Chapter 180: Conferring Dorovai, Awakening the Divine Gift: Fantasy Hero

Twilight deepened, and the biting northern wind swept across the wilderness, carrying fine snow particles.

On the yellowish land where the surface snow had been cleared, a bonfire rose abruptly, casting swaying light and shadows around.

Four figures, three big and one small, sat on the felled tree stumps around the bonfire; they were Dorovai, Xia Mingyu, and the group of Ariel and Kane.

It was hard to imagine that enemies who had been fighting to the death earlier could sit together so peacefully. The reason for everything lay in that overwhelmingly powerful Vice-Captain who had taken the initiative to show goodwill.

"What do you want to say?"

Dorovai looked at the middle-aged knight opposite her, who was quietly reaching out to warm himself by the fire and bandaging Kane's wounds, her expression still vigilant.

Or rather, that snowflake had never left her palm.

"The Lord of the Northern Region, Lord Mo Wen, gave me the task that if you could tie or defeat Young Lord Kane, I should recruit you and bring you back to Polar City, so we have no need to fight," Ariel said slowly.

"I cannot accept the recruitment of Mo Wen Dean." Dorovai's expression turned cold, and she immediately refused.

She was the last bloodline of the Mason family, the youngest daughter of the Lion King, and a Lord to a group of loyal knights. How could she throw herself under someone else's command?

Even if that were true, she should offer her loyalty to His Highness beside her, who possessed the 'Wang Zhi Jiao Zi' blessing. How could she choose that beast-like, cold-blooded Lord of the Northern Region...

With her refusal, the atmosphere that had just eased became tense again.

Kane moved a little closer to Ariel's position silently. He was afraid that this woman, who was even wilder than him, would draw her sword again. He was truly scared by the other party!

"Emerald Knight, your goal and that of Fairy Lord should be to improve the current situation of the people in the Northern Region, right?" After a moment of silence, Ariel spoke again.

After Dorovai and Xia Mingyu looked at each other, they nodded.

"With the God of Storm and Hunting above, you are the noblest people I have ever met in my life. Please accept my respect." Ariel sighed with emotion.

Immediately afterward, this Vice-Captain of the Frost Tooth Knight Order, under Kane's astonished gaze, knelt on one knee and bowed deeply to the one person and one fairy.

He was thanking them for the thrill generated by the villagers and children who had been freed from famine and were showing smiles again, which he had seen along the way. After all, his heart hadn't beaten so actively for a long time...

Looking at the neck so close at hand, Dorovai's expression froze. She was certain that at such a close distance and posture, if she drew her sword now, even if the other party were a powerful Crescent Moon Knight, he would have to drink hatred on the spot.

However, since the other party was a knight who still harbored compassion, she would naturally follow the etiquette between knights and would never commit the rude act of a sneak attack.

Thinking of this, the girl silently moved her right hand, which had been on the hilt of her sword.

"Emerald Knight, Fairy Lord, your actions have indeed brought happiness to many people, but the Northern Region is too big. Relying on just the two of you, you might not even be able to finish traveling through it in a whole year. And even if I give up the fight, Lord Mo Wen will send stronger people to capture you, so I have a proposal."

After standing up again, Ariel said sincerely.

"As far as I know, Lord Mo Wen is preparing to hold the grandest martial arts assembly in the entire Northern Region. Any Northerner, regardless of status, past, or sin, can participate."

"And the winner can get one wish from him. Of course, the premise of the wish is that it must not endanger the Dean family's rule in the Northern Region. Young Lord Kane can verify this for me."

Facing the gaze Ariel cast, Kane hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You mean for me to win the championship and then use this wish to improve the dark situation of the people in the Northern Region?"

Dorovai immediately understood the other party's proposal.

"Exactly. Asking the Lord to treat his subjects well will never endanger his rule." Ariel nodded calmly.

However, at this time, surprise appeared on the silver-haired young man's face.

"Hey, what kind of joke are you making, Ariel? Although this woman is a bit stronger than me, she is still only at the New Moon Rank. Can she really defeat that 'Monster'?" Kane couldn't help but speak up.

Hearing this, the expressions of both Dorovai and Ariel became solemn, and only Xia Mingyu's face showed confusion.

What monster?

After seeing his confusion, the girl beside him told him about that "Monster."

The so-called monster actually refers to the current Captain of the Frost Tooth Knight Order, the knight known as "Frost Heart," Renard.

In the Northern Region, there are countless rumors about him, and the most well-known are his strength and cold-bloodedness.

Rumor has it that he has a divine gift that grows stronger with constant fighting. He became a knight apprentice at six, a Transcendent at eleven, a Morning Star at fifteen, a New Moon at twenty-two, and a Crescent Moon at twenty-seven. He has experienced a thousand battles without a single defeat. Now, only in his early thirties, he is already vaguely hailed as the number one person under the Lord of the Northern Region.

This is his strength. As for his cold-bloodedness, it is because in the year Renard became a New Moon at twenty-two, he suddenly went mad and slaughtered all the clansmen in his castle, including his parents, wife, young son, and brothers...

This bloody tragedy shocked the entire Northern Region instantly. The Frost Tooth Knight Order mobilized in full force and finally succeeded in bringing him before Mo Wen, the Lord of the Northern Region, after paying a significant price in deaths and injuries.

When Mo Wen asked him why he committed the crime of slaughtering his clan, he just replied coldly:

"Because they blocked my path to becoming stronger. My parents always asked me to handle castle affairs, my wife always asked me to spend more time with the children, my brothers always asked me to accompany them on outings and hunting..."

"Even if I refused, they would repeat it tirelessly. It was too much of a waste of time, so I killed them all!"

Once these words were spoken, even the Frost Tooth Knights in the castle hall, who all took survival of the fittest as their first principle, couldn't help but feel that the other party was a bit too extreme.

Isn't becoming stronger for a better life?

Who would kill all their family members just to become stronger!

And Mo Wen, on the main seat, suddenly laughed after a long silence, walked down from the high platform to untie him, praised him for being a true Frost Tooth Knight, and appointed Renard as the Captain of the Frost Tooth Knight Order under the terrified expressions of everyone.

Since then, there have been many more rumors in Polar City about the Lord of the Northern Region going mad.

And Renard, who became the Captain, was isolated and alienated by all the knights, and even secretly called a monster. Of course, on the surface, everyone still respectfully called him—"Frost Heart" Knight.

Meaning, the knight without a heart.

Hiss.

"This is too anthropomorphic!"

After listening to Dorovai's account, Xia Mingyu gasped and couldn't help but sigh.

The other three people by the bonfire also nodded in agreement. On this point, even enemies who had been fighting to the death earlier could reach a consensus.

"My partner, the Emerald Knight, is currently still at the New Moon Rank. How can you be sure that she will be a match for 'Frost Heart'?"

Xia Mingyu couldn't help but question. After all, fighting across a major rank is not something everyone can do like Tamerlane!

If Ariel hadn't appeared so sincere earlier, he would have suspected that the other party was saying this just to let Dorovai throw herself into the net.

"I cannot be sure." Ariel shook his head.

"However, this is indeed the only way. And as long as the Emerald Knight proposes to participate in the martial arts assembly, I think with Lord Mo Wen's personality, he will not pursue her crimes of killing those lords earlier."

"Definitely! My father is too lazy to care about the deaths of those trash lords; he will only think about making the martial arts assembly more lively." Kane on the side added.

"... I need a day to consider it."

After a moment of silence, Dorovai suddenly spoke.

"Good. Until before dusk the next day, I will be waiting for your arrival under the big tree at the entrance of the previous village."

Ariel said calmly, then grabbed Kane, who was still trying to say something, and turned into a golden stream of light, disappearing from the two's view in a few breaths.

The yellowish sky gradually turned into night, and the bright moon hung high.

On a pitch-black, deep snowfield, only a bonfire was releasing warm and soft light.

Dorovai and Xia Mingyu sat on the tree trunk, their shadows reflected by the firelight behind them, one big and one small, and the big shadow was slowly moving toward the small shadow, finally almost sticking together.

"Your Highness, I have a request."

"Dorovai, I have a small..."

After a long silence by the bonfire, the two spoke almost at the same time.

Realizing that their words overlapped, they fell into silence again, and finally, it was Xia Mingyu who spoke first again.

"You speak first. What is the request?" the black-haired young man said softly.

And the girl who had previously spoken the words of request now had a look of nervousness and shame on her delicate face. She hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind to say it.

"Your Highness, may I ask you to confer upon me the title of your comrade-in-arms? I am willing to swear to the gods that I will be your knight for this life and offer you my sword and soul."

Dorovai turned around, her beautiful emerald-like eyes staring directly at the doll-sized black-haired young man in front of her, and said in a slightly trembling voice.

After speaking, her expression became even more ashamed, and she didn't even dare to look at Xia Mingyu's reaction, bowing her head deeply.

She felt that she was a bit too shameless. She had only known His Highness for such a short time, yet she wanted to ask the other party to confer upon her the title of comrade-in-arms.

And in the current situation, it was inevitable that there would be a sense of forcing His Highness to agree by using the suffering of the people of the Northern Region, even if she didn't hold such thoughts...

Thinking of this, her head bowed deeper, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

At this moment, the girl had none of the heroic and spirited appearance she had when they first met; she looked like an ordinary, weak girl.

"Your Highness, I swear to the great Seven Gods, even if you refuse me, my reverence and admiration for you will not diminish..."

Just as Dorovai was bowing her head and wanted to continue saying something, she felt a warm hand gently placed on the top of her head.

"It's been hard for you all this time, hasn't it?"

Accompanied by this gentle voice, the girl's palms clenched tightly, and memories she had pressed deep in her heart began to surge into her mind.

The burning castle in her childhood, the desolate village with no one but dry bones, the despair when she learned of her father's death, the back of her hands chapped by the cold wind...

Am I... tired?

Dorovai tried to ask herself, but before she got an answer, she felt two lines of warm liquid overflow from her eye sockets, dripping down her cheeks onto her thighs.

I... cried?!

She wanted to suppress this first tear in ten years, but for some reason, the tears became more and more, and even her clothes were soaked.

So, I really am tired...

The girl who had always pretended to be a knight finally got the answer in her heart.

At this time, that warm hand came again, gently wiping away her tears. She opened her blurry teary eyes and saw the tiny black-haired young man floating in front of her, looking at her gently.

"Dorovai, I agree to your request, but I hope you remember..." Xia Mingyu said softly.

"I confer upon you the title of comrade-in-arms, not because I want your sword and soul, nor just to save the people of the Northern Region."

"Most importantly, I want to help you, help a girl who has always worked hard and swung her sword against the wind and snow for ten years."

"I want to be your support, and I also want to rely on you."

"So... no need for guilt, no need for self-blame, please proudly accept my blessing, and then laugh out loud!"

After speaking, Xia Mingyu took off his shrunken coat and draped it over Dorovai's head like a headscarf.

And the girl finally came back to her senses. She stood up abruptly and then knelt on one knee to the tiny figure in the air.

"I swear to the Creator, to the Seven Gods, and to the ancestors of the Mason family, I, Dorovai Mason, will henceforth serve His Highness Mingyu Xia as my Lord."

"From this moment on, my loyalty will be as firm as a rock, and my sword edge will always be swung for you."

"Even if the world abandons you in the future, I will accompany you to fight until the last drop of blood is shed."

Dorovai swore with a solemn voice. Her expression was extremely firm, and her emerald eyes only reflected that tiny figure, as if that were the world in her eyes.

"Dorovai Mason, I will gratefully accept your oath. I also swear to you that no matter how much blood and sweat you shed because of me, I will give back more to you."

"How can you say you have no clothes? I share my robes with you. The King raises his army, I repair my spears and swords, and I share your hatred!"

After Xia Mingyu finished speaking, the tiny coat on the girl's head turned into light spots and melted into her body. At the same time, a piece of information appeared in her mind.

Fantasy Hero: You will become the image that everyone trusts. On the land where people have fantasies about you, you will be invincible like a hero in a poem.

(Note: This divine gift carries the risk of consciousness disappearance in the later stages; please use it with caution.)

The girl's expression froze, and this detail was noticed by Xia Mingyu.

"What's wrong? Is the awakened divine gift not strong enough?" he asked with concern.

"No, my Lord, I have awakened the divine gift that suits me best."

Dorovai shook her head. She omitted the first sentence and the note that followed, and only told Xia Mingyu the middle sentence of the divine gift.

"Invincible like a hero... sounds like a really great divine gift." Xia Mingyu's nervous expression relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, there is no better divine gift than this."

The girl gently held Xia Mingyu in her arms and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. Afterward, a smile as moving as a poem and painting appeared on her beautiful face.

"Your Highness, can you laugh with me?"

"It would be my honor."

"Hahahahaha!"

The laughter rang out on the lonely snowfield for a long time, and only gradually stopped after the tiny figure dissipated.

"I will become a hero, to protect everyone, and also to protect you."

Under the dark night, in a dream, it was unknown whose murmur stirred ripples of a few fairies in the dream world.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 181 =====