In the darkness, Princess Karinshan's spirit opened a pair of dark eyes. It was a pair of beautiful eyes that no one could see through, but they were filled with sorrow.
Princess Karinshan looked up at us and asked quietly, "Young infantryman, are you a brave from Floating Ice City?"
I walked up to her and nodded. "Mn!"
Karinshan sobbed before asking, "What happened to Floating Ice City?
What … what year is it now?
Has the Heavenblessed Continent been reborn? "
I shivered. Poor Karinshan didn't seem to know anything at all.
She walked up to me and said clearly, "It is Heavenblessed Year 8125, and the Night Creatures and the Silver Moon Alliance are at war with each other. The war has never stopped."
"Oh …"
Karinshan let out a long sigh and raised her hand. She looked at her palm and said in a sobbing voice, "I've been sealed here for a thousand years. What happened to my home …"
I asked, "Princess, what happened?
The inscription on the tombstone says that you committed suicide at the foot of Floating Ice City. Why is your soul here? "
"Suicide?
Hehe … "
Karinshan smiled, but she couldn't stop herself from sobbing. "I won't commit suicide. I want to protect my people and my home. This is all a plot. Undead Magus Cardilla used a forbidden spell to separate my soul from my body. My soul is sealed here, but my body is stored in the underground hall of Floating Ice City's palace. Everyone else, read it normally:!"
"What?!"
I couldn't help but be startled. There was actually such a heaven-shaking conspiracy in this mission?
How could one of the commanders of the Silver Moon Alliance, a wise and courageous princess, have her soul separated by a forbidden spell from her body?
Princess Karinshan cried for a while before she suddenly asked, "Young warrior, do you know who the current king of Floating Ice City is?"
I thought for a moment. "I think … I think it's Cardin The Third …"
Last time, I read on the forums that someone had accepted a quest from the old king, but I didn't see it with my own eyes. As a neutral undead, I didn't have the courage to go to the palace hall. If the king had a couple of holy magi with him, I would be dead for sure.
Karinshan shuddered when I said the name. Her eyes were filled with shock. "Wh … what?!
Father, he … he has lived for a thousand years?
How … how is that possible? "
Karinshan's illusory eyes glistened with tears as she knelt beside the coffin. Wiping her tears, she said, "My father is dead. That damned Undead Magus Cardilla must be the one who possessed my father's body!"
Chiang!
I pulled out the Purgatory Sword and said seriously, "Karinshan, give us the order. What do you want us to do?"
Princess Karinshan gritted her teeth and stared at us with determination in her eyes. "No adventurer has dared to come to this place for hundreds of years. You are my hope and Floating Ice City's hope. You must kill Cardilla and reclaim Floating Ice City's authority. You must save Floating Ice City from this dark abyss. Everyone else, please don't be surprised!"
I nodded and voiced my worry. "Princess, the Undead Magus' forbidden spell separated your body and soul. Can you still come back to life?"
Karinshan wiped away her tears and nodded. "Yes, I still have my power. As long as my soul can return to my body, I will be resurrected. In fact, my time has stopped at a thousand years ago. However, I didn't think that Floating Ice City would still be in the hands of the undead after so many years!"
Karinshan looked at us with determination. "My hope, and the hope of Floating Ice City, rests on your shoulders. You are about to complete a very dangerous quest!"
Ding ~!
System Notice: Do you accept the follow-up quest [Karinshan's Entrustment]?
(Current Quest Rank: S) … …
Fuck, it's already an S Rank quest?
This means that it's already an Epic Rank quest!
Coincidentally, several people in the party chose to confirm at the same time. After a pleasant ring, a main quest was already in their hands — Ding ~!
System Notice: You have accepted the quest [Karinshan's Entrustment] (Current Quest Rank: S).
Description: Karinshan believes that Cardin The Third is dead. You must head to the palace to find him and kill him. But before that, you must find Princess Karinshan's sword, the Blade of Kings. If you can kill Cardin The Third with this sword, you will be able to kill Cardilla, the Undead Magus who has possessed Cardin The Third's body. However, you must be careful. Cardin The Third has incredible control over undead magic, and countless brave warriors have turned into vengeful souls under his wand. The Blade of Kings is buried under a red maple tree in the palace's backyard.
… …
He Yi blinked a few times when she read the quest description. "This quest is actually pretty difficult …"
"Yeah, everyone else should read it normally:!"
I nodded. "We need to sneak into the palace first, dig out the Blade of Kings, and kill Cardin The Third. After that, we need to find Princess Karinshan's body and bring it back here to revive her. That's the only way to truly complete the quest."
Murong Mingyue waved her scepter. "There's no time to lose. Let's move out now!"
"Got it!"
To save time, we used our return scrolls and teleported back to Floating Ice City. Then, we headed straight for the palace.
We ran as fast as we could until we saw the solemn palace at the center of the city. At the plaza in front of the palace, elite riders were practicing horsemanship and slashing. Their deep, angry roars seemed to shake everyone's heart. No one could've imagined that the seemingly peaceful Floating Ice City was like a poisonous thorn stuck at the edge of the Light Faction's empire. If Cardin The Third started a rebellion, Sky City, the closest main city, would be the first casualty.
The Undead Magus was a super scary existence. These corrupted mages were willing to destroy anything in their pursuit of endless power. If the right time came, the cavalry of Floating Ice City would charge straight for Sky City, and a civil war between the humans would probably never end.
… …
Rustle rustle...
Stepping on the fallen leaves on the street, I led the girls all the way to the palace. He Yi looked a little worried when she saw the heavily-guarded palace in the distance. She pouted and said, "What should we do? It looks like we can't get in without a pass."
I frowned. I also felt like I was at my wit's end.
It was at this moment a group of ragged prisoners were being herded into the palace by a dozen or so soldiers. I quickly caught up to them and asked one of the NPC officers in charge of escorting the prisoners, "My lord, why are these prisoners being escorted into the palace? Aren't they supposed to be executed after the fall?"
The NPC officer was a bearded man, and he was wearing armor that had split open at the chest area. His chest hair looked like it was burning red. He looked at me and laughed loudly. "Little warrior, you don't know yet, do you?
Our king, Cardin The Third, possesses endless life and power, but according to the thousand-year rule of our family, these prisoners must be executed by the king himself. Therefore, they must enter the palace and receive divine judgment! "
I couldn't help but smile. Next to me, He Yi held my hand and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the souls of these death row prisoners must've been absorbed by an undead magus. I heard that evil mages have to sacrifice their physical bodies to cultivate forbidden spells."
I smiled. "Eve knows too much ~ ~"
"Hmph hmph!"
He Yi smiled but didn't say anything else.
It was at this moment the prisoners walking in front of us suddenly started to struggle and cause a small commotion. The bearded officer immediately raised his whip and shouted, "Do you want to die?
How dare you act so presumptuously in front of me, Lord Drew! If you do, I'll send you to the Barren Lands to dig for coal! "
The prisoners were scared out of their wits.
I took the opportunity to walk up to the bearded officer and said, "Sir, these prisoners don't seem to be very obedient, and you don't have enough manpower. Why don't my companions and I help you escort the prisoners? Here, take these copper coins and buy some wine for you. You must be exhausted from serving those nobles all day long!"
I stuffed a pile of gold or so into the bearded officer's hand. As expected, the bearded officer beamed with joy and patted me on the shoulder. "Little warrior, you have a bright future ahead of you. Take your friends and follow me!"
"Okay!"
He Yi and the girls were speechless. "OMG, how can we get into the palace like this?"
I also felt helpless, "This system is full of flaws. I think there are at least a thousand ways to sneak into the palace. Let's go …"
The four of them quickly followed Big Beardy into the courtyard of the palace. Then, they found an opportunity to slip away, separated themselves from the prisoners, and sneaked into the backyard of the palace. Fans also liked to read:
I steadied my body, gripped the Purgatory Sword, and walked toward the backyard. However, He Yi grabbed my cloak by the collar and said with a smile, "Don't act like a thief. You'll be suspected by the NPCs. You'll be much safer if you put on an act. Just think of yourself as the palace's manager …"
I nearly vomited blood. However, He Yi's method was effective. All four of us were combat-class players, and we didn't look too different from the guards. Magically, we snuck into the backyard.
…
"Look! Our Blade of Kings is over there!" Beiming Xue pointed ahead.
As expected, a towering tree covered in red maple leaves stood in the middle of the palace. It was the tree we were looking for. Once we dug out the Blade of Kings, we could get to work!
We ran all the way to the tree. Two palace maids noticed us from afar and immediately grew suspicious. When I raised the Purgatory Sword and started digging, the two maids' beautiful faces immediately turned vicious. Fangs appeared at the corners of their mouths, and they shouted hoarsely, "Dammit, how dare you touch the Blade of Kings! Die!"
Whoosh whoosh...
The two maids were the incarnations of the Undead Banshees. They let out shrill screams and charged me!
Bang bang!
Two loud explosions later, Beiming Xue nailed the two Banshees to the fake mountain. Then, she fired an Evil Spirit Volley. He Yi dashed forward and swung the Abyssal Sword twice. The two Banshees' rotten heads immediately rolled far away on the ground.
Hmph hmph, these two girls don't show any mercy when it comes to undead mobs!