In the blink of an eye, another five days had passed.
The heavy snowfall continued unabated for five whole days, blanketing the town of White Horse in a thick layer of snow. Peering out the window, one could only see an endless expanse of white.
On the morning of the sixth day, Lily finally brought back news.
"My sisters discovered traces of Celeus on a fishing boat about 5 li west of town, by the banks of the Freezing River," she reported.
"The traces on the boat indicate he has been living there these past few days without leaving."
"He's still there now?" Shaborei's spirits were instantly lifted.
"Yes, he remains there presently. My sisters were extremely cautious and left no trace during their investigation," Lily confirmed.
Shaborei broke into a wide grin. "Excellent! I've been waiting so long I'm fat as a pig. We've finally found that little thief!"
He straightened up and leapt out of his chair, turning to Rosen. "Wait here, kid. I'll be back in an hour at most, after slaughtering that bastard!"
With that, he strode towards the window, threw it open, and jumped straight out.
His actions were astonishingly swift. By the time Rosen ran over hoping to stop him, he was already fifty meters away.
Peering out the window, Shaborei looked like a large black rat bounding through the snow, quickly disappearing from sight.
Rosen's brows furrowed in concern. "Mr Shaborei is too rash!"
Lily looked puzzled. "What's the issue? Shaborei is a powerful high-level warrior. Dealing with a low-level mage should be easy as pie, no?"
Her words made sense, but a sly fox like Celeus would never leave such an obvious trail.
Rosen had a strong premonition that the fishing boat was merely bait to lure the tiger from the mountain.
Once the mighty Shaborei was far enough away, Celeus would emerge to deal with Rosen himself.
After killing Rosen, the mage could simply flee and disappear. What could Shaborei do then, other than vent his helpless fury?
Spurred on by this acute sense of peril, Rosen quickly donned boots and a windbreaker, and leapt straight out the window under Lily's astonished gaze.
The snow outside was quite deep, reaching his knees. With the heavy snowfall, the streets were almost deserted. A single distinct line of footprints marked Shaborei's path.
Landing on all fours, Rosen followed the footprints, scrambling desperately through the snow on hands and knees.
From observing the past few days, he knew Shaborei was the only person in White Horse strong and willing enough to protect him. No one else could be relied upon.
If Shaborei fell for the bait, Rosen's own death would be imminent. His only chance of survival was to leave the inn immediately and try to catch up with Shaborei.
Even slightly reducing the distance between them would greatly improve his odds.
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After sprinting frantically for over a hundred meters, Rosen was already gasping for breath, his legs as heavy as lead.
He lacked stamina!
Just as despair set in, hurried footsteps approached from behind. A figure caught up to him - the leather-armored Lily.
Before Rosen could explain, he yelled urgently, "Take me to Shaborei! Hurry, take me to him!"
"Why?" Lily asked, still perplexed.
"No time to hesitate, please, Miss Lily!" Rosen shouted desperately.
"Well, if you insist..."
Lily walked over and crouched down in front of Rosen. "Climb on, I'll carry you."
Rosen immediately complied.
Once he was settled, Lily broke into a wild dash through the snow. As an Apostle of the Spider God, trained in combat arts since childhood, her stamina and skill far surpassed normal humans. The deep snow barely impeded her swift strides.
Even carrying Rosen, her speed nearly matched Shaborei's earlier pace.
Watching the scenery flash by, the freezing wind and swirling snowflakes buffeting his face, Rosen felt mildly reassured. But he remained vigilant, constantly scanning his surroundings for potential ambush.
This caution soon paid off. After sprinting roughly 500 meters, as they passed a deserted side street, Rosen glimpsed a flickering gray silhouette from the corner of his eye.
Almost immediately, a glowing orb soundlessly shot out from the alley. The orb had an uncanny color - greenish at the core, surrounded by flickering grayish-white flames.
More alarming changes swiftly followed. The orb split into two, then three!
Tracing smooth arcs through the air, they homed in on Rosen's back.
"Watch out for sneak attack!"
"It's the Triple Fireball variant!" Rosen yelled out repeated warnings.
In the next instant, a tremendous force erupted from below, catapulting him sideways to crash through the wall of a nearby wooden house and tumble deep inside.
The startled family screamed in shock. Before Rosen could explain, he rolled rapidly across the floor.
Lifting his head to peer through the hole in the wooden wall behind him, he saw Lily nimbly spin and twist, barely evading the three fireballs by a hair's breadth.
They struck the snow with muffled thumps. One landed in Rosen's view, instantly melting the thick snow and leaving a crater about one meter wide. Strange grey flames slowly burned over the water collected there.
Lily was badly shaken. "Rosen, run!" she shouted.
No need to tell him twice. Rosen scrambled up and scrambled towards the front door on all fours.
CRASH! He burst out the door into a small square courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by wooden houses, with a wooden gate in the right wall - presumably the only exit.
Rosen sprinted with all his might towards the gate. Throwing it open, he charged out into a narrow alley less than 2 meters wide. The alley was mostly cleared of snow, making for slippery but passable footing.
Taking long strides, he sprinted desperately ahead.
The short alley first went straight, then turned left, opening up onto a wider street. While snow piled thickly here, the areas under the overhanging eaves were relatively clear.
Rosen ran alongside the wall. Shortly after, a brown figure flashed by his side - Lily had caught up. Without breaking stride, she snatched Rosen up and slung him onto her back, resuming her headlong flight.
"Are you hurt?" Rosen asked.
"I dodged in time, didn't get hit," Lily replied, still shaken.
After catching her breath, she added, "I just caught a glimpse of him. From his clothing it should be Celeus, but his appearance changed dramatically. His complexion looked grey, with fiery grey pupils, and his body seemed incredibly gaunt, like a walking skeleton!"
Rosen was astonished but also felt something was off. Lacking a firsthand look himself, he could deduce little more.
"Why did he change so much?" he asked.
"Absolutely due to absorbing the power from the Ash Bird's feathers. He's far stronger than before now. We're no match at all, only option is to flee!"
After one wave of sneak attacks, no second assault followed. "He probably can't catch up to us," Lily pronounced with relief.
Making another turn, she reacquired Shaborei's tracks.
The Freezing River lay 5 li west of town. After sprinting for over ten minutes with Rosen on her back, the frozen expanse of a great river entered their view.
On the reedy banks, a dilapidated fishing boat with a straw canopy lay run aground.
Not far away on the icy surface, two figures stood about a hundred meters apart - the stocky, short-bladed Shaborei, and a tall, cloaked figure holding a wooden staff - Celeus!
"How can there be two Celeuses?" Lily exclaimed in shock.
Rosen's mind raced, a disturbing possibility occurring to him. "The one in town must be Celeus's resurrected undead puppet!"
Lily's eyes flashed with sudden dread. "I see! The Ash power combines potent undead and fire abilities. If Celeus knows necromancy, his spells would become exponentially more terrifying powered by Ash!"
As if in grim affirmation, the snow nearby suddenly exploded. A mud-caked, pallid hand emerged, clawing at the air!