Chapter 157 Snowstorm Burial Ground

Deep in the Land of Eternal Night lies Little Night City.

Lan Qi helped Sigrid finish writing the letter.

They had just left the hotel and were preparing to mail the letter in Little Night City before continuing their journey.

As the two walked out of the hotel lobby, the brief daylight had faded, and boundless darkness once again enveloped the city-state.

The streetlights emitted a soft yellow glow, reflecting on the damp pavement and leaving a dappled pattern of snow shadows.

A cold wind brought a slight chill, blowing through the slightly messy hair beneath Sigrid's beret as she tightly clutched the letter she had just written.

It was the most satisfactory letter she had ever written.

"It turns out learning to write isn't so bad."

She looked up at Lan Qi, the thought occurring to her for the first time.

"Right?"

Lan Qi smiled at her in response.

"Speaking of which, having someone like you teach me must be very expensive under normal circumstances, right?"

Sigrid said again.

She now believed what the secretary had told her before they set off.

This employer's true identity must be quite noble in the Prant Empire.

If it weren't for this business that had brought them together, he would never have condescended to teach a wild child like her knowledge.

"It's always been free. You're at the age for compulsory education, and I have a responsibility to answer your questions and help you establish a correct outlook on life, values, and so on."

Lan Qi looked directly into Sigrid's eyes and said with certainty,

"If there were no war, I wouldn't have to rush around. Teaching children to read and draw in the church, I think that would be a good life too."

"..."

Sigrid fell silent for a long time after hearing this, no longer looking at Lan Qi.

They walked through the streets of Little Night City, passing brightly lit shops and benches under pale yellow streetlights, with the occasional low music drifting from taverns.

"If only the Prant Empire had more people like you."

She said, looking ahead.

"Meow."

Cat Boss, curled up in Lan Qi's arms, tilted its head to look at him.

It had noticed that in the stable and prosperous South Continent, Lan Qi had no need to use his talents, but with the turmoil in the North Continent, Lan Qi's talents could finally be brought into play.

If it were a world-ending bad world like the Shadow World, would that actually be where someone like Lan Qi was needed most...?

"Don't worry, I'll make sure there are more and more people like me in the Prant Empire."

Lan Qi smiled naturally and replied.

"I hope so."

Sigrid said.

Cat Boss: "…?"

It looked back and forth between Lan Qi and Sigrid.

If an idealist said those words, it would be normal child-appeasing.

But if the Mother of Evil Gods said those words, Cat Boss found it difficult to analyze their meaning.

As they chatted, they soon arrived at the place in the city-state where letters could be mailed, a historical stone building.

Lan Qi waited for Sigrid for a while as she went to the counter to fill out the mailing form.

Afterward, the two headed towards the Little Night City post.

Once they retrieved the Snowfield Reindeer and their vehicle, they could embark on the final journey through the Land of Eternal Night.

...

Midnight on the Snowfield of the Land of Eternal Night has always been known as the Burial Ground of Wind and Snow.

According to ancient legends, those who wished to become king had to pass through this road filled with thorny wind and snow.

It was a trial, and also a test.

"The throne is covered with thorns and wind and snow. To tame it, one must be entangled by vines and buried by wind and snow."

Lan Qi recited to Sigrid a martial poem he didn't know where he had heard from in the modern world.

"I've never heard of it."

Sigrid always felt that she knew too little.

"Uh, maybe you'll hear it a long time later."

Lan Qi thought for a moment. This was actually a martial poem about a certain ancient hero from that era in the modern world. Perhaps in this Shadow World era, it hadn't yet had time for that hero to become famous.

Since they departed from Little Night City, perhaps more than ten hours had passed.

In short, it was a long time.

Neither Lan Qi nor Sigrid could tell how much longer it would take to see the border of the Demon Realm.

In the silence of the night, even the moonlight seemed to retreat quietly, and the seconds became slow and long.

The snowfield hundreds of kilometers outside Little Night City was swallowed by the night. Heavy snow fell, and these ice crystals seemed to be scattered by invisible giant hands. Each piece was bitterly cold, swirling in the wind, and finally sinking into the snow, forming a gray world.

The reindeer were strong and agile, their antlers shimmering with a faint light in the moonlight, as if they were stars falling from the night sky.

"It should be soon."

Sigrid said, looking into the distance and holding the reins tightly.

According to the plan, they would be able to see the Demon Realm around the time the sky began to brighten.

Under this dark night, the sleigh pulled by the Snowfield Reindeer left a dim trail on the snow.

In the front row of the sleigh, the petite Sigrid was driving, carefully observing the terrain.

Her face looked particularly rosy in the cold wind, and she drove the sleigh, constantly breaking through the wind and snow barrier, stirring up layers of white waves on the snow with the rhythm of the reindeer.

"It feels like it will take at least two or three more hours to see the dawn."

Lan Qi looked at the map in his hand by the faint moonlight and analyzed.

His gaze sometimes fixed on the distant snowfield, sometimes turned to the girl driving the sleigh in the front seat, and chatted with her.

Although the time was long, he did not fall asleep.

This was an area that Sigrid had never been to before. Even if she could find the right way, because it was too far away from the orc city-states, she could not get the protection of the orc Great Lords. At the same time, it was close to the border of the Demon Realm, and danger could happen at any time. At this time, it was even more necessary to maintain absolute vigilance.

"When the time comes, you should return to Little Night City as soon as possible. I have asked the Great Lords along the way to provide you with care. You can still live in the place we lived in before, so you don't have to scrimp and save."

Lan Qi added.

It was more than ten hours of night road from Little Night City to the border of the Demon Realm.

Returning again, Sigrid might drive continuously for more than twenty hours. Even if her body and willpower were quite strong, she would need a good rest.

"..."

Sigrid did not respond to his question for the time being, nor did she nod.

The sound of breathing was mixed with the night wind, along with the rhythm of the reindeer running, forming a unique noise.

"Loki, you are really amazing."

Sigrid said suddenly.

"Why do you say that?"

Lan Qi asked curiously.

"I'm not marveling at your talent."

Sigrid looked at the road ahead and said to the person in the back seat.

She probably understood a little these days.

Loki McCarthy was not staying in the comfortable and wealthy Hellsalem, but was repairing temples for the orcs all the way through the wind and snow, offering his strength to the Prant Empire at this juncture.

Sigrid had indeed seen this great craftsman repair the orc lords' goodwill toward humans step by step.

Even after he left, for a long time to come, the orc Great Lords would probably be more friendly and even sincerely treat the humans who passed through the city-state.

Perhaps it was only an insignificant change to the battle situation of the Prant Empire or to the war against the Blood Clan, but if everyone did nothing, nothing would change.

A heavy rain requires the gathering of thousands upon thousands of raindrops.

Or rather, talent alone is useless. Changing people's hearts also requires courage.

The two were isolated from the world on the snowfield at night, but they seemed particularly close to each other in the front and back of the sleigh.

The sleigh continued through this silent silver world, accompanied by the fluttering of snowflakes and the whispers of the night wind, moving towards the distant Demon Realm for the final journey.

Today is a four-chapter update, Xi's burst of seeds!

(End of this chapter)