The sky was already bright. The scenery beneath Alex's feet had transford into a boundless expanse of ice.
The frozen sea connected nurous irregularly shaped islands, making them appear as a single, massive landmass.
This was the Archipelago Ice Canyon that the tiger guard had ntioned. Even without being told, Alex could feel the surrounding temperature gradually dropping.
They would reach the Far North soon.
anwhile, within the iceberg of the White Tiger Tribe's territory, Ruby had recovered so strength and vitality. Her complexion was slightly better than the previous day.
The place where she had been sleeping was ford from the purest ice elental energy. The ice bed beneath her, in particular, was personally crafted by her father. It could gather all the ice elental energy within the entire space and channel it into Ruby's body.
This naturally advantageous condition for Arctic Tigerfolk could greatly accelerate the recovery of Ruby's injuries and stamina.
However, the ice elental energy within the space couldn't be replenished. Sooner or later, it would be exhausted, and now, very little remained.
Ruby sat up from the ice bed, her gaze fixed on the tiger beings outside the do. Today, they were unusually calm, and they hadn't attempted to break through the sealing again.
Sothing was off!
Ruby had an ominous premonition that the enemy might have found a way to break through the sealing.
Ruby looked down at the ice bed. It was showing signs of lting, its function gradually fading.
Ti was running out.
"All forces, prepare yourselves!" Ruby commanded, ready to use her last resort for escape. Although her injuries had just slightly healed, she had no ti to waste.
The tiger beings loyal to Ruby imdiately began to assemble upon hearing their queen's order. Ruby, on the other hand, entered a chamber carved from ice.
This chamber was not only small but also completely empty. There was nothing inside, except for a white tiger paw print carved on the icy wall.
Ruby pressed her hand against it. Instantly, a blue light wave spread out from her palm, reaching every corner of the entire structure.
A blueish-white light emanated throughout the grand hall within the iceberg. Ruby had activated the backup hidden energy source.
The sealing was reinforced at this mont. Of course, she didn't do this to continue hiding here. This energy could only last for half a day at most and wouldn't change the final outco.
Ruby arrived at the grand hall, where over a hundred tiger beings stood in formation. She stood at the head of the hall. Although she was a bit short, she exuded an air of regal authority.
Ruby didn't speak. She simply locked eyes with them for two seconds. Then, she walked to the center of the hall and abruptly smashed her fist into the ground.
The ice shattered, her hand sinking deep into it. Imdiately afterward, a spatial magic circle rapidly expanded with her as the center, and the surrounding blueish-white energy converged towards it.
Ruby stood up coldly and glanced at the tiger beings around her. The magic circle had now enveloped them all.
This spatial magic circle wasn't cast by Ruby. It had been set up beforehand, and she was only responsible for activating it.
"I will lead you into the teleportation array shortly. Our destination is the Subglacial River. Follow the current downstream, and you will reach the Endless Sea directly."
Ruby's words surprised and delighted the tiger beings. They were delighted that their queen still had a trump card up her sleeve and surprised that the Subglacial River of the Far North was actually beneath the iceberg.
Previously, the tiger beings had only heard rumors of a massive Subglacial River in the Far North that led to the Endless Sea, but no one had ever seen it. So even dismissed it as a myth.
Now it seed that it was all true.
As for the spatial magic circle that Ruby activated, it was rely a switch, another exit from this chamber. It didn't have any teleportation effects.
When this place was first built, its security level was extrely high, reinforced with various abilities to protect Ruby's safety.
As for teleportation, such a minor trick couldn't possibly penetrate this sealing. Otherwise, the elders wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to attack it.
Back then, let alone five King levels, even an Emperor level might not have been able to break through by force.
It was precisely because Ruby's father had made this place too secure that he realized he hadn't left himself a way out. By then, it was too late to add a teleportation array, so he had to settle for an exit that led directly to the Subglacial River.
He never expected that his decision back then would actually be used by Ruby today.
This was the heart of the Far North. Going downstream would save energy, but Ruby wasn't sure if these tiger beings could make it to the Endless Sea.
After all, the distance was too great, and no one knew the exact condition of the Subglacial River. If there were no places to breathe along the way, lack of oxygen alone would be a fatal problem.
But now, there was no other way. Ruby could only try this.
Even so, she was still very worried. At this point, she was willing to expend her own Mana Points to cast a shield on the tiger beings to prevent any accidents.
"Your Highness, what are you doing?"
The tiger beings were puzzled.
"Yeah, Your Highness, are you worried that we'll drown? Don't worry, swimming is my forte."
"Your Highness, please don't waste your Mana Points on us."
The tiger beings all refused to be covered by the protective shield. They knew how far the Subglacial River below was from the Endless Sea and the dangers involved.
But they wouldn't let the injured Ruby waste her precious Mana Points on them.
"You go first. I'll be the last one. I need to see all of you enter the magic circle."
Ruby commanded in an unquestionable tone, her voice extrely serious.
The tiger beings didn't speak and all looked at Ruby.
"Get ready, hold your breath!"
All the tiger beings took a deep breath. With a wave of Ruby's arm, their figures instantly vanished from their spots.
Ruby controlled the magic circle to beco transparent, allowing her to see the true appearance of the Subglacial River. Beneath the darkness, the turbulent current surged against the surrounding rock walls. The tiger beings fell into the water one after another and disappeared from her sight.
Ruby shrank the magic circle until it only covered her. She used the remaining energy to reinforce a chanism here.
Then, her figure completely disappeared within the iceberg, leaving the entire hall empty.
Monts after Ruby's disappearance, the magic circle began to dissipate, and the previously shattered ground returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
With a splash, the icy river water instantly soaked Ruby's entire body, making her mind incredibly alert.
It was pitch black all around, the only sound being the roaring of the rushing water as it slamd against the rock walls.
Fortunately, their Arctic Tigerfolk race was born with night vision, so this level of darkness didn't affect them much.
Ruby controlled her body, moving swiftly through the current towards the front. She quickly caught up with the tiger beings ahead, her heart filled with anxiety.
She had observed the area above. There was a gap between the river's surface and the rock walls, making it easy to co up for air.
This was only easy for Ruby, a Monarch level. For the other tiger beings, it was extrely challenging.
Maintaining their balance in such a dark and fast-flowing underground river was already difficult enough, let alone surfacing for air.
But if they couldn't breathe, they would all drown in less than half an hour.
After drifting along the river for about ten minutes, most of the tiger beings were already struggling to hold their breath.
They were only at the Standard level and couldn't use magic.
Just as Ruby was getting desperate, she suddenly saw a white light flickering on the distant rock wall.
Saved!
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. It seed her father had thought of this.
The magic circle on the rock wall was activated simultaneously with the one inside the iceberg.
Ruby leaped out of the water and teleported next to the magic circle, activating it.
The white spatial magic circle instantly emitted a transparent barrier, sealing off the entire Subglacial River cave.
The tiger beings were carried by the current through the barrier, their figures instantly disappearing, their destination unknown.
Ruby didn't overthink it. Watching all the tiger beings vanish into the Subglacial River, she too entered it. Then, the one-ti teleportation array completely disintegrated, leaving no trace of magic behind.
On the northeastern edge of the Far North, there was a cluster of scattered islands, a vast expanse of ice stretching as far as the eye could see.
Bang!
The smooth, icy surface instantly shattered. With a splash, a tiger being leaped out of the water, followed by the continuous sound of ice breaking. One by one, tiger beings erged from the water, gasping for fresh air.
Ruby was the last to surface. She quickly flew into the air, surveying the surrounding terrain.
While underground, she hadn't noticed any signs of the subglacial river rging with other bodies of water. This ant that the teleportation array didn't directly transport them to the exit, which was the Endless Sea.
It seed her old man had been incredibly thorough.
"We're at the outskirts of the Far North."
Ruby was completely relieved. This way, they had completely escaped their pursuers.
The tiger beings quickly helped each other climb onto the ice, awaiting Ruby's next command.
"Clear any traces. We'll hide on the largest outer island."
Ruby's gaze was determined. This ti, she was unexpectedly discovered solely because of that dog-like creature from the Beastman Empire. If it weren't for its interference, Ruby could have remained hidden, advanced to King level, rallied the neutral faction, and with the support of an elder confidant, could have stood toe-to-toe with the other tiger beings.
Currently, Ruby was only at lv9 Monarch, just one step away from King level. Her top priority now was to recover from her injuries, break through to King level, and then put her plan into action again.
This was the fastest way for her to unify the Arctic Tigerfolk. Otherwise, who knew how long it would take for her to reach Empire level.
At the tiger being tribe's territory, outside the iceberg, the sudden strengthening of the sealing alard the four elders and the Beastman Empire's representatives. They rushed over to investigate.
"What's going on? Didn't you say you would definitely break the sealing and capture her alive today?"
Windrider's face was cold as he looked at the sealing around the iceberg, which had obviously been reinforced. He was furious.
Windrider's followers imdiately glared at the four Arctic Tigerfolk elders.
But the four elders were also dumbfounded. They couldn't understand what was happening. The sealing's energy had almost dissipated, so why was it suddenly strengthened?
"Perhaps there's so kind of backup energy source, but I believe that once the backup energy is exhausted, they won't have any other options."
One of the elders quickly ca up with an explanation, trying to appease the angry Beastn.
"Cut the crap. Stop using these excuses to cover up your incompetence. We must see her today, no matter what!"
The dog-headed man snarled at the four elders threateningly.
"Why don't you try testing the strength of this sealing yourself? It's better than just talking big!"
One of the elders at the back couldn't stand it any longer and retorted sarcastically.
The Gnoll imdiately shut up upon hearing this. It was only at Monarch level. How could it possibly break through a sealing that even several King levels combined couldn't? It could only look pleadingly at Windrider, wagging its tail.
Windrider ignored the elder and instead tried to attack the sealing on the iceberg.
A black claw struck the iceberg, but it remained unscathed. Even Windrider himself was a little surprised.
It seed that the Arctic Tigerfolk elders hadn't exaggerated. This level of sealing couldn't be broken by brute force.
"Although this sealing has been strengthened, it has lost so of its previous properties. Perhaps if all of us here work together, we might be able to break it."
One of the Arctic Tigerfolk elders placed his hand on the iceberg, carefully sensing it. After a mont, he ca to a conclusion.
"The sealing has been strengthened, but not completely. It's like another layer of sealing has been added on top of the original one. Although it strengthens the original sealing, it's not by much. This also indicates that they used so kind of internal backup energy source, which is completely different from the original caster personally casting it."
The elder's words enlightened everyone present. The other three elders imdiately stepped forward to examine it.
It was just as he said!
Seeing the reactions of the four elders, Windrider instantly understood.
"Let's attack together and destroy the sealing!"
In an instant, the remaining Monarch level Beastn began to gather their strongest attacks. The four elders and Windrider simultaneously attacked a single point on the sealing.
Boom!
A powerful shockwave spread throughout the area, kicking up a blizzard.
With a cracking sound, a crack finally appeared on the sealing.
"Again!"
The five King levels and dozens of Monarch levels joined forces once more. This ti, the sealing shattered completely, and a large section of the iceberg collapsed, revealing the ice palace within.
Before the four elders could react, Windrider charged straight in without hesitation, searching for Ruby.
A mont later, the four elders and the other Beastn arrived at the main hall. Windrider walked out from inside, his face grim.
"She's gone?"
Windrider looked at the Gnoll, unable to understand how Ruby could have escaped from such a tightly sealed place.
He was more inclined to believe that she had used so special thod to hide herself, trying to mislead them.
The Gnoll dropped to all fours, pressed its nose to the ground, and began sniffing around.
After a while, the Gnoll stood up and shook its head at Windrider.
Windrider imdiately glared at the four elders angrily, demanding a reasonable explanation.
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