Third Person's POV

The scroll shone sharply even through the storm.

A pulse of concentrated mana spread from it the moment it appeared.

To everyone else, it looked like the final life saving treasure of a cornered old man forced into using his last resort.

But to old man Caspian, it was something entirely different.

Seeing the shining blue scroll in the old man's trembling hands, Arlene's beautiful, cloudy eyes widened immediately.

Unable to hide the amazement and excitement that rose within her, she turned toward the armored aura master and asked in an amazed tone, though the answer was already clear in her own heart,

"Is that… a rank four inscribed spell scroll, Mister?"

Her voice carried both disbelief and anticipation, as treasures of such a level were not things one casually encountered in the wild, let alone saw being used before one's eyes.

The armoured aura master kept his gaze fixed upon old Caspian while replying in a calm and steady voice,

"It is indeed what you think, Princess."

Even he watched the scene carefully now.

He could have stepped forward at any moment and easily rescued the old man and his grandson from the tightening pack of wolves, but he had chosen not to intervene as he was not bound to protect every member of the royal bloodline.

His duty had been singular from the beginning of this expedition, and it had been to protect Princess Arlene from life threatening harm and nothing more.

And although old Caspian belonged to a branch of the Ice Emperor's royal clan, that status meant little to a man of his strength and standing.

He was no servant to be ordered by distant blood ties, nor did he fear the resentment of some minor side lineage member whose reach and strength were far smaller than their name implied.

Arlene, however, was no longer thinking of such matters.

Her eyes remained locked on the old man with rising excitement as he unfurled the glowing scroll with hands that still appeared to tremble from desperation.

In the very next moment, the parchment opened completely.

A serene yet blinding blue radiance erupted outward from it like a sudden frozen dawn and swallowed the storm and the battlefield alike in one overwhelming burst of light.

Arlene's vision vanished instantly beneath that brilliance.

At the same time, an unnatural cold pierced into her senses.

Her soul sense, which had been guiding her twin blue blades, froze as though it had been trapped beneath ancient ice.

Even her thoughts had slowed for a heartbeat as numb stillness crawled through both body and mind.

But before panic could truly rise within her, another force enveloped her.

A warm and powerful wave of dark blue aura spread over her body and drove away the silent frost that had invaded her soul and limbs.

The numbing chill in her soul and body shattered, and her senses returned.

She awoke from that strange frozen state with a startled breath, only to realise that a compact dark blue dome now surrounded her and her maid like a protective shell.

Its source was obvious.

The armoured aura master stood nearby with one of his hands slightly raised and his aura flowing steadily as he shielded the two girls exactly as he had been sent here to do.

Relief flickered through Arlene's eyes as she looked at him, but she quickly noticed that his attention was not upon her.

He was staring outward.

Following his gaze, she turned as well, and then she froze for an entirely different reason.

The whole world around them had turned pure white.

It was not merely in the sense of being covered by snow but white in an absolute and unnatural sense.

The splashes of blood and the gore that had stained the battlefield were gone.

The mournful cries of the ever-present snowstorm had ceased and the forest itself seemed to be holding its breath.

Only silence reigned in every direction.

The howls of wolves had vanished completely, and when her eyes adjusted to the pale stillness around them, she saw why.

Every wolf present had become an ice statue.

Hundreds of them stood scattered across the battlefield in frozen poses of violence and desperation.

Some were caught mid-leap with claws still stretched forward, while some remained with their jaws wide open in silent howls.

Others were twisted in the act of charging, retreating, or turning toward prey, yet all movements had ended in the same instant.

None of them seemed to reflect any fear in their expressions or show any sign of retreat in their postures, as they seemed to have been completely caught off guard by the strength and speed of the rank four ice spell.

Each beast had been frozen exactly where it stood after being turned into lifeless sculptures by the overwhelming power of the rank four inscribed spell scroll.

Arlene's breath trembled as awe filled her chest, and she muttered softly,

"It truly is Ice Burial… there is no mistaking it…"

At her words, the armoured aura master gave a small nod.

Then, without wasting time, he split part of his aura from the dome and wrapped it around both girls like warm cloaks before saying in a firm voice,

"Follow me."

With that, he stepped forward across what had once been a waist-deep snow-covered forest floor, now transformed into hard and polished frozen ground by the rank four spell's terrifying reach.

Arlene and Claire hurried after him carefully.

Soon they arrived at the place where old Caspian and his grandson had stood.

They, too, had become statues of ice.

Old Caspian's frozen face still carried the pained and reluctant expression of a man forced to spend something precious for survival, while his grandson remained locked in his usual cowardly panic with his eyes bulging and mouth half-open in fear.

Seeing their precarious state caused the last traces of suspicion lingering in both Arlene and the armoured master to dissolve completely.

Neither of them could imagine that anyone would willingly place himself in such genuine life-threatening danger merely to carry out some hidden scheme.