Under the shade of the trees, a cool breeze swept through, lifting the silver-haired girl’s strands of hair.
Her pale golden eyes quietly fixed on the armored figure before her.
She wished to be as strong as the “Ain” standing in front of her.
No matter how grueling the training, she didn’t mind.
She would persevere because this was the only thing she could do.
Enya’s hand clenched briefly in midair.
A pale white spear appeared in her grasp.
Though called a spear, it resembled more of a long bone spike, nearly two meters in length.
The moment Estelle saw the bone spike, she was startled by the aura swirling around it. The fine hairs on the girl’s body stood on end.
She looked like a frightened little kitten, her fur all puffed up.
Enya observed Estelle’s reaction and nodded silently to herself.
She thought, “No wonder she was born of my blood — her perception is keen.”
This spike was said to have been broken off from the Thorn Tree.
It not only could pierce the soul and return evil to its source, but it also possessed a very special effect.
Enya planted the white bone spike into the ground and released the Spiritual Suppression she had attached to it.
Suddenly, a chilling wind swept through the forest, so cold that even the midday sun couldn’t dispel the chill.
Estelle squinted, her eyes fixed tightly on the bone spike.
“Grab hold of it.”
Enya’s voice came softly alongside the cold wind into Estelle’s ears.
She kept her mouth shut tightly and quietly stepped forward.
Soon she realized moving forward was surprisingly difficult.
Even with her amplified body power, it was to no avail — as if the wind wasn’t blowing against her body at all…
It was a wind that struck the soul, not just the flesh — cold and filled with fragmented voices, like wails and cries, mingled with mournful howls.
For ordinary people, this sinister Soul Sea Wind could damage their souls and weaken their minds.
Even for a typical Fourth Rank, if their soul hadn’t surpassed the Condensed Core’s sublimation bottleneck, the effect would be one or two times worse than what Estelle was experiencing now.
Estelle’s soul was flawed, but her mind was pure. That was why she could still move forward toward Enya despite the Soul Sea Wind.
Her hand was less than ten centimeters from the bone spike, yet that small distance was insurmountable.
Even facing the raging wind, her eyes showed no ripple, no craving or obsession—only the purest will to move forward.
Enya grasped Estelle’s wrist and guided her hand to grasp the bone spike.
Forcing Estelle, whose soul had not yet sublimated, to touch the spike alone was unreasonable.
When Enya was Third Rank, she could hold it easily because she was immune to soul injuries and could move through the Soul Sea Wind as if it wasn’t there.
Estelle froze for a moment when Enya grabbed her wrist, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself in a very strange place.
The ground beneath her was no longer earth but a pile of various bones, large and small, from different species — some human, others enormous beasts.
The silver-haired girl lifted her head and looked up at the sky. It was pitch black, but white lightning snakes writhed and rolled within the darkness.
First came flashes of white light, then the thunderous roar.
Most girls her age would have fainted upon seeing such a bizarre scene, but Estelle’s face remained calm and expressionless.
“This way.”
Hearing the voice, Estelle turned.
Enya had disappeared from her sight and reappeared on a massive spine not far away, looking down at Estelle from above.
“This will be your training ground from now on.”
Before Enya’s words finished, a lightning snake slithered overhead, its white light illuminating the entire bone-strewn ground.
A thunderous boom resounded.
Estelle felt as if she was almost sucked into the sky.
Her soft silver hair frizzled with electricity, but her gaze remained focused ahead.
Wind or lightning—both came from deep within the area behind Enya—and the girl’s curiosity stirred.
Enya noticed Estelle’s thoughts and smiled gently.
“You will reach the deepest part one day.”
“But for now, you must deal with the trouble before you.”
“They’re coming.”
At Enya’s words, strange creatures began crawling out from the bone ground.
Some were tall, some short; some human-like, others quadrupedal beasts.
But without exception, they were all made of bones.
A monstrous army formed from bone skeletons stood before Estelle.
It seemed she could only proceed deeper by defeating them.
Without hesitation, Estelle drew the silver sword from her Gold Space Ring.
Although it was a replica without the true power of Cang, the original Artifact Sword, it was silent but incredibly resilient and unbreakable.
While resisting the Soul Sea Wind, the girl began battling the skeletons.
Enya, watching Estelle’s graceful figure, couldn’t help but recall her own past—standing here, exploring toward the depths of this area.
“There is no concept of death here. If killed, you are simply sent back to reality. At the deepest point, there is an incredibly powerful being. Estelle, you must also advance toward that place.”
Elsewhere.
A golden-haired girl was doing the same as Estelle.
Not far above Rosily, a grey-haired woman dressed lightly floated in the air, her pretty face displaying a wealth of emotions.
“Come on, young mistress!”
The woman cheered as Rosily swung her sword and severed the head of a Skeleton Earth Dragon, waving her hand enthusiastically and shouting how cool her young mistress was.
Her large bunny ears bounced cheerfully.
Indeed, this woman was Cang—the spirit embodiment of the silver-gray Artifact Sword.
Rosily landed and ducked under a sweeping attack, her orange-red eyes scanning the few remaining skeletons. Her expression was serious at this moment.
“I’m the one who will reach the deepest point!”
From Cang, Rosily learned that deep within this Realm lay an extremely powerful enemy, and only the silver-haired Sword Maiden had defeated it so far.
That silver-haired Sword Maiden was the protagonist of the book Rosily had taken from her mother, and she wished to be as strong as that person.
No, even stronger!
Rosily and Estelle shared this common goal.
Red Pine City, Asades Castle, City Lord’s Mansion.
The Conference Hall on the top floor of the castle was already filled on both sides of a long table with people—each a leader of Red Pine City’s major power institutions.
Among them was the Sixth-Order Mage Knight, commanding the army, and the City Guard Captain, the highest leader of the City Guard Knight Squad.
Together, they formed the core of Red Pine City’s military power.
Also present were figures from politics, commerce, and nobility.
All were somewhat tense.
After such a major incident had just occurred two days ago, and with the Lord having not appeared for some time, today’s sudden call for a meeting left them unprepared.
They could only proceed cautiously, carefully reading the ruler’s mind.
The main figure of the meeting had yet to arrive.
No one dared whisper, making the hall oppressively quiet.
In Henna’s bedroom, she was looking into a full-length mirror.
The reflection showed a petite little girl, delicate and graceful, with bright crimson hair.
Amid the smooth strands peeked a pair of elf-like long ears.
Her face was even more exquisite and adorable than a doll’s.
Her pale white skin bore a faint blush on the cheeks, soft and tender-looking—one could almost want to touch them.
Her peach-pink lips parted slightly, revealing a sharp pair of fangs.
Though sharp fangs would be frightening on anyone else, on this girl, they added a peculiar cuteness.
Henna’s small, slender body was clad in a slightly oversized pure white dress, crafted with exquisite detail and decorated with various lace trims.
The maid who had served Henna for a long time couldn’t help but sigh softly.
“Lord Henna is so adorable~”
“You’re just like how you were when you were a child.”
Henna pouted.
In most noble families, if a maid dared to tease the mistress like this, she would have been dragged out and beaten.
Only Henna allowed such casualness.
Henna looked at herself in the mirror and sighed softly.
“I wasn’t like this when I was little.”
“Um…”
The maid stopped laughing and quickly picked up two little dresses, approaching Henna and lowering her hands slightly to show them.
“Lord, which one would you like to wear?”
“Uh…”
Henna looked at the doll-like dresses her younger sister brought and felt a headache coming on.
To be honest, she had no desire to wear such clothes, but she definitely couldn’t fit into her old clothes anymore.
She looked left and right, randomly pointed, and said,
“The one on the right, then.”
“But you’re pointing at the left one.”
“Then the left one it is.”
“But…”
“I said the left one!”
Henna’s ears twitched and flushed red. She was shy about having to wear such a childish dress.
“All right, I’ll put it on for you right away!”
The maid stifled her laughter and began dressing the dignified little lord in the skirt.