Originally, the spear made of ice would have frozen its opponents as it pierced through them, but now, the windâs power had been added to it. When the power of Bitter Frost met the power of wind, a completely new power was born.
The first victim of this new power was a nameless central kingdomâs knight who blocked Kim Seon-Hyeokâs path to the mages.
With a sound of a bang, the defense magic that the mages had set up shattered. The shield the knight was holding in front of him with all his strength didnât last even a moment before it was destroyed as well.
It happened so quickly that the knight didnât notice what happened to himself, let alone able to counterattack.
By the time he thought the shieldâs handle he was forcefully gripping felt too light, the ice spear had already pierced his chest.
The knightâs eyes widened as he opened his mouth. He looked down at the translucent white spear that had pierced through his chest. However, the terrible cold emanating from his chest froze his deathâs rattle and he died before he could blink.
That was simply the beginning.
With the frozen knight at the center, a terrifying chill exploded outwards. At first, the cold air seemed to merely freeze the ground, but soon, it became a blizzard that seemed to cover the entire world.
The mageâs tongue froze before he could even finish the spell he had prepared for a counterattack. With a terrible pain that felt like his eyeballs were being gouged out, his eyes turned into translucent ice pieces. His robe that had been fluttering in the wind hardened as it froze as well.
The pain didnât last long. By the time he realized the horrific changes to his body, his heart and soul had already frozen.
Even after devouring two pitiful victims in an instant, the blizzard wasnât satisfied. Howling wildly, it found and consumed other victims.
Resistance was futile in the face of the greedy blizzard. Whether it was the widely admired knightâs pride or the brilliant sword energy that simply burned away the cold that touched its own body, neither could protect its masterâs body.
Small crystals of ice fluttering in the air clung to the armor and stuck to the exposed and bare skin.
The armor made of refined iron froze and in an instant, his skin turned blue. The hot blood running through their veins cooled down.
Before the knights could even spread the sword energy gathered on their blades, they became statues made of ice.
The only people who survived in the blizzardâs realm were the few mages who had prepared fire spells.
However, even they couldnât withstand the dragonianâs rough attack that soon followed. Torn and mangled from the dragonianâs rough actions, the magesâ flesh and blood flew in all directions. The unceasing cold froze even that as red snowflakes whirled everywhere.
And in the middle of this cold land where red snowflakes flew was the dragonian.
He was a giant staring arrogantly down at the world with a gaze as cold as the ice spear held in his hand. At this moment, it was obviously this one monster that was dominating the fight on a battlefield between 300 hundred superhumans and the monster.
A weak mage collapsed to the ground with a scream when he met the arrogant and fierce gaze of the dragonian. Then, he hysterically spat out the spell he had memorized.
Even in the calmest state of mind, the most difficult thing to control was a spellâs power.
The magic manifested by the weak mage who had almost lost his mind in fear burned him and not the dragonian.
The terrifying scream was the signal that woke up the frozen world.
The mages and knights, who until then had been staring at the dragonian in a daze, came to their senses and started to move all at once.
âTennessian Royal Knights, annihilated. Mage Corps, annihilated.â
âOut of 211 Tennessian knights who tried to stop Drachen, 128 of them died in battle. Of the 107 mages, 63 died.â
Hundreds of superhumans, those who could be considered the pinnacle of a kingdom, had been gathered in one location. There had only been one opponent. But nonetheless, the one that lost was the side with hundreds of superhumans.
The central kingdomâs 300 hundred regiments had set out to definitively erase Drachenâs name and change the world, but instead, they had been horribly defeated.
This shocking news was quickly spread throughout the frontlines by the surviving knights and mages. And later on, there was no one on the frontline who didnât know this fact. Then, as if they had all prearranged it, the central kingdomsâ troops that had been heading towards the Iberian front all retreated together.
Until then, the central kingdomsâ troops had been pressing the Iberian front and the Holy Kingdom had been whipping them so they wouldnât retreat. But now, even the Holy Kingdom couldnât reproach the frontline commanders for withdrawing.
After all, even the Templeâs Pope and the archbishops had been completely stunned by the outcome of this battle.
They couldnât believe that a single knight had defeated over two hundred knights and over one hundred mages.
But the war didnât give them a chance to clear their confused minds.
âThe Imperial Army of Adenburg has crossed the Iberian border, sir!â
Reinforcements from the mainland of Adenburg hadnât stopped at reclaiming the Iberian border and had begun to march towards the mainland of Asrael Kingdom.
âThe Asrael Kingdomâs nobles, who might as well be destroyed, are surrendering to Adenburg one after another, sir!â
âIf the current trend continues, then itâs only a matter of time before the entire kingdom of Asrael becomes Adenburgâs, sir!â
The Asrael Kingdom, whose center had already been destroyed by the Northern Cavalry, gave way too easily to Adenburg.
âWhat the hell went wrong?! Why did the war situation become like this?!â
The Pope was furious and blew up, but none of the archbishops were able to answer his question.
But the Pope wasnât asking because he wanted an answer. In fact, the Pope himself knew the answer.
âIf it werenât for the Qeishas⌠No, if only Drachen hadnât intervened like thisâŚâ
The Pope exhausted himself and collapsed on his throne after throwing a fit for a long time.
The moment the Indomitable Grand Duke, someone considered to be the leader of the eastern region as well as a high member of the Adenburg Empire, joined the war, the situation was out of the Holy Kingdomâs hands.
The Pope had tried all sorts of things, but instead of getting better, it got worse.
Well, it would be stranger if things had worked out. In order to obtain the Holy Sword, he had committed atrocities that only a beast would do and ambushed the Warrior of his own country. But then, he had gotten caught red-handed. Since he had given the continentâs most renowned person, Drachen, the chance to meddle in the war, there was no way he would be able to handle the situation.
Just as his hand couldnât cover the sky, he couldnât hide any of his dirty dealings.
But now, things had gotten too far for him to admit his wrongs and ask for forgiveness. Even if things were returned to as they were before and the Warrior was released, the Adenburg Empire and the eastern kingdoms had already won and would most likely not withdraw their troops.
âWe will abandon the Asrael Kingdom and establish a new front in the southern region of the Tennessia Kingdom.â
Now, the only thing left was the ugly selfishness and ego of an old clergy who had gotten used to his throne.
âSend a message to Iberia.â
As if he had been driven to the edge of a precipice, the Popeâs eyes were filled with fury.
âSir, you mustnât.â
The important figures of Adenburg all spoke together.
âThe Holy Kingdom has even overthrown the Warrior of the central region. This is most definitely a trap. Thereâs no reason to take risks.â
And amongst them, the one that most strongly discouraged him was Asha Trail, who had arrived at the frontline later with the rest of the main unit.
âI know that the Warrior is important to you, Grand Duke, but you are also important to the Empire. Please do not make the wrong decision because of your personal feelings, sir.â
Kim Seon-Hyeok didnât give an answer.
âHer Imperial Majesty has said that because the situation on the front is too urgent, she cannot order you to return immediately. However, she does not want you to put yourself in any more danger, sir.â
âI will go with him, soâŚâ
âDuke Roachim, Her Imperial Majesty has already tolerated the risk once before because you assured her. But, the Indomitable Grand Duke has suffered severe internal injuries.â
Marek had spoken up when he saw Seon-Hyeokâs face darkening, however, he suffered a complete loss and had no choice but to retreat.
Thatâs how obstinate Asha Trailâs attitude was and it was most likely due to Opheliaâs firm will.
âIt is not personal feelings.â
Kim Seon-Hyeok had been silent, but he finally opened his mouth.
âBefore being my younger brother, the Warrior is also the key to this war. If we can get the Warrior out of the Holy Kingdomâs grip, then we might be able to make quite a number of the central kingdoms following the Holy Kingdom and forced into this war to withdraw.â
This wouldnât have worked if the war situation was constantly changing, but it was a different story if the central kingdomsâ defeat had worsened as it had now.
With the exception of some zealous followers of the Holy Kingdom, most of the kingdoms were probably looking for an excuse to withdraw from the war by now. The testimony of the Warrior would be the perfect excuse for them.
âToo many people have died.â
People shut their mouths at his short but heavy sentence.
âIt is not your fault, Grand Duke. Who could have known that the priests who worship a God would have a baser nature than the rulers of the secular world?â
âHeâs right, sir. And no matter how you look at it, it seems like the Holy Kingdom already had war in their mind before any of this happened. I donât know about the east, but Iâm sure they were planning on devouring my Iberia at the least. If you consider that, itâs all thanks to your active role that we, Iberia, were able to escape the beasts of the Holy Kingdom, Grand Duke.â
When unusually Marek consoled Kim Seon-Hyeok, the Iberian Grand Duke, who had come to support the men on the frontline, added his own consolation.
But, the shadow on Kim Seon-Hyeokâs face didnât fade at all.
âThis is a war I started, So I have to finish it.â
The people turned pale as they shouted when he spoke in such a firm voice that it left zero room for objection.
âHer Imperial Majesty will never allow it, sir!â
âHer Imperial Majesty has already promised to support me in whatever I do. So even if she were here, she wouldnât stop me from the decision Iâve made.â
âIf that is really what you think, sir, then please contact the Imperial Capital immediately and ask the Empress what she thinks.â
Asha Trail seemed to believe she had a trump card in her hand, but Kim Seon-Hyeok wasnât shaken in the least at her words.
âEven if you didnât say that, I was already planning on doing so.â
The people sighed heavily when they realized that no matter what they said, he wouldnât change his decision.
[What do you think Iâll say, Grand Duke?]
It seemed like Ophelia had already been briefly informed of the current situation through a telegram because her voice was as rigid as it could get as it was heard through the crystal orb.
âI wish you would not stop me, Your Majesty.â
He heard Ophelia sigh in response to his stubborn answer.
[You must take with you at least the minimum number of troops to protect you, Grand Duke.]
The Holy Kingdom wanted him to visit them alone, but since Kim Seon-Hyeok didnât have any intentions of complying with the Holy Kingdomâs request, he didnât complain about Opheliaâs words.
[You must be careful, and careful yet again. Your body isnât just yoursâŚ]
Ophelia pleaded with him again and again, but she mustnât have been satisfied with that because she acted unlike herself and forcefully demanded something from him.
[Promise me. Promise me that youâll come back safely.]
He replied to her desperate request.
âI promise. So wait a bit longer, Ophelia.â
However, what could be a meaningless promise held a strange amount of conviction. And in equal amounts, his expression was full of confidence.