On the Ark.

The sacred mountain stands tall among the mountains, shrouded in white mist.

“No need to go back,” he said to the young man. “Go to the border guard’s post as planned.”

The young man was immediately bewildered: "We don't need to go back? Why? Don't we need to care about the Saintess and Miss Encia anymore?"

“No need,” SilverAsh said softly. “That one will take good care of them in my place.”

……

Lin Ye originally thought that trekking and traveling in the snow was a very romantic thing.

Imagine this: towering mountains, pure white snow, travelers strolling through such a world, leaving a long trail of footprints in the snow... the scene is simply breathtaking.

However, there is always a gap between ideals and reality.

Walking in the snow consumes several times, possibly even dozens of times, the energy required to walk on flat ground. At first, the sound of footsteps in the snow sounds pleasant and delightful, but after a while, all that's left is exhaustion. After walking for just over an hour in snow that was more than ten centimeters deep, Lin Ye felt his legs were incredibly sore, as if he had been walking all day.

And, perhaps due to altitude sickness, he also felt some difficulty breathing.

This was even after he had learned the Leaping Wave Technique and his physical abilities had greatly improved. If this were in his previous life—no, back in Chernobog—Lin Ye would probably be exhausted to the point of collapse. However, he was too embarrassed to ask to stop and rest for a while.

Most people didn't seem tired at all. Cliffheart and Lappland walked at the front with great enthusiasm, as if they had inexhaustible energy, while Horn Peak followed behind them, afraid that her young lady would get lost following Lappland, that madwoman. Snowfall walked more slowly, not because she lacked stamina, but because she had to stop from time to time to pray and ring the bell.

Only Susuluo stayed by Lin Ye's side because she really couldn't walk fast; her legs were too short. One step for others was equivalent to three for her. This might not be noticeable on flat ground, but in the snow, it was the most strenuous and slowest thing for her. Lin Ye also placed his hopes for a rest on her.

After all, it was Lin Ye who proposed to enter the Holy Road, so he absolutely could not be the first to back down and say he was tired.

So he kept coaxing Susuluo: "Oh, are you very tired? Do you want to rest for a while?"

"Your face looks pale. Let's stop and rest for a bit. We don't need to rush."

"Want to rest? Take a break. I can talk to them for you. Don't be shy."

Su Suluo, unable to bear it any longer, glared at Lin Ye angrily: "You're so annoying."

But she really couldn't walk anymore, and she was panting the most heavily. If she didn't stop and rest for a while, something bad might really happen. Horn Peak noticed this and called out to Cliffheart and Lappland. Lin Ye was overjoyed, thinking he could finally rest for a bit, but Lappland ran over and carried Sussuruo on her back.

“Leave it to me. We haven’t even reached the finish line yet, how can we stop?” Lappland said to Lin Ye. “Quack doctor, I’ll carry this little one, you can walk faster.”

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly, and he was about to say something when Lappland ran away.

God knows how she managed to run faster than a dog while carrying Susuluo on her back!

So, the only person who needed to rest didn't have to rest anymore, and Lin Ye looked at the vast snow-capped mountains and felt a pain in his calves.

But just then, he heard the clear sound of a bell, and his fatigue vanished in an instant.

He turned around and saw Chu Xue standing behind him, holding the Holy Bell in her hand.

Chapter 241 The Divine Hand: What Does It Have to Do with Mephisto? (4K)

Ultimately, with the help of First Snow, or perhaps the Holy Bell, Lin Ye, who had only felt exhausted after an hour, managed to walk for an entire afternoon through the snow-capped mountains. Whenever Lin Ye thought he couldn't go on, First Snow would shake the Holy Bell, and he would instantly regain his strength. After several such instances, Lin Ye felt like an ox, and First Snow like a cowherd, whipping him with the Holy Bell whenever he couldn't go on, forcing him to keep going.

However, the sacred bell was far more powerful than the whip. The wind and snow energy contained within its sound seemed to Lin Ye no different from a performance-enhancing drug. Lin Ye couldn't help but think that if he had taken this sacred bell to his previous life and shaken it at the Olympics, wouldn't the championship have been a piece of cake?

It will most likely be classified as a prohibited item.

As for the rest of them, apart from Sussuro, who was being carried on Lappland's back, their physical abilities were several levels better than Lin Ye's. They didn't show much fatigue even as the sun set, although the atmosphere had changed slightly since they set out, mainly at the heart of the cliff.

At first, Cliffheart was very happy. After all, she was born with an adventurous nature, but she had been stuck in the small town of Rhodes Island for more than a year. Now she finally had the opportunity to come to the place she had longed for since childhood, so it was hard not to be excited. But gradually, that joy was worn down, not because of the loss of physical strength, but because she saw more than one skeleton half-buried in the snow along the way.

She knew these skeletons were mostly candidates for sainthood from past generations, just like her sister, Chuxue. But they weren't as lucky, or rather, as powerful as Chuxue; they hadn't reached the final holy mountain and could only lie in eternal rest along the path leading to it. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but turn back to look at her sister, Chuxue. Chuxue would stop before these skeletons, close her eyes, clasp her hands together, and whisper a few words of prayer before continuing onward.

So, Cliffheart gradually calmed down and was no longer as excited as before.

Lin Ye noticed Cliffheart's changes, which pleased him greatly, as this was precisely why he wanted Cliffheart to enter the Holy Path. In Lin Ye's view, the relationship between First Snow and SilverAsh was difficult to reconcile directly; it would be best to utilize the buffer between them—Cliffheart. Previously, Cliffheart had always been under the joint protection of First Snow and SilverAsh, so even after experiencing the loss of his family, he remained like an immature child. To restore First Snow and SilverAsh's relationship, or rather, to achieve mutual understanding, it was necessary to help Cliffheart, the child they had both nurtured, grow up.

Just like the words his parents used to educate him when he was a child.

"If you don't eat, we'll send you to the countryside to farm, so you can experience the hardships of farmers and how hard your parents work to earn money."

From a certain perspective, the two are quite similar.

What puzzled Lin Ye was that he was only in his early twenties, so why did he always do things that only an old father would do? He had never even had a girlfriend, which was really strange.

After it got completely dark, Horn Peak told everyone not to go any further.

“Let’s rest here tonight.” Horn Peak unpacked his backpack. “I brought a sleeping bag and a tent.”

Lappland carried Sussuro over, and after hearing Horn Peak's words, she tilted her head and said, "Huh? We're already in a place like this, why not sleep in the snow and feel the warmth of nature?"

Lin Ye glared at Lappland with annoyance: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

Lappland said matter-of-factly, "I'm not mute."

Lin Ye was too lazy to argue with Lappland. He had already discovered that Lappland was the kind of person who could bring her opponents' intelligence down to her level and then defeat them with her rich experience. So arguing with Lappland would only make him unhappy, and even if he won, he would be fine, but if he lost, he would be bitten in a fit of rage. It was simply not worth it.

However, Lin Ye did not expect that someone would support Lappland.

“I don’t need a tent or sleeping bag anymore,” said Cliffheart.

Horn Peak paused, then asked, "Why?"

Ya Xin looked at Chu Xue: "When you took this route, did you have a tent and sleeping bag?"

Chu Xue looked at Ya Xin with some surprise. Seeing Ya Xin's serious expression, she understood something and then shook her head: "No."

"Then I don't need it." Ya Xin sat down directly, took off her backpack, and hugged it to her chest. "This is fine."

Horn Peak immediately panicked: "Miss, there's no need to do this! You'll get sick!"

“If my sister can do it, then so can I… I don’t know if I can, but I want to try.” Ya Xin said softly, “I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid. I originally thought that it wouldn’t be too difficult for my sister to compete for the title of Holy Maiden, but, but…”

“Alright, Encia,” First Snow spoke up, “that’s all in the past.”

“There was no past. My sister back then was probably a year younger than I am now,” Ya Xin said. “I can no longer become a saintess like my sister. If I were to become a saintess, it would only mean something happened to my sister, and I don’t want anything to happen to her. But I still want to experience the suffering my sister went through…” As she spoke, she turned to look at Lin Ye, “Dr. Lin, is this why you sent me to the Holy Road?”

How could you guess that?

Lin Ye was somewhat surprised, but upon closer reflection, with such outstanding older and younger brothers and sisters, how could he himself be any worse? So Lin Ye acquiesced to this, after all, if Ya Xin could understand and finally comprehend Chu Xue's past hardships, then all the hard work he had put in for half a day in the snowy mountains would not have been in vain.

But what he didn't expect was that Ya Xin's understanding of his feelings went far beyond that.

“No, simply not sleeping in a tent at night isn’t enough,” Ya Xin said in a low voice. “I heard that when my sister walked the Holy Path, she was only wearing one piece of clothing.”

Lin Ye immediately sensed something was wrong.

Swipe.

Ya Xin unzipped her mountaineering suit and took it off before anyone could react. Then she started taking off her thermal underwear.

"Miss!" Horn Peak exclaimed in surprise, "What are you trying to do! Don't take it off, don't take it off!"

He tried to rush forward to stop Cliffheart, but Cliffheart moved too quickly, taking off her thermal underwear and leaving only a black sports vest underneath. Most of her skin was exposed to the cold wind, and Horn Peak didn't dare touch it.

"I want to understand how hard my sister works," Ya Xin said, glancing at her hiking boots and muttering, "These shoes are unwearable now..."

Horn Peak was nearly going crazy: "Miss, it can't be this bad, it can't be this bad!"

Lapland, standing to the side, saw this and her eyes lit up: "Oh, oh, oh, taking off your clothes to experience nature?! That's interesting, I'll join in!"

As she spoke, she began to take off her clothes.

"Stop fanning the flames!" Horn Peak glared at Lappland, then, glancing at Cliffheart as she began to unbuckle her belt, he nearly went mad. "Miss! You can't take your pants off! You can't take your pants off! Dr. Lin, why are you just watching? Why aren't you doing anything? Help me persuade Miss!"

And so, Horn Peak's screams echoed through the snow-covered mountains.

……

"These people are really having a blast," Mephistopheles said with a chuckle as he put down his binoculars. "But I think I see a familiar face. I didn't expect him to be here too. How interesting."

Behind him were more than ten people dressed in white robes and wearing masks.

“Rhodes Island, always on our side.” Mephisto turned around and looked at the “warlocks” standing behind him. “Then this time, let’s teach them another lesson. ’Yeti’ squad, this is your home turf, it’s your turn now. I’ll be here waiting for your good news and applauding your upcoming victory.”

As Mephisto finished speaking, a white mist suddenly rose from the crowd, enveloping the silent sorcerers. When the mist dissipated, there was no one left in front of Mephisto.

But Mephistopheles' smile grew even brighter.

At that moment, a male voice came through his headset.

"Are we just going to leave everything to the 'Yeti' squad like this? I admit they can perform at their best in this environment, but that heavy-armored operator on the other side doesn't seem easy to deal with. If needed, I can assist the 'Yeti' squad in taking down that heavy-armored operator."

“No, no need, Faust.” Mephistopheles chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t need to get involved. You should know that this isn’t just the Yeti Squad’s home turf.”

Who is that?

“Shelag has a god,” Mephistopheles said, gazing at the sacred mountain. “If a god truly exists, do you think it might be watching us right now?”

Faust fell silent.

"Let the 'Yeti' team try it out. Don't attack, don't even try."

“…I understand.” Faust agreed, but quickly asked, “What about the ‘Yeti’ team? I remember you promised Frostnova…”

“What did I promise? I don’t remember,” Mephistopheles said calmly. “Besides, what is a little sacrifice to uphold our ultimate truth? The road to greatness is always full of thorns and bones.”

Faust: "...Do you really believe that there is a true God in Seraphim?"

"Who knows?" Mephistopheles looked up, snowflakes landing on his face. He smiled at the sky. "It's best if there isn't one, but if there is, it's the work of God. What does it have to do with me, Mephistopheles?"

……

After a while of commotion, Cliffheart finally gave up her idea of ​​"sharing weal and woe with her sister" after being persuaded by First Snow, and stopped insisting on taking off all her clothes. When Lappland saw that Cliffheart had put her clothes back on, she felt that it was a bit silly to be freezing alone, so she calmed down.

Horn Peak can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As for Lin Ye, since Chu Xue couldn't provide him with 24-hour continuous blessings, the fatigue from traveling for half a day and the backlash from his fever finally hit him. He lay down by the campfire, looking like he was about to die, feeling unbearable pain in his legs and a dizzy head. Fortunately, he had Susuru, the official medical operator.

After feeding him a few pills and using healing Originium Arts, Lin Ye felt much better.

"Get some sleep, you'll be fine tomorrow," Su Suluo said to Lin Ye after checking his condition.

Lin Ye nodded.

Although Cliffheart insisted on not sleeping in a tent, and Lappland insisted on embracing nature, Horn Peak still set up a tent for Lin Ye to rest in. After taking his medicine, Lin Ye did indeed plan to rest immediately. Although this was his first time camping in the snow-capped mountains, he wasn't very excited. He just felt that it was indeed freezing cold, and it would be better to crawl into his sleeping bag and "hibernate" as soon as possible.

However, Horn stopped him.

"Dr. Lin," Horn Peak said seriously, "can we talk?"

Would Lin Ye dare to say no? However, he guessed what Horn Peak wanted to talk to him about. It was probably to blame him for instigating Cliffheart to do so many things and for meddlesome.

But to his surprise, the first thing Horn said to him was "thank you".

"Thank me?" Lin Ye was taken aback. "Thank me for what?"