A night of spring dreams left no trace.
The hormones surging through his young body in sleep were swiftly frozen back into the organs that secreted them by the howling winds of the icy wilderness.
Russell had already forgotten what Malena's body had looked like in the dream as he followed the Knight Order through the endless white snow.
Only because the knights had Battle Aura protecting their bodies did they avoid snow blindness.
Of course.
They occasionally encountered groups of azure Snow Ghosts, adding a hint of color to the frozen world.
Yet the brightest color of all belonged to the precious snow forests—so long as there was even a trace of warmth beneath the earth, trees would rise from the ground.
They broke through the ice, faced the wind and snow, absorbed sunlight amid the bitter cold, and grew with unyielding tenacity.
"Whenever I see a snow forest, I feel delighted, like a wanderer returning to his mother's embrace. Haha." Lord Ertlas, who had once sold Russell lumber, broke away from the right-wing formation to chat with him.
"Yes. It's hard to imagine that snow forests can exist on the snowfields, much less that all kinds of animals can survive within them."
"That is the power of life. Ice and snow cannot bury it."
"It's a pity there are still too few snow forests."
"Few, but resilient," Lord Ertlas said. "Did you know that far more Phantom Beasts are born in snow forests than in the Warm Land? Just like people, animals can only hope to become exceptional after enduring brutal training."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. Your father's Silver Winged Wind Fox was found in a snow forest. Back then, to catch it, we followed your father and waited in the snow forest for nearly half a