Chapter 61: White and Black

"Good thing my strength has recovered quite a bit. I can use that ability now."

Miguo gradually gained confidence in her heart, but thinking of the interrogation method, she couldn't help feeling a guilty pang of conscience as she glanced toward the direction of Mino's cell, a trace of struggle appearing on her face:

"Caitlin and the others will probably take action tonight. It would be safer to prepare and wait a few more days... Yes, I'll come back in a few days!"

As if finding a suitable excuse for procrastination, Miguo clenched her fists, turned around, and cautiously sneaked back toward her room...

"My Lord, this time, the demons seem somewhat careless...?"

Inside the cell, the lights had not yet been extinguished.

Altotai pondered the results of the daytime interrogation and asked in confusion, "Is it really enough to just torture her to find out what the Holy Maiden hates most...? That is the Ice Holy Maiden after all; I don't believe her state of mind can be easily shaken."

"Heh heh, of course. This time, the demons' plan is doomed to failure." On the bed, Mino smiled gloatingly.

He rolled over and sat up, shaking his head: "Therefore, my surrender was logical, justified, and definitely not an act of betrayal!!!"

"Are you actually feeling a sense of superiority about your surrender?!" Altotai muttered quietly.

Yet, remembering that its sword body was also partly responsible for this surrender, its blade softened slightly.

With a hint of worry, Altotai said, "However, now that you—My Lord, who are so close to Lady Lena—have been captured by the demons, the Holy Maiden's heart might truly not remain so calm..."

"Don't worry, I know Lena's personality well." Mino rubbed his chin, contemplating quite seriously for a moment.

"Right now, the most she is thinking is that, assuming I am already dead and treating me as a dear companion in sword practice, she should take advantage of the hero's reputation to intimidate the demons... and inflict the heaviest possible damage on the Demon King's army to avenge me!"

"Anger, sorrow... those are things to be dealt with only after completely defeating the demons."

Mino's face showed unprecedented conviction: "Because if it were me, I would do the exact same thing."

"Oh! Truly the Hero who understands the Holy Maiden best, your conviction is quite firm!" Altotai nodded. "Though the speed of your surrender was just as firm..."

"Shut your blade, sword!!!"

"Speaking of which, there are many intimate stories circulating among the borderlands and the common folk about My Lord and the Holy Maiden, aren't there?" Altotai moved its blade slightly closer, asking with a gossipy tone, "My Lord, what do you think the Holy Maiden makes of them?"

Having accompanied Mino for a long time, Altotai naturally knew that many of these stories were exaggerations, mere delusions and expectations projected by the world. Mino, the person involved, didn't care about them at all... but as the other protagonist of these rumors, the Ice Holy Maiden, it was hard to say.

Mino shook his head, offering a disdainful smile: "Do I not know what kind of person Lena is?"

"She would never take those baseless rumors to heart." Looking at the pristine moonlight outside the window, Mino laughed softly yet resolutely:

"Unless they were told to her in my name!"

...

The moonlight fell equally upon every inch of the land.

The bright, full moonlight resembled the eyes of a goddess, gazing with utmost focus and gentleness as it spread across every corner of the continent, bathing the Demon King's army camp entrenched upon the black scorched earth deep in the borderlands...

Among the demons, there were also many creatures incapable of seeing in the dark. Therefore, only a small number of Demon King's soldiers kept watch at night. The cool moonlight was bright enough to illuminate vast areas, causing one to overlook other pitch-black shadows and unconsciously let down their guard.

The moonlight grew increasingly chilly, and as the night deepened, the temperature within the camp dropped to a threshold no one had anticipated...

Before long, a demon soldier exhaled a visible puff of cloudy white breath and involuntarily shivered all over.

The expelled breath did not dissipate into the air, but instead twisted, condensed, and solidified before his astonished eyes—a pure snowflake, utterly devoid of impurities, materialized where it had no business being.

The moment the snowflake entered his field of vision, recalling recent rumors, the demon soldier finally realized something was amiss, and profound unease surged in his eyes.

"No..."

Boom—!!!

In an instant, countless pure white snowflakes surged forth from the air, and silver-white cold qi descended invisibly with the moonlight, erupting fiercely and explosively across the entire covered camp!!!

"Th-The Ice Holy Maiden is attacking us!!!!"

A horrifying alarm echoed through the sky above the camp—

Violent frost particles swept like a storm through every place where the sound originated, and cluster after cluster of ice crystals bloomed wildly like flowers on the frozen ground. The demons finally understood why tonight's moonlight was so bright... It wasn't the moonlight that brought these ice crystals.

Rather, the ice crystals had already been lingering like shadows, looming and watching them from the high heavens like the Grim Death!

Countless gazes turned toward the sky.

Under the moonlight, a cascade of silver hair infused with starlight tumbled down from behind, and pale silver mist meandered like a river among the pristine dress hems. A translucent chiffon-like gossamer gown enveloped a divine figure.

Aquamarine pupils swirled with a cold, dark luster, and frosty eyelashes lowered gently, allowing the ice-prism earrings on her earlobes to chime softly against each other. Her frigid gaze swept down to the earth—

A cross-shaped sacred sword was held horizontally across her chest, reflecting a sparkling sapphire-like luster.

A body carved from ivory was wrapped in a pure and sacred holy maiden's robe, and the mature face of the woman carried a bone-chilling frost:

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am..."

No one heard the woman's voice, for the air froze into absolute silence at that moment, but whether they heard it or not no longer mattered. Every demon's gaze was captured by that figure combining breathtaking beauty with murderous intent—

The Ice Rose of the Kuur Kingdom, the Ice Holy Maiden, Lena!

Hiss—!!!

Cold qi centered on Lena burst forth like a storm, swallowing and devouring all existence within the arena.

A tyrannical demonic aura broke out from the frozen ground amidst a roar, and an elite demon with fangs glared fiercely at Lena beneath the moonlight, its beast-like feet slamming heavily against the ground as it lunged violently toward her.

Those cold eyes lowered gently, like a goddess casting her gaze downward.

Lena gripped the cross sword in her hand, knowing that with one more slash to cut the elite demon before her apart like tofu, tonight's assault would draw to a close.

Just as the long sword was about to be drawn an inch further, her fair wrist suddenly halted still under the moonlight.

A rich fragrance gradually permeated the frozen air, entangling with the cold qi, taking root, drawing sustenance, and devouring—

The elite demon instantly lost all its strength, its entire body slamming pitifully into the mud as if prostrating itself.

wisps of dark shadow were extracted from the depths of its body, outlining a figure brimming with potent magic.

A pitch-black skirt flowed across the ground like a waterfall, exquisite dark-gold thorn embroidery wound around a slender waist, and transparent black silk lace was sewn onto the long, wrist-length sleeves, exposing fair and delicate hands.

The court-style dress featured a high, stiff collar, yet it had been daringly tailored to emphasize the curves of the side seams, which split open all the way to the armpits. The matte, dense fabric cast patches of covert whiteness amidst the darkness, looking both noble and elegant.

On the ground, the woman in the pitch-black rose gown lifted her swan-like white neck, revealing a charming and alluring smile:

"Allow me to introduce myself—"

"First Secretary of the Demon King's Castle, General Commander of the Demon King's Army, Attendant to the Demon King..."

Her cherry-pink pupils were filled with smiles:

"Rose Shadow Demon, Caitlin."