IRM Chapter 112

Ji Chi spent that night on the sled. He politely declined the tent the soldiers offered him, and under the rabbit’s puzzled gaze, carefully felt along the walls of the sled.

He pulled out a framework covered with fabric from both ends of the sled—front and back. The framework fit together seamlessly overhead, blocking out the rustling falling snow. Then he found two thin, transparent crystal panels from both sides of the walls, which perfectly filled the gaps at either end. The open-air sled instantly transformed into a small cabin with crystal windows.

The rabbit watched in astonishment as Ji Chi worked his magic on the sled, then eagerly jumped inside, feeling the warm and cozy atmosphere in the small cabin. It sighed contentedly, “Those fifty gold coins were really worth it…”

Ji Chi shook his head with amusement and tapped his curved fingers against the thin crystal window. Hmm… with this level of hardness, even if a great swordsman came over and struck it with a hammer, they probably wouldn’t be able to break it.

Night gradually deepened. Ji Chi lay in the sled, turning his face slightly to gaze through the transparent crystal window at the star-filled sky, as clear and tranquil as if washed with water.

The stars on the snow plains were especially bright, with starlight filling the sky like an endless rain, twinkling and sparkling across the snowy ground.

The expeditionary army’s encampment wasn’t particularly quiet. In the completely exposed wilderness, the soldiers on night watch duty were especially alert, patrolling circles around the camp. The clinking of armor and the rustling of iron boots on snow drifted through the night, seeping into the dreams of many people clad in iron armor.

Ji Chi lay with his eyes open, gazing at the night sky. The scenes from the village kept replaying in his mind, leaving him inexplicably unsettled. He closed his eyes and tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep, but ultimately couldn’t suppress his anxiety. He quietly got up and pushed open the sled door.

However, just as he was about to step onto the snowy ground, his outer coat pocket suddenly grew heavy, as if someone had accurately tossed a heavy lead ball right into it.

Ji Chi didn’t have time to deal with it. He ran quickly across the snow, making several leaps and turns until he left the patrol range of the expeditionary army.

After confirming no one had seen him, he pulled out a solid ball of fur from his pocket and said helplessly, “If you’re not sleeping well in the sled, why are you coming along to join the excitement?”

The rabbit yawned hugely. “The fact that I’m at the border now is the best answer, isn’t it? I thought you would’ve gotten used to it by now.”

Ji Chi recalled how it had smuggled itself along a few days ago, his face darkening. “Listen here, little one, being this annoying will make it very hard for you to grow up.”

A mocking expression appeared on the rabbit’s furry face.

Ji Chi stopped paying attention to it, tucked it in a bit tighter, and crept toward the small village in the twilight.

There wasn’t much entertainment on the vast, desolate snow plains, so the villagers had all gone back to their houses to sleep early. The entire village was enveloped in the deafening snoring of the bears.

Ji Chi’s footsteps paused. He realized that under the bears’ cover, he had absolutely no need to sneak around. With a complicated expression, he strode openly into the village.

The house where the Church monks were staying was very easy to find—it was the only place in the entire village with a warm glow of firelight shining through.

Ji Chi came to the cloudy glass window and gently tapped out a small hole in it, looking inside. His direct line of sight was toward a wooden bed with a swaying kerosene lamp placed beside the headboard, illuminating a figure tossing and turning on the bed.

The rabbit also pressed close to the window, staring at the person inside, and asked in a small voice, “They’re so anxious—are they also worried about the expeditionary army?”

After observing for a while, Ji Chi unfortunately gave his conclusion, “I think he’s purely being kept awake by the noise.”

Sure enough, the monk sat up in irritation, cursing and muttering, “Are they a pack of three-headed hellhounds? How can they make such loud sounds with just one head?”

The monk, full of complaints with nowhere to vent, took advantage of the cover of night to curse loudly and uncouthly—a far cry from the benevolent and holy servant of God he appeared to be during the day.

Just as he was cursing quite happily, with a crack, the kerosene lamp suddenly went out, and the room immediately became pitch dark.

The monk was startled. He turned to fumble for the kerosene lamp and began a new round of complaints. “What kind of broken place is this? They don’t even have magic lamps! Only these ancient, stinking kerosene lamps! Is this a place where humans can survive…”

Soon he shut his mouth, cold sweat instantly pouring out.

Against his neck, a cold, sharp longsword was pressed against his vulnerable blood vessels—the slightest carelessness would result in blood splattering three feet.

In the ink-black darkness of night, a demon-like voice sounded by his ear. “What is your purpose for coming here?”

The monk knew he couldn’t resist. He swallowed hard and stammered, “We… we came to… to preach the teachings…”

Ji Chi’s flat tone sounded again. The monk couldn’t tell if he was satisfied with this answer or not. “What did you preach?”

The monk immediately rattled off a long string of things.

This was probably the prayer content they required the bears to recite. It was very long and written in the language of the Angel race. It was comparable to a mage’s incantation chanting—no wonder it frightened the bears into that state.

However, after Ji Chi waited a while, he didn’t notice anything unusual. He furrowed his brow and pressed the sword edge forcefully against the monk’s neck. “Recite it again.”

The monk was almost in tears. He very earnestly recited it again, afraid that Ji Chi would lose patience and kill him. This time his enunciation was exceptionally clear.

Still nothing happened. Ji Chi gave up on him and, recalling that long string of content, recited it word for word. His clear voice chanted the prayer, flowing out from the house and making the village quieter by a few degrees.

The monk froze, momentarily forgetting his life was in danger. His face filled with emotion and relief, and two lines of muddy tears immediately streamed down. “I knew it… I knew normal people could memorize it, wuwuwu—”

Ji Chi used his longsword to bring him back from his untimely emotion. “Why is there no change? Didn’t you say patterns would appear after reciting it?”

The monk wiped away his tears: “Who said they appear just from reciting it? That… that of course is only a privilege for those favored by God!”

Ji Chi gave a cold laugh. “Do you think I’d believe that’s a good thing?”

“Forget it,” Ji Chi didn’t want to play riddle games with him anymore. He waved his hand to the side, and a twisted black shadow appeared at the head of the bed. “Talking to someone conscious really is a waste of time.”

The monk was frightened out of his wits. Before he could scream, a surge of pitch-black mist enveloped his head and face. He quickly closed his eyes and sat motionless on the bed.

The rabbit looked at him in surprise and poked the monk. “Did you kill him?”

Ji Chi shook his head. “No, I just want to ask for the truth.”

The monster he summoned came from the abyss and would stack confusion debuffs on enemies. In reality, this meant putting people in a state where they couldn’t distinguish friend from foe—very suitable for use on enemies.

Ji Chi had him recite the prayer again. Under the effect of the debuff, the monk wouldn’t lie, but Ji Chi discovered the monk hadn’t deceived him before either—he was still reciting the same content…

Ji Chi was finally somewhat confused.

This shouldn’t be right. When they were both reciting, he hadn’t sensed any magical fluctuations, which meant this prayer wasn’t a curse or a blessing—it was like the Church had made up a string of meaningless things to toy with everyone.

However, he didn’t believe the Church would be that bored. He continued asking, “What is your mission?”

“To make the villagers of Tal Village believe in the God of Light, to teach them to recite the prayer…” the monk obediently answered, then couldn’t help sobbing. “But… but I’ve been teaching them for a month… a whole month! They haven’t even memorized the first sentence! God! What did I do wrong? Why punish me like this?”

The monk collapsed on the bed wailing, the despair and pain in his cries making both Ji Chi and the rabbit shudder.

Ji Chi: “…” The bears are mighty!

He truly felt some sympathy for the Church. After pausing, his questioning voice involuntarily softened. “Whose orders are you following?”

The monk sobbed. “The bishop who oversees the Church in the Northland. He established a church in Newt Town a year ago. I… I could have reported back to him twenty days ago, but… but these villagers…”

Seeing he was about to cry again, Ji Chi quickly interrupted his casting and directly took advantage of the remaining debuff to confuse his thinking. “Alright, they’ll have memorized the prayer by tomorrow, and you can go back to report immediately.”

“Really?” The monk looked at him with teary eyes.

“Really. Also, you slept well tonight and didn’t see anyone.” Ji Chi watched as the monk lay down and quietly fell asleep, a sweet smile still playing at the corners of his mouth.

He shuddered with revulsion, found the rooms of the other monks, and gave each one a debuff.

The rabbit quietly watched him finish all this and asked, “Will they really leave here tomorrow? What if they discover the villagers still can’t do anything?”

Ji Chi: “They will. They probably don’t have the courage to face the villagers again.”

Ji Chi’s guess was correct. Early the next morning, before the sun had fully risen and while cold winds still whistled across the snow plains, several white figures joyfully rushed out of the village and soon disappeared from sight.

The villagers were also very happy. They had finally broken free from nearly a month of torment and wished they could sing and dance in celebration!

A young bear laughed and laughed, then felt something wasn’t quite right. “Village chief, why are the Church people even happier than us?”

“Probably because we memorized it so quickly and well…” The village chief pondered for a moment and taught profoundly, “Child, you must know that no one on the continent dares challenge the wisdom of the bear race. We can be proud, but we must not be arrogant.”

The young bear nodded in sudden understanding.

Ji Chi and the rabbit, who heard this teaching from afar: “…” Stop teaching! If you keep teaching, they’ll be ruined!

After daybreak, the expeditionary army didn’t linger. The soldiers who had rested the entire night were refreshed and set off with much lighter steps.

Halfway through, Ji Chi found Silvia and told her about last night’s discoveries, asking in confusion, “However, I don’t understand why it’s in Newt Town. That’s the most remote town in the Northern Kingdom. If the Church wanted to preach, shouldn’t they choose a place like the royal capital? And from what they said, it seems the Church laid plans in Newt a year ago.”

Silvia also wasn’t clear what the Church was thinking. Newt Town was the town closest to the fortress, with little population and no prosperity. She only knew of the place and had rarely set foot there.

The Countess suddenly reminded her, “Think about what kind of people are in Newt Town.”

Silvia instantly understood. Her eyes turned sharp, and she laughed in furious anger. “In the end, they’re still targeting the expeditionary army… Just because I’m unwilling to provoke those people doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate them!”

After speaking, she brandished her longsword and ordered the soldiers to assume their original forms and quicken their pace.

With successive beast roars, the beastmen behind all transformed into a heap of fierce beasts—some striding on four legs, some soaring on wings. The marching speed suddenly increased dramatically.

The Countess watched Silvia’s indignant retreating figure, sighed, and explained to Ji Chi, “Newt Town is right near the fortress military camp. Most of the people living there are the soldiers’ families.”

Now Ji Chi understood too. Soldiers were fearless of danger and battle, but they also had a weak point—their families back home.

The Countess’s eyes also turned cold. “Thank you for this. If the people the soldiers fought to protect were harmed from behind, Silvia would never forgive herself.”

The journey that originally required four or five days was completed in two days with the beastmen’s day-and-night mad dash.

Ji Chi finally saw the fortress up close. It was an extremely high ice wall, as if piled up from millions of years of frozen ice. The ice-blue wall stretched along the foot of the towering, cloud-piercing snow mountains, standing before the berserk beasts and the Snow Plains Expeditionary Army.

The expeditionary army was the second line of defense, with the military camp also built extensively to protect Newt Town behind it.

Silvia’s face was solemn. The flames of her suspicion, fear, and anger had burned for two days. She went directly past the direction of the military camp and charged straight toward Newt Town.

The people in the town all recognized this guardian deity of the fortress. Everyone stopped to greet her kindly. Silvia’s eyes swept across those trusting, loving gazes. Her beast pupils gradually became vertical slits, and the snow wolf’s fur sprouted from her body.

The thick feeling of dread made her unable to even control her own form!

She dismounted, kicked open the church doors, and pointed her longsword at the young man in holy robes beneath the divine statue.

The young man turned around, a hint of surprise in his eyes as he looked at Silvia with her fangs exposed. “General, what is this about?”

Silvia swept her gaze across the townspeople in the church who had been startled, and asked through gritted teeth in a low voice. “What exactly are you trying to do? If you dare harm them, I guarantee your soul will be torn apart by me!”

The young man’s hair was the golden yellow beloved by the Church—the best symbol of light—but his pupils were a mysterious, beautiful purple with arcs of electricity occasionally flashing across his irises.

He smiled and said to Silvia, “There may be a misunderstanding here… Please believe me, what I detest most is also harming innocent people.”