Book 3: Chapter 318: Shattered Light of the Icy Sea

The roaring train sped along the iron tracks, each carriage flashing past like images on a slideshow before disappearing into the distance, leaving behind a long, trailing whistle note.

Across the vast, boundless gray-frost land, this rushing train was like a tiny white thread, slowly advancing across a massive painting between heaven and earth. Clouds churned endlessly, occasional flashes of lightning appeared, and then fine ice pellets and raindrops fell, cascading down into this world.

Sylutia sat inside the train, watching the ice pellets strike the window. The scenery outside gradually blurred until everything was nearly dark, leaving only the steady patter of the rain.

Seeing her vacant expression, the figure in the red-and-black dress sitting across from her couldn't help but speak up.

"Ya, what are you thinking about?" Carmilla's face gradually sharpened in the young woman's vision. Her golden hair was illuminated by the train's interior lights, giving her a soft, warm glow.

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"Nothing much, my thoughts just drifted to a very distant past."

That was probably in her previous life, when she had boarded a train to travel far away for university. The place where her university was located was also nestled in a frozen, snowy landscape. The local environment possessed a vastness and desolate cold that she, having grown up in a small town, had never seen before.

However, those were all very distant matters. These days, Sylutia rarely recalled things from her previous life. It was only occasionally, when she saw certain scenery, that she would be reminded of them.

"Carmilla." The young woman suddenly spoke, calling the other's name.

"What's wrong?" The Blood Clan princess had now regained some of her former bearing. Her fingertips, wrapped in black lace gloves, gently pressed against the silk scarf at her collar.

"How do you think your sister will view this cooperation application?" Sylutia had come to understand Carmilla quite well, but she still found it difficult to imagine what Carmilla's older sister, Catella, would be like.

Not long ago, after the "Blood Copper Tincture" had been developed, although it achieved excellent results, it still encountered many problems during promotion. Namely, there were too few mages and wizards skilled in the "Bloodline Aspect," so the production speed of the tincture couldn't keep up with the consumption demand of millions. Secondly, the raw material, Blood Crystal, also still had a massive shortage.

There were plenty of warriors skilled in the "Bloodline" Path, but far too few mages and wizards who excelled in it. Teaching those warriors to learn how to condense and refine "Blood Crystal" was like trying to cultivate high-school-level talent in a short period, having to start from the most basic 1+1 instruction. There simply wasn't enough time.

So, the Mage Alliance came up with the idea of negotiating cooperation with the northern Sea Cliff Blood Clan. The representatives dispatched as ambassadors for this visit were Sylutia and Carmilla.

"Her... well..." Carmilla looked sideways at the tabletop, recalling their experiences growing up together.

"She probably won't ultimately refuse this cooperation, but throughout the process, she will definitely apply repeated pressure and secure the most favorable outcome for herself."

"If that's the case, it's still acceptable." For the current Mage Alliance, as long as the other party was willing to sit down and talk, that was good. Even if they had to bleed a little, they would just have to accept it. What they feared most was the other side being completely impossible to communicate with.

"No, no, I think given her personality, the price she demands would probably be something you, Ya, wouldn't dare sign." Carmilla shook her head.

"Even if you did sign, the cost would definitely be extremely heavy."

"When we were kids playing together, if she had the upper hand in something, she would only concede condescendingly after securing enough benefits for herself."

"So was Carmilla bullied when she was little?" The young woman's remark made Carmilla shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Not at all. I fought back too, and occasionally I even gained the upper hand." It was true that she hadn't won many times, but Carmilla still refused to admit that she had been completely dominated by her sister.

"Mother was a very malicious woman." Carmilla suddenly said this out of nowhere.

"When we were young, I didn't understand, but as we grew older, I slowly came to understand many things."

"Actually, the quarrels and conflicts between you two when you were young were deliberately indulged or even orchestrated by Mother."

"She greatly admired people who had no qualms and possessed formidable drive, so when you were young, she deliberately kept you in an unstable environment, stimulating your survival instincts and pushing you to compete and show off against each other."

"In her view, if one wanted to become the Blood Queen and sit securely on that throne, one had to be this way, unable to afford being too foolish and naive."

"Later on, Catella grew perfectly into the person she had hoped for, so naturally, the throne was passed down to her for succession. As for you, in her eyes, you were probably just some sort of backup or insurance measure in case of unexpected circumstances." Carmilla shook her head slightly.

"Actually, when we were very young, Catella and I didn't have too bad a relationship. As twins, we shared many common interests and had plenty of topics we were both interested in chatting about."

"But as we gradually grew up, she was no longer willing to talk much with me. Our relationship slowly became distant, merely maintaining the facade of sisters on the surface."

Was the family environment of the Blood Clan royalty always like this? Listening to Carmilla's account, Sylutia couldn't help but think of Clovante, that Blood Queen whose personality had also become utterly indifferent as she grew up, due to her mother and the Erosion Sorceress.

Or perhaps this was also a choice of sorts. From its rise to its decline, the Blood Dynasty had been accompanied by endless wars and slaughter, from the initial conquests across the continent to the later constant internal strife and attrition. Such a dramatically shifting, high-pressure environment forced every generation of Blood Dynasty rulers to focus all their attention on the question of survival, never daring to relax.

The cruel and oppressive environment had caused the royal members of the late Blood Dynasty period to all suffer from varying degrees of psychological issues. For instance, Clovante's father, even after emerging victorious in the succession struggle and becoming a respected ruler, still carried deep emotional scars. Later, as his life force gradually faded away, even the Erosion Sorceress, who had helped propel him to the throne, could only sadly accept this outcome.

As for Carmilla and Catella in the present day, although their environment was no longer as oppressive and tense as the final days of the Blood Dynasty, they had still been affected by it. The elder sister, Catella, had become utterly cold and resolute, even willing to fuse with Clovante's memories in order to become incomparably powerful.

The train pierced through the ice pellets and rain curtain. Gradually, gaps appeared in the cloud layers of the distant sky, and beams of sunlight shone down upon the land, leaving distinct pale golden traces across the field of vision.

At that moment, waves of damp, cold moisture passed through the vents on the roof and entered the carriage. Someone tried opening the window, and the icy wind from the frozen plains immediately rushed in, dispersing the previously stifling, murky air.

On the side ahead of the train, at the horizon where the land met the sky, shimmering ripples of light gradually appeared, reflected glimmers dotting the water's surface. As the train drew closer, a boundless expanse of azure ice sea came into everyone's view.

This was the northernmost territory of the Mage Alliance, and now unfolding parallel to the train's side was the largest inland sea of the Fourth Continent. Surging tides pushed shattered chunks of ice toward the shore, where they collided with one another, producing crisp, unceasing sounds.

The previously gray and monotonous world suddenly gained a magnificent swath of brilliant blue. The grandeur of nature at this moment shattered the oppressive heaviness that had accumulated over these past days, and for a brief while, he was immersed in this boundless, majestic scenery.

Beyond this ice sea lay the territory where the Sea Cliff Blood Clan made their

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