The Shadow of the Crown of Snow [Western Fantasy]

When the Northland is clear, the sky is high.Selene once went hunting with her father, reined in the horse in the deserted wilderness, raised the hard bow in her hand, and shot an arrow towards the untouchable sky, watching the arrow feather turn into a small black spot It disappears from sight, and after a while it may be heard as it hits a tree trunk or falls on the snow, or it may never be found again.

Selene always believed that there must be nothing behind this sky that humans cannot explore.

There is no god, no omniscient and omnipotent God of Light who understands everything in the world.Otherwise, why she prayed devoutly day and night, mother, father, sister, all relatives still left her.

She was as lonely as Hecate, just like in this wilderness, two lone wolves who also lost their wolf pack suddenly met, so they went together to find a cave that could shelter from the wind and snow.

Even if it is a tree that is about to fall, the tree hole that is not exposed to wind and rain can be called a home.

To Selene's relief, Hecate seemed to be getting a little closer to being human.She is different from the war weapon that Hussein hoped to cultivate, and she is also different from the character that Selene's younger sister should have in memory, but she does look like a normal person. Although her body still rejects magic as before, she This does not affect her slowly integrating into humans.

If it wasn't for this war, Selene didn't know if she would have met the opportunity for such a fundamental change so soon, but after this opportunity came, the war became a stumbling block for Hecate.

Hecate longs for humanity, but the battlefield is often the place where humanity is most devoid of.

Fortunately, she didn't realize this, even if she did, she would charge forward with her Crescent Blade and Snow Wolf Little Silver—now Hecate is already a member of the royal family of the Nord Kingdom up. '

Frost-covered city was built against the snow-capped mountains, so it was difficult to capture. Nord's most elite guards were stationed here. Selene is the most confident in their combat effectiveness.

But at the same time, Selene can also see that the Nagrand Empire has been preparing for this war for a long time. Magicians do not have the conditions to use crowd tactics to attack the city before, but they do not rely on the power of a large number of beliefs and numbers to fight. The magician soon joined Nagrand's regular army.After a few encounters, Selene knew that they must have undergone specialized training. Unlike the priests who had almost no self-protection ability on the battlefield, most of these magicians could handle close combat very well.

At best, these magician troops could be regarded as another weight on the balance that deflected the situation. For the Kingdom of Nord, the last straw that broke the camel's back was Wilton Holy Church.

This country is ruled by the Pope of the Church of Light, and the Pope claims to be the spokesperson of the benevolent God of Light in the lower world. Of course, he will not be so stupid as to send reinforcements directly under the banner of Wilton, but people with discerning eyes can understand it without looking carefully. How could Gran have such a large number of senior priests and paladins?

Selene noticed that after Wilton's reinforcements arrived, Hussein immediately stopped using magicians and replaced them with a large number of priests standing at the front line. Wilton and the Church of Light, he also knew that if they were exposed prematurely, they would only be strangled in the bud by the Church of Light that had taken root and grown for many years.

Nagrand couldn't take the Frosted City for a while, and Nord couldn't wait for a chance to turn around for a while, but in this strong fortress, Selene urgently needed an answer.

Before she asked the question, the person most likely to know the answer had reached out.

"Your Majesty." Raymond's tone was not so much questioning, but rather confirming the facts, "Have you found the manuscript of the late king?"

"I never knew that my father had contacts with people from Penglai."

"Nord has always been in contact with the Penglai people, and they have a close relationship." Raymond found a chair in the study and sat down. "In their concept, the sky is not an upside-down cover, let alone a design by the God of Light." As long as you are strong enough, you can touch the sky, even stand on the sky and become a god."

When the merchant ships of the Penglai people docked on the coastline of the mainland of Hindley for the first time, Toynby was in power in the Nord Kingdom. This warlike king was busy leading the northerners to expand their territories. The alien race with black eyes and hair has no interest—besides, their purpose is to sell things.

On the first day, there were silks, porcelains, and teas that the people of Hindley had never seen before. Full of people waiting to see what else they could come up with.

First there is the bell, a small one, which looks nothing unusual, but with a slight shake, any beast will become tame, and then there are some similar gadgets, which seem ordinary, but actually have hidden secrets.

Finally, the leading Penglai man dragged a large box from the cabin to the shore, took out a huge battle ax from the box, and hit the ground hard, the blade of the ax sank into the ground immediately, and the ax with it Stand upright on the ground.

"Whoever can pull this ax up, the ax will be sold to him." The Penglai man put his hands in his sleeves and announced to the crowd with a smile.

Half a month passed, and still no one succeeded, so Toynby became interested, went to the seaside, and pulled out the battle ax in front of all the Penglai people.Toynby not only bought the tomahawk, but also invited those Penglai people to the Nord Kingdom, treated them warmly, and became close friends with them.

So the Penglai people told Toynby a secret that no one on the continent of Hindley knew.

As long as you are strong enough, mortals can become gods.

Toynby was a far-sighted emperor. He asked the Penglai people how powerful they had to be to become a god.

The Penglai man smiled and shook his head, telling him that even in Penglai, those who can really become immortals can be counted with two hands. Although Toynby is the best of Hindley, he is still far from the realm of gods.

Hearing such an answer, Toynby was not angry.He calmly asked the Penglai people: "What if there are many me? Twenty? Fifty? One hundred?"

While enjoying the honey wine from the Northland, the Penglai man tied four fingers towards him: "In my opinion, it takes forty."

Since Toin, Nord has had generations of kings who died young at their most glorious time.Their souls are gathered, waiting for a vessel, which, after receiving these souls--forty "toynbis"--will rise to godhood.

And Hecate was the container they were waiting for.

"However, Hussain's experiment disrupted the whole plan. When Hecate was a child, she couldn't bear too many souls pouring into her body at once. The first piece of soul we put into her was incomplete, but this fragment is very important , there is a spell to control a god taught by the Penglai people." Raymond carefully glanced at Selene's expression, "This piece of soul comes from His Royal Highness Hecate's mother..."

"That's my mother." Selene's voice showed no ups and downs of emotion, "Are you going to tell me now that the Nord Kingdom already has all the conditions to create a god?"

"Yes." Raymond continued, "Hussein made her out of our control, but also made her body perfect enough to withstand the entry of all souls. His Highness Hecate is only one step away from the gods. gone."

The implication is clear to both of them, if a country suddenly possesses a dedicated god, even if it is at the juncture of life and death, it can survive in a desperate situation.

"She has become uncontrollable now, but it is very easy to eliminate a weak god that no one believes in after the event is completed. All you need is a decree from your majesty, and let the power of the people complete the process of obliterating her. "

"I can guarantee that she is loyal to the Kingdom of Nord."

"Forgive me for being rude, Your Majesty, no matter how smart you are, you can't confirm what a monster is thinking. You also said that you can't speculate on her by human standards."

"Raymond!" Selene looked at her beloved teacher incredulously, "She is my heir! The royal family you are loyal to! How dare you—how dare you?"

"My allegiance is to you, Her Majesty. You are now alone in the House of Nord."

Selene knew exactly what Raymond wanted to express, but she told Raymond all about this, and she couldn't defend the current Hecate.

"I remember that gods have no ability to interfere with human beings, especially when it comes to political issues."

"That's the restriction that the main god of the mainland will be subject to, and His Royal Highness Hecate is the patron saint of the Northland. One of her responsibilities is to protect this land and the Nord Kingdom of the Northlanders."

"...Since this plan started from Toynby and has been passed down from generation to generation in the Nord royal family, why didn't my father tell me? Why didn't you tell me after my father passed away?" Selene roared Then asked Raymond, "My father, mother, and sister are all victims of this plan, and I know nothing about it!"

"His Highness Hecate is not a victim." Raymond lowered his head, not daring to meet Selene's gaze, "She will become a god..."

"But she just wants to be an ordinary person." Selene felt a bitterness in her heart, "I am a god who can be easily obliterated with a decree and a few slanders... What is the difference between this and a weapon that is sealed after the war? ?”

"Your Majesty, since she was born, she was destined to take this path, and now she is the only way for us to win—"

"Teacher, you are forcing me." Selene pressed her trembling hands to her chest, as if she could squeeze the vicious curse that was about to pour out of her throat, "Forcing me to fight against Hecate and Nord choose between kingdoms, and I... and I am Queen of the Nords."

When Roy was forced to make a choice, was he as painful as she was?

If you think about it rationally, the two options Roy faces are the two daughters who are equally important in his heart, and Selene has to choose between a person and a country at this moment. The former has nothing to do with her. The heir to the relationship, the latter is her homeland, the place she swore to protect with her life the day she ascended the throne.

She can only choose the kingdom of Nord.

"The people of Nord will remember your wise decision, Your Majesty."

When Raymond said that, Selene actually had one thing on her mind.If after the victory of this war, Raymond still refused to believe in Hecate's loyalty, she would not sign the decree that could obliterate Hecate.

Selene is determined to tell Hecate when she sees her later: "I will use my power as a dictator to protect you at any time."

She must not understand, she must just blink those blue eyes and look at Selene inexplicably.