Chapter 309
Chapter 309
Chapter 309
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 309 – Lan Qi and Sid’s Winter Collection
On the vast, snow-covered plains, the boy’s hurried steps were like a kite with its string cut—completely unable to keep steady.
The footsteps of the bandits grew louder and louder, like the summons of death itself.
From the very moment he set foot alone on this chaotic snowy wilderness, everything had already gone wrong.
Scattered rocks and ice cracks across the snowfield created slight variations in terrain. These subtle differences allowed faint shadows to form in the pale light. The rocks, half-buried under the snow, were jagged and sharp, like nature’s own sculptures. For those unaccustomed to life here, they were nothing more than hidden obstacles waiting to trip them.
At last, the boy’s increasingly sluggish feet caught on one such obstacle, and he fell heavily to the ground. Before he could rise again, the hulking men were nearly upon him.
“Still trying to run?”
As the bandit’s voice rang out, a hand stretched toward the boy. In that instant, a silver-white transparent barrier suddenly flared to life before him, like a wall of solidified air, separating him from his pursuers.
The bandits all halted at the sight of the sudden shield.
Surprise only lasted for a moment before cruel smirks twisted across their faces.
The burliest of the group grinned savagely and struck the barrier with his iron weapon. Sparks burst forth, ringing with the clangor of a forge.
“You really think this’ll hold us for long?”
The bandit leader’s eyes glimmered with greed and cruelty.“If you drop it yourself, we might treat you a little better.”
The others joined in mocking laughter, surrounding the barrier like cats toying with a mouse.
“I am Shaya Candis, eleventh head of House Candis! A true imperial noble! If you let me go to Kingston City, Viscount Levin Kingston will pay you in gold!”
Trapped within the shield, Shaya shouted desperately, his lungs burning with the icy air.
For a brief moment, the bandits hesitated—then erupted into raucous laughter.
They laughed as if his words were the most absurd joke. Did he really think they were fools? Or was he honestly naïve enough to believe they’d escort him to Kingston, where the viscount would conveniently kill them?
“Are you trying to amuse us in this lawless place?”
“The so-called bloodiest family of assassins—reduced to this weakling?”
“Too much peace, perhaps. Even demon-blooded nobles become cowards eventually.”
“Exactly! Why come north when you could have lived out your years safely in the warm South?”
“We just want to enjoy a little southern warmth first.”
Their jeering laughter rang out after every strike they dealt against the shield.
“But I’m a man!”
Shaya shouted in despair.
His looks weren’t bad by southern standards, but not feminine enough to mistake him for a woman—or so he thought. Perhaps the elf-blood in his lineage gave him delicate features, and his family tradition of wearing long braided hair only added to the confusion. In the blizzard, with heavy clothing obscuring his form, the mistake was easier to make.
If he had known the North was this lawless, he would never have left Box Mountain Province for the snowfields, no matter the marriage contract!
“A pretty boy? Even better!”
The bandits became even more excited.
Shaya froze in horror. They had known all along—this was their sick joke.
In that instant, he realized they were far more terrifying than ten billion killers.
Better to die than fall into their hands.
But he was only a second-rank mage. These bandits were at least third or even fourth rank—there was no chance he could resist.
His family couldn’t afford to hire bodyguards.
In the capital, sixth-rank experts were common. But here, on the border, even a fourth-rank adventurer or mercenary was considered formidable. Finding anyone stronger required hiring from branches of the Ba'tian Branch or the Mourning Guild, both far out of reach for him.
The only thing keeping him alive now was a first-rank holy spell inherited from his ancestors—a sacred pink barrier. But it was weakening fast.
Fear gnawed at his very soul.
This was a near-epic level divine spell, belonging to the magic of spirit and psychokinesis. It was said to manifest the image of the head of the family’s willpower, forming it into a weapon.
Yet all Shaya could summon was a fragile shield, as feeble as his own courage.
And the more afraid he became, the weaker it grew.
Cracks began to spread across its surface as the bandits leered at him, licking their lips.
“Goddess, save me!”
Utterly broken, Shaya raised his head and cried out with all his strength.
But the only response was the biting wind and the echo of his own despair.
The bandits roared with laughter.
“Pathetic! If girlish prayers worked, would evil still exist in the world?”
“In this mercenary-shunned wasteland, none are more ruthless than us. Best start imagining what we’ll do to you!”
“The Church of the Goddess of Fate is branded heresy now—are you hoping to summon an evil god?”
And then—
Amid their cruel laughter—
A sound came from the nearby forest. Branches rustled, snow fell in sheets.
“There should only be one road left.”
“Sid, we really ought to hire a scout. You’re hopeless at this. If not for that noise, I’d still be lost with you circling in the woods.”
“Keep talking like that and I’ll deduct friendship points.”
Two figures emerged from the tree line—a man and a woman.
They wore warm fleece-lined winter hiking jackets, brims pulled low over their hats, trekking poles in hand. They consulted a map while peering ahead.
The bandits froze, turning toward the newcomers with twitching expressions.
…Were these two seriously tourists, hiking here of all places?
From the forest, the young pair struggled free of the undergrowth and lit up with joy upon reaching the main path.
They immediately looked around for signs of people.
“Excuse me, is Kingston City this—”
The green-eyed youth stopped mid-sentence, his brows knitting into a stern frown.
“Hey—you over there. Are you engaged in robbery, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, trafficking, or organ harvesting?”
His voice rang with righteousness as he pointed accusingly at the bandits.