Zhe Zilin rode his horse and followed Leon from a distance as he left the city. The other party entered the depths of the forest without the slightest hesitation.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhe Zilin urged his horse forward and followed him in.
The thick snow muffled the sound of hooves. Zhe Zilin gripped the reins tightly and leaned forward as he moved through the forest, maintaining a distance from which he could observe Leon’s movements at any time.
He glanced back at North City, which was growing farther and farther away, and roughly determined the direction Leon was heading — due north.
Ailia had once said that the northernmost part of the North was untouched by humans. It was the land where Ice Demons slept.
Why was Leon heading north the entire time? Could it be that he was colluding with an Ice Demon?
The Ice Demon had a grudge against Ailia. If Leon was framing Ailia, then everything seemed to make sense.
Zhe Zilin continued following. He needed to witness it with his own eyes to confirm his suspicions.
North of the North, the weather only grew colder. Snow fell like rain, and the snow covering the ground made it extremely difficult for the horses to run.
Zhe Zilin’s gaze was sharp. Even in the darkness of night, he kept his eyes fixed on Leon’s back.
Finally, Leon stopped in front of a wooden house in the forest.
What surprised Zhe Zilin was that someone actually lived this far north in the forest. Were they not afraid of half-orcs and ogres?
Firelight burned inside the wooden house. Leon tied his horse outside the courtyard and quickly went inside.
Seeing this, Zhe Zilin circled around to the back of the house. He found a dense tree to shelter his horse from the snow, then carefully crept toward the wooden house. He crouched down and observed the situation inside through a gap.
“Leon, do you know how much I’ve missed you?”
“The old man died. I couldn’t get away.”
“That’s not an excuse. You have to properly compensate me tonight.”
Zhe Zilin narrowed his eyes. Inside the house, Leon was entangled with a woman.
The woman urgently stripped off Leon’s clothes and pressed him down beneath her, then panted heavily as she kissed him.
The room was soon filled with impatient sounds that felt completely out of place in the freezing, snowy world.
Zhe Zilin withdrew his gaze. He did not know who this woman was. If he wanted to learn anything, he would probably have to wait until their mouths were free.
He waited quietly. The atmosphere inside the house quickly reached its peak. The woman’s voice sounded as if it would tear through the sky.
Zhe Zilin sighed and shook his head with a bitter smile.
To be honest, charging all the way out here in the freezing cold only to listen to some moaning — he had really embarrassed himself.
The woman’s voice and Leon’s voice intertwined like a symphony, sometimes low and drawn out, sometimes sharp and short. It did not last very long.
Huh? That fast.
Zhe Zilin immediately looked through the gap again. The woman was nestled in Leon’s arms, her fingers gently stroking his chest.
The woman praised, “If every soldier in North City were as manly as you, the nobles of the kingdom wouldn’t dare look down on the North.”
Zhe Zilin could not help but complain inwardly: If the soldiers of North City were all like Leon, then the North might as well be called the Kingdom of Daughters.
The woman propped herself up. A greedy light flashed in her eyes as she stroked Leon’s face.
“Now that the old man is dead, can I go live with you in North City?”
Leon shook his head. “My mother would never allow me to be with someone who is a mix of human and half-orc.”
Zhe Zilin felt as if he had heard something unbelievable.
A half-orc and human hybrid?
Had Leon’s lust reached the point where he was no longer picky about his partners?
Zhe Zilin adjusted his angle, wanting to see the woman’s face clearly. She only gave him her back, but she looked no different from a human.
Perhaps she was a hybrid who retained human features.
No wonder she could survive in the forest. Everything made sense now.
The woman complained, “Think of a way to deal with your mother. Otherwise, once winter passes, I’m leaving the North and never coming back.”
Leon lifted his head. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. Five half-orcs from the Eastern Plains came to the forest. They promised to take me to the Eastern Plains.”
Leon sat up and fell into thought. He rubbed his eyes. “I’ll go talk to my mother. Even if she doesn’t agree, I’ll still arrange for you to live in North City.”
The woman looked doubtful. “Everyone knows your mother has always been decisive. Even the old man couldn’t overrule her. Are you sure you can do it?”
Leon straightened his back and retorted, “Once the old man is buried, I will be the King of the North. No one can defy me. Not even if she is my birth mother.”
The woman received the answer she wanted and was satisfied. She pushed Leon down again and trailed her hand from his chest down to his abdomen and below his navel.
This time, only Leon’s muffled voice could be heard in the room.
Zhe Zilin listened for a while longer. After Leon was once again disarmed and the two of them had no more meaningful conversation, he left.
What he had not expected was that Leon would actually kill his own mother for the sake of a half-orc hybrid.
Lust was truly a blade hanging over one’s head. It seemed he had been completely blinded by desire.
If someone like this became the King of the North, the Gareth family’s reputation would be damaged, and the territory would likely change hands.
Zhe Zilin had just left the wooden house when the woman’s voice inside lowered significantly.
“The Ice Demon came to see me yesterday.”
Leon’s expression turned serious. He sat up.
“What did he say?”
The woman spoke seriously as she repeated the words. “He said he killed the King of the North. Soon you will become the new King of the North. He hopes you will honor the agreement and bring the King of the North’s corpse to the forest tonight.”
Leon was shocked. “Tonight? He’s insane. The witch is still praying and my mother has been staying by the old man’s side. We can only dig up the grave after the burial.”
The woman frowned, her expression grave. She signaled for Leon to lower his voice.
“The Ice Demon won’t listen to reason. If we don’t deliver the corpse tonight, he will kill both you and me.”
Leon’s eyes darted around nervously. He panted as he asked, “What does the Ice Demon want the corpse so urgently for?”
“How would I know what the Ice Demon is thinking? The only reason I can even communicate with him is because of you, the eldest son of the Gareth family.”
“So you’d better think of a way. Before it gets too cold, find a way to get the witch and your mother out of the way and steal the old man’s corpse.”
Leon stood up and put on his clothes. His brows were tightly furrowed. His mood was completely different from when he had arrived. The more pleasure he had felt during their intimacy, the more irritated he felt now.
“I shouldn’t have believed you in the first place and made a deal with the Ice Demon. The old man was already old anyway. The position of King of the North would have been mine sooner or later.”
The woman lay on her side on the bed and smiled. “What’s the use of saying all this now, Leon? Just think of a way.”
Leon closed his eyes and sighed. He pushed the door open and left, mounted his horse, and hurried back.
Zhe Zilin hid along the road back to the city. When he saw Leon rushing past in a panic, he immediately took a shortcut and headed back as well.
At the northern edge of the forest, a dense army of Corpse Slaves entered the forest and surrounded the wooden house.
The woman, wearing a gray robe, opened the courtyard gate and walked out.
The Corpse Slaves parted to make way. An Ice Demon riding a horse and radiating an icy aura slowly approached and stopped in front of the woman.
The two of them communicated in an ancient language.
Woman: “Gareth blood alone might not be enough. The witch is still here.”
The Ice Demon exhaled a breath of cold air, its voice hollow. “Then kill the witch.”