Lithe and powerful thighs traced an arc in the air, akin to a blade cleaving or a heavy hammer sweeping. The seemingly frail flesh struck the cold, hard armor, emitting a chilling, deep rumble. The man who was sent flying seven or eight meters away by a kick struggled to get up, removed his helmet, and forced a compliment onto his face full of palpitations: “Lord Marlowe, you are becoming stronger and stronger. In my understanding, no one could possess such formidable strength on the Crystal Staircase.”

“…”

Seraphina slowly retracted her leg, feeling neither complacency nor joy from the compliment, her gaze even somewhat gloomy. “Seraphina,” Marlina, dignified in appearance, appeared at the entrance of the courtyard, “Are you done here?” “… Mm.” Seraphina nodded, walked to the man who was ostensibly her sparring partner but had been beaten by her all along, and patted his shoulder: “You’ve been a great help, thank you.”

The man stared blankly at the departing girl, shivering at the thought of her fierce and violent fighting style just now, but also as insightful as a devil’s. Where on earth did Lord Hydral find this monster? “How was it?” Marlina turned her head to look at her sister, her tone calm, “Did you find the feeling?” “No.” Seraphina gritted her teeth, her face full of the frustration she had not shown earlier: “Not at all! Damn it… what’s going on!”

Another victory, a victory that brought Seraphina no feeling at all. She was getting stronger, handling Ansel’s tests more and more easily, and she had even defeated most of the Red Frost territory, with no third-stage Throne able to beat her. Whether it was experienced sorcerers or armored warriors, once they were seen through by Seraphina’s terrifyingly combat talent, they could only end up defeated.

Sweeping the Thrones on the Crystal Staircase, this would be laughed at as a tall tale anywhere. Yet Seraphina, who accomplished this tall tale, felt no satisfaction. The Red Frost territory was just a remote territory in the north, with almost no resources worth mentioning apart from the Blazing Ice Viper. The extraordinary beings serving the nobles here were naturally among the lower ranks, and Seraphina also felt that many people were holding back in their fights with her… these achievements were not worth boasting about.

Moreover, she fought these people to find the opportunity to break through to the throne, but gained nothing. The wild beast residing deep in her soul seemed to have fallen into a slumber, and no matter how Seraphina tried to stir up her emotions, it did not appear again. And this, Seraphina did not tell Ansel. She did not want the promise she made to become empty talk, and she did not want to disappoint Ansel again.

Confused, Seraphina could only turn to her sister for help, hoping that Marlina’s wisdom could guide her to a clear path. The sisters walked side by side in the corridor, they were currently in the city of Sparklens, one of the three cities that let the poor die in the great cold wave. Marlina had taken Seraphina to many cities under the guise of going out for work, letting Seraphina fight with different extraordinary beings in an attempt to help her regain the feeling of touching the throne, but to no avail.

“Can you still not describe the feeling at that time?” Marlina frowned slightly, speaking with a touch of worry. “I… I don’t know.”

Seraphina grabbed her hair hard: “Anyway, it’s a feeling… I’m very powerful, no one can stop me, I don’t know how to explain it.” Her impression of the emotions she felt at that time was deep, but because of the intertwining of various emotions and the extreme agitation of her mood, it was too difficult for Seraphina, with her language organization ability, to describe such a mood.

Marlina was silent, she did not know what had happened between Ansel and Seraphina, did not know those topics about destiny and the future, and naturally did not know the specialness of her sister. Even though she had studied the knowledge of many extraordinary beings, she felt extremely difficult. “Seri,” the girl sighed, “Tell Mr. Ansel, he won’t blame you.” “But, but —” Seraphina bit her lip unwillingly, “I don’t want to trouble Ansel, nor do I want… to lose that opportunity and qualification.” fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

She was getting stronger, she could see through the opponent’s every move in the fight, and even easily predict the initiative, but Seraphina felt nothing for such a cold victory. Each fight became a boring calculation and analysis in Seraphina’s eyes, she could not gain even a tiny bit of valuable things from such fights, and even felt… tired. Is this really good? Is it really the best choice for me to continue fighting in this way?

This thought had popped up in Seraphina’s mind more than once. However, her unconditional trust in Ansel and the reality of gradually becoming stronger made Seraphina suppress this thought time and time again. She was sure that the path Ansel pointed out was correct, but she could not find what she needed on this correct path.

Seraphina was extremely upset, the opportunity to become Ansel’s pact head was right in front of her, and Seraphina believed that Ansel would never give up on her. But she could not accept that she, who could not even overcome this obstacle… would become a pact head by relying on Ansel’s feelings for her, not by her own strength. She stood by Ansel’s side to provide him with power, to become an absolute force that could clear obstacles for him, how could she turn around… and seek power from Ansel?

But… But if she continued to be stubborn, refused to seek Ansel’s help for her self-esteem, and when the Blazing Ice Viper woke up, she did not have enough power to confront it, then what about the destruction caused by that monster… how should it be counted? Isn’t this another mistake she made because of her stubborn self and foolish arrogance? Hasn’t she made any progress at all?

Seraphina was thus caught in an increasingly anxious dilemma. As the date Ansel revealed to her, the date of the Blazing Ice Viper’s awakening, approached, Seraphina’s mood became more and more unstable.

Upon hearing the hastened breath of Seraphina, a result of her anxiety, Marlina was about to offer some words of comfort when she noticed a tall, slender man, dressed in extravagant attire, approaching her with a look of worry. Her expression instantly returned to one of calm indifference as she steadily advanced towards the man. “Miss Marlina,” he greeted her first, bowing slightly, then turned to Seraphina, bending his body slightly, “Lord Marlowe, I apologize for the intrusion.” The man’s respect for Marlina was evident, but his use of a more reverential title for Seraphina seemed peculiar. Marlina raised her hand, signaling him to cease his meaningless chatter. As the young lady made this gesture, an aura of natural authority began to emanate from her. Despite the man towering over her, her demeanor and expression seemed to reverse their roles, effortlessly seizing control of the conversation. In this world, two things can most significantly change a person — knowledge and power. After dedicating herself to serve Ansel of Hydral, the two things Marlina encountered most were precisely these. –>