was suddenly created around the giant frost ape causing it to be momentarily confused but that confusion quickly melted away when Finy marched before it. Instead its skin trembled and its heart lurched as instinctual warning signs red off throughout its body. Fear was evident in its eyes, fear that grew more and more prominent with every step Finy took.

    "Hoh well at least you''re aware of the difference between us." Finy tilted his head to the side, looking quite terrifying. If this was in the wild the giant frost ape would have fled for the hills, thankfully Finy didn''t have worry about that due to the monster stampede''s frenzied state. His prey had no choice but to attack.

    In but a few moments he could see the change in its eyes, the red tint growing more and more evident as the seconds passed before.

    "Roooaaaaaarrrrrr!" Ovee with aggression the giant frost ape roared out and raised it mighty stone club overhead. A grey coloured energy covered the weapon, making it sturdier and heavier before it viciously cleaved downward, aiming to turn Finy into an ice troll pancake.

 Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Firewood

    Finy stood in a somewhat rxed position as the giant frost ape''s massive stone club hurtled towards him, covered in a dense grey energy.

    He smirked before raising up his battle axe with a single hand.

    Boooom!

    A loud boom erupted at the point of contact, air and snow was blown outward from the force, but Finy was still in the exact same spot. The snow underneath hadpacted but there wasn''t even a single millimetre of drag marks.

    The mighty stone club of the giant frost ape was stationary,pletely absolved of its momentum after striking against Finy''s battle axe. It was clear that even without using a skill or even both hands Finy was physically superior and not by a small margin either.

    The gap between C and B-rank was a vast chasm that couldn''t be bridged by a simple giant frost ape.

    With its eyes blood red in colour and the frenzied state taking full control due to its overwhelming instinctual fear the giant frost ape roared out before grabbing its club with both hands and pushing downwards, refusing to lose against the much smaller Finy in terms of physical power.

    Grinding sounds could be heard from the stone club as it pushed against Finy''s battle axe and sessfully pushed it downward slightly. Finy''s feet even began to sink into the floor from the pressure.

    "Hmmmm not bad." Finy spoke with a tinge of surprise before his eyes showed a wild glint and his smile started to widen.

    He tensed the muscles in his right arm (the one holding the battle axe) and pushed against the giant frost ape''s club, willing to engage in a contest of pure strength.

    As the moments passed the giant frost ape became red in the face and its arms and back muscles were expanded to their upmost, revealing thick bulbous veins. It was putting its all into pushing down its stone club but even, so it was making very little headway.

    Finy continued to limit himself to using only his right arm and although his expression was clearly a little strained he was in a far better state than the giant frost ape, he obviously had more to give.

    Infuriated by its inability to best Finy in brute force the beast roared out before swiftly recalling its stone club to above its head. Then once again it covered it a grey energy enhancing the weapon''s weight and sturdiness.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    It then proceeded to m down against Finy''s battle axe repeatedly like a jack hammer. Finy''s smile however continued to widen even as his bodypacted the snow beneath his feet to the point that it rivalled stone.

    "Haaaaaaa" He let out a sigh as boredom set in before when the stone club was about to strike down once again he swung upwards with immense fury.

    Smash!

    The giant frost ape''s stone club was shattered, the top half where the battle axe passed through was gone leaving a mere stump in the ape''s hands. Blood seeped out from the seams of its fingers due to brief yet intense force that passed through the club before it inevitably shattered.

    The giant frost ape stared at the stump in its hands in confusion before looking at Finy and blinking rapidly.

    Finy instead of bringing his battle axe back to his side raised it above his head before speaking to the dazed giant frost ape.

    "Testing is over, thanks for ying [Giant''s axe]." Energy flowed through out his body as he spoke the name of one of his new advanced level skills. This blue tinted energy coagted around his battle axe mimicking its shape and texture before expanding it to triple its size and exuding a heavy pressure.

    This was now the axe of a giant, something that was even more physically renowned than this giant frost ape.

    The ape''s eyes were drawn upward to the massive axe that rivalled it in size, fear once again filled its gaze as the stench of death made its presence known. Finy decided to go all out, not only was he using one of his greatest axe skills his aura started to seep out, pressuring the nearby giant frost ape.

    His aura also intensified the weight behind his battle axe as well as increased the strength of his own body. To the giant frost ape Finy appeared to be a true giant, dwarfing its pitiful existence.

    "Goodbye." Finy spoke in a neutral tone, neither mocking nor praising the giant frost ape''s efforts. The erged battle axe then started its descent and in a fraction of a second the massive weapon made contact with the ape''s head before instantly cleaving through.

    Like an axe through firewood the battle axe cleaved through the giant frost ape''s body like it was nothing, splitting it in twain before crashing against the floor.

    The giant frost ape''s eyes were still open and in shock as the two halves of its body slumped down. A momentter an explosion of blood and gore erupted from its divided corpse, dyeing the area in red, its killer included.

    Audible gulps could be heard from the sideliners as they watched the entire fight from beginning to end. Kiba was holding his head as though he felt the pain of Finy''s axe cleaving through whereas Khuno and Frost looked at one another.

    Khuno asked with his eyes if Frost could do something like that now that he was B-rank while Frost replied with a ''hell no''. Finy was easily at the peak of early B-rank whereas he was still aplete novice who couldn''t even attach his aura to his attacks yet. Plus his capabilities were more B-rank adventurer based instead of B-rank monster based so there was a veryrge gap physically.

    Of course he could have killed the giant frost ape, but he wasn''t capable of doing it in the same way Finy did, that was absolutely brutal.

    He had to admit though that it was pretty cool, a subtle sense of jealously thus arose within him as did the desire to start another intense training regime.

    Finy who was painted in the blood and gore of the giant frost ape revealed a horrifying smile as he looked around the battlefield, locking eyes with the C-rank invaders as though threatening them.

    Each and every monster that fell victim to his gaze ¨C friendlies included- couldn''t help but shiver as a cold sweat ran down their backs. Finy was he terrifying already with his B-rank presence but now after a being covered in the guts of the strongest invading monster and smiling like that he jumped to another level of intimidating.

    Even the ronsos and ice revenants on his side couldn''t help but subconsciously distance themselves from theirmander.

    Finy lightly chuckled before cing his battle axe over his shoulders and walking towards his original position near Frost and Khuno.

    "That was fun." Hemented with a much less frightening smile causing Frost and Khuno''s lips to twitch.

    The battle thus proceeded as expected. With Finy''s passive and active buffs the ronsos, ice revenants and even the yuki-onnas managed to make short work of the D-rank monsters before taking on the remaining C-ranks who were quite frankly constantly wary of Finy after his dramatic killing fiasco.

    He kept his gazes on them, asionally utilising his aura to pressure them at certain moments but other than that it was the ronsos and ice revenants that took them down, working in teams to safely do so.

    Casualty wise there was still 4 deaths, one ice revenant, one ronso and two frost revenant knights, far less than the previous wave but the main difference was the amount of heavy injuries. Only one monster had significantly heavy injuries preventing him from moving to the medical centre on his own merit.

    The rest had minor wounds that could be easily managed by spells, potions and the natural healing environment of the dungeon.

    Frost and Kiba didn''t even take part in this battle and the results were already so positive. Finy''s evolution had made a massive impact.

    Khuno however who wasn''t necessarily needed in the fight couldn''t stop himself from entering half way through, desperate to reach his max level which was unfortunately still quite a ways off.

    Finy had been alive for a fair bit longer after all plus given that Khuno was even stronger, an upper C-rank monster the amount of experience he gained from killing the invading monsters was less thus his journey was still a long one.

    With Finy''s newfound strength being made obvious by the results of that wave as well as his battle with the giant frost ape, a very positive mood lingered around the dungeon as everyone felt they could rx a little.

    Finy''s strength allowed them to no longer feel as though they were constantly on the knife''s edge during battle plus the gaps between the waves granted them time to healpletely and dpress, allowing them to always be at full strength.

    4 days passed in a blink of an eye.

    The waves grew more and more sparse and currently the dungeon hadn''t suffered a wave in over 18 hours.

    Finy, Frost and Khuno were all gathered in arge bunker in the winter hignds that was prepared for their strategic meetings. The room was silent and each of them sported quite serious expressions on their faces.

    Ayout drawing was ced on an ice table between them and was the cause of their expressions.

    "Well what do you think?"

 Chapter 441: Chapter 441: "Interesting, very interesting."

    "Well what do you think?" Frost asked while tapping theyout drawing before him with his index finger.

    Finy and Khuno who the question was directed to looked at one another before Khuno replied.

    "Isn''t it a bit early milord?" Khuno replied while frowning.

    The drawing before the three of them was theyout n for the external camp. Frost wanted to begin construction of the outer walls and internal buildings within the next 12 hours or so despite thete stages still being fully underway.

    "Really? I don''t think so." Frost replied with a disagreeing opinion causing Finy and Khuno to once again look at one another.

    "Please borate master." Finy spoke this time.

    "Thest wave was what roughly 18 hours ago correct?"

    "Correct."

    "And that said wave was smaller than thest ones, containing less than 55 monsters right."

    "¡­.That''s true.

    "Ok then from that and what we know about the monster stampede as a whole we can surmise that the B-rank monsters the ones with the ability to retain their intelligence and control the lower ranked monsters under the stampede''s influence have likely started moving in earnest." Frost stopped tapping the table and leaned forward as he began exining his reasons.

    "The 2ndst wave though on time was also slightly smaller than the previous ones holding around 70 monsters instead of 80 thus there''s a definitive pattern. The number of monsters being attracted to the dungeon over the urging to head south is dwindling, supporting the idea of either the south being more tantalising and or the presence of something actively encouraging their direction."

    "Couldn''t it just be that the monsters themselves are less populous. We have killed an awful lot after all and I''m sure Furano and the other bastion towns have had simr if not even greater effects on their numbers." Khuno spoke of another possibility.

    "Not likely, the number of monsters present in the cial mountains exterior regions alone likely number in the millions let alone the inner regions. No matter how many we kill there will always be more to rece them while the monster stampede is in effect." Frost instantly shot down Khuno''s argument. He''d done a lot of research on the monster stampede during the days leading up to it.

    Ending the monster stampede early was an impossibility. Only when the corruption in the mana vein had beenpletely expunged would things return to normal.

    Khuno was silent in response.

    "So you believe that the dungeon is now in a state of safety master?"

    "If another wave with at least 50 monsters doesn''t arrive within the next 12 hours then yes¡­.. I believe the war for the dungeon is over." Frost spoke with confidence,pletely sure of his theory.

    The dangerous waves that the dungeon had faced over the past month were now over, they could truly breathe and start work on the next stage of their future ns, the external camp.

    "I believe that the remaining hordes will now be under the full control of the B-rank monsters and march solely south towards Furano and the other bastion towns. Leaving the dungeon free to pursue our other endeavours." Frost tapped on the drawing before him once again.

    He wished to start construction as soon as possible, creating the external camp and have it up and running before others set their sights on his dungeon. It was effectively arge piece of meat in the eyes of the nearby Northrend empire after all. He needed to act fast to ensure hisplete control over the area and those who entered it.

    "As you are aware I promised my de to Furano during thete stages of the stampede, and I n to make good on that promise. Therefore to make it in good time Kiba and I will be leaving once everything here is settled i.e.

    once the external camp''s construction is underway." Thete stages had been up and running for the past 5 days meaning for Furano the situation should still be in the rtive early phase, they shouldn''t be stretched thin quite yet but that could change in the next few days. The lightening load on the dungeon meant a greater threat for Furano, the B-ranks were heading in that direction after all.

    Finy and Khuno both clenched their fists; they couldn''t leave the confines of the dungeon thus only Kiba could fight by Frost''s side, a frustrating situation given that the battlefield there would be far more intense that what they''d recently faced together.

    "Very well master you''ve made a convincing argument; I agree with your thoughts. If nothing happens within the next 12 hours we''ll start construction of the external camp." Finy let out a small sigh before agreeing to follow through with Frost''s n. Khuno also ended up agreeing thus the three of them began discussing the overall nnedyout as well as the teams required for such work.

    It wouldn''t be the fighting they''d gotten used to, but it was work that would benefit Frost all the same.

    The dwarven smiths especially should be quite excited by the prospect of construction, same with the ronsos who were designed to be quite skilled with their hands.

    Hours passed without a single sign of any monster wave happening anytime soon, strengthening Frost''s hypothesis.

    After not a single wave for 24 hours the idea that the long war was finally over filtered through the dungeon bringing bright smiles to all of the residents. Many cheered and hugged theirrades, thankful that they could be sure that they''d be able see each other tomorrow and the day after that.

    Orders went down through the chain ofmand telling everyone of their next task, a massive construction n and as expected the dwarven smiths couldn''t help but joyously cheer, excited by the prospect.

    Frost shared with them the ns he, Nanna, Loki and his two generals hade up with for the camp''syout.

    The external section of the dungeon was currently 5kms by 5kms spanning quite an area. Frost didn''t n on using the entire 5km in the beginning, but he also wanted a decent size area to start with therefore a wall was nned to span around the 1km mark highlighting the inner workings of the camp and the initial space.

    Over time additional walls would be added 1km apart to increase the size of the camp.

    This job involved a lot of forest clearing given that the majority of the 1km would be within the Northrend forest. The harvested lumber would thus be used to construct buildings within the 1km wall, hoping to not waste a single piece of free material.

    The wall came first so as to serve as protection against the natural fauna and to cement the idea of territory, next would be the integral buildings that would be needed to support people.

    Shelter in the from of inns, cabins and dorms focusing mainly on quantity rather than quality given that the primary dwellers would be adventurers.

    Food resources such as restaurants and butchers (farming areas to be built in the future likely within the dungeon).

    Shops ranging from everyday items to weapon and armour vendors focusing mainly on the needs of adventurers.

    After that was the idea of permanent residences, bars as well as empty dwellings to be used by approved businesses such as foreign merchants and hopefully the adventurers guild.

    Frost had quite a thorough n for the external camp over the next 12 months. There was also the restructuring of the dungeon itself and assigned safety areas that could form internal camps and or be used for recreational activities. But all these things would be gradual, the first thing to do was to build the external camp''s wall and cement his territory before the sharp eyed vultures moved in.

    Unfortunately when everyone was getting on board with this construction n, forming teams and preparing their assignments an unexpected situation arose.

    It started with Frost and Finy suddenly feeling a strong sense of unease and nervousness before Maya spoke through the dungeon menu.

    "Looks like your luck isn''t that great young master, you better take a look outside." She spoke with a tone that desperately hinted that she wished to say, ''see I told you this would happen''. Frost''s heart lurched as he heard what she said before he brought up the dungeon menu and scanned the vicinity near the dungeon.

    "Fuck!" He couldn''t help but curse when the screen showed a certain object quickly making its way towards the dungeon, emitting a heavy pressure as it did.

    "Finy! Khuno! With me!" He urgently shouted as goosebumps grew on his arms, the three swiftly teleported to the winter hignds section, near the dungeon''s entrance.

    Outside of the dungeon.

    "Hoh so this is what''s been drawing away multiple hordes over the past few days. It certainly does have an interesting feel about it. What do you think Dn?" The speaker asked the beast that he was riding upon.

    The beast was easily 8 metres tall while on all fours, covered in dense brown hair that skilfully hid its powerful body and was armed with deadly looking tusks. A warrior mammoth, an upper C-rank monster that unlike its more passive kin was a territorial bull that served to protect the other mammoths from predators.

    This Dn grunted in response, but it couldn''t help but feel a strange attraction to the dungeon that was before it.

    "Interesting, very interesting."

 Chapter 442: Chapter 442: Valend

    "Interesting, very interesting" This man riding the war mammoth spoke with a smile before dismounting.

    Don!

    The ground trembled and the snow underneathpacted from the man''s sheer weight. He stood even taller than Dn, roughly ten metres and chock full of bulging muscle.

    He was adorned in beast skins and hides that still showed off much of his blue skin, creating a rather primal and wild image. Yet even the lowest quality hide was from that of a C-rank monster making him kitted out in some very high end armour.

    A massive hammer multiple metres in length and likely weighing north of a 1000Kg descended alongside this man. Itsposition was of pykrete, dense, heavy and of very, very high quality. It hummed, glowed and even emitted a chilling presence whenever it passed through the air.

    This was a 4 star weapon.

    "Let''s see what all the fuss is about then shall we." The man''s smile grew, and his nostril red as he gradually walked towards the dungeon''s entrance alone with his hammer in hand, fully extending his aura as he did.

    Frost, Khuno and Finy had arrived near the dungeon''s entrance and each of them sported goosebumps and nervous expressions. They didn''t need the dungeon''s evaluating system or direct line of sight to know that the personing was strong, stronger than all of them.

    "A frost giant." Frost spoke out the name of the entity.

    Frost giants: powerful monsters of the giant caste that rival the infamy of dragons. High up in the giant hierarchy, frost giants once fully grown are at the very least B-rank monsters, with many achieving A-rank or even S-rank.

    There was a legend within the cial mountains about a frost giant named Ymir who rose to such power that he ascended to godhood. The long crevasse that extended through the external regions and even into the inner regions was said to be made from a sh from his mighty axe the day he became a god.

    Many Frost giants live in reverence to this Ymir, dwelling within that crevasse, fiercely guarding it from outside interference. A holynd for the frost giants.

    Frost giants are natural physical powerhouses that can carve up mountains with their bare hands and sport a rather tenacious life force making them that much harder to kill.

    Their ice borne bodies allow them to survive even the lowest of temperatures and grant them a natural resistance to magic -not including fire based magic of course.

    This frost giant that came with the war mammoth called Dn was likely a mid-tier B-rank. A young adult among the frost giants who had unfortunately sumbed to the expunged mana corruption, driving him from his home and towards the south.

    It was rare for a frost giant to be affected by the monster stampede given their natural resilience as well as proximity to other high levelled giants. Proof that this monster stampede was anything but normal and bad news for Frost.

    Frost''s arms were trembling, and his heart rang with fear and trepidation. A frost giant wasn''t something he could hope to beat even with Finy by his side, not at least without a great amount of luck and likely sacrifice.

    Giants and dragons were the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me of monsters, their innate abilities allowing them to be far stronger than their assigned rank.

    He looked towards his two generals, Finy sported a simr state to himself, but Khuno was visibly sweating buckets and was having to fight against the urge to step back.

    Frost let out a repressed sigh before moving forward and releasing his aura shielding both Finy and Khuno from the majority of the pressure. This act painted a target on him that the frost giant immediately noticed.

    "Hoh!" He stopped in ce about 20 metres from the dungeon''s entrance the moment Frost''s aura flowed out from the stone arch in an attempt to threaten him, warning him to back off.

    "A newly crowned B-rank but that''s not all." His smile stretched from ear to ear before his own aura grew, solidifying its form and presence.

    A momentter with deft control the frost giant''s aura smashed apart Frost''s aura like a swing of his hammer making Frost wince and feel blood rushing up his throat. He couldn''t evenst a single blow in terms of an aura battle.

    The frost giant''s aura then moved passed Frost, examining Finy, Khuno and then finally the dungeon itself.

    "So intriguing, a monsterir that isn''t a monsterir. An ice troll lord that feels like one from Leblya instead of a mana creation. A species of tiger kin that I''ve never seen nor even heard of and then." The frost giant''s aura immediately swarmed around Frost, analysing him from head to toe far more in depth that what mere eyes could do.

    "You are something very special, an enigma that''s connected to this strange monsterir." The frost giant suddenly felt an intense desire to feast, he licked his lips before muttering.

    "How delicious." The frost giant instantly took a step forward eager to taste Frost''s sulent flesh and feast upon the mysterious power dwelling within him.

    In response Frost and Finy nodded to one another before activating their auras to their full strength and preparing their weapons.

    Khuno still only had a pseudo aura that could at best protect him from some of the frost giant''s negative effects but nothing more. However that didn''t stop him from wielding his halberd and standing beside his lord. The frost giant would have to go through him to get to Frost.

    The frost giant instead of feeling curbed by this disy increased his pace, he liked food that put up a fight.

    However the moment he ced his right hand upon the stone arch way (the entrance was a bit small for him after all) he immediately stopped in ce.

    Crunch!

    His hand that was on the dungeon''s entrance mped down crushing the stone arch like it was made of snow.

    "This damn stupid voice arghh!!!!!!!" Suddenly his face portrayed immense fury before he ripped apart the archway and instead ced his hand on his head in attempt to silence something inside.

    Frost and his generals who were about tounch a pre-emptive attack suddenly stopped in ce and instead observed the actions of the frost giant who''s body could now be partially seen through the archway.

    The Frost giant repeatedly tried to force his way through the dungeon''s entrance but ever time he tried to take a step a voice would scream in his head forcing him to back off.

    "Is this an extra protection granted by my father?" Frost asked while tilting his head in confusion.

    "No Dark''s only protection after the one month barrier is me. This is the mana corruption and the machinations of whoever is behind the monster stampede." Maya spoke out through the dungeon menu answering Frost question.

    Maya was correct, the pall that the monster stampede forced upon the affected monsters was the cause of the frost giant''s current predicament.

    The giant wished to feast upon Frost and devour the essence of the dungeon since that was what his instincts wanted however the directive for the monster stampede especially for the B-rank monsters was to head south and destroy the sapientnds. A clear conflict.

    The frost giant eventually gave up his attempts and retreated about 20 metres from the dungeon''s entrance, releasing him from the painful voice. His expression however was clearly one of disappointment and frustration.

    "I can''t believe a frost giant like myself fell victim to this damn corruption." He audiblyined but it was clear in his tone that he felt no small amount of fear towards the voice, to its origins as well as the pain it brought.

    He stared hard at the dungeon''s entrance that was partially destroyed thanks to his right hand. He still desired to feast but not enough to ovee the voice of corruption.

    Dn his trusted warrior mammoth arrived by his side and nudged him in an affectionate manner.

    "Haaaaaa fine then let''s head back Dn. The only way we can be rid of this envement is toplete our orders until the corruption has passed." The frost giant sighed and gave a long hard look through the archway spying some movement before climbing onto Dn''s back.

    "You the one connected to this monsterir; do you have a name?" He asked once he was secured on Dn''s back.

    There was silence from the other side of the dungeon before.

    "Frost, my name is Frost." Frost answered with a loud voiceced with his aura, refusing to be intimidated.

    "Frost then, my name is Valend, a frost giant of the Ymir sanctuary. When this damn stampede is over I''ll return here and devour whatever power hides within you. Have fun until then hehehehe" Valend cackled evilly before tightening his legs around Dn and riding off back from whence he came.

    Frost kept his aura on full whack until Valend and Dn were no longer anywhere near the dungeon''s purview. The moment the tension was over he felt a drain on his strength and nearly stumbled. Fear had powerful effects on the body.

    "Master?" Finy called him in concern.

    "I''m fine just a little bit shocked." Frost replied honestly while looking at his hand that was once again trembling.

    ''Valend''.

 Chapter 443: Chapter 443: Valend (2)

    ''Valend'' Frost repeated the frost giant''s name internally as a wild smile grew on his lips.

    "Hehehehe interesting." He chuckled and stared at his trembling hands, feeling both fear and excitement. It''d been a while since he was so directly threatened, an act that he found rather enticing.

    Finy and Khuno who were still wary of Valend looked at their lord with confusion, taken aback by his suddenughter.

    Frost clenched his fists and revealed a steely gaze before speaking out in a determined tone.

    "I guess we''ll see who triumphs in the end little frost giant." His smile now stretched from ear to ear and a strange madness could be seen in his eyes as he looked beyond the broken archway.

    "Haaaaaaa he''s got his battle junkie expression on." Maya suddenly teleported to the dungeon''s entrance. She sighed the moment she saw Frost''s expression and shook her head before gently smiling.

    She was worried about his state after being faced with something beyond his capabilities and being so aggressively threatened but it seems she was worried for nothing.

    Frost though clearly able to sense the danger and the fear in his body saw Valend and his threats as nothing more than a challenge. And challenges were things Frost greatly enjoyed.

    Though she''d likely never admit it -given that she never her saw herself as a battle junkie- Maya and Frost were very alike in their personalities.

    Finy and Khuno looked towards Maya as she spoke before returning their gazes to their master and his wild expression.

    Crack! Crack!

    The ice troll lord and the ronso captain clenched their fists hard as they too started to view Valend as their next challenge.

    p!

    "Alright that''s enough of the aggressive stares, the frost giant''s already vamoosed, time to get back to work." Maya loudly pped her hands together drawing Frost and his generals away from their thoughts.

    Frost turned to face his guardian. His eyes weren''t filled with his usual affection or tant lust but instead he viewed her as his teacher, hisbat trainer.

    "Training." He spoke a single word that was both a statement and an order.

    "Haaaaaa." Maya sighed again and shook her head before walking towards Frost.

    "Not even a please?" She coyly asked but was met with a cold gaze that caused her spine to shiver.

    Frost''s right hand silently rose up at her coy tone and instinctively Maya ced her own hands on her ample backside, protecting it.

    The rtionship between them that started out with her clearly being in the more dominant position had nowpletely reversed. Frost had developed a nasty habit of spanking her whenever she was thinking of being mischievous or acting coy.

    She stared at Frost with a mixture of threat as well as daring expectation. She actually loved Frost''s burning touch but there was a time and a ce for everything. It wouldn''t do for her powerful image if Frost engaged in such actions in front of Finy and Khuno thus she held her tongue, not saying another word.

    Frost lowered his hand before turning to face Finy and Khuno.

    "I''ll be training for the next 12 hours, so I''ll leave the dungeon''s management to the two of you. Regardless of this Valend the n remains the same. In fact his arrival pretty much confirms that the dungeon won''t suffer any more monster waves thus continue preparing the construction teams."

    " After 12 hours Kiba and I will make our way to Furano to aid in their defence and you will begin construction of the external camp. If you have any questions ask them now." Frost spoke with a determined tone; his decision to leave would not be swayed.

    Finy and Khuno picked up on this and held back their concerns.

    "Understood master."

    "Loud and clear milord." They answered back with military salutes, their bodies screaming reliability.

    Frost smiled in response before cing a hand on Maya''s shoulder and opening a space warp, the destination the training space.

    When the two of them disappeared into the spatial warp Finy and Khuno looked at one another before nodding and setting off in differing directions, preparing to follow Frost''s orders.

    The training space.

    Frost and Maya appeared within the training space side by side, one with a focused look while the other warily keeping an eye on the other''s hands.

    Maya swiftly separated herself from Frost the moment they arrived causing Frost to briefly chuckle before donning a serious expression. This was no time for ying.

    "Maya I need some intense training, no holds barred, put my body through the wringer. Valend likely won''t be the only one at that level present at the Furano battlefield." His wild smile threatened to return as he imagined the glory of such a battlefield.

    He wouldn''t be able to beat Valend by himself but in Furano he wouldn''t be alone. There was at least 8 B-rank fighters present when he left roughly a month ago let alone now that thete stages had begun.

    The moment thete stages begin, powerful adventurers, soldiers and even nobles make their way to Furano and the other bastion towns to take part in high levelbat and reap the rewards from such battles. Frost''s heart fluttered at the mere thought of fighting side by side with Dous, Ryuu, Bastion and the other B-ranks. An exciting prospect that he refused to miss.

    Maya quickly changed her attitude, a smile rapidly forming on her enchanting face.

    "With pleasure young master." She replied in a joyful tone before summoning a set of ice hammers.

    Frost''s lips twitched and a shiver ran down his spine as a primal fear far stronger than what Valend made him feel sparked in his heart. Training was the only time wherein Maya reaffirmed her dominance.

    Without a single moment to prepare himself Maya appeared below him, her hammers already in the upswing.

    Bang!

    Frost was sent careening into the air, the violent impact knocking the wind out of his lungs and shaking his bones.

    Maya the demoness drill instructor then suddenly appeared above him with a sadistic expression many times greater than what he could aplish before smacking her hammers upon his shoulders instantly reversing his momentum and firing him back down to the hard floor.

    Boooooooommmm!

    Frost body smashed into the floor and a painful groan escaped his lips before he was once again sent flying by Maya''s hammers. He wanted no holds barred intensity then he was going to get it and then some.

    This brutal training continued for 12 hours.

    For 12 hours Maya destroyed every inch of his body, breaking his bones, tenderising his organs, muscles and spilling so much of his blood that it could have filled a swimming pool, all with a damn smile on her face. Truly a demoness who got off on causing him physical pain.

    However despite the nightmarish methods the results were fruitful. Maya attacked with such speed and intensity that even a frost giant like Valend would struggle to keep up thus Frost was now prepared to at least defend and track the movements of those several levels beyond himself. Winning was still out of the question but at least he''d be able to survive long enough to receive aid from allies.

    Maya casted a high level healing spell swiftly bringing Frost back to life for the umpteenth time. The sadistic smile however was now gone from her face, reced with worry and anxiety.

    The training was over which meant Frost was set to leave soon. To a battlefield containing enemies and allies stronger than himself all without her by his side. As his guardian but more importantly now as his girlfriend she couldn''t help but feel worried about his safety.

    She bit her lower lip and clenched her fists as she tenderly watched as Frost rose from the floor, his many wounds (that she caused) quickly healing, returning him to his impressive handsome self.

    "I should have gone even harder or refused to cast healing magic." She muttered under her breath, but Frost was still able to catch it.

    He sighed and rose to his feet even quicker before walking towards Maya and wrapping her up in an all consuming hug.

    "I''ll be fine I promise." He pulled her head into his chest and rubbed the back of her hair in a soothing manner.

    "I''ve still got the teleportation talisman that father rewarded me so you can teleport to my side at a moment''s notice whenever my life is in serious danger." Frost summoned the talisman from the dungeon vault with a flick of his hand.

    He still needed the opportunity to infuse his mana into it and then rip it apart before Maya could teleport to his side but thanks to her dire training he was confident that he could use it even when faced against an A-rank opponent wherein a single second could mean the difference between life and death.

    Maya felt a little better after hearing Frost''s words, but her arms remained firmly locked around his back not wanting to let him go.

 Chapter 444: Chapter 444: The Furano battlefield (volume 7)

    Frost and Maya remained in close proximity until Maya had her fill of him. The two then teleported to the private space joining Nanna, Loki as well as Kiba.

    A high quality meal was nned as a send off after which Frost and Kiba would make their way to Furano and embark upon the next battlefield.

    As a protest to Valend and his mount Dn, Maya and Nanna prepared a round of war mammoth steaks for everyone and garnished it with a special pepper based sauce and winter vegetables. A delightful tasting meal that garnered more than a fewughs, a pleasant send off.

    Unfortunately given the schedule created by himself, Frost couldn''t spend more time with the kids nor have a farewell ''battle'' with Maya, something that both of them clearly regretted as they stared into one another''s eyes.

    "Hurry back alright and remember to use the talisman the moment you sense extreme danger. I''ll arrive in sh to protect you." Maya spoke in a serious tone while doing her best to keep the redness in her eyes from showing.

    Frost and Kiba wouldn''t just be gone for a day or two but likely a week or so at least, a long time to be apart given their new rtionship.

    Frost held her hands and nted a kiss on her forehead.

    "I promise."

    He then kneeled down, so he was eye level with Nanna and Loki.

    "Rely on Finy and Khuno when you''re confused about something and make sure to listen to Maya and continue your studies while I''m gone. I''ll be leaving the dungeon and Maya in your capable hands." Nanna and Loki both clenched their fists before cing their arms over their chests in salute, trying to look as reliable as possible.

    Their eyes however were clearly red, sad to see him as well as Kiba go.

    The three of them had be quite close in the months'' time they''d been together. Being simr in maturity and position it was hard for them to not get along.

    Frost ruffled their hair with affection before jumping onto Kiba''s back, creating the image of a handsome and gant knight.

    "Alright then we''re off, have fun and work hard while we''re away." Frost waved goodbye to his family as well as his loyal generals who were standing against the dungeon''s entrance to see him off.

    Frost then leaned down and spoke into Kiba''s ear.

    "Let''s ride."

    "Rooooooaaaaaarrrrr!" Kiba replied back with a mighty roar before dashing into the nearby Northrend forest.

    Within a few seconds they werepletely out of view and a dour mood spread among those left behind before eventually Nanna shook her head vigorously and pped her cheeks.

    "You heard Master it''s time for us to get to work. Just because he''s not here doesn''t mean we can ck off." She turned around a shouted in her most intimidating voice which unfortunately still sounded adorable, but her point was made.

    The adults lightlyughed before replying.

    "As you saydy Nanna we can''t bezy while master is absent." Finy nodded and looked at Nanna with praise.

    "Well then let''s start this construction project. By the time milord returns we''ll blow him away with our progress." Khuno roared out lighting a fire under the asses of the conscripted ronsos and dwarves.

    Maya silently arrived behind Nanna and swept her up in a tight hug, unable to resist her cuteness.

    Northrend forest.

    "Vrrrrrr?" Kiba chuffed, asking Frost a question which thanks to their soul bond was easily tranted.

    "Sorry that''s a no Kiba. I know you want to fly every chance you get but now''s not the right time."

    "Vvrrrrrrr?"

    "Why well because if I''m being perfectly honest your wings still aren''t fully developed nor are your skills.

    Yes the travel time would be faster, but I''d likely be throwing my guts up by the time we arrived, and you''d be so exhausted that you''d be nothing but deadweight." Frost instantly shot down Kiba suggestion to fly above the Northrend forest to Furano causing the winged tiger to moan inint.

    The two of them were riding through the Northrend forest at an already extreme speed but thanks to the monsters being horded to the same destination they were taking a very arced path that would see them avoid therge congregations.

    Of course avoiding them all was impossible that''s why Frost currently had his ive out, ready to sh through any opposition. Blood was already coating the de thanks to a bunch of frost wolves that unfortunately crossed their paths.

    Still even with their wide berth and minor interruptions with Kiba''s speed onnd they''d be at Furano within 4 hours, more than enough time for the two of them to n and prepare themselves for what they were about to dive into.

    Frost and Kiba left the dungeon with full backpacks, filled with a vast supply of low-level and some mid-level potions, 2 sets of reserve armour and weapons, the smoke bombs he got from Leo as well as hefty chunk of materials that would sell well among the local merchants and adventurer''s guild- the dungeon vault was pretty much at the brim once again so he brought the excess and that which may spoil.

    The external camp needed coins to function as well as materials after all.

    With Kiba''s n shot dead in the water the dungeon core and young cial winged tiger made their way through the dense treeline in an arc towards Furano swiftly cutting down whatever was foolish enough to bar their path.

    Furano

    "Fire the ballistae,unch the fire oil trebuchets and where''s that god damn volley of arrows I ordered!" Colonel Hamon could be seen atop the northern wall with a red face as he hollered off order after order.

    "Sorry Colonel we''re out of usable bolts and half the trebuchets have been damaged." A soldier aide by his side who was covered in blood (not his own) shouted back while cutting down an alpha frost wolf that had made its way up the wall atop the many monster corpses.

    "Volley''sing colonel!" An officer in charge of the 2nd archer regiment roared out before a cascade of arrows wereunched into the air. This volley contained hundreds of arrows that flew gracefully over the northern wall before swiftly descending into a veritable river of monsters a hundred metres away from the northern wall.

    Don! Don! Don!

    This volley not only killed a few tens of monsters but more importantly stopped an aggressive charge about to happen that could have tipped the scales.

    Crack!

    Hamon clenched his fists hard causing his knuckles to crack, his expression hadn''t eased in slightest despite the sess of the arrow volley.

    ''What the hell is this! This stampede is nothing like the previous ones!'' Fear could be clearly seen in his eyes as he overlooked the battlefield, taking in their current situation.

    Ammo was pretty much depleted, smiths were on call constantly pumping out new arrows, bolts and other ammunition thus repeated volleys were impossible. Hamon had to time each and every one precisely to ensure maximum damage.

    The contingent of wizards focused on ranged attack were wearing themselves thin trying to keep up withck of physical ranged support. Many were glugging down foul tasting low-level mana potions as they continued to cast balls of fire and wind into the invading hordes.

    And in the thick of it, the frontlines all the weaker soldiers and adventurers that survived the mid stages were called back and reced with those at the minimum of entry C-rank. These elite fighters held back the majority of the tide, wading through the corpses of monsters without so much of a second to rx.

    Dous, Bastion, all the closebat majors of the frost wolf battalion as well as 3 other majors sent as reinforcements and a B-rank adventurer party that arrived on sight yesterday were beyond the northern wall preventing it from being overrun.

    The sound of flesh being torn, weapons smashing against bone, scale and even other weapons not to mention the magic explosions filled the frontlines generating a din of madness. Voices couldn''t be heard meaning orders could only be telegraphed by gs, but the chaos was too much for anyone to look away even for a split second.

    Dous the current viscount of the Furano territory didn''t hesitate for even a second to put his life on the line. Along with Bastion and other season veterans he plunged into the mad melee with his sword and shield, cutting down monster after monster.

    In the beginning he felt revitalised. After being bed ridden for so long it felt good to be up and active doing what he trained so hard for. But eventually even with this not being his first stampede his will began to grow thin.

    He couldn''t tell who was still fighting, he''d lost track of Bastion and his other friends, finding himself alone surrounded by dozens of corpses and awash with monster blood. The smell, the noise and the sense of death was beginning to take its toll on the old veteran who''s will out of everyone''s should be thest to break.

    He was the viscount the leading noble, everyone relied on him to shoulder the weight and lead them to prosperity, but that task seemed impossible right now.

    ''How long have I been fighting? Is Bastion ok? I can''t hear anyone anymore.'' Dous pulled his sword out a in ice troll in a sluggish manner, this was just one of many that he''d in.

    He looked around in daze seeing nothing but death and fire. The gs were still up on the wall, and he could make out people shouting and fighting atop the wall but couldn''t hear a word they were saying.

    ''Such carnage. Will this be the end of Furano? Of my people? Of my family?''

 Chapter 445: Chapter 445: The Furano battlefield (2)

    Dous looked around the chaotic battlefield with a dazed expression, his movements and thoughts more than a little sluggish.

    He felt lost as the smell of blood and metal filled his nostrils and the eeriness of death wrapped around his heart and muscles, whispering ''why keep fighting? The battle is already lost.''

    He was no stranger to this voice given his battle experience, but it was the first time he truly felt tempted by it.

    ''Is there actually any point?'' He asked himself as the carnage around him became clear.

    Screams of agony, the explosion of magic and the nging of weapons and yes the convoluted voices of soldiers and monsters that sounded like a din of madness.

    The northern wall that he sanctioned to be extended to a whopping 15 metres looked cute in front of the invading horde that sported creatures almost half as tall and great beasts that were able to leap up to that height without much effort.

    Everything was beyond all expectations. They knew this stampede would be immense but not like this. The mid stages alone saw hundreds of men and women killed but they survived it and each day they fought they could see the light at the end of the tunnel but now.

    His gaze drifted towards the backlines where a group of certain monsters could be seen with predatory expressions.

    Rindars and three of them at that along with 3 other B-rank monsters that were currently on the frontlines facing against Furano''s elites.

    The first three that were on the frontlines arrived closely after one another. Each pretty powerful in their own right but none of which were tactical leaders and were expected given that it was thete stages. The other three however were not and they were the main reason why everything was looking so bleak.

    Rindars were a race of intelligent scaled humanoids that were said to have draconic ancestry but unlike dragonkin they were more bestial in appearance. They had no wings but their massive 5 metre tall purple bodies were adorned in scales and razor sharp quills. A long thick tail stretched out from their lower backs which ended in a natural mace perfect for bludgeoning.

    Their faces were reptilian, and their teeth were razor sharp and far more plentiful than a human''s. Plus they sported an extra set arms and eyes making them far harder to deal with numbers wise but that wasn''t their scariest feature.

    Though they had powerful bodies what made them truly frightening was their fierce intelligence and brutality. Where other monsters fight, kill and devour their opponents for reasons such as territory, amassing strength or even just hunger the Rindars did it for pleasure. Sadistic creatures that loved causing pain and torturing their victims, an enemy no one wanted to face.

    But here before them was three of these creatures licking their lips in glee as they strategically ordered the masses of monsters under them to attack, repeatedly testing Hamon''s capabilities as amander.

    Dous''s gaze was noticed by the middle rindar who seemed to be the leader of the group.

    "Hoh! what''s this a B-rank fighter left all alone" With a grating voice and a forked tongue the lead rindar spoke in surprise but it''s upturned lips showed that it wasn''t really unaware. In fact it had meticulously separated Dous from his group after seeing how important he was to the rest.

    With an evil smile the middle rindar tapped the shoulder of the rindar on its left signalling for it to move.

    The left rindar showed an even more evil smile before vanishing before Dous''s eyes. Rindars could camouge themselves, erasing all traces of their presence.

    "Shit!" Dous cursed as he exited his dazed state and prepared himself.

    He raised his shield up firmly and readied his sword while his eyes dashed across the vicinity looking for even the slightest sign of movement. His aura melded with his body, enhancing his physical prowess as well his eyes and ears.

    Seconds passed yet Dous spotted nothing, a cold sweat dripped down his forehead and neck as death whispered in his ear well not just death.

    "You''re sweating old man." A sharp insidious voice trickled into Dous''s ear sending a jolt down his spine before he leaped forward away, twisting his body as he did and shing at whatever whispered in his ear.

    ng!

    The sound of a sword shing against hard scales reverberated in the vicinity before a mocking chuckle followed.

    "Hahahaha so weak." The rindar looked down at Dous with contempt before knocking away the outstretched sword and returning to his camouged state, chuckling as he did.

    Dous was once again in the dark, his nerves primed to catch a single whiff of the rindar all while desperately looking for an escape route.

    Even in his peak state he was no match for a rindar alone, he needed help but knowing the tendencies of his foe the chances of receiving aid was low.

    That voice that urged him to stop fighting wormed its way back into his mind, draining him of his physical strength and will, making every concurrent sh weaker and slower. This nagging voice was assisted by the vicious rindar who appeared randomly, taunting him and mocking his efforts as though this was some sort of game.

    "Hehehehe my brother is quite the strategist old man." The rindar''s voice appeared around Dous, never being in the same ce twice and he was too slow to catch him, cutting the air instead of flesh.

    "We saw you surrounded by those elite fighters and saw how you were the centre of them hehehehehe do you know what went through our minds at that point?"

    Schwing!

    Dous shed out a moment too slow, failing to strike his target.

    "We thought how delicious it would be to iste you from those people and make them watch as we carve you up like a prime fillet hehehehe." The rindar revealed his face behind Dous licking his lips and drooling as he imagined the future feast.

    Dous felt a fire light up within him filling him with fury. He viciously turned around to face the rindar with a wrathful expression before shouting.

    "Over my dead body [holy severance]!" Dous swiftlyshed out with a high level sword skill that was tinged with a purifying element, perfect in dealing with a dark insidious entity like a rindar.

    aaaaannnnnngggggg!

    The enhanced sword glowed with a sharp white light before almost instantly appearing before the rindar''s face, but he failed to catch it by surprise.

    "That''s the n old man."

    The rindar''s arms were crossed and his dense scales extended into a pseudo shield allowing him to cleanly blocking Dous''s aggressive attack.

    "Haaaaaaa cornered sapients are always so predictable. This attack may have been dangerous when you were at your peak but after hours of slogging it out in the mud¡­.." The rindar poked his head over his scale shield with a wide a grin.

    "¡­You''re nothing but bark." The rindar then revealed the entirety of its 5 metre tall body.

    He appeared more muscr than the other two rindars and wielded two sabres in his third and fourth hand while his remaining ones were morphed into scale shields holding Dous''s white sword in ce.

    Bang!

    The rindar fiercely shattered the white holy energy surrounding the sword before forcing Dous''s arm back.

    The rindar spoke cockily but the [holy severance] skill left a burning wound on his arms despite the scales.

    He frowned, annoyed by the pain before viciouslyshing out with his own weapons, hoping to mar Dous''s body in revenge.

    Dous felt his arm grow numb and blood rushed up his throat from the blow, he was no match in terms of physical strength¡­.but physical strength, mastery of skills or even the quality of equipment was not the what made a veteran like Dous so dangerous.

    No, what made him dangerous was his experience, the experience that he gained from fighting against innumerable foes over his many decades of life.

    The rindar thought Dous was predictable but he thought the same thing about him. Rindar enjoyed toying with their prey, but their downfall was usually an excessive amount of pride that wouldn''t let a single slight go unpunished.

    Dous knew an attack wasing and nned for it. He held back a portion of his strength and channelled it into his shield arm and legs.

    With astute timing, the moment the rindar''s sabres stabbed towards him he raised his shield over his chest and leapt backwards.

    "[Blinding shield]" Energy flowed out his body, covering the front of the shield in a thin film of sparkling light and the moment the sabres made contact with the film the energy burst forth in a luminescent explosion, temporarily blinding the rindar as he was blown backwards and away from danger.

    Dous''s focus was not to fight against this monster no he needed to flee and join up with his allies, that was his only chance.

    "Argghhhhhhh!" The rindar roared out in pain as he covered his face, his eyes were filled with a burning light that stung even more than the damn cuts on his arms. He had no idea where his target vanished to.

    Dous had sessfully escaped¡­..

 Chapter 446: Chapter 446: The Furano battlefield (3)

    Dous sessfully retreated. Aided by the force of the rindar''s sabres he glided backwards closer to the northern wall and hopefully help. Unfortunately the muscr rindar wasn''t the only one he had to be wary of.

    In his path of retreat a second rindar appeared with a mocking expression on his face.

    "Haaaaaa the youngest never learns, always losing sight of the targets at the worse points." The second rindar was the one from the right and was the first one''s elder brother.

    He sighed and shook his head as heined about his sibling''s failings before smiling evilly.

    Despite hisining he was in fact happy about his younger sibling''s mistake. This weakness allowed him to enjoy a real treat, a face of pure despair on the victims'' faces as theirst hope of escape was erased thanks to his presence.

    The second rindar was equipped with a mighty great sword held by his third and fourth hands and primed to sh at Dous''s legs to prevent further escape.

    Dous frowned as he caught sight of the monster''s vicious and ecstatic expression, he fell right into the second one''s trap. A million thoughts shed through his mind at this point, ways in which to endure the second rindar''s sh, possible escape routes, the next step if he survived but pretty much all of his simtions ended in failure.

    This sh would hurt him badly, he may be able to save his legs but leaving without damage was impossible. The spectre of death intensified its grip around his heart and continued to whisper in his ear, foretelling his end.

    Dous bit his lower lip, drawing blood and sending a jolt of pain throughout his system allowing him to focus clearly. His eyes showed a stark refusal, he would do want needed to be done. Time was the goal, as long as he survived long enough he trusted that his allies would make it to him.

    He prepared to twist his body using his sword as a vault in ce of his legs, staving off serious injury but ultimately sacrificing his weapon and use of his dominant arm.

    His decision happened in an instant, fractions of a second after he noticed the second rindar appearing in his path he began twisting as though moving on instinct.

    "Tsk!" The second rindar clicked its tongue but didn''t try to change the trajectory of his great sword.

    Shatter!

    Dous''s peak 3 star sword shattered into dozens of fragments shortly after making contact with the rindar''s great sword. The residual force ran up his arm, cracking it and causing his body to violently spin but he survived the ambush.

    Don! Don! Don!

    Dous rolled and skidded across the blood covered ground,nding over ten metres from where the rindar ambushed him.

    With his legs saved he quickly found his feet and returned to a standing position. His shield was still firmly grasped by his shield arm and presented before his chest, but his sword arm hung limp by his side, numb from the extensive damage.

    The old man''s breath was strangely calm and his eyes deadly focused on the second rindar who was already chasing after him.

    "Not bad old man but I''d like to see how you dodge a second time." The second rindar dashed after him the instant he was able, 10 metres was a real short distance for someone of his stature.

    He raised his great sword over his head and shouted the name of a skill.

    "[Demonic rending]!" Dark violet energy almost ck in colour flowed from the rindar''s body covering his great sword in a menacing beam that expanded its size, leaving Dous even less wiggle room. He wasn''t going to fail to catch a mouse a second time especially after openly mocking his younger brother.

    Dous raised his shield and braced himself for the devastating impact hoping his equipment could take the blow.

    Booooooommmmmmm!!!!!

    Thankfully however he didn''t have to, a blue fireball smashed into the rindar''s chest interrupting his attack and knocking him backwards.

    "Dous get out of there!" Ryuu hollered at the top of his lungs from the northern wall. Given his height advantage he was able to catch his friend''s situation and lend aid at the opportune moment with a blue fireball. His voice was also enhanced with wind magic allowing everyone in the vicinity to hear his roar despite the convoluted noise filling the battlefield.

    ''Thank you Ryuu.'' Dous internally thanked Ryuu for the assist before instantly running, making a break for the northern wall.

    "Bastard! Get back here!" The second rindar sported a wrathful expression after patting out the mes. The damage was minimal, but it did forcibly stop him from taking down Dous.

    He desperately charged after Dous and with his speed he was sure to catch up in a second or two.

    "Oh no you don''t [Great sundering]!"

    "[Heaven''s squall]"

    "[Jade thrust]"

    Suddenly three attacks found there way towards the second rindar. Bastion and two of the majors of the frost wolf battalion who were nearby reacted to Ryuu roar, instantlyshing out in Dous''s defence. The Viscount couldn''t be lost here otherwise the battle would surely be lost.

    Dous was the heart and sole of the soldiers and citizens of Furano, the backbone that gave them the courage to fight against this horde.

    "Arghhh pathetic desperation!" The second rindar cursed as he was forced to halt and brace himself against the three skills and watch as Dous made his way closer and closer to safety.

    "Brother move!" The first rindar had gotten over his blindness at this point and barrelled his way past his elder brother, not to help him with the attacks of course but to catch Dous.

    But their ns had already been found out, Ryuu and another mage on the wall casted a 4th circle wind and fire spell andunched at the muscr rindar.

    "Fuck!" Like his elder brother this rindar was forced to stop in ce and prepare his defences. His scales and quills extended turning into a nasty looking armour.

    Baaaannnnnggggggg!!!!

    He was blown from the ground, his body flying backwards to crash through multiple trees over a 100 metres back.

    "Urgh!" The muscr rindar coughed up some blood and his body was racked with pain. However after he retracted his scales it was obvious that the damage was minimal.

    A monster''s body was truly different from that of a sapient''s no man or elf could withstand such an attack with their body regardless of their ranking.

    Dous paid no attention to what was happening behind him, focusing his entire strength on running, once he was closer to the wall he''d be safe. Hamon could redirect the forces tounch coordinated attacks against the rindar who exposed themselves on the frontlines.

    Chasing Dous any further was a real risk.

    "Haaaaaaaa" a deep sigh passed through the din of the battlefield and into Dous''s ear causing his spine to shiver and his heart to lurch. Instinctively he raised his shield and a momentter.

    Baaaaaaannnnnggggg!!

    Arge scaly fist thundered against his shield leaving a clear dent before reversing his body''s momentum and knocking him back from the northern wall.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Dous harshly skipped across the ground and coughed up a great deal of blood once he stopped. Hey prone on the floor, his head was ringing, and his shield arm fractured and useless just like his sword arm.

    That attack was so fast and so heavy that he didn''t have time to properly react, he was saved by the sturdiness of his shield which thankfully was still in once piece.

    The remaining rindar the leader of three appeared from nowhere and punched Dous without muttering a single word, revealing himself for but a second before vanishing once again.

    Dous struggled to get off the ground but the leading rindar wasn''t even going to give him that chance.

    "My brothers talk too much." He appeared at Dous''s side before punching out, his aim Dous''s legs.

    Crack!

    "Argggghhhhhhh!" Dous screamed in pain as the rindar''s heavy fists pulverised his left leg, turning it into a mangled mess. There was no way he could flee now.

    "Dous!!!!"

    "Dous!!!!" Ryuu and Bastion screamed out with bloodshot eyes, moving with their greatest speed to save their long-time friend and liege. Actions and expressions that delighted the leading rindar but unlike his brother''s he knew to not take any chances.

    Booooooommmmmm!

    He swiftly punched out with his back arms destroying Dous''s right leg, making all his limbs powerless.

    The leading rindar gave a cold chilling look towards the second rindar who trembled slightly under that gaze before nodding and cing himself between his brother and the three attackers, Bastion included.

    Another blue fireball swiftly found its way from Ryuu''s staff but the leading rindar scoffed at the attack before smashing the ball of fire to pieces with a strike of his fist.

    He then turned towards Dous with an evil grin.

    "Now that your escape is impossible we can begin the feast." The leading rindar''s evil smile grew revealing his razor sharp teeth and long ck tongue that was grossly salivating at the thought of picking Dous apart in full view of his allies.

    Dous shivered as fear filled his body. All he could do was fiercely re into the awaiting maw, his limbs no longer listening to him.

    ''Fuck! Cass, Leo I''m sorry.''

 Chapter 447: Chapter 447: The Furano battlefield (4)

    Dous sat on the cold hard floor dyed red from his and the blood of those who had been fighting here over the past several weeks. His two arms were broken and limply hanging at his sides while his two legs had been pulverised by the fists of the leading rindar who at this very moment was licking his lips and drooling onto Dous''s face, inspiring an instinctual fear within him.

    He could hear the sounds of fierce battle behind him as well as the desperate shouts of Ryuu, Bastion and the majors of the frost wolf battalion as they tried to reach his side, but he knew deep in his heart that they wouldn''t make it. This rindar wouldn''t allow such a thing but he would certainly leave them a glimmer of hope before viciously quashing it.

    A sadistic creature that got off on misery and pain.

    Dous red fiercely toward his attacker refusing to show him even the slightest bit of fear.

    "Hmph how boring." The rindar was displeased with Dous''s expression truly hoping for a more primal reaction, well you can''t get everything you want.

    He smiled evilly after briefly ncing towards Bastion, the two majors and then to Ryuu making sure each of them would have a good view of what was about to happen. Their expressions would have to be enough.

    The rindar licked his lips before reaching for Dous''s skull, nning to crush the bones and peel away his skin, a gruesome and very painful death. He wondered if he''d keep the same determined expression throughout such torture oh just the thought was enough to make him feel all bubbly inside.

    Suddenly however a loud bang could be heard from the west before the voice of a young man followed.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" Frost who was riding Kiba shot from the tiger''s back with his ive in hand and activated his most powerful skill. Summoning the head of a wyvern andunching it towards the rindar''s outstretched arm.

    Frost''s sudden entrance caught everyone by surprise the rindars included.

    The leading rindar stopped reaching for Dous and tried to avoid the wyvern but the head followed his retreat and bit down hard on his scale covered arm. Its teeth sunk in deep drawing blood and refused to let go causing the rindar to wince in pain before smashing his arm and the wyvern against the floor until the energy formed lifeform dispelled.

    Frost who had leaped ahead to add to the strength of his swingnded back on Kiba''s back with deft flip of his body and activated another skill, one that he hadn''t shown off yet, one that relied on him having Kiba by his side.

    "[Hammering beast''s charge]" He roared the name of the final advanced level skill he learned the moment he achieved advanced ive mastery. A skill that required him to be riding a mount, abined skill that would fuse their strengths.

    Yellow energy started to float around Kiba while blue energy appeared around Frost. These two energies swirled around one another,bing into a green tint that covered the two of them greatly increasing their momentum and charging force.

    The dungeon core and cial winged tiger fused as one entity with Frost''s ive acting as the focal point they charged at the rindar with intense ferocity.

    Boooooooooommmmmmmm!!!!!!

    An ungodly sonic boom rattled the air at the point of contact. Plumes of dirt, blood and dust obscured the area for a couple seconds causing the observers to tremble with worry.

    Dous, who was in a critical state, was forced to close his eyes from the explosion of air but when he opened them again he saw the wide back of a young man riding atop a winged tiger in an imposing manner.

    This young man, Frost turned around and smiled gently towards him before speaking.

    "I''m guessing I''m not toote right?" He asked in a teasing manner.

    Dous''s lips twitched as he struggled to hold back a retort.

    "No I think you''re right on time Frost hehehehehe." Heughed out as a great sense of relief filled him before he ultimately fell unconscious.

    Frost frowned and quickly dismounted from Kiba before giving out an order.

    "Kiba get him out of here."

    "Rooooaarrrrr!" Kiba roared in protest not wanting to leave Frost alone especially against that thing they charged into.

    "Go now, that''s an order!" Frost shouted before shing out with his ive.

    Bang!!!

    His ive met with the fists of the leading rindar who sported a furious expression. He hated having his prey taken away from him most of all.

    "Go now Kiba I''ll be fine!" He shouted again as he parried punch after punch, the ground under his feet shifting at every contact, there was so much weight behind them. Thankfully it seemed as though his and Kiba''s charge did some damage and made the rindar wary of him.

    Kiba looked on with reluctance before acquiescing to Frost''s order. He turned around and grabbed Dous''s clothes with his teeth before gently tossing him onto his back.

    He looked back at Frost and the rindar before taking flight towards the northern wall where safety was guaranteed.

    "No!!!!!!" The rindar roared out in protest doing his best to push Frost away and leap up after Kiba and Dous. Reaching out with his back arms in attempt to grasp Kiba hind legs and drag him back to the ground.

    "Oh you can forget aboutying another hand on the Viscount you damn monster!" From where Kiba rose into the air a muscr man wreathed in turbulent red mana crashed down, smashing away the rindar''s back arms and shattering more than a few of its hard scales.

    The muscr mannded beside Frost after knocking back the rindar and took his form in with an inspecting gaze.

    "You must be that Frost I''ve been hearing so much about¡­.you''re a lot stronger than I was told." Hamon the colonel andmander for this operation had joined the fray and thanks to Frost his entry wasn''t toote.

    Frost looked up at this man who was easily 2 and half metres tall and chock full of muscle.

    "I am and you must colonel Hamon the one leading the frost wolf battalion here in Furano." Frost replied back with a glint in his eyes.

    ''Wasn''t he a wizard of some kind?'' He remembered what Leo, Dous and Ryuu had told him in regards to this colonel Hamon. A magic user that even surpassed Ryuu.

    "Hehehehehe that''s correctd, now how about we show this rindar here the ropes, what do you say?" Hamon cracked his knuckles as heughed and prepared for a closebat slugfest with the 5 metre tall monster.

    "Elders first." Frost gestured with his hand for Hamon to take first crack, curious to see how this fabled colonel fought.

    "Hehehehe courteous as well as courageous I can see why Cassandra and Dous like you. Alright then let me show you how you deal with these riff raff." Hamon proceeded to smash his fists together covering them in a dense amount of mana.

    Hamon was a very unique type of wizard, a closebat specialist that used his body as his weapon of choice. The results were simr to high level chakra but was in fact a range of enhancement and defensive spells that he ced on his body.

    With a self-styled martial art Hamon could coat himself in different types of mana depending on the moves he used making him a very deadly foe on the battlefield. He wasn''t just a capable strategist but an absolute tank in battle, one of the few people who could actually go toe to toe with monsters with his bare hands.

    The rindar who was struck back by his heavy mana punch shook his back arms that had be numbed from the blow. He eyed Hamon with no small amount of fear. He and the other B-ranks didn''t push deep into the frontlines for one specific reason, Hamon.

    All of them felt that this human was stronger than each of them even by himself, an upper perhaps even peak B-rank fighter. The veryst person the rindar wished to be faced up against.

    He looked at Hamon and then towards his brother and briefly at the state of the current battlefield before clicking his tongue and putting up his dukes. He had no choice he needed to fight Hamon and make it passed him, given that he was themander he''d likely not chase too far.

    His pride was also affecting his judgement. A mere human walked up to him armed with just his body, simr to his fighting style an offense that he struggled to ovee. How could a human''s body really go toe to toe with that of a rindar''s.

    Frost covered himself in a dense level of ice armour and prepared his ive, looking for an opportunities to attack but leaving the main approach to Hamon. This wasn''t really a foe Frost could safely face off against alone and he never intended to.

    If Dous wasn''t in desperate need of his help and he hadn''t seen Hamon on the move he would have left with Kiba. But with Hamon here taking the vanguard position this 5 metre tall rindar that put Dous in such a predicament didn''t seem that scary.

    ''Let''s see what this old man''s hiding behind those muscles.''

 Chapter 448: Chapter 448: The Furano battlefield (5)

    Frost took the position of a mid-ranged attacker while leaving the mana coated Hamon to face off against the rindar in closebat, curious to see the capabilities of this fabled colonel.

    "Hehehehehe" Hamon chuckled as a mad smile began forming on his lips.

    Don! Don!

    He mmed his fists together causing a bright red mana to cover them and form strange runic shapes along his arms and back before he outstretched his left hand and beckoned or rather taunted the rindar toe at him.

    The rindar nearly burst a blood vessel as his fury skyrocketed.

    "Ahhhhhh!" He roared out before charging straight for Hamon, all four of his fists tightly clenched and reeled back. The leading rindar didn''t have a weapon like his younger siblings instead relying on the strength and durability of his own body.

    Scales extended along his arms and fists enhancing their size and power in a far less crude transformation than the youngest rindar.

    Hamon was unphased by this transition, he took a defensive martial art stance ready to wee the rindar''s attack.

    At a speed untraceable through a normal person''s eyes the rindar arrived before Hamon and punched at his face with his second and third arm while his first and fourth aimed for his liver.

    Hamon moved smoothly, wrapping his left hand around the rindar''s second and fourth arm like a fluid snake all while rotating his body and taking a heavy step forward into the rindar''s chest.

    Booommm!

    The rindar was smashed into by Hamon''s shoulder knocking him back ending his attack and leaving him open for a counter.

    "[Lightning axe kick]" Hamon leaped into the air activating a martial art skill as well as the runic inscriptions on his legs. Energy formed tendrils of electricity around his left leg while magic inscriptions enhanced the effects, doubling the intensity of the tendrils.

    This lightning covered leg swiftly cleaved downwards onto the rindar''s third shoulder.

    Crack!

    A loud crack could be heard as the rindar''s shoulder socket fractured from the blow but the rindar fought through the pain tosh out with his second and fourth arm.

    "[Raptor strike]" The rindar activated his own skill enhancing the speed and sharpness of his two fists and coating them in a dark violet energy.

    Hamon skilfully guarded the targeted side with his arm and another runic inscription activated as he did covering his arm and side with a dense metal mana formed armour.

    Booommm!

    The rindar''s strikes crashed against the metal and blew Hamon away.

    Hamon spun in the air with intense speed before elegantlynding on the floor without so much as a stumble. The metal armour cracked and disappeared returning to natural mana while the defensive inscription began recharging for the next time it was needed. He didn''t even look the slightest bit injured.

    "Wow!" Frost couldn''t help but say that as he watched the exchange unfold. Hamon was pretty much a living magic device, an intriguing concept.

    "Frost, rindars are overly prideful and enjoy causing pain meaning they tend to attack areas that would cause high levels of damage and usually over estimate their defences." Hamon spoke up in exnation to the young warrior who was aiding him in this battle.

    "Though in this case he''s just simple outmatched hahahaha." Hamonughed before quickly dashing forward, pressing his attack.

    "Watch my movements and attack him whenever you feel safe to do so, this bastard is smarter than the other two and is focused on escaping. Don''t give him that chance." Hamon punched out with a simple straight but even that wasn''t something the rindar could take lightly.

    It punched out with its own straight but found that once they made contact that the two of them were roughly equal in physical strength, a shocking realisation for the rindar who was easily twice Hamon''s size. He didn''t even sense any special magic or equipment effects enhancing his power, this was purely based on his own muscles.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Hamon and the rindar engaged in high speed shes, knocking fists against one another with him clearly on the back foot. Speed wise he was faster, but Hamon was able to perfectly predict his every move and counter with incredibly vicious reprisals. The wounds on his body continued to build as did his fear.

    Plus every time he looked to break off from the exchange and retreat back to the tree line Frost would appear andsh out with his ive. Far less intimidating than facing Hamon''s skill enhanced fists or feet but not something he could easily ignore either.

    He briefly caught sight of his second brother who wasn''t doing much better than him, being attacked by three B-rank fighters each emboldened by the situation.

    His youngest tried to re-enter the battle but was fiercely targeted by Ryuu and the other magic based major. Things weren''t looking good.

    After 15 minutes of this the rindar was covered in its own blood, dozens of its scales were burst open and or littering the floor. Its breathing was erratic and eyes bloodshot as it stared at Hamon and Frost with unbridled fury.

    Hamon didn''te out of the exchangepletely unharmed, but he was certainly better off that the rindar. Frost however had a fair few deep gashes and nasty looking bruises, a rib was even cracked after he was forced to block a clean strike from the rindar.

    The blow pierced straight through his ice armour and the armour Daki made for him. Frost was forced to realise at that point that he wasn''t simply fighting another strong foe but one that was B-rank and stronger than himself.

    The only reason he could take part in this battle andnd more than a few decent blows was simply because of Hamon''s overwhelming strength and experience that kept the rindar on the back foot and under his thumb.

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" Frost was breathing rapidly, the pain in his rib starting to affect his movements.

    "You alrightd?" Hamon asked with a weary expression in his eyes. He may not be that injured but he had to go above and beyond stamina wise keep the rindar from breaking away.

    "Yeah nothing to worry about, nothing extreme just sore." Frost answered back while holding his rib and wincing from the pain. He didn''t dare take a potion out lest the rindar take advantage of his diverted focus.

    Hamon''s eyes narrowed as he analysed the situation as a whole.

    "This bastard''s more tricky than I initially estimated, the wounds he suffered are all nasty looking but none are fatal or even severely limiting his battle capability¡­.he''s good." Hamon couldn''t help but praise the rindar before them, he was truly a tough opponent.

    Frost was of the same mind, he realised that though the rindar was losing he was still able to limit/control the damage he received.

    "That''s about to change however." Hamon covered himself in red coloured mana and runic inscriptions glowed all over his body.

    "He''s finished weighing his options, the bastard''s going to make his move regardless of the cost." Hamon looked over at Frost.

    "He''ll be charging through youd."

    Frost trembled at the thought before a wild smile grew on his lips and he tightened his grip around his ive while slowing his breaths.

    "Make him pay a nasty price got it." Hamon ced his hand on Frost''s shoulder before moving forward.

    "Got it." Frost added anotheryer to his ice chakra armour and adorned his ive in cold mes as well as activated the wind engraving, preparing to go all out.

    The rindar acted like Frost, he slowed his breathing and showed a determined glint in his eyes. He couldn''t continue this fight any longer, to do so would be suicide, something that would him zero gains.

    With a clenched jaw the rindar tensed his entire body extending what scales he had left over his vital areas before charging ahead straight for Hamon. He crossed his arms before him further covering his vital areas.

    Even Hamon would struggle to effectively get through this blockade of armour, but he''d still try his best.

    "[Focused trigram palm]" Hamon activated a skill unique to his martial art style. His right palm glowed golden and generated an image of a shining golden hexagonal behind him.

    The rindar frowned from the light but didn''t stop his charge, he lowered his head down and activated his own skill.

    "[Scaled bulwark]" A dark violet energy covered his already durable scales and arms; this was going to be a contest between a mighty spear and a great shield.

    Boooooommmmm!!!

    With an air shattering sh Hamon''s palm struck against the rindar''s arms. The golden energy and purple energy shed against one another generating splintering sparks, neither willing to give way.

    "Raaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!"

    "Raaaaaaghhhhhhh!!!" Both Hamon and the rindar roared out as they pushed against one another.

    The sparks intensified before eventually the rindar and Hamon''s energy shields shattered with a violent explosion.

    Hamon was blown back but the rindar pushed through at an angle, desperately fleeing past him at the cost of his defences.

    But Frost was ready, Hamon knew the rindar would do anything to escape regardless of the cost and Frost was the weakest point in this triad.

    "Frost make it count!" Hamon roared as he crashed hard against the ground.

    "On it!" Frost replied back with a booming voice before charging at the rindar with his enhanced ive, aiming to take a decent chunk from the currently fleeing rindar.

    The rindar didn''t think much of Frost, the level of hurt he could deal out paled inparison to Hamon. He continued to run at full speed despite seeing Frost barring his path with his weapon. Though many of his scales were damaged and or missing he was confident his body could withstand a blow from Frost.

    Frost had one chance to attack before the rindar rushed through him and he nned to make it count.

 Chapter 449: Chapter 449: The Furano battlefield (6)

    Frost positioned himself directly in the rindar''s path. His chakra armour at maximum thickness and his ive adorned in high level cold mes and a barrier of wind adding to their vtility.

    He focused his eyes upon his target before dashing ahead.

    The rindar was ready, despite his defences being blown by Hamon and his focus being on getting away from these two warriors as fast as possible he was still a 5 metre tall monster with a lot of power.

    With a fierce step the rindar catapulted himself forward, his arms tensed and reeled back into position, ready to pummel his way through Frost.

    "Arrrrrrgghhhhhhhhh!"

    "Raaaaaahhhhhhhh!" The two opponents roared out as they attacked one another.

    The rindar swiftly punched out with devasting force, smashing against Frost''s ice armour, pulverising it before striking against the armour made from Daki. Two fists struck his already cracked rib sending an intense wave of pain through Frost''s body while the others aimed for his left shoulder hoping to interrupt his sh.

    Frost winced from the pain but pushed through "[wyvern''s maw]" he activated his strongest skill summoning the head of a wyvern armed with a mighty maw.

    The wyvern swiftly bit down on the rindar''s torso, sinking its fangs in deep, shredding his exposed flesh andshing out pain for pain.

    The rindar''s fists that aimed for his shoulder thus stalled for a brief moment allowing Frost to twist his body and avoid the blow.

    He stepped forward with his ive cleaving downward, his target being slightly different from where the wyvern struck.

    Schwing!

    The two bodies swiftly passed one another. The rindar not even looking backwards for a brief second bolted forward, running straight for the treeline while Frost had only moved slightly forward, his ive prating deep into the blood dyed floor.

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" Frost''s breathing became incrediblyboured and the pain he fought through assaulted his mind with a vengeance along with a dizzying exhaustion.

    He stumbled forward falling to his right knee, leaning on his ive for support. One hand reached for his ribs before he coughed up a spurt of blood, his vision shaking as he began to fall.

    "Woah there I got youddie." Hamon appeared just in time to gently catch Frost being careful not to touch his wounded ribs.

    Frost turned to face Hamon with difficulty before speaking.

    "I got him good right?" He asked with a cocky yet strained smile.

    "Haaaaaa yeahd you got him good." Hamon smiled and shook his head beforeughing.

    Lying beside Frost was a gnarly looking arm farrger than either of theirs. Frost had taken one of the rindar''s arms in their brief exchange and significantly wounded another. He made him pay and then some.

    Hamon quickly observed the situation around them before pulling out a mid-level health potion and handing it to Frost.

    "Drink up Frost we can''t stay here for long." He spoke with a slight urgency. The other monsters had avoided this area during their confrontation with the rindar but since he had now left there was nothing holding them back plus the rindar would likely send everything he had at his disposal in revenge.

    Frost didn''t argue and downed the mid-level health potion that was ptable to his tastebuds. The potion got to work the moment it entered his body, gradually recing lost blood and repairing the damage around his body in particr his ribs.

    Hamon then helped him to his feet before eyeing where the rindar fled.

    "Hoh now that''s an expression and a half." His eyes opened widely, and a wild smile grew on his lips as he witnessed the leading rindar.

    Frost turned to look and responded in a simr way.

    The leading rindar had just noticed the damage to its body in particr its missing arm and an expression of unbridled fury swiftly adorned its face as a result.

    He looked towards Frost as if he was his most hated foe, a person that did an incorrigible act towards himself and the only recourse was for him to rip Frost to pieces with his bare hands.

    Frost and Hamon enjoyed this expression finding it rather uplifting.

    Frost reached down to the lifeless arm and presented it towards the rindar.

    "Forget something?" He asked in a mocking tone making the monster''s face even more furious and eliciting a chuckle from Hamon.

    "He''s going to make it his life''s mission to hunt you down and make you feel a pain so bad that you''ll wish you were dead."

    "He''s wee to try but I guess having amander so fixated on one person makes predicting his movements much easier right?" Frost asked without even a single ounce of fear.

    If he was alone on this battlefield then he''d of course be wary, but he had strong allies by his side.

    "Hahahahaha yeah you''re right about thatd." Hamon let loose a boomingugh as he mmed his hand down on Frost''s shoulder.

    Hamon looked around the area once again and noticed the encroaching monsters as well as the breaking off of Bastion and his majors.

    "Time for us to god, we''ll head to the northern wall, best to check in on Dous and apprise you of the current situation."

    "Alright, you want a ride, or will you jump up yourself?" Frost asked before sticking his finger in his mouth and loudly whistling.

    "Roooooaaaaaarrrrr!" The sound of a tiger''s roar could suddenly be heard from within Furano before Kiba appeared in the sky swiftly making his way to Frost.

    "Now that I get a closer look at it that''s a cial winged tiger, a young one with a lot of room for growth." He cupped his chin and nodded in praise.

    "A good partner, your future just keeps getting brighter." Hamon gestured a thumbs up to Frost who slowly ascended Kiba''s back.

    "So you riding or not?" Frost asked again and Kiba showed noint.

    "Hehehehehe no you''re alrightd I''ve got my own methods." Hamon rejected Frost''s offer before knocking his heels together.

    Another runic inscription appeared on his feet and calves summoning a whirlwind of wind aspected mana beneath him. Hamon then began to float off the ground showing an arrogant smile as he did.

    "See if you can keep up young tiger." He taunted Kiba before stepping on the air like it was solid ground, rapidly increasing his speed as he rose up and headed to the northern wall.

    "Roaaaaarrrrrr!" Kiba spurned on by his taunt roared and pped his wings, swiftly chasing after Hamonpletely ignoring the twitching lips of Frost who was still in the process of recovery.

    The monsters in the area swarmed their location a couple seconds after they left, just missing them. The leading rindar thus smashed a couple nearby trees in anger.

    "Brother" the youngest rindar called out to his elder brother a mixture of concern (fake) and gloating clear in his eyes. Out of the three of them he was the least injured so technically he should now be the strongest and ultimately the one in charge in his mind.

    The eldest rindar knew the thoughts of his youngest brother well and didn''t stand for it. Without the slightest sign he appeared before the youngest rindar and punched him directly in the face, knocking him to the ground and proceeding to beat him with his remaining arms and legs.

    "Bastard if you hadn''t messed up in the first ce I wouldn''t have lost my third arm!" He roared out in fury.

    The youngest rindar clenched his jaw beforeshing out against his brother.

    "Bullshit you lost your arm because your weak!" He pulled his brother''s leg knocking him to the ground before shing out with his sabres aiming to deprive his brother of another arm.

    The eldest rindar shifted his body, dodging the shes and kneed his brother in the ribs knocking him back. Just because he was missing an arm and covered in wounds didn''t mean the youngest could best him in a fight. He was at the bottom of the totem pole for a reason.

    The two rindar continued to tussle further wounding one another before the middle brother arrived with the other B-ranks.

    "Enough now is not the time!" The middle brother shouted with a hidden message in his eyes. The three other B-ranks saw the conflict between the siblings as well as the extensive wounds. If the youngest rindar had thoughts of taking control why wouldn''t they.

    The two rindar swiftly stopped their fighting acknowledging the danger of the situation, the monster world was one ofpetition, one of pure strength. The biggest fist calls the shots. Only if the rindars worked as a team would they be able to take the lead at least in the beginning. The six of them were just the start of the high ranking forces set to attack Furano.

    "That elf must die otherwise I''ll never be able to rid myself of this anger." The eldest rindar stated in a chilling tone while staring at the northern wall with fire in his eyes.

    "They''ll all die brother but only if we don''t lose our heads." The middle brother acted as a calming voice allowing his eldest brother to refocus his goals, at least on the surface. Frost was a foe that he needed to personally eviscerate no matter the cost.

    The youngest though reluctant to give up the reigns looked over the other B-ranks as well as his second brother, finding that the situation was not right after all. He''d need to continue to bide his time.

 Chapter 450: Chapter 450: 4 Days

    While the rindars regained their strict control over the forces Frost and Hamonnded behind the northern wall and entered themand centre.

    There Dous could be seen lying down on a bed while slowly being healed by the best healer the frost wolf battalion had. He was barely awake and frowning, the healing process was going slow to ensure no permanent damage, but it resulted in an extreme itch.

    Leo was by his father''s side grasping onto his hand with reddened eyes. He was too weak to be on the battlefield at this point in the stampede, so he was regted to managing the relief and forging situations. But he urgently made his way to themand tent the moment he saw his father being carried by Kiba.

    When he arrived many others were already on site with panicked expressions, fearful of Kiba as well as the bloodied state of Dous. Leo immediately took charge, stepping froward without fear to check on his father''s condition before ordering for the healers and calming down the shocked soldiers and government workers.

    "Leo" Frost spoke his friend''s name gently causing Leo to tremble and turn around.

    "Frost-senpai" Leo let go of his father''s hand and dashed before Frost wrapping him up in a tight hug.

    "Thank you, without you and Kiba my father would have certainly died." Tears flowed down Leo''s cheeks as he thanked Frost. A couple soldiers that descended from the northern wall to guard Dous looped him in on what happened once he got everything under control and questioned why Kiba was here with his father and Frost wasn''t.

    Frost patted his friend''s head and returned the hug before they both broke away and Leo wiped away his tears. He couldn''t be emotional at such a time, without his father in control the noble duties of the Furano house fell on his shoulders.

    "Colonel Hamon how''s the situation? Did you manage to drive back the rindars?" Leo shifted almost seamlessly from crying teenager to reliable young noble, a change that Frost couldn''t help but be impressed by.

    ''He''s not the same person I met a few months back.'' A smile grew on Frost''s face as he saw Leo not as the young boy he met but as a young man who could shoulder the duties ced on his shoulders. Dous didn''t have anything to worry about in regards to handing over his position, Leo was a natural leader.

    "It''s not too bad, Frost and I managed to seriously wound the leading rindar while Bastion, Major Tanto and Major Geoffrey wounded the second one." Hamon gave a quick report of the situation. He had kept abreast of the entire situation even while fighting against the leading rindar.

    "Our elite fighters managed to hold back the tide sessfully despite the absences of Bastion, Dous and the others. And the wall managed to hold back the chaff that made it through without needing to expend another volley of arrows or overload the mage regiments."

    The battle lines were split into four sections, the first line wasposed of Furano''s and the frost wolf battalion''s elites, a regiment containing C-rank fighters. This group was in charge of forestalling the advance of the D and C-rank monsters and were ced in the vanguard position, in front of the northern wall.

    Alongside them were the closebat B-rank fighters such as Dous, Bastion and the two majors Tanto and Geoffrey. Their jobs were to control the actions of the B-rank monsters as well as aid the elite fighters inbat.

    Next was the forces lined up on the northern wall, a veryrge unitposed of fighters just below the elite fighters in ability. Their job was to take care of the monsters that made it to the wall, stopping them from reaching Furano.

    And finally behind them on raised tforms and lesser walls behind the great northern wall were the ranged corps. Mages and archers that would send their attacks over the wall and into the charging hordes, decimatingrge swaths and or preventing dangerous charges.

    The siege weapons such as trebuchets were also part of this group or perhaps a fifth line but given the absence of ammunition and damage to the machines it was pretty much no longer active.

    These lines did not break during the time he and Frost engaged with the rindar nor did they break when they retreated, a good sign.

    "Good, good." Leo let out a relived sigh and nodded his head. He was worried that Dous''s situation may have caused a cascade break among the frontlines. His father was truly the heart and soul of the defence effort. Seeing him fighting alongside the soldiers and adventurers despite his nobility and even age inspired them all, filling them with pride and sense of duty.

    An act that could unfortunately backfire if he was lost, thankfully the worst did not happen. In fact the soldiers and adventurers fought with even more aggression, pushing back the horde.

    "With the injuries you and Frost inflicted, the effort of our elite troops and the addition of a new high level fighter do you think today''s attack will continue for much longer?" Leo asked with a serious expression.

    Hamon frowned and cupped his chin as he thought.

    "Logically it should end soon but rindars are quite vindictive, they may no longer care about logic and instead y all their cards just for the chance to kill those who slighted them." Hamon responded after thinking for a few seconds.

    Here in Furano and the other bastion towns the attacks in thete stages weren''t like those that Frost, and his dungeon had to deal with. The waves wouldn''t crash against the northern wall until their ran out of monsters no the situation would be more akin to a long term siege.

    The B-ranks, the rindars in this case would allow for several hours ofbat between their forces and Furano''s before calling off the attack, retreating to behind the range of their arrows, magic and war machines and replenishing their forces until they had enough numbers to attack once again.

    Furano relied heavily on this gap to rest their exhausted forces and swiftly clear some of the battlefield of the many corpse that strew across it.

    "Leo I''ll let you bring Frost here up to speed; it won''t do us any good to have both me and Dous out of the fight." Hamon gave a military salute to Leo and nodded towards Frost with a smile before reactivating the wind aspected spells on his legs and ascending to his previous position on the northern wall. His presence was a pressuring existence on the monster horde.

    Just having him standing there made them wary.

    Frost and Leo watched Hamon run through the air andnd on the wall before emitting his heavy aura, announcing his return.

    "Hopefully with Hamon having no signs of injury the rindars will think twice about continuing today''s battle." Leo spoke with clenched fists. Though he wasn''t able to be in the thick of the battle given his level of strength he was able to be in the know about the war''s situation, his title as heir to the Furano Viscounty allowed him such privileges.

    Knowing that his father was not on the frontlines by choice but that they needed him to be spoke of the danger they were currently facing, and this was just the beginning.

    ''Hopefully those reinforcements arrive soon.'' Bastion repeatedly requested for high grade adventurers from the capital branch of the adventurers guild and along with Hamon''s and Dous request for more forces from the military their appeals were epted, they just needed to survive until their arrival.

    Leo then looked towards Frost as well as Kiba who was trailing behind him. With him added to their forces their situation looked slightly less bleak.

    "Haaaaaaa" Leo sighed as his thoughts were conflicted, thankful that Frost and Kiba arrived to render aid when they sorely needed it but also worried about this chaotic mess that his friend and saviour had been dragged into.

    "Come and sit, I''ll exin the current situation." Leo gestured towards a nearby table and asked Frost to take a seat.

    "Alright" Frost acquiesced, understanding that this was a serious situation.

    "At the moment we''re barely keeping our heads above water. Our ammunition is all but spent, we''re using it quicker than we can craft it.

    Same can be said with our stock of potions, the mid-stages done a real number on our reserves and unlike arrows or even equipment potions can''t be made in a short span of time." There was a brewing process that couldn''t be rushed or done by those without the necessary skills.

    "We''ve had to rope in arge amount of able bodied civilians to help transport and carve up the monster corpses as our dismantling team was overwhelmed by the workload. My mother also worked hard to coordinate all the known merchants, smiths and other trade professions to generate temporary jobs for those who remain." Leo let out a slightugh before continuing.

    "Silver lining is the public order in the territory is pretty high given that everyone now has something to do, and our meat reserves are through the roof. There''s so much that we can''t store it thus the chefs of the territory have had their hands full preparing meals round the clock but regardless of how tasty the food is or how much energy it grants when eaten our men and women need sleep.

    We don''t have enough forces to create efficient shift schedules."

    Leo outlined the situation at hand, stressing the major problems as well as their time schedule.

    "4 days."

 Chapter 451: Chapter 451: 4 Days (2)

    "4 days, we have to survive for 4 more days. Reinforcements are currently enroute, but the main force will arrive on the fourth day." Leo said with a determined expression.

    "At least one A-rank fighter will be at the helm of arge contingent of soldiers and high rank adventurers plus apparently the crown prince will be among them, personallying to Furano''s aid." A strong feeling of gratitude and pride filled Leo as he mentioned the crown prince''s actions.

    ''The next ruler of the empire will be entering the fray to help defend the empire and the territory of a mere viscount.'' Leo greatly respected the crown prince as he was more than just his future liege but a friend.

    Despite therge age difference between Leo and Randolph (the crown prince) the two of them could be considered good friends with Randolph taking the role of an elder cousin or brother. When Leo was growing up asionally Randolph would visit their family and teach him swordsmanship and tell him about life in the capital.

    It was a rtionship based on tradition wherein a member of the royal family would foster a friendship with a member of the Furano family to ensure loyalty and strengthen foundation of the Northrend empire.

    The rtionship between the two of them wasn''t as developed or as solid as the one between their fathers but none the less it was certainly positive thus Leo felt especially moved by the fact that Randolph himself wasing to help them in their time of need.

    The current emperor had three children, two sons and a daughter. The oldest of his children, crown prince Randolph known as the white wolf of the empire, Sedrick the second prince who was close with the less than savoury elements of the empire andmonly referred to as the empire''s spider given his tendency to work in the shadows and finally there was the apple of his eye, the radiance of the empire, his darling daughter Avira.

    Traditionally given their ages Leo should have had the close rtionship with Avira but Franz (the emperor) immediately vetoed that idea, not willing to have his daughter associate with any guy regardless of how much he personally approved of their character.

    This decision which was made so many years ago resulted in a lot of chuckles and inside jokes between Franz, his wife Amelia (the empress), Dous and Cassandra who in fact agreed with his choice. Partially because they also found Avira to be loveable and worthy of protection but also to avoid possible romantic entanglement between their houses.

    Leo was the heir to the Furano Viscounty and was their only child, he couldn''t marry into the royal family and Avira couldn''t marry into their house either given their noble ranking and the delicate situation in regards to the amount of political power the family was allowed to hold. Thus that left Randolph and Sedrick.

    Sedrick had no intention of forming a bond with the Furano family given his already forming political position that saw him side with many families that looked disapprovingly towards the Furanos. Therefore Randolph was the only one left and took on the role with enthusiasm, treating Leo like a much younger brother.

    Frost''s eyes opened wide as he heard what Leo said.

    ''An A-rank fighter¡­.interesting.'' A smile formed on his lips as he thought about seeing someone even stronger in action. The point about the crown princeing however made no impact on him. Frost wasn''t a citizen of Northrend and cared little about the political powers of the empire. Why should he care about the title of crown prince? Was it more important than being a son of the dark God?

    "4 days is neither a long time nor a short time and whether we can withstand the onught is entirely dependent on the B-ranks that join the fray." The rindars alone nearly caused the situation to flip on its head with their attack on Dous. More and stronger monsters were sure to arrive within these 4 days and likely after.

    ''Actually would just having an A-rank fighter here ensure victory?'' Frost asked himself internally not willing to bring down Leo''s hope. A single A-rank fighter would certainly be a powerhouse worth multiple B-ranks, but monsters were worth more individuallypared to sapients of the same rank.

    It wasn''t impossible for a peak B-rank or even a few upper B-ranks to be drawn into the war, more than enough firepower to restrict or even take out an A-rank fighter from their side.

    ''Well hopefully it''s more than one and or that contingent of B-ranks are plentiful.'' Frost chose to be optimistic about the situation, deciding to deal with what he could which was these four days.

    "True but it''s something we need to do." Leo turned to look at his father who was groaning and trembling nearby as his wounds slowly recovered through the actions of the frost wolf battalion''s top healer.

    "My father will likely be out of the fight for the next two days at least, more if my mother ever finds out how perilous the situation really was." He whispered the second half but Frost who heard it couldn''t help but imagine Cassandra''s fury. He subconsciously nodded his head in agreement.

    "Right now we need to reach the nextpse in the waves, once we can rest and reassess the overall situation I''ll be able to properly assign you and Kiba your roles in this war, but I''ll be honest Frost senpai, we don''t have the luxury to not use you for all you''ve got." Leo turned back to Frost and spoke with a guilty look.

    Frost smiled wildly in response. "No problem, Kiba and I are here to fight, the more you can give us the better. I still need to get ustomed to my entry into B-rank while Kiba is in his prime growth phase, the more experience he gains now the greater his future potential will be." Frost knocked his fist against his chest showing his reliability while Kiba chuffed and pumped out his chest.

    "Haaaaaaaa really thank you both." Leo sighed and shook his head before smiling.

    "For now I''ll be in themand centre taking on my father''s role while he recovers, why don''t you head up to the Northern wall. If the next break isn''ting soon Hamon could surely use you in the vanguard or even as part of the magic corps, has your magic capabilities expanded since we stormed my uncle''s mansion?"

    Frost scoffed before replying "Yeah I''ve improved since then, no more two spells under my belt. I''m not at the B-rank level in that regard but I''d have no problemunching 2nd and 3rd circle ice spells if that''s where you need me." Frost though not as advanced in terms of his magicpared to his ive and chakra was still a force to be reckoned with.

    "Good we really need someone who can slot into any role. Don''t say I didn''t warn you Frost senpai. By the time this is over you''ll be sleeping for a week straight good luck." Leo chuckled before standing straight and emitting the aura of a noble giving out his orders.

    "Understoodmander." Frost responded simr to how Finy to did towards him, with a military salute.

    Frost then turned around and hopped on Kiba''s back before remembering what he brought in his spatial rings.

    "Ahhh before I head off I brought a bunch of things that should help with the war effort and I''m sure the noble Furano family will give me a fair price for them." Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear as he removed a couple spatial rings that were filled with goodies he prepared before he left.

    Leo took the spatial rings and quickly inspected their contents causing his eyes to open wide and for him to look at Frost in disbelief.

    The two spatial rings were packed to the brim with low level health and mana potions, arrows both iron and steel headed, raw iron ore and monster materials that were cleaned and ready to be utilised in forging.

    "I''ve got another ring filled with high quality monster parts but you''re probably not in dire need of those right now." Frost gestured to another spatial ring that contained a portion of the cleaned up materials from the high ranking monsters that died in his dungeon.

    These parts would him a very healthy yield of gold coins but that would likely have to wait till after the stampede was dealt with.

    Leo''s upper lips twitched, and his jaw was agape as he struggled to process the information.

    "¡­..Thank you Frost senpai, I give you my word that our family will greatly reimburse you for these much needed materials." Eventually Leo clenched his fists around the spatial rings and revealed a determined look in his eyes.

    ''With these items we''ll surely being able tost until the fourth day, Hamon won''t be as restricted in his use of volleys and the injured will be able to get back into the fight.'' Frost truly was a godsend for their viscounty.

    "Charlotte please take these spatial rings to my mother and tell her to make a note of the items so we can reimburse our good friend once this war is over." Leo called to one of themand centre''s aids before handing her the two spatial rings.

    Leo then turned to Frost once more.

    "Anything else you might have forgotten to mention?" He asked with bright eyes and rxed shoulders, a significant weight seemed to be lifted from his body thanks to Frost''s generous gift.

 Chapter 452: Chapter 452: 4 Days (3)

    Frost didn''t have anything else with him item wise, but he did tell Leo an abridged version of his encounter with Valend the frost giant, which caused another frown to appear on his face.

    Frost giants weren''t unheard of in the monster stampedes, but they were certainly a rarity and never encountered near beginning of thete stages. s this wasn''t any old stampede, the current six B-ranks beyond the northern wall was evidence of that.

    Leo took in this new information with a sigh before Frost and Kiba took flight to the northern wall following the young noble''s orders.

    Frostnded near Hamon who was still exuding his aura in a threatening manner and staring down the seething rindars, taunting them to make a move.

    "Colonel" Frost spoke while dismounting Kiba.

    "Oh Leo finish telling you what''s what and putting you to work already." Hamon smiled wildly as heard Frost''s voice and noticed that the eldest rindar''s gaze was no longer on him.

    ''Looks like I''m no longer the most hated.'' Hamon internally mocked but also analysed the dangers of such a situation. Frost''s level of strength made him vulnerable to the attacks of the rindars far more than himself who previously held the focus of the enemymander.

    A young up anding adventurer who was not only highly skilled and brave but was close friends with the Viscount and his family, nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

    He eyed the eldest rindar with no small amount of trepidation,rge doses of fury can make someone act illogically regardless of their intelligence.

    "Yeah he said that we needed to survive for another four days, at that point serious reinforcements will arrive." Frost nodded his head before turning to face the gaze that threatened to burn a hole in his cheek.

    ''For someone with an extra two arms he''s being awful petty about losing just one.'' Frost smirked towards the eldest rindar, fully taunting him before turning back to Hamon.

    "I handed over some supplies as well so hopefully that will make our jobs easier until then."

    "Much appreciated Frost, I''ll make sure to put them to good use." Hamon gave a strong nod and thanked him.

    "ording to Bastion and Ryuu you''re someone with martial skills, chakra as well as ice magic correct?" Hamon ced his hand under his chin and rubbed it while in thought, a habit he had developed.

    "Correct though my magic is slightly weaker than my ive mastery and chakra control I''ve got no issue casting 2nd circle spells and even a few 3rd circles. Do you need me to reinforce the magic corps?" Personally he wanted to re-join the frontlines, using his ive and chakra to cut down swaths of D and C-rank enemies for their glorious DP and stabilise his advanced mastery.

    But this was a war situation, he was one but many high level fighters and needed to go where he was required if they were to have any chance of surviving this siege. This was not a one man show.

    "Hmmm that would be for the best right now.

    Our vanguard fighters are strong enough and plentiful enough to handle the current situation, putting you in right now would be a waste of your stamina and our resources plus there''s a very big target on your back right now, best not to further aggravate the enemy when we don''t have to." Hamon agreed with Frost, the magic crops was in dire need of fresh blood.

    "Understood Colonel, what of Kiba?" Frost performed a military salute before gesturing towards Kiba and rubbing his head with affection.

    Hamon''s eyes narrowed as he looked at Kiba, at his wings in particr before smiling mischievously.

    "Oh I think I can find something for him to do as long he''s ok taking order from someone who isn''t his master."

    Kiba and Frost looked towards one another, exchanging their thoughts through their soul bond.

    "He says he''s fine with that, you''re strong and he respects you, so he''ll follow your orders to a tee." Frost answered verbally while Kiba chuffed and disyed his sharp fangs, eager to enter the fray.

    "Perfect then it''s settled, until the next break in the wave I''ll have you join the magic corps alongside Ryuu and Major Jessie while Kiba here will be under my directmand, I''ll be putting those wings of yours to good use little tiger hehehehe." Hamonughed eerily but Kiba failed to notice the strangeness hearing only the fact that he''d get to use his wings.

    Frost however did and shook his head in response before saluting Hamon once again and heading towards the magic corps that was set up across several towering tforms behind the northern wall. He could already see Ryuu staring his way with a bright smile on his face causing Frost to natural smile in response, his heart warming at seeing another friendly face.

    "Wee to the special rxation destination that is Furano, a period that crops up only every few years but attracts nearly all adventurers in the vicinity and you''re in luck this year seems to be far more popr and rxing than normal, hopefully you enjoy your stay here." Ryuu instantly joked about the situation causing the other B-rank mage, Major jessie to let out a restrainedugh before she elbowed him in the side for distracting her and lying so naturally.

    Frost shook his head and chuckled in response, finding the joke quite well timed. He then looked at Ryuu''s face.

    "You look like shit Ryuu." He answered honestly. Ryuu currently had a serious case of bloodshot and unfocused eyes, a symptom of mana exhaustion. His body also looked as though it was struggling to maintain his bnce as though he could keel over at any second.

    "Haaaaaaa if I was a woman I doubt you''d be so brutally honest." Ryuu sighed but didn''t reject the statement he''d certainly seen better days; he was already at his limit before the desperate situation with Dous but now he was beyond that point and suffering the painful consequences.

    Hamon realised this would be the case that''s why he needed Frost to rece the heavy hitter that was Ryuu, allowing him to get some much needed rest and avoid permanent damage, something they couldn''t afford.

    Frost moved in close and ce his hands on Ryuu''s shoulders, gripping them tight.

    "You can take a break now old man you''ve earned it." Ryuu''s eyes shook before he let out a sigh, the memory of their first meeting shing before his eyes.

    At that point he aggressively pressured Frost with his aura trying to make him fall to his knees as he believed he was an enemy that sought to harm his daughter. Only a few months had passed since then yet now Frost stood before him on equal grounds, his aura fully realised, a proper B-rank fighter. The young will always surpass the old, Frost was a clear basis for that statement.

    "Just so you know your regr [ice bolt spell] won''t cut it here you need to at least know and be able to cast 2nd circle spells repeatedly such as [blizzard], [ice ball] or [icence]. Only they will be strong enough to have some impact." To be honest an ice user really wasn''t much good here given the type of enemies so even 2nd circle spells of that element would have minor affects at best.

    Frost''s smile slowly stretched from ear to ear making him look cocky before his eyes glinted and he began casting a spell he purchased a couple days ago.

    "[Ice burn like mes and freeze thine enemy in an explosion of cold fire, freezing fire ball]" Frost summoned his mana and generated aplicated magic crest before him that summoned an azure ball of fire simr to the one Ryuu utilised earlier except it was cold instead of hot.

    The ball of high mortal ranked cold mes fired off in a parab over the northern wall before crashing down into a group of ice trolls.

    Boooooommmm!

    With an explosion of freezing fire the ice trolls were blown outward, their chests covered in chilling burns that sapped their physical strength and sent jolts of pain throughout their bodies with every breath. Two ice trolls had been significantly wounded from this single 3rd circle spell a fact that drew the attention of the rindars and other B-rank monsters.

    No one as of yet had used cold me spells meaning Furano had received new reinforcements.

    "Well will this work? I''ve also got some regr 3rd circle ice spells that can serve as crowd control instead of straight up damage dealers." Frost looked on at the shocked expressions of Ryuu, Jessie as well as the other members of the magic corps.

    Cold me magic was a very specialised ss that only a select few could utilise, Frost was one of those few.

    Ryuu''s lips twitched as he felt his decades of magic training was nothing but a joke in front of Frost this endlessly talented brat. But in the end he was his friend and could only feely happy about his improvements.

    "Yeah that''ll work right Jess?" He asked his current colleague and vice leader of the magic corps.

    "Certainly you''ll make a fine addition to the magic corps so keep firing, Ryuu''s not the only one who could use a good break hehehehe." Jessie replied with sparkling eyes and chuckled as a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Her physical state being not much better than Ryuu''s.

    Frost nodded his head and took up position on the tform before casting his [freezing fire ball] once again as requested.

 Chapter 453: Chapter 453: Break in the onslaught

    With Frost reinforcing the magic corps, taking on an aggressive approach, new life incorporated their spells as they drove back the endless horde with balls of fire, wind, ice and so much more.

    Hamon smiled with glee and no small amount of mocking as the rain of magic filtered overhead into the heart of the monster stampede, blowing apart and pushing back the monster riddled frontlines.

    A plentiful volley of arrows arrived on the back of those spells thanks to the supplies brought by Frost.

    "Oraaagggghhh push them back!" Bastion who was still on the frontlines alongside the two majors and the elite troops roared out in support as the magic and arrow fire softened up their enemies. His teammates roared out in response before attacking with newfound strength, emboldened by the magic and ranged corps.

    Hamon''s smile stretched from ear to ear as he watched the faces of the three rindar''s warp in fury as they witnessed their forces being forcibly pushed back.

    "Fuck! Brother we need to sound the retreat, the lesser monsters will only be annihted at this rate." The second rindar the one that seemed to be the most calm and collected at the moment shouted towards his elder brother who despite missing an arm was still the most capable among them.

    The sounds of the eldest rindar''s teeth grinding against one another could be heard as his eyes spat out mes.

    ''Damn bastards!''

    Crunch!

    One of his teeth cracked from the pressure and drops of blood flowed down his jaw and neck but the pain brought rity to his mind.

    Though he couldn''t bring himself to say the words himself he nodded his head to his second brother who nodded back before calling out for a full scale retreat.

    A couple trolls and other more dexterous monsters started to beat down on what appeared to be make shift drums.

    The loud booms alerted the maddened monsters. Their ears perked up at the sound before the redness in their eyes diminished and they backed off from their opponents.

    These makeshift drums were nothing special but each of them had the aura of the B-rank monsters attached to them and were beat at a certain tempo so as to be easily recognised despite the mad din of the battlefield.

    Hamon watched on with a focused stare as the attacking monsters swiftly fell back from the frontlines and the northern wall, retreating back to the Northrend forest.

    The three rindars were thest to leave, ring daggers at Hamon before turning around and joining the horde.

    The horde would rest and replenish its forces within the Northrend forest. Out of reach of Furano''s artillery, spells, archers and even surprise charges of the frost wolf battalion''s namesake cavalry.

    "All soldiers prepare to rest, head to the medical centre if you''re injured or in need of potions, the smithing station if your weapons and armour need repairs and or reced.

    Clean up crews and their protective detail front and centre there''s a lot of corpses that need dealt with; this great northern wall is nothing but a simple step thanks to the staircase made of flesh." A minute or so after the rindars retreated behind the treeline Hamon gave out his orders before silently letting out a sigh of relief.

    ''Finally some much needed rest.'' His heavy gaze then analysed the state of his elite troops and of those on the wall, noting their injuries and the trembling of their limbs.

    ''Four more days is a very tall ask.'' People had their limitations, will and potions could only take you so far and Hamon wasn''t confident that they had enough tost the entire stretch.

    However he didn''t let his feelings on the matter show on his face, keeping a stern and unyielding expression that exuded strength and reliability, an expression fit for amander.

    "I''m guessing this is the break he spoke about." Frost lowered his hands and cancelled his partly created magic circle without even a trickle of sweat on his face. He didn''t even have enough to time for a good warm up.

    "Yes, we should be able to rest for a spell before engaging in another onught." Ryuu who had already stopped his magic when Frost arrived replied with a contorted smile and narrowed eyes. He had a simr line of thinking to Hamon, fearing that making it another four days was¡­.difficult.

    "Ryuu I''ll take everyone down and see to their conditions you handle the report and dealing with the newbie." Jessie ordered before ushering the rest of the magic corps down from the tform, wasting none of the time they had been granted.

    Ryuu couldn''t even argue as Jessie was already descending the stairs. He sighed before standing up from his seat.

    "You injured or in need of any supplies?" He asked Frost.

    "No I''m good."

    "Haaaaa the benefits of youth." Ryuu sighed and shook his head before making his way towards Hamon.

    "Come with me then. Since you''ve joined us you''ll need to follow military protocols. Given your strength you''ll be granted a position simr to a Major thus while you''re with the magic corps I''ll be assigning you the role of a vice leader, simr to that of Jessie but of course her orders will take priority."

    "Understood." Frost nodded his head in understanding, fully aware that he''d be bound by Hamon and Dous'' orders while protecting Furano.

    ''Vice leader huh, has a nice ring to it.'' He smiled as he thought of his new title.

    A few minutester all themanding officers -bar two who were assigned to keep watch over the clean-up teams and the forest- were within themand centre. Some were seated whereas some were standing.

    Predominantly the older and more experienced were the seated while the younger stood. Whether this was a respect thing or because of nerves was unclear but it was certainly a contrast that didn''t go unnoticed by Frost. By the way he was seated with Kiba lying by his side like they owned the ce.

    "Alright that''s everyone, Dous you doing alright? You up for this?" Hamon called the meeting into session before looking towards the medical bed set up at the back.

    "I''ve been better, but I can still listen in, Leo however will serve in my ce." Dous who was leaning against the bed rest with a fair number of pillows spoke out with difficulty. The top healer of the frost wolf battalion was still hard at work repairing the extensive damage that required a slow process to ensure full functionality.

    "Gilianna what''s the prognosis, will he be up and ready to fight anytime soon."

    "Don''t worry Colonel with my deft touch I should have him healed within another 12 hours and back to full fighting force in 24." Gilianna gave a guts pose as a wide smile adorned her slightly wrinkled face. She was the oldest member of the frost wolf battalion and had been a veteran of war before Hamon had even joined the military.

    Though her rank was but Captain no one in the battalion dared to looked down on her.

    Hamon let himself smile upon hearing Gilianna''s positive response; this was good news. His smile spread amongst the othermanding officers who were also on edge about Dous''s state.

    "Alright then first off I''ll officially state that reinforcements from the capital are due to arrive in four days however this does not mean we can put all our eggs in one basket.

    Many things can happen on the long journey from the capital and the situation here is ever changing, we will not fight hoping to rely on these reinforcements but fight to end this war ourselves is that understood." Hamon suffused his aura within his voice, forcing everyone to absorb his words in their hearts.

    "Obviously"

    "Of course Colonel."

    "No question." The older members of the group scoffed before replying back, they knew what they should and should not be doing in this war.

    "A..a¡­as you say Colonel."

    "U..understood."

    "Roger." The younger members stuttered slightly, pressured by Hamon''s aura as well as the daunting prospect of facing this ever growing horde without reinforcements.

    Frost however responded calmly fully expecting to hear such orders. His attitude got him a few looks from the other officers, some positive, some negative whereas others were simply curious towards this new youngster.

    "Second and I''m sure some of you have already noticed we have a new ally joining us, Frost care to introduce yourself." Hamon took this opportunity to introduce Frost to the rest of the battalion and the adventurers aiding them.

    Some of which however already knew him or had at least heard of him or saw him in action alongside Hamon.

    Bagua the C-rank adventurer who was the leader of the adventurer allies involved in Leo''s operation ''new dawn'' was among those that recognised Frost. He smiled and waved his hand, happy to see another friendly face.

    Two others from that night were also here but only Bagua was strong enough to have the right to enter themand centre.

    Frost smiled and nodded to him before standing up, ready to introduce himself. All eyes thus turned towards the young dungeon core, each with their own individual thoughts. Frost''s lips twitched as he suddenly felt a little nervous.

 Chapter 454: Chapter 454: Stegadon steak

    With all eyes focused on Frost he audibly coughed before briefly introducing himself.

    "My name''s Frost, a simple E-rank adventurer who came to help out my friends and this here is Kiba my battle mount, nice to meet you all." Frost smiled and rubbed Kiba''s head after giving a very brief introduction.

    "Hahahahaha owowowowow don''t make meugh it hurts my wounds." Dous couldn''t help butugh when Frost referred to himself as a simple E-rank adventurer.

    Frost''s words also caused a great deal of confusion among the officers present. E-rank was nothing to them, but he had a young cial winged tiger as his battle mount. Kiba was a C-rank monster why would he follow some E-rank nobody.

    Those in the know struggled to stifle theirughter before Hamon coughed drawing everyone''s attention back to him.

    "Hit hum, don''t be fooled by his words or baby face, Frost here although technically E-rank his battle capability is B-rank and he''s a multiskilled adventurer adept not only in ive arts, chakra but also magic.

    The ice fire spells you saw crashing into the horde were his doing." Hamon quickly corrected their misunderstandings causing many of those present to stare at Frost in awe with their jaws agape.

    Many of the younger officers showed clear jealously in their eyes whereas others scoffed unable to believe Hamon''s words.

    Frost''s eyes drifted to Hamon who gave a light nod.

    Whoosh!

    Frost released his aura, it was cold and heavy and pressured everyone in the room, causing the naysayers to choke on the words they were about to spew. Aura fully manifested a clear statement of one''s B-rank status.

    Frost retrieved his aura a momentter before sitting back down, he was done with his introduction and showing off.

    The people now knew who he was and what he was capable of, so it was time to move on. The addition of another B-rank however was a wee sight, relieving many of the officers of some of their burden.

    "Alright now that your all acquainted and know the situation everyone report the state of your squads and gripe all yourints, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can all rest before the next onught begins." The younger officers shivered while the older ones grunted and frowned knowing all full well how precious this time of rest was.

    Over the next 30 minutes or all the officers reported their situations and Hamon strategized the battleyout for the next wave before sending everyone off to quickly revitalise, himself included.

    Themand centre had more than just the bed Dous was lying on; the higher ranking officers would take their naps here so as to be ready at the drop of a hat.

    Frost left with Leo who finally tore himself away from his father''s side leaving him in Gilianna''s capable hands.

    "Let''s go get some food before visiting my mother." Leo flinched the moment he said that, dreading the conversation. He thought it only proper to rope in Frost given that he was his senpai, friend and the one who saved his father.

    "Where''s Luna?" Frost found it odd that she wasn''t by his side aiding him in his endeavours or shadowing the magic corps to learn what she could.

    "Luna''s even busier than I am at the moment. While I''ve needed to supervise the situation with the clean up crews and now themand centre she''s been dashing to and fro between the different departments lending her aid wherever she can.

    Basically she''s been acting as my mother''s hands while she remains away from the northern wall." Leo sighed heavily as he imagined that his mother was grooming Luna into another version of her.

    "I see, perhaps we''ll run into her on the way while we move." Frost smiled and his eyes glinted looking forward to seeing the visage of another one of his dearest friends. Leo looked a lot more mature and seasoned than thest time they met thanks to the monster stampede, so he wondered how it affected the young woman.

    "That would be nice, I myself haven''t seen her since thete stages began, kind of miss her actually." Leo suddenly sported a mncholy expression as Luna''s cute face floated in his mind.

    A couple minutester Frost and Leo found themselves in an impromptu food court set up for all the soldiers, adventurers and civilian volunteers.

    The loud nging of cooking utensils and the roaring of mes reverberated in the area. Dozens of chefs could be seen working without rest, preparing dish after dish using the many ingredients constantly supplied to them by the clean up crew.

    "The food here is free for those taking part in the city''s defence and is based upon one''s role and abilities. The upper ranked chefs serve those that require more nutritious meals i.e.

    C and B-rank fighters but as long as there''s materials and you''re willing to pay you can go to these chefs even if you''ve only got E-rank strength such as myself hehehehe." Leo licked his lips with desire as he smelled the delicacies being prepared here.

    The chefs working right now were not just working another shift in their restaurants no they were putting in their best efforts to provide the best meals possible to the hard working folk who were defending their town.

    This food court also providedpetition between the chefs, challenging one another to see who could get more customers for their dishes. Many chefs could gain recognition here with their meals, advancing their careers. It wasn''t just adventurers and soldiers that stood to gain from this war.

    Leo brought Frost to the highest ranked stalls reserved for those with upper C-rank strength and above.

    Ryuu, Jessie as well as a few of the officers Frost saw in themand tent and or on the battlefield were already either in the queue or sitting down with their piping hot food. Excitement could be seen on all their faces; this was one of the few things they could be allowed to look forward to during this war.

    When it was Frost and Leo''s turn for food they were met with a gruff looking man with bronze skin and a natural aroma of spices revealing the time he spent in the kitchen.

    He eyed up Leo before looking at Frost.

    "You must be the new B-rank hero who swooped in to save the Viscount, Frost was it?" The man asked with a smile.

    "Yeah that''s right."

    "Good job I''ll give you my very best dish sir." The chef lightly bowed his head to Frost before thumping his chest. He then looked towards Leo

    "Leo you can have it too, but it''ll cost ya."

    "Urgh! Fine charge away not as though I''ve got anything else to spend my pay on." Leo given that he was active during the early and mid-stages and even served as a supervisor and interimmander during thete stages obviously received payment for his efforts, most of which was spent on these higher ranked meals.

    "Alight, your meals will be with you shortly I''ll holler your name once their done." The chef gave Frost and Leo a token before having a subordinate rece him at the counter.

    Ryuu and Jessie who had just gotten their dishes waved to the two of them before patting their table asking them to join them.

    "I see you''re spending your money as soon as you get it again." Ryuu poked fun at Leo whose lips twitched in response before grunting.

    "It''s not my fault the food''s so addictive and spending money on good food is never a waste."

    "True that little Leo, food is heart and soul." Jessie spoke animatedly in support of Leo''s actions before she scooped up a spoonful of stew filled with the meat of a high ranking C-rank monster. Her careless slurping caused specks of gravy tond on her cheeks.

    "Haaaaaa what are you a little kid." Ryuu instinctively whipped out a handkerchief and wiped away the droplets not realising the intimate nature of his actions.

    Jessie blushed before smiling and allowing Ryuu to wipe her cheeks.

    ''Hoh'' Frost''s eyes opened up in wonder before he elbowed Leo in the side and nodded his head, asking him to exin the situation here.

    Leo leaned over and whispered in to his ears so Ryuu wouldn''t here.

    "We don''t think he realises his feelings yet but it''s clear that he''s quite fond of miss Jessie and she''s seems open to it. We''re all watching with bated breaths wondering where this will actually lead.

    You have to know Ryuu hasn''t been with anyone since his wife, even something subtle like this is enough to arouse all our interests." By ''our'' he meant his family, Bastion and his family, those who worked with Ryuu as well as Luna who at first was against her father dating again but after over a decade she was all for it.

    "I see." Frost smiled from ear to ear as he watched the two mages interact intimately without even fully realising it. And following the actions of Leo and the rest he kept his mouth shut about it, letting things go their natural course.

    Several minutester Leo got up to get the meals after they had been called and returned with two prime steaks cooked to absolute perfection. A heavy dose of mana remained within these steaks revealing the skills of the one who prepared them.

    "Chef Burusaa really did go all out, he used the flesh from a B-rank stegadon" Leo licked his lips as he carried the two heavy trays, his eyes glued to sizzling meat.

    Stegadons: A giant horned dinosaur with a nearly impervious hide that is wrapped in tough scales. A brutal beast that wreaks carnage wherever it roams, crushing ground, flora and even fauna if it so happens to be under its foot.

    "Colonel Hamon and two majors worked together to swiftly take this thing down a couple days ago, can''t believe we get to eat this precious meat."

 Chapter 455: Chapter 455: Skin and bones

    Leo wiped away his drool, protecting the precious steaks. Colonel Hamon and two other majors took it upon themselves to y the owner of these steaks a couple days ago.

    It was the first B-rank monster to arrive at their doors and one they couldn''t allow to run rampant. Stegadons had a well known nickname amongst the kingdoms. Wall breakers.

    Their reinforced hides allowed them to weather all manner of attacks without losing the slightest bit of momentum as they charged forth. Armed with mighty horns that made steel look like scrap metal they would smash head first into any obstacle, turning walls into mere fragments of rock and plumes of dust.

    Hamon really couldn''t allow such a thing to get a running start so with his two majors who were adept in dealing with such foes they descended before it and used their full power to swiftly put an end to this dreaded foe before its powerful allies arrived.

    Thankfully they were quick enough, culling the beast before it could reach the mighty northern wall and before the rindars and other B-rank monsters showed themselves.

    Hamon himself lifted and carried the giant corpse over the northern wall, personally delivering it to the highly trained chefs such as Burusaa and generating a positive boost in moral as he did.

    Now Leo and Frost were lucky enough to partake in such a delicacy, Leo didn''t even care about the multiple gold coins he was deprived of.

    "This''ll probably be one of the best dishes I''ve ever had the chance to eat. Chef Burusaa is one of the greatest chefs in the territory equal to uncle Vos perhaps even slightly better." Leo wiped another dollop of drool from his lips as the tantalising smell assailed his nostrils.

    Frost''s eyes lit up as he looked at the generous helping of prime steak lying before him, anticipation thumping away in his heart. He had only tasted one other B-ranked dish, the azure spark quail prepared by Maya, so he held a lot of expectations for this dish.

    Ryuu and Jessie looked on in silence, adding to grandeur of the dishes, smiling gently before focusing on their own meals that were also high ranked and delicious.

    Frost cut into his steak and found that it parted easily, tender being an understatement. Sulent pink flesh and a strong aroma of meat flowed out from the cut causing Frost to drool in anticipation.

    With grace he ced a small cube of steak in his mouth and began chewing. Bursts of vour assaulted his tongue with every decent of his teeth, the thick steak almost melted after a few chews, saturating his tastebuds with umami before a powerful explosion of hidden mana burst forth granting a second kick of vour and a resurgence in his stamina.

    Gulp

    Frost swallowed the former cube of steak, feeling it slowly pass down his throat and into his stomach, releasing bursts of vour and mana as it did. Water umted at the edges of his eyes and wide smile stretching from ear to ear adorned his face, as he wore an expression of bliss.

    This meal was certainlyparable to the azure spark quail he delighted in even surpassing it in some ways. Burusaa was definitely a very skilled chef.

    "Now that''s a very innocent expression, I''m guessing the steak''s to your liking." Ryuu asked with a slight chuckle, feeling revitalised at seeing such an innocent expression on his young friend. Being able to truly enjoy the glory that was good food while a desperate war was ongoing was something few could do.

    Ryuu wasn''t the only one watching. Frost''s expression was caught by many who on seeing it felt that their current situation wasn''t quite so harsh, their own meals tasting a little bit better with their following bites.

    Frost wasted no time, quickly cutting up cube after cube of the high quality steak, swiftly cleaning his te. Leo was much the same, leaving not a single speck of food on the ceramic te.

    Leo leaned back with a blissful expression on his face, feeling all his troubles washing away and the stress brought on by his father''s near fatal incident and the uing talk with his mother dwindle into puffs of smoke.

    Alongside this weightlessness, power hummed within his muscles, making him feel as though he could hand wrestle a frost drake ande out victorious. The mana within the dish also flowed through him, subtly improving his body slightly, he''d likely be able to reach D-rank strength soon.

    Frost silently enjoyed thest tendrils of vour before pushing his te away and clenching his fists causing them to loudly crack. He felt the desire to throw himself into the thick of battle, contending against the mighty B-rank monsters with his ive in hand. This meal perfectly prepared him for the uing onught.

    ''Shame Kiba''s not here to partake in this feast.'' Frost felt it was a shame Kiba couldn''t enjoy a round of stegadon steak alongside them.

    Hamon had kept the young, winged tiger in themand centre toy out his future role in the war. Kiba was not the strongest here on the battlefield, but few could match his speed nor had his ability to fly swiftly through the air. Hamon nned to use Kiba as a fast acting response unit, swiftly flying in to retrieve wounded and or lend aid to weakening groups of warriors.

    A role he asionally filled but could no longer do given his title ofmander and his focus needing to be solely directed on the movements of the rindars and other B-rank monsters that were sure to follow.

    Once the blissful feeling had passed Leo stood up from his chair stretched out his back until he heard popping sounds.

    "Let''s go and see my mother." He then looked at Frost with a gentle smile and determination in his eyes. He was now ready to deal with his mother''s reactions.

    Frost let out a breath before standing.

    "Sounds good, I''d like to see Cassandra again." Frost enjoyed seeing the faces of his friends, it warmed his heart.

    Ryuu''s eyes opened wide when he heard their destination.

    "Are you going to tell her about Dous?" He asked nervously worried about their answer.

    "Yes, best she hears about it from me before catching wind of it from whispers among the popce." Dous''s situation wasn''t exactly well hidden, many soldiers witnessed him being attacked by the three rindars and the state of his body as he was carried to safety by Kiba. Wagging tongues were hard to stop especially when people were on edge and desperate for any sort of news.

    If Leo didn''t tell his mother she''d likely hear from the whispers that her husband who had recently recovered from serious illness was struck down and ced in critical condition with no news of how he was faring. Though his mother didn''t show it she was a very emotional person who cared deeply about her loved ones.

    She''d gone through enough pain over the past two years, he couldn''t allow her to suffer another blow to her heart regardless of how difficult a conversation it may be.

    "Haaaaaa true Cass would likely not react well if she heard such news on the wind. Go and tell her everything, don''t let her worry more than she already is." Ryuu sighed before replying, he then looked towards Frost.

    ''Having him there should make it easier on Cass.'' Frost had a natural calming atmosphere and could easily distract her by talking about the two kids under his care.

    "Once you''re done talking to Cass quickly return to themand centre, you''re the only B-rank here in peak condition, Hamon will surely use that in earnest. You''re going to have to fight for longer, harder and in more sectors than any of us, that''s why Burusaa gave you the stegadon steak. You''re going to need the energy it provides." Ryuu smiled mischievously d that he was actually old for once.

    The hardbour would be left to the young who could bounce back into shape after a couple hours rest.

    "Understood corps leader." Frost performed a military salute to Ryuu and showed a maddened smile, fully eager to be put to work.

    He and Leo then left the food court and made their way to the government buildings in the central zone. Cassandra had set up shop here since it was closer to all sectors including the battlefront, precious time would be lost if everyone had to travel to the manor after all.

    This ce seemed even more boisterous and busy than the northern wall. Civilians in all manner of trades as well as soldiers could be seen bustling to and fro working at 110% to manage the background facilities happening out with the battlefield.

    Managing the grand popce of Furano, handling the material transitions between the differing trades i.e. smiths, weavers, leatherworkers, chefs etc, taking stock of their rapidly dwindling supplies and of course serving as a contact point for heads of each sectors and their lifeline to the capital city of Arkheart.

    Cassandra sat at the head of arge table covered in thick stacks of documents that threatened topletely obscure her from view. Rapidly developing wrinkles could be seen forming on her fair brow and around her exhausted eyes as she listened to oral reports from those in the room.

    She was under no less workload than her husband and Colonel Hamon, perhaps even more so given theplexity and wide spanning of her duties.

    Thankfully she had able aides at her side, Calder the heir to the merchant guild and Luna were there assisting her in her endeavours.

    Frost and Leo quickly found themselves ushered into the room that was filled with a deep sense of foreboding pressure. Leo felt a headache starting the moment he saw all the paperwork.

    Cassandra moved a couple stacks of documents so she could get a good look at her only son, a bright glint revealed in her eyes as she took in his visage.

    "Haaaaa you''re practically skin and bones Leo dear, are you remembering to eat?"

 Chapter 456: Chapter 456: Daft old sod!

    "Haaaaa you''re practically skin and bones Leo dear, are you remembering to eat?" Cassandra asked her son with no small amount of concern. She got up off her seat and walked up to Leo, grabbing his face with her hands and feeling his cheeks.

    "So skinny." Sheined with a frown.

    ''What the hell is she talking about where on Nova is he skinny.'' Frost who was beside Leo questioned in bafflement. He and Leo just finished a B-rank steak and if anything Leo had packed on the pounds since thest time they met -all muscle of course.

    One thing was for sure Leo definitely wasn''t forgetting to eat, but mothers always seems to think their children needed more food in their bellies, a form of love.

    "Haaaaaa I''m fine mom, Frost and I actually just finished eating one of chef Burusaa''s best dishes." Leo sighed before gently removing his mother''s hands from his face, smiling as he did, feeling the love his mother had for him.

    He then turned to Luna who behind her exhausted expression looked at him with just as much care, she too had missed him.

    Cassandra finally noticing Frost by her son''s side smiled from ear to ear before sweeping him up in a strong hug, catching Frost by surprise.

    "It''s been too long Frost, it''s good to see that handsome face of yours. Have you been eating well? How''s Maya and the kids?" She treated Frost simr to that of Leo, causing his heart to warm.

    After some hugs and small chit chat Leo put on a serious expression and began revealing his reason foring.

    "Mom there''s something you should know about before you hear any rumours among the popce." His sudden change in demeanour caused Cassandra''s heart to lurch and her fists to clench. She frowned with worry before gesturing for Leo toy it on her.

    "A couple hours ago father was injured in battle and his condition was quite serious." Cassandra''s heart stopped and her eyes shook, thankfully she was sitting down otherwise she may have copsed as her legs turned to jelly. Luna reached to her side, wrapping her hands around Cassandra''s so as tofort her though she was also quite shocked by the news.

    Dous was a B-rank fighter and usually highly guarded given his title of Viscount. Hamon couldn''t afford anything happening to the heart and soul of the territory.

    "He was ambushed by the three rindars and put in critical condition but thankfully Frost and Kiba arrived just in time to stop the worst from happening." Leo put his hand on Frost''s shoulder directing their focus to him.

    "Frost and Kiba forced back the eldest rindar long enough for Hamon to arrive and Kiba to get father to safety. His situation was still critical, and many saw his wounded body, but I summoned Gilianna the moment Kiba arrived with him in themand centre. She used all her ability to stave him from sumbing to his wounds." Cassandra let out a grieffilled gasp at his words.

    "It''s ok mother, father''s alright, there''s no chance of him dying and as long as Gilianna continues to work her magic she assumes father will be back on his feet within 24 hours.

    It was a dangerous situation but thanks to Frost, father will continue to be pain in your neck for the foreseeable future." Leo grasped his mother''s arms that were trembling, holding her with a strong grip hoping to reassure her.

    Cassandra was a sharp woman she understood from Leo''s words that this situation could have been far worse. If Frost didn''t arrive when he did Dous would have been brutally killed in a painful and intimidating fashion. The very thought and realisation of how close she came to losing her husband sent a terrifying shiver down her back.

    Only thanks to Leo''s strong grip and Luna''sforting rubbing did she manage to hold back her emotions.

    Her gaze drifted towards Frost who nodded his head in response, agreeing with Leo''s words. This gave her somefort.

    "I¡­.I¡­Is he awake right now?" She asked nervously, her lips quivering.

    "Yes mother he''s awake andining about the pain and itchiness but he''s bound to the medical bed until Gilianna finishes repairing his limbs." Leo smiled and sighed with relief upon hearing his mother''s question.

    "¡­..Good, good." Cassandra repeated the word ''good'' as her trembling started to ease and a gentle smile adorned her lips.

    "Thank you Frost, once again you have saved my husband. I don''t know how we''ll ever be able to repay such favour." Cassandra''s demeanour roughly changed to that of thedy Viscountess, bowing her head to Frost in thanks.

    "No need for that Cassandra, I''m sure Dous would have done the same in my shoes, there''s no need for favour among friends." Frost smiled warmly epting Cassandra thanks but rejecting the need for repayment.

    "Haaaaaa shame I''m taken otherwise I would have offered myself as payment." Cassandra sighed and spoke in a joking tone that caused Frost, Leo and Luna''s lips to twitch.

    ''Guess she really is fine if she can joke like that.''

    "Alright if the old bastard is awake I''d best go and see him so I can give him an earful.

    Luna, Calder can you handle to workload while I''m gone, shouldn''t be more than an hour." Wiping her eyes from the build up of tears she regained her earlier demeanour and asked Luna and Calder to handle the paperwork while she left to lecture her husband about taking care of his life that has now been saved twice by the same person.

    "Urgh¡­.we''ll give it our best." Luna grunted before replying withcking confidence. The workload was already heavy enough with Cassandra spearheading the operation, without her even for ten minutes was a tall ask let alone an hour.

    "Go, go we''ll be fine." Calder who had remained in the room ushered Cassandra out knowing that she''d be useless if she remained here without personally checking in on Dous.

    "Great, Leo, Frost let''s go see that damnable husband of mine before he saunters off and puts himself in more danger." Cassandra promptly rose from her chair and moved towards the exit, her gung-ho attitude hiding her clenched fists.

    The three people thus made their way to themand centre. Cassandra walked with strong purpose, her worry transforming into anger on the way making those in her path swiftly move out the way.

    "Where is he!?" Eventually they arrived at themand centre with Leo sporting a somewhat guilty expression as Cassandra roared out.

    A muffled groan was let out in response from the medical bed at the back of themand centre along with some stifledughter from other areas. Of course it was Dous who groaned.

    Cassandra''s sharp ears heard her husband''s groan and her eyes narrowed in on his location, filled with fire, she was ready to tear his head off for cing himself in such danger at his age and with his role in this war.

    However the moment she noticed himying up against the bed, blood covering the sheets and clear signs of mangled flesh on his legs all her angry dissipated, reced with pain and upset.

    Her eyes reddened as she took quick steps towards her man.

    Boof!

    She crashed into him somewhat lightly, her head against his chest and her arms wound tightly around him as though to prevent him from running off.

    "Atititititti Cass it hurts, it hurts." Dous felt a wave of pain through his body, more than he could silently endure.

    Gilianna who was by his side shook her head and sighed before gently loosening Cassandra''s grip or rather showing her where she could hold with the least amount of pain.

    "Idiot! Dumbass! Senile old codger!" A torrent of insults swiftly followed from Cassandra''s mouth as her anger returned and she red up at Dous from his chest causing the viscount to visibly tremble and his heart lurch.

    His wife was crying despite her anger and loud voice, tears flowed down her fair cheeks and the hands that held onto him were shaking as though full of fear.

    "Haaaaaaa" Dous let out a deep sigh before hugging his wife, pulling her in close to his chest and caressing the back of her head.

    "I''m alright Cass, Gilianna and Frost made sure of that. I n to see you go grey haired and wrinkled so dry your eyes dear please." Dous always struggled to deal with his wife when she cried. She was normally so headstrong and collected.

    "Pffftt if you want that then stop running straight in the thick of danger you daft old sod!" Cassandra twisted one of Dous'' nipples in protest causing the man to squeal in sharp pain but he continued to hold his wife close allowing her to let out her emotions.

    Eventually the insults, curses and sneak attacks stopped, and Cassandra simply leaned against Dous''s chest, her ear pressed against his heart listening to it beat.

    Frost, Leo and the others who were in themand centre wisely left shortly after the insults began, taking their work outside and leaving the Viscount and Viscountess to sort out their issues.

 Chapter 457: Chapter 457: Momentum

    Cassandra didn''t stay long, no more than 20 minutes, but it was enough to time to calm her nerves and allow her to regain her natural imposing demeanour.

    She remined Leo and Frost to stay safe as well as ordered them to keep an eye on Dous, to make sure he doesn''t get out of bed before Gilianna gives the ok before returning to her duties.

    Once she left Leo took over themand centre in ce of his father and Hamon- who was now resting- and his first order was for Frost to immediately help out on the northern wall.

    They couldn''t have everyone simply vamoose from their stations and rest while there was apse in the waves. That was impractical and insanely dangerous. The waves could start up again at any moment, faster than they''d be able to reman their stations.

    Thus during the resting stages the reserves were on call, mainly made up the slightly weaker soldiers, adventurers and volunteers as well as a contingent of elites. Two majors and several captains, weaker than their usual line-up but still a force to be reckoned with.

    Given that Frost was still raring to go and full of pep Leo immediately put him to work. Frost guarded on top the wall with his eyes peeled for any signs of movement, eagerly awaiting the next battle.

    4 hourster there was rustling in the trees and quakes in the ground, the monsters were on the move once again.

    Baaaaadooooonn! Baaaadooooonn!

    In response a loud war horn was sounded on the northern wall alerting everyone in the town. Those who were resting rapidly opened their eyes before getting up and heading to the wall. To save time they all slept in their armour and with their weapons and equipment by their sides.

    Frost gripped his ive with tensed fists as a wild smile started to grow on his lips and anticipation filled his eyes. His heart started thumping loud and clear, his muscles quivering desperate to be let loose.

    Hamon, Bastion, Ryuu and the other majors swiftly arrived on top the wall and by Frost''s side with Bastion and Hamon cing a hand on his shoulders.

    "Rxd there''ll be plenty of fight to be had, they''re not going anywhere." Hamon chuckled finding Frost''s eagerness amusing.

    Frost turned to Hamon.

    "Colonel where am I stationed?" He asked desperate to jump into the thick of it.

    Hamon looked hard at Frost and his tensed fists before gazing out beyond the wall, running numerous calctions in his head.

    The first line of monsters rushed out of the trees during this time. Dozens of wolves and leopards, fast and aggressive beasts that could rapidly cross the gap to the northern wall. Following them where a contingent of hard hitters, D-rank armoured lizards. Beasts with thick scales perfect for enduring arrow fire.

    The monster lines had strict purpose, no longer was there mad bull rushing, tossing everything all at once.

    Hamon frowned as he saw this before looking towards Ryuu and Jessie.

    "Will you be alright without him?" He asked while the permanently assigned squads and theirmanders swiftly made their way onto the battlefield or onto the prepared battlements.

    Ryuu looked at Frost before a wide smile adorned his lips.

    "Sure let him blow off some steam first, he looks like he needs it hahahahahaha." Along with Ryuu many of the older soldiersughed out loud, only the young would act like this.

    Hamon''s gaze finally returned to Frost before he smirked.

    "Looks like you get your wish young Frost. Take the vanguard along with major Bullen, give them hell kid." Hamonughed and mmed his hand against Frost''s back before unleashing his aura, seeping his presence into every one of his soldiers and filling them with spirit.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Loud roars erupted from the soldiers as they ran straight towards the charging wolves and leopards, their weapons drawn and ready.

    Frost felt a shiver flow through his body, Hamon''s aura was so thick and heavy, the ultimate backing for allies and a pressuring existence for the enemy.

    With his wild smile that now stretched from ear to ear Frostughed as he released his restraints, fully diving into his battle lust mode.

    With a loud bang he kicked off the wall,unching himself towards the charging horde. Many elite soldiers and adventurers followed his lead, inspired by his tenacity and will to fight.

    Booooommmm!

    Frostnded hard generating plumes of dirt and dust around him before he twirled his ive, pumping it with energy.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" The instant hended Frostunched his most powerful skill. Green energy flowed from his body and into his ive before forming into a terrifying maw of a wyvern. It screeched letting its presence be known before with a mighty swing of Frost''s ive shot off into the rapidly approaching line of monsters.

    An unfortunate wolf was swiftly eaten as was part of a leopard before the giant maw crashed against an armoured lizard flipping it onto its back after taking a chunk from its supposedly durable scales. But three monsters was just a drop in the ocean. The rest continued unimpeded towards the northern wall.

    Frost with a maddened expression dashed forward with his ive cleaving apart whatever monsters entered his range. Blood and limbs flew out from his position making him look like a veritable flesh grinder.

    Emboldened by his actions the elites that followed him as well as major Bullen went all out, carving up swaths of monsters, preventing them from ever reaching the shadow of the northern wall. They wouldn''t let the monsters get hold of the momentum. Moral and the flow of battle yed a far more integral role in wars of this scale.

    An outnumbered force cane out victorious if their wills are of iron, unbreakable even under the most dire of circumstances.

    "Mage corps light them up!" Hamon nodded his head approvingly to Frost''s actions before calling up Ryuu and Jessie''s corps. This war had many parts not just the vanguard.

    A momentter a deluge of spells hammered down on the following lines of monsters, ying dozens almost instantly and forestalling their advance.

    The vanguard team roared out in victory before elerating their attacks.

    "Looks like we won the momentum first." Hamon muttered with a smile while his eyes focused on what stilly behind the trees, a nagging feeling somehow wrapping around his heart.

    The battle raged on, and monsters continued to charge out from the Northrend forest without end but Frost held his ground at the forefront. His wide and strong back leading the charge as his ive adorned in chilling mes cut down foe after foe as though he''d never tire.

    The younger soldiers and adventurers couldn''t help but asionally nce his way, their hearts encouraged. Frost though only being a recent arrival had already be a strong support for them.

    Major Bullen witnessed all of this with wide eyes.

    ''The kid''s got some real talent in leadership, even I feel the desire to follow him into battle.''

    It''d be weird if Frost didn''t have strong charisma, he was effectively both amander and a king. Beforeing to Furano he lead his monsters at the forefront in defence of his own territory so of course he picked up a few things.

    Corpses quickly littered the battlefield once again though thanks to the gung-ho attitude of Frost, the vanguard team as well as Hamon''s assisting orders few were piled up in front of the northern wall, no more staircase of flesh that made ess the to walled troops easy pickings.

    Hamon however no longer sported a smile but a pronounced frown.

    ''Something''s off, I can smell it.'' Hamon was quite confident in his instincts, instincts that had been grown through numerous battlefields. What started as just a nagging feeling around his heart -something that''s always there during a war- now whispered in his ear, warning him of extreme danger.

    He rapidly scanned the horizon, searching for certain entities.

    Two low level B-ranks had revealed themselves so far as well as the youngest rindar but the older two were nowhere to be seen, a strangeness that shouldn''t happen. Themander usually needs to be present and in the open so as to instil the greatest effect on both their allies and enemies.

    The whispers and sense of danger suddenly magnified.

    "Shit! Frost, Bullen pull back now!" Hamon roared out at the top of his lungs while at the same time empowering the many magic inscriptions drawn on his body.

    Frost and Bullen had pushed forward thanks to their victories and were now fairly close to the Northrend forest, something they didn''t even realise until Hamon roared out for them to pull back.

    However the moment they froze, halting their momentum a venomous aura pounced out from the trees like an arrow, the target being Frost.

    "Fuck!" Frost didn''t have much time to react but thanks to Maya''s no holds barred training his reaction speed allowed him to even follow those at A-rank. With deft precision he moved his ive''s shaft before his chest, protecting him from whatever wasunched.

    Don!

    A loud don sounded from Frost''s ive as a spiked purple barb that was dripping green liquid crashed against it. Frost''s nostrils were suddenly assaulted by a corrosive stench.

    ''Poison!''

 Chapter 458: Chapter 458: Poison

    ''Poison!'' Frost screamed internally, his lips twitching and his fists tightening around his ive as the memory of his first interaction with the dreaded stuff came to the forefront of his mind.

    The pain, the paralysis, the burning in his veins, all things he never wished to experience again.

    In but a fraction of a second he bashed away this poison addled barb and focused his gaze on where it originated yet saw nothing but green and shadow.

    Fwoom!

    Another barb shot out from behind the trees, swiftly followed by a second one flying with immense speed and fury.

    Don! Don!

    Frost swatted them away with difficulty, his fear of the poison allowing him to move even faster than normal but even still he was forced to take several steps backwards. His hands trembling from the residual force.

    The horrid smelling and painful looking green poison that dripped from the barbs attached itself to his ive and fought with his ice mes.

    "Ssssssss" A horrid sound of the poison evaporating as it came in contact with the chilling mes rang out. The liquid poison rapidly turned into a corrosive gas that assaulted Frost''s nostrils and tingled his skin.

    Detesting such a feeling Frost''s ice me chakra burst out, enveloping his entire body and forcibly extinguishing the poison from the surrounding air.

    A frown was evident on his face and a cold sweat dripped down his neck yet still there was no sign of what fired these barbs, a hidden adversary that could attack from the darkness.

    However, though he was wary and even fearful his mind was clear.

    "Major Bullen pull everyone back now!" He roared out in desperation knowing full well that he wouldn''t be the only target. Next he started summoning his mana as a spell started to formte.

    "[Ice obey my will and form into a mighty wall separating me from thine enemy, wall of ice]" Frost spoke the aria for the 2nd circle spell [wall of ice] creating arge blue magic crest on the ground which proceeded to summon a wall of ice that separated the vanguard elites from the nearby Northrend forest.

    "Tsk" Frost could hear a loud tongue clicking the moment the wall was raised and a momentter a vast swarm of lesser barbs fired from the trees, crashing into therge ice wall, cracking and even destroying parts of it.

    It was only a 2nd circle spell, so it didn''t provide a lot of defensive power, but it was enough to at least lessen the momentum of the barbs and allow the vanguard elites to react in time.

    Dozens of barbs covered in colourful poison continued through the ice wall only to be swatted away by the elites who were experienced enough to not let the poison touch any part of skin or open wounds.

    They all instantly obeyed Hamon and Frost''s orders and retreated backwards giving up all the ground they worked so hard to conquer. Remaining here served no purpose lest seeing to their deaths. This was a gruelling siege that wouldn''t be ended in the next hour or even this day. Risking their lives for ground was pointless, they were the defenders in this war.

    "Frost!" Major Bullen a man riddled with an uncountable number of scars and armed with dual swords briefly glimpsed at the elites under hismand before braving the danger to arrive by Frost''s side. Thanks to his quick actions a great many of the elites were protected and as the leader of the vanguard corps Bullen couldn''t allow Frost to face the highest danger alone.

    A couple barbs -the same type shot at Frost- rapidly found their way before Bullen.

    Ding! Ding!

    Expecting to be attacked Bullen easily swatted away the barbs, losing not a single beat of momentum as he arrived by Frost''s side.

    Frost smiled as he felt supported by Bullen, his fear of the poison vanishing and his grip around his ive tightening before the two men nodded towards one another.

    With that silentmunication the two moved in concert, guarding each other''s blind spots as they quickly retreated, falling back towards the northern wall.

    "Tsk!" Another loud tongue clicking could be heard from within the trees followed by a deep sigh and the grinding of teeth.

    "He''s quick just like you said¡­..run them down." A dark insidious voice filled the air before grating chittering rang amok and the owners of these dreadful barbs finally showed themselves.

    Short creatures simr in size and stature to goblins, covered in dark coloured chitin and withrge bug likepound eyes that could see in far more detail than the eyes of any human, dwarf or elf creeped out from the shadows. Wild insidious expressions could be seen on their rat like faces. A strange and frightening visage that screamed evil, reminding Frost of the rindars.

    Sharp protruding barbs extended from their elbows, growing and dripping colourful poison, a regenerating part of their bodies that they fondly used as weapons.

    Frost struggled to immediately identify these creatures but thankfully Bullen looped him in, uttering their identity with clenched teeth.

    "Poison heralds."

    Creatures of the darkness that dwell in all manner of ces where the sun rarely touches, despised by many species just like the rindar. Evil, insidious monsters that relish in torturing their victims. Watching them twitch in agony as their personal poison runs through their system.

    A person once spoke with a poison herald and finally asked why they did such things and apparently it wasn''t just to satisfy their sadistic tendencies but like spiders their poison gradually liquefied their victims and though they could eat solid foods the taste when liquefied in their opinion was unmatched.

    This person miraculously survived his run in with the poison heralds and told this story to his local guild. The [federation of knowledge], the keepers of all things known in regards to monsters, monsterirs, oddities and special realms eventually corroborated his story, adding it to the official tomes in regards to the monster species poison heralds.

    Frost didn''t have time to question Bullen as swarms of the creatures rushed out from the trees holding poison covered barbs in their hands and poison sshed over their chitin carapaces making getting in closebat with these creatures risky.

    Arger more menacing one with a far darker carapace and radiant green poison leaking from many pores across its body slowly revealed itself. In its hands were the deadly barbs that were flung towards Frost and Bullen it was clear this one was different from the rest. An aura of power floated around it revealing its B-rank status.

    Following at its side was the eldest rindar, he was the one who ground his teeth together in disappointment, wanting so much to see Frost''s face warp in pain from the herald''s poison. He was clenching the area where one of his arms used to reside while his eyes spurted fire as he watched Frost safely retreat.

    "Bastard!" He cursed through his teeth, struggling to stop himself from throwing all caution to the wind and chase after Frost but the one by his side prevented him from engaging in such foolish actions.

    This poison herald was very simr to himself in nature and would like nothing more than to supnt himself into his position, raking in the glory it promised. He already had difficultymanding the bastard with his missing arm and severeck of progress over the past couple days.

    Thankfully he had his younger brothers who agreed that internal unity was better in the presence of outside influence.

    The poison herald leader was just under the eldest rindar strength wise and came with arge contingent of his own lesser species but even, so his foothold was shaky at best. After hearing an abridged series of events of the past couple days and the loss of the eldest rindar''s arm heughed chillingly and decided on their current n.

    His aim, to capture Frost and severely damage the vanguard elites thus proving his superiority over the rindars.

    Right now there was a fiercepetition between the B-ranks formand roles, only the best would be able to avoid bing mere pawns in the game once the big fish arrive and take over. Neither the rindars nor the poison herald wished to be at theplete beck and call of another, being treated no better than the horde of lesser monsters currently being ordered to charge to their deaths.

    The B-rank poison herald sported a pronounced frown and hispound eyes analysed Frost from head to toe, taking in every slight movement gauging his strength.

    Fwooom!

    Suddenly another two barbs dripped in green poison wereunched without warning at possible blind spot but thanks to Bullen and Frost''s teamwork they failed to reach their target, falling powerlessly to the floor, corroding the blood and fleshin strewn across the ground.

    His poison was a fast acting, highly corrosive type that literally melted whatever it touched. It was thus susceptible to antidote potions but by the time you glug one down or pour it on the infected area most the damage would have already been done.

    Each poison herald would nurture their own poison resulting in a wide range of effects thus making each one unique and extra hard to deal with. In some aspects the appearance of these poison heralds was a far worse situation than the 3 rindars.

    "Yes, he''s very fast and has skilled helpers. Taking him down with them around won''t be easy." The frown on the B-rank poison herald deepened as his gaze drifted towards Hamon, the truemander of the battlefield. His arm shivered as he endured his biting gaze, a primal fear that struck to his core and sent shivers down his neck.

    He then nced at the fury consumed rindar at his side, understanding now why this person who though he would never admit it had a lot of respect for, was on the back foot in this war.

    His steps that were about take him fully past the treeline and towards Frost were halted in ce as Hamon''s full blown aura hammered down on him, pressuring him.

    ''That bastard''s terrifying.'' The poison herald knew that he''d stand no chance if he went toe to toe with that monster, he wasn''t even a duelling type.

    "Haaaaaaaaa" he let out a deep sigh before taking a step back not willing to draw the ire of that monster named Hamon so early in the game.

    "You''re giving up!" The eldest rindar screamed in anger as well asplete bafflement, they had the vanguard team on the run and his lesser species kin were hounding after them but without them following, their charge would be short lived.

    "Now''s not the time, besides our ambush has failed. To carry on now would only end in meaningless death. My subordinates will force them back, dishing out a few attacks before retreating. We serve best as ambushers and fighting in the shadows of others." The poison herald sported a wild grin, proud of his talents and those of his kin.

    He ignored the anger of the eldest rindar and pursed his lips, whistling in a high pitch that many who were not of his kin would struggle to hear. This was his order to retreat when necessary something the poison heralds knew well. He then turned and retreated back into the shadows waiting for his next opportunity tosh out.

    Smash!

    The eldest rindar smashed apart a nearby tree in his anger but that was all he could do. Though he was still technically inmand the B-rank poison herald wouldn''t obey orders that didn''t serve him or his ilk well, plus the bastard was right. He couldn''t allow himself to be ovee with wrath during such tumultuous times.

    He gave onest look at Hamon and the retreating Frost before joining the poison herald behind the treeline.

    A thick wave of D and C-rank monsters rushed out in their ce, resuming the horde''s advancement.

    Frost, Bullen and the vanguard elites however had used the time to swiftly make it near the main force at the base of the northern wall and Hamon was waiting.

    "Magic crops and range corps full volley, fire!" Hamon loudly ordered.

    Thanks to Frost''s swift actions he didn''t need to descend from the wall putting himself at risk. The big cheese couldn''t ce himself in the firing line at every little upset.

    With his order a deluge of arrows and magic descended on the charging D and C-rank horde as well as the some of the less responsive poison heralds, cutting down several of their number.

    After that the damaged horde met with therge main force of Furano who were braced and ready for the charge. Many monsters met their ends on the tip a spear, sword, axe or even a bo staff without even culling a single soldier or adventurer. A braced line of experienced infantry wasn''t something even heavy shock cavalry would sh against head on.

    They charged right into a chop shop exactly what the B-rank poison herald expected to happen.

    But if anything the number of lesser monsters under theirmand was endless, such vast amounts of death was nothing in the grand scheme.

    Dozens of additional lines of monsters charged out of the treeline, red eyed and caring little about the death of the previous lines.

    And so the regr melee that everyone was used to started up again. They had survived another strategy of the leading monsters and ended up with no deaths or even injuries, Frost seemed to be a lucky star.

 Chapter 459: Chapter 459: About time

    Chaotic melee ensued as monster after monster charged into the braced lines of Furano''s main force. Plus the asional volley of arrows and magic hammered down upon them generating explosions of blood and flesh,

    The elite vanguards who were forced to retreat from the ground they recently gained dashed forward after the first few lines crashed against the bulwark of the regr soldiers, cutting apart the horde just like they did earlier though this time they kept more wary watch on their surroundings.

    Afraid of being ambushed by the poison heralds who were small enough and fast enough to stab them in the back from a blind spot.

    Just knowing that the poison heralds were present in the area taxed their concentration even if they never actually attacked, something the B-rank poison herald knew well. He was an avid researcher into the mind of his victims, knowing full well how to cause damage and drain them of their strength.

    He would wait until the moment his foes let their guards down, only then would he and his ilk strike and cause the most damage.

    The number of dead monsters continued to grow unabated, littering the recently swept clean battlefield with innumerable corpses. Making for an uneven standing and dozens of flesh made shields that blocked arrows and magic.

    Slowly but surely the braced lines were being pushed back, no more than half a step every few minutes or so but a noticeable shift.

    Hamon stood in open view up on the northern wall with a pronounced frown, his teeth clenched and eyes bloodshot as they took in everyst detail of the battlefield. He was ying the long game and knew just how much skin he could put in each sector of the battlefield and how long each of them would be able to endure not just for today but the next day and the days following.

    None of which looked good even with Frost''s burst of vitality and enthusiasm inspiring the vanguard squads and the braced main line.

    Tens of minutes had passed since their forced retreat so that inspiring tactical retreat where in they suffered zero casualties was wearing off. Soldiers and adventurers were finding that their arms and legs were growing heavy. Their eyes in a daze as an endless sea of monsters crashed against them without end, their nostrils chock full of the smell of dead, bleeding flesh.

    When an area became sufficiently exhausted and or dazed the poison heralds reared their ugly heads, dashing through the shadows of therger more brutish monsters they''d stab and orunch poisonous barbs at these men and women before swiftly retreating with an evil smile on their faces. Enjoying their descent into pain and desperate attempts to undo the poison rapidly infecting their bodies.

    They moved so swiftly and silently that Hamon and the magic and ranged corps didn''t have enough time to lend supporting fire. The heralds never stayed in the same ce long, retreating without hesitation whenever they attacked regardless of whether or not their attacks were sessfully.

    Devasting ambushers that made this long siege far more intricate, an addition that could ruin all of Hamon''s delicate rationing.

    His mind ran through dozens of simtions but neither one seemed feasible. He simply didn''t have the manpower or the resources tomit an effective force to hunting down these ambushers and even if he did they''d likely retreat out of harm''s way the moment the group moved. Same if he took on the role himself, he was far too eye catching.

    "Gyahhhhhh!" Suddenly while Hamon was cycling through methods to deal with the situation a pronounced scream rang through the area as a poison herald found its body frozen in ce. A freezing chill wrapping around its heart and organs, preventing it from sessfully retreating. It onlysted a second or two but that was enough.

    Schwing!

    Arge ive de sliced through the air and decapitated the herald. Its ugly head withrgepound eyes sported a confused expression as it saw the world flip upside down and its vision distort. It saw its own body standing there without a head and blood suddenly gushing forth from his open neck.

    Arge foot pressed on its decapitated head before stomping down hard and without mercy.

    Squelch!

    The head exploded in a gory mess causing many of the other poison heralds and even the nearby soldiers to freeze in shock and then audibly gulp as they imagined themselves in such a position.

    Frost pulled back his ive and scanned the area with his eyes, smiling like a hunter finding his prey. He didn''t even bother to look at the burst head beneath his feet before moving to his next target.

    "[Icy grasp]" He quickly casted the 2nd circle spell [icy grasp] without an aria, saving time but also weakening its effects. Thankfully it seemed these poison heraldscked much ice resistance, only having enough to survive in cold weather but useless against his magic.

    With this Frost was able to hunt these poison heralds, something he enjoyed doing very much.

    Another nearby herald that saw what happened to itsrade was afflicted by Frost''s spell, its body freezing temporarily.

    ''Fuck!'' It cursed as it was powerless to resist. Forced to watch as Frost dashed forward with glinting eyes, the sharp de on his ive reflecting the light of the sun as it swung for its head.

    Schwing!

    Another beheading and another poison herald deceased.

    "Hahahahaha perfect, this kid really is a lucky star." Hamon couldn''t help butugh out loud as he saw Frost''s expert actions. He solved another one of his woes. Having someone young, multi-skilled and strong was a literal godsend. Where otherscked in one area or another Frost was a jack of all trades making him the most fluid solider under hismand, able to thrive in all situations.

    The poison heralds would have to think twice about attacking now that their retreats could be hampered. These creatures though sporting alright defence thanks to their chitin carapace it certainly wasn''t their strongest suit. More focused on fast attacks than drawn outbat.

    Hamon no longer worrying about the poison herald situation pumped his focus into other areas where the soldiers could do some actual damage. He also had the ranged and magic corps focus solely on the treeline, damaging as much monsters as possible as they charged forth.

    A group of less than a dozen soldiers waiting on a tform behind him also received a silent look and a nod causing them to smile wildly before charging ahead and leaping from the northern wall.

    This group was a set of elite soldiers with C-rank strength, one of Hamonst cards to y before sending in the other B-rank big guns. He wanted to hold off on using them until a littleter but unfortunately he no longer had that option.

    Even with Frost hunting down the heralds the main forces and vanguard squads were struggling to endure the onught that sported stronger and denser lines than yesterday.

    It was clear that it wasn''t just the poison heralds that reinforced the horde during the 4 hour break. Their numbers were far more plentiful than expected.

    After the dozen or so elites charged forth and reinforced the main line Hamon nced towards his side.

    "Looks like I''m going to need you a little earlier than nned Kiba." Kiba the winged cial tiger and Frost''s battle mount was lying nearby, watching the battle unfold as he waited for his orders.

    Kiba''s ears perked up and he raised his head to look at Hamon with an eager expression, he was growing bored just lying here.

    Frost told him to listen to Hamon while they were in Furano and though he would prefer fighting alongside his master he respected strength and right now Hamon was the strongest person here, plus he was also the grandmander.

    Hamon initially nned on using Kiba as an emergency relief unit, having him swiftly flying through the battlefield to recover the wounded and or reinforce areas that were about the be overrun, taking full advantage of his wings and unmatched speed.

    Hamon smiled mischievously before speaking.

    "How does helping out your master sound?" An idea quickly formed in Hamon''s head. Frost couldn''t be left to handle the entire poison herald issue, that was too much for one man''s te especially if that person already had a target on their back.

    Kiba chuffed in glee and nodded his head vigorously, more than happy to do such a task. He had been watching his master from the safety of the northern wall and had been growing frustrated being stationed here away from the battlefield.

    Kiba stretched out his wings ready to leap into the air and immediately join Frost but was stopped.

    "Whoa there hold your horses and finish listening." Hamon quickly grabbed hold of Kiba''s left hind leg preventing him from dashing into the sky. This got him a disgruntled look as Kiba retracted his wings that basically tranted as ''hurry up and finish then.''

    Hamon lightly sighed before looking towards another solider on the wall.

    "Artemis you''re up." Hamon called to a young man with hawk like eyes and a veryrge and beautiful bow strapped to his back.

    The lips on the young man''s face slowly turned upwards before he spoke in an arrogant tone.

    "About time."

 Chapter 460: Chapter 460: Sky descending squall

    Artemis a young captain level officer spoke with arrogance as he grabbed hisrge rune covered bow from his back and made his way towards Hamon.

    He was one of the highly gifted youngsters among the frost wolf battalion, someone with a lot of ambition and promise. Hamon wouldn''t be surprised if Artemis was leading the frost wolf battalion in the next decade.

    Along with his skills with the bow, his knack for understanding battle strategy, leadership qualities and ability to remain calm under the most dire of circumstances made this young soldier almost perfect in the eyes of those around him¡­. save for one fault, arrogance.

    Which to be honest couldn''t really be considered much of a fault when he had the skills to back it up but none the less a trait that could eventually lead to his downfall. Hamon wished to round off this quality of his in this war and thankfully a recent enlistee by the name of Frost was the perfect tool to do that.

    Frost was someone that looked to be simr in age to Artemis, yet his strength had already reached B-rank, surpassing Artemis who was still at the threshold. He wanted to Artemis to realise the fact that there''s always someone better out there regardless of how talented you think you are, Frost was one such person.

    Of course, Frost paled inparison to Artemis''s other traits that he developed as a soldier, but power was always the focal point especially when people were young.

    Artemis wasn''t part of the ranged corps right now but an individual shock trooper that had yet to see any action in the past few days, his abilities kept hidden. A painful situation for such an ambitious young man, even more so when he got to witness Frost in action.

    But finally, he was going to be able to show off his skills.

    Artemis''s face revealed a fierce desire, his eyes spurting mes and his hands were gripped tightly around his bow as his hawk like eyes surveyed the battlefield looking for prey.

    Hamon smiled mischievously understanding the young man''s feelings.

    "Artemis, I need you to ride on Kiba and be our aerial sniper. Take out the damn poison heralds that Frost can''t reach or misses as such a task is too much for one man."

    Kiba who understood what Hamon was saying turned to look at Artemis with a tilted head as he examined this young man with some confusion.

    "So, you need me to support Frost." Artemis asked with a peculiar tone.

    "Yes Captain Artemis, do you understand your orders?" Hamon infused his aura into his voice showing that he wasn''t ying. These orders could mean the difference between victory and defeat, he had no time for arrogance and or personal feelings.

    Artemis''s eyes winced as he felt Hamon''s aura and heard his serious tone. He let out sigh before replying.

    "Understood Colonel, I''ll see to it immediately." He saluted before walking next to Kiba.

    "Looks like you and me will be partners for a while." He looked straight into Kiba''s eyes, showing not a single iota of fear, viewing him as an equal.

    Most soldiers in the frost wolf battalion were like Artemis in this way as they held many wolves under theirmand who were treated just like any other solider in the battalion.

    Kiba eyed this Artemis with a slight frown. He wasn''t exactly fond of the young man and preferred that only Frost ride him like a mount, but he understood his position here. The fact that there wasn''t any scorn or trepidation in the young man''s made it easier, but he still audibly scoffed before lowering his back.

    Thebination of Artemis and Kiba then swiftly made their way high up into the air, using the sun to obscure their position.

    "Artemis will surely be pleased getting to ride a flying mount thatpliments his fighting style." A major who was stationed alongside Hamon spoke with a smile, excited to see the devastation such a team could wreak upon this battlefield.

    "Yes, I''m sure he is in a way, shame Kiba is already bonded to Frost otherwise I would have done everything in my power to make a connection between the two of them." Hamon replied with a tinge of regret before focusing his gaze upon Frost who was still taking out poison herald after poison herald.

    "Hopefully they work as a team and not against one another. I gave Artemis a warning but who knows how he''ll behave once things kick off."

    "Tsk!" Frost loudly clicked his tongue as a poison herald sessfully avoided his [icy grasp] spell while the next nearest one retreated from him with all it had. His actions were making significant waves and these naturally cowardly creatures had picked up on that. They started fleeing the moment Frost even moved funny regardless of whether they managed to deal any damage to the enemy.

    The madness of the battlefield already made catching these quick shadow-like bastards difficult and now that they were actively avoiding him, he failed more often than he seeded, infuriating him.

    He knew however that the moment he stopped chasing them and refocused on his duties as a member of the vanguard team they''d retaliate with vengeance. He was now stuck finishing what he started regardless of how inefficient it was.

    Twang! Fwoossh!

    Suddenly he heard the twang of a long bow and the sound of an arrow flying through the air before from the sky, obscured by the light of the sun it pierced the skull of the poison herald who avoided his spell, killing it instantly.

    Another arrow swiftly followed that one killing the second poison herald who believed it had sessfully escaped Frost''s reach.

    Frost felt a tingle down the back of his neck, as though he was being eyed by a vicious bird of prey.

    He looked up but had to shut his eyes due to the sun, leaving but a narrow slit for him to see out of. There in the sky he could slightly make out the form of Kiba as well as something riding on top of him.

    He saw the figure move before the sound of a bow being released and another arrow piercing through the air perked his ears. The arrow shed by his face, avoiding it by a hair''s breadth before lodging itself in the skull of a yeti attacking him from behind.

    The yeti let out a loud whimper before falling dead. Frost turned around to see a single high-quality arrow lodged deep in the creature''s skull. He then brought a hand to his cheek; he could still feel a burn from where the arrow passed.

    A soulmunication then came through from Kiba who informed him of the situation in a proud and happy tone.

    "Back up huh." Frost smiled evilly as he pried the arrow from the yeti''s skull and examined it in detail.

    Despite flying through the air at insane speeds and lodging itself deep in the skull of a yeti the arrowhead, shaft and even fletching were unmarred.

    The arrow had enough weight for it to wield devastating prative force yet was still light enough and well bnced to glide through the air. The shaft though bending when Frost applied pressure showed no signs of snapping despite using a great deal of force.

    This was by far the highest quality arrow he''d ever witnessed and got his hands on, far higher quality than what was needed to take down a mere yeti.

    Frost looked over to the now deceased poison heralds. The arrows lodged in their skulls though of simr design were clearly lower in quality, this high-quality arrow was used for a reason.

    ''Is this him showing off?'' Frost pondered with an amused expression. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he ced the arrow within his storage ring.

    He then gripped hard onto his ive and twirled it around in a skilled manner while showing his smile to the one flying amongst the light of the sun. While Frost was having difficulty seeing Artemis and Kiba the same couldn''t be said in reverse in fact Artemis could even see the individual contours of Frost''s face and the stitching of his robe.

    The young archer couldn''t help but smile wildly as his heart thumped. He gazed down into Frost''s eyes and knew his message was understood. It was time to show this Frost the power of a Captain of the frost wolf battalion.

    "Hahahahahahah" heughed out without reservation before lining up another arrow in his bow.

    "Kiba take us 10 metres to the left and stay within the sun''s gaze, can''t have the B-ranks getting a line of sight on us." Artemis requested to Kiba while eyeing up his next target.

    "Chuff" Kiba chuffed while doing as asked, smiling as he did.

    The monster horde didn''t just have closebat fighters, there were also ranged units and spell casters though they made up a much smaller margin. Artemis and Kiba flying through the air would make for an easy target if they weren''t hidden by the sun and or constantly aware of their surroundings.

    Artemis may wish to show off in front of Frost and the Majors, but he wasn''t a fool, he knew the weaknesses of a solo archer.

    With Artemis assisting him Frost was able to cull a great many more poison heralds resulting in the B-rank leader nearly spitting up blood before he ordered a mass retreat of his kin, staring daggers towards Frost and the obscured archer in the skies.

    Their teamwork was almost seamless as though they''d fought side by side for years, a result that greatly surprised the two involved as well as Hamon and the observing Majors.

    "Damn they cover one another''s shorings without even having tomunicate. Hard imagine that this is the first time they''ve fought together." One of the Majors couldn''t help butment with wide opened eyes. Together Frost and Artemis killed dozens of poison heralds as well as countless other monsters that were in the vicinity, creating a clear decrease in activity wherever they passed.

    A dream team of fighters.

    Hamon didn''t reply with words, but his wide smile said it all, the results were beyond what he expected, and he could see with his skilled vision that Artemis had a very different expression on his face from when they began.

    Artemis noticed theirpatibility even more so than the others and was blown away. Where he initially wished to test his mettle against the neer Frost and prove to him that he wasn''t the only one with skills and talent he now found himself full of respect and even awe for the young man as well as his partner the cial winged tiger that he was currently riding.

    Frost''s movements, instincts and adaptability to any situation was something he envied yet the most shocking thing was Frost''splete and utter trust in him. He would openly ignore certain monsters because he knew Artemis would have a line of sight on them and would take care of it.

    Artemis felt his petty arrogance and jealously towards Frost wash away as this situation repeatedly happened. While he viewed this interaction as a test between them, Frost simply enjoyed having skilled support, someone he could entrust his back to while he went all out.

    He never had the slightest inkling of rivalry, was it because Frost was so far beyond him skill wise or that he himself was just petty and insecure, Artemis didn''t know but his initial arrogance seemed childish and pointless.

    The moment his mindset changed there was a significant change in Artemis, his arrows flew faster, and his heavy bow felt lighter and easier to pull. He felt his bond with archery deepen and with-it new knowledge unfurled, and a mad smile adorned his lips.

    He achieved advanced bow mastery, an obstacle that had been impeding his path and weighing on his mind for past few months.

    ''Hahahaha master was right my skills were already high enough to advance but my mentality wasn''t hahahaha.'' Artemisughed internally as a weight lifted from his chest and the knowledgepletely unfurled bringing with it a new skill.

    Not one to be patient Artemis filled his bow with his internal energy as he activated this newfound power.

    "[Sky descending squall]"

 Chapter 461: Chapter 461: Knocked from the sky

    Fully pumped from the sess in oveing thest hurdle to advanced mastery, Artemis wasted no time in activating his newfound skill [Sky descending squall].

    Bright blue energy flooded Artemis''s bow and quiver causing it hum and vibrate as he pulled back the string. An arrow made of energy soon appeared, shing with power.

    As the skill dictated in its name he aimed upward into the sky before letting the arrow loose.

    The arrow screeched as it ascended into the sky before violently exploding into dozens no hundreds of energy arrows that swiftly descended upon on the battlefield, prating numerous monsters without mercy.

    Frost and many others looked up in awe as the deluge of energy arrows continued to cover the surrounding area.

    "Hoh seems Artemis crossed the threshold, I''m pretty sure that''s the advanced level bow skill [Sky descending squall]." An observing majormented with pride.

    "Yes, seems you''re correct. Artemis has taken the next step in advancing his career. Not many high level officers in the frost wolf battalion are skilled with the bow, his master will be proud." Hamon spoke with a smile.

    Artemis was one of the few core disciples of the famous former General Ullr, now captain of royal azure guard. An A-rank archer known to be the best in the entire Northrend empire and a particrly strict instructor.

    Hamon remembered the message he receivedst year from General Ullr.

    "That brat is even more skilled than I was at his age and will likely surpass me in the future but only if he reigns in that arrogance and learns true humility in his craft. Show him the world of war, let him experience the breadth of the battlefield and learn his ce within it. I leave him to you Colonel Hamon as your reputation precedes you, show him no leniency.

    Artemis can return under my tutge when he achieves B-rank¡­.if he wishes it." Though Ullr''s voice was rough, and it was clear that he wished for Hamon to be particr strict with his young disciple it was also clear that he was rather fond of Artemis and held high hopes for his future.

    As the deluge of arrows finally ended, Artemis felt his body being drained of all strength. He fell forward, copsing upon Kiba''s broad back, his fluffy fur rubbing against his cheek, tickling his nose.

    ''How soft''

    "Chuff?" Kiba chuffed questioningly, wondering if Artemis was alright after copsing.

    "Heheheh I''m good Kiba thanks for¡­shit dodge!" Suddenly Artemis felt his skin tingle as a strong sense of foreboding rang through his body. His instincts were warning him of extreme danger.

    Kiba was a little slower on the uptake but reacted well, immediately pping his wings to move unfortunately he wasn''t fast enough.

    Without warning a purple beam pierced through the canopy of the Northrend forest, hounding directly for Kiba and Artemis.

    The sky thundered and colour drained from the sky. Hamon, Frost and the other high ranking fighters all turned to face the sky, powerless to intervene in time.

    Boooooommmm!

    An earth shattering explosion appeared in the air following the contact between Kiba and the purple beam. This was followed by smoke and the plummeting of Kiba and Artemis from the sky.

    "Kiba!" Frost roared in anguish as he kicked off the ground towards his falling friend, caring not for the monsters surrounding him nor the danger of revealing himself in the open like Artemis and Kiba.

    A malicious grin appeared on the eldest rindar''s face as he witnessed this happen. And following that, two different energy generated attacks were fired from the treeline, both malicious in nature and aimed at the now wide open Frost.

    Arge dark violet fist approached him from one direction while a neon green barb far more corrosive than the earlier ones hounded from another leaving Frost no room to evade.

    With clenched teeth and a cold sweat Frost felt his heart thump away and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He had fallen for their trap, hook line and sinker.

    Time seemed to slow down for Frost as he turned his head away from the falling Kiba to see the devasting attacks heading his way.

    ''Fuck!'' He loudly cursed internally while doing his best to reorientate himself into a more defensible position. A difficult task when one is in mid-air and without wings but a trick he had mastered thanks to Maya. Her fists would continue to hound after him even if he was falling to the ground head first let alone being mid jump.

    Using his ive as a fulcrum and his ice mes as pseudo thrust he managed to rotate himself to face both these attacks head-on but even, so it was going to hurt and then some.

    With a steady grip his eyes locked onto the neon green barb, that was the most deadly attack in his eyes and the one he really couldn''t allow toe in contact with his body. The violet fist could be endured but the barb could not.

    The vibrant blue mes covered his ive in excess and the wind engraving hummed to life. Hecked the time to activate a skill but pumping charka was fine, its main boon was speed after all.

    "Ssssssssss boooooommm!" His ive swung out like he was standing on solid ground swiftly making contact with the neon green barb with a decent amount of force.

    The cold mes immediately got to work destroying the poison as though they were the perfect antithesis, but this was a dedicated attack by a B-rank monster. Frost''s ive trembled at the collision and the skin between his finger split open as his weapon was pushed towards his chest.

    Hecked the support of the ground so Frost couldn''t generate any additional strength. His ive was thus pushed back and mmed into his chest causing him to groan in pain. However this was eptable as long as he held a firm grip and kept his ive between him and the barb he should be able to endure this assault.

    Unfortunately it seemed as though the eldest rindar and this B-rank poison herald were done underestimating him. The dark violet fist was slower that the neon green barb and that was by design. It waited for the barb to ce Frost on the back foot before swooping in for the kill.

    Therge fist appeared before Frost''s eyes aiming for his chest or rather the back of poisonous barb. With the additional force behind it the barb would easily slip passed his ive and pierce directly through his chest. Frost wasn''t confident he''d be able to survive being afflicted with such devasting poison once it reached his organs. The situation just got a whole lot more dangerous.

    His mind ran a mile a minute as time slowed even further as if dragging out hisst moments. Fear creeped in, the instinctual reaction to one''s impending death. He''d only been in this world for a few months, experienced so much, joy, friendship, family, love and even anger and hatred¡­..he didn''t wish his journey to end here, he had too much to live for.

    With bloodshot eyes and clenched teeth Frost did his best to push against the barb. He did have one option, but he really didn''t want to use it so soon, he and Kiba had practically just got here after all but when his life was truly in jeopardy nothing else mattered, he needed to live.

    "Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!" He roared out as his entire body tensed allowing him to slightly push back the barb that had started releasing corrosive gas thanks to his cold mes and attempt to reach for the teleporting talisman however in these short milliseconds Frost had forgot one important thing¡­..he was not alone.

    Fwooosh!

    An arrow suddenly appeared from the sky and struck against therge imposing fist. There was arge boom as they made contact and clearly the fist was stronger as the arrow lost its momentum and was flung backwards with visible cracks however, the fist had dimmed somewhat and reduced in speed.

    "[Two sword style: red blossom]" following the arrow was a pair of swords coated in dense, sharp looking energy that struck against the violet fist, slicing it apart.

    Frost''s hand that was edging close to the teleportation talisman swiftly halted in ce before closing into a tightened fist as he witnessed this go down. The dark violet fist had been taken care of leaving only the poisonous barb, something he could handle.

    With a determined gaze Frost ced his other hand back on his ive, let out another roar and pushed back with all his strength. His body was pushed through the air, but his ive was no longer crushing his chest and once his feet touched the ground strength filled his body once more. With a fierce expression he swung out, shattering the barb that had been causing him so much issue.

    The corrosive gas was gradually destroyed by his cold mes, but his ice armour had some clear holes caused by the corrosion, his face even had a minor burn near the chin. God knows how much damage would have been done if it touched him in its liquid state or entered his body. Poison was definitely something Frost would never appreciate, apologies to his young brother Wilsander.

 Chapter 462: Chapter 462: Here to save the day

    Frost who had narrowly escaped death was trembling from head to toe and his heart refused to calm down despite the danger having passed. He reached into his robes to feel the teleportation talisman, rubbing it as though figuring out whether or not to tear it apart right now and simply leave with Maya. That near death experience was too close forfort.

    "F¡­.Fro¡­.Frost!!!!" Suddenly he was awoken from his daze by a loud shout from Major Bullen. He turned his head instinctively and was met with the ravenous face of an ice wolf with its jaws pried open to take a bite out of him.

    He was only distracted for a brief moment, yet he was already being attacked, thankfully it was just a D-rank ice wolf.

    Frost moved his head back to avoid the canine''s sharp teeth while at the same time punching upwards with an ice encrusted fist.

    Bang!

    His fist smashed into the ice wolf''s chin and sent it careening through the air without mercy, knocking out many of its teeth as he did.

    "Get your head in the game Frost you can''t let your guard down for even a moment." Major Bullen arrived by his side and offered a shoulder, genuinely worried about his state of mind.

    ''Can''t believe I forgot that despite his strength he''s still young. That was probably the first time he''d been so close to death.'' Bullen frowned as normally a more gentle approach would be better but unfortunately this was war, so they didn''t have time for such luxuries.

    Frost quickly found his bearings thanks to Bullen''s aid, steadiness returning to his limbs as the shock passed and he could think clearly again. He raised his ive and stood shoulder to shoulder with Bullen.

    "Where''s Kiba?" He asked while searching the sky.

    "He''s fine, damaged wings and some nasty burns but he made it back to behind the northern wall." A different voice sounded in reply, a voice Frost didn''t recognise.

    He turned around to see a young man with hawkish eyes and arge intricate bow in his hands.

    "Artemis!" Major Bullen cried out in shock not expecting to see the young archer captain down here in the thick of it.

    ''So this is Artemis, the archer who was working in concert with Kiba to back me up.'' He was also the first one to lend him aid against the dark violet fist sent by the eldest rindar.

    Artemis gave Frost a quick once over and smiled before looking towards Major Bullen.

    "Kiba took most of the beam''s impact thus it affected his flying capabilities especially with me on his back, so I jumped off. Without my weight he was able to barely make it to the northern wall where I''m sure the medical team will take good care of him." Thest part was said to put Frost at ease.

    "But why are you here?" Bullen quickly asked while knocking back a couple ice wolves.

    Artemis''s gaze moved to Frost and then to the treeline that was gradually being pried open.

    "Helping out arade as well as revenge I guess." He spoke with a smile when his eyes were on Frost but portrayed a fierce expression as he eyed the creatureing from the Northrend forest. His skin however was visibly trembling, and a cold sweat umted down his neck.

    Bullen and Frost both felt a change in the air and focused solely northward.

    Crash!

    Trees were crushed and knocked down as a giant monster moved forward with heavy steps. The beast was easily ten metres tall and chock full of muscle. Massive arms that wielded a giant club made of some sort of incredibly dense stone. Fur covered legs that looked like those of a goat''s. Grey, stone like skin that was easily several centimetres thick making standard arrows all but useless.

    A massive single violet eye upied the majority of its skull, blinking as it gazed upon the three men.

    This monster was a cyclops, a member of the giant species though less intelligent and far more feral in nature still a giant, a dangerous and powerful monster.

    Bullen frowned as the creature revealed itself, his hands cracking as his grip intensified. A cyclops was beyond his abilities even with Frost and Artemis by his side, an entity at the peak of entry level B-rank rivalling the eldest rindar and in many cases a far more dangerous foe to directly contend with.

    Frost felt the monster''s violent and oppressive aura, it caused his skin to crawl and his legs to feel heavy but despite that a smile was evident on his face. The cyclops was clearly in the power category, the easiest to manage for someone like him who was confident in his speed. He just needed to make sure he didn''t get hit.

    Artemis however was not like Frost and Bullen, he wasn''t B-rank yet, so his aura hadn''t developed. The best he could do was stand his ground in the face of it, but his battle capabilities would take a hit. The amount of damage and aid he could effectively dish out would be minimal at best as long as he was affected by its aura.

    Kiba was no longer in action so he couldn''t take to the skies and eliminate that problem plus with his strength and battle style he needed to be wary of more than just the cyclops.

    He suddenly felt the folly of his actions, he shouldn''t have been so gung-ho to lend aid and face off against what shot him down.

    As Frost and Bullen prepared themselves for a dire battle, exchanging silent looks and enteringbat stances the cyclops giant single eye glowed with a purple light.

    "Shit dodge it!" Bullen roared out while dashing to the left. This was the attack that knocked Kiba and Artemis out of the sky, a long range energy attack that was quick and destructive.

    Frost quickly went to move to the right but caught sight of Artemis being frozen in ce, his reactions dulled thanks to the creature''s overbearing aura.

    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue and frowned before halting his escape and heading towards Artemis. He couldn''t exactly abandon the young man after he risked himself to save him a minute earlier.

    "[Ice shield]" he didn''t have time to speak an aria, so Frost shortened his casting, focusing on speed. As he ced himself before Artemis, his ive twirling at pace in front of him, covered in a dense set of cold mes and his body adorned in a thickening ice armour a magic crest appeared before the two of them summoning arge shield of ice a few centimetres thick.

    ''Fuck!'' Artemis cursed himself internally as his body finally started listening to him, but it was toote all he could do was hide behind Frost and hope that his defences would hold.

    Hooooowllllll!!!!!!

    The air howled as a thick violet beam escaped from the cyclops eye and arrived before Frost and Artemis in a fraction of a second, like a purple lightning bolt.

    Baaaannnnngggg!

    The purple beam mmed against the hastily generated ice shield and swiftly blew it apart without much effort before continuing to smash against Frost and his twirling ive.

    "Urgh!" Frost groaned as the impact passed through his weapon to his organs, he felt blood rush up his throat and threaten to paint the air red. The force extended to his legs causing the ground he stood on to sink and crack as he did his best to remain stationary.

    His cold mes enhanced by the wind engraving did their best topete against the purple beam, gradually breaking it down fragment by fragment.

    Fractions of seconds passed, and Frost felt the ice armour around his hands and arms ke away soon revealing his unprotected skin. His mes were being snubbed out faster than he could regenerate them and despite his best efforts he was being pushed back.

    Blood dripped from his lips and a pained expression appeared on his face as the beam touched his skin, burning it. This beam attack was stronger than the one sent towards Kiba and in much closer proximity. He''d just used a lot of strength to repel the attack from the B-rank poison herald, so he was out of additional reserves.

    Slowly Frost was pushed backwards, his feet leaving trails in the ground, but he was ultimately stopped by Artemis who he was protecting. The archer couldn''t do much in the current situation, but he could push his back, helping alleviate at least some of the weight.

    The two of them roared out as they pushed back against the beam, surviving until it lost all its power.

    There was norge explosion or booming sound as the beam fizzled out, the colour simply dimmed before the beam shrank and then vanished all together. Frost fell to a half kneeling position, breathing heavily with his hands trembling. Energy burns covered his hands and upper wrists. His chakra armour failed to endure the onught.

    Artemis wasted no time at all, he removed a low level health potion from his pack, popped the cork and poured the concoction onto the burns. Wounds such as this healed quicker if the potion was applied directly rather than consumed plus it had the bonus of not having to endure the nasty taste.

    "Urgh!" Frost groaned out as the potion got to work. An intense feeling of itchiness filled his hands making it hard for him to hold onto his ive, but he could see the burns visibly fading unfortunately it wasn''t working fast enough.

    Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

    The cyclops didn''t waste any time either. The moment the beam disconnected from its eye it began running forward with its massive club, aiming to pulverise the survivors.

    "Well shit!" Frost swore while fighting through the itchiness. He gripped his ive hard with one hand while he grabbed Artemis with the other nning to carry him with him as he evaded the cyclops'' swing. Thankfully the thing really was quite slow and cumbersome, even with the fluid transition between firing the eye beam and dashing towards them Frost still felt he had enough time to evade.

    It was just annoying having to move so soon.

    Just as he was about to kick off with Artemis in tow he heard the voice of a womaning from behind them, filled with authority and strength.

    "Rx kids Maggie''s here to save the day."

 Chapter 463: Chapter 463: Maggie

    "Rx kids Maggie''s here to save the day."

    A woman nearing 7 feet tall and with a muscr frame that surpassed even Hamon dashed from behind Frost and Artemis with a bright smile.

    She appeared before the two young men, protecting them from the oing stone club. She licked her lips in appreciation and tightened her grip around her weapon. Aicallyrge hammer that obviously weighed more than a 100kg.

    Frost superimposed the image of Maya on this woman''s back finding them simr for a brief moment.

    "SMAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!" The cyclops cared not for the change in target as long as it could crush something it. It''s massive club swiftly reached this Maggie with impressive force; the very air being pressurised into a sonic boom.

    Maggie responded with a joyous chuckle before tensing her already massive arms causing them to bulge obscenely. She didn''t even bother using a skill or chakra simply retaliating against the 10 metre tall cyclops with her own brute strength. Her hammer swung fiercely dragging the air with it to smash against the cyclops''s club.

    Baaaaaaaannnnnggggggg!

    A massive explosion of sound erupted upon contact and Frost and Artemis couldn''t help their jaws from going agape in awe.

    The mighty cyclops was defeated in a match of pure strength. Parts of its stone club fragmented as it was blown backwards as if it was as light as a feather.

    The cyclops was even more confused, it turned to look at its raised arm that was supposed to be parallel to the ground in bafflement before looking at its intended prey or rather the one that impeded its path.

    It saw Maggie standing tall with a smile and almost mocking look in her eyes. The cyclops wasn''t the smartest creature, but it was smart enough to know when it was being mocked.

    Anger filled it and its raised arm started to tense and reveal thick veins. Its stone club groaned from the increased pressure exuded by its hand.

    Maggie''s smile grew as she readied her stance for another attack, this time a glow surrounded her hammer, she was preparing to use a skill.

    "Bullen get your arse out of here you''ve got the vanguard squads to worry about." While both she and the cyclops readied themselves for a more destructive attack she wrapped her neck around to yell at Bullen who was watching the situation in a daze.

    Bullen who was covered in scars and sported a rather frightening visage shivered at Maggie''s yell, instinctively standing straight and saluting.

    "Yes vice leader!" He animatedly responded before leaving the vicinity to aid the rest of the vanguard that he was in charge of.

    Frost felt Artemis shiver through their close proximity at the same time revealing his fear towards this woman called Maggie.

    "Artemis we''ll discuss your choice in actionster but for now you''re free to assist me and the young Frost here in our battle. Be wary of your surroundings and take a defensive approach, watch and learn how B-ranks battle." Maggie gave Artemis an almost threatening re before winking towards Frost. He fluid changes in attitude were rather surreal.

    Artemis audibly gulped as fear wrapped around his heart, dreading the ''discussion'' Maggie mentioned. The fear he had towards this woman was enough to make himpletely forget the pressure exuded by the cyclops, whether that was the point or just a coincidence was impossible to tell.

    Frost however not knowing much about this Maggie simply looked towards her with fascination as a wild smile grew on his lips.

    A few moments earlier, the instance that Frost leaped to the air and was fiercely attacked by thebined attacks of the eldest rindar and the B-rank poison herald, Hamon''s entire body tensed and the air around him became heavy due to his unrestrained aura. The northern wall underneath his feet cracked from the pressure and the nearby soldiers struggled to breath.

    "Maggie take care of it." He released an order through clenched teeth and fury filled eyes. His hands repeatedly clenching and unclenching as he tried to remain calm and keep himself from diving into the action.

    He immediately knew the type of monster thatunched that violet beam attack and knew that such a foe was too much for Bullen and Frost to handle while also dealing with the regr vanguard duties. Plus Frost might end up being injured due the sudden attack from the rindar and poison herald.

    The B-rank monsters were starting to umte and take prime roles within the battlefield. Hamon had a clear view of the entire battle and noticed the 3rd and 2nd rindars as well as the other two B-ranks starting to move in earnest. He had no choice now but to send his own B-rank fighters.

    Maggie Chambers one of the two vice leaders directly under himself, a hammer user with strength equal to upper mid B-rank. Few in the entire battalion could match her when it came to physical prowess himself included. If he himself couldn''t enter the field then she was an eptable substitute, strong, reliable and a charismatic leader plus a good match for a cyclops.

    "Hehehehehehe as youmand Colonel." Maggie rose from her seated position with her massive hammer before running to the edge of the northern wall and leaping from it with an excited look on her face.

    "[Tectonic shift]" After winking towards Frost, Maggie the vice leader of the frost wolf battalion stationed here turned back towards the cyclops and called out the name of an advanced level hammer skill.

    Her hammer glowed with the colour of the earth and formed the image of the earth''s crust. Initially on the swing''s start up the earth was t and peaceful but as the hammer rose up the image distorted.

    Large tes crashed against one another below the surface causing the earth to explosively rise up, forming an imposing mountain, granting her swing enhanced weight and destructive force that even the earth couldn''t restrain.

    The cyclops wasn''t holding back either, purple light covered its stone club before transforming into purple coloured electricity that swarmed around it. The skill''s name was [thunder bash] simr in its destructive nature to Maggie''s [Tectonic shift]. It will be a contest of raw power vs raw power.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Maggie roared out as she swung putting all she had into this swing.

    Boooooooooommmmmmm!

    An earth shattering boom exploded upon contact and Frost felt the air attempt to push his entire body backwards. He was forced to stab his ive into the ground so as to remain in ce.

    Dust, fragments of stone, blood and other debris were swept up in the storm generated from their sh but eventually they subsided and revealed the winner.

    Boom! Boom!

    The massive ten metre cyclops was blown backwards, its club falling to the ground with a massive dent in the centre. The great beast was pushed from its initial position, skidding across the ground before falling backwards from the residual force with a bewildered and shocked look, unable to conceive how with its overwhelming size it was the one to lose.

    On Maggie''s side she was pushed back a couple inches and the ground beneath her feet sported spiderweb cracks, but she was standing, and her weapon seemed undamaged. However a few drops of blood leaked from her mouth before being quickly wiped away.

    ''Ah of course she wouldn''te out of such an exchange unscathed.'' Frost noticed the blood and Maggie''s quick hiding of it. she was still a sapient, her body couldn''t possibly be a match for the sturdiness of a monster''s after all. This exchange was to serve as a signal, inspiring their allies with morale and their enemies with fear, she had pushed herself to do so.

    Frost''s hand subconsciously gripped hard around his ive before he ced his hand on Artemis''s shoulders.

    "You heard the vice leader, watch and learn." He spoke with confidence and pped Artemis''s back before leaving him alone and joining Maggie.

    "Are you alright vice leader?" He whispered so as not to alert Artemis or the cyclops.

    Maggie swiftly wiped her mouth one more time and swallowed any blood that threatened to rush up her throat.

    "Perfectly fine, just needed to stretch a little first before the real bout starts hehehehe." Sheughed and ced herrge, furred hand on his shoulder.

    Like Jared Bando, Maggie was a member of bear beastmen tribe, a tribe known for their physical prowess. White fur covered many parts of her skin, and her ears were very simr to that of a pr bear''s but other than that she looked human. Probablyte thirties or early forties, same generation as Dous, Ryuu and Bastion.

    He hadn''t met her personally yet, but he had heard about this vice leader of the frost wolf battalion. A fierce woman who was very fond of using her fists to solve problems and with strength only below Hamon''s, but never would he have guessed she could so easily floor a cyclops. That was a member -though bottom of barrel- of the giant race, a monster species with immense physical strength.

    His shock was evident on his face as his eyes couldn''t help but drift between her massive biceps, hammer and the still floored cyclops.

    "Hahahahaha its nothing much, my kin are already known to be physically adept and my skills in regards to using my weapon surpass this dull beast''s." Sheughed and harshly wacked Frost''s back causing him to choke on his breath before sporting a serious look.

    "But more importantly it was only using one arm." Maggie knew her capabilities and knew that this creature surpassed her physically no matter how much muscle she developed. The cyclops was a monster and easily 4 times her size, if it really was fair contest she would lose without a doubt.

    The short exchange between Maggie and cyclops repeated in Frost''s mind, he nodded in understanding, realising that what Maggie said was true, the cyclops held its club in one hand while she wielded her hammer with both. But even so.

    "That''s still pretty impressive." Regardless of the cyclops situation Maggie still triumphed over it both with and without using skills, something he himself, Bullen and many of the other B-rank fighters were incapable of doing. Maggie deserved his respect.

    "Well aren''t you a charmer." Maggie smiled from ear to ear before frowning. "Looks like our conversation will have to end here."

    The cyclops was steadily getting up and the treeline was rustling.

    Maggie gripped her hammer hard and ced it across her shoulders while Frost readied his ive, adorning it in ice mes and preparing to move.

    "Artemis! Skirmish!" Maggie gave Artemis a clear and simple order which caused the young archer captain to shiver and salute on instinct before reading his bow.

    The cyclops picked up its stone club before facing Maggie and Frost.

    "ME KILL ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!"

 Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Silver lining?

    "ME KILL ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" With an unintelligent grunting the cyclops leaped towards Maggie and Frost with its stone club raised up high and anger clear in its eyes.

    Maggie and Frost silently looked at one another before nodding. Frost swiftly moved to the right with his ive wreathed in cold mes while Maggie waited for thest possible moment to avoid the massive stone club. Her role would be the vanguard, keeping the cyclops''s focus entirely on her while Frost utilised his speed to carve out wounds with his ive.

    Boooommmm!

    The stone club smashed against the floor throwing dirt and debris outwards but failed to reach its intended targets.

    Before the cyclops could retrieve its club Maggie was already mid swing. Her oversized hammer made clear contact with the monster''s elbow causing it to groan in pain while Maggie clicked her tongue.

    "Damn thing''s harder than duram." Although it wasn''t her strongest attack the force in her swing was enough to crush most D rank monsters into pancakes. The cyclops however was only mildly affected by it, likely receiving only a nasty bruise, its grip on the stone club didn''t even weaken.

    Frost made his move a secondter. With his ive outstretched and his cold mes transformed into a dense beam running along the de so as to increase its cutting force he shed the cyclops''s exposed side.

    Schwing!

    His ive howled through the air before slicing into the cyclops''s flesh. The first fewyers were pierced without much issue but once he reached muscle the process dramatically changed. Frost''s face winced as he felt a strong resistance.

    With a roar he forced his ive toplete its cut and exit the other side but even without looking he could tell that the damage was minimal at best.

    The cyclops sported a gash roughly 30 centimetres long across its ribs, but the depth was practically meaningless. A little blood leaked from the wound, but no muscle was damaged. The cyclops felt only a stinging sensation thanks to the ice mes that rampaged through the wound. Taking down this beast was not going to be a short task.

    Frost couldnd a hundred blows with minimal effect, yet the cyclops would only need a single strong blow to break his bones, a starkparison. One which reaffirmed Frost''s weakness in this wide world.

    However with Maggie taking the focal point and Frost''s impressive speed the slow and cumbersome cyclops would need a miracle if it wished tond that single blow.

    Artemis wisely took some distance as he knew that he would be the most likely catalyst for that miracle. After taking a wide berth the fear induced by the monster''s aura lessened allowing him to regain his quick reflexes and watch the fight calmly. He even managed to asionallyunch a few precise attacks at the beast''s weak points thus facilitating his desire for revenge.

    Even while being a mighty B-rank monster having a skill enhanced arrowunched at your massive eye was more than just a little annoying. The cyclops grew angrier and angrier as the fight progressed, increasing its physical strength and tenacity but also making it far more predictable. Maggie, Frost and Artemis were practically ying around with it.

    This fact caused the observing eldest rindar to grind his teeth and explode a nearby frost troll with his fist out of sheer anger. His eyes spat mes and fury threatened to ovee his mind as he stepped forward, aiming to insert himself into the 3 on 1 battle but he was stopped by gnarly looking arm.

    "Are you fucking stupid!" The B-rank poison herald roared out with a frown and cold sweat running down his neck.

    There was a clear reason why he and the eldest rindar hadn''t stepped up to the te after the initial surprise attack on Frost. The eldest rindar may have forgotten the reason due to his anger but he certainly hadn''t.

    Turning away from the rindar he looked up to the northern wall where Hamon was standing, his aura was on full disy and his gaze fixed predominantly upon the rindar and himself, observing them for even the slightest sign of action.

    Hamon was restraining the two of them. The moment they decided to enter the fray the bigmander himself would also enter and from the look on his face he was done taking the safe approach. The poison herald knew it in his heart that if Hamon was forced toe down from that wall at least one of them would be killed by him, with a good chance of it being both.

    The eldest rindar initially turned around to attack the poison herald like he did to the poor frost troll that was just in the wrong ce at the wrong time but the moment he turned his back he felt a looming pressure.

    The image of a giant sized Hamon looking down on him filled his mind and his body visibly trembled. The eldest rindar''s raised fist unclenched and lowered back down to his side. He then retreated back to his original position with a fearful expression.

    "Haaaaaaaa" Hamon pulled back his aura a little after seeing this before letting out a sigh. Things weren''t actually going that well.

    Though it appeared that his mighty presence was preventing the eldest rindar and B-rank poison herald from taking action and that Maggie, Frost and Artemis were sessfully pinning down the cyclops and that the other B-rank fighters and upper C-ranks were holding down the other B-rank monsters this was just on the surface.

    In truth Hamon had no choice but to put his all into filling the two enemymanders with fear, if they entered the fray the bnce would be broken, and deaths would be inevitable. Plus though the other B-ranks were being sessfully handled it was at the cost of his high ranking fighters.

    Without the high rank officers controlling the horde the main force and vanguard troops were gradually being overwhelmed.

    Topensate the magic corps and ranged corps were dishing out extra volleys but there was a limit to their capabilities and the ammunition left in stock, even with Frost generous donation.

    4 days, Hamon needed to n for the entire length and then some. Just surviving today and tomorrow wasn''t enough thus he had a very serious and dour expression on his face.

    The battle continued until night fell and the nextpse urred. The battlefield was once again covered in corpses of all species, a veritable gold mine if one ignored the sapient corpses lying beside them as well as the ongoing situation.

    "All units beyond the wall fall back! Reserve teams front and centre and dismantling corps clean the grounds for the next battle." Hamon roared out his orders as the drums of retreat rang from behind the treeline and the fragmented horde swiftly backed off.

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" Frost panted heavily with trembling limbs as he watched the cyclops regretfully retreat at the sound of the drums. He and Maggie took on a passive approach in the battle thus exposing them to much less risk but at the same time limiting the amount of damage they could cause.

    After several hours ofbat all four of them were exhausted and though individually minor, the wounds on the cyclops had built up. The ten metre tall monstrosity was painted red from its own blood and there was barely any part of its body that wasn''t shed open and or burned.

    Significant bruises could also be seen near its joints and ribs, its right shoulder had even been dislocated by one of Maggie''s harder blows, but it was still fairly far from dying.

    "Come on Frost let''s head back, we''ve fought enough for now, we''ll get him next time." Maggie spoke with a smile, but Frost was astute enough to notice that it was forced. It was clear that she was quite disappointed and possibly even worried about their failure to cull this creature.

    The B-rank monsters would only grow in number and strength, she couldn''t be preupied with just one for such a long time.

    Her gaze then turned towards Artemis who was barely supporting himself, leaning on his bow just so he could remain upright. She shook her head and decided that their ''discussion'' in regards to his earlier actions could wait till another day.

    Artemis''s advancement to advanced level bow mastery could be seen as a silver lining in today''s events plus although she and Frost failed to end their B-rank opponent two other teams were in fact sessful.

    The two rindars survived thanks to their intelligence and use of the lesser monsters but the other two B-ranks didn''t survive the conflict, dying from thebined efforts of the B-rank majors and some of the vanguard elites. Though they were both the weakest B-ranks in y and were already somewhat injured, it was a victory, nheless.

    Frost did his best to steady his breathing before he, Maggie, Artemis and the rest of the forces beyond the northern wall made their way through the mighty gate, entering the safety that was Furano.

    They now needed to rest up and n for the next wave that would likely be even more deadly than the previous one, it would be during night time after all.

 Chapter 465: Chapter 465: The solar dawn

    Hamon donned a clear grimace as he stood at the head of therge war table. He ran the calctions multiple times but each time the result was less than fortuitous.

    Reaching the fourth day alone with their current forces and the estimated increase in enemies seemed almost impossible. Hamon had been present in over half a dozen monster stampedes and was in charge of thest two not including this one yet never before had the situation been so dire.

    Their supplies which had been horded well in advance for a predicted hard stampede were pretty much gone, Frost''s gift was but a drop in the ocean.

    Sure, their smiths were hard at work pumping out new ammunition, equipment and salves out of the innumerable corpses being supplied to them, but such work took time, and they were using them up far faster than they could make them even with their sparing measures.

    The monsters enlisted were just stronger and far more numerous than predicated. The cost to survive the mid stages was not a small number. Hamon was struggling to feel optimistic about their current situation, alreadying up with ideas on how to evacuate the citizens or at least protect as many as they could until the reinforcements arrived.

    He needed more men and woman that could fight but unfortunately there were practically none left. Was he supposed to forcibly enlist every man, woman and child that could hold a weapon and ce them on the battlefield¡­. never, not while he and his officers still drew breath.

    Hamon''s distress was evident on his face and created a dour atmosphere in themand centre. The young officers-Frost included- kept quiet, unsure in what to do and to be honestcking in knowledge of the big picture. Their jobs were solely to work with their squads and kill as much as possible while ensuring the least number of casualties.

    Only Hamon, Dous and those higher up in the food chain were aware of the seriousplications affecting their mission here.

    One of those said individuals let out a sigh and shook his head before smashing his fist down hard upon on the war table, drawing the gazes of everyone in the room, Hamon included.

    "Hamon get that defeated look off that old face of yours its doing nothing to help the situation!" The man yelled in a gruff voice as his cheeks turned red from his sudden anger.

    Hamon''s lips twitched in irritation before heshed out in reply.

    "Shut up Halgrave you''re bloody older than I am!" The man or rather Halgrave was a stocky built man with greying hair and was the 2nd highest officer here in Furano, one of the frost wolf battalion''s vice leaders, Lt colonel Halgrave. And FYI he''s three years older than Hamon.

    "Fire, good use it." Halgrave nodded and smiled, happy with Hamon''s current expression. His little outburst sessfully overturned the dour atmosphere, siphoning out the tension that was building up in the young officers who were oblivious to the situation.

    A few of the older officers as well as Dous, Ryuu and Bastion chuckled in response.

    Hamon looked around the room silently before sighing and internally thanking Halgrave. He always did know how to get him back on his feet, a great rival.

    Though his face was less tense, and the atmosphere was better the situation hadn''t changed thus some of the other veterans spoke up.

    "Commander if the situation is dire then all we need to do is fight harder."

    "Yeah, we old bastards can just go all out."

    "Agreed it would be a glorious way to die instead of bing a useless retiree hahahahahaha."

    Hamon felt a sharp pain in his heart as he heard the veterans'' words. His gaze drifted over each and every one of them revealing the determination in their eyes. These old soldiers and adventurers willingly offered up their lives, a noble sacrifice but unfortunately one which Hamon may have to use.

    His fists were clenched as he struggled to ept this, but he was themander after all. He replied with a fiery gaze and a curt nod, but he couldn''t smile. The veterans however were all smiles genuinely looking forward to the opportunity to let loose all they had until they had no more left to give.

    The young officers however trembled as they heard this,pletely not expecting the situation to be so extreme. Many of these veterans were their teacher''s, their senpais and in some cases even family members.

    ''Such resolve is admirable.'' Frost nodded his head in respect towards these veterans before looking at Hamon.

    "Why don''t you exin to the rest of us how dire our circumstances are." He was technically an outsider but also someone with strength and friends with the local lord, he had the right to ask this question.

    Hamon turned to Dous, Ryuu as well as Halgrave who all nodded in response.

    "Alright all of you listen up I won''t repeat this a second time." Hamon then proceeded to unveil the current situation. How their supplies were nearly all but spent and their forces were dwindling much to quickly and that at their current rate the northern wall would likely be overrun before the 4th day. By the time the reinforcements arrive the town would already be lost.

    An impactful set of news that obviously filled the listeners with a sense of dread but for the majority their hearts were set aze, refusing to sumb to defeat.

    Hamon saw the fire in the eyes of these officers and couldn''t help butment his earlier feelings. These men and woman were soldiers and adventurers, the moment they signed up for such professions they were already prepared to lose their lives. Morale would not be lost due to danger but instead be reenergised.

    A smile gradually grew on his lips before he started chuckling. So, what if death was on the table, if they were to die here, then they were going to die in the most glorious way. The monster stampede would have to pay a heavy price if it wished to take down Furano.

    With everyone now on the same page and the current predicament out in the open a grand discussion took ce with everyone trying to find solutions together.

    An hourter the meeting was brought to a close and the officers split up, some checking up on their squads, several going for a quick bite while the rest found the closest ce to get some sleep, recharging themselves for the night''s wave.

    Frost was reassigned to the magic corps for the night wave which he initially thought would be a serious threat given the added ferocity of the monsters and the more nocturnal species being present as well as the near pitch ckness of the night. Back in the dungeon thetter part wasn''t an issue since Frost could control the light levels throughout.

    When he brought up his query however Ryuu and Jessie tilted their heads in confusion.

    "That''s not an issue in the slightest, in fact night-time is actually a far easier situation to deal with than the day waves." Ryuu said while Jessie nodded in agreement leaving Frost quite perplexed.

    ''Am I missing something?'' He remembered the difficulty his monsters had in facing the night-time waves, the ghosts, ethereal and often poisonous opponents wreaked havoc on his forces and their even more aggressive nature meant that it took far more to bring down the same monsters than during the day.

    "Nocturnal monsters are usually more specified in their characteristics making them have clear weaknesses and strengths. We''ve got an entire contingent of magic users, another of ranged users and all manner of closebat chakra users and weapon masters so finding their antithesis is rather simple." Jessie exined after seeing Frost''s confusion.

    "Darkness is also something non-existent as long as you have certain devices and or mages like us. A simple light-based spell can brighten up the night sky revealing all that dwell beneath it.

    We even have a special magic device that not only creates a temporary sun in the sky allowing us to see around us but also weakness those of the darkness element such as undead." Ryuu spoke thest part with a frown, he wasn''t fond of the undead, few were. Things that refused to rest once their time was up, were unnatural in many people''s views.

    The sight of such creatures can cause even the bravest of people to tremble in fear i.e. Maya.

    Frost didn''t have that aversion probably because of his father as well as siblings Yami and Agar. Yami being the embodiment of darkness was quite well versed in dark magic and using monsters of that element such as the undead whereas his younger brother Agar was in the form of a lich and was proficient with skeletons and other undead monsters.

    To him undead were just another monster type and nothing to be scared of but everyone was different and had their own fears and trepidations.

    Several hourster the warning rm sounded once again, and the soldiers and adventurers quickly ushered to their assigned ces. Theiryout had changed slightly due to the night-time aspect. More mages were on call to deal with the more specified monster types and besides the archers were buckets filled with oil and nearby fire pits allowing them to light their arrows on fire.

    Another method to deal with darkness-based monsters if youcked chakra or mana. The oil would also spread on contact, lighting the target up and in some cases create waves of fire across the battlefield.

    Many of the soldiers and adventurers stationed beyond the wall reced their weapons with massive shields focusing on preventing the advancement of the monsters while leaving their demise to the mages and archers.

    Of course, that wasn''t all, special squads that contained soldiers and adventurers skilled in chakra and or with special weapons, perfect for cutting down those more physically resistant foes could be seen behind the shield wall.

    A fierce fire could be felt from everyone, their morale was through the roof. Including every one of the officers in the situation seemed to work wonders, Frost felt that this wave would be a stark contrast to the earlier ones. Their loses should hopefully be minimal.

    Hamon had calcted however that even under their most advantageous situations they''d barely make it to the morning of the fourth day let alone when everything was against them.

    Luck, determination and hope were all they had to rely on but right now what they needed to focus on was the current wave. They survive this one and move onto the next, win enough and they might see the light at the end of the tunnel, miracles can happen, but you need to work your ass off first.

    As the treeline rustled and the first lines of the monsters revealed themselves Hamon roared out his order.

    "Light up the night sky!" With his yell dozens of people used 100s of magic crystals to active multiple special arrays. These arrays lit up with a golden majesty before linking to together before arge magic device.

    One man was in charge of this device, the prime artificer of the Frost wolf battalion.

    Sensing that the arrays wereplete he removed arge high quality B-rank magic crystal that had been refined and ced it in the magic device.

    With a low rumble the device swallowed the magic crystal, absorbing its entire essence in a couple seconds before glowing. Aided by the multiple arrays the magic device shot a ball of light into the air, like a mortar.

    This ball of light fired up through the air, around 50 metres above the northern wall before exploding like a giant firework. Golden fragments stretched across the night sky in the shape of a massive runic diagram while arge sphere of light formed in the centre appearing like a miniature sun. This was the device Ryuu and Jessie were talking about.

    The sr dawn.

 Chapter 466: Chapter 466: Why are you here?

    The sr dawn magic device activated, lighting up the night sky, revealing those who dwelt beneath and weakening those of the darkness element.

    Dozens of ghosts, undead and shadow creatures cried out as the light of the miniature sun burned their bodies and reduced their strength.

    This was an important magic device that ensured Furano survived the night waves. Simr versions were set up within the other two bastions towns and there was even a backup in case something happened to it.

    This was a magic device designed and created solely tobat the night waves of the monster stampedes and so far, worked wonders.

    "Fire arrows!" Hamon gave his next order, and the ranged corps lit their ammunition on fire before firing in a high arc.

    Their arrows and bolts glowed with an orange light as they pierced the light filled sky before ultimately crashing into the weakened masses of ghosts, undead and shadow-based monsters.

    Fires spread out on contact thanks to the oil, affecting nearby monsters even if they weren''t hit. Chaos ensued as the monsters were set aze, they panicked and ran in all manner of directions, spreading the fire.

    The rindar and poison herald ground their teeth at such as sight but were powerless to stop it. The majority of their current forces were vulnerable to fire, such a situation was inevitable.

    "Ready shields!" Hamon roared out his third order as the vast swarms of monsters ran towards the frontline with maddened fury, many still aze.

    In response the frontline infantry grabbed their massive metal shields that rivalled them in stature and mmed them down hard on the ground creating an imposing wall of metal. They then braced themselves for the charge, bending their knees and cing their weight against the shields.

    Booooooooommm!

    An earth shattering sh erupted as the monster swarm mmed against the shield wall, but this wall didn''t even budge in the slightest,pletely shutting out the monsters'' charge.

    "Carve them up!" Hamon gave his final order with a wild smile.

    The special squads armed with enhanced weapons and or chakra mimicked his wild smile before leaping over the shield wall and carving up the temporarily stunned monsters without any effort.

    A deluge of spells swiftly followed their attack, impeding the next few charging lines that escaped the treeline. This gave the specialist squads enough time to clean up the first group and retreat back to behind the shield wall.

    The next steps would simply by a case of rinse and repeat. Though the arrows volleys would be reduced thanks to their limited reserves the mages would take over with their fire and light based magic.

    The sr dawn by itselfsts close to 2 hours but with the addition of the sub arrays and additional magic crystals it couldst entire night so there was no option to wait it out. The monster stampede simply had to grin and bear it.

    Thankfully for them it wasn''t just dark based monsters within their ranks. Shortly after several lines were decimated a horde of armoured lizards, ice boars and other highly defensive monsters left the treeline in full charge.

    Not limited by the sr dawn they mmed hard into the shield wall causing many areas to be pushed back slightly and the shield bearers to cough up blood but still the wall held, and the monsters'' momentum was brought to aplete halt making them easier to cull.

    Frost watched on with amazement as wave after wave of monsters fell to these simple and passive tactics. If this was during the day the range of monsters charging at all manner of speeds would make such a formation far less efficient but at night it worked wonders.

    The darkness based monsters which made up the majority would be weakened from the sr dawn and thoroughly injured by the mage corps leaving their charging power rathercklustre.

    The use of the armoured lizards and other defensive monsters certainly packed a wallop, but the frequency of such charges made maintaining the shield wall possible.

    Frost''s job for this wave was quite simple, fire spell after spell without end, seriously taxing his endurance now that he was no longer connected to the dungeon.

    4 hourster the night wave ended, and the nextpse arrived.

    The majority of soldiers and adventurers were in rather good moods. The wave went down without a hitch, a few broken arms, some damaged shields and less than ten deaths, a very positive result that inspired them greatly.

    Many were all smiles and very talkative as they dug into their meals whereas others such as the mages were groaning and cursing as they dragged their bodies towards the resting tents. Their mana veins thoroughly overworked from the near constant barrage of spells.

    Ryuu and Jessie had arranged a three line system wherein the first line would fire up to 5 spells before being taken over by the second team which would then be repeated for the third team before starting over. This ensured that they were given enough time to recuperate in between casting and prevent mana exhaustion.

    Like the oil barrels and fire pits near the ranged corps the mage corps had mana amplifying and gathering devices that created mana rich areas surrounding their tforms. However time was still needed to absorb the surrounding mana thus having three lines ensured that not only would the mages have the time needed to gather mana but the deluge of spells would be constant.

    Frost, Jessie and a high C-rank mage named Yanni were each in charge of their own line whereas Ryuu oversaw the entire process and used his higher circle magic to take down specific targets.

    It was clear that the night time waves were carried by the mage corps thus while the others felt energised and celebratory from the win they struggled to even make it down the stairs. Of course Frost wasn''t nearly as bad as they were still able to stand tall and unwavering, something that caused Ryuu''s lips to twitch in irritation.

    He mildly uttered something about youth under his breath before forcibly dragging himself to themand tent. He walked tall and steady, but it was clear that his limbs were trembling.

    Jessie attempted tough at Ryuu''s attitude, but she was too tired. She joined the other mages in heading off to recuperate, leaving the report to Ryuu and Frost.

    Frost being the only one who could move naturally scratched his cheek upon seeing how different he was from everyone else in the corps before quickly running after Ryuu and offering to assist him but was stubbornly waved off.

    Another strategy meeting went down and this time the atmosphere was far more positive. The night wave went down well so it was hard to be pessimistic after such a victory. However the morning wave would be a deciding factor in how the next few days would go.

    Given how hard they worked during the night wave, the mage corps would be far less effective during the morning and the ranged corps would have even less ammunition to utilise. The main line and the vanguard squads would have to fight with limited back up all while doing their best to preserve their numbers.

    Since rest was crucial and no new members had arrived since Frost the meeting was rather brief.

    Frost was invited to eat with Ryuu and Bastion, but he turned them down as there was something else he needed to do.

    Passing beyond the food court, the resting stations and the repair workshops Frost arrived at the medical centre where the wounded soldiers would be brought.

    To the left of this medical centre was an area designated for monster mounts as the frost wolf battalion -though he hadn''t seen much of them- came with several hundred as part of their cavalry forces.

    Apparently they yed a major role in the mid stages and thus suffered devastating loses. With their reduced numbers and the fact that their attributes were more inclined to handle sapients armies rather than monster armies they were currently on standby since thete stages began.

    Frost made his way through the clinic spotting many frost and ice wolves with debilitating injuries as well as minor wounds recuperating with the aid of healers and doctors.

    A young woman who was in charge of this sector noticed Froste in. She dusted herself off to make herself more presentable before walking towards him.

    "Mr Frost." She said with a bright smile.

    "Miss K." He nodded his head with respect before looking beyond the young woman. "How''s he doing?" Frost asked with a painful look.

    K the healer in charge of the monster clinic let out a sigh before replying in a positive tone.

    "Better, he''s responding to treatment well and will surely make a full recovery within the next couple days." K then led Frost into the room behind her where the patient she spoke of was currently ced.

    There lying on a softyer of feathers was Kiba. In the earlier wave when the cyclops made its presence known he was shot down by the beast''s eye beam. His wings were badly wounded as were areas around his torso and hind legs.

    Once Artemis jumped from his back Kiba with difficulty glided or rather fell behind the northern wall, crashing hard onto a few soldiers who moved to catch him. He was then shuttled off to the monster clinic to receive immediate treatment.

    Kiba was currently sleeping soundly and looked far better than when he visited earlier. The deep wounds had started to scab over, and colour had returned to his cheeks. They were taking the slow and steady approach just like with Dous so as to ensure no lingering damage, something Frost was grateful for.

    K wisely left Frost and Kiba alone after warning Frost to not touch any of the wounded areas and that it would be best if he didn''t wake him.

    Though desperately wishing to hear his chuffs and roars Frost acquiesced to the doctors orders.

    He gently sat by Kiba''s side and lightly stroked his head in an affectionate manner causing the tiger to rx in his sleep and even subconsciously purr like a domestic cat.

    He stayed like this for 10 minutes before someone else walked into the room.

    "Oh you''re already here." The person was Artemis.

    "Of course he''s my precious partner after all." Frost quickly replied back while scratching Kiba''s ears. This wasn''t the first time Artemis came to visit, like Frost the moment the previous wave ended he immediately made his way to the monster clinic.

    Kiba was the reason he was able to avoid being injured and even sessfully advance to advanced bow mastery, he felt a lot of gratitude towards him.

    Frost smiled when Artemis walked in, appreciating his attitude towards Kiba.

    "Doctor K advised me not to wake him, but she said that he should make a full recovery over the next couple days."

    "That''s good. I''ll treat him to a high quality steak once this is all over." Artemis whispered as he smiled towards the sleeping Kiba.

    "I''m sure he''d love that." Frost gave Kiba onest petting before standing up and walking towards Artemis.

    "Have you eaten yet?"

    "No not yet, you?"

    "No I came here first. How about you join for a meal." Frost showed a toothy grin as he ced a hand on Artemis''s left shoulder.

    Artemis was caught by surprise for a second before immediately nodding his head and agreeing. Though he didn''t have a very high opinion of Frost when they first interacted, after fighting together and alongside Kiba he now greatly admired and even respected him.

    "Alright then let''s get some high quality grub and chat, I''d like to hear more about the frost wolf battalion as well archery." Frost then led Artemis out of the monster clinic and towards the food court not forgetting to politely thank K and the others on call for taking good care of Kiba.

    At the food court Frost and Artemis both went to the highest quality food booth and received upper C-rank meals that were absolutely to die for. Frost reaffirmed the need to have some high quality chefs back in the dungeon and the in progress camp.

    The two young men chatted about themselves at length creating a firm bond of friendship, Leo and Luna even joined them at ater point thus generating a bond between an up anding solider and the next Viscount of the Furano territory.

    Frost learned that Artemis was only 23 years old but he already had a foot in the door to B-rank, very impressive not just in Northrend but across the entire continent. Artemis was a very talented individual, one that Frost couldn''t help but want to poach somehow but that idea was swiftly shot down.

    Artemis was a loyal soldier and had no interest in serving another group or nation no matter the benefits. He wished to follow in his master''s footsteps and be a mighty general for the Northrend empire.

    He talked about the capital as well as his master and sibling disciples quite a lot drawing the interest of Leo and Luna who were always inquisitive about the capital.

    "So you''re here in the frost wolf battalion to gain battle experience." Said Frost.

    "Pretty much, my master signed me up and slotted me under Colonel Hamon''smandst year and said not to return until I understand the true role of an archer." Artemis spoke in a mimicking voice of his master beforeughing, quite impressed with his own impression.

    "At first I was quite annoyed with his actions and sulked quite a lot but after taking part in this monster stampede, seeing the different roles in the army being utilised and of course fighting with Kiba and then by your side on the frontline I think I understand what he was getting at." A look of understanding donned his face as he came to terms with what his master meant.

    A smile then grew on his lips causing Frost, Luna and Leo to smile in return.

    Artemis then looked seriously at Frost this young elf like man who surpassed him in strength and talent.

    "What about you Frost? Why are you here?"

 Chapter 467: Chapter 467: Bloodbath

    "What about you Frost? Why are you here?" Artemis asked Frost with clear intrigue.

    Frost ced his hand under his chin in thought and looked briefly towards Leo and Luna before answering with a smile.

    "Pretty much the same as you, I guess. The monster stampede holds great challenges making it the perfect opportunity for someone at my level to break through and gain valuable war experience." Frost didn''t lie this was an integral reason for his part in Furano''s defence.

    "Of course, my friends being in need of my strength yed a big part as well." Frost smiled brightly towards Leo and Luna making their hearts warm with gratitude.

    "Hehehehehe just what I''d expect from someone with such strength at a young age." Artemisughed and downed his fruit juice (though it wasn''t forbidden for officers to drink alcohol during the stampede Artemis would never risk his uracy).

    Most adventurers though many being quite loyal, and brave had money and fame as their prime goals especially during the monster stampedes. Even if they flocked to Furano in service to their home, they still wished to leave their names recorded in history and or be paid handsomely for their services.

    It wasn''t a bad mindset and to be honest quite practical, but it did seem to be a restraint when it came to one''s power. Only people fully focused on bing strong and challenging themselves regardless of the promise of riches made it into the legendary fables.

    Artemis believed that Frost fit such a description and was moved by his determination, feeling a sense of kinship with him.

    The group of four talked for a little while longer before splitting up to their own quarters. Frost and Artemis needed to rest and recuperate for the next wave while Leo and Luna had to do their part in managing the town''s affairs.

    Though under heavy siege for the past couple months the town seemed to be full of spirit. Regr people could be seen walking through the streets with smiles on their faces as they headed to work or the children to school. It was as if the whole monster stampede wasn''t happening, even the refugees that fled to the town rested peacefully and worked hard at their assigned jobs.

    The civilians had such strong faith in the soldiers and adventurers that they couldpletely ignore the threat and go about their regr days. Something that wasn''t possible under the previous viscounts, only with Dous and Cassandra had the monster stampedes turned into boons for the territory and no longer something to horribly dread.

    Of course there was still the loud screeches, roars and sounds of battle that could be heard throughout the day, but the residents were trained to tune that out. It seemed as though everyone within the town''s walls knew that panicking andining solved nothing and only made the situation worse so instead they all worked hard and did their best to smile.

    This attitude not only helped them deal with the stress of being under siege but also the soldiers and adventurers, inspiring them to work even harder. Frost was quite surprised by theck of tension within the town and couldn''t help but not his head in admiration.

    Several hours passed and eventually the sun began to rise in the sky marking the beginning of a new day.

    One day had now passed since Frost arrived, leaving three more until the reinforcements were set to arrive. 3 days, 72 hours, in the grand scheme of this long siege it wasn''t that much time, but it wasn''t a short time either.

    "Baaaaaaddddooooooonnnn!!! Baaaaaaddddddoooooonnnnnn!" In response to the rising sun arge war horn was blown awakening everyone on call, Frost included.

    He swiftly jumped from the bed and casted clean up magic before grabbing his ive and making his way to the northern wall.

    Hundreds of soldiers also swiftly swapped ces with the reserve teams, kitted out in all their gear and ready to face a new day.

    Hamon was as always the first one on the wall, it seemed as though the grandmander never slept for more than an hour before returning to his post, inspiring fear in the enemies and vigour into his subordinates.

    "Colonel" Frost crossed his arm over his chest and performed a slight bow, saluting his superior.

    "Hmm" Hamon mumbled in recognition while keeping his eyes locked onto the treeline that was beginning to part.

    Several Majors walked passed the two of them before jumping from the wall to join their squads. Not a very practical approach but certainly impactful.

    Frost hadn''t been assigned a clear position yet. They had discussed their strategiesst night but since Frost was young, able and multiskilled Hamon decided to wait and see what the enemy had prepared before cing Frost.

    Though the soldiers in front of the wall looked plentiful and full of vigour the tforms behind the walls were rather sparce. 80% of the mages were still resting as they were unable to recover from the night''s strenuous activity in just a few hours.

    The archers were also rather tired but at least half of them were reassigned to help guard either the top of the northern wall or the back lines of the main contingent, adding numbers to the closebat forces. Though they wouldn''t be as strong as the regr soldiers and adventurers it was better than nothing.

    Any good archer worth their salt could use some form of dagger or short sword so Hamon put those skills to use thus allowing the smiths to try and catch up with their spent ammunition supplies.

    Those left on the tforms were the strongest of the bunch, the ones that wouldn''t waste even a single arrow. Artemis was one of these few, he nodded and smiled at Frost as their eyes met.

    For the mage side Ryuu wasn''t present but Jessie was. Frost would either be assigned to the mage team to help bolster theircking numbers or added to the ground teams.

    The treeline before the northern wall split open as the soldiers and adventurers all got into position.

    "Roaaaaaarrrrr!!" A cacophony of loud roars erupted as massive monsters charged forth with vicious expressions.

    "Tsk! Bastards!" Hamon clicked his tongue and cursed before giving some sort of hand signal to both Jessie and Artemis who both turned to their subordinates.

    "Frost take up the frontline, squad three will be under yourmand, go!" Hamon didn''t even turn to look at Frost simply giving out his order and waving his hand.

    "Understood Colonel" Frost saluted and smiled wildly before leaping from the wall and joining squad 3 which was made up of minimum mid C-rank adventurers.

    Seeing Frosting towards them they all smiled and gripped their weapons tight before staring dead ahead at therge group of monsters charging forth. This group was considered quite talented and experienced thus their was little pressure on Frost, all he needed to do was fight and asionally keep an eye on them and they''d do the rest.

    "Everyone ready arms!" Hamon loudly proimed his orders, his voice drowning out the roars of the charging monsters and filling everyone with strength as they raised their weapons in preparation for the charge.

    Theyout this time was back to normal with a less dedicated shield wall and more offensive line up however upon seeing the monster types charging forward a certain group of weapon wielders made their way to the forefront of the defensive line, spearmen as well as halberdiers and other antirge weapon users.

    This was because charging towards them was arge contingent of trolls, ogres and minotaurs, all veryrge enemies that would be more susceptible to spears and other pole weapons just like cavalry. A shield wall, even a dense one wouldn''t be able to stop a full on charge of these massive creatures, even the shortest trolls were still 3 metres tall.

    Normally such a line up would actually fair poorly given that Furano boasted arge group of skilled archers and mages. Larger bodies made for far easier targets, but their arrow supplies were low, and the mage team was currently a remnant of its usual power thus making this force quite dangerous and the reason Hamon clicked his tongue and cursed.

    The eldest rindar and the B-rank poison herald were certainly no pushovers when it came to military strategy, they were hitting them right where it hurts.

    "Upper C-rank and B-rankbatants break their charge!" Hamon shouted while smashing his right fist into his open left palm.

    A few powerful arrows along with some more hard hitting spells flew overhead in response, mming hard into the charging ogres, trolls and minotaurs bringing a few down.

    Frost smiled from ear to ear before being the first to run beyond the spear line, his ive hanging out by his side, gradually being coated in energy.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" With a loud roar the energy filling his ive formed into a massive wyvern head and with a sharp swing it shot forward with its mouth wide open.

    Squelch! The massive jaws bit down hard on a troll''s head, instantly decapitating it before mming hard against a nearby minotaur. A bipedal cow creature that sportedrge sharp horns and wielded a mighty great axe.

    Frost followed swiftly after the wyvern head diving right into the thick of battle. His ive shed against the club of an ogre while he kicked out with an ice encrusted left leg knocking back a troll.

    Blood quickly covered him from head to toe making him appear quite ferocious as he smiled.

    Many upper C-rank fighters swiftly followed his lead, utilising the gap he wrenched open they attacked in masse, heavily diluting the wave''s charging power.

    Multiple Major level fighters did the same as Frost, opening up a point for their subordinates to let loose with their weapons. But that wasn''t enough to halt them all. Arge group still charged forth and mmed against the spear wielders knocking back the frontline with their ferocious swings.

    A bloodbath thus ensued.

 Chapter 468: Chapter 468: All-out war

    The smell of blood quickly covered the battlefield and corpses once again littered the ground. Wave after wave of these hard-hitting monsters continued to flood out from the treeline. Their massive bulk and powerful limbs allowing them to smash their way into the frontlines with devasting ferocity.

    Injuries and deaths continued to grow as time went on, without the aid of arrows and magic the frontline troops were taking an absolute beating. Of course, the monsters were dying even quicker, but numbers were never a problem for their side. The horde would constantly replenish their losses as long the as the stampede was still in progress and the B-ranks inmand remained.

    The rindar and poison herald knew this, so they felt nothing as wave after wave of trolls, ogres and minotaurs died. As long as the sapients continued to lose men and women it mattered not.

    After an hour several dozen soldiers and adventurers had perished and far more sported injuries, things weren''t looking good, the B-rank monsters hadn''t even taken to the field yet.

    Frost and the other Major ssed fighters ground their teeth as they did their best to cull as many of the monsters as they could, but they were few in number. Their actions were like boulders along the shore, splitting the wave but unable to stop its whole destructive crash upon the cliff. Over time a hole would always be created.

    "Ahhhhhhhh!" A young woman screamed in agony as her right arm was torn off by an ogre and she was sent flying backwards, her consciousness fading.

    This fall was a major one as she was thest spear wielder in the vicinity. Following her fall the nearby ogres, trolls and minotaurs charged into this gap opening it up and swiftly injuring a dozen or so men and women and even killing another two.

    A crunch could be heard from atop the northern wall and the very next second before a troll was about to smash a solider into meat paste Hamonnded with a gaze full of fury.

    "[Serpent''s whip]!" With a loud roar he activated a powerful leg skill. A green serpent formed around his leg and grew to over ten metres long beforeshing out. The energy formed serpent''s body smashed against the troll''s chest causing it to cave in before the monster wasunched backwards mming into an ogre and another troll.

    Following this Hamon pped his hands together causing runic diagrams to form along his arms. Hamon was a very unique type of mage, one skilled in closebat and creating arrays. His entire body was covered in arrays formed of his own mana and activated with assigned movements or a simple touch making them far more reactive,parable to chakra in speed.

    The diagrams glowed with a purple light and funnelled mana between Hamon''s hands forming a rapidly erging sphere.

    "[Trigram beam]" Hamon''s hands then formed a triangle shape pushing the sphere of energy into a simr shape before the pressure became too much and it burst forth in a violet purple fury.

    The mana beam encapsted the three monsters affected by his [serpent''s whip] as well as the others that rushed into the gap created sending more than half of them careening through the air while literally disintegrating the rest. This was a very powerful attack, one which Hamon couldn''t use repeatedly.

    The purple lightsted for a few seconds before evaporating and revealing a heavily burned ground in front of Hamon. The runic diagrams then swiftly faded and Hamon released a deep breath before giving his orders.

    "Quickly recreate the formation!" Hamon didn''t look backwards and simply stood at the forefront of the main line, guarding it like an immovable deity. The nearby soldiers and adventurers stared at his back in awe for a brief second before quickly reorganising themselves into a solid formation.

    The woman who had her arm torn off was quickly shuttled to safety and given a potion to staunch the bleeding.

    ''That was way too close.'' Hamon thanked his quick reactions as he thought back on the situation. If he hadn''t arrived when he did this gap would have grown and grown and likely caused a cascade of deaths before being rectified. He couldn''t allow such a thing and despite being themander in chief heunched himself into battle. A decision that saved the frontline but also elerated the battle.

    Without his looming presence on the top of the northern wall the B-rank monsters woulde out to y. And as expected the moment Hamon decided to join the battle, the B-rank monsters, the two rindars, the cyclops as well as two new ones, an ogre and minotaur stepped forth.

    The eldest rindar and the B-rank poison herald who were overseeing the battle smiled from ear to ear. The enemymander was the first one forced into the battle, a subtle victory for them.

    "Go and cause some havoc." The eldest rindar gave the order and all the B-ranks under him charged forth joining fray, even the B-rank poison herald joined them. Hamon should be too preupied with maintaining the frontline to involve himself with their actions, so he felt confident in entering the battle despite his cowardly nature.

    Hamon frowned as he saw this but was powerless to stop it. With a harsh stomp he braced himself before the frontline fully preparing himself to act as a guardian.

    "Majors prepare for all-out war!" With a loud roar amplified with his aura Hamon gave an order to Frost and the other B-rank fighters on the ground as well as on the wall. This order enlisted everyone at B-rank level strength so a few majors such as Maggie and Halgrave who were still on the wall jumped down with their weapons in hand.

    Hamon also made a hand gesture intended for the captain who would take his ce on the wall.

    The captain frowned before whispering to a nearby solider who saluted and rapidly descended from the wall, heading deeper into Furano.

    Squelch! Frost cut down an ogre with finesse before turning his attention northward. He licked his lips before steadily walking forward.

    His ice armour that had received arge amount of damage swiftly repaired itself and his ive was suddenly engulfed in a fierce silver me that chilled the surrounding air. His aura that had been growing thicker and thicker with every enemy he yed started to epass his body and make him look incredibly intimidating.

    Nearby D and C-rank monsters felt their bodies being pressured and their base instincts screamed at them to run but with the stampede''smands the conflict made them sluggish neither attacking nor retreating.

    Frost decapitated one such enemy and relished in the sudden surge of DP that filled his body and revitalised some of his expended stamina. He was preparing himself for battle, a grand battle.

    After several steps there were no more monsters surrounding him like before in fact, they instinctually gave him a wide berth. Only one monster stood in his path, a veritable giant of a creature with a single eye and visible wounds across its body evident from thest time they shed.

    The cyclops wielded itsrge stone club with both hands and looked down at Frost with immense fury, its eye swiftly being dyed red as anger took over.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Smaaaaasssshhhhhh!!" The monster roared out as it swung its massive club down upon Frost.

    Bang!

    With a loud bang the club smashed against the ground but there was no blood, it had failed to strike Frost.

    Frost appeared a momentter at the creature''s side, his ive pried and thrusting towards its rib where a scabbed over wound was already present.

    Squelch!

    The ive de easily slid into the wound reopening it and spilling drops of thick red blood, but such an attack was too shallow to mean anything. The cyclops''s entire body was protected by a thickyer of muscle that Frost struggled to prate even with such well-aimed strikes. And after that was the creature''s sturdy bones. The cyclops may not be agile nor smart, but it certainly was strong.

    Frost quickly retrieved his ive after expanding the wound and burning the cyclops''s insides with his cold me. He then jumped backwards narrowly avoiding the cyclops''s grasping hand. This massive lug was incredibly slow and rather predictable but if he made one mistake then it could be over.

    Frostnded a few steps away and readied his ive once again.

    "I''m going to take at least one of your limbs by the end of this." Frost arrogantly stated with unwavering determination. He nned to go the route of an eye for an eye. Kiba was bedridden with mangled wings and damaged hindlegs thanks to the cyclops, so he wished to return the favour. His ive may not be able to severely harm it right now, but he improved quickly.

    By the end of this fight, he was determined to slice through its muscle and even bones.

    His will was so strong that he waved a hand gesture to Maggie telling her to leave the cyclops to him alone. A bold and somewhat arrogant deration but to be honest one that was sorely needed.

    With reluctance she led her team to take on the nearby B-rank ogre thus if the situation was truly dire, she may have enough time to run to his side.

    Apromise that Frost understood and willingly agreed to as did Hamon.

 Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Duelling the cyclops

    Boom!

    Frost dodged to the left avoiding another strike from the cyclops causing its fury to escte even further.

    The beast''s arms bulged obscenely, and its club groaned from the pressure of its grip as it was drawn back in preparation for another blow.

    Frost danced circles around the creature, easily avoiding each and every one of its swings. Even when it used weapon skills or that dreadful eye beam, he moved with deft grace and avoided taking any damage.

    After dodging he''d swiftly counterattack with his ive, swinging it with devastating speed and force towards the cyclops''s exposed areas. Unfortunately, even after shing dozens of times in multiple different areas he failed to leave a single ''deep'' wound.

    The creature''s robust muscles and solid bones always stopped his ive''s momentum, and the cyclops never gave him enough time to push through.

    Frost skidded across the ground after jumping backwards for the umpteenth time. His chakra armour was still in pristine condition and his ive was still wreathed in slivery cold mes, but his breathing had be slightlyboured, he was growing tired.

    The cyclops wasn''t looking that great inparison. Its body waspletely dyed red from its own blood and hundreds of cuts spanned the entirety of its body. Unfortunately, none of them could be considered fatal or even serious, just numerous.

    Frost stared at the cyclops with focused eyes and his jaw clenched in frustration. ''Damn thing''s harder than duram!'' He internally cursed the cyclops before preparing for another attack. Though his progress was abysmally slow he could feel that he was making some improvements. His shes now cut 2 centimetres deeper than when he started.

    As the cyclops reeled back for another swing Frost''s eyes focused on its left arm finally making his choice.

    Booooommmmm!

    With another skilful dodge Frost evaded a skill enhanced strike that sent plumes of soil exploding outward. He twirled his ive as he moved filling it with energy as well as reinforcing his chakra. The sliver mes condensed into a dense silver beam along the de''s edge while the skill infused energy formed into three sharp ws of ice.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" Frost activated his most used skill, one that focused the cutting power of his ive.

    The three ice ws formed before the ive''s de reflecting the light of the early morning sun as they shed down upon the cyclops''s left arm.

    Schwing!

    The ws of ice dug in deep before shattering, opening up the wound in preparation for silver beam of cold mes to slice even deeper before they to eventually fragmented, seeping into the cyclops''s flesh, causing it no small amount of pain.

    Finally, it was the ive itself. With the skill and cold mes entering in advance it shed through a decent amount of muscle before once again being stopped. Frost wasn''t dismayed by this however as once again he''d reached a little deeper than his previous strikes.

    He then promptly pulled out his ive and jumped to the side narrowly avoiding the cyclops''s attempt to grab and crush him with its oversized hand.

    Frost then proceeded to twist his body and shuffled his feet cing him back in front of the cyclops''s left arm.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" He activated his trademark skill once again and attacked the exact same area as before, deepening the wound by another centimetre or so before once again escaping from the beast''s field of control.

    Frostnded a few metres away and let out a restrained breath and smiled, slow and steady wins the race.

    Frost thus attacked the same spot over and over again, repeatedly deepening the wound. Of course, the cyclops wasn''t aplete idiot it realised what was happening and did its best to protect its left arm, but Frost was far faster and far nimbler than it was. Despite its desperate attempts the wound on its left arm continued to grow and grow and soon the cyclops''s bone was clearly exposed.

    The cleaving sound of Frost''s ive carving up flesh changed to a nging sound reminiscent of metal striking metal revealing how dense and solid the cyclops''s bones were.

    ng! ng ng!

    "Rahhhhhhhhhh!" Frost continued to sh away at the cyclops''s left arm generating minute cracks on the bone after each contact. The cyclops roared in fury as it iled around madly, desperately trying to swat every possible ce that Frost could escape to. As long as the cyclops grasped Frost even once it knew it could turn this battle around.

    Frost couldn''t dodge all this desperate iling, but he didn''t need to. With a flourish of his ive, he shed at the cyclops''s fingers, spurting blood and forcing back its hand before easily making use of the opened gap to escape, smiling arrogantly as he did. However, that arrogance was sure to be his downfall.

    A split secondter before Frost could getpletely clear the hair on the back of his neck stood up and a strong sense of danger gripped his heart, causing him to flinch. He was then forced to jump back into the reach of the cyclops.

    A millisecond after he moved a fist sized rock flew passed where his head once was and crashed into the ground. The force behind the rock rivalled that of a ballista as it burst open the ground leaving arge pit in its wake.

    ''If that had struck me, I''d likely have been knocked unconscious.'' Frost''s skin shivered as he imagined the possibility. If he was knocked out the cyclops would definitely take advantage of the situation, likely ripping him apart with its massive arms.

    "Tsk!" A loud tongue clicking could be heard by Frost the moment the rock missed but he didn''t have enough time to turn around and see who ambushed him.

    Thanks to the sneak attack his body was now once again before the cyclops and the beast had already finished winding up. Its massive club was coated in an earth-coloured energy and the image of a dense rock could be seen behind it. The cyclops was using an advanced level skill and this time it was likely to meet its mark.

    "Fuck!" Frost cursed as he desperately braced himself for the impending blow. His ive was ced before him and gripped hard as he generated his strongest move.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" With a violent swing a wyvern''s head was quickly created andunched straight at the rapidly iing club.

    Booooooooommmmmmm!

    A loud sonic boom erupted on contact. The cyclops''s massive stone club smashed against the wyvern maw and was halted for a brief second before shattering the energy-based life form into millions of fragments. It then continued on towards Frost and his ive, dragging a fierce gale as it did.

    Frost frowned and gritted his teeth as he firmly nted his feet on the ground and tightened his posture. This was going to hurt, and he knew it.

    Booooooommmmmm!

    Another shockwave exploded when the two weapons met and like earlier the stone club was stopped but only briefly.

    The webbing between Frost''s fingers split apart, leaking drops of ruby red blood down his hands. The residual force passed from his ive to his arms and then down his waist and legs before entering the ground. His muscles and bones trembled from the pressure and the ground on which he stood loudly cracked forming spiderweb shaped crevasses.

    "Urgh!" Frost coughed up blood before his defences gave out and his body rose up.

    The next moment Frost was literally swatted away by the cyclops''s mighty swing, like a ball facing a bat.

    Don! Don! Don!

    Frost''s body shot out and skipped across the ground. His chakra armour fragmenting as he rolled and even his white robes started tearing apart.

    After the third or fourth skip Frost reached out and mmed his ive into the ground, dragging a deep trail as he came to a stop.

    "Cough cough" Frost violently coughed up more blood and leaned against his ive for support. His appearance was quite ragged looking. His chakra armour was all but destroyed and even his white robes were torn up and covered in muck and blood.

    Crack!

    A horrible sound filled Frost''s ears and his gaze rapidly focused on his ive. Arge crack and chips could now be seen running along the de''s edge. After battling for weeks in the dungeon and the fiercebat yesterday his weapon had finally been damaged. Daki''s hard work hade undone.

    The weapon couldn''t be med Frost ran it through the wringer after all. It was never designed to fight against B-rank foes and especially not to withstand a direct full-strength strike of a cyclops.

    Boom boom boom

    As Frost was gradually regaining his faculties andmenting the state of his weapon the cyclops started chasing after its hated foe, its massive weight causing the ground to shake with every step it took.

    Thankfully due to his quick reactions and good armour Frost''s wounds were pretty superficial. With another blood-filled cough he felt much better and started finding his feet, he really couldn''t risk taking another blow.

 Chapter 470: Chapter 470: Duelling the cyclops (2)

    Frost quickly rose to a standing position. He spat out a dollop of blood and gripped his ive firmly as he prepared to deal with the charging cyclops whose eyes had pretty been entirely engulfed by that blood red colour. It was in aplete state of madness.

    The beast''s massive stone club was raised up high by its still good arm and threatened to squash him like a bug.

    Frost frowned and clenched his jaw as he kicked off against the ground, swiftly evading to the side of the easily telegraphed swing.

    However once again the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a strong feeling of danger gripped his heart. This time the target wasn''t the back of his head but his weight bearing right leg so he could see the attacking as well as the attacker.

    ''Bastard!'' Frost internally cursed, his teeth grinding against each other in his anger. His gaze spurted mes as it focused on the mocking smile of the eldest rindar. The arm the rindar used to throw the rock was still outstretched, he wasn''t even hiding the fact that he was the one interfering.

    Frost did his best to stifle his anger as he moved to quickly deal with the rapidly encroaching rock bullet. The ice cold mes that spanned his ive''s de receded and were almost instantly reced by solid ice chakra, protecting the de from further unnecessary damage. Then with a fluid motion the ive swung violently in a cleaving motion, striking the rock dead on with vertical force.

    Smash!

    The rock itself was nothing impressive strength wise but thanks to the rindar''s aura and arm strength it held a great deal of horizontal force. However upon being struck by Frost''s vertical sh the rock instantly smashed into the ground and shattered into innumerable fragments about a centimetres away from his right foot.

    If it wasn''t for Maya''s no holds barred training there would have been no way Frost could have reacted in time. He internally promised that he''d thank her profusely when he returned.

    He wasn''t out of the danger zone yet, however. This attack was but a mere distraction.

    Swoosh!

    With the rock failing to strike against his right leg Frost was free to continue dodging to the side.

    Boooooooommmmmm!!

    The cyclops''s massive stone club thundered down upon his former position cracking the ground and sending plumes of dirt, blood and other debris flying outwards. The force behind such a blow wasn''t something Frost''s body could easily withstand.

    Frost swiftly reoriented himself and without a moment''s hesitation dashed towards the cyclops''s wounded left arm and attacked with a fierce vengeance.

    ng!

    Once again he failed break the bone, but more cracks appeared, he was almost there.

    He backflipped off of the cyclops''s body dodging another rock bullet andnded several metres away. He then looked towards his ive, the cracks on the de edge had be worse.

    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue before cing the damaged almost 4 star ive into his storage ring and recing it with an upper 3 star ive that he purchased through the dungeon menu. A little inferior materials wise andcking a wind enchantment but should be enough to break through thest vestiges of the arm.

    While the cyclops cumbersomely looked around for the nimble Frost and readied itself for another linear attack Frost focused the majority of his attention towards the eldest rindar. His expression full of irritation and even mocking. The eldest rindar was so petty that despite being the grandmander of the current horde was preupying himself with Frost''s battle.

    The eldest rindar''s expression was no less annoyed as he gently juggled fist sized rocks infused with his aura.

    He had grown unsettled over the past hour, watching the other B-ranks fight against the elites of Furano and even theirmander Hamon entering the fray had made him antsy. Especially when he saw Frost one of his most hated foes practically dancing around the cyclops like an expert ying with a child. The other B-ranks weren''t fairing too much better, but he didn''t really care about them as much.

    Frost was the one that needed to die and to die in the most brutal of ways.

    At the start when Hamon first jumped down and entered the battle his focus was entirely on breaching the frontlines'' defences, ordering the masses to attack weak points and stretch Hamon thin but unfortunately Furano''s forces were more stubborn than he expected.

    20 minutes ago while Frost was focused on the cyclops and pretty much oblivious to happenings behind him a massive amount of corpses were lined up around Hamon. He stood stalwart before the frontline blocking any ogres, trolls or minotaurs from charging into the soldiers behinds him.

    These D and C-rank monster were practically nothing against an upper B-rank fighter such as Hamon, hell even the rindar and poison herald were fearful of him let alone them.

    However he was still just one man, and the northern wall was a very long line to protect. He couldn''t defend everywhere at once and unfortunately that was beginning to show.

    The eldest rindar had him running from side to side so as to burn his stamina and dy his reaction times thus more and more frontline forces were being injured and even dying before Hamon could get to them in time. Slowly but surely chipping away at Furano''s forces which unlike the monster horde didn''t replenish.

    Hamon ripped apart an ogre with his mana enhanced hands, drenching himself in its blood before fiercely looking side to side.

    ''Where the fuck are they?'' He shouted internally before jumping towards the next closest enemy.

    Whistle.

    The next moment his ears twitched as he heard a high pitched whistle and smile swiftly grew on his lips in response.

    ''They''re here.''

    Suddenly from the sides of the northern wall two contingents of monster cavalry silently appeared. There was no more than perhaps 30 on either side but each and every one of them gave off a heavy pressure. This was the frost wolf battalions elite cavalry, their very namesake.

    Of course normally there''d be several hundred riders but after weeks of battle their numbers had dwindled. These 60 men and women however were the cr¨¨me d cr¨¨me, each one battle hardened, experienced and at the minimum upper D-rank fighters by themselves with many being C-rank. However when they''re upon their battle mounts their strengths are multiplied making for a terrifying force.

    Earlier Hamon gave a hand gesture to the captain that took his ce upon the wall, it was ordering him to prepare the cavalry as he knew that he couldn''t hold the line by himself.

    The eldest rindar didn''t even hear theming and could only stand there frozen as the cavalry forces charged from the nks swiftly cutting down line after line of the ogre, trolls and minotaurs. Their longnces making it almost effortless when at full charge.

    With them present on the battlefield it was clear that this would not be the wave that conquered the town. The eldest rindar stared daggers at Hamon and the cavalry forces but eventually let out a restrained breath, his anger evaporating.

    It was wishful thinking in the first ce and the losses didn''t matter it was just ogres, trolls and minotaurs, muscle brain idiots.

    Without a single care the eldest rindar ordered for the rest of the horde to dive in without care. Once their charge was brought to a halt those cavalry would be far weaker, bog them down with dense expendable numbers so as to be rid of that force permanently.

    Since there was no need to care about the overall battle situation anymore the eldest rindar then turned his attention to the battles that did matter, the ones between the B-ranks and thus eventually Frost was singled out as a target.

    Hamon who still needed to maintain his role as guardian of the frontline could only work with the frost wolf cavalry to decimate the masses that charged out from the treeline under the eldest rindar''smand. This took pretty much all his focus as he couldn''t afford for the cavalry force to be reduced either.

    The Majors and their teams and especially Frost were on their own until the situation was resolved.

    Hamon gnashed his teeth as he envied the eldest rindar''s luxurious position, endless forces that could be expended without a second thought. But those feelings were brief, and he quickly returned to culling the enemy.

    Back to Frost

    Frost red at the eldest rindar before snorting in derision, now that he knew who was interfering and their position handling it was nothing. The cyclops was cumbersome enough and he already had enough experience fighting it to deal with the sneak attacks of the rindar at the same time. It was after all just a couple rocks.

    He gave a hand gesture towards the nearby team that was lead by Maggie showing that he was fine. They had witnessed him being fired across the air by the cyclops''s club as well and were worried about his safety.

    Maggie stared threateningly at the eldest rindar causing it momentarily shiver before she attacked the B-rank ogre with even fiercer aggression. Her actions showing her stance, she and her team would quickly deal with the ogre before storming after the rindar.

    Maggie and Halgrave were both mid-level B-rank fighters with ample experience, so they were both strong enough to threaten the eldest rindar especially after it lost an arm and received multiple injuries in its battle against Frost and Hamon.

    It suddenly regretted drawing the bear woman''s ire but that too was brief. The rindar instead double down on its antics picking up rocks with its other hands and preparing tounch even more bullets at Frost and perhaps others from its ce of safety.

 Chapter 471: Chapter 471: Duelling the cyclops (3)

    Frost armed with his secondary ive was determined to take down the cyclops during this wave and the antics of the eldest rindar weren''t going to stop him.

    He twirled his ive and wreathed the de in a dense beam of cold mes, enhancing its cutting force. His tarnished robes and chakra armour also gradually start to repair, returning him to his glorious ice warrior image.

    "Arghhhhhhhh!" The cyclops roared out as it swung with immense fury.

    In Frost response shifted his focus to the cyclops and elegantly dodged to the side once again easily evading the beast''s blow.

    A couple fist sized rocks flew towards him the moment his back was turned but he was prepared. His body twisted allowing the two rocks to fly right passed him, being aware of the attacks made them far easier to dodge.

    His body twisting turned into a fierce rotation as the cyclops swung wide in a horizontal sweep. He jumped up and spun like a tornado, building up force beforeshing out with his ive.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" With his rotation, the ive skill held even more destructive power. The ice ws and de smashed hard against the cyclops''s exposed arm bone, shattering the area upon contact and releasing deep cracks throughout the entire bone. Finally after innumerable strikes the bone had finally shattered leaving just a thin strip to hold the muscle together.

    The effect was almost immediate, the beast''s left arm lost most of its strength and flopped loosely at its side. Bits of bone, muscle and vast amounts of blood exploded outwards as Frost reeled back his ive and kicked off of the limp arm, dodging another rock that this time smashed into the cyclops, dealing some friendly fire.

    Frostnded lightly a few metres away with a gentle smile on his face and a focused look in his eyes. He felt in the zone, his connection to his ive as well as the activation of his skills and chakra were seamless. Not wanting waste this enlightened state his grip tightened around his ive as he kicked off the ground and charged towards the cyclops.

    He was going to slice through the rest of the arm with a single swing. Without the rigid bone in the way he was sure he could do it. After that he would move to kill the beast.

    As Frost was gaining the upper hand against his foe Maggie and her team were quickly overwhelming the B-rank ogre. Knocking it back and forth between each other, granting it no breaks and no chance to counterattack.

    The eldest rindar felt a shiver down his spine as he saw this, his eyes also met Maggie''s re, she wasing for him. Anger and fury filled his body as he was looked at with such disdain, like he was some kind of prey. He was a predator; it was supposed to be him that looked at others in such a way.

    His focus thus left Frost and was redirected towards Maggie and her group. He filled the rocks in his hands with his aura to enhance their destructive capabilities and thenunched them with extreme force at the weaker party members, greatly aiding the B-rank ogre.

    Maggie''s team wasprised of upper C-rank fighters, weaker than Frost and herself so they couldn''t react quite as well to the sudden rock bullets.

    One swordsman narrowly evaded thanks to Maggie''s shout but an axe wielder wasn''t fast enough and was blown backwards from the blow. The rock smashed against his right shoulder, shattering part of his pauldrons and halting his swing upon the ogre''s waist.

    "Urgh!" he loudly groaned from the pain and grabbed onto his injured shoulder. His failure tond a blow on the ogre allowed the monster to gain a slight breather and violently swing its oversized great sword in a horizontal sweep, forcing back Maggie and the rest.

    It looked briefly looked towards the eldest rindar in thanks, not expecting to be saved by it. Of course the rindar didn''t give two shits whether the ogre died or not but keeping it alive meant that Maggie and her team wouldn''t be able to charge over and attack him.

    To be honest he was tempted to enter the battlefield in person, as long as he joined the cyclops or the ogre or even any of the other B-rank monsters they''d be able to destroy their attackers but he was wise enough to know that doing so would put him at great risk.

    Hamon though upied at the moment with protecting the majority of the frontline and the recently arrived frost wolf cavalry would drop that role at the drop of a hat if it meant an opportunity to take down the enemymander. It was clear that he regretted allowing it to escape the other day, he would not do so a second time.

    Thus even though he knew he could change some of the battle''s oue the cost was not worth the risk, so he remained at the treeline. His three hands filled with fist sized rocks as his gaze moved to the other nearby teams, Hargrave''s in particr who was facing off against his second brother.

    With the eldest rindar''s attention away from him Frost moved in even greater earnest. He ducked to avoid another wide sweep and rolled across the ground when the cyclops attempted to squish him with his massive foot. Though such movements appeared inelegant they were effective, and Frost was once again at the monster''s left side with his ive primed for one more blow.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" Frost felt arge amount of energy being sucked out of him as he used his most powerful and most costly ive skill. A fierce wyvern head swiftly appeared floating above his ive. The head roared as the ive shed downwards onto the limp left arm. Its razor sharp teeth tore into the cyclops''s flesh, rending it apart till it was a mangled mess without any structure.

    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Frost then roared as his arm muscles bulged, stretching out his robe. He put his full strength and then some into this swing. The moment the head was finished shredding the arm the chakra enhanced ive sliced through it like a hot knife through butter.

    If he hadn''t improved during the battle and hadn''t used the [wyvern''s maw] skill to loosen up the muscle fibres then he wouldn''t have been able to cut through the muscle and flesh so easily. Along with his sudden in the zone state everything added up and allowed him to achieve what he promised.

    Schwing!

    Frost''s ive prated the cyclops''s arm and exited from the other side, it was covered in blood and bits of flesh but still shone in the light.

    Don!

    A heavy thud was heard from behind him as the cyclops''s arm fell to the ground,pletely severed from its shoulder. A geyser of blood gushed out from the open wound before gradually stopping, the wound cauterising or rather sh freezing thanks to Frost''s chilling cold mes.

    Though this prevented serious blood loss it also eliminated the possibility of natural regeneration. The cyclops lost its left arm permanently. Even if it somehow escaped today and survived it would never again have a left arm. Payment for its sneak attack on Kiba.

    The cyclops thanks to its maddened state felt very little in terms of pain but it was hard to not notice therge and familiar arm lying by its feet.

    It blinked its massive eye in confusion, stunned by what it saw for a few seconds before anger overwhelmed it.

    "ARRRGGGGHHHHHH KILLL YOOUUUUU!!!!" Its roars shook the air like a sonic boom and its aura exploded, pressuring the surrounding area. Frost felt goosebumps form on his arms and the small hairs on his body stand up before his aura shed in intensity allowing him to calm down and continue moving.

    While the cyclops was confused for a few seconds he was already preparing himself to attack once again.

    After a few deep breaths and light shakes a mad grin appeared on Frost''s face as his battle lust ignited fully. With a sharp swing the blood collected on his de was cleaned revealing the sharp silver metal underneath.

    "Time to end this." With the creature missing an arm it was no longer possible for it to fervently protect its biggest weakness, its massive eye. Of course Frost wasn''t just aiming to remove one of its arms for the sake of his own pride and training purposes no that was just a happy extra.

    The cyclops was slow and cumbersome but to make up for that it was incredibly strong, robust, covered in dense muscles and fairly magic resistant ¨C Frost already triedunching an ice fireball at it and saw little to no effect. It did however have a ring weakness in its defences, its massive eye.

    Of course the cyclops''s itself knew that and vehemently protected its eye from any aggression. Despite being slow and cumbersome it was pretty skilled and quick when it came to protecting its eye. Every attack Frost attempted would be met by the thick wall of muscle that was one of its arms. But now that one of them was out ofmission the eye was easy pickings.

    Frost with his mad expression charged dead ahead, his faceing infinitely close to the monster''s massive club before deftly avoiding it by a hair''s breadth.

    Booom!

    The club smashed down on the ground, missing Frost as always but this time it couldn''t retrieve its weapon.

    "[Ice obey my will and entangle my foe, ice entanglement.]" Frost hastily chanted the aria for the 2nd circle spell [ice entanglement] enhancing its effect somewhat.

    Arge magic crest swiftly appeared beneath the stone club and summoned vines of ice that wrapped around it and its hand, restraining them against the ground. Of course with the cyclops''s physical strength this restraint would onlyst a second or so but that was enough.

    The cyclops was easily 10 metres tall, a difficult height to reach simply by jumping -another problem in getting to its weakness- so Frost appeared on the monster''s club and ran up its arm with his ive stretched out to the side. His chakra mes bing denser and denser around the entire de, forming a thick encasing.

    Panic suddenly filled the cyclops as its instinct were warning it of Frost''s intended target. It madly pulled at its club trying to break the restraint while at the same time instinctively attempting to swat Frost away with his other hand but unfortunately it no longer had another hand.

    Unable to use its hands the cyclops''s eye radiated a dark purple light as it prepared to use its eye beam.

    Frost''s smile grew when he saw the purple light, he expected such a reaction. He continued to run up the cyclops''s arm disregarding the rapidly expanding purple light.

    The moment he reached the creature''s shoulder the eye beam fired with immense speed, greatly surpassing an arrow towards its right shoulder.

    Frost at the same moment suddenly kicked off the monster''s shoulder, shooting up several metres. With a mad smile and berserk eyes Frost pointed his ive directly downwards and activated his advanced airborne skill.

    "[Skyfall]"

 Chapter 472: Chapter 472: Duelling the cyclops (4)

    "[Sky fall]" Frost while floating above the cyclops and staring down upon its massive eye reeled back his ive and activated his advanced ive skill [sky fall].

    As he spoke the name, energy was swiftly drawn from his body, wrapping around his ive to copy its form before spreading outwards in the four cardinal directions. An additional four ives almost identical to the corporal one Frost wielded appeared around it, their des poised to prate the cyclops''s eye with deadly precision.

    The moment the four ives were fully formed Frost''s right arm tensed, his arm muscles growing several sizes as he started to thrust downward.

    The air before the five ives howled as it was suddenly prated, a minor sonic boom erupting as Frost''s thrusting speed threatened to break the sound barrier.

    The cyclops was powerless to stop what was about to happen. Its use of the eye beam prevented it from even closing its eyelid, itsst line of defence ¨C a several centimetre thick piece of flesh that could parry most half assed blows.

    The sudden change in position and sudden attack were far too much for it to deal with and even fathom.

    Time seemed to slow down for the cyclops as a deathly pressure wrapped round its heart and whispered in its ear filling it with dread.

    It watched in fear as the five ives grew closer and closer to its unprotected eye, powerless to stop it.

    Squealch!!!

    The five ives viciously stabbed into the cyclops''s massive eye causing bits of it to blow apart and decorate the battlefield. A gruesome sound escaped as they prated the strange substance and continued to dig even deeper, swiftly reaching the back of the eye almost into the monster''s brain.

    A heart rending, animalistic scream erupted from the cyclops as Frost''s ive pierced its eye and threatened to continue deeper. No amount of rage induced state could repress such immense pain and fear.

    The four energy formed ives vanished once they reached a protective wall, leaving just the 3 star ive lodged so deep that less than half the shaft was visible.

    Frost''s ears were shaken by the loud scream and his attire was caked in bits of cyclops eye, but he ignored them all and continued to push his ive deeper, determined to kill the cyclops before his time ran out.

    "Argghhhhhhhh!" Frost roared out as he gave his thrust a second wind. This wall of protection was all that was separating his ive from the cyclops''s brain.

    With the second thrust his ive pushed its way through the protective wall at the back of the eye and pierced the monster''s brain causing its body to visible tremble and its screams to be even louder.

    The cyclops in its frantic state started iling around in an attempt to throw Frost off its body but it was toote.

    With the brain now reached Frost unleased his chakra mes without restraint swiftly enveloping it in fire, sh freezing the vulnerable organ and causing devasting damage.

    The result was almost instant, the cyclops stopped iling and its limbs lost their strength, its massive club fell to the ground and its organs started shutting down.

    However Frost didn''t get a chance to enjoy his hard won victory.

    Booooooommmmm!!!!!

    Without any warning Frost was hit in the side by an immense force. His chakra armour shattered instantly, and the armour Daki made him cracked as it attempted to absorb the blow. The remaining force smashed into his ribs, breaking three of them and catapulting his body off the cyclops. He couldn''t even keep his grip on his ive as his body was shot through the air.

    The sudden change was aplete shock, Frost a moment ago was dealing the final blow to the mighty cyclops but now his body was harshly skipping across the ground, leaving deep divots after each bounce.

    When his momentum finally died down his body was in a right state.

    "Cough! Cough!" Frost violently coughed up blood and a pained look adorned his face as he looked down at his injured side. Arge imprint of a fist could been seen, and his ribs were partially exposed, a serious injury.

    With difficulty he removed a mid-level health potion from his storage ring and glugged down its contents. The concoction immediately getting to work in healing his wounds and numbing the intense pain that made even breathing torture.

    Other than the major wound caused by the fist the ground he skidded across caused many other areas to be cut up and bruised while a couple fingers on his right hand were broken from attempting to hold onto his ive.

    After getting his bearings and taking the mid-level health potion Frost finally looked towards his original position. He had a good idea of who attacked him, but he had to be sure.

    In the distance he saw the cyclops in the same position and his ive sticking out of its eye at a slight angle but no sign of his aggressor. A sense of danger rippled in his heart, and he harshly turned around with his left fist ready to punch out.

    Thankfully however it wasn''t an enemy.

    "Frost are you alright?" Hamon appeared by his side with a concerned expression.

    "Yeah, broken ribs, a few cuts and bruises as well a couple broken fingers, but I''ve already taken a potion." The armour he wore really saved him, limiting the damage to just broken ribs and not shattered ones which would need much longer to heal.

    "What happened?" He asked in confusion before hearing a woman scream from another area.

    "Sorry gotta go can''t let him get off scott free." Hamon''s face which showed concern quickly changed to one of anger and aggression before his form vanished as quickly as he arrived.

    Frost understood and watched the situation from afar, letting his wounds heal.

    "Squad leader." Bagua one of the C-rank adventurers assigned under Frost as well as the one who led the adventurers during the "new dawn" operation came up behind him.

    "I''ll guard you until you''re ready to move." Bagua stated before setting up beside Frost, his eyes watching for any sign of an attack. Frost smiled and let himself rx a little and watch the situation unfold as the potion did its job.

    He had guessed right; it was the eldest rindar who attacked him. The moment he got the jump on the cyclops the rindar moved to attack in earnest regardless of the risk, he couldn''t risk losing the cyclops especially to Frost. However despite his quick actions he was still too slow, the cyclops was already dead on its feet the moment he arrived.

    Though filled with fury towards Frost he couldn''t chase after him, a single surprise blow was all he could do before dashing away to the next battle site.

    The sound of the monster drums began resounding throughout the battlefield as Frost bounced across the ground, signalling the remainder of the horde to retreat behind the treeline.

    The eldest rindar didn''t want to get bogged down in a fight with Hamon so he quickly made moves to free the other B-ranks and deal somest minute damage.

    After smashing Frost with an aura infused fist and checking the state of the cyclops he moved towards Halgrave''s team who were up against his second brother.

    One of the woman in his team was punched like Frost was and sent barrelling through the air with heavy injuries then he and his younger sibling pushed back Halgrave before he moved once again this time to aid his youngest brother. The others didn''t matter as much, and the B-rank poison herald could handle himself when it came to quick retreats.

    However when he finally made his move against Maggie''s team to help out the B-rank ogre Hamon had caught up and wasn''t letting him go.

    A violent battle happened between the two with the rindar clearly on the losing side despite Hamon expending his stamina for the past couple hours.

    Eventually the B-rank poison herald and the second rindar moved to aid theirmander allowing him to escape but there was a cost. The eldest rindar lost another arm and had a couple ribs broken while the second rindar lost an eye and broke his left femur.

    The poison herald appeared to be the least damaged externally but a fiercebo from Hamon devasted his organs causing him to cough up a serious amount of blood. And without the eldest rindar''s aid Maggie was able to take down the B-rank ogre. The three monsters made their escape shortly after that, not wanting to tangle with Hamon and her.

    Of course facing off against three B-rank adversaries by himself was no easy task, Hamon ended up with more than a few injuries and needed to seek treatment from their resident healer Gilianna.

    Once the two rindars and poison herald retreated behind the treeline with the remaining B-ranks and fractured horde Maggie and another one of her squad helped carry Hamon back to behind the wall for treatment.

    Bagua did the same for Frost which he was most appreciative of.

    The officer meeting after this wave had quite a despairing pall over it. Several dozen losses among the frontline, further loss of the frost wolf cavalry, serious injuries among their Majors and elite fighters and most of all theirmander came back injured and poisoned.

    Hamon sat on a medical bed while Gilianna attended to him with a condemning look, and several tongue clicks. She shouldn''t have to be spending her time healing the twomanders, they were supposed to only enter the field under the most dire of circumstances and or when fighting the leader of the stampede yet here she was healing both of them just several days into thete stages.

    Hamon could only silently listen to her grumbling andints.

 Chapter 473: Chapter 473: 4-star weapon

    As Gilianna tended to Hamon with a condemning expression all the officers in the meeting stood or sat in silence around the strategy table. No one wished to be the first to speak after such a painful wave.

    "Haaaaaaaa" Frost who seemed to be the only one in decent spirits let out a loud sigh drawing all eyes towards him.

    Thanks to the mid-level health potion and the glorious DP he absorbed after killing the cyclops Frost was looking pretty well for someone that was sneak attacked by a B-rank rindar. Most of his serious injuries were healed leaving just bruises and exhaustion.

    He''d had enough of this negative atmosphere; it sucked out all the joy he had during his duel earlier.

    "Yes, we lost more men and woman than expected and our upper ranked forces are sporting innumerable injuries and even Hamon is requiring the personal attention of Gilianna, but the enemy is in a far worse state." Frost loudly proimed, seriously annoyed by the dour atmosphere.

    He understood their reasons as unlike him who was technically untethered to Furano and the Northrend empire they were, losing here carried far more weight for them than it did for him. Thus, their fears and worries were to be expected but, in the end, they served no purpose, moping wasn''t going to improve the situation and in fact it may even make it worse.

    "Yes we were hurt but in return we massacred a vast amount of D and C-rank ogres, trolls and minotaurs.

    All powerful monsters that made up arge chunk of the horde''s brutal charging power as well provide a vast amount of materials; meat, hides, bones you name it, veritable treasure troves." Frost''s loud voice and positive attitude seemed to slowly infect those around the strategy table, the young officers in particr saw their fists start to clench, and smiles grow on their faces revealing prideful and somewhat greedy expressions.

    "But most of all we severely weakened their upper cast, the B-rank ogre, dead! The B-rank cyclops, dead! The leading rindar, missing another arm!

    The second rindar is now blinded in one eye and the B-rank poison herald sports serious internal injuries thanks to our mighty Colonel Hamon who faced the three of them alone after guarding the frontlines from the endless horde!" Frost''s voice rose several octaves as he continued and he waved his fists in fighting gestures, inspiring the officers.

    "We may have been hurt but the enemy was wounded. This wave may have been hard and costly but the next few should be a breeze.

    Our mage corps will be present, and the enemy B-ranks will be licking their wounds in fear, we have potions and healers whereas they do not." Frost''s grand speech ended with a strong conviction before he turned to Hamon who couldn''t help but feel inspired along with the rest of the officers.

    A mad smile could be seen on his face and his eyes revealed a zing fire that didn''t really match someone of his age.

    "Ma''am what''s the Colonel''s prognosis, will he be in fighting shape soon?" Frost asked Gilianna with a respectful tone knowing thanks to his talks with Leo, Artemis and Jessie about the sway this old woman held in the frost wolf battalion.

    Gilianna smiled from ear to ear and subconsciously nodded in approval to Frost''s attitude before answering. "As long as he behaves the brat should be back to full strength by tomorrow." She harshly pped Hamon''s back causing him to cough and blush from embarrassment.

    He was a senior and the grandmander to the forces here in Furano, yet he was just called a brat in front of all his subordinates.

    Gilianna gave Frost a thumbs up, greatly approving of his speech that dramatically turned the mood around. Frost gave a respectful nod in response before returning to his seat, he''d done what he set out to do. Now the atmosphere was far morefortable and far more in line with what it should be after he managed to solo kill a B-rank monster.

    Thanks to Frost''s powerful speech the meeting went well, the next wave''s strategy was hashed out and the squad reports were dealt with quickly. After 20 minutes it was brought to a close and everyone broke off to prepare for the uing wave.

    Since Hamon needed direct treatment from Gilianna, Dous would be takingmand upon the Northern wall in his absence. Though he wasn''t at his peak condition and was banned from enteringbat he could oversee the battlefield as amander thus inspiring the troops.

    The first thing Frost did once the meeting was over was visit the equipment repair workshops. His primary ive the half step 4 star weapon was damaged during his bout with the cyclops and needed to be repaired lest it breakpletely at the worst possible moment.

    His secondary ive that actually slew the cyclops was still in good condition -another adventurer that was under his assigned squad was kind enough to retrieve it for him while Bagua assisted him through the gate- but it was a tad too low in quality to repeatedly face off against upper C-ranks and ultimately B-ranks.

    Unfortunately there wasn''t a single smith in Furano capable of forging 4 star weapons and equipment of that quality was still locked in the dungeon menu thus he''d need to make do with repairing his half step 4 star ive whenever it was damaged.

    Given that Borris was one of the best smiths in Furano as well as the original creator of his weapon Frost sought him out.

    Like the food court the repair workshops were split into different areas depending on the equipment''s quality and type. And to be expected he found Borris at the highest area with his hammer repeatedly hammering against a red hot sword fresh out the forge.

    Sweat was clear on the old dwarf''s face and his body was obviously tired given the bags under his eyes but his expression was almost fervent as though he was chasing after something madly, his eyes revealing a fierce fire that wasmonly associated with youth.

    One of his grandsons was working the counter and recognised Frost almost immediately. It was hard to forget his appearance after all.

    "Mr Frost right, are you here for new weapons or repair work." The young dwarf asked in a loud voice as the surrounding area was filled with the nging of metal and the roars of furnaces.

    "Repair work, my ive was damaged while facing the cyclops." Frost spoke loudly in reply while retrieving the cracked ive from his storage ring.

    The young dwarf''s eyes lit up when he heard the word cyclops, but he also subtly frowned. B-rank monsters really needed 4 star weapons to beat otherwise there was a good chance of weapon damage.

    For Frost to fight against a cyclops and live was mightily impressive so he couldn''t help but feel awed however he was a cksmith and knew that he nor anyone in his family could provide him with a weapon truly suitable for fending of such foes thus the frown.

    "Alright understood, I''ll have my grandfather see to it right after he''s done with his current request, should be ready before the next wave starts." The young dwarf picked up the ive and analysed the damage thoroughly. Only the de was damaged, the shaft and engraving were unmarred so it should be a simple job even with the high quality materials.

    Just when the young dwarf was about to fashion Frost a ticket receipt and catalogue the request as per normal Borris who was previously working at the forge walked up silently and took the ive from his grandson''s hands.

    The old smith''s eyes that were full of fire while he forged became even more pronounced as he analysed the ive thoroughly leaving not a millimetre unchecked. His grandson was at first shocked by the sudden retrieval but held back his tongue the moment he saw the look in his grandfather''s eyes. Frost who didn''t know what was going on also stood in silence, waiting for Borris to speak.

    After 2 minutes or so arge grin grew on Borris''s face and the fire in his eyes emboldened further. He turned to look at Frost, revealing the fire within him. This caused Frost to shiver before he smiled in reply. He recognised that fire, it was the same fire he had when he was training and was on the brink of breaking through. Borris seemed to be on the cusp of bing a 4 star cksmith.

    "Do you have a backup ive?" Borris asked as his hands caressed the ive in his hands, feeling the material, connecting with it.

    "I do." Frost thus removed the 3 star ive he purchased through the dungeon menu. It was made of duram alloy pretty much through out thus it was quite robust butcked affinity with his chakra and magic and wasn''t as sharp as his primary one but still a solid weapon.

    Borris looked over the weapon briefly, nodding subconsciously in regards to the craftsmanship.

    "A good weapon perfectly forged." Hemented in appreciation, duram and its alloys were fine materials and easy to work with but near impossible to form anything higher than 3 star.

    His eyes then looked back at the ive he forged all those years ago, the fire within him roaring out.

    "Will you be alright with that weapon for the next 48 hours or so?" Borris asked puzzling his grandson who knew that even a through repair on the ive''s de would only take an hour.

    Frost brought his hand up to his chin and thought about the next 48 hours.

    ''The B-rank monsters should be taking a less aggressive approach for a while my opponents will mainly be C-ranks.'' An upper 3 star weapon should be enough for such opponents he surmised.

    "As long as nothing unexpected happens it should be fine but any longer there may be an issue." Frost answered with a serious look. After 48 hours a B-rank or B-ranks stronger than the rindars may arrive. The image of that frost giant Valend who was yet to appear came to the forefront of his mind.

    If he had to face such a monster with just his 3 star duram ive there''d be no chance of him being able fight on equal-ish footing.

    Borris was silent for a moment as his mind rang through numerous simtions.

    "I can''t promise anything since it''s unknown territory but if you''re willing I''ll do my best to meet that deadline." Borris spoke with conviction, his expression showing his fierce desire to try.

    Frost frowned initially before smiling, whether he had an upper 3-star ive or his half step 4-star ive Valend was still beyond him, he''d still lose regardless so taking a chance was better than nothing.

    "Very well show me your best work Borris, I have great expectations." Frost let out augh as the look in his eyes mirrored that of Borris''s. The two men thus shook hands sealing the deal however Borris''s grandson was left out the loop, his head tilted to the side in utter confusion.

    "What''s happening?" He asked curiously.

    His grandfather thus turned towards him with a wide smile and mad expression.

    "I''m going to attempt to reforge this ive into a 4-star weapon."

 Chapter 474: Chapter 474: 4-star weapon (2)

    "I''m going to attempt to reforge this ive into a 4-star weapon." Borris said with a clear voice allowing his grandson to catch his words despite this loud cacophony of nging metal and roaring furnaces in the area.

    "Oh I see that would certainly help Mr Frost when he''s fighting the B-rank monsters, they really do need 4 star wea....wait what!!!!" At first his grandson didn''t get the impact but after a second it hit him like a sledgehammer, and he stared at his grandfather in shock.

    A 4 star weapon, being able to forge something of that standard would separate one from the chaff, one would truly be a master of their craft.

    Anything below 4 star was rathermon even Furano given its boonies location had multiple smiths that could produce good quality 3 star equipment. It even had Borris and another smith who could asionally create half step 4 star equipment and this was just one town out of many in the empire.

    However the number of 4 star cksmiths in the entire empire number roughly 20 and each of themmand a great deal of respect in the smithing trade. Most work in the capital Arkheart whereas others are set up in therge cities in the more lucrative and powerful counties. Customers flock from all over the empire as well as other countries to purchased their wares.

    Beyond the 4 star cksmiths and the highest in the Northrend empire as well as the surrounding countries are the 5 star cksmiths whose work is unparalleled, they even have the emperor''s respect.

    Northrend boasts 3 of such individuals, one that has the title of royal forger, Lorenz Helmschmeid a mid-level 5 star smith who forges the equipment of the royal battalions and even the royal family.

    Next would be the military forger, David Baker who fashions equipment for the generals andmanders of the non-royal battalions (not the war ursa as they get most of their equipment from within the cial mountains). Amoner who rose to prominence through his sheer skill, also mid-level 5 star.

    And finally the greatest smith in the Northrend empire, Asakura Hina. The youngest of the three and the only woman yet her skills are undisputedly the best making her an upper 5 star cksmith. She is the only one that doesn''t serve anyone, a free smith that forges and sells to whoever she wishes, never being restricted despite the very, very generous offers she receives.

    She''s technically considered a smith of the Northrend empire as it''s her home country, but she travels wherever whenever thus the first two are more prominently known in Northrend.

    The young dwarf, Dean had always dreamed of bing a smith of such repute as did everyone else in his family but to this day none of them managed to even glimpse into that realm besides his grandfather. Borris was the most talented smith in the family, but he was old and he himself said that his abilities were rusting instead of improving.

    Dean didn''t know exactly when, but his grandfather started passing the mantle of the workshop to his son and daughter, taking a less involved approach, he even gave away his so called greatest work to a young elf that showed promise a few weeks ago as if he was letting go of all attachments.

    However doing so elicited changes within him, Borris no longer felt the need to forge just for business sakes but purely because he wished too and giving away the ive stopped him living in the past. A new vibrant passion bloomed within him, inspiring him to push his skills to the next level. This onset monster stampede encouraged this newfound growth even further.

    Despite his advanced age Borris was doing a majority of the repair work and demanding forge work personally and was seeing minute changes in his craft after every forging.

    Upon seeing Frost and the damaged ive that was once one of his greatest works he no longer felt regret, despair or longing instead a phrase rang in his head like a bell.

    ''I can do better.'' As soon as this phrase entered his head he started walking towards his grandson and pried the ive from his hands, inspecting it in detail. A voice that had been quiet for so many years roared out like it did in his youth, too forge and too forge something better, more worthy of his craft.

    Dean was in shock for a whole minute before he rapidly blinked his eyes and began to question what he just heard.

    "Did you say you''re going to attempt to reforge this ive into a 4 star weapon?" His voice was shaking as were his hands as excitement started to build up.

    Borris looked at his grandson with an evenrger smile before nodding.

    "Actually what I should have said was that I am. No attempt I will re-forge this weapon to 4 star." Borris turned to look at Frost the client.

    "On that I give you my word and honour as a cksmith." He thumped his chest hard asking Frost to trust in his skills.

    "I''ll hold you to that and promise to christen it with a B-rank monster." Frost loudlyughed with sparkling eyes, looking forward to wielding such a weapon.

    Borris on receiving Frost trust gave a light bow before heading off to a forge further in the back that was reserved for the highest quality of materials.

    "Dean get your father and aunt, tell theme and assist me and call one of your cousins to man the counter, in your generation there''s no one as gifted as you when ites to smithing I want you to watch each and every part of this process got it." Borris hollered in a joyful tone as he fired up his forge and starting to jot down designs as well as the materials he''d need.

    Dean didn''t respond for a few seconds before he pinching his cheek to make sure he wasn''t dreaming. His body trembled and he flinched from the pain, this wasn''t a dream, his grandfather the man he had watched since he was, but a little dwarf was back in action.

    "On it!" He yelled out before dashing off to find his father and aunt to be apart of the process.

    Seeing that he was no longer needed Frost left the area with a slight skip in his step, looking forward to being the owner of a 4 star weapon.

    Now that his ive issue was sort of resolved Frost dropped off the armour Daki made him with an armour specialist a couple workshops down so Borris could focus solely on the ive before heading to the food court. He picked up two high quality dishes, one for himself and one for Kiba.

    The young cial winged tiger was now up and awake but still restricted to the monster animal clinic as his wings needed some delicate work to prevent future loss in potential and or permanent scarring.

    The moment Frost entered his medical room Kiba attempted to leap into his chest and lick him affectionately, but he was hit by sh of pain as well as shout from the medical staff, so he stopped midway. Frostughed kindly before bringing out the meals, sausage, bacon and eggs from C-rank monsters, very nutritious and tasty.

    Kiba rubbed his head against Frost in thanks after quickly devouring the meal as if he''d been starved -which he kind of had been given the length he slept and the energy required to mend his body. He then grumbled through their soul connection about how strict the medical staff were and how he was sorry for being a burden and wanted to fight by Frost''s side.

    Frost rubbed the big cat''s ears and admonished him stating that he was never a burden and that he should listen to the medical staff and care only about getting better.

    He also mentioned that Artemis visited a few times while he was out cold and that he promised to treat him to a fine steak once this stampede was all over which caused Kiba to lick his lips in anticipation.

    Frost stayed with Kiba for close to an hour before leaving the medical centre, he didn''t head to resting areas since he wasn''t tired in the slightest. A single wave was nothing in terms of his stamina especially after eating a highly nutritious meal and devouring the vast amounts of high quality DP.

    Just remembering the taste of that cyclops''s life force was enough for his eyes to grow red and his mouth to salivate. High quality beings tasted delicious when killed especially the first ones of each ranking, the taste was absolutely sublime.

    Instead of sleeping he went to find Cassandra and offered up his services wherever she needed him, hoping to learn more about the behind the scenes work during the stampede. Something he''d need to know as his own territory developed.

    Cassandra was more than happy to have additional hands but was worried about wasting one of their top fighter''s strength and reluctantly tried to turn him down but after he showed her how energetic he still was and briefly described the situation with the enemies upper ranked she agreed and sent him to assist Calder and the merchants.

    Until the next wave began Frost found himself at Calder''s beck and call mainly dealing with the vast amount of materials being brought in by the clean up crews and dismemberment teams.

    Everything was catalogued and efficiently transported to different areas throughout the town that either needed the materials or served as long term storage solutions as most materials would be kept until after the stampede so as to generate money for the town.

    Such work was hectic in its own way and no less draining, Frost had give props to Cassandra and those making the town function seamlessly behind the scenes.

    And as expected when the next wave hit the forces within the horde were far lesser and the B-rank monsters practically didn''t show themselves. Only the youngest rindar stood at the treeline acting as themander while his siblings and the stronger B-ranks recuperated.

    Inplete opposition to thest wave this one went off without a hitch, several injuries but no deaths, a perfect oue and one which emboldened the officers spirits during the strategy meeting. Frost was right thest wave really was a win.

    Though they still had a long way to go, things were looking a little better.

 Chapter 475: Chapter 475: New enemy commander

    The second day since Frost''s arrival came and went and it was now dawn of the third day.

    The B-rank monsters stayed quiet for most of waves after yesterday morning, but a couple newly uninjured ones appeared during nightfall but without the rest of them their presence was easily managed.

    Dous was back in fighting condition, perhaps around 85%, enough to safely head into battle. Hamon was still in recovery, but the majority of the Majors and other elite fighters were in good condition and ready to face off against the dreaded dawn wave.

    Once again the mages were pretty spent fromst night''s defence but not as bad as the previous dawn wave. This time they''d have a decent amount magic support. There was even arrows for the ranger corps as well as repaired trebuchets and ballistae. This wave was expected to be a difficult one, so all the stops were pulled out to preserve as much of their forces as possible.

    Dous stood up straight on the northern wall in his bespoke tinum armour with Maggie, Halgrave and Frost by his side creating a very imposing image. How this wave goes down will likely determine whether or not they''d survive the full four days until the reinforcements arrive.

    Thankfully a few groups of C-rank adventurers arrived in the early hours through the south gate adding to their forces slightly. Unfortunately they didn''t bring resources like Frost, but warm able bodies were just as good.

    The war horn was zing throughout the area heralding the hordes'' forces but even without that everyone could feel the earth shake.

    And as if on cue the moment Furano''s forces finished arranging themselves the monsters madly charged out from behind the treeline in great numbers. It was a hodgepodge of speciespletely different from therge brutes that were sent the previous day.

    "Everyone ready arms!" Dous drew his sword causing the sun to reflect off the edge as he raised it above his head in a grandiose manner.

    "Ready arms!" Many captains and squad leaders mirrored his orders causing everyone to draw their weapons and enter their stances. The n for this wave was turtle tactics and will be the same for each and every wave following this. They were going to y full on defensive until their reinforcements arrived. Only the upper ranked fighters would head beyond the frontline and only when necessary.

    There was no more vanguard troops deployed beyond the frontline, too risky.

    "You guys will likely have a hard fight on your hands are you prepared." Dous asked the three people who were by his side.

    "We are Lord Viscount"

    "I''m always ready for a good fight."

    "No problem, Dous." Halgrave responded respectfully while Maggieughed and smashed her fists together, creating a booming sound whereas Frost answered informally but all of them sported determined expressions.

    "Good, let''s survive this and deal with the next one." Dous gently smiled before releasing his aura in a simr way to Hamon. Since he was weaker his aura wasn''t quite as heavy as Hamon''s, but it was no less rousing among their own troops perhaps even more so.

    Hamon was a colonel, amander of warfare, but Dous was a true blooded noble someone that bore the lives of thousands of people on his shoulders a weight that was passed down through his family and it influenced his aura.

    Following his outburst Halgrave and Maggie did the same, releasing their blood-filled auras for a powerful demonstration. The three of them together slightly surpassed Hamon thus causing many monsters to flinch in fear.

    However in response a heavy and dense aura rose from behind the treeline and smashed against theirbined aura, restricting it like an immovable wall causing Halgrave''s, Maggie''s and Dous''s faces to whiten. This aura wasn''t from the eldest rindar or the poison herald but something stronger¡­.a mid level B-rank.

    Following the outburst from this new monster came the auras of the rindar, the poison herald and the second eldest rindar as they were the only other ones able to fully utilise their own aura. It was a show of force and defiance as they''d had enough of being pressured by the aura of the frost wolf battalion.

    With their assistance the heavy aura of the unknown B-rank monster gained insidious qualities and increased in strength pushing back thebined auras of Dous, Halgrave and Maggie worsening their expressions even further.

    Dous gave a hand gesture and suddenly Ryuu, Bastion, four majors and even Frost summoned their auras andunched them in aid.

    Thebined auras of both sides battled for supremacy, the very air was visibly warped in areas and the sounds of hidden crashes appeared overhead. Only those that had started on the path of aura could understand what was happening and truly feel the building conflict.

    Those below, the monsters and sapients only felt a dreadful pressure above their heads that made them feel instinctual fear when it passed over them.

    After a minute or so there was still no clear winner between the two sides, perhaps the monster group was slightly weaker, but the difference wasn''t enough to force them back, a realisation that greatly disturbed Dous and the two vice leaders of the frost wolf battalion.

    It was mainly because of that unknown monster its aura wasn''t at full strength in the beginning, so they misjudged it. Now however it was clear that this monster was worlds apart from the rindar and likely as strong if not stronger than Hamon at least in terms of its aura.

    This was not a good sign but one that was expected. This monster stampede was already not like any other, far stronger and relentless so they expected that monsters in the mid or possibly even upper B-ranks would eventually attack that''s why they requested the reinforcements.

    With no clear winner and the fact that constantly forcing out your aura like this was rather draining both sides rxed their auras calming the air and removing the looming pressure on those below.

    Dous grasped the hilt of his sword tightly, nervous about the battle toe. He barely made it out alive thest time he took to the field and couldn''t help but wonder about the possibility but that feeling was brief and swiftly sent to the back of his mind.

    "Ranger corps fire a volley!" Since an aura attack didn''t work they''d start with a deluge of arrows to soften up the first few lines.

    In response the ranger corps loaded their recently crafted arrows and shot a vast bombardment of arrows over the northern wall.

    "Haaaaaaa fire the contraptions" A deep voice sighed and spoke through the trees and in response what sounded like catapultsunched ball and chains into the air right into the path of the arrow volley.

    Crunch! Boom! Snap!

    The balls and chains smashed apart the volley like falling twigs eliminating the vast majority of the arrows.

    And thus another attack failed.

    "Mage corps!" Not willing to suffer defeat Dous roared out in anger causing Ryuu and Jessie''s teams tounch their spells while the two of them prepared fourth circle magic for an extra kick. Even Frost chanted the aria for his [ice fireball] adding to the devastation.

    A couple secondster an array of magic spells flew through the air in attempt to ughter the lines of monster charging the field.

    "Haaaaaaa block it." The deep voice could heard sighing once again before giving out an order.

    In response dozens of blue magic circles appeared above the monsters'' side summoning thick shields of ice while the speaker themselves chanted an aria for a strong 4th circle magic spell to fight against Ryuu and Jessie.

    A colourful battle erupted in the air as spell shed against spell. Some spells those predominantly of the fire element as well as Frost''s smashed their way through the ice wall but lost a lot of their destructive power in doing so and barely did any damage when making contact with the enemy.

    The magic attack also failed.

    "Fuck!" Dous loudly cursed and ground his teeth together. If this happened in the earlier stages it would have been fine since they could afford to waste some ammunition but not at this stage, every spell and arrow was a preciousmodity.

    This new B-rank was not only strong in terms of aura but knew strategy intimately, a very dangerous opponent. It knew to keep those contraptions hidden until when they were needed and even now they could only roughly guess their position within the forest. Arrow volleys were now too risky severely limiting one of their powerful attacks.

    The monster horde also seemed to be reinforced with a contingent of magic users likely the lesser kin of the newmander making their magic attacks fall short as well. Once again it seemed that the dawn wave would rely primarily on the frontline forces.

    Seeing that closebat would be the focus Frost was sent down to give aid while Maggie and Halgrave remained atop the wall to conserve their strength for when the B-ranks make a move.

    "Chuff!" Kiba who had pretty much healed chuffed in demand wanting to join Frost on the frontline, but Dous immediately vetoed that option.

    "No Kiba you''re needed here as emergency backup. None of us are as quick nor as manoeuvrable as you are so you''ll have to stay by my side so I can order you where to go at a moment''s notice." Dous understood Kiba''s feelings, but emotions couldn''t y a part in his decisions he needed to make the most efficient and logical choices if they were to survive this war.

    Kiba''s ability to fly and fierce charging power made him great as immediate reinforcement and as a retriever of the wounded which given the line up they faced was likely to be generously open for business.

    The big tiger grumbled in annoyance before flying back to his little prepared area nearby ready and waiting to be put in motion.

    Minutes passed by and the monsters continued to charge forth in dense lines, swarming the frontline troops with numbers and the asionally high C-ranks gradually eating away at the town''s defences.

    Arrows would still asionally fall but whenever the volley was too dense the hidden contraptions on the monster''s side would reactively fire wasting the entire volley.

    Magic attacks didn''t get much better with both sides reaching a stalemate however with Ryuu and Jessie pushing 4th circles spells the unknownmander was forced to repeatedly intervene thus they managed to make some guesses in regards to its species and unfortunately it wasn''t good news.

    The battle was a veritable slugfest that gradually saw Furano be weaker and weaker. The newmander didn''t use overly aggressive tactics, nor did they reveal themselves instead they slowly ordered their pretty much unlimited forces eat away at the frontline piece by piece.

    Amander with frightening patience.

 Chapter 476: Chapter 476: New enemy commander (2)

    Time slowly dragged on and Furano''s situation continued to worsen. The new enemymanderunched wave after wave of monsters into the frontlines while protecting them from the assaults of Furano''s ranger and mage corps, slowly but surely eating away at their forces.

    The newmander sported a calm expression as he ordered swaths of lesser monsters to their deaths. The eldest rindar, the poison herald and the other B-rank monsters that Frost and the others had been struggling against were nervously keeping silent at his side, their hearts filled with instinctual fear towards him.

    The eldest rindar in particr was feeling the pressure as it was clear that the newmander was dissatisfied with his performance over the past few days. The loathing and mocking could be clearly felt whenever his gaze drifted over him and his many injuries causing the eldest rindar to seethe in anger but outwardly show subservience.

    This newmander was far beyond him even if he was in prime condition. He himself was at best at the peak of entry B-rank, half a step from entering the mid-level whereas this newmander was solidly in the mid-levels and not the early stages either. Plus, species wise they were not a very good match up.

    "Send in the next group." The newmander spoke while leaning back against a throne made of ice mana.

    "Yes, your lordship." Another new entry in the monster line-up, an upper C-rank monster that arrived with the newmander responded respectfully before passing the order down.

    A cruel smile grew on themander''s face when he was addressed as lordship and his gaze once again drifted over the eldest rindar. He clicked his tongue and shook his head subconsciously before speaking out.

    "So disappointing. You were given one job and that was to weaken the enemy before our arrival yet what do I find when I arrive?" Bloodlust and aura were smoothly emitted from the newmander''s body and attacked the eldest rindar causing his body to feel incredibly heavy. He visibly trembled and had to strongly resist falling to his knees in prostration.

    Annoyed that the worm didn''t fall to his knees themander increased the weight.

    "Perhaps my meaning wasn''t clear, you have failed in your task so shouldn''t you be sincere in asking for forgiveness!" The pressure rose and rose causing the ground beneath the eldest rindar to crack yet still the rindar struggled, refusing to fall to his knees. His pride would not allow it regardless of the difference in strength between them.

    The newmander swiftly rose from his ice throne, appearing in front of the eldest rindar in a sh before cing his right foot upon his head.

    "KNEEL!" With a loud shout the newmander forced the eldest rindar''s head to the ground, crushing the back of his skull under his foot before returning to his throne. The eldest rindar remained with his head partially buried in the ground, a cold sweat flowing down his neck from fear.

    "Not a single B-rank level fighter on their side has died and their frontline forces are still dense enough to stop our charges which I could ept however, why is that on top of these issues our B-rank line-up is inplete disarray. More than a few dead while the rest sport numerable injuries hell even the so-calledmander is missing not one but two arms.

    If this isn''t aplete failure, then I don''t know what is." The newmander''s words cut deep as did his condemning gaze that passed over each and every one of the B-ranks present causing them to fearfully tremble.

    The newmander fully expected to arrive in a grandiose manner and see the high walls of Furano severally damaged and their forces in tatters thus allowing for a swift and easy victory but what he got was practically the opposite, his disappointment was off the scale.

    "From this point on you''re going to follow my orders to the letter and finally show some decent results before the rest of us arrive." His words sent another chill through the present B-ranks, the newmander was not the only powerhouse on their way to the battlefield. Soon they would be nothing but weaklings to be used at the upper ranks will, a position they had recently enjoyed.

    On Furano''s side Dous''s eyes were scanning the battlefield with a frown. None of their magic attacks or ranged attacks managed to deal much damage to the endless horde that continued to charge from the treeline, almost instantly replenishing the forces his soldiers managed to cull.

    Exhaustion was quickly building up even with the aid of the elites and a few Majors and once it sets in losses would be inevitable.

    Dous understood the newmander''s strategy, he was slowly whittling away their forces with expendable monsters. Himself and the other B-ranks didn''t even show themselves, remaining hidden behind the treeline.

    A strategy that Dous was powerless to counter as the moment he tried to the defence line would swiftly copse, all they could do was endure and hope that their tactics would see them through until their reinforcements arrive. Something that the enemy was in the dark about or at least unaware of when they would arrive.

    The minutes gradually turned into a couple hours yet still the B-ranks refused to show themselves, sending only their replenishable monsters. Not being able to witness a triumphant victory over an enemy leader and to be subjected to an endless horde of multiple species without break did serious damage to moral.

    And along with the build up of exhaustion, injuries and deaths started cropping up all over the defensive line. Kiba was run ragged to and fro, swooping in with fierce aggression before swiftly flying back into Furano with the injured soldiers on his back but he was just one tiger.

    Dous enlisted elites and Majors that were held back for the B-ranks to reinforce the soon to crumble areas, but it was a losing battle. Every minute ground was lost, and the horde encroached closer and closer to the wall. A few even reached Dous and attempted to take a bite out of the old man but were met with the razor-sharp edge of his sword and killed instantly.

    After another hour the death toll was in the dozens, almost twice as much as the previous dawn wave but this time not a single victory was made by them. No B-rank monsters showed themselves throughout the entire wave and now the drums of retreat sounded from within the treeline.

    Blood and flesh littered the battlefield, and a sense of despair filled each and every solider as they looked left and right noticing the many gaps in their formations. So much death without a single thing to show for it.

    "Bastard!" Dous cursed through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot from fury and his nails threatening to pierce his palm. This was a tough loss and one that would seriously affect the following waves. For the first time in thete stages the moral of the frontline forces took a big hit, their collective strengths would see a drope the next wave.

    Dous stared into the dense treeline trying to find the visage of the newmander, he could feel his eyes on him, full of triumph.

    Maggie who was by Dous''s side had blood dripping from her pawlike hands due to her overly clenched fists, she was just as if not more furious than Dous. She''d been part of the military for a long time and had seen her fair share of stratagems so she knew how devasting this wave could be for their forces.

    Halgrave released a sigh before he gave the order to sound the retreat, his expression being rather dark as he did.

    Trumpets sounded and bells were rung signalling the end of the wave. The forces beyond the wall all rxed slightly but not a single one of them sported a smile, even Frost who was usually rather upbeat and optimistic about the situation stared into the forest with a pained expression.

    The battle he just took part in was not enjoyable in the slightest as though it was hollow and pointless, a situation that irked him greatly. He stared hard at the treeline before eventually spitting and turning around to head behind the wall.

    However, the moment he did he felt a chill down his back and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, danger wasing.

    Suddenly as everyone let down their guards and started heading through the gate a massive magic crest appeared above the treeline summoning what looked like a giant ice serpent.

    This spell was a 4th circle ice spell called [wrath of the ice serpent] and it summoned a massive ice borne serpent that would devour and freeze the intended targets.

    The casting was so sudden that Ryuu and Jessie couldn''t react, out of the entire forces they were the only people who could cast 4th circle magic and effectively counter such an attack. Hamon was still injured and Dous, Halgrave and Maggie were on the wall and not the most agile, their attacks even if on time would likely miss.

    "Fuck!" Halgrave loudly cursed before without hesitation leaped from the wall to try and block the high-ranking spell. Maggie was hot on his trail, but the giant ice serpent was already flying through the air and would be on their retreating forces in but a single second.

    Its intended targets being the exhausted soldiers and if possible, even a weakened Major who had been fighting non-stop for the past three hours just like Frost.

 Chapter 477: Chapter 477: New enemy commander (3)

    Major Tarok turned around after hearing amotion only to be faced with the open maw of an ice borne serpent. Its breath freezing the very air as it lunged for him and those by his side. He was unluckily the prime chosen target of the newmander''s 4th circle spell [wrath of the ice serpent].

    Out of the present Majors and B-rank adventurers he was not only the easiest target distance wise but also sported wounds on his legs thus limiting his ability to evade.

    Tarok wasn''t the strongest Major here, but he was strong enough to react in the brief time he was given. He instantly summoned his aura and pushed away those he could before desperatelyshing out with his battle-axe.

    ng!

    A loud nging erupted as Tarok''s battle-axe made contact with the mana formed serpent before almost instantly Tarok was blown off his feet and his battle-axe was knocked to the side leaving his torso and shoulders exposed.

    Dous watched on in horror as the massive ice serpent crunched down on Tarok''s left shoulder, swiftly tearing his arm from his torso with a violent jerk. Halgrave and Maggie moved fast but they weren''t fast enough.

    Not only was Tarok bitten by the serpent others in the area were catapulted into the solid northern wall by its powerful body. Many suffered broken bones from the crash whereas a couple were even immediately killed, their heads smashing apart like pumpkins against the imprable surface.

    Those who escaped the physical attacks were however not in the clear, the ice serpent brought with it a freezing air that made even these veteran warriors shake in their skin as the ice invaded their nerves and gradually froze them in ce, siphoning out their internal heat.

    This was a devasting attack that arrived at the worst possible moment, no one was in the right ce nor were they prepared to defend against such magic.

    Tarok who was falling from the air after having his arm ripped off red with bloodshot eyes at the serpent as it swallowed his arm with delight, his blood coating its lips.

    His aggressive eyes met with the serpents, and it seemed to smile before moving in to finish the job. It was a construct of mana, so its death meant nothing but once Maggie and Halgrave made their way on scene it wouldn''t be able to do its job thus it moved swiftly, ignoring the chaff in the surrounding area to once againe face to face with Tarok.

    Tarok felt the spectre of death grip his heart and he could see the eyes of the caster within the serpent''s eyes, looking at him as if he was but simple prey that had fallen into his trap. He felt a strong sense of fear from those eyes, enough to chill his heart and dy his reactions.

    "Tarok!!!!" Maggie screamed out at the top of her lungs as she descended but it was toote, her hammer wouldn''t m down in time, Tarok would have already been crunched by those fearsome teeth.

    "[Wyvern''s maw!]" However, she and Halgrave weren''t the only ones who could intervene. Frost who noticed the change in the air first made his move.

    With his ive wreathed in silver cold mes he summoned the manifestation that was his strongest ive skill, the [wyvern''s maw].

    Arge wyvern head with razor sharp teeth and powerful biting strength formed above his ive however Frost felt that this wouldn''t be enough, so he tried something that he''d seen done by the eldest rindar, Hamon, Maggie and Halgrave, he infused his aura into the ive as well as the wyvern.

    Though Frost was able to expand his aura beyond his body, skilfully controlling it was still rather difficult. The young dungeon core closed his eyes and focused on his aura entering his weapon instead of being emitted outwards.

    The process was difficult and highly inefficient given it was his first real attempt. Much of his aura failed to imbue itself within the ive, instead shooting off into the surrounding area however after repeated attempts changes appeared on his ive as well as within the wyvern head.

    The metallic sheen of the duram alloy gradually grew brighter and a pressure started surrounding the de edge making the ive feel far heavier that it actually was. Next the floating energy apparition that was the wyvern head became more corporal and felt more real, filled with the essence of life.

    Frost didn''t stop there however fully in the optimum state of mind he attempted to add another power to his attack, his chakra. With his aura attached to the wyvern granting it some kind of essence he felt it could hold his chakra at least for a short time.

    The silvery cold mes that wreathed his ive funnelled into the wyvern head giving it a silver quality and me like skin thus making it appear far more menacing than before.

    Satisfied with his creation Frost violently swung down his ive and roared out the skill''s name, sending the enhanced wyvern head towards the serpent''s neck.

    The ice borne serpent was too focused on ending Tarok that it didn''t even notice as the wyvern head arrived before its neck and bit down harshly.

    Since the serpent wasn''t a living creature it felt no pain however the biting down on its neck forced its jaws to shut and it to veer of course. Tarok was knocked to the side by a reflexive jerk but that was far better than being turned into snake food.

    A couple C-rank soldiers in the vicinity that were able to resist the freezing ice mana leapt up and caught him, saving him from being wounded further.

    The massive ice serpent twitched and jerked as Frost''s summoned wyvern head continued to bite down and tear apart its body. The difference in size was magnitude but the wyvern head had attacked at just the right point making the size difference moot.

    The added silver mes branched out from the wyvern''s teeth with each bite and invaded the massive ice serpent, destroying the mana making up its structure while the added aura gave the wyvern a far more potent bite.

    Of course, there was still a difference between an advanced ive skill and a 4th circle magic spell, Frost was not only weaker than the caster, but his attack was much shorter lived. After maybe four of five devasting bites the wyvern head started fragmenting but it had done a hell of a lot of damage in that brief time and most of all sessfully saved Tarok.

    Frost who used the already draining skill without the addons copsed to his knees withboured breathing, his legs and arms trembling from the sudden overexertion, but a wide smile adorned his lips.

    "Made it." Tarok had been sessfully saved, he unfortunately lost an arm but that was far better than losing one''s life, hell if he''s lucky he may even get a chance to regain it. Northrend had some pretty high-level potions and healers within their military and Tarok was a B-rank Major, using such a high-quality merchandise on him would not be a waste.

    The ice serpent violently shook off the remnants of the wyvern head as it began fragmenting and turned to face Tarok still aiming toplete its intended mission however Frost''s aim was never to destroy the ice serpent no, all he needed to do was force it away from Tarok and buy time for the big guns tond a blow. Andnd a blow they did.

    "[Tectonic m]"

    "[Sundering of the earth]" Halgrave and Maggie both utilised advanced level skills as their weapons crashed upon the head and neck area of the giant ice serpent.

    Maggie''s hammer filled with her rage mmed upon the beast''s head and blew it apart like a watermelon whereas Halgrave''s great sword cleaved into the harshly bitten neck severing the beast in twain.

    Their fierce attacks immediately destroyed the remaining mana structure within the ice serpent. It fragmented apart and returned to natural mana, vanishing without a trace.

    The freezing chill that surrounded it and started freezing the retreating the soldiers and adventurers thus vanished as well. Many were strong enough to break free from the ice covering their bodies but for the rest the magic corps cast a wide range warming spell that melted the ice.

    "Everyone behind the wall now!" Dous roared out causing everyone who had stopped retreating toe to their senses and make way for the protection of the town.

    Tarok was rushed immediately to themand centre where Gilianna was currently wrapping up thest stages of Hamon''s treatment since she was the best healer around.

    Frost was assisted once again by Bagua behind the wall before the two of them made their way to themand centre to attend the strategy meeting.

    Dous, Ryuu and Bastion remained on the northern wall for a few minutes to make sure there was no surprises before cautiously summoning the clean-up and dismembering teams. They reminded them to keep an eye out and to retreat at the first sign of danger while also assigning a few extra elites to serve as watchers during thepse.

    This newmander couldn''t be trusted to act per the usual routine.

    Once everyone was present in themand centre the dreaded meeting began and it was not a pretty sight.

 Chapter 478: Chapter 478: Damn it! Weve lost too many.

    "Urgh!" Tarok groaned in pain as Gilianna used a mixture of healing magic and special salves on what remained of his arm and shoulder, the process was not pleasant. His armour had been peeled off revealing his blood-stained clothes and the many other wounds covering his body.

    Many of the younger officers who were under Tarok''smand and those who knew him well felt pain as they saw his current state and heard his groans and at some points even guttural screams.

    Hamon who was looking far healthier sat at the head of the war table, sporting a fierce grimace as his aides reported the situation in detail.

    ''Damn it! We''ve lost too many.'' He internally cursed and bemoaned the current situation. They had clear cut quotas to meet with each sessive wave, meeting said quotas would grant them a sliver of a chance at survival but so far, they were on thin ice and thisst wave seemed to be the turning point.

    Their losses came to a staggering 146 men and women, far more than they could afford at this stage. Injuries were even more abundant with even elites and Majors receiving serious injuries that would affect them during subsequent waves.

    With the smell of blood and medicine thick in the room everyone donned dark expressions, Frost included. Not only was this the most devastating loss they''d experienced they dealt practically no damage to the enemy. All those killed were nothing but replenishable chaff, the upper caste, the B-ranks didn''t even bother showing themselves. Such a show of power obviously dealt a strong blow to moral.

    "Haaaaaaaaaa" Hamon let out a deep repressed sigh after hearing theplete battle report. His gaze drifted over to Dous who was inmand in his absence hoping to somehow find fault with his orders but unfortunately, he did everything he would have done. Having him at the helm would have likely made zero difference thus crushing the small tendril of hope he fostered.

    He closed his eyes and was silent for a few seconds as was everyone else in the room as they anxiously awaited the orders of theirmander.

    Crunch!

    The war table cracked and broke as Hamon''s hand clenched onto the edge, his shut eyes then opened with a fierce light and a mad smile adorned his lips.

    "We lost this battle, but the war is still ongoing, the waves will continue toe, and we will continue to defend this town and our nation as we always have even if that means our death." A weight was lifted from Hamon''s shoulders, and a steely determination could be seen radiating within his eyes. This look and his confident tone eased the fears of those listening.

    Their tightened fists and clenched jaws loosened as fire spread in their hearts.

    Who were they, they were the frost wolf battalion the sword of the empire that crushed whoever or whatever threatened it with fierce aggression¡­. they were soldiers, men and women of war.

    As for the adventurers in the room their hearts were just as inspired, they fought against monsters for a living, they were aware of the dangers. At least this way they would be remembered in the annals of the Northrend empire instead of merely unfortunate adventurers that died on the job, to be forgotten like so many in their profession.

    Death was no longer as frightening when you had purpose and people to join you in the journey. Everyone in the room looked at the faces of those beside them, their friends, colleagues, rivals or just people that they''d been fighting side by side with over the past few weeks. Mad smiles grew on their lips as their vigour was reignited, they would go out in a ze of glory.

    "Viscount Furano please have Cassandra make emergency preparations for the citizens, best we relocate them to the shelters ahead of time lest we don''t get a chanceter." Hamon gave an order to Dous who frowned and sighed before nodding his head in understanding and leaving themand centre.

    The seamless activity of the citizens would now have to be brought to a halt. No longer could they risk having just a partially restricted lifestyle. The citizens who were not part of the defence forces i.e., the young, the old, the injured and those not working in the workshops and food courts would have to be remanded to the high defence shelters that ran underneath the town.

    There they would hunker down until the reinforcements arrived. The town and those defending it would be destroyed but at least a portion of the citizens would be alive and could rebuild what was lost.

    Hamon didn''t make this decision lightly as it was sure to spread panic and affect the moral of the regr soldiers and nonbat workers, but he had no choice.

    The losses incurred from this wave would only escte with the following waves and soon the dam that had held back the tide for the past several weeks would blow apart, unleashing the horrors of the monster stampede upon whaty behind it.

    "Ryuu, Jessie have you managed to work out what species the newmander is?" Knowing the thing''s species would pierce the vale of the unknown allowing Hamon to make some sort of strategy.

    Ryuu grimaced before answering. "We''re not certain but it''s highly likely he''s a frost monarch." Sharp inhales followed Ryuu''s revtion.

    Frost monarchs are high ranking spirit monsters that not only possesses great magical mastery over the ice element but also devastatingly powerful physical bodies. Entities with very little weaknesses.

    They live deep within the inner regions of the cial mountains and rule over their own territories, where many of their lesser kin spirits and other ice elemental creatures dwell under their protective rule. They''re very simr to the nobles of the sapient kingdoms in that way thus the ''monarch'' in their name.

    A frost monarch couldn''t bepared to a rindar, this was a veritable leader of monsters likely equivalent to Dous in ranking, he would not be so easy to deal with.

    From their magic shes as well as the contest of aura it was presumed that the frost monarch was solidly in the mid stages of B-rank and had likely brought with him monsters from his own territory. Thus, the new contingent of magic users as well as devasting contraptions that melted apart their arrow volleys.

    "I''ve nevere across a frost monarch personally however I know a few people in the war ursa battalion who fight against them on the regr, I should be able to handle it if pushes to shove and the thing finally reveals itself." Hamon reassured his subordinates, as long as Hamon could still handle the enemy leader there would always be hope.

    "They''ll likely make moves once our frontline fractures. Unlike the rindar this frost monarch seems to be rather patient. He''ll grind down our forces bit by bit before swooping in for the kill." Halgrave gave his opinion.

    "We can try and bait them out but if that doesn''t work, we''ll have to know who will be fighting who." Hamon frowned, his gaze finding its way to Tarok.

    "Tarok is in no shape to fight so we''re already down a man. I''ll handle the frost monarch solo, Bastion you and¡­."

    "Wait Colonel, I don''t think you should take on the frost monarch." Before Hamon could get started divvying up the enemy elites among his own forces Ryuu interrupted.

    "¡­. I''m listening." Hamon was usually quite traditional in his leadership and wouldn''t appreciate being interrupted by someone of lesser standing especially one who wasn''t one of his own soldiers however Dous, Ryuu and Bastion were different, he respected them greatly and weed their opinion whenever it came to the monster stampede.

    "Thank you, Colonel." Ryuu saluted and bowed to Hamon to establish authority before continuing.

    "Numbers wise and role wise yes, it''d be better for you the strongest person on our side to take down the enemy leader. Not only are you yourself magically able but you also have a strong body that can contend with the frost monarch." Many officers nodded in agreement as Ryuu analysed their Colonel.

    "But unfortunately, you''re notpletely healed from your battle with the two rindar and the poison herald, we can''t risk you falling in battle otherwise our entire army''s moral would hit rock bottom.

    Unlike the monster horde we rely heavily on ourmander standing tall and valiant tobat the endless tide." Frowns and silence filled the room as many pictured the scene of Hamon either falling in battle against the frost monarch or receiving heavy injuries.

    Hamon frowned deeply partially agreeing with Ryuu''s statement, if he fell or was heavily injured the moral of their forces would crumble. But so, what did that mean he wasn''t supposed to fight at all, to stand at the back and give orders from safety while those under him died, never. That wasn''t his way nor was it Ryuu''s, so he was rather confused.

    "What else? You can''t wish to sub me out for such a petty reason such as my injury or even death." If they couldn''tst until the reinforcements arrive each and every one of them was going to die regardless, himself included. Hiding away was pointless

    Ryuu frowned and looked as if he was struggling to say his next words, but he eventually bit the bullet.

    "I don''t believe the frost monarch will be worst we have to face in theing waves." Another round of sharp inhales responded to his words and Hamon''s frown became even more pronounced.

    "You are our only upper B-rank fighter so we can''t have you waste any more energy or receive any more injuries fighting against those beneath your station." Ryuu''s words were oddly vague as well as rather precise.

    "¡­. You think an upper B-rank wille."

 Chapter 479: Chapter 479: The frontline troops

    "¡­...You think an upper B-rank wille." The moment Hamon uttered those words an eery silence filled the room and cold sweat started to umte down everyone''s necks.

    Upper B-rank monsters were something none of them could contend against, even Hamon would only be able to at best survive for a time. Everyone else would be swatted like flies given the difference in strength. Just like how Frost and the other Majors could easily cull scores of C-rank monsters an upper B-rank monster could do the same to them.

    Individually monsters are always stronger than sapients of the same rank and unless one was a very rare talent and or equipped with armour, weaponry and skills beyond their means they would lose 10 times out of 10. A monster''s rank was equivalent to a party of sapients and only by working together would they be able to go against the monster''s superior physical traits, size, mana pool and tenacity.

    An upper B-rank monster would generally need a group of simrly strong sapients armed to the teeth to be taken down effectively as when one rises to such levels of power numbers tend to be a pointless endeavour. Such a monster could literally steam roll forward and blow apart the northern wall and there''d be very little they could do about it.

    The only option would be to send their strongest fighters to forestall its advance.

    If they wanted to take down such a monster, Hamon, Ryuu, Halgrave, Maggie and likely another two or three of the stronger Major level fighters would be required and not all of them would return. Unfortunately, such an endeavour would be impossible as there would be more than just an upper B-rank monster to deal with.

    "¡­. Yes, given the current trend it''s highly usible for an upper B-rank to arrive as well as more mid B-ranks. In my opinion this frost monarch is but the first of the stampede''s truly heavy hitters as from Frost''s intel there''s also that frost giant Valend who is yet to arrive." Ryuu responded with a serious expression.

    "Hamon you are our strongest trump card and the only one who could possibly contend against such a monster so we can''t have you risk yourself any further¡­.. Leave the frost monarch to Jessie and I." Ryuu thumped his chest and revealed a fierce will through his gaze that caused Hamon to be momentarily stunned.

    "Haaaaaaaa fine, the frost monarch will be left to you and Jessie however if it''s too much I''ll¡­"

    "That won''t be necessary." Ryuu cut Hamon off. "We''ll get it done regardless of the cost." Ryuu was determined to do his part even if it meant overextending himself. His daughter was behind the shelter that was the northern wall and he''d die before letting the stampede reach her.

    Jessie who was standing by Ryuu''s side looked towards him in shock before sighing and showing aplicated expression in her eyes. She then also thumped her chest disying her determination. The magemanders would take care of the magically inclined frost monarch.

    With the most pressing match up resolved, Hamon proceeded to match up the remaining B-rank monsters and Major level fighters. Frost surprisingly was given a rather important role, he was assigned to take out the eldest rindar, a monster that normally would be beyond his capabilities given how green he was into B-rank but thanks to its extensive injuries they should be rather evenly matched.

    Plus given the hatred it still held towards him drawing the rindar out shouldn''t be that difficult.

    A meeting that started with a heavy pall of dread was now filled with fire and determination, everyone in the room was ready to risk all they had against the enemy.

    Once the meeting was brought to a close all the officers made way for the food court with powerful steps. The very best food with the very best effects was prepared, energising the officers and generating a war induced pressure around them.

    The regr soldiers and the citizens who were just notified about the emergency sheltering couldn''t stop their hearts from lurching at the sight and a single word rang in their minds over and over with resounding booms, WAR!

    ng! ng!

    Sizzle! Sizzle!

    The citizens orderly made for the emergency shelters withplicated expressions, doing their best to remain calm while those who still needed to be present such as the smiths and chefs put all they had into their craft.

    Fires roared as high-quality food was cooked in giant woks and pots without end, filling up each and every soldier''s belly so as to provide them with strength for what was about toe.

    It was these men and women that would endure in the next few waves. The frost monarch being an intelligentmander with an eye for patience would continue to send swarm after swarm of replenishable chaff to eat away at them piece by piece until the mighty frontline was nothing more than a fractured mess.

    They knew it, the chefs and smiths knew it and the monsters certainly knew it but nevertheless these men and women ate with gusto and sported fierce expressions as they willingly prepared for such an eventuality. Whether theyst until reinforcements arrived was not dependent on the efforts of their upper ranked elites but primarily on them.

    As long as they stood strong the B-rank monsters would be wary to attack and time would drag on.

    Weapons, armour, ammunition as well as anything else that could help increase their strength was given freely. Several hourster the war horns sounded once again, and the men and women of the frontline grabbed their gear and made their way through the gate and stood in front of the northern wall.

    Fierce and determined expressions could be seen on the faces of each and every man and woman standing there. They stood ramrod straight in a devasting formation that screamed war and a thick pseudo aura coagted around them as their wills united and their bloodlust took form.

    The frontline though lower in numbers than earlier looked far more powerful and not just because of this almost palpable bloodlust that struck fear into the hearts of the lesser monsters gradually charging from behind the treeline but because of their equipment.

    Each and every person on the frontline had their primary weapons repaired or reced, granted secondary and in some cases even tertiary weapons as well as had most of their armour reced with dense heavy metal that abandoned speed for endurance. Like the shell of a turtle, they would withstand the onughts and protect whaty inside.

    "Tsk!" The frost monarch who saw the newly outfitted line-up from within the trees clicked his tongue in annoyance, this would make his chipping away at the chaff much more difficult and time consuming. A couple of his direct subordinates even reported that they could see magic devices on some of the soldiers that weakened magic. Seemed they prepared for any untoward magic attacks.

    The frost monarch didn''t expect Furano to still have such reserves but, in the end, this was a good thing, the town was likely pulling out all the stops in ast-ditch effort. He rxed into his ice formed throne and ordered the replenishable chaff to charge like before, his tactics not changing in the slightest.

    For three hours the endless horde charged out from behind the treeline and sunk their teeth into Furano''s frontline infantry. The turtle shell held strong for the most part but in thest hour cracks appeared due to repeated damage and exhaustion.

    By the time the drums beat the losses stood at 112. Not as bad as the dawn wave but still painful.

    The exact same happened during the next wave that urred less than 3 hourster. The monster horde repeatedly smashed against the defences of the frontline with reckless abandon.

    200 died, a number that was hard to ignore when they lined up once again for the following wave.

    The frost monarch who was starting to get antsy revealed an insidious smile as he leaned forward on his throne.

    "Not much longer now hahahahahaha." Heughed evilly with a glint in his eyes. The B-rank monsters who had been remanded to the forest couldn''t help but shiver in anticipation. The strong smell of blood and the war fervour in the air was hard to resist but finally it seemed as though they would once again be able to take to the stage.

    "When is Valend due to arrive?" The frost monarch asked one of his direct subordinates after rising to his feet. He stood several metres tall and had a body made of ice. He looked like a very heavily armoured knight.

    "He is set to arrive in the early hours of tomorrow, Lord Frostine."

    "Good, good we''ll soften them up some more tonight and deal the final blow to their frontline at dawn tomorrow hehehehehe." Lord Frostine chuckled as he walked forward, finally going to reveal himself to his enemy.

    The fourth wave of the day was underway and the losses from the previous waves forced Frost and the elites on the ground to be stretched thin as they filled the gaps.

    Hamon and Dous stood on top of the wall with deep frowns running the numbers in their heads over and over again, never getting a positive result.

    "Hamon look" Suddenly Dous spoke and pointed towards the treeline.

    "So, he''s finally decided to openly relish in his achievements." Hamon''s fists clenched hard as Lord Frostine made his entrance, standing tall with a smirk on his face as the other B-ranks revealed themselves.

    "Seems the next phase will begin soon¡­. Jessie are you ready?"

 Chapter 480: Chapter 480: Getting rid of deadweight

    "Seems the next phase will begin soon¡­. Jessie are you ready?" Ryuu who also witnessed Frostine''s entrance turned to Jessie the mage corps'' vice leader. Their job would be to restrict the frost monarch, Lord Frostine so he couldn''t interfere with the battlefield. A tall ask given theirparative powers but something Ryuu was confident in doing as long as Jessie assisted him.

    Ryuu''s mastery over fire magic would grant him a slight elemental advantage with his spells thus allowing him to ovee some of the power difference and along with Jessie''s earth style magic which was geared towards defence they had exactly what they needed to restrain this mighty foe. Taking him down however wouldn''t be as easy.

    "Don''t worry Ryuu I''ve got your back." Jessie replied in a yful tone before taking a step forward towards a specially prepared tform just for the two of them. There were no signs of fear or trepidation in her face or demeanour instead she was excited and felt a fire in her veins that she hadn''t felt since her youth.

    A wide smile grew on her lips as she absorbed the surrounding mana like a starving child, preparing a grand wee for the enemymander.

    The tform prepared for the two of them was lined with magic devices that aided in umting and enhancing mana on an individual level rather than forrge groups, this way the two of them would be able to endure a battle of attrition against a B-rank monster with almost unreal mana capabilities and that''s before the monster stampede.

    Thanks to the influx of mana corruption the ambient mana in the air was far higher than normal. Though it was rather chaotic this didn''t affect high rank monsters as much as sapients in fact under such circumstances a frost monarch would see their spells be even more powerful and their mana regeneration grow.

    Without the prepared war machines and magic devices, the forces of Furano would be at a clear disadvantage.

    Ryuu smiled after hearing her response and with his limbs trembling from excitement, he joined her on this tform and began umting mana.

    Lord Frostine arrived in front of the treeline in a grandiose manner, his aura stretching forth so as to draw the attention of the sapients fighting for their very lives. He wanted to pressure them further, make them feel despair and weaken their resolve.

    The other B-rank monsters followed closely behind him making for a very impactful disy. Present were the three rindars, the B-rank poison herald as well as another 5 entry level B-rank monsters, 3 of which were newly unveiled and anxious to join the battle. Many exhausted soldiers couldn''t help but grow weak in the knees upon seeing this line-up.

    However, before Frostine could get too cocky Ryuu and Jessie attacked in earnest, summoning some of their most powerful 4th circle spells with excellent synergy.

    A fire bird made of azure mes appeared above Ryuu while a great earthen smander manifested before Jessie. The two mana lifeforms roared out before flying and leaping towards Frostine respectively.

    "Tsk!" Frostine clicked his tongue in annoyance, wanting to enjoy the spoils of his entrance for a little longer.

    "[Ice obey my will, form into a mighty serpent and strangle my foes with freezing majesty, wrath of the ice serpent]" Frostine chanted the aria for spell he used earlier to take Tarok''s left arm. In response to his words a massive ice serpent was summoned andunched itself at the azure firebird and earthen smander, generating a massive explosion of sound and colour as they collided.

    "Do not falter, stand strong and protect what lies behind. Your families, friends, innocent children, the citizens of our mighty empire!

    Fight on and we will be victorious!" In response to the magnificent confrontation of 4th circle magic Dous roared out at the top of his lungs, his words infused with his weighty and noble aura, inspiring the soldiers who were gradually faltering at the arrival of Frostine and the other B-rank monsters.

    "Soldiers of the Northrend empire, loyal members of the frost wolf battalion! Your enemy is before you, rend them apart in the name of the emperor!" Hamon followed with his own speech, greatly rousing his soldiers and creating a shift in the battlefield''s momentum causing Frostine''s face to warp in anger.

    He felt belittled as though his grand existence was nothing but a passing breeze. He wanted to blow apart these foolish soldiers and strike fear deep in their hearts, but Ryuu''s and Jessie''s magic took up his attention.

    A full strong 4th circle spell cast by powerful B-rank mages with no regard for holding back while also enhanced by magic devices and 4th star magic staffs was not something even, he could take lightly.

    "You three and you join the fray and teach them fear!" With a threatening look Frostine red at the three rindars as well as the most injured entry level B-rank monster. Beings that were failures and deadweight in his eyes.

    The youngest rindar trembled from head to toe in fear while the second rindar frowned and looked towards the eldest, the most powerful and talented among them.

    However, the powerful umbre that the two of them could shelter under was no more. Their eldest brother, the formermander of the monster stampede''s forces was nothing more than a thorn in Lord Frostine''s eyes. Even in his peak condition their brother was nothingpared to Frostine and now that he was missing two arms and lost most of his defensive scales the eldest rindar held no leverage.

    The eldest rindar knew that Frostine was sending him and his siblings to their deaths and it filled him with fury but there was nothing he could do. The weak have no say in the monster world, just like the many D and C-rank monsters he sent to their deaths he was now in the same boat.

    With a clenched jaw and balled up fists the eldest rindar looked at Frostine with an aggressive re but backed down almost instantly the moment Frostine stared back. He had no options; his death was certain.

    "Haaaaaaaaa very well as the lordmands." With a defeated tone the eldest rindar bowed his head and walked forward alone. Arguing against Frostine would only see him die quicker and pointlessly, at least if he joined the battlefield, he could erase some regret.

    All of his pent-up anger towards Frostine and his situation smoothly transferred towards the one that put him in this situation, the gnat that relied on the protection of Hamon to deprive him of his third arm and started him down his path of demise.

    With furious fire in his eyes the eldest rindar focused on the young dungeon core dashing to and fro to protect the frontline, he had found his target.

    "Well? What are you waiting for?" Frostine''s gaze drifted over the remaining two rindars and the other B-rank he ordered forward. His tone was filled with unveiled threat and the B-ranks not ordered forward either looked on in a gloating manner or let out sighs of relief.

    Fearing that they''d be struck down then and there the two rindars and the other B-rank monster made their way forward with anxious steps.

    Frostine chuckled in derision before focusing back on his magic contest with Ryuu and Jessie.

    "Chaylen bring our personal forces into the direct fray; I want Furano''s frontline decimated after this wave." Frostine spoke to an upper C-ranked spirit monster that was one of his kin.

    "Understood Lord Frostine." Chaylen performed a light bow before moving to takemand of their spirit monster forces.

    Frostine then looked toward the B-rank poison herald.

    "Have your forces move out as well, harm as many of them as you can regardless of the cost." He spoke with that threatening tone once again, it was clear that like the other B-ranks he only really cared about his own forces.

    The B-rank poison herald frowned in displeasure but was powerless to disobey, he sent the order down through one of his own subordinates and a momentter swarms of poison heralds and spirit monsters that were adept in magic took to the battlefield.

    Frostine didn''t care about the rindars in the slightest, but the poison herald was a different story. Even though he also failed in his mission and sported a plethora of internal injuries thanks to his face off against Hamon he was still useful as were his subordinates. Poison was a really annoying thing to have to deal with while also fighting for your dear life against unsurmountable foes.

    With the worry of poison the forces of Furano would be under even more pressure but more than that the poison heralds would ensure that their reserves would bepletely spent by tomorrow.

    Frostine looked up at the sky that had been lit by with the magic device [sr dawn] not so long ago as well as the confrontation between his ice serpent and Ryuu and Jessie''s firebird and earthen smander.

    "I wonder how long you can hold out. Desperation will only take you so far. Once Valendes tomorrow your end will be nigh and we''ll be free of this insufferable urging." Frostine grabbed his forehead as he spoke, the mutterings of his instincts constantly whispering in his ear, ordering him to kill and decimate the soutnds'' towns and cities, Furano most of all.

    Frostine had been alive during the previous monster stampede but even then, when he was weaker, he wasn''t ensnared by the corruption and stayed within his territory, ignoring the happenings of the outside world. This time however not only was he a proud and powerful frost monarch ensnared but so was a frost giant as well as something even greater.

    A frightening change that left him rather unsettled but powerless to do anything about. Only when the mission was done or when their strongest leaders were defeated would this crusade end.

 Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Facing off against the eldest rindar

    Schwing!

    sh!

    "Gyahhhhh!" The sounds of weapons cleaving through the air and into flesh resounded around Frost, followed with the inevitable screams of monsters dying from his ive. His beautiful white robes were covered in blood, as was his hair and weapon, the stench was quite impactful, but Frost didn''t notice.

    He waspletely in the zone, culling monster after monster like a machine, growing more and more efficient after each kill.

    The constant supply of DP from those he killed kept his energy levels topped up and filled him with a mad pleasure which was portrayed by a crazy smile that stretched from ear to ear. He was having fun, the madness of war suited him greatly.

    However as though on cue, the moment he was at an all-time high, a sense of danger struck his body like lightning. His forearms formed goosebumps and the small hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his heart stopped mid-beat. A secondter he swiftly ducked his head down and arge fist passed where his head once was.

    The air above him exploded with a small sonic boom revealing the force behind the sudden blow.

    The danger wasn''t over though, a purple knee appeared next, aiming to crack open his orbital bone. Frost twisted his body desperately to the side sessfully avoiding the rapidly moving knee by a hair''s breadth.

    At the same time he violently kick against the floor pushing his body away from his aggressor.

    Boom!

    Though he moved quickly, the aggressor still managed to make contact with his body. A sudden shoulder barge sent him careening farther than he anticipated but with a quick flip and twist the extra momentum was dealt with. When hended Frost got to see the entity that attacked with such fervour, and he wasn''t surprised by the result.

    "So the defeated dog dares to barge upon the frontline, you must really be tired of living." Frost chuckled in derision and entered a defensive stance with his ive.

    The eldest rindar who attempted to catch Frost by surprise felt his fury grow at his insipid insult.

    "Better than a coward who hides behind hismanders, only attacking from a ce of safety." The eldest rindar replied back in a mocking tone before ncing at the nearby area as if looking for Frost''s ''protectors''.

    The cowardlyment caused Frost''s lips to twitch as the insinuation though partially true hurt his pride. He faced off against the rindar with Hamon and only fought the cyclops solo once he, Maggie and Artemis wounded it the previous day and even then Maggie was nearby ready to act in a moment of danger.

    "Don''t bother looking they won''t being, it''s just going to be you and me, just like what you wanted." Frost pointed his ive''s de towards the eldest rindar, taunting him.

    "Bagua you''re inmand of the squad, keep some distance lest you''re targeted, this bastard isn''t above using cheap shots." He countered the rindar''s cowardment with one of his own.

    The two fighters stared at one another full of aggression while the nearby monsters and forces of Furano made space for their battle.

    Atop the northern wall Dous, Hamon, Ryuu, Jessie and most importantly Kiba saw the eldest rindar make his sudden advancement. It took a lot of self-restraint for them to not rush to the young dungeon core''s aid but this was a battle he needed to handle himself if they wished to survive this war.

    "Rallen and Yvonne pick up the ck." Hamon gave an order and a pair of Majors replied "understood Colonel" at the same time before leaping from the northern wall. Rallen and Yvonne needed to handle the frontline while Frost and the other majors took care of the 4 B-ranks sent into the battlefield.

    Thankfully all four of them were injured thus the required manpower was feasible but risky, the matchups could go either way.

    "Frost''s on his own now, may fate shine brightly upon this young prodigy." Hamon spoke with difficulty and clenched fists as he really didn''t want to take such risks, but the war gave him no other option, battles could be lost but the big picture the war could not, no matter what it cost.

    Dous also looked down at Frost with clenched fists, feeling immense guilt. How often have they put this young man in the firing line when all he''d ever given them was aid. He sighed depressingly before reaching his arm out to stroke therge tiger whose fur stood on end from anxiety as he was forced to watch his master contend with a mighty opponent all by himself.

    "Rx Kiba believe in your master, he will triumph like he always has." He portrayed a forced smile in an attempt to calm the emotions of the young cial winged tiger, but Kiba was wise enough to understand that the situation was truly dangerous.

    The only reason he still stayed on the northern wall was because of the look on his master''s face as well as the emotion being transferred through their soul bond. Frost was excited and wanted no one to interfere in this duel not even Kiba so he remained silently on the wall.

    Dous felt he got through to Kiba, so his gaze then turned to another battlefield. There standing off against the second rindar who was blind in one eye was Bastion, his long time friend.

    His battle would not be an easy one either, the second rindar with its far less wounds was likely equal to the eldest rindar in strength and though Bastion was more experienced than Frost and likely stronger he didn''t have the advantage of youth and the ability to absorb DP.

    After fighting for an hour in this slugfest, dashing to and fro the old guild master was significantly tired and was already breathing heavily before the rindar arrived. However his expression showed nothing but fierce determination as he tensed his biceps and back muscles andunched himself at his enemy with fiery aggression.

    Though Bastion''s battle may be even more treacherous Dous didn''t feel as worried as he did with Frost. He''d fought side by side with Bastion for decades and knew his friend''s tenacity and experience thus creating a form of undeniable conviction that he could never lose.

    As Bagua and the rest of Frost''s teammates moved away from him and the rindar the two fighters tensed their bodies and sharpened their eyes upon each other.

    A blood stter shot out from the shoulder of a nearby monster and acted as a sign. Both Frost and the eldest rindar moved at the exact same moment.

    ng!

    Frost''s ive adorned in a narrow but dense set of cold mes shed against the rindar''s powerful fist. Both were knocked back,ing out even.

    ng! ng! ng!

    At hard to follow speeds Frost and the rindar exchanged blow after blow, relying solely on their mastery of their weapons, no skills or techniques involved.

    With the rindar only having two arms instead of the usual four Frost was able to keep up with his insane speed, skilfully deflecting his blows with his de edge without having to take a single step backward.

    They were evenly matched during the warm-up phase and thanks to his chakra and the rindar''sck of scales, minor wounds were beginning to umte on the rindar''s fists.

    The eldest rindar frowned at this realisation before taking the battle up a notch.

    "[Drunken gambit]" while reeling up for a chest strike the eldest rindar activated a pugilist skill called [Drunken gambit] that made his movements changeup and be much harder to follow. His counters also became faster and heavier, and a numbness filled his body as though he was partially drunk allowing him to ignore the pain from the Frost''s cold mes.

    Frost was encountering this type of boost skill for the first time, so it caught him by surprise. He miss-timed a punch and was struck in the rib, this lead to him receiving another then another and another.

    His chakra armour swiftly broke apart on contact and his newly repaired physical armour endured most of the damage but somehow a great deal of force still made its way through, bruising his skin and muscles.

    "[Ice piercer]" in response Frost took a step backwards granting him some distance before activating his final advanced level ive skill, [ice piercer]. As he drew back his ive, white-blue energy covered the de''s tip, enhancing its prative power and caused the surrounding air to chill. This ice borne skill was not only sharp and deadly but also matched well with Frost''s ice element.

    Frost moved with incredible swiftness but the rindar was no easy opponent and had anticipated such a retaliation. The ice encrusted ive thrust out with immense force, breaking the sound barrier as it passed across the rindar''s torso. The monster twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly tip however, arge gash still opened up as the ive passed by.

    The wind generated by such a fast thrust though invisible made its mark.

    "Hmph!" Annoyed by Frost''s smile and the sting on his chest the rindar grunted before aggressively kneeing Frost''s outstretched ive.

    Frost predicated such a counter and decided to lean into the upward force ced on his weapon. He leaped upwards and backflipped, distancing himself from the rindar in preparation for another skill.

 Chapter 482: Chapter 482: Facing of against the eldest rindar (2)

    Frostnded back on the ground with light steps and with his ive poised for a downward sh, the words to his most powerful ive skill on the tip of his tongue.

    However there they would remain, the eldest rindar moved quicker and was already on the assault with his own skill. Frost was instead forced to lower his ive and enter a defensive stance.

    Unlike with the cyclops the rindar was fast, very fast meaning the battle would unfold very differently. Frost had no area in which he was superior to the eldest rindar thus finding weaknesses to exploit would be challenging. He needed to be methodical and patient lest he open himself up for a deadly barrage.

    "[Storm of a hundred blows ]" The eldest rindar moved instantaneously, appearing before Frost almost the very moment he touched down. He activated a pugilist skill of great renown, an advanced level skill that contained devasting destructive power.

    Blood red energy covered the rindar''s two remaining fists in denseyers turning them into solid weapons that even 3 star weapons would struggle to match. His upper body then grew in stature as his muscles tensed to obscene levels, the [drunken gambit] skill still being in affect only heightened the devastation that was about to be brought down upon his enemy.

    Frost frowned and a cold sweat ran down his neck as he firmed his grip upon his ive and covered it and his body inyers of ice chakra, going full on defensive.

    A momentter the storm began and the eldest rindar punched out with great force.

    Don! Don! Don! Don!

    The first four blows were parried by Frost''s ive and very little damaged was incurred. There was a slight inconsistency thanks to the rindar only having two arms instead of his usual four, but this was just the beginning.

    Don! Don! Don! Don!

    The blows came in increasing sets, the first was four, the second eight, the third 16, then 32 and finally 64 uninterrupted blows each faster and heavier than the first four for a grand total of 124 punches.

    Frost managed to parry the first couple sets with just his chakra armour being damaged but towards the end especially thest set his defences were blown apart and multiple punches smashed against his chest, hands and even sometimes his face.

    Boooooooooommmm!

    As thest blow came down Frost was blown backwards, his firmly nted feet dragging through the floor to create a trail.

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" the eldest rindar shrank in size after thest punch and started breathing heavily. His body was greatly drained after using [drunken gambit] and [storm of a hundred blows] together, of course his current state only enhanced the strain.

    He red towards Frost who despite enduring all 124 blows was still standing, he truly had be weak if such a greenhorn was left standing after such a barrage.

    "Cough! Cough!" Frost harshly coughed, spurting up blood. His body though still standing was in a great deal of pain. His chakra armour was all but decimated and the armour forged by Daki hiding underneath his robes was caved in and damaged in multiple areas, those final 64 blows were really no joke, each and every one felt as though he was being struck by a giant boulder.

    Internally his organs were shaken up, a rib was broken and his left wrist was likely cracked and the bruises that would show up if left untreated would likely make his skin more purple than white. However such damage was easily manageable, his battle capability wouldn''t even be adversely affected too much, it just hurt.

    Frost felt a fair bit better after coughing up blood and after wiping his lips with his sleeve he looked towards the rindar with an excited smile. This battle was so much fun, thatst move especially really pushed him to his limits in terms of ive control however it also made something abundantly clear.

    "You really have be weak." He said with a tone that was a mixture of mocking and disappointment. Such a tone caused the rindar''s face to warp in fury as his pride was hit.

    Yes it was clear that he had be weak if such a greenhorn like Frost was not only still standing after taking on a direct blow from hisbined technique but still had the strength to mock him. He felt a phantom pain in that moment where his two arms used to be.

    His [storm of a hundred blows] was only perfect when he had all his arms. With only two the timing was inconsistent, and the fierce momentum failed to build up to its highest point. There would have been no way for Frost to keep up with his onught passed the third set if he was in his prime, a realisation that pissed him off to no end.

    "Well I guess it''s a good thing for me in the end¡­.." Frost retrieved a mid-level health potion from his storage ring and started glugging down its contents- a low-level one would have been fine for injuries of such levels but as he stated before he would never again force his tastebuds to endure such abuse.

    "¡­..If that''s all you''ve got then this battle will be over soon." Frost spoke not with simple arrogance but with confidence as he twirled his ive and stretched his body. It was true that the rindar''s attack dealt some damage but now that he''d seen and experienced it he knew that if faced with it again he''d be able to endure far better.

    Unlike the rindar, Frost was in his prime and was constantly improving every second this battle went on; he would only grow stronger after each exchange.

    The rindar being as intelligent as he was and adept at looking down on others immediately understood Frost''s tone and the look in his eyes, it filled him incandescent rage. His face became heated, and a blood red colour began to suffuse itself into his eyes as his body and mind gradually started sumbing to the madness of the stampede.

    "You arrogant little gnat, you think just because I''m missing two arms, my scales and that you survived myst skill head-on you think you''re above me ha, your arrogance knows no bounds!" The rindar almost screamed as his tired body suddenly became tense and his aura sted outwards.

    "You are nothing but a brat that got lucky, I''ll show what true power is!" With his deration the rindar once again charged towards Frost with great speed, his fists already clenched and ready to pummel him into dust.

    Frost mocking look only grew as the rindar charged towards him, this time however he had enough time to dish out his own attack. With his ive raised above his head he dug in his feet and summoned his internal energy.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" With his words the energy in his body infused into his ive before forming into a massive wyvern''s head with razor sharp teeth but that wasn''t all. His cold me style chakra filtered through giving the mana creature a silver hue and me like skin.

    Next his aura entered, still with a rather inefficient and primitive approach but he was able sessfully give the wyvern head some essence, increasing its power and the ability to sustain his chakra mes.

    What followed was a devasting downward swing thatunched the fierce head at the charging rindar.

    "Ha you think such a poor imitation is enough topete with the real thing, in your dreams!" Not the least bit pressured by the mighty wyvern head the eldest rindar continued his charge unabated.

    "[Vicious viper strike]" He activated another pugilist skill that focused on swift destruction. Purple energy covered his left fist before forming into the shape of a viper that wrapped around his arm. Then with far better skill than Frost the eldest rindar infused his aura into his strike making the viper far more corporal and insidious.

    The massive wyvern''s head roared before snapping its jaws around the oing viper wrapped fist. From the outset it seemed clear than its size and power would grant it a swift victory but what could be visually seen was not always the truth.

    Bang!

    With a loud explosion the purple viper stretched out from the rindar''s fist and devoured the wyvern''s maw from the inside while his fist punched straight through as though it was merely constructed of paper.

    Frost''s eyes opened wide at such a sight; shock clear on his face. The eldest rindar smashed apart his strongest attack like it was nothing.

    The rindar reeled back his arm and dissipated the aggressive looking viper with a disdainful expression.

    "All shape and no essence, your aura is like a fractured mess." His eyes observed the young dungeon core, his anger somewhat dissipating as he was once again able to look at Frost the way he should, as a predator eyeing up his prey.

    Frost may be talented and a strong opponent for the unprepared and unexperienced, but he was still a greenhorn in terms of aura thus his threat to him, someone who was at the peak of the B-rank early stages and in full control of his own aura was limited. As long as he kept his focus and used his aura to attack and defend Frost would struggle to take him down.

    The games were over, he would unleash hisplete strength in hunting down this arrogant prey.

 Chapter 483: Chapter 483: "My turn asshole!"

    "Hehehehehehehe" suddenly a chillingugh escaped from Frost bringing the rindar out of his thoughts. This didn''t sound like augh of fear and in response the rindar felt a unease in his heart which only strengthened the moment heid eyes on Frost''s expression.

    ''He''sughing and smiling out of¡­.joy?'' He thought that he must be interpreting it wrong, how could Frost be joyful?

    Didn''t he just see the difference in their power when he went all out, his aura covered fist easily vanquished Frost''s most powerful attack yet this young man instead of trembling in fear or at the very least showing a worried expression was insteadughing his guts out as if he couldn''t contain his excitement.

    Just when the eldest rindar was about to shout out in query his tongue lurched, and his eyes formed pinpoints. Frost''sughter died down and he stared at the rindar with a fierce fire in his eyes revealing not a single iota of fear but that wasn''t what caused the rindar to grow silent no it was what was happening to Frost''s weapon.

    His aura that struggled to fuse itself with his ive and the wyvern''s head was now flowing with far better efficiency. It still wasn''t perfect obviously but a stark contrast to what it was earlier.

    The eldest rindar felt a chill around his heart and a deep and deadly fear began gnawing at him as he watched this scene unfold.

    Frost twirled his ive smoothly and dissipated his aura, a small amount of sweat umted on his forehead from attempting something new, but his smiling face made him lookpletely unfazed in fact he looked even more energised after the fact.

    "So that''s how you do it, no wonder it shattered so easily." He cupped his chin and nodded in agreement to his own words. His smile continued to grow until it stretched from ear to ear and gave off a sense of madness.

    "Let''s try that again shall we?" With deft movement Frost raised his ive above his head with both hands and gathered his energy.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" once again the vicious looking wyvern''s head appeared and once again he infused it with his me chakra and his aura however this time the process was far smoother and far more aura entered therge head granting it a powerful presence.

    "Let''s see how you smash it this time?" Frost asked with a joyful tone, truly wanting to witness such a spectacle as it would only show him areas in which he could improve.

    ''This bastard!'' The eldest rindar internally screamed as he prepared his defence.

    "[Vicious viper strike]" He responded in the same way, reying the previous events however this time the almost instantaneous destruction of therge wyvern head didn''t happen instead the massive maw continued to bite down refusing to lose to the tiny purple viper.

    "Argh! I will not lose to some greenhorn that just learned how to infuse his aura!" The eldest rindar roared out in protest as his body tensed and his aura burst forth with indomitable tenacity. The massive wyvern head exploded into fragments and returned to the ether, leaving the rindar victorious however it wasn''t a perfect victory.

    "Urgh!" The rindar grunted in pain and looked at this left arm that was covered in his own blood and sported several puncture wounds where the wyvern''s teeth made contact.

    "Hoh still not quite right but it''s definitely the right direction." Frost ced his hand under his chin in thought and once again nodded in agreement to his own words.

    This calm demeanour sent a horrifying chill down the eldest rindar''s back and hepletely forgot about the pain in his arm. A strong feeling of fear wrapped around his heart as he finally realised what the hell he was up against¡­.a god damn prodigy.

    Such realisation struck an immense blow to the arrogant and insidious rindar that looked down on all sapients, seeing them as mere fodder, only fearing a select few that eclipsed him in strength.

    ''Impossible I won''t lose to such a greenhorn, I won''t!'' He screamed internally as he struggled to restore his confidence. He couldn''t fail again, he could ept dying in battle but that would be against someone worthy such as Hamon or Maggie and Halgrave when they moved on him after ying Frost.

    Never for a second did he truly fathom the idea of losing to Frost the one that was like a fly assisting Hamon just a few days ago.

    As his fear began to consume him his mind weakened and the influence of the mana corruption and whatever caused it started to eat up parts of his mind, gradually turning him into a maddened beast that would fear nothing and have but a single purpose, to kill.

    Frost yed around with his aura a little and allowed the rindar to slowly sink into a crazed state, hoping that that would make this battle even more fun.

    He had already forgotten that he had a job to do, all that mattered to him right now was the thrill of the fight and the great chance to improve. The eldest rindar in his wounded state was the perfect opponent for his current level, a fair amount of danger but not too much that a single slip up could spell the end of him.

    A well versed and diverse opponent that outssed him in nearly all areas¡­.for now at least.

    Frost already felt his ive control slowly improving as he faced off against the rindar''s relentless punchesing from all manner of angles and with varying speeds.

    Improving from advanced mastery to expert mastery was a very long and arduous journey that was impossible for most people, hell even crossing from the beginning stages to the mid stages of advanced mastery was difficult let alone a whole grade but even minute changes would see a measurable improvement at his current level so Frost would never give up such an opportunity.

    His control of aura was clearlycking as a B-rank fighter and was something that he had juste into contact with yet after just a few encounters and a generous closeup demonstration from the rindar he was already miles ahead of where he was when he arrived on the battlefield. This ce really had some amazing teachers.

    Eventually the eldest rindar had fallen quite deep into his madness and came up with a single solution, kill Frost before he had a chance to improve further, only then would be free. With this realisation the rindar focused his now much redder eyes upon Frost and his aura with all its insidious qualities seeped outwards before coating his arms and legs like armour.

    "Oh looks like it''s showtime." Frost smiled and readied his ive, coating it in a mixture of his cold me chakra and aura which continued to flow more and more naturally with each passing second. He could feel his weapon and sense its position like it was a fifth limb, a magical state that was granted by his aura and ive mastery working in tandem.

    "Arghhhhhhhh!" The eldest rindar roared out aggressively before lunging at frost with his right fist reeled backwards.

    Frost let out a restrained breath and narrowed his eyes beforeshing out with his ive in an almost graceful manner.

    Booooooom!

    The aura enhanced ive and aura coated fist shed against one another, generating a loud boom. Frost was forced to take a step back as his ive was pushed away, losing in a direct contest of strength but he remained bnced and moved once again to parry the strike of the left fist.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    sh after sh continued as Frost remained on the defensive. The rindar''s aura coated fists repeatedly smashing against his ive, knocking it back with each blow and surely but surely pushing Frost back one step at a time. With the addition of aura it was clear that Frost was still a littlecking, but each confrontation educated him further.

    After ten minutes of this onught Frost eventually came out even in the exchanges, his aura bing as dense and as sharp as the eldest rindar''s.

    After another five minutes he was no longer simply defending instead attacking the rindar in earnest forcing him to be the one to backstep.

    When rindar was finally forced back to their original starting position he erupted with even more aggression, the red in his eyes growing deeper in that moment, even his voice sounded far more primal and animalistic.

    "[Tiger''s roundhouse]" The rindar starting using skills with his aura, the next natural step.

    Frost frowned and ced his ive to his side to block the deadly kick. With a loud don! the rindar''s leg struck his ive and caused it vibrate intensely, cutting open some of the seams in his hand.

    The rindar didn''t let up in the slightest, continuing to use pugilist skill after pugilist skill to pummel Frost,ughing madly as he did. Frost may have learned how to apply his aura to his weapon, but he stillcked speed. The eldest rindar attacked with such fervent aggression and consistency that Frost didn''t have any time to both activate his own skills and apply his aura to them.

    All he could do was endure the onught until the rindar was out of juice.

    Frost parried blow after blow with his ive and even endured more than a few with his own body but still he did not fall. Blood covered him and his weapon however it wasn''t primarily his.

    The rindar in his bloodlust wantonly attacked him with no regards for the state of his own body. Yes he protected his arms and legs with aura, but he was striking against someone whose weapon and body were also infused with aura. And it was an aura that continued to be more and more solidified after each blow, hardening to the point that it eventually surpassed his own.

    Don!

    With a final blow Frost was forced to his knees and coughed up blood, his internal organs endured quite a pummelling after all.

    The rindar smiled madly at such a sight and ced his foot atop Frost''s head feeling as though he''d finally won. However what he got in return was a defiant look and the grabbing of his leg with a vice like grip.

    "My turn asshole!"

 Chapter 484: Chapter 484: Victory?

    "My turn asshole!" Frost loudly cursed as he intensified his grip on the rindar''s leg and forcibly lifted it off his head with a powerful yank.

    The rindar was pulled off bnce andpletely caught by surprise, didn''t he just win? Didn''t Frost copse due to being unable to continue anymore?

    As Frost yanked the rindar''s leg he swiftly rose up to a standing position and readied his ive to chop off the foot that dared to stand upon his royal head.

    "[Earth''s upheaval]" With a mighty roar he activated the advanced ive skill [Earth''s upheaval], an upward shing attack that was normally ideal forunching the target into the air but would serve just as well in severing a limb.

    Arge boulder formed behind the ive adding to its weight and power. Frost''s aura then infused into de seamlessly before he swung violently upwards.

    Schwing!

    With only minor resistance Frost''s ive cleaved through the rindar''s leg just below the knee cap, separating the foot from the rest of the limb. Blood spurted everywhere and the rindar''s eyes opened up in shock, unable to understand the situation.

    Frost with swift movements then grabbed hold of the severed foot and smashed the eldest rindar in the face with it, sending him flying backwards.

    The rindar thus crashed against the floor with great force, eliciting a groan and cracking sounds when hended. With the addition of a bright red footprint adorning his cheek the eldest rindar still sported that look of confusion and shock.

    ''What the hell happened!?'' He screamed internally as his mind struggled to truly fathom what just happened. His confusion then swiftly turned to rage as he felt the burning sensation on his cheek and realised some of what just urred, but when he went to stand up and re-enter the fight he found that his body failed to properly respond. He was only able to make some minute movements.

    "Haaaaaaaa take a look at the state of your body and then you''ll know." Frost who was currently crushing the separated foot with his own spoke in a mocking tone.

    The eldest rindar thus looked at his own body and was blown away by what he saw. His arms and legs were pretty much mangled messes, covered in blood and revealing the cracked bones thaty beneath, it was a miracle he could move at all. The realisation of his wounds immediately activated his pain receptors, even the madness of the stampeded couldn''t repress this level of damage.

    "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The eldest rindar howled from the sudden agony, attracting the looks of many of the soldiers in the local area as well as the those standing on the northern wall.

    "Hahahaha looks like Frost triumphed after all." Hamon chuckled and smiled from ear to ear, incredibly impressed with the result, he couldn''t even see any serious injuries on Frost''s body.

    ''Looks like I really need to inform the general about him, leaving him as an adventurer would be such a waste.'' Hamon made some mental notes that he''d follow up on once or rather if they made it through this war.

    Dous didn''tugh like Hamon, instead he smiled gently and finally rxed his fists somewhat, relieved by the oue.

    "Frost really did it, he beat the rindar." Bagua who was in the process of taking down a C-rank monster with another squad mate couldn''t help but speak out, blow away by the result.

    ''He was weaker than me a couple months ago right?''

    More and more soldiers looked towards Frost and the rindar unable to ignore such a victory.

    Their stares felt like daggers to the eldest rindar who had finally stopped writhing in pain and forced himself to a seating position.

    He red between his crushed foot and the ce it was severed. Normally while his aura was in effect and given the natural resilience of his body it should have been impossible for Frost to so easily sever it but the mangled state of his leg showed that there wasn''t much to cut through. His aura must have been broken by Frost''s leaving only the mangled muscle and cracked bone to contend with.

    If he still had his scales and had been in his right mind during his aggressive barrage then things would have been different. His scales would have given a 3 star ive such as Frost''s great resistance and he would have backed off the moment he felt his hands and legs twist and break down as they shed against something much harder.

    Not to disparage Frost''s skills and achievements but in the end the rindar''s wounded state yed a major role in his victory, without it Frost would never have been able to contend against him with his current abilities. But s all that really matters is the result. Frost had triumphed and the rindar had lost. A fact that the eldest rindar knew in his heart but struggled to ept.

    Frost red at the rindar with a sharp look, watching him spasm in pain as he continually attempted to rise to his feet or rather foot. His eyes especially showed a stark refusal to admit his loss, the redness within growing more and more distinct with every passing moment.

    Soon the pain would once again diminish and his sanity would bepletely lost, the rindar would be nothing but a mindless beast.

    Frost pressed down hard on the severed foot causing it to burst apart before he twirled his ive and moved towards the eldest rindar, a chilling expression adorning his face as he did.

    Frost wasn''t too keen on duking it out with a fully maddened version of the rindar who no longer felt pain or exhaustion, so he moved to end this fight here and now. Plus though he was doing a very good job at hiding it, his current state was not exactly great.

    Though he was clearly the victor and looked fairly undamaged that was merely the external view, inside, his organs were a mess, and his muscles were torn from enduring the rindar''s fierce and relentless blows. Even twirling his ive caused his lips to twitch from the pain.

    Since he couldn''t afford to drag the fight out any longer Frost clenched his jaw and raised his ive up high with both hands, aiming to decapitate the rindar with one final swing.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" Hecked the stamina to properly use an advanced level skill and the amount of aura he was able to infuse was minimal, but it should be enough to end this duel.

    Schwing!

    The sharp and deadly looking ive de struck downwards following three ws of ice. Nearby soldiers, the high rankers on the wall as well as the B-rank monsters standing at the treeline all watched this moment with interest.

    Not a single entity present however rooted for the rindar''s upset, a sad and almost pitiful situation¡­.well only if the person in question was deserving of such sentiments, which the eldest rindar certainly wasn''t. A cruel and malicious being that enjoyed torturing and causing pain to others no matter the species.

    But to Frost it was simply a matter of eat or be eaten, the eldest rindar was just the next in a long line of entities to be devoured by the young dungeon core, allowing him to grow stronger.

    The madness of the stampedepletely overtook the eldest rindar in thest moment allowing him to raise his arms up in defence.

    Don! Don! Don!

    The ice ws struck the rindar''s forearms rending apart the mangled flesh further before fragmenting into pieces after generating cracks on the exposed bone.

    However when the ive de itself, wreathed in a small band of cold mes followed after them and smashed against the heavily weakened bone.

    Crack!

    A loud cracking sound resounded in the air and the sharp and deadly looking ive de shattered on impact, exploding into at least a dozen shards. Frost''s swing then followed through and mmed against the floor, his face sporting an expression of disbelief as he saw the shattering in almost slow motion.

    ''You''ve got to be fucking kidding me! Now of all times you chose to break!'' He internally roared as the ive broke at the most annoying moment.

    "Oh!" However he was quickly brought out of hisining thoughts by a vicious swipe from the rindar who ultimately since his ive shattered, still lived and had entered aplete maddened state.

    Bang!

    The eldest rindar''s left arm smashed against Frost''s ive shaft, forcibly knocking him backwards before roaring out with an animalistic howl. Blood pooled down its body and the horrible sounds of bones creaking and muscles being torn could be heard as the monster forcible stood up on its remaining foot.

    All signs of intelligence gone from its expression and its eyes nowpletely taken over by that blood red colour making for a very frightening visage.

    Luckily it appeared that the ive did at least some damage before shattering as despite the monster being taken over by the madness its right arm failed to move. The nerves and tendons must have been severed, something even the stampede''s madness couldn''t remedy.

    Frost who was already quite exhausted now had no weapon in which to fell the creature.

    "Well¡­.Fuck!"

 Chapter 485: Chapter 485: The birth of a future king

    "Rahhhhhhhhhh!!" The fully maddened rindar roared out, spurting copious amounts of blood from its throat as it did. The once indomitable and intelligent monstermander was now nothing but a severely injured and crazed beast with but a single thought remaining, kill.

    Frost was knocked back by the rindar''s vicious swipe, his ive shaft groaning from the unmitigated assault however, he managed to keep his footing, it would take more than that to fell him.

    Drip Drip Drip

    Blood dripped from the rindar''s body as he tensed up and prepared to charge. Frost''s body also dripped blood but to a lesser degree. His internal injuries were nothing to sneeze at and were beginning to take a tole on him.

    His arms and legs were trembling from exhaustion, a state that could be easily perceived if one was paying attention. Hisst burst of aura and the use of [w of the ice wolf] drained most of hisst reserves, cing him in real jeopardy.

    With his reactions slowed and movements impeded by his injuries Frost struggled to dodge the fervent swipes of the rindar, relying on what was left of his ive to partially parry the blows and coughing up blood afterwards.

    "Why won''t you just die dammit!" Frost bellowed while smashing his ive''s shaft upon the rindar''s face which seemed to only infuriate him further instead of causing damage.

    In retaliation when Frost went for another face smash the eldest rindar grabbed the shaft with his teeth and bit down with incredible force, pinning Frost in ce.

    Frost instinctively yanked the shaft causing it to move but only slightly.

    Don!

    "Urgh!" Then suddenly without warning he let out a pained groaned. The rindar''s good arm smashed into his sr plexus when he was distracted.

    Frost spat out some dark coloured blood and took multiple unsteady steps backwards, his grip on his ive releasing.

    Grrrrr!

    As Frost struggled to catch his breath and was assaulted by waves of pain he could hear the sound of grinding, a sound that caused his heart to tremble.

    Grrrrrrrr! Grrrrrrrr! Grrrrrrr!

    As the grinding sound became more and more pronounced Frost gazed at the mad rindar in disbelief. The damn monster was attempting to crush what remained of his ive with its jaw, a feat that would quite frankly be impossible under normal circumstances.

    Duram is a strong and durable metal and rindars weren''t particrly known for their jaw strength however, the sounds being made alluded that it was only a matter of time.

    Grrrrr! Grrrrrrrrrrr! Crunch!

    And as expected after a few seconds of unrestrained biting his duram alloy ive shaft fractured. Two pieces fell to the side while what remained was chewed up and swallowed. A terrifyingly eery smile swiftly followed after the barbaric act.

    Blood, broken teeth and shredded gums were on disy, a sight that caused many to involuntarily shiver as they imagined the pain. Frost''s lips twitched as he looked upon this monstrosity that knew no pain nor much intelligence. Who would do something like that just to crush an already broken weapon,plete and utter madness.

    "Rahhhhhhhhh!" The rindar roared out in some sort of strange glee,unching bits of his jaw outwards as it did before once again homing in on Frost who now no longer even had a stick to parry it with.

    "Fuck!" Frost''s eyes shot wide open, and he leaped to the side narrowly avoiding the rindar''s fist but at the cost of straining his leg muscles.

    "Someone give Frost a weapon!" Bagua who was the closest C-rank fighter in the area roared at the top of his lungs but as a cost for splitting his focus he received a clean punch from a yeti, knocking the wind out of him.

    However despite that he desperately tried to move in Frost''s direction, preparing to even toss his own weapon to him if need be. The battle could do without him but not without Frost. Thankfully such a sacrifice wasn''t needed.

    "Frostd, catch!" Suddenly the loud bellow of an old man reverberated from the top of the northern wall.

    Frost recognised the voice calling him and despite the rindar once again charging his way he looked up, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

    Woosh!

    Following the old man''s shout a beautiful ive wasunched in his direction, the item he was supposed to catch.

    Grip!

    Frost stretched out his right arm and caught the flying ive with elegant grace. It looked as though he called for the weapon, and it flew to his aid.

    The moment his fingers wrapped around the ive''s shaft, Frost felt an instant intense connection, his smile grew, and a glint shed in his eyes as the eldest rindar entered his field of control.

    His trembling limbs, pain and exhaustion seemed to evaporate just for a second, allowing him to grip the new ive with both hands and sh diagonally in a single smooth motion.

    No aura was used nor was any weapon skill utilised yet the force behind his swing wasparable to his mightiest blow. The wind howled as the razor sharp de cut through the air and arrived before the rindar before he even knew what happened.

    Schwing!

    With ease the ive shed open the eldest rindar from his right shoulder to his left hip. Its momentum not even slowing in the slightest when it met his spine, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter.

    Frost stood with his ive pointing downwards after splitting the rindar in twain, the two pieces of its body flew passed him before crashing into the ground, dyeing the already bloodstained ground with fresh blood.

    Silence consumed the northern wall, such a scene, even with the gore was beautiful and they did not want to ruin it with words.

    While the onlookers stared in wonder Frost pulled back the ive and began inspecting it in detail. This was the weapon he had been waiting for.

    The de radiated with a blue light and itsposition was very simr to his previous ive, but it felt purer, as if the materials used were not only forged to perfection but beyond it. The red coloured fired star wood which functioned as the shaft was now giving off a violet luminescence, making it an even better match with the blue pykrete de.

    It was the same shaft he''d fought with for so long but it had been treated with something, making it harder, heavier but also even more flexible. The image of the wolf howling at the moon had been re-carved with better artistry and it appeared that the moon was now an inlet for a magic crystal.

    Finally the duram pommel that gave bnce to the ive and served as a blunt force instrument had been reced with something higher in quality -the only part that had beenpletely reced. It was still of metal origin but since Frost wasn''t a cksmith he couldn''t tell what type it was just that it was heavier than duram and gave off a natural chill.

    As Frost examined his new ive the life force from the in rindar flowed into him, reinvigorating his body and lightening his wounds. Feeling this sudden wave of pleasure and dense energy Frost''s entire body tensed and his eyes shed with a silvery glow. He twirled the new ive in his hands and summoned his aura naturally.

    A dense, heavy and almost chilling pressure emanated from Frost''s body, restricting those in the nearby vicinity, causing them to turn and look his way. There they could see the visage of an elegant knight adorned in white robes, a majestic weapon in his hands and a light surrounding him as he stood upon the corpses of in monsters.

    This was an impactful image that affected not just the nearby soldiers and monsters but also the upper ranked elites such as Hamon, Halgrave, Maggie and Dous standing on the wall.

    Each of them suddenly felt the desire to kneel, to bow in Frost''s presence as if he was their king or emperor. His image at this moment had transcended mere power, there was something tangible there, are charisma that Hamon and Dous had only seen in a very select group of people¡­..Royalty.

    Those who bore the lives of hundreds of thousands or perhaps even millions of people upon their shoulders, the very highest tier of authority among the sapients. Power and strength could be umted through rigorous training and even medicines, but royal aura was something one must be born with.

    Without such an aura a king or queen would not be able to inspire unity and strength within their popce. That''s why they are so fixated with bloodlines. Keeping the line as pure and noble as possible will increase the chances that the royal aura will be passed down.

    ''The birth of a future king'' Frost''s aura now held royal authority. It was small and unrefined right now but as he grows so too will his aura, his maism, charisma and his attraction to people, others will naturally want to follow such a man.

    Dous and Hamon thought Frost was special, but never did they think he would have royal aura. Their image of him thus jumped a few notches and Hamon''s desire to have him join their frost wolf battalion grew exponentially.

    To their side while they were lost in their own thoughts Borris the old cksmith smiled from ear to ear and nodded his head.

    "Looks like we finished just in time, and as promised the brat christened it with the blood of a B-rank monster hahahahahaha!" The old dwarf had ved over his forge with the aid of his family for the past tens of hours, drawing out every ounce of skill he had to finish the promised product, a 4 star ive.

 Chapter 486: Chapter 486: 4 star glaive

    Borris who had been in a rut for the past decade, failing to make any improvements in his craft saw his passion and skill reignite shortly after first meeting Frost.

    The meeting itself wasn''t anything grand but as a result he was finally able to let go of his prized weapon that had been gathering dust in the back of his shop. A burden that had been causing him to subconsciously live in the past.

    Along with selling the half step 4 star ive, Borris finally mustered up the courage to start handing over the family business to the next generation. Doing so lifted a heavy weight from his shoulders, allowing him to finally get some fresh air after being submerged in the quagmire of responsibility.

    From that moment on he started forging weapons and repairing equipment out want rather than need. He once again enjoyed his craft and could once again hear that voice in his heart that always said ''I can do better'' after finishing a piece.

    He smiled more and felt young again, able to work the forges for hours without needing a break. Theing of the monster stampede served to knock off all the rust that he had umted, returning him to his prime but with all the experience of an old master.

    When Frost came to see him the other day everything fell into ce, the sudden urge to breakthrough the threshold to 4 star status overwhelmed him as he caught sight of the weapon he believed was one of his greatest works, damaged and in desperate need of repair.

    With unbridled confidence he staked his reputation as a smith and promised to hand the young man a 4 star ive worthy of his strength within 48 hours, and after slogging alongside his most skilled daughter and son they managed to produce a weapon that was unparalleled to any that had ever been forged by them before.

    A solid 4 star ive that almost reached mid stage quality, beautiful, strong, durable and razor sharp. Every material used was brought to their peak condition and flowed together with great synergy, forming a mighty weapon that easily sliced a rindar in twain.

    Borris had outdone himself and despite beingpletely exhausted from 40 hours of forging he personally ran to the northern wall with the freshly finished ive in hand. He wanted to be the one to hand over his finest work and personally see it being christened and he was not disappointed.

    Frost upheld his promise and now radiated the aura of royalty, affecting everyone in the vicinity, himself included.

    His masterpiece would be the weapon of a king, the honour was something Borris struggled to contain. His tired body was filled with vigour and his eyes sparkled with fascination as heughed and smiled from ear to ear. He made a decision in that moment; he would take Frost up on his offer.

    He may be old, but he wasn''t feeble. A trip into the cial mountains, he could manage that at least. His potential wasn''t spent yet and staying here would only stifle him and his descendants. It was time for a new chapter in his life and one which he now embraced wholeheartedly.

    While Borrisughed without restraint and Hamon and Dous looked on with amazement, Frost himself felt his tired body fill with energy as the pleasurable substance that was DP flowed through his veins and into his heart. His mind then connected with his aura and his new weapon to produce a terrifying effect that filled his allies with awe and his enemies with dread.

    Royal aura wasn''t necessarily stronger inparison to regr aura, but it had a certain quality to it that made others feel inferior regardless of their strength. A dominionponent that was of higher quality akin to the difference between divine energy and mana but on a smaller scale.

    The fear the surrounding monsters felt when Frost released his royal aura was far greater than when it was his normal aura. His image that would already berge and imposing thanks to aura seemed to shine with an intense lustre forcing them to instinctively advert their eyes from his form and feel an pressure far greater than normal despite the weight being the same.

    The one most shocked by this situation however was the frost monarch.

    Bang!

    Several trees were obliterated by lord Frostine as his anger or rather jealously overwhelmed him. He was already disappointed by the eldest rindar''s failure to kill as single greenhorn but now that young greenhorn was radiating a pressure that caused even him to shake in instinctual fear. A pressure that he desired from the bottom of his heart.

    "Why the fuck does a brat like him have royal aura!" He roared out with a horrifying visage, his fury on full disy. He was a monarch, a ruler of arge territory in the internal regions of the cial mountains. Part of a dignified royal species and a powerful mid B-rank monster with a great deal of potential still to be unearthed yet he failed to awaken even the slightest crumb of royal aura.

    Frost''s vibrant disy made it seem as if he was mocking him for that fact.

    Frostine in his anger conjured a 4th circle spell and fired what looked like a ballista sized bolt of ice at the unsuspecting Frost.

    This spell was known as [cial harpoon] and was very simr to the 1st circle spell [ice bolt] except the bolt was of far higher quality,rger and shot out at a speed several times faster than an arrow, a spell that was great for catching people unaware.

    The sharp ice harpoon flew through the air faster than the speed of sound and arrived before Frost in an instant. Frost caught the spell from the corner of his eye but instead of dodging or prepping his ive he turned and faced the oing attack with a gentle smile.

    "[Magma shield]" before the ice harpoon could reach Frost a thick shield of magma formed between the two protecting him from any danger.

    Don!

    The ice harpoon mmed into the magma shield, prating slightly through the other side before stoppingpletely and dissolving under the intense heat of the magma.

    Frost was not alone on the battlefield and the frost monarch was not his concern but Ryuu''s and Jessie''s. The two of them though taken aback by Frost''s royal aura for a moment never took their eyes off of the frost monarch. They saw his anger and prepared to block anything he dished out.

    [Magma shield] was abined spell fusing Ryuu''s mastery of fire magic and Jessie''s mastery of earth magic. A very powerful 4th circle defence spell that not only benefitted from an elemental advantage over Frostine but served to not simply add Ryuu''s and Jessie''s magic prowess together but multiply them.

    Of course such magic wasn''t exactly easy to do, the mages in question need to have great synergy and both know the spell in question thoroughly. Thankfully given their positions the two were quite adept in working with other mages.

    As the magma shield dissipated revealing Frost unharmed from the exchange the two enemies locked eyes. Frostine''s full of fury and frustration while Frost''s contained what appeared to be indifference. Frostine was not his enemy to deal with.

    Frostine''s anger level rose even further and he took several steps forward wanting to pluck Frost''s arrogant eyes from his pretty little skull but the moment he moved he could sense a great build up of mana upon the northern wall forcing him to halt in ce and change his focus back towards the two entities that had been getting in his way.

    "Lord Frostine please calm your fury otherwise you''ll go against the very n you created." One of Frostine''s loyal subordinates braved his lord''s anger and reproached him for his actions. This of course angered Frostine more, he thus turned around and grabbed hold of his subordinates neck with a fierce grip.

    His aura was activated at full strength and the air around him rapidly dropped in temperature causing fragments of ice to build up on everyone''s bodies.

    The subordinate struggled to breathe and suffered from great amounts of pain as Frostine lifted him from the ground and brought him to eye level. Panic and fear filled the subordinate''s body, but he did his best to remain calm and look at his lord with an unperturbed expression. ying, begging for mercy and apologising would only see him swiftly killed, Frostine was just momentarily angry.

    The best course was for him to stick to his guns and wait it out, hoping his honoured lord would realise his devotion and listen to his words logically.

    Seconds passed with Frostine''s grip growing stronger and stronger, the subordinate was moments away from passing out, his eyes had even started rolling back into his skull.

    "Hmph!" However just before that eventuality Frostine released his grip, allowing his subordinate to live. He had managed to control his anger and once again think objectively, his eyes now revealed a level of respect for the subordinate.

    ''He''s got guts and isn''t afraid to point out my mistakes for the sake of the bigger picture. Once this war is over I''ll reassign him.'' Frostine internally praised his subordinate and made ns for his future once they were victorious and returned to their territory.

    "Cough Cough!" The subordinate loudly coughed while desperately filling his lungs with air, internally he apuding himself for being right.

    Frostine waved his hand, immediately summoning a second and third subordinate who carefully took away the first one before he conjured up another ice throne and sat downfortably, his previous outburstpletely forgotten about.

    "Those two mages have their eyes on me and won''t let me interfere with the battle any further¡­..taking out that talented greenhorn isn''t possible at the moment given the n, but it doesn''t matter. All of them will fall eventually, a day or twoter makes no difference." Frostine spoke calmly surprising the nearby B-ranks who thought for sure their time hade to fully let loose.

    "We''ll stick to the n, no other B-rank will enter the fray. Send the rest of weaklings, I want that frontline inplete tatterse tomorrow morning." An insidious smile grew on Frostine''s lips as he thought of what wasing.

    "However it would be rude for me not to respond at all to this fervent monitoring.

    If they want to fight with magic let''s fight, I''ll consider it a warm-up before tomorrow." While remaining seated on his ice throne Lord Frostine summoned the nearby mana as well as what dwelled within him to start firing off spells aimed at Ryuu and Jessie with the asional one sent at key points on the battlefield just to keep them on their toes.

    Cascades of colourful and devasting magic rained over the battlefield as Frostine, Ryuu and Jessie faced off against one another for supremacy. However even with two of them, the assortment of magic devices and their elemental advantage they were roughlying out even.

    Whenever Frostine was starting to get pushed back he''d simply target the soldiers on the frontline forcing Ryuu and Jessie to be defensive, an insidious but effective tactic.

    For the two of them this was a dire battle in which they couldn''t rx for even a second but for Frostine it was nothing but a warm-up. Where they had to fiercely protect their ground Frostine could lose his without batting an eye, the monsters on the field were just chaff after all,pletely expendable.

 Chapter 487: Chapter 487: Mopping up the other B-ranks

    As a colourful and devasting exchange of magic covered the air the ground battlefield was as chaotic as ever. Frost''s victory over the eldest rindar though imposing and morale boosting made trivial difference in the grand scheme. Soldiers and adventurers were still being wounded and even dying left and right as they were swarmed by overwhelming numbers.

    The back up Majors, Rallen and Yvonne were stretched thin and unable topensate for the absence of Frost, Bastion and the rest.

    Frost who was severally exhausted and sported many internal injuries from his battle with the eldest rindar stood in ce after his victory. No monster dared to go near him after his disy of royal aura, keeping a wide berth and instead focusing on the much less dangerous and more numerous frontline.

    The life force from the rindar filled his body and repaired some of the damage but not all of it. If Ryuu and Jessie hadn''t moved to intercept Lord Frostine''s magic the consequences would have been dire.

    However his expression and bodynguage betrayed this fact, making it look as though he was a mighty god of war, unaffected by the harsh battle and instead was simply basking in the glow of his new weapon, which wasn''t entirely false.

    Right now the chaos of battle failed to reach Frost''s ears, even the attack from Frostine barely shook his mind as he waspletely engrossed in both the pleasure granted by the luxurious DP flowing through him as well as the feeling of his body as he held the 4 star ive in hand.

    The feeling was familiar but also different and far deeper than anything he''d felt before. This ive was uniquely forged for his use and his use alone and because of that it felt like a part of him, an extension of himself rather than a tool. There was even a mysterious energy within that felt somewhat sentient.

    Though it couldn''tmunicate whenever he sent a stream of his own energy into the weapon he could feel joy emanating from it. Such a thing was truly mysterious and brought a smile to his lips.

    "You want to show me what you can do right?" He asked in a soft tone getting no response in return other than a subtle feeling.

    "Hahahahaha" Frost found it rather cute and found himself stroking the ive like he did with Kiba andughed innocently.

    A short whileter however he returned to his battlefield mindset and removed a mid-level health potion from his storage ring. It hadn''t been long since he took hisst one so he wouldn''t receive the full effects but every little helped.

    Frost downed the red liquid quickly before scanning the nearby battlefield, break time was over it was time for him and his new ive to truly bond.

    With the eldest rindar now dead, 3 injured B-rank monsters remained on the field, Frost being the first one victorious.

    "Bastion should be fine, so it''ll be one of the other groups." Frost had full faith in the guild master, so he quickly redirected his gaze to the Majors fighting the youngest rindar and the other entry level B-rank monster which appeared to be some form ofrge ape.

    Feeling that it would be a shame to send off the eldest rindar alone Frost chose his next target, the youngest rindar who at this point waspletely freaking out. Not only had he been forced to endure this death pit, his opponents were tenacious things that repeatedly covered for one another giving him no reprieve.

    And when things were finally looking for the better after he managed to leave a deep cut on one of them he heard the death wail of his eldest brother. Foolishly he then turned around to see Frost in his most awe inspiring pose emitting royal aura so of course he was scared out of his wits and wanted nothing more than to run away from this ursed battle.

    This caused a mind crushing conflict within the young rindar. He was afraid of Frost so he didn''t want to keep fighting here but he was also afraid of Lord Frostine so he couldn''t retreat either. His mind torn between these two hard facts saw it gradually sumb to the stampedes'' madness just like the eldest rindar.

    His eyes that revealed fear and intelligence gradually turned red, numbing his pain and wayward thoughts.

    When Frost finally arrived before him thest piece of resistance shattered and the youngest rindar fell into the madness bing nothing more than a rampant beast whose sole purpose was to kill.

    "Major Sito, Major Caspian allow me to lend you a hand." Frost spoke calmly to the bruised up Major Sito and recently shed Major Caspian as well as the C-rank squad backing them up.

    "Much appreciatedd, we were already struggling to contain him before he fell intoplete madness." Major Sito frowned, his gaze drifting towards Major Caspian''s wound.

    "No problem let''s deal with him quickly and re-join the frontlines before they copse from the pressure." Frost took the vanguard position with his new ive. Excitement was clear in his eyes, and he licked his lips as though he was staring at a fine delicacy which for him the lifeforce of a B-rank monster certainly was.

    Major Sito and Major Caspian ordered their C-rank squad to return to the frontlines as they would no longer be required in this battle.

    The youngest rindar who had just finished his decent into full madness roared aggressively but it was Frost who attacked first. This rindar sported far less injuries than his brothers at the start of the battle thus he retained his hard scales and devasting power making him far more tenacious than the other 3 B-ranks sent to die.

    However, now that Frost was armed with a 4 star weapon those mighty scales would be rendered useless, and without them he was just a weaker version of his brother thus Frost dove in headfirst without the slightest hint of hesitation.

    With impressive speed and grace he narrowly avoided the youngest rindar''s fierce [vicious viper strike] andshed out with an aura infused strike wreathed in a mixture of cold me chakra and the wind aspected engraving.

    ng! Squelch!

    With his aura, chakra and the engraving the 4 star ive sessfully cut through the dense scales with ease, carving a deep wound even without the use of a weapon skill.

    With blood adorning his ive Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear as his battle lust reignited.

    Frost, Sito and Caspian managed to take down the youngest rindar fairly quickly with their teamwork, thus eliminating half of the major trouble makers.

    After taking down the youngest rindar Sito and Caspian returned to the frontline granting it some much need manpower while Frost arrived to assist another Major and her team in dealing with the B-rank Ape monster known as a giant ice ape. A line of creatures that liked to live in frozen forests inrge packs. It had quite devasting arm strength and durability but was rather simple as an adversary.

    The team in charge of handling the giant ice ape however were in bad shape by the time Frost arrived. The Major who was leading the team was barely holding it together, her arm was dislocated and several of her ribs were broken. She unfortunately didn''t have a partner like Major Sito, so her team was quickly overwhelmed leaving less than half of them still breathing.

    Frost had to take on the majority of the heavy lifting thus the battlested far longer than the previous one and he even received more than few punches to his body, undoing a lot of the effects of the health potion he took but they managed to sessfully bring it down without anymore casualties.

    The Major originally assigned was far too hurt to continue fighting thus Kiba was ordered to swoop in and carry her to safety. The master and battle mount exchanged knowing looks and spoke through the spiritual bond, but Kiba still chuffed in a huff before flying back to the Northern wall.

    He was annoyed that Frost was fighting against fun enemies without him, he was his battle mount yet all he''d been doing was fetching injured.

    Frost let out an exasperated sigh as he watched Kiba fly into the air, he understood his feelings but the greater picture was what mattered. Kiba''s fast acting saves may even y a bigger role in the grand scheme than his taking down enemies.

    Frost''s eyes were weary from battle and his body struggled to remain upright, but he couldn''t rest yet, there was still onest battlefield.

    "Urghhhaaa!" Suddenly however he heard a loud painful groan from the direction Bastion was fighting. He swiftly turned his head and witnessedrge spurts of blood exploding in the area as well as the image of Bastion with arge hole in his side.

    "Bastion!!!!!" Frost roared out at the top of his lungs and forced his tired body to move in his friend''s direction. His loud call alerted Dous and the rest who felt their hearts lurch as they minds went to a dark ce.

 Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Bastion in crisis

    All eyes on top of the northern wall shifted towards Bastion upon hearing Frost''s roar. Many of whom had their hearts lurch in fear the moment they caught sight of the guild master''s heavily wounded state.

    Adventurers who grew up under his care and owed their current strength to him froze in ce, their blood running cold as their indomitable leader half kneeled before his enemy. From their view all they could see was the second rindar towering over Bastion with his great sword punching through his gut. A gruesome sight filled with blood and horror.

    Frost could see a little better from his angle, so he was able to see that even though Bastion was in dire straights the rindar wasn''t doing so well either. One of his arms had been lobbed off in the battle and his body was littered with deep gruesome cuts that exposed the bone. Bastion''s mighty axe was also lodged in his shoulder, threatening to sever another arm.

    It was a state of what looked like an equal trade off however Bastion''s body was older and far less tenacious in regards to life force. Such a wound wasn''t only debilitating but highly fatal. The situation was very, very dangerous.

    Unfortunately there was no one in the vicinity and with enough strength to quickly lend him aid. Bastion''s team that consisted of 5 C-rank adventurers had already fallen, their bodies lying still and in pieces across the battlefield.

    The second rindar was wise with his battle tactics, not only did he fight calmly, making use of all his innate skills he roped in a couple C-rank monsters to ambush the adventurers during their battle. Once they were wounded and became slow they were easy pickings.

    Utilizing the confusion of new assants and his ability to camouge he''d slip away from Bastion to take out these annoying helpers one by one, eventually leaving Bastion stranded and alone.

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" Bastion painfully wheezed, his vision growing blurry from the intense blood loss and pain.

    "Arrhrrrhhhhhh!" He suddenly screamed out as the rindar slowly pushed his great sword deeper, making sure to cause as much damage and pain as possible. An evil smile adorned the monster''s lips as he relished in Bastion''s screams and partook in the sweet scent of his blood.

    Out of the three brothers the second was by far the most ruthless and sadistic, and now he was in his element. With no more interloping distractions he could enjoy this hard won pleasure.

    Squelch! His great sword continuing to edge its way through Bastion''s intestines, releasing more and more screams from the old dwarf.

    Bastion''s vision started to grow dark, and his legs struggled to support his weight but even, so he refused to give up. Fighting against the immense pain he grabbed hold of the great sword''s de with both hands, cutting them open in the process.

    The rindar who was easily pushing his great sword deeper and deeper suddenly found that he couldn''t move it another inch. Bastion summoned deathly strength in his final moments, pinning the rindar''s great sword in ce, not allowing it move forwards or backwards.

    "Tsk stubborn bastard!" The rindar grunted in annoyance before reeling back one his arms and started punching Bastion''s face without mercy.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Blow after blow came down upon Bastion, causing his head to be knocked backwards and blood to spurt from his nose but despite such punishment his grip remained solid, that sword wasn''t going anywhere.

    The second rindar though sporting quite severe injuries still boasted a mean punch, Bastion''s face quickly became a mangled mess making him almost unrecognisable. Regardless the guild master continued to endure blow after blow, refusing to give even an inch, but determination could only take one so far, the body had limits after all.

    Don! Don! Don!

    ''How many does that make? I can''t even feel my face anymore. It''s¡­.cold and .... So tired.'' Bastion''s thoughts were growing weak, and his mind started to shut down. He wanted to sleep, and the image of his dearly departed wife shed before him, beckoning him into the light¡­.. The iron grip that refused to budge loosened at that moment.

    Caught by surprise at the suddenck of resistance the rindar slipped backwards, dragging his great sword with him. A massive and gnarly looking hole was left in its wake and not even one of Maya''s high heals would be able do anything about such a wound let alone a mid-level health potion. Hell even the low quality high level potion Frost partook after fighting shadow wouldn''t be enough.

    Bastion was truly at death''s door.

    Bastion in his final moments regained a brief moment of rity, his eyes focused up and he could take in the sight before him. His gut that was opened up and spilling blood, the corpses of his allies around him, the chaotic sounds erupting behind him andst but not least the evil smile of the rindar as he enjoyed his current state with rapt attention.

    "...Sorry Jaina looks like dad''s not going to make it." With a solemn tone Bastion spoke what felt like his final words. The memories of his daughter when she was young and gradually growing shed by bringing a gentle smile to his face, he would embrace death with a smile.

    Time seemed to stop for his friends. Dous and Ryuu fought desperately against Hamon and Jessie respectively as they madly attempted to rush to his aid.

    Meanwhile Frost, the only one on the ground and unrestricted by allies pushed himself forward, forcing his wounded body to run as fast as it could.

    However the short distance of 100 metres between them never felt so far, what would normally take him a few seconds to cross now felt as though even hours wouldn''t be enough as a veritable quagmire of monsters obstructed his path forcing him to stagnate in ce, forever out of reach.

    This of course was the machinations of the frost monarch who found a good opportunity to enact some revenge and also help rid his enemy of a powerful B-rank fighter at the same time. His gloating smile was absolutely insufferable.

    As the light was about to fade from Bastion''s eyes forever the second rindar who''d been his opponent for thest hour rose to his full 5 metre height with his great sword in hand.

    "A fine trophy" He said in a dominant manner before reeling back his sword, aiming to decapitate Bastion and preserve his current look forever.

    "BASTION!!!!!!" Frost roared out once again, putting his newly found royal aura in full swing and charging ahead without fear of injury. He sessfully barged passed a great deal of monsters, but it still wasn''t enough, there was no way he could make it there in time.

    Schwing!

    The second rindar''s great sword started its swing, swiftly gaining enough momentum to sever Bastion''s head from his shoulders in a single motion.

    Bastion simply continued to smile gently, his body no longer able to move in defence, powerless.

    Dous and Ryuu looked on with horror filled expressions, their jaws tightly clenched and their eyes bloodshot from their overwhelming desperation.

    ''Someone please¡­.do something.'' In their minds they begged and prayed for someone to act, to save their sworn brother before the monster''s swordnded.

    Behind the northern wall at the emergency relief station a young dwarf who was helping to hold down a heavily wounded solider as the medics treated him suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her eyes became unfocused, and the image of her father shed across her mind causing a tear to drip down her cheek.

    She turned around to look at the northern wall,pletely abandoning her current task, something was wrong, very wrong.

    "¡­Dad." Jaina whispered under her breath as her heart lurched to a stop.

    Time proceeded very slowly for all those watching and what was in reality a single second felt like hours. The path of the great sword moving ever closer to Bastion''s neck and the widening of the rindar''s evil looking smile was burned into their eyes, so as to haunt them forever.

    "Not while I still draw breath you bastard!" Suddenly when all hope was lost a loud voice bellowed and the figure of arge muscr man could be seen descending from the sky.

    Before the rindar could even react the man''s left foot kicked away his great sword and a momentter the right foot smashed against his face, sending him spiralling backwards. Many of the bones in face and his nose cracked, he was instantly disoriented, and blood rushed out from his nostrils.

    Therge man who descended from the sky and knocked back the rindar with a couple of kicksnded softly on the ground, standing before Bastion, protecting him from any danger. A viscous look could be seen on the man''s face revealing the intensity of his anger.

    However a momentter his expression became one of panic, he quickly removed a potion from his storage ring, ripped out the cork with his teeth and force fed Bastion the bright red and somewhat silver solution.

    The moment the liquid from the potion entered Bastion''s throat, the man who had epted his inevitable death wrenched his eyes open as a vast amount of healing energy invaded his body, quickly moving to repair the devasting damage.

    "I guess that finally makes us even, Eh Bastion?" Therge man who was viciously ring down the rindar a moment ago gazed down at Bastion with soft expression, relief clear in his eyes for arriving in the nick of time.

    "¡­..Uuu¡­..g¡­gg¡­.guess so Vos."

 Chapter 489: Chapter 489: Enter Vaccos

    "¡­..Uuu¡­..g¡­gg¡­.guess so Vos." Bastion struggled to mutter those words before immediately passing out.

    Vos otherwise known as the mad iron chef, the head chef at the phoenix fledging restaurant in Furano and the fourth and youngest member of their group back in the day.

    Dous, Ryuu, Bastion and Vos were once known as the [Guardians of ice] a B-rank adventuring party of impressive renown.

    Of course they had split up and started following different paths over a decade ago, Dous bing the ruling Viscount, Ryuu a court mage, Bastion the guild master and Vos a spirit chef for the phoenix fledgling restaurant chain but even so their bond as sworn brothers remained. Dous even gave his son, Leo the middle name Vos in honour of this bond.

    However Vos was not supposed to be here, his master the owner and head chef of the phoenix fledgling restaurant chain called him back to the capital so as to avoid him being embroiled in this war.

    Vos was now a chef, someone who relied greatly on his hands so he couldn''t very well be risking them against monsters. It''d be a little different if he used a weapon, but the mad iron chef only used his bare hands and legs when it came tobat, a crazy die-hard pugilist.

    Him being here meant he either convinced his master to let him fight or that he directly disobeyed him with thetter being far more likely. However thanks to his timely arrival Bastion was saved, at least temporarily.

    Don!

    As Vos was holding onto Bastion''s body and inspecting his injuries with great dedication, Kibanded before the two of them with his fur standing on end and a difficult expression on his face. He was worried about Bastion and was sent to quickly retrieve him by Hamon and Dous, but Vos caused his body to shiver the moment heid eyes on him.

    He felt that in the face of this man he was nothing but simple prey or rather an ingredient. Out of everyone here only Hamon gave him a simr feeling, Vos was strong, very strong.

    Vos eyed Kiba before smiling in gentle manner and delicately cing Bastion upon his back, tucking the used vial into his pocket as he did. The medical staff would need to know the concoction he fed Bastion with after all.

    "Take him to safety little tiger cub and leave the rest to me." As Vos spoke the rindar could be heard getting up after being smacked in the face with his foot.

    Kiba looked at the rindar with a tinge of fear before nodding his head and carefully ascending into the sky.

    Arge ice serpent quickly fired off after Kiba the moment he turned his back, but Ryuu and Jessie were on it, swiftly conjuring their own fire bird and earthen smander respectively.

    Frostine now failed to snipe two B-rank enemy fighters, a failure he would remembere tomorrow.

    "He should be able to live after taking the potion master gave me." The potion Vos force fed Bastion was a high level health potion that was of greater quality than the one Frost had taken a few months ago and should prevent the worst from happening. His master had given him that potion for emergency use only and specifically for HIM!

    So when he finds out that Vos used it for another he''ll be in a whole world of trouble. Not even the famous owner of the phoenix fledgling restaurant could easily get his hands on such high end products after all.

    The matter of Bastion surviving was no longer an issue however even high level potions had their limits. The chances of the guild master ever being able to wield his axe in battle again weren''t great, this fight would likely be hisst.

    The second rindar who had once again risen to his full 5 metre height towered over the well-built Vos with an expression of pure fury. His efforts and sacrifice over the past hour were all for naught, taken away at thest second by this damn interloper. His hatred for Vos was palpable and it caused the madness of the stampede to encroach his mind¡­.

    he was about to snap and fall into a bestial rage.

    However Vos beat him to it. The gentle expression he showed Bastion swiftly changed back to one of untamed viciousness. The veins across his forehead and face bulged, then his skin turned red and emitted steam before his already gigantic frame grew in size. Vos had entered the berserk state, the penchant for his famous moniker, the mad iron chef.

    In this berserk state Vos'' physical strength, speed and reaction times were all heightened to abnormal levels and his now red skin would give even monsters a run for their money in terms of defence. Even magic would seem to weaken within his presence, affected by the chaotic nature of the berserk state.

    This was a very dangerous double edged sword that would rend one''s wisdom and intelligence moot, turning them into battle crazed demons that knew no restraint. A state that would also gorge itself on the users stamina, sucking them dry in a matter of minutes.

    Very few dared to ever use this technique due to its dangerous side effects however Vos was a very special case. His constitution allowed him to negate some of the harsh effects. He would retain control over his body and not lose himself in the madness. And unlike others he could enter and exit the berserk state freely especially if he was angry.

    Plus with thebination of the mortal me he fused with he became wreathed in red hot fire, enhancing his body even further.

    A wild smile quickly adorned his face before Vos dashed ahead with his fist drawn back.

    "[Tiger fist]" he attacked suddenly not giving the rindar even the slightest amount of time to react.

    "Roar!" A heavy fist wreathed in mes and supported by an illusionary tiger smashed against the rindar''s chest causing him to cough and lower his head only to be met with the next strike of the tiger style, [Tiger uppercut].

    What proceeded was the disy of arge man wreathed in red mes beating down the rindar with his bare fists as if the B-rank monster was nothing but a helpless punching bag. Even when the rindar''s eyes becamepletely red and bestial rage overtook him, Vos still smacked him around without mercy.

    Every blow of his was aimed at the still in tact areas of the rindar''s body, slowly but surely breaking every single inch of him as reprisal for putting his sworn brother in such a state.

    For those watching it was genuinely hard to tell who was the monster as both entities appeared incredibly vicious. One was roaring as it got smacked around while the otherughed madly as it smashed apart its opponent''s bones and burned off its scales, quickly bing covered in the other''s blood as it did.

    Many older adventurers couldn''t help but stare in awe and mutter "The mad chef returns" under their breaths as they were reminded of the events during their youth.

    The mad iron chef, the berserk and insane adventurer who fought with his bare fists and was more of a monster than the monsters themselves. Only his three friends Dous, Ryuu and Bastion could ever control that mad beast whenever he lost it. A young man with unrivalled potential and serious anger issues.

    It had been a long time since the mad chef had beenst seen in his berserk state, and whenever that happened it heralded rivers of blood.

    "Reinforcements huh" Frostine spoke with a cold tone and narrowed eyes as he watched Vos destroy thest remaining B-rank on the battlefield.

    "Yes sir ording to the reports that man hasn''t shown himself during the previous waves. He must have just arrived." Chaylen, Frostine''s prime subordinate replied.

    "No matter, a single B-rank won''t make a difference though the festivities will be more enjoyable." Frostine smiled evilly, only slightly taken back by Vos'' intervention.

    "Deal onest blow then pull us out for the night, let them rest a while and suffer in fear for tomorrow hehehehehe."

    "As you wish Lord Frostine." Chaylen bowed in response before heading onto the field with arge contingent of magic wielding spirit monsters.

    With the second rindar being taken care of Frost and the other elite fighters who could still fight worked with the frontlines to push back the onught of chaff.

    The sudden addition of hard hitting forces nearly made the lines break but through the skin of their teeth they pulled through. Vos being the newest entry and least exhausted was thest the leave the battlefield. He watched Lord Frostine with a fiery gaze as he left the field, returning to the Northrend forest.

    He felt unsettled by the smile on his face thus he remained on the field until the veryst solider was safely back behind the tall walls of Furano. His tall fiery stature standing at the forefront of the battlefield created a powerful image for the severely weakened forces, allowing them to not sumb to the heavy losses.

    His dragging of the horrifically beaten rindar corpse through therge gate certainly helped too. However it was clear that thisst wave really, really did a number on them. Things were not looking good.

 Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Bastions condition

    A dark air and heavy mood covered the town as the soldiers dragged themselves through the gates to safety, their numbers being far less than what they initially set out with.

    Every returning solider sported some level of injury, none were left unmarred by the battle. Frost aided Bagua and another member of his squad through the gates, their clothes and armours splintered and covered in blood. Hard to believe any of them came out victorious with their current states.

    Only Vos who triumphantly arrived from the sky and crushed the second rindar could be seen in a grand light. The mad iron chef who felt the heavy and hopeful stares of the soldiers and adventurers grabbed hold of the rindar''s carcass and dragged it behind him as the gates closed shut once more and the small reserve of relief soldiers took over.

    Vos wished to immediately check on Bastion however with his experience he knew that there was somewhere else he was better needed. With powerful steps he walked towards the food court with the rindar in tow.

    "Ts move over, I''ll take it from here." Vos spoke in an authoritative tone towards a middle aged chef named Ts.

    "Understood head chef." Ts replied with a smile and slight bow before willingly handing over his kitchen. Ts was the vice-head chef of the fledgling phoenix restaurant here in Furano, Vos'' right hand man and the one left in charge in his absence.

    "Good to see you hered, finally someone to share the weight hehehehe." The moment Vos started prepping the area to his style and giving out orders to the lower ranked chefs, Burusaa hobbled over with a wide grin.

    Vos replied with a smile and nod before diving straight into prep, the rindar he killed wouldn''t be the only ingredient being served tonight. The men and women would need the greatest meals of their lives if they were to head back out into the chaos with so few numbers. Thus a great responsibilityy on Vos and Burusaa the only two spirit chefs in the territory.

    While the soldiers and adventurers were feeling rather down the support staff were filled with fiery passion. The chefs joyfully weed Vos'' arrival as well as the abundance of fresh ingredients flowing into the kitchen and vowed to prepare their very best dishes.

    While the smiths were all blown away by the revtion of Borris forging a 4 star weapon and thus bing a 4 star smith. They all eagerly took hold of the soldiers'' and adventurers'' damaged and broken equipment, promising to return them better than ever.

    Their smiles and animated expressions helped to uplift the soldiers mood, easing their pain albeit slightly.

    Within themand centre however everyone present was very serious in their demeanour.

    "How is he?" Frost spoke up first, desperate to know about Bastion. He was right there on the battlefield yet no matter how hard he fought he couldn''t reach his friend. Thankfully Vos arrived otherwise he would have lost one of his very first friends, a thought that gripped his heart in an icy grasp.

    "Gilianna''s seeing to him now. Lady Cassandra and his daughter Jaina are with him but he''s yet to regain consciousness but we''re hopeful that''ll he''ll pull through. Vos gave him a very high quality potion so only time will tell." Hamon replied after letting out a deep sigh, his gaze then drifted towards Dous and Ryuu.

    The honoured Viscount and powerful court mage both wore dark expressions. Their eyes were red, and their faces pale from extreme worry, and blood leaked from their hands after their nails dug in from clenching to hard.

    They desperately wanted to be by their sworn brother''s side in his time of need, but this was war and their status demanded that they be here in themand centre rather by his side.

    Frost felt a little relieved when he heard Hamon''s words but like Dous and Ryuu he was still very worried.

    Doing his best to ignore the issue of Bastion, Hamon began the strategy meeting which did not go down well. It was clear that no matter what they did there was no way they could survive until the arrival of the capital''s reinforcements. Their aggregate power was just too small while their enemies'' was only growing stronger.

    The goal of this war was now simply to hold back the tide for as long as possible as victory was no longer an option.

    Vos sent a messenger since he was upied prepping meals shortly after the meeting began. He had set out by himself so he had no idea on the current whereabouts of the reinforcements thus it was still believed that they would arrive on the 4th day. About 30 odd hours from now and at least several more waves. It was difficult for them to make it through just one more wave let alone several.

    The meeting proceeded and concluded after a short 15 minutes as nothing really changed, the strategy would remain the same however now not a single person (bar Frost) felt they would survive this war.

    The officers stepped out from themand centre with their heads held high, sniffing the air that carried the glorious smell of dishes being produced by the town''s greatest chefs.

    ''Time for ourst meals.'' With that thought they each made their way to the food court, to feast upon the flesh of the B-rank monsters.

    Meanwhile Frost, Dous and Ryuu all left for the medical centre where Bastion was currently resting under the supervision of Gilianna.

    Once they arrived they witnessed Jaina sitting by her father''s bed with tears streaming down her cheeks. Cassandra and Luna were sitting either side of her, supporting her in her time of need. Luna in particr was allowing Jaina to cry into her chest and was gently stroking the back of her head in a soothing manner.

    Bastion was still asleep, his bodypletely exhausted from his strenuous battle against the second rindar. The massive hole left by its great sword had been sealed thanks to the high level health potion used by Vos however internally things weren''t quite right.

    Vos was correct it was very unlikely that Bastion would be able to ever fully use his strength again. Though his skin was intact the muscles and organs underneath couldn''t be fully regenerated to what they once were. Potions had their limits when it came to the moreplicated parts of the body, especially when so little or even none of the parts remained.

    Gilianna had just finished her examination and reported her findings to Cassandra and the rest resulting in Jaina''s crying which was a mix of sorrow and relief. Her father was likely going to live but he would have to hang up his axe, his pride and joy.

    "I''ll leave you all in peace. If he wakes up call for me." Gilianna left after saying those words, bowing slightly to Dous as she left the room.

    "Bastion you daft old dwarf." Ryuu sighed and sat on the opposing bed side, staring down at his friend''s pale face.

    "Haaaaaa he always has been the most reckless of us." Dous said with a depressing smile before sitting next to Ryuu. This however caused everyone in the room to turn and look at him in bewilderment.

    Dous really wasn''t one to talk and the irony of his words couldn''t be ignored by those present. Who was the one who almost who lost his life a couple days ago, and who was the one always running head first into danger when they were younger, always trying to defy his mortality, Dous that''s who.

    "Hahahahahahaha" Ryuu couldn''t help butugh and was quickly followed by Cassandra until even Jaina wasughing. The group sat by Bastion''s side telling stories of the old days, of Bastion''s life, reminiscing in the joys they had with him.

    Time gradually passed yet even after two hours Bastion failed to awaken. Frost, Ryuu and Dous couldn''t remain by his side any longer, with reluctance they left to prepare themselves for the next wave that was set to arrive in the next hour or so.

    However even after devouring a highly luxurious meal and taking a nap the wave never came. But instead of rxing the people and allowing them the rest a little more this instead filled them with great stress. The men and women were constantly on edge, waiting for the battle toe. Only those very versed in warfare were able to properly sleep and ignore the psychological pressure.

    It was a long and restless night for the people of Furano.

    Within the Northrend forest however Lord Frostine sat within a room made of ice, the many B-rank monsters and his strongest subordinates were with him. This was theirmand centre.

    "Valend should be arriving soon. At dawn we strike and decimate the town of Furano." He mmed his hand down upon an ice table, shattering it into pieces as he dered their intentions. A round of wide and evil looking smiles could be seen throughout the room, the monsters were antsy with anticipation.

 Chapter 491: Chapter 491: The third dawn

    Frost woke up an hour or so before dawn, fully refreshed and ready to fight. It was a nice change not being woken up by the ring war horns.

    After grabbing his re-forged ive he made his way to the food court, wanting to charge up a little more before the big battle.

    As he walked Frost caught sight of the many dispirited and stressed looks on the faces of the soldiers and adventurers. Unlike him they had been up most of the night never knowing when they''d be called to battle, to sacrifice themselves.

    The chefs, smiths and officers did their best but even, so morale was low and to be honest expected. Few would actually face their death with pride and confidence.

    Frost shook his head choosing to not get swept up in the dour mood spanning the town, he would fight and enjoy the looming battle as best he could, but the atmosphere certainly did make it hard for him to go around with a wild expecting grin.

    He sighed and upped his pace towards the food court. The chefs were still going hard at it, preparing glorious meals that infused the air with their delectable scents. Burusaa and Ts were currently working the highest quality stall while Vos was seated at the table devouring meal after meal with ravenous gusto.

    Nearly all the frontline Majors and high ranked adventurers could be seen by his side doing the exact same thing. Loading their bodies with carbs, filling up their tanks purely for energy reasons rather than taste fulfilment but given who was cooking that was never a problem.

    Vos looked at Frost after hearing movement, he smiled and patted the table, asking him to join him. Frost smiled and joined Vos at the table.

    "Ts another round of meals for Frost here." Vos hollered to his vice-chef.

    "Coming right up boss." Ts loudly replied before fetching another load of high quality ingredients.

    "Since you''re a closebat fighter like us you''d best fill up your energy levels while you still can. The next attack will be like nothing you''ve ever seen, running out of gas mid fight would be a regretful way to die. Food is life, remember that." Vos spouted some words of wisdom in a serious tone before chuckling and diving back into his food.

    The majority of those eating right now were as Vos put it closebat fighters who relied heavily on their physical stamina to fight. Ryuu, Jessie and the mage corps were noticeably absent as the mage caste relied on a different source of power therefore an abundance of food wasn''t quite as impactful to their battle styles instead meditation and good rest were key.

    A few minutester Ts brought over several overfilled meat dishes for Frost that teemed with energy.

    "You''ve improved Ts, just a little more and you''ll be able to call yourself a true spirit chef like Burusaa and me hahahahaha." Vos pulled himself from his gorging to praise his vice chef''s improvements. The mana contained in the dishes were almost at an eptable level for a spirit chef.

    "Thank you head chef." Ts smiled and blushed a little before quickly heading back to the kitchen.

    "Giant Frost ape rump steak, Fried rindar thigh, stegadon meat balls and finally a frost lily and winter thistle soup, a pretty good set." Vos smiled from ear to ear as he named the dishes, his eyes twinkling with joy.

    "The first three should fill your stamina levels to the point that they''re overflowing as well as grant you a decent strength boost while the soup will help with your chakra flow and mana control, a set meal catered specifically for your battle style.

    Frost listened with interest, his eyes drifting over to Ts who had returned to the kitchen.

    ''A spirit chef huh.'' Multiple thoughts flowed through his mind at that point, but the rumbling of his stomach brought him back to reality. He shook his head before digging into his set meal, such things could be dealt with after the stampede was over.

    Around 30 minutester when Frost was just about finished his meals Ryuu, Jessie and mage corps arrived in masse and ordered their own specialised mana boosting dishes.

    "Any news?" Vos asked with a serious tone, his table littered with clear bowls and tes, just where on Nova was he storing all that food.

    "Still silent on the wall but the pressure emitting from the forest has grown considerably and my gut''s screaming the worst." Ryuu shook his head in frustration. "Plus bastion hasn''t woken up either." Ryuu''s eyes drooped as he mentioned Bastion and Frost and Vos felt a pain in their hearts.

    "If only I arrived sooner." Vos though ultimately being the one to save Bastion when no else could, couldn''t help but feel a level of regret.

    "No you did what none of us could. He''ll pull through this I know it; you know how stubborn that old dwarf is. Even the God of death would struggle to take his soul if he wasn''t willing."

    "Hehehehe that''s true." Vos and Ryuuughed.

    The food court continued to amass customers as though a subtle force was guiding everyone there in preparation. Even Hamon and Dous chose to join, having their meals there instead of themand centre so as to boost morale. Cassandra, Leo and Luna also came helping to create a somewhat enjoyable atmosphere.

    The smiths and other support staff joined near the end, arriving with boxes and boxes of finely repaired and or newly forged equipment for the men and women about to head into battle. Borris was among them and instantly headed towards Frost the moment he saw him. He was curious about how his ive felt in the hands of its intended owner.

    "So how''d it feeld, my current greatest work and the very first 4 star weapon I''ve forged?"

    "Current greatest work?" Frost questioned with a knowing look.

    "Hehehehe yeah, I may be old but I ain''t dead and I certainly ain''t washed up. I''m going to keep forging and improve my craft, this ive [Wolf howling at the moon] will not be my only 4 star weapon nor my best, just the first hehehehe." Borris chuckled with pride, mming his chest in promise as his eyes shed with passionate fire.

    Frost''s lips turned upwards in a smile as he tried to imagine how far Borris could go and he became greedy. He wanted him, such a talented and experienced smith he''d be a fool to ignore such a tempting prospect. Once the stampede was over he''d have to really sell the idea of his territory to him and if that didn''t work there''s always the forceful approach.

    Frost''s mind ran a bit wild again beforetching onto something Borris said.

    "[Wolf howling at the moon] what''s that?"

    "Hmm oh that''s the ive''s name, smith''s always give names to works their proud of especially those that are above 3 star in quality. The people that wield high ranking weapons such as yourself tend to leave marks in history thus many are curious about the weapons they wield.

    Granting them names helps make such creations unique and if you''re skilled and lucky even develop a soul, allowing them to be truly powerful creations that have the ability to grow." Borris exined a little while puffing his chest out, very happy with the name he thought of.

    "[Wolf howling at the moon] huh? And weapon souls how interesting." Frost was drawn in and fascinated, there was so much to this world and it professions that he didn''t know.

    ''I should find some time to chat with Damascus since his skills lie in forging.'' Dark had made it rtively for the dungeon cores to contact one another if they so wished but it was up to the individual whether or not to ept the contact but from what he remembered he got along with Damascus quite amicably at the family gathering.

    "By the wayd about that territory of....Baaaddoooon! Baaaddooon!" Suddenly Borris was cut off mid-sentence by the sound of the war horns, forewarning the onset of the next wave.

    With the war horns sounding off every soldiers and adventurer instantly put down their cutlery and stood up, their gazes turning towards the northern wall. Then as though in sync each and every one of them marched to the wall with resolute expressions. The next wave hade after such a long dy.

    Frost, Hamon, Vos, Halgrave and Maggie nodded to one another before making their way to the top of the wall while Dous and Ryuu said goodbye to their families. Thest stretch of this defensive war was here.

    All the chefs and support staff bowed sincerely as the soldiers and adventurers made their way beyond the wall knowing full well that the chances of them returning was frighteningly low.

    "Battle stations! Every solider front and centre, no more reserve teams! It''s all out WAAAAARRRRR!!!!!" Hamon who swiftly arrived on top of the wall first roared out his orders with his aura instilled into his voice, greatly inspiring the forces down below.

    All the reserve teams and weaker wavepse teams no longer left their posts when the real thing started instead they were reassigned to the frontlines or to work the many war machines that had been brought out in full scale. Ammunition levels no longer mattered; they would use everything they had to deal the stampede a devasting blow.

 Chapter 492: Chapter 492: The third dawn (2)

    Apart from the regr soldiers and reserve teams quickly finding their positions before and on top the wall or tforms the number of war machines were much greater than before. Even if they were damaged they were brought into the fray as a single sessful shot could mean the death of one more monster.

    Ballistae lined the top of the northern wall with skilled marksman standing behind them, preparing tounch thest of the town''s bolts without restraint.

    Vats of boiling oil were not only ced beside the ranger corps for their fire arrows but also at various strategic crenels allowing the boiling liquid to be dropped onto the battlefield below, scalding any monsters that dared to climb the wall.

    Hidden behind the towering wall at differing levels were trebuchets,rge, long range war machines that could hurtle massive rocks into the enemy lines. Unfortunately only one was in decent condition, two beyond repair and another two with partial damage, likely only able to get out a couple shots before breaking apart.

    Of course along with war machines there were the many magic devices that relied on magic crystals for fuel. Mana gatherers, amplifiers, the sr dawn as well as several other nick knacks that synergised with certain squads.

    Hamon ordered for everything to be brought out and used to their absolute limits, wear and tear, ammunition and even effectiveness was ignored. If it had the potential to kill or even maim it was brought to the battlefield in ast ditch effort tost through the remaining 24 hours or at the very least deal a blow so painful it''d be seared into the hearts of the enemy.

    Ton! Ton! Ton! Ton!

    A cacophony of footsteps filled the area as everyone took their positions and drew their weapons, staring dead ahead with steely resolve.

    "Chuff!" Kiba who was resting in the monster pens arrived from the sky andnded by Frost''s side. He proceeded to rub his head against his master''s hand affectionately, an attempt to hide his fear as well as overwhelming excitement. Finally he would fight by Frost''s side, as a team instead of being relegated to injured recovery.

    "It''s alright Kiba you''ll get your chance to see action but promise me that you''ll listen to my orders without any resistance." Frost rubbed the tiger''s fluffy head as he spoke, his heart warming as he did.

    "Chufff" Kiba responded positively instantly, he may be young, but he was quite wise for his age. He knew that the enemies he and his master would be pitted against would be stronger than himself therefore if he didn''t want to be deadweight he needed to strictly adhere to Frost''smands.

    "Good boy. Let''s go" With a strong nod Frost jumped onto Kiba''s back and the two of them descended from the wall, joining the frontlines.

    Once everyone was in position an eery silence covered the area and cold sweat started to drip down the necks of those present. A stifling pressure, a looming fear gripped their hearts as time crawled forward without any change.

    "Hold your ground, keep those weapons raised!" Hamon roared while clenching his jaw, also feeling that something big wasing.

    Don! Don! Don! Don! Don!

    A moment after Hamon''s roar the sounds of heavy, very heavy feet could be heard making contact the ground. At first it sounded distant and rather sparse but soon it elerated and magnified to the point that the very ground started shaking. Therge and sturdy trees of the Northrend forest began falling down as though battered by the charge of a massive animal.

    Some of the weaker soldiers started to lose their bnce and fell to their knees. Frost and the other Majors focused their eyes and or their mana in an effort to see into the distance and gauge the enemy but Frostine and his spirit subordinates had eclipsed the area in an ice fog reducing visibility. They were in the dark, a very dangerous prospect this let in the game.

    Momentster the sound became so loud that many covered their ears to offset the pain and that was when it happened.

    Charging through the bare treeline and the dense ice fog were several dozen mammoths, each easily 6 metres tall, chock full of dense muscle and protected by thick hides. Fierce looking tusks that had been sharpened to frighting points decorated their faces, perfect for goring their prey no matter the size or strength.

    And between their tusks were long trunks that served as a fifth limb, far more powerful and flexible than a standard arm.

    Nearly every soldier and adventure turned white at the sight of these monstrous beasts as they charged towards them. Their legs turned to jelly and more than a few lost control of their dders. If that wasn''t frightening enough what followed was a veritable explosion of sound as the mammoths red their trunks like horns. A few unlucky soldiers at the forefront had their eardrums pop.

    "Fuck!" Hamon loudly cursed and attempted to roar out reassuring orders however the trunks of the mammoths eclipsed his voice. He was cut off from his men and women.

    "Dammit to have to use it at the very first charge, Fuck! Damien turn on the barrier!" Instead of roaring beyond the wall Hamon yelled behind him as well as gave a noticeable hand signal just in case.

    In response a dwarf with bright purple eyes smiled from ear to ear before slotting multiple high level monster crystals into a device situated before him. This was the same man who was in charge of the [sr dawn], a device designed to bring light in the dead of night this however was a barrier device of highest quality and far more demanding.

    Along with his actions, support staff - his subordinates- inserted lesser quality magic crystals into connected devices that amplified the barrier generator.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The stampede of mammoths swiftly found its way before the frontline, crossing the gap in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

    Frost looked to his left and right and saw nothing but fear and shaking limbs, the weaker soldiers and adventurers were overwhelmed by the pressure, stunned in ce. Even Kiba who was supported by his connection to Frost had his fur stand on end as the stampede encroached.

    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue, twirled his ive in hand and released his aura that was now infused with royal intent. His aim was to wake up his allies from their sudden fear.

    Having the same line of thought all the Majors down on the ground did the exact same thing. Their powerful auras suddenly erupted andpeted with the physical pressure emitted from the charge of several dozen enraged mammoths.

    An invisible sh appeared in the air between the two forces and the fear induced soldiers felt an instant reprieve however time was not on their side and besides even without the strangling pressure they were still faced with the charge of creatures weighing several tons, a daunting prospect.

    Even with their preparation and the Majors stepping forward, this charge of mammoths could very well break them.

    Thankfully however such a thing wouldn''te to pass.

    A second before the mammoths were about to smash into the frontlines a dense green barrier grew from the ground, encapsting the northern wall and all the forces defending it.

    Baaaaaaannnnnnnngggggggg!

    The line of mammoths thus smashed into this barrier instead causing it to shake violently and even develop minute cracks but nheless stopped them in their tracks, saving the frontline troops from a brutal death.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    As though unfazed from smashing headfirst into a solid barrier, the dozens of mammoths repeatedly bashed their tusks and or trunks violently against it, determined to bring down the sudden obstruction.

    "Don''t rx! The barrier will onlyst for a few minutes!" Hamon yelled out, his voice finally able to reach his soldiers due to the barrier.

    At his word the ranks of frightened soldiers and adventurers started to get back on their feet, their hands tightening around their weapons and resolve once again filling their eyes.

    "Get those ballistae prepped and ready to cull these beasts, ready the trebuchets as well. We need to bring these brutes down quickly otherwise our defensive line will be decimated by their overwhelming mass!" Hamon bellowed out order after order as did Dous. The both of them knew the direness of the situation.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The minute cracks on the barrier stretched and thickened with every attack, even with multiple high quality monster crystals maintaining such arge area against such strong and numerous foes for any length of time was strenuous.

    "Tsk! Bastards really did have onest ace in the hole." Frostine who was bringing up the rear and kitted out in a full ice armour loudlyined, annoyed by the fact that the bugs kept up their futile resistance.

    "Hahahahaha that''s great I was worried this battle would be dull, hopefully they have even more up their sleeves." The voice of a young man replied to Frostine however this young man was practically 10 metres tall and riding upon a mammoth that put every one of the creatures attacking the barrier to shame, he was Valend.

 Chapter 493: Chapter 493: Valends order

    Valend, the frost giant that Frost encountered several days ago at the entrance to his dungeon. A massive figure that oozed power, power far greater than what Frost couldpete with.

    Back then even if he fought alongside the newly evolved Finy, Kiba, Khuno and his contingent of ronsos the possibility of winning was slim to none. This monster was at the very least mid-stage B-rank and of the giant archetype, a species that rivalled the fabled dragons in strength.

    Simply with him sitting there on top of his mighty steed Dn an invisible pressure filled their air and that was before he even activated his aura. A powerful enemy.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The horde of mammoths repeatedly smashed their tusks and trunks against the barrier, gradually weakening it, causing the minute cracks to spread and widen. A few more rounds and the massive green barrier would shatter like ss, but it had served its purpose. The devasting charge of the mammoths was brought to a swift halt, greatly lessening the damage they could cause.

    The many ballistae, trebuchets and even the stronger ranger corps had already taken aim at the mammoths'' weak points, prepared to bring down the hammer the moment the barrier copsed.

    "I''ll head off first Frostine." Valend''s lips turned upwards forming into a wild and excited smile. He then raised his massive hammer onto his shoulders and squeezed his legs around Dn, ordering him to move forward.

    "Don''t hide back here too long old man otherwise there''ll be nothing left hahahahaha!" After provoking Frostine, Valend and Dn charged ahead, causing the very ground to groan and crack from their steps.

    "Haaaaaaa reckless and impatient...damn giants." Frostine clenched his fists, irritated by Valend''sment. He wished to smack the young giant across the face, so he''d respect his elders but held back in the end. Strength wise Valend was equal to him perhaps even slightly stronger given his species and Frostine for one didn''t want to risk finding the truth just because of an impulsive taunt.

    "Chaylen ready our soldiers and have them follow after a wave of chaff." Frostine gave an order to his highest ranked subordinate before prepping himself for battle. Valend was right if he sat back in the rear like before there''d be no enjoyment and Valend would get all the credit.

    "I''ll leave the boring enemies to you and the rest." Frostine ced a hand on Chaylen''s shoulder, symbolising the passing of somemand.

    "By your will my Lord." Chaylen bowed deeply while showing a strong fanaticism in his eyes. Finally his lord would be taking the centre stage.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The barrier continued to crack and weaken from the mammoths'' blows and in response the grounded Majors lifted the spirits of the surrounding soldiers with their voices and auras. They stood at the forefront with their weapons drawn and their feet firmly nted in the ground. They would act like giant sea boulders, enduring the devastation of the mighty ocean waves.

    Frost, Maggie and Vos were closely situated together, in the centre of the battlefield where the attacks would be most devasting.

    "Maggie 12 o''clock!" Suddenly Hamon roared out in desperation despite the barrier still being up.

    "I see him, Frost you and Kiba halt his mount, Vos you and me will block that hammer." Maggie showing her experience as vice leader calmly ordered Frost and Vos before moving to intercept. The barrier only prevent entry not exit.

    "Yes vice leader!" Frost and Vos both replied loudly before moving in tandem.

    Frost and Kiba rose into the air before flying towards Dn whereas Vos and Maggie aimed for Valend.

    "Hahahahaha that''s more like it,e let''s see what you''ve got [Mountain crusher]" With a loudugh Valend bellowed out and activated a high level hammer skill. A brown coloured energy covered his hammer before morphing into the shape of a mountain, granting the already heavy weapon even more weight and crushing force.

    His mount Dn also activated some sort of charging skill, his sharp tusks became enveloped in red energy, growing in size.

    Maggie and Vos both activated their own special skills and acted in concert against Valend''s hammer while Frost and Kiba used theirbined skill [Hammering beast''s charge] that fused their strengths into one devasting blow topete with Dn the war mammoth battle mount carrying Valend.

    Boooooooooommmmmmmm!!!!!!

    An earth shattering explosion erupted the moment the two sides made contact. First Frost and Kiba covered in a green energy (fusion of Frost''s blue and Kiba''s yellow) crashed against Dn''s red tusks. Frost''s ive was made of harder materials, but Dn was heavier and went into the sh with a great deal of momentum.

    The result between them was pretty much a draw with perhaps Frost and Kibaing slightly ahead. Dn was forcibly brought to a halt and his energy dissipated while Frost and Kiba were blown back a few steps, resulting in Kiba being pinned against the barrier.

    Maggie and Vos however were seriously outmatched in terms of physical power. Maggie had even be more bearlike when she attacked, her already massive muscles bulging to obscene levels. Vos was in a simr state, pre-emptively activating his berserk mode which turned his skin red, hardening his defences and made his body grow in size.

    Yet despite such preparation the moment Maggie''s hammer and Vos'' fire chakra covered fists shed against Valend''s massive hammer the difference in physical strength between them was made clear.

    Maggie and Vos felt the weight of a mountain bearing down on them. The energy summoned by their weapon skills shattered and like tiny children facing an adult they were shot backwards right into the green barrier.

    Bang! Bang! Crack! Shatter!

    The green barrier that was already on itsst legs cracked even further when Vos and Maggie mmed into it before ultimately shatteringpletely.

    "Urgh!" The mad iron chef and the bear beastwoman groaned in pain, a sliver of blood running down their lips.

    Frost and the two of them looked up at the face of Valend, a sense of fear gripping their hearts as they understood what they were up against.

    "Huuuuuuuuu not bad, not bad at all." Valend let out a breath as he recalled his hammer, cing it once again upon his mighty shoulders. His gaze drifted temporarily over Maggie and Vos since they were to be his prime opponents, but his attention was grabbed by a sense of familiarity the moment he witnessed Frost.

    He frowned and struggled to recollect where he had saw him before it finally clicked.

    "Hoh! The interesting specimen from that monsterir. I guess you got too impatient waiting for me to return and devour you hehehehehe well ain''t lucky." Valend licked his lips, his mouth salivating and stomach grumbling as his eyes focused upon Frost and Kiba. He could sense that Frost was special in some way and that devouring him would be most delectable and strength boosting.

    Frost''s skin grew goosebumps, and a sharp fury filled him as he was once again looked upon as mere prey, a very ufortable feeling. Kiba who was carrying Frost started trembling at the sight of Valend''s famished expression, his instincts warning him no screaming at him to run from this overpowered monster who he''d be nothing but a snack for.

    Frost let out a breath, calming his anger. He stroked Kiba''s fur in a soothing manner before drawing out his royal aura, easing Kiba''s distress and intensifying his own image that was initially a minor shadow in front of Valend.

    He was joined by Vos and Maggie who both emitted their auras in full force, their stances at the ready, prepared to once again challenge Valend despite their earlier loss.

    "....Hahahahahahaha most interesting, I do love it when my prey struggles!" Valendughed so loud that the air quaked. He raised his hammer upwards before pointing it forwards.

    "Crush them!" In response to his call the dozens of mammoths who were previously crashing against the green barrier blew their trunks like trumpets before charging forward.

    "Hold your ground!" Hamon roared out, his heavy upper B-rank aura suffused into his voice, solidifying the legs of the tiny soldiers barring the mammoths'' path.

    The majority of the frontline troops were equipped with spears,nces and other polearms well suited for fending offrger attackers but even so a mammoth was a bit much. The sight was almostical from an observers standpoint yet despite that the soldiers though filled with fear stood their ground, their polearms firmly held and braced against the ground.

    They would stop their charge or die trying. If the first line failed then the second would seed or perhaps the third. The mindset being that eventually after enough stabs the beasts would fall. Facing off against a man or woman that is prepared to die and bring you down with them is not a foe you want to be pitted against, regardless of your species.

    Of course the ground forces were not alone. The moment the barrierpletely copsed, and the mammoths began their charge the ballistae let loose their bolts. Large and heavy bolts roughly 2 metres long fashioned out of high quality duram alloy flew through the air at breakneck speeds. The marksman aimed for the weak points of the mammoths, the eyes, neck and underbelly if exposed.

    Along with that were the high ranking archers such as Artemis who let loose their highest quality arrows, drowning a couple mammoths in arrow fire.

    Multiple mammoths let out high pitched squeals as the thick ballistae bolts pierced through their eyes, neck or underbelly, or when dozens of arrowsnded on their backs and heads, individually slightly painful but together created a serious wound.

    Many more however crashed into the frontline soldiers with intense ferocity. Swaths of soldiers founds themselves crushed under their feet, gored by their tusks or swatted away by their muscr trunks like pesky flies.

    A bloodbath thus ensued the second the barrier was down or rather on Valend''s order.

 Chapter 494: Chapter 494: â€œMay the gods have mercy on our soulsâ€

    "Bastard!" Maggie roared out with fury in her eyes as many of her men and women were crushed under the brutality of the maddened mammoths. She dashed forward, her skin swiftly bing covered in fur and her nails elongating into ws. She used beastification to the extreme.

    Beastification, an ability shared by most sapient beastmen that allows them to transform their bodies closer to that of their animalistic origins. Basically a toned down version of the transformation abilities held by monster kin such as Nanna and Loki. Nheless it did seed in adding to Maggie''s already impressive physical strength.

    Vos wasn''t one to fall behind, his berserk state intensified causing his face to warp to the point he looked like a mad demon hell bent on a path of destruction. He and Maggie knew that Valend wasn''t an opponent they could take lightly thus they used all they had from the get-go, disregarding the cost in stamina.

    With Frost releasing his royal aura and donning his frost chakra armour the three people and one cial winged tiger readied themselves for an uphill battle.

    "This is going to be fun." Valend who was on the receiving end of such furious res smiled evilly andughed before speaking. Three B-rank opponents and a C-rank cial winged tiger battle mount, an exciting prospect indeed.

    The great frost giant released his aura topete against thebined might of Frost, Maggie and Vos. It was heavy, dense and filled with unbridled ferocity. A pressure that felt even greater than Frostine''s.

    Booooooommmm!

    An invisible sh erupted between the four people and two battle mounts as the different auras made contact. Valend''s powerful aura expanded, quickly superseding thebined might of Frost, Maggie and Vos.

    Frost''s auracked the depth required to properlypete with Valend and aid Maggie and Vos but thanks to the royal intent now held within, its superior quality allowed it to withstand the pressure, buckle and bend but not break.

    "Hahahahahaha how amusing!" Valend hollered before intensifying his aura, forcing Frost, Maggie and Vos backwards as they struggled to endure the overbearing pressure. It was clear that in terms of aura the three of them were outmatched.

    Since such a battle was pointless Frost, Maggie and Vos retracted their auras to the point that they were only protecting their bodies. Having to only cover a small area their auras became denser, allowing them to withstand Valend''s pressure and move as per normal.

    Without said aura protecting them their bodies would be sluggish and slow as if suffering from intense gravity, making fighting effectively an impossibility.

    Maggie and Vos briefly looked at one another before nodding and charging ahead.

    "[Reverberating strike]" Maggie attacked first, covering her hammer in multipleyers of vibrating energy as she swung against Valend.

    "[Howling fist]" Vos was close on her heels attacking from above while she moved below.

    "Let''s go Kiba!" Frost clenched his legs around Kiba and twirled his ive [Wolf howling at the moon] as the young tiger leaped into the air.

    In response to their actions Valend raised his hammer above his head, gripping it tightly with both hands and uttered themand word for a unique skill.

    "[Giant crusher]" Grey coloured energy filled his oversized hammer before forming the image of a phantom giant behind it. Valend swung with overwhelming power and such speed that the very surface of his hammer began to glow from the intense friction. This was a mighty swing that would obliterate anything that stood against it.

    For those with very keen eyes they''d be able to see Maggie and Vos'' attacks aiming for Valend''s weapon as though anticipating its path.

    Boooooooommmmmmm!

    Maggie''s hammer swung horizontally and struck the lower face of Valend''s hammer while Vos struck the top face at the same time sessfully knocking it off course thus preventing Maggie from bing a pancake.

    Valend''s hammer though not striking Maggie still smashed hard against the ground next to her causing plumes of dirt to explode outwards, obscuring the area and sending Maggie careening backwards with a great deal of force, though not any more than she was expecting. Immediately after mming into Valend''s hammer she jumped backwards to offset some of the bacsh.

    Meanwhile Vos flipped in the air, twisting his body until he was lined up to kick Valend in his oversized face. Vos was powerful but his true talenty in speed and flexibility. His attacks coulde from any angle at any time and with any tempo. His transition from one attack to another was practically seamless.

    Valend''s eyebrows rose in surprise as he was forced to quickly veer his head to the side. Vos'' left foot grazed passed his cheek, leaving a cut under his eye that extended towards his ear. The attack was a minor sess but now Vos was easy pickings, flying through the air with nothing to rebound off of.

    Valend removed his right hand from his hammer and reached up to grab Vos before he could escape however he failed to notice the smile on the mad iron chef''s face.

    "[Ice piercer]" The moment Vos was about to be grabbed, Frost appeared like a silent spectre from Valend''s blind spot, his ive already thrusting towards Valend''s right eye thuds giving him a choice. Either lose an eye and get hold of Vos or retract his hand to block Frost''s thrust¡­.the choice was obvious.

    Without even the slightest hesitation Valend redirected his right hand to block Frost thus allowing Vos to make a clean escape.

    "Kreeee!" Frost''s sharp ive skidded across a primitive looking gauntlet that protected Valend''s forearm. It left only a small scratch revealing that despite its primitive appearance the gauntlet was made of some choice material.

    Frost moved away the instant his thrust was blocked, not giving Valend a chance to retaliate against him. Since Kiba was a flying battle mount and of the tiger species he was able to be far more nimble than Vos and Maggie. However, Valend was not alone

    Dn the war mammoth made a move in ce of his master. He bucked like a bull and kicked out with his back legs, aiming for the swiftly retreating Kiba.

    "Tsk! [ice shield]" Frost annoyed that a mammoth a creature known for being rather slow in their movements was able to react when Valend couldn''t clicked his tongue before desperately conjuring a shield of ice. Even though Dn was only a C-rank monster, getting hit by those massive legs of his would result in no small amount of injury.

    Smash!

    The hastily conjured shield shattered almost instantly but it gave enough time for Kiba to escape with a strong beat of his wings. He and Frostnded safely on the ground, east of Valend and Dn''s position while Vos manned the west and Maggie the south, surrounding him and preventing him from acting against anyone other than the three of them.

    Valend brought his right hand to his cut cheek, feeling the blood dripping from the wound as well erasing the remnants of mes left by Vos. Being a frost giant he was quite adverse to fire.

    The wild smile on his face gradually grewrger as he stared at his blood smeared fingers. "Hahahahaha it''s been a long time since someonest drew my blood!" Heughed and bellowed madly, his eyes radiating a fierce fire as his heart thumped strongly, excited by the prospect.

    Valend proceeded to pull up his hammer from the pit he created and ced it back upon his shoulders before stretching out his right hand and beckoning Maggie in a taunting manner.

    The three B-rank fighters looked at one another and nodded before moving in concert, working together to take down Valend and his battle mount Dn.

    While their battle was just beginning the chaotic melee between the mammoths and standard soldiers was already underway. Dozens of men and women had already fallen victim to the mammoths charge and their oversized limbs but thanks to their unity, the aid of the many war machines and the efforts of the grounded Majors a stalemate had been reached wherein neither side really gained any headway.

    Soldiers and adventurers would die but so would mammoths, an equal exchange if you will.

    However such a fragile bnce was swiftly broken and the forces of Furano once again found themselves being pushed back, unable to stand against the endless tide of rampant monsters.

    Lines of chaff -lesser monsters that the leaders didn''t care about- followed after the mammoths, slipping in between them and catching many men and women unaware. If that was all it would have been fine but Frostine was not holding back in the slightest, the stampede was putting all it had into crushing Furano before the sun had time to reach its highest point.

    The grandmander himself along with the other B-rank monsters stepped into the fray, thinning out the already stretched thin battlelines thus forcing Hamon and Dous to remove the Majors and elite squads from the frontlines so as to restrain them the best they could.

    Ryuu and Jessie stood at the forefront of the northern wall, looking down with determined gazes as they were adorned and surrounded by a plethora of magic devices. They would restrain Frostine while the other Majors and elites handled the rest. Everyone had their targets as well as their own individual missions.

    Theycked the personnel needed to win this war but god damn they were going to endure no matter the cost.

    "I''ll be off Colonel, try to restrain yourself as long as possible." Dous spoke with clenched fists, his eyes already bloodshot from frustration.

    "Good luck Lord Viscount." Hamon spoke through a closed jaw, his expression no better than Dous''s. He knew that apart from Frost, Maggie and Vos who were dealing with Valend as a team the other Majors were having to work solo against their B-rank opponents and in some cases there wasn''t even a Major ss fighter avable.

    These men and women were sorely outmatched, with not even the remotest chance of winning. Hamon had to stand here and watch as he ordered these brave men and women to their deaths, he couldn''t even join them in battle at least not yet.

    With the arrival of Valend and the actions of Frostine it was made even more apparent that there was something even more dangerous out there, a foe only he would be able to restrain.

    "May the gods have mercy on our souls" Hamon muttered as Dous leaped from the wall to fight against one of the approaching B-rank monsters.

 Chapter 495: Chapter 495: â€˜I guess weâ€™ll have to see what fate has in store for us.â€™

    Screams filled with agony and despair repeatedly entered Hamon''s ears, and in response to each one his fists clenched tighter and tighter. A narrow stream of blood was already flowing through his fingers as his nails pierced his palms, yet he felt no pain. His eyes were focused resolutely upon the battlefield, refusing to even blink, afraid to miss even a single valiant sacrifice.

    The grandmander of Furano''s forces had to stand here upon the northern wall and take in every single death without retaliating. The anger and frustration brought on by such a situation was far more than he''d ever had to deal with before. His heart was screaming for him to act but act he could not. There was a n set forth by him and agreed upon by all the officers under hismand.

    Something far more dangerous than Frostine and Valend wasing and only then when the enemy was at their strongest could he enter the field. If he entered now and wasted all his energy there would be no one left who could even briefly stop such a monster.

    Dous who was technically in a simr position to him being the ruling viscount and all had already leapt into battle and was currently engaging a B-rank monster with a team of C-rank adventurers. Leaving him alone in this duty yet not for a single second would he wish it upon another.

    It had already been close to an hour since the barrier came down and the death toll was beyond counting. By this point massive holes had formed in the defensive line and dozens of monsters had made their way to the base of the northern wall.

    Those stationed on the battlements shot arrows and poured the burning oil onto those that dared to scale the wall, but it seemed like a pointless endeavour as whenever one monster died another simply reced it a secondter.

    Ammunition for the ballistae was all but spent thanks to the tenacity of the mammoths and only a single trebuchet remained. asionallyrge rocks could be seen hurtling through the air and crashing upon the dense lines of monsters charging through battlefield but it was but a drop in the ocean.

    What remained of the frontline troops was a fractured mess, something that could break at any moment, yet they refused to do so. Even after another hour and when 3 Majors had died in glorious battle the weak and fractured lines of troops continued to stand tall, enduring the crashing waves. A miracle brought on by resolute determination.

    If an arm was lost they''d use the other, a leg they''d hop and if they had no limbs left they''d bite and or throw themselves before their enemy giving theirrades a chance to deal a fatal blow. A marvel to watch, beautiful yet horribly sad at the same time.

    Hot tears streamed down Hamon''s cheeks as he watchedrade afterrade fall in battle, many of which he''d fought alongside for decades. This battle would be the greatest loss the frost wolf battalion had ever endured within the past century, all while he was at the helm. The level of guilt and responsibility Hamon felt on his shoulders right now couldn''t be put into words.

    "Argrrrrgggggghhhhh!!!" Suddenly the scream of someone he knew well entered his ears.

    "Halgrave!" Hamon roared frantically as his eyes zoomed in on where the vice leader was battling.

    Halgrave being one of the strongest fighters on their side and one of the vice leaders took on the greatest burden. When the 3 Majors died it was him that did his best to pick up the ck and ultimately it became too much.

    His piercing scream was due his left and right arms being viciously torn off. The left from the pincers of a white Ankheg- a huge insect like monster that dwells under the earth in the inner regions of cial mountains- and the right from the jaws of a winter saurus- arge dinosaur like monster that''s quick and armed with a vicious set of jaws.

    Hamon''s heart lurched to aplete halt and the colour drained from his face as he saw his oldrade and in many ways his rival fall to his knees, armless. The two of them had fought side by side since they were but young greenhorns, constantly doing their best to one up one another.

    As though he could feel Hamon''s pain Halgrave turned his head to look up at hismander and despite being filled with pain to the point of screaming a mysterious smile grew on his lips. His death hade, not the one he hoped for but glorious, nheless. As his eyes met with the distant Hamon his expression became peaceful, holding no regrets.

    "Halg..." Before Hamon could call out his name once more Halgrave''s peaceful expression warped into one of madness. He turned his head around and red at the white ankheg who tore off his left arm and roared.

    "For the empire!!!!" With those words Halgrave kicked off the ground, diving headfirst into the waiting maw of the giant insect. For many his actions would seem pointless, seeing only to hasten his death and grant his enemy a fresher meal but Hamon knew and for the first time since the wave began he closed his eyes unable to watch what was about to unfold, the pain being too much to bear.

    The moment Halgrave leaped into the ankheg''s maw something activated inside his body covering it in mystical runes that forcibly absorbed the surrounding mana. Within a fraction of a second his body became bloated before.

    Booooooooooommmmmm!!!!!

    A magical explosion of great proportions erupted with Halgrave as the origin.

    Some very dedicated and or reckless soldiers of the empire willingly ced a bomb within their bodies'' that could be detonated in their final moments thus allowing them to take down whomever or whatever they were pitted up against if their strengths fell short. Halgrave was one such individual.

    The magic explosion thatbined mass amounts of surrounding mana with the internal runic system inside Halgrave''s body was powerful enough to not only blow the white ankheg to pieces but also heavily injure the nearby winter saurus. However this destructive capability came at a cost¡­. there was not a single shred of Halgrave remaining.

    His every cell vaporised and transformed into the catalyst for the explosion. There would be no filled grave for this loyal solider

    "Vice leader" depressed mutterings escaped the lips of many soldiers in the area. His noble sacrifice being hard to miss.

    "Halgrave senpai" Maggie who was distracted by the events was knocked flying backwards by Valend''s hammer, her ribs suffering several cracks from the blow, but she didn''t even notice. Her eyes were glued to where Halgrave once fought, and a sharp pain ran through her heart.

    A despairing pall formed across the battlefield as many soldiers couldn''t help but be emotionally impacted.

    "Hmph! End this" with a wide and evil looking smile Frostine gave out an order in a booming voice, fully intending to take advantage of thisck in attention. The fractured lines that had held on for so long, fuelled by their determination and will were now faltering thus now was the perfect time to finally break them.

    "Hahahahahahaha I knew I liked you old man!" Valendughed as he knocked away both Frost and Vos who were doing their best to cover for Maggie. The frost giant wasn''t one to care for the emotions of his prey. At Frostine''s order he rushed ahead intent on removing the enemy''s second vice leader and thus destroy the heart of his enemy.

    Boom!

    Suddenly an explosion that could be easily disregarded during the current chaos went off atop the northern wall.

    "FUCK OFFFFF!!!!!" A secondter Hamon in all his glory smashed down on the ground,nding in front of Maggie and before Valend. He roared at the top of his lungs and released the full strength of his aura forcing even Valend to stop in his tracks and reassess.

    Hamon had had enough waiting around, Halgrave was dead along with countless other soldiers, he couldn''t hold himself back any longer. He wouldn''t be able to call himself human if did.

    Dous who was at another part of the battlefield frowned and let out a sigh before shaking his head and dodging a blow from his opponent. Hamon had held on for a long time, more than he expected to be honest.

    ''I guess we''ll have to see what fate has in store for us.'' Dous didn''t me Hamon for acting out early. Humans were emotional creatures and ns hardly ever went they way you wanted them to.

    ''Cass I hope I''ll get to meet you again in the next life.'' Dous reaffirmed his resolve beforeshing out against his foe.

    "Brave men and women of the empire do not falter! And if you feel yourself waning look upon my back! As long as I still stand this battle is not lost!" Hamon mmed his feet on the ground like a sumo wrestler which activated many of the runic inscriptions decorating his body.

    And in response his already tall and muscr form grew in stature and his skin gave off a golden sheen drawing the eyes of the many soldiers whose spirits were about to die out. He looked like a golden guardian that would never fall no matter what attacked him. This was Hamon''s ultimate battle form, The golden god of war, Ares.

    "For the empire!!!"

 Chapter 496: Chapter 496: For the empire

    "For the empire!!" Hamon roared out at the top of his lungs the final words of his rival, his best friend and most loyal subordinate before lunging straight for Valend, fully intending to bring down one the enemymanders in retaliation.

    "Tsk! Cocky bastard!" Valend clicked his tongue and activated his own aura, not holding back in the slightest when faced against the grandmander of the Furano defensive. Maggie, Vos and Frost were powerful as a unit and kept him on his toes, but a fully enraged Hamon was something he really needed to go all out against.

    That golden shimmer and body decorated in runic inscriptions sent a chill down his spine. If he wasn''t careful he''d end up with more than just a minor wound.

    "[Dynamic freezing, rending of the frost giants] Valend with his 10 metre frame leaped from his war mammoth Dn who was at this point covered in all manner of wounds. High in the air he raised his giant hammer above his head with both hands. White and blue coloured energy transitioned from inside his body to the weapon, infusing it with a devasting chill that made even Frost feel cold.

    As if that wasn''t deadly enough a massive image of what looked to be some kind of super frost giant formed behind the hammer, appearing almost fully corporal. This was a very, very high level hammer skill, far more than what Frost, Vos and Maggie had been pitted against.

    Frost who was looking up from on Kiba''s back felt a stifling pressure weighing down on him, his mind bing nk as he tried to think of countermeasures. Such a move was beyond him. He was reminded of the final move the ice revenant used against him back in the [beginner''s ice magic] monsterir.

    [Rending of the ice king] a devasting move that called upon powers beyond the level of the user, summoning an aspect of the king of ice.

    Valend''s [Dynamic freezing, rending of the frost giants] however felt even greater than that. That image of the super frost giant felt almost godly, it had a presence that mere mortals couldn''t fathom but he could, and a name of legend whispered in his ear.

    "Ymir." Frost muttered the name of the frost giant who reached the ultimate level, bing a God and transcending mortality. The great crevasse that spanned hundreds of kilometres through the cial mountains was said to have been formed by the cleaving of Ymir''s axe the day he ascended.

    Frost rapidly blinked and his heart became strangled in fear, his hand subconsciously making its way into his robes to feel the teleporting talisman. If such power was to be used here then he''d have no chance at survival.

    Hamon however who was the clear target of such a powerful move didn''t even falter for a second. He stopped his forward dash and mmed his hands against several points on his body causing his golden sheen to be ovepped with red fire.

    "[War god''s eruption]" Hamon yelled out themand words of his unique skill, one thatbined his mastery of the pugilist arts with hismand of magic and runes. Using prepared runes and his mana Hamon''s body radiated an intense heat that caused the very ground where he stood to bubble like magma.

    Following that magic circles formed along his skin, creating defensive barriers that made his body rival the durability of a 4 star weapon.

    Finally Hamon ced his arms above him in a cross and stomped the magma like ground. In response the ground erupted like a volcanounching Hamon into the air. Red and golden energy formed across his forearmsbing with his magic and the volcano that sent him hurtling into the air Hamon looked like a human meteor.

    His presence was in no way beneath that of Valend''s in fact he may have surpassed him.

    The fighting in the surrounding area was brought to a halt as man, woman and monster alike couldn''t help but be drawn to such a dramatic sh of energy and colour.

    Frost who was firmly holding onto the teleporting talisman let go and rxed his tense body. With Hamon unleashing his own powerful presence and attack he was able to think clearly. There was no way Valend could ever summon something that was in the realm of the Gods or even anything remotely close, he was only B-rank after all.

    Frost was merely caught up in Valend''s flow thanks to his superior aura, causing him to assume the worst. His body had been temporarily overwhelmed by Valend''s aura in a moment of distraction, a lesson he would not soon forget.

    ''You really can''t let you guard down for a moment during high levelbat.'' Frost said internally before tearing his eyes away from Hamon and Valend, if someone was going to act they would likely do it now.

    And act they did.

    The moment Valend''s hammer wreathed in freezing cold energy shed against Hamon''s red and golden body a giant explosion filled with colour overwhelmed the skyscape and pressed down on the battlefield below. This created a lull, a moment which could easily be taken advantage of.

    Frostine who witnessed Hamon''s arrival and his sudden engagement with Valend calmly summoned powerful 4th circle magic the moment contact was made and everyone else was preupied in watching the events unfold.

    A massive three headed ice snake formed from his magic, an ice hydra. A subspecies of dragon that was rumoured to have unfathomable regeneration capabilities. This spell was stronger than his earlier ice snake spells and clearer drained the frost monarch as his legs became rather unstable as though unable to bear his weight.

    Like Valend he was overextending himself for a chance to nip this thing in the bud.

    "Roaaaaarrrrrr!!!!!" With a mighty roar the great ice hydra lunged at Hamon''s back as he started to descend, his conflict with Valending to a rough draw. His arms hurt a little from the sh whereas Valend''s hands were burned by his fire. Now however the two of them were falling back down to the ground, drained of their strength, the perfect time for an ambush.

    However Frostine wasn''t facing off against inexperienced rookies. Frost eventually found his feet, but the other officers were well and truly prepared. Just because theirmander was on the field didn''t mean they could rx.

    In the same moments that Valend and Hamon moved to attack one another, Maggie and Vos were ready to make a move on Valend while Ryuu and Jessie were prepared to contain Frostine. Though they were a little unprepared to handle a spell of that level.

    "[Ten ton pound]"

    "[Whish roundhouse]" Maggie and Vos leapt into the air and following Valend''s decent the two of them struck him with their weapon skills. Maggie going for his ribs with a heavy hammer blow while Vos aimed for his neck with a vicious spinning kick. Both advanced level skills packing some serious wallop, especially on a temporarily weakened target such as Valend.

    The prideful frost giant was forced to curl himself into a defensive ball and endure these blows with his durable body, cursing his ally as the blows struck true.

    Meanwhile Ryuu and Jessie summoned their firebird and earthen smander respectively topete against Frostine''s ice hydra. Their summoned mana apparitions were however quickly handled. One hydra head evenly dealt with each of the creatures thus leaving one free to attack Hamon as he fell.

    "Fuck!" Ryuu cursed and spat out blood as he tried to forcibly summon another 4th circle spell to deal with thest head, but he was already overdrawn. His magic circle failed to form, and the old mage fell to one knee, gasping for air.

    Hamon felt the killing intent held within the final head and forced his body to turn so as to face it head on. He let out a sigh and frowned before moving to activate his magic in defence, but it seemed as though that was no longer needed. A smile grew on his lips as he caught sight of the young man and tiger cub floating before him, shielding him from the oing hydra head.

    "Leave it to me" Frost yelled in reassurance to his allies before twirling his ive in the air, covering the de in ice fire and imbuing the weapon with his aura, something he''d be far more natural in doing since yesterday''s duel.

    Frost''s standard ice chakra covered his and Kiba''s body like tight fitting armour, making them appear like knights of the imperial order. His royal aura permeated around him giving Frost a noble presence and protected him and his battle mount from the pressure of Frostine and Valend.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" Frost utilised his strongest ive skill. Arge wyvern''s head was summoned above his ive, vicious looking and armed with a great set of teeth but sorelycking inparison to Frostine''s hydra. Frost''s royal aura thus infused itself into the wyvern head making it far more corporal and gave it a presence.

    He then wreathed the beast in his ice mes as the cherry on top before shing out with his ive,unching the enhanced wyvern head against the ice hydra with its maw prized open.

    "Roar!!" The wyvern roared out with fury as it wasunched at the hydra. The two dragon subspecies that were formed of energy brutally battled against one another for dominance. The wyvern head viscously biting down on the hydra''s neck and burning its insides with ice fire whenever it got a chance while the hydra would attempt to squeeze the wyvern head into mush with its muchrger form.

    Eventually however the wyvern head lost, its form fragmented and dissolving back into natural energy, melding with the world leaving a hydra head that was covered in viscous bite marks and quickly faltering as the ice fire burned away its internal structure.

    Frost had sessfully stopped Frostine''s sneak attack on the Colonel.

 Chapter 497: Chapter 497: â€œâ€¦Tâ€¦Th...Thatâ€™sâ€¦.â€

    Hamonnded gracefully back on the ground, sporting no damage and still retained a great deal of stamina.

    Valend however after curling up into a ball and enduring Vos'' and Maggie''s well-timed attacks crashed into the ground with a loud thud, sending plumes of dirt flying outwards. Though he looked rather inelegant the massive frost giant was practically unharmed, pissed off but unharmed.

    Valend violently swung his hammer in a wide arc and flipped to his feet, causing the ground to tremble from his weight and a de of air to span around him from the sheer force of his swing. An expression of pure unbridled fury could be seen on his face as he red at Hamon and Vos and Maggie who had just descended by his side.

    Frost and Kiba joined them a momentter, floating above their heads, ready to dive back into battle at a moment''s notice. Valend was now faced with a very powerful group of sapients, a group that had the ability to serious wound him and even possibly kill him if he wasn''t careful. For the first time since this fight began he felt an inkling of fear.

    Goosebumps formed along his forearms and a cold sweat dripped down his neck. A feeling a mighty frost giant rarely ever experienced... as the fear washed over him and he came to terms with his situation a smile grew on his lips and excitement exploded in his heart.

    "Hahahahahaha that''s more like it! It''s no fun if the prey can''t fight back hahahahahaha!" Valend erupted into a bellowingughter, his booming voice causing nearby soldiers to cover their ears in pain.

    Hamon, Frost and the others braced themselves, preparing their stances, not taking Valend lightly in the slightest despite having the numerical advantage and Hamon in their midst.

    "Dn!" Valend gripped his massive hammer with both hands and called for his battle mount. Dn who was covered in multiple wounds grunted in response before charging towards his position. Valend leaped into the air andnded on the war mammoth''s back, his aura turning up to eleven before the two charged ahead without fear.

    "Frost find yourself another opponent, we''ll handle Valend." Hamon gave a stern order to Frost before once again activating his war god form. Vos and Maggie also activated their full battle states as they fanned out to the nks, leaving Hamon to handle the head on approach.

    Frost bit his bottom lip in frustration, knowing that he was truly too weak to be of much use in this battle, he may even just get in the way.

    "Let''s go Kiba!" With a reluctance Frost ordered Kiba to rise into the air so they may find a more appropriate opponent of which there were quite a few. The B-rank monsters now outnumbered their B-rank Majors and elite adventurers thus causing serious damage to the frontlines. Such a situation really couldn''t be maintained.

    Frost gave a quick nce to Frostine and then to the Northern wall, wondering if he should join that battle given his resistance to ice magic but the determined look on Ryuu''s face gave him his answer. The team of the young dungeon core and cial winged tiger juvenile thus charged towards a B-rank minotaur that was cleaving its way towards Valend and Hamon, hoping to even up the ying field.

    "[Hammering beast''s charge]" While in the air Frost and Kiba activated theirbined attack causing them to be covered in a green energy that enhanced their charging force. With Frost''s ive tip as the focal point they mmed into minotaur who hastily raised up his battle axe in defence.

    With a loud boom the minotaur was sent skidding across the ground for several metres, its arms visibly trembling from the blow.

    Frost quickly nced around the area and singled out two C-rank fighters.

    "You two help me take care of this one."

    "Yes sir!" The two c-rank fighters who were covered in multiple superficial wounds quickly brought down their current opponents before joining Frost''s side.

    "Valend" meanwhile Frostine who had his prized 4th circle magic blocked red at the battle taking ce between Valend, Hamon, Maggie and Vos and called out his allies'' name. If Valend was pinned down by such strong opposition the battle would progress far slower.

    And thanks to Hamon''s speech and timely arrival the emotional state of the enemy that was near broken now resurged with such intensity that their forces were actually starting to be pushed back in areas. This was far from what the lord frost monarch wished.

    ''Why won''t these ants just give up? There''s no way they can win against our forces so why do they continue this futility?'' Frostine internallyined, struggling to understand why their morale hadn''t shattered.

    As he was caught up in his thoughts he was assaulted by a sharp pain in his head. The remaining two hydra heads had been taken out, bringing an end to his spell.

    Frostine red at the top of the northern wall, looking directly at the exhausted and pale face of Ryuu. He saw the will and determination in his gaze, and it filled him with fury.

    "Fine then if you won''t give up then I''ll just have to crush you before moving forward!" Truly annoyed by how the war was ying out Frostine roared and began moving in earnest this time against the two mages set on restraining his movements.

    A grand exchange of closebat skills that rocked the very battlefield erupted between Valend, Hamon, Vos and Maggie while a great and colourful disy of magic filled the skies as Frostine, Ryuu and Jessie faced off.

    Both battles pressured their surroundings and caused great amounts of side-line damage, but the individuals were restrained to a degree thus lightening the burden on the frontline slightly.

    Frost, Kiba and the two C-rank fighter helpers did their best to handle and quickly take out the B-rank minotaur as did the remaining Majors and their assisting elite teams. The arrival of Hamon on the battlefield inspired the remaining soldiers to an absurd degree granting them great bursts of temporary power which allowed their lines to remain together for another spell.

    Frost and the other high ranking fighters did their best to take advantage of this temporary boost. Each and every man and woman on the battlefield pushed themselves beyond their limits, fighting back with ferocious intensity.

    The air had long been filled with the heavy stench of blood and a pressure akin to aura and bloodlust generated by those fighting loomed over the battlefield. A regr person would feel sick and terrified just being near such pressure. This was war, bloody, brutal and in many ways insane.

    That such an easy going and rather peaceful town could suddenly be subjected to such brutality was a frightening prospect. War no matter how profitable was still war, something that inspired fear in the hearts of civilians and even soldiers.

    For those currently fighting the only thoughts running through their minds was ''kill'' and ''fight''. Their bodies that were mangled, exhausted and for many partial, burned through their lifeforce to stay standing, refusing to let the monster opponents before them pass.

    And whenever they felt themselves waning they''d look towards the great golden back of theirmander and would be filled with strength once more. Pain was no longer something they felt, they were in the thrall of a mad war fervour much like their monster opponents, granting them the strength to continue and hold back the tide.

    However nothingsts forever. It started gradually, a solider who was at the very end of their tether found that their body no longer responded to theirmands regardless of how loudly or how persistent thosemands were. This effect spread to soldier after soldier, their bodies gave out one after another causing a cascade of breaks in the formation.

    Hamon who was blown back by one of Valend''s hammer strikes felt a chill down his spine and looked behind in response.

    "Dammit!" He cursed through gritted teeth as he saw soldier after soldier fall to the ground and be unresponsive. The lines had finally broken, and the horde of monsters wasted no time taking advantage of this change. They swarmed the northern wall and climbed up using their ws, hands and even the bodies of their fellow monsters.

    The weaker closebat troops, ranged troops and the mage corps quickly found themselves being assaulted in masse. The wall was under siege.

    "A valiant effort I''ll give you that, but your victory was impossible from the start." Frostine who was now free from Ryuu and Jessie''s containment walked towards Hamon and the rest with a gloating smile on his face causing Hamon, Maggie and Vos to frown and clench their fists to the point that blood trickled down their fingers.

    Screams ran rampant as soldiers were cut down without resistance and that unfaltering will started to corrode. Hamon and the elite fighters that were left standing felt their arms lose strength, their weapons threatening to fall to the ground.

    ''Is this it? Is this where we''ll fall?'' Hamon looked up at the sky, a defeated expression donning his face. Even with his assistance they failed to take out Valend before the lines the broke.

    The sky was clear and blue, the sun not even at its highest point yet, they didn''t even make it to midday. And as though to mock them even further a heavy aura far greater than even Valend''s spread from the treeline, pressing down on monster and sapient alike, filling their hearts with fear.

    Hamon''s gaze nervously moved towards the origin of that burst of aura.

    "¡­T¡­Th...That''s¡­."

 Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Head honcho

    As all seemed lost; the soldiers falling like flies, the northern wall under heavy siege, the Majors and elite adventurers loosening their grips on their weapons, threatening to drop them to the floor and even their grandmander looking up into the sky with a defeated expression the situation became even worse.

    An entity with power eclipsing both Valend and Frostine arrived in a grandiose fashion. Its aura being openly disyed at it made its way onto the battlefield. Both monster and sapient alike froze in ce as the creature''s aura pressed down upon them, filling their hearts with fear.

    Hamon craned his neck down and locked his gaze upon the creature, his teeth chattering as he tried to get his words out.

    "¡­T¡­Th...That''s¡­a demon." Even Hamon an upper, almost peak B-rank fighter felt his nerves tighten and his heart lurch as he looked upon this creature that he called a demon.

    The monster stood at around 3 metres tall and was humanoid in form. Blue skin, bright red eyes, sharp horns protruding from the forehead and shoulders. A toned but not bulky physique adorned in what appeared to be luxurious tight fitting armour of superb quality.

    Its hands were rather long and sported sharp and long nails that looked more like ws and arge pair of wings the same shade of blue as its skin were outstretched behind it as it floated a few metres off the ground. Face wise it was simr to that of an elf, charming and without blemish yet insidious, almost evil in nature, a stark contrast to Frost''s noble appearance.

    Demons are a very, very powerful species that can rival dragons, giants and other high end species in strength. They generally sport rather pleasing and humanoid statures but are superior in every way. Strong physical bodies like that of monsters, masters of magic both in casting and resistance. They are like the perfect fusion of sapients and monsters thus they are incredibly dangerous.

    Nature wise they are pretty much always evil, lovers of chaos, death and destruction.

    It is said that the demons present on Nova were the descendants of the mighty devils and demons of old that were banished to a separate dimension by the creator Gods out of fear for their overwhelming power thus these monsters are quite rare and normally only present in areas with high mana density. Perhaps their only w as a species is their poor fertility which keeps their numbers low.

    However for one such creature to be a part of the monster stampede things certainly weren''t normal this time around. It had been over a hundred years since thest demon like this one was sighted in the empire and unfortunately it had to be when they were at their absolute weakest.

    "Hehehehehehe" A depressedughter escaped Hamon''s lips as the true futility of their efforts donned on him. He was supposed to go up against that thing, he might as wellmit suicide right now.

    That demon was at the very least at the peak of B-rank possibly even half a step into A-rank, something far beyond him and his subordinates even if they were in their peak form.

    Dous, Vos, Maggie and the other elites that still lived joined Hamon in his depressedughter which gave Frost the chills. It looked as though all the elites had gone mad in leu of the demon''s arrival.

    Normally Valend or Frostine would gloat at this point but under the demon''s presence the two of them didn''t dare utter a single word. A weird silence filled the once chaotic battlefield, the strangeughter being the only thing one could hear.

    The demon looked over the state of the battlefield and listened to the strangeughtering from the sapients standing before him. An evil smile grew on the demon''s lips as he enjoyed such reactions. His disappointment at the fact that the northern wall still stood upon his arrival was erased thanks to such a pleasant sight.

    "Kyackkyackkyack how utterly delightful, such pure and tasty emotions." The demon relished in the vour,ughing in a bone chilling manner. His species could feel the emotions of others and feed off them. He briefly looked towards Frostine and Valend.

    "Though you failed to do what you promised you have seeded in breaking down their wills to such delightful levels¡­.well done I guess." He dished out some half assed praises to Frostine and Valend who trembled upon hearing his grating voice before thanking him with bowed heads. This demon was the true head honcho of the stampede, the grandmander and mastermind.

    Someone the two of them greatly feared as well as respected.

    Following his praises two more monsters joined from his left and right. A pair of massive dinosaurs that rivalled Valend in stature yet looked far more menacing. T-rexes, powerful carnivorous dinosaurs that sport impressive biting force, resilient hides and speeds that didn''t match their great size.

    These two were mid-B-rank at the very least, likely equal to Valend and Frostine in strength though far more bestial in nature. Theycked intelligence.

    Hamon''sughter came to a halt shortly after their arrival, yet the strange smile was still there.

    "You must be themander here, well have you been driven insane by my arrival?" The demon asked in a yful manner.

    "....." Hamon was silent making it appear as though what the demon said was true thus causing his smile to stretch from ear to ear.

    Hamon looked at his hands and the inscriptions running across his body before turning around and looking at the few allies around him that still stood. It was clear that the moment this demon gave the order the war would continue and those that still stood wouldn''t be for long. This was an impossible battle.

    Hamon''s gaze then drifted over to where Halgrave met his end, he remembered his face in his final moments and his words. There was no fear only resolute determination.

    "Hehehehehehehehe" He startedughing once again but it wasn''t depressing, instead it sounded full of life.

    "A demon as my final opponent, I could think of no greater glory. What about you guys?" With a smiling expression Hamon turned to Maggie and Vos who were by his side.

    "Sounds like something for the fablesmander." Maggie replied while tightening her grip around her hammer.

    "I''ve never had the chance to cook demon before." Vos'' eyes sparkled at the thought of demon meat.

    The smile on the demon''s face gradually started to disappear as he heard the words of the remaining elites.

    "I still have a couple spells left; I''d love to see how they fare against a demon''s magic." Ryuu wiped blood from his lips and stood up straight with his staff primed and ready for battle.

    "The Furano house does not give birth to cowards." Dous smiled as he cleaned the blood from his sword.

    "Guess I''m the only sane one here but what the hell let''s go out with a bang." Jessie shook her head in dismay before gathering up some courage. She went on her tip toes and nted a kiss on Ryuu''s cheek before returning to her position with a blush on her face.

    "Alright no more regrets left." She announced while refusing to look in Ryuu''s direction. A round ofughter engaged among the soldiers who witnessed her actions as they too prepared themselves for death.

    The demon''s expression continued to darken, and his aura intensified, causing many to buckle under the terrifying weight.

    Kiba couldn''t fly anymore, his wings refusing to move as if arge invisible hand was keeping him grounded whereas Frost was clutching his chest, his heart strongly thumping away, warning him of danger. The talisman kept in his robes was already being held within the confines of his left hand, to be torn at a moment''s notice.

    This demon was not something he could remotely survive against even if he was lucky. He was in true danger and only someone like Maya could save him from it.

    Thankfully he and Kiba were a bit away from the demon and the main battlefield, their activities taking them to the outskirts.

    ''Should we run?'' Frost asked himself as well as Kiba through their soul bond. He''d already done enough for Furano and his friends. His presence could no longer affect the oue of this war so why should he stay? Just to die pointlessly?

    Even if he summoned Maya her prerogative would be his safety and his safety alone, she couldn''t and wouldn''t fight on behalf of everyone here.

    "Whimper" Kiba let loose a small whimper, he was terrified and wanted to leave, to go home where it was safe. Frost rubbed the back of his head affectionately before staring at the demon and the T-rexes by his side.

    ''Will I even be able to escape without relying on Maya?'' The moment the demon made a move the war would be back on, and he was currently surrounded by monsters including the B-rank minotaur that was still going strong. Kiba couldn''t move well under that thing''s pressure and if he made any movements to escape right now he''d be an obvious target.

    The hand clutching onto the teleportation talisman tightened as it gradually became his only option.

    Unlike everyone else here he had no reason to give his life for the Northrend empire so he wasn''t inspired by their rousing words but instead felt pain. They were his friends, people he''d fought side by side with for the past few days. He didn''t want them to die but there was nothing he could do; his strength wasn''t enough to change that fact.

    The demon''s face now appeared to be filled with fury, the ground and air around him crackled from the sheer pressure of his aura.

    "How utterly revolting¡­.Kill them all."

 Chapter 499: Chapter 499: Demon

    "How utterly revolting¡­.Kill them all." With those hate filled words the horde of monsters that had been motionless and silent while in the demon''s presence started to move once again. A discord of roars, squeals and grunts erupted in response causing the very air to vibrate.

    Valend, Frostine and the two t-rexes showed evil smiles as they unleased their auras to their maximum. Joining with the demon''s aura to weigh down thest stragglers who showed rebellion, doing their best to snuff out thest vestiges of fighting spirit. However this seemed to have no effect, perhaps even the opposite.

    Those still standing or rather still breathing all stared at the golden back of theirmander, remembering his words.

    ''Brave men and women of the empire do not falter! And if you feel yourself waning look upon my back! As long as I still stand this battle is not lost!'' As long as Hamon still stood at the forefront with his great golden back filling their sights this war wasn''t over. Not until they and theirmander drew their veryst breaths would this fight be over. The empire did not birth cowards after all.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" Passionate roars and howls from the sapients side shed with the voices of the monsters, refusing to lose in terms of tenacity despite their lesser numbers.

    Sounds of the ground cracking beneath each of the remaining elites rang with these roars as they each tensed their bodies to their upmost, activating theirst ditch techniques, caring not for the cost. Hamon saw himself grow evenrger, his muscles threatening to tear themselves apart while Vos entered a full on berserk state seeing nothing but carnage through his eyes.

    Maggie covered herself from head to toe in thick bear fur, her nails elongating into sharp ws and her stature growing to match that of Vos and Hamon, she drew on her lifeforce to further spark the beast blood within her.

    Ryuu and Jessie sped one another''s hands and began casting their most powerfulbined magic. Their bodies shook and blood trickled from their noses, but they didn''t stop. The remaining mage corps also siphoned their remaining mana into theirmanders, empowering their magic even at the cost of leaving themselves open to attack.

    The remaining frontline forces charged forth with their weapons drawn, going full on offensive with mad smiles stered on their faces. A sight which caused the demon''s anger to intensify to frightening levels. He was so angry that he was going to move against these ants himself.

    The great demon raised his hand, summoning a pitch ck scythe that sported a de as long as his own body. The sudden appearance of this weapon changed the demon''s aura making it feel far more sinister. A simple nce upon it would make one feel as though their very soul was being pried out from their bodies.

    It was scythe that bore the mark of death, an evil weapon that would see its victims suffer even in death.

    Dous who activated the full capabilities of his noble armour looked at this weapon and felt his heart stop. These people fighting were his responsibility, his people, how could he condone such treatment. His eyes quickly scanned the battlefield until he found Frost. The capable young man who not only saved his life twice but also that of his son''s and helped defend his town at its most vulnerable.

    A man who was not beholden to the empire, who came not for riches but to lend aid to his friends in their time of need. A strong feeling of guilt filled him the moment heid eyes on Frost and Kiba. He saw the fear in their expressions and the pain in their eyes as they struggled on how to proceed.

    Frost couldn''t possibly hear any words that Dous would say but he felt his gaze. He turned towards his friend, his heart feeling guilty about his recent thoughts of escaping. Frost still struggled to hide his emotions, so Dous saw through him immediately. The old Viscount smiled gently in response before mouthing the word ''go''.

    This was no longer Frost''s fight, he''d done enough, it was time to prioritise his own safety, so he gave his permission, ordering Frost to escape before facing off against the mighty monster horde.

    Tears started to well up in Frost''s eyes and his heart felt as though it had been cut by a knife. Dous had taken away the responsibility, making the choice to flee no longer his burden to bear. A mercy that filled Frost with great pain as well as gratitude. He would never forget the man that was Dous Furano.

    "For the empire!!!!!!!" Hamon, Vos, Maggie, Dous and the others roared out the moment they charged forth into battle. The first three making moves directly against the demon.

    "Hmph pitiful [Nightmare of a 1000 lifetimes]" The mighty demon had scorn in his eyes as he reeled back his scythe. A ck corrosive energy covered the scythe, elongating it and causing to emit a deathly chill. The sound of screaming could be heard as the image of a hellscape formed behind the de, filled with the many souls the scythe had reaped until now.

    Indefinitely torturing them until their soulspletely degrade, a fate the demon wished to impart upon the annoying ants before it.

    With a graceful swing the demon''s scythe carved through the air silently creating a wide portal before him that stretched outwards and tried to entrap the charging Hamon, Vos and Maggie.

    The three valiant fighters responded with their most aggressive attacks, donning themselves in vigorous energy but the closer they grew to the hellscape the more their energy would be eaten until eventually their skills were nullified entirely.

    Their attacks werepletely ineffective against the hellscape and now they werepletely unprotected and heading straight for it. Was this it? were they going to be so easily absorbed by this nightmare without anything to show for it.

    The death energy of the hellscape started eroding their bodies, siphoning them of their strength. They were powerless against such an attack. Even covering themselves in chakra or standard magic proved to be ineffective. Vos'' high mortal grade fire an oddity that he had fused with managed to put up some resistance, but the effects were minor at best.

    Suddenly before the three were about to beingpletely engulfed Dous appeared before them with his armour and sword radiating an intense holy light.

    "[Light God''s dawn]" A bright sh covered Dous, Hamon, Vos and Maggie protecting them from the dreaded hellscape like an expanding barrier. Light elemental magic was the antithesis of such evil borne magic. It was lucky Dous''s equipment was imbued with powerful light runes.

    The demon was forced to cover his eyes from the bright light lest they be damaged. His skin even began to tingle as rays struck against him. The hellscape he summoned blew apart thanks to Hamon''s counter thus allowing Hamon, Vos and Maggie the chance to retreat.

    The screams from the hellscape intensified as it broke down and eventually shattered, the tortured souls returning to the scythe, bound to it forever.

    "Frostine, Valend and you two idiots kill them! Kill them now!" Completely enraged and sporting some minor burns the demon screamed out orders to which the targets responded immediately.

    Eachmander ss monster had a single opponent each, leaving the demon grandmander to conjure up something even more nasty than the hellscape he just used. Before he was just letting out a standard attack against those three persistent ants but now he was going to summon something that would absorb the souls of everyst one of them at once.

    Something that a mere [light God''s dawn] couldn''t stop.

    As Hamon and the others prepared themselves to handle the onught of Valend and the rest Frost sat atop Kiba''s back, his heart in turmoil. He''d tried to get out of this quagmire of monsters but failed, there were just too many of them and the B-rank minotaur was particrly adamant on keeping him here.

    His left hand still held the talisman as he wavered on whether on not to use it. The wounds across his body and Kiba''s continued to pile up as did his fear towards the demon that so easily dealt with Hamon and the others. If Dous didn''t have a particrly powerful light based enchantment the three of them would have been captured in its hellscape to be tortured for eternity.

    A thought that caused his skin to crawl, such a fate was a terrifying prospect.

    Boom!

    As he was distracted the minotaur''s mighty battle axe shed against his ive, sending him and Kiba careening backwards.

    "Whimper" Kiba let loose a whimper as his leg was hurt from the blow, blood was leaking out and it appeared twisted. They weren''t escaping by themselves anymore with that kind of wound. Calling Maya was the only resort.

    Frost looked over at the struggling Dous, Hamon, Vos and Maggie onest time before firming his resolve. He withdrew the teleporting talisman from his robes and moved to tear it apart and summon his mighty guardian to his side.

    However as he did this the demon had finished chanting something foul and a massive ck magic crest appeared beneath him and expanded across the entire battlefield, marking every living sapient as a target, Frost and Kiba included.

 Chapter 500: Chapter 500: Demon (2)

    "[Great soul stealing hellscape]" With a dark and eery voice the demon bellowed themand words of his prepared spell. A move that aimed to encapste the entire battlefield and bring a swift end to Furano''s resistance.

    All sapients within a several hundred metre radius were marked as targets as a ck magic crest stretched out beneath them. The ground trembled as the lines of the magic crest began to glow. The ambient mana, blood residue and the thick stench of death that pervaded the battlefield was all sucked into thisrge crest as nourishment.

    Frost, Hamon and the other targets all felt their bodies freeze and their hearts tremble as the sound of distant screaming escaped from the ground, quickly growing louder and closer with every passing moment.

    A grey mist filled with death aura formed along the ground before ethereal spectres, tortured souls and other ghastly entities stretched out their hands and feet searching for signs of the living. These ghosts and tortured spirits quickly sought out the sapients like sharks smelling fresh blood, hounding after them and wantonly ignoring the monsters who were not deemed targets.

    They wrapped their bodies around them and or dove inside in search of their very souls.

    People screamed out in terror as the ghosts swarmed them and invaded their bodies, their desperate ying and attacks proving to be useless against their ethereal makeup. Those with magic and chakra managed to defend against the onught but those without such means quickly found themselves growing weak, tired and listless as if their lifeforce was being forcible drained.

    Eventually when at their limits the ghosts would escape from their bodies dragging with them a fresh, powerless soul.

    With a quick tug the bond between the body and soul would be severed and in response the body would fall to the ground, motionless and empty, never to move again while the ghosts would cackle evilly as they dragged the fresh soul through to the other side of the portal, to be tortured indefinitely like they were.

    A terrifying fate that caused Hamon and Dous to burn with unbridled fury and hatred, they could never condone such treatment towards their people.

    "[Light God''s dawn]" Dous being the only with specialist equipment ideal for facing off against those of evil origins activated his armour''s ability causing a bright sh of holy light to spread outward from him. This bright light burned the ghosts and pushed them back, but it was only a temporary measure at best.

    As long as the magic was still in effect the amount of evil spirits being unleashed would never end and unfortunately [Light God''s dawn] was not strong enough to destroy such magic and they certainly weren''t strong enough to take down the demon.

    "Kyakkyakkyak that''s more like it, drown in the fear of what awaits you, fight back if you wish but you''re merely dying the inevitable." The demon wiped his brow- even for him casting such magic was a bit of an ask- andughed evilly, a malicious grin returning to his face as he listened to the screams of people fending off the ghosts and being forcibly dragged into hell.

    Hamon, Dous, Vos and Maggie all sported blood crazed expressions as they viciously fought back against the four mid B-rank monsters. They were strong enough to resist the pull of the ghosts, but the others weren''t.

    Soul after soul was dragged down into the demon''s hellscape to be tortured for eternity as they struggled to endure theirbined might. Against Valend, Frostine and the two t-rexes they were sorely outmatched and with their exhaustion building serious wounds quickly developed, especially on Dous who was singled out due to his armour.

    All while the grandmander, the mighty demon floatedzily in the air, marvelling at the spectacle and relishing in the forceful descent of fresh unblemished souls. He''d asionally lick his lips as if savouring a delicacy sparking further hatred within the Furanomanders.

    Frost watched on in grief as many people he''d fought side by side with were dragged into the hellscape, powerless to resist.

    "Ahhhhh!" Suddenly as he was about to rip the teleportation talisman and summon Maya, he heard the scream of someone he knew close by.

    "Bagua!" Roaring out and releasing his grip on the talisman, Frost ordered Kiba to dash forward. The two of them were wreathed in ice fire chakra that helped to stave off the ghosts'' advances, but it was still annoying.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" He shed out with his ive skill, summoning three ice ws that blew away several ghosts swarming Bagua but that only dealt with the external threats. Bagua''s eyes were white, and his body was spasming, clear signs that his mind and soul were under attack.

    Frost desperate to help Bagua leapt from Kiba''s back and ced his hands on his shoulders before injecting ice fire chakra into his body, forcibly burning the invading ghosts out.

    "Screeeeaaaaaaammmm!!!!" The ghost screamed in horror as they were forced to let go of Bagua''s soul and escape his body but the ice fire followed after, swiftly burning away their essence.

    "Bagua! Bagua!" Frost shouted and shook his squad member, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state.

    "Urghh!" Bagua slowly woke from the ordeal. His head felt like it had been spilt in half and a deep residual feeling of dread lingered in his heart but he was alive.

    "..F¡­F¡­Fros¡­ttt" With blurry vision Bagua managed to make out Frost''s face.

    "Yeah it''s me, that was a close one." Frost breathed out in relief as Bagua came to and recognised him.

    Bagua ced his right hand on his head to try and soothe his splitting headache and his eyes gradually regained focus allowing him to see around him clearly.

    "Frost look out!" The moment his vision was clear Bagua spotted arge monster standing behind Frost with its battle-axe drawn, ready to cleave Frost in twain. Not hesitating for even a single second Bagua forced himself up and pushed Frost out of the way, a smile clear on his face as he did.

    "Bagua!" Frost called out as he was pushed backwards only just now noticing the presence of the B-rank minotaur behind him. It all happened so fast; he didn''t have any time to react.

    As Frost''s body was pushed back he watched in detail as the minotaur''s battle-axe swung down where he once was, cleaving through Bagua''s torso without resistance.

    Spurt!

    Blood spurted from Bagua''s body andnded on Frost''s cheek, his eyes wide open in disbelief as Baguay before him, cut in two. His death was swift, the ordeal from the ghosts attacking his soul leaving him weak. A gentle smile adorned his face as hey there almost peacefully, like he had no regrets.

    Frost struggled toprehend what just happened, the man he dashed over here to save just died moments after he rescued him, making his efforts seem pointless perhaps evenughable.

    A strangeughter escaped his mouth as his upper lip twitched. He entered a daze,pletely oblivious to the dangering for him.

    "Roar!" Kiba howled as he ced himself between Frost and the minotaur, staring it down with a snarl. His leg was still injured, and bleeding and the pressure emitted by both the demon''s aura and the minotaur''s weighed down on him, filling him with fear and panic but still he stood, refusing to leave his master''s side.

    As this was happening it appeared that Hamon and the rest could no longer hold back the enemymanders and as a result Dous who was being specifically targeted was caught.

    Dous''s beautiful sword shattered as he defended against Valend''s hammer while one of the t-rexes bit his right shoulder, sinking its teeth into the armour causing it crack and groan under the pressure. Frostine even started chanting a 4th circle spell to blow him away if that wasn''t enough.

    Maggiey nearby on her back in a pool of her own blood. Her beastification undone, revealing a body covered in deep and likely fatal wounds, she was currently unresponsive.

    Vos was half kneeling by her side, doing the best he could to protect her from the remaining t-rex and was thus unable to leave her side, forced to watch as another one of his sworn brothers was ced in dire straits.

    Hamon the strongest of the group stood tall with his mighty golden back in full view for the soldiers fighting behind him to see but the front was awash with blood. Parts of his ribcage werepletely exposed, and multiple puncture wounds littered his limbs where he had been bitten by the t-rexes but worst of all was a small puncture that spanned all the way to his heart.

    The demon finding his rebellious look a little too indignantunched an attack against him with his trademark evil grin. A ck dagger filled with malice and death arrived before Hamon''s chest after he was blown back by one of the t-rexes'' tails. It easily punctured through his runic inscriptions, destroying them outright as it pierced his skin and reached into chest.

    The dagger burst apart the moment it touched his heart, covering it in ck ash that assaulted it with sharp freezing pain whenever it moved. He felt as though it was slowly and painfully corroding him, polluting his blood and organs until his entire body waspletely turned ck and oozed death.

    Hamon could barely move at this point, all he could do was either stare hatefully at the demon or watch as the other B-rank monsters tore apart Dous before moving onto the rest. It was clear that the demon wanted him to diest, to have him watch as the rest were weed into eternal suffering.

    All truly seemed lost at this point.

 Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Prayers

    "Kyackkyackkyackkyack" The demon manicallyughed as he endured the hate filled gaze of the barely breathing Hamon. An insidious ear reaching smile adorned his face as his heart was filled with joy. He relished in their despair, their hatred, their pain, a delicacy of great renown. However all meals must eventuallye to an end.

    The hellscape he summoned dragged soul after soul into its depths, leaving only the strongest survivors to battle with evil spirits, resisting their pulling and tearing.

    His eyes drifted across the remaining elites, Maggie who was at death''s door, Vos who fervently defended her from the enemy and of course Dous who''s weapon had been shattered, his armour cracked and was currently held in the air by the jaws of a t-rex as Frostine readied a mighty spell to end the tenacious viscount.

    His heart couldn''t help but tremble in joy at the sight of that nasty light aspected armour crumbling apart and falling from Dous''s body.

    It wasn''t strong enough to cause him a great deal of damage but dark entities especially evil ones such as himself abhorred anything rted to the light no matter their strength.

    By the time his gaze returned to Hamon his smile had disappeared and a serious expression had reced it. The hounding of the stampede''s madness bellowed within his mind, impatient for victory.

    "Time to end this and move on." He spoke with a chilling tone before drawing in an extreme amount of ambient mana.

    In response to his actions Frostine, Valend and the other B-rank monsters moved swiftly to pin down the remaining elites, preventing them from acting out in defence. Even the B-rank minotaur attacking Frost and Kiba changed its tactics.

    Frost was still kind of out of it, the sudden loss of Bagua despite his quick actions dulled his thinking, making it seem as though what was going on around him was miles away. He struggled to hear anyone''s voice and sense the movements around him. Kiba''s attempts at reaching him through their soul bond were slowly bringing him back to reality but unfortunately it wasn''t fast enough.

    Bang!

    Kiba was knocked to the side by the minotaur''s battle axe, his head bleeding profusely from the blow and momentter Frost was pushed to the ground by the minotaur''srge hand while the other pinned him to the floor. This sudden touching and thest roar of Kiba brought his thoughts back to reality but by that point he was thoroughly pinned as were the rest of the elites.

    He struggled to push against the minotaur but received a harsh blow in response, pushing him deeper into the dirt. His eyes met with blood covered Kiba whose breathing had beboured and his heart lurched to a stop. Hisck of focus had caused this situation, because he couldn''t keep his head in the game Kiba was seriously injured and he was pinned down.

    Frost tried his best to reach into his robes choosing to no longer dy summoning Maya but the minotaur wasn''t making it easy. Even slightest movements resulted in a fierce reprisal.

    By this point the demon had finished gathering the mana he needed and upon seeing that all his subordinates had followed his orders he mmed the gathered mana onto the hellscape, infusing it with a burst of nourishment.

    The ck lines that acted as the portal lit up and a loud chorus of evil screams escaped from the ground before dozens perhaps even hundreds of apparitions charged out from the hellscape and swarmed towards the pinned down elites.

    The grey, death filled fog grew thicker as the barrier between the two realms narrowed thus turning this war torn battlefield into a literal nightmare. The remaining elites were strong and could fend off several ghosts without much issue but dozens or perhaps even hundreds was impossible.

    While being pinned down ghost after ghost entered their bodies, violently attacking their minds and souls without mercy. Many screamed in agony as they endured a torture that was far more terrifying than something physical. Even Frost who held ice fire chakra found that he couldn''t burn them out as fast they could enter.

    His mind was quickly assaulted and a pain he couldn''t put into words rampaged deep within his core. The hand that was mere moments from tearing apart the teleportation talisman froze before his body started spasming. He no longer hand the opportunity to call Maya.

    The demon exhaled a deep breath a he felt drained from conjuring such arge amount of mana for his summoned hellscape, but the price was worth it. The remaining elites would soon be dragged down into the portal to be tortured for eternity thus leaving the town of Furano undefended.

    He and the rest of the horde could thenplete their main mission, to destroy Furano and wreak havoc upon the soutnds.

    Hamon who had been forced to his knees by Valend continued to stare hatefully at the demon, refusing to let out a single scream as the ghosts assaulted his soul, he refused to give the demon even the slightest amount of satisfaction. Though in his heart he was in despair, what awaited him and the brave men and women behind him was a lifetime of endless torture.

    Even someone as experienced as him dreaded such an oue.

    Many prayed to the Gods and or thought of their loved ones in their final moments, hoping for a miracle to appear and save them from this terrifying fate...and their prayers were answered.

    As the souls a few elites were brutally torn from their bodies and about to be dragged down into the summoned hellscape muttering could be heard from a distance. Quiet and unclear at first but eventually the voice rang clear like the sound of a mighty church bell.

    "[Eye of the heavens]" Themand words for a mighty light elemental spell were heard in the ears of those still conscious before the sky above cracked open andvished the battlefield with beams of holy light.

    The ghosts screamed and roared as the light set them aze, purifying their souls entirely. Souls that were being carried into the hellscape were set free of their captors and swiftly returned to their host bodies, bringing them back to life.

    "Noooooooooo!!!!!!!" The demon''s aura burst out in fury, his expression warping into madness as he red at the sky and the endless streams of light cascading down upon his hellscape. These beams of light were not just destroying his summoned portal but were thoroughly purifying the realm and the souls within, undoing all his work.

    Even the souls recently pulled into the hellscape were able to escape with the aid of the light beams and find their way back to their slightly cold bodies, the timeframe still being within the allowed separation.

    Following the cascade of light a barrage of magic erupted from behind the northern wall smashing into the endless horde of monsters making their way into the town, killing dozens in an instant.

    Next the sound of swords and des could be heard being drawn from their sheaths as knights ridingrge ice wolves suddenly appeared from the east and west sides of the battlefield.

    "Frost wolf knights charge forth and aid ourrades." A woman donned in a full set of blue armour and armed with a deadly red spear roared out as she charged at the vanguard on top of a wolfrger than even Kiba.

    Along with the ground forces,ing from the air with the mage who cast the 5th circle spell [eye of the heavens] were a regiment of griffin knights all donned in glorious and regal looking white armour.

    At the head of these flying knights were two men, one old with a natural overpowering presence and one who was likely in histe twenties perhaps very early thirties dressed in the mostvish armour Frost had ever seen. A small crown also adorned his head and though he was nowhere near as strong as the old man by his side it felt as though he was in charge.

    "Royal griffin knights, destroy the enemies of our mighty empire!" The young man pointed his sword high into the air as he gave amand.

    "Your will be done Your Highness." The griffin knights responded respectively before unsheathing their weapons and diving into the battlefield.

    "I''ll leave the demon to you General Warik." His Highness the crown prince spoke with respect to the old man by his side before following after the griffin knights.

    "Be safe Your Highness." General Warik crossed his arm over his chest and bowed slightly before focusing his gaze upon the demon.

    "Thank you for your timely magic Sir Dmar but I can take it from here." Warik turned his head to speak to a man even older than he was who was riding what appeared to be a couatl with his young apprentice behind him.

    "No thanks needed General I only did what was expected of me. The adventurers guild requested that I join the reinforcements but I will follow your lead." Dmar was the A-rank adventurer that the capital''s adventurer guild sent due to Bastion''s request however the grandmander was this general Warik, therefore if he was asked to not interfere further by him then he would not.

    Of course Warik was only referring to the demon as it would be far better for the empire''s soldiers to handle the enemy''smander. The reputation of the Northrend empire''s military couldn''t be seen heavily relying on the strength of the guild.

    Warik nodded his head in thanks for Dmar''s understanding before ordering his griffin to fly at the demon.

    "Come Natalie let''s go and see where we can lend a hand."

    "Yes grandfather."

 Chapter 502: Chapter 502: Mighty reinforcements

    The couatl carrying both Dmar and Natalie pped its feather wings and moved behind the northern wall so as to aid therge contingent of soldiers, mages and adventurers that entered the town from the southern gate. The horde''s advancement into Furano was thus quickly stopped by these reinforcements, a brutal conflict ensuing in the streets and on top of the northern wall.

    Thankfully the support staff already made their way to the bunkers thus preventing an unnecessary bloodbath.

    "Hoh looks like he''s still kicking." Dmar muttered, a smile growing on his lips as he started chanting some 4th circle magic. His apprentice and granddaughter Natalie looked on in awe, blown away every time she got to witness her master''s magnificent magic.

    "[Piercingnces of azure fire]" After a short aria Dmar waved his beautifully carved staff and summoned dozens of intricate blue magic crests upon the battlefield below.

    In response all around Ryuu, Jessie and what remained of the magic corps,rge spears made of azure mes appeared and pierced through the monsters that assaulted them in masse. They raised their bodies regardless of rank high up into the air before turning them all into ash.

    Ryuu who was barely conscious, overdrawn to the absolute limit from interfering with Frostine and then protecting those below him trembled as a nostalgic sensation flowed through his body. With blurry vision he looked at the dozens of azure spears surrounding him and his subordinates, he recognised the spell but more so the mana used to cast it.

    He slowly craned his neck upwards to see Dmar and the couatl descending from the sky.

    "M¡­.M¡­Master." Ryuu forced out those words as the tension that supported his exhausted body disappeared and he became limp, his legs copsing out from under him.

    "Whoa there, looks like I came a littlete." Dmar however being the skilled A-rank magician he was quickly conjured up a pocket of air to support Ryuu, preventing him from falling.

    Once the couatl was a couple feet off the ground Dmar passed a few choice mana and health potions to Natalie. "Hand these out to those in most need while I see to your senior brother disciple." Natalie epted the potions and moved to hand them out to the magic corps after ncing painfully at Ryuu.

    "S...Sir Dmar?" Jessie who was by Ryuu''s side and sporting a deepceration on shoulder asked tentatively.

    Dmar looked at her briefly and noticed how close she was to Ryuu and the injury on her shoulder. He recognised her as a Major of the frost wolf battalion and nodded in reply before retrieving a high level potion from his storage ring.

    "That should restore you to at least 80%." He said and ced it in her hand before looking over Ryuu personally. Seeing the extent of Ryuu''s condition however brought pain to his old heart and he regretted not arriving sooner.

    "Haaaaaaaa" Dmar let out a sigh, grateful that Ryuu was still breathing at least and that they did manage to arrive just before the absolute worst happened. He thus retrieved a high level potion of very high quality and personally poured it down Ryuu''s throat not even for a second hesitating to use such a luxurious product.

    Even with his A-rank status and great wealth such potions were very, very hard toe by.

    As Dmar was seeing to Ryuu the couatl which was his battle mount helped take some of the pressure off the magic corps while Natalie went to and fro with the potions Dmar had given her.

    Booooooommmmmm!!!!

    Beyond the northern wall however where the battle was fiercest General Warik smashed down from the sky with a massive two handed great sword in his hands. His royal griffin steed built up momentum as it dived downward beforeunching its master at the terrifying demon, thus adding strength to Warik''s mighty swing.

    Hisrge two handed great sword reflected the light of the sun as Warik''s energy and mighty aura was infused. A presence far beyond that of a B-rank fighter filled that weapon, greatly increasing its power and sharpness. The very air around him and the demon felt thick and viscous as the image of great phoenix erupted from behind his sword.

    "[Royal Northrend sword style: Cry of the phoenix]" The phoenix the very symbol of the Northrend empire appeared with such rity that it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

    A fierce wave of pressure weighed down on the monsters present on the battlefield, the higher ranked ones especially found their legs trembling and hearts lurching in fear. An A-ranked enemy and not one simply in the early levels either.

    The demon who was the prime target of the attack reacted the most. His face warped into a maddened fury as his massive scythe became increasingly dark as he infused his own insidious aura into it. He was strong enough and of a superior species thus he faced off against Warik without any fear.

    "[Demon''s soul rending scythe]" Using his full strength the demon swung his scythe to meet Warik''s two handed great sword and the phoenix behind him. The image of a soul reaper, an apparition of death formed behind his scythe filling the surrounding area with the stench of death, causing many to shiver as their hearts grew cold and slow.

    While Warik shed with the mighty demon, the royal griffin knights swooped down to rescue the surviving Majors and elites as did many of the stronger knights from the frost wolf battalion.

    The woman riding a massive wolf and wielding a bright red spear appeared before Hamon after easily knocking back Valend. A few Major level soldiers who followed her rushed to aid Maggie and Vos while the crown prince with some of his strongest body guards rescued Dous from the clutches of the t-rex.

    The tables turned almost instantly; the monster horde that was clearly in the superior position suddenly found themselves outmatched in terms of aggregate power. Even with waves of monsters still pouring out from the Northrend forest the number of elites joining the fray made such quantities moot.

    Along with the mighty General Warik, a General of the royal knight battalion with mid A-rank strength was the third ranking general of the frost wolf battalion, General Anya who was also A-rank (the woman with the red spear). Of course following these two were multiple Major level soldiers which easily tripled the number of B-rank fighters present.

    If that was all it would be dangerous but still somewhat manageable however alongside the soldier brigades were dozens perhaps hundreds of adventurers that answered the call for reinforcements. Most were C-rank but a fair few B-rank parties were also present making for a frightening force.

    Adding on the crown prince and his bodyguards there was now at least four B-rank sapients for every B-rank monster.

    As Hamon and the rest were rescued from the clutches of Frostine, Valend and the T-rexes, Frost who was under the palm of the B-rank minotaur spotted his chance to escape.

    His aggressor was distracted by the sudden reinforcements, his eyes watching the dramatic sh of Warik and the demon as well as the diving griffin knights engaging with his B-rankrades and the upper C-rank monsters. Luckily he was on the fringe of the battlefield thus it seemed he was temporarily overlooked.

    Thisck in attention weakened his hold over Frost who swiftly took advantage of the situation to wreath his body in cold mes.

    The minotaur grunted in pain and pulled back his hand on instinct thus allowing Frost to roll sideways andsh out with his ive.

    Schwing!

    His swing was fast and sharp, the ive de caught the minotaur''s fingers as he pulled away, chopping three of them off without much resistance. He''d have needed to use aura and a skill if he wished to cut anythingrger, but it was enough for the initial payback.

    Choosing not to push his luck Frost gave up on following up on his attack and instead manoeuvred to Kiba''s side. He withdrew a mid-level health potion from his storage ring and poured the contents into his mouth before turning back to face the enraged minotaur. Kiba''s state was more important than chasing after a single opportunity.

    "Shall we try this again." With a fierce flourish of his ive Frost wrapped his weapon in cold mes and expanded his royal aura outward, a determined gaze clear in his eyes.

    "Rahhhhhhhh!!!!!" Pissed off from Frost cutting off his fingers and the danger of the current situation the minotaur began sumbing to the stampede''s madness. The red in his eyes grew more vibrant and his sense of pain and rational thought dwindled. After roaring therge beast charged at Frost with his battle-axe raised high above his head.

    Frost dashed forward instead of dodging sideways, he needed to take the battle away from Kiba while he healed plus he''d had enough running away.

    "[Earth''s upheaval]" Arriving right before the minotaur and with its battle-axe shing down towards him with fierce momentum and the image of a horned cow behind it symbolising the use of a skill Frost responded with his advanced ive skill [earth''s upheaval].

    With arge upward swing Frost infused his royal aura and cold me chakra into his ive. The rock that formed behind his swing was thus far more corporal and covered in cold mes, greatly enhancing the weight behind his swing.

    Booooooommmm!!!

    The air exploded as the 4 star ive met with the minotaur''s battle-axe. Dust and bits of the ground burst outwards as Frost held his ground. his feet sinking a couple inches into the floor as his ive stopped the battle-axe''s downward trajectory.

    His face appeared flushed from the exertion, but he seeded in matching power for power¡­. Well once anyway. The minotaur seemed to be in a brief moment of shock as it never imagined Frost withstanding a direct blow. Frost however was already on the move.

    He twisted his body the moment the minotaur was distracted to gain rotational force, he then re-tensed his arms and sent the battle axe upwards with a restarted upswing thus knocking the minotaur off bnce.

    "[Ice entanglement]" While rotating he also cast the 2nd circle ice spell [ice entanglement] causing vines of ice to wrapped around the minotaur''s legs.

    Following that once his body was once again facing the minotaur he leaped forward and kicked him in the chest as he ascended into the sky. His moves were so well coordinated and seamless that the minotaur had no time to react. By the time he knew what was going on he was already falling backwards, powerless to do anything about it.

    Don!

    As the minotaur''s back mmed against the ground Frost had reached several metres into the air and was about to begin his descent. His ive was now posed for an arial downward thrust, the final move of his dreadedbo.

 Chapter 503: Chapter 503: The chase was on

    "[Skyfall]!" With themand words spoken, energy transfused into Frost''s ive before forming 4 identical ives in the four cardinal directions, all pointing downwards at the incapacitated minotaur.

    A fraction of a secondter Frost thrust out as he descended, aiming for the monster''s heart, hoping to finish this battle in an instant. But the minotaur was still in the end a B-rank monster, a powerful and tenacious adversary.

    The five ives were all thrust down at the same time, impossible topletely defend against but the most dangerous one, the ive in the centre had to be blocked. The minotaur desperately protected his torso with his arm and the shaft of his battle-axe.

    Squelch! Ding! Ding!

    Three of the ives sunk deep into his flesh, leaving open and heavily bleeding wounds as they dissipated. The remaining skill formed ive shed with the tough vambrace protecting his forearm while the true ive struck against the minotaur''s battle-axe, saving him from near instant death. Even as a monster the heart was a very integral organ.

    "Tsk!" Frost clicked his tongue after his thrust was blocked and wasted no time at all in retreating, using his ive as a vault to flip backwards and out of harms way.

    The minotaur reacted almost instantly,shing out with his battle-axe the moment Frost''s skill ended but unfortunately he was a little slow, his battle-axe seeing to only catch the hem of Frost''s robe.

    Frostnded gracefully back on the ground several metres away, his ive ready and waiting to take on the minotaur''s next attack. Rinse and repeat, eventually after enough damage had been done the minotaur should fall plus the longer he dragged the fight out the higher the chances reinforcements would arrive. A minotaur was a big target so they wouldn''t be overlooked for long.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhh!!!" The minotaur roared out furiously as it rubbed the bleeding slits left by Frost''s skill, its anger growing stronger and stronger with every passing moment, quickly making itpletely numb to any sense of pain before eventually sumbing fully to the stampede''s madness. All rational thoughtpletely disappearing, leaving nothing but an enraged beast.

    Something that was in many way far easier to deal with considering Frost''s skill set.

    Frost twirled his ive as though taunting the beast, beckoning it to rush him and rush him it did. The minotaur scraped its hooves across the ground as it built up potential for a charge, its mighty horns humming from an influx of energy before it loudly mooed, and summoned the image of charging bull behind it.

    Frost''s brow twitched as he loosened his body, nning to react like a leaf caught in a gust, timing and flexibility being key.

    Boom!

    The ground cracked the moment the minotaur started its charge. The massive beast dashed forward at speeds rivalling that of a crossbow bolt leaving Frost very little time to react but thanks to Maya''s no holds barred training he was prepared.

    He saw the monster in practically slow motion as it rampaged toward him, kicking up no small amounts of dirt and even causing the air before it to heat up from the sudden pressure. With precise timing Frost spun on the balls of his feet, elegantly evading the minotaur''s oversized body as if it was an ordinary feat.

    His ive infused with his royal aurashed out as he spun, utilising both its incredible sharpness and the momentum of the minotaur to cut deep into the monster''s side. If the beast wasn''t numbed to pain such a move would have caused it to stumble and crash before struggling to get back to its feet however the minotaur at this point felt absolutely nothing.

    It wasted no time at all preparing itself for another charge the moment it passed Frost. Blood dripped down profusely from its wounds, dyeing the ground red but all it noticed was Frost still standing without injury.

    Thus began a game of matador, Frost utilising his sharp perception and flexibility would calmly deal with the minotaur''s reckless charges and attacks that cared very little for defence. A taxing and risky method but one that suited his current state.

    Eventually however a couple royal griffin knights and soldiers from the reinforcing frost wolf battalion made their way to his side and with their help Frost promptly brought down his adversary before falling to his backpletely exhausted from the long ordeal. Kiba cuddled up by his side, rubbing his fluffy head against him, granting him somefort while he rested.

    The knights proceeded to thin out the monsters in the area while Frost recovered. The long and devasting war seemed to be over now that the reinforcements had arrived.

    Many like Frost who had been fighting with all they had for so long were finally able to rx and hand the battle over to the many reinforcements.

    While the Generals and Majors fought against the B-rank and upper C-rank monsters the many soldiers and adventurers started a mass clear out of the horde section by section, gradually recovering the lost ground.

    After 30 minutes most of the town had been recovered, returning to sapient control. After an hour the Northern wall and after 90 minutes the monsters advancing from the Northrend forest started to grow thin allowing the fiercest battlefield, the area before the wall to bepletely retaken.

    Dous, Hamon and the others who were put in critical condition were ced in the imprable protection of General Anya and her most loyal subordinates. A bunch of healers equal to Gilianna in station quickly saw to them once the medical centre was back in business.

    Dmar as requested yed only a minor role after casting his 5th circle magic, seeing to just protect the weakened soldiers and adventurers as they waited for the reinforcements to reach them. In fact his granddaughter and apprentice took on the more aggressive role,unching devasting spell after devasting spell into the still advancing hordes.

    Warik as promised handled to demon pretty much solo, so as to promote the power of the Northrend empire. It was a battle of great upheaval that saw the nearby terrainpletely uprooted. It was a long and terrifying disy that outshone all other conflicts.

    The air shattered whenever the two shed against one another and their auras constantly battled for supremacy, pressuring anyone who dared toe to close. Just standing at the outskirts of their duel could see one seriously injured. A mere leftover residue from one of their attacks was able to carve up the ground and shatter massive boulders let alone a living person.

    Ultimately, since Warik was an A-rank fighter he came out ahead in each of their shes, gradually increasing the wounds on the demon''s body one at a time until eventually decapitating the monster in a grandiose fashion. A tenacious opponent to havested so long against him but in the end its loss was inevitable.

    Warik stood tall, his body covered in dark blood belonging to the demon as he raised its severed head in the air in victory. He himself sported a few wounds but nothing a health potion couldn''t fix. His 5 star quality armour saw fit to protect him from most of the demon''s attacks, a few however did still make it through.

    Proof that monsters should never be underestimated, high ranking species most of all.

    A loud, ground shaking cacophony of roars from the soldiers and adventurers sounded in response to Warik''s victory. And for the opposing side a deep sense of dread filled their hearts and panic set in.

    Without their demonmander the horde began to fall apart, their bodies no longerpletely at the mercy of stampede''s madness and those still retaining some semnce of intelligence were affected most of all.

    Valend and Frostine who were littered with serious wounds -Frostine was even missing a leg and Valend had lost his battle mount Dn- looked at one another inplete panic. They had lost and as long as they remained here all they would gain would be death, something neither of them wanted. Frostine still had to lord over his own territory while Valend wanted to return to his n in triumph.

    However the two of them were pretty much surrounded by powerful B-rank fighters at the peak of health plus they could see General Anya quickly making her way towards them after seeing to theplete upation of the other battlefields. Also now that the demonmander had been taken care of who would be the first ones General Warik turned his attention to, them that''s who.

    As if in sync the frost monarch and frost giant erupted with their full strength, overdrawing themselves to activate their most powerful moves. This however was just a ploy, the moment their attackers braced themselves they both used nearby monsters as substitutes and even one another to desperately retreat, quickly leaving them in the dust.

    A mid B-rank monster that truly wished to run was not something easy to prevent.

    "Dammit, bunch of cowards!" General Anya bellowed out her frustrations as her targets vamoosed before she even got the chance to fight. As she stopped in ce however and stamped the ground a shadow flew over her head and the voice of young man sounded out.

    "General I''ll slow down at least one of them, you can still have your prey." Frost riding Kiba was flying towards the fleeing Valend and Frostine, determined to make sure at least one of them failed to escape the battlefield, he still held a great deal of grudges towards the two of them after all.

    Anya smiled from ear to ear before quickly jumping back on the back of her prized battle mount, Freya and charged after the two of them.

    The chase was on.

 Chapter 504: Chapter 504: The chase was on (2)

    Frost and Kiba both looked in pretty good condition- considering what they''d both been through- as they flew after Frostine and Valend.

    During the past 90 minutes while the reinforcements gradually pushed back the stampede the two of them recuperated with the help of mid-level potions and a much needed break, moving only when absolutely necessary. They met face to face with General Anya during this time.

    After getting Hamon and Maggie to safety, the man she left in charge of Furano''s defence gave her a quick oral report of all that happened before he cked out, his body too damaged to retain consciousness. He had mentioned Frost and asked the General to check on him, to make sure he made it through this ordeal.

    Hamon held great expectations for the young dungeon core and sorely wished for the frost wolf battalion to make some moves in recruiting him or at the very least leave a favourable impression.

    General Anya trusted in her Colonel''s eyes and set off the moment the healers began seeing to him and Maggie. She was feeling especially guilty as she rode her prized battle mount Freya. So many of her loyal soldiers had died in this war and even Halgrave a high ranking Major lost his life¡­.it was a dark day for the frost wolf battalion, she needed something positive.

    Upon finding Frost she was greatly surprised. From Hamon''s enthusiasm she expected to be greeted by a muscle bound giant not some pretty boy that looked to be in his early twenties, a rather refreshing reveal.

    Several elite knights were guarding the area around Frost when she arrived with her naturally imposing presence. All of them instinctually trembled before vigorously saluting her arrival. Like Warik she was one of the few people in the empire that held the title of General, something that garnered a great deal respect.

    Frost''s skin grew goose bumps and Kiba began shivering the moment she approached. Though Anya was weaker than Warik she was still an A-rankbatant, someone far beyond the current Frost and Kiba. Even without releasing her aura she held a natural overwhelming disposition.

    "Are you Frost?" Anya asked in an intimidating tone, she also infused some of her aura into her voice letting Frost feel a fraction of her power.

    "Yes that''s me ma''am, apologies I''m not from Northrend so I do not recognise you but from the reaction of this lot I''m guessing you''re much higher ranked than Hamon." Frost gulped audibly before performing a polite military salute and responding in calm and clear voice.

    Her power was certainly mighty but in regards to what he''s faced with every day she wasn''t much and even though her voice sounded intimidating he felt no malice in fact it even looked like she was hiding a smile.

    "Hahahahahaha bold I like it hahahahaha just like Hamon described!" Anya bellowed before leaping from the back of Freya.

    Now off the back of the massive wolf that dwarfed even Kiba, Frost was able to get a closer look at the imposing woman.

    Many grey strands were present in her ruby red hair but her face sported very few wrinkles, it was clear that in her youth she must have been quite the beauty. She was likely in the same generation as Hamon perhaps a little older if he guessed solely by her looks. As far as he could see she was human and rather tall, about 6ft.

    Body shape wise it was hard to see given that she was encapsted in a full suit of te armour, but he assumed she''d be of the more muscr type given her equipment.

    As Frost was giving Anya the once over she was doing the same.

    ''Very young indeed, great body shape and doesn''t have the same ugly mug most of my men have, plus¡­.'' Anya''s brow furrowed and her A-rank aura seeped out in greater force.

    Frost subjected to the sudden strain instinctively reacted with his own aura, revealing the royal intent held within that despite being weaker than Anya''s held a degree of majesty that allowed it to withstand the superior force. Her lips stretched upwards into an almost mad smile and a possessive look entered her eyes.

    ''I really want him in my battalion, with the right training he could easily reach the rank of General.'' Anya started chuckling as she thanked Hamon for turning her on to this prized gem.

    After getting her fill Anya retracted her aura and faced Frost with a smile.

    "You''re correct, my name is Anya and I hold the rank of General in the frost wolf battalion." Anya crossed her arm across her chest in salute before she and Frost started engaging in a little chat¡­.well chat may not be the apt word.

    She was practically soliciting him for the military under the guise of getting a more thorough report about the situation during the stampede''ste stages, Hamon was after all only able to give her the highlights before slipping into aa.

    Thus a sort of quick friendship was created between the two of them -despite Frost clearly refusing her soliciting at every turn- which lead to the current situation where Frost offered to work alongside her to take down Frostine and or Valend.

    Back to the present.

    Kiba despite being only in the early stages of C-rank was a true master of speed, even Anya on her battle mount Freya struggled to keep up, the same therefore held true for Frostine and Valend.

    "[Ice burn like mes and freeze thine enemy in an explosion of cold fire, freezing fire ball]" While Kiba chased after the frost monarch and frost giant through the air Frost spoke the aria for his specialty magic, [freezing fire ball]. A silvery magic crest thus appeared before his hands and summoned arge sphere of fiery cold mes. This sphere was thenunched at the two fleeing monsters.

    "Tsk annoying weakling!" Frostine who was running on a chakra formed leg clicked his tongue the moment he sensed Frost acting against him and Valend. Frost was nothing but a small fry in their eyes, an addon in their battles that buzzed around, only striking at their weakest moments. What gave him the balls to chase after them in such a fashion.

    Frostine turned to look behind him as he conjured up a 3rd circle ice shield and unfortunately caught sight of General Anya in the distance doggedly in pursuit.

    ''Fuck!'' With her there it ruled out him and or Valend swiftly taking care of the interloper, even losing a couple seconds of running could see Anya and her wolf catch up to them and at that point escaping would truly be a pipe dream.

    Once one reached A-rank their mastery over aura reached a much deeper level and, in many ways, transformed entirely. A-ranks had far more capabilities in regards to aura than simply empowering themselves and or their weapons.

    Frostine turned his neck back forward after conjuring a quick ice shield and was about to inform Valend about the true threat of their little tail but before he could a massive foot headed his way.

    Boof!

    Without so much as a warning Valend, while Frostine was casting his magic and ring at Frost leaped from his position and kicked the smaller Frostine in the face, halting his momentum instantly and even knocking him backwards.

    "Valend you bastard!!!" The kick wasn''t enough to cause any real damage, but Frostine was certainly disced.

    Valend didn''t even dignify Frostine with a response nor did he even looked back his way, instead he kicked his retreat into overdrive, dashing faster through the forest and back towards the cial mountains. The hounding of the stampede was still ring in his mind, but it was weaker now that the head honcho had been taken out, thus allowing him to ovee it and flee.

    He was a damn frost giant with limitless potential why the fuck should he die here. He had absolutely no qualms about sacrificing Frostine as he knew he''d do the exact same to him, he just simply acted first.

    Frost frowned as he saw this, Valend was certainly crafty, and it was almost certain now that he''d be able to escape.

    ''Looks like the victim will be Frostine then.'' He concluded internally before conjuring more and more balls of ice fire to help restrain the rampant frost monarch further.

    "Valend!!!!!!" Frostine was racked with fury, his veins bulging as his blood pressure skyrocketed and the sudden balls of ice fire only served to exasperate his condition. The great frost monarch seemed to snap as he knew that his death was almost a certainty.

    Bang!

    Frostine viciously punched one the balls of ice fireing his way causing it to explode around him, the silver like me fragments slowly corroding his fingers until he waved them out. His anger towards Valend was thus redirected to Frost and Kiba.

    He nced at the approaching form of General Anya and concluded he only had a brief window to act unimpeded. A vicious expression then grew on his face as he red up at Frost. His mind yed some tricks on him making it look like Frost was smirking (which of course he wasn''t¡­honest).

    "So, you think this is funny do ya brat? Let''s see who''sughing once I rip apart that smirking mouth of yours!" Frostine roared beforeunching himself at Frost, his arms tensing and thick ice chakra covering his fists to create fierce looking gauntlets.

    He''d kill Frost before Anya had the chance to intervene. He was confident in that at least.

 Chapter 505: Chapter 505: The chase was on (3)

    Frost rubbed the back of Kiba''s head affectionately before whispering in his ear and smiling.

    Kiba chuffed in response before ascending higher into the air, his wings spreading out wide, fully prepared to engage in an aerial battle. Frost expected that whomever was left behind would redirect their hatred towards him, hoping to at least take him down before ultimately being killed by Anya.

    A partial victory that would lessen the disgrace of death however, Frost wasn''t going to simply let such a scenario y out.

    Denseyers of ice chakra stretched over Frost''s body, granting him a full suit of armour, turning his noble attire into one of a fierce ice knight but that wasn''t all, his chakra then stretched towards Kiba covering his joints, torso and even his ws in ice thuspleting the knightly look.

    "Fly." With that simple word Kiba roared out and started beating his wings. Frost tightened his grip around Kiba''s torso as well as his ive as the two working in tandem dived down from on high, heading directly for Frostine.

    "Hmph arrogant!" Frostine smiled evilly as his target willingly came down to face him, a foolish choice that would make his job that much easier. He started casting two 3rd circle spells, one to restrict Kiba''s movements and another to generate ice steps in the air, allowing him to fight an aerial battle.

    In response to the restrictive spell that summoned what seemed to be an isted blizzard around Kiba and himself, Frost raised his ive overhead and started spinning it with tremendous force. He then changed the state of his chakra to that of ice fire and allowed it to fill his ive without limit.

    The silvery ice mes eventually escaped from the ive''s tip as it spun thus generating fierce whips of ice fire that easily shredded apart the magic blizzard. The dungeon core and cial tiger then continued their onward trajectory, losing very little momentum.

    "[Frost monarch''s judgement]" Unperturbed by the destruction of his spell Frostine kicked off one the ice steps he conjured and activated a unique race skill. Internal energy covered his hands, greatly enhancing the ice chakra surrounding them before an image very simr to himself coalesced behind him, mimicking his actions and words.

    The two frost monarchs then raised their hands overhead as if they were mighty hammers before mming down with thunderous fury. Even Valend a mighty frost giant would be sent flying if hit by such a blow let alone Frost and Kiba.

    As the target of such a powerful technique Frost felt a pressure seep into his body, limiting his attempts to escape its judgement. Aura was in y and with Frostine''s mastery using it conjunction with his attacks was almost natural. Frost''s lips twitched from the sensation, but a smile stubbornly remained.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" In response he erupted with his strongest ive skill as well as his royal aura in full force. The activation of his aura swiftly swallowed the pressure that limited his movements as well as Kiba''s before attaching itself to the conjured wyvern''s head.

    With a quick addition of ice mes Frost then swung his ive down andunched therge wyvern head at the two Frostines before having Kiba swiftly alter their course slightly.

    Boom!

    The air exploded as the two skills smashed against one another, fragments of chakra and energy firing off into the distance. The wyvern head opened its jaw and bit down on the hand hammers but was unfortunately outmatched.

    The moment its fangs started to puncture passed the ice chakra armour and insert the cold mes into Frostine''s body the force of the hammering hands came down and blew it apart, like a fragile balloon. Thankfully it was only an energy formed construct otherwise there''d be a real mess to clean up.

    Frost felt a chill down his neck as he saw the result of his strongest attack being eviscerated in under a second, but it was to be expected. Frostine was far above him in terms of both strength and experience, in fact all the B-ranks were¡­. until they weren''t.

    After fighting for so long back at the dungeon and more recently in defence of Furano, Frost no longer fought as though he was infallible. Losing was fine as long as he could try again, eventually with enough training he would surpass any foe. Frostine was no different, his aim was not to kill the monarch but to buy time for Anya to catch up.

    Kiba, thanks to Frost''s royal aura wasn''t pressured and easily changed direction bringing the two of them around Frostine''s left nk.

    "Rooooaaaaaarrrrrr!!!" Kiba let loose with his [tiger roar], a skill that utilised sound vibrations as well as killing intent to disorient enemies. However given the difference in rank it was nothing but a more irritating roar to Frostine''s ears.

    Frost followed up Kiba''s attack with a quick sh of his ive but without using a technique or properly infusing aura into his weapon he failed to breach Frostine''s skin.

    Woosh!

    The two narrowly avoided Frostine''s right hand that attempted to grab Kiba''s hindlegs before once again rising up into the air, out of arms reach. They couldn''t however remain there as the moment they let up with their attacks Frostine would use the chance to start running.

    Thus Frost and Kiba started several rounds of divebombing, utilising their superior speed and teamwork to avoid Frostine''s blows at thest minute. Not an easy task I''ll tell you that but certainly rewarding.

    Even the slightest mistake could end up in his and Kiba''s death thus he was forced to stay in the zone throughout the entire fight, greatly improving both his own skills as well as his teamwork with Kiba.

    "Fucking fly!!!" Frostine bellowed furiously as he desperately chased after Frost and Kiba, kicking off the ice steps he summoned with such force that most of them shattered. His anger was through the roof, even after multiple attempts he still couldn''t catch this damn fly even once.

    Sure, his attackspletely annihted Frost''s but they nevernded on him, he and Kiba always escaped and even regrly cut into his armour, nothing serious but still of great insult to the mighty frost monarch.

    "Rahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    In a mad fit Frostine screamed out in rage before stomping down on multiple ice steps, rapidly bringing him behind Frost and Kiba. He used such strength that the steps shattered on impact and even his chakra formed leg cracked from the excess force but finally he had the upper hand. No matter how fast they were this time they''d feel his wrath.

    "Time to die you damn flies!" He raised his fists up overhead and activated his racial skill [Frost monarch''s judgement] once again, holding absolutely nothing back. He was going to pulverise Frost and Kiba with a single perfectly executed blow.

    However, he failed to notice the change in Frost''s smile to more of a smirk. The damn elf didn''t even look the slightest bit afraid or even shocked by his sudden ambush.

    Frostine continued to have his face warped by madness as he brought down the hammers of judgment and only in the veryst moment did, he notice something was wrong but by then it was far toote.

    Baaaaannnnnggggg!!

    There was a loud sound clearly indicating that Frostine''s attack struck something hard, but it wasn''t Frost nor was it Kiba.

    "Haaaaaaaa to think we took so long to get here, Freya looks like you''re going to have to go on a diet." The sh was from Anya''s spear. The bright red weapon inserted itself between Frost and Frostine and easily stopped the attack, she didn''t even have to use a skill.

    "Bark!" Freya her battle mount loudly barked at her master''s dietment, taking great offence to it but their easy-going banter highlighted how easy it was for Anya to stop Frostine''s all or nothing blow. A fact that sent shivers down Frostine''s spine as his current situation became all too clear.

    With a simple flick wave of her spear Frostine was sent hurtling down to the ground, he couldn''t even resist as Anya utilised her aura.

    "Well done holding him down. Shame we could only get one of them but nevertheless could job Frost." Anya praised Frost with a bright smile before she and Freya inevitably started to descend after their jump.

    "Thank you General." Frost saluted in a militaristic fashion before gazing down at Frostine.

    ''Looks like this is where his journey ends.'' He knew that now that Anya was here Frostine had zero chance in escaping and such thoughts brought joy to his heart. The frost monarch was always a sneaky bastard, always interfering in his fights ever since he arrived, now however it was payback time.

    Kiba and Frost rose up higher into the air so as to avoid the ensuing carnage, he didn''t want to end up as an unfortunate fatality when Anya let loose. Of course, he was still close enough that he could thoroughly spectate the battle prowess of an A-rankbatant, a very opportunity.

    His eyes however did end up drifting to the north where Valend escaped. He had a nagging feeling in his heart that they''d somehow meet again in the future and finally resolve their grudge.

 Chapter 506: Chapter 506: Crushing Frostine

    As opposed to Frostine, General Anya and her battle mount Freyanded softly and gracefully upon the ground, letting out no more than a slight tap as Freya''srge body made contact with the soil.

    Anya red at the pit before her with chilling ferocity, this monster was the cause for so many deaths among her subordinates, a debt that she nned to repay.

    "Get up!!" She spoke with such unbridled bloodlust that even Frost hovering in the distance felt his skin crawl, his instincts warning him of the extreme danger.

    Frostine let out a groan as an all-epassing pressure pressed down on his body and his alone. The surrounding soil, trees and leftover snow werepletely unaffected. An A-rankbatant had far better control over their aura than those of B-rank.

    Frostine felt his body ache as his muscles forcibly contracted and blood seeped out from his many wounds, Anya''s demand to get up was proving difficult for the mighty frost monarch.

    Eventually however, relying on his pride and brute force he rose from the pit and red back at the old woman, his hatred for her bing almost tangible. This was the woman who was going to end him he knew that and despised her for it.

    He was a glorious monarch, a ruler of a decent sized territory in the inner regions of the cial mountains, someone who lorded over others yet here was under Anya thumb, like amb prepped for ughter.

    A guttural and animalistic roar escaped his lips as he continued to fight against the pressure and even take steps towards Anya despite his body breaking apart as he did.

    A chilling smile grew on the General''s lips and a look of derision filled Freya''s eyes. She turned her neck upwards and nced into the air where Frost and Kiba were hovering and winked, a sign that told the young dungeon core to watch and learn, to understand the difference between the B and A-rank.

    In response Frost''s eyes opened as wide as they could possibly go and his senses strained themselves to the peak of sensitivity, he wouldn''t miss as single movement.

    General Anya looked back down at Frostine who had gradually made his way closer towards her, his body covered in cracks, cuts and blood, a gruesome sight for others but not her as she was a General of the Northrend empire someone who had be used to such images long ago.

    "You dared to attack the mighty Northrend empire, brought war to the gates of ournd, threatening the lives of our citizens and ended the lives of so many of our brave men and women¡­. The sentence is of course¡­. Death!!!" In response to Anya''s final words, aura burst forth from her body, making her presence radiated outward, she looked like a giant about to cast judgement.

    "Rahhhhhhhh!!!!" Frostine roared even louder, his eyes turning blood red as his violent instincts took over but in front of a General of the empire such roars were nothing but pathetic cries.

    General Anya raised her red spear, pointing the tip at Frostine and in response invisible chains formed from her mighty aura came into existence and wrapped themselves around Frostine''s limbs, pulling and stretching him as they lifted his body off the ground and disyed him before her like a criminal ready to be hanged.

    Frostine roared and desperately fought against the invisible chains but failed to break free. He attempted to conjure a skill but found that while wrapped in these chains his energy struggled to flow, severally weakening and dying the activation of the skill. Freya let loose a powerful roar in response to his efforts, causing a skill activation failure.

    The rebound effect thus caused Frostine to suffer even more damage but his maddened state numbed him to the pain. Since skills didn''t work he tried magic.

    His mana seemed to be far less constrained than his internal energy therefore the spell activated without hindrance. Freya was about to make a move but stopped when Anya stroked her ears.

    "[Ice hydra]" Frostine funnelled as much mana into the 4th circle spell as he could, summoning a massive three headed serpent from the established magic crest. A smile grew on his lips as he madly ordered it to devour Anya and her battle mount.

    "Haaaaaaa pathetic" General Anya let out a sigh before twirling her spear in the air and redirecting her attention to the suddenly summoned ice hydra.

    "Rooooooaaaaarrrrrr!!" The ice hydra roared with all three heads before diving down with its jaws wide open, ready to swallow Anya and Freya whole.

    Anya stared at the summoned beast with scorn as she reeled back her arm in preparation for a thrust.

    "[Sky splitting thrust]" With thosemand words Anya''s internal energy and aura filled her spear, causing it hum and glisten in the light. An apparition that was practically corporal formed behind her back. A female giant with features simr to Anya wielded an equally simr spear. The two women tensed their arms before, in perfect harmony thrust upwards with frightening momentum.

    Alongside a fierce howl the spear rose upwards to meet the massive ice hydra. A split secondter the two forces made contact and despite the ice hydra being an upper 4th circle spell and several timesrger the beast burst apart like a fragile balloon the moment it touched the spearhead. It was nowhere near its match.

    The residual force of the thrust continued beyond the ice hydra and pierced the sky, leaving a massive hole in the overhead clouds.

    Frost watched the entire process with rapt attention. His skin had formed goosebumps and a biting chill wrapped itself around his heart as he witnessed the majesty of Anya''s spear. Despite the fear however he kept his eyes glued on her every movement, refusing to even blink lest he miss the slightest change.

    "That must have been an expert level skill" Frost muttered as he understood some of the strength held by this female General. Expert was the level beyond Advanced mastery, the realm usually seen as the highest sapients could generally reach unless they were absolute prodigies i.e. those that could reach S-rank.

    Beginner-basic-adept-advanced-expert-peak-perfect and finally origin those were the 8 stages of weapon mastery as well as weapon skills. Frost was at the advanced stage which was generally a hallmark of B-rank. Expert was the realm of those at A-rank whereas Peak was reserved for those that reached S-rank, a level that very, very few sapients ever reached.

    Perfect was the realm of those who had reached the very limit of S-rank and focused the majority of their strength on their weapon. Maya could be considered roughly at the perfect rank for her hammer mastery, though only at the very early stages.

    Origin was the realm of the Gods. Only entities of that magnitude could truly understand the true origin of a weapon and reach the pinnacle of mastery, able to unleash the fabled origin ranked skills that could shatter dimensions. Of course such power was way beyond Frost at the moment, even Anya''s mastery was beyond what he could currently understand.

    As the ice hydra burst apart and Frostine lost his connection to it his mind cracked and an overwhelming sense of inferiority filled his heart.

    ''So this is A-rank huh.'' He said internally, realising the true depth of the canyon that separated the two of them, he stood no chance whatsoever. He wasn''t even at the upper ranks of B-rank, just a middle ss weakling¡­..

    The massive giant that looked like Anya didn''t fade away as her skill was unleashed, instead both Anya and the giant version of her reeled back for a second strike, this time aiming directly for Frostine.

    In but a moment the spear reached the frost monarch and practically vaporised everything above his shoulders, leaving nought but a headless frame. The B-rank frost monarch that controlled the monster stampede to decimate a vast portion Furano''s forces died just like that. Yes, he was injured and far from his prime but still a single blow.

    Frost was left speechless, the difference between ranks only grew the higher you went.

    Anya breathed out and nodded, her subordinates had been avenged. She looked up to the sky, seeing Frost still frozen in awe brought a prideful grin to her lips.

    ''Good he''s impressed.'' She destroyed Frostine in such a shy way on purpose, all so Frost would have a good view of her and the frost wolf battalion. He''d be more inclined to join them if he could see the limits of their strength.

    "Come Frost, we''ve done what we can." She briefly nced to the north remembering the retreating figure of the frost giant but he''d already fled too far for them to chase.

    Frost trembled upon hearing Anya''s voice, his mind slowlying back to focus. He nodded and ordered the even more frightened Kiba to descend next to Freya.

    The two warriors and battle mounts thus made their way back to the Furano battlefield.

    Clean up operations had begun, removal of the dead monsters but more importantly retrieval of their dead. Those who died in service of protecting Furano from the stampede would have their names written in the memorandum of heroes, forever recognised as the brave warriors they were.

 Chapter 507: Chapter 507: Victory!!

    Though victory had been won a depressed mood covered the battlefield, there was so much death, how could they ever celebrate such a hard won victory.

    The remaining soldiers and adventurers that were here fighting day and night dragged themselves behind the wall to the medical centre with zed eyes, their hearts already dark and cold.

    The mighty northern wall that stood as bastion during the stampede was littered with massive holes and cracks making it look like the walls of a ruin but the most frightening thing was the colour. The grey and blue wall was now blood red, so much blood had spilled that the colour hadpletely changed.

    The pungent liquid seeped deep into the stone, ice and pykrete forever changing wall, a permanent reminder of the losses endured these past few days, today most of all.

    All the Majors suffered extreme wounds, many that would be fatal if not treated immediately and by skilled hands. General Warik and the Crown prince looked at the expressions of the survivors and couldn''t help but tremble. They could hardly imagine the suffering these people had gone through as they defended the town.

    Warik gave an order to the griffin knights before making his way toward the crown prince. He wanted to suggest that he use his charisma and lineage to inspire the people present, doing so would greatly increase his prestige among the local popce, something that he needed if he wanted to sit on the golden throne.

    The crown prince listened to Warik''s advice and nodded his head agreeing with the General. He was just about to start his speech when Frost and Anya made their way back through the treeline.

    Some of the survivors saw Frost returning with arge monster crystal in hand and the zed look in their eyes transformed. Their hearts started to thump away, and vigour returned to their tired bodies. This was a man they''d fought side by side with, a man who had braved the same hell as them and came out the other side, victorious.

    A couple adventurers muttered Frost''s name and it started to spread like wildfire, soon the majority of the survivors were shouting his name at the top of their lungs.

    "Frost! Frost! Frost!" They chanted repeatedly, growing louder with each repetition. The once silent and dismal battlefield was reced with loud cheers for one man, Frost.

    Frost not expecting such apuse turned to Anya who had given him Frostine''s monster crystal hoping to make him into some kind of hero thus owing her but never for a moment did she think Frost would have such an impact on the survivors. It seemed as though despite her open mindedness she still underestimated this young man.

    "What are you waiting for, they''re calling you." She said yfully and winked his way before stifling her presence as much as possible, keeping the spotlight on Frost.

    Frost nodded in thanks to Anya before a wild smile stretching from ear to ear grew on his lips. He tightened his legs around Kiba as the two dashed forward into the heart of the battlefield, allowing everyone to get a good look at him and the monster crystal in his hands.

    "Frost! Frost! Frost!" The chanting grew more and more fervent, so much so that the ground started to tremble. The soldiers and adventurers who arrived as reinforcements felt themselves drawn into to the chorus, chanting Frost''s name even if they didn''t know why.

    When in full view of everyone Kiba stopped and roared at the top of his lungs causing the chanting to halt, Frost was about to speak.

    Frost looked over the battlefield locking eyes with each and every one of them, they were his brothers and sisters in arms, valiantrades who fought by his side during the war, never giving up. Frost hadn''t nned on giving a speech as he never thought it would be him in the spotlight, he was just a helper here to lend aid in the name of riches and friendship so he kept it simple.

    He rose therge monster crystal above his head and activated his royal aura to the limit, spreading his presence as far as possible before roaring out a single word at the top of his lungs.

    "VICTORY!!!!!" The soundwaves travelled far and wide entering the ears of everyone present, his aura helping to do so and drastically improving his charisma.

    There was silence for a couple seconds before the earth trembled with such strength that it was akin to a herd of mammoths charging.

    "VICTORY!! VICTORY!!!" They repeated Frost''s words while raising their weapons in the air and stamping the ground beneath their feet. The despair that wracked the battlefield was thus blown away by a single man''s words.

    General Warik stared in awe at Frost, apletely instinctual reaction but one that was noticed by the person by his side. While everyone else had smiles on their faces this man sported a dark expression, that was supposed to be his role not one of an outsider.

    ''Royal aura with a high degree of potency and if I''m not mistaken he''s the one that knocked my brother down a peg.'' The crown prince eyed Frost with a dark expression. He didn''t appreciate someone stealing what was rightfully his.

    Eventually the chanting died down, but the valiant spirit remained. General Anya returned to his side and the two of them walked through what remained of the mighty northern gate. The crown prince''s knuckles audibly cracked as he made a tight fist, he felt snubbed. Frost and Anya didn''t even look his way or even acknowledge his existence, he was the crown prince of the empire god dammit.

    Of course, Frost didn''t do it intentionally, he had no idea the crown prince was here nor what he looked like but even if he did it wouldn''t make much difference, his title meant nothing to Frost.

    Anya however was doing it intentionally, she was not in the crown prince''s faction and didn''t feel like he deserved any glory when he wasn''t the one doing the fighting.

    Sure he arrived in mass with the royal griffin knights but for the majority of the short battle it was his bodyguards doing the fighting while he watched or handled the weaker monsters despite being adorned in superb quality equipment. He wasn''t ever in any real danger.

    The support staff had alreadye out to help in the clean-up and handle any other jobs so the brave soldiers and adventurers could rest up. They all bowed as Frost and Kiba walked by, their hearts full of gratitude to the young man who they''d seen on many asions charge straight in the fire of hells so as to protect them.

    Frost nodded his head towards each and every one of them as if it was natural greatly surprising Anya who was by his side. Despite her no longer hiding her station Frost still drew more attention.

    ''He''s more of a royal than the crown prince.'' She felt that Frost was a natural born leader and that for a split second even she felt the pull to serve him. She blinked rapidly in confusion, shocked by her reaction. ''How very interesting'' a smile grew on her lips as multiple thoughts ran through her mind.

    The current political situation of the Northrend empire was a dangerous cesspool where the crown prince and second prince fought against one another openly and in the dark for supremacy. Each desired the throne and were doing all they could to take it.

    However, the current emperor was still quite able thus the session wouldn''t happen for several years so all they could do was rally the many factions throughout the empire to their sides, the nobles.

    The crown prince who was currently holding his father''s endorsement as well as that of multiple department heads fought for the right to lead reinforcements in aid of Furano despite the possible danger. Such actions further garnered his father''s favour and he was sent with a vast regiment of the royal battalion and General Warik as his bodyguard under the emperor''s edict.

    His father knew that his eldest son wanted glory, reputation and the support of military and perhaps more importantly the Furano family but such ambitions were natural and not a bad thing, he was after all going fight in a war for his empire. The second prince ground his teeth at his brother''s ''noble'' act, but chose not to fight on that front, knowing his efforts would be counterintuitive.

    Though the crown prince''s reputation was rather good and even the Emperor favoured him General Anya didn''t like him and always felt that behind his smile was a sinister personality that was possibly worse the second prince''s. Therefore, she was an advocate for the princess, the emperor''s third and youngest child.

    A kind girl who always thought of the prosperity of the nation before her own needs, a very, very dark horse in the running but one Anya stuck with.

    Seeing Frost with royal aura, his age, abilities and the fact that he was close to the Furanos and was now a veritable hero among the people here she wondered if she could somehow utilise his influence in benefit of the princess. Of course, she wouldn''t do anything underhanded or force the issue, but it would do well for the two to meet.

    With Anya thinking up future possibilities and Frost greeting all those he saw warmly the two made their way to medical centre. The war was over, and he needed to inform Dous and Hamon of their victory.

 Chapter 508: Chapter 508: Victory!! (2)

    Frost and Anya entered the medical centre where many soldiers and adventurers were currently getting treatment. Healers of the viscounty and those that came with the frost wolf battalion and royal knight''s battalion were scuttling back and forth, tending to the overflow of patients.

    Gilianna, the foremost healing authority under Hamon''smand was no longer in charge, instead a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven look was running the show. He was part of the healing corps following General Anya and held greater authority than Gilianna despite being several years younger.

    He personally tended to Hamon, Maggie, Vos and Dous along with his trusted deputy as they were in the most critical condition and of the highest authority.

    A great deal of sweat was on the man''s brow as holy light spread from his hands and was gently infused into the patients, slowly and carefully reconnecting their shattered limbs, muscles and even organs. He had his work cut out for him.

    "Joseph how are they doing?" Anya asked the moment she came in, her tone full of authority. Joseph stopped channelling his healing magic and turned to face her with an obvious frown.

    "They should be fine by the time I''m done however I can''t promise aplete recovery, only with the addition of special herbs and high-quality medicines would such an oue be possible." Joseph replied with confidence, sure of his skills.

    Anya frowned at his words before letting out a small sigh and shaking her head.

    "Get them healed first, I''ll see what I can do about the herbs, we may have some in stock back in the capital." Anya knew about her battalion''s budget as well as the reserve stock of medicines they kept in their barrack''s vault. She wasn''t that confident that they''d have enough for everyone. Thankfully however they''d likely get a substantial bonus for seeding against the stampede.

    The emperor wasn''t stingy with his rewards.

    Joseph nodded his head before turning back to his work, he was currently treating Maggie who was in the worst condition.

    "G¡­Gen¡­. General" Dous who had regained consciousness thanks to some of Joseph''s treatment forced himself to an upright sitting position and greeted General Anya with weary eyes. His lips however started to curl upwards the moment he saw Frost. His heart felt warm upon seeing the young in a healthy condition.

    "Lord Viscount, apologies for arriving sote." Anya crossed her arm across her chest and slightly bowed with respect towards Dous. She held the man in high regard, a noble that was indifferent to status and always ced himself at the forefront of danger. Willingly sacrificing himself for the prosperity of his citizens.

    "You and your citizens fought well, holding back such enemies for as long as you did is an achievement that will be remembered for centuries toe, the emperor will surely praise the valiant spirit of the Furano people." Anya spoke eloquently and from the heart.

    A peak B-rank Demon along with multiple B-ranks were assaulting the walls, a truly frightening force far greater that what they''d usually handle. If they hadn''t arrived when they did the town of Furano, the bastion that guarded the entrance to the cial mountains would have been razed with not a single survivor.

    "Hahahaha you tter us too much General, without the aid of you and General Warik we would have surely been erased, sucked into that demon''s hellscape to be tortured indefinitely." Dous appreciated Anya''s kind words but knew the truth of the matter. After saying his piece Dous''s eyes drifted to Frost who was standing by General Anya''s side.

    He could see that Frost sported a few injuries but nothing major, a simple health potion or even time would easily rectify them. His once noble looking white robes were now blood red and infused with a deathly aura thanks to the hundreds of monsters perhaps even thousands he''d in on the battlefield. He looked like a valiant warrior, a master of war returning after a hard won victory.

    He could see an arrogance or rather an unwavering confidence in the young man''s eyes. The smile on his lips grew until it reached his ears, a giddy feeling warming his heart.

    "It''s over isn''t it?" He asked almost yfully.

    Frost smiled wildly in response before nodding his head, the war was over, they were victorious.

    "Hahahahahahahaah cough cough¡­. Marvellous¡­. we won¡­. we survived in the end." Dousughed out loud without any restraint which aggravated his wounds causing him to cough violently, spurting out dollops of blood. A serendipitous look then appeared on his old, wounded face before hot tears rolled down his cheeks. They had won, Furano was now safe.

    An unimaginable weight was thus lifted from his shoulders causing him to feel weightless and fuzzy, a momentter thanks to the loss of tension Dous drifted back to sleep, a smile still on his lips.

    "He must have forced himself to awaken and remain so until he heard the news, a great man Dous Furano." Anya bowed even lower before quietly checking up on the rest of her soldiers, letting the Viscount sleep.

    Frost gazed at the smile on Dous''s face before shaking his head and leaving him to his rest. He to checked on the soldiers, greeting many that he recognised. His and Anya''s presence helped lift the mood in the medical centre, news of a final victory was always uplifting to hear.

    Eventually however a meeting was called for the people of authority, all who were able to attend were summoned, and proxies used for those who couldn''t.

    Frost being one of the strongest fighters, a key warrior during the defence that inspired the local soldiers as well as friend of the ruling nobles was of course in attendance. He sat next to Leo who was there in ce of his father. Luna and Jaina were also there, standing in for their father''s as all three were currently with Joseph receiving intensive care.

    Even Cassandra and Calder were in attendance given that they were in charge of civilian and resource management during the martialw.

    Cassandra''s eyes were puffy and red, clearly, she had been crying recently. She almost burst into tears again upon seeing Frost, she wrapped in a tight embrace and thanked the Gods that he was safe and sound. Frost could feel her heartfelt concern and couldn''t help but be moved.

    At the head of the meeting table was a man perhaps in histe twenties of early thirties with golden hair and decent looks, the crown prince of the Northrend empire. By his side were General Anya and General Warik empowering the man''s natural maism.

    Frost nced briefly towards the crown prince and only learned who he was once Leo informed him.

    ''So this is the crown prince, the one set to inherit the Northrend empire¡­.he doesn''t seem like much.'' Frost didn''t think much of the human prince. His station meant nothing to him and from what he could gleam talent wise he wasn''t anything special thus he continued to chat with those he was close to instead of being awed like many others.

    "Everyone please be silent." General Warik stood up and announced with a voice tinged with aura, instantly stopping the chatter amongst those present before granting the floor to the man next to him.

    "Thank you General Warik." The crown prince first thanked General Warik with a warm expression before looking at all those present.

    "First off I''ll introduce myself, Crown prince of the Northrend empire, Randolph Northrend at your service." A few awes and ahhs suffused amongst the people present who weren''t sure of his status, many then bowed in response or curtsied before replying "we greet the crown prince". Frost merely nodded since he was not beholden to the empire nor felt that his status was any lower than Randolph''s.

    General Warik sent a re Frost''s way for his disrespect but stopped after remembering his status.

    "I''d like to first congratte the people of Furano and the branch of the frost wolf battalion forsting as long as they did against superior forces, you''ve all done the empire proud in this war." Some soldiers teared up at that statement, their sacrifices feeling validated.

    "Though we arrived and sessfully routed the enemies'' top echelon, without you holding the fort there would have been nothing to save, you have mine and my father''s upmost gratitude." Cassandra, Leo and those who resided in Furano bowed in response and thanked the crown prince generously for his words.

    Richard smiled upon hearing their fawning and ttering. "This generation''s monster stampede is now officially over, and peace will once again return to the prosperous Viscounty. Soldiers will continue to be stationed here for another few weeks to deal with any fractured waves but other than that regr life should resume over the next few days.

    Those who bravely sacrificed themselves during the war will be added to memorandum of heroes so as to never be forgotten while those that achieved great merits will be honoured by the royal family, giftedvish rewards and perhaps even granted medals of honour." Such promises eased the minds of many soldiers and adventurers while also sparking interest within others.

    Frost especially was quite interested in the so calledvish rewards.

    The crown prince then went on the discuss with those present the steps to be carried out over the next few days such as the handling of materials, payments, pulling out of the military as well funerals etcetera. Such a meeting though not exactly inspiring nor that interesting allowed the clout of war to be extinguished.

    Regr life was set to return and with the level of the stampede great levels of profit were sure to flow into the coffers of the territory. The merchants could barely stop drooling as they imagined the amount of money to be made off of the thousands of monster corpses. Furano would certainly see a great boon to its economy in the foreseeable future. Calder and Cassandra would certainly see to that.

 Chapter 509: Chapter 509: After the stampede

    Frost didn''t take too much part in the meeting other than enlightening the some of the reinforcements on how the battles went down over the past few days. He spoke of many brave souls that gave their lives in the battle, Halgrave being one of them.

    General Anya couldn''t help but clench her fists in frustration as she listened, Halgrave was a loyal soldier in her battalion, to lose him here was a devastating loss.

    The crown prince tried to speak with him a couple times, but their conversations were always rather brief, seems they didn''t mesh well. Frost even felt that Randolph carried some sort of grudge towards him, it was well hidden, but his gut was warning him to be wary.

    ording to the original timescale the reinforcements weren''t supposed to arrive until the morning of the 4th day but thanks to the trepidation felt by both General Anya and General Warik as well as the crown princes desire for glory they arrived during the afternoon of the third day, a lifesaving result for Frost and the others defending the town.

    So even though he didn''t exactly get a good feeling from Randolph he was grateful for his timely arrival.

    The meeting was brought to an end after an hour or so with all the procedures being outlined. Afterwards Frost finally went to rest, his job and the job of the soldiers and adventurers was over, they could now have some well-earned rest.

    Given that the stampede was practically over, there was no need for him to sleep in the barracks near the northern wall anymore thus Cassandra offered a guest room in the lord''s manor which Frost epted dly.

    A servant of the manor attended to him, preparing the room, spare clothes, food requests and the bath for his convenience. Frost was tired, physically, mentally and emotionally so he just let the servant handle everything.

    First, he took a long dip in a hot bath, allowing all his pores to open up and remove anysting bits of grime on his body that clean up magic didn''t get. Afterwards he went straight to his room and fell asleep almost instantly. The servant came to check on him an hourter to see if he was hungry but quickly left after seeing Frostpletely out of it.

    16 hourster Frost roused himself from his sleep, the previous day had ended, and it was already the morning of the next. He''d never slept so much at one time before, but he didn''t feel groggy or out of sorts, it was clear that he needed a good rest to fully recharge.

    His back and shoulders popped and cracked as he stretched but all he felt was relief, his body and mind once again in peak health.

    "The sun''s up so its been at least one day." Frost covered his eyes from the sun that shone brightly through a crack in the curtains. He rang a bell and the servant that helped him yesterday promptly arrived with a smile on his face, eager to serve Frost in any capacity.

    "How long was I out and has anything major happened?" He asked as the servant guided him to the dining room for some food.

    "It''s been about 16 hours Sir Frost, and no I don''t think anything major has happened during your rest. The Madam and young master returned once or twice and asked how you were but swiftly returned to work after hearing you were still asleep." The servant answered Frost''s question dutifully.

    "I see thank you."

    "No problem, Sir and if anything, I should be thanking you. Without you we would have surely been overrun and ughtered by the stampede. You have my upmost thanks for protecting our home and people." The servant performed a deep bow and tears dripped down his cheeks.

    Frost felt rather awkward but had grown used such reactions, so he simply nodded his head and patted the servant''s shoulder before continuing to the dining room where a meal was being prepared for him.

    "Is there any update on Dous''s and the others'' conditions?" Frost asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

    "The Lord Viscount has woken up I''m told but is still in the intensive care unit, same with Colonel Hamon, Sir Vos and Sir Ryuu." A servant who was responsible for gathering information replied to Frost as he ate. The staff liked to be kept abreast of the ongoing situation and surmised that Frost would ask them about it the moment he woke up.

    "And Bastion?" Frost asked clearly more nervous that before.

    "¡­Sir Bastion has regained consciousness however his strength has left him almost entirely." The servant spoke with sadness. "He has unfortunately lost the function of his left leg and his arms are no longer able to wield his axe." His life had been saved but his adventurer days were over. His possible life expectancy had even been reduced due to the damage inflicted upon his organs.

    A miracle herb would be required to restore Bastion toplete functionality.

    Frost frowned and clenched his fists as he listened, his heart hurting from the sad fate of his once powerful friend. He looked upwards, his eyes growing red as he fought back some tears.

    ''War even if victoriouses with devasting consequences.'' Frost shook his head and chose not toment on the situation, Bastion was alive that''s what mattered.

    As Frost was finishing his meal the door to the dining room opened revealing Cassandra and Luna with heavy bags under their eyes however they lit up upon seeing Frost, even running to his side to give him a hug.

    "Have you just woken up?"

    "Yes."

    "Did you sleep well, any aches, wounds or anything?" Cassandra badgered like a concerned mother.

    "Yes and No, I''m fit as a fiddle." Frost tensed his arms as if to show his impressive strength, garnering augh from the two women.

    "Do you know about the outside situation?"

    "I just asked the servants about everyone''s condition, seems everyone is alive at least but Bastion may be disabled." Cassandra and Luna''s eyes darkened upon being reminded of Bastion''s condition.

    "Yes unfortunately that''s true in fact all of them will likely no longer be able to use their full strength again¡­.their fighting days are over." Cassandra said thest part with an awkward tone. Happy in a way that her loved ones wouldn''t be able tounch themselves into danger anymore but sad that they couldn''t at the same time, they all prided themselves on their acquired strength after all.

    "I see."

    "¡­Well ignoring the obvious downers we''ve started tabting the possible revenue to be made thanks to the stampede as well as started calcting the rewards for the many adventurers, yourself included." Cassandra tried to shift to a more positive oue.

    "Ohhh" Frost raised his brow, clearly interested. Other than helping his friends and relishing in glorious DP -which actually amounted to several tens of thousands over the few days he was here- money was another reason. He needed vast amounts of coins to establish a properly functioning camp plus they could be transmuted into DP if need be.

    "We''ve also decided on when to hold the grand victory celebration, a final hoorah to erase the negative atmosphere brought on by the war. Everyone is invited, soldier, adventurer, support staff and civilian alike. Together we''ll celebrate surviving the stampede as one. There''ll be fireworks, food, dancing and tons of other activities, I''m sure you''ll enjoy it."

    ''A party huh.'' Frost pondered the idea in his mind before smiling, growing excited at the prospect. A victory celebration was sure to be fun.

    "When is it?" If it wasn''t for another week or so he''d have to decline, Maya and the kids were waiting after all.

    "Tomorrow night, Leo will be acting as the host in ce of Dous. It should be a good test for him since he''s set to inherit the Viscounty." Dous would normally be the host given that he was still the ruler, but his current condition made that almost impossible.

    He may be out of bed by then, but he''d have to go around and mingle all night, far too strenuous for a critically hurt patient like him.

    Frost was surprised he thought for sure it''d be a bitter given the injured but then again it did make sense to have it as soon as possible. Once the celebration happens the war would be officially over, and the people can confidently return to their regr lives and work.

    "Sounds fantastic I''ll be there."

    "Great."

    The three people then chatted some more as two meals were brought for thedies. Frost was in no hurry at the moment to do anything so he kept thempany while they were on break which was unfortunately rather short. Not twenty minutes in a servant came and whispered something in Cassandra''s ears causing her to frown and shake her head before leaving with Luna who hadn''t finished eating yet.

    "Guess I''ll head out and see if Leo or the guild needs any help." Frost said with a smile however a subtle agenda was also hidden behind that smile. It was time to startying the breadcrumbs for his future camp. He''d already hallmarked Borris and would likely visit him sometimeter today or perhaps tomorrow tond the final nail in the coffin but there were others he needed as well.

    The merchant guild, bank, adventurer''s guild and perhaps even inns. The more worthy people he got the more DP he''d be able to rake in passively and the faster he''d be able to establish a proper economy.

    With his ns set in motion Frost first headed to the government district to discuss possible avenues with Leo and the admin staff there.

 Chapter 510: Chapter 510: After the stampede (2)

    The town seemed even busier now that the war was over. Countless citizens were dashing through the streets trying to get Furano back in working order as soon as possible. Inn keepers and restaurants offered great deals on luxurious meals thanks to the abundance of high-quality meat present in storage, a deal many epted with gusto.

    Tradesman and merchants on the other hand promised to fashion all manner of high-quality equipment for customers at low, low prices, quickly getting the economy back on track. If you ignored the damage to the northern sectors and the abundance of soldiers wandering about it was hard to believe that this town was moments away from being razed not 24 hours earlier.

    The people of Furano were a hardy people, resilient and brave. Frost couldn''t help but nod in appreciation.

    Frost was escorted to the conference room in the main government building shortly after arriving. There Leo was sitting at the head of the table with stacks of paper reaching above his head and people sitting at his sides rolling off report after report orally. The poor young heir looked as though he''d aged several years from the strain, administration was definitely not his forte.

    Thankfully by his side were hard-working, dedicated and skilled staff who would assist him through every step and monitor his work. Leo just had to push through it since it was now his responsibility.

    "Looks like you''re swamped with paperwork Leo." Frost smiled at his friend''s misery before offering to help.

    Leo perked up at seeing Frost and was just about to agree before he held his tongue. "No this is my responsibility as the future lord of the territory, I should be the one to do it¡­thanks though." Though clearly reluctant he knew that if kept relying on others he''d never be a capable leader.

    Frost''s smile grewrger at his words. "True, then I wish you luck young Viscount." Frost eyed the mounds of paper not envying Leo in the slightest.

    "I realise this may be a bad time given the amount of work already on your desk but there''s an issue I wanted to discuss with either you or your father." Frost spoke firmly, emphasising the importance of his request.

    Leo immediately caught on and gave the aides by his sides a hard look. "I can give you twenty minutes not a moment more." Leo replied with a dignified tone, his charisma as a noble shining through.

    The aides and everyone bar Frost and Leo left the conference room to give them some privacy.

    "What''s the issue, if it''s nothing major then I promise you''ll have the full backing of the Furano viscounty." Leo immediately opened with that, giving Frost practically a nk cheque, an action that made Frost''s heart warm.

    "Thank you, Leo, but I don''t think it''s anything too major. My proposal is in regards to the territory that I''m in control of."

    "Ah yes I do remember you mentioning something about having your own ce, it''s where you were during the early and mid-stages of the monster stampede right?"

    "Pretty much."

    "It''s a budding new territory that myself and those who work for me are in the middle of establishing and I''m here today to not just inform you of it but to also perhaps create a rtionship between our two territories as well as another that has already agreed to be friendly with us." Leo''s brow rose in surprise before lowering a secondter, his expression bing calm as he leaned forward.

    "Please borate." Leo assumed the mantle of the Viscounty''s interim lord at this moment, Frost''s proposal was something that needed to be discussed in a formal manner not some chitchat between friends.

    Frost then as requested began to exin his territory, where it was, the rough state of development, the forces involved, purpose as well as mentioning the enve Kranor situated in the external regions of the cial mountains that already promised to establish rtions.

    The more Frost spoke the harder it was for Leo to keep his calm; Frost''s territory was in effect a camp and within the confines of the cial mountains, yet it was also right on Furano''s front door. He was shocked that someone, especially someone he knew had already not just discovered the potential of the ''dungeon'' but had moved to im it as his own.

    Thews around the establishment of camps were usually firste first served before people tried to vie for control. It was a bold move to make one so early in the game. There''ll surely be many who wish to take advantage of the area once the camp is fully established. Having Frost set the groundwork while they swoop in to take the finished prize.

    Building arge camp so close to Northrend territory and being privately established was just asking for trouble. If it wasn''t the empireing after him it''d be the order of the ice shield and the countries present in the cial mountains. The dungeon is, as of yet an untapped market that the big wigs will surely wish to exploit.

    However as Frost went on he realised that his friend was practically unfazed by such troubles. His forces were already established and the groundwork had already begun despite the stampede just ending. Frost and his subordinates were either incredibly strong or just in crazy. But to take a bite out such a big pie one needed to be a little crazy.

    Leo was smiling from ear to ear by the end of Frost''s exnation, he felt as though this proposal could be even more fruitful than the monster stampede.

    "I''ll have to discuss to details with my father and mother before making a final decision however if I''m being honest with you, we of the Furano Viscounty would dly join hands with you and your territory. Such a high level camp would bring nothing but boons for us after all." Leo gave his reply with confidence, sure his mother and father would agree with him.

    "Thank you, Leo, I''m d this ended on a positive note." Frost said with a gentle smile, if he wasn''t such a close friend with the Furanos this could have easily led to some sort of strife or even war.

    "No problem, I''ll talk to my mother and father when I next get a chance meanwhile I''ll give you permission to solicit help from our citizens. I''m sure many of them would like to be part of this venture.

    I suggest however that you head to the guilds next as they''ll be able to grant substantial aid to your cause and even grant legitimacy to your camp, granting it some protection in the interim." Leo really looked forward to the growth of such a camp that was on friendly terms with Furano.

    The tired and listless look that was present in his eyes the moment Frost entered was now gone, reced with excitement and determination.

    The two chatted for another couple minutes before the aides had to forcefully interrupt their meeting, Leo still had a lot of paperwork to get through after all.

    "Haaaaaa I''ll try and organise a dinner at the manor tonight, Father should hopefully be able to attend. We can discuss the topic further then and there as well as deal with the rewards that you''re due from your efforts during the stampede." Leo sighed and waved Frost off promising to meet again for a meal in the evening, more determined than ever to power through all his paperwork.

    Frost nodded his head in acknowledgment before walking out of the building. "Guess I''ll head to the guilds like Leo suggested." Frost turned and headed to adventurers guild first which was currently swamped, people desperately mouring for information on their rewards as well as those seeking to buy the abundance of materials kept in the guild''s warehouses.

    Frost barely managed to make his way through the wide entrance given how packed it was. He only seeded because over half of the people present recognised him and moved to the side, allowing him to cut the very long line.

    Kamey was working at one of the desks and recognised him almost immediately.

    "Sir Frost wee, how can I help you?" She spoke with much greater respect than she used to. His endeavours during the war as well as his rise to the B-rank made the young dungeon core a highly prized asset for the guild.

    Frost smiled upon seeing the face of someone he knew. "I was wondering if I could have a chat with the vice guild master about a certain proposal." He exined the reason for his visit though left out the key details as it was still rather hush hush at the moment.

    Kamey noticed a certain authority in Frost''s voice, he was speaking to her in a very formal manner.

    ''This proposal must be big.''

    "Give me a moment I''ll go and speak to the vice guild master." After quickly having another employee reced her at the desk, she went up the staircase to Bastion''s office where Thrall was currently at work. With Bastion out ofmission the guild was in his hands. Along with the Keeper he had full control of the guild''s day to day activities.

 Chapter 511: Chapter 511: Territory proposal

    Knock, Knock

    Kamey knocked on the door to the guild master''s office.

    "What is it?" Thrall hollered with an impatient tone. His face was buried in paper work that scaled even higher than Leo''s. The adventurers guild was gued with work and not enough hands to deal with it.

    Kamey didn''t flinch at Thrall''s irritated tone she as was already used to such responses.

    "Vice guild master Sir Frost is here and needs to speak with you about a certain proposal." She replied through the door calmly and clearly.

    "Sir Frost? A Proposal?" Thrall looked up from his desk and nced at the closed door, confusion clear in his eyes. Eventually however he shook his head and replied to Kamey in a far less annoyed tone.

    "Please show him in then." Frost was of high importance to the guild considering his B-rank strength and his actions during the monster stampede. Thrall had to treat him with a great deal of respect.

    Kamey smiled behind the door before heading back down the stairs. Thrall meanwhile quickly moved to tidy the ce up a little.

    "Vice guild master." Frost showed a friendly smile and nodded towards Thrall once Kamey ushered him in.

    "Sir Frost, please take a seat. How can I be of service?" Thrall had managed to clear the guest sofas as well as most of the coffee table thus allowing them to both engage in discussion.

    Frost epted Thrall''s offer and sat on the sofa in afortable manner. Thrall then gave Kamey a nce before sitting opposite him and in response Kamey politely left to get refreshments.

    "I''m here vice guild master to deliver a proposal to the adventurer''s guild, something that requires the sign off of those in upper management." Frost leaned forward and spoke with a formal tone like he had with Leo. Thrall''s disposition changed the moment Frost spoke in a formal tone, he donned the title of vice guild master immediately.

    "Very well please exin your proposal in detail so I can give you an informed response."

    "Thank you, vice guild master. First off I''ve already discussed the proposal with young lord and he was quite agreeable to it.

    He pointed me in the direction of the guilds to seek more tangible aid." Frost then exined to Thrall about his territory, the current state, military force, future ns etc¡­ before moving onto what help the adventurer guild could provide as well as the benefits of providing such aid.

    By the end of Frost''s exnation Thrall was leaning back on the sofa with his arms crossed, a heavy frown on his face as he thought deeply. Kamey had returned and was standing behind him with a look of amazement.

    Thrall was silent for a few minutes before letting out a deep sigh.

    "Sir Frost this proposal of yours is certainly impressive and very likely to benefit our guild as well as the territory of Furano however unfortunately I can''t make the final decision in regards to this matter.

    I can certainly help promote your new territory and even send a request to the capital about endorsing the legitimacy of your ownership but in the end the decision will be above my pay grade.

    Even Bastion would have to receive their approval if we wanted to engage in more substantial exchanges." Thrall gave his answer after thinking long and hard, unfortunately unlike the local lord''s family who had free reign to interact with pretty much anyone who wasn''t considered an enemy or rival entity to the empire they were part of arge organisation that had to be prudent in their actions.

    Thrall could obviously see the benefits of such a territory that would likely be restrained to the boundary of the new dungeon and was quite certain that those in the capital would as well however it was likely that they wouldn''t establish a meaningful rtionship until the territory was firmly built and securely defended.

    Entering into a pact with Frost would be meaningless if another country or the order of the ice shield or even another private group swooped in and took control.

    Frost revealed a disappointed look but didn''t me Thrall, he didn''t exactly have much coteral after all, his reputation only existed in Furano not the throughout the empire.

    "Thank you for your candour vice guild master. Let''s start out small then, if you could promote my territory and send word to the guild''s headquarters about my intention I''d be most grateful." Frost smiled gently and stretched out his hand. Thrall smiled back as he grasped Frost''s hand and shook on their deal.

    Kamey let out a small cheer once they reached an agreement, she even suggested opening up one of Bastion prized liquors in celebration which of course Frost was open to but Thrall harshly reprimanded her, loudly asking if she wanted him and her to have their legs shattered the moment Bastion returned to the office.

    Frost left the adventurer''s guild ten minutester, though he didn''t get everything he wanted his visit wasn''t fruitless.

    "Guess I''ll head to the merchant''s guild next." With a confident smile Frost headed to the merchant''s guild to have a simr discussion with Sebastian and Calder.

    Over a period of many hours Frost visited, the adventurer''s guild, the merchant''s guild, the tradesman guild, the main bank of the territory as well as a few inns, restaurants and shops. Most were quite intrigued by his proposal with quite a few merchants interested in investing once the territory reached a certain level of attraction, same with the inns and restaurants.

    No one was going to dive in at the start which Frostpletely understood, it just meant that he''d have to rely on his ronsos more in the interim. Frost thus gained a great deal of information as well as goals for his territory.

    Sebastian and Calder however were two of the more daring people he talked with, the two of them immediately offering their insights as well as possible coboration once the stampede waspletely handled. Something that filled Frost with confidence.

    Pretty much all of the shops he visited however weren''t interested in the slightest. Most of them were single stores and they had no interest in relocating their shops or in opening up a franchise but that was to be expected. The trade guild promised to put his requests up on their bulletin board thus allowing their members to apply individually if they so wished.

    There was always young people looking to set up their own shops and take some risks, perhaps Frost would get lucky.

    He returned to the Lord''s manner once the sun was setting. The guards at the gate saluted him with sparkling eyes as they asked about his day and informed him that Kiba had missed him while he was gone. Hearing that Frost turned away from the manor''s door and headed to the stables where Kiba was kept.

    The young tiger jumped up the moment he sensed Frost and dashed into his arms, nearly knocking him to the floor. Frost endured the charge and petted Kiba''s fluffy head affectionately.

    "There''s going to be a celebratory party tomorrow night that''ll have all manner of tasty foods, you and I will both get to attend it as guests of honour." As Frost described the party to the young cub his mouth began to salivate, clearly looking forward to such an event.

    "The next morning however we''ll head back home." A momentter his joy was reced with a sense of loneliness. The images of the two young phoenix kin, the mighty fenrir and all other monsters he''d be friends with shed through his eyes.

    "Aroow" He let out a quiet whimper, he missed his new home. Frost also thought of home at that moment, the kids, his monsters and probably most of all, Maya.

    Absence makes the heart grow fonder apparently. He hardly had any time to think about anything else but fighting over the past few days. So after finally getting a chance to remember her face he was lost in a trance and wide natural smile grew on his lips. He missed her.

    The two, dungeon core and young tiger remained entwined as they both thought of home.

    Eventually however they came back to reality, Frost had Kiba return to the monster stables while he entered the manor. Another discussion was sure to take ce at dinner.

    A servant led Frost to the dining room wherein many people were waiting. Leo, Cassandra, Dous, Bastion, Jaina, Ryuu and Luna were all present at the grand table. The three men didn''t look their best but they were no longer covered in blood and incapable of movement. A group of medical practitioners were present next the servants, keeping an eye on the high value patients.

    "Frost" Dous noticed Frost enter first and spoke his name with a gentle smile. His voice was no longer strained but he still looked rather white in the face and Frost could sense that he was still quite feeble.

    "Good to see that you''re all back in one piece¡­well mostly¡­sorry Bastion." Frost replied with a well meaning statement but quickly felt guilty as he remembered Bastion.

    The old dwarf was sitting next to his daughter with a pair of crutches resting by his chair. His left leg was gone. The damage was beyond repair for Joseph and Gilianna''s skills, so it needed to be amputated to prevent further corrosion of the body and a case of permanent pain. His arms were also badly damaged preventing him from ever wielding his axe again.

    Frost saw that his arms were trembling with every movement, perhaps even using cutlery would prove to be an ordeal in the beginning. Bastion had a long road ahead of him.

    "Baaaahhhhh no need for apologies, Jaina was always saying I needed to lose some weight hahahahahahahaha." Bastion replied joyfully andughed without restraint but it was clear that he was masking his pain with humour. Ryuu, Dous and the rest showedplicated expressions while Jaina started crying.

    A sombre atmosphere filled the room before Cassandra tapped her ss with a fork, drawing everyone''s attention.

    "No tears tonight, this is a celebration of victory, only positive feelings should be shared." Cassandra looked at the crying Jaina with a gentle, motherly expression. The young dwarf struggled but eventually pulled herself together and presented a rather awkward smile.

    "Frost please sit so we can begin." She turned that same gaze to Frost who instantly felt a warmth in his heart. He sat down at his chair which was next to Leo.

    "Tonight we''ll feast on delicacies and be thankful that our family and friends are still with us after all we''ve been through. Yes, we''re hurt but we''re alive and that''s what matters in the end." Cassandra''s voice spread through the room like an oriole, bringing joy to all those who heard it.

    Dous, Ryuu, Bastion and Frost nodded in agreement before the servants started piling in to announce grand menu.

 Chapter 512: Chapter 512: Territory proposal (2)

    Cassandra really went all out with the menu, there was no shortage of B-rank dishes being served and topliment them she brought out a bottle of wine called rose blossom red. An A-rank wine that had been aged for over a century, truly the very peak of fine dining.

    The servants marched to and fro, bringing in dish after dish with smiles on their faces. Gentle music was even yed in the background to help generate a joyful atmosphere, taking away the pall left by the war.

    Halfway through Bastion started smiling for real as he shoved mouthful after mouthful of B-rank meat into his mouth and sipped the wine. His paleplexion gradually turned rosy from the high-quality meat and wine making him and the others look almost healthy.

    Frost held nothing back stuffing himself with dish after dish to the point he felt like bursting.

    ''So tasty'' he smacked his lips and eximed internally before reaching for more food. He did however ask one of the servants if he could prepare a special meal for Kiba since he too yed a major part in the war.

    The servant smiled, moved by Frost''s care for his battle mount however he shook his head and said that it had already been taken care of. Cassandra never forgot that it was Kiba who flew her husband to safety the first time he was injured so she had the chefs prepare an equally glorious feast for the young tiger. If he wasn''t so big, she would have invited him in to eat alongside them.

    Frost smiled and thanked Cassandra for her thoughtfulness before he continued eating.

    The mealsted over hour and by the end each and every person had gone up at least a couple belt sizes but none of them felt bad in fact they all had greatly satisfied expressions on their faces as they patted their bulging bellies.

    They engaged in small chat, avoiding anything serious and anything rted to the stampede as their stomachs settled. However eventually there had to be some real discussion, Cassandra just wanted to have them engage in merriment beforehand.

    "Frost, Leo informed me and Cass about a certain proposal you and he discussed." Dous started the formal discussion and though he was still fairly injured his natural noble charisma couldn''t be masked.

    "Thrall also sent me a message about that." Bastion who was feeling much better turned to look at Frost. Ryuu seemed to be the only adult in the dark as he was looking back on forth between Dous, Bastion and Frost.

    Frost nced at Leo who gave him a thumbs up gesture.

    "Yes, we discussed establishing a close-knit rtionship between Furano and my territory." Frost replied back with a formal tone, assuming the same demeanour he did when discussing the issue with the guild heads.

    "Your territory?" Ryuu asked in confusion, unable to follow the discussion.

    "Allow me to exin." It was Leo who spoke. He stood up from his chair and began to exin the proposal to everyone present along with the asional input from Frost. He included his suggestion and personal opinion hoping that the adults would agree with him and Frost.

    "A private run camp set up next to the new dungeon that lies between our territory and the cial mountains, right at the southern entrance correct?" Ryuu questioned.

    "That''s correct."

    "Fwooooo Dous, Bastion what are your thoughts?" Ryuu let out a long breath before asking for his friend''s opinions. This proposal was more geared towards the two of them after all. He was just a court mage that handled the administration of the territory, Dous was still the shot caller. However in his personal opinion he was pretty convinced.

    As long as Frost wasn''t lying about the state of development and the level of military force protecting it the venture sounded very promising. And given his knowledge of Frost''s personality as well as their friendship he didn''t think he''d be one to lie.

    Dous, Bastion and Cassandra all thought deeply about the proposition keeping Leo and Frost on tenterhooks.

    "Personally, I think it''s a great idea however my word doesn''t mean much in these matters. For the adventurers guild to get properly involved we''ll need permission from the headquarters in the capital. All I can do at the moment is inform the local adventurers about a new camp." Bastion shook his head, annoyed that his guild couldn''t fully invest in such a venture until it had already proven itself.

    He and Ryuu then turned to Dous and Cassandra, the only ones with the right to pretty much do what they want regardless of the risks.

    Dous and Cassandra looked at one another before staring directly into the eyes of their only son.

    "Leo you''ll will inherit the viscounty and be the ruling lord in the future. Engaging in such a partnership will not be easy and could very well cause a cascade of problems down the line when you''re in charge, you cannot be blinded by emotions.

    Are you really sure you wish to back Frost and his territory?" Dous imbued his words with aura, making Leo endure a heavy pressure despite the fact it aggravated his wounds.

    Leo trembled from the weight and found it painful to look into his father''s eyes. He questioned his intentions and resolve.

    ''Is this really the right choice? Am I simply blinded by my friendship with Frost and his personal strength? Will this partnership benefit us in the long, long term?'' Frost could see Leo wavering, unsure of himself. He sighed internally but didn''t say anything as it wasn''t his ce to interfere right now. He simply had to trust in Leo and the proposal he submitted.

    30 secondster Leo shook his head, his thoughts coalescing back into one. He stared straight at his father with resolve ring in his eyes.

    "Yes father, I believe that partnering ourselves with Frost and his territory will not only be beneficial in the mid-term and long term but also decades in the future. The dungeon though something new is still at its base akin to a monsterir and it already has more than five floors all with differing environments and monsters.

    It''s a goldmine in terms of materials and it only shows signs of growing such abundance. We would be fools to not take advantage of such a ce in the early stages better yet with someone we know and trustpletely. My emotions may have swayed my thoughts in the beginning however Frost has given a clear cut proposal this stands on its own merit.

    He''s already ahead of everyone else, has substantial military might and even the aid of a highly popted enve in the cial mountain''s external regions. Father, Mother we should ept Frost''s proposal." Leo announced in an unwavering voice, the charisma of a noble briefly shining through him causing Dous, Cassandra, Ryuu and Bastion to be in awe.

    Leo was finally showing his mettle as the next ruling lord.

    There was silence for a few seconds before a bright smile adorned Cassandra''s face and Dous startedughing.

    "Hahahahhaha I couldn''t have put it better myself. Very well the Furano viscounty will ept Frost''s proposal and enter into friendly territorial rtions. Leo since who epted and presented the proposal to your mother and I, you will be in charge of the project. Consider it your first major test as my heir." Dous bellowed his response with pride in his heart.

    Leo''s body trembled with excitement. He turned to face Frost and raised his fists up into the air and roared "we did it!" His joy clear as day. Frost however was much better at controlling himself, he simply smiled brightly at his young friend without any fanfare, but his fists were clenched under the table and his heart was screaming sess.

    Getting the support of the Furano viscounty would help so much in the long run.

    With the proposal epted therge group engaged in future discussions. The adults lending their expertise to the two young men who had just cemented their territories'' friendship.

    The group talked wholeheartedly for hours about the project as well as the uing celebration that would involve everyone in the territory. Dous felt relieved at passing the torch to his son, though he did enjoy being the host of the stampede victory celebrations he couldn''t really be up and walking for hours on end in his current state.

    Bastion and Ryuu also decided to hand over their responsibilities to their subordinates and the young, their time was over.

    Of course, the topic of injuries did crop up on asion but it was met with warmth and positivity. Dous dered he''d search high and low for medicines that could restore each of them to full fighting condition, Bastion most of all. Every time he saw that missing left leg and those trembling arms, he felt an intense pain in his heart.

    Money would be of no consequence in his search as he could always make more. Bastion cried at his statement, but they were happy tears. Ever since he woke up and felt the state of his body he fostered a horrible dread in his heart, that he would be abandoned by those he cared about.

    Dous''s words and the heart-warming gazes of everyone at the table cleared him of that doubt and suddenly the loss of his leg and the weakness in his arms no longer mattered as much.

    "Oh, I almost forgot we were going to hand over your rewards tonight."

 Chapter 513: Chapter 513: Rewards

    "Oh, I almost forgot I was going to hand over your rewards tonight." Leo suddenly remembered his earlier promise. He turned to look at the nearby clock and found that it was almost midnight. The meal was long over, and everyone was in the midst of leaving but it shouldn''t take long to hand over a few items.

    "Hoh" Frost''s attention was grabbed by the mention of rewards. Surely working his ass of for several days with his life on the line at every moment was worth a great deal.

    Everyone who was about to get ready for bed decided to sit back down, eager to see the items being granted to Frost, a B-rank fighter who came to their aid in their time of need. Of course, Dous and Cassandra were privy to the details, but they still looked forward to seeing Frost''s reaction.

    Leo smiled widely seeing the interest in Frost''s and the other''s eyes. He whispered to a nearby servant who went to fetch something on his behalf. "In addition to the gold from the adventurer''s guild there''s the gold from our house, the payment for the much-needed supplies as well as a few choice items that have been specifically retrieved from our vaults.

    All the B-rank adventurers who came to our aid and survived the war are entitled to a single item from our vaults given their prowess however given our friendship and your remarkable efforts during thete stages we''ve added a few extras¡­just don''t tell the others." Leo winked and ced a finger on his lips in a silent gesture.

    A smile grew on Frost''s lips upon hearing Leo''s words and his interest heightened.

    ''Now I''m really looking forward to these rewards. I wonder what they could be? I have no need for weapons, Armour perhaps. Skills? Potions?'' His mind filtered through multiple possibilities as he waited.

    A few minutester the servant returned with a storage ring of supreme quality on top of a velvet pillow. It''s quality was such that even after several centuries the space inside wouldn''t degrade, all without any maintenance. This ring was one of the Furano''s prized possessions, their impregnable vault that held their most hallowed artifacts and resources.

    Leo lifted the storage ring carefully from the velvet pillow and ced it on his index finger. The many intricate runes lit up once it was slotted but he had yet to gain ess. This storage ring was of the highest quality and required the highest protection, only members of the Furano house could ess the space inside.

    The password if you will, was a drop of their blood therefore Leo cut a small gash on his finger with a ceremonial knife the servant brought. Once the ruby red blood made contact with the ring the runic markings absorbed it, their glow turning from blue to red before eventually bing gold, a sign that the blood had been epted.

    At that moment a wide space filled with many high-ss items and artifacts connected to Leo''s mind. His family had gathered these items over the many centuries since their house''s conception. Only the ruler of the Furano family and the dered heir could ess this ring even Leo''s uncle Alex didn''t have ess.

    Leo felt honoured and incredibly respectful as he perused the items earned by his ancestors, this was their house''s glory, proof of their valiant nature and their duty as the northernmost bastion.

    He could see several 4 star weapons and even a couple 5 star ones perfectly preserved in one area whereas others had equally rare armours, magic devices, skill books, magic tomes and even deeds to territories. The vaults of an old noble family were nothing to sneeze at.

    Leo''s awe however was brief, he had a clear purpose for essing the family''s vault, he could admire it another time. He focused his mind on the few items he, his father and mother had chosen to reward Frost with.

    A momentter three items were retrieved from the ring before he removed it and ced it back on the velvet pillow. The servant bowed his head before promptly leaving the dining room to ce the family''s storage vault back in the physical vault. Luna who was by Leo''s side cast a healing spell, sealing up the tiny cut made by the ceremonial knife which earned her a look filled with affection.

    Jaina rolled her eyes at such a scene, clearly finding it rather cringeworthy. Bastion, Cassandra and Dous however smiled happily at the young love. Ryuu on the other hand was twitching at the lip, his fists opening and closing as he tried his best to endure the sight.

    Frost didn''t even notice the scene his eyes entirely glued to three items brought out and ced on the table. Just from their appearance and the strict protocols needed to ess the storage ring he knew they were of high quality.

    One of the items appeared to be a piece of armour that covered the torso. The metal shimmered like starlight and looked to be as light as simple robes, more of a vest than armour.

    The second and third items were book sets, one focusing on magic whereas the other was for pole weapons such as ives, spears and halberds.

    Leo after looking lovingly towards Luna introduced the three items starting with the shimmering vest.

    "This is a tunic made from starlight mithril, an upper 4-star armour that weighs less than 500 grams yet outshines even thick ted steel. It can be worn under regr clothes, hidden from view and is so light that it won''t interfere with even the most flexible of movements." Leo chose this tunic for multiple reasons. First, he wanted something the help ensure his friend''s life.

    Second Frost was a very active warrior, someone who twisted his body in all manner of ways and relied heavily on his speed and flexibility to take down his foes. Finally, starlight mithril was a rather good conductor for ice-based chakra and provided a slight protection against magic all things that would benefit and suited a warrior such as Frost.

    The item would therefore be going to a good home, to someone deserving and who could bring out all its advantages instead of letting it gather dust on a shelf.

    Frost -with Leo''s permission- picked up the starlight mithril tunic and ran the metallic fibres through his fingers, feeling how light and flexible it was inparison to the other armours he''d seen and tested. Even the armour that he currently used which was fashioned to his exact measurements by Daki was far more restricting than this tunic and only provided half the protection value.

    Of course, the tunic only covered his torso but still it was quite amazing that something so light and thin could outperform te armour. Frost squeezed the tunic with a fair amount of force and even attempted to tear it but made no headway.

    This starlight mithril tunic was truly an amazing piece of armour and was surely worth tens of gold coins. Therefore when his eyes met with Leo''s they were filled with immense gratitude. Although the B-rank adventurers who fought in the war could pick a single item from the Furano family''s vault such a high-level armour probably wouldn''t be on the list shown to them.

    This was a special privilege just for Frost.

    "Thank you, Leo." Frost genuinely thanked Leo for his generosity, even bowing his head slightly.

    "No need for thanks Frost senpai, this was something you earned by risking your life." Leo smiled gently before moving on to the other two items. Frost stored the vest in his own storage ring carefully as if afraid to scratch it.

    "First off, this set of books contain knowledge in regards to ice-fire magic." Leo pointed to the first stack which contained 4 books wrapped up in a blue ribbon. "Whereas these ones contain a set of techniques for pole weapons such as the spear and your ive." The next stack contained three books wrapped in a red ribbon.

    None of them were skill books, Frost would have to read and understand their contents the old-fashioned way.

    "One of my very distant ancestors reached the A-rank as a mage and specialised in ice-fire magic.

    He left these tomes in the family vault hoping for one of his descendants to follow in his footsteps unfortunately there hasn''t really been anyone particrly adept in magic born in our family for many generations and even those that weren''t badcked the capability to use ice-fire spells." Leo shook his head, slightly ashamed that they had let such high-quality tomes go to waste for so long.

    "The four tomes contain his personal insights on the ice-fire element as well as the steps needed to learn two standard 4th circle spells and one 4th circle spell of his own design. A hallmark spell that made him rather famous back in the day.

    I hope his knowledge will help you break through the bottleneck and someday achieve the same level he did or perhaps even higher." Leo looked at the books with a glimmer of hope, wondering if Frost mastering his ancestor''s magic would bring him joy in the afterlife.

    Frost took the first book set with a heavy heart and excited grin. His magic had fallen behind his ive mastery. He was sorely in need of books such as this.

    "I''ll do my best Leo."

    "That''s all I ask¡­. Finally, these books contain the insights of my great, great, great aunt who was a master of pole weapons, spears, ives,nces, halberds she practised them all andpiled her knowledge and techniques into these tomes, passing down her legacy.

    Though my father and I use the sword and shield the knowledge is still useful, though we may not wield the same weapons as her learning their styles can help us defend against them. I''m sure however that you''ll be able to benefit far more than we have." Leo thus pushed thest special reward to Frost, remembering the times he read them along with his father.

    "Are you sure you wish to give away such knowledge? Wouldn''t this weaken the Furano house for future generations and even expose the secrets of your family''s battle styles?" Frost asked nervously as he caressed the books.

    "You don''t need to worry about that Frost. We''ve already made copies of their tomes, so the knowledge won''t be lost. Plus, we''re only giving them out because it''s you, we trust that you wouldn''t abuse this knowledge." Dous replied with a jovial and easy-going tone. Frost was their friend and ally; the family had no hesitation in exposing their battle styles to him.

    Frost felt touched by their trust once again, he bowed his head even lower this time as his heart flooded with gratitude.

    "Those are the special rewards from our family vault, hopefully they''re to your liking?" Leo asked confidently, a knowing smile on his lips.

    "More than to my liking, they''re absolutely perfect, exactly what I need right now." Frost jokingly shoved thest set of books into his storage ring as if fearing Leo would take back his rewards. This made those present lightlyugh. No one however seemed shocked by thevishness of Leo and Dous, finding that such rewards were more than justified.

    "What''s left is the transfer of gold."

 Chapter 514: Chapter 514: Rewards (2)

    "What''s left is just the gold coins, far less exciting but certainly unforgettable." The same servant who retrieved the items from the vault returned with another storage ring, one with far lower quality, it too would be a gift for Frost, an extra if you will.

    "First off is the gold allocated by the adventurer''s guild which amounts to 30 coins, divided into the standard pay for a B-rank adventurer during thete stages of the monster stampede, the hazard pay frombatting superior enemies, a bonus for changing the tide of battle at dangerous moments, Kiba''s fast and reliable saving of numerous wounded and finally the excess from the mountains of monster materials recovered due to the war." Leo exined how the total of 30 gold coins was calcted but even, so Frost was pretty blown away.

    30 gold coins was no small amount, adding on the three special items he just received his total ie was likely nearing 100 gold coins. Not bad for a few days work. Being a high-level adventurer was certainly a very high-ie job.

    "Next, we have the additional gold reward from our household which is split between you personally answering our call for aid as a friend, saving my father from certain death, killing the dreaded rindarmander in a duel and finally payment for the supplies you brought in our time of need.

    All of which amounts to another 20 gold coins." Leo pulled out the entire 50 gold coins and piled them before Frost in sets of ten. The bright gold shimmered in the light, giving off a gold sheen that sparkled in people''s eyes.

    That was a lot of gold, far more than Frost had even seen however he had gotten a little more used to money since his first encounter thus he managed to slightly restrain his expression, disying only a wide smile even though internally his heart was performing backflips and singing "Money! Money! Money! Money! Money!"

    Even Leo who was the heir to the Viscounty and who''d been involved in more than a few high-level transactions couldn''t help but have his lips twitch and his hands tremble as he put the money back in the storage ring. Those 50 gold coinspletely eclipsed the savings he had in the bank.

    ''Haaaaa maybe I should keep at the adventuring gig for a bit longer.'' Leo was already in training to be the next head of the house, oncepleted he''d have far less opportunity to go on adventures and rake in the dough. Being the head of a territory certainly entailed arge amount of ie but the vast majority of it would be used to cover the territories'' many expenses i.e.

    maintaining the manor, the towns and viges, paying wages etc¡­ only a small sum would actually end up in his pocket a personal spending money. Plus, money earned as an adventurer or through personal hard work felt more empowering.

    He looked at his father and wanted toy some me on the old man considering he got to keep adventuring until he was in his mid-twenties but erased that line of thought a momentter. His father had endured enough it was time he did his share.

    "This is yours now, spend it wisely." Leo said as gently as possible, masking his jealously the best he could.

    "Hehehehe I will, don''t worry." Frost giggled seeing right through his young friend but chose not to rub it in too much.

    ''If I simply turned the 50 gold coins into DP that''d be 50,000 right off the bat but unfortunately there''s another need for it.'' 50,000 DP was certainly tempting but the camp he was in the middle of establishing needed startup capital, 50 gold coins would go a long way in ensuring a smooth workflow.

    ''I should visit the bank again tomorrow to get at least half of the gold coins changed into coppers and silvers.'' Though there was a small charge for such a service Frost was in need of a variety of coins not just gold.

    With the rewards handed over as well as thevish amount of gold it was finally time for everyone to hit the hay. Cassandra and a servant helped Dous to the bedroom while Luna and Leo helped Ryuu and Jaina and Frost helped Bastion who really wasn''t used to using his crutches. Medical staff were on standby outside their rooms to be ready at a moment''s notice.

    Frost returned his room where he recently slept like a log for 16 hours. He didn''t feel all that tired thanks to that but after a quick dip in the bath he quickly entered a deep sleep.

    He had a few more ces to visit tomorrow while he was still in Furano. The bank, a couple workshops as well asying thest breadcrumbs for Borris. Having such an experienced smith in his new budding territory, someone who could teach his ronsos as well exchange ideas with Daki was a highly desired asset, plus he was quite fond of the old man.

    Time passed and Frost woke up from his sleep at roughly 8 in the morning, the sun already rising in the sky and many people were already on their way or at work. He stretched his arms up high above his head causing his back to crack.

    He then looked at the clock, saw the time and nodded before casting clean up magic and donning his robes, the brand-new starlight mithril tunic hidden underneath the armour forged by Daki thus greatly improving his defence. He hardly even felt the new addition to his line-up, bringing a smile to his face.

    After calling for a servant he was guided to the dining room for breakfast. Leo, Luna and Jaina weren''t present as they had mountains of work to do. They left before the crack of dawn, picking up the ck of their elders who were currently injured. Dous was still in bed resting as was Ryuu, but Cassandra and Bastion were there. They smiled and greeted Frost as he entered.

    Bastion sounded a lot more chipper after their hurrahst night, no longer feeling as pessimistic about his situation.

    "So, what are your ns today? And remember we''ve got the celebration tonight so be back by 5." Cassandra asked and reminded him about the grand celebration, a clear twinkle in her eyes as she did. She absolutely loved the grand celebration that happened every few years, never did she feel as close to the popce as she did during those events.

    "5, alright. I n on visiting a few more stores and workshops in regards to working with my territory. Hardly any showed any interest yesterday, but a few stated what they needed for such a venture to be viable thus giving me clear goals for the future.

    It''ll be difficult in the beginning with few people taking the risk but after we''ve been established for a few months or even years I''m sure we''ll be far more appealing." Cassandra and Bastion both nodded agreeing with him.

    Hardly anyone would be willing to dive into a such a new venture, it entailed a lot of risk after all however once that risk was lessened or even eliminated Frost would likely be the one doing the rejecting.

    "And after?"

    "Well, I need to visit the bank again, I''ll likely open an ount and change some of my gold into lesser coins so as to support the early stages of the territory. After that I n to visit Borris, the one who forged my ive then I''m free."

    "Borris, the old dwarven smith in the money pit sector?" Cassandra questioned noting that Frost''s intentions were to possibly poach him. She wouldn''t have minded that much when he was till a 3-star smith given his advanced age, but he was now a 4-star smith, the best Furano had ess to.

    Frost''s lips twitched at her tone and weirdly intimidating gaze, realising that his plot had been seen through.

    "Haaaaaaa yes that''s the one and yes, your assumption is correct I do intend to bring up him moving to my territory. We''ve already had a few discussions about it since he''d been feeling rather uninspiredtely and wished to reignite his passion through travelling." Frost let out a sigh and disyed his intentions openly, lying would get him nowhere and would only insult their friendship.

    Cassandra continued to eye him with her intimidating gaze as she ran numbers in her head and thought of the benefits and cons before going over Frost''s words clearly. Eventually however she also sighed and gave a reply.

    "Although I would obviously prefer such a skilled smith staying in Furano, if he''s willing to leave due tock of inspiration and truly wishes to join you there''s nothing, I can say about it however you must be above board in your offers and not mislead him in any way.

    Plus, his store in Furano must remain open and we can use his new status to promote the smithing industry in our territory." She spoke firmly, allowing for no negotiation. Borris''s advanced age and her friendship with Frost yed a big part in herpromising this much as when you get down to it Frost was literally stealing their talent to benefit his own territory.

    "Certainly, it''s only Borris who''s showed interest in a change and as far as I know he''s already in the process of handing over the store to his children effectively semi-retiring. But I''ll ry your words to him when I meet himter." Frost had no issues with Cassandra''s demands as they didn''t disadvantage him in any way.

    "Alright then you can do as you see fit." She nodded her head in eptance before digging into a fruit sd that was to be her breakfast. Bastion however nced at Frost warily before speaking.

    "You better not n on poaching any of my guild staff." He said in a slightly serious and slightly joking manner.

    "No, not yet anyway."

    "You!"

    "I''m kidding, rx I know better than toy my hands on the adventurers guild especially during such hectic times." Frostughed at seeing Bastion suddenly re up. Of course, he''d be delighted to have the guild staff under his wing as they''d be great for handling the influx of adventurers visiting his dungeon but doing so would make him a clear enemy of the guild.

    If or rather when the guild decides to build a branch in his camp, he''d be able to broach the transfer of staff in an official manner but until then he''d have to do most of the work himself.

    "Hmph!" Bastion hmphed before digging into his meal which was something tailored to his recovery i.e. focused more on benefits than taste, a good reason why he was so grouchy.

    After breakfast Frost visited Kiba in the monster stables and informed him that he''d be wandering around town again and that he should stay and y with some of the other battle mounts in the meantime. This got him an annoyed growl but eventually he turned away to interact with a couple ice wolves he''d gotten close with, forgetting all about Frost.

    ''Guess I''ll start with the shops and workshops then.''

 Chapter 515: Chapter 515: Banking

    Frost made his way towards the manufacturing district to meet with some of the workshops owners he didn''t get a chance to visit yesterday as well as the ones who showed some basic interest.

    Unlike regr shops, workshops were more open to the prospect of a new budding territory, especially one like Frost''s given its close proximity to a dungeon as they depended far more on materials than customers. By setting up a workshop in Frost''s territory they could easily rake in and treat a vast amount of monster materials.

    The end products could then be transported back to Furano to be disyed in their established shops. Of course, most were still not willing to make any substantial moves until the territory proved itself nheless it gave Frost an inkling for the future.

    He left for the bank after visiting all the remaining workshops and shops on his list. He hadn''t broached the topic of involving the bank in any of his ns mainly because he knew for a fact it was a pointless endeavour. Frost had no coteral and only a minor reputation that only extended to Furano.

    The bank''s headquarters even disliked having one of their branches in Furano so why would they open another or even risk providing a loan to help establish an even smaller territory. Frost''s only intention was to seek some minor advice and open up an ount to help facilitate the frequent transactions he''d be involved in.

    Business owners, wealthy families, territory lords and their extravagant scions rarely used actual coins whenever they make purchases as it would be quite an ordeal to carry that vast amount of gold around whenever they went shopping. Sure they could store it their storage devices but it still took up space, space that could be better utilised. Instead, bankcards were used in leu of coins.

    The magnificent works of art were connected directly to their owner''s bank ount through the wonders of magic and skilled artificers. The cards logged the amount of wealth stored in their ounts and deducted from that number whenever a transaction was made. The deduction would then be transferred to the seller''s bankcard facilitating payment.

    It was a smooth, quick and thanks to multiple protections making it so that only the owner of the card could facilitate its services was also a much safer alternative. Of course not everyone could gain ess to such an advanced service no this feature was exclusive to the rich.

    A bank card required the customer to have a minimum level of capital in their ount in order to be epted for the service. This was followed by a monthly subscription fee and an agreement that allowed the bank to take a small percentage of each transaction made with the card.

    The bank really drained their customers as much as they could for using this service but those with unlimited funds could care less. Having a bank card was not only easier it was a clear status symbol that separated the rich from the poor. In their eyes it was a small price to pay.

    Frost was currently flush with cash and would likely see a high level of ie and expenditure in theing months, so he was inclined to get one to help facilitate future transactions.

    The manager of the bank, Hoggins who he was introduced to by Leo several weeks ago cleared his schedule the moment he was informed of Frost''s arrival, he would handle the young dungeon core personally. After doing a substantial background check on Frost after hisst visit the shrewd bank manager came up empty which only deepened his respect.

    Frost was surely of a very powerful background, his appearance, talents and charisma all spoke of such origins.

    "Mr Hoggins it''s good to see you again, how''s business?" Frost opened with some minor small chat and niceties, knowing that these simple exchanges helped down the line when he started talking business.

    "You as well sir Frost, I''ve been hearing nothing but good things about you. I''m honoured to be aquatinted with such a young and talented warrior." Hoggins replied with expert ttery.

    The two exchanged a few other pleasantries before Frost brought up the reason for his visit. He didn''t go into much detail in regards to his territory as that yed no part in his partnership with the bank. All he wanted was to exchange some of his gold coins for those of lesser value, gain some information on loans and the bank cards.

    "I see, so you''re here pretty much as an entrepreneur with a n already set in motion and a decent level of capital." Hoggins highlighted the situation in terms the bank could understand.

    "Since you''re not a citizen of the empire, have no residence within itsnds and given that you''re a first timer in terms of business at least to our knowledge we can''t offer any sort of loans to you for your current venture, the risk is far too much for us." He first rejected the loan possibilitiespletely which Frost fully expected.

    He nodded in understanding and kept the smile on his face showing he was unperturbed by the rejection.

    "Exchanging of gold coins to those of lesser value is a service we offer to anyone regardless of origin though there is a small fee. I''d also rmend exchanging more than 20 gold coins worth given your current venture. The ''customers'' you''ll be entertaining as well as future employees won''t have much need for gold coins, at least in the interim."

    "In regards to a bank card, given your capital and the rmendation of the Furano family I can offer you a few different cards each with their own requirements." Hoggins first exined his professional opinion in regards to Frost''s need for lower value coins before cing a couple contracts on the table.

    "First off we have the lowest bank card service that we employ called the opal card. This requires a minimum of 10 gold coins in your ount and has a monthly fee of 3 silver coins. There''s also a stiption that each transaction using the card includes a 5% charge on top of the initial exchange e.g. if you buy something for 100 silvers, you''ll be deducted 105 silvers.

    This card also has a limit of 10 gold coins per transaction, it can''t facilitate anything higher." This was another reason why the bank cards stood as status symbols. The better the bank card the higher the individual transactions.

    "Next, we have the emerald card which is the mostmon card used by small to medium business owners. The requirement for this one is to have 25 gold coins in your ount andes with a monthly fee of 5 silver coins. The stiption is also reduced to 4% and the transaction limit is increased to 25 gold coins.

    We also offer an overdraft facility with this card to the extent of 5 gold coins." Hoggins thus went through a few of the more detailed uses of the emerald card as this was the main card he was pushing for Frost.

    "Finally we have the next step up which facilitates therge medium businesses,rge businesses and more spendthrift noble families, the ruby card. Minimum starting capital is 100 gold coins, and the monthly subscription is 12 silvers. The stiption is again reduced to 3% and the transaction limit is increased to 100 gold coins.

    There''s an overdraft service that has a limit of 10 gold coins butes with an extra month to pay it off before interest umtes. The ruby card also allows preferential treatment in regards to loans even if you aren''t a citizen of the empire." Though this card was out of Frost''s price range at the moment the fact that by having it he would be able to apply for a loan spoke volumes.

    Hoggins probably showed this one so as to inspire him to fill his bank ount.

    Frost currently had around 60 gold coins with him, a fair bit shy of the 100 gold requirement for the ruby card. The other two cards were within his price range, the opal one seemed to be for the slightly well off people who wished to own a bankcard whereas the emerald one was for real businesses. If Frost exchanged 30 gold coins, he''d still have 30 left, enough for the emerald card.

    "Is there any contract to prevent canction and how easy is it to upgrade to the next level of card?"

    "The opal and emerald carde with a 6-month contract whereas the ruby cardes with a 12-month contract. Terminating the card within the contract period constitutes some pretty heavy fees." Hoggins answered honestly, not willing to risk his rtionship with Frost.

    "Upgrading however is very easy, all it takes is a discussion with one the bank tellers and the signing of a new contract, no fees included even if you''re within a contract period for one of our other cards." It''d be pointless to convolute an upgrade process thatted them more money.

    With his questions answered and any misgivings rectified Frost thought in silence for a couple minute before choosing the emerald card as it suited his business scope more than the opal one. Plus he felt put off taking the cheapest option given his status.

    After signing the contract an assistant came and took it away while another brought in a contraption that was used to weigh coins. Hoggins himself then took Frost''s 30 gold coins and handled the exchange. In the end Frost ended up with 2100 silvers and 85,000 coppers, making the charge for the exchange 50 silvers.

    An emerald-coloured card decorated with silver engravings was delivered to the office a minute after the exchange wasplete. With the insertion of his mana the card was bound to Frost making him the sole user. His bank ount currently had the 30 gold coins needed to facilitate the activation of the emerald bank card.

    Before leaving he decided to withdraw 10 gold coins and ce them in his storage ring along with the mountains of silver and copper.

    "Guess I''ll go and visit Borris now."

 Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Sudden danger

    Frost gradually made his way towards the money pit where Borris'' shop was located.

    Many soldiers, adventurers and citizens respectively nodded his way as he passed, grateful for his aid during the war. Peace and regr life was swiftly returning to therge town. Smiles, asionalughter and bright expressions were abundant through his eyes.

    Of course there was also the strictness of the reinforcing soldiers, the still lingering scent of blood and iron as well as those who were not so joyful. Those who lost dear ones in the war and or suffered devasting injuries, leaving them broken and crippled. The orphanages gained more than a few more members by the end, painting both the good and bad images of the war.

    However now that Adam was no longer in control of the territory Cassandra and Dous made damn sure that their hopes and dreams for the territory were put back on track. The orphanages in particr were sanctuaries full of life and love. Children who lost their guardians would be nurtured with great love and care within their walls.

    The only want they''d have would be for parents, a wish that was more often than not granted in the Furano territory. Those who were unfortunate enough to not be adopted however would notck in any way. The orphanage would raise and educate them to the same level as any other child with parents and the businesses in the territory would open their doors to them without prejudice.

    Frost witnessed several crying children being encased in the arms of a sister from the orphanage, his heart strings tugging as the image brought to mind Loki and Nanna.

    In another instance he saw a man who had barely any light left in his eyes staring dead ahead. A bowl of soup was on the table before him yet he could not eat it as he was without arms. His wife or close family member sat by his side doing her best to encourage his will to live.

    Where there was joy, celebration and even eagerness there was also loss, pain and despair.

    "Haaaaaaa, hopefully time will heal their wounds." Frost sighed and muttered under his breath as he looked away from the listless man. Seeing him brought up the memories of those who died in the war, Halgrave, Bagua and so many others.

    Thankfully the reinforcements arrived early otherwise the death toll would have been so much higher. His gaze turned towards the northern wall. There the reinforcements stood watch, guarding the town from any fractured waves. The crown prince, General Warik and General Anya were all there to give a sense of solidarity and invincibility to the ones sheltering behind the wall.

    Frost thought for sure that the crown prince would be staying in the Furano mansion given that he was the prince of the empire, and they were the ruling lords of the territory but instead he chose to rest with his soldiers at the barracks. Of course his quarters were far more luxurious given his status, but it helped build up his image among the popce.

    Something he needed to do to further his agenda. His activities during the final battle were rathercklustre inparison to the generals and Frost who was praised as the ultimate hero of the war. He needed to do all he could to garner support.

    Though Frost saw through the man''s intentions he didn''t think ill of him in fact he supported the prince''s decision as it meant that he didn''t have to deal with him back in the manor. Regardless however he was grateful for the prince''s swift arrival.

    Frost started to get rather peckish as he walked so he first visited a restaurant on the way to Borris'' store. Nothing fancy like the phoenix fledgling restaurant but tasty none the less. He paid less than 3 silvers to fill his stomach and put a satisfied smile on his face. The act of visiting a recently reopened restaurant that was filled with enthusiasm after a hard worn war calmed his heart.

    He could feel the resourcefulness and hardy nature of the Furano people through the meal''s vour. He left a nice tip as thanks before continuing his journey to Borris''s shop hoping to chat with the old man and convince him to visit his territory in the near future. He also had to officially thank him for the exemry job he did on the ive and congratte his promotion to a 4 star smith.

    As he walked, thinking about how the conversation would go down he failed to notice that the people around him grew more and more sparse until finally he waspletely alone on a street. A very strange situation given the poption and the attitudes of the citizens.

    A cold air and a well-hidden bloodlust knocked Frost out of his thoughts. His entire body shivered, and goosebumps formed along his skin. His hair stood on end and his heart lurched as an immense feeling of dread consumed him. Fear and the eery spectre of death wrapped around him, whispering in his ear that his death wasing, and he was powerless to stop it.

    Frost had no time to question why he was suddenly feeling this way, he saw nothing and picked up no unusual sounds or magical vibrations, but his instincts never steered him wrong. Maya always told him to never ignore his instincts especially when it came to fear.

    Most people at his level would bepletely frozen stiff from this level of pressure but Frost was not most people, he''d been subjected to even greater levels of fear from his guardian during training. He could still think and act calmly.

    Suddenly the bloodlust amplified, and Frost sensed a devasting attacking from behind, his heart was the target. With a minuscule amount of time to act Frost wasted no time at all, dodging such an aggressive, fast and well-timed blow was impossible. The attacker was clearly far above his level. All he could do was redirect the blow to a less fatal area.

    Frost desperately shifted his body forward and to the left, changing the point of contact. This whole process happened in but a fraction of a second from the moment Frost was alone on the street and stopped walking the game was in y.

    DONNNN!!!

    Frost was struck hard on his right shoulder de. His robes burst open revealing the armour Daki crafted for him whichsted less that a moment before it shattered. The sharp and deadly objected thrusting into his back thus shed against the starlight mithril tunic Leo gifted him.

    "Hmmm?" A questioning mutter sounded before Frost wasunched forward like a cannonball.

    Boom!

    He crashed into a nearby wall, his body groaning from the sudden impact. Frost coughed up a great deal of blood as he hastily stood up so as to not leave himself undefended. His right shoulder was broken and dislocated, and his right lung nearly burst. Thankfully the starlight mithril tunic remained intact and absorbed most of the force otherwise he wouldn''t have been able to remain conscious.

    Frost didn''t know exactly what happened or why, but he knew one thing for sure, he was in grave danger. A single blow from this person was enough to seriously wound him.

    His mind thought of only a single possibility ''A-rank''. Though there was only a single level between them that level was a sheer chasm, the two couldn''t bepared in the same sentence.

    Frost wasted no time in being arrogant or prideful, he knew what he could and couldn''t face off against. This person was definitely something he couldn''t. Though every movement of his body sent waves of pain throughout his system Frost reached into his robes and removed an intricate talisman. This was his saving grace, an item that he''d kept close at hand throughout the entire monster stampede.

    He was almost forced use it on a few asions but none of them even remotelypared to his current threat. Thankfully it seemed as though the one who attacked him didn''t think he was much of a threat as he didn''t immediately chase after him when his ambush failed, a very big mistake on his part.

    The assassin who attacked Frost stood in the street garbed in ck robes. A gnarly looking dagger was in the person''s right hand. They were inspecting the tip with a questioning look in their eyes -the only part of their face that was revealed.

    "How peculiar, my reaping dagger not only failed to pierce him he even sensed me and moved to protect himself¡­no wonder he wants rid of him." The assassin had a male voice that was grating to the ears and elicited a fearful chill to those who heard it. He was surprised at his initial failure but didn''t dwell too much on the problem as Frost was too weak to be of any sort of threat.

    "Shame you have to suffer, I prefer killing my victims with a single blow, less painful that way and far easier to clean up." The assassin looked at the trembling Frost with pity before twirling his dagger and bing like a shadow.

    "You can me your own talent for your pain." After saying his final words the assassin prepared for his next killing blow, Frost would not be able to avoid it this time.

    "Hmph! And you can me your ignorance for yours!" Frost roared back as he tore apart the talisman in his hands, causing a burst of powerful energy to escape and warp the space before him.

    The assassin halted in ce as he felt an immeasurable pressure from the talisman.

    ''What the hell is that!'' He roared internally as fear filled his heart. ''Afraid me?'' He questioned his own instincts before fury took hold of him, angered by his own reaction. He wantonly ignored the sense of danger and unknown power emanating from the torn talisman and restarted his attack. Whatever it was, taking out Frost first seemed like a safe bet.

    The assassin once again turned into a shadow and moved towards Frost with his dagger aimed at his throat, his speed at the very limits of Frost''s perception. The sense of death once again filled Frost''s heart and his body felt as though it was wrapped in ethereal chains preventing even the slightest movement.

    The assassin, no longer taking any chances used his aura to pin him in ce, shame it was toote.

    As the gnarly daggere upon Frost''s neck a dainty white hand stretched out from the void and grabbed it, holding it in ce like a vice. The assassin didn''t even have enough time to react before the weak looking hand tensed into a fist and shattered his prized dagger as if it was harmless scrap.

    The next moment he felt a pair of eyes lock onto him from the warped space,rge, imposing and full of unbridled wrath.

    The white hand proceeded to m into his chest causing a horrible crunching sound to fill the air before he was smashed against the ground, leaving a deep trail in his wake. His armour was practically dissolved and his rib cage was inundated with cracks. His heart was even ruptured in multiple ces. If he didn''t take a high level potion or reach a skilled healer soon he''d be dead.

    A level of fear he couldn''t evenprehend wrapped around his body as the owner of the white hand stepped out of the void, revealing herself to the world.

 Chapter 517: Chapter 517: Mayas fury

    The teleporting talisman connected the space in between Frost and Maya''s location, interposing the two coordinates as one. The moment Frost ripped apart the talisman the energy held within warped space and connected to Maya.

    Maya who was in the middle of teaching Nanna and Loki suddenly trembled before being instantly whisked away into a spatial warp, leaving the two children rather confused and worried.

    The timing of her transition was momentary but long enough for her to know what was happening. Her young master was in grave danger, one that threatened his life. Anger and desperation filled her heart as prepared herself for battle not willing take even the slightest chance.

    Her hand appeared first from the void and instantly grabbed hold of a gnarly looking dagger that threatened to pierce through Frost''s exposed neck. She promptly shattered the insolent weapon into dust with her overwhelming physical strength that byed her dainty appearance.

    Shortly following that sudden action she swatted the dark cloaked assassin with the same hand, easily shattering all his protective measures and sending him careening across the ground. The assassin''s chest was caved in from the blow and his organ''s received extensive damage. Just a simple p from Maya had ced the A-rank assassin in dire straits.

    The difference in strength was greater than the chasm between the earth and the heavens. An S-rank fighter was practically unrivalled throughout Nova, only second to the immortal Gods that governed thews and aspects of the world.

    The dainty white hand was soon joined by the rest of Maya''s jaw dropping body. Her figure, appearance and even her charisma were poles apart from any other woman within 100,000 kilometres. Unfortunately given her anger and desperation her expression was cold and filled with killing intent.

    Her eyes briefly nced at Frost- gleaming his current state- before focusing on the assassin and the world around her. Thankfully Frost was in decent condition, his wound though striking could be mended by a mid-level health potion. She was summoned because he could not ensure his survival against a second strike.

    Though she''d only arrived for less than a second Maya was able to understand her young master''s current state, the strength of his aggressor as well as the awkward situation surrounding the empty street. Her anger shot through the roof when she noticed the level of preparation the assassin enacted just to take out Frost, a newly promoted B-rank.

    The methods were clearly overkill but they ced a strong emphasis on stealth, isting Frost from everyone else so as to make the killing swift and well hidden. If Frost didn''t have such tenacious instincts not only, would he have been killed without even knowing what happened, all traces of who did it would have been erased.

    Upon realising this Maya''s bloodlust and aura started to infuse into the air without restraint. The bloodcurdling pressure instantly enveloped the entire street, pressing down on everything with a pulse. Even Frost who was not the target of her anger was forced prone. His body copsing under the weight and trembling out of primal fear, like a rabbit staring into the maw of a wolf.

    The A-rank assassin who was already making efforts to minimise his injuries and escape from the sudden interloper was frozen in ce. All his nerves acted up, preventing the signals from his brain reaching his muscles. Even his subconscious that controlled his breathing, blood cirction and other motor functions stopped in ce, leaving just a single powerful emotion¡­.fear.

    Even with the assassin''s ample experience with death he was nothing under the predatory eyes of Maya. He was no different from a weak E-rank in her eyes.

    Maya''s aura and bloodlust continued to grow and grow as she slowly stepped towards the shivering assassin. After taking 3 steps the magic device that isted the street from the rest of the world starting twisting. At the 5th step it groaned and cracked.

    Then when her foot made contact with the ground at her 7th step the isted world copsedpletely, immediately reconnecting the street with regr space.

    The street was still empty as the device persuaded people to avoid the area while it was active but now Maya''s aura and bloodlust were no longer contained within that encapsted space. Her presence quickly proliferated the surrounding area with great speed, causing countless citizens to tremble and break out in cold sweat.

    Those who were at the minimum of C-rank and who had glimpsed upon the knowledge of aura felt the danger even more clearly. Each of them turned their heads towards the money pit where the presence originated. During the entire stampede they never felt such a powerful presence even when General Warik or General Anya released their auras.

    The C-ranks thought that it was someone who was high in the A-ranks whereas the B-ranks felt that it was someone at the very peak perhaps half step into the fabled S-rank. None of them felt that it was an actual S-rank fighter given how rare they were and their current location. Why the hell would a legendary S-rank be here in Furano.

    The three A-ranks however were far more knowledgeable, the presence was definitely not from someone at the A-rank. Dmar who was at mid A-rank stood up from his chair with a panic-stricken expression.

    His granddaughter and apprentice Natalie was taken by surprise from his actions and was about to loudlyin but before she could Dmar sternly ordered her to stay in the room and note out until he returned before dashing out the door.

    In another area General Anya reacted much in the same way, she gave simr orders to her nearby subordinates before quickly running towards the money pit.

    Some B-ranks also made their way toward the money pits at top speed, keen to see who this powerful warrior was and why they were emitting such bloodlust.

    Ryuu, Bastion and Dous who were still recovering looked towards the money pit and frowned, that presence somehow felt familiar yet also unknown at the same time. They wanted to check it out as well but knew that in their condition it was an impossibility. They left it to the Generals and sir Dmar instead.

    Thankfully Maya''s bloodlust and aura only seemed to pressure the nearest vicinity, the assassin in particr, Maya was still in some control of her rage. The pressure on Frost also lightened as she stepped closer to the man, enough that he could pull out a mid-level health potion and down its contents.

    Maya had little to no interest in allowing the assassin to live much longer. Her aura had already begun to crush his body and interfere with his motor functions. He was dying in a very painful way which alleviated some of her anger. The poor assassin couldn''t even articte words to beg for his life. He was filled with despair; this was supposed to be a simple job with no danger whatsoever.

    Frost was merely a recently promoted B-rank, with only a single piece of 4 star quality equipment, an easy kill for him who was A-rank and one of the best assassins in the empire. However despite this despair he didn''t hate nor even attempt to turn on his employer to save his own hide. He was loyal and even while under excruciating pain he actually worried about his master kicking an iron board.

    Even if his master summoned his entire forces they''d be nothing against this woman, she was an absolute monster in the truest sense of the word.

    By the time Maya stood in front of the assassin he was nothing but a twisted, blood coated heap that barely retained the form of a human. He did try to use some magic devices and even skills to fight against Maya''s pressure and or escape it but those methods meant nothing to someone at S-rank.

    While B-ranks could emit their aura beyond their bodies, allowing them to intimidate their foes and even imbue their weapons. At A-rank one could form their aura into physical manifestations and evenbine them with a measure of worldlyws however once someone reached S-rank they could establish a domain, an area of rule where they were veritable Gods.

    As long as someone was encapsted in this domain they were subjected to the whims of the user, they were pretty much invincible within these spaces. The poor assassin was already trapped within this domain, any method he used was easily quashed by a single thought.

    As resignation filled the man''s eyes Maya reached down and wrapped her dainty white hand around his partially copsed neck. She then lifted his mangled body off the ground, holding therger man in the air as if he was weightless. Her eyes were suffused with a horrifying chill that threatened not even let off the assassin''s soul.

    She gave him onest dose of her killing intent, before ending his pitiful life.

    "Die." She coldly said before her internal energy rampaged through his body and eviscerated the man down to his very atoms. Even his blood was broken down into an imperceptible dust. The A-rank assassin, a powerful fighter of the Northrend empire was thus annihted in an instant without leaving a single fragment.

    Maya didn''t bother getting his name nor did she interrogate him about his master, such things were beneath her given her strength.

    Her eyes then coldly scanned the surrounding area before turning back to Frost, her cold expression instantly bing warm and affectionate. Her steps quickly turned into a sprint and a momentter Frost found himself wrapped up in a tight hug. His powerful guardian changing into his girlfriend in that moment.

 Chapter 518: Chapter 518: A bold accusation

    Frost struggled to breath under Maya''s vice grip but he didn''t push her off instead he simply bared with it until she calmed down. His heart that had been through the wringer from the sudden assassination calmed down as the smell of Maya''s hair filled his nose, bringing him a sense of peace. When he was with her, he was safe, he was home.

    A few momentster Maya removed herself from Frost with reluctance and donned a serious expression fit for a resolute bodyguard. Frost was surprised at first and instantly put his guard up thinking there was another danger lurking around but rxed when he sensed who hade.

    General Anya, General Warik, Sir Dmar as well as the crown prince all arrived within moments of one another. It was clear that they came to investigate the situation given the ring bloodlust Maya emitted in her rage which was kind of intentional. She wanted the bigwigs in the town to arrive so Frost could get an exnation.

    An assassination almost happened in the middle of a highly defended town, there were even 3 A-ranks present in the area.

    Frost also changed his demeanour quite drastically, he was pissed, incredibly so.

    General Anya who was more acquainted with Frost recognised him immediately and despite her wariness to Maya who was no longer hiding her strength she inquired about his health. Which painted her in a good light in Frost''s eyes but he kept a dark expression. He practically red at General Warik and the crown prince, his hatred almost seething.

    Maya informed him telepathically that General Warik and the crown prince were actually in the vicinity when he was attacked. Though they tried to hide their presence and even arrived at roughly the same time as the others Maya was able to find the locations of everyone the moment she arrived.

    It was clear to her and Frost that the two of them at the very least had some inkling into the assassination attempt. He didn''t think they were the ones behind it given that he hadn''t pissed them off enough to warrant such action -at least not yet. He guessed that they must have gotten wind of the job and probably intended to use him as bait.

    With Frost''s death they''d have enough clout to go after the assassin and even the one backing him. His death would merely be an eptable loss to them. Given how close they were they could have possibly intervened and rescued him but from what Maya said they showed no signs of movement despite the assassination already being in y.

    ''It seems I''ve been too involved with the Northrend empire, not everyone is like the Furanos.'' Frost''s identity as a dungeon core and not a sapient was reaffirmed in that moment. They were not the same. Despite having friends in Furano, people and monsters that weren''t under his dungeon''s purview were in the end possible prey, food for him to feast on.

    He had yed this adventurer and sapient act for too long, forgetting who he was. It was time to change that mindset.

    As though a fog had been lifted Frost rose from the crumbling wall, his clothes were in disarray and spatters of blood dotted his body but thanks to the health potion he was no longer in severe pain.

    His back stood straight and he looked dead ahead at the three A-ranks and one crown prince, focusing on thetter in particr which caused the arrogant man to wince and frown momentarily before doing his best to regain a friendly demeanour. Frost''s royal aura naturally spread out as he walked ahead with Maya remaining closely behind, clearly stating her position in the power dynamic.

    Frost was the master whereas she was the guardian. This of course caused the three A-ranks to open their eyes in disbelief whereas Randolph burned with jealously. Not only was Maya a kingdom toppling beauty she was at the S-rank, a level no one in the entire empire had reached yet she was Frost''s bodyguard. He''d never felt so poor in his entire life.

    Frost turned to look at General Anya who had at this point curtailed any hope in having Frost join her outfit, his backing was far too high to be drafted into the frost wolf battalion. He gave her a slightly less chilling look given their past rtionship.

    "I apologise for my partner and I for causing such amotion in the middle of town. Unfortunately I was met with an attack that sought to deprive me of my life and hide any traces of the act. An A-ranked assassin forced my partner to reveal her true strength thus resulting in all of you being informed." Frost spoke solemnly, his gaze washing over the four as well as those who started arriving.

    His announcement rang like a bell in the minds of those who rushed over. Who would dare try to assassinate Frost the hero of the monster stampede? He was a promising youth yes but he was only at B-rank, wasn''t an A-rank assassin overkill? And why would someone risk attacking him now when 3 A-ranks were in town?

    This question caused some of theter arrivals to ponder a conspiracy, their gazes unconsciously turned to the two generals. Anya trembled and felt defamed, she was a loyal soldier why would she move to act against a promising junior. General Warik however sported a frown, Frost''s words clearly conveyed a not so subtle usation.

    If Maya wasn''t by his side General Warik would have likely suppressed Frost in that moment so as to prevent any suspicions developing. However the worst was about toe, Frost cared little about status before this incident but now he really didn''t give two shits.

    Frost didn''t want to remain here any longer than he had to so without any fear or care he once again red at Randolph before taking several strong steps towards him. General Warik immediately moved to stand in front of the crown prince but received a harsh re from Maya which halted him in ce.

    Randolph didn''t expected Frost to not even care about his status as crown prince nor the A-rank General by his side. He looked down on him as if he was nothing but a mere bug before leaning over and speaking into his ear in a not so whisper.

    "If you ever try to use me as bait again little prince, it will be thest thing you ever do." Frost tantly threatened the crown prince in front of multiple witnesses including two generals.

    Randolph felt incensed, his faced turned red and his hands balled into tight fists. No one had ever dared to speak to him like that, he wanted Frost dead, and his pride urged him to order the two generals to kill him, but his rationale won out. Frost''s partner was a S-rank fighter, his two generals were nothing in her eyes.

    Plus the look Frost gave him as he leaned back filled him with fear, he truly was nothing but a bug in Frost''s eyes.

    Randolph did his best to keep a somewhat neutral expression, trying to pretend that he didn''t hear what Frost just said. He needed to keep his reputation, if heshed out now it wouldn''t only demean his standing. As long as he didn''t respond it would be nothing more than meaningless nder as long there wasn''t any evidence.

    "Hmph! Let''s go Maya." Frost hmphed before deeper into the money pit sector with Maya, paying no more attention to Randolph and the other onlookers. Maya took care of the assassin so there was no need for Frost to remain, he said his piece and informed those who needed to know about the events. It was time to finish what he set out to do.

    "Yes, young master." Maya acted in ordance with Frost, helping to paint a certain picture as she trailed after him.

    Frost still had one ce he wished to visit before finally leaving this town, it was a shame he wouldn''t get to partake in the festivities tonight, but Dous and Cassandra surely wouldn''t me him.

    General Anya tried to speak out and have Frost stay so she could give her word that she and the frost wolf battalion had nothing to do with the assassination attempt as well as promise to look into the situation to the best of her ability but he turned a deaf ear. The looks on the crown prince Randolph''s and General Warik''s face also prevented her from chasing after him.

    Frost basically used their prince of a serious crime and she for one actually believed it had merits, she never did trust Randolph. However being so proactive in cating Frost would be a target on her back, one that was already big enough.

    "Young master?" Maya asked as she and Frost continued to walk deeper into the money pit, leaving the multiple observers behind.

    "Not now, we''ll talkter. I want to finish onest thing before we leave." Though Maya didn''t agree with postponing their departure, one thing was fine plus Frost''s current attitude left no room for negotiation. She could only bite her lips and stifle her emotions for his wellbeing until they reached safety. At that point she''d wrapped him up in her arms and refuse to let him go.

    Though it seemed as though Frost was untouchable at the moment the truth was the exact opposite. The teleporting talisman allowed Maya to use her full strength in defence of his life once, thus leaving him only one opportunity left. Frost didn''t want to waste and or risk another chance here and now, who knows what sort of trouble could crop up before the next family gathering.

    It was best to be more cautious.

    Frost walked with brisk pace towards Borris''s weapon store, he needed to nt onest seed before his departure as he likely wouldn''t be visiting Furano again anytime soon.

 Chapter 519: Chapter 519: Waves

    While Frost and Maya quickly made their way towards Borris'' weapon shop the situation in the alley had taken on a rather tense atmosphere. General Warik, General Anya and sir Dmar all wore serious expressions for differing reasons, each worried in their own way about how the situation went down. Being on the receiving end of a S-rank fighter''s ire was not something easily endured after all.

    General Warik in particr was looking rather unwell after receiving Maya''s re, only he knew how close he and the crown prince were to death. He looked down at the young man who prevented him from interfering with the assassination attempt with worry, the crown prince had kicked an iron board with his decision.

    General Anya however was more worried about providing Frost with a suitable investigation and maintaining close or at the very least neutral rtions with such a frightening character. Although she enjoyed seeing Randolph and Warik kick and iron board she was worried that the blowback would affect more than just them.

    This incident painted the entire Northrend empire in a dim light given that it involved the ruling family, the representatives of the empire.

    The crown prince Randolph however looked the worst. His face rapidly switched from disying unbridled hatred and a neutral almost robotic expression as if he was desperately trying to control his anger and failing.

    Never in his entire life had Randolph been so insulted, he was the crown prince of the powerful Northrend empire, even the noblest families had to curry favour with him yet this random elf with unknown background dared to threaten him in front of so many witnesses. So what if he used him as bait what did the life of a single no-name elf mean when it came to the workings of a royal.

    In his mind Frost should be honoured to be a part of his ns. The possibility of him being someone even more important than himself never crossed his mind. Even now his anger kept him from thinking straight, chocking Frost up to be nothing more than a lucky bastard who relied on that frightening woman''s protection. His status could never be as high as someone like him.

    While Randolph continued to struggle with his anger, whispers already started spreading throughout the other witnesses. They muttered amongst one another and asionally looked at the warped expression of Randolph and Warik as if seeing the two of them in a new light for the very first time.

    Randolph was the crown prince known far and wide as a righteous and brave individual who had the backing of many nobles and government officials who praised his talents, glorifying the day he ascended the throne. A supposed starkparison to his younger brother who was known to be ruthless, insidious, cold and unworthy of the mantle of leadership in the eyes of the masses.

    However, despite such negative des the second prince was still in the running given that many Dukes and marquises of the noble faction backed him. The regr people all flocked towards the crown prince due to his bright andwful depiction, this current event however threatened to change all that. Was the crown prince really as honourable as they believed?

    A good image takes years to build up but moments to shatter, if Randolph didn''t stop the bleeding soon and thoroughly his reputation could take a real dive, giving his younger brother an avenue in which to attack.

    "Your highness." Warik whispered into Randolph''s ear and ced a heavy hand on his shoulders hoping to bring him into focus. The act however instantly angered Randolph who viciously swatted away Warik''s hand and red at the General with hatred, as if focusing the entire fault of the situation on his ineptitude. The once calm and friendly crown prince now looked like a demonic monster.

    Warik winced before quickly cing his hand back on Randolph''s shoulder. He squeezed tightly and repeated his words with some force and aura. He couldn''t allow his prince to keep such an expression, especially in public.

    This time Randolph managed to curb his anger and retain a neutral albeit cold expression, but the damage was already done. Many onlookers stood aghast and even fearful as Randolph looked over them, as if he was marking them for death. Of course the thought had ran through his mind, but such an act was impossible, it would only further lower his reputation and open him up to retaliation.

    Plus given the amount, the levels of the onlookers and where they were it would be impossible to cover up the news of such a bloody act. No, he needed to smooth things over as best he could, and hope time would eventually smother this potential fire.

    As though the previous situation never happened Randolph smiled and did his best to calm down the waves, using his status and experience as a royal to the upmost. He sessfully limited the damage and saved much of his reputation but in the end many were still sceptical and would likely be more prudent in regards to news about him in the future.

    Angered and disappointed at his failure Randolph decided to cut his losses and left with General Warik, leaving General Anya in charge of the investigation and informing the Furanos. He wanted to split himself from the incident as much as possible.

    Once he left the onlookers were ordered to disperse by Anya who then scoured the area for possible clues. Tales of this incident quicky made the rounds throughout of the gossip circles, inns and taverns of the empire.

    Dmar returned to his granddaughter''s side after Anya dispersed everyone.

    "What''s up grandpa, why''d you rush out so quickly?" Natalie who was still rather awestruck by her grandfather''s sudden seriousness quickly asked for the deets the moment he got back.

    Dmar looked down at his granddaughter and pondered on whether to tell her or not but eventually relented after minutes of constant pestering.

    "There was an assassination attempt on one of the B-rank fighters, that Frost that everyone was singing the praises of when we arrived."

    "That handso¡­. I mean talented elf with the cial winged tiger battle mount." Natalie instantly knew who Dmar was talking about as she couldn''t help but steal a few nces at the young hero in passing.

    "Is he alright? Do you know who did it and why did you leave here so quickly?" Natalie was rather shocked by her grandfather''s revtion. Who would dare to assassinate someone under the noses of the frost wolf battalion and even more so the young hero of the monster stampede. However the fact that her grandfather left in such a rush made the situation all the more weird.

    Sure it was rather big news, but it had little to do with him who was an A-rank adventurer, practically beholden to no one.

    "Haaaaaaaa" Dmar let out a long, weighted sigh before informing Natalie of the entire event in detail, causing the young woman''s shock to grow and grow with every sentence. In the end she shivered as a cold sweat dripped down her neck.

    An S-rank fighter was something legendary perhaps even mythical. The Northrend empire sported a fair amount of A-rank fighters but not a single one at S-rank and hadn''t in the past century, they were just too rare. Yet not only did one appear here in the boonies but she served as the protector of the young hero who was the target of the assassination attempt.

    Add on to the fact that it was a conspiracy involving the royal family this event was a real scoop, perhaps the biggest in several years. No wonder her grandfather left and ordered her to not leave the room, even he would be nothing in the eyes of an S-rank fighter.

    After taking all the events in Natalie was silent for a while before speaking in anxious tone.

    ".... What will you tell the emperor?"

    "Haaaaaaa, the truth, it''s what he asked for after all." Dmar let out another sigh before responding. Dmar wasn''t just here to y his part as reinforcements from the adventurers guild no he was actually requested to go by the emperor. The wise ruler wished to send the best his empire had to the Furano territory without stirring up the annoying nobles.

    He and Dmar went way back and had been friends for decades. Along with his eldest son he wanted his friend to volunteer on behalf of the guild hoping that he''d not only guarantee victory and the safety of his offspring but also serve as his eyes and ears. To give him a true report of went on.

    The emperor knew his son well and the strenuous situation he was currently in given the backing of his younger brother. He believed Randolph would certainly utilize the stampede to his benefit which was fine, but he just wanted to make sure everything was done above board.

    Though he heavily favoured his eldest he also knew that no member of royalty was squeaky clean in regards to their rise to the throne, he being no exception. His role however was to monitor the line, too much over it and he''d have grounds to strip them of their session rights.

    Dmar would give him the true report that was unedited by Randolph, Warik or even Anya who was for some reason opposed to Randolph.

    Dmar felt a headache as he imagined exining the situation to the emperor. He also hoped that Frost''s fury didn''t spill over to the empire as a whole. Someone with an S-rank protector wasn''t someone even their mighty empire wanted to fight against.

    "Haaaaaaaaa" With one of the deepest sigh he''d ever made Dmar shook his head and made a decision.

    "Let''s go and speak to Dous and your senior disciple, the sooner they know of this issue the better." Wanting to share this hot potato Dmar dragged Natalie to the Furano manor to inform Dous of what happened.

 Chapter 520: Chapter 520: Poaching Borris

    Despite the stampede being effectively over dozens if not hundreds of men and women were gathered both inside and outside Borris'' weapon shop, each keen to meet with the newly crowned 4-star smith and ce a personal order no matter the price. A 4-star weapon truly divided the amateurs from the professionals.

    An opportunity no one wanted to miss especially given that they''d be flush with cash from the stampede rewards.

    The line outside the shop went so far back that Frost and Maya couldn''t see the end. It would take a very long time for it to be their turn. Well only if they queued up of course.

    Frost was still in a certain mindset that caused his royal aura to permeate his surroundings and along with his rather cold expression people naturally parted as he walked by. Add on the fact that he was the local hero and wielder of Borris'' first 4 star weapon the men and women waiting allowed him to enter ahead without any fuss.

    Frost gave a curt nod in thanks but nothing more, he was in no mood to waste pleasantries.

    The bell that usually chimed when a customer entered the shop was gone, thus Frost silently walked passed the threshold without much fanfare. The inside of the shop was actually far less cramped that he imagined. It was clear that Borris or whoever was currently managing the shop floor enacted some rules in light of his ascension.

    Only 8 people were allowed in the store at one time and had to be quick with their requests.

    Frost quickly spotted two of Borris'' grandchildren manning the counters with exhausted and stressed expressions.

    "I''m sorry sir as I''ve previously stated my grandfather has no intention of taking any orders for 4 star equipment nor will he ept any personal forging requests.

    He''ll only guarantee that any equipment forged within our workshop will have to meet his approval before being sold." The young dwarf reiterated the same phrase over and over to everyone who entered regardless of their station and willingness to pay exorbitant amounts of coin. The young dwarf couldn''t fully understand his grandfather''s reasoning but followed through, nheless.

    His words always frustrated the would-be customers to no end. Many of which stormed out in anger cursing Borris'' arrogance as they stomped passed the still queuing customers whereas others simplymented the lost opportunity before cing a regr order.

    Just having the approval of a 4-star smith meant the equipment would be a notch above its usual quality, a lesser win but still a win I their minds.

    "Is Borris avable for a private chat?" Frost, as if taking no notice to the current atmosphere spoke up shortly after entering the shop. His words were quickly met with eye rolls and an even more frustrated look from the two grandchildren. One of the two replied rather curtly, annoyed by this whole ordeal.

    Frost wasn''t the first one to try and throw his weight around, hoping to skip procedures and get special treatment.

    "I''m only going to say this once, my grandfather is¡­."

    "He is and he''s been expecting you sir Frost." Before the grandson at the counter could finish speaking Dean -another of Borris'' grandsons- walked out from the back of the shop and cut him off.

    "Perfect, lead the way then Dean." Frost nodded and smiled in a slightly gentle manner but retained his rather cold demeanour. Those still waiting and the two grandchildren at the counters stood with their jaws agape, not expecting such treatment.

    The waiting customers instinctively wanted toin but held their tongues the moment they saw and recognised Frost. He was the hero of the stampede and the wielder of Borris'' first 4-star weapon.

    "This way please." Dean gestured for Frost and Maya to follow him into the back of the shop. The young dwarf carried himself with a fair bit of confidence after assisting his grandfather in forging the [Wolf howling at the moon]. Of course he only yed a very small part in the process but just being in the same room while the forging was happening allowed his skills to deepen.

    He could now see the path he needed to take.

    Dean quickly led Frost and Maya to workshop where Borris could be seen monitoring the forging process of his progeny, makingments and guiding them in the right direction as they forged. The old smith looked rejuvenated, the fire in his eyes zing like an inferno and his back that had begun slouching naturally from his age was ramrod straight.

    New life had been infused into him the moment he broke through the barrier, his potential hadn''t run out yet. A notion that filled the old man with sheer joy. For the first time in years he felt ambitious in regards to his own achievements instead of the future of his talented offspring.

    "You''re certainly looking fired up." Frost couldn''t help butment with a wild smile forming on his lips. Borris being in such a state was only good news for him.

    Borris turned around at his words, replying with a wild smile of his own. "Of course, the ideas are just flowing through me, how can I not be pumped up." Borris made a fist and grasped his bicep in a pumped-up gesture.

    "let''s head to my office." Borris said as his apprentices and progeny grew distracted by both Frost''s presence as well as the one following silently behind him. Even him given his advanced age and experience couldn''t help but double take as he took in Maya''s beauty. He gave Frost a knowing look and a discrete thumbs up before leading them into his office.

    "A drink?" Borris asked while revealing a few hidden bottles of alcohol.

    "I''m good thanks, Maya?" Frost waved his hand, not in the mood for any alcohol.

    Maya surprisingly shook her head, denying a ss, she too wasn''t in the mood for a drink.

    "More for me then." Borris ced two sses back before pouring himself an amber coloured whiskey.

    "Ahhhhh good stuff. I''ve kept these bottles here for so long that dust has started umting. I''m d I finally earned the right to partake." Borris relished in the smooth, rich vour of the B-rank whiskey.

    "You seem a little off Frost, everything alright?" Borris asked rather awkwardly, finding the mood around the young man rather chilling.

    "Just a little issue that has unfortunately changed my perspective." Frost didn''t bother exining the event, not keen to rehash it with Borris.

    "Fair enough. Though I expected you toe at some point what''s the prime reason for this visit." Borris understood from Frost''s words that he didn''t want to talk about it so he changed the topic.

    Frost smiled gently before speaking about his intentions. "Obviously I want to officially thank you for the [Wolf howling at the moon] but the main reason is in regards to what I mentioned previously."

    "¡­.Are you referring to your territory and my wish to possibly foray into the cial mountains." Borris leaned back on his chair, his mind pondering on the discussion the two of them had several weeks ago.

    "Yes. I''ve already informed the Furanos and the guilds about my territory and have gotten their permission to solicit aid from those living in the territory, you included."

    "So you''re here to poach me from Furano." Borris replied with a chilling tone. He was very fond of his hometown and didn''t like the idea of switching allegiances.

    "Not exactly." Frost then exined the details in regards to his territory, the benefits in moving as well as his discussion with Cassandra.

    "Don''t think of it as poaching especially since you yourself mentioned your wish to travel. I''m just offering you a ce to start your journey. There you can solidify your rank without being pressured by outside influences and I''ll guarantee you an endless supply of materials to work with as well as the chance to interact with a smith from the cial mountains."

    "That girlfriend of yours that forged your armour."

    "That''s the one." Maya trembled slightly upon hearing his words but quickly readjusted herposure.

    "...¡­" Borris silently pondered the issue. To be honest Frost''s terms were very, very tempting. Add on the fact that the Furanos supported his actions the offer posed little risk.

    "I''ll also promise to help you get to the inner regions if that''s what you wish." Frost threw out hisst benefit. Though he''d wish to keep someone as skilled as Borris within the confines of his own territory, he knew that the old smith''s ambitions would lead him in search of any opportunity to improve his craft.

    ".... I''ll have to tie up a few things first but you''ve got yourself a deal." Borris nodded his head in eptance. Frost''s terms were just too appealing to his current state and all he asked in return was for him to teach his subordinates some smithing basics and interact frequently with Daki so she could improve her craft.

    "That''s perfect, I look forward to working with you Borris." Frost smiled from ear to ear as he leaned over the desk and shook Borris'' hand. His territory would now have an expert smith on hand.

    "I''ll need around a month to finish setting everything up but after that you''ll be golden." Frost then stood up with Maya and went to leave, their business was now done.

    Borris had all the information he needed and now with his decision made he walked the two out of the shop personally before heading back into the workshop. He''d teach his progeny as much as he could and finish off the official handover during theing weeks before embarking to Frost''s territory. The very thought filled him with excitement as well as anxiety.

    It would be his first time visiting the cial mountains.

 Chapter 521: Chapter 521: Leaving Furano

    Now that his business with Borris was over Frost hailed a carriage to take him and Maya to the Furano manor. The transport would grant them some privacy as well as shorten their travel time. And as far as Maya was concerned the sooner, they left the Furano territory the better.

    "Take us to the Furano manor please and step on it." Frost requested before helping Maya into the carriage.

    "Yes sir." The driver responded with an enthusiastic tone as Frost passed him an extra couple silver.

    Once the carriage door was firmly shut and the wheels started turning Frost finally let out a strongly repressed breath. His shoulders slumped down and his legs lost their strength. The tension had finally run its course leaving his body to suffer from the side effects of excess adrenaline.

    Maya silently moved to his side, she took his head and rested it gently upon herp before stroking his hair in a soothing manner. She did her best to bring some form offort to her young master but the trembling of her hands and fingers revealed her own anxiety. This situation was too close forfort.

    Though Frost could gleam the movements of someone at A-rank that waspletely different from being able to survive against them in battle. If the assassin had aimed for his neck or moved just a little bit quicker after failing to kill him in a single blow Maya would have never got the chance to intervene. She would have lost him forever.

    Tears gradually dripped down her cheeks before sshing against Frost''s head. A sombre yet intimate atmosphere arose between the two of them as they travelled in the confines of the carriage. The ongoings beyond the wood walls meant nothing to them as if they were in a separate dimension entirely.

    After calming down his own fear, Frost gradually turned his head around to face Maya. What he was greeted with was a tear stricken expression that caused his heart to lurch and feel a sharp pain. He really struggled at seeing this side of her. His loyal and overwhelmingly powerful guardian was still a young woman with boundless emotion.

    Frost reached out his hand to wipe away some of her tears before holding her cheek gently. He stared deep into her mesmerising albeit slightly swollen eyes with intense emotion, viewing herpletely as the young woman she was and not the indomitable S-rank fenrir.

    "I''m ok Maya." He said gently while sitting up straight thus bringing him to her eye level. His words shattered the dam that was holding back her emotions. The young women practically wailed at that moment, her tears gushing out at the triple the speed and triple the volume as her armstched onto Frost like a vice, locking him in ce against her own body, refusing to let him go.

    Normally such an action would result in a heavenly feeling for Frost given the softness and ample curviness of her body however thanks her rather distraught state this meant that she didn''t put much thought into her strength. Frost was thus practically squished against her to the point that all he felt was pain.

    His bones even threatened to crack from the sheer pressure but not for even a second did he yelp in pain nor ask her to stop instead he simply endured her bear hug, allowing her to release her pent up anxiety.

    This state continued for most of the entire carriage ride, but Frost didn''tin. Instead of bemoaning the pain he did his best to pull Maya''s head close to his chest and gently stroke the back of her head until she finally loosened her iron grip.

    After regaining some semnce ofposure Maya wiped her eyes and saw fit to straighten out Frost''s wrinkled robes, all while struggling to look him in the eyes.

    Frost found her actions to be absolutely adorable so he leaned over and nted an affectionate kiss on her lips that warmed both their hearts. After which Maya remained on the same side of the carriage as Frost and ced her head on his shoulders while her arms -lightly this time- wrapped around his waist, something that she refused to relent on.

    "Once we pick up Kiba we''ll leave Furano post-haste."

    "Good, the sooner we get you back to the dungeon the sooner I can rx. There''s too many dangers to you here." Maya said with relief, more than keen to leave this dangerous ce. When they visited several weeks ago she didn''t feel this way but that was then and this was now. Not only were there multiple B-ranks here there were 3 A-rank fighters, one of which wasn''t exactly friendly.

    "I agree. I''m far to exposed here. Just a single attack from that assassin almost sent me to the afterlife¡­.I''m far too weak in the eyes of the truly powerful. My eyes have been opened.

    I''ve had it too easy so far, not realising the true danger this world holds for someone like me." Frost could only imagine the things he''d have to defend against if his true identity was ever leaked or better yet the machinations of the Light God who frowned on his existence to point that he and his father nearly came to blows. The danger would only be greater as time moved on, not weaker.

    With clenched fists Frost stared into the horizon, making a solemn pledge to grow his strength by any means necessary. The power he could hold as an individual was limited by his age. No matter how talented he was it would take a lot of time to reach the upper realms of B-rank let alone the same level as that assassin.

    "I need to increase my forces." The best solution was to develop an army, his own protective forces who could fight in his ce. A means that he''d already embarked upon and suited his origin as a dungeon core perfectly. He and his siblings were truly far more deadly when in the confines of their own dungeons.

    Frost nned to build up his territory and in particr his armed forces so as to solve his current weakness.

    Maya looked up and nodded her head in approval, very much agreeing with his ns.

    The carriage quickly made its way to the Furano manor making record time thanks to the driver''s enthusiastic driving. Thankfully the carriage quality was good enough that despite the rapid pace and frequent stopping and starting the upants were unaffected. Frost and Maya alighted the carriage with frosty expressions, simr to the ones they donned back in the money pit.

    It was as the previous crying episode never happened.

    The two gate guards saluted Frost and joyfully weed him back, clearly still in the dark about what happened earlier. Frost nodded towards them in greeting and was just about to inform them about his departure when the ground started to tremble from heavy footsteps.

    Frost turned towards the sound, his face warping slightly as he saw the cause before quickly being tackled to the ground. A giant tiger weighing more than a ton leaped up into his chest knocking him to the ground without an ounce of gentleness. Frost''s back mmed hard against the stone floor.

    "KIBA!!" Frost yelled as his back screamed in pain from the blow. His yelling however fell on deaf ears as the massive tiger cub looked down at Frost with reddened eyes and started licking his face in an affectionate manner. Kiba''s emotions flowed through the soul bond filling Frost with thoughts of worry, sadness, regret as well as relief.

    Kiba hated the fact that he wasn''t by Frost''s side in his time of need and hated himself for being so weak.

    The moment Frost was attacked by the assassin and ced in serious danger Kiba was notified through their soul bond. The young tiger immediately sprang to his feet in an alerted state before rushing towards his master. However the moment he started to move Frost sent an order through the bond ordering him to stay put and wait.

    Kiba was too weak to lend any help and him rushing out of the Furano''s grounds would only ce him in danger as well. Frost had no way of knowing whether or not Kiba was also a target given that he was his battle mount. As long as he stayed at the Furano manor however he''d be safe.

    It was one thing to ambush someone within Furano but to act within the confines of a noble''s manor was apletely different matter. It would be an affront to the nobility, something that was treated very seriously within Northrend.

    Thus Kiba was left here to wallow in worry and panic while his master fought a battle of life and death. Though the bond remained and Frost''s life no longer seemed to be threatened ording to the information ryed through their soul bond that was nowhere near asforting as seeing him in person.

    Therefore the moment Kiba sensed Frost enter the manor''s vicinity he rushed at full speed to meet him.

    Frost fidgeted and squirmed under Kiba''s incessant licking and rubbing, the emotions of the heavy tiger prevented him from shaking him off, Maya however wasn''t quite so affected.

    "Meow!" Kiba meowed like a cat as Maya effortlessly lifted him off Frost by the nape of his neck. She dropped him a little bit to the side with a slightly threatening re causing the big tiger to cower and mumble inint.

    "Thanks Maya." Frost scrambled to his feet and dusted off his robes before once again donning a neutral/cold expression.

    "Please inform Lord Dous and Lady Cassandra that I''ll be leaving now."

 Chapter 522: Chapter 522: Leaving Furano (2) [End of volume 7]

    Frost''s words caused the two gate guards to don a shocked expression.

    "D¡­Did you say you''re leaving sir?" One of them asked in a confused manner.

    "Yes, immediately. Please inform the Viscount and Viscountess on my behalf and give my apologies for the sudden departure." Frost replied calmly to the two shocked guards before turning around.

    "But sir what about the celebration?"

    "I''m afraid I won''t be able to attend¡­ farewell." Frost waved to the two guards as he alighted Kiba''s back. He then leaned over and grabbed Maya''s fair hand, pulling her onto the tiger''s back. Then while the guards were still floundering the three of them set off at speed and within a few seconds werepletely out of sight.

    The hero of the stampede and the ravishing beauty that was Maya were gone just like that.

    The gate guards turned to one another and frowned, clearly suspecting that something untoward was afoot but such things were beyond their jurisdiction. The two let out a deep sigh before rushing to inform the Viscount who was currently in a meeting with sir Dmar.

    "He what!" A couple minutester Dous was informed by the head servant and jumped from his chair, exasperating his injuries and causing him to cough up some blood. Ryuu who was also present showed a no less shocked expression.

    "Haaaaaaa not the most positive reaction but certainly reasonable." Sir Dmar who had just been informing Dous, Ryuu and Cassandra about the assassination attempt leaned back and sighed, bemoaning the result.

    Cassandra started tear up, her heart mping up at the thought of being hated by Frost. She sharply red at the three men in the room as if ming them for the whole situation. One was the lord Viscount, another the territory''s court mage and thest a famed A-rank mage and Ryuu''s former master.

    How could such vaunted people not prevent a ''simple'' assassination attempt within their own territory. Hell, none of them even caught wind of such an operation, only when Frost dealt with it himself in a shy way were they finally informed by Dmar. A blemish on Dous''s and Ryuu''s prestige for sure.

    Dous wanted to yell,in and demand that his servants g Frost down so they could talk about the situation but his better judgement prevented such an eventuality. Eventually he slumped back down on his chair with a defeated expression.

    "Haaaaaaaa hopefully the two of them won''t hold this against us." He sighed and shook his head before donning a stern, almost threatening demeanour that made even Dmar shiver.

    "We will leave no stone unturned in our investigation. Ryuu you have permission to bathe the underworld in blood if they refuse to y ball. I don''t care who the assassin''s backer is, our territory will be bathed in fire and justice will be brought down in Furano." Dous bellowed out his orders, a fierce me of hatred raging in his eyes.

    There were a few seconds of silence before Ryuu and Cassandra smiled evilly.

    "As youmand Lord Viscount." Ryuu replied with a formal salute while Cassandra giggled and showed an even more hate filled expression than her husband.

    "I''ll call in a few favours with the merchants. With their aid we should be able to severely damage the backer''s financial capability¡­. Furano has remained too quiet and easy going during the past century. The empire has forgotten who we are."

    "Yes, they have." Dous agreed with his wife, giving her the go ahead before turning to Dmar.

    "Thank you, sir Dmar, for informing us of this situation without obscuring any details, I won''t forget your honesty¡­. However I also know where your allegiances lie." Dous''s weight as a noble and highly experience adventurer formed a heavy pressure that surrounded Dmar. Of course it wasn''t enough to truly threaten an A-rank mage such as him but it made Dous''s stance clear.

    "Regardless of the assant''s identity the Furano Viscounty will retaliate with their full force." Dmar''s eyes opened wide, and his body trembled.

    ''He can''t be serious.'' What Dous just said could easily be construed as a threat, a threat towards the ruling family of the empire, practically treason. Dous was just a Viscount and, in many ways, a close friend of the emperor yet he was willing to rip up that friendship due to an assassination attempt on their soil.

    It wasn''t even on a member of their family, just a local friend whose background was practically unknown.

    Dmar looked into the eyes of Dous, Ryuu and Cassandra hoping to see some form of softness but all he got in return was an unwavering will of iron, they were 100% serious.

    "...I''ll inform him of your stance." After sucking in a sharp breath Dmar replied sternly.

    "Good. There has never been any subtlety between us and that will not change now." Dous nodded his head and showed a wide smile before erasing his threatening aura. The choice was up to the emperor, whether or not he wished to dip his hands into covering up this situation and or protecting those involved the Furano Viscounty would continue their retaliation unabated.

    While the Furanos were boldly announcing their stance, the crown prince Randolph was ransacking his private quarters in an unbridled rage.

    "THAT DAMN BASTARD!!!! HOW DARE HE THREATEN ME!!!"

    BANG!!! A chair was sent flying and smashed against one of the room''s walls. Randolph was red in the face, huffing and puffing as his blood boiled with rage. General Warik stood silently at the side with his head hung low. A couple of scratches could be seen on his face and hands. It was clear that a few pieces of furniture were previouslyunched his way.

    His status as a mighty General meant nothing to the crown prince especially while in a fit of rage. He simply kept his mouth shut and endured the blows, letting them run over his back like water.

    This wasn''t the first time he''d been present for one of Randolph''s meltdowns. Whenever his younger brother Sedrick made a y for control and gained a victory no matter how minor he''d shut himself off and let out the rage that couldn''t be shown to the public. In a way the fact that General Warik was allowed to be present was a sign of good faith, he was truly part of Randolph''s inner circle.

    A few blows were a small price to pay for such luxury.

    Eventually once Randolph tuckered himself out, he deigned to speak. "Your highness has your fury abated?"

    Bang!! In response to his question another piece of furniture was sent his way, though this time it merely crashed beside him instead of against him.

    "My fury on this issue will never go out!" Randolph screamed with an expression akin to a demonic being.

    "Haaaaaaaa then I suggest your break some more things in the room before leaving. This situation isn''t something we can easily deal with after all."

    "TSK!" Randolph loudly clicked his tongue and moved tounch a couple more things at this useless General but stopped midway, his intelligence finally oveing the blood haze.

    "...You''re right but even so, regardless of who that bastard is I refuse to be slighted without retaliating." After a few deep breaths, Randolph''s expression started to return to normal and the red colour receded from his skin.

    "Warik get me everything you have on this Frost, information and patience will be key to getting revenge."

    Warik''s expression practically glowed, he smiled enthusiastically and nodded his head. This was one of the many reasons he followed Randolphpletely. The young man was able to control his emotions when needed and look at the big picture. He could be patient or ruthless when needed and though he was of royal blood he wasn''t insufferably arrogant -wellpared to someone like his brother.

    Warik could see Randolph leading the empire into a glorious age, equal or perhaps even surpassing his father Franz.

    While many parties made their ns in regards to Frost the man in question had already made his way beyond the northern gate atop Kiba, with Mayatched around his back. Though the guards were rather confused with his departure they waved them on through, many saluting and or bowing as he passed. Giving their thanks to the noble warrior.

    "Seems you made a veryrge impression on them." Maya chimed in as Kiba rode into the Northrend forest.

    "While fighting side by side in the mes of war it''s hard not to make an impression." Frost answered back with a tinge of nostalgia, already reminiscing about the time he slept in the barracks, ready to head into battle at a moment''s notice.

    Maya looked at Frost''s chiselled face and then to his wide back that seemed to radiate a strong sense of reliability. In her eyes he had grown, matured, slowly treading the path he was meant to take in life, a natural leader.

    ''If it wasn''t for the assassination attempt this trip would certainly have been nothing but a glorious sess.'' She looked at him gently while thinking. ''I''m sure he was looking forward to the celebration tonight.'' She''d overhead the guards mentioning the event as they tried to convince Frost to stay.

    Knowing that her boyfriend was likely feeling a little depressed she squeezed herrge chest against his back, allowing him to be wrapped in a heavenly feeling as they made their way home. A minor luxury but one that didn''t go amiss. A smile and slight blush grew on Frost''s face as he unceremoniously leaned back against Maya''s bountiful assets.

 Chapter 523: Chapter 523: Finally home [Volume 8]

    It took roughly 3 hours for Kiba to carry Frost and Maya back home. they took a more careful approach thus dying their arrival slightly but thanks to that there were very few incidents.

    "A glorious sight, our home." Frost smiled and visibly rxed as his connection to the dungeon core was re-established. The power thrummed throughout his body filling him with energy and a sense of safety. Here he was unstoppable.

    "Yes, it certainly is." Maya agreed while looking up at massive mountain ahead with fondness. This was also her home.

    "Seems Khuno and Finy have been hard at work in my absence." Frost''s gaze gradually came across the makings of a sturdy ice wall stretching beyond the mountain and around the surrounding area, marking Frost''s new territory.

    The ice wall looked strong and resilient though it was rather short and unfinished at the moment it revealed strong potential. His monsters clearly adhered to his instructions to focus on quality when it came to the protective wall.

    Width wise it was currently 2 metres but Frost nned to make it at least 3 perhaps even 4 so as to withstand the charges of a herd of mammoths. Height wise it wasn''t anything impressive at the moment as Frost could even gleam over the top without standing on his tip toes but that was something that could easily be improved over time. It was the foundation that mattered most.

    The wall was scheduled to epass a square area roughly 5 kilometres in length and breadth. Right now only 40% wasplete which was rather impressive given that Frost had only been away for a week and the feral monsters were still abound in the area. To be honest Frost would have been impressed if only 20% was done, this was a happy surprise.

    "Of course they have, they wished to prove their capabilities in areas other than battle thus they worked their subordinates hard and even took part in building the wall personally." Maya answered with an obvious tone.

    "I''ll have to reward them all then, good thing I made quite a windfall from fighting in Furano." Frost made a whopping 50,000DP during his time guarding the northern wall. It was less than what the dungeon made during the more intense waves but this was all made solely by him and with an 80% loss of DP per kill. The amount of lives he snuffed out personally could overfill a standard cemetery.

    "They''ll be d to hear that, more than a few worked extra hard just for that possibility." Maya had noticed that several monsters under the dungeon''s purview were developing their own individuality regardless of their intelligence. It was an unusual sight, quite mind-blowing in a way. The dungeon core was changing monsters, developing them in a way that normally took generations of improvement.

    She wondered why the Dark God designed the dungeon cores in such a way. Did he want to show off the potential of monsters along with his newest creations?

    With that reveal Frost hallmarked a few thousand DP for rewards before ushering Kiba forward.

    As the group grew closer they could see swaths of monster squads hard at work developing the nascent wall as well as nning out the first bunch of buildings. Barely a single monster was left out in this duty, from the minor goblins and slimes all the way to the mighty Ronsos, all were involved in some way or another.

    Along with the ice mined from the cial mine, the abundance of nearby trees and generous helpings of iron the mighty protective wall was being fashioned. The ingredients werebined into a form of mighty pykrete serving as the core of the wall.

    Furthering its prowess squads of magic inclined monsters built up ice around the pykrete before a ronso would use their inherent ice fire chakra to strengthen the ''alloy'' and remove impurities, leaving only the strongestbination. It was a great undertaking but one that would certainly prove useful in the future.

    Everyone was made sufficiently aware of how important a solid defensive structure was in regards to the monster stampedes. Their rather half assed approaches during the recent war saw them constantly retreating deeper into the confines of the dungeon every few waves once the danger escted. With the camp being in service such actions wouldn''t be propere the next stampede.

    Abandoning it would undo all their hard work and put those living within in great jeopardy, thus their highly focused and enthusiastic response when building the wall. Any part that didn''t meet the strict quality control demanded by the squad captains was shattered and remade then and there.

    Of course after a week of work such things didn''t happen nearly as much anymore but Frost just so happened toe across such a scenario.

    "Not good enough, scrap thest 3 metres and start from scratch. A wall is only as good as its weakest point. A single opening is enough to invalidate the entire structure. Goblins and slimes bring more trees from within the dungeon and avoid the previous area. It''s likely that the wood caused the fragility.

    "Grunt!" Multiple monsters grunted in understanding before following the ronso squad leader''s orders to dismantle the work they''d just finished.

    Frost smiled from ear to ear as he overheard the words of the ronso squad leader. Pride filled his heart as he silently sanctioned another 1000DP to be spent on rewards.

    "How impressive, you certainly haven''t let me down during my absence." Frost revealed himself atop of Kiba and loudly proimed causing nearly every monster in the vicinity to turn his way. At first, they were wary, thinking that a bunch of sapients had encroached upon their domain. They prepared their weapons but then quickly sheathed them the instant they caught side of Frost''s visage.

    "Master!!!" Those who could speakmon tongue screamed with glee while the others grunted and or made animated gestures to show their joy. Several goblins and other lower ranked monsters even dropped what they were doing and rushed to his side, acting like children seeing their father for the first time in ages.

    Though their actions damaged the strong working image they had just made Frost didn''t reprimand them. He smiled genuinely and cated his monsters, finding a sense offort in doing so, something he really needed right now. For too long he was thrust into the heat of war, adding on the assassination attempt he was near breaking point, desperately in need of some R&R.

    "Yosh yosh I''m happy to see you too." His smile became more and more genuine as he patted and stroked the endless amount of heads demanding his attention.

    "Master" After a minute or two of pampering word reached Khuno who was overseeing the entire wall operation today. The mighty Ronso captain made his way towards his long absent master with a smile on his face and a haggard look in his eyes.

    Though a great deal of progress had been made and the monster squads appeared to move almost seamlessly in their work this level of efficiency took a lot of supervision. Getting monsters or varying species and personalities to work as a unit without Frost''s presence proved to be a rather arduous task even for someone with his strength.

    Khuno was greatly relieved upon seeing his master for the first time in a week.

    "Khuno, it''s good to see you." Frost moved through the clingy goblins, frost dwarves and slimes to stand before Khuno his second named monster. He looked at his pride in joy in earnest and noticed the exhaustion in his eyes.

    "You worked hard Khuno, allow me to take it from here." He patted the taller ronso''s shoulder while speaking in a soothing yet reliable manner.

    "Master." Khuno felt a sense of relief at Frost''s words, his body visibly trembling and standing a little straighter as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. He actually missed the days of war,manding monsters in battle and straining himself against worthy opponents was in many ways easier.

    "I''ll return to the kids, I''m sure their quite worried after my sudden departure." Maya announced before teleporting herself and Kiba into the private space. Though Nanna and Loki were made aware of the possibility of Maya vanishing without warning actually experiencing was another matter.

    Frost nodded his head in understanding before refocusing back on Khuno. He''d been away for an entire week and needed to brought up to speed with the current progress as well as amend a few of his ns.

    Khuno thus guided Frost throughout the entire camp, highlighting their progress as well as giving his own suggestions. Some things could only be realised once you started the task.

    "Though our n for the wall is quite sturdy and ensures the possibility of widening and heightening its parameters to a certain degree it has its limits as a territory''s external wall. It''ll pale inparison to the defensive strength of Furano''s outer walls even with an additional metre in thickness." Frost ryed to Khuno some of the aspects of the war in Furano as they walked and talked.

    "True but it''s the best we can do given our current materials." Khuno agreed with his master but didn''t find the prospect detrimental. "The next stampede won''te anytime soon. By then we''ll likely have expanded our reach and or had sufficient time to remake the entire wall from scratch.

    Its current capabilities are more than enough to constitute the defence of a new budding territory and them some."

    "True, but I''d like to see our defences taken up a notch sooner thanter." Frost no longer wished to take any chances, best to be prepared and not have the dangere than to be unprepared when the danger does.

    "I''ll pass the order down, do you want it thicker? Taller? And or change the materials. If it''s thetter you''ll need to spend some DP to build a higher quality mine with a decent output." The dungeon currently had four 3-star mines in operation, two frigid iron mines, a kyanite mine and a duram mine.

    The frigid iron was already being infused into the wall''s mixture, but the percentage was rather low.

    "Make it an extra metre wide and increase the amount of frigid iron used in each batch to double, I''d rather use the duram metal for equipment given its preference in the market. Buying a 4 star mine however is out of the question not only does it cost at least 300,000 DP for the worst one we don''t have any way of properly utilising the stuff.

    Our smiths still struggle with 3-star materials let alone those higher." Frost quickly shot down buying a high quality mine at least for now.

    "Understood, anything else?"

    "Don''t bother with any of the internal buildings until the wall isplete, we''re not going to have to entertain any guests for quite a while after all." Though the stampede brought a massive influx of DP the following month or so would see the dungeon make pittance. No adventurers had any reason to travel beyond the gates of Furano.

    Their work during the war would see their coffers bursting with coins thus eliminating the urgent need for work. Of course there''d still be people needed escorts and whatnot but very few would be going hunting in the new dungeon.

    Frost ryed a few more ns to Khuno and the other squad captains before teleporting to the private space, a strong feeling of anticipation growing in his heart as he did.

    "I''m finally home."

 Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Trauma

    Space warped within the private space before a tall, handsome robed individual appeared. He looked around the smallish space with a nostalgic look in his eyes, feeling peace at the familiarity.

    "Master!!!!!" A momentter the man was assaulted by two small children. Blue feathers could be seen intermingled throughout their hair and azure scaled decorated parts of their faces highlighting their adorableness. The two children cared not for any decorum as they leaped from Maya''s side with their arms outstretched.

    They crashed into the robed man with a loud thud and a great deal of momentum, but the young man barely flinched as if expecting to be bombarded. Enduring such actions from Kiba was still beyond his abilities but remaining upright from Nanna and Loki''s assault certainly was.

    "Oooffff you''ve both gotten a little bigger." Frost said with an affectionate tone while picking the two of them and cradling them in his arms. The young girl Nanna blushed and felt embarrassed about Frost weighing her whereas her younger brother Loki thrust out his chest out with pride.

    One of the first things Frost and Maya sought out to correct was their malnourishment, putting on weight was proof of their sess, so he was very happy broadcasting it.

    The two children wrapped themselves around Frost refusing to let him go until ordered. They had missed him a great deal and after seeing Maya vanishing without any warning they worried for his safety. Frost was more than just their master he was family, akin to a father or an older brother. Knowing that he was in serious danger weighed on their hearts.

    Nanna especially worried about what would happen to them if such an eventuality ever came to pass. Would she be able to protect her little brother.

    Feeling their strong emotions Frost didn''t order them to let go instead he moved around with them still attached. He then looked at Maya who was staring at him with affection, finding his current image with the kids absolutely adorable, she was even a little jealous, both of Frost and the kids.

    "How about I tell you about my recent adventures while we have a meal?" Frost made his way to the sofa with a little bit of difficulty, making sure not to dislodge Nanna and Loki in any way. The children''s eyes lit up at his words, their interest stoked. They nodded their heads rapidly, eager to hear what he had to say while their stomachs rumbled revealing their hunger as well.

    "Haaaaaaa guess I better get to work then. Any limits on the DP?" Maya sighed and shook her head in a yful manner before moving to the kitchen.

    "No go all out if you want, we''ve got more than enough to spare." With the 50,000DP from his time in Furano, his leftover savings and what the dungeon made during his absence they currently had roughly 120,000 DP, more than enough to withstand avish meal.

    "Perfect, I''ll try and do something new then. Nanna do you want to help or are you satisfied where your are?" Maya asked with a teasing smile causing the young phoenix kin to blush before tightening her grip around Frost, her answer clear.

    "Hahahahaha where should I start then."

    "Garoww!!" As Frost was pondering on where to begin Kiba lightly roared.

    "Oh good idea Kiba. Ok shortly after Kiba and I left the dungeon and arrived at Furano the...Rindars¡­. Sr dawn¡­. Mighty ice demon...reinforcements arrived and then¡­." Frost started his story from the very start, embellishing the fanfare to a glorious level which caused the two children to bubble in excitement.

    He left out some of the more gruesome details but urately portrayed the feelings of the defenders and how abysmal their chances were before the reinforcements from the capital arrived. Maya kept her ears alert throughout the entire story, asionally smiling whenever Frost started gesturing or imitating the voice of someone else.

    Frost continued to describe his journey over the past week and answer any questions the two children had while they ate their meals. Maya truly went a bit overboard with the food, purchasing more than a few B-rank ingredients to produce a remarkable stew that featured a calming effect, perfect for dealing with stress and anxiety.

    The vour was nothing to sneeze at either, shame that most of the mana was lost form the dish but that couldn''t be helped after all Maya wasn''t a spirit chef like Vos.

    Nanna and Loki hung onto his every word, growing more and more excited as the story progressed. They imagined the battlefield in all its wonders, with their master braving against an impossible storm, standing at the fore when no one else could, a veritable hero. Their fanaticism actually grew to the point that Frost felt a little embarrassed.

    Maya''s judging look and a few discrete coughs helped him tone down his story telling. Eventually however the dreaded question came up.

    "Why did Maya get summoned then?" Loki asked innocently. Frost had described fiery battles and times where he felt the urge to call upon Maya but stopped himself. He also mentioned that he was about to call for her at the end but the reinforcements from the capital arrived before he got the chance -he didn''t tell them that the ice demon prevented him from summoning her with his summoned hellscape.

    Frost''s jubnt and light-hearted expression soured at the young boy''s question. He was brought back to the time he walked unguarded through the alleys of the money pit. Devoid of others andpletely eclipsed from the outside world.

    It was only thanks to his terrifying instincts that he was alerted of the danger, allowing him to move a few inches to the left thus avoiding a deadly strike to his heart. Even with the calming effect of the delicious stew and thefort of surrounding family his body still trembled, a cold sweat dripping down his neck as the memory of his near-death experience reyed in his mind.

    His eyes became clouded, and his heart started to race. The spectre of death once again announced itself, whispering in his ears with its callous voice, weing him to the other side.

    His sudden change in demeanour frightened the children and Maya made moves to stand by his side and offer her support. The event had likely traumatised him to some extent. Thankfully however Frost regained his faculties a few momentster without needing her help. The danger was already over, to be bound by a mere memory was pointless.

    "Sorry, I was remembering the situation and unfortunately it wasn''t pleasant." Loki looked guilty and apologised for bringing it up, but Frost shook his head.

    "You did nothing wrong Loki, you just asked a question how can there be anything wrong with that." He patted the young boy''s head while showing a bright smile though it looked rather forced given his pale expression.

    "Regardless I''ll still exin and this time I won''t embellish anything. Maya was summoned because of an assassination attempt. An A-rank assassin was hired by someone to take me out and almost seeded." His words caused the children to suck in a sharp breath as they eyes trembled in shock.

    "Luckily I notice his ambush in time thus allowing me to move a few inches to the left otherwise my heart would have likely been shattered." Frost showed the children the remnants of his armour to emphasize the danger as the wound had already been healed but it was enough to make the children visibly tremble, their hearts lurching at the image of Frost being struck by such a powerful person.

    "I was sent barrelling into a nearby wall with heavy injuries but thankfully he didn''t chase me down right away thus allowing me to tear apart the teleportation talisman and summon Maya to my side." Frost looked towards Maya at that point with gratitude, truly thankful for her hasty arrival.

    "...." Loki and Nanna remained silent with their heads down, obscuring their current expressions from Frost. Their hands however were balled up into tight fists as waves of anger radiated in their hearts.

    ''Who dares to mess with our master.'' They wanted to rend the offender apart and offer them up as sustenance to the dungeon. Frost had saved them from pain and eternal darkness, he was their family, their everything and they hated the fact that someone nearly took him from them.

    Frost scratched his cheek and looked at Maya who simply shook her head also puzzled by their silence. Eventually however Frost was once again assaulted by their little bodies. They wrapped their arms around him as tight as they possibly could and whispered.

    "You''re safe now." Three simple words but their impact was impressive. Tears welled up in Frost''s eyes as the remnants of trauma was blown away by their words. He was incredibly moved and in response hugged them tightly against his chest as warm tears dripped down his cheeks, wetting Nanna and Loki''s heads.

    Maya look on with reddened eyes before joining the three-way hug to make it four-way. The family was back together, safe and sound.

 Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Current state of the dungeon

    After several minutes of warm hugging the family of four broke off with cheery smiles, the pall brought on by the assassination attempt bing a formless breeze, lost in the wind.

    Frost then proceeded to ask Nanna and Loki about their lives over the past week which they were more than happy to regale. The two children spoke of their progress in terms of their education, their roles in regards to helping out with the construction of the newly minted camp as well as the fun times they had ying with the monsters during their downtime.

    Each tale widened Frost''s already ear stretching smile, he couldn''t be prouder and more enthralled by their words. Just hearing about their daily lives brought warmth and joy to his heart. He now understood his own father a little better.

    After talking the four of them prepared for an early night so as to be up at the crack of dawn ready to work. Frost had a hefty schedule to uphold after all, so much work to do in preparation for his future customers and residents. Though the dungeon wouldn''t likely see another sapient for theing weeks the amount of construction needed to meet his minimum requirements was staggering.

    The fierce war where his and his monsters lives were in jeopardy was over but now a new chapter promising to be no less exhausting was underway.

    Maya joined him for the night, sleeping peacefully entwined at his side, providing the two of them a sense of ease. Frost had the first peaceful rest in quite a while, even his dreams were ratherforting and soothing thus when the sun finally rose over the mountain where the dungeon resided, he awoke with a spring in his step.

    His body feeling limber, supple and full of strength, ready for a hard day''s work.

    Maya was still more ofte riser, so she cutely groaned as he shifted off the bed. She had no need to get up so early and never would if she had the option. Frost gently ced a peck on her forehead before leaving the bedroom as quietly as possible. It was time for him to shift gears and make do on his many ns. Adventuring time was over, now it was time to be a dungeon core.

    Frost made his way to the sofa and plopped himself down in front of the pseudo dungeon core that allowed him to view and control pretty much every faculty of the multi-floor spanning dungeon.

    "Guess I should take stock of the dungeon''s current state before taking any action." Frost proceeded to bring up a 3d hologram of the dungeon, allowing him to view it as a whole.

    The first floor was still a winter hignds environment followed by a winter forest and then the ruined castle interior to finish. There was the addition of a few spawners that still continued to churn out monsters every 12 or 24 hours as well as the iron mine connected to the winter forest.

    It was rather unusual for a monsterir to have differing environments especially after every room, but Frost decided that there was no need to change it. The three rooms worked fine as is and would help set his dungeon apart from the rank-and-file monsterirs plus having changing environments helped shore up an adventurer''s skills thus increasing their survivability.

    The second floor consisted of a continuation of the ruined castle interior for the first section whereas the following two were ice cavernbyrinths that were to be honest a little simple and could be easily mapped out after several delves but since it was only the 2nd floor he didn''t care much.

    He nned to increase the difficulty of the dungeon as it descended both in regards to monsters and environments.

    Most of the temporary changes enacted for the purpose of the stampede had already been removed thus returning the focus back onto adventuring parties rather than waves and waves of maddened monsters.

    After the second floor the dungeon began incorporating the same environment for the entire floor. The third floor was a winter forest whereas the fourth was a cial steppe, an environment very simr to the one he saw in the [beginner''s ice magic] monsterir. Ice everywhere in all manner of crystal-like forms, a very beautiful environment though quite deadly if underestimated.

    Two mines sections were also added to this floor, a second iron mine and a 2-star cier mine. The two floors also contained multiple monster spawners thus making them a step up from the first two in terms of importance. Frost envisioned the 3rd and 4th floor handling the bulk of his initial visitors. Not too dangerous but also not too easy to be a worthless endeavour.

    Solid E-ranks and perhaps new risen D-ranks would be ideal in this area.

    Beyond that was the fifth floor, the first floor with a boss monster that prevented anyone from proceeding to the next floor unless defeated. Right now a Lagombi seemed to be the perfect choice, an average D-rank monster that could take a real beating. The Dungeon was at the point now that it could simply summon a new Lagombi whenever it was killed, 500DP was a very minor expense.

    In regards to the environment the entire floor was a winter hignd simr to the one found in the dungeon''s first section/room. Wide open ins with a recurring blizzard perfect for beastlike monsters.

    Thegombi would be stationed at the very end of the floor where a pseudo ice arena barred ess to the sixth floor which was designated as the safe floor. Previously Frost nned on having the ursa he bought serve as the guardian of the fifth floor but considering the level of adventurers he''d likely get in theing months, something weaker was more apt.

    For the sixth floor the environment was far more pleasant than the previous ones with the temperature not even being in the negatives, something called a winter prairie. The flora and fauna contained within weren''t of very high quality but were numerous and beneficial for long term living.

    Rather open ins with multiple gentle rivers,kes and asional rolling hills, a pure paradisepared to the dangerous environments of the upper floors.

    The n was for the sixth floor to be a separate space from the regr dungeon aiming to provide a resting space for the adventurers as well as his more sapient like monsters. On this floor the first internal camp or outpost would be established.

    Frost had learned a lot from his books as well as through word of mouth from his acquaintances. Monsterirs that spanned tens of floor would be far too challenging toplete in a non-stop delve therefore areas would be carved out within to serve as rest stops.

    More popr monsterirs would even have several of these outposts manned 24/7 and armed to the teeth with defensive armaments that could put even Furano to shame, all in the name of profit and adventure. Frost nned to copy this treatment to make his dungeon even more appealing and practical.

    The higher quality mine rooms were also on the sixth-floor branching left and right from the second section. A kyanite mine, two frigid iron mines as well as a duram mine all of 3-star quality thus making the sixth-floor resource rich.

    Beyond that all the proceeding floors -of which there were currently four- held 2-star environments that were hazardous to intruders and of the same strain, cial steppe. These floors looked almost identical to the floors found in the [beginner''s ice magic] monsterir, beautiful, majestic and filled with an abundance of ice-based flora and fauna.

    Thanks to the abundance of DP gathered during the stampede all ten floors had been fully expanded and outfitted with environments before he left for Furano leaving the dungeon in a fairly good position to wee a vast range of intruders. All he needed to do now was improve a few features, develop the external and internal camp as well as decide the cement of his monsters.

    For the 10th or rather the 11th floor the future n was to have a moreplex ice maze that spanned the entire floor, one that had shifting walls and a vast array of traps and punishments before leading to a more borate arena that would house either, Finy, Khuno or himself as thest bastion but then again it was unlikely any adventurer would make to the final floor before he had enough DP to further expand.

    "The dungeon itself is in quite a good ce and actually doesn''t need much improvement, at least in the short term." Frost analysed while cupping his chin in thought. He could expand a couple sections or add more spawners but that could wait until the customers return.

    "Haaaaaa 120,000DP used to be such a massive number, now it only serves to purchase a few assets. Developing my dungeon is truly an endless money pit." Frost sighed as he reminisced about his early days, missing the cheapness of low-ranking monsters and materials.

    "The external camp will take up most of the dungeon''sbour over the next couple weeks. After that we can work on the internal outpost for the sixth floor, further promoting long term tenants. Terra really does have the right approach.

    Passive gains will surely overtake active gains in the long run, thankfully I''m taking action early rather thante." Frost had no wish to lose his current 4th ce ranking and in fact wished to ascend to 3rd perhaps even 2nd or 1st but thetter two were just a dream at the moment he knew that Yami and Aqua were truly in a ss of their ownpared to him and his other siblings.

    Surpassing Pyro however was not only a feasible goal but also a very satisfying proposal.

    Confident with the Dungeon''s internal situation he manoeuvred the 3d image to the external camp where hundreds of small figures representing his monsters could be seen moving to and fro. Thanks to shift patterns and the benefit of night vision work on the camp was 24/7.

 Chapter 526: Chapter 526: Thats.....a problem

    "Looks as though they''ve got their work schedule down to a tee." Frost eyed the movements of his many monsters andpared it to clockwork. At first it looked like a hodgepodge of messy paths where idents and collisions could happen every other minute but in fact there was a very established flow or at least the makings of one.

    Several groups showed some difficulty in performing their work exactly as ordered but not to the point of causing aplete copse.

    Finy was the general currently on shift and could be seen in the centre of the camp standing before arge ice table that disyed a rudimentary n of the envisioned camp including the minor changes Frost discussed with Khuno yesterday.

    "The wall will do for now, there shouldn''t be any sign of another stampede for at least a few years and the only other threat will be from the opportunistic bandits and profit hunters, a minor inconvenience even if they do bring a substantial force." Frost wasn''t simply being arrogant he took great stock in his potential enemies and prepared for them and then some.

    The camp''s walls may not equal the defensive strength of Furano''s but lying behind it were dozens of C-rank monsters, two B-ranks and hundreds of D and lesser ranks. The camp would not be easy pickings for those looking to take advantage. Plus having the Ronsos act as the face of the camp alongside himself prevented any untoward sabotage or coercion. Khuno and the rest would never betray him.

    "Within two weeks at the earliest the wall needs be at least 8 metres high and cover the entire perimeter of the camp, the rest areas, medical centre, food services, toilets, smithy as well as a couple basic vendors also need to be established so as to meet the basic criteria for an official camp.

    Specialist stores, high quality rest areas, bars etc¡­ can wait until the traffic flow bes more developed and those from Furano, Kranor and anywhere else decide to toss their hat in the ring." Frost nodded at his own n, finding it ambitious but not too ambitious.

    Out with the necessary development of the camp there was the future development of the outpost on the sixth floor as well as the space and materials fit for the two high ranking smiths that would soon grace the dungeon with their presence. Borris was a 4star cksmith with decades worth of knowledge under his belt as well as ample teaching experience.

    He expected his chosen ronsos as well as the ice dwarven smiths to take full advantage of his time here. Of course the old dwarf would still be kept in the dark about most things, primarily being restricted to certain areas and kept separate from the dungeon''s daily processes. The same however couldn''t be said about the other smith.

    Daki, a beautiful orc woman with subus ancestry who''s appearance and voluptuous figure gave Maya a good run for her money. Unlike Borris she was not being scouted simply for her cksmithing capabilities but would instead join Frost''s inner circle like Nanna, Loki and of course Maya.

    She was to be part of the family, a lover who was kept abreast of the inner workings and helped out in their grand ambitions. Of course Daki was currently in the dark about all this only knowing that Frost held a rather impressive secret and background, but the young dungeon core had a strong feeling that the truth wouldn''t faze her.

    He asionally talked to her over the magic crystal every couple of days, keeping her up to date on the stampede and his current situation.

    Frost still needed to finish setting up quite a few things and reserve arge chunk of DP to suit her tradeswoman wishes but she''d already packed up her stuff and sold off her shop, diving all in on this rtionship despite their short interaction. Their connection was something instinctual and deep regardless of time. For Daki there seemed to be no other than Frost.

    Her many years of searching appeared to be over, Frost was the man for her.

    He nned on heading over to retrieve his woman in a week or so. By then a good chunk of the camp''s foundation would be finished and the stampede would officially be over. At the moment there were still small groups of ravenous monsters affected by the mana vein''s corruption trolling around the external regions.

    But the DP being released by the mana vein was gradually diminishing day by day, clearly heading back to normal levels.

    "Though the ns are in ce there''s still lots of work to be done." On top of handling the camp and preparing his abode for its new arrival he also needed to facilitate his own growth and improve his dungeon through more creative means lest he fall behind the other remarkable dungeon cores, Frost wasn''t one to rest on hisurels.

    There just weren''t enough hours in the day but thankfully he no longer needed sleep.

    "Let''s get down and dirty then." With a confident smile on his face Frost rolled up his sleeves and teleported from the private space to the external room. He''d take part in the construction personally. If he truly wanted to know what the dungeoncked he needed to talk to its inhabitants and be actively involved in the construction process.

    Frost disappeared into a space warp as if the process was as natural as breathing, he no longer felt even the slightest bit nauseous or dibobted by it.

    "Hey Finy, how''s it going?" He teleported within spitting distance of his right hand man who looked right in his elementmanding legions of monsters.

    Therge, athletically built ice troll lord looked up from the table with a growing smile.

    "Master, it''s good to see you again." Finy replied back with a poorly hidden sense of exhaustion.

    "Haaaaaaa seems I''ve put a lot on your shoulders with my absence." Frost shook his head and sighed, partially regretted being away from the dungeon for so long and so often.

    "No, no Master it''s nothing I can''t handle." Finy tried to emphasise his energy levels with a muscr disy but the bags under his eyes were as clear as day.

    "Well I''m back now and ready to go to work. Why don''t you run me through the schedule you''ve arranged today and highlight any areas you''ve foundcking." Frost tapped Finy''s shoulder in a reassuring manner before manoeuvring to his side so as to get a good look at the set up outlined on therge ice table.

    "dly master." Finy replied with an enthusiastic voice, happy to share his heavy workload. "At the moment I''ve assigned 8 ronsos to oversee the wall''s construction along with our more capable dwarven smiths. Our current rate of section failure is about one in twenty but it''s improving every day.

    At the start we failed to produce an eptable section of wall perhaps 20% of the time so we''re definitely getting better with our craft." Finy pointed out the many teams in the distance as well as where they coincided on the table ns.

    "I''ve alreadymuned with Khuno and adjusted our material form to include more frigid iron in the wall''s construction and at our current rate we''ll probably finish the full foundation within ten days andplete the 2nd stage within 3 weeks give or take a day or two.

    In regards to the camp''s buildings we''ve outlined their foundations but haven''t really started building them up given that the wall takes priority." Frost nodded his head along as Finy spoke, agreeing with his assessment.

    "In terms of problem areas we could use morebour appropriate monsters. Goblins, slimes etc¡­ can help carry things but we need dwarven smiths to specifically create the slurry of pykrete and metal, yuki-onnas to enhance it with ice magic and of course our ronsos to add the final touch with their cold me chakra.

    Our construction speed is integrally linked with these three groups so only by adding more of them will we be able to increase our pace though too much would also cause overcrowding."

    "I guess I could assign some DP for more of these monsters if you believe it will speed up our progress. Ideally, I''d want the 2nd stage done in two weeks rather than three."

    "If that''s the case then we definitely need morebourers. 3 ronsos, 6 yuki-onnas or 18 lesser yuki-onnas and several dozen ice dwarven smiths would be appropriate to meet such a deadline if only just." Frost brought up the dungeon menu from his forearm and added those monsters to his shopping cart.

    "There is one other issue that I''d like to specifically bring up."

    "Go on."

    "By building a wall to protect the camp we''ve ended up isting us from the wayward monsters and beasts that were asionally drawn towards the dungeon''s mana radiance.

    Overtime it could add up to a staggering amount of DP considering there''s far more monsters in the world than sapients." Finy noticed this ring issue when a couple raiding monsters were stopped and killed beyond the wall thus greatly reducing the amount of DP they rewarded.

    In the future when the stampede''s madnesspletely dissolvedrge monster packs wouldn''t be so dumb as to assault the high walls of the camp, choosing to instead pluck more low hanging fruit.

    "That''s...a problem."

 Chapter 527: Chapter 527: Hard labour

    "That''s...a problem." Frost said with a developed frown. DP was the dungeon''s lifeblood, wantonly abandoning a significant chunk of it was not a wise move but building a protective wall around the camp wasn''t something they could avoid either.

    They needed some way to both attract adventurers and future residents as well as allow the wandering monsters and beasts to enter the dungeon''s purview though doing so defeated the purpose of a defensive wall.

    Frost was truly stumped in regards to this issue and hadn''t thought about the camp''s impact on the natural monsters.

    As his frown grew and grew Finy brought up other issues that needed to be dealt with.

    "On a not so impactful note we''ll need to start developing a sturdy gate for the camp''s entrance as well as purchase new war machines to dot the walls once they''re finished. The stampede saw us lose all but one machine though its condition is anything but ster."

    "Can the dwarven smiths not repair them?"

    "Unfortunately the mechanisms present in the ballistae are tooplicated and delicate for their current abilities. They''re really only good at basic construction and simple weaponry after all. You''ll need to allocate a reserve of DP to outfit our walls with at least a couple dozen of the machines if we want to do them justice. A simple high and thick wall is nothing to conniving opportunists.

    Only when the wall can actively go on the offensive will they struggle in mounting a long-term siege." Finy highlighted a few other areas but only the first couple posed real impactful issues.

    In regards to the wild monsters Frost had a couple ideas but nothing concrete whereas the wall defences only needed an influx of DP, something he could easily grant.

    "Understood I''ll increase the reserve of DP to be allocated to the walls ande up with a way to best suit the needs of our wild monster problem what about the camp''s internalyout, is there anything there that may need to be revised and or my personal attention?"

    "Well since we''ve only really drawn the foundations we''ve not encountered any known issues as of yet and any obvious ones such as size issues, internal traffic flow and environmental resistance can only be dealt with after they''ve been built. We''ll really need to test the waters and listen to theints of those who chose to dwell within and use them as their ce of business.

    However from the books you retrieved, our smiths'' opinions on dimensions and your descriptions of the buildings in Furano, Kranor and the camp ced before the [beginner''s ice magic] monsterir as well as the few buildings avable for purchase through the dungeon menu we''ve aired on the side of practicability, going for a more orthodox approach rather than something unique and wildly creative, bar your ce of course, all we''ve done there is mark out arge square wherein you can design your office as you see fit." Frost was to be the effective mayor/manager of the camp therefore he needed to have a mayoral office to conduct business in and where the residents and visitors could go to bring up their issues with the camp.

    "I see. That''s probably the correct approach, we won''t really know what the people really want until they''re actually here." There was a lot of space left unmarred within the confines of the walls to serve as future real estate for that time, only the essential buildings as well as a few testingyouts were drawn up.

    "There''s only so much we can n master, sometimes it''s best to just go ahead and alter your course based on what obstacles are ced in your path as they appear." Finy struggled toe up with anything else that was a concrete problem or boon.

    "True, guess we''ll just stick with our current ns and hope for the best." Frost somewhat reluctantly shook his head and shrugged his shoulders before refocusing himself.

    "Alright where should I go to work first then?" With the ns set and some DP allocated it was time to decide where the man in charge would be best ced. Though Frostcked a lot of the technical know how of the dwarven smiths he could utilise ice mes like the ronsos and use most of the same ice magic as the yuki-onnas.

    "This¡­." Finy looked a little perplexed at the question. Sure Frost was rather capable and with him working on the walls they were sure to increase their productivity, on paper at least.

    The monsters working by his side would obviously be affected by his presence, whether it would a positive change or a negative one Finy didn''t know but it would definitely affect the fine-tuned work flow they''d recently established.

    After a few seconds of silence Finy finally made a decision. "Given that your ice mes are a level above all of the ronsos'', Khuno included you could start by further strengthening the wall''s foundation. Meanwhile I''ll arrange for a contingent of dwarves and trolls to be assigned to you so you can then start fashioning the camp''s buildings."

    "Sounds great, I''ll head over now. Send me a message when the team is arranged." Frost nodded his head and smiled before heading off to where the external first started. He was very happy to be given some hardbour, staying behind a desk all the time and supervising any work was not in his blood.

    Turns out he and Leo shared a lot of simrity though he wasn''t quite as opposed to the rigors of leadership.

    As Frost summoned out his bone chilling ice mes to further harden and improve the basic foundations of the external wall he ran through multiple possibilities in solving the wild monster issue. The more he thought of it the more annoying the situation became.

    The dungeon''s core was a tantalising gem to wild monsters, their instincts would naturally drive them towards the dungeon so as to partake in the juicy mass of energy. The endless waves drawn during the stampede were proof enough of its attractiveness and this was something that would only grow as the dungeon developed.

    The more floors he built the greater the scent produced thus attracting bigger fish.

    "I can''t have the monsters and beasts being attracted to the camp as that would be pointless. Most monsters would avoid a camp full of bloodthirsty adventurers and protected by a massive wall whereas those that weren''t curtailed would instead pose a serious threat to the safety of the camp''s residents.

    Though their deaths would grant me a significant amount of DP it''d defeat the point of passive ie haaaaaaaa what to do, what to do."

    "Expanding the area outside the dungeon could work to a degree but the monsters would still be blocked off from essing the dungeon unless they barged through the camp and its high walls¡­.I need a way to facilitate ess for both without ovepping the two¡­." Frost thought deeply as freezing mes gushed out his hands and encapsted arge section of the external wall.

    He pretty much acted on auto pilot as his brain entered problem solving mode. Thankfully there weren''t any workers near his position thus preventing him from identally freezing a goblin or two.

    After a hour or so Frost had covered nearly half a kilometre of wall with his ice fire thus increasing its overall strength by roughly 10 perhaps 20% in some areas. The price however for this constant heavy use of high level chakra exhausted him greatly, even with his connection to the dungeon core non-stop chakra usage wore Frost out.

    He was panting, sweating buckets and felt that his mana channels were about to burst. He did however have a smile stered on his face reaffirming Maya''s opinion that he was a bit of a masochist.

    "Hahahaha not only did I get a real chakra workout I''vee up with a pretty decent solution to the wild monsters problem." Frostughed as he fell onto the lightly snow-covered ground and summoned a mid-level mana potion from his storage ring.

    He glugged down the blue liquid with gusto, finding the vour more than eptable, it was akin to a man nearly dying of dehydration taking arge gulp of water, exactly what his body needed at that precise moment.

    "I doubt many choose to go down such a brutal training path, but it certainly has its rewards." Frost positively remarked as he sensed his mana veins slowly but surely expanding each time, he worked them to the absolute limit. It was the same with his muscles, after breaking them down through super intense workouts they grew stronger after healing, all it took was some determination and pain.

    After finishing his mana potion and inspecting his mana veins Frost looked over the remaining wall, 500 metres was only a little over 3% of the entire external wall. 3 sides each 5kms long, he had quite a ways to go.

    "Looks like even construction can serve as a good workout hehehehe." Heughed looking very much forward to the results after he finished the entire wall.

    At the moment however he needed to rest, too much damage to his mana veins would have the opposite effect.

    "Solving the wild monsters issue will require not just DP but some careful nning, possible rearranging and perhaps even testing the bounds of what I''m allowed to get away with. I might have to ask father for his input but technically there shouldn''t be a problem." Frosty his back against the cold floor, finding it ratherfortable as he brought up the dungeon menu.

    "Let''s test the waters first."

 Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Quick fix

    What Frost ideally envisioned was to create an offshoot of his current dungeon, not necessarily creating a second dungeon but another entrance that differed from the currentyout. He first wanted to attempt such a notion and see if the dungeon menu rejected his proposal as it has happened before putting all his eggs in one basket.

    Frost along with a great number of his siblings attempted to push the boundaries of their dungeon creation skills over the past few months with a great many being shot down by their father''s ''actually'' fairly rule bound system.

    One such example was a certain sibling wanting to ce their dungeon core in an unreachable room therefore permanently preventing anyone from getting ess to it lest they started destroying the dungeon''s many walls and boundaries.

    This was of course immediately shot down with the statement ''intruders must be able to reach the dungeon core some way or another or rather the dungeon core can''t be cordoned off from any part of the dungeon''.

    The limits imposed by this rule however are dependent on many factors such as the dungeon''s location, type, intruders etc¡­ but the basis was that the dungeon core needed to be essible through some shape or form to those that would be entering it.

    Others thus took that word ''essible'' with a grain a salt and further pushed the boundaries, some seeded in their machinations, but many were outright rejected. If one wished to go to far with their ploys and get away with it there was one possibility that Dark eventually- after getting annoyed with the inundating creativity of his children- established.

    Which was the possibility of creating a second/subordinate dungeon through the use of a dummy dungeon core (a hollow soulless entity, like what Dark used to exin monster summoning to Frost and the rest in the first couple chapters) or the core of a monsterir.

    The first method was pretty safe and posed fewer limitations but so far no one knew how to get their hands on one of these dummy cores and Dark didn''t bother telling. The current assumption was that they could be prizes in the gacha and or rewards given by Dark during future gatherings as currently the dungeon menu didn''t offer them for sale anywhere.

    The second option of using monsterir cores however providing a definite route to establishing a subsidiary dungeon though with many caveats. First being that you''d need to subdue a monsterir and absorb its core which was not only difficult and possibly dangerous the act itself would put a target on your back.

    There was an established ord throughout Nova to not mess with monsterir cores as the monsterirs served as a significant sources of ie and materials for their surrounding popce. Losing said source threatened their livelihoods so them bing furious anding after the one who caused such a loss was to be expected.

    Secondly the subsidiary dungeon would be limited in size, equal to whatever size the monsterir was at the point of acquisition. Third the DP retrieved from deaths within the subsidiary dungeon would only be 50% of what would be gained in the primary dungeon given that they were a poorer imitation of the real thing.

    Finally recovery of monsters, traps and environmental assets would happen far slower thanpared to the main dungeon though therger and more developed the monsterir the smaller the difference.

    Basically the way to go was dummy dungeon cores but since ess to them was severely restricted monsterirs offered a way to grow quickly albeit at the expense of quality. This was certainly true for the moment where only the top half dozen or so cores were at the B-rank. The level of monsterirs they could conquer was quite limited.

    Frost currently had no ns on embarking down such a route, especially at his current juncture. He''d already been at war for several weeks so he wasn''t keen on starting another one just so he could establish a substandard dungeon solely for wild monsters. Instead he was thinking of creating a second entrance that would eventually lead to the regr dungeon albeit through a rather circuitous route.

    Thanks to the magic of spatial magic the internalyout of the dungeon could bepletely lobsided but still line-up well with the following and preceding floors. Frost could pretty much build in whatever direction with a great deal of leniency.

    Of course if he ascended further and further up the mountain there''d eventually be far less actual space to work with but at the moment he had more to work with than he could ever dream of using.

    "I could create an out of the way entrance somewhere within the external cial mountains and have it eventually lead back to the mainyout thus keeping the two separate while at the same time not tripping up on any caveats, however¡­.."

    "Error! Error! Error! As expected," when Frost went to create a second entrance somewhere far in the distance he was met with an error message. Unless the entrance was connected to the dungeon core in some way it wouldn''t fly, he couldn''t build after the fact only before.

    "This could end up being quite DP intensive." The second entrance needed to be far enough from the camp so that the two forces wouldn''t need to interact and hidden well enough that sapients would really be interested/attracted to it over the main one. The idea being that only wild monsters and beasts would really use this entrance.

    A simple solution would be to put an entrance above the camp, higher up the mountain where the dungeon resided thus granting him ess to the plethora of monsters residing there. The distance in that case wouldn''t need to be that great and the link up could happen within a couple floors therefore saving a lot of DP.

    However, the monsters residing on the mountain weren''t the same as those residing on the floor. They were far stronger thus posing a serious danger to the dungeon given its current forces. Frost wasn''t stupid enough to open up a path to his core for a tide of C and B-rank monsters that were beyond his abilities just for some extra DP.

    This solution also wouldn''t help with the DP lost from the wild monsters the dungeon currently had ess too.

    "Haaaaaaaa if I''m being really cost effective I could theoretically create a floor with really long and narrow rooms to cut down the distance but that feels like a real cop out... I could instead make something simple a little out of the ways with the n to eventually abandon it or repurpose it.

    That way the DP cost will remain low and it''d be able draw the monsters within the Northrend forest and very, very slightly beyond." The question was either to spend a decent amount of DP to create a proper wild monster attraction,pletely devoid of sapient interaction and with full draw effects to a vast area of the cial mountains or set up a small, nearby hub that would only offer an alternative route to the very local monsters.

    Personally Frost frowned on low quality choices especially after reaching his current strength but practically he didn''t have enough DP to embark on such a grand n. There was an issue affecting the dungeon in the present and he could only afford the quick fix. He wasn''t set to make any significant DP gains during theing weeks, perhaps even months.

    Though the stampede injected him with hundreds of thousands of DP likely rocketing him beyond his other siblings he was in for a significant dry spell now that it was over.

    "Haaaaaaa well I can always incorporate the area for other means and even alter its environment, it won''t be a lost fixed asset at least." Frost decided to go down the simple fix route thus reducing another chunk of his stored DP.

    As divine energy flowed through his body four new sections established themselves beside the second section of the fourth floor leading off towards an 8m by 6m stone entrance approximately 30km away from the camp. The entrance though fairlyrge was facing away from the regr sapient traffic, people would have to really be looking for it if they wished to find it.

    The four sections were each expanded to medium size and sported greater length than breadth thus allowing Frost to cut down the required sections while still retaining a simr ambience to the other areas of the dungeon. Simple winter forests were used as the environments thus filling the new areas with bountiful flora and fauna, perfect for attracting the wild monsters in the nearby vicinity.

    ess to and from the fourth floor was also well hidden and difficult to transition between the two areas -though still possible thanks to Dark''s connected policy. It wasn''t exactly atheistically pleasing when Frost looked at the Dungeon''s overall 3d image, but it did the job.

    "Perhaps when I add more rooms to the other floors it''ll bnce out in the end, regardless the wild monster issue can be now be considered resolved, at least for now." Frost nodded his head, rtively happy with his solution but noted in his mind that he would definitely establish a more effective solution in the future.

    The amount of DP lurking in the cial mountains both upwards and to the north was not something he wished to neglect for long.

 Chapter 529: Chapter 529: Off to pick up his feisty green enchantress

    With the wild monster issue resolved, Frost rested for a brief 5 minutes before carrying on with his original task. He needed to solidify the foundations of the entire protective wall, all 15km -though not all of it wasplete yet.

    Over the following week Frost woke up at the crack of dawn every day, he''d kiss Maya gently on the forehead as left the bedroom only to receive a rude grumble in response most mornings before teleporting straight into the semi-established camp where Finy or Khuno would assign him his work for the day.

    Along with his expert help as well as that of the additional dwarves, yuki-onnas and ronsos he summoned, the first phase of the external wall wasplete and many of the primary buildings were significantly underway.

    The dungeon''srge stone entrance was now surrounded by a 4-metre-tall wall with solid foundations that spanned 5 kilometres beyond the mountain and the makings of a nascent vige was beginning to unfold within, turning this boring field of snow and trees into something rather habitable. Everyone who gazed upon the budding camp couldn''t help but feel proud and impressed by its potential.

    This was the result of their hard work over the past couple weeks. No instant creations from the dungeon, just back breakingbour from all its inhabitants. Even Nanna and Loki did their part once their daily lessons wereplete.

    "It''s really starting toe together." Frost said as he stood in the centre of the camp. There was still a long way to go but the bones were clearly showing.

    "Your first fief." Maya who had managed to get herself up early today. No thanks to Frost''s actions the night before, she was still finding his appetite rather difficult to endure given her current limping and trembling hips. However she willingly engaged in such activitiesst night with much greater enthusiasm given where Frost was heading or rather who he was going to meet.

    It was a way in which she marked her territory, a im for dominance in the face of the other woman that was set to join their little family. Frost of course was smiling from ear to ear due to her antics not dissuading her ''marking'' in the slightest, in fact he even egged her on and teased her resulting in them going a little overboard.

    "That''s a good way of putting it. Given that my identity needs to remain a close guarded secret this camp will be the first territory officially under my name¡­hehehehe." Frost started giggling as he repeated the word fief in his head and started referring to himself as Lord Frost. Owning one''s ownnd and bing a king was always of a fantasy of the young and ambitious.

    "I wonder have far my ambitions will take me. Perhaps years in the future it won''t be the Northrend empire reigning supreme but mine." A sh glinted in Frost''s eyes as he spoke, a fierce me and a tendril of arrogance attached themselves to his smile.

    "You''ve got a looooooonnnnnggggg way to go if that''s what you want. Right now you''re nothing but a fly in their eyes." Maya ever the buzzkill or rather the collected one doused his arrogance and ambitions with a pitcher of cold water, swiftly bringing an end to his boasts.

    "True, true just a single well-trained assassin almost took me out of the game before it even started." Frost replied with a deted expression which caused Maya to let out a small giggle before gently patting his back.

    "You''re still young and full of potential just don''t get too full of yourself. The world is vast and very cruel to a tree that rises beyond the rest. Unless you have sufficient protection and or indomitable strength you''ll be easily cut down by jealous peers. Your current ns to fully establish the dungeon and focus on its growth is a very good start.

    Slow and steady wins the race, reaching the peak is a marathon not a sprint after all." Maya spoke with a strange sense of wisdom that was beyond her years, causing Frost to look at her rather strangely.

    He leaned down and ced his hand over her forehead checking to see if she had a fever. "Did we go at it so muchst night that your brain''s all jumbled up¡­ahh owowowow!" His mocking care was met with a swift grip and twist of his side. This ''friendly'' interaction between the couple caused many monsters in the nearby area tough and smile, finding their exchange rather heart-warming.

    "So you''re going today?" After giving Frost a sharp dose of pain Maya asked with a resigned tone. She did pretty much all she could to dy his departure but the addition of another woman to their rtionship was inevitable.

    Maya pondered over this issue a lot over the past few weeks, trying her best to find the silver lining and tone down her natural misgivings. She hadn''t met the orc subus yet but from what Frost told her she seemed nice and quite simr to herself in many ways.

    She didn''t like the idea of sharing her man especially given that their rtionship was still in the early stages but sometimes, especially at night she did wish there was another person to pick up the ck, Frost was truly insatiable. It was like he was given a body that never tired nor ran empty.

    She wondered if the Dark God designed his other children the same way on purpose so as to increase the chances of proliferation among his progeny, they were after all a new species that contained his essence. What parent didn''t want as many grandkids as possible. While thinking along this route her aversion to Daki grew slimmer by the day though she was still set in being number one.

    asionally she thought it''d be nice to have something like a sister to hang out and exchange girl talk with as Nanna wasn''t old enough for such things.

    "Yeah, now that the wall''s foundation isplete and many of the main buildings are nearingpletion, I feel confident in leaving Finy and Khuno in full control of what remains. She''s waited long enough." To be honest Daki was fully keen on leaving with Frost as soon as possible.

    In fact she would have left with him the day he first left Kranor if it was possible, a fact that wasn''t lost on him. Over the past few days when they talked over the magic crystal, he could clearly feel her desire and frustration from being left alone for so long, she was beginning to grow quite impatient.

    Because of that he really didn''t want to dy their reunion any longer despite Maya''s inviting attempts to do otherwise.

    "Haaaaaaa fine go and bring her then, I really can''t wait to see the woman that''s managed to grasp your heart so tightly despite only interacting with you for a couple days." Maya cutely pouted but wasn''t truly angry.

    In response Frost smiled gently before kissing his girlfriend on the forehead and pulling her into a tight embrace.

    "Regardless of her grip you''re still and always will be my first and number one." He soothed her with sweet words from the heart which worked very well, she blushed from ear to ear and sunk into his chest, quietly calling him an idiot as she rubbed her finger against his chest.

    In celebration forpleting the first phase of the external wall Frost arranged avish feast, awash with alcohol, fruit juice and rather delectable desserts. For most of the meals he dug into the supply of monster meat that they''d gained from the stampede while he used DP to purchase the drinks and desserts.

    All of his monster were invited to partake in this luxury as a reward for their hard work during the stampede and the construction of the camp.

    The monsters sang their master''s praises as they dug into the food and drink. They regaled to one another their experiences during the war and became more than just monsters serving the same master. Many became good friends regardless of their species. It certainly helped that Nanna and Loki intermingled with so many, drawing arge group of monsters into their little band of ymates.

    Frost watched as they partied, interacted and even sang with pride welling up in his heart. These were his people, beings that relied upon him to guarantee their safety, food, shelter and very lives. A tall ask full of responsibility but one he epted without hesitation.

    "I will bring you all to the peak of this world." He muttered under his breath as a solemn vow was written in his heart.

    Once the feast was over it was time for Frost to head over to Kranor to pick up his long waiting girlfriend. He''d already informed his cadre of monster officers about his intention and ordered them to prepare for her arrival in a glorious fashion. A substantial amount of DP had also been hallmarked to suit the wants and needs of his new lover.

    Out with the additional space needed in the private space he prepared a small section for her on the sixth floor that would serve as her personal workshop wherein she would holdplete dominion. There was also the makings of a small but well decorated shop in the camp that would allow her to entertain any future customers, but the real magic would primarily happen within the personal workshop.

    The ce wasn''t outfitted yet as he wanted to leave that to her professional discretion but given that the sixth floor had easy ess to numerous high-quality mines, he believed there''d be no better location for her workshop. The rather pleasant environment throughout the floor would certainly be an added bonus.

    "Keep working hard while I''m gone but hopefully this time I won''t be away for too long."

    "Understood master." Both Khuno and Finy saluted to Frost who was currently riding atop Kiba.

    "Nanna, Loki try to stay out of Khuno and Finy''s way unless they specifically ask for your help. Listen to Maya and keep working on your lessons."

    "Yes master." The two phoenix kin responded excitedly; they were quite looking forward to meeting Daki. Not only because Frost was rather taken with her but because she forged the gear they loved to wear during training.

    Frost then turned his attention to Maya who was showing a somewhat crooked/forced smile.

    "Don''t look so miffed, I''m sure the two of you will get along great once you actually meet. Please try to be at least somewhat weing when we return." Frost tried his best to ease the tension surrounding Maya but gave up on achieving a positive response, merely aiming for lukewarm or neutral.

    "Hmph." He got a hmph in response which was wasn''t that bad in his opinion.

    "Well then, I''m off. To Kranor Kiba."

    "Roar!" Kiba who didn''t care about the delicacy of Frost and Maya''s love life roared happily at the fact he''d get to return to his hometown. The young tiger cub swiftly dashed away through the gap in the external wall which would soon be protected by a high-quality gate.

    Frost was off to fetch pick up his feisty green enchantress.

 Chapter 530: Chapter 530: Reunion with Daki

    Now that the stampede was officially over -the mana vein also returned to giving its normal daily DP dosage before he left- Frost didn''t have to worry too much about running into wandering packs of monsters that were infused with unbridled bloodlust however there was another issue.

    "Guess they weren''t kidding." Frost had to force Kiba to stop while he took in the views before him. Thendscape he remembered from his previous excursion into the cial mountains had shifted due to the incessant march of millions of monsters heading south. But the most important change was the change in controlled territory.

    With vast sums of monsters leaving for the south never to return, areas that were once under the firm control of a former group of monsters were now up for grabs thus leading to aplete change in the local monster demographic.

    Whenever there was a monster stampede, especially arge one, all the information collected by the local camps, outposts, countries and enves regarding the local fauna had to be thrown out.

    Only after several months of brutalpetition between the newly born monsters would they be able to urately identify the new pecking order. An area that used to be flush with frost wolves could turn into a habitat for pr bears, frost spiders or even frost lizards, greatly changing the established hunting routines. It was a bit of a pain in the ass but overall seen as a good thing.

    The stampedes brought new life to the external regions, a regr change that helped reduced overeating and hunting of a particr species.

    For Frost however it meant that the path he intended to take was no longer as empty as he would have hoped. An area that was previously devoid of anything remotely violent and dangerous now housed a group of pr bears fighting against a couple frost drakes for dominion of the unimed territory.

    "Haaaaaaa dys, dys and more dys" Frost let out a sigh and shook his head. This was the fourth group of aggressive monsters that impeded his path and he was starting to grow frustrated at all the stopping and starting.

    "Garow" Kiba offered a solution to their problem.

    "No we''re not flying there. Despite your increased skills it''s still too dangerous."

    "Garow!" The young tiger drooped his head in disappointment. What good was having massive wings if he never got to use them.

    "Just roar at the top of your lungs and see if that scares them off and if not, I''ll use my aura."

    "Grrrr!" Kiba acquiesced to the order though it was clear that he still wanted to fly to Kranor.

    "ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!" With a mighty roar that threatened to shake the heavens Kiba revealed himself in all his glory to the battle enthused pr bears and frost drakes. The D-rank monsters that had been fighting each other for control over the past hour trembled at his roar. They all turned to face the massive tiger with fear in their eyes.

    Instinctively they started stepping backwards from one another, opening up arge gap between the two sides that would facilitate Kiba''s passage.

    ''Looks like his roar worked well this time.'' Frost petted the young tiger''s head with affection as the two charged through the established gap without any interference. The two opposing monster groups remained frozen as they passed and only after a couple minutes after their departure did they resume their battle with an even greater ferocity.

    Despite the many interruptions and changes in thendscape, Frost and Kiba managed to make it to the Kranor enve just as the sun was about to set and cover the region in utter darkness.

    Their arrival however caught the assigned guards by surprise, it was rather rare for someone to be out in the wilds so soon after the stampede but after a few questions and a few people recognising him and Kiba he was allowed entry without too much fuss.

    "She should be staying either at Sam and L''s, the mayor''s or Druakai''s." Frost didn''t tell Daki about his sudden arrival, preferring to surprise her so he didn''t know exactly where she was staying.

    Her main residence was officially with Sam and L, but she opted to stay with her younger brother Druakai on asion as well as Chia to learn more about being a good wife or something, she didn''t go too deep into the details. Unfortunately thisck of information meant he didn''t know where she was exactly.

    "Guess we just gotta pick one and hope we''re right. Come Kiba let''s start with Mayor''s manor." Frost and Kiba thus swiftly made their way towards the mayor''s manor which was the closest option. He could have called someone and asked but felt that it may ruin the surprise.

    "Frost is that you, my, my if I knew you wereing, I would have arranged a celebration or avish feast at the very least." Chia (the mayor''s wife and L''s mother) greeted him in a hurry as the guards weed him in. The elderly rabbit woman was as ravishing as ever, her evening work attire doing very little to hide her ample figure, Yarrow was a very lucky man indeed.

    "Sorry I kind of wanted it to be a surprise. You''re looking as lovely as ever Chia." Frost shed a yful wink at the older woman as he praised her beauty. "How''s Yarrow doing?"

    "ttery will get you everywhere Frost." Chia quickly interlocked her arm with Frost''s and gently leaned into his side, boldly showing off the capabilities of an experienced woman as she led him towards the reception room. Frost wasn''t the only yer; in fact he was nothingpared to her back in the day.

    She wanted to make the young man blush a little with her moves, but it was clear that Frost had be more ustomed to such attacks, he didn''t even blink out of sequence, so she upped her game a little.

    "My husband is as fit as a fiddle thanks to the medicine you procured for him, in fact he acting like a man half his age." The rabbit woman smiled from ear to ear and licked her lips as she spoke, clearly indicating a double meaning. Frost was forced to raise his hands up in surrender, he truly wasn''t her match in this regard.

    "What about everyone else?" He asked after lightly coughing, trying to discretely change the subject.

    "Well my darling daughter has finally dropped her guard and started studying for real, so much so that Yarrow and I might be able to fully retire within the next couple years.

    Ahhhhhh retirement, being able to do what you want when you want without being shackled by responsibility, I can''t wait hehehehehe." Chia giggled as she imagined her and Yarrow''s retirement years, the ces they''d visit, the food they''d try, the romantic nights where it''d be just the two of them without a care in the world just like when they were young, ah pure bliss.

    "Sam''s therefore been picking up the ck at home while she''s been knee deep in her governing crash course but from what I know he''s been putting real thought into his restaurant business. Using his borate home kitchen he''s been having the kids taste his personal recipes and give their honest feedback.

    It''s not exactly working in a restaurant but it''s giving him an idea on the type of things he wants to put in his future menu. His former teacher Ramsey senior has also been asionally visiting him, helping to enlighten him on the more business aspects of running his own restaurant as well as helping to dust of some of the rust that had been building up since his training days.

    I''m sure that by this time next year he''ll have picked a location for his restaurant and officially embarked upon his new career." Chia spoke with high praise when it came to Sam. She always found him to be the perfect son inw. Strong, capable, loving to his family and 100% loyal. She genuinely supported his venture into cooking and looked forward to his future achievements.

    "The grandkids have been as bright and joyful as ever; in fact I can''t remember thest time they were this happy.

    When their grandpa was growing sicker by the day and their parents were off in search of a cure it took a lot of effort to bring a smile to their little faces...that''s not an issue anymore." Chia grew mncholic as she remembered the past and grew more grateful to Frost for helping end those dark times.

    "However I''m sure you''re more interested in knowing how a certain orc''s been doing." The elderly rabbit woman gave a knowing look as she took a sip of freshly prepared tea.

    "No, no I''m ecstatic to hear all about L, Sam and the kids." Frost promptly denied the usation, but it was clear where his true thoughtsy.

    "Haaaaaaa young love or rather lust is a beautiful thing." The elderly woman shook her head and smiled.

    "Daki''s been great, she doesn''t shut up about you and how she''s going to finally live in peace and no longer have to search far and wide for a decent match. The damn girl''s got her head in the clouds and behaving like a school girl having her first crush hmph¡­but it''s not as though I can me her.

    You''re certainly quite the catch and a proven good man, she''s a lucky girl but you better do right by her, or I''ll beat you ck and blue personally." As Chia transitioned into a threating mother bear her evening wear began to stretch as her muscles tensed to crazy levels. Frost doubted he''d be able to win against her if it came down to a straight physicalparison.

    ''Chia can be quite frightening; no wonder Yarrow and Sam are so submissive to her.'' He audibly gulped as he imagined the force that could be brought to bear by those seemingly dainty hands of hers.

    "Well it seems as though you lucked out in your choice. She''s currently helping out at Druakai''s but is set to sleep here tonight so if you don''t mind waiting, she''ll probably be walking right through the door in the next hour or so." Chia took another sip of tea and rxed her shoulders.

    "Ahhhh good stuff." She couldn''t help butment.

    While she rxed and enjoyed her cup of tea, Frost''s heart started beating a mile a minute as he imagined his reunion with Daki. He grew nervous and greatly anticipated her arrival, working and reworking what he''d say to her first.

    Roughly an hourter the front door to the manor was opened revealing a beautiful orc dressed in casual clothes that screamed tomboy yet her impossible to obscure dynamite figure spoke otherwise.

    "Auntie Chia I''m back." The young woman''s voice boomed throughout the hall causing Chia to smile gently and shake her head while Frost visibly trembled.

    "I''m in the reception room and I''ve got a surprise for you." Chia yed along with Frost''s surprise n quite eager to see the look on the young woman''s face when she first saw him.

    "A surprise, now I''m really excited." Daki responded in an excited manner and practically skipped towards the reception room.

    She opened the door without knocking and stepped straight into the room with a bright smile.

    "What''s the surprise is it another tale of when you were...." Her words were cut short as she took in the form of the young man sitting across from Chia who''s image had been flooding her mind since the day they separated. She practically froze and stared at him bug-eyed.

    Frost was no less moved but gained control of his faculties first.

    "Da¡­." However the moment he went to say her name therge woman leaped from her spot with her arms outstretched. She smashed headfirst into his chest, knocking him off his feet and wrapped him up in a vice like hug.

    A coffee table and some crockery were unfortunately damaged in the tussle causing Chia to slightly frown but she forgave Daki a momentter.

    "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG IDIOT!!!!!"

 Chapter 531: Chapter 531: Reunion with Daki (2)

    "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG IDIOT!!!!!" Daki screamed as her eyes grew red and tears threatened to flow down her cheeks. She had waited and waited for him for weeks and weeks, dreaming of the time they''d reunite.

    Frost who was smashed against the coffee table and subsequently the floor could barely move as his entire body was trapped between her muscr arms and squished against her bountiful chest and ripped abs. There was pain but also warmth andfort.

    Knowing that he kept her waiting too long he carefully wrenched out his right arm from her vice grip and gently stroked her hair in a soothing manner.

    "I''m here now." He spoke softly into her ear as her grip slowly but surely weakened, allowing him to breathe. Eventually Daki removed her pretty face from the confines of his chest and looked at his face as if making sure it really was him.

    Frost responded with a smile full of care and adoration, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. He proceeded to cup her face with his hand and lean in for a kiss.

    The moment their lips touched it was as if fireworks went off in Daki''s head, her body lightly trembled and electricity shed throughout her system. Frost moved with an insane level of skill, leaving no part of her luscious lips unmarked. His tongue made short work of her defences finding easy ess to her own.

    With every brush of contact she felt her body heat up and her mind clouding, all semnce of rational thought slowly evaporating only to be reced with feelings of pleasure and desire.

    The reception room grew rather steamy thanks to the young couple''s actions, unfortunately they weren''t alone.

    "Hut hmm, guess you forgot about my presence." Chia coughed loudly quickly bringing the two lovers out of their self-made world.

    "Hehehe sorry Chia." Frost let out an embarrassedugh before apologizing. He truly did forget about her in that moment, let alone the servants standing in the background. Daki however loudly clicked her tongue and red at Chia as if she ruined a perfect moment.

    "That''s quite a fierce re you''ve got there little Daki, you must really be backed up to be swooning from a simple kiss or is he really that good¡­. perhaps I should get a taste and find out." Chia teased with a sparkle in her eyes.

    "NO! HE''S MINE!!" Daki reacted like a cat having her tail stood on. She bared her tusks and wrapped her curvaceous body around Frost, protecting him from the older woman''s advances.

    "Hahahahahaha god you''re priceless, rx Daki, I won''t steal him from you, I''m more than happy with my Yarrow." Chiaughed without restraint, throwing her full body into it but Daki didn''t loosen her grip. Instinctively she knew how threatening Chia could be, she may be known as Kranor''s beauty queen right now but before her it was Chia.

    The older rabbit woman could be a dangerous rival if she ever decided to throw her hat in the ring.

    "Alright everyone let''s leave these two to their little reunion¡­ unless they''d prefer to give us a show." A couple servants couldn''t stifle theirughter at her words which caused the normally unphased Daki to blush, Frost even more so.

    "Oh and Daki I''ve already arranged for ''that room'' to be prepared." Chia muttered as she and the servants left the reception room.

    Daki''s ears twitched in response upon mention of ''that room'' and after a couple seconds of realisation a predatory smile grew on her lips, one that made Frost suddenly feel as though she''d turned into a ravenous wolf.

    A momentter the previously emotional woman that pressed herself against his body, afraid to let go leaped to her feet with fierce determination and stared down at him while licking her lips in delight. Frost was a real specimen to behold, muscr and strong yet also unbelievably handsome and graceful a trait lost among most male orcs.

    She felt the desire to howl as she imagined what she''d do to that body and what that body could do to her. Her memories of taking his ''measurements'' lit a fire in her, one that needed to be quenched.

    Daki proceeded to pick Frost up in a princess carry which didn''t look too out of ce given her stature and Frost''s own beauty, the man being carried however was a little taken back by her actions.

    "Um Daki?"

    "Quiet, I''ve waited long enough, and you knew exactly what you were doing when you kissed me like that. We''re going to do it until you can''t walk straight." Daki announced or rather dered before rushing out of the reception room with Frost in her arms. She was heading straight for ''that room'' the one specially prepared by Chia.

    "Oh¡­. I''m cool with that." Frost replied yfully and smiled with no less predation as his gaze drifted over Daki''s very ample chest that provocatively bounced before his eyes. His throat grew parched as his imagination ran wild with desire.

    The princess'' switch had been flipped; his arms thus reached around Daki''s midriff to grab sufficient hold of the giant bubble butt that put even Maya''s to shame.

    "Mmmm" Daki cooed as her cheeks were aggressively grabbed, she looked down at the princess and saw that his desire was no less than hers perhaps even more so. With a lick of her lips she picked up speed, charging through the hallways like a maddened bull chasing after a red g.

    That ''room'' that Chia brought up was a very special room in the manor, not only was it bereft of any servants the walls werepletely soundproof. There was but one single purpose for this room and that was sex, the more unrestrained the better.

    Here a couple could engage in their wildest fantasies without bothering anyone else present in therge manor, Yarrow and Chia made triple sure of that fact. L was actually conceived in said room as were two of their grandkids. That ''room'' was better known throughout the inner circle as the baby making room given its sessful track record.

    Daki immediately understood her auntie Chia''s intentions and was all for it. No better way to wrangle in a man than to give birth to his children.

    Boom!

    Daki violently kicked open the door to the baby making room revealing its impressive interior. The bed was clearly of the super king size and draped in silk sheets and bright red rose petals to create a romantic feel.

    Adding to that special ambience was a bottle of fine champagne and a tray of aphrodisiac food such as strawberries, choctes and pistachios -not like they needed it however- on a nearby sideboard.

    Behind the massive bed, beautiful furniture and generous helpings of mirrors was a bathroom specially designed for sharing. There the couple could continue to remain intimate as they washed one another. But that wasn''t all, hidden in the wardrobes, drawers and dressers were all manner of ''aids'' to help increase the night''s enjoyment. This room had no problem hiding its main function.

    "Kyaaahhh" Frost let out a fake girlish scream as Daki tossed him onto the massive bed but immediately he felt rather awkward. "...Yeah, that''s really not me."

    "Aww I thought it was rather cute." Daki let out a flirtatious giggle as she stood over the bed, appearing very dominant with her muscr figure and tall stature.

    "Sorry but¡­" Frost quickly appeared behind Daki and picked her up in the same way she held him. "I''m definitely going to be the one in control tonight." He then tossed her onto the bed in same manner.

    "Kyaaaahhh" Daki''s squeal sounded a lot less forced.

    "Much better." Frost then followed her onto the bed and stared over her tantalising figure with an intense gaze. The clear desire in his eyes caused Daki''s body to heat up as he scanned her to his satisfaction. She squirmed and wriggled under his arms ying right into the bottom archetype.

    She was an experienced woman and had yed many roles in her time so she wasn''t adverse to letting Frost take control, though whether he could maintain it throughout the whole night was another story. She wasn''t known as the devourer of men for nothing.

    Not one for patience Frost leaned down and nted a deep sensual kiss onto her fair lips before his naughty hands started taking hold of the promised bounty that taunted him so. First, he gradually tried to ply apart her clothes but when that wasn''t working fast enough, he straight up tore them apart, instantly revealing the beautiful jewel of a body that hid beneath.

    "Glorious." Frost couldn''t help butment in appreciation as he gazed down at her bare-naked body. Massive breasts that seemed to defy gravity, bouncing up and down with her every breath. A taut abdomen that could be used as a grater and a giant heart shaped ass that''s circumference was impossible for his arms to fully epass. She was absolute perfection.

    "Not bad yourself my love, far beyond my initial expectations." Daki wasn''t exactly motionless while Frost felt her up and disrobed her in a dominating fashion. She already removed his upper robes, revealing his rather perfect body however her eyes were clearly drawn to the veryrge and angry looking protrusion pushing against his lower robes, desperate to be set free.

    Frost looked down at his weapon, it was fully roused and ready to do battle. He licked his lips and smiled from ear to ear before gradually baring his all.

    What followed next need not be exined, the young couple obviously actively engaged in their carnal activities, truly testing the very limits of the room''s sound proofing.

 Chapter 532: Chapter 532: Reunion with Daki (3)

    Frost put back on his robes as he alighted from the super king size bed. An impossible to remove smile was stered across his lips and an apanying glow suffused his skin. He even walked with pronounced spring in his step and asionally broke into a delightful hum. He felt as though he was walking on clouds, that the world was full of light and joy with nothing negative in sight.

    Once he was dressed the young dungeon core turned back to therge bed to take in the glorious sight that was before him and the reason for his unbelievable chipper mood. There lying with her ass hovering above the bed and her entire body squirming and trembling from over-sensitivity was Daki.

    Though she was far more experienced that Maya in regards to intimate rtions she truly underestimated Frost''s vigour, her highly developed talents therefore came back to bite her in the ass.

    The orc with subus ancestry always suffered during her time with her previous partners as none of them could keep up with her insatiable appetite. Most copsed after a few sessions never to grace her temple again for fear of being permanently drained. This was clearly not a problem for Frost in fact given that she could handle far more than a regr woman he didn''t have to hold back as much.

    In the beginning Daki allowed him to retain control, finding his devotion and eagerness rather cute however as time dragged on he not only became more skilled, but his speed and intensity ballooned to the point where she could no longer regain any semnce of control. This was a first for the young woman, never had she ever been on the receiving end of such a lopsided domination.

    Despite her cries for him to slow down and take it easy Frost continued to push and push knowing that she could take it. In the end she fellpletely into his mercy just like Maya had thus resulting in her current state.

    Every brush against the silk sheets sent tingles throughout her system and the vivid handprints and hickeys decorating her emerald skin continued to radiate intense heat. She felt marked and imed and despite the ''difort'' she absolutely loved it. This was the effect she always left on others, never was she the one to experience such satisfaction.

    ''No wonder most of them weren''t coherent after a few serious sessions.'' As she remembered some of her previous ''victims'' she actually berated her own body for being unable to endure more of Frost''s affection.

    "That was amazing Daki, I can''t believe we managed to go at it for so long heheheh." Frostughed joyfully, truly amazed that he and Daki were able to go at it for so long without a break. Maya was never able tost that long¡­. at least not yet.

    To Daki however, his words of praise felt like daggers carving up her pride. Though Frost was over the moon it was evidently clear that his body still had more to give, unlike hers. She adamantly dered that they''d be going until he couldn''t walk straight but in the end it was her who failed to keep up. Her sexual confidence thus took quite a blow.

    No matter what tricks she used or what part of her body she utilised and even with the addition of ''aids'' from the room''s dressers he never let up always asking for more.

    "Hu hu hu you were certainly amazing Frost, I always knew you were the one for me." Through strained breaths and a rather forced smile Daki replied with heartfelt honesty. Frost was definitely the man for her, she just needed to improve a little if she wanted to keep him truly satisfied.

    "Do you need anything at all?" Frost asked with a little concern, he remembered how Maya always struggled to move after their ''sessions''.

    "No I''m fine, just need a little time to recover. I''ll join youter." She felt incredibly moved by the care contained in his voice but also ashamed by it at the same time.

    "Alright then, I''m feeling quite famished, so I''ll be heading to dining room." His stomach gurgled in response to his words causing a slight blush to grow on his cheeks and Daki to lightly giggle before squirming again.

    Since she seemed fine Frost leaned over and nted a kiss on her forehead before moving to leave the bedroom, but he stopped after a few steps as if he had forgotten something important. A momentter and with a wolfish grin he turned back and leaned over the form of his sexy girlfriend.

    "One for the road." He proceeded to grab hold and squeeze Daki''s prominent cheeks, relishing in their firmness before lightly pping them.

    "Ahhhhnnnnnn! Oi!" Daki let loose a loud moan before staring daggers at him.

    "Hehehehehe now I''m good." Frostughed before dashing out of the bedroom with an evenrger smile on his face. He always had to go just a little bit further with his antics.

    "Insatiable bastard...heheheheh how ironic." Dakiughed with glee, how many of her previous partners referred to her in a simr manner after their sessions.

    "I better not take too long to get up otherwise auntie Chia will never let me here the end of it." She imagined the older rabbit womanughing her guts out over her current predicament.

    While Daki recovered Frost quickly made his way to the dining room, he''d already cast cleaning magic thus eliminating the sweat and strong smell of intimacy that emanated from his body. Ideally however he''d still like to have a bath, but his stomach dyed that option.

    "Grumble!"

    "Yeah, yeah I know." He had effectively fought for 12 hours straight so of course his body craved nutrients.

    Several servants greeted him as he passed and informed the kitchen of his hunger before he even reached the dining room. There at the table were Yarrow and his wife Chia already dressed in their work attire as they ate their breakfast. Chia showed a simr glow on her face as Frost thought not quite as prominent whereas Yarrow looked a little drained though he also sported a bright smile.

    Frost''s arrival however caught the two of them by surprise.

    "How the hell are you up and¡­. walking?" Yarrow immediately asked with his jaw agape, staring at Frost as if he was some kind of monster. He leaned over to his wife and whispered.

    "You did prepare that ''room'' for them right?"

    "Yes and knowing Daki she would have never let him go without sucking him dry." Chia whispered back, showing an even more shocked expression than her husband. She knew exactly how demanding Daki was, her subus ancestry and track record were nothing to sneeze at. She was even more insatiable than she was in her youth, thus the confusion.

    "Where''s Daki?" She asked tentatively while eyeing the door, expecting her to enter at any moment.

    "Oh she''s still in bed, hehehe we kind of went a bit overboardst night so she''s still recovering." Frost proudly dered with a confident air though a slight blush still grew on his cheeks. His words however set off a bomb in both Chia and Yarrow''s heads.

    ''Daki¡­. lost.'' Yarrow looked at Frost as if he was some kind of demon, a monster in the skin of an elf. Chia however blinked rapidly as she digested this information. A momentter she stood up from her chair and excused herself from the table before dashing out of the room at some speed.

    Around a minuteter Frost and Yarrow could hear the unrestrainedughter of the rabbit woman reverberating through halls along with the asional yells of Daki telling her to stop or to shut up.

    Frost was rather confused but didn''t sense anything negative in Yarrow or Chia, so he chose to ignore it, perhaps it was an inside joke.

    Given his hunger the kitchen prepared a veryrge selection of meals which Frost wolfed down with upmost adoration, praising the chef endlessly. Chia returned during his wolfing with a smug look on her face and new appreciation towards Frost. However seeing him devouring te after te of food gave her a thought. She then gave an order to a nearby servant who ryed hermand to the kitchen.

    When the next round of meals came out for Frost an additional selection was prepared for Yarrow who looked at the numerous tes of food in puzzlement. He then looked towards his wife who sported a bright grin and a certain look in her eyes and realised her intentions.

    ''God dammit is she never satisfied!'' He bemoaned internally while forcibly increasing his food intake under her intense gaze. He sent a few res Frost''s way given that it was him who inspired such treatment, but the young dungeon core waspletely clueless.

    After his meal Frost checked on Kiba who had been left in the manor''s monster stables. Thankfully he didn''t need to worry about his treatment, Kranor was his hometown, and he was practically family. Therefore Chia and Yarrow spared no expense with his meals andfort, a servant was even arranged to groom him which normally fell under the purview of Nanna and Loki back at the dungeon.

    "Well you certainly look pampered." Frost remarked upon seeing Kiba syed out on top of a fancy cat bed with a bowl of monster steak at his side. He looked to be inplete bliss.

    "Garow!" Kiba spoke back through their soul connection, basicallymenting on Frost''s current radiance and super smile. It seemed as though it wasn''t just him that received a good pampering.

    "Hahahahaha I guess you could say that¡­ Daki was, quite attentive."

    The master and battle mount thus caught up a little before separating. Kiba was in no mood to leave Kranor quite yet and Frost wasn''t exactly in a rush either. He had more than enough time to visit his friends and take part in a proper send off for Daki.

 Chapter 533: Chapter 533: Reunion with Daki (4)

    After catching up with Kiba, Frost returned to the ''baby making room''- a name that he was still in the dark about- to check on his darling orc queen, hoping that she had recovered somewhat. Thankfully it seems that she was quite a bit more robust that Maya in that regard. By the time he returned she was already out of bed and stretching her muscles to alleviate thest of her sensitivity.

    "Now that''s a sight and a half." Frost audibly gulped and even whistled as his eyes took in the amazing view. Daki was stretching down to touch her toes in nothing but her underwear, emphasizing the massive green moon that he enjoyed oh so muchst night. Given that he''d just topped off his energy levels the young man in his prime couldn''t help but get aroused.

    "Don''t even think about it." However before he could get any wild ideas Daki swiftly shot him down with a fierce re and quick straightening of her limbs. She even went as far as grabbing the nearby silk sheets to cover her ample derriere though the thinness of the fabric seemed to only highlight its prominent shape.

    Frost really couldn''t resist his urges in front of such a tantalising piece of fruit. With a predatory grin he moved faster than Daki could evenprehend and before she could even squeal in protest Frost had picked her up and held her in his arms like princess.

    "Rx I''ll be gentle, plus we never did get to enjoy the couple''s bathroom hehehehe." With a lustful expression Frost carried his weakly struggling queen into the bathroom.

    Daki waspletely powerless against him; her body was still rather sensitive thus limiting the strength she could draw from her muscles but more than that her body craved his touch, desperate to sumb to its previous state of bliss.

    Thankfully Frost wasn''t aplete monster he really did uphold his word, treating her very gently as if she was a fragile piece of art. He caressed and kissed her entire body as hethered her in soap, leaving no spot unwashed, and Daki being the proud woman that she was couldn''t let such devotion go unrewarded.

    While he embarked upon his task with gentle thoroughness she choice to use a more intense approach to wash her lover of his umted grime. Using her massive chest and bountiful ass she rubbed away anything that didn''t belong. Unfortunately her technique was a little too good and Frost being the young stallion that he was couldn''t hold back.

    An hourter he carried her out the bathroom andid her on the bed. She was once again worn out and needed to rely on him to carry her but by this point she had grown to enjoy it.

    "I''ll have someone bring you food." Frost once again donned his robes though a little reluctantly, Daki was truly quite addictive.

    "Thanks." Daki pulled herself up, so she was sitting on the bed.

    "Since you''re out of sorts I''ll head out with Kiba for a while, might as well catch up with L, Sam and of course my future brother." Frost teased her at the end with a cocky grin.

    "Sounds good." Daki''s heart thumped at the thought of making their coupling official. "Once I''m capable of moving again I''ll sort out thest of my affairs with Chia and Yarrow before helping out with the big send off. Auntie Chia really wants to go all out for some reason."

    "Probably because she sees you as a daughter, she practically threatened to rip me to shreds if I ever hurt you."

    "Really." She looked up in surprise before a heart-warming smile adorned her lips. Memories of her time as a child, a teenager, a young woman and even recently shed through her mind. She truly wasvished with love.

    Frost nodded his head before leaning over and pecking her on the forehead. "Make sure you say goodbye properly because I don''t know when we''ll be able to return. I or rather we''ve got a lot of work ahead of us."

    "I will." She kissed him back on the cheek before he left. They didn''t engage in too much talkingst night but Frost did suggest that there was far more to him than meets the eye. He stressed the sensitivity of his origins and hoped that she would ept him no matter what and keep his secrets. She of course unequivocally epted his terms, eager to learn more about her lover no matter the story.

    Upon leaving the ''baby making room'' Frost made his way towards Yarrow''s office to inform the man of his itinerary.

    "You want to catch up with the rest of family, marvellous though we''ll all likely be present at the celebrationter it''d be nice for you to catch up with them individually." Yarrow nodded his head, all for Frost''s intentions.

    "L''s a bit preupied so you might not be able to meet with her, but Sam should be more than free at their home on the fourth floor. The kids will be at school but I''m sure the headteacher wouldn''t mind a visit from an aplished adventurer such as yourself." Frost couldn''t hide his rise to B-rank even if he wanted to.

    Yarrow and Chia were far too experienced to not notice the change within him.

    "Druakai as always can easily be found on the 7th floor, in fact he would probably appreciate a hand. He recently gained a new batch of monster cubs which have proven to be rather¡­ mischievous. Daki was recently helping him out but thanks to your ¡­. activities I don''t think she''s in any shape to do so." Yarrow presented a knowing smile as he said thatst part along with a discrete thumbs up.

    He was well and truly impressed by Frost capabilities.

    "Well since I am the cause of her inability to work I should probably fill in on her behalf, it''s only right after all." The smugness and pride practically oozed out of Frost as he bragged.

    "Hehehehe."

    "Hehehehe." The two chuckled in a male like fashion before Yarrow sent him on his way. Though he was in the process of handing over his duties to L there was still much he needed to do as the enve''s current mayor. A few minutes was all he could afford to his young friend and house guest.

    "Kiba, wanna go visit Druakai?" Kiba was still in the exact same position he was earlier, stretching out his back and limbs like amon housecat against the plush bed that was prepared for him without a care in the world. Upon hearing Frost mention Druakai however his ears perked up and the multi-ton tiger jumped to his feet, shedding all his previousziness.

    "Haaaaa I guess I''ll take that as a yes." Frost sighed and shook his head before jumping onto Kiba''s back under his incessant urging.

    Kiba was ecstatic to go and see his adoptive father and mother again. He hadn''t seen them in weeks and though he had a lot of fun with Frost and his family he still missed them. He wanted to regale them of his adventures and show off his brand-new skills so they could be proud of him.

    With the eagerness of Kiba the two quickly made their way to the 7th floor where most of the enve''s livestock and farms were based as well as Druakai''s monster stables.

    As they passed through Kranor''s many established floors Frost couldn''t help but take additional notes, spotting many things he wished to see within his own territory. The divide between areas was especially eye-opening. Without these divides in ce the vast levels of living traffic would swarm areas and bring productivity to a halt.

    So much went into the development of Kranor that he gained a far deeper respect for the infrastructure that he previously took for granted.

    "I''ll have to n ahead well. It''s better to have and not need than to need and not have." He regurgitated a saying that cropped up in some of the books he read. The phrase struck a definite chord in him, a policy he was very much for unfortunately doing say came with substantial costs.

    "DP, I need so much more DP." His growth was highly dependent on this valuable substance, without it he could not build or develop anything worthwhile. Without a strong source of the stuff he''d quickly find himself being overtaken by his siblings or worse prey for the many powerful individuals and empires strewn throughout Nova.

    This was a world where the strong prey on the weak, Dungeon cores where not beyond this concept.

    "Roooooaaaaarrrrrrr!!!" The moment Frost and Kiba reached the boundary of Druakai''s farm the young tiger let loose a mighty roar that shook the nearby trees, he announced his triumphant return.

    A minuteter the massive form of Druakai could be seen charging forward with Ruby in tow.

    "KIBA!" The giant orc roared with joy as he left deep footprints in the dirt. Druakai missed Kiba with all his heart so the moment he heard his mighty roar he dropped all else and dashed towards him, eager to embrace his absent son.

    Frost wisely descended from Kiba''s back allowing the young tiger cub to dash forward and crash against Druakai''srge frame with his full weight. If it was him he''d likely struggle to endure the tiger''s charge, most likely he''d be mmed to the ground with a great deal of excess force.

    Druakai however with his over 4 metre height and gigantic muscr frame easily withstood it to the point that he didn''t even need to take a single step backwards. He was clearly used to such weight and bore the physique necessary for enduring such a sh.

 Chapter 534: Chapter 534: How monsters are born

    "Oof you''ve gotten a fair bit bigger since Ist saw you Kiba, Frost must be feeding you well." Druakai openly disyed the strength held within his physique by picking Kiba up off the ground and lightly tossing him up and down.

    "Garow!" Kiba replied in a proud fashion equating all his weight gain to muscle development.

    After Druakai had his hug it was time for Ruby to greet her adoptive kid and assess his growth. The two cat monsters eyed one another before rubbing their heads together and purring.

    "Thanks for bringing him over Frost."

    "No problem, family is important after all." Frost smiled gently as he looked at Kiba''s and Ruby''s exchange.

    "Yeah, you''re right about that." There was clear love and adoration in the B.F.G''s eyes. "Yarrow already told me about the situation, you''re here to fill in for my big sister right."

    "Yeah she''s not exactly up for any heavybour right now and also needs to cross off a fewst things with Chia and Yarrow before we leave." Frost was perfectly fine with bragging about his skills to Yarrow or Sam, but Druakai was different, Daki was his sister after all.

    "Haaaaaa so the time has finallye, my big sis will be leaving the nest." Druakai let out a heavy sigh as memories of his childhood with Daki shed before his eyes. Though his sister had left Kranor multiple times for business and the asional vacation this time was clearly different. She was following after Frost the man of her dreams as she put it.

    Thankfully however despite her departure from Kranor, Frost''s territory wasn''t that far away. If he really missed her he could always visit without too much hassle. Still, her leaving made him quite emotional.

    "Treat her well okay."

    "Of course, you have my word brother."

    "Brother huh¡­..has a nice ring to it hahahahaha." Druakai erupted into boomingughter before wrapping his arm around Frost. "Well then brother let''s put you to work, these little critters I recently got hold of have been nothing but trouble.

    Kiba youe to you can serve as intimidation for these arrogant little pups." Druakai thus dragged Frost towards arge warehouse in the distance with Kiba and Ruby following close behind.

    "During the monster stampede we had to deal with the asional wave offshoot, nothing too serious like what you had to handle but still¡­anyway one of the attacking groups was a bunch frost drakes, one of which was pregnant." Druakai started exining the situation as they walked.

    "Unfortunately due to the mother''s maddened state it was impossible to capture her without some injury and therefore she was unable to survive giving birth. However despite that we managed to secure 6 healthy albeit very aggressive baby frost drakes for our pens."

    "If you can sessfully raise them into adults they''d make for some deadly battle mounts." Even though the frost drakes could never match the might of Kiba, Frost didn''t dismiss their value. Druakai and Kranor would likely make a pretty penny by the end.

    "That''s the n, however when ites to 1st generation spawnings, especially those that are born during such tumultuous times raising them sessfully in captivity is no easy task." Druakai shook his head and frowned as he imagined the uphill battle he was faced with.

    "What do you mean by first spawnings?"

    "They''re the first set of monsters birthed through the mating of two mana spawners." Druakai''s answer left Frost with more questions than answers, a situation that was conveyed through his confused expression.

    "Sam did say that you were rathercking in regards to somemonly known knowledge" Druakai scratched his cheek in thought before continuing.

    "Monsters can be birthed through five different methods, the first and the rarest of them is being directly created by one of the Gods. These almighty beings can utilise their mastery over divine energy to create new life in whatever shape or form they see fit, though they usually mimic traits of the God who created them.

    Those born through this method are usually the ancestors of their species, the first and original of their kind." Frost could partially fall into this category given that he was personally created by Dark.

    "Second, and by far the mostmon is through natural mana spawning. The natural mana throughout Nova frequently pulls itself together to create new life in the form of monsters. The species and strength of the monsters however are heavily dependent on the surrounding environment and mana density.

    You won''t see a fire elemental being born anywhere near the cial mountains under normal circumstances."

    "The third method which can been seen as a more specialised version of the second is through monsterirs. The cores of theseirs absorb the nearby mana to create monsters that are bound to them, forbidden to leave their influence. These monsters also tend to be of lesser quality than those birthed through the second method unless the monsterir is of a sufficiently high level."

    "The fourth method which applies to Daki and me is natural mating. Most monster regardless of their birthing method andck of any defects are born with the ability to mate with others of their species. Our father and mother met and fell in love just like any other sapients and eventually gave birth to me and my sister.

    And as you''ve probably noticed monsters birthed this way tend to be a little different than our more mana born counterparts." Frost nodded his head in agreement. Daki and Druakai were practically indistinguishable from sapients when it came to their manner and intelligence.

    "As the process of mating continues and gives birth the subsequent generations certain wild and primal traits tend to be curtailed and reced with intelligence and wisdom. Though at heart I''m still an orc and can evolve just like my primal kin I''m not as restricted in my development as they are." Druakai and Daki were the products of multiple generations of evolution.

    "The final method is rather abstract as it only facilitates temporary life and that is summoning. Certain spells allow people to act as pseudo monsterirs and use their internal mana to create a monster bound to their will." Frost was quite knowledgeable in regards to this method as his 3rd circle spell [summon ice golem] fell into this category.

    "The 6 frost drakelings you''re about to meet are the result of two monsters born from the second method mating thus their natures are still very aggressive. They see pretty much everything that isn''t their parents or siblings as enemies, hell sometimes even their siblings are on that list.

    More than a few times we''ve had to break up fights that were heading down a dark path." It wasn''t unheard of for monsters to eat their own siblings to grow more powerful.

    "If you ignore the biting, the wing and the aggressive roaring they''re actually quite cute." Druakai was clearly biased towards any baby monsters finding even the most repellent ones adorable. Though it may be fine for him with his massive, muscr physique the same couldn''t be said for his weaker staff.

    The first thing Frost was graced with when Druakai opened the warehouse doors was the sight of two young monster ranchers donned in thick, soft armour being attacked and bit by 6 frost drakelings.

    "See, cute right."

    "Boss stop gawking and help us already!" One of the two ranchers, an elven woman who looked to be in herte teens roared at Druakai the moment he spoke up.

    "You two really need to learn how to handle these things on your own, they''re only babies after all."

    "Yeah with razor sharp teeth and ws ow!" The other rancher a human male retorted before having one of the drakelings'' fangs pierce his skin. Only Druakai could stand in the buff without worrying about their fangs and ws. They however had to make do with these makeshift soft armours fashioned from pillows and cushions.

    "Haaaaaa fine." Druakai shook his head before rolling up his sleeves and heading in. "Frost, watch and learn how I handle them. Despite their vicious appearances they''re still babies and quite weak." Druakai appeared behind one of the drakelings and pinched the back of its neck in a firm yet gentle manner akin to lifting a cat by the scruff of its neck and slowly pried it away from the elven woman.

    "You can''t be too forceful or too weak otherwise." He loosened his grip for just a moment and the instant he did the little drakeling twisted around and attempted to bite off his hand. The thing really was a vicious little demon but only care and affection could be seen in Druakai''s eyes.

    "They''re just scared. Without their mother they''re practically lost in this world." Druakai didn''t flinch or pull away as the drakeling bit his hand, doing so would not only show weakness but could damage the drakelings teeth, something he abhorred to do. Instead he allowed it get out all of its rage before gently cing it on the floor.

    "[Calm]" He then used one of his monster breeder skills to further calm the drakeling, helping to present himself as a non-threatening entity, an ally. The previously aggressive drakeling thus changed in demeanour, though it still looked rather wary, and tense it no longer showed aggression towards Druakai.

    "You two should have learned how to use [Calm] by now, why didn''t you use it?"

    "Does it look like we got the chance o!" The male rancher got bit again and Druakai shook his head in disappointment before moving to help detach the rest of the drakelings in the same manner.

 Chapter 535: Chapter 535: Kranor elementary

    Druakai professionally removed each and every frost drakeling from his employees, being very careful not to hurt them and preserve their ''fragile'' teeth.

    After using his [calm] skill on each of them the vicious little demons stopped trying to eat the ranchers though they still growled and asionally swiped at them whenever they tried to get close. There would be no picking up and cuddling these babies.

    "Alright how about we get you brats some food." Druakai pped his hands drawing the attention of the drakelings before calling for Ruby. A momentter the red-tailed snow leopard appeared from behind with a chunk of blood dripping boar meat in her mouth.

    The 6 drakelings quickly redirected their attention to the boar meat. Its tantalisingly meaty smell caused their stomachs to rumble with desire and their mouths to salivate. They couldn''t resist such grant temptation.

    "Ruby" Druakai softly called Ruby''s name when the six kids suddenly started mouring over one another for the meat.

    "Grrrrrr" Ruby growled threateningly in response, causing the drakelings to stop in their tracks. Their primal instincts warning them of danger.

    Druakai smiled and nodded his head towards his partner who proceeded to lower the meat to the floor all while keeping up her intimidation. The drakelings needed to learn who was in charge and follow orders.

    Druakai waited for a few seconds, stretching out the limits of the drakelings patience before ordering Ruby to step aside and retract her intimidating presence. He then muttered the golden word "eat". In response the six drakelings charged ahead and began ripping apart the bloody boar meat with their razor-sharp fangs and ws.

    The two young monster ranchers winced at the sight, if they weren''t wearing their improvised soft armours they''d be no different from that chunk of boar meat.

    "Stopping them from eating food when it''s directly in front of them helps to create order and ces me as the alpha, the only position they can understand." Druakai knew how to be intimidating when he needed to be. The drakelings wouldn''t respond to kindness or affection at this point in their development, it just wasn''t in their nature. Only by being the alpha could a bond be established.

    Unfortunately it was clear that his two subordinatescked the necessary qualities to be alphas.

    "Raising wild monsters seems to be far morebour intensive than I first thought it''d be." Frost recognised that he''d had it easy when it came to his monster popce. The dungeon system automatically made any monster he created loyal to him, preinstalling a defined and strong bond that clearly categorised him as the master and them the servant.

    All the usual time consuming and patient demanding work that monster breeders such as Druakai needed to do in order to instil these two traits was thus unnecessary. It certainly saved a great deal of time and effort but at what cost?

    "Yeah it can be, but the results are more than satisfying." Druakai rubbed Ruby''s head with affection. He loved his job and wouldn''t change it for the world.

    "I''ll need you and Kiba to act as alphas so these two can do their jobs without worry." Druakai disappointingly pointed to the two monster ranchers with his thumb. He thought that hiring more employees would decrease his mountainous workload but so far the opposite held true.

    These young rancher weren''t quite up to his professional standards therefore they required supervision and or aid when it came to the more demanding jobs.

    "Daki managed quite well so I''m sure you''ll be fine, Kiba should also know how to behave. This wouldn''t be his first rodeo in dealing with aggressive pups after all." Upon hearing Druakai''s praise, Kiba puffed out his chest and donned a leave it to me expression.

    While Frost enthusiastically responded with "I''ll do my best."

    Over the next few hours Frost assisted the two young monster ranchers in taking care of the 6 drakelings, work which turned out to be no easy task for the young dungeon core. Despite his strength the little monsters hardly listened to him, paying no heed to his orders. Unless he actively used some of his aura they simply looked at him as if he was an idiot.

    Just because Frost was strong and asionally scary it didn''t mean that he could order them around willy nilly. It was clear that in their minds there was a stark difference between himself and Druakai. Thetter imposed respect and order whereas he could only inspire fear with his superior strength.

    ''Am I just not cut out for being a monster alpha or is it because of his profession?'' Frost tried many different methods throughout his shift but none of them seemed to match Druakai''s influence. Kiba who was a supposed pro at handling arrogant brats actually fell t on his face during their first interaction, 2 drakelings even dared to bite his nose when he tried to threaten them.

    Frost had to physically restrain his partner when he moved to dish out some corporal punishment in revenge. Eventually however Kiba regained his honour and ended upmanding the drakelings'' respect. He had grown a little too domesticated during his time with Frost and his family, losing some of wild re. Once he dusted that off the baby drakes started to respond in an appropriate manner.

    "Well now that you''ve gotten to know them a little better what do you think? Cute right?" Druakai returned with Ruby a few hourster to relieve him of his duties.

    Frost gave Druakai the stink eye. "We''ll have to agree to disagree on that matter." All he saw was a group of little devils that had only two things on their minds, eating and killing. They were a far cry from the developed Kiba and Ruby.

    "Hahahahaha perhaps I set the bar a little too high, 1st generation spawners are always a little more wild than theirter generation counterparts." Druakai scratched the back of his neck, feeling a little guilty. He practically tossed Frost into the deep end when it came to monster breeding.

    "Anyway, thanks for the help brother, you really lightened my workload." The giant orc nevertheless patted Frost''s shoulders and thanked him for his efforts.

    "No problem, happy to help brother."

    "Yarrow sent me a message a few minutes ago saying he''s finished clearing your visit with the school''s headteacher. They''re more than happy to wee someone as aplished as you for a visit."

    "That''s great, guess I''ll head there next then." Frost really looked forward to visiting one of Kranor''s highest ranked schools. The amount he could learn from such an honoured institution would certainly help his own designs in the future. Seeing Sam and L''s kids again was just an added bonus.

    ''I wonder what I should talk about.'' He was expected to impart some wisdom onto the students in exchange for his visit. He could talk about his battle experiences or his training schemes but given that they''re still children he''d have to censor some of the goriness while also keeping hold of their interests. ''I manage to keep Nanna and Loki entertained so it shouldn''t be too difficult.''

    "Here, take these with you. I''m sure you''ve gotten rather peckish after dealing with the drakelings." Druakai handed over a few slices of dried jerky. "I smoked and seasoned these myself, a speciality of sorts here at the monster ranch, hopefully they''re to your liking."

    "Thanks, if the taste is as good as the smell then I''m sure they''ll be delicious." Kiba who was waiting at the side had already started slobbering, he used to love eating Druakai''s jerky. Thankfully his adoptive father didn''t forget about him.

    "And here''s your portion Kiba." He pulled out a muchrger helping of jerky from behind his back. A few slices were immediately inserted into the young tiger''s mouth while remainder was given to Frost to hold.

    "Say hi to the kids for me." After those parting words the massive orc turned around and headed back to work. He still had a lot to do if he was going to be able to attend the grand celebrationter today.

    Keen to visit the school Frost leaped onto Kiba''s back before taking a bite of his jerky.

    "Mmm that''s some pretty good stuff." He quickly devoured an entire slice before pulling out a second.

    "Garow"

    "You''ve finished already, fine here but go slow." Kiba had finished his mouthful of several Kiba sized pieces and demanded that Frost hand him another helping. The two partner thus slowly made their way towards the school on the fourth floor while eating their jerky.

    Though it couldn''t be considered a lunch or even a meal it was a pretty filling snack, they wouldn''t have to worry about running out of energy anytime soon.

    They easily made it up to the fourth floor but navigating through it was rather difficult. The vast majority of people lived on this floor after all so the amount of traffic and built up areas was obviously going to be much higher than other floors. Kiba struggled to move gracefully through the streets even in thenes designated for carriages and monster mounts.

    Thankfully those passing were understanding and more than helpful when he asked for directions.

    "So that''s Kranor''s elementary institute of education, or Kranor elementary for short."

 Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Kranor elementary (2)

    Kranor elementary was the highest ranking school within the enve when it came to educating their young. The students attending this institute would be granted the very best the enve could offer. Well-designed buildings that could house hundreds if not thousands of students with ease.

    Architecture that gave the campus a noble yet ambitious ambience and beautiful, well-kept gardens that filled the school with colour. The entire campus was in one word beautiful. Though certainly an impressive sight it didn''t convey ostentatious orvish rather, deserving. Students and teachers would feel pride in being able to attend such a campus.

    The generations of mayors from the conception of Kranor always respected the need for high quality education and nurturing of their young popce. Large swaths of Kranor''s annual budget was always funnelled into its educational departments, keeping its campuses in pristine condition, expanding their teaching curriculums and ensuring the quality of their teachers and educational staff.

    Frost suspected that if hepared the educational systems of the other enves in the area he''d find that Kranor stood far above the rest.

    Since it was a campus ground full of young children Kiba was banned from entering. Despite being bound to Frost there was always a chance that he could bring harm to a student, something the teachers would never allow therefore he needed to park himself at the nearest monsters stables while Frost was inside.

    Thankfully there was one quite close by as a few teachers and even more well off students kept bound monsters as forms of transport, though they were more of the docile kind. Not a single tiger let alone a predator could be seen within.

    "Do you want to wait here, or would you rather head back to the mayor''s stables?" Frost looked at his partner and asked. These stables were a far shy in terms of qualitypared to the mayor''s personal stables, plus he''d have to be a lot more restrained here given that all the other upants were docile herbivores.

    "Garow?" Kiba looked at his master with a querying expression.

    "Yes, really."

    "Vrrrrrr" In response to Frost''s confirmation the massive tiger purred and rubbed his head against him with affection before dashing away with a joyous look. He ultimately chose to ditch his master for the promise ofvishfort.

    ''I''m sure some people will be freaked out by the sight of a giant tiger running through the enve without its master but knowing him he shouldn''t cause too much inconvenience.'' The fact that he was bonded and somewhat known should help.

    "Guess I''m on my own then." Frost sarcastically smiled before making his way onto school grounds.

    He was quickly shown to the headteacher''s office the moment he arrived. The main receptionist was already aware of his impending visit and spared no expense in greeting him with joyous ttering, thankfully the headteacher was less annoying to deal with.

    "Sir Frost it''s an honour to have someone like you visit our little establishment." The headteacher invited him to sit opposite her desk. "Would you like something to drink, tea? Coffee perhaps?"

    "A tea would be nice."

    "Milk or lemon?"

    "Milk please."

    The headteacher was an elderly woman of the fox tribe likely half a generation or so older than Chia given the loss in colour in her hair and well developed crow''s feet. She also sported a greying bushy tail that poked through the back of her professional pantsuit.

    As first impressions go Frost got the feeling that she was quite an easy-going and calm person, there was a depth of wisdom and experience behind her eyes.

    "Thank you." Frost took the cup of tea from the woman''s hands and thanked her.

    "You''re wee." She sat back down at her desk and smiled gently towards the young man before her.

    "You''re even younger than I pictured, Yarrow did say that you were a prodigy but even then to have reached B-rank at your age. I must say I''m more than impressed."

    ''I wonder how she''d react if she found out that I''m not even a year old yet.'' Frost internally chuckled at the notion.

    "I''ve still got a long way to go, B-rank is not my end goal after all."

    "Good, ambition is sorely needed if one wishes to reach the peaks of this world. Yet arrogance can create obstacles as impassable as those created by poor work ethic. It''s refreshing to see such a modest talent, I''m sure our kids can learn a lot from one such as you."

    "Thank you for the praise."

    "Do you have an idea of what you might like to talk about? Forewarning pretty much every student will be in attendance, including those still at nursery." The headteacher quickly informed him, tales of a gruelling battle may be eptable to their older students but not so for their younger ones such as Ren who was but a mere 4 years old.

    "I assumed that would be the case but don''t worry I know how to tone down my stories. I''ve got two kids under my care back at home and I manage to keep them entertained."

    "Good, I''d hate to have to pull the plug and ruin the opportunity to hear from someone as talented as yourself." Though the headteacher spoke highly of him and of the benefits he could bring to their establishment she wasn''t above ending it in a heartbeat if it posed a detriment to the kids under her care.

    Frost and the headteacher lightly chatted for a ten minutes, allowing him to learn more about their school and finish his cup of tea. After which the elderly fox beastwoman led him towards a veryrge amphitheatre where practically every student was sitting, awaiting a special surprise lecture.

    Frost discretely poked his head out from the stage''s curtains and saw hundreds of students of all shapes and sizes along with their teachers sitting in different tiers. At the front were the youngest kids, those in nursery and 1st grade whereas those at the highest tier were the oldest kids, those who were set to graduate in the following year and enter either the workce or higher education.

    Kranor elementary taught from the ages of 4 to 16, after that you were considered an adult and could choose your own career path.

    All of the kids were shuffling in their seats and whispering amongst one another. None of their teachers had told them what this sudden surprise lecture entailed or who was presenting it.

    Frost with his keen vision managed to make out the 3 kids he was specifically here to visit. ''I wonder how they''ll react?''

    Ren was quietly sitting next to his friends and showed clear interest in the stage whereas Jasmine lookedpletely bored wanting to be anywhere but here.

    All the supposed guest lecturers were either former alumni talking about their paths in life or representatives from the most dull and boring career institutes in the enve. She had zero interest in bing a farmer, a teacher, a fashion designer or bing involved in politics.

    Her path was set from the moment she could first form wants and desires, she was going to be an adventurer just like her parents and grandparents. She had grown up on their stories and wished for such a life, the freedom, the adventure and thrill of battle.

    Unfortunately the school very rarely weed lecturers from the military or the adventurer profession, so her low expectations were understandable.

    The oldest daughter, Tulip seemed to hold a very different air from her younger sister. Jasmine was a real fireball, always desperate to move and engage in sports whereas she was like a delicate flower. She was currently surrounded by a group of girls who were akin to her followers, doing their best to mimic her grace.

    Frost could also see that quite a few of the boys in her ss and those higher couldn''t help but sneak a few nces her way. Not only was she the mayor''s granddaughter she was a quickly blooming beauty plus if her mother and grandmother were anything to go by she''d shape up to be quite the woman. More than a few eagerly wanted to nt a good impression before she soared beyond their means.

    After giving the kids enough time to settle down and getfortable the headteacher walked out onto the stage.

    "Good morning everyone."

    ""Good morning, Mrs Fennec."" All the students replied in concert.

    "Now I''m sure all of you are quite curious as to why we''ve arranged for an impromptu lecture here in the main amphitheatre. Though some are clearly more so than others¡­.miss Jasmine Tarnell your attention please." Mrs Fennec quickly caught theck of interest in the young Jasmine and called her out on it.

    "Eeppp sorry." Jasmine quickly apologised and focused her attention back to the stage rather than talking to her nearby friend.

    "I know that our usual lecturers are not exactly your cup of tea youngdy, you''ve made abundantly clear in the past but I''m sure this one will more than excite your interest." Her statement caused a few mutterings throughout the audience. Jasmine who initially only paid attention due to fear of punishment now had a sparkle in her eyes as a certain possibility formed in her mind.

    "Is it an adventurer?" She couldn''t help but ask.

    "Hehehe yes and not just any adventurer this young man is at the B-rank." Mrs Fennec smiled yfully, knowing exactly how to foster excitement in her students.

    This bombshell of a revtion resulted in a calm silence throughout the amphitheatre before quickly being reced with loud excitement, even the teachers were blown away by the news. Someone at the B-rank was practically never seen in their little enve after all.

    Jasmine, at this point was standing up and practically shaking from her sheer excitement. ''A B-rank adventurer, a B-rank adventurer oh my god!''

    Even Tulip struggled to hide her interest, such an opportunity was incredibly rare.

    Mrs Fennec upon seeing a much more enthusiastic response turned to face Frost who was still hiding behind the curtains out of view. "I''ve warmed them up for you."

    "Thanks." Frost thus made himself known by stepping out from behind the curtain and recing Mrs Fennec at the centre stage.

    "Hello boys and girls my name is Frost, it''s nice to meet you all."

 Chapter 537: Chapter 537: Isolation leads to decline

    All the students and teachers who had been previously warmed up by Mrs Fennec werepletely stunned by the appearance of Frost. He was so devastatingly handsome and young that that in itself was a bombshell but to hear that he was also a B-rank fighter¡­.impossible.

    Tulip was affected by Frost''s arrival more than most. She instantly stood ramrod straight the moment she saw his face and her heart started racing. A clear blush donned her cheeks, and a cat had caught her tongue as she tried to articte a response. However someone beat her to the punch.

    "Uncle Frost!" "Big brother!" Both Jasmine and Ren called out at the top of their lungs.

    "Oi I''m not old enough to be called uncle, Jasmine, learn from Ren!" Frost instantly took offence to being called uncle, he wasn''t even a year old yet and looked so dashing, how could he ever be referred to as uncle. Of course Jasmine failed to understand the age implications or just didn''t care.

    "But you''re mommy and daddy''s friend and dating big sis Daki ergo uncle just like uncle Druakai." She argued back.

    "Why is Daki big sis then."

    "Ehhh Big sis Daki is big sis Daki because she''s big sis Daki duh!" Jasmine retorted back,pletely confused by the question.

    "...."Frost''s face twitched in frustration; his argument fellpletely on deaf ears.

    "Just call me big brother Frost ok."

    "Fine if you say so." Frost had a strong urge to rub his knuckles on either side of her head upon hearing hercklustre eptance.

    "Wait a minute if you''re the lecturer then that means you''ve reached B-rank!" Jasmine suddenly remembered the Mrs Fennec''s words.

    "Big brother''s awesome!" Ren uttered with pure fascination in his eyes while a couple of his nearby friends tried to find out more about his rtionship with Frost.

    "Haaaaaa yes that''s why I''m here." Frost sighed in an exasperated manner. His grandiose reveal had beenpletely torn apart by this point.

    "No way! Why didn''t you tell me? And when did you get back? Are you here to marry big sis Daki?" Jasmine loudlyined.

    "JASMINE WILL YOU BE QUIET FOR A MINUTE AND LET FROST TALK!" Her repeated interruptions and insulting questions finally broke her big sister''s patience. Completely out of character the quiet flower that was Tulip roared at her to shut up and let Frost start his lecture. Her sudden outburst put the fear of God into Jasmine, Tulip hardly ever got angry but when she did oh boy.

    "Sorry big brother please continue." After roaring at Jasmine she swiftly turned back into her approachable self and smiled endearingly towards Frost.

    "Uhhh Ok thanks Tulip." Tulip''s smile grew brighter as he said her name. Finally he could start his lecture.

    "Alright, other than me being friends with the Tarnells I''m a recently promoted B-rank fighter who''s here to give you kids a lecture by request of Mayor Yarrow and your headteacher Mrs Fennec here ." With Frost personally dering his rank another collection of murmurs broke out between the students.

    A teacher who seemed especially blown away by the news couldn''t help but ask. "Are you really B-rank?" The man who asked was at the C-rank and the school''s self-defence instructor. He was a former military man who was injured during his service.

    After being medically discharged he took up the job of teaching the kids of Kranor elementary the basics of self-defence and created a firm foundation for those who wished to pursue a military career. Jasmine was quite fond of his sses.

    Frost wasn''t insulted by the man questioning his strength, his aplishments were quite rare after all. He turned his gaze towards the middle-aged teacher and gently smiled, sensing no malice hidden within his words. The next moment his royal aura started to escape the confines of his body.

    A heavy presence filled the amphitheatre making the children feel a slight chill down their backs while those who could truly sense aura like the middle-aged teacher found themselves struggling to breath. It was as if a giant was looking down upon them, ordering them to kneel in his presence. That pressure disappeared a secondter, Frost didn''t want to harm anyone, just provide proof of his rank.

    The middle-aged teacher who questioned him was sweating and his heart was thumping wildly. ''Aura that was true aura, he really is at the B-rank.''

    "I apologise for my impertinence and thank you for showing such leniency." He bowed with genuine respect to a man that was much younger than him. Frost epted his apology with a friendly nod, bringing an end to the matter.

    The teacher''s actions caused another murmur to breakout among the students and faculty. They had never seen him so submissive before. Eventually every student and teacher focused their gazes back on Frost and realised that he was the real thing, a veritable prodigy here in Kranor, one who was about to talk about his experiences. The experiences of a B-rank fighter, how amazing could they be.

    "Now that I''ve proven myself let me tell you a little about my skills." Frost waved his hand causing his prized ive to appear from the storage ring on his finger. "I''m a master of the ive, an umon pole weapon thatbines the traits of a spear and a de." He twirled the weapon around before demonstrating some of the ive''s basic moves.

    "My current level of mastery is at the advanced stage which yed a crucial part in my ascension to B-rank. Though there are many ways to reach B-rank, going the weapon route is fairlymon." He finished his routine by disying the ive skill [wyvern''s maw], which really excited the crowd.

    "However just because I use the ive doesn''t mean that''s my only trick¡­. [Summon ice golem]." With a shortened aria a magic crest appeared on the floor of the stage and summoned a nearly 2 metre tall ice golem.

    "Though it currently falls behind my weapon mastery my magical capabilities are nothing to sneeze at either." He made the ice golem perform a few moves and even an impromptu dance making the younger kidsugh. "Unfortunately I can only use the ice element, severely limiting what spells I can use, however¡­..

    [freezing fireball]" Again with a shortened chant a new magic crest appeared before his right hand. This time a 1 metre diameter ball of freezing fire was constructed.

    "Within the ice element there''s a special branch referred to as cold fire magic, a very rare derivative element thatbines ice with the properties of its arch nemesis, fire." Frost thenunched the [freezing fireball] at the ice golem resulting in a colourful explosion. The stalwart golem was blown apart by the spell, leaving only aplete pair of legs and a heavily deformed upper torso.

    "Cold fire magic greatly expands the capabilities of the ice element, thus allowing the user to deal high amounts of damage to entities that would usually prove impervious to regr ice magic." The devastation to the ice golem was more than enough proof of his im. Regr ice magic would at best deal half damage or at worst even heal such a foe.

    Many students and even teachers were amazed by such a revtion, their minds opening up to a world of possibilities. Within the cial mountains those with the affinity for ice magic were rather plentiful but also rather useless given that most of the monsters in the area held strong resistances to ice magic.

    Frost''s disy of cold fire magic changed many of their dismissive thoughts towards the element.

    Frost smiled as he saw their minds churn out ideas. The ice element was not something to be dismissed or relegated to the level of a minor branch. He was the epitome of the ice element and pledged to unearth its endless possibilities. Cold fire was just the beginning.

    Of course he had no ns to mislead these young minds.

    "The capabilities of cold fire magic are quite extensive; I''ve only brushed against them recently however just because it exists doesn''t mean you can use it. It''s a rare form for a very good reason. You must have the affinity for it otherwise the branch will forever be closed to you." His dousing statement dampened some of their excitement but only slightly.

    It was clear that many of them who had the affinity of ice magic desired to test themselves, hoping to be of the rare few capable of using cold fire.

    Frost disyed a few other spells of the ice element to showcase the awesomeness of the original branch. He also expounded upon the diversity of Nova as a whole. Just because ice magic was less than optimal within the cial mountains didn''t mean it''d be the same in other territories. He stoked their adventurous spirit, encouraging them to see the world when they reached adulthood.

    Even if it wasn''t as adventurers just by expanding one''s view they could advance in all manner of professions. Merchants would learn of new materials and practises imposed by other nations. Doctors and healers could learn new techniques ande across wonderous medicines that were unattainable in the cial mountains.

    The same could be said for cksmiths, artificers and other tradecraft professions. Experiencing what the world of Nova had to offer was not only enlightening but meaningful in regards to life, at least that''s how Frost viewed it. His father the Dark God wanted his children to explore and enjoy his creations.

    His words touched the hearts of every student even those who initially had no interest in ever leaving Kranor felt the desire to learn about the outside world.

    Of course such strong views could be construed as detrimental to the interests of the enve, but it was in fact a topic Mrs Fennec and Yarrow heavily endorsed. They wanted Frost to enlighten and promote travel outside of the enve as doing so would enrich their citizens'' capabilities.

    It was their job to make sure their roots remained strong, that they''d choose return and bless the enve with these newfound skills, allowing their little state to grow and improve.

    Istion leads to decline.

 Chapter 538: Chapter 538: Enlightening lecture

    Frost continued to show off his skills to the children. Since he''d disyed his weapon mastery and magic capabilities it was time for chakra.

    "The two main branches are of course weapon mastery and magic however there is a third, Chakra." After removing any remaining effects from his magic Frost kneaded his internal mana forming it into an artful suit of ice armour that added to his charm.

    Chakra was still very much in development as far as Nova was concerned. Unlike with weapon mastery and magic there was no measurable scale when it came to chakra. That didn''t mean it was disregarded in fact the opposite held true. Anyone who could utilise their chakra to a reasonable level was not to be underestimated as Frost was about to clearly show.

    "Chakra is a very wonderful skillset to have. Not only does it grant an enhancement to your main techniques it can function as both an offensive and defensive weapon." In response to his words the chakra armour donning his body morphed in many ways.

    Spikes of ice suddenly formed on one of his shoulders, theyers surrounding his heart and organs thickened to an extreme level and a ive of ice grow from his hands.

    "Chakra is effectively the kneading of one''s internal mana without the use of a magic crest." He regurgitated some of the lessons taught to him by Maya and Sam. "To utilise -at least at the moment- your mana needs to have a natural elemental quality. Mine for instance as you can see is ice." He disyed a few more adept manifestations of his chakra to show off its wonderous capabilities.

    "Many describe using chakra as an instinctual method of kneading mana, a direct opposition to the heavily knowledge based applications of magic. You don''t need to be book smart or well-read to use chakra it''s all about feeling." This was amonly epted notion as many less than intelligent people were capably of using powerful forms of chakra while beingpletely illiterate to magic.

    "Whether you can utilise but a small level of chakra or have a practically endless supply, practise makes perfect. If you do not experiment and flex your mana veins you''ll never be able to utilise it in battle regardless of your reserves." While Frost was clearly in the endless supply camp, Sam was cursed with a very modest amount internal mana, severally limiting his adaptations.

    However Frost never looked down or underestimated Sam for this supposed weakness. Sam was strong and well versed when it came using his chakra perhaps even further along than himself despite his ability to change its inherent nature.

    Frost decided not to reveal thatst part given that he was already quite an oddity, showing off too much may in fact douse the ambition of the young students. He didn''t want to paint himself as someone born with a silver spoon, even if was true. One''s starting point did not dictate one''s end point after all.

    With his skills revealed and his advice given he opened the floor for some Q and A. Many wished to hear about his life as an adventurer, especially his battles so he regaled them of some of the more exciting and meaningful battles as well as the thoughts and feelings going through his mind during.

    Of course he remembered Mrs Fennec''s warning and kept his tales kid friendly making them sound like fanciful fairy tales.

    Following that he weed a few of the older students, the self defence instructor as well as some of the more demanding and enthusiastic students -Jasmine- to the stage for some personal skill assessment. Only the older students who had already established a firm foundation and knew where their skillsy could really benefit and provide a good demonstration.

    The younger students were too green for him to give any particrly noteworthy advice.

    The self defence instructor who introduced himself as Mr Javas would serve as a good disy for more intensebat and help to reveal the extent of the gap between someone at C-rank and someone at B-rank.

    Jasmine who was only 8 years old and incredibly stubborn refused to be left out of such an opportunity. Given his rtionship with her parents he didn''t refuse and allowed her to take part.

    The older students all disyed some of their skills before the master that was Frost and their bright eyed juniors. Frost even if he didn''t specialise in their chosen weapon or even magic element was able to quickly identify ws in their stances or in their construction of magic crests.

    He patiently guided each of them in a way before either summoning an ice golem to serve as an opponent or personally allowing them to attack him.

    At one point he even allowed all of the students including little jasmine to attack him at the same time. What ensued was Frost easily dodging each and every one of their blows with ease. They were just too slow and too green to evennd a single hit on him but nheless a few showed a decent amount of promise. Jasmine especially was far beyond her young years when it came to her battle intuition.

    Frost was reminded of Nanna and Loki as he watched her swing herrge two handed training sword.

    Once the children had gotten their chance to ''spar'' with the fabled B-rank it was finally Javas'' turn and he couldn''t be more thrilled. He dreamed of reaching Frost''s height since he could wield a weapon. He envisioned himself bing the most powerful solider of the enve, charged with protecting it from its most fearsome adversaries.

    Unfortunately the vast majority of people are trapped, unable to cross or even sense the door to B-rank. It didn''t help that he received a debilitating injury to his left leg that permanently reduced his mobility while he was still in theter years of his prime. Even now after years of teaching at Kranor elementary he still walked with a limp, but Frost didn''t underestimate the man.

    Despite his injured leg Javas clearly re-trained himself to fight with such a disability. His strong leg faced forward and supported the majority of his weight while the weakened one yed more of a support role.

    Frost''s lips curved upwards into a smile and respect was clearly reflected in his eyes. Javas was a warrior, one who''s edge hadn''t dulled in the slightest. It was clear Javas was going to throw his all into this spar. He wanted to see the limits of his current body and perhaps peer into the endless gulf that separated him from B-rank.

    His once diminished ambition rose to the forefront of his emotions, demanding that he prove himself. He may be middle-aged, but he wasn''t dead. Man could always improve regardless of circumstance; it was only their preconceived mindsets that acted as an obstacle.

    Javas closed his eyes and readied himself for battle before staring straight at Frost with clear intent. His narrow rapier poised and ready to thrust with unmatched speed.

    "Please let me experience the true strength of someone at your level." The massive amphitheatre grew silent at his words. Javas'' students all stared at the stage with intense focus.

    Frost''s forearms formed goosebumps and his wildness began to suffuse into his smile, he was excited.

    "Come." With his secondary ive in one hand -using the [wolf howling at the moon] would give him way too much of an unfair advantage- he beckoned Javas towards him, allowing the instructor to make the first move as per his rank dictated.

    Boom! The moment Frost called, Javas shot ahead through the use of a special movement technique, he was fast, incredibly fast but still not fast enough to catch Frost off guard.

    ng!

    Javas'' narrow and flexible rapier thrust forward in an attempt to skewer Frost through the heart but was easily met with the ive''s de.

    "You''re certainly fast."

    "[Swallow''s pierce]" Javas didn''t let up transitioning straight into an adept level rapier skill that enhanced his weapon''s already devasting speed and thrusting ability.

    Wooosh! The sharp rapier pierced the air where Frost''s head once was, a slight trickle of blood adorning its edge. Javas managed to scratch Frost''s ear with his fast flurry, hardly damage worthy but he sessfully drew blood from a B-rank fighter, something to be proud of.

    However just to achieve this minor victory he opened himself up to an easy counter. If this was a real battle Frost would have more than enough opportunity to deprive him of an arm ornd a critical blow against his chest, but since this was a spar Frost showed no intention of wounding his opponent. Instead he showed disappointment as he stepped away from Javas.

    "I thought you wanted to spar and understand the true might of the B-rank not get some kudos by taking advantage of my mercy." His words were suffused with his royal aura causing Javas to visibly tremble.

    "¡­..My apologies." Javas genuinely apologised, feeling contempt at himself. Frost was giving him a genuine opportunity to improve yet he almost squandered it.

    "Let''s continue Mr Javas." With Frost''s criticism Javas no longer allowed himself to be so easily exposed to counterattacks and treated the spar as a proper match.

    Of course in the end he lost in every possible way, Frost was faster, stronger, more reactive, and surpassed him in both endurance and weapon mastery. He was well and truly outmatched even before Frost used his royal aura.

    The students watching the fight were truly amazed by Frost''s prowess, he easily dealt with any move Javas sent his way, simr to how an adult could easily handle a child. There was practically no way Javas could win, the difference was just too substantial.

 Chapter 539: Chapter 539: Enlightening lecture (2)

    Once Javas had expended all his fighting methods Frost finally unleashed his royal aura, pressing on the man''s soul, causing his once vaulted speed to degrade by an entire level and his movements to be rigid as if his entire body had grown tense. He felt as though his body weighed far more than normal and every fibre of his being was screaming to either run or bow down to his enemy.

    Frost didn''t hold back in directing the full weight of his aura upon Javas, allowing him to bear his full force for just a few seconds.

    "As you can see and perhaps maybe even some of you can feel the main difference between B-rank and those below is the application of aura. This mystifying ability is the result of a qualitive change within an individual, those who reach this realm have truly started upon the path of power." Frost spoke with a booming voice before looking back at Javas who was struggling to keep hisposure.

    "Mr Javas can you please exin how it felt being assaulted by my aura."

    "¡­..It was like I was wrapped in a chilling pressure that filled every fibre of my body with fear, like I was being stared down by a vicious predator." Frost nodded his head, happy with his answer.

    "One''s aura is always different depending on the person however for B-ranks especially in the early stages the prime affect is to subject an enemy to a strong pressure. Like how a rabbit will freeze when met with the gaze of a tiger a person with aura bes a veritable predator, an unbeatable existence in their eyes.

    Only those with their own auras or who have gained a glimpse into it can resist the pressure. It''s one of the main reasons why quantity bes far less efficient in the upper levels. By use of my aura alone I can severely reduce thebat effectiveness of any C-rank and below."

    "Of course such notions aren''tpletely infallible, those with very strong will or a tempered bloodlust tend to do better when ites to resisting aura. Mr Javas here performed remarkably well even while under my full pressure despite not being able to interact with aura himself."

    "If I''m correct Mr Javas you were likely part of the military in the past and have a substantial wealth of battle experience." Javas reminded him a lot of the officers in the frost wolf battalion.

    "Correct, before my injury I was part of Kranor''s military and defended her against multiple assaults." The former military man replied with pride, subconsciously arching out his chest.

    "Thank you for your honoured service, it was pleasure to spar with you Mr Javas." Frost replied with upmost respect.

    "No, the pleasure was all mine Sir Frost, thank you for teachings." Javas bowed his head in reverence before limping towards his seat. Frost had showed him the gap between them step by step, enlightening him of the path forward. Perhaps he''ll be able to improve again, perhaps not but he was willing to try.

    Javas was weed back with a loud round of apuse and numerous shoulder pats from his fellow teachers and more advanced students.

    "What I disyed before is but the tip of iceberg when ites to the maniption of aura. Following the simple application of emitting a heavy presence and protecting yourself from such attackses more advanced forms which I have really only seen or just started to experiment with.

    For example [wyvern''s maw]" Frost activated one of trademark ive skills once again however this time he infused some of his aura into it, enhancing its corporal form and giving it more presence.

    "During my fights in the monster stampede I witnessed more than a few of my allies and enemies use this method to enhance their techniques and even spells, granting them additional qualities and power. I''ve been told that one can also eventually turn the benefits of their aura inwards granting them more strength, speed, endurance or even improvements to their mana flow and control.

    Unfortunately I''m not at that level yet." All the students were thoroughly engaged with his words, and immensely grateful. None of their instructors or family members could urately describe the nature of aura or the fabled B-rank realm because none of them ever reached such a level. Frost was truly giving them a lesson they couldn''t get from their home state.

    Jasmine was practically shaking with rapture as she imagined herself reaching such a level. However her curiosity instead of being sated grew exponentially.

    "What else? What about A-rank or S-rank?" She couldn''t help but ask, Frost was the first one she''d ever met who could possibly answer these questions.

    Frost turned to face the inquisitive little demon with a bright smile.

    "Unfortunately I''ve only just stepped into the realm of B-rank so my knowledge in regards to those beyond is rathercking¡­..however someone was kind enough to give a basic exnation of those ranks." Sharp inhales erupted throughout the amphitheatre. Frost had already enlightened them so much about B-rank, a level likely none of them would ever reach.

    Yet now were they going be graced with knowledge about the levels even further beyond. A-rank was seen as pretty much the eptable peak, S-rank was just too far ahead for anyone to even contemte. Even the mighty Northrend empirecked anyone at S-rank.

    Frost let them regain their calm before exining some of what he knew.

    "If up to D-rank serves as the foundation of mortality, then C-rank is the preparatory stage for ascension to a higher life grade.

    Once one reaches B-rank their internal make-up changes drastically, they be far stronger, have extended life span and are able to generate aura which is the beginning of the next stage." This was the foundation of progression in Nova ording to those at the very peak. It was how Maya exined the journey to him, he was merely repeating her wisdom.

    "Within B-rank one needs to understand and formte their own personal aura, their own individual power, creating a strong foundation for the upper stages. At A-rank one gains the ability to physically influence the area around them in far more literal terms than simply generating fear in their enemies or boosting their attacks. Their aura is of a much high quality than what I can muster.

    I was once able to witness a General from the Northrend empire form invisible chains with her aura that fully restrained her B-rank opponent." His words resulted in his audiences'' already wide eyes to stretch open further.

    "As for the legendary S-rank as far I''m aware they''re capable of generating domains, a field in which they are invincible, akin to Gods." Domains were the precursor to forming a dimension that could establish life, once an S-rank was able to form their own personal dimension they ascended to the ultimate level, they be true Gods.

    "What power these abilities entail I do not know but I''m certain that the aura avable to me is nothing to such entities. The gap between ranks only grows with each jump, the journey to the peak is never over." At this moment Frost was akin to a legendary professor who''s students hung onto his every word.

    Silence suffused the amphitheatre as his revtions worked their way through the minds of the young students and even teachers. Mrs Fennec despite her advanced age was no different, this was the first time she was hearing such an exnation.

    And with that his lecture was finally over.

    Once he was finished Frost was met with grand apuse and a standing ovation, everyone thoroughly enjoyed his lecture and would take his words and lessons to heart.

    Mrs Fennec led him back to her office after dispersing the students back to their sses.

    The two of them sat down opposite one another for a minute or so in silence before the old fox beastwoman finally said something.

    "¡­.That was far more enlightening than I expected Sir Frost and my expectations were quite high from the start." Frost was the first B-rank to ever give a lecture at her school and was most definitely a prodigy, so she expected something grand, but this was something else entirely.

    "I''ve never heard the division of ranks being put in such a way¡­.it clears up a lot of confusion surrounding the premise." Frost gently smiled feeling a little guilty in taking credit for his words, he basically parroted what Maya said while adding his own ir.

    For those at the peak of Nova the division of ranks was abundantly clear as was the methods to breach them however knowing how it was done and achieving it were not the same thing. People like Mrs Fennec and those in Kranor however didn''t even know much about C-rank let alone the mysteries of B-rank and higher.

    It was no wonder none of them reached B-rank, they were practically fumbling in the dark without any sense of direction. Frost had now given them that direction.

    "On top of that you managed to keep every single student hanging onto your every word even those who held no interest in ever developing their strength. And for those that do you patiently guided them, pointing out their faults and suggesting improvements without the slightest bit of arrogance.

    Your spar with Mr Javas was particrly educational showing your ability to teach anyone, regardless of age or station...Do you perhaps have any interest in bing a teacher, or perhaps at least a guest lecturer here at Kranor elementary." Mrs Fennec was desperate to have Frost join her staff. Unfortunately she was ultimately going to be disappointed.

    "Afraid not Mrs Fennec, most of my teaching methods were just me copying the one who taught me -albeit without the brutality- so I doubt I''d make a very good teacher, one lecture was enough, besides I won''t be staying in Kranor.

    "¡­.That''s a real shame, regardless if you ever change your mind our doors will always remain open to you."

    "Thank you."

 Chapter 540: Chapter 540: The strongest sword is forged through the fiercest hammering

    Frost left Kranor elementary with a couple extra books that were mandatory study for their teachers as well as a copy of the institution''s sybus. They''d help him develop and manage his own school in the future or at least get him started.

    "That was more fun than I expected." Frost bore a smile on his face as he walked through the campus'' grand arch. He found shaping young minds and having them hanging on his every word greatly satisfying.

    He looked over the books he received, keen to dive into their pages but it would have to wait. He had more pressing matters.

    With his visit to Druakai and Kranor elementary over it was time to visit his teacher.

    "I wonder how far his culinary skills have improved." His stomach rumbled lightly in anticipation, hoping Sam would grace him with some tasty tid bits. The jerky Druakai prepared was certainly tasty but not nearly enough to rece a hearty meal. Thankfully Sam and L''s abode wasn''t too far away from the school. Even without Kiba it wouldn''t take him more than 15 minutes of walking.

    In fact, by choosing to walk on his own two feet he was able to admire the architecture of the upper ss residences with a keener eye. Many residents also greeted him in a more friendly manner, Kiba was quite intimidating after all.

    "Very impressive, the environment here is absolutely ideal for peaceful living" Frost admired the individuality expressed by the different residential blocks as well as the vast greenery, ygrounds and recreational facilities.

    Elderly couples could be seen sitting beside artificially createdkes, feeding the many fish residing within them without a care in the world. Elsewhere groups of adults were engaging in some kind of ball sport with a healthy audience cheering them on. It was hard connect this blissful ce with the dangers of the cial mountains.

    Frost was fascinated by what he saw and couldn''t help but imagine his dungeon generating the same ambience in the future. A camp or internal outpost would never be able to offer the same level of safety as this former monsterir. Unless he built an established infrastructure he could forget about attracting the vast majority of people, civilians.

    "Frost, good to see you man. Come inside and make yourself at home. Yarrow already told me about your visit." Sam answered the door while dressed in casual clothes and a stained apron. It was clear that he had been in the kitchen recently.

    Frost''s lips naturally turned upwards into a gentle smile the moment heid eyes on Sam; he missed interacting with his teacher.

    Sam quickly led him into the living room, which was a little messy, this ce was clearly a home not a house.

    "Sorry about the mess, keeping on top of three little monsters is a tall task." Sam quickly pushed aside some of Ren''s toys, Jasmine''s clothes and even Tulip''s books to make the ce a little less crowded.

    "It''s fine, Nanna and Loki are the same way." Frost remarked with a gentle expression.

    "I''d really like to meet those kids of yours."

    "Perhaps in the future you, L and the kids could visit my budding territory for a vacation or maybe when I''m less busy I could bring them over for a visit."

    "That would be nice." Sam was onboard with either option. The two smiled at one another before settling on the now freed up sofa.

    "To be honest I''m rather shocked that you''re here. Knowing how infatuated Daki is with you I was sure she''d be all over you the moment you arrived." Sam looked Frost up and down as if he was eyeing some sort of strange organism. Chia had already informed him and his wifest night about Frost''s arrival as well as his reunion with Daki.

    Sam knew Daki well, so he was absolutely sure she''d pounce on him the moment she got the chance yet here he was sitting in his living the very next day without the slightest hint of exhaustion.

    ''Did Daki resist her usual tendencies and choose to take the slow approach¡­..not a chance in hell.'' Frost also had a certain glow about him that he was certainly familiar with.

    "Oh she was." A perverted expression grew on Frost''s face as he rememberedst night''s festivities.

    "...And."

    "She''s recuperating." Smugness and pride practically oozed out of the young dungeon core.

    "...¡­hahahahahahaha!" After staring at Frost as if he was some sort of monster for a few seconds Sam burst outughing, his eyes threatening to tear up from the irony. The subus finally got hereuppance. Frost was well and truly her perfect match.

    After Sam sessfully pried out a few details from his young student they returned to normal conversation.

    "So you''ve already met up with Druakai and even lectured at Kranor elementary. How lucky for them, to receive the teachings of a B-rank fighter, kudos by the way. I always knew you had the capability, but I didn''t think you''d reach that level so soon¡­..would you mind?"

    "Not at all." Frost released a snippet of his royal aura causing Sam''s body to writhe in primal fear.

    "Haaaaaa the true thing is far more impressive than pseudo aura, the two can''t even bepared in the same sentence, heaven and earth."

    "True however achieving thetter is needed to establish the former. Having pseudo aura means you''re one step through the door." Frost wanted to uplift Sam''s spirits rather than rub his sess in his face. He believed his teacher had the capability to reach the same level as him as long as he kept up with his training.

    "I see, perhaps there''s still hope for me and L after all." Though he wasn''t too optimistic about their chances there was still a chance.

    "I''m sure there''ll be plenty of food and drink at the farewell celebrationter on, but would you like to try some of the recipes I''ve been working on?"

    "Definitely, lecturing for 2 hours was hungry work." Frost nodded enthusiastically in response, dying to get some good food in his belly.

    "Great, finally someone who I know will be straight with me." Recently he''d been relying on the words of his kids and wife, not exactly the most trustworthy while his former teacher Ramsey senior did his best not toment on his dishes, instead preferring to review his knifework and business sense. His former teacher was quite well known for his biting criticisms while in the kitchen.

    Sam wasn''t quite ready to endure such tirades, so they wisely avoided the topic.

    Frost however was a good middle ground; he wasn''t close family so he wouldn''t put his feelings first nor was he an established chef who''d tear apart his pride.

    Sam invited his prot¨¦g¨¦ into the kitchen and like their time in the [beginner''s ice magic] monsterir he showed him the ropes of cooking. The two engaged in chatter as Sam prepared his signature dishes with Frost''s aid.

    Such work helped rx Frost, allowing him to erase the leftover tension from the monster stampede and his attempted assassination. Sam listened to hisints and patted his shoulder when he struggled to describe the events that transpired in Furano.

    "You''ve had it rough Frost, no wonder you broke through so fast." Sam no longer left jealous towards his student.

    "The strongest sword is forged through the fiercest hammering." He decided to refer to his troubles as trials to forge himself.

    "True, but if you don''t allow the de to rest it''ll be brittle." Challenging oneself and diving into the heat of battle was fine but couldn''t make up one''s entire life. There must be bnce to ensure the best results.

    Over the next hour Frost got to taste a vast selection of dishes bringing an end to his stomach''s rumblings. Sam was an incredibly skilled chef, none of his dishes were bad. Even the vours he didn''t personally enjoy had great texture. Even putting on his most critical hat he failed to find much fault, much to Sam''s appreciation. His kids and wife weren''t lying when they praised his dishes.

    "I''m really looking forward to seeing your own restaurant." Frost said while patting his belly.

    "I''m still a ways off but thanks for the confidence."

    "How''s your territorying along by the way?"

    "The foundation''s been set but like you we''ve got a loooooooong way to go."

    "I see, I wish you all the luck in the world Frost. Establishing your own territory is no easy task."

    "I know but I''m confident I''ll seed in my ambitions, having a talented smith by my side should also help."

    "Does Daki know how much you''re nning to work her over?"

    "I''ll do my best to make it worth her while hehehehe."

    Frost left his teacher''s abode twenty minutester with a bright smile on his face.

    "Time to reunite with my green temptress." A sparkle shed in his eyes as he thought of Daki.

    With a skip in his step Frost made the long way back to the mayor''s manor. After a proper send-off the two would embark on theirbined journey.

 Chapter 541: Chapter 541: The camps progess

    As Frost crossed the threshold into the mayor''s manor he couldn''t help but notice the pampered cat lounging atop a fluffy bed as a young servant brushed his thick fur. There was even a bowl of fish sitting by his side which he could pick at as he pleased.

    Frost struggled to say anything, simply twitching at the lips as he held back hisints.

    ''How can a mighty cial winged tiger transition to an adorable house pet so easily?'' He knew best how vicious Kiba could be when it came to battle, even he asionally struggled to endure the sight of him rending apart the limbs of his enemies.

    He decided topletely ignore Kiba and entered the manor. There was several things he still needed to discuss with Yarrow and Chia before he left.

    "Frost you''re back, I missed you." The moment he walked into Chia''s office he was met with a joyous smile and a kiss on the cheek from his green skinned lover.

    "I missed you too Daki." He kissed her back. "Have you managed to sort out all the legal stuff with Chia and Yarrow?"

    "Most of it but not all, give us 30 minutes no an hour and we''ll be done." A fair bit of paperwork needed to bepleted for Daki to properly abscond with Frost. Her rtionship with the mayoral family, her high ranking smithing skills as well as the business she brought to Kranor all needed to be quantified. What would the enve be losing by allowing her to leave with Frost.

    The enve needed to be aware so it could deal with the iing loss in ie. Borris would likely have to got through a simr situation with Furano''s legal department when decided to leave.

    The enve had no intention in taking advantage of Daki it just needed to be filed and recorded. Tedious work but necessary as Frost understood it.

    "Is there anything I can do to help?" Though he was a bit unnerved at seeing the stacks upon stacks of paperwork surrounding Daki and Chia he still offered a hand.

    "Thanks for the offer but no, this is something only I can do." As thanks she leaned in and kissed him deeply on the lips before allowing herrge hands to wander down his body until they took firm hold of his cheeks and squeezed. "Ah much better, I''m full of energy again!" She loudly dered as she pulled away from her lover''s lips, a trail of glistening saliva still connecting the two.

    She now understood Frost''s fascination with her own posterior, squeezing cheeks was a great stress reliever.

    Frost initially looked surprised before his lips formed a predatory grin. He chased after his girlfriend''s escaping body, wrapping her muscr waist in his arms before leaning in for a true kiss. He invaded her lips with his skilled tongue, quickly causing her mind to grow fuzzy from bliss. Her left leg naturally elevated from the ground as the two delved into a moment of passion.

    "Hit hum!" Unfortunately they weren''t alone. Chia who was facilitating Daki''s paperwork was also present and got front row seats to their intimacy. She wasn''t too adverse to the sight in fact normally she''d even encourage it but right now there was work to be done.

    Her loud announcing cough brought the two lovers out of their moment albeit reluctantly.

    "Finish your work first, then the two of you can go at like rabbits if you want." She dered in amanding tone, not taking no for an answer.

    Frost and Daki thus looked at one another before sharing a knowing smile.

    "Try to make it 30 minutes."

    "I''ll aim for 20." Now that their switches had been flipped it was very hard for them to turn them off, their physical attraction to one another was irresistible. Chia practically had to physically shoo him out the door and order a servant to escort him to Yarrow and L. They could deal with him while she finished with Daki.

    "It''s like dealing with lovestruck teenagers." She loudlyined as she saw Daki''s eyes trailing after Frost''s figure.

    "Ohe on we''re not that bad, and even if we are is that really a bad thing."

    "Haaaaaaaa" Chia loudly sighed in response. Young love was not a bad thing per say, it was innocent, free and exciting but terribly distracting. Just a single kiss and close proximitypletely wrecked their focus, throwing all else to the back of their minds.

    "You''re just jealous hmph." Daki hmphed and started humming a pleasant tune as she started the next line of paperwork, looking forward to indulging herself with Frost afterwards.

    Chia let out another sigh before refocusing. Perhaps Daki was right, maybe she was a little jealous.

    Frost was quickly brought before Yarrow and L who''s work situation looked even more hectic that Chia and Daki''s. L even had bags under her eyes and ack of her usual sparkle in her irises. That changed however the moment Frost entered. Seeing an opportunity to ditch her work she jumped from her seat and wrapped her body around him before dragging him towards the sofa.

    Frost was to be her shield against her overbearing mayoral father who didn''t know the meaning of too much work.

    "Get your butt back in that seat and finish going over the agriculture department''s budget report youngdy, don''t make me spank you!" Unfortunately for her, Yarrow didn''t give a rat''s ass about his or her image in front of Frost. L visibly trembled, before sullenly dragging herself back towards her desk.

    Her father wasn''t kidding, her age made no difference, if he thought she deserved a spanking, a spanking was what she got. Perhaps that''s how she managed to overtake her mother in the size department, the many, many spankings as a child and even as a young adult leading to a defensive ballooning in size.

    With his daughter in her rightful ce and focusing on her work Yarrow turned to his guest.

    "Mrs Fennec was just singing your praises and demanding that I do everything in power to retain you as a teacher."

    "Hahahaha I had a feeling she wouldn''t be one to give up so easily." Frost respected her tenacity, but it didn''t change his mind.

    "How was Druakai''s did he have you help with those little demons of his?"

    "Urgh! Yes he did, do you know he finds them cute."

    "Yeah he''s always had strange tastes." Yarrow was quite versed when it came to dealing with Druakai''s unusual tendencies.

    The young orc had a fair amount of free reign when it came to managing his monster ranch, so he wasn''t adverse to taking some liberties with such power. More than a few times he purchased or rescued some of the most eldritch looking monsters you can imagine.

    Obviously these oddities didn''t sell well but Yarrow was remised to cage his passion, Druakai was the only highly skilled monster breeder in the enve after all.

    "Regardless I was able learn quite a lot about his profession and gain more respect for it, monster breeding isn''t for the tame of heart nor thezy."

    "That''s true, he works hard, too hard sometimes." Yarrow shook his head, hoping that his new employees would eventually reach Druakai''s exacting standards and help him out with his more strenuous tasks. It was easy to find simplebour to take care of the cuddly and friendly monster pups. They were so docile that they were practically no different from regr beasts, very easy to manage.

    It was the feral and brutal first and second spawners that were the real challenge, breeders needed to be on their toes and have genuine skill if they wanted to reign in these monsters and train as battle mounts.

    The two chatted amicably while L was forced to work her butt off, her irritation growing with every word spoken as if she was but a fly on the wall.

    Seeing that she was likely to blow a fuse Yarrow and Frost changed to topics that could use her input, i.e. managing territory and the agreements between Frost and Kranor. It wasn''t exactly what she hoping for, but it was better than being left out.

    "When do you think you''ll be fully up and running?" Yarrow asked in a rather serious manner. The longer Frost took to set up a fully functioning camp the greater the risk to his control and the longer they''d have to wait before engaging to proper trade.

    Frost stroked his chin and thought for a few seconds before answering.

    "At the moment we''re still building the foundation and have zero form of traffic but that''s to be expected given that the monster stampede just ended." L and Yarrow nodded their heads in agreement.

    "The camp''s area epasses 25km2 around the entrance of the dungeon. Currently we''ve erected a sturdy wall that''s 4 metres high, but we n to make it 8 metres within theing weeks, that should be enough to ensure decent protection.

    The final height we''re aiming for is roughly 12 metres, simr to Furano''s walls and like Furano we n to reinforce it with multiple war machines, but we should be fine without them in the interim."

    "Our buildings are still very raw, only a couple are nearpletion, but we''ve lined out multiple districts for future development, there''ll be no issues in regards to space for quite some time. However to answer your question I''m not exactly sure it, depends entirely on how the initial visitors grade the camp.

    If they find the dungeon to be very profitable I expect waves of adventurers and merchants to flood to my territory in a matter of months but if it doesn''t take off well then perhaps a year or so until we can facilitate proper rtions between our territories." The prosperity of his territory was heavily dependent on adventurers, when they''d first arrive, their experience with the dungeon as well as how they find the camp''s facilities.

    Frost had worked out a fair number of options to help entice people to stay and invest, but word would have to spread first.

 Chapter 542: Chapter 542: Realm of monsters

    Frost felt a little guilty with his wishy washy answer, but Yarrow and L werepletely blown away by it. To them his progress waspletely astounding, not only were there defences in ce, but buildings were also starting to be constructed and divided into their assigned districts.

    They had no reason to doubt that a camp situated around one of the new monsterirs, referred to as dungeons wouldn''t draw a lot of attention. The main issue was whether Frost could im the territory fast enough and establish his own fief before the vultures swooped in.

    For Frost to say that his territory would be able to facilitate genuine trade within a few months at the earliest to a year at thetest waspletely mind blowing. They expected over a year at minimum, likely two or perhaps even three before his territory became ready for external dealings with other territories. The two looked at the young man as if he was full of mystery.

    What kind of powers did hemand and what level of support was he privy to, to allow such rapid construction. The monster stampede ended only days ago yet already Frost was half prepared to defend his camp from a well-armed force.

    "¡­.That''s a lot faster than we initially predicted." Yarrow eventually said before turning towards his daughter. "We''ll have to alter some of our projections to amodate such rapid development."

    L pulled a strained face upon hearing his words. Despite agreeing with him, this obviously meant more work for her. The three continued to discuss topics surrounding Frost''s territory given the new timescale.

    Around 45 minutester their discussion was cut short when a loud voice boomed throughout the manor.

    "FROST! I''M FINISHED!" Daki proimed the moment shepleted thest sheet of paperwork causing Frost''s lips to form a wild grin.

    "Apologies Yarrow, L my queen is calling." Frost gave a quick farewell before dashing out of the office, his heart beating with desire.

    Yarrow and L watched his departing figure with rather mixed emotions, jealously, happiness, hatred as well as anger. While the two of them were here working through mountains of paperwork -some of which that was rted to him- he suddenly gets to chill and sleep with his new lover. The world could be so cruel sometimes.

    Out of the two of them L was especially irked by the situation, her teeth even started grinding against one another as she struggled to restrain her bubbling frustration. She''d been working hard and deserved some release but where was her knight in shining armour or valiant king, at home doing his stupid cooking that''s where.

    ''Stupid Sam!''

    "Haaaaaaaa why don''t we call it quits for today. You should head home and prepare for the farewell party." Yarrow suggested after letting out a sigh. It was clear that his daughter was no longer in the mood to work and that forcing her would only result in rejection and mistakes. They''d gotten a fair amount done already so ending a little early wouldn''t hurt their progress too much.

    L perked upon his suggestion, her frown of displeasure instantly turning into a smile full of joy. She leaned over and pecked her father on the cheek before thanking him in a cute manner.

    "Thank you daddy." Then like she was on a mission she packed up a couple things from her desk and dashed out of the office. Her husband was in for a very nice surprise when she made it home, curtesy of Frost and Daki.

    Yarrow let out another sigh when he say the look in his daughter''s eyes, she was the spitting image of her mother whenever she was in the mood. Speaking of her mother, a minute after Frost and L left the elder rabbit woman sauntered into his office with a gentle smile on her lips.

    ''Damn my wife is beautiful.'' He couldn''t help butpare her to a wonderful work of art, just seeing her smile warmed his heart and melted away the stress from work.

    Click.

    His state of admiring her beauty was brought to an abrupt end when he heard the sound of his office door being locked.

    "Chia?" He asked in confusion and a little fear as his wife''s gentle smile and rxed demeanour began to change. Her eyes revealed an intense desire as she scanned her husband from head to toe. She licked her lips in appreciation before pouncing.

    "Ahhhhh!" Yarrow only managed let out a short yelp before his voice was silenced by her luscious lips. Daki''s desire had clearly spilled over to her, and she wasn''t one to ever restrain her desires.

    While the elderly couple engaged in their own escapade, Frost and Daki returned to the baby making room to continue their romance. After several hours apart Daki was more than ready to go at it again and Frost was more than eager to test her limits.

    A very pink atmosphere filled the manor as the two couples engaged in the most expressive form of love. Meanwhile the servants and workers all helped prepare for thevish farewell celebration.

    A few hourster as Daki and Frosty in bed together a servant knocked on the door.

    "Sir Frost, Lady Daki the party is set to begin in the next 60 minutes." The young servant informed them before vanishing, no servant was ever permanently stationed within the vicinity of the baby making room.

    "An hour huh, not enough time for another round unfortunately." Frost whispered as his naughty hands ran over his girlfriend''s voluptuous body.

    "For you no! But for anyone else it would be plenty."

    "Are youining?" His hands grew more adventurous as a confident smirk adorned his lips.

    "Ahhnnnnn no I''m not ahhhhnnnining at all." His green skinned temptress couldn''t help but moan as he targeted her more sensitive spots.

    "I''m sure they wouldn''t mind if we''re a littlete." He started sensually kissing her body making her feel like putty in his hands.

    "N¡­.N¡­.No stop, Frost stop, I''m serious." Eventually Daki worked up the strength to push her lover away. Though she was physically reluctant to do so her mind was firm.

    "A few minutes may be enough time for you to get ready but not for me. We girls need to time to prepare our battle armour." Daki pulled herself from the bed with nothing, but the silken bedsheet wrapped around her curvy figure.

    Frost was obviously crestfallen at her denial; he looked rather pitiful in fact causing Daki to giggle. "Don''t look so down we''ll have all the time in the world to enjoy one another''spany, what''s a few hourspared to that." She lightly kissed her lover on the lips before sashaying into the bathroom.

    "You swaying your hips as you walk really isn''t helping." Frost loudlyined only to be met with another giggle.

    ''Damn Maya was nowhere near as teasing. At least she''d blush and fall t on her face whenever faced with one of my counters.'' Daki''s ample experience meant there was pros and cons to their interactions. If he wasn''t careful he may even end up wrapped around her little finger.

    "I don''t know why you''re still raring to go, you heard her we''re done." He lightly snapped at the prominent tent poking through the bedsheets. Unfortunately his words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

    To calm down Frost entered the bathroom -doing his best not to look in Daki''s direction- and turned on one of the shower cubicles, setting the water to cold.

    It only took him 10 maybe 15 minutes to wash his body, tie his hair into a ponytail and put on one of the stylish suits he procured in Furano. Since this was a party he should dress for the asion.

    Though the party wouldn''t begin for another 40 minutes or so he was kicked out of the room so Daki could prepare without distraction.

    "Guess I''ll go and find Yarrow, Sam or Druakai." He assumed that the men would all be ready well ahead of time like he was.

    A servant guided him towards a small reception room where the three of them and Ren were all waiting patiently. A game of cards was currently in y, the group was clearly adept at having to wait.

    "Frost, the man of the hour,e,e sit and join us, we''re ying Realm of Monsters." Sam beckoned him over along with Ren while Yarrow smiled and nodded his way. Druakai however was heavily frowning, it was his turn in the game and he had nothing decent in his hand.

    "Ahhhh screw this I forfeit." Eventually he tossed his cards in the air and gave up, causing the three other yers to discreetlyugh.

    Frost grew quite interested in the game.

    "Can you exin the rules?"

    "Sure, I had a feeling you wouldn''t know." Sam smiled and patted the empty chair by his side. "Just watch the three of us y and I''ll exin how it works as we go."

    "Alright."

    Realm of monsters as it was called was a very popr card game throughout Nova that could be yed between 2 to 8 yers. Each yer could assemble a deck between 30 and 40 cards that constituted of monster cards, spell/skill cards and equipment cards. And far as Sam knew there were over 10,000 different cards in cirction with new ones being generated every year if not every month.

    Realm of monsters was a very diverse game that required a lot of strategic skill as there were many, many configurations a deck could take. Element based, spell focused, high quality equipment focus, quality or quantity in monsters and of course a more bnced approach, the possibilities were endless.

    The game''s cheap cards and widespread avability made it the go to game for pretty much all ages. It was very easy to get a hold of a basic starter deck and y with friends.

    Frost grew quite enamoured with the game and after Sam and even Ren showed him the ropes Druakai handed over his deck for him to y with. The giant orc was never that good at the game and had grown tired of being repeatedly thrashed so he willingly let Frost take his ce. It was his turn to suffer.

 Chapter 543: Chapter 543: Farewell party

    Frost and the others continued to engage in their game of realm of monsters until a servant came in and dered that the party preparations wereplete.

    Frost being new to the game suffered just as badly as Druakai if not worse but even, so he thoroughly enjoyed it. He made a mental note to purchase a few starter decks and even guides next time he got a chance.

    "Finally, I was getting bored destroying you lot hahahaha." Yarrow boldlyughed as he stood up from the table. The old mayor was by far the best yer, knowing the ins and outs of the game and his opponents strategies like the back of his hand. Even when Ren, Sam and Frost tried to team up against his prowess they still came up short.

    The group packed away their stuff and straightened out their clothes before following the servant to the grand reception room that had been specially prepared for tonight''s festivities. The room was usually reserved forrge parties and events such as entertaining diplomatic delegations, borate birthday parties, as well as weddings.

    The room''s entrance first opened up onto arge balcony that was connected to arge ornate staircase leading to the main floor. The arrivals would be called out by the servants manning the door in a noble fashion causing everyone to look their way as they descended. The room''s design was quitemon among the rich and upper ss of the world.

    Since this was more of a family affair Chia and Yarrow held back on some of the morevish and ostentatious features but even so the room screamed elegance. Frost was more than impressed.

    Arge open space was in the centre of the main floor to amodate mingling and dancing between guests while several white clothed tables lined the sides with a vast array of dishes. Arge table was ced at the northern end of the floor allowing the guests to sit down and rest or engage in a more intimate dinner.

    Ren wasted no time rushing down the stairs towards the dessert tables, his mouth practically salivating as he eyed the luxurious chocte cake. Sam quickly rushed to his side and made sure he didn''t stuff himself silly on desserts alone.

    Yarrow introduced Frost to some of the band members who would be providing the music for tonight''s celebration while Druakai eyed up a roast pig prepared by Ramsey senior. The orc monster breeder wasted no time in requesting a rather thick b of pork.

    While the men all got settled in a servant atop the balcony loudly announced the arrival of the woman.

    "Presenting Lady Chia, Lady L, Lady Daki, Lady Tulip and finally Lady Jasmine." A trumpet followed his announcement causing all the men to turn their heads.

    "Wow!"

    "Alright honey ''wolf whistle!''"

    "So pretty."

    Yarrow was blown away by the beauty of his wife while Sam couldn''t help but let out a wolf like whistle the moment he took in L''s curvaceous form.

    Ren was a lot more innocent, simply finding them pretty. His lips curled up into a bright smile as he ran up to his mother and hugged her leg, praising how pretty she looked. This of course got him a lot of points in her book, she couldn''t help but hug her adorable little angel back and lift him up into her arms, her Ren was just too cute.

    While all the men were stuck in a daze from the mesmerising sight Jasmine who was dressed in a noble blue pantsuit that despitecking in frills, flowers and restrictiveness was still feminine walked ahead of the others and loudly coughed.

    "As you can see Grandma Chia here is wearing a distinctive red and white ensemble that highlights her brilliant figure while also invoking her hidden ferocity." Jasmine gestured towards her grandmother who boldly took a sexy pose and blew a kiss towards her husband, causing the man to audibly gulp.

    "Next we have my ravishing mother donned in a no less attractive blue dress that screams elegance while at the same time drawing attention to her beautiful face." L giggled cutely while holding Ren, she disyed less skin than her mother but was no less ravishing.

    "Following that we have my radiant big sister Tulip who went for the opposite approach to my more simple attire. Like her namesake she decided to wear a bright orange and frilly dress that amplifies her cuteness and purity." Tulip performed a slight curtsey in response to her sister''s description, her face donning a slight blush.

    Though they practised this doing it in front of the boys -especially Frost- was still embarrassing.

    Jasmine grinned widely before she introduced the final member of their group. This was technically her party after all, so she deserved the most dramatic wee.

    "Finally we have the daring, the bodacious, Kranor''s number one beauty and star of the show, Big Sis Daki!" At her words Daki who had been standing behind the rest, slightly out of view revealed herself in all her splendour.

    "....." Complete silence filled the boy''s side of the room as they took in Daki''s appearance. She was absolutely mesmerising.

    Daki was draped in a skin-tight ck mini dress that entuated her already prominent curves. The thin straps exposed her smooth shoulders as well as ample amounts of cleavage that would stir up lust in all who saw her.

    Her muscr midriff was exposed thanks to a diamond shaped hole in the dress while the bottom part struggled to contain her prominent butt that became even more pronounced due the high heels she wore. If that wasn''t enough her long legs were practicallyid bare as the dress only reached her thighs. She was the perfect embodiment of a subus.

    Yarrow and Sam werepletely ck jawed while Druakai shook his head inint. He had no desire to see his sister''s exposure.

    Frost wasn''t any better than them, his mind waspletely lost as he took in his girlfriend''s sexy form. He audibly gulped as his throat grew parched. His heart beating a mile a minute as his desire grew with every passing moment. He didn''t even notice when Daki arrived before him, onlying too when her enchanting perfume wormed its way into his nose.

    "Well, what do you think, sexy right?" She moved in close and leaned against her lover with confidence. This was one of her most devasting dresses, it never failed to capture her targets.

    Frost felt his entire body heating from her touch and whispers.

    "My green temptress sexy is an understatement." Frost wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close before kissing her on the lips. He no longer felt that waiting was a waste of time, if Daki needed time to don her battle attire he would be willing to wait for days if need be.

    "Hehehehe I''m d it''s to your tastes." Daki cooed back in delight before locking arms with him. By now Yarrow and Sam had received simr greetings from the significant others resulting in rather goofy expressions. Jasmine giggled from the side while Druakai felt more lonely than ever.

    Whereas Tulip struggled to keep her cool whenever she saw Daki make a move on Frost, it seems she truly wasn''t resigned to let him go even at this point.

    For the farewell celebration the groups first began with vast array of food lined up on the side tables before giving toasts and good wishes to the happy couple. Druakai brought up lots of embarrassing yet endearing stories about Daki''s childhood. Some of which caused her to boil with incandescent rage, how could he tell such embarrassing stories to Frost.

    She promised that whenever Druakai got hitched she''d b all about his humiliating past.

    L and Sam regaled their experiences with a teenage and young adult Daki which was far less embarrassing to hear and quite insightful. Daki was truly quite the bold troublemaker when she was younger, in fact she still was ording to Chia just in a less obvious manner.

    Frost learned so much about his girlfriend''s life, yet she hardly knew anything about him neither did anyone at the table for that matter. Though he felt rather guilty he couldn''t say what he couldn''t say. Either it didn''t exist yet due to his very young age or it was too pertinent to his own safety. Perhaps in the future he''d be able to share more about his life with his friends but not now.

    What they knew already was enough.

    Following the food and toasts was dancing, something he had absolutely no experience in. But thanks to his natural talents and Daki''s patience he picked up a few steps fairly quickly. The two were thus able to enjoy a few songs together as a couple, though they were a far shy from the experienced partners such as Chia and Yarrow.

    The two of them were so skilled that they couldn''t help but draw all eyes towards them, especially when they started to perform a more rigorous dance which Daki called the ''Dove''s descent''. Their bodies were in perfect sync, emphasising their strength as a couple.

    Frost and Daki as well as L and Sam both looked up to the elderly couple as some sort of goal.

    Of course they didn''t just engage in couple dancing, everyone had a turn in dancing with one another including Druakai though he was very reluctant. By the end all the adults were sufficiently drunk and giddy while the kids were exhausted. Ren had even fallen asleep with a bright smile on his face.

    The party was a sess, everyone had fun and got to say their farewells to Daki and Frost.

    "We wish you all the luck in the world Frost, Daki." Chia said as she and her husband wobblily made their back to their room.

    "...." Druakai who had gotten a little emotional didn''t say any words instead he patted Frost''s shoulder before strongly hugging his sister for several seconds.

    "We''d love to have you over at any time. You''re always wee in our home." L was next to say her piece. Jasmine and Tulip yawned while holding her hands, too tired to even think straight but they agreed with their mother.

    "You''ll be wee in my restaurant too, no charge." Said Sam with Ren asleep against his chest.

    "Thank you, I''m sure we''ll find time to visit Kranor." Frost replied as Daki leaned against his shoulder with a giddy smile, she drunk quite a lot.

    The groups all made their way back to their respective quarters, for Frost and Daki it was once again the baby making room, a name he was now aware of. He carried his green temptress over the threshold, his nose taking in her tantalising perfume and his hands enjoying the feel of her body.

    "The baby making room huh."

 Chapter 544: Chapter 544: Whatâ€™s he like, your father?

    Frost and Daki awoke from another romantic night early next morning. Though it wasn''t crack of dawn it wasn''t too far off.

    "Daki it''s time to get up." Frost whispered into his lover''s ear before leaving the confines of their bed.

    "Mmmmm 5 more minutes." Daki grumbled as her hands tried to keep Frost under the covers, she had been treating his arm as a pillow.

    Frost smiled gently before poking her undefended forehead.

    "No, we''ve got to get going."

    "Nnnngggghhhh carry me." Still sleepy Daki demanded Frost pick her up. And him being the loving and caring boyfriend that he was acquiesced to her demand withoutint. With his physical strength even her muscr form was as light as a feather.

    "Hehehe" She giggled and snuggled up against his chest, relishing in his grip and strong scent.

    Frost carried his lover into the bathroom wherein the two of them quickly got themselves ready, a task that took a lot of focus on his part. Daki was a real temptress and very keen to continue their intimate activities, but he needed to get back to the dungeon.

    Thankfully Daki had already packed the majority of her possessions into a storage ring and a few bags before he arrived, so all they needed to do was get dressed and have breakfast before they would be ready to leave.

    The two partook in a light breakfast along with the rest of their entourage. Final farewells were given, and a few tears were shed but eventually the two waved goodbye from atop Kiba''s back with smile on their faces.

    Frost rode up front with Daki wrapping her arms around him for support. She eyed the passing buildings and people of Kranor as Kiba made his way to the surface of the enve as though carving the images into her heart, never to be forgotten. Though she had left Kranor before she knew that this was different. Frost''s territory wouldn''t be a passing visit but her new home.

    "Don''t be sad, we''ll be sure to visit whenever we get the opportunity." Frost did his best to ay her pain.

    "Un" She meekly nodded in reply, her arms gripping tighter around his waist.

    A short 20 minutes after saying goodbye to their friends and family Kiba dashed through Kranor''s mighty gates and into the wild that was the cial mountains. The sharp contrast in temperature caused Daki to involuntarily shiver and even sneeze.

    "I''m d I chose to bundle up, the outside world is always so damn cold." Unlike her usual attire that exposed her smooth green skin and ample curves, today she was wearing thick, furry clothes that helped keep out the majority of the cold.

    She eyed her boyfriend as if he was some kind of aberration. Unlike her he was wearing his usual robes that were thin even for warm weather.

    "Are youpletely immune to the cold or something?"

    "Something like that. Once we get a bit further in our journey I''ll tell you more."

    With the additional weight Frost estimated it''d take Kiba around 3 and half to four hours to reach the dungeon, as long as nothing too unexpected happened.

    He rubbed Kiba''s neck with affection, enjoying the feeling of his fur against his hands. "Take us home Kiba."

    "Garow!" Kiba picked up speed the moment they left the vicinity of Kranor. Out in the open ins he could really let loose, out here was the king of speed.

    An hour or soter after Frost bravely forced a group of aggressive yetis and frost drakes to back away, he turned to his girlfriend who was leaning peacefully against his back, admiring his disy of power.

    "I guess I should start exining now." They were far away from Kranor and in the depths of the wild and with thisst group of monsters forced to back down it''d likely be sometime before they crossed paths with another.

    Daki''s ears perked up and she pulled herself away from him and looked into his eyes. She was finally going to learn more personal details about the man she''d fallen for.

    "First off let me start by saying I''m not an elf, nor do I have any rtions to their kind." Given his appearance the vast majority of people he had met assumed he was one of their kind. His beauty, pointed ears and athletic build were allmon traits among elf kind.

    "Oh, then what are you?" Daki asked full of curiosity.

    "Well¡­.." Frost first warned her to keep an open mind before he started to reveal his origins and story.

    "...¡­" Daki listened with no prejudice and as calm a demeanour as possible, but the moment Frost brought out the big guns she couldn''t help but blink rapidly and grab his face with her hands.

    "Y¡­Y¡­.You''re the son of the DARK GOD!!!!" She practically screamed at the top of her lungs. His identity as a dungeon core was far less shocking, she simply viewed him as a new powerful monster species which wasn''t that umon an urrence. New species crop up and get discovered every year across Nova after all. But not a single one could call themselves a son or daughter of the Dark God.

    This was somethingpletely unheard of.

    Other lesser Gods and even the primordials have had offspring over the many years since Nova''s conception, which each one of them being mighty. Yet the two Gods of creation have never described any of their creations as their offspring. Frost and his siblings were truly unique, the first of their kind.

    Daki struggled toe to terms with his grand status, he was way, way more important than she initially thought.

    ''No wonder he''s perfect and can aplish so much in so little time.'' A lot of the mysteries surrounding Frost could now easily be exined.

    She let go of his face and eyed him from top to bottom, analysing him to an extreme degree beforeing to a realisation.

    "I''m dating the son of the Dark God¡­..I had sex with the son of the Dark God...I''m going to marry the son of the Dark God¡­..ergo the Dark God will be my father inw." Her brain practically overheated as she came to terms with her new status. The greatest being in existence would be her father¡­.

    "Are you alright?" Frost asked with concern.

    "Just give me a minute¡­..this is quite a lot to take in¡­." She held the side of her head as she felt a headacheing on.

    "¡­I''m not actually finished yet."

    "You mean there''s more!"

    "Haaaaaa" Frost sighed before telling her everything. His abilities, his actual age, about Maya, the kids, his ambitions as well as the ins and outs of the dungeon, all of which made Daki''s budding headache turn into a real monster. She waspletely silent for a good 10 minutes after he finished much to Frost and Kiba''s concern.

    ''Is it really that shocking?'' Frost underestimated the importance his father held in Daki''s heart.

    For most inhabitants of Nova the Gods were so far removed from their lives thating across something with even a hint of a rtionship to one sent their emotions into overdrive. The Gods were unbelievably respected, none more so than the original two, Dark and Light.

    The moment Daki sorted out her thoughts and opened up her eyes the way she looked at Frost had changed. She saw him as something more, something to be treated with tentative decorum and respect. A being that shouldn''t be profaned or corrupted by someone like her.

    The sudden change pierced Frost''s heart, this was the one thing he really didn''t want to see. Ignoring her altered emotions Frost took Daki in his arms and held her close, allowing her to listen to his beating heart.

    "Listen to my heart Daki, hear it pounding away just like yours. There is no difference between you and I, we are the same, made of flesh and blood. Regardless of who my father is I''m still Frost, the man you met and fell in love with." He ced a hand under her chin forcing her to look into his eyes.

    "And you are the woman who I love, the one who I want standing by my side." He then leaned in and ced a kiss on her fair lips. A move that strongly sparked their desires for one another.

    Daki was still unsure at first, but the longer Frost kissed her and the deeper his tongue invaded the more her worries seemed pointless. Did it really matter who he was or who his father was. Did knowing this make him any different from the man she fell in love with. Was he still not the same person who rocked her world and let her feel such satisfaction and bliss.

    Eventually after several minutes of aggressive kissing her mind had turned to mush, and her body screamed with desire. She started kissing him back and wrapping her burning body around his, craving his touch.

    Frost had achieved his goal.

    He pulled away from her lips much to her reluctance.

    "Better?"

    "¡­.Mnnnn much better¡­..thank you." Frost actions allowed her to remember what was important. She and Frost were meant to be, they loved one another and desired one another, nothing else mattered. Once she realised this she was no longer bothered about the bombs he dropped and in fact grew strangely curious.

    "What''s he like, your father?"

 Chapter 545: Chapter 545: Meeting the family

    As Frost and Daki made their way towards the dungeon, the camp''s construction continued unabated.

    Finy and Khuno pressed their subordinates hard in Frost''s absence, sincerely wishing to surprise their master upon his return, a sentiment that was widely shared by the manualbourers.

    The walls surrounding the camp steadily grew in height practically every hour while more and more buildings had their foundations put in ce. The camp would be more than ready for the arrival of their first ''customers'' in theing weeks.

    While the monsters of the dungeon worked hard to meet Frost''s deadlines, Nanna and Loki were tasked with furthering their own education and personal training, slowly but surely bing more well-rounded in their development. However whenever they were granted some free time the duo could be found in the camp, aiding Finy and Khuno in their endeavours.

    They wished to do their part just like everyone else.

    The strange one was thedy of the dungeon, Maya. Since the moment Frost left to retrieve Daki she''d been rather out of sorts. Her mind drifting during lessons, pacing back and forth in the living room, muttering under her breath and rapid changes in emotions. Though she had epted the addition of Daki in her mind her heart was another story.

    She wasn''t used to sharing and struggled toe to terms with the situation.

    She''d gone over and over the pros and cons of the situation as well as how she''d first greet this supposed rival/sister. First impressions were very important for all manner of reasons, the first encounter could very well determine their standings in the rtionship hierarchy. Herck of experience in such situations caused her to toss and turn in her bed at night¡­.shecked confidence.

    "What if she''s prettier than me? Sexier than me? What if Frost''s more attracted to her? What if she''s a better cook? Or is more liked by the kids?" She repeatedly asked these kinds of questions without any response.

    When Frost and Daki finally arrived at the outskirts of the dungeon''s purview she leaped from her bed like a cat getting her tail stepped on, she wasn''t ready.

    Quickly she dashed to her closet and grabbed one of her nicer dresses, before sprucing herself up for this grand battle. She couldn''t show any signs of weakness especially when she had the home field advantage.

    "So this is your territory or rather the camp you''re developing." Daki said as she took in the still under construction walls that barred their path. "It''s¡­ quite basic." That was the best she could say without being too offensive, she was never one for beating around the bush.

    "Haaaaaa, true it is rather¡­.basic but we''re not finished yet. Construction only started a few weeks ago so expecting it to be at the same level of an established town or enve such as Kranor is rather unfair.

    However, I believe that given enough time the camp that you see before you will stretch far beyond its current confines and be a true hub of civilisation." Frost genuinely believed what he said. As long as the dungeon remained, the camp would see dramatic growth over the years and expand to the point that even Furano would fall short of its development.

    "Besides the true masterpiece lies within the mountain not out with." This was another point. The camp''s only duty was to facilitate customers and passive ie, the real magic would take ce within the dungeon, setting the territory apart from other nations.

    From Frost''s detailed exnation Daki understood his point and also realised that being able to achieve this much in so little time was an impressive feat however seeing is believing. Right now the camp was very much under construction, so its first impression wasn''t the best.

    "I''ll reserve my judgement for the future then, hopefully the ''private space'' you described is more finished."

    "Oh there''ll be no issues there. The private space can be altered at will and only contains the highest quality materials." He could never condone shabbiness in the heart of his dungeon.

    "¡­.The forge I promised you will also be of superior quality and fashioned precisely to your specific desires." Upon hearing mention of her personal forge Daki''s eyes light up and a smile formed on her lips.

    Seeing the current state of the camp she couldn''t help but fear the worst for her personal forge. Frost promised to outfit her with one that equalled or surpassed what she had in Kranor, a promise she hadn''t forgotten.

    "I look forward to that." She giggled in glee and pressed her body against his as her mind filled with possibilities, she took her craft as a cksmith very seriously.

    Eventually the couple and Kiba made their way through the camp''s entrance which was at this point just a veryrge gap in the wall. The ornate gate wouldn''t be added until the wall reached its minimum height of 8 metres.

    Dozens of monsters who were hard at work couldn''t help but turn and greet Frost as he passed, many also stared at the beautiful woman riding beside him, taking stock of their new mistress.

    "Master, wee back." Finy was the one currently on duty in the camp and was the first to properly greet him. Hisrge form and natural presence radiated strength; it was clear to even someone who was monster illiterate that Finy was of a high ranking species.

    Even though she''d already been informed Daki couldn''t help but be taken aback by the sight. A mighty ice troll lord, a B-rank monster of great renown was created by her boyfriend and called him master.

    "It''s good to be back Finy, I see work has continued at a brisk pace." Frost remarked as he nced at the clear difference since he left.

    "Of course Master, we wished to give you a pleasant surprise upon your return." Finy smiled gently and acted in a very subservient manner.

    "I presume that the youngdy behind you is Lady Daki."

    "Correct, Daki, this is Finy my right hand man." Frost introduced Finy with pride. He was his only B-rank subordinate and the first monster he ever granted a name.

    "¡­Daki Primrose, it''s nice to meet you Finy." Though a little nervous Daki eventually introduced herself in a confident manner befitting her new station.

    "The pleasure is all mine Lady Daki. If you are in need of anything please don''t hesitate to call upon me." Finy politely bowed towards his new mistress, finding her far easier to interact with than Maya. He may be strong in Daki''s eyes but to Maya he was still nothing more than a bug that she could swat with a single flick of her hand.

    Despite the two of them being friendly and cordial with one another his instincts would always be slightly on edge while in her presence.

    Khuno and several ronso officers arrived a few momentster all keen to greet Frost and his new girlfriend. They wanted to take stock of their new mistress and get on her good side early.

    Daki was a little overwhelmed by the onught of enthusiastic monster officers, but with Frost by her side she managed to endure the pressure and return their greetings with a bright smile on her face. She had underestimated the power under Frost''smand, with so many monsters he could give Kranor''s military a run for their money.

    ""Master!"" Following the swarm of high ranking monsters were Nanna and Loki. The moment they noticed his arrival the two kids instantly dropped what they were doing and dashed over.

    "Nanna, Loki" Frost leaped from Kiba''s back and pulled the two of them into a hug causing them to giggle.

    "I''ve got someone to introduce to the two of you." Keen to show off his new girlfriend to his family he picked the two of them up in his arms and carried them to Daki who had started fidgeting on Kiba''s back. Frost technically had kids, so it was very important for her to make a good impression on them if this rtionship was to work out long term.

    "This is Daki, thedy I was telling you about. She''s going to be joining our family." He spoke in warm and gentle manner as the kids watched Daki in her furry apparel descend from Kiba''s back.

    "The person who made our armour?" Loki asked innocently.

    "Yes."

    "Wow." He eximed with glee before scampering down Frost''s arm to stand before Daki.

    "My name''s Loki, it''s nice to meet you miss Daki. I really like the armour you made for me and my sister." Loki introduced himself in a very adorable voice that almost made the orc subus swoon.

    "Oh you''re just so cute." She immediately leaned in and wrapped the young phoenix kin in a hug, rubbing her cheek against his. "I''m happy you enjoyed my work, I''ll do my best to forge you aplete set, would you like that?"

    "Un un" Loki nodded his head while in her embrace, already fond of his new family member. His sister however wasn''t as enthused. She was old enough to know a little about theplications of rtionships. She''d seen how Maya was acting recently and found it rather hard to be so open to Daki''s arrival.

    Daki picked up on this as did Frost but neither of them forced anything. She greeted Nanna in a friendly manner but didn''t hug her like Loki, which she respected.

    "I''m Nanna, Loki''s big sister. It''s nice to meet you miss Daki." Nanna performed a slight curtsey before moving to stand behind Frost as if she was shy.

    Daki actually took her more meek response as a good sign. The fact that the young girl even said hello in a polite manner was a win in her book. Eventually however, the real challenge arrived.

 Chapter 546: Chapter 546: Meeting the family (2)

    As Nanna nervously introduced herself to Daki, Maya teleported a little out of the way after donning her battle attire. She chose to wear the same red and white dress that she wore on the day she and Frost first met. Not only was it devastatingly charming, high in quality and oh so generous at showing off her curvaceous figure, it would incite nostalgia within her man, drawing his attention her way.

    The moment she arrived she bore a noble expression that helped add to her intimidation. She couldn''t abuse her superior strength to win this confrontation lest she wished to draw her boyfriend''s ire. Therefore she curtailed her dominating aura as best she could but even so, she made for quite the entrance.

    The monsters surrounding the group couldn''t help but shiver and subconsciously part as she walked, their eyes inadvertently avoiding her gaze.

    Nanna foreseeing a storm quickly grabbed hold of her brother''s hand and took shelter by Kiba''s side, leaving Frost and Daki alone to confront Maya.

    Frost''s lips started twitching as a sense of crisis assaulted his heart. He felt as though there was some kind of invisible sparks surrounding Maya as she gained momentum, drawing closer and closer towards him and Daki. Perhaps he underestimated the effect of bringing Daki into the fold.

    While he was starting to internally panic, Daki stared at Maya''s approaching form with a fierce intensity. She was no stranger to womanly confrontations. The same set of invisible sparks that surrounded Maya starting to surround her, the battle was on.

    Seeing a rather unfazed reaction from her rival Maya stepped it up a notch. Once she was within spitting distance of the young orc woman she veered over to Frost, pulling him close and nted a longing kiss on his lips as though marking what was hers.

    This of course caused the air around Daki to grow more turbulent, an aggressive move right out the door was always rather painful, but she''d handled worse.

    While maintaining an amiable smile Daki started to remove her heavy, fur-covered clothes in a teasing manner.

    "Ah good to get out of those stuffy clothes, hold on to them for me please." She handed her fur-covered clothes to a nearby ronso before striking a confident pose.

    Daki was well aware of the dangers in confronting a rival with the home advantage. Unlike her Maya would have an array of clothes to choose from and sufficient time to doll herself up while she''d still be in the same clothes she left Kranor with. The solution¡­wear he battle attire underneath. A surprising, good jab that Maya wasn''t expecting given the clear evidence of a frown forming on her brow.

    "Umm!" Frost tried to intervene in this contest but was quickly sent a fierce re by the two women, preventing any words from escaping his lips.

    Maya in her form hugging red and white dress removed herself from Frost''s arm and squared up to Daki who was easily a head or two taller than her without fear. She eyed the orc subus''s tantalising figure with a keen eye. Daki did the exact same, eyeing up every inch of the beautiful fenrir.

    There was tense silence between the two for quite a while as neither was willing to admit defeat or show any signs of weakness. The audience, including Frost simply had to wait until the two women finished sounding each other out.

    Strangely Daki and Maya both had the exact same though running through their minds during their close proximity confrontation.

    ''Damn she''s gorgeous!'' The two quickly identified each other''s level. In all categories, though different in style the two of them judged one another to be equally beautiful, neither gaining superiority over the other. This realisation created a base for mutual respect, reducing the threat they felt from one another.

    Eventually they found a lot inmon when it came to their figures, personalities and even appearance. Frost certainly had a type.

    Silently an ord or truce established between the two of them.

    "So you''re Daki."

    "And you must be Maya, Frost told me a lot about you." Maya nced at Frost, wondering what sort of things he told her.

    "I can definitely see how you caught his attention, it''s clear he has a type."

    "Upon seeing you I have to agree." Daki nodded her head in agreement before looking at Frost in a simr manner.

    "Though he told me about you his words don''t do you justice, you''re definitely the most beautiful woman I''ve ever seen." Daki couldn''t help but praise and feel slightly jealous towards the young fenrir, she was practically the ideal woman in many eyes. Cute, beautiful, small yet very curvy and with skin as white as snow.

    "I could say the same about you." Maya''s eyes once again roamed over the orc subus''s body, admiring her muscr arms, legs and midriff as well as her advanced height. Both of them saw qualities that they desired for themselves in one another.

    "Umm are you two cool now?" Frost who was sitting on tenterhooks throughout the entire process asked nervously.

    In response he received fierce res from the two women before they smiled at one another, the sparks surrounding them dissipating.

    "No problems here right Daki?"

    "Not that I can see Maya." The two giggled before Maya locked arms with her rival/sister.

    "Come,e let me show you around your new abode, be careful though the teleportation may make you a bit queasy." Before Frost could fullye to terms with the sudden change Maya and Daki had linked arms and disappeared into a space warp.

    Nanna and Loki quickly followed after them leaving him alone and surrounded by his monsters who were just as confused as he was, well at least the men were.

    "Is this a good thing or not?" He muttered in confusion. He was d the two came to some kind of mutual understanding but the two looks they gave him at the end made him feel as though it was at his expense.

    "Finy carry on with constructing the camp, I''ll hear your reportter on when I''m free." He had the nagging feeling that he shouldn''t leave Daki and Maya alone, so he quickly opened up a space warp and teleported into the private space to catch up to them.

    Within the private space Daki was holding up far better than he thought when it came to the spatial teleportation, she recovered almost instantly and was already being shown around by Maya, Loki and Nanna who had instantly warmed up to her the moment Maya did. If Maya was cool with the new addition she had no reason not to like her.

    "This is our true home, the dungeon''s private space." Maya eagerly showed off their home. "The kitchen, dining area and living room is all open n as you can see, helps to foster closeness and warmth. Currently I prepare most of the meals with the asional aid from little Nanna here. Do you like to cook?"

    "asionally but it''s not my strongest suit." Daki painfully admitted, it was one of the skills she never found the need or had the talent to master. Usually she''d eat something basic or go out for food.

    "That''s fine, we all have our own strengths." Maya reoriented the focus away from the kitchen since it was no longer important.

    "We try to have at least one meal as group every day but given how hectic our schedules can be it''s not always possible. If you get hungry you can either whip up something basic or use the dungeon system to produce a meal." She brought up the dungeon menu and slowly navigated to the prepared food section.

    "So this is the dungeon menu Frost told me about." Daki waspletely in awe of the holographic screen before her, she''d never seen nor even heard of anything remotely simr. Her awe only grew when Maya summoned an apple out of nowhere courtesy of the system.

    "Wow that''s amazing."

    "I know right, with enough Dungeon points we can practically get anything we want." Maya thus showed off some other items for sale, alcohol, cakes, clothes and since Daki was an avid cksmith metals and other wonderous materials.

    Frost''s anxiety melted away as he witnessed their friendly exchange, Maya and Daki looked like good friends rather than bitter rivals, strange considering how confrontational they both were a minute ago.

    Though he enjoyed seeing them getting along he did feel a little left out, so he promptly inserted himself into the conversation.

    "Everyone is given a basic allowance of DP which they can spend however they wish, anything over a certain amount however needs my approval otherwise this ce would be full of unnecessary dresses and alcohol." He gave the stink eye to Maya who cutely stuck out her tongue.

    "Will I be able to use it like everyone else?"

    "Yes it''ll just take some practise, I''ll grant you permissionter but first lets finish the tour." Frost ced his hand against Daki''s lower back and guided her towards the bedrooms.

    "In the corner there is Kiba''s room which he moaned to get but never uses."

    "Garow!"

    "You don''t use it you either sleep with Nanna and Loki or in the dungeon." After grumbling therge tiger as if to prove his master wrong glided into his room and parked his rump on the high quality cat bed.

    "Next we have¡­"

    "Our room, this is mine and my sister''s room." Loki interrupted in an excited manner before opening the door wide allowing Daki to peer in. One half was covered in clothes and books, looking rather messy while the other half had a few sets of daggers lined up on a desk and a slightly unkempt bed but in a far better condition that its neighbour.

    Nanna with a bright red blush quickly charged into the room and did her best to tidy up her half of the room.

    "Over here we have the bathroom." Frost opened up the door to reveal its contents. The room was far bigger on the inside than the outside suggested. This bathroom was practically a fully functioning bath house that could be found in noble manors, even the one in Yarrow''s and Chia''s ce paled inparison. Frost was quite proud of that fact.

    "Finally we have Maya''s room on the right, mine in the centre and yours on the left." Though Maya rarely slept in her own room anymore she still used it as storage for her clothes. Obviously Daki didn''t peer into the room on the right but she was quite interested in seeing Frost''s room but that could wait untilter.

    "I used the same format as ours so it''s rather basic. If you want to change it in any way just tell me, the dungeon system allows me to change the private space almost instantaneously.

    The bedroom was almost identical to Maya''s, arge bed in the centre with a walk in closet and all manner of dressers and cabs. Daki couldn''t spot anything wrong in fact it was glorious, far better than what she had back in Kranor only¡­ itcked a personal touch.

    "Can I change the colours and swap out some of the dressers?"

    "You can do whatever you want, this is your room after all." A tear welled up in her eyes as Frost said that. This was her home now.

 Chapter 547: Chapter 547: Meeting the family (3)

    Frost let Daki make herself at home in her new room while he gently pulled Maya to the living room.

    "So¡­.how pissed are you really?" His continued interactions with her allowed him to better glean her thoughts.

    The smile on Maya''s face quickly flipped.

    "I wouldn''t say pissed more¡­frustrated, annoyed, neglected even." She spoke from the heart.

    Frost pulled her into his chest and rubbed the back of her head in a soothing manner. "I''m sorry you feel that way, I never meant to hurt you."

    "I know and from what my instincts tell me Daki is a nice woman. It''s just¡­ hard." She leaned in, resting her head against his chest so as to hear his heartbeat, an intimate gesture that warmed Frost''s heart. However a momentter he experienced a sharp twisting pain in his side.

    "You smell like her." A fierce glint appeared in her eyes as her anger and possessiveness were stoked. Frost silently endured the quickly intensifying pain, treating it as penance. When the pain was about to overwhelm him he was suddenly granted relief before a set of sharp teeth dig into his chest, drawing blood.

    "Mine." Maya dered while patting her handiwork and rearranging his robes. She then left to help Daki unpack with a smile on her face, feeling much better after discharging her anger.

    "...Ow!" Frost groaned a momentter.

    Thankfully nothing else happened after that little incident, Maya''s smile never shifted. She even admired Daki''s style in clothes, iming she could never pull off certain looks while Daki encouraged her to try it on.

    To Frost the whole thing felt kind of surreal but he knew better than to poke the bear, he kept his tongue and simply watched with a smile on his face.

    "Master."

    "Yes Nanna."

    "You''re going to have to buy a very nice bottle of wine."

    "That bad huh."

    "Un, at least that''s what my intuition is telling me." The young girl felt it necessary to give her master fair warning, she didn''t want him to suffer after all.

    "Haaaaaa thanks Nanna." Frost rubbed her head affectionately as he mentally allocated a significant sum of DP for the ''very nice bottle of wine''.

    Once Daki finished putting away the majority of her stuff the group partook in a sumptuous meal before continuing the great tour. There was lots for her to see and learn, best to do it on a full stomach.

    Frost guided his girlfriend through several floors, highlighting its grandeur, purpose, as well as the usual residents. He already exined the aspect of DP and how he obtained it and to be honest she wasn''t even remotely shocked or put off by the aspect.

    Monsterirs had been around for centuries and were well known to feast on their invaders, turning them into the energy they need to sustain themselves and grow. It was an epted fact known far and wide in adventurermunity. People die all the time in Nova, whether it''s from old age, illness, battle, or devoured the cycle of life continues.

    In her opinion Frost wasn''t doing anything wrong or beyond reproach. He was a sentient monsterir that needed to feed like any other creature.

    Of course he brushed over some details, and she chose to ignore some others, but she had already made her bed and was still willing to lie in it regardless. Frost''s ancestry certainly helped in convincing her.

    She didn''t know much in regards to monsterirs or military matters but what she did know was materials. Her eyes practically lit up whenever Frost brought her to one of his mines or quarries.

    "The mines increase in quality as we descend, I''m sure you''ll be jumping for joy when we reach the sixth floor."

    "I hope so, 1 star iron and pykrete aren''t exactlypelling materials for someone of my rank."

    "Don''t worry, we''ve got 3 star mines and I''ve put aside enough DP to buy another of your choosing." She beamed like a schoolgirl once he said that.

    Frost received a prominent kiss on his cheek the moment he showed her the plot of her future forge.

    "This ce is perfect; the environment reminds of Kranor and there''s mines and quarries within spitting distance all mine to y with hehehehe." She started drooling as she thought of the designs she could attempt with the Duram mine alone. Forging materials were the same to her as alcohol was to Maya.

    "I''ll assign a team of ronsos and ice dwarves to help you build your ideal workshop here in theing days. The forge itself we can purchase through the dungeon menu."

    "What about the mine of my choice?"

    "We can look into that as well, but it won''t be anything higher than 3 star, my budget and material ess can''t supply anything higher¡­.yet."

    "That''s fine, 4 star materials are tooplicated for me to use right now but the moment I break through¡­." She batted her eyes at him in an adorable manner.

    "I''ll provide you with a 4 star mine yes."

    "Hehehe my boyfriend''s so cool." She wrapped her body around his in reward, causing his mind to drift back to their activities the night before. Thankfully Maya wasn''t present otherwise there''d be an additional nail in his coffin.

    "I''m probably going to have to make it up to Maya for a while."

    "I know. I had you for two nights it''s only fair she get''s her turn."

    "¡­.Sharing is also another option." A wild, predatory smile formed on Frost''s lips as his eyes ran over Daki''s white blouse.

    Daki pushed herself away and looked at him with a look of contempt.

    "Ok, let me get this straight your n to make it up to your lover is to invite another into the same bed chambers after their very first meeting¡­. You''re either really stupid, or really cocky and really stupid." Frost really didn''t understand the heart of a woman if either was the case.

    "I was just joking¡­. but a man can dream can''t he."

    "Yes he can, but there''s a time and a ce for everything." She thus promptly separated herself from him, depriving him of her body''s warmth and perfumed scent.

    "Tsk, I should have just enjoyed the moment." Frost clicked his tongue inint.

    After showing her the mines on the sixth floor and the plot of her personal forge Frost brought Daki to the external camp where the vast majority of his forces were currently stationed.

    "The area of the camp covers roughly 25km2, with a squaredyout. Smaller than the likes of Furano butrger than a standard camp or town. It won''t hold much in terms of high ss residences, but I expect many merchants and even adventurers to settle down here on a permanent basis. The wall once it''s fully furnished will provide a high level of protection alongside our ronso forces."

    "Will they be your only defence teams?"

    "In the short term yes. Since this area is rather close to the Northrend empire they''re not used to being in the presence of monsters that aren''t wild and aggressive. The ronsos provide a happy medium for such clientele."

    "Good choice." Even someone like Daki would be heavily discriminated against if she travelled into the empire. Furano wasn''t quite so bad given that it was on the borders but counties and duchies on the other side of the empire weren''t quite so open-minded.

    "Over there will be the lord''s office, my chambers in the camp and the centre point of the camp''s governance. Currently it''s the only finished building." The monster forces were quite keen on establishing Frost''s residence first before all else.

    "While this will be the main economic district." He gestured towards arge area filled with pre-made foundations. Shops, workshops and other business oriented establishments would be ced in this district, including Daki''s own shop.

    "All the goods you manufacture in your personal workshop can be sold here." He brought her before the barebones of a functioning smithing shop that was very simr to the one she had in Kranor.

    "I won''t charge you rent or interfere in your business in any way but given that I''ll be supplying the materials I''ll take a small cut of your profits. Nothing too major just enough to sustain the supply."

    "Sounds fair. Since you''ll be the ruling lord you can''t show too much favourability even to family, nepotism is really frowned upon when ites to business." Daki even thought Frost was being too lenient given that she''d retain pretty much full autonomy over her shop and goods.

    It''d be different if the shop was going to be managed and run by himself or the ronsos as they were indistinguishable from the development of the camp and dungeon. However in this case she was being treated as a partially separate entity, an entrepreneur, a sole trader whose business benefitted her rather than the dungeon¡­at least for now.

    Frost was actually ok with this premise; he didn''t want to stifle his girlfriend''s personal ambitions and dreams. So what if he was being unfair to the other merchants or lost some money, Daki''s happiness mattered more. In fact if Maya, Nanna, Loki or even Kiba wanted to start their own enterprise he''d be fully onboard and grant them the same benefits.

    "I can decorate this ce however I want as well?"

    "Of course but please try to avoid relying on the dungeon system, it''s not exactly favourable when ites to infrastructure prices. Since there shouldn''t be anything to technical required the ronsos and ice dwarves should be able to fashion up anything you need."

    "True since it''s only a disy shop all I''ll need is cabs, counters etc.. does it have to pykrete?"

    "No not necessarily but that''s our most plentiful resource given our location." The dungeon was surrounded both internally and externally by trees, snow and ice. "You can use iron if you want, and I''ll allow a small allowance of 3 star material but in the end it''s just a transactional building. It doesn''t need to be that high ss, what matters is the products being sold inside."

    "I know but sometimes the look of a shop can instantly deter or entice customers, we''re very visual creatures after all."

 Chapter 549: Chapter 549: The opening of the camp

    As the days progressed the new family member quickly adapted to her new life. Her rtionship with Frost, Maya as well as the kids mellowed out and she started finding her own ce within the dungeon''s system.

    With a team of ronsos and ice dwarves at her beck and call her personal forge was quickly fabricated to her own specifications and she wasted no time at all in testing it out. Nanna and Loki soon found themselves kitted in matching equipment toplete their initial set. A gift that quickly strengthened the rtionship between the three of them.

    For her personal mine she chose Frunium, a metal that boasted impressive sharpness andpatibility with the ice element. She decided the best way she could contribute to the dungeon was to outfit the monster officers with their own high ranking weapons, fit to their fighting styles and physical measurements.

    Such a task would certainly take a great deal of time and resources but in her mind and Frost''s it was well worth it. Not only would his forces grow in strength Daki would truly exercise her craft.

    While Daki was training in her own way Frost decided to focus on improving his magic capabilities whenever he wasn''t needed on site at the camp. Part of the reason Maya limated to Daki''s presence so soon was due to this training. She was able to get out all our pent up aggression during their spars.

    Overall everything progressed smoothly, the camp reached the functional phase roughly on time two weekster.

    The walls reached an impressive 8 metres tall and encapsted the entire 25km2 of the camp''s interior that was now flush with over a dozen buildings made out of pykrete, ice, stone and or iron, there was even more than a few dashings of 3 star materials here and there revealing the bounty held within the dungeon.

    The ce was more than ready to wee its first customers, Frost even decided to spend a little DP to spruce up the dungeon''s original entrance, making for quite the sight. No longer was there a simple stone arch that melded into the mountain no, now there was a solid arch made out of 3 star duram, iid with kyanite as well as leftover monster cores.

    The difference was like heaven and earth, it was clear that the dungeon had evolved into something of much higher ss. Now even C-rank adventurers would be drawn to this new brand of monsterir.

    Frost waited on tenterhooks for his first customers. He frequently contacted Bastion and Calder for information but unfortunately very few people were interested in hunting as of yet. Furano was still working its way through all the materials gained during the stampede, as were the other bastions towns.

    It wasn''t until a weekter that the first people arrived at the camp''s doorstep yet depressingly they weren''t adventurers nor were they here for the dungeon. It was trade caravan from one of the kingdoms based in the cial mountains.

    It wasmon for trade envoys to visit the Furano viscounty several weeks after the monster stampedes ended. They''de with bags filled with gold, gems, ores and other tradable merchandise, hoping to fill up their wagons and caravans with plentiful monster materials in exchange. Furano would always stash away a reserve for these caravans in leu of their arrival.

    The bodyguards in charge of guarding thisrge procession quickly brought the convoy to halt as their minds shook from the unexpected sight before them. They''d made this journey dozens of times and were up to date on their information for their nned route yet not a single iota of data mentioned a fully functioning camp. Bewildered was the best word to describe their current thoughts.

    They did not know the faction in control of such a base which meant it could be a viable threat to their convoy.

    The captain and leader of the guards charged ahead with his trusted lieutenants to inspect this so called camp.

    "Captain, these walls rival that of Furano and there''s high activity within." A scout who first inspected the camp reported to his captain.

    "Urgh hopefully they''re friendly. If it turns out to be some sort of bandit hideout I''m afraid we''ll be no match for their numbers." The captain already thought of multiple escape ns that would ensure different levels of retreat i.e. saving more people or more cargo.

    The captain''s fears reduced as he came closer to the walls however, they were too neat and well-constructed to be the work of bandits, good news so far. His lieutenants also informed him about one of the new ''Dungeons'' being present in the area which further ayed his fears.

    ''Someone must have acted very, very quickly to snatch up the location before any of the usual suspects made a move.'' There was no mention of a camp in the works by the [Order of the ice shield], The Northrend empire or any of the big wig countries in the cial mountains therefore it was likely a private endeavour.

    ''Whoever it is they know what they''re doing.'' He couldn''t help but be impressed at the grandeur of the walls and the suddenness of their appearance.

    As the leaders neared the camp therge ornate gate that barred entry slowly opened up to reveal the interior as well as the smiling face of a certain dungeon core and his entourage.

    "Finally customers." Frost was practically beaming as he eyed the two men and one woman riding D-rank battle mounts, a type of frost mare that focused on speed and endurance if he wasn''t mistaken.

    The sudden opening of the gates and the presence of Frost, Finy and Khuno instantly made the three go on alert. They immediately halted their steeds and reached for their weapons in preparation for an attack, a cold sweat starting to trickle down their foreheads. Finy alone gave them no small amount of fear.

    "Rx, rx we mean you no harm." Frost quickly attempted to diffuse the situation by waving his hands and appearing as harmless as possible.

    "Who are you sir?" The captain asked in a respective manner, his eyes asionally drifting over to Finy.

    "Me, my name''s Frost and I''m the owner of this newly constructed camp. What about you three?"

    "¡­.My name is Talion, leader of Convoy bulwark, a security force based in the jade flower kingdom while this is Grandon and Felicia, my lieutenants." Captain Talion introduced himself and subordinates while also name dropping his affiliation. Doing so usually prevented anyone from acting on their nefarious machinations. Not everyone wanted to get on the bad side of an entire country.

    "Jade flower kingdom, that''s within the periphery of the inner regions if I''m not mistaken."

    "You are correct sir. We''re here on business, a trade convoy is set to visit the nearby town of Furano for a veryrge transaction, we''re their security."

    "Oh you''re heading to Furano, how marvellous I''m sure Dous and Leo will wee your arrival." Frost name dropped himself, highlighting his close connection to the Furano nobles. This act finally lowered the rest of Captain Talion''s fears.

    ''So he''s close to the local nobles, no wonder he was able to establish a camp so close to their border.''

    "You said this is a camp, is it perhaps set up around the Dungeon that''s present in the area?"

    "Correct, the entrance can be found in the mountain behind me. Do you perhaps have an interest in visiting it?"

    "Afraid not Lord Frost duty calls." He instantly shot Frost down, he had no interest in exploring a dangerous monsterir. He was a guard not an adventurer.

    "Pity¡­.well how about taking a break within the camp, I''m sure your group must be exhausted after travelling all the way from the jade flower kingdom."

    "¡­.." Talion looked at his lieutenants and quietly discussed the option with them. To be honest they were quite curious about this new camp and had been on their feet all day.

    "We''ll have to discuss it with our clients but I''m sure they wouldn''t be adverse to staying in proper lodgings instead of camping outside for another night. Do you think you''d be able to amodate all of us, we''re quite arge group after all."

    Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear as the fish started to bite the bait.

    "Oh you don''t need to worry about that, we''ve already established a couple inns as well as mass lodging quarters. We even have some shops up and running."

    Talion and his lieutenants thus nodded their heads before dashing away into the distance, where their convoy was holed up out of sight.

    "Do you want us to kill them all milord, the DP to be gained should be quite substantial plus they admitted to carrying arge amount of tradeable materials?" Khuno asked once the three were well out of earshot.

    "No, our aim is long term passive ie. Besides they''d be better spreading by word of mouth once they arrive in Furano." Though he was genuinely tempted to do as Khuno suggested he eventually chose otherwise. His camp was at the point where it needed to be inviting not the other way around.

 Chapter 550: Chapter 550: The Convoy Bulwark

    Thankfully the Convoy Bulwark''s clients were more than happy to take shelter within Frost''s territory, they too had had enough of camping outside and having to defend their merchandise from all angles.

    "Lord Frost, pleasure to make your acquaintance." A rather rotund dwarf that was garbed in luxurious clothes and outfitted with lots of jewellery greeted Frost in a respectful manner. "My name is Artun and I''m the leader of thisrge merchant convoy."

    "It''s nice to meet you Mr Artun, I hope my humble establishment here can allow you some much needed rest." Frost shook the dwarf''s hand with an almost twitching smile. Artun was the stereotypical rich, pompous merchant who always enjoyed showing off his wealth while at the same time behaving in respectful manner,unching hidden jabs that couldn''t be called out.

    "I''m sure your amodations will suffice; it can''t be worse than camping outside after all."

    "¡­.Allow me to show you to the inns and mass lodging quarters."

    Artun and Talion''s group numbered around a 100 men and women, a sizeable entourage but nothingpared to his own. Talion and his guards quickly found themselves outmatched when they witnessed dozens of ronso patrolling the area with their halberds, ives and spears, each of them being at the C-rank level.

    "To the left we have the inns which provide individual and small sharing rooms whereas to the right we have the lodges that contain simple bunks and cots." Frost made sure to cater to both categories as it wouldn''t just be adventurers and or those with sparse pockets visiting the camp.

    "The lodge costs 50 coppers a night whereas the inn depends on your choice of room. A ronso will be stationed at the reception to answer any questions you might have about our deals and facilities. We can also provide you with rudimentary meals if you''d like or supply you with ingredients gathered from the dungeon that you can cook yourselves.

    I''m sure your chefs are probably better than what we currently have avable after all." Right now all he had were a couple of ronsos, dwarves and even a yuki-onna on the cooking detail, rudimentary would even be a stretch.

    "However since you''re our first customers I''m willing to open up a premium service wherein my partner will cook for a select few of you if you''d prefer a higher ss of meal." By partner he actually referred to the dungeon menu rather than Maya or Daki.

    "Hoh that sounds interesting." Artun couldn''t help but perk up at the sound of a premium meal while Talion looked forward to possibly purchasing some of the offered ingredients. The dungeon was sure to have some choice meat.

    "In terms of wares we''ve got a few things avable but not a lot, feel free to browse the economic district in your spare time if you''re interested." Frost pointed towards the scant few shops that were prepared and manned by ronsos before looking at Talion.

    "We do have a smith on hand so if you or your men are in need of some minor repair work I''m sure you can work something out."

    "Truly! What rank?"

    "She''s currently 3 star and fairly experienced, I''ll introduce you to herter."

    Once he finished giving the basic tour Frost left the group to their own devices.

    "If you need me for any reason you can likely find me in the Lord''s office over there, otherwise the ronsos will be more than happy to answer your questions."

    Artun and Talion both thanked him as he left, both feeling good about their amodations.

    "Captain I''m sure you know what to do."

    "Yeah, despite being surrounded by walls my men will keep just as keen a watch."

    "Good, I''ll retire to the inn Lord Frost mentioned before joining himter for that premium meal¡­would you like to join us, my treat of course." Artun didn''t feel quite right attending dinner with a stranger without some sort of backup. Though he was frequently viewed as a miser he was anything but when it came to his own life.

    "Thank you sir, I''ll look forward to it." Talion knew exactly why Artun extended an invitation, but he didn''t care, he''d be getting to eat premium food, that''s all that mattered.

    The merchant leader thus apanied his trade staff to the more luxurious inns while Talion and his lieutenants led their security team to the mass lodging quarters. Shift teams were quickly assigned for guard work and rest.

    Talion also assigned a couple of his trusted scouts to peruse the entirety of the camp, to get they of thend and grasp as much information about the ce and its owner as possible.

    Meanwhile Frost teleported back to the private space the moment he entered the lord''s office.

    "Now to let the DP flow in." After taking a seat on the sofa he pulled up the dungeon menu to inspect the dungeon''s current DP ie.

    Excluding the mana vein as well as the DP brought in by Daki and the kids the merchant convoy was bringing a little over 3000DP, roughly 30Dp per person.

    Most of the merchants gave little more than Nanna or Loki, clearly nonbatants but the guards were all at least upper F-rank with Talion, Grandon and Felicia all being solid D-ranks, a decent strength force that bandits would easily falter against.

    Of course if Frost ever changed his mind and wanted a sudden influx of 30,000DP and to fill his coffers with gold and gems they''d barelyst more than a few minutes against his mighty forces. A fact that caused his to smirk and feel giddy. Their lives were practically dependent on his whims.

    "Master''s looking evil again."

    "He must be raking in the DP, that''s the only time he shows such an expression." Nanna and Loki discussed their master''s current expression quietly as they worked on their books.

    "It really does make him look evil doesn''t it."

    "Oh you should have seen the look he had the first time he feasted¡­Suuuuper evil." Maya and Daki also chimed in on the topic.

    "You know I can hear you right."

    "Your point?"

    "Urgh." He visibly winced at their retort, their giggling worsening the impact.

    ''Just wait until tonight, I''ll make sure the both of you are begging for mercy.''

    The merchant convoy quickly settled in as the skies grew dark, they were more than happy to pay the reasonable prices Frost established. He didn''t exactly low ball the rates, but they certainly got what they paid for.

    The mass lodging quarters provided ample berths for the security team,rge lockers for storage and ratherfortable bunks that were a hell of a lot better than camping. The warmth of the ce was a nice bonus. Frost designed his infrastructure to very high specifications, thick instionposed of monster fur was standard issue.

    At 50 coppers per person for a single night heted close to 40 silvers, add on the more expensive inns rooms that ranged from 2 silvers a night to a mighty 12 silvers, he made north of a whole gold coin, pretty good for just providing a ce to sleep.

    Daki even made some money from her repair work, but Frost was loathe to take from her small earnings. Unfortunately he was unable to entice the group into purchasing any of his shop''s wares. Other than a few looky-loos and some private interest there was no sign of anyrge transactions with the convey, their cargo was already spoken for.

    The group even resisted purchasing any of the monster meat Frost offered just in case it was tampered with in any way. The possible regret they''d feel at sumbing to an ambush so close to the end goal was enough for them to take no chances regardless of how tantalising the smell was.

    More than a few res were thus sent Artun and Talion''s way when they made their way towards the Lord''s office to partake in the so called premium meal.

    Frost was joined by both Daki and Maya for the dinner, a flower on each arm. Talion and Artun begrudged Frost''s luck but understood his charm. Not only was he incredibly handsome, he wielded territory, personal power and a great deal of wealth, who wouldn''t want to be attached to his hip.

    The premium meal consisted of a light soup that contained recuperating herbs followed by a frost drake steak for the main and strawberry ice cream for desert. Apanying the grand meal was of course avish bottle or two of high quality wine. By the end Artun waspletely blown away, he seriously underestimated Frost''s prowess.

    Even he with his established wealth was only able to partake in such luxury rarely. His esteem for Frost skyrocketed, he needed to learn more about this young elf and his territory. He smelled a profit.

    "The meal was most agreeable Lord Frost, far more than I expected from a recently established camp, most impressive."

    "Thank you Mr Artun I''m d it pleased someone of your status." Artun smiled and puffed up his chest at the clear ttery.

    "I''m sure your camp will be a flourishing hub ofmerce once word of mouth spreads."

    "A satisfied customer will always remember good service and rmend it to those they know. What about you Mr Talion have we provided you a good service?"

 Chapter 551: Chapter 551: Dungeon of Niflheim

    The high priced meal between Frost and the leaders of the merchant convoy went swimmingly. Respect was gained and a subtle agreement was made. If the merchants and guards rested well and met no unforeseen circumstances during their stay they''d regale their visit to the inhabitants of Furano and quite possibly the Jade flower kingdom.

    A camp of such standards erected around one the new so called Dungeons was a windfall waiting to happen. Artun could literally smell the gold emanating from the camp. This ce was going to be big; he was sure of it.

    "Now all we have to do it wait." Frost muttered as he rxed against the sofa, a bright smile adorning his lips.

    "Not quite, you also need to resist devouring the vast the sums of DP they promise." Mayamented from his side.

    "True but it''s not as tempting to me as you might think. The monster stampede already granted far more with a singlete stage wave, so the sum isn''t that eye catching to me plus I know better than cash in a short term windfall in exchange from long term gains.

    The words of a well-established merchant convoy, and their guards are for more valuable than what I can gain from reaping their lives during the night." Frost was determined to be as efficient as possible, that was the true method to reaching the top of the rankings.

    "If you say so." Maya simply shook her head before leaning against his shoulder.

    The night passed without any fanfare, the merchant convoy suffered no mishap and each of its members awoke feeling very well rested. Even Artun who was rather experienced with a high level of service found the bed to his liking, furthering his image of Frost as someone to keep an eye on.

    Though many were loathe to leave so soon they had a job to do. Shortly after dawn the convoy was once again ready to continue its journey to Furano.

    "Thank you Lord Frost for your generous hospitality, hopefully by the time we are set to return to the Jade flower kingdom we''ll be able to enjoy your facilities for a second time." Artun bowed with respect before alighting the most luxurious carriage in the convoy.

    "d to have you Artun, Talion, safe travels." Frost with Maya and Daki at his side bade farewell to his first customers, trying very hard to dilute his smile.

    The convoy only stayed for half a day, but heted over 2000DP. Originally it was going to be 1500DP but thanks to the locks added to the inn''s rooms the input given by the residents was tripled. Shame there was nothing he could do about the mass lodging quarters but you can''t have everything. Money was especially enjoyable when it was gained with hardly any effort.

    "The convoy will spread word about the camp but that can be a double edged sword." Daki said once the convoy had departed from view.

    "Though we''ll attract customers we''ll also attract people with less savoury intentions." Bandits, ruthless privateers and perhaps even hidden forces of the [order of the ice shield] and others who''d have a vested interest in iming the location and its newly erected infrastructure.

    "Hahahaha let theme, our walls are erected, and we have more than enough forces to defend ourselves from multiple battalions of well trained soldiers let alone bandits. In fact I''d be remised if they didn''te for us as we''d be losing out on mountains of easy DP." He had no issues ughtering those who held evil intentions for what was his.

    Bandits, privateers or even soldiers if they came to wreck or take his camp then they only had themselves to me.

    ''Perhaps I should establish a prison deep within the dungeon, out of sight of the regr delvers. Then I can truly milk them for what they''re worth hehehehehe.'' The young dungeon core startedughing evilly as he imagined such a scenario.

    "Finy! Khuno! Come with me we''ve got work to do hehehehe!" Fully determined to prepare this prison Frost called upon his right and left hand to start the proceedings. Daki and Maya simply shook their heads in response before teleporting away. They had found that the best way to deal with his evil impulses was to just ignore him and let him have his fun.

    Over the following days Frost expanded his infrastructure projects, he even summoned additional ronsos to help put them into action. First was the prison that would hold any troublemakers. The ce was built on the 10th floor -the current lowest level of the dungeon- out of sight, behindrge obtrusive boulders and cliffs.

    One would have to really look hard to find the ce especially given the fact that a convenient blizzard constantly obscured the surrounding 200 metres, he didn''t want to take any chances.

    The room itself wasn''t anything special, an allotment of dozens of individual cages that held a simple bed and a bucket for bathroom needs, nothing else. Those ced in these lockable rooms would not be given decent treatment. Meals and water would be provided to extend their suffering if need be but not a single upant would leave the dungeon alive.

    Frost wisely kept this feature hidden from Daki and the kids; they didn''t need to know of the darker sides of the dungeon.

    Apart from that more buildings wereplete within the interior of the camp and female ronsos were ced in strategic locations, serving as eye candy and draws for the rough adventurers though if any of them acted upon their impulses they''d quickly find themselves bereft of a couple limbs.

    Daki finished preparing some rudimentary stock for her shop and helped the ice dwarves in charge of the gained monster materials clean up some hides, bones and other materials for sale. The convoy may not have had much interest in their wares but the same couldn''t be said for theing adventurers.

    The medical clinic that was set up had a swath of low level health potions, mana potions, and other elixirs Frost managed to find for sale in the dungeon menu.

    Turns out the potion itself is rather cheap it''s the container that costs an arm and a leg. He managed to purchase arge barrel of health potion for the same price as 3 vials, aplete steal.

    However, ss was used for a reason. Degradation happened rather quickly when it came to subpar containers making the usual price not so outrageous. But thanks to Frost''s stinginess and desire to experiment he found a solution that worked almost as well for a fraction of the price.

    Half the potions and elixirs for sale in the clinic were stored in vials made of high quality ice, summoned either by Frost or the Yuki-onnas. Natural ice didn''t work as well but conjured ice managed to preserve the potency of the potion at a 90% ratepared to the ss vials. A very worthwhile trade off in Frost''s opinion, especially when delving into a dungeon.

    He sold these ''ice vial'' potions for 30% less than the ss vial ones but would in fact make a muchrger profit margin from them. A caveat of such as solution however in addition to their slightly diminished preservation capabilities was their restriction to cold weather climates, weakness to fire based contact as well as only being viable for low level potions.

    Anything mid-level or higher would see their potency evaporate at a frightening rate. To help promote honesty and customer satisfaction Frost decided to inform the buyers of the first three caveats, thest one however shouldn''t matter.

    By the time the first ''actual'' customers arrived the camp had went through another metamorphosis, making it seems as though the Convoy bulwark and their clients underestimated the ce.

    Several more buildings werepleted thus making the ce feel less empty. Female ronsos were nearly as plentiful as their male counterparts within the camp, helping to entice arge market of adventurers. Like the males the females were tall, and muscr but more athletic in definition as opposed to their power lifting counterparts. These girls were sure to break some hearts in their future.

    It was a shame he couldn''t enlist the aid of the yuki-onnas as easily as they were deemed rather monstrous in Northrend despite appearances.

    "Perhaps in the future there''ll be no distinction within the confines of my territory" Since the dungeon was so close to Northrend his customers were primarily beholden to its culture and political views. If the dungeon was perhaps deeper within the cial mountains there wouldn''t be any distinction or at least people wouldn''t devolve into attacking on sight.

    Multiple adventuring parties that either felt themselves growing rusty or had spend all their savings made their way towards the camp shortly after the merchant convoy sang its praises. They were eager to delve into this so called dungeon and experience something ground-breaking as ording to their sources the ce had changed drastically since the monster stampede.

    2 F-rank parties, 3 E-rank and even 2 D-ranks, over 30 people walked through the ornate gates of the camp with minor trepidation.

    "Wee to the Dungeon of Niflheim."

 Chapter 552: Chapter 552: Dungeon of Niflheim (2)

    "Wee to the Dungeon of Niflheim." Frost boldly announced as a greeting towards the adventuring parties.

    Naming the Dungeon was something he''d been putting on the back burner for a while. Given that he was the first person to truly delve into the dungeon it wasmon for that person to be given the right to name the monsterir or in this case Dungeon. The other two groups who visited in the earliest days already waived their right to name it.

    The first group didn''t even make it past the first room and the second got all their data from Frost, thus leaving the duty solely with him and it was a duty that he had thought long and hard about. This was his territory; it was only right that he''d be the one to name it but what, was the question.

    This name would be forever remembered and be an official ceholder in Nova''s history, he couldn''t screw it up.

    He came up with a lot of names, some far more grandiose than others but none of them really sunk in. Who was he? What was his dream? What was the territory and dungeon all about? When he asked himself these questions the answer became clear.

    There was a dimension known in legends home to the origin of ice, where the primordial ice king resided. Niflheim, the realm of ice. Frost was the embodiment of ice, very much akin the primordial ice king so despite copying the name of his realm he felt that nothing else suited his dungeon and territory more.

    The primordial ice king resides in the realm of Niflheim, a separate dimension he created while Frost rules over the Dungeon of Niflheim and the possible kingdom of Niflheim. Simr yet also different, one is within Nova while the other is technically not. Regardless, from the name it was clear that the dungeon was ice based, it both sounded great and worked as a good marketing strategy.

    "That''s rather bold and perhaps even presumptuous of you but then again if anyone''s going to do it best be you, the son of the Dark God." Maya felt mixed about the name. She agreed that the namesake fit right at home but in the end he was still technically stealing the idea from the Primordial ice king¡­though he wouldn''t be the first.

    Many people liked to name things after legends, myths and aspects of great power however normally these were just the ideas of mortals, inconsequential entities in the grand scheme. Frost was not one of those individuals.

    "Rx it''s just a name and as long as we don''t dishonour it I''m sure the Primordial ice king won''t mind." Frost was dead set on his choice and wouldn''t take no for an answer. He published the name with the adventurer''s guild a day before the new guests arrived, so they were unaware of the new designation.

    "Dungeon of Niflheim?" The leader of one of D-rank parties queried.

    "Yes it''s the name of this dungeon, officially designated yesterday. And this would be the Niflheim base camp that facilities ess to the dungeon for adventurers such as yourselves."

    "Do you want a quick tour or are you fine exploring the ce yourselves?"

    "We''re fine."

    "We''ll take the tour." The group that was sorelycking in money declined the tour as they wished to enter the dungeon as soon as possible while those that were here to brush off some rust or just wanted to stoke their curiosity asked to be shown around.

    "Perfect, the dungeon''s entrance is at the very end of the camp, there''s signs and two guards protecting the entrance, you can''t miss it." Frost ushered the eager group towards the dungeon while he instead focused on the more sociable parties.

    "Are you all here to delve or just curious?"

    "Delve of course we''re just not in as much rush as the others." The ones who took up the tour were the two D-rank parties and one of the F-ranks. The veterans knew that rushing without any knowledge was a fast way to end up dead, they wanted to get they of thend first.

    Frost examined the two veteran parties and found that they were geared for the long haul, clearly they wished to mine this new monsterir for much of its initial worth.

    Thest group seemed to be filled with curious young girls and boys who simply thought it''d be wise to follow the footsteps of the veterans rather than rush headlong into danger, a choice that would likely see them survive their first delve.

    "Well as you can see the camp is still in its initial stages, but all the essentials are up and running. Over there we have the budding economic district where our stores are set up. Currently we have 1 star and 2 star weapons avable for purchase, monster materials gained both from the dungeon as well as the recent monster stampede, low level potions and a repair service for damaged equipment."

    "To the left we have the residential district where you can find multiple inns and mass lodging quarters, we n to also construct permanent residences for anyone who wishes to stay within the camp for a prolonged stay." Frost continued to point out the many facilities the camp already provided as well as some of his future ns.

    "In the centre of the camp is my office where I can normally be found, if you have any questions that my ronso staff can''t answer then I''ll be happy to help you."

    "Ronsos?" One of the adventurers asked, not recognising the word.

    "Ahhh that''s the name of the species you can see patrolling the camp, they''re my direct subordinates who help me run the camp. Ah Khuno perfect timinge introduce yourself to these able bodied adventurers." Frost spotted Khuno in the distance and called him over.

    "Yes milord." Khuno crossed his arm over his chest in a militaristic fashion before staring down at the trembling adventurers. "Hello, my name is Khuno, and I am milord''s right hand."

    "¡­.D¡­.Damien." The strongest of the adventurers mustered up the courage to shake Khuno''s outstretched hand.

    "Khuno and his ronso brethren are a rare species of tiger beastkin so it''s not unusual for to have not heard of them."

    "I see." It was clear that the veterans had been around the block, they''d encountered many intelligent monsters that behaved just like sapients, it was more the show of power that got to them. The F-rank rookies however instantly withdrew their weapons instinctively when Frost''s described the ronsos as beastkin rather beastmen.

    This of course made Frost and Khuno frown, a pressuring aura was even released by the young dungeon core.

    "Ahhh!" The group of rookies screamed in fear as their bodies started screaming danger. Thankfully the veteran captains moved to correct their behaviour before Frost didn''t anything drastic.

    "Sheath your god damn weapons!" The veteran captains roared at the top their lungs before pping the back of the rookies'' heads.

    "Apologies Lord Frost, they''re rather new at this and don''t quite understand how the world works beyond the confines of Northrend''s borders." Frost retrieved his aura, allowing the adventurers to breathe and sequester their weapons.

    "No apology necessary Damien, I understand the culture of those raised beyond the mountains. I just thought a show of force would best correct such illusions." Frost smiled in a rather cold manner sending shivers down Damien''s back.

    The tour managed to get back on track despite the unsavoury confrontation though the rookie F-rank party still refused to look Frost''s way, afraid of drawing his ire.

    "This is the entrance to the dungeon which currently stands at 10 floors. The ronsos guarding the gate here will ask for your rank before you enter and suggest the maximum number of floors you should descend."

    "How perilous is it?"

    "The upper floors not so much, even the F-rank rookies here can survive the first floor as long as they work well together however, beyond the 6th floor even C-rank adventurers could lose their lives if they''re not careful." Such a revtion caused the veterans to balk and look at one another, silentlying up with new ns.

    "If you want to learn more about what you''ll encounter you can try asking the ronsos, many of the guards have delved into the dungeon themselves."

    "Thank you for the tour Lord Frost as well as the personal advice, we''ll be sure to inquire with your subordinates lest we foolishly fall for a trap that could have easily been avoided." Damien said this with emphasis for the education of the rookies, knowledge was power.

    "No problem, if you ever get injured we have a clinic on set near the entrance with an array of potions for sale. We even have a Niflheim specialty that you may be interested in trying out." Frost subtly promoted his ''ice vials'' hoping they''d catch on.

    "Will do."

    "Happy hunting." Frost waved the groups off and headed to his office before teleporting to the private space to watch the festivities. It''d been a long time since he had any adventurer guests in his dungeon.

    "Now how many should I have killed?"

 Chapter 553: Chapter 553: Dungeon of Niflheim (3)

    As the days progressed more and more adventurers visited the Niflheim base camp, all keen to delve into the wonders that was the dungeon of Niflheim, an apt name as far as they were concerned.

    Though more than a few reckless and even careful individuals still lost their lives within the dungeon''s confines the interest never let up. For many it was far more profitable and beneficial to base themselves within the camp and regrly delve into the dungeon than to ept the asional quest from the guild.

    This preferred interest alerted the local adventurers guild in Furano as well as their sister branches within the cial mountains. Frost caught a significant amount of scouts surveying the area, some friendly, some neutral and some that had more unsavoury agendas.

    One night when the level of adventurers present in the camp was low and the sun had long set, bringing near total darkness arge group of ruffians armed to the teeth with weapons and the odd piece of siege equipment surrounded the camp''s mighty walls.

    Their scouts inspected the camp over the previous two days, identifying the weak points of their defences, the number of guards on patrol as well as the gear assigned to them, all in preparation for tonight''s attack.

    "Is everyone in position?" The leader of the group, a tall human with arge scar over his right eye asked as he gripped the handle of his trusted great axe.

    "Everyone''s ready boss, we''re good to go."

    "Good, let''s get to work then." The leader smiled wildly as a fire erupted in his eyes. He and his group were hired by a certain privateer to take down this newly constructed camp and execute the current owner so said privateer could take over the flourishing gold mine. The ce had only been in business for a couple weeks yet already the local predators could smell the potential.

    The longer they waited the harder it''d be to take down.

    "I have to admit that their rate of construction and development is quite astounding but that only paints arger target on their back." The group came prepared, amply ready to face off against the defences of the camp and the ronso guards stationed there¡­.well at least they thought they were.

    Frost had long noticed their intentions and prepared certain traps. He purposely made sections of the wall appear weak, reduced the number of ronsos on patrol and even reced some of their weapons all to give off the illusion of a weak prey.

    "Finally an excuse to put my new prison to good use hahahaha." Frostughed evilly as he viewed the arrangement of red dots on the dungeon map. 200 enemies willingly handing over their lives, oh how generous.

    "Milord?" Khuno asked through telepathy.

    "Do it, take the stronger ones alive if you can¡­kill the rest."

    "Understood."

    The moment the ''powerful'' force of bandits were about tounch their invasion dozens of monsters suddenly appeared from behind and by their nks.

    "AMBUSH!!!!"

    "AAAHHHHHH!!!!!"

    "Squealch!!!"

    Therge force of 200 was quickly dealt with under the cover of night. Only 20 were taken prisoner and stuffed within the cages on the tenth floor, the rest were executed, granting Frost a substantial amount of DP as well as money. For bandits this group was quite well off, the high ranking individuals alone carried close to 4 gold coins.

    "Hahahahaha gotta love bandits." Frost was ecstatic, culling invaders was such an easy way to make money. Unlike adventurers he didn''t have to worry about killing too much or thinking about how to prolong their stay, he was free to kill each and everyst one of them, doing so would even earn him praise.

    Bandits were despised throughout Nova and usually held bounties in which any individual could redeem for reward. A decent chunk of adventurers actually make bandit hunting their prime upation.

    "What are you going to do with those you captured?" Daki who watched the affair by his side asked after letting out a relieved breath. She was stunned when she heard about the scouts and the army surrounding their home. To ease her worries and reassure her Frost insisted that she watch the battle -or rather ughter- by his side.

    "Information extraction as well as payment. I''d like to know who''s behind this group so we can prepare for any more serious threats." He was confident that this group wouldn''t be the only ones foolish enough to try their hands at taking over the Dungeon of Niflheim.

    Word spread through dark channels that the entire 200 bandit force was annihted, instantly elevating the threat level of the newly established camp to one that was alreadyplete and fully defended. If one wished to rece the current ruler they''d need a far stronger force and or go the more shadowy route i.e. assassination.

    Frost didn''t quite wee such methods given his past trauma as well as the greatly reduced ie possibilities, but beggars can''t be choosers. A couple of female ronsos were ced in charge of intelligence gathering within the camp, they''d willingly engage with the visitors in order to gleam as much information as possible.

    He also advised Nanna, Loki and Daki to be on alert whenever they were within the camp just in case anyone targeted them instead of himself. He wasn''t prepared to take any chances.

    Thankfully after the first attempt there wasn''t another in following weeks instead a different approach was taken by some.

    "Get out!!"

    "Lord Frost don''t be so hasty; you''ll never hear an offer as good as this one."

    "I said GET OUT!!!!" Frost summoned his ive and ced the razor sharp edge under the offender''s chin.

    "Ahhhhh!!!! You crazy barbarian! You''ll regret this!!" An obese cat beastwoman screeched as she dragged herself from his office.

    "Do these people really think I''m such a pushover or an idiot." He mmed his fist against his desk to relieve his anger. "That''s the seventh person iming that It''d be in my best interest to transfer control over to them or their bosses, while only offering pittance in reparation. Damn leeches that think they can swoon in on my hard work and take what''s mine! Enough!!!"

    "Finy!"

    "Yes milord."

    "The next person that says they''re offering to buy me out, kick them out of the camp and if they still kick up a fuss execute them!" He was really pissed, he''d had enough. His nice guy routine had its limits.

    "Happily milord." Finy responded with an eager tone, he too was not pleased with how these businessmen and women were treating his master.

    "Unless there''s anything else for me to deal with I''ll be heading to the training room to let off a little steam."

    "Nothing''s on the schedule, so you should be free."

    "I could do with a proper secretary, using you feels like a waste of your talents."

    "I''m happy to help you in any way I can master."

    "Haaaaaa" Frost sighed before teleporting from his office to the training space. Lately he''d be trying to improve his magic capabilities to the point that he could be considered a B-rank magician. Maya offered a lot of pointers and frequently sparred with him, but his progress was rather slowpared to his recent exploits.

    Without any sense of danger there was no sudden explosion of improvement, he was thus learning or at least trying to learn the virtue of patience.

    "Rough day?" Daki who currently in the training room to brush up on her skills and keep her body in its current sexy form asked when she saw the scowl on her boyfriend''s face.

    "Rough is an understatement." He snarled back, his fury rising whenever he remembered the condescension and contempt in the words and gazes of his recent visitors. He preferred when they sent people to kill him instead of trying to broker a deal face to face. It took a great deal of restraint not to murder each and every one of them.

    "More people suggesting that you transfer ownership or else."

    "Yep and as far as I''m concerned thest one. I''ve already instructed Finy to take care of them. I''m done!" He summoned up a few practise dummies in the distance before conjuring up a ming ball of ice fire andunching it at the targets.

    Daki who had built up a little sweat wrapped herself around him, pressing her ample chest against his back as her hands rubbed his shoulders and tense arms.

    "I''m surprised yousted this long. I thought for sure you would have made an example of the first or second buyer thus killing the chicken to scare the monkeys." From what she knew of his personality he wasn''t above such methods.

    "Believe me I wanted to do." He leaned back and took in a whiff of his girlfriend''s natural scent.

    "So why didn''t you?"

    "Because I want to draw people to my territory not drive them away. If I killed those I disagreed with or who insulted me at the drop of a hat then it doesn''t really put me in a good light as a ruler right?"

    "¡­..Actually I think it would."

    "Eh?"

    "Think about it, in this world power is very important. Showing force guarantees the capability to protect your subjects from powerful foes plus your territory is different. Unlike most you''re basing yournd around a dungeon, and starting off with a camp, strength is even more important and in this line of work force is sometimes all that matters.

    Has you rejecting all these busybodies with shit offers stopped theming."

    "...No"

    "And they won''t not until you make them realise who their dealing with, you need to show that you''re not someone unprepared to do what''s necessary to protect what''s yours. You need to disy power and authority; only then will they see you as an equal. Whether or not this ups their aggression at least you won''t have to deal with their annoying badgering right."

    "...." Frost waspletely stunned, floored by Daki''s insight. He''d expect such words from Maya but not necessarily her.

    ''Have I really been too easy-going.'' If Daki was right then he wouldn''t have to walk on eggshells and cater to the whims of others, instead he could truly run the ce his way, regardless of what his neighbours thought.

    An evil smile grew on his face as ns ran through his mind, it was time for a change.

    He turned to his girlfriend with clear lust in his eyes. "You''re amazing."

    "Oh I know¡­you''re quite gifted yourself." Her eyes drifted down towards his groin as she licked her lips, keen to embark on another kind of exercise which Frost was more than happy to oblige.

    "Finy change of n I''m going to be busy for quite a while. If anyone like the woman from earlieres, rough them up before booting them out, I want them to know that we don''t give two shits about their so called offers."

    "Yes milord." Once Finy received his new orders Frost pounced on his green enchantress and gave her body a real workout.

 Chapter 555: Chapter 555: Visit from the order

    A dayter the groups from the adventurer and merchant''s guilds arrived ready and willing to get to work. A simple shack was erected in the interim while their construction teams discussed terms with Frost''s ronsos. Both branches would be positioned near the dungeon''s entrance and cover a sizeable area, far more than required by a standard shop.

    Once the functions were fully underway Frost would receive rent appropriate for the size of the buildings as well as a very small percentage of any sizeable transactions that took ce under the purview of the guilds.

    Negotiating such figures was a real uphill battle for the young dungeon core, his natural intelligence and gift for business meant nothing when it came to specialisation and ample experience. He felt railroaded by the negotiating team and would likely have came off worse if the group didn''t have orders to be ''lenient'' in their efforts.

    Regardless in the end a deal was met, and Frost would see a decent pay out for allowing the guilds to spread minor influence within his territory which was officially dered out with the bounds of ''civilised''nd. This deration meant that intelligent monsters weren''t restricted in doing business with the guilds within said territory.

    Frost thus learned that the rtionship between the guilds in ''civilised'' territory and the so called wilnds or danger zones was actually closer than he was led to believe. Though different in their rules and views they both fell under the purview of the federation of knowledge and other worldwide organisations thus making them part of the same family tree.

    In fact even some of the guilds operating within the ocean and sea kingdoms were subject to the same influence.

    With the guilds now staking a im within the camp, word spread regarding the official status of the Niflheim base camp, drawing far more to the newly established gold mine. Frost practically drooled as he watched his daily DP rise by several hundred every day, in a few weeks he may even surpass 10,000, a super milestone that he greatly desired to achieve.

    The ''privateers'' swiftly stopped their actions the moment the guilds came into y and instead a more worthy group of ''businessmen'' entered the fray, ones that Frost couldn''t treat lightly.

    "Greetings Lord Frost my name is Auriel and I represent the order of the ice shield." A middle aged elf with a powerful presence greeted Frost with a gentle smile.

    "Wee Sir Auriel what can I do for the order of the ice shield." Unlike the ''privateers'' the order of the ice shield was a true big yer, a group that made Frost and his budding territory inconsequential inparison.

    The order of the ice shield was the independent body that controlled the vast majority of monsterirs, special zones and even enves within the cial mountains. Most camps and newly generated territories held their influence.

    The group itself was set up through the efforts of multiple big wig kingdoms, tribes and even Northrend''s cial mountain territory as abined effort to even the ying field and reduce friction between them and all in all the experiment paid off. Disagreements that could lead to all-out war sharply reduced since their conception, preserving a great many lives.

    The order was now fully established and held a great deal of authority and sway within the mountains. Frost expected that one of their members would pay him a visit, but he didn''t think it''d be so soon nor that they''d send someone at B-rank. Whether this was a sign of respect or a show of force he didn''t know but he decided to air on the side of caution.

    "Well for starters I''d like to ask you few questions." Auriel released his aura in an imposing fashion, hoping to restrain Frost and force him to answer truthfully, however.

    Crack!

    The wooden desk separating Frost and Auriel released audible cracks as Frost revealed his own strength. His royal aspected aura battled against the thicker aura of Auriel and forced it back, he wouldn''t be pressured in his own home.

    His sudden burst of strength surprised Auriel who clenched his teeth and retrieved his aura, epting that this assignment wasn''t going to be so cut and dry, in fact thanks to hisck of information the discussion started off on the wrong foot.

    "Apologies Lord Frost I didn''t know you were.."

    "Someone who could hold his own." Frost retorted with a fiery expression.

    "Cough Cough¡­.I meant nothing by it. I merely wanted to be sure that you answered my questions honestly." Auriel suddenly found himself in a rather ufortable position, he wasn''t expecting to be in the weaker position.

    Frost pressed him a little more before retracting his aura.

    "Ask away."

    "¡­.Ok first do you represent the interests of any to the kingdoms or tribes present within the cial mountains?"

    "No."

    "Do you represent the Northrend empire?"

    "No."

    "Do you have the backing of any groups that do represent these mentioned organisations?"

    "No, my rtionships with the Furano Viscounty and the Kranor enve are based upon friendship first and then equal trade between our territories. They did not bankroll this camp, nor do they have any say in how it is run." Frost knew exactly what the order wished to know.

    They needed to know if one of their members was responsible for this camp as that would be a vition of the initial agreement and infringe upon their duties. Only if Frost was truly acting as an individual with his own ambitions devoid of the influence of the cial Mountain big wigs would his actions be allowed.

    Thankfully he truly had no rtionship to these big wigs, everything he created was through his own hard work and the work of his subordinates.

    "..." Auriel was silent as he took in Frost''s answers. It was harder to tell if he was lying without his aura wrapping around him but from his tone and bodynguage he gauged that Frost wasn''t lying.

    "Very well, if this camp is truly of your own machinations then the order has no reason to fault you however we would have appreciated a heads up. We could have assisted you in its development and even offered financial aid."

    "Hmph I think I''m doing pretty well by myself actually. Though you''d offer assistance it wouldn''t be without cost and I''m someone who doesn''t like to be in the debt of others." Frost was smart enough to know that involving the order would be anything but beneficial for someone like him, he liked to be in control.

    "Haaaaaa I think there''s been a misunderstanding, but you''re entitled to your own opinion." Auriel sighed and shook his head. "Anyway to keep the peace we''d like to be able to set up a branch within your camp just like the adventurer''s guild and the merchant''s guild so as to facilitate those who enjoy our services."

    "¡­.Why should I do that?"

    "Eh?" Auriel didn''t expect a negative reaction.

    "I''ve already allowed the adventurer''s guild and merchant''s guild to create branches here so why would I need to entertain the order. While I understand that you offer alternative services and hold quite a lot of influence within the mountains and even run a vast number of camps what does that have to do with mine?"

    "...."

    "As it stands the order can likely offer me several things, first being official status which I''ve already gotten thanks to the guilds and my rtionship with the Furano Viscounty. Second, subtle protection from being under your organisation''s umbre. This is also something I have no need of given the military strength at my disposal.

    Third which I''ll give you could be interesting, is ess to your vastwork, i.e. materials, people, information etc.. but again it isn''t something I necessarily need plus there''s other avenues I can use to get such things.

    Therefore allowing you to open a branch within my camp serves only your interest, I don''t get much value out of such a transaction." He''d be better granting the real estate to merchants or long term residents.

    "¡­..That''s a rather narrow minded viewpoint, the order can offer far more than that andmonly any camp set up within the mountains holds one of our branches." Auriel felt snubbed and perhaps even slightly insulted.

    "Commonly yes but as I''ve stated there really isn''t anything you can offer me. I have no need of the order''s services, simple as that so I won''t entertain your request for the establishment of a branch.

    If one of your members wishes to set up a shop then by all means go through the approval process and we can work something out, but I don''t require the presence of the order within my territory." Frost was firm with his decision, he would not allow a major and in many ways suspicious organisation like the order of the ice shield to take root within his territory.

    As far as he was concerned the order was just like the many privateers he threw out previously just more established and with greater backing.

    "Lord Frost are you sure? Rejecting the order is not a wise decision."

    "Is that a threat?" His royal aura suffused into the nearby air, pressing down upon Auriel. The middle-aged elf nched and clenched his teeth as his mind ran circles.

    ''Why the hell is this happening? This isn''t how it''s supposed to go down.''

 Chapter 556: Chapter 556: Visit from the order (2)

    An awkward silence followed Frost''s usation; Auriel started sweating bullets as his heart warned him of danger. He could likely handle Frost alone, but Frost wasn''t the only danger present in the camp. There was Finy the ice troll lord as well as the feeling of something else, something far more powerful gazing down on him from who knows where.

    This was not how the n was supposed to go down. He was supposed to arrive at this new and unsanctioned camp -in the Order''s opinion- and meet with owner and subject him to pressure thus allowing him to glean the required information and further the Order''s agenda.

    They wanted to hold sway over all the camps and special areas within the cial mountains, to consolidate their power and gain ess to untold levels of wealth. The order had grown to the point that it wanted to uplift itself from the machinations of its creators, to be a truly independent organisation.

    Frost''s Niflheim base camp actually yed arge role in their ns. Not only was its location ideal for spying upon the nearby Northrend empire it was built around one of the brand new dungeons, a monsterir that could evolve and grow exponentially if their sources were to be trusted.

    The wealth potential it had was something even the wide reaching Order didn''t want to give up that''s why they sent Auriel, a skilled negotiator and powerful fighter. They believed that sending him would either make Frost feel honoured or allow them to pressure him into following their will. Unfortunately they underestimated Frost''s strength as well as conviction.

    Auriel''s mind was spinning as he tried to think of some way to salvage the negotiation.

    "L¡­Lord Frost please calm down; I didn''t mean for my words toe across as a threat. I was merely stating advice. Our organisation holds far more benefits than you believe so denying us the opportunity to work together would definitely be an unwise decision." He first backtracked, hoping to cool down Frost''s anger¡­. it worked. Frost pulled back his aura and presented a calmer expression.

    "As I''ve already stated I have no need of your services at this time at least not any that require you to establish a base of operations within my camp. I''m more than willing to engage in the asional trade and exchange with the Order.

    By no means am I intending to be your enemy it''s just that I do not require your involvement in how I run my own territory Sir Auriel." Though he was firm in rejecting the Order''s involvement within the confines of the camp Frost didn''t wish to reject them outright.

    The organisation was still a very big yer within the cial mountains and offered many services he''d find useful whenever he went exploring. He just needed to make it clear that he didn''t want to engage with them when it came to his territory, individually was fine. However that wasn''t what the Order wanted.

    Auriel tried to make Frost reconsider his stance many times but was continually rebuffed. He ended up leaving the office with a disappointed expression, he didn''t achieve the oue he set out to achieve. The camp was truly an individual endeavour, but the owner was not willing to allow them any core ess. They''d be treated no different than regr merchants and adventurers.

    "Haaaaaaa headquarters isn''t gonna like this." Auriel sighed and shook his head as he walked away with his entourage, there was nothing left for him to do but report back his failure.

    Frost was left in a rather foul mood thanks to Auriel, so he teleported out of his office and into the private space for some R&R. Daki was already waiting on the sofa. She patted her thighs inviting him for ap pillow which Frost saw no reason to reject.

    "Better?"

    "Much better." The two giggled as they enjoyed one another''spany.

    "Is Maya training the kids?"

    "Yeah they started about 15 minutes ago, Loki was all decked out in the equipment I forged for him yelling that he was now unstoppable."

    "Hahahaha that''s sounds like him." Frost brought up the dungeon menu to view the training room. There he saw Nanna and Loki all fired up as they faced off against a rather slow and predictable moving ice golem while Maya lounged at the side, advising them on their form.

    "They''ve got a lot of potential, it''s rare to see such drive and passion amongst children as young as them."

    "They want to be strong enough to work in the dungeon like Finy, Kiba and Khuno." Frost knew that their desire to pay him back and protect their new family was what drove them. It wasn''t the best life for children, but the fact was, training brought them joy. They loved improving themselves and fed off being guided by their family.

    Frost and Maya thus saw no reason to stop their training nor did Daki, but she did emphasise the fact that they needed additional hobbies. Nanna had cooking but Loki was stillcking in that regard.

    "Have you thought about teaching Loki to forge?"

    "I have but unfortunately he doesn''t have even the slightest interest in the craft." Daki shook her headpletely rejecting the notion, Loki enjoyed wearing his armour and using his weapons and even fawned over their craftmanship, but he held no interest in learning to craft his own.

    "That''s a shame." Frost knew that his girlfriend wanted to share her passion with her new family, but no one seemed to share her interests, even he showed little inclination towards forging.

    "However I do think there''s another craft he might excel at." Daki had spent a lot of time with the kids over the past few weeks as she tried to improve their rtionship. She learned a great many details about them including some of their dreams, aspirations and personal interests.

    "Oh what''s that?"

    "Medicine, Loki cares a great deal about the health of others and has shown keen interest whenever Maya heals our injuries." Back when they were still enved, Nanna would always stand in front of her younger brother to take the majority of the beatings while he would do his best to nurse her wounds as he cried.

    Though those dark times were over he never stopped worrying about the health of his sister.

    "Medicine huh, that sounds interesting, I''ll arrange some timeter where he and I can talk."

    "I''m sure he''ll love that." Both kids adored their private time with Frost, it was rare and very special.

    Frost enjoyed somefort with Daki, allowing him to rx and let go of any built up stress. He brought up the dungeon menu to examine the overall state of the dungeon and camp now that it had been functioning for almost a month. The time really flew by given that there was always things for him to do.

    Whether it was taking part in the actual physical building of the camp, dealing with visitors, privateers, merchant applications or even deciding who to off in the dungeon he was pretty much always on call from dawn to dusk. This left very little time for family time and actual training, he really needed to start delegating some of his work.

    His true job was to control and develop the dungeon, the camp was simply a way for him to gain DP and territory.

    "Thanks to the mass attraction of adventurers our DP levels are back in the green, standing at 120,000, a significant sum." A reserve that was certainly nothing to sneeze at, he could build and fully furnish multiple floors with that amount¡­ but there wasn''t much need for that, at least at the moment.

    The dungeon currently had 11 floors 10 of which being monster infested. The sixth floor or rather floor 5.5 was designed as a safety floor where the first internal camp was due to be set up. Daki''s personal forge and many of the high ranking mines and quarries were also built on this peaceful floor.

    The final floor was added in a week ago to evenly split the dungeon into 5 upper floors and 5 lower floors. The upper floors were restricted to those at D-rank and below whereas the lower floors required adventurers to be D-rank at the very least lest they wish for a quick death.

    Of course a few chose not to adhere to this warning and thus met a gruesome end but since the warning was given the faulty with them not the dungeon.

    Few had made it to the safety floor and beyond, but all were shocked by the situation. Safety areas were asionally found within monsterirs, but they were very rare and in many cases very unique and dependent on certain circumstances but within the dungeon of Niflheim the entire floor was a safety area.

    For the first week or so after its ''discovery'' delvers refused to let down their guards but eventually after zero attacks throughout the entire floor people naturally began to rx. The sight of Ronsos and even Frost himself preparing an outpost of sorts certainly helped conjure an air of safety upon the floor.

    A lot of rookies desperately wanted to visit the fabled floor but unfortunately they were too weak to make it passed the guardian D-rank monster and its helpers, stationed at the end of the 5th floor.

    Some disregarded the danger and died thus providing the dungeon with plentiful nutrients while others tried their hardest to improve their skills for the sole point of unearthing the dungeon''s many mysterious.

    The increased activity within the dungeon not only increased the amount of DPing in but also the amount going out. More and more spawners had to be erected and monsters had to be manually reced more often by either Frost or one of his officers. But despite this his current bnce was still sitting at 120k proving that the ie was higher than the expenditure.

    Even when C-rank parties grew intrigued and delved into the dungeon the situation was manageable. The groups never even made it passed the 8th floor despite their strong willingness to do so.

    Of course this was still the first real month of business, he was confident that after a few more attempts the same groups or others would surely reach the 9th or even the final 10th floor but it likely wouldn''t be too soon.

    "Where should I start?"

 Chapter 557: Chapter 557: Dungeon delving

    "Hey Lando, time to get up work''s a calling."

    "Urgh you don''t need to yell, I''m up, I''m up." Lando groggily dragged himself from thefier than he expected cot he was sleeping in.

    "Yeah right, you sleep heavier than a Kro. Anything less than a scream in your ear has little to no effect. Just be grateful I didn''t get physical this time hahaha." Lando pulled a grimace as memories of his previous wakeup calls came to the forefront of his mind.

    "Get your gear and meet outside, the Captain''s already waiting."

    "Ahhh shit why didn''t you wake me sooner then!" Lando trembled as he imagined running afoul with their Captain. As a former military man the Captain really didn''t appreciate tardiness. Lando learned that the hard way when he was forced to run himself ragged or perform the entire team''s grunt work for an entire week.

    "I''m your friend not your mother just hurry up." His friend Lawrence pped his shoulder before dashing out of the lodging quarters.

    Several minutester Lando was thest to arrive and was met with nefarious smirks from his party members, he waste.

    "Lando." The Captain of their party said his name with a cold tone, sending shivers down his back.

    "Sorry for beingte Captain, I overslept again." Being used to such a tone Lando responded honestly as such an attitude usually lessened the punishment.

    "I can see that." The Captain red at the rushed dressing and unkempt hair of Lando before shaking his head.

    "I''ll give you a pass this time, you''ve got 2 minutes to finish getting ready then we''ll set out."

    "Yes Sir." The rest of the party looked at their Captain as if he was some kind of imposter. Since when was he so lenient. Fortunately for Lando the Captain also slept in a little thanks to the unexpectedfiness of his cot so his pride didn''t allow him to admonish Lando.

    Lando quickly straightened out his clothes, reoriented his gear and fingerbed his hair making him look a lot more presentable.

    "Alright now that everyone''s prepared let''s discuss our goals." The group made their way towards an area with multiple pykrete tables where parties could discuss strategies and talk business.

    "The Dungeon of Niflheim is a very hot hunting ground right now. Swarms of parties just like ours are congregating to uncover its many mysteries and make their names in the adventuring world. The ce holds great wealth but also great danger. Though we''ll be restricted to the upper floors given our party''s strength that doesn''t mean we can rx.

    No small amount of D-rank parties have met there end within due to arrogance or poor preparation. We will not be one of those groups, is that understood?"

    ""Yes Captain"" The five party members responded with enthusiasm towards their older leader.

    "From Krief''s investigations we know roughly what kind of monsters we''ll face in the upper levels as well as the generalyout. So tell me what are the main dangers we need to keep an eye on." Lando raised his hand to answer.

    "Monster such as the frost wolves and frost dwarves as they are skilled in working together, thus reducing our team advantage."

    "Correct anything else?"

    "The ice spiders in thebyrinth sections could pose issues given their ability to scale the walls and ceiling. Though we''ve prepared antidotes for poisons getting caught in their webs could open us up for some nasty ambushes." Lawrence responded this time.

    "Apart from the obvious monster dangers there''s also the blizzard that randomly starts up on some of the floors. Poor visibility can leave us open to ambushes and traps from both monsters and other adventurers." Krief the one who was in charge of investigating gave his opinion.

    He heard many tales from previous delvers as well as a few female ronsos than he couldn''t help but strike up a conversation with. Being a tiger beastman he wasn''t too far removed from the Ronsos who were tiger beastkin thus he was particrly attracted to some of them.

    An advantage given that most rookies and even many veteran adventurers struggled to engage with intelligent monsters on a friendly level.

    "Good answers. We''ll also have to keep an eye on dungeon generated traps, from what I hear there''s more than a few spike pitfalls and even cold fire spewing statues. Krief you''ll need to be on your A-game during this delve."

    "Always am Captain." Krief smirked proudly. He was the party''s scout; it was his job to alert them of impeding danger and chart a path.

    "Rodger no daredevil shenanigans am I clear." The Captain red at another member of the team.

    "But we''ve got Lando the guardian, he''ll be able to bail me out no matter the danger." Rodger openlyined about having to restrain his usual tendencies. He was a pugilist, someone who needed to get up close and personal with his enemies. People with such professions tended to fit into two types, calm and patient or aggressive and violent, Rodger was thetter.

    He was all for taking risks and trying out new techniques and fighting styles on the fly, sometimes to the point that it ced him in serious danger. Unfortunately their leader was having none of it on this delve.

    "Cork it, we''ve never explored the Dungeon of Niflheim so we can''t take any chances besides you shouldn''t rely so heavily on Lando''s capabilities to preserve your own life." Out of the six party members the Captain whose real name is Royce was the strongest, an aplished D-rank swordsmen who''d been in the adventuring game for over a decade.

    Following closely behind him was Lando, nicknamed the guardian due to his above and beyond defensive skills. There were few people at the same rank who could best Lando when it came to shield work. Unfortunately his offence was rathercking otherwise he''d be well on his way to C-rank by now.

    The others were upper E-rank strength with Krief inching towards D-rank. Overall a rather decent party that suited the upper floors of the dungeon quite well. A swordsmen, a shield warrior, a scout (armed with a bow), an earth focused mage (Lawrence), a pugilist and finally the youngest of the group Gabbie, a mage focused on protection spells and buffs.

    "We''ll take our time and explore slowly. Does everyone have their camping gear and delving supplies?" Everyone tapped their backpacks and nodded, they were all set and then some. Despite their youth Captain Royce had sessfully indoctrinated the need to be prepared.

    Better to have and not need than to need and not have, a saying that saved a great many lives when followed and ended much more when not.

    "Alright then hands in." They all put their hands on top of one another and smiled eagerly.

    "Icy Talons on three, one two ICY TALONS!!" With a roar the Icy Talonspleted their ritual and headed towards therge archway that lead into the dungeon.

    "Rank?" The two Ronsos on guard asked in a perfunctory manner.

    "D-rank." Captain Royce answered nervously under their re. These two guards alone could squash his entire team like they were bugs.

    "Understood, you''re advised to go no lower than the 5th floor, any further and you''ll likely meet a swift end. Good hunting." After giving their warning the two ronso waved the party through the arch, no longer caring about them in the slightest. An attitude that irked a great many parties but not the Icy Talons, they knew better thanks to their investigations.

    A D-rank party like theirs was truly nothing of importance to them, even C-rank parties had to be respectful to these guards as the ronsos weren''t just strong they served as the arm of the camp''s owner, an elf by the name of Frost whose strength surpassed them all.

    A veritable B-rank who fought for Furano during thest monster stampede, helping to cull multiple B-rank monsters and dozens of C-ranks, a true hero.

    "Alright here we are, the Dungeon of Niflheim, let''s see what all the buzz is about." Captain Royce and his team took in the grand sight of Dungeon''s first section, the winter hignds.

    "Apparently this section is simr to the environment found in the nearby area, the monsters as well as the flora and fauna are simr as well. We''ll likely encounter frost goblins, ice slimes, horned rabbits and other G-ranks here with the asional F-rank and very, very rarely an E-rank frost wolf ording to sources." Krief filled everyone in.

    "Interesting, well let''s get started I want us to scour every inch of the ce. We''re not here to rush to our deaths in the lower floors nor hunt piddling G-ranks, first and foremost we''re here to explore and enjoy this experience and learn from it. Let''s start treasure hunting boys and girls."

    ""Yes Captain!!"" The Icy Talons nned to stay within the Niflheim base camp for the long haul. They''d stay a few days within the dungeon to get their bearings and learn more about it before returning to the surface with their loot, thus allowing them to cover their stay in the lodges, the cost of resupply as well possibly improve their gear.

    Others may wish to delve to the lowest floors and or face off against the best the dungeon had to offer but the Icy Talons knew their capabilities, slow and steady wins the race. They''d be best focusing their time on exploration, the asional hunt and of course treasure hunting.

    asionally adventuring parties would return from their delve with bountiful treasure from chests hiddenly located in obscure areas and or defended by monsters beyond the level of the others in the area. Just a singlemon ranked chest could pay for multiple days of lodging and then some.

    There was far more to adventuring than simple fighting monsters.

 Chapter 562: Chapter 562: Dungeon delving (6)

    The muscr axemen who thought themselves invincible charged into the boss room on the fifth floor without an ounce of forethought. They couldn''tprehend the possibility of a monster not falling under their axes. An endeavour that ended in the worst way possible.

    The boss room held on the fifth floor was home to a devasting pair of monsters that guarded ess to the far more perilous levels down below. Those incapable of felling two frost drakes didn''t deserve to delve any deeper.

    This room was frequently covered in blood, the stench never fully receding before the next party recklessly attempted to charge their way through.

    If the muscr axemen had thought retrospectively for just a moment they likely wouldn''t have entered into a wanton ughter. A frost drake''s hide was near impervious to physically obsessed adventurers like themselves. Their once hallowed axes barely made a dent in the creature''s mighty scales.

    What proceeded their reckless charge could be easily imagined. With no possibility of retreat and the muscr axemen refusing to believe in their inability to cut the beasts the party was well and thoroughly crushed. The great drakes overpowered them, crushed them with their mighty limbs or swatted them away with their tails.

    By the end six crumpled bodiesy in pools of their own blood as the twin drakes joyfully devoured them limb after limb before returning to their original positions, ready and waiting for the next foolish party to grace their doors.

    No matter how much the ronsos or the more veteran adventurer parties warned those with D-rank strength more and more kept making their way to the drakes'' doors only to be devoured by them or the dungeon. Of course there was the odd asion where a more powerful party sessfully took down the drakes and made it to the fabled sixth floor where peace reigned.

    One such party containing only four members easily decimated the drakes with far superior strength, none of them even came out the slightest bit injured.

    "I can see why so many people have died to these boss monsters. Handling one is fine but two ups the anti to whole other level." One of the party members, a powerful looking bear beastman decked in heavy looking te armour uttered as he pulled his massive Warhammer from the skull of one of the drakes.

    "Only parties that have upper D-rank or higher strength will be able seed in this battle. Those below will end up like this earlier group." A human archer from the party said while highlighting the still present remains of a party that entered before them.

    "It''s their own fault, the guild and even the owner of this camp gives fair warning to those who enter. If they choose not to listen to the ronsos or us they only have themselves to me." The third member a powerful mage adorned in fancy robes shook her head in disappointment. Why were people in such a rush to die.

    "The young are foolish and reckless; all we can do is warn them time and time again. Were we really all that different back then." The party leader forced his teammates to reflect upon their own past which made the mage wince most of all. She was quite arrogant in her early youth.

    "Come on let''s take a look at the fabled ''floor of peace''" A name that was gaining traction among those staying in the Niflheim base camp.

    This group of four were known as the Skrks a powerful C-rank party with a plethora of quests under their belts. Veterans of the game so they knew their way around the block, but they weren''t old enough that B-rank status was out of question, in fact they held quite a decent chance at seeding.

    They hoped that perhaps training within the Dungeon of Niflheim would be enough to close the gap or at least point them in the right direction. From what they knew once they passed the fabled ''floor of peace'' the dungeon was apletely different beast, home to a plethora of C-rank monsters.

    The Skrks scavenged the useful parts from the frost drakes before descending down to the next floor with curiosity aze in their hearts. Even with their track record they couldn''t help but be excited at the thought of experience something new. They were adventurers through and through.

    "Well would you look at that." Oscar the party leadermented once they finished descending and caught sight of the fabled ''floor of peace''.

    Unlike the previous floors they could easily see the boundaries of the first section and even the entrance to the second the moment they entered, a fascinating sight considering where they were.

    "It really is as described in the rumours, a pleasant, warm environment with not a single monster in sight." Philippa the mage scanned the horizon for any danger and found nothing.

    "The ''floor of peace'' indeed¡­huh is that." Yarik the heavily armoured bear beastman noticed a somewhat familiar face in the distance and drew the attention of hisrades.

    "I think it is, I wonder what he''s doing here?"

    "Perhaps delving like us, he is the only one to have reached the bottommost floor after all."

    "Why don''t we just ask him?"

    "Couldn''t hurt." The Skrks thus sauntered over to the familiar face.

    "Lord Frost." Oscar greeted him with a friendly smile and a respectful stance. Frost was not only the owner of the camp but also a respected B-rank fighter.

    "Oh you''re¡­.Oscar from the Skrks right." Frost acted as though their meeting here was just a coincidence when in fact he''d been following their progress from the moment they entered the camp. Anyone who was C-rank deserved his attention given the amount of damage they could cause to his precious dungeon.

    He watched as they methodically made their way from the upper floors, killing only when necessary as well as their swift take down of the two frost drakes. Their strength was the real deal, so he informed the yuki-onnas, ice trolls and revenants present on the lower floors to expect a challenge.

    The Skrks would see a dramatic difference in difficulty once they passed the ''floor of peace'' but right now Frost had a different agenda.

    "I''m honoured you remembered us."

    "Of course you''re a hopeful C-rank party with the ambition to reach B-rank, I''d be foolish to not keep an eye on you hahahaha." Oscar and the Skrks blushed slightly as their hearts swelled with pride.

    "Are you here on a delve Lord Frost?" Asked Philippa.

    "Not this time unfortunately." Frost instantly shot down their hopes at possibly travelling with him as they delve. "Actually I''m here with a few of my subordinates to map out and n for an internal camp here on the fabled ''floor of peace.''"

    "Eh! You want to build a camp inside the dungeon." The idea wasn''t unheard of, but it only happened within those massive monsterirs that had tens of floors and were managed by heavy duty groups such asrge kingdoms and empires. The amount of manpower, money and technical difficulty required to maintain and establish an internal camp was immense.

    The Dungeon of Niflheim was only recently established and only had ten floors so an internal camp at this venture seemed unnecessary.

    "I know what you''re thinking, and I agree with you, but this Dungeon isn''t like the regr monsterirs you''re used to. This ce will continue to develop at an abnormal rate and I''m confident that within the next few years it''ll rival some of therger monsterirs that can be found across the Yangmir continent.

    I''m merely nning ahead for that eventuality besides with an entire floor designated as a safety area I''d be foolish not to take advantage of such a boon." Frost exined his long thought out n to the Skrks, slowly bringing them around to his thinking.

    Under normal circumstances such an idea wouldn''t be worth the effort but with thebined situation of abnormally fast development and an entire floor being designated a safety area the idea became far more feasible.

    "Right now I''m just visualising the thing, actual creation won''t happen for quite a while. There''s still the official external camp to finish after all."

    "It''s a bold idea Lord Frost and from your exnation a fruitful one. I can see this whole space bing a functioning metropolis in the future. I wish you luck."

    "Thanks Oscar, good hunting to you and your teammates. Be careful however, the lower floors are a whole other ball gamepared to the upper five." Frost gave them a stern warning as they left, it''d be a shame for this group so soon.

    "Alright the seed has been nted time to start developing hehehehe." The moment the Skrks left the area Frost smiled like a money addict andughed evilly before teleporting to the private space. The dungeon had been very, very lucrative over the past several weeks. His passive ie continued to increase every day, he was getting closer and closer to a daily ie of 10,000DP.

    The many, many deaths and injuries only added to his fortunes. So many arrogant and foolish groups such as the muscr axemen met their ends within the hallowed halls of the dungeon. Yet the visitors continued to amass, the promise of wealth and adventure was just too alluring.

    The fact that parties could randomly stumble upon vast windfalls of treasure such as the Icy Talons was enough to drive the ambitious adventurers wild let alone the promise of easy ess to a plethora of different monsters.

    Another note some of the more experienced adventurers noticed was the fact that the monsters present in the dungeon were stronger and smarter than those found in monsterirs, upping the challenge but also the reward.

    It soon became known that the dungeon of Niflheim was not only a wealth gold mine but also the perfect training ground for those wishing to improve their skills and really challenge themselves.

 Chapter 563: Chapter 563: Code black

    As time passed the external camp continued to develop, quickly filling up therge empty spaces within the 25km2yout. The braver merchants who took a chance on Frost''s new territory in the earlier stages had set up their stores in the prime locations. Easy ess to customers, ample territory and fair and reasonable rates and taxes.

    These rare few made real bank in the initial stages, far more than they expected. Word of mouth of course spread thus weing a 2nd and 3rd wave of merchants hounding at Frost''s door for a piece of the pie. Of course their deals weren''t quite as generous given that they wereter to the game, but the profit margins were still immense. The Dungeon was just too prosperous.

    The variety of monsters, their numbers as well as the treasures and materials found within drew so many adventurers that merchants could no longer afford to neglect such a venture regardless of the percentages Frost would umte just from being thendowner.

    Frost''s coffers were practically overflowing, so much so that he struggled to keep a straight face most the time in private. He was rich, super rich¡­.well at least for a short time. To make money or rather to keep making money he needed to spend it.

    He only got to relish in the pile of bronze and silver for a short while before parting with them in exchange for more fixed assets. More and more buildings were erected to amodate the swiftly increasing poption.

    Goods were bought from Furano as well as Kranor to improve the market situation and dozens of staff were hired to man the shops, offices and other infrastructure under the purview of Frost and the dungeon. It was aplete waste of their abilities to rely on the ronsos to be secretaries and receptionists after all.

    Frost was consistently swamped with work until he learned to delegate more tasks to the new hires as well as his own monster subordinates. Running a new territory especially a rapidly flourishing one like his couldn''t be maintained by him alone, the workload was just too much. Thankfully he had friends such as Calder, Ryuu, Bastion and the Furanos to help him out in this regard.

    They pulled some strings and supplied him with some experienced management staff, a gift he was most grateful for.

    Borris also finally arrived in the third month since the camp officially opened. With his workshop and family legacy fully passed down to his most capable son and daughter -the ones who aided him in forging Frost''s 4 star ive [the wolf howling at the moon].

    He was now a free man in his retirement, no strings binding him and restraining his artistry, he was free to do whatever he wanted and right now that was forging. He wanted to reignite the fires of passion he had as a youth. He may be old, but he certainly wasn''t dead nor was his craft.

    Frost promised him ess to arge range of materials to do with however he wished, all he needed to do in return was exchange ideas with Daki and teach a few prospective smiths some basic skills, nothing in rtion to his trade secrets.

    After that Frost would help him enter the inner regions of the cial mountains so he could experience their diverse forging styles and improve his personal craft.

    "It''s good to see you again Borris, how''s things?" Frost asked with a bright smile from behind his luxurious office desk.

    "You tood, I''ve been good but handing over full control was a lot harder than I first thought. Turns out I''m more of a control freak that I''d cared to admit." Borris let out a hollowugh. "However my son Borin and daughter Alda will make fine sessors.

    I can rest easy knowing that the two of them will work together to continue our family''s legacy." A clear weight was lifted from his old shoulders and a prideful smile grew on his lips whenever he thought of his family''s future.

    "With all that taken care of I can finally relish in my retirement and personal freedom¡­..so which way to the forged?"

    "Hahahaha I should have expected as much, Leo was right you truly live and breathe fire and metal. You''ve been here all of what five minutes and already you want to work." Frostughed before standing up. "Good thing I expected such a response,e with me I''ll show you to the upper workshop." Frost had discussed multiple possibilities with Daki and Maya about Borris.

    How much should they tell him and how much should they allow him to see of the dungeon were the main points of the debate. Unlike Daki he wasn''t nning on spending his life with Borris so he couldn''t be treated with such familiarity, but he didn''t n on treating him like the other merchant and tradesman that flocked to the camp.

    He needed to first ascertain how trustworthy the old dwarf was and how well he could keep secrets.

    "Upper?" Borris queried as Frost led him towards a heavily guarded area within the camp.

    The upper workshop was a sealed off area within the camp where his ice dwarves and asionally Daki produced items for the camp as well as the dungeon. It also served as a cloak for when Frost bought war machines from the dungeon menu to ce on the walls.

    No inhabitants were allowed ess to this area regardless of their status, only Frost and the ronsos were allowed anywhere near this ce¡­until now.

    "Yes the upper workshop, I have others but whether you can ess them will be determined by how much I can trust you with territorial secrets." Frost smiled yfully before continuing. "However regardless of which workshop you''ll be working in I''ll still provide you with a plethora of materials for you to y with.

    Just tell me what you need, and I''ll see if I can get my hands on the stuff." The dungeon menu didn''t just offer mines and quarries he could purchase individual units of any material he currently had ess to -which was still unfortunately below the 4 star grade.

    "I see." Borris couldn''t help but grow interested in the other workshops as well as the so called secrets Frost held. The young man was just too mysterious.

    After a short walk the two came across a highly guarded area that was surrounded by multiple ronso guards armed to the teeth. Though many were tempted to sneak in and discover whaty behind the curtain doing so was simply not worth the effort. Who in their right mind would try to bypass the closeknit guard of nearly a dozen C-rank monsters in a simple camp.

    "I''m sure you can understand some of the reasons as to why I''ve sealed off this area from the public." After having their identities verified and being granted ess to enclosed workshop Borris was greeted by an impressive sight.

    "Ice dwarves, you''re employing monsters and fashioning the camp''s defences within this so called ''upper workshop''."

    "Correct. This ce serves as our military factory as well as workstation for my ice dwarves that may or may not be so easily epted by our current clientele, we are after all closer to the Northrend empire than one of the kingdoms in the cial mountains." The stigmatism surrounding intelligent monsters was hard to ovee especially in the early stages.

    The Ronsos were one thing but if ice dwarves, trolls, yuki-onnas and revenants started popting the camp then people would struggle to ascertain where the dungeon begins. In future however he envisioned a far less restrictive divide between races at least within his territory.

    "Are these the guys you want me to teach the basics of cksmithing to?"

    "Yes.

    Currently they''re only capable of forging simple items with low grade materials but I believe as long as they receive sufficient mentoring they''ll be no less capable that their sapient counterparts¡­.do you have any issues with this arrangement?" If Borris was one of those people who twisted up at the thought of working with monsters then this rtionship would be off to a rocky start, but Frost believed Borris wasn''t that kind of man.

    "Hmph do I look like some naive brat that doesn''t know how the world works, monster, sapient or demon I don''t give a rat''s ass as long as they''re willing to learn and have passion for smithing I''ll teach anyone regardless of their origin." Borris scoffed at Frost''s worries. If he had an issue with monsters then he wouldn''t be willing to head deep into the cial mountains.

    "That''s good to hear as they''ve all been looking forward to your arrival." Some of the ice dwarves couldn''t help but look at Borris with fascination and awe once Frost introduced him. Their master promised to bring in a 4 star dwarven smith to teach them how to properly forge and now he was here, their tion could easily be imagined.

    "This workshop can be temporarily considered as your domain Borris. If you wish to change theyout or alter its design and or appliances you''re free to do so. Just tell me or have one of your new students inform of what you need, and I''ll do my best to supply it to you."

    "Sounds goodd, there is a couple changes it''d like to make but nothing too drastic. The person who designed this workshop certainly knows what they''re doing." Borris praised the designer as he examined the facilities and some of the rough work left out.

    "Oh I''m sure she''ll be over the moon to receive your praise. I''ll ask her toe over and visit next time she gets an opportunity." The ice dwarves weren''t the only ones eagerly anticipating Borris'' arrival.

    "Can''t wait to meet your cksmith girlfriend, I wonder what kind of tastes you have in women kid." The sudden thought of marrying off one of his grandkids to Frost came to the forefront of his mind.

    "Hahahaha I''m sure you''ll be pleasantly blown away." Frostughed and waved goodbye to Borris and his eager new students. Another milestone done and dusted; the territory was truly starting toe together.

    "Master we''ve got a code ck." Suddenly as he exited the workshop Frost received a warning message from Khuno.

    "Code ck huh."

 Chapter 566: Chapter 566: Challenged

    "Ring, ring, ring, ring." Several days after the event with the bandits Frost was suddenly awoken from his blissful sleep by a torrent of annoying ringing.

    "Who''s calling me so early in the morning?" He groggily sat up in bed, gently moving the two arms that were wrapped around his waist to the side. One being green and muscr while the other being white and dainty -albeit containing far more strength than the former.

    The three engaged in quite the battlest night, the first time the two of them decided to work as a team rather than individuals. Of course he came out on top once again, even with theirbined might they weren''t able topletely satisfy his hunger, perhaps another was needed or maybe two.

    Nevertheless he certainly enjoyed thebined experience and would make sure to engage in simr battles in the future.

    Anyway back to the matter at hand. It wasn''t themunication crystal that was ringing but the dungeon menu, meaning that it was either his father or one of his many siblings.

    "Yo! Little brother how''s it hanging." The loud voice of Indra bellowed through the screen followed by the image of him rxing back against his sofa. His style was certainly different from his own, a lot more wood and cobalt colouring in the background.

    "What do you want Indra?" Frost questioned in an irritated tone, annoyed at being awoken from his blissful sleep.

    "Oh¡­seems I interrupted you little brother hehehehe don''t worry I can call back in a little while if you''d prefer." A mischievous look adorned Indra''s face as he peered through the screen to see the exposed skin of Daki and Maya.

    "Hmph!" Frost didn''t take kindly to his brother''s perverted looks and instantly turned off the visual aspect of the call. Only he was allowed to see his girlfriend''s naked body. He quickly donned his robes, entered the living room and sat on the sofa before reopening the visuals.

    "Tch stingy, some people would call depriving others the chance to witness art a crime." Indra teased.

    "Is that so, do you happen to agree Izuna?" Frost asked with a friendly smile, his words immediately causing Indra to sweat bullets and turn around in desperation only to see no one there.

    "That was low."

    "So is trying to take a peek at my girlfriend." The two brothers stared at one another for a good few seconds beforeughing.

    "So what''d you call me for so early in the morning?"

    "I can''t just want to chat with my favourite little brother."

    "You sound like Aqua."

    "¡­I think I''ll take that as apliment, knowing her she''d somehow know if I badmouthed her."

    "True she does seem to be able to read my thoughts whenever we talk." Aqua called every few days to chat with him, constantly begging him toe and visit her in the northern oceans or at least allow her to visit him. In fact ever since the family gathering and therge update to the dungeon menu system, his contact with his family continued to grow.

    Indra and Aqua were not the only ones he grew close with albeit being the most distinct. Indra especially was quickly bing his best friend.

    "Alright stop looking at me like that I''ll tell you." Frost gave his brother the stink eye until he verbally exined the real reason for his call. "I just finished my first war. One of our much younger sisters Ch who specialises in avian monsters challenged me for some reason and as you probably guessed I''m pretty much destroyed her. She was a terrible match up element wise and position wise."

    "Congrattions, I guess." Indra didn''t seem too happy about the result.

    "You''d think that wouldn''t you but no instead of relishing in a hard won victory like your match against Gobuske I had to console our crying sister after she barelysted an hour against my forces¡­.I''m not good with crying women Frost." Indra wore an exhausted and almost traumatised expression as he relived that moment.

    The poor girl wanted to test herself against one of the best dungeon cores around because in her mind she was worthy of an upper position, she even willingly gave herself a handicap by picking someone who had an advantage in their element. The result was harsh and heartbreaking for poor Ch who instantly burst into tears the moment her loss was announced.

    Indra was thus inundated with res from her guardian, Izuna and even their father hell even some his own monsters looked at him as if he was some kind of bully. The joy he was supposed to relish in was thus nothing but misery. Eventually Ch stopped crying but the whole idea of testing his skills against another sibling was ruined, he became despondent.

    "So that''s why you haven''t called in a while." Frost now knew why it''d been over a week since theyst talked. "So what changed, why are you calling now?"

    "I need something to improve my mood, training with Izuna has helped but it''s not enough. I need something to really get my blood pumping." Indra eyes shed as he stared directly at Frost.

    "If you want to have a war with me you can forget about it. I''ve already cleared my quota and have no time for arge scale war right now. My territory has just gotten popr, a sudden shift in the dungeon could ruin it''s worth." Though he''d like to have another war at some point due to the enjoyable experience and bountiful rewards on offer now was not the time.

    "I know, I know you''ve told me multiple times about your growing territory and to be honest I''m slightly in the same boat plus my monsters just went through a war they don''t exactly want to go through another quite so soon." Though he had reced the majority of his lost forces since the war with Ch they weren''t up to code level wise.

    "What then?"

    "Hehehehe I asked Father for a new type of dungeon core challenge which he agreed to after several requests."

    "You badgered him into it then."

    "Pretty much, but I''m sure my disappointment with the war against Ch certainly helped." Indra didn''t deny his persistent pestering. "Anyway the old man created a new challenge for us which allows dungeon cores to duel on an individual basis, no monsters just us and our skills. Interested?"

    Frost leaned back against the sofa, cupping his chin as he thought about Indra''s suggestion. To be honest the idea of duelling his siblings in singlebat was quite interesting, especially against Indra who was said to be roughly on par with him training wise. Both had entered B-rank through their weapon mastery, and both were skilled in their use of chakra and magic.

    Ice and lighting could pose for a very good match up given that neither held clear dominion over the other. For example if Frost was challenged by someone like Pyro for instance though he''d love to sock that arrogant elder brother of his in his smug face he''d immediately refuse.

    Fire held too much advantage over ice especially in the early stages of development, he''d be nothing more than a punching bag in such a match up.

    "Why haven''t I heard anything about this from father?"

    "Because he just designed it and wants us to be the exhibition match."

    "By exhibition do you mean all our siblings will be watching?" If that was the case then he''d have to refuse, he didn''t want his potential rivals to see how he fought.

    "No, no it''ll bepletely private bar the result. I think the old man''s set up some kind of bet between our siblings to see who wins." He did the same thing during the first dungeon war exhibition match.

    "Alright as long as it''s a private duel with only the results being broadcasted I''m game. Has he set any specific rules?"

    "The only thing he asks is that we don''t kill one another, anything else is fine. Our guardians are to be stationed in the duelling space with us to make sure nothing goes wrong so all we need to do is focus on fighting to our hearts content." Indra looked really revved up for the duel.

    His passionate words and bright expression couldn''t help but move Frost, he felt himself getting more and more fired up.

    "When will we do this thing?" It was a bit early for a duel and he didn''t want to be the one to abruptly wake up Maya from her dreams after what he put her throughst night.

    "How about tonight, around 6pm. The old man said we''ll be sent a notification through the dungeon menu and that by clicking ept we''ll be teleported to the duelling space with all our equipped gear."

    "Alright 6 sounds good, I''ll leave one of the kids in charge of monitoring the dungeon and inform Finy and Khuno about it. They should be able to handle anything during my absence." Since both he and Maya would be indisposed he''d have to delegate some tasks.

    "That''s great see you then little brother and may the best lightning master win ciao." Indra ended the call with a cheeky grin and a wave causing Frost to light-heartedlyugh.

    "You''re so going down Indra."

 Chapter 567: Chapter 567: Duel with Indra

    Nanna and Loki awoke a couple hourster to find the living room empty, an unusual sight. Normally at least one of the adults were there to greet them when they woke up.

    "Maybe they''re still sleeping." Loki guessed while rubbing his eyes, he was quite tempted to go back to bed himself.

    "Perhaps. I''ll check the dungeon so why don''t you knock on master''s door."

    "Ok." The young phoenix kin dragged his tired body towards Frost''s door and knocked but didn''t receive any response, so he returned to his sister''s side. They''d been thoroughly educated not to intrude into Frost''s room ever since he began his rtionship in earnest with Maya and Daki. Frost didn''t want to traumatise the kids with something they weren''t ready to see.

    The most Loki was allowed to do was knock on the door and ask for a response.

    "No response, are they in the dungeon?"

    "Not exactly, I don''t know where Maya and Daki are but ording to Khuno, master''s apparently in the training space with Finy." Nanna informed her little brother of what she knew before the two of them teleported into the training space. It was unusual for Frost to train so early in the morning.

    The moment their bodies materialised they were assaulted with a sudden pressure that forced them to the ground. In the distance two forms were shing against one another with reckless abandonment, every contact between their weapons shaking the very air around them. Remnants of ice magic littered the battlefield along with no small amount of sweat and blood.

    "Master stop!" Suddenly before the two shed for the umpteenth time Finy halted his attack and yelled.

    "Huh why?" Frost was forcibly dragged out his revelry, something he didn''t appreciate. He and Finy were really pushing their limits and he was finally really getting into the swing of things. He could feel his reaction times and predications of Finy''s movements bing smoother.

    "Lady Nanna and young master Loki have entered the training space." Finy quickly retrieved his aura and extinguished his bloodlust as he gestured towards the small figures of Nanna and Loki in the distance.

    "Damn!" Frost also retrieved his aura the moment he caught sight of the two phoenix kin sprawled out on the floor. The pressure emitted by two B-rank fighters was too much for them to withstand at their current level.

    "Are you alright?" Frost asked gently, worried that he may have hurt them in some way.

    "We''re fine just a little winded." Nanna rose up first and aided her younger brother to his feet before bowing apologetically to Frost.

    "Sorry we didn''t mean to intrude."

    "No need for that, I''m just d you''re both alright." Frost rustled their hair in an affectionate manner. "What brought you down, it''s a little early for your scheduled training no?"

    "Ah no one was in the living room when we woke up and there wasn''t an answer from your bedroom so¡­."Loki bashfully admitted.

    "I see, sorry about that." Frost smiled gently knowing that the kids were quite prone to loneliness. "To make up for our absence how about I help you with breakfast." Nanna and Loki''s eyes lit up at his offer.

    "Un" The two nodded their heads with goofy smiles stered on their lips.

    "Finy would you like to join us?"

    "I certainly would master." The massive ice troll lord was practically beaming as the group teleported to the private space.

    "Aright Nanna, Loki purchase some eggs, bread, potatoes and beef sausages from the dungeon menu for cooking."

    "Yes sir." Nanna and Loki both saluted before finding their kitchen apparel.

    "Finy help them with preparing the ingredients and readying the appliances while I go and check on the sleeping beauties."

    "Understood master."

    "Here Finy you can wear this apron, it might be a bit snug, but you can''t cook without it." Nanna handed Finy one of therger spare aprons which the ice troll lord tentatively put on.

    Frost thus walked towards his bedroom with a mixture of guilt and irritation in his heart. He didn''t know if the reason why the two of the were still in bed was due to his actionsst night or if they were just beingzy¡­.it was probably the former for Daki and thetter for Maya.

    He quietly opened the bedroom door and closed it behind him before witnessing a glorious sight.

    "Well ain''t that a pretty picture." Both Daki and Maya were entwined around one another as they slept, using one another as body pillows. Their rtionship had certainly blossomed over the past several months, but this was just magical. And to be honest he didn''t want to ruin it, but it was time for them to wake up.

    Daki had her own work to do while Maya needed to prepare for tonight''s duel with Indra as well as teach the kids.

    Suddenly as he was about to creep onto the bed and gently wake them in an intimate way he remembered a nifty feature of the dungeon menu which he had been neglecting, the camera.

    With a perverted grin he brought up the dungeon menu screen and activated the camera feature and with multiple clicks he preserved this beautiful scene into the memory banks where he could enjoy it for years toe.

    ''Perhaps I should start a sexy album just for me. I''m sure Daki would be onboard for that hehehehe.'' Images of Daki and Maya in different sexy lingerie filled his mind, distracting him of his initial mission for a few seconds. But with a quick shake of the head he was able to get back on task.

    He gracefully crawled onto the bed and hovered over the two of them before gently cing his left hand on Maya''s soft thigh while his right took hold of Daki''s magnificent rear. He lightly squeezed eliciting a subconscious squirm from the two of them before moving upwards, sensually caressing their lust inducing figures before nting a kiss on their lips one after another.

    "My beautiful queens it''s time to wake up." He whispered into their ears, gently rousing them from their rest while his hands kneaded their most sensitive spots.

    "Unn five more minutes." Maya groaned inint while leaning into his touch whereas Daki returned his kiss passionately and wrapped her legs around his waist, seems she was more than on board for another session.

    "Sorry Maya but you need to get up now, we''re making breakfast together and then there''s something I need to tell you." He reluctantly pulled away from Daki''s lips to deny Maya her extension.

    "And Daki we''ll have to get intimate some other time sorry."

    "My, my Frost denying sex this is a first hehehehe." Daki giggled cutely before stretching her body, highlighting her dynamic curves.

    "Perhaps we really did manage to drain himst night after all." Maya begrudgingly woke as well,pletely at ease with her and Daki being naked in the same bed.

    "Haaaaa you wish I barely managed to get started before the two of you passed out from exhaustion. You''re going to need to be at least three times more enduring or triple your numbers if you want to fell me hahahahaha." Frost proudly dered while arching his chest making the two girls sigh at the insatiable hunger of their boyfriend. It seems that two women really wasn''t enough for Frost.

    At this rate they''ll be gaining a fair number of sisters.

    Frost watched with fascination as his girlfriends donned their clothes, enjoying their beauty before having a pillow thrown at his face.

    "Get out and start making breakfast, we''ll be out in a few minutes." The two women chucked him out the door before attending to their makeup and attire.

    "How''s Maya and Daki?" Nanna asked as he walked into the kitchen and donned his apron.

    "They''re fine just slept in. They''ll be out in a few minutes." Both Nanna and Loki let out sighs of relief before focusing back on preparing breakfast. With Frost and Finy both supervising, the two of them were allowed to use the kitchen''s appliances which brought Nanna especially great joy.

    Cooking was her hobby, she loved everything about it and getting to do it with Frost was practically icing on the cake.

    With cooking equipment that came with the private space Frost and the kids prepared avish cooked breakfast. A mixture of fried and scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, beef sausages, toast and butter as well as plum tomatoes an addition chosen by Nanna which turned out really well.

    All the ingredients were either normal or 1 star quality meaning there wasn''t anything special about them but that didn''t stop them from tasting fantastic.

    "Oh that smells divine." Daki took in a big whiff of the air as she exited Frost''s room in her clean smithing attire. Her stomach rumbled shortly after as if agreeing with her words.

    "Our little Nanna''s going to be a top rank chef at this rate." Maya parrotedpliments as she sauntered over in a red qipao behind Daki.

    Nanna blushed as she added the finishing touches to the meal. She loved getting praised for her cooking.

    A couple minutester the six of them sat at the table and ate the hearty breakfast with smiling faces. Good food and family time was a great way to start the day.

    "So what''s this important thing you need to tell me." Maya demanded to know with her eyes threatening to rip Frost a new one if she didn''t deem it worthy enough to interrupt her beauty sleep.

    "We need to train."

    "Huh that''s it! We can train anytime, hell you can even do it by yourself. Why''d you wake me up then?" Maya mmed her fist against the table in frustration.

    "Because I''m duelling Indra one on one tonight at 6pm and you''reing to make sure nothing goes wrong. Father''s orders."

    "...Ehhhhhhh!"

 Chapter 568: Chapter 568: Duel with Indra (2)

    To be honest Maya was not expecting the reason for her ''forced'' wake-up call to be a duel with Indra, but it certainly qualified as a good one.

    Indra was ranked roughly on par with Frost during thest family gathering and had been making quite a name for himself as an adventurer in the western reaches of the Yangmir continent i.e. the storm mountains. Unlike Frost who had to defend himself from waves and waves of berserk monsters during the stampede, Indra gradually increased his guild rank through a plethora of quests.

    The young lightning based dungeon core was one of the hottest neers within the storm mountains and was just a couple quests away from bing an official B-rank adventurer. He was worthy to be called Frost''s rival.

    After Frost gave her the details regarding the challenge Maya practically dragged his ass back to training space, leaving the kids in Daki''s capable hands.

    "You wanted to train then we''re going to train. There''s no way in hell you''re going to lose to Indra, Izuna would never let me hear the end of it." While Frost and Indra had a rather friendly rivalry- at least at the moment- the one between their guardians was far more vicious. A long standing enmity between the two made them almost unbearablypetitive at times.

    Maya would see Frost''s victory or loss as a personal reflection on her teaching ability, as would Izuna thus she would do everything within her power to make sure Frost won this duel of his.

    Frost hadn''t seen Maya pumped up with so much fighting spirit since the day he brought Daki back to the dungeon. His body instinctively trembled both out of fear and excitement.

    "Use all your tricks cause I''ming at you hard and I''m not going to stop." Maya summoned two massive hammers, farrger than her dainty frame, each easily weighing a tonne, yet she wielded them as if they were as light as feathers. She was serious.

    Frost audibly gulped as goosebumps formed across his arms before covering himself in sturdy tes of ice chakra and readied his 4 star ive. A silver coloured me danced around the de edge amplifying its lethal capabilities. To finish he coated his body and ive in his royal aura, growing his presence and adding further protection. He was going all out.

    "Hmph it''ll have to do, try not to die my dear Frost." Maya smiled in an evil manner as she transitioned to demon instructor mode. A fraction of secondter her lithe form vanished along with her hammers.

    Boooooommmm!!!

    Before he could even catch her shadow Frost was smashed into the air,rge chunks of his chakra armour fragmenting apart as his aura dispersed into the air.

    "Focus!" He managed to hear another order from behind before once again being smashed by her hammers. This was going to be some training experience.

    Several hourster Frost exited the training space behind Maya, his gaze looking rather hollow and listless while Maya''s looked anxious as though thinking that she may have gone too easy on him. She really didn''t want him to lose this duel.

    "Rest up for a couple hours, I''ll prepare you a special meal before we''re set to head off."

    "Yes ma''am." Frost dragged himself towards his bed and copsed onto without even removing his robes. A pained whisper escaped his lips before he slipped into unconsciousness.

    Daki who was present in the room at the time looked at Frost full of worry.

    "Don''t you think you went a bit too far, normally after your training sessions he leaves in pain but with a smile on his face. This time however it''s like you broke his spirit."

    "He''s fine, I just let him know some of the true depths of power this time around. He''ll bounce back, it''s not in his nature to cower before a wall." Maya was confident that Frost would be back to his normal self after a good rest and meal.

    She did feel a little guilty about beating him ck and blue, basically mocking his B-rank status but it was necessary. Indra wasn''t a normal opponent, he was sure to have just as many tricks up his sleeves as Frost, perhaps even more. The lightning element was not only quick but rivalled the destruction of the fire element.

    Though she was loathe to admit it, whenever she and Izuna shed in battle she was usually on the losing side more often than not. That damn ''failure'' of a celestial fox was no slouch when it came tobat strength after all.

    "I hope so, seeing him like that just felt wrong." Frost was always confident in himself whenever she was with him.

    "Where are the kids?"

    "They''re helping out at the Sleeping Fenrir" The Sleeping Fenrir was thergest and most popr inn run by Frost and his monsters in the Niflheim base camp. Nanna and Loki were too young and weak to help in the dungeon as fighters but there was nothing stopping them from putting their education to work as receptionists in the inns. Their adorable appearances also helped draw in wealthy visitors.

    Maya was happy with such an arrangement as long as the security around the inn was doubled whenever they worked, that way she knew they''d be safe from those with less than savoury intentions.

    "Good. I know they enjoy helping out whenever they can." Maya smiled and nodded her head, pleased with Daki''s handling of the kids in her absence.

    "Care to help me prepare his pregame meal?"

    "I''m not that skilled when ites to cooking." Daki embarrassingly admitted. She could prepare simple things, enough for a person to enjoy a little variety but that was it. Even Nanna could be considered a better chef than her.

    "That''s fine, I can take the lead role while you can be my assistant like Nanna." Maya tried to convince Daki, but she really wasn''t sold on the idea.

    "Food always tastes better when filled love Daki." That final cheesy statement won her over, she''d do pretty much anything for Frost.

    Frost woke up a couple hourster feeling light as rain. The aches in his body and strain on his organs had dissipated. He squirmed and wriggled on the bed relishing in thefort of the mattress as well as the lingering scent left by his darling girlfriends. Maya''s scent in particr sparked a strong reaction within him.

    Memories of the brutal beating he received resurfaced to the front of his mind conjuring feelings of being helpless and powerless against an unbeatable foe. Every time he felt that he closed the gap between them Maya would show him just how foolish that notion was. There was still an unsurmountable chasm between them.

    "Haaaaaa well just gotta keep improving then." He wallowed in misery for only brief period before getting fired up again. The fact that she used even more power meant that he was better than when they first started. Slowly but surely he''d surpass her, nothing would stop him being strong enough to be the one doing the protecting rather than being the protected.

    "Oh something smells good." The breakfast they had in the morning was great, but this was different, clearly high ranking ingredients were being used.

    "Take a seat we''ll be finished a in a few minutes." Maya briefly turned her head and smiled at him before focusing back on the food, humming a pleasant tune as she stirred. Frost did as requested and sat down at the table. He leaned his hands against his chin and admired the backs of Maya and Daki as they cooked, finding the moment heartwarming, this was life.

    "So what have you girls decided to cook?" The smell was absolutely divine, and his patience was wearing thin.

    "Don''t ask me I just followed her instructions." Daki waved her hands in dismissal.

    "It''s a dish eaten by mighty diators before important matches, a famous dish in the core and inner regions of the cial mountains known as Ymir''s stew of might. With it you''ll be able to summon incredible strength far beyond what you were previously capable of." Maya added what looked like an azure chilli causing the stew to bubble and writhe as it sank beneath the surface.

    "I hope you like it spicy." She nefariously warned while stirring in the azure coloured chillimonly known as ''blue rage''.

    "Gulp I will admit that sounds tantalising, but wouldn''t it be cheating?" The stirring stopped as Maya slowly rotated her neck.

    "You think that stupid fox won''t try the same thing. I bet she''s feeding Indra her damn grandmother''s secret recipe. Only Ymir''s stew of might can possiblypete with what she has ess too." She quickly returned to stirring the stew. There was no doubt in her mind that Izuna would try to buff up Indra just as much as she buffed up Frost. Their pride was on the line after all.

    "Alright but I''m warning Indra beforehand. I don''t want to win with an unfair advantage." Unlike Maya he didn''t have some sort of long standing and deep seated rivalry with Indra in which they''d stoop to any level to get ahead. The only reason he didn''t confront Maya about her actions was because deep down he knew that beneath their rivalry she and Izuna were actually very close.

    As long as they weren''tpeting or felt the need to insult one another they behaved rather cordially.

    "Suit yourself." Maya didn''t argue, Frost was free to warn Indra if he wanted.

    After a few minutes of agonising waiting Frost was served a steaming bowl full of Ymir''s stew of might.

    Frost stared down into the bowl his mouth salivating from the scent alone.

    "Before I eat do I want to know how much DP it cost to purchase the ingredients?"

    "No you do not." Maya bluntly answered causing him to wince slightly.

    "Well I better savour every bite then." Choosing to ignore the price of the dish that was sure to ruin his appetite he picked up the nearby spoon and retrieved a generous mouthful.

    "MNNNNNN!" The moment the stew touched his tongue he was assaulted by an intense meaty vour followed by a red hot heat that threatened to sear his tastebuds.

    "H¡­H¡­Hot, hot."

    "Don''t be a wuss you gotta finish it in one go if you want to get the most benefits. Daki help me out."

    "Ehh!"

    "Come on we need to make sure he eats every bite."

    "Stop it''s too spicy!"

    "No excuses bottoms up." Maya forcibly restrained him and pried open his jaw while Daki funnelled spoonful after spoonful into his waiting maw.

    The two women actually felt some sort of sadistic pleasure from their actions. Seeing Frost tearing up and begging them to stop reminded them of their own trials. How many times did they ask him to stop or at least slow down during their intimate activities. Did he ever listen¡­ no he did not.

 Chapter 569: Chapter 569: Duel with Indra (3)

    It was quite the sight for Nanna and Loki to see upon their return to the private space. Their master who they loved and adored was being physically restrained by Maya and Daki while they force fed him some sort of blue coloured stew that smelled absolutely divine. However his tears and the bright red tint strewn across his face obviously meant that this wasn''t some sort of romantic situation.

    "Uhm?" Nanna being the older of the two spoke up.

    "Mmhmmnnnn." Frost tried to garble a request for help but was quickly silenced by another spoonful from Daki.

    "Be quiet and finish your meal." Maya ordered as she repositioned herself to better restrain him. If he wasn''t being force fed such an evil concoction he would have probably relished in having her and Daki wrapped around him but that was not the case.

    "Rx Nanna he''s just being made to eat something spicy that''s all." Maya attempted to lighten the situation with a friendly expression, but her sadistic side was in full swing, and Daki wasn''t any better. It was clear to the siblings that their master was on the receiving end of their antics but then again he probably deserved it to some degree.

    Plus as far as Nanna could tell Frost wasn''t in any real danger or pain, the meal was simply a bit spicier than his liking. Therefore using all of her learned knowledge she wisely took hold of her brother''s hand and bowed.

    "Sorry for disturbing you." After saying that the two of them teleported outside of the private space, allowing Maya and Daki to finish what they started.

    "Mmnhmhmmmm!" Frost garbled some more words in desperation, his heart aching from being betrayed by them.

    "Come on now just a few more bites and you''ll be finished hehehehehe." The two womenughed evilly as they force fed Frost thest of the powerful stew,pletely ignoring the death res he was giving them. If he was to let something like this go unavenged he wouldn''t be Frost.

    ''Just you wait, I''ll have the two of begging me for mercy in theing days.''

    The kids returned 10 minutester after being called back. This time Frost was no longer restrained by Maya and Daki nor was he tearing up, instead the three sat on opposite sides of the living room with one side feeling proud of what they aplished while the other plotted his revenge.

    The moment Nanna and Loki materialised in the private space they were met with a frightening grimace to which they instantly shivered and moved to apologise for their earlier actions. Abandoning their master in his time of need and wilfully ignoring a plea for aid was unbing of a ve regardless of whether or not they were treated as such.

    Thankfully due to Frost not really holding any true animosity towards them and being unable give a coherent voicemand their cors didn''t act up, but they still felt rather guilty.

    "Oi! Stop looking at them like that it''s not as though they could have helped you." Maya quickly rose up in their defence, sessfully drawing Frost''s ire back to her. The two faced off against each in silence for a few seconds before he gave up.

    "I suppose you''re right the two of ''THEM'' are innocent." He emphasized the difference in parties. Maya and Daki were certainly not going to be let off.

    "It worked didn''t it." Maya retortedpletely showing no remorse for her antics.

    To this Frost struggled to argue. Though his tongue was still stinging his body was brimming with power. He felt as though he could challenge a giant to an arm wrestle and win. Ymir''s stew of might was certainly impressive, the most beneficial meal he''d ever had by a longshot¡­if only it wasn''t so damn spicy.

    "Hmph!" He loudly hmphed, unable to get over his earlier treatment. Surely there was some other way to go about boosting his attributes. His behaviour only seemed to fuel the girls'' smug giggles.

    ''We''ll see who has thestugh.'' Frost clenched his fists and internally promised before refocusing on the matter at hand. 6pm was just a short 15 minutes away, enough time for him to mentally prepare himself, double check his gear and digest the majority of his meal.

    "Armour check, ives check, soon to be begging for mercy guardian check." A minute before they were set to leave Frost sent another re Maya''s way to which she proudly arched out her chest as if taunting him.

    "Alright everything''s ready, Nanna you''re in charge of monitoring the dungeon while Loki you''re in charge of the camp. Finy and Khuno will be avable to take care of any problems that crop up while we''re away so don''t be afraid to use them. Daki please supervise the kids and help them out if they need you."

    "Of course."

    ""Understood master"" The kids and Daki all took his orders seriously.

    "Well then I guess we should head on over." Frost felt his heart pump with anticipation as the notification he was informed of earlier appeared on his screen. "Wish me luck."

    "Good luck Frost."

    "Kick his butt master."

    "Good hunting master." With his family''s support Frost clicked the ept button shown on the screen. Both he and Maya were then encapsted in a spatial warp and vanished from the private space.

    A couple secondster Frost and Maya appeared within the dimension that would serve as host for the duel. The entire room was roughly 3 to 5 timesrger than their training room and was awash with interesting architecture.

    Arge stone circle arena was ced in the centre of the space with one half being white and silver in colour and the other being cobalt, a homage to Frost and Indra. A small amount of scenery foliage surrounded the edges of the space to make it appear more natural and pleasant. It wasn''t his best work, but it was evident that their father put some effort into designing the arena.

    As well as therge arena itself and the rather beautiful background foliage three seating areas were in ce around the arena. Two were on opposing sides of the stone circle to serve as waiting areas for the guardian''s while thest was floating in the air in a grandiose fashion. Dark showed no restraint when it came to outfitting his own viewing tform.

    Golden pillows, high quality food and wine as well as self-fanning leaves adorned this masterpiece allowing the Dark God to enjoy maximumfort as he watched the proceedings.

    Indra appeared a moment after Frost with Izuna trailing behind him with a confident expression. Her and Maya''s eyes narrowed the moment theyid eyes on each other.

    "Rabbit fenrir."

    "Washboard fox." They greeted each other as per usual, generating invisible sparks which Frost and Indra wisely distanced themselves from whereas Dark who was already lounging against his many pillows chuckled with glee, finding thepetitiveness between guardians amusing.

    "Good to finally meet in the flesh again right, little brother." Indra smiled in a friendly manner as he stretched out his arm.

    "Yeah, contact through the dungeon menu just isn''t the same as being able to touch and interact in person." Frost grasped hold of his brother''s hand and pulled him into a hug, only realising in that moment how good it felt to make proper contact.

    "Hahahaha well I''m sure we''ll get the chance for more contact soon. You ready to be my punching bag Frost?" Once the hug broke Indra immediately taunted his brother. He could barely control his excitement, finally after that disaster of a war he was going to get the chance to really test his mettle.

    Sparks of lightning shed in his eyes and his aura that was no weaker than Frost''s started to leak out, pressing down on the air around them.

    Frost not being one to behave passively responded in a simr fashion. Wisps of cold fire formed around his body, lowering the surrounding temperature while his own aura shed against Indra''s, refusing to cower from the provocation. From the initial tests the two of them were roughly on par, neither gained any ground over the other despite their difference in makeup.

    Frost''s was heavier, denser and more defensive in nature while Indra''s aura was shaper, more destructive and better suited to relentless aggression.

    "Alright I think that''s enough showing off. Maya, Izuna I know the two of you go way back and have been rivals since young but as beings at the S-rank level and guardians you should set a better example for your charges."

    ""Apologies Dark God-sama" The fenrir and celestial fox both bowed with cold sweat dripping down their backs. How could they act so childishly before the Dark God. Of course internally they simply ced the fault on each other.

    Both Frost and Indra quietly sniggered at the two women who were busted for their actions. It wasn''t very often that they got to see their guardians being so submissive.

    "We''re here today because Indra demanded a chance for dungeon cores to interact with one another on an individual basis rather than through dungeon wars."

    "''Demanded'' is a bit harsh old man, I merely requested it." Indra immediately took offence with the word ''demanded''.

    "When you bitch, moan and send the same request but with different wording several times a day I think the word demanded suits just fine son." Dark red at his sixth child. He had a whole long term n set up so he wouldn''t need to do too much work, but Indra just had to keep bugging him.

    Indra held his tongue at this point causing the other three to snigger under their breath.

    "Anyway because of his DEMAND I''ve agreed to facilitate this type of challenge along with the regr war challenge after today''s test match with the rest of your siblings albeit with some conditions. First, there will be a DP cost to do so, something I''m waving this time.

    Second, wagering will not only be allowed but encouraged between those involved as well as those invited to either watch or bet on the duel. Third, duels can only be requested by a dungeon core once every 3 months and can be rejected without any penalty." Dark didn''t want to promote this kind of duel since it didn''t test their dungeon mastery or involve their management of DP.

    But he did understand the desire to test personal skills against one another as well as the difficulty his children had in meeting one another outside of the family gatherings.

    "There will be other rules and conditions in the future, but most can be decided between those actually duelling i.e. magic only, no magic, low tier equipment only etc¡­ For this match however the only rule is no killing, anything else goes.

    Both of you can use your weapons, artifacts, armour sets, magic, skills whatever you have you can use¡­except potions they''ll only extend the battle unnecessarily. Do the two of you agree to these terms?"

    ""Yes father."" The two responded loudly and nodded in agreement.

    "Very well, consent has been given so the match will go ahead and since this is an exhibition match I''ll reward the victor with 10,000DP while the loser will get a constion gatcha pull. Do either of you wish to put any further skin in the game?"

 Chapter 570: Chapter 570: Duel with Indra (4)

    Frost and Indra turned to look at each other before smiling wildly.

    "I''m fine with betting another 10,000DP."

    "That all, I''m good with 15,000." Frost raised the stakes by an additional 5000DP over his brother starting a pissing match between them.

    "18, 000"

    "20,000"

    "22,000"

    "24,000"

    "30,000!!!!" Indra roared at the top of his lungs a veryrge number making Frost hesitate with his next bid. However before he could shout an even more outrageous number a dainty white hand appeared from behind and covered his mouth shut. A simr situation happened to Indra though it was apanied by a bonk on the head and whisper of the word ''idiot''.

    "30,000DP it is then, may the best dungeon core win." Dark also finding the stakes to be rather high for a simple duel tactically supported the actions taken by Maya and Izuna. "Guardians please leave the arena so your charges can let loose."

    "Yes Dark God-sama." With a few words of encouragement and perhaps a threat or two Maya and Izuna relegated themselves to the stands, leaving Frost and Indra facing one another in the centre of the ring.

    "By the way I should probably tell you before we start, Maya made me eat a special dish that improves my strength." Though even more eager to bust up his elder brother''s cocky face and earn a whopping 40,000DP he still decided to warn him.

    "No worries, Izuna did the same thing to me. She said there was a 200% chance of Maya pumping you up with some kind body enhancing meal or drugs, so she''d only be levelling the ying field hahahahaha."

    "Their rivalry goes deep I see." Frost simply shook his head. Knowing that Indra was also boosted he thus felt no hesitation in going all out.

    At practically the same time both he and Indra donned theirbat modes. Ice chakra formed into dense moulded tes, covering Frost in a beautiful white coloured armour. While his 4 star ive the [wolf howling at the moon] was taken from his storage ring and twirled between his hands.

    Flickers of silver cold mes danced around the de edge making the already powerful ive appear even more deadly. His physical armour which had been mended and altered slightly by Daki was already equipped beneath his robes, working in concert with the exterior chakra armour. With all that in ce Frost was ready for battle.

    Maya nodded her head in approval as Frost set himself up in just a couple seconds. She turned to look at Izuna with a cocky grin, hoping to lord over her with his dashing appearance however all she got was a look of contempt and a chin gesture directing her to look at Indra. Unlike Frost who was garbed in head to toe in his robes and now ice armour, Indra showed off a lot more skin.

    His chest was partially exposed as was his forearms and some of his calves. A very different stylepared to Frost''s noble schr image but no less attractive. In fact in Izuna''s eyes Indra''s wild look was far better, practically no contest but that wasn''t the main point for her gesture.

    Sparks of lightning formed arcs around Indra''s body, acting like a defensive barrier. His long hair was also strewn with sparks causing it y outwards into sharp spikes. This was the lightning element''s version of chakra armour and was the first time Frost hadid eyes on something so unorthodox.

    His ice element as well as Sam''s metal element behaved and looked like regr armour when in their protective form, a stark contrast to Indra''s armour that appeared to be full of gaps. Seeing the snakelike lightning tendrils wrapping themselves around Indra''s body Frost couldn''t help but wonder how much protection it actually provided.

    Would his ive glide through the obvious gaps or was there more to this barrier of lightning than meets the eye.

    Indra wasn''t finished there however, along with covering himself with lightning chakra armour he summoned arge two handed de, a katana. A very sharp single edged de with devasting cutting and thrusting power. A weapon that relied primarily on skill to be truly effective and from first nce its quality was likely equal to the [wolf howling at the moon] thus making it a 4 star weapon.

    The lightning chakra enveloped the de, drastically improving the weapon''s sharpness and speed.

    Frost frowned as his heart thumped away in anticipation. Indra would not be an easy opponent. Maya warned him ahead of time about another nasty feature of the lightning element. Though not as adept in defence like the ice and metal elements the lighting element was unbelievably fast and destructive. Some of its effects also happened out of sight, deep within the user''s body.

    There was a reason why Maya used her super speed in their earlier training.

    Seeing that both his sons were kitted out and ready to begin Dark smiled before bellowing from hisfortable seat.

    "The duel will began when I ring the gong!" He summoned an ornate gong and giant mallet in the air. "Good luck!"

    Gooooooonnnnnnnggggggg!

    With the mallet striking against the gong the duel began and both participants rushed towards one another with their weapons at the ready. However it was clear that one was far superior when it came to speed.

    Frost barely managed to make out Indra''s cocky smile before his body was reced with streaks of lightning only to rematerialize a momentter to his left with his katana already swinging.

    ng!

    Their first sh forced Frost to make a quick deflection, knocking him slightly off bnce, a weakness Indra was keen to exploit.

    ''Fuck he''s fast!'' Frost loudly cursed internally as he tried to quickly reposition himself. Thanks to Maya''s training he was able to effectively react to Indra''s speed but transitioning straight to offence after parrying in time was a bit difficult. Before he could even get a solid stance in ce Indra practically teleported to his right side with his katana thrusting straight for his left leg.

    Frost immediately decided to abandon his position and chance for retaliation, he jump upwards to avoid the thrust and backflipped out of way.

    "[ice entanglement]" While in the air he quickly cast the 2nd circle spell [ice entanglement] with a shortened aria causing a magic crest to appear beneath Indra''s position. Vines of ice quickly reached out from the crest to take hold of Indra''s legs but met with only air. Indra had already vanished from the area, appearing several metres away with a wide smile on his face.

    He watched Frostnd on the ground without moving.

    "To be honest I didn''t think you''d be able to react that well during our first sh. Not only did you manage to perfectly parry my sh you even dodged my thrust and cast magic at my feet while you avoided it¡­.you''re the first toe out unscathed." Indra''s smile stretched as he spoke, bing wild, almost mad in appearance.

    "This is so much fun! More brother! Let''s keep dancing! Hahahahahaha!" Indra practically snapped as his excitement levels went through the roof, finally there was someone at his level who could handle his speed.

    Lighting chakra users have the ability run lightning through their own bodies drastically increasing their speed, eleration and reaction times to obscene levels however it mainly focuses on linear movements. As long as Frost can follow Indra''s pre-dashing motions and predict his path he should be able to mount an effective defence and counterattack. Simple but easier said than done.

    "[Ice floor]" Before Indra finished his maddened rant Frost covered the arena floor around him with ice hoping to impede Indra''s speed, however.

    "Hahahahahaha that won''t work little brother." Indra appeared a momentter at his side with his katana raised above his head. The areas of ice floor that he stepped on were destroyed by his lightning armour thus allowing him to stand on solid ground. He wasn''t even the slightest bit phased by Frost''s magic.

    "[Fierce swallow''s sh]" Indra''s katana became coated in a purple sheen and the image of a fierce looking swallow formed behind it, making the already sudden attack even faster. Frost barely managed to catch the blow with his ive and unfortunately earned a gash on his left cheek that dripped ruby red blood. Indra had drawn first blood in their duel, yet Frost was the one with the bigger smile.

    "Hahahahahaha I knew it you''re just like me brother you live for battle!" Indra thoroughly enjoyed the look on his younger brother''s face before quickly backstepping to avoid Frost''s vicious counterattack. It was true Frost was just as enthralled as his brother perhaps even more so.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Frost instantly cast specialty 3rd circle magic without any warning. Arge silver ball of freezing fire thus appeared in front of him beforeunching straight at Indra.

    Boom! The attack obviously missed but the area was lit up with cold fire.

    "Hoh that''s cold even at this distance." Indramented as he appeared tens of metres away.

    Schwing!

    An ice bolt appeared the moment he spoke and was cut down by his katana without any effort, the next attack however wouldn''t be quite so easy to handle.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" The freezing fireball and ice bolt were merely pretences to his real attack. Frost appeared from Indra''s blindside the moment he shed apart the ice bolt with his ive raised overhead, time for Indra to be on the defensive.

    ws of ice formed before the ive as it swung down against Indra''s shoulder. Frost hoped that with his strategic attacks and sudden ambush he''d catch his brother by surprise but unfortunately the lightning dungeon core was just too quick.

    "[Spark storm]" Without much effort Indra rotated his body and struck out with his katana. Fierce tendrils of lightning wrapped themselves around his weapon before transforming into lightning katanas. The image of a powerful lightning storm then appeared behind Indra. He was using an advanced skill.

 Chapter 571: Chapter 571: Duel with Indra (5)

    Frost''s ws of ice were swiftly obliterated by the vicious swirl of lightning and sharp katanas.

    ng!

    A loud earth shattering nging of metal striking metal burst out the moment his ive met with Indra''s katana. He was forced back from the residual force but kept his feet firmly on the ground, preparing to strike back against his brother at the next opportunity. However,

    ng! ng! ng! ng!

    Indra didn''t let up on his offensive even after the effect of his skill [spark storm] had ran out. His blows may not be as heavy as Frost''s, but he could attack at double possibly even triple the speed therefore Frost was quickly overwhelmed by the aggression and forced to focus solely on defence. For a moment Frost felt as though he was fighting against Maya.

    Drowning in an endless cycle of deadly strikes, unable to evene up for air, forever on the backfoot. But Indra was not Maya, in fact he was miles from reaching her level.

    Frost continued to act like a turtle as Indra stabbed, shed and sliced from all manner of angles and positions, as if desperate to break open his brother''s shell which he was in a way. Attacking in such a manner not only required specialised breathing and focus topletely iste Frost within an endless cycle but a hell of a lot of stamina.

    It wasn''t easy to keep up such an exhaustive measure and normally his opponents would be felled rather quickly or at least expose some sort of weak point. Not Frost, however. The damn bastard switchedpletely to defence without a moment''s hesitation and even buffed up the more exposed areas of his chakra armour, using them to deflect some of the off angle blows.

    After over 60 seconds of getting nowhere Indra was getting annoyed.

    "God dammit stop cowering like a turtle Frost! Fight like a ma¡­.." Indra''s taunt was cut short by a vicious stabbing from Frost''s ive that scratched the side of his neck, drawing blood.

    "Guess we''re even now." Frost replied with a viscous expression as he pulled back his ive and took a deep breath before going on the offensive.

    "Shit!" Indra realised toote that he had been drawn into a trap. His stamina was greatly expended during his onught, slowing down his reactions and overall speed but that wasn''t all. The area around him and even his body felt¡­cold. It was only now that he noticed tendrils of silver mes wrapping themselves around his katana and body, silently encroaching upon the lightning chakra armour.

    The chill slowly developed and invaded his body as he continued to attack Frost in closebat, like a poison. He needed to make some distance and fast.

    "[Cage of lightning]" While parrying a heavy sh from Frost, Indra used magic for the first time in the duel. Just like Frost he could easily use up to 3rd circle magic.

    In response to his aria arge yellow magic crest appeared below and above Frost before encasing him within a cage made of lightning, immediately halting his aggression. Wasting no time at all Indra used this opportunity to get some distance and purge the effects of the invading chill however his [cage of lighting] barelysted a couple seconds before Frost was free and on his tail.

    "[Freezing fire burst]" The moment the lightning cage walls locked him in Frost activated his own magic, a spell that he''d been practising an awful lot recently. This spell was usually used as an attack, the magic crest would appear on the enemy and wrap them in cold mes before bursting outwards however Frost learned to use it in a different manner.

    Thanks to his immunity to ice and ability to harness ice fire, such magic was practically a tonic for his body therefore he could use it on himself and turn his own body into an exploding bomb of ice fire. Such a move was useless against Maya as was the use of steadily invading ice fire chakra but against Indra and his lightning element it worked wonders.

    The ice element was bing more and more unfathomable as he delved deeper into its hidden capabilities.

    "What the hell is that!" Indra waspletely blown away by the sight of Frost effectively blowing himself up in order to escape the [cage of lightning].

    "Magic! Now let''s see how you handle this strike [Wyvern''s maw]." While Indra was still surprised Frost activated his most powerful weapon skill. In addition to the usual enhancements to his ive when the skill was activated a massive wyvern head formed at the edge of the de. Its teeth, razor sharp and more than capable of biting off Indra''s arms if given the chance.

    Frost while bearing a mad smile swung his ive with all his strength,unching the wyvern head at Indra.

    "A ranged attack is it. Two can y at that little brother [Lightning serpent]" Indra''s katana glowed azure as he slowly rotated the de in a circle. Once it rotated the full 360 degrees lighting spewed from the circle and formed into a feathered serpent with azure skin. The summoned creature roared majestically the moment it was born before charging straight for the massive wyvern head.

    The beasts shed viciously, tearing one another apart as their masters dashed to the side, starting a conflict of magic.

    "[Ice bolt]" Frost summoned five ice bolts each roughly 70cm long and fired them at Indra as his wyvern battled against Indra''s lightning serpent.

    "[Lightning bolt]" Indra responded in kind with the lightning element''s spell equivalent. Five lightning bolts simr in size to Frost''s appeared from a yellow coloured magic crest before flying towards their target. Bolt took out bolt with neithering out on top.

    "[Icence] Frost upped the anti by moving to 2nd circle magic. Argence of ice easily 2 metres in length was summoned above his head and before like the previous bolts charged straight for Indra.

    "Hmph! [Lightning shield]" Indra chose to test his defensive magic and summoned arge kite shield made of lightning.

    Bzttztztzt!

    The shield sparked and buzzed as the icence crashed into it, peeling backyers of ice from thence as it struggled to pass through. However in the end the shield copsed, allowing thence to continue its journey in a far less impressive form. Indra chopped what remained in half with his katana, a frown evident on his face. Defensive magic was not his forte.

    "[Call lightning]" Wanting to regain the advantage Indra activated the 3rd circle offensive spell [call lightning]. Frost looked up and clicked his tongue as the massive yellow crest formed above his head. This spell was one of the lightning elements most powerful 3rd circle spells. Simple in its action but incredibly deadly.

    A thick pir of lightning would be summoned directly on top of the target, striking them from on high. Not only was the spell destructive, it was fast, very fast.

    He could always attempt to dodge the st or endure it with his weapon, but they werepeting in magic right now. Doing so would be like admitting his loss, his inability topete. Thankfully he had a spell that suited the situation perfectly. Through his study of the magic tomes left by Leo''s ancestor his control and knowledge over ice fire magic had improved considerably.

    That, along with his frequent interactions with the high earth rank cold me increased the repertoire of spells avable for purchase in the dungeon menu. [Freezing fire burst] was one such spell as was this one.

    "[ming ice shield]." This was Frost''s only defence oriented 3rd circle spell and what a spell it was, more than enough to rival the mana cost andplexity of Indra''s [call lightning]. In response to his aria an ice shield -simr to that of the 2nd circle spell, though more detailed- formed above his head before being encased in silver cold mes.

    A rather beautiful image that only became more pronounced the moment Indra''s lightning was summoned and crashed down against its surface.

    Boooooommm!!!

    As you would expect from a powerful pir of lightning, the sound it created when making impact with the shield was tremendous in of itself but even with all that power and ferocity the pir failed to breach the shield. The cold mes sapped away much of the lightning''s magical strength while the iceyer, which was enhanced by the mes endured the physical blow.

    Two sides working in tandem topletely block Indra''s mighty [call lightning].

    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding!" Indra loudly screeched while pointing at the still hovering shield above Frost''s head. Though seriously damaged from the attack it was obvious who won the bout. "How the hell did that measly shield survive my [call lightning]?"

    "Cause it''s stronger idiot." Frost smirked and arched out his chest in a taunting manner, feeling proud of his achievement. Indra however was twitching at the mouth, his fury about to overwhelm him.

    "Alright that''s enough for a warmup don''t you think!" Really irritated by the results of their magic bout Indra red at his brother with clenched fists.

    "Sure, sounds good to me. Just don''te crying when I knock you t on your ass!" Frost twirled his ive and readied his stance.

    "¡­.Trust me that''ll never happen LITTLE brother."

 Chapter 572: Chapter 572: Duel with Indra (6)

    "¡­.Trust me that''ll never happen LITTLE brother." Indra spoke with a fierce expression, his will to fight reaching beyond the limits of containment. Now it was time for the real battle to begin, no more testing the waters and holding back their trump cards.

    The air around the arena shifted as though a breeze had entered the duelling space. An invisible storm slowly grew around Frost and Indra as they relinquished their restraints. Their auras flooded throughout their bodies before impacting their surroundings with devasting ferocity.

    If Nanna or Loki were nearby their bodies would instantly copse from their pressure, their hearts overwhelmed by primal fear. Thankfully the two duelling were actually the weakest in the space therefore the observers merely smiled with interest as their powers washed over them. At their level Frost and Indra were akin to children¡­..cute to watch but posed very little danger.

    Maya couldn''t help but develop a mad smile as she watched her charge grow his presence, his auraing out in full swing, far more efficiently than ever before. She turned towards her own rival in a taunting manner only to see Izuna doing the exact same. Both were confident in their own charge''s victory.

    Both Frost and Indra waited until their power ups wereplete until resuming the duel. Their chakra armours had been repaired and enhanced with their auras giving them presence and a slight alteration in colour, but it was their weapons that changed the most. There was an almost lifelike bloodlust attached to them as though they craved to rip apart one another.

    The proceeding blows would be far heavier and sharper than earlier, one misstep could mean the loss of a limb.

    "Be careful little brother, in this state I won''t be able to stop mid-swing." Indra gave onest warning to Frost as his aura receded back into his body, further buffing his attributes.

    In response Frost showed a wild smile and twirled his ive as he entered a battle stance. "Do your worst Indra. That de of yours won''t ever get the chance to cut into my flesh." His charka armour hummed as though challenging Indra''s attack power. Those of the ice element though proficient in attack were far more suited to amplifying their defence.

    Indra would not only have to pierce through his weapon guard but also his manyyers of dense armour.

    "So be it, don''t tell me I didn''t warn you." The moment Indra finished speaking he vanished, leaving but a few tendrils of lighting in his ce. He was even faster than before but Frost was ready.

    DOOOONNNNN!!!

    Indra appeared from his left with his katana swinging but his ive was ready. The two weapons shed, releasing sonic booms as de edge met de edge.

    Don! Don! Don! Don!

    The two shed several times at far higher speeds and with far more ferocity than earlier. The solid stone arena that they stood on fractured with their steps andrge gashes formed across its surface from their shes.

    Frost struggled to engage at such speeds, he was once again on the defensive but unlike Maya, Indra failed to break through his guard, leading to a pseudo stalemate. However this time Frost''s use of cold mes failed to pierce Indra''s body. His lighting armour violently reacted to such intrusions, fizzling the wisps out of existence, Indra had learned from his earlier mistakes.

    Don! Don! Don! Don!

    The two moved across the arena, exchanging blow after blow as Indra practically danced around his brother, assaulting from every known angle. But even so Frost did not let up, his mastery of the ive was sufficient to block, guard and even asionally parry Indra''s blows with nothing more than the asional brush against his armour.

    To describe their battle as exciting would be a great understatement. The three observers were practically at their edge of their seats as they watched the two evenly matched opponents push themselves far beyond what they thought was possible for their level. Both Indra and Frost were learning and rapidly improving after every sh with no signs of stopping.

    Their weapon mastery alone was sure to jump leaps and bounds thanks to this duel let alone their otherbat abilities.

    "[Thundering torrent]"

    "[Earth''s upheaval]" Since regr attacks weren''t cutting it the two dungeon cores moved to using their skills however this time they attached their auras greatly improving their destructive and or protective powers. More and more of the stone arena blew up from their shes, quickly altering the battlefield.

    It was getting hard to stand on a t surface, a fact that was putting pressure on Frost.

    "[Lighting serpent]"

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" A change happened the moment Frostunched the massive wyvern''s head at Indra''s lightning serpent. The step he tooknded on an uneven surface causing his bnce to falter for just the briefest of moments but against Indra that was enough. Finally after wrecking the battlefield for the past 10 minutes the fruits of theirbour finally paid off.

    Frost barely managed to blink before he was met with the vicious expression of his brother bearing down on him with his katana raised high, ready to chop off his right hand. He had no time to defend the only option was to relinquish his weapon, a practical death sentence but one that needed to be done.

    In milliseconds Frost released his grip, dropping his ive and pulled back his right hand.

    Schwing!

    The katana moved faster than the human eye could follow but thanks to Frost''s quick reactions it didn''t manage to sever its intended target but nheless blood was drawn. A smooth cut was made across the back of his hand, easily slicing through the thinyer of chakra armour and light gauntlets fashioned by Daki.

    Blood streamed down his forearm; the cut was quite deep but thankfully not debilitating. His fingers were still fully responsive as was his grip, it just hurt.

    Frostpletely ignored the pain and used this opportunity to enact some revenge. At practically the same moment Indra''s katana was slicing the back of his right hand, his left hand aimed directly for Indra''s face.

    "[Freezing fireball]" a small sphere of silver cold fire was instantly created before his left hand and hurled directly at Indra''s face, catching the lightning speedster by surprise, forcing him to quickly protect his face and back away. His sudden attack was thus brought to a halt, preventing any further damage but Frost wasn''t about to let him go that easily.

    The still falling ive was caught by his foot and kicked back into his hands. Catching it stung but Frost ignored the pain as he activated one of his weapon skills.

    "[Ice piercer]" With the activation words Frost kicked off from his position, dashing straight for the retreating Indra with his ive wrenched back, building up its pration strength. A spear head of ice formed at the tip of the ive as he drew near. Indra was now the one being surprised by his opponent''s speed.

    ''Fuck!'' He internally cursed as he rotated his body to avoid the majority of blow, but he wasn''t quite fast enough.

    Squelch!

    The head of the ive cut into Indra''s left thigh, drawing enough blood to dye the tip red. Indra rapidly escaped into the distance after kicking away with right foot. The two brothers then stared at one another as they dripped blood onto the arena.

    Frost''s right hand was injured which was sure to affect his ability to swing his ive at least somewhat while Indra received a cut across his left thigh which would likely dampen his terrifying speed. Though Indra was bleeding more due to the location of the wound it was hard to guess who received more damage. This fight was still anyone''s game.

    Drip Drip Drip Drip

    A few seconds of silence passed between the two of them as their wounds dripped blood onto the arena. A million thoughts and simtions ran through their minds as they analysed their previous exchanges and tried to think of ways to take the other down. The pain in their hand and thigh respectively made the danger of this duel all the more real and¡­..exciting.

    Wild almost maddened smiles formed on their lips as their hearts started thumping away, demanding more onught.

    As if in sync both Frost and Indra activated their chakra over their wounds at the same, one freezing the area to stop the blood and the other cauterising it before charging towards each other with their weapons drawn. A terrifying exchange of blows followed with more and more wounds being opened across their bodies.

    30 minutester puddles of blood littered the battlefield, and the two duellists were practically dyed red. Their robes torn to shreds and their armour obliterated thanks the swings of their weapons and destructive magic. Their upper bodies were thusid bare thanks to the battle, their clearly defined physiques on full disy for their observers to ogle at ¡­ which they did with gusto.

    Izuna and Maya had their eyes wrenched open as wide as they could go, allowing them to fully take in the fabulous sight before them. If this wasn''t beauty then what was. Even the red blood dripping down their chests was mesmerising to them. A few wolf whistles could asionally be heard from the spectators along with demands to cut off more clothing and armour.

    The girls were probably having just as much if not more fun than their charges.

    Dark who was sitting high up in his floating pnquin smiled with pride as he witnessed the fire between his children and the admiration in the eyes of their guardians. This liveliness was exactly what he wanted for them. It was the dream of every father, for their children to be happy and enjoy their lives to the fullest.

    Of course he was asionally on the edge of seat at times whenever the duel grew perilous, but the ''innocent'' smiles stered across his sons'' lips whenever they shed eased his worries. Though bloody and even outright vicious the duel was still fun in their eyes, so he saw no reason to end it prematurely.

 Chapter 573: Chapter 573: The duels conclusion

    "Hu hu hu hu hu"

    "Hu hu hu hu hu" Both Frost and Indra red at one another as they panted and trembled from exhaustion. The two had been battling with all they had for the past hour with neither backing down. No matter how much blood was spilled or how much armour was chipped away they remained standing, refusing to fall in defeat.

    At this point it was a veritable miracle that either of them were still standing let alone having the strength to swing their weapons with enough force to destroy the stone arena.

    "Dammit¡­. why won''t¡­. you fall?" Indra asked with half opened eyes, his stance faltering and breathing be moreboured with every word spoken. He was so tired he couldn''t even think straight but even so he refused to fall down.

    "¡­.. Fall? Me?¡­.. I''m full of ¡­.. energy why would¡­. I fall?" Frost responded in a no less exhausted manner, even smirking was difficult.

    It was clear from their battle that the two of them were evenly matched therefore victory would be decided by whoever had the strongest will and or desire for victory.

    The audience members would watched the entire duel with their butts hovering over the end of their seats still had no idea who''de out the victor, Frost and Indra were just too evenly matched. However at this point the duel''s excitement had run its course. No longer was it a contest of skill but stubbornness, far less interesting to watch.

    Dark felt a strong urge to end the duel at this point. His sons had proved their mettle and came out equal. Prolonging this disy of stubbornness served to only further their injuries unnecessarily. The duel was exciting and thrilling to watch in the beginning but now their shes no longer provided improvement to their mastery, mere shadows of what they used to represent. It was time to call it.

    "Haaaaaa" Dark let out a deep sigh as he struggled with his decision. He wondered if his stubborn sons would ept such a result, would they hold it against him or perhaps escte their friendly rivalry down a dark path? Regardless he raised his hand into the air and was prepared to call an end to the long duel¡­. however.

    Indra who was seemingly about to crash perked up as though he was injected with stimnts. His eyes blinked rapidly, and a look of confusion and surprise adorned his tired face before he turned to gaze at Izuna. The beautiful celestial fox woman was on her feet and donned a determined expression as she nodded her head.

    A growing pink blush formed across her cheeks as power filled Indra''s body. The once exhausted lightning speedster immediately stopped hisboured breathing and stood ramrod straight as lightning tendrils flickered around his blood covered body.

    A predatory smile then adorned his lips as his aura burst forth with unbridled force, cracking the stone beneath his feet and pushing back the stunned Frost.

    ''What the hell!'' Frost internally screamed as he witnessed Indra summoning strength from who knows where. ''Was he just pretending to be exhausted?'' Fear and jealously gripped his heart, how could Indra still have strength left?

    Dark who was about to call the duel a draw stopped his actions as he analysed both Indra and Izuna. He immediately thought of foul y, but the strength Indra summoned was his own. Something changed, allowing Indra to tapped into some hidden well of energy.

    ''What happened?'' Even though he was the majestic Dark God he had no idea what transpired. But regardless, now that Indra had the strength to properly fight there was no longer any need to call the duel a draw.

    Even with the sudden surge of power Frost refused to surrender. He stubbornly dug his ive into the stone arena and braced his body against the raging waves of aura that threatened to tear him apart. His many open wounds were agitated, causing streams of fresh blood to roll across his body but still he refused to fall.

    ''If Indra can find some hidden well of energy then why can''t I?'' He desperately searched inside himself andmuned with his dungeon core heart, hoping to unleash something that would allow him topete with Indra¡­.but he found nothing. No hidden spring or source of untapped energy, he waspletely devoid of strength. Despair filled his eyes as he gazed at his brother who readied his katana.

    "Sorry little brother but it seems I can''t afford to lose this duel. Not when there''s such a precious reward waiting for me once it''s over." An expression full of fervent desire covered Indra''s face as readied his katana for a final blow. He no longer cared about the duel or the chance to test himself against his younger brother, all that mattered to him now were the words of his guardian.

    Indra''s deration caused Dark and Maya to look at Izuna in question, wondering what on Nova could she have promised to cause such a reaction in Indra. The fox in question couldn''t stop her blush from intensifying. Maya''s inquisitive gaze was especially hard to endure.

    "What the hell did you promise?" Maya asked with both coldness and curiosity in her eyes.

    "N¡­N..NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!" By this point Izuna''s face waspletely red from embarrassment. Sheshed out like a cat getting her tail stepped on and refused to utter another word, instead covering her face with her hands as she sat down on her seat, her heart in genuine turmoil.

    Maya only grew more and more curious, she stared at Izuna''s squirming form and refusal to even look her way. It only took her a second or two to understand that it must have been something lewd.

    ''This sneaky bitch.'' She never thought that to win this duel Izuna would resort to using herself as a prize. Plus given the extreme reaction shown by both her and Indra it was clear that she offered something very, very special. She absolutely needed to know what it was but right it was necessary to level the ying field.

    Just as Indra started moving, preparing to end this duel in a single strike, Frost''s ears twitched as Maya''s voice appeared within his head. Simr to what happened to Indra, Frost looked distracted and confused for a moment before ncing over at his guardian as if unable to believe what he was hearing.

    "This is the end little brother." Indra moved with speed almostparable to when they first started using their auras, a speed far greater than Frost should be capable of handling in his exhausted state. Indra''s katana swung down with immense speed, cutting apart the air as it aimed lob off Frost''s dominant arm.

    As long as he didn''t kill him he was confident their father or at least their guardians would be able to repair all manner of damage, so he really didn''t let up. Unfortunately with his mind so focused on the promised reward he failed to spot the sudden change within his brother.

    DOOOOOONNNNNNN!!!!

    A magnificent explosion of soundwaves reverberated throughout the space as Indra''s katana met not with Frost''s flesh but with the de edge of his ive, swung with no less force than his own weapon. A look of confusion flittered through Indra''s eyes before a sense of danger wrapped itself around his heart.

    "Shit!" He backed away just in time to avoid a nasty knee to the gut and now he had the opportunity to witness the full changes in Frost''s demeanour.

    "Ehhh!" Frost''s eyes held a freezing energy that made Indra''s nerves tighten as his gaze wondered over him. His chakra armour quickly repaired itself with wisps of cold fire wrapping around his ive and body in a protective manner.

    "No Indra, I''ll be the one deciding when we end." He spoke with an eery chill.

    The two brothers stared at one another for a couple seconds as their powers continued to grow.

    "Seems you''ve been offered something as well."

    "Indeed."

    "Hmph! No matter." Indra readied his katana. "Nothing will stop me from getting my reward! Prepare to lose little brother!" The lightning swarming around Indra''s katana changed colour, switching from yellow to almost azure. His next attack would be unlike any other. He was adamant in being the victor this day.

    "I refuse! You will be the one to fall today Indra. The reward shall be mine to enjoy." Frost readied his ive, his cold fire chakra and aurabining to amplifying the weapon''s lethality to extreme levels.

    Clearly the two of them were not talking about the 40,000DP reward but rather what was offered by their two blushing guardians.

    "Horn dogs, my sons areplete horn dogs." Dark would have to bepletely clueless to still not understand what happened. His two sons were clearly promised something very, very special by their guardians upon their victory, so much so that they managed to summon strength out of nowhere just for the sake of obtaining that special reward.

    The Dark God was twitching at the lips as he felt both proud and ashamed of his sons.

    ''Ah screw it!'' He decided to simply ignore the reasoning for their sudden revival and focus on the duel''s end. Despite being suddenly imbued with power it was likely only a temporary state brought on by their strong desire. ''One blow, perhaps two that''s all they''ll get before copsing.''

    Frost and Indra knew their situation and decided to risk their victory on one single exchange. Whoever survives would get to relish in their promised reward.

    The two brothers stared into one another''s eyes before moving at the exact same time.

    Whooosh! Schwing!

    Their forms vanished before reappearing a millisecondter where the other started. Silence filled the arena as both stood still.

    Spurt!

    A momentter a geyser of blood erupted from Frost''s left shoulder and Indra''s right shoulder respectively. Their chakra armour and aura gradually fell apart revealing gnarly, deep cuts spanning most of their torso.

    ""Lucky hit!"" The two of them both muttered through throats filled with blood before copsing onto the arena at the same time. Neither moved as blood continued to drain from their bodies at a terrifying rate.

    The situation was so sudden that Izuna, Maya and Dark were caught unaware before immediately moving into action a few secondster in distress.

    "Frost!!!"

    "Indra!!!!"

 Chapter 574: Chapter 574: The duels conclusion (2)

    Maya and Izuna appeared within a sh by their charges'' sides, cradling their heads against their bodies as they inspected the gravity of their wounds. However just when they were about cast their most powerful healing spells.

    "Don''t. let me." Dark floated down from his luxurious pnquin with a concerned expression on his face, truly worried about the conditions of his two sons. Then with a simple wave of his hand divine energy was summoned beneath Frost and Indra, safely wrapping them up in a ck cocoon. Divine energy was far more effective than any healing spell especially when utilised by the mighty Dark God.

    Once the cocoons were finished Dark let out a repressed breath before smiling gently at the two shocked guardians.

    "Rx, they''ll be fine. I''m sure they''ll still be able to enjoy whatever you two promised them hahahaha." Darkughed mockingly causing the two girls to blush.

    "T¡­T¡­.Technically he didn''t win so I don''t need to give it up." Izuna tried to worm her way out of her promise, her body squirming and her eyes looking into the distance as she did. Her actions only drew Maya''s curiosity.

    "Really? What on Nova did you actually promise him?" She really, really wanted no, needed to know.

    "None of your business!" Izuna snapped back at her friend and rival, determined that she''d be thest person she''d ever tell.

    "Ohe on be a friend, I''ll tell you all about my promise as well the things Frost, and I get up to in our free time." Maya was absolutely determined to get the answer out of Izuna even to the extent of bbing about her own secrets. Thanks to Frost''s frequency and the inclusion of Daki she''d long lost a lot of her shame when it came to lewd activities.

    A stark contrast to her inexperienced self from several months ago.

    Maya continued to pester her friend, whispering in her ear with tempting offers and cing her hands on her body in a teasing manner as she guessed what the reward could be.

    Dark meanwhile was thinking back on his choice of guardians. Was teaming up Maya and Izuna with Frost and Indra really the right call. ording to his initial evaluations and knowledge of their personalities he suspected that they''d get along, but this was a bit much and far too soon. His gaze then wandered over to the ck cocoons holding his sons.

    ''It must have been their doing, I''m sure they''re the ones responsible for corrupting these two girls.'' He instantly med his sons for the changes in Maya and Izuna.

    A few minutester, after Maya finally got the answer she was looking for thanks to her incessant pestering and asking of Dark to cover his ears so Izuna could safely reveal her shame, the ck cocoons containing Frost and Indra started fracturing. Bright divine light escaped the cracks before the ck shells dissipated revealing the undamaged forms of Frost and Indra.

    The two woke up immediately in confusion and inspected their bodies. Finding not a single wound they turned to their father and guardians.

    "Ehhh why''s your face so pink?" Frost asked the moment he saw Maya''s blushing cheeks.

    "N¡­N...Nothing." She squeamishly replied, her gaze repeatedly drifting towards Izuna''s magnificent rear.

    "Hit hum!" Dark loudly coughed so as to steer the conversation in a more graceful manner. "That was quite the duel my sons, especially thest bout, very enjoyable to watch indeed." Dark nodded his head and showed a wide smile. "Not the end I was expecting but sometimes the unexpected is more interesting."

    Frost and Indra looked at one another before tilting their heads to the side. They both passed out the moment after saying ''lucky hit'' so the victor was still unknown to them.

    "Who won old man?" Indra loudly questioned as he started remembering the reward promised by Izuna. The young celestial fox felt the intense desire in his tone and shivered, biting her lower lip as she struggled to look directly at her charge.

    "Geez! You''re the only one that refers to me as ''old man'' Indra why can''t you be more lovable like one of your sisters." Dark shook his head in disappointment. His daughters were much cuter than his sons.

    "Tch it''s a term of endearment old man now tell us who won the duel." Indra brushed off his father''sint and continued to hound him for an answer.

    "Please father we need to know." Frost joined his brother in their request, the look in his eyes only slightly less fervent than Indra''s.

    "Haaaaaaa can you not be so obvious with your desires. Here I am trying to be all civil in regards to this official duel yet all you two can do is think with your lower halves. Why are my sons like this, what did I do to deserve this." Dark continued to loudlyin, slightly embarrassing Maya and Izuna but the boys were having none of it.

    ""Who won!"" They asked again with aura suffused into their words. They couldn''t have been any more obvious.

    "A DRAW!! IT WAS A DRAW OK!!!" Dark snapped, roaring the answer before showing a mocking smirk.

    ''Hahahaha with no winner there''s no reward for either of you hahahaha!!''

    Dark''s revtion took a few seconds to sink in.

    "¡­A draw¡­" Frost and Indra blinked their eyes repeatedly and looked towards their guardians for confirmation. After seeing them nod their head their gazes focused on the floor beneath before¡­.

    "DAMNNITT!!!!!" Frost screamed at the top of his lungs and punched the ground with unrestrained fury.

    "WHY THE FUCK IS IT A DRAW! Now neither of us gets rewarded!" Indra also punched the ground with great force before falling to his knees in despair. If thest ditch encouragement from their guardians never happened they''d likely be celebrating such a result, hell they may have even hugged while leaping up and down. Now however they only felt dispirited and robbed.

    The promise of riches dangled before them only to be snatched away at thest moment, proving their efforts worthless.

    Dark watched this debacle with twitching lips, his frustration growing at an rming rate. He couldn''te to grips with the fact that two people who seemingly lived for battle and had so much fun with their duel were falling into despair just because they lost the chance to engage in certain lewd acts with their guardians. It was an insult to the duel they just took part in.

    He refused to let this stand.

    Bonk! Bonk!

    ""OW!"" Dark rattled his fists against their heads with a sufficient amount of force.

    "You two stop this nonsense right now. Starting acting like respectable men or I promise I won''t be as lenient with the next blow." A dark swirl of energy wrapped itself around Dark''s fist, making for quite the intimidating sight.

    In response to his threat the two dungeon cores wallowing in despair shivered in fear as their hearts warned them of overwhelming danger. Their dad wasn''t kidding.

    Fearing the promise of further pain the two of them rose to their feet and faced their old man with nervous expressions.

    "It seems the two of have forgotten everything else in leu of private rewards hmph! Did the two of you not enjoy testing your skills against one another? Did you not enjoy the thrill of the fight? The chance to push yourselves beyond what you thought was possible.

    Were those wild smiles of yours a lie?" Dark spoke with intense gravitas instinctively making his sons tremble before him, struggling to meet his disappointed gaze.

    ""...Sorry father"" Eventually the two young men apologised with their heads down, feeling rather foolish about their actions. How could theypletely forget the joy and exhration they felt as they shed against one another because of a few choice words from their guardians. Their sights thus drifted towards the women standing by Dark''s side with awkward expressions.

    "Don''t you darey the me on those two. You two were the ones who acted like a pair of brats after hearing the duel''s results!"

    ""Ugh! Sorry father"" They were forced to apologise again. Dark''s fists were still shrouded in that ck energy as if waiting for another opportunity to smack them.

    "Hehehe" Maya and Izuna failed to fully restrain their giggling thus drawing Dark''s ire away from his sons.

    "Don''t think you two arepletely innocent in this debacle. If you two hadn''t promised something so tempting these two idiots wouldn''t have acted so shamefully and ruined an otherwise joyful event."

    ""Sorry Dark God-sama"" The two guardians quickly found themselves bowing their heads in apology. Perhaps they did go a little too far.

    Dark ranted for several more minutes until his disappointment was appeased and he could smile happily again. His kids and their guardians learned their lesson, so it was time to bring an end to this duel.

    "Well the initial agreement was that I''d hand over 10,000DP to the winner while the loser would get a free low rank gatcha spin. The two of you also decided to wage a further 30,000DP of your own reserves on the oue of this duel. However, there is no winner, nor is there a loser.

    Your duel ended in a tie, an unexpected oue and one that hadn''t been taken into ount when we set up our initial agreement." Dark expressed difficulty, cupping his chin as he thought and paced around the rebuilt arena.

    "However it would a great disservice on my part if I didn''t grant you a single reward after witnessing such a heroic sh, your behaviour afterwards being excluded of course hehehehe." Dark once again mocked his children beforeing up with apromise.

    "How about 3000DP each and a free low rank gatcha spin, sound fair."

    "Yes father, that sounds very fair." Frost was ''happy'' with Dark''s offer as was Indra. Something was better than nothing after all.

 Chapter 575: Chapter 575: The duels conclusion (3)

    "Good. Overall I believe this exhibition duel worked out pretty well. Though I prefer the dungeon wars I''ll uphold my side of the deal and allow duelling to be incorporated into the dungeon system with the previously mentioned costs and limitations." Dark smiled and spoke gently, internally grateful for Indra''s incessant pestering.

    Granting his children more opportunities to interact was definitely a good thing. Family should be close after all.

    Dark waved his hands causing a notification to appear on Frost''s and Indra''s dungeon menu. "I''ve transferred 3000DP to each of you as well as a free low rank gatcha spin. Feel free to use them however you see fit and thank you for such an enjoyable experience." Dark then ruffled Frost''s and Indra''s hair with affection before bidding farewell.

    "Remember to work hard and enjoy Nova''s many delights. I''ll see the four of you again at the next family gathering, farewell." With those final words a ck warp in space formed behind Dark and swallowed him whole, transferring him away from the duelling space. Thus leaving Frost, Indra, Maya and Izuna to ponder over his words and the results of the duel.

    Hearing of the next family gathering should have been a positive thing that brought smiles to their faces, but instead troubled frowns decorated their expressions. The next family gathering would mark the first anniversary of the dungeon cores'' birth as well as the start of their independence.

    Guardians such as Maya and Izuna were set to leave their charge''s side at that moment, removing the training wheels ced on them.

    Supposedly this was meant to promote growth within the dungeon cores. The guardian''s had one whole year to prepare them for the dangers of the world and train them how to properly utilise their immense potential. However for multiple pairs the rtionship between charge and guardian had evolved into something more.

    Frost and Maya were dating, and it wasn''t some casual fling but a serious rtionship which neither of them wished to give up. The uing family gathering was thus an event that could see them separated forever unless they got Dark''s approval. So far however the man had been rather ambiguous and evasive whenever the question came up, leaving many partners worried for their future.

    "Ahhhhh it doesn''t matter what that old man says I won''t be letting you go!" Indra loudly dered at the top of voice.

    "...Um what are you doing?" Izuna asked with a perplexed expression,pletely blown away by Indra''s actions. Her wild looking young master was currently wrapping her up in his arms in a loving manner, at least on the surface. Truthfully his eyes which were instead full of lust rather love were primed on her bountiful rear as were his perverted hands, squeezing and groping it without restraint.

    "Enjoying what''s mine hehehehe" Indra let out a pervertedugh as his mind ran wild with fantasy. His so called words of love were in fact words of lust aimed at her ass rather than her.

    "...." Izuna blinked her eyes rapidly as Indra''s words and perverted actions sunk in.

    Boooooommmmm!!!

    It didn''t take long for Izuna to uppercut Indra right in the jaw, sending the recently healed lightning speedster flying through the air. Her face red and full of anger and shame. She could already feel Maya''s mocking gaze and restrained snicker.

    ''This damn bastard really knows no shame. When I get through with him he''s gonna wish he''d never been born.'' She internally cursed before smiling kindly towards Frost.

    "Apologies young master Frost for such an embarrassing disy. We''ll be leaving now farewell." She politely bowed her head before quickly scrambling over to the knocked down Indra. Grabbing him painfully she forcibly opened up the dungeon menu to depart from the duelling space.

    "¡­.But you promised." Frost only managed to catch a couple words from Indra before the two vanished into a spatial warp.

    "¡­..Hahahahahaha." Eventually Maya couldn''t hold back herughter.

    "I''m guessing I''m missing something." Frost also thought the situation was a little funny but not to the extent of tearing at the eyes like Maya was.

    "Yeah a BIG something hahahahaha." Maya continued tough until her stomach hurt. Frost watched her with joy and a gentle smile before wrapping her in a hug from behind.

    "I also won''t let go of what''s mine regardless of what my father says. Your ce is by my side Maya." He whispered loving words into her ears as he tightened his grip around her. Unlike Indra he was referring to Maya in her entirety thus she blushed rather than hitting him.

    "So possessive." Maya turned her head and pretended to admonish him while relishing in his grip.

    "When the fruit''s so sweet I''d be a full to let anyone else have it." Frost nibbled on her right ear causing Maya to let out a seductive moan before he ced his lips on hers for a deep kiss. The two enjoyed their moment for a couple minutes before breaking apart.

    "So are you going to tell the reason for your unrestrainedughter?"

    "Ummm." Maya who was still blushing from the kiss looked side to side and even used her mana to check the surrounding area. "Alright she''s definitely gone and there''s no one else spying." She gestured Frost to lean down so she could whisper into his ear, her blush growing with every second.

    "¡­..Eh for real?" Frost asked with wide open eyes, wondering if he heard Maya right.

    "Un" Maya nodded her head, too embarrassed to say any more to him with the blush on her cheeks already spreading to her neck.

    "..." Frost slowly pondered Maya''s revtion. A wild and perverted smile growing on his lips as the images became clearer. His eyes filled with intense desire wandered down towards Maya''s -though nowhere near as bountiful as Izuna''s-rge ass.

    "Don''t even think about it!"

    "But!"

    "No! It''s not happening! Never, ever, ever!" Maya was quick to shoot down Frost''s developing thoughts.

    "Why not?" Unfortunately now that the image was stuck in his head Frost was fairly determined in seeing it through.

    "Why! You''re asking why!" Maya pushed against Frost''s chest and gestured towards her ass.

    "I''m very proud of what I''ve got here butpared to Izuna I''m practically tiny so there''s no way I''m going to do something that even she with her colossal ass is afraid of doing!" She was adamant in her refusal, no matter what Frost offered, tempted or even threatened there was no way she was going to agree to such acts.

    Frost frowned in disappointment but continued to think of ways to convince her.

    "If size is the issue we can just change your diet and workouts, I hear cakes are great for developing that¡­." His suggestion was cut short by a fierce re. His skin then developed goosebumps as genuine fear wrapped around his heart. One more word could very well spell the end of his existence at least that''s what his instincts were telling him.

    "This discussion is over, am I clear!" Maya stated with a cold expression, her bloodlust and even aura suffused into her words.

    "¡­.Ok" Frost waved his hands in defeat, understanding her position well. She truly had no interest in engaging in such proclivities with him despite her rival doing so with his brother.

    After ring at him for a few seconds Maya stopped her intimidation and let out a sigh, feeling the smallest amount of regret. Why couldn''t she be blessed with a naturally massive rear like Izuna or perhaps more daring in her personality.

    "If you want to engage in such actions talk to Daki, maybe she''ll be more open to it." She decided to pawn him off to her sister girlfriend instead.

    Of course such words caused Frost to once again enter dreand as he fantasized about his green enchantress which immediately irritated Maya despite her being the cause of his wayward thoughts.

    Her pouting expression was just too cute to resist. Frost once again pulled her into his embrace and whispered into her ear.

    "Now that I remember didn''t you also promise me a special something." His words caused Maya to visibly shiver as she looked up at his face. Her lips twitched as remorse filled her body, she hoped he had forgotten about that ''offer''.

    "W¡­Well that was if you won the duel¡­you didn''t so no reward." She looked to the side, afraid to meet his gaze.

    "Hmmm is that so." He smiled like a devil. "So not only did you get my hopes up by telling me all about Izuna''s promise to Indra just for you to deny offering it yourself, ever. You''re now denying me any reward whatsoever despite me trying my very best against him is that right?"

    "Ugh!" His words made Maya groan.

    "Ahhhh my girlfriend''s so mean to me, how cruel." He started to fake cry, acting hurt from her actions.

    "Ugh!" Maya groaned once again as her guilt climbed.

    "Boohoo thankfully I have another woman by my side who''s far more caring. I guess I''ll have to go to her forfort, ah my beautiful Daki." As he was about to open the dungeon menu so as to teleport into Daki''s arms, his robe was grabbed by a dainty white hand halting his actions.

    "Maya." He called her name like a devil, tempting a soul.

    "¡­.You''re such a bully." She said with a reddened face, pouting expression and tearing eyes. So cute.

    "Yes but I''m your bully." He then pulled her in for a kiss before slowly peeling away her red qipao dress. He thus managed to receive some form of reward that was much to his satisfaction despite only drawing against his brother.

 Chapter 576: Chapter 576: Dungeon development

    Frost and Maya teleported out of the duelling space several hourster after having their fun. And with their departure the duelling space violently shook before erasing all its features, returning to a nk canvas ready to be re-designed for the next duel.

    The two arrived back in the private space hand in hand a momentter with their rtionship closer than ever.

    "Ah Master, Maya wee back. How did the duel with Lord Indra go?" Nanna who was sitting on the sofa and perusing through the dungeon menu questioned with a beaming smile, her fingers crossed, hoping to hear the gant tale of her master''s victory. Unfortunately she was destined to be disappointed.

    "Haaaaa unfortunately I didn''t win Nanna. Indra was just too strong. I barely even seeded in wing out a draw thanks to Maya''s encouragement." His words earned him a coy look from the woman attached to his hip, but he simply ignored it.

    "Oh¡­that''s¡­ unfortunate but I''m sure you''ll win next time master, don''t be sad." Nanna moved from her seat on the sofa to pat Frost''s head in a soothing manner which brought a bright smile to his face.

    "You''re so adorable Nanna what did I ever do to deserve you." Frost picked up the young phoenix kin and rubbed his smooth chin against her like a father to his child. Nanna was of course embarrassed from his actions but said nothing to stop him bar blushing from head to toe.

    "Yeah she''s far too cute for someone like you isn''t that right Nanna dear." Maya couldn''t help but steal Nanna away from his arms, holding onto her with even more affection. Their Nanna was just too cute.

    After ten minutes of getting their Nanna recharge the couple let the young girl go, smiling from ear to ear after getting their fix.

    "How was the dungeon while we were away?" Frost now sat beside Nanna on the sofa as she manoeuvred through the dungeon screen disyed above the pseudo core.

    "Perfectly normal master, in fact pretty uneventful." He and Maya were only gone for several hours but that was enough time for a strong party to deal some real damage if left unchecked.

    "The regrs repeated their usual delves, some groups made it deeper while others were devoured, same old same old." Nanna shrugged her shoulders with evident disappointment.

    "When ites to losses our numbers were pretty low and restricted solely to those summoned through spawners, overall, a pretty profitable evening." Though dull and basic it was in fact the best result for the dungeon especially when its master and mistress were absent. The actions Nanna, Loki, Daki, Khuno and Finy could take were still limited after all.

    "Fantastic, I''ll have to reward you and your brother for doing such a good job in our absence." Frost took over control of the screen, transitioning towards the food section for sweets and desserts. Choosing was actually quite easy whichever picture caused the strongest reaction in Nanna''s expression won. In this case it was a strawberry cheesecake.

    "Thank you master." Nanna visibly beamed as she dug into the sweet cheesecake, rubbing her cheeks in glee with every bite.

    "No problem you deserve it." The small amount of DP he just spent was already paying dividends, she was just that cute.

    "What about the camp? How''s business and where''s your brother and Daki?" Frost gently stroke Nanna''s blue hair as she ate.

    "Umm other than a couple spats between visitors and the usual troublemakers, some of the more ''privileged'' visitors have beenining about theck of service and wait times." The camp had been developing at an extreme rate thanks to Frost''s substantialbour force and methods but even then it seemed to be too slow for the iing traffic.

    For example the Sleeping Fenrir and other higher ranked hotels were always fully booked, greatly disappointing those who were toote to the party.

    "Guess I''ll have to increase the camp''s development speed." Frost rubbed his chin as he re-examined his initial ns. He really wanted to start work on the ''floor of peace'', but the camp always needed thebour teams'' full attention.

    ''That 40,000DP would have been perfect for expanding my workforce. Haaaaaa looks like I''ll just need to dip into the reserve budget.'' Frost shook his head, refusing to furtherment hisck of victory. At least it wasn''t it a loss. Though 3000DP was but a fraction of what he would have gotten if he won, it was better than nothing.

    As Frost was pondering how to spend his well-earned DP Nanna continued.

    "Daki''s in her personal forge, churning out as much 2 and 3 star equipment as she can so as to keep up with the camp''s ever growing demand while Loki''s helping out at the medical clinic. Daki suggested for him to take up education under our witchdoctors and priests whenever he''s free given that he has pretty much zero interest in following her craft."

    "Good, I''m d Loki''s found something that interests him. What about you, how''s your cooking skillsing along?"

    "Umm pretty good I think but there''s a limit to what I can learn simply through books and Maya''s tutge." Maya could teach her house level skills but for her to truly advance as a chef she needed a proper tutor.

    "You want to learn from a professional?"

    "Un, If I really want to improve then yes."

    Frost cupped his chin in thought. Currently the dungeon had no monsters with cooking skills, nor were there any avable for purchase, though a few had personal interest like Nanna none were particrly gifted.

    "I''ll look into finding you a good teacher."

    "Thank you master." Nanna reached up over and pecked him on the cheek before digging back into her cheesecake.

    "Muhmuhmuh" Maya grumbled with jealousy from the nearby table, she wanted to be fawned over by Nanna too. She also regretted the fact that her skills were only at the home cook level, shecked the necessary qualities to raise Nanna as a spirit chef which was her dream.

    After hearing Nanna''s full report Frost spoke with Khuno and Finy before joining up with Loki and finally Daki. Like Nanna they all tried tofort him after hearing about his failed victory, Daki''sforting being particrly pleasant.

    He brought up the promise Maya failed to uphold as well as the one Izuna promised his brother and fortunately unlike Maya his green enchantress was much more daring, in fact she was quite enthusiastic with any lewd scenario her lover came up with.

    Despite a fair amount of difficulty and even pain, that night was by far one of the most magical experiences he had ever experienced.

    "Ahhhh this is the life." He said while leaning back in bed with Daki and Maya resting peacefully by his sides. Any anguish he felt over his draw with Indra was thus vanished, reced with far more pleasant memories.

    Life in the dungeon of Niflheim continued unabated. DP continued to be raked in thanks to the popce passively residing in the camp as well as the daredevils delving into the dungeon itself. The many businesses operating within the camp grew both in size, and poprity as word spread throughout the Yangmir continent.

    The Dungeon of Niflheim was quickly bing the ce to be for any active adventurer below B-rank. Coins flooded in, to the point that Frost was able to safely start transforming his gold into extra DP which he then spent on further expanding the dungeon.

    A little over 3 months since the duel with Indra the once 10 floor dungeon (Not including the floor of peace) was now sitting at 12 floors. Not that much deeper but far wider than before. Most of the DP was used to add new sections to the existing floors.

    The first floor was now effectively 3 times its original size as was the 2nd and 3rd floors given that they were the most popr. So many young and ambitious E and even F-rank adventurers flocked to the dungeon hoping to dip their feet into the waters that was dungeon/monsterir delving.

    It was too dangerous for these groups to delve below the 3rd floor thus Frost focused on expanding the areas that could be essed by this plentiful majority.

    After that the following floors were each given at least 2 or 3 extra sections, thus greatly expanding the dungeon''s total size. The floor of peace aka floor 5.5 where no aggressive monsters resided was now home to some makeshift camps that catered as rest stations for those in need of sanctuary. There was still a lot of work to do but the foundations were there.

    Daki''s forge which was also present on this floor had been expanded upon her request and attached to an additional 3 mines which she had full reign over, much to her delight.

    Excess iron and other low rank materials that couldn''t be turned into equipment or used in the camp''s construction was thus used as trading materials for the trade caravans that journeyed between both Frost''s territory, Kranor and Furano. Gems, magic stones, and monster materials were also part of the outgoing trade resources.

    The Dungeon of Niflheim was slowlying into its own as an established territory. Soon they''d be able to truly delve into unique trades, offering items that couldn''t be found anywhere else in the surrounding area.

    Frost''s frequent interactions with his siblings through the dungeon menu granted him never-ending insights into unique products. Aqua had created and designed a new fish monster thatcked much fighting strength but was absolutely delectable once cooked.

    Her Abelina fish had taken the nearby underwater kingdoms and coastal territories by storm thus providing her more than a pretty penny as well as fanatical customers.

    Indra discovered a special type of gemstone that reacted uniquely with lightning chakra to create mesmerising colours across its surface. Acting swiftly upon this discovery he purchased multiple gem mines for his dungeon and started exporting the brand new fashion trend.

    Opposed to products that brought coin ie Void and Chronos started selling scrolls of their unique spells to their siblings while Damascus epted orders to forge personal weapons. Even with the 4 star ive [wolf howling at the moon] at his side Frost was tempted to request a weapon from his younger brother who''d already reached the same level as Borris, a 4 star cksmith.

 Chapter 577: Chapter 577: Dungeon development (2)

    Dark''s prized children were quickly making their marks upon Nova, bringing a bright smile to the old god''s face.

    "Things seem to be progressing well, even better than I hoped." Dark sat in his prized garden with a ss of his personally brewed wine in hand, gazing at multiple screens that showed the lives of his children.

    "So diverse and already I can see signs of the stagnation lifting." He nodded his head while praising his own genius before frowning.

    "Light, what are you doing?" The Light God his creationist counterpart already dered his disgust for the dungeon cores, demanding their immediate destruction shortly after their birth. The man had been hard at work in the background trying to conjure up favour among the other Gods as with their support he may be able to overturn their stalemate.

    Unfortunately for him not many agreed with his views, seeing him as being nothing but paranoid, afraid of change and untrusting towards anything new after the events of the church of light. This of course angered Light greatly and only furthered his vendetta against the dungeon cores. Dark was starting to get worried about his friend, fearful of what he might do.

    "Haaaaaaa all I can do is hope for the best. Prepare yourselves my children, only with strength can you endure what he ns to throw at you." Dark particrly worried about some of the youngest cores, unlike their elder siblings they were barely scaping by when it came developing their own dungeons but even, so he refused to lend a hand.

    Their lives and destinies were their own, he had provided enough aid.

    Back to the Dungeon of Niflheim.

    With the dungeon''s continued development and poprity more and more people flocked into the camp, quickly filling out the remaining space. Shops, hotels, workshops and permanent residences cropped up everyday thanks to Frost and his workforce but even then it didn''t seem to be enough.

    More and more people wanted to settle down and invest in his territory, the dungeon of Niflheim had be a real hotspot.

    Alongside new buildings farms were being developed in the southeast corner of the camp as well as beyond the southern wall. With the trading caravans as well as the vast poption it had be necessary for the camp to start growing its own fruits and vegetables.

    Purchasing through the dungeon menu was quite efficient but difficult to rationalise over a long period time especially for a growing poption, thus the farms. There was even few secret farms run by his monsters on the lower floors that provided extra crops as well as the ingredients needed for the Sleeping Fenrir and Nanna''s cooking experiments.

    Frost failed to find a suitable long term teacher for Nanna in the past three months, but he had arranged for her to intern under some of the chefs working in the new inns and restaurants. His position as territory lord granted him enough influence to easily persuade these professionals despite Nanna''sck in experience.

    Their fears however were unfounded, the young phoenix kin worked incredibly hard and quickly showed off her talents, winning over the stubborn head chefs who despised amateurs in the workce.

    While Nanna worked towards her goal in bing a first rate spirit chef Loki studied under the highest ranked troll witchdoctors and ice dwarf priests, soaking up their medical knowledge. He was adamant in bing the ultimate doctor that could heal any of his family''s injuries and illnesses.

    Daki frequently exchanged smithing knowledge with Borris thus making great strides in her craft while Frost continued to train with Maya and asionally Finy, slowly but surely improving his strength. His magic capabilities were set to break into the B-rank any day now. Yes, everything seemed to going swimmingly for Frost and his family.

    The same however couldn''t be said of the Furano household and the Northrend empire. Frost was currently sitting in his office and conversing with Dous through amunication crystal.

    "Things are getting pretty heated here Frost. You need to be wary of anyone suspicious entering your territory and by no means should you visit Furano or the Northrend empire." Dous warned with an exhausted expression.

    Ever since the 2nd prince of the empire allegedly tried to assassinate Frost and the crown prince''s inadequacies brought to light multiple battles happened in the dark. The fight for the throne had begun and it was clear that no small amount of blood would be shed.

    The Furanos'' fervent attacks against the 2nd prince in retaliation to his actions towards Frost prompted the eldest prince to make moves of his own, hoping to finally put an end to his younger brother''s ambitions before he had the chance to shake his position as crown prince.

    The emperor was powerless to stop the events that were transpiring as fighting for throne was natural, he only hoped that the damage to the empire would be minimal but unfortunately that seemed impossible. He frequently chided Dous for forcing these events to start prematurely but the stubborn Viscount refused to admit any fault, annoying him to no end.

    Currently the empire was covered in spies thus making the entire ce dangerous for an outsider like Frost. Both the crown prince and the 2nd prince would love to see him fall after all.

    "Thanks for the warning my friend, I''ll be sure to keep my eyes open. How are you doing by the way? You look exhausted."

    "Haaaaa I''ve certainly been better. I wish this confrontation between the princes would have happened a few years down the line when Leo could have taken up the mantle." Dous was tired and worried for his family; assassinations weremonce but more annoying was the sanctions and embargos set up by rival nobles who were jealous of their position.

    The war for the throne gave them the go ahead to act on their whims. The territory that was previously wrecked by Alex''s despicable management and struggling to recover was now being assaulted by its neighbours. If it wasn''t for the monster stampede the Viscounty would be really struggling right now, financially speaking.

    "But it''s no useining about what''s already happened. Our house will survive thispetition for the throne just like we always have. It''ll just be hard for a while."

    "If you need anything, anything at all please tell me."

    "Much appreciated but we''ll be fine, just concentrate on building up that territory of yours that''ll be help enough." The stronger Frost''s territory became the more the Furanos would benefit. The stronger the ally the stronger the deterrent it has on their enemies.

    "Understood, what else?" Dous wouldn''t waste his valuable time just to give him a simple warning.

    Dous looked to his side before leaning in close to the screen to speak.

    "You''ll be getting a group of high profile visitors soon that you must not offend under any circumstances." Dous spoke with such seriousness that it made Frost''s spine tingle. It had to be understood that Dous knew of Maya''s strength therefore for there to be a group that he couldn''t offend their background must be unimaginable.

    "Exin." Frost''s curiosity was peaked.

    "The federation of knowledge has finally sent out an investigation team. They arrived in Furano a couple days ago and have already interviewed myself, Bastion and Leo about the dungeon that you''ve taken over. They''ll likely be heading to your territory in theing days, so you''ll need to be prepared to amodate them.

    I know your strong and that you''ve likely got some serious backing but even then the federation of knowledge is not a group you should get on the bad side of. Their organisation spans the entire and is filled with both brilliant scientists and powerfulbatants i.e. S-ranks. If that wasn''t enough they have a strong rtionship with the Dark God.

    They serve as messengers, alerting the world of any new additions the God of creation adds to Nova. So please don''t do anything to piss them off." Dous practically begged Frost to be on his best behaviour. Something that irritated the young man.

    ''What do you think I am? Some mad dog that attacks anyone I find remotely interesting.''

    "Rx Dous I''ve got no beef with the federation; they''ll be treated as my guests of honour." This statement was true, Frost truly had no issues with the federation in fact he held a great deal of respect for them. Their connection to the Dark God certainly helped validate their position.

    "Alright I''ll hold you to it. Answer any questions they have honestly, lying will get you nowhere and only serve to dy their investigation and piss them off."

    "Ok I get it, nice and friendly." The call ended a few minutester after Dous reported a few more details to his young friend but nothing was as impactful as the arrival of the federation of knowledge.

    "Hmm the federation of knowledge, I wonder what their investigation will entail." Though he wasn''t too adverse to the group studying his dungeon in depth there was a limit. Opening up his most sensitive secrets and dungeon heart to these people even if they served as an arm of his father was not something he was that keen on.

    "I''ll let them study everything but the lowest floors¡­if they can make it that far." The final floor would remain off limits regardless of their status.

    "Hopefully they''re understanding."

 Chapter 578: Chapter 578: The federation of knowledge

    2 dayster in the early morning a group of individuals dressed in dark cloaks walked through therge gates of the camp.

    "The reports really don''t do this ce justice." One of the individualsmented as they gazed upon the majestic walls of the camp and the many buildings inside.

    "The territory lord is a gifted individual armed with a strong business sense, hefty finances and arge pool ofbour. He knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to establish this ce." Another robed individual praised Frost''s abilities without restraint, truly moved by his swift actions.

    "Let''s go and meet this business savvy individual then. ording to the guild master of the local adventurers guild there''s no one who knows more about the dungeon here than him."

    "Agreed." The group of eight men and women thus made their way towards Frost''s office to meet with him.

    This group was the investigation team sent by the federation of knowledge. Four investigators along with four bodyguards, three of which reached the upper stages of B-rank while thest, the group leader was a half-step into the A-rank. A very powerful group capable of handling all manner of riffraff during their travels.

    Even the nobles and royal family of the Northrend empire dared not impede these individuals though they kept a close eye on their movements.

    Within the dungeon''s private space.

    "Is the federation really linked to father?" Frost asked while enjoying a hearty breakfast.

    "In a way yes. They''re a group dedicated to knowledge, fervent in their desire to uncover all of Nova''s mysteries and unlike the church of light they don''t seek dominion or control over the world in his name. All they want to do is learn and protect the many marvels of Nova.

    Respecting this mission Dark God-sama endorsed their values and granted them a means ofmunication with him thusbelling them as one of his representatives. The federation of knowledge was the first group informed about you and siblings, and it was them who disseminated the information to the rest of Nova." Maya informed her young master with a great deal of respect in her voice.

    The federation was a massive organisation that despite being so vast and epassing continued to uphold their set values without falling into corruption. Some of theirbat focused individuals could even school her in battle, they were not a force her young master could defeat.

    Maya''s answer made him frown. "Since they''re so focused on knowledge they likely won''t give up until they''ve uncovered everyst nook and cranny, right?" Obsessed researchers weren''t necessarily malicious, but he really didn''t feelfortable unveiling himself.

    "It''s highly likely, they are quite fervent in their pursuits after all. Even if Dark God-sama warned them and ced a veil around the connection between you and the dungeon''s core they''ll probably still discover a lot of your secrets." Maya spoke as though being scanned from head to toe was inevitable and that he should simply ept it.

    "How ufortable." Frost groaned in protest, not liking the situation in the slightest.

    "Cheer up, they at least know what information to release to the public and what information to keep secret. As long as they''re in the know that''s all that matters to them."

    "Hmm maybe I should attempt an exchange then, tit for tat if you will." If his secrets were going to be exposed to them regardless he might as well get something out of it.

    "Does the federation have much presence in the cial mountains?" Frost turned to face Daki who was quickly devouring a te of eggs and sausages before she was set to visit her personal forge. The cksmithing orc subus had been working hard on a new piece equipment, so much so that she was skipping sleep and even meals.

    Frost had to force her to join him for breakfast recently lest she copse from overwork.

    "Oh yeah, even in a danger zone like the cial mountains the federation is present in pretty much all the major kingdoms. The mountains are home to troves of treasures and magical mysteries after all. I''ve even met a few of their members while on business, a highly educated sort that are filled with almost insane passion and drive when ites to the unknown.

    In fact the federation is home to some of the most skilled and experienced grandmasters whose sole desires are to reach the very peak of their crafts, to do the impossible. For a time I was even tempted to join them in pursuit of mastering my own skills." Daki spoke with even more reverence than Maya.

    "Hoh why didn''t you?" Frost grew curious. Daki was quite the talent given the fact she was able to reach the upper ranks of a 3 star cksmith at her age and with her background. Of course he was grateful that in the end she chose to stay in Kranor thus allowing the two of them to meet.

    "Creative differences, afraid to leave home,ck of confidence, abination of reasons really but in the end I just felt that it wasn''t a good fit despite the many advantages they offer." Daki shook her head and shrugged, choosing to not enter the federation of knowledge was not one of her regrets. She would ze her own path even if it meant not making it as far.

    "So the group is very highly regarded no matter where in Nova you are."

    "You got that right, even the most powerful empires and nations respect and honour the will of the federation so be on your best behaviour."

    "Why does everybody seem to think I''m going to screw this up somehow?"

    Maya and Daki both looked at one another before turning back to Frost with bright smiles adorning their lips.

    ""Intuition"" They both said yfully.

    "Urgh!" Frost groaned in response causing the two of them tough.

    A short timeter in the lord''s office.

    "It''s an honour to meet your Lord Frost." The leader of the investigation team a young looking elven woman bowed her head in reverence after pulling down her cloak. Herpanions followed suit a momentter revealing their diverse cast in races. There wasn''t a single human in the bunch.

    "I believe the honour I mine miss?" Frost smiled politely from his desk, quickly standing up so at to not put on any airs of arrogance. These individuals were not stuck up merchants but researchers who deserved his respect.

    "Ara ara where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself. 5th star investigator Ladius Palmer of the federation of knowledge at your service milord." Miss Palmer proudly introduced herself before gesturing towards herpanions.

    "Aiding me in my work are my three juniors Carl, Mina and Suiten, each 3 star investigators in their own right." Thanks to Maya''s education Frost was aware of the hierarchy within the federation. Their investigators, profession masters and evenbat personal were divided into star ranks with 1 star being the lowest and 8 star being the highest.

    Miss Palmer being a 5 star investigator meant she was rather high up in the hierarchy.

    "Pleasure."

    "Nice to meet you."

    "Greetings." The three junior investigators, Carl a dragonkin, Mina an elk beastman and Suiten a water genasi who could breathe both underwater and onnd performed their own greetings after being introduced by miss Palmer. The three of them were her direct subordinates, to learn from her as she fulfilled her duties.

    "It''s very nice to meet the three of you." Frost shook their hands before eyeing up the remaining four individuals who bore a natural intimidating presence. He wasn''t a match for a single one of them. A fact that honestly put him a little on edge. Thankfully however there was an entity by his side that did the same to them.

    Maya who was dressed in a beautiful blue dress stood by his side with a gentle smile, providing support for her young master in this meeting. The junior investigators didn''t pick up on her presence that much bar the fact that she was a devasting beauty, but the bodyguards certainly did.

    Cold sweat dripped down their necks as they failed to look away from the dangerous entity, thankfully however Maya showed no intention in using her strength.

    "Of course I can''t forget to introduce our lovely guardians, Terrance if you wouldn''t mind." Miss Palmer coyly asked with a mischievous grin. She knew of Maya''s strength and was particrly enjoying seeing their team''s mighty bodyguards shaking in their boots.

    "¡­.It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lord Frost and Lady¡­"

    "Maya."

    "Yes Lady Maya. My name is Terrance and I''m a 5 starbat guard in service to the federation and protection leader for Miss Palmer''s team." Terrance the leader of the guards and the one half a step into the A-rank greeted nervously after called being upon. He then gestured with his chin to the still wary people standing behind him.

    Though reluctant to draw attention to themselves the other three gave their introductions.

    "Mammon, sir anddy."

    "Quintep."

    "Ariana." The three of them were of the same rank as Terrance but given his superiority in strength as well as seniority he was the protection leader.

    "It''s an honour to be in the presence of such strong individuals, I''m sure miss Palmer, Carl, Mina and Suiten are grateful for your protection." Despite Frost''s attempts to kindle pride in the protection team they still stared warily at Maya, unable to rx in her presence.

    "Haaaaaa rx she doesn''t bite...well asionally she does but ow! What was that for?" While making a joke to lighten the mood Frost''s side was fiercely twisted by his darling girlfriend. Following that he received a threatening re warning him to keep his pretty mouth shut if he wanted to live.

    The interaction between the couple allowed the protection detail to finally rx, Terrance and Palmer evenughed a little before sitting down to continue the official meeting.

 Chapter 579: Chapter 579: The federation of knowledge (2)

    With the mood lightened, Frost, Maya, Terrance and Ladius took their seats while the rest remained standing. The official meeting between Frost; the lord of the camp they were in as well as the one with the greatest knowledge in regards to the dungeon and the federation of knowledge''s investigation team was thus underway.

    "Well to get started let me say that I''m aware of your identity to some extent Lord Frost." Miss Palmer started out swinging.

    "Urgh¡­.would you mind borating Miss Palmer." Frost was caught by surprise, not expecting the lead investigator to open with something so provocative.

    "Hehehehe please call me Ladius Lord Frost, to have someone like yourself greet me with such respect would be rather unbing of my station no?" Ladius smiled mischievously making Frost''s lips twitch.

    "Please don''t tease me Ladius I get enough of that from her." He gestured towards Maya who arched her chest out with pride.

    "Hehehehe alright I''ll be straight with you lord Frost. His eminence the Dark God has already informed the federation of knowledge about the truth surrounding the dungeons in other words YOU."

    "..." Frost chose to remain silent, prompting Ladius to continue.

    "He informed us that each of the dungeons would have a physical personification that could act independently from the dungeon itself.

    Taking the form of an intelligent monster or sapient they could travel the world and interact with the rest of Nova just like any other inhabitant while at the same being in full control of an advanced monsterir and all the benefits that entails." Frost kept a calm expression but internally he was screaming at his father, cursing his loose gums.

    "From my personal investigation I have learned that you came into existence shortly after the dungeon was discovered, before that there wasn''t even a single trace of you. A man whose appearance is certainly unforgettable and talent that would put even the most gifted people to shame couldn''t have possibly remained unknown this entire time.

    Add on the fact you have a powerful S-rank fenrir by your side as well as your intimate¡­ow¡­.connection to the dungeon its clear that you are this physical manifestation. The embodiment of the dungeon and a child of his eminence." Ladiusid bare her theory with a confident expression. Dark only told them snippets of the truth, it was her that linked them together to identify Frost.

    To be sure however she peered into his body with her [Analyse] skill causing a painful bacsh, tears of blood dripped down her cheeks but now she was absolutely certain. The veil held simrities to the Dark God, their eminence.

    "¡­..Haaaaaaa here drink this." Frost eventually let out a deep sigh before handing over a mid-level health potion to the bleeding Ladius.

    "Thank you Lord Frost."

    "Don''t mention it. Guess the cat''s really is out of the bag."

    "So you''re admitting it."

    "It''d be pointless to lie after you deduced so much. Yes you are correct Ladius I am the personification of the dungeon and Maya here is my guardian assigned to me by my father the Dark God." Frost openly revealed his true identity resulting in a fervour among the investigators and even bodyguards.

    "A true child of his eminence." Ladius and the other investigators all bowed their heads in reverence as they prayed to Dark, thanking him for his grace.

    Meanwhile Frost started getting chills, Ladius and the others were starting to devolve into religious fanatics.

    Eventually they managed to calm themselves and return to a somewhat normal state though their voices were forever tinted with heartfelt piety.

    "So apart from identifying myself what else is on the agenda for the federation of knowledge?" Surely they didn''te all this way just to confirm his identity.

    "Ahh yes our true mission is quite standard, research and investigate the dungeon in its entirety. Examine its depths, future potential, monster allocation,yout as well as all the differences from a regr monsterir stuff that would help us understand the true nature of the dungeon and aid those delving into its depths." Ladius exined with dramatic hand gestures.

    "So pretty much how you''d investigate a new monsterir or special dimension?"

    "Yes, nothing too fancy if we exclude yourself."

    "And what about myself, do you intend to study me in depth?"

    "If you''re willing then absolutely and I promise any findings pertaining to you as an individual and your link to the dungeon will remain a secret to the public. His eminence was quite adamant about that."

    ''Seems he''s good for something at least.''

    "Alright permission granted but you''ll be treated the same way as regr delvers." He wasn''t going to make it too easy for the group to sniff out his deepest secrets.

    "Of course, we don''t expect any special treatment in that regard that''s why Terrance and the others are with us." Ladius gestured towards the strong looking protection team who could individually crush Frost and his strongest monster Finy without much effort.

    Frost was happy to let the group investigate the dungeon in detail after chatting with them. Since Ladius already made the link between the dungeon and himself he wasn''t too bothered about them finding out some more.

    The group were rather pious towards Dark and seemed trustworthy plus given how methodical they were they''d likely be staying here for quite some time which was glorious news for his DP ie. Four B-rank bodyguards with one nearly reaching A-rank was already north of 1000DP a day. Oh the development possibilities.

    "Please tell me if there''s anything else I can do to make your time here more pleasant. I''ve already arranged for rooms in the Sleeping Fenrir to be made avable to you while you''re staying with us, free of charge of course." Resting in the Sleeping Fenrir would see their DP values triple whenever they used them, over 3000DP from a paltry four people muhahuahahuha.

    Frost had to restrain himself fromughing.

    "You''ve been most helpful already Lord Frost, don''t worry we won''t impose on your daily life too much while we''re here but if you don''t mind would you be open for the asional chat, I''d love to hear more about you as a person." Ladius ced her soft hands on top of Frost''s as she smiled in a flirtatious manner.

    Her actions of course caused a reaction in Maya, her tail puffed up and she started staring daggers at the elven woman who suddenly appeared threatening.

    "Hahahaha I''m sure we can arrange that Ladius. I''d love to hear more about the federation in exchange as well as the kind of work you do for them." Frost yed along with the exchange, smiling softly.

    "It''s a date then, I''ll see you tomorrow at noon for lunch."

    "I look forward to it." For a finale Frost lightly kissed the back of Ladius'' hand before escorting the group out of his office, feeling far chipper than when they started. Maya however was ring at her boyfriend as though she wished to tear him a new one.

    "Do you have something to say?"

    "Hmph." She loudly hmphed and pouted making Frostugh, she was absolutely adorable when she was jealous, part of the reason he engaged in flirting with Ladius. Of course the flirting was just ying he had absolutely no interest in Ladius, nor did she have any in him at least not as a man more as a mystery that she wanted to unearth.

    Using feminine wiles was a proven way to extract more information from a male target after all.

    Maya probably knew that as well, but it still irked her plus she liked pouting every so often as it led to Frost soothing her in a gentle manner.

    The federation''s investigative team quickly made themselves at home here in the camp. Word of their presence soon spread causing a hubbub of excitement in the residents. The federation of knowledge was a massive organisation that covered the entire, many were curious about them, some of which even wished to aid them and or join their group.

    Ladius and her team thus had to work alongside the pseudo adventurers guild set up within the Niflheim camp to organise these curious individuals so their work wouldn''t be impeded. Information about the federation was thus avable at the guild as were quests to help Ladius'' investigation i.e. mapping, retrieving certain materials, monster hunting as well as giving interviews.

    Since the team wanted to be as thorough as possible they assigned minor work to these enthusiastic volunteers while they themselves did the more important tasks.

    For the first week, the group thoroughly scanned the upper 3 floors, taking many environmental samples, copious notes and testing of the monsters present on each floor. Each time the group left the dungeon and returned to their rooms in the Sleeping fenrir bright smiles could be seen on their faces and unrestrained passion in their eyes despite their haggard and dirt covered bodies.

    Everything about the dungeon was simr to a monsterir in a way but also new and so much more diverse and intricate. Rules that were established for monsterirs didn''t necessarily equate to dungeons.

    Ladius and her team for example timed how long certain nts took to respawn or how fast the environment would take to heal itself after being damaged andpared it to a monsterir of a simr size. To their amazement the dungeon despite only having 12 floors wasparable to a monsterir roughly five times the size.

    And this was just one of the many discoveries they made as they explored the dungeon''s possibilities.

 Chapter 580: Chapter 580: The Holy white empire

    "Everything is better, more efficient, more diverse and more dynamic than I thought possible. Topare a dungeon to a monsterir even the most advanced is an insult. It''s likeparing heaven and earth, a boundless uncrossable chasm lies between." Ladius who was sitting across from Frost in one of the camp''s restaurants ranted on with sparkling eyes.

    Her passion was unrivalled, her desire to learn all there was about Dark''s new creation unending. Frost barely managed to get a word in edge wise whenever they had these little dates of theirs.

    "I''ll take that as apliment." He found her intrigue interesting and somewhat embarrassing. In a way she was describing himself, he was the dungeon, and the dungeon was him after all.

    "Oh you definitely should, you''re amazing, soplex yet so familiar. Never in my entire career have I ever felt that monsterirs werecking, until now. Your dungeon is magnificent, alive and filled with so much potential. If I was a merchant the term gold mine would be a severe understatement."

    "Thanks." Frost rubbed his upper lip as he felt a blushing on. It was hard to hear such tant personal praise. Unfortunately Ladius wasn''t finished. After taking a swig of juice and arge bite of steak she pointed directly at him.

    "And then there''s you as you. A form akin to an elf of the noblest line, with an appearance that would make any woman swoon from the slightest sign of affection and talent that allowed you to reach B-rank after just a few months of living.

    If his eminence favours anyone it''s you and your siblings, even dragons aren''t as gifted as you." Her jealously was obvious but she was old enough and experienced enough to not be swayed by such feelings.

    Frost was a magical existence to her, a rarity far more noble and mysterious than even ancient dragons. The only beings ranked higher by her standards were the Gods, those who superseded their mortality to reign beyond Nova in their own established dimensions.

    "When we''re finished analysing every inch of you and your dungeon I''m sure to get a promotion and finally enter the true upper hierarchy of the federation hahahahaha I''ll finally be able ess some of the ancestral tomes." Ladiusughed manically as she looked over Frost''s body with fanaticism.

    "Cough, cough Ladius you''re doing it again." Frost quickly called her out on her actions the moment she started drooling.

    "Ahh sorry sometimes I just can''t help myself, a bad habit of those in my profession." Ladius sat back in her chair and removed the umtion of drool from her lips. She''d frequently enter dazes like this whenever she sat across from him for a lengthy period of time.

    "While I''m d to be an object of such intense interest I believe it''s my turn for the questions." Initially he was quite worried about Ladius'' interests. He had been warned several times and knew the importance of keeping his secrets close at hand but thanks to a revtion by her during their first ''date'' he was no longer bothered.

    The federation of knowledge held very strict rules when it came to disseminating knowledge to the public, especially private/personal knowledge. Anyone at the 3 star level or above was bound by strong contract magic preventing them from bbing the federation''s many secrets.

    All knowledge gained by Ladius, and her team would first be inspected by the keepers who would then decide how much to reveal to the inhabitants of Nova. However all knowledge in regards to Frost himself was under lock and key, never to be revealed by the federation as dictated by Dark.

    Therefore any and all discussions held between Ladius and Frost on their dates was protected by this contract, fully aying his worries.

    "Haaaaaa fine I guess it''s only fair." Ladius sighed with disappointment, but she was a woman of her word. As per their agreement Frost was entitled to ask her anything about the federation''s held knowledge or about herself as an investigator. Whether she could actually answer the question or not was another topic, but the rules were quite lenient for someone like Frost.

    "Thanks. Continuing on from yesterday I''d like to hear more information about the Church of light?" During their first few interactions Frost learned a great deal about the federation as a whole from Ladius. He learned about their mission, their members, their presence i.e. territory across Nova as well as some of the benefits in joining their organisation.

    After that he focused on learning about known mystical dimensions, massive monsterirs and legends about his father and other Gods, thest topic being quite enjoyable for Ladius to embellish.

    Now however he wished to learn about his enemy, the group that is so despised by the world that even his father couldn''t help but spit after uttering their name.

    "Delicate tastes as always but I can''t say I me you." His request was quite a challenge for Ladius as knowledge regarding the Church of light was highly restricted given how dangerous they were but considering his position she decided to reveal a few things.

    "Right now the Church of light and the Holy white empire is fully restricted to the central continent with all the major nations across Nova keeping a close eye on their movements however despite their restricted state the empire is still strong, very strong.

    No other nation on the central continent can match them economically or in terms of military power thus they either live in fear of their looming presence or are viscously vassalized under their tyrannical thumb. And despite their failures and condemnation by the very God their follow they still enve all races that aren''t human."

    "Why do the nations across Nova condone this, why not just destroy them once and for all?" This question had been in the back of his mind for a long time.

    His father and the Light God were restrained by their pact, an agreement that restricted how much they could directly interfere with the inhabitants of Nova but what stopped the powerful nations such as the Northrend empire from finishing the job. To finally put an end to their tyranny.

    Ladius narrowed her eyes and looked to her sides before speaking. "Because they''re still strong, filled with trump cards and have hidden enves dotted across the. The Gods are no longer indirectly giving aid to the alliance and the wounds from the grand war are still being felt.

    Attacking the Holy white empire would enact a toll no nation is willing to pay so they restrict them, preventing their growth and expansion. A foolish choice when ites to long term damage but one that was agreed upon and is still upheld today." The cost to erase thempletely was just too much.

    "I see." Though he didn''t fully agree with the alliance''s choice he now understood why the Holy white empire and Church of Light still existed.

    "Can you talk about those trump cards and hidden enves?" If he knew what they were he could possibly prepare defences against them.

    "Utuhn!" Ladius immediately denied his request, making arge X with her arms. That information was highly, highly restricted.

    "What about information about their technology, and unique magics?"

    "Utuhn! Also restricted. Such magic and technology must not be spread throughout the world again, the cost and depravity is too great."

    "Does that include their ve tattoos?" He still had the hope of releasing Nanna and Loki from their envement.

    "It most certainly does Lord Frost. In fact that is one of our most restricted subjects. I can''t say anymore." Ladius was strangely serious when it came to this topic, firmly denying any possible wiggle room.

    ''Guess I''ll have to search somewhere else.'' He had ns to involve his brothers Void and Chronos but thought it best to wait until they became more established with their magic knowledge. The two of them may be the most magically inclined of the dungeon cores but they were still young. To expect them to be able to crack something that no other mage has been able to do in centuries was rather na?ve.

    "Alright then what else can you tell me?"

    "I can tell you about the nation''s territory, who runs where as well as a little about the factions and current political leaders but pretty much everything else is restricted." The Holy white empire and the Church of light were very sensitive subjects, hardly any information was disseminated to the public. Only those high up in the alliance and federation of knowledge were privy to such details.

    "Ohh that could be interesting, do tell." Who ran such an evil church and tyrannical empire.

    "Well the current emperor is Linarias Levin Archibald the 17th, direct descent of the first emperor of the Holy white empire and father of Linarias Levin Archibald the 18th, and two other children, a son and a daughter. The empire is controlled heavily by emperor Linarias with both the nobles and officials controlling but a minority of political power making it pretty much a dictatorship."

    ''Sounds right so far for an evil empire.''

    "The only group that is beyond the emperor''s reproach and has the ability to give orders to him and the nation as a whole is the Pope of the Church of Light, a middle aged woman by the name of Genova who''s attunement to the light element is unmatched even when considering her predecessors.

    These two hold the empire in the palm of their hands, relishing in their power and cruelty." It was clear that Ladius didn''t have a high opinion of either one of them.

    "Below them you have the nobles, the aristocrats of the empire who fall into three factions, the first being the passive faction a group who desire to put off their nation''s grand ambitions and instead focus on internal development. Then there''s the aggressive faction who wish to start dominating the rest of Nova as soon as possible regardless of the price their citizens would have to pay.

    And finally thest and smallest faction is the royal faction, a group of nobles who basically cling to the legs of the emperor, agreeing with whatever he says even if it weakens the powers of the nobles as a whole. They''re by far the most despised faction among the other nobles and officials as they believe that the emperor already has more than enough political power."

    "The allied nations also secretly do their best to influence the political war within the Holy white empire, hoping to curb their rise and recovery but with the power bnce being so heavily favoured on the emperor it''s difficult for them to make any real change."

    "That sounds like something you''d be restricted in telling no?"

    "Not really, it''s a sort of open secret. Political subterfuge happens in every nation, the Holy white empire is no exception." Of course the specific details of such subterfuge was highly restricted.

 Chapter 581: Chapter 581: The Holy white empire (2)

    "Now for the church." Ladius took a breath before moving onto the second major power within the empire.

    "Simr to the emperor Pope Genova rules the Church of Light with an iron fist, in fact her power is even more consolidated, no one dares oppose her, an organisation that is truly of one mind. Even if it is severely warped." Ladius snickered in a mocking fashion.

    "The four cardinals assist Pope Genova as her capable hands while the many bishops, deacons and priests below them tend to the massive flock of brainwashed and magically influenced sheep that make up the empire''s citizens. Even their brutally beaten ves are brainwashed into believing that they are abominations that deserve such a life. Despite the grand war their faith is unshakeable."

    "How is it that they can be so united despite being rejected by the very one they worship?"

    "Insanity, stubbornness, blind faith, a hefty amount of indoctrination and of course stark refusal to ept Lord Light''s rejection, take your pick. In fact there''s a strong consensus among the flock that they''re still carrying out the God of Light''s true wishes, many have no idea that they''ve been abandoned by him and that they''re condemned by the rest of the world.

    The Pope and Cardinals have made sure to quickly snuff out such damaging influences over the many years so as to protect their control and power over the masses."

    "So only the upper ranks know the truth. Are they a coboration of faithless liars and chatans? To speak of the God of Light''s will while knowingly being forsaken by him."

    "I see how you came to that conclusion but no the upper ranks despite knowing the ''truth'' are the most pious and faithful, truly believing that their actions are just and beholden to his true will.

    They believe that the God of Light who currently condemns them is confused or possibly even an imposter and that only by achieving their god given mission will they be able to restore the bnce and return their Lord back to who he once was." Ladius said with extreme seriousness, she was not joking. The Church of Light''s upper ranks truly believed in this facy.

    "That''s¡­.."

    "Insane, yeah that''s the Church of Light for you. A lost cause of fanatics and not the good kind." Clearly the good kind were like herself and the federation of knowledge who passionately explored the mysteries of the world regardless of the danger.

    Ladius continued to exin all she could about the Church of Light and the Holy white empire, slowly but surely putting a clear face to his otherwise unknown enemy.

    For an empire restricted by the alliance of nations their economy was actually fairly strong. Even without international trade the empire had ess to vast array of different materials thanks to their far spanning territory. Ore mines, magic crystal mines, abundance of monsters and even ess to the ocean, a self-sufficient nation that relied solely upon its own majesty.

    Frost and Ladius continued to engage in these so called dates every day or so despite the woman''s busy schedule, she''d always make time to chat with the prominent dungeon core.

    After 3 weeks the investigation team started reaching the lowest floors, easily surpassing the most determined regrs. By all ounts -bar Frost- they were the first ones to reach such depths, a cause for celebration among the adventurers'' guild.

    Finally they''d be able to know some of whaty at the bottom of the dungeon, a mystery they''d likely never be able to personally see given their own strength.

    The protection detail of Terrance and his team made short work of the C-rank monsters Frost sent to test them, easily culling them while at the same time allowing Ladius and her subordinates to study their movements and abilities. Whether it was a revenant, an ice troll or a yuki-onna all were no match for the prowess of the 5 star bodyguards.

    "There''s definitely a difference in intelligence and battle capabilitypared to the monsters born inirs." Terrance remarked with glee as he decapitated an ice troll with his great sword.

    "The environment here is far purer and of much higher quality thus allowing for stronger monsters to be created though even among the same species there''s quite a range of diversity." Ladius who was apanying them on the delvemented as she studied her notes.

    "Agreed, it''s like there''s some sort of difference in natural attributes and battle experience among their numbers. It''s closer to the natural world than a monsterir." Terrance judged based upon his extensive battle knowledge.

    Monsters born across Nova were not all the same, some were born with more talent than others and even the asional mutation. While those from monsterirs however tended to be a notch weaker overall and pretty much equal across the board.

    "Fascinating, I''ll have to carve out some more answers from our dear host during our next date hehehehe." Ladiusughed manically as she examined the body of the deceased ice troll.

    Meanwhile in the dungeon''s private space Frost sat before the pseudo dungeon core with a constrained expression.

    "Did you really expect a different oue?" Daki charmingly asked from his side, enjoying the opportunity to help Frost in his work.

    "No but it still doesn''t feel good seeing my strongest forces carved up likemon goblins." The look in Ladius'' eyes certainly didn''t help his unease. Dealing with her though incredibly beneficial was draining on his nerves, there was only so much passion he could take.

    "Rx they''re almost finished." Daki rubbed his shoulders in an attempt tofort him. "Instead of watching them like a hawk why don''t you focus on something else, isn''t Khuno ready to attempt a breakthrough?"

    "Haaaaaa I suppose you''re right, observing them will only strain my nerves." Though he''d grown to trust Ladius and her team it was a whole different ball game when it came to exposing his heart to them.

    He had already discussed the possibility of restricting the investigation team to the secondst floor, barring them from reaching the dungeon''s core, his heart, and greatest weakness but Ladius refused. Their purpose was to examine and analyse the entire Dungeon, and that included the core.

    He''d have to rely solely on their word to do no harm as it was clear that his forces proved to be pitiful defenders against the might of Terrance and his team.

    Of course there was still Maya but that was truly ast resort, culling the entire investigation team would reflect quite poorly on his rtionship with the federation of knowledge. Though indirect agents for his father they weren''t barred from enacting vengeance upon his children if they responded with such violence to their innocent investigation.

    "Helping out Khuno would serve as a good distraction, thanks honey." Frost ced a kiss on Daki''s cheek causing her to lightly giggle.

    "My pleasure babe."

    "By the way how''s your own breakthrough going?" Daki had been working tirelessly the past few weeks, desperately trying to catch up to the camp''s other smithing resident. Borris lit a fire under her ass, his capabilities and knowledge opening up a new world for the young woman.

    "Slowly but surely my love. Being unbound from the responsibilities I had in Kranor and having ess to an unlimited volume of materials to experiment with has done wonders. New ideas for equipment pop into my head every day and my exchanges with Sir Borris have allowed me to envision my future path." Daki spoke with great enthusiasm and passion. She''d been in a rut for a few years back in Kranor.

    Her responsibility as the highest rank smith in the enve restricted her freedom, her ability to experiment and risk failure. She was forging for the sake of the enve and her many customers rather than her own development. A trait she and Borris shared, allowing them to grow quite close.

    Whenever Frost and him chatted the old dwarf would always sing her praises andpliment his ability to bag such a gem.

    "I''m pretty confident that even if I don''t get a sudden burst in enlightenment my natural progress will see me reach 4 star within a year or two." She said with her fists clenched in promise.

    "Amazing, gifted with both beauty and skill, I''m a lucky man."

    "That you are."

    "Hahahahaha."

    "Hahahahaha." The coupleughed and leaned in close to one another, enjoying each other''s touch.

    ''I''ll have to prepare avish reward for the day she breaks through.'' Frost internally noted, preparing to set aside a hefty amount of DP for her present. The achievement of reaching the rank of 4 star cksmith was a very impressive feat especially for someone so young. As the lord of the territory and more importantly her boyfriend he''d be embarrassed to repay such grace with something cheap.

    The two lovebirds chatted amicably and enjoyed one another''spany. They rarely had much alone time given their rather hectic schedules, so they didn''t wish to waste a single minute.

    Eventually another topic of discussion came up, one that Frost had been avoiding.

    "So¡­.have you decided yet?"

 Chapter 582: Chapter 582: A dungeon war challenge

    "So¡­.have you decided yet?"

    "You know asking that with sparkling eyes does little to hide your opinion on the matter."

    "So does that mean it''s a yes." Daki blinked her big doe eyes in a flirtatious manner.

    "Haaaaaaaa no I''m still undecided." Frost sighed and shook his head, putting off his decision.

    "Tch you''re no fun, I was looking forward to experiencing a dungeon war." Daki visibly pouted which looked incredibly sexy, but his mind was firm¡­. ok he wavered for a moment, but could you me him.

    The topic of contention Daki was talking about was a dungeon war challenge he received 4 days ago from his younger brother Kadrick. Now since Frost took part in the exhibition match with Gobuske he was exempt from having to take part in another dungeon war before the next family gathering, meaning he had the right to refuse.

    Though running away wasn''t exactly his style he had sufficient reasons to reject such an aggressive challenge.

    First his territory was currently in the initial stages of development, an important state that he didn''t want to ruin. Second the DP he was getting right now was quite plentiful thus engaging in a dungeon war with someone of Karrick''s standing was likely more trouble than its worth.

    Third he knew the true reason for Karrick''s challenge, and it pissed him off, he didn''t want to y to that bastard''s tune.

    Overall there was very little reason for him to ept Karrick''s challenge in fact he had more reason to reject it outright but the idea of running away pissed him off almost as much thus theck of a decision on his part.

    "I''ll hold off on making my decision until Ladius and her team have finished their investigation." He used Ladius and herrades as an easy excuse.

    "Tsk, if you don''t want to do it then just say so don''t use others as excuses. Where''s the confidence that I fell for?" Daki didn''t let up, she really, really wanted to take part in a dungeon war. Tales of the battle against Gobuske frequently escaped the lips of the Nanna and Loki. She thus felt a little left out.

    Frost''s lips twitched in response to her usation.

    "As usual you don''t pull your punches."

    "Isn''t that what you love about me?"

    "..."

    "Haaaaa I guess you''re right; I really shouldn''t be using others as excuses, but I''ll still hold off until they''re done. Karrick can stew for a while before I put him in his ce."

    "Really you''re going to do it." Daki nearly jumped in glee from his answer, a wide smile quickly growing on her lips.

    Frost leaned towards her and poke her forehead.

    "Since my beautiful green enchantress wishes to see a dungeon war how can I possibly reject her wishes."

    "Hehehehehe." Daki giggled before nting a strong kiss on Frost''s cheek. "Now that''s more like it."

    Karrick''s number among the dungeon cores was 053 and his DP standing during the gathering was in the early 40s, a pale shadow of Frost who was ranked number 4 and likely on the up thanks to the monster stampede and the prosperity of the Niflheim territory. A rather brutish looking man who had the form of a red scaled lizardman and was known more for his brawn than his smarts, a trait that was shared with another sibling that Frost really, really didn''t appreciate.

    Pyro who was the 3rd eldest and holder of an element directly opposed to him was not only simr to Karrick but his boss if you will.

    Karrick who was also a user of fire magic was subdued by Pyro in an earlier challenge. Being so easily crushed by someone of a simr style and element Karrick willingly came under Pyro''s influence once asked. His challenging of Frost was actually under the orders of Pyro in an attempt to mock him and reduce his standing among the other cores.

    ''Though I really hate having to follow the tune of that bastard it''s better than letting other''s think I''m weak. Sorry little brother but you chose the wrong sibling to follow.'' An evil smile adorned Frost''s lips as he finally made up his mind to crush Karrick and his foolish thoughts. Just because he was a user of the fire element did he think he''d be a match for himself, foolish and na?ve.

    The only fire user that could go toe to toe with him was Pyro of that he was certain.

    Frost and Daki enjoyed some time alone together beforeter teleporting to the training space where Khuno was ready and waiting.

    "Are you ready?" Frost asked calmly with arge pile of shining mana crystals lying to his left.

    "Yes milord, I''m ready to take the plunge." Khuno responded with a determined nod. He had reached max level a while ago and had been steadily ruing mana crystals so as to breach the boundary between C and B-rank.

    Frost himself as well as his dungeon was stillcking the ability to support a B-rank monster let alone two. Therefore like with Finy before him Khuno needed to absorb mass amounts of crystals, to the point that he was ready to burst before attempting evolution. Of course luck would also y arge in whether or not he seeded but both he and Frost had high hopes.

    "Alright, let''s begin." Frost nodded his head and ordered the start of the procedure. Both Nanna and Loki were here for support while Maya and Finy were left to manage the dungeon''s affairs.

    Slowly Khuno started devouring mana crystals, topping off his saturation levels to the point that it hurt. Every mana crystal he absorbed would increase his chance at sess. He refused to lose to Finy.

    "You can do it Khuno!"

    "Just one more!" Nanna and Loki cheered in support of his efforts while Frost clenched his fists nervously. Daki meanwhile looked on in amazement, this process was so different to what she knew.

    ''Could I evolve if I stuffed myself with mana crystals?'' Daki never worried about her rank and species as a monster. She was intelligent enough that she could grow and advance simrly to that of a sapient but upon choosing to bond with Frost she suddenly feltcking. She wondered if evolution would allow her to bridge the gap between her and Maya as well as Frost himself.

    ''I''ll experimentter.'' She vowed to give it a try. Perhaps she''d be even more lovable and sexy after evolving, that alone was incentive enough.

    "I¡­I''m¡­at the limit." Khuno said through strained breaths.

    "Then advance Khuno!" Frost gave permission and a secondter radiant light burst out from Khuno; he was advancing.

    Pressure spread out from the ronso captain as his aura formed. luckily Frost expected this and shielded Nanna and Loki from it, they were still too weak to safely endure such pressure after all.

    "Urgh!" Groans of pain escape Khuno''s lips as his body was forcibly reshaped by the abundant mana that flowed through his veins. An intense burning sensation followed by the crushing and breaking of bones almost overwhelmed his consciousness, but he fought through it knowing that to faint here would mean failure.

    The light surrounding him eventually grew to be so mesmerising that his original form could no longer be seen.

    ''Come on Khuno, you can do it.'' Frost looked on with hope as did everyone else.

    "AAARRRRGRGHHHHHH!!!" Suddenly Khuno screamed in pain which was followed by a final blinding sh of light and mana that forced the observers to cover their eyes and look away.

    "KHUNO!!" Frost screeched in a panicked tone before rushing towards his loyal subordinate. Before he could arrive by his side however arge blue hand stretched out from the mana induced fog and smashed against the floor causing it to violently rumble. Next the body a ronso a fair bit bulkier and taller than Khuno revealed itself.

    Its skin appearing glossier, muscles more supple and its white tufts of hair being more prominent and with a tinge of blue at the tips. But the most eye-catching feature was its mighty horn that grew from its forehead, far more grand than what Khuno had before.

    "Khuno is that you?" Though it was impossible for it to be anyone else Frost found the changes to be very drastic.

    "Ehhh of course it''s me milord. Did I change so much that you don''t even recognise me?" Khuno answered in a slightly deeper voice, genuinely worried about his new appearance.

    "Hahahahaha no just a little blown away, you look very strong Khuno, very strong indeed." Frostughed and patted Khuno''s muscr shoulder while smiling.

    Khuno looked even more impressive than he first envisioned for the B-rank ronsos or elder ronsos as he called them. Underneath his muscr stature Khuno''s ability to handle cold fire chakra and his mastery of the ice fire element were equally boosted, turning him into a real powerhouse with multiple strengths, just like his master.

    Keen to view the exact details Frost brought up Khuno''s new status page.

    Name: Khuno

    Race: Elder Ronso captain

    Rank: B

    Level 1/60

    Along with the basic details there was a vast plethora of both active and passive skills apanying Khuno''s new rank as well as spectacr ice fire spells that even Frost couldn''t use (yet). Like Finy, Khuno was more of amander but that didn''t mean he couldn''t deal devasting damage when he wanted to.

    Frost believed that a match between the two of them would likelye up even, perhaps he may even be at a disadvantage. Luckily however Khuno showed no signs in rebelling against him. He was as loyal as they came.

    "Thank you master." Khuno kneeled in reverence to his master and ced his arm across his chest in salute as he disyed his unwavering devotion, bringing a prideful smile to Frost''s lips.

 Chapter 583: Chapter 583: Testing Khuno

    Following Frost, Daki, Loki and Nanna all sang Khuno''s praises and admired his new powerful look with envy. All three of them sorely wished to be stronger, to better support Frost.

    "Daki would you mind taking the children out, I''d like to test the limits of Khuno''s newfound strength?" Frost requested with an ever growing smile and a fierce glint in his eyes. His penchant for battle rising to the surface.

    "Tsk fine, guess we''d just get in the way with our strength." Daki clicked her tongue before reluctantly pulling Nanna and Loki away from the training space. He couldn''t protect them from the outbursts of aura if he was in the midst of battle.

    Khuno apologised when he saw the evident disappointment on the children''s faces but did nothing to protest his master''s suggestion. He too wished to test out his newfound strength without having to worry about external factors.

    The moment Daki, Nanna and Loki warped away Frost brought up the dungeon menu from his arm and connected to Finy, his other B-rank monster.

    "Finy are you busy?"

    "Not particrly master, why?"

    "Want to help me test Khuno''s new rank?"

    "¡­..Give me a minute and I''ll be right there." Frost knew of the friendly rivalry between Khuno and Finy, he was sure his right hand man wouldn''t miss the chance to retain his superior position.

    "Hahahahaha see you soon." Frostughed and ended themunication before looking at Khuno. "Finy''s in, look''s like we''ll be able to have a real battle."

    In response Khuno tightly clenched his hands around the shaft of his new and improved halberd that apanied his evolution. The weapon was now a rival for Frost''s own [wolf howling at the moon].

    "Finally I''ll be able to put that pompous ice troll in his ce." His lips stretched from ear to ear revealing a set of razor sharp teeth that could easily tear apart even the toughest flesh. Tendrils of cold mes instinctively formed along his body in response to his emotions, quickly lowering the temperature around him.

    Their sliver colour was even slightly deeper than the ones Frost could summon revealing his superiority over his master at least for the short term.

    A minuteter Finy warped into the training space with his battle axe in hand and wearing the armour Daki specially forged for him. He was ready to get down to business.

    "Perfect, let''s get started then shall we." Frost summoned his own weapon in hand before covering his body in chakra armour. "A three way battle, no holds barred. Khuno show us what you can do." With a final dash of cold mes around his ive Frost was in full battle mode.

    "I missed sparring against you Khuno, finally you''re strong enough to endure another beating." Finy taunted his colleague with a tant smirk.

    "Hmph just keep smiling Finy, I''ll put you in your ce soon." Khuno''s cold mes red around him in challenge. The three B-rank fighters stared daggers at one another, eager to tear each other apart.

    Frost brought out a coin from his storage vault and tossed into the air, the moment it reached the ground the battle wouldmence.

    The three of them red at the coin as it slowly descended, their muscles tensing in preparation for a charge.

    Clink!

    Boom!

    The moment the coin touched the floor all three dashed forward with their weapons raised. Axe met halberd, halberd met ive and ive met axe. The three weapons shed against one another with immense force and ferocity, none of them held back in the slightest. The first test was brute strength.

    "Ngh!" Frost unfortunately despite being the master was the weakest in the contest of pure power. He reeled backwards, his ive vibrating so much that his hands grew numb as he skidded across the floor, struggling to maintain his bnce.

    Finy and Khuno however continued their sh, refusing to yield even the slightest millimetre. Veins bulged across their arms, legs and even foreheads as the two monsters pushed their weapons towards the other, demanding that the other submit to their power.

    Grind!

    The sound of metal grinding and defiant grunts escaped from the sh but even after a several seconds there was no clear winner and Frost had gotten bored waiting.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Knowing he was weaker in terms of brute strength heunched a fireball of ice fire at the two forcing them to pull away from one another lest they wished to be freezing barbeque. Following that he charged with his ive in hand at Khuno.

    "[Earth''s upheaval]" The image of arge, heavy boulder formed behind his ive, adding weight and durability to his already imposing swing. In addition tendrils of cold fire chakra danced around the de edge and aura was infused into the blow. Frost would struggle to attack any harder but unfortunately Khuno waspletely unfazed.

    "[cial shift]" The powerful ronso responded with one of his own weapon skills, a new entry into his extensive list of abilities. Simr to [Earth''s upheaval] this skill added weight to the weapon but instead summoned a cier rather than a boulder and like his master he infused his aura into his blow though he was rather inexperienced in such matters it still added lethality.

    Booooooommmmm!

    A mighty sh erupted between the two, bursting the very air between them, creating sonic booms that reverberated throughout the training space. This time they were roughly on par with one another, but this was no longer a contest of brute strength, the battle was truly underway.

    "[Fiery burst]" Keen to experiment with his newly gained abilities Khuno used another. [Fiery burst] pooled arge sum of his cold me chakra, moulding and folding it over and over until it was ready to burst with a fierce vengeance. And that it did. Khuno''s skin was suddenly engulfed in a silver like sheen before the dam broke.

    Silver mes explosively burst from his body violently repelling Frost away while at the same time piercing through his skin with an ethereal chill. Even though Frost held high immunity towards the ice element he could feel how cold and invasive Khuno''s mes were. An instinctive shiver ran up his spine as he skidded across the floor. Unfortunately Khuno was far from done.

    "[Chilling wraith strike]!" With his halberd raised, energy flowed through his body and into his weapon, forming an ethereal ghost-like apparition that screamed death. The wraith matched Khuno''s stance behind him before both of them charged at Frost, ready to cleave him in twain.

    "Shit!" Frost loudly cursed as he quickly readied his ive to block the frightening move.

    DUUUUNNNNN!!!

    Frost felt his arms and even legs grow numb as Khuno''s halberd crashed against his ive but thankfully he endured, at least he thought so at first. The physical strike was only the first attack, following close behind was the wraith with its ethereal halberd.

    Frost expected to be blown away by the second strike but instead of withstanding a blow filled with force the ethereal de passed straight through his ive and hounded for his heart. A horrifying fear gripped Frost as he slowly witnessed the ghost-like weapon easily bypass his ive and even his chakra armour though it seemed to have more difficulty with thetter.

    How was he supposed to block such a strike?

    Just as his mind drew a nk an untoward saviour appeared from behind him with his battle axe outstretched for a wide swing.

    Bang!

    "Urgh!" Frost violently coughed as Finy''s axe sent him careening through the air and away from the Khuno''s deadly strike. This was followed up by him leaning into the spin and striking Khuno with an even stronger blow. Finy thus sessfully managed to st away both his opponents after being ignored. This was a three way battle after all not a simple duel.

    Finy smirked with pride and rested his axe upon his shoulders before taunting both Khuno and Frost, he was determined to retain his position as the most powerfulbatant within the dungeon (Maya excluded of course).

    Frost and Khuno looked at one another for a second before epting Finy''s challenge.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]"

    "[Lance of Niflheim]" While Frost responded with his trademark [wyvern''s maw] Khuno used another new skill, this one being something unique to the elder ronso race. Layered, dense ice was summoned in the shape of a massive stake before being adorned in silver mes that not only enhanced the stake''s toughness but acted as propellent, drastically amplifying its speed.

    Frost''s [Wyvern''s maw] looked rathercklustre inparison. Even Finy who confidently taunted the two of them started having second thoughts as the shadow of the stake loomed over him.

    The three B-rank fighters thus continued to trade blow after blow for the next several hours, fully testing the limits of Khuno''s new form. Unfortunately for Finy, his colleague had finally surpassed him in strength, albeit only slightly it was still a harsh blow for the prideful ice troll lord.

    Khuno had far too many new abilities and methods of attack, he and Frost were pretty much on the backfoot for the entire battle. Nheless the fight was greatly enjoyable and enlightening, all three of them gained a lot from it. Frost even felt the barrier that blocked him from bing a B-rank mage crack, he only needed to take a single step to enter that domain.

 Chapter 584: Chapter 584: Studying the core

    Following the three way battle Khuno returned to his duties and showed off his new look to his ronso subordinates who were tinged with envy, they couldn''t wait to be elder ronsos.

    Whereas Finy was rather grumpy and even dispirited upon realising he was no longer Frost''s strongest monster. To ease his pain Frost ordered him to spent some time with Nanna in the kitchen as that always seemed to lighten his mood. Nanna also enjoyed having him as a helper, making it a double win.

    Frost cloistered himself within the training room with the tomes he got from Leo, determined to ride the wave and break through the B-rank mage barrier, 4th circle magic was just a single step away.

    His desire to improve and the enjoyable battle he had with his right and left hand men sessfully distracted him from the work of Ladius and her team. He was no longer anxious with them being so close to his heart¡­.well at least for a short while.

    Three dayster when they breached thest section of the lowest floor he was back in the private space, eyeing their movements with a focused re, his hands balled up into fists and his feet nervously tapping the floor.

    His earlier breakthrough was overshadowed by their frightening presence. Even with the capabilities of a B-rank mage and Khuno''s evolution he was still no match for Terrance and his security detail, his only sce would be to enlist Maya''s single use protection if things went sour. Thankfully logic won over instinct.

    Ladius and her team meant no harm, they truly only wished to study every inch of him, to gain new knowledge.

    "Rx, you''ve met with Ladius and her team multiple times, you know of their intentions." Maya sat beside her young master and tried to ease his anxiety but her words and actions only pierced skin deep. No matter how he rationalised the situation or wasforted by his family he was still nervous. How calm could you be if a knife hovered mere inches from your heart?

    Even if it showed no intention of piercing you the fact that it could was threat enough.

    "Haaaaaa fine just sit there and stare at the screen until they''re finished we''ll handle the rest of the dungeon." Maya eventually grew tired of his behaviour. She sighed and stood up from the sofa before handing out tasks to Daki, Loki and Nanna since Frost was indisposed.

    "Thanks." Frost uttered a quiet thank you before refocusing his attention to the screen where Ladius and her team were approaching his most hallowed ce, the dungeon core room.

    "Finally we''re here, the core of the dungeon." Ladius loudly bellowed with a grin stretching from ear to ear, her excitement was palpable a stark difference to her younger investigator subordinates who were exhausted by the extensive delve. Even Terrance and his security team were tired let alone the weaker investigators.

    Ladius was a strange enigma who''s stamina was endless as long as there was new things to study and examine, knowledge was her food source making her the ideal investigator for the federation of knowledge.

    "What''s with those exhausted expressions, after weeks of delving we''re finally at the heart of the dungeon, the veritable source of all this magnificence. Doesn''t the idea of studying it fill you with energy and passion?" Ladius was practically bouncing up and down as she lectured her subordinates.

    What she got in response was a few muttered grunts and insults under their breaths before a range of forced smiles.

    "Much better, onward then, for knowledge."

    ""For knowledge."" Her team parroted the slogan of the federation as they gathered their strength and followed Ladius through the ornate gateway.

    As they entered the domain of the dungeon''s core their federation of knowledge badges activated, covering them in a magical veil that protected them from the desire and magical hunger that monsterir hearts would induce. Without such measures they''d struggle to safely study the core.

    Only Ladius refused to activate her badge, she willingly breathed in the core''s natural aura, allowing its majesty to flow through her and affect her natural instincts. Desire filled her; an indescribable hunger screaming for her to devour the core and absorb its divine energy. A maddened look adorned her face as her body trembled and her breathes becameboured.

    She wrapped her arms around her body and squirmed with a reddened face as her insides started heating up.

    "Magnificent, so pure, so majestic, this aura is irresistible." Ladius cooed like a girl in love as she relished in the feeling the core invoked within her. Throughout her career Ladius had experienced the aura of dozens of monsterir hearts but none of them couldpare to the dungeon core before her. Never before had she felt so in tune with her lord, the glorious Dark God.

    Her emotions were at the peak and her body unconsciously drifted towards the core, hoping to gleam deeper into the forbidden knowledge.

    "Cough, cough miss Ladius." Thankfully Terrance intervened before Ladius did something untoward to the core. He loudly coughed and ced a hand on her shoulder. And with a strong squeeze he brought her out of her stupor thus earning him a rather terrifying re from the woman followed by a reluctant thank you.

    A momentter Ladius activated the protective veil function in her badge thus separating her from that tantalising aura.

    She was a high ranking investigator for the federation of knowledge therefore it''d be rather unbing of her station to be swept up in the aura of the core and damage such a prized asset. The federation''s rtionship with Frost would also take a sharp dive.

    Ladius took several deep breaths to calm herself before donning an expression fit for her station. "Alright everyone assume your positions, I want no stone left unturned."

    ""Yes ma''am"" her subordinates saluted in the manner of the federation before retrieving multiple magical devices from their storage rings. All these devices were unique to the federation of knowledge, their sole purpose being to read, monitor and analyse their surroundings and catalogue the vast data for the investigators to study in depthter on.

    Hardly anything could be hidden from these devices, they were able to pick up even the slightest sign of magic, aura and anything else Nova could produce. Hell some say that even divine energy could be analysed by them, allowing the federation to understand the intrinsic nature of the Gods¡­..of course this was only half true.

    The domain of the Gods could not be understood by mortals no matter how advanced their devices were. All they could do was ascertain whether divine energy was present, nothing more but that didn''t stop the federation from trying.

    A few minutester multiple devices were arranged around the dungeon core and the room it inhabited, a pleasant hum filled the area as they were turned on. All manner of data was thus being recorded.

    "Start the investigation." Ladius gave the order with a flick of her arm and a smile on her lips.

    ""Yes ma''am."" Following her order everyone started fiddling with the devices, actions that were beyond the understanding of the untrained eye. Frost who was still watching with rapt attention failed to gleam their purpose but somehow felt stuffy in his heart. His anxiety only grew when Ladius started mouring around his core with her own devices.

    The devices themselves weren''t that bad it was her fanatical expression that truly disturbed him. It gave him shivers.

    This unpleasant situation continued for the better half of a day and Frost watched them that entire time, never dropping his guard for a single moment. Even when it was time for dinner Nanna had to bring his meal to the sofa, so he didn''t have to move. His family gave up on convincing him to rx since their words went in one ear and out the other.

    They instead supported his anxiety and hoped that Ladius and her team would finish their investigation soon.

    Eventually however Ladius and her team had to call it quits, their instruments had picked up all they could, so it was time for them leave. Though clearly reluctant to do so Ladius brought their investigation to an end.

    All the captured data would receive a cursory sift through back in the Niflheim camp before being brought to one of federation''s local embassies'' where it could be transferred to their headquarters where the keepers could analyse the data in true depth.

    "Alright, pack up the devices carefully and we''ll head back to our previous camp site." Everyone was rather exhausted after their thorough investigation, so rest was paramount. They could make for the exit tomorrow.

    "Understood, protection detail be on your guard, we can''t let our valuable data be ruined after all our effort to get here." Terrance ordered with a booming voice.

    ""Yes sir!"" His protection detail subordinates responded with strong vigour, they were pretty bored and useless during the past several hours, finally they could stretch their legs again.

    "Move out."

 Chapter 585: Chapter 585: An investigation brought to a close (end of volume 8)

    "Haaaaa finally this ordeal is over." Maya loudly announced as she saw Ladius and her team leave the dungeon core room, giving Frost a little stink eye as she did. Her young master was truly irritating to watch during the past 24 hours. His eyes glued to the holographic screen, blocking out nearly all outside information just in case he missed something.

    And then there was the incessant tapping of his feet against the floor. Tap, tap, tap, tap, the sound reverberated in her head over and over nearly driving her mad. Thankfully she along with Nanna, Loki and Daki weren''t confined to the private space thus allowing them some much needed reprieve.

    Their noble prince-like figure really didn''t suit the image of a worrywart, it ruined his good looks and usual confident demeanour.

    Frost waited until Ladius, and her team were at least several hundred metres away from the core room before letting go of all the built up tension. He let loose a very deep breath and sunk into the sofa, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly weary despite doing nothing but sitting for the past 24 hours.

    Finally however it was over, he could go back to his usual antics and not worry about the potential threat climbing over his heart.

    "I think I''m going to lie down for a while, Nanna please supervise the dungeon for a few hours." Completely ignoring Maya''s annoyedments and digs Frost rubbed his eyes and made his way to the bedroom after requesting Nanna''s aid.

    "Y¡­Yes sir!" Nanna brightly replied with a wide smile on her lips, whenever Frost gave her a job rted to the dungeon her heart would always flutter, she enjoyed being useful and needed. Loki meanwhile clicked his tongue in disappointment for a brief second before trailing after his big sister, looking to offer aid.

    Nanna was the older one and by far the most adept at supervising, so it was obvious that she''d be chosen to perform such duties over himself, but it still stung. He wanted to be as reliable as her and be helpful to their master, their family.

    Maya who had aint stuck in her throat was stunned, she half expected Frost to retort or possibly even apologise but to head straight to bed, perhaps she underestimated how anxious he really felt.

    Feeling rather guilty both she and Daki bounded after him into the bedroom, not to cheer him up with carnal activities but to act as emotional support i.e. hug pillows in a manner of speaking. He always seemed to sleep better whenever he had one of them wrapped up in his arms.

    Thankfully Nanna had the dungeon and camp fully under control, nothing untoward happened while Frost slept, the usual clientele had already learned not to cause any disturbances within the Niflheim base camp lest they wished to draw the ire of the mighty ronsos.

    In the earliest days of the camp it wasn''t umon to see people being manhandled by theserge tiger beastkin and tossed out of the camp. Of course there were still the asional situation but the ronso patrol was sufficient to handle such issues without needing Nanna''s intervention. It also helped that the federation of knowledge provided a natural calming effect upon the camp.

    No one with a brain wished to draw their ire.

    2 days after Frost awoke from his much needed slumber Ladius and her team left the confines of the dungeon with exhaustion as well as fanatism clear in their eyes. To ascend from the bottommost floor to the exit in 2 days was quite the achievement even with the strength of their protection detail.

    Apparently Terrance and his team tantly disyed their aura throughout the lower levels naturally repelling any monsters that dared bar their path or thought about attempting an ambush. It was a tiring effort but allowed them to make great time.

    "Pfuaaahhhhh finally we''re out of the dungeon and back in the Niflheim camp. Time to study the data!!" Ladius hollered in a strangely energetic tone, her eyes shing with a fierce determination.

    "Ummm miss Ladius I think we should rest first." Terrance ever being the voice of reason countered her orders while gesturing towards the rest of the team who had copsed the moment they left the dungeon. Mina and Suiten even fell straight asleep the moment the tension left their bodies; light snoring could suddenly be heard from the young elk beastwoman.

    With such a situation it was clear that Ladius would be the only one capable of doing any work, highly inefficient so as per usual she had to follow Terrance''s lead.

    ''Seems I need to instil some stamina in my subordinates before our next foray.'' Determined to not be held back in the future Ladius envisioned harsh training for Carl, Mina and Suiten once this job wasplete. With such ack in energy how could they ever rise in rank as investigators in the federation.

    After another 3 days Frost was sitting across from Ladius at one the camp''s most highly rated restaurants as she harped on and on about her findings and about how fascinated she was with his dungeon.

    "The way the mana flows through the entire system ispletely sublime and the makeup and natural mysticism of the heart is baffling. I''ve never experienced such purity even in monsterirs dozens of floors deep." Never ending praise was being spewed out along with concepts that wentpletely over Frost''s head but even so he couldn''t help but slightly blush from embarrassment.

    Ladius was technically describing his insides.

    "Alright I think that''s enough Ladius, if I hear any more I''m likely to be self-conscious." He quickly covered her mouth with his hands to stop her from speaking.

    Lick.

    "Ugh did you just lick my hand?" He quickly removed his hands from Ladius'' mouth, a wet mark sitting in the middle of his left palm.

    "Hehehehe so that''s how a dungeon tastes." Ladius not feeling even the slightest bit of shame giggled in a creepy manner as her eyes dancing with untoward thoughts.

    "¡­.You''re really weird you know that right?"

    "Yep, it''s what makes me so interesting hehehehe." She was used to being called weird, strange and other less savoury adjectives, such insults were like raindrops, plentiful but harmless.

    "...Can''t argue with that I guess but please enough with the artful descriptions, it''s too embarrassing." Frost had to admit that Ladius'' weirdness did make her interesting, especially as a conversation partner.

    "Fiiiinnnnneeee I''ll stifle my fanaticism slightly." Ladius reluctantly agreed with a taunting smile, finding teasing Frost to be most enjoyable.

    "Thank you, now we can get down to business." Their pleasant chat now crossed over into a proper discussion.

    "Considering that you''ve delved to the very bottom of my dungeon and even examined the core I believe your investigation has nowe to an end?"

    "Correct Lord Frost our study of the dungeon and its heart has beenpleted and therefore the need for us to be based within your camp hase to a close. My team and I have studied the data we gained at length and have finishedpiling a report for our superiors.

    We''ll thus likely be leaving within the next few days depending on how desperate the keepers are for our findings." Ladius winked as she said thatst part, hinting that the keepers were well and truly desperate, she and her team may even get the order to move out tomorrow if they''re unlucky.

    "I see, well as your host I''m certainly sorry to see you go but I''m very happy you were able to aplish your mission without incident." Frost''s feelings on the matter were actually split. Having Ladius and her team delving into his secrets especially his core was exhausting and worrisome therefore he couldn''t wait for them to leave.

    However Ladius herself was both a font of knowledge and great conversation partner, he''d be remised in letting her go plus the thousands of DP her protection team supplied on a daily basis was very, very hard to ignore.

    "On behalf of the federation I thank you for being so cooperative Lord Frost, the experience has certainly been most enjoyable and one my team and I will certainly not forget." Ladius salute and bowed in the fashion of the federation as she gave thanks thus bringing their cooperation to a close at least for the initial purpose of studying the dungeon.

    The two of them then enjoyed a fond meal before Frost requested a favour.

    "There''s something I''d like your help with or rather the federation''s."

    "Oh, count me intrigued." Ladius sipped at her cocktail and gestured for Frost to continue. They had exchanged a lot during their little dates, so Frost knew of the heavy restrictions imposed by the federation. They were a strictly neutral body and therefore did little to aid the desires of others.

    "I want to set a precedent among the dungeons, something that would help us a group of individuals down the road as well as prevent unnecessary death among the adventurers delving within."

    Ladius nodded her head allowing Frost to continue, so far every seemed to be right up the federation''s alley.

    "In exchange for this favour I''ll grant your team, your protection detail in particr the opportunity to experience a rather unique exchange between dungeons." Frost did his best to hide a cocky smile as he imagined the look on Karrick''s face when he sees a group of highly skilled B-rank fighters from the federation''s militant forces during their uing war.

    Of course he probably didn''t need their help but if it would lessen his losses and crush his arrogant little brother faster he was willing to use outside help.

    "....I''m going to need more details."

 Chapter 586: Chapter 586: Asking for a favour from the federation (Volume 9)

    Ladius and Frost sat across from one another in one of the Niflheim camp''s most popr restaurants. They''d had just finished a glorious meal and had concluded the wrap up of Ladius and her team''s investigation.

    Now the young dungeon core was in the midst of asking a favour from the federation of knowledge, one that would help him crush his na?ve little brother Karrick as well as help set a useful precedent for future dungeon wars.

    However the federation of knowledge was a strictly neutral party, an entity that did its best to steer clear of granting advantages to a single party over another. That said Ladius was certainly intrigued by the prospect of helping out Frost with a unique dungeon experience, so she demanded the details instead of rejecting him outright.

    "As you are likely aware I''m not the only dungeon core in existence." The many inhabitants of the Yangmir (Northern) continent were already made aware of several possible dungeons appearing in theirnd let alone the envoys of the federation of knowledge who had a direct pipeline to the Dark God.

    Ladius nodded her head in agreement, they knew from Lord Dark that 100 of such individuals were created and spread across Nova. Multiple teams like her own were currently travelling across thend and sea to investigate these newfound entities.

    "Well our father has enacted several ways for us siblings to interact with one another as well aspete against each other." Ladius'' eyes sparkled with clear interest as Frost uttered the word pete''. How would dungeon cores test who was better? Her instinctual thirst for knowledge red as started to lean across the table, desperate for answers.

    Frost knowing that he''d got her on the hook started to slowly reel her in.

    "Our father established an activity that he has coined ''dungeon wars'' wherein dungeon cores like myself and my siblings battle with our established dungeons.

    Upon the start of such a war the entrances to our dungeons would be linked thus allowing our monster forces to invade one another with the aim being to reach the core room or eliminate all our opponent''s monsters." Frost started to use hand gestures and ice chakra moulded into certain shapes to describe and embellish upon the activity that was a dungeon war which helped fuel Ladius'' interest.

    "Dungeon wars are well appreciated and even encouraged by our father, so you''ll likely be hearing of situations wherein people are locked within a dungeon and or barred from entry for a period of time.

    It is for this reason that I''d like the federation of knowledge to help set a precedent, to help avoid needless casualties when us dungeon cores arepeting or at least shine a light on the reason for their entrapment." Though he said entrapment it''s likely that those who were caged up during a dungeon war met a swift end.

    "Aspensation I''ll allow your security team and perhaps you yourself to take part in this dungeon war thus granting you a seat at the front of the action. Of course whether Terrance and his team actively engage in the battle themselves will bepletely optional.

    I won''t force you or even ask you to battle on my behalf however I can only control my own forces not those of my sibling''s." Basically, they can get a prime seating position but will draw the ire of Karrick''s forces by just being present. Knowing how devout Ladius is it''d be impossible for her to avoid interacting with the opponent''s dungeon.

    She wasn''t the kind to blend into the background and take the safer yet less exciting approach. Terrance and his team would therefore be forced to participate in the war whether they wanted to or not¡­.well as long as Ladius agrees to the favour.

    The woman in question was at this moment about to erupt into giggles as her heart thumped away from unbridled excitement. Her eyes shed with a radiant intensity that momentarily gave Frost the chills, perhaps he shouldn''t have asked her for the favour. However despite Ladius'' clear interest she was first and foremost an investigator for the federation of knowledge.

    She forced herself to calm down and answer in her capacity as an investigator.

    "Thepensation is intriguing and technically neutral in a way since you''re not forcing us to battle on your behalf however it''s obvious that you''d be receiving our aid in one way or another while your sibling will be disadvantaged." It wouldn''t look good for the federation to support one dungeon over another.

    Frost did his best to hold back a tongue clicking instead showing a calm and amenable expression.

    "You are correct Ladius, however even without your aid I''m set to win this war without much effort. My sibling is simply in over his head when challenging me. Your participation will do nothing to affect the end result." He spoke straight to the federation''s neutrality.

    "Bold and perhaps rather arrogant. On what basis am I to believe in your unquestionable superiority against this sibling of yours." Ladius wouldn''t be fooled by Frost''s handsome face and pretty words.

    "¡­.." The young dungeon core was caught off guard not expecting Ladius to be so professional. He wondered if his earlier description wascking, wasn''t she a knowledge nut with poor control over her emotions.

    "Haaaaaa that''s a fair point to you who knows nothing about my ranking as a dungeon core and the capabilities of my opponent it may seem like nothing more than arrogance." Regardless of being caught off guard he had prepared another measure.

    "Ranking?" Ladius asked curiously, another thing she and the federation weren''t aware of.

    "Yes, during ourst family gathering we dungeon core were given a ranking based on the development of our dungeons and how much energy we''d manage to amass from delvers and other sources." It would be rather uncouth to call it life energy harvested from victims, but Ladius was knowledgeable enough to read between the lines and understood the very nature of dungeons.

    Just like monsterirs they feed on those who enter them to grow and create monsters.

    "So what was your ranking if I may ask?" Ladius asked as a smile grew on her lips. This was exactly the angle/excuse she was looking for. The federation needed some measure of proof if it was to embark upon this favour for Frost.

    "4th" A wide pride filled grin appeared on his face as he announced his ranking. He also pushed his chest forward slightly and his back straightened, he was quite proud of that achievement.

    "Hooooohhh that''s quite impressive Lord Frost, congrattions." Ladius pped in support of his aplishment before adding. "¡­..Now what about your uing opponent."

    "43rd" Of course since this ranking was only based after the first month it didn''t really mean much in reality, but it helped establish a distinction between Frost and Karrick from Ladius'' point of view.

    "That''s quite the difference¡­but since this is a ranking that we the federation is unaware of I don''t think it''s enough to guarantee that you''ll be victorious even if we don''t intervene." Though she really, really wanted to take part in this unprecedented dungeon war she needed to follow proper protocol. Thankfully Frost wasn''t finished.

    "True then how about our track records for dungeon wars, though it''s a bit sparse I''ve participated in one and came out victorious whereas he lost his first challenge and if that''s not enough just remember that I sessfully withstood the fabled monster stampede that gues Northrend and the cial mountains every few years." It''s a shame they didn''t have much more of track record but what can you do.

    Ladius was silent as she took in this reveal, biting her lip as she pondered back and forth on whether or not she could actually ept this offer on behalf of the federation. The federation were quite strict in their rules but given how invested they were in finding out every little thing they could about the new dungeons she in ordance with her rank was actually given a little leeway.

    Should she take a little risk? What was the actual harm? It wasn''t a true war after all just apetition between siblings, the fallout couldn''t be that bad right?

    "...Alright I think we can be onboard with this favour of yours as long as you provide the previous statedpensation and assure us that we don''t have to actively participate in the war itself on your behalf if we chose not to." Eventually after mulling over the offer for a good ten minutes Ladius finally agreed.

    "Of course, I won''t ask for your aid at any point and will ensure that my own forces won''t interfere in your actions throughout the war. You''ll be given free reign." Frost dly reiterated his promise before cementing the deal with a hearty handshake, now to go into the particrs of the bargain.

    "So what exactly do you want us to do for this precedent?"

    "That''s actually really simple. I''ll create some sort of signal within my dungeon as a precursor to the war and I want you to interpret it as a warning. On the lead up to the war you can use your background as the federation of knowledge to advise people to exit the dungeon and steer clear until the war begins, and the entrance is closed.

    Then after the war isplete and the dungeon reopens you can announce your findings. How much you wish to reveal to the public will of course be up to you but now delvers will know of the danger and either chose to vamoose whenever the signal shows up, choose to hunker down until it''s over or perhaps even choose to participate willingly.

    Either way I''m sure the victims will be lessened, and we dungeon cores will find engaging in wars far less arduous." If all the delvers could be given notice to leave before a war begins there''d be less challenges in managing a growing territory for passive ie.

    "Hmmm that does sound rather simple yet perfect for the situation, but won''t the signal only apply to your dungeon?"

    "No I''ll spread the word through my siblings using this scenario as an example. I''m sure most will agree to use it." The majority of his siblings were quite level-headed after all.

    "Alright Lord Frost the federation of knowledge agrees to your request wholeheartedly, I''ll inform Terrance and the rest immediately." Ladius thus left the table with a bounce in her step, eager to take part in this unique experience.

    "Well that settles that." Frost let out a relieved breath, convincing Ladius was a little harder than expected, she really was a true blood investigator and not just some knowledge seeking fanatical.

    "Guess I just need to ept Karrick''s challenge and make my own war preparations now." Frost''s lips stretched from ear to ear, revealing a set a sharp teeth, he was looking forward to crushing Karrick under his foot.

 Chapter 587: Chapter 587: Preparing for the dungeon war against Karrick

    "So Ladius and the federation are onboard?" Maya asked with a smile once Frost returned from his negotiations.

    "Yes, Ladius epted my offer and immediately left to inform Terrance and the rest about the opportunity, so mission aplished I guess." Though he didn''t need their aid it was reassuring to have a group of people stronger than himself taking part in the war on his behalf. Even if they didn''t actively kill Karrick''s forces they''d work well as deterrent.

    "That''s great, I look forward to another victory." Maya was ted at the prospect of another dungeon war, especially one against a muscle brained idiot like Karrick. Though his elemental nature was a bit worrisome Frost was more than capable enough to offset such a disadvantage, of that she was certain.

    "As do I." Frost was feeling far more interested in the uing war than he did a few days ago. With Ladius and the federation agreeing to help set a precedent he would be far less distressed in starting wars once his territory truly flourished.

    The external town would be safe since areas outside of the dungeon''s entrance were considered out of bounds during the dungeon wars but any future outpost and or dwelling built within i.e. on the floor of peace would be swept up in these matches. By having his ''guests'' be aware of the danger they could choose whether or not to take part making management far less arduous.

    It''d also likely get him some praise from his father who was keen on seeing more wars between his children.

    Frost sat himself on the sofa and nced at the holographic disy hovering above the pseudo dungeon core.

    "Karrick himself isn''t much to be concerned about, either myself, Khuno or Finy should be able to handle whatever he can throw at us but his monsters and even his dungeon could prove¡­.tedious." Slotting ice borne monsters that thrived in chilling weather into a veritable volcano inparison would not do well for theirbat capability.

    Even if they were a notch or two stronger in terms of quality and perhaps even numbers it''d be meaningless if they couldn''t call upon that strength in battle. Ice magic would surely be weakened by at least a grade or two when exploring such a hot environment while the opponents devasting fire magic would hit even harder than normal, a nasty disadvantage but one Frost was confident in offsetting.

    "Once I ept Karrick''s challenge I''ll need to enter the training room for a while, can you and the others manage the dungeon and camp in the interim?"

    "No problem, Daki''s keen in trying her hand with management so I''ll leave it to her." There was a subtle usation hidden within Maya''s words. Daki practically begged Frost to ept this challenge so it''s only right that she handles the problems that crop up because of it.

    "Perfect." Frost smiled with an evil grin as he pped his thigh in triumph, everything wasing together nicely.

    A couple hourster after Ladius finished exining the situation to Terrance and his security team and Daki and the kids had returned to the private space Frost called up Karrick to ept his challenge.

    "Ring, ring, ri¡­" the call barely made it to third ring before a gruffughter responded.

    "Hahahaha big brother Frost have you finally decided to stop being a coward and ept my challenge!" Karrick answered with a mixture of impatience, excitement and of course arrogance. As one might expect from a fire addled idiot that followed Pyro like a loyal peon the red scaled lizardman was burly and constantly unted his fire mastery.

    "Hahahaha big words little brother but I was never a coward just needed to put some things in order first as unlike you my dungeon requires a great deal of management." A not so hidden jab at Karrick''s simple nature andcking dungeon development, of course this jab went right over his head.

    "Ughhhh so are you epting or not?" Karrick scratched his head in confusion before growing angry. His patience was already wearing thin from staring at the undecided notification in his inbox. Frost neither epted his challenge nor denied for days, it was driving him mad, but Pyro insisted on patience.

    "Of course I''m epting little brother, I need to teach you some manners after all. How about 3 days from now?" That should be enough time to retrofit a few areas of the dungeon and prepare his monsters for their foray into a fire based dungeon.

    "Pahhhh who needs manners between siblings hahahahaha. Fine in 3 days we''ll fight, and I''ll show you the power of fire!!"

    "I look forward to it, till them Karrick." Frost ended the call and let out a sigh, dealing with idiots was taxing even if it was for just a couple sentences.

    "So what do you think of my ''cute'' younger brother?" He directed this question to Daki and the kids.

    "Arrogant." Was Nanna''s response.

    "Rude." Was Loki''s choice of adjective.

    "A prime example of a hot head with nothing but brawn." And finally there was Daki putting the final nail in the coffin. None of them held a very high opinion of Karrick but perhaps that''s because they were spoiled by Frost''s demeanour.

    "That pretty much sums him up to a tee but deep down he''s actually not that bad a person just simple minded and a bit misguided. As long as I beat him fair and square in the war he''ll treat me with respect." There was no subtlety when it came to Karrick, he was honest about his feelings and respected strength simple as that.

    Yes he was naturally arrogant in regards to his element but who among their siblings wasn''t. Even Frost himself was adamant that ice was the greatest element around. Well at least that''s the feeling he got when they first talked during the initial family gathering. It''s a shame he cosied up to Pyro first, he was a bad influence on his na?ve innocence.

    "Alright the date is set, now to prepare. Daki you''ll be in charge of the dungeon and camp''s management while I''m readying the dungeon and our forces. Nanna and Loki please give her a hand whenever you can ok."

    ""Yes master"" Both Nanna and Loki responded with chipper smiles while Daki twitched at the lip slightly, hoping to protest the arrangement. She preferred having an assistant role at most as her true passion was consumed by forging unfortunately Maya wasn''t going to let her off easily.

    "She''ll be happy to aid you Frost, but don''t worry I''ll be sure to show her the ropes." Maya herself couldn''t do much in terms of control but she had been with Frost since the beginning and was his teacher so there was no one better to learn dungeon management from. Daki was thus forcibly dragged away by Maya to the bedroom where she could ''educate'' her thoroughly.

    ''I''m so lucky to have such reliable girlfriends'' Frost felt his heart warm at such a sight. The two loves of his life getting on so well was a glorious thing. But unfortunately he didn''t have time to indulge in warm fantasy. He brought up the dungeon menu and connected with his right and left hand men.

    "Finy pleasee to the training room with 3 squads of yuki-onnas and lesser yuki-onnas."

    "At once Master."

    "Khuno bring all the ronsos not required for the minimum security detail in the camp as well."

    "Understood milord." The Ice troll lord and elder ronso both responded with excitement. Being Frost''s right and left hand men they were in the loop in regards to most things dungeon rted. Thus they were aware of the uing war and were looking forward to it, a true chance to test their capabilities without having to worry about causing too much carnage.

    Karrick''s strongest monsters would fall to their axe and halberd.

    "Nanna, Loki I''ll leave things to you in the meantime.

    Try to handle what you can but if you really need help please don''t hesitate to call me but under no circumstances are either of you allowed to step foot within the training room over the next 3 days, am I clear." What Frost nned to do with the ronsos and yuki-onnas was very intense and could pose great danger to someone of Nanna and Loki''s strength therefore he sternly ordered them to keep their distance.

    He could barely imagine the two of theming to any harm least of all because of him or his subordinates. The two phoenix kin had truly, and welly wormed their way into his heart.

    "Yes master."

    "You can leave it to us." They both saluted with their arms crossed over their hearts, simr to how Finy and Khuno behave but instead of being imposing and loyalty inspiring it just looked cute. Frost couldn''t resist giving them a tight hug before teleporting away.

    "3 days huh, not a long time but also not that short." Thankfully he didn''t n on altering theyout of the dungeon too much as he already designed it with future wars in mind. The main issue was to prepare his monsters for the foray into an environment the pr opposite of what they were used to as well as help Ladius set up a precedent for future dungeon wars.

    15 minutester Finy and the yuki-onnas arrived alongside Khuno and the ronsos.

    "Perfect everyone''s here, let''s begin.

 Chapter 588: Chapter 588: Preparing for the dungeon war against Karrick (2)

    Over the next 3 days neither Frost nor any of his summoned monsters left the confines of the training space. Within they all readied themselves for a dangerous delve into an unfriendly environment. Fire and heat were not a wee pair for creatures born of ice, therefore sufficient preparations needed to be made lest he wanted his forces to be continually on the backfoot.

    Thankfully the monsters he arranged for this special training were all rather intelligent and skilled, so they picked up the required techniques without too much trouble. 3 days was more than enough for them be considered somewhat adept and left enough time for Frost to asionally alter some of the dungeon to suit the uing war i.e.

    more chokepoints, kill boxes and barriers suited for mass invaders rather than small groups.

    When Frost finally left the training room there was a strong air of confidence about him, he was ready for this war, ready to crush his arrogant little brother and finally teach him some manners.

    "How was the camp and dungeon?" He took a seat on the sofa and ced a kiss on Daki''s cheek before asking her.

    In response Daki turned to face him with an exhausted expression full ofint. "Exhausting, I don''t know how you and the kids are able to manage everything every day. There''s so much that goes on at every moment that it''s impossible to keep up.

    I''m so tired¡­please tell me I can go back to forging, I''ll do anything please." Daki clearly wasn''t one for territory management, hating nearly every second of it. She mbered over her boyfriend, pressing her soft body against his as she begged to be freed from this tortuous task.

    Frost couldn''t help but enjoy the soft feeling against his skin, his blood quickly heating up as desire filled him. It''d been 3 days since hest slept with his girlfriends thus he was a little pent up. Thankfully there was still half a day before the war was set to begin, he could indulge a little.

    "Anything?" He repeated her words with an evil smirk as his hands made contact with her seductive figure.

    "Hehehehehe I''m always up for that." Daki giggled in a flirtatious manner as she wrapped her arms around Frost''s neck and kissed him on the lips. Frost wasn''t the only one pent up.

    "Cough, cough." Their short moment of bliss was unfortunately interrupted by a loud cough from the kitchen. Maya was standing there with a judging look in her eyes as well as something else.

    Frost and Daki looked at her for a second before looking back at one another and smiling. "I think Maya''s feeling left out." Daki said before nting another kiss on her boyfriend and pulling him close. Her actions caused the young fenrir to twitch at the lips, a jealous look forming in her eyes. Daki was right on the money.

    "Is that so, Maya are you perhaps jealous?" Frost truly enjoyed this y; it wasn''t often he got to be the one doing the teasing. He returned Daki''s kiss with gusto before picking her up, his hands tightly groping onto her bountiful cheeks as she straddled him with her muscr thighs. A certain part of him was already turning rock hard as intense desire filled his heart.

    The two kissed one another repeatedly as they waited for Maya''s response. Unfortunately all they got was freezing cold re and no small amount of killing intent.

    Now to the unexperienced and untrained eye this would be seen as something dangerous, a clear warning but to Frost and to a lesser extent Daki they knew how to read between the lines. Maya was quite a proud, stubborn and rather bashful person when it came to her love life therefore admitting jealousy was something she really struggled to do.

    Thankfully however Frost could read her desires like a book. Without even the slightest bit of fear or hesitation he effortlessly carried Daki over to the kitchen, making sure to fondle her with every step. He then leaned in close to Maya''s frigid face and kissed her on the lips while at the same time removing his left hand from Daki''s ass and cing it on Maya''s.

    He then picked her up and allowed her to straddle him in a simr manner as Daki, thus he was carrying a flower in each arm.

    "Hehehehehe this is going to be fun." Frost proudly bellowed before carrying his two girlfriends to the bedroom and mming the door closed behind him, preventing any noise from escaping -of which there was sure to be a lot- as well as themselves. He nned on going all out, nearly 3 days of being locking in a training room with his monsters had really built up his appetite.

    Maya and Daki were in for one hell of a night.

    Thankfully the kids were busy working in the camp or dungeon otherwise Frost wouldn''t have been so open with his affection. They still cared about Nanna and Loki''s innocence after all.

    Several hourster Frost left the bedroom with a beaming smile and an obvious glow radiating from his skin. He felt as light as a feather and full of energy, energy that he could put use in crushing Karrick.

    "Hello master, did the training go well?" Nanna who had returned to the private space a little earlier to prepare food asked with curiosity.

    ''Master looks positively glowing.'' Since she didn''t see the earlier situation when Frost absconded with Maya and Daki into bedroom she assumed his good mood was from the training session, innocence saved.

    "Why yes it did Nanna, thanks for asking. Karrick won''t know what hit him hahahahaha." Frostughed with glee as he sauntered over to Nanna to ruffle her hair, bringing an embarrassed smile to her lips.

    "How was the dungeon and camp been while I was away, Daki looked like she was struggling."

    "The workload was a little heavy given that the security detail was reduced to the minimum and the fact that both Finy and Khuno were busy but nothing major of note happened just a lot of little things." Nanna responded honestly, clueing Frost into why Daki was practically begging him to remove her from her management post.

    Without the reassurance of a strong lineup of ronsos and the presence of either Finy or Khuno troublemakers felt more emboldened to take action and any action they did take took longer to handle thus resulting in more issues.

    Basically hundreds of little things built up to the point that Daki was forced to put out fire after fire without much rest -though she didn''t sleep much anyway given her passion for forging as well as carnal activities but at least she enjoyed those two.

    "Is that so, thank you for being honest and sorry for dumping so much on you for such a long time. You''re a really good girl you know that." Frost ruffled her hair again as he praised her causing her blush to now cover her entire neck, she still wasn''t used to such tant praise.

    "Are you making breakfast for everyone?"

    "Yes, I''ve been volunteering to do it whenever I have time. Cooking is wonderful and the appliances in the private space are so much better than the ones in the camp." Nanna gushed out her love for cooking with sparkling eyes, she truly enjoyed the craft from the bottom of her heart. Seeing such innocent childlike wonder warmed Frost''s heart, this was what he wanted to see from them.

    "I''m d you''ve found a trade that you truly enjoy."

    "It''s all thanks to you master if you hadn''t found my brother and me I''d never have been able to have any of this¡­..thank you so much." A few tears rolled down Nanna''s cheeks as she thanked the one who saved her and her brother.

    "You''re very wee Nanna." Frost replied gently while wiping away her tears. "So what''s on the menu this morning." He skilfully redirected the topic to something more positive.

    "Eggs, sausages, beans and fried potatoes all normal ingredients however, I''m still not skilled enough to properly handle 1 star ingredients and up by myself."

    "I''m sure it''ll taste great as always Nanna just give it time and you''ll get there. I can picture it now Nanna the world''s greatest chef hahahahahaha." Since Maya and Daki were practicallyatose in the bedroom he volunteered himself to be Nanna''s able assistant, something he always wished to have more time for.

    The two prepared a glorious feast for 6 people, Frost, Maya, Daki, Nanna, Loki andst but not least Kiba who was more of a part of the family than subordinate monster. The smell was utterly divine so much so that Maya and Daki dragged themselves from the bed and to the dining table.

    They could have let Frost bring the food to them but there was a good chance he''d attack them again which was something their bodies really couldn''t endure. Even Daki who was famed for being a devouring of men and women, an orc with a subus ancestry hobbled painfully to her seat and let out a cute moan the moment her cheeks touched the chair.

    Maya wasn''t any better she could barely feel her lower body as she shakily ate her breakfast.

    Frost the cause of such feelings received no small amount of hateful res but instead of being apologetic or embarrassed he grinned with pride. They may be ring now butst night they were begging him to continue even after he warned them about the consequences. In response to his genuine heartfelt warning all he got was "Just shut up and keep fucking us!" An order he was most happy to ept.

 Chapter 589: Chapter 589: The war with Karrick

    "When''s the war set to start Master?" Loki being the innocent saving grace that he waspletely ignored the subtle tension between Frost, Maya and Daki. The young phoenix kin was very much looking forward to the uing war as he wished to y a key role within it and therefore be praised and rewarded by Frost.

    His precious trove of candy was starting to dwindle given hisck of restraint and he felt guilty asking for more without aplishing anything first.

    Frost opened up the dungeon menu to check the time.

    "In about an hour Loki, enough time for us to finish breakfast and do ast rundown of our forces." By now the residents and visitors within the Niflheim base camp were aware that something major was happening.

    Ladius and her team using their influence as envoys of the federation of knowledge immediately spread word throughout the camp that something was changing within the dungeon and that everyone should steer clear for the next few days. To aid or rather provide evidence for this im Frost made the entire dungeon rumble 24 hours before the war was set tomence every hour on the hour as a warning.

    Of course a few groups decided to risk it anyway given how valuable even a small amount of time was within the dungeon but thankfully they were a minority and of little consequence. Frost already ordered Finy and Khuno to erase them before the war began thus eliminating potential loose ends.

    Now only Ladius and her team were sheltering within the dungeon due to their agreement.

    "I can''t wait hehehehe." The young phoenix kin couldn''t hide his excitement as he quickly wolfed down his breakfast and positioned himself on the sofa where the pseudo dungeon currently hovered. He and his sister would be in charge of observing the battle andmunication between the assigned teams.

    The same asst time but far more in depth and with a much greater workload but neither nched at the daunting prospect instead they were invigorated. Daki despite her current physical condition and obvious hatred of management would y as simr role since she was only the one who was yet to experience a dungeon war.

    Finally Maya would do as she always did, facilitate a background role and offer support as the contract between her, and Dark was still in effect.

    What about Frost you may ask well unlike the war with Gobuske this time there''s no restrictions on the dungeon cores themselves meaning if they so chose they can enter the battlefield personally and Frost being who he is wasn''t one to miss such an opportunity.

    A wide battle lust inspired smile grew on his lips as he pictured the invasion, the only question was whether he''d be part of the defence or the offence.

    The hour timeframe passed rtively quickly and was announced with the ringing of a loud bell and audible notification utilising Dark''s voice.

    "A dungeon war has been agreed to by Dungeon core Frost and Dungeon core Karrick. Your dungeons will be connected in 3¡­.2¡­.1¡­.connected. You can now begin your invasion, have fun kids." This voice was heard within the heads of Frost, Maya and those who had the rights to interact with the dungeon menu i.e. Daki, Loki, Nanna and his most trusted subordinates Finy and Khuno.

    For everyone else the dungeon seemed to shake violently as the space around it shifted. The entrance that once led to the Niflheim base camp was reced with a ck energy wall that served as a corridor to Karrick''s dungeon. The offensive teams would first enter this space before being transported to the opposing dungeon, thus preventing an obvious and dull sh at entrances.

    "Alright, it''s on everyone, time to let loose!" Frost roared at the top of his lungs as he raised his ive up high and led the charge into the ck barrier and into Karrick''s dungeon. He decided to be part of the invasion force rather than the defenders.

    "Follow after our Lord!" Khuno was joining him in the invasion as were the majority of the ronsos and yuki-onnas who were part of the special training squad whereas Finy was left in charge of the defence.

    The mighty elder ronso fully keen in exercising his newfound abilities let loose an earthshattering tiger roar before chasing after his master''s back with his teeth bared. He was on the hunt and enjoying every second of it. A plethora of fire monsters would meet their end today.

    Frost led hundreds, almost thousands of monsters through the ck abyss and into his younger brother''s dungeon, he was not going to hold back in the slightest. He''d show Karrick the folly in challenging one of the top rankers a second time.

    After a couple minutes of travelling through the spatial distortion Frost and his mighty cohorts of ronsos, yuki-onnas and even revenants were met with a fierce, ufortable heat. Before them was a wide cavernlike environment dotted with burning trees, and red hot dunes of sand and granite.

    The air was so hot that objects in the distance were distorted, a strange and foreign concept to the young Frost.

    "Damn that''s ufortable!" Frost didn''t even register the battalions of fire monsters that were grinning maliciously towards him and his ice brethren before calling on the yuki-onnas enlisted in his special training.

    "Activate the veil."

    "Yes milord." The strongest and defacto leader of the yuki-onnas replied while frowning, she too found the environment utterly unpleasant.

    ""[Veil of ice]"" The yuki-onnas followed their leader and cast their recently acquired spell, [veil of ice]. This spell held no offensive nor defensive properties instead what it did was summon a thin curtain of ice mana around their forces, protecting them somewhat from the insufferable heat.

    Neutralising itpletely was an impossibility but at least now they''d be able to summon most of their innate strength.

    But Frost wasn''t satisfied.

    "Ronso corps show them your fire!"

    "ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!!!" In response to their master''s call the flock of ronsos let loose a terrifying howl as they set themselves aze in silver and azure coloured mes. The temperature surrounding Frost''s forces lowered even more, and the magic users could feel their connection with their natural element being restored.

    Their opponents however grimaced at the sight, the frontline monsters even took several steps back as the chilling cold unsettled them. And Karrick who was watching the scene from one of the lower floors punched a nearby cliff out sheer anger.

    "HE DARES TO USE FLAMES AGAINST ME!!!!" Veins bulged and throbbed across his body as his rage threatened to blow him up from the inside. Was there anything more insulting to a master of fire, to use cold mes in his own house, no this affront, this insult must be met with savage aggression.

    Hepletely ignored thebined might Frost brought the field, all he saw was those cold mes denying his beautiful fire cavern. The war was on, and leniency and mercy were no longer on the table.

    "Clear me a path." Frost calmly ordered with his ive outstretched into the distance.

    "dly master!" The ronsos adorned in cold mes smiled from ear to ear before charging ahead with reckless intent. These fire monsters were nothing to them, even with the environment being what it was, dozens of unique C-rank monsters was a force to be reckoned with.

    And as to be expected the mighty ronsos bulldozed a path for Frost,unching and cleaving Karrick''s forces in twain, nothing but a ughter.

    "Yuki-onnas and protection teams keep apace with our main forces as we follow after the vanguard, we''ve got a red scaled lizard to hunt."

    ""Yes sir"" With a brisk and confident gait Frost thus led his forces deeper into Karrick''s dungeon, his vanguard making very short work of the majority of Karrick''s defences. To Frost and his soldiers this invasion was akin to a walk in the park.

    The two and half days spent within the training spaceprised of Frost mass purchasing anti fire spells for his ronso and yuki-onnas and them learning how to properly utilise them for the uing invasion. He also summoned the high earth rank cold me and allowed his soldiers to study the oddity so as to improve their innate gifts with the ice element.

    Their overall strength didn''t improve all that much but their ability to counter fire and more importantly hot environments skyrocketed. What was once a weakness was now Karrick''s bane¡­.at least in the upper floors. Frost wasn''t foolish enough to expect his little tricks to work the same once they reached Karrick''s true depths.

    However for an opening punch the effect was quite drastic. Poor Karrick felt his heart lurch as Frost''s ronsos ughtered their way through his frontline defences. The carnage brought up memories of his first war, the sheer difference in strength, the weakness he showed, his fragility and ..¡­the inevitable ending.

    His hands trembled as he thought of Pyro, he didn''t even register his monsters screaming at his side for orders. He suddenly felt small and powerless¡­.again.

    ".....No¡­..not again¡­.." The trembling in his hands gradually changed and the fearful expression he donned warped until a vicious smile grew on his lips. Even if he was outmatched he would not cower or submit, he would fight even if it meant defeat. It was time to own his arrogance.

    Boom!!

    Karrick blew up a nearby boulder with his fist so as to calm his frayed nerves.

    "Move up the yuanti, ming hippogryphs and¡­..willowisps."

 Chapter 590: Chapter 590: The war with Karrick (2)

    "Move up the yuanti, ming hippogryphs and¡­..willowisps." Karrick gave his first order with strained bravado.

    "B¡­but sir the willowisps are only G and F-rank." Karrick''s aide a C-rank fire drake questioned his order. The yuanti were fine given that each of them were at least D-rank and by far the main force behind their aggregate strength. The ming hippogryphs were also a good choice given their ability to fly and natural agility.

    Willowisps however were some of the weakest monsters in existence, even slimes fared better than them in directbat. Karrick''s aide struggled to understand why his master would order for their weakest monsters to be set to the frontlines, to fight against Frost''s monstrous ronsos.

    "I know but they''re perfect for dealing with that pesky veil and restoring our elemental advantage." Karrick knew the capabilities of his monsters quite well and his innate skills in terms of warfare were actually rather high¡­ he just had the wrong opponent.

    Shortly after sending his orders down the chain ofmand a toon of yuanti, snakelike monster kin that resembled half human, half snakes and ming hippogryphs, a cross between an avianlike beast and a horse appeared from behind Karrick''s third line of defence.

    Their arrival greatly inspired the regr monsters that made up Karrick''s defences, the yuanti were their pride and joy. Intelligent, dexterous and capable of all manner of attack, equivalent to Frost''s ronsos in flexibility though of a lower ss.

    Frost''s ronsos stopped their advance upon seeing the change in line-up, they waited for their lord to arrive which he did ten minutester.

    "Hoh certainly a step up, I can count more than few C-ranks among their kin." Frost remarked Karrick''s yuanti with respect, finding their race to be quite strong¡­of course they were still a far cry from his glorious ronsos.

    Rooooaaarrrrrr!!

    The ronsos bared their fangs and let out fierce intimidating roars as their bodies tensed, desiring nothing more than to receive the order to eviscerate these snakelike monsters and their deluded kin.

    Frost smirked but analysed the battlefield in a calm manner, this time was different. Not only was the third floor hotter than the previous floors, the regrmon monsters were a notch stronger even without the yuanti and ming hippogryphs, Karrick was starting to show his mettle.

    "But it''s not enough, rend them apart just like those before." Frost gave the order in a chilling tone and received a joyful chorus of roars in return. With permission given the vanguard charged forward with their weapons at the ready and silver mes wreathed around their bodies. To Frost it really didn''t matter how many yuanti stood before his forces, they''d fall all the same.

    The difference in power was just too much.

    However what he expected to see happen¡­didn''t. His mighty ronsos with their halberds, axes and even ws shed hard against Karrick''s defensive lines and pushed them back a fair amount but failed to rend them apart like before thus leaving them open for a fierce counterattack.

    Before Frost could even react to the sudden change Karrick''s yuanti attacked with extreme aggression, forcing his vanguard to retreat with no small amount of wounds, a perplexing situation. By all ounts his ronsos should have barged straight through, killing dozens of fire monsters in their path before eventually losing momentum and retreating safely for another charge.

    "Khuno can you exin?" Frost asked rather calmly. The situation was unexpected but not something to panic about. None of his ronsos were killed and they were strong enough to sort themselves out.

    Khuno narrowed his eyes trying to sense and see something that they might have missed.

    "Their momentum weakened by at least a fifth the moment they reached the enemy. That dip caused their charge to fail in breaking their lines." Khuno easily identified the reason but not the cause, thankfully someone else did.

    "There''s another monster in the line up other than the yuanti and ming hippogryphs, I believe they''re the cause." The leader of the yuki-onnas spoke up, seizing an opportunity to prove her worth.

    Frost and Khuno listened to her words and looked into the distance. They saw the willowisps but thought they were harmless, a decoration or starter monster that served little to no purpose. Even a slime felt stronger than these little floating fire puffs to the two of them. To the yuki-onna leader however they felt insidious and nauseating.

    She could feel it from the other side of the battlefield, these little puff balls were dangerous, they made her skin crawl.

    Frost noticed the effect they had on his officer and though he personally failed to sense any threat from them he trusted her instincts. He thus identified these little fire puffs as high priority targets.

    "Hit their lines with some magic salvos, get the ronsos out of there so we can regroup."

    "Yes sir. You heard him girls st away." The yuki-onnas and lesser yuki-onnas giggled before conjuring dozens of magic crests. A volley of ice bolts,nces and even boulders were thus fired at the enemy, with more than a few being specifically aimed at the dreadful willowisps.

    Don! Don! Don!

    The magic volley smashed hard into the frontlines, but it was clear that its grandeur was akin to a paper tiger. Barely ten enemy monsters died from the volley despite dozens of C and D-rank yuki-onnasunching it.

    "Tsk" Frost loudly clicked his tongue as the elemental disadvantage was in full view. The moment their spells left the ice veil they weakened by a level and by the time they reached the coverage of the willowisps they dropped even further.

    "Annoying little buggers!" The yuki-onna leader was far more vocal with her disappointment. Those willowisps were pretty much the antithesis of their long distance ice magic. Despite being only F and G-rank these little fire puffs could dramatically effect the magic arsenal of Frost''s forces.

    The volley of ice magic was barely enough for the ronsos to get back on their feet and start pushing back those clingy yuanti and ming hippogryphs. But it also drew the focus of Frost and his forces allowing Karrick to get another jump on his brother.

    While they were so focused on what was happening at the frontlines they failed to take notice a group of yuanti and willowisps appearing along the left and right ridges of the room.

    "Ambush!" Khuno roared the moment he sensed their movements, but the ball had already dropped. Waves of weak ass willowispsunched themselves down at Frost''s main forces, quickly melting apart their precious veil of ice and draining their connection to the ice element. The weaker monsters in his entourage immediately felt the difort of the environment.

    Their skin itched from the sudden heat and their breaths becameboured, softening them up for the next attack.

    The yuanti followed up with a volley of ming arrows, a force to be reckoned with even without the elemental advantage.

    Khuno reacted quickly as did the protection teams, but none were as quick as Frost.

    "Well yed little brother, well yed but still¡­.not enough [Wall of ice fire]" Frost let loose with one of the spells he learned from Leo''s ancestor. A 4th circle spell that was without parallel inparison to the rest of his spell repertoire. The mana cost for the spell was incredibly high but losing the momentum and dozens of his precious monsters was too high a cost to ignore.

    The moment he uttered themand words a giant magic crest appeared around the perimeter of his forces, far more intricate and detailed than any he had summoned before. From the crest fierce silver mes roared outwards and upwards encapsting him and his soldiers within and protecting them from the deadly barrage of fire arrows.

    The wall was imprable, any arrows that touched the silver mes were sh frozen and then turned into ice dust while those inside feltfort. The chill brought on by the fire though extreme was a godsend for the ice monsters who had delved into the depths of a fire dungeon.

    "Hu hu hu hu." Frost barely kept managed to hold the wall up for 10 seconds before the strain hit him like a ton of bricks. His breathing becameboured, and his mana veins felt overwhelmed as they tried to channel a tempest rather than a dense yet calm flow.

    He was a long way from bing proficient in the spell thus he needed to suffer some side effects after casting it, especially with a shortened aria.

    Mana wise he was fully capable of casting 4th circle magic without too much burden but that only applied to those he''d mastered to a sufficient degree, [wall of ice fire] was not one of those spells in fact it was quite miraculous that he managed to summon it at all let alone to such an effect.

    Khuno quickly supported his master who nearly buckled the moment the fire wall vanished.

    "I''m fine Khuno, take care of the ambushers and continue our assault." Frost pushed his left hand man away as he regained his bnce and steadied his breathing. It was just a momentary exhaustion nothing more.

    Though worried Khuno did as ordered, he tookmand of the many battalions that made up their primary force and ordered them to annihte the interlopers while he and few of the officers focused on helping the vanguard regroup with the main force. Karrick was sessful in stalling their advance but only slightly.

    Frost''s forces were not weak by any ount and with a more patient mindset they moved in greater numbers and slowly but skilfully wore down Karrick''s third defence line before moving deeper into his dungeon. Even with tricks, sneak attacks, sudden changes in circumstance and the obvious elemental advantage it was clear that Karrick was no match for his elder brother.

 Chapter 591: Chapter 591: The war with Karrick (3)

    Though Frost and his soldiers moved at a slightly slower pace after the difficulties on the third floor they still made great time and suffered minimal casualties, losing only a fraction of their weakest monsters. Karrick however was continually on the back foot, his defences whether they be monster, trap or environment failed to endure against their indomitable march.

    Carnage and ughter was all that was left in their wake.

    The young red scaled dungeon core felt his heart thump away madly in his chest as he watched his elder brother lead his forces closer and closer to his position. There seemed to be nothing in his arsenal that could forestall the inevitable but even, so Karrick refused to back down until he tried everything.

    "Summon more yuanti and low ranking me drakes!!" Karrick roared as he saw Frost enter his fifth floor.

    "But sir our DP Levels." His trusted fire drake aide immediately spoke up but was quickly shut down.

    "I know and I don''t care, I''m not going to allow my elder brother to see me as weak even if it means we have to expend all we have." Karrick would rather ruin his future dungeon development than allow Frost to continue to breeze through his dungeon as if it was a peaceful stroll.

    "How''s our own invasion going?" He asked another aide who was left in charge of their offensive team.

    "Not good master, we''re barely at the end of the first floor." The other aide who was of the minotaur species replied with a frown. Their invasion was not much better than their defence.

    A few hours earlier Karrick''s forces charged through the ck energy wall established by Dark and arrived in the dungeon of Niflheim''s winter hignds section where they were met with Frost''s first and weakest line of defence.

    "Pah far too cold for my liking, let''s heat the ce up men!" A ming tusked minotaur who was one of the invasion team''s leaders roared out in arrogance as he stamped down on the snow covered floor which was quickly melting due to his ambient body temperature.

    Unlike Frost''s forces Karrick''s soldiers didn''t feel their strength being sapped away by the environment, the cold didn''t affect their battle capabilities in the slightest.

    The ming tusked minotaur received loud cackles in response as more and more fire monsters entered the winter hignds and quickly raised the surrounding temperature. The snow that was beneath their feet quickly melted, even the reinforced ice walls and battlements showed signs of dripping, and this was without the use of magic.

    Under normal circumstances it was obvious that any ice monster would surely lose against one of fire, but this situation was anything but normal.

    The first line of defence established by Frost had been in ce since the monster stampede. They knew well how to handle invasions on a massive scale and how to minimise the damage they received. Even if Karrick''s soldiers managed to breach their lines the vast majority would be able to retreat to the second or third floor thanks to their strict training.

    "Enemy sighted, ready your bolts, arrows and magic and wait for my signal." A frost troll lieutenant was left in charge of the first line of defence along with several frost dwarves to serve as his officers. This was not an overly strong defence, but it was a well-trained one who were prepared to meet the enemy calmly.

    At the frost troll''s words dozens of clicks could be heard from the crossbows being primed and bows being pulled back. Magic users also calmed their bodies and readied their veins for a sudden rush of mana. All that was needed now was for the enemy to enter their range.

    The image of hundreds of fire based monsters charging ahead with mes decorating most of their forms was quite a scary sight especially for those borne of ice but none of Frost''s forces faltered. They''d been face to face with a berserk onught before and had learned to trust in their lord and the officers inmand.

    "Hold." The frost toll lieutenant raised his hand up priming to give the order to attack.

    DOON DOON DOON!

    The stamping of heavy feet caused the very ground to tremble yet still the defence team waited, nary moving a muscle as the enemy quickly charged at them with their weapons raised.

    "KILL THEM ALL!!!!!" The ming tusked minotaur bellowed out loud from the front of the pack. Wielding a massive battle axe in hand he kicked the ground hard in an attempt to leap over therge ice wall protecting Frost''s forces¡­ but failed. He barely managed to catch the slightest smirk on the frost troll lieutenant lips before the ground beneath him gave way.

    It was a trap, one that he fell into hook line and sinker. And not just him dozens of monster following in his wake were caught off guard by the sudden hole in the ground.

    "FIRE!!!" The hole itself caused little to no damage to the enemy but lined them up perfectly for a powerful volley.

    Ton Ton Ton

    Arrows, crossbow bolts and magic ice bolts thundered down on the temporarily stunned vanguard, at least a dozen lives were reaped over the course of 2 seconds with many more to follow.

    "RAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The ming tusked minotaur who fell first pushed aside the corpses of some weak fire goblins who fell in after him and leaped out of the trench. Arrows and crossbow bolts barely even managed nick his skin, as was the capabilities of a C-rank monster, only the weakest and more numerous would fall to such tactics. But the frost troll lieutenant was already aware of that.

    The first line of defence''s job was to weaken the invaders, soften them up for the next line of defence not stop them dead in their tracks. That was far too tall a task but even, so they did have a few tricks up their sleeves.

    "Frost trolls pin the enemy D-ranks in ce, ballistae operators lock and load!"

    "Yes sir." One of the frost dwarf officers, the one in charge of the ballistae replied with a salute before having his subordinates pull back several cloaks that hid their war machines from sight. A regr crossbow bolt may not be enough to pierce the skin of a minotaur but what about a massive tempered steel ballistae bolt.

    Before the enemy could even register the sight of the mighty ballistae the skilled operators had them primed and aimed at their chosen targets.

    Ptwang!

    A solid metre long steel ballistae boltunched at the ming tusked minotaurmander catching him by surprise but as previously mentioned he was a C-rank monster. The bolt was certainly more impactful than something from a crossbow or a standard bow, but the mighty beast reacted in time, deflecting it with the de of his axe.

    His arm tingled but other than that no wounds¡­the same couldn''t be said for his subordinates, however.

    More than a few D-ranks and even somerge E-ranks were poked full of holes by the sudden volley, once again curbing their aggressive momentum. Those that still made their way towards the ice wall through the death filled volley were met with the stalwart shields of the frost trolls. Karrick''s first charge was thoroughly quashed, reducing the battle to a slugfest.

    Over the course of several hours Karrick''s forces only managed to gain ground through dozens of casualties, theplete opposite of Frost and his soldiers. Karrick was severely outmatched; time only amplified the difference. Tactics, quantity of monsters, quality of monsters even mastery of traps and environments Frost surpassed his younger brother with ease.

    Yet despite this difference Karrick didn''t feel all that hopeless at least not to the same degree as when he faced Pyro.

    That battle was¡­.brutal, Pyro simply destroyed him through sheer tyrannical force, but Frost felt like a teacher, showing him the many ways in which he could improve. Karrick could see the situation happening in his dungeon and hear the many reportsing from his invasion team and from it he could see why he was losing, what he could have done better and or what he needed to reflect upon.

    His initial anger and arrogance was quashed not with strength but with education.

    Explore stories at m-v le-mpyr

    "I never knew you could fight like that¡­it''s inspiring." His eyes shined brightly as he watched Frost get closer and closer. He no longer seemed to panic about his situation instead taking it all in like a dutiful student. He could feel Frost''s intentions, there was no malice or hatred, he truly was teaching him some manners like an elder brother, simple as that.

    "Hahahahaha summon me serpents to aid in the invasion force and get more willowisps for the sixth and seventh floor, that pesky veil needs to be brought down for good otherwise my brother will leave without a scratch." Karrickughed joyfully as he gave out new orders, taking notes from how Frost easily pierced through his previous defence efforts to rearrange his blockades.

    Don!

    After giving out a new round ofmands and with a reinvigorated passion Karrick summoned his personal weapon, a long 3 metre spear with a bright red feather tassel attached at the end.

    "I''ll leave for the final blockade, Kenta, Margo with me leave themand centre to your most trusted subordinates."

    "Yes milord!!"

 Chapter 592: Chapter 592: The war with Karrick (4)

    Karrick with a grin adorning his lips and a reignited fighting spirit left the confines of his hallowedmand centre with his most powerful subordinates for the final blockade, the barrier erected on the 9th and bottommost floor.

    "Hmph guess I''ll have to thank that Frost for showing my little lordling the right path." Arge, winged man with bright red skin muttered under his breath as he watched Karrick leave. This man was his guardian, Lapata, a magma devil who was a hairs breadth away from reaching S-rank.

    Lapata was considered somewhat of a prodigy as were the majority of the chosen guardians and decided to take on a less personal approach when it came to his interactions with Karrick, choosing to serve solely as a temporary teacher and supervisor.

    There was no close rtionship between the two of them like there was between Frost and Maya or Indra and Izuna, but it wasn''t negative either like how Gobuske used to be treated. Lapata was here to do a job nothing more, nothing less, he acted professionally and never over stepped, leaving Karrick to find himself even if it meant going down the wrong path.

    He became a guardian for his own benefit, not because he deeply wished to be of service to Dark or that he was overly curious about his new creation no, he wanted the promised reward as well as the opportunity to observe and feel divine energy in action on a regr basis, as doing so would likely allow him to reach the vaulted S-rank and truly be one of the blessed entities that were above all but the Gods.

    This was Lapata''s official stance but over several months of close proximity with Karrick, it was difficult to prevent some level of attachment developing, thus his true feelings broke through for a brief moment¡­shame that no one else was free enough to hear it.

    Karrick quickly arrived at the final blockade, greatly inspiring the soldiers who were there and prepared toy down their lives for their creator. His strongest and most battle worthy forces made up the final barrier, with him and his aides joining them in the uing carnage Frost would have no choice but to make some sacrifices¡­ but that was still a few hours away.

    "Master, Karrick''s forces have sessfully breached the second floor and conquered the first section." As Frost was moving through the corpses of Karrick''s sixth defence line Nanna quickly contacted him through the dungeon menu system.

    "Hoh I thought he was struggling during yourst report."

    "Yes he was but his tactics have changed, and more monsters have entered through the spatial connection, even themander was altered to someone who''s less head-on in their strategies." Nanna gave her report calmly though there was a subtle hint of surprise.

    Karrick''s tactics so far could barely be called such, brute force that relied on their elemental advantage nothing more, the worst match-up for someone as experienced as Frost.

    "Interesting seems my young brother isn''t stupid enough to stubbornly stick to the same method even when it no longer works." Though such a change was naturally disadvantageous for him given that he was the enemy it still brought a smile to his face. These wars were meant to test a dungeon core''s ability to manage their dungeon and their military forces against one another.

    If there was no learning and improvement involved then what was the point. It seemed Karrick understood that and decided to learn from his opponent despite his initial arrogance.

    "Seems there''s potential for my younger brother yet hahahahaha." Joy as well as battle lust filled his heart as this dungeon war just became that much more fun. "Khuno time to move."

    "Yes milord!" Khuno shook the bloodstains from his halberd before following after his master with their intact forces bringing up the rear.

    ''You may have reach my second floor Karrick but unfortunately what waits for you there is another lesson. I hope you don''t descend intoplete despair hahahaha.''

    Second floor, final section.

    "So you''re saying that the opposing dungeon''s forces will be here within an hour."

    "Yes Sir and as agreed to by our master we will not interfere with your actions unless it causes direct harm to our own defences." At the second floor''s final defence line multiple walls had been reconfigured to create kill boxes and limit ess to the stairs from the ice cavernbyrinth.

    And tucked safely behind these defences was a group of sapients pleasantly interacting with the surrounding monsters and environment with one in particr beaming as she took dozens of energy readings.

    A ronso who was ced in charge of the federation of knowledge''s investigation team informed Terrance of the situation, boldly warning him not to betray their lord''s trust lest they wished to meet a gruesome end¡­subtlety of course but bold none the less.

    Terrance couldn''t help but lightly chuckle as he and his colleagues released a snippet of their aura causing the ronso to tremble instinctively.

    "Rx ronso we have given our word and the federation does not break its promises. We won''t interfere in your defences but will defend ourselves when necessary and retreat when we see fit.

    Fight as you normally would without us here." Terrance could feel that though he and his team were weed by Frost and that he ordered his monsters to work alongside them there was still a strong sense of unease among them. Of course he couldn''t exactly me them he''d be the exact same.

    Without their master or Khuno present there was hardly anyone who could put up a decent fight against them if things went south.

    "I hope so Sir Terrance for both our sakes." The ronso refused to be fully cowed even if it meant his death, he''d uphold the dignity of their master. He left a momentter to attend to his regr duties.

    "Tensions are already high enough Terrance, are you sure you should be acting so confrontational?" Ladius who finally managed to curb her curiosity for a damn second questioned her security team leader.

    "Trust me he''d be more on edge if we didn''t stand our ground to some degree, I know how soldiers think miss Ladius especially during times of war."

    "Very well, I''ll continue to leave our interactions to your discretion." Ladius trusted in Terrance''s expertise over her own. She was an investigator while they were effectively the federation''s military. "By the way I''m quite interested in seeing the other dungeon as well as that spatial corridor connecting th¡­"

    "We''ll see miss Ladius, depending on how hectic the war between the opposing forces gets as well as their strength you might need to curb your curiosity for once.

    My job is primarily to protect you and get our previously gained data back to headquarters, anything else we gain during this so called war is a bonus not a necessity am I clear." Terrance quickly took a stern approach, knowing exactly how reckless his charge could be when her interests took hold.

    "Hmph spoilsport." Ladius was of course displeased with his response but was powerless to do anything about it, she was under strict orders to follow Terrance''s lead during this little excursion.

    40 minutester Karrick''s newly reformed invasion team reached the boundary of the second floor, giving off a far more deadly feeling than they did previously.

    Instead of heavy hitting minotaurs and chaff leading the pack recklessly their forces were far more structured, mimicking Frost''s. Military lines were clearly divided into frontline hitters, cavalry, ranged attackers, support and magic users, making this war far more real and devasting.

    The worst change was the mass addition of me serpents, fast, agile monsters that were not only capable of moving through all manner of terrain but could spit dollops of fire based venom that made short work of defensive ice magic as well as ice based structures. Catching them wasn''t easy either given that ice restraining magic was nothing more than a tickle on their fire scaled bodies.

    The newmander was a C-rank fire serpent who unlike the ming tusked minotaur was patient. The moment their forces reached the defensive line and made away with the finicky traps on the outskirts it ordered for a deluge of fire to rain down on the enemy softening them up before charging in, far less reckless and casualty prone.

    "Raise shields, protect the ballistae and key areas of the walls. Magic corps weaken the fire as much as you can. Quarrellers and archers aim for their mouths, you can miss but at least they''ll be unable to spit fire." Another frost troll lieutenant was left in charge of the second floor''s defences and reacted well to change in the enemy''s tactics.

    He may not be the strongestbatant on the field, but Frost''s troll lieutenants were akin to Finy mini-mes focusing on leadership andmand skills rather than personal strength thus making them ideal officers. Unfortunately Karrick''s soldiers were getting better and better at utilizing their natural elemental advantage, there was limits to how much he could neutralise.

    "It''s a nasty match up but that frost troll lieutenant and the forces under hismand are durable and pretty well trained for such a young force." Terrance judged the war effort with respect as did his colleagues. They were well and truly impressed with how a young group of monsters managed to achieve something that would take a well-oiled military battalion years to achieve.

    Frost was growing more and more impressive in his eyes.

    Ladius wasn''t the only sent to evaluate the capabilities of the young dungeon core.

 Chapter 593: Chapter 593: The war with Karrick (5)

    "Damn, me serpents, fire mephits, red goblins, burning drakes and even scorch lizards, this really is a war between elements." Ladius who was under strict supervision literally bounded up and down in an attempt to get a better view of the enemy.

    The monster species weren''t anything she hadn''t seen herself or at least read about but seeing them here in Yangmir and the cial mountains was¡­unique. Fire monsters may have a distinct advantage over ice monsters but the chances of them actually meeting and duking it out in nature are slim to none given their opposing habitats habitats. This whole scene was an impossibility, naturally speaking.

    Ladius'' eyes sparkled and despite Terrance and his team doing their best to restrain her the avid investigator still managed to wriggle free from their grasp and run to wall''s edge with her many scanners. She desperately needed to document this unique scenario, never before had there been such an elemental sh of this magnitude.

    The federation would be singing her praises and then some once headquarters got their hands on this data.

    "Miss Ladius please don''t leave my side again or I''ll be forced to abscond with you to the lower levels." Terrance who promptly appeared next to her at the wall''s edge grabbed her shoulder hard and smiled in a way that wasn''t a smile. He was mad.

    Ladius howeverpletely ignored his words and withdrew more and more scanners with her free hand. Nothing would get in the way of her research not even Terrance and her team. Unfortunately her excitable actions and booming voice got the attention of the fire monsters who looked over in confusion.

    "Commander there''s a group of sapients among the enemy." A D-rank me crow reported the situation to the C-rank fire serpent who was the newly designatedmander.

    "Sapients? What are they doing interfering in the war? Why didn''t Lord Karrick''s brother devour them beforehand?" The fire serpentmander frowned, confused by the situation. Karrick ordered for all those currently delving in his dungeon to be consumed hours before the war was even set to start.

    Their bountiful DP thus served to facilitate their mass offensive and prevented any untoward intrusions into their glorious war.

    "Are they ves?"

    "Unclear but the enemy ispletely ignoring their presence." The crow responded with what it knew before flying back into the air.

    "Strange¡­.you send a team to quickly take care of them."

    ''Whatever their purpose or reason for being here it doesn''t matter they''ll die all the same.''

    "Yes ma''am" Another D-rank monster responded before ordering a team to take out Ladius and Terrance.

    "Hoh looks like we''ve gotpany." Terrance muttered under his breath after noticing a group of fire monsters heading in their direction and Frost''s forces wilfully ignoring such actions.

    "Get behind me miss Ladius."

    "But."

    "Now." He sternly demanded before forcefully moving her behind his back along with all her scanners.

    "Take care of them quickly, let them know of our strength."

    ""Yes sir"" Quintep and Ariana of the security team practically teleported in front of Terrance and Ladius with their weapons drawn, one with an axe and the other with two short swords.

    A dozen fire monsters of varying strength ''stealthily'' made their way to the edge of the ice wall that seemed under guarded. Their targets were the few sapients that could be seen recklessly standing at the wall''s edge without a care in the world.

    Thankfully it seemed their presence had gone unnoticed given that no barrages of ice magic or arrow volleys barred their path, almost as if they were being led here. Shame none of them were wise enough to notice such a situation.

    The moment Ariana and Quintep teleported to the wall''s edge the squadmenced their attack. Two membersunched a pair of ming arrows while another spat a dollop of fire venom. Another cast twin fire bolts while the rest charged at the wall in an attempt to scale it and confront the two sapients in closebat.

    "10 E-ranks and 2 D-ranks, I''ll take the left you take the right." Ariana softly suggested before leaping from the wall with her two swords.

    "Haaaaaa as usual I don''t actually get a say in the matter." Quintep shrugged before following after her.

    Schwing! Slice! Crunch!

    Stay with the story on m v l e m p y r

    The whole exchangested less than two seconds. Ariana chopped up the two ming arrows, blocked the dollop of fire venom with her cloak before effectively dancing her way through the left hand side of the enemy, building up her aura with every step beforeing face to face with the D-rank squad leader.

    Quintep was pretty much the same though his charge was less graceful. His axe shattered the twin fire bolts as well the bodies of the E-rank monsters that foolishly charged towards him before he too stood before the other D-rank monster with his aura in full swing.

    Their sudden showing of strength not only caught the attention of Frost''s forces but Karrick''s as well. Their aura was impossible to ignore after all. The two remaining monsters of the enemy squad crumbled into the floor as their bodies spasmed violently from the pressure of Quintep and Ariana''s aura before eventually turning inert.

    Then after giving a threatening re to the many observers Ariana and Quintep returned to behind the ice wall acting as though the earlier butchery never happened.

    An eery silence covered the battlefield as all eyes were drawn to the remote section of the ice wall. Frost''s monsters knew of Terrance''s and the other''s presence as well as their supposed strength but seeing and feeling it in action themselves was apletely different concept.

    The ronso who was in charge of handling their presence during the war was trembling from head to toe, the stronger one was the more they understood just howrge the gap was. Even their master was nowhere near their level. He audibly gulped before attempting to force himself to greet and interact with them after such a showing, thankfully a saviour appeared, rescuing him from such a daunting task.

    "Damn, seems we really have quite the way to go before reaching your level." Finy appeared from behind the ronso with a wide grin on his face and his own aura radiating outwards in a reassuring manner. His arrival and memorable aura calmed the nervous soldiers, allowing them to focus back on the task at hand, the enemy.

    "How modest Finy, I''m sure you''ve got more than a few trump cards hidden away." Terrance replied with a soft smile knowing that they''d gone a bit too far given the situation. For observers they''d made too much of a ssh. Even Ladius who was on their team was giving them dirty looks.

    "Perhaps we should move to another area lest you continue to interfere." Finy appeared amiable but his words were tinged with irritation. This was supposed to be a war between dungeon cores and yes Frost did allow them to take part and document the event but was it really necessary to use their B-rank strength and their auras against a group of E and D-rank opponents, overkill much.

    "We''ll take you up on that suggestion¡­.sorry." Terrance, Quintep, Ariana, Mammon and Ladius thus followed Finy away from the battlefield so the war could continue properly.

    "Ruined, a perfectly good opportunity to observe and catalogue an impossible war and you had to go and blow it just for a chance to show off your strength." Ladius sulked and berated Terrance and his team who hung their heads in shame.

    Terrance just wanted to guarantee their charge''s safety and for the fire monsters to stop aiming for her and thus interfere with her research never imagining it would backfire to such a degree.

    "I''ll inform my master about the situation, but I think it''d be best if you don''t show up on the battlefield anymore. He wanted his brother to learn something and perhaps hit a wall not copse intoplete despair." Finy continued his usations.

    "Sorry." And Terrance apologised once again.

    The situation back in the second floor''s final section remained awkward even after Terrance and his team left with Finy. The shock among Karrick''s forces was just too much. There was at least 3 B-rank fighters among the enemy, opponents that could easily crush them without batting an eye. They felt like children ying war.

    On the seventh floor of Karrick''s dungeon Frost was marching through the second section with sweat trickling down his brow, the heat increased another grade once they entered this floor making it very, very ufortable.

    "Why did I ever agree to this war?" He questioned this decision several times throughout the delve, the heat even with the use of the ice veil and the conjuring of cold mes was still getting through every so often and he despised it.

    "What''s so good about warm weather anyway?"

    "Absolutely nothing milord." Khuno who was wreathed in white fur was no less irritated by his difort.

    "Let''s just finish this as soon as possible and get back to where we belong." Frost summoned a few tendrils of cold mes to wrap around his body, lowering his body temperature.

    "Master are you busy?" Loki''s voice suddenly appeared telepathically.

    "Another report? Did Karrick make it to the third floor already?" Frost asked with no small amount of shock. Perhaps he underestimated his brother.

    "Umm not exactly there was a little incident." Loki then went on to exin what happened with Ladius and her security guards.

    "...¡­" Frost was silent in response.

    ''Didn''t they say they''d be discreet and only interfere when necessary.'' He wanted to teach Karrick a lesson, to eventually show him the power that sapients could bring to the table not have it blow up in his face. He didn''t want Karrick to give up now that he''d started to truly enjoy this war, bar the heat of course.

 Chapter 594: Chapter 594: The war with Karrick (6)

    "Haaaaaaaa" Frost let out a deep sigh after hearing Loki''s ount of what transpired. The n he initially had was for Terrance and his team to make a little showing, revealing the fact that sapients weren''t just mere fodder, not for them toe out swinging with their full strength against a bunch of riff raff. He could only imagine how Karrick must be feeling at this very moment.

    To know that no matter what he did there wasn''t the slightest chance of victory.

    "Have Terrance and Ladius withdraw from the battlefield, hopefully without their presence the war can continue to some degree." He wanted Karrick''s forces to keep attacking even if the result was predetermined.

    "Finy already removed them from the scene, he''s taken them down to the third floor for now but is awaiting your instructions." Loki replied.

    "Good, keep them out of sight but if Ladius kicks up a fuss have some of the ronsos guide them through the secret paths, she can study the spatial connection if she wants.'' At least that way they won''t pose a serious threat to Karrick''s forces.

    "Understood master." Loki thus left to inform Finy.

    "Let''s move Khuno."

    "Yes sir." Frost and his invading forces continued their delve with a quickened pace.

    On the bottommost floor of Karrick''s dungeon where fires raged across thendscape and streams of boilingva stretched across the floor. A terrifying blockade of high strength monsters, traps and even several war machines could be seen blocking the entrance to a small ornate room. This was thest barrier before one could reach the dungeon''s core.

    Karrick along with his trusted aides, Kenta and Margo stood stalwart atop the wall with their weapons at the ready and their bodies itching for battle¡­.at least they were until a certain report came in.

    "¡­Say that again." Karrick requested with a shocked voice.

    "Lord Frost has the aid of peak B-rank sapients sir, at least 2 but likely more as well as a B-rank monster, some kind of ice troll. Our invasion team has been broken sir; their morale shattered by their arrival¡­.what do we do?" The monster on the other end of line reported while trembling.

    "...¡­" Karrick was silent for several second before breaking out into manicughter. "Hahahahaha so it truly was an impossibility from the very beginning ahahhahahaha, what a fool I am."

    "Sir?" Kenta his loyal aide spoke up, worried for his master''s mental state.

    "I''m fine Kenta." Karrick raised his hand to ay his subordinate''s fears, the news was certainly shocking but not enough to shatter his spirit.

    "Did the B-rank sapients stick around to continue the fight?" Instead he acted rationally and asked for a thorough report.

    "No sir, the ice troll guided them away from the battlefield."

    "That''s good, seems that my brother never intended for us to truly fight against such forces. Transfer my orders to the invasion team, they are to continue the assault regardless, care not for the B-rank sapients, forget they even existed do you understand?"

    "Y¡­Yes sir I''ll tell them, but I don''t know how effective it''ll be." He wasn''t even there yet he already felt hopeless about the battle, he couldn''t imagine how his fellow monsters felt being subjected to the might of a peak B-rank''s aura.

    "I trust in my subordinates; we won''t be cowed by something like this." Karrick smiled and spoke with confidence, but his hands were shaking. Frost was truly bing an infallible existence.

    Karrick''s orders were quickly sent through the chain ofmand along with some supportive words. The invasion team that was practically falling apart thus rallied to some degree thanks to their strong belief in their lord as well as the absence of the B-rank enemies. As long as they didn''t show up they could muster their strength.

    Loki, Nanna and even Daki worked without missing a beat, quickly transferring orders across the dungeon as well as monitoring the entire battlefield. The injured -if they could be saved in time- were quickly transferred to the medical stations set up on the lower floors while recement monsters rapidly filled their positions until the pressure started to overload the entire defence line.

    Once a retreat had been requested or ordered everyone worked hard to safely dismantle the current defensive line and move to the next station. Those left behind to stall the invasion were all spawner monsters thus greatly reducing the loss of the more valuable personnel.

    Daki who was experiencing this situation for the first time was inplete awe. The military precision of Frost''s forces, the diverse battlefield environments and the quick yet uratemunication across several floors was mind boggling.

    The Niflheim territory which should have been in the very early stages was alreadyparable to long standing cities in terms of their warfare and defensive capabilities. She was excited and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience, her love for Frost only grew as time went on, he was bing more and more impressive.

    ''She''spletely smitten.'' Maya who was watching from the sidelines couldn''t help but notice Daki''s feelings, the sparkle in her eyes, the biting of her lower lip and asional squirming. She shook her head wondering how on Nova Daki could still be wanting more after the events ofst night. The two of them struggled to walk to the breakfast table yet she still wanted more. Thank you for reading on m v le_mpyr

    A pink blush grew on her cheeks as her mind drifted back to the events ofst night and soon she was behaving just like Daki.

    ''Damn bastard.'' She cursed internally but was outwardly smiling. Seems Frost would due a hell of a reward once the war was over.

    As Karrick''s forces did their best to breach the third floor and Frost''s team descended onto the 8th floor Ladius and her team were led through the secret back passages to the dungeon''s entrance where a ck energy barrier stood in ce. Hours ago this gate led to the outside world, to the Niflheim base camp, now however it led to a separate dungeon halfway around the world.

    Karrick was stationed on Vulcan the southern continent, practically as far as you could possibly be from the cial mountains.

    "It''s beautiful." Ladius who had been kicking and screaming whenever she got the chance after being pulled away from the battlefield finally changed her tune. She leaped towards the ck barrier and ced her hand upon it, sensing the most minute fluctuations with her mana and investigative skills before pushing her hand in.

    "The connecting area is liveable, medium temperature, presence of air and mana, how peculiar." She instantly withdrew her trusty magical devices and set up shop while Terrance and the others stood guard. However much like the dungeon core room but to an even greater degree, her many devices barely picked up a thing.

    She couldn''t exin the physics or the magical reasoning for the spatial hallway just that it existed, as if it was somehow natural. Her curiosity continued to build and of course she decided to, without hesitation take the plunge. One moment she was fiddling with her magical devices the next she leaped into the darkness vanishing from sight.

    Thankfully Terrance and the rest were used to her behaviour, while Quintep and Ariana picked up the leftover devices Terrance and Mammon dove in after her.

    Several minutester the team from the federation of knowledge found themselves at the entrance of Karrick''s dungeon which was theplete opposite Frost''s.

    Ladius pulled out what seemed to be a magicalpass from her storage ring and nearly nked out the moment she got a reading.

    "We''re really on Vulcan, thepass doesn''t lie." Teleportation gates were certainly in existence in fact they were actually quitemon but none of them could evene close to transitioning between continents. This spatial distortion was suddenly the highlight of this trip, if they could somehow replicate it even slightly the world would be forever changed.

    Frost and Karrick were now yesterday''s news.

    "Set up a monitoring station on either side, I want as much data as possible in the timeframe we have left."

    "Yes ma''am." Terrance quickly split his team up and followed her instructions, he too understood the gravity of such a find.

    On the ninth floor of Karrick''s dungeon.

    "They''re what?"

    "I don''t know sir, the B-rank sapients have erected some sort of device at the dungeon''s entrance." Someone from themand centre quickly informed Karrick of the strange situation, the scary sapients had entered his dungeon and were doing something his monsters couldn''t exin.

    "Haaaaaaa ignore them, there''s nothing we can do anyway, I''ll just ask my brother once he arrives." That fact was an inevitability, despite his shoring up of blockades and change in tactics Frost was still making his way down towards him at good pace. Shortly he''d be face to face with his elder brother, an opponent he initially looked down upon for a plethora of reasons.

    His element being at a severe disadvantage against his own, his dy in answering his challenge, his noble/schrly looks and of course Pyro''s attempts to disparage his character and capabilities. Now however he held nothing but respect for him and was grateful for his teachings.

    Karrick would meet Frost on the field of battle with his spear in hand, perhaps he could prove superior when it came to personal strength.

 Chapter 595: Chapter 595: The war with Karrick (7)

    Over an hourter Frost finally reached the final floor of Karrick''s dungeon, a floor that far surpassed the previous floors in terms of temperature.

    Tssss

    Droplets of sweat evaporated on contact with the ground, the entire ce was akin to the inside of an oven, unbearable to a normal person let alone one blessed by ice.

    Multiple weaker monsters and those that were injured copsed to the ground, their bodies'' in pain and turning red from the heat.

    "Shit! Those below D-rank leave the floor immediately, yuki-onnas and ronsos double your output for the veil and your cold mes." The lower ranking monsters would practically dead weight in this environment. After delving for so long into somewhere so inhospitable and fighting against their antithesis they were too exhausted to endure the punishment.

    "Sorry master." Those who could articte themon tongue apologised before dragging themselves and their allies upwards to a more hospitable floor, a small detachment of lesser yuki-onnas joined them to cast [veil of ice] as they travelled.

    "Everyone else stick close together and keep your eyes peeled, fighting in an environment of this level will be immensely draining on our stamina and strength but manageable as long as we keep on task. We''ve trained for this, ronsos form concentric circles within our formation and channel your cold mes, yuki-onnas, start chugging mana potions if you need to.

    The only magic that will be of any use here is the [veil of ice] so no need to restrict your mana usage."

    ""Yes master"" The yuki-onnas did as intrusted, pumping more mana into the surround veil of ice while the ronsos abandoned their role as vanguards to further reduce the insufferable temperature. It''d be a slog to the end, but he was determined to get there and face Karrick openly.

    Thankfully Karrick pulled back the vast majority of his remaining forces to the final blockade, leaving just the traps to bar their path which failed rather miserably thanks to Frost''s keen senses and hisck in utilising them as effectively as his brother. It did slow them down though which prolonging their time in the oven.

    By the time Frost reached Karrick''s position he had lost most of his patience and the smile that used to adorn his face was reced with a frown, he really, really didn''t like heat nor did his monsters.

    "What''s wrong brother you''re looking rather red in the face." Karrick who had been on the backfoot for the majority of this war and had been trembling in anxiety as Frost grow closer couldn''t help but act smug upon seeing his expression.

    "¡­.." All he got in response was a chilling re that sent shivers down his spine, Frost clearly wasn''t in the mood for jokes at this point, he heard that loud and clear. But even so it was uplifting to see him struggle, a small win amongst a long string of losses.

    Frost quickly doused himself in cold mes and coated himself in ice armour that almost immediately started to melt.

    "I really hate fire." He spoke these four words with great force as he straightened his back and regained his usual demeanour.

    "I''ll try to not take offence to that."

    "Oh you should take a little."

    "¡­.That''s just mean."

    "Well I am pretty pissed right now." More and more tendrils of cold me chakra danced around him as if mirroring his hatred.

    "Pot calling the kettle ck brother as I too am pretty pissed." Red hot mes danced around Karrick and his spear as his voice rose in volume.

    "My forces have barely made into your fourth floor before beingpletely decimated whereas you''ve made it to my final floor with the vast majority of yours still intact. You didn''t even have to put in much effort for your victory. Tell me brother how can that not PISS ME OFF!!" Karrick roared out his frustrations, his anger, his helplessness, catching Frost by surprise.

    "....There is always a taller mountain little brother no matter how strong you be but as long as you don''t give up you can learn to scale it, to surpass your previous self." Frost was silent for a few seconds before quoting a phrase from a book he read which of course came off as a lecture from the strong to the weak, angering Karrick further but eventually the message got through.

    "I guess I should thank you for the lessons, but the ss isn''t quite finished, is it?"

    "No I don''t believe it is Karrick." Frost tightened his grip around his ive and did his best to ignore the surrounding heat.

    "Those sapients?"

    "I''ll exin once we''re finished here." Frost flourished his ive and readied himself for battle.

    Karrick smiled from ear to ear as his heart was set aze, finally he could pummel out his frustrations. "Kenta, Margo let''s turn up the heat."

    "Rooooooaaaaarrrrr!!!!!" Karrick''s forces roared out at the top of their lungs, shaking the ground and establishing a threatening pressure upon Frost''s forces.

    "Tsk he couldn''t have used worse words." Frost clicked his tongue before readying himself and his forces for the fight of their lives.

    "This battle will not be easy, but it is one we shall not lose, are you with me?"

    "Always master." Khuno, the ronsos, yuki-onnas and revenants all pledged themselves for the uing battle with unwavering dedication while the drakes and wolves roared and howled in support. They''d follow their lord into fire, literally.

    "Hahahahahaha well then let''s show my brother our power, the unrelenting spirit of ice and the might of the Niflheim dungeon." With those inspiring words Frost led the charge, diving headfirst at Karrick''s forces.

    The moment he started his charge fire and magma was shot into the air by Karrick''s spellcasters and rained down upon the invaders with fierce vengeance. The mighty [veil of ice] that protected Frost and his group throughout their delve barely even slowed the barrage down. The environment and elemental disparity had never been clearer.

    Arge ball of magma smashed into the chest te of an ice revenant, seriously cracking the mighty piece of armour, exposing the core hidden within. Across the field two lesser yuki-onnas were set aze as if they were made of dried tinder. The losses only continued to rue as they charged.

    "Dammit! Khuno, ronsos protection!" Frost felt a sharp pain in his heart as he heard the many screams of his monsters dying behind him. These were monsters he fought beside, talked to and spent a hell of a lot of DP and time on thus every one of their deaths was painful.

    "Yes sir!" Khuno and the ronsos acted immediately, charging ahead and jumping up to knock down the worst of the barrage before more of their weaker forces sumbed to the rain of fire. It was taxing work but necessary.

    Boom!

    "Tsk should have expected that!" Frost narrowly avoided a nasty trap that Karrick ced before his defensive line. A plume of red hot magma burst forth from ground the moment his foot touched the marked area. If he was a split second slower he''d have been doused in the burning liquid.

    "Watch out for traps."

    "Master look out!"

    "What! Shit!" Practically the same instant he dodged the magma trap a massive ming boulder came flying in his direction. Without Khuno leaping to his aid to push him away he would have been struck, sent reeling to back of formation, bruised and battered, not a good look for a leader.

    While Frost had ballistae and simrly style war machines Karrick had ess to what appeared to be trebuchets, very long ranged catapults that could hurl massive spheres from behind the walls, nasty piece of equipment that sacrifices mobility and rate of fire for distance and devastating impact. Though he managed to escape such an attack thanks to Khuno several others weren''t quite so lucky.

    A ronso for example was struck mid-air, his body barrelled into a nearby wall before falling into a pit ofva, beyond the reach of his allies¡­dead.

    "He''s really going all out with his forces this time." Frost remarked with a pronounced frown after crossing another hundred metres. The monsters at Karrick''s beck and call this time were far more numerous and of much higher quality than before. Getting to them wasn''t going to be easy, thankfully he brought a veritable army as well as a mighty general.

    "Enough of this shit, Khuno let''s clear a path [Wyvern''s maw]" Frost seeing his monsters falling at a substantial rate conjured up his ultimate strength and called on Khuno to do the same.

    "[Freezing tornado]" Both Frost and Khuno activated one of their most powerful skills. A massive wyvern''s maw appeared behind Frost''s ive, showing off its mighty fangs. Aura seeped into the maw granting it substance and density. Next chilling sliver mes with splits of azure danced around it, enhancing its already devasting power.

    For Khuno his halberd hummed with power, waves of energy rotated around the de and shaft, quickly merging with his cold fire chakra to create a raging blizzard. The two charged forward at the exact same time with their skills in full swing.

    A fierce torrent of energy mmed forward, wrecking apart the ensuing barrage and even reaching the protective walls where some of Karrick''s forces were stationed.

    "Charge ahead now!!" Frost loudly bellowed making sure not even a single second was wasted, this reprieve wouldn''tst long. At hismand Frost''s forces charged ahead following after their liege andmander caring not for their defences in that moment, all so they could shorten the distance between them and the enemy.

    Having the shoe on the other foot felt terrible, without their long range ice magic supporting both their charges and defences they realised just how much their truly relied on it. Regr arrows and bolts alone weren''t enough topete with what Karrick was throwing at them.

    Thankfully they were strong enough to endure and gradually gain ground though without Frost taking action the losses would have been momentous.

    Karrick stood at the edge of his defensive wall, watching the entire battle unfold before his eyes. His forces were terrifying, they had significant advantages in this fight yet still they were being slowly pushed back even before Frost and his ronsomander decided to unveil another secret.

    "So you''re also at that level."

 Chapter 596: Chapter 596: The war with Karrick (8)

    Karrick''s hands gripped hard around the shaft of his spear, his heart beating like a relentless drum. His forcesunched a fierce volley of fire and metal at their invaders, cutting down Frost''s soldiers one by one, yet still they were slowly gaining ground.

    Frost''s soldiers were plentiful, of high rank and incredibly determined to bridge the gap. Despite being inundated with waves of fire magic, massive ming boulders and the asional magma trap they pushed ahead, inching ever closer to himself and his defensive line.

    And now Frost and Khuno utilised their immense B-rank strength to open up a hole, temporarily allowing the soldiers behind to charge ahead without fear.

    His entire body trembled the moment he felt the whisper of Frost''s aura and witnessed the devastation brought down by his ive. Frustration, anger but mostly envy coursed through his veins.

    "Kenta, Margo begin phase 2." Commanded Karrick with a swing of his spear.

    "Yes sir." Kenta and Margo were Karrick''s most trusted and most powerful aides, the two of them leaped from the defensive wall alongside their direct subordinates, creating a bulwark between the enemy and their master.

    Kenta, a peak C-ranked fire drake, whose scales could easily block steel and ws rend apart even the toughest of hides tookmand of the eastern section while Margo a ming minotaur who had mes for fur and a massive battle-axe as her weapons controlled the west. They would stop the charge of the enemy or die trying.

    Frost silently exchanged looks with Karrick as his forces charged ahead with maddened expressions.

    Click click click

    The moment Frost''s forces reached a certain point an array of clicks went off and plumes of fire rose from the ground, engulfing the frontlines. Screeches erupted from the ice borne monsters as the fire assaulted their bodies without mercy, but the majority continued their charge through the fire.

    The ronsos and magically inclined monsters could protect themselves to some degree thanks to their cold me chakra and ice spells respectively but for the rest they simply ignored the pain and pushed through it in rage.

    Spear, axe and sword shed against one another, and the smell of charred flesh quickly filled the air, causing Frost''s face to grimace. This battle was far different than the previous ones, his forces were truly struggling in the most painful way possible but still they fought and killed, hoping to make a path for their lord.

    As time passed more and more blood was spilled, death was all around but the battle continued as the soldiers on either side were still plentiful.

    "Khuno have the ronsos and ice revenants move in, I want his defensive line to feel the pressure."

    "As youmand my lord. Ronsos, revenants attack formations now!" Khuno gave the order with a booming voice that broke through the chaotic din of battle.

    "We hear and obey!" The ronsos and revenants replied with glinting eyes, finally they were allowed to go all in.

    These C-rank monsters couldn''t bepared to the numerous regr soldiers that made up Frost''s army no they were elites, champions that could deal real damage when let loose. 20 ronsos and 15 ice revenants answered the call and swiftly charged ahead to carve up the brutal death line that had been created between the two forces.

    "Tsk guess he got tired of waiting, drakes and minotaurs endure their charge, the heat will gradually sap away their strength, continue to hold out and we can still win this war!" Karrick quickly supported his forces, urging them to y a war of attrition.

    They had the home field advantage, and the environment would eat away at the enemy''s strength, there was no need for them to take any aggressive risks.

    His forces replied with enthusiasm as they braced themselves for a devasting charge while he himself smiled and waited for Frost''s ronsos and revenant to near.

    As the ronsos wreathed in their cold me chakra and ice revenants with their durable armour picked out their targets Karrick tapped the butt of his spear against the wall activating a bunch of hidden traps. With a light rumble gaps in the tall wall opened up to reveal what appeared to be iron pipes.

    "Burn" The moment the word left Karrick''s lips raging hot fire spewed out from the revealed pipes. The ronsos and ice revenants were suddenly awash in fire bringing their sudden assault to a stop. The fire charred their skin and or weakened their armour but most of all stopped their momentum.

    Karrick''s minotaurs and drakes then quickly surrounded the ronsos and ice revenants with their numbers and used their stubbornness to hold them in ce, returning the battle to a stagnant mire, that benefited Karrick.

    "The little bastard really isn''t going to make this fight easy is he." Khuno merely growled in response, displeased with the failure.

    Frost looked across the fire filled battlefield with narrowed eyes, feeling the heat seeping through his clothes and into his pores irritated him. He''d had enough of this dreadful heat and wished to return to the cold embrace of his own dungeon and the cial mountains. He had taught Karrick enough and had showed him who was superior in terms of dungeon management.

    It was now time to test his personal development.

    He looked back at Karrick who stood stalwart on the wall, gazing down at the battlefield with fiery eyes.

    "Karrick I think it''s time to end this war." Frost spoke with the aid of aura allowing his voice to clearly reach Karrick''s ears.

    "What? Starting to feel the strain brother, didn''t take you for one to surrender at the final stretch" Karrick replied in a booming voice, his taunting words reaching across the room.

    "Arrogant litt¡­." Khuno clenched his fists until they started to crack, he desperately wanted to smack Karrick across the jaw but was stopped by Frost.

    "You know as well as I do Karrick that this war is already over, I''ve beaten you at every turn. All that remains is a field of blood and death." Frost gestured to the frontlines where countless bodies of all shapes, sizes and origins now resided, being crushed under the feet of theirrades as they continued to do battle.

    Frost words carried a solemn tone within, a tone that made Karrick follow his gaze and see the plight thaty before him with a different perspective. For a moment he felt guilt and wondered if his pride and desire to not bebelled weak was worth it. He spent so much of his hard earned DP and sacrificed countless soldiers for what, another loss.

    He had only recently recovered from the war with Pyro and now he was going to be in red once again, destined to fall behind even further. It was impossible to not feel some level of regret but in the end it was just some.

    "You are right brother this is a field of blood and death but it''s valiant blood and honourable deaths. You may have beaten me at every turn like you said¡­ but I am not done yet. I will not bring shame to my soldiers by surrendering before I''ve given this war everything I''ve got.

    So do your worst brother, we wee the challenge." Karrick beat his chest and pointed his spear''s tip directly at Frost as he roared out his promise.

    His gant figure and inspiring words conjured up a flurry of support from his forces. The battalion of fire monsters that stood between Frost and Karrick turned up the heat, attacking with a sudden burst of strength as though they were injected with stimnts, forcing Frost''s forces several steps back.

    "...." Frost silently took in Karrick''s words and felt the battle lust radiating off him and his energetic soldiers. "Hmph." With a loud hmph Frost''s lips began to turn upwards, his heart beating like a drum and music began to y in his ears, urging him to wield his ive and dance.

    "Well said little brother, let us see how your personal strengthpares to your skills in management." Thick tendrils of silver cold mes wrapped around Frost''s body, creating what appeared to be a suit of armour, he was gearing to enter the fray personally and Karrick was more than happy to join him.

    "Khuno take care of those two aides of his but don''t kill them, I''d rather not create a permanent vendetta with my brother."

    "I''ll try my best master but no promises." Khuno replied through clenched teeth, he too was feeling the urge to dance in amongst the enemy.

    Frost lightly shook his head and internally wished Kenta and Margo luck before charging ahead with Karrick locked in his sights. He looked forward to exchanging blows with a spear user.

    Don! Don!

    In response Karrick tapped the wall beneath him with the butt of his spear twice in rapid session the instant Frost entered range. Two more iron pipes at least 50%rger this time poked out from the wall and suddenly breathed red hot mes in Frost''s direction, hoping to turn him into a chargrilled dungeon core.

    "Not hot enough!" Unfortunately Frost wasn''t like the weak rabble nor was he defenceless against the mes. While still running he ced his ive before his body and started rotating it with extreme speed. Cold mes wrapped around the spinning ive to create a swirl of silver fire that shed with the red hot mes, dissipating them without mercy.

    "Tsk use the me cannon." Unperturbed by the failure of his trap Karrick called upon a group of azer (Fire borne elementals that have an appearance simr to dwarves) who pushed up arge cannon like contraption to the edge of the wall.

    "Try and cool down this one brother hahahahaha."

 Chapter 597: Chapter 597: The war with Karrick (9)

    Frost sessfully diffused the red mes spat out by the iron pipes but now an even greater threat was pushed towards the edge of the wall and aimed directly at him.

    A massive cannon made from unknown materials and decorated with an abundance of red crystals neared under the efforts of 2 burly azer. Frost felt a chill run down his spine and goosebumps form across his arms, this cannon was dangerous.

    "Hehehehehe try this one on for size!" Karrick loudly cackled, his eyes sparking with fanaticism as his subordinates loaded up the me cannon with magic crystals. Soon the beast roared to life, the barrel hummed, and the red crystals sparkled like stars in the night sky. The next moment there was an intense sh of light.

    The me cannon recoiled backwards nearly knocking down the burly azer as a thick orange beam fired out from the barrel. The surrounding air warped and the wall supporting the cannon showed signs of sudden melting, the heat radiating from this beam was no joke.

    Frost grimaced as the beam appeared but didn''t hesitate to defend himself. "[Freezing fire ball]" Acting hastily he summoned a ball of ice fire from his right hand and fired it forward to impede the beam''s path.

    A vibrant ball of silver mes imbued with aura smashed into the me cannon''s orange beam with devasting force. The air rippled and a sonic boom spread across the battlefield as the two fires shed against one another, but thissted but a moment before the orange beam sessfully pierced through the silver fire.

    The beam was less pristine and had lost a decent amount of heat but even still it wasn''t an attack that could be taken lightly.

    Expecting his [freezing fire ball] to fail -given Karrick''s grandeur- Frost gripped his ive [the wolf howling at the moon] and summoned forth his internal energy to activate a skill he''d recently purchased through the dungeon menu. He was far from being proficient in its use but needed something stronger than [wyvern''s maw].

    His ive rapidly filled with energy to the point that it started hum or rather cry out. Following the cry the channelled energy escaped the confines of the ive and gradually formed what appeared to be a ming blue bird. As the image intensified the entity''s origin also grew clearer.

    "[Flight of the Luan]"As Frost uttered themand words the bird or rather the Luan let out an ear piercing screech as it followed the path of his ive''s upswing. A trail of bright blue mes that could make even Frost shiver followed in his ive''s wake.

    sh!

    With a fierce sh the ive along with the Luan following closely behind collided with the orange beam. An intense vibration flowed through Frost''s hands in that moment, almost to point of forcing him to let go. The heat radiating from the orange beam fought against what was effectively the long tail of the Luan, each struggling to dominate the other.

    What seemed like an eternal battle between fire and ice ended in but a brief second.

    Frost with the aid of his new skill sessfully sliced the orange beam in twain, forcing the spilt sides to crash either side of him and melt the ground until they ran out of steam. The blue Luan was victorious this day and let out a sonorous cry as its form dissipated.

    Frost felt his strength being sapped as a sudden sense of exhaustion assaulted him, [flight of the Luan] was a very costly skill to use. He wobbled slightly as his bnce shook bit quickly regained his stance. That momentarypse however was enough for Karrick.

    Almost the very instant the fierce orange beam met with Frost''s Luan Karrick leaped from his highly defensible position with his spear in hand. He followed the beam''s path and silently attacked the moment the confrontation was over. He didn''t use any skills, but he did surround the spear tip in fire chakra increasing his lethality.

    Read further on m_vl em,pyr

    Frost barely got the chance to blink before he saw Karrick flying at him with his spear already thrusting for his chest. The timing was just too perfect, even with his superior skills and weapon mastery there was no way he could avoid this perfectly timed blow. A mad smile decorated his lips as respect for Karrick filled his heart. His younger brother truly was one that didn''t know how to quit.

    Even at this stage he was still thinking of winning this war.

    Fwoosh!

    Karrick''s spear that was made from high grade, fire resistant materials stabbed into Frost''s chest with great deal of force. The fire chakra surrounding the tip shed against Frost''s pseudo cold me chakra armour- since his ice chakra armour kept melting- thus allowing the spear head to easily glide through unimpeded.

    Millisecondster the spear head met with Frost''s kimono and ripped through it like it was paper. The resistance started after breaching his schrly attire.

    Beneath his robes Frost wore the armour set that was lovingly prepared by his skilled cksmith girlfriend Daki. The amour set was of high quality, the upper reaches of 3 star given the materials and care Daki put into it but even so Karrick''s spear though with great difficulty still managed to pierce through.

    The spear was a half step shy from being 4 star and thus slightly superior to Frost''s outer armour. Add on the force wielding it as well as the suddenness to the attack that left Frost in the lurch defensive wise it''s no wonder the spear managed to breakthrough. However that''s where it stopped.

    Hidden beneath his outer armour was the inner armour, the mithril vest he received from Leo after helping Furano with the monster stampede. A genuine piece of 4 star armour that practically stopped the spear in its tracks. It continued to push forcing Frost back several steps but in the end the tip barely managed to scratch the upperyer of his skin.

    Karrick grimaced at his failure and quickly used Frost''s chest as springboard to retreat several metres back, his surprise attack though perfectly timedcked the punch necessary to break through Frost''s defences.

    "Impressive armour and the only reason you''re still standing." Karrick loudlyined as he readied his spear.

    Frost rubbed his chest in pain before coldly looking at Karrick. He was right he truly was saved by his armour but that too was part of his strength.

    "I''m lucky to have a very skilled cksmith as part of my family as well as well-connected friends in the sapientnds...that cannon of yours though, it must have cost you a bucket load." He had never seen such a behemoth of a war machine, it put all he currently had ess to, to shame.

    To force someone of his strength to seriously defend himself against its attack made it one hell of a contraption and one that likely had a devasting price tag.

    "Yes it did but as a trump card it serves quite well¡­.normally at least." Karrick''s upper lip started twitching at the fact that his prized possession failed to even mildly burn its intended target.

    The me cannon that he had ess to was something he had seen during his foray into his nearby danger zone. A monster run kingdom that sported walls tens of metres high had these brutal war machines decorating the top as turrets. Any creature that attacked them would be struck by these beams of fire and depending on their resistance they would either be disintegrated or turned into charcoal.

    Karrick knew the instant he saw them in action that he had to have one no matter the cost.

    Out of fear of anything happening to his lovely trump card the two burly azers in charge of it pulled it back from the edge of the wall and out of harms way. He wouldn''t be using it again during this war.

    Frost noticed it disappearing behind the wall. "You sure you don''t what to use it again?" Though the me cannon failed to inflict wounds on him it''d likely be very effective against his monsters.

    "I''d rather not risk damage to it plus its ammunition ain''t exactly cheap either."

    "Fair enough." Frost shrugged his shoulders and readied himself for the inevitable duel. The cold mes tendrils once again wrapped around his body like a suit of armour and a wild smile grew on his lips. With one hand on his ive and the other stretched forward he beckoned/taunted Karrick.

    "Come little brother, show me your spearmen ship." A madness, a powerful desire stretched out from Frost as he weed his younger brother to attack.

    Karrick was pretty much the same, a battle inspired smile danced on his lips and his entire body tensed in revelry, finally the grand finale was here. He licked his lips, pressed his feet against the ground and held his spear parallel to the floor with both hands. Fire roared from his back, covering him like a set of fiery robes.

    His pseudo aura was conjured next, granting him resistance to Frost''splete aura as well as slightly increasing the pressure he invoked.

    Frost waited patiently for Karrick to be ready, allowing him to chose when to start.

    Karrick who''s momentum was building closed his eyes and released all the air trapped in his body before suddenly tensing. His eyes opened up and then his entire body shot forward like arrow from a bow.

    The duel was on.

 Chapter 598: Chapter 598: The war with Karrick (10)

    Karrick charged forward with precision; his spear aimed directly at Frost''s heart. He held nothing back as internal energy filled his weapon.

    "[Piercing me]" Fire erupted from the spear''s shaft and spread across its entire frame, covering it in a protective cloak. Tails of fire grew from the butt of the spear, pushing the weapon forward, increasing Karrick''s thrust. This [piercing me] was an adept level spear skill of the fire element, equal to Frost''s [wyvern''s maw].

    Frost fully prepared this time stood his ground, flourishing his ive in an attempt to parry the oing spear. The speed and force behind Karrick''s attack was well within his capabilities to withstand, the addition of the fire element however was something he struggled to quantify without personally experiencing it.

    He activated no skills of his own given his superior level of weapon mastery instead he gripped his ive hard with both hands and covered the de edge with thick tendrils of cold me chakra. He waited for the right moment and swung, hard.

    ng!

    The sound of metal crashing into metal was heard as Karrick''s spear collided with Frost''s ive. The spear that shot dead ahead was pushed to the side and brought to aplete stop, but the red mes wrapped around the spear continued to fiercely battle against Frost''s silver mes and quite surprisingly they were starting to win.

    Schwing

    Karrick struggling topete against Frost in terms of physical strength pulled back his spear and readied himself for another attack. From that simple exchange he was able to work out where he stood in this battle. His physical strength, speed, reaction and even weapon mastery were below Frost''s but thanks to their local environment as well as his element he possessed an advantage.

    As long as he leveraged it correctly victory may yet be his this day.

    Frost frowned as Karrick pulled away, he too noticed that although his silver mes were less burdened by the environment than ice they didn''t receive any enhancements.

    "Interesting." He smiled and reapplied the snuffed out cold mes to the ive''s de edge. Then with quick steps he went on the attack and again he utilised no skills so as to urately weigh in his opponent. He did however add a little kick to his cold mes. Wind from the equipped engraving bolstered the silver fire, kicking it into high gear.

    Karrick fully expecting Frost to attack was light on his feet. His spear was embalmed in me chakra as it quickly pierced the air and stabbed at Frost''s ive for about a millisecond before swiftly retreating. An instantter another deadly stab was shot out before once again pulling back a momentter.

    Karrick''s spear shot out three times in quick session, each thrust cutting away at the momentum behind Frost''s attack. And with each thrust Karrick took one step backwards, distancing himself from his attacker.

    With three steps and three thrusts Frost''s sh was defused of nearly half its strength, leaving a mere husk of a blow, one that Karrick could easily handle but that was not the end of his movements. The three steps allowed him to build up momentum which was used the moment Frost extended himself and his spear had returned to its origin for the third time.

    Karrick''s lips turned upwards as his entire body tensed and starting from his feet a sudden surge of power rose up through his legs. With but a simple twist the momentum he had built up was transferred to his arms and back all of which allowed him to thrust out his spear at a speed iparable to the previous thrusts.

    And this blow was not aimed at Frost''s ive but at himself, his face to be exact. The spear was a weapon of devasting speed, and he was on the receiving end of a perfect disy.

    Frost panicked slightly not expecting such a fierce reprisal from Karrick. He saw the spear at his side and the next moment the sharp tip was inches away from his face. He fiercely twisted and rotated his neck to avoid the attack, but he wasn''t quick enough to avoid injury.

    A red scaled lizardman stood with his spear outstretched, ruby red blood covering the tip.

    Drip Drip ssss ssss

    The blood dripped down onto the red hot ground and boiled away in but a few seconds, leaving not but a strong smell of blood in the air.

    Opposite to the lizardman was a handsome elf with a deep wound running across the middle of his face. The elf looked to be in a state of shock, he brought his hand up to his wound and flinched the instant his finger made contact, it hurt and not just a little.

    Frost and Karrick stayed in this state for a few seconds before pulling back at the exact same time.

    Karrick though the clear victor of the recent exchange trembled from head to toe, his heart screaming for him to get away from Frost. It was just for a moment, but Frost released the full extent of his aura. He felt death grip his heart, like a spectre looming over him waiting to deprive him of his life. He knew that Frost had been going easy on him so far, but he didn''t know by how much¡­.now he did.

    Frost meanwhile felt the wound that stretched from one side of his face to the other, cutting deep across his nose. It stung and continued to bleed profusely. He had underestimated Karrick once again. While he acted like some sort of superior who was merely ying along in a spar Karrick was fighting as if his life depended on it.

    He withdrew a mid-level health potion from his spatial ring and downed 80% of the contents and sshed the remaining 20% directly on the wound. Karrick simply waited for his elder brother to finish, too nervous to take action beforehand.

    "¡­..That counter of yours¡­is quite deadly Karrick." Once the pain went away and he could feel the wound across his face closing Frost turned to face his younger brother with a chilling gaze. It was clear that he was done messing around, his aura even started to envelop him and radiate outward.

    Karrick grimaced as pressure assailed his body "It''s a technique of the zing sh spear style of which I am a student of." He channelled his pseudo aura to fight against the pressure threatening to overwhelm his body before exining its origins.

    "zing sh spear style?" Frost had heard rumours of weapons style schools but never came across one personally. Furano was rathercking in that regard.

    A weapon style such as the zing sh spear supports the user''s weapon mastery and known skills with a unique fighting style that incorporates unique steps, moves and techniques such as the counter Karrick just pulled off. No internal energy or chakra is used, instead it relies solely on his skill with the spear.

    It''s a shame that despite being rathermon across Nova, Furano held no such schools. The capital Arkheart had plenty but Frost had yet to visit and with the ongoing political situation he''d likely be unable to do so for quite a while. He was now slightly jealous of his younger brother but that could be addressedter. Now, it was time for him to let loose for real.

    Frost''s aura was released without restraint, greatly increasing his presence as well as the physical capabilities of his already powerful body. The cold mes that were wrapped around his body and ive seemed to evolve, forcibly cooling the surrounding temperature. There was even ayer of frost appearing around the hem of his robes.

    Karrick stood his ground with heavy limbs, his pseudo aura protecting him from the majority of the pressure but not so much the instinctual fear that he felt. Frost was dangerous, an opponent far beyond his current skills even with the homefield advantage but despite his fear his face showed an expression of ecstasy, unadulterated joy.

    He wanted to fight such a battle, to put everything he had into a fight without having to worry about anything else. The chaos of the battles around him were but a distant whisper.

    He could no longer hear the cries of monsters dying, his subordinates cheering him on or the enemy carving their way towards his core, no all he witnessed was the man standing before him with his ive resting on his shoulders, staring at him with a frigid gaze.

    "Round 2 brother." He readied his spear and wreathed himself in mes no less vibrant than Frost''s.

    "Round 2 Karrick." Frost nodded his head before pointing forward with his left hand. [Freezing fireball]" With a short aria he summoned a ball of silver mes and shot it directly at Karrick.

    Karrick knowing that shit just got real didn''t rx for a moment. He strafed to the right to avoid the ball of freezing fire while at the same time casting his own magic -which to be honest wasn''t exactly his forte.

    "[Fireball]" Responding with the regr version a ball of red mes that was at least 30% smaller was fired back at Frost.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Frost countered back by summoning two balls of ice fire and moving to the left. The first [freezing fireball] exploded upon on contact with Karrick''s but the second carried on ahead preventing him from double backing.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" A momentter in the shadow of the second [freezing fireball] arge wyvern''s maw infused with aura and cold mes flew after Karrick from the left leaving him little wiggle room.

    "Shit!"

 Chapter 599 The war with Karrick (11)

    "Shit!" Karrick loudly cursed as he picked up speed and charged at the [wyvern''s maw] preferring to tango with that than Frost himself. Unfortunately for him neither was a good option.

    "[Piercing me]" He shot out with what was his trademark skill, hoping to pierce through the skull of wyvern and move forward but instead.

    Boom!

    "Ahhh!" After a momentous sh Karrick screamed in pain as he was forced to take several steps back. His entire right arm felt numb and several seams between his fingers burst open, he even lost a couple loose scales. The force behind the wyvern was clearly higher than that of his spear thus the painful bacsh but worse than that he was now directly in Frost''s path.

    Ignoring the pain and weakness in his hand he quickly turned himself around and took a defensive stance. His feet moved into position to best absorb force as dictated by his spear style but¡­.

    "You''d probably be better dodging this one [cial crash]." Frost warned from above. A massive cier formed behind his ive, adding weight to his overhead blow. Karrick grimaced and immediately chose to follow Frost''s suggestion. He dropped his defensive stance and leaped to the side without much grace.

    Booooooommmmmm!!!

    Frost and his ive came down onto the ground like a p of thunder. The earth around the impact site shattered as arge hole was made with Frost left in the centre. The blow was strong enough to cause the entire room to tremble as if an earthquake hit.

    "Shit!" Frost cursed asva started to seep through the cracks he created. With urgency he leaped away from the devastation his attack caused and followed after Karrick, his ive raised and ready for another mighty swing.

    ''Friggin monster!'' Karrick screamed in his mind as he jumped to his feet and ran.

    Frost quickly chased after him, wondering where his previous confidence and desire to battle had gone. Was he really scared off by a little crack in the floor.

    "Karr¡­sneaky bugg" he started to call out to his fleeing brother but suddenly heard an ominous click beneath his feet and with a quick look down he realised that he''d been led into a trap. The moment his foot made contact with trap,va started to bubble to the surface, half a secondter it exploded or rather erupted upwards in an attempt to swallow him whole.

    Frost was forced to recklessly kick the floor to push himself off bnce and out of the way.

    Waiting for this exact situation was Karrick, he double backed the moment Frost entered the trap''s range. Without having to fear the offshoots ofva he stabbed out with his spear, aiming for Frost''s left leg.

    "[Piercing me]" Once more with the adept level spear skill he stabbed at his elder brother, hoping to once again deal some unexpected damage. One had to admit Karrick had quite the tactical mind when it came to using his surroundings in battle. Shame Frost was no longer holding back.

    "[Freezing fireball]" To counter his imbnce Frost mmed the butt of his ive against the ground. Following that he conjured a ball of ice fire right in front of Karrick''s face before leveraging his weight against his ive to spin out of the way of his thrust. As the spear tip passed through Frost''s former position, Karrick felt a freezing pain across his face and had his vision obscured.

    He lost track of his target, and an ominous feeling arose in his chest. Before he could retrieve his spear and retreat however he felt a sudden pain in his left ribs. The next thing he knew he was flying through the air struggling to hold back a torrent of blood running up his throat.

    Don Don Don

    Hia body bounced across the floor, cutting up his robes to reveal the scaled body underneath.

    "Cough cough" He let out a few coughs after using his tail to stop his momentum.

    ''What the hell happened?'' Frost''s actions were too quick and precise for him to react but from the pain he felt on his left side he knew he got hit and hit hard.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Frost didn''t even give his younger brother a moment of respite, immediately sending another [freezing fireball] his way.

    "Fuck you!" Inspired by the pain he felt Karrick stabbed the oing fireball with his spear, refusing to dodge. Unlike with wyvern his spear managed to sessfully pierce and destroy the oing fireball but following in its shadow was Frost with his ive already primed for a horizontal sh. Karrick quickly ced the shaft of his spear along the ive''s path.

    Schwing!

    Karrick felt like he was hit by a mountain, the weight behind Frost''s swing was just unreal. He thought ives were more akin to spears, focusing primarily on speed but now he believed they were more like axes. His body was once again forced to skid across the ground until his tail dug in and absorbed the momentum.

    He looked up and saw his brother''s smiling face and the spring in his step, the bugger was truly enjoying this¡­..his lips twitched as a tightness gripped his chest, frustration, anger all of it was revealed in his eyes. He punched the ground and steadied his breathing before disying a wild expression. So what if he was outmatched, the fight must go on, right brother.

    The two siblings looked quite simr at this moment; both were fond of fighting.

    Karrick truly did fight to hisst breath; he exchanged hundreds of moves with Frost, losing pretty much all of them but refused to stay down. The fight only ended once all his energy was spent, and his consciousness left him. The red scaled lizardman stood leaning against his spear with blood pooling at his feet. His body marred with deep, painful cuts and had all but a few key scales remaining.

    Frost let out a deep exhale, the duel was finally over as was this war. "Warriors of the Niflheim dungeon cease fighting!" Wasting no time Frost loudly shouted at the top of his lungs. With an infusion of aura his words covered the entire battlefield and entered the ears of his soldiers no matter how hard they were fighting.

    Every single remaining soldier of the Niflheim dungeon heard his words and instantly stopped their attacks. "Yes Lord." They proudly replied while saluting. Less than a hundred soldiers remained but each of them were the best of the best.

    Some of Karrick''s forces tried to continue the attack upon noticing their enemy''sck of aggression but another order quickly stopped them.

    "ENOUGH!!" Margo who was barely conscious roared out in ce of Karrick bringing this war to an end. Their master had been defeated in battle and it would only be a matter of time until all of them were ughtered if this continued. She internally thanked Frost for his mercy.

    She and Kenta had been battling Khuno well battling might not be the correct word. The elder ronso basically yed with them, taking their strongest blows as if they held the strength of children. It was degrading but also enlightening. Never had they feasted for evolution more than they did today.

    With Karrick unconscious and the two forces no longer battling the war was brought to an official end by the voice of Dark. "Congrattions Frost for your win, Karrick better luck next time." With that announcement everyone returned to their original dungeons including Ladius and her team who were caught by surprise and quite disappointed.

    They''d barely even scratched the surface of the spatial corridor before being forcibly teleported back to the Niflheim dungeon.

    Just before transit Frost passed a high level health potion to Margo for Karrick to take. His wounds were more than a little extensive, he tried to avoid depriving him of any limbs or major organs, but the man was a real sucker for punishment.

    A mid-level potion may not have been enough, so he willingly parted with a high level one despite only having a few in his possession, Karrick''s health was more important. Margo was very grateful for the gift and immediately moved to help her unconscious Master drink the vial but was interrupted by a red skinned hand.

    "Leave his care to me kid." Lapata who''d been watching the war from behind the scenes appeared the moment Frost left. He shook his head and sighed before teleporting Karrick to the private space for healing, leaving Margo to deal with dungeon''s aftermath.

    Since there was no individual betting between Frost and Karrick on the results of the duel as the winner Frost was awarded with a t 10,000DP as well as a free 10,000DP gacha pull while Karrick got 2000DP and a free 1000DP gacha pull. Not exactly impressive but that was never the goal for these wars, no they were just a bonus.

    The real prize was the hundreds of thousands of DP to be gained for killing enemy monsters within thebined space of the dungeons. Frost especially made an absolute killing from this war.

    Except from Karrick''s final floor he hardly lost any soldiers and those he did lose were usually the weakest/cheapest ones, same for those on defensive detail the vast majority were spawner monsters.

    The dungeon of Niflheim will be looking forward to another expansion soon.

 Chapter 600 The war with Karrick (12)

    Frost and his remaining forces were teleported to the first floor of his dungeon once the war was over. The moment their feet touched the snow and the cool breeze flowed over their skin each and every one of them took in a deep breath and relished in thefort of home. Karrick''s dungeon was truly unbearable for ice borne creatures such as themselves.

    Frost smiled as he saw this and picked up a handful of snow to rub between his fingers.

    "Much better" he muttered before getting to work.

    "Alright, everyone who took part in the war can take the next 24 hours off, retreat to the lower floors so the recement shifts can take over your regr duties.

    Officers please report the losses from your regiments to Finy and prepare your own analysis for how the war went down." Frost wanted his officers to utilise their intelligence and learn from each and every battle so as to lessen the losses in the next war.

    With his orders given his forces dusted themselves off and very slowly made their way to the lower floors.

    "Oh and don''t worry I won''t forget about your rewards." His subordinates were waiting for him to say that. A loud chorus of praises and chants for their lord rang throughout as they picked up the pace and smiled from ear to ear. Frost lightly shook his head in response but couldn''t stop a smile from growing on his lips. He very much liked the current rtionship he had with his monsters.

    "Ohhh looks like somebody''s not happy milord." Said Khuno while gesturing with his chin in the direction of a charging young woman.

    "Haaaaaa I can probably guess the reason." Frost sighed before putting on a genial smile. "Ladius how great to see you again, I hope the little exchange between my brother, and I proved fruitful to your investigation."

    "Oh it certainly was until about 5 minutes ago when we were forcibly teleported back to your dungeon." Ladius was huffing and puffing with a reddened face. She was so close to picking up on something essential with the spatial corridor but was rudely absconded at the worst possible moment.

    Now the ck energy barrier waspletely sealed and about to disappear along with the possibility to further understand the spatial magic behind it.

    Frost let Ladius rant for a few minutes about how close she was to a discovery and how important such a discovery would be to Nova before putting a pin in it.

    "Ladius you can rant and rave all you want but nothing''s going to change. You had an opportunity to witness and briefly study something that was created by the Dark God. Instead ofining that you didn''t have enough time you should just be d you had such an opportunity in the first ce." He bluntly sshed her with cold water bringing an end to her little tirade.

    "Now I''m going to my chambers to rest after a very long day, I hope that I can trust you to hold up your end of the bargain miss Ladius Palmer¡­..Terrance." He spoke in an authoritative tone that allowed for no refusal and to make sure he nced at Terrance, handing responsibility of making Ladius do the work to him. To which he flinched but acquiesced with a nod.

    "I''ll find some timeter to convene with you but right now I''ve got a whole list of other things to take care of goodbye." Frost waved farewell and started walking deeper into the dungeon with Khuno following after him.

    "..b..bb..aaa..hhh." Ladius was tongue tied, she wanted to protest andin some more or beg for another opportunity to study the spatial corridor, but Frost was already walking away, and her security team was doing their best to usher her to the door. They couldn''t impose on Frost at this time, to do so would be incredibly rude.

    Eventually Terrance gave up and threw her over his shoulders dragging her towards the dungeon''s entrance that was beginning to open up once again.

    Several hours ago they crossed through the same stone archway andnded halfway around the world but now it once again led them to the Niflheim base camp.

    Arge group of observers had been watching the entrance for the past 40 hours or so ever since the ck barrier covered it up, preventing ess.

    "Quick look someone''sing out."

    "Is that?"

    "It''s the investigation team from the federation of knowledge, quick someone inform the guild." The Niflheim dungeon being ssed as a sudden restricted zone was known by all who stayed within the camp''s borders. Under Ladius'' lead her team informed the local popce of the change in circumstances and strongly advised everyone to stay clear of the dungeon until the situation had abated itself.

    Many where obviously curious of the situation and some even believed it to be a load of hogwash but when the ck barrier came down over the entrance and barred entry to all that tried to gain ess those sceptics all changed their tune, something really was happening. Thus the moment Terrance, Ladius and the others exited from the dungeon dozens of people swarmed around them in curiosity.

    "Calm down, calm down we''ll exin what happened after we''ve rested and talked with the adventurers guild." Terrance loudly informed the nosy group while Mammon, Quintep and Ariana made a hole for him and Ladius -who was promptly ced back on her own two feet, couldn''t let her image be ruined in front of the masses.

    "Is it safe to go back in?"

    "Has the dungeon changed at all?"

    "Is it the same difficulty?" However despite Terrance''s words many couldn''t hold themselves back. Hundreds of people had moved their workspaces and invested heavily in the dungeon, whether or not it was still viable was a very important fact in regards to their future.

    Not having ess to it for a few days was already painful enough for the energetic adventurers that swarmed to the camp under the promise of fame and riches.

    Terrance looked at Ladius for answers, he was just the security detail, such questions were best left to the head investigator. Ladius let out a sigh and shook her head knowing that these people needed something. She arched her back and started addressing the crowds in a booming voice that didn''t match her small stature.

    "Your questions will all be answered in due time so please have patience and if you really can''t wait I''ll only say this.

    You can enter the dungeon again but whether or not it''s safe I cannot say, but for those of you who are worried about the dungeon''s long term viability I can confirm that that is not an issue, good day." Ladius said her piece, bringing a great deal offort to the many merchants and business owners that set up shop in the camp.

    The adventurers however were split, some wanted to rush into the dungeon immediately to scoop up any possible treasure while others took Ladius'' warning of danger very seriously. Regardless the crowd dispersed allowing Ladius and her security detail to reunite with the rest of the team hunkering down in their inn.

    "Miss Ladius you''re back." Her junior investigator subordinates all let out breaths of relief upon seeing her unharmed.

    "Yes, yes I''m back and boy do I have a story for you guys."

    Dungeon''s private space.

    After Ladius and her team exited the dungeon Frost had Khuno rendezvous with Finy while he teleported to the private space to rx and celebrate with his loved ones.

    "I''m home." He said joyfully the moment he materialised in the living room.

    ""Master wee back."" Both Nanna and Loki energetically replied before running into his outstretched arms for a hug. The two had been working in shifts over the course of the war but made sure to both be awake for the final stretch so as to wee their master home together.

    "Oh so squishy." Frost pulled them in tight against his body, enjoying how soft and cute they were, his heart warming at the sound of their giggling.

    "Cough, cough" Daki loudly coughed with an obvious pouty expression and squirming figure. Her desire couldn''t be any clearer.

    Frost reluctantly put down Nanna and Loki and moved to capture her in a tight embrace. The luscious green enchantress cooed from his touch, her hands wrapping tight around his back as she kissed him on the cheek, leaving a clear imprint thanks to her lipstick.

    "So what did you think of the dungeon war?" He asked while guiding her to the sofa, with Nanna and Loki trailing after him to im his legs for seats.

    "She''s been pacing back and forth out of worry whenever a report came in, I almost had to restrain in ce with rope." Maya yfully dobbed her in with a coy smile on her lips. She appeared from behind Frost, wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him back and gave him an upside down kiss in front of everybody.

    Daki of course felt betrayed, her sister girlfriend tattling to their partner about her embarrassing actions, so not cool. Loki giggled, enjoying how close the family was while Nanna blushed from seeing Maya''s bold actions.

 Chapter 601 After war celebrations

    Frost allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Maya''s tongue wrapping around his own before she pulled away, shing him a coy smile as she did. Feelingpetitive she then winked at Daki and wiped away the kiss mark she left on his cheek.

    The orc subus was practically fuming at her actions, pulling possessively on Frost''s arm, drawing him closer. Unfortunately neither of them could go any further with their pissing contest while the little ones were present, they needed to preserve their innocence after all, something all of them took very seriously.

    "So Daki, what did you think?" Eventually they managed to get back to the original topic. Frost was quite keen to hear her opinion since she yed a major part in why he epted the challenge in the first ce.

    "Honestly I waspletely blown away. I''ve seen the military in action back in Kranor, you know when things got real dangerous as well as the mighty battalions of the Great Dwarven hold Karak Kanz so I''m not exactly new to the hole war thing, hell I''ve even yed a part in a few during my early twenties." Daki reminisced about her past.

    Times when a rival enve attacked Kranor when she was a young child, times whenrge groups of bandits tried to takeover her home as a teenager. And then of course were the battles she witnessed and took part in as a young adult throughout the great kingdoms of the cial mountains. All of which had shaped her view of war and battle.

    In her eyes the Dungeon of Niflheim was a far cry from the armies defending Karak Kanz and the other great kingdoms but it could give a few enves a run for their money. A rather substantial feat given how young the territory was.

    "Your forces didn''t act like a newly trained army in slightest. They followed orders to a tee and responded to any and all situations in a calm and collected manner. Even without you at the helm your many officers controlled the battlefield as though they had decades of experience under their belt¡­" She gazed at Frost and all he was with clear eyes.

    "Their loyalty is inspiring and potential¡­.frightening."

    "Frightening?"

    "Yes frightening, you''re ability to mass generate soldiers and slide them effectively into your army puts all other territory''s to shame." Daki shook her head and sighed in disbelief; her man was guaranteed to change the face of Nova.

    "But did you enjoy it, being part of that frightening potential?" Frost asked with a smooth smile.

    "..." Daki was silent for a moment. Her mind reliving the earlier experience, the feeling of authority, responsibility and of course the rush of victory that she helped achieve.

    Honestly the whole thing brought on waves of excitement and seeing her man leading the charge with thousands of soldiers rallying behind him and valiantly returning with an air of victory turned her on so much that she struggled to restrain herself.

    A wild smile grew on her lips as she leaned over and whispered a few steamy words into Frost''s ear causing him to audibly gulp and feel fire grow inside him.

    Doing his best to restrain his desires untilter in the evening Frost asked Nanna and Loki give their reports. The children smiled from ear to ear and shuffled atop his legs to getfy. They were very keen to give their reports so they could receivevish amounts of praise and perhaps a reward in form of candy.

    Loki especially was quite thorough in his report, going the extra mile to ensure said reward. Frost struggled to keep a straight face as Loki really wasn''t one for subtlety. He joyfully put aside a set amount of DP to spent on candy once everything was finalised.

    While those three were interacting Maya pulled Daki to the kitchen to help her prepare tonight''s celebratory feast. Frost could only hear a few whispers and ominous giggles as they worked, the two of them were certainly cooking up more than dinner.

    20 minutester, shortly after Finy handed over the total loss report he received a call through the dungeon core. Frost set aside what he was doing and answered the call with a smile on his face, he was waiting for this call.

    "Hey Karrick, you''re looking better." He opened with a light taunt, causing his younger brother to lightlyugh.

    "Considering that thest time you saw me was after you beat me within an inch of my life I should think so¡­..thanks for the potion by the way." Karrick''s face appeared in holographic form along with the background of his own private space which was of a very different style to Frost''s.

    "Don''t mention it, the least I could do after putting you in such a state¡­..how''s the damage to your dungeon?"

    Karrick grimaced upon hearing his question. "And people say I''m blunt, haaaaaaa I''m pretty screwed to be honest. I only recently recovered from the war with Pyro now I''m back to where I was a couple months ago. The DP I earned from killing your forces won''t even cover half of my expenses for the war..." Karrick could be seen rubbing his temples to alleviate a headache.

    "Do you regret the following Pyro''s orders and challenging me to a war?"

    "¡­.Yes to the first no to the second."

    "Hoh"

    "I should have never allowed myself to be used by him that''s something that I will always regret but going to war with you, no. I may have lost a hefty chunk of DP and the majority of my forces thus setting my dungeon''s development back several months, but I also made some important gains." Karrick looked through the holographic screen and into Frost''s eyes, revealing true sincerity and gratitude.

    "Thanks to you I now know how to use my monsters effectively in wars, manage my traps and even environment to hinder and penalise invaders but most of all my personal development that had hit a wall after fighting Pyro has seen some major improvement."

    Frost''s eyes lit up upon hearing that. "You feel you can break through the barrier?" This was great news, a whole new world opened up once one reached B-rank.

    "I do. Immediately after I finish setting up my ns for the dungeon''s recovery my guardian Lapata and I will enter the training room. I won''t leave until I break through the wall." There''s was a fierce determination radiating through his eyes as he made his pledge.

    "I wish you luck little brother."

    "Thank you Frost, you''ve enlightened me and for that I can''t thank you enough." Karrick bowed his head in gratitude.

    "Pshua enough of that Karrick there''s no need for such heavy feelings of gratitude between family. We''re all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the Dark God, equal in stature. I''m just a little bit older so I gave you some tips that''s all, nothing more, nothing less.

    Hold your head high and ze your own trail in the future rather than following the whims of another." Frost quickly lectured Karrick hoping to raise his self-confidence. All of them were siblings and were equal regardless of their rankings. Karrick had no need to follow the orders of Pyro just because he was older and a little stronger right now.

    "Hahahaha I understand brother and I promise that in the future when I challenge you to another war it''ll be because of my own desires not someone else''s." Karrickughed and then showed a provocative smile. He would challenge Frost again in the future with the intention of evening out the scoreboard.

    Frost''s upper lip twitched as he heard Karrick''s deration, and a sinking feeling filled his gut. He actually dreaded having to enter Karrick''s dungeon again, the heat was really unbearable.

    The two siblings chatted amicably about their personal lives for a little while before moving on to more important topics.

    "Those sapients, you promised to tell me about them once the war was finished."

    "I did."

    "Well, I''m waiting." It was strange to imagine that these two were insulting one another a few days ago, now they looked like the best of friends.

    "Have you heard of the federation of knowledge?"

    "A few references why, are they from that organisation?"

    Frost then gave a short description of who the federation of knowledge were and why they were snooping around dungeons.

    "So they''re envoys sort of speak for Lord father." Karrick was one of the dungeon cores that referred to Dark in a very respectful manner.

    "Yeah pretty much. They were in my dungeon to investigate all the nuts and bolts of how it works and report back their findings to their organisation''s headquarters. From there some information will be disseminated to the public to help understand the nature of our dungeons and reduce the overall death rates.

    I suspect that in theing months or even years there''ll be books written about our dungeons that''ll help adventurers delve in safety to a certain degree. Our poprity will also skyrocket. If you haven''t thought about setting up some sort of territory with your dungeon I''d advise you do so soon since people will start flocking to the area.

    Best to beat them to the punch and assert control over your own ce." Even if you ignore the DP possibilities it was nice to control the area around one''s own dungeon.

    Karrick took down a few notes but to be honest the idea of running his own territory didn''t interest him in the slightest, too much hassle but even so he listened and took his elder brother''s words to heart.

 Chapter 602 After war celebrations (2)

    The topic of the federation of knowledge continued to be discussed between the two brothers or rather Frost filling Karrick in on the details Ladius told him.

    "Their equipment can feel intrusive and ufortable but there''s very little we can do to stop them at the moment. You''ve seen their team, 4 sapients each at the peak of B-rank with their leader being a half step into A-rank. Even if I summoned all my strongest monsters and took part in the battle personally there''d be nothing I could do to such a line-up.

    So I strongly advise you to not make an enemy out of this world spanning group no matter how much you want to." Frost warned his brother with a warped expression. He remembered Ladius poking, prodding and analysing every inch of his dungeon, it gave him the creeps but her backing, and security detail prevented him from taking aggressive action.

    He just thought it''d be right to warn Karrick of what maye to him in the future.

    "Got it, I know I may be rash and rather full of myself at times but even I know that I shouldn''t piss off someone like that." Karrick replied confidently failing to notice the smirk on Lapata''s face in background. In his guardian''s eyes the possibility was actually 50/50.

    "Good, good." Frost nodded his head and let out a breath of relief, genuinely worried about his younger brother.

    "Why were they involved in our war though?" He could understand the investigation into the dungeons but entering a war between siblings seemed a bit intrusive.

    "Oh that''s because of a bargain I struck. I wanted their help in setting some sort of precedent for future dungeon wars as well give you a little scare hehehehe." He couldn''t forget that little detail, his little brother really did freak out upon seeing a bunch of B-rank sapients ughtering his invasion force.

    "You certainly seeded in doing that." Karrick openly admitted to being frightened.

    "Did you also notice the fact that sapient''s can be used as more than just fodder for our DP reserves. In the future we''ll likely have more wars between us and by that point our dungeons will be massive. The amount of adventurers delving within will be multiple times more than what we have currently.

    Simply killing them all off every time there''s a war seems a little wasteful in my opinion plus it''ll set a dangerous precedent." Frost was worried about people refusing to enter his dungeon due to the fear of a dungeon war starting and their ughter being all but guaranteed.

    "You''re suggesting we use them in our wars to fight alongside our own monster forces." To someone who had little interest in establishing and managing an overreaching territory in addition to his dungeon the idea seemed risky.

    "In a manner of speaking yes. I n to have people dwell within my dungeon on a permanent or perhaps semi-permanent basis so as to improve my passive DP ie.

    I don''t really want to have to ughter all these people every time there''s a war or have to worry about their intentions during one therefore I want to help set up some sort of system to protect and possibly utilise them during our battles.

    Without this sort of system cores such as myself, Terra, Aqua and many others won''t see much value in taking part in dungeon wars, the negatives would simply outweigh the positives." Frost tried to exin his stance as simply and directly as possible to a dungeon core that followed a different path from his.

    "Ok I sort of get your reasoning but what do you want me and our siblings to do.

    Do you want me to make a promise not to kill the sapients in your dungeon or something because if that''s the case then I''ll reject you right here and now." Karrick though having a 2-0 losing streak was keen to take part in more wars, in fact he believed that wars with his siblings were the fastest and most efficient way to develop their dungeons.

    Take Frost for example from this war alone he must have raked in several hundred thousands Dungeon points.

    "No, no I wouldn''t ask for something as foolish as that I just want to set up a warning signal for those within and around our dungeons before a war begins."

    "Oh¡­.if that''s all you want I can get on board. What did you have in mind?" A simple warning sign wouldn''t really cost anything and was likely easy to facilitate.

    "Well before our war began I had the group from the federation of knowledge announce that the dungeon was undergoing some sort of transition, so they advised people to stay clear until the transition wasplete. Then once it was 24 hours from the start of our war I had the dungeon quake and tremble every hour on the hour before the entrance was sealed with the old man''s magic.

    Of course some people decided to risk the danger anyway, I killed them and left just the team from the federation alive. Then as thanks for allowing them to take part and study a war between dungeon cores the federation has agreed to spread word of this warning system to the public so I was hoping to rope our siblings onboard to make this something official.

    I''ll also ask father, but I wanted to keep amongst us first since we''ll be the ones doing it."

    "Just a few dungeon wide trembles leading up the start of a war¡­ I can agree to that." Karrick didn''t find the request too difficult, so he agreed to his brother''s request, just 98 dungeon cores to go.

    With that topic covered Frost discussed a few personal things with Karrick, tales regarding their livelihoods while he waited for dinner to be ready.

    Unlike him Karrick didn''t have a family to rx with, all he had was his guardian who kept him at arm''s length and his named monster aides Margo and Kenta who were slowly recovering from their many wounds. Hecked people he could truly bond with. Seeing Frost interact with Nanna and Loki through the holographic screen and the asional sight of Daki and Maya in the kitchen made him feel lonely.

    He had had some interesting adventures and even made a few people he could call friends out with the dungeon but inside well it felt rather cold.

    Frost continued his friendly family interactions never picking up on his younger brother''s jealously, he was too interested his life in the southern continent. He especially grabbed onto the story about his entry into the zing sh spear style. He now really wanted to find a school for the ive but unfortunately Furano wascking in that regard.

    Karrick said that he was studying the style in a monster kingdom found within his local danger zone rather than a local sapient kingdom. Hearing this Frost was inspired to return to the cial mountains and reach one of the kingdoms there. Daki did mention a great dwarven kingdom that was a true monarch in the area, perhaps he should find an opportunity to visit.

    "Dinner''s ready." Maya''s enchanting voice was suddenly heard from the kitchen.

    "Sorry Karrick we''ve got to go, it was nice talking with you and I really enjoyed our war. Don''t be a stranger little brother, you want to ask for advice or simply want to chat I''ll be here. Wave goodbye to Karrick." Frost said his farewells and asked Nanna and Loki to do the same.

    "Goodbye Mr Karrick."

    "Bye uncle." Nanna was polite as usual whereas Loki jumped straight into calling him uncle, making the red scaled lizardman smile and feel a warmth rise in his heart, he liked the title.

    The call ended and Karrick sat back in his seat with a gentle expression on his face. "Uncle huh," saying it out loud made his smile growrger. Now he really wanted what Frost had.

    "That Kameria was rather fond of me, perhaps I should pursue her after all." Since his elder brother had connected with someone outside their inner circle why couldn''t he. He remembered the beautiful face of a young lizard woman who was a senior student of his in the zing sh spear style.

    Kameria was kind, gentle and had more than once caught his eye and he hers but it was only after seeing his brother''s life that he started to truly think about her.

    Lapata couldn''t help but smirk silently in the background, pleased with his young master''s train of thought. It be good for him to have someone once he left.

    Back at the Niflheim dungeon Frost, Nanna, Loki and Kiba who appeared practically the instant Frost mentioned dinner were greeted with a substantial spread. Maya went all out to prepare avish feast in celebration for their victory over Karrick. High quality ingredients were used in abundance.

    Thankfully the Dungeon''s ie both passive and from the war was sorge that Frost no longer cared about the cost of one of Maya''svish feasts.

    Daki wasn''t much of a cook, but she cut up most of the vegetables and helped te up the food, arranging it in a rather elegant disy. Her eyes however were always lingering back to a certain centre dish that was reserved just for the adults. Nanna, Loki and Kiba were forbidden from even sneaking single bite.

    Frost''s expectation grew greatly upon hearing that, he looked forward to theter evening''s festivities.

 Chapter 603 After war celebrations (3)

    Following thevish feast that was fit for a king, Frost enjoyed a more intimate celebration with Maya and Daki who thanks to the special meal they prepared were able to keep up with his bottomless appetite.

    By the timete morning came Frost struggled to leave the confines of their bedroom. Their irresistible moans and tempting gestures kept drawing him back under the covers to start another round with the twin beauties. s work waited for no man, the Dungeon had just been through a rigorous war, things needed to be done and people needed to be met.

    For a good few moments he wished that Nanna or Loki were adults so he could pawn off such duties to them and truly savour his rtionship with Maya and Daki, but they weren''t. Thus he donned his robes and left the room that smelled oh so sweet.

    Nanna and Loki had already left their rooms to start their regr daily activities leaving just him alone in the kitchen well almost.

    "Purrr!" Kiba who was for once asleep in the bed he bought for him woke up with a deep stretch and sauntered over to rub up against him. There was pleading look in his eyes before his stomach loudly rumbled. Like Frost he slept in and missed the breakfast prepared by Nanna.

    "Raw or cooked." Since he wasn''t much of a chef the list of what he could prepare was quite limited. He himself was only nning to have a couple sausages and eggs for breakfast.

    "Garow."

    "Raw it is then." Thanks to their soul bond Frost was able to urately understand Kiba despite the obviousnguage barrier. Raw made his job a lot easier but it would also cost him a lot more. Kiba was a smart little tiger, since a raw dish required no cooking skills he could have high quality meat for breakfast. He looked up at Frost with an expectant look in his eyes and a puppy dog expression.

    Frost would cave in anyway this at least gave him some sort of excuse.

    "You really have be a spoiled house cat haven''t you." Frost remarked with a shake of his head but still opened up the dungeon menu and purchased a thick b of mammoth steak. Kiba quickly bit into the juicy meat and carried it to the table, he was a refined kitty after all.

    A few minutester Frost walked over the dining table with his own breakfast in hand, sausages and eggs as initially nned. "I''m guessing the steak was nice." He sat down across from Kiba who was in the process of licking his paws and face clean. Therge tiger simply purred happily in reply before continuing to clean himself of what little remained of the steak.

    Frost dug into his hastily prepared breakfast, finding the taste ratherckingpared what Nanna and Maya usually make, plus seeing Kiba devour a mammoth steak certainly didn''t help but it wasn''t bad.

    "Oi where do you think you''re going?" Just as he ate thest piece of sausage Frost saw Kiba slinking back over to his bed to sleep off his breakfast.

    ''This damn tiger really thinks of himself as a damn domestic cat.'' Kiba had be far toozy ofte, and he was determined to put a stop to it.

    Kiba turned around with a confused and irritated expression.

    "There''s no napping for you, you''re with me today got it."

    "Garow." Kiba grumbled in protest, but Frost was having none of it.

    "Time for you to pull your weight." Frost ced his te and utensils in the sink, cast cleanup magic on both Kiba and himself before teleporting them into his office in the camp. "You''ll be following me as I interact with the local residents and talk with Ladius and her team.

    The people are on edge and in the dark about the whole war thing, so we need to be present to provide some stability in their lives." Kiba growled a little more but knew when to fall in line.

    Frost quickly went through a few document that had built up on his desk during his absence, notifications, permits, applications the usual before heading out with Kiba to begin the rounds. People in the camp quickly flocked over the moment they saw him. Many were distressed about the whole dungeon situation, worrying about whether or not they''d be able to maintain business here.

    Frost calmly spoke with many of them in his capacity as Mayor and reassured them in their time of need.

    Though he didn''t go into any specific details he personally vouched that the Dungeon was back to normal and that things should return to how they were a few days. Frost''s personal evaluation eased a lot of their worries especially those who had been with the camp since the early days as well as the adventurers who knew of his strength.

    If a B-rank fighter such a Frost was saying the dungeon was back in business then what did they have to worry about. Of course, there was still danger but that was part of the job anywhere. More than a few adventuring parties who had been ying it safe since yesterday decided to dive right in, thanks to his words, which brought a smile to his face.

    Eventually after visiting the different sectors of the camp a ronso came up to Frost and whispered something in his ear. "Thank you, I''ll head right over." Miss Palmer had finished resting andpiling her notes and was requesting a meeting, likely theirst.

    "Kibae" he called on Kiba who was posing heroically for a few newbie adventurers, they had heard the tales of Frost and Kiba from their seniors back in Furano. A handsome elf with unlimited potential, hero of Furano and his reliable battle mount Kiba who carried dozens to safety during what was probably the worst monster stampede in recent history.

    It was an honour to see the two of them in the flesh.

    After saying their farewells Frost and Kiba made their way back to Frost''s office.

    "Are we still in agreement?" Frost asked from behind his desk. Kiba was nestled in the corner while Ladius and Terrance sat opposite. One with a smile on his face and the other with an expression of clear reluctance.

    "Yes, yes that matter has already been cleared by the higher ups. You can expect word to be sent out in theing weeks or months." The federation would reveal some details to the public in regards to dungeon wars thus allowing Frost and his siblings to maintain their attractiveness to adventurers.

    Even those battle hardened adrenaline junkies would balk at the idea of being locked in these ces with no chance of rescue. Why take the risk when there''s perfectly good monsterirs already in abundance throughout Nova.

    "That''s good." Frost nodded his head, pleased with the deal they made. All he had to do now was bring up the topic of an agreed upon warning system with his many siblings and their father and he''d be set. In future he''d be able to manage his territory and easily go to war with his siblings without fear, allowing him to rake in the cash from both ends.

    His lips began turning upwards at that thought which irked Ladius.

    "That''s good, that''s all you have to say?" She puffed up her cheeks and threatened to leap from her seat. Terrance in response looked to the side and sighed as if trying to separate himself from the situation.

    "Yeah pretty much. Our business here is concluded is it not Ladius?"

    "Ow." Ladius covered her heart as though she''d been stabbed "that''s pretty cold Frost."

    "Well I do specialise in ice."

    "...."

    "...." His clich¨¦ joke lingered in the air, leaving an awkward silence.

    "You know what I mean?" Eventually Ladius continued, as if the joke never left Frost''s lips.

    "¡­..Terrance I''m pretty sure we already had a celebratory farewell several days ago right, the one where we all got together and had a nice meal and literally said goodbye to one another."

    "That is true we did say our farewells and were set to leave, our business concluded." Terrance replied in a stoic manner.

    "So what does she want?"

    "I believe since we didn''t leave and even got involved in another situation with you she wants another party."

    "Is she that clingy or starved for social interaction?"

    "No I believe she just wants the opportunity to barter more knowledge from you, like with the dungeon war agreement." Frost and Terrance spoke about Ladius in the 3rd person despite her being present in the room.

    "Are you sure she just doesn''t want to go h¡­.."

    "OI!! Stop that right now!" Ladius had had enough, she leaped up from her chair and started waving her finger at both Frost and Terrance with an enraged expression. The two men shrugged their shoulders and stifled theirughter in response.

    Eventually Ladius managed to coax out a round of farewell drinks with Frost, Maya and Daki after they finished up with the adventurers'' guild which Frost wasn''t too against. He had no intention of bartering anything else with this die hard investigator. As soon as she and her team were away he''d be able to sleep soundly in his bed.

    After dotting a few I''s and crossing some T''s Frost, Ladius and Terrance met with the representatives for the local adventurers'' guild where they reported some of their findings. Ladius'' team were the only group held within the Dungeon during the transition that made it out alive so of course the guild was desperate to learn what transpired.

    The talks didn''tst long but already a crowd had gathered outside and inside the guild hall to hear the result. Frost gave them all a wave and a smile as he walked down the stairs with Ladius and Terrance.

    The representative of the guild however leaned over the railing of the second floor and loudly announced that the danger zone notice for the Dungeon of Niflheim had been lifted and that the guild would transition back to normal activity.

    Cheers erupted in response as guild staff ced new quests on the board and adventurers rushed in to ept them. The period of unknown was over, and life could go back to normal

 Chapter 604 After war celebrations (4)

    Ladius and Terrance fought against the bustling crowds as they tried to exit the adventurer''s guild and return to their inn. Ladius even made sure to holler at Frost in the distance, reminding him about his promise of drinkster this evening. The young dungeon core shook his head and waved his hand high up in the air as he made his way back to his office with Kiba by his side.

    Mayoral work was finally over so they could return to the Dungeon.

    "Garow?" Kiba chuffed in question the moment the door closed.

    "Yes you can go for a nap now, but I want you to get some more exercise in your life. Whenever Nanna and Loki head for the training space I want you to join them lest you truly be an oversized housecat." Find your favorite tales at m v l e mp yr

    "Gruff!" Kiba replied with an annoyed grunt before teleporting back to the private space, leaving his master alone in his office.

    "Guess I''ll clear the desk before it bes overcrowded again." With a twitch in his lips he started going through the many documents that had piled up. Being the owner of a flourishing and quickly growing camp was hard work, so much paperwork and so little people to delegate it to.

    Frost frequently thought more and more often that he needed a bunch of trusty employees to help him handle the camp''s day to day business. The ronsos were certainly capable of the job but he felt that that would be a waste of their talents.

    Other monsters such as the frost trolls and frost dwarves were toocking and their ice superiors were still monsters, monsters that were quite prevalent in the Dungeon. Finding a way to safely and methodically introduce them into the camp was an onerous task that needed to be handled delicately and slowly given that the majority of his residents were from Northrend.

    The merchant Calder suggested hiring sapients from the guild, but he could never be sure of their loyalty especially now when Northrend was on the brink of a political upheaval. The best way to keep spies at a distance was to not foolishly hire one in the first ce after all.

    Nearly every other day he''d find suspicious people loitering around the camp, sifting for information and trying to get into ces they shouldn''t.

    Frost''s work continued until the sun started to drop beyond the horizon signally nighttime. He stretched his back until his spine and shoulders loudly cracked. The once paper covered desk was now somewhat visible, a valiant effort but it was more than a single day''s work.

    "Ladius will likely burst through the door if we''rete." He said while gazing through a nearby window, enjoying the night sky and the stars that sparkled across it. He didn''t have a lot of time before their scheduled meeting.

    "Maya are you and Daki almost ready?" He opened up a telepathic link with Maya.

    "Oh yeah, we''re in the middle of choosing what to wear." Her answer though sounding like a yes was probably the furthest thing from it. Maya and Daki were both ravishing women with several closets full of battle attire. Nighttime drinks with Ladius was the perfect opportunity for them to show off their assets andpete fairly against one another.

    Therefore choosing the correct dress required a great deal of time and concentration.

    Frost visibly grimaced upon hearing her reply. He internally chastised the fairer sex before teleporting to the private space.

    "Wee back master." Nanna was present on the sofa with a book in hand.

    "Hi Nanna, do you want me to bring you back something or are you and Loki good for dinner tonight?"

    "We''re good, I n on making us a milk stew once he''s finished in the training space." The book in her hands was a cookbook Frost bought her. She''d frequently look through it and pick a dish at random to prepare, sometimes it suited their tastes sometimes it didn''t what mattered was that her range improved. A milk stew however sounded quite nice; Frost was reluctant to miss out.

    "Sounds tasty¡­.have they been at it long?" He redirected the discussion to Maya and Daki.

    "Umm maybe 3 hours or so, so no not that long." Nanna replied innocently.

    ''Ah I forgot she''s a girl too.'' Perhaps 3 hours really wasn''t that long maybe he was the weird one but there was no need to pull on that cord. After a short chat with Nanna he headed straight into the bathroom for a shower, he''d sort himself out first before trying to rush his partners.

    In under 30 minutes he''d washed his body and hair with high end soap, dried and brushed the mane that stretched to below his waist and picked out a lovely midnight blue suit that gave him a very different aura than his usual robes. With a tight ponytail as his chosen hairstyle he was the epitome of a handsome gentlemen. Maya and Daki really did have their work cut out for them.

    Knock Knock

    "Not ready yet." Maya replied through the closed door.

    "Can I help at all?"

    "No! it''ll be a surprise. Just wait on the sofa."

    "Haaaaaaa."

    Knock Knock he moved to the left bedroom and knocked on Daki''s door.

    "Yeah?"

    "Are you almost ready?"

    "Give me a minute I need to change my essories." With both partners rebuffing him Frost was forced to as Maya put it sit on the sofa. At least he''d have somepany.

    "I might have to send you in to retrieve them if they take much longer." He whispered to Nanna after ncing at the silver watch wrapped around his wrist, his choice of essory.

    "Mmm" Nanna whose was blown away by her master''s appearance quietly mumbled and nodded her head in a daze, an evident blush on her cheeks. Why did her master have to be so handsome.

    10 minutester, rustling could still be heard but no one exited their bedroom.

    20 minutester still nothing.

    30 minutester Frost asked for an update and received a sharp reply.

    45 minutester he sent in Nanna who wanted to get started on her and Loki''s dinner. The young phoenix kin first went into Daki''s room as she seemed to be the closest to being ready.

    60 minutester he received a report that Ladius was at the restaurant and growing restless. Also his little helper was no where to be seen, Daki obviously roped her in and refused to let her leave.

    70 minutester Loki returned with Kiba covered in sweat, exhausted and starving. He was looking forward to the meal prepared by his sister but didn''t see her in the kitchen nor did he smell anything cooking. Frost was there though with arge frown on his face.

    Seeing Loki enter the private space he smiled evilly before charging straight for him.

    "Loki I''ve got a job for you." With an ominous expression and his hands firmly grasping the young boy''s shoulders he ordered him to enter Maya''s bedroom and convince her to get a move on. The young phoenix kin being the good boy he was happily knocked on Maya''s door and entered after receiving permission.

    80 minutester there was still no one exiting the rooms. Nanna and Loki both failed in their duties falling victim to Maya and Daki''s whims. Frost grew more and more irritated with the time and could literally feel Ladius'' anger building as she waited in the restaurant; he had waited long enough.

    With loud stomps he marched towards the bedrooms, ready to barge through those doors and forcibly drag his partners out.

    The moment however when he was about to loudly announce himself both doors swung open, revealing the figures of both Maya and Daki in all their glory.

    Frost stood there in stunned silence as the two enchanting women lightly giggled and strut towards him with Nanna and Loki following their heels, both bearing simr awestruck expressions.

    "Well how do we look handsome?" Daki asked in a charming tone as her eyes feasted upon her man, very much enjoying his choice in attire. Maya was a little more restrained, covering her mouth with her right hand to hide her smile and pinkening cheeks as she patiently waited for Frost to say something.

    "..." Frost was speechless, his eyes open wide like saucers as they perused each and every inch of the two beauties. Daki like her bold personality chose to wear something quite provocative. A skintight ck dress tightly followed her impressive curves, amplifying their already substantial draw.

    The back was open, revealing her chiselled shoulders as well as part of her thus resulting in some major side boob action. If that wasn''t enough though the dress was long, descending all the way to her angles arge slit stretched upwards revealing most of her muscr right leg.

    For jewellery she wore a couple crescent moon earrings and a long chained heart ne that loving rested atop her cleavage. She was an absolute bombshell, a kingdom topping beauty that could see empires go to war just for her smile. And that was just one of them.

    To the right was Maya who being more restrained than Daki chose to wear a beautiful white and blue qipao that screamed ephemeral beauty. It was as if her body was as soft as cotton, drawing out Frost''s innate desire to protect and cherish her. Less skin was shown but the image was no less intense.

    One was bold, lust inducing while the other was like a refined deity, Frost was a very, very lucky man.

 Chapter 605 After war celebrations (5)

    Frost stood in awe at the two beauties standing before him. For over 4 hours they had been stuck in their rooms picking out their attire for this evening, determined to show up one another. Frost had sat on the sofa patiently for the past 90 minutes and was just about to forcibly drag them out when the bedroom doors opened and revealed their chosen garments.

    He was stunned by their beauty, one dressed provocatively and the other refined and delicate, both equally tantalising to the eyes.

    When Daki asked for his opinion his mind drew aplete nk, he honestly couldn''t think of any words that could possiblye close to describing what he saw. He simply enjoyed the sight for a brief moment before his lips formed a joyful smile.

    A few tears then leaked from his eyes as he reached out and hugged these two beautiful women, drawing them close to his chest as if he needed physical contact to prove that this was not a dream.

    His actions caught the two by surprise, but it didn''t stop them squirming and blushing in happiness, Frost had given them the answer they wanted. Nanna and Loki both giggled upon seeing this, their hearts warming at how close their master was with Maya and Daki.

    "Nanna take care of Loki while we''re gone and head to bed before 11 alright." Frost who was still in the middle of hugging Maya and Daki tightly said to the young girl.

    "Understood master, have fun." She replied with an innocent smile.

    "Oh we will." He said in a more yful manner as his hands started caressing the warm bodies pressed against his chest. Without much warning he then teleported the three of them out of the private space. And the moment they arrived in his office the restraint he showed before the childrenpletely disappeared.

    His wolf like hands groped and caressed their bodies, wanting nothing more than to rip them out of their carefully selected dresses. His advances were hard to stop given that both Maya and Daki weed them with open arms.

    The three exchanged kisses and their bodies quickly started to heat up as desire took over. Soon a certain area on Frost''s body turned rock solid, threatening to burst through his pants. He pushed Daki onto the desk and lifted up her legs while Maya captured his lips and allowed his other hand to freely grope her. This was happening and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

    What did they expect to happen after wearing such enticing attire.

    The room started to heat up from their steamy actions and just when Frost was about to disrobe Daki and start devouring her there was a loud knock at the door.

    "FROST GET OUT HERE!!!" The shrill scream of an enraged Ladius broke a swift end to their romantic air. The three paused for a second or two, quickly sobering up. Soon after they scrambled around, tidying up their dishevelled clothes and reflected on their sudden carnal impulses, how could they forget about the very reason they wore these nice clothes in the first ce.

    "Sorry, can you give us a second." Frost hastily replied as he picked up Maya''s dropped clutch and one of Daki''s earrings. Thankfully Ladius wasn''t bold enough to barge in and see the three of them in such a state.

    Some of Ladius'' initial anger was swept away upon actually hearing his voice, she couldn''t be certain he was even in his office but thankfully he was.

    A few momentster the door opened revealing Frost in his suit and a flower in each arm. The sheer level of beauty was almost blinding, Ladius felt for the first time in her lifeplete and total inferiority despite being quite a catch herself.

    "¡­.You''rete." Summoning some courage she stared right at the three and denounced them.

    "Sorry we got a little sidetracked." Frost apologised with a shifting gaze.

    "Sidetracked huh." Ladius'' eyes scanned him like a hawk. "You''ve got a little sidetrack on your neck there." She pointed at a hickey mark left on his neck before turning around with an obvious flourish.

    Frost, Daki and Maya all blushed from embarrassment, they were caught.

    "I''ll expect somepensation for my wasted time." Ladius mockingly said with a hidden smirk.

    "I''ll have the restaurant bring out a higher ss bottle than normal." Frost immediately understood what kind ofpensation Ladius was looking for.

    "Good now let''s get a move on I''ve been eagerly waiting for this all day hehehehe." Ladius giggled in triumph before dragging the three of them to the booked restaurant. She too had dressed up a little for tonight but given her inferior figure andcking choice of attire she was no match for Maya and Daki who drew the eyes of every single man and woman that they passed.

    Still since she wasn''t out to steal Frost for herself she didn''t care, she was here to have a good time and possibly pilfer some secret knowledge that could further her career.

    The four of them quickly found their arranged table and began ordering drinks as well as a few dishes to whet their appetite. Frost even pulled the waiter aside a whispered something in his ear. The man understood and quickly left to retrieve one of the more expensive bottles they had in storage.

    Though the Niflheim camp hadn''t been around for long its ess to good food and even better alcohol was already well developed given their regr clientele. Adventurers need work, food and booze, all else was secondary.

    The waiter returned a short whileter with a bottle of high grade B-rank red wine that cost 2 gold coins as is or 50 silvers a ss. Thankfully business was booming so Frost barely flinched upon hearing the cost.

    "We''ll take that one as well as¡­." He pointed to a few other drinks on the menu that looked appealing before having Ladius and Daki pick a few. Maya was set to gost, after he lightly pinched her thigh and warned her with his eyes not to go overboard. He got a stuck out tongue in reply before she ordered a few cocktails and a bottle of sake.

    When the first drinks arrived the four clinked their sses together and toasted to their continued friendship and good fortune for Ladius and her career, not so subtly hinting that she needed to leave after tonight.

    Tales were exchanged, little secrets were brought out into the open as well as a few attempts to draw out another agreement, but Frost was adamant despite the level of alcohol in his system. Ladius and her team needed to leave, their job was over, it was time for them to head home. Ladius even tried to get Maya and Daki on her side but to no avail.

    She cried and called them mean but it was obvious that she was faking her tears.

    Eventually she gave up on the idea and instead focused on leaving a more joyful memory.

    "Hup Lord Frost you''re really a charmer you know that hup." Ladius mumbled through drunken slurs. "Here you are with hup two beautiful flowers yet here you are staring at me with those pretty silver eyes of yours hup." Frost frowned.

    ''When was I staring at her.'' He failed to notice a smirk on growing on her lips as well as predict her intentions.

    "Hehehe what''s a girl to do when you''re inviting her so openly." Ladius suddenly leaned forward. Grabbing the back of his cor she pulled him close and ced her lips upon his. She even had the audacity to slip in a little tongue before pulling away with a string of saliva between them. Her moves were so sudden and unexpected that Frost, Daki and Maya were left dazed.

    "Tasty, I''ll have to have it again next time I''m in town hehehehe." Ladius giggled before grabbing her stuff. "Guess I''ll call it a night, farewell Lord Frost it was fun while itsted." She then gazed at Maya and Daki. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well Lady Maya, miss Daki, pleasant dreams." She blew a kiss vaguely directed at Frost before confidently leaving.

    The very moment she left the building Frost was assaulted by a set of intense stares. A chill ran up and down his spine and goosebumps formed across his forearms, Ladius just dumped his ass in hot water.

    All this time he kept stressing that his interactions with her were tonic, asional banter and harmless flirting nothing concrete but her actions tonight upended that story making Maya and Daki think dangerous thoughts.

    ''That damn bitch!'' He internally cursed her knowing that she did this on purpose knowing full well how these two would react.

    Down the street Ladius was practically skipping along,ughing her heart out. "That''ll teach you to make ady wait hehehehe."

    Frost decided that it was probably in his best interests to end the night here, more alcohol may end up worsening his position. He requested the bill under Maya and Daki''s piercing stares, they hadn''t said a word since Ladius left, it was ominous.

    After paying, the two women grabbed hold of his arms and escorted him out of the restaurant and back to his office, away from prying eyes. Frost didn''t know yet if this was a good or bad thing, only fate knew.

 Chapter 606 After war celebrations (6)

    With his arms tightly pinned between his girlfriends'' chests Frost was escorted into his office, silently and without any possibility for resistance. His heart trembled in both fear and anticipation. He could feel their irritation, their frustration, anger but most of all jealously. A feeling that could result in both good and bad oues.

    Meaning the possibility of some very hot sex was still on the table.

    The moment this possibility entered his mind it started affecting him physically. So despite Daki and Maya sporting unreadable expressions and doing their very best to ignore him until they werepletely alone, a goofy smile appeared on his lips and a certain area started to swell.

    By the time the door to the office was shut and Maya and Daki were prepared to go on the offensive their lusty wolf of a boyfriend was near full mast and his naughty hands started to take advantage of their proximity. The two women fiercely twisted their heads around to re at him but were met with his horny expression.

    In their brief moment of confusion Frost loosened his arms from their grasp and started slipping his fingers under their dresses. At the same he leaned forward and kissed them both in quick session.

    Maya and Daki blinked their eyes rapidly before exchanging nces, talking silently to one another about their current situation. This was not how this was supposed to go down, they''d lost the momentum. Their eyes darted back to Frost as his hands continued to work their magic.

    ''Damn him!'' They roared internally as their bodies start to sumb to his touch. They struggled to keep their focus, to keep being angry. Quickly they started kissing him back, cing their hands against his body and gave in to their desires. Only when they were half disrobed did their thoughts coalesce.

    "Urgh!" Suddenly Frost felt a tight grip on his weapon causing him to flinch. With a cold sweat quickly developing across his forehead he looked at the reddened faces of his girlfriends and noticed the yfulness in their eyes.

    Daki being the more bold of the two spoke up first. "Before you get to have fun with ''this'' you''ve got a debt to pay."

    "Yeah a long and thorough debt." Maya piggybacked Daki''s words and tightened her grip on Frost''s tool forcing him to really listen to them.

    "W¡­What''d you.. have in m¡­mind?" He asked nervously.

    Maya and Daki turned to face one another before smirking back at him. Following that they climbed up onto his desk side by side and spread their legs before him. And being such a well-trained lover Frost instantly understood the ''debt'' he had to pay upon seeing Daki and Maya sticking out their tongues.

    With an eager expression the handsome man who was half naked kneeled down to worship the goddesses that brought him such joy in his life.

    The night ran long and all three were more than satisfied.

    At some point during the night they had managed to return to the private space, so Frost woke up nestled under his sheets rather than the floor of his office. His waking movements made Daki and Maya groan in protest, but he was full of energy. Gently he left his bedroom with his robes in hand.

    The living room was currently empty given the time, so he popped straight into the bathroom to enjoy a nice rxing bath afterst night''s intense workout. It had been quite a while since he simply soaked in the hot water. His recent schedule barely left him any time for a shower let alone a long soak in the tub.

    Frost left the bathroom an hourter with a ruddyplexion and a spring in his step.

    "Khuno give me they of thend." Taking a seat on the sofa he opened up a connection with Khuno and asked for a report.

    "Yes master. Currently the amount of adventurers delving in the Dungeon is 30% higher than normal. They''re actively investigating any changes in the Dungeon''syout as well as searching for riches.

    I suggest nting more chests and treasures throughout the floors if you want to keep their attention." The adventurers went wild after ess to the dungeon returned, bringing great business to Frost and his monsters.

    "Good suggestion I''ll look into it. What about dangers, any parties we need to take special care with?"

    "3 C-rank parties are currently delving, two are on the sixth floor while the 3rd is currently halfway through the seventh, neither of which can pose a real threat to the Dungeon." Khuno responded in a calm manner, finding the situation to be quite normal.

    After all the lower floors were currently swarming with Ronsos, ice trolls, yuki-onnas and ice revenants, rather deadly opponents for those at the C-rank.

    "There''s a stronger C-rank party residing in the camp but again they''re not strong enough to truly affect our defences." Even a standard B-rank party would struggle to make much headway in the very lowest floors.

    "How''s the camp?"

    "Development is still progressing as scheduled despite the war hup, we''ll likely be reaching phase 4 within the next couple weeks." Frost broke up the development of his territory into several phases. The first phase was establishing the camp, the second was weing in multiple outside businesses and the third was having a certain level of permanent residents.

    The fourth phase which they were soon to reach was the camp being able to support true interterritorial trade with Furano and Kranor. Right now they were primarily buying in products, producing very little of their own goods. That was soon to change.

    The dwarven smiths that had been learning under Borris and Daki were using the Dungeon''s mines to mass produce weapons and equipment that was fit for the trade caravans travelling between the three territories. On top of that Frost had been purchasing a significant share of the monster materials retrieved by adventurers delving within the dungeon.

    Arge amount of the quests pinned up in the adventurer''s guild were on behalf of the camp thus after several months of activity the Dungeon''s personal vaults as well as the warehouses prepared in the camp and lower floors were full of materials just waiting to either be used or traded for goods.

    If that wasn''t enough the sudden influx of DP gained from the war with Karrick would allow the camp to improve its ability to be semi self-sufficient, another hallmark for phase 4 of the camp''s development.

    "Good, I''ll check in with the kids before doing some dungeon remodelling. Are they working?"

    "Yes, Nanna''s currently at the sleeping fenrir learning from the head cook while Loki''s at the medical centre trying to learn from the witchdoctors and priests."

    "It''d be great if we could attract a licensed doctor to the territory then Loki would have the chance to learn medicine from a proper source." He thought of Doctor Mira who he met back in Kranor, someone like her would make a fine teacher for Loki. Shame she had no desire to relocate nor did anyone else in the medical field it seemed. All the camp got was merchants, businessmen and adventurers.

    Recently Frost had been feeling rather guilty about the matter, it didn''t seem fair that Nanna had the opportunity to learn from proper chef while Loki had to make do with his summoned monsters. Their knowledge served only to benefit themselves, an ingrained and instinctual practise that didn''t trante very well when it came to teaching others.

    "If you want to find him a teacher that badly you should discuss it with either Dous or Yarrow, I''m sure they''ll be able to point you in the right direction. After that we''ll just need toe up with a good enough incentive." It wasn''t impossible to attract a certain type of person to the camp but there needed to be a reason for them toe.

    For adventurers it was easy, there''s a Dungeon containing a myriad of monsters to hunt simple as that, moving to the Niflheim camp was a wise choice given their profession. Same with merchants and other businessmen, the camp promised riches.

    Someone like a doctor however had little need for a Dungeon so why would they risk their lives to move to a small and still developing territory over where they currently lived.

    "..." Frost silently thought, scratching his chin repeatedly. He could offer money and lots of it but then again doctors were an already affluent profession, it might not be enough.

    "Haaaaaaa I''ll call up Yarrow and Dous like you suggested, thanks for your advice Khuno." Eventually Frost sighed and put the topic on hold untilter.

    "My pleasure master." Khuno replied with respect before the connection was cut. Despite not having to personally take part in battles the elder ronso was quite a busy man. Frost delegated a fair amount of the Dungeon''s defence management to him and Finy. The amount of reports they received every hour from each floor was quite frankly staggering.

    After hearing Khuno''s report Frost tidied himself up and teleported into his office. He stood frozen in ce the moment he arrived, documents littered the floor, furniture was damaged, and a pronounced smell of carnal lust still lingered in the air. Perhaps they went a little overboardst night.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 607 Remodelling

    Frost spent a short moment to tidy up his desk and office before heading out for a quick set of rounds through the camp. Seeing him out and about promoted stability and reassurance to the people in his territory plus he got to see the simple things that couldn''t be exined through standard reports.

    For example the expressions on people''s faces, their goals, passions and desires for certain creatureforts. Everywhere he went someone had something to say. Some were worried about the camp''s external defences; many had endured through the monster stampede recently in Furano and felt that the walls were far too low and that the war machines were insufficient to protect them all from an assault.

    More than a few merchants suggested that he should create a garrison to help fend off unscrupulous bandits, wary that Frost''s position as owner was in jeopardy. Through their eyes he was a kind and benevolent lord who taxed them fairly and hoped to create mutual profit rather than bleed them of even the slightest gains.

    Therefore to see such a person brought down from his position of power would be anything but good for business.

    Others had started to feel ustrophobic given the rapid increase in residents. Before they could run around in whatever direction they wanted without fear of bumping into someone. Now however the streets were starting mirror Furano.

    Frost took time to listen to each of their worries and took their input to heart, truly understanding where they wereing from. Some of his future ns needed to brought forward if his residents were to have peace of mind, thankfully he now had the DP to do just that.

    "Nanna are you here?" Ending his rounds at the sleeping fenrir Frost called into the kitchen.

    "Ah over here master." Over by a potato peeling station was a young girl with azure hair standing on a wooden step with a potato in hand. Her ears perked up at the sound of Frost''s voice and she turned around to face him with a bright smile on her face.

    "Nanna don''t run with the peeler!" Just as she was about to run to his side however the thunderous bellow of the head chef reverberated throughout the kitchen. Nanna froze in ce, a cold sweat forming on her brow.

    "Sorry head chef!" She loudly replied before cing her peeler down and carefully rushing to Frost''s side.

    "Hahahahaha well said Wilson, well said." Frost praised the head chef, admiring the care he showed to his student beforeughing out loud causing the little girl to blush from ear to ear. "Do you mind if I grab her for lunch?"

    "Not at all Lord Frost she was due for a break anyway." Head chef Wilson acquiesced and returned to his duties. Frost then led Nanna out into the inn''s cafeteria.

    "Good teacher that Wilson."

    "Yes master, he''s very kind and patient with me." Nanna exined with a gentle smile on her lips.

    "Except when you act dangerously. Do you do that a lot?"

    "No, no I usually know better I just got excited and forgot." She quickly waved her hands in denial. She truly was a very good student, careful and meticulous but her master, her treasured family was visiting her at work.

    "Good, I''d hate to see you injured." Frost rubbed her head in an affectionate manner. "Since you work here what dish would you rmend?" He nned to have a private meal with just the two of them.

    "Oh then I''d..." Nanna proceeded to give her personal opinion on all the top dishes, struggling to pick just a single one.

    "We''ll order several then, I hope you''re hungry." Nanna''s face always lit up the moment she talked about food.

    "Un." She nodded her head and started to hum away from sheer joy, her feet even started swinging under the table. The pair of pseudo father and daughter thus enjoyed a very pleasant meal together before separating.

    Nanna went back into the kitchen to help head chef Wilson while Frost walked back to his office. It was time for some more Dungeon rted work.

    Once he was alone in his office Frost teleported back to the private space to start some remodelling. The living room was still absent of anyone, and he couldn''t hear any running water.

    "Those two must still be resting." He could wake them up for another round or just for the sake of a healthy lifestyle but instead he chose to y it kind.

    "Khuno does everyone know about the uing remodel and is Loki still at the medical centre?"

    "Yes and yes milord."

    "Perfect I''ll contact him now and have him join me for the design phase." Frost quickly opened up a Dungeonmunication path with Loki.

    "Master?"

    "Hey Loki, I was wondering if you''d like to help with the next Dungeon remodel."

    "¡­..YES, YES SUPER YES!!" The young boy was silent for a second before excitably roaring back.

    "Quickly finish whatever you''re doing then and join me in the living room." Frost warmly replied before setting up the uing workstation i.e. arranging suitable snacks for the hardworking men.

    Loki appeared a few minuteter with slightly messed up clothes and hair, it was clear that he really rushed to finish whatever he was doing earlier.

    "Come sit." Frost tapped the seat next him.

    "Un" Loki bounded across the room and sat beside him, wasting no time at all to dig into a bowl of hard candy. His actions brought a bright smile to Frost''s face. He rubbed his head affectionately like he did with his sister before bringing up the Dungeon menu.

    "750,000DP a hefty sum, where should we start Loki?"

    "Floors!" Loki yelled with his hand raised and a lollipop sticking out his mouth.

    "You want more floors."

    "Yes, more floors means a bigger Dungeon and a bigger Dungeon means we can have more monsters, more environments, more everything." The young phoenix kin gave his in depth reasoning with a serious expression. Frost felt like he was going to pull as stitch from holding in hisughter and the urge to hug the adorable things sitting beside him.

    "Alright we''ll start with a couple extra floors." The dungeon currently had 12 regr floors and two passive floors (floors without any monsters) which were being regarded as floor 5.5 and 10.5. Both had the same winter prairie environment but only floor 5.5 was currently in use for its intended purpose as no one bar Ladius and her team had reached below the 10th floor as of yet.

    In the future Frost nned to have passive floors at every 5th or 10th floor interval, to serve as resting points for the arduous adventurers and in time be the perfect locations for internal camps and outposts, mirroring features found in therger monsterirs.

    Right now to add an additional floor to the Dungoen even without room expansions and environments cost 20,000DP per floor. So Loki just requested a minimum purchase of 40,000DP with a lollipop in his mouth and Frost waspletely unfazed by it. Eventually after spending money like running water enough times a person bes numb to the fact.

    "Should weplete the floors or leave them empty?" As though 40,000DP wasn''t enough Frost asked if Loki wanted to outfit the floors with environments and expansions.

    "How about we partially outfit one and leave thest one bare." Loki wasn''tpletely ignorant it seems, decorating one floor wasn''t too much of a stretch.

    "Good n, economical. No point in fleshing it out if it''s not going to be used anytime soon." Frost agreed with his decision and with a flick of his wrist he manoeuvred the Dungeon menu so they could start designing the 13th floor.

    "We''ll just go with a simple expansion along with environments." Basically the three given rooms would receive a single size upgrade and will be outfitted with a chosen environment. No extra rooms will be added, and no special features would be applied.

    "Un." Loki nodded his head in agreement and opened up the list of environments. The 11th and 12th floor both had 2 star winter hignds as their environment throughout the entire floor. The question was whether to continue with this pattern or change it up and change it up by how much.

    Frost was all for maximising his gains and ying to what made sense, but he also wasn''t against asionally tossing in something out of the box. One of the main advantages a Dungeon had over a monsterir was the change in environments. This not only allowed adventurers to experience different battlefields but also a wider variety of monsters.

    ying it safe and structured may appear more logical but it failed to set the Dungeon of Niflheim apart from itspetitors.

    "Loki let''s go for an environment jumble, I''ll close my eyes while you scroll down the list and the moment I say stop we''ll pick whatever environment your fingernds on for the 1st section. After that we''ll swap ces."

    "That sounds awesome." Loki''s eyes opened up wide and his smile threatened to stretch all the way to his ears as he frantically nodded, fully onboard with Frost''s suggestion.

    "Alright are you at the top of list for 2 star environments?"

    "Yep." Loki replied with his finger itching to start scrolling.

    "Ok 3, 2, 1 go."

 Chapter 608 Remodelling (2)

    "Ok 3, 2, 1, go" Frost closed his eyes and told Loki to start scrolling.

    After a few seconds "Stop" Frost opened up his eyes and called for Loki to stop. The two then looked at the Dungeon menu to see which environment Loki''s finger was pointing at.

    Five fingers of Ymir ¨C 19,000DP

    A long stretch ofndscape that offers significant changes in elevation, five deep valleys spanning horizontally across the room representing Ymir''s fingers.

    It was a gruellingndscape that didn''t even require monsters to pose a threat. The fall from one of the peaks was enough to kill even a skilled adventurer. To descend into the valleys one needed to either physically scale the perilous cliffs or follow the set of narrow and fragile stairs carved into the side of the valley.

    "Damn." Frost said after reading through the environment''s description. Seems the two of them really hit the jackpot with this little game. The five fingers of Ymir was a little pricier than what they''d chosen for previous floors, but it was definitely different.

    "Shall we try for 2 out of 2?"

    "Un" Loki nodded his head before closing his eyes, it was his turn to say stop.

    "3, 2, 1 go."

    Around 12 secondster "Stop!"

    "Alright what do we have this time."

    Winter hold keep ¨C 17,500.

    An old abandoned keep that has weathered through storms of ice and snow. An arrangement of small andrge rooms with built in traps, open walls that grant ess to freezing winds and secret passages running through the entire structure. This environment was a sort of an upgrade to the ruined castle (interior) found on the upper floors.

    Invaders would first enter onto a snowy in, the massive keep would theny ahead with walls spanning from one end of the room to the other. The only way to move forward was to enter the keep through the damaged gate.

    Frost found the idea of an old keep lying beyond the five fingers of Ymir environment quite intriguing. He turned to look at Loki and could see a glint in his eyes that matched his own. They both found thisbination appealing, it stoked the adventurous spirit in their hearts as though screaming that something mystical must dwell in the following room.

    As if in sync the two of them then pointed at the exact same environment for the final room. "That one."

    Heart of a 1000 year cier ¨C 21,000DP

    The entire environment is the inside of a 1000 year old cier. Cavern like paths stretch throughout the cier''s system, leading to open chambers with freezing streams and deadly stctites. As one draws deeper into the cier, the temperature drops and pits of what can only be described as spurting iceva dot the paths. The ce is a veritable maze that gradually freezes any who enter.

    Currently there wasn''t a single environment in the Dungeon that couldpare to this environment''s ambient temperature.

    Both Frost and Loki felt that such a perilous and daunting route deserved something like this at the finish line, none of the other environments seemed to do it justice.

    So withplete agreement from his little partner Frost packaged up the new floors andpleted their first purchase of the day for a grand total of 106,500DP (new floors =40,000, 3 medium room expansions =9000, 3 environments = 57,500).

    Almost a 7th of their reserves spent just like that on something that wouldn''t be seen by adventurers for quite some time given their current progress, but still, a fixed asset was a fixed asset.

    Following the light-heartedness with choosing environments both Frost and Loki took the rest of their remodelling more seriously. Another 200,000DP was attributed to increasing the output of the mines on floor 5.5 as well as outfitting them with additional frost dwarf spawners to retrieve the extra material.

    20,000 was spent on additional traps for the upper floors while 40,000 was spend on the lower floors (upper floors =1 to 5, lower floors = 6 to 10). This was due to the adventurers mapping out most of the current ones thus making them far less efficient.

    250,000 was spent on 4 D-rank spawners, 2 being for frost drakes, 1 for lesser yuki-onnas and thest one being for pr bears.

    An additional 70,000DP was spent on purchasing individual monsters of both high and low rank. Frost wished to expand his roster through differing evolutionary paths. The slimes in particr were a group he was keen on seeing flourish. A monster with endless potential but with a very, very weak starting point.

    Despite him actively purchasing them since the Dungeon began few managed to evolve multiple times. Right now the strongest he could purchase was only E-rank a fair bit off from bing slimeoids who could alter their form at will and be a true menace on the battlefield.

    10,000DP was spent on misceneous items, 15,000 was set aside as rewards for his monsters (For their efforts during the war with Karrick) while a final 30,000DP was used to create randomised treasure chests throughout the Dungeon as suggested by Khuno to keep the current adventurers engaged.

    The grand total for today''s spending thus amounted to 741,500DP leaving a paltry 10,000 in the bank. This was by far thergest purchase Frost had made to date, but did it phase him? No not in the slightest. The Dungeon was currently raking in tens of thousands of DP per day, so this sum would be regained in a month or two, but it could also be spent just as easily.

    It was an endless cycle, growing the Dungeon to increase DP ie also increased the costs to run the ce. Frost was sure that by the time the Dungeon of Niflheim reached 30 floors he''d likely be spending a million DP every month just to keep up.

    All this remodelling caused the Dungeon to repeatedly shake with every purchase. The monsters were in the know thanks Khuno warning them beforehand but the adventurers within got spooked thinking that they were going to be locked in again. Only when the rumbling ceased and nothing unexpected jumped out at them did these people finally calm down and continue their delve.

    Time moved on in the world. The Dungeon of Niflheim as well as the many Dungeons around Nova continued to develop and disy their own unique traits. Some like Frost formed territories around their entrances, attracting permanent sources of DP while others killed and feasted upon their intruders like starving animals forcing up their danger rankings, attracting juicier and far more rewarding prey.

    Another group of let''s just say more callous Dungeon cores didn''t want to manage territory beyond the scope of their dungeon but they also didn''t want to lose out on that delectable passive DP, so they set up massive prisons within their Dungeons and captured hundreds of adventurers to serve as caged livestock.

    Frost always frowned whenever he heard rumours about this through the Dungeon core sibling grapevine. He wasn''t necessarily against the idea of caged livestock as he himself asionally partook in the practise, but he felt that these siblings were taking a substantial risk doing it on such a grand scale. However to each their own.

    The federation of knowledge eventually released several statements regarding Dungeons as well as a short pamphlet that could be purchased either at any of their branches or the adventurers'' guild.

    Inside were key details, outlining some differences between them and monstersirs, things to be aware of such as the prewar warning signal and finally some basic suggestions and rules of approved behaviour.

    The war signal that Frost suggested had been agreed to by at least 30 other Dungeon cores and rejected by another 15 before Dark stepped in an made the whole thing official. As a reward he was granted a 10,000DP gacha pull which resulted in a 4th circle ice spell called [Icy tempest].

    With the federation taking action more and more adventurers swarmed to these Dungeons keen to take a bite out of the new hype. While merchants and businessmen flocked to the areas nearby so as to take advantage of the new gold mines. The Niflheim base camp saw a sharp increase in visitor and permanent residents the moment the federation released their statements.

    Everyone wanted a piece of these Dungeons while they were still growing to avoid the rabidpetition that would ensue in the future when these Dungeons sported tens of floors.

    While Frost and his Dungeon prospered the same couldn''t be said for Northrend. The political carnage that was the fight for the throne became more and more fierce as time went on. The crown prince that was originally a sure win for the throne was now without protection.

    His actions against Frost as well as several other incidents that the 2nd prince manage to bring to light convinced their father emperor Franz Northrend to even the ying field. He withdrew his support thus isting Randolph from arge chunk of his backing. He now needed to fight tooth and nail with Sedrick for public support.

    Whoever gained the most loyalty from themoners, noble families and government officials would be crowned emperor.

    It was a dark and stressful time for empire of Northrend.

 Chapter 609 Northrends political strife

    The Northrend empire was a long standing nation with a rich history. For centuries they were one of the foremost leading countries on the Yangmir continent, housing vast riches, diversend, high poption and a terrifying military. Few could hold a candle to the many regiments that guarded its borders. Their neighbours unable topete directly with Northrend chose to ally with them instead.

    Trade alliances, non-aggression pacts as well as the asional defensive alliance almost guaranteed the empire''s security, at least directly.

    Each and every one of the empire''s allies even those that they were closely intimate with desired on some level to supnt the mighty empire that had reigned over the continent for so long. Their spies constantly siphoned mountains of intelligence that allowed them to keep abreast of the empire''s state secrets and use them to their advantage.

    Therefore despite Northrend developing its riches and truly entering what could be considered an economic golden age its current internal political strife was leading to an unseen and devasting opportunity that may very well see the once mighty empire crumble and be a mere shell of what it once was.

    While Frost and his Dungeon continued to grow and develop Northrend was being torn apart by the actions of its crown prince and second prince. These two brothers held no love for one another in fact hatred was all that remained.

    The two of them or their subordinates would argue vehemently during court sessions, disparaging each other''s actions and doing their very best to stop any agendas the other side had. The court was constantly divided in two as was the military. Those who sided with the crown prince and those that sided with the second prince.

    Of course there was a third group, the neutral party but they were small in number and weighed little on the future oue but from the seat of the emperor it was this small and insignificant group that truly cared about Northrend.

    While Randolph and Sedrick did their best to pull members of the nobility and government into their circle it was this small group that cleaned up their messes and enabled the empire to keep running despite the carnage the two sides wrought. This small group of officials were the only ones actually doing their jobs properly and for that the emperor was not only grateful but filled with guilt.

    Randolph and Sedrick fought in court disrupting important proceedings, they fought in the dark leading to a sharp increase in crime as well as deaths among the officials and nobility. More than one or two entire ns had been annihted, with not even the children being spared.

    Military leaders and garrisons chose to follow their preferred prince, ignoring the needs of the nation as whole to the point that it jeopardised the safety of the citizens.

    The war of the princes is a dire time with every generation even Franz''s was no exception. He fought with his brothers for the throne and even had to kill two of them but even, so he was starting to find the actions of his own children deplorable. In his opinion it was as though they cared not for the nation or its people, all they cared about was sitting on the throne regardless of the cost.

    As time passed Franz could see his own influence waning as more and more officials migrated to the princes. Very soon the situation would grow beyond his reach and the son would supnt the father. This was a natural event, an inevitability but upon seeing the situation with clear eyes especially the true face of his eldest son Franz felt that he could no longer allow this to pass.

    One son had the support of the old and established noble families, he engaged willing with the dark and hadmitted great crimes but there was always a clear agenda. Whereas the other originally had his full support, the backing of the emperor and the long established ministers. A son that was once destined to lead the empire into a new age of glory, an easy passing of the fabled torch.

    All he had to do was live up to expectations and the throne would be his.

    Sedrick the second prince was never really favoured, and boy did he know it. His father never seeing his potential warped his mind and personality. He wanted the throne, to finally prove that he was superior to his elder brother in father''s eyes, and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure that oue and to be honest after looking without bias Franz didn''t me him.

    His son was dealt a losing hand from the start, so he had to take extreme measures in order to win.

    Sedrick pulled the oldest noble families to his side; they would support him in the race for the throne and in turn would be rewarded with even greater authority. With their deep pockets and long standing connections Sedrick was able stand somewhat evenly with Randolph. To surpass him however he needed more.

    His elder brother was skilled at masking his true personality and thanks to their father he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He never had to fight for support, to risk his own future to ensure their loyalty. He had it easy but even, so he was still capable thus Sedrick failed time and time again to draw him down from his pedestal. That changed however after Frost openly threatened him.

    The imprable exterior started to crack, and Sedrick wasn''t one to let go of such an opportunity. So despite being assaulted on all sides by the Furano household, Randolph''s allies and even their father to some degree he recklessly went after his brother''s image. A decision that paid off in spades.

    The war for the throne began and Randolph lost the protective bubble their father had ced around him, now it was truly a level ying field.

    Originally Sedrick had a n that would improve his legitimacy for the throne, a n that was suggested by and agreed upon by the old noble families that supported him. Sedrick was the second born and had the same mother as the crown prince thus there was nothing he could do to change his natural standing in the pecking order, at least not naturally.

    However there was an old tradition, a fable that involved the early years of the Northrend empire from over a millennia ago.

    ''If a member of royalty couldmand the loyalty and respect of a true blooded ice phoenix then the throne would be in safe hands under their reign.'' It was said that the founder of the empire was close to an ice phoenix, so close that he decided to use their image as the symbol for his empire thus establishing a link between the royal family and ice phoenixes.

    If one could create a bond with a true blooded ice phoenix they would be seen as a seconding of the first emperor.

    Sedrick and the noble families behind him desperately scoured thend in search of such a creature but came up empty. An ice phoenix especially a true blooded one was very likely to be an S-rank monster, not something that could be easily handled by Sedrick and his subordinates.

    One would have to travel to the core regions of the cial mountains to even think about finding such mythical creatures.

    Since that was a bust they went after the next best thing. Through interacting with the underworld and a certain ver they managed to track down two phoenix kin with rtively pure bloodlines. With the aid of the church of Light''s ve crest they nned to forcibly use these two to support Sedrick''s legitimacy to the throne.

    Unfortunately they failed to take into ount the actions of a recently born Dungeon core. Their hard work in finding them and their efforts to keep their identities an absolute secret, hidden from the eyes of their enemies went up in smoke the moment Frost aided Leo Furano in taking down his uncle.

    With Frost''s actions Sedrick''s ns had to change, the two phoenix kin would pose a substantial threat to him if they ever fell into Randolph''s hands. Sedrick and the nobles families supporting him thus attempted to assassinate Frost, their master killing three birds with a single stone. But again that n went awry, Frost was too well protected.

    Emperor Franz understood the situation after an in depth investigation but failed to uncover enough evidence to convict his second son of any crime. In retrospect however it did reveal something he was blind to for so many years.

    Randolph was not the man he thought he was. His eldest son who was always the one he was most proud of and who he envisioned as his future sessor, who he had protected and trusted was now akin to a cancer in his eyes. The young man that held so much promise started repeatedly failing after his encounter with Frost.

    Under the attacks of Sedrick and his own attempts to at least give his second son a decent opportunity Randolph revealed his true nature, his ipetence, his pettiness, hisplete disregard for those below him.

    His eldest son had a superiorityplex that could not be challenged, any attempt to do so would bring down his unbridled wrath. There was his way or death. Randolph had been getting his way for so long that this characteristic never really showed up. Now however it was all he could see.

    Even his wife who doted on all her children as evenly as she could despite their faults struggled to recognise the man as the same boy that used to chase after her.

    The war of princes brought out the worst in people, hearts would be shattered, images torn apart and betrayals amon urrence. But in the end a necessary part of any empire. The die was already cast, Franz was powerless to stop it no matter how much wanted to.

    A choice between two evils, the question was which one would do the least harm.

 Chapter 610 Northrends political strife (2)

    As time went on and the battles both in the open and in the dark intensified Franz continued to feel his gaze drawn to the neutral officials, the ones who despite all the hell surrounding them and the pressure to choose a side remained headstrong and steady,pleting their work and ensuring that the empire continued to run.

    His appreciation for them continued to grow partly because he couldn''t bare to look at his two sons, Randolph especially. Franz could feel his body growing cold and shivering whenever he saw the fierce glint in his son''s eyes. Gradually he was leaning more and more towards making Sedrick emperor, seeing him as the lesser of two evils despite the long list of crimes he had allegedlymitted.

    Randolph apparently sensed this causing the way he looked at his own father to change. His gaze was bereft of kindness and love, reced with anger, betrayal and actual hatred. He couldn''t understand why his father subjected him to his current plight. He was the favoured son, the crown prince. He had earned the support of countless officials as well as themon folk.

    The tasks assigned to him were all handled andpleted as requested. Sure he made a few errors in judgement and perhaps had been a little more vicious during the past few months but that was all because of Sedrick and that darned Frost.

    For years he''d been the go to son for handling the empire''s affairs. He had led numerous campaigns with the army, safely managed diplomatic rtions and even improved the livelihood of their citizens, he was the perfect son, the perfect crown prince and the ideal choice.

    Sedrick however repeatedly engaged with the empire''s underworld and allegedlymitted countless crimes, even his backing, the old noble families had terrible reputations and were banking on Sedrick to grant them even greater authority. How could the wise and talented emperor Franz not see how superior he was to Sedrick.

    After his encounter with Frost and the piercing usations of his brother Randolph''s entire world starting crashing down. His father grew suspicious of him and started to rethink his previous bias.

    His earlier work, the grand campaigns, diplomatic dealings and other projects were thoroughly examined, and his father took off the kid gloves and started poking holes in his behaviour as well as his suggestions. Before Franz would always gently encourage or support him with alternate choices but now he wouldn''t help in the slightest and would in fact tear apart whatever memorials he submitted.

    Randolph had always gotten his way before, so this change was a first for him and he really didn''t like it. Eventually it came to light that many of his sesses were because of his subordinates and that whenever he met with resistance or possible failure he was quick to explode and ce me on others.

    The golden image of the crown prince quickly fell apart causing a violent shift in his demeanour. He stopped hiding what he was and started nning how to get what was owed to him.

    The ns that were annihted earlier were actually ones that originally supported him. Randolph had them erased for their betrayal preventing anyone else from leaving his faction. For Franz that decision was the final straw that broke the camel''s back. From that point on he struggled to look at his eldest son, seeing him as nothing more than a potential cmity.

    Thus his gaze continued to linger on the hardworking neutral officials, his mind churning.

    These people were the true loyalists if only he could handover the throne to them instead. Franz could be seen sighing more and more recently and chose to sequester himself away every other court day, choosing to apany his darling wife Amelia and his radiant daughter Avira. The two of them helped to clear up the darkness in his heart and alleviate the weight ced on his shoulders.

    His daughter the apple of his eye and the youngest of his offspring especially helped. He never really discussed much of the nation''s affairs with her given that she was a princess and not a prince but with his two sons tearing apart the empire he found himself rambling about his worries to her.

    And the more they talked the more dumbfounded he became, his daughter was insightful, kind, charismatic and open minded. Before he knew it he was discussing the events of the day''s court proceedings with her, asking how she would handle the affairs if she was the one in charge.

    When he then learned that the majority of the neutral officials and military garrisons were actually loyal to her his mind was blown. All this time he''d been trying to choose between two evils when there was a golden child right here.

    Franz quickly formted a n, though Northrend never had a female monarch there were other kingdoms that did so it wouldn''t be apletely unheard of precedent. Ensuring that she had enough support however despite that was a tall order and he didn''t have much time.

    The war for the throne had already begun and Randolph and Sedrick had already pulled the majority of nobles, officials and evenmoner groups into their factions. But he needed to try, he couldn''t allow his empire to suffer under the hands of either one of his sons. Though he felt guilty about how Sedrick turned out he had caused too much damage to the empire to be worthy of the throne.

    Avira was the best choice.

    As things developed in Northrend and the entire world learned of the lucrative prospects of Dungeons a certain event was nearing close. The next family gathering between the Dungeon cores was set to take ce shortly, marking the end of their first year alive.

    For many this was an exciting prospect, some wished to show off their supposed independence while others looked forward to spending time with their many siblings.

    A bunch were anxious, nervous about how well they''d do on the umted DP rankings, whether or not their rank rose or fell since thest gathering.

    Frost wasn''t bothered by his possible ranking, nor was he particrly worried about meeting up with his siblings no he was stressed for another reason.

    Within the Dungeon''s private space Frost currently sat on the sofa his eyes glued to Maya''s back as she rustled up something in the kitchen. Daki was working in her forge while Nanna was at the sleeping Fenrir and Loki was helping out in the medical clinic. It was just the two of them here.

    Chop chop chop

    Maya chopped up a bunch of vegetables for the stew she was preparing trying her best to ignore the heated stare that was locked onto her but eventually.

    "Frost is there a particr reason you''re staring at my ass!" She loudly questioned before chopping with increased vigour.

    "Actually there is but it''s not your ass I''m staring at."

    ''This time at least'' Maya had a very sexy ass it was hard for his eyes not to wander over it every so often.

    "Hoh then if it''s not my ass then what are you staring at with such focus?" Maya stopped chopping and turned around, curious to hear what he had to say.

    With her now turned around showing off her front Frost''s face visibly frowned in disappointment, growing her curiosity.

    "We''ve been dating for months now yes?" Frost decided that since it was just the two of them here he wanted to get this off his chest.

    "Yes and it''s been fabulous." An enchanting smile grew on Maya''s lips as she spoke from the heart. Frost had been the perfect partner, he supported her emotionally, rocked her world in the bedroom and genuinely made her heart flutter everyday they were together.

    "Un and we''ve been intimate pretty much every day right?" He agreed their rtionship was truly magical.

    "Y¡­yes pretty much." A significant pink hue appeared on her cheeks, embarrassed by the question but she still answered. If for whatever reason they missed engaging in such activities one day Frost made up for it the following night or so.

    "The same could be said for my rtionship with Daki."

    "Yes and your point." Now she was really confused.

    "Well considering that we''ve been going at it nearly every day for months and considering the amount of well you know that I''ve filled the two of you with why is that still t?" Frost pointed directly at Maya''s taught stomach hoping for the past several weeks that it would be of a different shape.

    "....W¡­WHAT!!!" Maya was silent for a couple seconds as her mind digested Frost''s word before her entire face and neck turned red. She wagged her shaking finger at him and screamed at the top of lungs, never before had she been so shocked.

    "You know pregnant, babies, offspring, little Frosts and Mayas".

    "Stop just stop!" Maya waved her hands and starting to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Frost''s words were just too shocking and surprising, there was no lead up or finesse in his approach. Instead he just roared it out.

    She ced her right hand across her forehead and massaged her temples before shakily walking over to the sofa where Frost was sitting with an impatient look on his face, a face that looked oh so pable.

    After sitting herself down and taking another deep breath she turned to face him. "Start talking."

 Chapter 611 Baby talk

    "Start talking." Maya ordered with a stern voice; her eyes fixated on Frost as her mind twisted itself in knots. Were they really having the baby talk right here, right now and why on Nova was he so crass about it.

    Frost failed to understand the true ramifications of his previous outburst, so he dove right into exining himself without much care. "I''ve been sleeping with both you and Daki for months now and not to toot my own horn I''ve been filling you up with a substantial amount of¡­seed." Maya had to catch herself from pping him as a rush of embarrassment flooded her heart.

    Frost was certainly very proactive during their nights together and certainly wasn''tcking in terms of volume.

    "So I''m wondering why neither of you are pregnant by this point." Frost was genuinely puzzled as well as a little afraid. Did this mean he wasn''tpatible with them, was there something wrong with his ''seed''.

    Maya''s upper lip twitched as she tried to calm herself down and speak in a rational manner. "You''ve never mentioned this before Frost, is it a recent thing or have you been genuinely trying to get us pregnant?"

    "Well it''s kind of recent. Even though I know that there''s always a chance in getting either of you pregnant whenever we get intimate I''ve been specifically aiming to get ''you'' pregnant for the past 3 maybe 4 weeks." Frost nervously admitted.

    "..." Maya didn''t speak, her mind practically exploding from his confession. It was a genuine shock, to hear that her boyfriend was selfishly trying to get her pregnant without even informing her was a lot to take in. Her heart was awash with a cascade of emotions, anger pain, irritation but also love joy and even hope.

    Eventually thetter emotions overwhelmed the former surrounding her heart with a peaceful and protective warmth. She smiled at the possibility of having children with Frost and felt victorious at the fact that she was chosen over Daki. However there still a lingering confusion, the why?

    Frost had never brought this subject up even once during their time together, it was aplete and utter surprise.

    "Why? Why do you want to get me pregnant now?" She asked with neither anger nor joy.

    Frost squirmed in his seat feeling rather guilty about what he was about to say next.

    "The next family gathering is just around the corner Maya and with it the end of your duties as my Guardian. 365 days that''s how long father allowed you to be by my side, to help prepare me for world of Nova and nurture my independence.

    Once that deadline is crossed, our bond is to be severed, and we''ll be forced to go our separate ways." This was the duty assigned to the many guardians, they were teachers and protecters but for a limited time.

    "I''ve asked father time and time again to rethink his stance, but he''s refused to say anything on the matter¡­.I don''t want to lose you Maya." Frost gazed deep into Maya''s eyes with heartfelt affection, his hands curled up into tight fists as he felt powerless to stop what wasing, he was afraid and in pain.

    "I thought that by having a child Father would be unable to tear us apart." His actions though misguided were born out of love, the desire to not be separated from his woman.

    Frost''s words filled Maya''s heart with love, several tears slid down her cheeks as she hugged him, never wanting to let him go. She quietly sobbed against his shoulder; she was also rather stressed about their uing separation. But with Dark refusing to give out any information on the matter she could only hope for the best.

    After holding one another for a couple minutes Maya pulled herself away from Frost and dried her eyes before staring at him with a stern gaze. "Answer me this honestly, do you genuinely want to have kids with me or is this just a ploy to force your father''s hand?" She needed to know the truth. Whatever Frost said here could determine the future of their rtionship.

    Frost straightened his back under her gaze. "Honestly, yes I''d love to have kids with you Maya, you''re someone I want to by my side till the end of time¡­ but ideally I would prefer us to be a little further along in our rtionship." Maya''s heart lurched, and her gaze showed pain. In response Frost took her hands in his and peered into her eyes before continuing.

    "However that''s just the ideal situation, regardless of the time I''d be over the moon Maya. My heart would be filled with endless joy at the prospect of having a child with you." Maya''s eyes opened wide, and a torrent of hot tears flowed down her cheeks. She then sunk into Frost''s chest and cried her heart out for a good ten minutes before regaining herposure.

    "Thank you." She whispered with heartfelt gratitude.

    "Don''t thank me I failed remember, no matter how much effort I put in you never got pregnant¡­.I think there might be something wrong with me." Frost felt a wave of guilt. He tried and failed to impregnate her after months of activity, and now it was clear to both of them that they desired children at some point. What if he couldn''t make good on that desire, would she no longer want to be with him.

    Seeing the depressed look on his face Maya blinked her eyes several times beforeughing. Herughter only seemed to aggravate Frost''s depression but thankfully she exined.

    "Rx handsome there''s nothing wrong with you hahahaha." She continued to giggle finding Frost adorable.

    "But you''re not pregnant and neither''s Daki!" He loudly protested, sure that there must be something wrong with him down there. It was all well and good for him to be able to satisfy them in the bedroom but if he couldn''t get them pregnant he was a failure of a man, at least that''s how he viewed it.

    Maya quickly held back herughter upon seeing how distressed he was and cupped his face with her hands. "Frost trust me there''s ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with you down there, I guarantee it." She spoke with clear confidence which calmed him down.

    "But?"

    "No buts you''re perfectly healthy Frost, if anything you''re too healthy." Maya let loose a sigh and shook her head before exining. "Daki and I are on contraceptives, meaning that no matter how much effort you put into your work there''s zero chance of us getting pregnant."

    "¡­.So it''s not a problem with me?"

    "Not in the slightest¡­you feel better?"

    "Un" Frost meekly nodded his head, a weight finally lifting from his chest.

    "Good."

    p!

    Suddenly without warning Maya pped him across the face.

    "Ow."

    "That''s for trying to impregnate me without asking." Maya angrily said before once again cupping his face with her hands. "And this is for wanting to." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

    Frost thus enjoyed both a tasty pleasure on his lips and a searing pain on his left cheek.

    "¡­Sorry and¡­ thank you?" He was a bit confused by the whole mixed signals thing and spoke as though he was asking a question.

    "I forgive you and you''re wee." Maya replied with a toothy grin and a set of crossed arms which pushed up her breasts and drew Frost''s gaze. He momentarilypsed into a daze upon seeing her mountainousndscape, those things were dangerous.

    "You said you were on contra¡­something?"

    "Contraceptives yes."

    "And that is?" The inherent knowledge granted by Dark didn''t trigger upon hearing the word nor had he found it in any of the books he''d read so it was aplete foreign concept to the young Dungeon core.

    "Contraceptives are preventive measures that stop a woman from getting pregnant thus allowing them to enjoy the wonders of a healthy sex life without having to worry about children." Maya started exining the term from the basics, not embarrassed in slightest that she had to exin something like contraceptives to her boyfriend.

    "Contraceptives cane in a few forms such as herb based pills that have to be taken every day, potions that can be taken every month or contraceptive runes which are ced on the body with magic and are semi-permanent.

    Just so you know both Daki and myself are currently using contraceptive runes since they''re the most effective and hassle free for women of our age." Contraceptive runes were incredibly useful, once it was ced a woman never had to worry about getting pregnant again.

    Out of all the preventative measures contraceptive runes were the most effective and easy to manage, the user''s internal mana would feed the rune allowing it to function indefinitely. The only downside was that it could only be applied to young women and only on women who had never been pregnant before.

    Therefore it was a rather big deal when removing them as after that they''d be forced to rely on either expensive potions or daily pills to prevent pregnancy. Of course there were also male contraceptives, but they weren''t nearly as effective nor as developed.

    "So as long as you and Dakihave this contraceptive rune I can''t get you pregnant."

    "Correct."

    "Not even if I put in a serious effort." An evil smile grew on Frost''s lips as he asked yfully.

    "No¡­.but you''re free to try." Maya responded back with a flirtatious wink and coy smile.

    Frost''s evil smile stretched from ear to ear as he donned a wolflike expression, his hands silently wrapping around Maya''s soft, curvaceous body.

    The two of them quickly checked where Nanna and Loki were before dashing to the bedroom in attempt to put Maya''s contraceptive rune through the ringer.

 Chapter 612 The 2nd family gathering

    Another 3 days went by but despite Frost''s rigorous efforts neither Maya nor Daki got pregnant, their contraceptive runes were just too effective.

    The young orc subus practically blushed from head to toe the moment Maya informed her of Frost''s noble intentions. For years Daki had been searching for a partner that could withstand her appetite and instinctual nature, but the idea of children was such a distant and difficult prospect that she was truly caught by surprise.

    Her reaction was so adorable that Frost immediately disrobed her and attacked her contraceptive rune with great vigour.

    Sex was a great way to reduce stress, all that worry and anxiety that both he and Maya had built up was cleansed through their acts of intimacy at least until today.

    The family woke up early, practically at the crack of dawn in preparation for today''s events.

    The 2nd family gathering was happening today. At 9.am the many Dungeon cores across Nova would be summoned by their father to participate in a grand reunion. It also marked a year since Frost''s conception, his very first birthday. An event that should have been filled with celebration but instead it had the man in question on edge and tense.

    Today Maya''s duty as his guardian woulde to an end and he and his siblings would be granted their independence, forced to rely solely upon their own merit to survive within this grand world. Frost both looked forward to and dreaded this day. He couldn''t bear the thought of separating from Maya, to lose the woman he loved.

    But in the end he was truly powerless, even Maya an S-rank Fenrir who was hailed as a prodigy among her kin was nothing but a speck before his father. If he couldn''t convince him with words then there was no forceful alternative.

    "Is everyone ready?" Frost asked while pacing back and forth in the private space. He and Maya would be indisposed while the gathering was taking ce thus management of the Dungeon had to be handed over to Daki, Nanna, Loki, Khuno and Finy in the meantime.

    "Yep we''ve got this babe."

    "Easy peasy master."

    "No problem."

    "By your will milord."

    "Ready and willing master." The five of them responded with vigour hoping to ay Frost''s anxiety.

    It wasn''t a major task nor was it one that they hadn''t undergone before but still, this time was different. Despite their best efforts the five asionally nced over at Maya, their eyes revealing their feelings on the matter. They didn''t want her to go either.

    A few hourster and once everything had been ounted for, for the umpteenth time Dark''s summons arrived. Two magic crests appeared beneath both Frost and Maya''s feet before quickly encasing them both in a ck egg. The next moment space warped, swallowing both eggs and they were gone just like that.

    "Alright that''s our cue everyone, action stations we''ve got a Dungeon to run and a birthday party to n!" Daki bellowed with a booming voice the moment Frost and Maya vanished.

    "Hehehehe I can''t wait to see master''s face when he returns." Loki giggled cutely and started jumping up and down on the spot.

    "I''ve been studying how to bake cakes for the past week, all for this moment." Nanna balled up her hands into fists and looked over at the kitchen with determined eyes. The five left in charge thus split up to carry out their duties until Frost returned.

    Frost travelled through space with some speed but thanks to the protection of the ck egg he barely felt a thing. Ten minutes or soter his travelling came to an end. Therge ck egg stationed itself upon a marble floor before dissipating, revealing its handsome passenger. Dozens of matching arrivals happened metres away and soon Frost was face to face with his 99 siblings.

    "Frost, over here." A wild voice called from the distance; a voice Frost recognised. Turning around he saw Indra beckoning him over with a wide grin stered on his face. Seeing his sixth brother in the flesh brought a smile to his lips. Out of all his siblings Indra could be considered to be the one he got along with most.

    They frequently talked through the Dungeon''smunication system, keeping one another apprised of their adventures.

    Simr to his own Dungeon of Niflheim, Indra''s Lightning Grove (the name of his dungeon) was also developing external territory, drawing in lots of passive DP. In fact the number of his residents even surpassed his own thanks to Indra''s talent in business. So many jewellery merchants and artisans flocked to his camp desperate to get their hands on his special lightning gems.

    Don''t miss out on m-vl-em-pyr

    Frost was keen to copy him but was struggling to find something unique or rather the right product for his territory.

    As Frost started walking towards his sixth brother however Indra was suddenly ambushed. A fair hand that looked as soft as silk smacked into his left cheek with enough force to send him spiralling across the room. In his former ce with a genial smile on her lips and a radiant and weing expression on her face was Aqua, their eldest sister and somewhat of a mega fan of Frost.

    Frost didn''t know why their eldest sister was so obsessed with him, but he''d learned in fact they''d all learned to just keep their mouths shut and y along with her whims lest they wanted to leave with broken limbs. Only Aqua could be so violent and ruthless to her siblings while sporting an angelic expression on her face.

    Frost felt a shiver run down his spine as he locked eyes with his big sister. He momentarily nced at the prone Indra in the distance and after noting that he was still alive he warmly greeted his sister.

    "Aqua-nee you''re looking as beautiful as ever."

    "Oh such a charmer. Come,e join your big sister." Aqua practically teleported to his side and wrapped her arm around his before starting her usual inspection. She''d nailed the doting big sister personality to a tee when it came to him.

    A minuteter while she was busy examining Frost for injuries and seeing whether or nor he''d gained any weight since theyst saw one another Indra dragged himself over with a reddened cheek and boldly interrupted her.

    "Always nice to see you big sis." Indra tried to act as friendly and humble as possible, but it was clear from his clenched fists and twitching lips that he was struggling to hold back.

    Aqua turned around and red at Indra annoyed by his presence, an invisible storm rising between them leading to Frost sighing at the side.

    "Alright I think that''s enough you two, how about we just wait together." Eventually Frost stepped into the middle of their standoff, offering his right hand side to Aqua and his left to Indra which was apromise the two were willing to agree to.

    Slowly the groups that formed during thest gathering as well as over the course of the past 11 months drifted towards one another. Frost''s group of three soon expanded to include, Terra, Yami, Sylph, Damascus, Void, Chronos and finally Gaia, making this by all ounts the most powerful group around.

    The ten siblings exchanged pleasantries and talked for a couple minutes before their attention was finally drawn to the top of a set of nearby stairs. Dark had summoned them to the exact same ball room that they were summoned to for thest family gathering.

    Though the colours, ce settings and even the food avable was slightly different, enough to offer a different ambience theyout was the same, separating the massive room into a lower and upper section.

    Don!

    With a loud shifting of metal Dark arrived through a set ofrge, golden doors and following behind him were the 101 guardians that were assigned to protect and educate his children during their first year.

    Seeing this many felt pain in their hearts, Frost included. His eyes searched through the vast group before finallynding on Maya''s exquisite form. She did the same and the two lovers as well as many of the Dungeon cores and their guardians exchanged meaningful looks.

    "Wee, wee my children!" Dark announced with a voice that reverberated throughout the entire room. He spread out his arms and smiled at the 100 individuals standing beneath him. A look of nostalgia growing in his eyes "Has it really been a year already?

    Time really does fly when you''re having fun¡­.man a whole year look how each of you have grown." He slowly panned over each and every one of his darling children, his heart growing ever warmer with each pass. "Though some of you have certainly aged better than others." His gaze then stopped at Void, a smirk quickly growing on his lips.

    "For someone whose only a year old why do you look even older than I do Void?"

    Void the Dungeon core in question stared up at his father in silence, his upper lip twitching. Chronos who was beside him and had an almost identical appearance though with a very special difference ¨C Chronos being an avatar of time could shift between appearing old and young depending on the angle one viewed him- desperately stifled hisughter as did many of their siblings.

    "I was born looking like this father! You made me look like this!" Eventually the normally calm and easy-going Void roared at the top of his lungs, feeling embarrassed by the giggles and mocking looks from his siblings.

    Dark blinked his eyes several times before frowning. He then looked side to side and made it look like his was whispering something to Void discretely despite being tens of metres away.

    "That''s the joke Void." He nodded his head with confidence before smiling at some of the guardians behind him as though looking for reassurance. His words earned a wave of utter silence from both the Dungeon cores and guardians. This was Dark''s attempt at humour it seems.

    "Oww" Void groaned as he felt an invisible knife stab him in the heart.

 Chapter 613 The 2nd family gathering (2)

    "Hmmm tough crowd." Dark muttered as silence pervaded the entire room, not a singleughter from his punchline. But despite the poor response he didn''t take it to heart, it just meant hisedy had room to improve.

    "Ok we''ll put a pin in that for now and move on." Dark quickly brought back his grandiose demeanour. "Today marks your first birthday and the day that your training wheels will be removed. As you see standing behind me are your guardians the ones who have taught you and protected you from harm during this past year.

    Though some of you have never had to rely on the lifeline that they provided each and every one of you have benefited from their teachings thus all of you owe them a debt of gratitude."

    "They offered themselves, their time and their hard earned knowledge to you without restriction for an entire year. A year they could have spent improving themselves or spending with their families, they chose to answer my call to help prepare you for the world of Nova." Dark spoke with great charisma, his words glorifying the work of the men and women standing behind him.

    "I want all of you to deeply thank your guardians for the time they invested in teaching you."

    The Dungeon cores standing on the lower floor all looked up at their guardians. They remembered their teachings, the time they spent alongside one another, the feelings that developed between them be they friendship or perhaps something more.

    Eventually one Dungeon core started the chain reaction, the young woman bowed her head low and deeply bellowed her thanks. All the 100 Dungeon cores then followed her lead and gave their heartfelt gratitude. Even the most reticent of guardians struggled to not be moved by their bows.

    This was it, the end of their rtionships. Their charges no longer needed their services, it was time for them to stand on their own two feet. More than a few broke down in tears, Maya was one of these individuals. She gazed down at Frost, her heart feeling as though it was being shredded to a million pieces.

    This ceremony felt too much like a farewell, a result she dreaded with every fibre of her being.

    Dark seemed to willingly ignore the emotions on disy in front of and behind him, bringing this separation to its conclusion.

    "Thanks have been given and the deadline has passed. My children you were given one year to improve and develop yourselves under their tutge. Now however it is time for you to leave the nest and survive on your own merit.

    Along with the withdrawal of your guardians, the training space will no longer be a free service, several DP price changes wille into effect and development of the Dungeon shop will be far harsher. You''ll have to do more than simply grow a little stronger." Dark was removing multiple aids he put in ce, making it that much harder for his children to develop in theter stages.

    "I will allow you the opportunity to say a final farewell to your guardians, after that we''ll carry on with the true purpose of this gathering." Dark then allowed the many guardians to descend the stairs to speak with their charges onest time. After which they would be forbidden from interacting with any of the Dungeons as per the contract they agreed to.

    Some guardians quickly said their farewells, wished their charges luck in their future endeavours before returning up the stairs. These were the ones who took a more distant approach to teaching, treating this task as a simple job and nothing more.

    A small group didn''t even bother to say goodbye, their rtionship with their charges being the opposite of amicable. Next were the close friends who hated the idea of leaving their charges, hoping they could stay by their side and watch as their newborn wings unfurled.

    Last but certainly not least were the guardians who were romantically involved with their charges, there weren''t many but their distraught was clear for everyone to see.

    Indra held Izuna tight against his chest,forting her with a warped expression as her cries rang loud in his ears. He couldn''t stand to hear her cry.

    Frost however didn''t hold onto Maya, she never made it down the stairs, copsing to her knees in grief she couldn''t handle a farewell. Despite this possibly being thest time they''d ever see one another she couldn''t bring herself to move.

    Dark stood at the side like an emotionless robot, indifferent to the pain of his children and the ones who treated him with reverence.

    Seeing Maya paralysed on the floor with redden eyes an intense anger filled Frost. He stared at her, memorising her pain as his hands curled up into tightened fists.

    "¡­.No" after what seemed like eons Frost spoke a single word in a tone so chilling that the surrounding air seemed to freeze. Only a few of his siblings heard his voice but each of them felt a jolt running through their bodies and Dark who was standing at the top of the stairs, indifferent to what was happening nced in his direction.

    "No!....No father I will not be saying goodbye to her!" Suddenly Frost in his anger roared at the top of his lungs, imbuing his words with the greatest amount of aura he could muster. Dark was thus attacked by a presence that could crush boulders but to him it was non-existent.

    Frost''s aura evaporated the moment it touched Dark''s surroundings and in response a heavy pall fell over the entire ball room. Even the guardians who were at the peak of S-rank felt their bodies shudder, all were forced to bow to this presence.

    Frost''s bluster was vanquished in an instant and an invisible hand pushed his head down until he was kneeling on the floor. However despite this overwhelming force acting on his body his facial expression showed no sign of surrender. He red at his father, refusing to give way.

    Ton Ton Ton

    Following the forced silence brought on by Dark''s reprisal, footsteps echoed throughout the room as Dark slowly descended the staircase and made his way towards his kneeling son.

    "What did you say to me, Frost?" Dark asked, his voice filled with the majesty of a superior God. At this moment he was not Frost''s father, the amicable Dark but one of the mighty Gods of creation, a being without parallel who created Nova and all that dwelled within.

    Frost felt as though every cell in his body was being crushed but still he forced himself to look up at his father''s face and speak out.

    "I refuse father, I won''t be separated from Maya." His eyes screamed of his conviction, regardless of the warning signals his body was firing he refused to capitte. The price did not matter, Maya would stay by his side.

    Dark briefly nced up at the form of Maya stered on the floor before looking back down at Frost, his feelings on the matterpletely hidden by his neutral expression. "She is your guardian, the protecter I assigned to you for a period of one year and not a second more. Have you squandered the gift I granted?

    Are so incapable of handling your own affairs that you need to be permanently supervised?" His voice grew louder and louder as he continued, so powerful was his voice that blood even started dripping down Frost''s ears.

    "No father I''m not incapable and I did not squander your gift. My reasons are not born out of fear or ineptitude but of desire.

    I don''t want my guardian, the mighty S-rank fenrir, I want Maya the person, the woman!" Through clenched teeth and obvious pain Frost roared out, his words causing those in simr situations to tremble and Maya who was stuck to the floor to convalesce, her heart filling with warmth.

    "Frost." She whispered as hot tears flowed down her cheeks.

    Father and Son intensely stared at one another in silence,iehr willing to back down from their stance. Frost was asking too much, despite his desires for Maya she was still a being that stood at the very peak of the food chain, only the Gods reigned above her and her guardian colleagues.

    If any one of them remained by his children''s sides they''d never reach the limit of the own potential, always subconsciously or consciously banking on their protection when they chose to risk life and limb. A short period was fine but any longer would be detrimental to their growth. Even if separation caused emotional pain to his children it was something that was beneficial in the long run.

    As Dark prepared himself to bepletely callous a voice interrupted him from the side.

    "I also refuse to separate from my guardian father, for the same reasons as Frost!" Indra fought against the pressure released by his father, he raised his head and supported his younger brother, willing to be punished along side him if that meant he could stay with Izuna.

    "Indra." With Indra speaking up the same level of weight that was assaulting Frost attacked him forcing his expression to warp in pain and his muscles to brutally tense up. One son was bad enough now two of them were arguing with his decisions.

    "I too don''t wish to separate!"

    "As do I"

    "Same here." Terra, Gobuske and dungeon core called Liana all raised their heads in defiance.

    "You!"

    "Father!" Frost as the first one to argue bowed his head willingly to their father not out of surrender but as an act of begging, hoping that he''d take pity on his children and allow them to stay with their guardians.

 Chapter 614 The 2nd family gathering (3)

    "...¡­." The great God of creation appeared seething with rage, the pressure mounting upon not just the children that rose to defy him but all those present in the room. Some Dungeon cores and even guardians red at the defying cores and their guardians with hatred, me and anger. Just because of their foolish attachments they all had to suffer Dark''s wrath.

    Just when the pressure started to reach obscene levels causing the very space around them to twist and turn, heralding a grievous cmity and just when Aqua and Yami were about to take a standdue to being the eldest siblings that very pressure vanished like a puff of smoke.

    The invisible hands that were pressing down upon Frost, Indra, Gobuske, Liana and Terra''s heads disappeared as did the crushing force mping down on their limbs in a mere instant.

    Frost looked up to see his father''s face, confusion as well as a hint of hope lingering in his gaze.

    The indifferent and somewhat cold expression was still there on his father''s face for a brief moment before.

    "Ok, you can stay together." Dark''s voice was once again amicable, warm and kind. His lips were even upturned into a gentle smile as though his earlier anger was non-existent.

    Frost''s face rapidly alternated between being happy to utter confusion. How could his father change moods so easily, he almost looked proud.

    The siblings that defied alongside him also bore confused expressions as did everyone else, it was just too surreal.

    "Haaaaaaaa" Eventually Dark released a deep sigh before talking in a voice that reached every boundary of the room. "Sometimes Frost you need to bring the thunder if you want to see the true extent of someone''s resolve." He then smiled knowingly from ear to ear before chuckling.

    "¡­..You were never angry were you?" Frost asked after reigning in his tempest of emotions.

    "Nope, all pretend hehehehe." Dark arched his chest out, proud of his acting skills.

    "Were you actually going to separate us?"

    "If no one questioned my decision then yes because there wouldn''t be a good reason not to." Dark answered honestly.

    Ideally his children would be separated from their mighty protectors and thus be independent, able to spread their own wings and reach the limit of their potential, but he wasn''t a fool. Living breathing people had emotions and their own sense of will so after being partnered up with one another for an entire year it was normal for some level of rtionship to be born.

    In fact the amount of guardians that would actually chose to abandon their charges when they had the option to stay were few and far between. Even if there wasn''t a romantic rtionship there were bonds of close friendship.

    Gobuske for example a Dungeon core who initially received an abusive and hate filled guardian now had two bright and bubbly girls by his side who cared for him and eased his trauma. He''d do anything to keep these people by his side, they were his light in a long tunnel of darkness.

    Dark knew all this and did nothing to stop it in fact he encouraged developments between his children and their guardians viewing it as something healthy and natural. He wanted them to fight for what they desired even if it meant standing up to him. Very few beings in the universe ever argued let alone defied his will, he didn''t want his children to fall alongside the masses.

    He may be a near omnipotent God, but he was nowhere near perfect, like everyone else he needed people to reign him in every now and then.

    Hearing his father''s honest answer Frost looked at him silently, a sudden wave of understanding of his father''s true personality washing over him. It was lonely at the top.

    "Father?"

    "Yes Frost."

    "¡­.You''re kind of a jerk." Frost straight up insulted his father and felt much better afterwards.

    "Seconded!"

    "Totally agree." Indra and Terra quickly gave their support, nodding their heads in agreement. Liana and Gobuske kept silent but the look in their eyes gave away their agreement.

    "Ah no you see it was a lesson, a teachable moment, a dose of much needed tough love." Dark scrambled to exin himself but received nothing but dirty looks in return. Desperate for even the slightest bit of support he turned to the ones he felt he could most rely on, his eldest children.

    Unfortunately Aqua liked Frost far more than her father so without even the slightest doubt she sided with him and gave Dark one of the most heart wrenching looks of derision a daughter could give a father.

    "Ugh!" The old man literally felt a knife stab through his heart, his entire body quickly bing encased in frigid ice as his blood ran cold. The look his daughter just gave him would send most fathers to the gallows or at the very least into an eternal depression.

    It was a though with a single look she didn''t just sever their bond but tore it apart, set it on fire and then crushed it under her heel.

    With his heart under fire he turned to hisst hope, his eldest and most reliable son, Yami. He would understand the need for tough love, the benefit of his actions right?

    Yami looked at his father''s face and understood the extent of his emotional damage but¡­.Yami didn''t say anything, nor did he give his father a specific look instead he simply turned away as if ignoring his entire existence.

    Perhaps he thought this was a kindness, a silent show of support for his younger brother without the need to inflict further injury on their father but instead it was like the final nail in the coffin.

    All vitality seemed to disappear from Dark''s body in that moment, his shoulders slumped, and he suddenly looked 10 years older. Hundreds of eyes locked onto him, piercing through his flesh as if to mock him, to iste him like a solitary ind in the vicious ocean.

    The former grandiose and charismatic looking Dark God turned into an impoverished old man without any signs of light in his frail eyes. Under the gazes of his children and the many people who revered him he slumped over to a corner in the room and faced the wall muttering the word jerk over and over again.

    "He''s probably going to be doing that for while right?" Frost asked feeling the slightest bit guilty about what he did.

    "Probably, he''s not exactly the most stable person."

    "I remember when Sylph called him stupid one time, he refused to talk to anyone for 3 days."

    "Ah stupid Terra that was supposed to be a secret!"

    "Oww" Sylph knocked her muchrger younger brother on the back of the head while blushing. That was something she told him in confidence.

    "He does seem to have a habit of breaking down whenever it involves one of his daughters." Indra surmised while stroking his chin in thought. Dark was a bit shocked by Frost''s words, but it wasn''t until Aqua gave him that frightening look that he really broke down.

    The older Dungeon cores and the ones that seemed to be more sure of themselves collectively chatted away, agreeing topletely ignore their father mumbling away in the corner.

    Eventually Frost remembered the whole reason he was defying his father in the first ce. His eyes quickly scanned the upper level in search of Maya, but she wasn''t there. Panicked he looked from side to side chasing after her figure but still nothing.

    A momentter however a pair of slender arms reached out from behind his back and hugged him. The warmth of her hands and softness of her chest against his back brought an unrestrained smile to his lips along with a few tears. The two lovers remained in that position for a while, enjoying theck of distance and thefort of one another''s touch.

    Maya cried softly against his shoulder, her heart bursting with joy as she had been granted permission, permission to be with him. Though Dark hadn''t brought up the price for his agreement she didn''t care as long as she could stay beside him nothing else mattered.

    Indra, Terra and Liana all used this moment to hold their significant others, to relish in their momentous victory. Most were overjoyed with this scenario, lovers would be allowed to stay with one another, friends wouldn''t have to be separated and those who put their all into teaching could remain with their charges if they so wished. Yes it was all good news¡­.for the majority.

    However what of the groups who had no desire to keep their guardians or what if the guardians had no desire to stay with them would they not be penalised in that case. To be bereft of such an incredible teacher and protector while others could enjoy them, hardly seemed fair. Thus a small group started to look at Frost, Terra, Indra, Liana and Gobuske with unkind eyes, viewing them as annoyances.

    There was even one or two Dungeon cores and guardians whose fanaticism towards Dark was so strong that they abhorred even the slightest transgression, his words werew, divine instructions to be followed to the letter.

    Miraculously the family gathering that Dark summoned them all for continued without him. The Dungeon cores simply left him to sulk while they caught up with another and discussed certain development options as well as possible exchanges. The more the siblings interacted with one another the more interested they became.

    Dungeon cores with different core types could develop inpletely different ways and summon items that soundedpletely foreign to another sibling. Exchanging of dialogue expanded their minds, granting them new ways of thinking. Working together was far more effective than working alone.

    This was the true reason and heart of the family gatherings, to openly exchange views and test their abilities against one another.

    It was just a shame that Dark was too bummed out to participate at least for the first few hours. Eventually though he pulled himself together (though keeping his distance and gaze away from Aqua) and inserted himself into the conversation.

 Chapter 615 The 2nd family gathering (4)

    Several hours after everyone arrived and after Dark stopped moping in the corner, the grand gathering carried on.

    Dark returned to the upper level to address his many children as well as their guardians. "Alright, alright settle down we''ve still got a little more business to take care of before we move on to the next phase." His loud voice reverberated throughout the room drawing everyone''s eyes. More than a few still had looks of derision, mocking, pity etc but Dark ignored them as he carried on.

    "Though I have agreed to letting your guardians stay by your side if that is their and your wish there will be severe restrictions put in ce if you choose to do so." He paused for a moment to highlight the gravity of what he was about to say.

    "Before Frost, Indra, Terra, Gobuske and Liana objected to the separation you would have parted ways, simple as that thus allowing you to break free from your containment, spread your wings and be truly independent.

    Now however you have a choice, option A you will immediately part from your guardian going down the route I initially nned or option B your guardian will remain by your side but under very different circumstances."

    "Now I am aware that this will create an unfair imbnce between the cores who choose to have their guardians remain and those who choose to separate from them thus for those that choose option A I will grant you a one time injection of 100,000DP as well as a B-rank monster that will be fully under your control regardless of your Dungeon''s or your personal development." The Dungeon cores who had no desire to keep their guardians by their sides and who had started to develop ill feelings towards the uing situation immediately felt relieved.

    With an injection of DP and a free high ranking monster the scales evened out somewhat.

    "For those who choose option B your guardians will be allowed to remain by your side, but their strength and capabilities will be strictly capped. The restriction that prevented them from interfering in the Dungeon''s defence will be rescinded but their strength will be restricted to a sub level below your own i.e.

    if you''re at the mid stages of B-rank your guardian will only be able to use strength equivalent to entry stage B-rank. This goes for their weapon mastery, chakra quality and their magic, all forms of power will ultimately be restricted. The only way they''ll be able to return to their former power is if you are able to reach their former heights.

    This effect will continue indefinitely as long as they remain by your side, even when their lives are in jeopardy it will not be lifted."

    "In the case that you the Dungeon core perish for whatever reason their lives just like the lives of the monsters you summon with DP will end in that moment.

    The lives of your guardians will be bound to your own¡­.This is a big decision and against my initial ns but if you and your guardians truly wish to be with one another you must agree to these terms otherwise I will not sanction it, you will be forced to separate here and now." Dark coldly looked down at his children before addressing the guardians in particr.

    "Those who agree to stay with their charges will be putting their lives in their hands, a heavy request but one I must enforce. If for whatever reason you decide to change your minds you will be granted a single opportunity to opt out at the next family gathering in a year''s time.

    After that you will be forever bound to your decision¡­.Take your time and think about your futures, option B can only be carried out if both parties are willing." With his final piece said Dark took a step back and waved his hand. The moment he did guardian and Dungeon core were isted together so they could discuss their options.

    Dark decided to allot them a maximum of 30 minutes, a generous amount of time given that it was never nned for in the first ce. There was so much to get done and so little time to do it in. Keeping his children away from their Dungeons longer than he had to was counterintuitive.

    Within the first ten minutes over half the Dungeon cores and their guardians left their temporary istion. Most opted to split up after hearing how restrictive the new contract would be. Thankfully the Dungeon cores that were rejected by their guardians could spend away their sorrows with the free 100,000DP.

    After 20 minutes less than a dozen were still mulling over their options but those leaving at this point usually chose option B.

    At the 30 minute mark the remaining few were forcibly ejected from their temporary space and forced to give their answers. Surprisingly Frost and Maya were actually one of thest couples to exit. Now this wasn''t because they were getting cold feet after hearing Dark''s new restrictions, no they had already made up their minds to stay together no matter what price Dark asked of them.

    Staying within the istion space for the full 30 minutes was just so they could get some alone time to celebrate their victory as well as ease the tension brought on by Dark bringing the thunder.

    As they left Frost had some evident kiss marks on his cor and nape while both their clothes were slightly dishevelled. Dark''s upper lip couldn''t help but twitch up seeing this. He let out a long sigh and shook his head before addressing them all again.

    "67 Dungeon cores have chosen option A thus choosing to separate from their guardians and receive an injection of 100,000DP as well as a 100% loyal B-rank monster in leu of that sacrifice." Dark nodded his head in approval, encouraging the choice his children made or were forced to make.

    "33 of you have chosen option B, both you and your guardians have agreed to be bound by the new restrictions and forgo the possibility of the DP injection and free B-rank monster." He eyed the remaining third of his children with some mixed feelings.

    He appreciated the emotional bond between his children and their guardians but deep down he was still of the opinion that option A would be better for their long term development. What made this more annoying was that the majority of those who chose to stay with their guardians were the upper ranked cores, the ones doing fairly well on the umtive DP rankings.

    He wondered if the allure of 100,000DP and a B-rank monster wasn''t attractive enough to them given their sess but that was the offer he made, it was toote to take it back. He lightly sighed before waving his hand.

    "The 67 guardians who have chosen to leave please exit through the portal on my right. I wille and see each of youter to hand over your rewards and alter the magic contract I ced on you."

    "Yes your eminence."

    "By your will great God of creation."

    "If the Dark God wills."

    "Understood Dark God-sama," Multiple forms of respectful replies and bowing erupted from the 67 guardians before they made their way through therge portal. Each of them sported wide smiles as they thought about thevish rewards Dark promised them over a year ago. Even for beings like them who were pretty much above all, but the Gods showed greed in their expressions.

    The grand ball room was a little less crowded with the 67 departures, but it only amplified the festivities as those remaining truly wished to be here.

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    "For the guardians who have chosen to remain I''ll rewrite your soul contracts as the gathering transpires." For someone as powerful and skilled as himself rewriting a few soul contracts was easy as 1 2 3. He could even do it while talking with his children.

    The remaining guardians all bowed their heads to Dark before facing their charges now partners with satisfied smiles. Their bonds were sure to be even closer over the next year.

    "Alright let''s get back to the actual schedule then shall we." Dark loudly announced with a spring in his step.

    " First off I''d like all of us to have a meal together and exchange life stories, I want to hear all about how you''ve been living, what you''ve done, where you''ve gone, who you''ve met and what you enjoy doing beside developing your Dungeon." Dark craved these details, it was what gave his life meaning now, to hear about the lives of his children.

    "After that I want have a short Dungeon war exhibition as well as a few duels, with prizes for the participants and gambling for the observers. Then we''ll get into what you''ve all likely been either looking forward to or dreading, the DP rankings. Depending on how well you performed and how much better you didpared to eleven months ago a varied list of rewards will be made avable to you.

    For those who didn''t do so well and or greatly declined in their rankings they will be given a forfeit challenge. Completing one will allow to you avoid penalties and possibly even unique rewards so don''t worry too much about ranking lower on the board."

    "And to finish we''ll have arge group discussion about Dungeon development.

    We''ll share ideas, bring up the pros and cons of the current system ande up with inventive solutions to make your Dungeons that much more interesting¡­..by the way I''m really looking forward to the group discussion after overhearing some of your earlier conversations hehehehe." The Dungeon cores provided excellent feedback during thest family gathering so he expected them to do the same this time possibly even better.

 Chapter 616 The 2nd family gathering (5)

    The moment Dark finished speaking the golden doors behind him opened up, allowing a sulent scent to drift into the ball room. All the Dungeon cores and remaining guardians felt their mouths start to salivate and their stomachs rumble with greed, the smell alone was irresistible.

    "Come, everyone join me in the dining room, the food is already prepared and waiting to be devoured." Dark smiled as he saw the looks on his children''s faces, he put a lot of work into preparing the family meal. He summoned some of the best chefs and utilised some of the greatest ingredients all for this one meal.

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    His children would get to experience the very height of Nova''s food and understand the benefits of being at the very peak of the world. Dark hoped that experiencing such luxury would inspire his children, so that one day they could enjoy such benefits through their own capabilities.

    Dark turned around and walked through the golden doors. Frost and his many siblings and their guardians quickly followed after him, keen to see what was giving off such a delectable scent.

    The dining room Dark had prepared wasvish in style, silver walls, grand chandeliers and a massive round table in the centre. All seats were customised for each Dungeon core, allowing everyone no matter their form to sit and eat in peace.

    Rumble

    Countless stomachs loudly rumbled as their eyestched onto the many, many dishesid out across the table. Stews, roasted meat, soups, vegetable dishes and more filled Frost''s eyes, all more appetising than thest.

    "Well, what are you waiting for, take your seats and dig in before it gets cold." Dark said with a bright smile as he took his own ce at the table and began filling his te with bits and pieces of his favourite dishes.

    With Dark giving the ok his children quickly found their seats and started digging in, well most of them. Frost looked to his side where Maya was standing with saliva dripping from her pretty lips, there wasn''t a ce for her and the other guardians. Were they supposed to remainposed, standing against the walls as he and his siblings enjoyed quite likely the greatest meal of their lives.

    Frost was no longer ignorant, if he didn''t speak up here on her behalf he''d definitely pay for itter. He nced over at his father with a pleading look in his eyes, doing his best to ignore the growing vice grip wrapped around his arm.

    "Haaaaaaa no need to look at me like that Frost." Dark reluctantly stopped eating and waved his hand causing the round table to expand and 38 new chairs to suddenly appear.

    "Thank you Dark God-sama!" Maya squealed with glee before dragging her significant other to the table. The other guardians gave their own thanks before joining their charges.

    "Ow!"

    "Ow!" Two stifled screams arose from Indra and Terra the moment their guardians sat beside them. Frost was considerate enough to think of Maya how could their partners be so insensitive.

    Their pain earned a few rounds of chuckles before the feast truly got underway. Dark allowed his children to fill their bellies a little before starting his round of questions.

    At random Dark picked out a young Dungeon core called Wukong, who had the form of arge monkey to start. "Wukong how about you start us off, your Dungeon''s based on the Eastern continent right, near the Wuji mountains?"

    "Ah yes father my Dungeon''s in the outer peripheries of the Wuji mountains." Wukong who had a mouth filled with spaghetti was startled by Dark''s sudden question, but he quickly downed the contents of food and replied honestly.

    "Hmm the Eastern continent is known well for its varied climate and is home to some of the most diverse species of monsters and sapients. How have you been finding it? do you like the area?"

    "Umm yes I like it very much, the food''s good and the nearby towns are very weing, I''ve even managed to make a few friends." Wukong spoke with excitement eager to tell his father and his siblings about his life.

    "That''s good to hear son, what are their names, and have you developed any hobbies out with the dungeon?"

    "There''s Kazuma, who''s a beastkin of the great ape tribe and a fellow practitioner of my Jihan mountain staff style. Sana who I''ve been friends with since I joined the local adventurers guild, we entered at the same time and are currently racing to see who reaches B-rank first. Then there''s Mino who trades in gemstones, she helps me handle the gems produced in my Dungeon.

    And as far as hobbies go I quite enjoy making jewellery out of gemstones, Mino says I have quite a knack for it."

    "More than a knack, your talent made hertch on to you like you were a piece of royal quartz." Wukong''s guardian, Botta chimed in making Wukong blush and Darkugh.

    "Agar what about you?" Dark moved onto another one of his children, Agar who had the form of a regal skeleton.

    "Me, well given my appearance it''s rather difficult to meet with sapients but the local monsters around my Dungeon are more than weing. I have a few wraith friends who I asionally explore with as well as a local lich who has taken it upon himself to act as my elder and teacher in the way of necromancy."

    "Hobbies, romantic interests?" Dark pried for more details.

    "I haven''t taken up a trade if that''s what you''re asking but I have grown fond of baths if that can be called a hobby. Romance though, sorry nothing on that end father." Agar held very little interest in romance right now.

    "No rush, no rush you can take your time Agar."

    "Tori would you like to go next?"

    "I''d rather not father." Tori a woman that was half spider and half human in appearance coldly replied.

    "Ugh Tori?" Dark frowned and pleaded slightly but was rebuffed with the silent treatment. Tori had no intention of bing friendly with her siblings, letting them know all her secrets. She viewed Frost and the rest aspetition, possible enemies not siblings who she could rely on.

    Though Dark wished to hear about her life he decided not to force it, each of his children had their own wills and personalities. If she didn''t feelfortable giving away her secrets that was fine by him, he thus moved onto another child.

    For several hours Dark and his children relished in stories and enjoyed a sumptuous meal, their bonds as family growing. With that the first phase was over and the next stage could begin.

    Therge group made their way back to therge ballroom that had been retrofitted as they ate. Now it was arranged so everyone could view a giant screen that stretched from one side of the room to the other.

    "Time to start a Dungeon war, Void, Queek are you ready?"

    "Do I have to?" Void grumpilyined while Queek nervously nodded his little head.

    "Yes you do Void! You''ve yet to take part in any Dungeon war and given your personality it''s likely you''ll avoid it forever if I don''t force you." Dark quickly quashed Void''sints. His son who was the avatar for the space element detested having to take part in a Dungeon war. Not because he was some kind of pacifist but because he felt it was aplete waste of his time.

    All he cared about was studying magic, even his Dungeon suffered from hisck of interest, sporting a paltry four floors.

    His opponent Queek had the form a rat beastman and stood at barely 4 feet tall. He was one of the lowest ranked Dungeon cores both in the sibling hierarchy and the DP rankings. In his early days Queek tried to be a little too proactive and suffered greatly for it. He lost the majority of his Dungeon''s forces as well as the one time save of his guardian.

    From that moment on he yed it very, very safe, afraid to take any risk. His Dungeon had even less floors than Void, just three though they were expanded a few times over.

    Void reluctantly prepared himself for the inevitable war, hoping that his father would at least reward him with something rted to magic for his time.

    "Void and Queek willpete in a restricted Dungeon war, they will be limited to using only the upper three floors of their respective Dungeons, forbidden from taking to the field personally, using DP to summon more monsters mid battle and the war itself will have a time limit of 4 hours.

    If none of them have defeated the other''s invading team or they fail to reach their opponents core the victor will be determined by abination of damage and delve progress. The winner will be granted a personalised reward with an upper limit value of 20,000DP while the loser will earn a 5,000DP gacha pull. Do the two of you understand the rules that I have set?"

    "Yes father."

    "Yes Lord creator." Void and Queek replied respectively.

    "Good, I''ll give you each 1 hour to ready your Dungeons for war, good luck." With a wave of his hand two magic crests appeared under Void and Queek spiriting them away. Dark then turned to face the rest of his children with an evil smirk.

    "Time to ce your bets kids."

 Chapter 617 Void vs Queek

    While Void and Queek left to arrange their Dungeons for their war the rest of the Dungeon cores, heralded by Dark started making bets.

    "10,000DP on Void." Without even the slightest hint of hesitation Chronos, Void''s closest sibling and Dungeon neighbour ced arge bet in support, drawing the eyes of those around him as well as his father.

    "Bold bet Chronos, seems you have a lot of faith in your brother." Dark said with a smile.

    "I know him and his Dungeon better than anyone else, he''s got this in bag." Chronos replied with even greater confidence. Though he and Void avoided developing their Dungeons to the same degree as Frost, Indra and the other upper ranked cores the development they didplete was quite thorough.

    The twin Dungeon cores had an almost unbridled fascination with magic, spending the vast majority of their time invested in studying the boundless possibilities of mana. Thanks to this both Void and Chronos were already at the B-rank, prominent mages that could hold their own in duels.

    s even with Void being forbidden to take to the field personally Chronos knew from experience that Queek would struggle against him, especially given the short 4 hour time frame.

    Chronos'' bold bet spurred the others on.

    "3000 on Void!"

    "2000 on Queek!"

    "3500 on Void!"

    With his children calling out their bets one after another Dark quickly summoned arge board to write them all down. Soon it was clear that Void was favoured as the victor over Queek with a ratio of roughly 7 to 3.

    "Anyone else?" Dark asked with a wide grin, his excitement spurred on by everyone''s enthusiasm.

    "15,000 on Queek." Suddenly a gruff voice threw out thergest bet yet. Pyro who''d been silently stewing red at Frost with provocation.

    ''Pyro.'' Frost grimaced as his brother''s voice battered his eardrums. He just finished cing a bet of 8000DP on Void, this was a clear challenge, Pyro likely didn''t even care about the oue as long as he was opposed to his younger brother. The Dungeon core of ice and the Dungeon core of fire stared at one another, their hatred for one another''s guts palpable.

    Pyro didn''t forget about Karrick''s failure not for a single second but what really pissed him off was the change in Karrick''s attitude. Before his war with Frost his younger brother was a dutiful subordinate, listening to his orders with rapt attention and gave his all toplete them.

    Now though Karrick barely interacted with him and whenever he did he''d look him in the eye with a raised head full of confidence and strength. He still epted Pyro as stronger, but he was no longer superior, a clear difference and one that Pyro struggled to ept. All this happened because of Frost, of this he was sure thus he redirected all his anger toward his most hated sibling.

    Dark kept silent, enjoying the discord between his children, a thrivingpetition led to innovation and excellence plus it was quite enjoyable to watch.

    "Haaaaaaa I''ll put 18,000 on Void then, what about you Yami?" Eventually unable to stand Pyro''s smug arrogance Aqua ced a bet that surpassed his own, swiftly cutting down his pride.

    Pyro was the 3rd sibling and ranked 3rd on the DP rankings (at least during thest gathering), he was strong, more powerful than most, but he was still a far cry from Aqua and Yami, they were the true king and queen of the Dungoen cores.

    "I''m good, I''ll save my money for the duels." Yami held very little interest in this betting event, if Aqua didn''t call on him he would have kept silent throughout it. He briefly nced at Pyro, ming the whole situation on him. Yami was not fond of talking, rarely did words escape his lips thus he found Pyro''s actions irritating.

    The looks from both Yami and Aqua sent cold shivers down Pyro''s back forcing him to look away, his wrath hidden within behind his gaze.

    Dark added Aqua''s and Pyro''s generous bets to the board before bringing an end to polls. Now they just had to wait until Void and Queek were finished with their preparations. Dark made a few quick rounds during that time, interacting with his children on an individual level.

    Once the hour time frame had passed therge screen turned on revealing the forms of both Void and Queek in their private spaces, ready and waiting for Dark''s signal.

    "Are the two of you ready?"

    "Yes."

    "Un."

    "Very well, the Dungeon war between Dungeon core Void and Dungeon core Queek will now begin, good luck to both of you." Dark waved his hand causing a spatial corridor to appear between Void and Queek''s Dungeons, thus starting the battle.

    Therge screen in the ball room then spilt into two, the left side for Void and the right side for Queek. It then further split into smaller screens showing different areas of their Dungeons, granting the observers panoramic views so nothing would be missed. A simr set up appeared during thest gathering when Frost fought against Gobuske. Now though Frost could experience it for himself.

    "How interesting, we can see the major areas of their Dungeon in real time, there''s even a highlight screen for the most active areas." Frost found the disy to be most satisfying.

    "It''s better this time take a look." Indra who watched as an observer during the Frost and Gobuske war drew his attention to his forearm. There disyed in a miniature form was one of the many split screens. "Last time we couldn''t shift between the different screens, father clearly improved the system."

    The actual battle teams would take at least a few minutes to meet one another so Frost used the time to inspect Void''s Dungeon along with Maya who sat by his side.

    "It''spletely different from ours." Mayamented almost instantly.

    Void''s Dungeoncked the open and varied feel that the Dungeon of Niflheim had. Where Frost''s Dungeon mimicked the outside Void''s seemed to be a set of varied mazes, multiple dead ends as well as locked routes which made passing through difficult even without the presence of monsters. It was clear that Void had gone apletely different route.

    He relied onplicated and changing paths, riddle barred gates and doorways as well as sophisticated traps to dy and kill intruders rather than themon monster blockade.

    Frost had to admit he was quite curious as to how such a design would yout. "This style suits Void to a tee." He muttered with a smile, his gaze ncing over at Chronos. The two of them were quite simr, he guessed that their Dungeons would be as well.

    After getting a rough feel for Void''s Dungeon he brought up the images of Queek''s. "¡­.Queek''s is rather standard, nothing really stands out."

    "It''s like a subpar version of ours, simr to what Gobuske had."

    "Agreed." Queek''s Dungeoncked an impressive environment,plicatedyout or highly defensible bulwarks. It was akin to a monsterir, built through instinct not careful nning. His monster forces also seemed to be rathercking, mostly F and E-ranks with a small number of D-ranks and like Queek they all seemed be rat based, with the asional marmot. Find your next read on m_v l|e-NovelBin

    "Frost pay attention the first sh is about to happen." Indra knocked Frost''s shoulder and cajoled him to look up at the big screen''s highlight window. There Queek''s forces of rats could be seen charging out of the ck barrier that served as the conduit between the Dungeons.

    Queek''s forces charged ahead inrge numbers, the weakest at the front and the strongest at back, apart from that there was no solid formation to speak of. Theserge groups were swiftly narrowed into the tight corridors of the Void''s maze and after the second turn the first trap was activated.

    Underneath the paws of a couple G-rank rats no bigger than 30cm a silver magic crest appeared and spirited them away. 200 metres west those same rats appeared in another part of the maze but waiting ahead of them was a ck cat roughly 1 metre long. Upon noticing the sudden appearance of the rats the cat''s eyes sparkled as it revealed a predatory smile.

    A momentter the cat vanished, somehow swimming through space it appeared above one of the rats.

    Crunch! A sharp bite brought an end to the small rat''s life, with itsrades following quickly after it.

    While Frost started off with frost mines Void had spatial mines. These traps had little to no offensive power instead they teleported victims through space.

    Dozens of such traps were littered throughout every room, some led their victims to one of Void''s monsters, others dropped them straight into a hazardous area such as a spiked pitfall or in range of a more deadly trap and a scant few simply teleported their targets to random areas throughout the floor.

    An hour could be spent reaching the very end of the maze only for you to step on one of these mines and be instantly transported back to the beginning of the Dungeon. Void Dungeon was in one word, frustrating.

 Chapter 618 Void vs Queek (2)

    Void''s Dungeon catered to a very different type of clientele inparison to Frost''s and Indra''s. The Dungeon of Niflheim and the Lightning grotto held a great variety of monsters, offering bountiful materials and ample hunting experience for their delvers.

    Void''s Prism of the Mind (the official name of his Dungeon) however promisedplicated puzzles, difficult riddles, unique traps and most importantly magic based treasures. He would frequently create low level spell books, one time inscriptions and other oddities to be ced throughout his Dungeon, making the experience a true treasure hunt and a holynd for young and aspiring mages.

    But for Queek and his army of rats Void''s Dungoen was a literal death trap. His rats charged without care, rampaging through the narrow walls of the maze, powerless against Void''s traps. Every few minutes a new group would either be teleported away and transported before a powerful enemy or be dropped into a hazardous area, both quickly iming their lives.

    The number of traps, their careful arrangement, the reckless advancement of his forces and the sheer number of rats made evading impossible. Frost and his siblings repeatedly watched as Queek''s forces were methodically disced and eradicated. Frost had to admit that his younger brother was far better than he was when it came to trap management.

    Thus he leaned in and took many mental notes, hoping to improve his own craft. Maya smiled at his side, silently approving of his conduct.

    "Seems Void was a safe bet brother; we''ll being making bank in a few hours." Indra chortled with a sparkle in his eyes. Like Frost he bet on Void to win, cing 7000DP on the line, chump change in his eyes but free DP was free DP.

    "Agreed but let''s not count out Queek so soon, he may have a few trump cards hidden away." Frost smiled and agreed with Indra.

    "Void''s defence appears pretty solid especially against what Queek''s capable of, but his offence could certainly use some work." Aqua chimed in with a moment of rity, causing the two brothers to alter their screens so as to view Queek''s Dungeon.

    A momentter Indra blurted out "You can''t be serious!" Shocked by what he was seeing on the screen. Void''s invading team was a mere fraction of Queek''s, less than 100 monsters. Though their individual quality was rather high it was quitecking inparison.

    Both Frost and Indra thus turned their gazes to the one person who could possibly exin this dilemma.

    Chronos'' body trembled under their scrutiny before mounting an exnation "Our Dungeons don''t have many monsters in them. We focus more on quality than we do quantity so in my eyes scrapping together a hundred monsters is already pretty good¡­ all things considered."

    "Don''t you think you should have told us that before we ced our bets?" Indra questioned with a twitching upper lip.

    Chronos looked away before answering back. "Does it matter?"

    "You!"

    "Calm down Indra, Chronos is right. The onus should have been on us to ask and whether or not Chronos chose to reveal such intel would also have been entirely up to him. It''s just a few thousand DP anyway, nothing to get worked up about."

    "Tsk!" Indra loudly clicked his tongue and sat back down in his seat, unable to retort against Frost''s logic.

    "The final oue''s still up in the air Indra, we might still make bank." Frost tried to soothe his brother''s anger.

    "There''s no might, he will win!" Chronos aggressively corrected, his eyes focusing on therge screen ahead. He knew Void better than anyone else, he knew his brother''s strength and trusted that his victory was all but assured.

    "Hmph!" Pyro who overheard their conversation loudly hmphed in disapproval. Since he bet on Queek he obviously wanted him to win this war.

    The Dungeon war continued on. Void''s forces though few in number averaged between D and C-rank in strength thus allowing them to easily carve their way through Queek''s multitude of rats. Their overbearing strength heavily reduced the chance of injury and death, but their low numbers made the journey slow.

    Queek was invading faster but he was losing far more monsters than Void, whether it would be the tortoise or the hare that would win only time could tell. In the interim however Frost thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.

    Void''s invading force though abysmally small was a marvel to see. Each of them specialised in the space element in some way or another. Whether they had the ability to teleport instantaneously across the battlefield, cast space twisting spells or carve apart the thickest armours with a single swing of their sabres Void''s monsters were truly fascinating.

    For many, Frost included this was their first time seeing such abroad spectrum of spatial magic thus they struggled to look away.

    "Spatial magic is absurd." Frost couldn''t help butment when he saw a C-rank monster of Void''s cast a spell that literally twisted the space around a group of E-rank rats, tearing them apart without even the slightest resistance.

    "Space and time are two of the mostplicated and difficult elements to understand. For every two hundred mages only one or two have the talent necessary to use them. Yes they are incredibly vtile and powerful but they''re also very hard to master." Said Maya with no small amount of jealously in her eyes.

    Fenrirs were few in numberpared to most species thus very, very few of them ever had the ability to use and master the space element. In fact only one person in her whole n could currently use it, her great uncle.

    "Your talents liepletely with ice magic so don''t even bother imagining it." She wasted no time dumping a bucket of ice water on her boyfriend''s head which improved her own feelings on the matter.

    "It''d be nice however if we could get some of those spatial monsters in our Dungeon, it could certainly benefit from some variety." Shortly after thest family gathering Dark instituted the trade system allowing his children to exchange items between one another therefore if Frost offered enough DP or an item that Void wanted he could trade for some of his spatial element monsters¡­as long as Void was willing of course and he had an environment that could support their natural habitat.

    However very few of his children engaged in such trades, choosing to focus solely on what they could procure themselves.

    "I know that no need to rub it in and¡­.I''ll bring it up with Voidter." Frost knew he was a one trick pony; he didn''t need to be reminded of it, but he also agreed with Maya''s suggestion. His Dungeon really would benefit from a more varied monster roster and perhaps an environment that didn''t have an ambient temperature that was below freezing.

    On that note he perused the variety of his siblings, wondering who would make for a good training partner. Indra was at the top of the list obviously given their close rtionship, but a few others may provide more unique opportunities.

    Once the war hit the two hour mark and after a valiant effort on Queek''s part his invading forces were finally eradicated by Void''s defences upon reaching thest section of the second floor, bringing an end to his invasion. Now all Void had to do was delve further within the remaining 2 hours to be granted aplete victory.

    By this point Void''s forces were still rather consolidated thanks to their superior strength and they had just reached the early stages of Queek''s second floor. Therefore at the current rate it was obvious who''d be victorious in the end, but Queek refused to surrender, hopeful that a miracle would happen.

    But unfortunately a little after 3 hours and despite Queek bringing out what he considered his trump card Void''s forces reached his third floor thus bringing an end to the war.

    Void had won and by no small margin. His forces still held close to half their original numbers while all of Queek''s invading team was eradicated along with 80% of his defensive forces, a decisive victory.

    "It''s over, Void has won." Said Frost with a rxed and satisfied expression.

    "Hahahaha see I told you he''d win hahahahaha." Chronos erupted into celebration, pumping his fists high into the air andughing as he relished in Void''s victory as if it were his own.

    "14,000DP, thank you Void!" Indra also celebrated with gusto. Focusing primarily on his winnings,pletely forgetting about his earlier misgivings.

    "Useless bastard!" Pyro however loudly cursed, directly insulting Queek and his efforts which quickly drew the ire of many of his siblings as well as their father. Dark really didn''t appreciate Pyro bad mouthing his younger brother over his loss. Just because he had a particr grudge against Frost it didn''t give him the right to drag in the rest of the family.

    "Hmph!" Unfortunately Pyro''s stubbornness and pride didn''t allow him to apologise or admit any wrongdoing. Instead he blew steam out his nostrils and turned away, ignoring the res from those around him.

    Dark flourished his sleeve making therge viewing screen go ck and magic crests to appear below both Queek and Void. A few minutester the two Dungeon cores appeared back in the ball room to face their peers and relish in their results.

    "Congrattions on winning your first Dungeon war Void, well done." Dark proceeded to start a loud round of apuse causing the old man that was Void to rub his neck from embarrassment with a goofy smile on his face. Following that Dark looked at Queek with care and affection in his eyes.

    "Queek you put in a valiant effort, I was happy to see such aggression within you after what happened to you before but in the end Void was simply the better Dungeon core, better luck next time."

    "T...thank you Lord creator."

 Chapter 619 Duels

    "T...thank you Lord creator." Queek forced himself to smile as he thanked his father meekly. Internally he was dissatisfied with his performance, feeling like a failure in Dark''s eyes as well as the many siblings around him. He waspletely outmatched in every shape and form.

    His aggressive tactics were not based on logic but because he didn''t want to live in fear, to be consumed by the possibility of danger anymore. Though he somewhat seeded in oveing his trauma what did it get him,plete and utter defeat. He didn''t even register the extent of his father''s words, oblivious to thepliment he gave him.

    Whether he''d continue to mire in his own fear or triumph over itpletely only he knew. Dark had said his piece, the rest was up to Queek.

    "The war is over and we have a victor and a loser thus it is time to unveil the promised rewards but first for those who bet on Void you''ll receive double whatever you risked while those who bet on Queek, better luck next time heheheh." Dark smirked evilly before waving his sleeve, sending beams of silverly light into the chests of the fortunate gamblers.

    The lucky victors saw their DP reserves jump the moment the light touched them; Dark''s abilities truly were iprehensible.

    After paying out several tens of thousands of DP in winnings Dark looked down at Queek with a gentle smile. "Queek since you were defeated in this war your prize is that of a free gacha pull worth 5000DP." Dark summoned what appeared to be a silver ticket and handed it over to Queek who nervously epted it. The ticket would be used instead of DP the next time Queek went to use the gacha system.

    "Now for Void''s spoils." Dark brought his right hand to his chin and started stroking it as he thought long and hard. Queek''s reward was simple but for Void he promised something personalised meaning he needed to think. With an upper limit of 20,000DP there was quite an array of things he could grant, spell books, magical devices, specialty monsters or perhaps a low level mortal rank oddity.

    He gazed at Void in his entirety for a minute or so before making his decision. Since Void loved magic his choice centred around that fact.

    "To be honest you''d probably benefit best from a spatial oddity but 20,000DP isn''t enough to provide a good one so instead I''ll grant you a 4th circle spell called [gravitational rotation] as well as a coded map which once deciphered will point you in the direction of a high level mortal ranked spatial oddity." Since Void liked puzzles and riddles so much he felt that this was quite the heartfelt gift, positive that his son would get a great deal of pleasure out of decoding the map, he even chortled as he quickly ced a seal on the map and handed it over along with a spell book for [gravitational rotation].

    The 4th circle spell was one that not only created intense gravitational shifts in a confined space thus allowing one to tear their opponents asunder but would also help Void deepen his knowledge in regards to the gravitational aspect of the spatial element.

    The moment Void heard the name [gravitational rotation] his eyes lit up, desperate to research and devour its contents as if it was the most delectable of meals but when Dark mentioned the coded map his mind went nk before his lips turned upward resulting in a smile that spanned his entire face.

    Dark didn''t even get the chance to fully extend his arm before Void snatched the map from his hand, his eyes filled with an eery fascination.

    "I take it you like your reward?" Dark asked confidently but got no response in return, his son''s eyes were glued to the map, muttering away as ifpletely oblivious to world around him.

    "...Chronos would you taking care of your brother so we can carry on?"

    "dly father!" Chronos who was ardently staring at the map in Void''s hand loudly replied before dashing over to assist his brother. Thus the two older looking Dungeon cores moved over to a quiet corner to contemte the puzzle Dark had just created together.

    Such a sight brought both a sigh and a smile to Dark''s face. "Alright let''s move on without the two of them, next up is duels. Do we have any volunteers first of all?"

    "I''ll do it."

    "Me to!"

    "Ready to go Lord Father!" In response to his question nearly a dozen cores raised their arms eager to take part in a duel.

    "Magnificent! Wukong you can fight Lilia, Brooke you can take on Patan¡­.." With this many volunteers there was no need to force anyone to take part.

    Dark quickly and appropriately paired off many of the volunteers ording to their strength but wascking another individual at the B-rank who could go toe to toe with Pyro who was among the very first to volunteer himself. Therge brute of a man repeatedly taunted Frost and Indra as he stood in the centre of the room without an opponent.

    Unfortunately for him both Frost and Indra held no desire to face him inbat. Though they''d love to knock the arrogant son of a bitch down a peg they also that theycked the strength to do so, Pyro was strong, very strong.

    Just when Dark was about to request either Yami or Aqua to be Pyro''s opponent a low rumble shook the seating area as a giant of a man stood up and made his way down.

    "I''ll fight him father." Unexpectedly the one offering to fight was the person known among them as the B.F.G (big friendly giant) Terra the 5th Dungeon core and master of the earth element.

    Though Terra appeared intimidating with his mountains of rippling muscle and giantlike mass he was the gentlest soul you''d ever meet. A man who abhorred unnecessary violence and strove to protect all life. His Dungeon the Heart of Titan rarely killed its intruders, focusing more on passive ie granted by its external residents.

    Out of all the territories established by the Dungeon cores Terra''s was the most developed and most popted. Frost, Indra and the others were simply imitating his actions, he was by far the leader of such movements.

    Thus seeing him volunteer to fight, against Pyro no less was quite a shock. Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin

    "Stupid Terra what are doing get back here!" Sylph who was the closest to Terra loudly admonished him, ordering him to return to his seat. Terra however wantonly ignored his elder sister, his gaze locked onto to Pyro.

    "You wish to fight Pyro, Terra?" Dark asked also rather confused. Such an action really wasn''t in his nature.

    "Yes father."

    "Hmph though you''re not the one I wanted you''re a single digit, so you''ll do." Pyro clearly looked down on everyone that wasn''t him. His words agitated everyone in the room, but no one was as disturbed as Terra.

    Crack! Crack!

    His massive hands audibly cracked as they formed into tight fists, he was enraged by his elder brother, his indifference to those he deemed lesser than himself. Terra respected all his siblings, seeing no such thing as hierarchy thus he was wholly ipatible with Pyro.

    Many times he''d felt the desire to confront this older brother of his but each time he held himself back or another took to the stand now however it was his turn. His insults towards Queek was thest straw.

    "Very well, winners of their duels will be granted 10,000DP while the losers will get 1000, have fun." With those words and wave of his arm all those taking part in the duels were transported to separate spaces where they could wreak havoc on their opponents without having to worry about their surroundings.

    The Large screen switched back on showing 6 different fights with Pyro and Terra''s holding a significantlyrger portion than the rest.

    "Um does anyone know how strong Terra is?" Of course betting was once again encouraged and learning fromst time Indra chose inquire a bit before wagering his money. Unfortunately no one seemed capable of giving him the answer.

    "No idea, I''ve never even seen him make a fist before." Aqua shook her head, unable to given Indra the answer he was looking for. Frost was the same as was Yami, Gaia and Damascus. Terra only ever talked about his territory and the lives of the people living in it, rarely bringing up his own merits.

    Several of them turned to Sylph for answers since she was the closest one to him but even she shook her head. "I know he''s reached B-rank but that''s about it, I''ve never seen him fight personally nor do I even know the type of weapon he uses." She shrugged her shoulders and frowned, her heart more confused and torn up than the rest of her siblings.

    ''What are you thinking about you big dummy.''

    "He''s strong, very strong, more than a match for Pyro." Suddenly while all Terra''s siblings were in the dark about his strength the voice of a young man with earthen skin and a height close to 3 metres spoke out drawing everyone''s attention.

    "Geb"

 Chapter 620 Duels (2)

    "Geb" Sylph called out the young man''s name, recognizing him instantly.

    Geb smiled in response before continuing "Terra''s strength has long reached B-rank, though he rarely takes to the field personally he has never once cked off during training. The man abhors violence and battle but that does not mean he''s a stranger to it.

    Master Pyro may be strong but so is Terra." As Geb spoke his eyes stared up at the screen showing Terra, his gaze suffused with adoration and pride.

    Geb was Terra''s Guardian, his teacher, protector and now significant other. He personally trained Terra and knew his deepest secrets even more than Sylph; he knew the extent of Terra''s power. The young Dungeon core though avoidedbat whenever possible made damn sure he was ready for the times that that wasn''t an option. Pyro was sure to lose if he kept up his arrogant and dismissive attitude.

    Geb''s words were like a bright light in a tunnel, changing how everyone viewed Terra.

    "If you don''t mind me asking what weapon does Terra use?" Frost asked with a great deal of respect. Geb was of the same position as Maya and sported equal possibly even greater strength.

    In response Geb''s smile stretched from ear to ear as he pointed his finger up at therge screen. "He is the weapon hahahaha." Terra was a pugilist, his entire body whether it was his hands, feet, shoulders or knees every part of his body was a weapon.

    The siblings looked up at the screen and then at one another before quickly announcing their bets.

    "5000 on Terra!"

    "4000 on Pyro!"

    "2000 on Pyro." Thanks to Geb''s input the ratio was about 5.5 to 4.5 in Pyro''s favour, rather close odds making this fight have a truly unknown oue. Of course the duellers were oblivious to the ratios now that they were in a separate space. Pyro was just waiting for the go signal from Dark so he could quickly put an end to his younger brother and disy his overwhelming power.

    The only siblings in his eyes were Aqua and Yami and even then he still believed that it was just a matter of time before he surpassed them.

    Terra meanwhile silently tensed up his body, readying it for battle as though dusting off a build-up of umted dust.

    A few momentster above the two of them the word ready appeared before a count of 10 started.

    "Try not to lose too quickly Terra hehehehe." Pyro tauntinglyughed as he summoned a zing red great axe and wreathed his whole body in burning mes.

    "Your arrogance will be your downfall Pyro." Said Terra as a brown sheen covered his body, transforming his skin into stone.

    Pyro''s mes roared fiercely in response to Terra''s provocation and the moment the counter hit 0 and Dark''s voice reverberated through the duelling space telling them to begin he dashed straight ahead with his axe overhead.

    "[Volcanic rend!]" Pyro activated a high level skill that coated his axe in magma and summoned the image of an erupting volcano behind it. Few axe moves contained as much destructive force as [volcanic rend] Pyro wanted to end this fight quickly.

    However it seemed as though his fanfare fell on deaf ears, Terra didn''t even flinch as he saw the mighty axe crashing down upon him. Instead he balled up his right fist, spread his legs and lowered his centre of gravity. "[Titan''s counter]" Terra activated his own skill covering his right hand in an abundance of golden energy, that took the form of a massive godlike arm.

    The next moment the massive golden arm punched upwards striking against the edge of Pyro''s great axe.

    Booooommm!!!

    A cataclysmic sound erupted the moment the two skills made contact. Terra endured what seemed like the full force of a volcano''s eruption bearing down on him while Pyro''s felt as though he tried to cleave apart a mountain rather than a person. Very soon a victor was revealed.

    "Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!" Terra roared deeply, a sound that was akin to the earth quaking as his entire body tensed up and twisted surging up strength from the floor beneath his feet to smash against the onught of Pyro''s axe.

    A momentter Pyro was sent flying through the air, his arms trembling from the residual impact as he struggled to control hisnding. Hended with a loud thud at the other side of the room sporting a shocked expression and a sliver of blood leaking from his lips.

    "What''s wrong Pyro? Is that all you''ve got?" Terra let out a breath and cracked his shoulders as if he was just warming up. "Seems that the useless bastard is you if that''s the extent of the power you''re so proud of." As Terra spoke his aura and earth chakra grew around his body turning him into a massive rock giant, furthering his already intimidating form.

    Boom boom

    He punched his fists together creating sonic booms. "Get up Pyro, it''s time someone put you in your ce!"

    "Holy shit! That is Terra right, not some doppelganger?" Indra couldn''t help but ask while trembling.

    "Oh no that''s definitely him, he''s just angry that''s all." Said Geb with a knowing look.

    "Maya remind me to never piss off Terra."

    "Un"

    While Terra stood tall in his full battle mode Pyro silently wiped away the blood that leaked from his lips. He didn''t respond to Terra''s words at all, his mindpletely consumed by the force behind his brother''s unexpected counter. The mes around his body showed signs of decline but never went fully out as he processed the move.

    "Hahahahahahahaha!" Just as Terra was readying himself to go on the attack Pyro suddenly startedughing like a maniac, his mes responding in kind, reaching metres above his head and burning the air surrounding him. Following that his body creaked and cracked as it quickly grew in size, his original body incapable housing the force held within his muscles.

    Though he was still a fair bit smaller than Terra the strength held within his body was no less potent. Pyro was no longer holding himself back. Terra was strong enough to earn his respect, a true opponent.

    "It seems I judged you too quickly Terra, perhaps this will be enjoyable after all hahahaha!" Pyro''s mes continued to billow outward, rising in temperature with every second. "Again! [Volcanic rend]" once again Pyro charged at Terra with his axe raised overhead, performing the exact same move but this time he was putting everything he had behind the blow.

    Terra frowned as he saw the changes in Pyro''s stature but nevertheless he entered the same stance and activated his defensive block [titan''s counter].

    Boooooooooommmmmmm!!!!

    Am explosive sh rocked through the duelling space, magnitudes greater than their previous exchange. A gear like grinding followed as Pyro''s red energy contested against Terra''s golden arm before theing of a loud bang. The Large rock armour covering Terra''s right arm blew apart and the massive giant was sent skidding across the ground from the concussive force.

    Pyro meanwhile had his mes snuffed out and his great axe rebounded upwards forcing him to flip in the air. The two Dungeon cores then steadied their bodies at roughly the same time,nding 30 metres apart, appearing equal in their exchange.

    However drip, drip, drip from Terra''s right arm a trickle of blood leaked from his fist, Pyro''s axe sessfully pierced through his armour and reached flesh.

    Terra bore a deep frown as waves of biting pain flooded through his hand, the Earth element was known far and wide for its defensive prowess. The fact that Pyro managed to cleave his way in was not a good sign.

    Opposite Terra, Pyro was also frowning, he put his whole back into that swing yet all he got was a shallow cut between the 2nd and 3rd finger.

    ''Tough bastard.'' He internally cursed as the fire within him zed out once more, determined to cleave deeper with the next strike.

    "Come Terra, let''s see how hard that skin of yours really is!" With a vigorous shout Pyro''s mes once again covered his entire form before he charged ahead with his axe at the ready.

    "Hmph!" Terra responded with a loud hmph as he reced his rock exterior and slowly but heavily dashed forward to meet Pyro in closebat.

    Boom! Dun! ng! Thick fists repeatedly shed against the sharpest points of the axe''s edge. Terra despite his massive size moved without any wasted movements allowing him to keep up with Pyro''s building onught. His progress as a pugilist was clear to the naked eye, Pyro felt his arms violently tremble with every exchange.

    The weight held behind his brother''s fists were so devasting that he was forced to rely on his axe to take the brunt of every blow. His ownbody though rather durable and tenacious held noparison to Terra''s. To Pyro what he was fighting was not a person but living breathing mountain.

    s this only fuelled his battle lust, a durable body meant he could truly let loose without risk of idently killing his opponent.

    "[Meteoric crash]!" After utilising the leftover momentum from one of Terra''s uppercuts Pyrounched himself high into the air, so high that his feet stood against the ceiling. A momentter he grasped his axe with both hands and activated his most destructive skill. Violent energy enveloped around his axe and body, yellow at the edge, orange below and deep within the centre was a bright red hue.

    This giant sphere of energy pulsated like a miniature sun, threatening to burn away the duelling space.

    Terra winced as the destructive heat washed over him despite being tens of metres away. It was clear that Pyro was taking the battle up a notch.

 Chapter 621 Duels (3)

    With Pyro taking the temperature up to an absurd degree Terra readied himself. Releasing a deep breath, his heart, beat like the shaking of the, harder and faster until the very ground beneath his feet started to tremble.

    He then opened his eyes and stared upwards at the miniature sun that was Pyro, his fists clenched tight as earthen chakra congregated around his body, growing denser and denser with every passing second. Next, a heavy and powerful aura billowed out from his heart, adding to his already impressive presence.

    Then with a smooth movement of his hands and feet Terra took on the image of a gilded monk, a peak practitioner in utilising the strength of his own body.

    "[Earthen fury!]" A deep, resonant voice escaped his lips as he burst forth with vigorous internal energy. His body grew evenrger, even heavier as his hands stretched outwards as if to tear apart the very earth that he stood upon from the ground. s there was no ground to tear up, so his internal energy, chakra and aura reced the physical with something just as solid.

    Concrete forms of earthen bs formed above his hands, easily weighing upwards of tens of tons. This was Terra''s most powerful skill and what he chose to contest against the raging hot meteor that was now swiftly crashing down upon him.

    This brief moment before the meteor struck the earth seemed to drag on for an eternity. Frost and his many siblings sat on the edge of their seats with bated breaths, their eyes glued to thergest of the six screens up above in anticipation. Even Dark couldn''t help but clench his fists as the excitement bubbled up within him.

    ''Show him what you can do Terra! Show him the power of earth.'' Geb was all smiles as he watched with keen eyes.

    Suddenly the moment was over.

    Boooooooooommmmm!!!!!

    Space quaked, cracked and twisted at the origin of their contact. Such an immense force was used that even Dark''s personally generated space trembled, struggling to contain the destructive aftershocks that were being unleashed.

    Red hot magma crashed against theunched bs of earth, blowing apart massive chunks as its heat swiftly bore down towards Terra. The heat prated deep, liquify vast quantities of earth as it travelled towards its prime target yet even with this level of devastation the meteor was still quite aways from reaching him.

    Several brief momentster when the meteor finally bore all the way through the giant bs of earth that Terra conjured there was very little momentum remainining. The solid sphere of liquefying magma was all but gone revealing the fire borne form of Pyro and his deadly great axe.

    "Ahhhhhhhhhh!!" Pyro roared out at the top of his lungs as Terra''s giant form appeared before his eyes. With a fierce glint in his gaze Pyro primed his axe and swung down with a brutal vengeance.

    Rock encrusted arms met with the weapon, barely managing to chip away at its power before a set ofrge brown hands swiftly mmed into either side of the axe head.

    Don!

    The destructive force behind the axe was brought to a sudden stop.

    Plumes of dust, fragments of earth and raging mes obscured the area for a moment before eventually revealing the result of the momentous sh.

    Terra stood with his knees bent, sweat dripping down his forehead and significant burns marring the palms of his hands and upper forearms but held between those palms was Pyro''s axe, unable to budge even a single inch while in his grip.

    "Cough!" Pyro who was fiercely gripping the shaft of his axe with trembling arms coughed up blood. The rebounding force had shook up his internal organs to the point that his entire throat tasted like iron.

    Find your next read at m_v l|e-NovelBin

    Following his opponent''s blood filled cough Terra relinquished the vice grip he held and fell to a single knee, his body drained of strength and his hands in no small amount of pain. Their sh appeared to be a draw with both ending up injured to some extent.

    As if reaching a silent ord both Pyro and Terra moved away from one another and started to recuperate, aiming to heal up as much as possible before continuing their duel.

    Outside the duelling space where the remaining Dungeon cores were, silence was abound. Everyone was blown away by both the destructive power held by Pyro and the defensive ability of Terra. Frost and Indra both imagined themselves facing off against either [earthen fury] or [meteoric crash] finding themselvescking in some way or another even after taking out the poor elemental match up.

    "I''d have to find some way to dodge Pyro''s [meteoric crash], I''ve got nothing that could block something that destructive." Said Indra with both a frown on his face and a growing smile.

    "Same here, my defence based skills would fracture instantly upon contact but we''re different from Terra. We have the speed and flexibility to dodge." Unlike Terra, Frost and Indra held a great amount of agility and made for much smaller targets.

    "True but standing still and taking such a blow looks pretty damn cool." Indra''s eyes sparkled when he saw Pyro''s axe stuck between Terra''s palms.

    ''Terra''s got some balls.''

    "What about his [earthen fury]?"

    "A frontal assault would be thest thing I''d do. The move has a lot of power and covers arge area but there''s still a lot of blind spots especially for someone like me." Though Indra''s lightning fared poorly against earth it didn''t stop his insane speed.

    "Oh I know you''re fast Indra my personal experience can attest to that but even if you are, if you can''t pierce that durable shell of his it''s pointless."

    "Haaaaaa you got me there." Indra shrugged his shoulders in defeat, the only option he really had was to slowly grind away at the shell, but his fighting style wasn''t exactly designed for attrition.

    "Not bad." As Frost and Indra were intimately discussing how they''d deal with both Pyro and Terra, two simple words ofpliment were uttered by Yami who surprisingly had a small smile on his lips.

    "Terra''s just full of surprises, I really didn''t expect such strength from him but¡­." Of course Aqua was the only one capable of holding a casual conversation with this eldest brother of theirs.

    "Pyro''s stronger."

    "Yes¡­.his arrogance is warranted." While all the other Dungeon cores felt that the match was still very much undecided Yami, Aqua and the guardians all knew the truth.

    ''Terra.'' None were more heartbroken than Geb, he truly believed that Terra was strong enough to beat Pyro into submission, he trained so damn hard after all.

    "Hmph you all think Pyro''s arrogance and pride is all for show, that he''s simply taking advantage of the fact that he was born 3rd out of 100." Suddenly a tall, beautiful woman with bright red hair, pearl white skin, the asional pink scales and a set of mighty draconic wings and matching tail spoke up with a prideful tone causing the remaining 33 guardians to grimace.

    "Fafnir." Geb uttered with a pronounced frown. This woman, Fafnir was Pyro''s guardian and one of the most powerful species across all of Nova, an ancient re dragon. Even he one of the primordial earth king''s children was a littlecking inparison.

    Among the entirety of the younger generation Fafnir truly stood head and shoulders above the rest of her colleagues. A fact that no one could dispute and because of this her personality was rather¡­.dominating.

    "Hmph!" With a loud hmph and a powerful crack of her tail Fafnir red at her colleagues with her head held high. "You all seem to view Pyro as an annoyance, a person full of himself, who disdains and is critical of everyone around him and to a degree you''re not wrong. He is brash, rough, cruel and has no filter, but he is also determined, ambitious and dedicated.

    You think that your charges train hard, that they don''t know the meaning of cking off pshua howughable." As Fafnir spoke she gazed upwards, staring at Pyro''s distant form.

    "Pyro truly doesn''t know the meaning of giving up. Every training session only ends after I''ve ripped his body and mind to shreds. He is strong because he has made himself so." She bore an expression of exuberating pride as she watched him stand up and redon his armour of mes.

    "He may be critical of others, harsh and highly demanding of their conduct and capabilities but that''s nothingpared to what he expects of himself¡­.Pyro will be the strongest of them all not because of his 3rd ranking or because he was born with additional advantages but because of the efforts he puts in everyday to reach his goals." Fafnir''s words subtlety attacked both Yami and Aqua, the only two cores who ranked above Pyro.

    She strongly believed that the only reason they surpassed him was due to these additional advantages that they were granted at birth.

    This dig was of course noticed by the two of them, but they were powerless to retort. Fafnir was still much, much stronger than the two of them plus her usations weren''tpletely unfounded. Both Yami and Aqua were born slightly more powerful than the rest of their siblings including Pyro, but this was because of their Dungeon''s location and the roles that Dark wished for them to take up.

    However it was rather arrogant of Fafnir to credit the difference solely on this small starting advantage.

    "Fafnir watch your tongue!" Aqua''s guardian Leviathan took to her defence. He was one of the very few guardians that could actually hold their own against Fafnir.

    "Hmph, so defensive, did I strike a nerve."

    "You!"

    "Enough! Stop bickering like children and watch the battle unfold, you''re embarrassing yourselves." Suddenly when it seemed like a fight was about to kick off a man draped in shadow spoke out in a chilling voice. Both Fafnir and Leviathan trembled upon hearing him speak.

    "Diablos."

 Chapter 622 Duels (4)

    Diablos, Yami''s guardian, the de facto leader of their group and the most powerful among their numbers. Apart from Dark, he was the only one who could control these prideful and sometimes arrogant geniuses. Like his charge Diablos was a man of few words but whenever he did deign to speak, everyone listened lest they were fond of suffering.

    "Hmph."

    "Tsk." Out of respect and a small amount of fear both Fafnir and Leviathan stopped their antics. They listened to his orders, and silently watched the screen above, no longer bickering.

    ''They might not get you Pyro, but I do. I know that you''ll reach that fabled level and fulfil your heart''s desire.'' Though she was made silent Fafnir internally acknowledged Pyro''s efforts. He was a man that was hard to understand, hard to see beyond his stubborn and arrogant crap riddled exterior but since she bore a simr nature it allowed her to see through his outer shell.

    To her Pyro was a man full of insecurities, heavy expectations and¡­.fear. While his siblings slowly developed, grew and explored the world of Nova he was desperately improving his own strength, to be acknowledged as the older brother that he was, as a dutiful son and most importantly a shelter, a shield which could protect his weaker siblings from the reckoning that was yet toe.

    He wanted to be the beacon, the man who held up the sky as the Light God''s condemnation struck them down. He wasn''t good with words and quite frankly was hardly friendly, but he cared, he cared deeply about their survival. Unfortunately the only method his muscle brain could understand, was force.

    The audience watched the rest of the duel in silence, afraid to upset Diablos in anyway. And as predicted after a determined slugfest, Terra''s blows gradually lost their weight, his rock armour crumbling faster and faster while his opponent Pyro seemed to only grow stronger and more vicious, his mes refusing to be snuffed out.

    The difference between the two of them in regards to power wasn''t all thatrge but the difference in battle experience and sheer determination to win was what granted Pyro victory today.

    "Puahhh!" Finally Terra was blown off his feet, his body sent flying backwards as blood surged up his throat and violently passed through his lips. With hisplexion ashen and his body filled with pain he craned his head up with great difficulty in an attempt to get up from the floor.

    "Enough Terra, you''ve lost ept it." Pyro released the mes surrounding his body and lowered his axe. His breaths wereboured but he still held more than enough strength to continue his attack.

    "Ughhh¡­.ahnnn." Terra groaned as he tried to move his limbs but eventually passed out from exhaustion.

    "¡­.Father." With a strange expression on his face Pyro looked upwards and called out for Dark.

    "The winner is Pyro, well done." In response Dark''s voice reverberated throughout the duelling space, bringing an official end to the duel. Following that two magic crests appeared beneath the brothers and whisked them back to the ball room. Pyro was deposited next to his guardian Fafnir while Terra appeared next Dark who proceeded to personally heal his injuries before handing him over to Geb.

    With Pyro back among his siblings everyone seemed to view him differently, there was less distain, less fear and more respect. Pyro''s personality may not be appreciated hell perhaps even hated but his strength was the real deal.

    "Terra!" While Pyro was regting his breathing and receiving a few words of praise from Fafnir, Geb called out, his voice filled with concern as he held the brown giant that was Terra in his arms.

    "I¡­I lost." Though his injuries were healed by Dark he was still exhausted, simply forming a few words took a great deal of effort.

    Geb gently stroked Terra''s cheek and firmly grasped his right hand before answering "yeah, you did."

    A frustrated expression grew across Terra''s face and his left hand audibly cracked as he tightly clenched. He then looked over at Frost, Indra and also Queek as if apologising for his failure. He was supposed to put Pyro in his ce, to show him that the livelihoods of his siblings mattered, that he was wrong to dismiss, insult and criticise their efforts.

    In response his siblings smiled and shook their heads in an attempt to ease his worries, there was nothing for him to be sorry about.

    "You were strong." While Terra was slinking into a depressed state three words entered his ears from a voice that he recognised but really didn''t expect to hear at least not giving outpliments.

    Pyro gave Terra a brief nce along with a simplepliment before turning away. Upon hearing his words Terra felt a rush of peace and a strange sense of acknowledgement. A smile grew on his lips as he leaned back and allowed his body to rest. His efforts weren''tpletely wasted it seems.

    Apart from Terra''s and Pyro''s duel another 10 of their siblings werepeting against each other, 4 of which had already finished and were already sitting back on the stands before Pyro and Terra, but no one seemed to notice them. Their duels just didn''t have as much re, or dramatic attraction as the sh between two single digit cores.

    However now that the big draw had ended everyone was forced to take notice of who was left.

    "Liana and Wukong seem pretty evenly matched, neither of them has managed to get the upper hand."

    "That staff style of Wukong''s is pretty strong but also very orthodox in its movements, making it predictable andcking in flexibility against moves such as Liana''s. Her utilisation of the whip is fairly unconventional and wild thus making it an unusual match up wherein neither can make much sense of the others technique."

    Wukong''s and Liana''s duel may not have been as shy or explosive as Terra''s and Pyro''s but there was a certain grace present that made Frost and Indra appreciate it. They focused more on their weapon mastery and personal fighting styles rather than energy consuming skills thus both Wukong and Liana still held a great deal of stamina and sported only superficial injuries.

    "Have you checked out Dn and Shira?" Indra inquired as he brought up their duel on his personal viewing screen.

    "No why?" Frost recognised the names but not much else. Dn and Shira were both low ranking Dungeon cores and thus they tended to mingle with those who were simrly ranked. Frost being one of the top ranked cores was therefore excluded from this group in fact he''d only met them both once and very briefly at that during thest family gathering.

    "They''re both mages."

    "Hoh, interesting." Frost''s curiosity was officially peaked. He and Indra were both capable of using high level magic but despite this they couldn''t be ssified as mages. Why because they fought with their weapons and chakra, mainly engaging in closebat, the antithesis of the standard mage caste.

    Dn and Shira however were your typical mages, their bodies were bursting with mana, they bore magical staffs as their weapons and stood a solid 20 metres or more apart as they engaged in battle. This was a long distance sh in a very different stylepared to what they were used to. Frost had fought alongside mages before, but this was his first time seeing a duel between two of their kind.

    Dn and Shira wouldunch spell after spell at each other which wouldpete for dominance in the centre of the stage. A few spells would asionally make it through only to be avoided or to strike against a prepared defensive spell. The battle appeared to be slower in nature, more attrition focused, chipping away at their mana reserves one spell at a time.

    The loser would be the one who failed to keep up with the mana drain and or who lost their casting focus.

    It was different and perhaps less interesting to watch but very educational. While Frost and Indra perhaps used two or three spells on rotation as battle aids for Dn and Shira this was their bread and butter. Their repertoire of spells easily exceeded theirs multiple times over granting them a great deal of flexibility and options in battle.

    And unlike the two of them they were not bound by their inherent element, further increasing their range of spells.

    Seeing them and their battle brought back memories for Frost, memories of the night he aided Leo in taking down his uncle. There was an opportunity there to see Ryuu fight as a mage but unfortunately he was needed elsewhere and his strength at the time wascking, making him nothing more than a hindrance.

    ''Perhaps I should spar with Ryuu next time I get a chance.'' It was clear that his experience against true mages was sorelycking and needed to be rectified.

    Time passed and eventually all 6 duels were brought to a close, the victors decided and rewarded for their efforts as were those who came in second and gambled on the results. Both Frost and Indra managed to make another 10,000DP each from their bets thus happy smiles adorned their lips.

    Once thest of the rewards were dished out Dark walked to the centre of the room and faced his children with arge grin on his face.

    "We''ve had our family meal, discussed the guardian situation, enjoyed a Dungeon war between Void and Queek and now we''ve concluded a total of 6 duels¡­now it''s time for what you''ve all been waiting for¡­." Suddenly the sound of a drum roll filled the room before Dark raised his right hand and summoned a massive board with all of his children''s name''s on it.

    "The Dungeon core DP rankings!" shing lights went off behind Dark as announced it, assisting his dramatic fanfare.

    ''Haaaaa he really doesn''t change does he.'' Frost shook his head and internally sighed but still smiled, despite it being a bit much at times he enjoyed this side of his father.

 Chapter 623 The second Dungeon core DP rankings

    Upon the arrival of therge leader board and Dark''s fanfare many cores eyed their ranking with hawk like gazes, some even red at their nearby siblings, marking them as directpetition. Pretty much everyone was curious about their rankings as it was a reflection of their development, something that could make their father proud.

    Frost was no exception his gaze quickly eyed the top ten spots confident that he would be among them. He was 4thst time and that was before he experienced the very lucrative monster stampede so surely he''d be ranked even higher this time around, right.

    The rankings were based on cumtive DP ie since thest family gathering. Whether that DP was spent or saved in the bank mattered not, it only cared about the ie not the expenditure. Thus having arger victim pool, more efficient harvesting methods and to some degree arger dungeon certainly made a difference. However this was not the only way to gain DP.

    Some Dungeon cores such as Void, Chronos and Damascus frequently exchanged items through the Dungeon menu for a set amount of DP. Treasures of any kind could be exchanged through the menu not just gold and silver coins. For example Void and Chronos would trade in their excess supply of spell books while Damascus offered up the asional weapon or armour that he forged.

    If there was value in an item then the Dungeon menu would ept it, whether or not the resulting DP was worth or not was hard to say but the three of them managed to establish a fairly lucrative business through these regr exchanges.

    And in addition to these minor transactions Void and Chronos received a hefty downpayment directly from Dark the moment they created a brand new spell while Damascus charged an arm and a leg to personally forge weapons for his siblings.

    There was always another way to make DP. If the Dungeon cores held no talent or interest in the traditional methods, they just needed to find it.

    With it being 11 months since thest ranking and with many of the Dungeon cores branching out in many shapes and forms it was hard to tell where one might stand this time around thus the eagerness was to be expected.

    Cursing, sighs of relief and even a few jumps of joy resounded around Frost as he finally set eyes upon his own ranking.

    "3rd" He had surpassed hisst ranking, discing Pyro who was now relegated to 4th. Yami and Aqua were still aways ahead of them both but the margin between him and Pyro was a paltry few thousand DP, equivalent to mere hours of their daily ie.

    Perhaps if Pyro had betted with a little more thought and less emotion he would have retained his position, however that was not the case and the moment he realised that he''d not only failed to breach the gap between him, and 2nd ce but fell to 4th. Well something seemed to snap inside of him.

    His hatred for Frost that was already palpable and easily seen whenever they were in close proximity exploded. mes erupted around him as he red at the ring number four and Frost''s name that sat above it. He was positively livid.

    Fafnir, who was by his side was no less shocked, she knew how hard Pyro worked, how much his Dungeon had expanded, how many beings he''d killed and wars he had started and yet all that carnage had failed to get him the position he rightfully deserved. She openly revealed her animosity, ring harshly at Frost as he stood in a daze as though shocked by the situation.

    Maya as his guardian immediately put herself between the two absorbing the brunt of Fafnir''s aura and not so subtle killing intent. It onlysted a single second before Dark''s gaze wandered over without any hint of the gentleness he showed his children but that brief moment was enough to make Maya''s skin crawl. Just like how Frost was a bad match with Pyro she was a bad match for Fafnir.

    Their natural inherent elements and even their bodily forms gave Maya a severe disadvantage. This was one enemy she really didn''t want to make but if it was for Frost she''d even stand up to a God.

    "Tch seems you''ve moved up in the world Frost while I''m still slumming it down with the average riff raff." Indra''s irritatingint caused everyone nearby to look at him with disdain. The damn bastard was ranked 5th, same asst time yet he described himself as riff raff. If the 5th ranked dungeon core was just average then what did that make those ranked lower, trash.

    Of course Indra meant it as a joke but unfortunately it really didn''tnd well¡­.he was quickly forced to apologise.

    Though most of the upper rankings remained in simr positions the middle and lowers rankings saw aplete change-up. Terra who was in the mid-30s was now ranked 9th and would surely rise even further by the next gathering. A Dungeon core with the name Collete ranked 91stst time but now she was 47th while the new 91st was formerly 68th.

    A major change that caught most by surprise and revealed who had been putting in the hard work.

    "My my my, certainly a big change sincest time, Pyro has been dethroned from 3rd ce, Terra revealed his fangs with his abundance of passive DP. Void and Chronos are no longergging quite so far behind and little Collete I believe you''ve improved most of all jumping a whopping 44 ces, very well done."

    "Hehehe thank you Dad." Collette was over the moon,pletely blown away by her ranking. She had unfortunately lost her first Dungeon war and expected to ranked as low asst time, but it seems that the major overhaul she did to her Dungeon afterwards paid out in spades, far better than what she imagined.

    "Yami, Aqua prime role models as always and Frost congrattions on moving up to 3rd ce very big aplishment considering the efforts of the surroundingpetition." Dark wasted no time praising his eldest son and daughter while at the same time making Frost out to be the enemy of everyone ranked 4th to 10th.

    1st and 2nd were off the table, but 3rd was certainly up for grabs, Sylph, Indra, Damascus, Gaia and most certainly Pyro would being for his head at the next gathering.

    ''Jerk'' Frost internally cursed his father as several sharp gazes locked onto him, most holding a friendlypetitive attitude within but one or two were not so nice.

    "Hmph must have gotten lucky." Sylph loudly hmphed as she refused to ept her inferiority to Frost for a second time. Apart from Pyro she was the Dungeon core with the biggest chip on her shoulder.

    "..."While Sylph was very vocal Pyro was eerily silent, his re piercing and if looks could kill he would dead a hundred times over.

    Even Indra his supposed best friend was tantly revealing his ambition, quietly muttering under his breath ways to knock Frost down a peg. Of course these mutterings were purposely made loud enough for Frost to hear.

    "Piss off Indra or I''ll tell Izuna what you''ve been saying behind her back."

    "Ahhh what are you crazy or something shh shh."

    "Hoh what exactly has he been saying Frost?" Izuna with a haunting smile suddenly appeared behind Indra, her hands tightly grasping his shoulder.

    ''Asshole do you have no honour?''

    ''Honour? says the one nning to openly stab me in the back.''

    ''It was a joke idiot!''

    ''Yeah but hidden beneath it were true feelings, you''re super jealous.'' The two brothers quickly had a full silent discussion with just their eyes. And thankfully in the end -for Indra''s sake- Frost backed him up against Izuna''s interrogation, calling his outburst an idental slip of the tongue. Whether or not she bought their story was a whole other subject.

    Dark gave his children several minutes to finish finding their name and revel in either joy or misery before moving on to the rewards which there were going to be a lot of this time around.

    "First we''ll grant those in the top 3 ces their prizes, followed by the top ten and then a special prize for the Dungeon core that has improved most since thest gathering¡­.. Punishments and forfeit challenges willest and no I didn''t forget about them." Dark bared his teeth evilly as he spied some of the lowest ranked cores causing them to cringe and tremble.

    "1st ce Yami, please step forward."

    "Father." Yami boldly stood before his father with an unperturbed expression, not even the slightest hint of him revelling in his victory could be seen.

    "For being 1st in the rankings, for a second time I grant you these boots of the shadow walker and a free purchase of any 3 star environment." Dark brought out arge chest from his spatial ring, inside were a pair of 4 star shimmering ck boots that allowed their wearer to travel through shadows, within reason of course.

    There was a limit to the distance travelled and the size of the exit and entry shadow as well as how opaque it was. Nheless it was a fine looking gift that suited Yami''s style to a tee. But the free 3 star environment was truly something, though it wasn''t a physical asset that he could personally use it could dramatically improve the prospects of his Dungeon.

    Only his most recent floor made use of a 3 star environment and the cost for a single room was in the tens of thousands.

 Chapter 624 The second Dungeon core DP rankings (2)

    "Thank you father." With an almost imperceptible smile on his lips Yami took hold of the boots of the shadow walker, finding them more and more to his liking the longer he held them. They''d make a fine addition to his battle attire.

    "You''re very wee." Though he would have appreciated a more animated reaction Dark had long gotten used to Yami''s personality. With a curt nod he passed over a special ticket that would allow Yami to purchase a 3 star environment for free before calling out to his eldest daughter.

    "Aqua if you would be so kind?" From the difference in tone and the fawning expression on his face it was obvious to everyone that Dark preferred his daughters over his sons, he wasn''t even bothering to hide his favouritism anymore.

    "Happily father, what goodies do you have for me today?" Knowing full well the power she had over their father Aqua leaned into the fawning, giggling under her breath and batting her eyshes in his direction. Several of the male Dungeon cores visibly grimaced as they saw the smile on their father''s face grow and grow in response to their sister''s yful antics.

    "Of course I saved the very best of goodies for you my dear Aqua." Dark''s sudden turn to apletely doting father earned him the ire of pretty much every other Dungeon core in the room bar Aqua. The old man thus ended up on the receiving end of some very harsh res and... "Cough, cough" feeling the shame building he loudly coughed before returning to the task at hand.

    "Aqua for ranking 2ndI''m prepared to offer you a very special item, one that''ll pair well with your beauty and add to your royal endowment." Aqua''s eyes sparkled upon beingplemented for her beauty, her interest in the uing reward reaching a fervour.

    Dark waited a brief moment, dragging out the suspense before summoning a crystal covered chest that screamed luxury. All the Dungeon cores that cared deeply about beautiful objects couldn''t help but drool in anticipation.

    "For you my dear Aqua I grant you the tiara of the oceanic queen, a piece of headwear forged from rare metals found only in the deepest parts of the northern oceans and iid with shimmering celestite.

    A peak 4 star piece of equipment that not only automatically protects its user from danger with dense shields of water mana but greatly improves their natural mana regeneration." Contained within the crystal chest was a tiara that not only provided impressive defensive capabilities but looked like a work of art.

    Aqua grasped hold of the tiara with trembling hands, a sliver of drool quickly forming at her lips as she wasted no time cing the item upon her head. Immediately she felt a wave offort and power flowing through her veins and subconsciously she adopted a sense of valour andmand, before Frost and his siblings was no longer their big sister Aqua but a queen of the ocean.

    Dark''s choice in reward was very apt, even Frost couldn''t help but feel himself drawn to his sister''s beauty a fact that Aqua very much revelled in.

    "How do I look Frost? isn''t your big sister just stunning?" Unable to form any words Frost simply nodded his head as though in a daze. Normally this would be something that would spark Maya''s jealousy given that his eyes were drawn to another woman, but she wasn''t doing any better. Aqua was already stunning, adding on that radiant tiara was just overkill.

    Even Sylph who''d normally be the first to rain on Aqua''s parade found herself staring in awe.

    Dark repeatedly nodded his head, his heart full of pride as he saw Aqua show off her beauty but there was still work to be done so after allowing for a couple minutes of showboating he reluctantly asked her to return to the stands so he could hand over the next prize.

    "Frost, congrattions. You may not have moved up the most ranks, but you imed one of the hardest. 3rd ce, the top 3 amongst all your siblings, very, very well done my son." Dark was all smiles as he praised Frost, he was particrly proud of this 7th son of his after all.

    Not only did he run a tight ship in regards to his Dungeon but he truly explored the outside world, he found friends, rivals and even started a family plus he was the first to stand against him, to openly dere his own desires. Now the question was what to reward this filial son with.

    He already had ess to a strong weapon and a cksmith girlfriend, so equipment would be a poor choice. An oddity would have been good, but he''s already got an earth ranked cold me on loan. Free monsters and environments won''t do by themselves so there needs to be something, something that truly speaks to Frost, a unique item that shows he put some thought into it.

    "..." Dark frowned and stroked his chin in thought for a good few minutes before finally pulling something out of that addled brain of his. "Alright I''ve got it.

    Since you''ve got that cksmith girl with you I''ll grant you a free 4 star mine as well as a single improvement to your regenerating robes." After loudly pping Dark announced the reward he came up, something that took Frost''s personal circumstances into consideration.

    "..." Frost silently processed his father words before a smirk developed on his lips and a glint formed in his eyes. "Have I ever told you how much I love you father?" Frost absolutely loved this reward, not only was it beneficial to his Dungeon and personal safety but would likely see him rewarded in other ways by that cksmith girlfriend of his.

    "Hehehehe not often enough son." The father son pairughed in a knowing manner before an iron ticket was exchanged and a silver light embedded itself within Frost''s robes, upgrading them to the next level of durability.

    Bonk!

    "Ow!" The moment Frost returned to his seat however he received a harsh p across the back of his head.

    "Pervert." Maya openly chastised him with puffed up cheeks knowing full well what was going through her boyfriend''s mind the moment he received his reward.

    "Hey, I am my father''s son, and I don''t see youining when it''s you upying my mind." After long grown into his own Frost boldly retorted, his right hand skilfully finding its way around her waist, pulling her in close. A blush quickly adorned Maya''s face as people started looking over, why did she have to get involved with such a pervert?

    After the top 3 it was time for those ranked in the top 10 to receive their rewards. The six of them however had to all go up at once making it far less personal, their rewards were also a degree or two lower.

    For example Indra who was ranked 5th got two free 2 star environment tickets while Gaia received a gacha draw worth 10,000DP and a free F-rank spawner.Pyro nearly blew a gasket when he received a rather mediocre reward and a not so subtle dig from their father, chastising him for his earlier behaviour.

    Among the six only Terra received something special and that was because in addition to ranking 9th he had sessfully jumped more than 20 ces since thest ranking.

    Dark granted him an egg simr to the one he gifted Yami for ranking firstst time. As long as Terra provided the egg with an abundance of earth aspected mana it could grow into a powerful S-rank spirit, though it would require a great deal of time and luck to do so. Yami''s egg was still yet unhatched after an entire year of effort.

    Following the top ten and Terra''s special exception was Collete, Dark had chosen to reward her specifically because she had jumped the most ces since thest ranking. From the very low rank of 91st to the middling rank of 47th, Collete had jumped a total of 44 ces, outshining the 2nd ce improver by 13 spots.

    Dark wanted to reward and encourage suchpetitive spirit thus Collete was granted something rather spectacr given her ranking.

    "Collete for your inspiring efforts over the past 11 months I''d like to grant you 3 things, first a one-time injection of 50,000DP." Just the first prize alone caused many Dungeon cores to sharply suck in their breaths, a lot could be done with 50,000 especially in lower ranked Dungeons.

    "Second a 4 star fan and finally two E-rank spawners. With these I hope you''ll be able to stand tall in battle and further develop your Dungeon''s defences." The prizes may not have been all that unique (bar the fan, a very unusual choice in weapon but one Collete was most skilled in) but to Collette''s Dungeon that spanned just six floors it was a literal godsend.

    E-rank monsters were her Dungeon''s bread and butter, to get two of them for free allowed her to save tens of thousands of DP.

    "Thank you so much Dad!" Collete was a bundle of excitement and anxiety. She felt awkward being the centre of attention but hearing the list of rewards sent her mind into overdrive, she had ns, big ns for the DP and spawners while the fan would ensure her personal level of equipment for quite a while.

    Unlike Frost, Indra and the other battle focused cores she was still piddling around early maybe mid C-rank, so a 4 star weapon was almost too good.

    "You''re wee Collete, you''ve earned it." Dark was all smiles again as he watched another daughter jump in joy and call him with affection.

    A few momentster however once Collete had calmed down there was a change in the atmosphere, and everyone suddenly felt colder and less joyous.

    "Now for the punishments and forfeit challenges."

 Chapter 625 Punishments

    "Now for the punishments and forfeit challenges." Said Dark in a very cold tone as he eyed over the Dungeon cores who sat on thest ten ces of the leaderboard. "Will the bottom ten please step forward." He asked with a smile that wasn''t a smile.

    The bottom ten ceholders felt their skin crawl and bones tremble while under that gaze but not a single one of them was brave enough to disobey. Soon ten nervous Dungeon cores were standing before Dark with their heads hung low, wishing for this disy to be over and done with as soon as possible.

    "Since I am rewarding those who do well in these rankings it''s only right that I punish those that do not exceed in equal measure thus giving you all something to strive for as well as desperately avoid." Dark smile seemed to grow more and more mischievous as he spoke a sign that his form of punishment was sure to be something funny in his eyes.

    "This is either going to be really good or traumatising."

    "My money''s on traumatising."

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    "Put me down for that as well." Frost, Indra and Damascusmented on the side eager to enjoy a show.

    "Each of you have either fallen to your bottom ten ranking over the past 11 months or have remained there from the start." Dark''s gaze lingered on a short, dark skinned Dungeon core named Ms in particr. The young man who looked like a mole beastkin ranked 97th 11 months ago and was now ranked 98th, doing even worse the second time around.

    "This isn''t good and not what I want to see so you''ll need to suffer a little." Dark barely managed hold back a manicughter as he stretched his hands forward. Suddenly nine beams of ck light shot out of his fingers and punctured everyone bar Tovar who ranked 91st.

    The moment their bodies were pierced the Dungeon cores felt no pain, but they did feel a little chilly, as though a breeze was brushing against their skin.

    "Ahhh."

    "Oh my."

    "Kyaaah." Loud exims from the stands quickly erupted along with an embarrassed scream from the woman ranked 95th who finally opened her eyes and saw what Dark had done.

    All nine of them had been instantly stripped of their clothes, leaving them naked for all their siblings, their guardians and the their father to see.

    "Hahahahaha!"

    "Now that''s a punishment hahahaha!" Frost and Indra couldn''t help but lean against one another as theyughed their guts out, truly enjoying their father''s sense of humour. He didn''t enact penalties to their Dungeons, nor did he inflict physical pain but instead he attacked them with shame.

    While Frost and Indra found the situation hrious however some found the prospect of being stripped in front of their peers utterly humiliating, their faces drained of all colour as they thanked their lucky stars that it wasn''t them being punished.

    Dark seemed topletely ignore the voices and reactions of those in the stands, focusing solely on the men and women baring all before him. He didn''t choose this sort of punishment lightly, after careful consideration he believed that something like this was more than appropriate for the circumstances.

    No one would be physically harmed, there would be no taking of hard earned DP, nor would any restrictions be ced on their Dungeons instead their dignity would pay the price, a construct that most people tended to protect from even the slightest injury. Thus Dark believed that after today those ranked in the bottom ten would do everything in their power to avoid such treatment in the future.

    "As punishment for ranking in the bottom ten of the DP leaderboards the nine of you must run 3ps around the ball room buck naked in front of everyone here!"

    The nine men and women looked up at their father with either distraught or shocked expressions, unable toprehend what was happening. Never in their wildest dreams did they believe this was the type of punishment intended for them. A p on the wrist, a fine of DP hell even being forced to endure something physically painful would be more bearable than this.

    All of their siblings were watching, it was so embarrassing.

    "What are you waiting? Get going¡­.Now!" Dark was like an evil demon personified, their tear stained cheeks only seemed to empower him and broaden his malicious grin. A few of the Dungeon cores desperately tried to refuse his orders, covering up their bodies with their limbs and stayed still but Dark was prepared for that.

    "Ow!"

    "Ow!" Painful electric shocks stabbed into their backsides forcing their limbs apart and their legs to straighten. There was no recourse for them, they needed to run 3ps around the room naked whether they wanted to or not.

    "Hahahae on Ms you can run faster than that!"

    "Melion no need to be embarrassed we''re not judging hahaha!" Several Cores in the stands started hollering after those running making them feel even more embarrassed.

    Only once they''dpleted the firstp did Dark''s attention focus on Tovar the only one of the bottom ten still standing with his clothes on.

    "Tovar, Tovar, Tovar at thest gathering you weren''t exactly ranked high, but it wasn''t bad, now though not only are you in the bottom ten you''ve dropped the most ces out of all your siblings." Tovar was the opposite of Collete thus Dark felt it was fair to grant him a special punishment.

    "Gulp" Tovar loudly gulped as his body warned him of a frightening premonition. What could his father do to him that was worse than what he just did to the rest of the bottom ten. He really, really didn''t want to find out unfortunately there was no hole for him to crawl into, no way to escape his fate.

    He felt the gazes that had been drawn away by the naked nine home in on him with eager anticipation, it was so intense that his back formed goosebumps and his spine tingled.

    Dark with his demon like expression sauntered over towards him, he ced a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. His words slowly making Tovar''s face nch of all colour and be filled with unadulterated fear.

    "P¡­please no." He begged with red eyes and trembling hands.

    "This is your punishment Tovar, learn from it and maybe from now you won''t be sozy." Dark''s hand gripped down hard on Tovar''s shoulder pinning him in ce, preventing any form of instinctual escape.

    "But don''t worry I''ll wait until the rest are done with their punishment; it wouldn''t be fair to have everyone distracted from your efforts after all hehehehe." In that moment Tovar''s spirit suffered a fierce blow, his heart tearing apart as he epted his fate.

    Once the naked nine had finished their assignedps Dark generously recreated their clothes, granting them back their modesty but not a single one thanked him. Instead their eyes were filled with hatred and anger as they looked at him. For now he was no longer their father but a demonic bully.

    Dark was strangely unmoved by their anger even the wails of his daughters fell on deaf ears thanks to his hardened resolve. "Great everyone''s finished you know what that means Tovar."

    "Urgh" Tovar groaned with tears streaming down his cheeks. His expression quickly drawing the interest of his siblings. Even the naked nine looked at him with some level of anticipation and hope. If what Tovar was made to do was worse than what they did perhaps they could save some of their fractured dignity.

    "Tovar here is not only one of the bottom ten but also the Dungeon core that dropped the most ces since thest family gathering thus he''s been chosen to participate in a special punishment." Dark tapped Tovar''s shoulder magically eviscerating his clothes until he was in his birthday suit.

    Once naked he gently pushed him forward and waved his sleeve causing a spotlight to beam down on Tovar and music to start ying throughout the room.

    "Time to dance Tovar."

    "Urgh¡­.ow!" Initially he adamantly refused but a cascade of shocks forced his body to twist and move awkwardly like an attempt at dancing.

    Frost, his siblings and the remaining guardians thus watched Tovar being forced to dance by their father, buck naked and to upbeat music. The naked nine runningps was certainly something, but this was something else entirely.

    No one jeered, hollered or praised instead they all watched in silence as Tovar moved reluctantly to the beat of the music bearing everything Dark had given him.

    "¡­..Ok the first range of punishments were funny, but this is¡­."

    "Traumatising." Frost, Indra and Damascus were no longerughing yet they couldn''t pull their gazes away, mesmerised by Tavor''s plight.

    The group watched on for a couple minutes before finding the situation truly unpleasant.

    "Should we step in?" Damascus asked feeling that this form of punishment with the spotlight, music and every single pair of eyes in the room honed in on him was too much. Though the punishment would likely see Tovar do his very best to never be in such a position ever again was it worth the cost.

    "Do you have a suggestion like?" Inquired Indra, softly agreeing that something should be done.

    "We could join him."

    "You mean willingly strip down and start dancing beside him, hah fat chance." Indra quickly shot that suggestion down; this was Tovar''s punishment so why should he bare all.

    "We don''t need to strip but dancing by his side should provide moral support." Damascus had no intentions of stripping either.

    "Alright as long as all three of us do it I''m in." Though still a little reluctant Indra agreed to draw attention to themselves and away from Tovar all in the spirit of brotherly bonds.

    "Frost?"

    "I''m in." With that the three brothers were in agreement and if in sync the three stood up as one and made their way down to Tovar who was still reluctantly dancing.

    "We so have to film this right?"

    "Totally."

    "We can''t ever let them forget this golden event." While Frost, Damascus and Indra made their way down their guardians huddled together and activated their Dungeon''s camera functions.

    "Hmm Frost, Indra, Damascus what are you doing?" Not expecting the three of them to appear Dark loudly questioned with a frown on his face. He was in the middle of Tovar''s punishment whatever they wanted couldn''t it wait until he was finished, the song was already at the halfway point.

    "Nothing much."

    "Yeah just felt the need to do some stretching father."

    "Great song by the way, Tovar do you mind if we join you?" The three acted as one, confidently standing beside Tovar with smiles on their faces.

    "Eh?" Tovar stopped his movements for a brief second but was then immediately shocked, forcing him to continue dancing.

    "We want to dance with you Tovar." After nodding to one another Frost, Indra and Damascus stood next to their younger brother and faced the gazes of their many siblings before joining him in his dance.

    "Hoh this is actually pretty fun, great exercise hahaha." Indra started to really get into the groove, adding his own re which was quickly followed by both Frost and Damascus.

    Those in the stands watched in awe as the four of them danced together and for the first time since he was forced to start dancing Tovar didn''t feel ashamed or fearful instead he felt protected. Though his three brothers were still clothed they willingly put themselves at risk to help him, to dance beside him and ease his pain.

    Tovar smiled through his tears and started to really dance, no longer relying on the shocks to force him.

 Chapter 626 Soul damage

    Dark waspletely speechless as he watched Frost, Indra and Damascus dance by Tovar''s side, effectively erasing the majority of his humiliation, the whole damn point of his punishment. Soon he even saw some of his children dancing in the stands to show their own support,pletely ignoring the exposure of Tovar and gradually that speechlessness turned to anger, then fury and finally wrath.

    An eery pressure formed around him as his entire body started to tense.

    Frost''s body visibly trembled as he sensed extreme danger, his back quickly bing drenched in cold sweat as warning bells went off in his head. It felt as though a bloodthirsty predator was breathing down his neck. Yet despite this danger that he and his siblings felt they continued to wantonly ignore it, continuing to dance by Tovar''s side as though shielding him from those that wished him harm.

    It was a risky endeavour but one which he, Indra and Damascus felt needed to be done. Sure Tovar needed to receive some form of punishment so as to dissuade others from beingzy and falling behind in terms of their DP ie, but this was not the way. It was cruel and unnecessary.

    Just as Dark was about to blow his top off Frost sent a pleading look towards the only two people who could save them from their father''s wrath. An instantter those two saviours appeared between the four of them and Dark.

    "Father don''t you think this has gone on long enough."

    "You''re punishment has gone too far old man! It''s cruel and unnecessary!" Yami and Aqua boldly dered as they shielded and endured the pressure that was meant for Frost and the others. The two of them weren''t just the strongest in their family but the ones with the most sway with the old man. If he was in his right mind he''d listen to the two of them.

    Unfortunately right now he wasn''t in his right mind. The splitting of his soul to create his children had left it damaged thus he was asionally subjected to re ups of emotion, poor judgement and sometimes in the worst cases bouts of mania. Thankfully until now he''d been able to hold back the asional attack, but everyone has their limit.

    Dark''s aura continued to billow outward quickly growing in density and presence, soon Aqua and Yami struggled to even breathe let alone stand tall against it.

    "Oh no, everyone move in to restrain Dark God-sama!" Sensing that something was very wrong Diablos roared out to the other guardians before teleporting in front of Yami and Aqua. It took the guardians only a split second to realise the gravity of the situation before all 34 of them appeared between Dark and his children.

    Maya and Izuna quickly pushed away Frost, Damascus, Indra and Tovar while Damascus'' guardian Emery retrieved Yami and Aquaunching them into the stands where an isting barrier was quickly erected.

    The guardians then surrounded Dark and channelled their powers into an advanced, intricate formation that quickly encased Dark, isting him in a separate space. The situation was far more dire than Frost and the others suspected, each of the guardian''s had ashen faces, their expressions being that of one''s prepared to face off against an impossible adversary.

    There was a vast chasm between someone at S-rank and a God and that was just for a standard one, Dark was the ultimate existence with but a single equal. Despite the power these guardians held in the mortal world, inparison to Dark they were but ants no less than ants, amoeba, insignificant specks that could be erased with but a single thought.

    The mighty formation that ced Dark in a separate space didn''t evenst a single second before the dimensional walls disintegrated, revealing a man shaped shadow, who apart from his eyes all else was an all consuming ck.

    "Dark God-sama please calm your anger!"

    "Lord Creator!"

    "All Father!"

    "Your eminence show mercy!"

    All the upper ranked guardians screamed, begging Dark to calm his anger, to stop his sudden outburst.

    Unfortunately their pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, the shadow that was Dark blinked his eyes once and an aura that couldn''t be quantified by mortals pressed down on the 34 guardians quickly smashing each and every one of them into the ground without mercy. Bones cracked, blood was spilled, and strong feelings of terror and fear filled the room.

    Frost watched on in abject dread as the entity that felt so disconnected from life, his supposed father took out 34 of the strongest beings he had ever seen with nothing but a simple blink of his eyes. For the first time in his life he viewed his father not with admiration, embarrassment, joy or anger but with pure unadulterated fear.

    This entity was not just their father but an existence that stood above everything and everyone else, they had forgotten that.

    "Ahhhhh Dark God-sama please!" The guardians that could still resist the pressure continued to call out, desperate to return Dark to reason.

    Frost heard Maya''s screams as more of her bones were broken and she was pushed deeper and deeper into the floor. Dark''s aura was only growing stronger as time passed and soon if nothing was done all the guardians would be killed. This was something he couldn''t condone.

    Despite being filled with so much fear that his body felt akin to solid lead and that his heart convulsed irregrly, threatening to stop at a moment''s notice he braved through it. With veins undting across his forehead and entire body Frost roared from behind the barrier.

    "FATHER!!!!" He shouted so much that he spat up blood, but he continued to yell and soon his siblings, Indra, Damascus, Void, Chronos, Sylph, Terra, Gaia, Pyro, Aqua and Yami and a few others who had breached B-rank joined him.

    "FATHER!!"

    "OLD MAN!!"

    "DAD!!"

    "GREAT FATHER!!"

    The only hope they had was for Dark to regain his sanity, even with theirbined might they were no match for a single hair on his head, so they shouted and roared with emotion, pleading for their father, the man who created them, the one who was always smiling and cracking terrible jokes not this apparition of shadow.

    Of the 34 guardians only 10 or so were still conscious by this point and only Diablos was still able to keep his head raised.

    ''It''s hopeless, we''re done for.'' As the pressure continued to build despite the efforts of his colleagues and even their charges he said a final farewell before stopping his resistance, resigning to the fate he had been dealt.

    With him lowering his defences and subjecting himself to the weight thest vestiges of the barrier fell, reconnecting the Dungeon cores with the ball room.

    "FATHER!!!!!" The moment the barrier fell all the Dungeon cores called out as one, their voices no longer as hampered by the barrier quickly tore through the room to reach the apparition of shadow, but sound could only travel so quickly, and the pressure emitted by Dark wasn''t any slower.

    While the word was still on their lips a pressure akin to that of an entire mountain and more fell on their heads. The family of siblings were powerless to resist, even Yami and Aqua sumbed instantly.

    Time appeared to drag on, in the fractions of a second that it took their bodies to be pressed against the floor their words reached Dark in his maddened state. And as though a re went off in and filled with darkness Dark started to wake up, his mind surging into action.

    The shadowy visage that was akin to perhaps his true form receded in an instant once again revealing his appearance as a handsome middle-aged man. His violent and boundless aura that had continued to grow and grow was pulled back faster than a mortal''s mind could even register.

    Before Frost and his siblings could even blink Dark had returned to his amicable self, removed his aura, wrapped the 34 guardians in a ck egg and teleported within their cluster catching each and everyone of their falling bodies with divine energy.

    One minute they were facing darkness, an impending doom where their bodies, mind and even souls were set to be crushed and the next they were falling into what felt like a warm embrace.

    "I''m sorry." Frost heard his father speak two words before he fell unconscious, his body drained of all strength.

    Dark took in the devastation his state had caused and how close he was to losing everything he held dear. Just a moment longer, in fact not even a moment all of his children would have died, by his hand no less.

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    Dark bore an expression filled with pain and panic, he knew of his outbursts, his re-ups and asional bouts of mania but never before had hepletely lost control like he just did, and it was with his own children. If he had lost himself with one of the Gods it would have been fine, their strength would have allowed them to withstand his aggression but his kids.

    Even the strongest were only at B-rank, nothing but a speck inparison.

    As his thoughts coalesced he examined his past actions and the lead up to the attack. "What did I do?" He gazed over at Tovar who was still without garments, his heart in turmoil. He couldn''t believe that he thought it was fine to subject his son to such extreme humiliation because he was a bitzy and failed to rank high on the DP rankings.

    It was no wonder Frost, Indra and Damascus took to the stage, to support him in a manner that didn''t directly contend with his decision.

    At this point he remembered seeing the four of them dancing, seeing Tovar smile and even some of his other children dancing in the stands as a show of support. He remembered his anger building in that moment and refusing to stop, growing, festering until he was fit to burst yet still he failed to notice anything wrong with his mental state.

    Finally when Yami and Aqua confronted him directly the dam burst, and he was consumed by his fury.

    Everything was clear now, he was sick, his mental scars running far deeper than he suspected. He was dangerous and couldn''t trust his own judgement.

    "I need to get a handle on this before I do something I''ll regret." With a pained expression and tightly clenched fists Dark solemnly swore. He could not allow something like this to happen again.

 Chapter 627 Soul damage (2)

    "Diablos are you awake?" After quickly inspecting each of his children Dark called out to the leader of the guardians.

    "Yes Dark God-sama." Diablos meekly responded a momentter, his wounds having been rapidly healed by the ck cocoon Dark summoned.

    "Good. I''m sorry about this Diablos it seems my condition is far worse than I first imagined." There was a clear quiver in his tone, revealing to Diablos the true extent of his shock.

    "Your eminence?" Never before had Diablos heard such worry and unease in his master''s voice.

    "I''ll be fine it''s not at the level where it can affect my base existence, but it does need to be managed if I''m to continue interacting with my children and the mortal world¡­.Diablos send word to your grandfather, I''ll be needing to rely on him for a while." After a brief silence Dark made a decision, before his state gets any worse he''d refrain from interacting with entities below the God level.

    "As youmand Dark God-sama." A whirlpool of thoughts and emotions swirled in Diablos'' mind as he listened to his words. He wanted to help his liege but knew he was powerless; he had no business in the domain of the Gods. His grandfather however was a different story.

    Erebus, known as the God of shadows was very close to Dark, and before his ascension to Godhood he essentially worked as his prime servant, a go between the godly and mortal realm. Even now despite his lofty position Erebus served Dark wholeheartedly, attending to his needs whenever it was required.

    There were very few entities that Dark could trust with his most intimate secrets, Erebus was one of these few.

    After giving a respectful bow and ncing in Yami''s direction Diablos slipped into a pir of shadow and exited this dimension, heading straight for his grandfather''s domain.

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    "Haaaaaaa I hope they won''t look at me with fear filled eyes." Dark let out a deep sigh as he dreaded the prospect of his children looking at him like he was the manifestation of terror.

    While his children rested Dark saw to the healing of the guardians, he apologised for the situation and asked that they do their best to look after their charges, to help them ovee any trauma that develops and if possible put in a good word for him. He desired nothing more than to salvage the rtionship he had with his children.

    The guardians all bowed their heads in reverence to his words, iming that no apology was needed, they were his eternal servants. A response that made Dark cherish his children even more.

    "They''ll likely be out for a while so in the meantime line up so I can rewrite your soul contracts." Feeling that his mind was once again fully under his control and that another attack so soon was unlikely Dark decided to rewrite the guardian''s contracts which would bind them to their charges, limiting their strength and tying their fates together.

    He was just thankful that he didn''t do this earlier thus saving his children from a very gruesome fate.

    Several hourster Frost started toe to. His body felt no pain but there was residual fear present that made him tense up and scream the moment he was conscious.

    "Frost rx, you''re safe, you''re safe." Maya quickly swooped in and wrapped her arms around his trembling and iling body. He struggled and appeared to be in a heightened state of panic but slowly thanks to her tight grip, the softness and weight of her body against his, her enchanting scent and the beating of her heart he gradually calmed down, his mind bing clear.

    "W¡­What happened?"

    "¡­..An ident, something that Dark God-sama says will never happen again." Maya was silent for a moment before replying. Frost visibly trembled as she said his father''s title, he remembered the appearance of that ck apparition with chilling eyes, the fear that overwhelmed his mind and body, how very close he and all his siblings were to death.

    "Indra! Aqua! My siblings?"

    "They''re safe, everyone is safe." Maya said soothingly before gesturing to their side where most of the Dungeon cores were still unconscious, but a few were awake and in their Guardian''s arms. Seeing Gaia, Damascus and the rest asleep but breathing steadily calmed him down. As long as no one was seriously hurt or killed life could go on.

    Frost allowed himself to seekfort in Maya''s embrace for a few minutes, granting his heart enough time to steady its beat before searching for a certain figure. He caught sight of Aqua, Yami, Terra and Pyro awake and alert with simr expressions to his own, but he didn''t see their father the one responsible for their current situation.

    He felt that this was rather unnatural, knowing his father he was the type of person who''d quickly try to fix his mistake, to take an all in caring approach, at least that''s how he viewed him. He was silly at times, strict and even sometimes harsh but most of all he was extremely doting, especially to his daughters.

    Yet Aqua and Sylph were both awake and still in shock, yet his presence was nowhere to be seen.

    Though there was still a strong remnant of fear coursing through his veins, bringing the image of Dark''s true form to the surface of his mind every other second there was also pain, worry and love. His body feared his father but also loved him. As the seconds passed he grew more and more concerned, where was their father? Was he ok? Was his soul damaged? Was he in pain after causing this?

    With a sudden surge of resolve Frost clenched his fists and pulled away from Maya''s embrace. "My father, where is he?"

    "¡­.." Maya silently frowned, unsure how to answer. Dark had chosen to recluse himself from their current dimension so as to avoid frightening his children. He didn''t want to exacerbate any trauma or fear they had towards him.

    "¡­.He''s¡­." It was clear that Maya was reluctant to answer as she squirmed under his gaze, piddling with her choice of words.

    "Enough, I''ll find out myself." Frost quickly rose to his feet with an air of determination around him. He nced over at the bodies of his siblings, most where still unconscious but those who were awake had quickly started to regain their faculties. He wasn''t even the first stand up, Yami just like himself was looking around, taking measure of his siblings and searching for their father.

    He too was worried about the old man.

    "Father." Frost loudly called out but received nothing but silence in return.

    "¡­..Old man." Again even with the change in title there was no response.

    "¡­.Old bast.."

    "Ok that''s enough of that." Suddenly before Frost could finish saying the new monicker Dark''s voice reverberated within his skull.

    ''Hmph so now you answer.''

    "Where are you?"

    "Not here."

    "Obviously."

    "..."

    "You''re hiding."

    "No I''m not, it''s just not safe to be around me right now." Dark seemed to take offence, quickly giving an excuse for his absence.

    "Bullshit! You''re inplete control at the moment, you''re just feeling guilty."

    "Urgh!" The exchange between Frost and Dark was happening entirely telepathically on Dark''s part thus all everyone else saw was Frost loudly arguing with an empty space, growing angrier with every word.

    "Suck it up and show yourself old man or so help me I''ll have everyst one of your daughters ignore you for an entire month!"

    "You wouldn''t dare!"

    "Try me!" Frost viciously threatened.

    For a few moments there was silence before space warped and the form of a handsome middle aged man appeared before Frost and everyone else. The man was frowning and in his eyes there was a mixture of fear, anger, desperation and reluctance. Though his gaze was primarily focused on Frost it asionally drifted over his other children, measuring their reactions to his appearance.

    And although one or two visibly trembled, for most fear was not their initial reaction.

    "¡­..Are you ok Father?" Frost''s initial bluster vanished in an instant, his apparent anger and threats seeing only to bring his Father back before them. His voice was tinged with concern as he walked forward wanting to embrace his father.

    "Frost?"

    "We''re fine father, everyone is fine." Frost wrapped his arms tightly around Dark and spoke in a soothing manner. He acted the same way Maya did for him, hoping to cate his father''s fears.

    Eventually Dark hugged Frost back, his heart practically unravelling as his eyes grew red. "I''m sorry, so sorry." He apologized repeatedly to Frost and his siblings wanting nothing more than to take back what he almost did to them.

    Seeing their father in such a fragile and emotional state practically erased the terrifying image he had created earlier. Smiles returned to their faces and those who were awake took to their feet and moved to embrace both their father and brother, putting the pain of what happened beforepletely behind them.

    "Exin father, we can only help and be prepared to lend you our aid if we know what''s happening."

    "Yes, please tell us Father, we want to help you."

    "Don''t keep us in suspense old man."

    "You owe us that much at least." The children in arge circle surrounded their father and demanded that he tell them everything. And though reluctant Dark acquiesced, he told them about his fractured soul, the symptoms he had to endure and what he needed.

 Chapter 628 Bringing the second gathering to a close (end of volume 9)

    "So in creating us your soul became fragmented and thus you''ve had to endure bouts of mania and extreme aggression." Frost summarised what Dark told them.

    "Yes and it seems to be far more problematic than I first anticipated¡­right now I''m too dangerous to be left unchecked so I''m having Diablos call an old friend. With him helping me out I should be able to find some solution to my current predicament." He had great faith in Erebus'' discretion and capabilities.

    "I see¡­.is there anything we can do to help?"

    "No, not now at least. Just keep developing and living your lives, seeing that brings me joy." Though he appreciated their willingness to help there was nothing his children could do at least with their current strength.

    As the rest of the Dungeon cores came to, the older siblings helped ease the fears held by their younger siblings thus saving the rtionship between them and their father.

    Diablos returned to the ball room a few minutester and whispered in Dark''s ear. He had met with his grandfather and ryed his message; Erebus would join him in his pce once he was finished with his little family gathering which now that he was back in control and his kids didn''t look at him with abject fear could continue.

    However before that he owed a special apology to Tovar. Because of his condition he thought that it was ok to brutally humiliate him in front of his siblings, he had erred greatly in this regard.

    Thus after bowing nearly 90 degrees and begging for his son''s forgiveness he promised to have a one on one chat with him once the gathering was over wherein he''d receive a unique gift, something that was strongly encouraged by the rest of his children.

    The naked nine however wouldn''t receive anything extra, it was agreed upon that their punishment was actually rather fit, not too extreme, not too lenient and no one was singled out in their shame.

    "So¡­.where were we?" After apologising to Tovar Dark asked with obvious embarrassment.

    "The punishments had beenpleted so I guess it''s the so called forfeit challenges right?"

    "Yeah, dinner, war, duels, DP rankings rewards, punishments and finally forfeit challenges before we move onto discussing the current Dungeon system." Gaia listed out the progression Dark first outlined with his fingers, earning a round of agreeing nods.

    "The forfeit challenges eh?" Dark stroked his chin in thought. The point in offering forfeit challenges was to grant those falling behind their siblings a chance to catch up, allowing them the opportunity to rise from being eternally ranked at the bottom. Thus they needed to be quite specific, to focus solely on improving one''s ability to generate DP.

    Experience more content on m v|l e''-NovelBin

    "The forfeit challenges will only apply to the bottom half of the rankings and will include many tiers." Dark stood before his children and expounded upon his ns. "The first tier will apply to all bottom fifty, if you can increase your monthly DP ie by at least 20% within the first three months you''ll be granted a free G-rank spawner, F-rank if you can surpass 40%."

    "The next tier will apply to just the bottom twenty. If you can surpass 75% you''ll be granted a free E-rank spawner as well as a free 2 star environment while surpassing 100% will grant you an additional floor and an extra F-rank spawner."

    "The final tier applies solely to the bottom ten andes with detriments alongside benefits.

    Surpassing 100% will instead grant you an additional E-rank spawner rather than an F-rank one however if you fail to increase your monthly DP ie by at least 20% in the first three months you''ll lose ess to yourtest developed section, and if your monthly ie actually bes lower than what it is currently you''ll lose ess to the entire floor, all of your developments on it bing erased." This was the rules Dark had formted after a great deal of thought.

    Granting the lower ranked Dungeon cores free spawners would help revitalise their attraction to adventurers while also not granting them too many unfair advantages. If they worked hard they''d be rewarded for that effort and if not they''d continue to fall behind, simple as that.

    Dark''s revtion resulted in a fierce chorus of murmurs, the bottom fifty were quite enthusiastic about his prepared forfeit challenges. The different tier system was quite novel and catered well to how badly each Dungeon core ranked on the leaderboards. Even the bottom ten who would be subject to quite severe losses if they didn''t improve their ie epted the terms with smiles.

    Each of them had sworn to improve their standing by the next gathering as their naked run left quite a mark on their hearts.

    As for the upper fifty only those ranked in the forties found the situation a little unfair, if only they''d raked in a slightly lower amount of DP then they too would have been able to enjoy the fruits of the forfeit challenges. Those ranked higher could easily afford the offered rewards based on their own ie so there was no skin off their backs.

    Following the agreement on the forfeit challenges Dark, his children and the remaining guardians sequestered themselves to another room wherein they took part in a grand debate regarding the current Dungeon system. The pros and cons, what could be improved, what served no purpose and what they wanted to see happen.

    This discussionsted close to 24 hours before they were finally happy to walk away and return to their Dungeons. In theing weeks Dark was sure to roll out a great many updates to the system so as to amodate all the new changes he and his children had agreed to.

    "Hopefully this time trade between them will be far moremon." Dark muttered as thest of his children left the space he had created leaving just him and Tovar. "Now Tovar let''s discuss how I can make up for my transgressions against you." Dark stretched out his hand to his son who happily grabbed on, feeling quite special in this moment. "Un."

    Several minutester Frost and Maya were deposited back in their private space, back home after a gruelling two days of dealing with family and drama.

    "Haaaaa feels good to be back home."

    "Un." Maya nodded her head in agreement as she leaned against Frost''s shoulder. Ever since Dark had rewritten her soul contract limiting her strength to below Frost''s her body had felt rather weak, and asionally tingly. She wasn''t used to having her strength so fiercely restrained.

    Before she could chose to not use her overwhelming power but now she had no choice in the matter, even an instinctual re-up was no longer possible. She was now well and truly bound to Frost, something that she found to be incredibly romantic.

    Just as she was gazing up at him and about to kiss his lips to express her affection the sound of an excited scream pulled them apart.

    "Master! Maya!" Loki in all his cuteness dashed out from his bedroom the moment he heard their arrival and leaped into their arms. By this point there was very little left of the shy and fearful young boy that Frost saved.

    "You''re lucky you''re adorable." Frost shook his head before taking hold of Loki in his arms, letting him sit on his forearm as the three of them walked.

    "Hehehe" Showing not even the slightest level of guilt Loki giggled in glee as Frost carried him to the sofa. There he and Maya regaled to him what transpired over the past two days, embellishing when necessary of course.

    The young phoenix kin waspletely transfixed on his every word, his eyes sparkling when Frost spoke of the grand battle between Terra and Pyro and his mind whirling with ideas when he told him of the Dungeon war between Queek and Void.

    It was only when they were wrapping up that the rest of the family made their way back to the private space, sporting rather weary expressions. Without Frost at the helm a lot of the duties fell to Daki and Nanna, and they never worked out as smoothly.

    To up their spirits Frost started his story from the beginning, bringing an official close to the family gathering and bringing back the usual order to the Dungeon of Niflheim.

    "So Maya''s no longer at the top of the food chain." Daki couldn''t help but smirk at her sister girlfriend''s possible plight.

    "I''m still stronger than you Daki." Maya bit back resulting in Daki sticking out her tongue in a yful manner.

    "Yes, father bound her soul to mine thus heavily restricting her natural strength." Frost only felt closer to her because of this, shown by the level of affection in his eyes as he gazed at her. Her power was never what he cared about after all.

    "A lot of changes wille into effect in theing weeks because of the recent gathering so we''ll have to change how run things.

    First of all the training space no longer has ess to free equipment and even using it as is has a small charge." Any training dummies, battlefields or targets now needed to be exchanged for with DP and there was a 100DP basic charge for every hour the space was in use thus adding to the Dungeon''s daily costs.

    "We''ll also likely be in contact with more Dungeon cores in the future as trade has been heavily encouraged." Frost had already put out some feelers with Void, Indra and couple others, keen to add their specialities to his own Dungeon.

 Chapter 629 Dungeon developments (volume 10)

    Following the end of the family gathering the Dungeon was kicked into high gear, its master keen to expand his domain even further so as to keep his hallowed third position amongst his siblings.

    He wasted no time choosing his free 4 star mine after getting Daki''s professional opinion. Though the output was the bare minimum for its rank, a paltry 5kg a day it was still ess to a material he couldn''t get his hands on normally.

    With a contingent of muscr ronsos and ice dwarves as its miners (no one else being strong enough to actually retrieve the ore from its solid confines) a vein of pr thulium appeared on the still unfinished 15th floor, far away from investigating adventurers. The mines on the fifth floor had already been discovered by more than a few groups.

    In the beginning Frost simply had those that treaded upon his secrets killed but when more and more came across them it was wiser to reveal something that could no longer be kept hidden, to instead openly im them in his name. Several 2 star mines were already starting to wee external miners under his rule as lord of the Niflheim Dungeon.

    Time continued to pass and the Dungeon of Niflheim continued to grow and develop. Its fame grew, spreading far and wide as the ce all manner of adventurers needed to be, and merchants needed to make their mark. Along with Indra''s Lightning Grotto and the other Dungeons present on the Yangmir continent the market was shifting.

    Monsterirs were already big enough news when they sprung up with five to ten floors let alone Dungeons that rapidly expanded to twice that many in merely a year''s time.

    The Dungeon of Niflheim''s territory was not only a bustling haven for adventurers and merchants but even people with far less dangerous and money seeking careers were being drawn over. The recent and still building turmoil in the Northrend empire was filling many of its citizens with fear.

    Large swathes of them were fleeing the realm, escaping to the nearby territories before the sword of Damocles truly fell. The war of princes was always filled with turmoil, but this generation felt different.

    "Dad are you sure about this?" One day a family consisting of a father, a son and young daughter arrived at the gates of the Niflheim camp with their belongings in tow. The father sported a determined expression while his children were clearly worried.

    "Yes, I''m sure. Northrend is no longer safe and holds no prospects for us." The father under the current storm chose to relocate his family and the business he worked so hard to build to beyond Northrend. He had seen the signs and his intuition told him that if he wished to protect those he loved they needed to leave and leave now.

    "But father why here? This territory has only been around for a few months?" The son who was old enough to know the workings of the adult world couldn''t understand his father''s decision. Moving was fine but why not to the Cleran kingdom or the Lumerian federation well known countries that would likely offer greater business prospects than the Northrend empire did in their prime.

    "Hehehe because this ce is a true empire in the making, its prospects far exceed that of Northrend''s neighbouring countries. It may not be much right now but in the future I can guarantee that the realm of Niflheim will span far and wide.

    Us getting here now also means there''s far lesspetition¡­.Please trust in your father''s judgement." The man who was in his forties had always trusted his gut instincts. It was how he got the woman of his dreams, won the trust of his master and even seeded beyond all doubt within the crowded markets of Arkheart.

    "¡­.Fine, though I can''t see this ce in the same way you do your judgement has yet to steer us wrong father. We''ll follow your lead as always." The man''s son hadplete faith in his father, the worry in his and his sister''s eyes thus vanished in that moment.

    Several minutester the young family walked through the camp''s gate and headed to office of residential registration. This was too be their new home.

    This family were far from the only group to walk through the gate of the Niflheim base camp in search of a new life. Though some were just passing through on their way to kingdoms residing in the cial mountains many remained within Frost''s territory, adding to his growing poption and the passive DP he raked in on a daily basis.

    On another day a group of adventurers following the rion call that was adventure strolled through the gates with great expectations.

    "Boss we''re finally here the Dungeon of Niflheim." A cat beastman with ck fur shook the snow from his cloak as he rushed forward keen to enter therge gate leading into the mountain.

    "Yes, after travelling for three weeks from the periphery of lte we''ve finally made it." The boss of this adventuring party couldn''t help but grin, the weariness of their travels vanishing like a puff of smoke.

    The Harkers were a group with boundless adventuring spirit, profit was secondary as was ranking up in the guild. They travelled far and wide in search of mystery and wonder and since Dungeons were thetest big thing, they were desperate to be a part of it.

    After quickly arranging their lodgings, visiting the local guild and getting they of thend the Harkers wasted no time at all entering the first floor of the Dungeon. Though the team of five were equal to an upper C-rank party they didn''t rush their delve, choosing to enjoy and take wonder in the local environment.

    "Frost goblins and slimes the basic of the basic." The scout of the group announced as he pulled out his dagger from one of their throats.

    "Yes but it seems the rumours were true. The monsters here are stronger than normal, even these frost goblins held more intelligence than the standard variety found in the wild."

    "Let''s move onto the deeper floors, only there can we be truly tested." Arge ox beastman bellowed as he rested a massive Warhammer across his shoulders.

    "Agreed."

    The Harkers quickly descended through the many floors only taking true pause once they finally reached floor 8 as that was where the C-rank monsters came into y. Frost was gradually moving his strongest monsters down as the Dungeon developed, soon C-ranks wouldn''t appear at all on the first ten floors.

    However a certain problem grew more and more prevalent therger the Dungeon became, a problem that many people grumbled about but were powerless to solve. For parties like the Harkers and the other C-ranks to reach the floors that suited their strengths they needed to traverse the entirety of the preceding floors. Discover more content at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    Sure they could rush through doing their best to avoidbat but that was still tens of kilometres of travel through rugged terrain, travel that cost time and energy.

    Now though with trade being heavily encouraged and Frost being able to witness the designs of Void''s Dungeon he thought of a solution, one which greatly inspired his brother who quickly went to work designing this proposed structure.

    Frost just needed a group to be the prospective guinea pigs and the Harkers fit the bill nicely.

    As the Harkers battled against an ice revenant on the eight floor, slowly but surely chipping away at it with their well-coordinated teamwork none of them suspected that the master of the Dungeon was eyeing their progress with clear interest.

    "Jakka hurry up with your enchantments!" The boss of the Harkers loudly orders as he leaped to the side dodging the ice revenant''s mighty swing.

    "I''m going as fast as I can, stop moving so much." Jakka their resident mage roared hisints as he did his best to keep focus. Though hecked big shy spells he was quite adept at enchantment magic that greatly improved his team''s weaponry and armours.

    "That''s easier said than done Jakka!" The ox beastman with his Warhammer chided from the side as he took a massive wallop at the revenant''s great sword, both of them beingunched backwards from the residual force.

    "Ah here I''m done!"

    "Perfect!"

    "Sweet!"

    "Now the party can really begin ahahaha!" The Harkers were emboldened by the earth aspected mana wrapping around their weapons and armours with this they didn''t have to fear the ice encrusted around the revenant nor their weapon''s being damaged by its armour.

    "[Grand wallop]"

    "[Swallow''s pierce]"

    "[Sword fang]" With their weapons enchanted the three closebat fighters of the Harkers attacked with some of their most powerful skills all at once instantly forcing the ice revenant to take defensive measures but unfortunately it wasn''t enough to endure heavy blows from three different directions.

    The ice revenant was severely wounded and quickly fell to their des a few minutester, leaving the armour that was its body and a damaged soul core lying on the ground.

    "Phew that was close, ice revenants really mean business." The group were clearly exhausted after their battle as all five of them fell to the ground and broke into heavy breathing. This was the third C-rank they''d fought against today and it drained them of all their remaining stamina.

    "Let''s call it a day and find a ce to make camp." The leader who was known as Rindou dered an end to the day as he moved to rifle through the materials left by the ice revenant''s corpse.

    "Huh what''s this?"

 Chapter 630 Dungeon developments (2)

    Rindou scavenged through the ice revenant''s corpse, isting the most useful and valuable materials for retrieval. Not everything could be used after all. With such a brutal sh of weaponry and skills much of the ice revenant''s body -its armour- was covered in deep gashes and splintering cracks. The Harkers would be lucky if even 10% of its corpse was usable.

    Damage to a monster''s body was a verymon urrence in their line of work so it was integral that at least one member of the party was skilled in identifying the quality and usability of what remained, Rindou just happened to be that person. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin

    Rindou continued to shuffle through the corpse with an ever growing frown, the results of his search being subpar at best. The group were tired from the long trek and previous battles thus they neglected the care aspect when it came to hunting the ice revenant. Much of the corpse was trashed, even the revenant''s core was pretty much scrap as it littered the ground in countless fragments.

    "Haaaaaaa" Rindou let out a deep sigh filled with disappointment; he was ready topletely write off the entire corpse bar a few slivers of metal when a glimmer caught his eye.

    "Huh? What''s this thing?" This wasn''t the first time his team had hunted an ice revenant, so he was confident that he knew every single inch of usable material but apparently he was wrong.

    Rindou moved a couple chunks of metal to the side revealing a small spherical object covered in intricate runes. It was the runes that glimmered in the light, drawing his attention.

    "A runic stone?" Rindou was perplexed by the object now resting between his fingers. It was a small ck stone norger that 3 inches in diameter and decorated with silverly coloured runes that he couldn''t recognise. Truly a baffling object that had no business being with the ice revenant they just killed.

    "Jakkae over here for a moment." Since he couldn''t identify the rune himself Rindou called upon the Harkers eminent mage.

    Jakka begrudgingly dragged his tired body over to Rindou dropping his current task.

    "Take a look at this, have you see these runes before?"

    "Hmm." Jakka took hold of the runic stone and started investigating it. He rubbed it between his fingers, squeezed it, weighed it and examined the intricate runes before inserting a snippet of his own mana into it. The longer he ruminated on the stone the deeper his frown grew.

    "Sorry boss I''ve got no idea." Jakka shrugged his shoulders and passed the runic stone back to Rindou. He could identify that some of the rune had links to the spatial element but that was it. He had no clue what the stone did once filled with enough mana.

    Rindou gave the runic stone onest look before lightly tossing it upwards and catching it with his other hand.

    "Guess we''ll have tomission the guild for answers." The adventurer''s guild was home to a great many services, not only did they facilitate the creation and administration of quests for adventurers they also offered dismantling services, item storage as well as identification services. Items that could not be identified by their finder could be deposited with the guild for a small fee.

    The guild would then utilise its vastwork of knowledge and connections to analyse said item.

    Rindou and the Harkers given their fancy for exploration and unearthing of mystery were well acquainted with this service.

    "The rest of the corpse is pretty much useless so it''s time to go."

    "Yes boss." The Harkers thus made their way to a safe area where they could set up camp for the night. They would make for the surfacee tomorrow with their packs and even storage ring filled to the brim with bounty.

    As the Harkers drifted into a peaceful slumber Frost who was watching their actions from within the private space smiled and leaned back against the sofa.

    "The first stone has been given." The runic stone that Rindou found was purposely left with the ice revenant by Frost in the hope that they''d retrieve it. This small stone was the result of Void''s and hisbined efforts (well mostly Void''s but Frost came up with the idea).

    "What''s the next step?" Daki asked from his side. She was taking a break from her forge and was currently lying across the sofa, her legs resting on Frost''sp.

    "I''ll have a few more parties conveniently find these stones before going to the adventurer''s guild with my own and a rudimentary exnation." Frost replied back while massaging his girlfriend''s calves.

    "If we''re lucky this will result in another boon, adventurers will be hounding at our gates to get hold of these stones." An evil smile formed on his lips as Frost imagined the result of his little experiment.

    The runic stones he had Void develop were quite simple in nature but solved a deep-seated problem that gued all monsterirs of a significant size and now also Dungeons.

    Though he nned to invest in a more established structure in the future, for now these little stones would allow his customers to instantly travel to floor 5.5 from anywhere within the Dungeon, all they needed to do was pump it full of mana and whoosh they''d be teleported to the floor of peace, safe and sound.

    This stone would change how everything worked, primarily they''d allow adventurers to cut their delving time in spades, high ranking parties would no longer need to travel all the way from the first floor to reach their targets and that was just one aspect.

    The stones if enough time was given would allow their wielders to escape danger, in one moment they could be facing off against a group of terrifying ice trolls and the next they could be safe and sound on the floor of peace, away from harm.

    The stones could even be used in reverse, a group of adventures who had reached the lower floors could teleport back up to the floor of peace decreasing their return journey and even sparing them from fighting their way back.

    Frost was confident that the introduction of these ''Floor Jumping Stones'' as Void tentatively named them would see his Dungeon flourish. Adventurers would have more time to hunt and would delve with a veritable safety if they had one of these stones thus increasing the amount of money they could earn without further jeopardising their lives.

    Of course with money being a factor the merchants wouldn''t be left out. The moment the stones were revealed the savvy businessmen of the Niflheim Camp would surely make scrounging up as many of the stones their 1st priority. They would then sell them to adventurers at a very healthy premium.

    The stones would even allow those who weren''t strong enough to reach the floor of peace to see it in the flesh. This not only included newbie adventurers but also merchants who perhaps wished to set up shop on the Dungeon''s safety floor. The Floor Jumping Stones would allow these merchants to easily transferrge swaths of materials down into the Dungeon.

    Getting stuff back out however would -for now- be restricted to the old fashioned way. Frost nned to release different degrees of the Floor Jumping Stones as time went on.

    "So we''ll be getting a lot more DP soon?" Daki said with a sparkle in her eyes, her ambitions clear to see.

    "I just got you a 4 star mine, where would you even find the time to enjoy anything else." Frost shook his head in dismay; this was the first time that wasn''t briefly in bed that he''d seen his girlfriend since the pr thulium mine became operational.

    During the first few days she didn''t even sleep, constantly experimenting with the pr thulium, learning its traits and behaviours with other materials. Eventually she even roped in Borris and now the two of them were working together on some special project involving the 4 star material.

    "For a cksmith there''s never enough materials hehehe." Daki giggled mischievously, eager to get her hands on more mines if Frost could be convinced.

    Daki''s feet started to find their way towards his groin in an attempt to seduce him and trade sex for a new mine.

    "Find a good use for the materials you currently have ess to then we''ll see." Daki''s enticement stopped at his words, she even puffed up her cheeks in protest, but the sudden withdrawal of her touch seemed to rile up her boyfriend.

    "Oi who said you could stop, I''ve been methodically massaging your calves and it''s the first time in days that we''ve been able to have some alone time together." Frost was determined to get in some good romantic interactions with Daki before she vamoosed back to her forge.

    Daki bore a nk look for a second before it was reced with a seductive expression, her feet once again moving towards Frost''s groin while she sat up and licked her lips.

    "If you wanted sex you only ever have to ask Frost dear, I''m always up for some romping in the sheets my love." Daki though passionate about forging was no less passionate when it came to a very healthy sex life, hell if she could somehowbine the two a lifelong aspiration would be fulfilled.

    Frost smiled from ear to ear before nting a sensual kiss on Daki''s luscious lips.

    "Well a gentlemen never refuses ady''s gift." As Daki''s feet wormed they beneath his robes his hands stretched out and started caressing her supple body, one to her chest and the other below.

    "Ahhhhn!" Daki let out a devilish moan as Frost''s skilled hands got to work which seemed to galvanise her boyfriend''s efforts.

    Ten minutester the two of them made for the bedroom and didn''te out for the next two hours. When they finally left they did so with dishevelled clothes and ruddyplexions.

 Chapter 631 Floor Jumping Stones

    The Harkers along with 3 more adventuring parties made for the adventurer''s guild the moment they surfaced. Each of them had found one of the runic stones and wished to get it appraised at the guild, hoping that they had stumbled upon a veritable gem that would bring them great riches.

    When the first group arrived the situation was treated as something uneventful but when 4 groups and even the Lord of the camp Frost arrived within simr stones in hand the situation changed.

    "The runes are clearly awash with the spatial element, transposition if we''re being technical but it''s also different from the regr runes." A wizened old man with a trove of experience in regards to runes gave his opinion on the matter.

    With his clear eyes and wealth of knowledge he could easily distinguish the purpose of the stones but even so there was still some elements of its function that alluded him.

    "There seems to be some sort of restrictive mechanism, the coordinates appear fixed as is the area in which it can function." Another elder who was an expert in sealing runes as well as an avid former delver of mystical dimensions and unusual monsterirs remarked with glinting eyes. It wasn''t often that he got to see something new and novel like the runic stones.

    "Has anyone actually tested it out yet, assumption can only get us so far." When the third elder spoke he was met with a bunch of nodding from his peers who then looked towards the local guild master.

    "There is and he''s already ascertained what you theorised." The current guild master was a longtime subordinate of Bastion''s, a man named Ringwald. If Bastion was number one, Thrall number two and the keeper number 3 then Ringwald was number 4 in the hierarchy and though he was lower ranked his workload was normally much higher.

    Ringwald was in charge of a vast range of activities back in Furano as well as the guilds spread across the rest of viscounty which made him the ideal person to help set up a new guild. Bastion was too important, Thrall too busy and the Keeper too specified in his skills.

    Though it was supposed to be just a temporary thing while a proper guild master was arranged Ringwald desired to stay in his current position. The pay was better, the work more fulfilling and here he was in charge, no one above ordering him around.

    "Really who? And what does it do?" The wizened elders moured around Ringwald desperate for the knowledge he held.

    "I can answer that." Just when Ringwald was about to escort the group into a waiting area where they could interact with Lord Frost the man in question entered of his own volition. This was technically against the rules but since Frost owned thend around them and was himself a powerful adventurer and was the one who brought the knowledge, Ringwald ignored his impropriety.

    "Elders please pay your respects to Lord Frost, the owner of the Camp and the most aplished delver of the Niflheim Dungeon." Ringwald introduced Frost with great grace, his voice tinged with respect and admiration.

    "No need for that in fact it should be me paying respects to the elders. As Ringwald said my name is Frost and I run the Camp here outside the Niflheim Dungeon."

    "Respectful and upright a goodd."

    "Un" The wizened elders all nodded in appreciation as they admired Frost''s manners. Few still held such respect nowadays especially the younger generation gifted with boundless talent.

    "Lord Frost, Ringwald says you''ve used the runic stones and know of their function is this true?"

    "Yes, I used a couple recently to test them out. Shall I exin my findings?"

    "Please." The elders were like eager school children as they waited with bated breaths for Frost to tell them the results of his investigation.

    "Very well. First off these runic stones or Floor Jumping Stones as I''ve seen to call them allow the wielder to teleport directly to the Dungeon''s safety floor otherwise known as the floor of peace. To do so the wielder must infuse their mana into the stone until it reaches full capacity they must also be within the Dungeon. I tried to activate them out with, but nothing happened."

    "They really are transposition runes, and the restrictions must be in regards to the Dungeon itself." The first and second elder chimed in as realisation dawned on them.

    "These stones can change how adventurers delve, so much time can be saved."

    "Not only that they could also function as escape devices as long as the mana required is low and the activation sequence is rtively quick." Enjoy more content from m-v l''e|-NovelBin

    "Those injured below could be instantly brought somewhere safe thus preserving a life that may have ended otherwise."

    "There''s got to be more restrictions, we need to thoroughly test these¡­ what did you call them Floor Jumping Stones."

    "I agree how many people can they teleport? Can items be moved with them and if so how many, what''s the limit?"

    "Are the stones single use items, permanent or something in between?" The elders quickly isted the important details causing a smile to grow on Frost''s lips.

    "Ringwald can you gather the stones collected by the other adventuring parties."

    "Yes Lord Frost." Ringwald quickly gathered up the Floor Jumping Stones and handed them all to Frost.

    "3 of these stones are of the small ss while the other two could be considered medium ss. From my own trials I discovered that the small stones can transport one person to the floor of peace maybe 20 times before breaking apart whereas therger ones roughly 50 times given the level of degradation after each jump.

    How that trantes with numerous people and or merchandise I can''t say but it''s certain that these things aren''t permanent, they will break after enough uses." If he came out with something permanent then there''d be very little profit to be made, Frost would never make such an amateur mistake.

    Frost''s revtion started another thorough debate between the elders who scrambled together a n. Shortly after Frost visited a statement was announced at the guild, they were seeking these Floor Jumping Stones that could be found within the Dungeon of Niflheim.

    Any small stones would be purchased for 5 silvers while medium ones would be 20 silvers, anythingrger would have to be analysed before any payment was given, due to there beingck ofparison.

    This announcement took the Camp''s residents by storm, adventurers flocked to the boards, taking precise note of the stone''s features before dashing off to inform their teammates. Merchants instantly smelled an opportunity, but Frost and the adventurer''s guild quickly put up a short-term restriction.

    The stones were regarded as sensitive research material thus making outside transactions illegal until further notice.

    You''d think that this would curb the merchant''s enthusiasm, but their passion only grew. By making the stones illegal the merchants determined that they must be something of real value. Several individuals decided to risk thew to quickly prepare future stock while others with confidence in their strength chose to get the merchandise themselves.

    Selling to anyone other than the guild was illegal, but it couldn''t stop them from hoarding whatever they found themselves and once the ban was lifted they''d be able to freely offload their stones at a hefty premium.

    So many groups smelled money in the air, even those who didn''t wish to risk any sort of reprisal from thew prepared themselves for a shift in the market.

    With every adventurer on the hunt the Dungeon saw a vast resurgence in customers, bringing a glorious expression to Frost''s face as he sat in the private space, rubbing his hands together andughing.

    "Ok this side of you is really not that attractive." Mayamented with mild disgust as she saw her noble and handsome boyfriend devolve into a money or rather DP hungry beast.

    "It''s attractive whenever I buy you alcohol."

    "Urgh." Frost''s sharp retort made her speechless.

    Frost watched with glee as adventurers flocked in mass numbers, hunting vast swaths of his monsters (mostly those summoned by spawners). Many died in search of treasure adding to his healthy DP reserves but many also found their bounty.

    Whether a stone was miraculously dropped by a monster or found in one of the many recurring treasure chests throughout the Dungeon the founders raised their hands in celebration.Along with whatever usual materials they retrieved from hunting they would be able to exchange a tiny little stone for at least 5 silvers, that''s a new weapon for some of the lower ranked adventurers.

    Over the course of three days dozens of stones were sold to the adventurers guild while even more were hoarded away for future transactions. It was impossible for their function to remain a secret after all this time thus once it was revealed an even greater storm was set off and the Dungeon raked in the profits.

    Frost didn''t even care a single iota in regards to the many losses among his monsters, as long as his upper ranked were untouched any price was worth it when the money was this good.

    The Dungeon quickly found itself home to several new E rank spawners that proliferated the upper five floors.

    "It''s about time I start moving those at the C-rank and upper D-rank down to the bottom most floors."

 Chapter 632 Floor Jumping Stones (2)

    The Dungeon of Niflheim was currently home to 15 floors -excluding the floors 5.5 and 10.5- and all but the final floor was fully stocked with environments and expansions. However only the top ten floors were in use by the public given that no one had ever reached beyond the tenth floor -bar the team from the federation of knowledge.

    This was primarily due to the vast sums of C-rank monsters prowling the halls.

    Furano and the nearest towns and enves had few C-rank parties let alone groups at the B-rank thus this was a barrier no one could ovee. Eventually if Frost left things as they were B-ranks would be attracted to the Dungeon and would destroy his current utopia with their overwhelming strength. At the moment only he, Khuno and Findley were capable of going toe to toe with a B-rank party.

    Though his C-rank forces were numerous, to take down a party of that level would result in some serious losses to their numbers, a price that Frost would find hard to stomach.

    Whenever a D-rank monster or lower died in his Dungeon Frost wouldn''t even bat an eye anymore. Given how much DP he was raking in on a daily basis the cost to rece a monster of such a low rank was so miniscule that it hardly mattered in the grand scheme.

    Before he genuinely cared about each and everyone of his monsters but now given how many there were and how cheap their lives were he had grown a little numb. His care was reserved for Findley, Khuno and the officers as well as his family. Perhaps it''s rather callous but it is the truth nheless and a fact that Frost has epted.

    Of course if anyone abuses or tortures his monsters for fun then it''s a different story, such offenders would quickly see themselves absconded to a secret prison where all manner of torture wouldmence. Day after day a monster of high rank would carve them up, letting them experience true fear until eventually they died of their wounds or starved to death and those were the lucky ones.

    The greatest offenders were kept alive forever through the use of healing magic and being forced to eat and drink, to be eternally tortured and siphoned of their delicious DP.

    Thankfully Frost restricted his prison for the most evil of people, he fiercely fought against the growing attraction, the possible levels of DP that such a system could produce. He would not join that faction among his siblings regardless of the benefits, it just wasn''t him.

    Anyway he felt that now was a good time with the stones drawing everyone''s focus to gradually shift his strongest forces down a few floors, finally putting some use into them.

    By the end of the transition only the tenth and possibly the ninth floor would be home to a small amount of C-rank monsters thus allowing ess to floor 10.5 (that was still pretty empty bar a few mines that were hidden out of view) and moving the hard barrier to the 11th or possibly the 12th floor for now.

    This would healthily leave 3 floors between the current adventurers'' delving capability and the Dungeon''s heart. After seeing the madness in Ladius'' eyes and the attraction his heart had on her he didn''t want a single less constrained adventurer toe even remotely near it.

    "Finy start the shift and make it gradual, there''s no hurry."

    "Yes master." With the order given Finy moved within the Dungeon, organising the majority of the Dungeon''s C-ranks in a full descent leaving varied levels of D-ranks to fill in the gaps.

    As time progressed the team assigned to analyse the differences between the Floor Jumping Stones uncovered their limitations and after roughly a week they published their results shaking the foundation of what was known. Word spread from the Camp to the surrounding towns and cities thus attracting even more adventurers and merchants.

    And speaking of merchants the moment the ban was lifted many of the more prolific merchants starting offering a vast range of Floor Jumping Stones for a very healthy premium. A single stone ranged between 15 and 20 silvers while a medium one ranged between 60 and 70 silvers. And despite these inted prices many adventurers and other merchants quickly snapped up their entire stock.

    Simply selling theses stones for a profit was one way to make money another was to use them in transporting supplies down to the floor of peace.

    With more and more people reaching this fabled floor and even Frost developing a rudimentary outpost and opening up mining opportunities several merchants decided to utilise the vast sums of money they had earned in the camp to set up shop within the Dungeon itself. The stones would greatly reduce the logistical problems for at least half the journey.

    "Son I''ll leave setting up our second branch to you, use this experience to temper your skills." A father ordered his son to make his way to the floor of peace with multiple storage rings and bags filled with materials on his person.

    "Yes father, I won''t let you down." The son replied with sparkling eyes, his voice filled with determination. This was a heaven sent opportunity, his father was truly letting him fly solo and take on a momentous task. If he seeded in setting up an aplished shop within the Dungeon his family''s legacy would be ensured and their coffers invigorated.

    The young man wasn''t the only one, quite a few young entrepreneurs and some of the more steely elder ones held Floor Jumping Stones in their hands as they said farewell to those they were leaving on the surface. This trip of theirs would at the very least keep them from their family for a few days but likely more.

    After saying their goodbyes the group of ambitious merchants stepped into the Dungeon and activated their Floor Jumping Stones.

    Whoosh!

    Each of the merchants, their luggage and anyone who was travelling with them were encased in silvery ck shells before being instantly teleported deep underground. They arrived on the floor of peace a momentter, their arrival drawing the attention of the patrolling ronsos and a few adventurers who were resting in the area.

    For most this was the first time they''d seen the stones in action, so they were inpete awe.

    One or two of the merchants even threw up theirst meal as the sudden movement through space upset their internals.

    "So this is floor 5.5 otherwise known as the fabled floor of peace." The son who was sent by his father remarked with awe as he took in the pleasant atmosphere andck of danger around him. Behind him stood two well built men who were to act as his guards during the time he was here.

    "Let''s head to the outpost set up by Lord Frost, we''ll be assigned an area where we can set up our shop there." Frost had alreadyid his im on this floor before anyone else even thought to utilise its peaceful environment.

    Of course it was hard for one man toy im to the entire Dungeon but somehow Frost seemed to do it, and no one was willing to shake his position. First of all there was no one at Frost''s level of strength nor anyone with his level of backing.

    Frost wasn''t truly alone after all, the legions of Ronsos and two B-rank monsters served as his subordinates, following any of his orders without any hesitation. Of course no one really wanted to remove him either, Frost was a fair ruler that not only supported a great quality of life but held great administration skills.

    By being assigned a space by Lord Frost there''d be no fierce fighting or bidding wars to secure one and security was pretty much guaranteed. They were free topete but solely based upon their skills as merchants and the products they supplied.

    Maron the young man sent by his father was more than happy to acquiesce to Frost''s arrangements, in fact he was grateful for them.

    ''This will be the first step on a long path, whether or not our family can rise to the peak will be determined by how well we do here.'' Maron was determined and full of confidence in his actions.

    He lead the two guards his father had arranged for him and made his way to the local outpost and after a short and concise meeting he was granted a prominent area to establish his shop as were the others who had decided to ze their trails into the Dungeon.

    With adventurers mouring throughout the floors in search of Floor Jumping Stones and merchants making their way down to the floor of peace no one noticed a shift in the monsters. Finy and his officers were very subtle in their movements as per Frost''s orders.

    They took their time, slowly moving the stronger monsters deeper into the Dungeon making not just the 6th to 10th floors easier but also the 1st to the 5th.

    The Dungeon though still being home to a veritable army of C-rank monsters was now also bing more inviting to the weaker adventurer parties. Even those at the F-rank and perhaps G-rank were able to survive the first two floors thus attracting lots of young blood to the Camp.

    For the local guild and the senior adventurers this was a sight that warmed the heart. A ce that could wee both juniors and elders was sure to thrive.

 Chapter 633 Fierce operation

    Almost a month after the second family gathering ended and word of the Floor jumping stones had spread far and wide, many minute changes within the Dungeon and the Camp had taken ce. The fifteenth floor was now fully developed with multiple expansions, secondary rooms and was awash with dynamic, high priced 2 star environments of the ice element.

    Following that the sixteenth floor had even been prepared but was instead decorated with a range of environments and monsters of the spatial element.

    Following their joint development on the Floor Jumping Stones the two siblings engaged in arge transaction involving elemental environments, monsters, magic books and even unique mines ¨C Thest one being due to Daki''s incessant pleading.

    On the sixteenth floor instead of being greeted by a world of ice one would be met with a range of ancient mazes wherein every step could teleport victims halfway across the room. It was a floor filled with illusions, transpositional traps, eery elongated hallways that took ages to travel through and deadly teleporting monsters, a very different experience to the previous floors but no less deadly.

    With Frost''s acumen in war and his experience in dealing with the monster stampede he greatly improved upon Void''s initialyouts, establishing a truly puzzling and deadly floor.

    There was even a small section in the final area that was a just a dimension of space, no paths, walls or objects. Those who entered would be encapsted in a deep darkness with only the glimmer of stars allowing them to see around them. To escape a victim would need to tread blindly through aplicated path lest they wished to remain trapped forever.

    This mini environment like trap was something Void had developed personally after pooling together his knowledge of spatial environments. Initially he had no intention in selling this piece of work but Frost''s vast sums of DP as well as his ess to unique ice fire magic- which Void found particrly fascinating- finally won him over.

    Now all that was needed was for a group of high powered adventurers to make it down to the bottommost floor and experience its grandeur. s given the Dungeon''s current clientele it would be an event in the far future. Because of that he held off on trading with Indra, Aqua and the rest of his siblings.

    As the Dungeon, the camp and even the internal outpost continued to develop, weing more and more people the situation in the Northrend empire grew dire. Every day crime was rampant throughout the realm, the hands of both the first and second prince ying a crucial part. Whether on their orders or those of their subordinates the empire was inches away from being embroiled in mes. Stay tuned to m-v l|e''-NovelBin

    ck market groups, underworld gangs, illegal vers and even drug cartels stopped showing restraint. With the entire empire consumed by the war of the princes there was no one left to contain their antics, hell a few opportunistic nobles even hired them to further the chaos and or seek revenge against their enemies. It was a dark period far worse than Emperor Franz could have ever anticipated.

    Every day he''d see the reports of his country in chaos and theck of care in the expressions of both his sons and the people who supported them. His power had already dwindled to a fraction of what it once was.

    His abdication was already in motion thus making the remaining officials and nobles seek shelter under the umbre that they believed would prevail regardless of its intentions and capabilities.

    Franz had tried to stem the transition as best he could while he garnered support for his daughter but once the die for abdication had been cast it was almost impossible to take it back. Only the most loyal and good in nature were left but as if inplete agreement the two factions holden to the princes actively suppressed them, preventing them from rising to any meaningful level of power.

    Franz actions even seemed to incur Randolph''s wrath; the asional nce his son sent his way made his blood chill. It wasn''t long until he started growing suspicious of the people taking care of the daily needs of his wife, daughter and himself, and quite frankly it was lucky he did.

    Shortly after ordering his most loyal shadow guards to monitor the servants and investigate the defences a report was delivered to his desk that caused his face to pale and indescribable anger to shoot through his veins.

    "Bastards! Do you really think this empire is already yours!" Franz roared at the top of his lungs, his aura and cultivated strength causing the very walls surrounding his office to tremble.

    Franz being of noble blood and from growing up surrounded with the best medicines, teachers and books was naturally powerful. The man despite in hister years was still a world renowned A-rank expert who could cleave the earth in twain with a single swing of his sword.

    "Cough Cough!" His powerful outburst however resulted in a powerful bacsh, aggravating some deep seated wounds that he umted in his youth that even the best medicines couldn''tpletely cure.

    "Damn bastards, I have no sons!" Though blood flowed out his throat and his chest felt as though a mountain was pressing down upon it Franz grew angrier and angrier.

    7 cases there was actually 7 cases in the past week that werebelled suspicious by the shadow guards -suspicious in this case being treasonous. Servants had been swapped out with unrecognisable faces without his knowledge while others had been seen in contact with members of the princes'' factions. Alone this wasn''t anything too worrisome but given what followed¡­.

    The new servants were highly skilled in martial arts rather than caretaking, hidden soldiers or rather assassins while the ones in contact with the princes'' factions were assigned to either sensitive positions or were somewhat close to the empress and princess.

    It was clear that both Randolph and Sedrick wished to control the imperial pce, to lock their father and even their mother and sister in a prison while they finished their duel.

    If this was all then perhaps Franz could have epted it as these actions could be considered precautionary, a warning but that''s only when they weren''t acted upon.

    The shadow guards discovered traces of poison in the meals provided to both him and the empress, while Avira also had her tea spiked. The poison was insidious and almost impossible to trace and or even notice unless one was looking for it.

    By the time Franz had noticed and taken action his wife had already ingested several doses of the substance and had begun to fall ill. His daughter being wiser than he ever gave her credit for had miraculously avoided being poisoned, treating ever meal and drink she ever ingested once the war began with harsh scrutiny.

    A doctor of great renown and who could bepletely trusted was sneaked into the imperial pce but unfortunately there was nothing he could do.

    The poison used was called ''Fairy''s passing'' a concoction that had no known cure. Though the process was slow and minorly painless the victim would die, nheless.

    The Empress perhaps had a couple months before her body wouldpletely give out. The doctor''s diagnosis was an arrow threw the Emperor''s heart. That night he coughed up a great deal of blood resulting in the same doctor examining him. What he found in the Emperor was even more devasting than what afflicted the Empress.

    While Amelia''s poison could be considered gentle in nature the one afflicting Franz was truly insidious. The poison was practically useless against the young and fit in body but was merciless to those with hidden injuries such as Franz. Slowly the poison would gnaw at these wounds, aggravate them more and more until the victim was internally torn apart.

    Both the Emperor and Empress were poisoned and given a clear death sentence; the only silver lining being that Avira was healthy and that they still had the strength needed to protect her.

    "Shadow guards I want round the clock protection for Avira, kill anyone who dares intrude upon her sanctuary as well as anyone you find remotely suspicious!" Franz coldly ordered before receiving a cold reply from a nearby shadow.

    "As youmand your majesty."

    "Someone bring me general Anya." Franz then summoned the only general who waspletely loyal to his daughter. There were some things he needed to arrange before he and his wife inevitably passed.

    While chaos reigned in the Northrend empire a rtively normal looking group of adventurers arrived at the gates of the Niflheim Camp. From their attire, speech and even the level of strength that they disyed this group was a run of the mill D-rank party just like the rest who were drawn over to the Niflheim Dungeon.

    But looks can be deceiving.

    "Has everyone memorised the appearance of the targets." The apparent party leader questioned with a cold voice. The friendly mannerisms and brutish attitude this man disyed while in the presence of outsiders vanished the moment this group were alone in a locked room, away from any prying eyes.

    ""Yes sir."" Five people, three women and two men replied from their positions around the room.

    "Well then let the operation begin, our client does not tolerate failure." The leader''s harsh reminder caused the other five to grimace but a momentter the group split up to take care of their assigned duties.

 Chapter 634 Fierce operation (2)

    "Haaaaa finally we''re out!" A tall woman with a very muscr physique loudly announced as she and three other woman with simr physiques left the Dungeon and returned to the Camp after a 3 day delve that saw them reach all the way to the 9th floor.

    "I''m going to need to bathe for a week to get all the blood, gore and stains out of me." A second woman trembled all over as she sniffed under her arms finding the smell truly revolting for someone who cared very deeply about cleanliness.

    Despite the use of cleaning magic there was just some things that needed a good old fashioned scrub to get rid of.

    "Bathing will have to wait girls; we''ve got loot to unload and a quest to turn in." The leader of these amazonian women was thest to exit and she stood at least half a head taller than the others and was at least 15% more muscr.

    "Of course sis, the job''s not done until it''s done as you always say." Thest woman spoke in agreement with their leader who also happened to be the eldest of the four sisters.

    The others grumbled under their breath but followed their eldest sister''s lead.

    This group of powerful women were known as the ''Amazonian Beauties'' a strong C-rank adventuring party hailing from the eastern edges of the Yangmir continent.

    Originally they hade to the northern reaches in search of certain herbs that could help preserve their skin''s sticity despite their profound muscle growth. Plus they heard from their seniors that the cold weather present in the cial mountains provided a great environment for body resilience training.

    The group was going to simply stay within the camp to rest before carrying on into the mountains but soon found themselves unable to extricate themselves from it. The Dungeon of Niflheim was just too lucrative to pass up. The variety and strength of the monsters present within called to their warrior''s blood while the untapped mysteries thaty in the lower floors spoke to their adventurous spirit.

    It didn''t take long for the Amazonian Beauties to be repeat customers.

    The local amenities weren''t anything to snuff at either. Frost had long ago provided several public bath houses where in hot water flowed freely, allowing even the most hardened of adventurers to rest their weary bones. It was a rather unique experience to enjoy the warmth of a bath while surrounded by snow and even the asional blizzard.

    These local bath houses quickly became popr drawing in not just adventurers but the merchants and the permanent residents. If one was lucky there was even a chance for them to brush shoulders with the Lord of the Camp himself.

    Though Frost deigned to only charge a very small fee for ess to the bath houses it quickly rued, bing one of the Camp''s most lucrative businesses.

    The Amazonian Beauties hade to very much adore the idea of resting their muscle weary bodies in arge open air tub while snowkes drifted down on top of them.

    "Hopefully there''s not a queue. If we''re toote the bath houses will be too crowded to enjoy." The youngest of the four sisters lightlyined as she tried to rush her siblings to the guild.

    Given their appearances both in their beauty and their physical stature the four always drew attention to themselves, this only increased once they removed their clothes. Though the bath house was split into male and female sides it did little to help the gawkers.

    With their younger sister''s urging the group swiftly made their way to the guild with their bounty held within a storage ring, a necessity for a group of their strength to have.

    "Ah Maressa it''s good to see you again, another sessful hunt I presume." Jaina, Bastion''s daughter had been transferred recently to the Niflheim branch to learn the ropes from Ringwald. At least that was the official reason. In truth Bastion just wanted his daughter away from Northrend, away from the cmity that was slowly drawing close.

    The spoiled and arrogant attitude she once had back in Furano waspletely gone, reced with that of skilled and experienced receptionist.

    Frost and Maya''s grand reveal and her finally getting truly rebuked by her father forced her to mature lest she really wanted to be a lost cause. Even Leo and Luna were taking seats at the big table, being their cousin she couldn''t fall far behind.

    "Of course we sisters never fail do we girls."

    "Never"

    "With biceps like ours how could we fail." The sisters proudly responded, flexing their muscles.

    Jaina couldn''t help but giggle the Amazonian Beauties were real characters that always brought a smile to anyone''s face with their disys of power. Strange how having a pretty face and enchanting figure could change everything, if a gruff middle-aged man bragged and showed off like they did it''d be off-putting, and she''d look down at him with derision perhaps even disgust.

    "3 pairs of whiskers from coeurl pups as well as their pelts with a minimum of good quality, an extra 20% payment if they''re in perfect or near perfect condition." Jaina quickly retrieved the quest document after scanning Maressa''s guild card.

    "That''s the one, Myrina the storage ring."

    "Here sis."

    "You should be able to find the items within the storage ring along with the other materials we intend to sell to the guild as is." Maressa took hold of the storage ring held by Myrina and passed it to Jaina.

    The group had ess to two storage rings of low quality, one was used to hold items for the guild while the other held their less wieldy luggage as well as the materials they wished to use somewhere else. It was already known to them that two very skilled cksmiths called the Niflheim base Camp home. By bringing their own materials they were more likely to be favoured and granted a request.

    Maressa was keen to get her hands on a possible half step 4 star weapon before they left for the inner regions of the cial mountains, a destination they had really put off for too long.

    "I''ll quickly have this checked by our material inspectors, do you wish to wait here for our analysis, or would you like a ticket?"

    "A ticket please we want to get to the bath house before it gets too crowded." Myrina the youngest sister answered in Maressa''s stead. Her sisters giggled at her impatience but were inplete agreement.

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    "Very well here you go, we should be finished within a few hours, more than enough time for you to enjoy the bath house." Jaina said with a smile but there was a clear longing in her eyes, her shift didn''t end for another 5 hours and now Maressa and her sisters got her thinking about the bath houses.

    ''Damn you Frost foring up with these addictive services.'' She internally besmirched the Lord of the Camp as the Amazonian Beauties left and headed towards their favourite bath house.

    Frost truly was a skilled businessman, he not only created bath houses for his people but staggered them in different styles as well as costs thus drawing in all sses.

    At the very peak of luxury was the Moon''s Blessing bath house which catered to the very rich, depriving them of gold just so they could brag about enjoying the highest level of care andfort. Did anyonein however no because it was truly built with quality in mind.

    Not only were the bathing areas private, restricted to a maximum of six people drinks, snacks and even massage services were provided free of charge for their customers.

    Of course such luxury was out of reach for the Camp''s normal inhabitants, but Frost fed on their desires, their temptations. So every month anyone who''d visited one of the other bath houses had the chance to win a free visit to the Moon''s Blessing. With that the popce werepletely hooked even Jaina couldn''t help but hope for the chance to visit the most luxurious bath house in the camp.

    The Amazonian Beauties made straight for their favourite bath house, the Frosty Evening hoping to beat therger crowds and with luck they seeded. The four were able to soak and unwind without restraint for a good hour or so before the ce started to fill out and the not so subtle nces became ufortable.

    "Sis look I think my skin''s actually glowing." Myrina loudly bellowed ¨C a tad drunk from the sake they purchased within the bath house.

    "You think that''s something look how clean my pores have be, it''s like I''ve aged backwards." The two youngest sisters argued over who benefited more from their long soak while Chana the second oldest sister sauntered over towards a ronso with a wild look in her eyes. It was clear that all three of them drunk of their asses.

    "Well aren''t you cute and so robust, what''s your name handsome?" Chana quickly appeared next to a pair of ronsos who were on guard duty for the area. She wrapped her arm around the one the right, lightly squeezing his arm, finding him to be quite attractive.

    The ronso being grabbed onto blushed and panickily looked to hisrade who struggled to hold in hisughter. Most of the people in the Camp even the stronger adventurers were fearful of them, some even viewed them with disgust, seeing them as nothing more than wild monsters.

    A few groups were friendly, but this was the first time someone was actually flirting with one of them and¡­..what a woman it was.

    Chana was always quite aggressive when it came to seeking out partners and she usually got what she wanted due to either her beauty or physical prowess, but thetter was pointless against this ronso a fact that turned her on. So what if he was a monster kin hot was hot and muscles don''t lie.

    Normally this would be when Maressa stepped in to save the poor male, but she was distracted, something she saw in the distance instantly erased the drunkenness from her body.

    "Is that?"

 Chapter 635 Fierce operation (3)

    While Chana flirted with the attractive ronso guard, pressing her strong yet soft body against his and her two youngest sisters started to fight amongst themselves due to their drunken state, Maressa frowned and purged the alcohol from her body.

    "Is that?" She saw something that made her blood chill. A human woman with a height of roughly six feet, auburn hair and a scar across her right eye. And though she appeared delicate and thin underneath her cloak Maressa knew that the woman could likely go toe to toe with her when it came to pure physical power.

    "Kalia" She spoke the woman''s name with an icy chill, her hands instinctually balling into tight fists as she did.

    Without a moment''s hesitation Maressa charged towards the two ronso guards like a woman on a mission. Her sudden burst of speed and tense expression put the ronsos on alert, both quickly reached for their weapons and readied themselves for battle. Chana who waspletely oblivious was blown back several steps almost losing her bnce.

    "Hey¡­" Before she couldin however she caught sight of her sister''s face and swallowed her words, her instincts screaming that something was very wrong.

    "The two of you serve the Lord of this territory, Lord Frost correct?" Maressa wasted no time caring for her drunken sister, she was a big girl a little fall wasn''t going to do much to her.

    "¡­.Yes we serve Lord Frost." It took the ronsos a second or two to release the grips they had on their weapons and once again rx. The woman before them though intimidating and baring a rather worrisome expression revealed no fighting intent at least towards them.

    "Good." Maressa let out a short sigh of relief before telling the two ronso guards what she saw.

    " Just now I caught sight of a well-known assassin from the underworld syndicate by the name of Kalia. This woman is wanted in over five kingdoms for mass murder, kidnapping, theft and a whole load of other crimes. She and her colleaguesck a single shred of morality, they''ll kill and torture anyone even children if the price is right.

    Her presence here can only be bad news." The ronsos only humoured her words in the beginning but by the end of her tale both were frowning and exchanging furtive nces. Maressa''s report was actually worth their time.

    "Thank you miss we''ll inform the Lord of this immediately; he''ll decide on how to deal with this problem." The ronso guard on the right replied to Maressa before sending the guard on the left to inform their direct superior who would then inform Frost.

    "Good, in the meantime I''ll follow after her and try to prevent her from taking any drastic actions." Before the ronso guard could even reject her interference the woman was off, quickly chasing after Kalia''s shadow.

    "Chana get up off your ass and follow!"

    "Urgh what about Myrina and Freya?"

    "Leave them, they''ll only get in the way in their current state." The two youngest sisters were not only the weakest of the group but were also the most drunk, totally useless for what was about to take ce.

    Chana quickly dusted herself off, gave the frowning ronso guard a flirtatious wink and chased after her elder sister.

    "What are we doing?"

    "It''s Kalia from the underworld syndicate, she''s here in the Camp, likely not alone." Maressa curtly said before picking up the pace, using her senses and tracking skills to follow Kalia who hopefully had no idea that someone recognised her.

    "Kalia!" Chana uttered the woman''s name with a simr chill as her sister, her face instantly turning savage as fury flowed through her veins. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l''e|-NovelBin

    One of the kingdoms that Kalia was wanted in for her crimes was theirs.

    Maressa and her sisters were from a small Queendom in the east that encouraged their women to be strong, more than a match for any man.

    Within this small Queendom was thergest and most powerful all female army on the continent. The country may becking in size and poption inparison to the Northrend empire but none of its neighbours take it lightly.

    Thankfully, though they promote strength in their women they don''t seek to belittle men thus diplomatic rtionships weren''tplicated, with many even being staunch allies with the Queendom.

    Several years ago Kalia and her group from the underworld syndicate were hired to retrieve a rare medical herb from one of the imperial warehouses. A crime that by itself may lead to long imprisonment and perhaps even death but it wouldn''t galvanise an entire nation in hatred towards you, no, the problem was what Kalia, and herrades did to get the item and what they did on the side.

    All the guards were killed without mercy, several merchant and herbalist families upturned, the elders ughtered while the children and the women taken out of the country to serve as illegal ves. They even burned two other warehouses during their escape just to fool their pursuers.

    It had been a long time since the Queendom of Ranullia had suffered such a barbaric humiliation. The Queen herself ordered that every single soldier, adventurer and mercenary that called Ranullia home had to keep their eyes peeled for Kalia and her cohorts.

    Those with at least C-rank strength were even ordered to kill on sight regardless of the territory they found themselves in, the Queen would ept any diplomatic repercussions.

    Both Maressa and Chana were C-rank thus given that they were both loyal citizens of the Ranullia Queendom they had a duty to uphold.

    Any remaining alcohol was swiftly purged from Chana''s body as she and her sister dashed to and fro following after Kalia''s trail.

    15 minutester the two sisters had followed Kalia to what seemed to be her target destination. From their position they could see her and at least two aplices enter into the Sleeping Fenrir, acting like bog standard D-rank adventurers here to eat a rewarding meal after a long day''s work.

    Their disguise was rather seamless only Chana and Maressa knew their true identities due to the Ranullia Queen spreading Kalia''s appearance and characteristics to each and everyone of her citizens, their nation''s anger ran deep.

    "This is the Sleeping Fenrir."

    "Their target must be inside, what should we do sis, we''re not exactly master''s of disguise." It was rather hard to go unnoticed when you looked the way they did.

    "Put on your heavy cloak, as long as we don''t reveal too much skin we''ll be able to pass simple nces." Though if Kalia and her team took a few seconds to closely examine them then they''d be screwed but Maressa was hoping that their focus would be on the target and whomever was guarding them as well as the ronsos who patrolled the Camp.

    "Alright sis I''ll follow your lead." The two sisters were more than prepared for this to turn into a devasting brawl in the middle of the Niflheim Camp. Though this could sink their reputation with Lord Frost their Queen had given her orders and letting Kalia go was just not possible.

    ''Hopefully the Lord acts quickly, an assassination or worse in his territory wouldn''t do him any favours.'' Maressa albeit confident in her martial prowess knew that Kalia and her group were no easy targets. Having a B-rank fighter like Lord Frost fighting with them would make the whole takedown much smoother.

    "Come on Chana let''s go, for Ranullia."

    "For Ranullia." With their heavy obscuring cloaks adorned Maressa and Chana entered the Sleeping Fenrir with their weapons at the ready, hidden beneath their cloaks.

    "Hi wee to the Sleeping Fenrir, are you here to stay or just for a meal?" A receptionist asked the two cloaked giants as they crossed the threshold.

    "Just a meal please for two."

    "A meal for two is it then please find yourself a seat on the western side of the dining room but if there''s no seat avable you can sit at the southern side." The receptionist handed the two of them a dinner time menu before returning to her duties.

    Maressa and Chana nodded to one another before naturally walking into the dinning room with their eyes peeled.

    "Sis by the southern side, therge middle window and by the entrance to the kitchen on the western side.

    "I see them there''s also two more, each at the northern and eastern side." The dining room was clearly guarded in all four directions.

    Suddenly Maressa felt a prying gaze over her body but a momentter it was gone.

    ''Phew that was close.'' Their gamble had paid off Kalia and her team weren''t focused on those entering the dining room.

    "Sis Kalia''s in the centre of the room." Chana discretely flicked her chin in Kalia''s direction. There the woman was reading through the menu with a pensive look as though struggling to chose what to eat but asionally her eyes would dart to the kitchen door as well as her colleagues.

    Her actions weren''t actually much to draw attention to given that this was an adventurer''s camp, everyone was a little wary here, a state that helped them keep up their disguises.

    "What''s the n sis?"

 Chapter 636 Fierce operation (4)

    Maressa and Chana both sat either side of one another pretending to look through the menu. They ignored the hustle and bustle flowing through the dining hall, their attention fully focused on Kalia and her team.

    "Discretely ready yourself for battle, if she doesn''t attack whomever her target is within the next five minutes you and I will go on the offensive. This sinner must not be allowed to leave here alive, no matter the cost." There was a frigid light in Maressa''s eyes, she was willing toy down her life to end the criminal that was Kalia.

    Her sister Chana trembled for a second ¨C taking in the full gravity of her sister''s words- before returning a simr gaze. They would seed or die trying.

    Across the room Kalia sat with a clear view of the kitchen door. Beneath her cloak her body was primed and ready to pounce and an indistinct sliver of sweat dripped down her brow.

    After 3 days of intelligence gathering she and her team were finally ready to take down their target. Such a task was really not easy given the amount of ronsos kicking about as well as the care and protection shown to the target but finally after dedicated research they had found the perfect moment to strike.

    Whether any of them would seded in escaping after the deed was done was a mystery and not important. This job came from the higher ups and needed to be achieved no matter the cost. Her superior even hinted that she should ensure that at least one person was captured which she was more than happy to do.

    "Everyone ready, the target''s about to exit." Kalia whisper into a small stone and a momentter several voices replied.

    "Good here."

    "No ronsos in sight good to go."

    "Ready to break the southern mirror once target is down."

    "Good, once the target exits and disys her back we''ll attack as one, swift as a swallows."

    ""Swift as swallows""

    The seconds seemed to stretch into eons as both Kalia''s team and Maressa and Chana waited with bated breaths, their bodies growing tenser with every passing moment.

    Creak.

    Just when Maressa and Chana were about to strike Kalia the door to the kitchen opened and the air around Kalia and her team instantly changed.

    "Thank you for the lesson head chef, bye everyone see you tomorrow." Nanna pushed open the kitchen door with a slightly tired expression, but she didn''t forget to thank the chef and say goodbye to the people she worked with.

    "Goodnight Nanna-chan."

    "Do you have enough cookies you can take some more if you want."

    "We''ll focus of controlling the fire tomorrow see you then Nanna." Everyone bade farewell to the little angel with bright smiles.

    Nanna grinned from ear to ear and felt her heart warm but the moment she was about to turn around a strange sensation gripped her heart. It was fear, she was in extreme danger.

    Her hair started to stand on end, goosebumps formed along her arm and just when she was about to nervously look around the sound of several tables and chairs scraping across the floor reverberated in her ears along with a woman shouting "Now!"

    Kalia and her team moved seamlessly, the moment Nanna left the kitchen and bade farewell all, but the person assigned to assuring their escape route pounced with their weapons drawn.

    Four powerful assassins attacked Nanna all at once holding nothing back. What was once a group of separated D-rank adventurers were now high ranking C-rank assassins. The change was drastic and took everyone in the dining room by surprise, not even if they had the strength to help would they be able to react in time. Well as long as they hadn''t been paying close attention.

    The moment Nanna exited and the air around Kalia changed Maressa and Chana immediately made their move both charging at Kalia with their weapons drawn and a fierce look in their eyes.

    "Chana the girl!"

    "On it sis I''ll do my best, for Ranullia!"

    "For Ranullia!" The sisters tore off their robes and revealed a sharp great axe and a spear, their weapons of forte.

    "What the fuck some bitches from Ranullia!" Kalia loudly cursed as she was forced to contest against Maressa who blocked her path forward.

    ''These damn lunatics.'' For years, ever since shemitted that one job in Ranullia bitches as she called them like Maressa and Chana had been hounding after her. Whenever they caught a glimpse of her they''d drop whatever they were doing and attack without any ounce in forethought for the time or ce.

    "Dammit, Rual, Terri, Tanya kill the target while I deal with this bitch!" Kalia gave her orders while she quickly engaged with Maressa.

    "Die fiend, for the innocent blood you spilled in Ranullia! [Great stone cutter!]" Maressa regardless of the location charged up her great axe with a powerful skill.

    "Crazy bitch! [Laceration of envy]" Kalia wasn''t one to care about the lives of others, she immediately swung her whip at Maressa, carving up more than a few tables and forcing guests to duck for cover.

    "Ah what''s going on?"

    "Someone get the ronso guards."

    "No they''re after Nanna!"

    Chana was quick and rather strong, but two hands would struggle against four fists let alone six. With her spear she lunged at Rual while she kicked a nearby table at Terri but there was still Tanya.

    "Ahhhh!!" Nanna screamed in panic, powerless to stop the powerful Tanya who was flying through the air with her daggers raised.

    Even though she never missed a training session and Maya said that she was rather skilled she was still just a child. Her power allowed her topete with a goblin maybe something a little more but certainly not a C-rank assassin.

    She barely had enough time to register the vicious look on the woman''s face before her and her daggers were inches from her heart and neck.

    "Bye bye little money pouch." Tanya sliced her daggers with immense speed, giving up the opportunity to activate a skill in leu of it. However that may have been a mistake.

    The moment her daggers were about carve into Nanna''s sulent white flesh a hand appeared from behind the kitchen door.

    This hand though white and smooth radiated strength as it punctured through the door and grabbed onto the oing daggers, halting them firmly in ce despite the edge cutting into the owner''s skin.

    Tanya suddenly got a very bad feeling and the next moment a pressure akin to the weight of a mountain and filled with wrath encapsted her and everyone in the dining hall.

    Tanya felt her skin crawl as the stench of death assailed her nostrils. She tried to pry away her daggers, but they wouldn''t budge, and a chill seemed to be forcing its way through them in order to invade her hands.

    "Fuc¡­." She didn''t even have enough time to curse when the daggers in her hands were firmly pulled, instantly breaking her wrists.

    The pain caused her to wince but her hands were now free so she immediately ran, there was no way she could defeat whoever this person was, the job was a failure. She ran as fast she could but whether she was allowed leave wasn''t up to her.

    The kitchen door of the Sleeping Fenrir melted away as a blue chilling me burst forth. The next moment revealed Frost adorned in his trademark robes with a wrathful expression.

    His eyes rapidly locked onto the assassins making their hearts freeze in fear before he positioned himself in front of Nanna, acting as her shield.

    "Khuno, Findley take care of this." Frost said with a frigid tone, as though he was a judge ordering for capital punishment.

    "Yes your lordship."

    "By your will master." Both Khuno and Findley suddenly appeared at the entrance to the dining room with no less wrathful expressions. For anyone to dare to harm one of their little ones was an immediate death sentence.

    "Fuck run!" Rual bellowed before dashing for the southern window but again he didn''t have permission to leave.

    "[Icy grasp]" Frost cast a spell that caused ice to form across the chests of those trying to escape, slowing their movements to but a pathetic crawl, Khuno and Findley took care of the rest.

    Without any surprises Findley and Khuno easily dealt with the assassins spilling no small amount of blood from their bodies however no one was killed, death was too easy a sentence for what they tried to aplish.

    ''So that''s the power of B-rank.'' Maressa internally noted as the dreaded Kalia who could easily put her on the back foot did her best to flee only to be struck down by a single swing of Khuno''s halberd. His strengthpletely eclipsed hers, and his simple act achieved a revenge that an entire nation sought after. The Queen of Ranullia was sure to reward Frost and his subordinates for their actions.

    "Damn seems like we weren''t even needed." Chana suddenly felt rather useless.

    "No you weren''t but the fact that you not only tried to warn us but also did your best to intervene in a battle that you''d have surely lost will not be forgotten." After Frost finished calming Nanna down and made absolutely sure she was safe he walked toward to the two amazonian sisters.

    "I thank you two from the bottom of my heart for your efforts here tonight, please tell me if there''s anything I can do to repay this debt."

 Chapter 637 Fierce operation (5)

    Frost respectfully titled his head in a slight bow to Maressa and Chana, genuine in his thanks.

    The two sisters though powerful in their own right were truly no match for the five assassins. Kalia alone was at the peak of C-rank even stronger than Maressa. If Frost, Khuno and Findley hadn''t stepped in then the two of them would have surely died here tonight.

    Maressa gazed at Frost as he bowed, a nervousness and modicum of guilt filling her heart. She and Chana didn''t exactly interfere out of the kindness of their hearts.

    "Please raise your head Lord Frost, we''re not worthy of your bow." Maressa was a naturally honest person; thus she couldn''t endure the weight of Frost''s gratitude.

    "My sister and I acted against Kalia and her group because of our own reasons, not to defend the girl." Maressa bowed her head far lower than Frost''s as she spoke.

    "..." A knowing smile grew on Frost''s lips as he heard Maressa''s words and witnessed her actions.

    Of course he knew about their true motives but that didn''t change the fact that they helped.

    "While that may be true nevertheless you and your sister did try to protect Nanna in the battle and did you not also inform one of my guards about the situation beforehand. These two things were surely unnecessary perhaps even detrimental to your goals, yet you did them anyway so again you have my thanks." Frost stubbornly bowed his head once again.

    "This¡­"

    "I''d prefer it if you just acquiesced to my whims." Frost released a small amount of his royal aspected aura, slightly pressuring Maressa and Chana.

    "Haaaaa very well Lord Frost." Maressa was forced to ept Frost''s thanks and his favour.

    "Master the assassins are secure." Khuno who had taken down Kalia with a single blow reported with his arm crossed across his chest.

    He and Findley acted very quickly, subduing the enemy, breaking several limbs before passing them off to the ronsos guards.

    "Good." An evil glint shed in Frost''s eyes as he nced at the bodies of the assassins being carried by his guards. The five of them would be making fine additions to his prison.

    "Lord Frost if I may be so bold¡­that woman do you intend to kill her?" Maressa though knowing that her actions were rather improper needed to ask.

    "¡­.Eventually yes." Frost wasn''t displeased in the slightest and after ridding his mind of all the evil thoughts aimed at Kalia and her group he turned to Maressa and answered her.

    "Good, then we can rest easy." Maressa breathed out a deep sigh of relief, the tension almost instantly escaping her body.

    "The Queen of our homnd ced a kill order on that woman, any citizen of Ranullia that crosses path with her and that has at least C-rank strength must do their best to end her dog life no matter the cost or ce." Hatred spewed out of Maressa''s and Chana''s eyes as the memories of Kalia''s crimes shed through their minds. Finally after several years justice had been served.

    "Oh interesting¡­.I can''t give you the right to take her away, but I''ve got no problem granting you her head once I''m done with her."

    "That¡­.we would be most grateful Lord Frost." Having Kalia''s head would not only serve as sufficient evidence of the deed but would likely see Maressa and her sisters rewarded.

    The sisters bowed their heads even lower this time, enacting a very respectful posture but with their rather revealing attire and their recent visit to the bath house it had a very different effect.

    "It''s just a head no need to bow." Frost had to ardently fight his desire to nce and ogle both Maressa and Chana. Maya and Daki had already caught him more than once paying specific attention to this adventuring group.

    "While my guards set out to restore the peace here in the Sleeping Fenrir why don''t we retire to my office where I can show you my gratitude." Though his words may appear suggestive his meaning was entirely genuine.

    "This¡­very well Lord Frost we''d be honoured to join you." Maressa couldn''t help but slightly blush, finding a little expectation in her heart upon hearing his suggestive phrasing. Though it wasn''t Frost that her eyes were drawn to but the musclebound ronso that was by his side, the one who so effortlessly took down her nation''s most hated foe with a single swing of his halberd.

    Just like her sister Maressa was drawn to those with muscr forms and an abundance of ''hair'' on their body.

    Frost and Khuno led Maressa and Chana to the Lord''s office while Findley handled restoration. The Sleeping Fenrir''s dining room and kitchen were promptly closed off so a group of ice dwarves could sneakily enter and being the repair work.

    Those staying in the rooms and those who were unfortunately dining during the time of the incident were treated for any injuries, apologised to for the inconvenience and offered generous freebies. Money and free stuff was a small price to pay to keep the residents happy and secure.

    "Maressa! Chana!" The moment Frost and the rest entered the lord''s office or rather somewhat of a manor by this point Myrina the youngest of the Amazonian Beauties called out. A group of ronsos guards had guided the two drunk and brawling sisters to the Lord''s office shortly after Maressa dashed after Kalia.

    "Myrina, Freya." Maressa called out the names of her youngest sisters with pure affection, only realising just now that she may have never gotten the chance to see the two of them again.

    Her eyes grew red at the thought and silently she wrapped up the two with herrge muscr arms, pulling them in close.

    "Sis?" Myrina was confused not expecting to be hugged with such affection by Maressa in front of strangers, it was against her nature.

    "Just shut up for a minute." Maressa hugged the two of them tighter as she silently relished in their touch. A momentter Chana joined her with a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

    Frost smiled in silence, letting the family of sisters enjoy their reunion while he quietly walked to the side of the room where Maya and Daki were waiting for him.

    "Did you handle it, is Nanna safe?" Maya asked with no small tinge of concern. Though she and Daki knew about the nned assassination it still made her uneasy. A single thing going wrong, a wrong calction, a fumble, ateness of just a fraction of a second and their precious little girl could have been harmed.

    "Un she''s fine, a little spooked but no injuries." Frost even made sure that Nanna didn''t see the carnage Findley and Khuno wrecked on her attackers so as to protect her from any mental trauma.

    "Good, good." Both Maya and Daki breathed out in relief and unsped their hands. Having to wait here and babysit Myrina and Freya with pleasant expressions was a momentous weight on their hearts.

    "I''ve ordered Kiba to keep herpany in the private space but if one of you want to go andfort her¡­."

    "I''ll go, Daki will you be fine handling things here?"

    "Yeah we''ll be fine, go to her."

    "Thanks." Maya left a momentter, teleporting to the private space once she was alone in the next room. Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin

    While Frost discussed a few things with Daki and Khuno, Maressa regaled to Myrina and Freya what happened and why they were summoned to the Lord''s office.

    "What Kalia was here, and she''s been captured." Freya jumped to her feet like a cat having her tail stepped on Her skin formed goosebumps and a cold sweat quickly flowed down her neck. Nearly every single citizen of the Ranullia Queendom knew of Kalia, tales of her crimes would fill them with unequivocal wrath, but her personal strength would also fill them with fear.

    Both Freya and Myrina weren''t even C-rank yet, they would have beenmbs to the ughters if they came across Kalia in battle.

    "Yes, Kalia the scourge of Ranullia was taken down by the hands of this gentlemen here and Lord Frost." Maressa gestured towards Khuno with a sparkle in her eyes which caused the man in question to slightly start. He was no stranger to such looks; he''d seen many a women look at his master in such a way.

    "Phua hahaha." A poorly restrainedugh escaped Daki''s lips as she saw the fierce desire in Maressa''s eyes. She couldn''t help but look to her side with clear mockery. Frost''s face was twitching and growing redder by the second under his girlfriend''s scrutiny.

    All this time she and Maya were worried about the Amazonian Beauties showing an interest in Frost but no they clearly liked those with a ir of the wilds.

    Internally Frost let out a sigh filled with disappointment, though he''d likely never act on it he truly did find these Amazonian beauties rather attractive.

    He gazed over at Khuno who was looking back at him with no small amount of confusion.

    ''Lucky bastard.'' Was all he thought before moving on, if Khuno was their type then good for them and him.

    "Shall we get down to business then?" With the youngest sisters being informed of what happened and their little reunion done with, it was time for a proper discussion.

    Frost not only wished to grant them a sufficient reward for their efforts but also wished to learn more about this Queendom of Ranullia.

 Chapter 638 Fierce operation (6)

    In his domain at the base of one of the entrances to the cial mountains Frost had very little interaction with nations other than the Northrend empire.

    Its borders spanned so far and wide that it''d take days perhaps even weeks to reach another. And to the north within the cial mountains all that dwelled within the external regions were enves and minor kingdoms. There was still much he did not know about the continent of Yangmir let alone Nova as a whole.

    When Dark described the world of Nova as being ''big'' he was being modest. The realm which Frost, and his siblings now inhabited was truly vast, covering billions perhaps even trillions of square kilometres. And the nations, tribes, enves and mighty empires that spanned itsnds and oceans were truly endless.

    From his interactions with travellers, chats with Maya and Daki and even his ''dates'' with Ladius Frost managed to get some semnce of an idea of his surroundings.

    Covering nearly 60% of the northern territories before the cial mountains was the powerful Northrend empire, a nation that had existed for centuries, its hegemony never shaken. The empire even extended its reach far into the mountains, establishing an invincible fortress that was guarded year round by their fiercest and most powerful army the War Ursa Battalion.

    However though they covered a vast area they weren''t the only nation that bordered the edges of the cial mountains.

    To the west were two kingdoms who''s territory covered more elongated borders inparison to the their circr neighbour. Other than the fact that the kingdoms shared a less prominent ess point to the cial mountains there was nothing unique about them.

    Whereas to the east was the Khaganate of Lucresia, and that was even colder than Northrend and home to swaths of wild barbaric looking citizens who lived alongside the environment rather than changing it to suit their needs.

    The Khaganate of Lucresia was actually one of the stronger nations dwelling in the north of the Yangmir continent, a surprising fact given its proximity to Northrend. It was well known that two tigers could not dwell upon the same mountain.

    Centuries ago these two nations were embroiled in brutal wars in order to decide the true hegemon of the north and in the end Northrend was victorious but instead of vanquishing their foe they allowed them to live under certain caveats. Since then the Khaganate has never once attacked Northrend despite its powerful armies.

    Further south dozens of smaller countries could be found all the way to the central regions where another powerful empire dwelled, but Frost knew very little about them only that they had existed for almost as long as Northrend and that they were not to be underestimated.

    Keen to expand his knowledge especially in regards to the nations on the eastern and western ends of the continent Frost looked forward to an enlightening discussion with the Amazonian Beauties.

    His attention grabbing cough and loud words drew Maressa out of her stupor.

    "Ahh yes of course sorry." She quickly apologised feeling slightly embarrassed but despite that her gaze continued to drift over Khuno finding him more and more pleasing the longer she ogled.

    Very few men ever caught her eyes but Khuno with his muscr form that was even bulkier than hers, his beautiful blue fur and his brave perhaps even regal tigerlike face hit all her strike zones but the final nail in the coffin wasthe sight of him vanquishing Kalia with but a single swing of his halberd, effectively saving her like white knight.

    Chana, Myrina and Freya couldn''t help but giggle amongst themselves, it''d been a long time since their sister had set her sights on someone and in their opinion far too long.

    Maressa had been getting a little stir crazytely, she needed to getid, bad.

    The three of them discreetly eyed Khuno before nodding their heads, finding him eptable.

    "What did you want to discuss Lord Frost my sisters and I are open books." As oblivious to her sisters'' attitudes Maressa did her best to act official.

    "A few things actually, first I''d like to know why you''re here in my camp, is it a coincidence that you''re here or have you been tracking that Kalia?" Though he already knew this wasn''t the case, from their point of view he shouldn''t.

    "Aplete coincidence I can assure you Lord Frost. I just happened to catch sight of the criminal and acted in leu of her Majesty''smand.

    If Kalia never appeared my sisters and I would have carried on as per normal, delving into the Dungeon a few more times before leaving for the inner regions of the cial mountains." Maressa quickly denied any hidden motives knowing that to feign ignorance or outright lie would only anger Frost.

    "¡­.I believe you; you don''t have the bearing of someone with malicious motives." Though Frost released a little of his aura to pressure Maressa he bore no real threat.

    "Can I ask what you intend to do in the cial mountains or is that too personal." Asking adventurers this question was considered bad form but given his position as Lord of the territory and their involvement in the attempted assassination he''d be remised if he didn''t ask.

    "This¡­" As expected Maressa struggled to answer, her eyes trembling as though she was weighing up her options, she even turned to her sisters who were in the same boat. Though it wasn''t some well-guarded secret and that revealing their intentions to Lord Frost wouldn''t negatively affect them in any way they still felt ufortable telling him.

    Noticing their reluctance Frost didn''t pressure them. "If you don''t want to say that''s fine, I''m an adventurer too so I understand having to keep certain secrets, forget that I asked." Though he was disappointed Frost didn''t push. His original intentions in asking this question was too learn what his Dungeoncked whenpared to the cial mountains.

    What did Maressa seek that couldn''t be found within the confines of his own Dungeon.

    "Thank you Lord Frost." Maressa truly felt pressured by his question and was immensely grateful that he didn''t push the issue.

    "For my second question are you willing to tell me more about the Queendom of Ranullia you hail from as well as the crimesmitted by this Kalia that caused you to almost recklessly throw away your lives?"

    "¡­This question we are more than happy to answer." Maressa and her sisters thus regaled all they knew and could tell to Frost about their homnd. Where it was, how it matched up to the neighbouring kingdoms, life there and even what it was famous for and though they didn''t reveal the exact details of Kalia''s crimes they revealed enough for Frost to get a good sense.

    "No wonder you hate her so but for your Queen to give such an order to all her citizens¡­.I have to say she sounds like quite the character." Frost found the impression he had of Ranullia''s Queen growing more and more to his liking. She sounded fierce, loyal and brave, a great person to be friends with.

    "Un we won''t deny that, but it''s also what makes us love her so. Each and everyone of Ranullia''s citizens would follow her lead across fire and swords if that was her will." Freya spoke with such pure devotion that Frost couldn''t help but tremble.

    ''To inspire such loyalty from those in the adventurer profession, truly a woman I''d like to know.'' Frost''s interactions with royalty so far had been less than ideal so it was a change of pace to hear about someone like Ranullia''s Queen. Explore more adventures at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    One of the most interesting things about the Queendom that he learned however was how they viewed intelligent monster species such orcs and beastkin like Daki and Khuno. Within the borders of Ranullia there was very little prejudice between sapients and monsters, the two worked side by side to protect theirnds.

    With the Queen ruling overrge cities and towns monster tribes dwelled in great numbers across the ins and swamps making for a strong partnership.

    Maressa and her siblings even grew up alongside monster children, calling arge number of them friends and even the asional one lover. Frost now understood theck of fear and unease the women showed while dealing with his ronso guards hell Chana even made some clear advances while Maressa seemed to be soon following in her wake.

    With the Amazonian Beauties praising their Queen to the heavens and promising that she''d surely wish to reward Frost and his subordinates for their efforts in taking down Kalia, Frost formted a n.

    ''Perhaps weing some of these Ranullians into the territory as permanent resident would solve some the many administration issues.'' Frost struggled to trust the sapients that came from Northrend no matter how well he got to know them there were many levels of secrets and barriers he kept in ce.

    Even Borris who Daki worked closely with and who he interacted with nearly every other day wasn''t privy to the vast majority of going Ons in the territory let alone the Dungeon itself. But given the nature of Maressa and her sisters and how they described Ranullia he thought it''d be good to try and strike up some form of alliance.

    Though the Camp of Niflheim was allied with Kranor the small enve was limited in what it could do same with the viscounty of Furano but if he was on good terms with arge nation one that was not linked with Northrend then the possible developments for his territory would skyrocket.

    Frost had long ago started to think about the future and how his territory would eventually be shaped.

 Chapter 639 A bold Maressa

    Maressa and her sisters continued to regale Frost about Ranullia and its current queen hoping to foster a good image. And the more they spoke the more interested Frost became. He was now certain that Ranullia would make for a firm ally.

    A wide smile adorned Frost''s lips as he nodded his head. "Ranullia sounds like a wonderful country I''ll certainly have to visit when I get a chance."

    "You definitely should Lord Frost, Ranullia is always weing to visitors especially ones with such transcendent capabilities." B-rank fighters were always seen as true experts throughout the world and were thus treated very well no matter the country.

    The more the group talked the closer they became, Maressa and her sisters who were at first more reserved due to Frost''s status and strength were now talking as though they were all long-time friends. Frost just had this air about him.

    "I guess I should move onto my final question now before it gets toote." The group had been in the Lord''s office for a good few hours now, the sky had already grown very dark. Find your next read at m_v l|e-NovelBin

    "Since I''ve ascertained the reason for your presence in the Camp and have learned quite thoroughly about you and where youe from, the only thing left is to decide on a reward for your efforts this evening." Initially he was just going to give each of them something simple but enough to show his gratitude. Now however Frost felt that he needed to go a step further.

    A good present could help facilitate a longsting friendship and even help with future diplomatic rtions between their two nations.

    Maressa and her sisters couldn''t help but straighten their backs upon hearing Frost''s words. His bearing and status as Lord of a territory was once more exuded, filling them with respect. There was also of course a hint of curiosity especially among Freya and Myrina.

    Frost turned to Daki who nodded her head, silently agreeing to something the two of them already discussed.

    "As you may be aware my lovely partner here is quite the capable cksmith therefore given that each of you are adventurers I''d like to offer each of you a piece of equipment personally forged by her." This would likely be considered quite an expense for someone else but given that Daki was looking for every opportunity to practise her craft and that he had ess to a vast plethora of materials it could hardly be considered much.

    To Maressa and her sisters however this was a momentous gift and one that continued to get better.

    "You can choose what piece of equipment you''d likemissioned as well as the material specifics. All expenses will be covered by Frost here so there''s no need to hold back in fact I strongly urge you to bleed him dry." Daki took over talking since the reward would technically be provided by her.

    Her words made Frost''s twitch at the lips but since he didn''t retort it was clear that he wouldn''t reject any outrageous requests.

    Maressa''s head practically exploded when she heard Daki''s words. Not only were they getting a piece of new equipment but each of them would be fully customized orders with no limit in terms of budget.

    The only factor would be the capabilities of the smith forging them and as far as Maressa was aware Daki was at the very peak of 3 star, just a hairs breadth away from reaching the same level as Borris the resident 4 star smith that hardly anyone was able tomission.

    "Yahooo!!!!" Myrina and Freya were unable to restrain their joy, without even having to fight the two of them were going to get their hands on a piece of quality equipment, this day just keeps getting better and better.

    "We can start by taking your measurements and preferences tomorrow morning, I''ll have one of the ronso guards bring you to my personal workshop at 10am."

    "Thank you so much Lady Daki, Lord Frost, your generosity is greatly appreciated." Maressa doing her best to remain calm thanked Frost and Daki with a slight bow while her heart thumped away with ecstasy.

    "Don''t thank me just yet I wasn''t exactly finished." As Maressa raised her head in confusion Frost reached into his left breast pocket and pulled out 4 intricate tokens. These tokens appeared to be made of ice aspected jade and each of them had the image of a moon carved on them along with many other beautiful carvings.

    "These four tokens will allow you to enter the premier bath house Moon''s Blessing free of charge whenever you want, lifetime passes." It wasn''t lost on Frost that the Amazonian Beauties were fond of his bath houses in fact ording to his sources out of all the adventuring parties present in the camp they frequented them the most and stayed the longest with each visit hell they even deigned to purchase the inted goods present within.

    These four were true bath house connoisseurs.

    All of the sisters loudly squealed as they took hold of these four jade tokens. If the promise of new equipment spoke to their profession then these tokens spoke to their hearts.

    Each of them cradled the tokens, rubbing them against their cheeks as though they were the most precious items in the world before safely stuffing them in between their breasts for safe keeping and profusely thanking Frost for his generosity. A sight that truly caught Frost by surprise but also brought a wide smile to his lips.

    "I''m d the tokens are to your liking, if there''s anything else you need please don''t hesitate to ask." Frost nodded his head before rising to his feet with Daki symbolising an end to the meeting.

    Maressa and her sisters thanked Frost once again before rising to their massive heights, readying to retire for the night but just before leaving Maressa managed to unearth some courage in her heart. She quickly dashed towards Khuno who was at least a full head taller than even her.

    "I don''t believe we''ve been properly introduced; my name is Maressa." Maressa extended her left hand towards Khuno in greeting with a fierce determination glinting in her eyes.

    "¡­.Khuno my name is Khuno miss Maressa." Though a little confused and feeling the urge to seek out his master Khuno shook her hand and introduced himself formally. He struggled however to retrieve his outstretched hand.

    Maressa mped down on him like a vice refusing to let go. Khuno was quite surprised not expecting her to be capable of such brute strength. Whenever he exerted a greater pull she''d respond with more force as if they were having some hidden contest.

    Maressa who was squeezing as though her life depended on it couldn''t help but be turned on. This was a little thing she enjoyed doing whenever engaging with someone that attracted her fancy, she was aplete sucker for pure physical strength and not everyone had it, sometimes their muscles were just for show. This wasn''t the case for Khuno, however.

    Despite doing her best to hold on if felt as though she was squeezing metal and that behind that metal hand was a mountain pulling at it. This was probably the strongest man she had ever seen. A man she needed to have no matter the cost.

    With sultry eyes Maressa gazed at Khuno''s face. She licked her lips in a flirtatious manner and sashayed her hips as she pulled in close enough for Khuno to smell her scent.

    "Maressa please miss sounds so distant." She whispered yfully before moving even closer. "Sir Khuno I know I may be a little forward here but are you single by any chance?" She wasted no time in her pursuit. Before Khuno could even know what was happening Maressa''s feminine scent filled his nasal passages and her muscr body was pressing against his own.

    Her hand that was still grasping his own even started to interlock their fingers. Maressa was a very experienced huntress whereas Khuno was but an inexperiencedmb.

    Though Khuno never had the desire forpanionship, his sole focus being serving Frost even he couldn''t resist his instinctual impulses. Within moments his breathing quickened, and his blood grew restless. Maressa''s fresh scent and her supple touch awakened something inside him. Without him even thinking his free hand gradually found it''s way to Maressa''s hips and he starting pulling her in close.

    Seeing this a confident smirk appeared on Maressa''s lips. She quickly grabbed the hand that was resting on her hips and ced it lower, so his fingers cupped her ass. She then leaned over and whispered into his ear practically bringing an instant end to the hunt.

    "Oh I do like a man with a firm grip." With these provocative words something that was restrained deep inside Khuno''s body seemed to break free. The mighty Elder ronso wished to devour the sulent prey held in his arms but the sudden sense of desire also greatly rmed him.

    His consciousness seemed to return with great difficulty and instinctively he turned to his master for aid.

    "Wow and I thought you were aggressive." Frost couldn''t help but praise Maressa''s boldness, finding her style more and more to his liking, shame she was more interested in Khuno.

    "If a woman wants something why shouldn''t she take it. Khuno dear why don''t you take care of Maressa, show her around we wouldn''t want to be rude to our guests hehehe." Daki giggled with a knowing glint in her eyes. Maressa''s actions spurring her own desire, her hands were already beginning to roam her own man''s assets, something Frost was very much a fan of.

    "Hehehe well said honey, Khuno please take care of Maressa here, show her a good time." Though there was still hints of envy in his eyes Frost gave the order for Khuno to ''entertain'' the eldest of Amazonian Beauties while he took hold of Daki and left the office in a hurry.

    With that Khuno''s fate was sealed and he had no reason to restrain his instincts. Maressa could feel both their bodies growing hot and she could see the building desire in Khuno''s eyes, realising in that moment how much she needed this. It had been too long sincest had someone between her legs.

    "Chana take Freya and Myrina away so I can have some alone time with Sir Khuno here. I need to personally thank him for ridding Ranullia of its most hated scourge." Though Maressa spoke with a smiling expression her tone was firm, she was giving her sisters a fierce order and brooked no arguments.

    "Tch¡­.Freya, Myrina let''s get out of here before she startsshing out." Even though they were her sisters Maressa wouldn''t hold back if they got in the way of her sexual desires. The three sisters promptly left the Lord''s office allowing Maressa and Khuno to enjoy one another''spany.

 Chapter 640 Brutal interrogation

    It was ratherte in the evening, the stars were pretty much the only thing lighting up the Niflheim base Camp, a time in which most people were starting to rest their eyes. And considering what the Amazonian Beauties had been through it would be normal if they too sought shelter.

    However upon seeing their sister boldly make a move on the hunk that was Khuno and even chase them out of the Lord''s office so she could privately indulge herself, sleep was thest thing on their minds.

    "I''m going to find that cute guard from earlier so you two can make your own way back." The three of them had barely gotten out of the office before Chana decided to ditch them. Seeing Maressa making her move on Khuno got her all hot and bothered, she needed to find an effective release and thus remembered the guard she came across earlier.

    Without so much as a wave goodbye Chana dashed off in search of her own hunk leaving Freya and Myrina dazed and confused.

    "Ahhh that bitch,e on Freya let''s go and find our own partners." Myrina cursed Chana before turning to Freya, quickly striking up a partnership before she could be ditched by her too.

    "Un but I get first dibs."

    "Ahh just because you''re a little stronger and a little older you think you can walk all over me like Chana and Maressa."

    "Un!" Freya nodded her head almost instantly with a wide smile on her face. The next moment she wasughing and running away as Myrina chased after her in anger.

    It didn''t take long for loud seductive moans and tremors to escape from the confines of the Lord''s office. A sound that wasn''t that umon giving how prolific Frost, Daki and Maya were but this time the moans were far more primal, and the shaking was far more prominent.

    On asion a mighty roar filled with pride could be heard as Khuno mmed himself into Maressa, practically crushing her against the walls. There was no delicacy in his nature the lucky woman found herselfpletely at his mercy, his powerful arms that were akin to steel lifted her legs up and pined them against her breasts as he held her in the air and thrusted upwards.

    Every single thrust resulting in a loud pping sound as his powerful thighs met herrge cheeks.

    Though she was literally being manhandled by the beast that was Khuno a blissful expression adorned Maressa''s face. This was want she wanted, what she needed, what she craved. It''d been too long since shestid with a man with such destructive power, the satisfaction she felt from being cradled in his arms and thrusted into by his vicious weapon were indescribable.

    She found the idea of people being attracted to pretty boysughable, what was really needed was someone strong, someone who you couldunch yourself at and beunched at in return.

    Maressa let Khuno have his fun in brutalising her till she was satisfied before swiftly turning the tables and going on the attack. She used her muscr yet supple and flexible body to control the beast between her legs, returning his dominance with far more skill.

    By the end of their lust filled encounter Maressa walked out of the Lord''s office with a beaming smile on her lips. Her body was feeling refreshed and energised as well as a little sore, but it was a good pain.

    "We''ll have to do this again sir Khuno. I''m currently staying at the Frosted Lantern, feel free to visit me whenever you want to go for another round." Maressa spoke with great charm before skipping down the road.

    "Urgh." There was a distinct groan from the office as she left and a few momentster Khuno exited with a haggard expression though there was an indescribable smile stered across his lips. He finally understood why his master always had such a rosyplexion and bright smile on his face whenever he and his partners engaged in such activities.

    "The Frosted Lantern eh." Khuno noted down where Maressa was staying in his mind, quite keen to engage in that second round she promised.

    While Khuno and Maressa engaged in some potent lovemaking and the rest of the Amazonian Beauties found targets to help settle their own cravings Frost unfortunately had to reject Daki''s fervent advances, something that he really didn''t want to do but needed to.

    "I''ll catch up with youter on, there''s still the issue of interrogation." Frost''s smile was quickly reced with a malevolent expression as he remembered the assassins he had brought to his prison.

    "Haaaa very well, I''ll entertain myself in the meantime¡­.throw in a few hits for me and Maya."

    "Will do, night." Frost kissed Daki on the cheek before teleporting to the specialised prison that had been relocated to the 15th floor for decent sum of DP.

    Here several prisoners that had offended Frost and his cohorts were trapped within cruel cells, surrounded by the roars of monsters that wished to do nothing more than tear apart their flesh. This was where Frost sent his so-called criminals. Here they would suffer unspeakable torment until the day they died, milked for everyst shred of DP their bodies held.

    A few residents of the prison that had been here for quite some time visibly trembled and cowered at the sight of the usually amiable Frost knowing now of his true colours. He was not the brave adventurer who plunged into the depths of the Dungeon and Lord of the base Camp but their jailor, the owner of the Dungeon.

    "Findley how are our guests?" Findley had been tasked with setting up the new residents in their new homes. After sealing off the Sleeping Fenrir and arranging for the repairs he supervised their delivery and was just waiting for his master to arrive.

    "They''re just starting toe to so brace your ears." A few moments after Findley gave warning a loud screech filled with agony reverberated throughout the prison making the other residents squirm as they did their best to ignore the screams.

    "Ahhnn music to my ears." Frost disturbingly smiled from ear to ear as he heard the heart wrenching screams of the sapient prisoners making him appear akin to a demonic king, an apparition of evil.

    His eyes that were just a few moments ago filled with delight and joy as he interacted with Maressa and her sisters were now stone cold and filled with malice.

    With a curt nod to Findley his trusted right hand man stepped into the cells and stuffed the mouths of the assassins dulling their screams, so they''d be able to hear Frost''s voice.

    Lying within the samerge cell were the five assassins who tried to take out Nanna. Their bodies and clothes were drenched in blood and more than a few had parts of their bodies'' missing. Nothing life threatening but certainly debilitating and most importantly pain inducing.

    Even Kalia who was the apparent leader was no exception, her left leg had been cut off at the kneecap, and the wound singed shut by cold mes resulting in bursts of freezing pain to shoot throughout her body with every movement.

    As Findley forcibly stuffed her mouth with some kind of cloth caring not that he knocked out a couple teeth in the process she red at him and Frost who stood behind him with hatred, wrath and fear. This whole thing was just too weird. The job going wrong and her death she could ept but this was something else entirely.

    She knew in her heart that what she was about to endure was going to be akin to hell.

    Kalia was desperate to escape somehow, her eyes discreetly looking for weaknesses and for a way out in between her hate filled res. She also searched the cell marking the injuries of her subordinates as she looked for a certain person. Upon not finding him however she almost imperceptibly let out a sigh of relief, but this minor reaction was noticed by Frost who couldn''t help but smile.

    "Kalia oh Kalia you really shouldn''t expect to escape this ce. You and associates dared to attack one of my people so you should have been prepared to suffer my wrath no?"

    Though wracked with pain Kalia faced off against Frost with a mysterious courage. Seeing that she wished to talk Frost had Findley remove the cloth.

    Phua, Kalia spat out a glob of blood along with a fractured tooth.

    "So what now? Are you going to torture us as rpense perhaps hope to gain some intel on who sent us."

    "Pretty much, yeah." Frost didn''t deny his intentions. His callous words and frigid re made the assassins shiver. Even with their training hearing the chill in Frost''s voice frightened them at their core.

    "Do your worst Lord Frost, we assassins of the underworld syndicate do not betray our clients nor the organisation." Though she knew that her escape was likely impossible Kalia would never betray the syndicate, even if it meant she could avoid torture.

    As long as their superior the one who was truly in charge of the operation here was still atrge there was hope and the mission could still bepleted.

    "Is that so, I truly wish to test the extent of your resolve." With an evil smirk several ronsos, yuki-onnas, revenants and dwarves appeared from behind Frost and a momentter the assassins were split up and taken to a special gallery where they were to be ''tested''.

    "Ahhhhhh!!!!"

    "Please no ahhhhhhh!!!"

    "Wahhhhh God help me waaah!!!"

    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry ahhhhhh!"

    While Khuno and Maressa enjoyed their evening together Frost and Findley enjoyed the screams and crying of the assassins as their torture teams tore them apart and healed them back up again, truly testing the limits of their resolve.

 Chapter 641 Brutal interrogation (2)

    It took an entire 6 hours of dedicated torture for one of the assassins to finally break and release knowledge of their client."

    "The second prince of Northrend." Frost stroked his chin in thought as he ordered the torture to continue. 30 minutester another assassin crumbled under the torment and released the same information, the one who hired them was the second prince Sedrick.

    Hearing this name filled Frost and Findley with anger, this wasn''t the first time Sedrick had attacked them.

    ''Are you truly that foolish?'' Though Frost was angered and almost believing the information revealed by the assassins something didn''t quite add up.

    When even Kalia eventually gave up their client also naming the second prince an evil smile grew across Frost''s lips.

    "This damn 2nd prince, if I wasn''t confined to the Dungeon I''d march over to the capital and rip him apart!" Findley loudly roared, his aura breaking loose throughout the room causing the furniture to creak and groan. He was truly incensed by Sedrick.

    First he had Nanna and Loki turned into illegal ves and held by that bastard Adam Furano then he had the nerve to arrange an assassin to take out his master and now this. Findley was truly at the limit of his patience.

    "Calm yourself Findley, don''t you think we got this information a little too easily?"

    "Huh? What do you mean master?"

    "These assassins especially that Kalia have surely gone through extensive training would they really give up their organisation''s secrets after just a few hours of torture." Even if the torture was rather extreme it still seemed rather soon. Frost sensed that there was a conspiracy at foot.

    "Let these five rest for the time being, we''ll start interrogating the other one and see if he reveals the same answer."

    "Understood master."

    Though only 5 people were directly involved in the assassination of Nanna, Frost and Findley knew that there was a sixth one thanks to their ability to view the entirety of the Dungeon including the Camp through the menu. Kalia was only the team leader in the field the true leader was the man who remained in the hotel while theymenced the operation.

    Before Kalia and her cohorts had even reached the Sleeping Fenrir, Frost, Khuno and Findley had already attacked and restrained the hidden leader.

    A few momentster a man littered with wounds was escorted into the torture room by a regiment of ronsos with their guards fully up. Though this man was in chains and severely wounded his strength was actually that of a B-rank fighter, far stronger than Kalia and the true mastermind behind the assassination attempt.

    Knowing the man''s strength ahead of time Frost, Khuno and Findley attacked without any restraint, swiftly bringing him down before anyone could notice. A feat that wasn''t exactly easy.

    "If he breaks down and gives us the same answer then there''ll be no doubt left in my mind." These assassins were still carrying out their duty, doing everything in their power to aid their so called client.

    Findley took part in the leader''s torture personally and after a gruelling 4 hours he also caved in a way that seemedpletely natural but again he revealed the name Sedrick, the 2nd prince of the Northrend empire.

    The moment he spoke Sedrick''s monicker Frost stood up from his chair with a frigid expression and exited the gallery. He ordered for the five assassins to be brought to the torture room as a unit so they could see the state of their leader and quash theirst hopes.

    "S¡­Sir." A light in Kalia''s eyes seemed to go out when she saw the battered and bruised body of her superior. This man was a powerful B-rank fighter and an intelligent strategist, she never believed that Frost would manage to capture him as well. With him in chains their hope at salvation was all but erased.

    Upon locking eyes however the man and Kalia exchanged a secret message, even though they were captured their job wasn''t over. Kalia grit her teeth and reluctantly epted the role she and him now had to y. A role that was originally supposed to be filled by the lower ranks who could be easily reced.

    "A touching reunion don''t you think." Frost appeared within the torture room with his telltale cold expression that these people had gotten used to. His gaze primarily focused on Kalia, and the man strapped down in the centre of the room.

    "I''m guessing you thought that with him outside there was still a chance for you to escape, for either reinforcements to be sent or for him to find some leverage hmm." Frost''s uracy chilled Kalia''s heart, she bite her lower lip in frustration causing blood to flow.

    "What else do you want; you''ve tortured us, and we''ve given you the information you want so just kill us. We were only doing our job after all!" Fuelled by anger Kaliashed out, screaming at Frost until her throat became hoarse.

    "Just doing a job huh, and I have all the information I need hmm." His words sent a wave of panic through the leader''s and Kalia''s minds.

    ''What! Does he know something?'' Though they panicked internally nothing showed on their faces.

    "I''ll give you the job thing, true you were just fulfilling your duties, but those duties involved killing an innocent little girl. You deserve everything I''m about to do to you and then some." Frost replied with pure hatred, his royal aspected aura quickly spreading out until it filled the entire torture room, pressing down on the assassins'' wounded bodies.

    Even the leader was no exception, he felt his wounds breaking open and a heavy weight stifling his breathing.

    "However, to say that I''ve got the information I need isn''t quite right, is it?" Frost walked towards Kalia with forceful steps his aura bing thicker with every step.

    "Each of you said that your employer was the 2nd prince of the Northrend empire Sedrick Northrend." As if truly surprised by his subordinates revealing the name, the leader of their group harshly red at his subordinates with me and hatred, but Frost knew this was just an act.

    "6 counts of the same information from all parties involved, logically this should mean that there''s no doubt that the orchestrater behind this assassination was the 2nd prince. And to be honest when looking at the facts could it be anyone else?

    Nanna and Loki were originally illegal child ves meant for him so it''s only logical that he''d either want them back or want to kill them so no one else could have them.

    If that''s not enough proof the 2nd prince already sent an A-rank assassin to kill me in revenge for my interference thus cementing our rtionship as enemies." By the end of his exnation Frost leaned down and stared directly into Kalia''s eyes as though he could see into the depths of her soul.

    "Logically everything points to the 2nd prince, even the assassins captured im that he''s the mastermind after enduring gruelling torture¡­then Kalia why is it that I don''t believe you?" A subtle shift appeared in Kalia''s eyes, panic and it was seen by Frost.

    "Hahahaha seems that I am correct the 2nd prince isn''t involved in this scheme at all and to be honest that makes better sense. Though we have shed and could be considered enemies given the current situation could he even spare his attention towards me and even if he could, why would he?

    Nanna and Loki are likely pointless to him at his current juncture so why would he risk drawing my wrath when he''s currently embroiled in a battle for the throne?" Though Frost was fairly distant from the contest being beyond the empire''s imed territory his contact with Bastion, Dous, Ryuu and Leo meant he had quite a good grasp on the current situation in the Capital.

    "If we''re talking about who would truly benefit from such an aftermath then wouldn''t the crown prince be more suspect." Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear by this point and a strange sense of giddiness filled his heart. He had seen through this little charade.

    Kalia and her superior''s panic swiftly grew knowing that their scheme had been seen through. The two shared a brief look before instantlyshing out in concert. Since the charade was up and only a slow death awaited them it was better to attempt a breakout and die in the process.

    The leader of the assassins burst out with the remaining vestiges of his strength, his aura billowing out from his body as he lunged at a nearby ronso intending to take hold of his halberd.

    Kalia didn''t waste a second either she dashed straight for Frost''s throat intending to bite and tear apart his jugr. The rest of the assassins weren''t as quick but within moments they all attacked at once, doing their hardest to escape from their captors or at least force them to kill them quickly.

    s Frost and Findley expected as much. As if they were waiting for this Frost reached out with his right hand and tightly grasped Kalia''s jaw while Findley swiftly subdued the assassins'' leader with the help of the ronso guards. The others meanwhile were ''allowed'' to escape in multiple directions but after only running for a short distance they were met with awaiting guards.

    "I have to say I do respect your resolve but I''m not someone you should have ever crossed." Kalia''s eyes shivered in panic, an overwhelming fear gripping her heart as Frost wrenched open her jaw and reached in with his other hand.

    "Ghbhbifbib!!" An iprehensible howl reverberated throughout the room as Frost tore out Kalia''s tongue and burned it to frigid ash with his cold me chakra.

    "Since I''ve gotten what I needed your words are no longer necessary." He fiercely pped Kalia and dusted off his hands.

    "ce them back in their cells."

    "Yes master" As Frost stared at Kalia with obvious derision the ronsos and revenants present dragged the assassins back to their cells with minimal damage. A quick death was not in the cards for this lot. Stay connected through m-v l|e''-NovelBin

 Chapter 642 Necromancy

    Reluctant screams filled with anguish, hatred and fear reverberated through the halls as Frost''s ronso guards ruthlessly dragged the wannabee assassins back to their holding cells. Frost had what he needed, the true mastermind had been revealed and all that was left was to make those who daredy a finger on his family beg for their deaths.

    "I want their deaths to be slow and painful, spare no expense in elongating their suffering." Frost''s voice was so cold that even Findley shivered upon hearing it. Their master had been truly angered.

    "As you wish master" An ice troll witchdoctor responded to Frost with a growing smile that was filled with evil intentions. He would be the one in charge of bringing these assassins back from the brink and evaluating how much pain they could take before they''d hit their limits.

    Frost walked a few steps before remembering something which caused an evil smirk to form on his lips.

    "The sub leader, Kalia make her suffer more than the rest, she''s the only one with a time limit after all."

    "It will be done master."

    "Un, I''ll visit periodically to grade your efforts." The witchdoctor and the rest of the torturing team trembled and bowed their heads as Frost walked out with Findley by his side. This was the first time in a long while that Frost had deigned to take such an interest in their methods.

    "Master what you said before?" Once they were clear of the prison''s halls Findley couldn''t help but question his Lord.

    "The second prince truly has no real motive at this point to anger me especially after learning or rather supposedly learning about my background. His focus ispletely on Randolph, even the attacks against the Furanos have dwindled in the past few months." Frost regrly kept in touch with Dous, Ryuu and Bastion given their alliance andmon enemy.

    Though danger was brewing in the capital and across the empire until everything goes to shit an out of the way Viscounty and his recently established camp were inconsequential to Sedrick¡­for now at least.

    "Considering how easily the information concerning the second prince fell into ourps and how weak the assassins were there''s now not a single doubt in my mind, Sedrick wasn''t involved."

    "So it was the crown prince?" Though Findley was still sceptical, upon hearing the confidence in Frost''s voice he was no longer confused.

    "Again I can''t be 100% certain but there''s few others who could pull this thing off and who would have the motive to spark another sh between Sedrick and I." The reaction of Kalia and her superior were also quite damning.

    Crack!

    The sound of knuckles loudly cracking could be heard from Findley''s fists and a vicious expression formed across his visage.

    "Calm yourself Findley, blindly releasing your anger will only cause yourself pain." Frost spoke calmly but a fire could be seen within the depths of his eyes. Their revenge needed to be well nned, only then could they be truly satisfied.

    "Take care of the Dungeon''s tasks and check in on Khuno I''ve got a call to make."

    "Yes master." Findley saluted with his arm across his chest before vanishing through a spatial warp leaving Frost alone.

    "¡­.Randolph seems that you didn''t take my warning seriously thus I can''t be med for what happens to you and your precious Empire." Frost''s wrath was far more serious than even Findley realised. He wished to bathe in Randolph''s blood, to y his flesh from his body one strip at a time as he begged for mercy.

    No one could target his people and get away with it especially the children who weren''t even able protect themselves.

    After relishing in his dark thoughts for a few minutes Frost brought up the Dungeon menu that had changed in minute ways since thest family gathering, he was still getting used to the newyout andfort features.

    Ring, ring, ring

    Frost quickly found his list of contacts and starting calling one of the dozen or so people listed.

    Ring, ring, ring

    There was no answer even after multiple rings but eventually just when he was about to give up someone on other line picked up.

    "Huh Frost what do I owe this pleasure." An eery perhaps even sinister sounding voice came from the dark screen as an image started toe through.

    "Agar, I didn''t catch you at a bad time did I?" Frost had called his younger brother Agar who had the form of a lich and was a master of the undead ssification of monsters as well as necromancy magic. Agar was also one of the few siblings Frost considered close.

    "Not really, I was just about to go for a good soak but since it''s you calling I can put it off hehehe." Agar despite having a rather scary form was incredibly easy going and quite affable.

    "Thank you brother. The reason I''m calling is too ask you a few questions about your speciality as well as perhaps conduct a quick trade."

    "Hoh you''re interested in the undead or necromancy?" Agar''s eye sockets lit up with glee, not many people were interested in either of his specialities.

    "For a personal reason I''d like to know more about necromancy in particr."

    "If I can answer your questions I will, go ahead brother."

    "Very well, through necromancy you''re able to reanimate the dead correct?"

    "Not exactly, what necromancy entails is the creation of an undead monster through the use of a corpse.

    The previous person/inhabitant of the body does note back to life, and they also don''t be an undead monster rather it''s more akin to a brand new entity, a fusion of the physical offering, the leftover fragments of their soul and the magic of the necromancer." Many people had the wrong idea about necromancy, it wasn''t something that could bring a person''s loved one back from the dead or reanimate long dead heroes as long as they had their corpse and an abundance of magic.

    "I see, is there no leftover vestiges from the previous owners?"

    "There can be, though the soul can never be whole again the higher the spell used and the more advanced the necromancer the more likely somethings than can remain such as memories, skills and even weapon mastery.

    In some cases the created undead can even be stronger than the host corpse used to create them but only those at the very peak can do that." Agar could be considered rather gifted but at his current level converting C-rank corpses was his absolute limit and the result would be a D-rank undead with practically nothing useful remaining from the host soul.

    Frost couldn''t help but frown upon hearing Agar''s answer, he had the hope that by turning the assassins into undead monsters he''d be able to gleam into their memories even those that had been previously sealed.

    Though Kalia and her group had mentioned that the second prince was the mastermind they never did openly admit anything regarding the crown prince and during the initial interrogation very little was carved out in rtion to their organisation. Key memories such as those were locked behind a powerful mental seal that would destroy the host''s mind the moment Frost or another went poking around.

    ''Well guess that''s a dead end.'' A shame but not aplete loss, he was already pretty certain of Randolph''s involvement and had to be honest he cared little about the so called underworld syndicate.

    "Thanks Agar your exnation has answered most of my queries."

    "No problem brother." Agar was more than happy to help Frost; it was just somemon knowledge as far as he was concerned.

    "Are you able to purchase necromancy spell scrolls, ones that can utilise the bodies of C-rank entities?"

    "I can yes but the results will be even less efficient if a non-necromancer uses them¡­ plus they aren''t cheap." Agar''s bone skull showed a smile and a chortle passed through his teeth. He was all for lending a hand to his brother but when it came to business there was no such thing as family. If Frost wanted his specialty scrolls he was going to have to cough up a hefty amount of DP.

    "Urgh, how much?"

    "7000DP a scroll not a single DP less."

    "That''s extortion, 7000DP to create a single low ranking undead." Agar was almost charging the same amount as a basic B-rank monster.

    "True but I have something you want and as far as I know I''m the only one who''d offer you such a low, low price for it." Frost could practically see coins floating in Agar''s eyes, the man was a ruthless merchant right done to his bleached bones.

    "Bastard"

    "Hehehehe I love you too."

    Frost gnashed his teeth together and cursed Agar''s brutality several times but eventually his younger brother won in the end. Frost was in the weaker position, Agar had something he wanted so he could charge whatever he wished.

    Though in the end Frost did manage to haggle the price down to 6200DP per scroll, a minor win but one he refused to relent.

    "Hehehe nice doing business with you brother." Agar''s smugly chortled as his bnce rose an additional 50,000DP.

    "They won''t work at all on B-rank corpses?"

    "Nope their bodies are too strong for this level of spell and unfortunately I don''t have ess to a higher circle yet." Seems the assassin leader would be getting off lightly in the end, no eternal torment for him.

    "Alright thanks Agar, enjoy your soak." Though he feltpletely fleeced he didn''t hold anything against his brother and wished him well.

    "Ciao."

    "Haaaaa torture sure is pricey."

 Chapter 643 Reluctant send off

    Though Frost coughed up 30,000DP for the assassin prisoners and an additional 20,000DP for other who had been patiently waiting to serve their new lord and master he still felt it was worth it.

    With a flick of his hand one of the scrolls transferred over by Agar appeared before him. The parchment was made from sturdy beast leather and the runic inscriptions made from the ckest of inks, the thing radiated death energy.

    3rd circle spell [create undead] by imbuing the scroll with mana Frost could cast a spell not of the ice element though with less potency than an actual necromancer. If used on a peak C-rank corpse a mid or upper D-rank undead monster could be created.

    Definitely not worth 6200DP but at least the created monster like those individually summoned had the capabilities to rise through the ranks plus the main objective was to ensure he got the most out of his prisoners pathetic lives and deaths.

    "How enchanting, maybe I should put aside some DP for scroll trades." If he could have ess to a few scrolls of different elements even if they were a little weaker it''d be very beneficial to a one-trick pony such as himself.

    With another flick of his wrist Frost stored the scroll within the Dungeon vault and cleansed himself of any evil thoughts before teleporting to the private space. He needed to check on Nanna.

    Frost appeared a momentter within the living room but there was no sign of Maya, Kiba, Loki or Nanna it was just Daki sitting on the sofa as if waiting for his arrival.

    "Did you take care of business?" Though Daki didn''t take part personally in the more nefarious practises Frost performed she wasn''t in the dark, she knew all sides of her partner even the darker ones.

    "It''s in the works, I''ve arranged for them to suffer a great deal¡­.how is she?" Frost said thest part with a slight quiver, genuinely worried about Nanna''s state.

    "Fine I believe, though she was quite shaken up, given that you arrived quickly, and Maya took care of her in the aftermath she should bounce back fairly soon." Daki had seen Nanna for a short time before she fell asleep in Maya''s embrace. Though the young girl had been through at lot during her younger years as a ve she had begun to let her guard down.

    This event seemed to trigger her past trauma.

    "We can only hope." Frost looked towards her bedroom affection clear in his gaze. He wanted to go in and hug her but knew that waking her up would probably do more harm than good.

    After letting out a sigh Frost joined Daki on the couch, he summoned a bottle of wine as well as two sses.

    "I could use a drink you?"

    "Definitely." Though she wasn''t an alcoholic like Maya she was still rather fond of the stuff.

    The two lovers leaned against one another in silence as they drank their wine, as if trying to drink away their stress.

    "Did you find out who organised the attack?" Eventually Daki couldn''t restrain her curiosity, she too was burning with a fierce vengeance.

    "I believe so yes, but we''ll have to wait for revenge, the timing isn''t ideal." Randolph himself was a powerful fighter let alone the strength hemanded as crown prince of a mighty empire. Frost would be foolish to respond with his current strength.

    "As long as it happens I don''t care how long?" Daki took arge glug of her wine and stifled any further questions she wanted to forget tonight''s experience, thinking about only served to anger her.

    Frost acquiesced and the two continued to drink in silence.

    Once the bottle was practically finished and the two were slightly pink in the cheeks they were suddenly reminded of the mood struck earlier. They had witnessed Maressa boldly press herself against Khuno and openly dere her desire for him.

    Such aggression and seduction of course affected a healthy couple like themselves but because Frost had things to take care of they didn''t get the chance to relish in one another''s bodies. Now however there was nothing standing in their way.

    Daki made the first move, her hands roaming over Frost''s chiselled body feeling sparks of electricity shoot through her system whenever she passed over something flexed.

    Frost responded in kind, his left hand caressing her calf before slowly moving upward.

    As their hands got to work the two moved closer and locked lips, they kissed passionately turning their already pinkened cheeks crimson.

    "Do you¡­.think¡­Khuno''s having¡­a good time?" Daki asked in between kisses, her heart ame with desire as her legs wrapped tightly around her lover refusing to let him go.

    "Hehehe I''m sure he his, Maressa''s quite the catch after all." Frost''s mind drifted for a second as he imagined the naked form of Maressa. Such thoughts quickly caused a reaction from the dragon nestled between his thighs. Daki also noticed the sudden increase in rigidity as well as the distracted gaze in her lover''s eyes.

    "How bold to think of another woman while being embraced by me." There was an undisclosed hint of anger in her voice, nothing burns more than a woman''s fury.

    "Hehehehe you can''t fool me my love I wasn''t the only one turned on by her." Frostughed in the face of her supposed anger. If it was Maya then it would have likely been genuine but Daki she was just as tempted as he was perhaps even slightly more.

    The beautiful green enchantress seductively stuck out her tongue and batted her eyshes not denying his words.

    Unlike Maya or Frost she was very, very experienced with both male and female partners but even for her Maressa was quite the bombshell, Khuno was certainly lucky to draw the attention of such a fine woman.

    Frost and Daki continued to kiss passionately and caress each other''s bodies until they were ready to burst.

    "Alright enough forey babe."

    "As you wish my love."

    "kyahh hahahaha." Daki loudly squealed and thenughed as Frost lifted her from the sofa and carried her to the bedroom.

    The next morning after Khuno returned to work he of course received more than a few jeers from his fellow monsters as well as his own master and mistresses, but they simply rolled off his back like harmless water droplets. He very much enjoyed his time with Maressa and was tempted to engage in several more rounds.

    During his patrols and even while in the Dungeon his mind would frequently wander back to the previous night. He couldn''t forget the feeling of her skin, her supple yet powerful body as well as her fierce personality. Maressa consumed his thoughts and likely wouldn''t be leaving anytime soon, you don''t really forget your first after all.

    Daki as promised met with the Amazonian Beauties to discuss their equipment. She couldn''t help but notice that Maressa, Chana and Freya all had rather rosyplexions like herself, it was clear to her that it wasn''t just Maressa that managed to bag herself a good time.

    Myrina, the youngest sister however sported a dark expression, clearly she failed where her sisters did not, and it frustrated her. Daki and the others chuckled under their breaths and shared knowing looks which seemed to only infuriate the young woman further.

    Daki got to work on their requests post haste and promised to deliver the products within 3 days and that they''d be of the highest quality. Maressa and her sisters were more than happy with her response, they weren''t in too much of a rush after all.

    Frost promised that Kalia would remain detained by him and his forces for the foreseeable future thus allowing them to visit the cial mountains before heading back to Ranullia. In fact he even encouraged them to take their time, hoping to drag out her pitiful life as much as possible. Your journey continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin

    Though they were a little unnerved with letting Kalia live for so long they strongly trusted in Frost''s capabilities. With him and his forces here in the Niflheim Camp Kalia had no chance at escape.

    On the third day Maressa and her sisters left Frost''s territory with their new equipment in hand and a strong reluctance in their hearts. Long treks and fierce battles awaited them as they marched to inner regions of the cial mountains. It''d be a long time until they''d be able to enjoy themselves in the bath houses of the Niflheim base camp.

    Frost was too busy and of too high a station to send them off but Daki, Khuno and quite a few ronso guards vehemently volunteered.

    Daki was there as a stand in for Frost while Khuno was there to support Maressa who he''d been spending a fair amount of time with since their first night together.

    The mighty elder ronso fell victim to his physical desires a mere 8 hours after Maressa first drained him and caused a little incident while at work. While giving his usual orders and receiving reports from some of the monster officers his mind grew distracted, and he started picturing Maressa in some rather provocative poses.

    Thus during a staff meeting while surrounded by yuki-onnas he pitched a rather significant tent making them all blush and mock him. Thankfully Maressa was free and more than happy to take care of his needs.

    The others which amounted to almost a dozen guards were pretty much all for Chana. While Maressa and Freya stuck with a single partner she was more promiscuous.

    "Bye boys don''t forget about me." Chana seductively blew a few kisses making many of the guards grow red in the face. Freya being rather wild at heart simply groped her partner''s ass and whispered into his ear before walking off with her sister.

    "Sir Khuno we''ll be back in a few weeks, and I sincerely hope we can continue to get to know one another then." Maressa spoke with the most reluctance, she had truly grown rather fond of Khuno. Not only was he impressively strong and a total hunk he was such a goody. She even had the notion that she may have found her one and only, but more time was needed for her to be sure.

    As the Amazonian Beauties left for the mountains and the ronsos guards depressingly went back to their duties Daki eyed Khuno.

    "Now that you know the wonders of sex Khuno you''re going to have to restrain your urges we can''t have another incident like before." She elbowed him in the side with a smirk stered on her lips.

    "Urgh" Poor Khuno could only groan, he was going to have to suffer for a while.

 Chapter 644 Slimeoid

    A couple weekster more and more adventurers were reaching beyond the tenth floor and were starting to notice a stark change in not just the monsters but also the local environments and resources avable.

    Frost after listening to his popce as well as the adventurers guild started purchasing extras for certain floors such as unique nts and herbs that were key ingredients for potions and even magic devices. Slowly but surely his Dungeon was bing more and more attractive and hopefully with enough time there''d be little difference between it and the cial mountains.

    Though no B-rank adventurers deigned to visit yet Frost was gradually getting ready for them.

    "Yuna how goes the monster evolutions, anything interesting today?" Frost asked from behind his desk. Across from him was a rather beautiful young woman who was adornedpletely in white. Both her hair and skin were as white as snow.

    "There is one master, an ice slime has finally reached the goal you previously set." The woman, Yuna replied with a soft voice and a small smile that seemed revealed pearly white teeth and two short fangs. Though she looked simr to a human woman Yuna was in fact a monster, Frost''s third B-rank and third named monster.

    Previously Yuna was simply known as the leader of the yuki-onnas, the one with the highest level as well as the one with the sharpest mind. Below Findley and Khuno she served as head of Frost''s magic corps and was just below them in authority.

    Following her efforts in the war with Karrick and her skilful management during the Dungeon''s day to day tasks Frost promised to grant her a name once she achieved an evolution, growing from a low C-rank yuki-onna to an upper C-rank yuki-onna maiden.

    There was even a glorified ceremony for her ascension into the ranks of named monsters. Frost used the opportunity to raise the spirits and motivations of his monsters, but he never thought that by granting her, her name she''d be able to evolve for a second time. Yuna after receiving her name became a maiden of ice a B-rank monster.

    After which she firmly cemented her position as fourth inmand, below Frost, Findley and Khuno but definitely above the rest of the officers even those that had be upper and even peak C-rank species.

    Her role also changed to Frost''s direct secretary, she followed him throughout the Camp and helped him handle the overall day to day tasks, taking a great burden off his shoulders but it still wasn''t enough, Yuna was just one person after all.

    "Oh that''s perfect, do we have any important meetings in the next hour?" Frost who was initially rather bored andcklustre sprang to life upon hearing Yuna''s words.

    He''d been trying to evolve his ice slimes to the point where they could take on non-blob like forms -a stage where they became truly difficult to handle- forever. Unfortunately in the lower ranks slimes were miserably weak making the process long and difficult. So many of his slimes died just before managing to reach max level but finally one had seeded.

    "Nothing important just the regr meeting with Ringwald but it can be pushed back." Yuna replied in a calm and professional manner taking her role as Frost''s assistant very seriously. Though she had less authority than Findley and Khuno her current role allowed her to be by her beloved master''s side the most which was far better in her opinion.

    "Great, push it back we''ve got an evolution to handle." With a wide grin on his face Frost rose to his feet and pped his thighs before quickly walking into a nearby room. Yuna promptly followed him after asking one of the ronso guards to inform Ringwald about the meeting push back.

    Once Frost and Yuna were in the room they closed the door and used the Dungeon system to teleport themselves to the max level slime''s location.

    A momentter the two arrived on the 6th floor where mainly E and D rank monsters could be found.

    "Where is it?"

    "It should be in this area; I''ll summon all those nearby master." Yuna then opened amunication channel to all monsters in the vicinity and a few momentster Frost spotted arge slime with partially formed limbs make its way towards them as if filled with excitement.

    "lower D-rankrge limbed ice slime." This was thest stage before slimes would be slimeoids, an important threshold.

    "Finally after so many arduous months one has finally reach this point." Frost had a smile that reached from ear to ear as he nodded approvingly as the slime drew near. Only he knew how many failed attempts there''d been, the painful losses, wasted efforts and spirit crushing defeats.

    Frost had wanted slimeoids in his roster for quite a while but no matter how much he improved personally or developed his Dungeon the option never appeared. Now however that was about to change the moment when the slime in front of him evolved, its new species would automatically be avable for purchase and the long mocked weaklings could finally reign supreme hahahaha.

    Frost felt giddy just thinking about it, slimeoids weren''t just strong, they were tenacious and far, far harder to kill than their weaker slime counterparts.

    "Um master." Yuna poked his side drawing him out of his personal revelry.

    "Is the nearby area clear?" The signs of an evolution would surely draw over nearby adventurers. Frost tested this a few times, allowing his less important monsters to evolve the moment they reached max level without his input. The result was that the change in the ambient mana and the glow of evolution quickly drew nearby adventurers like sharks to blood in the water.

    A recently evolved monster was always rather weak the moment they evolved given that they weren''t used to their new physical form thus it was the best time to kill something of a higher rank and rarity.

    Frost didn''t want anything to go wrong with his slime''s special evolution thus he wanted the area to bepletely devoid of people.

    "Unfortunately no master there are several parties in the nearby vicinity, an evolution would surely attract their desire."

    "Haaaaaa looks like we''ll have to do it on a lower floor or within the training space." Though there was now a charge whenever the training space was being used and its myriad facilities were also no longer free of charge Frost still used fairly often. It was still the ideal room to train in given its durability, istion and repair functions.

    Frost quickly checked to see if anyone was using the training space at the moment and upon learning that it was empty he teleported the three of them there. A small dose of DP inparison to the vast reserves and daily ie of Dungeon was thus removed but Frost no longer cared about such small charges. His excitement was still at the peak.

    "Slimeoid hahaha finally a slimeoid." Only Frost knew how much he wanted this particr monster. He didn''t even really know why he was so obsessed with it. Though slimeoids could be considered as strong they still weren''t the strongest nor were they the fastest, sported the best defence nor did they even have the most sought after materials but still for some reason he was drawn to them.

    "Little one time for you to evolve and break free from the shackles of weakness." Frost gave his permission for the slime to start its evolution and a momentter therge silverly blob started to condense into itself, and an obvious glow flowed from it core. No matter how many times Frost saw it the process of evolution was always a magical event that brought joy to his heart.

    The entire process of evolution didn''t take too long a couple minutes or soter the glow died down and the silver blob that was previously spherical in nature was now in the rough shape of a humanoid, it wascking some definition, but it was certainly a stark contrastpared to what it looked like previously.

    The monster now also had eyes and could be considered as having some basic intelligence.

    The silverly slimeoid looked with its brand new eyes and inspected its new body in amazement, it was so different from what it had before. It had truly evolved into something brand new.

    "Hahahahaha my first slimeoid hahahahaha!" Frostughed without restraint as joy overwhelmed his heart, this was what he was working so hard to achieve. The slimeoid''s form was the exact same as described in the monster encyclopaedia he had.

    "Though it''s very rough and clearlycks definition it''s an obvious step in the right direction." Frost cupped his chin in thought and nodded his head as examined an evaluated the young ice slimeoid before him.

    Species: Young ice slimeoid

    Name: None

    Rank: D

    Level: 1/40

    Though it was still considered a D-rank monster it was in the upper stages simr in strength to that of the lesser yuki-onna''s and the frost troll warriors.

    As the slimeoid evolves further its ability to morph into different forms as well as its intelligence would grow and grow making it one hell of an adaptable monster.

    Frost spent the next half hour or so interacting with the slimeoid, testing its capabilities and level of intelligence before having it reassigned to a lower floor and returning to his duties as Lord of the Camp but this time with a little more enthusiasm in his heart.

    The Dungeon''s tasks were more enjoyable but his duties as the Lord of the Camp was no less in important as it heavily affected the Dungeon''s ie.

    Just as Frost and Yuna were about to return to the office and meet with Ringwald Frost received amunication from his Father, the first one since the gathering.

 Chapter 645 Returning what was borrowed

    "Hey Frost, how''s things?" Dark''s charismatic visage appeared before Frost the moment he epted the call. Neither Frost nor any of his siblings had received anymunication from their father since the family gathering ended. Hearing his voice and seeing him in an apparent healthy state brought a smile to Frost''s lips.

    "I''m pretty good bar a few issues with my neighbours and a little incident." A sh of anger passed through Frost''s eyes the moment he recalled the attempt on Nanna''s life, but he quickly covered it up, not wanting to burden his father with any problems he could handle himself.

    "What about you father? Are you stable?" Though Dark yed it cool and even summoned another God to help him with his situation it didn''t stop Frost and his siblings from worrying about him, he was their father after all.

    "Haaaaa you don''t need to worry about me Frost I''ve taken the appropriate actions and with Erebus by my side the chances of any re-ups are minimal." Dark had a lot of faith in Erebus'' talents and trusted him wholeheartedly with his condition.

    It was rare for Dark to be so forting with anyone other than Light, the only entity that could actually be considered his equal. Even the great primordials were still beneath him and Light.

    Frost noticed the pride and even relief in Dark''s voice as he mentioned Erebus. It was clear that this man who was known as the God of Shadows was a close confidant of his father.

    "As long as you''re properly taking care of yourself."

    "I''m am son, hehehe having your children worry about your wellbeing¡­ it''s rather pleasant." Dark was truly enjoying the many experiences of being a father.

    "Anyway enough about me the reason I''m calling is because the years'' time limit has long passed. That high earth ranked cold me oddity needs to be returned."

    "Urgh!" Frost instinctively groaned upon hearing his father''s words. Though he knew his ownership over the me was temporary he was still quite reluctant to hand it over.

    The cold me had not only vastly improved his own strength both in chakra use and ice fire magic, but it helped him create his ronsos and even improve the innate talents of his magically inclined monsters. It did all of this while in a sealed state. Frost still wasn''t strong enough to endure the full strength of the high earth ranked cold me even after reaching B-rank.

    There was still much of this resource untapped.

    "Well that''s a reluctant expression if I ever did see one hahahaha."

    "Can you me me, that cold me has done wonders for my personal development as well as that of my monsters, it''d be a fool if I didn''t feel remorse."

    "Is there any chanc¡­"

    "Don''t bother, the choice isn''t up to me anyway. That me oddity was a gift from the Primordial ice king, whether or not you can extend your lease is entirely up to him." Dark instantly shot down Frost''s hopes or rather redirected the responsibility to the primordial ice king.

    "The primordial ice king huh." Frost had heard a fair bit about this God from Maya.

    Shivali the Primordial ice king, one of the ancient primordials who governed the ice element and who resided in his self-made world, Niflheim of which Frost''s Dungeon got its namesake.

    For fenrirs, ice giants and other ice based monsters Shivali was revered alongside Dark as one of their most hallowed deities.

    Those with the Primordial title were the very first Gods created after Nova''s creation. Each of them governed corews and elements that made up the fabric of Nova.

    In the hierarchy of Gods, Dark and Light stood far above everyone else but directly below them would be the Primordials. Though few in number these entities held immense strength, a newly established God or one with a weaker foundation could be obliterated with a single blow. These people were true big wigs, entities that should never be offended under any circumstances.

    Frost could act immature and even cocky with Dark because he was his father, but Shivali was neither family nor friend but someone who stood at the very peak of this world. Even with all his talents it was unlikely that he''d ever be able to stand equal before such a person.

    "You may actually be in luck Frost. Shivali wishes to meet you and requests that you hand deliver the high earth ranked cold me to him in person." There was a mysterious subtlety hidden in Dark''s voice which Frost failed to pick up on.

    "He wants to meet me why?" Though he was one of Dark''s children, Shivali was a lofty Primordial far above his status.

    ''Could it be the Dungeon''s name.'' Frost trembled as this thought started to take root.

    "There''s a few reasons but since he wants it to be a surprise I won''t ruin his ns; all you need to know is that the choice will ultimately be yours in the end." Again there was a strange look in Dark''s eyes as he looked over his son. There was definitely something afoot but at least it didn''t sound negative.

    There was a slight issue, however.

    "How am I supposed to get there?" The realm of Niflheim was in a separate dimension but the main entrance was known far and wide to be within the very heart of the cial mountains core regions, where the temperature was so cold that anyone below B-rank would be instantly sh frozen by a simple breeze. A harsh environment that only the strongest of people would dare to call home.

    As he was now Frost would find the inner regions rather perilous let alone the core regions.

    His confusion was shown in his expression.

    Even if he could somehow survive the freezing storms, B-rank monsters roamed the area asmon as regr beasts let alone the plethora of A-ranks and even dreaded S-ranks. He''d be nothing but a toothpick to them with his current strength.

    "Hahahaha rx Frost he''s not asking you to brave into the core regions with your current strength, that''d be impossible." Once again Frost despite his quick gains was reminded of how small and weak he truly was in terms of Nova as a whole.

    "Though it can''t be considered without its own dangers there is another entrance to the realm of Niflheim." Dark waved his hand causing arge intricate and detailed map to appear behind him.

    The grandeur of this map would surely send the Northrend empire as well as its neighbour into a fervour. The map held by Dark was hundreds of times more detailed than anything held by the mortal kingdoms. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l''e|-NovelBin

    But Frost knowing his father''s identity and being used to the many wonderous things he could pull out of thin air was totally unaffected. Instead he did his best to memorise as much details as possible before Dark started manipting it.

    "Your Dungeon is positioned at thergest of the southern entrances, basically on the border of what''s considered the cial mountain danger zone." Dark zoomed in on the map to show the area around the southern entrance.

    Magically the map already showed his Dungeon as well as the Niflheim base camp. The markings were even moving, upon zooming in even further dots representing people could be seen moving to and fro throughout the camp. This was a living map that was constantly updating in real time, a true treasure.

    "Going a little north you''ll enter the external regions of the cial mountains, a good teaser for what''s toe further in.

    Here many small kingdoms, tribes and enves are abound but beyond within the inner regions the territorial powers there rival that of Northrend and in some regards even surpass it." Dark briefly disyed some of the more powerful kingdoms that called the inner regions home before moving towards the boundary between the 1st and 2ndyer of the inner regions.

    While the external regions were divided into zones i.e. Alpha, delta, gamma etc¡­the inner regions were divided intoyers, 9yers to be specific.

    "In this area here there is a special entrance to the realm of Niflheim that requires someone on the other side to open the gate thus despite existing for millennia knowledge of it hasn''t spread." Dark withdrew an ice jade token from his robes before tossing it into a spatial warp. A momentter a spatial warp appeared by Frost''s side and the ice jade token fell into hands.

    ''So cold'' Frost''s hand flinched as his skin met with the surface of the ice jade token.

    "That''ll serve as your pass, once you reach the correct coordinates someone on the other side will open the doorway and allow you to enter the realm of Niflheim. What happens next will be up to Shivali." Though the inner regions would still be rather perilous for Frost he only had to reach the end of the 1styer,pletely doable.

    Frost memorised the local area around the hidden entrance and stored the ice jade token in his robes.

    "Is there a timeframe?" To be honest leaving the Dungeon at the moment was far from ideal. The situation with Northrend could devolve at any moment, there was still much he needed to prepare for if things go south.

    "No Shivali didn''t set one, but I''d suggest that you not wait too long. The journey itself will likely take a week or two and though Shivali can be considered rather friendly among the Primordials it would be unwise to test his patience." Basically finish what you need to as quick as possible and then head off.

    "Alright I''ll leave as soon as I can."

    ''Looks like I''m going to be rather swamped over the next few days.''

 Chapter 646 Change in plans

    "Good, I''ll tell Shivali to expect you soon then, have fun Frost." Dark waved goodbye with a bright smile before ending the conversation.

    The moment however when the screen became inert his smile vanished and an exhausted look appeared across his face. He then turned to his left where a man wreathed in shadows was sitting with arge cauldron in front of him. A violet fire was fiercely zing beneath, cooking whatever ingredients sat in the pot.

    A thick medicinal scent escaped through the trembling lid and the man sported a focused expression before suddenly tensing up.

    In that moment the violet fire turned ck, and the cauldron started to tremble, the medicinal scent growing thicker and thicker by the millisecond before the man suddenly smiled and erased the fire, his work was finally finished.

    "I''ve troubled you Erebus." The man wreathed in shadows was of course Erebus, Dark''s confidant and Diablos'' grandfather.

    "No trouble at all my lord and besides we''ve only just started." Erebus wiped the sweat from his brow before scooping out a silver liquid concoction from the cauldron.

    "This should help stabilise your soul for the time being and create a foundation for the next course of treatment." Erebus despite being the God of shadows and having a rather evil appearance was in fact one of the most talented medical alchemists in the world. Even Dark admitted his inferiority to him when it came to producing medicine.

    "This is thest step in the primary treatment yes?" Dark had already being forced to drink several of Erebus'' concoctions yet there was still more toe. The soul wasn''t something easily remedied let alone the soul of someone as powerful as Dark.

    "Correct after drinking this the foundation will be set and I can start with the proper treatment however you''re not going to like it." Erebus wasn''t referring to taste when he said this.

    "Urgh, speak what do you need?"

    "Hehehehe nothing much just a few stems of Visceral soul grass, a silence apple, body cleansing bamboo shoots and¡­. A mind cleansing lotus¡­

    "You!" Dark''s lips twitched as pain and fury filled his heart. The other three ingredients were all rare and precious but he could stomach the loss, but the mind cleansing lotus was a flower that only bloomed once every thousand years. Even he with his impressive garden housed but a few of them. To part with just a single one felt as though Erebus was carving out a piece of his heart for consumption.

    "¡­I''m not done." As if taking some sort of pleasure in seeing Dark''s heartache Erebus continued to list many more ingredients that he required, some of which being even more precious than the mind cleansing lotus.

    Eventually Erebus left to fetch the ingredients from Dark''s reserves after receiving a painful nodcking in strength. Dark slumped in his chair, a devastated expression adorning his face.

    ''Why did I wait so long to get this problem sorted.'' He now truly regretted leaving the problem of his soul alone for a year. Instead of hoping for the best he should have immediately consulted his long-time friend for a check-up. That way he may have been able to avoid using up his most valuable medical reserves.

    While Dark ruminated his uing loss Frost immediately frowned the moment the call ended.

    "Haaaaa never a moments peace." His initial ns would now have to be brought forward.

    "Yuna can you inform Ringwald that we''ll have to cancel our meeting¡­actually in fact ask him if he''s freeter this evening for a more in depth chat. Given how broad the adventurers guild influence has be within the camp I should run a few things by him first."

    "Of course master I''ll inform him right away."

    "Also I''ll need you to handle running the Camp in the meantime as I''ll need to discuss the situation with Findley and Khuno."

    "Of course, by your will." Yuna bowed her head with respect before teleporting back into the Lord''s office to handle the tasks Frost still needed toplete.

    Once she was gone Frost opened up amunication with both Findley and Khuno.

    "I need the two of you toe to the training room ASAP."

    "Understood, I''lle right away master."

    "I''m in the middle of a critical task, can you wait a couple minutes?" Findley immediately dropped his current task -which wasn''t anything important- While Khuno requested to finish what he was doing before teleporting over.

    "Make it quick we''ve got a lot to do and with very little time."

    "Understood, give me two minutes."

    Two minutester Khuno arrived within the training room where Findley and Frost were already seated across from one another, their discussion already started.

    "Sit." Khuno thus sat down beside Findley, a curious expression on his face as he wondered why both he and Findley had been urgently called upon.

    "Both the Camp and the Dungeon''s next phases need to not only be brought up now they need to bepleted within the next 2 weeks, not a single dayter." Frost immediately set out their goals causing the elder ronso and ice troll lord to grimace.

    Frost''s nned expansions and development phases were currently on track and would likely seepletion within the next 3 to 6 months thus it was understandable for them to be blown away by the two weeks deadline Frost just stated.

    Just when Khuno was going to ask the why Frost raised his hand to stop him.

    "I''ll give you the quick gist since we don''t have much time. Under my father''s orders I need to venture into the inner regions of the cial mountains. A journey that''ll likely see me away from the Dungeon for at least two weeks perhaps more thus given the situation in Northrend I want the Dungeon and Camp to be able to defend itself from a possible cmity.

    Only if we finish the next phase of development will I feel secure in leaving for such an extended time frame."

    Findley and Khuno nced at one another before letting out deep sighs, the work was certain to be round the clock for the foreseeable future.

    "We''ve already pretty much established the basic n all we need to do now is alter it too fit such a short timeframe haaaaa it may not even be possible master.

    The manpower alone is a considerable task not to mention the materials and the cost in DP¡­.I don''t feel confidant promisingpletion." Khuno the more level-headed of his generals openly talked about the struggles while Findley the usual yes man simply remained silent with a pensive expression which basically tranted into his consent to Khuno''s opinion.

    "I know it''s far from ideal but it''s something that needs to happen. We''ll split the tasks ordingly and involve everyone we possibly can¡­. In regards to manpower I''ll think of something, perhaps even bring up another venture that I had put off previously. DP wise we should just about make it if we start exchanging our excess gold coins."

    "But?"

    "I know it''s not ideal given their poor exchange rate, but it''ll allow us to ovee theck of funds if just barely."

    "I n on meeting with Ringwald as well as the representatives for the merchant andbour guilds, given that the sensitivity of some of the development isn''t ssified we could use the manpower of the sapients." Experience more content on m v|l e''-NovelBin

    The development Frost was talking about was the creation of an outer perimeter wall that extended 3km further out than their current one. This wall would serve as a true war defensive wall reaching close to 20 metres in height and 8 in width with a hell of a lot of battlements and war machines.

    More than enough to hold back the tide of another monster stampede or possibly a march of Northrend troops.

    For materials it''d be simr to the initial wall but would contain twoyers with a thick, reinforced b of high strength steel sitting in the centre. Ice would then seal the structure together making for a mighty wall that could withstand the charges of mammoths.

    Initially this n was supposed to be done gradually over the current year but given the current political situation in Northrend and his uing absence Frost wanted the wall to be established to at least 80% of its final height and outlined with the majority of its nned war machines and battlements.

    The design of the wall on top of the twoyer construction would also have a hollow system throughout the upper 6 metres that would house his battle hardened forces. From this tunnel they could fire their ranged weapons through the removable ts while remaining protected from the enemy''s attacks.

    Following that the preceding 800 metres behind the wall would serve as a permanent military bastion hosting barracks, medical centres, food halls, smithies as well as high battle tforms for mages and archers simr to how Furano was during the monster stampede.

    This wall would ultimately change the Camp designation from camp to a fortified vige or even town, truly cementing its position in the area.

    This alone however would require a staggering amount of materials andbour toplete let alone the other developments Frost wishedpleted at the same time.

    Sleepless nights and long shifts were on the horizon.

 Chapter 647 Borris departure

    The three men discussed their ns in depth for the next two hours before breaking off to take care of their assigned tasks.

    "Quicky calcte your initial costs and send me your reports so I can start bulk purchasing what we need." With the initial ns set each of then needed to figure out how much they needed to buy, whether that be in monsters or extra materials to be bought directly. What they managed to mine from their many quarries and mines was far from enough to support such arge construction job.

    "I''ll have someone talk to the local merchant caravans, perhaps we can purchase their materials with all the gold coins we have lying about¡­.Alright that''s enough nning time to start working."

    "As you wish master."

    Findley and Khuno both teleported out of the training room with determined looks leaving Frost with an evident frown even he was unsure of their chances.

    "Yuki-onnas and ronsos perhaps even ice trolls can be assigned to the walls construction but it''s not enough. The Ice dwarves are a littlecking still and would likely cause a scene appearing in mass even with my blessing. Guess I''ll have to finish up that previous project." Ideally he wanted to take his time with this but unfortunately he needed them sooner thanter.

    However just when he was going to start his pet project he received another call this time from Yuna who was left in charge of the Camp.

    ''Please be good news I don''t have time to deal with anything else right now.''

    "Yuna what''s up?" He asked rather sternly, conveying how busy he was.

    "Sorry to disturb you master but Sir Borris wishes to urgently speak with." Though reluctant to disturb her master there was nothing she could do. The situation with Borris was beyond what she was allowed to handle.

    "Borris¡­.Dammit has he decided to leave?"

    "I''m not sure but it''s likely."

    "Haaaaaa very well I''ll meet with him right now, perhaps I can convince him to stay¡­by the way did you manage to arrange a meeting with Ringwaldter?"

    "Yes he''ll be free after 7pm tonight."

    "Good, try and see if you can have all the influential representatives of the camp there as well, it''ll save us some time."

    "Understood I''ll try and arrange for a meeting at 7.30pm with as many people as possible."

    "Perfect, carry on Yuna."

    "Yes master."

    Frost couldn''t help but frown even deeper as he thought about Borris. The old dwarf already made it abundantly clear that he would only being stay here in the Niflheim base camp temporarily and from his recent interactions with him and what Daki had been telling him he was starting to grow restless.

    Though his chances at keeping him here were slim he needed to try at least, that a was a 4 star smith after all.

    After quickly cleaning up his robes and straightening out his hair Frost teleported into his office before heading towards the reception room where Borris was waiting patiently with a ss of whiskey in his hand.

    "Ah Frostd I''m not interrupting anything am I?"

    "A little but your issue is more important." Frost waved his hand before sitting across from Borris who somehow seemed to appear younger than he did back in Furano. Getting his passion back did wonders for his physical health.

    Borris took another sip of his whiskey before showing a serious expression, seemed Frost guess correctly this was him giving his notice.

    "Haaaaaa I''ve been staying here within your developing camp for quite some time now." A forlorn look appeared in Borris'' eyes as he summoned up his courage.

    "Before, back in Furano I already mentioned my desire to travel, to rekindle my passion for smithing by engaging with other smiths deep within the cial mountains. Though I''ve enjoyed my time here and have found thatss Daki of yours to be even more talented than my sons. Engaging with her has been a great start on my path however¡­."

    "It is only the beginning; your stay here was but a temporary resting spot for your to prepare. Your true destination lies within the mountains." Frost finished his speech with a clear sense of defeat in his voice. Seeing Borris as he was Frost knew there was nothing he could do to convince him to stay. Borris was never destined to remain within his territory.

    "Haaaaa." Borris let out a long sigh as he cemented his decision to leave. The camp here was wonderful, the people here respected him and treated him fondly without expecting much in return.

    A young orcss with a devasting appearance and a passion even greater than his own would frequently work alongside him, testing his knowledge, pushing his own limits as she herself absorbed his experience like a sponge. In his eyes Daki was not far from reaching his current level.

    Here he could y around with as much 3 star and 2 star material as he wanted and could even request a certain quota of 4 star material to do with as he wished. Rarely did Frost request for him to perform actual work, simply allowing him the freedom to focus on his craft, something he was immensely grateful for and a key aspect of what made his current decision so difficult.

    s while unlimited experimentation would help expand one''s limits and create a solid foundation it was not that conducive to his current level. Unlike Daki who really benefited from such a system he already had a vast and solid foundation based on his decades of working experience, what he needed now was inspiration. Something that couldn''t be found while sheltered here.

    He''d have to give up his ess to unlimited materials, his ess to high quality food, bath houses and the joy of interacting with Daki on a daily basis but for his passion, his destiny it was a worthy sacrifice, even if it hurt to do so.

    "Your heart is truly set on leaving?"

    "Un"

    "¡­..When?"

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    "In 3 days, there''s a trading caravan that''s heading to the Junok enve, which is near the Three Flower Kingdom, from there I should be able to find passage to the empire''s northern most bastion." Borris had already thought long and hard about his intended destination and how best to improve his craft.

    His skill had dwindled over the past decade or so, quickly umting a thickyer of rust. Only when he met Frost and handed over the ive he forged for another did his heart start to thump again. But it was the thrill and pressure of war that finally and truly reignited the old man''s fire once again.

    Seeing weapons, armour and other pieces of equipment that he handled put through the ringer everyday allowed him to clearly see the inadequacies in his craft and charge ahead against the bottleneck. The cumtion of this knowledge and putting it into practise to reforge the [wolf howling at the moon] allowed him to ascend to the rank of 4 star cksmith.

    He thus felt strongly that war was the key and where best to offer his services than the Northrend empire''s northern most bastion, the grand fortress of the War Ursa Battalion, the great city of Icethorne.

    At Icethorne war was ever abound, the great kingdoms and powerful tribes of the inner regions constantly throwing their warriors head long against their mighty walls, desperate to unearth the stele established by the Northrend empire that barred their way south. Here mass death was a weekly urrence far removed from the Viscounty of Furano that only saw a monster stampede once every few years.

    "¡­." Frost was silent for a moment as his mind turned.

    ''Perhaps it''s fate.''

    "If you''re not in an absolute rush perhaps you could hold off for a few days and at most a couple weeks."

    "Huh why?" Though a week or two wouldn''t make much difference he''d rather leave now before Frost and his ilk had more chances to dissuade him from leaving. His trepidation was clearly shown on his face causing Frost''s lips to twitch, feeling slightly wronged.

    "It just so happens that I''ll be heading into the cial mountains soon and that my final destination will see me pass through Icethorne. I''d be more than happy to take you along with me when I leave then." Frost didn''t n on bringing anyone else bar Kiba with him into the inner regions.

    Far too dangerous for the kids and given the danger present with Northrend he preferred having both Daki and Maya at home to handle any disturbances. Borris would therefore make a pleasant partner to interact with on his long journey.

    "Really?" For a moment Borris felt that Frost had no reason to enter the mountains that this was some sort of ploy or an act of pity but eventually after gazing into Frost''s eyes he realised that the young man truly did have to visit the inner regions.

    "Well if that''s the case I''d be a fool to reject your escort Lord Frost. The strength of a B-rank fighter far surpasses that contingent of guards the trade caravan hired. With your protection I''m guaranteed to reach Icethorne hahahaha." Plus with the difference in travel speed between Frost and arge trading caravan his arrival time wouldn''t differ that much, win-win.

    Though Borris entered Frost''s office with a heavy heart and an aura torn between stubbornness and reluctance he left with a smile stered across his lips.

    Being able to enjoy the bounty of the Niflheim base camp for an extra week was uplifting enough but getting the opportunity to travel with Frost the bearer of his greatest weapon he''d get to see its performance up close and say a more in depth farewell to the young man who helped him rise from the ashes.

 Chapter 648 Designing his second unique monster species

    "That went better than I thought, at least there''s no hard feelings between us." Frost muttered as he sank into his office chair. Thankfully he''d been expecting Borris toe give his notice otherwise he wouldn''t be feeling so relieved.

    "Please let this be the only hup as we progress over the next 2 weeks." Frost would likelye to regret saying these words but at the moment the only thing on his mind was his next task.

    "Yuna how many representatives will be attending the meeting tonight?"

    "Everyone bar the head farmer; he stumbled and broke his leg the other day so he''s unable to attend." The representatives Frost mentioned were the influential people residing within the Camp that were not under his dominion i.e. sapients.

    Such people included those from the major guilds, Ringwald from the adventurers guild, Calder from the merchants guild -who recently moved over to help develop the trade caravan routes, An older woman by the name of Rana from thebourers guild, Darak who was not only the head farmer but also involved in handling the entirety of the produce and meat of the Camp as well as a few big wig businessmen who operated therger shops.

    With Frost as the Lord, Daki as head of the smithing operations and Khuno the head of the Camp''s defences made up the improvised council. Most major decisions and developments passed through this group who''d give their input though in the end Frost had the final say.

    "That''s good, Darak''s role isn''t really needed with the current development, so his absence won''t affect things but have someone deliver him food from the Sleeping Fenrir and ask if he needs anything else." Though Darak had a rtively minor role in the past with the growing amount of nned fields and even meat being procured from the Dungeon his workload rapidly expanding along with his influence.

    Frost wanted to take care of such a promising individual who could possibly be a true backbone for his territory.

    "As you wish master. Is there anything else you need me for, or shall I continue to fill in for you until the meeting?" Yuna shed her eyes with expectation always keen to receive any and all manner of tasks from her beloved master.

    "No, just keep abreast of any developments and only call me if something urgent crops up, I need focus for my next task." Though Borris was a rather pleasant interruption it was an interruption, nheless.

    "Understood." Yuna bowed her head before returning to her own office that was established just outside his own.

    Frost then teleported back to the training space so he couldmence his next task.

    "Unlikest time I should be able to finish the basicyout within a few hours." Frost brought up the Dungeon menu and manoeuvred towards the monster section before opening up the monster design function. Frost nned to design his second unique monster species, a species that would solve hisck in workable manpower.

    "I don''t need fighters since the Ronsos cover that part and I don''t need magic users thanks to Yuna and her Yuki-onnas." Leaders and warmanders were also covered by Findley and his ice trolls.

    "What the Dungeon needs right now is specialty manpower, a species with tradecraft skills and a more amiable appearance thus allowing them to be easily epted by the locals." Though his ronsos were rather fierce looking monster kin their limited numbers, role as protecters and the presence of the B-rank Khuno helped restrain those with inherent bias.

    It would take quite a while before his residents grew to the point of epting monsters in other roles however but unfortunately time waits for no man. Thus he nned to bring up a certain project that had been in the works for some time.

    The territory''s residents probably wouldn''t like it, but Frost no longer cared. The only saving grace was that his nned creation would have a less aggressive appearance hopefully making the transition easier.

    Crack! Crack!

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    Frost cracked his fingers, neck and shoulders before getting to work, letting the ideas that had been flowing in his mind surge forth, directing his hands as a new species slowly came into fruition.

    Frost sat in the same position in front of the dungeon menu for 7 hours straight with a strained expression before finally smiling from ear to ear.

    "Finished, at least the rough draft is finished." There was still a lot of refinement needed in terms of evolution paths and other areas, but the basic outline was done.

    "Niflheim gnomes, gnomes unique to my territory and my territory alone." Frost stretched his body until loud cracks reverberated from his bones before saving his progress and closing the Dungeon menu.

    With his initial experience in refining the Ronsos as well as the recent updates Dark made to the designer system Frost''s second foray into designing a unique monster species was far smoother, with the initial draft taking but a fraction of the time.

    There was still a lot of work to do but the heart, the core of the species was alreadyplete.

    Across Nova, Gnomes were a far rarer sight whenpared to their dwarven cousins. These very short creatures could easily match the stature of goblins when it came to height and were far less stocky in appearance than dwarves but inparison their longer arms and thin fingers allowed them to surpass them when it came to artisanal skill.

    Perhaps due to their rather weak forms and pure battle capabilities gnomes tended to recluse themselves away from other races, dwelling deep within mountains or even underground caverns, rarely seeing the light of day.

    There within the safety of the earth they congregate and locate vast veins of minerals to mine with their powerful senses. Given enough time a tribe of gnomes could fashion a glorious underground metropolis that could put many elven, human and beastmen fortresses to shame.

    It is at this point that the rather wary species would then deign to perhaps explore beyond their defences and if confident reach out to nearby territories to trade with.

    It was well known that if a nation was ever approached by a gnomish emissary fortune was abound. Sessfully striking up a deal with them would ensure vast riches of high quality ore and minerals flowing into their nation allowing them to develop far beyond their rivals.

    Frost''s Niflheim variant changed little in terms of the basic gnomes appearance. They were still short, roughly 1 metre tall and though far less stocky than their dwarven cousins their arms were by no means weak thus allowing them to easily swing a heavy forging hammer.

    Their skin however was blueish silver, simr to that of the Ronsos but a few shades lighter, a trait often seen with species of the ice element.

    In fact the only real difference these Niflheim gnomes hadpared to their regr gnomish brethren was the ability to conjure and manipte cold mes as well as mould ice like it was y.

    This however wasn''t just a simple case of copy and paste. Where the ronsos'' cold mes granted them devasting strength the cold mes of the gnomes focused solely on crafting, unable to effectively threaten a living being. Therefore even with the ability to summon cold mes these gnomes wereughably weak, but it was a trait Frost was happy to ept.

    The other monsters under hismand could handle the battle aspects, leaving them a more supportive role.

    The lowest ranking Niflheim gnomes were to be called lesser Niflheim gnomes and would start as D-rank monsters though their inherent strength would see them struggle with even the weakest E-ranks. But in terms of work efficiency and building capabilities these lesser Niflheim gnomes would put even his ice dwarves to shame.

    A heavily skewed species but one the Dungeon was in dire need of if he wished toplete the next phase of development within two weeks.

    "Given the legends of the gnomish race, their unthreatening appearance and paltry strength I doubt many willin." Frost was particrly proud of his achievement and wanted to get started with their creation right away but unfortunately it was nearing 7pm. The final touches and Dark''s approval would have to wait until after the meeting with the Camp''s council.

    "Clean" Frost first used magic to clean his body and robes before teleporting to the private space to do a quick check-in with the family. He had unfortunately missed the family dinner but given his workload Maya didn''t hold it against him.

    "Where''s Daki?"

    "In the shower, don''t worry though she doesn''t n on dressing up for the meeting." Frost sudden despair was quickly remedied by thetter part of Maya''s statement.

    Last time it took hours upon hours for the two of them to choose their desired outfits but if she didn''t n to dress up it means she''d be showing up in her smithing work clothes which would be appropriate given that she was representing the Camp''s forging department.

    Though there was a sh of desire in Frost''s eyes as he entertained the idea of joining his lovely green enchantress in the shower, time was not on his side.

    "What about you, do wish to join the meeting tonight?" Though Maya didn''t have a specific department she was in charge of she still held a lot of sway with the council given her rtionship with Frost.

    "From what you''ve told me it''ll be apletely business oriented meeting ergo boring so no I''ll stay here thank you very much¡­.However you might want to bring Loki, he''s been wanting to take up arger role in managing the Camp and Dungeon."

    "Hoh is that so." Frost''s eyes opened up in surprise, this was the first time he was hearing of such interests at least when it came to running the Camp side.

    "He''s still a bit young but I guess I could bring him along to observe." Though he wouldn''t ce any responsibility on his shoulders given his age, learning the ropes early couldn''t hurt.

 Chapter 649 Meeting with the council

    Upon hearing Frost agree with her suggestion Maya smiled before loudly calling "Did you hear that Loki he said yes."

    A giggle erupted in response from the direction of Nanna and Loki''s room before a young boy charged out with a wide grin on his face.

    "Little rascal." Frost muttered with affection as he tussled Loki''s hair.

    "If you want to join me and Daki you''ll have to promise to behave ok."

    "Un I promise." Loki was all fired up, full of excitement however what he was excited about was going to be anything but fun.

    "You''ll need to be calm throughout the meeting, don''t fidget too much and don''t interrupt unless I call on you. This isn''t a party or celebration we''re going to be working do you understand?"

    "¡­Yes I understand." Under Frost''s scrutinising gaze Loki did his best to lower his enthusiasm before replying with determination. He knew this meeting would probably be anything but fun, but he was just so happy that he''d get to help Frost with his work.

    "Alright then, have you eaten?"

    "Yes, Nanna and I both ate an hour ago and I''ve had a shower and changed into fresh clothes." As though prepared for Frost line of questioning Loki jumped the gun and answered before Frost''s could even ask.

    ''Haaaaa this kid is just too adorable.'' Frost internally remarked as he once again tussled his hair with affection.

    "Alright once Daki''s out the shower and dressed we''ll head off, do you know what we''ll discussing and who''ll be present?"

    "It''s about the Camp''s next phase of development right. The n was originally for it to be done over the course of the next 3 to 6 months but for some reason you want it to be at least 80% finished within 2 weeks." Loki answered like a faithful student.

    News of Frost''s intentions had already made their way into their ears, but Loki and his sister were still in the dark about the why.

    "Those in attendance will be the whole council bar Darak who won''t be attending due to an injury."

    "Spot on Loki, looks like you''ve been talking with Yuna."

    "Hehehe." Loki simplyughed cheekily in reply.

    "You are correct the discussion this evening will be in regards to the development n Khuno, Findley and I had prepared to be rolled out as you said previously over the next 3 to 6 months however since I need to enter the cial mountains soon I want the Camp and the Dungeon''s defences to be prepared for any eventualities before I head off."

    Loki sharply turned his gaze to Frost''s face, a sadness filling his eyes as he asked, "You''re leaving again?"

    Frost felt a painful tug on heart as he saw Loki''s almost despairing expression.

    "Yes, I need to return something I borrowed and will be gone for at least a couple weeks perhaps up to a month." Though he was loath to be away from his family for so long he was also looking forward to adventuring again. His desire to explore wasn''t being scratched as long as he remained within the Dungeon''s territory.

    "¡­.That''s a long time."

    "Yes I suppose it is but I''m confident you and your sister will be able to protect our home in my absence." Frost firmly patted Loki''s shoulders as he looked down at him with a proud smile.

    As the two waited for Daki to finish up Frost gave Loki a quick summary of his intentions with this meeting and why he wanted to enlist their aid not just inform them about his agenda.

    With a boost in confidence Loki left the private space holding Daki and Frost''s hands, creating an image of a child going to work with his parents, a heartwarming scene.

    Within the Lord''s manor/office all the representatives from the most influential departments throughout the Niflheim base camp were sequestered into the manor''s primary meeting room where the council would usually congregate.

    "Ringwald you were supposed to have a meeting with Lord Frost earlier do you have any idea why he summoned a council meeting." Rana from thebourers guild bluntly questioned Ringwald, she was a busy woman and didn''t enjoy having her time wasted.

    "Sorry Rana I also have no idea, Lady Yuna just mentioned that the Lord needs every council member who can attend, attend, the reason however she did not say." Ringwald was helpless, knowing as much as everyone else waiting here. The only one who may know more was¡­

    "Calder do you know something?" Seeing that Ringwald was useless Rana turned to Calder who out of everyone here could be considered an actual friend to the Lord not just a business partner/colleague.

    "I''m also in the dark but I can guess a few things." Though Yuna didn''t tell him anything either Calder was able to analyse the situation given his acumen.

    Frost rarely called for the entire council, only when he was nning something big would he call on them and inform him of his n. Thus Calder logically suspected that Frost was nning a new development one that required their input and quite possibly finally their actual aid.

    For quite some time both he and Rana have been trying to rope Frost into using more of their resources instead of relying primarily on his own subordinates. Calder had a feeling that today that goal would be realised however what that development would entail specifically he did not know.

    Just as a few of the council members were getting antsy the room''srge doors swung open.

    "Lord Frost, Lady Daki and young master Loki have arrived." Yuna melodious voice announced the three''s arrival before she stood to the side allowing them to pass. A B-rank monster acting so subservient to Frost and his family was always a showstopper that never got old.

    "We greet you Lord Frost." The council representatives all bowed their heads as Frost, Daki and Loki entered the room and took their positions. Yuna prepared a small seat next to her for Loki to sit on while the meeting took ce.

    Seeing the cute child that wasn''t even ten years old confidently take his seat brought smiles to the council members'' faces, even Rana who was initially in a bad mood could be seen smiling from ear to ear like a grandmother admiring her grandchildren. Both Nanna and Loki had a very special ce in all their hearts.

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    "First off I want to thank you all foring on such short notice." Frost started things of respectfully, nodding his head towards each member of the council who took time out of their busy schedule toing to his impromptu meeting.

    "No problem I was free anyway."

    "It''s part of our duties as council members."

    "As long as it''s for something important Lord Frost, I''m quite busy after all." Thestment was of course from Rana who out of every council member was the most dissatisfied with Frost.

    Though he had aplished much and allowed many businessmen to take residency within his territory he rarely used anybourers which put her in quite the pickle having to scrap together what little work there was for her guild members.

    Frost briefly nced at Rana but didn''t feel offended by her attitude in fact he respected her for it as he understood her dissatisfaction. A hidden smirk however shed across his lips as he knew that after today the old woman would likely be both singing his praises and cursing his name.

    Before there was no work but after today there''d be so much that many of them would likely crash from exhaustion.

    "Of course miss Rana I wouldn''t wish to waste your time."

    "Hmph!" Rana loudly hmphed with crossed arms feeling some sort of subtle dig in Frost''s words but despite that she remained seated, waiting to hear his important proposal.

    "Ladies and gentlemen I''ve called you all here because I wish to embark on a bold development n with a very harsh timescale, Loki if you would please." Frost looked over at Loki giving him the floor, thus allowing him to take a little part in the ongoing conversation.

    Loki nervously nodded his head before walking over to therge round table seated in the centre of the room. Once before it he removed arge map from a storage ring he had on and ced it on the table.

    "This here is a rough map of the Camp''s current territory, it shows the basicyout, main buildings, pathways, important sections as well as few future development ns but that''s not going to be the focus of the meeting today." Frost thus gestured for Loki to proceed.

    The young phoenix kin thus took out a pencil and drew two lines 3 kilometres beyond the Camp''s current boundary before returning to his seat where Yuna discreetly gave him a thumbs up and congratted his efforts.

    "Along the line where Loki just drew I wish to build a wall, a true wall that will serve as a proper line of defence for the Niflheim territory. This wall will be almost double the height and double the thickness of our current boundary wall and will be geared as a true fortification.

    Atop will lie countless war machines, ramparts and lookout posts while behind it will lie countless barracks, food halls, medical tents and war forges thus evolving our current territory beyond its Camp status."

 Chapter 650 Meeting with the council (2)

    Frost''s words seemed to set off a bomb in the council members'' heads.

    The Niflheim base camp hadn''t even existed for an entire year yet Frost already had the ambition to turn it into a full-fledged city, a territory that could officially be ced on the continental maps.

    Though initially shocked and blown away greedy smiles started appearing on everyone''s lips as this ambition would not only influence Frost and the territory but them as well. They''d go from being an impromptu council with limited powers to true big wigs, the profit alone was secondary to the authority they''d have control over.

    A territory with a defendable wall and a standing army was on apletely different level to any Camp. It would give them true standing, allowing them to officially interact with other territories, as an entity at the same level.

    Seeing the ambitious looks in their eyes Frost also smiled knowing that he''d have full support even if his request was nearly impossible to fulfil. These council members were all on his side, each wanting the Niflheim territory to flourish and quickly be a leading figure among the surrounding nations. Most of them had bet their lives'' and all their savings such a result.

    "What do you need?" It was Rana who replied first with a smile that was impossible to hide. Such an ambitious venture would surely need manybourers.

    "I''m d you asked Rana, first off I''ll likely need everybourer you can muster since the ns I have for this wall are not only intricate and detailed but with a very strict timeline."

    Frowns gradually appeared on everyone''s faces bar Rana''s.

    "What''s the time frame?"

    "¡­I want at least 80% of the wall done within two weeks."

    Silence absolute silence followed by rounds of sharp breaths. Then shaking of heads and a chorus of "impossible" mutterings. Only Rana remained silent as she ran the numbers through her head.

    ''Alone even if I summon everybourer in the territory and even those in Furano it''s impossible, the scale is just too much but¡­.''

    "Who else is going to be involved?" It was already well known that Frost had some rather significant backing and had the allegiance of quite a few forces thus Rana couldn''t immediately reject such an ambitious proposal.

    "Along with my Ronsos of course, there''ll be a tribe of yuki-onnas helping as well as a group of gnomes that are currently heading our way from the cial mountains." Another round of sharp breaths reverberated throughout the room.

    The Ronsos alone were a force to be reckoned with let alone the magically inclined yuki-onnas but never in their wildest dreams did they imagine Frost had connections to a group of gnomes. Dwarves they could understand even if they were ice dwarves, but gnomes signified something else entirely.

    It seemed that even with their already high opinions, Frost and the territory he nned to create was still beyond all expectations.

    "¡­.Ronsos, Yuki-onnas and gnomes along with all mybourers hehehe it might work but why the deadline?"

    Frost said but a single word "Northrend."

    "¡­.You believe the turmoil with affect us?" Calder chimed in with a grave look on his face. Unlike the others here he was quite well informed about the situation in the capital but even he didn''t think that anything drastic may happen in such a short time frame.

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    "I don''t know but I don''t want to take any chances. I need to enter the cial mountains in two weeks thus I want my territory to be in the best state possible while I''m gone." Though it may cause some panic to have their Lord away from his territory and perhaps a few bad apples to try and take advantage of the situation Frost believed that he should inform regardless.

    "That makes sense then¡­.have you finished the design ns for the wall and the military encampments?"

    "Yes the designs have already beenpleted but I''m open to your input when ites to your specialties. Niflheim deserves the absolute best therefore anyone who volunteers to help with the development will be granted generous wages, lodgings, food as well as free ess to the lower ranking bath houses while the wall''s construction is underway.

    I''m also nning to keep manybourers employed to help further develop the outeryer that lies between the current wall and the new one. Its too much for my forces alone after all."

    This was music to Rana''s ears, finally herbourers wouldn''t be sidelined during the territory''s development projects.

    Frost then turned to Ringwald the leader of the adventurers guild as well as Calder the representative for the merchant guild.

    "I''ll also be looking to hire a great amount of adventurers. Those with magical talents can help strengthen the walls alongside the manybourers under Rana as well as those with lower ranks who can''t hunt for the vast amounts of material we''ll need from the Dungeon.

    Again the rewards will be very generous, my personal vault as well as the taxes collected from the camp will be fully avable for this project, hold nothing back."

    "I''m sure many will flock over to Niflheim just to take part in this venture, will the same conditions apply to them." It was not umon for people to travel long distances for rewarding work.

    "Of course, the more the merrier. With therger space provided we''ll be once again looking for permanent residents." Frost was more than happy to wee new additions thus growing his DP ie.

    "Calder though I have ess to quite a vast level of materials it still won''t be enough toplete the wall and the surrounding encampments. I''d like you to utilise your connections with the surrounding merchants to get us those much needed materials, preferably at a fair price." Though his coffers were filled with a deluge of gold coins Frost wasn''t fond of being ripped off.

    "Once work begins and word spreads the territory''s desire for building materials will be obvious and the merchants will react in kind¡­.if you want to keep the prices as fair as possible it''d be best for us to buy as much as we can as soon as possible. Do you have the projections?"

    "Some initial estimates which I''ll send overter, specifics however will take another day or two, air on the side of excess."

    "Very well I''ll seek out the local merchant caravans and if needed ask for my grandfather''s aid."

    "Much appreciated Calder." If Sebastian the old kingpin of the merchant guild got involved getting those supplies would be a piece of cake.

    "Of course Lord Frost, the development of the territory is as important to my interests as it is yours." The more Niflheim flourished the more money he could make.

    Though he was certain Calder would surely make a great deal of money with his control over the supplies Frost still felt grateful for his aid. Having someone trustworthy and skilled like him handle arge portion of authority greatly eased Frost''s overall burden.

    Frost and the council thus further discussed the fleshed out n for the territory''s evolution with each member giving a fair amount of input even the major businessmen who simply got their seats due to being first had quite a lot to say.

    Therefore Frost''s n that included not just the wall but also the military encampments and some future depiction of what could be developed within the newly paved 3 kilometre space grew more and more detailed.

    "It''s a shame that Dakar couldn''t be present since he''ll be ying a major role in the aftermath, but his health muste first."

    "Agreed, since his vision isn''t needed until after we''re done we can let the man rest and shore up his strength."

    "He''s going to be rather busy in a few weeks." A few council members couldn''t help butugh as they imagined the poor Dakar who frequentlyined about ack of work being swamped in the future.

    Arge percentage of the newly enclosednd as well as certain sections beyond the uing wall were ted for farmwork. The territory could supply arge chunk of its meat from the Dungeon, but it was sorelycking when it came to vegetables and grain, a problem Frost was keen to remedy.

    "Alright everyone has their initial assignments so let''s wrap this meeting up. I''ll have some of my subordinates deliver the updated estimates to youter. Please as soon as you can write up your own reports and send a copy both to myself as well as Calder who will be in charge of procuring any excess materials we''re currentlycking, dismissed."

    The council members thus quickly shuffled out of the meeting room with determined and slightly anxious expressions, Frost had ced a lot on their te after all."

    "Phew the die is cast now we just have to wait for the results toe through¡­.will you be able to handle your workload?" Frost fell into thefort of his seat and exhaled before ncing at the woman by his side.

    "It''ll be difficult, not only am Icking skilled hands and materials the sore fact that we have a limited amount of forges will likely forestall our progress." Daki shook her head not feeling as confident as the other council members.

    With her being a cksmith and in charge of the territory''s overreaching forging output she was tasked with turning their tons and tons of iron ore into refined steel as well as other high strength metals.

    This grand development would see her having to abandon all her current projects and even then she could see herself struggling with the intense workload.

 Chapter 651 A secretarys corruption

    As Daki exined her limitations Frost was forced to ponder the outlined problems.

    "Forbour the Niflheim gnomes I''m designing should be able to settle right in when ites to basic forge work perhaps even being able to help with the more advanced processes without much aid." His Niflheim gnomes were ted to be far more skilled and talented than any of his ice dwarves, a boon that came at an expense of weakbat capabilities.

    "In regards to materials, whatever we can exhume from the Dungeon''s mines either Calder will provide, or we can purchase outright with DP -as long as our reserves holdout." Though they''d managed to produce a significant war chest of several hundred thousand DP that had to cover a whole range of areas not just materials.

    Therefore the main problem Daki highlighted and one that Frost strongly agreed with was theck of forges. Even if they had thebour and the materials if the devices used to transform those raw materials into something useful were few in number it didn''t matter how many people or how much materials they had.

    Why don''t you just build more forges then? You might ask. Well that''s not as easy as you might think. To produce Daki''s main forge alone cost tens of thousands of DP even without the extra additions she''s added over the following months.

    Readymade buildings and workshops cost an arm and a leg through the Dungeon menu thus with the war chest already spread thin over the many other areas Frost couldn''t wantonly spend it on a couple basic forges. No the only option was to build them from scratch one brick at a time.

    "Building additional forges will take upbour, time and speciality materials¡­"

    "If you want the wall done on time you''re going to have to find a way to get me thatbour, the time needed as well as the necessary materials."

    "Haaaaa I''ll ask Calder if he can add forge supplies to the list of materials and hope for the best. In the meantime do what you can with the forges we have avable to us."

    "Will do¡­seems we won''t be getting much sleep over the next couple ways and not in the good way¡­" Daki stared at Frost in a particr manner, a suggestive look in her eyes which Frost quickly caught on to.

    "Loki you did very well tonight, I''m proud of you." Frost quickly moved over to the young boy who was resisting the urge to fall asleep.

    "Master." Loki became alert upon hearing Frost''s words doing his best to cover up his tiredness appearing rather adorable.

    "It''s ok we''ve been here for a while, discussing some rather boring topics plus it''s past your bedtime, it''s no wonder you''re tired."

    "Head to bed Loki, you''ve earned a good rest."

    Loki yawned at that moment and rubbed his eyes, no longer feeling the need to fight the urge now that Frost had spoken. Following that he smiled, waved goodbye to Frost and Daki before teleporting into the private space and heading to his bedroom where Nanna was already fast asleep after her own work filled day.

    Now with Loki out of the room Frost finally responded to Daki''s gaze.

    "Frost dear since I''ll be working hard for the next couple of weeks with nary a break don''t I deserve some sort of reward, an encouragement for my efforts." Daki batted her eyshes in a flirtatious manner as she sauntered over towards him, sashaying her wide hips side to side.

    Frost instinctually gulped as his blood heated up and desire festered in his heart. Daki''s words were true, for two weeks both she and him were going to be run ragged before he''d have to quickly venture into the frozen wastnds which were the cial mountains.

    So much time not being able to enjoy herpany, the softness of her skin, the heat that dwelled within her and pleasure that came withying with both her and Maya. A pleasure he''d be without for quite some time.

    For a moment he had a strong desire to never leave the confines of his Dungeon to eternally wee the embrace of his women. Ah such joy that would be but unfortunately that was not his sole desire.

    Though being without their touch would certainly be painful it was necessary. Frost shook his head of his wayward thoughts before pulling Daki into his embrace, this was likely one of the only few times he''d have left to be with her before returning from cial mountains.

    "What do you suggest then my beautiful green enchantress?" Frost asked full of obvious intent, his lips already finding sour upon Daki''s fair neck.

    "Since we''re short on time I won''t ask for much, but I really can''t stand the thought of being bereft of your manhood for such a long time¡­a quickie please then I promise I''ll dedicate my full attention to producing steel for the territory''s new wall." Daki whispered seductively into her lover''s ear as her hands began unravelling his robes, revealing the toned body thaty beneath.

    "Hahaha with you my love there''s no such thing as a quickie."

    "Kyaah!"

    The two lovers thus ensued in an intense exchange in leu of theiring separationpletely forgetting that though Loki had left the manor and returned to the private space there was another in the next room who had to suffer through their animalistic moans.

    A deep pink blush appeared across Yuna cheeks as she inadvertently listened to her beloved master m himself into her mistress with wanton abandon. The lewd sounds of Daki''s cheeks pping against Frost''s thighs reverberated in the maiden of ice''s innocent ears.

    With her increased intelligence upon bing B-rank her sense of self also increased straying further and further from a simple monster that was driven by her instincts. She was bing more and more akin to a fully rounded person and with it came thoughts and feelings.

    Before she was in admiration of her master and full of unending respect but sitting here in her office listening to her master make Daki squeal with pleasure she couldn''t help but fidget in her chair. Her blood heating up as desire filled her heart and sweat started to flow across her snow like skin.

    Almost imperceptibly her hands drifted downwards where a certain area was giving off far more heat than any other, strongly craving to be pierced by something hard and thick.

    "Ahnnnn" Yuna let out a seductive moan as her fingers found their target, stroking, caressing and plunging deep within her slowly allowing her to experience some relief.

    It didn''t even ur to her that the polite thing to do while her master and mistress engaged in intimate activities in the next room was to perhaps leave rather than eagerly listen in.

    Frost''s and Daki''s debauchery slowly corrupted the innocent maiden of ice, it''s likely that like Khuno pretty soon she''d be seeking out a worthwhile partner that could help curb her growing desires.

    Once their little session was over Daki returned to her bedroom for a solid rest, thest she''ll likely be having for quite some time.

    Frost however was still rejuvenated, his spirits and mental faculties set aze by his union with Daki as well as the bountiful level of DP flowing into his core, granting him untold strength, strength which he funnelled into quickly finishing off histest design the Niflheim gnomes.

    Shortly after the sun had risen on the territory and the council members had awoken and started the long list of tasks they had been given Frost finished his work and sent the design off to his father for the final approval, but he was already 100% certain that his father would approve.

    During thest family gathering after interacting with several of his siblings he learned that quite a fair few had had their submissions rejected for various reasons such as being impractical, too strong,cking in detail and such.

    Dungeon cores like himself, Yami and Indra were one of the few who took their time with their design rather than ham hocking something together and hoping for the best.

    Though the Ronsos would always be his true pride and joy due to being the first monsters he ever designed and ones that he spent a substantial amount of time designing his heart already had a soft spot for his little gnomes.

    Not expecting his father to give his approval right away Frost set off to work with both Khuno and Findley in tow.

    "Have you finished arranging the required manpower and tabted how more we need?"

    "Pretty much given the base estimation of the amount of sapientbourers avable to us." Frost and his cohorts were no longer restricting the activities of the sapientbourers instead truly epting them as part of his territory forever more.

    It was far more efficient for him to utilise the vast troves of gold coins sitting in his vaults to pay sapients over, using DP to purchase monsters solely forborious tasks. He still needed to run the Dungeon during thisrge development nafter all.

    "Good, try to air on the side of excess though, I won''t be that fussed about a little wastage if it means reaching our target on time."

    "Understood. We''ve left arge chunk of the quota to be allotted to these Niflheim gnomes was it?"

    "Yes that''s the name I''m giving the species, I''ll mostly be needing the D-rank lesser variants, but a few C-rank true bloods will also be required, have you ounted for that?"

    "I believe so, under your advisement we have aired on the side of excess after all, the Dungeon''s current reserves as well as daily perhaps even hourly ie for the foreseeable future is pretty much ounted for.

    "Hopefully it''s enough."

 Chapter 652 Work begins

    Along with the quota for the not yet seen Niflheim gnomes Findley and Khuno attributed the rest of the manpower quota to getting lesser yuki-onnas, yuki-onnas and ronsos, monsters that could leave the confines of the Dungeon and build on the surface level albeit awkwardly in the case of the lesser yuki-onnas.

    They were still viewed as rather monstrous but given that Frost informed the council beforehand and that he''ll also be employing full yuki-onnas as well as his ronsos thebourers shouldn''t be too hard pressed.

    "We''re also upping the amount of goblins, frost dwarves and couerl pups as they can help gather and carry the materials within the Dungeon which the surface group can then collect and utilise for the wall."

    Given that Daki''s forge as well as a couple more were present within the Dungeon they needed a group to transport these materials through the floors.

    "Have the hidden paths been established, no one has noticed anything?"

    "A few adventurers found them, but we took care of them thus the hidden paths remain a secret. Our forces can easily bypass the delving adventurer parties if needed." The fact that a great deal of the stronger adventuring parties would teleport directly to floor 5.5 through the floor jumping stones also helped.

    "Looks good." Frost muttered as he listened to Findley and Khuno while also skimming through their reports, groaning slightly whenever his gaze passed over a set of costs.

    ''Urgh¡­it''s all part of the n, it''s all part of the n'' Frost internally chanted a mantra as he added what was listed to the Dungeon shopping cart and clicked confirm. A juicy tendril of creation energy briefly flowed through his body as the Dungeon core started to hum and spin.

    A momentter dozens of monsters appeared across the Dungeon from magic crests, their assigned officers ready and waiting to give them their first orders.

    "The manpower on our side is now ounted for and they are receiving their instructions. Come let''s head to development site and begin the festivities." Frost tightly clenched his fists as he boldly walked beyond the Camp''s gates, stopping after roughly 3 kilometres.

    "Begin!" With his order Findley, Khuno and himself started marking out points across the 3 kilometre stretch. They were swiftly joined 20 minutester by Rana of thebourers guild as well as Jaina from the adventurers guild and a young woman by the name of Tessa who was filling in for Calder as he interacted with the many merchant caravans in the area.

    "Here''s the altered ns Rana, I trust I can leave you and your capable subordinates to supervise the overall project." Though Frost considered himself rather capable Rana and her guildmates were true professionals when it came to construction.

    "Sure thing Lord Frost, leave it me." Rana mmed her arm against her chest in confidence before loudly hollering orders to a group of gruff men and women behind her who quickly got to work with sparkling eyes. To work on such a grand project such as this was a dream for many of them, so of course they were rather excited.

    "I''ve got teams collecting materials from my vaults as well as the Dungeon itself so just let one of my officers know how much you need and when." Frost gestured to the yuki-onnas and ronsos who started arriving behind thebourers.

    "The yuki-onnas and ronsos will be integral to adding thatstyer of strength to the wall as will any magician capable of powerful ice magics."

    "I can see that in the ns and to be honest it''s nothing I haven''t encountered before. Once you reach a certain depth within the cial mountains all the nations there use simr methods to establish sturdy walls of ice." Though there were a few additions that truly made this old woman marvel at Frost''s ingenuity the basic foundation for the wall itself was not one of them.

    "Hoh I didn''t know that you had ventured into the cial mountains." Frost was quite intrigued, he looked at the gruff old woman known as Rana with interest.

    "Pah and there''s a lot more you don''t know about me my Lord but yes in my youth I forayed more than once into cial mountains. I visited not just the kingdoms in the outer reaches of the external regions but also those in the inner regions. In fact I even helped repair a few walls at Icethorne along with the previous guild master hahaha." Ranaughed without reserve as she sunk into nostalgia.

    "Anyway my point is that when ites to constructing this wall of yours as long as you can supply me with what I need it''ll be a piece of cake."

    "It''s a relief to have someone so reliable by my side." With Rana taking on more responsibility it would free him up in other areas, a pleasant surprise.

    "Oh you don''t know the half of it hehehe." Rana was perhaps subtlety jabbing at Frost, given that before today he adamantly rejected using thebourers guild for the Camp''s important developments thus causing him to lose out.

    Frost simply had to take the blow, internally admitting that he may have been a little too paranoid resulting in the territory developing slower than it could have done but there was no use crying of spilled milk.

    "Jaina I''m guessing Ringwald''s busy at the guild arranging all the quests I submitted?" Though their first interaction certainly wasn''t that pleasant Frost no longer held anything against her.

    "Yes but on top of that he''s summoning as much of the adventurers as possible to help with the wall''s development whether that be hunting for specific materials in the Dungeon or being consigned as aid for the skilledbourers.

    To be honest I don''t think he even went to sleepst night." After speaking Jaina shed a slight re at Frost warning him that she would not be doing the same, her beauty sleep was very important to her.

    "How''s that going?" Frost ignored the yful look Jaina gave him; their rtionship had actually grown to the point that she wasfortable throwing out the asional jabs.

    "So-so, adventurers enjoy freedom and don''t see much glory in helping develop the territory in such a manner but as long as the pay is good, and the guild master does enough sermons we should be able to meet our quotas."

    "Good, you''ll need to liase with Rana frequently as she''ll be the one directing the overall workload."

    "I expected as much." Jaina thus sauntered over to Rana''s side and informed her of the adventurer recruitment drive.

    "Tessa was it, how confident is Calder in getting our much needed materials." The woman Calder sent as his representative had a bookworm like appearance and was naturally quiet. She stuttered nervously when Frost directly questioned her.

    "T...The young master said he''s confident in getting at least 75% at a fair price, the remaining 25% will be tricky."

    "I see, what about the addition I mentioned, the materials required for building forges."

    "That he was even less confident in getting a fair price. Materials to build forges are always in high demand and sometimes even regted. Given the situation in Northrend as well as the urgency in which we need them he''ll likely have to use up several favours and even then it''s unlikely he''ll be able to get everything.

    "How many?"

    "Two, he said he can just about get you the materials required for two high grade forges within 2 days."

    "Haaaaa it''ll have to do I guess, have him keep an eye out for more though." Daki wanted to have at least 3 more high grade forges, two would be cutting it real close, something she would surely be unhappy about.

    "I''ll inform the young master immediately."

    "Un." Frost watched from the sidelines for the next hour as many amended reports were handed to him but after the paperwork was finished he joined Rana''sbourers, personally taking part in the construction. An inspiring image for the these gruff men and woman, seeing the local lord willing to get his hands dirty filled their hearts with fire. Their work output increasing to 110%.

    It was a couple hourster that Yuna contacted him through the Dungeon menu system, letting him know that Dark had approved of his new species and even left a congrattory note.

    Apparently Frost was the second Dungeon core to sessfully created their second unique race, falling just behind Indra who on top of his initial species the Oni which were akin to lighting aspected demon ogres created an airborne species called Tengu.

    "Huh Indra was first not Yami or Aqua?"

    "Apparently so master."

    "Seems he really isn''t satisfied being 5th ce, how interesting brother." Frost considered Indra his friendly rival so seeing him dash ahead inspired him greatly.

    "I''ll be over in a minute; we can enact the reveal n then."

    "Understood."

    Frost ended themunication and walked over to Rana.

    "Rana it seems I''ll have to leave the site in your capable hands for now as our guests from afar are about to arrive."

    Rana raised her brows "The gnomes?" She asked with a glint in her eyes. She had never seen a gnome before, but she''d heard of the legends and to someone like her who was abourer the craftsmanship of the gnomes was even more hallowed.

    Frost simply nodded his head in reply before leaving the site with a spring in his step. He had nned an borate ruse for the gnomes arrival.

 Chapter 653 Niflheim gnomes

    Frost quickly found himself back in his office where Yuna awaited him.

    "Let''s start the show."

    "Yes master."

    The two then teleported to the Dungeon''s extension, a set of forest-like rooms that were connected to a secondary entrance within the cial mountains themselves.

    This ce was built upon the idea of not missing out on the glorious levels of DP brought in by wild monsters that the establishment of the Camp had put a stop to.

    After several months of trickled activity dozens of monsters had managed to find their way through the hidden entrance. Following their instincts, their hunger for mana and power these monsters were drawn to the Dungeon and were faced with trees as far as the eyes could see and plentiful, weak beasts to feast on, a veritable paradise.

    After settling in for sometime these monsters would then be faced with a life changing choice. Frost or one of his officers would appear before those deemed useful, offering them the opportunity to join the Dungeon, toe under Frost''s rule and relish in the high levels of mana that proliferated through its many floors.

    Unfortunately few were willing to submit even when faced with Frost himself, choosing to either fight to the death or more frequently flee for their lives. And with the forces behind Frost not a single monster that chose to run ever made it out of the Dungeon, forever bing nutrients for its grand development.

    Those that were wise and farsighted in their choice quickly became like the rest of the resident monsters within the Dungeon. After a brief ceremony with Frost a soul contract would link them to him and alter their being into his servants and allow them to enjoy the glorious benefits of such a bargain albeit at the cost of their freedom, bound to the Dungeon forever more.

    However right now this extension was where Frost nned to summon his Niflheim gnomes. From here they''d back out of the Dungeon''s secondary entrance and walk with him to the Camp as though they had journeyed through the cial mountains to get here.

    A clever ploy that required little work but one that would help add to Frost''s mystery as well as prevent people from linking the gnomes to the Dungeon.

    "Are we clear?" Frost asked Yuna after they arrived in a rather open de.

    "Yes sir I had the coeurl corps scour the area for any wild monsters that found their way inside, you won''t be interrupted." The coeurl corps were a regiment of coeurl pups and coeurls that were ced under Kiba''smand several months ago during the monster stampede.

    However recently more and more coeurls pups had evolved into their C-rank couerl form with some even bing variants, stronger than the standard version. This of course was glorious news to Frost and the Dungeon as a whole but to Kiba it was a literal nightmare.

    Monsters especially beastlike monsters like coeurls and winged tigers had very strict hierarchy, whoever was strongest was top dog or in this case cat.

    With the coeurls being C-rank monsters and with some of the variants even reaching mid C-rank, Kiba who was a C-rank himself not even being at the peak had seen no small amount of challenges from his former loyal subordinates.

    It had gotten so bad in fact that the young tiger was forced to actually start training himself alongside his master rather than act like the domestic housecat he had recently gotten used to being.

    It was no longer a strange sight to see Kiba covered in wounds and emitting a rather baleful aura whenever he was not within the private space or out on patrol with Frost in the Camp. He was gradually honouring his heritage, growing step by step closer to the B-rank.

    "Alright time to get a look at these fes that are filled with my blood, sweat and tears." Happy with Yuna''s arrangements Frost opened up the Dungeon menu''s monster section and scrolled through it until he reached the new addition that had been created, the Niflheim gnomes.

    Niflheim gnomes: a unique variant of the gnome species created by Dungeon core Frost. Their stature and appearance differ only slightly from their regr kin albeit leaning more to a blueish skin colour. These proud and talented gnomes hold very little battle strength but in absence of that their talents in regards to craftmanship surpasses all others at the same rank.

    With their mastery of cold mes these monsters can easily mould both ice and metal to their whims, allowing them to put most aspiring cksmiths and artificers to shame. Although primarily specialising in forging and artificing these talented individuals can easily pick up nearly all tradecrafts that require skilled hands.

    Lesser Niflheim gnome, D-rank; 625DP

    Niflheim gnome, C-rank; 1800DP

    Their base prices for their grades were roughly average a fair bit lower than the ronsos but such a price poorly reflected their overall capabilities.

    "Hehehehe." Frostughed without reservation, a sparkle shing in his eyes as he added over twenty lesser Niflheim gnomes and 3 Niflheim gnomes for purchase.

    Just like the dwarf caste these individuals were capable of evolving into different specialties further down the line however all, but a single path was rted to crafting, thus truly eclipsing this race from fighting on the frontlines.

    Wasting no time at all Frost clicked the confirm purchase button and felt a wave of creation energy pulse through him before 23 magic crests appeared before him and Yuna.

    A short momentter the Niflheim gnomes were revealed in all their ''grandeur?''

    For Yuna, a B-rank monster that respected strength it was difficult for her to respect the tiny individuals that now stood before her. Though her master had expounded repeatedly about their usefulness and though she understood the concept on a logical level her instincts seemed to still take precedent. There was a natural sense of scorn forming in her eyes that was difficult for her to hide.

    Frost failed to initially pick up on her reactions due to being over the moon from seeing his creation in the flesh. The three C-rank Niflheim gnomes however immediately picked up on it and without the slightest bit of fear red at the B-rank maiden of ice.

    A female Niflheim gnome even had the courage to mock her. "Useless bimbo that has muscles for brains, unable to understand how pathetic she really is in the grand scheme hmph." These sharp words and the intense mocking tone behind them of course set Yuna off.

    "What was that toothpick!" Despite being by her master''s side Yuna was truly incensed by the gnome''s words. Veins protruded and throbbed across her body as she visibly tensed up, mana naturally coalescing around as she readied herself to attack the cocky gnome before her.

    "Huh you deaf bimbo or just stupid, getting angry just proves my point." Riled up by Yuna sudden show of force the female Niflheim gnome instead of retreating doubled down on her opinion, even going to the extent of taunting Yuna, daring her to hit her and see what happens.

    Yuna being as prideful as she was felt something snap in her mind and the area around them suddenly sharply lowered in temperature.

    "YUNA! Stand down!" By this point it was impossible for Frost to remain ignorant of the situation. Without any restraint he released his royal aspected aura immediately deting Yuna''s outburst.

    "But master?" Yuna felt the urge to cry, feeling betrayed by her beloved master.

    ''Why isn''t he taking my side, I''m a B-rank monster with a name.''

    "You to, your words went too far."

    "S...sorry master." The female gnome visibly trembled while under Frost''s pressure, instantly apologising for her actions and taking a step back thus allowing the tension to ease.

    "Yuna you looked upon my creation with scorn the moment they arrived thus she was justified in her attacks against you however Yuna is my capable secretary, questioning her capabilities especially in front of myself is insulting me." Frost kept his aura released as he spoke pressing down on both Yuna and the female gnome.

    ""We are sorry master."" The two bowed their heads and apologised for their outburst.

    Frost was truly quite angry, a glorious moment that he was filled with expectation for was pretty much ruined. s he didn''t hold it too much against Yuna and the gnome, a sh in personalities and their respective species was something natural.

    Hidden behind his expressed anger however was a smirk. ''Hehehe feisty and courageous despite theirck in strength just how I designed them.''

    This rebellious spirit that saw the female gnome boldly stand head to head with Yuna was a rather rare trait among gnome kind at least when they weren''t in a vastly superior position of power.

    However Frost believed that despitecking strength the fact that these monsters stood head and shoulders above their peers in regards to craftmanship they should have ample arrogance thus resulting in the current standoff.

    "You Niflheim gnomes will be my Dungeon''s greatest support, I have high expectations for all of you."

    "You will not be disappointed master." The three C-rank Niflheim gnomes saluted with conviction as did the 20 odd lesser gnomes.

    "Good because I have your very first assignment."

 Chapter 654 Niflheim gnomes (2)

    Choosing to conclude the earlier spat Frost moved straight to handing down the gnomes'' first mission.

    "Right now our territory is starting its evolution. Our quaint little camp will be a full blown territory, a city state that can hold its head high amongst our neighbours. For that to happen I am in need of your talents, your gifts in regards to craftmanship."

    A range of prideful and hopeful smiles grew across the Niflheim gnomes'' lips and in response Frost retrieved a rolled up parchment from his robes and handed it to one of the C-rank gnomes.

    Disyed on the parchment were his ns for the territory, the intricate details of therge defensive wall, the military buildings, farms, new businesses, residential sections as well as several improvements that had been discussed for the inner area which was the current grounds covered by the Camp.

    There was also a few other details that had been added which Rana and the rest were kept in the dark about. Information that Frost trusted only in the hands of his own forces and them alone.

    "I need all of you to assist the monsters as well as the territory''s residents inpleting this ambitious venture¡­.you have two weeks to get at least 80% of the wallpleted, the other works you can take your time with, but the wall must be done within the assigned timeframe." Frost reiterated his strict timeframe, epting nothing but sess.

    "The head of the localbourers guild is taking prime point on this project; I want you to work along side her and her team¡­.if she proves to be less skilled than she lets on you can takeover as the primary but until then follow her instructions." Though having to follow the orders of a sapient didn''t sit well with their pride, the Niflheim gnomes didn''t snub her outright.

    If Rana had the skills to back up her position then they''d dly follow her, gnome hierarchy was based not on strength but on ones skill with their craft.

    "We will not fail you master." The one who received the ns took the role of temporary head, speaking for the rest of the gnomes standing behind him.

    Frost smiled and nodded his head finding the look in their eyes most aggregable.

    "First of all however we''re going to have carry out a little y." Frost thus ryed to them all about his little ruse as well as a few rules they needed to follow while acting within the Camp inparison to within the Dungeon.

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    Ten minutester Frost with the three C-rank Niflheim gnomes walking by his side and the twenty lesser gnomes falling closely behind left through the Dungeon''s branch exit and made their way towards the Camp, appearing as though he and his entourage were originating from the cial mountains.

    The group at first didn''t cause too much of amotion given that such groups frequently travelled through the mountains'' southern entrance however once they drew closer to the Camp it was impossible for their uniqueness to go unnoticed.

    "Is that Lord Frost and¡­..gnomes?" A middle-aged merchant who was in the middle of arge transaction of goods was the first to catch sight. He was quickly followed by another and then another. Soon there was a gaggle of onlookers staring at the prideful looking gnomes walking by Frost''s side.

    Though not everyone knew of the legends of the gnomish people they knew how rare they were.

    Eventually Frost and the gnomes made their way before Rana and herbourers, many of whom were inplete awe as they approached.

    "To think I''d get to work alongside side an actual gnome, my father will likely die of envy when I tell him." Onebourer muttered under his breath.

    Rana handled herself with a bit more decorum than her jaw-dropped subordinates, but she was no less excited. A powerful desire rose to the surface, she wanted to test herself against these gnomes, to test the extent of her own talent and experience.

    "Rana I''ll leave my subordinates in your capable hands." Frost lightly smiled as he ced the Niflheim gnomes under Rana''s control.

    "Urg..a..a¡­sure." Still in disbelief Rana barely managed to get a word out before the three C-rank Niflheim gnomes stood before her.

    "We look forward to working with you Miss Rana."

    "¡­.." There was an awkward silence wherein Rana looked back and forth between the three gnomes and Frost. Her heart was madly beating, and her mind was awash with shock, awe, confusion as well as an intense pressure. In the background abourer was so shocked that he lost his bnce and fell straight to the ground.

    Eventually however thanks to her vast experience Rana managed to calm herself and take hold of the head gnome''s outstretched hand, shaking it firmly. "d to you have you and yourrades on board, please let me know if there''s anything you find disagreeable, I''m eager to hear your thoughts on our little project."

    Those with simr interests could always find some level ofmon ground. Redirecting their attention to the building site Rana and the three Niflheim gnomes starting chatting away like old friends. A scene Frost expected.

    ''Haaaaa with this a major problem has thus been solved'' Frost internally sighed before he and Yuna returned to the Lord''s manor. Though he had no problems getting dirty with manualbour there were some things that only he could do as the territory''s Lord.

    The Niflheim gnomes quickly settled in alongside Rana''s skilledbourers as well as the hired help and volunteers. With hundreds of skilled bodies on the job the wall''s foundations werepleted within a matter of days, sessfully keeping to Frost''s stringent timescale. s the foundations were the easiest toplete given the elevation and materials on hand.

    It was the next phase that met with a few issues.

    "Sorry Frost I can only get my hands of 70% of the requested materials and they''re going to cost an arm and a leg." Calder said across themunication crystal.

    Despite his fast acting, generous offers and wide-spanning connections it didn''t take long for the merchant tycoons to get word of Frost''s ns.

    With such tant demand these merchant kingpins restricted the local supply in an attempt to both please the uing new ruler of Northrend as well as make a very generous buck.

    While Calder was rather well connected and particrly skilled these tycoons werepetitors of his grandfather, Sebastian. With the old man gradually stepping down it was a prime opportunity for them to take his throne rather than letting it safely fall into the hands of a young pup like Calder.

    "Haaaaa it''s alright just buy what you can, the price does not matter." Frost felt a headacheing on but a hup such as this was one he was prepared to handle.

    "Understood¡­..sorry Frost."

    "No need to apologise Calder, we never expected to avoid rattling the ho''s nest in the first ce. 70% is still a fair chunk, we''ll find some way to make do." Frost waved his hand and smiled absolving Calder of his guilt before ending the call.

    "Yuna can we cover the excess with DP?"

    "With the additional peopleing to the territory with the promise of work our daily ie has certainly increased but so has our expenditure, we''re barely managing to cover our initial projections." Yuna replied through a thick stack of documents.

    "So no."

    "It''s unlikely."

    "Haaaaaa, either we need to cut back on a few of our investments or find a reliable source of materials. With Calder striking out with the local merchant groups we''ll have to ce our hopes on the foreign market. Kranor''s already giving us quite the generous stipend at a reasonable price but what about the other enves in the area or the nations bordering Northrend?"

    "Kranor''s mayor said that our deal with them is rather unique as enves tend to avoid dealing with outsiders and if they do, it would generally be with longstanding and highly reliable kingdoms such as the three flower kingdom."

    Frost just didn''t have enough of a rtionship with those that dwelled within the cial mountains. Even if he managed to contact and set up a pricey deal with a nation such as the three flower kingdom by the time the materials actually arrived the two week deadline would be over. The same could be said for the nations beyond the Northrend empire.

    Frost''s need for haste greatly limited the options avable to them.

    "Tsk, well we have at most 3 days toe up with aworthwhile solution by then theck of materials will start to seriously affect our progress."

    3 dayster Frost, Yuna and the council failed toe up with a solution to their material shortage thus threatening to drag out the wall''s development.

    In such little time there was nothing to be done thus Frost prepared to cut back on a few things, so he''d have piece of mind while away.

    Just when he was about to dere the changes however a ronso guard arrived with some surprising news.

    "Huh Luna''s here." It wasn''t that shocking that an old friend woulde and visit him but normally they''d inform ahead of time through theirmunication crystals. Luna''s appearance was thus quite unexpected.

    Though Frost was incredibly busy he was more than willing to make some time for Luna however the moment he stood up from his chair a strong sense of unease passed over his heart and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

 Chapter 655 A weighty request

    Frost''s instincts alerted him of danger and almost unconsciously he brought up the Dungeon menu and disyed the Camp and surrounding 15 kilometres, all of which was within the Dungeon purview due to his expansions.

    His gaze was immediately drawn over to a set of two dots, one appearing rather weak, an E-rank adventurer nearing D-rank while the other¡­though concealing themselves well it was the strongest person bar Maya to have ever graced his territory.

    "Khunoe with me now! Findley prepare our defences and Yuna temporarily bring Nanna and Loki into the private space." Frost quickly gave his orders before dashing from the manor with a determined expression.

    A momentter Khuno was by Frost''s side with his halberd poised for the battle of a lifetime while Findley called for an emergency within the Dungeon, readying their defences before preparing to join his master in glorious battle.

    Frost and Khuno quickly reached their destination. There Luna stood with an awkward smile on her face. She tried to greet Frost but noticed that his gaze was rather fixed on the person apanying her and that it wasn''t friendly. In fact Frost was poised to draw his ive at a moment''s notice.

    "Luna what manner of guest have you brought to my gates?" Eventually after a tense standoff Frost asked with a cold tone which made Luna droop her head and sigh.

    The person beside her was covered head to toe in cloth, preventing their identity from being exposed, hell it wasn''t even possible to tell if their were male or female. However after a stifledugh escaped the cloaked individual''s lips their identity was quickly exposed.

    "Hahahaha not bad, not bad at all Frost." The person''s stifledughter quickly became unreserved as the cloth that hid their appearance came undone. "It''s a shame I couldn''t convince to join my Frost Wolf Battalion back then but given how sessful you''ve be it''s clear you made the better choice hahahah."

    Once the cloak and thick cloth was removed and the person''s identity revealed Frost instantly rxed, he even sighed in relief. This person was certainly strong but likely wasn''t an enemy.

    "General Anya it''s been quite some time since west met, how have you been faring?"

    General Anya the third ranked general within the Frost Wolf Battalion and the valiant woman who came to the aid of Furano in their darkest hour. She and Frost chased after the fleeing Frostine and Valend with the former eventually falling to her spear.

    Back then Anya was quite taken with Frost''s talents and wanted to rope him in to joining her battalion, but he refused due to his personal aspirations.

    With Frost lowering his guard Khuno followed suit which brought a great sense of relief to his bones. This woman before him could likely kill both him and Frost without much effort. To stand opposed to her was an impossibility, it would just dy the inevitable such was the strength of someone at the A-rank.

    The smile and apparent joy of Anya''s face from meeting Frost again vanished the moment he asked about how she''d been. Pain and despair shed across her face as her eyelids drooped and she struggled to look him in the eye.

    "Frost there''s some things you need to be made aware of; can we talk somewhere more private?" Luna stepped in at this point, her eyes observing their surroundings hinting something to Frost.

    Frost thought for a few seconds before nodding his head and leading the two of them to his manor, away from prying eyes.

    "Speak, why have youe to my territory unannounced and with General Anya?" Once behind closed doors Frost adorned his Lord persona immediately setting a tone for the following discussion.

    "Haaaaa where should I start." Luna shook her head in dismay still struggling to get her head around everything herself but eventually she exined from the beginning.

    A few days ago the Emperor of Northrend Franz Northrend died as did the Empress Amelia Northrend. It was an assassination but one that was in great contention. Randolph used his brother Sedrick while Sedrick in turn used him.

    There wasn''t even time for the body to be cold before both brothers dered themselves Emperor and started forcibly taking control of what they could as fast as they could.

    It was at this point in the story that Anya released a strong bloodlust, her aura manifesting to such a degree that the walls started to shake, and the furniture began to tremble. Blood leaked from her lips, eyes and fingers as her fury threatened to take over her mind.

    For her there was no contention she knew exactly who killed the Emperor and Empress, yet she was powerless to stop him.

    The crown prince, the first born Randolph was the killer. He murdered his own father and even his mother for the throne. He had already poisoned them cementing their deaths but because of Franz''sst ditch efforts in curbing his enthronement he deigned to do the deed personally and ahead of schedule.

    If it wasn''t for the shadow guards as well as Sedrick making his own moves against Randolph, Princess Avira would have met her demise as well.

    Princess Avira while under the protection of the shadow guards was delivered to General Anya her staunch supporter andst line of defence.

    The Emperor had already given her, her orders in advance. Without a moment''s hesitation she and her trusted allies fled the capital and ushered their princess to safety. Their first destination, the Furano viscounty.

    "So why are you here then?" Frost asked with a heavy frown feeling that a veryrge request wasing his way.

    Luna sighed again before continuing " The princess'' location is hopefully still a secret but anyone with a decent head on their shoulders will assume that she either retreated to southern ducal state where Empress Amelia hailed from or that she''d head North to the Furano Viscounty which refused to pick either the side of the crown prince or the second prince." Frost nodded his head in agreement, it wasn''t hard at all to think that the princess another member of the royal family would try to bring down her eldest brother by rallying people behind her in the name of justice and honour.

    While the southern ducal territory was vast, affluent and held a powerful military it had ties to all three children thus it''d be difficult to gauge how they''d react, a possible risk.

    Furano however had very little risk given Dous'' standpoint, but the Viscounty was far from the capital and in no wayparable to the ducal estate in terms of military power and influence. It was safe but would be unable to aid her much in her quest for revenge.

    "I was sent here because my movements are the least likely to be monitored while also have some degree of influence with both you and Furano itself, basically I''m here on behalf of Viscount Dous as well as my father to request your aid Lord Frost." Luna clearly stated her role and reason for her presence.

    "¡­.." Frost was silent as he stared into her eyes. He wasn''t moved in the slightest and could tell that Luna wasn''t actually expecting him to throw his banner in with the Princess and aid her final quest, so it begs the question, what kind of help were they here for?

    "I have no interest in the political situation in Northrend, whether Princess Avira sits on the throne or Randolph to me it matters not. Only if they encroach upon my domain will I in turn act so if your hoping that I''d supply her with resources and even soldiers you''re bound to be disappointed." He wasn''t a citizen of Northrend why should he be involved in their internal problems.

    Luna patted her chest expecting such an answer from Frost, but Anya frowned hoping to hear something more beneficial to their cause.

    "If you help the princess with her current plight you''ll be highly rewarded, riches,nd and even authority within Northrend she could grant you them all."

    Frost turned towards Anya with t expression.

    "Not interested." He vehemently rejected her before turning back to Luna. "So what do you or rather Dous and the Princess really want from me?"

    "Temporary shelter for Princess Avira as well as protection for the next leg of her journey."

    "Shelter I can understand but protection." Frost''s gaze was once again drawn to General Anya. "Though I''m rather confident in my skills they pale inparison to a mighty general of the Frost wolf Battalion such a General Anya here. What use would she have of a single extra B-rank bodyguard?"

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    "You wouldn''t be an extra but the only." Said Anya with a clearly conflicted look in her eyes.

    "Huh?.....oh I see you and her strongest supporters will be acting as bait, distractions as wherever the mighty general Anya is the princess must also be."

    "Correct, though it pains me greatly me being by her side during this time will actually bring greater jeopardy to her highness." If she was stronger, at the upper or perhaps even mid A-rank then maybe she''d be confident in protecting her from their adversaries but unfortunately she wasn''t.

    There were at least 7 Generals who had already sworn their allegiance to either Randolph or Sedrick who could easily defeat her let alone the ones who could fight her to a draw.

    Frost rubbed his chin in thought, if Anya was taking most of the heat then the job itself likely wouldn''t pose much danger as long as the princess'' identity remained hidden. If this was any other time and if the pay was especially good Frost may very well agree to such a request however¡­now really wasn''t a good time.

 Chapter 656 A weighty request (2)

    "I''m sorry, I can agree to provide temporary shelter out of respect for Dous and your father but taking on the role of a Princess'' bodyguard is not something I can agree to. Even if you offered a rather substantial reward I am needed here so I''ll have to refuse your request." Anya''s eyes visibly drooped, her disappointment and even despair obvious to see. Luna however donned a slight smirk.

    "She needs to reach Icethorne." Though her words were spoken rather softly it was like a bell ringing in Frost''s head. Hisck of interest and clear rejection immediately changed as a smirk donned his own lips.

    "Go on."

    "Lord Dous is aware of your current predicament in terms of materials. As long as you ept this request Furano is willing ede on your behalf, purchasing the materials you require and then selling them to you at a fair price." Frost''s eyes narrowed as he strongly red at Luna.

    It was clear that his territory''s current predicament had long been known by his allies which in effect wasn''t a bad thing but now it was clear that they were using it to have him agree to their request.

    "¡­.I want a reward befitting the job as well as a promise from the Furano territory that if anyone from the Northrend empirees snooping around trying to cause trouble in my absence you have to lend my territory aid." A fierce negotiation thus took ce between Frost and Luna while General Anya remainedpletely in the dark, unable to understand how Luna got Frost to reconsider his stance.

    Regardless it meant that they had achieved their aim, her Princess would likely be in safe hands with Frost by her side.

    "I''ll be leaving in a week; she can stay within my territory until then. I''ll have the Sleeping Fenrir arrange lodgings and do my best to prevent untoward spying."

    "On behalf of Princess Avira as well as the Furano Viscounty I thank you Lord Frost, I''ll return with her highness tomorrow." Luna bowed her head acting as an official representative before Frost''s position as territory lord.

    "You''re leaving already, you can stay a while if you want. Though I''m quite busy myself I can have one of my ronso guards show you around." With business over Frost returned to their amicable rtionship as friends.

    "I''d love to, but I really must get back to Furano however when Ie with the Princess tomorrow I''ll dly take you up on that offer. You can take the opportunity to brag my head off about your bustling territory eheheh." Luna giggled feeling much lighter after havingpleted her duty while Anya was rather desperate to get back to the Princess and say her farewells.

    "Tomorrow then, I''ll be waiting, farewell Luna, General."

    Experience tales at mvl

    "Goodbye Frost."

    "Frost a quick word in private first." Just when Luna and Anya were about to leave Anya pulled Frost back into the Lord''s manor and gave him a fierce look.

    "I''m leaving the Princess'' care in your hands Frost that means if anything should happen to her I''ll being for you, understand." Anya first raked her thumb across her neck before cing her knee against his groin. "ANYTHING" Frost felt a sharp pain down there that caused him to break out in a cold sweat.

    Thankfully it was just a stern warning, Anya released his rather delicate jewel a momentter.

    "Don''t forget." Her face at this moment was like that of a demon, inscribing fear on Frost''s very soul but a momentter it turned friendly and rxed as she faced Luna.

    The two thus walked away leaving Frost frozen at the Manor''s doorway, a clear chill scraping across his skin.

    "Did I just make a big mistake." He suddenly felt a rush of regret flow through his heart but a momentter a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips.

    "Saying I can''t do something just makes me want to do it more." Anya''s warning seemed to spur him on somewhat but after another moment he felt that chill once again and immediately erased such notions.

    "She''s probably not my type anyway." Frost discreetly hmphed before returning back to his desk to finish his work.

    "Lady Luna how did you convince him to agree?" Once she and Luna were beyond the gates of the Niflheim base camp Anya couldn''t hold back her curiosity.

    "Simple, we gave him what he needed most as a territory lord."

    "Huh?"

    "Didn''t you notice the hive of activity happening along the outskirts?" Luna asked in a somewhat cocky manner.

    "Now that you mention it they do seem to be engaging in some sort of grand project." Anya''s talenty solely in being a soldier thus she was unable to recognise what the development fully entailed just that it looked somewhat like the beginnings of arge wall.

    "As his close ally the Furano viscounty knows fully of his ambitions and in fact we''ve already agreed to aid him through standard trade agreements and transfer of personnel. Now however through me the Furano Viscounty has agreed to take it a step further." A smile grew across Luna''s lips as she remembered her father''s words.

    ''Frost intends to instantly elevate his camp into that of a full-fledged territory, but he''s underestimated the greed of the local merchants as well as the restrictions both Randolph and Sedrick have ced on certain materials during such tumultuous times.

    Though Calder is talented he alone will be unable to ovee thest hurdle¡­.If he refuses to lend his aid offer him our support in this area and see if that changes his mind.'' This decision by her father as well as Lord Dous was a major one as it crossed the bounds of a simple trade agreement and directly goes against the wishes of both Sedrick and Randolph, cing them in opposition to the throne.

    Upon hearing the full details of Frost''s venture as well as the decision of the Furano viscounty General Anya visibly trembled.

    ''This¡­.'' She turned around and fiercely stared behind her where the camp stood. Frost''s ambitions were certainly surprising but the fact that the Furanos were willing to bet their futures on him was truly cmitous.

    ''Has the empire''s waters be so muddied that even the loyal Furanos are thinking of jumping ship¡­..haaaaa'' Anya sighed internally as she reevaluated their current position.

    ''The Princess will need to hear of this.'' Anyacked the station as well as the capabilities to make a decision, all she could do was loyally report her findings to her Princess.

    Luna lightly smiled as Anya walked ahead with a serious expression before once again concealing herself from those around.

    It was also agreed upon that if such a negotiation came about that General Anya should be informed of it thus indirectly informing the Princess as well. The Furanos did not wish for their choice to be hidden from the Princess, thus preventing any misunderstandings.

    "Haaaaa in less than a year the friendly and reliable senior that Leo and I met has be someone that can rival our fathers perhaps even surpass them." Luna felt an urge, a strong desire to improve herself as she muttered under her breath, her hands subconsciously balling into tight fists.

    Work on the wall continued with an even greater pace as shortly after Luna left word came from Calder that the much needed materials were already on their way and would arrive within a matter of hours.

    "Hmph interesting." Frost smiled and shook his head as he heard this report, taking the whole negotiation as another lesson in politics.

    "With the materials on hand there''s nothing left that can hold us back, Yuna take over here I want to get my hands a little dirty before we have to take care of our important guest."

    "Understood master, have fun." Filled with excitement Frost dashed from his office and ced himself under the orders of Rana who wasn''t shy in putting him straight to work.

    Meanwhile in the Dungeon''s private space Maya sat beside Nanna with an inquisitive look on her face. "Northrend''s Princess eh, I wonder how she''ll choose to behave."

    "Is she an enemy?" Nanna asked with a vicious glint in her eyes that betrayed her cute appearance.

    "Unknown we''ll have to wait and see, be careful while you work at the Sleeping Fenrir."

    "I will." Nanna left a momentter to make the assigned arrangements for the Princess. She would be given their best room as well as the best guards they had on hand.

    Luna returned to the Furano territory a couple hourster on the back of a domesticated frost mare. Her father and Lord Dous were eagerly awaiting her arrival.

    "So he agreed?"

    "Yes, Sir Frost will escort her highness to Icethorne in a week''s time."

    "Haaaaa good, good, Franz and Amelia will surely be able to rest easier knowing that their daughter will be in safe hands." Ryuu sighed as a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders.

    The Furano Viscounty though loyal to the Emperor Franz Northrend and his wife Amelia Northrend just weren''t in a position where they could openly stand diametrically opposed to the might of both Randolph and Sedrick. Their territory was effectively the boonies after all.

    However they could at least ensure the protection of the Princess on her way to true safety, fulfilling their duty as loyal vassals to the crown.

    And Unlike Furano, Icethorne would be able to protect her safety and even possibly aid her in reiming the throne.

    Icethorne held the strongest of the empire''s battalions as well as the most loyal, only the Emperor or their true representative couldmand their loyalty. Not even the crown prince would be able to budge them from this oath even if he took the throne by force.

 Chapter 657 A violent coup

    While Luna reported back to her father, Dous and even Leo who was taking part in such major decisions General Anya discreetly made her way into a quiet yet well preserved mansion within the nobles district.

    After crossing the threshold however two des quickly found their way before her neck, threatening to sever her head from her shoulders.

    "It''s me." Anya pulled off her cloak and revealed her appearance as well as her badge of identity. The two des immediately halted in ce upon hearing her voice, leaving a narrow trickle of blood leaking from the General''s neck. A momentter she truly would have been left without a head.

    "Damn the shadow guards really live up to their reputation." Anya rubbed her wounded neck, feeling the hairs on the back of her head standing upright.

    "Must you test their skills every time you return, at this rate there''s going to be an ident." The voice of a middle-aged man appeared from the surroundings, but no figure revealed themselves.

    "Of course I do, can''t have your men and women growingx when ites to her highness'' safety." General Anya provocatively smiled as her eyes fiercely scanned the area in an attempt to find the person who spoke.

    The initial two shadow guards however sheathed their des and immediately returned to their hidden state, taking no offence to Anya''s testing.

    "Though you''re not bad and still have room for improvement you should give up. Unless I want you to find me you''ll never see my form General." The middle-aged man''s voice spoke out once more with a yful tone, finding Anya''s fire rather entertaining.

    "...Haaaaa I''m still too weak."

    "Yes, you are."

    Anya''s expression turned despondent as she walked into the mansion seeking to meet with the princess. Though her journey inside was without incident every hallway, room and roof held a shadow guard who watched her every movement like a hawk. The pressure was rather unbearable for her but after enduring for a while she''d gotten used to it and even thankful for it.

    With such imprable defences even a group of A-rank assassins would fail to cross into the mansion''s core regions, dying practically at the door.

    Eventually Anya arrived before the mansion''s master bedroom. She took a moment topose herself and don a more cheerful expression.

    "Princess, Anya has returned from her mission." She spoke through the door before gently opening it but even with her careful movements the young woman inside still flinched, her body shivering from pure fear.

    At this sight Anya couldn''t help but feel heartbroken, she rushed to the woman''s side and took hold of her hands, attempting to alleviate her fear.

    "I''m fine Anya, it''s just a physical reaction." The woman who was trembling quickly pulled away her hands, hiding them behind her dress as she donned an awkward smile.

    "Your highness." General Anya only felt worse upon seeing her act brave. "You''ve been through a severe trauma, there''s nothing wrong with being afraid."

    "When there''s no real danger present there is Anya, being a woman of war you should know the difference between effective fear and debilitating fear."

    "Haaaaa you always expect too much of yourself."

    "I''m a Princess, I should always lead by example." General Anya could only sigh and shake her head upon hearing Princess Avira''s stubborn attitude.

    The two women silently stared at one another in silence, one with a gaze full of pity and one trying their best to restrain their trembling and avoid the other''s piercing gaze.

    While her body trembled, and fear once again formed in her heart Avira''s mind was brought back to that night.

    Several days previous in the Capital of Northrend, Arkheart, Emperor Franz sat in his office, exhausted and listless.

    For weeks he''d been doing everything possible for his darling daughter. Methodically arranging multipleyers of protection that would see to her safety once he and his wife were no longer there. He''d even been drumming up hidden support for her rule as well as nting secret allies throughout the empire for her use and her use alone.

    Thest step was arranging for her to have the power necessary to forcibly usurp her brothers. s his many machinations and efforts to undermine Randolph''s progress had finally broke the camel''s back.

    Suddenly without any warning a shadow guard who was assigned to his protection smashed through the door with blood running down his left arm.

    "Your majesty we''re under attack!!"

    Whoosh! Pshuua!

    The moment the words left the guards lips an arrow pierced through his skull bringing an instant end to his life, but he had sessfully done his duty.

    "RANDOPLH!!!" Franz roared with intense hatred and loathing, his face growing red from his exertions and the desk before him crumbling from the mming of his fist.

    Two shadow guards appeared a momentter by his side, protecting him from the intruders but unfortunately they were going to be outmatched.

    Ton ton ton

    With heavy steps ringing across the blood covered floor the crown prince Randolph appeared beside the corpse of the brave shadow guard who warned Franz of the attack.

    Beside him were at least 8 dark clothed soldiers each at the B-rank as well as 2 who were A-rank. Randolph had finally grown tired of his father''s irritating efforts and decided to bring him down here and now.

    "Worthless scum that couldn''t understand the direction the wind was blowing." Randolph stomped his left foot upon the skull of the deceased shadow guard, crushing it instantly as if he were a bug.

    "You truly are nothing but a monster, I can''t believe your mother and I were tricked for so many years. I''m disgusted by the fact that my blood and the blood of my ancestors runs in your veins." Franz''s anger shot through the roof but when he tried to call on his strength he was assaulted by a violent pain and coughed up darkened blood. The poison he ingested had already taken root.

    "Monster, father I am an Emperor who is killing those who are getting in my way, nothing more. It''s these fools as well as you who are simply asking for death. If you had just continued to favour me and impede that annoying brother of mine none of this would havee to pass.

    I would have cleanly inherited the throne and the dreamlike view you held wouldn''t haven''t been disturbed¡­.everything that''s happening here is because of you father." Randolph loudly dered with a vicious look on his face.

    "No! You would have revealed yourself regardless and by that point there would have been nothing I could have done." Franz vigorously argued back refusing to ept his monster of a son''s viewpoint.

    "Hmph I really should have made my move earlier, poisoning you was far too kind but no use crying over spilled milk." Randolph nced to his left and right.

    "You''re going to die here father but don''t worry I won''t be sending you alone that would too cruel to mother." An evil smile grew on Randolph''s lips as he announced his intentions.

    "Monster." He wouldn''t even spare his mother iming that it would cruel to have her live without her husband.

    "Kill this old fool for me, then we''ll handle my mother and that treasonous bitch of a sister!"

    "Randolph!!!!" Franz roared and grabbed his weapon, fighting against the pain rampaging throughout his body. He''d deal with this cmity before it could harm anyone else. s he and what remained of his shadow guards were truly outmatched.

    As the melee began and blood sttered across the room Franz noticed movement from a nearby shadow. Seeing this he grit his teeth and shook his head causing the shadow to flicker but a momentter as though understanding something it became still once again. Experience more tales on mvl

    "Puahhh!!"

    "Finally the old goat is dead." Randolph felt a wave of pure triumph as he saw his once powerful father slide down the edge of his subordinate''s sword.

    "You know what to do."

    "Yes my liege." One of the A-rank dark soldiers replied with a respectful bow before ordering a couple subordinates to help set the scene. Sedrick would be taking the me for this ''atrocity.''

    "The rest of you follow me to continue the purge."

    "By your will Emperor Randolph."

    As this was going on a man dressed in a ck tunic dashed through the shadows with tears streaming from his face.

    "Don''t worry your majesty I will ensure princess Avira''s safety then I will join on the long road to the underworld." This man was the head of the shadow guards, the Emperor''s strongest and most loyal bodyguard.

    It was him who was within the shadow earlier and it was him who the Emperor ordered to not interfere rather having him follow the original n. Despite the pain it caused him to not fight by his liege''s side he obeyed hisst orders, to protect the Princess and ensure her safety.

    The Royal pce was in violent turmoil, fires ran rampant,rades fought againstrades, blood drenched the once hallowed halls and a stench of death lingered in the air. This was coup and a particrly violent one at that.

    "For Emperor Randolph!!!"

    "Kill the betrayers!!!"

    Those loyal to Franz were few in number but each of them were willing to throw down their lives and throw them down they did.

    Randolph''s forces bulldozed through the Emperor''s retainers with zing determination leave a field of bodies in their wake.

    It had gotten so loud and violent that even those dwelling within the back pce were alerted and their worst fears were brought to light the moment the head of the shadow guards, Dartanan arrived with his face in tears.

    "Mydy Empress, my Princess I''m sorry the worst has happened, I need to see you to safety immediately." It was like a bomb went off in Amelia''s and Avira''s hearts, tears streamed down their faces as great despair and sorrow overwhelmed them.

 Chapter 658 A violent coup (2)

    "My Franz!!"

    "Father!!!" The two women wept and wailed as grief threatened to tear their hearts apart. Unfortunately they would have no time to grieve. Randolph''s forces were quickly making their way towards the rear pce.

    "My Empress, Princess please we must leave now!" Though also in extreme pain Dartanan loudly bellowed as he moved to grab hold of both Amelia and Avira.

    What remained of the shadow guards quickly broke into two teams, one to dy the enemies advance while the other would work with Dartanan to sweep away the Empress and Princess to safety.

    The Princess still in shock was easily manhandled but Amelia stood motionless, resisting Dartanan''s attempts to dislodge her.

    Dartanan frowned and looked directly at his Empress with a pleading look, but he was met with an expression that shook him to the core.

    His Empress, Amelia Northrend with tears streaming down her face donned a look of unmatched resolve, biting her lower lip until blood was drawn and her teeth starting to grate against one another as her tears turned red and an air of malice and bloodlust burst forth from her body almost knocking Dartanan off bnce.

    "Dartanan take my daughter to safety let nothing bar your way¡­I will not run from that which I brought into this world. If he has chosen to be a monster, a cmity to all that we''ve strived to protect then I as his mother shall return him to the void!" Amelia''s voice was chilling to the bone andpletely opposed to the gentle, calm woman that most citizens of Northrend knew and revered.

    For Dartanan however it was nostalgic as though he''d return to the time of his youth where he journeyed throughout the realm alongside the young Emperor.

    ''The ice wraith of Northrend'' this was her monicker, a woman that could alter the weather with her spells, an ice mage with few who could be considered her equal. It had been years, decades even since this womanst wielded her staff and activated an aura that gave even someone like Dartanan pause.

    "My Empress?"

    "Go, that''s an order Dartanan."

    With a torn look Dartanan bit his bottom lip and nodded his head. "I wish you a smooth journey and glorious reunion." With thosest words he tightly wrapped his arms around the gradually flinching Avira and charged into a secret back passage along with half of his shadow guards.

    "Mother!!!!" Avira''s pained scream was thest thing Amelia heard before the wall closed and the entrance caved in on itself barring any who would try to follow.

    "Take care to avoid my magic lest you wish to be frozen along with my enemies." With Avira gone Amelia let loose with her full power, her aura shook the room and slowly froze the surrounding furniture.

    She didn''t have much stamina given the progression of the poison her son slipped her, but she should have enough for at least one spell that was without parallel.

    "By your will Empress¡­.it is an honour to die by your side." The remaining shadow guards all bowed and crossed their arms across their chests, they had long ago resolved themselves to die in service to the royal family.

    "The honour is mine as is the guilt, I brought this monster into the world thus I should be the one to take him out of it¡­isn''t that right Randolph!." A look of pure wrath shed across Amelia''s face as the figure of her eldest son appeared before her.

    "Haaaaaa mother." A deep sigh escaped Randolph''s lips as he gazed across the room, marking the faces of the shadow guards as well as that of his mother''s. He himself donned a look of irritation and cold indifference.

    "Though I initially nned to grant you a more peaceful death, just like father you had to go and betray me haaaaaa¡­ kill them all, my mother included." There wasn''t even a shred of love within his gaze as just like with his father Crown Prince Randolph ordered for his mother''s death.

    Randolph''s subordinates lunged forward with their weapons, quickly shing against the remnant shadow guards, a brave few even made their way towards Amelia.

    "From the depth of Niflheim I call upon thee, frigid storms of the eternal cold, destroy all that dwells before me [Cmitous ice storm]" With her eyes closed in focus Amelia chanted an aria for a 5th circle spell, she even ignored the attacks directed at her, allowing a pair of daggers to pierce her flesh just so she could summon 100% of the spell''s ferocity.

    "Sayonara Randolph, my son."

    "Your highness get back!!!"

    Booooommmm!!!!

    A momentter the area between Amelia and Randolph devolved into a freezing storm that instantly froze all those within range before tearing apart their frozen flesh, eviscerating them in but a single moment.

    "Ahhhh!!!!!!" Randolph screamed at the top of his lungs as multiple defensive artifacts were activated and instantly destroyed. A loyal subordinate sacrificed himself to push him away but his left hand, his sword hand was still caught in the st.

    Erupting with all her strength Amelia ughtered dozens of her foes and even took her son''s dominant hand s perhaps because she was justcking in strength or perhaps deep down the love she held for her son stopped her fromnding the final blow thus Randolph survived.

    "Honey." Amelia copsed after casting [Cmitous ice storm]. Her body grew cold, her organs failing as the lingering effects of the poison fairy''s passing exploded throughout her system. As death approached she saw the face of her beloved and a peaceful smile donned her lips.

    "Ahhhh kill her! Kill that bitch!!" Randolph screamed at the top of his lungs with bloodshot eyes and a mangled left hand. An instantter 3 surviving subordinates lunged at Amelia and ran her through, but she was already numb to the pain.

    Amelia thus died somewhat peacefully, ack of pain, knowing that her daughter would be safe and image of her smiling husband granted her serenity as she drifted away.

    From then Dartanan ushered Avira to safety, rendezvousing with General Anya and the others who were loyal to both Emperor Franz and the Princess.

    Their escape was sessful thanks to both Randolph receiving a debilitating injury as well as Sedrick making his own moves against his brother, drawing the prime focus of his attention.

    "Princess, Princess." Avira was drawn out of her stupor, her memories of that night as well as the following days in which they desperately fled to the Furano Viscounty by General Anya''s calling and shaking.

    "I''m fine you can stop worrying." Her words only enhanced Anya''s anxiety.

    "Haaaaa didn''t you have something to report?" Avira sighed and shook her head before forcibly changing the subject.

    "¡­.The mission was a sess, that Frost has agreed to protect and escort you to Icethorne." Anya then proceeded to inform Avira about the specifics including the fact that the Furano family were upping the degree of their alliance.

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    "Hoh now that is interesting. Uncle Dous is supposedly a very apt ruler at least that''s how my father and the prime minister always described him. For him to be willing to earn the ire and possibly even drift away from the control of my brothers to this Lord Frost is curious indeed." A calcting smile formed on Avira''s lips as she was finally distracted from her trauma.

    ''Curious indeed, openly revealing their intentions to me is it a form of loyalty, a trait of honesty or are they trying to suggest something. Is this Lord Frost really that impressive.'' She hadn''t the opportunity to meet Frost in person, but she''d heard a lot about him through the grapevine.

    A young elf prodigy, a hallmark for a future A-rank adventurer perhaps even the very peak. Skilled with the ive, ice magic as well as chakra, a triple threat with a strong rtionship with the Furano noble family.

    Arriving in the their territory less than a year ago he proceeded to save Leo and Luna from the machinations of their Uncle. He then even joined them in taking him down, restoring Dous as Viscount and healing his wounds.

    The bonds of friendship were sealed that day and only grew when he along with a young cial winged tiger cub as his battle mount fought on the frontlines during the monster stampede, killing countless C-rank and even B-rank monsters.

    However due to an attempted assassination by Sedrick a cmity was nearly brought down upon their empire. This man''s background was so vast that he could call upon the aid of an S-rank fighter, a level in which no one in their entire empire could match.

    From then he established his own territory on the outskirts of the Furano Viscounty quickly bing a capable lord with reliable subordinates and a significant draw to local adventurers.

    All this alone was incredibly impressive but still, was it to the point that the Furanos may even forgo the Empire?

    Avira''s smile grew and grew as her interest in Frost rose.

    "Hehehe he''s also supposed to be rather handsome, perhaps he''d make a decent suitor ahahahah."

    "Princess you must not be fooled by his appearance and talent." Anya acted like a cat having her tail stepped on, her fear rather genuine in regards to this topic.

    "Hoh so even you think he''s rather good looking and skilled." Anya''s response only exacerbated her desire.

    "Princessssss."

 Chapter 659 Princess Avira

    Time progressed and soon it was the morning of the following day and as promised the Niflheim base camp weed an important guest.

    After being informed of the situationst night and confirming things with the Furano family Princess Avira split from her honour guard and headed to Frost''s territory incognito along with Luna the next Viscountess.

    General Anya went to great lengths to conceal her movements, even when she revealed herself to Frost the previous day it was but for a mere moment before she once again donned her hood.

    Now however she was exposing herself somewhat openly as she crossed into one of the baronies south of the Furano territory while Dartanan along with his most determined of shadow guards actuallyunched attacks upon some of Randolph''s loyal subordinates, taking advantage of their absence.

    With Anya drawing gazes and Dartanan causing chaos Avira''s movements were perfectly concealed.

    "Frost as promised I''m here to tour your territory and take wonder in the many developments you''vepleted." Luna boldly dered with a look of excitement on her face.

    In response Frost smiled and nodded his head before leading her and the supposed servant who was by her side to the lord''s manor. Though he was aware of who this was he did his best to not break her cover during this little y.

    "It''s always lovely to see you little Luna and¡­.if I''m not mistaken you must be Princess Avira, the younger sister of those two fools" Once behind closed doors the servant following Luna was finally free to reveal herself.

    "Phew travelling incognito is certainly ufortable." Avira removed the cloth coverings that obscured her appearance as well as her gender, making it almost impossible for her to be recognised. In doing so she felt a wave of much needed release as the thick articles of clothing were quite stuffy.

    Frost was thus for the first time met with the appearance of the fabled Princess of Northrend.

    ''Wow, I know I expected her to a beauty but still, rumours really don''t do her justice.'' Frost was momentarily stunned as he gazed at her exquisite features.

    Snow white skin that was soft and supple with nary a single blemish, long silver hair that stretched all the way down to her lower back despite being styled in an intricate ponytail. Ruby red lips that portrayed a sense of heat despite the frigid temperature surrounding her. Eyes that were verdant green, akin to the lush leaves found in a tropical forest.

    Even Maya would have to admit that this young human woman was in no waycking when it came to beauty.

    Anya didn''t threaten him for nothing, any male or female would struggle to restrain their desires when facing Avira''s beauty. s Frost was already used to seeing such appearances thus his stunned statested but a brief moment before he started scanning the rest of her form, showing not even the slightest sign of restraint as he perused her body.

    Normally this course of action would be an obvious affront to a youngdy let alone a Princess of an Empire s thedy in question waspletely unfazed as she too was scanning the young man before her.

    ''Damn Anya really wasn''t joking he''s aplete dreamboat, the full package.'' Her gaze was perhaps even more perverted than Frost''s. Few men had ever stoked her interest thus she was rather excited upon seeing Frost in all his glory rather than simply hearing about him through the mouths of others.

    Luna, who was by the side, sighed and shook her head staying out of this little measuring contest. She''d already experienced what Avira was feeling, Frost truly was a feast for the eyes, so much so that even a Princess was moved.

    Frost however gradually lost interest in his inspection. ''She''s got a pretty face I''ll admit but in terms of figure she''s sorelycking whenpared to Maya and Daki.'' There was also her blood rtionship to Randolph and Sedrick, all minus points in his overall evaluation. Read exclusive adventures at §Þ??

    As if sensing his dwindling interest Avira''s brow started twitching and a sudden sense of defeat and loss shed across her heart before giving way for a burst of rage.

    However before some choice words escaped her lips her gaze caught sight of two women standing at the door each donning pride filled smirks.

    One had ephemeral beauty that surpassed even hers while the other was the embodiment of lust and desire. She knew instinctively that she wasn''t their match.

    "Maya, Daki." Frost spoke their names with affection, his face warping into a love addled smile. "Were you perhaps worried?" He teased, his eyes briefly passing over Avira.

    "Hmph." The two women loudly hmphed before sitting either side of him, their arms linking around his possessively as they arrogantly looked down upon the possible interloper.

    However like Frost their smirks grew upon seeing Avira''s rathercking assets. Their man liked a woman with curves and a decent amount of muscle, a stark contrast to the thin, watery soft figure that was Avira.

    Luna watched on from the side as Frost with an elegant flower on each arm looked down upon the sole flower that was struggling to show off her radiance.

    ''Haaaaa as expected even Avira has to submit when faced with big sis Maya.'' Luna shook her head before loudly pping her hands, bringing an end to this little contest.

    "You are correct Frost senpai this is Northrend''s Princess and the rightful ruler of the Empire, Princess Avira Northrend as well as your charge from now until she is safely delivered to Icethorne." A smirk appeared on Frost''s lips as he appreciated Luna''s attempts to protect Avira''s pride.

    "¡­.Though I can''t be considered well informed when ites to the royal family of Northrend I do know that your father and mother were reputed to be wise and kind rulers, it a significant loss to the Empire and perhaps the entire Yangmir continent now that they have passed¡­..my condolences miss Avira." Frost expressed his honest feelings on the matter.

    He solemnly bowed his head with respect to the loss of her parents but did not address her with her title rather by her name like he would any other woman.

    A rather strong disy of his allegiance, one that Avira couldn''t help but notice.

    ''He really doesn''t care about my background in the slightest. He''s either incredibly arrogant and cocky or my status as Princess of the Northrend Empire is truly nothing in his eyes.''

    While her brother took this as an affront to his authority, unable to ept thetter she however felt that it was more likely that Frost truly hailed from a power that far surpassed her Empire.

    Although she epted this she still held her own pride. "I thank you for your sincerity Lord Frost, the Northrend Empire has truly suffered because of their passing but hopefully I can rise to the asion and lead my people to even greater prosperity." Avira adopted a regal stature and held her head high, showing no sign of submission. An act that earned Frost''s respect.

    ''Interesting.''

    "And to do that you need to get to Icethorne?" Though he had been informed of their destination he hadn''t been told toplete why though he could probably guess.

    "Yes, while your territory as well as that of Furanos can provide shelter it cannot support me in seeking vengeance against the sinner that is my eldest brother nor the unworthy heir that is Sedrick.

    My father and mother arranged for many hidden supports but without a strong army and the influence of the noble families it is impossible to achieve thus I need to secure the loyalty of Icethorne, the territory beholden to Northrend''s most powerful army the War Ursa battalion." Determination glowed through Avira''s eyes as she spoke of Icethorne and their War Ursa battalion.

    Most may believe that the Empire''s royal guard who enlist only the finest of soldiers from the other battalions and serve as the direct forces of the royal family were Northrend''s most powerful force, but they''d be wrong.

    The War Ursa battalion is an army that is permanently stationed within the inner regions of the cial mountains. These soldiers are all that stand between Northrend and the mighty monster kingdoms that dwell there.

    Year round they face against numerically superior foes without nary a single break. They are the hardest and most battle experienced soldiers within the Empire perhaps even across the entire continent.

    If Avira gained their support she''d have more than enough courage to stand against her brothers, such was the threat of the War Ursa battalion and even more so the person that stood at their helm. The invincible Duke Runak, the behemoth of the Northern reaches.

    "I''m guessing that you have sufficient reason to believe that they''d endorse you, no?" If Avira nned on using her words and guile then this so called revolution of vengeance would be dead in the water. A man such as Duke Runak would not fall victim to empty promises, he likely had even less reason to help than he did.

    For a man whomanded the strongest force of the Empire and controlled the affluent and influential territory that was Icethorne, risking it all to help the Princess seed the throne came with very little benefit. It would rely primarily on how loyal the Duke was to Emperor Franz.

    "Of course I do, getting their support was never in question." Avira boldly stated while thumping her chest, this was something she had absolute faith in.

 Chapter 660 Princess Avira (2)

    The Duke of Icethorne was the most loyal ally Emperor Franz had, he and his War Ursa battalion would obey any of his orders without question. As long as Princess Avira held onto her father''s token Duke Runak would treat her the same as he would her father and follow her will without question.

    Seeing the confidence in Avira''s gaze Frost was curious as to what could guarantee the aid of such a powerful and sessful noble. But since it was likely a closely guarded secret he wouldn''t pry, something Avira greatly appreciated. Frost would act as her bodyguard for the next leg of her journey, nothing more.

    "Very well as agreed upon yesterday I shall escort you to Icethorne in a week, prepare any provisions you may need and feel free to enjoy the sights and activities avable within my territory at your leisure."

    "Thank you Lord Frost for your hospitality." Both Luna and Avira bowed their heads before smiling at one another. Luna had been chatting her head off on the journey here about the famous bath houses of the Niflheim base camp or rather the Niflheim city state which was a more apt title given the progress of the new wall.

    With the official business concluded Frost along with Maya and Daki who remained glued to his arms escorted the disguised Princess Avira as well as Luna throughout their territory. And as expected Frost abused the opportunity to brag about his fair city, expounding on how prominent it had be and how limitless its future was.

    Princess Avira took everything in with her analytical gaze doing her best to see the true form of the man known as Frost and the territory he had established.

    ''Strong soldiers, excited citizens, well established defences, businesses and limitless potential. Frost really chose an apt ce to establish his territory and so far hasn''t let a single opportunity slip by¡­.a fearsome man.'' Though Avira kept a ratherposed expression her heart was in turmoil as she gazed upon the many facilities present within the Niflheim city state.

    Frost was clearly a capable leader no less talented than the lord of the Furano Viscounty perhaps even more so given his young age and future potential. She could now empathise with Dous and Leo in their decision.

    ''Haaaaaa Sedrick, Randolph you''ve truly went and kicked an iron board.'' For a brief moment she even believed that her uing revolution may not even be necessary. The moment Randolph or Sedrick dared to stretch their ws towards Frost''s territory would likely be theirst and knowing the two of them it was only but a matter of time.

    A momentter however Avira shook her head and smiled to herself. ''Haaaaa I have to stop thinking like that, this is my duty, my problem to resolve.'' She clutched onto the token held near her breast, the key that would grant her the power topete for the throne and truly oppose her sinner of a brother.

    Eventually their brief but detailed tour guided by Frost and his partners came to an end once they reached the Sleeping Fenrir, Avira''s quarters for the following week.

    "I''ve already arranged for your lodgings and have assigned our little Nanna to be in charge of your care during your stay. If there''s anything you desire or need feel free to inform her and she''ll do her best to support you." As they pulled up to the Sleeping Fenrir, Avira caught sight of a young girl perhaps 11 or 12 years old.

    She had long azure hair and bright blue feathers protruding from around her ears. She was absolutely adorable, a true beauty in the making.

    The gaze however that this young girl was directing her way was frighteningly cold. Avira felt as though she was being stared at by a beast, eyeing her every move.

    ''Gulp so this is Nanna, one of the two phoenix kin ves that Sedrick arranged for and who Lord Frost subsequently saved.'' Knowing the young girl''s past and given her own familial rtionship to both Sedrick and Randolph she perfectly understood the reasoning behind such a re.

    Frost obviously noticed the animosity held in Nanna''s eyes but chose to say nothing. This Princess had to earn their trust while she was here, to prove to them that she wasn''t like her brothers rather than being given the benefit of the doubt.

    "I hope you act in ordance with your position while you''re here miss Avira because if you don''t you''ll not just have to face little Nanna''s wrath."

    Luna sucked in a sharp breath, astonished by Frost''s boldness. He straight up went and threatened the Princess of the Northrend empire.

    ''General Anya''s not the only one in a position to dictate fates heheheh.'' Frost was filled with satisfaction as he saw Avira''s lips twitching from anger and frustration.

    "We leave for Icethorne in a week, make sure to prepare your own supplies since my only job will be escorting you¡­.oh and just so you know you won''t be my only charge." Frost really was cutting Avira down to size, treating her no differently than a normal person, something that she had never experienced before.

    Princess Avira struggled to maintain her decorum, her hands tightly balled into fists as several choice words attempted to escape her lips but eventually she shook her head and took a deep breath, calming her nerves before turning to Frost, the one with all the power.

    "You don''t need to worry about me Lord Frost, I may be a pampered Princess whocks worldly experience but I''m fully capable of gathering my own supplies and sharing my escort with another however I do ask that I be appraised of their identity before we set out."

    "Hoh you''ve got fire I''ll give you that but if I''m revealing their identity would I then not be honour bound to reveal yours to them as well¡­.is that something you are willing to ept?" Frost wasn''t quite done punishing the little Princess quite yet, finding bullying her quite enjoyable. s it seems he was starting to push it given the re Luna was sending his way.

    "Umu." Avira''s face practically warped threatening topletely devolve into something without the slightest bit of noble grace. Again however she managed to restrain herself at thest minute but this time she decided to mark Frost on her list, this debt would certainly be repaid in the future.

    "I''m willing as long as they agree to not spread the information." With great difficulty Avira agreed to Frost''s conditions as her request if you ignored her status as a Princess could be considered fairly arrogant.

    "Hmm." Frost nced at Avira''s face, an evil smile on his lips as he did his best to resist continuing his bullying. Maya and Daki certainly didn''t help the situation however with their poorly stifledughter and asional praising caresses. They also found seeing the vaunted Princess of Northrend unable to voice her frustrations rather pleasing.

    "Alright, I guess I''ve bullied you enough." Luna was right at the point of exploding, her finger primed and ready to start pointing and lecturing this group of mean older brother and sisters.

    "We''ll be travelling with a friend of mine, a former resident of the Furano Viscounty, Borris Darksteel. His destination also just happens to be the city of Icethorne, perhaps you''ll be able to be friends."

    "Borris Darksteel?" Avira didn''t recognise the name, but Luna certainly did.

    "Ehh uncle Borris want to go to Icethorne."

    "Yes, he feels that he''ll be able to further improve his craft by offering his services there."

    "That makes sense, but still I can''t help but feel worried, he''s not exactly young anymore." Luna knew Borris as a friendly cksmith that was trusted by nearly every adventurer in the Furano area regardless of their rank. He and his family had long provided choice equipment for their clientele, a true and trusted staple in the adventuring world.

    "I wouldn''t let him hear you say that about it him, he''s quite touchy when ites to his age after all." He himself had had his head bitten off a few times whenever such topics came up.

    "However since I''m escorting him I can at least guarantee he''ll reach Icethorne safely whatever happens after will depend him¡­.the same goes for you Princess. Once I''ve safely delivered you to the Duke I have my own tasks to handle, so I won''t be able to take care you."

    Frost gave onest nce at Avira before walking off with Maya and Daki, leaving the two girls in Nanna''s capable hands.

    "Luna who''s this Borris Darksteel?" It was clear that her information in regards to the Furano territory as well as Frost''s was rathercking.

    "A cksmith of decent renown in Furano. He recently advanced to the 4th star rank during the monster stampede, bing the first to reach such a level in our territory in decades."

    "There was such a person." 4th star craftsmen and up were highly protected assets within the empire.

    "Un, however immediately after the stampede he retired from his workshop, handing the reigns over to his descendants and relocated to Frost''s territory." Luna quickly informed Avira about the particrs.

    "He even has the capabilities to draw over such an aplished smith away from the empire¡­.truly enlightening." The mysteries around Frost just kept getting more and more puzzling. Explore more stories with §Þ??

    Where on Nova did this young mane from? Who was backing him?

 Chapter 661 Princes Avira (3)

    "Are you sure Nanna''s fine with this assignment?" Frost asked once they were clear of Princess Avira and Luna.

    "Un, she said so herself." Maya replied with a smile, greatly alleviating Frost''s worry.

    "Very well I''ll leave her in charge of the Princess. How are things on the Dungeon side?"

    "The outpost on floor 5.5 is flourishing at pace and we''ve already started making preparation for the next bait reveal."

    "Good, along with thepletion of the defensive wall and promise of wide spanning developments people will continue to flock to the city-state of Niflheim in theing months."

    Though much of Frost''s and his team''s focus was on the establishment of the new defensive wall care was still taken in other areas. New businesses repeatedly opened up within the original Camp''s grounds as well as within the Dungeon''s first outpost. Thus constantly bringing in vast sums of wealth as well as attracting more and more merchants and tradespeople to the territory.

    The many quarries and mines established on the ''Floor of peace'' were also opened up to the public, allowing adventurers andbourers to work in sectors beyond simple hunting and building of the outside walls.

    On top of that Frost never stopped thinking about ways to increase his Dungeon''s draw to his most important clientele, the adventurers.

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    These profit and thrill seeking people always needed something new to keep their attention and Frost wasn''t one to let them down.

    With the floor jumping stones bing a big hit, drawing more and more people to the lower floors Frost had to revamp these areas to fit the rise in delvers. Mainly adding the asional spawner, room expansion and or areas of highly sought after herbs and nts.

    s he felt this still wasn''t enough thus he came up with the idea of providing battle mounts for his guests. From his talks with Daki, Frost had learned much about the monster rancher profession given that her brother was one.

    The profession itself wasbour intensive, emotional and even rather expensive but the rewards if done correctly far outweighed the costs.

    With the Dungeon being what it is and Frost being in a position ofplete dominance amongst themonsters he summons much of the intense efforts required in starting up a ranch and maintaining it were easily fulfilled.

    The problem however was that it was well known throughout Nova that monsters birthed within monsterirs and bound to their domain cannot be contracted, under any circumstances.

    Only those born naturally in the world can be contracted i.e. Those born due to the ambient levels of mana in an area, created by one of the Gods or born the old fashioned way can enter into a contract.

    Very rarely however when a monsterir dematerialises some of the monsters birthed within could survive the copse, from that point on they gradually adjusted themselves to be simr to their natural mana born kin.

    But the Dungeon was fully operational and showing no signs of copse thus one would assume that the monsters within were unable to form contracts. s this was a misconception especially after thest family gathering wherein a great many updates were made thanks to the varied requests and feedback of Frost and his siblings.

    It was now quite easy for monsters born within a Dungeon to contract with someone, whether that be as a battle mount, or summoned beast both were possible¡­as long as the Dungeon core allowed it of course.

    Dungeon cores such as Frost would have to willingly terminate the connection they had with a monster before a soul contract could be made. This was the new lure Frost had thought to unveil.

    If it became known that the Dungeon of Niflheim that was practically ruled by Frost could on top of what it already offers bes able to produce high quality battle mounts the war potential of the territory would skyrocket.

    Druakai''s position in Kranor was incredibly stable, drawing in clientele from all over the cial mountains and that was just one person. Imagine if the Niflheim city-state could produce dozens of battle mounts every week, how terrifying would that be. They''d have customers lining outside the gates.

    Of course such attraction had its downsides. Dark entities, people with nefarious intentions whether spurned on by greed, desire or simple jealously would surely make aggressive moves upon their territory. Thus the need for an improvement in the territory''s outer defences as well as its evolution into a city-state.

    Such changes were necessary if Frost and his subordinates wished to protect what was rightfully theirs.

    Initially as the news spread a great deal of frost mares and frost wolves would be released throughout the Dungeon for the sole purpose of being captured and contracted as mounts. Later on however the adventurers woulde across coeurl pups and even adult coeurls and their variants on the lower floors in far greater numbers than usual.

    It would be at this point that the city-state of Niflheim would truly became impossible to ignore.

    Coeurls were C-rank monsters, if they could be produced and contracted with in mass numbers, the face of war would ultimately change.

    "Daki how are you faring with your forging work?" Frost turned to his left where a fair green enchantress was coiled around his arm, reluctant to let go.

    "Haaaaaa it''s first time in days that we''ve been able to be in the same room and you want to talk about work." Daki shook her head and let out an exaggerated sigh before putting on a pouting expression s her little dance had no effect on Frost who was more interested inpleting his work on time.

    "Tch¡­It''s going fine, perhaps we''re a little behind but not by much. The two extra forges as well as the materials sent over by the Furanos has really helped. Rx I promised to deliver you the allocated forged materials and I intend to keep my promise, even if I have to work like a damn Plow horse to do it."

    "¡­In your case it''d be more akin to a cow." Maya muttered under her breath as she eyed therge swaying mounds attached to Daki''s chest.

    Though she spoke quietly her words were clearly heard by Daki as she rapidly turned around and red her way.

    "As if you can talk, it''s not like your udders are that much smaller than mine, at least by working hard mine won''t sag when I get older."

    A vicious standoff thus began between the two beautiful women. Sparks of lightning shed between them as fire radiated from their eyes. Frost was unfortunately smack damn in the middle, forced to endure their quarrelling.

    "Seems I need to spent some more time with the two of you lest you tear each other''s throats out from frustration." With all work and no y his girlfriends were obviously a bit pent up and quick to aggression, s there truly was no time.

    The moment he or they decided to indulge themselves half a day would go by at the very least.

    ''I really need more Yunas in my life.'' It was growing more and more apparent as the scope of the territory and the Dungeon grew the more he needed help running it and not just any help, skilled help that was privy to his secrets. Unfortunately he wasn''t at a level of being able to wantonly summon B-rank monsters who could safely be ced in such positions of power.

    Though there was no time to indulge in carnal pleasure Frost did take out a precious 15 minutes from his schedule to hold the two of them in his arms and asionallyther them with kisses and affection which seemed to alleviate their pent up stress somewhat.

    Over the following couple days Princess Avira while disguised wandered around the Niflheim city-state. On the surface she was taking in the sights and buying up supplies for her uing journey to Icethorne but beneath she was analysing every single inch of the city, trying to find some sort of clue in regards to Frost''s background.

    The unknown was scary and as long as Frost remained a mystery she would struggle to feel rxed. Though she wasn''t foolishly arrogant like her brother Randolph she did find the fact that an unknown person unrted to their empire sessfully setting up such a thriving business on their veritable doorstep in so little time unnerving.

    He could be considered somewhat friendly at the moment but who knows when that could change. With such a severe change in Northrend''s political state Avira had grown ustomed to gauging potential threats. Frost unfortunately sat fairly high on that list.

    Frost of course was made aware of her antics early on but let her be. He understood her wariness and even respected it, she had every right to be cautious when it came to powerful strangers.

    As long as it was just being cautious it was fine however if that cautiousness ever turned into some sort of preventative action he would be forced to nip this problem in the bud.

    The ball was in Avira''s court. Would she be unable endure a possible threat or would she realise the folly of going against him and in turn either chose to simply ignore him or establish a friendly rtionship like the Furanos.

    Or perhaps something more¡­intimate.

 Chapter 662 S-rank

    Frost chose to leave Avira to her own devices, checking on her only asionally through either the Dungeon menu or through Nanna albeit after a certain incident he chose to avoid the former.

    It wasn''t a perverted scenario just a fragile one, through the menu screen he saw the valiant and headstrong Princess crying into her pillow, calling out for her mother and father as her body trembled from head to toe. He pitied her and stopped his hidden snooping from then on.

    With just a few days until the deadline he previously set was up, the new wall in its true grandeur was there for all to see.

    By this point it was clear that thisrge project wasn''t something simple. The tall, menacing walls that promised to grow even further already eclipsed the walls present around Furano.

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    This camp could no longer be referred to as such, it was now a city-state, a ce capable of sheltering even regr citizens and their families safely.

    Frost''s territory was well and trulying into its own, and with its new designation grander eyes would be drawn to its bounty.

    However it would take time for these people to prepare their ws, time in which Frost would further develop his territory''s defences as well as develop his own strength.

    ng! Schwing! Don!

    Within the training space booming sounds reverberated throughout the room as two individuals shed with nary reserve.

    One a young man adorned in elegant robes and welding a mighty ive in his hand while the other was a beautiful woman in a red cheongsam that exposed her athletic legs. Her weapon of choice was a pair of oversized intricate hammers that conflicted greatly with her shorter stature.

    However the strength held within the young woman''s arms was more than enough to asionally overpower her male opponent, forcing him to avoid direct shes.

    Finally after who knows how many shes the man and woman broke apart, exhausted and breathing heavily as they struggled to stay on their feet.

    "T¡­This hu hu seal that¡­.Dark God-sama ced on me is really¡­.intense." The woman, Maya spoke through gasping breaths as she stared at her shaking limbs that could no longer support the weight of her mighty hammers.

    Ever since the end of the 2nd family gathering all Guardians that chose to remain by their charge''s side had the strengths sealed. This was to prevent the Dungeon cores from growing too dependent on their Guardians horrifying strength while at the same time allowing the Guardians to take on a more active role within their Dungeons and not upset the bnce.

    Maya for example after being sealed by Dark had her power plummet to the peak of C-rank, a sub-level beneath her charge, Frost.

    Although Maya found the seal rather taxing and difficult to manage at first after repeatedly training with Frost as well as Findley whenever he was free she had finally gotten to a level in which she wasfortable.

    And now despite only being at the peak of C-rank and having weapon mastery and magic levels to match such a rank she could boldly go toe to toe with Frost in a straight up duel and not lose.

    This was mainly due to two factors, her abundant experience that couldn''t be fully locked away as well as her mighty hammers. With these two supplements she could ignore Frost''s utilisation of aura as well as his near limitless stamina while within the Dungeon.

    Frost of course found this ''mildly'' frustrating. Even with her strength restricted to below his he still couldn''t win against her.

    "Not intense enough if you ask me." Frost unceremoniously fell onto his backside as he childishly sulked and shook his head.

    "Hehehe you''re a hundred years too early to truly challenge a mighty fenrir such as me muhhahah!" Filled with pride and confidence Maya smiled from ear to ear and thumped her chest with a mocking glint in her eyes.

    Frost''s eyes narrowed into slits and his lips turned upward, revealing an evil smirk in response.

    "Hoh that''s funny who''s the one always begging me to stop and let rest during our nightly activities. What is you always say oh yes ''Guh please take it out you''re going to Guh break me.''" Frost even went so far as to imitate her pleading tone as well as intimate gestures.

    Boom!

    Without any warning arge hammer that was hundreds of times stronger than steel flew through the air and smashed beside the sitting Frost with enough strength to shake the floor.

    Frost awkwardly turned his head to the side, a chill running down his spine and a dryness filling his throat. A blow like that wasn''t something he could easily walk away from.

    "Did you say something Frost dear?" Maya''s eyes expressed a devilish intent, such that Frost''s skin formed goosebumps.

    ''Madwoman'' He could only internally call her such,cking the courage to further mock this vengeful girlfriend of his, holding his arms up in surrender until the evil intentions left her gaze.

    "You can be considered at the peak of the early stages of B-rank, just a little more and you''ll be able to reach the mid-stages." A few minutes after the little contest Mayamented on Frost''s progress which was quite substantial in her mind.

    "It''s too slow, I''ve barely made any progress over the past few months." Frost however felt that his progress was far too slow.

    "Haaaaa this is what happens when you rise through the ranks. The higher you go the harder it is to cross the next boundary some never do after years or even decades of effort. You show no signs of stalling so rx and let nature take its course."

    "Says the one who''s already at the very peak of the world." Frost wanted to bridge the gap between the two of them as fast as possible, only then could he truly protect her like a good partner should.

    "Haaaaa do you really think I was at the peak." Maya replied with a look of frustration.

    "Huh?"

    "This world is far more vast than you can possibly imagine Frost. The S-rank is unbelievably expansive and a practically endless path. Though I am at the S-rank I can at best be considered a junior on the path, someone just starting out." There was longing in her tone and a strong desire in her heart.

    "You saw it briefly at the gathering how vast the difference between S-ranks can truly be."

    "¡­.Diablos, Leviathan and Fafnir." Frost recalled the brief disy of power the three of them showed which eclipsed Maya''s might.

    "Those three can be considered the strongest within our generation but still that''s only within our generation, like me the three of them are merely at the beginning of the S-rank, just a little further along."

    Boom! Frost''s mind exploded in shock and his upper lip unconsciously started twitching.

    "They''re only at the beginning!" Frost leapt to his feet truly blown away by Maya''s revtion.

    "Un, didn''t you find it strange that all of us were rather young?"

    "¡­Now that you mention it."

    "My parents are still alive as are my grandparents and even great grandparents, how strong do you think they are inparison to the youthful woman that is me."

    Frost''s head sunk low as the gears in his mind turned ceaselessly.

    The bracket of S-rank was truly vast, with the elongated lifespan granted by reaching this fabled rank there was an immense amount of time for one to grow. Maya as well as the other Guardians were prodigies and geniuses, but they were still young. It was impossible for them to have rued as much experience as their elders.

    S-rank for the vast majority is the final endpoint. If they are unable to evolve and shed thest of their mortal shell S-rank is where they shall remain until their livese to an end. However during that time they continue to grow in mortal strength.

    Maya knew for a fact that she really wasn''t much in the grand scheme, her chances at reaching the peak or even thete stages of the S-rank were slim let alone ascending to God status.

    It was because she understood this that she currently bore such a conflicted expression that was filled with frustration, longing as well as hope and even a little despair.

    Her volunteering to be a guardian despite the risks and possibly demeaning work involved came with benefits that she couldn''t ignore as long as this desire remained in her heart.

    Improving beyond her current level was immensely difficult inparison to Frost reaching the mid stages of B-rank.

    Thus once again Frost was shown how truly small he was inparison to the world.

    There is always a higher mountain, no matter how much you train or how much of a genius you are there is always someone better, someone stronger than you.

    Although if that wasn''t the case challenging the heavens would be too boring, no?

    Frost and Maya sat in silence as they pondered their own thoughts on the matter but in the end smiles were evident on their lips, this didn''t dissuade their goals in the slightest.

    "Ready for another round?"

    "Are you sure? Don''t you have work to do?"

    "Perhaps but after your revtion I feel the need to put in a little more effort." Frost smiled from ear to ear as he stretched and loosened his joints.

    "Very well,e at me Frost." The sounds of a heated exchange once again filled the halls of the training space.

    Meanwhile far to the north, arge fortress surrounded by walls over a dozen metres thick and nearly a hundred tall received some unsettling news. The news was so devasting that the man who controlled this mighty fortress, a person at the peak of A-rank copsed into his chair, his heart shattering into a millions pieces.

    "My Emperor."

 Chapter 663 Kalias final fate

    The next day Frost was down in the Dungeon''s prison enjoying some festivities.

    "Ahhhhh!"

    "Please no more!!"

    "Kill Me!!!"

    Anguished wails from the people that tried to kill Nanna echoed throughout the prison, mentally scarring the residents patiently awaiting their turn.

    Frost stood in the prime torture chamber with an ever growing smile, relishing in their screams as if they were a revitalising tonic.

    His focus however was primarily directed at a certain woman who was currently strapped to a chair as a ronso methodically carved up her skin and broke each and every one of her small bones.

    This woman who''s screams were several octaves louder than herpanions thanks to the ronso''s methodology as well as a certain poison that flowed through her veins was Kalia the second inmand of the assassination squad as well as the most hated enemy of the Ranullia Queendom.

    Her torture today was at a higher level than usual and was personally supervised by Frost because today was set to be herst. Once this final round wasplete her head would be severed from her body and handed to Maressa and her sisters who had returnedst night after achieving their goal the cial mountains.

    They''re arrival in the dead of night went unnoticed by most but Frost and his officers were immediately notified. Khuno especially rushed to greet the lead amazonian woman, he''d missed her quite dearly during the time she was gone.

    Maressa had awoken a fierce me within his body that without her touch threatened to overwhelm him.

    Thankfully Maressa''s longing was no less than Khuno''s, the two lovers absconded to a hotel the very instant they reunited leaving the remaining three sisters and the ronso guards to pick up the ck in their absence.

    Upon hearing news of their arrival and the sudden upation of his left arm Frost sighed before donning a grin filled with malicious intentions.

    "Prepare Kalia and herrades for their final farewell." He spoke these words and momentster Kalia along with two of herpanions were strapped down and made ready for theirst few hours at life.

    "Ahhhhh!!"

    "It''s like music to my ears my dear assassins. Did you ever think that by epting your most recent job that you''d ever end up in a situation like this. A position where you have no control, forced to suffer agonising torture day in day out with no knowledge of when it''ll end." Frost''s words were spoken with maddened joy that pierced straight into the hearts of his three guests.

    Their work was always dirty, kill some targets get paid, kidnap and torture someone get paid, steal something and kill the owners, get paid. Simple terms but only now did they truly understand the possible consequences. Death wasn''t scary to them, but this was.

    They could be hunted for revenge even imprisoned for life both things they could ultimately ept but this, this was demonic. Even hardened criminals like them balked at the mere thought of what Frost had done to them over the past few weeks.

    The pain was never-ending and always growing inplexity, they felt fear and dread towards this young elf all the way down to their very souls.

    Making enemies and hated foes was all well and good but one should never make a madman their enemy as the carnage they could erupt upon you would show no restraint.

    In their eyes Frost was worse than a devil, a beast that felt immense pleasure from the suffering of others.

    This was actually true but that pleasurable feeling was only ever attached to his enemies, he took care of his friends and those he deemed his own rather well. The kind of man who would repay kindness with kindness and evil with even greater evil.

    "P¡­Please¡­" Kalia with her body carved up to the point that it was no longer recognisable, a bloody husk of mangled flesh stuttered in agony, begging for mercy.

    "Hehehehe you want me to stop right, to end your suffering, to put you out of your pathetic misery right?" Frost stepped forward bringing his face inches next to Kalia''s. He could see into the depths of her soul, the pain, the anguish, the unending fear and thest flicker of hope.

    Kalia nodded her head before continuing. "Isn''t¡­this enough?" All they did was try to assassinate someone, it would have even been a quick death, painless perhaps even humane. Did they really deserve this level of hical treatment.

    Kalia was an evil woman but even if she calcted every single crime under her belt this degree of punishment still felt a bit much.

    In response to her plea Frost was silent for a few seconds. He watched as the flicker of hope in Kalia''s eyes grew a little before allowing his smile to stretch.

    "Perhaps it can be considered a bit much given how in the end you failed in your attempt."

    "¡­Then?" The flicker expanded like a zing sun, a long needed sense of relief supporting her pain addled body.

    Crack!

    "Ahhhh!!!" The moment that sense of hope and relief was at its greatest Frost reached out with his right hand and crushed her left shoulder de like it was an eggshell.

    "Unfortunately for you I''m nowhere near finished with you Kalia. Your crimes and actions may not warrant such treatment among society but when have I ever cared about what society thinks hehehehe.

    You can simply me your bad luck, for your suffering is just beginning Kalia, do it!" With his eyes emitting bloodlust and his aura leaking from his body, pressing down on the three assassins Frost gave an order to one of the ronso guards by his side.

    "Yes master." A momentter that guard withdrew his halberd and thrust it into chest of one of assassins. The power behind the thrust pulverised the man''s heart instantly. The assassin felt but a rush of intense pain, then a chill before darkness overwhelmed him, he died.

    Kalia who was pinned in ce watched in horror as well as confusion. Death was something one naturally feared but if continuing to live far more unbearable then death was a blessing.

    Frost had just said that their suffering was just beginning so why was he killing one of them? Kalia did not understand but her instincts were screaming that something truly awful was about to happen¡­.and she was right.

    Once the deed was done Frost removed himself from Kalia and walked over to the now deceased assassin with a look of interest and perhaps expectation.

    ''This better work Agar.'' He retrieved from his storage ring a scroll filled with dark ink and intricate symbols that gave off a feeling of death. Frost held within his hands a scroll of [create undead] that he''d bought from Agar several weeks ago in preparation for this day.

    As previously instructed by his younger brother Frost filled the scroll with his mana causing it to hum to life. The intricate ck runes came to life with the injection of mana and once reaching maximum capacity they floated off the scroll and formed a magic circle at the base of the deceased assassin.

    Kalia visibly trembled at the sight, knowing full well what Frost intended to do.

    "No!...No!...God please no!." She screamed and writhed against her straps, exacerbating her already substantial injuries but a troll witchdoctor quickly moved beside her, preventing her from moving too much and seeing to her current injuries, they couldn''t have her killing herself, Frost would never allow such a mercy.

    "Rise and serve me again in death." As if ying fully into a certain character Frost even spoke the cheesy line Agar expressly mentioned finding it quite suitable for the asion. Thankfully a certain Fenrir and Orc subus wasn''t present to rain on his parade.

    Following his words the magic circle fully activated. The deceased assassin''s body twitched as though being animated by electricity then the image of a ghost, a fraction of their fragmenting soul became visible above their corpse.

    ck light that contained the intricacies of the death element as well as Frost''s own mana thustched onto these fragments forming a brand-new albeit far weaker soul which then took over the trembling corpse.

    A momentter the corpse started iling around as though possessed but eventually it calmed down moving more naturally. The assassin''s eyes which were previously blue were now a solid ck.

    The corpse had been sessfully reanimated bing an undead monster fully under Frost control.

    "Hahahahaha perfect, though far weaker than before it''ll be able to serve its debt even in death." Frost bellowed withughter, his eyes glinting with fanaticism as he sessfully used magic from another element for the first time.

    Kalia repeatedly shook her head as she attempted to back away from Frost, her fear levels skyrocketing. s her fate was already set.

    With an evil smile Frost forced Kalia to watch him turn the other assassin into an undead puppet before finally moving onto her.

    "Anyst words?"

    There were tears in Kalia''s eyes as her ''death'' was finally before her.

    "¡­I¡­" Frost didn''t let her finish before lopping off her head with his ive. Why did he have to give her any piece of mind in her final moments.

    Just like the earlier two Kalia was reanimated as an undead monster albeit missing her head inparison to her tworades.

    "Prepare the head for transport, as for these three. Leave them in the prison as warnings for our current guests."

    "By your will."

 Chapter 664 Deadlines met

    ''That was far more enjoyable than I thought it''d be.'' Thought Frost as a joyful smile adorned his lips.

    The screams, the smell of blood, the personal destruction of theirst glimmer of hope. Frost thoroughly enjoyed each and every second of it, his heart filling with immense satisfaction.

    He licked his lips in a way that could easily make those looking shiver in fright. A true monster was starting to be unleashed.

    Thankfully this side of him was only shown towards his enemies but a few sadistic thoughts did creep their way towards another area of his mind.

    Given that he was deprived of most ''sensual pleasures'' during the wall development Frost''s mind was prone to the asional daydream. And right now it seemed that his imagination linked up with his more sadistic mood.

    The evil smile on his face slowly morphed into something more lewd as images of his green enchantress bound by rope drifted to the forefront of his mind. A certain area grew and hardened as these images grew clearer and more diverse.

    He saw Maya with a blindfold on, her mouth gagged as her body writhed from the external pleasure.

    "Hehehe" Augh escaped his lips as desire took hold.

    "Master you''re drifting off again." Just when Frost was about to ignore his schedule and hunt down his lovers to partake in his imagined y Findley spoke up from his side.

    "Urgh" Frost groaned in displeasure.

    "I know you''ve been struggling to restrain yourself recently master, but the wall is almost ready." Findley shook his head as he struggled to understand the extent of his master''s cravings.

    "Haaaaaa you''re right as always Findley, our work needs toe first." Frost sighed and calmed down his rising emotions with great difficulty.

    ''It''s all Khuno''s fault. How dare he ditch work and get some while I have to restrain myself hmph.'' Somehow Khuno had earned his master''s ire.

    "I''ll go and inspect the wall, inform Maressa and her sisters that Kalia''s head is ready and waiting for them."

    "Understood master." Findley the ever dutiful subordinate saluted with his arm across his chest before teleporting to another part of the Dungeon.

    "Two days and the deadline will be up; they better make it."

    Following the end of Kalia and herrades Frost as he said inspected the progress of the mighty defensive wall set 8 kilometres beyond the Dungeon''s entrance.

    Like every other day previous since work began the ce was packed with people. Hundreds upon hundreds ofbourers, adventurers and monsters could be seen all over the grand wall, slowly but surely adding to its already imposing height.

    18 metres was the current average height across the entirety of the wall, already 50% higher than Furano''s northern wall but considering their location a necessary measure.

    After the final ns the end height was set to be 24 metres, so they were around 75% done in regards to just the height but of course there was more to it than that.

    The wall once it reached 16 metres was no longer just a simple solid protrusion that separated one area from another no, the inside became partially hollow, granting people ess.

    Within this hollow recess soldiers such as the ronsos would be able to walk two abreast across two levels.

    Within these levels would be war machines (both long and short range), ammunition reserves as well as other aspects that would allow those dwelling within to fire upon the encroaching enemy while remaining safely protected by the surrounding walls.

    Managing this section as well as the top section which needed to house an even greater amount of war machines and soldiers was a lot more tedious andplicated than the previous sections. Here the skilled Labourers from thebourers guild as well as Rana herself needed to be on point with every calction.

    A mistake here could be disastrous, opening up a weak point in the mighty wall thus making its purpose moot.

    When Frost arrived he was instantly slotted into the yuki-onna division and ordered to solidify the wall''s connections as well as strengthen the pykrete and cial ice used in the foundations. A job that only those with adept ice magic and or ice chakra could do.

    Though he was the Lord of territory Frost didn''tin in the slightest, immediately getting to work, slowly but surelypleting one area at a time.

    It couldn''t bepared to his training with Maya but having to methodically utilise his magic and chakra over and over again with precise control was training in itself thus he was happy to take part. Plus with his aid perhaps the job would bepleted faster, and he''d no longer have to hold back his ever growing urges.

    The Amazonian Beauties received ownership of Kalia''s head a few hourster in the day and though with clear reluctance the party once again left Frost''s territory. This time however they were heading home to the Queendom of Ranullia, a journey that would take them several weeks at the very least.

    Khuno along with the ronso guards Chana and Freya yed with were obviously a little depressed by them leaving once again but thankfully the girls promised to return as soon as they were able, finding the Niflheim city-state very much to their liking.

    Frost was even told that it wouldn''t be strange if the Queen herself joined them on their return trip so she could thank him in person. Their Queen really wasn''t like the royalty in other countries, she truly yed to her beat. Frost genuinely looked forward to meeting the woman that Maressa and her sisters held in such high regard.

    2 dayster, the final day of the set deadline Frost stood at the eastern edge of city''s boundary and watched as the final touches of the main gate were finished.

    "Magnificent.'' Hemented as a strong feeling of aplishment radiated through his body, filling him with pride and joy.

    Two weeks, for two weeks the entire territory had been working non-stop toplete this monstrosity that stood before him. A mighty wall that would elevate their Camp into a city-state and provide much needed defence against even the most brutal of monsters and deadliest armies.

    There was still much to be done but from a rough gauge close to 90% of the wall was alreadyplete thus clearing Frost''s deadline and then some.

    Don!

    As thest hammer fell and the ornate gate that was fashioned from 3 and 4 star materials slotted into ce a silence filled the area before a chorus of celebration erupted.

    "Whoaaaaa!!"

    "Finally!!!"

    "It''s perfect."

    Manybourers slumped to the ground from exhaustion, the strained tension and focus that kept them going for so long left the confines of their body, allowing them to at longst truly rest.

    The requirements set by Frost had been cleared so now they could finish the final additions and more normal pace.

    "Well done Rana, you exceeded my expectations."

    "Hehehe thanks Lord Frost but I didn''t do it alone, my workers, the adventurers, volunteers as well as your trusted subordinates all yed arge part." Rana scratched the back of her neck as she felt a little embarrassed from hearing Frost''s praise but like a good leader she didn''t forget to spread the merit.

    "Of course, everyone that took part went above and beyond for this project, I am immensely grateful." Frost knew that his sudden timeline was a very big ask and that many people thought he was paranoid but regardless they still did their best to meet his proposed deadline.

    Feeling grateful Frost took a step forward and loudly spoke.

    "Tonight we celebrate, all food and drink will be on me!"His words resulted in another round of celebration; they could finally let loose.

    After a few more words of thanks and professional inspections Frost along with his loyal secretary Yuna returned to the Lord''s manor.

    Now that the wall was over 80% finished it could properly protect those that dwelled within thus leaving nothing to hold Frost back from embarking on his next adventure.

    "Have the supplies been prepared, how are Avira and Borris?"

    "We''ve put together enough supplies tost a month, food, camping gear, money etc you shouldn''t have any problem with a prolonged expedition master." They also made sure to supply extras in case a certain Princess failed to properly take care of herself.

    "Borris finished his preparations a few days ago and is currently using his remaining time to rx in the bath houses, partake in the higher ranked restaurants and asionally interact with Daki."

    "Princess Avira however seems to be getting more and more stressed. Luna while she was here tried to get her to rx at the bath houses as well as taking her shopping, but it seems she''s really desperate to leave." Frost had Nanna as well as certain monsters keep a close eye on Avira''s movements and the usual reports that passed through his hands corroborated what Yuna said.

    The young Princess was very keen to leave here and reach Icethorne. Of course this wasn''t anything against Frost or his territory but more that she just couldn''t rx while her brothers continued to vie for the throne, and she remained without any viable support. Plus not having a confidant such a General Anya by her side or the shadow guards started to wane on her mind.

    "Haaaaa inform her that we''ll be leaving tomorrow perhaps that''ll perk her up a bit."

    "Yes master."

    "Is there anything else?" With the focus primarily being on the wall''spletion as well as his personal development most of the day to day Camp/city and Dungeon stuff was handled by Yuna and Findley respectively. Frost just received the asional summary of what happened.

    "Nothing that needs your personal involvement master but the number of possible spies as well as saboteurs has certainly been on the rise, especially over thest few days."

    "Well that''s no surprise."

 Chapter 665 Spies and interlopers

    "Well that''s no surprise." Frost said while leaning back against his chair.

    The moment the Emperor was assassinated, and the two princes vied for control of the empire pretty much all the ''smart'' nobles wanted to gain as many merits as possible before the official enthronement thus guaranteeing themselves and their families a life of luxury and authority.

    It was no secret that both Randolph and Sedrick had problems with the Furano territory as well as the man named Frost.

    While a few people wanted to simply spy on the bold new territory that was set to evolve into an entrenched city-state along the Empire''s borders many wished to sabotage Frost''s efforts as a way to suck up to the Princes.

    Unfortunately none of them knew of Frost''s true capabilities, spies were easily identified through the Dungeon menu which had constant watchers. The same could be said of those who intended to jeopardise the wall''s development.

    Frost ronsos caught a few people smuggling explosives to the work site while some more skilled ones attempted to ce magic devices within the foundations that could be activated at a dire moment far in the future.

    Rana wasn''t a slouch either when it came to protecting her build site, more than a few times it was her herself or one of her most trusted subordinates that first confronted these supposed saboteurs and her approach when dealing with them was rather brutal.

    A fierce punch or three to the face, a breaking of arms, legs and usually several ribs. She despised these types of people and wasted no time at all taking care of each and every one she discovered.

    Frost was even tempted to recruit the old woman into his ronso guards given how deft her nose was at finding interlopers.

    "Once I leave, up our countermeasures. I don''t want our enemies to think of my territory as somewhere weak whenever I''m absent."

    "Of course master I''ll make sure to project fear into whomever dares intrude upon our hallowed ground." Yuna spoke with a frigid chill, her heart eagerly anticipating the day when she''d get to unleash all her pent up wrath.

    Frost sternly gazed at his secretary.

    "Yuna."

    "Master?"

    "The time in which I''m away may be far more dangerous than you realise." Though the wall was beyond his minimal requirements Frost couldn''t help but feel anxious, as though a pair of greedy fangs were priming themselves to bite down upon his flesh when he least suspected it.

    "Be careful not to get too arrogant, our foes though preupied with other factors are still massive entities that could squash us like ants if they ever truly get serious."

    The massive wall and the powerful monster retinues certainly served as a proficient deterrent but if Northrend ever decided to truly attack them it won''t just be a few hundred or even thousand soldiers they''d be facing no it would a force of tens of thousands, each armed to the teeth with the very best equipment and battle knowledge.

    It would be aplete ughter regardless if Frost was present or not.

    Yuna''s eyes twitched for a second as her heart shed with panic. She pictured such a carnage bearing down on them.

    ''We wouldn''t stand a chance; at most we''d be able to dy the inevitable.'' She absolutely hated this feeling, this feeling of weakness.

    "Right now it''s just minions and greedy individuals that are picking a fight with us, not a true reflection of our opponents, never forget that."

    Frost felt that pride and arrogance were the ultimate killers, Randolph and Sedrick were the perfect example. Because of their arrogance they ended up picking a fight with him, a Dungeon core, a child of Dark with the backing of a mighty S-ranked Fenrir and still they continue to stretch their ws his way regardless of these threats.

    Because of Maya, Frost knew full well that he was immensely far from being able to stand tall in this world, to be able to look down upon all its inhabitants by the grace of his strength alone. Nova was truly vast. Thus he would also do his best to curb any growing arrogance within his ranks, to prevent such a future tragedy.

    With nothing further to report Frost moved onto the Dungeon''s ns that were set to take fold during his absence.

    "I''ll reveal the monster mount situation at the celebration tonight and deliver the particrs to the adventurers guild as well as the council tomorrow morning before I leave so expect a lot visitors." Frost knew how paradigm shifting this reveal would be, so he warned Yuna in advance as during his absence she''d be serving as interim Lord with Maya overseeing her.

    Ideally as his partner Maya would be better than a secretary but when asked she responded with "Eh that sounds boring, pass." She had grown used to a life of leisure, preferring to spend her time looking after the kids as well as researching alcohol brewing methods for her future ntation.

    "Do you want the monsters avable to be limited or unlimited?" Yuna had already been informed of her future duties and was eagerly looking forward to it. She had studied up on all Frost''s proposed ambitions, learning every insight by heart so as to earn his praise.

    "Hmmm that''s a good question." Frost stroked his chin and thought deeply about the situation. Having unlimited monsters for contracts could dilute the market and cause a headache for those in charge of severing each and every monster''s connection whenever a contract was being established.

    Plus these monsters were purchased with DP, letting an unlimited amount of them just go sounded like a bit of a waste.

    "Make it a limited amount, talk with Daki she should be ablee up with an effective number. Also make it random, forcing adventurers to waste magic contracts."

    ''Perhaps I could start suppling magic contracts that were 100% guaranteed to work on any monster of a certain rank within the Dungeon thus controlling another piece of the market.''

    "Un I''ll talk with Mistress Daki when I get the chance¡­speaking of the mistresses I''m guessing that the three of you will be indisposed for most of the night?" There was a slight blush on Yuna''s cheeks as she asked this, her mind drifting back to lewd sounds she listened to through the office door the other week.

    Upon hearing Yuna''s words and seeing the redness on her cheeks a wild smile grew on Frost''s lips.

    ''Hoh seems Khuno''s not the only one I''m going to have to worry about.''

    "Hehehe correct, I''ve kept them waiting long enough." With that Frost stood up from his seat and prepared to teleport straight to the private space to reunite with his lovers and finally engage in onest grand battle before he leaves for the north.

    "Contact me only if it''s an emergency Yuna."

    "Of course master."

    "Un farewell." Frost then teleported away leaving Yuna alone in his office.

    "Haaaaa so jealous, why can''t he ever look at me with such eyes." Yuna''s eyes zed over as she sniffed her master''s remaining scent and imagined all sort of glorious things he could do to her. This young woman was thirsty.

    Her corruption was a forgone conclusion now.

    A momentter Frost appeared within the private space, his eyes rapidly scanning the room in search of his target.

    It didn''t take long for him to notice the rear view of a young woman with long white hair that drifted side to side below herrge perky ass as she hummed a tune while preparing a meal.

    She was so absorbed in her actions that she didn''t even notice the arrival of her lover in the room thus granting Frost a pleasant opportunity.

    The young Dungeon core with a predatory smile on his lips that revealed his sharp teeth slinked forward, quickly wrapping his hands around her frame and took hold of therge melons that were attached to her chest.

    "Kyah." A cute squeal left Maya''s lips as Frost''s hands took hold and rudely started caressing her in a delicate yet also rough manner. She then felt the weight of his chest against her back and trembled as he breathed across her right ear.

    "Maya my love, you look absolutely divine." He then proceeded to sniff her hair. "And smell even better." The young man was particrly aroused, his male weapon quickly rising to attention, stabbing stiffly against the small of Maya''s back.

    Though finding it hard to resist her lover Maya creased her brown and pouted. "Can''t you see I''m busy here, I''ve got no time for your cruel teasing." She showed a somewhat angry expression but to Frost she just looked cute.

    "Cruel huh, if I was truly being cruel it''d do something like this." With an evil grin Frost''s left hand slipped into her dress and started ying with her nipple while his right went lower deciding whether or not to attack the front garden or the back.

    "Ahnn!" His advances of course resulted in another moan escaping Maya''s lips, she was really struggling here.

    She and Frost hadn''t truly satisfied themselves with another since this wall development began, a long time for such a young couple that was used to copting like rabbits. Thus from just a light touch she was already turned on to the point that she''d likely need to change her underwear.

    However as Frost''s hand descended, moving towards her sacred garden she steeled her resolve, biting her lip she grasped his wrists, preventing anymore movement from him.

    "I said I''m busy Frost, I don''t have the patience to enjoy a session that leads nowhere." Just caressing and groping without proper pration was just elongated torture, she needed something more to be satisfied.

    Finding such resistance adorable Frost decided to tell her the good news. "The wall''s finished."

    "Eh?"

    "I said the wall''s finished, meaning no more restraint."

    Maya''s body trembled as though being shocked. She turned her head up and gazed into Frost''s eyes, her hope and desire as clear as day.

    "The whole night?" She asked rather calmly.

    "We''ll have to make a brief visit to the celebration tonight but yeah you''ll have me for the entire night to do whate¡­ eh!" Frost didn''t even get to finish his sentence before the Maya wrapped in his arms disappeared. The next thing he noticed was himself being carried like a princess as a lewd expression adorned his lover''s face.

    Maya like magic dropped what she was doing in the kitchen and forcibly carried Frost to the bedroom, tossed him onto the bed and mmed the door shut behind her before donning a wolf like smile on her face that stretched from ear to ear.

    She took a brief second to send a message to Daki and Nanna, informing the first about the sex ban being lifted and the second about how none of the adults would be avable for quite some time.

    Following that she red at Frost.

    "Strip!" She ordered like a queen before removing her own attire. Finally she could get some loving.

 Chapter 666 Sexual carnage

    Many hourster Frost along with his lovers were resting within theirrge bathtub, their sinful bodies hidden beneath the waters as they washed off the carnal scent stuck to them like glue.

    From the moment Maya demanded that Frost strip something that could only be described as sexual carnage took ce within their bedroom.

    The moment Maya saw the outline of Frost''s sculpted physique and the growing bulge in his pants her switch waspletely flipped.

    She didn''t even bother to wait for her sister and pounced on him like a cat in heat. With her facepletely pink she tore off what remained of her partner''s robes and took in his heavenly scent.

    His manly pheromones instantly sending her body into overdrive causing her sacred garden to leak as it demanded pration.

    Frost no less turned of course responded in kind, his hands cupping her breasts before roaming all over her body until finding themselves sinking deep into the flesh that was Maya''s lower cheeks. Perfect handles in which to control the movements of the sexy woman before him.

    By the time Daki arrived the couple were already engaged in the natural act of lovemaking. Sultry moans escaping their mouths as Frost pounded his hips against Maya''s curvy cheeks without mercy.

    p p p

    For a moment Daki was mesmerised by the sight before her as well as the scandalous sounds that reverberated throughout the bedroom whenever Frost''s powerful thigh and pelvic muscles mmed into Maya''s soft bubble butt.

    s this stunned statested but a single brief moment before desire and jealously took hold within the young woman''s heart.

    "Mohhh you were supposed to wait!" She cried as she rapidly disrobed, revealing her devasting form that was the definition of lust and desire.

    Frost''s manhood hardened and grew even more as he obsessively ogled Daki''s swaying breasts and lusted for her muscr thighs.

    With great experience Frost slightly shifted the practically incoherent Maya to a different position and bared his arms towards Daki, inviting her to join the fun or rather demanding her presence.

    With a seductive lick of lips Daki bounded across the room and leaped into her lovers arms, greeting him both with a deep kiss as well as pressing her giant green bunnies against his chest.

    From that point Frost tookplete control of his lovers, sharing his love between them equally until both were beyond the point of satisfaction.

    When it came time for them to break it off and attend the city''s festivities Frost had to carry the catatonic Maya to the bathroom with his rod still firmly lodged within her gates, her fleshly doors refusing to let it go despite herck of thought, purely instinctual.

    When she did finally wake up she was naked and without a certain instrument carving up her insides. In that moment she felt a sincere feeling of emptiness as well as solitude.

    However such emotion was quickly erased as her wolf ears picked up a sloshing sound and repetitive bangs.

    She immediately turned around and was faced with Daki''s breasts and face pressed up against the ss cubicle of the shower as Frost mmed into her from behind. The two had barely managed to rinse off the rued sweat before growing horny again.

    "Ahhhhhnnnn!" Suddenly Maya was forced to watch her sister''s face warped into a face ofplete and utterly lewd fanatism as she came like never before. Her muscr thighs and hips tensing as Frost prated as deep as he could possible go before releasing the dam.

    The orc subus practically reached nirvana as her lover filled her with his potent seed, painting her insides, marking her in a dominant fashion.

    Frost held her body tight as his liquid flowed into her womb as if desperately trying to impregnate her and overwhelm the contraception rune that could be seen along the small of her back.

    He gazed like a predator at Maya''s stunned state as if promising her the exact same treatment next.

    Thus because of the vicious cycle of bing horny immediately after cleaning one another Frost, Daki and Maya were ratherte to the party. However in the end they did manage to curb their desire and present themselves in a professional manner amongst the denizens of the Niflheim city-state which was now its official designation.

    Frost with two beauties by his side and two children sitting beside them raised a ss filled with a sweet mead-like alcohol to everyone in the vicinity, drawing their attention.

    "First off I want to say congrattions, the task I set for you was not an easy one by any means and despite several obstacles attempting to bar your path you have delivered what was promised and then some.

    I Lord Frost the ruler of this new city-state hereby give you my thanks and raise this ss in the name of the hundreds ofbourers, adventurers and merchants that made this aspiration possible. Thank you for your glorious efforts!"

    "Woah!!!!"

    "Here here!" In response to his words everyone present raised their mugs of alcohol and roared in celebration.

    Frost as well as the council members had set up a grand celebration dinner for all those involved. Utilizing the new space between the old and new outer walls, massive firepits were set up along with tables and chairs.

    Free food and drink was too be served throughout the entire night courtesy of Frost who enlisted the aid of some of the chefs that took up residence in the bustling hotels and restaurants to provide a palette of pleasure for the hardworking Sapients and Monsters.

    It was a fond night that helped further bridge the gap between monsters and sapients as well as generate a strong sense of loyalty to Niflheim as a budding nation.

    As they delved into a glorious feast Frost called over Ringwald and Jaina who were seated nearby to discuss his most recent discovery.

    "This is one hell of a party Lord Frost¡­it seems I''m still underestimating your prowess and natural charisma." Ringwald said as he pulled up a chair, his gaze passing over the smiles of the people present. Noticing the true unreserved joy and growing devotion in their minute expressions.

    ''He''s a natural born leader, I was right to ce my bets on him.'' Ringwald could envision a bright future, a future that would see him in charge of one of the most glorious guild branches across Yangmir.

    "¡­." While Ringwald sang Frost''s praises Jaina eyed him with wariness.

    "Alright out with it already, you''ve discovered something interesting haven''t you." Jaina had interacted with Frost enough to know when he had something important to reveal and knowing him it was likely somethingpletely broken and paradigm shifting like those floor jumping stones.

    "Hehehehe it seems you know me well Jaina." Frost smiled her way causing the young dwarf to slightly blush and look into the distance. That natural charm of his was quite dangerous.

    Ringwald''s eyes lit up upon hearing Frost admit that he had discovered something.

    ''Hoh something new that could bring us more money and glory, I can''t wait.'' Hepletely ignored the possible paperwork andbour involved in utilising such a discovery.

    Frost''s smile grew as he gestured for the two to lean in close, building up the reveal.

    Whisper whisper

    Frost whispered into their ears, acting very covert as he revealed his ''findings''.

    A couple days ago while he was delving for materials he came across a frost wolf which seemed a little more intelligent than the others he came across. Curious he used his strength to subdue it and tested the creature.

    For some reason- that Frost didn''t give- he decided to try and form a contract with it despite knowing that it was supposed to be impossible.

    All monsters born in monsterirs couldn''t be contracted due to being contracted to the monsterir itself. The same thought was prevalent for Dungeons given that they behaved in a simr manner.

    s because of Frost''s ''whim'' he decided to actively test this theory and ''miraculously'' discovered that the premise was false.

    With a contract scroll he had on hand Frost sessfully contracted with the frost wolf, cing itpletely under his control rather than the Dungeon''s.

    This news despite being covertly whispered froze Ringwald and Jaina in ce before both at the same time screamed "What the fuck!!"

    Their loud voices obviously drew the attention of those nearby as well as a set of res from Maya and Daki who replied with cold smiles. "Language." And gestured towards to two young children sitting nearby with tes of food in front of them.

    Their cold tone and partial blood lust made Jaina and Ringwald shiver, but the bomb Frost just dropped was just too much.

    Without caring about their surroundings the two forcibly dragged Frost away to hear more on this topic as well as to request proof.

    If what Frost said was true then this discovery would surely change everything about Dungeons. Their value would skyrocket to even further unprecedented levels.

    Ringwald being as experienced as he was immediately took a cautious approach, preferring that such information never left the confines of their city, at least in the interim.

    Frost held nothing back from the two guild employees upon learning of their desire to keep this information in house.

    ''They''re finally putting the prosperity of our territory before that of Northrend and even the adventurers guild as a whole.'' He greatly appreciated such a mindset.

 Chapter 667 Sexual carnage (2)

    After exining the situation a little further as well as giving his own insights on the matter Frost eventually brought Ringwald and Jaina to a warehouse that sheltered the contracted frost wolf.

    Of course the whole thing could have been doctored, there was no way for Ringwald and Jaina to know if the frost wolf before them was truly from the Dungeon, but they chose to believe in their Lord, trusting that he was above lying to them. Another trait that he was grateful for.

    "I don''t think every monster within the Dungeon can be contracted but we shouldn''t believe that every rule applicable to monsterirs will be the same for Dungeons."

    "Agreed, these Dungeons have already proven in many areas to be different, I suspect that the federation of Knowledge will have to write apletely new dossier." Ringwald agreed with Frost''s summation, the Dungeon of Niflheim alone was regrly supplying such surprises.

    "We''ll need to investigate and experiment with this; it may be that the frost wolf you found was an outlier amongst the bunch but if it isn''t¡­."

    "The value of Dungeons will skyrocket." Frost finished Jaina''s words.

    "Exactly thus I agree with guild master Ringwald we should keep this knowledge in house as long as we can. Let the residents of the Niflheim city-state enjoy the fruits before drawing the eyes of others.

    "Un." Frost and Ringwald nodded in agreement before discussing how they''d go about informing the council in the morning.

    Frost and his family left the party shortly after he''d finished talking with Ringwald and Jaina. He carried Nanna in his left arm and Loki in his right as the family of five walked back to the Lord''s manor which was their designated surface abode.

    The moment the doors were closed however they all teleported to the private space which was much more homely.

    "I''ll spend some time with Nanna and Loki before joining you two for the night." Frost gently kissed Maya and Daki before carrying the children to their bedroom.

    "Don''t make us wait too long, I haven''t gotten enough vitamin F." Daki flirtatiously winked as she rubbed her stomach which made Maya blush and Frost smile wildly, this woman was insatiable.

    Despite his desire growing, festering inside him and threatening to overwhelm his senses Frost calmed himself and gently tucked both Nanna and Loki into bed.

    He gazed softly at their faces as they rubbed their tired eyes. He wouldn''t get the chance to see this sight for quite some time.

    "Would you like me to read you a bedtime story?" Frost had heard that many father''s enjoyed doing this for their kids at night. It helped foster a sense of security and deepened the bond between father and child.

    "Un yes please." Loki wasted no time at all in epting the offer, his tiredness temporarily vanishing as excitement took over.

    Nanna however blushed a little, she wanted to ept but found it a little embarrassing given her age and forced maturity. But since she didn''t refuse Frost took that as a yes.

    He pulled up a nearby chair and removed a book from his personal storage, a novel called ''the rising of a pauper''.

    The novel focused on the life of a young girl who was born in the slums without any parents or support system. She had to work hard since she was ten years old and through that hard work she gained integrity and dedication. Qualities that drew people to her side as she grew and matured.

    By the end of the story the young girl was a full grown woman, over the years she''d gained a great many friends and had entered the world of nobility as an honourable A-rank adventurer who everyone respected.

    Unfortunately both Loki and Nanna failed to reach the end, falling asleep near the middle.

    ''They''re so adorable.'' Thought Frost as he kissed them goodnight and pulled up their covers, tucking them in for the night.

    He would be able join them for breakfast tomorrow morning but after that he''d be leaving with Avira, Borris and Kiba and would likely not return for several weeks at the earliest. A long, long time to be away from his family considering he''d only lived for just over a year.

    He quietly closed the bedroom door and almost instantly donned apletely different persona. His aura changed from that of a loving father to one of a lust driven beast with an insatiable appetite.

    His earlier foray with Maya and Daki was glorious but was far from being able to satisfy the amount of desire he''d built up over thest two weeks.

    A predatory smile adorned Frost''s lips as he walked towards his bedroom.

    Opening the door he was met with a most tantalising sight. His two lovers were baring their all, their supple skin and most hallowed areas presented before his eyes as theyy atop of one another. Their massive asses that were akin to a pair of giant moons were pointed in his direction, drawing his lustful gaze.

    Frost audibly gulped as a sudden thirst assaulted his senses, his blood began to boil and his manhood swiftly rose to attention, threating to tear apart his schrly robes.

    With Daki resting below, herrge, toned green orbs supporting the slightly small but far softer white moons of Maya above the two women were presenting a feast for his eyes, begging him to dig in.

    And that''s exactly what he did.

    With a predatory smile reaching from one ear to the next Frost disrobed, revealing his toned physique that could drive even the most reserved of women wild.

    Halfway down his form a mighty spear was piercing the heavens, its frightening length and terrifying thickness that rivalled that of the women''s forearms promised to deliver untold devastation upon its targets as it repeatedly pulsed and throbbed.

    A seductive aroma escaped the two women as their gates began to leak precious nectar in preparation for the uing siege.

    "There''s no way in hell the two of you are going to be walking around tomorrow." Frost boldly stated as he approached the seductive sandwich.

    His provocative words made the women tremble in delight as joyful smiles adorned their lips, they craved such an event, right down to their very souls.

    Frost presented with two options both equally sulent wasted no time diving in, with skilled hands and even greater tongue work he readied his lovers for the pounding of a lifetime.

    Thankfully there was still a little DP left in the pot, so they''d be able to quicky reced the bed and other furniture in the room that was almost certain to not survive the night.

    For the next several hours, all the way until sun had risen high in the sky Frost unleashed his pent up desire upon the two women. He gave no quarter and took not a single break; his lust was just too much and unfortunately or fortunately Daki and Maya paid the price.

    By the time Frost left the room with a glorious smile on his face, through the doorway the remains of what could only be described as sexual carnagey in his wake.

    Maya was on the bed in a catatonic state, her ass high up in the air as thick white liquid drippled down her leg. Her entire body ached and quivered at the slightest breeze. Her bones and muscles were akin to jelly after having achieving nirvana so, so many times. She was truly no match for the man that was Frost.

    Her sister lover Daki was no better, shey against the side of bed with a smile that eerily stretched across her entire face, her eyes had rolled back into her head as she squirmed in ravenous pleasure. Her right hand caressed her partially blotted stomach in a possessive manner as her sacred gates did their best to prevent the escape of Frost''s seed.

    Her muscr thighs and bountiful ass cheeks were more red than green due Frost discovering a shared fetish. She enjoyed being spanked, hard and Frost enjoyed spanking her toned physique.

    The orc subus had never had such a wild night, Frost had well and truly satisfied the insatiable beast that dwelled inside her. A feat no one had ever been able achieve even with weeks of effort and or backup. He truly was her ideal man, perhaps even too ideal.

    Frost''s sexual appetite made even her a descendant of a subus tremble. Thisst battle proved something to both her and Maya¡­.he still had more to give, a lot more.

    Though possessive and reluctant to share, the two women in their practically unconscious state had the exact same thought running through their minds.

    ''We need more sisters.'' Yes if Frost was to be truly satisfied just Daki and Maya were far from enough to kept up with his stamina.

    Frost waspletely oblivious to their thoughts as he stretched his body, feeling as light as a feather.

    "That was amazing, shame we had to cut it short, but don''t worry I promise to give you even more love when I return from the cial mountains." He said in a loving manner which caused the two women to visibly tremble in fear.

    ''Fuck!'' They both internally cursed as their bodies both instinctively feared such a future as well as longed for it.

 Chapter 668 Feasting upon flames

    Noticing that the living room as well as the kitchen was upied Frost quickly shut his bedroom door behind him, he couldn''t have Nanna idently seeing the carnage his lust wrought upon his lovers.

    Loki also had to be prevented from seeing it, but his sister was at a more sensitive age, puberty was just on the horizon.

    To make sure his little angel couldn''t be corrupted he quicky dashed into the bathroom, cast multiple clean up spells and even rapidly showered before entering the living room and kitchen area.

    "Master." Loki called out with a big smile. He was currently sitting on the sofa with a holographic screen depicting the Dungeon floating before him.

    The young Phoenix kin was doing his morning rounds, inspecting a few key areas of the Dungeon and receiving a few reports from the monster officers as he waited for his breakfast.

    Nearby in the kitchen area Nanna was hard at work preparing the meals for both herself and her brother. Usually she''d do this with Maya, but she''d already been warned that she and Daki and perhaps Frost would be indisposed at this time thus she was cooking alone.

    "Master." Nanna stopped humming a little tune and turned down the cooking fire before unabashedly charging into Frost''s arms.

    Though normally she''d be embarrassed to act in such a manner she knew that her beloved master was leaving home for quite a while thus her affection ovee her embarrassment.

    Frost caught her in his arms and hugged her tight, relishing in the bless as he loving stroked her head.

    It didn''t take long for him to feel another set of arms grabbing him from behind.

    "Hehehe." Lokiughed with a smug grin as he rubbed his face against Frost''s back.

    His heart was fiercely assaulted by their cuteness and threatened to buckle in the face of their attacks. Even his lust towards Maya and Daki seemed to fail inparison to his desire to hold and cherish these little angels.

    His uing expedition suddenly feltcking and almost irritating but still he did not cave. This journey was necessary, even if he''d rather stay home and enjoy the delights of being a father and husband he couldn''t.

    The three of them stood still like this for a good few minutes only separating when the smell of breakfast started to change.

    Though clearly reluctant to let go Nanna separated from her master and ran back to the kitchen to finish her preparations.

    "Will Maya and Daki be joining us?" She asked while opening the Dungeon menu for more ingredients.

    A prideful smirk grew on Frost''s lips as he pictured the state he left his lovers in. "No it''ll just be us." There was no chance in hell those two could even move let alone walk to the dining room table and eat.

    "Oh." Nanna replied with a smile, grateful that she and her brother -but mostly her- would get to enjoy Frost''spany without having to share.

    She thus decided to up her game a little, adding a few choice ingredients that were harder than normal to prepare, hoping to earn his approval and praise. Once again she started humming that little tune of hers.

    ''She''s bing more and more like Maya as time passes.'' Frost gazed at Nanna''s back with a smile on his face before carrying Loki to the sofa so as to assist him with his morning rounds.

    "Anything interesting happening?" He asked, keen to gauge the young boy''s improvements.

    "Not really but since everyone knows that you''re going to be leaving for a while all the monsters especially the officers are rather downcast." Nothing abnormal was happening in the Dungeon but since the mood was rather depressing amongst the monsters there were more deaths, adventurers were finding it easier than normal to delve deeper.

    "I see." Frost replied in a thoughtful tone, having emotionally intelligent monsters was both a boon and a curse.

    ''Perhaps I should have taken some time to give a proper farewell.'' He briefly thought before shaking his head, there was a fine line he needed to draw between himself and his many monster now. He was their liege; their master and they were his servants.

    Their rtionship could no longer be as close as it once was, that care was reserved solely for those he''d named such as Findley, Khuno and Yuna as well as perhaps a few more long time officers.

    "If it bes a bigger issue have Khuno discipline them." Though he had no problem with them feeling a little sad and despondent but if it affected their work then that was another story.

    "Un." Loki nodded his head before answering the rest of his master''s questions knowing that this was a good teachable moment.

    "Breakfast''s ready!" Several minutester Nanna''s charming voice could be heard as she called them to the table for food.

    "Hoh this looks delightful Nanna, you''ve improved again."

    "Hehe thank you master." A pink colour shed across Nanna''s cheeks as she smiled and wiggled in her seat. She loved receiving genuine praise, something she never got in her early years.

    Even if she did a good job as a ve and behaved the only thing she and her brother got was a less painful beating, a stark contrast to now.

    "Mmnn it tastes even better than it looks, you truly do have talent as a chef." Frost was always generous with hispliments, but he never lied.

    "Umu sis has be such a good cook." Said Loki with his cheeks stuffed with food, looking like a chipmunk preparing for winter.

    The three of them, one adult and two children quietly devoured the food in front of them with gentle smiles on their faces. There was an air of peace and home surrounding them that filled their hearts withfort.

    "Remember to keep up with your studies while I''m gone but don''t forget to rx and enjoy yourselves as well, you''re both still children after all." Frost spoke after finishing his meal, his te practically licked clean.

    "Un." With a mixture of sadness and warmth in their hearts Nanna and Loki both nodded their heads.

    "You''ll likely have a lot on your te but always remember that you''re not in this alone. If you feel that you''re overwhelmed, confused or just struggling know that Maya, Daki, Findley, Khuno and Yuna will be there to help you." Again the two children nodded their heads, but a clear redness was building up around their eyes.

    Knowing how attached the two children had be to him Frost shook his head and smiled before getting up from his seat and walking towards the two of them.

    "Come here." He said softly while picking the two of them up and holding them tight against his chest.

    "I promise to return as soon as I''m able so please don''t make such expressions¡­send me off with a smile, won''t you do that for me, Nanna, Loki." With a soothing tone, filled with fatherly love Frost asked them to show their adorable smiles.

    Nanna and Loki trembled slightly in his arms upon hearing his request but like well behaved children they listened to their father and did their best to look up at him with a smile.

    "Much better." Frost smiled in return before carrying them towards the sofa where in the twoid against his shoulders with their arms wrapped around his chest as though trying to imprint themselves on his body, so he''d never forget them. It was an adorable action that Frost thoroughly enjoyed.

    The three of them sat in silence for a good twenty minutes, allowing their hearts to once again be at ease and for their recently eaten food to go down.

    "Onest thing." Feeling that his time was drawing short Frost retrieved something from the Dungeon''s vault.

    A momentter an encased silver me appeared above his hand, instantly lowering the surrounding temperature, Frost''s hand even developed ayer of ice.

    The sudden arrival of the high earth rank cold me sent the young phoenix kins'' instincts into overdrive. An intense desire and hunger overtook the children''s senses, their eyes narrowed as if they caught sight of the most delectable prey. Their bodies tensed up, their hands tightly gripping Frost''s robes as their heads turned to gaze at the mesmerising me.

    "Grrr." An audible growl escaped their lips at practically the same moment and an instantter both Nanna and Loki attempted to leap from theirfortable positions with saliva dripping from their mouths. They werepletely lost in their instincts.

    Thankfully Frost was well prepared for this eventuality and as though he was very experienced in such movements Frost restrained both Nanna and Loki, preventing them from moving any closer to the floating cold me.

    ''Haaaaa even after all our training they still can''t restrain themselves when it''s in such close proximity.''

    To Loki and Nanna the cold me before them was equivalent to the most delicious piece of meat imaginable.

    Their ancestor species was that of an ancient ice phoenix, a being that could rival dragons and behemoths in regards to strength and purity of bloodline. And what did this ancient monster feast on for sustenance¡­cold mes, the higher ranked the better.

    This desire and hunger was thus passed down to Nanna and Loki despite their inability to feast upon such high quality goods. Even if it would lead to an inevitable death their instincts screamed for them to eat, to devour the silverly me swaying before their eyes.

    Frost and Maya worked on training their restraint over the past few months but when its scent, its mesmerising glow danced within arms reach there was nothing the two children could do.

    They thus devolved starving animals.

 Chapter 669 Interim Lord

    Frost internally sighed as both Nanna and Loki desperately tried to escape his grip and dive headfirst into the high earth rank cold me that floated before them.

    They''d gotten a little better in terms of restraint over the past few months but when the me entered such close proximity the two devolved into starving beasts,pletely forgetting the fact that their bodies would be unable to endure the frigid energies contained within the me.

    Knowing this Frost still retrieved the me from his hallowed vaults, why because this would be thest time the two of them would get to ''enjoy'' its aura.

    Despite the circumstances and theplete loss of inhibition just being near such a high quality me was beneficial for the two of them plus¡­

    With skilled control Frost pulled a wisp, a tendril as thin as a few human hairs from the cold me. He then split this tendril in two and had them float towards Nanna and Loki.

    "Eat." He said and a momentter both Nanna and Loki devoured their tendrils with ravenous desire.

    The instant the thin tendrils entered their bodies Nanna and Loki shivered, their eyes glowed bright as the wisp of silver me descended down into their stomachs and burst open with frigid energy.

    Their breathing becameboured and cold, the air escaping their lungs was filled with ice crystals and a thinyer of frost grew over their skin as the me flowed through their bloodstream and reached their organs.

    The two phoenix kin looked like a pair of children suffering intense hyperthermia after being stuck in the snow for hours but unlike regr children they weren''t feeling pain rather they feltfort and satisfaction.

    The frost upon their bodies soon melted and their shivering stopped after a minute or so. The two quickly returned to their usual state, but their hunger was far from satisfied. The small tendril only seemed to heighten their desires rather than curb their growing hunger.

    "Haaaaa so greedy." Frost sighed and shook his head before pulling out more me tendrils and feeding them to the adorable brats held in his arms.

    Frost continued to hand feed Nanna and Loki their dessert andst meal of cold mes with a gentle smile on his face.

    Once the two were finally full, their ravenous instincts retreated, and an intense exhaustion overwhelmed them. Nanna and Loki fell into a peaceful slumber with a smile on their lips and bulging stomachs.

    Carefully Frost removed himself from the sofa and ced the two of them across the cushions. He then withdrew a nearby nket and tucked them in before nting a kiss on their foreheads.

    Katcha

    He also didn''t forget to preserve such an idyllic scene for the memory banks by using the camera feature of the Dungeon menu.

    Nearly 80% of the photos stored within the Dungeon''s vault were of the two adorable angels now resting against one another.

    The rest were mainly made of up of restricted pictures that only Frost was allowed ess to, for example a certain picture of a particr orc subus in a rather provocative pose and specific lingerie. Of course there were a few ''normal'' pictures i.e. of his monsters, opening days of certain businesses in the city and even a few adventurers -The Amazonian Beauties- but most were of his family.

    With his lovers satisfied, his kidsforted and fed it was time for Frost to wrap things up and head out. He really didn''t want to earn the ire of a primordial God after all.

    Frost teleported from the private space to the lord''s manor where Yuna was ready and waiting for him in her secretary uniform.

    "Master." She bowed and saluted in a respectful manner.

    "Yuna I hope I didn''t keep you waiting."

    "Perish the thought master, you''re right on time. Thest council member just arrived and they''re all ready and waiting for you inside." Yuna quickly denied histeness before leading him to the meeting chamber where all the council members were waiting, ALL of them.

    "Lord."

    "Lord Frost."

    "Your Lordship." The council members all gave their greetings as Frost entered the room. This time however there was clearly more awe and reverence in their tones. This man before them was no longer just an owner of a highly developed camp, no he was the ruler of a city-state, the early stages of a nation, a future king, perhaps even emperor.

    "Please be seated everyone." Frost took his seat at the head of the table while Yuna as usual stood to his left.

    "Now I''m sure I don''t need to tell you the main reason I''ve summoned you all here." Frost had already mentioned during several meetings in the past that he''d be leaving for a while.

    "Yes you''ve informed us of your intentions Lord Frost but is it really the best time for you to leave.

    I know that our territory now has a massive wall that can protect us from our enemies but there''s still so much more we need to do internally." One of the major merchants who joined the territory in its early stages spoke up, clearly wanting Frost to stay and help galvanise the city''s internal development.

    Several other council members that included Calder and Rana also nodded their heads in agreement. Having the Lord present within the territory made a great difference when it came to its active growth.

    Frost was the leading force of the development, the arrangement strictly followed his will meaning that if a problem cropped up the council would struggle to provide an alternate solution without his direct input, Frost held the majority of the power after all.

    "I understand your concerns but don''t worry, in my absence Yuna will be fulfilling my role as interim Lord with my partner Maya overseeing her actions. The two of them together have my ''full'' authority."

    This didn''t just mean that Yuna would represent Frost in his role as the head of the council and Lord of the territory but that she''d also be inmand of the ronso guards. A powerful military outfit that was beholden to Frost and Frost alone.

    Frost''s words caused several council members to look at Yuna in a new light, before she was a capable secretary and a monster with impressive strength but now it was clear that she was far more important to their lord than they first realised.

    Of course there were a couple who frowned upon hearing this. Whether they had something against monsters, Yuna in particr or in regards to Frost in general only they knew but Frost had taken precautions against such events. He knew that his absence could lead to a few people fostering some rebellious thoughts but with the ronsos having unquestionable loyalty he wasn''t that worried.

    In fact he weed them to try and overthrow him that way they''d be able to crush the annoying rats all at once.

    "I should be back after several weeks but in case my expedition takes a little longer I''ve already left development ns with Yuna so there''ll be no shortage of nned work."

    "Understood." The council members could only grumbly ept Frost''s decision.

    Before deciding to officially hand over his position to Yuna, Frost nced at Ringwald who nodded his head in reply.

    "There is one other reason that I summoned each of you here." The council members perked up their ears, curiosity festering in their hearts as they moved on from Frost''s departure.

    "A rather delicate discovery has been made recently, one which could alter the very bnce of world." His words raised a lot of eyebrows.

    "Now before I continue I need to say that this information isn''t concrete as of yet and that only myself, Jaina and Ringwald of the adventurers'' guildhave been made aware of it." Frost nced at Ringwald who continued his words.

    "Lord Frost and I believe that this information should remain a secret, privy only to those of the Niflheim city-state for as long as possible thus allowing us to first benefit from the bounty before all others." With both Frost and Ringwald acting this way the council members couldn''t help but be on edge.

    The merchants in particr could smell the stench of profit, their lips naturally started to turn upwards into greedy smiles.

    It was these people Frost and Ringwald were most worried about but nevertheless they were also council members.

    "Yuna if you wouldn''t mind." Yuna nodded her head before handing out a certain document to each of the council members seated before her.

    "Please read the information described in the document, it exins everything my master discovered as well as some of our ns in benefitting from said information."

    The council members quickly scanned the document and almost instantly, especially amongst the merchants eyes rapidly blinked and hands began to shake.

    "I¡­i¡­is this for real?" Calder asked with a pronounced stutter, the cogs in his mind going mad from the information.

    "Un, my master has sessfully contracted with a monster from the Dungeon, specifically a frost wolf, an E-rank monster." Yuna who was going to be the interim lord naturally took control of the conversation as dictated by Frost. Since she was going to be the one handling the issue he thought it''d be best to have her take control early on.

    With her confirmation nearly everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

    This truly was something paradigm shifting.

 Chapter 670 Interim Lord (2)

    Under Yuna''s lead as well as the asional input from Ringwald and confirmations by Frost the council became fully informed of the situation and broke into a thorough debate.

    Thankfully it seemed that the merchants Frost was initially worried about were of no consequence. They disyed natures simr to Ringwald and Jaina, choosing to rather forgo promises of substantial profits in leu of protecting Niflheim''s interests as a growing nation.

    The group discussed at length, diving deep into the possible scenarios depending on the adventurers guild''s future findings as well as generating long term ns.

    Seeing this Frost couldn''t help but smile from ear to ear, his subordinates were very capable. Even without him being present, his territory would continue to flourish at an advanced rate. Another weight was lifted from his shoulders allowing him to once again look forward to his uing expedition.

    "This topic clearly warrants much more discussion but unfortunately I''m out of time." Frost spoke up just as the topic was truly getting underway, drawing the gazes of everyone in the room.

    After silently waiting for a few seconds Frost stood up from his chair and ced a hand on Yuna''s shoulder.

    Knowing what was about to happen each of the council members also stood up and crossed their arms across their chests.

    "Yuna I Frost, Lord of the Niflheim city-state hereby grant you the authority of interim Lord during my absence. Do you ept this mantle, to lead and protect the citizens of our flourishing city-state?"

    Yuna felt goosebumps form across her arms as Frost''s tone, stance and natural aura sent chills down her spine. Her beloved master was just too cool.

    "Yes, master I promise to uphold your expectations to the best of my ability and not betray your trust." Yuna bowed her head in a very respectful manner, doing her best to keep a straight face.

    "Very well, it is done, from now on any decisions regarding the development and running of the Niflheim city-state need your express approval, good luck interim lord."

    "Congrattions Interim Lord Yuna."

    "Greetings to the new Interim Lord."

    As if perfectly choreographed each of the council members saluted Yuna and bowed their heads. Most enjoyed this little fanfare knowing that it sounded far more serious that it actually was.

    "Un, I leave the territory in your capable handsdies and gentlemen." Frost announced after Yuna took her seat at the head of the table.

    "Good luck on your journey Lord Frost."

    "Safe travels Lord Frost."

    "Remember to bring back souvenirs." Thestment was made by Calder who had arge grin stered across his face. His eyes glinting with the prospect of receiving something rare that could only be found deep within the cial mountains.

    Frost eyed up his merchant friend and smirked "I''ll see what I can do." He said before leaving room.

    "Findley the Dungeon''s defences will be under jurisdiction until I return, I''ve already increased your spending limit by an additional 30%." Once he left the Lord''s manor Frost opened up a telepathicmunication channel with Findley, his right hand man.

    "Thank you master, I won''t fail you." The voice of a respectful soldier was heard in reply.

    "Un." Frost nodded before connecting to some of his other monsters.

    "Khuno there''ll likely be a few incidents while I''m away, coordinate well with Yuna and remember to keep a close eye on Nanna and Loki. I don''t need to tell what will happen if something happens to either one of them right?" Frost''s final words wereced with terrifying intent, so much so that even Khuno a B-rank monster felt his spine shiver.

    "Of course milord, such a thing will never happen under my watch."

    "Good, I''ll see you in several weeks then."

    "Safe travels milord."

    "Kiba hurry up and get your ass to the gate!" After saying farewell to his left and right hand men Frost activated his soul connection and roared in an irritated manner causing a certain winged cial tiger to spring to his feet and dash towards the city''s main gate.

    20 minutester Frost arrived with Kiba as well as his contracted frost wolf at the City''s new main gate. There by the side was aidback Borris with arge Warhammer strapped to his back, te armour that covered the majority of his body and a gourd of alcohol by his side. The man was certainly geared up for the adventurer of the lifetime.

    "Are you sure you can move well in something like that?" Frost asked doing his best to hide his snigger.

    Surprisingly however the moment he finished speaking Borris jumped to his feet, grasped his hammer and was standing right in front of him with arge grin on his lips.

    "You should never judge a book by its cover young Frost, doing so may lead to an unfortunate ident." Said Borris in a sagely manner.

    "¡­.Thank you for the lesson." Frost was truly caught by surprise. He assumed that given the extent of his armour as well as his age that Borris would be heavily guarded but rather slow.

    On closer reveal however he could see that the te armour was not nearly as heavy as it appeared, plus the joints were incredibly flexible granting the wearerplete range of movement.

    Borris himself was also a lot more physically fit than he first imagined, his ripped muscles were usually hidden behind thick heat resistant cloth. Underneath the man looked as spry as a man half his age, thanks to regaining his passion and drive. The pampering and good food of the Niflheim camp now city-state certainly helped as well.

    "Is this something you developed here?" Frost asked curious about the armour he was wearing.

    "Yeah, it''s the first 4 star armour set I''ve ever made[Moonlight''s embrace]. A durable yet flexible te armour that''ll protect me as I travel under the direct gaze of the moon." This was an armour set built for someone travelling through the natural world, under open skies. A poetic and perhaps a little cheesy description but one that wasmon among artists such a Borris.

    "Your wife helped me with the final forging, thatss is an utter monster, far more talented than I am." Though proud of his own aplishments Borris raised his hands inplete surrender when it came to Daki. Her talent far outshone his own and not by a small margin.

    "A year probably less and she''ll already be at my level, haaaaaa almost makes you want to give up the craft when you see such a monstrous genius doing what took you decades to master." Though he sounded slightly depressed and clearly envious the fire that fuelled his passion was more aze than ever. Seeing Daki''s capabilities only spurred him on more.

    "Thank you Borris." Frost genuinely thanked him for all he''d done while in his territory, especially the time he took to train and teach Daki.

    "No need for thanksd, I was more than happy to help out a diamond in the making." Daki would go far in her craft of this he was certain. By helping her in her early years he would cement his role in guiding this rising star.

    After greeting Borris, Frost''s gaze was then drawn to the individual standing next to him, who was also awaiting his arrival.

    The person was bundled up in a mixture of monster leather armour and thick cloth that couldbat the frigid temperatures of the cial mountains.

    Their hair was tied up revealing its long length, but the style was clearly unisex, and it appeared rather dull and dry for the hair of a woman.

    They had a thin sword sheathed at their waist, slighter thicker than a rapier, a weapon designed for quick attacks but that wasn''t all. Adorning their hands were sturdy looking gauntlets with spikes along the knuckles and hidden along their sleeve were pockets filled with throwing daggers of some sort. It was almost impossible to identify this person''s true battle style.

    Frost couldn''t help but smile at this sight finding the person truly mysterious, he was 100% sure that none of the visible weapons were their true style. The situation was either a very in depth ruse or this person was well and truly skilled in many different weapons.

    ''It''s probably a bit of both.''

    "V" Frost uttered the codename Avira requested resulting in the mysterious figure nodding their head and walking towards them.

    Frost leaned down and whispered in the Princess'' ear. "You''re actually quite enjoying this covert style aren''t you?"

    "Shut up!" Avira or V snapped with a fierce re, her hidden cheeks reddening at being so tantly caught.

    It was true, ignoring the pressure she was under, and the loss of her closest confidants Avira was truly enjoying the act of travelling incognito, pretending to be some mysterious adventurer rather than a sheltered princess. She even spend 3 days thinking up the ideal codename that wouldn''t give her away and wasn''t too cheesy i.e. V.

    "Hehehe" Frostughed while under her re finding her rather cute, teasing her and making her act naturally was much better than seeing her constantly on edge.

    "Your weapons, are you truly skilled in them all or are they all a feint to add depth to your ''character''?"

 Chapter 671 Deciding with route to take

    Avira took a little offence to Frost''s word choice but nheless she answered him honestly.

    "Both. I''m skilled in many forms of weapons due to my upbringing and personal talents however that is unknown to anyone bar my deceased parents and my shadow guard teachers." A sh of pain appeared in her eyes as she referred to her parents as deceased, but she quickly carried on.

    "To the public I''m simply a sheltered princess who has a modicum of magical talent thus my disguise is a stark contrast to what they may expect." Her brothers and their subordinates weren''tpletely ipetent nor were the many powers that retained a vested interest in the Empire''s political state.

    Is she didn''t take extreme precautions to disguise herself in public then it was all but guaranteed that a group of assassins would soon be on her trail. Spies were all around her, whether knowingly or not word would quickly spread.

    "To the public eh." Frost noticed the modicum of pride in her words, this little princess was hiding a great deal.

    He unconsciously smiled as ideas about their uing expedition formed in his mind. With that little bit of pride in her tone Avira had drawn the man''s interest, he wanted to test her, to see how ''talented'' she really was.

    From the Dungeon he could see that her strength was equivalent to someone at the C-rank, an impressive feat considering she was only a couple years older than Leo and Luna.

    Avira feeling a shiver down her back turned her head to look at Frost''s face. She noticed the growing smile on his lips and couldn''t help but slightly blush as her mind delved into a few private obscenities.

    ''God dammit why does he have to be so damn hot!?'' Frost was truly a feast for the eyes even for someone like her who was used to seeing the upper echelon of what could be considered beauty, hell she herself was quite the catch.

    What really drove her mind towards these thoughts however was the rejection and total indifference he showed to her when she first arrived. Frost wasn''t even the slightest bit interested in her, her the princess of one of thergest empires on the continent. That never before seen rejection made his current smile all the more devasting.

    "We should head off soon, have you both prepared your supplies?" Pulling away from his thoughts Frost asked.

    Chapter Explore:

    "I''m ready to go when you ared, V?" Borris had already been informed of the princess'' current situation and identity so as discussed he also used her ''cute'' codename.

    "Same but exactly how will we be travelling? You haven''t told us anything about our route or transport." Avira had amply prepared -in her mind- for their journey to Icethorne but the chosen route, estimated travel time, stop points etc.. she waspletely in the dark about. Everything was left to Frost.

    Borris was in the same position; Frost hadn''t told him a single detail about their route but unlike Avira he was more than happy to leave the details to Frost given that he''d never entered the cial mountains before. He trusted himpletely.

    "I''ve got several routes nned out but which one we take depends on a few things." Frost sagely said while rubbing his chin in thought.

    "Such as?" Avira asked, keen to finally get some details. She wasn''t too bothered about the route per say but more so the travel time and rest stops.

    Since the trip would likely take at least a week she needed to know about the sleeping arrangements, were they going to solely camp outdoors, taking turns to guard against local monsters or would they rest in established towns, viges, camps and other nexus points that had been prepared for travellers.

    Though the cial mountains was considered a high level danger zone it was quite popted and facilitated many trade routes between the kingdoms of the inner regions and the southern countries like Northrend.

    To amodate these plentiful trade caravans viges and camps were erected throughout the external regions. The Beta zone camp Frost visited before entering the monsterir [beginner''s ice magic] was one of these camps. There, all manner of travellers would gather, to seek shelter from the harsh wilderness.

    "Well first off I''ll need to know both yours and Borris'' battle capabilities as there''s a few routes that are quicker but more hazardous." Frost with his B-rank strength was quite reassuring, but he was just one man, protecting two burdens against a heavy onught of monsters was far harder than if he was by himself.

    "I see¡­" Avira narrowed her eyes, understanding Frost''s reasoning.

    "And the other things?"

    "The current state of the monster habitats after the stampede, congestion of the route, possible tracking and finallyfort preference¡­.though your current get up paints a very good picture, you are still a princess who grew up in the royal capital. Are you prepared to frequently camp in the wild or do you require more stable shelter?" Frost asked without any hints of ridicule.

    It was unlikely that the beloved princess ever suffered much before the death of her parents thus he wouldn''t expect from her the same values as a rugged adventurer. Plus he himself even booked one of the priciest yurts when he stayed at the Beta zone camp therefore he had no leg to stand on if it came down to a debate. He liked luxury andfort and wasn''t ashamed to admit that.

    Seeing no ridicule in Frost''s gaze Avira smiled slightly and replied honestly. "Personally I would like to rest in camps rather than in the wild." Though she was willing to brave through the difort if necessary, if there was an option she''d obviously choose the one that was morefortable.

    Frost nodded his head before looking at Borris. "And you Borris?"

    "I''m fine either way to be honest. I''d like the chance to camp out in the wild like an adventurer, but I wouldn''t mind sleeping in a proper bed now and then." Borris unlike the Frost from several months ago was carrying with him quite the fortune that he''d saved up over his many years of service.

    He could more than afford the most luxurious amodations avable at the camps but since this was an adventure for him he wanted to go down a more rugged route.

    Frost stroked his chin again as he highlighted certain routes in his mind, narrowing down their choices.

    "What about transport Frost? are we walking the entire way, hiring a carriage or¡­" This would again determine how long the journey would take, something Avira was keen to know. The sooner she could reach Icethorne the better after all.

    Once there not only would her safety be guaranteed but she''d be able to truly begin her quest to avenge her parents and im what was rightfully hers.

    "Hmm isn''t that obvious." Frost replied with a bit of confusion. "Our rides are already here." He pointed behind where a rambunctious Kiba was teasing a poor frost wolf that wasn''t even half his size.

    "Borris will ride my frost wolf while V will ride with me on Kiba here that way we won''t be restricted to travelling in slow carriages and can easily dictate our own route." This was an option full of freedom, perfect for traveling incognito and with great speed.

    Borris looked behind Frost and eyed up the young wolf, he gazed at it for a few seconds before nodding his head finding it to be a fine specimen, a little weak considering its master''s strength but perfect for someone like him.

    Avira meanwhile blushed and felt butterflies in her stomach as she imagined being in such close proximity to Frost for their journey. To travel on the same mount as a man was rather indecent for a royal princess such as her no... She didn''t voice anyints about it, however.

    "With that settled let''s get moving, you can show me your strengths once we leave the city, Kiba, wolf" Frost called for Kiba and the frost wolf who immediately went to his side.

    "You''ll serve as his mount for the journey, take could care of him and follow Kiba''s and my instructions to a tee got it." He instructed the recently contracted wolf who nodded in acknowledgement before greeting Borris with a submissive head bump.

    "Wow he''s very well trained." Borris had seen several monster mounts during his time, but he''d rarely seen one so docile in its actions. Even the war steeds nurtured by the Frost Wolf Battalion still showed some of the wild nature regardless of how strict their training was. He didn''t know whether the wolf was special or if it was another quirk of the mysterious Frost.

    "He''s slower than Kiba but should be more than adequate for our current foray into the mountains, don''t rely too much on his battle capabilities, however. He may be smart but he''s still only an E-rank monster."

    "Un" Borris grunted before skilfully ascending the wolf''s back.

    "Hmm it''s ratherfy." He quite like his new seat, particrly the increase in height it granted him.

    "V." Frost stretched out his hand to Avira so as to help her reach Kiba''s back. An act that drew the young woman out of her fantasies. She blushed even more upon seeing his gentle smile and outstretched hand.

    "I...I''m fine I can get on myself." With a slight stutter Avira used her hood to mask expression before elegantly leaping upwards andnding on Kiba''s wide and fluffy back.

    Frost''s smile stretched as he witnessed her acrobatics.

    ''Impressive.''

 Chapter 672 Testing their skills

    Following Avira''s elegant leap Frost jumped up andnded behind her, nestling himself in the middle of Kiba''s back while Avira sat at the front.

    "Let''s go." He said before Kiba dashed forward forcing Avira to tighten her legs so as to not fall off.

    Her face quickly developed a blush as she felt Frost''s chest resting against her back and shoulders. Her nose twitched and her blood heated up ever so slightly as a manly scent assailed her nostrils, she could get used to this.

    Borris and the frost wolf quickly followed after Kiba and soon the group departed from the city state of Niflheim and made their way towards the boundary that separated the southernnds from the cial mountains. Beyond this point was the official danger zone of the Yangmir continent.

    For a ce that wasbelled as a major danger zone the pathway was rather crowded. Flocks of adventurers could be seen entering between the two massive mountains alongsiderge trade caravans bothing and going with hefty supplies.

    With the monster stampede having recently ended and with Frost''s territory rapidly flourishing the southern entrance was far more congested than normal. However thanks to the sheer size of the entrance there was no queues nor were there any traffic idents even among thergest of caravans.

    Several adventurers and merchants that recognised both Kiba and Frost nodded their heads as they passed while some even waved and loudly greeted him. Frost had be quite the icon among the locals recently.

    Frost and his group travelled for roughly an hour before stopping near an empty snow field.

    "Borris how about you go first." Frost intended to gauge how strong his twopanions were before travelling much further.

    "Alright but just so you know I''m not much of a fighter though I''m confident in my defence." Borris loudly beat the te armour adorning his chest before leaping from the back of the frost wolf.

    "That''s fine I just need to get an urate read." Frost would test them both personally before finding an appropriate monster opponent.

    Frost and Borris stood several metres apart while Avira observed with keen interest.

    "Attack me with all you have, using whatever means you can, weaponry, magic, chakra, skills all is fair." Though his words coulde across as patronising and perhaps rather arrogant considering the age difference between them, Borris truly wasn''t much of a fighter. He was more than a fair bit weaker whenpared to Avira ording to the Dungeon''s estimation.

    "Alright." Borris didn''t feel insulted and instead took Frost''s words seriously.

    He withdrew his hammer and held in firmly with both hands. Finding a steady centre of gravity Borris slowly starting moving closer to Frost before picking up speed. Once his charging momentum was at maximum he raised his hammer overhead and activated a skill that seemed to be unique to those adept in the smithing arts.

    "[Hammering anvil]" Red energy formed around the face of the hammer, greatly increasing its force and through his eyes Borris could see points throughout Frost''s body, possible faults which could be hammered for maximum effect.

    As Borris'' mighty hammer came down with great destructive force, aiming for Frost''s left wrist the target in question remained stationary until the veryst second.

    Frost easily avoided the blow causing the hammer to crash against the snow. He observed Borris as he clumsily retrieved his hammer and went back on the attack.

    ''His linear movement isn''t bad, but his recovery time is abysmal.'' He judged while dodging several more blows that contained a great deal of power butcked speed and flexibility.

    Keen to test out his defensive reactions Frost threw a punch. Borris noticed the attack but was too slow to avoid it thus Frost''s fist struck his te armour.

    Don!

    The sound was loud, and Borris was forced to slide across the snow from the blow while Frost shook his hand, feeling an aching pain across his knuckles.

    ''That''s certainly a tough set of armour.'' He estimated that even a full strength blow from one of his ronsos would merely leave a small scratch upon it.

    "Your power''s not bad but youck flexibility and agility. Come at me again but this time only use 80% of your strength, use the remainder to reorient your stance after your initial attack fails."

    "Ok." Borris took a deep breath before once again charging at Frost with his hammer raised. This time when he attacked there was a little less force, but he was far faster in terms of recovery.

    Although he was nowhere near fast enough to catch someone like Frost, an average D-rank monster was within his range. His practically broken armour would help handle whatever blows he failed to block or avoid.

    Frost fought with Borris for about ten minutes before achieving his goal.

    "Without your armour you''re barely at the D-rank level but with it, as long as you focus on defence you''ll be able to endure an onught of several upper D-rank monsters perhaps even a few C-ranks, enough time for me to reach you at least."

    "Hu hu hu thanks hu hu." Borris huffed and puffed as he copsed onto the snow, his face red from exertion. He was used to swinging his heavy hammers but that was while staying in one ce and usually with a simple up and down motion. His legs however were clearly out of shape.

    "V you''re up." Seeing Borris withdraw a sk of water and start drinking from it Frost turned to Avira, it was her turn to strut her stuff.

    "Alright." She moved like a graceful cat quickly arriving before Frost with her weapons still sheathed.

    "Same conditions?" She asked with a hidden smile. Unlike Borris she was actually fairly strong, more than enough to catch this despicable man by surprise.

    Unfortunately Frost already had a decent idea regarding her strength. "Pretty much but with you I won''t be taking it so easy." Frost showed a mischievous grin before suddenly vanishing from his position.

    Avira was instantly on alert, her battle sense tingling as she scanned from side to side as well as behind her before looking up and seeing Frost crashing towards her.

    "[Cat steps]" Wasting no time at all Avira activated a movement skill that allowed her to gracefully avoid therge man falling towards her like a meteor.

    Boom!

    Thick plums of snow erupted from where Frostnded and with it he lost sight of Avira.

    "[Piercing gale]" Suddenly from behind Avira thrust with her rapier like weapon, targeting his heart without even the slightest bit of mercy.

    Such resolve lit a small fire in Frost, he was faced with a natural warrior.

    With a smile still on his lips he quite easily avoided the rapier and locked gazes with Avira for but a moment before the two of them backed away from one another.

    "Quick, silent and very deadly¡­impressive V." Frost felt his blood heating up as he summoned his ive and twirled it in the air.

    "You haven''t seen anything yet Lord Frost." With the expression of an enthralled warrior on her face Avira starting dancing on the snow, making it hard to predict her movements.

    ''A fighting style huh.'' Though he had seen a fair amount of adventurers few every had true fighting styles like his brother Karrick or Avira who was before him now.

    "[Cold fog]" As her dancing picked up speed Avira channelled her mana and activate a 2nd circle spell. Harmless but heavily obscuring fog formed several metres around both her and Frost, making eyes practically useless.

    Though he could easily disperse such a move Frost chose not to, keen to see the true fighting style of the famous Northrend princess.

    A woman that was supposedly a sheltered girl,cking the talents of her swordsman father and magically gifted mother was acting very much like an assassin.

    Moments after the fog was released Frost suddenly felt the hairs on the back of neck be erect. Not one to ignore his instincts he tightened his grip around his ive and closed his eyes, focusing more on his ears and spatial awareness.

    Fwoom!

    Suddenly a small daggerlike weapon pierced through the fog reaching a couple inches from his groin before being knocked down by his ive. A cold chill ran down Frost''s spine as he imagined the devastation such a blow could have wrought if he was but a moment toote.

    ''Vicious!'' He internally screamed before tensing his entire body and swinging his ive across the fog.

    Ding!

    His ive met with Avira; a metal baton wreathed in thick wind chakra blocked his sudden blow. Her eyes showed a glimpse of surprise before she licked her lips and vanished back into the fog.

    "You do realise that you''ll make some rather powerful enemies if you damage my manhood right?" Frost asked with his aura attached to his voice, a trick he''d been getting much better at recently.

    "Tsk, all''s fair remember, those were your words." Avira''s charming voice responded but it was impossible to tell from where, she was like a phantom in this fog.

    "Such a vicious princess, I weep for the man that has to marry you." Frost quickly ducked allowing Avira with her rapier to fly over his head before she once again vanished with her deft footwork.

    "Who says it''ll be a man." Avira teased before readying a faster, more deadly blow.

    Chapter Enjoy:

    "[Ghost de]" Her rapier was enveloped in a grey coloured energy as it vibrated and appeared somewhat illusionary. Then with the addition of ayer of wind chakra Avira also activated her [cat steps].

    Within an instant she was in front of Frost, her rapier already thrusting forward in an attempt to stab through his gut.

 Chapter 673 Testing their skills

    Frost''s brow was raised as he caught sight of Avira''s illusionary rapier fiercely thrusting towards his gut without much warning.

    ''So fast¡­.and deadly.'' The wild smile on his lips grew as his battle lust kicked into high gear, Avira was truly skilled.

    "[Ice shield]" Milliseconds before the de was set to meet with his armour Frost conjured a shield of ice and covered his gut in a denseyer of ice chakra.

    Crack!

    The ice shield swiftly cracked and shattered into a million pieces, but the dense chakra armour held up, preventing Avira''s de from prating his flesh.

    "Tsk" A loud tongue clicking was heard before Avira once again tried to vanish into fog, but this time Frost was ready for her.

    "Ut ant un, not this time little kitty cat." The moment her feet started dancing upon the snow and her body began to fade away Frost reached out and grabbed her right wrist, locking her in ce.

    He pulled Avira close, her face inches from his own as he stared into her eyes with a predatory grin. "To think that the beloved Princess of Northrend preferred the fairer sex, a definite scoop indeed¡­.but if that''s the case then why would she drool with desire when in my presence?" He proceeded to tease the young woman, bringing his body close to her own and threatening to kiss her fair lips.

    His skilful manoeuvres and teasing words instantly made Avira blush. She tried to look away from those enchanting eyes of his but only managed to move down towards his inviting lips. As if driven by instinct, she hungrily leaned forward, eager for a taste.

    Frost''s smile stretched to the limit as his teasing found its mark. Just when their lips were about to touch he immediately pulled back with a mocking expression.

    "Sorry my dear Princess but I''m already taken." He yfully teased, increasing the shade of red sprawled across the young woman''s cheeks.

    "Oh you''re drooling again V, how unbing." The young woman was like putty in his hands, so fun to mess with.

    "Ahhhhh!!! YOU ASSHOLE!!!!" Hisst remark however was thest straw, her embarrassmentpletely transitioned into pure rage. Avira tensed up her free arm causing her biceps to bulge as she formed a fist and ruthlessly punched Frost in the face.

    Frost not expecting such a sudden attack received a solid blow. His vision shook for a second and the grip he had on Avira''s wrist loosened, allowing her to escape and once again fade into the fog.

    Frost quickly scanned the vicinity but failed to find even the slightest trace of her, she had be a ghost.

    The hairs on the back of his neck stood erect and he gripped his ive hard realising that the real fight was set to begin, he had truly angered the little demon.

    Whoosh!

    Again a sharp dagger aimed straight for his groin, intending to deal him a significant blow. He managed to block the dagger with the shaft of his ive once again but the moment he did two more daggers flew through the fog targeting blind spots.

    Frost craned his neck to the left dodging one of them while he summoned a shield of ice to handle the second.

    "[Wind spike]" However the moment he moved to dodge, affecting his bnce, a green magic crest appeared beneath his feet.

    "Shit!" He cursed before leaping to the side, a momentter a spike made of wind pierced upwards from where he was just standing, once again his groin being the prime target.

    ''So vicious.'' Though he could feel an imaginary breeze blowing down there his excitement was growing, this battle was so much fun.

    For the next twenty minutes or so Frost endured Avira''s quick and deadly onught that was akin to the movements of an assassin. She was strong, incredibly strong.

    "Very impressive V, your strength can be considered at the mid stages of C-rank but with your timing and burst lethality you''d likely be able to handle those in the upper stages.

    A triple threat like myself, flexible, multi skilled and resourceful with nary a weakness." In his view for her rank Avira was perfect, her attack power, speed, reactions, battle instincts and defence capabilities were all at a high level. She was even able to endure sudden bursts of his aura without missing a step, she was well trained.

    "Tsk! You say that but I failed tond even a single scratch on you." Avira pouted as she sat on the cold snow floor, drinking from a sk of water. She went over the whole battle in her head and couldn''t help but feel irritated, she waspletely at Frost''s mercy.

    In her mind he wasn''t that much older than her, yet he was able to handle her like an adult does a child.

    ''Is the difference between C-rank and B-rank just that great or is Frost a perverse anomaly.'' She thought to herself.

    "I''d be more surprised if you didnd a clean blow -the punch not counting. Once you reach B-rank you''ll understand, plus your fighting style is rather poorly matched against my own." Avira was strong yes but the difference between C-rank and B-rank was a qualitive shift rather than a quantitative one.

    Plus Frost was particrly skilled at dealing with fast opponents due his training with Maya as well as his battle with Indra who was the personification of lightning.

    Avira grumbled in response, her mood rather sour because of her pitiful disy. No matter what Frost said she still failed in her opinion, her pride took a hit.

    ''Avira''s strength should allow us to take a more treacherous path if speed is key, Borris can simply rely on his te armour to endure.'' With their strengths revealed Frost was more certain of what routes they could now take. All that mattered now was their preference as well as onest test.

    Frost eyed up Borris and assumed he wouldn''t be a problem but when he looked at Avira he frowned. She was strong that''s for sure and clearly had good instincts but¡­.she''s likely never killed before.

    "Once V''s rested for a spell we''ll head deeper into the snow fields, I want to see how you handle a true life or death situation."

    "Alright but don''t pick something too strong, I''m old remember." Borris grunted as he got up from leaning against Kiba''s soft fur.

    ''Only when it''s annoying to do something does he call himself old.'' Frost bit his tongue to stop a fierce retort from escaping his lips.

    Avira visibly trembled when she heard the term life or death situation. She gazed a Frost and bit her lip knowing that her inexperience in killing had been revealed.

    She remembered the teachings of her mother as well as Dartanan who taught her how to fight.

    "Princess you may be incredibly talented when ites to battle, you''re skilled with both weapons and magic but never forget that unless you have the will to kill an enemy that talent is useless. If you hesitate to kill, it will be your undoing."

    "My dear daughter I hoped that you would remain as my little flower, unmarred by the world but it''s clear that that is no longer possible. There wille a day when your training will no longer be training, you will have to use your skills to end the life of another." Avira remembered the sudden shift in her mother''s demeanour as she spoke.

    The woman that was soft and approachable, always with a lovely smile on her face shifted to someone with an icy expression who emitted a deep bloodlust.

    "Never hesitate Avira, never." She quickly returned to the mother she knew after that, but Avira never forgot the stark contrast between the two states.

    ''I guess that time hase.'' She suddenly felt nervous and anxious, she had never killed anyone or anything before. She''d seen death especially during the night of her escape, but it was always someone else doing the deed.

    Avira look at her hands that had begun to tremble, she was afraid¡­.but such a time was inevitable. The moment she decided to pick up the sword and train her magical capabilities she was prepared.

    ''I won''t hesitate mother.'' She internally promised before storing away her sk and looking at Frost and Borris with clear determination.

    "Let''s go."

    Frost looked over Avira and smiled, he liked the look in her eyes.

    "Very well."

    The group continued their journey deeper into the mountains, Frost scanned the horizon and used his senses to search for appropriate opponents.

    Finding one for Borris was rather easy, the area was plentiful with upper E-rank and even D-rank monsters. They quickly came across a lone D-rank yeti.

    Frost, Kiba and Avira surrounded the monster to prevent it from escaping while Borris was sent up to challenge it by himself. The goal wasn''t necessarily for Borris to kill the creature but rather to test how well he handled a non-human target and if he had the stomach to go for the kill.

    The battle was anything but mourous in fact calling it aedy routine may have been more appropriate. Borris was outmatched when it came to speed and his reach was far shorter than that of his opponent''s.

    The Yeti practically toyed with him,unching flurried blows before moving out of harm''s way but gradually it started to grow cocky and make mistakes. Borris was naturally patient thanks to his profession, so he simply waited and waited until a perfect opportunity knocked on his door.

 Chapter 674 Testing their skills (2)

    The moment the yeti started to overextend itself, preparing for a more forceful wallop, Borris'' lips turned upwards. The older dwarf curled his toes, steadied his waist and summoned all the strength he could muster in his arms.

    "[Hammering anvil]!" With a loud roar red energy formed around the hammer''s face and Borris'' eyes revealed the weak points of his enemy.

    With great speed and delicate precision Borris caught the monster unaware. The yeti too engrossed in its own windup was easy pickings.

    Don!

    With a loud don Borris'' hammer struck across the yeti''s cheek, shattering its lower jaw and dislodging more than a few of its teeth.

    The mighty beast was knocked from its feet due to the sudden concussive force. It fell hard against the snow as stars danced in its eyes, its mind muddled by the blow.

    Wasting no time whatsoever Borris proceeded to deal the final blow. "[Final temper]" His hammer once again lit up with a fiery red glow but this time several illusionary hammers appeared behind making for a total of seven.

    Don! Don! Don! Don! Don! Don!

    Don!

    With his biceps threatening to blow apart his te armour Borris mmed his hammer down hard upon the yeti''s skull. Seven bloodcurdling sounds echoed as the first hammer cracked apart the monster''s hard skull while the following six hammerspletely blew it apart, turning its brain to mush.

    By the end Borris was covered in guts and brain matter, his beautifully forged te armour presenting a frightening image.

    "Huueee that was exhausting." Not even the slightest bit bothered by the remains decorating his armour and weapon Borris released a deep breath and began shuffling through the creature''s corpse in search of bounty.

    Seeing his actions Frost was all smiles, there truly wasn''t any need for him to worry when it came to Borris. The man was experienced and knew how to handle himself in a fight.

    He turned to look at Avira and found her frowning and covering her nose, ufortable with the sight before her.

    "Nice job Borris I can see that despite your age you''re still a man of action." Frost praised while nodding his head in approval.

    "Tch you can''t get to my age without bing a little desensitised to this stuff, oh there it is." With his hand covered in guts Borris pulled out the yeti''s magic crystal and ced it within his storage ring. He then unceremoniously took out a hunting knife and started removing the creatures pelt as well as its more sturdier bones, all of which could be fashioned into decent goods.

    "Geh!" Avira practically wretched when she saw the state of Borris. The blood, the gore and god the smell it made her cringe¡­but knowing that this was not just normal behaviour but behaviour that was encouraged so as to not waste a life she stubbornly forced herself to endure, staring at his every action without nary a blink.

    ''Not bad, she has the will.'' Both Frost and Borris internally praised the young princess, not many with her kind of upbringing could easily stomach such a sight.

    The group rested for a little while after disposing of the yeti''s corpse.

    Finding Borris a worthy opponent was easy given his roughly early level D-rank strength, Avira however was a challenge, but Frost did have some idea. An evil smile grew on his lips as he made a decision.

    "Let''s move I know the perfect opponent for our little V." He said with excitement in his voice, an excitement that made Avira feel a shiver down her spine.

    ''What''s this asshole nning and why does he keep referring to me as little?'' She really didn''t like him calling her that way.

    Though it sounded like a term full of endearment for her it felt insulting. Whenever she heard him refer to her as ''little'' her eyes would naturally drift downwards to her chest and images of Daki and Maya''s ''full'' figures would sh across her mind as if making a mockingparison.

    From just a simple word the young princess'' eyes were now full of mes whenever she gazed at Frost and his annoyingly handsome face, toned body and seductive smile¡­.. ''Ahhhh!'' She screamed internally finding it impossible to stay mad at such a prime specimen. Avira was experiencing an internal war and Frost had no idea.

    The monster Frost wanted to pit Avira against was a bit further in, so the group first visited the nearby Beta camp so as to get a better idea of their possible future lodgings. Frost also wanted to get some recent intel regarding the change in monster habitats as well as any political changes that had taken ce recently.

    Though most of the major nations resided within the inner and core regions there were still a few, such as the Three Flower Kingdom dotted around the external regions which their group would likely have to either pass by or even through.

    Frost let Borris and Avira explore the camp alone while he went to visit an old acquaintance for the information, believing that she''d know more than what was just rumours and on the camp''s information board.

    "Well well if it isn''t our charming young prodigy Frost, have you finally decided to take up my offer, I''m free right now if you want to have a quick ride in my office." Mother Callie almost immediately started to unbutton her shirt, giving Frost a brief glimpse of her pearly white orbs that put even Maya''s to shame.

    "As forward and as ravishing as ever Mother Callie, if only I weren''t taken then perhaps we could have enjoyed ourselves." Frost had be far more experienced when it came flirtatious taunts thanks to his darling orc subus.

    Feeling the need to get back at the older woman a little he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Plus I assure you my dear there''d be nothing ''quick'' about it." He then leaned back and disyed a pearly white smile.

    The confident older woman of the sheep beastkin tribe blushed from ear to ear as her imagination ran wild, giving birth to genuine desire.

    "¡­.You''ve be a real monster you know that." It took her a few seconds to calm herself down and properly look at Frost''s charming face without blushing.

    "Oh you don''t know the half of it Mother Callie." Frost teased bringing another blush to the older woman''s cheeks.

    ''Hahahaha revenge oh it tastes ever so sweet.''

    "Alright spill it what do you want from on olddy like me Lord Frost?"

    "Oh so you know about me, I''m rather touched."

    "Alright stop that right now, you''ve had your fun so let''s get to business."

    ''This boy is practically an incubus, whoever taught this monster needs to be hung drawn and quartered for sake of the women in Nova.''

    "Fine¡­I need information on the changes in the local monster habitats, route advice as well as information about a certain territory lord."

    "Well you''ve certainly came to the right ce, there isn''t a single piece of news happening in the external regions that I don''t know about." Callie beat her chest with pride, information was her trade and since the one asking was such a talented young prodigy that her organisation was still keeping tabs on she was more than happy to regale her findings.

    "Mypanions and I are travelling to Icethorne I need to know of any major issues along these routes." Frost pulled out a map of the external regions and highlighted the possible routes he nned to take.

    "Companions?" Callie asked curiously.

    "Yes, now the information." Frost didn''t n on revealing anything about Borris or Avira. If she wanted to know then she''d have to dig out the knowledge another way.

    "Stingy." Callie pouted in a cute manner, but Frost was unfazed as he repeatedly tapped the map.

    "You''ll want to avoid Dragon w pass due to a major territory dispute plus the area around the crevasse of Ymir isn''t much safer." Callie quickly crossed off certain areas that fell on a couple of his suggested routes.

    "Dangerous even for me?" He assumed Callie knew of his rise to B-rank.

    "Around the crevasse of Ymir most definitely, dragon''s pass maybe not but it''s a real shit show over there. Not only are a species of drakes fighting against great horned rhinos for territory, but the enves nearby have also decided to go to war for some stupid reason. Getting to Icethorne now requires a more roundabout route if you''re not willing to brave some serious danger."

    No one even knows the true level of danger dwelling within the crevasse of Ymir, a massive chasm that stretches throughout both the external region and the inner regions, a supposed hallowed ground for the giant race. Callie had already received reports that several frost giants had been seen surfacing at multiple points.

    "Good to know." Frost immediately crossed off a couple routes and made a few detours to some others as Mother Callie revealed nearly every relevant detail to her handsome customer.

    "That probably covers your trip to Icethorne, so what''s this about a territory lord?" She asked finding the request rather unusual considering his ns.

    Frost simply smiled in an evil manner before saying. "I want to know about the Iceborne Huntsman?"

 Chapter 675 Iceborne Huntsman

    A territory lord, referred to a monster that was so strong inparison to thepetition surrounding it that it dominated the region, bing a bestial King or Queen. Within the external regions such entities needed to be at least C-rank and were usually variant species that had an edge over their standard kin.

    Upon hearing mention of the Iceborne huntsman Mother Callie visibly trembled. Fear and revulsion filling her eyes as the form of the Iceborne huntsman upied her mind.

    "How ungentlemanly of you Frost to ask a woman to talk about such a creature." It was obvious that even mentioning the thing indirectly made Callie nauseous.

    Frost was quite frankly surprised by the experienced woman''s reaction.

    ''Hoh so even someone like her has issues with them, heheheh how adorable.'' His evil smirk stretched, greatly irritating Callie.

    "Tsk bully." Callie pouted before summoning up her courage, she really didn''t want to do this but in the end she was a professional.

    "The monster¡­"

    "The Iceborne huntsman." Frost teasingly said drawing a fierce re his way.

    "YES the ICEBORNE HUNTSMAN, is still located in the western reaches of the Lambda sector. The shifts in habitats from the recent monster stampede failed to dislodge the creature from its infested mountain.

    Therefore any previous information recorded is still considered solid as is the quest to erase the creature from existence!" Callie practically spat herst words, having the sudden urge to bathe and toss salt over her shoulder.

    For most women and even arge percentage of men the Iceborne huntsman was the stuff of nightmares. The creature was not ghostly in nature nor was it undead but was considered by many as something far, far worse¡­.a spider.

    And not just any spider but a big one, with long legs, sharp fangs, multiple beady eyes and a very aggressive temperament.

    Unlike the frost spiders prevalent in the Dungeon of Niflheim this Iceborne huntsman didn''t utilise webs instead the creature would silently stalk its prey before literally chasing or jumping at them with it fangs and legs raised, a horror that was a very active hunter.

    With legs that stretched more than 2 metres from its body this creature that was covered in white hairs could perfectly blend into any environment within the cial mountains and once it set its eyes on you there was no escape.

    The mountain was its territory any that entered within its domain would be hunted not just by it but also by the legions of lesser spiders that itmanded, a massive den of eight legged horrors.

    Callie thanked her lucky stars that she was never assigned to the Lambda sector camp, she wouldn''t be able to sleep at night knowing that that thing rested nearby.

    "¡­..You gonna kill?" After managing to clear her mind of some rather grotesque images Callie asked with a small amount of hope. Frost with his potential and current B-rank status was well and truly a decent opponent for the Iceborne huntsman.

    "Possibly, I want to use it as well as its children as whetstones for mypanion." Yes the monster Frost had chosen to test Avira against was one that could make even an experienced woman like Callie cringe in horror. He was well and truly diabolical.

    Of course the fear was only part of the reason he deemed this monster a good match up. Avira would likely be terrified yes but she''d also have little hesitation inmitting a mass ughter given their form, a silver lining you could say.

    Plus in addition to the fear the spider species especially the huntsman variants perfectly countered her speed and hidden battle style, Avira would be forced to think outside the box when facing such a monster.

    Frost also noticed that her battle style though deadly was more suited to facing single targets thus he wondered how she''d fair against a horde of weaklings.

    ''Should I tell her straight away or wait until the veryst moment hehehe.'' Evil thoughts ran amok in Frost''s mind and a slightugh escaped his lips causing Callie to reel backwards.

    ''Whoever it is that''s travelling with this monster I pray for your soul''. Callie solemnly prayed for Borris and Avira, pitying their future and their poor choice inpanions.

    "If you do end up killing the territory lord remember to bring back its fangs as proof to any of the order of the ice shield''s camps or residences. That way you''ll be rewarded for your efforts, the bounty on that thing is quite high after all." Due to abject fear the price for the monster''s head was far higher than a simrly ranked territory lord.

    Callie turned around and sashayed her wide hips as she retrieved a dossier on the Iceborne huntsman and handed it over to Frost.

    The moment Frost went to take the document however Callie grabbed his wrist, pulled him close and whispered in his ear.

    "Frost dear if you do manage to erase that abominable creature, please do return here so I can personally reward you." She lightly blew into his ear and pressed her ample assets against his chest hoping to make the young man blush like she used to but unfortunately Frost was truly a different man after repeatedlyying with Maya and Daki.

    He simply smiled as his eyes scanned Callie''s body like a predator. She was certainly in fine shape given her age and those breasts of hers were quite eye-catching but as he said earlier he was already taken.

    "Very tempting Mother Callie, any man would be blessed to receive such advances from a woman as beautiful as you but as I''ve said I''m already taken." His eyes revealed a sense of longing as the figures of both Maya and Daki filled his mind, he would not betray them.

    Callie was genuinely moved and genuinely jealous.

    "She''s a lucky woman." She said, drawing herself back, no longer in a seductive and teasing mood.

    "No I''m the one who''s lucky." Frost smiled with such strong love that Callie felt a stabbing pain in her heart.

    "Ahhh too pure glugh I can''t stand it, take your loving romance and leave before I glugh." She couldn''t stand the current atmosphere; it was too painful and revolting for her single status.

    "Hahahahah alright, alright I get it I''m leaving geez." Frost shook his head andughed before turning around to leave her office.

    "Tsk another handsome man has joined the dark side, such a waste, he had the making of a decent yboy." Once Frost closed the door and was a little away from the building Callie loudly clicked her tongue and mourned the passing of a bachelor with great potential.

    Deep down however she was actually jealous. Throughout her many rtionships and one night stands she''d never had the chance to experience the intensity Frost just disyed. Something she secretly longed for but never found. She was thus in a rather annoyed mood for the next few days thanks to him.

    "Did you get what you wanted?" Avira immediately asked once Frost came to find her and Borris.

    "That and more. I''ve further narrowed down our travel options and gotten a lead on the monster I want you to fight." He did his best to hide his evil intentions, but Avira still shivered, somehow sensing that something was amiss.

    "What monster?" She asked both anxious and curious to know, it would be her first kill after all and a chance to disy her true worth to the man escorting her to Icethorne.

    "It''s a surprise, once we near itsir then I''ll tell you." He teased.

    "Meanie." Avira assumed Frost was simply teasing her not realising his insidious intentions.

    "What about you two did you get a good look around? Did the lodgings, food hall and merchandise meet your expectations?"

    "Pretty much for me but.." Borris replied while hinting towards the person next to him.

    "¡­It''s quite a bit more ''rugged'' than I expected." Avira didn''t sugarcoat it; she was quite disturbed by the state of the camp. Though she knew it wouldn''t be anything like her home in Arkheart she did think that it''d be of a simr standard to Frost''s territory. A very unfortunate expectation.

    The Niflheim city state even when it was in its early days as a camp was a prime product that offered high quality goods, far beyond any basic camp found in the cial mountains.

    "I think V was spoiled by the amenities in your territory Frost, thus giving her a warped outlook on camps." Borris whispered into Frost''s ear. He too was rather taken aback by the standards in Frost''s territory, but he at least had decades of experience to see it something unique rather than standard.

    Avira blushed from embarrassment, she struggled to look at Frost''s face feeling that there''d certainly be a mixture of a mocking and prideful smile on his face, but she''d be wrong.

    "I should have expected as much. For you who rarely left the capital it''s no wonder you''d assume such things given that my territory was only just recently established." Frost didn''t mock her for her views in fact he felt a little guilty for not warning her in advance.

    This journey was clearly going to be a bit more ufortable than the princess expected s there was no turning back.

    "It''s fine, now I know so I''ll prepare myself better. Are we leaving now?"The sun was still high in the sky so it wouldn''t be efficient to rest in the Beta camp.

    "Yes, we''ll be heading to the Lambda sector which should take us about two days. There''s a camp roughly halfway and one in that sector so we won''t need to take rest in the wilderness." A small mercy for the young Princess.

    "Our monster target is also in that sector as is the end of our current route, depending how you fair we''ll either head northwest or northeast from the Lambda sector."

    "One''s the long but more safe route and the other is shorter but riskier" Avira stated.

    "Bingo." Frost touched his nose and smiled.

    "Let''s get a move on then, no point waiting around here when there''s a monster to hunt and journey to be made." Feeling energised by Frost''s smile Avira leapt onto Kiba''s back and requested that they head on off.

    Something both Frost and Borris were all for.

 Chapter 676 Iceborne Huntsman (2)

    "Fuck off!!!" 2 dayster shortly after the group left the boundary of thembda camp Avira screeched very unlike a princess. Her face drenched of all colour as she pointed a trembling finger at Frost''s face with terror in her gaze.

    The bastard finally told her about the monster she was to hunt, and she was not pleased, not pleased at all.

    "Any louder and they''ll hear you in Vulcan." Said Frost while rubbing his ears.

    "Hehehe what did you expect Frost." Borris chuckled lightly knowing full well how the young woman was feeling. The phobia of spiders was verymon throughout Nova, affecting even some of the strongest entities in existence. There was just something about them that stroked one''s fears.

    "Pick another one you bastard! I''m not going anywhere near that thing!!" Avira''s entire body was trembling with fear and rage as she backed away from Frost and their current direction.

    After two days of seeing Frost, Kiba and Borris asionally handle a monster or three during their travels she''d be really amped for her first true fight, but all that excitement was destroyed the moment Frost told her about the Iceborne huntsman. She''d rather fight a B-rank monster than face off with that thing and its kin.

    "Come on we''re already here anyway V, might as well do it. I know its scary but there''s really no better opponent for you." It was true, there were few monsters that weren''t also territory lords that could match Avira''s prowess so well in the outer rim of the external regions.

    Not only was the Iceborne huntsman a good match up, its location was on their route, falling just before the need to choose between the safer or more riskier option.

    "But."

    "If you really don''t want to I won''t force you but if I''m being honest you really shouldn''t shy away from this opportunity. Your future is going to be a constant uphill battle, gued with risks and threats to your life. You should take every chance you can to increase your own strength and ovee your fears."

    Frost''s words seemed to hit home, and Avira''s expression was torn between emotions. She understood Frost''s point and even strongly agreed with him but¡­.it''s a spider.

    Seeing that she still wasn''t fully convinced Frost tried one more time.

    "You also won''t be alone, Borris, Kiba and I will all be by your side making sure the worst doesn''t happen." It would be utter suicide if he asked her to waltz in all by her lonesome.

    "..." Avira faced an internal debate between logic and emotion, really struggling.

    "You''ve got quite the mean streak kid." Borris whispered as he watched Avira agonise over her choice.

    "I won''t deny that but it''s also true that the iceborne huntsman is an ideal opponent for her. Facing off against such a monster will bring her nothing but benefits."

    "True but is it really necessary for her first?" Borris understood his logic but thought it was a bit much for someone''s first true opponent even if that person was particrly strong and gifted.

    "Necessary, no but considering the path she''s choosing to walk, a valid choice." He was choosing to toss her straight into the deep end rather than slowly start in the shallows. Avira if she truly wanted to take the throne from her brothers needed to mature quickly.

    "Alright, just don''t force her to the point of creating a trauma." This was Borris'' bottom line.

    "I won''t, I may enjoy a little teasing, but I won''t go that far. If she truly can''t handle it I''ll pull us out and we''ll follow the safer route. She can fight somemon D-ranks along the way instead." He was just offering her an opportunity, whether she grabbed it or not didn''t matter too much to him in the grand scheme.

    "Fine let''s do it." after several minutes of internal back and forth Avira finally mustered up her courage to enter the spider''sir though she still wasn''t exactly happy about it and firmly noted down in her heart to get Frost back somehow.

    The group thus headed west on the backs of Kiba and the frost wolf who immediately showed a reaction an hourter.

    "Awooo" The monster mount bared its teeth, the hairs along its back going erect as its instincts went haywire.

    There was a scent before it, marking the dominion of the iceborne huntsman, a powerful monster that could easily devour the pitiful E-rank wolf.

    "Easy boy, easy." Borris stroked the wolf''s ears in a soothing manner which helped a little, allowing it to remember who it was with.

    Ahead of the group was arge mountain littered with hundreds of deep dark crevasses and fissures. It stood several kilometres from the ground and oozed dread and despair. Webs decorated the cliffs, trees and even the snow all around it. There was no question in regards to what dwelled within.

    "Eeeekkk!" Avira let loose a high pitched squeal as she saw dozens of eight legged freaks crawl around the mountain as if weing the arrival of their next meal.

    "We''re not even face to face and you''re already flinching and screaming." Frost shook his head in disappointment.

    "Shut up!" Avira snapped, no longer having even the slightest amount of endurance when it came to his teasing.

    "Frost I have to agree with V, spiders are a well known phobia, such fear is perfectly natural." Said Borris while discreetly tightening his grip around the shaft of his hammer.

    Though he wasn''t as terrified as Avira seeing dozens of massive spiders suddenly crawling out of a dark fissure made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

    "Haaaaaa." Frost sighed feeling that this little escapade was not going to be as fun as he initially thought.

    He looked dead ahead at the swarming monsters and thought ''Why are they so creepy looking?'' He then remembered the reactions Maya and Nanna had to his frost spiders hell even he was a bit unnerved in the beginning.

    As he noticed Avira shivering and unconsciously leaning back against his chest he suddenly felt a little guilty.

    "Haaaaaa." He let out another sigh before pooling his mana together. "[Freezing fireball]" With his hand pointing towards the swarm of encroaching giant spiders Frost conjured a massive ball of silverly me andunched it dead ahead.

    Boom!

    The was an explosion of me, the 1 metre diameter ball of fire exploded outward the moment it made contact with one of the giant spiders. The me engulfed the surrounding area,tching on to over a dozen spiders as they were charging ahead with drool forming along their pincers.

    "Kyeeekkk!" Sharp squeals filled with anguish and pain reverberated throughout the ins as the spiders were burned alive by Frost''s cold mes, creating a rather magnificent sight.

    Avira and Borris were speechless as they watched the spiders crash into one another and desperately roll along the ground in attempt to douse the fire corroding their bodies.

    Suddenly the fear they had seemed to vanish, the spiders no longer seemed all that frightening.

    "They may look horrifying, and you may instinctively tremble at the mere sight of them but remember they''re still monsters, living beings that can easily be killed through the skills you worked so hard to develop." Frost was attempting to erase the image Avira had in her mind, to see these creature with a fresh perspective.

    The change in her was gradual, her back slowly moved away from Frost''s chest and her eyes narrowed in on the burning ze before her. Her breathing slowed and her nerves became less taut, changing from a state of fear to one of excitement. She very much liked the look of seeing these abominable creatures burning under Frost''s mes.

    "¡­.Thank you." She quietly muttered with a slight blush before descending from Kiba''s back with her rapier drawn.

    "Happy to help." Frost gently smiled before also descending from Kiba''s back. In this battle he and Kiba would be far more active than they were previously.

    While Avira would be the main protagonist, the two of them would be loyal guardians making sure to keep the pressure within her capabilities.

    "By your lead V." Frost said, handing control over to her.

    "Un, lets go kill some spiders." With building enthusiasm Avira charged forward, her eyes set on a group of spiders who were half frozen by Frost''s fireball.

    By the time the spiders noticed her arrival she was already upon them. Avira reeled back her rapier and swiftlyunched three piercing thrusts. Her de easily passing through their skulls as she was cutting through butter.

    The three spiders let loose a light screech before darkness permanently overtook them. Avira had taken her first life and wasted no time taking another.

    This was the perfect opportunity for her to change the image she had of spiders. Frost''s mes had weakened them to the point that they were helpless, pitiful and easy pickings. Riding this wave she ughtered F and E rank spiders like vegetables, her fear subsiding with each and every kill.

    Frost couldn''t help but smile as he saw the building battle lust in hispanion, it was a good look on her.

 Chapter 677 Iceborne Huntsman (3)

    "Die! Die! Die!" Avira hollered at the top of her lungs while repeatedly thrusting out her rapier and tossing her throwing daggers. She evenunched a wind spell or two, splitting the spiders in twain as she advanced with madness in her eyes.

    Avira chose to transform her fear and trepidation into anger and madness. She barely even looked at her in kills before leaping to her next target. The young princess was nowmitting a mass ughter like a natural born exterminator.

    Frost kept close to Avira with his ive, chakra and magic at the ready. Every so often he''d y arge group of spiders, limiting how many could swarm Avira at once. He also kept a close eye on Borris and Kiba who were following close behind.

    The older dwarf who was donned in te armour from head to toe was like an imprable tank. None of the spiders were strong enough to pierce through his equipment thus allowing him to slowly crush them one by one.

    Kiba whose job was to guard Borris simply utilised his massive ws and jaws to rend the attacking spiders apart.

    Despite the dozens of the deaths among them the spiders continued to charge with abandon at the intruders, as though they had been starved for weeks.

    Frost could easily handle this swarm with the use of his aura but chose to restrain himself, appearing roughly equal perhaps even weaker than Avira, letting her experience the joy of being endlessly assaulted.

    Far behind them stood the frost wolf Frost contracted as it was too weak to take part in this battle. Frost didn''t want Borris to lose his only mount.

    As the battle progressed more and more spiders descended from the mountain as if limitless and eventually upper E-ranks and even a few D-ranks came. These spiders were a fair bitrger and were clearly of the huntsman species given their appearance andck of webbing organs.

    The moment these huntsman spiders appeared they charged at Avira, caring very little about where they were stepping. Several unfortunate spiders were thus crushed under their feet as they moved, one or two were even turned into quick snacks, revealing the brutality of these creatures even amongst their own kin.

    Frost specifically took note of the D-rank huntsmen before giving an order to Kiba through their soul connection.

    Avira needed to face off against the C-rank iceborne huntsman not these D-ranks. Her current victims were nothing but appetisers, inconsequential given the minimal threat they posed.

    Upon hearing Frost''smand Kiba turned to his master and nodded his head before taking a dominant stance. The young Winged cial tiger tensed his entire body causing it to grow in size. His fangs elongated and a bloodthirsty aura pervaded his surroundings as he took a deep breath. His chest proceeded to fiercely expand and a momentter.

    "ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!!!"

    A primal roar that was so devasting that the nearby spider infested mountain violently shook. Hundreds of new cracks and fissures formed along the mountain''s external rock face while the original fissures grew in size, some even caving in on themselves, crushing the spiders dwelling within.

    Kiba''s mighty roar froze the battlefield, the weaker F and E-rank spiders had their hearts stop in fear as their gazes naturally drifted towards the powerful tiger.

    The recently arrived huntsman spiders were also momentarily stopped, their beady eyes shifting from Avira to Kiba.

    Avira who was caught by surprise turned to Frost in confusion.

    "Give it a sec." Was Frost''s response before a few secondster.

    "crrriiiii!!!" A high pitched roar no less deafening than Kiba''s reverberated from deep within the mountain and a couple secondster Frost, Avira, Borris and Kiba witnessed something that made their skin crawl.

    From one of thergest fissures a set of long white haired legs covered in deadly hooks appeared. The rock face cracked apart from the pressure as these several metre long legs pulled out therge body they were connected to.

    Even with the size increase of the fissure this monster still brushed against the edges as it came into view and the moment it did Avira could swear that something warm dripped down her leg. This thing was truly the stuff of nightmares.

    12 bright scarlet eyes filled with malice locked onto them as drool dripped down from a set of fangs that could easily snap their bodies like dried twigs.

    The face alone was enough to terrify Avira let alone the long threatening legs supporting it nor the massive abdomen behind it that likely stored dozens if not hundreds of baby spiders who would like nothing more than to feast on her sulent flesh.

    Perhaps her only slight saving grace was the fact that the monster''s gaze was focused primarily on Kiba rather than her but still her confidence took a severe blow.

    She craned her neck to Frost, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she donned an almost pleading look. Begging him to handle it in her ce, the thing was just too frightening.

    Unfortunately for her Frost had Kiba let loose a challenge just so she could be the one to confront it.

    Towards her pleading he innocently smiled, his expression asking for praise since she could now fight against it without having to handle all its weaker kin.

    "Kiba keep an eye on Borris while V handles her prey." He brightly said, not so subtly urging V to take care of it.

    "Bastard! Asshole! Bully!" Avira loudly cursed with tears forming in her eyes.

    "V don''t drop your guard." However before she could continue Frost responded in a very serious tone and the next thing she knew her heart lurched. Her skin formed goosebumps and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

    She turned around, her hand already tightly gripping the handle of her rapier ready to stab at whatever was attacking her but¡­.

    "Eeeeeekkkk!!!!" When she turned around what she saw was the monstrous iceborne huntsman flying through the air with its legs outstretched and massive fangs primed and ready to bite.

    She only looked away for a second or two but that was all it took for it to leapt from the mountains and arrive several feet above her.

    Her two eyes met with the huntsman''s 12 and her soul trembled. In that moment she froze, she forgot to defend herself, there was no fight or flight reflex only all consuming fear¡­.she thus screamed at the top of her lungs, her teeth loudly chattering as her grip on her weapon loosened and that small amount of golden liquid running down her leg threatened to turn into a stream.

    "Haaaaaa." Frost somewhat expecting such a reaction was already moving to protect her. He sighed, a little disappointed with her behaviour on the battlefield but nheless he moved with speed beholden to his rank.

    Moments before the huntsman''s fangs were set to devour little Avira Frost appeared before her with his ive swinging.

    "[w of the ice wolf]" He activated one of his trademark skills, summoningrge ice ws before his ive which quickly met with therge spider''s fangs and legs, halting it in ce for a moment before he twisted his body.

    Starting from the ground Frost rotated his feet, legs, hips and then shoulders to p the iceborne huntsman away with his ive, thoroughly showing off his physical prowess.

    "V GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" The moment he sent the iceborne huntsman flying Frost turned around andnded a fiery p across the practically catatonic Avira''s cheek before loudly shouting.

    "Eh?" Avira still in a confused state held her reddened cheek, she felt a searing pain that made her want to cry.

    "Where are you right now V?" Frost shouted again while covering his surrounding with ice fire, forcing Avira to focus solely on him and his booming voice.

    "¡­.The battlefield." The young princess'' eyes rolled around as her mind gradually starting working again. She realised Frost pped her and was instantly angry but a momentter she also remembered where she was and what happened just a second ago.

    ''I would have died.'' Yes if Frost hadn''t intervened when he did Avira would be dead simple as that.

    Avira''s body violently trembled as a fierce coldness stabbed deep into her heart, she didn''t want to die, she had so much she still had to do, she was scared.

    Seeing the flurry of emotion Avira was going through Frost felt guilty, questioning his motives in bringing her here and asking her to face off against the iceborne huntsman but then he remembered her talent, her gift and willingness to work hard as well as her ambition.

    If she was dead set on fighting for the throne then there would be no small amount of situations in which her life would be in jeopardy. Best to experience such things early while a protector was by her side.

    Frost made a decision, and he was going to stick to it.

    "V a second ago you died!" He spoke harshly making the young woman jump.

    "Are you going to die again? Because I won''t always be here to rescue you."

    "..I.."

    "V! You are on the battlefield and the enemy is before you! Do not show mercy!" Frost roared before thrusting his ive behind Avira, the de edge narrowly missing her left ear. Behind her she felt a warm liquid ssh against her neck. Frost then retrieved his ive which was covered in the guts of an ambushing D-rank huntsman.

    "Or you will die here." Frost flicked the grim off his ive before turning his back to Avira. He removed the defensive ring of ice fire, revealing the maddened assault of the spiders.

    "So choose Princess of Northrend will you stand and fight or will you be its food?"

 Chapter 678 Iceborne Huntsman (4)

    "So choose Princess of Northrend will you stand and fight or will you be their food?" Said Frost boldly with his ive outstretched before him and Avira, pointing at the masses of spiders mbering over one another to attack them.

    Avira stared at the enemy, her heart quivering in fear whenever her gaze passed over the faces of the huntsman species, the massive iceborne variant in particr. But along with that fear there was a fire, the will to live, to fight, to survive and gradually while staring at Frost''srge back that will started to ovee the fear.

    She still trembled at the sight of the Iceborne huntsman but her will to live was bing stronger than her fear. Avira wiped away her tears, punched the snow beneath her and rose to her feet with eyes filled with determination. She gripped her rapier, took stock of her throwing weapons, secondary weapons as well as her wand before steading her breathing.

    "¡­Sorry and thank you, I''ll be alright now." Her first words were rather quiet but by the end she spoke with great volume.

    Frost gave her a once over and smiled before allowing her to once again take the vanguard position. This was the look and the determination he wanted to see in her, Avira was a natural warrior who had unfortunately been restricted by her sheltered upbringing. Right now she was not Avira, but V and she had spiders to kill.

    "Don''t underestimate it, it''s stronger, faster, deadlier and far more experienced than you are. A single misstep is all it would take for you to became heavily injured." Frost ced a hand on Avira''s shoulder and whispered into her ear. "So don''t get hit, stay on your feet and learn, understand its movements and act ordingly.

    Your goal is not necessarily to win but to show me that you can endure against a stronger enemy that wants nothing more than to kill you and if presented the chance willing to kill such an enemy." Avira had very little chance in victory, but she certainly had the strength to wound her opponent and grow throughout their battle.

    Avira didn''t flinch nor let her thoughts run wild as she felt Frost''s breath on her ear, her entire focus was on the iceborne huntsman and his advice.

    She nodded her head in reply showing that she understood, her blood quickening as she crushed her building fear under an onught of battle lust and the will to survive.

    "There are no chains to hold you back here V, so show me who you are. Not the sheltered Princess of Northrend but the warrior that trained in all three schools ofbat and reached her current strength at such a young age.

    Crush you foe and ascend, V!" Frost injected a tendril of his high quality of mana into Avira to help manage her fears but instead she took that tendril and used it as fuel to embolden her fighting spirit.

    The early stages of an aura thus started to form within Avira''s body, emitting a slight pressure in the immediate vicinity. "[icy fog]" Wasting no time at all Avira cast the 2nd circle spell [icy fog] conjuring an ice fog around her and the surrounding spiders, heavily decreasing their visual capabilities.

    A momentter Frost heard the unusual cadence of Avira''s fighting style and then she was gone, vanished into the fog. Thest thing he saw was arge grin stered on her lips and fire in her eyes, a look that sent a shiver down his spine.

    He then stared directly at the iceborne huntsman who had chosen to not make a single move after being so easily repelled by Frost.

    Initially it left its nest due to Kiba''s roar thinking that another C-rank monster was here to challenge it for its territory. But upon leaving the mountain it was rather shocked, seeing only four intruders. The tiger that roared, a possibly dangerous opponent, an old dwarf covered in armour that really had no business in such a battle.

    A strange elf that felt neither weak nor strong and a human woman at the vanguard who trembled at the mere sight of its appearance. A strange group but intruders, nheless.

    Seeing Avira revealing a moment of weakness the iceborne huntsman wasted no time at all in going after her but was blocked by the strange elf who somehow appeared with a speed far greater than its own. If it was just speed then it wouldn''t be too worried but along with that speed the elf disyed enough physical strength to p away its charging body with little effort.

    These two moves along with its instincts and varied battle experience screamed one thing, the elf was dangerous, very dangerous.

    Therefore the massive spider didn''t dare take its eyes off of Frost,pletely ignoring Avira and even Kiba who remained in the background next to the useless dwarf despite its aggressive challenge. The iceborne huntsman had a bad feeling about this whole situation, Frost was an unknown and that caused it to feel fear.

    While it took stock of its current situation, its gaze locked onto Frost, Avira''s fog encroached its surroundings but to one as strong as it a mere fog was nothing.

    "[Flying swallow peck]" From within the ice fog Avira appeared with her rapier poised, the image of an agile swallow forming behind her weapon as she thrust out with a speed faster than sound. Her target was the spider''srge abdomen which contained its many organs and was considered a difficult area for it to defend.

    However her moves were easily seen through, the spider''s spatial awareness and ability to sense vibrations through its fine hairs easily picked up on the sudden attacker. And though it was primarily focused on Frost it wasn''t foolish enough to let Avirand a blow.

    The massive spider took a sidestep to the right avoiding Avira''s thrust before shing at her with two of its rear legs. Avira was forced to quickly evade the sudden counterattack.

    Boom!

    "Tsk!" Avira barely avoided the spider''s simple kick and clicked her tongue upon seeing therge hole in the ground that was left from the iceborne huntsman''s counter. Frost wasn''t kidding when he said that all it would take was a single misstep for her to be seriously injured.

    ''I need to be faster, quieter, and much stronger.'' [Flying swallow peck] was not her strongest skill but it was certainly one of her fastest but even then with the added benefit of an ambush she failed tond her attack. She was going to have to think outside the box.

    The iceborne huntsman didn''t chase after Avira since in its eyes she was merely an annoyance the real threat was the strange elf in the distance as well as the winged cial tiger.

    Therefore because Frost and Kiba were exerting a strong pressure on the iceborne huntsman Avira was able to slowly limatize to its strength. Her moves became faster, quieter and far more deadly but it wasn''t good enough in Frost''s eyes, there was still more potential to be unearthed.

    Just as Avira was getting the hang of evading the iceborne huntsman and asionallynding a few hits on its legs, breaking off a hook or two she suddenly felt danger from behind. Trusting her instincts she evaded and a momentter a D-rank huntsman snapped its fang down on where she once stood.

    "This is a battlefield not a duelling ring remember." Frost''s voice could be heard in her ear despite the din of carnage that gued the area. A rush of anger burst through Avira as she pictured Frost''s annoying face but the next moment another spiderunched itself towards her forcing her to move once again.

    "Don''t forget your main opponent either." His voice was once again heard and thankfully she listened.

    "Eeeekkkk!" She let loose an instinctual scream as she was suddenly face to face with the iceborne huntsman''s fangs but this time she didn''t let herself be overwhelmed.

    "[Wind shield], [afterimage]" She summoned a shield of wind between her and the iceborne huntsman''s fangs and activated an evasive skill that was enhanced by her wind chakra. While the shield slowed down the spider''s advance her evasive skill split her into two, a phantom copy remained where she once was while her real body dashed back into the ice fog and away from danger.

    A momentter the iceborne huntsman''s fangs snapped shut, utterly decimating Avira''s wind shield and snapping her afterimage in twain like it was a toothpick.

    The monster was truly angry now, Avira had taunted and escaped for thest time. To hell with the threat posed by Kiba and Frost it was time to devour this little fly.

    "Scriii!" The iceborne huntsman screeched and fiercely tapped its legs,manding the horde of lesser spiders.

    "Hoh finally pissed off huh." Frost smiled and twirled his ive. He now needed to be ready to give Avira assistance at any moment. The iceborne huntsman wasn''t going to hold back anymore.

    "Kiba stay by Borris'' side it''s probably smart enough to know that he''s our weakest link." The only reason the iceborne huntsman didn''t attack Borris first was because he was at the rear and far too weak to even matter but now just ending one of the intruders would send a message, it didn''t matter which.

    "Grrrr." Kiba growled in response before moving several steps closer to Borris. To be honest if they weren''t here to test Avira, he would have loved to challenge the giant spider.

    "V its going toe at you for real now, brace yourself."

    "Eh?" She turned to look at Frost for a mere moment before a wild smile unconsciously formed across her lips.

    ''I''m smiling from that information.'' She felt confused as her excitement started to build and her heart started to pound in her chest, screaming fight! Fight! Fight!

    A side of her the side of V was trulying out¡­.and she loved it.

    It was as though all the stuffiness, pressure, stress and pain she''d experienced in the capital was burning away. It was an exhrating and pleasurable experience.

    "Hahahahaha!" Before she knew it Avira was loudlyughing. She stared directly at the attacking iceborne huntsman and raised her rapier to wee its attack.

    "Let''s do this!"

 Chapter 679 Iceborne Huntsman (5)

    With a calm gaze Avira took in the movements of the iceborne huntsman, not letting its horrifying appearance affect her concentration in the slightest.

    Her previous aggression and inefficient movements had drained her stamina, she would only have a few chances tond a blow great enough to prove her worth and impress the young man watching over her.

    ''1 2 3'' she counted in her head and only moved once she reached 3, narrowly evading one of the iceborne huntsman''s leg thrusts. She was now even closer to the monster, so close that she could make out the individual hairs on its skin and smell the revolting, acidic odour emanating from its fangs. Her nose couldn''t help but curl up in disgust but still she continued.

    ''Next it''ll spit venom before spinning around with half its legs outstretched, like a de whirlwind.'' Avira watched and learned the iceborne huntsman''s every move, she knew its patterns to a tee but even, so she didn''t let her guard down. The monster was clearly different from earlier, to assume nothing had changed would only lead to her downfall.

    Frost was about to warn her to avoid such a misstep but upon seeing her move faster and with more wiggle room he held his tongue, she knew what she was doing.

    And just as Avira had predicted moments after she evaded its leg thrust a dangerous wad of venom wasunched where she once was. The blue liquid instantly corroded the ground it touched as well as the carapace of an unfortunate E-rank frost spider. Even with its resistance the venom dissolved its flesh in under a second, quickly finding its way onto the poor monster''s organs.

    Within 4 seconds the entire monster was but a puddle of blue liquid.

    Avira''s choice of generous evasion was clearly the right choice given that the wad of venom was far greater in volume than before as was the huntsman''s next move.

    The instant the venom escaped from its mouth the iceborne huntsman raised half of its eight legs, stretching them out like sharp spears, each at varying degrees. A grey coloured energy formed along the edge of its many hooks and generated sharp des at the ends of its feet. Following that the monster started to rotate and quickly picked up speed.

    Soon the spider''s extended legs were but a blur as they carved up the surrounding area, quickly dissipating the ice fog Avira cast to reveal her location.

    The young woman was revealed to be behind the huntsman and appeared surprised by the strength of its move but that was just a deception.

    The iceborne huntsman being none wiser took Avira''s expression as an opportunity. While mid spin it urately targeted her lithe form and attacked, spreading its legs out as far as possible so as to block any escape routes to the side and front.

    Plus in that moment two D-rank huntsman spiders silently appeared behind Avira under their Matriarch''smand thus blocking her backwards retreat. It was a perfect pincer move that would see Avira eliminated and the iceborne huntsman''s fury quenched.

    Frost, Kiba and Borris were even fiercely held down by its swarm, they recklessly threw away their lives just so they''d be unable to act during these precious few seconds.

    Frost had to give it to the iceborne huntsman it was certainly a good hunter as well asmander, he didn''t expect such cunning from a wild C-rank monster.

    ''I guess not just any monster can be a territory lord.'' It was a shame however that Frost was its opponent.

    While such moves may be able to restrict someone like Kiba and Avira it was useless against him. The iceborne huntsman was right to ce him at the top of the danger scale but it was still underestimating him. He was not a higher levelled C-rank but something beyond, a B-rank foe, an entity that even a territory lord like the iceborne huntsman was powerless to stop if when chooses to truly act.

    s despite the dangerous situation Frost still didn''t move, instead he peeled his eyes open as wide as they could go and watched Avira strut her stuff. She was going to put all she had in her next blow, and he owed it to her to watch her performance.

    Frost wore a wild smile, like that of a predator, a look that if the iceborne huntsman noticed would surely send rm bells ringing in its mind.

    Avira or rather V was also starting to show a rather wild smile. She noticed the D-rank huntsmen behind her, blocking her path of retreat as well as the oing iceborne huntsman that would surely tear her to shreds if given the chance but was unfazed.

    Time seemed to pass in slow motion for V as she sensed her surroundings, waiting for chance.

    Milliseconds passed and then.

    ''Now!''

    "[Greater afterimage]" Just when it seemed as though all avenues were cut off V pulled off her most draining movement skill, [Greater afterimage.]

    This time instead of one copy being generated two were formed and they were both far more corporal to the point that she was able to kick off their shoulders and slide through the narrow gap in her opponent''s assault.

    Her afterimages were instantly taken down, but Avira was now in prime position to deal out some real damage.

    She floated above the iceborne huntsman, staring down at its 12 scarlet eyes and readied her rapier. Chakra swiftly formed along the de, densely congregating at the tip as she reeled back for a devasting thrust.

    "[Falcon dive]" Avira called out with a booming voice, activating her most powerful skill. Green energy flowed out from her body, mixing alongside her wind chakra while a detailed image of a mighty falcon floated behind her, greatly increasing her rapier''s pration capabilities as well as her descending speed.

    However this wasn''t all she did in those brief moments. While her rapier was in her right hand she took hold of her cherished wand in her left and began chanting the aria for the 3rd circle spell, [cleaving wind sickle], an advanced version of themon [wind de] spell.

    She didn''t care in the slightest that utilising chakra, mana and her internal energy all at the same time would drain herpletely, all she cared about wasnding a severe blow on her opponent and if she was very lucky, end its miserable life.

    "Beautiful." Frost managed to utter a single word before the dual attacksnded on the defenceless iceborne huntsman.

    Schwing, Squelch

    "Scrriiii!!!" V''s rapier stabbed deep into the iceborne huntsman''s skull, eviscerating 3 of its eyes and drawing out a thick stream of green coloured blood while her [cleaving wind sickle] lobbed off one of its front legs after cracking its left fang. Painful but not life threatening blows.

    Avira was a little disappointed in her failure to kill the thing but the moment her attack was expended she felt dizzy and started to ck out, her stamina was all but spent. A rather perilous position to put yourself in while on the battlefield but she knew she wasn''t alone. She had a strong protector who''d surely take care of her after such a disy.

    In a maddened rage the iceborne huntsman shook Avira from its body and moved to bite her with its fangs but before it could it was met with a fierce ze of silver mes that chilled it to the bone, in all its life it had never felt such an intense cold. It looked for the source of these mes and saw the strange elf, cradling V in his arms in a protective manner.

    The pain sent it into a rage but upon feeling those mes and seeing the strange elf suddenly appearing in front of it the iceborne huntsman''s experience screamed danger and it had lived long enough to know when it should run, and this was one of those times.

    The massive spider let loose a set of shrieks and leg taps before dashing as fast as it could back into its mountain, hoping to seek shelter deep within the fissures. Surely it''d be safe deep beneath the ground. It ordered its entire swarm to sacrifice themselves so it could escape, a callous move but an efficient one.

    As long as the iceborne huntsman survived it could easily repopte the lost numbers.

    Again Frost was impressed by the iceborne huntsman''s intelligence, unfortunately it was too little toote, he had decided to make his move.

    "[Freezing fireball]" He firstunched arge ball of silver mes at the fleeing spider, forcing it to dodge while he readied his next spell, one that was far more intricate.

    "[Ring of ice fire]." Just when the iceborne huntsman was several metres away from reaching one of therge fissures a wall of silver mes encapsted the area around it, preventing it from fleeing in any and all directions.

    "Kiba I leave it to you." Frost softly said before carrying the exhausted Avira towards Borris who was currently covered by several F and E-rank spiders.

    "Garow!" Kiba as though being granted a significant treat roared joyfully before taking to the air and flying towards the ring of fire Frost created.

    A benefit to having wings.

 Chapter 680 Iceborne Huntsman (6)

    Kiba elegantlynded within therge ring of silver mes, being very careful to not burn himself on his descent. His arrival caused the iceborne huntsman to grimace. It knew it was trapped, the only option it had was to struggle against Kiba and hope for a miracle.

    With a resigned look the massive spider prepared itself for the fight of its life, Kiba was a stark contrast to the human woman from earlier after all.

    Without its swarm and ess to three dimensional terrain the iceborne huntsman was at a severe disadvantage and that''s before counting the significant injuries caused by V.

    The young winged cial tiger didn''t care about its advantages instead he smiled from ear to ear, looking forward to the opportunity to truly stretch his legs. While Avira could at bestnd a decent blow Kiba had the strength to kill it and then some.

    Disying his razor sharp teeth in an intimidating manner Kiba started off with a loud roar before pouncing on his would be prey, starting their mighty sh.

    Meanwhile Frost erased the spiders surrounding Borris with his cold mes allowing the old dwarf to see the light once again beforeying Avira on her back to rest.

    The young woman was panting, every breath exhausting to take. Her face was flushed, and she felt both boiling hot and freezing cold. Her mind was foggy and her vision blurring, she wanted to so badly go to sleep but her will and desire forced her to remain awake. She gazed up at Frost as though expecting something from him.

    ''Haaaaa is this how Maya felt when she trained me in the beginning.'' It was clear that Avira was looking for praise, a pat on the back for a job well done.

    Frost smiled gently and caressed V''s head "You did well V, now rest. Kiba and I will finish what you started."

    A smile that could only be described as angelic appeared on V''s lips as she heard Frost voice singing her praises and a momentter she passed out. She got what she wanted.

    "Is it over?" Asked Borris as he kicked a few spider corpses.

    "Almost, V showed her mettle now we just have to wait for Kiba to deal the final blow¡­.do you want to help me mop up or are you content in observing from this point?"

    "I''ll just observe." There was no hesitation in Borris'' voice. Frost couldn''t help but stifle hisughter. Seems the stoic dwarf wasn''t all that keen in facing a horde of giant spiders.

    "Is there any point in keeping the corpses?" There was only a reward for the iceborne huntsman not any of its kin.

    "Not much, apart from the venom nds there''s really nothing useful." A spider''s corpse apart from its venom was pretty useless. Their bones too weak for a cksmith, their hairs too short for a tailor and their blood was too contaminated for runes, of course this only really applied to low ranking spiders i.e. anything D-rank and below.

    If there were D-rank non-huntsman variants however it would be a different story. Along with their venom nds the webbing organs as well as any recently generated webs would be highly desired. Some of the most fashionable clothes and protective robes were partially formed from threads made of spider webbing.

    Unfortunately given that the spider matriarch was an iceborne huntsman most of its kin were of the huntsman variety making the vast majority of their ughter aplete bust, profit wise.

    "So just burn them all?"

    "Yeah, anything below D-rank isn''t worth the effort." Though it felt like aplete waste it really wasn''t.

    "Alright" Upon hearing Borris'' confirmation Frost turned to face the masses of spiders that remained in a confused state, not knowing whether to dive into the ring of fire to help their matriarch or continue attacking Frost, Borris and V.

    "[Freezing me waves]" Frost thought about his choice in spell for a second before choosing one of his new editions. The Dungeon menu was awash with 4th and 3rd circle spells after all. [Freezing me waves] was a 4th circle spell that targeted arge area.

    With the spell''s name spoken, Frost felt arge chunk of mana flow out his body to create a wave roughly 5 metres tall and 15 wide made up of silver mes. The giant wave behaved very much like the waves found on the ocean, it built up a great deal of momentum before crashing down upon dozens of low rank spiders, incinerating and crushing them in an instant.

    Nearly a dozen waves just like the first one followed in its wake, easily decimating hundreds of spiders who werepletely powerless to resist.

    The gap between Frost and their strength was toorge for them to pose even the slightest threat. Frost was able to kill them at will, as long as he had the mana of course.

    ''It''s certainly a different feeling than when I''m in the Dungeon.'' Frost noticed a small amount of strain and even exhaustion in his body after casting the 4th circle spell [Freezing me waves]. Out in the world his stamina was no longer quite so limitless thus he decided to stick to 2nd and 3rd circle spells, it''d take longer but he wouldn''t be out of gas by the end.

    While Frost took care of the ''stragglers'' Kiba was facing off against the wounded iceborne huntsman and unlike the fight with V this was a contest between monsters. Their attacks were violent, vicious and full of momentum.

    Kiba aggressively charged into the iceborne huntsman, pushing itsrge body to the edge of the ring, lighting its backside on fire while his jaws bit down on its remaining front leg and his ws attempted to rake its abdomen.

    With its life on the line the iceborne huntsman was in no mood to hold back. With eyes filled with bloodthirst it withstood Kiba''s charge, utilising its rear legs to dig deep into the ground while its fangs attempted to clip the tiger''s wings.

    The two exchanged vicious bites, raking of ws/hooks as well as intimidating roars as they pushed against one another. Deeps cuts and nasty gashes quickly covered their bodies spilling litres upon litres on blood on the snow beneath their feet. But to these giants such a small amount of blood was nothing, they barely even felt it as their monstrous duel continued.

    Their fight held no technique, no strategy it was simply a brutal contest of power between two alpha predators.

    As their wounds worsened it was clear that one of the monsters was dominant in their fight. Kiba was in a far better state, his wounds were mostly superficial, and he controlled the battlefield well, keeping the iceborne huntsman''s back up against the ring of fire. The only thing he had to be wary of was the spider''s venom, it was the main reason why he couldn''t fullymit to an attack.

    Thus he was forced to gradually weaken his foe with ''lighter'' blows and force it to expend its reserves before moving in for the kill.

    The iceborne huntsman was wise and experienced, it knew full well of its current situation but unfortunately there wasn''t much it could do to change it. Kiba was too quick, his hide too tough for itnd any severe blows yet its own body threatened to crumble whenever it suffered one of his ws, the difference in physical strength and body density was obvious.

    In its mind Kiba was likely in the upper stages of C-rank possibly nearing the peak while it was still middling around the peak of the early stages, a significant chasm that it was struggling to ovee. s it wasn''t a young monster.

    Suddenly the iceborne huntsman appeared to buckle, its body falling to a kneeling position after receiving one of Kiba''s many w strikes, cing it in a very vulnerable position.

    Kiba''s instincts roared when he saw this, his eyes glowed red and his mouth opened wide as he moved in to deal the final blow and relish in his victory.

    However this was a trick, a cunning ploy from the experienced hunter. The moment Kiba''s mouth was opened as far as it could go, and he craned his head back the iceborne huntsman suddenly ignored the pain from its wounded legs and forced itself to stand.

    A fraction of a secondter a dark blue wad of venom -thest and most potent of its reserves- was shot from between its fangs, aimed straight for Kiba''s awaiting maw.

    The young tiger''s eyes trembled as fear jolted through his system. If that venom reached his mouth and went down his throat the pain would be unimaginable, his strength would instantly plummet, and his life could be in jeopardy.

    He tried to quickly close his mouth, to prevent the venom from affecting his internals but that still left his face, primarily his eyes and nose exposed. He was too impatient and now he was going to pay for it.

    ''Wings'' Suddenly however he heard Frost voice through their soul connection and as if driven by natural instinct hisrge white wings which were strong enough to let his body fly high in the air moved to shield his face.

    Sizzle!

    "Grrrr!" The wings made it in time, taking the full wad of venom. It hurt a lot, his wings felt as though they were on fire, he groaned from the pain but with his wings taking the blow rather than his face his fighting strength wasn''t affected.

    But now he was angry.

 Chapter 681 Spider for lunch

    "Roooaaaarrrrr!!!" Kiba let out a tumultuous roar, so loud that he conjured up a minor windstorm. The iceborne huntsman who was moving to deal a severe blow to him while he was preupied with its venom was blown back, its rear legs stepping into the ring of ice fire.

    "Scrrii!" It screeched in pain as the ends of its legs started to corrode and freeze over but before it could even remove them it suddenly lost stability. Its front half starting to tilt.

    The massive spider stared up at Kiba and saw its remaining front leg dangling from his mouth. It was shocked it didn''t even feel it getting torn from its socket. The monster then turned a few eyes towards the stub that remained, blood was gushing forth from the wound and with that realisation came pain, intense pain.

    "Ssscrriii!!!" It screeched even louder this time, but its wails were quickly brought to an end, Kiba was done ying with his food.

    Crunch! Crunch!

    He devoured the iceborne huntsman''s leg, allowing its green blood to stream down his white fur before swallowing the remaining chunks. It tasted absolutely disgusting but its what his animal instincts told him to do.

    Then once his meal was done he stomped his ws upon the iceborne huntsman''s shoulders, pinning it in ce as he stretched open his deadly maw and bit down on its skull.

    Crunch! Crunch!

    The sound of bones being snapped, and muscles being torn apart along with frantic bestial screams reverberated throughout the area before soon all that remained was the sound of chewing and the asional spitting.

    Kiba killed the iceborne huntsman and devoured its body, leaving just the fangs and venom nds for loot. He hated the taste of the spider but once he finished eating all of it, the magic crystal included he felt a wave of energy pulsing through his system, he had be stronger, ascending to the peak level of C-rank.

    Just a little more and he''d be able to assault the barrier to B-rank and be able to boldly stand side by side with Frost, Khuno, Findley and Yuna. Then those damn evolved coeurls would show him the respect he deserved.

    Kiba was so entranced in his meal that he didn''t even notice the ring of ice fire dissipating and Frost appearing next to him with a displeased expression.

    "You moron!" Frost lightly pped Kiba''s rump. "Did I or did I not tell you to be wary of its venom?

    And have I not told you a thousand times to not jump the gun, geez if I hadn''t warned you you''d have spider venom tearing up your insides and this battle couldn''t gone very differently." Frost was annoyed by Kiba''s actions but at the same time proud of him for winning, a strange mix that''s why his p was light, and his tone wasn''t all that lecturing.

    "Grrrr." Kiba submissively growled knowing he messed up and the moment he did the pain in his wings cropped up.

    "Come here, you''re lucky I stocked up in the Lambda camp." Frost pulled out a potion from his storage ring and poured the contents directly onto the affected area. The liquid was blue in colour and served as a perfect antidote to the iceborne huntsman''s venom.

    Kiba immediately felt a cooling sensation, then tingling and then finally itchy. The antidote was working but would need a flew minutes to flow through his system and remove all aspects of the venom.

    But since he was feeling much better Kiba licked Frost''s face affectionately which immediately erased his frown, instead making him smile.

    "Haaaaa you did good Kiba, very good." He scratched the big cat''s neck and ears making him purr like a kitten. A rather warm image if you ignore the litres of blood on the floor and decorating the tiger''s white fur.

    While Kiba waited for the antidote to finish its magic Frost made sure the area was clear of any spider monsters before returning to Borris and the still sleeping V.

    "Kiba''s not all that hurt, nothing a potion can''t fix. V however needs a proper rest."

    "What do you suggest?" Asked Borris.

    "We double back to the Lambda camp, stay there for the night, get our bearings and decide our final route." Frost was more than happy to take both V and Borris through the riskier route after today''s expedition but in the end he wanted to hear V''s opinion. Plus they could deposit the proof of kill to the order of ice shield''s sentry while there and receive a hefty reward.

    "I''m alright with that, I quite fancy a decent drink and some good food after all that carnage." If he didn''t see a spider again for the rest of his life he''d be one happy dwarf.

    "Well said, Kiba we''re heading back to the Lambda camp, just let me know when you''re ready to leave."

    "Garow" Kiba waved his wing while Frost whistled, calling on his contracted frost wolf who had to sit out of the fight due only being E-rank.

    A little over an hourter the group pulled up into the Lambda camp. Borris was on the frost wolf while Frost rode Kiba with Avira resting against his chest, still asleep.

    "Back so soon sir Frost?" The manager of the camp was on his regr rounds and spotted Frost and his team pull in. His eyes revealed curiosity as well as hope. It was no secret to him that Frost left to take care of the iceborne huntsman as he asked him about it the previous night.

    "Yeah the battle didn''t take quite as long as I thought it would but mypanion''s quite exhausted, we''ll stay here for the night before continuing our journey North." Frost gently leaped from Kiba''s back with Avira in his arms.

    Reading between the lines Grant couldn''t help but feel excited, finally that dreaded spider had been dealt with, he and his subordinates could now get a full nights sleep.

    "Hahahaha that''s fantastic please allow me to offer you and yourpanions our finest lodgings free of charge." Grant bellowed with a smile on his lips.

    "Thank you for your generosity Grant." Frost wasn''t one to pass up a free service especially one that would normally cost him tens of silver coins.

    "It''s the least I can do hahahaha." Only Grant knew how nerve wracking it had been for him having to run thembda camp so close to the iceborne huntsman''s territory.

    Grant personally led Frost and hispanions to the dorms and arranged for their lodgings, waving all costs.

    Frost thanked him again before whispering. "I''ll see to mypanion''s health first beforeing to brief you on the oue."

    "Much appreciated." Grant then left the group and headed back to his office.

    The Lambda camp just like the Beta camp had high ss yurts that were usually reserved for travelling nobles, they cost a pretty penny even for a single nights stay but you get what you pay for.

    Inside the yurt that could house Frost, Borris, Avira, Kiba and even the frost wolf with room to spare there wasn''t even the slightest speck of cold, it was as if they walked into apletely different world.

    The walls were covered in thick skins and fur pelts, all from high grade monsters while several magic crystal operated devices helped regte the temperature inside and provided many creatureforts. Hot water was in unlimited supply and was provided almost instantly. There was even cooking appliances that could prepare and store high quality meats and fish. A true mping experience.

    "Seems that the iceborne huntsman was a bigger deal than we thought." Borris shook his head with a wry smile. If it wasn''t such a nuisance then Grant would never willingly gift them a free night in such a high ss yurt even with Frost''s status as a city lord and highly gifted B-rank prodigy.

    "Agreed but it''s a pleasant surprise." Frost replied as he ced Avira down on one of the beds and tucked her in tight.

    "Can you keep an eye on her while I meet with Grant?"

    "No problem, I could do with a rest myself." Borris then started to remove his te armour, boots and greaves.

    "I''ve left a mid-level health potion on the table, have V drink it when she wakes up."

    "Will do, oh and bring back some good liquor on your way back so we can celebrate our victory." The old dwarf made a drinking hand gesture causing Frost to wave his hand as he left the yurt.

    "I''ll see what they have." A celebration was certainly necessary after such a hard fought victory.

    ''I''ll make a stop at the merchant quarter on the way back. They should have some high quality monster meat avable.''

    After checking in to the yurt and seeing to Avira''s safety Frost made his way towards Grant''s office to inform him about the battle and to hand over the iceborne huntsman''s right fang which was the required proof of kill.

    Don!

    The iceborne huntsman''srge right fang dropped down onto Grant''s desk, its weight substantial enough to make it tremble.

    Seeing the item Grant quickly go to work; he ced a strange monocle over his left eye and started to inspect the fang. The whole process only took about 30 seconds.

    "It''s the real deal." Grant leaned back into his chair and let out a repressed breath, the proof of the deed was sitting before him. There was now no question that the territory lord, the iceborne huntsman who had caused him and his staff so much misery had been dealt with.

    "Thank you foring to me personally, it means a lot Sir Frost." Frost was under no obligation to deal with Grant directly but since Grant was the most affected by the monster he believed he should be the first person to be informed of its passing.

    "No problem Grant, you can rest easy now."

    "Yes, yes I can, thank you Sir Frost¡­..now about your reward, do you have any special requests, or would you just prefer cash?" The order of the ice shield asionally -especially for high value requests- offered alternative payments for their rewards. i.e. instead of coins the client could request ores, armour, weapons, herbs etc...

    "Keep it as coins, that way it''ll be easier for me to split it with mypanions." Though Frost and Kiba effectively carried the group he wouldn''t deprive Avira''s and Borris of their earnings.

    "Very well that makes the transaction quite simple, N please bring me the coin vault allocated to quest rewards as well as the necessary documents." Grant called on his assistant who promptly left to fetch the storage vault that held the coins reserved for quest rewards.

    When Frost left Grant''s office he was 34 gold coins richer, a substantial bounty, at least double the usual reward for a territory lord of simr standing.

    The iceborne huntsman was really quite hated/feared by the nearby inhabitants.

 Chapter 682 Hidden talents

    With his coin purse threatening to burst at the seams Frost jaunted over to the merchant''s quarter in search of fine liquors and monster meat. He nned to use 4 of the gold coins for their celebration leaving the remaining 30 to be split evenly between himself, Borris and Avira.

    Once the merchants learned of his generous budget they immediately started to pawn their wares, desperately trying to catch his favour. Unfortunately his only interest was in food and liquor leaving many depressed and downtrodden.

    "I''m back."

    "Oh great did you remember the booze?" Borris asked the moment Frost walked in the door, his back leaning against a soft chair while his feet rested next to the magic furnace, all he need now was a hard spirit and a cigar and he''d be golden.

    "Wee back, did you trade in the iceborne huntsman''s fang?" Following Borris'' voice was one belonging to a young woman.

    "You woke up." Frost smiled upon hearing Avira'' voice causing the woman to slightly blush from his devasting attack.

    "Hahaha of course she woke up, the moment she could no longer feel your presence she got up with a start hahahaha¡­ow!" Borris''ughter was quickly silenced by arge cushion hitting his head.

    "Sh¡­Shut up you stupid dwarf!" Avira was like a cat that had her tail stepped on. She viciously red at Borris, treating him like an enemy. Her face redder than a tomato as her embarrassment reached the heavens.

    How could he phrase it that way, what would Frost think of her upon hearing that. She sounded like some kind of lovelorn little girl who could only feel safe by his side.

    She nervously nced at Frost, gauging his reaction but all she got in return was a gentle smile which acted like an arrow through her heart.

    ''Why is he so damn charming?'' She internallyined wanting to hide beneath the covers.

    Frost actually found her reaction to be rather logical as well as endearing. He was the one protecting her, the one who rushed to her side when she was deprived of energy and the one who held her close as they returned to the Lambda camp. It was quite natural for her to findfort in his presence after all that.

    However while Avira was acting like a lovesick fool,looking at Frost as man, he was unfortunately looking at her in the same way as he did Luna. She was nothing but a girl in his eyes, cute and sometimes adorable but not a woman. He admired her potential as a warrior but there was no lust in his gaze, she failed to meet his high standards, falling short of both Daki and Maya.

    "Did you drink the health potion?" He asked with concern, in a tone simr to that of a caring elder brother.

    "Un¡­thank you." Avira withdrew her hands from her face and bravely thanked him with a curt nod.

    "No thanks necessary, as long as you''re well."

    "Umu" She mumbled, moved by his concern which forced Borris to stifle hisughter, finding their exchanges to be romanticedy gold. In his view Avira was aplete lost cause, a fly caught in Frost natural web of charisma and attraction. She probably never had the chance toe in contact with any males other than those pompous noble heirs with their heads up their asses.

    Frost was probably akin to a breath of fresh air, a feeling so real and intense that she never wanted to give it up.

    "The iceborne huntsmanted us 34 gold coins, I used 4 to purchase supplies for a celebratory feast while the remainder will be split evenly between the three of us. Is that eptable to the two of you?"

    "Oi why do I get a share, all I did was crush a few low ranking spiders, it was a miracle I wasn''t dead weight like that frost wolf of yours." Borris immediately argued, not happy with the split in the slightest. He was a proud man; he didn''t like receiving payment for work he didn''t do.

    "Woof?" The frost wolf barked in response, having been brought up in conversation.

    The old dwarf nced at the frost wolf who raised its head and added "No offence intended." To his earlierment causing the monster to lean back down as though satisfied.

    "I have to agree with Borris, though I took part in the battle against the iceborne huntsman and wounded it the real damage was done by Kiba, I merely assisted." Though Avira felt that she probably deserved some payment it certainly wouldn''t be a third of the total, at most maybe a sixth or perhaps a tenth, Frost did have to save her life a few times after all.

    Frost blinked his eyes not expecting either of them to argue about the split especially not in the way they did.

    "Haaaaa Borris you were dragged into a situation where you generally had no business being, thus your life was in constant danger, a risk worthy of payment." Though he didn''t really contribute much he still took to the field and ughtered as much spiders as he could.

    "While V you were in even more danger and though Kiba did deal the final blow you shouldn''t demean your efforts therefore don''t worry about it we''ll keep the split even."

    ""But"" Avira and Borris wanted to argue further but Frost wasn''t willing to listen.

    "The hunt was for the two of you not myself, if I wanted to train my skills or hunt for profit then I would have chosen a monster at the peak of C-rank at the very least not some spider piddling at the entry C-rank level¡­..do you think I really care about 10 gold coins or even 30 given how prosperous my territory is, such amounts are but a drop in the ocean for me." This was actually true; Frost was immensely rich even after pumping arge chunk of his coins back into his territory.

    Certainly he wouldn''t reject more money, but he wouldn''t steal it from his friends out of greed.

    In his mind both Borris and Avira more than earned their 10 gold coins.

    Seeing his stubborn attitude and a refusal to budge that would make even the oldest of dwarves sing his praises both Avira and Borris backed down and epted their third share with gratitude in their hearts.

    "Borris how''s your cooking?" With the splitting of the reward agreed upon Frost moved onto their celebrations.

    "Abysmal if I''mpletely honest, my wife was the cook in the family and when she passed my daughter took over. I can make a simple stew but that''s about it. It''d just butcher whatever you bought." The old dwarf raised his hands up and boldly admitted to his shorings.

    "Damn I''m not much better, I only recently started learning some basics, Nanna''s leagues ahead of me." Though Frost had learned a few recipes and skills from Sam hecked experience.

    "I think the camp offers a cooking service; we can hire one of the chefs for the night."

    "How much would that cost?"

    "I don''t think it''d be too pricey, but to prepare such choice ingredients with our meagre skills would be outright heresy." Frost purchased meat procured from D and C-rank monsters, far beyond what their basic abilities could handle.

    "¡­.I can cook." Just when the two men were about to look for a chef in the camp they heard a feminine whisper and turned their heads.

    "Did you say something V?" Frost asked thinking he heard wrong.

    "I said I can cook."

    "...."

    "...."

    Frost and Borris were speechless, they frowned, looked at one another then back at Avira. The sheltered Princess of Northrend could cook? Fighting skills they could understand given that even the children of barons and viscounts receivedbat training but cooking?

    "What don''t believe me?" Avira felt an anger festering in her heart upon seeing the disbelief on their faces.

    Frost and Borris looked at one another again before Frost said. "Well yeah."

    Crack!

    Avira clenched her left fist so tightly that her knuckles cracked. Her upper lip started twitching and a vein throbbed above her eyes.

    "The polite thing to do in this situation is lie or feign ignorance!"

    ''Why was he so direct, does have no decorum, this hateful man.''

    "What''s the point in doing that?" Frost tilted his head to the side, failing to understand Avira''s reasoning.

    "It''s a weird noble thing don''t worry about it." Borris who was in agreement with Frost but understood the situation whispered into his ear.

    "Oh, I see. How good are you then?" Frost''s sudden eptance and then questioning of her abilities deted all the anger in Avira''s chest, how could she stay mad at him for being honest.

    "3 star spirit chef, I can easily prepare and handle ingredients of C-rank monsters without too much mana wastage." Avira revealed her status with pride, arching her chest forward as she leaned back to wee the awes and praise from the two men.

    "Hoh that''s very impressive V, to already be a spirit chef at your age. Seems you''re a girl of many talents." Borris pped his hands and nodded his head, truly impressed by her status which of course inted the young woman''s ego.

    "Incredible I''ve only met two people who can be considered spirit chefs, and both are far older than you V. Borris is right you are a woman of many talents." Frost was equally impressed wholeheartedly agreeing with Borris'' judgment.

    "Hehehe." Avira yfully giggled, very much enjoying being looked at with such respect.

    "Who taught you how to cook?" Frost asked.

    "My mother, she learned when she was younger so as to win my father''s heart through his stomach. She thus started teaching me in the hope that''d I''d be able to do the same¡­."She started off with a confident tone but as she spoke of her mother''s reasoning she couldn''t help but go a bit red in the cheeks, her gaze intermittently shing over Frost.

    ''Maybe I can impress him with food instead.'' She''d already written off affecting him with her beauty and figure, Maya and Daki won hands down in that department.

 Chapter 683 Which path?

    "That must have been nice." Frost imagined a young Avira smiling joyfully as her mother, the Empress of Northrend took time to teach her the art of cooking.

    "It was¡­.I miss her so much." Avira dwelled in her memories, tears forming in her eyes as the image of her mother giggling by her side, telling her all about how she won her father''s heart. Heartwarming scenes that she''d never get to experience again. Her brother robbed her of that gift.

    Thinking of her hateful brother anger flourished in her heart ruining the moment.

    "Anyway we don''t need to hire someone I''ll prepare the food." She wiped her eyes and forced a smile.

    "Great, here''s what I bought."

    Frost unveiled a true bounty, rousing Avira''spetitive spirit.

    The group -thanks to Avira''s efforts- enjoyed a veryvish meal and celebrated until the sky grew dark, only then did they deign to discuss business.

    "So V, Borris which route do you want to travel, the short but risky one or the slow and safe one?" Frost asked while sipping a ss of amber coloured liquor, greatly enjoying its mellow taste.

    Frost''s personal opinion of the matter leaned more towards the short and risky option, anything to save time on their journey was a win in his book. But since he wasn''t traveling alone he had to take in the opinions of both Avira and Borris.

    Avira and Borris straightened their postures and thought for a few seconds before Avira asked. "Howrge is the difference between the possible routes, how dangerous is the risky route? And how much longer would the safer route take?"

    To answer her query Frost withdrew a map of the cial mountains'' external regions. Several areas had markings on them left by Mother Callie, notes/updates for known problem areas.

    "The direct northern route would have us make a straight beeline for Icethorne, we''d only have to avoid a few geographical blockades thus our travel time would roughly be 3 days or so." Frost used his finger to trace the supposed route.

    "The problem however is that right around here a new territory lord hase into y meaning they''re incredibly aggressive to any and all intruders plus the recently dethroned monsters will be loitering around the vicinity, starving, willing to attack even someone like me." He tapped arge area less than a day from the Lambda sector.

    "Following that we have an aggressive enve which is more akin to arge bandit hold than a small nation. They frequently attack caravans for loot unless they pay a healthy tax which I definitely won''t be doing." He refused to be extorted.

    "Finally if that wasn''t enough the path brings us rather close the crevasse of Ymir."

    "Is that a problem?" Avira couldn''t help but ask, she knew a little about the crevasse as well as the monsters that chose to dwell within it. But as far as she knew those monsters usually kept to themselves, as long as you don''t enter the crevasse then they''d leave you alone.

    "It is right now." Frost turned to her and started to exin what Callie told him.

    "Due the monster stampede there''s been a lot of activity in the external regions regarding monster territories. These movements have put the giants and their kin who reside within the crevasse on edge, far more than normal thus there''s been sighting of frost giants leaving the crevasse.

    Whether it''s for hunting, defending their territory or perhaps even expansion it''s bad news for the routes passing near the crevasse." A standard frost giant was usually at the peak of C-rank at the very least and it wasn''t umon to see B-rank individuals such as Valend. Frost would struggle to deal with such adversaries by himself let alone while having to protect Borris and Avira.

    The two individuals felt their scalps grow numb; frost giants were frightening concepts. They shouldn''t even be in the external regions given their strength but thanks to the crevasse of Ymir they were. It was fine when they stayed within the crevasse but the prospect of them leaving and gallivanting through the external regions was just a cmity waiting to happen.

    "In addition to those problems we''d have to travel off the standard route therefore there''d be no camps, we''d have to set up in the wilderness all the way to Icethorne." Not only was it dangerous it was far lessfortable.

    "Now for the safe route." Frost redirected their attention to a winding route that avoided the previously mentioned dangers.

    "This route will take us at least a week and there''s little to no signs of danger, we can even rest at camps for most nights while one we can even find shelter in the Three Flower kingdom. If I was a merchant or someone with time to waste I''d definitely choose this option.

    Its dull and uneventful butfortable, as opposed to the quick and dirty route I previously mentioned." Frost leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

    "Both routes have their merits and I''m fine either way, one is safe andfy while the other has danger and risk but in leu of that we''d cut our journey time by more than half." Time was a luxury one could not buy more of, once it was spent there was no way to get it back.

    For Avira time was of the essence, the sooner she reached Icethorne the safer she''d be and the sooner she''d be able to start her conquest and avenge her parents. She simply had to weigh the saving of time against the risk to her own life. Something she now better understood thanks to her battle with the iceborne huntsman.

    Frost allowed the two of the mull over the information for a minute or two, knowing that such a decision should not be rushed when they would be the ones in the most danger.

    Eventually Borris was the first to choose. "I''m for the short, risky option. My te armour guarantees my defence and I trust in Frost''s skill. I''d like to experience the rougher side of adventuring before reaching Icethorne." His view was that he wasn''t tough enough to make his mark in Northrend''s great fortress, he needed to rough his edges a little.

    "And you V?"

    The young woman who thanks to the privacy of the yurt had removed much of her disguise, revealing the beauty that hid beneath rubbed her chin as she internally deliberated.

    "¡­..The short route, the sooner we reach Icethorne the better." Her expression warped several times as she thought about theck offort along the way but eventually she steeled herself and chose the shorter route, making the decision unanimous.

    "Perfect it''s decided then we''ll be taking the straightest route to Icethorne.

    Enjoy thefort of your beds tonight, remember the warmth and softness because you won''t be experiencing it again until we reach Icethorne and even then it might not be as good, it is a war fortress after all." Frost teased with a wide grin making Borrisugh and Avira tremble, she really couldn''t get used to the idea of sleeping in the wilderness.

    When early dawn broke, Frost, Borris, Avira, Kiba and the frost wolf were up, washed and fed. They bought a few extra camping supplies from the merchants quarter before heading northwards to Icethorne. The arrangement was the same, Borris on the frost wolf while Avira rode shotgun with Frost on Kiba.

    Borris at one point did yfullyin about the difference in treatment and pushed for a chance to trade ces with Avira but the young woman fiercely defended her spot, refusing to budge from Frost''s embrace, this was her spot and hers alone.

    The group travelled the first day without much incident but by the second they were in range of the new territory lord and as expected several groups of what appeared to be white wed scorpions.

    Large monsters roughly 3 metres tall with 7 metre long bodies covered in thick carapace. They were also poisonous, but the main danger came from their ws, thick strong pincers that could crush iron like it was mud.

    Frost and Kiba handled most of the aggressors while Avira practised with one and Borris stayed on the back of the frost wolf.

    They were beset by squads and squads of these monsters throughout their journey until eventually the mass ughter drew over the big daddy, the new territory lord.

    This white wed scorpion was at least 50% bigger than its lesser kin and was far stronger. Frost estimated that it was roughly in the mid-stages of C-rank, a little stronger than the iceborne huntsman but with far lessckeys.

    "Grrrrr!" Kiba violently growled at the massive monster whounched itself from beneath the snow fields.

    "You want to take it?" Frost asked.

    "Garow." Kiba nodded his head, a wild smile stretching from one side of his face to the other.

    "Alright just don''t becent, its armour is thick, and those ws are deadly." Frost gauged the monster, finding it to be a worthy opponent for Kiba and hopefully tastier.

    He affectionately scratched the back of Kiba''s head and wished him luck before walking towards Avira and Borris, to stand guard and observe from a distance, leaving everything to Kiba.

 Chapter 684 Kibas prowess

    "Will Kiba be alright on his own?" Avira asked more than a little intimidated by therge white wed scorpion blocking their path forward.

    Though it wasn''t as scary looking as the iceborne huntsman she felt it was stronger and more dangerous. Her rapier would struggle to pierce through its thick carapace that seemed to cover its entire body.

    "As long as he keeps his calm and doesn''t try to showboat he''ll be fine V. Kiba himself is at the upper level possibly even peak of C-rank. Those ws and fangs of his aren''t just for show." He may look like arge kitten who loves being petted but that is merely one side of him.

    The cial winged tigers were a powerful species, not much lesser than dragons, behemoths, giants and even fenrirs. Despite not even being fully grown Kiba was almost at the B-rank, even if he stopped training and chose toze around like a house cat, his natural growth into adulthood would see him jump that chasm and it wouldn''t be the only one.

    Beastlike monsters such as tigers, wolves, bears etc¡­ tend to have another jump whenever they reach middle age therefore Kiba, as long as he stayed alive had a good chance of reaching peak B-rank possibly even A-rank solely because of his gics.

    So he may look cute and cuddly but if he deems you an enemy you better run for the hills.

    "He''s that strong?" Avira couldn''t really believe it; Kiba looked so docile when he carried her and Frost on his back.

    "Vss he''s a cial winged tiger. That scorpion''s nothing but a snack in his eyes." Borris who knew full well about Kiba''s origins replied with smile, finding Avira''s concern amusing.

    Avira blinked her eyes rapidly and looked back and forth between Kiba, Borris and Frost. Her mind churned as knowledge regarding the cial winged tigers came to the forefront of her mind. She looked at Frost for a confirmation and received a curt nod in reply.

    "¡­Oh, well tell him to make it quick then." The concern disappeared from her tone instantly. If Kiba truly was a cial winged tiger, the same species she knew from the monster encyclopaedias then there really was nothing to worry about, except maybe him ying with his food.

    "Kiba, V wants you to make it quick hahaha." Frost hollered with augh.

    "Garow!" Kiba felt hurt, he looked back at Avira as if asking her what happened to their loving rtionship, but such moves were no longer effective on the young woman after she learned of his true strength, so he turned back and internally promised to be so quick that she''d be shocked.

    The poor white wed scorpion trembled feeling that something awful just happened but before it could act Kiba made his move.

    As requested the battle didn''t take long, 10 minutes maybe 11 and the scorpion was spasming on the ground as Kiba devoured it alive. His massive teeth and powerful ws tearing through its vaunted carapace with ease.

    Though the white wed scorpion lost it did manage tond a few choice hits. Its pincers clipped hard on Kiba''s forelegs, snapping a tendon or two while his wings were brutally ravaged. There was even a prating wound across his back from the monster''s stinger, thankfully however its poison was rather mild, Kiba only felt a little dizzy.

    Crunch! Crunch!

    The white wed scorpion''s carapace would have made a lovely material to craft with but unfortunately Kiba was keen on devouring everyst morsel. It tasted better than the spider but not by much.

    Once again after devouring his defeated opponent Kiba felt a surge of energy refining his body, making him slightly stronger than before.

    "Haaaaa seems we won''t be retrieving anything from its corpse, sorry Borris." Frost shook his head at Kiba''s gluttony.

    "No problem its his kill, he can do whatever he wants with it." At least it wasn''t going to aplete waste.

    Once Kiba was made to drink a mid-level health potion, healing his many wounds the group carried on with their journey which was a lot smoother after taking care of the local territory lord.

    Once night started to fall the group searched for lodgings, a cliff, a recess, a cave, something that could shelter them from the harsh winds and even colder temperature, not an easy thing given their location.

    "There, a cave, we''ll rest there for the night." Eventually Frost caught sight of decent sized cave in the distance and ordered Kiba to head over. Unfortunately this cave already had residents, 3 monsters that looked like a fusion of an ape and a lizard, each at D-rank. Frost made short work of them before handing everyone their jobs.

    "V you''ll be on cooking duty while Borris you''ll arrange the tents, I''ll handle the security perimeter."

    ""Got it"" V quickly removed cooking utensils from her spatial ring and retrieved a selection of meat, veggies and water from their carried luggage. While Borris pulled out their tents, sleeping bags, misceneous tools and their fire starting kit.

    Frost meanwhile walked to the cave''s entrance to scan the horizon for threats i.e. monsters.

    Seeing nothing in the nearby vicinity he used magic to conjure walls of ice that blocked all but a gap roughly 8 inches wide at the roof of the cave. This allowed fresh air to flow into the cave while at the same time minimising the encroaching chill. Though the wall wouldn''t be able to stop the more determined monsters from getting in it did block them from view.

    Any passing monster -who didn''t take the time to investigate further- would see another wall of white amongst the thousands of others.

    Ten minutester a pleasant aroma could be smelled from arge pot while three robust tents were propped up in a triangle formation around the fire, capitalising on the warmth it provided.

    "Stew''s ready." Avira announced as shedled a generous serving into her bowl. The four of them -Borris, Frost, Kiba and the frost wolf- couldn''t help but lick their lips in anticipation. They had been running and fighting for the entire day, taking only a few short breaks in between. They were famished and were looking forward to a warm meal rather than cold jerky and crackers.

    "So goooooood you''ll make a fine wife in the future V." Borris knew just how seductive a woman that could cook was to a man. He couldn''t help but remember his deceased wife as he devoured mouthful and mouthful.

    Hisment caused the young woman to blush, but she also smiled.

    "Umu if you weren''t having to go to Icethorne I would have hired you as Nanna''s teacher back in Niflheim." Frost felt it was a shame, he''d been trying for months to get Nanna a proper teacher but so far found no one, only regr chefs that were usually preupied with their own duties.

    "Oh." Hearing Frost, Avira couldn''t help but imagine herself living in the Niflheim city state. Enjoying the luxurious bath houses on the regr, dining in fancy restaurants, being able to be close and interact with Frost on the regr while also being within walking distance to Luna.

    She had to admit it was quite tempting and not a bad failsafe¡­.s such a life was not meant for her, at least not at the moment. She needed to get her revenge, to tear Randolph from his throne and send him to very depths of hell, the only ce a disgusting urchin like him deserved to call home.

    Avira held a great weight on her shoulders, a weight that made her nights rather restless. When she slept she''d think of that night, the blood, the screams, the horror of never being able to see her mother and father again.

    Every night she was gued with nightmares and would wake up suddenly covered in sweat, a secret that she never told anyone. Strangely however the time she slept after her battle with the iceborne huntsman, when she was cradled in Frost''s arms was¡­ blissful. No nightmares, no agitation justfort and safety.

    Her body was thus drawn towards him, craving his touch. Such feelings merged with her already growing interest. As Borris put she was quickly bing a lost cause and who could me her. Frost was strong, talented, handsome, rich, filled with confidence and charm, so different from the pompous noble heirs she was forced to mingle with at the royal balls and banquets.

    Frost and Borris dug into their bowls of stew as Avira''s mind lingered in her fantasies. A bowl was prepared for the frost wolf and a very small one for Kiba.

    "Grrrr!" Kiba growled in protest at his small portion.

    "Why do you even need food? You devoured an entire C-rank white wed scorpion." Frost replied with a frown on his face, what a greedy cat.

    "Garow!"

    "What do you mean there''s always room for tasty food?"

    "Gaarrow."

    "No that is notmon sense you damn glutton."

    "Hahahaha your rtionship is really close hahahaa." Borris couldn''t help butugh until his sides hurt.

    "One more bowl not a drop more, you eat anything else, and I''ll have to put you on a strict diet."

    "Gaaarrroooo!!"

    [No diet! I''ll be good promise!] was the literal trantion.

    Frost thus refilled arger bowl for him while Borris was on the floor nearly puking his guts out, even Avira was giggling under her breath.

    When night fell and the temperature dropped several degrees even with the protection of the ice wall and roaring fire Borris and Avira went to their tents. The frost wolf and Kiba joined them respectively to preserve heat, something Avira was over the moon about, Kiba''s fur was so soft after all, he was the perfect hug pillow. Borris was less enthused but hated the cold more.

    This left Frost alone by the fire to ruminate on his thoughts, he wasn''t quite ready to go to bed.

 Chapter 685 A young womans desires

    Crackle Crackle

    The firepit soothingly crackled as Frost held his hands over the mes, enjoying the feeling of warmth against his palms.

    Borris and Avira were already in the tents and likely sleeping, Borris certainly was given the sound of snoringing out of his tent. But he was still wide awake and wasn''t bothered by the cold temperature like they were.

    He sat in silence, his mind conjuring up images of home, his two sexy lovers, the two children who looked up to him for protection, his loyal monsters as well as the city and dungeon that he ruled. It''d only been a few days, but he was already missing it and not by a small margin.

    "Half a night really wasn''t long enough." Frost muttered after letting out a sigh and shaking his head. Though that half night was certainly enjoyable and likely enough for Maya and Daki he was far from satisfied.He''d only been away for a few days, yet he was already pining for their flesh, his desires rising whenever his mind drifted to Maya and Daki.

    "Half a night of wasn''t enough for what?" Just as he was regretting not taking an extra day to satisfy his lust he heard a woman''s voice from his side.

    "Eh?" He was caught off guard, his eyes blinking rapidly as his neck craned towards where it came from. There he spotted Avira in her nightly attire; she was still bundled up quite thick, but her figure was no longer quite so hidden.

    "I thought you were asleep." He said attempting to gloss over his earlier statement but unfortunately Avira seemed rather fixated on it.

    "Nightmare, now answer the question." Despite having her body wrapped in Kiba''s thick fur she was still unable to have a pleasant night sleep. The ghosts of her parents haunted her, asking her why she hadn''t avenged them yet. She thus woke up with reddened eyes and heard Frost still awake sitting by the fire.

    Frost nced at Avira and saw the strange determination in her eyes and sighed.

    ''Is this a situation where I should respond honestly or lie?'' He wondered which option was best.

    "How old are you?"

    "18 why?"

    "Guess that counts as an adult." Avira felt proud, her chest arching forward as she heard Frost refer to her as an adult. To her it was a direct confirmation that she wasn''t being viewed like a child,pletely disregarding the hidden connotations.

    Frost smiled mischievously, the urge to tease blossoming in his heart as he looked at her.

    "Sex." He said but a single word, a word that was like a bomb to Avira''s ears.

    "Eh?"

    "Sex V, after a gruelling 2 weeks of working on my city''s new wall, I fucked my girlfriends for a half a night, hoping that it''d be enough to satisfy me for the entire length of my journey into the cial mountains¡­ and unfortunately, it wasn''t thus you heard mementing that half night wasn''t enough my dear Princess." His smile stretched from ear to ear as he watched Avira''s mind graduallyprehend his words.

    Avira was initially stunned but quickly a fierce tinge of red donned her cheeks. She huffed and puffed, her body trembling in rage, jealously, shame, embarrassment she didn''t know which, but she certainly wasn''tfortable.

    "You, you, you."

    "Yes V what am I?" Frost scooted close to her making her instinctively scoot backwards.

    "You deplorable beast!" She loudly screamed.

    In response to her name calling Frost ced a finger a top his lips and said, "Inside voice, Borris is still sleeping." Luckily his snoring continued unabated, a heavy sleeper.

    Avira quickly looked towards Borris'' tent, eyeing up any signs of movement before ring back at Frost and hitting his shoulder, her cheeks still as red as a tomato.

    "Oi what was that for, you asked what I meant, and I answered, why the violence?" Frost pretended to be hurt, holding the shoulder that was so viciously assaulted.

    "Pervert, bastard, asshole." The aggrieved young woman pped him after every insult causing him tough.

    After a few minutes Avira eventually ran out of gas, her embarrassment receding.

    "You''re a jerk you know that."

    "Why? I asked your age. Confirmed you were an adult and then spoke to you like one, simple as that."

    "Haaaaa how can you look like that yet be so crass." She had never met such a person before in her life.

    "Crass no you''ve just been surrounded by people with sticks up their asses."

    "Sticks up their asses?" Avira parroted Frost''s words back, images of such a condition appearing at the forefront of her mind. "Pfft." She couldn''t help butugh and smile.

    "A genuine unfiltered expression is far better than one restrained by pointless traditions. Smile if you''re happy, cry if you''re sad,ugh without restraint and always if you can, be honest." Frost delivered a bit of wisdom that he gained from his many interactions with adventurers.

    Avira''s regr mannerism were far too rigid for his liking, she should be more like Leo and Luna, who do not restrain their inner personalities yet stillmand respect from their citizens.

    Avira mulled over his words in silence, finding serenity in them. She looked around and saw their tents, the fire, the walls of the cave and it dawned on her that she wasn''t in the capital. There was no one here she needed to be prim and proper with, to wear the veil of a sheltered princess.

    Memories of her mother and father floated in his mind, especially those of her mother. Amellia''s true personality that was only shown behind closed doors was a stark contrast to what the public saw. She was blunt, bold, enjoyed cooking and rather violent when her temper red, very unbing of a traditional Empress.

    ''Maybe I should stop restraining myself.'' She gently smiled and looked at Frost, her mind going down a dark path as her cheeks started to redden.

    "So you''re saying you''re pent up." Avira boldly said with a slight quiver on her lips.

    "¡­..Now who''s being crass hehehehe." Frost found her sudden and rather smooth transition unexpected, but he still smiled and evenughed. This look and attitude was more in line with her true personality he thought, the V in Avira.

    The twoughed freely before, the air around them started to heat up a few degrees.

    Avira shuffled close to Frost and smelled his scent; her eyes bing ssy and the redness along her cheeks swiftly turning pure crimson. Her hands nervously grasped the edge of her nightly garments as she steeled her resolve, a mixture of anxiety, desire and determination forming in her eyes as she looked, truly looked at the handsome man before her.

    If he was pent up then couldn''t she alleviate his burden, a fair exchange considering how attentive he''d been in protecting her and even training her for the battles she''d most certainly be faced with in the future.

    The more she thought about it the more she wanted it, she inched even closer and stared deep into Frost''s eyes. Her lips naturally puckering as they grew close to his, dying to taste him.

    "V, you should stop." Frost who for a brief few seconds was dazed by the young woman advancing towards him spoke in a solemn tone. He ced his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away.

    "But why, am I not attractive enough? Do you find me ugly?" Tears threatened to pour from her eyes as the young woman was strongly rejected, her feelingsid bare before him.

    Frost had to admit he was moved by her actions and felt a little guilty, but he couldn''t cross that line.

    "No not at all V, you''re very pretty, cute and charming but we can''t."

    "Why!" Avira yelledpletely forgetting about the sleeping Borris. It was at this point that the tears started to flow, and Frost lost hisposure, he really hated seeing a crying woman.

    He pulled her into his chest and stroked the back of her head in a soothing manner. "V I''ll be straight with you, there''s several reasons." Frost thought ''fuck it might as welly all the cards on the table.''

    "First though you are pretty and cute you''re too underdeveloped and before you get mad I''m not simply referring to the curves on your body but your literal size." Avira who was leaning on his chest looked up at him, instantly bing angry when she heard the word ''underdeveloped'' but was then confused when he mentioned her size. What did he mean by that.

    "Here." Going all in Frost took hold of Avira''s right hand and ced it upon his thigh at least she thought it was his thigh.

    "Do you really think you''d be able to handle something like this V? Maya''s at the S-rank while Daki''s part subus yet even with the two of them working together they struggle topete with me." He whispered into her ear as his manhood started to grow, stretching below his undergarments, filling and even pushing apart Avira''s thin feminine fingers.

    The young woman had steam flowing out her ears as she realised exactly what she held. Her breathing quickened and a twisting sensation gripped her stomach as her thoughts ran wild. Her hand however that was still grasped around the outline of Frost''s still growing bulge started to instinctively stroke, rub and caress the object making Frost shiver.

    Seems the danger and fear aspect wasn''t strong enough to deter the young woman, a strong part of her was still very, very interested.

    "Second I''m currently spoken for, only if Daki and Maya give their blessings would I be willing to take another lover." Frost tried to gently remove Avira''s right hand, but she stubbornly held on as though entranced by it.

    "Third you''re a Princess, Northrend''s Princess and by the will of your father the true heir to the throne. Your ambition requires your entire focus, if you wish to avenge your parents and bring order to Northrend then you can''t be tied down by romance." Plus he had no intentions in bing Emperor of Northrend.

    Frost''s third reason seemed to hit home, her hand stopped stroking and a frown grew on her face as she thought deeply about how such a rtionship would y out in the long run and unfortunately Frost was correct. A romance with him would distract her from her ambition and though the distraction was incredibly tempting it was still a distraction, nheless.

 Chapter 686 Pay the toll

    "Though I''m loathe to admit it you''re right Frost. I have my ambition while you¡­are already spoken for." Avira sighed and shook her head before looking into Frost''s eyes. She rather regretted noting to an agreement with Maya and Daki beforehand but unfortunately she couldn''t predict the future.

    "I''m d you understand V, and I''m sorry." Frost let out a relieved breath and apologised knowing that his teasing and flirtatious remarks probably didn''t help the situation.

    "It''s fine, I''m sorry to." Avira also apologized knowing that she also held some of the me.

    She reluctantly got off Frost''sp and straightened out her clothes.

    "Goodnight Frost¡­.and thank you for being so candid." She spoke softly, her voice slightly trembling, her heart was in pain, but she knew that it was the right decision.

    "No problem V, sweet dreams." Frost knew she was vulnerable butforting her anymore would only worsen the situation.

    Avira thus made her way back to her tent where Kiba was still sound asleep. Once in bed however she whispered in a voice only she could hear.

    "Get the Empire then get Frost." Seems she wasn''t ready to give up on having him as her man.

    When morning came Frost and Avira acted the same way they normally did, as if the events ofst night never happened. Borris was none the wiser given that he slept through the whole thing.

    Once Frost removed the blockading ice wall the group set off, continuing their journey to the fortress city of Icethorne. Today the danger would stem from a less than friendly enve who were akin to bandits, demanding high tolls from anyone passing through theirnds. Those who refused to pay or who carried luggage too appealing for them to pass up would be killed, simple as that.

    Frost understood and even supported the idea of taxes, but he vehemently refused to be extorted by a bunch of arrogant bandits. If they deigned to demand tribute from him then they''d quickly find themselves on the receiving end of his ive.

    During the first few hours the group ran across more of the lizard ape monsters who were likely the species that lost their homes to the white wed scorpions. Most of them were violent, and thin, clearly starving after being driven from their home. Since speed was the aim and Avira had already proven herself Frost and Kiba simply ughtered any packs that barred their way.

    Taking only a few seconds to both kill them and retrieve their magic crystals.

    Once it passed noon however they entered the imednds of the local enve/bandits. Frost wore an irritated expression by this point. His heart was internally torn, he both wanted to encounter these greedy individuals while at the same time hoped to be left alone on their journey.

    s it seems that the moment he wished for an obstacle even partially fate decided to give him one.

    "Halt!" Just as the group was passing through a valley between two cliffs they heard the loud bellow of a man.

    Secondster the owner of the voice appeared along with a dozen of his buddies, who quickly surrounded them, leaving not a single escape route.

    "Tsk!" Frost loudly clicked his tongue, his irritation building.

    "V looks like we''ve encountered your next opponent."

    "Huh?" Avira who was positioned in front of Frost turned around and questioned what he said.

    "They''re going to ask us to pay a toll and I''m not willing to do so. So we''ll fight, which one do you want to face?" Frost grinned with malice, briefly looking like a bloodthirsty demon as he eyed the walking bags of DP. He was never fond of bandits.

    "Quick talking amongst yourselves, hand over 20 gold coins, your mounts and¡­the woman and you can live." Not knowing the danger he was in the brutish bandit that stood just shy of 2 metres tall and carried a massive, spiked club demanded not only payment but Avira and Kiba.

    His keen eyes weren''t fooled by Avira''s bundled up disguise. In his mind a woman only disguised herself so heavily for one of two reasons. The first being beauty, any particrly attractive woman around these parts would quickly find themselves targeted by men such as them, thus the need to obscure their allure.

    While the second was because their identity was rather sensitive, whether that meant they were a noble or a criminal it mattered not to these men. As long as they took care of the witnesses then they could y around with her as much as they liked regardless of her background.

    The foolish bandit''s demand made Frost appear even more vicious. His expression turned cold as his eyes scanned their surroundings.

    13 bandits, all buff men with obvious battle experience. Their weapons though nothing special were covered in dried blood, clearly left as a means of intimidation unfortunately they chose the wrong targets.

    "Kiba keep an eye on Borris and the frost wolf, V I''ll leave the leader to you." Frost boldly announced, caring very little about alerting the bandits.

    With a wild smile on his face he leaped from Kiba''s back andnded directly before one of the gnarly looking bandits. A beastmen of jackal tribe who had long limbs and prominent canines. His weapon of choice was a pair of bloody hatchets but before he could even get a chance to use them Frost''s hands covered his ears and¡­.

    Crunch! Squelch!

    Frost brutally ripped the man''s head from his shoulders resulting in a high pressure geyser of blood erupting from his exposed neck. An instant kill.

    "Eh!" The remaining bandits were shocked silly, theirrade was killed instantly they didn''t even manage to see what happened. One minute Frost was on the back of his mount talking and the next a blood fountain was erupting from where their friend''s head used to be.

    Frost wasted very little time, once he tore off the jackal beastman''s head he immediately used it as a weapon. Another bandit that wasn''t much stronger than the jackal was thus smacked in the face by his friend''s head, breaking his nose and obscuring his view.

    "Too slow." Those two words being whispered into his ear were thest words he ever heard as Frost''s ive cut him in two with a fierce rising sh. The sudden splitting resulted in a veritable bursting of blood. The red liquid quickly died the white snow as well as Borris and the frost wolf who were innocently standing nearby.

    "Tsk I just cleaned my armour." Borris loudly clicked his tongue as he tightened his legs around the frost wolf, ordering it to attack. He was also not a fan of bandits. He saw them as scum, trash that was lower than monsters, he held no reservation when it came to ending lives such as theirs.

    Avira however though no longer a virgin when it came to true battles was still rather reluctant when it came to facing non-monsters. The bandits may be awful criminals that would do unspeakable things to her, but they were still people in her eyes. A thought that caused her reactions to slow and her aggression to falter.

    "V get moving!" It wasn''t until Frost roared with a voice tinged with aura that the young woman swiftly departed from Kiba''s back,nding before the bandit leader with her rapier drawn.

    The bandit waspletely bbergasted by Frost, his heart lurched in fear, but the moment Avira appeared before him with her thin weapon poised to strike he couldn''t help but stand his ground. From her eyes he could tell that not only was this woman a true beauty but that she had never taken the life of a person. He couldn''t help but smile at this realisation.

    It didn''t matter howrge the difference in strength was as long as he appealed to this na?ve woman he''d be able to turn the tables. He''d done it many times before.

    A young noble woman passing through their territory with a contingent of guards wasn''t exactlymon, but it wasn''t umon either. These young women were arrogant, thinking that the world was their oyster.

    With their training and equipment it was impossible for them to lose to mere bandits so of course upon seeing the rabble on the back foot they''d take to the field themselves and gain all the credit for cleansing their filth from the world.

    And of course the moment the prim and proper nobledy took to the field, away from her guards the bandits would suddenly go on the offensive, quickly taking hold of the said women at the expense of a few bloody injuries.

    At this point the woman would be their hostage, entirely at the bandits mercy so what would these skilled men do? They''d order the guards to lower their weapons and promise safety only to ughter them in the next moment.

    The formerly proud and arrogant young noble would then be ravished by her attackers, her innocence spoiled, her soul and mind fractured from the abusive torment. The woman would never be heard from again, transported back to their hideout to function as a breeding cow until the day she died or managed to get promoted to a bandit herself.

    Amon tale that people especially noble women would hear about before they travel somewhere dangerous, but they would never take heed of the warnings, iming that they would never fall for such ploys.

    The bandit leader felt that Avira was of these nobledies and that Frost and Borris were her assigned guards. As long as he managed to take her hostage then Frost would be powerless to act.

 Chapter 687 Pay the toll (2)

    Avira could hear the violent and pain filled screams of the Sapients behind her, every one of them causing her lips to twitch and the colour to slightly drain from her face.

    She was fine with the death of monsters but people¡­ that was something else, her heart and mind couldn''t help but waver. Even as she stood before the leader of these bandits with her weapons drawn she couldn''t look at himpletely as an enemy worthy of death. Her right hand''s grip was weaker than normal, and her nned moves aimed to debilitate rather than maim and or kill.

    The bandit leader however was weighing his options, doing his best to analyse Avira''s type before Frost ended everyst one of hisrades.

    ''She''s not talking arrogantly nor is she charging at me with righteous fury¡­a difficult one.'' He''d been faced to with noble women before and knew how best to deal with such characters. Those who were full of themselves and or viewed him and hisrades like filth, deserving of nothing short of death were not only the easiest to handle but they were also his favourite.

    His mind couldn''t help but reminisce about two of his breeding bitches who were locked up back at the enve. Two noble women who once looked down on him were now nothing more than his sex ves. Proud beautiful women who were once superior now desperately curry his favour whenever hees home. Eager to gorge themselves on his bandit manhood all so they could eat well for the day.

    A miserable end that always made him hard just thinking about it.

    Avira however was a little different, if he wanted to survive this ordeal and return to his loving breeding sluts then he had act with a little finesse.

    He gripped his club with two hands and charged forward with a feigned look of determination, as though a solider bravely confronting an enemybatant.

    His moves and expression caught Avira off guard, but she was skilled enough to parry his club and move to the side. She instinctively thrust her rapier at his exposed nk but hesitated in thest second which brought a smile to the bandit''s lips.

    "Vicious noble! Why don''t you just pay the toll." He hollered while swinging his club. His gaze warily ncing in Frost''s direction as another one of hisrades bit the dust.

    Avira frowned in response but didn''t answer, her feet dancing as she readied her specialised fighting style.

    Before she could summon her ice fog however the bandit leader charged straight for her with a very wide swing full of openings. Avira could easily see multiple opportunities tond a severe blow but for some reason she was unable to take a single one. The man''s look of fear and misguided anger towards her shook her will.

    Her rapier eventually found purchase within the bandits left thigh, stabbing deeply but far from the muscles and artery. The man''s face however warped in pain and his fear intensified shaking Avira''s soul. Her grip weakened even further, and her entire body trembled.

    "Ahhhhh!" When the man screamed in pain shepletely froze for just a moment, a moment that the bandit precisely aimed for.

    His expression of pain vanished, and his reckless unpolished movements transformed in an instant. Before Avira could even register the change the bandit leader was viciously swinging his club against her right leg without mercy.

    "[Brutal crush]" The bandit leader activated a low ranking skill that granted weight and concussive force to his spiked club.

    Crunch!

    "Ahhhhhhhh!" The man''s club smashed against Avira'' right thigh, fragmenting a chunk of her bone. She screamed in agony as her body crumbled to the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her blooded right leg and looked up at her attacker in shock and horror.

    Gone was the fear and determination in his expression, reced with gut wrenching perversion and glee. He smiled from ear to ear with a lustful look while raising his spiked club for another blow.

    "Oh I can''t get enough of that look. The sudden realisation of doom, that your life is actually at my mercy, a bandit''s mercy.

    Ohhhh it''s orgasmic, I''m going to love forcing you to gag on my cock, to see you beg for your freedom in the beginning only to graduallye to not only love my touch but be addicted to it just like all the rest." The bandit leader no longer hid his desires as his spiked club came swinging down on Avira''s left thigh, fracturing her other leg.

    Then with experienced hands the bandit leader grabbed hold of a tuft of Avira''s hair and dragged her pain riddled body across the snow.

    "Oi guardsman lookie what I''ve got." He bellowed with arrogance, his hand cupping Avira''s chin, presenting her tear covered face to Frost, Borris and Kiba.

    "Grrrrr!" Kiba violently growled, his fur standing on end as his muscles tensed in preparation for an attack.

    "V!" Borris loudly shouted, his hands tightening around his hammer.

    Frost meanwhile nonchntly finished off another bandit before turning around with a bemused expression on his face. He had been keeping an eye on Avira the entire time, so her current predicament wasn''t a surprise to him.

    "Lay down your weapons otherwise little miss noble here gets my club to her face." The bandit leader who''s strength was roughly at the peak of D-rank waved his club in front of Avira''s face in a threatening manner.

    Borris frowned not knowing what to do, he looked to Frost for answers.

    Frost who found the whole thing rather amusing couldn''t help but slightly smile.

    "Now why on Nova would I do that little bandit." He said before casting a [freezing fireball] killing off thest of the bandit leader''srades.

    "Y¡­You, don''t you care about the life your mistress?" The bandit leader fearfully asked wondering why Frost was going off script.

    "Hmm" Frost gazed at Avira who was clearly in no small amount of pain and currently at the bandit''s mercy. "I think you''ve made a mistake little bandit, I''m not her servant nor is he." Frost gestured towards Borris who also kept his hammer in hand despite not wanting any harm to befall Avira. "So why would we drop our weapons, our primary means of defence just because you said so?"

    "I''ll really kill her you know." The bandit leader thought that Frost was just bluffing, attempting to sike him out and buy time so he ced a blood covered spike against Avira''s cheek and cut open her flesh to prove his intentions.

    "Oh I don''t doubt you. Go ahead, kill her." Frost strangely encouraged the bandit.

    "Huh?" Now he was really confused.

    "Why would I care about her current condition when she brought it on herself. A woman who far surpasses you in strength, technique and equipment lost because of her foolish naivety and preconceptions despite my heartfelt advice.

    By this point if it isn''t by your hand it''ll be by the next, so go ahead put her out of her misery." Frost taunted with an evil expression, his eyes looking almost expectant. The bandit leader couldn''t help but tremble at such disregard for Avira''s life. He genuinely believed that Frost didn''t give a shit.

    ''Did I guess wrong.'' The bandit leader thought for sure that Frost was Avira''s guard and even if he wasn''t he was sure that he''d care about her enough to at least make some effort to protect her. Unfortunately it seemed that he really bet wrong. Without Avira he had no assurances, his life would be forfeit.

    Borris who waspletely not okay with Frost sacrificing Avira, the Princess of his home nation as well as their travellingpanion fiercely red at him and moved to confront the young man but before he could Kiba held him in ce, discreetly shaking his head. An action that puzzled Borris but keeled his jets.

    Avira was even more shocked than the bandit leader, she even momentarily forgot the immense pain in her legs as she gazed at Frost, the man who upied a ratherrge part of her heart by this point.

    ''Will he really let me die?'' She asked internally, her confidence shaken by the evil expression on the young man''s face.

    ''Am I really not worth the effort?''

    She thought about his words and found strong logic within them. She really did bring this on herself.

    Frost warned her repeatedly about battles with her life on the line, he told her to never hesitate yet what did she do, hesitate. He told her to never underestimate her enemy as to do so would only result in death.

    Because she ignored his advice, hesitated and struggled against the bandit just because he was a Sapient she now had two broken legs and her body was in so much pain that she couldn''t think straight. The bandit leader''s revtion also dealt a strong psychological blow, greatly impacting her mental state. Frost''s words however started to wake her up.

    "Little bandit, what are you waiting for? Finish the deed. If she can''t handle someone at your level, an opponent far weaker than herself then what use is she?" Frost taunted one more time, stressing the pointlessness of Avira''s life if she couldn''t even handle a simple bandit.

 Chapter 688 Big girl

    As Frost stared down the bandit leader, pressuring him to make a choice Avira was pretty much forgotten. All the brutish man could think about was how to preserve his own life and escape the young elf who could kill him with a single blow.

    His earlier assumption about the group''s rtionship couldn''t have been more wrong. Frost instead of dropping his weapon and pleading for Avira''s safety instead egged him on, pressuring him to act on his threats, to kill her.

    Frost repeatedly referred to Avira as someone useless, a na?ve woman who lost against a foe far weaker than herself and in no time at all, a shameful disy. If she couldn''t even take care of a single bandit then how would she ever take on her insidious brothers.

    The machinations of two highly supported princes and their near limitless subordinates would be far more devious than those of a mere bandit. Avira truly would just end up being killed at the hands of another if she couldn''t handle the man currently shaking in his boots from Frost''s mere presence.

    He wasn''t even using his aura, just his natural charisma was more than enough to pressure the bandit leader.

    As the men stood in silence waiting for the other to make a move Avira was able to recollect herself and find her bearings. Frost''s harsh words though heart piercing woke her from her delirium. Her mental acuity slowly returned allowing her to take stock of her current situation.

    Her two thighs werepletely shot for the moment, the bandit knew exactly what he was doing, the pain alone sent intense spasms throughout her body every other second. The physical pain was far greater than anything she''d ever experienced; she was afraid and couldn''t help but cry and scream.

    The battle was over so quickly and so abruptly that her adrenaline hadn''t started pumping, she was feeling the full level of pain.

    Pain especially intense pain like what she was currently suffering was a significant moment for those who risked their lives.

    Soldiers may feel strong and courageous when standing side by side with their brothers and sisters, led into glorious battle under the umbre that was their valiant generals, but once those boons were lost and the solider was alone, bereft ofrades and wounded, a person''s true worth would be revealed.

    Some cringe from the pain, cry, scream, holler for their parents as the intensity overwrites everything they trained for. The fear of death turning them to desperation.

    That is not the point that decides one''s worth, however.

    Pain and fear of that pain as well as death is natural. Those experiencing it for the first time like Avira couldn''t be expected to just grin and bear it, ignore their wounds and ultimately focus on the task at hand. It was natural for their souls to tremble, for them to turn to their baser instincts.

    No, what determines a person''s true worth is the moment after, when the pain is no longer a surprise, when their mind is able to limate to the intense change. If they then still choose to scream, cry and behave in a pathetic manner then they will never be able to take to the field of battle again, at least not effectively.

    The moment things start to go sour, or if they''re up against a superior foe they''ll run, desperately trying to avoid that traumatic, pain filled experience regardless of how such an action would affect others.

    The same held true perhaps even more so for adventurers, they who faced death on a regr basis, who regrly stared into the awaiting maws of monsters could never allow themselves to crumble, to falter in fear as the moment they did, death woulde calling.

    But if a person is able to calm their mind, to focus on the task at hand and regain control of their mind and body once the initial period of surprise had passed then these people could be called true warriors.

    Avira was experiencing this opportunity at this very moment. Her mind that was previously numbed because of the pain as well as the sudden change in attitude within the bandit was starting churn. Frost''s harsh words woke her up, forcing her to either remain useless and worthless or to fight, to clean up her own mess.

    Frost barely managed to conceal a proud smirk as he noticed the light in Avira''s eyese back to life.

    ''That''s it V, remember the battle isn''t over until you draw yourst breath.'' The more he watched the more interested he became. Avira was like a diamond in the rough, unpolished but holding immense potential. He wanted to see her bloom, to flower into a warrior that could fill her brother''s with abject fear.

    Only someone like that could effectively take control of the Northrend empire and be his ally.

    "Little bandit maybe you can stand here all day, wasting daylight but my friend and I have ces to be so you can either uphold your threat and kill her which in turn will result in me killing you or you can drop your weapon, all your valuables and prostrate yourself on the snow and beg for mercy¡­.and then I''ll kill you." Frost yfully offered the bandit two choices, briefly alluding that the second would waive the death penalty, only to crush his hopes a few secondster.

    "If you''re going to kill me then why would I bother with the second option, might as well as bring this bitch down to hell with me!" The bandit leader roared, his wrath allowing him to ovee his fear.

    "As I said the choice is yours¡­.well it was." Frost''s smile grew making him look like a demon, his eyes shining as Avira made her move.

    "Huh!?" The bandit leader was confused for a moment, a moment that this time Avira took advantage of.

    "[Wind bullet]" With her mind focused again Avira was able to utilise her magic albeit with noticeable difficulty. With her left hand tightly wrapped around her wand she rapidly conjured four bullets of wind and fired them at the bandit leader''s body.

    Don! Don! Don! Don!

    The four wind bullets mmed hard against the bandit''s leather armour, leaving divots along his cuirass. Nothing was broken but the sudden and well targeted force heavily bruised his ribs and right shoulder. The bandit leader was thus pushed away from Avira after dropping his spiked club.

    ''Fuck!!'' He internally screamed knowing full well that he was a goner, Frost with his strength wouldn''t let such a prime opportunity go. He turned away from Avira and locked eyes with Frost hoping to see how he''d die but strangely Frost wasn''t moving, instead he remained where he was with a look of amusement.

    He then suddenly felt the surrounding air writhe and a chill ran down his spine. Turning back to Avira he could see her lips moving and could hear some sort of aria being spoken but he failed to recognise the spell, but his instincts were screaming danger. He tried to regain his bnce and move but his feet were suddenly wrapped in chain bs, he thus fell forward into the snow.

    And the moment he crashed down Avira finished her casting.

    "[Pir of raging wind]" She chanted theplete aria, utilised her wand to its maximum capacity and even overextended her mana veins all to cast this half step 4th circle spell, the strongest and most cruel spell in her arsenal.

    A green magic crest with a diameter of 4 metres appeared beneath the bandit leader locking him in ce. The crest then rose 8 metres encasing him in a green pir.

    At this point Avira red at the bandit with hate filled eyes. She imagined the amount of women this man had ruined and abused as well as the hundreds perhaps even thousands that were kidnapped by his bandit enve as a whole. The image sickened her to her stomach. She could have just as easily be one of them, a woman who could only survive by bringing pleasure to the man who destroyed her.

    "There''s a special ce in the hells for a being like you!" She screamed with such hatred that it felt grating to the ears.

    The next second the green pir encasing the bandit leader conjured up a storm of wind des that gradually picked up velocity.

    "Ahhh!" The bandit leader screamed as des of wind carved up his skin, drawing small amounts of blood, like minor paper cuts. These wounds continued to build and build until not a single section of his flesh wasn''t yed. The entire torturous process took 3 minutes, after 3 minutes the bandit had been cut up into minute chunks, his organs and blood desecrating the snow where he once stood.

    Such a disy brought a shiver to Borris'' back while Frost was all smiles, he even nodded his head and pped in admiration. A slow painful death by a woman he deemed nothing more than his next breeding sow.

    Once the spell was finished and the battle was officially over Frost walked next to sitting Avira. He ced a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.

    "What did you learn?" He asked yfully.

    "¡­.to not show mercy." Avira replied through a clenched jaw, her thighs still in immense pain and her heart still wounded by Frost''s words even though she now realised the reason he said them.

    "Good, now take a health potion so we can continue our journey to Icethorne." He said with an amused smile.

    "¡­..No praise, no apology for being so mean?"

    "???? You took down a man far weaker than yourself and you want to be praised for it, look at the state of you do you really think you did good."

    "Urgh" Avira couldn''t help but groan as Frost''s words stabbed her heart.

    "And an apology, for what? Me calling you useless when you pretty much were or for me buying you time to resolve the situation yourself like a big girl."

    "Urgh! Urgh!" That one hurt a lot, she nearly coughed up blood.

    Avira red at Frost with reddened eyes finally realising how much of an asshole he could be. His words though correct were still harsh and his actions could be considered cruel but very effective, she truly had no leg to stand on.

    Frost couldn''t help but grin from ear to ear as he watched Avira''s cheeks puff up from her inability to argue. She was so darn adorable.

    Eventually however he gave her what she wanted and even deserved.

    "You did good V, I''m proud of you." He said in a soothing manner while tussling her hair which caused her mind to go poof and a crimson hue to don her cheeks.

 Chapter 689 Run!

    After giving the praise she so desperately craved Frost reminded her to take a health potion before walking over to Borris. Kiba meanwhile sauntered over to Avira, he gently licked her face, rubbed his fur against her and mewed in a concerned manner.

    "You''re one vicious bastard you know that." Borris couldn''t help but say once Frost walked over to peruse the belongings of the bandits.

    "Perhaps from your perspective I''m being vicious but in my view I''m just being efficient and a little mischievous." Frost knew that his methods wouldn''t be for everyone, but he didn''t care.

    "Huh forcing a young girl with no experience in killing others to fight and kill a bandit and then deem her useless for failing, even going to the extent of urging the bandit to put her out of her misery if that''s not vicious then I really want to what you consider vicious." Boris understood the logic behind Frost''s methods and to be honest couldn''t argue with the results but still it really left a bad taste in his mouth.

    Avira was just a girl in his eyes, na?ve and innocent, traits he deemed worth protecting. Just because she had the potential didn''t mean she had to be forcefully matured. He worried about her mental health.

    "Borris first off I never forced her she could have said no at anytime and or asked for help and I would have given it. V chose to follow my methods because she knows of the dangers that await her¡­.stop looking at her like a little girl Borris, she''s a warrior, a woman with the potential to be the Empress of Northrend." Frost turned around and spoke in a serious tone.

    "Second what I consider vicious would be akin to greeting death on daily perhaps even hourly basis until you bepletely numb to the meaning of fear." His eyes showed a strange fanaticism as he said this.

    Only training like what Maya put him through could be considered vicious, carving up his body, breaking each and every one of his bones again and again, leaving him on the brink of death over and over, that was vicious but again¡­effective.

    Borris'' eyes shook upon seeing such a look in Frost''s eyes. He now understood Frost a bit better. How could someone as young as him have such great strength? Talent alone could only get you so far. He surmised that Frost must have experienced something far more gruelling than Avira.

    "Are you just going to stand there or are going to help me fleece the bodies, we''re on the clock remember." Frost returned to normal expression seamlessly making Borris wonder which Frost was the true Frost.

    As expected the bandits didn''t have much in terms of valuables, all their money was back in the enve and Frost, Avira and Borris were their first marks in days.

    Frost divided up the meagre spoils and set their corpses aze before gently cing Avira on Kiba''s back and continuing their journey to Icethorne.

    They ran into few more packs of bandits but learning from her mistakes Avira wasted no time taking out the opponents she was assigned. Unbeknownst to her the air surrounding her was colder and filled with a natural bloodlust, she had changed,pletely shelving her former identity as a sheltered princess.

    Once night fell they spent theirst night in the wilderness, tomorrow -as long as nothing unexpected happens- they''d reach Icethorne. Avira would find sanctuary and could begin nning her conquest for the throne while Borris would be able to reinvigorate his passion for smithing by offering his services to one of the most war-torn fortresses'' in Yangmir.

    And Frost would continue his travels, making his way towards the secret entrance of Niflheim, the personal dimension of the primordial ice king, Shivali.

    The group slept rather well despite their anticipation, they also filled their stomachs withrge portions in preparation for thest and possibly the most dangerous leg of the journey. Though it wouldn''t even take half a day to reach Icethorne from their current position the route was near the crevasse of Ymir, meaning frost giants. A race beholden to the same category as dragons.

    Even their weakest members were C-rank and none of them were in the early or entry stages.

    Frost was particrly on edge as they travelled. There was no talking, and everyone had to listen to his orders without dropping a single beat.

    The first couple hours were quiet but by the third hour the group could smell blood. In the distance there was what could only be described as carnage.

    From what he could tell a merchant caravan was travelling nearby and was attacked by a pack of dire wolves and thus forced near the crevasse. This action probably alerted a nearby troop of frost giants who immediately ughtered everything in sight.

    Bodies of dire wolves were torn in half, some sporting bare skeletons after being feasted upon while the merchants were crushed and robbed of anything the giants deemed valuable. Everything else was left for the mountains to reim and to serve as a warning to anyone passing through.

    As they continued the group came across a few more battle sites as well as territory markings. By this point Frost''s hairs were standing on the back of his neck and his ears were twitching at even the slightest sounds of movement.

    Eventually he was inundated with a sense of dread. He raised a closed left fist ordering the group to immediately halt. Kiba quickly tensed his muscles while Avira drew her rapier and Borris held his hammer.

    There was silence for tens of seconds, no sign of any movement but that sense of dread never left Frost''s heart.

    Borris was the first to break under the pressure, he wasn''t used to being so on edge. He loosened his grip on his hammer andmanded the frost wolf to move closer to Frost, so he could discuss what was going on.

    The moment he let down his guard and had the frost wolf move however, disaster struck.

    "Shit Borris dodge!" Frost desperately called out but he was toote.

    Boooff!

    Suddenly from beneath the snow a massive giant with pale blue skin leaped upwards like a fish in water. The giant wielded a massive club that was already swinging upwards as he ascended. The target was Borris and the frost wolf.

    Crunch!

    "ARRRFFFFF!!!" The frost wolf took a heavy blow to its ribs and was sent flying along with Borris. The poor E-rank wolf had its ribcage shattered and several organs pulverised; death was a certainty. Borris got off better thanks to it taking the brunt of the attack, but his insides were still rattled.

    Frost quickly leaped from Kiba''s back and caught Borris, bringing him onto Kiba''s back while he withdrew his ive ready to meet their giant adversary.

    "Kiba protection detail, don''t drop them!"

    "Garow!"

    Frost wasted no time at all, he attacked with some of his most powerful techniques hoping to end the fight as quickly as possible.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" He shed out with one of his best ive skills, summoning a semi-corporal wyvern''s maw surrounded in ice fire.

    The wyvern''s maw roared and flew at the surprised frost giant, taking a bite out of its left arm while Frost quickly followed up.

    ng! Squelch!

    The wyvern maw bit deep into the frost giant''s muscle, causing it to roar in pain and fail to properly defend itself from Frost''s ive.

    His weapon first shed against some kind of bone armour that greatly reduced the force behind his sh. In the end he was only able to cut a few inches deep which was, but a flesh wound for the frost giant.

    Frost frowned finding his opponent far more durable than he expected but he didn''t hesitate in continuing his attack.

    "[Freezing fireball]" He used a 3rd circle ice fire spell to soften it up while coating his ive in chakra, his target the monster''s throat. He couldn''t have it call for reinforcements after all.

    Given how close they were to the crevasse of Ymir this battle had to be quick, quiet and done without aura lest he wished to paint a target on his back for the nearby B-rank frost giants who were likely on the lookout for powerful intruders. The one in front of him right now was an upper C-rank and likely just an outlying scout.

    "Can I help?" Avira who had really started to grow into her own over the course of their journey asked with her rapier in one hand and wand in the other.

    "No! stay put." Frost loudly replied as he shed out with his ive, constantly having the frost giant on the back foot but that didn''t make him happy in the slightest.

    ''God damn meat bag!'' He internallyined at how dense the giant was, his ive could cut through iron like butter, but he was only managing to cut a few inches deep into the monster''s flesh. Its muscles were just too damn thick and its bones like diamond. He even failed topletely destroy the creatures throat.

    "ROOOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!"

    "FUCK!!!" What he dreaded happening happened, the damn monster despite the blood pooling in its throat roared at the top of its lungs, likely alerting itsrades.

    This roaring did give Frost that chance to finally kill it, but the damage had already been done.

    A secondter they could hear the roars of frost giants in the distance.

    "RUN!!!" Frost gave the order to Kiba who quickly started running once Frostnded on his back. Carrying three people would slow him down somewhat and the space was rather cramped but what choice did they have.

 Chapter 690 Run! (2)

    "Roar!!" The moment the group started running tumultuous roars erupted in multiple directions, the frost giants had been summoned.

    Cold sweat dripped down Frost''s forehead as he tightly grasped the shaft of his ive, his eyes and senses primed to react to even the slightest sign of movement. Their current situation was extremely dangerous.

    Frost giants were strong, even their youngest and weakest members were dangerous individuals that could ughter Borris and Avira without much effort. With Kiba having to carry everyone on his back, Frost was the only one who could effectively protect them, a heavy duty.

    He did his best to restrain his aura, but it was only a matter of time, the moment their current aggressors failed too apprehend them and or fell to his ive the big boys woulde out to y. Frost knew his limits; he could go toe to toe with perhaps one maybe two entry level B-ranks but defeating them unlikely.

    Their only choice was to run, to make it to the borders of Icethorne before they''re overwhelmed.

    As Kiba ran like his life depended on it, his weaker riders struggling to even hold onto his back Frost caught sight of 3 frost giantsing from their left while another scout came from their right with more on the way.

    "Tsk [freezing fireball]" Not wanting these 4 individuals to impede their charge Frost went on the offensive casting multiple 3rd circle ice fire spells. Strong enough to curb their advance while also dealing some minor damage but not enough to send them into a frenzy.

    "Kiba keep running north don''t stop for even a second." Frost stressed with a pronounced frown knowing full well how dire their current circumstances were.

    "Garow!" Kiba loudly chuffed before picking up even more speed,pletely leaving obstacle removal to Frost.

    More and more frost giants began to pop out from the snow with furious expressions. Twice Kiba was nearly caught by their outstretched palms, but Frost was quick, hecerated them in an instant allowing the group to keep running.

    "Rooaarrr!!" Unfortunately their aggressive fleeing finally drew the interest of a more powerful individual, not a B-rank but one just a half step from it.

    This frost giant was a head taller than the rest of his kin but still shorter than the B-rank frost giant Valend. He appeared directly in front of their path with tworades lining his side. He wielded a massive great axe forged from the bones of a mighty monster as well as high quality metal. His armour was also far more intricate than the others and covered more of his flesh.

    Taking him down would be anything but an easy task.

    "Shit! Kiba avoid him." Frost wasted no time ordering Kiba to take a wide berth, choosing to take a detour and risk further surrounding than to try and steam roll over the higher ranked frost giant.

    "Coward!" Therger frost giant cursed aloud before making a few gestures with his hands. The next moment 2 frost giants appeared directly ahead of Kiba''s new trajectory. He quickly turned to head in another direction but once again with a single gesture of therger frost giant another two frost giants impeded his path, they were surrounded.

    Therger frost giant and his cronies dead ahead, two to the left, two to the right and a building horde behind them leaving them but two options. One, to fight their way through one of the groups while the other was take to the air and fly over them s the second option was not so easy.

    All the frost giants bar therger one wielded a set of hunting chains, perfect for capturing low flying prey.

    Why not fly high then you might ask well that''s because once you''re above a certain height in the cial mountains the temperature plummets and the space is inundated with vicious flying monsters that care not for the boundaries between the external, inner and core regions. There was a very real possibility of a swarm of B-ranks or even an A-rank loitering around in the air above.

    "Grrr!" Kiba growled in frustration, his paths all cut off while Frost red at therger frost giant, they were trapped, fighting being their only true option.

    ''He''s smart, a true hunter.'' Frost characterized therger frost giant who was currently very pleased with himself as such.

    Frost nced beyond therger frost giant and then towards the crevasse of Ymir in the distance, internally calcting a few things before sporting a heavy frown. The odds weren''t great, they were still a decent ways from Icethorne and far too close to the crevasse for his liking, but they were out of options.

    "Kiba focus on protecting V and Borris, leave the battle to me. Borris hunker down and rely on the strength of your te armour while V onlysh out when you have no other option, the moment either one of you is dislodged from Kiba''s back it''s over."

    "Got itd." Borris gruffly replied as the hairs on the back of his neck, arms and even back stood erect, he could smell the stench of death.

    "What about magic? I don''t need to move to use it." Avira however felt her blood boiling, her battle lust threatening to overwhelm her as a wild smile adorned her lips. She desperately wanted to test herself against the frost giants, monsters that were in the same league as dragons.

    If this was any other time Frost would have encouraged such behaviour and enjoyed watching the young womane into her own as a fellow battle maniac but unfortunately there was a time and ce.

    "Alright but no full arias, you need to keep your eyes peeled and retain focus on your surroundings." He gave permission for magic as long as she stayed firmly attached to Kiba and never lost sight of what was going on around her.

    Avira curtly nodded in reply before sheathing her instinctively drawn rapier and instead grabbing hold of her wand with her left hand while the right held onto Kiba''s fur.

    While the group briefly discussed their options the frost giants were already moving in, shrinking the box that surrounded them.

    "Looks like they''re going to finally fight." Therger frost giant who was inmand of the current group was smiling from ear to ear, his blood heating up from the carnage that was set tomence.

    "Close the box and work as a group, our prey this time isn''t simple."

    ""Yes captain."" The two giants by his side replied with a wild salute before fanning out.

    Therge frost giant was named Gageus and was the leader of the scouting groups in their current location. A young talent that was just a hairs breadth away from reaching B-rank, perhaps after defeating and devouring their current prey he''d finally take that final step and ascend to be a truly qualified member of their race, an adult.

    As the frost giants shrunk the box and fanned outwards Frost made his decision.

    "Kiba head north, we''ll break through their strongest defence line and head straight for Icethorne." His reasons for such a decision were multiple. First it was the most direct route to their destination, breaking through Gageus and his direct cohorts would eliminate the need for a time consuming detour.

    Second while the left and right routes held a weaker force Frost assumed that more were waiting behind them creating a false sense of power. Third it was clear that Gageus was the one inmand of the current operation, taking him out or at least gravely wounding him would likely impede any follow up attack thus making the northern route the best option.

    "Garow!" Kiba chuffed in agreement before tensing his entire body and letting loose a primordial roar that shook the snow beneath their feet and slightly intimidated the weaker giants trailing after them. In the next moment he charged dead ahead as directed, aiming straight for Gageus and his cohorts with a vicious expression.

    As Kiba moved Frost closed his eyes, calmed his heart and covered his entire body in a denseyer of ice chakra armour, adding to his already substantial defence. His ive however was decorated with ice fire chakra, sliver mes dancing along the de edge, forming ice crystals in the air wherever it passed. Then without any hesitation Frost leaped from Kiba''s back high into the air.

    "Bring him down!" Gageus loudly ordered while readying his great axe, coating it in ice chakra giving it an even more frigid appearance.

    His direct cohorts however took hold of heavy chain bs and tossed them at Frost, aiming to drag him back down to the ground where their standard weapons could reach him.

    "[Skyfall]" Frost expecting such a move reeled back his ive and activated one of his few airborne skills. His internal energy was absorbed to create four identical ives that surrounded the [wolf howling at the moon].

    The next moment he was descending like a meteor his ives loudly shing against the thick chain bs, cracking multiple chain links as they were sent hurtling into the horizon.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Following up his ive skill Frost summoned two balls of ice fire and sent them barrelling towards the two giants whounched the chain bs.

    "Tsk!" They loudly clicked their tongues and drew their twin hammers. With deft movements the two frost giants mmed the faces of their hammers against one another, obliterating the ball of the ice fire thaty between. Frost''s magic waspletely ineffective, leaving a few bits of frost on their brows, nothing more.

    These two though they were weaker than Gageus, it wasn''t by much, definitely peak C-rank.

 Chapter 691 Run! (3)

    Frost couldn''t help but frown as he saw his freezing fireballs erased by the might of their twin hammers, they were far more tenacious than he first thought. However with them being preupied with him and having used their chain bs Kiba was free to charge forward unencumbered at least for a few tens of metres before being faced with Gageus.

    Therger frost giant kept his eyes entirely on Kiba and the weaker prey that resided on his back. He moved seamlessly to block their path forward, his great axe raised above his head.

    "[Great cier cleave]" Gageus used a high tier weapon skill that greatly increased the size of his axe as well as its weight. He swung down with enough force to rend apart the ground beneath their feet, an inferior copy of Ymir cleaving apart the cial mountains millennia ago.

    Kiba felt his fur stand erect, his instincts screaming for him to dodge the intimidating blow.

    Boooomm!!!

    The great axe fell upon the snow fields with immense fury, exploding the point of contact for metres in all directions. Cracks quickly formed along the ground, expanding into massive fissures as they hurtled towards Kiba.

    "Grrr!" The cial winged tiger was forced backwards and into the air, undoing the distance he managed to cover.

    "[Wind bullet]" Feeling annoyed Aviraunched several green wind bullets with her wand in retaliation but Gageus simply stood his ground, he didn''t even block, allowing the wind bullets to collide against his armour and even flesh.

    "Hmph!" He smirked in reply, finding Avira''s magic ticklish.

    "V don''t bother with offensive spells, nothing you have will work against him!" Frost suddenly appeared between Gageus and them with his ive at the ready.

    "Focus on those two while I clear the way." He loudly ordered before dashing straight at Gageus.

    This battle needed to be over yesterday, every second they waste the closer the horde behind them bes and the more attention they draw from the real powerhouses lying in wait. Gageus was a test, the strongest line-up they''d send before bringing in the big guns.

    Gageus who saw Frost charging at him with his ive poised and his body donned in ice armour couldn''t help but grin from ear to ear. His heart thumped in anticipation, his lust for battle filling every inch of his body as he gripped the shaft of his axe and readied himself. Finally his true opponent was facing him head on.

    "[Wyvern''s maw]" Frost made the first move, summoning a massive wyvern''s maw covered in ice fire chakra. The great beast was let loose with a violent swing of his ive, roaring as it moved to bite Gageus'' left arm.

    "Hmph you think a pathetic little wyvern can intimidate me, a giant." Gageus wasn''t pressured in the slightest, he didn''t even ready his axe instead he moved his left hand and simply grabbed hold of the vicious wyvern''s maw.

    "You want to bite into a giant''s flesh then you''re going to need a full blown dragon little elf!" Gageus stopped the wyvern''s maw dead in its tracks with his physical strength alone and after mocking the creature''s species mmed the semi-corporal maw into the snow beneath his feet, dissipating it instantly.

    "I know but what about my ive." Frost coldly replied as he appeared right beside Gageus, his ive''s de edge glinting in the sunlight as dreaded silver mes danced across it.

    The [wyvern''s maw] was a decent skill but rathercking when it came to dealing with those in the higher ranks, Frost knew this therefore he didn''t expect it to deal any sort of damage, merely draw Gageus'' attention while he got into position.

    Time seemed to slow down as Frost''s ive was filled with internal energy as well as a sliver of his aura, not enough to draw too much attention but enough to harmonise with his next skill, a skill that required one to be at the advanced level of ive mastery. A move that far surpassed the [wyvern''s maw] and one that had the potential to end this little duel in an instant.

    He was going to use everything he had to put Gageus in the ground in shortest amount of time.

    Gageus who''s instincts were at a high very high level instantly sensed danger,pletely different from the threat of therge wyvern''s maw. His muscles grew taught, and a cold sweat dripped down his spine as the spectre of death started to whisper into his ear and take hold of his heart.

    ''Shit!'' He internally cursed while giving up on all forms of offence. Without even looking at what Frost was cooking up he immediately locked himself up like a turtle, protecting his vital areas with his thickest muscles and armour in preparation.

    "[Flight of the Luan]" As Frost spoke themand words for his most powerful ive skill, his internal energy moulded into the form of arge Luan, a bird of ice fire, a sub species of the ice phoenix.

    Therge bird loudly cried out, shaking Gageus to his core and in the next moment the Luan along with Frost''s ive [wolf howling at the moon] shed with such intensity that the soundgged behind the swing.

    Schwing! Squelch! Ding!

    "Ahhhh!!" Gageus roared in pain, his arms werecerated to the point that the bones were showing. Ruby red blood dripped profusely onto the snow as fragments of his armour ked off, some were finely cut, others were deformed while a few werepletely shattered, blown apart by the frigid mes of the Luan and Frost''s chakra.

    A serious wound that made even holding onto his great axe difficult let alone swinging it.

    Gageus reeled backwards from the residual force, partially grateful as it put some much needed distance between the two of them.

    Gageus knew that Frost was strong, but this was something else, this wasn''t the strength of a person at the peak of C-rank no this was someone at the B-rank and not necessarily at the entry stages either. Despite him not using a full blown aura Gageus knew Frost was not in the same realm as him.

    "Shit he''s¡­." Doing his best to ignore the pain in his arms Gageus tried to warn hisrades and hopefully any true tribesmen in the area. But before he could Frost was on him like a shark on blood.

    ''Fucking dense meat bag!'' Though he appeared calm and rational, internally Frost wasmenting his failure to deal more damage with his advanced level ive skill. That thing was a move that even a strong B-rank monster would struggle to endure yet Gageus didn''t even lose a limb, his density and resilience was truly monstrous.

    "Kiba!" Not forgetting his aim Frost loudly called upon his battle mount who had be entangled with Gageus'' cohorts. He''d swipe with his ws, beat his wings and asionally attempt to take a bite while Avira enchanted him with wind magic and focused on shielding his blind spots along with Borris.

    "Garow!" Understanding his partner Kiba roared and forcefully pushed back the two frost giants before dashing north towards Icethorne now that the way was clear.

    Meanwhile Frost focused on eliminating the threat that was Gageus, as long as the man could chase after them and instruct his fellow giants they''d simply be dying the inevitable, he needed to be taken care of if they didn''t want to be bogged down in another ten minutes.

    As if sensing Frost''s desire to kill Gageus once again turtled up, this time however he increased the density of his own ice chakra armour over his vitals. Unfortunately Frost had already learned of his durability thus he aimed lower.

    "[Flight of the Luan]" Once again he used his strongest move. Ignoring the cost in stamina he targeted Gageus'' legs. His arms were injured to the point thatunching a decent swing was an impossibility but as long as he could move he''d be trouble thus Frost targeted his legs.

    Killing someone as strong as Gageus in such a short amount of time and without the full use of his aura was impossible and though desired not integral.

    "Criiiiiii" The Luan cried out the moment it formed once again causing Gageus'' soul to tremble before he was struck with an intense, sharp, burning sensation along his legs.

    Blood burst forth like a geyser, drenching Frost''s white robes red. The cuts were deep, the nerves damaged by ice fire to the point that even the slightest of movements sent pangs of intense pain through Gageus'' body. His lower strength left him, his bnce faltering as he threatened buckle, his legs no longer able to support his immense weight.

    Despite the pain however Gageus remained locked up like a turtle, refusing to give Frost even the slightest glimmer of reaching his vitals, stubborn to the end. An act that would see him live to see another day but first.

    Don!

    He felt a strong kick to his midriff and the next thing he knew his massive 8 metre body was sent barrelling through the air, his blood leaving a distinct trail as he passed near his tworades.

    "Gageus!!" They roared in concern before dashing to catch him,pletely ignoring Frost and Kiba who used this chance to escape.

    Using Gageus'' body as a springboard Frostunched himself into the air andnded on Kiba''s back.

    "Run!"

 Chapter 692 Run! (4)

    Once again the group ran towards Icethorne as fast they possibly could and soon Gageus, his two closepanions and the other frost giants moving in from the west, east and south lost sight of them.

    "Fuck!" Gageus roared out in anger. The wounds Frost left across his arms and legs violently spurt out blood, dyeing both his own blue skin and those of hisrades ruby red. The pain was extreme, but his fury was even greater.

    "Gageus don''t il around you''ll only make it worse." One of the frost giants who caught him loudly ordered while the other one moved to restrain him.

    "Bastard! I''ll kill him and eat his flesh!" Gageus fury continued to rise, his body struggling against hisrades as a viciousness filled his gaze.

    "Bring me back to the temple!" His tworades trembled upon hearing his order, knowing full well of his reasoning. Though they needed to head back to the crevasse anyway to report their failure and treat Gageus'' injuries they knew that wasn''t the reason he gave that order.

    "Understood." The two of them nodded their heads and epted the order, grabbing hold of Gageus gently from the side and carrying him back to the crevasse, where their tribe lived and thrived.

    While Gageus was carried to safety by his tworades Frost and his group were able to make great distance, gradually closing the gap between them and Icethorne however Frost was anything but relieved. His strength and capabilities were surely known now to the local hegemons.

    "Faster Kiba we need to make it to Icethorne before they move!"

    "Garow!" Kiba chuffed and forced himself to pick up speed at the expense of stamina. Borris and Avira were forced to hold themselves even tighter against the tiger''s back lest they wished to be thrown off.

    "Frost what are our chances?" Eventually Borris asked the big question with a heavy heart. He was experienced enough to realise the situation they were in and to pick up on the state of their most powerful protector.

    "¡­I''m not going to lie, it''s not good. The one I took down was almost at B-rank, meaning whoeveres at us next will be equivalent to my level possibly even higher." Frost himself was almost breaching into the mid stages of B-rank and was far more capable than most at his level but he was just one person, one person who had to protect others rather than fighting solo.

    At this point Borris and Avira were truly deadweight, their existence limiting his options.

    Borris was his friend and Avira well he promised General Anya and Luna that he''d safely escort her to Icethorne, he had his pride and honour but¡­.if there was absolutely no choice then he''d have to abandon them to save his own skin, a choice he dreaded even thinking about but currently a distinct possibility.

    "Haaaaaa if ites down to itd don''t feel guilty, I''m old and I''ve lived a good life. I''ll dly sacrifice this body of mine if it''ll ensure the future of the younger generation." With a deep sigh Borris volunteered toy down his life, hoping to take a weight off Frost''s shoulders.

    The cial mountains were ssified as a danger zone for a reason. Lives were lost each and every day, amon urrence, one that Borris knew and epted going in.

    "Borris?" Avira turned her head to look at Borris in confusion, failing to catch onto the gravity of the situation at hand, stillpletely certain in Frost''s capabilities.

    "Just promise me that you''ll protect V. She''s too young to die and has so much to do for Northrend." Borris looked at the young princess with a gentle kindness, the same way he looked at his granddaughters. He''d grown really fond of her during their journey together.

    "¡­.." Frost was silent for a few seconds as he took in Borris'' stance and endured his determined gaze. He bit his lower lip in frustration, his words struggling to leave his throat.

    "¡­.Haaaaaa very well I give you my word Borris but we''re not there yet." Eventually he sumbed to the old dwarf''s will and promised to protect Avira.

    "I know but it''s best to be prepared beforehand." A moment''s hesitation could spell the end after all.

    Avira who had just caught on had tears streaming down her cheeks, shemented her weakness, her inability to protect herself let alone one of her citizens.

    The four continued with their journey, counting every single metre they crossed and every minute that passed.

    Eventually after almost 2 hours the boundary was in sight. A massivendscape of a mountain range stretching across the horizon and piercing beyond the clouds boldly separated the external and inner regions of the cial mountains.

    Dead ahead between two mountains in arge gap that stretched several kilometres wide allowing those from either side to pass through was an entrenched fortress.

    They were still too far to make anything out but even then Frost could tell that it was an absolute monstrosity, an impassable bulwark that kept the kingdoms and empires within the inner regions at bay as well as their personal beacon of sanctuary. Just a little longer and they''d make it.

    It was impossible to stop a sense of relief from festering in their hearts as the distant image of the fortress came into view but as if waiting for that exact moment disaster struck.

    "Not another step little kitty cat." Suddenly a booming voice tinged with a dense aura and bloodlust reverberated around them. Borris and Avira nearly passed out from the pressure while Kiba painfully groaned, his body feeling 3 times heavier and radiating fear, he struggled to disobey the voice.

    "Ignore her Kiba!" Frost was the only one not pressured by the voice and replied with his own aura, forcing back the aggressor''s pressure.

    "Tsk that wasn''t a request!" The low yet clearly female voice roared again this time with an even stronger aura as well as a physical attack.

    A fierce looking harpoon wasunched from the distance, piercing through obscuring snowfall to target Kiba''s hindquarters. The enemy intended to take away his legs, forcibly preventing him from taking another step.

    Frost with his battle instincts fully activated covered his ive and arm in chakra before shing at the oing harpoon. He was no longer holding back in the slightest, his aura was flowing through his body and weapon like water, enhancing his every move, adding density, speed, resilience and the ability topete against another''s aura.

    Frost was stronger, faster and more durable when his aura flowed like this, but the state was rather draining, an empowered mode that he could only use for a short period of time.

    His aura and chakra enhanced ive struck against the harpoon that travelled faster than sound.

    Boom!

    There was cataclysmic explosion of air when the two weapons shed, and Frost visibly winced as a strong force ran up his arm and nearly popped out his shoulder. Kiba who was the supporting foundation was blown backwards by the explosion, all four of his feet bing airborne as he drifted back close to ten metres.

    The momentum behind that harpoon was terrifying, just a single throw with no skill or even chakra, just pure physical strength and aura managed to make Frost grimace and knock Kiba off his feet. This opponent truly wasn''t someone Frost could hold back against.

    "Huh?" The enemy however was rather shocked by the situation. Her spear failed to pierce the tiger''s rear in fact it failed to pierce anything. She gazed at Frost as if trying to see through his secrets.

    ''Interesting.'' She internally said before slowly revealing herself from behind heavy snow fall and boulders of ice.

    The woman was a frost giant but farrger than Gageus and even Valend, standing roughly 12 maybe even 13 metres tall. She was covered in muscle and wore rather primitive, barbarian like attire. Crude leather and fur pelts along with monster bone armour. Her main weapon was a hammer fashioned of bone and ice, that likely weighed hundreds of kilograms.

    She was a frightening individual that screamed power, strength and wild brutality. The several scars across her torso, face and legs certainly didn''t help to soften her appearance, she well and truly a wild warrior. There was however some semnce in her face to Gageus, perhaps they were rted.

    When the woman was revealed in all her glory Avira and Borris visibly trembled, their instincts immediately setting off rm bells. This woman was strong, impossibly strong.

    Borris frowned heavily as he gazed at her massive hammer knowing full well that his te armour would fail to endure such an impact.

    Not wanting to entertain this woman with a dance Frost subtly ordered Kiba with their soul connection to keep running, he''d handle her aura as well as any projectiles sent their way.

    Kiba didn''t even chuff of growl in reply instead the moment his feet touched the snow covered ground he continued his charge north, towards Icethorne.

    "Acha I wouldn''t do that if I were you." The female frost giant said with an evil smirk and a momentter nearly a dozen javelins flew in the air, all targeting Kiba.

    "Shit stop!" Frost ordered Kiba to immediately stop, allowing him to avoid some of the javelins while the rest were shed by his ive or slightly redirected by an ice shield or three.

    Kiba tried to run again once all the javelins had been brought down but another volley was immediately sent his way ruling that out.

    Frost and the group were thus forced to face off against this massive frost giant as well as the several frost giants that stood hidden in the vicinity. From the javelins and his own senses Frost surmised that their enemy''s numbers stood at roughly a dozen perhaps more, terrible odds.

 Chapter 693 B-rank frost giant

    With their path forward cut off by deluges of javelins Frost, Kiba, Borris and Avira were forced to confront their new adversary, a massive B-rank female frost giant and the dozen or so C-rank giants still hidden within the nearby blizzard and behindrge boulders of ice.

    Their destination was in sight, no more than an hour or so travel yet it never felt so far. Avira and Borris visibly trembled and felt their hearts clench as they looked upon the giant''s towering form. They knew instinctively that they were no match, mere ants under her hammer. Even twenty C-rank frost giants weren''t as intimidating as this woman standing before them now.

    The twenty they could at least outrun and endure against but her, there was no escape.

    "Frost?" Borris being the more experienced of the group called upon their strongest protector with a resigned look in his eyes. They were truly up against a rock and a hard ce.

    He expected Frost to don an even uglier expression than his own but surprisingly there was a wild smile on his lips and though his body was tensed up, his jaw clenched, and he was visibly trembling it didn''t seem to be out of fear like himself and Avira. Instead Frost appeared excited, thrilled even.

    Borris'' assumption was on point, Frost was truly excited by the situation. Of course he understood their abysmal prospects but beneath that was an opportunity, an opponent to throw his all at.

    The B-rank frost giant was clearly in the upper levels of B-rank, a fighter with an abundant amount of experience behind her given the many scars lining her body. An opponent that was stronger than him and who would do everything in her power to devour him. His inner battle maniac couldn''t help but get riled up by the prospect.

    His blood flowed at a faster rate heating up his entire body, improving his reflexes and allowing his chakra and aura to flow through his system with near perfect fluidity. His body was ready for a fight, but his mind still needed to take care of the situation.

    They were several kilometres from Icethorne''s boundary, still within the crevasse of Ymir''s extended territory. The B-rank giant and her cohorts were thoroughly pining them down, any attempt to leave their zone of control resulted in a deluge of javelins and Frost could pick up movement in their surroundings.

    More and more giants wereing their way, yet none deigned to shown themselves apart from the B-rank woman.

    Perhaps there was a possibility of negotiation or at least a window of opportunity. As long as he could control and limit the actions of this women perhaps they could make a break for it or maybe just Avira.

    Borris was too much of a liability and had already offered to sacrifice himself. Frost needed to fight, there was no recourse for that thus that left Kiba and Avira.

    Avira alone would easily be run down by the C-ranks hidden behind the snowstorm so Kiba would have to go with her. Choosing to do so would not only fulfil his promise to Borris, Luna and General Anya but would present an opportunity.

    With Avira''s identity as long as she made it Icethorne she could enlist aid from their soldiers. The war fortress of Icethorne was filled with dozens of B-ranks and even several A-ranks, more than enough to intimidate the group currently moving to surround them.

    "Whatever you do don''t let go of Kiba." After rapidly analysing their situation for a second or two Frost sternly said, his eyes locked onto the giant woman with an evil smirk on her lips. She was enjoying the sight of her prey floundering in her presence.

    Frost closed his eyes for a moment, let out a deep breath and then leaped from Kiba''s back to stand before the giant woman with his ive in hand, ready to face off against her without nary a fear, leaving protection of Borris and Avira to Kiba who at this moment was shivering.

    The young cial winged tiger was afraid, fearful of the strength held by the female frost giant but more so about his partner who was now standing against her.

    "Hoh interesting, you''ve got balls I''ll give you that but then again it''s not like you''ve got much choice." Therge female giant lightlyughed as she rested her massive hammer across her shoulders and took a few steps forward.

    With her almost 13 metre frame she dwarfed the 2 metre Frost, like an adult looking down on an infant that just learned to stand, the sight if you take out the danger and bloodlust filling the air was ratherical.

    The female frost giant or Be as she was called wasn''t simply standing in front of Frost in an intimidating manner no her aura was fully unleashed, pressuring the surroundings and entirely focused on the little elf before her. Yet the man didn''t even stumble or wince instead he red back at her, unleashing his own aura in reply.

    Frost''s aura wasn''t as heavy nor as all-epassing but there was a greater quality to it, a density that allowed it stand on roughly equal footing with Be''s. A situation that truly surprised her and made her smile stretch from ear to ear.

    "No wonder my son was so heavily injured." Be was Gageus'' mother and someone with a rather high standing back in their tribe.

    When her son came home with significant injuries she was furious and upon learning that they were caused by a B-rank elf who had intruded upon their territory she immediately rounded up a battalion and set off in pursuit only just now managing to catch up and deploy their anti-escape measures.

    "Your flesh will make for a great tonic, allowing my son to bridge the gap and be a true member of the tribe." Be was quite a protective mother and had high hopes for her son so despite it being a little overkill moved to hunt this little elf personally.

    "Hmph you know I was thinking the same thing, I''ve never had frost giant steaks before." Frost taunted in reply with a starving look in his eyes, looking Be up and down as if she was a walking delicacy.

    "..." There was an eery silence for a second or two before sudden cracks and twangs reverberated. Being looked at as prey by someone inferior set Be off. Throbbing veins instantly appeared across her forehead and along her arms as without the slightest hesitation she swung out with her massive hammer.

    DON!!

    Frost expecting some sort of responsive had his ive and chakra armour ready but even so the moment her hammer made contact he felt like a child. The force behind her blow instantly lifted him from the ground and sent him skidding across the snow.

    His chakra armour lining his left side literally exploded from the impact and blood trickled down his forearm as the seams between his fingers split open. There was at least several tons behind that sudden blow, a great deal more than what he was expecting.

    ''She''s even stronger than I thought.'' Frost purposefully baited Be into attacking him suddenly, hoping to gauge the extent of her physical brutality and he wasn''t disappointed. His internal organs were shaken, his vision slightly blurry and he felt like he wanted to puke his guts out but that was only temporary.

    ''It''s just like Maya.'' Hepared Be''s blow and even movement to that of Maya who also used hammers and who before the family gathering trumped him in terms of physical strength.

    If Be used an axe, a sword or anything other than a hammer then he wouldn''t be quite so optimistic but given that he trained profusely with someone who had perfect grade mastery over hammers Be''s capabilities seemed rathercklustre inparison.

    "Frost!" Avira loudly screamed in concern, her body fighting against her base instincts and her desire to run to his side to help him but in the end she stayed put. Her body refused to leave Kiba''s back, Be was just too intimidating. This was the right call as the moment she left Kiba''s back was the moment this battle was over.

    Frost stood before Be so as to draw her aggression and protect her, Borris and Kiba while they waited for an opportunity. Right now only Be was making moves in the open, whether that was out of arrogance, or some other reason Frost didn''t care as it was advantageous to them.

    ''There''ll be a chance, there has to be.''

    ''Kiba use your nascent aura to calm yourself, watch the surroundings and if you see an opportunity run for Icethorne and don''t look back.'' Frost used his soul connection with Kiba to silently give him an order while he shook off Be''s impact and moved to retaliate.

    The young tiger trembled as he heard his partner''s voice and moved to used his still growing aura, an action he had very little experience in doing.

    "[Freezing fireball]" Frostunched two balls of ice fire at Be, obscuring her vision as he moved into a blind spot, using a simr method as he did with Gageus.

    And to be expected the balls of ice fire were nothing in Be''s eyes, with a simple punch and headbutt these balls of ming magic were dissipated, revealing the tiny elf directly below her chin.

    "[Flight of the Luan]" Using his most powerful ive skill Frost summoned a silver blue Luan around his ive and shed upwards, holding nothing back. His blow was infused with ice fire chakra and his royal aspected aura to its absolute limits.

    Such as sh was even greater that what Gageus was hit with and the timing, angle and speed were bang on perfect¡­Unfortunately his opponent was stronger, faster and more experienced than he was.

 Chapter 694 B-rank frost giant (2)

    "Criiiii!!" The semi-corporal Luan cried out as it moved in concert with Frost''s upward sh, the sound attempting to shake Be''s soul, to freeze her for a moment so as to deal maximum damage. s Be was strong and a very experienced fighter.

    Frost''s initial attempts to ovee her senses were nothing but childish attempts in her eyes. She abolished his freezing fireballs with minimal movement and locked her gaze almost instantly beneath her chin, predicating his movements with frightening uracy.

    Though his ive skill was rather impressive and his aura quite distinct it was nothing she hadn''t faced before.

    The high pitched cry of the Luan didn''t faze her in the slightest. The moment Frost''s sh moved upwards in an attempt to carve up her face she deftly used the head of her hammer to partially redirect the blow and took a single step backwards.

    Schwing!

    The sharp sh cut through the air, splitting it apart with a trail of frost. A mighty blow thatpletely missed its intended target.

    Frost was internally surprised, not expecting such skilled and quick movements from the muscle bound giant but he didn''t let it distract him.

    Using the residual force of his upward swing he flipped his body andshed out with a brutal kick. With his right leg covered in dense, multyered ice chakra he aimed for Be''s sr plexus, not aiming to deal much damage but to use her as a springboard. Unfortunately this too was predicted by the scar covered woman.

    Crunch!

    Be''s left hand was silently ced before her chest and the moment Frost''s leg made contact she grabbed him and squeezed hard.

    "Quick little bastard aren''t you!" Said Be with a smile that stretched from ear to ear and filled those watching with trepidation. She wasn''t expecting her prey to be quite so nimble as well as physically strong. Her massive hand felt numbed from his kick, and she barely managed to catch him despite predicating his moves. Frost was strong, far stronger than her son.

    Crack!

    As she started to get excited by the potential of her prey and thought on how lucky her son was she mped down on Frost''s caught leg, crushingyer afteryer of his dense ice chakra as if it was brittle ss.

    Frost grimaced as the pressure increased, he tried to pull himself free but failed to even move a single millimetre from her grip. He was locked in tight; Be wasn''t going to let him go until his foot had be mush.

    He attempted to kick with his other leg but still her grip tightened, he was starting to really feel it now, just a few more kilograms of force and his bones would start trembling.

    "Let go!" He roared while swinging out with his ive but was unfortunately met with Be''s massive hammer, his only other recourse now was to freeze burn her off.

    When anotheryer of ice chakra was crushed silver mes burst forth from the cracks engulfing Be''s hand. The ice fire chakra chilled the surface of her hand and attempted to invade her flesh, but it was a rather slow process. The massive B-rank frost giant was clearly resistant to his mes.

    Just when his ankle bone was about to sumb to the pressure a redness filled Frost''s eyes as desperation set in.

    "[ck ice guillotine]" Since his ive was repeatedly rebuffed by his opponent''s hammer, his ice armour unable to endure her physical strength and his mes too slow to force her off his only recourse was magic.

    Frost cast a 4th circle ice spell that summoned a guillotine of ice so transparent that it was invisible to the naked eye. This invisible guillotine wasn''t all that thick and if struck by a half decent blow, was likely to fracture but it was razor de sharp, even Be''s dense muscture would likely struggle to endure against its edge.

    Finally there was something that made the frost giant wince. The woman almost immediately reeled back her hand, releasing Frost from her iron grip.

    [ck ice guillotine] was a very lopsided spell, giving up all forms of defence, speed and robustness for pure cutting power. Even someone like Be who was resistant to ice magic and sported a thick musclebound form would see her flesh severed if she wasn''t careful.

    Her position made letting Frost go her only choice if she wished to retain full functionality of her left arm.

    Not waiting to give the woman another chance to take hold Frost immediately moved backward the moment his feet touched the ground. The two stared at one another silently for a few seconds, reevaluating their opponent''s strengths.

    ''She''s fast, strong and far more experienced than I am¡­.I can''t let her catch me again.'' Frost was rather confident in his acrobatics even Maya praised him on his manoeuvrability but against Be such flexible attacks were just pointless movements asking to be countered. The size difference between them was revealing significant advantages and disadvantages.

    ''Slow and steady, don''t go for a shy attack, chip away at her.'' Frost steadied his breathing, shook his throbbing leg and fixed his chakra armour before readying himself for round two.

    Be who wasn''t hurt in the slightest also changed her attitude. Frost was stronger and more dangerous than she first thought, an opponent she couldn''t let herself rx around.

    A glint shed in her eyes as she licked her lips, curious to know how sulent his flesh was. The stronger and more talented Frost was the better. Not only would he be tastier the chances of her son ascending after eating his flesh would be higher plus she could actually enjoy herself.

    It''d been years since shest had a good fight, spars and matches with her fellow frost giants just weren''t the same as fighting a being with their life on the line.

    She gripped her hammer with both hands, dug her feet into the snow and gestured for her cohorts to stay back, to only move if the tiger did.

    The pressure continued to build between the two fighters, the suspense weighing heavily on the observers'' hearts, Kiba and Avira especially.

    Just when the suspense couldn''t get any greater a small hill of snow copsed under the wind and Frost vanished, appearing a momentter behind Be, his ive thrusting at her back like a spear.

    Ding!

    As if she had eyes on the back of her head Be used the butt of her hammer to deflect his ive while at the same time spun round with her left hand in an attempt to smash Frost like a pumpkin. Her movements were seamless and incredibly quick, but Frost had learned from his earlier mistake.

    He took no chances, the moment his thrust was deflected he moved. Utilising his powerful legs he manoeuvred around Be and started peppering her with quick jabs and shes, only very rarely activating a skill like [flight of the Luan].

    Skills were generally finishing moves or moves used in a pinch, no one not even Frost could continually use skill after skill in a fight, the drain in stamina being way too high. Add on the fact that he was using his aura throughout his entire body as a boost to his physical strength, he really couldn''t afford to squander his reserves.

    He had very little hope in winning this battle, even if he somehow broke through to the mid stages of B-rank he still wouldn''t be a match for Be. Her strength was likely just a level lower than that demon from the monster stampede. The one that took an A-rank general to subdue.

    No his aim was to buy time and hopefully create an opportunity for Avira, Borris and Kiba to flee to Icethorne. Without them being around he could fight harder, more recklessly and hopefully endure until aid arrived. Unfortunately after several minutes there was no such opportunity cropping up.

    Be was taking his entire focus while she was manhandling him with concentration to spare. Every so often she''d tease moving towards Kiba or have her cohorts make some noise, pressuring them all, Frost especially.

    She was wise enough to know of his ns and loved siphoning off the hope he held one tendril at a time, it greatly improved the vour of the meat.

    "Hoh almost got you that time."

    "Come on be more aggressive or I might just decided to end you all at once."

    "Maybe I should kill one of them to motivate you a little more."

    "If the tiger moves even slightly pierce his hide with javelins."

    The taunts came one after another, wounding Frost''s psyche and gradually pressuring him to change his tactics. The more he slowly peppered her with attacks, ying mouse the more aggressive the taunts became and the more danger Kiba, Borris and Avira were in.

    This was just a game to her, Frost was an interesting opponent but if he wasn''t going to face her head on she''d rather just decimate them all with their number advantage.

    Don!

    "Urgh!" Finally after being repeatedly taunted Frost moved in for a deadlier blow and left himself open for a fierce reprisal.

    Be smashed her massive hammer against his left side after taking a minor sh to her vicle, another scar for her remarkable temple of a body.

    Frost wasn''t as prepared for this one and was sent flying through the air, one of his ribs making a loud cracking sound as he crashed against the snow. Blood drained from his face as pain radiated from his ribs, one was broken while another two were cracked. He could still move well but the force behind his ive wouldn''t be the same.

    The trade-off in their exchange was too lopsided.

 Chapter 695 "Whats your name elf?"

    Frost kneeled in the snow, his right hand firmly holding onto his ive while his left felt his ribs, assessing the degree of damage.

    ''Fuck that hurt!'' The physical strength behind each of Be''s blows was immense, rivalling that of Maya''s and then some. Every blow she dealt required hisplete focus and attention, a slight miss and he''d end up in his current situation, tossed aside like a ragdoll.

    Thankfully his own body was rather durable and quick to heal. The bruised ribs were already bing numb while muscles around the broken one bulked up to prevent excess movement. It still hurt but not enough to take him out of the fight.

    He stood up, gripped his ive with both hands and once again entered a battle ready stance, weing the massive female giant charging towards him with her hammer raised over her head.

    "[Titan''s cmity]" Enthralled by the smell of blood Be stepped up her aggression, she used an advanced level hammer skill hoping to turn Frost into a pile of mush. If he survived great she could continue to enjoy this little game and if not then it was a job well done, she could then return home, see to her son''s injuries and hand him the flesh of her prey.

    Flesh that would surely allow Gageus to ascend to her realm and be a true member of the tribe.

    Among the frost giant caste those at C-rank were the weakest of the weak and the very young. Only when a frost giant achieved B-rank would they be considered and adult and be granted an official status within the tribe. Until then they could only take on rudimentary and unimportant tasks such as scout work in the external regions of the cial mountains.

    Be''s already massive hammer grew in size as the image of a giant evenrger than herself formed behind her. Before the weapon even began to descend Frost could already feel its immense weight. He felt as though the gravity around him increased by several degrees, restricting him to the one area, ensuring sessful contact but Frost was already used to such a feeling.

    Maya thoroughly trained him in regards to both hammer techniques as well as the effects of aura that could appear within those at the B-rank.

    With a flush of his own aura through his body he brushed off the pressure and rolled away. A momentter Be''s hammer came down with a thunderp. A cataclysmic explosion erupted when the hammer met the floor. Snow, ice and even deep-seated bedrock burst out, flying tens of metres in all directions, revealing the insane strength behind Be''s blow.

    Kiba barely manage to stay upright as the ground beneath his paws trembled and even fractured. Avira and Borris felt their hearts lurch as fear and worry overcame them. They didn''t manage to catch Frost''s escape and thought he''d been caught. The confident and suave elf who seemed nigh invincible, crushed by the hammer of a monster, just a few tens of kilometres outside the fortress of Icethorne.

    Thankfully he did manage to escape and was already on the attack. Through the thick dust of ice and snow Frost''s handsome face appeared, his expression wild and his eyes fixated on the visage of Be before him.

    Moving silently and with immense speed Frost thrust his ive dead ahead, aiming for Be''s calves.

    Squelch!

    "Bastard!" His de edge sunk several inches deep, not much in regards to lethality but certainly painful. The area was rathercking in armour and couldn''t result in anything substantial, so Be wasn''t expecting to be attacked there, least of all by a thrust.

    She felt a stinging paining from her left calf and on instinctshed out with her hammer, but Frost had already disappeared back into the snow dust she herself had caused.

    The dust obscured her vision, and his soft movements made it hard for her to rely on her ears, so she could only use her years of experience as well as battle senses. Unfortunately Frost appeared to change up his tempo. He was still peppering her from different angles, relying primarily on his speed and small stature but this time he was being very proactive and attacking unusual areas.

    While she blocked her vitals a sudden sh would cut up her backside or when she was protecting her arms his ive would end up slicing her pinkie finger. The uncouth young man even targeted her breasts, chopping off over half her left nipple, taking advantage of her fashionably exposed flesh while avoiding the harder to reach areas.

    Within a couple of minutes the massive giant was covered in minor cuts and scrapes. All of which stung like insect bites.

    "Annoying bug!!!" Her fury finally hit the fan when her breasts were targeted. She sported dozens of scars throughout her body, but her breasts were still smooth and firm just the way she and her husband liked them yet now the left one had a nasty scar running straight across and half her nipple hade loose, pping in the air.

    "ROOOAAARRRR!!!" Be suddenly lowered her centre of gravity, looked upwards into the sky and let loose with a primordial roar that shook the souls of all those dwelling nearby as well as tens of kilometres away. Kiba''s roar was like a that of a mere kittenspared to hers. Even Frost who was somewhat prepared for it lost his footing, his ears ringing from the intense vibrations.

    Worst of all the dust of ice and snow was forcibly cleared, bringing Frost back into the open as well as a surprise.

    Be in her anger didn''t even register the situation her entire focus aimed at Frost. Wasting no time at all she wielded her hammer in anger and began wildly swinging the beast, her desire to quash the annoying bug palpable.

    "Fuck!"

    "They''ve gone!"

    It was the surrounding frost giants who were there to serve as backup and escape prevention that noticed the immediate problem.

    Kiba, Borris and Avira had disappeared. Their original position was bereft of arge tiger, a human and a dwarf. All that remained were a few paw prints from where Kiba once stood. There wasn''t even a trail showing the direction in which they ran, clearly the beast utilised his wings to hover slightly.

    Despite theck of a trail it didn''t take a genius to work out their direction. Within a couple seconds each and every one of the frost giants in the background turned to the face the north and far in the distance they could see the blurry figure of a tiger and two people riding him.

    "Priestess the tiger escaped!" One of the higher ranked frost giant''s immediately informed Be who was wantonly chasing after Frost with heavy swings, the damn elf deftly avoiding each and every one with a calm expression.

    "Huh?" Hearing the ruckus from her subordinates she reluctantly pried her gaze from Frost and took note of the situation.

    "Fuck!" She loudly cursed, her fiery gaze once again turning back to the tiny elf standing before her in a taunting manner.

    ''The sneaky bugger used the snow dust to order hisrades away and used aggressive pain inducing moves to keep my focus entirely on him. fuck!'' She was absolutely furious, she felt humiliated and mocked.

    "Costa! Davros! Take half the giants and chase after them, we can''t let them reach Icethorne!" Though the frost giants were quite the powerhouse Icethorne was an enemy they didn''t want to cross right now. The Duke was especially frightening. Not only did the man have a personal strength nearing S-rank he was unrivalled when it came to warfare.

    The man could win a battle easily when outnumbered ten to one. His monicker among the local monsters and nations within the inner regions was the [Iceborne War God]. Even her A-rank superiors wouldn''t want to mess with him let alone her who was only at the peak of B-rank.

    "Understood priestess." Costa and Davros replied with a military like salute and quickly took off after Kiba, Borris and Avira along with half their giantrades. Leaving 8 not including Be to restrain Frost in escaping which was now a likely scenario given that his weaker party members were clear of danger.

    The frost giants that kept themselves hidden within the natural snowstorms and ice outcrops now revealed themselves and subtly surrounded Frost. With their Javelins primed and ready they took aim, waiting only for Be''s signal to start the deluge. If they allowed him to get away as well then they could kiss their lives goodbye.

    "Seems that I''m rather popr" Frost said with a slight chuckle yet internally he was feeling the pressure. It wasn''t afortable feeling being surrounded by giants that stood almost ten metres tall and pointed 4 metre javelins at you while an evenrger giant red at you in fury with a massive hammer in her hands, a hammer that could pulverise you in an instant if not prepared for the blow.

    Veins protruded along Be''s body as her anger threatened to overwhelm her reasoning but eventually she managed to calm herself back down. She bit her lower lip, drawing blood and breathed which was not a good sign for Frost. An anger fuelled enemy though more aggressive and physically strong was easier to predict and manage.

    "Congrattions elf but unfortunately you''ve merely dyed the inevitable" Be shook her head, insinuating that Frost''s valiant efforts were pointless. "¡­However, I respect your courage and because of that I''ll kill you myself." She gestured with her hands causing the surrounding frost giants to lower their javelins.

    "What''s your name elf?"

 Chapter 696 "Whats your name elf?" (2)

    "What''s your name elf?" Asked Be with a clear tone of respect in her voice. Frost, though mere prey was worthy of her attention. His stubbornness, patience, wit and focus had won him the right to be treated as a true foe thus Be ordered her subordinates to lower their javelins despite having Frost in their crosshairs.

    He was to be her prey and hers alone¡­.of course if he stupidly attempted to flee from her loving embrace then things would be different therefore the javelins were only lowered not sheathed.

    "Frost, my name is Frost¡­.and you." Feeling the spectre of death fading Frost replied with a strained smile, doing whatever he could to keep those looming giants at bay. Be alone was hard enough to deal with, if he had to face the threat of another 8 frost giants then he might as well dig his own grave.

    His current situation was extremely perilous, death constantly looming but he didn''t lose hope. He could still move, still attack and still defend himself. As long as he could still draw breath the battle was far from over. He didn''t have a powerful guardian who could teleport to his side anymore, but he had faith in both his own capabilities and those of Kiba, Borris and Avira.

    As long as he bought enough time, help woulde.

    "Be." With a wild smile that was steeped in barbarity, joy, carnage and battle lust Be formally introduced herself. She curtly bowed her head in greeting before intensifying the aura that surrounded her body.

    "Be proud little elf for you have earned the right to die under my hammer as a true foe." Her muscles tensed and bulged to obscene levels as she raised her hammer above her head. Ice chakra then formed over her body to protect the areas not covered by her armour.

    Her technique wasn''t as refined as Frost''s, but the density and thickness was certainly there and with her insane level of strength the extra weight would only increase her potential devastation.

    Frost felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Be readied herself for a true battle rather than a game of cat and mouse. His heart thumped away like a jack hammer and an indescribable excitement flowed through his veins as the pressure from her aura attempted to crush his spirit and body.

    It was clear that Be was going easy before, a notion that should have him quaking in his boots but instead it brought a mad smile to his lips.

    In response to her shift in attitude Frost also released his restraints. Without having to keep an eye on those behind him he could now go all out.

    His royal aspected aura battled against the heavier aura released from Be, defying it at every turn despite being weaker. He gripped the shaft of his ive with both hands, calmed his breathing and readied himself for the most dangerous yet also the most exciting fight of his young life.

    Hepletely forgot about the frost giants surrounding him and erased any and all thoughts of escape and instead focused entirely on therge woman before him. She was his enemy, and an enemy must be killed.

    Fwoosh!

    Frost vanished in an instant and appeared a momentter before Be with his ive at the ready. The only thing he had over her was speed, so he was going to use that advantage to its upmost.

    While Frost began his true engagement with Be, Kiba, Borris and Avira were desperately fleeing north as fast as they possibly could.

    "Hurry Kiba every second counts!" Borris roared at the top of his lungs, a guilty expression adorning his face as Frost grew smaller and smaller in his rear view.

    ''Damn bastard!'' He cursed Frost internally, feeling awful about the situation at hand. Frost was young, kind and full of potential while he was nearing his deathbed, an old man with only so much left to give. It should have been him to make the sacrifice but unfortunately he was just too weak.

    He and Avira didn''t even get any prior notice, one minute Frost was facing off against Be the next snow and ice dust obscured their surroundings and Kibaunched himself to the North with them on his back.

    Though he hated the situation Borris knew better than to ruin Frost''s efforts, so he strengthened his grip and encouraged Kiba to go faster all while making sure that Avira was locked in ce. The young girl may very well do something foolish like jump off and run back to Frost''s side to die alongside him.

    "Borris!?" Still shellshocked by their sudden departure Avira rotated her neck and shouted at the old dwarf with a mix of anger and confusion.

    "Not a word V, Frost knows what he''s doing." Borris wrapped his arms around Avira to hold her down before continuing. "We need to get to Icethorne as soon as possible, you especially, only then can we help him."

    "But?" Avira wriggled, her gaze looking firmly at the gradually shrinking form of their protector.

    "We''re useless against those kind of monsters V, only by reaching Icethorne and you requesting aid from their soldiers can we help him." Borris knew full well of his intentions. Frost couldn''t win against Be, nor would he be able to escape from her clutches, all he could do was buy time, time for them to get help.

    Icethorne was close, close enough for help to reach him in time and with Avira''s status that help was pretty much guaranteed.

    "Garow!!" Kiba loudly chuffed in agreement, picking up even more speed, he even used his wings to propel them forward, desperately using every scrap of strength he had to increase their speed.

    The group of three, a winged cial tiger, a dwarven smith and a princess travelling incognito barrelled through the falling snow, heading directly North towards the vast fortress in the distance, hoping to find aid as fast as possible.

    Unfortunately with their reactions and massive steps it didn''t take long for Costa and Davros to narrow the gap.

    "Shit! Kiba we''ve gotpany." Within 15 minutes Borris caught sight of Costa and Davros chasing after them with arge contingent of frost giants behind them all armed with javelins.

    "Grrrrr!!" Kiba growled and tried to elerate but he was already going as fast as he possibly could. All his earlier running along with the two heavy weights that were Borris and Avira -mostly Borris- had greatly taxed his stamina. At their current rate the frost giants would be within javelin range in 3 maybe 5 minutes.

    Icethorne was still far in the distance, and they hadn''t run into a single patrol so far¡­ things weren''t looking good.

    "Kiba if you can''t lose them in the next two minutes I''ll buy you some time and lighten your load. Without me dragging you down you should be able to reach the fortress in time." Said Borris with a resolved expression.

    He didn''t know how much time his weak ass could actually buy them but even if it was just a few seconds Kiba could likely drag that out for several minutes thanks to the reduction in weight.

    Kiba tilted his head slightly to stare at Borris, the two exchanged looks for a second before Kiba chuffed and nodded his head. The agreement had been made, if he couldn''t lose their followers within the next two minutes Borris would voluntarily jump from his back and face them with his hammer.

    Tears streamed down Avira''s cheeks as she silently held strong onto Kiba''s back and fur. She was too weak to do anything, a pathetic princess who''s only use was her status, something she was born with rather than earned.

    Kiba did his best to lose Davros and Costa but unfortunately in the end he failed. The frost giants with their massive strides,ck of extra baggage and non-exhausted states allowed them to eventually catch up with the winged cial tiger.

    Seeing this Borris leaned back and gently smiled as his life shed before his eyes. It was a life well lived. Though he failed to reach the peak of the smithing world he made a decent attempt and never gave up on his dreams even in old age. More importantly he met a beautiful woman who filled him with joy each and every day that they were together.

    She blessed him with many children and they in turn blessed him with adorable grandchildren. It was a life filled with love and bliss. He truly had nothing to regret.

    As thest seconds ticked by and the frost giants started to make their moves Borris bore a gentle smile. He looked fondly at Kiba who was on the brink of tears and then at the young woman who he recently met and travelled with through the cial mountains. A woman who reminded him so much of his grandchildren yet bore such a heavy responsibility.

    "Hahahaha" Heughed before cing a hand on Avira''s hood and gently saying, "be a good Empress V."

    Then in that moment he pushed against Kiba''s back with his free hand and allowed his body to safely dismount from the tiger''s back.

    Borris readied himself for a worthy death.

 Chapter 697 Cold greeting

    As Borris left the safety of Kiba''s back and slowly drifted down onto the cold snow thaty beneath, ready to face off against Costa, Davros and the many frost giants trailing after them he felt a sharp tug from his neck. It was so strong that he abruptly choked, his entire body''s weight pulling against whatever held him back.

    "Gugh! Ahh V!!" It only took a second for him to realise who impeded his dismount. Ignoring his gargled words Avira used all her physical strength to wrench the old dwarf back onto Kiba.

    "Cough cough V what the hell are you doing!?" Borris roared; his face warped in anger. He was absolutely livid, she practically sentenced them all to death with her actions.

    "Look" With warm tears streaming down her cheeks Avira forcibly turned Borris'' face to the northwest, allowing him to see why she did what she did."

    "V!....Eh!" With his eyes still clouded by anger it took Borris a couple seconds to see what V was trying to show him.

    "¡­.Hahahaha we''re saved, praise be to the Dark God and the great Volmir, the heavens smile upon us." In the distance Borris could make out the forms of people, soldiers marching in formation towards them. It was a patrol, a regiment of Icethorne''s army.

    Kiba without even needing to hear Avira''s voice turned towards the patrol in the distance and dashed forward, burning away thest vestiges of his strength.

    "Shit soldiers from Icethorne." Davros noticed the patrol a few secondster and briefly slowed down his advance as his mind processed their options. Costa and the other frost giants also instinctively slowed down allowing Kiba the chance to break away from their dreaded pursuit.

    "Davros, we have to pursue them." Costa yelled through gritted teeth knowing full well the price of failure.

    "Ahhh fine everyone run them down, ignore the soldiers for now but if they dare to interfere¡­.ughter them all." Davros knew how dangerous Icethorne was but as long as there were no witnesses it should be fine.

    The pursuing group only slowed for 5 maybe 10 seconds but that was more than enough time for Kiba to leave them in the dust and make his way towards the patrolling soldiers.

    Unfortunately they didn''t exactly receive the warmest of wees.

    The moment the soldiers caught sight of Kiba they each readied themselves for battle. Shield bearers formed a phnx with the aid of the spearmen while the archers and mages congregated into the centre where they could be best protected.

    Within mere moments Kiba was targeted by multiple bows, offensive magic by one of the mages and a deluge of well trained bloodlust that made even him an upper C-rank winged cial tiger tremble in fear.

    Thankfully the soldiers quickly noticed the fact that the monster in question was carrying two people and was in fact contracted thus the arrows were never loosed but they weren''t lowered either.

    "Halt! Identify yourself!" Arge human woman with long white hair and a sharp scar across her nose bellowed with such volume that a minor avnche started on one of the nearby mountains.

    "Please help¡­."

    "Sergeant they''re being chased by frost giants." Before Avira could even begin to exin her situation and reveal her identity one of the woman''s subordinates noticed the many frost giants running behind them with determined expressions.

    "Fuck!" Therge woman loudly cursed before ordering her subordinates to tighten their ranks and prepare for a bloodbath. Her gaze towards Avira and Borris which was already rather wary and unfriendly was now filled with aggression.

    An arrow was quicklyunched at Kiba''s feet forcing therge tiger to stop in his tracks.

    "Grrrr!!" Anger filled Kiba as he growled at their supposed allies.

    "You!" Avira nearly blew a gasket upon seeing the change in the soldiers eyes, they were being treated no different than enemybatants.

    "Take one step closer and the next arrow won''t miss." Therge woman with a scar spoke with an eery chill, she wasn''t bluffing. She had no idea what was going on but the fact that Avira, Borris and Kiba were being chased by frost giants changed the whole dynamic.

    Their small patrol force wasn''t prepared to face off against a group of frost giants, therefore, to protect the lives of her subordinates and the interests of the current Icethorne she drew an immediate line between them.

    The rtionship between Icethorne and the frost giant tribes wasn''t exactly harmonious but as long as they didn''t directly interfere with the interests of the other then battle could be avoided.

    Silence filled the area as Kiba, Avira and Borris were entrenched between a rock and a hard ce. Behind them the frost giants were swiftly catching up, their javelins already drawn for a deadly volley while aheady the soldiers of Icethorne revealing no less aggression than the monsters hunting them.

    "Kiba get me in front of that woman." As milliseconds passed in slow motion Avira took a breath then leaned over and whispered into Kiba''s ear while fiddling with imperial token given to her by her father.

    Kiba looked into Avira''s eyes for a brief second before nodding his head. The next moment the young tiger tensed his leg muscles and violently pped his wings, he charged dead ahead.

    "Bastards! Shoot it down!" The sergeant loudly ordered with a grim expression, her heart tearing itself apart with grief as she knew that all could be lost.

    Arrows enchanted with magic rapidly flew through the air, taking deadly aim at Kiba''s vitals and glorious wings. Avira did her best to cover him in wind shields and buffet away some of the arrows with her spells but more than a few still broke through.

    The sharp arrowheads pierced several inches into Kiba''s flesh making him wince in pain and let out a sad whimper, but his momentum didn''t stop for even a second. He charged through the arrows and leaped into the air, kicking away a spear head while allowing another to graze his hindquarters all to fling Avira directly before the female sergeant.

    "Lower your weapons now or yourmander dies." It happened in an instant. One second Avira was on Kiba''s back casting magic the next she was standing in front of the sergeant with her rapier resting against her throat, a trickle of blood already dripping down onto the snow.

    Thanks to Frost''s brutish training and harsh sermons as well as her own natural talent Avira was able to quickly take advantage of the fact that the soldiers intentions were to push them back rather than go for the immediate kill. She wasn''t even phased by their dense bloodlust and in fact found it strangely pleasant, warm and inviting.

    The surrounding soldiers all hesitated for a brief second, not knowing what to do.

    "Lower those weapons and I''ll kill you myself!" The woman with a de to her throat immediately rebuked Avira''s words, she even stepped into the rapier causing the initial wound to deepen and spurt a significant amount of blood.

    She didn''t care that her life was in jeopardy, they needed to separate themselves from this group of people lest the frost giants assume they''re in cahoots. Icethorne really couldn''t afford to make additional enemies right now.

    Avira''s eyes widened in surprise and a hint of respect formed in her heart, but she had no time to dwell on it as the soldiers upon hearing their superior''s order no longer hesitated. Ignoring the threat to the woman''s life they moved to continue their attack.

    Just as spears were about to be thrust into Kiba''s flesh, magic to fall on Borris'' head and two swords aimed to cut off Avira''s arms "Shit all of you stop!" The female sergeant''s tone abruptly changed and the next moment the gruff battle worn woman had descended to her knees in a loyal salute.

    "This blind subordinate greets your highness, Princess Avira Northrend."

    A bomb went off in the soldiers'' minds and a momentter all of them copied their sergeant, kneeling in the snow and bowing their heads low in salute.

    "We greet her highness Princess Avira Northrend."

    Every single member of the fortress of Icethorne knew of Princess Avira, Duke Runak made sure of that. The moment he received word of the Emperors'' demise and his handwritten letter Duke Runak sent down precise orders.

    If any woman of a specific age range introduced themselves as the Princess of Northrend and or carried with them a specific imperial token they were to be safely escorted to Icethorne immediately.

    Avira in the moment that the sergeant was about to throw her life away withdrew the imperial token from her robe and showed it to her. The female sergeant recognised the token immediately thanks to Duke Runak drilling its description into all of his officers and thus instantly changed her tune.

    A cold sweat dripped down her neck as she kept her head lowered, she couldn''t believe that she almost had the Princess the one the Duke had been so ardently waiting for and worried about killed.

    She knew that if she didn''t behave in the most respectful manner she''d be yed alive the moment she returned to Icethorne.

    "Quickly get up this is no time to stand on ceremony." Avira let out a short breath of relief before quickly ordering to soldiers to their feet, there was still the frost giants to deal with after all.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 698 Pink distress flare

    "Soldiers of Icethorne immediately hand over the tiger, dwarf and human woman!" The moment the soldiers were forced to their feet by the young Avira the frost giants had arrived.

    Costa with Davros intimidatingly standing by his side loudly demanded, giving the soldiers of Icethorne a chance at redemption. If they refused his goodwill however then he could not be med for what would follow.

    If Avira hadn''t revealed her identity then the female sergeant wouldn''t have hesitated in handing them over for the sake of her subordinates as well as the prosperity of Icethorne but unfortunately that was no longer an option.

    Avira''s safety was now their upmost priority, so a handover was impossible.

    With nary a shred of indecision the female sergeant who was previously standing opposed to Avira pushed her behind her back and drew her sword.

    "Friends of the frost giant tribe I''m afraid your request is impossible, please leave ournds." With a voice filled with strength and conviction the female sergeant refused Costa''s request. Her subordinates as though in tune with their superior moved into battle positions in an instant.

    The shield wall and spearmen now protectively covered Kiba, Borris and of course Avira, making their stance obvious.

    "Hmph!" Not expecting such a strong refusal Costa was initially surprised but a momentter an evil smile appeared on his lips as a fire flowed through his veins.

    "Oh how disappointing¡­.ughter them all."

    "ROAARRR!!!" The frost giants following Costa and Davros let loose primal roars that shook the surroundings to the point that some soldiers had to rely on theirrades to stay upright.

    "Shields up, mages cast protection and enhancement spells, archers fire whenever you see an opening, swordsmen cut down any wayward javelins!"

    "Yes sergeant!" Like a well oiled machine the patrol unit readied themselves to defend against the onught of the frost giants, a vastly superior force.

    Only the sergeant and one other solider were at the C-rank the rest were D-rank, practically ants inparison to the many frost giants moving in the for the kill.

    "Princess please stay behind cover."

    "Understood but what about you and your soldiers?" Avira knew well that given her position her safety would be all these men and women were thinking about so she couldn''t recklessly fight on the frontlines alongside them.

    "Don''t worry about us we''ll hold the line as long as it takes." The female sergeant performed a military salute before looking at her second inmand.

    "Send up the re after their first volley."

    "Yes ma''am" The second inmand was a young swordsman in his mid-twenties, an officer with a wealth of battle experience despite his youthful looks.

    Don! Don! Don!

    The sound of heavy javelins rattled against the shields of the Icethorne soldiers, many were pushed backwards, and some had their shields cracked but none fell victim to the initial volley revealing their training.

    "Now Endo!"

    Fwooosh!

    The moment the initial volley ended a pink re shot up from the centre of the shield huddle. It loudly screeched as it ascended before exploding several hundred metres above them in a burst of pink fog that could be seen for tens of kilometres despite the torrents of snow.

    "Fuck! Kill them now!" Costa with a face warped in a mixture of anger and fear grabbed the shoulder of a nearby frost giant and shoved him forward.

    That re was a distress re used by the soldiers of Icethorne and not a regr one either. Usually the colour blue or purple was used and on the rare asion red but pink, that was of the highest order only to be used when the situation was of the upmost priority and extreme danger.

    A blue or purple re would summon additional regr reinforcements while red would alert the high ranking officers, requesting at least someone or several someone''s at the mid to upper B-ranks. Pink however was reserved solely for Icethorne''s top brass¡­.the A-rank generals.

    Costa could count on his fingers how many times a pink distress re had been used in the past hundred years, yet now because of a young woman, an old dwarf, a tiger and some regr patrol soldiers it was being used for him and hisrades, a half dozen or so C-rank frost giants¡­.the word overkill reverberated within his mind and filled him with dread and desperation.

    The moment the pink fog filled the air above them the frost giants went into berserk state, determined to annihte the sapients in front of them despite the cost.

    The remaining javelins were tossed aggressively while they ran forward to engage in closebat, a frost giant''s forte.

    "Shield wall brace from impact, mages conjure additional shields." Fully prepared for such a reaction the female sergeant readied her men and women for the giant''s advance but even with her strong words and their strict training an onught of frost giants was intimidating and hard to forestall.

    "Ahhhh!!" Several soldiers screamed as their arms broke, twisted or downright exploded when a frost giant swung at them with their hammers or clubs. The force behind it being too much for them to individually endure.

    "Hold the line!" The sergeant repeatedly invigorated her soldiers while asionallyshing out with her sword, using her C-rank strength to force back a giant''s hand while Endo drew two swords from his side to sh apart a javelin that was aimed at her.

    While Frost engaged in a deadly duel with Be and Avira and her group fought alongside the soldiers to withstand the assault of Costa and Davros the burst of pink fog alerted those stationed on Icethorne''s southern wall.

    "Captain someone set off a pink distress re, 20 kilometres directly south of the wall." An officer quickly reported the sight to his superior who then ordered for a warning bell to be rung. Within a minute high rankingmanders and even two generals appeared on the southern wall to investigate the re.

    "It''s pink alright, will you go or will I?" A massive woman of the bear beastman tribe looked to her left and asked the elegant looking woman adorned in dark robes.

    "Neither the rookie''s already left." The elegant woman gestured with her chin towards a plume of snow in the far distance.

    "Hoh! He''s quick." The bear beastwoman nodded her head in praise, finding the ''rookie''s'' diligence admirable.

    "Come let''s head back to the Northern wall before some idiot tries to take advantage of our absence."

    "Agreed." Therge bear woman and the elegant woman in robes thus disappeared as quickly as they appeared leaving the situation entirely in the hands of the ''rookie''.

    A few minutes passed and unfortunately six soldiers fell to the giant''s onught with even more injured. The patrol squad was made up of 25 soldiers including the Sergeant and her second inmand Endo. With 6 deceased and even more injured the squad wasn''t even at half capacity while their attackers the frost giants sported nothing more than minor wounds.

    One had a few deep cuts along an arm, but his remaining arm was still able to swing at full strength. A few minutes more and they''d bepletely wiped out.

    Strangely however it the was the frost giants who sported the more desperate expressions, expressions that grew worse with each passing second. These soldiers were taking too long to kill.

    Davros and Costa tried to focus on Avira, Borris and Kiba but whenever they tried the soldiers would erupt into a frenzy pushing them back even if meant they had sacrifice themselves. They wouldn''t let a single haire to harm on the princess'' head.

    Eventually their valiant efforts were rewarded.

    "Hmm a squad of frost giants? Arge beastman of the bear tribe with two blue axes sheathed by his side remarked as he charged across the snow at a speed that made even Kiba ashamed.

    The man arrived because of the pink distress re so he was expecting more of a fight but¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "No matter I''ll ask about it once they''re safe."

    Boom!

    Therge man kicked against the snow and appeared beside the frost giants like a bullet. He withdrew his axes and shed with extreme dexterity and ferocity. He used no skill in the sudden attack instead relying solely on his weapon mastery and the sharpness of his axes.

    The poor frost giant that was unfortunately chosen as his first target was Davros one of the strongest frost giants in the assault. s the mighty enemy that both the female sergeant and Endo struggled to even push back was carved apart with minimal effort.

    The many sections of the giant''s body didn''t even manage to fall to the ground before the surrounding area was filled with a dense aura that forcibly froze each and every one of the giants in ce.

    Pure fear gripped their hearts as the beastman''s aura overwhelmed them. This wasn''t merely the pressure of someone at the B-rank no it was something far denser, far more corporal.

    ''A-rank'' Costa internally screamed, his words failing to pass beyond his lips.

    A-rank for many was the absolute peak, the ultimate level of power they could attain with effort. Anything beyond that required specific bloodlines and inhuman talent. Even the mighty Northrend empire one of the strongest nations in the world didn''t have a single person at S-rank thus those at A-rank were revered like kings.

    Costa trembled from the pressure and did his upmost to resist falling to his knees in submission, but his resistance made little to no difference. He along with hisrades were carved up in less than a minute, the bear beastman didn''t even pause to take a breath.

 Chapter 699 General Jared Bando

    Costa, Davros and the frost giants that followed themy cut up across the ground, their blood swiftly dyeing the snow red.

    A strong smell of iron assailed the nostrils of the awed soldiers, the sight of such powerful enemies being cut to ribbons in a matter of seconds set their hearts aze. Passion, loyalty and excitement ran rampant through their bodies, instantly quashing the frigid cold that constantly assailed them as well as the fear that grew within a few minutes prior.

    There was a stunned silence for a few seconds as the soldiers registered what happened but following that was a cheering roar and a fierce outburst of stamping as the men and women raised their fists in triumph, they would get to live another day.

    The bear beastman, the soldier who appeared like a lightning bolt and carved up the mighty frost giants scanned the celebrating soldiers with a harsh gaze. He stopped as soon as he found the female sergeant.

    "Sergeant what is the meaning of this?" He asked in a tone that would make even the most fearless warrior shiver.

    The female sergeant who was named Olive shivered as she looked upon therge man. He appeared farrger to her than even the frost giants. Her heart instinctively tightened, and her voice passed through her lips with a nervous stutter.

    "G...General Band¡­do sir." To help calm herself down she took a breath and performed a military salute, cing her right arm across her chest. This was the first time she''d ever been in such close proximity to one of the fortress'' generals thus she was naturally nervous regardless of the current situation.

    "Apologies General Bando for using a pink distress re but the situation was truly very urgent." Knowing that her own and the lives of her subordinates didn''te close to warranting the use of such a prized re Sergeant Olive looked at Avira before swiftly introducing her.

    "General this is Princess Avira Northrend the Princess of the empire and the one the Duke has been waiting for." Olive bowed her head in salute as she waited the man''s response.

    General Bando''s eyes narrowed upon hearing Olive''s words, if what she said was true then using the pink re was the right call.

    His gaze was thus directed towards Avira who had been silent all this time.

    Avira was currently in deep thought as she was momentarily blown away by the General''s prowess.

    "¡­Prin¡­.c¡­."

    ''With his strength then surely¡­.''

    "PRINCESS!!" Avira was fiercely drawn out of her thoughts by a loud roar infused with aura.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Rattled by the sound she blinked her eyes repeatedly before locking eyes with General Bando and in that moment everything seemed to click.

    "Greetings sir I presume that you are a General under Duke Runak correct." She disyed a polite royal curtsy that looked rather strange with her current garments but nheless evoked a sense of nobility.

    "Correct I am Icethorne''s newest General, Jared Bando¡­are you Princess Avira?" The scrutiny never left the man''s the eyes.

    "I am, Princess Avira Northrend, daughter of Franz Northrend and Amelia Northrend, Princess of the Northrend empire and rightful heir to the throne." Avira raised her head and stared directly into General Bando''s eyes without any trace of fear or subservience.

    The General internally smiled, pleased with her response, she passed the initial checks at least.

    "Do you have proof?" Regardless of how well she presented herself or how urate her appearance was without the imperial token her identity could not be confirmed immediately.

    "You mean this." Avira pulled the imperial token granted to her by her father from her clothes and the moment she did General Bando descended to his knees and saluted.

    "General Jared Bando greets the princess and future Empress." His frown and scowl werepletely gone from his expression. Instead he bore a gentle smile and a clear look of relief.

    His gaze darted towards Sergeant Olive. "Congrattions Sergeant you and your team have performed a great merit, well done."

    "We were merely performing our duties, General." Replied Olive.

    "Well said Sergeant. I''ll send for another patrol to recover our lostrades and see to it personally that they each receive an honourable burial."

    "Thank you General." Tears streamed down Olive''s eyes as she remembered her lostrades, the men and women who bravely gave their lives in battle.

    An honourable burial was an act that would bring great glory to the deceased and their family. The family of the deceased would receive a generous stipend for the next 30 years and would be exempt from taxes for the next 2.

    On top of that any member of the family that wished to join or train for the military would be immediately epted after a simple interview, allowing them to bypass the usual tests and trails.

    To be deserving of an honourable burial one must die with great honour on the battlefield and sessfully perform a deed of substantial merit. Protecting the Princess of the Northrend empire against a vastly superior foe certainly met such a requirement thus General Bando was not acting beyond his station.

    "Sergeant see to your wounded while I escort the princess to the fortres¡­.

    "General wait!" Avira suddenly interrupted Jared, puzzling him.

    "Princess is there something wrong?"

    Avira shivered as the image of a young man came to the forefront of her mind. She clenched her fists to the point that her knuckles audibly cracked, and her face donned an almost begging expression as she looked up at General Bando."

    "Please¡­please save my friend".

    Several tens of kilometres south.

    Don! Boom! Schwing!

    Loud sounds of objects shing against one another and cutting through the air reverberated throughout the surroundings.

    Within a loose circr wall of giants two opponents were facing off against each other with wild abandon.

    One was a massive hulking frost giant standing over 12 metres tall, armed with arge hammer while the other was an elf like man with devilish good looks and a sharp ive in hand.

    The frost giant sported dozens of ''shallow'' cuts all across her body that constantly leaked small streams of blood. Adding in her already prominent scars the woman looked as though she was covered in spider webs, like a fractured vase. s her wounds were only superficial at best, even the blood loss was rtively minor.

    Her arteries and vulnerable areas were all protected by her bestial armour that despite valiant efforts on her opponent''s part remained solid.

    She was however in quite a bit of pain whenever she had to make anyrge movements. Everywhere stung but her strength was still there as was the wild smile on her lips. A smile that was now covered in blood making her look all the more fierce.

    However it wasn''t her blood that dripped across her lips and danced on her tongue, delighting her taste buds. No the delicious blood came from her opponent, from Frost.

    The young dungeon core stood across from the hulking giant, his ive stabbed into the snow beneath to support his wounded body. His right arm hung loosely by his side, mangled and dripping torrents of blood.

    Be first shattered his bone with a precise blow of her hammer before following up with a tight grasp and brutal twist. The pain was so intense that he could barely see straight, and he couldn''t even remember how he got away from her but somehow he did. The arm was miraculously still attached to his shoulder butpletely useless, he couldn''t even wiggle his fingers.

    That was probably the most graphic injury he bore but the rest of his body wasn''t much better. Ribs were broken and shattered, muscles were torn apart and his entire body sported distinct dents, it was a miracle he could even stand at all. Sheer will and stubbornness were all that supported him by this point.

    "Cough, cough!" Frost violently coughed up blood and even a part of his lungs that had been shredded apart. His entire body was in extreme pain and his vision was obscured by shadows and a bloody screen yet still he stood defiant against his opponent, not giving a single opening.

    He may look vulnerable, like someone who could be blow over by the simplest of breezes, but Be had learned the hard way that he was still a threat.

    Therge frost giant raised her hand to her cheek and left eye, a gnarly gash could be seen missing the vital organ by just a few millimetres. Just when she thought her prey was out of gas and ready to be put down heshed out with a thrust so quick and devasting that she could have nearly lost half her face it wasn''t for her uncanny instincts.

    Thus despite her overwhelming superiority she remained stationary, ring at her opponent, waiting.

    Time dragged out slowly, each second feeling like minutes or even hours but neither one of them moved a muscle. Their bodies remaining constantly taught.

    Frost couldn''t make any moves given the state of his injuries, all he could do was wait patiently for her toe to him whereas Be was remorse to risk serious injury against a foe that was on his dying breath. As long as she waited long enough his body would eventually sumb to his wounds and he would no longer have the strength tosh out with one final blow.

    "Urgh!"

    The moment Be was waiting for came without warning. Frost suddenly groaned and fell to his knees, his legs no longer able to support his weight.

    Be''s smile stretched from ear to ear upon witnessing such a sight, finally the man had sumbed.

 Chapter 700 Chapter 700 General Jared Bando (2)

    As Frost''s strength gave out, his face twisted. A mixture of intense pain and stark refusal marred his expression. The young man internally roared, chastising his body, ordering it to remain strong but unfortunately sheer will could only carry him so far.

    The moment his knees hit the soft, blood soaked snow they became totally unresponsive, silent as rocks. He was no longer capable of defending himself.

    The frost giants, Be included couldn''t help but smile from ear to ear at such a sight and while the massive woman proceeded to then lick her lips and show a famished glint in her eyes the others let out long held breaths of relief.

    Enjoy new chapters from empire

    The young Dungeon core was a wily foe, an enemy none of them could even hope to win against. Only Be could deal with him and even then the mighty priestess was adorned in dozens of freshly carved scars.

    Since the fight began in earnest these C-rank frost giants were unable to let down their guards as just a moment of distraction could see them injured or worse see Frost escape pass them.

    Now however that worry was clearly gone from their hearts. The young man even if he couldunch onest attack with his ive his legs werepletely shot, he could no longer escape.

    "Hahahahahaha! Marvellous truly a spectacr disy little Frost but unfortunately pointless in the end¡­.I''m going to enjoy devouring your flesh." Be erupted with joyful and somewhat maddeningughter.

    She looked down hungrily at her kneeling opponent, showing him her razor sharp teeth that could easily tear into even the toughest of hides. Her stomach rumbled with demand as she stepped closer, and saliva began dripping down from her lips. She looked like a starving beast while Frost looked like a helpless rabbit.

    However even in his debilitated state Frost wore the same stubborn and prideful expression. He showed no fear while gazing up at the approaching giant, his would be predator.

    His body was gued with pain and his limbs were all but useless, he could barely hold onto his ive yet still he refused to give up. As long as he could still draw breath the fight was never over.

    Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Frost as Be approached, his mind rapidly processing his options.

    He knew going in that victory was all but impossible, Be was at the very least an expert at the upper B-rank, an opponent far more skilled and far more experienced than himself. He may have managed tond a couple decent blows and catch her by surprise a few times but that was nowhere near enough to take down the monster that was Be.

    Her body was so durable that even when using his strongest skills and his royal aspected aura his ive failed to slice more than a single centimetre into her bones, resulting in nothing more than a mere flesh wound.

    So why did he choose to keeping fighting an unwinnable fight? Was it just to buy time for Avira, Borris and Kiba?

    Crunch.

    The snow underneath Be''s feet let out a loud crunch as she stopped directly in front of Frost, well within striking distance. s nothing came, there was nost ditch effort, no final desperate bite from her cornered mouse. Instead the young man gazed up at her with a wild smile as though he was in the throes of ecstasy. A look she understood to some extent but still found baffling.

    Never in her long years had shee across such a natural battle maniac.

    ''Haaaaa if only he was a giant.'' She brieflymented the fact that her race failed to give birth to such a gem before once again donning the expression of a starving beast. She could strongly smell the scent of his talent filled blood and see theyers of his muscles, delectable meat that would taste perfect either raw or roasted.

    Her monster instincts threatened to overwhelm her consciousness, screaming for her to devour this prey before her in its entirety but she was no longer a youngling, unable to resist her natural temptations.

    With a fierce shake of her head she erased such urges, choosing to leave the better parts for her darling son¡­.an arm wouldn''t matter though right.

    Be reached out with her muscle bound arm that was thicker than Frost''s entire body, she aimed to tear off what was left of his shattered right arm.

    Despite her clear victory she didn''tpletely let her guard down, one eye was constantly on Frost''s ive, wary of even the slightest movement. Strangely she failed to notice that there was no longer a hand wrapped around the ive''s shaft nor did she notice the glint shing in Frost''s eyes, the glint of a hunter finally catching his prey.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As her hand neared and her focus was drawn to his weapon Frost reached into his robes and discreetly withdrew a crystal like object from his storage ring. It was yellow in colour and appeared rather fragile as though it could burst apart at any moment.

    This crystal was something he recently received from Indra; a speciality product known as a sh crystal from his Dungeon the Lightning Grotto.

    These sh crystals were imbued with high levels of low grade lightning mana, filled so much to the brim that even the smallest of mana injections and the slightest amount of concussive force would cause them to explode. The explosion itself was rather mild in terms of damage potential but the light given off was more than enough to temporarily blind one''s opponents thus the name ''sh crystal''.

    ''This better work Indra.'' With a fierce expression Frost pulled out the crystal and moved to inject some of his own mana starting the process¡­.however the situation suddenly changed.

    Just when Be was about to take hold of Frost''s arm she suddenly stopped in ce and her face that originally expressed hunger and joy was now marred with fear and dread. Goosebumps swiftly covered her arms, and the scent of death assailed her nostrils. Her instincts screamed danger and she was never one to ignore her instincts.

    Without even the slightest hesitation the massive frost giant reeled backwards and swiftly distanced herself from the heavily wounded Frost.

    A momentter a blue axe appeared like a lightning bolt where she once stood. If she had been any slower her arm would have been severed from her body or at the very least made useless. The force behind that axe was far beyond anything Frost could have wrought with his early B-rank strength.

    "Hoh good instincts." A man''s voice was heard following the attack, praising Be for her swift reactions.

    Upon hearing this nearby voice the surrounding frost giants shivered before rapidly turning around to confront this new arrival.

    There slowly walking towards them as if on a leisurely stroll was man of the bear beastman tribe, standing at 2 metres tall with a blue axe in his right hand, an identical match for the one now stabbed deep within the snow before Frost.

    Jared Bando had arrived.

    Frost who was just about to use a sh crystal struggled to see the form of the approaching man given his weakened vision but the axe directly in front of him and the voice seemed oddly familiar.

    ''Where have I heard that voice before?'' He questioned but didn''t dwell on it. What mattered was that someone strong had arrived in time meaning Kiba and Avira seeded in their mission.

    ''Guess I don''t have to waste a teleportation talisman.'' His initial escape n was to use a sh crystal to momentarily blind Be and obscure his own movements from the surrounding frost giants.

    In that brief moment of respite he''d then use a teleportation talisman, an item he purchased from Void for a rather significant sum to instantly teleport himself up to ten kilometres away, escaping the immediate danger. He would then use his sole high level health potion to quickly recover from his severe wounds.

    Afterwards he''d just have to do his best to keep a low profile, hoping that he wouldn''t run into anything else before reaching Icethorne.

    That was his n anyway and his confidence in facing of against Be alone.

    Be and the frost giants were silent as the bear beastman Jared bando walked towards them. Even without the use of his aura Jared''s natural presence and confident stature intimidated them, sending their instincts aze, Be''s especially.

    ''Fuck why did one of them appear here?'' There was only a single group of people from Icethorne that could make her body react in such a way¡­.Icethorne''s vaunted Generals.

    "My, my, my it really is youd, to be granted the chance to pay back my debt so soon, the Gods must be truly smiling on us." Jared Bando stopped about 15 metres from Frost and Be, he looked at the kneeling Frost and couldn''t help but smile from ear to ear. He immediately recognised him despite the many wounds marring his body.

    Several months ago while investigating the external regions of cial mountains he came across a young elf from Furano, an E-rank adventurer on a scouting quest. The two shared shelter for a few hours and talked about their lives and in doing so Jared was able to put down some regrets he had in regards to his hometown thus allowing him to finally see a way forward, a path to A-rank.

    A debt was thus incurred by the old soldier, a debt he promised to repay.

 Chapter 701 Chapter 701 General Jared Bando (3)

    General Bando gazed down at Frost with warmth in his eyes, happy to see the young man again after so many months. Because of him he was able to bridge the gap and ascend to the A-rank, a level respected by all.

    From his perspective he owed a rather substantial debt to the young man thus he handed him a badge, a token that represented the War Ursa Battalion and the vaunted fortress of Icethorne. With it in hand Frost would be seen as an ally of the Dukedom, a friend that would receive substantial benefits when in their territory.

    Friendship with Icethorne and the War Ursa Battalion was something many people lusted after but even so Jared felt that his gift was rathercking thus he eagerly anticipated the next time he and Frost would cross paths.

    Now months after their first meeting the two men were reunited and Jared had the perfect opportunity to pay back his supposed debt.

    ''¡­.Jared Bando.'' Though his vision was obscured his hearing was clear. It took him a few seconds but eventually Frost remembered the owner of the voice.

    An old solider from Furano, a man of the same generation as Dous and Ryuu yet instead of choosing the adventurer route he instead chose to join the military. Stay tuned to empire

    They met during his first foray into the cial mountains, a brief yet memorable meeting between the experienced and the inexperienced. Back then he was a Major in the War Ursa Battalion and a person who had reached the upper levels of B-rank. But now it was clear that he''d improved a great deal since then.

    Just from his presence alone Be who Frost had struggled so hard against was shivering in her skin, wary of even the slightest of his movements.

    Be''s fear was actually much greater than Frost surmised, the reason being that she didn''t recognise Jared''s face. All the Generals under Duke Runak were well known throughout therger monster tribes and nations within the cial mountains. This was because they needed to know everything about their enemies'' deadliest weapons.

    The only exception was the newest General, the ''rookie'' who had just recently rose to prominence.

    Jared''s face was unknown, but his reputation wasn''t. The so called ''Rookie General'' was vicious, aggressive and hungry for achievements, wherever he went a trail of blood would follow. Since she did not recognise Jared''s appearance and given the way her body was reacting she could only assume that he was Icethorne''s newest General, the ''Ravenous Beast''.

    Be''s assumptions were quickly proven as Jared''s tender expression quickly vanished, reced with a bloodthirsty grimace as he turned to face her. The aura of an A-rank soldier with hundreds perhaps even thousands of deaths under his belt burst forth like a tsunami. The invisible pressure wrapped around the frost giants forcing them all to kneel in the snow.

    Each and every one of them felt the spectre of death lean over their shoulders and whisper in their ears as its ws grasped around their hearts making every single beat a struggle. For most of them this was the most fear they''d ever experienced in their entire lives, the pressure of someone at the A-rank was no joke.

    The only one able to stay on her feet -albeit barely- was Be. Her instincts were screaming to either run or submit but thankfully this wasn''t the first time she''d experienced such pressure thus she didn''tpletely copse.

    With a cracking clench of her jaw the scarred woman who stood over 12 metres tall, gazed dead ahead at the 2 metre tall bear beastman as though he was the giant and she was but a frail antlike existence.

    "Lord General what has brought someone of your status all way over here?" Though she stuttered a few times Be spoke directly to Jared in a calm and diplomatic manner, specifically highlighting the fact that someone of his rank and status had no business interfering with their machinations.

    Despite being so close to Icethorne territory and attacking people clearly heading towards it, there was still no need for a General to interfere.

    A-ranks were seen as the maximum level of strength a nation could muster thus it was usually agreed upon that beings such as themselves would refrain from interfering with lower ranking fights. A-ranks were so strong that lower ranked opponents would struggle to even raise their des against them let alone hurt them in any way.

    This unwritten pact between the nations and major tribes of Nova mainly aimed to prevent A-ranks from ughtering young talents thus preventing them from reaching their level. Be was highlighting this pact hoping to dissuade Jared from making any foolish moves. Icethorne was already in muddy waters, it didn''t need her frost giant tribe added to the mix.

    Jared frowned slightly and reduced the strength of his aura pressing down on Be.

    "A priestess of the inner temple¡­.you can certainly be considered protected under the pact but¡­." His aura sharply increased causing Be to cough up blood. "There is a limit to you arrogance!"

    "Aghh!" The C-rank frost giants in the surroundings roared in pain as they violently coughed up blood and struggled to remain upright.

    "You!" Be screeched, enraged by Jared''s arrogance. She believed that with the mentioning of the pact he''d back off a little and they coulde to some sort of negotiation but instead he directly punished her subordinates with his aura.

    ''What the hell is going on? Is he a mad man?'' Her mind spun in all directions as she tried to ascertain what was happening

    "Priestess of the inner sanctum you''ve made two mistakes."

    "Huh?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "First you attacked someone you really shouldn''t have!" His aura increased another fold forcing Be to her knees and in response she quickly nced at Frost, wondering what sort of identity he held.

    "..Bu¡­" Even if he was a high ranking noble this aggression was uncalled for.

    "Second¡­." An evil smile grew on Jared''s lips before he continued. "The General you came across was me and I really don''t respond well to threats!" An intense killing intent honed in on Be making her blood run cold.

    ''This was not how things were supposed to y out, how did hunting a random group of intruders end up with an A-rank General from Icethorne confronting us?'' Be felt that the world had flipped upside down, never in her wildest dreams did she believe that a General from Icethorne would get involved in this mess and even disy unbridled killing intent towards her.

    ''Who the fuck are you!'' Her gaze once again drifted towards Frost who she assumed was the reason for this whole scenario. She hadpletely forgot about the old dwarf and young female human.

    Jared as an A-rank individual normally wouldn''t have much cause to interfere in such a battle let alone get personally involved but given that the princess and future Empress of Northrend was the one Be and her subordinates attacked the pact could no longer restrict his actions.

    Making a move on a member of the royal family was tantamount to dering war thus Jared was free to do as he wished with the would be assassins.

    Of course there would likely be some political bacsh against Icethorne by the frost giant tribe, a scenario Duke Runak could really do without given Icethorne''s current predicament, but Jared didn''t care all that much.

    The frost giants had been a thorn in their sides for long enough, the attacks on their trade caravans, messengers, the asional patrol and now their Princess, enough was enough. It was time to put these monsters in their ce.

    In Jared''s mind all it meant was that there''d be an additional enemy to deal with, more blood to decorate his axes.

    The whole situation was a bit of shame really, if the General that arrived wasn''t Jared or if Be had just been a little more respectful she could have lived but now, there was nothing she could do.

    Jared moved closer to the kneeling woman with his axe in hand. His aura and killing intent were at their maximum level, the ''Ravenous beast'' wasn''t bluffing.

    "Arghh fuck you dog of Runak! Kill him!" Seeing that there was no way to negotiate Be erupted with her maximum power. She coated her entire body in aura and bellowed out with a primordial roar that helped buff her subordinates, allowing them to fight against the pressure emitted by Jared.

    Be and her frost giants took hold of their weapons and charged towards Jared, but the man only smiled evilly in response.

    "Not bad but you''re far too slow." He quietly muttered before vanishing like a ghost.

    "Urgh!"

    "Argh!"

    "Oorgh!" In the following moments Jared shed between the C-rank frost giants, shing their throats with his aura imbued axe. The mighty giants barely managed to catch sight of his shadow before a geyser of blood burst from their necks bringing them down.

    C-ranks were no match for an A-rank but what about Be, a monster that was at the very least in the upper grades of B-rank and of a powerful bloodline.

    Her body was covered in cuts thanks to her fight with Frost, but her strength was all there as was her wit. She knew she couldn''t hope to fight evenly against Jared so the moment she saw him move to attack she turned and leapt at Frost, aiming to take the little bastard hostage.

 Chapter 702 Chapter 702 General Jared Bando (4)

    Be''s frost giant subordinates were no match for the mighty General Bando. Even with their priestess'' morale boosting roar they couldn''t even summon a third of their normal strength.

    "Argh!" Angry howls of anguish reverberated throughout the surroundings as General Bando easily danced between the hulking giants. His axeshing out with a frightening speed and dexterity, like a controlled bolt of lightning, far beyond anything these giants had ever seen before.

    He required no skills to take down his foes, just simple and urate cuts across their vitals. His natural speed, quality of his weapon and the imbuement of his aura allowed his axe to easily slice through their thick skin and dense muscles like butter.

    First cut; a neck is split open.

    Second cut, an arm is severed.

    Third cut, a femoral artery is carved open.

    Fourth cut, a heart is eviscerated.

    Each and every one of General Bando''s attacks were lethal and resulted in literal geysers of thick giant blood dyeing the snow covered ground.

    So much carnage in so little time.

    Be forced herself to ignore the screams of her subordinates and the stench of fresh blood assailing her nostrils. While her C-rank subordinates charged at General Bando in a maddened frenzy she focused on the only thing that could save her life.

    She moved to take Frost hostage.

    Frost quickly noticed his predicament but unfortunately his legs were still shot and the pain wreaking havoc throughout his body made even the slightest of movements an ordeal.

    Thankfully he never let go of the sh crystal hidden within his robes. With a brief and blurry nce Frost estimated that Jared was too far away to reach him in time thus he''d have to take matters into his own hands.

    He could see madness in Be''s expression and knew that the moment he entered her grasp only hell awaited him.

    Be reached out with her massive right hand in an attempt to take hold of his skull. To her it was akin to the size of an apple and just as easy to crush. With this Frost''s life would bepletely under her control, one wrong move from General Bando and crunch! The high status elf would be nothing but a bag of useless meat.

    Frost started to funnel mana into the sh crystal and was prepared to make it explode at the veryst second but once again his actions appeared unnecessary.

    Boom!

    Be''s outstretched hand crashed into an invisible wall halting her advance.

    "Impossible!" She screeched in disbelief before repeatedly punching at the wall or rather shield that prevented her from reaching Frost. He was her only hope, without him in her clutches she was as good as dead.

    With a tightly clenched fist she punched the invisible shield twice yet all she got in return was a pair of bloody knuckles.

    "It can''t be! That''s impossible!" Fuelled by desperation she gripped the shaft of her hammer and raised it high above her head.

    Boom!

    With a mighty downward swing of her hammer the invisible shield appeared to distort in shape, a gnarly grinding could be heard as the shield met with the face of her hammer but that was the extent of the damage, a deformation but no break.

    "Ahhhh! [Crescent Moon''s impact]!" Since a regr blow wasn''t enough Be summoned everyst shred of her internal energy to use one of her most powerful hammer skills. A dense violet light covered her hammer, greatly multiplying its weight before conjuring what appeared to be a miniature version of the moon in its crescent form.

    Frost could feel the pressure even while protected by the invisible shield, his legs sunk deep into the snow and his organs felt as though they could burst at any moment. If he was hit by this attack not even bone dust would remain.

    He wasn''t worried though, in fact a smile adorned his lips because he could see behind Be, he could see the prone forms of all her subordinates squirming on the ground in the throes of death as well as the face of the man who killed them, well his calm unperturbed smile at least.

    Jared was staring right at Be yet there wasn''t a hint of worry in his expression, so Frost feltpletely at ease, so at ease in fact that he struggled to remain conscious. The constant tension and thrill of battle that had kept him going was now beginning to loosen. His already blurry and fogged sight was growing darker by the second and a strong urge to sleep was beginning to overwhelm him.

    Thest thing he saw before darkness took hold was the sight of Be''s hammer skill fracturing open the invisible shield only to be met with Jared standing below with his axe in hand.

    He managed to hear Be utter something about ''aura manifestation'' before ultimately passing out, his body falling forward onto the blood dyed snow.

    "How can you manifest your aura to such a degree already?" Be asked in shock moments after Frost fell unconscious.

    "Trade secret priestess." General Bando replied after easily enduring one of her strongest skills. He quickly used his powerful senses to check on Frost''s condition before nodding his head and prying his other axe from the ground.

    "¡­..The frost giant tribe won''t stay silent dog of Runak." Be once again threatened General Bando with retaliation from her tribe in a desperate attempt to save her life but once again the ''ravenous beast'' ignored her efforts.

    General Bando simply smiled in an evil manner before saying "¡­.I certainly hope not priestess, my axes have grown rather fond of giant blood after all."

    "Bastaaard!" With veins throbbing across her forehead and her muscles bulging to the point that her armour and clothes groaned from the strain Be roared out in anger. She wielded her hammer with both hands and began the greatest battle of her life.

    Ten maybe fifteen minutester Frost who was sound asleep felt a stinging pain on his left cheek. He was forcibly brought out of his slumber and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Jared Bando looking down on him with a gentle expression.

    "Good you''re up."

    "Why''d you wake me?" He passed out from exhaustion and sheer damage; his body was literally telling him he needed to sleep.

    "This isn''t the time nor the ce to sleep Frost even if you need it¡­.here drink this, it''s a military grade mid-level health potion. It should heal most of your wounds and make you stable enough to move." Jared gestured towards their surroundings before retrieving a health potion from his storage ring.

    "Thanks but I''ve actually got something better." Normally he wouldn''t pass up the chance to get free stuff but considering the extent of his wounds he didn''t want to take any chances.

    With strained movements Frost retrieved his sole high level health potion from his storage ring. Jared kindly removed the cork and helped pour the liquid down his throat being very careful not to waste even a single drop.

    "To think that you have a high level health potion, impressive Lad." Jared''s surprise was warranted as within the Northrend empire the royal family and several dukes held a strict monopoly over any manufactured high level potions. One either had to have significant connections, a hell of a lot of capital or immense luck to get their hands on just one bottle.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The taste of the high level health potion was sublime but unfortunately given his pain Frost failed to fully enjoy the vour. The results of the potion''s effects however were most impressive. Within a few seconds his entire body felt warm and fuzzy, the pain that was wreaking havoc melted away. He could literally see his wounds being rapidly closed and his lost blood regenerating.

    And after a few minutes he was practically 90% healed. He was still exhausted and drained of mana, but his wounds had disappeared, leaving not even a single scar across his pristine skin.

    "I can count the times I''ve seen someone using a high level health potion with a single hand, it''s truly miraculous how such devastation can be remedied in just a matter of minutes." Jared couldn''t help but shake his head in amazement.

    "Really? I thought someone of your standing would have free ess to such medicine." Jared was now a General of the War Ursa Battalion, an A-rank individual.

    "Pah even the Duke can''t use high level potions willy nilly let alone me who only recently attained A-rank." The resource budget for Icethorne was quite meagre inparison to its duties. Even Jared a newly crowned General was only allowed to carry two high level potions on his person and only when there was no other choice was he allowed to use them.

    "Congrattions by the way and¡­.thank you for saving me." With his wounds pretty much healed and the pain dissipating more every second Frost rose to his feet and bowed to Jared, giving his genuine thanks.

    "No need for that Frost, you can just consider our debt paid, besides if you want to thank someone you should thank the Princess, she refused to budge an inch and even threatened to take her own life unless I agreed to help you."

    "Haaaaa sorry that must have put you in a difficult spot." Frost could easily picture the scene of Avira balling her eyes out with her rapier resting against the front of her neck as she demanded Jared to take action.

    "Not really, if I wished I could have easily knocked her out and dragged her back to Icethorne." It wouldn''t be much of an issue for an A-rank individual like himself to apprehend Avira before she harmed herself.

    "Hoh¡­.why didn''t you just do that then?" Surely the safety of the Princess was of upmost importance.

    Jared gazed directly into Frost''s eyes with a serious expression before saying. "Because my liege gave me an order and for me to disobey it would be tantamount to treason." The moment he recognised Avira as the Princess of Northrend, the rightful ruler of the empire her every word became a decree for the loyal soldier.

 Chapter 703 Chapter 703 Welcome to Icethorne (end of volume 10)

    General Jared Bando was the personification of a loyal soldier. Just like his superior Duke Runak he swore to serve the Northrend throne and the Empire as a whole. Thus despite not having much backing from the powerful noble houses situated in the Capital, because of the words left behind by the former Emperor Franz Northrend, in their eyes Avira was unquestionably the rightful heir.

    The moment her identity was verified she became his highest ranking liege.

    Faced with such unwavering conviction Frost couldn''t help but ovep Jared''s appearance with that of Findley, their loyalty was frighteningly simr after all.

    Thinking of this brought a smile to his lips. "Hahaha truly the living embodiment of loyalty, V''s quite lucky."

    "¡­..You should refer to her as Princess Avira or her highness Frost." Jared half seriously insisted but Frost wasn''t intimidated in the slightest.

    "Rx I have permission to call her that plus I''m not a citizen of Northrend." Frost waved his hand on front of his face as though batting away the usual formalities.

    "Very well but I''d advise you to be more respectful when in front of the Duke as he may not be as lenient as the Princess and myself." Jared bared his teeth and pped Frost''s back in a friendly manner.

    "Ow! Ease up a little." Frost felt a burning pain where Jared pped him, the old soldier needed to learn how to control his own strength.

    Speaking of his strength Frost finally took a moment to view his surroundings. "Urgh" a groan escaped his lips as he took in the debauched scene of carved up Frost giants littered across the now reddened snow.

    The C-rank''s were cleanly taken care of with a single cut or two, but Be wasn''t quite so fortunate. Bits of her flesh and muscles had literally exploded under Jared''s attacks, nketing the entire area with gruesome chunks. Worst of all was the frozen expression stuck on her deceased head, a face filled with madness and terror.

    Frost looked back at Jared who seemed to not have a single blemish or spot of blood on his uniform, even his axes had been cleaned at some point. The contrast was so awkward that it was hard to imagine him being the cause of the nearby devastation¡­.somehow it actually reminded him of his own behaviour as he too liked to be clean.

    ''Is this how Ie across after defeating my foes, walking by with nary a hair out of ce or spot of blood on my robes?''

    "She was quite strong for a priestess." As Frost was getting lost in his own thoughts Jared spoke up, his eyes focused on the decapitated head with a terrifying visage.

    "Such determination and stubbornness¡­.a shame." He let out a sigh and shook his head.

    "How so?" Frost asked, curious of his meaning.

    Jared removed his gaze from the deceased giant and turned to face Frost. "Within the Frost Giant Tribe only those who reach B-rank can be considered true members of the tribe and once they reach that rank their given official roles." Jared began exining what he knew of the inner workings of the Frost Giant Tribe.

    "To gain the position of priestess one must have a high degree of talent, be female and follow the direct will of their sacred temple which was erected after the ascension of Ymir. Usually their strengths range from the upper early stages to the lowerte stages, but this one was actually in the upperte stages, just a step further and she would have been at the peak of B-rank."

    ''No wonder I wasn''t a match for her.'' Be was miles stronger that the Rindar he barely managed kill during the monster stampede. A miracle hested as long as he did.

    "On top of that she was incredibly stubborn and tenacious, forcing me to use highly devasting attacks to curb her advance¡­.more than half her body''s now ruined because of that, haaaaa what a waste." Even this deep into the cial mountains it''s rare toe across a monster as strong as Be.

    Her corpse was beholden to a plethora of good materials, materials that Icethorne was in dire need of thus for half of it to be ruined it was a substantial loss, a loss that even Jared an A-rank General could understand.

    "I see." Frost found his respect for the deceased female giant growing despite their opposed rtionship, Nova was a world based on strength after all. He would remember her might and use their battle to fuel his own growth, surpassing her in the end.

    Jared and Frost remained silent for a few seconds as varied emotions flowed through their hearts.

    "Come on Frost we should get going." Assuming that the health potion had run its course Jared was anxious to return to Icethorne.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Princess Avira agreed to leave with Sergeant Olive after receiving his vow, but she was surely still worried plus given the situation someone of his standing couldn''t be away from the fortress for too long.

    "Are you not going to retrieve the bodies?" Jared had definitely killed his opponents but there was no sign of him rummaging through them for their held items or usable materials.

    "No a patrol team will do that; now follow me the Princess is probably worried sick." Jared was clearly eager to get back so Frost could only follow his lead hoping that these valuable corpses wouldn''t go to waste.

    "Let''s see how fast you can run little Frost." Jared yfully stuck out his tongue before sprinting north, quickly kicking up a trail of snow and dust.

    In response Frost who was feeling much better after drinking the high level health potion tensed his legs muscles and charged after the old solider, determined to not fall far behind. It wasn''t every day you get to race against an A-rank individual after all.

    An hourter Jared (who was jogging lightly) stopped in front of a truly massive gate made of Runic metal. He stood perfectly straight and was breathing normally while Frost who was trailing after him was gasping for air and struggling to remain upright on his trembling legs.

    He''d never run so damn fast in his entire life. Every time it seemed that he was gaining on Jared the damn bastard would increase his speed and look back with a provocative smile. And Frost being who he was always replied with more speed resulting in a quick exhaustion of what little stamina remained after his gruelling fight with Be.

    "Not bad, you''re much faster than I thought you''d be. Your physical capabilities are quite something little Frost." Jared was all praises for his young friend but in Frost''s ears it sounded grating.

    "Wee to Icethorne Frost, the territory of Duke Runak and the northern most bastion of the Northrend Empire." Jared who was about to be swarmed by eager soldiers gestured towards the massive monstrosity thaty before them.

    If you considered Furano''s or Niflheim''s walls tall then the walls of Icethorne reached the clouds. Standing before the southern gate Frost had to tilt his head all the way back if he wanted to see the top.

    100 metres that''s how tall the damn southern wall was, and that 100 metre wall spanned several kilometres between two rugged mountains that surpassed the cloud line, barring entry and exit for all who dwelled within the inner regions of the cial mountains.

    The Northern wall that faced the inner regions was even taller, thicker and wider than the south reaching close to 130 metres in height, lying over 15 kilometres further north making the fortress of Icethorne thaty between far, farrger than Furano.

    Intimidating didn''t even begin to describe the feeling Frost was currently experiencing. The fortress of Icethorne was clearly built for a single purpose¡­war.

    "Impressive right?" Jared reacted the exact same way when he arrived decades ago. For a young soldier trained in the civilised Northrend it was hard toprehend the need for such an insane fortress, but he quickly learned. Not even a month after his arrival he was thrust into his first true war, a war that was unlike any other he had ever seen.

    Now whenever he gazed upon the mighty walls of Icethorne he actually felt that they were rathercking.

    Frost who was like a deer in headlights could only mutely nod his head in agreement. All his previous pride in developing a new outer wall for the Niflheim city-state came crashing down, his walls weren''t even a 5th of the one that now stood before him. He felt as though he was just a child ying at Lord.

    "General Bando!" A group of soldiers lined up in formation before Jared and saluted him with their arms crossed over their chests.

    "At ease, did the Princess arrive safely and has the patrol teams left to attend to our deceased and the bodies of our enemies?" Jared nodded his head in reply, as a superior officer he wasn''t required to salute someone of a lower ranking.

    "Reporting sir, the Princess and her allies arrived safe and sound with nary a scratch, his lordship the Duke has been informed and will make his way to the pce as soon as he is able." Icethorne was quite a big ce and Duke Runak was a busy man, even if it was the princess'' arrival he couldn''t simply drop his current tasks.

    "Regarding the patrol teams Sergeant Gregory and Sergeant Thomas have been sent in response to your request sir. We should have the bodies within our walls before nightfall." A muscr human woman standing over 2 metres tall responding to Jared with fervour in her eyes. She couldn''t believe that she was actually getting the chance to speak to her idol.

    "Good work Captain, ensure that our deceased and injuredrades receive our highest level of care. Sergeant Olive''s squad has achieved great merit and must be rewarded for their efforts."

    "Sir yes Sir!" All the solider loudly called and stamped their feet with passion and loyalty in their hearts.

    "Alright then, dismissed." Jared waved off the soldiers before then turning back to Frost.

    "Once again wee to Icethorne, Frost."

 Chapter 704 Icethorne (volume 11)

    "Once again wee to Icethorne, Frost." General Bando animatedly weed Frost to Icethorne as the fortress'' southern gates were craned open by a team of muscr soldiers and a durable lever mechanism.

    From just a cursory nce Frost estimated that the gate weighed tens, perhaps even hundreds of tonnes and was made out of a metal he''d never seen before.

    As the gate slowly opened he was able to see a beautiful marbling running within the metal, its colour appearing slightly lighter and far shiner than the rest, it even glinted whenever a sunbeam passed across its surface. It was obvious that this metal that made up 90% of the gate was of a very high rank.

    ''Even I repeatedly used [flight of the Luan] I doubt I''d be able to shave off more than a few centimetres.'' Frost could immediately tell that without special equipment it would be impossible to break through this giant wall and gate.

    "I''ll have someone give you a grand tourter but first let''s go and settle the Princess'' nerves." Jared could see the curiosity welling up in Frost''s eyes but unfortunately there wasn''t time to indulge.

    "Alright." Frost shrugged his shoulders and shoved down his curiosity as he followed Jared through the gates and into the fortress.

    "Garow!" However the moment they began to cross the threshold a massive four legged creature with wings sprouting from its back let loose an aggrieved roar before charging straight for Frost with reddened eyes.

    "Oooff Kiba!" Frost despite quickly bracing himself for the impact was instantly knocked off his feet and pinned to the ground.

    Lick lick

    Kiba who had been worried sick this entire time whimpered as he repeatedly licked Frost''s face with his rough tongue, refusing to budge an inch until he had his fill of attention.

    "Hahahaha what a loyal and affectionate kitty cat hahahaha." Jared bellowed withughter finding Kiba''s actions downright adorable. He was supposed to be a noble and wild cial tiger not some house cat that missed his owner.

    Frost was initially annoyed by Kiba''s clinginess but after hearing his aggrieved voice through their soul connection and noticing his trembling he smiled and gently stroked the back of his head and ears until he calmed down.

    "Well done Kiba." Once back on his feet Frost warmly praised his partner''s valiant efforts and climbed up onto his back.

    "Chuff!" In response Kiba proudly arched out his chest and loudly chuffed as a smile quickly adorned his goofy lips.

    The surrounding on duty soldiers and residents of Icethorne tried their best to ignore the sight but Kiba''s actions were just too darn cute. Muffled chuckles and bright smiles could be seen all around as Jared led a proud Kiba through the streets with Frost on his back.

    "The Princess would have been escorted to the noble embassy same with that cksmith dwarf, what was his name?"

    "Borris Darksteel."

    "Yes that''s right Borris Darksteel¡­his arrival couldn''t havee at a better time." A forlorn expression flitted across Jared''s face for a brief moment before he forced himself to smile.

    "Anyway I''m sure they''ll both be happy to see safe and sound Frost."

    "¡­..Is the situation here really that bad?" Frost asked keen to know the true story and not something sugar-coated.

    Upon hearing his question Jared stopped walking and turned to face Frost, a frown evident across his brow "¡­..Haaaaa bad doesn''t even begin to describe it Frost." He sighed and shook his head, his shoulders slumping down as though unable to withstand a massive weight.

    "Jare¡­" Frost was just about to press him for details, but Jared held up his hand and said, "I''d like to tell you more about it, I really would but I think it''d be best if you heard it directly from the Duke." Since Frost came with the Princess his position was rather delicate, he couldn''t be considered as a simple civilian, nor could he be considered as part of the Northrend military thus what could be told to him and what couldn''t needed to be decided by the Duke himself.

    "¡­.Very well I''ll ask the Duke." Though he was keen to know about the territory he was leaving his two friends in he understood Jared''s position.

    "Thanks." The group of three thus continued on towards the embassy, a building reserved for important and high ranking visitors. Since it was built near the southern gate it didn''t take Jared, Frost and Kiba long to reach it.

    Just 10 minutes after entering through the gate and being assaulted by Kiba, Frost found himself in front of arge ornate building that exuded a noble charm far different from the many military styled buildings he passed on the way.

    "Oh." Jared uttered his surprise upon finding a woman standing outside the embassy. She was adorned in roughed up adventurer clothes and had her arms tightly across her chest, but her face was no longer hidden.

    "Your Highnes¡­." Jared moved to kneel and greet her, but the young woman darted passed him,pletely ignoring his existence.

    "FROST!!!" The woman or rather Avira loudly screamed out Frost''s name with tears streaming down her cheeks. Then without any thought in regards to her status she leaped from the ground and wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly against her body as she cried her heart out.

    For the past two hours she had been beside herself with grief. Frost was strong but he wasn''t a match for that oversized frost giant and her cronies. Her only sce had been that the contract between Frost and Kiba had remained all this time but that only ensured that he was alive not what state he was in.

    Would hee back on the brink of death? Would he be missing a limb or limbs? Would he have a permanent injury that would ruin his future? Or perhaps his beautiful face had be destroyed? Her mind went round and round imagining all sorts of terrible oues so when she finally caught sight of him after all this time she broke down into a bawling mess.

    Experience tales at empire

    At this moment she was not a revered Princess, but a young girl worried about her friend.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Wah wah." Avira continued to cry into Frost''s chest and all he could do was gently stroke the back of her head, not having the heart to push her away.

    "Let''s head inside." Jared suggested after noticing that people were being drawn over by the sound of a young girl crying. He couldn''t have the Princess; the future leader of their nation being seen in such a vulnerable state. With the fortress currently beset with danger their future leader needed to be portrayed as strong and confident amongst the residents.

    "Agreed." Frost nodded his head and skilfully held Avira against his body as he descended from Kiba''s back and entered the embassy with Jared.

    "Hahahaha I should have known you''de back without nary a scratchd." Once inside Borris appeared with arge grin stered across his lips and red tinge on his cheeks, clearly he''d been drinking heavily while in the embassy.

    "It was far more than a scratch Borris, in fact I''m lucky to even be alive." Frost immediately regretted his words as the woman wrapped around his chest violently shivered before looking up at him like a baby on the edge of a tantrum.

    "Y..You¡­hick¡­got hurt?" Her eyes welled up in preparation for the wailing of a century.

    Frost''s upper lip started twitching in response and he craned his neck to the side to avoid looking directly at her. "¡­.I misspoke it was just a scratch." He quickly took back what he just said.

    As though sceptical Avira narrowed her eyes and scanned him for any signs of wounds and only after finding nothing too out of ce did she nod her head and go back to being glued to his chest.

    Borris and Frost shared a knowing look, they''d talk at lengthter once Avira calmed down, she was too fragile at the moment.

    "Frost feel free to rest here with the Princess, you''re bound to be exhausted after your journey." Said Jared after calling on the staff servicing the embassy.

    "I am so I''ll take you up on that Jared¡­.do you need to get back?"

    "Yes in fact I''ve already wasted too much time haaaaa I''ll try and visit the next time I''m able, but it might be easier for you toe and visit me instead." Jared sighed and once again showed that dark expression.

    "Got it, where?"

    "Where else? The frontlines." His dark expression was mixed with a bloodthirsty smile which Frost instinctively mirrored. Where else would a General be during times of war.

    "Hopefully the Duke will be able to return to the pce shortly but if not I''m sure one of his aides wille in his ce, see ya Frost."

    "Farwell Lord Darksteel."

    "Until next time your majesty." Jared gave separate farewells for his friend, the talented 4 star cksmith Borris Darksteel and of course his highest ranking liege Princess Avira who unfortunately didn''t even register his voice given her focus on Frost.

    "Good hunting General." Borris replied with a military salute, he was full of respect for the man and looked forward to fighting the good fight alongside him.

    Don!

    Jared closed the embassy''s front door behind him and then instantly used his A-rank speed to dash North to the frontlines.

 Chapter 705 Icethorne (2)

    It didn''t long for General Bando to make his way back to the fortress'' frontlines, its northern wall.

    The scene here was quite a bit different from the rather easy going southern wall. Instead of having a few small toons keeping up appearances, the northern wall was littered with soldiers from both the Duchy''s own forces and the vaulted War Ursa Battalion.

    Thousands perhaps even tens of thousands stood atop and before the massive wall that stretched several kilometres across.

    Men and women of differing Sapient species stood stalwart at the base of the wall, adorned in high quality armour fashioned from a mixture of metals and monster materials. These soldiers were the Duchy''s vanguard, men and women of great physical strength and unwavering courage.

    They didn''t rely upon the safety of the wall behind them no they stood in front of it, culling any would be aggressor that dared to infringe upon theirnd.

    Their armour and clothes long dyed red from the blood of their enemies. Across the entire empire there were few regiments that could match their experience and sheer kill count.

    With powerful shieldmen armed with tower shields as tall as themselves standing at the forefront, deadly spearmen and pole users primed behind and vicious swordsmen and axe users in the rear this 3yer system acted like a meat grinder, swiftly dispatching swaths of enemybatants regardless of their shape or form.

    Atop of the wall stood the Duchy''s ranger corps, crossbowmen and archers arrayed in individual rectangr formations with closebat bodyguard units standing in between. While behind them were the magic corps, mages of all elements who were grouped up on extended tforms and specially build towers that amplified the flow of mana.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    From on high and safety the ranger corps and the magic corps rained death from above but even then their firepower paled inparison to the war machines lined across not only the top of the wall but also within it.

    Just like the newly built wall around the Niflheim city-state this monstrosity was partially hollow allowing soldiers to enter it at will and man the ballistae and even mana cannons ced within.

    If that wasn''t enough stationed behind the wall was the cavalry of the Duchy and the War Ursa Battalion. Men and women who rode upon bear monsters ranging from E-rank to even upper C-rank.

    Hidden pathways within the nearby mountains as well as beneath the ground itself allowed this deadly force to appear and disappear like the wind, stabbing deep into the heart of the enemy forces before swiftly returning safely behind the wall.

    Throughout Northrend hell probably throughout the entire civilised regions of Yangmir there wasn''t a single fortress that came close to matching the defensive power of Icethorne.

    General Bando when his eyes gazed upon the current state of the northern wall surprisingly frowned, his expression briefly darkening as worry filled his heart.

    Smack!

    The moment he was lost in thought however arge hand mmed hard against his back, leaving a distinct handprint and forcing the mighty general to reel forward.

    "Wee back rookie!" His attacker was a bear beastwoman even taller and more muscr than himself.

    "Katrina." Jared grumbled, his back searing from her malicious smack. "How long are you gonna call me ''rookie'' by the way." Though in pain and annoyed by her choice of greeting he was in a lower position hierarchy wise plus he may have took longer than necessary to return to his post.

    Katrina or rather General Katrina Orwell tilted her head to the side in a yful manner. "Hmmm probably until the next person reaches A-rank then they''d be the rookie General."

    "¡­.I''m the first new General in ten years"

    "Un so you have your answer, rookie." Katrina nodded her head, mockingly praising Jared''s intelligence which caused the usually calm and collected man to twitch at the lips. His fists trembled as he restrained the urge to pick a fight with the woman as doing so would only result in his abysmal defeat.

    General Katrina was one of the oldest Generals under Duke Runak, ady who was literally ughtering people when he was still in diapers. Currently she was in the upper ranges of middle A-rank, but Jared suspected that her true strength was even higher, possibly evente stage A-rank.

    With him being the rookie who only just ascended to A-rank she could easily crush him without much effort and in fact one of her favourite pastimes was too abuse him under the guise of training.

    Katrina taunted and teased urging him to take a swing at her so she could put him in his ce, but he refused to take the bait.

    "Tsk boring¡­.by the way what took you so long?" Katrina clicked her tongue before changing topics.

    "The Princess appeared."

    "Ahh no wonder Oscar''s been so enthusiastic." Katrina turned to nce at the Northern wall''smand centre. There a human man with short white hair, a bushy white beard and an intimidating a face stood with his arms crossed as he gazed beyond the wall.

    This man was Oscar Runak the Duke of Icethorne, leader of the War Ursa Battalion and the strongest soldier in the Empire. Experience tales at empire

    The old Duke was too strong to get personally involved in standard battles, but he regrly tookmand as the main strategist. Katrina had noticed that his orders had been rather aggressive over the past hour, now she knew why.

    "That still doesn''t exin you being absent for so long though." Katrina was too wizened to be fooled by a hot topic.

    "There was a bit of aplication¡­" Jared proceeded to tell Katrina about having to rescue Frost because of the Princess'' order/request.

    "Frost¡­is he the one you met several months ago, the one you said helped you cross the gap?" Katrina asked knowing quite a bit about Jared''s activities which was to be expected given that he was once under her directmand.

    "Yes." Jared didn''t hide anything.

    "¡­.How intriguing." Katrina stroked her chin in thought as a smile formed on her lips, she was curious. Frost''s exploits were too impressive to ignore¡­.she wanted him as a subordinate.

    "General Bando give your report!" Suddenly Jared and Katrina were interrupted by a loud booming voice that sent shivers down their spines.

    "Yes War Marshall." Duke Runak had two titles; one was his nobility title the Duke of Icethorne while the other was War Marshal of the War Ursa Battalion. Whenever they were on the battlefield or discussing the war effort Duke Runak insisted on being called War Marshal instead of Duke.

    While Jared was reporting to the Duke, Frost, Avira and Borris got some much needed rest. The journey had been quite taxing on their minds and bodies especially thest leg.

    Their assigned rooms were far better than even the best yurts found in the camps run by the order of the ice shield and miles apart from camping in a cave, so after a quick wash and a ss of a milk like drink the three of them fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

    5 hourster when night had fallen, turning the once whitendscape a beautiful ck Frost and the rest were awoken from their sleep by the embassy attendants.

    "Sir Frost the Duke requests your presence in the pce."

    "Understood" Frost stretched and cracked his back after acknowledging the attendant''s words. He then looked out the nearby window and saw the moon high in the sky "What time is it?" He asked.

    "A little after 9pm sir."

    "Seems I slept through dinner."

    "Not to worry Sir a banquet has been prepared in the pce for you, Lord Darksteel and her majesty the Princess." The attendant was quick to ay Frost''s worries.

    ''Great I''d hate to have to deal with the Duke on an empty stomach''

    "Thank you, I''ll be down in a minute." Once the sound of the attendant''s footsteps disappeared Frost put on his robes and armour, casted clean up magic to get rid of any bed head and checked his appearance in a nearby mirror.

    "Good as always." He narcissistically said before nodding his head and leaving the bedroom.

    "Eveningd you''re looking better." Borris was already waiting in the foyer with a ss of whiskey, a standard dwarven cksmith pick me up.

    "A good rest and hopefully tasty food should have me back to full potency." Though the high level health potion cleared up the majority of his injuries his exhaustion was still present thus when he arrived with Jared earlier his face was pale, his eyes bloodshot and sporting significant dark bags underneath.

    "That''s good to hear." Borris took a sip of whiskey before frowning. "How bad was it?" He asked knowing that Avira wasn''t here yet.

    "¡­Bad, I had to use a high level health potion."

    Shatter!

    The whiskey ss in Borris'' hands shattered, the old dwarf in a rush of anger clench his hand too hard causing the ss to break and the whiskey to go to waste.

    "Sorry, ah such a waste of premium liquor haaaaa." An attendant quickly moved to help clean up the broken ss and wipe down Borris''s hand and clothes.

    "¡­.What were you thinkingd? If we hadn''t run into that General Bando what would you have done?" Borris looked up at Frost with an aggrieved expression, his pain was evident.

    Seeing this Frost felt his heart warm, and a gentle smile grew on his lips.

 Chapter 706 Icethorne (3)

    Frost with a warm heart smiled gently and shook his head. "Rx Borris I had a n."

    "Which was?" Borris wanted specific details and Frost was more than happy to oblige now that the danger was over. He removed two items from his storage ring and showed them to Borris.

    "Hmm" The old dwarf failed to recognise one of the items, but the second one was covered in rather familiar runes. "Is that?"

    "A teleporting talisman and a sh crystal."

    "A sh crystal?" Borris had never heard of such an item, but he could roughly guess its purpose from the name. He weighed the two objects in his hands and immediately understood Frost''s supposed n. "A distraction followed by a sudden magical disappearance and a high level health potion to quickly resolve any debilitating injuries." An effective n but rather costly he surmised.

    Just the health potion alone would likely have cost multiple gold coins let alone the teleporting talisman. Both were items beyond the grasp of themon adventurer.

    "Exactly."

    Borris fumbled around with the teleportation talisman and was able to roughly gauge its limits. ''10 kilometres or so in a random direction.'' Pretty high level stuff but hardly a guarantee of safety given where they were.

    "Your n relied too much on luck, next time don''t take any chancesd¡­.you only have one life after all." The old dwarf wasn''t satisfied with Frost''s precautions so he hmphed in a grumpy manner and refused to look in his direction to show his displeasure.

    Avira arrived a couple minutester to see Frost awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and Borris standing silently off to the side with a fresh ss of whiskey in his hand. It was clear to her that something had happened between the two of them while she was getting ready.

    The young woman who had been donning disguises since the night of her parents'' murder no longer had a need to hide her appearance as she had reached her destination, her proimed sanctuary.

    "Wow." Borris who had been keeping silent in protest couldn''t help but gawk and exim the moment he saw Avira standing at the top of the stairs.

    The beautiful young Princess was wrapped in a satin blue dress enamoured with silverly specks, reminiscent of the night sky. It hugged tightly against her slender curves, leaving no question in regards to her gender like her previous attire did.

    Her shoes were no longer of the practical sort, ck high heels that made it almost impossible for her to run and move with purpose, they did however make her taller and add more definition to her ass.

    Her long silver hair was done up in a beautiful princess style braid andyfortably across her chest. A small amount of make-up was used to touch up her skin, masking the minor blemishes brought on by her difficult journey and less than ideal sleeping habits.

    Her clothes, shoes and make-up were all elegant in style, creating the image of a more mature beauty, less Princess more, Empress.

    Avira subtly smiled in response to Borris'' exmation, but her real focus was on Frost. As she gazed down at the young man she batted her eyshes in a flirtatious manner and arched out both her chest and rear so as to appear more curvy, hoping to shock him with her beauty.

    Of course even with her wearing a beautiful dress, high heels, makeup and her obvious arching the young Princess was still no match for Maya and Daki in the shape department, but she was still a kingdom toppling beauty.

    "You look beautiful V." Frost gave his honest opinion in a smooth fashion.

    "Hehehe thank you Frost." Avira blushed and giggled, very pleased by his choice of words.

    Once Avira descended the stairs an attendant entered the embassy and politely announced "Your highness, Lord Frost, Lord Darksteel there''s a carriage waiting outside to take you to the pce."

    "Perfect I can''t wait to see uncle Runak again after so many years." A redness formed in Avira''s eyes as her emotions swayed in nostalgia. She hadn''t seen the man she called uncle Runak in over a decade; would he even recognise her now.

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    "V." Frost the perfect gentleman held out his hand, offering to serve as her escort/chaperone, an offer Avira was more than inclined to take. With a bright expression she took hold of Frost''s hand and was led into the awaiting carriage.

    "Haaaaa can''t believe I''m being a third wheel at my age." Borris grumbled andined as he entered the carriage after the two ''supposed lovebirds'' but the smile on his lips ryed his true feelings.

    The carriage ride was quite smooth, no sudden bumps or shaking throughout the entire 30 minute journey. Both the carriage itself and the road they travelled upon were of a very high quality, the Duke being a military man knew the true value of a smooth and solid road.

    "Entering her highness Princess Avira Northrend, future Empress of the Empire and herpanions Sir Frost and Lord Borris Darksteel." The group was announced by a loud attendant and a round of salutes from the nearby soldiers.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Avira was used to such receptions given her upbringing and Frost was unperturbed given his own status but Borris who was practically aymen was unnerved by the wee. The hundreds of eyes staring at him gave him the willies.

    ''How am I supposed to remain calm somewhere like this.'' He suddenly missed Furano, the Viscounts were far more casual in their actions and tended to host only a small amount of people during celebrations.

    "Rx Borris just think about smithing, and you''ll be fine." Avira being a skilled noble whispered some advice in the old dwarf''s ear which allowed him to calm down somewhat.

    The room they entered into was a massive hall with a long, thick ice table in the centre. A grand assortment of food was ced upon the table that stretched from one side of the room to the other, allowing up to 50 people to dine infort though there was considerably less than that currently present.

    At the head of the table sat arge man with snow white hair and an intimidating appearance. Behind him constantly in arms reach was a ck heavy sword, 2.5 metres long and at least 60cm wide. Its dual sided edge glinting whenever the light passed over it. This was Duke Oscar Runak, War Marshall of the War Ursa Battalion and the Empire''s strongest soldier.

    And the weapon that was ced behind him was the [Night''s descent] the War Marshall''s personal weapon that was almost as famous as the man himself.

    Seated next to Duke Runak were his vaunted generals, Katrina Orwell, Maximus Landow, Jessica Tunray, Vox Nitros as well as Astra Pocise, all big names in Northrend. Famous individuals who stand at the peak of the nation''s military.

    If these powerful men and women weren''t intimidating enough the walls of the hall were decorated with the heads of powerful A-rank monsters and soldiers adorned in heavy te armour and armed with military pikes lined the edges of the room, silently watching everything like hawks.

    It was clear that this whole thing was a show of strength but whether it was for intimidation purposes or support Frost couldn''t tell. All he knew was that he was nothing but an ant before these people, any one of them could crush him without any effort. Strangely however he didn''t feel fear but excitement, especially when his gazended on Duke Runak.

    He could feel something instinctual, a pressure hidden deep within that wasn''t present amongst his generals, something he''d only felt from Maya and the other guardians. This man was truly strong.

    While Avira looked intimately at Duke Runak and Frost felt his blood start to boil from excitement Borris who was previously anxious locked onto the ck sword sitting behind the Duke.

    "[Night''s descent]" He quietly mumbled as his heart threatened to burst. The [Night''s descent] was a 6 star weapon forged over a century ago by one of the Empire''s greatest ever cksmiths. For someone like Borris it was likeing across the greatest of all treasures, a genuine masterpiece of craftsmanship.

    He desperately wanted to take hold of the prized weapon and study it for weeks perhaps even months alone in a private forge but thankfully his reasoning overcame his desire though it didn''t remove the obvious twinkling and sparkling in his eyes.

    ''Interesting.'' While Frost, Borris and Avira were taking in their surroundings Duke Runak was examining them. He smiled gently and felt a joy in his heart when he gazed at Avira, recognising the young woman instantly as she was the spitting image of her mother.

    For Borris he initially felt that he was a cksmith at the end of his tenure, someone with a decent level of skill who could be put to good use butcking in passion and the possibility of improvement. The reports he received earlier however were a far cry from the real thing.

    The supposed old dwarf whocked passion and fire lit up like a child the moment he saw [Night''s descent], a reactionpletely opposed to one who had lost the joy of their craft.

    However Frost was the most intriguing of all , a young man who appeared from nowhere and took the Northrend empire by storm. Within a year he managed to reach B-rank from the early stages of C-rank, a trusted friend of the Furano Viscounty, someone who didn''t fear battle and a man who was protected by someone at the S-rank, a level even he couldn''t reach.

    Now that same man, the lord of a swiftly growing territory right on the border of the Northrend empire, an enemy to both Princes yet an ally to the Princess was standing before him and his generals with a look of excitement rather than fear.

    A reaction that couldn''t simply be chalked up to arrogance, there was something truly special about Frost and Duke Runak was curious to know what it was.

 Chapter 707 Icethorne (4)

    "Uncle Oscar" Avira loudly called out with a voice filled with affection and repressed pain. After travelling for so long in secret, hiding from her brothers'' eyes she''d finally found sce. The image of Duke Runak''s tall muscr frame and his battle hardened appearance broke the dam that guarded her emotions.

    The strong, brave young woman that faced off against the dreaded iceborne huntsman and endured the hunting of Be and her frost giant subordinates instantly turned into a bawling child.

    Wet tears streamed down her cheeks and her body visibly trembled greatly shocking the man sitting at the head of the table.

    "Little V!" The war hardened Duke rose from his seat and dashed forward taking the trembling Avira in his arms.

    "Wah wah uncle hic hic my mom and dad.." Avirapletely broke down in his arms, revealing all the repressed pain that she''d hidden so well from Frost and Borris.

    "I know child, I know¡­ let it all out." Duke Runak tightly pressed Avira against his chest and allowed her to let out all her frustrations, more than willing to act as her rock.

    Avira''s loud wailing and Duke Runak''s now warm and gentle expression destroyed the once tense atmosphere.

    "Sit with uncle, V, I had Icethorne''s best chefs prepare a glorious banquet for your arrival."

    "Umu" Avira meekly mumbled and nodded her head before Duke Runak carried her to the head of the table. He sat down and gently ced her on hisp before reaching out to grab a piece of fragrant monster meat.

    After having a few bites Avira''s tears stopped and her emotions calmed down slightly, the meat was very tasty.

    "Sir Frost, Lord Darksteel please take a seat and partake in the feast before it goes cold." With Avira now calmer Duke Runak turned to face Frost and Borris.

    "Thank you Duke Runak." Frost and Borris both respectfully bowed their heads before taking their assigned seats. The Generals seated nearby eyed them both with interest, keen to strike up a conversation.

    "Frost was it? It''s good to finally put a face to the name." General Katrina Orwell wasted no time in striking up a conversation with the handsome young man, her eyes even analysed every inch of his body as if attempting to grade his potential.

    "You know of me?" Frost expected them to have done some kind of background check, but Katrina''s tone seemed unusually warm and friendly. Continue reading on empire

    "Hahaha that brat Jared brought you up frequently, going on and on about your potential¡­seems he was onto something. What do you say young man fancy enlisting in the War Ursa Battalion, I promise to train you personally." Katrina''s eyes were well trained, even without the use of a skill she could perceive a great many things about a person through a single nce.

    "Hahaha I''m certainly honoured to receive an invitation from someone as strong as yourself but unfortunately I''ll have to decline. I have no intention in joining Northrend''s military." His response was respectful but firm, allowing for no negotiations.

    "¡­I see." Katrina was obviously disappointed, but she didn''t hold anything against Frost in fact she respected his staunch refusal. "Well if you ever change your mind pleasee and find me, I Katrina Orwell would love to have you in my toon."

    "Tsk he''s already refused your advances Katrina stop pestering him¡­young Frost why don''t you sit over here and discuss the world with this big sister." Immediately after Katrina spoke General Jessica Tunray, the War Ursa Battalion''s pre-eminent mage appeared next to Frost and wrapped herself around his arms, purposefully pressing her ample chest against him.

    "Ha big sister more like grandma." Katrina red daggers at her shameless colleague, finding her approach despicable. Jessica was of the same generation as her, her looks were only a fa?ade formed by magic and expensive make-up.

    The other Generals, Maximus, Vox and Astra internally sighed, choosing to ignore their antics. It wasmon for Katrina and Jessica to trade barbs whenever they were in the same room.

    Frost was slightly troubled by the situation as both women could easily kill him with a flick of their wrists, he couldn''t risk offending either one of them. Thankfully someone came to his rescue.

    A few seconds after Jessica wrapped herself around Frost a deadly burst of killing intent and bloodthirst was sent her way. The two Generals being at the peak of military strength immediately honed in on the killing intent and found that it came from Avira. The presence wascking in strength, but the quality was certainly there.

    "Let go." With a chilling gaze Avira ordered Jessica to leave Frost''s side. An action that stunned everyone in the room bar Borris and Frost.

    Duke Runak who was focusing all his attention on Avira couldn''t help but gawk as he saw the fragile bawling woman suddenly unleash such a chilling re at one of his most trusted Generals. He looked at Jessica and then at Frost before once again looking back at Avira.

    ''Well shit!'' Being a wise man Duke Runak instantly understood his darling niece''s mood, she was marking her territory.

    Not wanting to upset her nor diminish her status he gestured for Jessica to back off which caused the woman donned in sleek purple robes to hmph and return to her seat. She just wanted to y around a little.

    Like Katrina she had quite the eye for talent, particrly in regards to magic. Not only was Frost incredibly handsome but his natural mana levels for his current rank were off the charts, a true diamond in the making. One she desperately wanted to get her hands on even if it wasn''t through enlistment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    So what if her current appearance was supported by magic, what difference did it make? Sexy and beautiful was sexy and beautiful regardless of the means plus as long as she had mana she would retain her early thirties appearance indefinitely, so it was basically permanent.

    But if the Princess, soon to be Empress of Northrend had alreadyid her im then she being a loyal soldier of the empire couldn''t throw her hat in the ring, regardless of how tempting the prize may be.

    "Frost it seems we need to have a proper chat don''t you think?" Duke Runak said with a smile but there was something ominous in his tone, something that made Frost shiver in his seat.

    "I¡­it would be my honour."

    ''Dammit why did I have to draw this monster''s ire.'' Frost suddenly regretted teasing Avira during their journey.

    "Everyone eat up, we''ll move on to official talks in an hour¡­Jessica, Vox once your done rece Jared and Danielle."

    ""Yes Duke"" Jessica and Vox performed a military salute before quickly digging into their meals. Hardly anyone talked after that, everyone waspletely focused on eating.

    An hourter Duke Runak, Avira, Katrina, Astra, Maximus, Frost and Borris left the hall where the feast was prepared and entered into a highly defended and magically sealed war room.

    "Please sit." Duke Runak gestured for his guests to sit down at therge metal table where a 3d model of Icethorne was disyed with frightening uracy.

    Maximus, Astra and Katrina didn''t sit, instead they stood directly behind their War Marshall in an intimidating manner. This time they were truly acting in an official capacity. Frost could feel his every muscles tremble and scream as he was subjected to their pressure without mercy. He could barely even look the Duke in the eye.

    "Princess Avira please tell me everything, I want to know exactly how our stalwart Emperor and noble Empress were deprived of their lives and by whose hand¡­.tell me who took the lives of my friends!" Duke Runak couldn''t restrain his fury as he viciously mmed his fist against the metal table, forming a deep dent at the point of contact.

    The 3 Generals did their upmost to protect Borris and Avira from his leaking aura and bloodlust, but Frost was left to endure it alone, a sort of test and perhaps sign of respect on their part.

    For Frost however he felt as though he was faced with an unsurmountable mountain, a foe that he couldn''t even hope to survive against. In his short but experienced life he''d only felt such an intense level of power twice, once when he first mentioned the Church of Light to Maya and the second during his father''s outburst wherein all the guardians swarmed to restrain him and failed.

    Though Duke Runak was far weaker than both Maya and his father he was certainly not a run of the mill A-ranker. There was a presence there that could only be found in those at the S-rank or those half a step away from it.

    Feeling the depth of Duke Runak''s aura and killing intent he remembered a lesson Maya gave him several months ago.

    "What''s the difference between B-rank, A-rank and then S-rank?" Frost who had be floundering around the entry stages of B-rank wanted to understand the upper levels a bit more, so he asked his Guardian who at the time was still at the S-rank.

    "It''s not wise for you know everything as that may in fact limit your own path but I guess I can reveal the basics."

 Chapter 708 The barrier between ranks

    "It''s not wise for you know everything as that may in fact limit your own path but I guess I can reveal the basics." After an intense training session Maya decided to answer Frost''s query, allowing him to know the basics of what separated the upper ranks.

    "Now that you''ve reached B-rank you probably understand that the main dividing factor between C-rank and B-rank is being able to utilise and harness your own aura." Maya applied a rudimentary version of aura for disy purposes.

    "Following that by training your control over this newly grasped power and increasing its strength and internal capabilities you can rise upwards through the B-rank. Of course your weapon mastery and or spell mastery also ys as significant part, but aura is the key.

    Through enhancement of your aura you can empower your chosen weapon, cast higher circle spells and even improve the state of your body as well as pressure those weaker than yourself. This is the B-rank." Maya continued to disy some more advanced versions of B-rank level aura, several of which Frost was unable to grasp at his current level.

    "Now for A-rank." Suddenly the pressure Frost felt intensified to an extreme level, Maya''s aura became dense, practically corporal in nature.

    "To reach the A-rank one must be able to manifest their aura externally without the aid of skills, spells or instruments. To do this their aura must reach a certain level of density and quality. Can you feel the difference?"

    "Yes it feels like the difference between a gas and a liquid." Frost strained his senses to understand the pressure ced on his body and the change in Maya''s aura.

    "Not a bad analogy, you''re right the aura is in apletely different state which allows me to do something like this." With a flick of her wrists invisible chains wrapped around Frost''s body, holding him in ce. She urged him to struggle free but he felt not even the slightest give.

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    "A-ranks can externalise their aura into whatever form they can imagine. Chains, swords, des, arrows, walls, shields as long as their control and reserves are deep enough anything can be generated.

    The higher they reach in the A-rank the more diverse and solid their projections be, for example the chains I''m binding you with now are equivalent in strength to a 4 star weapon." Frost couldn''t help but thank his lucky stars at that moment, grateful that the A-rank assassin Sedrick sent after him was too cocky, giving him enough time to summon his super strength girlfriend.

    Maya let the information sink in for a few seconds before continuing onto the S-rank, a rank that was practically fable within the civilised world.

    As Frost was limatising to the pressure of an A-rank''s aura his surrounding suddenly changed and a pressurepletely eclipsing what he felt previously forced him prone against the floor. He heard the howling of wolves and his body formed thick ice crystals across his skin as the temperature plummeted.

    He felt as though he was teleported to the deepest reaches of the cial mountains and unable to provide even the slightest degree of resistance. Thankfully the feeling onlysted for a second or two before he was back in the training room.

    Maya stood with a wide grin on her lips and asked, "Well young master how does it feel to experience the power of a domain?"

    "A domain?" He asked, his body still shivering from the intense cold.

    "Yes, it''s what separates A-rank and S-rank. For one to reach my rank they need to grow their aura to the point where they can manifest a domain, an area of influence in which they haveplete and utter control. Though domains differ between individuals the core essence remains the same, within the sphere of influence that is their domain they are Gods who can control every aspect of that space."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "¡­So that frigid world?"

    "Yes it was the manifestation of my domain and something that not even a person at the upper levels of A-rank could ever hope to escape from. The moment you find yourself trapped within an S-rank''s domain you''re practically finished.

    The only way you can survive is if you can manifest a stronger domain, one that can eclipse theirs and overwrite their control of the surroundingws." Maya emphasized the futility of resistance, S-rank wasn''t something that could be ovee with brute strength or numbers.

    Back to the present.

    Frost could feel that Duke Runak was very close to forming his own domain, as though he was but a single step from achieving it. His already great respect for the man became even greater as his strength washed over him without mercy¡­.he was truly strong.

    ''Monster'' Katrina kept a close eye on Frost the entire time, curious to see how he''d fare against the Duke''s unbridled strength.

    What she didn''t expect to see however was a growing smile on the young man''s lips, it was obvious that his body was struggling against the pressure but instead of turning submissive in the face of overwhelming power he was growing excited and staring straight at the source.

    ''The rumour must true.'' Katrina had read the intelligence reports regarding Frost, a skilled prodigy with a lot of potential but even if he was the most talented kid in Nova he still shouldn''t be able to stand firm against the Duke''s aura. The only way he could aplish this, is if this wasn''t his first time experiencing an aura that at the very peak of A-rank.

    In the reports she read there was an unverified rumour that Frost was protected by someone at the S-rank, a level that no one in the entire empire had been able to reach. She believed it to be utter nonsense, an opinion based on the skewed perspective of those in the lower ranks¡­.at least until now.

    The way Frost''s gaze was unfazed by the pressure meant that in his eyes such pressure was normal perhaps even considered weak. She quickly reevaluated Frost, cing him on an even higher pedestal, unfortunately this only made her want him more.

    The other Generals were simrly impressed by Frost''s conduct but not as much as Katrina who along with Jessica was the most senior of the War Ursa Battalion''s Generals, even the Duke himself was half a generation younger than the two of them.

    Thankfully the sudden outburst receded in a matter of seconds otherwise Frost may have fainted while standing up. Duke Runak briefly nced at the young man with praise before locking eyes with Avira, waiting for her answer.

    "Huuuuu I''ll start from the beginning." Avira let out a deep breath before regaling to Duke Runak the entire story, starting several weeks prior to the Emperor and Empress'' deaths before ending with her long journey with Frost through the cial mountains.

    General Jared and Danielle arrived during the midpoint of the story, the two of them were the youngest and most rookie of the War Ursa Battalion''s Generals and were supposed to be on duty tonight but Duke Runak wanted no interruptions thus he ordered Jessica and Vox to rece them.

    "While Frost held back the frost giant leader, Borris, Kiba and myself ran towards Icethorne in an attempt to run into a patrol squad. Thankfully we came across Sergeant Olive who after learning of my identity risked her life along with her squad mates to protect us until General Bando was able to arrive and decimate the enemy¡­.

    That probably sums up everything that happened Uncle." Avira felt weak in the legs after telling her entire tale, she really endured a lot just to get here.

    "Unfilial bastards!!"

    "Unworthy trash!"

    "How dare they plunge the empire into chaos." The Generals were up in arms, filled with righteous fury. Even Katrina who never let her anger control her was clenching her fists to the point that blood was seeping through her fingers.

    p! Duke Runak loudly pped the metal table bringing a stop the their ranting .

    "The first Prince is guilty of patricide, matricide and treason of the highest degree.

    The second prince is also guilty of treason of the highest degree, I Duke Oscar Runak, ruler of Icethorne and War Marshall of the War Ursa Battalion dere his support for Princess Avira Northrend, she is the rightful heir to the throne, and we shall not ept another." Duke Runak loudly dered, firmly stating his stance in this royal war.

    The fortress of Icethorne would obey the Princess and no one else.

    Tears streamed down Avira''s cheeks as a weight was lifted from her heart, she now had a solid backing.

    "Little V, Icethorne will always be a sanctuary to you, a haven where you can be free from the machinations of your deceitful siblings. Please rest and recuperate here until you can work out your next steps." That weight that had just been lifted dropped back onto her heart. The Duke''s words were gentle and warm but rather strange as though he was avoiding something.

    "¡­Eh?...next steps?... Aren''t they obvious?" In a flustered manner Avira reached into her dress and retrieved the imperial token that her father handed to her.

    "I need you to help me take back the throne uncle! This imperial token that was handed to me by my father." She waved the token in the air before mming it down on the table.

    " Acts as his decree, I need the War Ursa Battalion and you as a long standing Duke of the Empire to help fight against Randolph and Sedrick." Her forces were but a drop in the bucketpared to her brothers'' as was her standing amongst the nobility. She needed Duke Runak''s military might, provisions and influence if she wanted to stand on even remotely equal footing.

 Chapter 709 Icethornes plight

    "..." There was an ufortable silence within the war room. Avira had withdrew the imperial token handed to her by her father and announced her decree. She wished for Duke Runak to thoroughly support her im to the throne, to use his massive military and noble standing to fight against her brothers.

    Not even for a second did Avira believe that this request wasn''t a given. Her uncle was the most loyal man of the Empire, his allegiance to her father unquestionable. Why then did it sound like he was avoidingmitting his forces to her cause? Did he not say that she would have his full support? That the Duchy of Icethorne would not ept any one other than her on the throne?

    She stared at the non-responsive Duke as well as his Generals who just a moment ago were up in arms about the depravity shown by her brothers. Were they just like the other nobles? All talk and no bite.

    Her heart was on the brink of shattering, her hopes and dreams of revenge copsing as she saw her uncle struggling to form words.

    "WHY!!" She screamed in anger and despair but all she got in response were downcast expressions filled with inner turmoil.

    "It''s not that he doesn''t want to V, it''s that he can''t." Suddenly a voice that she hade to rely upon came from behind her followed by a gentle yet firm grasp of her shoulder. Avira turned around with reddened eyes to see Frost with a gentle smile on his lips, calm and unperturbed.

    "¡­What do you mean?" She tried her best to calm down a little before asking.

    In response Frost nced at Duke Runak and asked, "May I?" In a respectful manner to which the battle hardened man nodded his head, thankful that someone else was willing to take the burden of possibly crushing his niece''s initial hopes.

    He was known far and wide as a ruthless monster that was born for war and battle but deep down there wasn''t a singlemander more caring than him. He took to heart even the smallest of losses amongst his forces how do think he''d fare against someone he considered family. He couldn''t bear to break Avira''s heart after having her cry in his arms.

    So he allowed Frost to tell her hoping that hearing it from him would somewhat soften the blow.

    "V what is the purpose of Icethorne?" Frost wasn''t as restrained as Duke Runak but he too didn''t want to cause unnecessary pain to the young Princess, so he decided to use a thorough exnation.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "What does that have to do wi¡­."

    "Just answer the question please."

    Avira wasn''t really in the mood for riddles and off topic conversation, but she struggled to refuse Frost''s request when she saw the sincerity in his eyes.

    "It serves as a bulwark, a frontier outpost of the Northrend empire. It being here allows us to keep the powerful kingdoms and tribes of the cial mountains inner regions in check while ensuring a steady stream of trade goods from them into our empire." She gave a textbook answer, her studies to be the next ruler were quite thorough.

    "Correct, now how do think these powerful tribes and Kingdoms view Icethorne?" He was leading her towards a certain answer one that he thoroughly understood thanks to his brief discussions with Jared as well as the current look on Duke Runak''s face.

    "¡­.An enemy, something that prevents their expansion into the south as something that acts as a leash on their economic state." Icethorne practically served as the only trade route to the south meaning they could charge high taxes and even choose who was and wasn''t allowed passage.

    Avira knew that the actions of the Icethorne fortress would not be epted back in the civilised world, neighbouring nations would never allow such a powerful monopoly.

    "If that''s the case how do you think these enemy nations would react when they hear that the Northrend empire is in a state of chaos. That their rulers have been assassinated and that the heirs are currently fighting violently amongst themselves for control."

    "!!!!" Avira had a sudden realisation. Even before she had to run away to the Furano Viscounty her father was already receiving reports that their close knit neighbours were making moves both openly and secretly. If even their allies acted in such a manner then what would their enemies do?

    She quickly turned to face her uncle as the gears in her mind started to turn.

    "If I''m not mistaken the Duke and the War Ursa Battalion is probably having to fend off waves of enemies practically every day or so¡­thus I doubt he even has the capability to spare a single soldier let alone arge chunk of his entire battalion." Regardless of how much Duke Runak wanted to lend military aid to his darling niece he just didn''t have the forces avable, in fact he was probably more in need of support than Avira.

    "¡­Uncle is that true?"

    "Haaaaa I hate to admit it but yes. Icethorne even at this very minute is likely under siege at the northern wall. Half of my Generals need to be present there at all times and I''m unable to leave the fortress.

    The moment we give even an inch the enemy nations will swoop in with their regr army." Duke Runak was infuriated by the situation, constant unending attacks that kept his soldiers in a state of constant wariness.

    The moment word of the emperor''s death reached the nations and tribes of the cial mountains an impromptu and unofficial alliance was formed.

    The great beastkin kingdom of Jakbrak, ruled by the powerful Winter Tigerkin and cunning snow leopardkin. The northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals. The horde of ravenous blue ants and pr mantises. The Mighty tribe of therge horned ice drakes as well as the frozen demonic empire thaty close to the border between the inner and core regions.

    These 5 entities served as the main force of the anti Icethorne alliance. Along with the hidden aid of more neutral parties such as the order of the ice shield and the great dwarven hold of Karak Kanz theyunched aggressive attacks upon the northern walls of Icethorne.

    Normally there''d be the asional bout of aggression on their part, a way to force reduced concessions and tariffs or for them to cull their swiftly growing numbers. Now however the assault was of apletely different nature. The attacks were no longer sporadic and minor but major disruptions that drained on Icethorne''s reserves.

    There was even A-rank monsters at the helm to keep the War Ursa Battalions in check. It was clear that these five entities and those who helped supply them with resources, manpower and ess were hoping to destroy the Northrend empire''s mightiest bulwark.

    Duke Runak was auded military general, unmatched in terms of strategy, personal strength and quality of soldiers but even he struggled to see the light at the end of this very dark tunnel.

    They were outmatched, outgunned and all alone out here in the mountains, surrounded by enemies. With the Empire in its current state hoping for reinforcements was nothing but a pipe dream, hell he''d be lucky if the empire didn''t send forces to help subdue him.

    In his mind the possibility of Sedrick or Randolph contacting the enemy to help rid themselves of an uncooperative Duke was not low, the situation was truly dire.

    Right now the battlefield was still under control, but the pressure was building every day, the enemy''s forces were growing in number and in quality. Duke Runak estimated that if nothing changed the fortress would fall within 3 to 6 months even with his presence.

    Upon hearing her uncle''s confession Avira''s anger transformed into concern and panic. She couldn''t rely upon her uncle''s military might and if they weren''t careful the Empire could lose its northern most fortress, a bulwark that kept the powerful nations of the cial mountains at bay and ensured that substantial trade flowed into their southern territories.

    Although Avira was still a young woman she was intelligent and wise and had received a ruler''s education from the Emperor himself. Seeing the powerlessness in the expressions of the nearby Generals as well as the repressed rage in her uncle''s eyes she took a deep breath and reorganised her priorities.

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    Her revenge would have to wait, ensuring the War Ursa Battalion''s and the duchy of Icethorne''s survival was more important.

    "I understand uncle and I apologise for my emotional outburst; I shouldn''t be so quick to ignore the plights of my subjects if I am to be a fair and just ruler."

    "V¡­" Duke Runak looked at Avira in shock as well as nostalgia, he could see the shadows of his friends behind her resolute expression.

    ''Your daughter has be a fine woman Franz, Amelia.''

    "We must solve the current problem of Icethorne before focusing on the state of the Empire.

    As long as Randolph and Sedrick continue to battle against one another the nation will not fall immediately¡­.we have some time but not a lot" Avira would first have to help her uncle resolve the current situation with the enemy alliance hounding at their doors before being able to reim what is rightfully hers.

    ""By your will, your highness""

 Chapter 710 Icethornes plight (2)

    Duke Runak and his vaunted Generals willingly lowered their heads in reverence to the young Princess. Their hearts that were previously filled with guilt and frustration were now aze with loyal passion.

    "Uncle please borate on the Duchy''s current situation. If I am to help I must understand the true depths of this plight." Avira spoke with a natural gravitas that uplifted the hearts of those who heard her words, the voice of a leader who was eager to take on their burdens.

    A few teardrops fell from Duke Runak''s eyes as he took in her regal bearing. To him she bore the same charisma of her father but held the appearance of her mother, empress Amelia. He had never felt prouder than he did at this very moment.

    "It would be my honour Princess." He replied with a warm smile on his lips, an expression that he hadn''t been able to show in quite some time.

    "Princess, lord Duke before we discuss the particrs are you sure that Sir Frost and Lord Darksteel should be present?" General Danielle Argrave who arrived earlier with General Jared Bando raised her hand and politely asked.

    They were about to discuss the ongoing war situation of the Empire''s northern most Duchy. Yes Frost and Borris were the Princess''panions, trusted friends on her part but nevertheless one was a civilian, a talented cksmith who had zero ties to the military and their Duchy while the other was a lord of a territory not beholden to the Empire.

    Protocol wise they should not be present during such delicate talks.

    "You can trust them General; Borris wishes to enlist in the Duchy''s services anyway and Frost bears no threat towards the fortress.

    I have no problems discussing the war efforts with them in the room in fact I''d prefer it if they stayed, perhaps given their stance as outsiders they may be able to see a solution which we cannot." Avira didn''t wish to be separated from her friends as Frost and Borris were currently serving as her emotional support, allowing her to easily talk face to face with the Empire''s most experienced Generals.

    "¡­.." Duke Runak however was silent in response, his lips moved but no words passed through. He held a fairly high opinion of both Frost and Borris, feeling that they were naturally trustworthy plus he wished to respect Avira''s position, but he also understood protocols given his military background and station thus he was torn.

    Frost who was currently sitting by Avira''s side was quite curious about the war situation and if given permission wished to be present during the discussion as such talks would be very beneficial for his role as Lord of the Niflheim city-state.

    s he too understood the misgivings of General Danielle thus he was going the remove himself from the discussion voluntarily however¡­

    "I agree with the Princess and as someone who is already acquainted with him I''ll vouch for Frost, he''s a good man, brave, honest and more than trustworthy." General Jared Bando smiled and winked at Frost after he said his piece causing the young dungeon core to both internally sigh and feel warm at the same time.

    With General Bando chiming in Duke Runak felt that there was enough sway to allow Frost and Borris to stay. He nced at his Generals who each responded with curt nods, even General Danielle though it was clear that she was still a little reluctant to reveal military secrets to outsiders.

    "Very well Sir Frost and Lord Darksteel are permitted to remain within the war room while we discuss the current plight of Icethorne and debate our options."

    ""Thank you Lord Duke."" Frost and Borris respectfully crossed their arms across their chest in salute as they thanked the Duke for his kindness.

    What followed was an in depth conversation of the Duchy''s current predicament followed by possible solutions and many, many dead ends.

    The fortress of Icethorne was practically besieged from the northern side. Waves of monsters would attack throughout the day alongside hired mercenaries and even the asional military outfit. Passage into the inner regions waspletely blocked off due to this thus trade was brought to a halt.

    No caravans could move beyond the Northern wall lest they wished to be devoured and ransacked for all their worth.

    At the moment the situation was still manageable as the members of the impromptu alliance loosely known as the cial Mountains liberation alliance were still amassing their armies. Currently only the forces of those beholden (subordinate/vassalized) to the big 5 as well as hired mercenaries were attacking Icethorne''s northern wall.

    The quality and quantity was rathercking but still enough to force the War Ursa Battalion to constantly be on red alert.

    Supplies were still solid as the Duchy forcibly purchased all goods from the caravans that couldn''t enter the inner regions but the longer the inner regions remain closed the more agitated the merchants would be. Tensions would grow as profit declines. The Kingdoms, tribes, enves and nations prevalent in the external regions would eventually be forced to make a decision.

    The 3 to 6 month timeframe Duke Runak gave previously was due to a multitude of factors. First his forces would likely be exhausted and possibly overrun by then, second their supplies even with the forceful buying from the northbound caravans and likely inted transactions from countries in the external regions they''d run out of much needed military supplies i.e.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    arrows, mana crystals, metal, potions etc¡­ however the main reason for the time frame was the interests of these nations.

    If trade wasn''t opening back up and it was due to the presence of the Icethorne duchy then these less powerful nations and tribes would eventually team up with the cial mountains liberation alliance and attack the fortress from the south. The moment the duchy was pincered and truly had enemies on all sides the war would be lost. Read exclusive chapters at empire

    Duke Runak was known in the cial mountains as a local war god, amander without parallel on the battlefield. The minor nations and tribes within the external regions respected and feared his strength.

    When they had no other choice they were willing to submit to his position and payrge fees to conduct trade through the fortress as well as asionally with the Northrend empire but if he was ever in a perilous situation they''d spare little hesitation in pushing him off a cliff rather than pulling him up from the edge.

    The Duke knew of this, but his hands were tied, the cial Mountains respected strength, everything else was secondary. With his forces trapped within the fortress he would be unable to maintain their image of unparalleled strength thus their fear towards him and the Northrend empire would wane.

    He could at most send a small and powerful group of envoys but even then that would only dy the inevitable. The only way they could maintain their position was if they achieved aplete and total victory.

    Unfortunately the famous Duke was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The sudden alliance was just too much. One or two nations he could ept but 5 big names all working together was beyond what he could handle. He greatly valued his intelligence corps, but it was obvious that they dropped the ball, he received no prior warning in regards to this alliance.

    The speed and determination of this sudden agreement was bone chilling. The necessary work needed to facilitate this alliance meant that the nning stages had to have been in progress for quite some time. The current chaos in the Empire was merely an opportunity for them to act early yet he heard not even a whisper.

    For the first time in a long time Duke Runak felt as though he was dancing on his enemy''s palm, that his every move was calcted and prepared for.

    Frost felt his skin crawl when he understood the true gravity of the war that was festering beyond Icethorne''s walls. It couldn''t even mentioned in the same breath as the monster stampede faced by Furano or his dungeon. The scale waspletely different.

    The War Ursa Battalion and the Ducy of Icethorne had soldiers in the tens of thousands yet they were by far in the minority. Their enemy numbered in the millions, and they had the quality to go toe to toe with the Battalion''s Generals and even the War Marshall himself.

    Although the fortress boasted of a wall that reached 120 metres in height and that was armed to the teeth with mana cannons, ballistae and other war machines the sheer difference in number was impossible to ignore.

    ''He ims to be able to hold out for 3 to 6 months against such an onught.'' Frost struggled to see the possibility; he reckoned that 2 months maybe not even that was his absolute limit. He really wanted to fight alongside this powerful Duke and learn of his methods s he had a prior engagement to uphold.

 Chapter 711 Glacial Mountains Liberation Alliance

    "We need to break this alliance and ensure that the south won''t be besieged." After a lengthy discussion the group had their goals set.

    "The kingdoms and tribes in the external regions primarily respect strength. How can we ensure their cooperation when we can''t even defend ourselves from our current enemy." General Danielle asked, unable to see a viable solution.

    "Since the Duke cannot leave nor can any of you I will take up the mantle. I may currently be just a deposed Princess, but my lineage should still carry some weight diplomatically speaking." Avira despite the chaos in the Empire was still a legitimate princess. She may not have the strength and support of her brothers, but she still represented the might of the Northrend empire.

    "¡­.With the Princess speaking on our behalf they should at least humour our request and think twice about double crossing us." General Katrina agreed with Avira, other than the Duke himself she was the best candidate for an envoy within the external regions.

    "That should buy us some wiggle room in the south, but the priority remains with the cial mountain liberation alliance." Duke Runak was also in agreement with Avira''s n but that was only a small and far less dangerous part of the problem.

    His words immediately put a damper on everyone''s emotions, the atmosphere was once again tensed.

    Avira bit her bottom lip out of frustration, she wasing up empty just like everyone else.

    "The 5 groups leading the alliance what do you know about them?" Frost who had been quietly listening at the side finally spoke up.

    ''In war sometimes it''s not military power that determines the winner but the degree of one''s knowledge.'' He remembered this phrase from a book he read and felt that it held merit for their current situation.

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    One of the main reasons why this assault was so deadly was because from Duke Runak''s perspective there was no warning thus he was caught unprepared.

    "Katrina give them a run down." Duke Runak was pleased with Frost''s insight but at the same time disappointed by the failure of his own intelligencework.

    "Yes War Marshall" Katrina saluted before starting the exnation.

    "First off let''s start with the beastkin Kingdom of Jabrak." She inserted her mana into the metal war table causing the 3d model of Icethorne to shift into arge and unfortunately simple map of the cial mountains inner regions.

    "The Jabrak Kingdom can be found within the eastern section of the 5thyer, a powerful nation that loves war and battle." The map zoomed over to the 5thyer where a crude drawing of the kingdom''s borders and major cities were marked.

    "The citizens are primarily beastkin and it is ruled by the mighty winter tigerkin tribe who serve as the kingdom''s royal family and the cunning snow leopardkin tribe who serve as its highest officials. Due to their love of war and aggression our Duchy has been in a constant state of war with the Jabrak Kingdom, often engaging in minor and major battles throughout the year.

    However, our rtionship with them can actually be considered rather amicable. Since the Jabrak Kingdom respect strength far more than the other tribes and nations thus they are very fond of Duke Runak who is known far and wide as the War God of the cial mountains."

    There was no inherent hatred between the Icethorne Duchy and the Jabrak Kingdom, war and battle was simply their way of expressing friendlypetition.

    "¡­..Is there any way to convince the Jabrak Kingdom to fight alongside the Duchy rather than the liberation alliance?" If they were only involved in the attack due their love of war and battle then it shouldn''t matter what side they''re on right?

    "Unfortunately not." Duke Runak sighed and shook his head before exining. "King Doloman is a prideful man who lives by his own ethics. He has no problem with entering alliances to take down arger foe, but he abhors betrayal.

    Since he officially announced that the Jabrak Kingdom is a part of the cial mountain liberation alliance there is no way they''d join us, he''d rather die than betray his own moral code." Duke Runak respected King Doloman and internally cursed the ipetence of his intelligence corps.

    If he knew about the alliance in advance he would have tried to rope in the Jabrak kingdom before they officially joined his enemy.

    "Flipping the Jabrak kingdom is impossible but unlike the other groups they should back off once they''ve had their fill of carnage." Katrina alsomented the lost opportunity but instead looked at the bright aspects having them as an enemy.

    "2nd on the alliance list is the Northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals." The map on the table once again shifted, this time focusing on the 3rdyer.

    "Unlike the Jabrak Kingdom this nation truly despises us, they hate the idea of Sapients having a foothold within the inner regions of the cial mountains and would like nothing more than to feast on our flesh. Unfortunately for them however theyck the strength to do anything about it and because of their antagonistic views we have routinely supressed them, growing their hatred towards us."

    Though still one of the big names in the inner regions the Northern nation of cial sprites and Ice elementals was weaker and smaller than the Jabrak kingdom, posing far less of a threat¡­.at least when they were alone.

    "3rd we have the horde of ravenous blue ants and pr mantises who dwell between 5th and 6thyers. Theyck the intelligence found in the Jabrak Kingdom and the Northern nation but instead they make up for it with numbers and ferocity. The horde is bloodthirsty and eternally hungry, seeing anything that moves as a meal to be devoured.

    Only the upper caste have the ability to think and n, the rest simply follow their baser instincts." This group was the farthest thing from civilised, a barbaric horde of eternally starving monsters.

    "I''m guessing the Duchy''s rtionship with them isn''t that great either." Given the expression on the Duke and his General''s faces it was obvious how they viewed the horde.

    "Correct, just like the Northern nation of cial sprites and Ice elementals we''ve routinely supressed their growth, culling millions of their numbers throughout the past decade." However they weren''t the only group to do so.

    "What''s their angle then? Revenge?"

    "That''s probably part of it but likely their true aim is the external regions." The horde that continued to grow was routinely suppressed within the inner regions and could never fully satisfy its hunger. But if they managed to enter the external regions where the prey was plentiful, weak and for ripe for the picking then they could overturn their fate.

    The War Ursa Battalion and the Duchy knew full well of the carnage and horror the horde could cause in the external regions and perhaps even the soutnds thus they vehemently denied them ess.

    ''One group enjoys war; another hates them with a passion while the other vehemently wants ess to the bountiful feast that lies behind their walls¡­..shit.''

    Frost internally cursed, the prospect of breaking the alliance through of these three was all but impossible. Though their end goals differed the Duchy was always the one barring their way, amon enemy that strongly bound their interests.

    "The 4th member is the tribe of therge horned ice drakes and their many vassal tribes. They reside within the 7thyer and can be considered as one of most powerful groups within the inner regions. Their military power is greater than the Jabrak Kingdom and their domain is nearly twice asrge.

    Plus like the Jabrak kingdom the Duchy has engaged in several wars with them since its inception, but the reasons were more economical." When the map showed the domain of therge horned ice drakes it was clear that the details were more advanced, and that the territory was muchrger than the previous three.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Therge horned ice drakes control a vast amount of resources due to their location, personal strength and connection to the core regions of the cial mountains. This allows them to conduct vast amounts of trade between the other nations within the inner regions."

    "Icethorne prevents them from reaching their ws into the external regions and the Sapientnds." Frost was quick to pick up on the reason for their beef with the Duchy.

    "Precisely, our rtionship is that of business rivals and in some ways their hatred is even greater than that of the Northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals." Riches can drive men and women to do terrible things let alone a mighty tribe or nation.

    "What about the final member?" The moment Frost said this an eerie silence filled the room and the expressions of Duke Runak and his Generals turned ck.

    "¡­.Thest member of the cial mountains liberation alliance, the most powerful of them all and the likely ringleader, is the Frozen Demonic Empire." Even the tone in Katrina''s voice was different when she spoke of them, it wasced with wariness and even fear.

 Chapter 712 Glacial Mountains Liberation Alliance (2)

    "The Frozen Demonic Empire is thergest force present within the inner regions, and they perform a simr duty as our fortress of Icethorne but instead of the boundary between the external and inner regions they guard the entrance to the core regions." The map moved northwards bing less and less detailed the deeper into the cial mountains it showed.

    Eventually at the 9thyer a massive ck outline containing over 70% of the entireyer was seen with bold lettering in centre spelling out ''The Frozen Demonic Empire.

    "We know very little about this group, only that they are the true hegemons of the inner regions in terms of military might and that every other nation is wary of their presence." Given the vastness of the inner regions and the Duchy''s habit in staying in their local area they very rarely encountered the Frozen Demonic Empire but even then they could still feel their influence.

    "The 9thyer, Demonic Empire" Frost muttered under his breath while stroking his chin in thought.

    ''Why would a force so powerful suddenly decide to make a move on the Duchy? What do they stand to gain?''

    The other nations all had a reason that they could deduce but the Frozen Demonic Empire was aplete mystery.

    "Have you angered them in some way or hold something that they desire?" Frost quickly asked.

    "Unknown but my instincts tell me that this isn''t something recent, the Empire must have been nning to dethrone us for quite some time." Duke Runak''s gut was screaming to him that this was some far reaching insidious plot.

    "¡­..Is there no weak link then?" Avira asked in an exhausted tone.

    Katrina had exined what they knew about the alliance members at Frost''s request all so that they could find some way to break up their alliance. Unfortunately not a single one showed promise.

    "Regardless of what their end goals are the Icethorne Duchy stands in their way, only when that impediment is removed can the alliance fall apart internally." Frost summarised with a shake of his head; this was a dead end.

    "We came to the same conclusion." General Katrina Orwell let out a restrained sigh after sharing a knowing look with Duke Runak.

    "If we can''t break their alliance or weaken it through external methods that only leaves one option."

    "And that is?" Avira who was clearly exhausted from their discussion perked back up upon hearing his voice, her faith in Frost was rock solid.

    Frost nced at Duke Runak who seemed to already know his answer.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ""We need an ally"" the two of spoke at the same time resulting in a wild smile forming on both the lips afterwards.

    ''This brat knows warfare quite well'' Duke Runak internal praised, finding Frost more and more to his liking.

    ''Damn Duke if you already knew the answer then why did we spend thest several hours going back and forth!'' Frost however was cursing his counterpart ratherplimenting him.

    "...." Strangely instead of bing passionate due to finding a solution the mighty Generals all disyed awkward expressions.

    "¡­..Don''t tell you''ve offended everyone during your tenure here as Duke?" Frost had a strange feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

    In response to his query Duke Runak stared straight into his eyes, locking his gaze for a few seconds before growing slightly red in the cheeks and looking to the side. "Noment." He pushed out these two words before pretending to whistle innocently.

    "....." Frost, Avira and even Borris who never managed to bring himself to get in a word edgewise were stunned silly.

    "¡­..General Katrina is there really no one you can call upon for aid?" Feeling that discussing this any further with the Duke would lead to him saying some rather profane words Frost focused on Katrina who was still amicable in his eyes.

    "Unfortunately most groups in the inner regions would love to see us deposed but there may be one who''d be willing to help us.

    s we''ve been rather reticent to negotiate with them given our history as well as the restrictions ced on our decision making by the Empire." The Icethorne Duchy was still a territory under the rule of the Northrend Empire, they couldn''t just shack up with another nation whenever they wanted even if it was too save their own hides.

    The Generals and a reluctant Duke Runak all looked at Avira with expectation.

    "Fuck it! You have my permission as a member of the royal family and the future Empress, do whatever you need to do." Her identity allowed her to easily lift the restrictions on the Duke as well as the War Ursa Battalion.

    "Perfect that makes things easier then." Only now did the Generals get pumped up.

    "Our only possible ally is the great ice dwarven hold of Karak Kanz!" Katrina mmed her right hand against the metal table causing the image to swiftly move southwest to the 8thyer of the inner regions.

    "Karak Kanz, the ice dwarven empire situated in the western regions of the 8thyer. A hegemon nation that even the mightyrge horned ice drake tribe dare not offend." The map this time despite showing an area in the 8thyer was surprisingly well detailed.

    "As long as we can offer them a substantial reward I''m sure their king would listen to our request."

    The great ice dwarven hold of Karak Kanz was a neutral nation that traded and interacted with all its neighbours including the Duchy of Icethorne. Situated behind walls that towered even higher than their own the great hold was a bastion that symbolised defensive warfare. Not even once in the past thousand years had their walls ever been breached by an enemy.

    No other nation had existed within the inner regions for as long as they had, and no other nation could hold their heads up high when dealing with the Frozen Demonic Empire. A powerful group that thankfully was still rather lukewarm towards the usually arrogant and warlike Duchy.

    As long as they could offer something that could move their interests then Icethorne would have a reliable and powerful ally.

    "That reward however is the problem." Duke Runak announced with an evident frown on his face. "Karak Kanz is certainly powerful and capable of standing against more than a single nation like ourselves but for what reason would they risk their own nations'' safety. I''m afraid that the price to do so would be beyond what we''re prepared to give."

    In this situation it wouldn''t be the case of Karak Kanz taking advantage of their weak position but the fact that what they were asking of them was so extreme that price would also have to be extreme.

    "..." Duke Runak''s worries were shared amongst his Generals. They couldn''t help but imagine what the Duchy would ask for if their positions were reversed.

    "You won''t know until you ask them so imagining the worst case scenario will only dampen your spirits."

    "¡­.Haaaa well said young Frost. Katrina have the logistic corps and the fortress management team write up a report of our assets both physical and intangible. Princess I''ll need you to go through the report with me so we cane up with a ceiling limit." Though the restrictions had been lifted by a member of the imperial family he still felt that she should be involved in the actual transaction.

    "I''d be honoured Uncle." Avira couldn''t help but feel a little giddy, this was the first official duty she was taking part in as heir to the Empire''s throne.

    "Umm" Duke nodded in approval before looking towards General Maximus. "We''ll need to send a sufficient envoy to Karak Kanz, since I can''t afford to let go of a single General send a long standing Major and three Captains."

    "By your will War Marshall." Maximus loudly mmed his arm across his chest in salute before leaving the war room to enlist the chosen envoys.

    A Captain position in the War Ursa Battalion was reserved for those between half step B-rank and the early stages of B-rank i.e. like Frost while Majors epassed the mid-level to peak B-rank.

    Above Major was Colonel and General, thetter was reserved solely for those who had crossed into the A-rank while the former was usually filled with veterans who had served in the military for decades and who would struggle to improve their strengths any further.

    Duke Runak couldn''t afford to send even a single General and his Colonels were also desperately required for the battles toe thus only a Major could be sent and preferably one that was older and wizened.

    "Lord Darksteel if you''re ready and able I''d like you to get yourself acquainted with the battalion''s smiths as soon as possible." A great war was on the horizon, and he needed every able bodied man and woman to do their part.

    "Ah..uh¡­Certainly Lord Duke." Frazzled at being suddenly called up Borris stuttered slightly before nodding his head and bowing. Momentster however he was feeling giddy and full of energy, finally he''d be able to take part in another war. His cksmithing heart was aze at the prospect, this old dog wasn''t too old to learn new tricks.

    Duke Runak next locked eyes with the young Frost, he smiled initially but then an intimidating pressure assaulted him.

    ''Fuck!'' Frost internally cursed knowing that he''d drawn the old man''s ire in some way.

    "Young Frost would you mind following me to my private training grounds, I''d like to see your potential personally." The way he spoke was warm and friendly but their was a malice hidden within, an ulterior motive that made Frost''s spine tingle.

    Frost wanted to refuse but for some reason he felt that that would only make the situation worse.

    "I''d be honoured Lord Duke." He was forced to agree resulting in the vaunted War Marshall smiling from ear to ear.

    ''Haaaaa why did I ever agree to leave my Dungeon?''

 Chapter 713 Chat with the Duke

    While the Generals shuffled off to handle their regr duties or rest until their next shift Frost was escorted to arge spacious hall by Duke Runak.

    The dimensions of the hall were at least 30 metres in height and 300 metres both in length and width, a sizeable chamber.

    Several Large cuboid stones and intricate crystal figurines stood at the far end of the hall, their utility aplete mystery to Frost.

    Along one of the side walls was an arrangement of training weapons, facilitating the ability to practise differing styles whereas another contained weights that clearly weren''t designed for a normal person.

    Duke Runak walked into the centre of the hall and with a simple flick of his wrist the doors sealed shut, locking Frost and himself inside.

    "Wee to my personal training hall young Frost. It may be simple perhaps even a bit crude in your eyes, but it gets the job done plus it does very well in isting my strength from those dwelling outside."

    I.e. no one would be able to hear his screams.

    Frost couldn''t help but shiver when his eyes took in the malicious grin stered across the Duke''s face. Memories of Maya in her demon drill sergeant mode shed through his mind, the resemnce was uncanny.

    After gazing at the Duke''s arrangement he bravely replied, "It''s magnificent, I have a simr set up back home, simple, clean and¡­ very isted." He chose to take on a bold approach, showing that he wasn''t so easily intimidated. His words however only caused the Duke''s grin to grow.

    "Thoserge stone blocks and crystal figurines, What''s their purpose?" He continued to ask, curious about their functions.

    "Them? The stone blocks are strength inhibitors while the crystals ones are aura resisters. You never tried one?" Duke Runak was quite surprised, though these items were of very high quality and out of reach for themon man he assumed Frost would posses several given the rumours about his guardian. The mystery surrounding him only grew deeper.

    "Strength inhibitors and aura resisters!" Frost''s gaze immediately filled with desire, just a singlemon strength inhibitor or aura resister could set you back hundreds of gold coins, a true luxury. He''d been tempted to buy one through the Dungeon menu before, but its prices were even more ridiculous.

    A strength inhibitor was a special object, usually made out of a rare type of stone that radiated a unique field that weakened one''s physical strength. The nearby user would feel as though their body weighed several times or even dozens of times heavier than usual. Training within such a unique environment was great for people who wished to forge their physical strength beyond their natural limits.

    The aura resisters were also made of unique materials and were even harder to get your hands on than strength inhibitors. These crystal structures emitted a field that restricted the flow and formation of one''s aura. Within the field the user would find that their aura was viscous and rigid making it much harder to control.

    Through the use of the these objects Duke Runak was able to thoroughly forge his body into the temple that it currently was.

    "I can gift you er if you''d like but first we need to have a little chat." Duke Runak suddenly released his dense, overwhelming aura along with an incredible wave of bloodlust. Frost felt his muscles groan from the pressure, his organs twisted, and his blood ran cold as the stench of death assailed him. His body immediately fought back, engaging his fight or flight response.

    "I''ll only ask you this once young Frost." Duke Runak slowly walked forward, his every step causing the floor and walls of the hall to tremble.

    "Did youy your hands on her!" His aura suddenly skyrocketed to a point that even Frost found it unbearable. The young Dungeon core struggled to remain conscious as corporal swords surrounded his body, threatening to pierce his flesh the moment he gave a wrong answer.

    He could obviously try and lie but sessfully tricking someone at Duke Runak''s level was an impossible task, thankfully he truly hadn''tid a hand on her.

    "¡­No!¡­I view her as a friend, arade plus I''m already spoke for!" He loudly shouted with veins bulging across his skin, just speaking through the pressure was difficult let alone fighting back.

    Duke Runak continued to walk closer, unleashing the full extent of his aura. He red at Frost''s face, his handsome features were certainly attractive, he worried that Avira had been tricked by them, falling into the trap of chasing beauty. His panic, rage and fury were imbued into his aura making Frost constantly feel as though he was at death''s door but even, so he refused to buckle and sumb.

    He knew deep down that he was innocent, nothing untoward had happened¡­at least not yet.

    Filled with confidence and stubbornness he craned his neck and red back at the approaching Duke. With their eyes locked onto each other the two men sensed each other''s character.

    The staring conteststed for close to ten seconds before Duke Runak called back his aura letting Frost breathe and rx.

    "I believe you¡­..but we still have a problem Frost." The Duke''s aura came back but this time there were no invisible des threatening to pierce his flesh at a moment''s notice and the level of pressure was far less intimidating. His muscles however still groaned in protest, ufortable but bearable.

    Frost knew the situation couldn''t be over so easily, Avira''s attachment to him was clear as day.

    "I can''t be held responsible for V''s emotions only my own." He bluntly replied with a strong shake of his head.

    "Tsk, she''s a Princess, the future Empress of Northrend." The Duke took offence at him using Avira''s nickname.

    "I''m not a citizen of the Northrend Empire, Lord Duke and V has already given me permission to call her as such." Frost felt a little cocky for some reason, knowing that his rtionship with Avira got under the Duke''s skin he couldn''t help but want to tease the old man.

    "Arrogant little¡­.that''s precisely why! Your background is unknown, your allegiance is unknown! And your intentions are unknown! How can you be trusted!" Frost''s cheeky retort earned him the Duke''s wrath, the pressure multiplied, and several invisible aura des appeared around his neck, their tips pressing against his skin until drops of ruby red blood fell.

    Frost had to admit that he was genuinely intimidated by the Duke''s show of force but regardless of his true feelings he portrayed unwavering confidence.

    "You seem to have a misunderstanding Duke; it was not I who sought out V but V and her cohorts who sought out me. I am a friend of the Furanos, an adventurer registered with the guild and the Lord of a territory that neighbours their territory."

    "My background is none of your business, my allegiance is to myself, my family and my territory and as for my intentions I was asked by my friends to escort V to Icethorne, an off the books hiring that was generously sponsored by General Anya and the Furano Viscounty.

    A task that I have nowpleted, thus terminating the contractual rtionship between V and myself." He bellowed the facts and even leaned slightly forward causing the aura des to dig deeper into his skin.

    Duke Runak was speechless, he wasn''t expecting Frost to be so aggressive in their exchange¡­to be honest he was really starting to like the kid but the variables surrounding him worried him greatly.

    His aura started to retreat, and the aura des were pulled back but Frost wasn''t finished talking.

    "I''m a man who is currently spoken for, I love my partners Maya and Daki but I''m not blind, I can see the way V looks at me and acts towards me.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Despite the professional contract between us I''ll admit that we''ve be friends over the course of our journey together, but I don''t have any intention in pursuing anything more than that." Duke Runak rxed upon hearing Frost''s words and his aura receded another a notch.

    "¡­But I won''t stop V from attempting to pursue me either." The aura that was pulled back red to the maximum in an instant.

    "If she''s determined to chase after me despite my current attachments then that''s up to her. If you wish to stop it then you''ll have to confront her rather than me Lord Duke." Frost stood his ground and released his own aura in defiance, this was his stance and he refused to back down.

    "¡­..I could always kill you here and now." The Duke replied with an equally forceful stance, showing off the bearing of the one known as the War God of the cial Mountains.

    "You won''t."

    "Hmm why''s that?"

    "¡­.First despite your efforts in intimidation you actually respect me, second you know that doing so would destroy the rtionship you have with Avira and third you don''t know the strength of my background thus you can''t quantify the consequences that would follow after killing me." If he couldn''t understand the true nature of the Duke by now then he was an idiot.

    Duke Runak didn''t want to kill him, he never did, he just wanted to pressure him, to keep him from having any intentions towards the Princess.

 Chapter 714 Chat with the Duke (2)

    Frost stood forcibly opposed to Duke Runak, there was barely a metre between the two of them as they squared off with their auras in full swing.

    Frost was like a stubborn rock refusing to crumble in the face of a raging sea.

    Despite his weakness he boldly dered that the Duke wouldn''t dare to kill him.

    ''This kid¡­'' Duke Runak struggled to stop a genuine smile forming on his lips. Frost''s character and bearing were qualities he greatly admired. He was weaker than himself, but he remained steadfast in his resolve, never backing down. He could tell that this wasn''t due to simple arrogance or foolish stubbornness but from a well thought out and logical standpoint.

    Frost knew his exact worth, he was strong, talented and never did anything that could truly pit him against the Duke but most of all he knew the weight of the unknown.

    Duke Runak being a person so close to the S-rank and one who constantly protected the Empire against the dangerous enemies within the cial mountains knew full well that someone with an S-rank protector couldn''t be made into an enemy. A faction or even an individual at that level could crush his Duchy without even breaking so much as a sweat. Frost could therefore not be touched.

    "¡­.Hiding behind your protector, a bit cowardly don''t you think?"

    "I could say the same about the man trying to intimidate me with the power of his Empire and the status of an elder."

    Duke Runak kept stressing Avira''s position as the Princess and future Empress of the Northrend Empire, highlighting the difference between her and Frost. He was pressuring him with the dignity and power of the Northrend Empire, subtly deeming him unworthy of her, dering him a dog chasing after a swan. A strangeparison given that Frost held the beauty card, but the meaning was clear.

    Frost''sment about the Duke taking advantage of his status as an elder was him implying that the Duke was only stronger than himself due to his age. Frost thoroughly believed that he''d easily surpass him given enough time.

    "..."

    "..."

    The two continued to re at one another in silence before. "Hehehe aggressive, bold and fair¡­ well said Frost hahahaha!" Duke Runak suddenly erupted with boomingughter and in response Frost subtlety smiled and released a restrained breath.

    ''Guess I made the right call.'' After internally sighing Frostughed alongside the Duke, erasing the tense atmosphere that had developed between them.

    Duke Runak had a high opinion of Frost and no longer saw him as a threat to the Princess, he''d let nature take its course and see where it leads. Of course if Frost ever hurt Avira he''d chase him to the ends of the world even if he was protected by someone at the S-rank.

    With the drama out of the way the two could finally chat amicably.

    "What''s your true view on this matter Frost? Do you think we actually have a chance?" The two men moved over to the rest area that was established within the training hall, nothing fancy just a couple offy chairs and a stone table. The only beverage was water as the Duke didn''t want to mix luxury and decadence with his training.

    "¡­.From what I''ve seen of Avira during our travels she''s more than capable in handling the nations and kingdoms of the external regions.

    As long as the Northrend Empire is chaotic but not fractured it''ll still pose pressure on them, she can take advantage of that." Frost felt that the issues with the south were no longer a problem, Avira would be able to secure their non-interference for at least 6 months perhaps even a year¡­.the problem was the liberation alliance.

    "The true issue will always be the cial mountains liberation alliance, as long as they remain united the Duchy will fall, it''s only a matter of time. Only if you can secure theplete military support of Karak Kanz will there be a chance and even then you''d know more than I." Frost took a sip of cold water and nced knowingly at the Duke.

    His actions over the past few decades meant that the Duchy had little to no friends, in fact the vast majority of the cial mountains would love to see them removed from their perch.

    Duke Runak frowned in response and yed with his cup. "Kastreas Iceforge, the king of Karak Kanz is a strong individual at the very peak of A-rank. His Empire is vast, consolidated and unafraid of both war and economicpetition.

    His army would certainly be able to bolster our forces to the point that we''d be on par perhaps even surpass thebined might of the Jabrak kingdom, the Northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals, the ravenous horde and therge horned ice drake tribe but¡­.the Frozen Demonic Empire is too well hidden.

    I have no clue when ites to the depths of their power just that they surpass all other nations within the inner regions." Honestly Duke Runak didn''t have a lot of hope for their current situation.

    "Do you think that Karak Kanz has a better idea of their strength?"

    "I do and that''s why I''m not confident in gaining their help." Even if the reward was extreme they''d be going against the most powerful empire within the cial mountains inner and external regions.

    "¡­..What if they do?" A strange thought was building within his mind, as though a fog was clearing.

    "¡­.." Duke Runak stopped fiddling with his cup and thought seriously for a moment before replying. "If they do then I''ll know not only the depths of the Frozen Demonic Empire''s strength but also perhaps their motive." The same thought started to appear in the Duke''s mind.

    If Karak Kanz agrees to support them in this war it means that the alliance or at least the Frozen Demonic Empire would threaten their nation''s interests.

    Duke Runak now had a theory of what the alliance or rather the Frozen Demonic Empire desired.

    "Guess I''ll have to wait to hear back from King Iceforge." Everything hinged on the stance of Karak Kanz.

    Since further talk about this topic was useless the two men moved onto to lighter issues. Duke Runak asked about Frost''s time in Furano, about the development of the Niflheim city-state and also about the Dungeons that had appeared throughout the world. There was no permanent branch of the Federation of Knowledge nearby, so they were kind ofcking in information.

    Frost was happy to exin a few things and regale his past to the mighty War God of the cial mountains, it was always better to have an extra friend rather than another enemy.

    He was rewarded for being so forthright, the Duke in turn exined the development and running of the fortress, a ce thatpletely dwarfed the current Niflheim city-state.

    "You need to make sure that you foster talent among your subordinates, trustworthy and hardworking individuals that you can delegate your authority to.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It''s impossible for one person to manage an entire territory by themselves no matter how talented or strong they are." Duke Runak stressed that attempts to retain as much direct control as possible would either lead him to bing a tyrant or someone who restricted and eventually destroyed what he strove so hard to create.

    Frost took his words to heart and agreedpletely with his view. He''d already started fostering talented subordinates like, Maya, Daki, Findley, Khuno, Yuna and of course the kids Nanna and Loki. He even started to test a few others who held council positions.

    After warmly chatting for nearly an hour Duke Runak suddenly donned a serious expression, his lips mumbled as though he was struggling to say something.

    ''Haaaaa I''ll regret if I don''t.'' Eventually he seemed to muster up the courage.

    "Frost do you truly have someone at the S-rank by your side?"

    Frost thought for a few seconds before replying with a simple nod. Though Maya was currently restricted she was still technically an S-rank at heart and since there was already a rumour going around why should he hide it. Your next chapter is on empire

    The moment Frost nodded his head Duke Runak''s whole body trembled and a strange fascination filled his eyes. He then grabbed hold of Frost''s hands and stared at him with an almost pleading expression.

    Frost fearing that the Duke wanted to request aid from his supposed S-rank quickly denied the possibility. "Don''t even think about asking for her help, she has no intention in aiding the Empire in any of its plights." Though he wasn''t against offering his own services once he was done with his current task Maya was off limits.

    "No no no you misunderstand Frost!" Duke Runak quickly waved his hands and shook his head in denial. He knew that such a request wasn''t feasible. What he wanted was something more personal.

    "I just want to ask for your opinion on something."

    "¡­.My opinion? On what?" He was intrigued.

    "You''ve felt and even endured my aura yet unlike my Generals you aren''t at the A-rank and back in the war room you even had a look in your eyes that seemed unmoved by it¡­..you''ve felt the aura or rather the domain of an S-rank haven''t you?"

 Chapter 715 Chat with the Duke (3)

    "You''ve felt the aura or rather the domain of an S-rank haven''t you?" Duke Runak anxiously asked.

    The War God of the cial mountains had remained at the peak of A-rank, a half-step into the S-rank for nearly a decade now without any signs of further improvement.

    Though his weapon mastery had improved and even diversified he was unable to bridge the gap, to baptise himself and ascend into the legendary S-rank. He longed to join that fabled realm, obsessed with it even. As long as he reached the S-rank all the Duchy''s current problems and even some of the Empire''s issues would vanish like a puff of smoke.

    The influence and impact of an S-ranker was just that strong.

    Frost internally sighed, thankful that the Duke wasn''t asking for Maya''s interference. "Yes, I have" he said with a serious countenance causing he Duke to once again visibly tremble in excitement.

    Throughout his long career as a member of the Northrend Empire''s military Duke Runak had onlye across an S-rank entity once and that was in his formative years.

    Over three decades ago when the Duke was still a young rising star in the military, a young man who had just reached the mid stages of B-rank he left the confines of Icethorne and headed North. Discover hidden stories at empire

    With a pack filled with supplies, his trusted heavy sword and a heart filled with determination and arrogance he departed from the fortress alone, aiming to reach the mysterious core regions of the cial mountains.

    s he wasn''t even able to breach past the 7thyer, forced to desperately retreat with severe wounds. His attackers chased him for tens perhaps even hundreds of kilometres before he managed toe across a mysterious mountain that stretched far beyond the clouds.

    With blood covered armour, exposed flesh and drained of the majority of his stamina and mana the young Oscar Runak climbed up the mountain.

    Eventually he came across a massive cave like abode high above the cloud line filled with crystals, gems and strange, magical treasures. The sight was so mesmerising that he didn''t even realise that the monsters hunting him down had already given up on the chase.

    Their faces that were once filled with aggression and hunger transformed into abject terror as they hurriedly descended the mountain and retreated back to their own territory.

    With the image of a peaceful abode ahead and ack of any monsters behind him the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins finally stopped.

    Just before he lost consciousness he saw somethingrge move in the corner of his eye, but he was too exhausted to investigate.

    The young Duke didn''t wake for quite some time but when he did he noticed that most of his wounds had been healed and that he was lying on what appeared to be a bed of some sort.

    "Finally awake kid." He heard the voice of an old woman next to him the moment he awoke instantly putting him on alert. Well trained from his youth the Duke jumped to his feet, guarded his vitals with his limbs and searched for his weapon before examining the person who spoke.

    It was indeed an old woman, she appeared rather frail but that was impossible, no one frail could survive this deep in the mountains especially in a ce so high in the sky.

    "Good reactions kid but there''s no need for you to be so tense. I don''t n on hurting you and I''d hate for you to reopen the wounds I worked so hard to close." The old woman wasn''t offended in the slightest by his actions, she lightlyughed and instead looked at him fondly.

    "¡­.Sorry my body sometimes acts before I can think." Oscar Runak apologised to the strange woman before sitting down on the bed in a more rxed manner. Luckily his wounds didn''t reopen but the pain hit him like a truck.

    "Heheheh it''s fine even if you did try and attack it''d be pointless." The old woman suddenly unleashed an aura thatpletely overwhelmed the young Duke. His surroundingspletely changed in that moment; he was no longer within avish cave abode but on a snowy in. A chill stabbed deep into his bones before a massive shadow covered him from head to toe.

    He looked up and saw a blue covered dragon that wasrger than a mountain staring down at him like an insignificant ant.

    His heart stopped out of fear and the next moment he was back on the bed with the old woman smiling from ear to ear in front of him.

    The old woman was an S-rank ice dragon who hadmandeered the mountain he climbed. He had intruded into her abode and gazed at her horde of treasure yet surprisingly she spared him.

    The young Duke was lucky, the old dragon was in a fairly good mood when she came across him and decided to rescue him in his moment of need rather than end his young life. He had potential and she admired his determination to live so she picked up his wounded body and began treating his injuries.

    Duke Runak stayed with the old dragon for a few days before leaving on his own ord. The old woman was rather friendly and a good source of information, but every moment felt as though he was walking on eggshells. She saved him on a whim thus she could also end him on one.

    His personality and goals changed once he managed to return to the Icethorne Duchy. He was no longer insufferably arrogant nor was he quite so reckless.

    Ten yearster he reached A-rank and was bequeathed the title of Duke, yet he never stopped training, eager to reach the realm of the dragon who once saved his life and pay back the debt he owed.

    Unfortunately he was barred at the veryst step and had no one who could help him step passed it. His memory of that dragon''s domain was already blurry, and he''d already managed to learn all that he could from what he inferred from it back as a B-rank.

    He needed more knowledge, and some inspiration. Frost could likely grant him both.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With hope gleaming in his eyes Duke Runak practically pleaded "Frost would you mind examining the depths of my aura and tell me what I''m missing?" This was quite a tall order for the young Frost given that he was only at the early stages of B-rank, but Duke Runak was desperate.

    Frost frowned for a moment before eventually nodding his head. The experience for him would likely be almost unbearable but risks usually came with rewards. While he could reiterate the lessons he received from Maya he could in turn use the Duke''s strength as his own whetstone.

    "Hahaha thank you Frost." Duke Runakughed joyfully as his heart became aze with passion, pumping boiling hot blood through his veins. It was as though he''d regressed to his primal youth, a headstrongd with only the heavens in his eyes.

    With Frost''s agreement the two moved to the centre of the training hall where Frost readied himself for a great battle.

    He took some deep breaths, widened his stance, covered his entire frame in ice chakra armour and opened his eyes as wide as possible so as to take in everyst detail.

    "I''m ready when you are." With his senses alsopletely focused on the Duke, Frost gave the ok and a momentter Duke Runak started to formte his aura.

    He went slow and steady at first, folding and intensifying his aura as much as possible before letting it leave his body. He had a rough idea of what a domain was butpared to Frost who had the direct teachings of Maya his thinking was rather simple and linear.

    With his aura bing denser and denser, far surpassing the physical manifestation of a standard A-rank Duke Runak formed an image in his mind, an emotion, a picture that reflected his heart''s unique strength.

    Finally once the image was concrete his aura flowed out and encapsted an area around Frost, isting him from the outside world. The scene and manifestation within his heart attempted tobine with his aura, in an effort to form a domain.

    Frost who was at the centre of this cage felt an intense pressure, far greater than what he felt previously from the Duke but¡­.there was still a massive difference between this and the domain of someone like Maya.

    He strained his eyes until they were bloodshot and tensed his muscles to resist the pressure. He sensed the density of the Duke''s aura and felt the prelude of what he was trying to achieve but regardless of how many times he tried he couldn''tbine his aura with the image he had in his heart.

    There was something missing, an ingredient that would allow the two ipatible forces to mix andbine into one and be a domain.

    After several minutes Duke Runak loudly coughed and even spit up some blood. His aura instantly fell apart revealing his exhausted state. Repeatedly trying to force the two aspects together obviously caused a certain degree of bacsh but even though he was in pain the War God of the cial mountains smiled from ear to ear as blood dripped down his chin.

    He had improved slightly since thest time he attempted to forge his domain. The image in his heart was clearer but still it refused to bond with his aura.

    He looked at Frost who was physically trembling as his ice chakra armour fractured off in pieces, destroyed but the intense pressure.

    "Well? Your thoughts?" He asked, eager to hear the young man''s answer.

 Chapter 716 Chat with the Duke (4)

    "Urgh." Frost audibly groaned as the pressure assaulting his body vanished.

    His dense chakra ice armour ked off in pieces and his legs turned to jelly. He then kneeled and panted as though he had been deprived of oxygen for a long time.

    Withstanding the entirety of Duke Runak''s aura/pseudo domain was an exhausting task given his early stage B-rank strength.

    It took a good twenty seconds or so for him to collect himself and then reply to the eagerly awaiting Duke.

    "Your aura is dense and heavy, far more than a typical A-rank. You also seem to have a solid image in your heart but¡­." Frost frowned before continuing, unsure of how to exin it.

    Though Maya gave a rather thorough exnation and even patiently disyed her own domain he was too far away in terms of strength to truly understand the process.

    "There''s something missing and until you discover what that is you''ll be forever barred from the S-rank. Your aura and heart''s image strongly reject one another, all your doing is trying to force to ipatible entities into one. A domain is theplete fusion of the two, one that is seamless and natural, not forged through brute strength." Frost''s words were unhurried and filled with thought.

    Duke Runak frowned as he listened to Frost''s opinion, his words coincided with a lingering premonition he had. All this time he''d been trying to improve the quality of his aura or deepen the image held in his heart never delving into why they resisted each other in the first ce.

    Perhaps at one time he believed that the image in his heart was an incorrect manifestation but after searching inside himself for a long period of time he scrapped that view, that was not the problem. Thus perhaps it was a question of strength, his aura wasn''t strong enough or his foundational manifestation wasn''t solid enough.

    Now however after listening to Frost he was once again questioning his views. Did he truly understand what it meant to be an S-rank? was it not simply a new level of power?

    "Frost from what you''ve learned what is S-rank?" Apart from his brief interaction with the old ice dragon Duke Runak had only read and heard tales of the legendary rank. Unlike the A-rank knowledge regarding the S-rank was covered in mystery.

    Frost''s brow tensed and his right hand cupped his chin as he thought back on both what Maya told him as well as his own personal views.

    "B-rank is the discovery of aura while A-rank is the physical manifestation of it." B and A-rank could be simply attributed to these two levels.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "S-rank however is not just a step into a higher level of strength but a true baptism of quality, a transcendence. All those below are no different than ants because, S-rank is the first step into Godhood.

    Their domains rewrite thews of the world, within their sphere of influence the S-rank practitioner is a God, what they wish for bes real, creation and destruction with just a single thought. It''s more than just an illusion formed by aura." Though miles apart from a true God, S-rank truly was the first step into this hallowed realm at least in Frost''s view.

    "¡­T¡­That''s¡­." Duke Runak waspletely blown away by Frost''s hypothesis.

    ''Is this the difference in our basic knowledge?''

    The Northrend empire is a powerful nation that rules vast swaths of the Yangmir continent yet despite this their knowledge of the S-rank pales inparison to the unknown Frost. Even the books and memoirs left behind by the Empire''s S-rank ancestors failed to grasp the true meaning of the legendary realm.

    "First step into Godhood¡­.Domain,w, rewriting the world¡­.Transcendence¡­" Duke Runak muttered to himself as ideas started to form in his mind. Frost''s view had enlightened him, allowing him to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that shattered his foundations, proving that his previous approach was wed.

    Despite the majority of his efforts over the past few years bing a waste of time the War God of the cial mountains was grinning from ear to ear. The mysterious wall that barred his progress no longer seemed so impassable. Of course it''d still take him some time to actually breach it, but he was now confident in doing so.

    With a serene, enlightened look in his eyes and a maddened smile on his lips Duke Runak looked at Frost and thanked him from the depths of his heart.

    "Heheheh no need to be so serious Lord Duke I just repeated the words spoken to me by my Guardian and gave my own perspective on the matter. I''m sure you would have managed to reach a simr conclusion on your own eventually." Knowledge truly is power.

    "No there is young Frost, the knowledge that you so easily imparted to me is beyond the development of the entire Northrend empire. You effectively granted me the knowledge to produce steel whereas before only iron or perhaps even bronze was the limit."

    "¡­..Surely you''re exaggerating." All he did was say a few sentences.

    "Trust me Frost, I''m not." His revtions was so earth shattering that it could bring an upheaval to the civilised world. He cleared the fog surrounding the legendary S-rank, now even if people failed to ascend they''d be able to understand why instead of simple chocking it up to innate potential or worldly fate.

    Frost was a little unnerved by the Duke''s enthusiasm and seriousness. He made it seem as though he flipped the world upside down, that his words werepletely paradigm shifting.

    "Haaaaa rx Frost this is just the difference between our foundational knowledge. What you may perceive asmon sense and simple could actually be world shattering for others." He didn''t want to make his new friend feel awkward.

    There was a strange atmosphere between them for a while but eventually the mood returned to normal.

    An hourter Frost left the training hall leaving Duke Runak -who had given him permission to now call him Oscar- alone to ruminate on his new findings. He needed to understand the thing that would allow oil and water to mix, to let his aura and heart''s image be one.

    Frost was escorted by a pce attendant to his arranged room wherein he napped until morning.

    His n was to stay in Icethorne for one day, get they of thend, understand the inner regions better and perhaps observe and even take part in the northern wall''s defence before leaving for the entrance to the dimension of Niflheim, the realm of the primordial ice King Shivali.

    The Duke/Oscar was more than happy to have Frost aid in their territory''s defence. Before Frost''s head hit his pillow he''d already arranged for General Jared Bando to show him around and disy the prominence of their mighty War Ursa Battalion.

    Avira despite wanting to join him on his tour, loving the idea of possible walking hand in hand through the street was far too busy. She needed to understand the full extent of Icethorne''s finances, rtionship with the nations of the external regions as well as n her own journey. She could no longer act like a wilful adventurer; she had a duty to uphold.

    Borris wasted no time at all enlisting under the War Ursa Battalion''s and the Duchy armament corps. There he got to meet with the three 4 star cksmiths who had been at their current rank for many years.

    As the neer Borris was weed with a mountain of tedious work. He had to earn the respect of his (slightly embarrassingly younger) 4 star colleagues. He wasn''t put off by this however, he''d been the boss of his own workshop for so long that he kind of missed being the target of such hazing.

    Even when he was put in charge of recycling the far gone officer weapons Borris still sported a smile and moved with vigour. Finally he was here at Icethorne where battles happen every other day. His work would be put through the ringer and then some.

    Frost was actually thest of the trio to get up and move about. He enjoyed a hearty sausage and eggs breakfast before heading to the northern wall alongside Kiba. He''d first experience the grandeur of a true war, one between unimaginable numbers and with insane levels of firepower.

    "Wee to hell Frost¡­or heaven depending on your personality hehehehe." Frost was animatedly weed by an excited Jared who already sported blood on his blue axes.

    Frost couldn''t help but smile from ear to ear in response to such a bold wee.

    "Heaven naturally hehehe." As a battle maniac and as someone who ruled a vibrant territory filled with monsters he of course loved the scent of war and battle.

    "We''ll see how long you can keep that expression kid." General Jessica chimed in from behind, her massive stature dwarfing both Frost and Jared.

    "Come and take a look at the Duchy''s pride!" She roared before grasping hold of Frost''s robes and carrying him to the top of the northern wall to take in all its grandeur as well as the endless army thaty before it.

    "ARRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"

    "WWWWAAAARRRRRRR!!!!"

    Frost didn''t even get the chance toin about his treatment before his ears were assaulted by maddened roars and yells from the endless regiments of monsters charging towards the wall with bloodthirsty expressions.

    A view that could only be described as true carnage.

 Chapter 717 Scale of war

    Frost currently stood at the top of Icethorne''s northern wall.

    The great behemoth of defence stood at a shocking 120 metres, making all those standing at the base appear like ants.

    Here at the very top of the wall scores of terrifying ballista, catapults and even dreaded mana cannons of varying ranks were lined up as far as the eye could see.

    Every second or so a volley of huge bolts, dense ming rocks and corporal balls of raging mana were fired at the enemy ranks. The sound of these war machines, the roars of enemies and allies alike shook the wall''s foundation to the point the Frost even found himself struggling to stand straight.

    The vision around him was far more brutal than what he experienced during his own wars; the scale simply couldn''t be matched.

    He peered down over the precipice with wide eyes. There standing boldly at the forefront of the wall were regiments of the War Ursa Battalion''s vanguard. Fierce, physically strong and without fear these men and woman forgo the walls defence and ughtered the enemy that dared to assail their gates.

    At the forefront were shieldmen donning thick heavy armour and massive tower shields that could even stop the full charge of a tri-horned white rhino or even a mammoth. Physical strength was the prime focus of these soldiers as they were tasked with halting the enemies momentum no matter the species.

    Directly behind them were spearmen, at least two for every shield bearer. These soldiers stabbed and swiftly ughtered those who were stopped by their shield bearingrades.

    A swordsman or an axeman served as an auxiliary to handle smaller enemies and whatever managed to breach the first two lines of defence.

    Thousands of such squads made up the front lines allowing the injured and tired groups to easily rotate out and be reced.

    Behind the frontliners were groups of mages who focused on buffing magic making theirrades even tankier and more adept at ughter. They were joined by a small group of archers and crossbowmen who prioritised sniping certain dangerous targets while the true ranger corps stood upon the wall, drowning the enemies in a deluge of arrows and bolts from up high.

    With a seamless and practically perfect frontline the enemy forces that survived the onught of the war machines and endless volleys of arrows and explosive magic failed to breach through and were thus culled in thousands every minute.

    The stench of blood was so thick that even those standing 120 metres in the air couldn''t smell anything else.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This was the true state of war, a battle that would only end in a party''splete and utter annihtion, there was no mercy here.

    Boom!

    Frost''s attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of a massive mana cannon. This beast of a machine stood at 4 metres tall,10 metres long and with a barrel diameter of 2 metres.

    Arge sphere of purple mana was fired out, its target one the densest areas among the enemy lines. Here a powerfulmander at the mid stages of the B-rank was overseeing the many E, D and C-rank soldiers in the vicinity.

    Just when he was about to give the order for more reinforcements his body trembled, and he felt a sudden sense of danger. A fraction of a momentter a shadow appeared around him, he looked up and saw the giant sphere of purple mana hurtling towards him.

    "Shi¡­."

    BOOOOOMMMM!!!

    He didn''t even get the chance to curse before he and the surrounding 100 metres was engulfed in a mana explosion, erasing everything within the st zone. Not even ashes remained of the once dauntless B-rankmander.

    Frost felt his scalp tingle and strong sense of unease washed over him as he saw the entire thing. With just a single blow an entity roughly at the same level as himself was easily erased, leaving not even a single speck of blood.

    "Gulp" he audibly gulped bringing a prideful grin to General Katrina.

    "That''s Big Bertha for you, an A-rank mana cannon that can even cause someone like me to be wary let alone a small B-rank hahahaha." This was a clear show of force.

    Frost had to reevaluate the number of things that could threaten his life.

    ''Fuck!'' Every time he left his abode he''d always be reminded how weak and pitiful he truly was in the world.

    Thankfully ''Big Bertha'' as Katrina called it wasn''t in great supply. Across the entire Northern wall there was only two of such cannons and the cost to fire them even a single time was insane. Thankfully however the swaths of dead monsters assaulting their gates provided a near endless supply of mana crystals.

    Ignoring his internal plight General Katrina dragged Frost over to themand centre were the other on duty Generals and Majors were holed up. She needed to show Frost just how awesome the War Ursa Battalion was if she had any chance in roping him in.

    ""General"" Several soldiers saluted and bowed the moment Katrina entered the tent.

    "At ease." Katrina replied before pushing Frost forward with her oversized hand. "This is Frost, a young prodigy here to experience a true war so treat him well." Only the Generals who were summoned to the meetingst night knew about Frost so everyone in the tent bar them was surprised.

    For General Katrina to personally escort him and even call him a young prodigy meant that he must be truly skilled or hold an unparalleled status.

    "Greetings Sir Frost" A few thick skinned soldiers immediately tried to get in Frost''s good books by treating him with excess respect and humility. An act that would normally have General Katrina tutting in disapproval but strangely this time she was nodding her head as if encouraging such actions.

    Such a reaction spurred the rest of the Majors, Captains and other soldiers present to give very friendly greetings.

    Frost who was being forced to smile and shake hands with these veterans of war suddenly felt something soft and warm against his back. Next a pair of jade like hands appeared from behind and enclosed around his chest and shoulders.

    "Little Frost you should have sent word that you wereing. If I knew I would have escorted you personally." A sultry voice appeared next to his ear as the hands gently caressed his body and the soft,rge mounds of flesh pressed and strained against his back.

    "JESSSICA!!!" Katrina screeched with a malevolent expression on her face.

    "Haaaa loud as ever you damn oaf of a bear." The one holding tightly against Frost was General Jessica another big name in the War Ursa Battalion. A woman who was at the same level as Katrina and her lifelong rival/nemesis/best friend.

    "What the hell do you think you''re doing, you damn grandma!" Katrina moved to wrench her colleague from Frost. Jessica was of the same generation as her, old enough to be a grandma or even a great grandma yet here she was wrapping her body (that was preserved in a youthlike state by her magic) around Frost a prodigy she had her eye on (strictly as a solider).

    "Pfftt foolish Kat even at your age you still don''t understand the mind of a young man. Since he doesn''t have any desire to join our Battalion for glory and prestige then you have to draw him in with something he does." Jessica said a mocking tone before wrapping herself even tighter around Frost, allowing him to feel the softness and heat of her skin.

    "What do you think little Frost? Do you want to team up with this big sister here? I can teach you the wonders of magic as well as some more personal skills." She whispered into his ear in a tempting manner as her hands drifted downwards. Subtle wasn''t in her vocabry.

    Even though General Jessica was in full view of the other soldiers she didn''t hold back and those watching didn''t even flinch as though they were used to her acting in such a way.

    General Jessica was well known in their battalion as a devourer of talents, doing everything (above board) to entice them to join her corps even offering herself if they were particrly handsome or beautiful. She kept her body young with magic not just to suit her own vanity but to use it. Unlike Katrina she never lost her appetite with age.

    ''Haaaaaa talent, good looks maybe this is actually a curse rather than a blessing.'' Frost constantly found himself drawing attention because of his gifts.

    Since the other party was a vaunted General, someone who could easily kill him if she wanted he couldn''t be rude. "Your offer is certainly tempting General Jessica, but I''m already spoken for and have no desire to join the War Ursa Battalion." He politely refused, making his stance clear once again.

    "Hehehe." Jessica in responseughed in a charming manner "Please just call me Jess little Frost and don''t worry about joining the Battalion, I''m still more than willing to give you some personal one on one lessons¡­.I won''t tell if you won''t." Herst few words were said so that only she; Frost and Katrina could hear them.

    Jessica wanted him bad; it wasn''t every day she came across a young man with unparalleled looks and a mana affinity that even put hers to shame.

 Chapter 718 Scale of war (2)

    Frost could feel an alluring touch caressing his chest and shoulders, a soft sensation enveloping his left arm and a seductive voice whispering in his ear, encouraging him to let loose, to give in to the temptation.

    Given his recent evolution his first instinct was to flirt back against this aggressive female general, to take advantage of his unparalleled good looks and ever growing natural attraction.

    Several woman who teased him in his early days would now find themselves struggling to maintain their decorum whenever he shed a smile or yed along with their antics.

    He''d start by wrapping his arms around Jessica''s supple body, pulling her in close as he smiled mysteriously with a gaze filled with desire. He would then subtly move her naughty hands lower down while his own would grope her in return, eliciting a slight moan from the woman before he''d lean in and whisper into her ear.

    "Such an inviting offer mydy, one that as a gentlemen I cannot possibly refuse in good faith... however" He''d lightly bite on her earlobe before continuing, allowing Jessica''s fair hands to touch his growing weapon, to get an insight into its size and radiating heat. "Miss Jessica, can you truly handle me?

    My current partners are an S-rank rank Fenrir and a woman with the lineage of a subus, and they can barelyst a single nightly session.

    By the time I''m truly revved up they''re already in a catatonic state, trembling from sheer pleasure as their bodies refuse to listen to theirmands." At this point his manly scent would be filling Jessica''s nostrils, his body practically merging with hers, turning her into putty beforending the final blow.

    "So I ask you again, are you sure you can handle me?" He''d then once again bite her earlobe before coldly pulling away from her body, cutting off all forms of contact in an instant. Her body would naturally search for his warmth again, desiring to feel such intimacy and thus e wouldpletely entrap his would be prey.

    This was but his first instinct and thankfully not the one he acted on because just a momentter a second feeling arose in his heart, one screaming danger.

    His instincts were warning him that the woman before him was not like Maya, a devilish beauty without any defensive measures but someone simr to Daki, a person with ample experience. So much so that her threat was far greater than that of the young subus.

    General Jessica''s hunger was endless, her age only increasing her appetite, she was a predator not prey. If Frost behaved in the manner that he first pictured she would not swoon but be even more aggressive, jumping at his offer and spiriting him away to her abode until she had had her fill.

    Her whole tempting act was to lure him into trying to take control thus gaining ''consent''.

    Frost felt the back of his neck drip with cold sweat as he pictured the true form of the enchantress looking up at him with doe eyes.

    ''She''s a demon, a full blown subus.'' He''d put money on the fact that Jessica like Daki had subus blood running through her veins.

    He quickly shook his head trying to erase his fear.

    "Thank you for the offer General Jessica but unfortunately I won''t be staying long." He straight up refused her temptations, not willing to fall for the demon''s traps.

    His reaction caused Jessica to raise her brow and don a surprised expression before a smile began to stretch from one side of her face to the other. She stuck out her tongue a seductively licked her lips as though she was eyeing a feast that got even more tantalising. Her desire only grew with his steadfast refusal.

    By this point Jessica even entertained the idea of absconding with Frost this very second. Abusing both her overwhelming strength and authority in Icethorne to force him into her clutches. She was certain that after having a few energetic sessions with herself he''d understand reason.

    Thankfully for Frost there was another woman present who was no less powerful nor lower in standing than General Jessica.

    Ssh!

    Without any warning a literal bucket of ice water was dumped on Jessica''s head.

    "Cool your jets Jess, this isn''t someone you can touch!" General Katrina bellowed as she handed the empty bucket back to a solider and stood between Frost and Jessica.

    "Kyyaaaa you''re such a bitch Kat you know that!" General Jessica screamed as her body violently shivered,pletely taken by surprise. The cold water did however ''cool her jets'' as Katrina put it, she was no longer feeling horny.

    She looked at Katrina with a hate filled re before wrapping her body in heating magic and leaving themand centre in a huff, her good moodpletely ruined.

    Strangely the soldiers present in themand centre were still unfazed by the whole y as the entire thing was actually a rathermon urrence for them. Even the bucket of ice water that Katriana dumped on Jessica''s head was an already prepared countermeasure. The General''s sexual appetite was a well known issue, one that they had gotten used to handling.

    "Sorry Frost, Jess struggles to control her desires but I''ll make sure she knows where to draw the line." General Katrina shook her head and sighed, apologizing for her friend''s antics was something she''d been doing ever since they were young army prodigies. Enjoy new tales from empire

    Frost felt moved by Katrina''s apology and to be honest he didn''t hold much or really any resentment towards Jessica. Her motives though overwhelming werepletely pure, stemming from an unbridled sexual desire.

    Unfortunately it seemed as though the valiant General had simply failed to find someone who could keep up with her appetite. He wondered if Daki would have ended up in a simr situation if the two of them never crossed paths back in Kranor.

    ''Maybe I should try and y matchmaker, the girls had so much fun pairing up Khuno and Maressa after all.'' Frost felt that finding someone for the horny General could be fun and since he was going to the domain of the Primordial Ice King he was sure to find someone with decent stamina. He wasn''t one to shy away from doing a good deed.

    With Jessica leaving they could get back to the true task at hand, letting Frost experience the true mettle of war.

    "Frost here specialises in the ive but he''s also a master of ice chakra and even ice magic, a true triple threat." Katrina continued to sing Frost''s praises. She''d read up on the reports regarding himst night as well as asked about him from the Princess and Jared.

    "Hoh." The Captains and Majors all eximed with obvious glints in their eyes before a verbal brawl took ce.

    "He should be assigned to my zone; we need another B-rank after Derrick''s injury!"

    "No he needs to join the magic corps, the frontline has more than enough bodies!"

    "Screw that he should be part of the cavalry teams given that he has a cial winged tiger as his battle mount."

    The different divisions argued with one another each demanding that Frost help them out over theirrades.

    Frost given his many capabilities, B-rank strength and personal high rank battle mount was a highly desiredmodity.

    Themodity in question couldn''t help but twitch at the lips as these men and women argued over how to use him. He felt a mix of pride, shame and embarrassment a reaction that caused Katrina tough out loud before enforcing her own decision.

    "Rx he''s only here for a single day so we''ll have him rotate through as many positions as possible, that way he can experience the true depth of our situation and lend the maximum aid." Katrina was 100%mitted to treating Frost like a Plow horse, a decision he waspletely unable to refute.

    Thus Frost just as General Katrina instructed found himself first standing alongside the War Ursa Battalion''s vanguard as a new wave of monsters assaulted their position.

    He was put in charge of frontline zone 7B and given 3 C-rank Captains as deputies who helped him adjust to his role in the battle. His job wasn''t to dive headfirst in the bloodbath but to stand stalwart atop Kiba and give far reachingmands.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A war involving millions of individuals couldn''t be won through the efforts of a single powerful person after all, hell even the monster stampede assaulting the Dungeon and Furano needed the efforts of thousands of soldiers and adventurers let alone the monstrosity that was hounding the northern wall of Icethorne.

    "Major Frost you need to manage the flow of battle, to decide when and where to reinforce our frontlines as well as choose the opportune moments in which to lend your own de." One of his deputy Captains exined with a smile. The Captain was more than happy to exin the war effort to the rising genius before him.

    For hierarchy sake Frost was given the temporary designation of Major meaning he could givemands to Captains and lower but other Majors were above him.

    "Understood, please exin everything thoroughly and don''t hesitate to call out my mistakes." Frost replied warmly, finding his position intriguing. He was akin to one of his monster officers, not high enough to make battlefield spanning decisions but high enough that he held a great deal of responsibility.

 Chapter 719 Icethorne Bulwark

    Upon hearing not even a trace of arrogance in his voice the deputy Captains assigned to Frost and their nearby Sergeants couldn''t help but smile before responding with their valuable insight.

    "Certainly Major, we won''t steer you wrong." A Captain by the name of Johnson, a well built beastman of the bear tribe mmed his oversized hand against his chest. The man was nearing middle age, stood well over 2 metres, had white fur lining his skin and a brutal exposed scar marring his chest.

    He was a talented and well experienced officer among the War Ursa Battalion''s vanguard, a perfect choice to aid Frost in his toe dipping.

    "The soldiers under yourmand Major Frostprise of 1000 E-ranks, 400 D-ranks, 80 peak D-ranks/ half step C-ranks and 20 full blown C-ranks." 1500 men and women who bravely stood stalwart against hundreds of thousands perhaps even at times millions of enemies without blinking an eye.

    "Our duty is to maintain the 7th western defensive line, a duty that you are now beholden to." Johnson exined thoroughly the current situation of their regiment and their assigned duties all while the soldiers at the forefront did battle with the enemy.

    Frost nodded his head in understanding. "I''ll do my best to not let the 7th western line fall." He felt his blood pumping through his veins as the stench of battle excited him.

    It had been too long since hest stood upon a true battlefield.

    "Myself or one of the other senior Captains will report the frontline''s situation to you every 10 minutes or earlier if a major change takes ce." There was a strange cadence in his tone as he said this, a strangeness Frost quickly picked up on.

    "Don''t worry Captain Johnson I know well enough not to mess with a well oiled machine." He was here to learn ,not screw over the systems already in ce among the War Ursa Battalion. He was merely a guest not a true Major.

    Captain Johnson let out a breath of relief before once again smiling from ear to ear, he was liking this fresh recruit more and more.

    Time passed and after roughly an hour or so since Frost took to the field a change urred, a change that made him marvel.

    A Sergeant assigned tomunications with headquarters held her hand up to her left ear as she received orders through a short-rangemunication crystal.

    "Urgent Report!" The young woman''s face paled for a second when she heard the order but a momentter she turned around and roared at the top of her lungs drawing Frost and Captain Johnson''s attention.

    In the same moment that she and many othermunications officers moved to ry the urgent orders from headquarters a change could be seen in the far distance.

    The frontlines that were overwhelmed with enemy bodies had started to thin, allowing even those on the ground level to see in the distance. And what they saw was not a retreat of the enemy, nor ack in their numbers but massive blurred figures surrounded by kicked up snow and ice.

    "Heavy assault inbound! Headquarters is ordering the use of the Icethorne Bulwark!" The female Sergeant bellowed with a growing smile on her lips, an expression that was mirrored by the other officers. Only Frost was left in the dark.

    "You heard her men, prepare to activate the Icethorne Bulwark. Emma, Lucinda, Darius and Mokan move out."

    "Yes Captain!" With practised precision the four Captains each of whom were at the very minimum mid C-rank responded with a roar before heading to the frontlines along with their Sergeants and Lieutenants.

    "Johnson what''s the Icethorne Bulwark?" Frost asked with a frown.

    With his impressive eyesight and battle instincts he could feel danger encroaching upon their position.

    Stay connected with empire

    "Hehehe you''re going enjoy this Major." Johnson responded with a wild smile and mad look in his eyes. He gestured for Frost to gaze ahead, to not miss a single beat.

    Within a minute the entire frontline of the War Ursa Battalion had shifted into a special formation. Extra shield bearers moved forward while the axe and sword users retreated back several metres, they were useless in dealing with what wasing.

    Dozens and dozens of Captains moved behind the shield bearers and spearmen to take directmand and help enact the Icethorne Bulwark.

    By this time the blurred figures were bing clear as day and the ground upon which Frost and the soldiers stood began to tremble.

    Hundreds of massive, hulking monsters, each weighing several tons were charging towards them at great speed.

    Mammoths, Three horned rhinos, stone drakes and several other noteworthy monsters could be seen in the line-up. Devasting opponents that posed a significant threat even when alone, yet here they were charging like a regiment of heavy cavalry.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even Frost with his B-rank strength felt the back of his neck tingle when faced with such a sight yet the D and even E-ranks soldiers under hismand bore eager smiles, donning not an ounce of fear.

    ''What the hell is this Icethorne Bulwark?'' He internally questioned, genuinely curious as to what manner of thing could grant such confidence among even the weakest in their number.

    "Activate the Icethorne Bulwark!" Suddenly General Katrina''s voice roared from the top of the wall and with her decree Boom!

    The mighty shield bearers stamped their feet against the ground, ced their shields before their bodies, controlled their breathing and summoned their internal energy.

    "Major Frost do you know what a battle formation is?" Captain Johnson teasingly inquired.

    "Battle formation?" Frost wracked his brains, searching through his innate knowledge and from what he read in books but all he managed to scrounge up was short, inconclusive information.

    Not surprised by Frost''sck of knowledge Captain Johnson proceeded to exin. "A battle formation is a special technique that allows a group of people to pool their internal energy together, linking them into a single unit. And in doing so their strength bes amplified, far beyond what they can normally summon."

    As he spoke a visible, blue coloured energy formed around the shield bearers, spearmen and the assigned Captains at the frontline. This energy wrapped around their bodies before spreading out in search of others, swiftly linking them all up in a chain. Following this those affected had their breathing, muscle movements and even heartbeats sync up, turning them into a single entity, with a single purpose.

    Once linked their individual strengths soared, bing on average half a rank higher before the blue energy coalesced into the shape of a massive and regal looking bear.

    "Roooooaaarrrrr!" The energy based bear roared aggressively as its presence continued to grow without end, enacting a pressure simr to that of a dense aura.

    "Icethorne Bulwark!" General Katrina shouted.

    "Icethorne Bulwark!"

    "Icethorne Bulwark!"

    "Icethorne Bulwark!"

    "Icethorne Bulwark!" Her roar was mirrored by countless soldiers, eager to taste blood.

    With their raging bellows the mighty bear transformed, it pooled its essence into the shield bearers at the forefront. Their tower shields shone with a bright blue light before conjuring an invible barrier, a thick half metre, transparent screen that screamed invincibility.

    Frost waspletely blown away by the sight, it felt like a skill yet not at the same time, a strange and intriguing thing that stoked his greed, his desire, he wanted it for his own forces.

    Captain Johnson was a good reader of emotions so he easily picked up on Frost''s interest but even if he wasn''t it''d be strange if the young man wasn''t curious¡­..s simply desiring something didn''t mean you could obtain it. He thus proceeded to dump or at least attempt to dump cold water on the young prodigy''s head.

    "The Icethorne Bulwark, a battle formation developed by our War Ursa Battalion after decades of effort is a shining example of our unity and high level of skill. Even the simplest of battle formations requires the users to bepletely in tune with one another and individually unrivalled in skill. We of the War Ursa Battalion have always focused on quality rather than quantity thus we are able topete with enemies that outnumber us ten perhaps even a hundred to one without issue. Our experience and dedication allows us to transcend the limits of standard soldiers."

    Battle formations, the sign of a truly unified andpetent force. Secret techniques that are usually beholden to the military of powerful nations such as the Northrend Empire as only they have the capabilities to meet their strict requirements.

    The soldiers of the War Ursa Battalion needed to spend years practising before they could even hope to unleash the lowest level of grandeur of a battle formation such as the Icethorne Bulwark.

    Frost hoping to utilise such a formation among his own forces after simply seeing it in person was nothing but a pipe dream. He had no idea of the amount of blood, sweat and tears that went into achieving such a disy.

    Captain Johnson hoped to convey that wanting to learn and use battle formations was a tall almost impossible order for the young prodigy¡­. Unfortunately for him Frost wasn''t so easily deterred.

    ''Though I doubt it''d be easy, aren''t battle formations perfectly designed for my forces?'' He internally analysed, finding that the fact that all his monsters came from the same controlled source and that they maintained a connection to that said source should allow them to easily form connections between one another, instantly achieving the first milestone of a battle formation.

    With this thought growing more and more prominent in his mind, Frost''s desire grew in concert and a wild smile formed across his lips.

    ''Seems that I need to start researching battle formations.''

 Chapter 720 Icethorne Bulwark (2)

    Frost could picture a future where in he faced off against one of his stronger siblings in a dungeon war. A war in which he would likely hold not a single advantage. His forces, equally numerable, equally strong and equally experienced in battle. Even his own strength would fail to surpass the imagined sibling.

    Defeat or a draw being the only possible oue....unless he acquired a secret weapon.

    Battle formations, the hallmark of a truly united and unparalleled fighting force. Techniques designed for one thing and one thing only¡­.War!

    With the number of skilled monsters under hismand, gaining mastery of even just a single battle formation like the one being prominently disyed before him could likely change the tide of battle.

    "Young Major burn this image into your eyes, this is how the War Ursa Battalion deals with our enemies." Captain Johnson proudly dered before turning his gaze back to the frontlines, daring to not miss even a single second of hispany''s bravery.

    Frost obeyed without hesitation, locking his gaze northward where a massive transparent blue barrier stood stalwart before the War Ursa Battalion''s vanguard. Faint depictions of a mighty bear could be vaguely seen moving along the barrier as though it bore a strange essence.

    The mighty regiment of hulking monsters charging dead ahead cared not a wink for the suddenly erected barrier. Their minds long devolved into madness as they charged headlong into an unwitting death.

    The ground quaked beneath the soldiers but not one balked in the face of such overbearing aggression, instead they smiled, eager to see these mindless beasts crash and implode against their mighty defences.

    The moment seemed to drag on for eternity but eventually contact was made.

    BOOOOMMMM!!!

    With a thundering crack the rampaging monsters crashed head, fang or tusk first into the great barrier. Such was their momentum and power that the ground underneath and the grand mountains lining the sides quaked and fractured. Find exclusive stories on empire

    But even with this immense force the hulking monsters made not a single dent upon the Icethorne Bulwark, instead their flesh, carapace and bones shattered. Their bodies exploding into bursts of gore and mangled viscera.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Like unthinking beasts the following lines crashed into the barrier quickly joining the first line''s miserable fate.

    Across the entire frontline the stench of death and blood was overwhelming, so much so that the shield bearers found their noses reeling from the acidity.

    The Icethorne bulwark remained unfazed for a total of 5 cmitous shes, only after did the light start to dim and the vague figure of the bear recede.

    "Spearmen!" General Katrina''s voice bellowed once more from atop the great wall.

    In an instant the men and women wielding long, sharp spears standing directly behind the shield bearers tightly gripped the shafts of their weapons and burst forth with unbridled strength.

    The barrier then diminished at a visible rate and the residual energy flowed into these spear wielding soldiers.

    "Strike!" Katrina ordered and the next second these men and women thrust forward with their spears, generating beams of eye catching light that eviscerated all that stood in their path.

    This was the final phase of the Ice Bulwark, a mighty imprable shield followed by an unstoppable thrust that would clear away all that remained.

    And just like that the daunting charge of dozens perhaps even hundreds of massive monsters that each weighed several tons was eliminated, with nary a single casualty on their side.

    All that was left was mutted carcasses and energy seared flesh.

    "WAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!" In response to this carnage the soldiers of the War Ursa Battalion and the Icethorne Duchy erupted with cacophonous roars. Their voices tinged with madness and brutality as they mmed weapons against either their armour or the snow covered ground beneath their feet.

    An intimidating sight, a dominating disy of power and ferocity. A sight that caused the monstermanders in the distance to wince and bite their tongues.

    "Not even a damn scratch ptuu!" Said arge beast covered in scales and dense fur before spitting in disgust. This monster who stood multiple metres tall and twice that long was the current overseer, the general of the cial mountains liberation alliance''s first advance.

    He was an ice drake of an impure bloodline, a vassal of therge horned ice drake tribe. And despite his impurity he still managed to reach the A-rank and thus held a decent amount of sway within the great tribe, he was even granted a marriage to one of the royal princesses, showing how favoured he truly was by them.

    The powerfulrge horned ice drake tribe strongly pushed for him to be granted the role of vanguard General for two reasons. The first was his unwavering loyalty to their tribe and their interests and the second was his vast experience and durability in battle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Vash Gothack was not an easy monster to kill, with near imprable scales and a tough hide, few could pierce his skin but beyond that as a General he was cautious, patient and calm even in the face of great adversity. With him at the helm the attack on Icethorne would never falter. His sess did not lie in breaking down the northern wall rather ensuring that the War Ursa Battalion and the men and women of the Icethorne Duchy had no chance to rest.

    "Sir it seems that they truly have no limitations when ite to their Icethorne Bulwark." An ice drake who was serving as one of Vash''s subordinates replied through clenched teeth.

    This wasn''t the first time the War Ursa Battalion had used their fabled battle formation in this war.

    "Hmph, seems that the old bastard''s reputation as War God of the cial Mountains isn''t undeserved." To be able to train soldiers to such a high degree of efficiency and skill wasn''t something a standardmander could achieve. Even he, a respected General in service to therge horned ice drake tribe was far from the mark, a fact that irked him greatly.

    "There is always a higher mountain." Vash muttered under his breath as a ruthless light shed through his eyes.

    Simrments were passing through the lips of the other monstermanders. They originally came here thinking that with their numerical advantage Icethorne would be ripe for the picking, oh how wrong they were.

    "Most impressive." Frost couldn''t help butment with a voice filled with desire.

    "Hehehe oh we''re just getting started Major." Captain Johnson chuckled. The War Ursa Battalion had much more that just the Icethorne Bulwark.

    "Then I look forward to seeing what else you guys have in store." Frost''s smile stretched from ear to ear and the hands that held onto his ive tightened around it. He barely managed to restrain himself from leaping into fore, to carve up the monsters before him for their mouthwatering DP.

    As though expecting failure the lines of the liberation alliance quickly restarted their assault. And once again the frontlines were filled with the din of weapons shing against weapons, scales, ws and even fangs.

    The Captains Emma, Lucinda, Darius and Mokan stayed at the frontlines to help tide against their next aggressors. The Icethorne Bulwark was incredible, but it did have to siphon energy from somewhere. Those involved in its activation would feel weakened and drained for a period, not enough to disable theirbat prowess but enough to make fighting harder and more dangerous.

    "Major this will be the real test for you. Now that the bulwark has been used the enemy will attack with increased ferocity. We can''t let a single one breach our gates, we must be on our game when ites to reinforcements and intervening on a personal level." Captain Johnson was the second strongest soldier present after Frost and like him he was to remain here until the enemy sent out an appropriate foe.

    Being the defensive party and the side with the least amount of soldiers it was rare for them to go on the offensive. Only General Jared and perhaps General Danielle would be able to dive headfirst into the battle, leaving nothing but carnage in their wake without too much consequence.

    General Katrina and General Jessica who bore rather aggressive personalities would certainly love to cleave apart the enemy with their personal strength but once you reach their level of status their every move is watched and prepared for. If Katrina, Jesssica or the Duke himself entered the battlefield the atmosphere would ultimately change. Right now was the still the time for testing the waters, not the time to put all their cards on the table.

    Over the next 30 minutes or so the western 7th defensive line constantly fended off aggressive attacks from the enemy. Frost and Johnson were forced to frequently swap out weakened soldiers for those yet to be bloodied this day. Even the Captains under him were forced to move forward so as to deal with the approach of C-rank monsters.

    "Tsk, Bhus is on the move Major." Captain Johnson angrily spat. His fists clenched tight and the veins along his jaw bulged as the figure of arge, framed tiger beastkin approached.

    "Bhus."

 Chapter 721 Bacchus

    "Bhus?" Frost questioned with a frown; he''d been warned about this individual beforehand. Stay connected through empire

    In the distance gradually making his way towards the War Ursa Battalion''s frontlines with a powerful and unperturbed gait was arge tiger beastkin with an imposing physique.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Hehehe my axe calls for blood." He said with unbridled bloodlust, his eyes scanning the horizon for delicious prey.

    The monster stood almost 3 metres tall and had arms and legs the size of thick tree trunks. His body was covered in greyish white fur and was prominently exposed to the cold air cial mountains air. He wore minimal armour and proudly disyed his many battle scars that ran across his chest, arms and even back.

    Garosh Bhus a Major equivalent from the Jabrak Kingdom and a member of the three eyed tigerkin tribe, a tribe who sat directly below the ruling winter tigerkin and snow leopardkin tribes. A powerful individual representing an even more powerful faction.

    Just like the other members of his tribe Bhus was bloodthirsty, a monster who relished war and battle. With his third eye he could perceive even the slightest of movements made by his enemies and even see the flow of the ambient mana. Along with a body that rivalled iron and steel he was a force to be reckoned with.

    "A Major equivalent from the Jabrak Kingdom, Garosh Bhus. The one who put our previous Major in the medical wing." Said Captain Johnson through gritted teeth. He tightly grasped his left shoulder as a phantom pain assailed him.

    During theirst confrontation their toon''s usual Major was severely injured by him and even he received a grievous wound during their retreat. Thankfully however his was easily remedied by a mid-level health potion but the memory of his flesh being rendered apart by that bloodstained axe sent jolts through his nervous system.

    Frost narrowed his gaze and focused on the approaching giant, subconsciously tightening his grip around his ive. His heart that was already in an excited state started thumb with a powerful, almost audible rhythm.

    Don! Don! Don!

    It screamed for battle, for him to let loose, to plunder the bountiful DP stored within Bhus'' oversized body. Unknowingly a wild smile shed across his lips as a hunger assailed his body and a red glint shone in his eyes.

    Finally he would have a chance to strut his stuff.

    The stench and heavy atmosphere of the battlefield had already seeped into his pores long before the vanguard even used their vaunted battle formation. It was a miracle that he hadn''t devolved into a maddened beast, driven by battle lust before now.

    Thankfully Bhus decided to take to the field, he''d make a good punching bag.

    "Major Frost I don''t know how strong you truly are but since headquarters ced you here I''m sure you can hold you own in a fight but nevertheless I''ll advise you to be careful. Bhus is a natural battle maniac; you show even the slightest sign of weakness, and he''ll pounce and sink his teeth in you." Captain Johnson was obviously wary of the man, the memories of theirst battle warping his objectivity.

    Despite his fear and wariness however he still tightened his grip around his sword and shield, preparing himself to enter the fray as alongside Bhus there was his most trusted righthand man, his cousin from the same tribe, a monster in thete stage of C-rank, Johnson''s fated foe.

    "Hmph rx a little Johnson, being tense before the duel will only lead to your defeat." Sensing his fear Frost firmly pped Captain''s Johnson''s back before showing an undaunted and reassuring smile that stretched from ear to ear.

    From the moment he saw Bhus mozing up to the frontlines he knew exactly what his job was. Headquarters, General Katrina specifically assigned him to the 7th western defence line over all the other for one reason¡­..to take down Bhus.

    Realising this he turned his head back and upwards to nce at the valiant form of General Katrina standing at the edge of the northern wall.

    Sensing his gaze Katrina peered down with a knowing smile, her eyes silently saying ''Show me what you''ve got young pup'' before once again focusing on the battlefield as a whole.

    "Johnson leave Bhus to me; I''ll make sure to avenge your previousmander." With a bold deration Frost started to move forward, his every step filled with strength and confidence.

    Captain Johnson was dazed for a second, his heart in that brief moment urged him to bow and revere Frost, to follow hismand even if it was through a valley of des or through the depths of a volcano. Before this only the Duke was able to naturally instil such emotions within him, could Frost be at the same level as their invincible Duke?

    ''Impossible'' he shook his head and denied such a possibility instead chalking it up to a mere fluke before boldly following in Frost''s wake.

    "Tara you''re inmand until we return." He handed authority to another senior Captain before leaving.

    "Good hunting Major Frost, Captain Johnson." Captain Tara loudly announced with a proud salute, the other officers mimicking her gesture a momentter.

    "Hmm a new challenger is it." Once Frost and Johnson arrived near the frontline their arrival was spotted by Bhus and his right hand man.

    Bhus recognised Johnson, he smirked and licked his lips as he remembered the taste of the senior Captain''s blood on his axe. Frost however was an unknown.

    Since he severely wounded the 7th western defence line''s previous Major he didn''t expect them to show up today but¡­suddenly upon getting a good look at Frost''s face and frame anger boiled within him.

    "DOES THE WAR URSA BATTALION WANT TO INSULT ME!!!" He roared at the top his lungs, his natural cadence and tone causing the weaker soldiers to freeze and even go limp in the knees.

    "YOU DARE TO SEND OUT SOME WEAK PRETTY BOY WHO STILL REEKS OF HIS MOTHER''S MILK!!!" Bhus was absolutely livid. Though he could sense that Frost was in fact at the B-rank it didn''t matter. All he saw was some unbloodied pipsqueak with nary a scratch across his skin. This was war and he was a glorious solider, he deserved to be faced with an equally experienced enemy.

    He felt disrespected and insulted, a rather unusual urrence when ced against the War Ursa Battalion given their penchant for quality and experience.

    The tiger beastkin serving as his right hand man was no less furious, he red at Captain Johnson. "Has the War Ursa Battalion run out of Majors already or are you insulting our three eyed tigerkin tribe!"

    Captain Johnson felt a wave of anger wash over him as his eyes became bloodshot and his fists threatened to snap the handles of his sword and shield. But unfortunately the sh was fleeting as he struggled toe up with a counter to their enemy''s words. Frost was truly an unknown and his appearance and youth certainly gave off a vibe of inexperience.

    "Hmph how moronic, all brawns, no brains and certainly no instincts you''re an insult to your tiger ancestry." Frost however had no trouble exchanging barbs with the two beastkin. He couldn''t believe that someone with so much blood on their hands was truly judging a book by its cover,pletely ignoring the threat that obviouslyy beneath.

    "Y¡­You!!" Bhus'' right hand man shifted his re to Frost and pointed menacingly at him as he readied himself for a tirade of a lifetime but before he could. "Enough Tulu he''s not falling for it." Bhus who was red in the face just a moment ago was now eerily calm as he stared at Frost, a stark change that made Johnson''s spine tingle and Frost smirk.

    "Tsk and here I thought we could have some fun." Tulu clicked his tongue and shook his head, before also donning a mask ofplete calm.

    Their previous anger was just a disy, a trap to lure Frost and even Captain Johnson into treating them like blind, arrogant fools. Of course if Frost was so easy to manipte then their anger and fury would be all but genuine. Only an unbloodied pup would fall for such provocation, and that would be an insult to their honour.

    Bhus and his cousin Tulu may be battle maniacs, but they weren''t stupid, and they certainly weren''t an insult to their tiger ancestry. Even a lion or in this case a tiger would go all out when facing a rabbit.

    Since their first ploy failed the two of them immediately moved onto their next but unfortunately Frost was of a simr nature. Just when Bhus and Tulu were about to suddenly attack without warning Tulu was assaulted by a devasting pressure, a pressure so strong that it made his veins bulge across his skin and his legs momentarily freeze.

    Frost made a move first.

    Without waiting for any more talk he summoned his full blown royal aspected aura andunched its entire essence upon Tulu, briefly halting his movements.

    Being an experienced soldier Captain Johnson immediately took advantage of his enemy''s predicament and charged shield first into the beastkin monolith before he could react.

    "Tiger w sundering!" Bhus wasn''t one to relent, only Tulu was frozen meaning he was free to carry out his sudden assault.

    Completely ignoring his cousin Bhus leapt at Frost with his massive blood stained axe overhead. His muscles bulged obscenely as he summoned his internal energy. A red tiger phantom formed above his axe head, cleaving downward with its massive ws alongside his swing. For a sudden attack Bhus certainly wasn''t holding back.

    He was smiling at the thought of smashing apart Frost''s pretty face, his blood would certainly make for a fabulous tonic.

 Chapter 722 Bacchus (2)

    Tulu suddenly pressured by Frost''s aura failed to react in time against Captain''s Johnson''s shield bash. With a ringing thud his chest was smacked hard and he reeled backwards from the blow.

    Johnson quickly followed up with a decisive kick sending the tiger beastkin flying through the air, generating some much needed distance from the higher ranked duel that was just about to take ce.

    "[Tiger w sundering]!" While Tulu was expertly separated by Captain Johnson, Bhus unphased by the assault on his cousin leapt into the air and raised his mighty axe high above his head as he took aim at Frost''s annoyingly handsome face.

    With a jeering roar the over 3 metre tall monster caused the ground beneath his feet to cave in as he leapt high in the air. His internal energy flowed seamlessly into his already blood covered great axe forming a blood red phantom, a vicious bloodthirsty tiger that locked its gaze and massive ws on Frost.

    Bhus'' movements were as fast as lighting in the eyes of the nearby enemy and ally soldiers but to Frost every single step was calcted.

    With nary a hint of desperation Frost''s lips turned upwards to form a wild smile. He stepped forward towards the quickly encroaching Bhus with his ive locked firmly in his right hand.

    Tendrils of chilling ice chakra silently grew inyers upon his skin and clothes, swiftly forming an intricate and powerful set of armour that only added to his natural majesty. Silver mes danced along the edge of his ive as he effortlessly twirled it in the air and took another forceful step forward and nted firm roots. Stay connected through empire

    With his armour donned, his weapon at the ready and his stance in ce Frost stared dead ahead at the encroaching enemy, waiting for him.

    There was glint in his eyes as he saw Bhus reel back for a thunderous blow, his wild smile grew and his grip on his weapon tightened. He summoned his royal aspected aura, allowing it flow unperturbed throughout his body, empowering him, improving his body''s already terrifying physical strength and natural endurance. Frost intended to test the limits of the body his father granted him, so he abstained from using a weapon skill.

    This entire process happened in under two seconds, one moment the four men were squaring off against one another, exchanging words and the next their weapons were drawn and the distance between them was miniscule.

    BOOOOMM!!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With a crashing impact Bhus'' axe cleaved down upon Frost''s ive. The summoned tiger struck first, its vicious ws hitting with more than triple the strength of Frost''s [w of the ice wolf] technique. Shards of chakra armour vaporised with each w and the ground beneath them cracked apart like a spiderweb from the residual force, but Frost didn''t buckle. His legs remained solid and the weapon in his hand showed no signs of breaking¡­.at least until the axe head made contact.

    The tiger ws were merely the appetiser, bringing with them the strength of a wild beast whereas the giant great axe that dripped ruby red blood heralded a mountain.

    The moment metal shed against metal Frost felt a force run through his muscles that was so powerful that the seams between his fingers split open and the arms holding up his ive instantly became numb and lost their strength.

    Boom!

    With another earth shattering boom Bhus'' axe destroyed Frost''s guard and continued its downward momentum. Frost was thus sent reeling back in a simr manner to Tulu. His physical strength being unable to endure such a violent blow even with the added boost of his aura, a skill mind you he was still rather inexperienced in using but capable nheless¡­..Bhus was strong, much stronger than the Rindar he killed during the defence of Furano.

    Neither Bhus nor Frost continued their exchange immediately instead they seemed toe to terms with a simr realisation.

    ''He''s strong''

    ''He''s strong''

    Bhus who had initial misgivings towards Frost now saw him in a new light. He wasn''t just a young pretty face here to rece the recently indisposed Major, no he was a worthy foe.

    This realisation sparked his battle lust, his excitement started to build as did his alreadyrge physique, he could enjoy this fight.

    Frost was simrly analysing his opponent gauging where he stood amongst those he had fought before.

    ''Stronger than the Rindar but weaker than Valend, Frostine and¡­ Indra.'' Peak of the early stages of B-rank perhaps initial middle stages, equal to himself but¡­.weaker.

    Though his guard was blown apart he wasn''t injured nor was he ced in a vulnerable position; a stark contrastpared to his duel with Be wherein every strike could have been hisst if he let up for even a second.

    Bhus would make for the ideal training partner, the perfect level of danger and threat to help him gauge his current strength and perhaps breach the middle stages. He could feel it now, all he needed was some more worthwhile experience.

    "Your name boy?" Bhus who''s muscles were spasming out of joy and excitement asked with fascination in his gaze. A primal and beastlike aura grew around him, making him seem dangerous, like a wild and starving animal. Even the way he held himself had be more beastlike.

    As though sensing his joy Frost''s own demeanour changed, his form was less rigid, donning the appearance of a sheathed de waiting for the chance to be drawn.

    "Frost and I''m no mere boy, little cat." His ive swung outward and pointed directly at the lumbering Bhus, the silver chakra mes once again erupted along the de, threatening to singe his hair.

    "¡­.."

    "¡­.." There was a silence between the two as they locked eyes and a momentter.

    sh.

    ive met axe, leg met leg, fist met fist and ws met armour. The exchange was brutal, sudden and vicious. Every blow sent out sonic booms and thebined sh of aura created a dead zone over 30 metres in diameter. Whether they were members of the cial Mountains Liberation Alliance or soldiers of the War Ursa Battalion they all kept their distance during such fights.

    Anyone foolish enough to get caught between two B-ranks or higher was just asking for death thus there was amon consensus among them. The war between the soldiers would not end nor even take a break, it would simply move a little to the left and right, giving their officers space to let loose and not affect themon folk.

    Johnson was free to engage Tulu and Bhus was free to fight Frost all while the war continued without them.

    Funny thing was scenes like this were happening all across the frontlines. B-rank level fighters all made their moves after the Icethorne Bulwark, resulting in over a dozen such duels taking ce all at once, Frost wasn''t even the most eye-catching.

    One Major of the War Ursa Battalion who''s strength was in thete stages of B-rank was facing off against 3 B-rank enemy opponents and was holding his own, perhaps evening out ahead.

    In another area twin Majors relied on their officers to activate a personal battle formation allowing them topete with 5 B-ranks and multiple peak C-ranks and that was just the frontline confrontations there was still the rearguards, the archers and mages who also took to the fore.

    War especially long sieges like this once tended to follow certain rhythms, routines. Currently it was the phase in which the B-ranks, the upper officers strutted their stuff¡­.a phase in which the War Ursa Battalion was outnumbered but certainly not outmatched in fact it was the phase in which they shone the brightest.

    "Gahhhh!!" Bloody screams erupted every minute or so as an upper officer of the alliance was run through or even killed by their War Ursa opponent. Very rarely did the alliance ever get the upper hand during this phase, a hard pill that General Vash and those at the peak of the enemy army had no choice but to swallow.

    Their opponents were much stronger on the individual level, especially right now when their main forces were still on route to their location.

    "General, things seem to be on track today." While Frost and the other Majors did battle on the frontlines a Captain assigned to headquarters spoke to General Katrina who still stood stalwart at the edge of the Northern wall.

    "It would seem so, yesterday may have been just a fluke but we can''t let the enemy have any hope¡­ crush it before it begins to fester." General Katrina was dissatisfied with the army''s performance yesterday too many of their officers were injured in battle and not nearly enough enemy officers were killed. Worst of all this was in front of the War Marshall, such a disgrace.

    "As you say General." To aid in this endeavour Katrina even arranged a few special weapons to be slotted into the officers ranks, hoping to as she said, ''crush their hope before it begins to fester''.

    Frost was one of these so called special weapons.

    She hoped that he''d be able to give Bhus a nasty surprise and if they were lucky perhaps even deprive him of his pitiful life.

    Her gaze thus drifted over to where Frost and Bhus were duelling.

    ''Kill him Frost, let them know the meaning of fear.''

 Chapter 723 Bacchus (3)

    The sound of weapons and armour violently shing filled the air.

    Don! Don! Don!

    Two men, one with the appearance of a handsome elf and the other a bipedal tiger monster from the Jabrak Kingdom were engaged in battle, their weapons and ws showing not the slightest sign of mercy.

    Sharpened de edges would narrowly miss vital areas as the two dodged one another''s blows.

    The ground around them was covered in deep fractures and crevasses as a result of their physical exertions and their originally pristine attire, (one more than the other) was drenched in blood.

    Wounds galore covered nearly every inch of Bhus yet despite his injuries and his immense pain his face still showed a bright smile and the grip around his massive axe was as solid as ever.

    With his vision locked onto Frost, Bhus roared from the depths of his lungs, spewing out blood as he once again charged with his axe raised above his head.

    Schwing! Squelch!

    Frost who sported far less severe wounds easily deflected the rabid tigerkin''s violent blow, knocking his weapon aside before cutting deep into his ribs.

    "Urgh!" Bhus groaned from the pain, his body spasming as he turned around to face his foe once more.

    "Again!" He bellowed, raising his axe once more and summoning what remained of his internal energy. "[Third path of the Jabrak Kingdom]"

    Bhus being a vaunted officer of the Jabrak kingdom and valued member of the three eyed tiger tribe was well versed in the Kingdom''s self-created skills. A well-structured set of techniques that managed to catch Frost by surprise more than once or twice.

    Unfortunately for him Frost was a fast learner, and after exchanging hundreds of moves he''d long been able to predict his every effort.

    "[Ice fire shield]" Frost summoned a durable shield of silver mes that effortlessly blocked Bhus'' technique before he followed up with a swift sh of his ive, opening up a deep gash across Bhus'' chest.

    "It''s time to end this." He muttered under his breath before revealing a sharp glint in his eyes.

    A momentter, before Bhus could reorientate himself Frost went on the attack, utilising everything he managed to learn during their duel.

    His speed, his flow, his use of aura and even the forming of his skills all jumped up a notch. Bhus with his third eye opened as far as it could go witnessed the change in slow motion. A stream that was once violent and inefficient now flowed with smooth purpose, granting far more power¡­.a state he knew all too well.

    "Mid stage¡­." He barely had time to utter two words before Frost''s ive blew through his guard and pierced his flesh.

    "[Dragon tail thrust]" Frost who had made a breakthrough in both his use of aura and ive mastery used a brand new technique, one that had escaped his grasp until this very moment.

    A dragon''s tail was known far and wide as one of the most dangerous weapons in existence. A thick fleshly limb covered in imprable scales ending in a sharp narrow tip that could pierce the depths of even thergest and densest mountains.

    The effect was instantaneous, Bhus saw the shape form around Frost''s ive and then in the next moment he felt as though the weight of an entire mountain was focused on a single point. His guard was blown apart, his great axe that hadn''t left his side ever since the war began was sent flying, breaking half his fingers as it did.

    His left arm which was already drenched in his own blood and pilfered with holes snapped from the force, bending backwards, connected by nothing more than a narrow strip of flesh and muscle.

    The great dragon tail didn''t stop for a single second, brutally pushing aside what remained of his arm to stab into his exposed chest. The sharp tip easily pierced through his pectoral muscles, wreaked havoc on his ribs and punctured through the centre of his heart before sting through his back.

    Such a violent act resulted in a veritable geyser of blood erupting from Bhus'' back. The organ that vigorously pumped blood throughout his body thumped desperately as it hovered in the air, pierced by Frost''s ive like a piece of kebab meat before gradually bing inert.

    "BACCHUS!!" Tulu who was engaged in a duel with Captain Johnson roared in fury as he caught sight of his brave cousin falling to his knees with his heart pierced through by the enemy''s weapon. Tears of blood ran from his eyes and an emotional pain so strong that it made his heart literally stop assailed him. Bhus was his hero, his best friend, the older brother he relied on and worshipped. In his eyes his cousin was invincible, an infallible existence that would one day lead their three eyed tigerkin tribe to greatness, surpassing both the winter tigerkin and snow leopardkin. All he needed was time, time to grow into his own.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Schwing!

    "Arghh!!"

    "Looking away from your enemy during a fight is just asking to be killed." In that brief moment of distraction Captain Johnson ran Tulu through with his sword piercing his left lung before twisting and shing towards his heart, a mortal blow.

    Tulu could feel his life quickly slipping away, he gazed at the kneeling figure of his cousin in the distance, focusing on his face as though aiming to burn hisst expression into his mind as he died.

    Strangely there was a natural smile on his lips, joy and satisfaction were his final moments.

    Then as though in sync both Tulu and Bhus uttered theirst words.

    ""A good death."" The two then drifted into the endless darkness, never to wake or see the light of day again.

    The fall of Bhus and Tulu was quickly followed by cacophonous roars amongst the War Ursa Battalion. Their felt energised and inspired by the fall of their enemy and might of their new Major.

    Frost knowing the impact he had on these men and women and aware of his current role capitalised on his victory. "7th western defensive line! URAHHH!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs amand word unique to the War Ursa Battalion.

    "URAAHHH!!" The soldiers responded vigorously and erupted with cataclysmic strength so profound that their current enemies were torn to shreds or pummelled into paste.

    The ''URAAHHH''mand was basically a primal roar of victory that once used meant everyone in the vicinity needed unleash their ultimate strength and rend apart any who stood before them. It was the greatest show of force and perhaps even respect.

    Frost who''s wounds were already starting to close thanks to the sudden injection of DP nced down at the corpse of Bhus and silently nodded his head in respect.

    He was a worthy foe who helped him cross into the mid stages of B-rank, thus he was thankful.

    "I''ll put your life energy to good use¡­..Bhus." He internally noted his opponent''s name before looking over at Captain Johnson who was in quite bad shape.

    "Johnson fall back and seek immediate treatment, have Captain Tara continue your duties."

    "Yes sir, what about you?" Captain Johnson knew well the extent of his injuries and thus didn''t refuse the order. After seeing the true capabilities of Frost he had a newfound respect for the young Major, he was now truly arade in arms.

    "I''ll stay on the frontlines for a period to act as intimidation before falling back, the enemy will likely call off their advance pretty soon." Bhus wasn''t the only enemy officer to suffer at the hands of the enemy after all.

    "Understood Major¡­." Johnson smiled and moved to limp his way back to the rear where a toon of healers were stationed but before that he looked seriously at Frost and performed a strict salute.

    "It has been an honour to fight by your side Major Frost."

    "The honour has been mine Captain Johnson now quickly see to your wounds before they be too serious."

    "Yes sir." The captain thus made his way back to the rear of the army with the help of a nearby sergeant while Frost as stated remained at the frontlines with his ive in hand, still hungry for blood and gore.

    "Such glorious DP, it''d be such a waste to let it all escape into the ether." With a ravenous smile Frost quietly muttered before knocking the butt of his ive against the ground and imbuing his voice with aura. "Captain Emma, Captain Mokan lead your toons after me, it''s time to wreak some havoc on the enemy."

    "Sir yes Sir!"

    "Hehehe took the words right out of my mouth Major."

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    "Tsk lucky." Emma and Mokan responded with excitement as they sauntered forward with their weapons drawn. Captain Lucinda and Darius however clicked their tongues, annoyed that they weren''t chosen and thus had to stay behind to block the enemy from breaching the gate, the standard routine.

    Meanwhile at the enemy''s headquarters.

    "General Vash we''re losing too many perhaps it''s time to call back our upper officers." Vash''s subordinate from the same tribe spoke through a frown. The War Ursa Battalion were just too strong at the upper officer level, yesterday must have been aplete fluke.

    "That damn bitch Katrina!" Vash roared and mmed his fist down against the ice table before him, leaving a significant crack. He knew the old woman''s n; he''d have to be blind to not notice the difference amongst the enemy officers by now. Unfortunately simply noticing didn''t mean jack, this was an open strategy, the battle amongst the upper officers still needed to happen regardless of the changes.

    Suddenly just as Vash was contemting whether or not to order his officers to fall back an urgent report came to him.

    "Lord Commander, Major Bhus of the Jabrak Kingdom has been in."

 Chapter 724 Generals to the frontline

    "Lord Commander, Major Bhus of the Jabrak Kingdom has been in." A soldier from therge horned ice drake tribe reported with a nervous expression knowing full well how potentially disastrous this piece of information could be.

    "WHAT!!!" Vanguard General Vash jumped to his feet and hollered with a red face, his anger and fury clear for all to see. "How the fuck?!" He loudly questioned, grinding his teeth as he did.

    Major Bhus wasn''t the strongest among the Vanguard''s conscripted officers in fact he was one of the weaker ones but unfortunately he represented a major faction within the Jabrak Kingdom, the three eyed tiger tribe. A powerful and influential group who had recently hallmarked Bhus as a potential Patriarch candidate, a position that was below one and above thousands.

    The only reason such a prospective candidate was even here right now was due to his own insistence, desire for glory and Vash''s promise that he''d be ced away from the core danger zones.

    The 7th western defensive line was perfect for such a young and talented officer. Only a single Major was present, and he too was one of the War Ursa Battalion''s weaker individuals thus Bhus was able to overpower and even seriously wound him the previous day.

    Vash noticed the changeup in the frontline''s officers but thought nothing of the 7th western defensive line and Frost. The report stated that the man was young, even younger than Bhus and that they had zero intel on him, a truly unknown individual.

    He should have been alerted by that fact, but he unconsciously overlooked the possible danger due his age, his belief in Bhus as well as the low priority of the 7th western defensive line, a mistake he had nowe to regret.

    "How is that possible? The one who reced Major Conner was but a child, someone also at the early B-rank stage!" A senior Major of the Jabrak kingdom roared while viciously grabbing hold of the messenger, unable to believe that Bhus lost. If the opponent was older and or surpassed him in strength by arge margin he could understand it, but Bhus was highly talented. Though he wasn''t groundbreaking he was certainly a top tier individual, how could he possibly lose his life in this overwhelmingly advantageous war and so soon at that.

    The senior Major from the Jabrak Kingdom felt his skin crawl and his heart lurch at the thought of the chaos the three eyed tiger tribe would cause once this information was known to them.

    ''Those insane bastards will wantonly ignore the big picture and focus all their energy on revenge.''

    The three eyed tiger tribe was a veritable ho nest, just a slight poke would summon the entire swarm.

    Crack!

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    With bulging veins covering his entire body Vash smashed apart the table before him and charged outside themand tent. His gaze instantly locked onto the area where Frost and Bhus shed but the moment he tried to locked onto the young individual carving up his forces alongside the War Ursa Battalion he felt a coldness across his neck, as though a knife was pressed up against his flesh.

    In response to this feeling that he was no stranger to he red upwards to take in the form of a mountain of a woman standing atop the Northern wall with crossed arms and a smirk on her lips. Her aura was locked onto him, treating him like a fish on a chopping block. A predator staring at its prey.

    Such an ufortable feeling for someone so used to being the predator.

    "Katrina." He uttered through clenched teeth, his fury rising to an explosive degree. This damn woman had yed him so easily, taking out key targets after supposedly suffering a demoralising lose.

    On the Northern wall General Katrina locked her piercing gaze upon Vash. As she saw the rage, the fury and the aguish threatening to overwhelm his control her face begin to distort, her smirk slowly transforming into an expression of wild madness.

    "Jared, Danielle go and y a little." She yfully said and a momentter.

    "By yourmand Field Marshall" Danielle appeared from her right with twin longswords in her hands, both far superior to Frost''s [wolf howling at the moon].

    "Finally, I was worried if I''d ever get any time to let loose today." Opposed to Danielle''s more orthodox military approach General Jared Bando was far more rxed as he walked out from the left side.

    "Cannon corps give them a nice entrance." Katrina subtlety ordered.

    Boooom!!

    With her order dozens of cannons shot out thick spheres of turbulent mana that exploded deep into the enemy lines, killing hundreds no thousands of enemybatants and from the left over ashes two figures that were moments ago standing on the Northern wall were now smack dab in the middle of the frontlines with murderous glints in their eyes.

    With such a shy entrance and provocative look on their faces the two young Generals wantonly taunted Vash and his officers, begging them to give into their nature and attack like ravenous beasts.

    "Vanguard General give the order! Let us tear these bastards apart!" An A-rank General sent from the northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals demanded with hatred marring his face. Out of all the 5 members of the alliance perhaps the Northern nation hated the War Ursa Battalion the most.

    "Death." A General from horde of blue ants and pr mantises spoke but a single word as they sharpened their ded limbs against each other.

    The vast majority of the other officers were in agreement, demanding that Vash give the order for a full on attack,mitting their strongest individuals to the battle. Hell even Vash had the urge to roar at the heavens and charge into the field headfirst and make the War Ursa Battalion pay in blood. See if Katrina would still be smirking when they disyed the decapitated heads of her youngest Generals.

    s he wasn''t like the other Generals, he was cautious, patient and cool headed when it counted.

    "Generals Duso and Mabak will face off against Jared and Danielle while General Lucra will serve as backup as well as a hidden deterrent. Do not lose yourselves to anger because that''s exactly what Katrina wants. We''ll fight passively against them and not lose our cool. Hold them down, nothing more am I clear!" General Vash took a deep breath, calmed himself and gave his orders, brokering no argument. He knew the purpose of the Vanguard and wouldn''t let a simple emotion like pride or anger ruin their objective.

    "Urgh!... by your order General." Though reluctant the Generals and officers obeyed his words and moved out with purpose.

    "Lucra if things look off at any point target their soldiers."

    "Yes General." Lucra then vanished amongst the tens of thousands of soldiers to act as a preventative force.

    Though such tactics could be considered hical during a regr war, this was one of annihtion, ethics meant nothing as long as they were victorious. Vash would grasp onto any method avable to him no matter how evil or cowardly it may seem. They could withstand the deaths of tens of thousands perhaps even hundreds of thousands of theirmon soldiers in this war, but the War Ursa Battalion couldn''t. Every one of their soldiers was precious and even losing a single one could tip the scales across the battlefield, the weakness of being highly outnumbered.

    Boom!!!

    Momentster there was a thunderous sh as four A-rank individuals shed against one another, their residual momentum and aura tearing apart the ground beneath their feet.

    Frost who started to pull back his forces couldn''t help but stare at such an impactful scene.

    "So strong." He said as his blood began to boil and the grip around his ive tightened. He couldn''t wait to be able to fight at such a level.

    "Fall back we''ve culled enough." He gave the order to retreat back to their usual positions. Their delve had helped lessen the pressure on the 6th and 8th western defence lines which had suffered more than theirs during the officer sh.

    Captain Johnson who left after killing Tulu to be checked by the medical corps was already back on duty alongside Captain Tara.

    "Healed already?" Frost asked curiously.

    "Pretty much, everything''s closed but the pain is still there." Johnson grumbled as he rotated his shoulder des. The War Ursa Battalion''s medical corps were very skilled at returning soldiers to the frontlines with minimal time. As long as their wounds were closed, a core bone wasn''tpletely shattered and theyplete basic mental checks they''d send them back into the fore, pain could easily be endured by such battle hardened veterans after all.

    "By the way you''ve been ordered to return to themand centre atop the wall Major, seems your time with us hase to a close." Said Johnson with a regretful smile, he enjoyed fighting side by side with Frost, he had an attractive charisma that made him feel that even if the sky fell he''d be able to hold it up.

    "Ahhh¡­.I see." Frost frowned feeling that the time he had with Captain Johnson and the 7th western defence line was too short. "Thank you for you guidance Captain Johnson it has been a true pleasure to fight alongside each and every one of you." Frost gave a respectful salute to those who were just recently under hismand.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Soldiers salute." Johnson and the other Captains roared and led the hundreds of soldiers in a reciprocal salute.

    "Farewell and good hunting." Frost nodded his head in gratitude before walking towards the Northern wall where General Katrina was awaiting him.

 Chapter 725 Generals to the frontline (2)

    "You performed marvellously young Frost." General Katrina smiled at Frost as he walked to her side.

    "So it was all part of your scheme." Frost nced at her sideways finding that the woman he saw previously and the one standing before him now werepletely different people.

    Given her eager, loud and rather boisterous personality Frost assumed that General Katrina was more of an instinctive type, one who overwhelms her opponent with force and will rather than keen strategy, but he was wrong, dead wrong.

    "Scheme is such an uncouth word Frost I much prefer strategy." She smiled with a knowing look, enjoying seeing the slight surprise in the young man''s eyes.

    "Seems that I foolishly judged a book by its cover¡­a mistake I won''t make again."

    "Oh you likely will young man. People can''t help but make assumptions based on visual input as for most that''s our primary source of information. The best you can do is be prepared for your analysis to be wrong."

    "¡­..I''ll remember that."

    "Good, humility in the face of someone stronger and or more experienced will allow you to continue onwards, to further improve. Arrogance though sometimes justified can lead to misconceptions and even the destruction of one''s path¡­." Katrina looked over Frost in his entirety, noticing his stance, the subtle shifts in expression as well as the slight change in the air surrounding him.

    "You''ve advanced to the mid stages¡­impressive." Her eyes couldn''t help but light up.

    "Facing off against a worthy adversary made all the difference." After crossing des with Be, a foe that was far beyond him and then Bhus who was supposedly at a simr level to himself, Frost was able to cross the threshold, to understand what he was missing and stabilise his B-rank foundation.

    "Was this not your original intention?" He asked wondering how deep the old General''s thought process ran.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Hahahah I may be a master of warfare but urately pinpointing one''s breakthrough especially someone at your level and who I''m unfamiliar with is beyond me." Katrinaughed and shook her head, a little embarrassed by the pedestal Frost ced her on.

    "My initial predictions assumed that the battle between you and Bhus would be hard fought. Though he may not have been at the peak of the early stages his bloodline and innate battle senses should have proven difficult for you to ovee despite you''re slight lead but¡­." She once again looked over Frost in his entirety before continuing. "You truly are a monster; you didn''t simply hold your own nor did you leave him with a serious injury but instead you directly imed his life and rather easily at that." She had to raise her hands in defeat, Frost was way beyond her estimates. A natural born warrior with talent far eclipsing anything she''d ever seen before.

    "¡­.It wasn''t that easy." Frost refuted with some honest truths. "Our capabilities were fairly even in terms of physical strength, chakra control and even weapon mastery and although my aura was more profound it wasn''t to the degree in which I couldpletely overwhelm him."

    "Then how?" Though she could see the fight from her high position upon the northern wall the distance and the overall situation made it easy for her to miss the subtleties of their duel.

    "Experience, particrly our experience facing off against superior foes." Bhus likely had more general battle experience given his age and background but in regards to experience with fighting against a far superior foe he was clearly an amateur inparison to Frost who was repeatedly brought to the brink of death by his spartan like teacher/girlfriend.

    "¡­Experience against a superior foe huh." A wild expression couldn''t help but mar Katrina''s face as she imagined Frost''s training routine, the depths of his teacher and mysterious background.

    "Does me killing Bhus affect your ns at all?"

    "No, the ho''s nest was already thoroughly poked, hitting it again won''t make any difference. If anything it''s a positive result, an annoying enemy has departed ahead of schedule and sparked a possible issue with the enemy''s morale¡­.well-done Frost." General Katrina would never disparage a soldier for going beyond expectations.

    "Thank you General." His thanks were genuine as because of her influence he was able to grow and develop as a warrior, a favour he''d be sure to repay in the future.

    "Tsk unfortunately it seems that even Bhus'' death as well as the deaths of certain other officers isn''t enough to truly drag Vash out from his turtle shell." Katrina loudly clicked her tongue as she noticed the actions of the enemy A-rank generals. They were being defensively passive and even threatening their regr soldiers rather than being filled with a maddened rage when confronting Jared and Danielle.

    Frost followed her gaze across the battlefield to see Generals Jared and Danielle working in concert to sh against Duso and Mabak while at the same time keeping an awareness of Lucra. Such a scene confused him slightly. Sapients especially humans as far as he knew were unable to fight against monsters of the same rank unless they were part of a group or a party. The basis of this assumption was from the adventurer guild, a reliable source yet before his eyes both Jared and Danielle were holding their own perhaps even putting pressure on the enemy monster Generals.

    He could ept himself being that capable given the fact that despite his form being close to that of a Sapient Frost was actually closer to that of a monster or high ranking spirit but Jared, Danielle and even themon soldiers within the War Ursa Battalion were all Sapients.

    "I thought Sapients were at a disadvantage when ites to one on one fights with monsters of the same rank?" His curiosity forced him to ask.

    "Generally that hold true especially at the lower ranks and particrly with monsters that have a naturally powerful body but there always exceptions to the rule." A majestic charisma surrounded Katrina as she smiled and tensed her body with a look of pride.

    "The men and women below us are the best of the best Frost, the elites of the strongest Battalion of the mighty Northrend empire. Topare them to regr adventurers is nothing but an insult. Each and every one of them is trained thoroughly and repeatedly under the most extreme methods and are armed to the teeth with the best armour, weapons and magic artifacts that the Duchy can get their hands on. In addition to that we supply every one of them with knowledge in battle formations, weapon skills, spells and fighting styles. We are the best of the best and our Generals are those who surpass those elites to be unparalleled heroes who can easily hold their own against A-rank monsters and even supress them." The War Ursa Battalion couldn''t bepared to random adventurers, even elite adventurers paled inparison.

    Frost felt that Katrina''s words made a lot of sense. A monster especially in the lower and middle ranks rely heavily on their natural form, their innate strengths which naturally surpass the bodies of Sapients however if the sapient is armed with a high quality weapon that can cut through a powerful carapace or hide with ease or has mastered a weapon style that can easily handle the simplistic attack methods of a monster then their advantage disappears.

    The lines be even more grey as one reaches A-rank as Aura bes the defining trait rather than one''s physical form (though it still ys arge part).

    "Interesting."

    Frost and Katrina continued to observe the battlefield for a little longer, allowing Frost the chance to calmly analyse a battle between multiple A-ranks, a scene rarely seen in the civilised world to the south.

    "Frost I''m assigning you to Jessica''s Magic corps next, Sergeant Suna show him the way." Eventually Frost needed to be put back to work, his little break was over.

    "Yes General, this way Major." A tall woman with partial scales across her skin then led Frost towards the magic corps stationed upon the northern wall.

    Frost was initially excited, eager to stretch his mana veins but then he remembered the leader of the magic corps, the lust filled General Jessica who wanted nothing more than to devour him.

    "Rx Frost, Jessica knows better than to mix private affairs with official ones." Katrina lightlyughed before waving him off, aying at least some of his fears.

    A few minutester he was deposited amongst the magic corps and was staring at the image of a bold woman with an impatient expression on her face as she stared down from her perch on the left side of the northern wall.

    "Beta team increase your firepower by 10%, Epsilon recuperate, Team Omega swap out your batteries!" The sexy mage woman who earlier wrapped herself around him was giving off orders like a machine, she didn''t even look his way, as though he didn''t exist, a rather start contrast.

    He had to wait in silence for nearly 10 minutes before she had time to deal with him and even then it was far from positive.

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    "Do you know any war magic?"

 Chapter 726 Living mana battery

    "Do you know any war magic." Asked General Jessica with a hint of impatience, her eyes dancing across both the battlefield and her own soldiers, Frost was barely an afterthought.

    "¡­.Apologies General but I don''t." Frost as though infected by the strong sense of duty and militarism present crossed his arm across his chest in salute and slightly bowed his head.

    War magic was a collection of modified spells that utilised multiple mages and wizards rather than a single individual, much like a battle formation. The resulting spell would thus be several perhaps even ten times the size and strength of a regr spell of the same circle. Such magic yed a massive part in this war, allowing even the standard mages to wound enemy officers as long as they pooled their mana together as one.

    "Tsk practically useless then." Jessica loudly clicked her tongue, clearly disappointed with his answer.

    Frost not being privy to even a single war magic spell meant that his uses within the magic corps atop the wall was rather limited. Unlike the defences at Furano that relied primarily on the individual along with a few simple group formations Icethorne was a purely military outfit, here, against such overwhelming enemies things needed to be different, a standard needed to be put in ce.

    "Flora take him to the battery toon, if he can''t effectively utilise his mana then we will." Jessica waved her hand ordering a nearby mage to take care of Frost before ignoring himpletely.

    "Follow me Major." Flora a middle aged human woman with striking purple hair led him away with quickened steps.

    "Please don''t misjudge the General, the amount of work ced upon her shoulders with this war is unimaginable. If you can''t be used then she doesn''t have the time to pander you." Flora quickly defended her General''s actions but didn''t deny Frost''s uselessness to them.

    The young Dungeon core struggled to keep a straight face, his upper lip desperately trying to twitch in protest but thinking more upon the situation he kept silent and followed after Flora.

    "Ketta got a fresh high level battery for you." Even further to the rear Frost was brought before arge group of people with exhaustion clear in their eyes and varied forms. Some were young and naive, others were old and several were even injured or crippled, dregs would be an apt description for this group.

    Ketta the one of charge was the only one with a focused and animated gaze.

    "Fantastic I''ve got the perfect ce lined up." Ketta stared at Frost like he was a prizedmodity, a delicate feast which she needed to devour. He couldn''t help but tremble while under her gaze.

    "He''s aplete noob so exin how things work first then put him straight to work." Flora didn''t waste much time in handing over the liability.

    "Tch fine Yo pretty boy perk up your ears because I''m only gonna say this once."

    "It''s Frost ma''am."

    "Don''t care." Ketta raised her chin and fished out some wax from her ear, she really didn''t give two shits. Clearly his treatment in the magic corps was going to be a lot different from the Vanguard.

    "Listen up you''re here in the battery toon to offer up your valuable mana which you''re incapable of using effectively on your own. Whether that''s because you''re young and haven''t had enough training like the brats sitting over there." She rudely gestured towards a group of young recruits lying t on their backs as they desperately tried to recover their mana.

    "Or you''re too old to efficiently control magic crests or if you''re seriously wounded to the point that you''d be a liability on the frontlines I don''t care. The only thing that''s important to me is the level of your mana reserves and how quickly you can regenerate it."

    Frost''s knowledge of 4th circle spells and talent with ice magic were unimportant, in Ketta''s eyes he was nothing more than a living mana battery, albeit a handsome one but a battery nheless.

    Frost had to fight the urge tosh out and teach this woman some manners but there was truth to her words, and this was not his territory but the domain of the War Ursa Battalion. He wanted to learn and appreciate their methods, so he had no choice but to do as ordered.

    He reluctantly nodded his head showing that he knew and understood his current position which earned him a slight smile from the toon leader Ketta.

    "Alright newbie you''re job for now is to act as a mana battery for team Gamma." Ketta pointed towards arge runic crest ced on the floor with the words Gamma at the forefront. "Sit in the runic circle and cycle your mana and for the love of the Dark God DON''T REJECT THE PULL!"

    Frost did as ordered and sat in the centre of the runic circle alongside several other toon members.

    The moment he sat down in the circle he could feel that the ambient mana surrounding him had grown in volume and had be much easier to absorb and manipte.

    The keyy in both the runic circle and the high quality mana gathering artifacts by the wayside. This whole area was a veritable mana producing factory.

    "Since you can''t take part in the primary or secondary roles of our war magic you''ll have to be a tertiary resource. Though the efficiency isn''t that great you can provide an extra boost of mana despite knowing nothing about the spells, making you slightly better than useless hahahahaha." Ketta continued to exin before erupting in a fit ofughter.

    "Let''s see how much stamina my new battery has." With a flick of her finger she activated the runic circle connecting Frost and the others who sat in the formation to the Gamma team.

    "Urgh!" Grunts and groans quickly escaped the lips of those seated as their mana was forcibly pulled from their bodies and transferred to the Gamma team who were preparing a 4th circle war magic.

    "Hmm." Frost with his vast reserves and impressive control felt this pull and like Ketta stressed he didn''t resist it. The sensation was weird perhaps even a little tingly, but he wasn''t groaning like those sitting beside him. In fact his first thought was that such forceful absorption would make for great training.

    With his mind shifting to the idea of bing stronger he stopped being passive. Instead of allowing this formation to take his mana he generously offered and even pushed it out himself.

    His actions caused a reaction in the runic circle, the markings glowed a brighter hue of blue and the invisible threads connecting it to the Gamma team became visible.

    On the opposite side of the formation the Gamma team felt that the amount of mana being provided suddenly multiplied and in response their spell formed far quicker than expected and utlised far less of their own energy to do so, the entire team was delighted.

    ''Must be a new high ranking battery or perhaps even several. Hmph I knew it Ketta definitely has feelings for me if she''s assigning such worthwhile goods to my team.'' The Gamma team leader an average looking wolf beastman couldn''t help but conjure such thoughts in his head.

    Back at the battery toon, however.

    "God damn kid that''s a lot of mana and this regeneration is off the charts hahahaha I owe the General a drink for sending me such a fine specimen hahahahaha. Keep going kid don''t stop pumping, show me how much stamina a youngd like you has." Ketta was ted and strongly urged Frost to keep running at full speed in a somewhat suggestive manner.

    Frost wasn''t the first battery to strut his stuff in such a way, most high quality newbies did so but eventually they''d hit a wall and have to stop. The key was finding out their limit as soon as possible thus allowing her to better gauge how to assign them. Stay tuned with empire

    Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for her Frost showed no signs of slowing down even after a full 15 minutes of proactively sending out his mana. Even a couple young kids who''d been acting passive the entire time were threatening to buckle under the hunger. Frost appeared bottomless to them, a monster.

    "His mana reserves are already equal to the peak of B-rank yet he''s still going strong¡­.General what kind of monster did you find." Ketta''s gaze that was usually filled with disregard and perhaps even a slight amount of scorn was now staring at Frost with interest, she wanted to know his depths.

    After another 15 minutes Frost was starting to feel the burn, his output noticeably decreased but even, then his face was still full of colour.

    "Kid what was your name again." Keta asked with a much friendlier tone than earlier.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Hu hu Frost ma''am."

    "Frost eh, I''ll remember it." Ketta nodded her head and smiled, taking a mental note.

    "You can get up now the Gamma team''s received more than their fair share of mana."

    "Don''t I have to go until I''m bone dry." Frost nced at the exhausted husks thaty on the floor beside him and at the one who had to be pulled out earlier.

    "Normally yes but you''re an exception."

    ''Damn bastard can still talk smoothly and even has enough strength left to care about others.'' Ketta felt like she was dealing with someone at the A-rank, a person with near bottomless mana thanks to both their massive reserves and obscene regeneration.

    Thanks to both the runic circle and the high quality mana generators Frost''s recovery was inching close to what it was like back in his Dungeon thus making him the ideal battery.

    "Alright, where do you want me next ma''am?"

 Chapter 727 Living mana battery (2)

    "Alright, where do you want me next ma''am?" Frost mbered up from the runic circle, dusted himself off and asked with an obsessive glint in his eyes. He found the forceful absorption of his mana to be quite a thrilling exercise. The effect was simr to him casting spell after spell, but the feeling was a little different, novel even.

    ''Tsk cocky little brat.'' Ketta internally clicked her tongue, but a wide smile adorned her lips, she loved high quality goods. The battery corps was always in need of worthy vic..volunteers after all.

    The older woman thought to herself for a few seconds beforending her gaze upon one of the most draining things under her care. When she turned back to Frost her expression was full of malice and eager excitement.

    "Since you''ve got mana as high as the sky we''ll have to assign you to something a little more extreme Miles! Hook our new friend here up to our biggest B-rank mana cannon." Ketta summoned one of her close subordinates stationed near the high ranking mana cannons.

    Miles a middle-aged man with me-like scars around his eyes turned in their direction. He let out a small sigh upon seeing Frost before following Ketta''s orders.

    "This way pup and word of warning the drain from these babies are at the very least triple what the Gamma team''s capable of outputting, prepare yourself."

    "Got it thanks for the warning." Frost felt tested at every turn, like amodity being forced to disy all his talents for his observers enjoyment. Not a very nice feeling but it did stoke a fire within him.

    Miles deposited Frost next to one of the B-rank mana cannons one of the most powerful war machines the War Ursa Battalion had ess to. To the left of the cannon was a pool of half liquid mana and half high quality crystals while on the right was Frost and another two individuals serving as living batteries.

    "Hoh you must be quite a vigorous kid if Ketta''s assigned you to our team." One of the other batteries, an ancient woman easily in her 80s lightly spoke.

    "Hmm." The other person a taciturn man, simr in age to the woman merely grunted in greeting.

    Frost seemed to be the youngest assigned to the high ranking cannons by a long margin.

    "Hands out kid." Miles bellowed before attaching a set of strange gauntlets to Frost''s hands. A thick cable physically connected these gauntlets to the cannon to provide a more efficient transfer of energy. They also had the nasty feature of locking the battery in ce, preventing escape.

    "Take a deep breath and¡­..now." Miles locked the connection, inputted a few things into the nearby device and a couple secondster Frost felt a suction so extreme that he unconsciously stumbled forward.

    ''W¡­What the hell!'' His mind was in chaos as his body reacted rather aggressively in response to the rampant devouring. Instinctively he tried to slow the devouring force but the second he did that he felt an overwhelming pressure across his entire body, and he remembered the warning Ketta gave earlier, he was not to resist.

    "Urgh!" He loudly groaned as he felt a searing pain throughout his mana veins and even muscles as they unconsciously spasmed in response.

    If supplying mana to the gamma team was the kiddie pool then this was the straight up ocean. Not only did he need to know how to stay afloat he needed to brace himself against sudden currents, waves and even dips in temperature. A whole different kind of beast that was putting a real strain on his body.

    As sweat trickled down his forehead he turned to gaze at the old man and woman who were seated beside him. They were under the same kind of influence, yet they didn''t look even the slightest bit perturbed.

    About 60 secondster the aggressive devouring came to a sudden stop, the old man and woman took this chance to instantly rx their bodies and take in some much need air. The woman even flicked her wrist resulting in a nearby battery corps member to hand her a mana potion.

    Find adventures at empire

    Unfortunately Frost was too out of it to notice this shift. The absence of pain only allowed him to regain focus for a moment before.

    Booom!!! The cannon they were supplying fired off a massive shot, careening deep into enemy lines, killing dozens and even injuring an officer.

    In the next moment however the cycle restarted, and Frost was once again plunged into the depth of a starving ocean. He was wracked with pain and couldn''t think clearly but strangely enough there was a smile on his lips. He could sense it; such violent training was perfect for someone like him who was gifted with a near perfect vessel for a physical body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While others would feel strain from a simple workout he''d have to go above and beyond to feel a true sense of burn and desperation.

    Ketta may have wished to humble the young upstart, show him the true height of the world but instead she lit a fire under a training maniac''s feet.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Over the next forty minutes the massive B-rank cannon that Frost was linked to would asionally fire off its shots into the enemy ranks, granting him and the two oldies no more than 30 seconds of rest before each charging. For the first five shots Frost waspletely overwhelmed, his head aplete mess as he barely endured the terrifying devouring of his mana but after requesting a mana potion and using the brief rest time to rx and breathe he slowly grew ustomed to the ebb and flow.

    ''Pull, pull, twist, wave, cold, hot, release.'' The suction of mana wasn''t a constant stream but everchanging, a method that felt quite debilitating at first but after suffering a few cycles Frost found that such changes kept him awake and even allowed for certain areas of his mana veins to recuperate during the charging phase.

    After the tenth shot he was able to keep his eyes open and even take in some of the spectacr sight that was the B-rank mana cannon. He could see the war machine greedily devour both the mana from himself and the other batteries as well as the pool of high quality magic crystals. The vibrant slurry of mixed mana was churned and blended into a beautiful and dense purple liquid. This concoction was of such high quality that it radiated power even when inert.

    After the fifteenth shot Frost could briefly enjoy seeing the purple liquid transform into a giant zing sphere and devastate the enemy lines before the Northern wall and it wasn''t the only one. Five of such monstrosities were currently in operation along with dozens of C-rank cannons and over a hundred D-rank ones which were on a constant unending salvo.

    By the time forty minutes were up and he could feel that his body reached its true limit Frost could even hear and understand the orders of General Jessica. She''d always order for the cannon to target the most vulnerable areas and even utilise organised salvos. Just once he was able to momentarily see a bright sh of light and the next second hear a thunderous boom as all five B-rank cannons, several C-ranks and even tens of D-rank cannons shot forth at the same time,unching out a formation of mana spheres over a targeted area.

    Ear piercing screams barelysted a single second before a massive star shape was carved into the snow and soil beneath the enemy soldiers.

    Those with a prime view were able to see thousands of enemy monsters instantly turned to ash along with 3 high ranking officers who had underestimated the devastation of the cannons. The salvo even forced the enemy general to make a move allowing both Jared and Danielle a moment''s reprieve and an opportunity tond a serious blow.

    s General Vash was quick to respond, as though expecting such a move he had already ordered another General to move into ce while several high ranking B-rank officers moved to prevent disarray where the cannons targeted. Confusion and chaossted a mere 40 seconds before order was restored and the frontline was back into full swing.

    "Alright shift''s over¡­.kid you''ve earned some much deserved R&R, I''ll tell the General of your efforts." Ketta truly couldn''t keep a straight expression before Frost, she wanted to bind him to their magic corps as much as Jessica now. As long as he joined he''d be hers until he picked up their war magic, a battery of the highest quality was always needed.

    "My time''s over already?" Though extremely exhausted he felt that his experience with the magic corps was far shorter and far less impactful at the individual level than the Vanguard team.

    "Yes it is kid, anymore and even someone with your abilities will suffer permanent damage." Ketta shook her head with clear reluctance, but that was the current situation.

    While Frost was pumping out his mana she had done a little digging into him and also received the asional visit from Flora asking about his situation. Cleary the General despite not being able to move personally was rather interested in Frost''s capabilities. She was also informed about his still uing duties with the cavalry corps, meaning she couldn''t wreck himpletely.

    He would be given a health potion, a mana potion, an energising potion as well as an hour''s rest before being sent back into the direct fight. A harsh but certainly productive schedule.

    Frost could only me himself for being so useful and limited on time.

 Chapter 728 6th circle magic

    Frost who had his current status confirmed sunk to the floor, his back t out as he panted desperately for air. His whole body was well and truly drained, there wasn''t a single part of him that wasn''t throbbing and in searing pain.

    Only when Ketta confirmed the end of his shift did his body truly rx from its tense state.

    "Hu hu hu hu!" Withboured breathing he struggled to even move a single inch, the pain and itchy difort building without end.

    "Oh I was certain he''d instantly pass out, nerves of steel this one has." The old woman who was working as a cannon battery alongside Frost couldn''t help but lightly chuckle through her own pain and difort.

    "Impressive, bottomless potential." The man who was also part of the battery team uttered a mere three words but just that alone caused those nearby to open their eyes wide in surprise. The old man was not much for talking and even less for giving outpliments. Many could go through whole career without hearing him mutter a single positive syble yet here Frost who wasn''t even part of their military forces received three full words.

    "Genera¡­." Ketta fuelled by memory and nostalgia was about to say the man''s rank but was stopped just before.

    "Enough of that little Ketta, you know more than most that we''re no longer worthy of such titles¡­.we''re old retirees¡­ nothing more." The olddy interrupted with a forced smile.

    She and the old man who were now relegated to working as mere batteries in their free time and during emergency summons were once vaunted Generals of the War Ursa Battalion. Soldiers from a generation senior to even General Katrina and General Jessica.

    s, time waits for no one, especially for those who fail to ascend and escape the chains of mortality.

    The body eventually ages and passes far beyond its peak condition. Those who fight mercilessly on the frontlines, relying on their physical strength to do battle see this decline first. Mages and healers tend to have the longest battle life but even they cannot escape the cycle of life.

    While fighters see their muscles dwindle, their bones weaken, and their joints lose their flexibility Mages have their mana veins corrode and their connection to both internal and external mana bes chaotic, difficult to control and harness.

    A mage who has lost integrity through their mana veins and struggles to control mana can''t function as a mage on the battlefield anymore as they would pose a significant threat to nearby allies. A weakened fighter can still garner bursts of strength and perhaps rely on experience to dance around with a weaker enemy, but a mage can have their circles literally explode and cause catastrophic damage to their surroundings.

    The old man who rarely spoke was once referred to as General Mason, a member of the twin tailed wolf beastman tribe and a former A-rank frontline fighter. He was a pugilist who relied upon his strong arms, natural ws and abundant chakra to sh against enemy forces many years ago. Now however his once powerful body had shrunk by over 30% and his once vibrant ck fur was now grey and patchy. He no longer had the energy to fight in a protracted war and even if he managed to summon what little remained of his life force for onest sh he''d struggle to evenpete with someone at the upper B-rank. Even Frost would have a chance to take him down as long as he yed a war of attrition.

    The old woman was in a simr state, a former General who had fought side by side with Mason for decades before eventually sumbing to her age.

    They used to love their titles; it filled them with pride and made them feel respected but now even just a single mention felt like a dagger to the heart. The pain of what they had lost was sometimes too much to bear.

    The only reason they even enlisted in the battery toon was because they wanted to feel even the slightest bit needed when Icethorne was in danger. They could summon and control their own mana reserves but having it forcibly sucked out was perfectly fine, they just had to suffer some pain and difort.

    Seeing the evident pain sh across the former Generals'' eyes Ketta bit her tongue and instead bowed her head with respect as did the nearby officers who knew of their past.

    Frost unfortunately was too out of it to register what happened, he was still in the dark in regards to his temporaryrades former identities.

    Soon, after some of the spasms had ended Frost was handed three mid-level potions, one health potion, one mana potion and one energising potion all of which were of high quality.

    And just when he was downing thest of the potions Flora who had guided him here earlier appeared with jump in her step.

    "The General wants Frost toe immediately." She immediately spoke to Ketta, the leader of the battery toon.

    "Take him, he''s done his duty and then some." Ketta waved her hands releasing Frost from her custody. She''d be lying if she said she wasn''t reluctant, but she knew that Frost wasn''t someone she could keep trapped here, as a mere battery.

    "Sir Frost this way please." Flora spoke with a greater degree of respect this time around, willing to give him some level of special treatment.

    Since she was in charge of rying information between the magic corps'' leaders and their General she had heard and even seen his prowess during her brief visits. Add that onto the special interest that General Jessica had in him she felt he was more than just someone with high potential but someone that deserved her respect.

    Frost quite enjoyed the friendly treatment, but he didn''t let that get to his head.

    He first finished his potions then stood up rather shakily before performing a military salute to Ketta and those that he''d work alongside. He thanked them for the opportunity to learn how the battery toon operated before leaving with Flora.

    "Haaaaa polite, modest, friendly alongside unrivalled talent¡­.I hope the War Marshall knows what he''s doing with that kid." Said the old woman who was once known as General Neith.

    "It''s no longer our ce." Replied retired General Mason before closing his eyes and returning to his silence.

    "Miss Flora I thought I was supposed to rest for the next hour?" Asked Frost as Flora led him back to General Jessica.

    "That''s true but the General wants to grant you a gift before that as a reward for you diligent efforts." Flora could barely hold back the smile on her lips, drawing Frost''s curiosity but she refused to borate.

    Eventually Frost once again found himself before General Jessica. Just like earlier she was portraying the seriousness of a General rather than a sex starved subus but at least she wasn''t ignoring him.

    "Flora tells me that you performed splendidly under Ketta, sessfully powering a B-rank cannon alongside my seniors Mason and Neith."

    "Ah was that their names, I didn''t get much of a chance for chit chat hehehe." Frost felt a little guilty, he was sitting right next to them for the better part of an hour, yet he barely even remembered their faces let alone knew their names.

    "I suppose you didn''t¡­.shame." There was a brief sh of guilt and perhaps pity in Jessica''s eyes as she mentioned the names of her seniors, but she quickly returned to her task at hand.

    "Anyway I called you over to show you something rather spectacr." A wild or rather maddened expression grew upon her beautiful features and her powerful aura started to naturally permeate the surrounding in response to her heightened emotions.

    "Tell me Frost have you ever seen a 6th circle spell? What about a 6th circle war spell?" Jessica''s aura continued to build, and waves of visible dense mana started to flow around her and even into her body. The General was suddenly connected with over half the living batteries.

    Her question stymied Frost, his initial response being a t no but then he got chills. Goosebumps formed across his arms and his lips started to arch ever upwards as he tried to imagine what Jessica was alluding to.

    He''d never even seen someone use a 5th circle spell let alone a 6th circle spell that was on mana steroids. The devastation of such magic was beyond hisprehension, but he wanted no, he needed to see it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His magic was always slightlygging whenpared to his weapon mastery and chakra control but his talent and potential in the area wasn''t any weaker, he justcked the experience. Your next read awaits at empire

    Maya was a lot of things, but magic was not necessarily one of her strong points. She could cast high level magic of course, perhaps equal to or even greater than Jessica but she very, very rarely used it. Spells just weren''t really a part of her fighting style thus his training in said area wasckingpared to the rest. Finally however he was going to be able to witness the veritable peak of the sapient''s magic world. There were so few mentions of S-rank sapients that Jessica was truly one of the frontliners, at least within the Northrend empire.

    A 6th circle spell cast in the form of war magic. General Jessica being the primary caster, several B-rank mages as the secondary casters and dozens of high ranking batteries as the tertiary suppliers. Such power could even no, would eclipse the firing of Big Bertha, the A-rank mana cannon.

 Chapter 729 6th circle magic (2)

    As the gears of Frost''s imagination began to turn General Jessica was connected to multiple living mana batteries from the battery toon as well as half a dozen B-rank mages from the magic corps, one of which was Flora the one who had guided him here.

    The ambient mana in the surroundings became so thick that the very air felt dense, rivalling that of a liquid. And in the centre of thising storm was General Jessica. A woman who stood at the supposed peak of the Sapient magic world.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With an elegant set of purple robes lined with high quality crystals and a two handed staff that was exquisitely carved from a 5 star tree famously known for its mana conductivity Jesscia took a solid stance, fortifying her position.

    Her visage that was previously strained and serious gradually softened bing enchantingly ethereal as she connected with her soul, easily entering a prime state of focus.

    Her bountiful aura that escaped alongside her mana coalesced around her, solidifying into what looked like a giant high quality mana crystal above her head. Her own mana as well as the mana being supplied to her became denser and far less mboyant as it passed through it.

    The skin covering Frost broke into goosebumps and his lips instinctively turned upwards as excitement filled his heart. He could feel the extent of what was about to happen, magic at a level far removed from his current state, a process that would see thousands perhaps even tens of thousands of soldiers perish¡­the stench of blood and power caused his heart to thumb so loud that he could perfectly hear every beat.

    General Jessica silently prepared herself for a full minute before ncing towards the centre of the Northen wall where General Katrina was stoically standing with crossed arms.

    Feeling Jessica''s gaze Katrina smiled with a violent glint before nodding her head and dragging her thumb across her neck.

    General Jessica''s serene and calm expression shattered in that instant. An evil, obsessive smile grew on her face as a feeling of madness overwhelmed her.

    "Watch closely young Frost¡­I''ll carve into your eyes the beauty of magic and its endless possibilities." With her true nature unleashed General Jessica began chanting a very long aria alongside the six B-rank mages.

    Every word no, every syble evoked a powerful reaction, drastically consuming the vast quantities of collected mana to establish a part of the most intricate and massive magic crest (that he could somewhat understand) Frost had everid eyes on.

    There was a significant change in the atmosphere, both tangible and not. The sky above was quickly covered with a massive red magic crest that stretched for several hundred metres while the ground and nearby objects started to tremble.

    Down on the ground the Vanguard team had already been given fair warning by themand centre as did Generals Jared and Danielle who had been restricting the enemy Generals. Thus even before the changes in the surroundings began they had retreated to a certain point. An action that hadn''t gone unnoticed by General Vash but the why still eluded him at least until he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

    Feeling a sudden wave of dread his senses screened the battlefield before narrowing atop the Northern wall. There was however someone even faster than him.

    "Fuck! General it''s the Mana Subus she''s casting something insane!" A highly respected mage General from the Jabrak Kingdom roared in desperation. He too was someone who delved into the depths of magic, a powerful A-rank mage but the waves of mana being consumed right now were far beyond what he was capable of even on his best day. Even their Kingdom''s most eminent mage wasn''t capable of something like this.

    That meant one thing, the War Ursa Battalion''s strongest mage, the Mana Subus General Jessica Tunray was making a move personally.

    rm bells went off in Vash''s skull, just the words Mana Subus made him tremble. His first and natural instinct was to run for the hills but unfortunately that wasn''t possible.

    Time was short, he needed toe up with a decent n otherwise the losses would be catastrophic. Unfortunately other than himself and one other all the Generals present on their side were in the early stages of A-rank, a stark contrast to Jessica who was at the very peak of thete stages or perhaps even higher.

    A big yer was making a move so early on, a move that their Vanguard was poorly equipped to manage.

    Hundreds of thoughts were processed in Vash''s mind in less than a second each one however only made his current grave expression worsen.

    "FUCK!!! READY THE CANNONS FOR A DEFENSIVE BARRAGE, ALL MAGIC USERS CONJURE AS MANY SHIELDS AS POSSIBLE!!" Vash bellowed at the top of his lungs and animatedly waved his hands and arms to stress the seriousness of the situation.

    "All Generals to me we have to use our aura to block as much of whatever''sing otherwise the losses will be unimaginable." The only solution Vash had was to throw numbers at the problem, efficiency be damned.

    "Grrrr yes General." Unable to deny the dread and pressure inflicted upon them by the presence of the Mana Subus the 7 A-rank Generals of the Alliance''s Vanguard followed Vash''s order with nary a single argument. Likemon foot soldiers the male and female monsters stood as one with Vash in the centre.

    While the massive red magic crest finalised its form hundreds of low rank magic shields were conjured above the masses of the alliance. The element and circle did not matter, as long as one could utilise magic to some degree a rudimentary shield was formed in whatever space remained.

    Mana cannons and war machines prepared by the alliance for their siege were redirected to point straight up. Their arrows, bolts or mana chambers filled to the brim as they awaited theirmander''s orders to fire.

    Frontline fighters who were unable to manipte mana were powerless in regards to what wasing. The best they could do was raise their shields overhead or cover their bodies in simple chakra armour hoping that the residual st would be too weak to kill them after breaking through the main defences. There wasn''t a single monster in the entire army that was confident in being able to block a blow from the infamous Mana Subus and her magic corps.

    Even Vash who had several A-rank Generals standing by his side was calcting the extent of their losses rather than how they''d manage to break theing spell.

    Back on top of the Northern wall Jessica was uttering thest words of the her 6th circle war magic.

    "[Greater Meteor Fall]" With the final three words spoken the massive magic crest covering the sky wasplete. A silencing hum reverberated throughout the air in response and a momentter the red coloured crest shone brighter than the sun.

    Don don don.

    The sound of bodies falling against a hard surface echoed around Frost. The B-rank mages and all the living mana batteries instantly copsed, their expressions marred by ack of blood and energy. Nearby soldiers quickly ran to their sides to support them in their time of need.

    Frost who witnessed this instantly locked his gaze upon General Jessica, if the secondary and tertiary controllers were this drained then what of the main caster.

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    "Cough!" The master caster, General Jessica had fallen to a half kneeling position, relying on her staff to hold her upright. Her hands were trembling, and her body seemed to visibly age at an extreme rate. So much focus and internal mana was summoned that the magic used to protect her youth was disturbed. She really put all she had into the spell, [Greater meteor fall].

    "Frost you''re looking in the wrong direction." Despite her exhaustion Jessica still found enough energy to berate Frost and quickly cover up the rapidly showing signs of aging.

    ''She seems fine.'' Relieved by her reaction Frost turned his head to see just what the War Ursa Battalion''s magic corps had summoned.

    It didn''t take long, perhaps a few seconds from when Jessica spoke the final words of the aria for the magic crest to activate. It shone with an almost blinding light as it transformed the rued mana into shape.

    And just a Frost turned his gaze back to the centre of the spell a darkness, an overreaching shadow blotted out the sky. A mass of immense magnitude crossed through the crest, stretching the already massive radius as it passed.

    "What the hell!" He instinctively took a step back as a chill ran down his spine.

    From the magic crest a giant boulder of some kind covered in fire andva burst forth with a powerful vengeance. A meteor over two hundred metres across was crashing down upon the alliance''s forces. The size and weight of the meteor was so immense that those underneath felt a weight press down upon them as it loomed.

    Any hope they had in their hearts was immediately crushed as every nerve in their body screamed for them to run.

    This was no longer the work of magic but the fury of nature, what could mere mortals due in the face of such devastation.

 Chapter 730 6th circle magic (3)

    "SHIT! ALL GENERALS USE YOUR AURA, WAR MACHINES FIRE AT WILL!!" Vash whose face was cker than night bellowed orders as he scrambled to keep even the slightest semnce of calm.

    ''What the fuck have you managed to cast?'' He internally questioned which one of them was the true monster.

    [Meteor fall] was normally a 6th circle spell that summoned arge meteor usually no more than several tens of metres in diameter with several smaller ones following alongside. Just that alone given their immense weight, frightening momentum, tough exterior and red hot surface was enough to devastate swaths of enemies or demolish imprable walls. The force of that spell alone usually exceeded several shots from an A-rank mana cannon such as Big Bertha, yet that deranged Mana Subus turned it into war magic.

    With the amplified mana she managed to summon something farrger than normal, a meteor spanning over 200 metres and made of even tougher materials.

    General Vash and the other Alliance Generals felt a cold sweat cover their bodies as they summoned everyst ounce of aura they had to generaterge shields above them and their subordinates.

    Large explosions followed his order as mana cannons and war machinesunched their ammunition at the elerating meteor, aiming to reduce its size and building momentum¡­.a foolish notion.

    "All soldiers brace for impact, activate the walls shielding." General Katrina gave off hermands with a twitching upper lip, not expecting Jessica to summon something thatrge.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Though thending point was to be deep within enemy lines the sheer size of the meteor would unfortunately result in severe aftershocks across the surrounding 10 maybe even 20 kilometres.

    If they did not make their own preparations the northern wall could be damaged and their own soldiers affected, let alone the fragile city thaty behind them.

    Katrina couldn''t help but re at the slumped over Jessica, silently admonishing her desire to show off to Frost.

    Of course what she got in response from her friend was a puffed up hmph filled with pride and arrogance. General Jessica who put all she had into that spell was assured of her victory.

    ''No mage can resist after seeing such glorious majesty.'' She was confident in the allure of magic; certain that Frost would be unable to extricate himself from the ck hole that was magic. He would be a starved animal and in his eyes she would be a generous giver of alms, an angel who would wrap him up in her warm embrace.

    Oh she couldn''t wait to have him step into her domain. A pink blush formed along her cheeks as her lewd imagination took over.

    Thankfully Frost''s gaze was locked onto the falling meteor, so he didn''t see the depraved expression on Jessica''s face¡­.her subordinates did, however.

    ''She really never changes.'' Pretty much each and everyone of her close confidants sighed and shook their heads.

    As the brief moments before the meteor hit its mark passed there was an almost eery silence just before contact, a silence that seemed to drag on forever, a brief moment that represented so many lives about to be snuffed out.

    BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!

    A truly earth shattering collision erupted over a kilometre north of the mighty wall, dead set in the centre of the Alliance''s forces.

    The first line of defence, the hundreds no thousands of magic shields amounting to over a dozenyers shattered like fragile ss. Along with the rapid fire from the war machines they barely managed to scrape off a few kes of the giant asteroid. But that was never the true hope.

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    Boooooommmmm!!!!

    There was a second concussive boom as the meteor crashed into the nket of dense aura generated by Vash and the other Generals.

    "Psh!" 4 generals coughed up blood and fell to their knees while the remaining 3 turned pale and struggled to breathe. The impact was too much, the weight of the meteor equivalent to a massive mountain thanks to its elemental make-up.

    Just from the initial impact the aura nket was covered in deep fissures that rapidly worsened thanks to great weight it had to support and the raging magma and mes that melted it away.

    At least however its descent was slowed slightly, enough for them tounch a counterattack or two.

    "B-rank Mages fire at will, archers and any one with long range capabilities destroy that rock!" Vash shouted through a bloody mouth knowing that theirbined aura nket could at most dy its descent not stop it.

    Several precious momentster what was predicted came to pass. The aura nketpletely shattered, and the massive meteor continued its looming descent, threatening to crush all who dwelled beneath.

    That brief pause however allowed the long range units among the Alliance to chant full arias and even ready their most devasting skills.

    A varied flurry of magic assaulted the meteor, king offrge shards and cracking its sturdy shell but unfortunately it just wasn''t enough.

    Boooooommmmm!!!!

    A third explosive boom was heard and this time it was followed by a mighty shake of the earth. Soil and ice fractured all around as arge sonic boom mmed into the shielded northern wall.

    Every member of the War Ursa Battalion grabbed hold of whatever was nearby as the wall groaned and flexed. Fissures opened up underneath the feet of the soldiers, devouring a few who were unlucky. The northern wall itself generated a few minor cracks but not much else, overall it suffered very little damage.

    Behind the wall however several buildings caved in from the vibrations, barracks were torn apart, smithies destroyed and even a few civilian residences and shops further back were damaged but luckily no one was seriously hurt.

    Katrina who received immediate reports about the situation had red hot mes in her eyes as she red at Jessica who this time avoided her gaze, knowing that she did in fact go a little overboard.

    The environmental damage was so impactful near the Northern wall that the devastation at the epicentre could be easily imagined.

    At the point of the meteor''s impact.

    Absolute carnage, was the best way to put it.

    The meteor crushed and exploded tens of thousands of monsters and literally shattered the surroundingnd to the point that thendscape was unrecognisable.

    The stench of fire, blood and seared flesh was so strong that even those with the most iron of stomachs wretched.

    "¡­.Lucra what are our losses?" Vash the mighty A-rank drake who''s scales rivalled that of the highest quality duram alloy was sitting atop an ice chair with an absent look in his eyes. Blood dripped down his left arm and bruising covered 3 of his ribs. When the meteor fell he was knocked flying by a massive chunk, he only survived because of his innate durability.

    "¡­.It''s devasting General." Lucra who had luckily escaped with only minor injuries was ced in charge of gauging the damage, a task that filled his heart with grief.

    "Among themon soldiers alone we''ve lost almost 35,000, low ranking officers, 3000, mid ranking officers 180 and high ranking officers¡­..22."

    "22!" Vash flinched at thest number. Common soldiers were a dime a dozen as were low ranking officers. Mid-level officers were umon and not as easy to rece but the high quality officers were all B-rank, their army''s true bread and butter.

    "¡­.Sir we also lost General Mabak while Duso was severally injured, he can''t fight anymore."

    "...." Vash was stunned silent, not only did they lose 22 high ranking officers but a General even died while another could no longer take part in the war. Just a single move from the Mana Subus and her magic corps was enough to severally wound their entire Vanguard force¡­.for a few moments he even wondered if there was any point in sending a vanguard team. Were they not simply sent to their deaths.

    The deaths alone inched close to 40,000 but the amount of wounded both severe and minor was much higher¡­.the Alliance''s vanguard had been dealt a severe blow.

    "¡­Sir?" Lucra meekly asked, desperate for a direction. He himself was an A-rank General, someone greatly respected, someone who led droves of subordinates but at this moment he was trembling in his boots, unsure on how to proceed, the loss was just too much too bear.

    "¡­.Have our forces fall back to the third¡­no fourth defence line. Those who are severely injured move them to the rear and save as many as you can. If there''s no officer avable in one toon promote the next in line and if the aggregate strength is less than 20%bine them with another. We must regroup, rebuild our morale and wait for the dust to settle¡­.the War Ursa Battalion aren''t likely to attack us immediately so we must use this time effectively." Tossing his emotion to one side Vash calmly gave out orders¡­.he refused to give up after all they''d been through, death and even annihtion would not stop them from aplishing their mission.

    "By your o...order¡­General." Lucra wasn''t capable of being so calm, so he stuttered his words before absentmindedly moving to ry Vash''s orders. His spirit was almostpletely broken.

    "...Haaaaaaa well yed War Ursas well yed." Vash sighed before harshly grinding his teeth together out of wrath.

 Chapter 731 6th circle magic (4)

    "Jessica you addle brained bimbo just look at the damage you''ve caused!"

    While Vash and the alliance members tabted their unbelievable losses and retreated from the frontlines General Katrina stormed over to where General Jessica was stationed.

    Her every step caused the northern wall to tremble and her loud booming voice forced weaker soldiers to cover their ears.

    Jessica however waspletely unaffected by her colleague''s tirade. She gave Katrina some side eye as she loomed over her with her intimidating physique before clenching her jaw and responding in an even more aggressive manner.

    "Oh piss off Kat! So what if a few buildings crumbled or the wall got another crack or two. Newssh you old biddy it''s already riddled with them. A minor shake or two isn''t enough to bring it down so calm the hell down. You should be praising me for what I did not admonishing¡­how many enemy soldiers died because of my and my team''s magic huh? We even managed to kill a General." The more Jessica spoke the bolder she became and by the end of her loud retort their noses were practically touching, Jessica wasn''t cowed in the slightest.

    General Jared and General Danielle the newbies among the A-ranks could only shake their heads in disappointment. Under normal conditions both Jessica and Katrina were prim and proper the ideal role models for military excellence and protocols. Only when they were together did things end up like this.

    No matter how old and respected the two woman became the moment they had even the slightest disagreement they''d instantly regress to their youthful years. Even Duke Runak was sometimes unable to stop them from going at it.

    Thankfully everyone else had gotten used to such situations so they didn''t miss a beat. The officers from themand centre quickly managed the battlefield as per Katrina''s orders before she left while those under Jessica saw to their exhausted colleagues and took measure of any damage to the mana amplifiers and connecting runes.

    Frost was left alone in a stunned state for a time unknown to him. The power and devastation disyed before him was far removed from anything he''d ever seen before during his time on Nova. Though the disy performed by his father and the top ranked guardians was of a much higher level it was way beyond hisprehension; this however was truly enlightening.

    The amount of mana, the size of the crest and the details of said crest was momentous but not beyond his scope of understanding. Though he was still quite far from being able to do something of that magnitude himself Frost firmly believed that it was within reach. As long as he steadily improved, grew and tested his limits again and again he''d be able stand equal to Jessica perhaps even higher.

    Maya however well that was still up in the air, just because he was born with a blessed body, strong and full of talent it didn''t mean his ascension was guaranteed.

    A-rank was the generally epted limit of power for most, S-rank required good genes, dedication and a hell of a lot of luck and even then how far one could travel down the long path of S-rank was also a factor. The strength difference between someone at the beginning and the end was equivalent to the difference between someone at the C-rank and the A-rank, a divide that could not be breached by external factors and unrivalled talent.

    Maya and the other guardians were all golden children blessed with the best foundations and environments possible, yet they were still merely in the early stages of S-rank. A striking achievement, one which Frost may very well achieve himself but not without time.

    "Sir Frost? Sir Frost?" While Frost was lost in the experience, memorising the feeling and magnitude of Jessica''s 6th circle war magic an officer from themand centre tapped his shoulder and called out to him, bringing him out of his dazed state.

    "Sorry?" Frost blinked rapidly a few times before graduallying back to reality.

    "It''s quite alright Sir Frost your current reaction is to be expected however I need to escort you to the barracks."

    "Huh?"

    "General Katrina still wishes for you to lend your services to the cavalry corps, and they want you at your best." This officer was ordered to take Frost for a rest before the next sortie. The potions would have certainly solved most of his physical dependencies but not the mental strain.

    The officer thus rather aggressively guided Frost away from the battle between Katrina and Jessica.

    The two managed to make it halfway down the steps before Jesscia noticed and roared out in protest.

    "Ah Kat your bloody moron! He''s at his most susceptible right now so why are you sending him off, momma needs to work her magic." With a ck eye and scuffed up robes Jesscia screeched in a high pitched voice.

    "Shup up Jess! Act your age for once! He''s off limits!" Katrina had had enough of her friend''s antics. Did she known no shame, trying trick a young prodigy into joining them with such perverted methods.

    Again the two old friends viciously fought, cursing and beating one another as per usual.

    Frost was thus sessfully escorted to the military barracks (one that hadn''t been damaged by the massive meteor). It was a good thing as well because once he got a chance to calm down he realised just how vulnerable he truly was. If Jesscia had had an opportunity to wrap herself around him while he was still enthralled by her magic he would have likely agreed to a great many things just to see something like that again.

    ''Maybe I should introduce her to Void or Chronos.'' The two of them were even more fanatical when it came to magic, plus unlike him they portrayed themselves as middle-aged men, an appearance perhaps better suited to someone of Jesscia''s age.

    He internallyughed at this thought but discarded it a momentter he couldn''t do such a thing to his cute younger brothers.

    "Sir Frost someone from the cavalry corps will arrive in an hour or so to take you to their base of operations, there you''ll be apprised of your mission and will be outfitted with a set of battlements for your personal battle mount." While he was off engaging in the war Kiba was rxing at the embassy, being treated like monster royalty by the stable staff. Frost had allowed this because he had truly given his all during their mad rush to Icethorne, but everything had its limits. Kiba would be joining him on hisst excursion for the War Ursa Battalion.

    The officer from themand centre was just about to leave Frost to rest when he asked, "By the way why aren''t we attacking immediately?" Though he was quite tired wouldn''t now be the best chance to catch the enemy at their weakest point. The meteor disrupted their chain ofmand, decimated toons of their soldiers and even destroyed thendscape.

    "Attacking immediately after General Jessica''s spell would technically be apt but the damage caused to them was too great Sir Frost. If we send our forces in now the enemy Generals may forgo all semnce of war etiquette. Soldier wouldn''t fight against soldier, officer against officer,mander againstmander and General against General but instead it''d be aplete free for all. Our losses in such a situation would be far too great therefore we''ll wait for them to recover a little and cool their jets sort to speak." The officer from themand centre was quite well versed in military strategy and had no problems exining their n to their ally.

    "I see." Frost immediately understood, if the enemy A-rank Generals started killing everything in sight then hundreds perhaps even thousands of regr soldiers from the War Ursa Battalion would be lost in vain. This war was a marathon not a sprint, every single loss had to be strictly calcted if they were to survive this gruelling siege.

    After answering Frost''s question the officer ced his arm across his chest in salute and left Frost alone in the officer''s barracks. Here he''d have his own room and wouldn''t be bothered by the nearby minor noises.

    "Yawn" With the tension and excitement finally leaving his body Frost let out a long yawn, his eyelids started to droop, and he searched for the bed, his mind was truly exhausted.

    With a light thump he crashed onto the bed and drifted off, his mind conjuring up images of war and magic as he peacefully dreamed with a smile on his face. This trip to Icethorne was so rewarding, he regretted noting earlier.

    Your journey continues with empire

    Time slowly passed. The battlefield that showed zero signs of letting up earlier was now practically silent.

    "Take care of the wounded, retrieve our fallen brothers and sisters. Dismantling teams take only the most valuable and needed of the enemy, burn and dispose of the rest." General Katrina ordered, her visage appearing renewed after letting out a few grievances upon Jessica.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Yes General." Multiple officers replied with strong military salutes. Though they had won the battle there were still losses and many injured amongst them. Many soldiers had tears running down their cheeks as they carried their deceasedrades home.

    The War Ursa Battalion did not bury their dead, those fallen in battle would be cremated and their deeds recorded in the battalion''s charter. Brothers and sisters would be turned to ash alongside one another in giant bonfires, only high ranking officers and Generals would be handled on an individual basis.

    The work was dirty and painful, but no oneined, they were honoured to do so. Not a single soldier would be left out in the records while the bodies of the enemy would be put to good use, to ensure the survival of morerades.

 Chapter 732 Crime of the council

    General Katrina Orwell stood at the forefront of the Northern wall overseeing the clearing of the battlefield. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she took stock of the current situation.

    "Tsk!" Upon seeing something in the distance she couldn''t help but loudly click her tongue.

    "How''s it looking Kat?" General Jessica Tunray who still had a ck eye from their earlier spat asked. She stood to Katrina''s left looking no less serious.

    "Bad, even with your extra embellishments Vash shows no sign of retreating. You managed to wipe out a significant fraction of their forces and even deprived them of two generals yet still they persist. Though they''ve retreated back several hundred metres they''re still somewhat united." The more she talked the more furrowed her brow became.

    The fact that Vash and his vanguard forces were not cowed by Jessica''s spell meant that they still had the confidence to crush them in this war. Of course the Vanguard itself was incapable of such an achievement but behind them was the Alliance''s main force¡­.Vash was clearly confident because of them.

    The Vanguard may look strong from the outset given that 8 A-rank generals including Vash were present alongside dozens of B-rank officers andmanders but that was purely on an individual level.

    The million strong army was a coalition of 4 groups, the Jabrak kingdom, the northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals, the horde of ravenous blue ants and pr mantises and finally the tribe of therge horned ice drakes. These four groups supplied a portion of their forces to make the Vanguard.

    Doing so allowed them to build a sufficientlyrge force quickly but at the cost of unity. Since the soldiers are from differing sources they cannot utiliserge scale battle formations or war magic, thus depriving them of a core warfare strategy. Instead of a solid wall they are akin to a loose sandcastle, easily dispersed.

    Jessica''s war magic spell [greater meteor fall] wouldn''t have had nearly as much impact against a united force even if their generals and officers were individually weaker and lesser. Being able tobine their strengths together would have allowed them to destroy far more of the meteor before it crashnded.

    This was why despite them being outnumbered the War Ursa Battalion didn''t take the alliance''s Vanguard all that seriously. Unfortunately they were merely a prelude to a much more dangerous force.

    "Have you noticed it Jess, there''s no sign of the demonic empire." Out of the million strong army Katrina failed to find a single soldier from the demonic empire, the most powerful nation within the inner regions of the cial Mountains.

    "I have¡­.they''re truly going to great lengths to keep us in the dark." The War Ursa Battalion and Icethorne knew practically nothing about the demonic empire except for the fact that it dwelled within the 9thyer and that their military made even the most powerful nations within the inner regions nervous.

    "The unknown is always the most dangerous factor in war¡­..do you feel it Jess?" Katrina pulled back her sleeves to reveal goosebumps. Her heart beat with audible thumps and her instincts were going haywire.

    "War Jess, a true war hehehehe a battlefield so chaotic and desperate that even you and I may fail to see another sunrise." As she spoke Katrina clenched her fists tightly and began to smile.

    Jessica mirrored her best friend. It had been too long since the two of them had felt any true danger¡­.a primal feeling that they had missed.

    Regardless of the oue they would enjoy this war to the fullest and leave no regrets.

    The two high ranking Generals continued to stare into the distance, their minds churning in anticipation.

    While Icethorne endured a dangerous siege, back in the Niflheim city-state, several days after Frost had left the ce in Yuna''s capable hands a mandatory meeting of the council members had been called.

    This was only the second mandatory meeting called since the town''s conception and it was called not by Frost but by his stand in. Some were of course a little annoyed by this, feeling that Yuna was overstepping her bounds but the moment ronso guards appeared at their residences to escort them they held their tongues.

    Within Niflheim''s meeting hall, all members of the council were seated with not a single person missing. The air was tense, and no one spoke a single word as they awaited Yuna''s arrival.

    Behind them were ronsos guards to prevent anyone from leaving or causing a ruckus.

    Some members such as the guild representatives were apparently aware of the reasons for this sudden summons and were looking at the other council members warily and somewhat aggressively which caused a great deal of confusion.

    Thankfully they didn''t have to wait in a tense silence for too long. Therge double doors to the hall opened wide to reveal interim lord Yuna as well as Daki, Maya and even the head of the guards Khuno. Each of them however bore cold expressions, something very serious was going down.

    Yuna quietly sat at the head of the table, Daki and Maya took their seats by her side while Khuno intimidatingly remained standing behind them armed with hisrge halberd. There was a palpable blood lust in the air that unsettled the weaker members of the council. They felt their blood run cold and had the sudden urge to evacuate their bowels.

    "Members of the Niflheim council first off I apologise for the sudden summons and the less than respectful escort but unfortunately there was no other recourse as the subject of this meeting is rather dire." Yuna spoke with an air of authority as her gaze passed over the council members.

    "¡­.."

    "Colleagues I regret to inform that there are traitors in our midst, dogs that have not only dared to bite the hand that feeds them but backstab them in the most cowardly way possible and for that they must be punished." Yuna flicked her hands and in response the ronso guards standing behind the council members swung into action.

    Bang!

    In less than a second two council members had their heads violently mmed against the table. Such aggression sent shivers down the spines of the other council members. A few wanted to quickly shout and reprimand Yuna for her methods but held their tongues when Khuno''s fierce re narrowed in on them.

    "W¡­.Why?" one of the restrained council members a merchant by the name of Josif asked through the pain, confusion evident on his face. He was genuinely taken by surprise by Yuna''s conduct.

    In response he received a vicious smile from the young woman before she happily exined.

    "Josif and Nash we graciously epted you into the Niflheim city state, granted you prime real estate and even weed you into the council to better serve and protect ourmunity. Lord Frost had high expectations for the two of you¡­.so tell why did you stab him in the back?"

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about!"

    Your next chapter is on empire

    "I would never harm Lord Frost I owe him so much!" The two pleaded their innocence so naturally that many in the room felt that Yuna had made a mistake.

    "Interim Lord what exactly have they supposedly done?" One of the other council members who weren''t in the know asked nervously.

    How Yuna responded and managed this situation could very well break the trust and confidence these people had in the Niflheim city-state.

    "I''m d you asked, and I''d be more than happy to tell exin but first I''ll grant these two an opportunity toe clean¡­.well, Josif, Nash?"

    "¡­..I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    "I''m innocent! Josif hesitated for a second, but Nash immediately dered his innocence once again which caused Yuna''s lips to turn upwards.

    "Very well I shall reveal your crimes to the rest of the council. Lord Frost is rather lenient when ites to your individual interests as am I. For example despite the order being passed down to keep the knowledge regarding the ability to contract with monsters from the Dungeon in house some of you have taken it upon yourselves to ry that information to outsiders." A few merchants stiffed up as this revtion, Josif and Nash included.

    ''How did she find out?'' They all asked themselves. They couldn''t have been more discreet in their actions yet still they were discovered. Was this the treasonous action? But did such an act deserve this kind of treatment.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    One of the ''guilty'' feeling council members moved to question Yuna but was silenced before he could open his lips.

    "Rx fellow council members Lord Frost and I have no intention in seriously reprimanding any of you for your disobedience in regards to this. The majority of you are merchants, information is your lifeblood¡­we expected you to leak it eventually."

    "Then?"

    "Though Josif and Nash are alsoplicit in the outside trading of this information that''s not the reason for this meeting nor why I had the ronso guards restrain them." At this moment the bloodlust in the room skyrocketed. Both Daki and Maya were crushing the chairs they sat on as their fury struggled to be contained any longer.

    Seeing the wrath in their eyes the council members once again kept silent, Nash and Josif however began to tremble and shiver. The hatred and anger was solely directed at them, Maya even used her pseudo aura to pressure them, desiring nothing more than to squash them into meat paste.

    Yuna didn''t say a single word for a few seconds, letting Nash and Josif stew under Maya and Daki''s pressure. Her silence generated an air of curiosity among the other council members, a curiosity that needed to be sated.

 Chapter 733 Crime of the council (2)

    A heavy silence loomed within the meeting hall. Maya and Daki red at Josif and Nash with fire in their eyes, wishing nothing more than to rip the two of them to shreds. While Yuna the interim lord sat eerily with a haunting smile on her face, enjoying the two men''s torment.

    The other council members who were still unaware of the supposed crime had shifted from a frightened and wary position to a curious one.

    What on Nova could the two of them have done to anger not only Daki by Maya as well?

    Daki was frequently around the city as she enjoyed interacting with the adventurers guild, it was good for her business thus the council members were already used to her asionally abrasive personality.

    Maya however was quite mysterious, asionally she could be seen hanging around with Nanna and Loki but for most of the time unless Frost was around she was entirely absent even from the council meetings. Despite the rarity of their interactions however the men and women present believed her to be a gentle and kind soul.

    Seeing both these women as well as the entire Ronso guard and Yuna all up in arms was quite frankly fascinating.

    Many eyes thus turned towards Josif and Nash.

    "Members of the Niflheim council these two men havemitted a grave sin against our state, against our lord¡­.and against our family!" Yuna roared aloud, attaching her aura to her voice dramatically increasing the pressure and fear factor ced upon Josif and Nash.

    Daki and Maya practically shattered the arms of their chairs as they struggled to maintain their decorum.

    ''Family¡­.'' That was the key word. The many eyes staring at Josif and Nash thus showed knowing glints before unanimously turning into harsh res.

    Frost was gone, Maya could hold her own and even Daki was a mean fighter when she wanted to be leaving but one possibility¡­..The children.

    Thest time someone attacked Nanna and Loki the entiremunity was up in arms and not a single person questioned the degree of punishment inflicted upon these deplorable assassins.

    Both Nanna and Loki were genuinely loved within the city state, many adventurers even voluntarily protected them in their free time just in case anything were to happen.

    "You two, tell me you didn''t" One of the merchant ss council members who had been appointed at the same time as Josif and Nash asked with trembling hands.

    The children were this ce''s reverse scale.

    ""Lies we didn''t do anything to them!"" Josif and Nash bellowed despite their fear. They knew well what would happen the moment such a charge was attached to their heads.

    "Hoh is that so Josif, Nash unfortunately our records beg to differ, Ringwald, Calder." Yuna immediately called upon Ringwald and Calder the representatives for the adventures guild and merchants guild.

    The crime was perfectly witnessed and heard through the use of the Dungeon''s monitoring system but that couldn''t be used as evidence. This usation needed to be irrefutable thus Yuna enlisted the aid of the two guilds, they would stand witness.

    With a curt nod both Calder and Ringwald retrieved documents from their bags, evidence proving Josif and Nash''s crimes. These notes were passed around the table so as to enlighten the other council members.

    "Though you may have not been the one''s doing the deed the two of you sold information to the underworld gangs and our enemies. Habits, appearances, routes, ess and even documentation you supplied everything they needed to enter and target Nanna and Loki, innocent and vulnerable children for what! A little bit of money!" Yuna was practically roaring at this point.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "The worse part is that there was nothing about myself, Lady Daki, Lady Maya or even Lord Frost apart from his recent absence of course. All the information you sold was about the children. You literally painted a target on their backs and personally guided the des!"

    By this time both Josif and Nash had relieved themselves as they listened to Yuna''s roaring and witnessed the pictures and documented evidence of their crimes.

    All the blood drained from their faces as the realisation dawned on them. They did everything they could to cover their tracks knowing that their actions were wrong but only when Yuna actually outlined the facts did they truly understand what they did.

    They didn''t just sell wanted information for money what they did was a facilitate and abet an assassination on both Nanna and Loki. Their treason was clear as day.

    If information about Frost was released they may have just gotten a p on the wrist, a minor punishment. Frost was strong he could handle himself but Nanna and Loki that was low and unforgivable.

    "Fellow council members you have seen the documents provided; their guilt is as clear as day do you concur?" Yuna asked with her authority as interim Lord.

    "¡­I concur"

    "I concur!

    "¡­Concur!"

    "I concur Lord Yuna. How should we deal with this kind of scum?" Rana the head of thebour guild in Niflheim cracked her knuckles as a show of force.

    "Miss Rana you don''t need to worry about that. Now that the council has agreed upon their guilt we shall take it from here." Yuna smiled strangely at Rana before snapping her fingers.

    That was the signal she had previously agreed upon with Maya and Daki before this meeting. The two needed to hold in their anger until they received this signal. Afterwards they could do whatever they wanted to Josif and Nash.

    There wasn''t even a moment''s hesitation before Maya and Daki leapt from their chairs and took over the restraints of the two men who at this point were near catatonic from abject fear.

    With a guard of Ronsos Maya and Daki dragged the two criminals out of the hall. They would transport them to the Dungeon''s prison and start the well deserved torture.

    "Good riddance."

    "I can''t believe I trusted that bastard!"

    "To go after the children do they have no shame!"

    "Disgusting pttuu" the remaining council members were all fired up. They hadpletely forgotten about their earlier displeasure and started praising both Yuna and the two guilds for their effective efforts in stopping a potential disaster.

    It takes but one hole to bring down a mighty damn.

    "Thank you all for your cooperation and once again I am sorry about the mandatory summons. It was necessary to make known our family''s stance in regards to these kind of things." A.K.A do anything detrimental to Nanna or Loki and we''ll hunt you down.

    The message was loud and clear, and the remaining council members were all for it.

    Once the council members had all left the hall, Yuna was left alone with Khuno.

    "Haaaaa why does it have to be so tedious" She loudlyined. Through their ownworks they immediately knew of Josif''s and Nash''s betrayal. It would have been so easy just to send a bunch of ronso enforcers to apprehend them and take them to the Dungeon or even arrange for their own assassination but unfortunately there were now many working cogs in the running of Niflheim. Things had to be handled in awful and above board manner otherwise none of the council members would feel safe in their positions.

    "I''m sure master will be proud of your actions Yuna." Khuno reassured his colleague speaking his honest feelings on the matter. Yuna was quite adept in her role if it was him he would have surely resorted to simple force at least once or twice during the ''investigation''.

    "You really think so?" Yuna instantly beamed a joyful smile as the image of Frost floated in her mind.

    ''I miss master.''

    Frost was currently unaware of what went down after he left his Dungeon. In fact at the moment he was still in the middle of a beautiful dream.

    He was striding across the battlefield with his ive in hand. His robes were marred in so much blood that they had turned dark red, and his body sported hundreds if not thousand of minor cuts and grazes, yet he smiled before the endless amount of foes still impeding his path. He felt a crazed rush, his body that should be in pain and exhausted felt warm and fuzzy with every foe he cut. The more he killed the more his ive felt like a limb rather than an external weapon.

    "Frost my mighty champion."

    "That''s it Frost show me how strong you are."

    By his ear he could hear the enchanting voices of Maya and Daki cheering him on, promising him endless delights if he seeded in reaching the end of the battlefield. It was a fantastic dream that unfortunately ended far too early.

    "¡­S¡­F¡­.T" Just as the end of the battlefield wasing into view the seductive cheering was reced with a jarring male voice.

    "Si¡­.Fro¡­" Again the voice was heard, and the dream world started to shatter and copse.

    "Sir Frost." By the third call Frost sharply woke up and red at the interloper with a gaze so cold that the battle hardened man visibly shivered.

    "Sir Frost no Major it''s time, the cavalry corps requests your presence." The soldier balked for but a moment before saluting and announcing the reason for his presence.

 Chapter 734 Cavalry assualt

    "Already?" Frost questioned after yawning and stretching, it only felt like a few minutes since he drifted off.

    "Yes Major, you''ve been asleep for almost 90 minutes." The soldier replied with a slight urgency, time was of the essence after all.

    "Tsk oh well lead the way." Irritated from being rudely awakened Frost clicked his tongue and casually gathered his things, thankfully he hadn''t removed his clothes or under armour before resting so he was ready almost immediately.

    "This way sir." The soldier thus lead Frost out of the barracks and to the western edge of Icethorne. Here half of the cavalry corps was present alongside their mounts.

    "Garow!" Shortly after arriving Kiba noticed his master''s scent and charged over toin about his rough treatment. These barbarians hoofed him from hisfy abode and started measuring him for armaments, they didn''t even listen to him when he said they were too tight.

    Of course his whimpering only caused Frost''s irritation to grow, the young tiger thus received a fierce bonk on his head before being looked down on.

    "Really you''reining about having to do a little bit of work thiste in the day¡­what happened to the tiger that wanted to strive to be the top, to dominate the other monsters and im dominion over the beasts back home." He had finally begun to take his training seriously after a few of the coeurl cubs evolved and began challenging him. But after a little bit of pampering he was once again showing off his spoiled nature.

    "Grrrr!" [this and that are two different things!]

    Bonk!

    Kiba was hit again and this time he didn''t argue but simply grumbled as he followed behind Frost.

    The solider who guided Frost here left after introducing him to the cksmith who dealt with Kiba''s equipment.

    "We''ve outfitted your battle mount with some temporary battlements, they should help stave off some serious blows and help with his charging ability, but I''d advise against taking too much risk, the quality isn''t as good as the proper stuff after all." The cksmith in charge of the Cavalry corps armaments exined a few things to Frost and Kiba, the former being all ears while thetter was ring. This was the man responsible for dressing him up in such ill fitting and paltry armour.

    His hide was thick and his fur dense what need did he have for hastily produced armour.

    The so called temporary battlements however were actually around middle perhaps upper grade 3 star quality, far better than your run of the mill equipment. Kiba just didn''t like how it felt against his skin, so he caused a bit of a fuss.

    As the cksmith spoke the gears in Frost''s mind started to turn. He had neglected to properly arm Kiba as well as the many beastlike monsters back in the Dungeon. While his dwarves, trolls, ronsos and even goblins benefitted from their production of in house weaponry his wolves, coeurls and pr bears received nothing despite also being an avid part of the Dungeon''s defence force. This was a mistake, one in which he promised to remedy upon his return.

    He thus listened attentively to the cksmith and took note of the workshops currently repairing and forging monster formatted armours.

    Thankfully Kiba''s shape and size wasn''t all that different from the standard monster cavalry used by the cavalry corps thus preparing something temporary wasn''t all that difficult or time consuming, however.

    "There''s nothing we can do about his wings though, best to keep them receded during your excursion otherwise you might mess up the formation''s tempo." Kiba''srge white wings were out with the cksmith''s speciality, so he left them unadorned, a good thing too given how sensitive they were.

    "You don''t have any flyers?"

    "We do but they''re not part of the Cavalry corps but the elite aerial division and unlike us they''re mainly utilised for scout work and emergency medical retrievals." The cksmith shrugged and shook his head, it was an entirely different group of smiths in charge and therefore nothing to do with him. His focus and his entire team''s focus was on war bears and Ursas, heavy cavalry monsters that could bulldoze through even the most heavily defended lines.

    These namesake monsters could be seen in the nearby stables and underneath the legs of the cavalry corps soldiers. They were big, muscr and durable and what theycked in flexibility they made up for with immense power. A horse may have endurance, speed and even strength but in short brutal engagements they paled inparison to a bear, especially a bear that had been raised by the War Ursa Battalion.

    A good lot of them were evenrger and more intimidating than Kiba, another reason he was a little on edge. Rarely did he evere across another battle mount in the same rank that could go toe to toe with him let alone crush him. These monsters had seen action, far more than the sheltered Kiba who was barelying into his own.

    Of course the most eye-catching were the mighty War Ursas, B-rank monsters that only the highest ranking Majors and Colonels could ride. Just one of them easily weighed several tons and that was without their armour.

    "Alright that''s all I needed to exin, head over tomand centre as we''re about to head out."

    "Thanks¡­."

    "Volker¡­.Ulf Volker." The cksmith gave his name before heading back to the forge, he''d already wasted enough time.

    "Come on Kiba let''s go and hear about our battle arrangements."

    "Garow!!"

    "Ah Major Frost d you could join us, please take a seat." The moment Frost entered themand centre with Kiba at his side an older man from the bear beastman tribe greeted him with a friendly smile while others simply nodded their heads, their eyes ncing and brightening upon seeing Kiba. A cial winged tiger was a guaranteed B-rank monster after all, one that was perfect for cavalry.

    Frost performed a military salute before taking his seat.

    He wasn''t the only one here apanied by his battle mount. The older man from the bear beastman tribe for example had a massive War Ursa behind him that''s mere presence had Kiba shivering and Frost narrowing his eyes.

    ''Its strength rivals mine.'' Frost had just entered the mid ranks, and he could feel that this War Ursa was at a simr level.

    "Cough cough" The older man coughed to draw Frost''s attention back to him. "First allow me to introduce myself, my name is Colonel Casper Anders and I''m in charge of the left wing of the War Ursa Battalion''s Cavalry corps." A genuine big fish, someone who''s authority was only eclipsed by the Generals and usually that only included the older generation such as Jessica and Katrina. Jared and Danielle were but young pups whenpared to him.

    Casper was a man who had lived and breathed the battlefield for decades, a man who''s strength was stuck half a step into the A-rank for thest twenty years, a man worthy of respect.

    Casper proceeded to briefly introduce some of the other officers but none of them were Colonels, all Majors and Captains.

    Being respectful Frost stood up from his seat and ced his arm across his chest "Major Frost, it''s a pleasure to be joining you today in your assault against the enemy." He gave his own introduction before sitting back down, an act that made the other officers smile from ear to ear. It was rare for non-military personnel to be so polite and respectful especially when they were so young and full of vigour and talent.

    "Major Frost do have you any experience with cavalry formations?" Again the first thing the corps leader asked was his experience and once against Frost had to embarrassingly say none. At least this time he wasn''t called useless.

    "I see then it''ll be best if you ride close to me when we move out." Casper didn''t mock or insult him in anyway instead he silently and instantly amended his initial ns. Since Frost couldn''t be given amand position he''d simply use his individual strength instead. This wasn''t the first time he''d been handed an inexperienced yet individually strong gem after all.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "By your order Colonel." Frost had no issues with such arrangements in fact he felt liberated by it. Command was taxing and he was more in the mood to simply bulldoze his way into the enemy lines without having to worry about those beneath him.

    Colonel Casper then exined the overall strategy of both the left and right wings of the cavalry corps.

    "Along with the right wing we''ll be moving out in full force." Atop the war table was a map of Icethorne and the territory beyond the wall. Two groups of mounted figurines representing the two wings of the cavalry corps were at the west and east of the city.

    "General Jessica and her magic corps have dealt a serious blow to the enemy but still they refuse to retreat. Their will is still strong¡­.so we''ll be the ones to break it!"

    "Urah!"

    "Urah!" The cavalry corps grunted and repeatedly beat their fists against the war table, eager to see blood.

    "We''ll hit them hard, and we''ll hit them fast, in and out in under fifteen minutes, are we clear!"

    "Sir yes sir!"

    "Frost follow behind me and learn as much as you can, we''ll be using simple arrow and diamond formations but what matters most is the flow of battle."

    Shock cavalry in and simple.

    "Yes Colonel."

    ''Follow and learn, piece of cake.'' At least he wasn''t aplete noob when it came to riding Kiba, it''d be a disaster if he fell from his back mid charge.

 Chapter 735 Cavalry assault (2)

    Colonel Casper, leader of the left wing of the cavalry corps exined the mission.

    "We''ll mount up in five minutes and leave through the catbs." Casper moved the figurines on the war table next to a mountain that protected Icethorne''s western edge.

    "Exits four, five and six will be used and then sealed upon our return, the rest will remain closed so don''t knock on the wrong door."

    "Hehehehe" Casper''s words earned a round ofughter from the officers, Frost however was puzzled. This was the first time he was hearing of the ''catbs.''

    "You''ll understand it when you see it Frost, don''t worry too much." Casper smiled his way, soothing his confusion.

    "Upon our exit we should be right in line with the mid and rear forces. The vanguard and ranger corps will draw their focus and deal with their frontline allowing us to get the drop on them. Speed will be key."

    Shock cavalry relied primarily on their substantial weight and charging momentum to be lethal and because of this they are rather inflexible. They struggle to stop and redirect their charge once they get going thus a surprise attack, one in which the enemycks the time to reorientate their forces makes a world of difference.

    Casper picked up the figurines representing the left wing and ced them outside of the Northern wall, within 800 metres of Alliance''s forces. "Upon our exit which will be synced with the right wing we''ll enter the arrow formation and begin our charge. Contact with the enemy should take roughly 30 seconds." Several officers did some internal calctions, some nodded confidently while others frowned. 30 seconds was cutting it close.

    800 metres give or take, in 30 seconds, that''s roughly 27 metres per second. Their war bears and ursas were certainly capable of such speed but that brief 30 seconds also included their eleration.

    "I know what some of you are thinking but trust me it''s doable, difficult yes but doable. Trust in your battle mounts and we''ll make it." Casper quickly dispelled the anxiety building among some of the less confident officers.

    "5 seconds before contact we''ll erect the [Golden bear] and with our added momentum we''ll blow apart their fragile lines and dig deep into the heart of their forces."

    At the mention of the [Golden bear] many eyes lit up. The [Golden bear] was the cavalry corps'' infamous battle formation, a formation as well renowned as the [Icethorne bulwark] perhaps even more so given that its primary focus was destruction rather than protection. Find adventures on empire

    "Once we''re in we''ll split into smaller diamond formations and carve up the enemy. Kill as many as you can and do your best to retain your momentum. The moment you slow down is the moment you die!" Casper eximed, stressing the seriousness of hisst point. A stationary or even slow cavalryman was easy pickings, even easier to kill than a foot soldier.

    "Variables?" A senior Major queried.

    "There are a few." Casper retrieved a couple figurines that represented the enemy forces." First the mammoths and the other heavy monsters, avoid them at all costs as they''ll only impede our advance and waste our limited timeframe." The mentioned heavy monsters were durable, tenacious and not worth the time it takes to kill them.

    "Second and most obvious the Generals and upper officers, our job is to quickly mow down as many enemies as possible and weaken their morale. Though the death of an Upper officers would certainly spread fear amongst their ranks they are too dangerous and potentially lethal to our own soldiers regardless of our speed thus they should be avoided if possible. The Generals even more so, keep a very wide berth."

    The enemy Generals such as Vash were the biggest cause of concern for Colonel Casper and the cavalry corps. Numbers and momentum meant nothing in the face of overwhelming power after all.

    Generals Jared and Danielle would be enlisted to keep some of them upied but by this point the likelihood of one or two of the Generals throwing out the rule book was quite substantial.

    "The third variable is the unknown. What we see and hear may not be everything. Keep your wits about you and your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Those with the rank of Major should use their experience to determine the best course of action in such situations, Captain and those lower should follow their orders to the letter and if needed¡­I''ll call for a full retreat." Though he was reluctant to do so if the threat to his men was great enough he was willing to fail in their mission as long as it preserved their lives. The Generals and War Marshall were of the same mind. Attacks on the enemy could fail but their lives couldn''t be sacrificed in vain, not when they were the ones so vastly outnumbered.

    "Questions? Misgivings?"

    "¡­."

    "None here."

    "All good Colonel."

    "Major Frost?" Casper looked at Frost the only officer present without any experience.

    "¡­.If all I have to do is follow in your wake and kill as directed then I''ve got no issues Colonel." Frost replied with a confident nod.

    If he was in a position ofmand then he''d want to know more but since that wasn''t the case there was no problem.

    p! Casper loudly pped his hands and smiled from ear to ear. "Our mission is set, our parameters agreed upon and our confidence unwavering. Men, Women return to your squads and gear up, we leave in five minutes."

    ""Sir yes Sir"" All the officers and Frost loudly replied with their arms across their chests in salute.

    Roughly 5 minutester, Colonel Casper stood next to his oversized War Ursa as he addressed the Cavalry corps'' left wing, a contingent of 8000 men and women strong.

    "All soldiers mount up! It''s time to ride!"

    ""Urah!!"" All 8000 soldiers roared so loud that their lungs threatened to burst. A momentter all 8000 men and women ascended upon the backs of their battle mounts. 8000 soldiers and 8000 bear species battle mounts, quite an intimidating sight.

    "Move out!" Casper bellowed as he led the charge with his trusted partner ran.

    The entire left wing moved seamlessly through the cities war time highways. Wide, t highways clear of obstructions and traffic allowed the left wing to smoothly arrive before the catbs in just a few minutes.

    Here at the base of the massive western mountain several soldiers could be seen guarding¡­.nothing? there was no door or gateway or even clear path up the mountain. Frost couldn''t help but be intrigued.

    "Cavan inform the catbs detail of our mission requirements."

    "Yes Colonel." A youngish Captain, one with a bright future charged ahead on his War bear to meet with the soldiers in charge of guarding the supposed catbs.

    A moment after he left Casper leaned over to speak to Frost. "You have your own territory in the soutnds right?"

    "Yes, it''s near the southern entrance to the cial mountains, about a day''s walk from Furano." It was always good to advertise his new territory, especially amongst people who could very well be important future clients.

    "If its near a set of mountains then you''ll likely appreciate this little mechanism of ours." Casper smiled in a mischievous manner. Frost wanted to hear more about this ''mechanism'' but Cavan was already on the way back.

    "We''re good to go Colonel."

    "Splendid Cavan, men move out!" Therge procession of soldiers was once again on the move and this time they were heading directly into the face of the mountain. Not a single soldier had any hesitation as their mounts built up speed and charged headfirst into the wall.

    Frost wanted to shut his eyes in horror as he imagined these men and woman turning into meat paste the moment they made contact with the rock hard surface.

    Kiba was no less disturbed by the situation, he wanted to stop but the wave of battle mounts behind him pushed him forward, there was no way out.

    "Ah!!!" A captain who was at the head of the march screamed in a mad fashion just before he made contact, sending a chill down Frost''s spine.

    ''What the actual fuck?''

    In the next moment however the man and monster seemed to vanish, their bodies didn''t smash into the rock wall but rather mysteriously passed through it.

    "Hahahahaha." A loud chorus ofughter erupted amongst the soldiers after seeing Frost''s face turn pale. The screaming captain was just yanking the newbie''s chain.

    "Hmph!" Casper didn''t approve of such behaviour. He loudly hmphed, skilfully attaching his aura as he did, bringing a quick end to the ruckus.

    "An illusion?" Frost ignored theirughter, personally he might have done the same if he was in their shoes.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Yes and no." Casper replied before both he and Frost charged through the rock wall.

    The moment he passed through Frost felt a familiar twisting in his stomach.

    ''Spatial transposition'' Whenever he teleported throughout the Dungeon or entered the private space his body would be encumbered with a strange pull in multiple directions.

    The scene before his eyes blurred, stretched and twisted before reorganising into somethingpletely different. They were now within arge tunnel embedded in the mountain, tall enough to hold both Casper and ran and wide enough to sustain four cavalry soldiers and their mounts standing side by side.

    A major construction.

 Chapter 736 Cavalry assault (3)

    The degree of work involved in creating the catbs was staggering. Icethorne''s residents weren''t Gods nor were they like Frost who could utilise creation/divine energy to maniptend and space in whatever manner they saw fit, no they had to rely on mortal means. Physical effort, tools and a great deal of magic over a period of decades perhaps even centuries to finallyplete their secret, underground highway system.

    "These catbs are a result of many years of painstaking effort, a hidden highway that allows our forces to travel through the nearby mountains unseen and unheard." Casper spoke with an air of pride. Icethorne''s catbs were a great source of confidence and reassurance for the military, allowing them to engage in devilish warfare and even provide them with a means of escape in the most dire of moments.

    Though they were under siege the War Ursa Battalion was not trapped.

    The catbs spread throughout the city and beyond, splintering off into dozens perhaps even hundreds of different paths. It may bemonly referred to as an underground highway system, but it was much more than that. Large chambers had been dug out to allow for defensive warfare, containing sturdy barriers, military supplies and even a few war machines while other areas served as storage vaults, alchemy rooms, training venues and even monster stables. It was hard to board thousands ofrge bear monsters within the city after all.

    Rather than catbs, underground metropolis may be a more apt description.

    "We were teleported weren''t we?" Frost asked, recognising the familiar pull upon his body.

    "Yes but not far." Casper leaned down from his battle mount ran to speak. "The outeryer of the mountain, several metres worth ispletely untouched by our excavation so as to increase the hidden aspect of the catbs. There is no breach on the city side and therefore no entrance to find and exploit." The two men and monsters continued to lightly trot forward so as to not cause a blockage.

    "To enter the catbs the soldiers on guard must activate one of the spatial doors, magical devices that fold space and link two nearby coordinates. Without them we would actually crash into a solid surface so they''re quite important." Casper''s mind drifted off for a second, remembering a time or two when these so called spatial doors actually failed¡­.a lot of jaws were broken and teeth lost that day.

    "25 maybe 30 metres give or take yeah that''s about right." Said Casper after internally calcting and or remembering the distance.

    The spatial doors leading to areas 4, 5 and 6 on the western side weren''t all that far from where they had grouped up.

    "Amazing." Frost was quite shocked by this reveal. The idea may be quite simple in theory, but the application was pure genius. A hidden underground city with no visible entrance, how many fortresses could im to have such an ideal system.

    Of course to power such a system the spatial magic devices were integral and thankfully Icethorne not only had many, but they also had the knowhow to produce more.

    Such devices would make a real killing on the open market but unfortunately for others the spatial doors were a military secret of the highest order. Only a very select few knew of their inner workings, even the Northrend empire was in the dark about this technology.

    "You can look as much as you want as long as you don''t fall behind." Casper admired Frost''s interest in their catbs and allowed him to peruse to his heart''s content as long as he kept up with the group. If he wanted a full tour however he''d need the War Marshall''s permission.

    "Understood Colonel." Frost wasn''t polite and immediately started analysing every nook and cranny as they charged along.

    ''The wall are so dense, perhaps they''re reinforced with magic¡­.are they using magic crystalmps and luminescent nts to keep the ce alight¡­.was that a supply depot we just passed¡­.it reminds me of home a little.'' Frost found the idea of an underground city simr in nature to his Dungeon. So much activity happened underneath the city. much of it actually supplying the surface.

    Currently there was also a high speed highway hidden within the Dungeon that some of his monsters used to travel between floors unnoticed.

    Though there was no need for such a system in the shadow of the surface city yet there would be in the future and likely sooner than expected if the ce continued to develop at its current rate.

    ''I could establish a neutral floor, one which is excluded from the Dungeon wars and connected to the bottom of the city.'' The surface of the city was already a part of the Dungeon for DP collection so why not the ground directly underneath.

    ''With such a system we could transport materials to each workshop, forge, tannery, tailor and who knows what else without disturbing the streets.'' Kranor had a simr set up that allowed the produce from the mines, quarries and fields to easily make its way to the upper floors.

    Frost''s mind churned and churned, fostering a strong desire to return home and get to work unfortunately now was not the best time.

    He was brought out of his reverie by the loud booming voice of Colonel Casper who had made his way to the forefront of the pack.

    "Exit''s in sight men, clench your thighs and ready yourselves for battle!!" The tunnel ahead seemed to be blocked, a dead end but shortly after Casper approached the number five painted on the end wall glowed bright and the next second the wall started to shake and recede. Soon a sturdy ramp was revealed along with a great deal of natural light.

    With quickened pace Frost''s group of soldiers charged out of the mountain to find themselves beyond the Northern wall. Directly ahead, less than a kilometre in the distance was the alliance''s forces. They were preupied with the assault on the frontline, so they hadn''t noticed them as of yet.

    "Group up into the arrow formation and charge!" Casper drew his spear and raised it high in the air as the rest of the left wing came out of exits 4 and 6.

    The time it took them all to shuffle out and quickly enter an arrow formation was quite short, no more than 40 seconds. Your next read is at empire

    Frost as previously instructed glued himself to Casper and awaited the order to kill. His wayward thoughts of home werepletely extinguished the moment he saw the enemy in the distance. His heartbeat thumped away in his chest as a crooked smile appeared upon his lips revealing his sharp white teeth.

    His hands, one holding the shaft of his ive, the other holding the saddle resting on Kiba''s back tightened to the point of loudly cracking as he entered battle mode.

    Such actions were mirrored by the many men and women standing by his side, the stench of blood and war excited them greatly.

    "Cavalry corps left wing! ALL AHEAD CHARGE!!" Seeing everyone in position or at least the majority Colonel Casper loudly roared.

    "Urah!"

    "Urah!" hundreds of cavalrymen grunted and roared at maximum volume as the mass contingent of 8000 men and women starting charging at the enemy in their sights. Their eyes turning red from the promise of carnage.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Don! Don! Don!

    The audible thumps as bear paws crashed upon the ice and snow, along with the howls and roars of bloodthirsty soldiers couldn''t be ignored.

    "Shit! It''s an ambush, anti-cavalry teams to the right!" A high ranked officer who was part of enemy''s rearguard loudly hollered, causing many monsters to turn their heads in fear.

    "Wait there''s another group from the left! Fuck it''s the War Ursa''s cavalry corps!" Another officer noticed the right wing at almost the exact same moment. At this rate both nks would be under their assault in 30 seconds.

    "Sound the rm, call back the rest of the anti-cavalry!!!"

    Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!

    A high pitched rm went off a couple secondter.

    Time to impact 27 seconds.

    "Colonel Casper and Colonel Ridge." General Vash uttered the names of the wing leaders.

    "Should I have a contingent of anti-cavalry report to the rear?" One of his direct subordinates asked.

    "No there''s no time¡­.they got us good haaaaa. Order the rear to fall back, have the nks brace themselves and summon our heavy cavalry monsters, they''ll move faster than our infantry and should help better dy them" Vash was almost unmoved by the sudden ambush despite the lethality of it.

    "Let them have their fill of blood¡­for the moment." A vicious smile then appeared upon his lips followed by an eerieughter escaping his throat.

    A great danger loomed upon the horizon, a danger which the cavalry corps knew nothing of as they charged headfirst into the enemy lines.

    Time until impact 15 seconds.

    By this time most of army in the nks and rear knew of the impending assault, soldiers looked to their officers for guidance, to theirrades for support and the rear for signs of an escape.

    The onught of 16,000 heavy shock cavalrymen was something that would cause even the most battle hardened soldiers to tremble in their boots.

    Despite this malevolent force charging towards them and their likely inevitable death these monsters gathered their courage and braced themselves against the tide.

    Time until impact 10 seconds.

 Chapter 737 Cavalry assault (4)

    Time until impact 10 seconds.

    Frost could see the varied expressions of the enemy standing in the distance. Beastkin, bipedal ants, mantises, spirits, elementals and even a few drakes. A real hodgepodge of species yet they all bore simr weaponry.

    Those standing in the periphery were armed with spears and halberds, equipment specialised in taking downrger targets such as cavalry. Defenders, closebat units tasked with protecting those in the rear and mid sections of the army.

    The majority of the target enemy however was made up of ranged fighters, archers, crossbowmen, mages as well as some war machine operators, individuals who faired poorly in closebat.

    The Defenders had strong stances and determined expressions as they nted their feet deep into the snow and pointed their weapons unwaveringly ahead.

    But those behind them, the mages in particr. were shaking in their boots, internally dreading every single metre crossed by the enemy.

    "Archers fire!" Thankfully themand structure was still in full swing. The moment Frost and the cavalry corps crossed a certain threshold an enemy officer ordered for a devasting volley.

    Twang!

    With an immediate response hundreds perhaps thousands of arrows and or their equivalent wereunched from the central belt of the enemy army.

    "Arrows iing!" Casper roared and in return half of the cavalry corps retrieved their shields from the rear of their battle mounts while the rest either withdrew des to cut down the approaching arrows or took shelter by those with shields. None of them however decreased their speed rather the promise of arrows seemed to give them a boost.

    Frost given his B-rank capabilities scoffed at the deluge of arrows, with a simple swing of his ive and a couple hastily prepared magic shields he and Kiba received not a single scratch. Unfortunately not everyone was as lucky.

    Don! Don! Don!

    Several soldiers from the left wing faltered under the fierce stream of arrows, their shields failing to block, breaking under the assault or their swords being too slow to chop them all down.

    With reluctant cries and roars of anguish these brave men and women were the first to fall.

    The enemy''s hastilyunched volley was actually rather strategic, individuals such as Frost and Casper received only the minimum coverage whereas those weaker received a near endless deluge.

    With every solider that fell those behind had to not only ignore their grief but avoid the fallen corpses lest they wished to be the next victim.

    A poorly trained outfit would likely crumble under such an onught, their deceasedrades driving them into a killing frenzy, destroying their formation and turning them into easy targets¡­The War Ursa Battalion was not like that.

    With skilled manoeuvring they easily avoided their fallenrades and kept their speed. The deadly and imposing arrow formation was still solid and moving in for the kill.

    Time until impact 5 seconds.

    With arrows falling down upon them endlessly and magic spells falling close behind Casper gauged the distance to the enemy. A momentter he nodded and craned his neck upwards.

    "[Golden Bear]" With an air shattering bellow Colonel Casper along with hundreds of upper ranked soldiers who were dotted throughout the formation summoned their internal energy, synced their breathing and started the process of summoning the [Golden Bear] of the War Ursa Battalion''s cavalry corps.

    Time until impact 3 seconds.

    On the right and left sides of the enemy radiant energy burst forth into the sky in the form bright golden pirs

    Eventually as more energy was supplied through these golden pirs a corporeal entity was generated.

    "Rooooaarrrr!!!" Two massive golden bears appeared above the two wings of the cavalry corps, fierce and aggressive in nature they roared the moment they were born.

    The instant the [Golden Bear] came to life Frost felt a foreign energy envelop him and Kiba, empowering the two of them.

    The same thing happened to each and every member of the cavalry corps whether they were involved in the summoning or not. Each of them glowed with a golden hue as their speed and mass increased by nearly 30%.

    ''I''m definitely researching battle formation once I get back''. Frost internally promised as his excitement threatened to overflow.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With the extra power flowing through his body Frost madlyughed and readied his ive. Kiba also prepared himself, his ws were extended and his hindlimbs tensed.

    Time until impact 1 second.

    In thest moment before impact the [Golden Bear] reared up onto its hind legs and smashed apart the enemies frontline, crushing hundreds of monsters into meat paste and sending even more flying in all directions.

    "Kill!!!" Following that the cavalry corps charged in and decimated the enemy in droves. With every swing Frost was able to cut down multiple panicking monsters while Kiba could devour anything that crossed his path with a sharp crunch of his teeth.

    The nks were torn apart like paper and in less than ten seconds half of the cavalry corps were drenched the blood of the enemy. Thousands died in the initial charge and more quickly followed.

    "Break up, diamond killing formation, regroup in 60 seconds!" Casper continued to give orders, his voice so loud and clear that even the din of battle failed to obscure it.

    "Frost follow me to take out some of their elites."

    "dly Colonel." Frost smiled evilly and wasted no time following after Casper. In this scenario he was nothing but a de to be used by him and it was a role he was honoured to y.

    Casper and Frost led a few officers in a small diamond formation and targeted some of the enemy C-ranks, quickly causing chaos in the chain ofmand.

    "Bastards!" Their attempts however were soon noticed by a nearby Major.

    "I''ll leave him to you."

    "No problem." Casper and the other officers separated from Frost to continue their head hunting while Frost along with Kiba turned around and charged at the interloping enemy Major.

    ''Early B-rank, he''s even weaker than Bhus.'' Frost was a little disappointed but still readied his ive and warned Kiba to be on guard.

    "Garow!" Kiba grunted in reply, locking his gaze on the enemy. With the two of them working in concert their strength was enough to take on someone in the upper stages let alone an early stage newbie like this one.

    The key wasn''t just killing the enemy but to kill them quickly and without much injury. With this point in mind Frost didn''t hold back and neither did Kiba.

    "[Hammering beast''s charge]" Frost''s blue tinged internal energy merged with the yellow energy from Kiba to generate a green almost emerald coloured energy that elevated theirbined strength. With a form that appeared 50%rger than normal Kiba leapt at the enemy with his limbs outstretched, prepared to rend the foe apart with his razor sharp ws while Frost pulled back his ive for a valiant thrust.

    Ayer of ice chakra protected the shaft and bonded it to his hand while cold mes danced along the de edge, forming ice crystals in the air as it passed by. With an injection of aura his ive was ready to pierce through even the thickest of hides.

    "Eh!" Not expecting to be violently attacked the enemy B-rank was caught by surprise and barely had time to defend himself.

    Ting!

    The enemy monster was from therge horned drake tribe and in order to protect himself from thebined might of Frost and Kiba he curled up hisrge body, hoping to rely on his durable to scales to endure the attack. Unfortunately he underestimated the force behind their attack.

    Kiba''s ws though tough and sharp were still those of a C-rank monster, they rubbed against his scales generating a metallic sound, scratching them and even prying off a few but in the end failing to deal any serious damage.

    "Grrrr!" The young tiger was quite dissatisfied by this.

    Squelch!

    On Frost''s end however the result was far different. The sharp tip of his ive, aided by his aura and chakra pierced through the outeryer of scales and continued to sear and pry open hardened flesh, only stopping after ravishing the monster''s left lung and hitting the back of his ribs.

    "Tsk!" Frost frustratingly clicked his tongue, he missed. His original target was the monster''s heart, but its size and physique threw off his aim.

    The enemy officer coughed up blood in response, his face paling and a cold shiver running down his spine. His durable scales were pierced through so easily, he had underestimated his enemy, a mistake that would likely cost him his life.

    "Fuck! Get over here and help me take down this asshole" Fearing for his life the enemy monster called for aid.

    "Tsk! Kiba again." This was exactly why Frost wanted to take down the enemy in a single blow, this was no longer a duel but arge free for all.

    The operation was supposed tost no more than 15 minutes so as to capitalise on their strengths and diminish their weaknesses. The longer cavalry was tied up the less effective they became.

    Frost spent almost two minutes to take down the enemy elite monster as well as those that came to his aid. 40 seconds to rejoin with Colonel Casper, another few minutes to take down some C-rank officers dotted around and another couple minutes to plunge headfirst through the nks and into the heart of the enemy ranks, drawing ever closer towards the A-rank Generals and upper ranked officers.

    Wisely however Casper and Colonel Ridge didn''t delve in too far, merely teasing the enemy, provoking them until their faces turned red in anger.

    By this time the operation was past the halfway point and over 20,000 enemies had been killed while no more than 40 had been lost amongst the left wing and 50 by the right, a clear and decisive victory.

    Filled with hubris, pride and perhaps arrogance many among the cavalry corps started to let down their guard, relishing in the joy of their invulnerability. Find exclusive stories on empire

    A very, very dangerous state to be in when ites to war.

 Chapter 738 Cavalry assault (5)

    "Kill!"

    "Arghh!"

    "Mow them down!"

    Loud aggressive shouts resonated amongst the din of the battlefield.

    Find your next adventure on empire

    The two wings of the cavalry corps led 16,000 strong soldiers deep into the nks of the cial mountain''s liberation alliance''s Vanguard, culling over 30,000 lives in a mere ten minutes. A demoralising, terrifying result that shook the very foundations of the army. Thousands of monsters quivered in fear and ran away in terror whenever the enemy drew near. For the cavalry corps killing the enemy was like shooting fish in a barrel.

    Because the vanguard was held back by the War Ursa Battalion''s own frontliners the majority of the enemies Frost and Casper had to face were long distanced fighters who fared poorly in closebat.

    Apart from the minimal amount of defenders and the asional interruption from enemy heavy cavalry the ambush operation was proceeding smoothly, so smoothly in fact that many soldiers were bing cocky, letting their guards down as they relished in their superior strength.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A natural reaction even amongst the most battle hardened and strictly trained soldiers. Victory especially a decisive one could easily warp one''s mind, making them forget the threat of cornered prey.

    Casper did his best to crush such behaviour the moment it surfaced and thankfully the cavalry corps weren''t amateurs, their guards only loosened slightly but even so, it was enough for a disaster to strike.

    At the core the Alliance''s Vanguard.

    "How many?" Vash themanding General of the enemy forces asked.

    "It''s nearing 35,000 General." One of his trusted subordinates replied with a cold sweat dripping down his brow.

    "Hoh 35,000 deaths in just a few minutes¡­the Cavalry corps of the War Ursa Battalion certainly live up their renown¡­." Vash spoke in an almost yful manner before letting out a menacingugh. "Hehehehe I''m curious to know what kind of faces those two bitches will show once the tables are turned." His gaze honed in on the top of the Northern wall. It was time for a little payback.

    "Weep in regret Katrina, Jesscia hehehehe." Vash sounded like a depraved ghost, hysterical at the climax of his revenge.

    20 secondster when the time felt right he looked to his subordinate and said, "Send the signal." Before returning to his own personal amusement, eager to watch the fireworks go off from a distance.

    "Yes General." The subordinate officer replied with a forced smile. The loss of 35,000 soldiers on top of what they had already lost because of the meteor weighed heavily on his mind but he was just a mere mid-ranked officer, it was not his ce to argue against a General.

    Hundreds of metres to the west Frost who was charging to and fro alongside Colonel Casper suddenly felt a sense of danger. The operation had proceeded a little too smoothly, but this was the first time that he felt that something was truly wrong.

    He quickly nced across his surroundings but didn''t see anything suspicious.

    ''What is it?'' He queried as that nagging sense of danger grew more and more prominent.

    "Kiba watch my back for a second." Unable to ignore his instincts Frost had Kiba guard him while his investigated.

    He closed his eyes and spread his senses, ignoring as much of the chaos of the battlefield as possible. A tall task even for someone with his level of strength.

    The loud roars, the shing of weapons, the air shattering explosions, the thick stench of blood and of course the dense congregation of bloodlust in the air masked all else. He was practically blind, restricted to searching but a finite area and with poor uracy.

    Yet despite this limitation he continued to search, the feeling of danger continued to grow. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and a looming sense of dread wrapped itself around his heart.

    By this point Colonel Casper had noticed Frost''s strange behaviour. He was about to reprimand him for his foolishness -a warrior should never close their eyes on the battlefield- but suddenly he too felt something in the air. There was a smell, something foul on the wind.

    A momentter Frost''s eyes opened wide after catching something. He swung his ive at the ground, revealing something hidden beneath the snow.

    "Webbing?" Why was there webbing hidden underneath the ground? So far they hadn''te across as single spider or worm based monster¡­.it shouldn''t be there.

    rm bells rang, he turned to look at Colonel Casper who''s face had rapidly drained of colour. And before he could even get a word out edgewise Casper retrieved a cylindrical object from his back pocket and pointed it upwards. With a quick injection of mana a bright red light shot into the sky and exploded like a firework.

    This was the Cavalry corps'' signal for immediate full retreat, one that could be seen even in the most dismal and obscured battlefields.

    "Frost we move!" Wasting no time Casper spoke to Frost in a hurried tone before having his battle mount Avalon make a U-turn.

    In under 3 seconds the entire left wing abandoned their targets and desperately retreated back to the western mountain.

    The right wing was a little slower to react given the distance from the firework as well as momentary confusion and because of that they paid a price.

    Practically the instant the left wing started to leave the snow and soil underneath their feet started to shift and vibrate. The hidden webbing was pushed to the surface and a momentterrge circr doors were wrenched open and from insiderge spiders appeared.

    They were roughly 3 metres in diameter, had ck and purple colourings, thick hairy legs and devastatingly sharp fangs. Several of these frightening monsters attacked the nearest living thing in sight, biting down upon their flesh as they forcibly dragged them back down into their hidden bunkers.

    Some of the soldiers from the right wing were unfortunately caught in such a manner. Either themselves of their battle mounts were bitten and injected with paralysing poison, eliminating their ability to resist and within a second or two they were dragged underground never to be seen or heard from again.

    The vast majority of these spider monsters however remained in ce above their self-created trapdoor and fired dollops of poison at the fleeing Cavalry corps hoping to restrain their mobility.

    "Demonic trapdoor spiders." Colonel Casper said through a clenched jaw as he urged Avalon to pick up the pace.

    These monsters were rarely seen even in the deeperyers of the cial mountains. Vicious creatures that ambush their prey and drag them down in the depths of their underground nests. Deadly assassins, armed with some of the most potent paralytic poisons known to man.

    Thankfully Casper reacted quickly and set off the emergency firework otherwise the cavalry corps could have met with a real disaster. Quick, hidden leapers armed with a poison that affect mobility, a cavalrymen''s bread and butter. It wasn''t a stretch to say that these monsters were their antithesis or at least they held a significant advantage.

    Frost fired off some [freezing fireballs] and asionally stabbed with his ive whenever one of these demonic trapdoor spiders attacks.

    ''D and C-ranks.'' They weren''t too threatening to him but to the average member of the cavalry corps they were deadly.

    "Pick up the pace!" Casper roared as he carved a path through the still floundering nks of the alliance. The chaos was great for killing but detrimental to picking up speed, something they desperately needed right now because it wasn''t just demonic trapdoor spiders that were hunting them down. That sense of danger Frost and Casper felt was still there and still growing.

    About 15 seconds after the spiders showed themselves the ground shook once more and in the distance, barring their path to the western mountain long thick pirs appeared.

    "Fuck! Night bloom adders!" An upper ranked major who was riding nearby loudly cursed, his aura trembling as he spoke. These things were even more dangerous than the demonic trapdoor spiders.

    "Colonel!"

    "I know, I know¡­.Frost, Laman, Kursch, Deikka with me we''ll carve a path for the others." With time being such a critical factor Casper ryed his orders, summoning some of the most powerful soldiers under hismand to his side.

    "So the Demonic empire has made their move after all." The demonic trapdoor spiders and the night bloom adders were not units under any of the other alliance members, he was certain of this.

    Colonel Casper didn''t quite know how to feel about the situation. He was d that the unknown had finally revealed something but their timing and what they actually revealed spoke volumes about their nature.

    Decisive, powerful and vicious.

    Casper trying not to dwell on the overall situation but rather on the problem currently facing his team shook his head and urged Avalon to steam roll through everything in his path. To which Avalon grunted in reply before kicking it up a notch.

    "Night bloom adders." Frost muttered, he had read a little about them in thependium of monsters found in the cial mountains, but the information was quite bare. Huge, venomous vipers that could only be found in the deeperyers of the inner regions, the further north the better. Rumoured to have the blood of demons running through their veins, weakest members are C-rank. That was it.

    Keen to know more about this deadly enemy Frost turned to the Major who immediately identified them at a single nce, a man by the name of Kursch.

 Chapter 739 Cavalry assualt (6)

    "Major Kursch you know about these monsters?" Asked Frost.

    Major Kursch, a dwarf with a short stature and a strangely amiable expression given their current circumstances turned to Frost as they chased after Casper and Avalon.

    "Yes thanks to my younger cousin." He replied.

    His cousin was a talented peak 3 star cksmith who had travelled throughout the inner regions in her youth, learning all manner of skills and techniques before eventually setting up shop in Icethorne.

    "ording to her they can asionally be found at the fringes of the 9thyer and are supposedly a subspecies of another species of viper that inhabits the core regions."

    Although it was just an unconfirmed hypothesis by Kursch''s cousin anything even remotely rted to the core regions was certain to be powerful.

    Very few sapients ever managed to travel beyond the inner regions and survive but all those that were lucky enough, described it as a hellishndscape, littered with upper ranked monsters as far as the eye could see.

    B-ranks weremon, A-ranks merely umon and even S-ranks were simply rare. A chaotic ce where survival of the fittest reigned supreme.

    "Any weaknesses?"

    "F''raid not Frost. They''re fast, flexible, resistant to magic especially the ice element and pack a deadly corrosive venom that they can spit over long distances or inject directly through their fangs." Karsch replied and shrugged his shoulders causing Frost to frown.

    "The only advise I can give you is to stay away from their tails¡­Oh and try to preserve as much of their skin and organs as possible, they make for great smithing and cooking materials hehehe."

    Kurschughed and salivated at the thought of some snake hotpot.

    ''Haaaaaa guess I''ll have to y it by ear then.'' Frost sighed andmented his luck.

    "Eyes front, weapons and shields at the ready, take them down!" Colonel Casper loudly bellowed as he led the charge.

    The night bloom adders were ahead and charging right for them. Their long split tongues flickering in and out of their venomced maws as they eyed up Casper and his cohorts.

    Such delicious prey was offering themselves up on a silver tter.

    These vipers with their rugged scales easily slithered across the ice and snow faster than any horse, eager to taste Sapient flesh.

    Stretching more than 15 metres in length and numbering in the dozens these monsters made for quite an intimidating sight. Yet despite this Colonel Casper, Frost and the other Majors picked up speed and readied their weapons, diving headfirst into the monstrous pit.

    Once the distance between them reached 50 metres or so the night bloom adders arched their necks upwards. A wide hood decorated with a threatening pair of fake eyes then extended from the sides of their heads.

    Following that they all hissed as arge bubble formed and rose up through their necks.

    "Venom iing!" Casper warned and in the next second thick, viscous dollops of purple and red venom wasunched their way with immense speed.

    "Dodge!" The Cavalry corps elites took evasive actions, weaving side to side in order to dodge the corrosive rain.

    "[Fire bullets]"

    "[Wind shield]"

    "[Freezing fireball]" Two of the elites were capable of utilising low circle magic. They tested the waters with an offensive fire spell and a defensive wind spell.

    "Tssss!" The venom corroded the wind shield in less than a second while the fire bullets were quickly engulfed and extinguished.

    Only Frost''s [freezing fireball] managed to offset the venomous blob, gradually eroding it until it vanished.

    The ice fire element seemed to still be effective against them albeit barely, half of his fireball''s energy had been used up dealing with just one blob.

    Frost ned to try out his ive next but in his peripheral vision he saw someone block a blob with their shield. The thick purple and red liquid wrapped itself around the metal and instantly started to eat away at ityer byyer. The female elite was forced to dispose of her shield lest she wanted to lose an arm.

    Upon seeing such a reaction the rest of the team focused on evasive actions.

    Such an aggressive volley may be devasting for arger group but for a small squad of elites it was merely an annoyance.

    "Tsk Carol''s going to chew me out for losing another shield, she just made me that one." The female elite who abandoned her shield clicked her tongue and visibly shivered. She was more scared of dealing with the wrath of a certain cksmith than the snake monsters before her.

    "Hahahaha serves you right, who told you to block something so corrosive." Another eliteughed out loud as he and his battle mount zigzagged in amongst the purple and red rain.

    When the group were less than 20 metres away from the snakes they all unsheathed their weapons and prepared their strongest skills to make short work of the enemy.

    "Ahhhh!"

    "Urahh!"

    "Diieee!!" They roared aloud, madness marring their expressions.

    Vast explosions of energy, creative applications of chakra and razor sharp weapons crashed down on the night bloom adders.

    Blood gushed forth like geysers, instantly painting the snow and ice below bright red. A full on onught from a bunch of B-ranks was quite the destructive force.

    Even these immensely strong C-rank snakes crumbled like paper before such immense fury.

    High pitched hissing escaped their lungs as heads rolled and guts were spilled.

    "Charge through!" Casper gave another order before ripping apart a night bloom adder that reached close to 20 metres in length, a monster that was just a single step away from the B-rank.

    "Roaaaarrr!!" Avalon his trusted partner crushed another night bloom adder beneath his paws and roared out in victory.

    The other battle mounts -Kiba included- replied with their own roars, allowing the thrill of battle and carnage to flow through their veins.

    The first line of adders was down, on to the next.

    Colonel Casper and the other elites carved through the adders, making sure to stay out of range of their devasting tails whenever possible. A few of them were almost knocked off their mounts due to a single moment of carelessness.

    Unfortunately the adders had a couple B-rankmanders with intelligence. While the strongest of their group restricted Casper and the elites a few dozens fanned out from the sides and charged at the rest of the left wing.

    "Fuck!" Casper loudly cursed as he blocked a tail whip from one of the B-rankmanders.

    "Military order, focus on escaping. Don''t get bogged down with killing the enemy."

    The standard cavalry soldiers were like sheep to these ravenous snakes. Just one alone was able to take down multiple soldiers and mounts at the same time.

    Killing all of them would only dy their escape, the broken nks of the enemy were already showing signs of resurgence. The longer they stayed the worse it''d get.

    Your next read awaits at empire

    So despite knowing that such an order would result in multiple deaths Colonel Casper still issued it with nary an ounce of hesitation.

    "Frost ughter a path; the other Majors and I will cover the rear and widen it."

    "Yes Colonel!" Frost bravely replied with a firm military salute before charging ahead, picking up some of the extra ck. He''d never say no to extra DP after all, plus Kiba was showing signs of improvement.

    Although he wasn''t all that threatened by the night bloom adders Kiba was just a C-rank monster, one that was still a little aways from the peak.

    Even the slightest mistake could result in him suffering serious wounds.

    He needed to be constantly on guard, ducking and weaving, biting and wing, mowing down enemy after enemy.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The carnage, the thrill, the bloodlust all inspired him, igniting his natural instincts, the blood of a predator, a devourer that ruled both thend and sky.

    "ROOOAARRRR!" Kiba let loose a roar so earth shattering and intimidating that a B-rank Night bloom adder temporarily froze in fear. Its reptilian eyes stared at the smaller Kiba situated beneath Frost.

    Within his tiger frame and his curled up wings it saw something that made its heart lurch. An image of a fierce predator, one that relished in the flesh of snakes.

    Though the illusion was momentary it was more than enough time for Frost to take advantage of it.

    With a swift sh of his ive he severed its head from its body, opening up the path ahead. Kiba meanwhile had a sudden strong urge to eat.

    The moment the snake''s head fell to the ground he wrenched open his jaw and swallowed a massive chunk of its juicy flesh.

    It was delicious and energising, Kiba felt like he was going to explode if he didn''t continue to fight and devour his enemies.

    The two partners, one a Dungeon core and the other a winged cial tiger entered a battle focused fugue state wherein their every move was as efficient as possible. Moving in perfect concert the two killed and moved almost as fast as Casper and Avalon.

    Within a couple minutes Frost and the other elites managed to create a wide channel, wide enough for the left wing to pass through and reach the western mountain.

    "Move! Move! Move!" Casper shouted desperately, his spear stabbing in all directions. Their losses were growing exponentially, if they didn''t leave right this second then the alliance''s mid ranks would catch up and pelt them to death with ranged attacks.

    Cavalrymen after cavalrymen charged through the channel, running at full speed towards the western mountain while Colonel Casper and several other elites defended the channel and blocked the rear.

    "The way is clear Colonel!" Frost hollered. By this point there wasn''t a single spot of his robes that weren''t dyed red.

    "Good work Frost. You and Kursch guard the fleeing troops from any more surprises! Everyone else follow in pairs every ten seconds."

    "What about you Colonel?"

    "I''ll be thest to leave now go!" Casper was the strongest member of the left wing and their leader, he would hold off the enemy for as long as possible, guaranteeing the maximum number of survivors.

    He was strong, strong enough to ensure his survival even if the enemy caught up to him and started to surround him.

    The only way his life would be in true danger was if an A-rank General made a move and so far he didn''t see any signs of them heading over.

    Battle etiquette was still being upheld for now.

 Chapter 740 Heart of a soldier

    Frost and Kursch led the members of the cavalry corps'' left wing towards the western mountain, chopping down the asional night bloom viper as they passed.

    Two Majors followed in their wake every ten seconds, fiercely guarding the regr soldiers in the centre of the retreating convoy.

    With them reaching the edges of the enemy''s nks there were few obstacles in their way allowing them to pick up significant speed but even so the sudden retreat of nearly 8000 soldiers couldn''t happen in an instant.

    Colonel Casper, the leader and strongest member of the left wing defended the rear, preventing the approach of both the revitalised alliance soldiers and the rest of the night bloom adders.

    With his spear he thrust in all directions, ying monster after monster with no sign of exhaustion. Even when he was the only elite remaining in the back he still held the line.

    With a determined look on his face he swung his spear horizontally, rebuffing multiple monsters.

    "You shall not pass!" He roared while crashing the butt of his spear against the ground.

    In response the snow and ice shook and formed a violent wave that pushed back all monsters within a 20 metre radius.

    Casper was outnumbered but he wasn''t outgunned. He was a Colonel of the War Ursa Battalion for a reason.

    Thest few cavalrymen passed through the opening and gained a fair amount of distance from the enemy and just in time because a momentter a thick deluge of arrows and magic thundered down upon their former positions.

    Casper was forced to cover his body in chakra armour and strengthen his internal force with aura.

    Magic and arrows pelted down upon both his armour, exposed body and spear but there was no damage. His rank was far too high to sumb to such an uncoordinated attack, but it did hold him in ce for a few seconds.

    When the dust eventually cleared from the deluge Casper nced behind and prepared to make his own retreat but the moment he went to take the first step his instincts warned him of imminent danger.

    "Haahhhh!" He quickly swung his spear, channelling lighting chakra through both the weapon and his body.

    With the added eleration he managed to make contact in time.

    Ting!

    A high pitched ting of metal meeting metal rang out followed by a loud clicking of tongues.

    "Hmph quick reactions Colonel Casper."

    "We were just half a beat too slow." Two voices, one a woman''s and other a man''s both rather old spoke out.

    Casper pulled back his spear into a defensive stance while Avalon hunkered down and growled aggressively at the two interlopers.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Casper''s arm felt numb and the seams between a couple of his fingers showed signs of tearing. The attack he bore was strong, strong enough to wound someone like him.

    There were few of such individuals among the enemy ranks.

    He narrowed his eyes as he recognised their faces. "Colonel Abagar of the Jabrak Kingdom and Apostle Celunia of the Northen nation."

    Among their own forces the two individuals had the same rank as him but just like how theirmon soldiers paled inparison to those of the War Ursa Battalion, one on one they were no match for Casper.

    Abagar and Celunia felt a tinge of pride at being recognised by their enemy but almost instantly that pride turned into embarrassment and disdain.

    Casper spoke their names and origins but followed it with a sigh of relief and a look of derision.

    "Bastard!" Celunia holding a particr hatred for the War Ursa Battalion screeched andunched a vicious attack against Casper.

    "Shit don''t ah fuck it!" Abagar knew Casper was taunting them but was powerless to stop Celunia. After giving a brief order for the surrounding soldiers to disperse or chase after the cavalry corps'' left wing he joined the assault on Casper.

    "Hmph just the two of you want to take me on! In your dreams!" Casper showed off a wild expression as dense lightning chakra flowed through his body, granting him and Avalon an insane degree of speed and freedom.

    Despite being stronger than the two of them he couldn''t easily retreat in their presence.

    In a brief moment offort he nced at the Northern wall far in the distance. Though it wasn''t exactly clear he could still make out General Katrina standing there with her arms crossed.

    She saw him as well and responded with a curt nod which basically greenlit his battle with Celunia and Abagar.

    She and Jessica were keeping a close eye on the overall situation, especially the movements of Vash and the Generals not fighting with Jared and Danielle.

    "An ambush by the forces from the Demonic empire." Katrina muttered to herself, tapping her fingers against her arms as she thought.

    Though they were prepared for something to go wrong this particr problem was unexpected.

    "Poison, nasty stuff too."

    Poison was a real problem during a war like this one. Treating the victims required resources, resources that were finite.

    "Night bloom adders and Demonic trapdoor spiders, all at a decent rank¡­.is this merely a prelude or an arranged misdirection." Too little was known about the demonic empire, she thus she couldn''t be sure.

    Were these two species just the equivalent of disposable Vanguard forces or true representatives of their official army.

    One was bad while the other was much, much worse.

    "Ahhh the suspense is killing me. How long do I have to wait?" Katrina was getting agitated, she wanted to see the true form of the alliance''s leader, to know the extent of the behemoth that was supposedly marching upon their gates.

    "Kat." Jessica called from the side gesturing towards the Cavalry corps right wing.

    Unlike the left wing which Frost was currently a part of and who were sessfully engaging in a full retreat the right wing wasn''t faring too well.

    Their reaction to the firework was just a tad too slow allowing several of their soldiers to be dragged underground by the demonic trapdoor spiders.

    Dozens more failed to escape their spitting venom and thus sumbed to the paralytic symptoms. The remaining nk forces who were starting to revitalise thanks to the aid of their reinforcements quickly swarmed them first, tearing them apart with vicious expressions on their faces.

    Numerous losses sent a wave of panic through the right wing generating more chaos and slowing down their reactions even more. 20% of them charged desperately to the eastern mountain as fast as possible and encountered the second ambush.

    By the time Colonel Ridge managed summon a contingent of elites to cut open a path several dozens of their soldiers had already sumbed to the vipers attack.

    Their escape was hard fought and with far more losses than the left wing but even, so they seeded in the end.

    Like Casper, Ridge was guarding the rear and was eventually assailed by two enemy Colonels.

    The problem was that the two Colonels sent after Ridge were a notch stronger than the ones attacking Colonel Casper and that a certain A-rank General was in the near vicinity, asionally ncing at Ridge as if he was juicy prey.

    Katrina wasted no time dissuading such thoughts. With a loud hmph she and Jessica released their aura, harshly intimidating the enemy Generals to the point that their skin formed goosebumps, and their hearts refused to beat.

    "Lucra fall back!" Through clenched teeth General Vash reluctantly ordered.

    Katrina and Jessica were watching them like hawks, he even felt as though their intimidation was actually a taunt, daring them to make a move so they''d have a good excuse to engage in a wanton ughter.

    Lucra who was dangerously close to Ridge nced at the Northern wall in fear before shuffling back to the core of the army, leaving the two Colonels to handle Ridge.

    "Colonel Ridge might struggle toe out of this safely." Said Jessica clearly still worried about the situation.

    "An unfortunate ident if it doese to pass but also a lesson." Katrina replied calmly.

    Colonel Ridge was slightlycking whenpared to Casper, he was more arrogant, more dismissive of the enemy''s strength and less skilled in training those under him.

    Of course thisparison was strictly in regards to Colonel Casper and a few other Colonels of the War Ursa Battalion. Compared to the Colonels of the Jabrak Kingdom or the Northern nation of cial sprites and ice elementals he was a prodigy.

    The War Ursa Battalion and Duke Runak just had insanely high standards.

    While Katrina and Jessica supervised the enemy Generals, preventing their interference. And Colonels Casper and Ridge engaged in two on one duels Frost and Kursch finally reached the western mountain with the first wave of cavalrymen.

    "We''re using the same paths as before, move move move!" Kursch loudly ranted as he activated a runic medallion to open up the catbs.

    "What about the enemy?" Frost asked as he took guard on the left side of the passages.

    "Kill any who make it to the boundary during the retreat, afterwards we''ll copse the passageway."

    "Copse?"

    ''They''re going to destroy three exits, such a sacrifice ofbour and time.'' Though he agreed that such a method was secure the loss was unimaginable to him.

    Unlike him they couldn''t just use DP to carve out a tunnel, no it took time and manpower, a great deal of it too.

    "Don''t worry about it Frost, this is war. Even if we have to sacrifice the entire catbs to win we''ll do it without hesitation¡­.lives can''t be brought back but inanimate objects and structures can be rebuilt and repaired. There is noparison." Kursch was unwavering in his philosophy, a stance that reverberated within Frost''s mind.

    The heart of a soldier.

 Chapter 741 Heart of a soldier (2)

    Hundreds of cavalrymen shuffled into the western mountain every second. Their movements were seamless and well-coordinated, whichever passage they left out of that was the one they entered.

    No traffic jams, no idents.

    2 minutester what remained of the left wing had sessfully entered the mountain, leaving just the highest elites and of course Colonel Casper who was still engaging the enemy Colonels.

    "What now?" Frost asked, his ive eager to spill more blood.

    "We wait for as long as we can." Replied Major Kursch calmly, underneath however he was quite anxious.

    Colonel Casper was still quite far from the mountain, and he showed very little signs of retreating.

    Plus the enemy ranks that they had recently managed to demoralise and ughter a path through were marching towards them.

    If Casper didn''t fall back soon they would be forced to copse the tunnel early, cutting off his path to safety.

    "Kursch the Colonel''s engaged with the enemy''s top ranked, a Colonel from the Jabrak Kingdom and an Apostle from the Northen nation¡­.retreat is unlikely." Another Major who was part of thest group to leave spoke up, rifying the current situation.

    "Shit! Are we going to have to abandon the Colonel." One of the younger elites, someone with fire in their veins and bloodshot eyes roared in frustration.

    Colonel Casper was akin to the sky for the left wing, the absolute leader, their protector and for some even a father figure.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Duke Runak was the War Marshall and the heavens but the one that they interacted with on a daily basis was Casper.

    To abandon such a person was akin to stabbing themselves in the heart. The emotional pain was indescribable.

    Upon hearing the words of theirrade Frost witnessed each and every single elite clench their jaws and violently tremble. Some growled in an attempt to hold back their desire to charge off into the enemy ranks while others even cried tears of blood.

    Their hearts screamed for them to charge into battle and give aid to their Colonel, but their minds remembered their duty and Casper''s words.

    They were the Cavalry corps of the War Ursa Battalion and thus duty and following orders was above all else.

    Colonel Casper gave the order for a retreat, so retreat they must.

    "¡­200 metres." Said Kursch through the grinding of his teeth. "When the majority of the enemy reaches the 200 metre mark we''ll fall back and copse the tunnels¡­.The Colonel will have to make his own way back if he fails to return in time."

    His order was reluctantly given yet unanimously agreed upon.

    200 metres, they could wait until that point and no longer lest they wished to jeopardise the entire catbs so early in the war.

    With a decision made Frost and the elites stood their grounds with their weapons at the ready. Their frustrations could be borne by the fearless group of monsters running ahead of the masses.

    Don! sh! Bang!

    Several hundred metres from the western mountain Colonel Casper was engaging with Colonel Abagar and Apostle Celunia.

    Fighting two on one he actually held the advantage. With his highly honed lightning chakra Casper moved even faster than Indra, suddenly vanishing from their sight and reappearing somewhere else a momentter.

    At the start of the battle Celunia charged headfirst at Casper, fuelled by her anger. She moved to her own tune and because of that Casper was able to easily evade and manoeuvre between the two.

    Casper was an old dog with a bucket load of tricks and experiences. Even without the use of shy skills he could run circles around the two of them.

    While their attacks either failed to reach him or were repelled by his chakra armour his own drew blood. Not serious but enough to infuriate his opponents.

    Only when Abagar and Celunia managed to calm themselves and work together as a unit was the fight more bnced.

    As the battle progressed Casper kept looking from side to side as well as behind whenever he got a chance, gauging the overall situation.

    ''Tsk these two are so annoying.'' He wasn''t in any danger of losing against them anytime soon, but he couldn''t break away.

    With the enemy soldiers moving around him he knew that his men would have to destroy the catb''s passages soon.

    He looked back at Abagar and Celunia and then towards the south were the frontlines were engaged.

    ''Can I make it.'' He asked himself.

    The distance wasn''t too far for someone of his rank but whether he''d be allowed to or not was the question.

    Even ants when in enough quantities could take down an elephant let alone the dragons that lying in wait.

    General Katrina and Jessica could intimidate Vash and the other Generals to some degree but there was a limit.

    If his escape was truly cut off and he had no choice but to try and reach the frontlines then even if Katrina threatened to enter the battle herself Vash would still order the other Generals to take him and Ridge down.

    The Vanguard''s whole purpose was to detain and weaken the War Ursa Battalion before the main army arrived.

    Having the opportunity to take down two or even just one of the Colonels of the enemy''s Cavalry corps was not something they could easily ignore.

    Even if they didn''t do the deed themselves they could use their pressure to restrict his movements allowing the ants to nibble away.

    Casper only had one option, he needed to push them both back at the same time, so much so that he could escape their influence and desperately charge for the mountain with Avalon.

    ''It''s either do or die'' He internally sighed while dodging a blow from Celunia, one that managed to leave a shallow cut across his cheek as it grazed passed him and blew up the ground.

    By this point skills had started being used, making every attack far more deadly.

    ''Avalon it''s time to use that.'' Caspermunicated with Avalon through their soul connection.

    The mighty War ursa frowned in response before agreeing. He really didn''t like using this skill, it hurt too much.

    Casper and Avalon while charged with lightning chakra practically teleported several metres away, establishing some distance from Abagar and Celunia.

    Such a choice was dangerous because in the very instant he moved away the two enemy Colonels pulled back their weapons and prepared to use one of their strongest skills.

    Even with Casper''s speed dodging ultimate skills, especially two of them was an almost impossible task. Thankfully however he didn''t n to dodge.

    Casper took a deep breath and Avalon strengthened his legs. The two formed a solid connection through their soul pact allowing their energies tobine and flow between them as if their were a single entity.

    The four of them erupted with auras so dense that they were on the very brink of bing a tangible substance, the hall mark of an A-rank.

    The very air around them swirled and exploded from the building pressure. Three ultimate skills generated by three Colonel level fighters and a peak B-rank War Ursa, even a General would have to be on his guard.

    "[Fury of the elements, lightning avnche]!" When he and Avalon''s energies reached maximum output, and their auras had perfectly fused Casper called out the name of his most powerful skill.

    "[Cry of ice the queen]"

    "[Tiger king''s judgement]" Celunia and Abagar made their moves in the same instant.

    Behind Celunia a giant female spirit entombed in thick ice was formed. The entity initially had its eyes closed but when Celunia made her move it opened them wide and screamed so violently that the ice tomb shattered.

    For Abagar atop his appeared an enormous tiger with a natural crown resting atop its head. The summoned beast that was almost indistinguishable from a living lifeform gazed at Casper and Avalon with disregard before shing down with its mighty paw.

    These two skills were more than enough to easily blow apart someone like Bhus, a man who -when he was alive- was at the peak of the early stages.

    Frost on the other hand now being in the mid stages could perhaps survive thebined blow but his injuries would be critical perhaps even fatal.

    s it was not Frost facing down these two Colonels but Casper and his powerful battle mount partner Avalon.

    Though the pressure from these two skills made breathing an ordeal Casper was unperturbed. His energy that seemed to already be at maximum output changed.

    His lightning chakra that was empowering the skill became violent and chaotic as a second type of chakra was added.

    Casper was a natural lightning user, born with the affinity whereas Avalon could effortlessly use ice chakra.

    Over the years the two of them gradually built a tolerance and perhaps even a slight talent for one another''s element.

    As long as they were careful and used small amounts they couldbine the two, giving them an extra edge in battle.

    This skill however did not use such paltry amounts, and they were anything but careful with it.

    [Fury of the elements, Lightning avnche] was the result of many years of hard work and training.

    Casper and Avalon while working together could violently collide their chakras resulting in a chaotic burst of explosive power that could even injure someone at the A-rank.

    The only downside was that using it resulted in a painful bacsh.

    Casper and Avalon would be seriously wounded as a result and thus the technique rarely saw the light of day.

    But now, a painful bacsh was the lesser of two evils.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 742 Heart of a soldier (3)

    As Celunia''s entombed ice spirit and Abagar''s giant tiger king unleashed their might, behind Casper a chaotic mess of violent lightning repeatedly shed against sturdy ice crystals.

    The ensuing chaos generated a fierce storm that roiled and boiled, growing at an absurd rate as brutal explosions happened within.

    Within seconds the giant looming storm outshone both the ice spirit and the tiger, threatening to engulf them both.

    An ideal representation of how fragile life was in the face of mother nature.

    "Die!" Loudly bellowed Casper as he shot one final injection of chakra into the massive storm, finally pushing it over the edge.

    With a cataclysmic boom the storm burst open like a violent volcano, erupting the chaos sealed within upon Celunia and Abagar.

    ""AHHHHHH!!!!"" The two enemy Colonel screamed in terror as their ultimate skills were ripped apart and their bodies were sent flying like a pair of ragdolls.

    Bones shattered, blood erupted like a geyser and the ground all around waspletely destroyed.

    An enormous pit more then 15 metres deep and twice that in diameter was formed where Celunia and Abagar once stood.

    Such destructive prowess couldn''t go ignored. Vash and the other A-rank Generals in the core of the army turned their heads in Casper''s direction.

    Such an attack would put even them on tenterhooks let alone individuals still at the B-rank.

    "Go Avalon!" Knowing that his current predicament and disy of strength would draw attention from the sleeping dragons Casper despite his wounds ordered Avalon to retreat as fast as possible. He even summoned a few tendrils of lightning chakra to increase their speed.

    As the two ran away, dozens of blood vessels burst open throughout their bodies, quickly dyeing them blood red.

    "Cough, cough!" Casper loudly coughed, spitting up a significant amount of dark coloured blood and even bits of his lungs.

    [Fury of the elements, lighting avnche] was no joke, his body couldn''t handle such chaotic power.

    Everything in his body hurt, the pain was so bad that every signal sent to his brain was trying to knock him unconscious.

    Despite his severe injuries however Casper pulled out three metallic spheres from his storage ring, charged them with a little mana and tossed them behind, to his left and to his right.

    Moments after these spheres struck the ground they exploded, fragmenting any nearby monsters and putting up a thick smokescreen to mask his tracks.

    With that done he no longer looked back, he stuck his body as close to Avalon''s back as possible and the two ran for the western mountain in the distance.

    In the core area of the alliance''s army General Vash red at the fleeing Casper, his dark thoughts obvious for all to see.

    To his left at roughly the same time Colonel Ridge also managed to sessfully push back his opponents and make a dash to safety.

    This was not good news, not good at all.

    One of them had to die.

    With just a quick exchange of nces Vash ordered two A-rank Generals with decent speed to chase after the fleeing enemy.

    To hell with Katrina''s threats, these Colonels needed to die.

    Their movements were soon noticed by Generals Katrina and Jessica who instantly bared their fangs.

    "You dare!" They loudly questioned, their auras piercing the sky in an attempt to intimidate their enemy.

    s this time Vash was determined. He and the remaining Generals stood stalwart against their intimidation, releasing their own auras in reply.

    The speed of an A-rank was hard to describe, even with the distance between them and the narrow head starts that Casper and Ridge had managed to secure the enemy was on their heels in just 20 seconds.

    "Bastards!!" Katrina roared once more, this time taking a forceful step into the air, using her aura to form a solid surface beneath her feet.

    Her mind was split between two choices, should she continue to restrain herself orpletely let loose.

    It wasn''t the ideal time for her to go on a ughter but then again she couldn''t allow the War Ursa Battalion to lose such talented Colonels.

    This short period of indecision was exactly what Vash wanted; an A-rank only needed a moment tounch a devasting attack. Once the deed was done and the enemy was dead would she still risk an all-out war at such a juncture?

    He was gambling on the answer being no¡­.but even if he was wrong, he couldn''t let the two Colonels leave.

    A couple hundred metres from the western mountain.

    Casper and Avalon who had charged ahead as fast as they possibly could at the expense of more injuries felt the spectre of death wing at the back of their necks.

    The pressure they suddenly felt was magnitudes greater than that from Celunia and Abagar.

    ''Shit they really made a move.'' Casper felt a tinge of despair in his heart. If he wasn''t injured he wouldn''t mind going a couple rounds with a weak A-rank but now¡­.his injuries were so severe that just one well-ced attack could end him.

    Whenever he used [Fury of the elements, lighting avnche] he was gambling with his life. As long as he killed or incapacitated his enemy he''d be golden but if he failed, he was easy pickings.

    Casper felt regret, regret for his own weakness. Because of his limited strength he would never see his family again, never again fight alongside his brothers and sisters in arms, never watch the young pups grow up into a generation of soldiers stronger than thest.

    He didn''t want to die, he still had so much to live for.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But he was a man of honour and duty, if he was to die then he would die fighting.

    Casper shared his emotions with Avalon and without a single shred of fear the two turned around and readied themselves for one final battle.

    His spear and Avalon''s ws had never tasted the flesh of an A-rank fighter, perhaps today would be the day¡­.a fitting end.

    ''Sorry War Marshall, Field General Katrina I''ll be leaving ahead of schedule.'' With blood dripping down his lips and his bones aching with even the slightest of movements Casper internally bade farewell before tightly grabbing the shaft of his spear and thrusting outwards at the iing ded leg.

    "Goodbye Colonel Casper." The A-rank General, a fierce looking bipedal mantis from the blue horde said her piece before bringing down her right leg upon his head, aiming to end it in a single blow.

    "STOP!!!" Katrina roared for the third time, her aura sting out to such an extreme degree that even Vash felt his insides churn.

    Katrina was strong, far stronger than he was, but she was too slow to act. Even if she moved this very second she''d never make in time.

    General Jessica however didn''t hesitate, she conjured a 5th circle spell and shot it directly at the A-rank hounding after Colonel Ridge who was perhaps even more injured than Casper.

    The two A-rank Generalspletely ignored their antics, focusing all their efforts on the two Colonels lest they lose their nerve at the final moment. Katrina and Jessica were quite terrifying after all.

    Casper seeing the determination in the enemy General''s eyes summoned thest vestiges of his strength.

    "Urah!" He loudly grunted and thrusted with his spear.

    ng!

    His spear was easily repelled by the enemy''s ded leg. He was sent reeling backwards, his right shoulder on the brink of dislocation and his guardpletely blown apart.

    "Shit!" Casper let out a curse filled with frustration; he was too weak in his current state, carve up a piece of flesh hah he couldn''t even leave a tiny scratch.

    The mantis General donned an evil smile as she followed through with her downward cleave, Casper would be split in twain.

    "COLONEL!!!!"

    "Not today bitch!"

    "Taste my spear!"

    "And my axe!"

    Suddenly just as the mantis General''s leg was about to make contact with Casper''s head the Majors who had stayed back to guard the catb''s entrance suddenly appeared from behind with their weapons in hand.

    "Urah!!" Frost and Kursch were among them, a total of 8 B-rank fighters joined together to block the strike of an A-rank General.

    Despite their sudden movements the eight of them were quite in sync. None of them used skills so as to avoid being detected ahead of time yet even without such extras the physical strength of 8 B-ranks was nothing to sneeze at.

    With theirbined might they forced the enemy General back, saving Colonel Casper from certain death.

    "Frost!" The moment the enemy was rebuffed Major Kursch called out to Frost.

    "On it." He curtly replied before making aplete U-turn

    "Sorry about this Colonel" Frost ignored the confused, relieved and somewhat anger expression on Casper''s face and took hold of him.

    "Urgh!" Casper grunted in pain as Frost carried him from Avalon''s back and onto Kiba''s.

    The moment he was secure Kiba charged for the catbs.

    "Avalon!"

    "Don''t worry Colonel we''re on it." The moment Frost took hold of Casper a pair of B-rank War ursas nked Avalon and supported him as they ran in the same direction.

    "AHHH you bastards how dare you disobey my orders! I''ll see you all court martialled for insubordination when we return!" Casper after seeing that Avalon also being carried to safety was suddenly filled with anger.

    He red at the backs of his subordinates and loudly bellowed through fits of violent coughing.

    "Hahaha sounds great Colonel."

    "A court martial it''s been a while since myst one hahaha."

    "Try not to die on the way back Colonel otherwise who''ll punish us hehehe." The Majors allughed and smiled from ear to ear upon hearing his threats. They saved theirmander, why would they fear a little court martial.

    "Bastards!" Casper cursed once again but this time tears were streaming down his face.

    ''You better all return or else I''ll chase your asses into the underworld.''

    Casper feared for their lives, they may outnumber the enemy and be in somewhat peak condition but none of them were at the peak stage.

    7 B-ranks against a single A-rank, fighting perhaps even defeating was possible, but losses would be inevitable.

 Chapter 743 Heart of a soldier (4)

    Frost and Kiba carried Colonel Casper into the western mountain following the rest of the unit while the 7 Majors held back the enemy General.

    Individually they were no match for her but by working together as a single cohesive unit they could hold their own.

    "Ahh you damn annoying flies!" The General from the blue horde roared out her frustrations as sheshed out with her ded legs.

    Each and everysh was equivalent to a full strength blow from ate maybe even peak stage B-rank due to the shell of solidified aura wrapped around her legs.

    She was absolutely livid, her face turning red from her growing fury. Her mission was to kill Casper not thesemon officers.

    The death of a Major even seven of them couldn''t bepared to the death of a single Colonel like Casper.

    The choice to attack Casper and Ridge came with great risk. Without sess the consequences would be dire and their efforts would have been made in vain.

    A creeping fear, a primal terror wrapped around her heart, growing more vivid with every passing second.

    All she could do to resist this encroaching fear wassh out at the flies swarming around her in a desperate attempt to save their leader.

    "Kill! Kill! Kill! What are you louts waiting for! Follow them into the mountain!" Therge bipedal mantis loudly ordered as she witnessed both Casper and Avalon vanish into a hole in the ground.

    No matter how hard she hit or how fast she moved she couldn''t escape the 7 Majors restraints. Whenever she blew one away another would simply take their ce, rotating in and out so as to share the burden. They were determined to hold her in ce no matter the cost.

    "Hah is this all you''ve got." Said one the Majors as he shed with his massive axe.

    "You want to take the Colonel''s life with just this, in your dreams."

    "So this is what passes for A-rank in the alliance¡­Pathetic."

    The Majors all mocked and taunted the enemy, growing her fury and redirecting her attention to them rather than the fleeing Casper.

    Even if they died here today as long as Colonel Casper survived, and the catbs weren''t breached they''d consider this operation a sess.

    Behind them near the catbs entrances a trio of senior Captains were left in charge of the copse. Ordered to blow the tunnels to kingdome the moment the enemy forces made an advance on the mountain.

    "AARRGGGHH!!" The enemy General''s eyes turned blood red in her anger, she gave up all manner of defence and decided to kill all the annoying flies first.

    Boom!

    A Major caught unprepared by the sudden aggression had his shield blown apart and his right arm broken as his body was smashed against the ground.

    The others weren''t quite fast enough to reach him before¡­

    Squelch!

    "AAAHHH!" One of the mantis general''s ded legs stabbed him in the gut, eviscerating his intestines and leaving a gruesome, open wound that spurted out blood like a geyser.

    This decisive action didn''te without some cost, however.

    Because she focused her full attention on attacking the mantis General was left open for a counterattack.

    "DIE!! [Snakebite thrust]" Major Kursch with his spear in hand used his most developed skill, summoning the image of a vicious green snake around his spear. The apparition was filled withrge amounts of aura, solidifying its form and giving it a terrifying glint in its eyes.

    The spear and snake moving as one flew through the air, generating a high pitched ringing before crashing against the torso of the enemy General.

    Two more equally strong attacks came from two other Majors. Their attacksnding at the same time, their enemy incapable of defending herself.

    Don! Don! Squelch!

    The three attacks were on the mark, one to the torso another to the back and thest to the head. The timing was perfect, the strength behind them immense and all at the exact same time, impossible to block.

    Unfortunately their opponent was an A-rank monster, and they were just B-rank, not even at the peak.

    The attack on the back crashed against the General''s carapace with a loud thud, 50% of the power was absorbed by a barrier of aura while the rest was endured by the strength of her natural body, resulting in nothing but a small mostly superficial crack.

    Mantis monsters were not just strong physically but highly armoured thanks their dense exoskeletons. Breaching their carapace with sub star weaponry was an almost impossible task.

    And the opponent before them was not just any mantis monster but one that had reached the A-rank. The hardness of her exoskeleton likely rivalled that of 4 star metals at the very least.

    An axe filled with primal strength shed at her head, but it was easily caught by her razor sharp mandibles.

    There was no crack or nick with this one, but her mandibles were heavily bruised by the blow. Despairingly however at the moment they appeared pristine, not even a slight blemish left after taking the Major''s axe skill head on.

    Finally there was Kursch''s spear and unlike his two colleagues he actually drew some blood. The snake apparition tore apart her aura defence at the expense of its form while the spear thrust straight for a discoloured spot on her torso, likely left behind by Jared, Danielle or perhaps the meteor summoned by General Jessica and the magic corps.

    He didn''t know the origin of the weak point but nevertheless he set his sights upon it.

    His spear met with great resistance but eventually it plunged through a chink in the carapace and reached soft flesh.

    The head went in as far as 70% of its length before being unable to continue. Thin streams of the General''s blood flowed along the spearhead''s narrow grooves, dripping down onto the snow below.

    There was an eerie silence that seemed to linger forever.

    The A-rank mantis General that was roaring a second ago waspletely silent as she looked down and saw the spear thrust into her torso. She felt pain, true pain.

    A B-rank trash actually wounded her glorious body, such an insult couldn''t be allowed to pass.

    Without a single sound or warning her right foreleg cut through the air and smashed into Major Kursch sending him flying like a sack of bricks.

    "Cough!" Such a blow rattled his organs and nearly dislocated his shoulder. The opponent was far stronger than he thought.

    Following him the soldiers who attacked her back and head were also sent flying a momentter, powerless to resist such immense force.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Crack!

    The axe that was still lodged in the mantis General''s mandibles was turned into scrap metal the moment she bit down. A half-step 4 star weapon, crushed just like that.

    The owner couldn''t even bemoan his loss as he crashed into the ground with his wounded body.

    Kursch''s spear was snapped in half, the shaft tossed into the distance while the head remain lodged within her torso.

    Thest weapon failed to pierce her carapace and was thus still in the hands of the woman she just sent flying.

    Things weren''t looking good, their formation waspletely shot, half of them were injured -one in critical condition- and separated across the battle zone.

    They could onlypete with an A-rank enemy if they worked together as a cohesive unit. Split apart they''d be easy pickings and unfortunately the enemy General had set her sights on her first target.

    The man she stabbed in the gut earlier.

    She chose to kill the one in critical condition first and then gradually pick off the rest, one by one.

    By this point she hadpletely forgotten about her mission to hunt down Colonel Casper.

    She was so focused on the annoying flies buzzing around her that she let her anger override her judgement, and because that she forgot something important.

    Her anger made her ignore her sense of danger, that looming dread and pressure that made her very skin crawl and heart struggle for every beat had been forgotten.

    With murder in her eyes she red at the seriously wounded Major bleeding from his gut, his allies desperately trying to cover for him and or drag him to safety.

    Her re made the battle hardened man shiver in fear, he turned to look up at the woman''s insectoid face and a momentter she was right in front of him with her ded forelegs armed and ready to slice him apart.

    His mind became nk, and his sense of time slowed down to a crawl. He watched as she towered over his body, feeling harmless and fragile in the face of an apex predator.

    Fear? Yes he did feel afraid. He didn''t want to die but what he worried about more was therades currently by his side, ready to block this iing blow that was sure to be fatal.

    If he justy here, his friends would be seriously wounded, and his death would merely be dyed for a moment.

    The choice was obvious.

    With a determined smile on his lips he ignored the pain in his gut and picked himself up. He saw his fractured shield by the wayside¡­useless, but his sword, that was still tightly gripped in his left hand was whole.

    Pushing hisrades out of the way he charged forward with his sword, eager for a glorious death.

    ''No court martial for me I guess.''

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!