Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Cassidy’s actions left the snow maidens dumbstruck once again. Even the Long Shang faltered slightly.
Although Long Shangs were violent beasts, this didn’t mean that they were rash and unintelligent. Upon seeing that the Blood Tribe cultivators had sided with the snow maidens, it immediately turned around and charged at Yan Hua.
In its mind, Yan Hua was its primary target right now, as Rou Gu had already handed her storage ring over to her.
However, Rou Gu and Cassidy fought with all that they had to pin down the Long Shang. Merlin flew over with his army of soul warriors and also joined in the battle.
Golden sword projections sliced through heaven and earth, and boundless blizzards and crimson strikes permeated throughout the space. Deafening booms rumbled non-stop, and the intensity of the battle reached a climax right from the get-go.
If it wasn’t for her severe wounds, Yan Hua would’ve also joined in the battle. However, she still remembered Rou Gu’s words, so she hardened her heart and fled toward the distance. Before she could make it far though, another black-robed figure appeared before her and cut off her path of escape. This was a muscular male with a buzz cut, and there was a dangerous glint reflected in his crimson eyes.
“The Holy Leader only ordered us to prevent you guys from dying; he didn’t say that you guys could leave.”
The individual blocking Yan Hua’s path was none other than Tobias, a Blood Tribe mighty figure.
Yan Hua faltered slightly. Then, she cast a complicated glance toward the nearby An Lin.
“What on earth do you guys want?” The pretty, silver-haired snow maiden arrived at Yan Hua’s side, and she stared at Tobias with a guarded expression.
She was Su Jingxiang, the snow maiden who had been severely wounded by the Long Shang not long ago.
Tobias had a look of disdain as he glanced at Yan Hua and Su Jingxiang.
Being of the Return to Void Intermediate Stage himself, dealing with the two severely wounded snow maidens before him was a piece of cake.
“What on earth do we want? You’ve got to direct that question to the Holy Leader,” Tobias grinned.
At this moment, An Lin was already flying over.
Xiao Ze spoke excitedly upon hearing Su Jingxiang’s question, “What on earth do we want? We’re going to add you two to Master An Lin’s imperial harem of course!”
The two snow maidens shuddered, and they glanced toward An Lin in fright.
Xiao Ze’s remarks didn’t escape An Lin’s ears, and An Lin wanted to give him an almighty smack.
Then, he suddenly felt that Xiao Ze was a bit pitiable, so he lowered his raised hand and said, “Never again, understand? Don’t utter such nonsense behind my back.”
“Master! Isn’t it normal for a mighty individual like you to accept a few beautiful females into your harem? Check out those two snow maidens, tsk, tsk… Their beauty is seriously stunning. It’s a shame if you don’t accept them…” Xiao Ze felt that there could only be one reason why An Lin was saving the snow maidens.
He was a male after all… He perfectly understood him!
Su Jingxiang’s face paled upon hearing this, and she tightened her tattered clothes around her skin, which was visible through the tears in her dress.
“Bullsh*t!” Yan Hua fumed. “In your f*cking dreams! I won’t let you touch a single strand of my hair, even if that means dying!”
An Lin developed a slight headache as he glanced at Xiao Ze and the two snow maidens, and he gave up on trying to explain himself. Xiao Ze’s suggestion was ridiculous, yet his own reasons weren’t any more understandable.
They were clearly enemies who had a great hatred for each other, yet he couldn’t help but feel that these snow maidens were pitiable and deserving of mercy.
A feeling of sympathy had mysteriously arisen within him, and it made him want to rescue the snow maidens…
“I have no ulterior motives; I simply want to rescue you,” An Lin said sincerely. There was a hint of sympathy in his bright eyes as he gazed at the snow maidens.
Yan Hua and Su Jingxiang were momentarily dazed upon seeing An Lin’s sincere expression.
“You simply want to rescue us?” Su Jingxiang asked softly. “Why?”
An Lin pondered for a moment. Then, a warm smile suddenly spread across his face as he replied, “I don’t know, I just don’t want you guys to die here. I can’t bear to see you guys die.”
Can’t bear to see us die?
Yan Hua gaped in surprise as she stared at An Lin.
A myriad of thoughts raced through Su Jingxiang’s mind, and a slight blush appeared on her pretty yet frigid face.
Xiao Ze’s eyes lit up in understanding. Master is indeed Master , he exclaimed in his mind. His flirting skills are godly. I’m nowhere near his level of expertise…
The Long Shang was pinned down by two Blood Tribe cultivators and a snow maiden who had activated her mystical technique, and it was unable to breach their defenses.
It found the Blood Tribe cultivators especially difficult to deal with. It had sliced Merlin into two with its sword, yet he was actually able to regenerate by regathering his blood. This type of freakish life form was almost impossible to kill.
“I’ll remember this, I’ll definitely seek revenge one day!” the Long Shang threatened in a cruel and husky voice. It stole a quick glance at the snow maidens as well as An Lin and the others. Then, it hastily retreated and fled into the distance.
In terms of individual strength, the Long Shang was more powerful than anyone present. However, it faced an uphill struggle fighting against so many opponents. Thus, it could only flee in anger before the power of its blood sacrificial mystic technique vanished.
Rou Gu’s body swayed when she saw the Long Shang fleeing. Then, unable to hold on any longer, she spat out a large mouthful of blood and collapsed into a kneeling position on the ground.
“Palace Leader Rou Gu!”
Yan Hua and Su Jingxiang immediately cast healing spell techniques as they flew to Rou Gu’s side.
“Why are you guys returning?! Hurry up and escape! Otherwise, we’ll all fall prey to An Lin!” Rou Gu’s delicate brows were knitted into a deep frown as she pushed the two snow maidens aside. Then, tears started streaming down her face once again.
Seeing the crying Rou Gu, Su Jingxiang had a look of anxiety, while Yan Hua had a look of firm determination. Yan Hua squeezed Rou Gu’s hands as she looked up toward An Lin. “Speak, what on earth do you want?”
What do I want?
Upon hearing this question, An Lin frowned again.
Cassidy, Merlin, and Tobias stood in three separate locations, and their positioning indistinctly blocked off all the snow maidens’ paths of escape.
The difference in their power was extremely evident right now, and it could be said that the fate of the snow maidens all rested in An Lin’s hands. With a single command, he could sentence the three Return to Void Stage snow maidens to death.
Release the snow maidens just like this?
That was definitely out of the question. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to do that…
However, his mysterious feeling of compassion and sympathy also prevented him from slaying them on the spot.
The snow maidens were so pitiable; why would he kill them?
Seeing An Lin fall deep into thought, the three snow maidens all breathed sighs of relief. After all, An Lin’s lengthy consideration showed that he truly cared about their existence. At the very least, he wouldn’t order their executions immediately.
“How about this… Give me your storage rings, then leave!”
After pondering for a while, An Lin finally made up his mind.
He couldn’t take their lives, so taking all their possessions seemed like a fairly good choice.
“That’s all?” Yan Hua asked hesitantly.
“She’s right. Master, that’s all? You’re really not going to add them to your harem?” Xiao Ze looked at An Lin in surprise.
Tears streamed down Rou Gu’s face. “Alright, we accept your demands. An Lin, I hope that you hold true to your words.”
If one lost their money, they could still work to earn it back. If one lost their life, however, then that would be the end of their existence.
The three snow maidens didn’t hesitate for long before handing their storage rings over to An Lin. After receiving An Lin’s orders, the three Blood Tribe cultivators also moved aside to let the snow maidens leave.
Yan Hua rose into the sky on a gigantic ice flower, and she flew off into the distance with Su Jingxiang and Rou Gu.
Su Jingxiang turned around and stared at An Lin intently. She found that he was also gazing at their disappearing figures calmly, and there wasn’t any look of regret on his face.
Su Jingxiang pulled her gaze off An Lin and turned back around. Under the influence of the emotional explosions, an indescribable feeling had buried itself into her heart.
After flying for a long period of time, the three snow maidens finally relaxed upon detecting that An Lin and the others really didn’t chase after them. Then, they glanced at each other strangely.
“He… he really let us go…” Even now, Yan Hua still appeared to be in a trance.
“M-hm, that’s right. We were released by the enemy.” Rou Gu nodded her head solemnly.
Thinking about this, she started crying once again.
She had heard countless stories about An Lin, yet this was the first time that she had encountered him in person. She never would’ve imagined that this person would bring her so many surprises and leave her in such disbelief.
“Humph! His decisions were definitely influenced by the emotional explosions!” It appeared as though Yan Hua wanted to stabilize her mental state through venting. “Besides, he stole all of our treasures! He’s just a bandit!”
The remaining two snow maidens remained silent. One was sobbing by herself, and the other appeared to be lost in thought as she gazed at the starlit sky.
After a short while, Su Jingxiang asked, “What are we going to do next?”
“Recover, then continue searching for the fragments of the realm core.”
Rou Gu had never considered giving up on this mission. Right now, they couldn’t accept another failure.
“Look! There’s a crystal mountain over there! Let’s head over there to recover!”
“Alright…”
[0] Social justice warrior.
