Volume 2, Chapter 60 – Lost~

On an unnamed plain within the Northern Frontier of the Snownight Empire, the reason it was called unnamed was mainly because the two little ones walking here still hadn’t figured out exactly what kind of place this was. At this moment, braving the biting cold wind and the violent blizzard, a charmingly naive little white wolf was wagging its tail and strolling through the plains while an exquisite and cute little grey bird stood atop its head. Without a doubt, these two were the sisters Li Mo and Li Yu. As for why they were wandering here instead of going to Windward City to find Miss Yumo and the others as originally intended? That was naturally because they were lost…

Yes, they were lost. After all, they were infiltrating, so in order to avoid causing a commotion, the two little ones had suppressed their power and the release of their Shadow Essence the entire time to maintain their cute pet forms. By doing this, they appeared to most people as purely harmless and adorable spirit beasts. Unless it was a relatively powerful seventh tier existence or an eighth tier powerhouse, no one could see through their impressive disguise.

However, there was a problem with this approach, which was that they could not recklessly use their Shadow Essence to perceive their surroundings. Therefore, to arrive at Windward City quietly, the sisters had to rely on a map. Li Mo naturally couldn’t use it, as a simple-minded little white wolf simply couldn’t understand a map at all. Thus, the job of guiding them fell to Li Yu.

Yet, whether it was because she couldn’t read the map, had a terrible sense of direction, or some other unknown reason, under Li Yu’s direction, the two sisters were completely lost. They were lost just like that within the blizzard…

“Wuwuwu, Li Yu, have you found the way yet? Aren’t we just lost!” Having walked for so long, the little white wolf, whose patience was already lacking, let her ears and tail droop as she spoke listlessly.

To this, the little grey bird on her back hurriedly said, “No, no! We aren’t lost! Almost there, almost there, we’ll find it soon!!”

Looking at the map with an earnest expression, this was the thirteenth time Li Yu had replied to her elder sister with those words. “Now, we just need to figure out if we are in the Fugaro Plains, the Icarus Plains, or the Snowfall Region! Once we know that, we’ll know the way!”

“Isn’t that just being lost?!” Li Mo retorted for once. Following that, the little white wolf slumped onto the snow without any motivation. “Li Yu, I’m hungry, wuwuwu…”

Hearing this, the little grey bird put down the map and looked at the sister beneath her with a helpless expression. “Who told you not to eat something properly before we left, Sister?”

“Mother wasn’t there at the time so I had no appetite, didn’t you also barely eat anything, Li Yu?”

“I… erm,” feeling her own growling stomach, the little grey bird also became somewhat depressed. For a moment, she couldn’t refute her sister’s words. Having run around this area for so many days without eating anything, it was normal to be hungry.

Although for those at the demon king tier, not eating for a long time wouldn’t do much, for those who were used to three meals a day under their mother’s education, suddenly going days without food made their stomachs feel very uncomfortable…

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“Li Yu, where can we find something to eat?”

“This…” Li Yu was momentarily at a loss for words. On this barren plain, they hadn’t seen any magical beasts or spirit beasts so far, so perhaps they were all hibernating? She wanted to find a few lucky travelers to rob, but there wasn’t even a human shadow to be seen. ‘Sigh, what a hassle…’

?!!

“Hmm? Sister?!” However, just as Li Yu was pondering how to get food, the little white wolf suddenly raised her head and looked into the distance!

“Li Yu, there, there’s the scent of food!!”

“Eh?!”

Before Li Yu could say anything, the excited white wolf dragged Li Yu along as she dashed toward the source of the food aroma!

A moment later, on a small slope not far away, a wolf and a bird poked their small heads out and peered curiously down the slope! After seeing the scene below, the young Li Mo immediately looked joyful as saliva uncontrollably leaked from the corner of her mouth.

Within Li Mo and Li Yu’s field of vision, seemingly because of the blizzard, a caravan of over thirty people was camped there. After deploying a defensive barrier, several maids and chefs had begun preparing meals. The fragrance of food continuously drifted into the surroundings, constantly stimulating Li Mo’s taste buds.

“So much food! Let’s go ask for some!”

“Wait a second, Sister!!” Li Mo, who was just about to start her great robbery endeavor, was immediately stopped by Li Yu.

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The confused little white wolf looked at her younger sister in bewilderment. “What’s wrong, Li Yu? Aren’t you hungry?”

“Don’t talk about that yet, didn’t you notice that emblem?”

“Emblem?” After making a confused sound, Li Mo followed Li Yu’s pointing and looked toward the exquisite emblem outlined in gold on the carriage. However, after observing for a moment, the dog shook her head in confusion. “What is that?”

“…” Hearing this answer, Li Yu’s face instantly turned dark.

‘Sister, wasn’t this knowledge just taught to us recently?! Can you please not return everything to the teacher so quickly!! Or were you sleepwalking during class back then!’

After suppressing a few internal complaints, Li Yu sighed as if accepting her fate. Then, the little grey bird said helplessly, “That emblem is the family crest of the Valedyn family, which is to say, the person sitting in the carriage is likely someone from the royal family…”

Li Mo: Meow?

At the same time, tens of thousands of miles away, on the outskirts of the Flowerveil City military base, a key town south of the Snownight Empire’s capital, it was the same as usual. In the early morning, Patrol Captain Kedoci led dozens of garrison soldiers to the outskirts of Flowerveil City to begin their patrol, incidentally dispersing any wandering magical beasts in preparation for the city gates opening an hour later.

However, today’s patrol seemed a bit different from usual.

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‘So, so quiet,’ Kedoci couldn’t help but feel a sliver of doubt as he patrolled the mountains.

In the past, every time they patrolled the mountains, they would encounter a large number of magical beasts and then spend a great deal of effort dispersing the beasts. Yet, what about today? Having patrolled the mountains until now, let alone a magical beast, they hadn’t even seen the shadow of a bird. In the entire mountain range, aside from the sound of their armor rubbing together, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop…

Unconsciously, an ominous premonition slowly emerged in Kedoci’s heart. Right then, a soldier beside him let out a cry of surprise. “Captain, over there by the cliff, there seems to be someone?”

‘Someone? At this time?’

Kedoci picked up his binoculars with some doubt and looked toward the cliff. In the next instant, Kedoci’s pupils shrank violently as a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Within Kedoci’s vision, a red silhouette stood prominently at the edge of the cliff. It was a young woman with phoenix eyes, long eyelashes, a straight and delicate nose, and rosy lips, paired with beautiful crimson hair dancing in the wind and a hot, perfectly curved body. This red-haired woman was undoubtedly a one-in-a-million beauty.

At the same time, this beauty was dressed in a full set of shimmering silver form-fitting armor. The breastplate, skirt armor, and the hilt of the sword at her waist were all inscribed with the emblem of the ‘Red Lotus’. From beneath the iron armor and leather guards, skin as white as frost and snow was revealed. Such attire, while giving the girl a valiant and heroic air, was also full of sexiness and temptation.

Such a woman couldn’t help but cause a slight stir in Kedoci’s heart. However, that stir was quickly suppressed. After all, as a soldier guarding Flowerveil City, his duty had to come first. For such a suspicious person to mysteriously appear in a mountain forest full of magical beasts, it was necessary for Kedoci to go forward and question her first.

Thus, Kedoci rode his warhorse and slowly approached the red-haired woman. “Miss, passage through this forest is currently prohibited, please explain why you are here. In addition, please cooperate and show your identity card.”

Kedoci, who had begun his official duties, instantly became extremely serious, his tone not softening in the slightest because of the other party’s beauty. However, after hearing Kedoci’s words, the red-haired woman did not cooperatively show her identity card. Instead, she slowly turned her head and looked toward Kedoci and the soldiers behind him, her orange-red eyes indifferent and void of emotion, causing Kedoci to feel an inexplicable chill.

“Miss, please show your identity card!” Seeing that the woman had not replied for a long time, Kedoci’s tone took on a hint of killing intent, and the battle aura around his body began to slowly emanate.

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Yet, facing such a threat of aura, the woman remained expressionless. She even silently turned her head back to look at the distant Flowerveil City. Then, the woman’s crisp and pleasant yet emotionless voice suddenly reached Kedoci’s ears. “Is the garrison awake yet?”

?!!

“Hmm? Why do you ask that?” Kedoci unconsciously felt a bit of strangeness and couldn’t help but raise his hand to grasp the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“Because if they are all asleep, it will be too late to escape. I still need someone to deliver a message to the capital.”

Hearing this, Kedoci frowned. Although the woman in front of him had not released any power, she gave him an indescribable sense of pressure. Instinctively, Kedoci drew his sword, the blade pointing directly at the red-haired woman. “You, what do you mean by…”

However, before he could finish his sentence, a crimson light suddenly flashed through Kedoci’s eyes. In the next moment, before he could even understand what was happening, Kedoci’s head suddenly made intimate contact with the ground.

?!!

‘I-I-I am…?!’

After discovering he could no longer control his body, Kedoci realized his head had already been severed from his shoulders… He completely failed to understand what the woman in front of him had done. Unfortunately, he would never have the chance to understand. Kedoci’s consciousness quickly fell into an infinite darkness…

At the same time, the red light condensed from Shadow Essence swept across every soldier behind Kedoci with equal favor. In the next instant, accompanied by shrill screams, this country path was dyed red with blood…