Li Yue leaped down from the deck. Although the ice beneath her feet was a bit slippery, it seemed extremely thick; she estimated that even the thinnest part of the surrounding ice was about ten meters thick.
“How... is this possible?” Li Yue looked at everything before her, feeling as if none of it was real. She even wondered if she was in a dream. The thickness of the ice was still rapidly increasing, expanding at a frantic pace as even the seawater beneath the ship froze solid.
An aura of despair surrounded the entire fleet.
“What on earth is that...” The captain, who had risen early, was also struck dumb. He watched the scene in silence, feeling that everything he had experienced in the first half of his life paled in comparison to this moment.
“That thing is about to awaken.”
“What thing?”
“A set of divine remains... The true purpose of our journey was to get me nearby so I could seal it. Once that's done, the cold wave will vanish,” Li Yue said, feeling a slight sense of tension.
“So you're saying if we leave it alone, this ice won't melt even by next spring?”
“We won't even last a month. The plummeting temperatures will freeze everyone to death.”
“Damn it.” The captain couldn't help but swear. He didn't waste time complaining; instead, he took his ship's knife and headed into the cabin. A moment later, he emerged with a dozen men who appeared to be in good physical condition.
They brought almost all the food and fresh water they had, their backpacks stuffed to the brim, seemingly decided on a desperate gamble.
“What about the people on the ship? Are we just leaving them?” Li Yue frowned. Although the immobile sailors had already become a burden, it was a grim decision.
“They’ve already become a burden. I want to live, Miss.” The captain emphasized the word “Miss,” his tone sounding quite dissatisfied.
“I’m saying, if we abandon them and seal the Death Abyss, how do we get back?” Li Yue’s tone was also calm. She didn't feel much fear; the cold could make her feel weary, but it couldn't kill her.
“My magic can summon my ship. I already cut the anchor before I left.” The captain shivered. “How much further?”
“Probably 600 kilometers,” Li Yue estimated. They were currently only at the edge of the location Reinhardt had predicted. They were on the sea north of the Yakutsk continent and needed to continue heading further north.
The northern port of Yakutsk was about 1,300 kilometers from the polar region of the Death Abyss.
“600 kilometers... 10 days... it should be possible.” The captain calculated the time; it seemed to be within an acceptable range.
“That fast?” Li Yue raised an eyebrow.
“These are all Magicians with extremely strong physiques who have followed me for many years,” the captain said with a hint of pride. “If it weren't for this heavy snow, we could cover 600 kilometers in two days.”
Without another word, the group began to move rapidly across the snow. The actual speed, however, was slower than they had imagined, making it difficult to arrive within ten days. They could only travel for about ten hours a day, as the freezing winds during the rest of the time were far too violent.
As they progressed, the wind and snow increased significantly, putting an even greater strain on their bodies and minds. By the third day, their walking speed through the snow had slowed to about the pace of a normal adult jogging on flat ground, covering roughly eight kilometers per hour.
Rest periods began to increase noticeably, and food consumption rose significantly as well. The bodies of these men slowly began to fail. A sailor who had just barely reached the rank of Magician was already struggling to keep up.
Li Yue noticed that the magic of these people mostly focused on physical enhancement and controlling waves. The physical fitness of one of these Magicians was already comparable to her own level before she had absorbed the Blood Moon.
By the fifth day, they seemed to have covered more than half the distance. Gradually, Li Yue could sense a more precise location. This was good news, but the distance didn't seem short—it was even further than she had initially estimated.
On the fifth day, everyone’s pace had slowed to that of a normal person walking briskly on flat ground, covering about five kilometers an hour. Their daily travel time was around ten hours, and on some days, it began to decrease even further.
The youngest sailor collapsed. After lying on a stretcher for half a day, the young life flickered out. Intense mental torment seemed to be one of the reasons he had given up the struggle.
That evening, Li Yue set up her tent again. Ordinary steel spikes could no longer withstand the wind and snow, so she used her own blood crystals to secure it.
She curled up in a corner to rest. At this rate, it would likely take another five days or so, as the path ahead was becoming increasingly difficult.
She wrapped herself in all her clothes, preparing for a light sleep. However, for some reason, she heard the sound of meat being carved—a faint tearing noise—along with a scent of blood that made her feel a strange sense of excitement.
Am I starting to hallucinate too? How could there be fresh flesh in this frozen wasteland? She rolled over, but the scent only grew clearer.
She opened a slit in her tent and saw a group of men huddled around a pot. They were pouring dried vegetables from a can into it, and then she saw a whole, intact human thigh.
Her throat hitched, and she immediately turned her back, looking no more.
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to resist that bloodthirsty desire. The blood and flesh of a Magician had a unique flavor, especially to a blood demon.
The sound of gnawing reached her ears. At this moment, Li Yue felt they were more like blood demons than she was, but she no longer cared. Aside from her, everyone seemed to be on the verge of death.
By the ninth day, more people began to collapse. They no longer cared about Li Yue’s opinion. They carved the meat from the bones and buried the skeletal remains simply. No one knew if they would be the next to fall.
In these days, a slow death had become a form of torture. Sleepless nights or long nightmares plagued everyone. They even felt as if this frozen world was an illusion; some slit their own arteries, feeling not even a hint of pain in the moment before death.
At night, their flesh appeared on the plates of the remaining few. Li Yue didn't eat a single bite; she simply remained silent. The captain was desperate to know how she maintained her sanity and good condition.
Until one time, holding his ship's knife outside Li Yue’s tent, he caught a glimpse of her devouring blood crystals. In that moment, for some reason, he felt a sudden surge of fear, as if he himself had become food.
Especially the way the lady looked at him then—it was as if she already saw him as prey. Even though he had committed such appalling acts over the past few days, he had never once viewed the colleagues walking beside him as food.
Just that one casual glance made his heart go cold with dread.
By the twelfth day, only three people remained in the entire group, including Li Yue. they were nearing the vicinity of the Death Abyss. They had run out of all food. That night, the captain killed the first mate and gorged himself on a final meal.
On the fourteenth day, Li Yue killed the captain when he attempted to kill her in the early morning. She buried his body, and on the captain’s skeletal remains, she noticed a faint silvery glint. Upon closer inspection, she realized it appeared to be lead poisoning.
On the fifteenth day, Li Yue finally reached the edge of the Death Abyss. The ice here was pitch-black, as if a world of death was struggling beneath the surface. The lives that had passed seemed to be concentrated here, and in the back of her mind, she seemed to hear desperate wails.
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