Chapter 59: A Trap?
Ice Seal Hall, Front Hall.
A layer of icy mist surged at the hall's entrance, completely sealing off the front hall. Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder and, seeing the sealed exit, narrowed its eyes.
"Boss, something's off. How about... we retreat first? There are spatial fluctuations deep in the hall; a fight just ended there not long ago."
Baha looked ahead at the eldest daughter, Ayana, and the eldest son, Ice Armor. When they first entered the hall, Ayana seemed to be lying sideways on the bed, looking languid. But Baha noticed that the energy fluctuations on her body hadn't dissipated yet. She had clearly just made a move, and that fight had ended very quickly.
"Baha, enter the alternate space."
"Huh?"
Baha was stunned for a moment, then realized something. Su Xiao told it to enter the alternate space, not because the enemy was too strong, but to avoid being accidentally injured or killed by a wide-range blade technique. In a real battle where flesh and blood fly, there's no such thing as friendly fire immunity.
"Boss, how many enemies are there?"
"Eight, no, seven. One is very weak."
"Then I'll take Bububu into the alternate space first."
As Baha spoke, it pierced through space and connected to an alternate space, allowing the nearby Bubu Wang to enter as well. Bubu Wang was already blending into the environment.
Su Xiao glanced at the two enemies in front, then turned his gaze to the corridor on the inner side of the front hall, where other enemies were hiding.
It was no coincidence that Legion Commander Tult had appeared outside the hall earlier. Three hours had passed since the ice slope appeared. Half an hour after the ice slope emerged, Tult had vanished from the battlefield, whereabouts unknown.
A legion commander abandoning the battlefield—if it were anyone else, it could be explained by cowardice. But Tult wasn't afraid of death; Su Xiao was certain of that.
The two-plus hours Tult spent away from the battlefield were clearly spent receiving some message and coming to the Ice Seal Hall to do something. This action was enough to save the collapsing Holy Emblem Knights; otherwise, Tult wouldn't have abandoned the Holy Emblem knights.
After entering the Ice Seal Hall, Tult most likely allied with the eldest daughter, Ayana, and the eldest son, Ice Armor. The only reason these three could unite was that Ayana and Ice Armor had long been dissatisfied with the Extreme Ice Lord.
Ayana and Ice Armor wanted to overthrow their father's rule, or rather, take control of the Northern Territory. Tult, on the other hand, hoped to resolve the immediate crisis. The two sides hit it off immediately.
As long as the Northern Territory Lord was killed, the eldest daughter, Ayana, would become the new Northern Territory Queen. At that point, she could order the large Ice Descendant force outside the city to temporarily ally with the Holy Emblem Knights below the city walls. Together, they would first reclaim the Winter City from the Wolf Cavalry Legion.
This would be a win-win for Ayana and Tult: one would become king, and the other would complete King Duoyin's orders, quickly withdrawing from the Northern Territory after the war and returning to Duoyin's territory.
Su Xiao wasn't surprised that Ayana and Ice Armor wanted to kill their father. He had heard from Baha before about how miserable the Extreme Ice Lord's second daughter, Anta Emi, was.
Now, looking at Ice Armor and Ayana, if Ice Armor wasn't a natural masochist, he wouldn't have had his entire suit of armor cast onto his body.
Ice Armor gave the impression that he had once been trapped in a human-shaped container, and someone had poured red-hot molten iron into that container.
The pain and despair Ice Armor endured during that time were unimaginable. The only one who could order such a thing was his father, the Extreme Ice Lord; no one else would dare.
As for Ayana, her appearance seemed normal, but her body was covered in a kind of imprint beneath the skin. It felt as if her skin had been peeled open, the imprints carved into the subcutaneous layer, and then her skin was sewn back together.
The second daughter, Anta Emi, was the worst off, followed by the eldest son, Ice Armor. The eldest daughter, Ayana, was relatively better off—at least she still looked human.
Driven by multiple factors, Ayana and Ice Armor hit it off with Tult.
But that wasn't enough. For these two sides to unite, someone needed to act as a go-between. That meant there was a third faction within the Ice Seal Hall.
This faction had likely approached Ayana long ago, seeking an alliance to accomplish something.
As for who these people were, Su Xiao couldn't determine yet. But he felt he had stumbled upon a very interesting unexpected event. If he could figure this out, many of his doubts would be resolved.
"Hey, we're both still here, and you're... this arrogant? Or do you think you're strong enough to ignore the two of us?"
Ayana smiled, her pupils emitting a faint golden glow, forming a pale golden ring around them.
"You will pay the price!"
A female voice, barely suppressing anger, came from the corridor inside the front hall. It was the Chief Physician, Off.
"Both of you, get back here."
Ayana's originally languid expression suddenly turned cold.
"Miss Ayana, rest assured. Your father can no longer continue his tyranny. He will be slumped on his throne for a few more minutes."
Another voice came, male. A man in a brown robe with a hood also emerged from the corridor.
"Hmph."
Ayana snorted coldly, seemingly angry but actually somewhat surprised by the sincerity of this ally.
"War Demon, you must pay for the life of Princess Serefaya of Duoyin."
The newcomer removed his hood, revealing a head of silver short hair. It was the World Child, Zang.
"And you must pay for the life of the Legion Commander!"
Tears welled up in Chief Physician Off's eyes. Anyone could see she had feelings for Tult, but the gap in their status was too great. Tult had remained single all this time, mainly due to his low emotional intelligence.
After Off and the World Child Zang, three more figures emerged from the corridor: Zang's younger sister, Talta Vinica, referred to as Tamei.
Besides Tamei, there was the Fat Dwarf and an elderly Lizardman wearing a feathered headdress.
This Lizardman wore ancient-style clothing and held a wooden staff nearly 1.3 meters long, topped with a [Soul Crystal Core].
This elderly Lizardman was no small figure. He was the former elder of the Lizardman tribe. Though old, his strength was not to be underestimated.
Zang, Tamei, Ayana, Ice Armor, Off, the Fat Dwarf, and the Lizardman elder stood side by side in a row, all seven staring intently at Su Xiao.
These seven weren't lying in ambush for Su Xiao. They had originally been working together to deal with the Extreme Ice Lord to seize power, but then Su Xiao showed up in the middle of the fight.
Originally, eight of them were beating the Extreme Ice Lord together. When Tamei sensed Su Xiao's arrival, Tult was overjoyed and immediately came to find Su Xiao without a second thought.
What Tult didn't notice was the look Zang, Tamei, the Fat Dwarf, and the Lizardman elder gave him at that moment—a look of admiration for a brave man.
From Zang, Tamei, and the others' perspective, Tult was sacrificing himself to buy them time to defeat the Extreme Ice Lord.
Tult, of course, didn't know this. He wasn't planning to sacrifice himself at all. He intended to eliminate Su Xiao and then return to deal with the Extreme Ice Lord. In Tult's mind, Su Xiao without the Black Dragon equaled five squad leaders—troublesome but winnable, a sure thing.
Interestingly, Zang and the others had come to the Northern Territory to seek help, completely misled by the overall situation. Zang had once hoped to marry a Duoyin princess. If King Duoyin had disagreed, that princess would have been tied up and taken back to the capital long ago, not running around the world with Zang.
Moreover, the Fat Dwarf had mastered the technique, and King Duoyin knew all about it but didn't interfere. That old man had even deduced that this world had goodwill toward Zang.
Zang's two close friends both had close ties to Duoyin, and his sister had grown up there. Logically, if Zang wanted to deal with Su Xiao, he should have sought help from Duoyin.
In fact, that's exactly what Zang had thought. Back in the Eastern Swamp, just as he was about to head to the central Duoyin capital, he received news that Duoyin had allied with the War Demon to attack the Northern Territory.
Upon hearing this, Zang felt as if struck by lightning. He even wanted to confront King Duoyin, whom he had met a few times.
The War Demon had killed a Duoyin princess—Zang had conveyed this through secret channels. King Duoyin couldn't possibly be unaware.
So Zang was furious. The War Demon had killed a Duoyin princess, yet Duoyin was allying with him. Duoyin's long-standing image of justice crumbled in Zang's mind.
In reality, Zang would never know that even if Su Xiao killed a dozen of Duoyin's direct royal family, King Duoyin wouldn't care. He would still ally with Su Xiao. Just a few days ago, that old man had even prepared to send a beautiful Duoyin princess.
Moreover, the "Duoyin princess" itself was problematic. Almost all Duoyin princesses were beautiful—too much of a coincidence.
First, find a beautiful girl with enough cunning, reward her family with great wealth, give her father an honorary title, and if the girl agrees, Duoyin would train her for three to four years. After that, she would be a Duoyin princess. Simple as that.
Stimulated by Duoyin's alliance with the Chaos Legion, Zang successfully gained a teammate from the Lizardman tribe and immediately turned to the Northern Territory, seeking help there.
Upon arriving in the Northern Territory, Zang used his family's status to meet Ayana. Ayana didn't care much about Zang but highly valued the Lizardman elder in his group.
Ayana shared her and Ice Armor's experiences with Zang. After confirming they weren't lying, Zang agreed to Ayana's request: first, secretly trap the Extreme Ice Lord, then use the Northern Territory's power to deal with the War Demon's Wolf Cavalry Legion.
Two hours ago, this team gained two new members, Tult and Off. Amid the chaos inside and outside the city, the eight decided to act immediately.
Their wishes were good, but reality was harsh. Just as they were about to defeat the Extreme Ice Lord, Su Xiao arrived at the front of the Ice Seal Hall.
Tult came out to block him. Tult died. Left with no choice, Ayana appeared, trying to use Gulu to threaten Su Xiao and buy some time.
Things didn't go as planned. Ayana couldn't understand the complex relationships within Reincarnation Paradise, so she released Gulu and pretended to surrender to gain time.
Inside the front hall, Zang, Tamei, Ayana, Ice Armor, Off, the Fat Dwarf, and the Lizardman elder spread out, vaguely surrounding Su Xiao. The boss fight was about to begin.