Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

The blue crystal that had been hanging around her slender neck had broken off the rope made of her ponytail and fallen to the ground.

"Vitliss!" Liu Xia couldn't help but call out, but could only watch helplessly as the Snow Spirit White Beast smashed through trees and crushed rocks like a madman, ignoring even the falling blue crystals... rushing towards the snowfield outside the hot spring valley.

Melanie keenly noticed Ryukyu's momentary lapse in concentration.

Boom!!! Melanie, who had finally recovered, unleashed her magic in an instant. Her staff condensed into a giant ice spear as she chanted at high speed, and she fiercely knocked Ryusha back!

Then, the magic circle beneath Melanie's feet instantly floated into the air, creating an ice surface, which she stomped on with great force, sending her flying away at lightning speed.

"Successful."

Like a blue comet streaking across the sky, Melanie grabbed the blue crystal on the ground, and the flow and perception of magic instantly intensified.

Goodbye, little brother Ryuka~

She seemed to be in a rare good mood. She even looked back at Ryuka, who had just landed and stabilized, and blew her a kiss before flying off in the direction Vitry had fled.

"Tsk! I don't have a four-legged body that can stride ten meters or more, nor the magic to fly through swirling snow and wind!"

Even so, Ryuka suddenly exerted force with her knees while squatting on the ground, and her heels kicked up the dirt beneath her feet.

Crimson fighting spirit provided tremendous thrust to her legs while forming a spiraling vortex around her body. Like Hetia, Ryuka transformed into a red whirlwind, a dancer in the hues of the setting sun, and chased after it.

Chapter 22 Emergency Assembly

Unlike usual nights, with Ryuka away these past few days, Kania had a rare moment of leisure after finishing her daytime work.

"Hot springs~ How wonderful..."

Kania sat at her desk, stretching out her graceful figure, imagining the hot spring vacation that would come soon, and took a book out of her drawer.

A book that is almost blank and is being written by her.

Like Anatoly Bell, who wrote "The Expedition of King Kranar," Kania Bell also wanted to write a book about herself.

This story chronicles how a mischievous, charming, and slightly arrogant little girl awakens her memories and bloodline as a witch, and together with her guardian knight and sweetheart, overthrows the world's most powerful empire.

Even if I don't succeed and die in the near future, I will still have left a trace of my existence and struggle in this world.

Perhaps it will provide some reference for other scattered liberal witch bloodlines.

Of course, it's also possible that it was banned by the Vatican or used for criticism.

As for the title, Kania hasn't decided yet, but for now, she'll tentatively call it "Kania Bell's Struggle."

However, this story should begin with my childhood experiences of growth and education.

"Being of witch blood, I naturally lost my mother shortly after birth. Therefore, I spent most of my childhood with my old-fashioned, quiet, and scholarly father..."

"Of all the bedtime stories my father told me, the one that impressed me the most was about the story behind an unusually heavy snowfall that occurred in the eastern part of the empire in the year 302 of Otus..."

Kania dipped a quill in ink and, with elegant and neat Imperial typeface, traced the letters stroke by stroke on the papyrus:

The most well-known story among locals about the heavy snowfall that defied seasonal patterns more than thirty years ago is a tale known as the "Legend of the White God."

But in the area between Sochi and Linhu, which is neither too big nor too small, different versions of the story circulate among different groups of people.

The church considered it heresy, the nobles called it a dark fairy tale about monsters wreaking havoc on humanity, and most ordinary people kept it a secret, telling the most well-known but shrouded-in mystery version, for fear of angering the 'gods' deep in the mountains again...

Scholars, however, dismissed this as nothing more than a climate anomaly in the continental climate change process, preceding the Little Ice Age.

However, my father, although a scholar, told a little-known version of the story because his family came from Linhu Town.

A beautiful, adventurous young female magician, a taciturn but kind-hearted young hunter, and the last 'princess' of a heretical race who can transform into a beautiful woman—these three characters weave a tragic fairy tale...

Boom! A loud noise suddenly rang out.

"Kanya!!! Ha! Ha!!"

The office door was flung open with a thud, and the sudden fright made Kania's hand tremble. The last stroke of the word 'fairy tale' was carelessly written out, crossing out most of the remaining blank page...

Kania stared at the scrambled pages, clenching her teeth, suppressing her anger as she looked at Hetia, who was panting heavily at the door.

But she immediately noticed Hetia's nervous expression and disheveled appearance.

Something's not right... Where's Mei? Where are you? Where's Yongkong? Where's Lin Zaizai?

"What happened? Where's Ryusha?" Kania immediately stood up and asked.

"Phew... We're still in the snowy mountains. We... we've encountered Melanie. She's fighting something. Ryusha went to scout ahead and sent me back to report and ask for reinforcements..."

Hetia was out of breath, and Kania immediately poured her a glass of water.

Despite their different stances, the two can get along well when they share common goals.

"Melanie? Melanie Snowfield? The great mage you fought before? How could you let Ryuka face her alone!"

Kania's tone was somewhat anxious and slightly reproachful, but she didn't say anything too harsh.

“It was just reconnaissance… She’s even stronger than she showed before, so Ryusha sent me to inform her.” Hetia frowned, and instead of sitting down, she followed Kania, who had changed into her coat, outside.

Hetia's horse was half-dead from running, and several guards were preparing new horses and weapons for her.

"How many people should we take?" Hetia asked Kania. Although Kania didn't know much about military matters, this question was mainly out of consideration for her identity as a witch.

This matter must not be revealed to anyone else.

Kania understood, and after a moment's thought, she immediately offered her advice.

“Choose a few elite knights with strong battle aura, and then call Anyaberg. Kira just brought her some magical crystals from the outside trade, and since her own battle aura is quite good, she's a considerable fighting force…”

"As for me, I'll go and get Kira to come up the mountain with you. After that, Kira and I will search separately from you... She's smart, understands her position, and also has heretical blood. Even if she's exposed, I don't think it will be a big problem..."

"Also, could you find a way to get Lindsay to sneak out? Without alerting Luminova, only Lindsay knows healing magic; we might need it in case..."

“Understood.” Hetia nodded. It was difficult for them to compete with a Grand Mage. The majority of their forces were simply to find Ryūsha and Melanie across the vast snowfield…

The strongest fighter in Linhu Town is undoubtedly Luminova, a high priest, but she is shrouded in too many mysteries and is also a member of the Holy See.

Moreover, Luminova is different from Lindsay... Although Lindsay is also a nun of the Holy See, she has clearly become involved in the struggle between the successors of Ottus and has selectively taken sides.

But Luminova's behavior and motives were completely unfathomable, and even Lindsay privately admitted that she didn't know much about this seemingly carefree nun colleague...

Given her previous extreme attitude towards heresy, Kania's identity must be kept completely hidden from her.

But Lindsay, to be honest, was just an Ottusian girl who had entered the Papacy as a hired hand, a concubine's daughter in a noble family with no right to inheritance. Compared to her devotion to the goddess, Lindsay felt a stronger affinity for royalty and nobility.

And she's the only one with healing abilities, so we have to bring her along no matter what.

After separating from Hetia to plan the operation, Kania ran towards the house where Kira and Evelyn lived together.

Looking at the dark, snow-capped mountains in the distance under the moonlight, Kania felt a little heavy-hearted.

Hetia said that Melanie, as an ice and snow mage, has suddenly become much stronger than she was a month ago...

This reminded Kania of the sequel to the story she had just been recording...

The magician Melanie, the hunter-turned-character Ryusha... Although their relationships with the characters in the story are different, their identities match up perfectly, making it hard for Kania not to make connections at this moment.

If the story my father told is true, then could the remaining character still exist in the deep mountains and snowfields?

Thirty years ago, the horrific culprit nearly destroyed Linhu Town and Sochi City...

Chapter 23 Snow Spirit Ruins

Kania arrived at Kira's house. The lights were off and no one was home, so she quickly went to the public bathroom. As soon as she entered the front desk, Kania immediately asked:

"Evelyn, where did your sister Kira go?"

"She's taking a shower, she just went in a little while ago. Is something wrong, Sister Kania?"

Evelyn nodded at Kania, realizing that something urgent must have happened, otherwise she wouldn't have come here, so she quickly went inside to look for her.

Atina, who works at the public bathhouse, also noticed this.

Although Kania maintained a calm demeanor, her rapid pace had caused her heart and pulse to quicken, a fact immediately detected by Atina, who was possessed by the demonic sword. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

What could have happened to Ryuka that made Kania so anxious?

Atina silently approached Elena and told her that she had suddenly remembered something at home and would be taking a leave of absence early that evening.

"Is that so? Then Atina, you should go back first. Evelyn and I will take care of the rest."

Elena smiled politely; they had gotten along quite well in just a few days.

Atina nodded, whispered "thank you," and quickly slipped away through the back door, avoiding the crowd, and went outside.

"First restriction lifted..."

In the shadows, the girl silently murmured, her eyes turning deep red as she opened and closed...

Suddenly, the darkness could no longer obstruct her vision, and she could even clearly hear the heartbeats of people in the nearby houses.

"The lord's mansion is assembling troops; their destination is... the snow mountain."

Under the cover of night, Atina moved through the town. After obtaining the information she needed, she immediately headed towards the snow-capped mountains, advancing at an astonishing speed through the shadows...

On the cold, dark snowfield, with only the moon in the sky as a reference point, Ryuka followed closely behind the blizzard whipped up by Melanie, afraid of losing her way.

Vitris and Melanie were too fast; one transformed into a huge white beast, unafraid of the thick snow, while the other flew at low altitude.

As for Ryuka, he was like a clumsy grasshopper, leaping across the snowfield with great force using his fighting spirit, occasionally sinking into snow that was up to his waist.

"This is terrible."

Ryuka couldn't help but complain, but she didn't dare to relax at all, desperately chasing after the trail of snow and wind left by Melanie.

The mountains and snowfields receded rapidly into the distance, far beyond Ryuka's memory of the map, and even the direction changed several times. Just as Ryuka was wondering if he had lost Melanie, a hidden cave finally appeared before him.

After going in a few steps, Liu Xia heard faint roars of beasts and the sound of ice crystals colliding coming from the depths.

Ryuka used to really enjoy watching women fight.

But that's the mindset of someone who's just watching the show.

It can be quite annoying when women around you are fighting.

At the end of the cave is a huge hollow, the interior of which looks like a village carved out of the mountain.

The stone walls are adorned with countless luminous, light blue crystals, making the entire space shimmer and shine like an artificial starry sky.

"This is... a magical crystal? There are so many?"

Liuxia couldn't help but pick off a piece to examine it. Apart from the fact that the color was different from the light purple she had seen before, the shape was also not very regular.

However, the magic concentration on it far exceeds that of naturally formed magic stone ore, resembling a naturally formed high-concentration magic crystal.

The space below Ryūsha is filled with many stone-carved houses and nests, some of which are the size of human dwellings, while others are wilder and larger.

However, the mottled marks on these buildings indicate that they were constructed long ago...

In the center of the densely packed, spiraling stone city lies a vast plaza.

There, Melanie was engaged in a fierce battle with the beast-like Vitry.

"Truly astonishing! The city of the Snow Spirit Clan! I have actually witnessed the ruins of an ancient era!"

Amidst the swirling ice crystals, Melanie marveled as she battled with Vitry for control of the center of the plaza.

In the center of the square stands a deep blue, semi-transparent Snow Spirit statue, the material of which is identical to the blue ice crystal they had previously fought over.

A special crystal that can amplify ice and snow magic! And it's still that big piece!

Ryūka's nerves tightened. What if that thing fell into Melanie's hands...?

But Vitry didn't seem quite right either. Her attacks were more ferocious than ever before, her body radiated an astonishing chill, and her two giant claws emitted a terrifying icy blue light.

This posture is very similar to what Ryuka understands as 'enchantment'.

Vitry's mental state clearly deteriorated after being provoked by Melanie's words. Ryuu couldn't immediately determine whether her current enhanced state was due to a mental breakdown or the statues in the plaza.

Her beast-like eyes had turned a pure ice-blue, radiating coldness, and showing no trace of reason.

The two were near the Snow Spirit Statue, and their combat power had far surpassed that of Liu Xia at this moment.

Although Ryuka could also use [Witch's Influence] to amplify himself, he felt that before understanding the background story, he needed a certain amount of rationality to judge what to do.

One Vitry alone is enough troublesome enough, someone who has lost their mind.

Fortunately, Ryūka still possesses the ability to launch ranged attacks.

Besides Hetia's sword and Ryuka's own sword, Ryuka also carried the short bow, although he didn't have many arrows, as well as the steel fork he had seized from the elite snow goblins.

Yanran was like a walking weapon rack, and Liuxia felt a pang of envy for the protagonists in the novels she had read who transmigrated to cultivation worlds. They all had storage bags and spatial rings, far superior to what she had now.

With the arrow nocked on the bowstring, Liu Xia focused her mind and a wisp of battle qi wrapped around the arrow. Although the battle qi would dissipate during the arrow's flight, it could increase its power within a certain range.