"Found them! Over there!"
The very moment Leilin defeated the Frost Knight, in the ice and snow castle at the heart of the Frost World, a gleam of joy appeared on Alvin's face as he had been waiting there all along.
He pulled out several black crystals from inside his robe, one of which had already clearly cracked.
"It's the canyon district under Rose's charge!"
Having identified the target, Alvin's entire figure transformed into a phantom and shot toward the canyon district at tremendous speed.
Relying on his subordinates to capture a Morning Star was simply a joke! Alvin had never expected that — the role his dispatched subordinates served was merely as an early warning system.
The moment they made contact with that Morning Star, Alvin, who held their soul essence, would know immediately.
Therefore, to Alvin, the previous Duke Rose had been nothing more than cannon fodder!
In the streak of light, Alvin's face was expressionless, his demeanor utterly cold. As far as the Morning Star battle went, the fact that Duke Rose could serve as cannon fodder was actually quite remarkable.
……
Meanwhile, in the canyon district, at the Ice and Snow Tribe's settlement, Leilin watched with speechless resignation as Amos Andrei prostrated himself at his feet, even clutching his boots with both hands and refusing to let go.
"My lord! The Ice Snow Empress is the most evil of devils! She greedily drains our Ice and Snow Tribe's resources, even demanding our adult tribesmen for blood sacrifices... bringing us immense suffering and tears of blood. My lord, you must help us take revenge! Defeat the Ice Snow Empress..."
The other party's height of over two meters made him look like a small giant in Leilin's eyes, yet here he was kneeling before him, crying his eyes out, leaving Leilin utterly speechless.
And the snow elf head, Amos, was also tearfully apologizing while denouncing the Ice Snow Empress's evil deeds.
"In truth, aside from requiring you to provide a certain amount of supplies regularly, and adult tribesmen for blood sacrifice, this Ice Snow Empress doesn't seem to have committed any other atrocities, does she?"
Amos Andrei was clearly a single being, yet his two heads harbored different thoughts, chattering endlessly in Leilin's ears until he was nearly driven to annoyance.
However, in order to gather intelligence, he forced himself to endure it, listening carefully while continuously plotting in his mind.
The situation of the Frost World gradually began to surface in Leilin's mind. According to Amos Andrei's introduction, the entire Frost World was immensely vast, with numerous frost tribes living within it, all under the rule of a being known as the Ice Snow Empress.
This empress rarely appeared in public — or rather, had almost never been seen at all. All affairs were handled by her butler, Alvin, who possessed extremely powerful strength. The oppressed and exploited alien races had launched several joint campaigns against him, but Alvin had easily defeated them all. After several bloody purges, no one in the entire Frost World dared defy the Ice Snow Empress's rule.
And as for the taxes and tributes demanded by the Ice Snow Empress, in Leilin's view, they were still quite modest — it was just that the demand for blood sacrifices was terrifyingly large.
In the entire Ice and Snow Tribe, aside from the chief, there was virtually no adult remaining. According to Amos Andrei's complaints, they had either fled as refugees or been taken away to the castle for blood sacrifice.
"It seems the Scorpion Man's remains, and the Bronze Giantess's bloodline, must be connected to the Ice Snow Empress — and are probably right inside her castle!"
Leilin stroked his chin, drawing his conclusion: "And given so many blood sacrifices, could it be..."
His eyes lit up, and then he suddenly raised his head, gazing toward a patch of sky in the distance.
There, a small black dot was growing closer and closer, until it finally bore down like a small mountain.
The newcomer was a half-human, half-scorpion frost creature. Its upper body wore a butler's formal attire, and its blood-red eyes were incredibly striking.
"It's Alvin! Heavens! Lord Alvin has come in person!"
Whoosh! Amos Andrei erupted with astonishing speed, arriving at the platform where Alvin had landed, and threw himself into a deep kowtow, all four eyes streaming with excited tears.
"Lord Alvin! You've finally come! This sinner has committed a grave offense and requires your judgment! And Amos Andrei is your loyal servant—"
Pfft! Before Amos Andrei could finish speaking, a mote of blue light descended. Ice-blue rapidly spread downward, encasing his entire body into an ice sculpture.
Crack! Crack! Fine fractures spread across the ice sculpture like a spider's web, layering it densely, then suddenly shattered.
Bang! Like a glass falling to the ground, producing a crisp sound.
Amos Andrei's entire body turned to powder along with the ice sculpture. In this state, even the Ice and Snow Tribe's symbiotic gift was completely useless.
"Hello there! Outsider Morning Star!"
After slaughtering Amos Andrei, Alvin pulled out a spotless white handkerchief to wipe his palms, then greeted Leilin as if nothing had happened.
"Hello, powerhouse from the Frost World!" Leilin nodded in acknowledgment.