Damn, I Have to Marry the Strongest Antagonist at the Start? - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Chapter53-Didn’t You Want to See Me?
Seeing Prince Billy’s growing disdain for the Azure Kingdom’s royal family, with contempt gleaming in his eyes, the black-robed elder remained silent for a moment before speaking:

“Your Highness, Alfonso, Bada, and Erik were all prodigies of Kyrik, yet they all perished within the Azure Kingdom. You must not underestimate the dangers on this trip.”

Billy nodded slightly in acknowledgment and respect for the elder’s advice, but his gaze remained disdainful as he replied:

“The Church people are just a bunch of worthless fools. I’ve long been displeased with them. They hardly contribute during external battles, yet they spread their doctrines at home, deceiving the people and undermining the influence of our Kyrik royal family!”

“They even concocted some prophecy, slaughtering the snakefolk within our borders. Why did they suddenly lose their nerve when they reached Kyrik? Anyway, they’re all Church people. If they die, so be it. Reducing their arrogance is beneficial for us and gives us a legitimate reason to seek justice!”

Billy narrowed his eyes, looking confident and composed. The black-robed elder remained silent, knowing Billy’s stubborn nature. Although he outwardly respected advice, he ultimately followed his own will.

Seeing the elder’s silence, Billy paused and asked:

“You rarely speak, and now that you’re back in your homeland, is there nothing you want to say?”

This black-robed elder was his guardian, shrouded in mystery.

Even now, Billy knew little about him, except that he was powerful, steady, and experienced.

Before this journey, Billy’s father had repeatedly instructed him to heed the elder’s advice.

After a long silence, the elder shook his head and said, “That was all a long time ago. What’s past is past.”

Then, changing the subject, he continued, “Besides witnessing the three-year agreement between Princess Marry and Prince John, and using Alfonso’s name to gain some benefits from the Azure Kingdom, you must have other objectives for this trip, right? Otherwise, sending a general would have sufficed.”

Prince Billy seemed to think of something, licking his lips and smiling with a bit of obsession. “Indeed, I have heard that Leslie, the eldest daughter of Azure Kingdom’s House Ravenwood, is stunningly beautiful, even surpassing Princess Marry. She has a rebellious personality, which is exactly the type I like. The ladies Father introduced to me are all too bookish and boring.”

The black-robed elder’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he looked up at Prince Billy, shaking his head. “Your Highness, House Ravenwood is the most powerful military faction in the Azure Kingdom. They are not to be trifled with. Leslie is notoriously unruly and arrogant. If you plan to pursue her, please think twice. She is not someone to be taken lightly…”

Billy had anticipated the elder mentioning Leslie’s personality and immediately interrupted him, “What does her family’s military power matter compared to my status as a prince? Besides, unruly, is she? I’m an expert at taming fierce spellbeasts. I want to see if she’ll still be so defiant in bed…”

Before he could finish, the black-robed elder seemed to sense something, tensing up. He quickly grabbed Billy’s collar and leaped out of the carriage, landing in a nearby thicket.

Frowning, Prince Billy was about to question the elder when he suddenly felt a chilling cold descend from the heavens. The air, ground, and vegetation were all covered in a thick layer of frost.

Along with the sweeping cold came a terrifying pressure, as heavy as a mountain, crushing down on everything. The air began to crackle, and white dust swirled like dandelion fluff.

Under this oppressive cold, time seemed to stand still. The convoy and the soldiers escorting it creaked under the pressure, their knees buckling as they all fell to the ground.

Some soldiers, realizing the dire situation, tried to channel the mana within their bodies to stand up against the overwhelming pressure.

As various forms of mana began to glow brightly from their bodies, the cold in the air intensified.

A stronger wave of pressure mixed with the icy chill surged down like a flood from a burst dam.

Those lower-ranked soldiers, under the influence of the cold wave, were directly turned into blood mist, which then condensed into snowflakes, resembling blooming crimson plum blossoms.

The carriages and supply wagons, protected by the soldiers, were shattered by the cold wave and quickly buried in the rapidly forming ice and snow.

Billy, watching the sudden scene, turned pale, grateful that the black-robed elder had taken him to a safe distance; otherwise, he would have become part of the blood mist.

The elder, with furrowed white eyebrows, lifted Prince Billy into the air, away from the spreading cold wave.

As they ascended, the forest path below them was engulfed in snow, a white expanse with only the occasional fragments of carriages and bloodstained bones as evidence of the terrifying attack that had just occurred.

Before Billy could catch his breath, he suddenly saw large patches of gray-black clouds forming in the air around them, surrounding them completely.

The gray-black clouds churned, and pale, sharp ice blades emerged from the fog, flying towards them like a dense rainstorm, forming an impenetrable wall of ice, giving them no chance to evade.

The black-robed elder formed a hand seal in front of his chest, and golden light immediately burst from his hands, enveloping him and Prince Billy in a golden balloon-like shield.

The sound of metal striking metal echoed as the dense ice blades hit the golden shield, shattering into ice shards that scattered everywhere, leaving countless slightly concave white spots on the golden shield.

Below the black-robed elder and Prince Billy, some higher-ranked leaders had struggled to escape the cold wave.

However, when the ice blades swarmed like locusts, they were unable to resist any longer, and the blades sliced them into bloody skeletons that collapsed into the icy ground.

At this point, aside from the black-robed elder and Prince Billy, the nearly thousand-strong convoy had all perished, covered by ice and snow.

“Who! Who dares? Show yourself if you have the guts!” Prince Billy was both terrified and furious as he saw the convoy annihilated in an instant. Kyrik had always been the one to act domineeringly; when had they ever faced such an attack? It was clear their attackers had no respect for Kyrik.

“Oh? Didn’t you want to see me?” A calm, emotionless voice echoed through the forest.

Hearing this voice, Prince Billy’s heart skipped a beat.

The voice sounded familiar, and he quickly looked toward a swirling mass of gray-black fog not far away.

The fog gradually dissipated, revealing the figure of Leslie with her long hair.

She stood in mid-air on ivory-like long legs, surrounded by ice crystals, like a fairy of ice and snow—aloof and mysterious.

“Leslie!” Prince Billy’s pupils contracted. He hadn’t expected the woman he had longed for day and night to appear here.

Nor had he expected that she, a notorious troublemaker, would mock him the moment she showed up!

“Fine, fine. It’s good that you’re here. Once I capture you, we’ll see if your mouth is still this sharp!” Prince Billy laughed in rage, ready to rush forward and attack Leslie, but the black-robed elder beside him grabbed him tightly.

“Stand down! This person’s strength is such that killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant,” the black-robed elder’s cold words stunned Prince Billy, leaving a look of disbelief in his eyes.

Leslie, like the black-robed elder, was standing in mid-air! Only a handful of mages in Kyrik could achieve this.

The black-robed elder was his protector, a true master-tier mage in the early stages, a genuine mage grandmaster.

His ability to stand in mid-air was due to his high-tier level and exquisite control of mana.

How could Leslie do this?

Wasn’t she just a pretty face?

Why did she possess such formidable power?

As the black-robed elder’s aura fully locked onto Leslie, she shifted her gaze to him.

To her, Prince Billy was insignificant, but the black-robed elder’s strength intrigued her.

His gaze was also peculiar, as if he recognized her.