Chapter 23: Mother's Keepsake

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  Just as Hart was in a state of despair, he saw the two ice claw heads hanging beside the saddle, which had been affected by the heat from the galloping horse and seemed to have melted slightly, dripping water. Without caring whether it was drinkable or not, Hart directly scooped up the ice claw head with his hands and let the water drip into Rem's mouth. The powerful magical chill of the ice claw fiercely froze his hand, but as if punishing himself, Hart gritted his teeth, biting out blood, yet remained silent.

  Ice shards dripped onto Rem's lips, and he furrowed his brow as he slowly licked them. The speed of the water droplets grew faster and faster, while the blue icy magic continued to spread across Hartz's arm and Rem's lips.

  Nor did he know how long it took, but Hart already felt his hands numb, the chill spreading to his chest, and further on, his heart. At that time, if the enemy didn't kill him, he would die under the "spoils of war", it was really laughable and pitiful.

  Hart smiled weakly. Just as he closed his eyes, the chill finally broke through his shoulder and collarbone, spreading down to his necklace. It was a keepsake left by his mother, who had eloped with his father, originally just a small adventurer team leader, from her family of wizards, using their savings to establish a domain in Vasa, helping his father proclaim himself a baron, and over the course of a decade or so, through bloodshed and profit negotiations, reaching an agreement with other noble lords of Vasa, becoming one of them.

  His mother, who came from a southern noble family, could not stand the harsh cold of Vasa and soon fell ill and died. This necklace was the only legacy she left to Hart.

  After the cold air rushed into the pendant, it was like a big river opening its gates, and even the magic core imprint of the ice claw went crazy and surged in. When the magic core imprint entered the pendant, the ice claw's head completely turned into a handful of water. In the pendant's pendant, a swirling blue magic appeared, slowly rotating, and eight metal legs stretched out, piercing Hart's sternum, sizzling as they branded his skin, emitting a foul smell of burning flesh.

  The pendant was embedded in his breastbone, and the chain broke into two pieces from its highest point, falling down, then turned into two insect wing-like patterns, which were branded on the boy's thin chest in an extremely cold manner.

  "Ahhh!!!" A chill and agony that originated from the depths of his soul made Hart let out a painful groan. The originally pampered young noble suddenly had his demonic tattoo on his chest and pendant sucked in, as if someone who was suffocating had suddenly come into contact with air, and he began to breathe violently. His body, which still had some baby fat, became emaciated, and his carefully groomed golden hair also lost its luster due to this intense suction, turning white at the roots.

  Right after that, he let out a frantic gasp, as if waking up from a terrible nightmare. Hart stared blankly around him, stretching out his own hands and looking at the bony, bird-like claws they had become. He suddenly burst into laughter, almost choking on it, and then tears began to flow down his face. He muttered: "Is this really the legacy Mother left me? A magic tool that's actually like this?! If I'd known this was how the magic tool worked, why would I have come all the way here to suffer for my crimes!!! Mother... you're so heartless..." Then, he fell into sobs.

  At the same time as the magical pendant changed, the water that had become Ice Claw's skull also completely dripped down from above, most of it entering Rem's mouth. Rem's dazed large mouth swallowed, and with his swallowing, the wound on his abdomen slowly healed in the ice, eventually even the ice melted into his body.

  Right after that, along with his gasps for breath, a white glow flickered to life. As the gasping grew louder, the light intensified, and suddenly, with a loud boom, Rem, who had been severely injured, leapt up from the ground, letting out a long howl as he looked up at the sky. The white light stabilized and appeared on his body, covering him in a thin layer.

  Rem also broke through the bottleneck that had been stuck for a long time in this life-and-death struggle, and finally understood the Dou Qi, which was purely an ice attribute Dou Qi, with the help of Bing Jue's skull magic.

  The Dou Qi quickly healed the wounds on his body, and the cheekbones that had become thin due to illness and blood loss from battle were now covered with a blue-white stubble.

  Rem seemed to be staring blankly at his own hands, and from his perspective, the world must have undergone a tremendous change as well. He turned around, looked at Harte, knelt down on one knee and said: "Harte my lord, Rem vows to serve you with loyalty forever!"

  Hart had a mysterious feeling at this moment, he could feel Rem's oath now was not an impulsive behavior, but a heartfelt emotion.

  Hart also had this feeling, that he felt a bond with the man in front of him that transcended an ordinary master-slave relationship. He looked up at the sky again, and he felt even more that there was a more mysterious, more intimate presence watching over him from afar.

  The two men mounted their horses once more and rode off towards the baron's lands with the remaining Ice Troll skull.

  Valley melon no longer looked at them, he knew that these were two dark lines that would be very useful in the future. Not moving them now would bring tenfold and hundredfold benefits to himself in the future.

  The view returned to the castle, where the nobles in the ice wall had been frozen half to death, and a desperate breath was spreading within the ice wall.

  The sky has already approached dusk, and in half an hour, the sun will completely set. At that time, the temperature will drop by about ten degrees, and all ordinary humans present will inevitably freeze to death.

  Gua Gu thought for a moment, then ordered Bing Jiao to walk into the ice wall and appear in front of the group of nobles who had suddenly become terrified. One of the ice claws on its body rang out with Gua Gu's voice, which was also an effect brought by the magic crystal ball.

  "My neighbors, I'm offended by your poverty. You've invaded me, but to let you freeze would be inhospitable."

  In the ears of these nobles, this voice that was struggling to speak sounded artificial and nauseating, but they still had to listen.

  "So I'm taking pity on you, and the Buddhist Association isn't a gang of robbers. I'll give you a fair deal: in exchange for everything you have on you, I'll provide a warm place to sleep tonight, a steaming hot bowl of meat soup, and a crispy black bread roll. What do you say?"

  Isn't this just a bandit who robs and plunders?! This is even more ruthless than sucking out the marrow from one's bones!!! The nobles were secretly cursing in their hearts, yet they couldn't help but agree with his opinion.