Chapter 129: The Anomalies of Ice and Snow
Arendelle.
The first snowfall of winter has dressed this beautiful seaside city in silver. This season is no longer suitable for sailing, so people gather in the small taverns to chat and drink during the winter days. The Black Reef Tavern, located near the edge of the Port Area, is the most bustling and popular place, not just because of the Southern-style barmaids, but also due to the strong liquor from the Southern Coast. A refined spirit, stronger than most of the drinks in the Frozen Kingdom, is highly favored by the people of Arendelle in the cold winter, and naturally, its price is quite high.
Inside the Black Reef Tavern, there is a throng of people.
It has three levels: the first floor is a tavern, the second floor has accommodations, and the third floor is underground, handling some unsavory business, including gambling, dog fighting, and underground boxing. The entrance to the basement is not from the tavern; it must be accessed through the alley at the back, and those without connections cannot enter.
At this moment.
The tavern owner, Kelly, is cleaning the bedsheets. She is an alluring mature woman with a distinctly feminine voice completely different from the North. Many have tried to court this beautiful and wealthy tavern owner, but those who truly know her identity feel a pang of caution upon seeing her. She is a very special woman hailing from the Amazon tropical jungle.
An Amazonian woman.
Though she possesses a mature and enchanting appearance, radiating charm in her every smile, only those who truly understand her know that she is also a very formidable assassin.
The bar’s door is pushed open.
A cloaked man walks in, shaking off the ice and snow at the entrance, and gives a bored look to the bartender before quietly making his way up to the second floor of the tavern.
The tavern owner’s gaze sharpens, and she signals the maid beside her to keep an eye on the situation, quickly heading up the stairs from the other side.
“Urgent information.”
The man is already waiting upstairs. Upon meeting, he swiftly hands over a document and says in a low voice, “Special situation! It must be sent to Modo City immediately.”
Kelly, upon hearing this, nods gravely and quickly takes the information through a secret door into the basement.
Meanwhile.
Outside the city gates of Arendelle, several knights are rapidly approaching, shouting before they even reach the gates, “Open the gates quickly! Important news needs to be delivered to the Royal Palace!”
The knights display a token.
Soon after, the heavy city gates swing open. They ride swiftly towards the Royal Palace.
Arendelle Royal Palace.
Perhaps due to the arrival of winter, people have become much lazier. The Princess surprisingly slept in today, not getting up until nearly noon. She lazily has her maids dress her and casually asks the Maid Captain beside her, only to learn that Anna is still in bed, buried in a book. Winter in Arendelle turns quiet and peaceful. At this time, with the ice and snow blocking everything, many people don’t even venture outside their doors.
“Princess!”
The sound of hurried footsteps approaches, and a female knight rushes in, whispering, “Sir Dimoton has urgent matters he wishes to discuss with you.”
Sir Dimoton?
The Princess furrows her brows slightly at this, recalling the identity of the visitor: a lord from a small village near the south.
“Tell him to wait; I’ll be right there.”
There shouldn’t be nobles suddenly wanting to see her at this time, so the Princess’s gut feeling tells her something must be wrong.
With this thought, she massages her forehead, her expression becoming somewhat fatigued.
The plague issue has just been resolved, and it seems something new is happening!
Soon.
The Princess’s figure appears in the main hall of the Royal Palace. Sir Dimoton is already waiting respectfully. As soon as the Princess arrives, he dares not look up, bowing his head and speaking urgently, “Your Majesty!”
“A demon suddenly appeared near my village. Although I led my guards to eliminate it, we discovered a dark, eerie rift at the site of the demon’s appearance, from which terrifying sounds are emanating.”
A demon?!
Upon hearing this, the Princess’s expression becomes grave, and she instantly appears beside Sir Dimoton, speaking solemnly, “Take me to see!”
A flash of magical light appears.
Before Sir Dimoton can react, he finds himself back in his village, surrounded by snow and ice, the Princess’s figure beside him.
Incredible!
The power of the Princess fills him with awe and curiosity, but before he can think further, she speaks in a low voice, “Where is it?”
“This way!” Sir Dimoton quickly leads the way.
The two rapidly pass through a wooded area. With winter’s arrival, even wild beasts are rarely seen, and a sinister power lingers in the nearby air, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
“It’s right here!” Sir Dimoton points with a grave expression.
The Princess moves through the thick snow, stepping silently without leaving a trace. Before her, a pitch-black rift opens up, emanating eerie and terrifying sounds, revealing a gloomy realm of darkness. Unlike the dimensional rifts that appeared over Modo City, this one has not closed after opening but instead forms a natural portal, maintaining a relatively stable state.
Such occurrences are rare; only certain closely-connected planes might exhibit such a phenomenon.
In the Material Plane, it almost never occurs that a naturally-formed portal appears, let alone one that connects to the Bottomless Abyss.
—“Spatial Lock!”
The snow around the Princess swirls violently, accompanied by a surge of immense power as she attempts to close the spatial rift before her. However, something unexpected happens.
She fails.
The rift does not disappear; rather, her interference seems to cause it to expand slightly, as if the overwhelming power distorts it.
This is something the Princess has never encountered before!
It seems some chaotic force is disrupting her abilities, causing even the magical energy in the nearby space to become somewhat agitated.
“Immediately send someone to seal this place!”
The Princess, with her brow furrowed, sets up a special magic circle around her, and then speaks firmly, “Dispatch nearby troops to guard this area and seal off any information related to it.”
“I’ll send court witches to investigate. Inform me immediately of any anomalies.”
Snowflakes swirl.
The surrounding snow and ice are controlled by a powerful force, instantaneously forming thirty-six intersecting ice pillars, with peculiar ice crystals on the ground, seemingly isolating the area completely from the outside.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
