The story of the black silk female knight

"Since you two ladies are from the Church of the Sun and the Tower of Sages, you must both be very capable. However, the Netherworld Clan is different from ordinary demons... I wonder if you two ladies have prepared suitable weapons?"

"In terms of combat, I will be in charge alone, with Tia assisting me, while you three only need to search for the enemy."

Valensa smiled confidently, then revealed Moon Kiss, swiftly creating several streaks of sword light in mid-air. The flowing moonlight caused those nearby to instinctively take several steps back, and also attracted the attention of many people in the distance.

Is this sword sharp enough?

"That's enough, that's enough..."

Old Winston swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.

He had long realized that Valensa and Tia were both very powerful, but he still didn't expect Valensa to use a divine weapon of Noble Phantasm level.

However, after Valensa withdrew her moon kiss, old Winston, seeing that Valensa hadn't followed up for a while, frowned slightly and asked:

"Gone?"

"Isn't this sword enough?"

Valensa raised an eyebrow and asked in return.

"This sword is certainly sharp enough, but as you know, Miss, hunting a Netherworld Ghost requires not only a sharp divine weapon to sever its limbs, but also a heavy hammer to smash its body in order to kill it completely."

Old Winston said very seriously:

"Pure cuts and puncture wounds, even if the Ghost were torn to pieces a thousand times, would not be fatal."

“I am naturally aware of these things.”

Valensa smiled, then conjured a ball of holy light in her hand, igniting a holy flame:

"But smashing them with a heavy hammer is just too inelegant... I asked my brothers and sisters in the church who have been to the Ice Plains, and they said that after severing the limbs of the Netherworld Demons, burning them with holy flames can also burn them to death completely."

“Holy Flame can indeed burn a disemboweled ghost to death, but I really don’t recommend that you do that, Miss Paladin,” said old Winston.

"why?"

"Because it's too wasteful."

Old Winston explained earnestly, neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"I have been to the Ice Plains with many paladins before and have witnessed the paladins burning the Netherworlds with holy flames... Although the Netherworlds were eventually destroyed, it takes a long time to completely burn them with holy flames, which is very taxing on the paladins."

The ice plains are not a place blessed by the goddess. According to the paladins, their holy light is much weaker in both intensity and regeneration speed than it is here.

Therefore, I suggest you don't waste your precious Holy Light on creating Holy Flames; save it for crucial moments to use healing spells.

"That's it..."

Valensa frowned.

For the sake of elegance, of course, is just an excuse. Valensa chose to use the Holy Flame to completely destroy the incapacitated Netherworld Ghost because she didn't want to leave behind its corpse or remains, as that would reveal that someone had removed the Netherworld Ghost's spinal cord—an act that was forbidden by both the Merchant Alliance and the Sage's Tower.

But what old Winston is saying now makes a lot of sense. If Valensa insists on her own opinion, it may arouse unnecessary suspicion.

"Ok."

So after a moment's hesitation, Valensa accepted the suggestion and bought a square-headed two-handed hammer from the Icefield Supplies Shop as a weapon to smash the Netherworld.

Whether or not to use it is still up to Valensa to decide, at least for now, we can't let it arouse any doubt.

Seeing that Valensa had bought the heavy hammer as he had suggested, old Winston continued to scrutinize Valensa and Tia, this time focusing his gaze mainly on the two women's lower bodies, on their stockings and short skirts.

Such a staring gaze is undoubtedly somewhat impolite.

If this happened in Frankfurt, someone staring at a noblewoman like that would get a severe beating and the guards wouldn't care... If the person staring was a commoner, they would likely get beaten up again by the guards.

However, old Winston's gaze was quite clear, showing no sign of lewdness whatsoever. After looking at him for a while, he frowned and stroked his chin.

"When you two esteemed ladies enter the ice field tomorrow, you won't be planning to wear this too, will you? The temperature there is so high that a single spit can freeze instantly."

"Yes, I know the temperature on the ice sheet is very low."

Valensa nodded first, then raised an eyebrow and asked in return:

"However, Tia and I are Lighthouse-level cultivators after all. With holy light and magic protecting us, we are no longer afraid of the cold... Even on the ice plains, we should be able to wear whatever we want, right?"

"That's true, but..."

Old Winston gave a wry smile and shrugged:

"The reason remains the same as before—I hope that you two noble ladies can use your precious holy light and magic in more important ways. As for keeping warm, it's best to leave that to your clothes."

Chapters 166-168 Icefield

This time, Valensa did not readily accept old Winston's advice, but instead argued her case logically:

"What do you mean by using holy light and magic for more important things? For girls, nothing is more important than being beautiful! It's only natural that we use more holy light and magic to keep warm so that we can dress up nicely!"

"...Please, both of you, reconsider carefully."

Old Winston was clearly not encountering this situation for the first time; his face was full of helplessness as he continued to persuade him earnestly.

Valensa still didn't want to agree.

She was confident in her abilities, and the slight exertion required to keep warm was nothing to her.

If she really encounters an enemy she can't defeat, even with all the extra energy she saves, she still won't be able to win. So she might as well dress up nicely.

But old Winston's advice was based on experience. Both men spoke politely but were also stubborn, neither willing to back down, which led to a small argument that attracted the curious glances of many people in the store.

However, it was precisely because it attracted many passersby that the problem was perfectly solved.

There are quite a few female cultivators who want to stay warm and look good at the same time; in fact, most female cultivators who want to enter the Ice Plains will face this choice.

Savvy businesses would not miss such a good opportunity, and over the years, all kinds of clothing that are both warm and stylish have been invented.

At that moment, another wealthy young woman who was also shopping at the same icefield supplies store enthusiastically recommended a body-shaping, cold-weather suit to Valensa and Tia.

It's a type of clothing similar to thermal underwear, made from the fur of a high-level monster, which provides excellent warmth and is quite comfortable to wear.

As for how thin the leg area of ​​the winter coat is, it can't compare to stockings at all; it's basically like thermal underwear, but it's still much better looking than wide-legged, thick cotton pants.

As long as you tuck the bottom of your pants into your boots, from a distance, there really isn't much difference between a short skirt and black leggings and a short skirt and black stockings.

After a brief hesitation, Valensa finally agreed to use the winter clothing, buying three sets each of black and white. She would wear the black ones herself, and Tia would wear the white ones.

Once this biggest disagreement was resolved, everything else fell into place, and Valensa readily accepted all of Winston's reasonable suggestions.

Another day passed, and after confirming that everything was ready, the group officially set off for the ice field.

Arant, as the administrative center of America, is quite far north, but still some distance from the ice field.

Tia's flying card couldn't carry five people, and the Winston father and sons didn't have any good flying transportation, so they spent most of the day in a carriage before finally seeing the ice field.

It was a very clear dividing line; to the south of the line was still dark brown hard soil, while to the north was an endless expanse of white.

At the end of the road the carriage was traveling on was a merchant guild outpost, garrisoned by about a hundred men.

About 50 meters from the boundary line, the carriage was stopped. The soldiers at the outpost demanded hunting permits for Valensa and her party to enter the ice field and asked them to prove their strength.

Since encountering a Netherworld Ghost would be like giving away combat power to anyone below the Pearl level, the Merchant Alliance strictly forbids anyone below the Pearl level from entering the Ice Plains, not even their followers.

There once was a scion of a noble family who was quite pioneering in the pursuit of pleasure. When he went hunting on the ice plains, he brought two beautiful young maids with him, and every night they would play intense nocturnes that shook the ice plains in the camp tent.

Unfortunately, although the two maids were beautiful and charming, they did not have the strength of the Pearl level and were powerless against the innate abilities of the Netherworld Ghost Clan. One night, when they were setting up camp to rest, they happened to be within the range of the effect of a hidden Netherworld Ghost Clan ability.

As you can imagine, the young master from the noble family screamed terribly that night... And since he was known for his frivolous ways, his guards paid little attention to the screams, assuming he was playing some kind of stunt with the two maids.

By the time they realized something was wrong, the two little maids who had turned into zombies had almost completely devoured the flesh of the young man from that world...

Since then, the Merchant Alliance has established a rule that no one below the Pearl level is allowed to enter the Icefield.

Of course, Valensa and her group met the requirements in terms of both hunting permits and their own abilities, so they quickly passed the checkpoint inspection and officially entered the ice field.

"Umm~~ Hiss~~" x2

As soon as they crossed the dividing line, Valensa and Tia couldn't help but murmur together.

The temperature suddenly dropped, feeling like it had fallen by at least 30 degrees. Even though the two knew this and were mentally prepared, they still shivered slightly.

The Winston father and his two sons visibly paused for a moment, but their expressions remained calm, clearly indicating that they had entered the ice field many times and were already accustomed to this kind of change.

Unlike Valensa and her companion, who only wore a winter coat under their armor and robes, the three Winstons were all dressed in very thick fur coats, wrapping themselves up completely.

Despite being Lighthouse-level warriors who could use their internal energy to keep warm, they made no attempt to do so, leaving the task of keeping warm entirely to their clothes.

"How do you two feel?"

Seeing that Valensa and Tia were both standing there with slightly furrowed brows, old Winston asked with concern.

The far north ice plains were not a land protected by the Sun Goddess either. From the moment the group crossed that clearly defined dividing line, they had already lost the Sun Goddess's blessing.

This would be a significant weakening for those who have always lived in the land of the goddess's protection, especially for priests like paladins.

Therefore, at this moment, the three Winston father and sons looked at Valensa with some worry, as they were concerned that Valensa would abandon the plan due to her declining strength.

"rest assured."

Fortunately, Valensa quickly recovered, clenched her fist, and smiled easily.

"Losing the protection of the goddess does make me feel a bit heavier... but I've fought in the Barrens before, so I'll get used to it."

“This place is somewhat different from the barren lands.”

Old Winston gave a very serious reminder:

"The desolate lands are only without the protection of Her Majesty the Goddess, and the extreme climate of the ice plains will make movement even slower, so please be careful."

"Yeah, I know... phew."

Valensa nodded, exhaled, and watched as the breath turned into tiny ice shards almost instantly in the air.

This temperature must be at least -40 degrees Celsius, right?

This is only about 10 meters into the ice field. The temperature will drop further as you go, and there will be storms everywhere.

Of those who lost their lives while hunting on the ice plains, only a very small number died at the hands of the Netherworld Clan.

After all, the Icefield Hunting takes place during the Netherworld Clan's hibernation period, which is equivalent to launching a sneak attack while the Netherworld Clan is asleep. The success rate is quite high. Apart from a very few unlucky ones, very few people are killed by the Netherworld Clan during the hunt.

However, the number of victims of icefield hunting is not small every year.

It was not the ghosts that took their lives, but the extremely harsh natural environment of the ice field.

Valensa and her group felt this about 2000 meters after entering the ice field.

Moreover, the first natural disaster they encountered was none other than the very thing that has always brought people light and warmth—sunlight.

The reason why an ice field is called an ice field instead of a snow field is because its ground is entirely composed of solid ice, the kind of ice with a surface as smooth as a mirror.

This type of ice has a very low coefficient of friction, so people have to be very careful when walking on it, and they will lose their balance if they run even a little too fast.

Even Valencia, who could normally run at supersonic speeds, couldn't run fast at all on this incredibly smooth ice surface.

Besides its low coefficient of friction, another characteristic of this type of ice surface is its reflectivity.

The sunlight shining on the ice and then reflecting off it was quite beautiful at first glance. The sunlight reflected off people also had a slight warmth, which felt quite comfortable.

However, over time, this light can damage the eyes and even cause dizziness.

Of course, as former ace ice hunters, Winston and his two sons were certainly not unprepared for this situation. They had already advised Valensa to buy several pairs of sunglasses from the icefield supply store, which came in handy at this moment.

Even though sunglasses can effectively prevent eye damage from glare, the unchanging ice field scenery with no reference points can easily make people irritable for hours.

This is a form of psychological torment, and even the most powerful healing magic can't cure it.

The Winston father and his two sons were clearly used to this situation; they walked ahead with steady steps, saying nothing, to lead the way.

Valensa and Tia tried to distract themselves by chatting, which worked quite well at first. However, after a few hours, they inevitably became irritable and their tempers flared up. Several times, they almost started arguing while chatting.

Fortunately, although this ice field is very far north, it is clearly not a polar region, so there is no midnight sun phenomenon and night still falls.

Finally free from the irritating light pollution, Valensa and Tia breathed a sigh of relief. But before they could even relax, old Winston suddenly turned around and reminded them:

"Please be careful, both of you. Real danger is about to strike."

"Danger?"

Valensa instinctively drew her sword and shield to protect Tia behind her, her mind on high alert.

"Is it a monster from the icy plains? Or have we discovered a Netherworld Demon?"

Tia didn't say anything, but seven golden cards had already floated around her, ready to support Valensa with various auxiliary spells at any time.