Chapter 561: Reaching the Ice Emperor City

Third Person’s POV

Some flowed calmly beneath layers of frost while others moved violently, carrying chunks of floating ice as they travelled into the far distance.

Large frozen lakes also appeared from time to time across the plains, their surfaces smooth and crystalline beneath the dim light filtering through the cloudy sky.

As one continued travelling further into the distance, something enormous finally began to emerge upon the horizon.

At first, it was merely a faint blue line stretching across the world.

But as the distance closed little by little, towering blue walls slowly became visible.

They rose far into the sky with an imposing majesty that made the frozen plains themselves seem smaller in comparison.

From tens of kilometres away, the city only appeared to possess a vague circular outline upon the horizon, but as one approached closer and closer, those massive walls gradually filled one’s entire vision until nothing else remained visible except their colossal expanse stretching endlessly across the frozen land.

The walls themselves looked as though they had been carved from ancient blue ice and reinforced over countless years as they radiated a cold and majestic aura beneath the dim northern sky.

And finally, a gigantic white gate came into view.

The enormous entrance stood embedded within the towering walls like the mouth of some ancient frozen beast and was guarded by thick defensive towers and layers of magical formations that faintly shimmered beneath the snowstorm.

It was the entrance to the Ice Emperor City.

At that moment, the white-hooded Erius, his maternal grandfather Ivan Froststar, and the green-robed plant mage finally arrived before the city after their long journey through the frozen wilderness.

However, unlike ordinary travellers or nobles returning openly with grand processions, the three had chosen not to reveal themselves publicly.

To avoid unnecessary attention and keep both their identities and their newly acquired prize hidden from prying eyes, they were currently travelling inside a large magical carriage that appeared ordinary from the outside despite the powerful enchantments hidden within it.

The carriage itself was wide and reinforced heavily with magic formations beneath its wooden exterior that allowed it to travel smoothly across the icy terrain while concealing the powerful auras contained inside.

Within the dim interior of that carriage rested the chained blue coffin.

The heavy magical chains still remained tightly wrapped around its dark blue surface and faintly glowed from time to time with cold runic light as if suppressing whatever mystery lay sleeping within it.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was quiet and heavy.

Only the dull sounds of the wheels grinding against frozen snow and the distant howling winds outside accompanied their silent return toward the enormous Ice Emperor City looming ahead of them.

Inside the carriage, Erius currently sat across from the chained ice coffin while a beautiful green-haired elf rested comfortably within his arms.

The elf woman possessed long dark green hair that flowed smoothly over her smooth white shoulders like silk, while her long trademark ears marked her unmistakably as a member of the wood elf race.

Multiple thin green rings decorated her ears, each engraved faintly with tiny nature runes that glimmered softly whenever the carriage passed through light.

Her eyes carried the same rich dark green shade as her hair, deep and vivid like the forests of spring after rainfall.

She was dressed in a revealing green strap top that tightly wrapped around her upper body and barely managed to contain her large chest, while her snow white skin contrasted beautifully against the darker green of her clothes and hair.

Her features were soft and cute rather than sharp or seductive.

Her face possessed a slightly round shape that only enhanced her youthful beauty further, making her appearance charming and delicate despite the dangerous aura she carried beneath that exterior.

The hood that had previously concealed her identity during the battle was now gone completely, and if any experienced traveler or mage had been present there, they would have recognized her immediately as a pureblood member of the wood elf race.

At the moment, she sat sideways upon Erius’s thighs as if it were the most natural thing in the world, her slim fingers lightly touching the dark blue coffin while she examined it with an unusually serious expression.

The lord of Froststar City, Ivan Froststar, was not present inside the carriage currently and was instead personally driving it from outside.

Though such a task normally would never be performed by someone of his status, he preferred giving his grandson privacy with his lover while also ensuring that no unwanted attention was drawn toward the carriage.

The atmosphere inside was quiet and heavy.

Both Erius and the elf woman had long since lost the relaxed expressions they previously carried after finally gaining enough time to properly inspect the mysterious coffin they had obtained.

And the more they observed it, the more troubling the situation became.

They had realized something alarming that neither of them possessed a method to break the restrictive spell sealing the coffin lid, though they didn’t know that this spell had been placed by none other than the Ice Emperor’s city and Erius and Arlene’s aunt herself.

The simple looking but actually complex ice seal woven around the coffin surface was far more profound and complicated than they had initially expected.

Perhaps Ivan Froststar possessed some method or understanding regarding it, but due to the urgency of escaping the mountains and returning quickly to the Ice Emperor City, he had not yet taken the time to study the coffin carefully.

Just as the wood elf woman narrowed her green eyes thoughtfully while tracing one of the glowing chains wrapped around the coffin, the carriage suddenly slowed.

Outside, a stern shout echoed through the snowy streets.

"Halt!!"

Two guards clad in tight blue icy armour had stepped before the carriage after it passed through the commoners’ gate of the Ice Emperor City.

One of them was clearly the captain.

His aura was much stronger than that of ordinary soldiers, and his experienced instincts immediately told him that something about this seemingly ordinary carriage felt suspicious.