Late at night, Broken Mountain Fortress.

The lone little wizard lay on the city wall, his delicate face full of worry, and his sapphire eyes looking out at the glacial wasteland shrouded in darkness.

It's been a month, and it's been almost a month since those two fools left here to look for Niederhogg.

After Conrad de Salion led the legion north, the guys were completely unheard from - and of course, Ain knew how daunting it was to get the word out in the blizzard-ravaged desolate and dead glacial wasteland.

Sometimes, without the message itself... It's already the best news.

Gently rubbing her cold and numb little hands, the timid little wizard took out a very delicate Holy Cross pendant from her bosom - this was a thank you gift secretly stuffed to her by the quartermaster and priest who looked particularly "incorruptible" when she was helping with the logistics of the Broken Mountain Fortress.

Looking at the ancient Sakran inscription on it, the sterling silver pendant glowed with bright white "brilliance" in the moonlight, and the little wizard gently bit his lower lip and pressed the pendant against his forehead.

"I know I'm not a devout believer, but... My lord, if your light can really shine through the darkness to illuminate us, please bless those two brainless fools. ”

"I don't need anything else, just get them back... I really, really can't imagine what the world would be like without Isaac and without Loren. ”

"Can you hear me... Will you hear me?"

"Please... Either way... Please, let them come back. ”

"I've been... There aren't many relatives left......"

The little wizard who whispered softly bowed slightly, his thin shoulders shaking.

"Meow~" The Moon Shadow Cat, nestled beside Ain, gently rubbed her ankles, and the flickering ruby eyes stared at her motionlessly.

"Are you worried about them, Merlin (Ariel)?" the little wizard finally smiled as he half-crouched down and took the Moon Shadow in his arms, gently stroking the silky black hair:

"Don't be afraid, people just think too much, so those two stupid people won't have an accident. As if to the cat, as if talking to himself, Ain whispered:

"It was the same when I was in Vimpal, it was the same when I was in Deepwood, there was also the Oldwood Forest, and Ebolden...... These guys just like to let others worry about them in vain, but they don't even have the slightest self-awareness. ”

A faint smile came to Ain's face, and for some reason, just holding Merlin (Ariel) in her arms made her feel very warm... It's like some stupid guy is beside him, laughing lazily at himself.

Really, why are you thinking about that guy again?

But it was just an illusion, just a sudden imagination... All I could hear was the howl of a blizzard, and the soldiers patrolling the fortress walls in the distance with torches.

Since the deputy commander of the fortress, Ernst Dresis, asked himself, the number of guards on the northern wall of the fortress of Broken Mountain has been tripled, especially the soldiers in charge of night patrols.

All the guards, even the auxiliaries in charge of logistics, were all concentrated, armed and trained according to the most standard legionnaires' attire, and the few sergeant majors and veterans who had served for more than five years in the fortress were temporarily promoted to centurions, responsible for leading these men with little combat experience.

Even the little wizards and the helpless alchemists were each given a legionnaire's heavy sword—though Ain preferred them to give him a pair of bows and arrows.

Arrows, armor, halberds, shields, bows, trebuchets, ballistas, ignitions, kerosene...... A variety of large ordnance and supplies were placed on the already impregnable northern wall.

The little wizard still remembers the middle-aged knight named Ernst who had gathered five hundred barrels of asphalt in one day, and then given the task of a hundred barrels of igniting charge, and that there was no form, the only "request" was to be placed in front of him in one day.

Day after day, in order to maintain high-intensity training and armament, Ernst Drexis squandered the inventory of the Broken Mountain Fortress almost without any bottom line... Some alchemists even secretly told her that His Excellency the Deputy Commander even had a plan to completely seal the fortress gate with ice water and steel bars.

Of course, he gave up in the end.

According to the reason told by the middle-aged knight, it was to ensure the safety of Prince Sackland's northern expedition and to guard against possible monster invasions.

But the little wizard knew it was just an excuse...... In the Ancient Wood Forest, in the Great Tree Wall, she had seen with her own eyes what war was like, or what it should be.

Just to fend off thousands of ogres, the elves of the Ancient Wood Forest have done their best, and have paid great sacrifices in exchange for the final victory...... So, what will happen to the Broken Mountain Fortress in the face of evil gods and monsters?

Ernst Drex: He was not on the lookout for the invasion of monsters from the north, but he was very sure that the monsters were about to invade the north, and tens of thousands of monsters would appear in front of them at any time and place.

"Woo——————————————!!!!"

The melodious sound of the horn suddenly came from the fortress behind him, and the little wizard who was still looking out at the glacier wasteland was stunned.

And the moment she turned around, she saw a fortress of war illuminated by countless firelights!

In a matter of moments, groups of legionnaires with torches passed swiftly up and down the city walls, crossbowmen half-crouched beside the battlements with quivers on their backs, sappers under the command of officers manipulating ballistas and trebuchets to load ammunition, and legionnaires quickly formed a phalanx in the playground under the walls under the firelight.

There were no expressions, no orders, no shouts or any voices of speech—only the white mist between breaths, the sound of orderly footsteps and the sound of gears turning.

By the time the little wizard came to his senses, the giant "war machine" was fully armed, and almost all the towers had the Iron Crown banner raised at the top, hunting in the blizzard!

For a moment, looking at those expressionless legionnaires, Ain suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of security and pride, and the corners of his mouth were tightly pursed, and there was a hint of a different emotion in his sapphire-like eyes.

This is the northern gate that the Sakran Empire is proud of, and it has never been breached under several monster invasions in the twelfth generation, and it will always stand strong——!

Heavy footsteps sounded, and the heavily armed Ernst Drexis rode on a northern warhorse, holding an Iron Crown banner in his hand, and looked at each of the legionnaires under the walls with a solemn expression:

"Twelve generations, since His Majesty Eckhart I, the northern legions have held the Broken Mountain Fortress for a full twelve generations, and they have never missed nine invasions!"

"We've defeated the damned monsters nine times in the Valley of Bloodbones and the Broken Mountains, on the Spiral Peak!

"And now, the monsters that your ancestors and fathers fought head-on are beyond the walls, in the glacial wasteland that is so close by. ”

"I fought alongside your fathers under His Majesty Eckhart II, and I still remember their names and appearances vividly. ”

"Will you disgrace your ancestors, are you going to disgrace your fathers - I will not agree, and I will never agree, even if there are thousands, we will fight to the end. ”

"This is the Broken Mountain Fortress, and we are the guards of the Broken Mountain, we will defeat them as many times as they attack!"

Ernst drew his sword and shouted at the soldiers: "Let them remember that as long as the main peak of the Broken Mountains has not fallen, as long as there is a soldier standing, as long as there is a banner, they will never be able to cross our walls——!!!!"

"In the light of the Holy Cross...... the middle-aged knight raised the blade of his sword, and in response to him was the sound of countless swords unsheathed and bows and arrows wound.

"Tell me, what the hell are you fighting for?!"

"For the Glory of Sackland——————!!!!"