The group followed Lance as they dashed through the mountain forest.
Lance’s heart remained tense; he could clearly feel the temperature dropping significantly.
“Thirty miles… twenty miles… ten miles…”
Each time Falia provided a count, it indicated that the terrifying Ice Elemental Lord was rapidly approaching.
“Is it coming for us?”
Falia shook her head and said, “No, it just happens to be flying this way.”
“You won’t be able to run out of its field of influence… Do you see that small hill? There is a cave on its leeward side. Once you’re inside, seal the entrance with mana. It can serve as a shelter.”
Lance looked into the distance and indeed spotted a small hill.
He immediately called out to Astrid and the two takins, “There’s a cave opening over there! Let’s take cover!”
“Okay!”
With those words, the group’s speed increased again. Ten-odd seconds later, they burst into the mountain cave beneath the hill.
The interior was cramped, barely large enough to fit Lance and the others.
As the last one to enter, Lance immediately turned around and conjured an [Elemental Force Field], isolating the inside of the cave from the outside.
“Lance, what’s going on?”
The breathless Astrid stepped forward. Her voice was full of confusion, as she clearly didn’t understand what was happening.
Only then did Lance have the chance to inform them about the approaching Ice Elemental Lord.
As he explained, Astrid’s eyes gradually widened.
The scene outside the cave transformed the instant the Ice Elemental Lord flew past.
Frost blanketed the earth, and the originally thick, towering trees were completely frozen solid!
Outside, the world had become a vast expanse of white!
Maji and Zaen stood slack-jawed, pointing at the scene outside, speechless.
Looking at the sight, it truly felt as though the end of the world had arrived…
Fortunately, Lance had sealed the entrance with the [Elemental Force Field] just in time.
When the frost spread toward the cave entrance, it was automatically blocked by the field.
Inside the cave, the temperature only dropped by several degrees, which wouldn’t have a major impact in the short term.
“Master, has it flown away?”
“Er…”
When asked, the Witch Lady didn’t give a reply for a short while.
After stammering for a moment, she finally said, “It… landed on top of the hill…”
“What?”
Lance was stunned on the spot. What was he supposed to do?
He couldn’t fight a war of attrition with an Element Lord; elemental creatures were practically immortal!
Falia was also feeling a bit of a headache.
The Element Lord had been incredibly fast, so why did it suddenly circle back and land on the peak as it passed this hill?
This was something even she couldn’t have predicted!
Just as Lance’s heart was about to sink to the bottom, a wild wind howled outside.
It swept past, carrying surging ice elemental power, causing the frost to slowly penetrate the [Elemental Force Field] and spread toward the interior of the cave.
However, at that moment, Lance and Astrid both froze. They immediately turned their heads to look at one another.
“You heard that?”
“I heard it. It wasn’t an illusion.”
The conversation was baffling to Maji and Zaen, but they couldn’t be blamed for that.
It was only because Lance hadn’t established a [Mental Link] with them.
As the wild wind blew past, Lance and Astrid heard it clearly.
Though the voice was sobbing, the meaning it expressed was extremely clear:
‘Waaa… Chillingus, you idiot, you’re going to die… waaa…’
Astrid was naturally bewildered, not knowing who was speaking outside. However, Lance knew from Falia that the Ice Elemental Lord was directly above the hill.
He recalled the effect of his [Omnipotent Persuader] skill. It clearly stated: ‘Even for elemental beings, as long as they possess spirituality, you can easily converse with them and form friendships.’
In that case, the words just now could only have been spoken by that Element Lord.
Chillingus? Going to die?
Clang, clang, clang—
The wild wind howled once more, crashing against the rocks at the cave entrance with an extraordinary booming sound.
The [Elemental Force Field] released by Lance was further impacted, gradually becoming illusory.
It obviously wouldn’t last much longer!
Noticing this, Maji and Zaen felt miserable, looking as though they were ready to meet their fate.
“I’m going out to see what’s happening.”
Lance turned and spoke to the Elf, immediately stepping forward to head out.
But just as his foot crossed the [Elemental Force Field], a slender hand reached out and grabbed Lance’s gloved hand.
“I’m going with you!”
Caught off guard, Lance was pulled back by the Elf just as he took his first step.
However, by the time his foot was pulled back, it was already covered in frost.
A piercing cold stabbed through his toes straight to his brain, causing the Ghoul to shudder violently.
‘It must be at least ten degrees below zero!’
Lance was horrified. He turned to look at the Elf, his gaze sweeping over her thin, black-and-yellow adventurer’s dress.
How could she possibly withstand the cold outside in that?
“No, you stay here. Don’t move. I’ll be back as soon as I see what’s going on.”
“But…”
Astrid’s eyes filled with worry as she tried to say more.
Seeing this, Lance suddenly thought of his sister, who was always worrying about him.
In a momentary daze, Lance actually reached out and rubbed Astrid’s head.
“Don’t worry, I won’t take any risks,” he said. “Besides, I can’t exactly ‘die.’ It should be fine as long as I stay a bit further away.”
Having said that, Lance turned and strode out of the cave, leaving the Elf stunned in place.
After a moment, Astrid’s ears turned red, and her small mouth moved as she whispered something to herself.
……
The cold wind blew through the gaps in Lance’s armor.
At this moment, Lance truly regretted evolving into a Ghoul, as his current body possessed a nervous system!
‘It’s too cold!’
Lance shivered as he made his way up the hill.
A blizzard had actually started, making his already limited vision even worse.
Fortunately, Lance could still hear the crying, and with Falia’s guidance, he didn’t lose his way.
“Waaa—”
The crying was mixed with the wind, and from time to time, there were words cursing Chillingus.
“Look up, you should be able to see it now,” Falia reminded him at the right time.
Lance looked up and indeed saw a figure that was ice-blue all over.
‘Is that… a bird?’
Through the gaps in the storm, Lance vaguely identified the appearance of the Element Lord.
“Um… hello?”
Hearing Lance’s voice, the [Ice Bird] slowly stopped its crying.
It looked down at Lance and asked with a sob in its voice, “Do you have business? If not, don’t disturb me.”
‘Of course I have business! Staying here is going to kill us!’
But if he made a request now, the [Ice Bird] probably wouldn’t pay him any mind, right?
“Why are you crying? Did something happen?”
Hearing this, the [Ice Bird] lowered its head to lean in front of Lance, startling him into taking a massive step backward.
Then, many small icicles suddenly fell from its ice-globe-sized eyes.
The [Ice Bird] began to cry again.
“Are you willing to listen to me? Waaa—”
“Chillingus is a huge idiot. It’s clear that the two of us can’t get close… waaa…”
“I told him he would die, he would die… but he just won’t listen. He keeps chasing after me, saying it’s worth it even if he dies… waaa—”