The Master of the Strange Realm

"But it's not my thing. I will return it to Dolores after this matter is over."

Thinking of this, he took the ice chess piece in his hand back into his body, and then picked up the cat. The latter looked sleepy and kept raising his paws to wipe his eyes.

"Have a good rest, we have to travel tomorrow."

"Meow~"

(Chocolate...Chocolate is still sleeping, Feeney is praying...)

I vaguely heard Feeney's voice in my sleep, but when I woke up I couldn't remember what she said. Jenkins missed Nolan's friends a little, but he didn't know whether he could return to Nolan as planned under the current circumstances.

The giant snow monster killed yesterday was identified as the culprit of the ice-blocked railway tracks. Perhaps because it was killed and brought good luck to people, in the early morning of the next day, Thursday, Jenkins not only heard that three benefactors were suddenly promoted last night, but also heard that in the early morning of this morning, he went to The benefactors who had reported from the nearest town were also back.

"We have contacted Lunen and reported the situation. Lunen said that support from other directions has not encountered this situation, so this section of the railway track that is blocked by ice should be the only one. We now need to move along the railway track and go to the railway track. The nearest town of Roseburg is confirming whether the railway there is available. Ruen has notified the town of Roseburg to prepare for it.”

Although Roseburg is not the nearest town, it is indeed the nearest town connected to the railway.

When discussing the next plan, Jenkins was also invited to participate, which was originally only allowed by the church captains. The person responsible for coordinating the church was Mr. Ode, the old night watchman from [The Church of Darkness and Hiddenness], but after he explained the situation regarding Loen, he left it to Jenkins to make the decision.

"You should be the strongest among our group, and..."

He squinted at the two captains of the Sage Church. Experience and knowledge are never wrong with age. It seems that this thoughtful old man saw some clues from their attitude towards Jenkins.

"In short, you not only saved the train hanging in mid-air over there, but also led us to defeat the monster last night. I think if you come to make the decision, no one will object."

Naturally, no one would object. People from other churches regarded Jenkins as the secret weapon sent to the front line by the Sage Church, and the force and determination he showed were obvious to all. Although it was a bit hasty to let him make the decision, it was also Understandable.

"Then let's move forward according to Luen's suggestion. Since the town of Roseburg is not very far from here, I think the crew members can also set off with us. This will also make it easier for them to sign confidentiality after arriving at the next town. Treaty, as for these supplies sent to the front line..."

Jenkins hesitated for a moment: "We are in a hurry to go to the front line and bury these supplies on the spot. After everyone has breakfast, repair and set off immediately, trying to reach the town of Roseburg before early morning. The situation on the front line may be very unfavorable."

This was a reasonable plan, so the captains of each church went to inform the members of their own teams. Because they were all users of extraordinary abilities, burying the supplies, disposing of the carriages, and dismantling the camp were completed very quickly.

After all this was over, more than 200 gifters from the Eight Churches set off in small groups. Although more than 200 people moved together, due to strict discipline, the queue did not drag out for a long time. Jenkins was walking in the middle and front with everyone from the Sage Church.

The snow has stopped, and the originally vast snowfield actually revealed some turf after sunrise. The ice on the railway tracks is showing signs of melting, which is a good sign, which means that the monster last night is really the culprit of all this.

But everyone still doesn't know where it came from and why it did such a thing. But this question was soon answered. When the sun was almost rising above the head, everyone stopped again because of the spectacle in front of them.

Chapter 1232 Chapter 1211 Ice and Snow Palace

Straddling in front of the railway track are towering snow-capped mountains. Due to technical reasons, tunnels cannot be dug here, so the railway track chooses to go around slightly lower hills.

After turning several turns in succession, the people advancing had reached a higher position. After ascending the steep mountain ridge, the originally vast and undulating mountains disappeared, and what people standing at the heights saw was the suddenly clear snowfield. The snowfield shines silver in the sun, and its sparkling appearance makes everyone who climbs the mountain feel delighted.

From the current height, they could see the vast sky and earth in the distance and the buildings representing the town, but this did not mean that they could arrive before night. After all, there were three continuous low mountains between them and the town. In this cold and freezing situation, some delicate terrains cannot be passed directly, and the team has to go around for a long time. If they go according to their current progress, they won't be able to reach the town until early morning the day after tomorrow.

But the problem is not here. The problem is that after turning the corner and reaching the current position, the main body of the highest nearby Virtanen Snow Mountain has been exposed.

This snowy mountain and two other mountains are now completely covered with ice, and the cliffs, deep pits and rugged valleys that were impassable in summer have been smoothed out. The road leading to the town is clearly visible, and the three frozen mountains open up the nearest road for people.

The Virtanen Snow Mountain in front of you is not considered a high mountain, and the snow on the top of the mountain only exists from October to May every year. Judging from the map, this mountain is completely barren without any human habitation. But at this time, everyone raised their heads and were shocked to see the ice and snow palace shining in the sun. The light penetrated and even revealed the detailed ice sculpture patterns. The runes on the ice wall should be more than just decoration.

It stands on the side of the highest mountain, and the towering hexagonal cone-shaped palace spire is almost level with the main peak. The main body of the palace leans against the side of the mountain, almost perfectly blending into the sunny side of the mountain. It is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. There is a vaguely carved ice staircase with handrails at the bottom of the building, connecting the two ends of the valley.

Therefore, if a group of people suddenly thinks that they do not want to continue walking towards the town but deviate from the route and try to climb higher, then there is no need to climb the towering Virtanen Snow Mountain, they only need to go around the side peak from the current position, and then reach almost 45 degrees Going up, through the ice stairs that sparkle in the sun, you reach the gate of the Ice Palace.

"Meow~"

The cat squeezed its head out from between the buttons on Jenkins' chest, opened its round eyes and looked over there.

"There is no record of such a building here on the map. Even if this version of the military map is two years old, it is impossible for such a flaw to appear... Moreover, with the current productivity, it is absolutely impossible To be able to build something like this.”

Everyone can understand this simple inference.

It is an acceptable idea to turn a blind eye and continue moving forward, but thinking about the changes in the Snowman Legion and last night's accident, after discussion, the team temporarily repaired and prepared lunch in the shelter of the mountain, and Jenkins proposed to take a look at the palace. .

He was not reckless, but he vaguely felt a force calling him. It wasn't the inexplicable attraction of a strange thing, it was someone really welcoming him as a guest.

"This is too risky. Our mission now is to go to the town. We can send people to investigate this palace and inform the locals to be careful after arriving in the town. But if you enter the palace, other troubles will definitely occur."

Captain Sidorov said awkwardly. To be honest, she didn't want to oppose Jenkins if it wasn't necessary.

But unlike what Jenkins thought, in the final vote, although most of the captains opposed his proposal, the two captains of [All Things and Nature Church] supported him.

"We can feel that the palace is the most harmonious place with nature in the nearby area. The appearance of the palace not only did not destroy the natural environment of Virtanen Snow, but also promoted the natural circulation of the snow mountains to a certain extent. This palace is not The destroyers of nature, those who build it and those who own it, are certainly not bad people.”

This is a rather hasty inference, even more hasty than Jenkins's. Therefore, the idea of ​​exploring the palace was not approved in the end. Even the team sent to observe the palace and survey the terrain from a distance did not allow Jenkins to participate.

"Because we are working with you on this trip, the church contacted Nolan to explain the situation. Miss Audrey over there said that once you encounter something like this that may or may not be dangerous, it's best not to let you Get involved, otherwise the potential for danger will increase to frightening levels.”

Captain Usiah explained in a low voice, and Jenkins no longer insisted on participating.

Since they had no intention of approaching the palace, the reconnaissance team returned quickly. Instead of reducing their numbers, they brought back a corpse, that of the Giver who had been replaced last night.

There were no obvious external injuries on the body, but after inspection by the accompanying [Church of Death and Doomsday] gravekeeper, it was confirmed that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

"Did you find the body near that palace?"

Jenkins leaned over and asked, but got the opposite answer:

"No, it should be no problem with that palace. After going around the side peak, you need to go downhill for a while before you can continue going up. That is also the branch junction for us to go forward. One side leads to the ice ladder, and the other side leads down the mountain to the town. the way.

During this period, we discovered a large hole on the rock wall on one side of the mountain path. There was a lot of unusual white frost on the rock wall around the hole. We didn’t dare to go in directly, but we tried to climb up, only observed at the entrance of the cave, and then found this body..."

He is the temporary captain of the reconnaissance team and one of the captains of the Night Watch team. Seeing everyone looking at him, he continued to introduce:

"There is a seal there, a seal with a very long history. According to my observation, and the identification of the scribes of the Sage Church, it was a seal established before the 16th Epoch. I can identify very obvious traces of Ms. Hidden Moon's seal. , that kind of flowing moonlight cannot be faked. This is probably a seal set by the predecessors of the church, but I don’t know why there is no information here in the church’s materials.”

"How was the seal broken?"

someone asked.

"On the one hand, the seal has been weakened due to geological changes. This is very common, and there will be one case every ten years; on the other hand, the force that broke out in Loen City this Tuesday impacted the seal, and the creatures sealed inside were also creatures with obvious ice and snow power. There is a certain resonance between the two.”

Chapter 1233 Chapter 1212 Climbing the Snow Mountain at Night

"So, does the snow monster's escape from the seal have anything to do with the palace over there?"

Mr. Lewis of the Church of War and Victory asked while holding a pipe in his mouth. He covered the pipe with one hand to block the wind and held a match in the other hand to light it.

"My conclusion is that it probably doesn't matter, and... I also have a strange feeling that the palace seems to have no ill intentions... Of course, it's just a guess."

Even if the palace really has no ill intentions towards everyone, the team has no intention of going up. After the gravekeepers helped to collect the bodies, the group set off again. After going down the mountain, because of the inexplicable freezing in the nearby area, the road was actually flat. In addition to worrying about slipping, there was no need to worry about the terrain, so they arrived at the town of Rossburg at 11 o'clock that night.

This was two days early.

There are only two churches in this town, and they have already received news from Loen. Although they did not expect the group to come so quickly, at least they have prepared dinner and rest rooms.

It took a lot of time to arrange accommodation and make plans for tomorrow, but fortunately, starting from the town of Rossburg, the railroad has returned to normal.

The town had temporarily coordinated a new train to send the group to the north. Although the train was originally a steam locomotive used to transport coal, it must be uncomfortable to sit on, but the war in the front was urgent and he could not care so much.

Jenkins was assigned to a separate room and did not have to sleep with others. Although the room was a little small, he was not picky. It was just that the cat seemed to dislike the bed because it was not soft, but Jenkins had no choice but to bring the dying flowers on the windowsill to the bedside and use their vitality to make them grow quickly. The petals of the leaves finally broke through the limit of growth, and under Jenkins' deliberate control, they became wide enough to accommodate a cat.

"Is this okay?"

He rolled five sewing threads into one strand, then stacked two wide leaves together, punched three holes at each end of the leaves and threaded them, and tied the two strands of thread to the floor-standing bedside lamp and the pillars beside the bed, then took off the pillowcase and put it on top with the blanket, barely making a small hammock.

"Meow~"

The cat jumped up quickly, lay down for a while, called softly to Jenkins, and then kept half of its head sticking out of the hammock, and slowly closed its eyes.

"See you tomorrow then."

Jenkins said this to his cat, and got into the quilt.

He didn't know how much he would experience in the next night.

The dream world is mysterious and strange. Some people believe that since the non-existent "mirror world" can really become a world of its own because of people's cognition and the accumulation of time, then maybe the "dream world" will appear one day.

The "Emerald Dream" of the elves itself has the characteristics of the so-called "dream world", but because its essence is still the accumulation of life spirits and has an unclear relationship with the legendary world tree, it is not regarded as a dream world.

But Jenkins can be sure that he is definitely not dreaming at this time, nor has he fallen into a strange world. He is still in the night of the material world, standing in the mountains blowing the cold wind, looking around in a daze.

In his cognition, he just got into the quilt and said good night to Chocolate the moment before. Close your eyes, and suddenly you are standing here.

Look up at the two crescent moons above your head, then turn around to look at the stars and lights in the distance, and finally look at the crystal clear stairs in front of you.

At the end of the stairs, the door of the ice palace is already open, as if welcoming Jenkins in.

Take a deep breath, because the temperature at night is a bit low, this breath condenses into white mist in the air for a long time. The young man raised his hand and scratched his face, and then found that he was still wearing pajamas and barefoot.

The reason why he didn't feel cold and painful just now was because he was shocked by the sudden scene.

"Should I say it's too surprising, or should I say it's unexpected?"

He muttered to himself, reciting a short spell to summon a unique miner's lamp. Raise your right hand, hold up the metal miner's lamp with a mechanical beauty, and the cold blue light illuminates the first half of the ice ladder.

Finally, looking back at the town below the mountain, Jenkins did not waste his spirit to draw shoes, but stepped on the first step barefoot.

"Hiss~"

He took a deep breath, a deep breath, and felt the piercing coldness rushing from the soles of his feet to his brain, and then his brain ordered his whole body to tremble.

The ice chess piece immersed in the spirit shook violently, and the coldness seemed to have found its target, most of it penetrated Jenkins' body and soul, and a small part penetrated into the chess piece.

"It's so cold!"

Jenkins still gasped out the cold breath he took, sighed, and then stepped on the ice steps with his other foot.

He was not a masochist, nor did he have any special hobbies, so he would walk barefoot on the ice stairs in this season. If he thought about saving spirits at the beginning, after feeling the coldness that stimulated the soul, he realized that walking barefoot should be good for himself.

This ice ladder is made entirely of ice, so it is very slippery to step on. Jenkins dared to walk up slowly step by step with the railing. The railing was also carefully carved, and it was not inferior to the white jade stairs with angels and demons intertwined that Jenkins "painted" in his deified state.

This ice ladder spans the deep ravine, connecting the side peak of the snow mountain with the main peak. Because the ice is translucent, Jenkins can occasionally look down and see the bottomless abyss while breathing in the cool air and walking up.

Even though he is not afraid of heights, he feels a little hairy in his heart, and even has goose bumps on his arms. Of course, this may also be because the weather is too cold.

Jenkins walked for half an hour, and when his feet stepped on the snow again, he actually felt that the snow was a little warm. This is a good thing, at least his feet can still transmit touch.

The exhaled breath turned into a white dragon in front of him and then disappeared. Standing at the end of the ice ladder, he looked up at the ice and snow palace standing under the night sky. Observing from such a close distance, the shock was even more obvious.

There was a square-like open space between the layers of stairs between the ice ladder and the palace gate. The edge was the snow layer where Jenkins stood, and further ahead was a complete ice surface like crystal. These ices have a high refractive index and seem to be glowing in the moonlight.

Jenkins raised his foot and stepped on it carefully. As expected, he felt the chill that penetrated his heart again.

"Oh, sage, what am I doing?"

He said while shivering, missing his cat that could keep warm in his chest more than ever.

PS: Hahahahahaha, the exam is over!

Chapter 1234 Chapter 1213 More than one chess piece

Jenkins stood alone on the gentle slope of the empty snowy mountain under the night sky. Because of the cold, he wanted to summon the gift fire to warm his body, but his instinct told him that once he did so, the chill that kept penetrating into his body would disappear. And the owner of the palace in front of him might not like the fire, so he gave up after thinking about it.

There was nothing on the square originally, but after Jenkins stepped on it, it seemed to be suddenly activated, and a bright blue line extended from the position of Jenkins' feet to the center of the square.

When it reached the center of the square, the light gathered into a ball of light, jumped three times, and then emitted more lines distributed at equal angles in all directions.

These lines together formed a huge ritual array on the ice surface, and the lines rotating like spirals outlined runes and spells. When all of this was formed, as the ice surface vibrated, an ice sculpture of a swordsman with a sword rose from under the ice surface.

He wore a set of light armor covering half of his body, and there were fine fish scale-like marks on the skirt armor.

When the feet in boots also appeared from under the ice surface, the ice sculpture's right hand pulled out a long sword from the side of the body and pointed it at Jenkins:

"If you want to enter the palace, guest, you need to prove your bravery."

The ice sculpture used the common language, but there was a different ups and downs in the tone.

"How can I prove my bravery?"

Jenkins asked tremblingly, not surprised by this change, he was ready. As he spoke, he spread his hands to prove that he had no weapons or protective gear, only a light pajamas.

"Defeat me."

The ice sculpture answered loudly, pointing the sword at Jenkins and swung it downwards, and then inserted it into the ice in front of the boots. .

"In any way?"

He asked back.

"Yes, any way."

The ice sculpture nodded, and then raised the sword again and pointed it at Jenkins. He did not have a physical body, so even his eyes were made of ice. However, the ice pieces at the position of his eyes had a very good reflective effect.