Third Person’s POV

He was a peak Crystal Formation Realm expert who had earned the position of captain of one of the twenty-four city gates of the Ice Emperor City, the Northern Glacial Region’s power centre, purely through years of merit, discipline, and bloody effort.

The two guards approached the carriage cautiously and stopped before the masked driver, who was obviously Ivan Froststar, while he had concealed his identity.

The captain had just opened his mouth to interrogate the driver when Ivan casually tossed a small coin pouch toward him.

The captain caught it instinctively, and for a moment, both guards froze.

Then the captain’s expression darkened with anger and disdain.

"How dare you attempt to bribe us? Do you take us for corrupt gua—"

His voice abruptly stopped midway because the masked driver had slightly opened the pouch toward him.

The instant the captain saw what rested inside, his entire expression changed completely.

The earlier anger on his face vanished instantly, and in its place appeared an almost flattering smile in an instant, shocking the nearby guard at the captain’s ability to change himself into bootlicking mode so fast.

"Ah... apologies, sir," the captain said hurriedly while stepping aside respectfully.

"You may proceed. Sorry for interrupting your journey."

The other guard stared in confusion and shock at the sudden change in attitude, but he did not dare question his superior openly.

Soon, the plain-looking magical carriage continued moving again and gradually disappeared into the bustling snowy roads ahead.

Only after it vanished into the crowds did the second guard finally gather enough courage to speak.

But before he could even ask anything, the captain suddenly turned and walked back toward their garrison while saying only one sentence in a cold voice,

"Forget about what happened here."

The younger guard immediately shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, after entering his private room inside the garrison building, the captain hurriedly closed the door before opening the pouch completely.

Inside rested three shining purple crystal coins.

They were cold to the touch and had no designs on them.

They appeared completely normal, but looking at them, he inhaled several deep breaths before finally calming himself, as he knew that they were anything but normal.

Crystal coins were a common currency used in the Dark Star Continent, and one purple crystal coin was worth a thousand blue crystal coins.

With merely five such purple crystal coins, one could purchase an average Sky Realm magic weapon or obtain a precious mana-elevating potion that was effective even for Sky Realm experts.

And now, he had casually received three purple crystal coins merely for allowing a carriage to pass.

He had about three purple crystal coins himself in his savings, and combining these resulted in a total of six coins.

Just the thought of finally being able to purchase a powerful Sky Realm weapon for himself made excitement surge uncontrollably within his chest.

Meanwhile, the seemingly ordinary carriage continued traveling deeper into the Ice Emperor City, passing through wide snow-covered streets lined with bluish-white buildings and icy structures adorned with glowing frost crystals.

The city was lively despite the cold.

Mages, merchants, armored guards, magical beasts, and nobles moved through the snowy streets beneath the pale northern sky while cold mist drifted endlessly between the roads and rooftops.

Eventually, after crossing multiple districts, the carriage finally slowed before a tall three-story building situated within the market district that bordered the administrative district of the city.

The building itself looked fairly ordinary from the outside and appeared no different from the countless residential structures spread across the market district of the Ice Emperor City.

Its walls were coated in pale frost and snow, while its windows remained shut tightly against the ever-present cold winds sweeping through the city streets.

Nothing about it stood out.

It was neither decorated very ostentatiously nor were there any guards guarding it.

It simply blended quietly into the surroundings like an insignificant building owned by some wealthy merchant family.

The carriage gradually came to a halt beside it.

Inside, Erius immediately lowered his hood once again and concealed his face beneath shadows.

Beside him, the beautiful wood elf woman also returned to her earlier concealed state, her green hood falling over her delicate features and long ears until only faint glimpses of her sharp green eyes remained visible.

The two stepped down calmly from the carriage and approached the building entrance without attracting attention from the nearby pedestrians moving through the snowy streets.

When they reached the door, Erius raised his hand and touched the empty space just above the metallic handle.

At once, a complicated blue magical circle appeared upon the surface of the gate that glowed faintly beneath the dim light.

Layers of intricate runes rotated within the formation continuously, each connected by flowing lines of mana that formed a highly advanced locking mechanism.

At the same time, a second and much smaller magical circle appeared upon Erius’s index finger.

The smaller circle rotated rapidly while emitting a pale icy glow before he pressed it directly into the center of the larger magical formation.

The instant the two circles touched, the larger formation trembled slightly.

Its runes shifted, the magical lock dissolved silently, and the gate slowly opened inward on its own.

Meanwhile, outside the carriage, Ivan Froststar finally stepped down as well.

Without wasting time, he entered the carriage interior and covered the chained blue coffin beneath a magical blue shroud.

The shimmering cloth spread across the coffin smoothly and hid its unnatural appearance completely, making it resemble nothing more than an ordinary cargo container.

Only after ensuring everything was concealed properly did he pull the coffin outward using his mana and calmly enter the building behind the younger pair.

To any nearby observer, it merely looked like a merchant unloading goods into storage.

No one paid further attention to them, though once inside, the ordinary appearance of the building disappeared entirely.

The three entered a vast hall so enormous that it was completely impossible for such a space to exist within the dimensions of the modest building outside.