In the Name of Empress-Chapter 440 - 306: Since We’re Here
Humans appear particularly small in the face of nature; even Tier Seven Transcendents are just stronger humans, powerless against natural disasters like avalanches.
Although Roland and Alina skied down quickly, they were still not faster than the avalanche.
The swiftly roaring snow quickly engulfed the two of them.
Roland cast Divine Protection, forming a protective zone within the snow, sheltering them both.
"You calculated that precisely."
He smiled sincerely.
"You still have the mood to joke?" Alina was somewhat speechless.
"Once the avalanche ends and the snow’s structure stabilizes, we can get out. The loose snow allows for air, so there’s no need to panic." Roland’s tone was very calm.
"Thank you."
Alina’s voice was as gentle as snowflakes slowly drifting down.
Her thank you held many layers of meaning. She should be grateful to Roland for helping her regain power and take revenge, grateful for taking her in during perilous times, but those matters were too weighty, making one thank you insufficient.
So what she expressed was gratitude for Roland coming to see her after receiving her letter.
Although she observed the stars at the observatory daily, the latest intelligence always reached her first.
The Wende Empire couldn’t hold on much longer, and the Sussex Empire was about to become the frontline against the Vladimir Empire’s mad expansion.
Roland was very busy now. He had every reason not to come, yet he still came.
Not only did he come, but he also accompanied her in a mad rush down the snowy slopes, and then got trapped in the avalanche with her.
She put aside her last doubts, biting her lip, and softly asked:
"Are you confident?"
"No, but I have no retreat," Roland’s tone was very calm.
The atmosphere had reached a point where there was no turning back.
Even if they begged Sofia for mercy now, she would most likely, in anger, have Roland and Sylph killed.
Since that’s the case, they could only resist till the end.
Roland understood this rationale; Alina naturally understood it as well.
Alina bowed her head, listening to the roaring snow roll overhead, feeling the increasingly thick layers of snow, and vaguely sensed something amiss.
She had instantly calculated they were trapped halfway up the mountain, but something still felt off afterwards.
With their strength, even if the snow accumulated to several tens of meters, it wouldn’t hold them back.
Once the snow stabilized, they could dig their way out, so why were they still trapped here? Unable to figure it out, she voiced her doubt.
"Since we can get out but didn’t, it means we don’t want to leave." Roland seriously spouted nonsense.
Alina glared at him annoyed, "Be serious!"
"I am serious. Just now, I thought of a possibility: could something buried beneath this snow mountain be attracting us?"
Alina was stunned for a moment, not speaking, but inwardly accepting Roland’s explanation.
This indeed seemed like a very plausible explanation. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Divine Protection was still shielding them, with enough space beneath the thick snow layer, so she took out her Angel Card, pressing her boot onto the ground to create a flat surface for divination.
Roland looked at Alina with curiosity.
This wasn’t the first time he saw Alina use the Angel Card for divination, but it was the first time from such close range.
While Divine Protection could support a small space, it was still just small, barely enough for two people to squeeze in, leaving little room for divination.
Roland squeezed out a bit, standing against the snow wall. Though curious, he didn’t interrupt Alina.
Alina was gratified by Roland’s cooperative demeanor. She nodded in thanks, starting the divination wordlessly.
This time, the divination subject was neither Roland nor Sofia, just a nearby relic, not too difficult.
At least there was no concern of backlash.
She focused intently, placing the cards in the envisioned sequence.
Seeing her serious expression, Roland held his breath, his gaze wandering over her face.
It wasn’t the first time he was so close to Alina.
The last time was during a dance at a banquet.
But there, the lighting wasn’t good, so he couldn’t see clearly. Now, he finally had a chance to admire Alina’s features closely.
Her looks were only slightly inferior to Sylph’s, about on par with Sofia and Christine.
Feeling slightly bored, Roland silently scored the charm of the women he had seen internally.
The top rank naturally belonged to Sylph and Elf Sylph.
Although they shared nearly identical appearances, their auras were completely different, each having their own unique traits.
While their allure was near identical, Roland still unhesitatingly awarded the top spot to Sylph.
For no other reason than Sylph being his wife. Elf Sylph had a close half-mentor, half-friend relationship with him, but ultimately it couldn’t compare to his beloved wife.
Sylph was in a class of her own, but many slightly inferior to her existed.
Based on Roland’s judgment, Sofia, Alina, Christine, and another irksome Saintess Erin were all in this league.
In addition to these whom he had met, King of Tirol’s Queen, Prudon Kingdom’s female army general Anna were also said to possess no-lesser feminine appeal.
As the Queen of Tirol was already a mother of two kids, she wasn’t participating in the women’s charm competition.
General Anna had announced her marriage to the nation, not considering personal matters, rendering her charm also meaningless.
Sister Lisa counted as a top beauty among ordinary people, yet slightly inferior compared to super beauties.
If taking Sylph as a 100-point benchmark, Sofia and others scored between 96-98, with Sister Lisa’s feminine charm rating roughly at 93.
Though Lisa ranked somewhat low, she was growing rapidly.
Maybe it was the magic cultivation being beneficial, or perhaps learning the makeup sorcery of the Magic Empire, but she was becoming increasingly feminine.
