Golden Land

The four of them walked through the snow, leaving a clear trail of footprints, toward the large mineral vein on the map.

At night, the people lit a fire in the cave to escape the bitter cold.

During the day, the group walked on the smooth ice, playing and laughing as they moved forward, arriving at their destination in the evening.

A massive, azure wolf, with sharp eyes, fangs, and a whip-like tail, stood majestically atop the boulder.

Frieren hid behind a rock and quietly aimed her wand at the gray wolf, firing a powerful Mana Bullet.

The wolf seemed to be able to sense magic. The moment Frieren activated her magic, it leaped high into the air.

He pounced on Frieren from mid-air with astonishing speed.

Stark shielded Frieren, raising his axe to meet the attack.

The wolf raised its head and howled, its imposing presence shaking heaven and earth.

"It's gathering its companions; don't give it time."

Dugu Qing held the magic wand, and suddenly shot out a powerful Mana Bullet from the tip of the wand.

Frieren and Fern simultaneously raised their wands and launched an attack.

Three Magic Circles intertwined, continuously firing Mana Bullets that surged and swept towards the Azure Wolf.

The wolf nimbly dodged and weaved, causing all the attacks to miss. It then strode forward and stood before the group.

Seeing that his magical attacks were failing to hit, Dugu Qing sighed, put away his wand, and summoned a cold, gleaming Battle Sword.

His figure transformed into a swift afterimage, as fast as lightning, and in an instant he flashed behind the Azure Wolf.

The wolf's body trembled, its head separated from its body, and its huge head rolled onto the white snow, where it remained motionless.

"Is that considered mission accomplished?"

Dugu Qing sheathed his sword, his expression relaxed.

Frieren turned to look to the side and saw a dense pack of wolves on the snow.

"These wolves were probably summoned by the wolf king; we have no choice but to defeat them all."

The pack of wolves surged forward aggressively, surrounding the four of them, their fangs bared, exuding a terrifying murderous aura.

Stark looked troubled.

"That's way too much!"

The two sides were locked in a stalemate when a heavy, steady thud of hooves came from afar.

The Knights of Knights of Norm patrol, fully armored and armed, formed a neat cavalry square and galloped straight into the wolf pack.

The longsword slashed and cleaved, flashing with cold light, and demons fell to the ground one after another. In an instant, a large number of demons were slaughtered.

The wolf pack suffered heavy losses and lost all its previous ferocity. They fled with their tails between their legs, disappearing into the depths of the snowfield.

Upon seeing that it was Frieren, the cavalry captain spurred his horse forward with a friendly expression.

"We followed you here because the monsters in this area were behaving very strangely, but we didn't expect it to be you guys."

Frieren tilted her little face up to express her gratitude.

The cavalry captain waved dismissively and led the patrol away.

Let's camp here tonight!

Having dealt with the monster, a strong sense of drowsiness washed over her, and Frieren couldn't wait to open her briefcase and take out blankets and quilts.

Dugu Qing cast Fire Magic, illuminating the surroundings and raising the temperature.

The group rested on the flat ground for the night, and the next day, Dugu Qing and Fern woke up one after the other.

Seeing that Frieren was still snuggled in bed, the two patted her on the shoulder and loudly reminded her.

"Lady Frieren, it's already morning, please get up quickly."

Frieren curled up in bed, eyes tightly shut. "Just five more hours of sleep."

Fern touched Frieren's face; it was terribly cold. He immediately pulled back the covers.

"If you keep sleeping, you'll freeze to death."

Fern, holding Frieren, and Dugu Qing, leading Stark, slowly arrived at the Holy Snow Vein.

Blue, four-sided crystal pillars, stacked at varying heights, stretched for miles, gleaming in the morning sun.

Dugu Qing walked up to the ore, gazing at the sacred snow patterns within the crystal, which bloomed beautifully like flowers, and couldn't help but smile.

"The Holy Snow Crystals are so beautiful!"

Frieren walked slowly forward, her long-dormant memories awakened by the beautiful scenery before her. She recalled the scene where she and Himmel once stood together admiring the Holy Snow Crystal.

"It's truly beautiful, so beautiful that one can't bear to destroy it! I really don't know how those adventurers could bear to smash open the crystal."

Fern placed her hand on the crystal, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"That's just how it is; the fate of minerals is to be discovered and then completely mined out..."

The thought that such a beautiful view might never be seen again filled Frieren with regret.

She raised her hand and cast Barrier Magic, enveloping the massive blue mineral vein.

The group returned to the adventurers' camp, found the quest giver, and told him how to break the barrier.

The client handed the agreed-upon gold coins to Frieren.

"It's good that a barrier has been set up; that will protect the mineral vein."

Frieren was slightly taken aback.

"Wasn't this barrier set up for mining purposes?"

The client smiled kindly.

"I grew up here, and it was seeing that beautiful scenery that inspired me to become an adventurer. Thank you all; it's thanks to you that I've been able to protect the beauty of my homeland."

Frieren smiled with satisfaction, "Is that so? Then I'll be able to see such beautiful scenery in the future. That's great, that's great."

The group waved goodbye, arrived at a hotel, rested for the night, and then set off again.

In the 30th year of the Xinshi Era, on the Northern Highlands, in the Weise Region.

A clearing deep in the forest.

Dugu Qing leaned against a tree, munching on hard black bread, and looked at Stark with a reproachful expression.

"Stark, it's all your fault for trying to save money, leaving us without enough supplies. Now we're eating bread again."

Stark still felt a pang of pain thinking about the exorbitant prices on the snowy plains.

"Just bear with it! In a few more days, we'll find a new village."

Fern used a knife to cut the bread into small pieces and ate it in small bites.

A cute kangaroo, carrying a backpack, walks out of the jungle, takes out a letter, and hands it to Fern.

Fern opened it to read.

Frieren looked at Fern with surprise, sensing that trouble was brewing again.

"Could it be another request from the Continental Magic Association?"

Fern finished reading the letter and shook his head slightly.

"No, this is a request from Mr. Laiern, Level One Mage, made in his personal capacity."

When Frieren thought of Laiern, her first impression was of him injuring her shoulder, and she immediately expressed no interest.

Fern took a Grimoire out of the envelope. "But he sent over all the rewards for the mission!"

Frieren glanced at the Grimoire, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Alright, let's set off then!"

The group extinguished the fire they were using for warmth and continued along the winding mountain path.

A dazzling golden light, radiant and bright, like the rising sun, came from the horizon.

Stark quickened his pace, with Frieren, Dugu Qing, and Fern following closely behind.

A moment later, the group arrived at the top of the cliff, below which stretched an endless golden ocean.

The towering city walls, majestic palaces, exquisite pavilions, crisscrossing streets, and lush forests... all shone with a bright golden light, making the world breathtakingly beautiful.

Stark gasped, his blood boiling.

"So much gold! It's spectacular."