Chapter 102: 102:The Death Eye

The frozen wasteland became a death trap, and the knights in red armor knew it. The wind howled like a monster, carrying with it the sounds of heavy footsteps the relentless pursuit of White Ice Men and Ice Orcs.

The knights ran, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, their legs sluggish from exhaustion. The ground beneath them cracked, brittle from the cold, but there was nowhere to go.

"Shit! We’re surrounded!" one knight yelled, looking back in terror.

The Ice Men, humanoid figures carved from jagged ice, moved with inhuman speed, their glowing blue eyes devoid of life.

Beside them, massive Ice Orcs, their fur matted with frost, snarled as they swung their crude bone clubs. Their teeth clattered, razor-sharp and waiting to sink into warm flesh.

"Damn!Why the fuck are we so unlucky ? That bastard of a lord set us up to die!" another knight spat, barely dodging a swinging ice-covered club.

Then, without warning—

A snowstorm of ice blocks began to rain down from the sky, smashing into the ground with deafening crashes.

BOOM!

One knight screamed as a massive slab of ice crushed his leg, pinning him in place.

"FUCKKK! I’M STUCK—"

A hulking Ice Orc loomed over him, its yellowed fangs bared in a cruel grin as it reached down, massive claws ready to tear him apart but before it could reach him.

WHIZZ!

An arrow cut through the storm and pierced straight into the Ice Orc’s eye.

"GRUUUAAAAHHHHHH!!" The beast shrieked, its massive hands clawing at its face as blue blood gushed from the wound. It thrashed wildly, swinging its arms in pain, knocking down one of its own kind.

What followed was a downpour of arrows.

They fell like rain, piercing through the horde of Ice Orcs with deadly accuracy. One by one, they collapsed, their massive bodies hitting the snow with dull thuds.

"Reinforcement?"The Red Knights screamed in bewilderment.

....

A little away from the battlefield...

Kael, holding a longbow equipped with a glass scope, let out a whistle of disbelief.

"This piece of shit is wonderful! Even without mana, I can see kilometers away..." He paused, his grin faltering as he took in the sight below. His voice dropped into shock.

"FUCK! No... more than that—WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

His men beside him also stared in confusion, shaking their heads.

Kael’s expression darkened. He turned to Hadel and Vic, his gaze sharp.

"Hadel, Vic,take the troops and save them."

"Yes," Vic shouted, already breaking into a sprint before Hadel could even react. A group of knights followed, charging ahead without waiting for orders.

"Oi! VIC! WAIT FOR THE COMMAND—" Hadel’s shout was ignored as the squad pressed forward.

He let out a sigh before turning back to Kael, bowing slightly. "Apologies for the disrespect, My Lord."

Kael waved him off. "Don’t waste time. Just go."

With a nod, Hadel followed the march, leading another squad after Vic.

....

Back at the battlefield...

The red-armored knights, who had been prepared to die, now watched in shock as the arrows kept raining down.

"We’re still alive?" one whispered in disbelief.

"Don’t stand up! Keep crawling, or you’ll get hit by the arrows!" another barked, dragging a wounded comrade through the snow.

One of them felt his leg snagged by something.

"Damn it! Where—" His words froze in his throat as he turned and locked eyes with a White Ice Man.

The creature’s translucent fingers wrapped around his ankle, its expression unreadable.

"WHAT THE FU—"

With a single yank, he was ripped backward, his body dragged across the snow.

He struggled, twisting and turning, but the arrows that had been killing the orcs just got stuck in the Ice Man’s body without doing any damage.

"HELP! IT’S NOT WORKING—"

Desperate, he grabbed a nearby rock and slammed it into the creature’s frozen face.

It did nothing.

The IceMan didn’t even flinch.Except for the crushing of snow it didn’t matter.

More of them surged forward, their clawed hands reaching out. He could already feel his limbs being pulled apart—

Then—

A blade cleaved straight through the creature’s head.

The Ice Man collapsed into chunks, shattering into frozen dust.

Vic stood over him, his sword dripping with frost, his expression cold and merciless.

"MOVE."

Behind him, the Blue Knights surged forward.

Swords clashed against frozen limbs, shields bashed through enemy ranks, and battle cries echoed through the blizzard. The ground became a war zone, a mixture of crimson blood and shattered ice as the Blue Knights tore through the enemy lines with precision and ruthlessness.

The red-armored knights stared in shock.

"SUPPORT?! WE HAVE SUPPORT?!"

"Wait... but that armor... That’s the Blue Knights..."

A hush fell over them as realization struck.

"Knights from the Main estate... Why are they here?"

Hadel and his knights arrived, their weapons drawn as they joined Vic in the slaughter. The battlefield became a chaotic mess of screams and howls. The Ice Orcs shrieked in agony, their guttural roars echoing through the snow.

"GRUUUUAAAARGHH!" one bellowed, clutching its torn chest before collapsing.

"MAGES!"Handel ordered the mages who started chanting.

Soon, pillar of flames shot towards the Ice Man who melted and smoldered into thin air.

Another tried to flee, but Vic’s sword cleaved through its skull, splitting it apart with a sickening crunch. The remaining orcs flailed, their wails filled with raw, guttural pain. Their bodies fell one after another, staining the ice with their cursed blue blood.

But then, something unnatural happened.

As the orcs died, more Ice Men began to rise, their glowing eyes turning toward the knights.

Compared to monsters the Iceman were easier to deal with as they backed away on seeing flames casted by Mages.

Then came the roars.

Loud, guttural, and spine-chilling.

Vic turned, his grip tightening around his sword. His breath caught in his throat.

A horde of beasts stood at the cliff’s edge, their eyes gleaming with malice and hunger. Snow wolves, hyenas, massive winter bears—an entire army of monstrous predators. Their growls rumbled like an oncoming avalanche.

The knights stiffened.

"What the hell?" one muttered.

"Why are they gathering?" another asked, panic creeping into his voice.

"Did we fuck up?" Vic whispered, his stomach twisting.

They were outnumbered. Their total force barely reached 150, and many among them were non-combatants—healers, cooks, and support staff. If they had a defensive position, they might have held out. But out in the open, against this sheer number of beasts, they were prey.

Vic took a deep breath, dropped his shield, and loosened his weighted armor. His muscles tensed. He looked at Hadel with a knowing gaze.

"We have to cut their numbers down."

Hadel nodded, his eyes sharp and calculating. He stepped forward, gripping his sword tightly.

The horde of beasts snarled, their fangs bared, their roars meant to intimidate and break their will. But none of them moved. They were waiting.

Watching the prey from the top of a cliff nearby led by a huge wolf.

A new sound cut through the frozen wasteland.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

The heavy footsteps over the snow echoed like thunder.

"What?"Vic’s expression faltered and he screamed.

"Which idiot is using mana amplification to boost the sound of his fo...."His voice paused as he looked back.

The world seemed to pause as all eyes turned to a high snow plateau nearby.

A lone figure stood there.

His noble coat billowed in the wind, his steps slow and deliberate. His presence alone changed the air, making the snow feel colder, and the sky darker.

The knights stiffened.

"Young Master..." one whispered.

"My Lord..." another muttered, eyes wide.

"Lord!" a few others gasped.

Kael paused, pulling a cigar from his coat. He lit it slowly, took a long drag, then let the smoke curl around him. His gaze swept over the battlefield, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous, unhinged.

Then he smiled.

A cruel, twisted sinister devilish smile, cold enough to send a chill down the spine of everyone who looked at it.

"I can smell it..." he murmured, in a low chilling voice.

He took another slow drag, exhaling through his nose.

"The smell of blood." His fingers twitched slightly. "The smell of distrust, hate, sorrow, sadness..." His grin widened, his voice dripping with amusement.

Then, he exhaled sharply.

"More than that... The smell of fear."

His head tilted slightly, his eyes gleaming with cold, psychotic delight.

"I like it."

BOOOM!

A shockwave of murderous intent exploded outward from his body.

It hit the battlefield like a thunderclap, the sheer pressure shaking the ground. The air itself felt heavier, like a storm pressing down on them.

The knights shuddered. The beasts froze in place. Even the Ice Men stopped moving for a brief moment.

Kael stood there with his aura swallowing the entire battlefield in sheer madness.