Volume 1, Chapter 43

Fort Garros,

As a strategic stronghold on the outskirts of Windward City designed to resist Abyssal Demon invasions, this place was naturally stationed with a massive army and countless magical weapons. Since the anomalous phenomenon occurred within the Deepwinter Forest, Fort Garros had entered a SSS-level state of alert for the first time in a century. The entire fortress had shifted into combat mode, permeated by a tense and oppressive atmosphere. Every soldier was on high alert, ready to respond to an Abyssal Demon attack at any moment.

While many soldiers felt fear, many others were unusually excited; the results of decades of training were finally about to be put to the test!

However, more than a week had passed since the alert began.

During this time, they hadn’t seen even a glimpse of an Abyssal Demon, let alone a magical beast. The Abyssal Demons lingered as usual on the edges of Deepwinter Forest, and the interior of the forest remained incredibly peaceful, with no signs of an impending assault.

As the saying goes: “A first drum restores spirit, a second reduces it, and a third exhausts it.”

Such a long period of calm led the soldiers to doubt the accuracy of the intelligence from Windward City. Would the Abyssal Demons really attack? Even if they did, surely it wouldn’t be here?

Influenced by these thoughts and the previous period of high-intensity nervous tension, the soldiers’ vigilance had noticeably slackened over the past few days…

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the soldiers; even the fort commander, Krimde, was no longer filled with the same murderous intent as before. Today, standing atop the fortress walls, Krimde even indulged in a few small drinks, gazing boredly at the distant horizon.

“Sigh, it seems today will be peaceful as well,” Krimde grumbled to himself.

With the commander-in-chief acting this way, it was no wonder the tens of thousands of soldiers were slacking off.

Just as Krimde was leisurely enjoying his fine wine, a sentry nearby suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

“Eh?? What… what is that? Lord Krimde! People are rushing here from the north!”

“Hmm? People?”

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Hearing this, Krimde raised an eyebrow, looking north with curiosity.

Dozens of Ashurmos Church knights in silver armor, riding sturdy horses, had appeared on a small hill on the horizon, galloping desperately toward the fortress!

???

Hmm?

Seeing this, Krimde wore a look of realization.

Hmph. People from the north. He wondered who it was, but it was just those boring Ashurmos Church knights.

Are those people strapped to their backs slaves?

It seems their rescue mission went quite smoothly.

Wait… if it went so smoothly, why are they in such a panic right now?

After observing the terrified expressions on the knights’ faces through his telescope, countless question marks popped up in Krimde’s mind.

“What’s the situation?” he asked himself.

His question was answered soon enough.

Just as Krimde was curiously watching the disheveled knights of the Ashurmos Church, a horrifying wave of aura burst into his range of perception, causing his pupils to contract sharply.

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Something no one could have anticipated happened.

“ROOOOAR!!!”

What? That sound?!

Krimde’s pupils shrank violently.

In the next instant, accompanied by low, terrifying roars of fierce beasts, an immense, sickening pressure like death itself suddenly swept across the landscape from the horizon, crashing toward Fort Garros.

The previously relaxed atmosphere was instantly shattered by this sudden, overwhelming power! It wasn’t just Krimde; every soldier felt an unprecedented sense of trembling!

A heart-shuddering, intense premonition of disaster surfaced in Krimde’s mind. His gaze no longer lingered on the Ashurmos Church knights but stretched into the distance.

Beneath the azure sky, atop the hills connecting the snow-white plains, a plume of black mist suddenly erupted.

Following closely behind the Ashurmos Church knights, a massive black creature suddenly entered everyone’s sight, snapping at the heels of the squad.

?!!

“That… that is… an Abyssal Demon?!”

Following the appearance of the first Abyssal Demon, a second appeared, then a third, a hundred, a thousand…

In an instant, under Krimde’s horrified gaze, accompanied by the spreading of terrifying, deep black smoke and low, oppressive growls, endless, bizarre creatures of all shapes and sizes charged down from the hills behind the Ashurmos Church knights!

Chilling killing intent, eerie black mist, and stampeding, bloodthirsty monsters converged into waves of darkness, surging toward the fortress like a burst dam! It looked as if they would swallow the entire Fort Garros whole. Among the Abyssal Demons, there were even dozens of massive sixth tier entities! Compared to those behemoths, the fortress walls seemed tiny and insignificant.

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“I… I… must be f*cking dreaming!”

At that moment, Krimde’s previously composed face became hideously distorted by extreme shock. He looked like he had seen a ghost, his mouth hanging open so wide he could have stuffed a football inside.

“No… this… this is impossible! How can there be so many Abyssal Demons?!”

In his decades as fortress commander, he had seen Abyssal Demon attacks before.

But usually, only a few stray ones would come. Even a terrifying Abyssal Demon tide would only consist of a few hundred!

But now? There were already thousands, if not tens of thousands!

What is going on?!

Krimde let out a hysterical internal roar, his body trembling. He crushed the iron wine cup in his hand into a ball. Feeling the bone-chilling aura washing over him from the distance, Krimde stumbled backward.

Finally, his legs gave out, and he collapsed pathetically onto the ground in front of his soldiers.

“Lord Krimde! What… what do we do now?!”

A woman who appeared to be an adjutant ran over in a frenzy, asking urgently.

Hearing that familiar voice, Krimde finally snapped out of his mental stupor. He used the nearby wall to scramble back to his feet.

“What do we do? Prepare for battle, of course!”

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With a roar, Krimde looked at the surrounding soldiers with a grimace.

“What are you standing around for?! Prepare for battle! Bring out the magic power convergence cannons! Activate all defensive magic arrays! Also, fire the signal flares! Call for reinforcements! NOW!!!”

With Krimde’s hysterical shout, the entire Fort Garros erupted into chaos. A cloud of death loomed over the fortress, and every soldier and resident felt an unprecedented sense of dread…

In the distance, within the military barracks of Windward City, Xiumu Duke, the Frontier Marquis, took a deep breath as he saw the black signal flare shooting into the sky. The officers beside him also wore expressions of indescribable gravity.

Black signal flares were not used lightly.

It was the most urgent call for help, meaning the fortress was facing a catastrophic disaster and required immediate support from other forts and the main city. In history, black signal flares had only been used twice…

And this time…

Fort Garros was guarded by seventy thousand regular troops and was one of the strongest strongholds on the Snownight Empire’s Northern Frontier! For them to be so desperate as to fire a black flare, the situation was undoubtedly grim.

“Lord Marquis, what should we do?”

A black-haired male knight walked up to Xiumu and asked solemnly.

In response, Xiumu looked toward Fort Garros with resolve. He slowly donned his silver helmet and drew his waist-mounted sword.

“Assemble the Blizzard Knight Order immediately. Follow me to the rescue!”

Author Note

PS: The wolf cub’s butt will “bloom”, but not just yet.