40 Chapter 39

The snow had taken over the streets, the rooftops, and even the smallest alleys. The cold was consuming everyone in that place.

"This... how can..."

Observing their surroundings as the carriage slowly passed along the frozen road, the captain, Elizabeth, and the knights shivered.

Lying in various corners, with skin already blue, cold, and stiff, several citizens were found. Their eyes as motionless as their bodies, which continued to be increasingly enveloped by the snow that kept covering the entire kingdom.

Unable to do anything about it, clenching their fists and teeth tightly, tears rolled down and fell to the ground like drops of shining crystals as the commander saw the number of bodies only increasing as they continued to traverse the city.

In an attempt to keep them minimally warm, mothers embraced their children, and fathers wrapped their families with all the blankets they could find.

Some, especially those strong enough to remain alive even though they were totally unprotected on the streets, continued desperately trying to light some fire, however small. Yet, for some reason, except for those made through magic, no flame could be kept alight in that place.

In some houses, children perish in the arms of their mothers and before the eyes of their fathers. However, in others, sadly, the roles were reversed.

Screams echoed, and sobs spread everywhere.

"Mom... dad... I'm not cold anymore..., so cover yourselves a bit too..."

With the ceasing of their movements and the closing of their eyes, finally, the silence of their lips came.

"Mom... dad..."

Seeing their bodies cold and stiff as ice, the instinctive action of covering them with as many blankets as possible is put into practice. However, the situation doesn't change. Their voices don't return, and the warmth doesn't seem to interact in any way with their bodies.

"Mom..."

Not even tears can be shed anymore, and even if they could, they would be frozen before leaving their eyes and reaching the ground. So, without time to grieve their losses, while they prioritize their own survival and unconsciously keep alive the desires of their parents, no matter how small, when the cold strikes them again, instinctively the little ones take the blankets from the bodies of ice and cover themselves, sobbing while they remain enveloped by the comforting scent of their loved ones.

The sight of the city center became unbearable to continue in silence.

"Stop!" ordered the commander.

It's known that those born with a level above twenty, the guards, don't need to worry much about eating regularly, after all, going without food for a day or two won't bring them any hunger. However, this is not the case for the majority of the kingdom's population, those born below level 16, the villagers.

Such a miserable sight... people fighting against each other to break off a piece of ice from a cursed fountain, so they can take it home and give it to their children or wives, thus having, even if frozen, a small amount of water; the only food they have now.

"Excuse me... But I can't ignore this. These people..."

"What's the matter..?"

Ethan's eyes wandered to the view outside the carriage. That situation... more than anything else, the pain of those people is so familiar and palpable to him... Somehow, he can even see himself in some of them.

"Don't forget. You still have an hour..."

An hour? How could that be enough? However, this is not something that can be argued. In fact, given the situation they are in, it's something to be thankful for. After all, the king's letter was quite clear on how immediate the situation is and how quickly he wanted them to reach the castle.

"...Thank you..."

The commander turned around. His gaze seeming to boil with fury. And his order was just one;

"Change the route! We're going to the lord of this city now!"

Throughout the journey, the sight of misery and death accompanied their eyes side by side, never leaving them for a single second.

However, when they reached the lord's property, things became somewhat different. Bodies could not be seen anywhere near the gates, after all, for some reason, apparently the villagers did not even dare to approach that place.

"Stop!" ordered one of the lord's guards, running up to the carriage with his sword in hand. "No one can pass, so turn back where you came from! It's the lord's orders."

"How dare you..."

Seeing such action, the commander immediately understood why people were not approaching the property. He clenched his teeth, and one of his fists shattered part of the window beside him.

"Damn you all..."

Looking to the other side of the window, the guard's head slowly fell towards the snow-covered ground, while the blade of the sacred sword became stained with his dirty blood.

"By assuming a position where you become responsible for the safety of others, you must, at the very least, try to do so. If not...

Elizabeth walked slowly towards the lord's castle. The guards trembled at her approach and, with no prospect of victory, threw their swords on the ground and knelt uselessly in a gesture of surrender.

"...being responsible for the lives of all of them... who else would pay the price for your deaths..?"

Swinging her sword, regardless of whether they surrendered or not, without making any distinction, Elizabeth cut off the heads of anyone who appeared in front of her.

"Sir!" shouted one of the castle's servants. "Someone is invading the property!"

"What?! What did you say? Who dares?!" exclaimed the lord, slamming his wine glass onto the armrest of his small throne.

"It's a woman, sir! She came out of a carriage and is now killing everyone who appeared in her way!"

Crushing the silver cup with one hand, the lord clenched his teeth and threw it towards the servant.

"A single woman?! How could this be possible? You worthless lot! Can't you stop a single person?!"

"But, sir, she's very strong! Alone, she knocked down the castle gates with bare hands!"

The lord pondered for a moment, causing a distant possibility to arise in his mind. His bulky body trembled.

"You said she came in a carriage, right...? Was there any symbol on it..?"

"A symbol...? Ah, there were two..."

The huge doors that mark the entrance to the hall flew, going towards the throne along with the poor servant and causing the lord to jump to dodge.

"Two crossed swords beneath a crown..."

The man trembled, but struggled to maintain his composure.

"Who are you? Even if you're from the royal army, I am the lord of a territory. A baron. Doing this is a serious crime, punishable by death."

There was no response. With her sword in hand, Elizabeth just continued to approach slowly, one step after another.

"You won't answer me? Well, that doesn't matter. I will contact the king and..."

The lord's eyes widened. That sword, how is it possible? The kingdom's sacred blade?

His knees fell towards the ground, and his forehead touched the icy ground, while his body trembled completely.

"Miss, I... please..., I haven't done anything wrong..."

His eyes reluctantly rose, causing the tremor to cease and the strength of his body to completely drain away. Even raising a single finger became impossible.

"Please... I beg of you..."

His eyes welled up, as did his trousers, and his tears fell like fragile ice drops that shattered upon hitting the ground.