It was not their first time visiting the Arctic Circle, but they had never ventured such deep north like today: their destination was the North Pole, one of the coldest places on Earth. Standing on the endless ice sheet, listening to the cold wind whizzing past her, Vivian seemed to recall the most distant fragments of her memory—after the end of the last ice age, the cold did not altogether leave the world, and large areas of land, as well as sea, were still covered in ice. It was during this era that Vivian woke up on the ice sheet.
"Did you wake up for the first time in the Arctic?" Hao Ren asked curiously after hearing Vivian's lament. "Would we find your relic if we dig a hole here?"
"It was a land of ice. I can't remember if it was the North Pole," Vivian said, shaking her head. "And what do you mean by relic? I'm still alive."
On the vast expanse of the Arctic ice sheet, a rustic Northstar parked behind a steep ice rock. Hao Ren and his mates left the car and checked out their surroundings. But there was nothing to see there; only boring, monotonous ice and snow in their field of vision, as well as the ice sheet, which had never been disturbed for thousands of years. Even though humans had set foot on the north and south poles, the place was still an inhabitable zone. Most parts of the ice sheet in the Arctic were unexplored, and this was where Hao Ren and his team had to go through.
It was a godforsaken place.
White Flame was still wearing her somewhat tattered uniform, although there was a velvet shirt underneath. Her attire was not suitable for the Arctic weather, but since they were all super beings, no one cared about the incongruent sight. The demon hunter was not paying attention to Hao Ren and Vivian's discussion. Standing close to them and silently gazing into the starry sky, she calculated the positions and states of the stars.
It was midnight in the Arctic. In the darkest moment, stars were present, especially when the weather and atmosphere were clear. White Flame gazed at the stars and felt a little relieved. "The stars are well in their positions, which means that the ancient weapon of Coldpath hasn't been activated yet. It looks like the Council of Elders hasn't been able to take all the energy nodes," she said.
"You know all that just by looking at the stars?" Hao Ren said. Looking at the sky next to White Flame, he only saw stars and nothing else. Not being a fan of astrological magic, he had no clue how it worked. "I travel around in space; I know that they're just shining stars, which are thousands of light-years away from Earth. What magical power can you draw from them?" he asked.
"The power of astrology does not lie in the stars but the image of the stars, the meanings ascribed by man. Even if the stars are not there, the astrological magic can still exert its power," White Flame explained. "We only use the stars as a coordinate system to build our magic," she said.
"Ever since the Industrial Revolution, it's become difficult to use astrological magic in some places," Vivian said. "The star coordinates have become vague, and hand-drawn astrolabes are inaccurate. Trying to memorize the positions of all the stars is simply impossible. As a result, many sorcerers in Europe have given up on this project."
"Why?" Hao Ren asked.
"Air pollution. And now, there's also light pollution. Star-gazing and astrology have become an eye-straining exercise. Many master astrologers have contracted cataracts because of this." Vivian pouted. "I admire the humans for their other achievements, but not this one; they've made the lives of astrologers harder," she said.
Hao Ren was speechless. Hemming a few times and glossing over the weird topic, he asked White Flame, "We've come a long way. How far did you say was the fortress from here?"
White Flame looked at the ice sheet under the dark sky. Ordinary people would have probably lost their sense of direction in such a place, but she grew up on the ice sheet and could accurately locate anything on the ice sheet with intuition alone. She pointed in a specific direction. "Go in that direction. Ten kilometers ahead is the stratum of Coldfrost Citadel. According to astrology, Coldfrost Citadel is still under our control."
"What does Coldfrost Citadel have to do with Coldpath?" Hao Ren was very interested in the demon hunters' headquarters. Until now, he had not been able to wrap his brain around these strange names. "Is it the door?"
"Well, sort of." White Flame nodded. "Coldpath is an alien dimension that's existed since ancient times, just like Tartarus, Asgard, and Olympus. But it's broader, more stable and more mysterious. One could say that this incredible dimension was also one of the important factors that the demon hunters relied on to gain the upper hand in the ultimate War. Coldpath's entrance and exit in the North Pole are fixed in that location. So, to defend their fortress, the early demon hunters built a spire called the Stellar Spire, with powerful magic at the entrance and exit of the dimension. Part of the spire was in the real world, and the other part extended into Coldpath. It acted as a passage. Later, as demon hunters continued to grow in strength, they began to expand the Stellar Spire in the real world, and slowly, it was built into a fortress—the Coldfrost Citadel," she said.
Lily's ears flickered. "That means, the Council of Elders is now being held up in Coldpath, and even though they have an advantage in terms of combat strength, they won't be able to get out as long as Coldfrost Citadel and Stellar Spire are still under the control of 'normal' demon hunters?" she asked.
"Yes, this is our only advantage," White Flame said with a forced smile. "We've gathered our brothers and sisters from all over the world to take on the Council of Elders, and we sacrificed the lives of nearly 10,000 people before we finally forced them to retreat to Coldpath. We managed to take control of the Stellar Spire," she said.
Hao Ren did not say anything. He just kneeled, drawing on the ice with his fingers. After a moment, he looked up. "It's not safe to open the door in Coldfrost Citadel because it's the entrance to Coldpath. The dimension could be unstable, plus the Council of Elders would take advantage and exploit this weak point. If all of you have no objections, I think this spot is a more suitable place to open a portal," Hao Ren said.
A question had been bothering White Flame since they first set off on their journey. At this point, she could not help it anymore, proceeded to ask, "So, you're going to use a portal to bring in your 'army'? Do you have an army?"
"Oh, come on, we've come so far. Do you still think that we're relying on the few of us here to take on the hundred-thousand-strong Council of Elders?" Hao Ren rolled his eyes and looked at his teammates. Except for the cat and the fish, he had brought all of them out, including the Nangong couple. However, they were not the main combat group. The main combat group was still 800 light-years away on the new Aerymian planet. They were under Lanina's command and were ready to depart through the portal. "My men are far from here. If it were not to prevent your Council of Elders from activating the ancient weapon and causing me more trouble, I wouldn't have mobilized my men. You owe me," Hao Ren said.
White Flame listened, feeling stupefied. When Hao Ren finished, she nodded in all seriousness. "I'll keep that in mind. As long as you can help the demon hunters through this crisis, I'll swear my allegiance to you," she said.
It stupefied Hao Ren that there were still people who would pledge their allegiance in this age; it was no longer a favorite way of showing gratitude. If they had followed popular storylines, she would have said, "I'm yours tonight." But, he knew that if he told her this, he would probably be dead that night. Thus, he swallowed his wild thoughts and began to pour out the bits and pieces from his Dimensional Pocket.
It was going to be the biggest operation he had ever conducted on Earth.
Building a demonic portal and summoning 100,000 troops from outer space!
Oh, wait, let us rephrase that sentence. According to the official report that Hao Ren was going to write, he was bringing in 100,000 peacekeepers. Ah, now that sounds so much better!