*
The Northern Grand Duchess and her reinforcements were busy searching for the Avatar of Rage.
A blanket of white snow had transformed the entire world into a pure snowy landscape.
In that place, four figures were crossing paths with a horde of approaching monsters.
Even gentle creatures like deer and rabbits, seemingly affected by the Avatar’s power, charged at them to bite.
“It’s dangerous if we get surrounded!”
The strategist Grand Duchess began to take command. It was the moment her quick and sharp mind shone.
“Hahaha! I know!!”
Drake pulled out his long sword, as tall as himself, from behind and laughed loudly, halting the monsters’ advance.
The swordsmanship used by the Dragon Slayer was slightly different from Licht’s. It felt like a modification of what he originally used.
“Shadow Slash!!”
After all, he was the founder of the Drake Style and had once told Licht how to apply it this way.
Though not as powerful as an ultimate move, it was a reinforcement of the ‘concept’ that cuts through dark targets, damaging the bright ones.
“That should do for the front!!”
With a horizontal sweeping attack, the monsters right in front of them disappeared like candles in the wind.
“Thank you, Dragon Slayer!”
“Being the daughter of the Iron-Blooded Duke, no need for thanks!”
The Northern Grand Duchess, swinging a spear with an ice tip, blocked the bear and wolf’s bites and claws, her long black hair flying.
“Sophie, be careful.”
“Thanks, Pina.”
Next to her, Princess Pina Grancia was creating glass clones to defend. The transparent clones struck with swift swishes.
“..As expected, you’re Rock’s daughter.”
Seeing the heavily armored knights defend the flank in droves, Asha Aureus whispered under her breath.
Her power resembled that of Emperor Rock, who she had seen in war, turning even solid ice golems into powder in an instant.
It seemed unbelievable that such strength could come from a slender girl, but if she was of the bloodline of the Ten Heroes, it was somewhat plausible.
Nex had a natural talent for spirit magic, but he just hadn’t awakened it yet.
“Helios Midnight.”
Asha conjured a huge sun in the air, causing the surrounding monsters to back off, unable to withstand the heat.
“It should be okay until here.”
The golden Phoenix spirit was roaming the northern defenses, preventing any enemies from descending, so she could only use weaker techniques.
It would have been better to use the Phoenix’s cradle as before when Licht’s party arrived, but that would limit her movement.
Ultimately, unless they dealt with the Avatar, it would become a war of attrition. The living sun was stuck in the rear, unable to use the spirit properly.
At that moment, golden wolf eyes inside a glass helmet detected something strange.
“Sophie, something’s off about these guys.”
“Pina? What’s weird?”
It seemed slightly odd even for angered monsters, as Pina noticed that they didn’t assault them like a trained army.
They looked like low-level rabble, yet they charged at a steady speed. Moreover, they didn’t fight among themselves.
“There’s someone giving them orders.”
“You thought so too, huh?”
Hearing this, the Grand Duchess felt a bad premonition as she drooped the ears of a black bear.
“After all, they tried to destroy the walls of Caprostia.”
It was suspicious from the start when they tried to break through the northern walls by headbutting them. If they were merely enraged, they wouldn’t have come down from the mountain.
“If these guys stir up trouble in the northern realm, it could be dangerous…”
Sophtia, who sensed this in advance, spoke up. Her movements with the spear became more rapid.
“..That’s also why I called for help from the empire.”
She assumed the basic stance Licht had shown previously, and immediately transitioned into a downward strike.
“White Bear Slam.”
Crack! An ice-sculpted bear was created at the tip of Sophia Coldheart’s spear, and that pure white bear scratched the ground fiercely, wounding the enemies.
It was a large attack that shook the ground, yet the onslaught did not show any signs of letting up.
“Pina, the surrounding area should be cleared by now.”
Asha’s spirit magic, Drake’s swordsmanship, Pina’s glass magic, and her own spear techniques were facing monsters that charged without fearing death.
“But no!! These guys don’t know the fear of death!! Just like my junior!!”
“…Licht.”
As the Grand Sword Master unleashed multiple strikes similar to the Reverse Scale Stab, it was not enough to deter the raging monsters that continued to surge forward despite the growing pile of corpses.
“Asha, let’s ignite this area.”
“Understood, Grand Duchess.”
Sophtia took out a small vial from her pocket. It looked like a hip flask for liquor. With a click, the cap opened.
“Vodka smell, Sophie.”
The keen-nosed Inrang Tribe princess Pina detected the contents inside.
“So what? Unlike before, we’re adults now, right, Pina?”
Vodka. The northern people sometimes drank strong liquor to forget the cold.
“I prefer beer…”
Pina, realizing this fact, made the Northern Grand Duchess chuckle slightly. Though Pina felt a strange sense of alienation from that expression,
“Dragon Slayer, catch this!”
With that, the Grand Duchess promptly tossed the liquor bottle in front of Drake, leaving no time to consider the sudden change.
“Hahaha! I know this!”
To utilize a slightly altered technique of Void Slash, Drake reestablished his stance. The weakness of his swordsmanship was his long preparation time and required preliminary movements.
“Sky Tyrant Slice!!”
Unlike what Licht used, a wind blade flew resembling a dragon. Dragons with multiple heads appeared like a Hydra.
“Drake, I’ve said it before, but send a signal.”
The liquor bottle previously thrown by the Northern Grand Duchess was sliced through as if by paper, and its contents scattered forward on the wind.
“My brain and muscles don’t sync very well.”
Asha Aureus snapped her fingers, summoning a small flame. At the same moment, a little sparrow flew like a phoenix.
“Phoenix Ignition.”
Whoosh. Golden feathers scattered in the air, blending the two techniques. The wind blades transformed into flames, burning the monsters ahead all at once.
“It’s dangerous. The fire spreads…”
As flying embers shot off in odd directions causing fires, Pina blocked them with a glass wall, successfully containing the monster onslaught that kept surging towards them, inadequately converting their rage into self-destructive flames.
Finally catching a moment to catch their breath,
“Pina, you seem different somehow.”
“You too, Sophie. Same goes for you.”
The Northern Grand Duchess observed Pina closely, her bear ears perked up with curiosity. Not to be outdone, the princess noticed the changes in the girl’s behavior and rebutted.
“Busted? Someone new arrived in the north.”
A smile unlike Sophtia’s normally icy demeanor.
“..Who is it?”
Seeing that made Pina feel a slight sense of kinship. A friend who once seemed cold all of a sudden looked brighter.
Had it not been for Licht, who bore the helm of the Black Knight, she might have been a lonely, sad figure just like the memories she held.
“He’s a strange guy who’s incredibly good at chess, I guess?”
“A strange guy..?”
Having difficulty processing Sophtia’s suddenly changed demeanor, Pina tilted her head, trying to figure out who this person was.
A man good at chess, so it’s definitely not Licht. He never played chess when he was with her and didn’t seem like he knew the Northern Grand Duchess either.
The glass knight, about to let jealousy bubble up, managed to calm herself down.
“Right, I thought he was just a bear of a guy camping in my palace and wasting food.”
Sophtia was watching the organized monsters while she recalled the man stuck firmly in her memory and smiled.
“When I invited him to dinner to poison him… he said something weird.”
“Sophie, you weren’t thinking of doing that again..?”
She spoke of something terrifying that didn’t match her face. Pina shivered, wrapping her shoulders with her arms.
In this way, Sophtia Coldheart, feeling someone wasn’t on her side, would take measures to deal with them.
Having lost her father in the wars of the past, she had quickly turned cold towards humanity.
“At first, I thought the Avatar was at the top. Pina.”
She explained that the monsters usually residing at the summit didn’t come down to the foot of the mountain for no other reason. But Sophtia shook her head.
“But then that guy said, ‘The Avatar of Rage might be using bait or something’.”
“Huh? Sophie…? Over there…”
Pina pointed with her finger at a large fire surrounding a cave that was revealed. Monsters didn’t leap out from inside.
“After exchanging opinions, we amalgamated. He’s probably hiding in some deep, safe area in the mountain.”
Only strong enemies were stationed around, as if they were protecting that spot.
“Looks like it turned out just like he said…”
Finally understanding, the Northern Grand Duchess nodded. She assessed her opponent and concluded that she could deal with it if they launched a surprise attack.
“Anyway, after saying that, I stuffed poisoned food into his mouth. I tried to tell him right away, but it was too late.”
“Yikes, what now..?”
She signaled to Drake and Asha while gesturing toward the cave, preparing the Northern Grand Duchess to enter.
“He collapsed right at the table, and I barely managed to detox him.”
“Sophie, that’s harsh…”
“Me? Haha, Pina, you didn’t see him in action.”
The enraged monsters couldn’t cross due to the glass walls and flames. While she watched that scene, she chuckled lightly.
“Turns out he was a madman who noticed the poison and still ate it, doesn’t that sound crazy?”
“…”
“The poison I, the Grand Duchess, served is a reward, or so he said…. Anyway, what a strange guy.”
Though her expression frowned as if recalling that memory, a slight smile was etched on her lips. It didn’t seem like an unpleasant memory.
“..He’s similar to Licht.”
“And then he suddenly claimed to fix my heart and left the north completely, what a dumbass.”
Sophtia thrust her spear strongly into the ground again, showcasing the authority of the ruler governing the Iron-Blooded Realm.
“I’m fine, though. I have no idea what he’s doing right now. Seriously.”
With a squelching sound, an ice flower bloomed, freezing the high-level monsters blocking the cave’s entrance.
“Earlier, he was talking about a hero named Licht or something. Pina.”
“What..? Really?”
Leaving behind the transformed ice sculpture monsters, she stepped into the endlessly dark cave.
“The one who looks like a Black Knight is crazier than himself, so be careful.”
“Crazier than the guy you mentioned?”
The black-haired girl with a ponytail disparaged a certain Black Knight who wasn’t present here.
“Yep, that’s why I tested him last time.”
Pina puffed her cheeks inside the glass helmet, feeling irked at the idea of someone dear to her being insulted,
“Because we can’t have any perverts around our noble princess.”
“That’s… sort of right.”
Since it was true in a way, she couldn’t help but agree.
