Garos Fortress.

As one of the major strongholds protecting Wind Facing City from Abyss Demon invasions, it naturally housed a massive military force and countless magical weapons.

After the catastrophic upheaval that had occurred deep within the Great Winter Forest, Garos Fortress had once again entered Level 3S Alert for the first time in a hundred years.

The entire fortress shifted into wartime readiness.

The air was thick with tension and oppression.

Every soldier remained on high alert, prepared to face an Abyss Demon assault at any moment.

While many soldiers felt fear—

Quite a few others were exceptionally excited.

After all, decades of training would finally have a chance to prove their worth.

However—

More than a week had passed since the 3S Alert had been declared.

During that entire period—

Forget Abyss Demons.

They had barely even seen any magical beasts.

The Abyss Demons continued wandering around the edges of the Great Winter Forest as usual, while the forest's interior remained strangely peaceful.

There wasn't the slightest indication of an impending attack.

As the saying went—

The first burst of momentum is strong.

The second begins to fade.

The third is exhausted.

After such a long period of calm, many soldiers gradually began questioning the accuracy of the intelligence coming from Wind Facing City.

Were Abyss Demons really going to attack?

And even if they were...

Would they really attack here?

Influenced by such thoughts, combined with the intense mental strain of maintaining maximum alertness for so long, the vigilance of the garrison had noticeably relaxed over the past few days.

Furthermore—

It wasn't just the ordinary soldiers.

Even the fortress commander, Krimde, no longer carried the same murderous seriousness he had displayed during the first days of the alert.

Today, while standing atop the fortress walls, Krimde was even enjoying a few drinks.

Bored, he gazed toward the distant horizon.

'Sigh... looks like today will be peaceful too.'

Krimde silently complained.

If even the commander was acting like this, it was hardly surprising that tens of thousands of soldiers had begun to loosen up.

Just as Krimde was preparing to focus his attention entirely on his wine, a nearby lookout suddenly let out a startled cry.

“Huh?! T-There! Lord Krimde! Someone's coming from the north!”

“Hm? Someone?”

Krimde raised an eyebrow and looked northward.

On the distant hills beyond the horizon—

Several dozen riders clad in silver armor had appeared.

They were Asumos Church knights.

And they were charging toward the fortress at full speed.

???

Hm?

Upon seeing this, realization appeared on Krimde's face.

Tch.

People coming from the north.

He'd thought it might be something important.

Turns out it was just those boring Asumos Church knights.

Those people slung over their backs...

Were those slaves?

Looks like their rescue mission went pretty smoothly.

Hm?

Wait.

If everything went smoothly...

Why do they look so terrified right now?

After observing the panic plastered across the knights' faces through his telescope, countless question marks appeared in Krimde's mind.

'What the hell is going on?'

Fortunately—

His question was answered almost immediately.

Just as Krimde was curiously observing the disheveled group of church knights, a terrifying fluctuation suddenly entered his senses.

His pupils shrank violently.

Something completely beyond everyone's expectations had occurred.

“Awoooooooo—!!!”

?!

That sound—?!

Krimde's eyes widened.

The next moment—

Accompanied by deep, terrifying beastly roars, an endless, nauseating pressure as vast as death itself exploded from the distant horizon and swept toward Garos Fortress.

Instantly—

The previously relaxed atmosphere was completely obliterated.

Not just Krimde.

Every single soldier felt an unprecedented chill run through their bodies.

A powerful sense of foreboding gripped his heart.

Krimde's attention shifted away from the church knights and toward the distance.

There—

Beneath the blue sky—

A mass of black mist suddenly emerged from the hills connected to the snowy plains.

Then—

Closely pursuing the church knights—

A gigantic black creature burst into view.

It was relentlessly chasing them.

?!!

'T-That's...?!'

'An Abyss Demon?!'

As the first Abyss Demon appeared—

A second emerged.

Then a third.

A hundred.

A thousand.

...

...

In an instant—

Under Krimde's horrified gaze—

Accompanied by spreading black fog and countless deep, oppressive growls—

An endless army of bizarre creatures of every imaginable shape came pouring over the hills behind the Asumos Church knights.

Murderous intent.

Black mist.

Bloodthirsty monsters.

Together, they formed wave after wave of black tides.

Like a collapsed dam unleashing a catastrophic flood, they surged toward the fortress.

The momentum was so overwhelming that it seemed determined to swallow Garos Fortress whole.

Among the horde were dozens of enormous sixth-tier Abyss Demons.

Compared to those monstrous giants, the fortress walls suddenly appeared pitifully small.

Pitifully insignificant.

“I... I... am I fucking dreaming?!”

At that moment—

Krimde's normally composed face twisted into a grotesque expression of utter shock.

He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

His mouth hung so wide open that he could have swallowed an entire football.

“N-No... t-this can't be possible?! How are there so many Abyss Demons?!”

During the decades he had served as fortress commander, he had seen Abyss Demon attacks before.

But—

Usually only a handful showed up at a time.

Even the most terrifying demon tides consisted of only a few hundred.

But now?

This was already in the thousands!

No—

Tens of thousands!

What the hell was happening?!

Krimde screamed hysterically inside his mind.

His entire body trembled.

The iron wine cup in his hand was crushed into a twisted lump.

As he felt the freezing murderous aura constantly rolling toward him from afar—

Krimde staggered backward repeatedly.

Eventually his legs gave out.

Under the watchful eyes of countless soldiers, he stumbled and collapsed onto the ground in a humiliating heap.

“Lord Krimde! W-What do we do now?!”

A female officer rushed over in panic and urgently asked.

Hearing the familiar voice finally snapped Krimde out of his mental shutdown.

Using the nearby wall for support, he climbed shakily back to his feet.

“What do we do?!”

“WE PREPARE FOR BATTLE, OF COURSE!!!!”

After letting out a furious roar—

Krimde turned toward the surrounding soldiers with a savage expression.

“What are you idiots standing around for?! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!”

“Bring out the Mana Convergence Cannons!”

“Activate every defensive magic formation!”

“And launch the signal flares immediately!!”

“CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS!!!! NOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!”

Accompanied by Krimde's hysterical roar—

The entire Garos Fortress exploded into action.

The shadow of death descended upon the fortress.

Both soldiers and civilians felt a level of terror unlike anything they had ever experienced.

Far away—

Within the military camp of Wind Facing City—

After seeing the black signal flare soaring into the heavens in the distant sky, Marquis Xiumu-Duke took a deep breath.

The officers around him wore similarly grave expressions.

Black signal flares were not something that could be used casually.

They represented the highest-level emergency distress signal.

It meant the fortress had suffered a catastrophic disaster and urgently required support from nearby fortresses and major cities.

Throughout history—

The black signal flare had only been used twice.

And this time—

One had to remember—

Garos Fortress was defended by seventy thousand regular troops.

It was one of the strongest fortresses on the northern defensive line of the Snow Night Empire.

If even they had reached the point of launching a black signal flare—

Then the situation was unquestionably dire.

“My Lord, what should we do?”

A black-haired knight stepped forward and solemnly asked.

In response—

Xiumu-Duke stared resolutely toward Garos Fortress.

Slowly, he put on his silver helmet.

Then he drew the sword hanging at his waist.

“Immediately assemble the Blizzard Knights.”

“We're going to reinforce them.”