Volume 4 Chapter 78

Volume 4 + Chapter 78: The Unsettling Silence

“It’s over, it’s over!! Her Highness the Princess and her maid are gone!”

“You’re still worrying about that? The Three Great Sled Generals are all gone—we’re going to die!”

“All our supplies were stolen by the Northern Rebellion Army. How are we supposed to hold on like this?!”

Every worker at the Northern Mining Field descended into sheer panic.

The clear weather had vanished, and a blizzard had descended upon the area.

Raging winds and snowstorms roared in all directions, blotting out the sky and plunging everything into darkness. In such extreme conditions, it was impossible to determine any sense of direction.

During the earlier battle, the leader of the Northern Rebellion Army had seized the Three Great Sled Generals. Xia Yi and Elly had given chase and still had not returned.

In the brutally harsh environment of the far north, without specially adapted alchemical creatures to guide the way, reaching the next supply point was utterly impossible.

Moreover, the Northern Rebellion Army had looted the crucial supplies from the Great Snow Convoy. Within the blizzard, it would not take long before the dragons of the Northern Mining Field, suffering accelerated energy loss from the cold and lacking timely food replenishment, would freeze to death in this region.

Having worked at the Northern Mining Field for so long, they possessed the clearest understanding of just how desperate this situation truly was.

“Mages deploy magical barriers to block the wind and snow!”

“Are you insane? You want us to use magic under these conditions? The energy consumption will only accelerate the loss of what little body heat we have left, this is just telling us to freeze to death sooner!”

“If you mages don’t put up barriers, we’ll all be swept away by the blizzard and die even faster!”

“How generous of you because you don’t want us to die too soon, you’re letting us die right now!”

“You damned mages are nothing but selfish!”

“Why should we protect everyone? We’d rather save ourselves!”

The interior of the Northern Mining Field nearly erupted into a full-blown argument.

“Enough! Stop arguing! All of you, shut up!”

A furious shout stunned everyone into silence.

They turned toward the voice and saw that it was Chelsea.

It seemed that someone had just administered emergency aid to him, barely restoring his consciousness.

“Stop arguing. I’ve already notified the Northern Mining Field through the communication device. They should have received our distress signal and will dispatch a rescue team immediately…”

Chelsea had used a communication artifact to send a one-way alert to the Northern Mining Field.

This was a special device—if the holder destroyed it, others would receive a destruction signal, effectively serving as a distress call.

Yet even he felt uncertain. Even if the signal was received, what then?

No precise information could be transmitted. Who knew whether the Northern Mining Field, even after receiving it, would be able to find them before everyone collapsed?

Still, he had no choice but to push forward with the story.

“We’ll definitely be saved. Mages, please raise the magical barrier first. The rescue team will arrive soon.”

Under Chelsea’s persuasion, the mages finally agreed to erect the magical barrier.

After that, all the Great Snow Convoy could do was wait.

Everyone fell into silence, afraid to move recklessly, enduring the agonizing passage of time.

Chelsea, too, prayed fervently in his heart for a miracle to occur. If the dragons of the convoy noticed something amiss and rescue failed to arrive, he would undoubtedly be torn apart by his enraged colleagues.

This time, his luck was truly remarkable. Within the blizzard, the Northern Mining Field’s rescue team actually arrived.

That particular team happened to be carrying out a nearby mission and had received the signal, temporarily redirecting themselves into a rescue unit and rushing over at once.

The dragons of the Northern Mining Field erupted in cheers—there was hope at last.

Chelsea finally let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he truly was favored by the goddess of luck.

But then, a single sentence suddenly made everyone’s hearts leap back into their throats.

“Her Highness the Princess and her maid still haven’t returned!”

“The Princess? What’s going on?” the dragons of the rescue team asked in confusion.

Chelsea clenched his teeth as he explained, “Her Highness was with us earlier, but she went to pursue the Northern Rebellion Army that attacked us. After the blizzard appeared, she never came back…”

“What?! You’re not joking, are you?!”

The rescue team’s dragons turned deathly pale.

Almost no one dared to face reality. If anything happened to the Princess, and the Queen were to hold them accountable, the entire Northern Mining Field would likely be dragged down with her as scapegoats.

Given the circumstances, Xia Yi’s survival seemed nearly impossible—no one had any idea where she might be now.

“I’ve heard that something terrible once happened in this very area,” one of the Northern Mining Field’s dragons said. “Back then, a team heading to the northern city to purchase supplies also encountered a blizzard. They saw horrifying monsters within the storm. Out of a sixteen-member team, fifteen died. The sole survivor went completely mad, endlessly muttering about the monstrous figure he saw—something even larger than a dragon. Could it be that the Princess…?”

“Don’t—don’t say such ominous things! That’s impossible!” Chelsea hurriedly interrupted. “Her Highness will be fine. She’s waiting for our rescue. No matter what, we must find the Princess!”

This was something many people knew.

In the far north, numerous individuals had died after witnessing terrifying, mysterious creatures. Those who survived by sheer luck all lost their sanity and descended into complete madness.

A chill crept into everyone’s hearts. No one dared to think any further.

“Move out immediately. We’re going to search for the Princess at once!”

…

…

Elly was together with Xia Yi.

The situation was dire. They had completely lost their sense of direction—howling winds and blinding snow surrounded them, leaving no way back.

“Your Highness… What should we do now? We have no food, and the Three Great Sled Generals that could guide us are already gone…”

Elly looked as though she were on the verge of tears.

“If only we hadn’t gone after that Northern Rebellion Army leader…”

“……”

Xia Yi stood motionless, utterly silent, her eyes unblinking.

It was as if she hadn’t heard Elly’s words at all.

Her state frightened Elly badly—she looked as though she were possessed, staring fixedly in one direction.

“Your Highness… what are you looking at?”

“……”

“Your Highness?”

Elly called out several times, but Xia Yi gave no response, maintaining that eerie silence.

Suddenly, Elly’s heart began to pound wildly, her body trembling slightly.

The apprentice maid followed the direction of Xia Yi’s gaze and slowly looked over…