Chapter 537: The Crystal Palace
"Archmage Leon, you... are you saying we're trapped in an illusion?" After hearing Leon's explanation, Thorne Merlin's face was full of disbelief, but also a hint of excitement. If the young mage was telling the truth, then they wouldn't have to face the terrifying Sky Rank Beast anymore.
However...
Just as his words fell, and while he anxiously awaited the young mage's reply, a fierce wind suddenly erupted all around, whipping up countless shards of frost. As thick white mist rose in waves, the scene before their eyes gradually blurred, space itself twisted violently, and the first thing to change was the path beneath their feet...
Now, the path that had seemed so real was gone without a trace, replaced by a solid glacier. In the next moment, vast stretches of ocean vanished like a mirage, swallowed up by the ice.
In an instant, the wind howled, sweeping countless shards of frost straight at them. Only then did everyone finally see the truth of their surroundings: the path, the ocean, the Sky Rank Beast—none of it was real. Aside from the endless glacier, there was nothing here at all.
"It really is an illusion!" Thorne Merlin's eyes widened as he cried out in shock. When he was walking on the path earlier and the Sky Rank Beast suddenly appeared, his heart nearly stopped, but thankfully, it was only an illusion.
Still, this illusion was incredibly convincing—even he, a Fifth Level Sword Saint, hadn't noticed a single flaw before now.
He stood there, unable to help stealing a few more glances at the young mage, his expression growing increasingly complex. Thorne realized that the young mage was far from simple; it seemed as if he could surprise everyone at any moment.
"Wait, Archmage Leon, those treasures we found earlier—were they also just illusions?" Only now did Thorne Merlin suddenly recall the wealth they'd discovered in the ice cave hours ago. The young mage's reaction back then had been strange—he hadn't cared about the treasure at all, nor explained anything; he simply told everyone to leave.
Now that he knew about the existence of the Snow Wraiths, Thorne couldn't help but boldly guess: could all those gold and silver treasures have been illusions conjured by the Snow Wraiths as well?
If that was true, it was a real shame...
"That's right..." Leon nodded gently, unable to suppress a wry smile. He'd noticed something strange at the time, but couldn't be sure it was the Snow Wraiths' doing, so he hadn't explained anything and simply led everyone away. It wasn't until they entered the illusion again that he confirmed it was the Snow Wraiths' handiwork.
As for those Third Dynasty Royal Workshop Greatswords, they weren't just figments of the illusion...
Back in the golden age of magic, those mad mages had already studied the principles behind the Snow Wraiths' illusions in great detail. Although Snow Wraiths are born with the ability to create illusions, only things they've seen with their own eyes can appear in their mirages.
In other words, the Snow Wraiths had once seen greatswords, gold and silver treasures, Sky Rank Beasts, and the chained path over the sea. But as elemental creatures, Snow Wraiths themselves are only as strong as a Grand Mage, and have no way of leaving the Frostbound Realm. Because of their nature, if they ever did leave, they couldn't survive outside this environment.
The answer was already becoming clear...
Thousands of years ago, a group of powerful figures from the Third Dynasty had indeed visited this realm, and quite a few royal guards lost their lives here.
And judging by the fact that they built the chained path, it seems they weren't just sightseeing or exploring—they must have come for some deeper purpose.
Just what was really going on here...?
He couldn't help but think of the Dragon Revival Array—could it be connected to those people from thousands of years ago?
But whether it was related or not didn't matter anymore; he had no energy to care about ancient history. All that mattered was getting the other two Five-Colored Dragon Cores.
At that moment, neither Leon nor Thorne Merlin seemed to notice that, not far away, Larn Merlin's face had turned ashen after overhearing their conversation—he looked like he wanted to die.
By now, Larn Merlin was gradually coming to his senses: all that had troubled them was just an illusion.
That Sky Rank Beast hadn't appeared here at all...
And he'd done something incredibly foolish...
When the Sky Rank Beast rose from the sea, his only thought was to escape as quickly as possible.
And that's exactly what he tried to do, but in the end, the young mage stopped him with barely a word. Frustrated, he'd lost his temper and vented all his dissatisfaction on the young mage.
Only now did he realize just how foolish he'd been.
Great—now he'd thoroughly offended the young mage, leaving no room for reconciliation.
At that thought, a chill ran through him; cold sweat broke out, soaking his mage's robe. He shot a deep, regretful glance in the young mage's direction.
Not long after, Leon's squad set off again, trekking across the endless ice fields. With nothing to guide them, the landscape was bleak and monotonous—just the white sky and swirling frost. The group wandered aimlessly northward.
Larn Merlin, usually one of the more lively members, was now completely silent, trailing at the back of the group with his head down.
The others weren't much different; after their ordeal with the Snow Wraiths, everyone was more cautious.
"Look over there—what is that...?" Uriel Merlin, controlling a Wizard's Eye to scout the surroundings, suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, exclaiming in shock as if he'd seen a ghost.
"That's... the chained path!"
With a wave, Leon sent out a Wizard's Eye, which floated up into the air. Instantly, the scene ahead appeared in his view: a chained path stretched across the sky, connecting to a towering Crystal Palace. With just one glance, he recognized it—the path was identical to the one in the Snow Wraiths' illusion, only in a different place. But the Crystal Palace itself made Leon frown deeply.
"Archmage Leon, this isn't another illusion, is it? Those damn Snow Wraiths..." After a brief moment of shock, Uriel Merlin calmed down and cursed under his breath.
Clearly, he remembered the chained path vividly.
Almost instinctively, everyone assumed what lay ahead was yet another illusion conjured by the Snow Wraiths.
"No, it's not..." Leon gazed into the distance, his expression grave, and finally shook his head slowly.
"Huh? How can that be...?"
At that moment, it wasn't just Uriel Merlin—everyone in the squad was stunned, staring at the young mage in shock, nearly speechless. Uriel Merlin was the first to recover, still unable to believe it. He took a deep breath and asked, "Are you saying the chained path and the palace are both real?"
"That's right..."
With the young mage's clear answer, Uriel Merlin's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. In the Frostbound Realm, what could be more shocking than the appearance of a palace?
A palace—here, of all places...
It meant that someone had once lived in this realm...
"Let's go—let's take a look..."
With that, Leon led the way toward the chained path. He was far less calm than he appeared—not because the palace's appearance shocked him, but because he'd already realized this was his true purpose in coming to the Frostbound Realm: the other two Five-Colored Dragon Cores were inside that palace.
Soon, Leon and his group followed the suspended chained path to the Crystal Palace. Up close, Leon could tell from the details that the palace's architecture was unmistakably Third Dynasty style. The lifelike murals and carvings could only have come from that era of extravagant luxury, when so much care went into every building.
"Let's go inside..."
The great doors of the Crystal Palace stood half-open. Leon glanced at them, then, without hesitation, led the group carefully inside...
Once inside, Leon realized the palace was vast and empty. As the group entered, the sound of their footsteps echoed faintly.
Along the walls, every few meters, there was a lampstand—but the candles had all burned out.
But just as they assumed the palace was abandoned, a cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out: "Who are you people?"
As the voice echoed, a bone-chilling cold swept through the hall, and white mist began to billow and swirl...
In that instant, everyone—including Leon—was stunned. There was actually someone in the palace! Their nerves stretched taut, and they instinctively looked toward the source of the voice...
It was simply too shocking...
After all, the Crystal Palace was built in the Third Dynasty style, meaning it was at least a thousand years old. When they first discovered the palace, they'd guessed someone once lived here, but now it seemed they'd been wrong—it wasn't that someone had lived here before, but that someone was living here even now!
So then...
How ancient must the person living here be?
At least a thousand years old!
That was the real reason for everyone's shock...
As the icy voice rang out, white mist rolled through the depths of the palace, and the sound of soft footsteps reached their ears. Then, through the haze, a vague figure emerged: a young woman, seemingly in her twenties, dressed in white that hugged her graceful form. Her pale cheeks, delicate features, and waist-length silver hair gave her an otherworldly, ethereal beauty.
Almost as soon as the young woman appeared, the temperature inside the palace plummeted. As the white mist swirled, frost formed on the walls.
"Who are you?"