The Crying Girl

By the campfire.

Soren picked up the light-footed girl and placed her beside the fire. Since she was completely invisible to the naked eye, he had to keep her at a distance to prevent her from burning. Invisibility was only a second-level Spell, but Greater Invisibility was a fourth-level Spell; the difference in effectiveness was huge. Unless Soren removed her clothes, she would be completely invisible, and even then, only her clothes would be visible. This was one of the most frequently memorized Spell by Wizard; Wizard of the third rank and above almost entirely replaced second-level Greater Invisibility Invisibility.

This Spell won't be visible even when attacked; it only reveals a blurry outline of movement.

That's an incredibly powerful Spell!

Soren had neither the ability to See Invisibility nor the Spell to break it, so he could only sit there and continue eating.

About half an hour later.

The girl next to him still showed no signs of waking up, and he seemed a little impatient. He reached out and pinched her nose, then pressed down hard on her chest twice.

There was still no response.

Soren raised his hand and slapped the other person across the face, not with much force, but still without waking him up.

He didn't know if she had fallen unconscious due to supernatural factors, but Soren searched her entire body and found no wounds. Now he faced two problems: one was that the girl hadn't woken up yet, and whether Soren should leave her there or continue his journey with her. Leaving her there would be like giving up halfway, and it would be better not to have rescued her in the first place. Soren wasn't one to give up halfway.

But waiting here for her to wake up isn't an option either!

Even though she couldn't see the girl, she knew her identity was strange. She was unconscious in the wilderness, under several Spell. The trouble that was about to happen was likely to be quite significant.

Staying here indefinitely could lead to danger!

Soren hesitated for a moment, then began to move. As Rogue, he was adept at wilderness survival. He started to erase all traces left by the two, including the place where she had first appeared. That was one of the advantages of the Land of Ice and Snow; it was much more difficult to track them than the southern regions. As long as he erased the traces, even if someone was tracking them, they would be helpless. It took him a while to clean up the traces. Then he completely extinguished and covered the campfire.

Soren then picked up the unseen girl and carried her toward the snow-covered mountains that stretched for hundreds of miles.

The more powerful the monster, the more dangerous its habitat.

Dragonkind don't wander into plains for no reason; they live in cliffs and mountains, and they are flying creatures. It's impossible to deal with these creatures without venturing into the mountains, as their hunting range rarely extends into very open areas. The snow-covered roads were difficult to traverse, and Soren, carrying a woman, wasn't moving very fast, while also having to erase the footprints he left behind.

Snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Before long, everything was covered.

Soren reached out and touched the other person's breathing. It was relatively stable, indicating that the other person either had a very good Constitution or was equipped with special gear. However, the right side of her cheek was slightly swollen. He wasn't sure if it was because of the initial slap, but he hadn't used much force. The fact that it swelled up so easily suggested that the girl in his arms was very pampered and had extremely poor resilience.

This walk took half a day.

Soren didn't know how far he had walked, but he had entered the snow-covered mountains. It was already getting dark, so he found a sheltered spot to camp. The wind was strong in the mountains; even hiding behind a rock, he could hear it howling. Soren began to set up camp, placing the still unconscious and blind girl in a corner. He wondered what kind of Spell had been cast on her to allow it to last so long; he even considered stripping her clothes off to examine them.

Soren lit a campfire.

He then took a few sips of water, remembering that the girl next to him seemed to haven't had any water all day. So he reached out and touched her head. Then he pried open her mouth, carefully poured some water in, and pressed on her chest a few times, as if she had swallowed it.

"Cough cough!..."

A faint cough suddenly rang out. Then, a blur of colors appeared before her eyes, and the girl, who had been hidden for almost a day, finally revealed her true form.

She looked quite young, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old.

The other person was wearing an exquisitely crafted long dress, adorned with intricate embroidery that was clearly the work of a master. She was undeniably beautiful, with long, lovely eyelashes and fair, delicate skin, clearly a pampered young woman. The only noticeable flaw was the red mark on her right cheek—five distinct finger marks—and her cheek was slightly swollen. Soren felt a little embarrassed upon seeing this, as he hadn't used much force; it had just been a light slap.

"Hmm!..."

The girl slowly opened her eyes, and upon seeing someone in front of her, she visibly shrank back, her eyes filled with fear. Noticing Soren approaching, she lunged forward without hesitation, biting his arm. Surprisingly, despite her petite frame, she was stronger than Soren, easily knocking him to the ground and securing her arm in her bite. This girl was truly using her strength; Soren winced in pain, wanting to knock her unconscious with a single blow, but seeing her pale face, he feared she might not wake up for a long time, so he could only pinch her nose with his fingers.

"Mmm... mmm... mmm..."

The girl couldn't breathe through her nose, and her mouth loosened slightly. In a flash, Soren moved with lightning speed, grabbing her jaw and prying it open. He had originally planned to dislocate her jaw as well, but considering that it might be a subconscious action from someone who had just woken up, he showed some mercy.

She's clearly a woman with no combat experience.

Who bites another person's arm to protect themselves? If you're going to bite someone, you'd bite their throat. What good is biting their arm?

Are you born in the Year of the Dog?

The girl was instantly jolted away by Soren's grip on her jawbone. She was just about to pounce again, her aura like a cat with its fur standing on end, when suddenly she seemed to see something. Her gaze swept over Soren's Scimitar, and then she said in an incredulous tone, "It's you!... It was you!... Did you save me?... Do you remember me?... That day you were unconscious in the snow!... I brought you back to the city!...!"

The other person's words sounded somewhat incoherent, and their expressions and gestures were rather comical.

However, Soren understood the implication and asked in surprise, "You were the one who escorted me back to the city that day? What a coincidence!"

The girl seemed to want to stand up, but frowned and plopped back down. The sudden relaxation left her feeling weak, and she said in a rather feeble voice, "I saw you faint in the snow that day, so I sent someone to take you to the city for treatment. I originally planned to bring you along, but Mother Greina disagreed..."

"Mother Greina ...she...she's dead!... Karlo ... Keynes ...they're all dead!..."

The girl's face fell, her voice heavy with sorrow. Tears streamed down her beautiful eyes, her shoulders trembled slightly, and she began to sob involuntarily. Soren frowned slightly; he could tell from the girl's words that there was serious trouble, but he still carefully walked over and gently patted her back.

"Waaaaah!..."

This comforting gesture seemed to exacerbate the situation, and the girl immediately threw herself into his arms, crying with tears and snot streaming down her face, looking like a pitiful little kitten.

Anyone who says girls look beautiful when they cry out loud is absolutely out of their mind. Do you believe it if they shed tears and snot all over your chest?

She cried for a while before gradually stopping.

His eyes were red and swollen, making him look somewhat pitiful. Soren chest was soaked with tears, and he was sobbing so hard his snot was almost coming out of his nose. The scene was anything but aesthetically pleasing; it only evoked pity. Sympathy for the weak falls within the realm of morality, and Soren clearly possessed his own moral standards.

"I'm... I'm sorry!..."

The girl looked at the bloodstains on Soren's arm, her voice choked with emotion.

She had bitten it out, and she had really put in a lot of effort. If Soren hadn't acted quickly, she could have torn a chunk of flesh from Soren. The girl wiped her cheek, removing her tears. She seemed to feel some redness and swelling on her right cheek, but she didn't say anything. She just sat down on the ground, looking dejected. She was clearly a girl who had always been pampered and probably had never even seen blood before. Today, faced with such a big event, she was struggling to cope.

"Alright."

Soren didn't know what to say for a moment, so he patted her shoulder and said, "I'll get you something to eat first; you must be starving."

"Tell me if you need anything after you finish eating. Since you saved me, I'll do my best to help you this time too!"

The girl raised her head, her eyes red and brimming with hope, and choked out, "Th... thank you!..."

Soren remained somewhat silent.

His intuition told him that things weren't simple, and getting involved in this would definitely cause a lot of trouble. He took out some ingredients and put them on the fire to roast, then glanced at the girl beside him. Every detail about her told him that she was of very high status, and any enemy who dared to attack her was definitely not simple. He wasn't a very compassionate person, but if she had saved him, he couldn't just leave her there unattended.

He is a principled person, sometimes even stubborn.

Soren chopped off a section of the king crab and asked, "How did you recognize me? I look quite different now, don't I?"

The girl was still sobbing softly; she had started crying so hard that she couldn't stop for a moment. Hearing this, she looked up and whispered, "You... your knife..."

Soren's sword was very unusual.

In the Land of Ice and Snow, Scimitar made from Elven Race Fish-scale Pattern Steel are very rare, and the beauty of the fish-scale pattern on the Scimitar itself is also very impressive.

...(To be continued~^~)