Chapter 803
A Season of Blossoming Ambition
As Alistair, in the guise of Beyad, tore through the snow on a Ghost Pegasus and charged into Xiardo Manor, alarms blared about foreign objects invading the barrier.
But this former prince was so pathetic that he didn’t even have a guard by his side.
Watching him finally rush in, a mess after a long while, Alistair on the Ghost Pegasus couldn’t help but laugh: “This is the first time I’ve seen such a disheveled prince. Facing a potential assassin, he can only charge out with a bottle of potion…”
Upon seeing who had charged in, Prince Xiardo let out a sigh of relief and lowered the petrifying potion he had been clutching.
He tried to defend himself, “It’s not that I couldn’t find anyone else…
“…But speaking of which, when Fenrir set up the barrier, you should have been set as a friendly target…”
Perhaps it was because of this “Ghost Pegasus.”
Alistair mused.
Although it appeared to be just an ordinary Ghost Pegasus, it was actually an avatar of the King of the Wild Hunt. Just as the Flame Butterfly was an avatar of the Butterfly of Blazing Flames, and the Night Crow was an avatar of Viness… it was understandable that the barrier would go crazy with such a massive, high-energy foreign object crashing into it.
At this moment, Honey Badger’s voice drifted from behind: “Naturally, it’s because I knew who was returning…”
She looked at Alistair, who had returned with another Ghost Pegasus after only a few days away, and was already accustomed to Alistair’s habit of bringing things home.
“Guess who’s here?”
Honey Badger smiled lightly, looking at Alistair.
“I guess it’s Lily.”
Alistair replied, looking towards the corner of the room, a slight smile on his lips.
“–Correct.”
As Honey Badger spoke, Lily quietly emerged from beside the wall.
She shyly smiled at Alistair: “Long time no see… Young Lady.”
Compared to her intimacy with Eivass, she was more polite and distant towards Alistair.
“I didn’t notice before, this child is simply a prodigy assassin…”
Honey Badger couldn’t help but praise.
It was clear she was genuinely happy, even talking more than usual: “I feel that in just a few months, I can train a powerful assassin for His Majesty the Pope… Speaking of which, what happened outside?”
She said, asking Alistair, who had just returned from outside: “Such heavy snow… such powerful twilight energy, did it come from the Spirit Tower?”
“The Winter Maiden has completed her Ascension.”
Alistair didn’t directly answer the question but replied: “Now, we should call her the Winter Envoy.”
“…How come they’re ascending one after another?”
Prince Xiardo murmured: “First the Banquet Master, then the Winter Lady… The Banquet Master is one thing, after all, she’s such a powerful Apostle. But the Winter Lady…”
He clenched his fist, feeling happy but also inexplicably somewhat unable to accept it.
He certainly knew the Winter Maiden, a rather young Apostle. In terms of kinship, she even had some relation to “Valentin” and was distantly related to Xiardo himself, barely a distant ancestor.
–Because she was Valentin I’s last daughter, a genuine “princess.”
Her mother was a half-elf, a disciple of the first Black Phase when he was still human. When Valentin I had this child, his oldest child was almost thirty years old.
Perhaps due to the overwhelming adaptability of the Twilight Path, she showed signs of Amber at sixteen. Valentin I had tried every means to save her life back then.
Valentin I was known for his gentle personality in his youth, but he argued with many people for this daughter.
The Winter Lady, tired of these endless quarrels and unwilling to wait for Amber, did not want people to fight over her. Thus, she ran away from home during an unprecedented snowstorm… and quietly died curled up in a coffin she had built for herself.
After her death, her soul was chosen by the Amber Heavenly Envoy and elevated to become her Apostle.
–However, before her death, the Winter Maiden wasn’t even an Extraordinary.
Was this fair?
They were from the same country, the same background, the same bloodline…
He, on the other hand, gave his all in Alchemy, constantly tormenting himself. He studied and experimented diligently every day, not even having the energy for romance or leisure. He burned all his energy, only to tragically hit the limit of his talent.
He clearly realized that no matter what, he could never become a great Alchemist, let alone complete the “Star Antinomy Alchemy.” He couldn’t become a Fifth Tier Extraordinary, nor could he even gain his father’s approval…
And as for the Twilight Path… the Winter Lady had done nothing in her life. She simply died and became an Apostle. Even now, without any great deeds, she had been elevated to Heavenly Envoy.
That was a Heavenly Envoy! A god worshipped by people, a true candidate for Pillar God!
The living were less fortunate than the dead…
Prince Xiardo had to admit that he was indeed feeling jealous.
“A season of blossoming ambition…”
Alistair glanced at Prince Xiardo, a slight smile on her lips.
She naturally sensed Xiardo’s jealousy–Eivass had warned her that she bore the mark of jealousy from the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, making Alistair more sensitive to it.
According to His Majesty the Pope’s observation, the Father Serpent’s power had officially matched Amber’s, reaching the limit of the world. Now, the Power of Transcendence in the entire world was in turmoil.
Even the previously honest could become restless and jealous of others; those with good tempers could not help but get angry; loyal subjects could choose rebellion…
Thinking of this, perhaps Hong’s rebellion was also related to this matter.
“I don’t know how long this heavy snow will last, don’t go out unless you have to.”
Alistair warned: “This sudden snow will block sight and sound, dividing society into isolated islands. Who knows how many people will die in this snow…”
The Ascension of any Heavenly Envoy was bound to disrupt the world.
The Material Realm was too fragile; even a slight change in the Dream Realm could cause massive changes in the Material Realm.
Just as the Banquet Master’s Ascension caused everyone in the world to get drunk for hours… there would surely be people who met with accidents due to their sudden intoxication, such as traffic accidents, or those undergoing surgery, or those working at heights… Some might also fight due to extreme excitement, not to mention those who were already allergic to alcohol.
When a Heavenly Envoy offers a toast, it’s impossible not to drink.
But compared to the phenomenon brought by the Winter Envoy, the phenomenon brought by the Banquet Heavenly Envoy was quite mild.
This kind of snow that could block sound and sight… it was manageable in cities, and it wasn’t too difficult to find shelter. But for adventurers or merchants in the wild, unless they could find shelter in the dark, this blizzard would be absolutely fatal.
And for the Winter Envoy, who inherited the concepts of “Necromancy” and “Undead” from the Amber Heavenly Envoy…
If they died in this snow, their corpses would likely turn into undead.
“If this snow only lasts for a few hours, it’s fine. If it lasts for a few days, there will be big trouble… I’ll go ask Black Phase later. He might know something about this snow. If it doesn’t end today, it will be a global natural disaster.”
Alistair narrowed her eyes slightly.
–Could it be that the Amber Heavenly Envoy intended to use this method to draw the firepower of the Ouroboros Ring ritual to the Winter Envoy?
This was not entirely impossible, as the Amber Heavenly Envoy was known for his sneaky, evasive style.
The Amber Heavenly Envoy’s innate skill was Necromancy, which was “the technique of using corpses.” Just as the Amber Heavenly Envoy stole Amber’s power… perhaps for Him, the still, unresisting Amber was itself a “corpse.”
As the other side of this technique, Treasure Excavation was more in line with the Winter Maiden’s style–digging for usable items from the all-encompassing vast snow. It was closer to using waste materials and utilizing “ownerless items,” but in essence, it was the same.
Then, the Winter Maiden, who was dead and silent, was also a “corpse.”
When the Winter Maiden attracted everyone’s attention, people would forget about Him… which was why He pushed the Winter Maiden to become the Winter Envoy at this critical moment.
It should be noted that the Twilight Path already had the most Heavenly Envoys: the Rock Heavenly Envoy of the Twilight Path, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy of the Forbidden Path, plus the Amber Heavenly Envoy who spanned both old and new paths, and now the newly born Winter Envoy… With the Father Serpent’s influence only just taking effect, the Twilight Path already had four Heavenly Envoys simultaneously!
The Path of Wisdom only had one Heavenly Envoy.
Alistair shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her mind which had become chaotic as soon as she entered Star Antinomy.
She put down the somewhat frozen Leviathan and beckoned Lily over: “Where is Selene?”
Lily sat behind Alistair, wrapping her arms around her waist. She shook her head slightly, not answering the question.
Eivass and Alistair were very close, but Lily and Selene were different.
When Selene was like a child before, Lily only disliked Selene, but Selene still liked to stick close to her. After Selene, as the Moon Witch, gave birth to her first “child,” her personality immediately matured… and Lily’s annoyance with Selene grew even more obvious.
Even Alistair didn’t know how Selene viewed Lily now.
“…I’m here.”
Selene’s voice echoed from outside the door: “I’ve been here all along.”
She had clearly been leaning there, just not wanting to be in the same room as Lily.
“Is it okay?”
She pushed the door open and ran over, hugging Leviathan with some concern.
“…Huh?”
Then the lamb Selene widened her vertical pupils slightly and was surprised to find that Leviathan wasn’t in as bad a condition as she had imagined–although its skin was abnormally cold and its bones stiff, the blood qi within it was still quite vigorous.
Alistair, riding on horseback and already in Beyad’s form, chuckled: “It’s fine. If something happens to me, it will still be fine.”
Leviathan, this “daughter,” was one of her imprints on the world as Alistair.
She might be jealous of colleagues like the Butterfly of Blazing Flames and the King of the Wild Hunt who always accompanied Eivass, she might be jealous of Lily, Selene, and Yulia who always stayed by Eivass’s side and were protected by him… but she attached great importance to Leviathan.
The Path of Love was a path of selfishness. But in her battle with the King of the Wild Hunt, she preferred to shatter herself countless times rather than let Leviathan endure even a single attack.
If for Alistair, Eivass was 100% favorable, and Isabel was 90% favorable, then Leviathan and Viness, who was once Beyad, also had at least 60% “love.”
Her true form was “Number 14.” The existence of this identity was due to seeing Beyad in the Ascension Ritual. In this regard, Beyad and her birth were closely related… and she still remembered everything in the Ascension Ritual with utmost clarity, including how she, as a Blood Servant, had charmed Beyad.
“You two, come with me,” Alistair reached out and pulled Selene in front of her, “I’ll solve your problems first.”
Now the influence of the Father Serpent was growing stronger, two Heavenly Envoys in a week. The Grey Heavenly Envoy might be resurrected at any moment…
Fortunately, Black Phase had indeed said that he had a way to solve this problem.
–Whoever dares to block me, dies.
The increasingly strong influence of the Transcendent Path made Alistair restless.
The red and purple in her pupils shifted and rose, and Alistair’s emotions became uncontrollably excited.
The lamb Selene looked back at Alistair with some surprise.
Because she felt Alistair’s fingers trembling slightly.
Not from cold or fear, but closer to… a restless, agitated feeling.
–She certainly remembered this feeling.
When she was Lily before and the urge to kill struck… she felt this way.
(End of Chapter)
