Chapter 153: Soren the Extorted
In the midst of the swirling wind and snow,
Soren gently lifted the petite figure of Princess Anna into the air. She seemed a little excited, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a gust of wind filled it, turning her small face bright red. Only those who have personally experienced strong winds, storms, and typhoons can truly understand the feeling of being exposed to the wild elements after losing protection; even wizards have a certain taboo about this.
In fact, Soren was also slightly excited, as flying has always held the promise of beauty.
Their figures slowly rose, reaching an altitude of several hundred meters. This height certainly could not be described as enjoyable, for without the mountains’ cover, the cold wind became even more biting. The speed of the Flight Spell ranged roughly from 30 to 120 feet, translating to about 10 to 40 meters per second. Very few people can exceed this speed range, as anything faster is beyond human endurance, especially for relatively frail beings like wizards.
In Soren’s memory, there was only one spell capable of achieving supersonic flight!
Its name seemed to be “Spirit Flight,” a difficult high-level spell to learn that turns the caster into a spiritual form, unable to attack or cast spells, but capable of flying at speeds surpassing the sound barrier. Without mastering the specialty of [Swift Flight] and having just learned the Flight Spell, Soren’s speed was only about 10 meters per second. It was said that someone had once achieved a flying speed of over 100 meters per second, but that required a lot of specialties to sustain and necessitated protective spells, equivalent to half the speed of a jet airliner.
Flying was not as safe as one might imagine.
Because the most feared thing for wizards is having someone cast “Dispel Magic” at them. If the effect of the Flight Spell is successfully canceled, no matter how high or gracefully you fly, falling would be just as awkward and tragic.
This was no joke!
Casting spells at high altitudes requires a very strong foundational skill called [Concentration] to support it, as casting spells itself necessitates focused mental energy. If your Flight Spell is dispelled and you are unable to cast spells during a free fall, or if you haven’t prepared other spells to cope with the fall, your fate awaits as you turn into a splatter on the ground. Even if you are a spellcaster, you could d*e from the fall. Thus, wizards prefer to research teleportation spells rather than invest their energy into flight spells.
Some high-level wizards who enjoy flying only solidify special spells, like Feather Flight and Dragon Wing. However, this can’t be said to be very safe either; encountering an enemy casting “Disjunction” or “Rending” could quickly leave you in despair. Essentially, the Flight Spell is definitely not as elegant and free as teleportation.
In the story’s original wizards, flying is quite rare. Gloria would rather walk than fly, subconsciously reflecting this very concern.
The duration of the Flight Spell is calculated in minutes.
Soren’s spell strength was not high. At Profession Level 6, with an intelligence bonus of 5, he had an approximate spell strength of 11 points, which could sustain the Flight Spell for about 11 minutes, allowing for a flying distance of around 6000 meters. As a level 6 wizard, Soren had 2 third-level spell slots, which meant he could potentially fly for 12 kilometers.
This distance would undoubtedly be sufficient for crossing over mountains.
Strange cries echoed in the sky.
Soren seemed to hear the voice of a Frost Wyvern. He quickly lowered his altitude, then made a shushing gesture toward Princess Anna in his arms, slowly gliding past low to the ground. Battling a Frost Wyvern in the air was essentially asking for d*ath, and there were likely not just one or two groups of wyvern-type creatures in this area. The Flight Spell moves straight quickly, but the speed of ascent and descent is only half of that. Soren quietly flew past, and soon the view ahead began to open up.
Beyond the mountains lay a dense forest, a thick expanse of icy and snowy trees.
Soren undoubtedly let out a sigh of relief and quickly descended to slow his flight. Then, after entering the dense forest, he landed.
Of course, he still needed to walk thereafter.
But the path was much easier now. It took him and Princess Anna half a day to traverse the forest, gradually entering an area of human activity.
“Here. Put this on,”
Soren pulled out a cloak and handed it to Princess Anna, saying in a low voice, “Don’t talk too much on the road. And don’t take off the cloak. The deities’ chosen are very difficult to deal with, and there may be their spies here.”
Princess Anna nodded gently and donned the cloak.
This area was technically already within Arendelle’s territory, but there was no assurance that the persecution of believers hadn’t reached here. As long as there was a clear target, a legendary wizard could arrive in a short time. Soren was unsure about the situation in Arendelle; the power of the deity’s chosen ones was incredibly strong, and he did not know if the princess could handle it. The most prudent solution was to disguise themselves as they moved forward, observing the changes within Arendelle’s domain. If there were no significant movements, it should still be safe.
After all, according to Soren’s past memories, there had indeed been no major events happening in the Frozen Kingdom!
The two continued forward through the snow.
They spent a night camping in the wilderness, then moved on for several dozen kilometers, finally seeing the outline of a town.
“This is Taladough Town,” Princess Anna recalled quietly, “Continue forward, and we’ll be close to the sea. This town seems to be managed by a baron; I forget the specific name.”
There were many towns under the Kingdom of Arendelle, primarily because the arable land was not comparable to that of the Southern Region.
Here, towns were distributed more broadly; the number of large cities was less than a fifth of those in the south. However, small villages were quite scarce because it was challenging for villages to sustain themselves in the Frozen Kingdom, as the monsters here were generally tough to handle. It was evident that there were events occurring within Arendelle’s kingdom, as Soren saw alert guards and crosses erected outside the town.
The crosses.
This was a special symbol.
Unlike in previous lives where they held special religious significance, it represented a type of punishment. Only two forms of punishment regularly employed crosses: the first involved being nailed to the cross, and the second, the well-known burning at the stake. These two forms of punishment were incredibly cruel and rarely used by the kingdom. The most common penalties remained beheading or hanging. Ordinary punishments were either fines or hard labor, with the most severe being quartering.
Crosses were mainly used to punish the fallen; burning was most often used to execute followers of the Evil God.
“It seems something really happened.”
Soren took a distant glance at the cross, which was bloodied and frozen, likely someone had been nailed to it.
He turned to look at Princess Anna beside him and whispered, “Follow me silently.”
The guards of the town were on high alert.
Soren led Princess Anna forward inch by inch when suddenly there seemed to be a disturbance nearby; he noticed all the people around stepping back in awe. The commotion caught the attention of the guards, and a northern-looking, burly man who seemed to be the captain of the security team approached, shouting loudly while waving his whip. However, his expression quickly turned sour as he took a respectful step back, slightly bowing his head to indicate his humility.
What appeared was a woman.
A woman who looked somewhat bewitching, veiled, with alluring pupils and features reminiscent of Indian descent. Her hair was styled into many small braids, adorned with various trinkets. This woman wore a long black robe, emblazoned with a skull on the front—this mark could not be used lightly; anyone not a priest of the God of d*ath who dared to use this mark would attract other troubles. In fact, this woman was not a priest of the God of d*ath but a priestess of another deity.
On her chest was a sigil, a bl**d-red background with traces of bones and black antlers.
She was a priestess of the Goddess of Misfortune!
Among the gods, there were two goddesses one should take great heed of: the first was the Goddess of Luck, and the second was the Goddess of Misfortune. Regardless of whether you believe in them or not, it is best to show appropriate respect when meeting their priests. These two goddesses were notoriously difficult to deal with, their personalities and preferences hard to predict, and oddly enough, they had low religious demands from their followers.
Of all the deities in the world, the priests of the Goddess of Luck and the Goddess of Misfortune were the rarest. Regardless of whether there were priests expanding their faith, they were among the most familiar and frequently invoked deities by mortals.
Even Soren had prayed to the Goddess of Luck for fortune, highlighting how unique their existence was.
The Goddess of Misfortune was an evil and capricious goddess; her priests would hardly fare better, as they are already rare, and those who were priests of the Goddess of Misfortune were usually not simple individuals. While they could not bring you good luck, they could bind you with misfortune.
This was no joke!
The priests of the Goddess of Misfortune possessed divine techniques that could lower luck, leading to prolonged streaks of bad luck.
Humanity generally held this goddess in dread.
Soren evidently harbored considerable apprehensions regarding this goddess’s priestess, so as she walked by, he hurriedly pulled Princess Anna a bit closer, bowing slightly in respect.
No one wished to be burdened by misfortune!
Things ought to have passed without a hitch. The priestess of the Goddess of Misfortune walked straight by, and no one dared to stop her, yet she suddenly halted in front of Soren. The woman gazed at him with an enigmatic look, slowly spreading her arms, revealing a mark of antlers and bones in her palms, and softly spoke, “The goddess demands your offering…”
The people around quickly cleared a wide circle.
Soren’s expression stiffened as this action felt somewhat like extortion, as if he were compelled to offer something. Princess Anna quietly tugged at his sleeve, and without much hesitation, Soren quickly pulled out more than ten coins of Gind, carefully placing them in her palm, saying, “I humbly present this offering; may the Goddess of Misfortune watch over my enemies.”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
