The Indomitable Martial King

Chapter 217

“Eek!”

“Ugh!”

Amid the flickering torchlight, terrified groans echoed through the corridors and hallways as humans fled in a frantic panic.

A pure white mist pursued them relentlessly.

Hisssss…

With an eerie sound, the mist spread, freezing everything it touched.

A once-vibrant flowerbed, now covered in frost, crumbled to pieces. The sturdy columns glistened like jewels as they were encased in ice. Waves of cold surged across the marble floors and ceilings, freezing everything in their path.

At the center of the mist was her.

An incredibly beautiful elven woman with violet hair, a voluptuous figure, and a slender waist.

She moved gracefully, scattering cold in every direction. And with each step, the icy mist swirled through the air, enveloping the fleeing humans.

All of them were residents of Elvenheim, the elf slave auction house. These were the very people who had lorded over the elves like kings, but now, their faces showed nothing but sheer terror.

“Aaaah!”

“It’s the witch! The Ice Witch!”

Already, more than half of the auction house had been frozen by the witch. No one dared to stand against her. Simply being in her presence turned anyone into a block of ice. She seemed like the very manifestation of a death goddess from legend.

And this death goddess showed no mercy.

“Spare me…”

“Please, just spare my life…”

No matter how desperately they begged, the witch did not withhold the shadow of death. Her expression remained cold and unfeeling as she continued to spread the icy chill, completely indifferent to the lives she was taking.

The witch kept walking.

Throughout the building, now dominated by cold, dozens of ice statues stood frozen in agonizing expressions. In the still-unfrozen areas, those who couldn’t escape, blocked by walls, watched the Ice Witch in terror, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

“Oh no…”

“Ugh…”

It was a horrifying sight. No matter how much she resembled an elf and how cruelly the humans had treated the elves, how could she be so indifferent to taking lives?

Hissss!

The cold swept across the ground, galloping like a warhorse, and descended upon the humans like a deadly veil.

No matter how fast they ran, the freezing mist moved faster than their feet. With a final scream, the fleeing people froze solid with a crackling sound.

A beautiful land of death, glittering with ice on all sides.

Standing atop it, Iniya glanced around and licked her lips seductively.

“That’s about it. This method really works best when dealing with large numbers.”

The fearsome freezing mist was one of Iniya’s most prized aura techniques—Breath of the Northern Sea.

Using the power of darkness and water spirits, she created an intense cold, then combined it with her own silver aura. By dispersing the cold-infused aura into particles, she could spread it like mist, efficiently delivering cold over a wide area. If she simply released cold air, much of it would dissipate along the way, but with this method, she could deliver the cold without losing much energy.

Handling spirit power was one thing, but breaking down aura into particles was a technique so advanced that few aura users could even attempt it. Even Russ, who could master most techniques after seeing them once or twice, had struggled with this method. Despite endless practice, he still couldn’t replicate it, a testament to how far Iniya had mastered aura control.

Iniya glanced behind her. A group of several dozen elven women who had escaped with her were there. Her mastery of aura was so exquisite that the harsh cold had not touched a single one of them. The elves were wide-eyed, marveling at their surroundings in shock.

Just then, she sensed movement further down the corridor.

Iniya heightened her senses. It was a familiar feeling. Soon, a middle-aged woman came into view, trembling as she hid behind a pillar, unable to escape. Iniya couldn’t help but let out an inward chuckle.

‘Oh my, it’s Instructor Clara, isn’t it?’

This was the same human woman who had constantly nagged her, claiming she couldn’t even bake a loaf of bread properly. Though her expression now was far different from back then.

Smirking, Iniya raised her hand. The freezing mist flowed from her fingertips and surged toward the woman. Her eyes bulged wide, and she let out a desperate scream.

“S-Someone save—!”

But the scream never finished. Before she could get the words out, the woman had turned into a sparkling ice statue. Another human, preserved for the long term. Iniya clicked her tongue.

“You’re overreacting. It’s not like they’re going to die.”

At that moment, a brown-skinned elven girl cautiously spoke to Iniya from behind.

“Um… Iniya?”

“Hmm? What is it, Siris?”

Iniya turned to look at Siris, puzzled. Siris stared at her with an expression of utter disbelief and continued.

“Just now… I felt like I heard you say… ‘It’s not like they’re going to die…’”

“I did say that.”

“…So, does that mean you froze them to avoid killing them?”

Iniya replied confidently, “Of course. Lord Repenhardt specifically instructed us to avoid killing whenever possible. I have no intention of disobeying his orders.”

Siris placed a hand on her forehead, looking completely exasperated. She stammered as she continued.

“Um… If you leave them frozen like this, they’re all going to die.”

“Huh? We can just thaw them out later, right?”

“Humans aren’t like elves. If you freeze them and then thaw them, they’ll just die…”

Elves, with their strong affinity for spirits, possess a much higher resistance to extreme temperatures than humans. While a human encased in ice would already be as good as dead, an elf can merge with the cold and protect themselves. Of course, elves are still mortal beings; if left frozen for too long, they would eventually die. However, if thawed out within a few days, they could fully recover, especially with the experience Iniya had from living in the North Sea, where she had saved many of her kind from freezing in the icy waters.

Iniya blinked in surprise and asked, “Really?”

“…You didn’t know… Of course… I had a feeling…”

Siris let out a deep sigh.

No wonder it was strange. Despite committing mass slaughter on a large scale, Iniya hadn’t even batted an eye. At first, Siris thought Iniya’s unflinching demeanor was due to her role as a leader, punishing those who had mistreated their people. But even considering that, her expression had been far too calm.

Iniya’s face paled as she looked around in a panic.

Now that she was paying attention, she noticed that all the elven women she had rescued were staring at her with eyes full of fear. Up until now, she had thought they were simply in awe of her powerful abilities, but now it seemed the atmosphere was different.

It was more like they were looking at her as if she were some sort of terrifying serial killer.

Fidgeting nervously, Iniya asked Siris in a trembling voice.

“…Are they really going to die, then?”

“They’re still breathing for now, but if we wait much longer…”

Cough! “I want to go back! I’m going back to thaw them all out!”

And so, a brief comedic scene ensued as Iniya frantically insisted on returning to thaw out all the frozen humans. She couldn’t risk earning Repenhardt’s disfavor over such a mistake.

Of course, this wasn’t the time for leisurely lighting fires beneath ice statues. They had to escape with the slaves, so there was no room for such frivolity.

Siris managed to calm Iniya by suggesting they set the entire mansion on fire, letting it naturally thaw them out. After summoning a salamander to ignite various parts of the mansion, they led the elf slaves towards the outskirts of the auction house. The elf slaves whispered among themselves as they followed.

“But Siris-nim, if the fire is hot enough to melt the ice, won’t they already be…”

“Shh!”

“Shh? What do you mean, shh, Siris?”

“Nothing, Iniya. Don’t worry about it.”

“…?”

* * *

Iniya, Siris, and the elf women ran towards the outskirts of Elvenheim. After running for a while, they spotted the rear gate of the auction house.

In front of the gate, dozens of soldiers were already lined up. They were the guards stationed to protect the auction house. Originally, they should have escaped before the guards had time to regroup, but the delay caused by Iniya’s earlier antics seemed to have slowed them down.

The guard captain at the front looked at the group of elves and began to tremble. His anger was so intense that his cheeks and beard quivered visibly even in the darkness.

He drew his sword and shouted.

“You wicked creatures! It’s not enough that you’ve brutally killed defenseless civilians; you’ve even set fire to the mansion!”

Iniya flinched and hunched her shoulders.

“Ugh…”

Indeed, behind her, the night sky was beautifully lit by the flames that were now blazing high. It wouldn’t have been so noticeable if it were just a fire, but the ice blocks within the flames scattered the light, creating a mesmerizing display.

Iniya mumbled in a small, embarrassed voice.

“It wasn’t on purpose…”

Then she suddenly tilted her head, puzzled.

“Wait a minute… Who’s accusing who right now?”

These were the same people who had enslaved, tortured, and abused the elves for so long, and now they dared to call her wicked for simply setting their house on fire?

Sure, Iniya had made a mistake, but it was only in failing to follow Repenhardt’s orders—not something she needed to apologize to these people for.

The guard captain raised his hand, signaling the soldiers, who all drew their weapons and assumed combat stances.

With authority, the guard captain shouted, “You’ve overstepped your bounds and committed a grave offense! You will all be disposed of! Kneel on the ground quietly!”

At the sound of his command, the elf women instinctively dropped to their knees. Despite their newfound awareness of freedom, the habits ingrained over years of servitude were hard to break. The slave mentality that had been instilled in them all their lives couldn’t be cast off so easily.

Of course, Iniya and Siris did not kneel.

“Kneel…?”

Iniya calmly let her right hand drop to her side. In that instant, a silver flash tore through the air.

“What…?”

The guard captain’s voice sounded dazed. Suddenly, a blinding light filled his vision, obscuring everything in front of him. He had no idea what had just happened. Confused, he looked at the violet-haired elf standing before him.

Something felt off. For some reason, that violet-haired elf seemed taller than she had a moment ago.

Just then, the trembling voices of his subordinates came from behind him.

“C-Captain…”

“Y-Your legs…”

“Huh? My legs?”

In a daze, the captain looked down at his legs. What he saw shocked him. His once sturdy legs had been cleanly severed at the knees.

There was no pain. The cut surfaces were so thoroughly frozen that not a drop of blood spilled. They didn’t even look like his legs—they resembled slabs of neatly butchered pork.

It was only after a long moment that the guard captain finally screamed.

“Aaaaargh!”

At the same time, Siris and Iniya sprang into action.

“Salamander!”

With flames swirling around her hands, Siris swiftly charged into the midst of the soldiers. Caught off guard, the soldiers hurriedly formed a defensive line to block her advance.

If this had been any other group of guards, they would have lost all will to fight the moment their captain fell, scattering in panic. But this was Elvenheim, an elf slave auction house dealing with highly valuable merchandise. The guards stationed here were of a much higher caliber than those at, say, an orc auction, where young men with minimal training were handed spears and put on watch. These were elite soldiers.

Of course, in the end, that didn’t make much of a difference.

Siris swung her arms to the sides. Flaming salamanders shot through the air, causing explosions as they went.

Boom!

The continuous blasts sent the soldiers flying through the air. After breaking through their ranks, Siris began systematically taking them down with her bare hands.

She punched, twisted, threw, and slammed them. Though she wielded no weapons, the spirit energy coursing through her veins far surpassed that of most priests’ holy enhancement spells. The sight of this petite girl hurling grown men like rag dolls rapidly crushed the soldiers’ morale.

Iniya, on the other hand, didn’t even bother engaging them up close.

Hiss…

Wrapped in a chilling aura, she gazed at the soldiers with an air of disdain.

She was the Ice Queen, leader of the Stiria Tribe that once ruled the Northern Sea.

There was no need for her to waste her energy on such insignificant foes.