Frostwhisper Village was far larger than an ordinary village.
Viewed from the hillside, although most of its houses were low, dilapidated, and in disrepair, the overall layout faintly revealed a planned, almost town-like skeleton.
The main road was wide enough for two carriages to pass side-by-side, with a network of alleys that, while extensive, did not appear chaotic. At the village entrance, the base of a half-ruined stone watchtower remained. In the distance, one could see the remnants of a mostly collapsed rammed-earth wall, clear relics of early fortifications.
What caught Igor’s attention even more were the particularly sturdy stone foundations scattered around the village’s outskirts, large enough to have once supported small forts or warehouses, now overgrown with weeds.
From afar, the entire village resembled an abandoned chessboard. Though the pieces were scattered, the board’s planned layout and structure remained clearly discernible.
It was evident this place had once been an outpost of high hopes, not merely a settlement for people to dwell in.
“Just like the rumors said, that White Knight… indeed didn’t just intend to build a village.”
Igor’s heart stirred slightly, recalling the rumors about this pioneering knight.
That White Knight had once gained the recognition of a Greater Spirit within the ice ruins, achieving the rank of a High-Rank Elementalist from a commoner’s background. His dream was to establish a well-defended, autonomous city-state for free folk in the northern lands.
For a considerable time, he was the most perfect hero in the hearts of the northern people.
Though he bore no formal title of 【Knight】, he possessed the substance of one, and was praised by bards as the 【Perfect Knight】.
Namely—the 【White Knight】.
However, in the end, he had failed to resist the temptation of power and influence, ultimately accepting the Western Duke’s recruitment to become a genuine noble.
And the scene before his eyes was the faded remnant of that dream.
Igor didn’t think the man’s choice was particularly wrong.
Elemental Spirits were inherently rare in the world, and transcendent knowledge and resources were almost exclusively held by the nobility. Without integrating into the noble system, an ordinary person couldn’t get far.
Igor continued walking towards the village.
Contrary to its impressive appearance from a distance, the closer he got, the clearer Frostwhisper Village’s ruinous state became.
The simple wooden palisade walls were damaged in many places. On the watchtower at the village entrance, two mercenaries clutching spears were listlessly yawning.
However, the moment Igor drew near, they immediately became alert, looking at him with unfriendly eyes.
“Halt! What’s your business here?”
One of them barked out the question roughly.
Igor stopped, looked up, and replied in a raspy, simple-toned voice:
“Sir, my name is Bolo. I’m a free mercenary hoping to try my luck at the ruins. I heard the Blood Wolf mercenary group is based here, renowned and prestigious, so I’ve come specifically to join.”
Though Frostwhisper Village was remote, it was close to the glacier ruins, so free mercenaries passing through were common. This explanation was reasonable. The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.
But the mercenaries clearly weren’t interested:
“Get lost! Our group isn’t taking on anyone!”
Several mercenaries gathered. The leading scar-faced mercenary waved his hand impatiently.
Igor said nothing, his gaze sweeping over a nearby boulder half a man’s height.
He walked up to it and, under the mercenaries’ puzzled stares, gripped the bottom of the boulder with one hand. The muscles in his arm bulged, and the frigid mana within his body naturally circulated.
With a low grunt, he actually lifted the massive stone cleanly over his head, held it for several seconds, and then, under the mercenaries’ dumbfounded expressions, set it back down firmly with a thud.
The ground trembled slightly.
“Hiss…”
Sounds of sharply drawn breaths rose among the mercenaries.
The scar-faced mercenary’s expression changed as well, shifting from contempt to shock and uncertainty.
Such monstrous strength was definitely not something an ordinary mercenary possessed!
“Heh, I’m quite strong. I hope to meet the group leader.”
Igor patted the dust off his hands and smiled somewhat simple-mindedly.
The scar-faced mercenary hesitated for a moment, about to speak, when a messenger mercenary hurried over from the village and whispered something in his ear.
The scar-faced man glanced at Igor, then stepped aside:
“Consider yourself lucky! Follow us. The group leader wants to see you!”
Igor gave a slight nod and followed them into the village.
Inside the village, the atmosphere was even more oppressive.
The dirt roads were muddy and rutted. Most houses on either side had their doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, villagers peeked through cracks, their eyes dull yet filled with deep-seated fear.
Several idle mercenaries loitered in corners, eyeing the unfamiliar face of Igor with ill intent. The air was thick with the smell of cheap ale mixed with sweat.
There were few livestock in the village. Most areas that should have been vegetable gardens lay fallow. Clearly, under the mercenaries’ occupation, the villagers’ lives had reached an extreme level of hardship.
Igor maintained his simple-minded facade, but his mood grew increasingly grave.
Even the commoners on the Orion family lands hadn’t been this lifeless.
The manor wasn’t large. Beside the gate, a slanted wooden sign still faintly bore the characters 【Snow Vow Manor】.
Clearly, this place was now the mercenary group’s stronghold.
Igor followed the guiding mercenary into the manor.
The courtyard was a mess, littered with carelessly discarded ale barrels and gnawed bones. Several fierce-looking mercenaries sat around a fire, sizing him up with malicious gazes.
On the stone steps of the main building, one could even see dark brown stains, blood that hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned. The air was a mix of mildew, sweat, and a faint, elusive scent of blood, oppressively suffocating.
From not far away, intermittent screams and sobs could be heard, faintly mixed with the shouts, curses, and lewd laughter of mercenaries.
Igor’s expression turned somewhat icy, and he subtly clenched his fist.
The mercenary leading him didn’t notice his expression.
He brought Igor into the main hall of the manor.
Inside the hall, the lord’s originally wide seat was now covered with a filthy bearskin. Sitting upon it was a middle-aged, burly man wearing a worn chainmail shirt, with a scimitar at his waist.
The man’s complexion was sallow, with heavy bags under his eyes, but his gaze held a vicious, wolf-like cunning and a trace of poorly concealed greed.
Igor immediately realized this was the “Blood Wolf” group leader, that Inferior Elementalist who had achieved his power through water elemental stones.
“Oh? So you’re the one wanting to join?”
Blood Wolf looked Igor up and down, forcing a seemingly hearty smile onto his face:
“Not bad! Good potential! I, Blood Wolf, like capable men like you!”
However, Igor acutely perceived that the other’s greedy, bloodthirsty gaze lingered more on him, as if appraising the value of an object.
Igor’s mind stirred.
He intended to probe further, but noticed the man subtly giving his mercenaries a look, seeming somewhat impatient.
Under Igor’s elemental perception, the seven or eight elite mercenaries in the room shifted their positions imperceptibly, gradually forming an encirclement.
Igor immediately narrowed his eyes.
The mercenaries were unaware their movements had been detected by Igor’s elemental senses.
Just as they thought they were about to succeed and pounced…
Igor moved!
He flung his cloak aside, revealing his true appearance, his blue-gray eyes flashing with cold light.
A fierce, icy aura erupted from him as the center! The moisture in the air instantly condensed into fine ice crystals, swirling and dancing!