[Monsters! Monsters!]

[There Are Monsters! There Are Monsters!]

That was right—this person Du Wei had picked up was none other than the cold, icy beauty who had fought Vivian over the Fear Illusion Demon in Half-Horn City that day!

But at this moment, the woman had her eyes closed and her lips pressed tightly together. Even unconscious, her brows were tightly furrowed. Yet Du Wei could see that an expression of lingering panic and terror still seemed to remain on her face!

Du Wei had witnessed firsthand just how formidable this icy beauty had been that night. Seeing her unconscious yet looking so frightened and helpless, he could not help but ponder... just what terrifying thing had she encountered?

He thought of that inexplicable gigantic roar they had heard today, and the earthquake...

Vivian carefully held a gourd of water as she sat beside her sister. Then she raised her head and stammered, "Y-you... how did you f-find her? What... what happened to her?"

Du Wei shrugged and briefly explained. Vivian was somewhat at a loss as well. She even examined her sister's body. There were no injuries, only short, weak breaths.

Vivian tried to give her sister some water, but the icy beauty had her teeth clenched tight. Growing impatient, Du Wei simply knelt down, roughly picked up a branch and pried open the icy beauty's jaws, then snatched the gourd from Vivian and poured a mouthful of water into her...

"Ah! No, y-you'll choke her." Vivian hurriedly grabbed Du Wei's arm. Her large eyes watched him for a while before she softly asked, "You... you seem unhappy?"

"Should I be happy?" Du Wei shook his head. "You should think carefully about what we'll do when she wakes up. Your magic has stopped working, and if she wakes up, we won't be a match for her."

He sighed. In truth, Du Wei felt rather conflicted. When he had seen this unconscious woman in the sea, the question had already occurred to him.

Save her? She was not on their side! What if this woman woke up and went mad again? Don't forget, she had said that night that she wanted to capture him and refine his soul essence... Though he had no idea what that was, one thing was certain: it definitely would not be anything pleasant!

Not save her? Could he really watch a woman like this die atop that iceberg? Du Wei could not bring himself to be that cruel.

While he was lost in wild thoughts, the unconscious icy beauty on the ground had already been choked awake by the water.

She coughed violently several times, then swiftly rolled over and struggled into a sitting position. After being unconscious for so long, her body was weak; the moment she sat up, she collapsed again. Still, she had finally awakened.

"S-sister..." Vivian called softly. The little fool looked rather frightened, as though she feared her sister. She hurriedly got to her feet and cautiously edged closer to Du Wei...

"Ugh... my head hurts so much..." The woman on the ground struggled to clutch her head, her face twisted in pain. "What happened... I... you..."

After a brief spell of confusion, she gradually came to her senses. Her eyes widened as she looked at Vivian and Du Wei before her. "You? Why are you here? I... why am I here? Did you save me?"

Before Du Wei and Vivian could speak, the woman sprang up herself, as though she had suddenly remembered something. Her face changed drastically, and she shrieked, "My dragon! My dragon!! My Frost Dragon! My Okt!!"

A look of grief appeared on her face. Suddenly, her legs gave out beneath her, and she sank to her knees. Covering her face with both hands, she burst into loud sobs...

"My dragon... my Okt! My Okt..."

Vivian blinked. Seeing her sister overcome with grief, she could not help asking softly, "S-sister... what happened to y-your dragon?"

"...What happened? It died! It died!!" The woman wept miserably, pounding the ground with both hands, clawing and striking at the earth as if the sorrow filling her heart had nowhere to go. "It died! That monster ate it! It was eaten by that monster to save me!!"

Du Wei's eyes went wide at once!

Ate a dragon?

What kind of monster could eat a dragon?

Weren't dragons the most powerful creatures?

Vivian's sister cried for quite some time. No matter how Vivian tried to comfort her, it was useless. She cried until her voice went hoarse and her eyes turned red, until she could barely catch her breath. Only then did she gradually stop.

Du Wei tugged Vivian and waved her aside. His face was solemn. "May I ask what exactly you encountered? That monster you mentioned—what was it? Are there monsters here?"

"Monster..." A flicker of fear crossed the icy beauty's eyes. "A monster! There is a monster!"

She glanced at Du Wei and Vivian, then suddenly snapped, "It was all because I was chasing you! I rode Okt through the nearby seas searching for you, and eventually found this place... found this island. I thought perhaps you were hiding on it... But when I rode Okt close to the island, Okt suddenly became very strange. It kept crying out wildly, as if there was something here it feared. No matter how I drove it, it refused to land. In the end, I used my magic to force it down, and only then did it..."

At this point, the icy beauty began crying again. "It was me... I killed my Okt! My Frost Dragon..."

Du Wei cut her off coldly. "Stop crying first! Tell us what happened!"

The icy beauty glared fiercely at Du Wei, then suddenly leaped to her feet and pointed at him and Vivian. "It was all because of you! Vivian! If you had given me that Illusion Demon, I wouldn't have chased you all the way here!!"

Du Wei raised a brow, anger rising in his heart.

That was simply bandit logic.

But there was no time to argue with this woman. A trace of hatred appeared in her eyes as her hand reached toward her waist.

"Looking for this?" Du Wei pulled a jade-green flute from behind his waist. It was the icy beauty's weapon, and he had confiscated it while she was unconscious.

"Hmph! You think taking my magic wand means I'm no match for you?" The icy beauty froze for a moment, then shouted, "Come on, Vivian! Even without my dragon, I can still defeat you! You never beat me when we were children!"

With that, the icy beauty took a deep breath, and her body immediately rose into the air as she rapidly began chanting a spell...

Damn it! Du Wei truly wanted to slap himself! He had known this might happen! This hateful woman—he had saved her out of kindness, yet the moment she woke up, she attacked him!

Just as Du Wei fumed, something strange happened...

The icy beauty, whose body had floated up to the height of the tree branches, suddenly changed expression. Her body swayed in midair, then she abruptly plunged headfirst down!

Fortunately, Vivian kindly ran over and caught her. The two of them rolled together into the grass. The icy beauty screamed, her face full of terror. "You! What did you do to me?! My magic! My magic!!"

She forcefully pushed Vivian away and unwillingly began chanting another spell aloud. But this time, only a palm-sized patch of ice shot from her fingertips. It struck Du Wei and hurt a little, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He had no time to care about the pain as he shouted, "Your magic has stopped working?!"

"My magic!" The icy beauty froze, staring wide-eyed at her own hands!

She had clearly cast the intermediate spell Ice-Sealing Frost just now!! Yet all she had fired was a palm-sized ice crystal!

Du Wei's expression became exceedingly strange, and then he burst into laughter. "Your magic has stopped working too! Hahaha, it stopped working too!!"

"Damn it!!" the icy beauty roared. "What did you do to me?! Vivian! What magic did you use on me?!"

Du Wei looked coldly at the woman who was flying into a rage and sneered. "Please. By all rights, we're enemies, not friends. Did you expect us to sit obediently by and wait for you to wake up and attack us?"

"It was you!" The Ice Beauty's face went deathly pale, and terror filled her eyes.

"N-no, it wasn't... Sister." The still-innocent little fool spoke up. She gently hugged the Ice Beauty and said softly, "M-my m-magic has failed too... Sister..."

"Hmph, you're just too kindhearted. Why tell this awful woman?" Du Wei curled his lip, but after thinking for a moment, he smiled. "Looks like we've found the root of it... Vivian, your magic has failed, and this awful woman's magic has failed too... So the cause isn't you two. It seems to be this place! Maybe some kind of power here suppresses all magic!"

Learning that the terrifying Ice Beauty before him had lost her magic as well, Du Wei immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

A tiger might be terrifying, but faced with one stripped of its claws and fangs, Du Wei had far less to fear.

He even walked over, deliberately leaning close to the Ice Beauty, and chuckled in a low voice. "Well? Esteemed mage, what are you planning to do to us now? Cast your magic? Or refine me into some soul essence? Heh heh..."

As the Ice Beauty watched Du Wei draw near, she seemed almost frightened silly. Even when he was practically at the tip of her nose, a fierce glint suddenly flashed through her eyes!

Du Wei's heart stirred, and a bad premonition rose within him...

Then he felt a sharp pain in his stomach! The next moment, his whole body flew through the air and crashed heavily onto the ground!

The Ice Beauty clenched her fist and glared at Du Wei resentfully. "Hmph, even without magic, do you think you can bully me whenever you please?! I'm not just a mage! I'm also a warrior! A swordswoman who passed the Level Six examination!"

This was bad...

Lying on the ground, Du Wei gave a bitter smile.

He had gotten carried away... He had nearly forgotten that she had displayed her strength during the battle that day. This woman was not a frail girl like the little fool, someone who only knew how to use magic. She was an expert who cultivated both martial arts and magic!

Even without magic, she still had superb martial skill... more than enough to keep their side firmly under her thumb.

Having landed a blow, the Ice Beauty immediately stepped forward to add a kick. Vivian hurried over and stood in front of Du Wei with her arms spread wide. "No, don't! Sister, d-don't hurt him!"

The Ice Beauty sneered at Vivian. "Ah, useless Vivian! So I wasn't wrong! This hateful little noble really is your little sweetheart! Is that why you're protecting him so fiercely?"

"N-no, it's not..." Upon hearing the term "little sweetheart," Vivian's pretty face instantly flushed crimson. A trace of shyness flashed through her eyes, and she could not help lowering her head. Twisting bashfully, she said, "I-it's not like that. I... he... We fell here, and he's taken very good care of me. He found water for me to drink, and he found food for me... Even you, he was the one who saved you! You can't hurt him!"

After hearing Vivian's words, the Ice Beauty pondered for a moment, withdrew her fist, and stood upright. "Fine! This brat saved me? Then I'll spare him this once."

"Th-thank you." Vivian let out a breath of relief.

But Du Wei, still lying on the ground, merely gave a cold laugh. Enduring the pain in his stomach, he climbed to his feet and dusted the dirt from his clothes. "Hmph, if I'd known, I never would've fished you out of the sea!"

"Hmph." The Ice Beauty sneered. "Unfortunately, you don't have the ability to throw me back into the sea now."

Du Wei did not get angry. "That's right. Unfortunately, I don't have that ability. That's the truth."

"Vivian said you rescued me and carried me here too? Hmph, then I owe you once, so I'm sparing you now. But you'd better not provoke me again." The Ice Beauty turned to the side.

Not only was Du Wei not angry, he instead began to laugh. He even clapped his hands vigorously, laughing as he applauded. "Good, good! Splendid! I've seen plenty of unreasonable women, but I've never seen one so beautiful who could be unreasonable to this extent. You've truly opened my eyes."

Hearing this, the Ice Beauty could not help feeling somewhat embarrassed. She snapped viciously, "What, do you have a problem with that?!"

"No." Du Wei was very calm, his tone unhurried. "I even think it's perfectly fair... The one with the hardest fist is the boss! Whoever has the harder fist has the most reason. That's how the world has always worked... Right now, you're stronger than me. I can't beat you, so if you bully me, I deserve it. If I were stronger than you, I might have kicked you into the sea long ago."

The Ice Beauty froze for a moment and looked Du Wei up and down twice. This time, she did not get angry. Instead, a strange expression appeared on her face. "Eh? You little noble really are unusual. The way you speak is quite interesting too... Unlike all those other nobles I know, who are so hypocritical."

Du Wei rubbed his stomach and said blandly, "We've fought already. Now let's talk business! You've lost your magic, which means we're trapped on this little island! There's no food here, and very little fresh water. We have no way to leave... And you just said there's a monster here that can eat dragons... right? Now, I think it's necessary for us all to sit down and discuss things properly!"

His tone was very grave.

The Ice Beauty froze for a moment. Remembering her dragon, grief appeared on her face again. "My Okt... my Okt..."

"Now isn't the time to grieve. You'd better tell us exactly what happened." Du Wei said coldly. "Since that monster could eat your dragon, maybe it'll come and eat us too! Tell us, so we can make some preparations first!"

This Ice Beauty was much stronger than her younger sister in temperament. After weeping for a while, she finally managed to calm down. Though sorrow still hung on her face, her emotions had stabilized considerably.

"Just as I was riding Okt down to land, a monster suddenly leaped out of the sea beside the island... It was huge, incredibly huge... I don't know how to describe what it looked like. It was like a giant ball of flesh, with an eye on each side. I don't know how large its whole body was, because only part of it was exposed while the rest remained underwater... Okt panicked at once. That monster roared, and then... it attacked me. It used magic—water-element magic. Its magical power was very strong. It raised waves thirty meters high, nearly striking Okt and me out of the sky!"

The Ice Beauty's voice trembled.

"Then Okt counterattacked the monster, but Okt's ice magic couldn't inflict any harm on it at all... There seemed to be some kind of magical defensive aura around the monster. The ice storm Okt breathed out struck its body and was immediately bounced away... I cast magic too, but it was useless! I've never seen such a powerful monster... I'd never even heard of a Magic Beast that could be this powerful! Even a top-tier archmage could never establish a magical barrier capable of withstanding a dragon's frontal assault for so long!"

"And then?" Du Wei frowned.

"Then of course I thought of running." The Ice Beauty's face darkened. "Since I couldn't defeat it, I immediately tried to leave. But then I discovered it was too late! I don't know what kind of barrier that monster had set up. I rode Okt into the sky, but after flying only a little way, it was as if we had slammed into an invisible wall of air and were knocked back! I tried several times, but I couldn't fly out in any direction... In the end..."

"What happened in the end?"

"In the end..." The Ice Beauty wiped her tears hard. "In the end, the monster's roar summoned enormous waves. Their height... I had never seen anything like it! I don't think even my teacher could summon waves of that magnitude with water magic! Those waves swept us directly down from the sky... Then... I fell from Okt's back and saw with my own eyes that the monster opened its huge mouth and swallowed Okt in a single bite! It... My dragon fell from the sky, and that monster swallowed it in one bite!!"

O-one bite?

It swallowed such an enormous dragon in one bite?

Then just how big was that monster?!

Du Wei's face turned somewhat pale.

`

(I'll only say two things:

First: I wish everyone a happy weekend~!

Second: Please vote~~!

I'm done speaking~)

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