[Vol. 9] Chapter 30: The Battle to Guard the Frozen Sea
As for the thing the soldiers had just thrown into the lanterns to light them up, it should be a magic crystal. Most likely the most common and cheapest first-rank ice-element crystal. For normal people, it’s not exactly cheap, but for a city or kingdom to use in war, it’s acceptable.
A first-rank magic crystal could never release such large-scale power. The wick inside the lantern was strange, yes, but its energy was too weak. It should only be a “trigger.” So, the real power supporting the glow of the Snow Spirit Lamps must come from some other “cost” that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
When Violet recalled the words shouted by the soldiers when they lit the lanterns, an answer already began forming in her heart.
Interesting. So the power of faith can even be used this way.
A small place like Nofenburg or even the Ice-Sea Principality couldn’t possibly have created something so powerful. And even if they did, they wouldn’t dare spread it openly. So equipment like the Snow Spirit Lamps could only have come from the [Eternal Winter Temple].
No wonder they’re the second-largest religion in the world, just after the Goddess Church. Their reputation is no exaggeration.
But while the power of faith is indeed amazing, able to create many miracles, it does not come out of nothing. It’s not some endless “cheat code” that can be used without limit. At its core, it is still the essence of intelligent beings’ soul power, transformed when they sincerely devote themselves in belief.
It’s like how a hen lays eggs. If faith is gathered slowly and steadily, offering this power not only causes no harm to the believer, but also strengthens their mind and soul, creating a win–win relationship with the god who receives it. But if it is squeezed out too harshly at once, the result may be far more dangerous.
That is why, according to Violet’s observation, when an ordinary soldier uses the Snow Spirit Lamp to release power far beyond their level, the glow can only last about half a minute at most. After that, the crystal is fully burned, and the user falls into weakness, requiring a replacement. If the attack is especially strong, the time they can hold on is even shorter.
And Nofenburg’s garrison has, at most, a few thousand troops. But since some must guard the other three sides, the soldiers defending the northern wall can’t be more than two thousand. So even if the Snow Spirit Lamps can temporarily block the wave of Calamity Beasts, the defense won’t last long.
The walls shook again and again with loud roars. Officers ran back and forth, commanding soldiers to keep up the defense. But the strongest group, the dozens of robed figures who had followed the duke’s daughter from the main fortress, hadn’t moved yet. They only adjusted their breathing quietly, keeping their eyes on the Snow Girl at the front, as if waiting for her order.
Even Violet, an outsider, could easily see the problem. So of course Lady Moraya, the Lady Fortress, understood as well. She turned her head to look at the three young girls who had so far just been “watching the show.” Her cold, beautiful face grew serious.
“Miss Violet, the situation is urgent, so I’ll be direct. Lord Lian said you may be a cleric from the Goddess Church. I want to know if that is true, or at least, among the three of you, is there anyone skilled in holy magic?”
From her tone, Violet could guess what Moraya wanted, very likely she hoped they would lend a hand. She gave a slight nod.
“No need to test us like this. We are not from the Goddess Church. But as for holy magic, especially healing or support magic, we do have some knowledge.”
The Snow Girl’s eyes lit up slightly, and she quickly asked again.
“Can you be more specific? What is the highest rank of magic you can cast?”
The priestess only gave a soft laugh and calmly shook her head.
“Lady Fortress, it would be better if you just tell us directly how you want us to act. If it’s possible, we will try to cooperate.”
Moraya froze for a moment, realizing her last question might have been a little too much. She regretted it inwardly but quickly adjusted herself and went straight to the point.
“I apologize. I was too anxious. The situation is like this…”
She then explained the strategy she had just formed, keeping it as short as possible.
Her words were not only for Violet and her companions, but also a way to deliver instructions to Lian and the other subordinates.
After listening, many frowned. Even the two dragon girls, who usually didn’t care much about the battle, showed surprised expressions. They were impressed that such a young Snow Girl could come up with such a sharp and decisive plan, though they also seemed doubtful about how realistic it was.
As expected, Alexia couldn’t help but speak up.
“It sounds clever enough. But if your hidden trump card really has that much power, who will act as the bait? Is there truly a strong fighter in this castle who can do such a thing? And even if the plan works, what are the chances that person will actually return alive?”
Her three blunt questions sounded sharp, but they made all the powerful figures around the Snow Princess, those suspected to be from the [Eternal Winter Temple], fall silent.
They all knew what becoming the bait meant. With the scale of this Calamity Beast wave, it wasn’t just about the southern priestess with unknown strength, even the most experienced high-level holy spellcaster wouldn’t dare guarantee they could come back alive.
Although if they didn’t find a way to break the deadlock, Nofenburg would eventually fall sooner or later, with their strength most of them could probably still escape alive even if the fortress was lost. Compared to a plan that was almost certain death, the choice between the two was obvious.
Seeking benefit and avoiding harm, wanting to live is the most basic instinct of almost all living beings. Even if they had faith and beliefs, at such a moment they couldn’t help but hesitate.
But during this short silence, Moraya, the one who proposed the plan, calmly spoke again.
“I’ll do it.”
“What? Absolutely not!”
As soon as she said this, Lian’s face instantly changed. The robed priests also looked at each other, troubled. But the young Lady Fortress only waved her hand and spoke calmly.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. No one here is stronger than me. If I take the role, the chances of success and survival will be highest. Lord Lian, I know your main task in following me is to protect my safety, but you also know what Calamity Beasts mean. If the fortress falls, the 100,000 people in Nofenburg will have no path to survive. Even if not for the trial, I must do this.”
Her voice was firm. Having made her decision, she no longer paid attention to the conflicted young man who wanted to speak but held back. Instead, the duke’s daughter turned her gaze to the black-haired girl watching with a quiet smile, who had not joined their argument.
“Miss Violet, I don’t know your true identity, nor why you came here or what your full strength is. But I trust my own judgment of people. So I ask for your help. If I survive this day, Moraya will repay you greatly.”
The priestess gave no verbal promise, but the smile on her lips deepened a little. She casually summoned her long, smooth white staff and nodded.
“I can take action at any time.”
“Good.”
Moraya’s character was indeed decisive. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, before anyone could object again, her slender figure rose from the city wall into the air. White ribbons floated around her, her long dress fluttering like a cloud. Under countless shocked gazes, she flew straight toward the Frozen Sea!
“Haaah!”
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!
Moraya’s sudden departure instantly drew the attention and hostility of countless Calamity Beasts. The icebergs floating near the shallows burst apart, sending out countless sharp, solid ice projectiles. The dense barrage rained down like a storm from the heavens, leaving no space at all for the girl to dodge!
A real life-or-death battle has no flashy tricks. Moraya’s action greatly eased the pressure on Nofenburg’s walls, but at the same time it threw her into extreme danger.
These iceberg-shaped Calamity Beasts clearly knew no fatigue. As long as their massive bodies weren’t completely broken down, they could continue attacking endlessly. Even though Moraya was strong and could block one or two waves, or even more, against such a flood of attacks, her strength alone was just a drop in the bucket.
Each ice projectile weighed hundreds, even thousands of pounds, larger than the slender girl herself. If her defense was broken, even a glancing hit could instantly shatter her bones and take her life.
“……”
Facing the countless shadows falling on her like raindrops, Moraya’s cold, snow-like eyes stayed calm and steady. She didn’t try to block. In midair she had no footing to rely on. Although the Snow race people naturally had some ability to fly, using magic to push themselves forward, compared to winged people or dragons, true masters of aerial battle, they were still far behind.
Taking those attacks head-on would drain her too fast. She had confidence in her strength, but never thought she could destroy such a massive swarm of Calamity Beasts on her own.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, a white beam of light shot from Nofenburg’s wall. It came later but arrived first, like a wild beast crashing onto the battlefield, instantly shattering several of the massive ice projectiles in front of Moraya!
Violet, who had been about to step in, shifted her gaze in surprise. She saw that Lian had somehow taken out a white seal, neither metal nor jade, carved with the image of a fierce beast. It radiated an undeniable energy wave. It was this seal that had released that legendary-level strike just now.
The priestess shifted her gaze in surprise. What kind of strange thing was this?
It wasn’t strange for Lian to take action, but before, his aura had clearly been no stronger than level 20 at most. Yet now, holding that seal, Violet could faintly feel a high-level power normally only found on mythical beings, there was even a hidden trace of law-like energy.
No wonder this man could enjoy such privileges in Nofenburg, to the point that even the duke’s daughter, who clearly had royal blood and strong background, had to call him “Lord.” Moraya had mentioned something earlier about a “test.” Could he be the so-called examiner?
Thinking of this, Violet didn’t rush to interfere. With Lian leading the way, the priests who seemed to come from the [Eternal Winter Temple] also began to act, firing long-range attacks to clear the path for the young Lady Fortress.
Their strength was clearly far below Lian’s, and without that strange seal as a weapon, their attacks could only shatter one or two of the incoming ice projectiles each time. But with their support, Moraya suddenly felt much less pressure.
Her graceful figure moved like a drifting cloud of snow, weaving between countless blocks of ice. In the blink of an eye, she had rushed high into the skies above the Frozen Sea, directly over the hundreds of towering icebergs.
Buzz!
Without any grand movement, a vast and ancient aura suddenly burst from her body. It seemed to trigger a special reaction in the Calamity Beast tide. Like sharks smelling blood, they instantly turned toward her, roaring and crashing after Moraya!
Her face remained calm, never slowing down. Like a blazing beacon, she circled high above the Calamity Beast tide. Once she had completely drawn the hatred of every iceberg, she suddenly spun around and dived straight into the depths of the Frozen Sea!
Splash!
Spray flew high as the snow-clan girl plunged into the water and vanished. Pulled along by her, the Calamity Beasts also dived in, paying no cost to follow her down!
The icebergs crashed into the sea, raising huge, visible waves. Countless shipwreck fragments floated up in the tide. The place where Moraya entered the water twisted into a massive whirlpool, too dark and turbulent to see what was happening inside.
Since almost all of the icebergs had been drawn after Moraya, the pressure on Nofenburg’s northern wall faded. Lian quickly ordered the soldiers to regroup, heal those who had collapsed from overusing the Snow Spirit Lamp, while he and his elites stared fixedly at the sea, waiting for the Lady Fortress’s signal.
“Master, under the sea…”
The dragon god standing at the back seemed to notice something, but hesitated. Violet only waved her hand without turning.
“If I leave for a while, you should just find a safe place and wait quietly. If something appears that these people cannot possibly handle, Alexia can step in to help. But you must not expose yourself too openly, understand?”
Although it sounded like a strange warning, Xiao Guang didn’t show any surprise. Instead, she nodded seriously.
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Mm…”
The dragon girl had grown a lot. She was already a mature dragon who could stand on her own, so Violet wasn’t worried about her making mistakes. She quickly turned her gaze back to the sea, murmuring thoughtfully.
“It should be almost time.”
The moment her words fell, the giant whirlpool suddenly froze in place. Then an enormous spray of water exploded skyward!
BOOM!!!
The thunderous roar was so terrifying that even Nofenburg’s walls shook. And then, the Snow Girl, badly wounded all over, shot out from beneath the sea as if propelled by that force!
“Now! Do it!!!”
“Yes!”
Lian’s eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he shouted, and all the robed priests raised their right hands. Clusters of blue-white energy flew out like streams flowing into the ocean, all pouring into the beast-seal in Lian’s hands, making its light blaze!
As if answering that call, the main fortress of Nofenburg erupted with icy blue aurora. It pierced through the dark clouds and rushed straight into the heavens!
“Freeze ten thousand miles, Eternal Winter descends! Divine Seal of Ice and Snow, manifest!!!”