"Frost Iser can control wind? You are wind creatures; that’s even less objective, and you say I’m biased," Dangross sneered.
Lobal: "In the Region of Fire, there are creatures that can control flame tornadoes; it’s not the same across the board. Moreover, I previously gave examples to illustrate that..."
Lobal said a lot of words and gave many examples to prove that its answer, even without this relationship, was objective.
But Dangross simply responded with "I’m not listening," dismissing everything it said.
Lobal only felt a pang of frustration in its chest. It was impossible for it to argue with an Elemental Sprite, so it ultimately swallowed its frustration.
At this moment, Cubic quietly remarked: "If it were Lord Kamil, facing Dangross’s anger, he would have started with a smile of indifference. Because the moment you start reasoning, you’ve already lost, especially when dealing with a sprite who doesn’t listen to reason."
Cubic’s words pierced both Lobal and, in a subtle jab, Dangross, though Dangross, entirely focused on Lobal, hadn’t noticed.
Lyon glanced at Cubic: "You sure know how to seize opportunities."
Cubic stepped back, lowering its presence.
Lyon didn’t bother with Cubic or Dangross’s flaunting but instead looked at Lobal: "Since your Storm Ridge has a good relationship with Malaya Ice Mountain, you’ll be in charge of contacting Frost Iser."
Given the oath of Dirk Moerk, Lobal naturally wouldn’t refuse, and it also wanted to prove in front of Dangross that its words weren’t wrong; so it nodded without hesitation: "Alright, you can trust me with this, sir."
Seeing Lobal’s confident look, Lyon nodded approvingly.
Previously worried that dealing with Frost Iser would be the toughest, it now seemed not so difficult? Ironically, what seemed simplest with White Cloud Village turned into a full-scale battle.
...
The Gondola continued flying for another hour.
Now, the surrounding wind began to carry frost, and although the surface of the Gentle Wave Sea below had not frozen, it started to sprinkle with frosty foam, occasionally revealing floating ice.
A few minutes later, a pure white ice mountain emerged before them.
This ice mountain wasn’t large, not like the rumored island-resembling Malaya Ice Mountain. However, atop this ice mountain stood a pure white snow leopard.
Because of the thick frost mist in the sky, the snow leopard hadn’t spotted the high-altitude Gondola, but Lyon could see the snow leopard in great detail.
Undoubtedly, this is an ice creature. Whether it has anything remarkable, Lyon didn’t know; but its appearance clearly indicated they were approaching Malaya Ice Mountain.
"Sir, I’ll go down to explore," Lobal’s voice came to Lyon’s ears.
Lyon nodded. Though knowing Malaya Ice Mountain wasn’t far, it constantly moved and stayed under the protection of wind and snow, making it challenging to find it in this vast sea without guidance from an ice creature.
As Lobal went to the snow leopard to inquire about Malaya Ice Mountain’s location, Lyon observed quietly from above.
He noticed that when the snow leopard first heard Lobal’s voice, it clearly showed a rejecting demeanor and even assumed an aggressive stance as if preparing for battle. However, after Lobal revealed its original form and identity, the snow leopard’s attitude shifted; although not as warm as imagined, it began to engage with Lobal amicably.
This indicated that the wind creatures from Storm Ridge are indeed not regarded as enemies by Malaya Ice Mountain.
This was good news for Lyon; he preferred solving problems peacefully over resolving them through conflict.
Minutes later, Lobal returned high up, not alone but manipulating the ice wind and bringing the snow leopard along.
Lobal naturally couldn’t decide to bring the snow leopard onto the Gondola on its own; it was all done with Lyon’s approval.
"Sir, Bingkala said it would guide us to Malaya Ice Mountain," Lobal said.
Bingkala, the snow leopard, was now perched on the ship’s edge, curiously looking at everyone on the Gondola. It had no reaction towards Lyon or Cubic but when its eyes landed on Dangross, its pupils suddenly contracted into slits.
However, when Bingkala realized that Dangross was a little elf, its pupils returned to their elliptical shape.
Though ice and fire creatures are natural opposites, they abide by the fundamental rule of elemental creatures: not attacking sprites.
Of course, if an Elemental Sprite provokes them, that’s another matter.
And Dangross provoking the snow leopard? That’s improbable... It’s easy to boast when there’s no ice creature, but not when one is around. After all, its various followers weren’t present here.
"Then thank you," Lyon tried to express friendliness to Bingkala.
Bingkala looked at Lyon carefully before saying, "Your aura is peculiar... But since you are Lord Lobal’s superior, I’m sure there won’t be any issues."
After saying this, Bingkala nonchalantly laid itself on the Gondola’s prow, lazily raising its head and stretched out a paw to point in a direction: "Malaya Ice Mountain is that way."
Speedy began following Bingkala’s guidance, restarting the Gondola.
On the journey to Malaya Ice Mountain, under Lyon’s indication, Lobal started conversing with Bingkala.
As the conversation unfolded, Lyon learned that Bingkala agreed to guide them not just because of Lobal but also because it was heading back to Malaya Ice Mountain itself.
The ice mountain it had been on was originally part of Malaya Ice Mountain. However, a few days ago, due to some unforeseen events, it detached from Malaya Ice Mountain and drifted across the sea.
It had been slumbering in its domain, woke up to find itself adrift. Being somewhat lazy in nature, Bingkala intended to drift a few days to see if the ice mountain would naturally return to Malaya Ice Mountain. As it drifted further, Lobal’s timely appearance and learning of its destination led Bingkala to decisively choose to guide them, practically hitching a ride back.