Ice Prison King

Barn returned to the Ice Blade 123rd Squad's quarters with Adele's family of four. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he keenly sensed an unfamiliar presence lingering behind Fukaloss's tightly shut door. Clearly, they had an unexpected visitor.

"Declan, show them around and get their rooms ready," Barn instructed, turning to him. "I'll go see how things are with Miss Fukaloss."

Declan nodded slightly and led the four Moonflower Deer toward an empty building on the other side of the courtyard. Barn took a deep breath and walked slowly toward Fukaloss's room. He had just raised his hand to knock when the door suddenly opened from within.

The one who opened it was the thin Oliver. His usually stern face was now full of deference. He stepped aside slightly. "Come in."

Barn stepped into the room without showing what he was thinking.

The room was softly lit. Aside from Fukaloss, who sat by the bed with her head bowed, silent as ever, a woman was seated in a chair beside the tea table.

The woman looked to be around thirty. Her long gray-white hair was casually tied back, and her bearing was elegant and dignified. Her face was gentle and warm, but her eyes were as deep as an ancient well. She calmly studied him. Her gaze seemed mild, yet carried an invisible pressure.

Barn's nerves instantly tightened. He could clearly sense the other woman's formidable power, and had already guessed who she was. This must be the "Grandma" Fukaloss had mentioned, an Highgod.

Oliver stepped forward at just the right moment. "This is Lady Annabelle."

"Barn pays his respects to Lady Annabelle." Barn didn't dare be careless.

The woman named Annabelle gave a faint nod, her expression casual. She got straight to the point. "I hear you call yourself a 'Tiger-pattern Warrior'?"

Barn nodded calmly and replied evenly, "My lord, I come from the Bole Clan of the Yulan Continent. The people of the Yulan Continent call our clan members Tiger-pattern Warriors." He answered with only information that didn't matter.

"I'd like to see you transform," Annabelle said evenly, though her tone brooked no refusal.

Barn instinctively glanced at Fukaloss, seated by the bed. Her head was still bowed, her long hair hiding her face and expression. She said nothing, as if nothing in the room had anything to do with her. Seeing this, Barn hesitated no longer. He silently roused the power of his bloodline and transformed into a Tiger-pattern Warrior.

A platinum glow enveloped him. His body slowly expanded, transforming into a white Tiger-person with wings on his back. Faint purple markings remained on his wings, traces left behind when drinking the blood of a Thunder-wing White Tiger had awakened his bloodline. But as his strength continued to grow, the purple markings had grown fainter and fainter, and his body was slowly changing toward the form of a divine White Tiger.

Annabelle lifted her eyes slightly, scanning his wings and body. A flicker of understanding passed through her eyes, so subtle it was almost imperceptible. Then she nodded lightly. "Turn back into a human."

Barn did as she asked and ended his transformation, returning to human form. Annabelle picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip. Then she asked, "Do you know the source of your clan's bloodline?"

Barn understood what she was getting at, but pretended to know nothing and answered truthfully. "Our ancestor, Bole, first appeared on the Yulan Continent more than four thousand years ago. After that, our clan lived and multiplied there, passing it down from generation to generation." He deliberately acted as if he knew nothing, unwilling to reveal what he truly understood about his bloodline.

Annabelle watched his candid expression. A trace of amusement flickered in her eyes, but she offered no explanation. She merely said slowly, "Fukaloss told me that you've gotten along very well lately. She even found inspiration in you and comprehended the Profound Mystery of Circle Softness. I owe you a favor for that. Take these."

As she spoke, she casually tossed a simple-looking spatial ring toward Barn.

Barn hurriedly caught it. In the presence of a Highgod, he couldn't immediately claim the ring by dripping his blood on it and inspect its contents. He could only bow respectfully and thank her. "Thank you for your gift, my lord."

Annabelle waved a hand, her tone returning to its usual calm. "I'm taking Fukaloss back to the Royal City. I won't be around again for a long time, so take care of yourself."

Before Barn could reply, Fukaloss, who had been silent all along, suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes were full of defiance as she shouted, "I'm not going back! I want to stay here with my teammates!" Her voice still carried the hurt and resentment she hadn't yet let go of.

Annabelle looked at her. Her tone softened, but remained firm. "Fufu, you're a Godlevel now. You shouldn't keep acting so willfully. You need to learn to accept the consequences of battle. Even if I helped you this time, you'll eventually have to face fierce battles on your own. Friends and family will inevitably die in battle. That isn't cruelty; it's a trial every strong person must endure."

Fukaloss pressed her lips together, still fuming, and turned away, refusing to look at Annabelle. She clearly wasn't convinced.

Annabelle shook her head helplessly and continued, "You have tremendous talent. While none of the three Profound Mysteries you've comprehended have reached mastery yet, you should try fusing them as soon as possible. If you can successfully fuse all three, then with your Evil Eye King talent, your strength will come close to mine. Once you reach that point, I won't interfere with your freedom anymore. You can decide for yourself what you want to do."

Before Fukaloss could argue again, a terrifying Highgod Domain erupted around Annabelle. An invisible force instantly engulfed the entire room, forcibly pinning Fukaloss in place and leaving her unable to move. Then Annabelle picked her up and flashed away, turning into a streak of light as she sped toward the distant Ice Prison Royal City, leaving behind only a faint ripple of Divine Power.

Oliver bowed to Barn. "Sorry for the trouble, but please give me Blair's body. My lady wants to take her back to the Royal City for burial. As for Julia's body, her family will come to claim it shortly."

Barn nodded without a word and raised his hand, taking Blair's body from his spatial ring. The Beholder's body still bore a faint dusting of ice and blue-black blood, long since drained of its former vitality. Oliver carefully put the body away, then turned and flew toward the Royal City.

Watching them disappear into the distance, Barn sighed softly. He took out the spatial ring Annabelle had given him, dripped a drop of blood onto it, and claimed it as his own.

His Spiritual Power entered the ring, and surprise flashed across Barn's eyes. Inside lay a full hundred Soul Gold Beads, each radiating a faint soul fluctuation and rich golden soul power.

"The Ice Prison King certainly is generous," Barn thought to himself.

Annabelle's words just now had been about how, if Fukaloss fused three Profound Mysteries and combined them with her talent, her strength would come close to Annabelle's.

An ordinary Lowgod might not understand what those words implied, but Barn, who had read the original story, knew full well: fully fusing three Profound Mysteries meant reaching the level of a Six-star Demon. With the added boost of the Evil Eye King's talent, Fukaloss's strength could even reach the threshold of a Seven-star Demon.

In the Ice Prison Royal City, Barn didn't think there could be a second person with the strength of a Seven-star Demon. Annabelle's identity was clear by now. She had to be the Ice Prison King.

Just then, Barn suddenly slapped his forehead, his face turning rueful. "Oh no, I forgot to ask for Adele's Godhead back!"

Adele's Godhead was still in Fukaloss's hands.

But he had never been inside the Ice Prison Royal City, and besides, he was only a lowly Lowgod. He had no chance of meeting Annabelle, a Highgod, let alone asking her for the Godhead. Barn was at a loss for a moment, so he could only set the matter aside and think of a solution later.

A month passed after Annabelle took Fukaloss away.

One day, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to Barn's courtyard, breaking the quiet of the quarters. The man had two purplish-gold dragon horns on his head and a stern face. He wore a suit of black armor engraved with intricate dragon patterns, radiating the pressure of a powerful Midgod. Barn recognized him at a glance: he was the deputy commander of the Heavenly River Legion.

The woman beside him was a delicate-looking young matron dressed in plain clothes. Her face was haggard, her eyes heavy with exhaustion and grief, and her aura was highly unstable.

Feeling their auras—and especially their oppressive grief and hostility—Barn hurried to his feet and went outside. He was about to greet them when he met their chilling gazes: cold and sorrowful, with a trace of barely concealed resentment. The words caught in Barn's throat.

After a moment of silence, the purple-gold dragon-horned man spoke first. His voice was low and hoarse, laden with unconcealed grief. "We're Julia's parents."

Barn understood. Without saying anything, he silently raised his hand and took Julia's body out of his spatial ring. The headless body remained as it had been when she died in battle, dried blood still staining her armor.

After taking out the body, Barn respectfully stepped back a few paces and lowered his eyes, giving the couple room.

"Waaah—" At the sight of her daughter's cold body, Julia's mother couldn't hold back any longer. She covered her face and burst into tears, her cries so raw and desperate that they tightened the heart.

The man clenched both fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. Blood trickled between his fingers, but he seemed not to notice. He only stared at his daughter's body, grief nearly spilling from his eyes.

Declan and Adele heard the commotion and hurried out of their room. Seeing what was happening in the courtyard, both of them froze and silently stopped at a distance, afraid to approach.

Barn stood quietly to one side, waiting.

Ten minutes later, the man finally managed to calm his grief. He drew a deep breath, turned to Barn, and spoke in a gentler tone. "My name is Timothy. You've completed your mission to escort the Ghost-faced Spider. You can go to the mission hall later to claim your reward."

"Lord Timothy," Barn said, bowing slightly, his voice tinged with guilt. "I'm sorry we couldn't protect Julia."

Timothy waved a hand and said nothing more. The grief in his eyes hadn't faded, but he understood that life and death were unpredictable on the battlefield, and no one else was to blame.

"By the way, the recent war between the Royal Cities has just ended. Don't go out again for now. Wait until the border is stable, in a few hundred years."

Before Barn could answer, Timothy carefully picked up his daughter's body. He softly comforted his still-crying wife, then took her and flashed away from the quarters.