Chapter 214 - Extreme North and Extreme South (1/2)
In the northern region of the Anzu Kingdom, frost and snow had already covered the ground.
This mountainous region was the Anzu Kingdom’s coldest place. The northerners with rugged folk customs took root amongst the lofty mountains and high ranges, guarding the northern gates of the kingdom, and, in seven hundred years, worked hard to maintain a delicate balance with those difficult neighbors even further north.
Whether it was the Violet Kingdom in the northwest direction or the Sacred Dragon Kingdom in the northeast direction, they were never countries that were easy to deal with.
But in this disconcerting winter, new shadows surfaced from the frost. In the eyes of Duchess Victoria Wilder, these new threats were even more worrying than those unpredictable northern neighbors ——because this threat had emerged within the kingdom.
“Ice Duchess” Victoria Wilder stood on the tall balcony of the Bitter Winter Castle, looking down at the city beneath. The snow that had begun falling before winter set in only stopped last night; the city was a sea of silvery-white everywhere. The north’s typical spire buildings could effectively reduce the accumulation of snow cover; those black spires pierced through the snowy white clothing in the winter sun, standing on the plain below the castle, like black pines on a vast snow land. At one glance, they towered in great numbers.
In most places within the kingdom, the arrival of the winter sun signified the halt of production; people hid in their houses, shivering as they waited for the days to pass. However, in this northern region that was the coldest, the situation differed instead. The people here had already adapted to the cold, and for the sake of survival, they had to get used to the lengthy frigid winter that took up half a year. Even on this day where the heavy snow had just stopped, countless moving crowds could be seen in the city —— they had to, as far as possible, clear up the accumulated snow before the next round of snowfall destroyed the city’s buildings, open up paths, and while at it, drag the bodies of the homeless who’d frozen to death in the drains outside the city. And that central square that was directly facing the castle had the most crowds gathered——
The accumulated snow on the square had been cleared away. The people that gathered there had done so to watch the burning of the heretic cult believers.
Those figures cloaked in black robes were tied onto the tall wooden posts one after another. Heavy black steel chains and rune shackles bound their bodies and magical power at the same time, but their appearances that were distorted and terrifying due to the practice of sorcery still sent chills down spines.
The watching crowd had already closed in on the square. Soldiers separated these people and the heretic cult believers, gleaming swords stopping these overly agitated residents from further approaching those dangerous blasphemers. And during this process, firewood was piled on, and melted animal fat had also been splashed on.
“Burn them to death!” There was someone amongst the watching residents who finally couldn’t hold back and hollered loudly.
This single roar garnered a hundred responses. “Burn them to death!” “They killed my child!” “Burn these heretics to death!”
A high priest from the Church of Holy Light walked towards the fire execution platform. He took the holy emblem from a believer at the same time and turned around to face the enraged people.
“The God of Holy Light exposed the conspiracies of these heretic cult believers. Before more people were harmed, The Lord guided us to destroy the lair of these heretic outlaws!”
The high priest raised the holy emblem up high. He turned around and used the emblem to spark a powerful radiance, igniting the flammable oil and firewood, while shouting loudly, “Praise the Holy Light! Praise our Lord!!”
Under the effect of the Holy Light and oil, the execution platform was instantly enveloped in golden-white raging flames. The heretic cult believers tied to the posts twisted around like wax in the flames, letting out all sorts of indescribable howls. A sound resembling the calls of the mountains and snarls of the seas rang out in the square. “Praise the Holy Light!” “Praise the God of Holy Light!”
Blazing flames charged towards the sky, and the howls of those heretic cult believers amidst the fire did not cease for a long time: even until the flames had engulfed their bodies, their growls continued to come from it. The surrounding people finally realized that something wasn’t right. They watched that abnormal fire with fear and listened to the abnormal roars, and those cries finally became a language that humans could understand. The remaining spiritual power of a dozen heretic cult believers pulsed in the air, letting out a terrifying shriek. “Laugh to your heart’s content! Cry to your heart’s content! Everyone will die! All of you will die like livestock, will die like insects! ! When they return, they will eat your flesh clean and drain your blood! !”
The flames abruptly became a black color at this moment; the flames of a dozen fires merged together in the air. A ball of indescribable dark purple rose from the flames, expanding as if it wanted to devour every person present. Even the priest who was just loudly praising the Holy Light in front of the execution stage earlier had been stunned. But just as this terrifying anomaly was about to befall them, a piercing ray of white light shot onto the square from the balcony of the Bitter Winter Castle.
Under the impact of the “Bitter Winter Whip”, that ball of ineffable dark purple was frozen instantly. Then, it shattered with a bang due to the lack of support of a subsequent energy. Large pieces of ice-crystal dust fell from the sky, as if another blizzard had fallen and recovered a good half of the public square again. Both the agitated crowd and the Holy Light priest who had been hailing loudly a moment earlier went completely quiet. And in the silent air of the public square, the cold voice of Duchess Victoria Wilder sounded, “Clean things up ——then praise Anzu and our founding king.”
The powerful magic gradually dissipated in the balcony. Victoria waved her hand, getting the magic book that floated midair to return to her side, then turned, and left the balcony.
The balcony doors mounted with man-made crystals automatically closed behind her, blocking out the sounds coming from the public square. This duchess returned to the warm lounge hall, a rare hint of exhaustion showing on her face.
A black-haired maidservant walked forward. She dismissed the other servants with a wave of her hand, then placed her hands near Victoria’s temples, and massaged lightly. “You rarely show such an expression —— the last time was after you saw Duke Gawain Cecil return.”
“It’s still related to him this time. If it wasn’t for the warning that the pioneering hero sent from the extreme southern borders, we might have only realized the extent of the corrosion after those heretic cult believers caused even greater damage.” Victoria sighed. “This is already the fourth heretic hide-out that was destroyed ever since winter set in —— the previous three were the Oblivion Association. This time it’s the Eternal Sleepers. Even if the Sons of the Storm counter-attacked from the sea and made a comeback, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“It is said that there are, instead, very few heretic forces in the southern borders. They only made an appearance for a total of two times but were discovered and snuffed out by that Duke both times…”
Victoria waved her hand lightly, and the black-haired maidservant, Maggie, immediately stopped what her hands were doing.
“We’ve been comfortable for too long. The entire kingdom has been comfortable for too long.” Victoria stood up from the sofa and quietly gazed at the portraits of the pioneer heroes hung on the wall across. Gawain Cecil’s portrait had been taken down, but she still watched that blank space beside the founding king, Charlie. “From the king to the local aristocrats, everyone severely lacks vigilance, but the Duke Cecil from seven hundred years had lived through the kingdom’s most precarious era. He is more vigilant than all of us. —— What’s laughable is that the bunch of incompetents in the capital had, at the start, treated all warnings about the heretic cult believers that the pioneer Duke sent as oversensitivity — as the fuss of an ancient person in modern society… Hmph, now they’re flustered.”
The black-haired maidservant stood quietly behind Victoria and did not express any opinion; the Duchess was clearly used to this. She paused for a moment and asked, “Is there progress with what I told you to investigate?”
The black-haired maidservant bowed her head. “Yes, the priests of the Church of Holy Light have been active more often than usual recently. And new missionary teams have appeared everywhere, but all their movements are very reasonable —— they are resisting heretic cult believers, searching for and eliminating the hideouts of heretics. The missionaries are also publicizing in all places how to identify heretic cult believers and ways to protect oneself from sorcery. The power of the Holy Light indeed has a natural advantage in this aspect. Other than these, there is nothing more that they are doing, no conflicts with other sects or vying for religious resources. The more, there isn’t friction created with the feudal lords of the various territories.”