Chapter 178

**Chapter 11: Who are You?**

“Damn it! What is this chain? Why can’t I break it? With my strength, I could smash this iron chain without breaking a sweat!”

Ailin had cast her freezing magic on the chain binding her countless times, yet no matter how many attempts she made, the chain remained unscathed.

“You might as well give up. Breaking this chain is impossible for you now.”

“Who? Who’s there?”

Hearing a voice speaking to her, Ailin panicked and looked around. Who was talking to her?

“I’m right here.”

Following the direction of the voice, Ailin looked over. Oddly enough, there was no one there—wait, there seemed to be someone!

Upon squinting her eyes, Ailin noticed a figure far away, shackled just like herself.

“You must be a girl from the Ice Dragon Clan. I can tell what race you are just by the aura emanating from you.”

Once Ailin spotted the person, they spoke to her again.

“Yes, that’s correct! I am the princess of the Ice Dragon Clan and its future Dragon King, Ailin. And you are?”

Due to the great distance, Ailin could only vaguely make out the figure, and the details about the person were still unclear.

“My name is Carl, Carl Platini. I am the leader of the Blood Clan.”

“You mean the Blood Clan? But my father said they mysteriously disappeared from the continent ages ago. Why are you here?”

Ailin was surprised to find out that she was speaking to the king of the Blood Clan. It had been such a long time since she’d seen one, and to bump into them here—it felt surreal!

“Don’t you know why I’m here? Weren’t you also captured by them?”

Carl retorted, leaving Ailin at a loss.

“You were captured too? They told me they were going to make me some kind of sacrifice. Is that the same for you?”

“No. I wasn’t their target, but they have my lovely daughter in their sights.”

“Daughter?”

Ailin thought back and recalled a character among the playable roles—there was indeed a character from the Blood Clan. What was her name again? Oh right! It was Platini!

“That’s right. I fought valiantly to protect my daughter, risking my life against them. But unfortunately, I couldn’t save her. We lost track of each other in battle. I was captured and imprisoned here, likely as leverage to coerce her into submission.”

As he spoke about his circumstances, Carl let out a bitter smile. He felt completely useless for failing to protect his daughter and now ended up as a pawn in their hands to threaten her.

“That’s terrible! But wait, what about the other members of the Blood Clan? Where did they go? Why are you the only one left?”

Ailin sensed something was off. The Blood Clan had vanished from the continent; why was only their king left here?

“The other Blood Clan members… sigh. It’s heartbreaking to say, but they have been used as lab rats or energy sources by those damned beings. If they didn’t see me as a king with some value, I probably wouldn’t still be here.”

Carl grimly recounted the fate of his kin. As their king, he could only watch his people abused and turned into guinea pigs by those monsters. How could that not hurt him?

“I’m so sorry… for bringing back such painful memories.”

Ailin realized she had reminded him of his tragedies and quickly apologized.

“No, it’s fine. You did nothing wrong; the ones to blame are those Adrian People. I swear I won’t let them get away with this. One day, I will take my revenge.”

Though Ailin couldn’t see Carl’s face clearly, she could feel the fierce determination radiating from him. He hadn’t given up yet.

“But you said just now that I can’t break this chain. What do you mean? Is it really beyond my abilities?”

After calming herself down, Ailin wanted to know how he knew she couldn’t break the chain.

“Because this chain is unique. Anyone imprisoned by it cannot destroy it, no matter their strength.”

“Seriously? So we’re doomed? We just have to wait here for our doom?”

Hearing Carl’s words, Ailin felt despair wash over her. How could they possibly escape if none could break the chain?

“Not exactly. It’s true that the imprisoned cannot break it, but if someone else were to attempt, it would be child’s play.”

Carl added this key detail, giving Ailin a flicker of hope. So it wasn’t just her who was hopelessly trapped; it could be broken… if only someone else intervened.

But that raised a new question. Outside of Carl, there seemed to be no one else around, and the distance between them was far too great. Even if she wanted to ask Carl for help, it seemed impossible.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely hopeless. Gaia would surely come to rescue her! After all, he had sworn he would find her. He was that kind of man—a rock-solid, reliable guy!

“But speaking of which, how long are we supposed to stay here, I wonder…”

Restricted by this chain, Ailin felt thoroughly annoyed. While the Adrian People hadn’t made a move yet, it was only a matter of time before they did.

“Mr. Carl, how long have you been trapped here?”

To pass the time, Ailin decided to converse with Carl, hoping to alleviate their boredom.

“I can’t recall exactly. Ever since I was locked up, I’ve lost all sense of time. I couldn’t tell if it’s been a day or a century. If I had to guess, maybe around 100 years?”

“One hundred years? No way!”

Ailin couldn’t believe Carl had been stuck here for a century. Just imagining being alone for that long made her shudder. If she were forced to endure a hundred years of solitude, she would surely go insane! Yet here was Carl, still able to think rationally. That was truly impressive!