Chapter 328
Chapter 328
Chapter 328
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 328
Ten days later, late March in the Protos Empire.
The sky was filled with dancing frost and snow, stretching endlessly across the vast northern plains until it melted into the gray-white horizon. Every natural contour of the land was buried beneath thick snow.
Over a hundred kilometers outside the warfront city of Bandera, near the northern frontier province, the land was desolate and uninhabited — nothing but barren snowfields.
The further north one traveled, the harsher and stranger the weather became. It was common to be unable to move for days due to storms, and villages and city-states became increasingly sparse.
From this endless whiteness, a sled suddenly appeared, cutting through the frost and kicking up a storm of snow.
“Whoohoo! We’re flying!”
“Faster, faster!”
“Meow-meow-meow! You two slow down before we fall off a cliff!”
The sudden laughter and childish shouts carried sharply through the snowstorm.
On the sled sat two figures — no amount of freezing wind or biting air could mask the joy on their faces.
Lan Qi and Sid were sitting side by side, while a massive black fox with golden flames burning at its ear tips pulled the sled in a wild sprint. Snow sprayed from under its powerful paws, each step leaving shimmering golden imprints in the snow.
Cat Boss clung desperately to Lan Qi’s coat.
It could tell — Lan Qi and Sid were genuinely having fun!If Talia had been here, she would have sternly told Lan Qi to slow down.If it were Huperion, she would have gently reminded him to watch the road.But Sid? She only told him to go even faster.
“Meow-meow! Stop going so fast!”
Cat Boss knew it had completely lost control of Lan Qi, but it still yelled frantically.
“What? Not fast enough?”
Lan Qi lowered his head against the howling wind and asked the small cat in his arms.
Then he leaned forward, flicked the sled reins, and urged the fox to run even faster.
“MEOW!!”
Cat Boss opened its mouth — only to swallow a mouthful of snow.
The sled flew down the slope, then gradually slowed on level ground. The body of the sled, painted a bright crimson, stood out strikingly against the snow.
“Haha! Even if we crashed, I wouldn’t get hurt — and if he did, well… doesn’t he have that wind-element wheelchair?”
Sid laughed so hard she nearly doubled over, glancing at the little black cat in Lan Qi’s lap.
She knew Lan Qi carried a lot of strange equipment and magic cards.
To maintain secrecy about their destination, the two had once again changed their appearances and identities after leaving the Snowfield Province.
They no longer used the identities of Rocky McCarthy and Sid of the Protos Royal Academy of Magic. Instead, they disguised themselves as a Magitek engineer and a merchant traveling north to do business.
This way, even if something happened during their investigation, they would be harder to track on their return journey.
But Lan Qi’s collection of sealed, unused high-grade purple magic cards was excessive — he looked more like a magic card dealer than an actual one.The benefit of sealed cards was that they could be easily identified since they were unbound, but…
Most of his cards were junk — dismantling material, not practical ones — and even Sid couldn’t figure out why he was carrying so many useless cards.
She only knew that Lan Qi had used his connections in the Imperial Capital to gather them before departure, with Lady Chloris Berenhard playing a major role in securing them — paying him a large sum upfront after some unknown deal.
“Meow-meow…”
Cat Boss sobbed, tears streaming down its little face.
It didn’t want to be here anymore.
“If we manage to dig up something big and expose it, our reputation in the Empire will skyrocket.”
Lan Qi slowed the sled, secured Cat Boss in his arm, and spoke with quiet conviction.
The sled glided on, its runners grinding softly against the thick snow, leaving a long winding track behind them.
Despite the howling winds, the two seemed unfazed, still enjoying the rush of speed.
According to the map, they were close to the plains — no more rugged hills or frozen lakes — meaning they would soon reach Bandera City, their destination.
“Wasn’t Major General Fanreku’s investigation team sent ahead of us? If something’s wrong, he’ll probably be the first to find it.”
Sid answered casually.
“Not necessarily. If there’s an eighth-tier danger in the north, the investigation team might not be enough.”
Lan Qi said thoughtfully. Other than the secret Chloris had told him — which he had promised to keep — he wanted Sid to be fully aware of the danger they were walking into.
“Anyone who reaches the seventh tier has transcended normal humanity. Beating them is one thing — killing them is another entirely.”
Sid shrugged, as if recalling her own strength when she first stepped into the seventh tier.
“…”
Lan Qi glanced at this “abnormal” human woman beside him.
A fully powered seventh-tier individual would be a nightmare even for a team of sixth-tiers, and yet Sid dismissed it as “easy to beat.”
Most of the time, she seemed approachable, even good-natured — unlike a certain other unmarried woman he knew.
But only when discussing other powerhouses could he sense the sheer disparity between his experience and her overwhelming power.
“Don’t worry, even if your tier stays low, I won’t look down on you. I’ve got you covered. You just need to work hard for me.”
Sid grinned, her playful tone somehow carrying the weight of a queen making a vow.
“…”
Lan Qi was silent for a moment.
“If one day I want to retire, would you let me go?”
He had already decided that when the time came, he would disappear back to the Southern Continent — but spending every day talking with Sid like this had made him strangely reluctant to part from her.
If possible, he didn’t want to become enemies with Supreme Cardinal Sigrid in the future.
“…”
Sid hesitated before answering.
“That… would depend on the situation.”
“For example?”
“If my favorability toward you is low, I’d treat it as betrayal — and help you ‘retire’ permanently.”
Her fingers flexed with cold finality.
“…”
Lan Qi wasn’t sure if she was joking or actually threatening him.
Cat Boss, in his arms, trembled violently. It knew this woman was trouble!
She would never let Lan Qi leave peacefully!
“But honestly, most of the time… if you wanted to go, I probably wouldn’t let you go easily. I broke the rules choosing you as my Holy Son — so you have to serve me for life.”
Sid said frankly, finally giving him the real answer.
“…Got it.”
Lan Qi nodded slightly.
He looked down at Cat Boss, who was shaking in terror, and smiled — not the least bit nervous.
“!”
Cat Boss froze.
It suddenly understood what Lan Qi was planning.
If the day came, Lan Qi might fake his death, making it appear that “Rocky McCarthy” was dead — ensuring Sigrid would never even think of tracking him.Then he would simply revert to his true identity as “Lan Qi Wilfort” and vanish back into the Southern Continent forever.
But Cat Boss feared what kind of consequences such an act might trigger.
“What about your last Saintess? If she wanted to leave?”
Cat Boss gulped and asked timidly.
Sid had lost a Saintess once before. If she had to choose between letting someone leave or seeing them die, Cat Boss wondered just how far Sigrid’s ruthlessness would go.
If she were truly that extreme, Lan Qi might have no choice but to fake his death.
Sid blinked, as though she had never considered this before.
Finally, she smiled wryly.
“I think… I’d let her go. Let her live the life she wants.”
Her voice was unusually soft, tinged with guilt.
“…”
Lan Qi and Cat Boss both fell silent.
Cat Boss looked up at Lan Qi.
It felt that if Lan Qi truly faked his death one day, things might take an unexpected turn…