288: Chapter 282 The Legacy from Ice and Snow

After Avril stepped into the Magic Tower, what she saw was wind and snow filling the sky.

The snow fell from an unknown source, fluttering down until her entire field of vision was a vast expanse of white.

She reached out, and a snowflake landed gently on her palm, slowly melting into clear snow water that flowed along the lines of her hand.

Exhaling a pillaring breath of cold air, Avril lowered her hand and looked around.

The heavy snow obstructed her view, making it impossible to see where the road was, but she could faintly feel a gentle voice calling to her from somewhere.

Like a mother separated from her child for a long time, it was filled with anticipation and warmth.

Based on her analysis of books regarding her ancestors, this should be a connection from her bloodline, growing clearer as time passed.

Looking up, the confusion in Avril's eyes was replaced by clarity—there it was.

Closing her eyes tightly, she no longer relied on visual perception of the world, following her instincts forward, or perhaps to the right, or even backward.

Avril didn't know which direction she was walking, but she knew in her heart that she couldn't be wrong.

Thus, her steps were firm.

She didn't know how much time had passed or where she had arrived; she only knew she kept walking, on and on.

The snowflakes seemed to grow denser, feeling cool against her face, yet her feet didn't feel the sensation of sinking into accumulated snow.

After what seemed like an eternity, a voice sounded in her ear.

"You've come."

Slowly opening her eyes, the same snow was before her, and the surroundings were still a vast white, yet something seemed different.

Avril didn't spend much time thinking; her attention was quickly drawn to a figure standing in the wind and snow not far away.

Andre stood there with his hands behind his back, while the King and two stranger old men sat cross-legged on the snow, their heads bowed as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.

This scene was somewhat different from the picture she had imagined.

Perhaps sensing the surprise in Avril's heart, Andre smiled and said, "To be abandoned by the gods, this is the end result.

As creatures of the earth, why should we resist the gods?

Just because of our ancestors' stupidity?

They destroyed the Ice and Snow and also angered the gods."

At this moment, Andre tore off the hypocritical mask he had worn for a hundred years, revealing the hideous reality beneath.

His chest puffed out, and his tone was filled with the confidence of one who controlled everything.

Avril's quiet, ice-colored pupils showed a hint of disdain: "Royal Brother, if it were truly as you say, you wouldn't be telling me all this."

"Who do you think you are? Defying the gods? Just based on you and that arrogant and ignorant old fool, Potter?!"

Without refuting her, Andre directly broke into mockery.

Answering irrelevantly and responding with foul language is generally called—his composure breaking.

Although Avril was distant from this royal brother of hers, it didn't mean she didn't understand him.

On the contrary, having long anticipated that they would eventually become enemies, she had studied Andre early on.

He was a coward who constantly displayed strength and pride just to hide the weakness buried in his heart.

Andre continued to curse for a while, but seeing that Avril's expression remained unruffled, he felt he was becoming a bit exasperated.

Stopping himself, he restrained his excitement and smiled again: "It doesn't matter, everything is about to end."

Hearing this, Avril glanced at the three men sitting withered on the ground: "Since you despise the inheritance of Ice and Snow, why use secret techniques to increase your bloodline concentration?"

"Power knows no good or evil. If it's usable, why wouldn't I use it?"

"With your strength, you couldn't subdue them. Jarvis is blocked in the church by Blova, so who are you relying on?"

"The god gazed upon me."

When the topic turned to strength, Andre felt capable again.

Earlier, when he learned that Blova and Pestoya could actually stall Jarvis, he felt an immediate sense of unease, hesitating whether to flee the Royal Capital at once.

He knew very well about the Blood Sacrifice Array; his father, the King, was even more familiar with it.

Knowing that if he stayed too long, there was a high probability he would be used as a sacrifice, becoming a stepping stone for the King to ascend to Epic.

Who knew that before he could reach a conclusion, a divine oracle suddenly sounded in his ear.

It was a strange language he had never heard before; logically, he shouldn't have been able to understand the content at all, but the reality was that he understood it easily.

The god bestowed a cost-free True Word Spell.

Relying on this single "True Word," he first feigned panic, and once the King initiated the inheritance, he suddenly struck and incapacitated the three Saint-levels.

It was for this reason that his faith in the god became even more solid.

Avril was not surprised by this.

She understood the situation in the Royal Capital and the various factions very well; Andre had no outside help at all, except for the luminous figure hanging in the sky.

She was just a bit confused; the god's power was beyond doubt, so why be so obsessed with wiping out the Ice and Snow?

Since they were fixated on it, why wait ten thousand years before appearing?

Feeling she couldn't figure it out, Avril set it aside for now and looked at Andre: "The Magic Tower has already opened, and I have arrived. What are you still waiting for?"

"Heh, no need to rush." Andre looked up at the snow-filled sky, "The Magic Tower has not yet fully activated."

After speaking, he gave a mocking look: "By the way, I'm waiting for the moment your dream comes true. Oh, sorry, he's already dead. It's impossible for him to descend from the sky and save you like in your dream."

My dream...

Avril's gaze drifted for a moment before she said calmly, "You don't understand."

A simple sentence almost made Andre's composure break again.

He indeed didn't understand. With death imminent, why was she still so composed?

What was the basis for your bravado?!

Taking a deep breath to calm his rising irritation, his expression turned cold: "Very well, it seems that fool's death truly taught you maturity.

But unfortunately, your feigned calmness is meaningless."

Andre reached out, watching more snowflakes land on his palm, sensing the magic power around him that had already reached its limit: "Aren't you going to try resisting?"

"I'm waiting."

He looked up in confusion: "Waiting for what?"

"Waiting for what you are waiting for."

As the words fell, the Magic Tower seemed to have successfully activated.

The gravity inside the tower seemed to strengthen, and the snow falling from the sky suddenly plunged down, instantly freezing the three seated men into ice sculptures.

The ice seemed to have life, frantically refining the bloodlines of the three men.

Their bodies gradually shrank, and when they disappeared completely, three azure, transparent, crystal-like snowflakes drifted down from above toward the ground.

"Hahaha... success, success!

I am the King of Ice and Snow!"

Andre laughed wildly and flew into the air to grab them.

However, the snowflakes strangely avoided his hand and landed in Avril's palm, turning into snow water and then seeping into her skin.

The sudden turn of events left Andre landing in confusion, staring blankly at his pale, open-palmed hand.

"How... did this happen?"

Avril seemed to have expected this: "You betrayed the Ice and Snow, betrayed the ancestors. Why did you think you could gain their recognition?"

Royal Brother, our ancestor, the Ice and Snow King, was a hero who had the courage to be an enemy of the gods.

They look down on useless fools, and even more so on cowards.

With the prize snatched from under his nose, Andre truly went mad this time.

He had already used the True Word Spell, and after this upheaval, Lake's few precious Saint-levels would be exhausted.

If he didn't receive the Ice and Snow inheritance to ascend to the Saint-level, even if the City Lords, full of rage, spared him, the neighboring countries would not miss such a golden opportunity to annex Lake.

Thus, he went completely insane.

He yanked a long spear from his Storage Pouch and swung it, stabbing at Avril, who stood still with her eyes closed: "You are all sacrifices!"

The spear tip, flashing with cold light, pierced the air and arrived before her in an instant. Just as it was about to touch the tip of her nose, a finger appeared from the side.

Slightly bent, then flicked straight.

*Clang—*

The spear tip was flicked away. Relying on combat instinct, Andre retreated abruptly, backing away over ten meters. He held the spear across his body in a defensive stance, frowning as he looked up.

Seeing the old man beside Avril, he froze: "It's you?"

"Yes, it's me." Servant nodded in response, then ignored him, pointing his index finger at Avril, "God said, you shall... *cough*... transcend..."

These words seemed to exhaust his last bit of strength. His already hunched body finally collapsed, turning into a sky full of light points that scattered and vanished.

True Word Spell? Who is he? Why does he know the True Word Spell?

Doubt filled his mind, but Andre only pondered for a moment before his gaze returned to Avril, who stood there with her eyes closed.

She is receiving the inheritance; I can't let her succeed!

His expression became fierce as he raised his spear and charged.

Perhaps frightened by the series of accidents, he changed his target to her heart.

Seeing the spear tip about to pierce Avril's chest, excitement surged uncontrollably in Andre's eyes.

No one can stop me now!

However, he was happy too soon.

An Ice Cone shot out from the side, its powerful force directly knocking the spear askew.

While Andre was looking bewildered, a large foot flew through the air and kicked him squarely in the right cheek.

Probably somewhat mentally worn down by the torments, he even forgot to tense his body to resist. He flew backward, crashing onto the snow and sliding another ten meters before reacting, slapping the ground to stand upright.

The force of this kick was very weak; it didn't even break his skin, but it felt... the size of the foot looked a bit familiar.

He remembered now—it was that annoying fellow just like Zhang Mu.

Looking up, sure enough, the Lord of Gur City named Eji stood before Avril, holding a staff.

After being interrupted time and again, Andre was no longer angry; he regained his reason in an absurd way.

Then he immediately noticed something strange.

An Ice Cone was a Trainee spell. Even if Eji were a Magister and had practiced the Ice Cone spell to perfection, it shouldn't have been able to knock aside his full-strength strike.

Also, I've looked through this guy's records; isn't his magic power fire-attributed?

Andre's spear butt hit the ground, his face full of confusion: "You have dual attributes?"

Zhang Mu couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind, raising his staff: "When you're dead, I'll burn it for you next year."

Burn it for me?

Although he didn't understand the meaning, he could guess it wasn't anything good.

Moreover, time was pressing for him, so he raised his spear and stabbed toward him: "A Great Knight is slightly inferior to a Magister, but this is the Magic Tower, the domain of Ice and Snow!"

With a loud shout, the entirely black spear began to show icy blue spots from the inside out.

The spots expanded rapidly, their edges touching, soon covering the entire spear body.

"You truly make me feel regretful."

"Eji" said something mysterious, waving his staff as a Magic Shield rose before him, while his mouth chanted: "Stras Falling Spirit!"

The spear tip hit the Magic Shield, paused for only an instant, and then pierced through.

Andre's expression was stunned, and the confusion in his heart grew even deeper.

A Magister's Magic Shield is this fragile?

Unable to figure it out, he could only attribute it to "Eji" not having obtained high-grade defensive magic.

You really are an unlucky fellow.

His spirits rose; he had thought it would be a hard fight, but it turned out to be easily resolved.

The hand holding the spear added another measure of force, intending to impale the two people standing one behind the other.

The plan was beautiful, but execution didn't go smoothly.

The spear tip pierced halfway into "Eji's" chest, but he somehow found the strength to suddenly fly backward, picking up Avril along the way to avoid the spear.

"Trying to escape?!" Andre gritted his teeth and thrust his spear in pursuit.

*Boom—*

Something massive smashed down between the two parties, kicking up a large amount of snow.

Sweeping away several clumps of snow with his spear, he looked intently as a towering rock giant straightened its back.

Stras Falling Spirit?

Andre had heard of this magic, known as invincible at the Master-level.

But isn't it an earth-attributed magic?

Fire, Ice, Earth...

"You have triple attributes?!"

"Triple my ass."

Zhang Mu was also quite irritable now, laying Avril flat on the snow and pointing the tip of his staff forward: "Solar Storm!"

A light brightened overhead.

Andre knew this was "Eji's" famous magic, with terrifying power; if he were hit directly by the light, he would lose a layer of skin even if he didn't die, so he kicked off the ground and retreated.

The Fallen Spirit obviously wouldn't let him have his way.

A huge fist came from above, smashing down several paces ahead in the direction he was fleeing.

Before the fist arrived, the gale it whipped up reached him first. Andre was forced to stop; if he retreated further, he would take both the fist and the scorching.

In desperation, he could only surge all his magic power to prepare to endure the Solar Storm.

"Just die already!"

Seeing his retreat cut off, Zhang Mu laughed loudly, pouring all his magic power into the "sun" in mid-air.

The light grew increasingly bright and blinding. Andre instinctively squeezed his eyelids shut, his hands spinning the spear like a windmill: "Shield Guard!"

After a brief period of brewing and expanding, the "sun" finally exploded.

Bright light that seemed to incinerate all filth filled the surroundings. Andre's vision was completely overtaken; he couldn't see what was happening, only feeling his skin being scorched, melting and peeling off.

"Ahhh!!!" The wail seemed to come from the deepest part of hell, sharp and piercing.

He could no longer care about the spear slipping from his hands; he clawed at his face desperately, trying to alleviate the heart-piercing pain.

Having released two high-level spells in succession, one of which was rank-surpassing, Zhang Mu's body could not withstand the wild thrashing of the violent magic and exploded, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

After resurrecting, he gave the Fallen Spirit an order: "Stomp him to death."

The faint blue in the Fallen Spirit's eye sockets flickered, and its broad foot was raised and brought down.

The heaven shook and the earth trembled; the Magic Tower seemed unable to bear the power, and the surrounding space seemed to be stirred by a palm, becoming distorted.

Zhang Mu sensed it keenly and immediately bent down, intending to pick up Avril and escape.

Whether on Blue Star or the Saul Continent, space was an extremely mysterious existence.

Space-attribute Professionals dying from their own magic was no longer a rarity on the Saul Continent.

The Magic Tower looked majestic from the outside, but compared to its vast interior, spatial techniques were clearly used during its construction.

If it exploded, who knew what would happen?

Fortunately, the Magic Tower itself was tough enough, and the spatial fluctuations slowly subsided.

Sighing in relief, Zhang Mu stood up, ran to the big guy's foot, and jumped up to pat its toes.

It understood and moved its foot away.

Zhang Mu's gaze searched left and right but didn't see Andre's body.

Was he stomped into meat paste? Even then, there should be some scraps.

Adhering to the principle of wanting to see the person if alive or the corpse if dead, he jumped into the huge footprint pit and used his staff to rummage through the packed snow.

"Zhang Mu, what are you doing?" Avril's calm voice came from behind him.