Chapter 756: Act 110 – Eternity XI
Several ice sculptures sat or lay in the snow, their facial expressions rigid and hollow, the frozen gaze of men and women piercing the sky, devoid of life within. Freya walked past these ice sculptures with a touch of sadness, silently brushing their cold eyelids with her hand.
As the scout had mentioned before, neither Emerald nor Anika bore any obvious injuries; their skin appeared grayish and white, dehydrated and contracted, covered in ice and snow along with the corpses of fallen warhorses beneath them. On the surface, it seemed as if they had frozen to death in the snow, but what are the odds that five or six people could coincidentally freeze to death together? Moreover, both Anika and Emerald were first-tier golden warriors—such low temperatures should not have affected them at all.
Freya noticed the hollow gazes of Emerald and Anika and recalled a particular type of death associated with such expressions: one that was robbed of warmth by ghosts. Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered the night they fled Ridenburg, when Brendel led them with a white stag.
In the misty night, the majestic creature radiated a faint white glow as it forged a path through the woods, but what struck her most were the people who had died at the hands of ghosts, their faces pale, drenched in sweat, wearing that same empty expression as if they had lost their souls.
Freya lifted her head cautiously, realizing that her team was now surrounded by a silvery-gray forest, the howling snow wind sweeping through the bare branches, producing eerie sounds reminiscent of monsters wailing in the woods.
“It’s the ghosts; the spirits of the mountains and woods can absorb human souls. This forest must be their territory; we need to leave here quickly,” said a dark-skinned young man among the Cruzian knights, sounding a bit nervous. “I often heard the elders speak of their legends when I was a child. No one can kill them; once they’re after you, you’re doomed.”
“Enough, Rolo. You’re a golden-tier warrior; not many of those ghosts can stand against you. If they come, we’ll just take revenge for Emerald and Anika!” replied a knight named Arleigh impatiently. He turned to Freya and asked, “Miss Freya, do you really think there could be ghosts in this forest?” His reference to her as “Miss” instead of “Commander” signified the trust Freya had earned from every Cruzian present—trust being the foundation of teamwork.
“Anika and the others likely died without warning; what could you do?” Rolo pressed, intensifying his scrutiny.
“Should we just curl up and run away? Enough—don’t bring up Anika, or you’ll just enrage me, Rolo. Don’t let me think less of you!” Arleigh responded with anger.
“Arleigh, shut up! Is this how you speak to your companions?” Xiao Peiluo finally could not hold back, tugging at his soft gray squirrel fur hood, scolding him, then turning back to Rolo. “Rolo, knights swear their oaths to never abandon their companions. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said before, but don’t let me hear it again.”
The dark-skinned young man seemed a bit intimidated by the warning and fell silent, staring at the ground. Arleigh snorted in annoyance, turning his gaze back to the forest, appearing alert, though he still didn’t buy Rolo’s words.
Xiao Peiluo looked back at Freya and asked, “Miss Freya, what do you think? Rolo at least has a point—Anika and the others died without any warning; even if it was an ambush, it seems quite too tranquil. Anika is a seasoned scout; she’s not any less capable than I am.”
Freya furrowed her brow, noting that Anika and Emerald’s corpses did not appear to have experienced any struggle in their deaths. They seemed to have simply collapsed out of nowhere, but they were four first-tier golden warriors. She glanced in that direction and suddenly noticed a subtle detail:
“Senpai, did you notice where they were looking?”
“Uh?” Nemeses raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Anika and the others must have been looking ahead, toward that forest. Perhaps something in the trees drew their attention,” Freya replied.
“What did they find in the forest?” Arleigh asked.
“It definitely wasn’t an attacker. If an attacker came from the direction of the forest, Anika and the others wouldn’t have reacted at all,” Xiao Peiluo replied.
The others shared glances, pondering what could possibly be in the forest to catch Anika and the others off guard. After all, Anika and Emerald’s group were professional scouts in the Broken Sword Knight Brigade; they were the finest nightingales, soldiers among soldiers, and would not have let their guard down easily.
For a moment, the snowfall seemed to calm, and a strange silence arose among them, which made everyone involuntarily look at the silvery-gray forest, suddenly feeling a chill creep up their spines.
“Did you hear something?” someone suddenly asked. The speaker, clad in leather armor beneath a deep brown cloak, was the only priest among the Cruzian knights.
“What is it?” Arleigh inquired, puzzled.
“Shh—listen, there’s a sound in the wind,” Xiao Peiluo said, his expression serious as he placed a finger to his lips, signaling to the others.
Everyone fell silent, and a low yet sharp sound came through the wind, reminiscent of a whistle. The sound grew louder, suddenly whooshing from above the forest, causing everyone to instinctively grip their sword hilts and look up. They soon witnessed a breathtaking scene:
A flock of gray, crystal-carved birds flew from the treetops, densely filling the sky. The translucent bodies of these birds refracted the dark blue light of the horizon, shimmering all at once as they soared through the snowstorm, emitting a delicate chirping sound as they flew over the heads of the group.
Everyone present was astonished; they had never expected that this seemingly lifeless place would harbor such beautiful creatures. “It’s a crystal swan! My God, these elemental beings are rarely seen even in the Mountains of Stillness! There are so many! Shi Do would be thrilled to see them!” one knight suddenly exclaimed.
It was indeed a spectacle, but Xiao Peiluo and Nemeses reacted more directly; they drew their swords and alerted the others, shouting, “Be careful; there’s something in the forest!”
More than ten Cruzian knights stiffened instantly.
Following the crystal swans, the sound of trees snapping resounded from within the forest, clearly indicating that the previous flock of swans had been startled away by whatever was lurking behind them. Everyone widened their eyes, straining to see what had attacked Anika and her group.
But soon, they held their breath.
Behind the snow and wind emerged a massive shadow, gradually making its way forward, becoming clearer.
Then they saw a wolf—a colossal beast as tall as a mountain, with silver mane thrashing in the snowstorm. Its ears were long and pointed, distinct from the typical winter wolf, but its eyes were one golden and one clear, exuding an air of wisdom and coldness.
It looked down upon them from a height, with the forest appearing as grass beneath its feet, and the Cruzian knights stood like ants amid the grass.
“This… this is…” Xiao Peiluo gaped, looking up in disbelief.
“The head wolf Echis…” Nemeses’s complexion shifted. “It can’t be; it should have been sealed in…”
She suddenly realized something and instinctively fell silent. “What do we do?” All their gazes unconsciously fell upon their only commander—Freya. But at that moment, they all noticed something bizarre.
Freya was gone.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Nemeses’s heart sank.
Yet, in that moment, everyone was unaware that Freya was actually standing still; she was more astonished than anyone else present—
Because what she saw was entirely different from what the others did.
At the moment the wind picked up, Freya first heard the howls of wolves echoing through the forest. There were no crystal swans, no head wolf Echis; she saw only many pale eyes suddenly appearing from the darkness, those eyes gradually emerging from the gray forest’s shadows, forming a pack of stark white wolves.
Freya did not recognize these unfamiliar wolf-like creatures, but Brendel might be able to name them with a single word:
Pale Sons.
One of the dusk tribes most favored by the head wolf Echis, legends said they ran across the snowfields, bringing storms wherever they tread. However, their head wolf Lepecer had perished at the hands of the Sky Dragon’s ardent flame, and they too met their end in battle against the frost giant king Milos.
Freya’s eyes sharpened, and she immediately drew her sword. But just then, she noticed something peculiarly strange; she found that the Cruzian knights around her—Xiao Peiluo, Arleigh, Rolo, even Nemeses, her senpai—were all standing stock still on their horses, gazing blankly as if completely unaware of their surroundings.
Freya was instantly taken aback, the image of Anika and Emerald’s deaths flashing vividly in her mind, causing a chill to run down her spine.
“Senpai Nemeses!?” She hurriedly pushed her dazed senpai, who seemed to awaken from a trance with a slight shake.
The first thing she saw was Freya; slightly puzzled, she furrowed her brow and asked, “Freya, where did you go? Run! Xiao Peiluo and the others are already dead; I’ll hold Echis off for you…”
“Wait, what are you talking about? Everyone is still alive!” Freya interrupted her quickly. “We’re surrounded—prepare for battle, Senpai Nemeses!”
“Battle?” Nemeses was taken aback, only then noticing her surroundings. She froze on her horse and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Pale Sons? How can it be them? What about Echis?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden shriek echoed from the forest.
“WAR GODDESS! This is impossible! Why does this age still have the bloodline of the WAR GODDESS!” The voice was sharp, unlike any intelligent beings from the Vaunte continent, as if two files were being dragged across one another, creating an unsettling metallic noise.
Freya and Nemeses were suddenly startled, instinctively turning their gazes toward the source of the sound, where they saw a silver figure.
This being appeared somewhat human—it had four limbs, stood upright, and its arms stretched down to its knees, covered in silvery-white skin. However, the terrifying part was that it had no eyes, nose, or ears—its smooth face only bore a gaping black hole that could be called a mouth.
And beside this surreal creature stood an old acquaintance of Freya and Nemeses.
“Marquis Julian!?” Freya stared at the figure in disbelief, asking, “Aren’t you dead?”
Julian smiled slightly. “How could I easily die before offering my life to the true god? Freya, you and your lord must have arrived by now. We’ve been waiting for him here for quite some time.”
Freya’s heart skipped a beat.
……
(PS: I took a break for a few days due to feeling unwell. By the way, Amber is about to dive into the magnificent main storyline; I need to organize my thoughts as well, and will resume updates starting today. However, my state will take time to recover, so I won’t make promises. All I can say is, stay tuned for what lies behind the Vaunte continent.
Additionally, this major chapter of Eternity involves many elements and may be a bit long.) (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
