Super Righteous Player
Chapter 269 - 267 Dragon Sleep and Frost Beast_1

Chapter 269: Chapter 267 Dragon Sleep and Frost Beast_1

"...Yes, Your Highness, the Princess. But regarding the trade of goods at Frostwater Harbor..."

Dmitry’s words halted abruptly mid-sentence.

The tall, straight-backed youth with an austere expression furrowed his brows slightly, gazing at the spiritless, gaunt old man.

"Where is Annan?"

Seeing old Merlin return on his own, Dmitry asked indifferently.

His profound ice-blue pupils were like a frozen sea, revealing not a trace of emotion.

Elizabeth knew, this was a talent of the direct bloodline of Winter... named Winter’s Heart.

It was proof of the blood of the Cold Lady flowing within them.

The Crystalline Duchy was a nation alternating between winters and bountiful years. Just like the underground city-states, the mere presence of the Goddess Ancestor could unconsciously transform the surrounding ecology on a grand scale.

The Goddess Ancestor had two forms as a True God.

In her wakeful state, she was a beautiful woman with a height of three meters, her frosty hair touching the ground and eyes of ice blue. This form of the Goddess Ancestor was the God of Tradition—whether it was giving birth to the Winterblood, establishing the Crystalline Duchy, teaching her young progeny, assisting the contemporary Duke with governance, presiding over domestic ceremonies and activities, or even being in charge of marriage, childbirth, and funeral ceremonies for her descendants, these were all her actions during this period.

Just like an ageless grandmother... she possessed absolute authority within the family and was exceedingly active. When the Goddess Ancestor was awake, everyone would show utmost respect to the Winter clan—for they had the support of a protective, dominant, and exceptionally capable True God ancestor behind them.

This was also why she was affectionately referred to as "old Grandmother." Because her habits of caring for her progeny and loving children weren’t limited solely to her own bloodline... She would often give gifts to obedient, adorable children or meddle in resolving other families’ disputes. During such times, the Crystalline Duchy, as declared by the Winter people, was known as the "bountiful years."

However, due to habits formed before her ascension, the Goddess Ancestor had an irregular practice of falling into a "Deep Sleep" of unknown duration.

During this time, she would transform into a colossal dragon, with just her prone height reaching over a hundred meters.

It was a height surpassing thirty floors.

At that moment, she was the Ice and Snow God.

The breath she exhaled would whip up an unceasing blizzard. This blizzard, when the Goddess Ancestor was in Deep Sleep, could serve as a barrier protecting the Crystalline Duchy from the encroachment of the Mist and also as a defense against foreign invaders.

But this blizzard would also cause the already frigid temperatures of the Crystalline Duchy to plummet. Some newborns and elderly might freeze to death at this time, crops in the fields and weaker common beasts could not survive, and even the trees would enter "hibernation" for years or even over a decade.

Even the Transcendents who perished in the blizzard would not spawn nightmares—for even curses would be frozen, becoming part of the blizzard. And the Winterfolk would call this cycle the "winters."

Inside large cities, there were still wizards who had set up constant temperature barriers and created greenhouses for crops, as well as food imported from other countries through underground passages. For those villages, only the strong Hunters and warriors could brave the blizzard and go out to hunt in the woods, the plains, or at sea for Frost Beasts that likewise could survive in the storm.

These Frost Beasts were magical creatures that had undergone physical mutations due to prolonged immersion in the cursed blizzard. They fed on curses, and thus during the times when humans were locked in the cities by the blizzards, they could multiply in great numbers—once they gathered in sufficient quantities, they would launch attacks on human settlements.

But those with the blood of Winter could tame and command these Frost Beasts during the winters. This was the foundational reason why the Winter clan could not be replaced.

Indeed.

They too were followers of the old Grandmother... as well as her progeny.

After all, this was the influence of the Goddess Ancestor as the dragon part, affecting the beasts during her Deep Sleep.

This was also why the Winter family was called the "Wolf King" and adopted the White Wolf as their family emblem—the most numerous of the Frost Beasts were the "social species" with the "wolf" form.

But an important point to note is that Frost Beasts didn’t attack humans out of a craving for blood—they were a special species similar to elemental beings and didn’t need to consume meat.

They simply craved "love."

But it wasn’t just love.

Hope, sympathy, loyalty, joy... Frost Beasts had the ability to devour positive emotions. However, the beasts themselves lacked feelings and possessed little intelligence.

So they would follow instinct, track down humans by scent, and assault them to feed on their emotions—but they showed no mercy to humans who "produced their sustenance."

After an attack, humans typically wouldn’t experience much in the way of positive emotions... which would make the Frost Beasts even more restless as they searched for the next gathering point.

Only other Frost Beasts, emotionless "Hands of Winter," and humans with the Winter’s Heart ability could avoid attacks from Frost Beasts. In the Frost Beasts’ perception, Winter’s people were a "human-shaped counterpart," and more importantly, their superior. Hence, they would offer loyalty to these "counterparts" they encountered.

Then they would be captured and enlisted into the military. Once tamed, Frost Beasts could establish a symbiotic comradeship with the warriors—they learned to "leave a bite," not draining their companions of hope completely.

But Winter’s Heart was not merely an ability used for taming Frost Beasts.

It could grant its possessor a kind of immortality, in a sense.

Once the damage sustained exceeded the limit, the injury would be transferred to the ancestral grandmother, to be borne by Her instead; if She were awake, She could immediately come over, and even if She were in deep sleep, once She bore too much... She would gradually awaken.

To kill a member of the Winter clan, one could only use the frost elements. This was the "family discipline" reserved by the ancestral grandmother—after all, She was the God of Tradition.

However, as everyone knows, all Gold-rank Transcendents who had awakened the frost elements were born in the Winter Duchy.

So, to kill a member of the Winter clan was almost impossible.

One could only bind their hands and feet and throw them into the sea, or tie them up and throw them into a dungeon... waiting for them to be unable to bear it and end themselves.

Besides, the Heart of Winter could also grant its possessor a cold and indifferent heart.

Members of the Winter clan, from birth, had to endure the eternal training of "never being happy." This was to keep them from drowning in the desire for power, to always remain sober, and always act for the people.

They could derive no joy from anything they did. Therefore, to them, only the "rules" and "traditions" they learned from an early age were worth paying attention to... They were kings with hearts of ice, who had acted for others since birth.

This was undoubtedly cruel.

But for the Winter Duchy, which occasionally fell into the years of winter, only a ruler who was strict enough, self-disciplined, unapproachable, and could bear the resentment, curses, and misunderstanding from the people could maintain the teetering public order.

The ancestral grandmother’s thought was simple.

If people needed such a sacrifice—then the descendants of Her own should be the ones to take on this role.

This may seem unfair to Her own descendants... but that was the choice of "tradition."

While the ancestral grandmother was extraordinarily protective, Her demands on Her own descendants were also extremely rigorous. Under such training, every Grand Duke of Winter... even just the offspring of the Grand Duke of Winter, were the most outstanding rulers among all nations.

They would not become lazy in pursuit of comfort and joy, would not become arrogant from the pleasure of superiority. They would not be carried away by the flattery of subjects or envoys, nor succumb to the temptations of beauty—reproducing progeny for them was merely a "duty," not a "pleasure."

With such rulers... why would anyone want to wage war against such a dreadful and desolate country?

Elizabeth’s thoughts were so simple and pure.

She was fully committed to resolving the aftermath of the war brought about by her father... because she was scared.

She did not want to face such an enemy head-on.

This was also the main reason the Eldest Princess was willing to humble herself and proactively suggest she personally receive the eldest son of Duke Ivan.

She certainly did not want her foolish younger brothers and sisters to mess things up.

They simply did not understand... the terrifying nature of the Winter clan.

"...What?"

After whispering with old Merlin, Dmitry showed a moment of astonishment.

He shook his head and murmured softly, "Annan actually..."

"What’s the matter, Your Highness?"

Elizabeth’s heart tightened and she inquired as if nothing was amiss.

Dmitry turned around.

She vaguely sensed, from Dmitry’s emotionless ice-blue pupils... a hint of perplexity?

"Annan seems to be having a great time with a lady named Kafney."

Dmitry shook his head and replied calmly, "My apologies, Your Highness, for my brother’s disrespect."

Upon hearing this, Elizabeth’s heart stirred.

"...No, Your Highness Dmitry."

She smiled coyly and spoke gently, "Otherwise, let’s talk about... Prince Annan, shall we?"