The sound of the arguments clashing with each other welcomes the consciousness of a man. It seems that he is inside of a game world with 3D graphics because when he looks at his hand, it looks semi-realistic, similar to virtual reality games.
The diorama of the huge gate between the town and the open ice field is the next thing landed in his sight. It is surrounded by many maps scattered around with many 'x' marks on it.
"I don't want to join my people in the war that you've created. You can call us a coward but it is better to live than to die in the war that we didn't start." a short man with a huge belly said after slamming his fist to the table.
The small pieces of chip model on the table rattled and fell from being hit too hard.
"How I wish I could agree with you but I cannot because this war started a long time ago. The dark forces and the light ones fought a war for centuries before this. They are our natural enemy." a young woman with long black hair said in her usual elegant way.
Her brown eyes pierced through everyone present there. "Do not blame this war on me. There's nothing we can do with it." She said while crossing her arms. She took a sip of coffee and then continued, "It's already been 100 years since this first war started. Escaping or not, you have no other choice but to fight for your lives. Escaping will make the problem longer."
"Eeek!" the short man squeeks, he wants to scream out his fear but he is inside of the important meeting.
"As we know, the dark forces are approaching the border of Shivergate from the icy north. With their speed, they are expected to arrive here tonight. We are estimating that we have two hours spare to prepare." The vice commander of the second battalion knight reported.
The duke who is the owner of the land nodded. He didn't do anything, he just listened to all the arguments of the people in the meeting.
His armor was made out of black steel that glistened in the moonlight. He had a black lion mask that was made of steel on his face making him look even more like a monster than normal.
The knight turned his head to look at a man that recently awakened at the meeting. He secretly sighed because he caught his commander sleeping again in the meeting.
He had long brown hair tied up in a messy ponytail that rested at his nape. He looked tired, his sapphire eyes were bloodshot from waking up. His body was wrapped in a thick red cape that barely covered him but still left enough room for his body.
"Commander, what is your decision?" his knight asked him.
In confusion, he looked at all the people in the meeting. All of them are familiar but he can't remember when he met them. He has been trying to recollect every single person who is there but it seems impossible since they keep popping in and out of his memories every second.
His eyes went again to the diorama of their geographical map and an idea suddenly entered his mind.
"Since according to the report, we have more people from our neighboring town who are willing to help and some people from here who want to escape. Then, the people who want to escape are free to leave this border and they will be guided by our volunteer knights. Saving more lives is our top priority as our Duke ordered before. Tell all the people who want to defend, follow me." He said after glancing at the report paper on his hand and decided to leave the meeting place.
As soon as he went outside, the sound of the flags flapping in the icy wind caught his attention. The flag has an insignia of the lion that represents the royalty in the blue silk cloth and the other one is a purple flag with a hawk that spread its wings widely, it is from the Shivergate.
This signifies the alliances of two major groups, a royalty and a noble. Einar is one of the leaders of the resistance against the dark forces, they are known as the Imperial Order.
Although he has a commoner's blood in his veins, his value is high enough that can match in nobility. He started from being a private knight and later they found out that he has a mana and he instantly became a magic swordsman. The story goes by until he becomes the third commanding knight after the former commander decides to retire.
The sound from the growl and scream can be heard from a far. Their enemy is now here! It is from Ice Dragons and the flying Banshee with dark spirits screaming above the dark sky that made the humans at the nearby area tremble with fear.
One huge Ice Dragon flies near them, which brings a strong cold gust of wind to the area and makes some of them succumb in terror. Their legs became weak and made them fall on the ground because they got overwhelmed by the Ice Dragon's size.
They have been told countless times that dragons are dangerous beasts and that they will destroy everything they touch if they get angry.
"This is unexpected." He whispered to himself after he recovered from the overwhelming number of their enemy.
His eyes wandered around his surroundings and noticed the group of people that was coming his way. He knew that they were late by half an hour or so to meet him, that made him think about leaving earlier but he couldn't bring himself to because he has a considerate personality.
As they approached, he recognized that it was his fellow Imperial Commander. As she walked, her steps were firm and determined.
Ingrid Rogenhold, seventh Imperial Commander of the knights' order.
She has a similar look with Einar that makes it look like she is his twin but they are not related to each other. Her hair is short like a man's but she still has a girl side by wearing small hair ornaments that shine brightly under the moonlight.
Behind her she is followed by her men, both wearing a gray cloak.
Einar ordered his people to collect their weapons to gear-up themselves and get to their positions, before his *sister arrived.
The soldiers follow his every order, even though they have hesitant looks on their faces because they feel wary and unsure if they are going to survive this battle because this is the first time that they encounter these creatures. Also, they know that the kingdom can easily abandon them and their families when all the things get out of control because they are not from well-known blood lines or rich people.
The Ice Dragon roared again as another large group of Ice Dragons flew towards them, the roar echoed across Shivergate where most of their evacuee fell on the ground crying. Others remained calm, knowing that they were the last line of defense. They knew they're going to pay dearly for defending the border tonight but for now, they just needed to keep their heads above.
There's the sound of loud footsteps together with the clanging sound of metal from their armor running towards him. He sees Ingrid, wearing her glamorous armor with a gray cape attached.
On Ingrid' side, there's also her trusted knights. One of her knights had a bandage around his chest and another man had an empty eye socket that had been sewed shut by someone using a needle and thread.
"Brother, they are not just normal enemies like we fought before. They are so tough, my forces almost disappeared with their power. I recommend you to ask for assistance from our brother." Ingrid said with worry in her voice.
She is pertaining to the other Knights in command.
Einar let out a soft chuckle, "Lady Ingrid, I wish that they can come here but they are also facing their enemy on the other end of the Kingdom. If I already ask them for help, they can't arrive here in time because these dark forces are now here next to us. Their reinforcement is too late." Einar's words sounded reasonable.
A dragon landed near to them and their wings ruffled in the air causing a violent wind. The knights who were busy were shaken from the blow and fell on the snow and dirt.
"We have other forces that want to escape, you can join them. They are going to stop over tonight in the nearby village before going to the central kingdom." Einar said, looking at the dragon that flew far away from him. He makes sure that he puts his expert fighters that can protect their people to escape but that is not enough, he needs someone to command them.
"Do you still think that I am weak? I can still fight!" She emotionally shouted. "How can I become a commander if I am that weak?" She whispered to herself but Einar could still hear it.
"Those thoughts never landed in my mind. I know your abilities but your people need you." Einar's gaze swiftly turned to her soldiers.
The two soldiers can't return their gaze to Einar because he is right.
Ingrid sighed and faced her soldiers. They all stood up and nodded their heads at the command given to them.
"Let's go, we have some urgent matters to settle." Ingrid said to her subordinates and gave a sign to follow her.
Einar watches his fellow commander fade away from his sight before he casts off his ultimate skills "Walls of Jericho".
It is a transparent barrier with high durability. It will last for a half hour but that is enough for Einar to finish his preparations to their enemies. The see through blue wall-like appeared on their enemy, more specifically it appears exactly on the front of the one of the Dark Lord, Ravier.
Ravier taps the tip of his long dark pointy nail on the barrier to examine it and he gives a side eye look to his Witch Sorceress.
"Can you break this?" He asked the Witch.
A beautiful young woman in black clothing appears from the thick smoke. She bows her head first while holding her giant scepter as her support.
Her face was covered in shadow.
"I've seen this before, it is a cheap type of barrier. This barrier could last for a half hour but it has strong durability. Usually they use it to buy some time." she explained calmly.
"So it won't break."
"I don't think so...but the price for breaking it is going to be steep so don't try anything rash."
"...what does that mean?"
"Nothing...just stay alert."
After hearing her reply, Ravier turned away and faced the barrier again.
Together with their energy, the village men already made the barricades and trap holes that they need for blockage and traps to their enemy and they scattered it everywhere in the blank snowy battlefield.
Einar closes his eyes and a light starts to draw a circle on his ground by using his power. The magic circle draws a circular shape and forms a shield that surrounds the field to prevent any harm to them, it's magic protection. This magic circle is called 'Influence'.
While Einar is working on the spell, his vice commander, Keiran, gives orders to the rest. The soldiers formed several rows facing the Icy dragon.
Each row had a captain in charge along with archers, swordsmen and mages. These are all warriors with different types of magical spells that they have practiced to perfect themselves in the past years.
As Einar finishes with the enchantment, he turns to his men, "Go! The barrier disappeared!"
His men moved into position to kill their foes. Their swords glint in the moonlight and their bodies shine in silver as they move forward.