Translator: SumTLMan
“We’ve arrived,” Ice Kalara lazily lifted its pure white paw, pointing towards the mountain hidden in the cold mist ahead.
As the Gondola cut through the white sleet, the true face of the mountain hidden in the cold mist was revealed.
It was a continuous range of icebergs, obscured by a large amount of white vapor.
Each iceberg wasn’t particularly tall but was densely packed, resembling waves frozen in undulation.
However, this so-called “not tall” only applies above the water surface. The shadows lurking beneath the water surface were like ancient Glacial Behemoths lying in wait, causing those with thalassophobia to shiver at just a glance.
“This is the Marlaya Mountain,” Ice Kalara said, then stood up from the bow of the Gondola, elegantly raised its head, and with a push of its feet, leaped down from the sky. Piercing through layers of clouds and mist, Ice Kalara landed gracefully on top of an iceberg.
Angel then slowly lowered the Gondola, eventually stopping on the chilly mountain.
After landing, Angel looked towards the vast distance before turning to Ice Kalara.
His initial plan was to have Ice Kalara lead them to the palace of Frost Iseth, but upon turning around, he discovered Ice Kalara had already found a mountain edge to lazily sprawl upon.
When Angel looked over, Ice Kalara was yawning, displaying an “I’m going to sleep, don’t disturb me” demeanor.
Seeing its attitude, Angel felt the likelihood of it leading the way was slim but still had Lobert try to inquire.
As expected, Ice Kalara immediately refused: “No, flying so far to come back here has exhausted me. I need at least two days of rest to recover my strength.”
Angel: “…” Are you sure it was you who flew here?
Regardless of whether there’s an issue with Ice Kalara’s cognition, it has made it clear that it does not want to leave.
Angel cannot force it and simply lets it be.
As Angel was about to raise the airship again, Ice Kalara suddenly said, “A parting word, the area around Marlaya Mountain does not prohibit flying, but many ice elemental creatures have a strong sense of territorial crisis. If you travel on the ice, in consideration of Lord Lobert, they won’t take it too seriously; however, if you fly over their territory and they become aware, they will be very angry. The same goes for Highness Frost.”
When Angel heard the first part, he thought, “Just use an illusion to cover it up,” but after hearing the last part, knowing that Frost Iseth also has a similar territorial consciousness, Angel decided to give up on the idea of riding the airship… after all, no one knows how extensive Frost Iseth’s territorial consciousness is.
After Ice Kalara finished speaking, it lay down on the ice surface, its eyelids drooping, and the next second, it fell asleep.
Angel looked at the place where Ice Kalara was sleeping, right on the edge of the glacier, with the vast sea behind. If the edge of the glacier were to break off, it would probably drift out to the open sea again.
However, even if it really drifts away, there’s no need to worry. After all, this place itself is a paradise for water and ice elemental creatures.
…
Having put away the Gondola, Angel then turned away from the sea and headed towards the frozen mountains.
Though it is said to be walking, his speed is not slow at all because Angel’s feet are wrapped with the wind of Speedling, with Speedling’s assistance, it’s almost like low-altitude flight, able to leap over a hundred meters in a single step.
Within a few minutes, Angel sensed a special ice aura.
He could clearly determine that this aura definitely came from an ice elemental creature. Looking far ahead, he could not see any creature’s shadow, but its aura covered a large area.
By then, Angel probably understood that this type of ice aura was probably what Ice Kalara referred to as “territorial consciousness.”
In the high altitudes, the elements are chaotic and it’s challenging to distinguish the ice element, making it easy to inadvertently enter another’s territory. However, on the ice surface, the elements are pure, allowing for easy identification of the boundaries enveloped by the frosty mist. If one wishes to avoid unnecessary disputes, they can simply circumvent these areas.
Angel, not wanting to waste time and not needing guidance from other ice elemental creatures since Lobert had previously visited the Marlaya Mountain, knew the general direction of the palace where Frost Iseth resided. With a clear path in mind, there was no need to interact with the peripheral ice elemental creatures, so Angel chose to bypass the areas enveloped by the ice element and continued towards the depths of the Marlaya Mountain.
This journey took half an hour.
During this time, Angel encountered the territories of five ice elemental creatures. Although he chose to detour around them, there were two instances where the creatures in the territory noticed him.
However, to Angel’s surprise, these ice elemental creatures didn’t pay much attention to his party, with a mere glance being their utmost concern.
This gave Angel the impression that “as long as you do not enter their territory, they do not care who you are.”
This was the first time Angel had encountered such a situation since arriving in the Tidal Realm.
In other domains, elemental creatures, while not as heavily trapped and guarded as those in the Toothpull Desert, are very wary of outsiders. Stepping into their territory would inevitably lead to being stopped by Guardians inquiring about one’s intentions.
Therefore, with his previous experiences in mind, Angel found the situation in the Marlaya Mountain to be quite unique.
Before, he learned that Frost Iseth was a monarch with a strong territorial consciousness and thought that the rules of Marlaya Mountain would be very strict, but the reality was completely different from what he imagined.
This was also good as it avoided disputes and saved a lot of time without having to explain his purpose to every ice elemental creature he encountered.
However, Angel could not always take detours because some places were simply impassable.
For instance, at this moment, Angel arrived at a ferry point of an ice river.
Directly in front of him, a few meters away, was a thin layer of ice, beneath which flowed a river that had not frozen over. Standing on the bank, one could hear the gurgling sound of the river water beneath the ice surface.
This ice river was very wide, so wide that one could not see its end at a glance, and it stretched far and wide.
The reason Angel stopped in front of the ice river was that he could clearly sense the rich water aura emanating from where the ice river reached.
There must be a powerful water elemental creature residing within this ice river.
It was nearly impossible to bypass it.
After some thought, Angel decided to step into the territory of the other party.
According to what Ice Kalara had said before, walking on the ice surface, even if entering someone else’s territory, considering Lobert’s face, should not be too troublesome.
With this thought, Angel stepped onto the ice river.
This is Angel’s first time stepping into the territory of an elemental creature atop the Marlaya Mountain, a departure from his previous detours. Upon entering their domain, he was immediately enveloped by an intensely dense water vapor that seemed to lock onto him.
The vapor, which normally meandered innocuously across the ice, now felt as heavy as molten iron, making every step feel as though he was burdened with a weight of thousands.
This transformation was clearly the work of a water elemental creature hidden within the glacial river.
With a light step, Angel managed to break free from the swirling vapor, and the heaviness he had felt before vanished.
After freeing himself from the vapor, Angel did not choose to move forward but instead stood quietly on the thin ice. He sensed a very strong presence of water element rapidly approaching his location.
Seconds later, the ice not far from him suddenly cracked open, and a column of white water burst forth from the opening.
Within the column, the head of a woman with long, dark blue hair emerged from the surface of the water.
Initially, her eyes were closed, but as her facial features became clearer, she opened her eyes to reveal icy blue pupils.
“Ah, it’s her… Lord, she is Troysa,” whispered Lobert’s voice by Angel’s side.
In the whisper, Lobert quickly recounted Troysa’s background.
There are three main glaciers within the Marlaya Mountain, named Moto, Sichen, and Mena, each inhabited by a powerful elemental creature. These glaciers encircle the central palace, guarding the honor of Highness Frost.
If one were to draw an analogy with royal dynasties in the real world, the elemental creatures within these three glaciers could be seen as similar to guardians of a regal heritage, each with their own domain yet united in their protection of the icy splendor.
Before encountering the glacier, Lobert had not associated it with the three main glaciers because it was far from the core area, thinking it was just an insignificant glacier.
However, when the face of a woman appeared in the water column, Lobert confirmed that this glacier was one of the main passages.
Troysa is the master of the Mena Glacier.
This information was conveyed by Lobert.
The only regret is that Troysa’s realm is very high, comparable to Highness Hurricane in the Stormridge. Therefore, although Lobert knew Troysa’s name, he had never met her and did not understand her temperament.
Angel listened to the information from Lobert while observing Troysa.
Ignoring her external appearance and judging solely by the water aura she emitted, it was incredibly powerful. She was among the pinnacle water elemental transcendent creatures Angel had encountered. However, she was still slightly inferior compared to the Panaces Succubus he met in the Abyss.
“Outsiders…” Troysa’s ice-blue eyes quietly swept over everyone on the ice, pausing on Dangros before finally resting on Speedling and Lobert.
“Lobert.” Although Troysa did not recognize Speedling, Lobert, who had the potential to become a sage, was familiar to her.
“Lady Troysa.” Lobert bowed respectfully.
Noticing that it was not main head Lobert who responded initially, Troysa’s eyes flashed with a hint of confusion, thinking to herself: Could it be that the tail head has really seized power? If so, tail head Lobert’s chances of becoming a sage are even greater.
Suppressing her doubts, Troysa focused on Lobert: “We haven’t received any messages from Highness Hurricane recently, Lobert. Why are you here, and why are you bringing outsiders?”
Lobert stepped forward and briefly explained his purpose to Troysa.
“This outsider wishes to seek an audience with Highness Frost?” Troysa glanced at Angel and slowly said, “That can be arranged. I can even transport you directly to the entrance of Highness’s palace via the glacier. However, I have one condition.”
Angel asked, “What condition?”
Troysa leaned slightly forward, emerging from the column of water, her pale arms lifting to point towards Angel’s shoulder: “Hand it over to me.”
Though Toby was perched on Angel’s shoulder at the time, Troysa was not referring to Toby but to Dangros, who clung tightly to the Blood Night Sanctuary tear clasp.
Upon arriving at the Marlaya Mountain, Dangros had tried its best to shrink its body, fearing detection, yet, unexpectedly, it was noticed and became a bargaining chip.
Dangros felt bewildered and looked hastily at Angel, “No, I don’t want to!”
In Dangros’ eyes, there was a plea, which also subtly revealed unease——though its relationship with Angel had gradually become more amicable, even somewhat close, the bond was still too fresh, like rootless duckweed, leaving Dangros utterly unsure whether Angel would refuse or agree to the demand.
Dangros couldn’t help but look towards Toby, hoping that after all the flattery it had offered, Toby might speak on its behalf.
However, Toby appeared utterly indifferent, holding his head high.
Dangros felt a chill in its heart.
“What do you say? As long as you agree to hand over Dangros to me, I will directly transport you to the exterior of Highness Frost’s palace, and guarantee that Highness Frost will meet with you.”
Angel did not immediately respond, but pondered for a moment. This brief contemplation, however, felt like an eternity to Dangros.
After a long while, Angel spoke up, still not directly answering Troysa’s question, but instead asked: “Do you know Dangros?”
“Yes,” Troysa nodded, then continued to ask, “Have you made up your mind?”
Angel pondered for a moment: “I have.”
“And your answer is?”
Just as Angel was about to reply, Toby suddenly let out a soft chirp. Angel glanced at him and noticed that Toby was not looking at him but was busying himself with preening his feathers, as if the call had not come from him.
Angel smiled softly and turned to Troysa, saying, “I refuse.”
He had actually considered agreeing because Troysa admitted to knowing Dangros. Knowing Dangros’ identity meant that Troysa could not possibly harm Dangros.
After all, Dangros was born from the ashes of Kalomaches. Even if Troysa did not care whether Dangros was an elemental sprite, considering the relationship with Kalomaches, she would not dare harm a finger on Dangros.
Angel could agree to hand over Dangros to Troysa temporarily and then meet with Frost Iseth. As long as he could gain trust to confront, he would surely be able to take Dangros back later.
But Angel ultimately did not do so.
Although Dangros often acts bearishly, having spent so much time together, it would be awkward, to say the least, to just hand him over to someone else, not to mention Mr. Magu’s attitude towards the matter; Angel himself would find it embarrassing.
Moreover, Angel was hoping that, in the future, Dangros would help him coax Kolokcro over to their side.
Therefore, to avoid hurting the fragile heart of the bear child, Angel chose to decline.