Chapter 139: Let Them Regret
The north wind howled.
Snowflakes danced around in the biting cold.
On the south side of the massive iceberg, the chaotic troops in the valley began to reorganize, with the black and red formations quietly taking shape amidst the snowstorm. As the beast soldiers rushed around, voices erupted, and the injured warriors, still alive thanks to divine miracles, finally received the delayed rescue. Many were dragged or carried away with bl**d dripping from their mouths and gaping wounds, yet they continued to laugh and curse, delivering the loudest mockery at the knights’ misfortunes.
But such sounds no longer reached the ears of the knights.
At the foot of the iceberg’s northern side, Sanks, the corporal, and several solemn-faced Red Knights rode in toward that frozen hell. Dozens of them halted on the snowy slope, staring at the gruesome scene, and it took a moment before someone managed to shiveringly mumble, “Let’s go…”
“Return and tell them… there’s no need to fight anymore…”
That voice seemed steeped in deep tremors, and after a brief silence, the corporal next to Sanks, shaking as if frozen, clenched his teeth and spoke up.
“This is truly a natural disaster… so many lives lost, and for what?”
“We’re defenseless against this…”
At this moment, the Northern Army soldiers who witnessed the fall of the Knights Order felt no joy over this sudden, inexplicable victory.
Soon, they would retrace their steps down the snowy slope.
When the horned horse turned around, preparing to stamp out with its iron hooves, a thunderous crash echoed as a bolt of lightning struck down from the top of the iceberg, landing right in front of them.
The short, cloaked Masked Woman appeared again, this time with someone in tow.
“Here.”
She nodded toward the Red Knights, half-dragging, half-carrying the person to the ground. The individual landed and immediately began to cough uncontrollably, dressed in fire-red armor, hair all over the place, a bit dirty, and sporting quite a few glistening ice crystals. Many areas of the armor looked a bit damp too.
“Er, Erin Castle… troops, cough cough, standing by.”
The ragged figure sat on the ground and, after catching a few breaths amidst coughing, immediately began issuing orders to the knights. “Quickly find the fastest horned horse…”
Pointing toward the Cloaked Woman, he added, “Give it to her.”
“Lady Annie—”
Someone instantly recognized the bedraggled warrior, and as soon as they shouted, the Red Knights dismounted and rushed toward Firebird Annie.
“Are you alright?!”
“Are you hurt? Was this the church’s doing?!”
“Someone get two healers over here—”
Several warriors rushed forward. At this moment, they understood the Cloaked Woman was one of theirs, and their wariness began to fade, although a hint of caution remained. They were focused on helping Countess Annie out of the snow.
“I’m fine…”
But Countess Annie waved her hands, her weak gaze flashing with urgency. “You all, go find a horned horse, quickly!”
“Is this the one?” Sanks saw the situation and quickly dismounted. Upon hearing the Countess’s order, he pulled his temporary horned horse over and handed the reins to the Cloaked Woman. “Floridis hybrid horned horse, no owner, just look at those dark sharp horns on its head… one of the fastest in the stables!”
His tone was nonchalant, as if he were still mocking them from earlier that morning.
But inside, he was gathering his courage.
He really wanted to ask, “Who exactly are you?”
But he didn’t dare.
Meanwhile, Lady Annie pushed aside hands trying to help her and slowly stood up amid the gathered soldiers. Seeing Sanks hand over the horned horse to the Cloaked Woman, she instinctively looked up to the iceberg.
“Good, very good…”
Grabbing a flask from a nearby soldier, Annie tilted her head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, then released a heavy sigh. Turning to the Cloaked Woman, she said, “You ride it and head to Baihao City quickly. I’ll handle things here, cough… your name is Anna, right? I’m counting on you… make sure to protect her.”
“Mm.”
Sword Demon Annasiris nodded slightly.
Without even looking at the dozens of Northern soldiers now gazing at her, she grasped the strong, dark horned horse, gently petted its neck, and gracefully leaped onto its back. With a command, she turned the beast and, letting out a sharp cry, galloped toward the north, gradually fading from view.
“Lady Annie…”
Including Sanks, the group of soldiers watched the figure disappear, mixed with bewildered and confused gazes, then shifted their attention back to the Countess.
However, Annie seemed unbothered, her eyes still fixed on the one person and beast slowly vanishing in the snowstorm.
The next moment, a figure with incredible speed leaped out from the top of the iceberg, like a flying bird or a swimming dragon, cutting through the storm and transforming into a blue meteor that streaked overhead toward the direction where the Cloaked Woman and her mount had gone.
And afterward…
They saw Lady Annie smiling with an indescribable expression that was neither happy nor sad, but from the depths of her heart, it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted.
“Lady Annie, who are they, really…”
Someone finally couldn’t hold back and asked the very question Sanks had long wanted to know.
But Annie didn’t respond.
The warrior’s gaze remained fixed in the distance. Hearing the question, she merely shook her head lightly. As tears began to well up in her eyes, a serene smile slowly blossomed on her noble face, like a flower gently opening.
…………
Clop, clop, clop…
The iron hooves galloped rapidly across the snowy expanse.
The Sword Demon Miss, wearing a strange mask, rode her beast wildly. In the wind and snow, her hood was blown back, and her disheveled hair flailed behind her, slapping my face and itchy, which was quite irritating.
“Can I set your fur on fire?”
I sat behind the Sword Demon, feeling the intense jostling beneath me, and I irritably pushed her hood back down, keeping one hand on the back of my head for security.
“You’ve exposed yourself.”
The Sword Demon Miss ignored my actions and said, “You said you couldn’t be exposed.”
“Circumstances have changed; I can’t worry about that now.”
I shifted on my seat, trying to find a more comfortable position.
Then the Sword Demon added, “That female warrior knows you.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, considering my words. “The Countess of Erin Castle, a person from my father’s side… I can trust her.”
Annie had seen my face.
At that moment, after the fight, I hadn’t even had time to conceal it, and then the Sword Demon brought people over. I thought she’d be unconscious, but she quickly opened her eyes and met my gaze—Firebird had only been lightly injured, and after the knights captured her, they’d tied her up and dragged her to the back of the group as bait for us, planning to use her when the time was right. Unfortunately, freezing rain fell, killing several of the knights guarding her; Annie was only knocked out by the impact, then saved by the Sword Demon, narrowly escaping.
When she regained consciousness, she recognized me immediately.
There was no avoiding it now…
After a brief emotional outburst, I took the chance to ask her some questions. From her, I finally learned about my father’s side of the situation.
Just last night, while I was sleeping soundly, a squad of heavy cavalry from New City of Kaliye went rogue, disobeying my father’s orders to sneak into the royal city to assassinate Emperor Keynes but failed. Somehow, they ended up killing over a hundred clergy members of the church…
Due to the suddenness of the event and its extremely severe nature, my father immediately took Bella and others to deal with it. While leaving, he seemed to have issued several commands, among which was Annie’s, to gather various armies scattered in the south and return to the city to await further instructions.
Sensitive as she was, she quickly sensed something was off, so she released a dozen message crows during the night. Before she could find my mother to clarify the situation, however, she was ambushed by church members.
“I didn’t expect things would escalate to this point; they had been preparing all along…”
Almost at the same time the Northern side received the news, the clergy secretly stationed throughout the city had unleashed the Fourth Knights Order. They first targeted leaders in the city, including Annie, for a round of assassination attempts, then infiltrated Baihao City at night to swiftly subdue the hunters guarding the city gates, followed by a thorough elimination campaign in the city, trying to snuff out all Northern forces…
“Your parents may have fallen into a terrible situation…”
Annie fought back, leading eighty Red Knights through the chaos in the city, cutting a bloody path out, but by the time she exited the city, she was the only one left…
After that, she completely lost contact with her father and the city’s defenders and had no idea where my mother was or if she was safe. Escaping alone from the city, with plans to gather forces and return, she ran into the Fourth Knights’ Vice Captain Tia, was thrown off her beast during their scuffle, and became a prisoner.
“It looks like they’ve been plotting this for a long time… just waiting for this moment to arrive… There’s a mole among our ranks. Even the whistle for the calling crows has fallen into their hands… they know our every move…”
That Vice Captain Tia was the one I had beaten to a pulp not long ago, who fantasized about taking me down with her.
She had died.
Yet Annie’s words echoed in my mind.
“This time, the church is determined to eliminate us completely…”
“You must go save your mother and father… but please remember, don’t be reckless… first go to the Black Fort in the city, find Queen Victoria… she’s trustworthy… seek her help and confirm the safety of Duke and Lady… then it won’t be too late to turn against the church…”
“I’ll bring more troops back with me… those guys at Chelyrs Palace won’t be able to escape…”
“You already possess substantial power, and those greedy clergymen have no idea who they’re messing with…”
“They think they can ignore the will of the entire Northern Region just because you’re dead, and commit such unforgivable acts against Shanter Castle… a disgraceful group of shameless scoundrels…”
“We, the people of the Northern Region, cannot allow ourselves to be bullied like this…”
“Not even the church…”
“They must regret their decisions…”
“Pepé…”
