Chapter 2449 Taking the Bait
Outside the domain of Frost h.e.l.l.
The Holy Realm"s knights had arrived over ten minutes earlier and were stationed around the perimeter, maintaining vigilance.
Soon, Fang Heng encountered the Purifiers who had followed closely.
"Lady Karolina,"
Fang Heng quickly approached and reported, "I have just entered Frost Fortress and confirmed that Fang Heng recently entered Frost h.e.l.l to hide. He seems to be using the unique environment of Frost h.e.l.l to impede your pursuit."
Karolina looked up at the large fortress established in the distant city and asked, "Is the information accurate?"
"Absolutely certain, there"s no mistake."
The commander of the knights also approached and reported, "The scouting teams I sent out have returned. According to their findings, the guards outside Frost h.e.l.l are currently very lax."
"Lax?"
A hint of suspicion appeared in Karolina"s eyes.
Had the undead given up?
It was possible, considering that the main city of Punoze, Catantul, had already fallen.
Nearby, another Holy Court guard arrived hastily, kneeling to report, "Lady Karolina, we have just completed a communication with the Holy Realm. Lord Orkney, the adjudicator, has returned to the Holy Realm and is out of danger. Additionally, the Holy Realm has confirmed that Fang Heng is still in Punoze."
"However, due to some special forces, the Holy Realm"s current positioning of Fang Heng is very vague. The area they have specified is quite large, but it can be confirmed that Frost h.e.l.l falls within the range defined by the Holy Realm."
"Hmm..."
Karolina nodded slightly.
It seemed that the intelligence provided by Bai Mu was highly reliable.
Fang Heng, standing nearby, maintained a neutral expression but was inwardly cursing. The Holy Realm"s positioning issues were troublesome, but he was fortunate to have the holy weapon"s protection, which significantly mitigated the effects.
After a moment, Fang Heng continued, "Lady Karolina, from what I know, City Lord Hornlow has dispersed all the players and major factions from the fortress. It seems he is unwilling to involve himself in the Holy Realm"s invasion of Punoze. Moreover, Frost Fortress"s defenses are currently extremely weak, almost reduced to an empty city."
"Have they given up?"
Karolina muttered to herself.
Indeed, given their grand approach, the undead faction had likely gotten wind of the situation. City Lord Hornlow might have decided to abandon the fortress, considering it was impossible to resist.
It made sense.
Fang Heng, aware that the shady line"s aura in Frost h.e.l.l could have a significant impact, had deliberately hidden deeper within the fortress.
But so what?
Did they think he could be caught so easily?
"Walter, take a team to capture Frost Fortress. The rest will follow me into Frost h.e.l.l to continue tracking Fang Heng"s whereabouts."
"Yes!"
With time of the essence, Karolina immediately split her forces, sending one group to the perimeter of Frost h.e.l.l and leading the rest into the depths.
"She took the bait..."
Fang Heng watched as Karolina led the main force into the periphery of Frost h.e.l.l, murmuring to himself as he followed.
With the seals and the great holy sword that originally kept the shady line in Frost h.e.l.l removed, the chilling aura in Frost h.e.l.l was even more intense than when he had first arrived.
Frost and death"s aura continuously a.s.sailed the Holy Realm team.
Even with the divine holy shield active, the team was significantly affected.
Karolina opened her hand, and a warm light immediately dispelled the surrounding cold.
Fang Heng looked at the light—it was the warm sun gemstone.
The power within the gemstone had been greatly diminished by the Book of Oaths, theoretically reducing its effectiveness, and it should only last a short time before becoming completely ineffective.
It was strange.
It seemed that the power within the warm sun gemstone was even stronger than when it was last given to Karolina. It was likely that Karolina had used some method to temporarily restore part of the gemstone"s power.
This was problematic.
Karolina signaled three of the Holy Realm"s Purifiers to guard the gemstone together and gathered them in the center of the team.
It was worth noting that Karolina, antic.i.p.ating the rugged and narrow terrain of Frost h.e.l.l, had brought a team of just over a hundred people—half of them Holy Realm knights and half Purifiers.
The remaining Holy Realm knights were led by Walter, who was tasked with the full a.s.sault on Frost Fortress. After clearing out Frost Fortress, Walter would hold the exits of Frost h.e.l.l to prevent Fang Heng from finding another chance to escape.
To capture Fang Heng, Karolina was constantly strategizing, trying to close any possible loopholes. For safety"s sake, she even borrowed the warm sun gemstone, which counteracts the effects of Frost h.e.l.l, from Archbishop Will.
The team continued advancing.
Fang Heng"s gaze lingered on the warm sun gemstone within the team. Pretending to be struggling with the cold, he moved a bit closer to the gemstone.
The holy attribute of the gemstone allowed it to emit a gentle light that dispelled the severe cold.
Fang Heng squinted slightly, pondering in his mind.
He needed to come up with a plan to deal with it quickly, or it would cause significant trouble.
As they ventured deeper into Frost h.e.l.l, the Ice Bones began to reanimate.
Drawn by the holy light"s power, the Ice Bones swayed and approached.
Karolina showed no sign of slowing down and continued forward.
In the mid-tier game world, the Ice Bones were already considered formidable, but they were insufficient against the Holy Realm"s forces.
The Purifiers unleashed several holy punishments, causing the Ice Bones to explode one after another.
The team advanced almost effortlessly.
As they delved deeper, the surrounding cold energy grew increasingly intense.
Hmm?
Fang Heng"s mind suddenly stirred. He realized that his ability to withstand the cold energy had significantly improved.
Strange.
Just yesterday, when he was cultivating in the Frost h.e.l.l region, he could clearly feel the intense frost aura. But today, upon re-entering, he no longer felt that biting cold sensation.
What was going on?
If he considered the differences between the two times...
That"s right! The ice crystal!
Fang Heng suddenly recalled that this was likely related to the ice crystal imprint of Empress Persephone in his sea of consciousness!
Thinking carefully, according to the information from the Mock books, the source of the shady line was the death realm, and the shady line aura had both frost and undead attributes.
It was even highly possible that the source of the shady line was related to Empress Persephone!
At least for him, this was excellent news.
The reduced impact of the shady line aura greatly increased the success rate of his subsequent plans!
While he was contemplating, a knight squad rushed from behind and joined the main force.
"Lady Karolina,"
A knight commander reported, "City Lord Hornlow of Frost Fortress has withdrawn from the fortress. The remaining guards in the Frost h.e.l.l area are very lax. We have completely occupied it, and Commander Walter is currently clearing out the remaining undead. After that, he will personally block all exits of Frost h.e.l.l."