Chapter 132 The Successor of the End (Part 1)

The air was biting, and the frozen snow crunched under the wheels. The timid boy ate a piece of bloody flesh, cried, shivered, his stomach churning, and felt extremely nauseous. He closed his eyes, clutched his chest, and felt as if his heart was about to explode.

He lay in the carriage, burying his head in his hands. The demon legion had occupied the capital of the Podrol Empire, and as the heir to the empire, he had no choice but to flee north to seek the help of the Northern King.

The daring youth is a servant of the heir to the empire; each heavy blow is merely a shattering of ice for him, making him even more resilient.

"Are you alright? If you're not feeling nauseous anymore, let's continue our journey."

The heir looked at his servant with teary eyes, pounding his chest as if he wanted to vomit up the flesh he had swallowed. He still didn't quite understand why the demon legion would do such a cruel thing.

"Where are my troops? Why haven't I seen them?"

"He told us to go ahead."

"You're not lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you? Mien, you are the future of the empire. I swore that I would protect you even if I had to shed my last drop of blood."

Mien looked around, somewhat disbelieving his servant's words: "But, but, you have no weapons, nor any fighting skills, how can you protect me?"

"That's why I decided to head north to find the Northern King, to survive, for your father, for us, and even more so for the country."

Tears still welled in Mien's eyes, his blood boiling within him. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, a smile on his face as he watched the snowy clouds drift past the village, propelled by the wind.

The servants had indeed concealed something from him. The army escorting Mien had deliberately separated from the demon legion and run in the opposite direction in order to hold them off. They would probably have been wiped out by now.

The carriage passed through an open space where two paths extended outwards, one leading to the surface and the other into the depths of the earth.

The servant pointed to another path, claiming they would enter the next village.

Mien agreed to everything the servants said, but the coachman disagreed, saying he was unfamiliar with the road and even thought it was a dead end.

The servant insisted that he was right, and the two started arguing halfway up the road to the snow mountain, refusing to go any further.

Because of the raw meat he had just eaten, Mien's soul had not yet recovered from the blow, and now, hearing his only travel companion arguing with someone, he was even more at a loss for words.

He cried again, sobbing uncontrollably, as if crying could solve everything.

The coachman finally agreed, and the servant said to Mien with a smile, "Why are you crying? Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Mien peeked out from the ornate sleeve and asked him, "Why aren't you afraid?"

“Fear won’t solve the problem, my master.”

"Then how do we solve the problem?"

"Make yourself stronger."

How can I become stronger?

"Hmm! For now, the only option is to seek refuge with the powerful Northern King."

The servant's words were unconvincing, but Mien was relieved and finally stopped crying.

They soon came across another village, which, like the previous one, had been looted, but in a different way. The buildings were damaged far more severely, many houses were beyond repair, and there was no food left behind.

The servant is the most perceptive; he can detect any hint of danger, including those left long ago.

He judged that the village had been burned extensively by observing the varying depths of the foundations, said that a freestanding frame was used to bind the dead, and said that large animals had been kept there by observing an intact water tank. Each of his theories seemed to be very accurate.

Mien almost cried again.

The servant suddenly burst into laughter: "It was just an avalanche. Before the avalanche came, the villagers emptied the granary."

"Stop lying to me!"

"Don't you believe me? I'm not going to sell you out."

How do I know if you can or can't!

"Well, based on my understanding of the Bear Spirits' lifestyle, villages are just mobile camps. The Bear Spirits don't like to stay in one place for long. Their villages are scattered all over the place. You might find several villages that look similar because the Bear Spirits are not good at building and don't want to ask the dwarves for help. Rather than asking them to build houses, it's more practical to steal the caves of wild beasts."

"I don't believe it!"

“I don’t like to lie. If you don’t believe me, I can tell you that there are at least three more villages not far from here. The underground temperature is higher than the surface temperature, so we can proceed slowly at night and rest during the day.”

"Really? If it's true, I'll make you a general once I inherit the throne!"

Mien's words didn't seem like a lie, and the servants laughed so hard they trembled.

Along the way, the servant fully embraced the role of guide, taking every opportunity to climb up the piled-up ice to the ground and wander around. When he returned to the ground, he was a snowman, shivering whether from the cold or excitement. Whenever the snow melted and his whole body was soaked, he would list many new discoveries, and each time he would laugh innocently like a child.

As night fell, something terrifying appeared on the ground, and some kind of footsteps silently emerged.

But when the carriage returned to the ground in the morning, no trace of Xiong Ling could be found.

The servant's earlier guess was quickly confirmed.

There are seven villages under the ice. Xiong Lingting likes prime numbers, and they like to build houses with three wooden beams. They often build their houses in places with trees and water. Once the water source dries up or they can no longer hunt, they will find a new place to settle down.

On this day, the servants made a new discovery in the southeast corner of an abandoned village: an unfrozen lake.

The lake is not large, but it is teeming with various pink fish that gather together like a snake's nest.

Mien watched them curiously, stirring them with his hands, only to find that the water was warm, and the fish's colors became more uniform after they surfaced.

The servant then submerged his entire face in the lake and remained motionless until he could no longer hold his breath. His face turned bright red, his eyes bulged, and he emerged from the water, panting heavily. Without even wiping his wet face clean, he said to everyone, "This lake is very deep, leading straight to the earth's core, and I dare say it has another exit."

Mien did not believe it, and his servants brought up many more theories.

This includes the legend that the Moli'ai Icefield was originally called the Moli'ai Highlands, not the Icefield. It had a very hot climate and abundant water and biological resources. Unfortunately, an ambitious man sold its soul to a wizard, and the land was cursed because of him. From then on, the highlands never saw the sun again. It became colder year by year, and plants and animals could not survive. There would never be a spring when flowers bloom here.

wizard?

This guy really knows everything!

Mien listened and then fell asleep.

That night, the air underground was still, as if fermenting, as if something was brewing on the surface, about to boil over.

The numb snowfield, which was originally silent, now faintly emits a buzzing sound, as nature awaits the explosion of its accumulated power.

Suddenly, I felt large, heavy shadows falling on the ground. A fiery hurricane arose, thunder roared in the sky, and white lightning ripped through the dark clouds. Wild energy shattered the balance of heaven and earth, and a shapeless behemoth descended from the sky.

The demon army has caught up?

Upon hearing this, the servants urged everyone to jump into the lake immediately.

But the coachman disagreed, saying his horse wasn't used to water, and besides, he couldn't lose his livelihood. He even urged Mien not to jump in either.

"Look, this wicked fellow is trying to teach you to swim across the bottom of the lake. Heaven knows how deep it is. If you drown, the throne will be his!"

"Tobas wouldn't lie to me!"

"The empire is gone. Stop daydreaming about restoring it. Find a place to hide and maybe you can survive the rest of your life."

"You're not allowed to speak ill of Podlot!"

"Don't worry, I won't jump into the river. You guys go ahead and do it."

The coachman shook his head and quickly ran away; he had long wanted to shake off these two persistent fellows.