Pursuit Through the Wind and Snow

Outside the monastery, on the snowfields ravaged by a blizzard, a Snow Monster clad in protective gear stopped before the monastery gates.

The monster stood nearly two meters tall. A layer of white fur covered its back against the cold, its eyes hidden beneath long hair. Its four massive claws sank into the snow, its lower fangs jutted upward, and thick white mist billowed from its wide mouth with every breath.

Seated steadily on the Snow Monster's back was a woman with an upright posture.

She wore a suit of dark armor, broad-shouldered, with an exaggeratedly shaped longsword hanging at her waist.

She looked down at Grey Dove Monastery before her, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

The Holy Lamps had gone out, resentful spirits had run wild, and most crucially, the surrounding protective magic array had been completely destroyed.

An aura that made her deeply uncomfortable hung in the air.

Soon, an armored subordinate hurried through the snow and dropped to one knee.

"Commander Vivienne, more than half of the Stillbone Prayer Room has collapsed. The Moon-Crown Lock is gone."

Vivienne's gaze darkened, and a chill burst forth from her body.

The subordinate swallowed against his dry throat and continued his report trembling beneath the Suppression.

"On the ground, we only found... only the Silver Robe's remaining clothing and his destroyed staff. As for the man himself, he is gone..."

Even the wind and snow seemed to fall deathly silent at that moment.

The Silver Robe Inquisitor was a clergyman stationed by the Holy Court in this region, specifically responsible for overseeing and comforting the faithful.

Now, the Silver Robe was suspected dead, and the Holy Court's important sacred relic, the Moon-Crown Lock, was nowhere to be found.

Vivienne's fingers tightened around the beast's reins, veins bulging on the back of her hand.

Before she could process this shocking news, another subordinate came scrambling over from the snow on the other side.

"Commander! Something happened at the storerooms too!"

Vivienne cast a cold sidelong glance at him. The pressure of a superior descended upon him, and the subordinate stammered out his reply.

"One... one of the three core warehouses... was almost, almost completely emptied."

Vivienne fell silent for a moment, then her expression turned utterly grim.

Grey Dove Monastery had been destroyed, the Moon-Crown Lock had vanished, the Silver Robe Inquisitor was suspected dead, and the storerooms had been robbed.

This was no ordinary heretic attack.

Someone had publicly slapped the Holy Court while sitting on its neck, then casually taken the purse from its belt before leaving.

Though she was loyal to the crown, she would not make distinctions based on personal feelings.

After all, the Holy Court was the highest religious church in the Holy Capital Kingdom, protected by the God of Holy Radiance.

On these snowfields, commoners worshipped holy emblems, nobles maintained Holy Lamps, and the Royal Capital's interests were deeply entangled with those of the Holy Court.

For so many years, no heretic had ever dared to do this.

Nor had any madman possessed the ability to accomplish something on this scale.

An intensely ominous feeling suddenly rose in Vivienne's heart.

Once word reached the Royal Capital, who knew how many powerful officials would leap from their beds in shock tonight and lose all sleep.

Vivienne guided the Snow Monster into the monastery. The imposing gates were wide enough to admit the creature's body.

The moment she entered, she was met by a hellish scene, corpses scattered everywhere.

Yet compared to what she had seen on the battlefield, it was still far too clean.

Vivienne's gaze slowly swept across the extinguished Holy Lamps and shattered defensive runes, and the more she looked, the stranger this disturbance seemed.

She suddenly raised a hand and pointed at a monk slumped in the snow not far away.

The monk's white robe had been dirtied beyond recognition by dust and blood. His face was deathly pale, and he kept murmuring prayers, trembling like a leaf.

"Bring him over."

Two knights immediately dragged the monk before the Snow Monster.

The monk's legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

Vivienne looked down at him, her voice icy.

"Start from the beginning."

The monk's lips trembled. "I-I don't know. I really don't know anything..."

Vivienne's gaze darkened.

As if sensing her impatience, the Snow Monster suddenly lowered its head, its pale fangs nearly touching the monk's face.

The monk let out a scream of terror and nearly fainted on the spot.

Vivienne said coldly, "I don't like hearing nonsense."

The monk's teeth chattered as he desperately banged his head against the ground.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

He raised his head shakily, his eyes darting around as though he had yet to recover from that terrifying disaster.

"Today... today, the Discipline Office captured a Northern Witch Hunter."

Vivienne frowned slightly. "Name."

"I think it was... Hewin, Hewin Hartmann." The monk's voice rose into a shrill pitch. "Yes! It was Hewin Hartmann!"

The expressions of the surrounding knights changed at once.

Hewin Hartmann.

That name was not unfamiliar along the Northlands border.

He was no ordinary Witch Hunter.

When encountering advertisements such as "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them; do not scan codes or send text messages!

He had captured quite a few of the Holy Court's undercover agents and had led people in intercepting several secret transport teams.

The Holy Court and the Northlands remained relatively restrained on the surface, but their covert struggle along the border had never ceased.

Vivienne's fingers tightened slightly around the reins.

"Continue."

The monk swallowed.

"The Discipline Office was originally going to interrogate him, but then something suddenly happened at the Lamp Room."

"The Lamp Room?"

"Yes." The monk trembled even more violently. "We found several corpses in the Lamp Room. That place was a complete mess, and several Holy Lamps had gone out... Th-this isn't my fault... I only arrived recently. May Holy Radiance forgive me..."

His voice choked with sobs. He buried his face in his hands and prayed without stopping.

Vivienne grew somewhat impatient. She hated weepy people most of all, especially men.

She looked away in disgust and said harshly, "Keep talking!"

The monk flinched, held back his tears, and continued.

"Later, something happened in the Baptism Room too. Lord Hil, who was in charge of baptisms, died, and the access token disappeared. We thought people from the Black Tower had really infiltrated the monastery, so we began sealing off every passage."

At the mention of the Black Tower, Vivienne gave a cold snort.

Those people truly refused to give up.

"Anything else?"

The monk's shoulders shook. "Y-yes. A swordswoman appeared from nowhere. She was very strong. She held a holy sword and rescued Hewin Hartmann."

Vivienne finally narrowed her eyes.

"A swordswoman?"

"Y-yes, an Adventurer." The monk hurriedly replied. "She spoke strangely, like those people from another world. She didn't just take Hewin away. She also took another Witch Hunter."

Vivienne said coldly, "Who was the other one?"

The monk thought for a moment, his voice dropping even lower.

"I... I don't know."

Hewin and his subordinate, along with an Adventurer who could wield a holy sword.

At last, this lead had begun to take shape.

The monk was still trembling as he wiped his nose. "Then later, the underground area exploded..."

"Enough!" Vivienne cracked her whip, cutting him off. "I'll investigate the rest myself."

Vivienne raised a hand, and the knights immediately dragged the monk away.

The monk collapsed in the snow, still murmuring prayers in broken intervals.

Vivienne moved farther away. She did not like listening to such useless muttering.

After steadying herself, Vivienne looked toward the darkening sky and rapidly analyzed the situation.

Hewin Hartmann was injured, and his subordinate had only just been rescued from the Lamp Room. The area around the monastery was filled with traps, so they could not be moving very fast.

As for the Black Tower... Hmph. A bunch of rats in the gutter.

The blizzard swept past the edges of her armor. She tugged the reins, and the Snow Monster beneath her gave a low growl and turned halfway around.

Vivienne looked at the soldiers behind her, her voice carrying over the wind.

"First squad, pursue them along the Corpse Transport Road. That is the most likely route for the Witch Hunters to retreat."

"Second squad, seal off the old bridge and the northern slope."

"Third squad, come with me."

Riding the Snow Monster, she slowly passed before the formation, her sharp gaze sweeping over every face.

"Anyone who captures the targets alive gets three days off."

The soldiers' expressions immediately changed.

Vivienne paused, then raised her voice with bold confidence.

"I'll cover the drinks and lodging in Hot Spring Town."

"Do you all understand?"

The soldiers' weary eyes lit up at once, and they all slammed their fists against their chests in salute.

"Yes—!"

Warhorses neighed, Snow Monsters growled, and several squads swiftly scattered into the blizzard in different directions.

Vivienne patted the Snow Monster's neck, the corner of her lips rising.

"Beo, you want to go to Hot Spring Town too, don't you?"

Beo let out a low rumble from his throat and clawed through the piled snow, as if urging her to stop wasting words.

Vivienne's smile deepened.

"Good."

She pulled the reins, and Beo's massive body suddenly lunged forward, kicking up a great cloud of snow.

"Then let's bring them back!"

The knights behind her immediately followed.

The wind and snow soon swallowed their retreating figures, leaving only the dull sound of iron hooves and beast claws crushing through the snowfields as they pursued their quarry deep into the snowy forest.

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