Chapter 98: Frozen River
“Hey, have they been down there for too long?” Someone voiced the same concern I had, “Is anyone keeping track?”
“It’s been over a minute,” someone replied.
“Why is there no movement?”
“Give it a tug, but be careful—don’t let the rope get tangled.”
“Nothing feels out of the ordinary…”
The Kanli Swordsmen were chattering away when someone tightened the grappling rope and gave it a hard pull. Nothing budged, so they enlisted a couple of friends to help. With two or three of them yanking at the rope, bracing themselves against the bluestone wall, the rope came up a good length with ease.
“They seem to be swimming upwards!”
“Keep going—”
“Pull the other two up too; it’s taking a bit longer than expected.”
As I listened to their shouts, I tipped my hat down and stared intently at the shimmering surface of the river, where three ropes were being pulled out of the water. Beyond that, the river seemed still.
Something felt off…~
It was too quiet.
Just as I thought this, I suddenly noticed the river’s surface bubbling up nearby without warning, and then a hefty fish floated belly-up to the surface…
No, wait, that fish wasn’t swimming up—it had emerged belly-up and was completely still.
That was definitely a dead fish.~
Not just one, but a second and a third followed suit. As more bubbles came up, several dead fish surfaced in the blink of an eye, upwards of ten in just a few seconds—all belly up, clearly victims of something very much not normal.
What the…?
…Poison!
The thought hit me like a lightning bolt.
“It’s a sinister toxin!”
The Kanli Swordsmen reacted just as quickly: “Pull everyone up! There’s poison in this river—”
Among their urgent shouts, they pulled with even more effort.
Moments later, with a splash, the first person who went into the water was finally dragged out, head drooping, limbs completely limp. His wet hair clung to his face, and the rope around his waist was still tight, making him look like a cooked shrimp all curled up; no matter how roughly they pulled, he showed no sign of life.
Dead…
Or maybe just unconscious?
“Fenris!”
“Come on, move it faster—”
With another splash, the other two who jumped into the water were yanked up next.
All three Kanli Swordsmen looked similar, suspended in the air by the grappling ropes, water dripping from their hair and fingertips. From above, it was hard to tell if they were alive or dead, and their companions were pulling them back as fast as they could.
“Hey!”
“Can you hear us—”
“They’re poisoned! Who has an antidote?!”
Birdbeak Doctor!
It has to be you…
I stood on the city wall, still staring at the river surface, my eyes narrowing, lacking any motivation to greet anyone. Next thing I knew, my right hand shot up suddenly!
Crack crack crack crack crack—
With the sound of ice compressing and a cacophony like popping popcorn, suddenly, under the astonished gaze of Rect and the Kanli Swordsmen, icy spikes like steel needles began to gather above our heads. The moment my palm swung down, they rained down like bullets onto the river below!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The speed was unimaginable.
It pierced the eardrums, and the Kanli Swordsmen struggled to block their ears against the howling wind. The countless ice spikes, which seemed to just appear, vanished into thin air amidst the dispersing chill.
It was hard to tell if it was a scream or the howling wind. As ripples disturbed the river, the chaos wasn’t that earth-shattering. Many of the city’s finest warriors still hadn’t comprehended what the small foreign princess had just done.
Then suddenly, the dead fish floating on the river surface exploded.
bl**d and guts everywhere.
The Kanli Swordsmen jumped at the sound, yet with many still uncertain about what just happened, they didn’t react that strongly.
Their attention remained on the three comrades being pulled back to safety, but Rect, standing nearest to me, turned his head and shot me a shocked look.
However, now wasn’t the time to chit-chat.
After the brief upheaval, the river returned to calm, showing no signs of whether my attack had worked.
“Pull harder!”
“Are they still alive?!”
“Can’t tell, no idea—”
On the other side, the three were nearly at the top when I caught a glimpse of Rect, who had his head lowered, suddenly change his expression.
Clang!
In the next moment, he drew a short sword from his waist, its blade glinting coldly!
“Let go!”
His face darkened as he shouted, with no room for protest. Without hesitation, he swung his sword down onto the sturdy bluestone wall, cutting through the rope.
!
Even I was taken aback by his sudden action.
With sparks flying, the grappling rope was cleaved, and someone instinctively yelled out, but Rect didn’t stop. He turned around and with two swift strikes, cut the other two ropes as well.
The Kanli Swordsmen watched in shock as the three soon-to-be-saved comrades plummeted back into the river again.
“Captain…”
“What are you doing—!!”
Coming to my senses, I could only question in utter disbelief. But just as my panicked shouts rang out, I suddenly heard muffled ‘pops’ coming from the three falling figures.
Everyone turned their heads, realizing that yellowish-gray dust was bursting out from them, which caught the wind and seemed to drift over.
“It’s poison mist, fall back!”
Rect leaped off the city wall and cried out to everyone, “They’re already dead, but the enemy is still alive! From now on, don’t let your guard down!”
His voice was laced with fury.
Jumping down alongside him, I turned to see Rect’s face contorted, veins bulging on his forehead.
“This damned thing actually dared to approach… attack us? What a d*ath wish! Just how little do they think of us…?”
The enemy had already made the first move, taking out three of our guys. I suspected he was in the mood to rip the enemy apart right now.
But I wasn’t going to wait around. As soon as I confirmed that the Choir of Saints was indeed in the river, I intended to ensure that no one interfered in my battle with them, especially not that Birdbeak Doctor.
“Rect,” I called out to him.
“What?”
“It seems you don’t have a way to force them to surface for the time being?”
“Do you?” he shot back.
I didn’t directly answer him.
Once the yellow-gray powder wafted away and disappeared, I jumped back up on the city wall, cracking my knuckles and getting my feet moving.
“By the way, if I break the stone gate, the royal palace won’t make me pay for it, right?” I asked.
Before he could respond, I quickly added, “If that woman dares to make me pay, I’ll just fight her instead.”
Rect was taken aback.
“What are you planning—”
Boom!
He barely finished his sentence before I kicked off, leaping into the air, twisting like a fish, pausing briefly, and then, under the astonished eyes of everyone on the wall, shot towards the river like an arrow.
Whoosh—
The wind lasted only a moment.
The scene before my eyes blurred for just that instant.
In a blink, I covered the distance between the wall and the river, flipping mid-air, my right foot slightly touching the surface like a dragonfly landing on water.
Splash…
A ripple erupted.
The frost took hold along the river, spreading from where my toe touched the surface, freezing a large section of the river.
With a thud, I landed atop the solidly frozen surface, pressing my hand on the brim of my hat, letting my skirt billow naturally in the wind.
Hiding under the water was truly a hassle.
I had never fought underwater before since I didn’t swim well; even if I could, this small body of water might not clear its poison anytime soon, and even if it did, they could always toss in more…
I wasn’t sure what methods to use, but fine.
I didn’t really want to k*ll them too quickly, especially not that Birdbeak Doctor, but I had to act before they made their escape.
No more hesitation…
Then let’s—
A blue brilliance glinted in my eyes as I raised my hand, focusing on the water beneath me, fingers poised in front.
…Frost World.
Boom!!!
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Then, amid a colossal crash reminiscent of an avalanche, it skipped right past one phase.
Below the great wall, in front of the stone gate, the river water froze instantaneously without any gradual process.
Just like the earlier rain of ice spikes, the speed at which the girl moved was blindingly fast. After the explosion, those on the wall, including Rect and his companions, felt a rush of wind blowing up from below.
When they snapped back to reality, they saw the cold mist creeping in, freezing like smoke, swirling up from everywhere. Almost the entire surface of the river was covered in white mist, hazy and serpentine, making it hard to distinguish whether it was steam or frost.
Regardless, the icy wind smacked against their faces first like a slap.
Then they realized the cold; it was already a snowy day, and suddenly they noticed their own hair and eyebrows all frozen solid.
Looking down, the mist concealed most of the river gate, and on the other side, it slowly expanded towards the southbound outlet, Rect unable to take his eyes off it, he watched as the edge of the chilling mist inched dangerously close to the fishing boats docked nearby, maybe just a hundred meters or even less away.
And the frozen surface of the river had barely reached there.
Rect’s anxious demeanor eased a bit; he almost wanted to applaud.
To have such an expansive area of attack that couldn’t be fully observed yet still be careful not to harm those ships, let alone us—impressive control in unimaginable ways! Rect had thought he would praise her later when the girl came back up.
But the shouts coming from the boats on the river, and looking at the North City Water Gate half-frozen, he suddenly lost that celebratory mood.
“I…”
After two seconds of daze, he could only sigh in exasperation, “d*mn…”
