Arctic Queen
A black shooting star streaked across the horizon, its magnificence amplified under the translucent icy sky.
Leylin was sending out a thread of soul force every once in a while, scanning the energies of the surrounding beings.
‘It seems like Arwen’s fall caused some sort of chain reaction.’ As far as he could see, the various regions in this world of ice had been disturbed at least on some level. Many of the intellectual icy beings, such as the Arctic Tribe, and even the ice leopards and the frost dragons were beginning to rebel against the Arctic Queen’s rule.
‘It’s understandable though. The other races never could stand being under her rule anyway. Since she’s fallen, a frenzied rebellion is only to be expected,’ Leylin thought as he touched his pouch. Extracting the Icy Breath to treat his emotional stability was not the only thing he’d done. He hadn’t wasted any part of the body, not even his bloodline. It was all currently stored in his pouch.
There were still many survivors who had seen Leylin defeat Arwen, and news had spread quickly. Without the suppression of a Morning Star, the rebellion of these various races was not surprising.
‘But the Arctic Queen has been in power for so many years… It doesn’t make sense for everything to fall apart so bad so quickly…’ Leylin’s eyes twinkled with a distinct light. Even with Arwen’s death, the Arctic Queen’s guards should not have been defeated so quickly. It was like the headquarters had been destroyed with no clear commands given.
At this point, Leylin suddenly had a thought, ‘Could there be something wrong at the Arctic Queen’s palace?’
That was all he managed to think of. The shooting star that was Leylin whizzed faster into the horizon, only leaving behind after-images in the sky.
Even rank 3 creatures could only crouch on the ground, unable to move after seeing Leylin hurtling past. They were terrified by his speed and prowess…
The castle of ice was located at the heart of this world, and when Leylin came here he found that the vicinity of the place had gone up in smoke.
The many suppressed races had formed an alliance, gathering troops at the centre of the icy plains.
The few remaining guards were led by Arctic Knights as they used the terrain of the great valley at their stronghold to fight back, but it was a losing battle. It looked like this alliance would be able to enter the castle in no time at all.
‘Keke… With Arwen’s death, the entire castle’s defence is rendered useless!’ Watching the bustling camp of the allied forces, a smirk rose about Leylin’s lips, ‘When they breach the walls of the palace and, instead of victory, see the Arctic Queen who’s even more terrifying than Arwen, what kind of expression will they have?’
Leylin’s eyes did not stop on the battlefield, and instead switched to the castle.
There were a few loyal guards and the like who wanted to stop him, but they were no match for him at all. They were not even able to hold him back for a few seconds.
What Leylin found strange was that the closer he got to the castle, the weaker the resistance grew. The moment he arrived on top of the place, the guards only dared to look at him from afar, not advancing. It was as if there was some kind of terrifying danger within the castle.
‘This is the place? There’s no life force in here at all, only some kind of absorptive force…’ Leylin hovered above the castle of ice and observed its magnificence, though his eyes only held solemness.
The icy radiation had peaked here, and the concentration was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than in the outer world. It was constantly changing and growing, distorting continuously.
“Those below Morning Star probably won’t be able to survive here…” The radiation was far too powerful, to the point that no ordinary beings could handle it; it had become a life-threatening poison!
However, what astonished Leylin was not the concentration of the radiation, but the mysterious absorptive force coming from the ground.
The area under this castle of ice was like a terrifying black hole to his senses, continuously absorbing the life force of everything on the ground. On top of that, it was expanding without end.
A thick layer of white, icy powder had formed on the ground, left behind by some unlucky fighters.
Blue light shot out from Leylin’s eyes, and he cried out involuntarily. “No! It’s not their life force that’s being absorbed… It’s the frost energy and the icy nature of their bloodlines…”
Suddenly, as if having sensed Leylin’s arrival, the entire surface of the castle began to quiver.
That vague scent and aura Leylin had sensed began to awaken, its strength increasing.
“Ugh…” The mumble of a female voice resounded above the icy castle.
Large amounts of winds and snow gathered, forming the statue of a female giant.
The woman had a crown on her head, a dignified pair of freezing eyes under slender eyelashes. She extended her arms towards the distant battle.
*Rumble!* Terrifying blue pillars of light emerged from the ground, and seemed to break through into the heavens, releasing endless ripples of energy.
The eyes of those who had been embroiled in the bloody battle were suddenly filled with confusion and regret.
“All hail the Queen!” “All hail the Queen!” “All hail the Queen!”
A guard was the first to toss away his lance and shield, running towards the danger zone that he’d avoided as if it was a den of scorpions and snakes, looking extremely enthusiastic.
His legs were frozen as a blue light emerged from them and travelled underground. They then cracked off.
The guard did not notice at all. Even when his two legs were torn off, he still tried to get to the castle on his hands, the injury clotted with a layer of frost.
The frost continued to expand, covering the entirety of the guard. Traces of blue light were absorbed by the ground, causing his life force to weaken continuously.
He was zealous unto death, as if the Arctic Queen was his goddess to whom he was willing to sacrifice his everything.
‘This is even more terrifying than an illusion. Even his soul isn’t his own anymore…’ Leylin sighed from high in the sky, watching everything apathetically.
It was not just the guards. Even the opposing allied forces threw their weapons away, showing the same fanaticism after one glance at the female giant. They rushed towards the castle as well.
Countless icy statues formed and then broke down, forming a thick layer of white powder on the ground. Yet, even that did not prevent them from surging forth, wave upon wave.
Blue light was emitted from Leylin’s eyes, and great amounts of information were stored in his database. With the A.I. Chip’s collection of statistical data, everything was presented before him.
‘The attraction of the bloodline? The icy radiation too had affected their behaviour!’ Leylin touched his chin. This was not a temporary control from illusory spells, but a terrifying effect that was formed over a long period of time. That was why the effects were so good, such that even rank 3 beings could not escape.
“Looks like this is a blood sacrifice…” Leylin suddenly guessed. Perhaps the Arctic Queen had herded the various races in this world like livestock. Every once in a while, they would be harvested after reaching maturity.
“If that’s so, the Arctic Queen is probably…” A flash of determination appeared in Leylin’s eyes, Morning Star radiation engulfing the area.
The void itself seemed to tremble, and the world instantly turned black and white.
The scope of the radiation continuously widened, and the few that had yet to enter the range of the castle suddenly showed looks of pain and suffering as they collapsed to the ground, their faces distorting. Even their internal organs swelled and ruptured.
Leylin had already reached the peak of Morning Star. He usually kept his radiation sealed, which was how he brought no harm to his surroundings wherever he went. Now, his suddenly unleashing it was difficult for the rank 3 beings to bear.
The sufferance was enough for these icy beings to regain their senses. They raised their heads, eyes full of terror as they stared hard at the floating Leylin and the female giant. Making some strange sounds, they escaped without turning back.
Even so, they’d come into contact with Leylin’s powerful radiation. There were a few rank 2s and 3s at the side who could still use their own strength to rid themselves of the contamination, but those weaker than that would probably die if they were contaminated. It was only a matter of time.
Before their lives were completely burnt through, they would still have to deal with bearing the pain from the contamination.
The disturbance seemed to spread further and further as more of these tribals regained their sanity. No matter what camp they were in, these life-and-death enemies all escaped pitifully, only wanting to get as far away as possible.
The female giant in the air suddenly turned back, her eyes focussing on Leylin. Coldness was laid bare in them, but Leylin met her gaze head on.
He hadn’t interfered at first because he needed to collect information and calculate the way the energy was used. Yet, once all was said and done, he wouldn’t be so stupid as to let his opponent grow in power.
The giant made of ice snarled, and a large icy tornado was formed at her fist, hurtling towards Leylin.
A gigantic Giant Kemoyin Serpent appeared at Leylin’s back. Compared to before, it was now even larger, and its eyes glowed with greater intelligence as it hissed at the giant.
*Boom!* Formless sound waves clashed with the tornado, and snow filled the sky.