Noan teleported outside, then followed the traces left in the snow, a smile appearing on his face.
He waved his hand, and Violette suddenly appeared beside him. She flinched at the sight of Noan, fear gripping her heart.
Violette had clearly seen how effortlessly Noan had killed Valen.
With just a wave of his hand, Valen's arms were sliced off—then his head followed.
This young man… to Violette, was a being shrouded in mystery and overwhelming power.
'Perfect. A man is the only kind worthy of being mine,' she thought, her eyes filled with greedy desire as they gazed at him.
But she wasn't foolish—she had seen how intelligent and ruthless Noan could be.
That was why she didn't dare make any reckless moves.
Sitting on the snow, trembling, Violette asked, "You… you saved me, didn't you?"
"Don't pretend. I know full well that this isn't your true personality," Noan said with a frown.
"Ah!" Violette was startled, but then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha… so you've seen through my true nature. Impressive."
"So what do you want? Are you trying to make me your woman?"
As she spoke, Violette began unbuttoning her shirt.
Though the cold wind made her body tremble and her skin turned red from the chill, she still tried to undress.
Noan caught a glimpse of her bare chest, revealing a landscape full of allure—one that would tempt any man to indulge.
However, he only glanced briefly before waving his hand. A dome of spatial energy formed around Violette, shielding her from the cold and bringing her warmth.
"You're interesting. Find a place to hide and wait for me to return," Noan said, then vanished.
Violette watched his figure disappear into the swirling snowstorm, a strange mix of emotions stirring in her heart.
But soon after, she laughed aloud. "Hahahaha… man, you won't escape from my grasp."
"Huh! Why act so cold? Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy it?"
After speaking, she glanced at the houses behind her, quickly put her clothes back on, and entered one of them to hide.
Noan once again teleported to the gates of the Black Snow Fortress, his eyes following the trail that stretched into the distance.
He didn't rush to give chase but instead opened his information panel, his gaze landing on the notification he had received after killing Valen.
[You have killed Lord Valen – Rank B+, Level 5. You gained 700 Lord Points. Your current total is 5,940 Lord Points.]
Seeing the number of Lord Points he had just gained after killing Valen, Noan realized something: killing a high-rank Lord granted significantly more points than slaying large numbers of low-rank ones.
That made perfect sense. The higher the rank and level of a Lord, the more powerful they were.
"Looks like I need to set my sights on high-rank Lords, not the weaker ones," Noan muttered.
If he continued hunting low-rank Lords, who knew how long it would take to collect enough Lord Points to evolve?
But if he could kill just 10 more Rank B Lords, he would have enough points to advance to the next rank.
Noan glanced toward the direction Vinelord had fled—more accurately, the direction Zeka had escaped—and instantly used spatial magic to pursue.
At that moment, Zeka was walking across the snowy ground, but he no longer felt the biting cold like before.
On the contrary, his body felt light as he walked toward the distant horizon with no clear destination.
"Where are we going?" Zeka asked.
[We're heading to the cave system. We need more blood. Besides, there are still some corpses I've stored there. If you absorb the blood of all of them, I guarantee we'll gain enough strength to escape this world.]
Hearing this, Zeka became even more excited.
It had to be known—each time he killed a Lord, he received a kind of "buff," and of course, those buffs were permanent, not temporary ones that vanished after 30 minutes.
Once he had hundreds, even thousands of buffs, he would become invincible.
Suddenly, a memory struck Zeka, and he flinched. "Where is she?"
So much had happened that only now did he remember the girl.
"Where's my Violette?"
[Are you looking for the girl who was with you?] Vinelord's voice echoed. [Ever since you destroyed the Ice Core, she disappeared.]
"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Zeka asked in confusion.
[I don't know. I only saw her vanish suddenly. Right now, my remaining power is too weak—I don't have the strength to sense anything unusual.]
[But you shouldn't concern yourself with her. She's just an ordinary woman. Once you grow stronger, you can have any type of woman you want.]
"No! No!!!" Zeka suddenly screamed. "I don't want that! She's the goddess of my heart—I don't want to lose her!"
A wave of unease surged through Zeka—as if the very thing he feared most… was about to come true.
That was the thought that haunted Zeka—Noan would take Violette for himself.
Zeka couldn't accept that. Back then, even when he had no new powers, he never wanted to let Violette fall into anyone else's hands. Now, with his newfound strength, that was even more impossible.
[Are you stupid? She's just an ordinary woman. Stop caring about her.]
"Shut up!" Zeka roared. "She's the goddess in my heart. When everyone else looked down on me, she was the only one who defended me, supported me unconditionally."
"She believed in me. She came to this world with me. I can't abandon her."
Zeka tried to turn back toward the room where they had been, but the vines on his arms instantly tightened and restrained him.
[Stop being foolish. She's just a lowly human. I promise you, if you follow my instructions, I can give you any kind of woman you desire. Even the Elf Queen—I can have her lying on your bed.]
"I don't want that!" Zeka shouted. "I want my first woman to be Violette. I want her."
[You bastard! Then don't blame me for being cruel.]
Immediately, the vines suddenly retracted into Zeka's body.
Beneath his skin, countless blood vessels bulged like tree roots, starting from his severed arm and spreading across his entire body.
"AGH!!" Zeka screamed in agony. But after that, his body stopped responding to his will and began moving toward the old cave.
From the shadows, Noan watched the scene unfold and let out a snort of laughter.
Looks like Zeka's just a simp, he thought to himself.
At the same time, a wicked idea began to form in Noan's mind—one that was chilling even to him.
But he decided to save it for later. Right now, he wanted to see what Zeka was going to do.
Of course, if Zeka didn't realize he was being followed, Noan could keep tracking him undisturbed.
After walking for a while, Zeka returned to the old cave.
But instead of heading toward the main hall where the surviving Lords had gathered, he moved toward a different cave.
Zeka raised his hand, and the layer of snow covering the entrance blew away—revealing countless vines blocking the way inside.
The vines began to stir, slowly breaking through the icy layer that encased them and pulling apart, revealing another hidden cave entrance.
Zeka stepped inside. Though the interior was pitch black, he moved through it effortlessly, advancing deeper without hesitation.
After walking about two miles, Zeka encountered a massive door made entirely of tangled vines.
He raised his hand, and a vine shot out like a serpent, weaving its way through the frozen mass of vines.
Gradually, the vine-formed door creaked open, unveiling a horrifying sight within.
Beyond the doorway lay a much larger cavern—wider, deeper, and filled with countless writhing vines, as though the entire cave was constructed from them.
Hanging from the ceiling were thousands of human beings, tightly entangled by vines.
From the nape of each person's neck, a thin vine pierced into their skin, as if injecting or extracting some kind of nutrient fluid—sustaining their lives.
"This is…" Zeka recoiled in shock at the scene.
The number was staggering—likely in the thousands—suspended high above. And more terrifying still… they were all still alive. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveIꜰire.net
That's right. Though their bodies were emaciated and their eyes hollow like lifeless dolls, Zeka could feel it—these people were still breathing.
[This is the food I've been storing… waiting for this very day,] Vinelord's voice echoed.
[Eat them. All of those humans—they are my gift to you. Hahahaha…]