Chapter 782: Act 134 – Breaking the Cocoon
A small team of Cruzian Knights descended the steep icy cliffs, slowly approaching Julian’s body. The corpse was pinned to the ground at a strange angle by the immense impact of an arrow; this undead creature had long since perished, its eye sockets dark and void, with the flame of its soul extinguished.
The leading knight let out a sigh, his warm breath weaving a thin white mist in the cold canyon, quickly merging with the swirling ice fog around them.
The wolf pack had long since retreated, leaving behind some carcasses, bloodied, and broken arrows scattered everywhere. The canyon was hauntingly quiet, and though he ought to have confirmed Julian’s death and reported back immediately, this eerie silence compelled him to glance around cautiously.
In a daze, he seemed to see something standing deep in the canyon—a beast the size of a foal stood behind the mist, its fur moving without a breeze.
He was startled and stared intently, only to find nothing there. What he thought was a beast turned out to be merely the fog swirling in the ravine, yet still, he could not help but break into a cold sweat.
After the brief ambush, the canyon had sunk into this strange atmosphere; the current situation felt even more terrifying than when they had been pursued by the wolf pack. The knight captain took a gentle breath, seemingly preparing to steady his emotions. After all, he was a member of the Broken Sword Knights, a distinguished young generation among the Cruzian people; it would be too embarrassing to admit being frightened by a silent canyon.
But just as he was about to exhale, he realized that something felt amiss around him.
“C-Captain…”
A stammering voice came from behind him, that of his subordinate. The knight suddenly looked up and found a pair of cold, yellowish eyes staring back at him.
……
“Wolves—!”
Xiao Peiluo, Brendel, and Nemeses were quietly waiting for comforting news to come from below, but what they received instead was a panicked scream.
With a soft sound, a silver-maned monster leaped down from somewhere, landing before them all. The Pale Son within Freya felt her inner restlessness and unease turn into reality in an instant.
Everyone knew Julian had advanced accompanied by the winter wolves, and it was that silver creature controlling the Pale Son.
One, two, three, more monsters rained down from above, surrounding this team of Cruzian knights. They neither growled threateningly nor rushed in; they merely circled around, raising their heads, cold gazes fixed upon the humans.
In their eyes was an intelligence that should not belong to beasts, yet precisely because of that, it sent chills down the spine.
Freya was the first to react; she raised her head, her light brown pupils narrowing against the dawn, and indeed saw several white figures appearing on the gleaming edge of the glacier above.
At some point, those Pale Sons had already made their way above them. This meant that while they had confidently ambushed Julian, these monsters had already begun to encircle them.
How could this be?
Since the second half of last night, these Pale Sons and the silver beast had not appeared, and everyone had assumed they had separated from Julian. But now it seemed they had arrived here ahead of them.
A chill ran through the heart of the girl from Buche. Could it be that the Broken Sword Knights had lied to her? But what benefit would that be to them?
She shook her head vigorously to dismiss such a ridiculous thought; the Cruzian people were now in the same boat as her and were unlikely to lie about such matters. This meant their scouts truly hadn’t seen the Pale Sons behind the winter wolves.
She couldn’t help but glance at Brendel beside her, who also appeared pale. Clearly, he had thought of this point too; after Anika’s death, he had become the team leader of the scouts in the Broken Sword Knights, and it was evidently his responsibility that had faltered.
“Black Blade.” Brendel growled in anger.
“Captain, this isn’t my fault! I swear by the name of the Flame King that I absolutely didn’t see any Pale Sons among the winter wolves… aside from the four around Julian,” the called-out knight explained, looking aggrieved.
“It’s not his fault,” Freya said, seeing their reactions, and she took a breath of relief, quickly interrupting the quarrel. “These monsters have already circled above us, which indicates they must have arrived before Julian. But that doesn’t make sense; why would they watch Julian go to his death?”
“I don’t know; perhaps that silver beast has some conflict with Julian,” Arleigh suggested, pressing on a wound as he looked at the monsters surrounding them, shrugging.
That was one possibility, but Freya instinctively felt that this wasn’t the truth of the matter.
“Monsters, so many of them!” a cry echoed from far below the canyon. “Xiao Peiluo, Brendel, Commander, be careful, they’re coming at you!”
Then came the sound of fierce combat, the clash between humans and beasts intertwining.
The front row of all Cruzian knights instinctively raised their swords, the blades glinting brightly in the cold air, facing off against the looming white teeth of the monstrous wolves not far away.
The next moment, a scream suddenly pierced through the crowd. Everyone turned around, only to see a Pale Son that had somehow entered their midst, biting off the arm of a Broken Sword Knight.
The knight, clutching his bleeding severed arm, retaliated with a sword thrust into the Pale Son’s left eye. The beast let out a mournful cry and hastily pulled back.
Nearby knights rushed forward to protect their companion.
“Be careful, they can turn invisible!” the knight with the severed arm shouted through gritted teeth.
Everyone’s faces changed dramatically.
“Keep an eye on your surroundings!” Freya shouted, remembering the tactics she had observed in the forest when facing the invisible spirits. Instinct told her that these invisible monsters likely fought in a similar manner.
Sure enough, a massive beast suddenly manifested on her left side, as if a flowing transparent liquid appeared in the air and opened its giant mouth, lunging at her.
But it hadn’t even managed to bite her before a sapphire light emerged on Freya’s armor, forcefully blocking the sharp teeth beyond the luminous barrier.
“Queen Wind’s Half-Armor!” Brendel gasped quietly.
At that moment, Nemeses stepped forward and stabbed her sword into the bewildered beast’s throat. Ever since that night when she encountered the crystal stag alongside Brendel, her progress, aided by the strength of the elemental stone, had soared. The golden flames within her burned fiercely, ready to give birth to the gleam of an element—this strike, entirely deserving of a Lady Knight’s recent rapid advancement, was accompanied by a faintly perceptible dark aura at the blade’s tip. It tore through the dark magical defenses covering the Pale Son’s exterior and pierced straight through its throat.
The massive wolf seemed unprepared for such an easy demise; it struggled for a moment before crashing down.
“This is the armor he sent you,” Nemeses said as she withdrew her sword from the wolf’s mouth, wiping it on the silver mane, and asked.
“Hmm…”
“Though Queen Wind’s Half-Armor is standard gear, its current value is immense. It looks like he cares a lot for you,” Nemeses replied pointedly, casting a meaningful glance at Freya, whose heart raced.
Freya let out a gentle breath. If it hadn’t been for Queen Wind’s Half-Armor, just now that bite from the giant wolf would have struck her entire right shoulder, shoulder blade, and upper arm. She could almost imagine the icy sensation of teeth piercing her flesh, a certain death.
Brendel had saved her once again; she had lost count of how many times she owed him.
She tightened her grip on her sword, coming back to herself, turning her head away to avoid the strangely suggestive look from her senior. She felt as if there was something else implied in that gaze, leaving her uncertain of how to respond.
Meanwhile, the knights were already engaged in fierce combat with the Pale Sons. The sudden attack from the Pale Sons had cost the Cruzian knights dearly, but it must be said that if Freya hadn’t warned them earlier, they would have faced a situation far worse than mere heavy losses.
Even so, the Broken Sword Knights were dispersed by the suddenly appearing monsters. The Pale Sons revealed from invisibility surged from all directions. These nightmares of the winter lands were nothing like their weaker kin; as dusk-born beings, even after a millennium of decline, they still retained power levels from the peak of silver to the early stage of gold. The Cruzian knights quickly found themselves embroiled in a bitter struggle against these formidable foes.
Or rather, to say it was a bitter struggle felt somewhat inadequate; from the outset, the young Broken Sword Knights had been forced into retreat, gradually losing their organization and connection. Freya, along with Nemeses, was soon separated; beside her were only Arleigh and Brendel, and even Xiao Peiluo had vanished from sight.
“Commander, which direction should we break through?” Arleigh squinted and asked.
Freya shook her head; the only choice available to them was to gather towards the center of the canyon, hoping to regroup with the others there.
“I still can’t figure out where these cursed things are coming from,” Brendel cursed softly. “Black Blade couldn’t have made a mistake, and if that silver beast was nearby, how could it have watched Julian die? Even if they have conflicts, it could easily kill us—why play this game of hide-and-seek with us?”
“I’ve heard cats enjoy playing with their mice,” Arleigh replied.
“It’s not a cat, and we’re not mice,” Brendel retorted grumpily.
Freya listened to their exchange, furrowing her brow. She was contemplating the same question. She raised her head to carefully observe the smooth rim of the glacier above, where Pale Sons occasionally jumped down into the crowd.
Seeing this scene, she suddenly jolted, recalling something.
“Brendel, do you remember the direction those giant wolves came from?”
“Commander, they came from above the glacier; it’s obvious.”
“No, I mean last night.”
Brendel’s face changed: “In the forest, they came from the forest.”
“They couldn’t possibly dwell in the forest; that’s the territory of the winter wolves. Two kinds of wolves can’t coexist. If that glacier lies behind the forest…”
“Wait, Commander, are you saying…?” Brendel caught on quickly.
“I remember Brendel often spoke of tales about the Forest of Death Frost. At the center of the forest lies a huge maze, the winter haven of the Frost Giant God Milos. I suddenly realized, this isn’t just a glacier, but rather the outer wall of the Winter Haven…”
“These monsters… came from within the haven.”
“What!?” Arleigh finally caught the gist of their conversation, “You’re saying these creatures reside here? This is their lair?” This news, which would make others frown, seemed to delight him: “Commander, are you suggesting that what we see before us isn’t an advance party but rather wild beasts, so they have nothing to do with that silver monster?”
It sounded as though he felt relieved at the thought of not needing to deal with the silver creature.
But unfortunately, Freya clearly didn’t share the same sentiments. Her ominous premonition was gradually turning into reality, and at this moment, the chaotic threads in her mind became immensely clear.
She lifted her gaze, looking at the three, “I want to know, if these monsters are coming from here, then where did that silver beast come from?”
Brendel and Arleigh’s faces suddenly changed, even Nemeses raised an eyebrow.
And it was at that moment that a sharp, mocking laugh interrupted Freya’s words.
“No less than the descendant of the War Goddess; how keen you are.”
Freya’s eyes widened, and she shouted, “Watch out, Brendel! Behind you!”
