Chapter 37: A Crimson Stream
But it was too late to run now.
Countless spears of pure frost materialized behind the Snow Maiden, a storm of ice even more terrifying than the barrage of spells from before.
Yan Rong, though his heart had been pierced, was not yet dead. To a demon of his level, it was a grievous wound, but not a fatal one.
But the chilling cold from the spear had slowed his movements.
But he saw an opportunity. The Ice Demon girl couldn’t seem to fully control the Snow Maiden’s actions.
And he was right. Unless one’s consciousness was directly inhabiting the Snow Maiden’s body, like Ice Lily, it was impossible to control her.
The bloodline resonance was more like a conversation, a request for help.
And the Snow Maiden, with only its primal instincts, couldn’t respond to complex requests.
And her attacks were limited to a certain range.
And outside that range, she would fall silent again, until another Ice Demon appeared, or until Ice Lily’s consciousness awakened.
“…”
Yan Rong knew the Snow Maiden couldn’t pursue him. And the Ice Demon girl, having just used her Authority, was weakened, unable to launch another attack.
“So… this is the best time to escape…”
The thought, once it had appeared, consumed him.
And he wasn’t the only one. The other elite squads were also beginning to retreat, their earlier resolve wavering.
“Should I give up…?”
He gritted his teeth, pulling the frost spear from his chest.
A wave of fire covered the wound.
To continue fighting was pointless.
The battlefield, littered with corpses, was a testament to the Ice Demons’ power in the Frigid Lands.
And they were facing not one, but two of them… and another, a mysterious purple-eyed girl.
“This is… not a fight we can win!”
He sent a mental command to his “Flame Wave Squad.”
Although their faces were filled with a reluctant anger, they knew he was right.
To continue fighting would be a senseless sacrifice.
“Go!”
The “Flame Wave Squad” retreated without hesitation.
And the other elite squads, seeing them go, also fled, a chaotic scramble for survival.
Bai, seeing this, sighed in relief.
The storm of frost spears behind the Snow Maiden dissipated, and the oppressive atmosphere on the battlefield lifted slightly.
“Phew… if that had continued, it would have been a real problem,” she thought.
Although she appeared strong, she was on her last legs.
Her fight with Yin Hui, and her subsequent assassination of several other squads, had drained her power.
Although the trolls’ confusion had bought her some time, it hadn’t been enough to fully recover.
And to kill Zoras, to annihilate the “Dread Ghosts,” she had had to push herself to her limits, her last two attacks a desperate gamble.
She was only still standing because of her incredible physique.
And Ara was in a similar state. Her Authority was powerful, but it was also a heavy burden.
One or two more uses, and she would lose control.
And that would be a disaster. Bai wouldn’t let that happen.
And the Snow Maiden’s resonance… if she only used it for defense, it was fine. But a large-scale attack would drain her power, and could even damage Ice Lily’s fragile consciousness.
The single frost spear that had pierced Yan Rong’s heart had been the limit of her power.
The storm of spears had just been a bluff. If she had unleashed it, Ice Lily’s consciousness would have shattered before the other squads had even been defeated.
Of course, the elite squads didn’t know this. To them, she had killed Yin Hui, outsmarted Delm, and annihilated Zoras… all in a matter of moments.
Her power was unfathomable. And with the legendary Snow Maiden at her command, and the mysterious purple-eyed girl…
To fight against such an opponent was suicide.
“It’s over,” Bai said, looking at the now-empty battlefield, and sighed.
“A pity… all these flowers, wasted.”
She looked at the pure frost flowers floating around her, and smiled.
She had created them to intimidate the other squads, a final, desperate gamble. And it had worked.
“Can’t let them go to waste. Might need them later.”
She gathered the flowers, then walked towards the slumbering Snow Maiden.
Finally, it was over. Time to deal with Ice Lily.
But as she thought this, she smelled something, a cloying, sweet stench of blood.
“Hmm?”
She frowned. The people she had killed should have been turned into ice sculptures. There shouldn’t have been any blood…
She turned, and her eyes widened, her expression hardening.
“This… this is…”
“Blood,” Ara said, her voice trembling, her hand clutching Bai’s.
“Bai, how could… so much blood…”
“Much” was an understatement. As far as the eye could see, the white snow was stained with a mixture of red, purple, and black blood, a crimson stream flowing across the desolate landscape.
