The cold wind outside carried the Northern Frontier's uniquely bone-piercing chill.
Yet when Louis woke, his room was as warm as spring.
Hidden geothermal pipes beneath the floor steadily released warmth, keeping the entire bedroom at just the right temperature.
Thus, even with only a thin wool blanket over him, he had slept soundly through the night, undisturbed by the cold.
Louis slowly sat up and casually smoothed his slightly tousled hair.
As always, the first thing he did upon waking was instinctively raise his hand. A translucent screen silently unfolded before his eyes.
[Daily intelligence update complete] [1: An adult Ice-veined Giant Snake was discovered hibernating today in the rocky valley north of the Red Tide Fief.] [2: Ernst August, Emperor of the Ironblood Empire, has formally accepted the Governor of the Northern Frontier's recommendation and approved Louis Calvin's elevation to Viscount.] [3: Archmage Jurgen Loken has unexpectedly fallen unconscious a short distance north of the Red Tide Fief. His current condition is unknown.]
The moment Louis saw the first entry, he became fully alert.
In the Northern Frontier, the Ice-veined Giant Snake ranked among the most valuable magical beasts!
Although its gallbladder could not directly strengthen battle aura, it could purge impurities from the bloodline, improve aptitude, and accelerate cultivation.
For someone with his mediocre aptitude, that improvement mattered more than anything else.
Not to mention its nourishing meat, cold-resistant scales, and precious fangs...
Every part of an Ice-veined Giant Snake was a treasure!
Under normal circumstances, however, hunting an adult Ice-veined Giant Snake was no easy feat.
Even coiled up, an adult Ice-veined Giant Snake's body spanned the width of a sizable house, making it a true monster of the ice plains.
Moreover, the bloodline of this magical beast contained potent ice elements. A single