Chapter 156 - 154: Acting with Impunity, the Battle Commences
Chapter 156: Chapter 154: Acting with Impunity, the Battle Commences
All eyes turned toward the sound, just in time to see a brilliant, crystalline light tearing through the lingering snow and gloom in the sky.
A tall, sturdy figure clad in strange, crystalline Battle Armor rode a magnificent white manticore, diving down from the heavens like a meteor shattering chaos!
Behind a thin, crystalline visor, a pair of ice-blue eyes filled with fury were locked tightly onto the two opposing sides below.
"ROAR—!"
The manticore let out a roar that shook the entire street, announcing its master’s arrival.
When he was still over ten meters from the ground, the man pushed off with his legs and leaped directly from the manticore’s back!
His figure, carrying immense downward force, crashed into the snowdrift beside Rosalind with a BOOM, sending out an explosive ring of ice and powdered snow.
The intense sense of threat made the nearest Eternal Frost Cultists’ faces turn grave. Even the Frost White Young Dragon warily lowered its head, letting out a threatening growl.
"It’s Mr. Jon! He’s back!"
Behind the door of the Golden Maple Leaf Trading House, Reya’s green eyes lit up. She couldn’t help but press closer to the windowsill, a joyful cry escaping her lips as her flame-red hair trembled with excitement.
However, the smile on the girl’s face froze before it could fully bloom.
After landing, Jon gave no one—not the astonished Trade Hall Guards, the tense Church Monks, the faith-shaken Eternal Frost Cultists, nor the poised Frost Scale Young Dragon—any time to react.
His gaze swept briefly over the Eternal Frost Sect’s formation before landing on Rosalind beside him.
Blue eyes met silver for but an instant, yet in that moment, each knew the other’s mind.
Then, Jon reached out and, with an almost brutal forcefulness, pulled Rosalind’s cool, slender body tightly into his arms!
Then, as countless gazes—horrified, furious, and dumbfounded—focused on them, Jon took off his helmet and pressed his lips to Rosalind’s!
He gripped her slender waist, forcing her to tilt her head back to receive and answer his domineering kiss.
He was a very protective man.
And the other side of that protectiveness was possessiveness.
Rosalind had displayed her beauty and cold aloofness for all to see.
And now, right here, with everyone as a witness, he would stake his claim on this woman!
"Ngh..."
A soft whimper escaped Rosalind’s throat.
However, the resistance or even a token struggle that everyone expected never came. The moment their lips met, her tense body was like ice thrown into a furnace, instantly melting away.
Under the disbelieving gaze of the crowd, this "Saintess"—who had just coolly killed an executive of the Blood Eye Association and earned the worship of the Eternal Frost Cultists—now offered herself up without reservation, like a drowning person finding their only piece of driftwood.
She wrapped her arms around Jon’s waist, pressing herself closer. She even rose onto her tiptoes, actively deepening the kiss—as if to sacrifice her very life and soul to the one she recognized as her "master."
The ice on her cool, beautiful face melted away, leaving only a softness that bloomed for Jon alone.
This posture of selfless devotion, this submission and dependence that radiated from deep within her, existing for one man alone, was more powerful than any words could ever be.
Just as she herself had said, she was no Saintess looking down upon the masses, but simply a woman named Rosalind who had found her home and her peace in her master’s arms.
Time seemed to stretch to infinity. Even the wind and snow seemed to halt, stunned by this shocking kiss.
Behind the trading house door, the delight on Reya’s face had been replaced by an indescribable bitterness. A strange mix of grievance and anger welled up in her heart, and she subconsciously clenched her fists.
"Pfft—"
Seeing Reya’s expression, Joyina covered her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. Her mischievous eyes darted back and forth between Reya’s pouting face and the couple outside, who were kissing as if no one else in the world existed.
For the Eternal Frost Cultists, their faith already crumbling and their minds on the verge of madness, this scene was the final straw.
"AHHH—!!!"
Midia, who had witnessed the kiss from up close, let out an inhuman shriek. His eyes were wide with fury, his clouded eyeballs looking as if they would pop from their sockets.
"Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Our Lord’s Holy Son... to be... to be defiled like this!"
"Blasphemer, you will be sealed in our Lord’s frost for all eternity, never to escape!!!"
The cultists behind him were equally unable to accept what they were seeing. Some went completely mad, drawing the Ice Crystal Daggers at their waists and, instead of charging Jon, plunged them into their own arms, using searing pain and blood to vent their shattered faith and boundless hatred.
"Kill him! Kill the blasphemer!!!"
"By the Eternal Frost! Punish these blasphemers! May they fall into the Cold Prison forever!!!"
"Saintess! Wake up! Wake up!!!"
Desperate cries, crazed curses, and hysterical roars mingled into a tidal wave of chaos and despair.
Upon receiving Midia’s command, the Frost White Young Dragon rose to its feet.
It clearly couldn’t understand why it was being ordered to attack a human with whom it shared a common bloodline, and its movements were sluggish. But its low Intelligence and conditioned obedience won out. It followed the command, raising its head as a destructive Frost Breath began to form deep in its throat.
Even for an impure, mixed-blood young dragon, its breath was still incredibly destructive.
As it prepared, the very air began to freeze, a terrifying chill gathering madly around the massive beast.
However, just as the devastating breath was about to be unleashed—
"RAWR—!!!"
A furious lion’s roar, filled with majesty and wrath, exploded above its head!
A massive shadow, accompanied by a violent gust of air, slammed down.
Big Mimi descended from the sky, its enormous body crashing down with immense force, slamming into the young Frost Scale Young Dragon!
The Frost Scale Young Dragon’s burgeoning breath was cut short, the gathered frost power dissipating into chaos. A flash of instinctual fury appeared in its ice-blue, slitted pupils, and it began to counterattack with its claws and long tail.
The two behemoths instantly became a rolling, tangled mass on the ground. Claws clashed against claws, the dragon’s tail tangling with the manticore’s hooked one. The Ordinary Eternal Frost Cultists who couldn’t escape in time were crushed into pulp!
The clash between these two beasts signaled the start of the battle.
The Trade Hall Guards led by Vedri and the Defender Army led by Julian unhesitatingly joined forces, attacking the Eternal Frost Cultists before the trading house.
The Eternal Frost Cultists, lost in chaos and madness, charged toward Jon and Rosalind.