Chapter419 – Steel met snow

“…Of course not.” There had been the faintest pause.

Geoffrey caught it. Sigh…

If Axel were truly innocent, Geoffrey would protect him with everything he had. But if Axel had truly wronged Krythos— Then no matter how much he liked the boy— He would not bend the law for personal loyalty.

Axel had no idea what Geoffrey was thinking—and even if he did, he wouldn’t have had the time to care.

The moment the activity radius of the mutated beasts began expanding, he made a sharp hand signal for Geoffrey’s team to follow. Geoffrey didn’t argue again. He simply fell in behind him.

“…The beasts are clearly converging toward Northern Spiritual Town,” Axel muttered after observing the shifting patterns around them.

“What?!” several soldiers blurted out.

“I’m afraid…” Geoffrey’s face darkened. “The blockade line’s been pushed forward.”

“That’s likely.” The blue mark on Axel’s forehead flickered briefly.

Beyond its special abilities, the Eye of Truth drastically enhanced his long-distance vision when activated. Through the shifting snow and chaos, he could see movement patterns far beyond normal sight. This was almost certainly connected to the anomaly caused earlier by Dharma.

“Still,” Axel said calmly, turning to Lilith—who had already resumed her Saka disguise—“this is an opportunity.”

Lilith met his gaze and nodded. “Notify Penny and Caroline separately.”

Without hesitation, she took out her communicator. Following Axel’s instructions, she sent both of them updates about the mutated beasts’ large-scale movement and suggested that the City of Sin Legion begin advancing in this direction.

This was the “opportunity.” The blockade shifting forward didn’t just mean pressure here—it meant the entire distribution of mutated beasts across the valley was changing.

The outer perimeter beasts would also be moving. If the City of Sin Legion advanced now, they could exploit the vacuum forming elsewhere and reposition for the next stage of battle.

The soldiers from Northern Spiritual Town didn’t fully understand what Axel was planning—or the scale of what he was orchestrating.

“This is going to be tricky…” Axel murmured, studying the dense tide of monsters ahead. Then he turned suddenly. “Mr. Geoffrey. Can you contact the city for backup?”

Geoffrey sighed inwardly. So in the end, Axel was thinking about immediate survival. But he didn’t show it. “I just tried. It’s not working. The Force fluctuations here are unstable, and the density of mutated beasts is interfering with the signal. We can’t connect to the city right now.”

“Oh.” Axel nodded once. Then—to everyone’s shock—he stepped forward and drew his sword. “In that case,” he said lightly, “we break through.”

Geoffrey’s eyes widened. “Axel, don’t be impulsive—”

Too late. Axel surged forward. His blade carved a crescent of silver light through the air. In the next instant—

Dozens of mutated beasts—and the snow-covered ridge behind them—were sliced clean in half.

Geoffrey sucked in a sharp breath. The raw power was terrifying. But what stunned him even more was Axel’s recklessness.

From a military standpoint, this was madness. No coordination. No formation. No fallback. Completely undisciplined.

“Prepare to support him!” Geoffrey barked immediately. No matter what he thought personally, the Ministry of Defense would never abandon a comrade.

“Stop!” Saka—Lilith—stepped forward sharply. “Don’t make things worse.”

“Worse?!” Geoffrey’s men bristled instantly.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Who are you to give us orders?”

“We’re trying to help!”

They respected Axel’s strength. That didn’t mean they’d tolerate being commanded by some stranger.

“Shut up.” Lilith’s voice dropped, cold as steel. Her eyes flashed. The temperature around them seemed to plunge.

The soldiers stiffened involuntarily, every instinct screaming at them to fall silent. Geoffrey felt another jolt of shock. This person… wasn’t much weaker than Axel.

After the sharp rebuke, Lilith said calmly, “Mr. Geoffrey. Get ready. Move forward immediately.”

“…What?”

“Have you not noticed?” she said coolly. “No mutated beasts have detected us.”

Geoffrey froze. She was right. Despite the chaos ahead—despite Axel carving through monsters like a demon—none of the surrounding mid-level beasts had reacted to their presence.

“Could it be…”

“Move,” Lilith repeated.

Geoffrey snapped back to himself. “Advance!” The squad immediately reformed and began pushing forward under concealment.

Ahead of them, Axel became a storm of steel. He moved without hesitation. Every swing of his blade tore open a path. No mutated beast could withstand a single strike.

As he cut forward, the density of monsters increased rapidly. They swarmed in, drawn by noise and blood. But nothing slowed him. He advanced like a blade splitting the tide.

......

On the city wall of Northern Spiritual Town—

“Have the mutated beasts gone insane?”

“Are they launching early?”

Reports flooded in. The density of mutated beasts was skyrocketing. The entire blockade line was advancing at alarming speed.

Zephyr’s expression hardened. He had originally planned a timed evacuation and breakout. But at this rate, the beasts might attack before he could execute it. Worse—

He still couldn’t establish contact with Geoffrey’s team. Under these circumstances, triggering the withdrawal prematurely would be catastrophic.

“Report!” a scout shouted.

“A large cluster of mutated beasts has broken away from the blockade front—they’re moving directly toward the city!”

Zephyr’s eyes sharpened. “Intercept them.”

The city gates began to grind open. A vanguard force—already armored and prepared—marched out in disciplined formation.

It wasn’t just Northern Spiritual Town’s garrison. Elite troops from the surrounding northern cities. Recent reinforcements. Veteran units.

Steel met snow. Blades flashed in the storm.

The mutated beasts’ movements were strange—but not strange enough to force Zephyr to abandon the city without firing a shot.

On the walls of Northern Spiritual Town, a portable energy cannon had already finished charging. Its barrel glowed faintly, humming with contained power, ready to cover the vanguard.

“Hmm?”

Just as Zephyr raised his hand to signal the artillery strike, his personal phone rang. Not a public line. Not a military channel.

A restricted number—one that very few people had permission to use. If it rang, it meant something important.

Zephyr frowned and answered.

“Geoffrey!” His voice exploded through the receiver. “At a time like this, where the hell have you been? You’re the commander of the Ministry of Defense!”

“Mr. Zephyr… I’m willing to accept punishment,” Geoffrey’s voice came through, distorted by wind and distant roars. The background was chaos—beasts howling, explosions cracking. “But please—arrange to receive us first. We… have important personnel and critical intelligence to bring back.”

“Receive you?!” Zephyr’s eyes narrowed. Then it clicked. The abnormal movement of the beasts…

“They’re chasing you?” he demanded.

Silence for half a breath. Zephyr’s expression darkened. “Are you out of your mind?” he snapped. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking? Opening the gates now risks the entire city!”

“Zephyr,” a hoarse voice interrupted from behind him.

Zephyr stiffened. Zoltan stood there, his thin frame wrapped in heavy robes, eyes dim yet piercing. “Agree to his request.”

“Ancestor…” Zephyr was genuinely shaken. Zoltan never interfered in military command. Another elder stepped forward—the patriarch of the Remington family. “They may know something about that golden light.”

Zephyr’s jaw tightened. “That anomaly?” he asked.

Zoltan’s gaze was like dying embers. “This matter concerns the survival of humanity—not merely one city.” His voice rasped like torn leather. “If obtaining that intelligence requires the fall of Northern Spiritual Town… then so be it.”

Zephyr inhaled sharply. He had already prepared contingency plans to abandon the city if necessary—but to hear it spoken so coldly, so decisively…

Was the secret behind that golden radiance truly that important? He turned back toward the battlefield. “First, Second, and Third Vanguard Battalions—advance to intercept the beast line—”

“Don’t send anyone close!” The shout came from the phone before he could hang up.

Zephyr’s face went livid. “Who the hell dares interrupt my command—”

He didn’t finish. Gasps rippled across the wall.

Through the swirling snow, several figures were sprinting toward the city at impossible speed. Behind them, an ocean of mid-level mutated beasts thundered forward.