When everyone who had followed Richard returned to the capital, they naturally spread the news.

They talked about Duke Ethan Holystar sending his beast slave into the kingdom to roam freely — even carrying an item that contained the power of a Grand Sovereign — so no one should have dared to provoke him.

Yet unfortunately for him, that item was taken by Richard. Even his beast slave was captured by Richard.

The main point of every story was the same: Duke Ethan Holystar was unpredictable — but Richard had overcome the trouble he caused.

People began to fear Ethan somewhat, but Richard's reputation grew even larger.

Rumors even spread that he possessed the legendary Void Element.

If the news had already reached the capital, then it would naturally spread across the entire kingdom — and beyond, to other regions of the Eastern Territory of the Land of Humans.

The Eastern Territory was only one among many regions inhabited by civilized human societies — home to the Holy Star Kingdom, the Holy Light Kingdom, the Order of the Crimson Veil, several other nations, and many powerful Magus Clans.

And to the east of it lay the Ancient Ice Region.

In fact, the Ancient Ice Region was even larger than the Eastern Territory, but because of its harsh environment, fewer humans lived there. Only those born with high natural talent for magic could survive its freezing lands.

However, due to the brutality of that region, they were unable to build a true civilization — developing instead a barbaric nature that lived only for battle.

They often slaughtered one another, but their glory grew when they invaded the Eastern Territory.

Because of frequent invasions, the kingdoms bordering the Ancient Ice Region were forced to station elite warriors along their frontiers.

Many adventurers were also sent to eliminate those barbarians — both for the treasures of the Ancient Ice Region and for the rewards given by the kingdoms.

Snow Sky City was one of the cities along that border.

The city technically belonged to the Seventieth Star Province, but it wasn't considered part of that province's administration.

And from the Seventieth to the Seventy-Seventh Star Provinces, all of that land belonged to the Duke of the Ice Mountain.

He practically ruled eight provinces — a vast territory he had earned through countless contributions.

Bordering the Ancient Ice Region, all of the Duke's lands were frozen wastelands perpetually covered in snow.

The cold pierced to the bone. Richard hadn't expected that even with his current power — and his 90% affinity with the Fire Element — he would still feel chilled.

If he were an ordinary human, who knew how frozen he would have been?

Reluctantly, he, Gray, and Laura had to wear several layers of clothing — except for Sister Lisa, who didn't seem to feel cold thanks to her armor.

Below them, Richard noticed that almost everyone wore thick fur clothing.

Compared to people from warmer lands, those in the icy region had larger builds.

It wasn't uncommon for the men to look like giants.

Richard already had a map of Snow Sky City, and soon he spotted it — a massive city standing beside a river nearly a kilometer wide, most of which was frozen solid.

The city was vast, with buildings seemingly made of ice.

It was surrounded by tall walls guarded by large, muscular soldiers.

"Stop!"

A loud shout echoed from within the city just as Richard's flying vessel approached its gates.

Then, a Sky Armor Soldier — his armor equipped with metallic wings — soared into the sky.

In an instant, he was already before Richard's vessel.

His speed, Richard thought, was only slightly slower than Athena's.

Of course, Athena specialized in speed while this soldier didn't, so it was likely that he was of a higher Tier — perhaps 43 to 45.

A formidable figure by Magus World standards.

The man's helmet lifted, revealing a long-haired face marked by sword scars.

"Who are you?" he asked, surprised to see a group of young people — one of them just a boy — arriving in a flying magical vessel.

"I'm Richard," Richard stepped forward and answered.

The man's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the name.

Then, placing a hand on his chest, he bowed slightly.

"I am Arthur, Commander of the Sky Armor Legion of Snow Sky City, paying respects to the city's new ruler," he declared.

Richard was slightly surprised to hear that. His formal greeting made Richard realize the truth behind what the head butler had said — that the soldiers here were strictly trained to obey royal commands, including serving him as their new lord.

Naturally, Richard was pleased with his attitude.

He had expected a bit of political resistance, but if the city's commander was already submissive to him, then there should be no problem. After all, this commander was likely the strongest among the royal troops stationed here.

"My Lord, please follow me to the City Lord's residence," said Arthur.

"Please," Richard gestured for him to lead the way.

The man then flapped his armor's wings and flew toward the massive castle at the city's center.

Even its courtyard was made entirely of ice.

Richard couldn't say he liked a city like this.

When they arrived, Arthur suddenly shouted, "Everyone, come and pay respects to the new City Lord!"

His voice didn't just echo around the castle — it spread across nearly the entire city, causing a commotion among the residents.

Most of the city's population were fighters. They rushed quickly to the castle to see the new City Lord.

Of course, only the soldiers were allowed into the courtyard.

Richard landed his flying vessel in front of the castle, receiving the curious but respectful gazes of the soldiers.

"My Lord, this is your residence. If you need servants, I'll find them for you," said Arthur.

"By the way, where is the previous City Lord?" Richard asked, surprised that he hadn't seen him.

Shouldn't the former Lord still be living here with his attendants? Why would new servants be needed?

Richard sensed something was wrong.

"The previous City Lord was captured by a barbarian tribe two days ago and killed by them. We failed to save him because, at that time, we were also distracted by their diversionary attacks," Arthur explained calmly, as if it were a common occurrence.

Richard couldn't help showing a strange expression before asking again, "Do they often kidnap City Lords?"

"Yes. City Lords along the border are prime targets for the barbarians from the Ancient Ice Region. It's said that any of them who kills a City Lord earns the right to marry any woman he desires. Since I've been stationed in Snow Sky City, four City Lords have already been slain. We're quite short on manpower, so we often fail to protect them."

Richard: "…"

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