Chapter 178: Wolf Pack

Winter in the Northlands always came earlier than anywhere else. The wheels of the carriage crushed over ice and snow, and the crisp rustling sound echoed through the slight jolts again and again.

At some point, Lita had found it difficult to see any color beyond white. The sparse withered grass had been replaced by mottled snow, and the outlines of distant mountains were also coated in a layer of silver. The smell of people and dust that had mixed along the road was gone, replaced by a fresh yet biting cold that seemed to charge straight into her lungs.

Lita tightened the fur cloak around herself. Although the temperature wasn’t too cold right now, without modern heating facilities and having to travel all day, she still had to do her best to prevent her body heat from escaping.

When Lita spoke, she could see white mist puffing from her mouth. “Whew, it’s really cold. Isn’t it colder than yesterday?”

“That’s right.” Saixiliya’s voice came from the carriage behind Lita. “You’re not wrong at all. We’ve already entered the Northlands. The temperature will only get colder in the coming days.”

“Alright.” Lita responded. “Lady Saixiliya, do you feel cold?”

That concern was a bit unnecessary. Before setting out, they had both brought winter clothes suitable for the Northlands. Just yesterday morning, Lita had specially bought a small heater that could be used inside the carriage, worried that Saixiliya’s small frame might freeze here.

“Not cold,” Saixiliya replied.

Since driving the carriage didn’t require Lita anyway—she just had to keep an eye on the horses and watch for dangers around her—she could spare some attention to chat with Saixiliya. “I haven’t asked before. Have you been to the Northlands before?”

“No, this is my first time.” Saixiliya’s voice came through the carriage curtain. “I’ve read about the Northlands in books, and Rosalia has told me a bit about it too.”

Before setting out, Lita had also heard Saixiliya talk about it. In fact, most of what she knew about the kingdom came from Saixiliya.

The Northlands were located in the kingdom’s extreme north, serving as the first line of defense against enemies invading from beyond the Great Wall. It was known for its bitter cold, but it also held many undeveloped resources—though developing them was quite difficult. For this reason, the Northlands were primarily used as a place of exile for criminals. The vagrants from Solus City had all been sent here to grow crops, potatoes, and mine coal.

“Princess Rosalia?” Lita was a bit puzzled.

“That’s right.” Saixiliya replied. “She is the only one among the princesses to have actually been on the battlefield and earned great military merit. Most of the kingdom’s generals support her ascension for that reason. That’s how she can stand against Amelia, who is backed by many ministers.”

So the Second Princess had such a past. Lita really hadn’t known that.

“Has she always been in the Northlands?” Lita asked.

“Most of the time, yes.”

“What a harsh environment. Just traveling here, I already feel like I can’t take it.”

“Our destination is much harsher than this. Although we’re already within the Northlands and not far from Snowfall City, we still have some distance to the Great Wall. And the most dangerous place, the Everfrost Wasteland, lies beyond the Great Wall—a region of perpetual cold.”

Lita nodded, but suddenly caught an extremely faint, unnatural sound mixed in the wind, approaching her direction from afar. The carriage was moving forward, yet those noises were clearly getting closer. Their footsteps were a bit scattered, but maintained a subtle resonance with the hoofbeats of the pony Lita was controlling. If she didn’t listen carefully, she might not have noticed.

“Something’s nearby.” Lita quickly warned. Saixiliya immediately fell silent, allowing Lita to perceive the surroundings in a quieter environment.

Lita heard it more clearly now: the rustling of claws stepping on snow, mixed with low growls and heavy breathing. So, it was this side.

A faint, barely noticeable pink shot out from under Lita’s cloak. A pained whimper followed from the dense forest where the pink disappeared, then came the sound of something falling and rolling on the snow—loud enough for Saixiliya to hear.

Next, a sharp, piercing wolf howl rang out, echoing long over the pale snowfield. Saixiliya couldn’t help but shiver, not from the cold, but from that mournful howl.

Through the carriage window, Saixiliya saw several massive figures gradually reveal their true forms in the dense woods on both sides of the road. Wolves—but far larger than any wolf Saixiliya knew. Their gray fur blended perfectly with the silvery snow, the best camouflage.

Saixiliya knew, of course, that these were Ice Plains Wolves. But when those cold words turned into living, running creatures, the shock left her momentarily speechless. They were running, maintaining almost the same speed as the carriage Saixiliya was riding in, slowly closing in.

Even though the wolves’ heads weren’t facing her, Saixiliya could feel a chilling gaze peering at her from their rolling green eyes.

Thud.

Another Ice Plains Wolf collapsed. Saixiliya couldn’t even see what had happened to it, but without a doubt, Lita had struck again.

“Hmph.” Lita clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Killing just one Ice Plains Wolf wouldn’t change anything. Even before she’d killed the first one, the carriage had already been surrounded by Ice Plains Wolves. Their encirclement was just too wide, which was why Lita hadn’t noticed them in time.

“Lady Saixiliya, no need to worry. It’s just some wolves.” Lita reassured her. A pink lance suddenly thrust up from the snow, precisely piercing the lower jaw of an Ice Plains Wolf. In a place where no one could see, Lita could freely use her Dream Demon abilities. This kind of unconstrained combat felt quite exhilarating to her.

But even after killing three Ice Plains Wolves, they still showed no sign of retreating. They didn’t even seem afraid, constantly tightening their encirclement.

‘These monsters on the snowfield are a bit annoying.’

“Pearl, keep driving properly. Lady Saixiliya, don’t worry. I’ll deal with them quickly.” Lita patted Pearl’s neck, and black wings spread from her waist. The chill that hit her back made Lita shiver.

‘So cold! Why is it so cold!’

Lita gritted her teeth. Her silver-white sword had already taken off the head of an Ice Plains Wolf. The massive wolf head tumbled onto the ground, splattering blood that melted into wet, then frozen, red holes on the pure white snow. Lita’s blade traced an arc without slowing, and several more Ice Plains Wolves fell to this attack, leaving more blood blossoms on the snow.

Just as Lita killed a batch of Ice Plains Wolves, another gray-white figure shot out like an arrow from a snowbank to the side, lunging straight for the throat of Lita’s beloved pony, Pearl. It was a massive Ice Plains Wolf, its fur almost blending into the snow, only its gloomy green eyes and the gaping mouth full of gleaming white fangs carrying the chill of death.

Pfft.

Lita’s sword, rushing back to defend, struck first. The giant wolf didn’t even have time to yelp before its huge head was sent flying. The headless body ran forward a few more steps by inertia before heavily crashing onto the frozen ground.

“Neeeigh—” The horse pulling the carriage reared up on its hind legs. Clearly, the Ice Plains Wolf that had nearly bitten its neck off had brought it considerable fear.

But that brief pause gave the Ice Plains Wolves even more opportunities. The remaining dozen wolves immediately formed an encirclement and surged toward Lita.

‘Damn, the horse got spooked.’

Charm Magic was just charm magic. It could control creatures, but couldn’t force them to throw themselves into death’s jaws. In real combat, at the moment of life and death, the horse’s fear of death had caused Lita’s charm magic to temporarily lose its effect, putting both her and Saixiliya in danger.

‘In that case, I guess I’ll…’

Lita was about to counterattack when she heard a sharp whistling sound from afar tear through the winter.

The leading Ice Plains Wolf’s head suddenly exploded into a spray of blood. An arrow had entered through its pupil, pierced through its skull, and emerged from the fur on the other side. The wolf’s heavy body was knocked sideways by a tremendous force, crashing into a companion beside it, and the two wolves tumbled together.

Then came several more soft whistles. Two other charging Ice Plains Wolves were hit in vital spots in nearly the same way, whimpering as they fell. The wolf pack’s assault faltered.

Before the first arrow sound, Lita had already retracted her wings. Now, combining her attacks with the arrows, Lita swung her sword several times and killed several more Ice Plains Wolves.

‘Last time someone shot arrows from the shadows, it was Xingxian. I was actually on alert. But when I judged that the arrow was aimed at the Ice Plains Wolves, not my carriage, I relaxed and started attacking.’

The remaining Ice Plains Wolves turned around a few times with their tails drooping, abandoned the corpses of their dead companions, and fled at full speed toward the forest.

Lita thrust her sword into the head of an Ice Plains Wolf, propped her hand on the hilt, and turned to look in the direction the arrow had come from.

At the same time, the archer had already put away her bow and urged her horse toward Lita. Following behind her were four or five guards wearing standardized military uniforms.

As she drew closer, Lita could see more clearly. She was a girl with ice-blue hair, skin as pale as the snow everywhere, and a gray cloak draped over her—apparently made from the fur of an Ice Plains Wolf.

“Thank you. Without you, we might have been in trouble.” Lita pulled out her sword.

“Winter is coming. Crossing the winter in the Northlands at this time is very dangerous. Not just Ice Plains Wolves—many things are lurking in the shadows.” The blue-haired girl dismounted, stepped on a dead Ice Plains Wolf, and pulled out her arrow with effort.

The arrowhead was half the size of Lita’s palm, shaped like a shovel. Lita had learned about this kind of arrow when she fought against Xingxian—it was used for hunting large animals at medium to close range, usually targeting the lungs, head, or joints to incapacitate them. For someone to shoot such arrows, her aim and arm strength were quite impressive.

“From the way you move, even without my help, it probably wouldn’t have been a real crisis for you. For someone with skills like yours to come to the Northlands, is there something important you need to do?”

The girl asked casually, but Lita noticed that the girl’s followers had their eyes fixed on her. Though they were somewhat wary, they showed no hostility. It seemed that behind her carefree question lay a test of Lita.

Before Lita could speak, the carriage door creaked open. The guards shifted their gazes at the same time, hands that had been about to reach for their weapons dropping before they could lift them.

“With your ice-blue hair, if I’m not mistaken, you must be from the Snow family, right?”

Saixiliya’s voice rang out. Then Lita saw Saixiliya, dressed like a polar bear, jump down from the carriage, her boots sinking into the snow.

“If I may ask, are you Lady Lyanna Snow, Brandon Snow’s sister?”

Lyanna’s eyebrows lifted slightly. She warily looked Saixiliya up and down. When she spotted the strand of golden hair peeking out from under Saixiliya’s thick coat, she immediately relaxed, clutched the bundle of arrowheads in both hands, crossed them over her chest, and bowed her head with a force that signaled a respectful greeting—one Lita did not understand.

“You are correct, Your Highness, the Fourth Princess. May I ask what brings you here?”

“I need to travel to the Everfrost Wasteland beyond the Great Wall. But before that, I think I should first visit Lord Brandon, the city lord of Snowfall City.” Saixiliya stood in the snow, slightly raising her palm as if returning the gesture.

Lyanna straightened up, but her expression turned somewhat unpleasant, as if Saixiliya’s words had caused her deep distress.

“Your Highness, the Fourth Princess, forgive my impertinence.” Lyanna’s throat bobbed heavily. “Might I ask if you, like the Second Princess, have come because of the matter concerning the Everfrost Wasteland?”