The mastermind behind the civil war that engulfed the entire empire, Isabella, was on the verge of victory but was brought down by her own arrogance, biting off her own wings and plummeting.
No one could have predicted such a sudden end.
However, even though the mastermind was gone, the aftermath of her actions didn’t just fade away.
The empire was still groaning under countless threats.
======[North]======
Blood scattered on the freezing rocks steamed and froze.
The screams of people and the howls of beasts melted into the blizzard.
The Northern Wall.
Not as massive as the Berengeiria in the east, but a barrier that had held back the Suin for centuries.
The limit of human territory.
Now, it had turned into a brutal battlefield where death raged.
“Monster, you brat…”
Freide, gritting her teeth, forced down the blood rising in her throat.
Around her, broken weapons lay scattered. Spears were snapped, chains were broken, and daggers were shattered into pieces.
Even the saw she held was only half intact.
“Freide, senior! We need to retreat! This is too much…!”
Damien, who had just sliced a Suin in half with his greatsword, shouted urgently. He too was in the midst of a fierce battle.
His entire body was soaked in blood, steaming, and the saw teeth on his blade were clogged with Suin flesh and blood.
Milia was nowhere to be seen, but she was probably in the back, pulling her bowstring so hard her fingers might fall off.
“Dammit…!”
Freide bit her lip. Even without Damien pointing it out, she knew it well.
The situation was dire. No, it was already a defeat.
From the moment that thing appeared.
“Woooooooooooh!”
A wolf Suin, its white fur dyed red, howled at the sky.
It stomped on a torn-off head, splattering it, and swung entrails like a cape.
The Winter Wolf, Ryurik.
The king of the Suin had returned and was reigning over the Northern Wall.
—
Duver’s strategy of infiltrating the Sky Mountains in squad units for reconnaissance and skirmishes had caused significant damage but had worked to some extent.
Every time people died in droves, the number of Suin also steadily decreased.
Even if fifty imperial soldiers died, taking down one pureblood warrior was considered a gain.
Though in reality, the casualties were more than double, making it a struggle just to hold on.
In the midst of this hellish winter battle, the skills of Freide and the other two rapidly improved.
The determination to throw Hachal into icy water also grew stronger. Now, they joked about burying her in an ice coffin.
About ten days later, as the Suin’s guerrilla tactics nearly disappeared, Duver called the troops back to the Northern Wall. He judged that sufficient results had been achieved.
He expected the Suin, having reached their limit in guerrilla warfare, to launch a full-scale assault, and his prediction was correct.
The only miscalculation was underestimating the enemy’s means.
It wasn’t Duver’s fault.
The Suin who launched the assault brought a means no one could have predicted.
When catapults were deployed in the midst of the Suin army, the soldiers on the Northern Wall weren’t too worried.
The Northern Wall was different. Reinforced over a long time in the harsh northern cold, the wall was as strong as steel. Breaking it with rocks or ice was impossible.
But the ammunition the Suin prepared wasn’t rocks.
When the white wolf Suin climbed onto the catapult, the imperial soldiers couldn’t hide their confusion.
When it launched with a thud, they were utterly shocked.
Those crazy monsters were launching their king with a catapult!
—
The attack began in such an absurd manner.
The imperial army couldn’t even think of a response.
The white wolf, flying in a parabolic arc, landed on the wall without any hindrance.
No, it wasn’t a landing.
It was more like a collision.
A creature of flesh and bone couldn’t survive such a fall.
Ryurik was no exception. When the dazed imperial soldiers looked up at the wall, the king of the Suin was left with only part of his upper body.
He managed to land on his feet, but the lower half of his torso had completely burst from the impact.
Even a pureblood Suin or a grand warrior wouldn’t survive such a fatal wound. It was an act only a madman would attempt.
But…
“Khh… It’s more dizzying than I thought.”
Ryurik, blood dripping from his mouth, bared his fangs and smiled.
From the broken cross-section of his upper body, flesh and bone surged forth.
As if rewinding time, his body rapidly regenerated!
It was an unbelievable sight.
No matter how great a Suin’s regenerative powers were, they couldn’t recover from losing 80% of their body in an instant.
But the Suin king, who should have died immediately, stood up with a fully recovered body and flexed his claws.
In this place…
No one knew the truth, but… the destruction of the Holy Grail had thinned the barrier that spanned the entire world more than ever before.
Thanks to this, some had reached the realm of heroes, but it wasn’t just humanity that benefited.
The thinning of the barrier meant that all life on earth now had the opportunity to reach higher places.
Even the Suin, trapped at the limits of their great warriors, could now take a step beyond.
This was not a “Heroic Epic.”
It was a blessing meant solely for humans.
The only Suin to transcend the great warrior, Ryurik.
The realm he reached was a power closer to the essence of the Suin.
Strength. Ferocity. Stamina. Regeneration.
His body was evolving into a new stage, surpassing even the great warriors of the Suin.
For the soldiers gathered at the northern wall, it was a tragedy.
“Your era is over, humans…!”
The howling of wolves echoed across the northern wall.
Pale-faced soldiers, overwhelmed by fear, dropped their weapons.
And then.
A winter storm surged toward them.
Like an unstoppable avalanche.
—
The northern wall had fallen.
Ryurik, standing atop the barrier, was a disaster that no one could stop.
Silver weapons were useless, and even the mixed weapons of Jin shattered against his ferocious beastly strength.
The Imperial Army, dispatched to the north, threw everything they had but couldn’t stop him.
No, they couldn’t even hold him back.
“Dammit, dammit…! Me, in a place like this…!”
Duver, unable to flee due to his position, cursed as he and other masters had no choice but to face the winter wolf.
He drove his sword into Ryurik’s thigh, only to have his head torn off in return.
The five masters who fought alongside him also fell one by one, leaving only wounds that Ryurik would soon recover from.
Meanwhile, the Suin, led by their great warriors, began climbing the northern wall and engaging the Imperial soldiers in battle.
The Imperial Army fought valiantly, but… their morale, already at rock bottom, couldn’t be turned around.
“…Princess Pailun. We’ll buy as much time as we can. Regroup the troops and retreat. We’ve lost this battle… we must prepare for the next.”
The last remaining master, 1st Legion Commander Georg, stepped forward, gripping his longsword and spear.
His shoulder bore a deep wound, bone exposed, and one cheek was torn off, but… as long as his body moved, he could fight to the end.
“Now, you’re telling the daughter of the north, with the Suin army right before her eyes, to abandon the northern wall and flee in shame?! If it’s to buy time for retreat, it’s better to have two masters than one!”
Freide was determined to fight to the end.
Her left arm was crushed, and all her weapons were broken, leaving her with only a half-shattered saw-toothed sword.
But Georg shook his head and stopped her.
“Losing the northern wall that Pailun has protected for centuries is already something we must apologize to Duke Valdemar for. If we lose his daughter too, we won’t be able to hold our heads high even in the afterlife. This is an order. Retreat to Pailun Castle and request reinforcements from the Imperial family. The enemy in this invasion… was a monster beyond imagination.”
Before Freide could respond, Georg charged toward Ryurik.
“Imperial Knight Order! Escort Princess Pailun and retreat! As long as we live, we will find a chance to counterattack!”
The final command of the 1st Legion Commander.
The knights of the Empire, tears streaming down their faces as they watched Georg run toward his death against orders to survive, faithfully carried out his last wish.
“Let go! Let me go!”
“Princess Pailun! We must retreat! With all the legion commanders fallen, you are the only one with the authority to command the remaining troops!”
Freide resisted fiercely, but her exhausted body couldn’t shake off the knights holding her back.
Damien, following the knights’ signals, knocked her out with a blow to the back of her head. Milia hoisted the limp Freide onto her back.
As Ryurik turned his gaze toward the fleeing Pailun, a sharp slash flew toward his neck.
Ryurik blocked Georg’s sword with his claws and smirked coldly at him.
“Buying time… admirable courage. So, how long do you think you can last with that tired body?”
“Until my last breath!”
With the final burst of his life, the 1st Legion Commander of the Imperial Knight Order fought relentlessly against an enemy he could never defeat.
Bleeding, scattering his entrails, in a desperate and glorious battle.
All the life he had lived was poured into the edge of his blade.
Until all the Imperial troops had retreated from the northern wall.
Until his heart stopped beating.
