Chapter 019: Night Talks in the Snowy Night

Tasia’s thoughts, of course, were not meant for outsiders to know. Although she still wanted to probe Du Fan a bit, having traveled thousands of miles with him, she still didn’t know him as well as she had from the information she had read before, and she wasn’t sure how to proceed with her probing.
As for Du Fan, though he was the epitome of a jerk, swindler, pervert, and priest, at that moment his mind was entirely focused on how to take advantage of the Divine Palace. He had no interest at all in this woman who could be easily teased.
Although he sat there politely with a smile on his face, Du Fan’s mind was filled with various vicious plans to set traps. Chenchen, who could faintly sense his thoughts, shuddered repeatedly. In her eyes, if all those methods were actually used, not to mention others, even someone as well-acquainted with Du Fan as she was would likely end up dead without a proper burial.
After sitting in awkward silence for a while, Tasia suddenly sighed and said, “Lord Du Fan, what do you think are the chances of success for our trip to the Divine Palace this time?”
Du Fan’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and he was a bit slow to process. He glanced at Tasia and asked, “Miss Tasia, did you say something just now?”
Tasia frowned and said, “Young Master Du Fan, didn’t you hear me clearly? I asked what the chances of success are for our trip to the Divine Palace this time.”
Du Fan nodded slightly to show he understood, but he sighed before saying after a long pause, “Well… only a genius would know that.”
Tasia asked, “What do you mean by that, Young Master Du Fan?”

Du Fan forced a wry smile and said, “Although we’ve had smooth travels so far, the road ahead is far more difficult. If that guy from the Northern Legion isn’t lying, this Wood Town can be considered the last town in the empire’s north. That means from now on, we won’t find any supply points as we head north. Moreover, because of the Frozen Forest to the north, even the Northern Legion doesn’t pay much attention to that area—there’s no way any enemies could attack the empire from there. The Northern Legion focuses mostly on the northeast to defend against the Frozen Alliance. So, the place we’re heading to is a barren area untouched for thousands of years. In such a place, storms and heavy snows are just minor issues, but what worries me most are the magical beasts. In this land devoid of humans, it’s a paradise for monsters. Here, a single mistake could mean becoming food for those beasts. Although the members of the Temple Knights are extremely skilled, and Miss Tasia and Saint Nicholas are among the greatest warriors, our numbers are simply too small. If we accidentally encounter a pack of magical beasts, we’re done for.”

Tasia also showed a rare wry smile. She knew there was another reason not mentioned—what should have taken just a few days’ journey might now take longer due to her relationship with Nicholas. The longer they stayed in these northern ice fields, the greater the danger. On top of that, it was uncertain when the people from Roland Academy would catch up. Considering all this, the journey ahead was extremely perilous.

Yet, with a group of dozens of people in this situation, they had to keep going, not just for the Light God, but perhaps the only thing they could do now was pray for the Light God’s guidance.

Early the next morning, the Temple Knights got to work. Since they already knew their destination, they didn’t rush to set off this time. A few of them went to Wood Town to buy large amounts of food, while others prepared dozens of sets of cotton clothes. The road ahead was incredibly difficult, and carriages were completely unusable. Tasia and Nicholas had no choice but to walk with the main group.

The winds and snows in the north were like knives. Even though the Temple Knights voluntarily surrounded Nicholas and Tasia in the center once they set off, the cold wind kept blowing, causing extreme discomfort.

By the end, even after Du Fan struggled to use his Light Combat Qi, he still couldn’t withstand the cold. It was then that he realized even more deeply how overly simplistic he had been about this journey while in the Imperial Capital. Although, according to Chenchen, as long as Du Fan was willing to use his myriad techniques and rely on his combat qi, which had an affinity for wind, he wouldn’t fear the cold wind. But Du Fan’s mind hadn’t been “kicked by a pig” yet—he understood very clearly which was more troublesome: such a major secret or just a little bit of cold. After walking on the ice field for two days, everyone who had been in good spirits became extremely weakened. This place was already in the far north of the Roland Continent, just a few days’ journey away from the Frozen Forest. Although mercenaries and adventurers occasionally came here to hunt magical beasts, it was by no means a comfortable place. Though the map in Du Fan’s hands was quite detailed, it didn’t help the group at all in their journey. After all, in such a snowy landscape, even the best eyesight had its limits—could one really find direction just by looking? Fortunately, Nicholas also knew it was a critical moment; he didn’t have the energy to act mysteriously and could only rely on his divine power to faintly sense direction, combined with Du Fan’s map, so that the group wouldn’t get lost. However, since all the horses had died of freezing a day earlier, the journey had become increasingly difficult. The Temple Knights had lost their usual composure; they all took off their armor, put on thick cotton clothes, and carried food on their backs. As for their weapons and equipment, aside from the knightly swords that absolutely couldn’t be abandoned, everything else was buried somewhere, to be dug up again on the way back. Nicholas and Tasia sat on stretchers, struggling against the wind and snow. Thankfully, due to their high status, the Temple Knights carrying the stretchers, though tired, didn’t show any signs of impatience. Du Fan and Alfred walked at the front of the group, taking careful steps, with extremely gloomy expressions. Although the sun was still high in the sky, Du Fan felt no warmth at all. He felt extremely cold. His hands, red from the cold, were rubbed constantly, but it didn’t help at all. Based on Du Fan’s knowledge from his past life, the temperature here was likely in the low teens degrees below zero—so much so that the snow falling from the sky wouldn’t even have time to melt before turning completely to ice.

Damn it! If one accidentally falls into a snowdrift in a place like this, by the time they’re dug out, they might have turned into ice lollies.
Despite the frustration, Du Fan still felt a hint of relief. Although the journey was difficult, aside from encountering a few lone magical beasts, they hadn’t run into any groups of them. So, though the path was tough, none of his team members had suffered any losses—what could be considered extremely lucky.
After all, in the past, any mercenary group that dared to come here for profit always entered as a group but left with only a few survivors.
In this icy wilderness, countless souls must have died fighting against magical beasts.
As he walked, Du Fan glanced back at the group behind him. Tasia and Nicholas were huddled together, surrounded by several small fireballs—clearly the work of Tasia, the mage.
Du Fan immediately recognized that these were the lowest-level spells. While using such spells for warmth seemed somewhat wasteful, seeing Tasia and Nicholas in such a pitiful state, he didn’t say anything further. He could only marvel inwardly at how poor the physical condition of mages really was—a major weakness of theirs.
It was gradually getting dark. Somewhere around that time, they could faintly see some thick trees in the surroundings.
Fortunately, there weren’t many trees, so it didn’t slow down Du Fan and the others.
Behind a large tree, in a sheltered spot away from the wind, Du Fan and Alfred finally stopped. After everyone else joined them, Du Fan looked around and said, “Let’s rest here tonight.”
“Stay here?” Tasia glanced at the surroundings and frowned. “Du Fan, can’t we find a better place? Although it’s you and Alfred who’re leading the way, you can’t just choose such a place!”
“There’s no other choice, Miss Tasia,” Du Fan sighed. “Where else in this area can we find an inn? The places we’ve rested in these past few days have all been like this. Everyone’s exhausted from the journey—just bear with it. In a few days, once we reach the valley where the temple is, things should be less difficult.”
Tasia and Nicholas exchanged a glance. Though they shrank back slightly, they accepted the situation.

At that moment, the Templars took action. Thanks to their prior familiarity, they dug a pit in the snow in no time to use as a temporary camp—this was something Du Fan had taught them; sleeping in a pit in the snow was much better than being exposed to the cold wind outside. As for the rest, aside from a few who went to prepare food, the others began setting up various traps around the area.