Chapter 236

She simply took it as appreciating an astronomical marvel.

“Whoa, quite the presence. So this is the true form of the so-called ‘World-Ender Thunder Dragon’? Hah, hilarious. Doesn’t even look that hard to beat.”

— Just kidding~

Not to say how many punches he could actually take, but the Five Thunder Pillars were on par with the Six-Winged Demons, masters of high-tier thunder element magic. Without any prior close-range engagement, it was hard to say whether Ailellek, who wasn’t adept at magic, could beat him to a pulp—but at the very least, smashing a few of his arrogant teeth on the first move shouldn’t be a problem.

Retracting her six wings, the First Princess smiled wryly and rolled her shoulders, which had been tensed up for a warm-up strike, before returning to her seat at the round table.

Throughout this little farce, the Fire Dragon Clan’s prince, Doromo, had kept his eyes half-closed, neither intervening nor assisting. His stance was hard to gauge.

And when Ailellek plopped back down into her seat with a “heave-ho,” the prince, still, rather impartially, offered an apology.

“Your Highness the First Princess, I extend an apology to the Demon Clan on Karre’s behalf. His manner of speech was indeed inappropriate.”

“It’s not a big deal. The Thunder Dragon Clan tends to be foul-mouthed—cough, I mean, they speak without thinking of the consequences. But your Fire Dragon Clan is quite polite. I appreciate that.” She waved it off casually, acting unconcerned. But then, suddenly, a fierce and ruthless glint flashed in Ailellek’s blood-red eyes. “However… I do hope everyone here is consistent inside and out. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Hidden agendas and veiled opposition—there’s no point in that.”

“……”

Ailellek’s words weren’t just directed at Doromo; her gaze also swept across the elven girl governor who had been posturing all this time as if the matter didn’t concern her.

After decades of dealing with higher races and traveling across the nations of the world, Ailellek had long understood one truth.

The confidence of the higher races was built upon millennia of undying accomplishments. Their pride was etched into their very bones. Just because they seemed courteous on the surface didn’t mean they were easy to deal with.

Whether respected or looked down upon, it all came down to strength and interests.

Doromo remained silent for a moment, not responding to Ailellek’s point. Instead, he raised a different topic to divert the conversation.

“Indeed, seeking cooperation within conflict has always been a method we’ve tried to pursue in our communications with the Demon Clan. Your Highness the First Princess, now that the meeting is over, if I may, I’d like to ask you a question on a personal basis.”

“You’re certainly free to speak. The Demon Clan never silences others.”

“Ha… is that so.”

Even Doromo couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle at the sarcasm in her words.

Though she spoke of the Demon Clan, it was clear she was still criticizing the higher races for their unfriendly stance toward them.

He understood the irony, but the question still had to be asked.

Doromo opened his eyes slightly, and within them burned a fiery hue like a boundless sea of flames. Calm and composed, he carried the innate composure of the strong.

“Just now, Your Highness the First Princess mentioned the Demon Princess… I have long heard of Her Highness’s battle records. But if I may be frank—were your words just now not a bit of an exaggeration?”

“Could you just speak plainly? My brain’s not a maze, I don’t do twists and turns.”

“Very well. To speak plainly: Princess Sheffy has achieved remarkable feats in battle, and even among the higher races, there are those who fear her. However, without exception, all of Her Highness Sheffy’s achievements have been in battles against human nations. Unlike His Majesty the current Demon King, who has led the First Army of the Demon King’s Army in repelling the attacks of the Celestials multiple times. Nor like Jeffriel, the Six-Winged Demon, who once defeated the Thunder Dragon Clan’s fourth strongest in single combat.”

“So after all that, we’re still circling around…?”

“In summary, there’s no doubt that Her Highness Sheffy is young and promising, but she is far from being as powerful as the rumors suggest. A foe determines the upper limit of one’s strength. A fawn accidentally stepping on an ant—if a tiger feared it and the tale spread that the fawn was an untouchable powerhouse… such claims are regrettable. I mean no offense. I’m simply saying that, Your Highness, you seemed to imply earlier that Her Highness Sheffy is stronger than you? I cannot agree with that.”

“Hey hey hey, you—talking nonsense when you clearly know nothing, don’t think you can just… huh?”

Ailellek’s words cut off abruptly.

She froze for a moment, staring at Doromo’s ever-unperturbed expression across from her, then suddenly realized—

Heh…

So these guys really had skilled negotiators in their ranks.

That was close—very close. This guy… was trying to bait her into slipping up?

Deliberately provoking her with inflammatory words tailored to her personality, hoping she would react emotionally and give away valuable information.

Looks like… the Fire Dragon Clan was quite curious about Sheffy’s actual strength?

No—that wasn’t curiosity.

It was wariness of the unknown.

The more solid and powerful a race’s position, the more they feared the possibility of that order being disrupted by an unknown element. Their arrogance was laced with caution.

Ailellek shrugged and stood up decisively.

She picked up the speech script she had brought to the table—prepared in advance just in case she said something wrong and got pounded by her royal brother during negotiations.

“You’re right—Sheffy’s still just a brat. Wasn’t she even captured by the Kingdom’s Hero just the other day? Hardly a big deal. She still needs a lot more training with the army.”

“Oh…? Then Your Highness’s earlier remarks…?”

“Just trying to scare Mister Karre. He was being far too arrogant.”

“Ha, he’s always like that.”

If he wanted to probe further, the chance was gone.

Ailellek had already gotten up and was walking around the table, clearly signaling that she would answer no more questions.

When faced with a one-sided probing, the most secure approach was—to stop communicating entirely.

The members of the Tower of Radiance did not need to bid farewells at adjournment. They simply left on their own.

The six black wings spread wide and took flight, vanishing into the chaotic night sky.

The pink-haired girl lying on the table twitched her ears at the sound.

She slowly sat up, stretched her arms high, twisted her torso left and right, and finally felt fully relaxed. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned again and swayed as she stood up, still drowsy and groggy.

“Ahh… the meeting… is over? That’s great, I was seriously sleepy… I’m heading back first, okay?”

Not waiting for a reply, her figure began to blur.

Blood-colored bats emerged around her out of thin air—incorporeal, more like blood mist than actual creatures.

And when the blood mist dispersed, the Third Progenitor, Lovnarsen, was already gone.

The Tower of Radiance fell silent.

Doromo, hearing the sound of someone rising, looked up.

The golden-haired elven girl was already gently radiating soft light, repairing the broken edge of the table that had been damaged during the earlier negotiation.

With hands gracefully clasped in front of her, she stood up, apparently ready to leave as well.

Sitting at the center of the round table, Doromo looked straight ahead, seemingly casual as he spoke softly:

“Lovnarsen, do you believe in the existence of the Human God?”

“Oh…? Is this your attempt to test me now, Doromo? Or do you think the words of the Demon Clan are untrustworthy?” Lovnarsen stopped walking, but did not turn around.

“There’s no need for that. After all… the World Tree Barrier of your Elf Tribe has already said a great deal.”

“Ha… true enough. In the end, whether we believe or not doesn’t affect whether the mythic page truly exists.”

Wooden shoes woven with forest flower wreaths echoed on the stone floor.

It was like one of those harvest hymns passed down in the Elf Tribe.

“No matter the time, the great Elf God Enor shall protect the mountains and rivers, the sun, moon, and stars.”

—

67. Victory and Defeat!

Northern Territory Border.

At the break of dawn, the battle between the Demon King’s Army and the Snowman Army finally came to an end.

With the fighting over, it was time to clean up the battlefield—though sometimes, a battlefield truly had nothing left to clean.

Because the Snowman Army… was made of snow.

Once the surviving snowmen were chopped to pieces, they simply turned back into snow and scattered across the ground, as if no anomaly had ever occurred at all.

The snow remained the same, but the soldiers were absolutely exhausted.

“Inspect thoroughly! Make sure there are no signs of the snowmen reviving—no slacking off!”

“Ahh… this is seriously messed up. Weren’t we supposed to be guarding the border cities? Why the hell did we end up out here in the middle of nowhere fighting damn ghost snowmen again?”

“No clue. I felt all fuzzy-headed yesterday too… just vaguely remember some military order…? Next thing I know, the acting corps commander gets arrested for treason. But I always thought he wasn’t any good! Alright, enough griping—better think about how we’re gonna explain this to Her Highness. I heard the First Princess is returning today for a military inspection.”

“For real?!”

The soldiers sprawled across the snowy ground jerked upright the moment they heard Ailellek’s name. None dared slack off now. Even if there was nothing to do, they had to look like they were doing something.

In the Third Corps, you might not have heard of the First Princess’s fame.

But you damn well had to know—she once twisted off the head of an Icefield Demon Bear with her bare hands.

Naturally, she could twist their heads off too.

The dazed and weary soldiers busied themselves checking and clearing the battlefield.

On the peak of the icefield mountain—

A silver-haired dumpling of a girl lay with a stone for a pillow and snow for a blanket, hugging a large fish and enjoying a good sleep.

Luckily, no one else was on the mountaintop. Otherwise, if anyone saw this bizarre sleeping posture, they’d probably think she had passed peacefully into the next life.

The stone bed was surprisingly comfy—just a little cold, but not a big deal.

Besides, she had a giant fish with her.

Uh… though it seemed to have frozen into a block of ice.

Sheffy stretched lazily, tucked the ice-block fish into her Storage Magic Space, and blinked her still-sleepy eyes to welcome the two returning warriors.

They had spent the entire night fighting snowmen and were now flying back using Floating Magic, carrying two rather silly-looking snowmen with them. Their heads were covered in snow, yet their nerves remained taut—as if still locked in some sort of contest—these two were, of course, Xiarette and Belith.

Upon seeing those two massive snowmen, Sheffy was no longer sure if they were the snowmen, or if the snowmen were the snowmen!

“Wah! You guys really caught some snowmen, huh? Eww, this one looks so dopey. Couldn’t you have picked one with a bit more presence? Shame they don’t move anymore—looks like they’ve already turned back into ordinary snowmen?”

“Sheffy… don’t be so greedy, okay? It was already hard enough to preserve even these two.”

“Just kidding! Snowmen don’t need to have presence—as long as there’s snow, it’s fine!”

“We couldn’t help it. Lady Aimeris’s magic seems to have worn off right around dawn. Most of the snowmen just fell apart. Only these two are still intact.”

In this impromptu snowman extermination operation, Xiarette and Belith were undeniably the main force.

While there were plenty of Five-Winged Demons in the Second and Third Corps, in terms of combat ability, Xiarette and Belith still came out on top.

Of course, their strength wasn’t the main point.

What really drove them to go all-out on slaughtering snowmen—was a promise they had made with Sheffy.

Belith dropped the snowman she had been holding aloft with Floating Magic. Fueled by a certain impatient anticipation, she didn’t control her strength—the snowman, now just an ordinary pile of snow without any magical reinforcement, hit the ground and shattered into loose powder.

In Sheffy’s field of vision, she saw Belith approach with a mischievous grin and flushed cheeks. She leaned in close, biting Sheffy’s ear as she deliberately enunciated each word—her breath tinged with the lingering high of an all-night battle, and a hunger for a “different kind” of fight.

“Royal Sister… you have to follow through on what you said, okay? You said that between me and that damned Hero, whoever slayed more snowmen would have the right to enter your room tonight… I counted every single one. I won~”

The warm breath stood in stark contrast to the icy world around them. Her breathing brushed against Sheffy’s ear.

Combined with those words, it made Sheffy’s hackles rise like a snow-white cat with its fur on end!

“Wait, did I ever say something like that?!”

“You did. Are you trying to back out, Royal Sister?” Belith pressed a finger to her lips, then gently tapped it against Sheffy’s own lips, smiling. “Didn’t Royal Sister say—whoever brings back snowmen, gets a reward? I’ve been looking forward to this all night.”

“How about you listen to what you’re saying?”

I said, bring back snowmen. You took that to mean whoever killed the most.

I said I’d give you a reward—you decided that meant I was the reward.

So even though I was the one who said the words, you hold the final interpretation?

In truth, this whole “see who can slay more snowmen” thing was something Xiarette and Belith had made up on the battlefield just now.

The two of them had always rubbed each other the wrong way, so with a chance to compete side-by-side—and against snowmen they didn’t have to hold back on—they naturally went all out, blades blazing.

At this point, if you asked any soldier in the Third Corps, they would probably all say that last night… they saw a slaughter god.

Two of them, in fact.

Xiarette hadn’t heard what Belith was whispering into Sheffy’s ear, but she did see Belith biting Sheffy’s ear while speaking.

And that made her extremely unhappy!

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