The Commission of Xueling

On the snowy plains, the cold wind howled mournfully as a team trudged forward with great difficulty.

Well, perhaps not with great difficulty... Aina's staff stood steadily at the front of the group. The gemstone embedded at its tip flowed with a soft blue light, deploying a solid magic barrier. Like an invisible fortress, it kept the raging blizzard at bay. All the group really needed to pay attention to was the snow beneath their feet, which almost reached their knees.

"Phew, it is really cold." Liyana, bundled up tightly, let out a breath that quickly condensed into a cloud of white mist in the air. "Is the commission Mr. Vic recommended really reliable? Sending us to this godforsaken ice hole, we are almost out of human territory. No wonder no other adventurers took it... Say, this isn't some kind of trap, is it?"

"We haven't offended them, so why would Mr. Vic target us for no reason?" Moke asked in return. Because of the little rabbit, he still trusted the Savage Fangs quite a bit.

"Competition among adventurers is cruel, you don't understand, Moke... There are always peers who can't stand to see you do well and will secretly trip you up." Liyana shook her head, pretending to be profound. "You are still too naive, like a flower in a greenhouse."

"You are overthinking it. Mr. Vic and his people are good guys."

Liyana hissed, "Tsk, you haven't even married the little rabbit yet, and you are already siding with outsiders?"

"Bastard..." Liyana's teasing made Moke grit his teeth.

If it weren't for the inconvenient environment right now, Moke really wanted to give this girl a good beating.

The group continued forward against the wind and snow. Finally, the outlines of low-lying buildings appeared at the edge of their vision.

"People actually live here... Are those houses built out of snow? Wouldn't you freeze into an ice sculpture living inside?" Not even the bitter cold could shut Liyana's mouth.

"Even though they are built with snow, it shouldn't be cold inside the houses." Musen wore a thick fur coat. His originally tall figure looked even more robust now, making him look exactly like a snowfield giant.

"The address left by the client is right here." Xia Lun glanced at the map in his hand. "It is a monster subjugation commission, and the reward is a very precious Ice Soul Crystal."

"Ice Soul Crystal? Sounds fancy, but what on earth is it?" Liyana asked casually.

"An ice block." Aina's answer was concise and cold, just like their surroundings.

"An ice block? What is so precious about an ice block?" Liyana was instantly astonished. "We came all this way just for a lump of ice?"

"Of course it is not an ordinary ice block. It is an extremely concentrated force of the ice element, a crystal formed by freezing and compressing pure magic power." Moke explained. "Liyana, your common sense as an adventurer is outrageously poor."

Liyana did not think that this magical knowledge was common sense for adventurers; it was only common sense for Moke.

However, she and Xia Lun had come from the Elven Forest. Before starting their adventure, all they had been exposed to was the knowledge and culture of the elves, so it was normal for them to be unfamiliar with things from the outside world.

"Oh..." Liyana nodded, half-understanding, but still did not care much. "It sounds very mysterious, but at the end of the day, isn't it still an ice block?"

Moke: "It can sell for a lot of money."

"Oh! Then let's hurry up! We must secure this mission!" Liyana suddenly became full of motivation again.

Walking into the village, with the houses acting as a shield, the wind and snow lessened significantly. At the very least, they no longer needed Aina to maintain the barrier.

The arrival of strangers quickly caught the attention of some residents.

"Excuse me... who are you people?"

A thin middle-aged man walked out of a snow house.

"A demon." After seeing the other party's appearance clearly, Liyana's gaze sharpened slightly, and her right hand involuntarily moved to the quiver at her waist.

The man had blue hair and skin as pale as ice and snow... Such hair color was rare among humans.

The endless conflicts between the human race and the demon race had almost become an ingrained brand.

"Are you adventurers?" The man's voice sounded somewhat nervous. "Are you the adventurers who accepted the commission?"

"Yes, did you issue the commission?" Xia Lun gestured to his companions with his left hand behind his back, and Liyana slightly relaxed her guard. Then Xia Lun took the initiative to step forward and strike up a conversation with the man.

Through their conversation, they learned that the people in this village were all Snow Spirits.

Snow Spirits had very docile temperaments. Living in this world of ice and snow, they rarely communicated with the outside world and minded their own business when it came to other demon races.

Therefore, now that a problem had arisen, no one was willing to lend them a helping hand.

A mutated Snow Wolf King had suddenly appeared on the snowy plains. It was massive, fierce, and cunning, with strength far exceeding its peers. It quickly took command of the wolf pack and began launching large-scale attacks on other inhabitants of the snowfield. The Snow Spirits suffered heavy casualties under their attacks.

It was then that someone suggested they could seek help from the nearby humans. As long as they offered a sufficiently attractive reward, those adventurers would be willing to take the commission... Moreover, the adventurer community generally had much less hostility towards the demon race than ordinary citizens did.

But in fact, the Snow Spirits did not hold out much hope. After all, if they themselves could do nothing against those snow wolves in the snowfield, the humans' performance might be even worse.

"That is the situation. As long as you can eradicate that mutated Snow Wolf King, the commission will be considered complete..." After the man finished his explanation, his gaze swept over the young team in front of him, and he sighed.

In his eyes, these people in front of him were still somewhat unqualified. Aside from that bald warrior, they all had thin arms and legs; none of them looked like they could fight.

"Sounds quite difficult." Liyana grinned.

"It is indeed a very difficult task. You might have made this trip for nothing." The man shook his head gently. He didn't expect Xia Lun and his group to actually solve the problem either.

"No, you misunderstand. What I mean is... how much can you pay?" Liyana rubbed her fingers together at the Snow Spirit man.

"Are you actually going to accept the commission?" The man was somewhat surprised. "Please do not joke with your lives. The snow wolf packs on the snowfield are not something ordinary people can handle."

"So how much can you pay? That whatchamacallit... magic ice block?"

"It is an Ice Soul Crystal," Moke corrected.

The man frowned slightly, then gestured with his hands. "About this big..."

"Deal," Aina said indifferently. "Let's go, Xia Lun, let's finish this quickly."

"Oh! The young lady mage is quite motivated!" Liyana was a little surprised.

"It is profitable." Aina only gave a one-sentence explanation.

"Then I will leave the wolf pack to you. I will go deal with the Snow Wolf King." Xia Lun patted Aina on the shoulder.

"Alright."

For this level of physical contact, Aina no longer felt the slightest bit of aversion.