Chapter 10 (1/2)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Snow witch

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As everyone knew, the strongest lord in all of Finanse was Lord Ansai, the leader of the Southern Alliance.

Only the Anleis River separated the southern extremities of my domain from this alliance’s territory, so if we did not want to attract their ire and still combat the pressure other northern powers were applying, our only option was to expand westward—the first fief we had to conquer being Lord Cyth’s domain.

Though their land neither had a large size nor a particularly menacing force, n.o.body dared raid their country and make an enemy of Lord Cyth in over twenty years.

This was because Lord Cyth’s partner was a demiG.o.d.

It was said that these powerful beings possessed the strength of the ancient G.o.ds and, once they come of age, had magical power that matched high-level sorcerers. But what made others fear them the most was their terrifying ability to perform curses; once hit by the spell, the cursed, his family, and all his descendants for many generations were doomed to a lifetime of suffering.

After coming to understand this, even the bravest and most fearless warriors in my army became silent.

But we had already come this far—if I were to give up now, only certain death awaited us in the hands of our countless enemies.

I consulted Fruys if he knew of any way to fight demiG.o.ds, and his answer was to directly attack.

Using his words: “It’s just a demiG.o.d; what is there to be afraid of?”

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Lord Cyth’s demiG.o.d wife was called the “Snow Witch” due to her ability to control ice and snow. Rumors claimed that she was able to instantly turn a clear, bright day into a severe blizzard, and freeze over thousands of square miles of land in a single night. Having this kind of extraordinary power utterly frightening.

Our hearts became heavy when we heard this.

Andy and I intentionally picked a sunny day to march on to Lord Cyth’s territory to reduce the effectiveness of the Snow Witch’s powers, but sure enough, the sky became dark and gloomy when our troops were halfway there.

In a blink of an eye, dense storm clouds gathered above our heads and hostile, freezing winds came howling. Our soldiers started s.h.i.+vering one after another, and our warhorses were so cold that they dug their hooves into the ground and refused to advance a single step.

Upon seeing this, Fruys gave me a glance before spreading his wings with a lively flap, then shot upwards like a silver lightning bolt. Facing the sky, he released a thunderous roar.

Instantaneously, the ma.s.s of clouds scattered, and the air’s temperature quickly recovered. Sunlight once again shone on the earth.

The troops started marching once more.

When we arrived at Lord Cyth’s territory, the faces of the three sorcerers accompanying the army all paled in succession as they hurriedly reported back to me.

“Sir, you must pull back the troops immediately! This entire area is marked by an array of ice-type magic crystal runes, which, if we have a.n.a.lyzed correctly, will cast a forbidden blizzard spell on the army! Our magical power can’t compete against the Snow Witch’s; if we don’t withdraw…we will be annihilated.”

Beforehand, I had already carefully researched all matters related to Lord Cyth’s territory, and thus natura

lly heard of the Snow Witch’s forbidden blizzard magic. It was her most powerful spell and trump card, which is why I did not expect her to be so threatened by us that she’d bring it out at the very start of the battle.

However, it was too late now. The view before my eyes darkened all of a sudden, accompanied by ominous rumbles echoing from the horizon. The magical runes began to s.h.i.+ne silver and the screeching of the cold winds were once again heard throughout the battlefield.

A sorcerer in front of me went white: “…My lord, the forbidden spell has been activated.”

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With the forbidden magic activated, there was no way to turn back.

I stared helplessly as an enormous gray cloud that was the manifestation of this forbidden blizzard magic formed over our heads. My first thought was to look at Fruys—I always felt like he would definitely have some kind of answer.