Chapter 390: Chapter 389: Ruthless Person
"I was right indeed; you are smart enough."
Anna’s previously tense face suddenly revealed a smile. "I did deceive Elsa, telling her my heart was on the verge of collapse, that I could die suddenly at any moment. She has been trying to heal me with spring water, but long before that, I acquired an ability from a Spellcaster that prevented my injury from healing, pretending the spring water was ineffective on me. Ha, you should have seen how frantic she was; she believed me wholeheartedly, let down all her defenses, letting me approach her and, bit by bit, drain her life away."
"Don’t you have any regrets?"
Anna’s face showed no emotion as she said indifferently, "What is there to regret? My real sister died when I was seven years old. What has been moving around all these years is nothing more than a monster that took her existence, wearing her skin. She owes me, and she will never be able to repay it all."
Li Ang smacked his lips, remarking, "Then you really are a ’good’ sister."
"That’s an overstatement."
Anna smiled casually. Below her, though it was just a plain wheelchair, her indifferent and cool composure made her seem as if she were seated upon a throne, exuding the presence of a queen reigning supreme over her domain.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, just eyeing each other.
In the entire hall, only the steady sound of breathing remained.
Suddenly, a hanging ice cone at the edge of the hall’s dome, under the pull of gravity, broke off. The crisp sound of it shattering disrupted the silence in the palace, and also the unspoken equilibrium between them.
Anna swept her palm forward diagonally. The Power of The Perennial Winter, drawn from Elsa, poured forth, transforming into a vast, pale cascade of cold mist. Like a milky waterfall or a rank of white steeds, it surged forward.
Anna had accidentally killed her parents as a child, spent over a decade beside the mentally distorted Elsa, step by step ascending to the Governor’s position, and after Elsa’s self-exile, promptly became the nominal ruler over all the kingdoms. Conspiracy, betrayal, deceit, lies, assassination... She loathed the ugliness of the swirls of power but had become inseparable from the temptation of authority. She was willing to give up everything to become the unrivaled monarch, even her kindness, compassion, and a portion of her humanity.
One day, she would announce Elsa’s death to the world, to become the true queen in every sense of the word. But not now... She still hadn’t possessed a power like Elsa’s that could dominate the world, and she still needed to use Elsa’s name to deter those treacherous Snakes lurking in the darkness, to secure time to assimilate Elsa’s legacy. Li Ang, who knew the truth of Elsa’s death, had to die, no matter what. There was no room for compromise.
The whistling mist of cold, like a white steed, charged at him. Li Ang pushed off the ground, his body nimbly leaping into the air. The song "I Believe" blared loudly from the earphones hidden in his hood, casting a buff to extend his hang time. He was like an astronaut walking in space away from the space shuttle, seemingly slow but actually quickly flipping in the air, head down, feet up, striking a foot against the dome of the Ice Crystal Palace. With the Bronze Scythe in his hands, he hurtled toward Anna below like a cannonball.
BOOM——
The blade of the scythe plummeted vertically, but mysteriously, an arc-shaped Ice Shield appeared directly before Anna, seemingly delicate yet firmly blocking the descent of the blade.
Having missed his target, Li Ang did not linger in battle, instantly distancing himself and avoiding the spikes extending from the Ice Shield, while loudly proclaiming, "Can’t we live in peace? I’ve buried explosive devices in many places around the city; if you kill me, it will detonate them and harm innocent people."
Anna, hidden behind the arc-shaped Ice Shield, remained expressionless as she directed the cold mist and ice blades to chase Li Ang, calmly stating, "Do you think I care? Go ahead and detonate. I will remember those poor victims and will attribute all the hatred to you."
Li Ang cursed under his breath, Damn, so heartless? Actually, over the past two days, he had indeed buried some Special Worms, codenamed ’Poison Exploder,’ at various locations in the city; perhaps they could be used as a threat. But this Princess Anna was truly ruthless, seemingly not caring at all about the lives of common people.
Li Ang still felt reluctant to give up and, like an archetypal villain in a literary work, he slyly tempted her with a malicious tone, "What about your physician Carly, then? She grew up with you and Elsa; she’s practically a symbol of your shared kindness! You wouldn’t even confess to her the dark secret that you need executed criminals to sustain your life. You wouldn’t want to see her die, would you?"
Anna’s manipulation of the cold current paused for a moment, then she funneled even more Energy into it, driving the flow. "I like Carly, her naive purity, her beauty and kindness.
"But those qualities aren’t exclusive to her, are they?
"Raising a new servant, or should I say pet, is not such a difficult task for me.
"If I really cared about her, I wouldn’t have let her come up the mountain today to stay with your disciples.
"If you want to kill, go ahead and kill."
Anna’s explanation was logical and well-founded, forcing Li Ang to reluctantly acknowledge, She’s ruthless.
The most difficult opponents to deal with are often not the callous and decisively brave types; after all, anyone can proclaim to be resolute and ruthless. Harboring malice and burning with a desire to kill is nothing to boast about. A person who cares about nothing, accepts no threats, is truly terrifying—no one can predict what they will do next, or how much they are willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals.
CRACKLE—
The Extreme Cold Air dispersed within the hall emitted a continuous crisp echo, then promptly coalesced on the spot into Pillar Ice Crystals large enough for a person to embrace. The Pillar Ice Crystals were a light blue overall, diffusing a pale mist generated by the low temperature. All the pillars interlocked and intertwined, sprouting intricate branches that connected them. These branches started as fine as hair, but once interwoven into a form, they rapidly swelled, forming a net and then a smooth surface of ice.
In a moment, the ice crystals had filled half the hall, squeezing Li Ang’s space to maneuver, apparently intending to trap him alive in a corner.
"Pikachu, you’re up!" Li Ang shouted, and the Yellow Humanoid Plate appeared behind him.
Miss Chai, who had not seen action for a while, complained, "Don’t call me Pikachu just because I’m yellow!" as she honestly swung her fists toward the ice pillar.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Qinge Armor hammered violently at the ice with its fists, like a pile driver crazily pounding the pillars. Cracks spidered over the seemingly indestructible surface, creating a continuous fracturing sound. Entire sections of ice broke off and fell, collapsing and crashing down.
In an instant, ice shards scattered, obscuring vision.
"I want the heavens to no longer hide my eyes! I want the earth to no longer bury my heart! I want all beings to understand my will! I want all the buddhas to dissipate like smoke!"
Amidst the smoke and dust, Chai Cuiqiao’s voice was as harsh as the cold winter, her figure as lofty as a deity.