Chapter 947: Empyrean Allheaven Wrath
"I understand, Master," Lynne compliantly nodded after learning what she had to do. But then, she suddenly paused after thinking of something. "Isn't this sun's solar energy problematic, Master?"
'It is,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress admitted.
'This world's sun has an especially powerful devil sealed inside it, one of the seven Empyrean Devils, Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil, the ruler of the Wrath Law. As such, the world is full of demonic energy with traces of the Wrath Law after the Cataclysm erupted.'
'However, you don't have to worry about wrath and demon energy. Master will help you purify them,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress assured.
Nevertheless, Lynne was astonished after listening to her master.
"Didn't you mention that the Great War destroyed everything in the primordial era? This includes all of the devil race, right? How can there still be an Empyrean Devil in this age?" Lynne expressed her doubts.
'Of course, the Great War destroyed everything in the primordial era. Naturally, that goes for the seven Empyrean Devils and seven Empyrean Gods. What I meant is one of Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil's soul fragment is sealed in the sun, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.
'If it was Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil's complete being, there's no way a single low-level star can seal him. Furthermore, Planet Gaia wouldn't be the only world affected by Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil's Wrath Law. His Wrath Law would passively affect at least half of God's Graveyard.'
'That being said, the Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil's soul fragment isn't exactly sealed in the sun. It would be more accurate to say that Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil's soul fragment is bound to it,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.
"Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil chose to bind one of his soul fragments to the sun, Master?" Lynne asked with surprise.
'Master doesn't know the truth,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied.
'However, for any True Divinity that seeks to gather their scattered soul fragments, binding themselves to a celestial body is the last thing they would do. Master suspects that it wasn't Empyrean Allheaven Wrath's wish to be bound, but the host of his soul fragment.'
After hearing so much from the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, Lynne finally grasped the situation. Even so, she was astonished by the extent of an Empyrean Devil's power.
Just the height of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath's comprehension into the Wrath Law could passively affect such a vast territory if Empyrean Allheaven Wrath's soul were whole.
The True Divinity Realm was so unfathomable. Lynne wondered if she could genuinely reach such a realm one day.
After all, despite her master's promise to help her reach True Divinity, her master had also said that no one had been able to reach True Divinity anymore in the present era.
"There's something I still don't understand, Master. I thought the seven Empyrean Devils all comprehended the Destruction Law. What is this Wrath Law you mentioned?" Lynne suddenly asked.
'It's true that the Empyrean Devils comprehended Destruction Law. However, that doesn't imply that they haven't or couldn't comprehend other laws, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress corrected Lynne's misunderstanding.
'In fact, they can comprehend many laws—if they so wish. However, the vast amount of time invested in mastering all of the laws would make them fall behind in power to the other True Divinities.'
'Nevertheless, that's probably not what you are wondering. You want to understand what the Wrath Law is, correct? Well, you can say that the Wrath Law is a particular type of Destruction Law,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress explained.
However, Lynne couldn't quite grasp how wrath is related to destruction. Thus, she asked, "What does wrath have to do with destruction?"
'There are many things in Primal Chaos that are still waiting to be explored. The primordial era might be the earlier period of Primal Chaos. However, not even the True Divinities of that era would dare claim to have understood everything there is to know about Primal Chaos.'
'To answer your question simply, physical destruction isn't the only type of destruction there is. The seven Empyrean Devils comprehended seven unique insights on the Destruction Law.'
'However, seven is definitely not the limit; it depends on the person comprehending the Destruction Law, or any law for that matter. Your unique interpretation and understanding of laws are what breaths life and power into them. In essence, your will shapes the heavenly laws.'
'This is what we call Concepts. They are the manifestation of your understanding of the law, given form. And when your will is powerful enough for your Concepts to affect the world, they become the Truths.'
'In Empyrean Allheaven Wrath's instance, his Wrath Law is the destructive power generated by extreme anger—extreme anger that destroys reason and warps reality to feed on even more of its destructive power.'
After the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress explained up to that point, Lynne finally grasped the nature of the Wrath Law.
She understood why those infected by Wrathful Demonic Energy lose their sanity, become extremely aggressive, and even mutate.
Nevertheless, she had wasted enough time to satisfy her curiosity.
"Master, please teach me how to increase my celestial energy refinement," Lynne requested.
Although her celestial body automatically refines celestial energy, trying to increase its refining speed is like learning how to use a new limb she never had.
Without a special method to assist her, she wouldn't be able to figure it out in the short term.
'Mm. Master will impart the Celestial Refining Sun Art and the Celestial Frost Arts to you, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix stated.
Shortly after, a string of information flowed into Lynne's mind.
The Celestial Refining Sun Art taught her to increase her celestial energy refinement. On the other hand, the Celestial Frost Arts taught her how to use that celestial energy.
After Lynne ingested the knowledge, she understood what it means to be a Celestial without any Celestial Arts.
It was like a bird without its wings.
The true might of a Celestial Warrior… Lynne was looking forward to seeing what she was capable of.
Chapter 948: Birth Of A Star
After familiarizing herself with the Celestial Refining Sun Art, Lynne immediately put it into practice, causing her celestial body to pull in the surrounding sunlight like a black hole.
Lynne was covered in a powerful white brilliance in that instance, drastically increasing the temperature and melting everything around her.
However, this white brilliance only appears so to the human eye. In truth, the white brilliance comprised of all colors of the rainbow.
Nevertheless, as her celestial body devoured vast amounts of sunlight, they entered her skin and flowed into her celestial veins.
Then, the sunlight traversed through her celestial veins like they were caught in a powerful river current and circulated throughout her celestial body with increasing speed.
When the circulation speed reached a certain threshold, Lynne's celestial veins glowed with the brilliance of the rainbow—contrary to the pure white brilliance outside her celestial body.
The rainbow-colored energy formed within her celestial veins was precisely newly-refined celestial energy.
However, Lynne suddenly stopped her celestial energy refinement. The pure white brilliance disappeared, and the rainbow-colored celestial energy also slowly dispersed into the surrounding.
'Although this region has lost its power source, it is still vibrant with cold yin energy and mist all around. You won't get much sunlight if you stay here, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned.
"Yes, Master. I was just testing the Celestial Refining Sun Art. Now that I have grasped the feel of it, I'm ready to refine celestial energy in a better location," Lynne replied.
Shortly after, frosty air circulated towards the soles of Lynne's feet before lifting her into the air.
Swish~!
Lynne quickly ascended into the high sky, bypassing the sky suppression with the sheer force of her cultivation without being affected by its strong gravity.
It was as if the icy energy, which formed a barrier around her, could freeze gravity itself, completely negating the effect of the sky suppression zone.
Nevertheless, Lynne continued to ascend higher and higher until she was high above the clouds in the open sky while leaving a trail of coldness in her wake.
The atmosphere above the clouds was warmer, and the gravity was much stronger. However, there were no more obstacles to obstruct the sunlight—besides the floating debris in outer space.
If Lynne wished for it, she could even fly into outer space and reach the floating ring of debris around Gaia.
However, that would be as far as she goes.
Beyond the floating ring of debris was the second and final layer of the spatial seal laid down by the Great Void Celestial Conqueror.
Even Celestial Kings would be helpless against it.
Nevertheless, Lynne deemed her present location was good enough. There was no need for her to go into outer space.
Swish~!
Lynne resumed her celestial energy refinement once more, becoming a spot of pure white brilliance in the sky.
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In the Neutral Zone high above the Geyser Kingdom's territory, the dragon-beard old man, Old Kaiser, peered through the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience on the floating island temple.
However, the sudden flash of pure white brilliance forced Old Kaiser to avert his gaze from the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience and groan.
At the same time, Old Kaiser's action alerted the other old men in the temple, who had been eagerly waiting their turn to use the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience.
"What happened, Old Kaiser?" Old Thunder asked curiously. But then, he suddenly smirked and said, "Have your eyes grown tired? You still have some time left on the Celestial Mirror, but I am more than happy to take over early."
"Fat chance, Old Thunder. Even if my eyes are tired, I give up my time to you!" Old Kaiser rolled his eyes at the shameless old man.
Nevertheless, such action made his eyes sting. Thus, he groaned again and rubbed them to ease the discomfort.
Upon seeing that, Old Thunder frowned and stopped joking. He put on a solemn look and asked, "So what happened?"
"A new star was born," Old Kaiser stated.
"A new star was born, huh?" Old Thunder uttered with furrowed brows. But after a moment, he immediately widened his eyes in shock. "What! A new star was born? Are you certain, Old Kaiser?!"
"Of course," Old Kaiser confidently responded.
"Even if I haven't personally seen a Celestial in my life, I'm not so senile in my old age that I wouldn't recognize a Celestial when I see one."
"Where did you see the Celestial? Quick! Move aside and let me take a look too!" Old Thunder said excitedly.
Strangely, Old Kaiser did not deny his request. He 'kindly' stepped away from the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience and said, "Above the clouds of Extreme Misty Forest's core region."
Old Thunder quickly tracked down the location with the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience. The moment he laid eyes on the pure white brilliance hanging above the clouds, he immediately averted his eyes.
"Ah, my eyes! It burns!" Old Thunder squealed.
Having expected such a scenario to play out, Old Kaiser softly chuckled, feeling delighted by Old Thunder's misfortune.
"Be careful what you wish for," Old Kaiser commented.
"Ugh…" Old Thunder groaned while rubbing his eyes. After he recovered, he solemnly confirmed, "This pure white brilliance of the stars… There's no doubt about it. That's a Celestial, alright."
"After all these years, the world finally has a new Celestial," Old Thunder continued with an emotional sigh before he suddenly frowned. "However, this location… That place is riddled with Paragon-level vengeful spirits."
"Not to mention the Half-step Divine Beast guarding the ice mountain," Old Kaiser added. Then, he asked, "Makes you wonder how the Celestial managed to venture into that place, doesn't it?"
"Well, if it's a Celestial, then it's possible," Old Thunder stated.
However, Old Kaiser shook his head.
"The young lady wasn't a Celestial when she entered the ice mountain. But when she exited the ice mountain hours later, she was a Celestial. Furthermore, she also tamed the Half-step Divine Beast."
"So it's a young lady, huh? The world sure is full of surprises and geniuses…" Old Thunder uttered with more amazement.
But then, he suddenly paused.
"Hold on. Did you just say the young lady tamed the Half-step Divine Beast?"
Chapter 949: Ice Phoenix Tribe
Meanwhile, Leon headed north of the ice mountain with Elizabeth, Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn.
However, after Leon sensed something, he paused his steps and glanced back in the direction of Extreme Misty Forest. Nevertheless, only the ice mountain peak could be seen behind him.
Even so, Leon's gaze didn't linger on the ice mountain peak for long before shifting his attention upwards.
At the same time, Elizabeth and the others caught his action and followed his gaze.
However, they could only see the sun and billowing white clouds in the high sky. Besides those two, there was nothing out of the ordinary or anything of interest to look at.
Just as Elizabeth and the others wondered what caught Leon's interest, the slow-moving white clouds created a gap in itself, revealing a spot of pure white brilliance in the sky.
The white brilliance was so blinding that it was hard not to notice it despite the great distance.
"Is that Lynne's doing?" Elizabeth sought the others' opinion with an astonished look.
Beside Lynne, who became a Celestial, Elizabeth couldn't think of any other reason for the appearance of the bright spot in the sky.
"I think so… She looks like a star," Faelyn commented with amazement.
"Right? I was thinking the same thing," Aria added before wondering, "Do all Celestials glow like this?"
"Well, that is rather interesting," Leon uttered thoughtfully after listening to the ladies' thoughts.
"Is it?"
Aria turned her head to Leon with curiosity.
At the same time, Elizabeth and the two ladies also shifted their attention back to Leon and awaited his response.
"Of course, it is. When you look at the night sky, how many stars do you usually see?" Leon quizzed them.
Aria knitted her brows and recalled from her memory. Then, she shook her head and said, "I don't know exact numbers, but there's got to be at least tens of thousands of stars."
"What's interesting about that?" Aria asked shortly after.
"You see, I've inherited a star map during one of the underground explorations," Leon stated.
"However, this star map of the God Realm only has 100 Star Realms recorded on it. If this star map is the complete star map of the world, don't you find it strange for there to be tens of thousands of stars in the night sky?"
"At first, I thought these tens of thousands of stars were merely illusory duplications caused by the spatial seal placed on this world. However, this might not be the case," Leon said.
"The world only has 100 Star Realms?" Elizabeth uttered with surprise.
"How can that be? There are thousands of stars in the night sky. Even if each Star Realm contains multiple stars, it still won't come close to ten thousand stars, let alone several ten thousand stars."
"That's why it's interesting, Mother," Leon stated.
"If we assume most of these stars in the night sky are Celestials, wouldn't we be able to count how many Celestials there are out there?"
The number of truly bright stars was few, while the dim stars were plenty. Furthermore, these dim stars' positions weren't fixed.
Nevertheless, someone who frequently studied the stars would notice the changes in the dim stars. If they didn't pay enough attention, they wouldn't remember all the star positions in the sky.
"Oh? Now that is interesting," Elizabeth admitted.
She cannot help but feel amazed, but at the same time, overwhelmed if the dim stars in the night sky truly represent the Celestials out there.
"Several ten thousand Celestials, huh? That's quite a number."
Swish—!
A strong breeze suddenly rushed up the vast slope of the ice mountain, blowing everyone's hair wildly in the air.
Darlene and Faelyn shivered from the coldness of the breeze. Even so, it only happened briefly before they recovered.
"We're wasting time here. Let us increase our pace to reach the north sooner," Leon suggested.
Elizabeth and the ladies quickly agree.
But Leon and Aria could grab Elizabeth and Faelyn to carry them along, Darlene opened a Dark Passage for everyone.
"This should take us to the north quickly," Darlene informed.
"What is this dark passage?" Elizabeth uttered with surprise after seeing Darlene's Dark Passage for the first time.
"It's a spatial ability, Mother. You can think of it as a type of teleportation. You'll understand once you use it," Leon explained. Then, he quickly urged the group, "We should enter immediately, lest we exhaust Darlene's power."
A few breathes later, everyone disappeared inside the Dark Passage and stepped outside the other end of it.
The saltiness of the Boundless Sea quickly assaulted their sense of smell in that instance.
Nevertheless, everyone did not mind the salty sea; it was what they came for. More importantly, everyone was stunned by the breathtaking view.
The Great Mountain Ranges that formed the borders of the Human Domain didn't end on land. It also spread on the Boundless Sea until it formed a complete ring.
Nevertheless, the mountain range in the sea was not as tall as those on land. That much should have been expected.
"So this is the sea… It's more beautiful than I anticipated," Faelyn commented with surprise.
However, it didn't take long before Faelyn noticed something moving in the distant sea mountains and alerted the group about her discovery.
"There's something flying in the sky above those sea mountains over there," Faelyn pointed.
Leon quickly activated his Spirit Eyes, which upgraded to Earth Spirit Eyes, to take a look at the sea mountains more clearly.
"It's a group of ice phoenixes," Leon declared after making his discovery. Then, he added, "The ice phoenix tribe might be situated on one of those mountains."
"A group of Ice phoenixes? I wonder if they are related to the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix or not," Aria wondered.
"I think the better question is if the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix is their monarch or not. If it is, we have hopes of assimilating the Ice Phoenix Tribe," Leon stated thoughtfully.
The Ice Phoenix Tribe would be quite a powerful addition to the Crawford Empire.
Chapter 950: Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity
"The monarch of the Ice Phoenix Tribe? It might as well be," Aria thought.
"The Ice Phoenix Tribe is unlike the Blue Luan Tribe. Although they are quite similar, their strengths differ greatly. At the very least, it seems like the Ice Phoenix Tribe has many Paragons."
Although the mountain range sticking out of the sea was quite far away, several ice phoenixes flew closer at a closer distance, and the aura emanating from them wasn't weak.
There was definitely a Paragon among them.
"But even if the Ice Phoenix Tribe has many Paragon-level Ice Phoenixes in their tribe, it wouldn't be easy to find another Half-step Divine Beast among them," Aria continued.
"Yeah. It is already a rare sight to even spot a Half-step Divine Beast," is what Leon said.
However, the Black Dragon Clan he left behind in the Starfall Dominion had four Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons.
Nevertheless, their attainments were all thanks to Leon's assistance.
Furthermore, the situation in the Desolate Beast Continent was different from the Dark Abyss Continent.
The Desolate Beast Continent didn't have a powerful place of inheritance like the Radiant Heaven Realmship where the Eternal Night Demon Empress slumbers.
Or at the very least, Leon hadn't heard or discovered, which isn't very surprising. He had barely explored a fraction of the continent.
"Nevertheless, it was a good thing that we came to check this place out. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known about this Ice Phoenix Tribe nesting in the north," Elizabeth said seriously.
"The Ice Phoenix Tribe isn't close, but it isn't exactly that far either. Paragon-level Ice Phoenixes can cross this distance in no time. If we had set up a port city without knowledge of the Ice Phoenix Tribe, people would have suffered raids from the ice phoenixes."
"In this regard, we have to thank Darlene for taking this far offshore. Otherwise, we wouldn't have come close enough to notice the Ice Phoenix Tribe," Elizabeth added.
Darlene immediately felt embarrassed.
Just as Elizabeth had said, they weren't exactly at the sand beach. No, they were at least four dozen miles away from it.
However, they had still had solid ground to stand on despite being sent to the sea. That is because the entire northern beach and fifty miles of seawater surface further north of it had all been frozen solid.
At that moment, they were standing at the very edge where the frozen sea surface meets with the non-frozen seawater.
Even so, the seawater was still frighteningly cold, nonetheless.
When Leon swept beneath the ice surface with his divine sense, he discovered it wasn't just the surface that was frozen.
The frozen seawater extended as deep as his divine sense could reach. As such, it was likely that the ice extended to the seafloor.
"I didn't expect the north to be such a vast land of ice," Leon mentioned.
"If we can get the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix's cooperation, the Ice Phoenix Tribe won't be a threat to the empire. Instead, they'll be a valuable asset. However, they might not be the only beast tribe in the north."
"We should head back and check the rest of this northern ice land," Leon suggested.
After getting everyone's agreement, the group left the frozen sea. They made their way back to land while searching for points of interest along the way.
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'You've gathered enough celestial energy, child. Use your Celestial Frost Arts now,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress said to Lynne.
"Yes, Master," Lynne complied.
The pure white brilliance gradually faded, revealing Lynne's body with rainbow-glowing celestial veins on the surface of her skin.
However, shortly after, the rainbow-colored energy gathered towards a single point on Lynne's palm, forming a concentrated orb of celestial energy.
"Celestial Frost Arts – Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity!" Lynne shot the celestial energy orb out of her hand.
The moment it left her palm, the rainbow-colored celestial energy orb rapidly transformed into a blue phoenix that snowballed in size.
Within moments, the blue phoenix reached the same size as the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix. Then, it flapped its wings and disappeared into the white clouds right below.
In that instance, the billowing white clouds above Extreme Misty Forest darkened. Then, it churned like a cyclone, pulling in the nearby clouds and increasing its size in the process.
The weather drastically changed as the air cooled and the temperature dropped terrifyingly low—even lower than the heart of the ice mountain cave.
Before long, countless white snowflakes fell from the sky and rained over the southern half of Extreme Misty Forest.
Although the white snowflakes seemed ordinary at a glance, they contained terrifying icy powers within them.
The moment the white snowflakes landed on the black trees of the forest, numerous ice crystal pillars grew out from them.
However, it wasn't just the trees affected by the white snowflakes. Even the cold yin mist itself caused the icy powers within the snowflakes to erupt chaotically upon contact.
As thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of white snowflakes descended, crystal ice pillars erupted throughout Extreme Misty Forest. They landed on the ground, trees, mists, and even the growing crystal ice pillars themselves.
New crystal ice pillars grew out from older ones, creating a chain reaction throughout the misty forest.
Within moments, crystal ice pillars filled Extreme Misty Forest.
However, the onslaught of ice didn't end there. As the whirlpool of dark clouds continued raining snowflakes on the forest, numerous ice pillars clashed against each other and shattered.
Yiii—!
The cries of countless vengeful spirits echoed throughout Extremely Misty Forest—only to be drowned by the noise of clashing crystal ice pillars.
Everywhere was a battlefield.
The vengeful spirits had no safe to hide nor anywhere to run.
Wherever they fled, rapidly expanding crystal ice pillars would obstruct their passage. Eventually, they have nowhere to run.
Eventually, the crystal ice pillars impaled vengeful spirits and transformed their spiritual bodies into ice, effectively slaying them.
Lynne didn't expect the Celestial Arts to cause such devastation on a regional scale.
Nevertheless, she quickly used her Celestial Frost Arts again to protect a single spot in Extreme Misty Forest from the ongoing disaster befalling it.
Chapter 951: Winter Cat
It was the location of Arana's ice palace.
After Lynne used her Celestial Frost Arts, a sturdy ice dome covered a three-mile radius around the ice palace. All the growing crystal ice pillars failed to breach the ice dome.
Some crystal ice pillars shattered under pressure, while others grew around the ice dome.
However, despite the sturdy ice dome's ability to block all crystal ice pillars from breaching its defense, it didn't block the chaotic noise in the region.
Arana was attracted by the disturbance and left her ice palace to look.
Upon seeing what was happening outside the ice dome, Arana furrowed her brows, wondering why there was such a situation.
"I've spent two months in this region, but this is the first time I've seen something like this… What the hell is going on?" Arana muttered.
Her peace was disturbed, and the commotion irritated her.
However, Arana did not intend to do anything about the situation. Sensing the threatening power of ice in the crystal ice pillars outside, she understood there was nothing to do.
Her life would be forfeited if she lost the protection of the ice dome.
Arana suddenly recalled the icy ability used to create the ice palace. She immediately wondered if the present situation had anything to do with Lynne.
"That's strange… That girl was only Early Seeking Insight-level Transcendent at most when I met her. How did she do to be so strong in such a short time?" Arana wondered.
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Meanwhile, the onslaught of snowflakes on Extreme Misty Forest continued, transforming it into an unrecognizable state.
After several minutes had passed, Extremely Misty Forest was no more. At the very least, the western part of it was no more.
The Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity turned the misty forest into a vast land of ice. The vengeful spirits, trees, mist—everything was frozen.
At the same time, numerous ice mountains made of crystal ice pillars towered over the vast land.
'Not bad, child. You managed to freeze over such a vast land in such a short time,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress praised.
'However, you still have much of the misty forest left to freeze with the Celestial Frost Arts. If you let the Frozen Calamity rampage like this, those snowflakes will continue stacking crystal ice pillars on top of each other until they reach the clouds.'
'You need to shift the focus of the Frozen Calamity to the east and freeze the rest of the misty forest,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.
"I understand, Master," Lynne complied.
But then, she suddenly paused in the next moment, unsure how to manipulate the Frozen Calamity's blizzard clouds.
Given her cultivation in the Ice Law, she could use the sheer force of her ice ability to move all the ice elements.
However, the Frozen Calamity was as simple as being pure in ice element. If she only moved the ice elements, it might break up the blizzard clouds and end the Frozen Calamity.
"Err, how do I do that, Master?" Lynne asked with slight embarrassment.
'You just used the first form of the Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity, Calling Winter. Naturally, the next thing to do is use the second form of the Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity, Guiding Season,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress patiently explained.
The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress was not surprised by Lynne's question.
Although it seemed obvious that the second form, Guiding Season, should be used after the first form, the skill itself could be used separately from the first form.
Considering she had just taught her disciple about this set of celestial frost arts, it wasn't strange that she wasn't familiar with the Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity.
As such, her disciple wouldn't know the four forms of the Ice Phoenix's Frozen Calamity can be connected.
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Meanwhile, as Leon's group headed back to the shore region in the north, the startling changes in Extreme Misty Forest did not go unnoticed.
It was difficult not to notice even if they didn't want to.
After all, the weather in the southern direction changed. And after several minutes, numerous ice pillars and structures, even larger than the ice mountain, suddenly appeared.
"This is the extent of a Celestial's power? It's on a whole different dimension compared to Transcendents!" Elizabeth uttered with disbelief.
Elizabeth couldn't believe there was a vast gap between Transcendents and Celestials. It was no wonder that Celestials were virtually viewed as gods to the mortals.
With such shocking power, Lynne could topple any kingdom in the Human Domain in an instant.
And Lynne wanted to start a religion; Elizabeth didn't doubt that many followers would flock towards her.
"I don't know whether this is the full extent of a Celestial's power… But I think it's safe to assume that Lynne turned the western parts of Extreme Misty Forest into a frozen land like the north," Leon said wryly.
Given such a large-scale transformation of the land, It wouldn't take Lynne very long to deal with all the vengeful spirits in the entirety of Extreme Misty Forest.
At the very least, what he expected to take at least two weeks had been greatly shortened to under three hours.
No, if Lynne was eager to finish the task quickly, it could be even faster!
"Furthermore, we won't have to worry about the frozen land in the north ever melting as long as we have Lynne around," Leon added.
"That's for sure," Aria agreed with Leon's comment.
However, her eyes remain fixed on the towering crystal ice pillars and structures in the south. She wondered if she could pull off the same feat once she reached the Celestial Realm.
Nevertheless, the group didn't dwell on Lynne's world-changing ice power.
As they drew closer to the frozen shore, a pure white blur suddenly dashed out from a nearby frozen wave and flashed its silver claws at Leon.
In that instance, Leon prepared to swat it away. However, he quickly changed his mind at the last moment and pinched the creature by the back of the neck.
"Reow!" the little white beast growl.
It flailed its four limbs in an empty to break free from Leon's hold and attack but to no avail. It was helplessly and powerlessly caught by him.
"Ah, a Winter Cat! It's so cute!" Faelyn exclaimed.
Chapter 952: Three Beast Taming Methods
Shortly after Faelyn exclaimed, Aria's eyes brightened at once. She was also fascinated by the adorable creature being held by Leon.
The Winter Cat was small, and its strength wasn't high, but it was very ferocious and stubborn.
"Reow!" the Winter Cat continued to growl.
The Winter Cat furiously resisted as it dangled in Leon's hand. However, it couldn't achieve its intended purpose no matter what it did.
"Ah, how can it be so adorable even when it's angry? I want to pet it," Aria said.
However, the Winter Cat immediately snapped and hissed in retaliation when Aria's hand drew near it.
"Be careful. It's not strong, but it's still a feral beast. You can get yourself hurt if you are careless," Leon warned her.
However, Aria knitted her brows and said, "My fleshly strength has already exceeded 5-million jin. How can this Winter Cat hurt me when it's not even a Transcendent-level beast?"
"Maybe not, if it was just any ordinary Winter Cat. However, I don't think this Winter Cat is normal. We can see that the Winter Cat's strength and speed were not high; its claws and fangs are exceedingly sharp," Leon said.
"They could probably even cut through the defense of Paragon-level beasts," Leon continued. "I'm not sure if their survival tools were evolved out of necessity to live in this cold region, but there is one thing I know for sure."
"And that thing is?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
She was no expert, but she could also see that the Winter Cat's fangs and claws were mismatched with its present level of strength.
"This Winter Cat's fangs and claws are excellent materials for making weapons," Leon stated.
"What!" Aria and Faelyn exclaimed with outrage.
They immediately wanted to snatch the Winter Cat out of Leon's hand and bring it under their protection. They feared he would kill for said materials.
"Reow!" the Winter Cat growled.
The Winter Cat quickly retaliated upon seeing two female humans' abrupt hands closing in on it. Unfortunately, its claws did not reach them as the male human pulled it away in the nick of time.
"Didn't I say to be careful?" Leon's lips twitched.
Aria and Faelyn were losing their minds over a creature. Nevertheless, he had to admit that the Winter Cat was a little cute.
Even so, it was too ferocious!
"Ah, you did say that, but… How could you think of killing this adorable kitten for its claws and fangs?! Isn't that too cruel?" Aria berated Leon for his cruelty.
Leon immediately felt wronged.
"What's wrong with that?" Darlene casually asked.
She had the most indifferent expression to Leon's statement among all the people present. Leon quickly looked at her as if she was his savior, someone who shared his views.
"What do you mean what's wrong with that, Sister Darlene? Do you think it's okay to kill such a cute creature for its claws and fangs? Where's the justice in that?" Aria preached before pointing at the Winter Cat. "Just look at it. Do you really have the heart to kill it?"
After looking into the Winter Cat's big round eyes, Darlene's heart wavered. It was certainly cute. Even so, what's the use of being cute?
"It is cute," Darlene nodded. But then, she added, "But the warriors of the plains hunt all sorts of beasts all the time. If it can't be tamed, isn't it normal to hunt it for its materials and meat? After all, it'll be a threat to everyone if we can't get rid of its feral nature."
"Then all we have to do is tame it, no?" Faelyn thought.
That being said, Faelyn wasn't confident that they could tame the Winter Cat.
The elven tribe had some proficiency in communicating beasts and domesticating them. However, the number was minimal. Furthermore, she knew little about the Winter Cats.
"Can we try? Pretty please?" Aria gave Leon the puppy eyes.
"Sure," Leon shrugged ruefully.
There was no justice when it involved survival. Aria never showed any mercy when their survival was at stake.
But now that survival wasn't a concern, and it involved a cute little beast, Aria, and even Faelyn were overflowing with affection towards it.
'Cuteness is justice, huh?' Leon thought wryly.
"If we want to tame a beast, there are usually three ways to go about it. Domination, gratitude, or temptation are the options," Leon mentioned after he did a quick search in the Archive for related materials.
"Considering how ferocious this little bugger is, it is definitely a tenacious fighter. I don't think domination will work on it. As for gratitude, it won't be easy. After all, we haven't fully grasped the situation in the north. Thus, we don't know if the Winter Cat has any predators in this region."
"Furthermore, we can't exactly break its legs and treat it. Such a forced method is more likely to break its spirit instead of earning its gratitude—if done repeatedly," Leon added.
"In other words, the temptation method is the best method to tame the Winter Cat, right?" Faelyn asked for confirmation.
"Not exactly," Leon shook his head and said, "The gratitude method has the highest success chance, but the conditions to earn gratitude is stringent. On the other hand, domination has the lowest success chance, but it does guarantee quick results."
"As for temptation, it requires patience, diligence, and in-depth knowledge of the Winter Cat. After all, we can't tempt it if we don't know what it likes and dislikes. Fortunately for us, I do happen to know what the Winter Cat likes," Leon stated.
"You do, son?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, the Winter Cats loves to eat fish. Fish is like a very addictive treat for them. The fresher the fish is, the crazier the Winter Cats' craving for them," Leon said.
Alas, Elizabeth, Aria, and Faelyn all looked stunned. They expected an amazing answer, but what they got was very simple.
"Fish… Doesn't that apply to all cats? Furthermore, the Winter Cats live in this cold north region. Surely, they have grown used to eating sea monster meat," Aria mentioned. "Are you sure fish will work? We don't have to use something else?"
"If you loved eating rice all your life, would you suddenly get sick of it just because you tried something new?" Leon asked her.
"Well… no," Aria answered before she added wryly, "But did you have to use rice as an example, Leon?"
Chapter 953: Powerful Attraction
Nevertheless, Aria completely understood Leon's meaning.
Rice itself isn't all that great. In fact, it could be considered plain. However, it could be eaten with anything, which makes it great.
There were undoubtedly better examples, but they are all subjected to personal opinions. Only rice is universally accepted by everyone in the empire.
"If it's fish, then… don't we have a lot of it? In high quality as well," Aria said.
She quickly took out a large piece of sea monster meat from her interspatial ring before cutting it up into bite-size pieces for the Winter Cat.
Nevertheless, the moment she took out the sea monster meat, the Winter Cat stopped struggling and flailing about in Leon's hands, its eyes glued on her sea monster meat.
"Looks like I caught its interest," Aria giggled.
Shortly after, she picked up a bite-size piece of sea monster meat and waved it in front of the Winter Cat, causing its eyes to follow the seafood accordingly.
However, the Winter Cat didn't have a lot of patience. Thus, it was quickly upset when it couldn't reach the food in front of its eyes.
"Reow!" the Winter Cat growled.
"Hehe! Ah, it's so cute even when it's mad!" Aria grew increasingly fond of the Winter Cat, which might still be a kitten.
She didn't tease the Winter Cat for too long before she fed it.
"Be careful."
"Mm."
Aria took note of Leon's warning.
The Winter Cat had immediately snatched the piece of sea monster meat out of Aria's hand the moment it entered the Winter Cat's range.
Even so, Aria was careful enough not to be scratched by it.
The Winter Cat devoured the piece of sea monster meat in an instance. Then, it shifted its gaze on the rest of the pile of sea monster meat that Aria prepared.
"Looks like it wants more," Aria chuckled before picking up another piece to feed the Winter Cat. "Do you think I'm doing it right, Leon?"
"Maybe if you stop teasing it. I doubt it'll feel gracious for the food when you are antagonizing it," Leon inserted his opinion with a wry smile.
Nevertheless, Aria sure knows how to spoil the Winter Cat, taking out a Paragon-level sea monster meat straight from the start.
Even so, they probably needed this level of temptation to tame the Winter Cat.
"Ah, that's true…" Aria nodded in agreement. But then, she added, "But I can't help myself. It's too adorable."
"Can I try feeding it too?"
Faelyn requested with a hopeful look while restraining her excitement. She didn't have any sea monster meat of her own. Thus, she could only ask.
"Of course! Do you even have to ask, Sister Faelyn?" Aria responded.
"It doesn't feel right unless I ask. After all, it's not appropriate to take something that doesn't belong to me, Sister Aria," Faelyn replied wryly.
Nevertheless, Aria and Faelyn took turns feeding the Winter Cat. The more they fed it, the more docile it became.
The Winter Cat stopped trying to snatch the food out of Aria and Faelyn's hands and simply devoured with its mouth as the seafood was fed to it
Even so, it was still far from being tamed. At the very least, Leon deemed it wasn't ready to be released from his hold.
Darlene watched Aria and Faelyn having fun feeding the Winter Cat and could help but want to join them. She felt like she was missing out.
After she joined them, Leon turned to his mother.
"Don't you want to try feeding the Winter Cat as well, mother?" Leon asked.
However, Elizabeth shook her head with a calm smile and said, "No, I'm fine with just watching. But do you think this method will work? Even if it does, it's just one Winter Cat and not a very strong one at that."
"It doesn't matter. It's fine as long as Aria and Faelyn are happy with it," Leon replied with a casual smile. "But whether it works or not, only time will tell."
Perhaps because they were using Paragon-level sea monster meat, they started seeing noticeable changes in the Winter Cat's attitude.
Aria noticed the Winter Cat lost its ferocity—or at the very least, it didn't view her with hostility. Its eyes showed great anticipation towards its next bite.
Despite its small body, the Winter Cat had already eaten over twice its size in sea monster, which contained abundant amounts of energy.
It was unknown where it found the stomach to eat so much, but it showed no sign of getting full. It was like it had never been full in its life.
Nevertheless, the Winter Cat's aura started to grow.
Suddenly, Aria decided to take a risk and recklessly fed the sea monster meat to the Winter Cat, which startled everyone.
Luckily, Aria succeeded in her gamble.
After the Winter Cat gobbled up the sea monster meat in Aria's hand, it didn't try to eat her hand too. Instead, it licked her fingers and even rubbed its head against it.
Faelyn's eyes brightened at once. She also wanted to try the same thing.
However, when she went to fetch the next piece of sea monster meat to feed the Winter Cat, she suddenly froze.
Faelyn also noticed Leon, Elizabeth, and Darlene had grown silent in that instance.
"Um, Sister Aria?" Faelyn uttered.
"Hm? What is it, Sister Faelyn?" Aria responded while fixing her gaze on the Winter Cat. She giggled at the ticklish feeling of getting her fingers licked.
"You don't happen to have enough sea monster meat to feed an entire tribe of Winter Cats, do you?" Faelyn asked.
Shortly after that question was raised, Aria immediately paused.
When she peeled her eyes off the Winter Cat, she immediately noticed many other Winter Cats had surrounded the group.
Just by looking at them, Aria estimated there were at least ten thousand Winter Cats, both big and small ones.
The smallest was the same size as the one in Leon's hand, but the biggest was tenfold.
"It seems like the smell of the Paragon-level sea monster meat may have attracted the entire Winter Cat Tribe," Leon finally commented with a wry smile.
Chapter 954 Blizzardpaw & Snowhisker
"Huh?" Aria gasped before asking with surprise, "How did we get surrounded so suddenly? Where did they all pop out from?"
"Under the ice," Leon stated.
After Aria heard his answer, she glanced down with surprise. However, she couldn't tell anything simply by looking at the ice surface.
It was semi-transparent, but it didn't reach very far before turning completely white. As such, Aria couldn't confirm whether hollow spaces existed under the thick ice.
Nevertheless, since Leon already said the Winter Cats came from under the ice, a large hollow space must exist.
Even so, she did not see any entrances on the way back to shore.
"I don't remember seeing any holes along the way. So it's rather strange that we would be surrounded by Winter Cats so quickly and so subtly," Faelyn mentioned her doubt.
Leon smiled and said, "That is because you completely missed all of them along the way. There's actually quite a lot of them. You can even say they are like rabbit holes."
Aria suddenly thought of something.
Since they had arrived straight at the edge of the frozen sea, they had been making their way their south back to the shore.
She had seen numerous frozen waves, big and small ones, along the way. However, she had only seen them from the backside and never the front side.
After Aria glanced back towards the north, she immediately spotted the holes hidden right under the cover of the frozen waves.
"No wonder we didn't see them on our way back to shore," Aria uttered, prompting Darlene and Faelyn to glance at the northern sea direction as well.
After seeing the openings under the frozen waves, they understood the situation.
"Well, it doesn't look like the rest of the Winter Cats are looking for a fight—at least, not yet," Leon uttered before he unpinched the Winter Cat's neck and returned its freedom.
In that instance, the Winter Cat ignored the remaining pile of sea monster meat. It circled around Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn's feet before hopping off to join the other Winter Cats in the distance.
The group noticed the small Winter Cat stopped in front of an adult-size Winter Cat and meowed.
"I wonder what the Winter Cats are saying to each other… What do you think, son?" Elizabeth sought Leon's opinion.
However, Leon didn't understand any cat language. Thus, he couldn't give a precise answer.
"The little one is probably informing its parent about how much good food we have, probably…" Leon replied before adding, "Now is probably a good time to bring out more of the goods. They all look hungry."
"We have to feed them all!" Aria said with strong conviction as if she had just found her life's purpose.
Seeing so many hungry Winter Cats, Aria felt compelled to feed them all.
She immediately unloaded large amounts of sea monster meat into the empty ice surface in front of her, forming a giant mountain of sea monster meat.
Shortly after, Aria drew her Tier-7 Divine Sword and sliced up the mountain of sea monster meat into numerous smaller pieces.
The seafood was quickly prepared, more than enough for each Winter Cat to grab a few pieces of themselves.
However, none of the Winter Cats approached the sea monster meat even if they were starving.
"Aren't they hungry?" Faelyn wondered.
"Looking at how skinny the adult Winter Cats are, there's no doubt that they are starving. However, they are waiting for their leader's command," Leon stated while scanning the tribe of Winter Cats.
Before long, his gaze locked on a Winter Cat, whose body was riddled with scars and missing patches of fur, and assumed it to be the leader of the tribe.
It might look weakened, but its aura was certainly a cut above the rest. Furthermore, the nearby Winter Cats were all giving it undivided attention.
Even so, its strength was surprisingly around Early Paragon.
Leon wasn't sure if the tribe leader of the Winter Cats had unlocked its spiritual wisdom. However, he still uttered, "Please accept our gift and feed yourselves. The sea monster meat is safe to consume."
Shortly after, the leader of the Winter Cats approached the sea monster meat and took a bite before the rest of its tribe members.
Only after deeming the sea monster meat safe for consumption did it signal the rest of the Winter Cats to eat.
"Meow!" the leader of Winter Cats cried.
In the next instance, the Winter Cats in the area all rushed towards the sea monster meat in a frenzy, competing among themselves for more sea monster meat.
It quickly became a chaotic mess.
However, after the leader of the Winter Cats growled, the frenzy died down, and the Winter Cats became more organized.
They grabbed as much sea monster meat their mouth could hold before moving on for the next group of Winter Cats to take their share.
As that happened, the leader of the Winter Cats approached Leon's group.
"I know not why you came to our tribe nor why you are willing to part with such a large amount of precious food. However, I, Monarch Blizzardpaw, thank you for the generous gift," said the leader of Winter Cat Tribe.
Monarch Blizzardpaw's voice was surprisingly aged like an elder in his first thousand years. Evidently, it had lived for quite some time before even the last Cataclysm erupted.
Nevertheless, before anyone from Leon's side could respond to the intelligent Paragon-level Winter Cat, the little Winter Cat from earlier returned to their side.
The little one circled Aria's feet and rubbed its cheeks against it, causing Aria's heart to melt.
"Ah, you are so precious!" Aria exclaimed after picking the little Winter Cat and rubbing her cheeks against its soft white fur.
"It seems Snowhisker is quite fond of you," Monarch Blizzardpaw calmly said to Aria, but he was inwardly surprised.
Monarch Blizzardpaw didn't expect uncontrollable Snowhisker to be so well-behaved and attached to the humans in such a short time.
"So your name is Snowhisker," Aria beamed while looking at the little Winter Cat.
"Meow!" Snowhisker responded.
Chapter 955 Frost God & Sun God
Shortly after Aria played with Snowhisker, she handed Snowhisker over to Faelyn, who was dying to get a turn at rubbing her cheeks against Snowhisker's fluffy softness.
Nevertheless, Snowhisker did not dislike the attention. Rather, Snowhisker enjoyed the attention and love very much.
Leon was surprised that something so ferocious could quickly become docile simply by feeding it high-quality sea monster meat.
Perhaps, it had something to do with Snowhisker being young, cats always being easy to get along with humans throughout history, or the Winter Cat Tribe being intelligent and could read human emotions well.
It could even be a combination of all these factors.
Whatever the case may be, there was clear hope of integrating the entire Winter Cat Tribe under the empire, let alone tame a few Winter Cats.
Just as Leon thought of asking Aria to take out more sea monster meat for Monarch Blizzardpaw, Aria acted one step ahead of him.
"Please help yourself too, Monarch Blizzardpaw. There's plenty for everyone," Aria offered sea monster meat to the Paragon-level Winter Cat.
Leon saw the look in Aria's eyes and could not help but smile wryly. He could see that Aria did not discriminate between the Winter Cats.
Even if Blizzardpaw's body was riddled with battle scars and may not be as cute as the other Winter Cats, it was still a cute cat in her eyes.
"Thank you," Monarch Blizzardpaw didn't decline Aria's kind offer.
After Monarch Blizzardpaw devoured the large piece of sea monster meat in a few breaths, and with great relish at that, Monarch Blizzardpaw glanced at Leon's group with a contemplating look.
"A Winter Cat doesn't forget its favors. Regardless of your purpose in these lands, you have helped my tribe in a time of difficulty. As such, you are our benefactors. However, I, Monarch Blizzardpaw, have to be shameless and request that you continue to help us out during our food crisis."
The Paragon-level Winter Cat willingly lowered its head for its tribe's wellbeing.
"We are happy to help if we can build a friendship with the Winter Cat Tribe," Elizabeth stated. "However, there are a few things that I am curious about, if you don't mind me asking."
"I have eaten your food. Naturally, I am obliged to answer your questions. Please ask away," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
"For starters, you don't seem too surprised about us. Are there other humans living in this cold region?" Elizabeth asked.
"Not at all," Monarch Blizzardpaw shook its head before saying, "We have always known that humans lived on the other side of the forbidden forest. Unfortunately, the vengeful spirits have always prevented us from leaving this cold region."
"If your tribe was bent on leaving this cold region, couldn't you have taken the sea path to lead your tribe out?" Faelyn raised with doubt.
"Considering the Winter Cat Tribe has been living in this region, I assume all the Winter Cats know how to swim to hunt for food sources in the sea, no?"
"That's true. After we exhausted the food source in the frozen sea, our Winter Cat Tribe learned to hunt in the sea for food. However, knowing how to swim and getting out of this region is not the same," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.
"As long as the Ice Phoenix Tribe occupies the northern sea mountains and the vengeful spirits occupy the forbidden forest, our Winter Cat Tribe can only stay in this region. Furthermore, we have grown accustomed to this region after so many years."
"As such, we no longer have any intentions of leaving. The food crisis we face is only temporary. We view it as a trial given by the Frost God for allowing the Winter Cats to live under his protection," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
"The Frost God, you say?" Leon uttered with interest. Then, he asked, "Does the Winter Cat Tribe have a religion that worships this Frost God, or does such a being actually exists?"
"I suppose you can say it is closer to a religion, considering we have never seen the Frost God. Even so, we do believe such a being exists and slumbers in the Sacred Ice Mountain. However, a powerful ice phoenix guards the entrance," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
After everyone heard that, they glanced at each other with doubt.
At the same time, Leon's eyes flickered with understanding. But to confirm his doubt, he further asked, "What kind of protection does the Frost God offer exactly?"
"Protection against the wrath of the Sun God. Thanks to Frost God's protection, none of my kind has to suffer the wrath of the Sun God in this cold region," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
After hearing that, Leon glanced back at Aria. She gave him a silent nod, confirming that they were thinking the same thing.
In fact, Elizabeth, Darlene, and Faelyn also arrived at the same thought.
"I see," Leon smiled wryly and said, "I'm afraid your tribe will have to call your Frost God the Frost Goddess in the future."
Everyone understood that the so-called Frost God mentioned was, in fact, the Celestial Ice Spark. Furthermore, the wrath of the Sun God was the harmful sunlight brought by the Cataclysm's eruption.
Nevertheless, Monarch Blizzardpaw was dumbfounded after hearing Leon claim the Frost God was a woman.
"Is it possible that you know personally know the Frost God?" Monarch Blizzardpaw asked with doubt.
"That's right. Not only do I know the Frost Goddess, but you can also say that we are close. She is busy right now, but I believe you will be able to meet the Frost Goddess soon," Leon softly chuckled.
Considering Lynne refined the Celestial Ice Spark and ascended the Celestial Realm, it wasn't wrong for the Winter Cat Tribe to regard her as the Frost Goddess.
After all, the entire cold region in the north depends on her ice ability to maintain now that the original Celestial Ice Spark is gone.
"Is that so…" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered, half believing and half in doubt. Only time will tell the truth of the human's words.
"That aside, why is your Winter Cat Tribe experiencing a food crisis? Shouldn't there be plenty of sea monsters in the sea?" Leon raised an important question.
Chapter 956 Monarch Blizzardpaw's Surprising Answer
After Leon raised the question, everyone became interested in the topic. Furthermore, Aria and Darlene's curiosity was more evident than the other two.
They wondered if the sea monster tide in the Radiant Heaven Realmship had anything to do with the Winter Cat Tribe's food crisis. However, they thought it was unlikely.
After all, the Radiant Heaven Realmship was somewhere west of the Dark Abyss Continent while they were in the northern right corner of the Desolate Beast Continent.
Even if they didn't know how big the Dark Abyss Continent was, they shouldn't be anywhere close to the source of the sea monster tide.
"Plenty of sea monsters in the sea, huh?" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered before nodding, "There are indeed many sea monsters in the sea, too many to count even. However, there is a recurring period when the sea monsters all disappear from the sea."
"The sea monsters all disappear from the sea?" Leon uttered with furrowed brows in doubts.
"Yes," Monarch Blizzardpaw reconfirmed.
"How is that even possible?" Aria also found it strange.
"We've been to the edge of the frozen sea. The mountain range in the sea is like a net or cage. Unless there's a big hole in the mountain below sea level, there's no way for the sea monsters to leave this sea region," Aria mentioned.
For a small tribe like Winter Cat Tribe, the sea monsters within the enclosed sea region should be more than enough to last them many lifetimes.
After all, sea monsters weren't just numerous; they also had superior reproduction to all land creatures.
Thus, the Winter Cat Tribe would never be able to eat out all the sea monsters in that sea region on their own.
Even if the entire empire's population suddenly switched to seafood, they still wouldn't be able to eat out all the sea monsters in that sea region in a short time.
Thus, the sea monsters running out of sea monsters due to excessive fishing was not the problem.
There was another reason for the sea monsters' disappearance from the sea region.
"Other than an underwater hole in the sea mountains that sea monsters would take to leave the region periodically, I can't think of any other reasons for the sea monsters' disappearance," Aria added.
"That seems to be the only reason for the sea monsters' disappearance. However, Monarch Blizzardpaw's tribe most likely hasn't found this underwater gap that the sea monsters take to leave," Leon said.
After all, the Winter Cats didn't want to go anywhere near the Ice Phoenix Tribe to be their prey.
"Furthermore, how the sea monsters leave isn't important. What's important is why they leave periodically," Leon stated shortly after.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the sea monster tide, Leon?" Aria mentioned.
Leon contemplated for a moment.
"Logically speaking, it would be abnormal for the sea monster tide in that place to reach all the way here. However, on the topic of sea monster tides, there might be another place attracting all the sea monsters from this region periodically," Leon speculated.
If there were another amazing place of inheritance like the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he would definitely like to pay it a visit.
"I suppose Monarch Blizzardpaw wouldn't know anything about something like that, right?" Elizabeth shifted the attention back to the Paragon-level Winter Cat.
"I'm afraid not, unfortunately," Monarch Blizzardpaw shook his scar-ridden head and said, "Anything beyond the forbidden forest and phoenix mountains had always been unknown to us."
"I thought as much," Elizabeth nodded.
"Nevertheless, even if there is a place attracting all the sea monsters, it won't solve the Winter Cat Tribe's food shortage now that the sea monsters are all gone. How long do the sea monsters usually disappear each time?"
"Two weeks on good days and up to a month of bad days," Monarch Blizzardpaw answered with a sigh.
Most Winter Cats would be too weak to hunt on those bad days, while many young ones would die even if they all sleep to preserve their strength and energy.
"That bad, huh?" Elizabeth uttered.
"Nevertheless, fret not, Monarch Blizzardpaw. Your tribe doesn't have to suffer through these bad times again. We can supply food to your tribe during these difficult times from now on. However, there are a few conditions I would like to put down for this service."
"You see, I am the queen of a large country in the south of Extreme Misty Forest, which you call the forbidden forest. Thus, I also have to think about the wellbeing of my people as well. We can't keep offering without expecting returns," Elizabeth stated.
"The Winter Cats never expect to receive anything for free, but this is certainly a surprise. Pardon me for being inhospitable," Monarch Blizzardpaw expressed mild surprise before flashing Leon a glance.
Afterward, Monarch Blizzardpaw returned his attention to Elizabeth.
"Since we are going to negotiate for the interests of our people, allow me to show you around our tribe. We don't have much to offer, but I do hope you'll find a few items of interest so we can trade for your food," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
However, Leon interjected, "You don't have to worry about that, Monarch Blizzardpaw. We'll still take you up on your offer to show us around the tribe. However, we already know what we are interested in; the land and access to the sea."
"Furthermore, we are also interested in your tribe. However, I suppose it would be too much to ask your tribe to fall under our rule—"
"It's not too much," Monarch Blizzardpaw quickly said, catching everyone off guard immediately.
"Uh… Pardon?" Leon thought he might have misheard.
"It's not too much for humans to rule over our tribe and lands as long as you treat us well. Even as pets or tamed beasts, it's fine," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.
Even though the Winter Cat Tribe had grown accustomed to living in the cold north, it didn't mean they didn't desire a better life.
"I just want the children to be well-fed, you know?" Monarch Blizzard said.
"I'm not sure if you understand my situation. However, this Monarch is tired of being powerless in the face of food shortage and watching children starve to death each year."
Chapter 957 Frostjade Whetstones
Although Monarch Blizzardpaw had high strength as a Paragon-level Winter Cat, there were many things he couldn't resolve with strength alone.
Or rather, even with Paragon-level strength, it wasn't enough to solve his tribe's problems.
Leon realized that the toll on Monarch Blizzardpaw's mind had been much greater than he thought.
Monarch Blizzardpaw had to watch the young Winter Cats starved to death helplessly.
Furthermore, he still had to procure food after the sea monsters returned to the sea region when other adult Winter Cats were too weakened to hunt.
Monarch Blizzardpaw may have very well been the only Winter Cat capable of hunting during those trying times.
The amount of work that Monarch Blizzardpaw had to put in for the continuation of the Winter Cat Tribe during each of these food crises was unimaginable.
As such, it wouldn't be strange for Monarch Blizzardpaw to wish he could put everything down after meeting someone who could provide better care for his tribes.
The Winter Cats had better reproduction than humans. Yet, their population does not even exceed the tens of thousands due to the difficulty of living in the cold north.
Leon couldn't understand how much perseverance was needed to continue this grueling lifestyle for hundreds of years.
"It must have been very difficult managing the tribe on your own," Leon commented.
"It was," Monarch Blizzardpaw nodded. But then, he shortly added, "But don't be mistaken. If it's for the tribe, this Monarch can continue to endure these hardships until this Monarch's life expires."
"The reason this Monarch readily agreed isn't just because you have the capacity to supply such large amounts of food at a moment's notice. More importantly, you have the power to protect the Winter Cat Tribe."
"Toiling in the cold north, not knowing when the next meal may be… You know, it's not bad to a big tree—and a fairly big one at that, to take shelter under," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.
Leon immediately understood that Monarch Blizzardpaw had mistaken him for someone extremely powerful due to his dragon aura.
Monarch Blizzardpaw wasn't wrong, but not exactly right either. He was indeed powerful, but his strength was unbalanced.
Nevertheless, after exchanging words for some time, Leon's group built a closer relationship with Monarch Blizzardpaw and the Winter Cat Tribe.
Following the conclusion of their talk, Monarch Blizzardpaw guided them to a relatively big entrance that led to the Winter Cat Tribe hidden beneath the thick icy surface of the frozen sea.
However, the so-called big entrance was only in comparison to the other smaller entrances. It wasn't made according to human standards.
It was wide enough, but it wasn't high enough.
"It looks like we will have to crawl inside," Leon commented wryly.
"Ahem…" Monarch Blizzardpaw coughed and awkwardly said, "We don't usually receive human guests around here…"
Monarch Blizzardpaw wanted to show his hospitality to Leon's group. As such, he was ashamed that he had to make his honored guests crawl to the tribe.
"Meow, meow, meow, meow!"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
The nearby Winter Cats suddenly meowed at Leon's group just as they prepared to crouch down and crawl into the opening.
It was clear that the Winter Cats were saying something to them. But unfortunately, Leon and the others could not understand the Winter Cats' language.
"What are they saying, Monarch Blizzardpaw?" Leon inquired.
"They are requesting you all to wait. They wish to repay you for the food by making it more convenient for your group to enter the tribe," Monarch Blizzardpaw translated.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Leon said.
"Meow, meow!"
The Winter Cats meowed at Leon again when he attempted to crawl into the opening, causing Leon to pause and glance back at the Paragon-level Winter Cat for further translation.
"They insist," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.
Leon shrugged his shoulders and conceded, allowing the Winter Cats to work on making the passageway bigger.
Nevertheless, Leon and the others got to see the sharpness of the Winter Cats' fangs and claws in effect.
Thanks to the celestial ice power of the Celestial Ice Spark, the frozen sea was incredibly firmer than ordinary ice.
Its hardness could even compare to the defense of Rank 1 Transcendents.
Even so, the Winter Cats tore through the ice easily with their sharp fangs and claws.
Elizabeth and the other ladies could all see that no matter the strength and age of the Winter Cat, their fangs and claws all possessed a sharpness that could tear through a Paragon's defense.
At that moment, Aria was still holding Snowhisker in her arms.
"You have such sharp claws too, don't you? What will happen if you accidentally scratch me with them?" Aria uttered while playing with Snowhiskers's paws.
"Meow!" Snowhisker replied and retracted its claws as if it had understood Aria's words.
"Oh?" Aria noticed its subtle action and beamed, "Are you trying to be considerate of me? You are so precious."
She fed Snowhisker another piece of sea monster meat from her interspatial ring.
Nevertheless, the Winter Cats were very quick with their work. They only took a short incense worth of time to enlargen the passageway for Leon's group to enter completely.
After thanking the Winter Cats for their work, Leon followed Monarch Blizzardpaw in the ice passageway and quickly reached the Winter Cat Tribe.
Everyone was astonished by the time they arrived.
The Winter Cat Tribe's location was much deeper than everyone had anticipated.
It wasn't just hidden under the thick ice; the Winter Cat Tribe was located at the bottom of the frozen seafloor.
The homes weren't just made of ice. There were also stone and dirt houses, which looked closer to primitive shelters.
Even so, the tribe was surprisingly not as cold as the surface.
However, among the other things found in the Winter Cat Tribe, the blue-colored stones the Winter Cats used to sharpen their claws and fangs caught Leon's interest,
"Are you interested in the Frostjades, Lord Leon?" Monarch Blizzardpaw inquired after sensing Leon's gaze. "You certainly have a keen eye for treasures, Lord Leon."
Chapter 958 Blizzardpaw Dukedom
"If you are interested in these Frostjades, feel free to ask, Lord Leon," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.
"If these Frostjades can give Paragon-level sharpness to Winter Cats' fangs and claws, they must be precious, no? Are you really willing to offer some of them to us?" Leon inquired.
"Frostjades are indeed important whetstones for sharpening our hunting tools. However, we have plenty to share. Although they are a little troublesome to gather, we have an entire deposit of Frostjades right under our tribe," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
Leon and the others were immediately astonished.
If they could gain such a large amount of Frostjades, they could upgrade the empire's strength by several notches.
Even if their soldiers fall short of Paragons, their weapons will have the potential to harm or even kill Paragons.
While Monarch Blizzardpaw guided Leon's group around the tribe, they saw a few interesting and unique building designs.
The Winter Cat Tribe might be primitively built, but even the Winter Cats have their had own creativity on construction.
Apart from the shelter-like cat houses, there were large spiral ice pillars and staircases.
Leon's group had taken one of these large spiral ice staircases down to enter the Winter Cat Tribe. However, there were more shelter-like cat houses on the other large spiral ice pillars.
Even so, not all of these ice pillars connected the frozen seafloor and the cave ceiling. Some only reached halfway, appearing like towers, but in truth, there were broken ice pillars.
As Leon observed those broken pillars, he assumed that the Winter Cats might have accidentally destroyed them due to the sharpness of their own claws.
After all, cats love to climb, and they use their claws to do so. The fact that the tribe isn't flat is proof of that.
Furthermore, there were numerous scratch marks on the edges of the ice pillars. Even the roofs of the cat houses there were stacked like mountains in some areas had quite a few scratches.
Simply put, there were cat scratches everywhere.
The ten thousand Winter Cats they saw on the surface were most likely all the Winter Cats that still had the energy to fight.
The rest of the Winter Cats in the tribe only did one of two things. They were either hibernating or sharpening their fangs and claws. Only the adults sharpened their claws and fangs upon a more detailed look.
Most of the younger Winter Cats were asleep.
"Most of the young ones are sleeping to conserve their energy. Why were you the only up and about, hm? Did you sneak out to try looking for food on your own?" Aria poked the Snowhisker's nose.
"Meow!" Snowhisker soft replied, feeling a bit disgruntled by the poke.
Nevertheless, Snowhisker was comfortable in Aria's warm arms. Thus, it let her get away with her teasing.
Although Winter Cats live in cold environments, the north was actually a bit too much for the younger Winter Cats to handle. As such, they built their home on the frozen seafloor, which was relatively less freezing due to its distance from the sacred ice mountain.
Shortly after saying a few words, Leon left with Aria and Darlene to distribute sea monster meat to the rest of Winter Cats in the tribe.
Although some adult Winter Cats had brought down some sea monster meat for their young, it was clearly not enough for everyone. Even if it was, they also had to feed themselves.
They piled a large mountain of sea monster meat in the center, and its pungent sea smell attracted all the Winter Cats in the tribe, both the conscious adults and the slumbering young ones.
"Meow, meow, meow~!"
"Meow, meow… meow!"
It was a stampede of Winter Cats as the young ones all rushed towards the sea monster meat mountain with an insatiable appetite.
Some even thought of Leon, Aria, and Darlene as food as well.
However, they were quickly scolded by the older Winter Cats that had received orders from Monarch Blizzardpaws to treat the humans with great respect.
While that was happening, Elizabeth was left alone with Monarch Blizzard.
"I'd like to check out the Frostjade deposit, but I supposed we should settle the arrangements for the Winter Cat Tribe first," Elizabeth said.
"Alright, Queen Elizabeth," Monarch Blizzardpaw nodded.
"You might know this yet, but soon, there won't be any more vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. Lynne—er, the Frost Goddess, is dealing with them. Once they are gone, it'll be easier to open a path through the forest and connect the south and north," Elizabeth mentioned.
"Is that true?" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered with surprise.
"Definitely," Elizabeth confirmed with a nod.
"Once the south and north connect, we can expect a lot of interactions between humans, elves, and the Winter Cats. Of course, I don't expect this to be smooth sailing. However, I hope the conflicts won't affect our relationship."
"Of course, it won't. The Winter Cat Tribe will be in your care, Your Majesty," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
Two continued to discuss for half an hour before they finalized the arrangements as such;
1. All of the cold north would be considered part of the Winter Cat Tribe's territory, and Monarch Blizzardpaw would be the lord that governed this cold northern land.
2. Monarch Blizzardpaw would also be given the nobility rank of Duke in the empire. As such, the cold north would be called the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.
The peerage was given out of respect for Monarch Blizzardpaw's strength.
However, it also serves as a form of protection for the Winter Cats. This indirectly prevents the Winter Cats from being exploited and abused by wicked people with power in the empire without the royal family's knowledge.
3. Travels between the Blizzardpaw Dukedom and the rest of the empire are permitted to all.
4. Humans and elves may choose to adopt Winter Cats from the Blizzardpaw Dukedom, whether as their pet, tamed beast, or simply a new addition to the family.
However, they must have the other party's approval and the adopting Winter Cat's willingness.
In other words, the Winter Cats also have rights.
Outside of these clauses, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom will trade Frostjades and other local specialties in exchange for food with the empire.
Chapter 959 Needless Concern
In the unlikely situation where the Blizzardpaw Dukedom cannot enough procure items of trade in exchange for food, the empire will still provide the food, as much as the Blizzardpaw Dukedom requires to guarantee the welfare of the people in the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.
However, the value of food provided will be recorded as debt that must be repaid within ten years.
Outside of items of trade, lands, military service, and contributions to the empire can be used to reduce the debt.
Anything that hasn't been included in the aforementioned can be negotiated with the royal family to settle the debt.
Outside of these terms, the empire will completely cover the costs of developing roads, ports, and other settlements in the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.
The empire might seem like they are losing out on this deal.
However, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom has officially and legally become a part of the empire. The rights of governance are simply given to Monarch Blizzardpaw.
Thus, the empire had to bear the cost of its development plans.
Nevertheless, these costs won't come out of the royal family's pockets. The reinstatement of tax allowed the royal family to have extra funds for the development and management of the empire.
Furthermore, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom was not excluded from paying taxes. They will simply pay tax in the form of Frostjades, which is extremely valuable in the empire.
More importantly, the development of the Blizzardpaw Dukedom was crucial to the Crawford Empire, whether it was for sea access, sea monster meat, or the Frostjades.
Those were the known benefits that would affect the empire.
Besides those benefits, the cold north was still a vast unexplored region. It was unknown what other precious resources and valuable treasures were hidden in this land.
…
Sometime later, Leon and the others returned to Elizabeth's side, but it was clear that the talk was already over.
"Did you finish talking about the arrangements with Monarch Blizzardpaw already, Mother?" Leon asked, feeling taken aback.
"Yeah, we've settled everything while you were feeding the Winter Cats, son," Elizabeth confirmed before adding, "And it's Duke Blizzardpaw now. The entire north, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom is his to manage."
Afterward, Elizabeth recounted the details to Leon and the others, stunning them. Leon and Aria did not expect Elizabeth to give Monarch Blizzardpaw the rank of Duke.
They have yet to explore all of the north.
Leon wondered if his mother was planning on assigning the Duke rank to every additional High-rank tribe they encounter in the north. If there were any more tribes beside the Winter Cat Tribe, that is.
Nevertheless, Leon could also understand why it had to be the Duke rank.
If Monarch Blizzardpaw were allowed to reign over such a large territory without the rank of Duke, there would be voices of dissents among the empire's nobles.
After all, most of them didn't have any territories to govern.
Of course, there must have been other reasons that his mother considered before granting Monarch Blizzardpaw peerage.
Nevertheless, Aria had concerns for a different reason.
"Is it alright to grant Monarch Blizzardpaw the Duke rank? Beasts and humans had been at war since the last Cataclysm. Many people will have concerns regarding the Winter Cats," Aria mentioned.
"That shouldn't be a big problem," Leon stated.
"The wrath of the Cataclysm made the beasts out of control. However, the Winter Cat Tribe had been living in a land completely protected from the Wrathful Demonic Energy. It's also why we can get along with Duke Blizzardpaw and the Winter Cat Tribe this smoothly."
Of course, he wouldn't deny the allure of the sea monster meat they provided also played a big part in their amicable relationship.
"Whatever concerns the people have, they will come to understand the Winter Cats when they interact with them. People have always been afraid of the unknown, but they don't fear what they can understand."
"That aside, business on this side is settled. Mother needs to return to New Capital and settle the matters on that side. The sooner we send people to work on the forest, the sooner we can establish a more stable food supply to the north," Elizabeth stated.
"Right," Leon nodded in agreement before saying, "Let Darlene send you back, Mother."
"That will save some time," Elizabeth agreed.
Since they were no longer searching for Lynne, there was no need to travel back on foot. Darlene could take them back to New Capital with her spatial ability.
That being said, Leon figured he would need to forge more Teleportation Arrays for the convenience of traveling.
Furthermore, he still needed to improve his runic knowledge, among other things that require his attention.
Meanwhile, Monarch Blizzardpaw had no complaints with everyone leaving so soon despite wanting to keep entertained in the tribe longer.
The welfare of the Winter Cats comes first.
It wouldn't be too late for Monarch Blizzardpaw to provide a better reception once the situation in the Winter Cat Tribe improved and stabilized.
Nevertheless, Leon did not intend to follow Elizabeth and Darlene back to the New Capital.
"I won't be going back with you, Mother. I plan to continue exploring the north," Leon stated.
"Alright, Son. If that's what you want to do," Elizabeth nodded. Given her son's present ability, she was convinced that he would be fine. Shortly after, she turned to Faelyn and Aria. "What about you two?"
Aria glanced between Leon and Faelyn before she smiled.
"I left on such short notice that I didn't get to visit my family. I will follow Mother back to New Capital to spend time with them," Aria replied. But then, she added, "Can I bring Snowhisker with me?"
"You'll have to ask Snowhisker's parents," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.
Aria nodded.
"I want to follow Leon and explore the north with him…" Faelyn gave her answer before adding in a softer tone, "If it's not too much to ask."
"Not at all," Leon shook his head with a smile.
Sometime later, Elizabeth, Aria, and Darlene left through Darlene's Dark Passage and returned to the New Capital.
Leon and Faelyn didn't stay for long either. They left the Winter Cat Tribe and headed east. However, they weren't alone.
Monarch Blizzardpaw volunteered to tag along with them after settling some arrangements in the Winter Cat Tribe.
Chapter 960 Blizzard Storm Region
"Besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe, have you been in contact with any other tribes? Or are you aware of any other tribes existing in the north, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked as they were traveling.
"It's hard to say. I heard a few beast tribes beside the Winter Cat Tribe several thousand years back before my time. However, I have never met any besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe. They may have all died off or migrated elsewhere," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.
"Over several thousand years ago, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully. Then, after contemplating for a bit, he asked, "Wouldn't it be easy for you to confirm whether other tribes still exist if you explored the north?"
"Perhaps," Duke Blizzardpaw vaguely.
"However, I didn't have time for such luxuries and idleness in the past. Even though our main diet—or rather, our only diet consisted of sea monster meat, they are not easy to hunt. At the very least, the Winter Cats cannot hunt sea monsters safely on their own."
"Unless I lead the hunt, the Winter Cats will undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties or be wiped out. After all, the sea monsters are numerous and never alone, not to mention their strength is not weak. At least these parts of the sea they are not."
"You have seen our situation, Lord Leon. So you should understand that I cannot bear to let my tribe starve for even a day, let alone every day I am away from the tribe. They already have to starve during the food crisis every year; I don't want them to starve on top of those periods."
"If you couldn't explore on your own due to such burdens, you could have at least sent other Winter Cats out to scout for you, no?" Faelyn joined their conversation with doubt.
"Ah, yes. I have thought of such an option long ago," Duke Blizzardpaw said with a sigh.
"During the first year of my reign as the new monarch of the tribe, I sent out a number of Winter Cats to scout. However, they never returned. When I sent out more scout to look for them, they didn't return either."
"After three scouting expedition attempts and sixty Winter Cats missing, I finally chose to leave the tribe and look for them myself. Can you guess what I found after a half-day trip east?" Duke Blizzardpaw asked.
However, Faelyn shook her head.
"A blizzard storm more freezing than the sacred ice mountain itself," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.
"There, I found the frozen remains of my kind. Even to this day, I believe they are still there, frozen eternally in ice. I got this frostbite scar when I tried to retrieve them. However, the freezing blizzard storm is too much, even for me."
"Did you tag along to warn us about this blizzard storm, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked with a thoughtful look.
It didn't make sense for anywhere else in the north to be even colder than the ice mountain, where the Celestial Ice Spark was located. That is unless there was another, higher quality Celestial Ice Spark in the north.
"Yes, and no," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.
"It was one of the reasons. However, I believe Lord Leon wouldn't be troubled by the blizzard storm. I figured if it's Lord Leon, you'll be able to traverse through the blizzard storm and find its source."
"I just wanted to take this chance to retrieve my frozen kin," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.
It was the only time he was free to leave the tribe.
The Winter Cats were all well fed, and he didn't have to worry about conserving his energy to hunt after the sea monsters returned to the sea.
"I see…" Leon uttered after hearing Duke Blizzardpaw's reasons.
"If the last monarch had warned me about the dangers of the blizzard storm, I might not have sent sixty Winter Cats to their death. Unfortunately, the last monarch passed away too abruptly before he could raise a proper successor. Thus, I learned the hard way," Duke Blizzardpaw added with a sigh.
"Things wouldn't be so difficult on you if the Winter Cat Tribe had another Paragon-level Winter Cat to share the burdens, huh?" Leon thought.
"Yes, I thought so too," Duke Blizzardpaw agreed.
"However, it is too difficult to raise another Paragon-level Winter Cat. Given the harsh environment we live in, all our energy and resources could only be spent on surviving. We never had the extra energy and resources needed to grow.
"How did you reach the Paragon level, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Faelyn asked curiously.
However, Duke Blizzardpaw didn't answer immediately. The Paragon-level Winter Cat was silent for some time, contemplating whether he should speak about it.
In the end, he chose to do so, albeit quietly.
"I secretly drank the blood of the last monarch and fed on his flesh. Due to that, I also endure great criticism from the rest of the tribe. It was taboo in the tribe. Even when the Winter Cats are starving, we do not eat from the corpses of the fallen," Duke Blizzardpaw said.
"Taboo or not, it was your choice that allowed the Winter Cat Tribe to survive for another thousand years, Duke Blizzardpaw," Leon stated.
"I doubt any Winter Cats will still criticize you for what you did back then."
Leon realized Duke Blizzardpaw didn't toil for so many years out of sheer responsibility as the monarch alone. It was also due to guilt.
"Not just surviving for a thousand years. The Winter Cat Tribe will only have goods days from this day forth," Faelyn chimed.
"I hope so," Duke Blizzardpaw said.
Sometime later, the group of three picked up the pace and eventually stopped on the outskirts of the blizzard storm region.
However, even the outskirts of the blizzard storm region were terrifying cold. Faelyn couldn't endure such coldness on her own.
Nevertheless, Leon created an ice-fire domain that controlled the temperature within and protected Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw from the cold outside.
"This is as far as we can go. Unless we have any special means to protect ourselves against the frigidity of the blizzard storms in the region ahead, we will freeze very quickly," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.