Chapter 66 : It Is Not the Season for Frost

“Hyah!”

Thudududududu!

Dozens of horses thundered across the earth.

Count Herman Stavanger himself gripped the reins and led the troops.

The Stavanger family was a prestigious house with a long history, known for producing generations of outstanding knights.

The Count too was a knight before he was ever the head of his house.

He rode skillfully, taking the lead at the front of the formation.

“Hyah! Hyah!”

The horses charged like the wind, responding to their riders’ wills.

This was a mounted unit composed solely of the most agile and elite knights.

The Count had decided to accept Hans’s request.

The token Hans had handed him weighed heavy, bearing the marks of age and history.

But that was not the only reason.

Loyalty is important… but sometimes, one must think of the family’s interests.

Nobles had always been political creatures.

It was the only way to survive.

Within the tangled roots of the kingdom’s power struggles, one needed to keep balance.

When people imagined nobles, they often pictured roaring lions—but in truth, they were closer to snakes, flicking their tongues.

The saying that noble blood ran blue was no accident.

Count Herman Stavanger pondered.

The current state of the Stavanger family.

The contest for the throne.

The unseen but fierce struggle within the royal court.

The balance of power among the princes.

The sudden appearance of Ophosis’s Dagger amidst the chaos.

The following assassinations of nobles.

The royal knights dispatched.

Taking all of these matters into account, he had judged that granting Hans’s request would bring more gain than loss.

After long deliberations and a meeting with the family’s councilors, the conclusion was clear—this move promised many advantages.

First: The so-called Red-Eyed Devil was not the savage fiend rumors claimed.

Second: He carried Ophosis’s Dagger.

Third: Hans, the last disciple of Ophosis, had come.

Hans was the only living man who knew of Ophosis’s tomb. But he had declared he would reveal that knowledge only in exchange for rescuing the Red-Eyed Devil.

Pieces of a puzzle scattered for decades were finally falling into place.

This alone was reason enough to place hope in it.

But they had to be quick.

They needed to seize the Devil before he clashed with the royal knights.

Otherwise, it would be nothing less than treason.

To snatch away and protect a criminal, defying the king’s own appointed knights?

It was an affront to royal authority.

Were it not for the kingdom’s current turmoil, the Count would never have agreed.

But now was a time of upheaval and shifting tides.

This is worth the gamble.

With Ophosis’s legacy in play, the risk was worth taking.

A choice loomed ahead.

Whoever seized the throne would drench the kingdom in blood.

This would be the Count’s most crucial decision in life—an all-or-nothing wager.

The Black Prince must become king!

With Ophosis’s inheritance, the Black Prince could gain both power and legitimacy.

The Count could place wings upon his back.

The victor would take everything.

If they succeeded, House Stavanger would bask in glory as the foremost contributor to the new king. If they failed, everything would be lost.

We must reach him before the royal knight does!

But the Count had yet to learn which knight had been sent.

Royal knights usually traveled alone, moving in utmost secrecy, so it was nearly impossible to find out.

Could it be Silent Victor on the chase? Or Lutie the Swift-Sword? Perhaps they sent Van Dyke, the Iron Spear…

Whichever name he recalled, each was terrifying in their own right.

The Count was prepared, if need be, to fight even them.

At that moment, the pounding of hooves came alongside him.

A knight pulled up to ride abreast.

“My lord!”

“Have you found him?”

“No sign of the Devil yet!”

“Then?”

“We discovered the identity of the dispatched royal knight!”

The Count asked quickly.

“Who is it? The Iron Spear, Van Dyke?”

The knight shouted back.

“It is the Frost Knight!”

“What?!”

The Count’s eyes widened. For a moment, he doubted his ears.

“What did you just say? Did you say Frost?”

“Yes! The Frost Knight is pursuing the Red-Eyed Devil!”

“The king sent Frost? At this time?”

“So it seems!”

“Has he gone mad? What in the world is he thinking?!”

“I do not know, my lord. But it is certain Frost is chasing him. We found traces of rime and frost clinging to the forest!”

“……!”

But it was not the season for frost.

The Count’s thoughts tangled in turmoil. His jaw clenched.

This changes everything…!

He could not fight the Frost Knight.

Even if his whole unit charged at once, they would all end up frozen statues.

Damn it…!

His grip on the reins tightened.

But he had already chosen this path, already drawn his blade.

There was no turning back.

Then we have no choice. We must find the Devil first, no matter what!

His hands urged the reins harder.

“We must reach him before Frost does!”

“Yes, my lord!”

The Count and the knights of House Stavanger spurred their steeds faster.

Whoosh! Whung! Shhh!

I swung the new sword back and forth, feeling out its weight.

“Mm. Similar, but a little heavier.”

[Better than before. Where do you even find such weapons?]

“Beats me.”

I nodded in satisfaction and slid the blade back into its sheath. Adaptation complete.

Crackle. Crackle.

A campfire blazed.

It was the second night since we set out for Ophosis’s tomb.

I was tired after riding all day again, but thanks to Bokshil gifting me a new sword, I wasn’t all that worn out.

Every time I looked at its moon-bright blade, the fatigue seemed to melt away.

I plopped down in front of the fire and picked up a ginseng root lying nearby.

Shushruta had dug it up while I meditated earlier.

This one was especially thick-rooted.

Which meant it must be rich in qi.

I grinned as I glanced up at Shushruta, perched on a branch above, munching away on the ginseng’s bright red berries.

“Good job, thief cat.”

“I am not a thief cat.”

“Fine then. Thief girl. Well done.”

“…Call me thief cat.”

Brushing dirt from the root, I asked, “Hey, thief cat. How far is the tomb?”

Shushruta kicked her feet against the branch and answered.

One by one, the crimson berries disappeared into her mouth.

“I don’t know the exact spot, so I cannot say precisely.”

“Roughly, then.”

“Hm… At this pace, perhaps two or three more days. Once we’re close, I’ll have to use the dagger again to locate it exactly.”

“Got it. So we have some time to spare.”

I chewed into the ginseng.

Its thick root made it all the more bitter.

It was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Ugh.”

Seeing me eat it made Shushruta grimace.

I didn’t let a single fibrous root go to waste, shoving it all into my stomach before belching loudly.

“Buurp.”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Shushruta’s face twisted in disgust.

I declared proudly,

“This is the mighty qi of Mother Nature.”

“Mighty qi of Mother Nature, my foot. Disgusting is what it is. More like Mother Nature’s fart.”

“Hey now. Watch that tongue, thief cat. You’re getting cheekier by the day.”

“Hmph. Did I lie? That wasn’t a burp, it was a fart from your mouth. Honestly, you’re something else.”

“Was that a compliment?”

“Hardly.”

I wiped my eyes and said,

“I’ll do some cultivation. Keep watch for me.”

“…You gas-bag.”

Straightening my back, I folded my legs and exhaled slowly.

“Hoooo…”

“Mm. Silent fart this time?”

“Enough.”

I began sorting the energy swelling within me.

As always, I expelled the impurities with each breath, leaving only refined qi to settle in my dantian.

The ratio of wasted energy was frustratingly high, but I emptied my mind and let it go.

According to the Heavenly Demon, storing that foul energy in the dantian might swell one’s internal force for a while, but it would soon turn murky.

Like filth polluting a clean well.

That, he said, was the hallmark of the demonic sects’ cultivation methods.

The specifics were grim: one’s heart grew cruel, and with each step forward, the risk of falling into madness increased, cutting off the path to higher realms.

The moment I heard those words, all lingering regret vanished from my chest.

I was a man destined to strike down the commander.

There was no way I could allow myself to stall in a place like this.

I gazed with satisfaction at my dantian, where only the purest qi had gathered, then sank deeper into my inner vision, facing the wall.

It was a wall of ice and steel, scarred with a great X-shaped mark that greeted me each time.

Whenever I had spare moments, I would cultivate and pound at that wall, but all it did was shudder violently, dropping bits of stone dust, showing no signs of breaking.

At times, it felt as though the wall itself were mocking me.

But I only smiled, tapping it lightly.

“Well, you won’t last forever. One day you’ll fall.”

Since I had already spent enough time hammering at it through cultivation earlier, I merely threw a few punches against the wall before opening my eyes again.

The crackle of the campfire drew me back to reality.

“Hooo…”

I steadied my breath and lifted my head toward the night sky.

It was a moonless night.

Only the stars twinkled overhead.

Dropping my gaze back down, I noticed the fire.

Normally, Shushruta would already be curled up beside it, sleeping, but tonight she was awake.

She sat at a slight angle, as though she had roused herself in mid-slumber.

“Hey, thief cat. Not sleeping?”

“Shh.”

Shushruta pressed a finger to her lips.

Her ears twitched.

She stared into the darkness, silent, her expression frighteningly serious.

I quickly smothered the fire with dirt.

The wavering flames vanished, and darkness swallowed us whole.

“…”

Silence.

I rose slowly, hand resting on my sword hilt.

Shushruta’s eyes never left the shadows.

I, too, peered into the pitch-black, but it was like staring into an abyss—only an oppressive emptiness stared back.

Then, all of a sudden, Shushruta sprang to her feet.

“It’s Frost!”

“What?”

“Run!”

Before I could even respond, she seized my arm and bolted the other way.

I hurriedly stirred my qi, using Lightfoot to keep pace with her.

“Frost? You mean Frost?”

“Yes!”

The abruptness left me stunned.

What kind of lightning bolt from the heavens was this?

“Why now?! You said we had a week at least!”

“I thought so too!”

A chill wind crept up behind us.

Ssshhh—

The forest rustled eerily.

Shushruta quickened her pace.

“He’s too fast! He’ll catch us!”

“Damn it.”

I clenched my teeth and ran harder.

In my ears, ghostly wails howled like an echoing dirge.

No matter how much I pushed my speed, the cold chasing from behind only grew stronger.

Swaaaah—

The woods shivered in the wind.

Now even I could faintly sense the pursuer.

Call it instinct, or a sixth sense.

That presence… it wasn’t human.

It was as if a pale demon were gliding through the air toward us.

From the depths of the blackness, I could feel that overwhelming presence staring straight at me.

My skin prickled.

“Faster! Faster!”

“This is my full speed!”

My heart pounded wildly.

A biting wind swept at my back.

Cold air scraped down my throat.

Each breath came out as a misty cloud.

The trees quivered in the chill.

Already frost was blooming across the ground.

I stopped running.

…The cold had overtaken us.

At some point, the chirping of insects and the hoots of owls had gone silent.

The forest was drowned in stillness.

An ominous, suffocating stillness.

Running further meant nothing.

Shushruta, realizing I had stopped, rushed back and grabbed my arm, tugging hard.

“What are you doing?! We have to keep running!”

Her heavy breaths spilled white into the night.

“He’s right on us! If we don’t, he’ll catch us for sure!”

“It’s already too late.”

Her words cut short.

“You know it too—there’s no escaping this.”

She bit her lip.

“Still…”

“Turning our backs and fleeing will only make it worse. That’s certain death.”

Even as I spoke, the cold was thickening by the moment.

So I quoted a saying I’d once heard.

“If you seek life, you will surely die. But if you accept death, you may live.”

Shushruta snapped back,

“What nonsense is that? How can dying lead to living?”

I gave a faint smile and turned to face the darkness.

“It means you must be prepared for death.”

The frigid shadow of death was closing in.

I could feel it growing nearer with every heartbeat.

The chill deepened further.

Each breath poured white smoke from my lips.

My eyes fixed on the darkness as my mouth twisted into a grin.

“Natural disaster, they say? Bullshit. He’s just a man, same as you and me. A blade through the throat kills him all the same.”

Shushruta retorted desperately,

“It’s not that simple!”

“Combat is simple. Whoever drives steel into the other’s neck first wins.”

“But—”

“Oi, Shushruta.”

I cut her off.

“A fight is all about momentum. If you’re going to whine, then get lost.”

Grrrrr—

A dog prepared to die is the fiercest of beasts.

It will bite deep, then run.

Come then. I’ll tear your balls off.

(End of Chapter)

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