Super Righteous Player
Chapter 693 - 234 Mirage of Betrayal_1

Chapter 693: Chapter 234 Mirage of Betrayal_1

—— My heart stopped abruptly.

It was not an exaggeration.

In that moment... Cesilia felt her heart really skip a beat from fear.

She opened her mouth, many thoughts rushed to her mind, but they got stuck on each other. Not a single word came out.

Even though she was no longer Solomonik, even though her life had started anew, even though she was now a Gold-tier powerhouse, no longer the failure who couldn’t even pass the Hand of Winter’s test, even though she was a household name, an idol in people’s hearts...

There was so much she wanted to say.

But in the end, she just kept silent and slowly bowed her head.

Indeed...

Could it be that even after changing bodies, completely altering her way of doing things, she was still instantly recognizable in Annan’s eyes?

What habit had given her away?

"At your disposal... Your Highness,"

She responded bitterly.

—— How ludicrous.

She had thought she could escape the fear of her past...

"Too late,"

Elle’s voice was light and soft as she spoke.

In Cesilia’s deep blue eyes, reminiscent of a ragdoll’s, pain and fear overflowed instantly.

But soon, Elle playfully smiled again, "You should address me as ’Your Majesty’ now."

The relief and tension between tightening and letting go, between a rise and a fall, made Cesilia involuntarily relax a great deal.

She even felt that the initial fear had lessened considerably.

All of this was within Annan’s calculations.

He could guess what kind of person he would likely have been in the first cycle — what sort of fears would have been implanted in the hearts of those he had been in contact with.

This stemmed from Annan’s self-awareness and led to a new plan... how to use and ignite that fear to make them submit to the "current" Annan.

—— The so-called, borrowing the authority of the tiger.

Yet, the "tiger" Annan was impersonating was "another self."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cesilia’s tone was much lighter and no longer so bitter: "At your disposal."

"I already have an idea of how to leave this nightmare,"

Elle said calmly: "This cycle may not meet the conditions, but I will save everyone in the next cycle.

"To keep the right to ’remember’ for Elle, I need all of you to die once within the allotted time.

"But before that... I have some questions I would like to discuss with you."

"... Is it about the teacher?"

Cesilia quickly realized what Annan wanted to ask.

She promptly replied, "As you saw at that time... Teacher truly did betray you."

... What I foresaw at that time?

Annan paused for a moment when he heard this.

The message contained in this sentence was too significant.

If Annan had known early on that Vladimir would betray him...

Then, with Annan’s own personality and ability, if needed, Vladimir’s backstabbing could never have succeeded.

According to what Ivan said at that time, what Vladimir had done... was to use Bella to steal Dmitry’s bodily fluids to create a curse that could control and tame Frost Beasts without the need for the Winterblood.

He took control of a third of the Frost Beasts, formed the Icebreaker Army, and hence initiated the Frostbite Calamity. The challenge to the control over Frost Beasts tested the loyalty of the local nobles — many realized during this event that they might not need to be loyal to Winter.

What they should be loyal to... was actually the controller of the Frost Beasts.

Winter’s strongest troops are the Frost Beast troops, its most powerful war machine is also the Frost Beast, punishment and torture are carried out with the help of Frost Beasts, the deterrence effect of the law also comes from Frost Beasts, and even trade for foreign goods relies on Frost Beast products.

Whoever controls the Frost Beasts controls everything.

Mere mortal soldiers could never defeat the Frost Beasts of similar size — simply being near Frost Beasts would involuntarily cause trembling, fear, sadness. If not killed in one hit, the mere proximity to Frost Beasts would sap their combat strength.

The Frost Beasts’ area-of-effect ability to absorb positive emotions has the same effect on the battlefield as poison gas that cannot be defended against with a gas mask. Although most Frost Beasts are wolves, there are also bears, foxes, and hawks... Any non-primate animal of sufficient size that freezes to death in a blizzard as a young can potentially be transformed into a Frost Beast.

With just one deep breath, Frost Beasts can drain the "happiness" within a conical area; and when Frost Beasts gather, simply sweeping by a person can freeze them like statues, covered in frost, bereft of thought, and devoid of hope.

Frost Beasts themselves do not eat people.

But those who are "devoured" by Frost Beasts no longer try to avoid the blizzards. The despair and powerlessness in their hearts paralyze their desire to act and to survive...

Those attacked by Frost Beasts in the wild generally end up frozen to death.

And a sizable troop of Frost Beasts, each taking a bite, can consume a person’s spirit completely in just four or five bites, leading directly to death from despair.

A swarm of Frost Beasts can destroy all resistance. This is also why, with only one standing army left and lacking four "Fingers" in Winter, Noah has never been able to reach across the Black Sea.

——Because Frost Beasts cannot enter water, nor can they penetrate the Mist.

Therefore, the Frost Beast troops could only be used for defense and counterattacks, as well as maintaining public order.

...If one were to speak of a flaw, this would be the greatest one.

On the other hand, if one were to gain control over the Frost Beasts,

it would mean... any noble’s private army would be rendered ineffective.

Just get close to the Frost Beasts, and it would only take a dozen or so to instantly paralyze a resistance force of a hundred. Ordinary metal arrows would also have little effect on the Frost Beasts... only rockets drenched in oil could cause effective damage.

Vladimir’s betrayal at the time indeed did not cause much destruction... but the subsequently born "Icebreaker Army" directly sparked a rebellion that spread across the entire nation of Winter, as well as a major purge within the Hands of Winter.

If Annan had known earlier and wanted to stop it, it would have been entirely possible.

But he did not do so.

Does this mean...

that the rebellion launched by the "Winter Reverser" Vladimir was within the expectations of the first round Annan?

Or even directly part of Annan’s plan?

That’s why the portion he controlled was one-third of the Frost Beasts—if the number had been any higher, the Duchy of Winter wouldn’t have been able to maintain its deterrence power through the Frost Beast troops, nor control the various cities.

The number of military Frost Beasts stolen was one thousand five hundred.

This number had already come very close to the "bottom line" that the Duchy of Winter could tolerate.

So, conversely thinking...

If the rebellion by the "Winter Reverser" was what Annan needed,

which of the subsequent events was "indispensable"?

"...I see."

Annan murmured to himself.

His eyes grew increasingly bright.

Following that, two "unprecedented" events occurred.

The first was the dismissal of the upper echelons of the Hands of Winter—control over foreign affairs, or in other words, the power held by the "Right Hand", was reconsolidated in the hands of the Grand Duke.

Before this, even Ivan had not realized that the true power of the Duchy of Winter was already in the hands of the "Ten Fingers" of the Hands of Winter.

The second event was that the Brotherhood of the Utmost North completely lost its loyalty to the Winter family, boldly defecting. This was their "Golden Feast" plan... the first family in the history of the Duchy of Winter to dare trade with the Fallen. Their boldness evidently sprang from the "Artificial Frost Beast" project.

But if the "Winter Reverser’s" betrayal was just a play for the Grand Duke to regain power;

If the plan was just to pick out those local nobles trading with the Fallen...

...then why has he not returned until now?

Is it that he got caught up in the game, truly defecting?

Or is it...

"So, where is Vladimir now?"

"Elle" pondered for a long while before posing the question to Selicia.

Selicia, however, did not hesitate, answering with a wry smile:

"I do not know... I haven’t seen my teacher for a long time."

After a long silence, Selicia replied quietly: "Since I formed the Icebreaker Army, I have not seen my teacher again.

"It was only after I became the ’Ship in Stone Captain’ that I finally found out—he hadn’t really died.

"But no matter what, I can’t reach where my teacher is. The treasured ship ’Silver’ has the ability to track targets, yet it can never lock on to my teacher’s location. I even doubted for a while if he was still alive... but I always hear from others that my teacher is indeed alive and well.

"I can only conclude that my teacher has been avoiding me... I don’t know why that is. If it’s for my teacher’s sake, I would rather be discovered as Solomonik... even if I were put on a wanted list, even if everyone knew I had been the wanted Solomonik, I just wish my teacher would not ignore me."

"...I see."

Annan reflected.

He had grasped six-tenths of all the facts.

He just needed to see Vladimir with his own eyes, then everything would be clear.

"Very well."

"Elle" nodded, rising gracefully from her chair.

"I need to find someone, not as a requirement to clear the nightmare, just personal business. Help me, Solomonik... no, Selicia. If all goes well, I might absolve you of your crimes."

"...Who is it?"

"That ’Lily Rasputin’ on your ship."

"Elle" corner of the mouth lifted slightly: "Of course, if we were to say her real name..."

"Euphemia Melvin... right?"

Selicia answered softly.

"Correct."

"Elle" replied briefly and calmly: "Lead the way."