144: Those favored by the gods

Above Cold Wind City in the Cold Wind Territory, several massive magitech battleships hovered in mid-air, overlooking the entire city.

The chaos monsters and Demon God Cult followers that had been ravaging Cold Wind City had vanished, leaving only corpses strewn throughout the city.

Golden Lion Knights, over two meters tall and clad in golden lion armor, their bodies radiating golden battle aura, patrolled the area, eliminating any potential threats.

The Archmages of the Royal Mage Corps thoroughly cleansed all corrupted magic runes, ensuring every trace of chaos corruption was completely eradicated.

The majestic Cold Wind Spire still stood amidst the biting cold winds, but it was no longer the core of the cold wave. An overwhelming cold current from the far north swept past the spire, spreading across the entire northern border of the Kingdom of Asriel.

Bjorn watched the southward-flowing cold currents in silence.

"Your Majesty, this was my mistake. I have caused trouble for you and the kingdom."

Marshall, his face pale, admitted his fault to Bjorn, taking full responsibility for the incident.

"You were too hasty, young man. Some things cannot be rushed."

"The losses this time are immense. The Cold Wind Territory can no longer be the strongest force in the north. Fortunately, the Stag Territory is embroiled in internal strife, and the Rage Bear Territory is too inexperienced. The Cold Wind Territory can still stabilize the northern situation."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I have disappointed you."

Marshall had already received the casualty report for the Cold Wind Territory.

The Winter Mage Corps was completely annihilated, the Bloodfrost Swordsman Legion was wiped out, Frostchill Fortress collapsed with its entire garrison destroyed, and over a hundred thousand regular troops were eliminated.

More than half of the noble territories within the Cold Wind Territory suffered heavy losses from invasions by Frost Giants, chaos monsters, and the Dragon Legion.

Legendary Expert and Grand Elder Bradley fell in battle. The Council of Elders was almost entirely wiped out, with only two elders stationed outside surviving. The Council of Elders now exists in name only, effectively achieving Marshall's initial goal of disbanding it.

The largest minor plane of the Cold Wind Family, a crucial grain-producing area for the Cold Wind Territory, was corrupted and sacrificed to chaos. The entire minor plane was devoured and destroyed by chaos laws, with a million people sacrificed.

Most critically, the Cold Wind Spire, the core and most important foundation of the Cold Wind Family, also encountered problems.

Currently, the Cold Wind Spire is largely inoperative, unable to contain or absorb the southward cold currents. This means the Cold Wind Territory has temporarily lost its means of training Winter Mages and Winter Knights.

For the Kingdom of Asriel, the southward cold currents will alter the entire northern environment, lowering temperatures and rapidly deteriorating the living conditions of the populace.

If the southward cold currents are strong enough, they could even affect crop yields in the Golden Plains.

"Restore the Cold Wind Spire as soon as possible. We cannot allow the cold currents to continue flowing south unchecked."

"The followers of the Lord of the Devious Path have been eliminated. The Archbishop was wounded by me and will not recover for over a decade. Marquis Wilhelm is leading the Holy Sword Legion to cleanse the entire Frostchill Corridor."

"The Holy Sword will show the races of the Permafrost Plateau how sharp the kingdom's blade is. They will not harass the Cold Wind Territory from the south in the short term. Focus on restoring your territory."

As the royal family's key presence for controlling the north, Bjorn would not allow the Cold Wind Territory to decline.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Marshall knelt on one knee, expressing his gratitude to the Golden King.

Bjorn transformed into a streak of light and vanished before Marshall. The Golden Lion Knights and royal Archmages gradually returned to the magitech battleships, which began to move across the sky.

Royal Archmage Avery respectfully asked the Golden King, "Your Majesty, what are our orders now?"

"Dispatch the fleet to eliminate all Dragon Legion forces roaming the north."

"The Dragonfall will accompany me to Dragon Peak. Since Olivia wants to test me, I'll let her see clearly."

Avery was startled, glancing up at the Golden King before relaying the orders to each battleship.

Over a dozen magitech battleships immediately accelerated to strike their designated targets. Eagle Eye had already delivered the locations of all Dragon Legion forces to each ship's command center.

The flagship, Dragonfall, was hundreds of meters long, its main structure formed from the skeleton of a Legendary dragon. It resembled a skeletal dragon, fierce and terrifying, with a striking visual impact.

The powerful battleship headed straight for the depths of the Black Mountain Range.

Black Mountain Range, Dragon Peak.

Olivia had been feeling uneasy lately, regretting her agreement with the Demon God Cult's Archbishop.

"The probe was too early. I should have let those Demon God followers test the waters first."

As Olivia pondered, she suddenly sensed a familiar presence rapidly approaching.

"Zelia?"

Olivia flew out of her palace and saw Zelia returning wounded.

"Your Majesty!"

"How are you so severely injured? Come inside, I'll treat you."

"Your Majesty, the army is gone. Camino also fell in battle. I have disappointed you this time."

Zelia endured the pain to report the losses from this expedition.

"The other trash can die, but how did Camino die?"

"The Golden King led his army and suddenly teleported to Cold Wind City, discovering us hiding on the outskirts. With a casual strike, he repelled me. Camino couldn't dodge and was killed on the spot, his body turned to minced meat."

Back at the mountaintop palace, Olivia stabilized Zelia's injuries, relieved to see her gradually recovering.

"Camino was unlucky. If he's dead, he's dead. What matters is that you returned."

"I didn't expect the Golden King to arrive so quickly. It's normal for you to suffer losses against him. What happened to those Demon God followers in the end?"

Zelia still felt a lingering fear recalling the recent battle.

"The Golden King's sudden appearance caught the Demon God Cult off guard. They performed a large-scale blood sacrifice."

"The Archbishop summoned a Greater Demon Avatar to fight the Golden King for a while, but the monarch shattered the avatar. The Archbishop fled severely wounded in the end."

"I observed from the outskirts, hoping to catch a big fish, but only managed to bring him back."

As she spoke, Zelia released a human.

"A human corrupted by chaos laws?"

"I salute you, great Red Dragon Queen. My name is Matthew, a chosen one blessed by the all-knowing, all-powerful Lord of the Devious Path."

Matthew faced Olivia without panic, calmly introducing himself.

"The Demon God Cult ultimately sacrificed all the humans they had corrupted, including many powerful ones. The rewards from the sacrifice were concentrated in this human."

"He was originally just a Silver Peak human Professional. Through the sacrifice, he leaped to become an Initial Legendary Peak, with a terrifyingly fast increase in strength. Even for a sacrifice reward, it's somewhat exaggerated."

"I noticed the Demon God Cult valued him greatly, so I seized him while they were fleeing. I originally intended to capture the Archbishop, but he escaped too quickly."

Failing to capture Giles left Zelia very dissatisfied.

"The Demon God Cult's Archbishop isn't easy to capture. Even the Golden King would find it difficult to kill them, let alone capture them alive."

Olivia comforted Zelia briefly, then turned her gaze to Matthew.

"You claim to be a chosen one of the Lord of the Devious Path, blessed by that existence?"

"Yes!"

"You're lying, human. For tens of thousands of years, the four Demon Gods have not bestowed blessings. How could you possibly have the Lord of the Devious Path's blessing?"

"A chosen one? Forget the four Demon Gods' chosen—even for all other deities, none have appeared on the Noah Continent for countless years."

Matthew didn't answer Olivia, just looked at her calmly.

Olivia's expression turned displeased as her aura surged, her powerful mental force instantly invading Matthew's mind.

A moment later, Olivia stood up in surprise.

"It truly is a Demon God's blessing?"

"How is this possible?"

"Your Majesty?"

Zelia was about to ask something when a voice interrupted.

"Olivia, didn't you want to see me?"

"Come out and meet me!"