This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Somewhat embarrassed, Ajax rubbed his hairy hands together. He felt quite ashamed after learning that even though he was sealed, his nightmares could cause the seal to loosen, allowing him to wreak havoc on the world once again.

Moreover, by its very nature, the other party is indeed not an evil god.

As Ajax spoke, he took off the "Wild Crown" and returned it to Dick. He had now recovered from the nightmare and, through his conversation with Dick, realized that he had inadvertently committed another transgression against the mortal beings.

He was filled with remorse, but Dick told him that instead of dwelling on regret, he should try to make amends.

After a moment of contemplation, Ajax made a decision: to take matters into his own hands, to reinforce the seal on himself, and to put another layer of shackles on himself.

In his current state, if the seal were broken, he could go to the realm of gods. However, breaking the seal would be a huge destructive process that would cause immeasurable damage to the mortal world. It would be better to keep the seal in place. After the seal is reinforced, he will fall into a deep sleep to ensure that there will be no more extreme weather events like the super-winter.

Of course! If one day he wakes up from his hibernation and overcomes that hurdle in his heart, he will try to create an avatar, break free from the seal, and go out to see the world.

After hearing this, Dick smiled and told Ajax that if he were still alive at that time, Ajax was welcome to come and find him, and he would be willing to be his guide.

"Thank you again for your understanding, Lord Winter God."

"Thank you for listening to me recount the sins I have committed."

As Ajax spoke, he raised his hand and gently touched Dick's forehead, then smiled and said.

"A small gift to wish you smooth sailing, you interesting ordinary young man."

With a gentle tap from Ajax, Dick felt a sudden dizziness, just like when he touched the tree and entered this space. His consciousness quickly returned to unconsciousness, but he felt no pain during the process, suggesting that Ajax was quite gentle in sending him off.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Dick suddenly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a tent. A magical lamp that could generate heat hung from the ceiling, making the tent very warm. Rita and Black and White Gunner were both guarding him, resting with their eyes closed, while his master, Behemoth, was sitting cross-legged in meditation a little further away.

It seems he had been unconscious for quite some time, and for some reason, they didn't dare move him, so they set up a tent on the spot to settle him down first.

Rita was the first to notice that Dick had woken up. Dick had only moved his head slightly, and the slight tremor made her open her eyes immediately. A hint of surprise flashed in her violet eyes, followed by a sigh of relief. Then, both Black and White Gunners woke up. White Gunner looked concerned, while Black Gunner was as unserious as ever, teasing her.

"If you don't wake up soon, someone is going to treat you like Sleeping Beauty."

"You should have said so earlier, then I would have pretended to be asleep a little longer."

Dick smiled and was slightly surprised to find that the person with the slightly flushed face was actually Bai Qiangdai.

At this moment, Behemoth also ended his meditation, turned his head to look at Dick, who was surrounded by beautiful girls and still chatting and laughing, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "Being good-looking is really an advantage!"

When he and his junior brother Grandor were young, they had never had such a sensual experience. Later, after they became high-level magicians, girls started to flock to them, but they had both seen through the vanity of the world and were reluctant to befriend women who approached them with ulterior motives.

"So, how was it? Was communicating with the gods interesting?"

"Not bad. That winter god named Ajax is surprisingly reasonable."

With Rita's help, Dick sat up from his sleeping bag. He felt strange; his mind was clear and he was energetic, but his body was weak and powerless. He could vaguely feel a force flowing through his body, which he thought was related to Ajax's "gift".

Dick recounted in detail his encounter with Ajax in the sealed world, including Ajax's tragic past and the Snow Country that was destroyed due to a misunderstanding.

The divine remains they encountered were a manifestation of Ajax's nightmare, a product of distorted worldly legends. Over the long course of time, people have gradually forgotten some histories and allowed some stories to deviate from their original form. Legends created gods, but they can also influence them.

This is why later deities, although they withdrew from the mortal realm, created religions, had priests manage their followers on their behalf, and used fixed scriptures to solidify their image.

After hearing the story, the group was deeply moved. It turned out that an ancient winter god was sealed beneath Laguge, and the extreme winter and the mountain demons were the products of his nightmares.

Rita even speculated that Lagug's unparalleled production of cold iron, the highest in the empire, might be an indirect result of the sealing grounds of the Winter God.

Dick was too lazy to analyze any further. He just wanted to lie down a little longer. He touched his head and saw that the Wild King's Crown was still on his head. He pretended to take it off and return it to his master.

Taking advantage of his status as a junior, Dick could swallow his pride and act cute to ask his elders for small gifts, but he couldn't bring himself to ask for a treasure of the divine artifact level.

So now that everything is over, it should be returned to its rightful owner.

But Behemoth waved his hand, telling him to keep wearing it for now.

"Uncle-Master, you're not really going to give this to me, are you? I can't accept this gift!"

Behemoth gave a cold snort and rolled his eyes at the grinning Dick.

"What are you thinking? You refuse to be my disciple, so why should I give you a divine artifact? I'm only letting you wear it because you're not fully recovered yet. You can return it to me after you've fully absorbed the Winter God's gift."

"A gift from the god of winter? Aside from being extremely tired, I don't feel anything special about it right now."

"That's the power of a god, not something your mortal body can easily absorb. I reckon even if you wake up now, you'll still be weak for three to five days. Once you've fully recovered, you'll know what kind of power the Winter God gave you."

The author says:

Author's Note: I'm adding more chapters for the National Day holiday but not more. The plot points have actually been brought forward. I was originally planning to put the Black and White Gun Sandwich chapter as the first chapter to be released, but now I have to make some adjustments.

Chapter 027: Triumphant Return

Although Dick had woken up, the group did not leave immediately.

This was Dick's own request; he wanted to stay here for two more days, pretending to clear out the monsters, and then "return in triumph" to let the villagers from the several villages that had already evacuated go home.

The reason for all this trouble wasn't that Dick wanted to claim credit; his act of stopping the Winter God from going mad and ending this year's apocalyptic winter was already a huge achievement.

It's no exaggeration to say that his actions were tantamount to saving everyone in Laguge.

The problem is that the existence of a sealed deity in Laguge must not be revealed. Otherwise, it will inevitably attract many covetous eyes, and even the empire's old, senile emperor, who spends his days thinking about how to prolong his life, will have wicked thoughts.

Therefore, Dick would rather forgo the credit than fail to keep this secret.

Rita and Black and White Gun are easy to talk to; they're his people, and Dick wants them to keep the secret, so they won't blab. The key is his master, Behemoth, who comes to Lagug every year to guard the extreme winter in pursuit of a higher level of power.

Now that what he wants is right in front of him, Dick has no idea what he will do.

Seemingly sensing Dick's concerns, Behemoth smiled and said that he would also help keep the secret, because he was a greedy old man who would keep everything to himself and never share with others!

"I'll probably stay here to cultivate for the next while. Since a deity is sealed down here, meditating here will definitely help my cultivation."

"If you need any help, please feel free to ask, Master Uncle."

"You don't really need to help with anything. Just keep your mouths shut and don't let anyone else know I'm here."

"Understood! I'll spread the word that you personally resolved the problem here and then headed east to continue your exploration of the ancient wilderness."

"Humph!"

Hearing Dick's arrangement, Behemoth nodded in satisfaction.

Three days later, Dick, who had fully recovered, returned the Wild Crown to Behemoth. He sensed the flow of magic within his body and found that, as his master had said, it was quite different from before.

The gift from the Winter God was not something visible or tangible; rather, it directly improved Dick's magical constitution, completely opening and connecting all the spiritual meridians within his body.

This is similar to a martial arts novel where a master imparts their skills to you, opening up your "Ren and Du meridians".

A mage's aptitude is related to the quantity and quality of the spiritual veins within their body. The more numerous, thicker, and larger the interconnected network of spiritual veins, the stronger you will be, and the higher your cultivation ceiling will be.

Although in theory, spiritual veins can be improved through cultivation or the use of certain medicines, cultivation can only unblock some of the spiritual veins that were originally present but were blocked.

The medicine, on the other hand, expands existing spiritual veins, and it is extremely expensive and has certain side effects.

But the gifts from the gods are different; they come directly and in one step!

Dick could now clearly feel that all the spiritual meridians in his body were completely connected, spreading throughout his body like a neural network. Several main meridians were located in his limbs and the main trunk of his body, and the magic flowing inside was as surging and powerful as a never-ending river.

The benefits of fully expanding the spiritual veins are also obvious.

First, the total amount of magic power has increased, more than tripling compared to before.

Secondly, his spellcasting speed is faster and smoother because his spiritual veins are distributed throughout his body. He can now cast spells from any part of his body, giving him more freedom than those mages who specialize in spiritual veins in both hands.

Third, and most importantly, the talent ceiling has been raised.

Given Dick's original aptitude, his elven bloodline made him even more talented than humans, making him a shoo-in for becoming a Saint-level mage. However, it was precisely because of his impure elven talent that he might find it difficult to break through to the demigod realm, as his mixed bloodline resulted in his spiritual veins being divided into three incompatible systems.

His mentor, Grandor, regretfully told Dick that he might become the youngest Saint-level mage in history, but he would probably never break through to the level of a Demigod.

The Winter God used his divine power to solve this problem for him. Now, as long as he continues to cultivate, he will not only become the youngest Saint-level mage in history, but also the youngest demigod.

Based on this gift alone, it wouldn't be too much for Dick to run across the snow and kowtow to the Winter God a few times!

After Dick recovered, he parted ways with Behemoth. The old man needed to stay away from people during his cultivation practice, so he planned to find a place to settle down deep in the mountains and forests.

Dick immediately pulled out a map, pointed to a red dot on it, and indicated that this place was good.

Behemoth looked at Dick with suspicion. After spending some time with him, he found that although the kid had an innocent and cute face, he was actually very cunning. The fact that he suddenly pulled out a map and picked a red-marked X from a bunch of colorful points was definitely not a good thing!

Dick didn't hide anything, saying that this place was actually a den of thieves, hiding a band of about thirty or forty bandits. The leader was a knight who had committed heinous acts such as massacring villages and had the strength of a high-ranking warrior.

One good thing about their hideout is that it was chosen to be secluded, and there was a hot spring inside the cave.

If my master kills this bandit and then cultivates there, I will regularly send someone to deliver supplies and gifts to him.

"I've heard that my senior uncle enjoys wine. I have some good fermented grape juice. You can have a couple of sips to quench your thirst during your cultivation breaks. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"You brat, you even used your own uncle, you're a real scoundrel!"

Although he was cursing, the barely suppressed smile on Behemoth's face betrayed his true thoughts.

After bidding farewell to Behemoth, Dick also set off to return to the castle.

They first went to the surrounding forests and found some lifeless remains of gods that had stopped moving. These things lost their ability to move after the Winter God regained consciousness and strengthened his self-sealing, becoming lifeless ice sculptures.

But Dick needed some "trophies" to take back as proof that they had eliminated the monsters, so he chopped off the heads of the ice sculptures, put them into his spatial bracelet, and then used a fireball spell to blast the ice sculptures to pieces.

Dick collected more than a dozen in one go before setting off back to the castle.

On the way back, Dick and White Gunner rode together on the white horse East Starion, while Rita sat on Black Gunner's horse.

Black Gunner originally wanted Dick to ride on her horse, but Dick politely declined.

Just kidding! If I sat over there, I'd probably be sexually harassed the whole way.

Boys need to learn to protect themselves when they're out in the world!

On the way back, the four of them agreed on a story: the real MVP of this monster extermination was Behemoth, a half-step demigod known to everyone in the empire; they were just there to help out and keep an eye on the old man from behind.

Bai Qiangdai could understand Dick's thoughts, but he also felt that giving all the credit to Dick, who was truly risking his life to protect the people, was unfair.

Dick, however, took it all in stride. He believed that credit should be given in moderation; too much could be a bad thing. For now, his main focus should be on maintaining a low profile. Besides, being able to enlist Master Behemoth's help demonstrated his influence as a governor—would anyone else have that kind of face?

When everyone returned to the castle, they were immediately given a hero's welcome. Dick displayed the pile of bizarre, grotesque heads of gods in the square, which amazed everyone. Many people had never seen such terrifying monsters before.

Dick explained that it was a twisted elemental construct, a monster similar to a stone golem, created by an elemental rampage near Kevin Village.

Fortunately, the powerful Master Behemoth intervened and they were able to eliminate all the monsters and remove the elemental vortex. Furthermore, because the magic vortex has disappeared, this year's extreme winter will be less severe and should not freeze people to death like in previous years.

Dick's words immediately drew cheers.

For the people living in Lagug, winter is more terrifying than the heavy taxes. This year, the new governor announced tax cuts and welfare benefits as soon as he arrived, and also implemented a work relief program to provide food as wages. Now even the worst winter has been weakened, and many people regard Dick as their savior.

After making these announcements, Dick said that the villagers who had been forced to relocate could now return home, and the governor's mansion would provide each family with fifteen catties of grain as a disaster relief subsidy. However, those patients who had been diagnosed with cold-related illnesses had to remain at the castle clinic to continue receiving treatment.

With his current prestige, Dick's words are naturally obeyed by everyone.

Watching the crowd disperse, Dick didn't immediately return to the castle to rest, but instead turned and went to the clinic.

Although the problem of the extreme cold winter has been solved, cold-related illness, as an elemental disease, will not disappear along with the winter god's self-sealing.

To put it simply, cold-related illness is caused by an extremely cold winter, but it has no direct connection to the winter god. This disease also exists in other cold regions, but Laguge was previously a high-incidence area.

Dick half-jokingly told Rita that Hughie's paper might be saved again!

When Dick arrived at the clinic, it was a scene of bustling activity. Since the private army had withdrawn to the castle, some of the fire elemental amulets had been handed over to the clinic's nurses. Although the chill syndrome was not contagious, the rumors had persisted for so many years that too many people believed them. To allow them to work with peace of mind, even if it was just for psychological reasons, Dick still gave them the amulets.

The clinic has admitted more than 20 patients. In addition to the three villages surrounding Songlin, some cases have also appeared in other villages. However, the number of patients is still acceptable compared to the total population.

Just then, Shizuka Marikawa saw Dick appear and immediately ran towards him, staggering as she went. However, she couldn't stop in time and ended up ramming him with the ball in her hand. Luckily, Rita was standing behind him and caught him, preventing him from falling over. However, he was now sandwiched between four soft mounds.

Dick admitted to himself that it actually felt pretty good, and it would be even better if it were in a more private place.

Realizing she had accidentally bumped into someone, Shizuka Marikawa quickly stepped back and apologized. Then, she grabbed Dick and ran towards the inner room marked "Intensive Care Unit," explaining the situation as she ran.

“Someone’s symptoms have worsened, and they need your life-saving trick, Governor’s brother.”

Upon entering the intensive care unit, Dick saw two patients lying there, both children. One was a little girl dressed in coarse cotton and linen clothes, clearly from an ordinary family, while the other was a young master dressed in a luxurious custom-made suit.

The girl was not accompanied by any family members, but the boy was surrounded by several people. He recognized the two leading figures; they were wealthy local businessmen.

Upon seeing the governor arrive, the wealthy merchant family hurriedly bowed, but then the child's father rushed forward and begged Dick to save his child in an almost pleading tone.

Dick told him to calm down and then turned to ask Shizuka Marikawa.

"Please explain the situation. Whose symptoms are more severe?"

"The girl's body was brought back by the liaison officer; she had already been taken by her family when she was discovered..."

Shizuka Marikawa didn't continue, but Dick understood what she meant.

It was not uncommon in impoverished villages to abandon seriously ill children prematurely in order to reduce the burden and save some food. So, the children were thrown away before they even died.