175: Chapter 175 My name is Aifarg

"My name is Aivage."

The heroic-looking young wizard stood at the edge of the ice rock, stating his name in a casual tone.

The wind on the ridge gently ruffled the hem of his magic robe, while the bronze buckle on the side of the leather backpack on his shoulder glinted softly.

"I'm a local from the Old Capital. I used to hold an idle position at the Comorion Magic Association. Recently, I heard there are still quite a few Noph-Keh hiding in the mountain ravine where the God of the Ivory Throne slumbers, so I wanted to grab a few to offer to the Lord of Immortality as slaves before that Old God wakes up."

He spoke naturally and fluently, without a single hitch.

Shifting his backpack higher, he glanced between the two pale wizards before asking in return, "You two look unfamiliar. Not locals from the Old Capital, are you? Refugees from the Northern Cities? Or even further north, from around Senges?"

"We indeed come from the north, but we are not refugees—we are followers. After the Lord of Immortality crushed Mu-Thuran, we actively sought out His servants and accepted His blessing."

After Duni finished speaking, his gaze lingered on Aivage's face, a sharp scrutiny flashing in his eyes.

"You claim to be a local of the Old Capital and a believer in the Lord of Immortality. But the Old Capital hasn't fallen yet, and faith in the Lord of Immortality isn't exactly public knowledge in Comorion. How do you prove you're one of The Chilling Ones? That you've truly received the Lord of Immortality's blessing?"

As he spoke, a halo of grayish-white magic power lit up silently at his fingertips, ready to activate a detection Spell at any moment.

Aivage didn't retreat, nor did he dodge.

He merely smiled naturally, took his hands off his backpack straps, and opened his palms facing upward in a standard "be my guest" gesture among the mages of Hyperborea.

"Test me as you like. Though I must state beforehand that I converted independently. I had no sponsor, never attended a formal sacrificial ritual, and never met the servants of the Lord of Immortality in the Northern Cities.

I found a handwritten Incomplete Manual that leaked out from Mu-Thuran in the Old Capital's library, and I completed my first blessing by following the methods written in it.

If you have any Spell used among The Chilling Ones to identify your own kind, test me now. Once you're done, we can discuss capturing the Noph-Keh."

Aivage was extremely confident, because he could sense that the two guys in front of him were not particularly adept with magic, and he was confident he could deceive them.

Duni tilted his head and exchanged looks with Uks Lodhan.

He then raised his right hand, his pale index finger tracing a magical symbol in the air.

A grayish-white halo of magical power spread out from his fingertip, forming a grayish-white film of light between the three of them.

This film of light quietly pressed against Aivage's skin, non-aggressive, merely making a sweep around his body.

The Faceless Lion slowly flapped its wings.

When the grayish-white film of light touched the magical pale layer on Aivage's cheek, it flashed once and slowly dissipated into the air.

Duni pulled his finger back, the scrutiny on his face finally relaxing a bit.

"You passed. The blessing on you is indeed the power of the Lord of Immortality. Although its concentration isn't high, the essence is correct. Reaching this level through independent conversion is no easy feat."

Uks Lodhan pulled his hands out from his sleeves, likely letting out a sigh of relief.

Aivage placed his hands back on his backpack straps.

"By the way, I saw a few descendants of the Juzhou Expeditionary Team heading south just now. Any thoughts? Catch them and offer them to the Lord of Immortality?"

Duni and Uks exchanged glances once more.

Duni spoke up, "We did consider it. Those Kyushu people know a lot of ancient intelligence about Hyperborea, so sacrificing them to the Lord of Immortality would definitely be a great achievement. But if we chase them now—though they're moving slowly with their wounded, so we'd still catch up in time—we originally came here for the resting place of the Ivory Throne. If we miss that group of Noph-Keh and only offer a few Kyushu people instead, the Lord of Immortality probably won't be satisfied."

Hearing this, Aivage naturally picked up the conversation, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I was hesitating too, but I heard there's another group that came to Hyperborea looking for the Ivory Throne. Their leader is a veil-wearing Kyushu person carrying the aura of several Old Gods.

I did divinations several times and couldn't predict his next move at all.

If he reaches the resting place first and lets all the Noph-Keh escape, or simply dismantles the Ivory Throne while Rhan-Tegoth slumbers, then when the Lord of Immortality asks for the Noph-Keh and the Ivory Throne and we have neither, how are we going to account for ourselves?

If we miss the Kyushu people, we can hunt them down slowly, but if the Ivory Throne is gone, it's truly gone. Let's secure the resting place first, then turn around to find those Kyushu people. They won't get far carrying their wounded, so they'll still be ours sooner or later."

Duni pondered for a moment, his fingers rubbing back and forth against his sleeve cuff several times, before turning to Uks.

Uks nodded.

Duni tucked both hands back into his sleeves, the suspicious scrutiny completely fading from his voice.

"Very well. We'll track that veiled man first and claim the Ivory Throne. The descendants of the Juzhou Expeditionary Team won't move fast carrying their wounded. Once we finish our main business, we can turn around and deal with them—it won't take long."

Clad in the chilly winds of Hyperborea, the three wizards reached a consensus on the ice rock.

They pursued deep into the mountain range following the tracks left by Xie Feng and the Noph-Keh. At the tail of the group, Aivage glanced back at the path they came from—toward the direction where Han Zheng and the others were slowly carrying the stretcher into the distance, eventually obscured by layers of dense forest.

After the group moved far away, the Faceless Lion slowly materialized from the frozen tundra, as if turning from transparency into a solid entity.

Its mouthless face turned toward the direction where the three had disappeared, the skin around its jaw wriggling imperceptibly, resembling a smirk or perhaps a long-suppressed boredom.

Then, Its form quietly melted into the morning light.

Below, having just crossed over a new ridge, Xie Feng felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

"Hss... Why do I feel like something's wrong?"

Tu Ziguan was currently adjusting his gun barrel that had been kicked out of alignment.

"What's wrong?"

"Hss, I don't know, it just feels off."

Sitting in the back, Third Princess looked ahead at a valley gradually coming into view.

"How is it? Is there anything strange?"

Xie Feng shook his head. Feeling carefully for a moment, it seemed nothing had actually happened after all, so he stopped worrying about it.

Brain Matter chimed in.

"It's right ahead, we're almost there. But be careful, there are huge numbers of Noph-Keh living in the valley. Got a plan?"

"Nope. Schemes are pretty useless at a time like this. In a bit, I'll just open a portal and send them all away."

Xie Feng waved his hand. Since they had found their destination, they should naturally strike straight at the heart of it. Wasting time wrangling with these Noph-Keh would be far too tedious.