I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL LIFE



"I will be forced to do what I should have done long ago." said King Leon resolutely.

"Your Majesty?" asked Duke Jacob.

"You think too much, Jacob. Since I support your son and that little monster Anna, I already expect the worst situation. What your son did is far from the worst situation. He even helped us reveal the true power of those Guardian."

"If it is not for your son, we may already be oblivious about their current force. I may have given the guardians their own jurisdiction inside the territory. Still, it didn't mean they could just hide such a powerful force under our nose." said King Leon coldly at the end of his sentences.

"Although I can't agree about Angus and Jayna's actions, I also can't punish them for trying to defend against their honor and pride." added King Leon.

"I am grateful for His Highness's understanding." said Duke Jacob.

In the meantime, Angus' group is walking in the middle of the snowstorm. They find the deeper they go, the more unpredictable the weather. Sometimes, they will get struck by a heavy snowstorm for a few hours before it stops, leaving only the white snow everywhere.

Now, they are in trouble as snowstorms hit them during the last few days. This snowstorm is nothing for them, but Angus' magic tools and carriage could be buried deep under the snow.

They must pull out the carriage occasionally before it gets buried too deep in the snow. They must also avoid meeting other people and take a more secluded route. This also makes their travel speed slower.

Fortunately, all these snowstorms also cover their tracks and prevent others from seeing them. Angus also always chooses an empty area far from a nearby settlement for their camping spot.

"Wiiii~ Anna's ball~" said Anna while rolling inside a giant snowball.

The little monster somehow can create a giant snowball and enter inside it. Her head poked on its side and rolled around like a big dumpling ball. The scene is hilarious and magical in many ways. However, Angus and the others are already used to Anna's weird antics.

Anna often creates something hilarious yet beyond comprehension when playing around. In contrast with the happy-going Anna, the others are quite somber with the continuous snowstorm.

Since they start moving and follow the trace of the fire elemental, they only see white snow everywhere. To make it worse, the heavy snowstorm is slowly affecting their mood. If it is not for Angus' extensive range perception, they may have already been lost in this place long ago.

"Urgh… Angus, how long until we get there?" asked Bornja with a grumble.

The two female dwarves are pretty annoyed by the weather as they prepare to be nearing fire and ground rather than chilly wind and snow. They even wear thick clothes with a warm enchantment on each piece.

The current snowy environment is truly a bane for the dwarf. However, it doesn't mean they will get weaker in this kind of environment. The dwarf race is famous for its natural resistance, whether from heat or cold. It is just that their bodies prefer hot rather than cold climates.

Both Kusibella and Bornja are strong fifth-grade dwarves. Somehow, these two female dwarves are stronger than Angus' dwarf teacher Balrug. They are also more expert at handling dwarf smithing tools than Balrug, as they often get in contact with some dwarf communities.

Compared to the old Balrug, who likes to hide inside his basement and wait for an opportunity, the two female dwarves prefer to travel between many dwarves' communities to increase their knowledge and craftsmanship.

"It should be near. I sense a big city dozens of kilometers ahead. We might detour along the route to avoid being seen before sneaking into the city." said Angus.

At the same time, he created a simple fireball in his hand. Magically, the fireball flickers but does not go into the snow wind direction. Instead, it goes towards the front direction before disappearing without a trace.

'The fire elemental absorption rate is getting stronger. With this kind of rate, it should affect the Frostfall and the whole Heart Kingdom. Maybe it is also why the Heart Kingdom is rich in fire elemental despite lacking many natural active volcanoes.' thought Angus.

It is common knowledge that the biggest source of fire elemental is an active volcano. If the sun is an endless fire elemental supplier, an active volcano is a massive fire elemental reservoir. A land with many active volcanoes will also be filled with thick fire elementals.

However, Heart Kingdom lacks a notable big active volcano. Compared to other kingdoms that produce fire elemental users, they severely lack volcanoes in their land. Yet, the fire elemental in their territory is as rich as having dozens of active volcanoes.

The Heart Kingdom will generate more people with fire elemental affinity each year. As for these magical phenomena, no one knows the real reason since they already happened before the Heart Kingdom existed.

'Come to think of it, Everwhite City is one of the oldest cities in the Humane Region.' thought Angus inwardly.

*CRACK* *CRACK* *GROOWLL* Suddenly, the whole snow area trembled before everyone heard a loud roaring sound in the distance. This monstrous growl immediately put everyone on guard and ready to battle.

Through Angus' perception, he notices a humanoid monster is formed out of nowhere in the middle of this harsh weather.

"Everyone, get ready!! There is an unknown humanoid monster approaching us." warned Angus.

"Humanoid monster?!" asked Kusibella in confusion.

However, her question is immediately answered as they see a group of humanoid monsters of various sizes marching towards them. The monsters have various shapes and sizes. But, all of them have one similar characteristic of having crystallized red veins on their white jagged skin.

From Angus' initial observation, the monsters seem to have fire and ice elementals in their body. *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* Before the monster could reach them, all of them were already pinned by Lilith's magic arrow.

During this moment, they find the monster seems to have strong regeneration and resilience. Even if their head and the vital spot are getting hit, they are still not dead. Their exposed red vein spread more in their body along with their rapid regeneration.

Lilith didn't give them enough time to struggle and shoot a few more arrows into their body. *Stab* *Stab* *Stab* Then, Angus notices something inside the monster's body.

"Everyone back down!!" shouted Angus.

*BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* The unknown monster's body suddenly exploded, sending its frozen jagged body part everywhere. Fortunately, everyone reacts and hides behind their sturdy carriage from the sudden barrage.

"What the hell is that?!" exclaimed Kusibella in shock.

"I am not sure either. Let's inspect their corpse first." said Angus.

After confirming the monster is truly dead, everyone approaches the monster's corpse and finds only a few pieces of unknown hard rock scattered everywhere. These few pieces of hard rock are the leftovers of the monster's body after the explosion.

"Hmm… This creature is similar to the Eskor monster. However, you said these monsters formed out of nowhere?" asked Bornja.

"Yes. If I am not wrong, a thick fire elemental suddenly gathered before becoming these humanoid monsters. If it is not for the thick miasma in their body, I will think of it as the birth of a natural beast." said Angus.

"By my beard, this is truly weird. Tell me, lad. Did you think our destination was also related to that kind of monster?" said Kusibella.

"Probably. But nothing is certain yet. For now, let's get away from here first. With their previous loud cry, I doubt it will not stay undetected." said Angus before glancing at the silent Jayna.

In return, Jayna only gives a silent nod to Angus. The two couples already have private talks inside their mind through their [Allegiance] bond. They know these situations are pretty weird and definitely related to their destination place.

Based on Angus [Analyze], there is a huge chance their destination is some kind of powerful figure resting place or a sealed place. Whatever it is, they must treat it carefully, as Jayna may become their primary monster target for consumption.

Jayna is a phoenix, which is the embodiment of fire. An unstable creature formed from fire and ice like them will definitely be enticed to consume Jayna as their nourishment.

Not long after they leave their spot, a few people wearing fullmetal armor with snowflakes emblem approach the stormy snow area.

"Huh?" reacted one of the knights.

"Did you find it?" asked the leader of the group.

"No, sir. It is clear a group of them formed here. But there is no trace of them. I also can't find any miasma in the area." reported the knight.

"Are you sure it is gone without a trace?" asked the leader knights solemnly.

"Yes, sir." said the knights.

"Alright, let's investigate the place where they were born first. Boru, I want you to report back to me first. If there is no news about us by tomorrow, I want you to notify one of the respected ones about the possibility of a group high-grade Variant." said the leader.

"H-High Grade Variants?" reacted everyone.

"It is not certain yet. But we couldn't rule out the possibility. Let's investigate their birthplace first." said the leader.

Unbeknown to Angus' group, their casual movement will lead to massive fear among the guardians.