Chapter 754: Act 109 – Eternal X
“Commander Sir, we have moved forward about two li, and the landmark mountain is no longer visible behind us. In this heavy snowstorm, if we continue, we might lose our way…” A Cruzian Knight brushed the snow off his chest armor and glanced anxiously at the snow-filled sky— the piercing cold wind was roaring, and this storm came without warning— the knight looked worriedly at the bad weather and expressed his concerns to the Female Knight ahead.
Freya stopped, breathing into her palms. Her cheeks were red from the cold, and her eyebrows were covered in frost. However, Freya blinked and replied, “No, we should move forward five hundred meters more. They’re injured, they can’t have gone far.”
“Freya, if they were injured, we should have caught up with them by now. No one can run far in such weather,” Nemeses’ voice came from behind, and everyone turned around. The Lady Knight was as calm as always, and she reminded coldly, “There is something amiss, have you forgotten what Brendel said?”
“But that could be a mirage from the ice plains, light refraction, or even shadows from the Crystal Forest, all of which can cause similar illusions—”
“He said he saw wolves. Do you understand what that means?” interrupted Nemeses, “This storm is brought by wolves; it’s a bad omen. The Minren people respect wolves because they are part of twilight, representing misfortune and the destruction of the world.”
“But… didn’t the others see anything?” Freya was unsure herself. Looking into the vast whiteness of the snow, she felt as though a pair of pale eyes was staring at them from behind the snow. The others felt the same; they felt as if this ice plateau had malice towards them. The sensation was akin to an unwelcoming stranger emerging silently behind you, causing a bone-chilling shiver.
The howling wind was akin to a long-drawn, piercing wail.
Nemeses paused momentarily, her voice like shards of ice falling, “In the Black Forest, nothing is impossible. Everything is possible. If you have a premonition that something bad will happen, it will worsen for certain.”
The Cruzian Knights had naturally heard this saying before, and they felt their scalps tingle with fear. Freya hesitated as well. Just then, a person stumbled out of the snowstorm from afar. It was one of the second group of scouts they had dispatched a while ago. Their mission was to find the first group of scouts sent out half an hour before, but when Freya saw the expression on his face, her heart sank.
“Xiao Peiluo, Arleigh, Commander Sir… Emerald and Anika… ”
“What is the matter -”
“Be quiet, Arleigh, let Commander Sir question,” Freya had yet to speak when one of the knights behind her interrupted. However, Xiao Peiluo, the slender black-haired knight nearby, whirled around and cut the person off.
The frail knight exhaled softly and with a cold stare forced his companion to step back.
“No problem… What exactly happened?” Freya had no time to spare; she looked at the scout and asked, “What happened to them?”
“I don’t know… When we found them… they already…” The scout’s shoulders trembled almost uncontrollably. Seeing his condition, the others’ expressions immediately turned grave. They were not only comrades but also classmates from the same term. They swore to make a name for themselves in the upcoming holy war, but today they met their end here. What happened here will likely not be remembered by anyone.
“How, how could something k*ll them? In this d*mn backwater!” a knight couldn’t help but burst into an angry tirade.
“Shut up, Arleigh!” Xiao Peiluo snapped coldly at him. But when he turned, his eyes fell on Freya.
Freya’s heart was heavy as well. It was the first time her unit had suffered casualties, and for a moment, she even thought of Bud’s face. But the future Valkyrie shook her head and asked, “Who did it? Were they killed by the halflings?”
“Commander Sir… Emerald and Anika…”, the scout’s face showed fear, “They died in a strange manner…”
“Strange?”
“I can’t say… we couldn’t figure out what exactly killed them. There were no obvious wounds, but it seemed as if they were drained of bl**d. And there were no vampire bite marks on their bodies either…”
He took a deep breath and stared wide-eyed, saying, “Loro said they were frozen to d*ath, and ghosts in the snow can extract human energy, but I think that guy was talking nonsense…”
“Who’s Loro?” Freya looked back.
“He has mountain folk and Minren bl**d, he’s a superstitious guy,” Xiao Peiluo replied.
Freya was slightly surprised; she didn’t expect the Empire to discriminate against neither mountain folk nor Minren. However, her thoughts lingered on this fact only momentarily before she said, “Take us to see.”
“Freya, have you thought this through?” asked Nemeses, raising an eyebrow on the side.
“Senior, ” Freya raised her head, “Brandol hates evil, and the Erluin people are not ones to leave grievances unsettled. It doesn’t matter whether they are Cruzans or not, but they died under my command. It’s not necessary to avenge them immediately, but it is essential to figure out who killed them.”
“I understand,” Nemeses replied softly, gripping the reins of her spirit warhorse as though she had expected Freya to reply thus, “I’m just reminding you to think more about your decisions.”
“I’ve made my decision—”
Freya firmly replied; her words rang through the snowstorm, sending chills through everyone. The Cruzian warriors, at last, harbored a sliver of respect for her.
…
Rainwright Aurelius watched as the silhouette of the approaching figures became more distinct against the backdrop of the snowstorm. His somewhat tanned face, unlike that of a royal family member, remained expressionless, but this didn’t mean he wasn’t paying close attention to his surroundings—especially the young man on horseback slowly moving closer to him.
“Rainwright Aurelius.” Haruz admired this tall young man, who, as the first in line for the throne, was far steadier than him despite being of the same rank. Since they met, apart from stating his own identity, the other had barely spoken a word. His composure intrigued Haruz, spurring him to ponder how he could better fulfill his role in his current position, or how he could appear as self-assured.
Rainwright Aurelius glanced back at the youth and replied, “Haruz, under the governance of the Temple of Fire, our status is equal. You have no reason to fall behind me, which is a breach of the courtesies between our two nations.”
Haruz’s face reddened slightly, realizing he had inadvertently made a social faux pas. He certainly hadn’t meant to, being used to walking in the shadows of his elder sister or teacher. Upon receiving this reminder, he quickly loosened the reins and moved his horse forward to match Rainwright.
