I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

"Waiting for the Ice and Snow Goddess to come and help you?"

Bella laughed dismissively, crossed her legs, and placed her black high heel embroidered with gold thread on the small table in front of her, venting her dissatisfaction.

You see, after Philip went in, just making up for the previous taxes was a large sum of gold coins, enough to make her heartache.

Not to mention that group of fair-weather nobles who, knowing she stood with Duke Ward and was increasingly at odds with His Majesty the King, targeted the vulnerabilities of the family's subordinate merchants crazily, as if to display loyalty to His Majesty the King.

This time, Ward didn't answer; to be honest, he wasn't sure himself.

What exactly does that Moriarty from the Death Secret Cult want to do?

Duke Ward furrowed his brows; he hated dealing with such unpredictable people the most.

But for some reason, there was a faint sense of expectation in his heart.

"Stran, are you listening to me?"

Bella was somewhat displeased. At this time, shouldn't the two of them be discussing their strategy even more closely? What are you always looking out the window for?

Night had just fallen, yet the sky had already plunged into complete darkness.

The nights come early in winter, and the residents of Ice Peak City were also on their way home at this moment.

Although Ice Peak City is the capital of Dillon Kingdom, unlike Bright City, the severe cold of winter nights kept those who wanted to go out at night indoors.

Just then, a slight vibration came, just like the explosion at the Galsa Warehouse a couple of days ago.

The somewhat distracted Duke Ward immediately perked up, looking out the window, and Bella also walked over to stand by his side.

"This..."

Before the shocked eyes of both, for an instant, Ice Peak City seemed to turn into day.

Looking in the distance, it seemed that at the edge of Ice Peak City, three towering orange-red flames were spreading upwards into the sky, accompanied by gold columns of light that were no less impressive than the Galsa Warehouse explosion.

At the same time, closer to the residence and right under Duke Ward's watch, three huge fireballs like meteors, dragging long red tails, fell from the sky.

Duke Ward saw it clearly; one of the meteors fell right on the Snow Avenue in the Noble District!

Of course, what attracted the most attention were the three pure white columns of light rising straight from the civilian district on the other side of Ice Peak City, penetrating the pitch-black sky so clearly that even the clouds floating high above were visible under the dazzling light.

Bella fell silent for a moment, then turned her head and stared hard at Duke Ward.

"Is this what you've been waiting for?"

"What exactly are you trying to do? I'm getting more and more confused about you."

Duke Ward did not respond, merely watching those three long-lasting columns of light in the distance, silent.

-----------------

In a dark corner near Ice Castle Palace,

"Is the effect really that good?"

Lis clicked his tongue, looking at the three pure white columns of light in the sky. Others were okay, but this one was indeed too conspicuous.

The three pure white columns of light were the result of a Special One-Time Magic Array called "Radiant Light"!

Lis had also learned about it from Mr. Stephens, having never seen this item in his previous life.

From the Magic Intelligent Life in the workshop, he knew that "Radiant Light" was a spontaneous experiment by his teacher on a commission from Feis Kingdom, who wanted to create a magic item to illuminate and mark locations at night, which needed to be very conspicuous. In the end, due to the high cost, it was not used in actual combat, and only a few remained.

The teacher indeed created it, but the effect was too good.

Observing those persistent columns of light and noticing some commotion in Ice Castle Palace, several shadows directly soared through the air, heading towards the scene of the incident.

This way, some of the palace's defensive forces had been diverted!

Next, it was his turn to take the stage!

A hint of a smile appeared on Lis's face and gradually broadened.

...

At this moment, the "Snow Wolf Sword Saint" Abbas was at the training grounds in Ice Castle Palace. Even though he had been exercising all day and was nearly unable to hold his sword, he clenched his teeth and persisted in refining his swordsmanship.

Perhaps only the physical pain could temporarily make him forget the humiliation in the Luoxue Mountains.

Since the West Castle he had overseen the construction of was utterly destroyed and he, as the highest leader on site, naturally had to bear the blame.

Assessing that the cost of rebuilding West Castle was too expensive, especially the loss of several low to mid-level Magic Rune Masters, the reconstruction was shelved by the king. Abbas's troops were all transferred to another castle, and he himself received orders from the king to return to Ice Peak City.

After reporting the day's events to King Lukar, His Majesty the King did not say much, but repeated the names "Death Secret Cult" and "Moriarty" several times, then dismissed him.

As a Gold Level Sword Saint loyal to His Majesty the King, even with heavy losses, Lukar had no intention of punishing Abbas, only temporarily having him stay in Ice Peak City to be put on ice for a while.

Abbas was clearly aware that this exhibited the trust of His Majesty the King; the greater the trust, the more he hated that black-robed Mage, Moriarty, and the more he hated his own powerlessness at the time.

The sharp sword gleam directly sliced through the boulder in front of him, cutting the stone in half with a smooth, flat surface.

Abbas's face was solemn as he withdrew his beloved sword, preparing to end the day's practice.