Gwen stood tall amid the wind and snow, facing the Northern knights.
The silver armor on her body shone with flickering light under the sunlight.
The knights looked at the valkyrie they respected so deeply, and at this moment, seeing her draw her sword against them, they couldn't help but freeze on the spot.
The Delin family crest on the silver armor now looked so ironic.
"Miss… Miss Gwen…"
"Miss Gwen, what do you mean by this?!"
The faces of the knights flushed red, and the veins on their necks bulged.
Like they were roaring, they demanded the reason behind Gwen's sudden turn against them.
"That is Viktor! He's the Delin family's enemy!"
"I know."
Gwen's silver hair constantly danced in the air, but in the knights' eyes, they were clearly writhing silver snakes.
The knights questioned Gwen madly, but not a single person dared step out to the front of the entire formation.
They didn't dare. They didn't dare gamble with their own lives.
Everyone here understood very clearly.
Gwen, with the strength of only a third-rank body, had become the commander of the Imperial Royal Knight Order.
Her power was not to be underestimated.
Most importantly, there was that existence whom everyone deeply feared,
Viktor Clavenna.
A fourth-rank mage, one even the Delin family head, Angus, could not defeat.
For most knights, they possessed neither the qualification nor the strength to support them in confronting the two before them.
They could only shrink within the formation and roar from the depths of their hearts.
But there were always exceptions.
A burly knight slowly raised his shield and stepped forward with his blade, walking to stand before Gwen.
"Miss Gwen."
"Since they don't dare, then let me ask."
In the knight's eyes flickered a firm light, and his body, like a boulder, radiated a powerful aura of toughness.
It was a terrifying aura, one that clearly made people feel the scorching heat coming off him.
Some knights recognized him, the one standing before them was one of Angus's most prized disciples within the Delin family.
His body trembled continuously, as if restraining his fury, and his eyes were opened wide.
On this land of the North, strong knights were not few.
Through Angus's extensive teaching, many powerful knights had been trained.
But he, was only powerful, nothing more.
Gwen still did not move. Her presence was like a thousand-year block of ice, colliding directly with the knight's aura.
The knight frowned slightly, only able to feel the overwhelming pressure from her rising all the way up his body.
But he did not fear it. He stepped forward again.
But almost at the exact same moment he stepped out, instantly, the sky filled with a faint red aura, with black, fire-sparked embers trembling above the snowfield.
Behind Viktor, a massive red flame dragon slowly appeared.
The giant dragon opened its huge mouth, seeming extremely angry.
The next second, the flames surging inside the dragon's mouth began to spill out.
A terrifying beam of fire erupted from the dragon's jaws.
The overwhelming heat forced the knight back several meters, pushing him back to stand at the front of the knight formation.
Between him and Gwen, a violently burning line of fire separated the two of them.
Sweat formed on the burly knight's forehead, whether from fear or from the blazing heat radiating from the flames, he didn't know.
At this moment, in every knight's heart, a ridiculous thought arose, 'Using reason to convince someone…'
Gwen looked at them coldly.
"It seems no one objects."
She plunged her blade firmly into the flame-covered ground and issued her command before the knights with absolute seriousness, "I declare..."
"The wanted order for the Empire's fourth-rank mage, Viktor Clavenna, is hereby abolished!"
Every word she uttered was extremely clear, entering the ears of each and every knight.
Hearing Gwen's command, thousands of knights fell silent.
From Gwen's undeniable tone, they all heard the threat and firmness within it.
Each of them felt as if an unseen force was controlling their bodies.
They had to obey Gwen's order.
In the hazy moment between the howling wind and swirling snow, they suddenly felt... that the Miss Gwen they all knew… seemed to have changed.
One by one, they slowly lowered their weapons, placed their shields behind them, and returned their blades to their sheaths.
But…
"Gwen, the wanted order cannot be abolished."
With a hoarse voice sounding out, every gaze shifted behind them.
The moment they saw him, the knights all opened a path.
A white figure sat in a wheelchair.
Or rather, was being pushed forward.
His body was wrapped entirely in white bandages, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed.
The wheelchair slowly stopped before the knight formation. Jashu looked at Gwen before him and let out a long breath.
With Angus unconscious, he was now the highest authority of the Delin family.
"Once it's abolished, it will let the real culprit walk free."
Hearing Jashu's words, Gwen's eyes instantly became icy cold.
"You... on what basis are you saying Viktor is the culprit?"
All the knights stared at Jashu, as if trying to find some hope in him.
Jashu sighed, and even that simple action seemed to exhaust him.
"Father… is already dead."
The moment those words fell, the wind and snow instantly swallowed the sky. Blinding white covered even the deep blue above.
The world fell into a raging, roaring blizzard and absolute stillness.
———
At this moment, Kefra was in the western part of the Northern Frontier.
She looked at the vast castle estate ahead, her fists tightly clenched.
This was already the fourth territory she had rushed to over the past days.
With things developing to this point, she had no choice but to seek out this great knight of the western region.
The Delin family was not all-powerful in the North.
They had established clear territorial divisions across this land.
Under the protection of knight families, many portions were carved out.
Aside from the gentry and wealthy landowners holding some parts, the rest of the lands were distributed among Angus's outstanding knights.
The knight's family recognized Kefra and actively led her into the knight's residence, asking her to wait in the meeting room.
Soon, a knight wearing a thick white-fur cloak sat down across from Kefra.
"Commander Mark."
Seeing the visitor, Kefra quickly stood and bowed deeply.
"Why, if it isn't Miss Kefra!"
"Quick, sit, sit, no need for such formality."
"What brings Miss Kefra to visit me today?"
The knight called Mark wore a bright smile, seeming genuinely delighted, as if he were greeting an old friend.
Mark personally poured a cup of tea and placed it on the rosewood tea table before her.
But Kefra did not pick it up and simply spoke calmly, "Sir Mark, I won't waste time on pleasantries."
"You should already know why I am here."
Hearing how straightforward Kefra was, Mark's expression showed some difficulty.
The woman before him was the Delin family's young lady.
Logically speaking, with Angus and Jashu unconscious, Kefra speaking should hold the authority of the family head.
But Kefra herself was not a knight, so her prestige within the Delin family was lacking.
And Jashu had already issued the wanted order earlier.
Now the problem had been pushed onto his lap, and Mark hesitated.
"I know, Miss Kefra, you've visited many territories. The news has reached us already."
"But Viktor's wanted order is not something we can just revoke."
This matter had already been reported all the way to the royal capital.
And the nobles and ministers there had expressed clearly, it was a family matter between the Viktor Clavenna and Delin families.
"In other words, the capital is tacitly permitting this for now."
Mark poured himself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp.
He blinked and exhaled a breath of hot steam.
He truly could not act rashly.
Unless his teacher personally awoke and revoked the order, the knights would not accept it.
"Besides, Miss Kefra, we only want to bring Viktor back. No one plans to do anything excessive to him."
If Viktor was truly guilty, then the emperor should judge him, not the Delin family.
So the wanted order served only as a warning.
Hearing Mark's excuses, Kefra let out a cold laugh.
"All you lords use the same excuses."
"But has a single one of you dared take action to capture Viktor?"
This was the truth.
Even though Viktor's wanted order was posted all over the North, not one knight-commander dared deploy troops to arrest him.
Only the common people of the Northern Frontier were furious when they saw it.
His reputation now could not be called good.
Kefra heard curses about Viktor from the mouths of simple Northerners every day.
Even at night, when children cried, mothers said the same phrase, 'If you cry again, Viktor will come and take you away.'
The effect was immediate, the children stopped crying instantly.
In the hearts of the hundreds of thousands living in the North, even if Viktor was a fourth-rank mage, he could never compare to the beloved great knight, Angus.
"Miss Kefra, this matter is truly beyond my authority."
"Is it beyond your authority… or do you simply not want to?"
Kefra questioned Mark repeatedly, her gaze turning colder and sharper.
Mark lowered his head guiltily, his eyes shifting to the side of the room, avoiding Kefra's.
Just then, a knight suddenly rushed into the meeting room.
"Commander! Something has happened!"
"News from the Extreme North!"
Hearing that news had arrived, Mark and Kefra stood abruptly, shouting at almost the same moment, "Speak!"
The knight saw Kefra and trembled slightly, his voice unsteady, "The barbarians were completely wiped out! By the Pale Mage Council people, and also…"
"And also what?! Speak!"
The knight shuddered at Mark's shout, "And also… there was a demon helping them."
"What?"
A demon helping humans, under the Pale Mage Council's heavy publicity, most Northern knights had already heard whispers.
Mark was stunned. Kefra was stunned as well.
'A demon… helped humans?'
Kefra's body began trembling.
She couldn't believe it.
As a demon-hunter, Kefra had seen many demons.
She had never seen, nor heard, of a demon that would voluntarily help humans.
Not to mention, she had received no prior mission. Why would a demon appear in the North?
Many questions flashed through her mind.
And suddenly, an image flashed in Kefra's head, 'Viktor!'
She immediately stood up and rushed outside.
A demon should never have appeared, she needed to find Viktor and ask him clearly.
The knight didn't pay attention to Kefra's hurried departure, but his voice rose sharply.
"And… the Delin main estate has requested reinforcements."
"They have found Viktor."
At that, the knight paused.
Kefra snapped back around, looking at him coldly.
"Continue!"
The knight lowered his head and forced his strained voice to report, "Viktor returned together with Miss Gwen. Miss Gwen intends to abolish Viktor's wanted order."
"But at the end, Young Master Jashu appeared."
Mark frowned deeply, and even Kefra froze in place.
'Jashu? Wasn't he seriously wounded and bedridden?'
Somehow, in this moment, everyone seemed to sense a sharp, dangerous scent in the air.
Mark quickly questioned him.
"And now? What's happening now?!"
"Young Master Jashu blocked the abolition of Viktor's wanted order."
"But…"
Mark suddenly grabbed the knight by the collar, roaring, "Tell me the important part, damn it!"
The knight seemed completely drained, his legs losing strength as Mark held him up.
"Great Knight Angus is dead!"
"He died… at Viktor's hands!"