Just as Douglas was hesitating about whether to pull out his double-bladed axe to clear a path through the snow, Feidric suddenly cast a second-level Transmutation School spell: Water Walk.
As the name suggests, this spell allowed one to walk on water without sinking. However, it also prevented sinking into snow, as its fundamental principle was "preventing descent," an upgraded version of the first-level Feather Fall spell.
Feidric lightly hopped onto the snow, and Cipher, Aria, and Douglas followed suit. Douglas, being heavier, sank slightly, but it was insignificant.
Feidric turned to Douglas and said, "Come on. This is much easier than clearing a path with your axe."
Cipher silently marveled, "As expected of Momma Fei! Magic is so convenient!"
She recalled how Castorice had even summoned Pollux to hasten their journey, while Feidric effortlessly resolved the problem with a single second-level spell.
Having a wizard in the party often made things much easier.
After traveling for some time, the group of four finally spotted the damaged walls of Chaos City, now half-buried in the never-ending blizzard. The vast tent city that had once sprawled outside the walls had vanished completely.
"This snow is insane," Feidric remarked, frowning. "What on earth happened to this city?"
"It's obviously the power of a Divine Artifact!" Aria exclaimed excitedly. "Whenever there's an anomaly like this, it means a Divine Artifact has manifested! That's how it always goes in the novels! The soldiers at the Great Wall even said Chaos City was perfectly normal until recently, when all sorts of strange things started happening. We arrived just in time!"
Feidric, however, remained cautious. "Divine Artifacts aside, with our current strength, we should still proceed with caution."
Recalling how Castorice had simply slipped through a crack in the wall when she first entered the city. This time, Cipher led her companions to find a slightly lower section of the wall and climbed over it.
Upon entering Chaos City, their eyes were immediately drawn to a massive fire blazing at its heart. In a world completely blanketed in snow, the sight of flames was as striking as seeing light in total darkness, instinctively drawing lost souls toward its warmth.
Having just arrived in the city and unsure of where to go, the four of them headed toward the pillar of flame. While it might have been a good idea for Cipher to lead them to the Death Priest Headquarters, the problem was she didn't know the way!
During her time in the city, Castorice had barely left her house. Each time she did, someone else had guided her. Coupled with the obscuring effects of the relentless blizzard, she was completely unfamiliar with her surroundings—a true homebody.
It's worth noting that while Aisha had been diligently searching for other centers of the Blue Mist, she had found nothing. Castorice, meanwhile, had remained in her room, engrossed in writing her novel, which had already reached nearly 100,000 words.
As the group approached the city center, the temperature rose steadily, and the snow cover thinned. Cipher couldn't help but feel like she was sliding down a natural toboggan run.
Soon, as they neared the flames, they discovered a gap in the fiery barrier. This was only natural—there had to be an entrance somewhere.
Feidric stroked his chin. "This is a Fourth-Level Evocation School spell, Wall of Fire. It's a sustained spell that requires a constant supply of Magic Power to maintain it. Using it to build a stronghold? That doesn't seem very practical."
He continued, "Take me, for example. If I were to cast this spell, I could only maintain it for an hour or two at most. Even with a few Mana Potions, I might barely double that time."
"But to keep this Fire Wall burning continuously for 24 hours would require at least a dozen wizards casting spells in shifts—clearly an impractical scenario."
"How could there possibly be so many wizards in this place? And what about the possibility of a Legendary Wizard with an inexhaustible supply of Magic Power? That's even less likely. What would such a powerful mage be doing in this dilapidated place?"
As Feidric pondered, the guards stationed at the Fire Wall's entrance spotted the four figures standing in the snow. They paused in surprise. "There are other survivors in the city?"
However, upon closer inspection of their clothing and gear, the guard quickly realized his mistake. "Wait a minute—you're newcomers from outside the city, aren't you?"
Besides Cipher herself, Feidric, Aria, and Douglas were all wearing thick winter coats, clearly prepared for the harsh weather.
The guard whistled, unable to contain his curiosity. "You really picked a bad time to arrive. Chaos City is going through its toughest period, with disasters striking one after another. So, what crimes did you commit to get exiled here by the Alliance?"
Aria opened her mouth to speak, but Cipher swiftly wrapped her tail around the girl's mouth before she could utter a word. Cipher knew Aria would blurt out that they were adventurers.
But in this city, especially within the Blazing Fire Gang's territory, being an adventurer was a dangerous label. Though Castorice had never been here herself, she knew enough: Chaos City was a haven for the Alliance's most wanted criminals.
Admitting they were adventurers would surely lead to ostracization and hostility. The best course of action was to blend in and claim to be criminals themselves.
Cipher sighed, spread her small hands, and said with feigned resignation, "Oh, it's nothing too serious. Just emptied the Viscount's vault. He's filthy rich—what's wrong with sharing a little?"
The guard's jaw dropped. "What the hell? You emptied the entire vault?!"
Cipher pointed at Feidric and Douglas. "Stop gawking. These two are the real masterminds. They tried to assassinate a king and use it to ignite a war between the Empire and the Alliance!"
"Ever heard of the Grand Duchy of Kandela? That tiny speck of land wedged between the Empire and the Alliance? Both sides have been eyeing it for years. These two planned to kill the king, then flee to the Alliance and spread false rumors claiming the Empire was responsible!"
"Unfortunately for them, the assassination succeeded, but their deception was uncovered when they tried to plant the false evidence. That's how they ended up here."
Feidric and Douglas froze, huge question marks hovering over their heads. The guard was speechless. "A-assassinate a king? Start a war? Holy crap! Is that true?!"
Cipher shrugged nonchalantly. "Of course it's true. Go ask around. Did the King of Kandela die? And isn't the rumor that the Empire did it?"
The guard's legs began to tremble uncontrollably as he listened. He recalled his own exile, brought about by killing a few civilians—a minor offense compared to the gravity of the crimes these individuals had committed.
What kind of deities are these people?
After a pause, the guard turned to Aria and stammered, "Th-then... what about her? What did she do?"
Cipher had recounted their crimes in order of severity: first the vault robbery, then the assassination of the king. Naturally, the guard assumed the worst was yet to come. Though Aria appeared harmless, who could truly know what lurked within her heart?
"She... well..." Cipher suddenly faltered, her gaze shifting to Aria. The girl was staring back with wide, innocent eyes, utterly bewildered by the situation.
To be honest, witnessing this, Cipher couldn't even begin to fabricate a story. Aria's pure-heartedness was overwhelming; she simply couldn't imagine the girl committing any wrongdoings.
Cipher cleared her throat. "Ahem! Anyway, what she did was even more outrageous. I strongly advise you not to inquire further. Just knowing about it could bring you catastrophic consequences!"
"I... is that so?" The guard immediately clamped his mouth shut, abandoning his questions. After a moment, remembering his duty, he stammered, "Um, esteemed guests! This is the Blazing Fire Gang, the largest surviving faction in Chaos City. All are welcome here—please, come right in!"
He stepped aside, clearing a path for Cipher and her group.
As they passed through the Fire Wall, the temperature rose dramatically, reaching around seven or eight degrees Celsius. While still slightly chilly, it was a welcome contrast to the freezing blizzard outside.
However, barely two steps inside, a young man, seemingly distracted, bumped into Aria. He immediately lowered his head in panic and stammered, "S-sorry!"
The young man, no older than eighteen or nineteen, looked panicked. After apologizing, he hurried away as if urgently preoccupied.
Aria, of course, readily forgave him. Smiling warmly, she replied, "It's quite alright!"
As Aria watched the young man's retreating figure, she couldn't help but marvel, "Is this really a city of exiles? Everyone I've met so far seems so kind—the polite guard and this apologetic young man..."
"Really?" Cipher said, wiping her tail with a handkerchief. A fair amount of saliva had gotten on it when she'd covered Aria's mouth earlier.
After a quick wipe, Cipher produced two small pouches and handed them to Aria. "Here's your purse."
Aria froze, then instinctively checked her waist. Her coin pouch was indeed missing. Puzzled, she asked, "Huh? How did my purse end up with you, Sister Cipher?"
"Exactly as you said—'people here are decent'," Cipher replied. "That apologetic young man stole it from you."
The guard's politeness stemmed from being intimidated by Cipher, while the young man's apology was merely a diversion. He was a skilled thief with deft hands and swift movements, but his actions hadn't escaped Cipher's watchful eye.
Aria was even more bewildered. "Stolen? But... why did my purse come back?"
Cipher was speechless. "Because I stole it back for you," she said.
Aria asked dazedly, "But this other purse..."
"It belongs to the thief," Cipher replied. "I swiped it too while I was at it."
In truth, not only Aria was stunned. Feidric and Douglas, who had been listening to their conversation, were equally bewildered. Even they hadn't realized so much had happened so quickly.
And after the thief had stolen Aria's purse, Cipher had proceeded to completely empty the thief's pockets. Wasn't that a bit excessive?
Cipher then said, "No one exiled here is innocent. Don't try to understand these villains with your naive mindset."
After this brief interlude, the four discussed their immediate priorities: gathering intelligence, such as basic information about the Blazing Fire Gang and recent events in Chaos City.
For safety, they decided to stick together rather than split up. They stopped a random passerby to ask for information. At first, the man looked furious, ready to curse them out, but when Feidric offered him a few Silver Lions, his expression changed in an instant.
His face bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he smiled broadly and eagerly began sharing information with the group.
First, they gathered information about the Blazing Fire Gang, a recently established group in the heart of the city amidst the Never-Ending Blizzard. The gang's boss had gathered all the survivors and demonstrated his overwhelming power by summoning an eternally burning Fire Wall.
"Let me tell you," the passerby warned, "the Boss has a terrible temper. You'd better be careful. Someone muttered something about his appearance earlier and was thrown straight into the Fire Wall to burn alive!"
"But as long as you don't provoke him and follow orders to do simple tasks each day, you'll get enough food. At least surviving isn't too difficult."
"Oh, and the Boss is easy to spot. If you see a bald guy with pitch-black skin, that's definitely him. But remember—never mention his skin color or baldness in front of him. You have to address him respectfully as Brother Hawen!"
"Brother Hawen?" Cipher was taken aback. Wasn't that one of Black Hand's four trusted lieutenants from when the Death Church attacked the Mage Tower?
Could it be a coincidence? In her memory, that man had a yellow afro and pale skin—nothing like the bald, dark-skinned figure described.
Feidric nodded, mentally filing away the information. "What about this blizzard?" he asked. "How did it start?"