Blizzard.

As the supposedly joyous celebration took a dark turn, the nobles gossiped amongst themselves.

'Why did the cowardly prince join the competition?'

'Is the fight for succession finally starting?'

'Does the king hope for his youngest child to compete with his brothers for the throne?'

'Or did he perhaps hope for the cowardly prince's death by sending him to join the hunt?'

The king's succession had always been dyed with blood.

Even the current king was not exempt from this natural order, yet the citizens did not think this would continue to the next generation.

The king was known to be wise, strict, and unaffectionate. He did not show weaknesses even when he was a crown prince and with this, he ruled the Heinken kingdom with an iron fist,

But the king loved his queen and, on the surface, the three royal princes had an amicable, if not a favorable relationship with each other.

"My queen, forgive me." The king held the queen's shaking shoulders, "I only wanted to teach him a lesson. I did not expect this to happen." An uncharacteristic warm tone escaped from the stern king's lips.

"I know… but it was too much!" the queen sobbed, "I knew I should've pleaded with you more… if anything happened to my child, my guilt will consume me, your majesty!"

The queen thought of how she was on the last day she saw her youngest son.

'I did not even wish him good luck…'

'I did not even hug him, knowing how scared he was.'

'I cared more about his majesty's thoughts than my child's safety.'

'I am such a terrible mother.'

The queen, like all other aristocratic mothers, never spent enough time caring for her children. She was too busy attending and hosting banquets, too occupied with keeping her status in the social circles that she left the princes in the care of their nannies.

Seeing his queen filled with regrets made the king even more impatient to find Deon.

"Father, eighty-five knights have been mobilized to find Deon." The crown prince reported, "I have also heard the situation from Sir Nicholas. It seems like Killer Ants were responsible for the disappearances of two hundred participants. However, they have not been sighted and no corpse has been confirmed."

"Killer Ants? How could that be? They are the weakest monster in Wesnar." The king asked.

"We have yet to know the reason for that, father, but rest assured, the knights will try to locate the entrance to the colony." Avery weakly smiled to assure his parents.

Then his expression turned serious, "As I plan to raid their lair, we will need to use all our manpower. Father, I ask permission to command the first to the fifth Knight Order."

The king touched his beard in contemplation, "Yes… Deon is most likely inside the colony… then, I permit you to command even the Crimson Knights and Royal Almagi Order."

Avery looked surprised.

It was a great honor to command, albeit temporarily, those Orders that served only the king. It showed how much the king trusted his eldest son.

"Thank you, your majesty. I will definitely find my brother." Avery deeply bowed before turning on his heels and walking out of the royal tent.

Cail, the second eldest, watched Avery walk away with displeasure, "Tch! That show off! Aahh… I also want to use the Crimson knights and Royal Almagi."

Cail looked at the base of Wesnar mountain, 'All this fuss for that weakling.'

"Should I also try to find him? This might be a great way to kill time." Cail effortlessly twirled his prized spear, "Things have been quite boring these days anyway…"

And so, the two royal princes and all the knights serving in the palace, as well as the King's exclusive Order, set out to the dangerous mountains to find the youngest prince.

But the heavens seemed to disagree with their plan.

Come evening, howling winds ushered dark clouds atop the mountain and the winter season welcomed its first blizzard.

Woooooooosshhh!!

The visibility was terrible, the temperature was freezing, the torches were useless, and the communication was almost non-existent—All the ingredients for a failed rescue operation rolled along with the heavy snow.

"SH*T! why did that useless prince have to go missing in the middle of a blizzard?!" a junior knight cursed.

"Shh! Do you want to lose your head?! Why are you saying such blasphemous words toward a royalty?!" another knight scolded.

"What? It's not like anyone can hear us." the knight defended, "And let's face it, it is a known fact that the third prince is a useless weakling. So why in the world would he participate in an event that's far beyond his abilities? He's only making extra work for us."

"Still…"

"He was just lucky. If I was born a prince, I bet I'd do better than him."

The other knight sighed.

Complaints against noble employers were common in the knightage. All knighted commoners achieved their position through blood, sweat, and tears. Compared to aristocratic sons who never knew hardship yet guaranteed high military positions, it was easy for knights to harbor ill feelings.

They might have pledged loyalty to their masters but earning their respect was another issue.

'If only I was born a noble.'—without fail, this thought passed the minds of knights and servants at least once in their lifetime.

"Ahhh!!! I'm done!" the junior knight slumped on the hard ground and grumbled, "How do they expect us to find that stupid prince in the middle of a blizzard when the third order didn't find any clues on a clear day?!"

Indeed, it was an impossible task, but they could never go against the orders of royalty.

Left with no choice, the poor knights looked for the third prince in the cold mountain until a week has passed.

Throughout the week, the snow continued to fall.

Piles of ice covered all tracks and clues leading to the colony, leading to a fruitless rescue.

The royal family was slowly losing hope of ever finding their youngest.

--Chapter end--