"Charge."
A cynical girl's voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of stomping feet that seemed out of place in the snow.
The sight of hundreds of armored knights charging in unison was reminiscent of medieval European heavy armored knights.
-Kaaaaaah!
A wedge-shaped cavalry charge swept through the icy realm. A few giants attempted to halt the charge, but a parabolic barrage of artillery blasted them to pieces.
-Crackle! Crackle!
Pinpoint bombardment from the artillery gauntlets of the Kikiruk warriors.
The concentrated firepower, directed by Yappy aboard the Marquis-class battlecruiser, was like an alien legion sweeping through the stone-axe-wielding barbarians.
-Multiple Ice Spirits captured. Commencing high intensity fire support.
[I already know!]
The five dragons in the Siberian snowfields responded to Yappy's unified command.
Their gaping maws opened, concentrating enormous energy. Soon, the snowfields were pelted with brass, squeezing out troops and melting the reinforcements like midsummer ice cream.
"Hmph, we're just us, but the dragons' firepower is truly incredible!"
Even Kim Jae-hyuk, who had been raining down thunderbolts on the battlefield and wiping out an entire axis, was impressed by the Dragon Breath.
"If you have time to admire it, drop one more lightning bolt. Lightning bolts on molten ground is a recipe for disaster."
So-yeon scanned the battlefield as the Knights prepared to charge again.
" So-yeon, what's wrong?"
"The speed of recruiting troops is slow."
"What?"
The Frost Queen's power over Siberia is inexhaustible.
As the snow accumulates, the magic infused into it gives birth to ice spirits, and the Yetis burst forth, spewing out frozen ice chariots as if the snowfields were vomiting snow.
"Compared to the footage of the battle from seventeen years ago, this is still weak. The quality of the troops is better, but---what's more---the Frost Giants are nowhere to be seen."
"What's a frost giant?"
So-yeon sends a pathetic gaze to Jae-hyuk, who asks innocently. He's a knight of the Ten Thousand Gods, and he hasn't even researched the historical data.
"Queen's Legion Leader. They're monsters whose combat power is more than that of the Queen."
"They're stronger than a Yeti?"
The Yeti alone was a monster that could tear apart an S-ranked Hunter, but Jae-hyuk was surprised that there were monsters stronger than that.
"It's one of the worst black ranks."
It's not one of the Three Calamities for nothing, So-Yeon thought of the Wandering Magic Sword.
The Wandering Demon Sword that contained the Slaughter Archduke Akasha was said to be the strongest single individual, but the Frost Queen was called the strongest in a different sense.
"As long as the Holy Knights are here, I'm not too worried------"
Still, it was strange that the battlefield had been pushed this far and not a single Frost Giant had appeared. Wasn't the Frost Queen fully revived yet?
"Well, we'll find out once we enter the Ice Castle."
Jae-hyuk's spear tip was pulled back as he turned to face the swarming snow monsters.
A pillar of fire burns the snowfield, and the resulting meltwater pours out in waves.
It would be a waste to throw more firepower at them.
* * * * *
The Siberian battlefield, which the Russians had been holding at bay with all their might, was broken through by the Holy Knights and the Templars.
There were still many monsters in the snowy field, but the dragons and Kikiruk warriors who occupied the ice castle fought back and blocked them, and the Holy Knights and a small group of Russian hunters entered the ice castle.
-Base Defense Mode initiated. The main unit has moved its cockpit to the Count class.
Yappy ordered his Marquis-class battlecruiser to auto-combat and disembarked, taking the lead with Koo Dae-sung.
"Multiple enemy troops inside!"
As the 1st Knights of Naju, led by Yappy, Koo Dae-sung, and Karina, quickly entered the ice castle, the ice monsters rushed to intercept the invaders.
-Bam! Firefighting commences.
With Koo Dae-sung defense and the firepower of Yappy on the Count's aircraft, the Queen's chariots were swept away in an instant.
"An ice castle. How fitting."
And with the assistance of veteran Holy Knight Karina there were some threatening monsters in the middle, but they couldn't withstand Karina's blows.
"That was an ice elemental! It's quite powerful!"
"I don't think it's much different from a normal soldier."
Indeed, to Holy Knights, there was no point in measuring the strength of ordinary monsters and Class A monsters.
There were three super-powered Holy Knights and the following Naju Knights were confident that this capture would be easy.
"It's still weird."
"What's wrong, So-yeon?"
Hearing Ha-ri's question, Chun So-yeon frowned, as if she was feeling a sense of foreboding.
"I still can't see the Frost Giant, which should actually be the Queen's last line of defense------"
"Maybe she just didn't create it, seeing as how we traveled all the way here and can't see it."
Jae-hyuk said it as if it was no big deal, but Chun So-yeon shook her head.
"No matter what, there has to be one. The Frost Giant is the first creature the Queen gives birth to, and it's the one who leads the creatures in the first place."
In other words, there are frost giants in this ice castle.
And the fact that they haven't shown up after all this time------
"They are guarding the Queen's side."
Many of the top monsters they haven't found are at the side of the Frost Queen, a black-rank boss.
"This is the Queen's Hall. Be vigilant and aware of your surroundings."
With Karina's advice, they soon reach the Queen's Hall.
Unlike the Ice Castle stage, the interior is darker the further you go.
As an "indestructible object," the ice castle blocks out light from the outside, as if it were not of this world.
The pitch blackness is reminiscent of a cave-like dungeon.
Yappy's infrared and thermal cameras scan the darkness and they reach the massive doors to the Queen's Hall.
"I'll open it."
Koo Dae-sung, the one with the most powerful regeneration of the two, opens the door by hand, and Yappy throws something inside.
-Whoosh! BANG!
It was a device that fired infrared radar in all directions, scanning for structures.
Yappy scanned the darkened interior of the Queen's Hall and made a judgment call.
-Checking for life inside. Two individuals.
"Is it the queen?"
-What?
Yappy was about to observe more details when he realized.
-Kaaaaaah! Puck!
Something is thrown from inside. It was a split second, but Koo Dae-sung and Karina saw it.
""Neck?""
The thick neck of the frozen giant was thrown like a baseball, and it landed on the Count-rank war armor.
-Bang!
The Count staggered backwards as the war armor made of stellar iron lost its balance and fell down.
"Lord Yappy!"
The attacker swung his mace straight at Koo Dae-sung, who blocked it with his earth shield.
-Thud!
"Huh?!"
Koo Dae-sung, who blocked it with his earth shield, felt something strange.
An impact was felt from beyond the shield and the total amount of force transmitted through his arm was bizarre.
Just like the first time he blocked Leon's mounted charge during the Man at Arms training.
"Lord Koo Dae-sung!"
Even though Koo Dae-sung blocked the powerful blow with his shield, the mace bounced back in the same direction in which it was swung. It was a shocking force that the Holy Knight could not withstand.
"You---!"
Karina's magic sword turned black and swung toward the enemy. Even with that absolute cutting blade in front of her, her opponent moved forward, throwing off the timing of Karina's attack with his shoulder, and slammed into her.
"Thwack---!"
Karina stumbles back from the impact and throws herself to the side to avoid the striking mace. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Yappy pointing a machine gun at the attacker.
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!
Yappy's fire, firing thousands of machine-gun rounds per minute, hits him in the back.
-Krrr---!
Even though he's already been hit by dozens of shells, his reaction is to howl like a beast and rush forward.
-------!?
The raider approached, silently withstanding even the most expensive stardust bullets as Yappy immediately unleashed dozens of wires and entered melee combat.
Tactical Technique
The sharp, anticipatory wires, capable of cutting through anything, were carefully calculated and sent into a trajectory that was impossible to evade, it was a literal spider web but the raider scoffs at the wires as they wrap around him like a spider's web and walks away.
The moment his feet hit the ground, his entire body is engulfed in darkness and he vanishes like a mist. Not even Yappy, watching with his ultra-high-powered infrared camera, saw the moment of his disappearance.
-------?!
The next moment, a web of wires sweeps out, and the raider appears in the place swept by the destructive holy law.
His right arm stretches out, red with energy, and Yappy unleashes his greatest defensive move.
Tactical Spell
This extreme defense is invincible for a short time. But──
-Kwazik
A red hand viciously grabs the Count's armor, tearing it off in its grasp.
"No way---!"
In a moment of disbelief, the glove is ripped off in the shape of a hand, revealing the body of Yappy in the open cockpit.
Immediately, a languid energy flows from his eyes in the darkness, and then──
-Kwah!
A green flash of light shoots toward Yappy.
-Emergency ejection!
Yappy activated the emergency ejection system to avoid the green flash that rained down on the cockpit. However, the attacker's arms grabbed him as he escaped the cockpit.
"Fly."
With that assessment, the corner of the attacker's mouth twitches. At the moment of desperation, Karina appeared from behind.
"Let go with your lowly hands!"
It was a perfect surprise attack. The absolute cutting magic sword cut the guy's back, but that was all. The armor with unimaginable defensive power resisted the cutting power of the magic sword, and any further attacks were blocked by Yappy who was thrown at Karina.
"Thwack---!"
As Karina parried Yappy, the raider's mace swung down toward her.
"Hit him with it."
"------?!"
Karina's gaze snaps as a huge force concentrates on the hammer.
"Hmph---!"
Koo Dae-sung, who had channeled a frenzied power into the hammer of Georgic, slammed it down. With a dizzying sound, the ice castle shook with the force of the blow. None of the creatures that were directly hit by this blow survived!
"Whoa------."
The moment Koo Dae-sung breathes a sigh of relief, confident of victory, the shoulder where he struck the hammer is grabbed.
Realizing that it was the attacker he had just struck, Koo Dae-sung jerked back in horror.
'You're still alive after taking this hit?!'
It was a blow that would have changed the terrain if it had hit the ground, but not only did he take it in stride, but──
-Kaaaaaah!
The mace slowly rose. Koo Dae-sung's face grew darker and darker as the eerie red waves poured out from the mace.
"Mu, what kind of power---!"
Sensing danger, Koo Dae-sung tried to break free from the creature's grasp, but the creature blocked him with just one arm and then slammed the mace down.
-Thud!
He instinctively blocked it with his earth shield, but it was useless. The shattered stardust helmet clattered to the ground.
"Form up!"
The knights formed up as if to protect him from the blow that had struck and sent him flying.
They form up almost instinctively, as they've been trained to do, but each of their faces is pale with disbelief.
'The Holy Knights------.
'Just one of them?'
But there was no time for them to panic. The mace struck again, this time with the same destructive force.
"Danger?!"
Soo-ho deployed his shield almost instinctively. The Holy Knight Amalek's Orb of Light deployed its absolute defense at the same time──
A ferocious red pulse that took the breath away appeared.
The intimidating charisma and despairing aura of the mace overwhelms the Knights and Hunters, filling them with fear.
The creature's power surpassed even the protection of the Holy Knights.
-Crack!
A wave of energy from the mace struck the ground, collapsing the ice castle and shattering it in all directions.
──────!!!!!
The sound died away.
Everyone is stunned at the horrific destruction caused by a single blow.
Even this much power was a mere 'demonstration' for this raider.
"Holy Knight. I had hoped for more--- but you disappoint."
In the pitch blackness of the hall the red energy of the mace reveals the face of the attacker.
"Flee, tin cans. Tell your king."
Your nemesis has arrived.
It was an orc that had the face of a fierce beast.