On the outskirts of the slums, Herbert saw a temple that wasn't extravagantly decorated, a three-story building made entirely of ice and snow.

Compared to the divine halls of other pantheons, which like to use golden marble structures, the temple of the Ice and Snow Goddess followed the style of the Natural Pantheon, appearing quite simple.

But if you look closely, you can see the truth within—simple yet not plain.

The Ice and Snow Goddess Church is not poor.

Their followers, as explorers of the winter ice and snow, are able to discover many rare ingredients and materials that can be easily sold for high prices in many places.

Moreover, there aren't many followers, so there's no need to spend a lot on charity.

The main walls of the temple are built with thick, opaque dark blue ice blocks that are cut from the purest lake water and transported over hundreds of miles.

The ice blocks are seamlessly joined, forming a cohesive whole, with naturally formed patterns on the ice walls, resembling wind-carved marks or mysterious runes left by the Ice and Snow Goddess.

The dome is covered by a thin layer of snow, like a sliding white satin, with several icicles standing at the smooth tips.

The sanctuary's emblem is a petite female figure entirely cast from ice and snow, with a snow pine standing behind her.

Herbert diverted his gaze from the female on the emblem and focused on the snow pine—that was one of the incarnations of the God of Cold Winter.

The meaning of this emblem is simple, denoting His image and the affiliated faction and nominal protector.

Herbert nodded slightly to the emblem, following another young priestess into the temple—previously, one had run off with a flushed face after realizing she had misspoken, unable to be stopped despite calls.

The young priestess stopped after entering the temple, turned around, and gently lifted her skirt to Herbert, bowing, "Sir White Dove, please wait here; I will inform the Bishop of your visit."

"Alright, thank you for your help."

Herbert nodded and smiled, then subtly signaled to Valentina, who was itching to explore and touch, to hold back, shaking his head slightly at her.

Don't touch if you don't want to buy it!

"Hmph!"

Miss Hungry Dragon rolled her eyes at him, pouting as she removed her hand from the mini ice dragon sculpture—if she had been a moment later, she would have snapped it off to munch like an ice pop.

"..."

Nun Kaplan watched their silent interaction, feeling a strange sensation.

Though there was no concrete evidence, she felt that the relationship between these two... seemed to have grown much closer during the past half month of absence.

Truly no evidence, but just a subtle feeling—a woman's intuition!

And Nun Kaplan didn't know that though Valentina's outward demeanor seemed fine, she was currently throwing a coquettish smile at Herbert, licking her lips seductively.

She was full now.

But she was also hungry.

During the ten days Herbert was absent from Frost Crystal Royal City, others thought he was scheming in secret, lurking like a snake in the shadows.

But only he knew how much effort, energy, and dedication he had poured in during that time!

Exhausting himself daily, debating strategies just to... ensure the final plan was flawless.

There was an advantage to this; his physical body was significantly enhanced under the high-pressure training, and his proficiency in various skills improved greatly.

But there was a downside: it made Miss Hungry Dragon, who already loved sticking close, cling to him completely after getting a taste.

Whenever there was time, she would get all over him, leaving everything... covered in drool.

People liking cats is normal, so a giant dragon liking people is also normal, and leaving some drool while doing so is reasonable as well.

Very reasonable!

Herbert's eyebrows twitched at the increasingly unrestrained Valentina, forcing himself to maintain a poker face, barely avoiding revealing his wavering to Nun Kaplan.

He would deal with this troublemaker properly later!

The torturous wait didn't last long, as the young priestess returned to the grand hall shortly after, nodding to Herbert.

"Sir White Dove, please follow me along with the other two."

Through the grand hall where holy water fountains were gushing, the three followed the priestess to the prayer room at the back of the Ice and Snow Divine Hall.

Under the giant statue of the Ice and Snow Goddess, a figure was respectfully kneeling there, with a stream of sunlight from the skylight illuminating her, making her graceful form appear exceptionally sacred.

She had frosty blue hair like snow, and even in a kneeling position, her graceful posture was evident, with a skimpy outfit clinging tightly to her slender figure, outlining beautiful curves.

The robe's fabric was extremely thin, as though woven from threads of ice and snow, exposing a large portion of her pale back.

If the young priestess merely seemed like an elf maiden emerging from snow and ice, the bishop before him was a genuine elf.

Indeed, she was.

Herbert's gaze swept over her pointed ears, confirming her identity—this was a Snow Elf.

"Milords."

The Ice and Snow Bishop slowly rose upon hearing the call from behind her, glanced at the three behind her, and her gaze lingered momentarily on Herbert's face before swiftly settling on Valentina.

"Could it be that you are 'Sir Crimson Wings'?"

Valentina: ?

She blinked, unsure why the other woman suddenly spoke to her.

What for?

Indeed, 'Crimson Wings' was not actually a title meant for Herbert; the young priestess just happened to bring it up.

It was a title given to Valentina—or more accurately, to the terrifying giant dragon that appeared in Frost Crystal Royal City that day.

Over the course of nearly a month, Valentina's legend had been drifting in an increasingly bizarre direction among the populace, becoming more exaggerated.

Some even claimed the crimson dragon wings could envelop the entire Kingdom!

Compared to Herbert's arrival, this Ice and Snow Goddess's bishop was more intrigued by the Crimson Wings.

Yet seeing Valentina ignore her, the bishop wasn't disheartened, choosing instead to smile again at Herbert, nodding, "Ice and Snow Goddess Church, Bishop, Laila."

"Sir White Dove, I have actually been wanting to meet you."

Oh, a woman.

Claiming to want to meet him, yet her eyes were clearly on my hungry dragon!

"Bishop Laila, haha, I've also wanted to meet you."

Herbert smiled and nodded, graciously giving a brief introduction for the three of them.

After a simple exchange of pleasantries, Bishop Laila got straight to the point:

"I wonder what brings the three of you to see me today? Is there something you need my help with?"

"We're here to help you."

Herbert calmly and confidently said with a smile:

"We've come to propose cooperation with your end."

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