Chapter 391 Unwilling
Ferros, the Everfrozen Court.
The princess's body lay stiffly on the ground, frost crawling up her pale and distorted face, her sunken eyes wide open blankly, fear and confusion still not fading from her eyeballs covered with gray haze.
A circle of shivering slaves and servants knelt on the ground. Healers and court sorcerers crawled over, surrounded the corpse, and wiped the cold sweat from their sweat as they tried to find any clues as to why the princess had died suddenly - no one dared to look at the king's gloomy face.
At this moment King Haakon doubled up in agony, a sudden palpitation of the heart taking hold of him, as if it had torn a piece out of his soul.
...Salvatore, his only brother, something must have happened to him.
This ominous premonition reached its peak when news arrived of the sudden deaths of priests from all over the world who had received the "blessing." The king, nearly driven mad, roared and ordered the court sorcerers to cast bloodline spells—but the name that should have shone so brightly had dimmed like burnt ash.
"...No, no, Sally..."
Haakon Feroth stumbled back a few steps, muttering his brother's nickname. The stone hall was completely silent, with only the crackling of the whale oil torches and the king's heavy breathing.
"...People's Army! Ghost!" He roared with the grief of a dying beast. "Gather the leaders of all the legions and withdraw all the soldiers who can move from the front lines!"
In his excitement he knocked over the heavy bronze lampstand beside the throne. With a deafening crash, burning whale oil spilled out, spreading across the stone bricks in a small, blinding flash of fire.
"I will personally lead the army to the Saga Glacier! To avenge the Great Shaman!" In the firelight, King Haakon's eyes were red, his chest heaving violently, and tears flickered in his eyes: "I will make those filthy slaves pay the price! I will rip the ghost's intestines out alive, I want-"
"Your Majesty! You absolutely cannot do that!" King Haakon's confidant quickly interrupted him. "Ferros has paid a tremendous price and sacrifice to achieve this victory. Now that the high priests have suddenly died, the whole country is in a state of panic. If we rashly withdraw the entire army, I'm afraid—"
There was something he didn't dare say, that the only person who could kill the Great Shaman was another saint. Now that the Great Shaman was dead, a grief-stricken and mad king led the entire Ferros army, which had lost the saint, to the Saga Glacier...what difference was there between this and committing suicide?
“…”
King Haakon panted heavily, groped with trembling fingers, and slowly fell back onto the dark, cold throne.
He looked as if he had aged a dozen years in an instant.
"...What about the White Nightmare?" After a long pause, the King of Fernloth slowly asked, "And the White Nightmare..."
Seeing that he seemed to have regained his composure, the confidant breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head respectfully as he replied, "By order of Lord Salvador, the White Nightmare is now sealed in the Eternal Night Sea."
"Summon it, immediately, no matter the cost," the king said coldly. "Since we no longer need to create panic and pressure through massacres to gain faith, when the news of Salvador's death reaches the Silver Iris Empire, we will feign panic and prepare to withdraw our troops from Silver Iris. Once the Silver Iris Saint leaves Amacadio, we will immediately attack the royal city!"
"The Pope of the Glorious Church is said to be on his last legs and may not survive this winter," the confidant hesitated. "Besides, how can we get the 'Guardian of the Royal Court' to leave the Royal City?"
"Then let them fight the common people's army." The King of Fernros said in a cold tone, "Spread the news everywhere. Say that the common people's army obtained the saint's method of becoming a god in the north, and in order to monopolize it and silence the witnesses, they brutally killed the Great Shaman."
"—I don't believe those two saints wouldn't be moved by this news."
…
Salvador is dead.
On the Saga Icefield, whether it was the soldiers of the People's Party or the Empire, none of them could believe their eyes and ears.
But the retreating blizzard was irrefutable proof, and the joy of victory, like strong liquor, quickly fermented through the camp. At first, it was just a small cheer, but soon it became a chorus. The pride and ecstasy of having survived and finally inflicted a crushing blow on the enemy caused many to leap up in arms, hugging each other without caring who was around them. Only after calming down a bit did they realize with embarrassment that the person they were hugging wasn't their comrade.
The existence of a saint within the People's Party was once just a rumor, but today it became a reality. Furthermore, unlike the frail and impending Pope, and unlike the rarely seen, mysterious and terrifying "Guardian of the Royal Court," this saint looked incredibly young and, moreover, exceptionally... handsome.
Anyway, based on the descriptions of those soldiers who were lucky enough to see the other side's true appearance, as well as the huge and deep cracks that everyone saw, which cut through the ice, the rumors became increasingly exaggerated and bizarre. Azuka was a little annoyed. The tentacles of faith that had always whispered suddenly multiplied exponentially, vying to pray and try to touch his soul.
The reason he always concealed his face in front of others was primarily because he was accustomed to judging others by their micro-expressions. Showing his face unless necessary would inevitably distract others, hindering their ability to gather information.
Secondly, out of instinct honed on the battlefield, the Savior himself didn't like being stared at all the time. But he wasn't in the habit of constantly relying on the intimidation of the powerful to intimidate others, especially ordinary people. After all, that would be too self-centered and unfair, so he simply covered it up to save trouble—this time, he was simply distracted by concern and forgot about it for a moment.
...Of course, the Savior has understood since he was a child that appearance is also a very useful tool and weapon. Unfortunately, the only person he wants to seduce doesn't buy it at all. Anyway, pretending to be pitiful and reasonable usually works, but silent seduction often doesn't work - instead, he is always aroused by people's unintentional little actions and his heart is about to melt.
The professor's shoulder was indeed blue.
In the warm tent, a black-haired young man sat shirtless on the edge of the bed. His pale skin made the large, swollen, bruised areas seem even more striking. Azuka frowned and tentatively pinched it lightly, which immediately triggered a slight, suppressed gasp.
"...The bone is broken." He said with a dark face.
Damn "a little bruise".
Hearing this, the professor whipped his head around, then hissed as the pain ripped against his wound. He also looked surprised, his face etched with the expression "I don't think it's that serious"—but Azuka didn't know how much of that was just an act, because the bastard was probably just forcing himself to endure the pain and pretend nothing was wrong.
He said nothing, but just placed his palm on the pitiful and fragile flesh until the bruise faded at a speed visible to the naked eye and the skin returned to its pale and clean state, then he slowly withdrew his hand.
The black-haired young man looked much better. He tentatively moved his shoulders and then thanked him obediently. Seeing that he was still staring at her with his eyes downcast and a rather frightening seriousness, she simply leaned over and slyly kissed his slightly pursed lips.
"I swear it was just a minor accident," the professor emphasized seriously. "Really, I was careful to protect myself."
Seeing that someone was so unmoved by a kiss, he thought for a moment, then recalled the ways of coaxing people he had seen in various movies and TV shows. He then randomly chose one and stiffly poked his two index fingers at it, pushing the corners of the savior's lips upwards: "Don't be so stern, and don't you still have me?"
Azuka was slightly stunned, then helplessly grasped the two claws, placed them on his lips and kissed them gently, his voice much softer: "You scared me to death... Why didn't you tell me it was so serious outside just now? Doesn't it hurt?"
...Forget it, just be good this time and don’t scare people.
"Perhaps it's because the severe cold dulled my nerves. I really didn't feel much pain." The professor blinked and answered crisply, looking very confident. "Also, I had too many things on my mind to take care of them at the moment."
Azuka: “…”
It was a very "professorial" answer, and he almost laughed out of anger.
Seeing the man staring at him with narrowed eyes and a half-smile on his face, the professor vaguely sensed the danger and simply reached out and slapped the guy in the face, pushing him away.
"Okay, let's get down to business." He changed the subject expressionlessly: "Even if Salvador dies, Fellowes won't let it go easily."
Unlike in the previous life, most of Fairros's military forces had not been defeated at this time, and they had gone too far on this crazy path. They would not and could not just give up - because giving up meant that the surging public opinion aroused throughout the country would also fiercely retaliate against the Fairros royal family.
"Then keep fighting." Azuka let the weak hand rest on his face and answered concisely and calmly, with the murderous intent and hostility in his voice completely undisguised.
Seeing that the person wanted to withdraw his hand, he simply grabbed the wrist and pulled the person closer, then put the shirt on for the person and buttoned it up. When his fingers moved to the bottom of the neck, the other person instinctively raised his head and obediently let him do what he wanted, which made the savior couldn't help but lower his head and kiss him gently.
"Just as I thought." The professor gave him a somewhat pleased look. "The People's Party also needs an undisputed and resounding victory to prove itself. Gaining the support of all Silver Iris people is called 'gaining national legitimacy' and will benefit subsequent plans. It won't just be limited to being a political party with different political views or a 'rebel' position. What could be more legitimate than resisting foreign enemies?"
"As for now," he said thoughtfully, "the people of Ferros are probably planning to attack the Silver Iris Royal City."
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