The first year of the Magic Era was destined to be a year of considerable turmoil.
Early in the summer, the Icebound Continent witnessed its first double-SS mission with a high bounty in nearly fifty years.
By midsummer, the fearsome dragon Feng reappeared, and rumors spread that it was slain by the combined efforts of A-Feng in white robes and the dwarf Locke.
As summer waned, the fifth A-grade mercenary group was established. This small mercenary group, unprecedented in its rapid rise, advanced from a G-grade to an A-grade mercenary group in just a month. Two previously unknown young boys emerged as dazzling superstars.
In early autumn, the ancient sacred ice green dragon, Taimuge Ersai, was officially recorded in history for the first time. The Great Blue Mountain produced its first Holy Dragon Knight.
By late autumn, another event occurred that left the world baffled.
Many unofficial histories refer to this year as the year of the "Human-Dragon-God Trio."
—Chronicles of the Magic Era
Throughout the entire afternoon, Da Qingshan, Sharo, and Baron Minas expanded their search area continuously but found no traces. Other than the chaotic snow-covered ground, there were no bloodstains or any clues to what had transpired.
Baron Minas suggested that Sharo return to Snowfield City first. The next morning, they would meet the king of the Hamir Kingdom, Yisu III, and request the royal guards to conduct a comprehensive search of the forest area, hoping to rescue the envoy group as soon as possible.
The setting sun bathed the endless white forest in a blood-red hue. Da Qingshan bit his upper lip tightly, his eyes ablaze as he stared into the depths of the forest. He was truly anxious. Reflecting on the morning's encounter, if it weren't for Lü'er's exceptional performance, their fate would have been dire. The enemy facing Amy and his group was several times larger than the one Da Qingshan faced, causing his heart to tremble.
Sharo, mounted on his horse, stood slightly ahead of Da Qingshan. Seeing the worry in Da Qingshan's eyes, he felt equally uneasy. He rode over to Da Qingshan's left side, tugged on his sleeve, bringing Da Qingshan back to his senses. Reluctantly, Da Qingshan glanced once more at the forest and signaled to Lü'er in the sky. Together, they headed towards Snowfield City.
Summers in the Icebound Continent had exceptionally long days. By the time they returned to Snowfield City, the sun had yet to set.
After pointing Sharo in the direction of the inn, Baron Minas returned to his residence to prepare the report for Yisu III early the next morning.
Da Qingshan and Sharo, lost in thought, rode towards the inn, burdened with heavy hearts.
As they approached the inn, with its white walls, green-tiled roof, vermillion pillars, and white stone steps, they saw someone sitting on the steps.
As soon as Da Qingshan and Sharo reached the entrance, they heard a gentle and pleasant male voice, "You two were riding horses, yet arrived so late?"
Da Qingshan nearly fell off his horse, and Sharo couldn't believe his ears. It was the person sitting on the steps—a youth in white leather, with a dark face, a nose as if chiseled by a knife, a stalk of grass in his mouth, and a unique smile at the corner of his lips—Amy, it was Amy.
Da Qingshan immediately jumped off his horse, spreading his arms wide and rushing towards Amy. Amy smiled broadly and opened his arms, but before he knew it, a massive green figure swooped down from the sky at great speed. Lü'er, with wings spread wide, lunged at Amy. Amy, caught off guard, was knocked to the ground by Lü'er, who excitedly licked Amy's face.
"Don't do that, don't do that. Da Qingshan will be jealous," Amy said, scratching his head with one hand and pushing against the nearly 500-pound creature with the other. "Are you trying to smother me or just being a cheeky lizard?" he joked, pulling some food from his pocket and stuffing it into Lü'er's mouth to satisfy its immediate hunger.
Standing up, Amy embraced Da Qingshan briefly. "Let's talk inside; everyone's here."
The inn was quite spacious, and Amy's group was accommodated in the farthest courtyard, a privilege reserved for state guests. A girl paced back and forth in the courtyard. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Sharo and Da Qingshan, and she immediately ran over, warmly taking Sharo's hand. Lin Yushang, as if not having seen Sharo for half a year, teared up instantly. "I was worried sick, thinking I might never see you again."
When the soldiers from the Glacier Company learned that Amy was the only child of their former commander, all hostility vanished. A middle-aged soldier reached out to take the Ice Blade from Amy, tears welling up in his eyes. "It's the one, it's really the captain's sword. No wonder it looked so familiar, although the color's different."
These soldiers were all veteran border guards of the Empire, all of whom had served under Lake Haber. The soldier who took the Ice Blade from Amy had once escorted a great magician to the Ice Wishing Tower with Haber.
Amy smiled gently. "Yes, I heard the sword used to be black." The soldiers nodded in agreement. "My teacher, Lei Ge, brought it back from the Wishing Tower for me. It was my father who asked him to bring it to me. Because it was hung on the Wishing Tower's door for so long, it turned icy in color."
The old soldier then asked, "Do you know when your father can come out? We all miss him. If he were leading this time, he would surely defeat all these Black Knights."
Amy looked a bit somber, shaking his head. "My teacher said my father needs to learn the domain himself before he can come out."
In the army, especially among the border troops, camaraderie was deeply valued. Comrades could entrust their lives to each other, even among peers, let alone the respected captain's son. The soldiers' attitudes immediately shifted to one of utmost respect.
Watching all this unfold, Lin Yushang was curious, "What kind of person is his father? Is he like Amy? Does he love money as much?"
At this moment, somewhere within the Wishing Tower, was Haber shivering, his reputation as a paragon of virtue being casually undermined by his own son.
In fact, when Haber eventually emerged from the Wishing Tower, everyone familiar with Amy was astonished to find Amy's father to be such a calm and peaceful man. They were influenced by the traditional belief that like produces like. However, this belief was not entirely wrong. The real influence on Amy was not his father but a mischievous middle-aged man who always took liberties by calling him "son."
The next day, Amy led the team to an early start to hasten their journey.
According to their schedule, by around 5:00 PM, the envoy group approached the edge of the forest. With only two hours until nightfall, Amy had a soldier accompany him and Lin Yushang at the front while the others stayed behind. They used this final stretch to tie tripwires about a meter above the ground along the main forest path. Amy repeatedly emphasized that they must be at least a meter high.
After inspecting the first tripwire, Amy nodded in satisfaction, signaling with a long branch for the lead dog to continue.
The road became increasingly rugged. Amy had the Imperial soldiers take over the branch, indicating they slow down while he stood tall on the sled, squinting through the dense trees to watch for any enemies.
Suddenly, from the left, the cawing of cold crows echoed. Two snow-white snow crows flew from the treetops, and the branches began to shake noticeably, indicating a large creature was moving.
Amy raised his hand, signaling the Imperial soldier to stop. Standing firmly on the sled with hands on hips, he shouted, "Come out, I knew you were here."
After the branches swayed again, four black-clad horsemen rode out from the woods on black steeds. Based on the knowledge given to Amy by Chi Hanfeng, although he hadn't seen them before, Amy recognized these black horses as Mohei Jue, native to the northern snowfields of Amy's empire. These horses were extremely rare and almost impossible to breed in large numbers. Only about 200 exist in the empire's border forces. Their greatest advantage is their long black fur-covered hooves that prevent slipping and freezing, allowing them to gallop across the snowfields. They are also the only mounts capable of competing with snow wolves in these regions. However, due to their scarcity and vulnerability to freezing and starvation on the Icebound Continent, the empire has never invested in breeding this unique horse breed.
The four riders were clad entirely in black armor, with black masks and black lances.
The central rider waved, and the four quickly spread out, forming a crescent shape to encircle them.
Amy smirked slightly: up to no good, trying to surround me while waiting for reinforcements. He strained his ears to listen, faintly hearing the approaching sound of hoofbeats from the woods behind. The reinforcements were presumably coming to encircle him from three directions.
Unfazed, Amy decided to give the four riders a little trouble. Clang—the Ice Blade leapt from its sheath, golden lightning sparking from its tip. Amy shouted at the lead rider, "It's cold! Let me warm you up a bit." The rider was immediately struck by the lightning. Amy then beckoned to the second rider, who hesitated briefly before being zapped. The third rider, sensing danger, turned his horse, but Amy called out, "Hey, there's enough for everyone, don't leave!" The third bolt struck down. The fourth rider, evidently panicked, whipped his horse, fleeing in disarray. Clearly, he hadn't learned any basic magical knowledge—lightning, being the fastest known element in the magical world, cannot be outrun on horseback or even by dragon, unless it's a wind dragon.
Amy jumped off the sled and, with astonishing speed, reached the three riders stunned by lightning, pulling them off their mounts. He rummaged through their pockets, extracting their money, and lifted the mask of one, threatening in a low voice, "You're this poor? Next time, bring more money, or I swear I'll cut you down." The rider's face turned pale, evidently not expecting to encounter a foe more interested in money than life.
The Imperial soldier on the sled scratched his head, muttering quietly, "Our captain wasn't like this; who did he learn this from?"
Lin Yushang suddenly noticed the sound of hoofbeats from three directions, indicating more enemies were approaching. She shouted for Amy to return. Amy quickly sheathed his sword and, like a nimble goat, leapt onto the sled, heading back the way they came.
In open terrain, horses were incredibly fast, especially when all the riders were mounted on Mohei Jue. They soon emerged from the woods, rapidly closing in with at least 50 riders.
The Mohei Jue quickly closed the gap. Judging by the distance to the nearest dense forest, they were about 2 kilometers away, and at this rate, they would surely be intercepted.
Standing on the bouncing sled, Amy unsheathed the Ice Blade from his back, shouting at the nearest riders, "Ice Blade!" Instantly, layers of frost formed in the air, shooting towards the riders like knives. The riders pressed on, trusting their armor's protection. The ice blades screeched across their armor, but the horse armor proved effective, only injuring one horse's eye while the other horses maintained their speed.
Amy immediately cast a second spell with the Ice Blade: Snowstorm. Instantly, a thick layer of ice and snow formed in front of the Ice Blade, entangling the Mohei Jue's hooves. The front horses were forced to slow dramatically, and their riders were thrown over the horses' heads by momentum.
Amidst the chaos, a Mohei Jue suddenly leapt into the air, surrounded by a white glow beneath the rider's mount. Amy recognized this glow immediately: it was the levitation spell of a phantom beast.
The phantom beast rider extended a hand, his cold voice echoing from the black helmet, "Flank them, don't approach, ready your bows—dead or alive, it doesn't matter."
The black knights quickly hung their lances on their saddles and drew their bows. Meanwhile, Amy's sled had already slipped beyond their shooting range.
The sky was growing dark. Shooting accurately in the dim forest was impossible, even for master archers. Although some knights shot arrows, they were mostly intercepted by trees. Watching the sled vanish into the dark woods, the frustrated knights spurred their Mohei Jue to give chase.
Amy signaled the Imperial soldier to slow down and whispered, "Duck down." Lin Yushang realized they had reached the tripwire zone. The three of them lay flat on the sled, feeling the high and low tripwires scraping over the sled, with some nearly grazing their backs.
The scattered Mohei Jue reached them quickly, seeing Amy's sled pass through unimpeded, without any alert.
Thud, thud, thud—the leading Mohei Jue were tripped by the wires. Amidst the icy chaos, the following riders couldn't halt their mounts, resulting in a pile-up. Horses whinnied in pain, weapons clashed, and riders tumbled—an orchestra of chaos filled the air.
Only the phantom beast rider, with his mount's agility, avoided the trap, floating amid the trees, staring in disbelief at his fallen comrades.
From deep within the forest, a pleasant male voice rang out for the first time: "How about we make a bet?"