Eight warhorses stepped across the snow that covered their ankles and resolutely entered the canyon where ice mist surged.
The moment they crossed the wind mouth, violent cold wind wrapped in ice shards smashed into them.
The force was so fierce it nearly overturned them from their horses’ backs.
The wind and snow in the forest had still been relatively mild.
The wind inside the canyon was entirely the killing aura of the polar region.
As it howled and circled, it crashed against the ice walls on both sides and produced a deep humming that made eardrums ache.
The ice walls on both sides were steep and towering.
Looking up, one could only see a single gray line of sky.
Zhe Zilin walked at the very front and let the others follow behind him.
The wind and snow wantonly impacted his body.
The airflow dispersed toward both sides, reducing the pressure received by the rest of the team.
Every step after entering the canyon felt like sinking into a mire—heavy to lift and strenuous to take.
The burden on the horses was enormous.
After traveling for only about an hour, Zhe Zilin clearly noticed the fatigue of his own warhorse. Its speed was slowing.
He slowed down and came before Scar.
Facing the roaring sound of the wind and snow, he shouted, “We will take turns breaking the wind at the front!”
Scar’s neck was wrapped airtight.
He nodded hard, then made hand gestures to his companions.
He would take the front first, then One-Eye, then Gan, Wen, and Cui, breaking the wind in that order.
Once the gestures fell, the team rapidly adjusted formation.
Zhe Zilin reined in his horse and turned sideways. He slowed his warhorse’s pace and actively retreated to the second position in the team.
After facing the wind mouth and breaking the wind for such a long time, the piercing cold wind had already frozen his jaw until it turned blue.
Fine ice beads had condensed on the strands of hair by his temples.
The skin of his neck had been scraped red and painful by the ice wind.
Yet from beginning to end, he had not retreated a single inch, bearing the majority of the wind pressure for the entire team.
Scar immediately urged his horse forward and took the very front of the team.
The team’s traveling speed rose slightly once more.
After Zhe Zilin retreated from the wind mouth, Osha’s gaze never left him for even a moment.
The girl tightly wrapped the warm fur overcoat around herself.
Between the clothes there still remained the faint scent of grass and wood that belonged to Zhe Zilin.
She slightly turned her body, drew close to Zhe Zilin’s side, avoided the howling wind, and spoke softly.
Her tone carried an unconcealable heartache and concern.
“Ed, standing at the very front just now… it was very cold, wasn’t it?”
Without waiting for Zhe Zilin to answer, her fingertips moved slightly.
A stream of warm, moist sensation surged into the center of his chest and warmed his limbs.
Osha activated her magic and made Zhe Zilin’s frozen body much warmer.
Zhe Zilin slightly furrowed his brows.
He reached out and grasped Osha’s wrist, stopping her from continuing to consume magic power.
“It’s fine. I can endure it. This stretch of road is still very long. Use it on yourself. Don’t consume too much magic power.”
Osha’s fingertips were icy.
When he wanted to withdraw his hand, the girl gently clenched his palm.
“You always think about protecting everyone. When will you be able to protect only yourself?”
“They are not worth you risking your life to break the wind.”
The words floated lightly, yet carried an extremely strong possessiveness.
Zhe Zilin withdrew his hand, pressed his lips together, and said in a firm tone, “Only by looking after one another can we walk farther.”
Osha lowered her eyes and looked at her empty palm.
Her fingertips lightly rubbed against each other.
The smile on her face remained unchanged, yet the possessiveness in her heart frantically grew.
How wonderful.
Kind, soft-hearted, considerate of others—Ed was the same as before. Even after losing his memories, his essence had not changed much.
Another round of wind force suddenly surged violently.
The wind at the canyon mouth roared.
The wind pressure abruptly doubled.
One-Eye, who was walking at the front and breaking the wind, swayed.
The warhorse beneath him was startled and neighed. Its four hooves slipped, nearly flipping over onto the ground.
Zhe Zilin’s eyes sharpened.
He immediately urged his horse to increase speed and once again charged to the very front of the team.
The Dragon Slayer left its sheath. Fire magic burned along the blade.
A heat wave exploded horizontally and forcibly split open the surging mad wind, stabilizing the entire team’s route of advance.
The wind and snow swept over his thin figure.
Once more he alone blocked the wind mouth, isolating the bitter cold of the wind and snow for everyone behind him.
Osha gazed at his upright back. The smile at the corners of her lips deepened. Her eyes were filled with the madness of inevitable possession.
It was fine.
The softer and more benevolent he was, the more painful it would be when he finally lost everything and could only depend on her.
Ailia, the Northern Territory, every bond—she would tear them apart one by one.
In the end, the only one who could remain by Ed’s side would be her.
The wind and snow were endless. The road ahead was long and ice-cold.
In the depths of the canyon, human figures vaguely appeared.
Zhe Zilin narrowed his eyes. One hand blocked the drifting snow as he focused his gaze.
More and more figures swayed ahead.
No—they were approaching!
Some of the figures had no arms. Some were missing pieces of their bodies.
They wore thin clothing. Ordinary people could not possibly survive inside the canyon.
Zhe Zilin already had the answer in his heart. He roared a warning to everyone.
“Corpse Slaves!”
Everyone immediately raised their bodies and slightly turned sideways to look ahead.
One-Eye came beside Zhe Zilin.
“There are too many of them. We can only charge through. We have only walked halfway. If we fight, our physical strength on the remaining road may not hold.”
Zhe Zilin’s gaze continuously searched the surroundings.
The appearance of Corpse Slaves meant the Ice Demon was nearby.
He worried that when they charged out of the corpse group, the Ice Demon would strike from the shadows and launch a sneak attack.
Yet after scanning a full circle, he did not discover any trace of the Ice Demon.
The other party had come prepared and had long since hidden his tracks well.
Looking at the corpse group and unable to find the Ice Demon, they still had no choice but to charge forward.
To avoid the others consuming too much strength, Zhe Zilin tightly gripped the Dragon Slayer in his hand and took the lead, charging forward several meters to open a path for the team.
“Conserve your strength. Avoid fighting!”
Magic began to be chanted. Several runes appeared on the sword body.
As he charged into the corpse group, with every swing of his sword the bodies of the Corpse Slaves seemed to receive a heavy impact and were sent flying horizontally.
His strength was several times that of an ordinary person.
Even if Zhe Zilin swung his sword without holding back, he still had surplus strength to pass through the canyon.
In order to reduce the consumption of the rest of the team, he rode his warhorse and weaved through the corpse group, doing his best to knock away the Corpse Slaves that drew near.
Yet the Corpse Slaves that could not be killed soon climbed up from the ground again and tirelessly charged once more.
“Boss, if this continues, we won’t be able to shake them off!”
To completely throw off the corpse group, they also needed to charge out and then open a distance so they would not be caught up to.
Zhe Zilin asked Osha. The wind carried the hoarse low roars of the Corpse Slaves.
“Osha, you can completely kill the Corpse Slaves, right?”
For the divine envoy of the King of Hell to deprive a group of corpses of their ability to move was an effortless matter.
Yet Osha had no intention of making a move. She only cared about Zhe Zilin’s safety.
As for how the others fared, she did not care in the slightest.
In other words, as long as Zhe Zilin was not harmed, Osha would continue to observe.
These half-orcs and the royal knight were, to her, nothing more than irrelevant people who depended on Ed.
Whether they died or were torn apart and frostbitten by Corpse Slaves was of no importance.
Osha raised her eyes.
Her gaze passed over the dense incomplete Corpse Slaves and landed directly on the youth who was swinging his sword amid the flames.
Her tone was lazy and flat as she openly admitted her private motives without the slightest concealment. “Yes. I can.”
“But I don’t want to.”
The cold wind carried fragmented snow past them. She slightly tilted her head.
The gentleness in her eyes remained the same.
Every word entered Zhe Zilin’s ears clearly.
“I will only make a move to ensure your safety alone.”
Zhe Zilin’s eyes turned cold and heavy. He understood completely in his heart.
Osha had planned it this way from the beginning.
She would not help the entire team escape danger.
She would only protect him from even the slightest harm, deliberately allowing the Corpse Slaves to consume his companions’ physical strength and force him to see one thing clearly—that others could not be relied upon. Only Osha could unconditionally protect him.
Deliberate favoritism. Deliberate coldness.
Ah, she’s having another episode again!
Zhe Zilin did not force her. He continuously chanted magic and alone carried the team forward.
Fortunately, as Griet at the rear charged out, the team was about to throw off the corpse group.
Seeing this, Zhe Zilin thrust his sword toward a Corpse Slave that was approaching, preparing to catch up with the team.
Unlike the other mindless Corpse Slaves, the one before his eyes flexibly avoided his blade.
Its figure paused. Instead of pulling the ice spear out of its own body, it suddenly shot it toward Zhe Zilin.
On horseback there was nowhere to dodge. Zhe Zilin could only flip off his horse. The ice spear nearly pierced through his waist and abdomen.
When he landed, Zhe Zilin clearly saw the face of that Corpse Slave.
The Ice Demon!
He had been disguised among the Corpse Slaves the entire time, waiting for the opportunity to strike.