Chapter 281 (1): Frozen Land x Market of Darkness

Frozen Land.

A silent silver world stretched endlessly. As far as the eye could see, white sky and white earth merged. Everything visible was blanketed in ice and snow. Occasionally, layers of ice cracked with soft explosions, breaking the deathly silence.

The Frozen Land was also known as the Abandoned Land or the Dark Land. ‘Dark’ wasn’t a descriptor for the polar night of the cold season, but rather referring to the fact that the land was a no-life zone that had been abandoned by the gods. The radiance of faiths could never reach the shores of the Frozen Land. Hence, it was a forsaken, dead land overtaken by darkness, devoid of light.

That was the true meaning of the Abandoned Land and the Dark Land.

Coincidentally, it was now July, and Wayne and co had arrived just in time for the Frozen Land’s polar night. A deep, mysterious canvas draped across the sky, spreading an endless darkness. It felt as if they were at the edge of the universe.

The sun was beneath the horizon, and its faint, hazy light couldn’t reach the starry sky or the endless cold. The Milky Way was clearly visible. The world in polar night resembled a vast black velvet sprinkled with twinkling stars, barely dispelling the darkness and bringing a hint of warmth and light to the eternally frozen land.

The green dragon braved through strong gusts, reaching the fringe of the Frozen Land. Its massive figure descended from the sky, transforming into a stunning beauty with cascading blonde hair upon landing.

Amid pristine white snow, her graceful figure appeared pure and flawless like a blooming flower of crystals, elegant, noble, and with an absolute purity that must not be tainted.

Goodness, she doesn’t even try to cover herself up!

x2

Silvia hurriedly produced a robe to cover her master’s perfect body, while Veronica covered her fiancé’s eyes and warned him not to look.

There’s nothing to look at. I’ve seen it countless times.

Wayne looked away like a proper gentleman. The world was black above and white below. The way the two colors intersected made the entire Frozen Land seem like a deep blue ocean, magnificent and breathtaking in its beauty. If they were lucky, they might even see the aurora during this trip.

Senna rejected the robe that Silvia offered her and opened her personal storage to put on her more form-fitted one. Intentionally or not, she also put on stockings.

Given Senna’s life essence, she didn’t fear the cold and could run around just fine even at a hundred degrees below zero. Not just her, Silvia and Veronica weren’t afraid of extreme cold, either. They wore combat suits woven with drake scales with one-piece dresses for autumn on top, traveling light. To show respect for the Frozen Land, they added thick coats.

Wayne wasn’t fond of the Frozen Land due to the lack of fire elements. Instead, wind and water elements were abundant, and his two old friends, emboldened by fire’s absence, kept dodging his attempts to capture them.

Senna closed her eyes to sense their surroundings. After a moment, she took a compass-like magical tool from her clothes and determined a direction, leading the way at the front.

“The Frozen Land is vast. Many legendary mages have come over the years, each with different goals. Many chose to leave their legacies deep within the ice...” Senna said slowly. “Most numerous are the legendary mages from the Church of Darkness. They favor such lasting darkness, either active in the north or the south pole.”

Senna gave them a crash course, inadvertently revealing the location of the Church of Darkness’s headquarters—in the icy world of the North Pole rather than the Frozen Land they currently roamed.

Wayne was disinterested, while Veronica listened intently, looking at the compass in Senna’s hand curiously.

Senna glanced at her and raised an eyebrow to provoke her. Wayne sent a mental warning telling Senna to behave.

Senna reluctantly let it go. “It isn’t easy to go deep into the Frozen Land, so many teleportation circles are set up on the fringe, covering the entire continent like a net. These are the Church of Darkness’s handiwork. We can use those circles to reach the outer perimeter of the South Pole as quickly as possible.”

“Does Aus—does the Darkness Knight know?” Silvia asked.

“I told Wayne, so I assume he’s already informed the Darkness Knight,” Senna replied.

You told him? When? You two haven’t been alone these past few days!

x2

Silvia’s head throbbed, worried that her son would become her master’s partner; Veronica reacted similarly, clutching her fiancé’s arm and glaring daggers at her.

When did they have the conversation? Why didn’t she know?

Wayne sighed in resignation, telling Senna telepathically to tone it down, or he would reimpose his restrictions, and Senna would suffer for it.

You don’t want to turn into white foam in front of your student and lose your image as a stern master, do you?

Go ahead.

Senna responded with a smile. Her body and thoughts were beyond salvation. Her corrupted thoughts drove her to constantly get closer to her faith, so what was wrong with following her will?

Her resentful response gave Wayne a headache. He guessed that after her resistance failed, Senna had resigned herself to her fate and given up.

He hurriedly responded that while he bore some responsibility for how things turned out, the main fault lay with Senna. If she hadn’t insisted on getting insurance and thus assaulted him with her thoughts, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Senna didn’t take his words to heart. The moment she gave up, she instantly felt like the world had gotten bigger. She felt good now.

“Calm down. Your faith doesn’t like easy conquests. He prefers the unruly Senna you once were. If you really want to cater to your faith, you have to keep your dignity.”

While Wayne sent the message, he heard her inner voice and quickly scanned her mind, seeing nothing but desires. He hastily added, “I’m working on something that will guarantee the recovery of your self. You’ll no longer be a slave to your faith. The research has seen great results.”

Senna was surprised. She unpacked the compressed information Wayne had sent her with cautious hope, and as the data flooded into her mind, she realized that he hadn’t lied.

“Master, would you really be kind enough to let me go?”

“Yeah.”

“Am I not beautiful?”

“Um, that isn’t the problem. The fact that you have such thoughts is.” Wayne criticized her bluntly before making a candid promise. “Just hold on for a little longer. Stay rational. Once we’re back to Londan, and my research makes a breakthrough, I’ll restore your freedom.”

Senna was excited, but with the excitement came a profound sense of disappointment. She didn’t understand what made her any inferior to those three girls, Veronica, Kristen, and Vera. Just because there were three of them?

The thoughts didn’t escape Wayne, naturally, leaving him thoroughly stunned. Once upon a time... It hadn’t actually been that long ago. When he was at the Church of Nature’s headquarters, Senna had resisted and struggled in various ways; now, though, she was reluctant to take the freedom he offered.

Evolution was terrifying!

Wayne worked hard to persuade her, putting in considerable effort to emphasize that her faith preferred strong women, which finally made her pull herself together and try to reclaim her old self.

“Master, my student Silvia fits your preferences perfectly. Should I find an opportunity to take out Auston?”

Wayne rolled his eyes and added another layer of restriction to Senna, forbidding her from entertaining such wild ideas. He also corrected her form of address: she was no longer allowed to call him ‘master’.

The four of them traveled through the bitter wind, unaffected by the harsh climate of the South Pole. Soon, Senna found the nearest teleportation circle.

It was located beneath a layer of ice, sealed by ice as hard as a boulder. Senna spread her fingers, and the cutting cold wind gathered from all directions, condensing into a white line at her fingertips.

With a point, the blade of cold wind cut through the ice like butter. A hint of green spread, and thriving vines pushed the solid ice apart, clearing a passage to the teleportation circle.

As expected of a Dragonblood with a brain, this was a piece of cake for her.

Wayne glanced at Veronica. Without a doubt, his idiot would have immediately thrown punches at the ice. Although she would still manage to clear a passage, she wouldn’t have been as elegant and composed as Senna while doing it.

Senna jumped down, falling into the ten-meter-deep ice cave. Ahead, glacial passages spread in all directions, forming a vast underground network.

Silvia followed close behind. Looking at the fluorescent magic stones frozen in the ice, she crushed the ice with bare hands and extracted a stone to examine it.

“This seems to be the Church of Sun’s handiwork, sealing sunlight in magic stones. It should be a Gold-ranked mage...”

“It’s a Gold-ranked mage from the Church of Darkness. Although the Church of Sun favors midnight sun, they failed in the battle for the poles and were driven out of both regions by the Church of Darkness.”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Senna shared the secrets that only the higher-ups of the churches knew. “The Life Alliance’s battle against Darkness and Death may seem like three against two at first glance, but in reality, it’s one-on-one and two-on-one...”

“The Church of Nature sees the Church of Death as an enemy, while the Church of Sun and Church of Moonlight see the Church of Darkness as an enemy. It’s in line with the faiths we each represent. Nature and death contradict, and light and darkness stand in opposition.”

“Allow me to interject, Master Senna.” Wayne raised his hand. “Based on what I’ve recently learned, the Church of Darkness and the Church of Sun have worked together. How would you explain that?”

The five chosen knights were supposed to stand guard in the Frozen Land together—the Headless Knight was compromised now, so he didn’t count.

Just look at Thoggua, an ancient god’s follower. Their head was sealed in the black mountains, and after the Church of Darkness’s Holy Maiden failed to reinforce the seal, Vera’s parents led a team there to complete the mission. It was too much of a coincidence. Clearly, the two churches had maintained a line of communication.

“Just call me Senna.”

“Alright, Master Senna.”

“Fine. If you like the teacher-student dynamic better, you can keep calling me that.”

“Alright, Senna.”

“...” x2

Their banter made Silvia’s teeth clatter and Veronica’s head burn. Clearly, her son/fiancé was the one being pursued.

How absurd!