Above the mage!

Chapter 276: Dispatching to the Icefield Temple
The huge square, which was full of people, fell into deathly silence.

No one stood up to respond to Gaode's words.

But this is not because the Zhenbing people do not respect Gao De, nor is it because Gao De’s words have no weight.

On the contrary, his words were so powerful that they exploded like thunder in the minds of everyone in the square.

They were completely stunned and unable to speak for a while.

Elder Claude, who was standing at the front of the crowd, felt a black screen before his eyes. He subconsciously took a step forward, pointed his finger at Gode, and trembled all over.

He was an elder of the reform faction and had been instructed by Donald when he was young.

Donald once saved his life when they went out hunting together.

To him, Donald is both his mentor and his savior.

So he has always stood on Donald's side, is Donald's "direct descendant", and a staunch reformer.

So at this moment, seeing Donald's head falling in front of him, he subconsciously wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak for a long time.

Gao De just looked at him quietly, with no expression on his face.

What he did was both revenge and a test.

Whether it was the assassin who used [Melting into Stone] to ambush Flora on the road, or Donald's direct attempt to capture Flora, these two things doomed him and Donald to have a blood feud and there was no way to "reconcile the past".

If the former had not been cautious enough and had not possessed [Detect Magic +] and the second-level Mandela Eye, he would most likely have died in the assassination of the third-ring wizard.

If the latter had not been protected by Bingyu Wutong, one can imagine what Flora would be facing now.

How could such a great hatred be eased and resolved just because Donald made a painful gesture of admitting his mistake?

The test is that Gaode also wants to see how tolerant and obedient the Zhenbing tribe is to the so-called "new king".

Just like the ancient dynasties in his previous life, the subjects would not unconditionally obey any orders from the king unless the king had sufficient authority.

And he was not only a foreigner, but also only a first-ring wizard. From any angle, he was not worthy of the identity of the "King of Ice", and he did not have any so-called authority at all.

Now, just because of a spell prophecy, God was placed on the throne.

The problem is that everyone has their own ideas and interests.

How much loyalty and patience will they have for a strange "new king" because of the vague prophecy?

These are all still unknown.

There are people who have ulterior motives in obeying the orders of the current War Mother.

Will they really respect and obey the prophecy of a war mother who has been buried for who knows how many years?
Gao De asked himself, at least he himself couldn't do it.

Under God's gaze, Elder Claude was unable to utter a single word.

The finger he pointed at Gaode dropped weakly, and in full view of everyone, he lowered his head and silently retreated back to the queue where he had originally stood.

This was not only Elder Claude's change in mood, but was also a microcosm of the current situation of most of the reformist elders present.

Ever since Glenn Boreas' accidental death and Donald's fight for the throne, the Zhenbing tribe has been divided into two factions.

Even when Sunaifah later returned as the king with [Blizzard] and ascended the throne of War Mother, this split was still not eliminated, but was forcibly suppressed.

During this process, Sunaifa repeatedly convinced himself to tolerate Donald's transgressions for the sake of so-called "unity" and "the overall situation" in order to prevent the Zhenbing tribe from falling into internal strife and division.

But everyone knows that as long as the conservatives and the reformists exist, they are like a bomb that may explode at any time.

Who would have thought that on the first day when the prophesied "king" appeared, the first thing the king did was to use the [North Wind] to eliminate this hidden danger.

After being extremely shocked, Sunaifa and the elders gradually calmed down and found that the current situation was actually true "unity" as Gaode said.

After chopping off Donald’s head, the reformist elders lost their “leader”. So what other choice did they have besides supporting Sunaifa?
The only choice is the best choice.

By getting rid of Donald and leaving only Sunaifa, there would no longer be any factional distinction between the reformists and conservatives, and there would no longer be any hidden danger of division, and the bomb would be deflated.

In fact, everyone understands this principle.

But it's no use understanding it.

Donald is the great elder of the Zhenbing tribe, second only to the emperor and above everyone else.

No one can do such a cruel thing for the Zhenbing tribe.

The Ice Clan and elders of the Zhenbing Tribe cannot do that. This would be an act of insubordination. They do not have the courage or the ability to do so.

Sunaifa has the ability, but he is not suitable for this task and cannot make up his mind to do it.

Solving internal problems through killing is not a good option for the War Mother.

This is one of them.

In addition, compared with Donald, Sunaifa is actually a "junior".

When his mother Glenn Boreas was still alive, Donald had a very close relationship with her and took good care of her.

It was precisely because of this relationship that when Sunaifa left for Phoenix alone, Donald softened his heart and did not choose to kill her.

However, this became a decision that Donald regretted in the following years.

But it was also because of Donald's soft-heartedness at the time that Sunaifa never thought of killing Donald for all these years - since you didn't do it to the extreme at that time, I won't do it easily now.

This is the second.

The third is that as the great elder of the tribe, Donald’s contribution to the Zhenbing tribe is obvious to all.

For any dynasty, it would be a shame to kill such an old minister and meritorious official, unless he had committed a serious crime such as "treason".

But now, don't hesitate, don't worry.

Gaode has made the decision for the Zhenbing tribe with a very simple sword swing.

Logically, he is the new king predicted by the Zhenbing tribe, and his status is enough to support him to do this.

In terms of emotion, he had never received any favor from Donald, and he was not a member of the Zhenbing tribe, so he didn't need to care about Donald's contributions and hard work.

The most important thing is that Donald is dead, and any opposition is meaningless.

Those who know the current affairs are handsome.

Donald is not the only hero.

that is it.

The reformist elders looked at Gao De on the high platform and Donald who died with his eyes open. The expressions on their faces were extremely complicated and varied.

Sunaifah's mouth, which had been slightly open in shock, closed again. She had completely calmed down and accepted the fact.

She looked at the tribesmen who had different thoughts and said calmly, "Collect the body of Great Elder Donald."

It was not until now that the conservative party elders who had always supported Sunaifa reacted and were filled with excitement.

After a slight commotion in the crowd, someone soon came forward, collected Donald's beheaded body and carried it away.

Donald is past. It's time for a new king.

"My king, do you have any other requests?" Sunaifa looked at Gode calmly, his dark blue eyes like a tranquil ice lake.

In this situation, at this moment, Gao De no longer doubted the falsity of the prophecy, nor did he doubt the other party's sincerity.

"How powerful is the Zhenbing Tribe?" he asked.

"The number of Ice People who can be called combat forces is about 20,000. Among them, there are five four-ring Ice People mages including me, and now there are only four. There are about two hundred three-ring Ice People mages, nearly a thousand two-ring Ice People mages, and about twelve thousand one-ring Ice People mages. The rest of the Ice People are in your foreign land and should be classified as apprentices." Sunaifa answered without hesitation.

Even though he had certain expectations in his mind, Gao De still had to sigh that it was unbelievable that a tribe with a population of only 500,000 could possess such a powerful force.

Although this distribution of combat power does not actually conform to general rules.

This is because the ratio of the number of mages to the number of ordinary people is too high, and the number of first-ring Ice Mages is actually greater than the number of apprentice-level Ice Mages.

Under normal circumstances, the number of Iceborn mages of each level should decrease as the level increases.

The reason why the distribution of the number of Ice Mages in the Zhenbing Tribe is so strange is very simple:
Their power does not come from practice, but from the Iceborn blood in their bodies.

The stronger the bloodline, the higher the level of the mage.

"How does it compare to the Guardian of the Snowfield?" Gao De asked again.

"The Zhenbing Tribe is not only the largest tribe in the North, but also the largest force." Sunaifa gave the answer.

In a place like the North, the power of the True Ice Tribe is the most powerful.

"As far as I know, there are three four-ring mages among the Snowfield Guardians." Gao De thought for a moment and confirmed further.

Originally there were five four-ringed ice mages in the Zhenbing tribe, but after he killed Donald, there were only four left.

So from the perspective of top combat power, the Zhenbing tribe does not have much advantage.

"I am enough to deal with the three of them alone." Sunaifa stated calmly.

There was no trace of arrogance in her tone, as if this really was an extremely rare and ordinary thing.

"Okay then," Goder nodded, and finally said slowly, "Get ready. In five days, we will send troops to the Icefield Temple."

After saying this, Gao De kept his eyes fixed on Sunaifa's face, wanting to see her reaction.

But the expression on Sunaifa's face remained calm, as if what he said was just something insignificant.

But the elders standing behind Sunaifa below the stage had a huge reaction when they heard Gao De's words.

There is confusion, surprise, frowning, hesitation and worry.
There is no doubt that his words are not ordinary.

Because the Icefield Temple is the headquarters of the Snowfield Guardians.

More importantly, the distance between Phoenix and the Icefield Temple is five or six hundred kilometers.

There are no traditional "roads" in the north, and the 500-600-kilometer journey can only be traveled by wading through the snow, which takes about half a month to arrive.

The food consumption and logistical pressure of half a month's march are definitely a huge burden for a "primitive tribe" with a population of more than 500,000.

As for the rewards, at least for now, they are not visible.

The Snowfield Guardians are just an ancient sect whose doctrine is to protect the snowfield. Even if they have a certain amount of wealth, it is definitely not enough to make up for the losses of sending troops.

So, it can be said that this is an extremely irresponsible and ridiculous order.

Gao De originally thought that Sunaifa would object, or at least ask for the specific reasons.

But it didn't.

She just nodded calmly, "Okay."

Then she turned around and faced the people of the Zhenbing Tribe. "You should have heard my king's order to send troops to the Icefield Temple in five days. Is there a problem?"

After a few seconds of silence:
"no!"

A sound as loud as a mountain resounded.

After the voices calmed down, Sunaifa continued, "Sending troops to the Icefield Temple is of great importance and time is tight. Everyone, retreat now and start making preparations."

Everyone knelt on one knee again, put one hand on their chest to greet Gao De, and then left the square in an orderly manner.

The square, which was originally crowded with people, soon became empty, leaving only Gaode and Sunaifa.

"Don't you want to ask me why?" Gao De asked.

"The first guidance we received from the prophecy is to believe in you. Since we have embraced you as the new king according to the prophecy, we will follow the guidance and believe in you unconditionally."

"Even if the decision I made was wrong?"

“The outcome is undecided, so who can know whether the decision is right or wrong?”

"Okay," Goder said in a different way, "Even if the decision I made is ridiculous in your eyes?"

Sunaifa shook his head. "The so-called absurdity is just a different perception."

“If something is beyond your expectations and beyond your understanding, it will often seem absurd.”

She paused and continued, "But if the decisions you make are within our expectations and within our understanding, then we can do everything by ourselves, so why do we need you? How can you be called the hope of recovery?"

"We know that we cannot revive the glory of Zhenbing or unify the North on our own, so we need hope."

"And the more unusual the decision you make, the more it proves the prophecy is correct."

"Just because of a prophecy, you believed a stranger like me and handed over a tribe of more than 500,000 people to a foreigner?" Gao De asked again: "Don't you think this is a bit irresponsible to your people?"

"Even in the ritual spell, I only saw a glimpse of the future. I dare not confirm anything, but the decline of the Iceborn is indeed true."

"In the North, there hasn't been a five-ringed Iceborn mage for a thousand years. In the Zhenbing Tribe, excluding me, there hasn't been a four-ringed Iceborn mage for a hundred years."

"If this continues, in just a thousand years, the Iceborn may disappear completely like the Dragonborn and cease to exist." Sunaifa revealed some secrets.

"We don't have time to test or wait anymore. All we can do now is believe."

"I'm just a first-ring mage." Gaode shook his head and told the truth.

Solve the problem of the decline of the Iceborn bloodline?

Sunaifa believed in him, but he didn't believe in himself.

At least for now, he has no idea.

"Only for now."

"In the ancient ice ritual I performed, I couldn't see your face or figure clearly. I could only see a vague outline coming from the top of the mountain. I couldn't see your future either. I could only see that you were closely connected to our True Ice Tribe."

"Of course, these are not important. What is important is that I saw a powerful force in your blurry figure."

“And this powerful force can change everything.”

(End of this chapter)