Chapter 1605: Strange Outburst

The forest fell into an eerie silence. Smoke drifted slowly between the trees while the metallic scent of blood spread heavily through the damp air. Corpses littered the ground, soldiers, Dragxtarns, even the two paladins, all reduced to lifeless remains scattered across the ruined battlefield.

Only the prisoners remained alive. Some cowered behind the iron cages, trembling violently as they stared at the massacre before them. Others could only sob quietly, too terrified to even move.Lory stood amidst the destruction, breathing slightly unevenly, her sword still stained with blood.

Not far from her, Simon slowly pushed himself upright from the shattered cage. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips.

Yet instead of anger—

He laughed. A low, breathless chuckle escaped his mouth before gradually growing louder.

"Hah... hahahaha...Good, you are so good." The sound sent chills crawling through the prisoners. Simon wiped the blood from his chin before lifting his gaze toward Zhao Li Xin. At some point, Zhao Li Xin had already finished slaughtering the remaining soldiers. Dozens of corpses lay scattered around him, and yet Zhao Li Xin himself remained spotless.

His black robes fluttered lightly beneath the cold evening wind as he stood calmly among the dead, sword loosely hanging at his side like the massacre meant nothing to him.

Simon’s eyes slowly darkened with excitement. The stronger the prey, the better. Weak people broke too quickly. Their screams never lasted long enough to satisfy him.

Powerful people were never easy to break. Unlike ordinary prey who shattered after a little pain, people like them endured. They resisted with everything they had, clawing their way out of despair, no matter how deep they were thrown into it.

And that was what made them so intoxicating. The longer they struggled, the more beautiful their despair became once they finally collapsed.

His gaze remained fixed on the man before him, dark excitement slowly stirring within his eyes. What kind of expression would this man make when he was finally cornered with nowhere left to run? Would those calm eyes tremble with fear? Would that composed face twist in agony and desperation? Just imagining it sent a disturbing thrill crawling beneath his skin.

There had to be a way to break him. After all, no human was truly invincible. No matter how powerful someone appeared, everyone possessed a weakness hidden somewhere deep inside them. And once he found it, He would slowly crush it beneath his feet.

A twisted grin slowly spread across his face. He turned to Lory, "You might be the way"

Zhao Li Xin’s face darkened. The immortal flame was about to erupt when suddenly, the air froze, and an unnatural chill swept violently across the forest.

The temperature dropped so fast that frost instantly formed upon the bloodstained ground. Cold winds howled between the trees as the damp tropical air turned deathly frigid within seconds.

Then snow began to fall, followed by a blizzard that erupted in the middle of a tropical island, nonetheless. Everyone knows this is not a natural phenomenon; this was the power of powerful, gifted people. The prisoners screamed in fear.

Simon’s pupils contracted. Has he never seen such a powerful gift user? No, this can be made by a normal human. In fact, there’s only one— no, two people who can possess such power. His gaze immediately snapped toward the source.

"You? That’s impossible." Realization hit him like a wrecking ball; his eyes lit up with exhilaration. "Is it true!"

Lory stood motionless amidst the raging snowstorm, silver-white frost swirling around her slender figure. Her glowing purple eyes shone eerily beneath the dark forest canopy, and the cold expression on her face sent an instinctive chill crawling down his spine.

"Why don’t you see it for yourself?" Lory hissed softly.

The moment those words fell, terrifying energy burst violently from her body. As Lory’s power exploded, the entire forest trembled. A powerful wave of icy energy erupted from her body like an uncontrollable storm, spreading in all directions at terrifying speed.

Frost exploded on the ground beneath her feet, instantly freezing the blood-soaked soil into solid ice.

Then it spread rapidly, and the frozen wave devoured everything in its path. Trees creaked as a layer of frost clung to their trunks.

Snow and ice spiraled violently through the air as the temperature plunged to a terrifying degree. Frost spread across the ground at a visible speed, devouring everything in its path. In mere seconds, the iron cages were completely encased in ice, their metal bars creaking and groaning under the sudden, unbearable cold.

The prisoners cried out in panic and scrambled deeper into the cages, huddling together as though trying to escape the freezing storm swallowing the forest whole. Meanwhile, Simon’s eyes widened with manic excitement.

Then he let out a loud, unrestrained laugh that echoed through the raging blizzard, filled with madness and exhilaration.

"So it’s really you..." His voice trembled with excitement as he stared at her like a fanatic witnessing a miracle. "You’ve returned... hahahaha—this is amazing... truly amazing!"

The ice rushed toward him like a living creature. It was fast, too fast. Soon, the frost reached his feet first. A sharp cracking sound echoed through the forest as the thick ice instantly sealed his boots to the frozen ground.

For a brief second, Simon stood frozen in shock. Then he instinctively tried to step back, but it was already too late. Thick ice had sealed around his ankles.

The freezing cold spread upward mercilessly, devouring his body inch by inch. His legs stiffened first, followed by his waist, then his chest, as layers of frost rapidly crawled across his skin like pale veins beneath flesh.

The air around him crackled sharply under the terrifying temperature, while the cold invaded deep into his bones, leaving no room for escape. Yet Simon did not scream. There was no fear on his face.

On the contrary, his eyes burned with a strange, almost fanatical excitement, as though he had long awaited this very moment.

"So... this is how it feels..." he muttered faintly.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Lory. Even as the ice continued to consume him, an unsettling grin gradually spread across his lips.

"This isn’t over... Princess."The frost climbed higher, swallowing his throat, his jaw, and finally his face. Within moments, Simon stood completely motionless amidst the raging snowstorm, transformed into an ice statue beneath the merciless blizzard.

Lory stood frozen after unleashing her fury, her purple eyes widening in shock. Only then did she realize what she had done. As her racing heart gradually calmed, the violent storm surrounding them immediately began to weaken.

She hastily pulled her power back under control, and the violent storm gradually began to subside. The howling winds faded into silence, while the snow that had engulfed the forest disappeared within seconds, as though it had never existed at all. Only the aftermath remained.

Frost blanketed the ground in a pale layer of white, and countless trees stood frozen beneath the cold night sky, their ice-covered branches looming like silent graves in the darkness.

Eventually, silence returned to the island.

Lory’s body swayed as though all the strength had been drained from her. Her vision blurred slightly as exhaustion crashed over her all at once, causing her knees to buckle beneath her.

Thankfully, before she could collapse, Zhao Li Xin swiftly caught her by the arms and effortlessly pulled her into his embrace.

"Lory." His voice carried rare urgency. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Worry was clearly visible in his eyes. It had been a very long time since he had seen her lose control of her power like that.

"I.." She massaged her forehead then suddenly she snapped out of her daze. "Oh no, the prisoners!" Her head jerked toward the iron-wire cages.

The prisoners huddled together fearfully, their expressions pale and shaken from what had just happened. Frost still coated the cages around them, yet none of them were injured.

Lory stared blankly. "They’re... fine?"

"What are you worried about?" Zhao Li Xin gently tightened his hold around her frail body. "Nothing bad is going to happen while I’m around, right?"

Relief washed over Lory almost instantly. Her tense shoulders loosened as she pressed a trembling hand against her chest, releasing a shaky breath she had not realized she had been holding.

"Thank goodness..." she whispered softly. Then she lifted her gaze to him, her purple eyes filled with sincere gratitude. "Thank you..."

Zhao Li Xin lowered his forehead against hers, his dark eyes softening ever so slightly. "Silly girl," he murmured in a low voice.

"Did you really think I wouldn’t know what you were worried about?"

Truthfully, Zhao Li Xin had never been someone who cared about the lives of others. Compassion was a foreign thing to him, and the suffering of strangers had never once stirred his heart.

Whether in the past or the present, he remained the same cold and indifferent man.

But Lory was different.

He understood her far too well.

He knew that if innocent people had died because she lost control of her power, the guilt would haunt her for a very long time. Therefore, the moment the blizzard had spiraled beyond her control, Zhao Li Xin immediately spread his Immortal Flame Qi around the prisoners’ cages, shielding them from the merciless blizzard.

"I have never seen you lose control like that before." Zhao Li Xin carefully lowered Lory onto a small boulder before uncorking a mana recovery potion and handing it to her.

Lory accepted it quietly and took several hurried gulps. Afterward, she lowered the bottle onto her lap and released a weary sigh, her expression unusually heavy. "I don’t understand it either..." she muttered softly. "It has been a very long time since I last lost control of my power."

"Is your body feeling unwell?" Zhao Li Xin raised his hand and placed his palm gently against her forehead, checking her temperature.

In truth, the possibility of Lory becoming sick was almost nonexistent. With her extraordinary healing ability, she had never fallen ill unless her power was somehow sealed or blocked, but that was clearly not the situation right now.

Yet because of that, Zhao Li Xin felt even more uneasy. Something capable of disturbing her condition to this extent could not be something simple.

"No... I think I’m alright..." Lory frowned slightly, though uncertainty still lingered in her eyes. "At least... I don’t feel anything strange."

Lory slowly relaxed her shoulders and carefully tried to sense the condition of her body, but no matter how she checked, she could not detect anything unusual within herself.

"We’ll examine your condition properly once we return to Harland," Zhao Li Xin said in a calm but firm tone.

"Mmn." Lory nodded obediently.

Soon, her gaze shifted to the prisoners still locked in the wire cages. As their eyes met, the men inside instinctively recoiled in fear, their expressions pale and frightened.

The sight immediately stirred a pang of guilt in her chest. "Let’s get them out of here," Lory said quietly.

Zhao Li Xin glanced briefly toward the prisoners before stepping forward slightly, deliberately blocking their view of her with his body.

"Change your hair color first," he said in a low voice. "I don’t think they’ve realized your identity yet." If they had, they would have heard the commotion from their side.

Lory was startled for a moment, but she quickly understood his intention. Without saying anything further, she obediently cast a shapeshifting spell. In an instant, her dark, bluish hair shifted into pure black.

Fortunately, beneath the cover of night, the bluish tint in her hair had never been too noticeable in the first place. Under the dim moonlight, it merely looked like ordinary dark hair to anyone who glanced at her casually. Because of that, no one would easily realize that her appearance had changed at all.

Lory walked over to the wire cage, then reached out and snapped the heavy padlock with a powerful twist. The metal clanged loudly on the frozen ground as she slowly pulled the cage door open.

The prisoners inside immediately tensed. After all they had experienced, none of them dared to let their guard down. Fear and uncertainty shone in their empty eyes as they warily stared at the strange woman standing before them, unsure whether she was there to save them or not.

"You can come out now," Lory said gently, a faint smile appearing on her face.

Yet none of them dared to move. Lory understood their hesitation. In a situation like this, trust was not something easily given. Thus, she softened her tone even further. "Don’t be afraid. I’m one of the King’s Men from Harland."

The prisoners’ eyes widened in shock. One of the men finally gathered enough courage to step forward slightly despite the fear still visible on his face.

"Y-You are really from Harland?" he asked uncertainly. ℯ𝕝.

Lory tilted her head slightly, the smile on her lips deepening. "I am. Don’t worry, reinforcements from Harland will arrive soon. You’re safe now, so you can come out."

As she spoke, Lory deliberately stepped away from the cage door to give them space.

After a moment of hesitation, the fear in their expressions slowly began to fade, replaced by fragile hope. One by one, the prisoners cautiously stepped out from the cage, as though still unable to believe they had truly been rescued.

Meanwhile, Lory took out her phone and quickly sent a message. Afterward, she retrieved a flare gun from her storage ring and fired it toward the night sky.

A loud crack echoed through the forest. A moment later, brilliant violet light bloomed high above the dark heavens, illuminating the frozen forest below like a beacon cutting through the endless night.