IRM Chapter 124

Shortly before the tide arrived, the Snow Plains Expeditionary Army camp.

A man dressed in exquisite and luxurious clothing walked through the military camp, sweeping his gaze over the simple and plain surroundings, a trace of undisguised disdain flashing across his face.

He walked forward with his chin raised, carelessly stepping on a small patch of ice. His heeled shoes slipped, nearly sending him tumbling into a snowdrift.

He awkwardly straightened himself, cursing inwardly, then turned around with a fake smile, bowing apologetically to the group of white-robed monks behind him. “How terribly rude of me. The conditions in this remote military camp are limited. I’ll have the soldiers lay carpets on the snow to facilitate your walking.”

The leading white-robed monk held an ornate holy staff, with the Church emblem on his chest gleaming in brilliant golden hues. He glanced indifferently at the bowing and scraping royal messenger. “These are minor matters. Meeting General Silvia as soon as possible is what’s most crucial.”

“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right…” The messenger’s smile froze for a moment before he quickly expanded it again, gesturing forward. “The General is in that tent. I’ll take you there, haha…”

The tent flaps were wide open, with two generals and officers of various ranks standing inside. Silvia’s expression was solemn as she issued deployment orders to the officers in a deep voice.

Brandon leaned against the outside of the tent, silently polishing the greatsword in his hands. He noticed the unfamiliar presences approaching from not far away, quietly raised his eyes, and his gaze swept coldly over the messenger and the Church monks behind him.

The Archbishop of the North Empire didn’t recognize the young master of the Elliott family, but he could still sense the dangerous aura emanating from him, so he nodded at him in a friendly manner.

“What are the Church people doing here again?” Brandon stopped what he was doing, his face full of undisguised disgust. “Are you lot a pack of filthy, stinking hyenas? Gathering around whenever you smell blood?”

The faces of the monks behind changed, and after exchanging glances, several stepped forward to teach Brandon a lesson.

The Archbishop stopped them, looking at Brandon. “This gentleman seems to have some misunderstanding about the Church. We are following God’s will, coming to help the North Empire overcome this disaster.”

Brandon let out a cold laugh and lowered his head again to polish his greatsword. The light-colored handkerchief quickly became stained with grime. He sheathed the cleaned greatsword at his waist and viciously threw the dirty handkerchief toward the Archbishop.

After the Archbishop used holy light to knock down the handkerchief and looked at him with displeasure, Brandon finally raised the corner of his mouth, sneering at him. “In the end, who knows whose disaster it will be… Don’t forget your previous squad—they’ve been sleeping in the Dark Night Forest for a full five years now.”

The Archbishop’s face finally turned ugly, and he watched darkly as Brandon walked away.

The messenger carefully observed the Archbishop’s expression, cursing that strange soldier repeatedly in his heart.

To divert the Archbishop’s attention, he hurried a few steps toward the tent, coughed to clear his throat, and with his hands behind his back, said arrogantly, “General Silvia, I am a messenger from the royal capital, and this is Archbishop Monroe of the Church of Light.”

Silvia didn’t even glance at him, continuing with her earlier deployment.

The messenger felt somewhat embarrassed. The repeated setbacks made anger rise in his heart. He suppressed his temper and said stiffly, “We were sent by the great King to support the expeditionary army.”

Silvia still ignored him.

“Silvia!” The messenger couldn’t help but roar.

“Dismissed!” Silvia waved her hand, sending the officers back to prepare. She turned her face, her blade-like gaze piercing into the messenger’s eyes. “And then?”

The messenger met those eyes filled with bloodlust and killing intent for only a few seconds before involuntarily averting his gaze, saying through gritted teeth, “We’re here to help you…”

The Archbishop interrupted the messenger, looking at Silvia. His snow-white holy robe made him seem surrounded by an aura of sanctity. “General Silvia, we hope the expeditionary army will heed the Church’s advice. While the power of the berserk beasts hasn’t reached its peak yet, tear down the fortress and attack directly beyond it!”

After hearing this, Silvia glanced at him indifferently and said, “Sure.”

The messenger’s face lit up with joy.

Silvia continued, “However, before tearing down the fortress, I’ll tear you all apart first while you’re still alive.”

The messenger’s joy froze comically on his face. He trembled his lips and said angrily, “General! You are provoking the King!”

Silvia: “Whatever. Let that old thing think what he wants. If he’s that angry, he can come find me for a fight.”

Who the hell could beat you! The messenger roared inwardly!

He understood this trip had been for nothing. When he returned, he might even get scolded by the King. In his anger, he even disregarded the Archbishop and stormed out of the tent furiously.

Before leaving, the Archbishop also took a long look at Silvia and said, “You will regret this.”

Silvia watched them leave, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, then turned and gently rested her forehead on the Countess’s shoulder. The cold, hard armor made her forehead ache, but she didn’t care at all. “I really want to hold on and protect this snow plain, but can we truly hold out…”

Her voice was extremely soft, as if afraid someone would hear the vulnerability in her words.

At that moment, a soft laugh suddenly came from the shadowy curtain behind her. With her forehead still resting on her sister’s shoulder, Silvia’s right hand shot out like lightning, drawing the sword from the Countess’s waist and flinging it backward without turning her head!

The gleaming cold blade accurately penetrated the shadow in the curtain but didn’t pierce any human body. Under the sword’s thrust, the shadow rippled like a water surface. A hand reached out from the shadow, holding the sword that had just been thrown over by its tip.

Tang slowly emerged completely from the shadow, holding the sword in one hand and leisurely rubbing a pitch-black crow feather with the other.

The corner of his mouth held an unserious smile, yet he said very seriously, “One person’s strength will always be limited. Perhaps the General could try relying on others.”

He recalled past events, lowering his eyes as he lifted the corner of his mouth. “Trust me, that feeling is quite good.”

Silvia turned around, studying him warily. “Who are you?”

Tang put away his smile and said seriously, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tang. I am the chief mercenary of the Nidhogg Mercenary Corps, codenamed [Black Panther]. General Silvia, would you be willing to hire our corps?”

He pressed his right hand against his chest and bowed, raising his face to look directly at Silvia. “Please rest assured, for this battle, our corps has also prepared for three years.”

The Countess walked to Tang’s side and naturally took her sword back from his hand. She turned her face and smiled at Silvia. “Just accept them. They are a trump card Ji Chi left for us.”

Silvia gazed at her sister and hesitated for a while before finally nodding in agreement.

After she agreed, the pitch-black crow feather in Tang’s hand turned to ash—the mercenary corps token the Black Crow had given to Ji Chi in the camp finally fulfilled its promise three years later.

Tang noticed Silvia’s still worried expression and smiled at her reassuringly. “Don’t worry, our lucky charm has been protecting us all along.”

Time passed second by second. Anyone with good enough eyesight could notice that the moon was being eroded by the blood mist more and more severely.

Finally, on a quiet afternoon, the blood moon hung in the sky and shrieks arose—

The Snow Wolf Valley was the first to notice the anomaly. It was nestled between Beast God Peak and another small snow peak. The Snow Wolf tribespeople could see the movements on Beast God Peak just by looking up.

Beast God Peak collapsed. More accurately, Beast God Peak seemed to come alive. Every inch of snowy ground was trembling, with berserk beasts constantly drilling out from within.

The entire mountain peak was like a giant anthill doused with hot water, with berserk beasts swarming out like ants.

Compared to the tribe members’ panic and confusion, the old chieftain’s expression was very calm. He leaned on his cane, silently gazing up at the surging tide overhead.

“Chief.” Aqi found the old chieftain in the chaotic crowd. With his four limbs intact, he looked much stronger, his exposed arms and ankles were sinewy and powerful. “Do we need to go out and stop the berserk beasts? With so many of them, the snow plain will surely be in great danger.”

The old chieftain remained silent for a long time, so long that Aqi almost thought he had fallen asleep. “No, don’t go out. You all just need to… live well.”

These were the words Ji Chi had said to the old chieftain before going to the peak.

Aqi heard the words “you all,” frowned noticeably, and wasn’t sure of the old chieftain’s meaning. Just as he was about to say something, he heard commotion from behind.

“What are you doing! Reize, come back quickly!” Natasha blocked Reize’s path, looking at him in panic. “Beast God Peak is full of berserk beasts right now. Are you going to your death?!”

Reize breathed heavily, looking at his mother with reddened eyes. “I’m going to find Ji Chi. In this situation, he can’t survive alone… Mother, I must go find him. If it weren’t for Ji Chi back then, I would have died five years ago, and died in a very ugly way.”

The corner of Natasha’s eye twitched slightly. Over the years they had been reunited, Reize had gradually revealed bits of his experiences. When Natasha and Rechel learned the truth, they nearly went mad.

Therefore, although they were sincerely grateful to that young man, they also couldn’t watch their regained child walk toward death again.

Natasha pursed her lips, absolutely refusing to yield.

“Alright, child, go back.” The old chieftain walked over and patted Reize’s shoulder. “You were right before—this can’t be left to a few children to resolve… When you’re afraid, leave it to the adults.”

The old chieftain’s wrinkled hand rose and formed a hand blade, using skillful force to chop at the back of Reize’s neck. As Reize fell, he was still conscious. He looked at the chieftain in disbelief, lifting his hand to struggle, but his vision grew increasingly blurry.

Before his sight and hearing completely faded, he saw the old chieftain remove a leather cord from around his neck, with two yellowed wolf fangs tied to it.

The old chieftain placed the wolf fang necklace in Reize’s palm and said softly, “When all this is over, can you help me take them beyond the fortress? If possible, please bury one in a forest and place the other in the ocean…”

He sighed, his eyes full of longing. “I also want to see those worlds—one full of green, and one full of blue.”

The old chieftain, leaning on his cane and accompanied by an aged but vigorous snow wolf, slowly walked out of Snow Wolf Valley. All the tribe members who tried to stop him were knocked unconscious. Gradually, no more tribe members tried to stop him.

The tribe members silently watched his hunched back, softly humming for him the ballad the Snow Wolf tribe had passed down for many years—

“The wolf knight in the surging tide, one sword freezes, one sword sweeps through…”

When the final tide arrived, the expeditionary army stationed before the fortress felt no fear. After this Sword of Damocles truly fell, they felt strangely relieved—

It has finally come.

Countless berserk beasts poured down like a waterfall and quickly reached the base of the fortress. Their advancing steps were blocked by the ice wall, but this was only temporary. As more and more berserk beasts gathered below the fortress, many had already leaped over from above.

Moreover, this time, not only had the number of berserk beasts increased, but their types had also diversified. In the surging tide, flying berserk beasts even appeared—an unprecedented sight.

However, the expeditionary army had prepared for this early on. A flying beastmen squad responsible for aerial combat took flight first, their broad wings allowing them to dodge and attack steadily.

They wielded long blades and sharp swords in the air, frantically clashing with the dense swarm of bird-beasts.

A warrior thrust his sword forcefully, piercing the fist-sized eye of a bird-beast, and complained to a nearby comrade. “When will the flight squad also get some mages… With so many berserk beasts, throwing a spell over there and blowing them all up would be so comfortable!”

Another warrior flew to his side in time, swinging his battle axe to split the bird-beast’s head open, curling his lips. “Stop dreaming. The shield soldiers and cavalry below don’t even have mages assigned to them. How could it be our turn—”

As soon as the words left his mouth, boom! A wall of fire completely blocked the bird-beasts’ path forward. The bird-beasts couldn’t dodge in time and crashed into it, shrieking miserably as scorched feathers and corpses fell from the sky!

This wasn’t the end. A horizontal wind blade struck right through the middle of the fire wall. The already magnificent flames were spread outward by the wind, turning half the sky into a sea of fire!

The warriors were stunned. They turned their heads woodenly, only to see several burly men wearing strange suits hovering in mid-air, enthusiastically waving at them!

“Hey! Brothers! Hello there!” One of the burly men grinned foolishly, a pair of black bear ears visible on his head.

Seeing the soldiers’ worldviews completely shattered, the burly man kindly explained, “We’re mercenaries from the mercenary corps. Actually, we’re also warriors. The magic is cast from these suits.” He patted a complex device on his chest.

Although somewhat inappropriate for the moment, the soldiers still widened their eyes. “There are suits like that?”

“How long has it been since you left the fortress? This suit is quite famous on the continent. It was crafted by an Eastern engineer from the Saint Trilley Empire. The original is even legendary-quality equipment!”

“Ah… has the outside changed so much? When all this is over, I’ll go to Saint Trilley too.”

“Yes! There are many interesting things there. You must explore it properly if you have time!”

Their idle chat ended there. After the sea of fire dissipated, the overwhelming swarm of bird-beasts attacked again.

The aerial battlefield could still hold for now, but the ground battle was much more brutal.

A berserk beast clawed at the shield soldier’s front. The hard, heavy steel shield was torn like paper. The shield soldier opened his eyes in terror, waiting helplessly for death to come—

“Flame Sword Dance!” Dazzling flames arrived in disarray, dancing out graceful trajectories in the air. However, beneath the gorgeous sparks, a broad sword was hidden, falling mercilessly on the berserk beast before the shield soldier, instantly cutting it into countless charred fragments!

The flames still burned on the greatsword. Brandon looked expressionlessly at the shield soldier on the ground. He didn’t help him up but continued wielding his sword in battle among the berserk beasts.

The shield soldier looked at his tall, straight back and, breathing heavily, shouted his thanks.

“Hey! You! What are you standing there dazed for? Get up here!” A crisp voice rang in his ear. A rabbit-eared youth lay on a sled, reaching out his hand to the shield soldier. “Quick! I still need to save the next person!”

The shield soldier reached out his hand in a daze and was pulled onto the spacious sled deck. The inside of the sled was much more spacious than it looked from outside. Many people were gathered there—several wounded, a rabbit-eared youth, a long-bearded old man, and a woman fully cloaked in a black robe.

After pulling him up, the rabbit-eared youth flicked the reins. “Little Deer! Keep going forward!”

The reindeer magical beast pulling the sled was also fully armored. It stretched its long legs and ran forward with its head down.

“Grandpa Black Sheep, where did you say the attack button on the sled was before?” The rabbit-eared youth held the reins with one hand while searching around the cart with the other, scratching his ear as he asked the old man.

The old man chuckled and stroked his beard, pointing to a small button on the front wall of the sled. “Try pressing that one.”

Sila leaned over and pressed it skeptically.

“Boom—” A massive amount of earth element surged out wildly, plowing deep furrows in the flat snow. The berserk beasts standing on the furrows had their legs crushed by the flying rocks and fell heavily to the ground!

However, the earth element’s range was too wide. Not only berserk beasts but also some warriors suffered, stumbling and falling with injuries.

The smile froze on Old Man Black Sheep’s face, and several strands of his beard broke off. He came to his senses and looked fearfully at the black-robed woman before him.

The black-robed woman sneered, holding several pills in her hand. As the sled sped past, she flicked them into the mouths of the injured warriors.

After throwing the medicine, Black Cat stomped on the shadows beneath her feet and asked, “Hey, I came all the way back from the Weiss Sea. You said you’d show me the Dragon of Despair. Where is the dragon? Where is it?”

Tang emerged from a nearby shadow. He had just finished assassinating a group of berserk beasts and hadn’t even steadied his breathing yet. He took a recovery pill from Black Cat’s hand and swallowed it, saying leisurely, “Wait. He will come.”

“He?” Black Cat looked at Tang suspiciously and muttered, “Was that a slip of the tongue? Shouldn’t it be ‘it’?”

Tang just smiled without speaking and threw himself back into the battlefield.

Soon, the number of berserk beasts near the fortress decreased significantly and would soon be completely eliminated. But Silvia didn’t let her guard down. She felt increasingly uneasy.

“General! The death toll among the soldiers isn’t high, but they’re all very tired, and many have been seriously injured.” The reporting officer’s face was grim. “Moreover, their equipment has been severely damaged by the berserk beasts. They can’t hold out much longer like this…”

Silvia’s expression was frosty. The corners of her lips formed a sharp straight line as she said coldly, “I understand.”

“General! This is bad! The berserk beasts have all gathered below the fortress to attack. The Ice Fortress—it’s about to collapse!” A soldier stumbled over, tearing at his voice as he shouted.

Upon hearing this, Silvia suddenly looked up!

Crack—

As the sound of shattering echoed at the foot of the snow peak, the Ice Fortress that had stood in the wind and snow for many years was covered with cracks. The expeditionary army stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the fortress wall that had accompanied them for most of their lives.

The terrible white cracks spread continuously until they reached a critical point.

The Ice Fortress collapsed.

The first line of defense that had held for a hundred years was destroyed just like that. Like faith that had been gazed upon for many years crumbling in an instant, the expeditionary army was shrouded in indescribable sorrow for a moment and couldn’t even raise the weapons in their hands.

Without the fortress blocking them, the berserk beasts rolled over like an avalanche—a tsunami that swept across the snow plain in world-ending destruction, making people feel despair.

“What is that…” A frontline soldier saw a patch of pitch-black giant shadow soaring from deep within the snow peaks, his voice almost tinged with tears. “Is that a berserk dragon? How can we possibly defeat such a creature…”

The enormous black shadow that blotted out the sky grew closer and closer. The dragon’s ferocious appearance became increasingly clear. Even from dozens of miles away, they could feel the pressure emanating from its body.

Finally, someone noticed something wrong and exclaimed, “Look at its eyes! That’s not a berserk beast!”

Black Cat leaped from the sled, her eyes sparkling with obsessive longing as she gazed at the black dragon’s broad wings. “It’s the Dragon of Despair—Nidhogg…”

“And below! Look below the black dragon! What is that!”

A white beast shadow rushed like a sweeping snowstorm above the berserk beasts. The Northland Wolf King that ruled ice and snow stretched its limbs, running toward the endless snow plain.

It soon surpassed the foremost berserk beasts and stopped before the beast tide, raising its head to howl at the blood moon—

The Beast God’s remaining power within the Wolf King radiated outward with invisible sound waves, causing the berserk beasts’ steps to slow for an instant!

The black dragon seized this opportunity to fly over the entire beast tide. When gliding to its lowest point, a slender figure leaped down from the dragon’s back, half-kneeling to face the roaring beast tide.

The moment they saw that figure—the Countess closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and took a deep breath. The flames on Brandon’s broad greatsword extinguished. He lowered his eyes and slowly revealed a smile that had rarely appeared in recent years.

Tang was still as casual as before. The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened as he sighed softly, “After not seeing you for many years, how much have you grown now…”

Ji Chi carried a broken and rusted longsword on his back, gripping one black and one white sword in both hands. He stood up and walked toward the beast tide. The Wolf King ran toward him—

The will to protect the snow plain passed through his body. The Wolf King transformed into a phantom, appearing behind Ji Chi, facing the endless beast tide together with him.

Ji Chi held the sword in his left hand and drew it forward horizontally. The white sword [Ice Seal] vibrated rapidly at a frequency invisible to the naked eye, ultimately unable to withstand the overly immense power, and shattered into fragments of white snow.

“Ice Seal for Ten Thousand Miles—”

A long white sword light spread outward in an arc. When it touched the foremost berserk beasts, it transformed on the spot into a ten-thousand-mile ice wall. A new ice fortress rose from the ground, blocking the trampling footsteps of the berserk beasts!

He then smoothly drew the black sword with his right hand. The black sword [Pi Mi] didn’t survive either, turning into specks of starlight along its trajectory.

“Sweep Through All Opposition—”

No one could see clearly what Ji Chi had actually unleashed. Just like every practice movement in training, he lightly drew through the air ahead. Even the falling snowflakes remained intact.

But in the distance, the countless berserk beasts blocked by the ice wall suddenly stopped moving, and in the next instant, they disintegrated into ash.

After two sword strikes, Ji Chi no longer looked forward. He lowered his head and gazed silently at his empty palms. He slowly turned around to face everyone, tears disappearing in the cold wind from the corners of his eyes, taking away the Beast God’s unyielding will along with them.