The White Walker charged toward Zhao Qi on its dead horse.
Seeing this, the Linebreakers guarding Zhao Qi stepped forward to intercept it.
But Zhao Qi held them back.
“My Lady?” The leader of the Linebreakers was confused, but a moment later, heavy, powerful footsteps echoed from behind them.
“By order of Lord Shen, this White Walker is to be taken alive.” Golden armor gleamed beneath the rays of dawn.
Miao Yi casually held a spear adorned with golden dragon motifs, its tip seeming to burn with roaring flames.
A longsword hung at her waist, and behind her head hovered a halo radiating golden light.
Standing well over two meters tall—more muscular than almost anyone present—this member of the Celestial Guard stepped out alone to face the charging White Walker.
*What in the world is that?* The White Walker felt like it was looking at a miniature sun.
The two-meter-tall golden-armored warrior made no attempt to dodge the undead warhorse rushing toward her.
She stood her ground, then violently swung her gold-and-red spear!
The White Walker felt itself suddenly launch into the air, followed by a dizzying spin.
*How did this happen?* It struggled to climb up from the ground, only to find both its legs pinned firmly beneath the collapsed undead warhorse.
The horse’s neck was twisted backward at a bizarre angle.
Reanimated by magic, the zombie steed ignored the fatal injury, frantically pawing its hooves in an attempt to stand up again.
*Clank, clank.* The grinding scrape of armor accompanied its wearer’s movement.
The golden glare was almost blinding to the White Walker.
The White Walker reached out its right arm to grab Ice, its fallen longsword, but the very next second, a boot crushed its arm beneath its heel.
“AAAAAH!” An agonizing screech tore from the White Walker’s throat, but not from the crushed arm.
It was caused by the golden light radiating from Miao Yi’s body.
Every member of the Celestial Guard was forged through the Dragon Emperor’s painstakingly devoted effort.
To this day, these superhuman warriors numbered fewer than four hundred.
Miao Yi was one of them.
Aside from their outward appearance, the Celestial Guard could hardly be called human anymore.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Shen Mo hadn’t feared unforeseen accidents, Miao Yi alone might have been sent tonight to reinforce Guan Zimo.
*Swoosh!
Swoosh!* The blazing spear tip effortlessly severed both of the White Walker’s arms.
Golden flames danced over the stumps, steadily devouring what remained of its body.
Miao Yi raised an eyebrow and reached out to extinguish the flames on the severed stumps.
It seemed these monsters could not withstand the supreme power of the Dragon Emperor.
Reversing her grip on the legs pinned beneath the horse, she gave a gentle tug, tearing both legs clean off the White Walker.
This time, the wounds did not ignite.
Even so, being at such close proximity made the White Walker wail continuously.
It felt as though it had been placed inside an eternally burning furnace, endlessly scorched yet unable to die.
It was an invisible torment, completely passive on the guard’s part.
Miao Yi had no intentional malice, but the White Walker carried in her hand suffered agony every second.
…
Blackhand pulled Grion close against his chest.
From this moment on, he would hide nothing from these people.
He stood submissively to the side, watching the heavy cavalry gallop back and forth, smashing their weapons into the waists of the wights that could still move.
Just moments ago, Zhao Qi had cast another spell.
It possessed no direct combat effect, merely driving the Wind of Life and the Wind of Light to perform an exorcism ritual over the wights.
After a bit of testing, Zhao Qi discovered that Hysh—the Wind of Light, also known as the White Wind—dealt far higher damage to these creatures.
Without needing fancy, complex spells, simply directing the Wind of Light to blow across the wights stripped them of their ability to move.
Of course, sweeping the Wind of Light over such a wide area couldn’t destroy every single wight.
Those not felled by the Wind of Light required soldiers to deliver the finishing blows.
“How do you feel?” Shen Mo looked at Zhao Qi, who waved her hand dismissively.
“I am fine, my lord.
However, the Winds of Magic in this area seem to be entirely depleted…
I do not know how long it will take to recover.” Zhao Qi frowned slightly.
As a Jade-Faced Fox by nature, her perception of the Winds of Magic was exceptionally keen.
If the Winds of Magic on this battlefield had been like a lush green forest earlier, now it was like a scorched, barren wasteland.
What troubled Zhao Qi was that such a situation never occurred in Cathay.
Casting spells there was like scooping water from the sea—take out a ladleful, and a bucketful immediately rushes in to fill it.
But here, the Winds of Magic showed no sign of blowing back or replenishing the area.
“Hmm…
That is indeed a problem.” Shen Mo fell into thought.
Zhao Qi’s mastery of magic was his greatest trump card.
If casting two large spells drained the magic from a patch of land, he would have to exercise extreme caution when using spells in the future.
He wondered how much magic wind in the air would be consumed by using spells to accelerate crop growth.
Indeed, though the seeds Shen Mo brought had been selected to withstand cold weather, the secret behind their rapid growth was fundamentally magical ripening.
Just like what a certain elven fraud had done to the land of Bretonnia.
*Hah…
Best not to overthink it, or my head will start aching again.* Shen Mo removed his helmet and rubbed the two horns on his forehead.
“My lord!” The squad leader of the Jingsai cavalry who had gone out with Guan Zimo rode up to Shen Mo’s side.
“Speak.” “These three are local inhabitants we found…
There should have been four, but…
Please punish us, my lord!” Watching the Jingsai trooper dismount and kneel on one knee to accept blame, Shen Mo raised a hand, signaling him to rise.
“It is not your fault.
No one expected us to encounter wights.” “Understood.
It is merely our own incompetence for failing to bring back more people.” “Ah, do not say that.
General Guan was leading the team.
If she heard that, it might cause a misunderstanding.” “This…
Understood, my lord.” Dismissing the Jingsai squad leader, Shen Mo turned his attention back to the three captured locals.
Two Wildlings and a ranger like Will.
“You.
Come here.” Shen Mo beckoned to Logan.
The latter swallowed hard, smoothed his anxious heart as best he could, and stepped up to Shen Mo’s horse.
“Logan, ranger of the Night’s Watch, greets your lordship.” Logan kept his head bowed, not daring to meet Shen Mo’s eyes.