Three days later.

A gentle breeze brushed her face, carrying the cold sternness of snow and the vicissitudes of the Northern Lands, a feeling that was both the weight of millennia and the coolness of the snowfields.

Her brow furrowed slightly. Waking up in the frigid winter air, she felt a chill all over her body, and her eyes opened involuntarily.

She seemed to be on a moving vehicle, the bumpy snowy mountain road causing the seat to shake.

Despite this, there was still a trace of warmth on her left shoulder.

The warm shoulder reminded her of when she was sick as a child, and her mother would sit by her side like this.

Sigrid slowly turned her head.

In the cold wind, her companion was sitting next to her, wearing a white shirt and a diamond-patterned waistcoat, calmly holding the reins.

"..."

The young man on the left noticed she was awake and glanced at her with a smile.

But his attention remained on the road ahead, driving the snow sled with the reins.

"I can't muster any strength..."

Sid's voice was rare in its decadence and weakness, and she wrapped the thick coat around herself a little tighter.

So winter really was this cold.

The days in the northern snowfields were short, making it hard to tell if it was morning or afternoon, and it would probably get colder soon.

She paid no attention to her disheveled hair, staring at Lan Qi.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, or where they were now.

The collar of Lan Qi's usually smooth coat was crumpled from being used as a blanket.

"You've been unconscious for three days. Cat Boss has mainly been taking care of you for these three days. We're still on the road from the Northern Border Province to the Snowfield Province. It'll probably take a few more days to get back to the Snowfield Province," Lan Qi replied, as if he knew what she wanted to ask.

Although Cat Boss's magic was weak, she could still use some high-level healing cards to relieve Sigrid's external injuries a little.

Sigrid lowered her gaze, noticing the small black cat sitting between her and Lan Qi. She knew that if this cat used [Transformation: Human], it would probably be a cute girl.

Cat Boss still trembled as before when she looked at it, appearing very timid.

"Thank you, Little Black Cat."

Sigrid thanked her.

"...Meow."

The little black cat seemed too afraid to accept the Baticano's thanks, and just nodded, shrinking its head and muttering.

But for some reason, it felt that Sigrid didn't seem so scary now.

It didn't know if it was because her tone had become weaker, or because the terrifying aura on her body had weakened as a whole.

"By the way, Sid, I have something to tell you," Lan Qi thought for a moment and said.

"What?" Sigrid asked.

"You seem to be locked in a sealed state," Lan Qi said hesitantly.

He had sensed the spell that Askesang used to severely injure Sigrid at the end. It not only dealt Sigrid a fatal blow, but also almost locked her state.

Many places on Sigrid's back were torn open, revealing traces of white bones. Every time her body tried to heal, there would be a subtle cracking sound. The wound repeatedly healed and then repeatedly broke open. It was impossible to imagine what kind of pain it was. Cat Boss could only wrap it tightly with layers of bandages first.

Despite her non-human-like self-healing ability, she was still unable to recover.

This seal was somewhat similar to the sealing magic [Eternal Undead Punishment] that Lan Qi had previously obtained at the Saint Hall villains' banquet. It could prevent the opponent from recovering from any injuries after causing damage, and could not even be undone. It seemed that Askesang had prepared it in advance, specifically to kill Sigrid, who had a strong regenerative ability.

To remove it, probably only an eighth-order sealer like Askesang could do it, or it might not be removed until the caster Askesang died.

"..."

Sigrid fell silent upon hearing this. She could also feel that she had not recovered any strength for a long time, as if she was stuck in the final dying moment.

Now, perhaps she could be killed by a fifth or sixth-order Annihilation cleric coming to finish her off.

"Askesang and that black-robed guy should both be seriously injured. They won't be chasing us south for a short time," Lan Qi added.

But the north was still the territory of Annihilation. Communication was blocked, and they couldn't pass the news to the Imperial City or other Baticano branches in the south. The two of them were basically in a state of isolation.

"What should we do now?" Sigrid asked Lan Qi.

She probably understood that the good news was that Lan Qi had successfully brought her out of the Northern Border Province, and the Black Robe and Annihilation Bishop had been left behind.

But this didn't mean they could return to the Imperial City of Herlom smoothly.

If they wanted to return to the Imperial City now, they would probably be fully intercepted by Annihilation branches all the way south. Even if Askesang was still hiding to recover from his injuries and was wary of Lan Qi being able to blow up again, he wouldn't worry about the lives of his subordinates.

There would inevitably be countless Annihilation minions ahead who would stop them from passing at all costs.

"Go south all the way back to the Imperial City of Herlom," Lan Qi said with a light smile, as if enjoying every journey. Not a single day was wasted on this road.

"..."

Sigrid didn't expect that she would embark on a journey of escape, with no future in sight.

Losing the power that once made her worry-free, this was how it felt.

But looking at Lan Qi's optimistic attitude, she felt relieved.

It was a life that had been picked up anyway. This thorny, snowy journey seemed surprisingly good, and more importantly, with someone by her side who had gone through life and death with her, she didn't feel that the road ahead was full of difficulties.

"Saint, you have to protect me well. I'm just a fragile girl," Sigrid said to Lan Qi with a slight smile.

Her current state was probably far worse than the Sigrid she had previously disguised herself as.

"I want to state to you first that I am just your companion now. Although theoretically speaking, there is a possibility of saving your life, I will not stop you from committing suicide. I know how to respect other people's fate. When I judge that you are going to do something with no chance of survival, I will no longer follow you," Lan Qi turned his head to look at her, not showing any tenderness, and said with a smile.

"..."

Sigrid was still smiling, but her expression had temporarily lost its dynamic change, as if she was biting her lip to suppress her anger.

She seemed to have heard this sentence before.

"And when I judge that the enemy is far stronger than me, I will make a reasonable judgment as a fourth-order sealer, such as when I should run away, I will choose to run away, and choose whether to sell you or take you with me," Lan Qi closed his eyes, his expression carefree, and continued to explain his action mechanism to Sigrid, while also making a disclaimer.

"..."

Sigrid was silent, just smiling and looking at Lan Qi. If she regained her strength, she really wanted to strangle this green tea.

"So you understand, my favorability is very important," Lan Qi put down the reins, patted Sigrid on the shoulder, and said confidently.

Just like that, Sigrid was silent for a while.

"Saint."

"Hmm?"

"You'd better not talk to other girls like that."

"Why?"

"Because I have a good temper and won't really do anything to you, but women with bigger tempers might."

Sigrid said with a smile.

Although she was smiling brightly, it seemed like she was laughing out of anger.

(End of this chapter)