My name is Philen, the captain of the guard for the Brino family in the Frost Snow Wasteland, Sixth Ring of the Demon Realm.
Right now, the young lord Vera Brino, just eleven years old, sat in the carriage behind me.
Her brown hair was a mess, her amber eyes hung low, and her fiery red fox ears drooped softly on top of her head—adorable, truly.
She had suffered endless humiliation at the Magic Capital’s central council.
After barely enduring that long ordeal and finally heading home, an even deeper darkness awaited her.
Tonight, the lord’s convoy had just returned to the territory of the Frost Snow Wasteland after a grueling journey.
No sooner had they arrived than Count Claudius, the regent, bared his fangs with impatience.
Over one hundred and fifty Black Scale Guards surged from behind the snow dunes on both sides, clearly lying in ambush for a long time.
“By order, we are eliminating bandits!”
The leader raised the black scale banner high, frost crystallizing on his armor.
“Hand over the carriage, and we’ll spare your lives!”
I planted my blade and leveled my horse, the sword’s tip aimed straight at the enemy leader.
My voice was steady and firm as I roared, “Inside the carriage is the rightful lord of the Sixth Ring, Frost Snow Wasteland—Lady Vera Brino! Are you openly declaring rebellion?!”
The few leaders at the front threw their heads back and laughed, the sound echoing across the snowy plain with nauseating mockery.
“That brat who still smells of milk? She should have died long ago! Once Lord Claudius takes over, the Frost Snow Wasteland will usher in even greater prosperity, and we brothers will rise to glory!”
The speaker paused, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel grin.
“And besides, tonight—aren’t you all dying at the hands of bandits? Lord Claudius will hold a grand funeral for the little lord. That’s the last bit of mercy for the Brino family.”
Before the words faded, the mages among the Black Scale Guards had already completed their incantations.
The air condensed with frost, and ice crystals shimmered with cold light in the darkness.
Nearly a hundred ice lances tore through the night like a rainstorm, shredding the black sky.
“Form up! Circle shield formation, defend!”
I roared, my eyes sweeping quickly across the enemy lines.
The central army had mages chanting, the front was a feint, and the sword-and-shield infantry on both flanks were advancing.
They wanted the first wave of magic to force us to shrink, then encircle us from the flanks and completely trap us.
Under my command, the sixteen personal guards converged instantly, their fox ears standing straight as they chanted the same incantation in unison.
“Guardian·Barrier!”
A faint silver light screen rose, just barely blocking the hundred ice lances.
The ice lances crashed against the screen, shattering into a hail of high-speed ice shards, which the guards’ shields held firm against.
But the screen trembled violently under the heavy impact.
Three guards had blood seeping from the corners of their mouths.
That single strike had nearly torn our defensive line apart.
“Counterattack! Drive back the enemy’s charge!” I knew that passive defense was a slow death.
Drawing my blade forward, I ordered the guards to prepare long-range strikes.
“Foxfire·Burning Curse!”
All sixteen guards raised their hands at once.
Blue flames rose from their palms, converging into a wave of fire that surged straight at the enemy formation.
Seven Black Scale Guards were instantly engulfed, collapsing to the ground.
The rest were knocked back by the fiery wave, their armor glowing red as they screamed and rolled on the snow.
The first battle—we had won with fewer numbers, momentarily blunting the enemy’s edge.
But the despair of being vastly outnumbered did not dissipate.
Before we could catch our breath, the Black Scale Guards in front pressed in like an iron wall, and the flanks had already completed their encirclement.
Further away, the enemy mages began chanting again, their incantations low like rolling thunder.
Over a dozen bolts of lightning tore through the air, striking straight at the carriage!
“Scatter! Groups of three, alternating barriers!” I ordered.
The guards quickly split into three teams, erecting small barriers one after another.
The lightning slammed into the first barrier, exploding into blinding white light.
The barrier shattered, but our second and third waves of barriers rose in succession, weakening the lightning’s power layer by layer.
Even so, two of our guards were directly hit.
Their skin and flesh turned black instantly, and they fell with screams.
I glanced at the fallen out of the corner of my eye.
Their chests were charred black, and they had already stopped breathing.
“Bastards!” My heart clenched in agony.
But the enemy gave us no time to catch our breath.
The sound of bowstrings tightening came from all directions, and arrows rained down.
The piercing whistle of arrows split the air.
We raised our shields to block, the arrows clanging against the metal surfaces.
Yet some slipped through the gaps, piercing the shoulders, arms, and thighs of the guards beside me.
Blood gushed from the wounds, staining the earth crimson.
As the arrow rain eased, the Black Scale Guards’ sword-and-shield infantry were already upon us.
The two armies clashed at close quarters.
A melee erupted.
Steel and fire intertwined, and the roar of battle shook the heavens.
I swung my blade, cutting down a Black Scale Guard charging at the carriage.
In my peripheral vision, I saw Fizem surrounded by three enemies.
One stabbed through his abdomen, his intestines spilling out, blood splattering onto the snow and steaming in the cold.
Fizem’s eyes went wide.
He roared, holding the Black Scale Guard who had stabbed him in a death grip, ignoring the blades from the other two carving into his back, laying bare flesh and bone.
Still, he refused to let go, buying time for his comrades.
“Fizem!” someone cried out, but no one stopped fighting.
A noise came from behind, and I glanced back at the carriage.
Vera lifted the curtain, preparing to jump down.
The cuff of her deep purple dress was torn, revealing her thin wrist with visible blue veins.
Her fiery red fox ears quivered slightly, and her amber eyes were full of fear, but she bit her lower lip hard, refusing to let out a single sob.
“Lady Vera! Get back!” I shouted.
“I want to help!” Her voice was small but stubborn.
“I am the lord! I can’t just watch my personal guard die protecting me while I…”
“You coming out would only make things worse!” I yelled at her, not letting her finish.
Only after I shouted did I realize my rudeness.
But the battlefield left no room for hesitation.
I softened my tone and said quickly, “Lady Vera, as long as you live, the Brino family still has hope. Listen to me, get back inside. Your servant begs you—for us, and for the Brino family!”
She stared at me blankly, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.
Slowly, she retreated back into the carriage.
I turned my head, wiped the blood from my mouth, and continued fighting the Black Scale Guards.
Time slipped away, but fewer and fewer of my guards remained by my side.
The thirteenth fell—Xiao Ke, shielding the wounded Old Tor on the ground, had three Black Scale Guard lances pierce through his chest.
He gripped the shafts tightly, refusing to let the enemies pull them out, and with his dying breath, roared for his comrades behind to counterattack.
The fifteenth fell—Morpheus, dragging his left leg that had been blown through by lightning, lunged at a mage in the enemy ranks.
He grabbed the mage, drove a dagger into his heart, and at the same time, had his own throat pierced by the mage’s ice spike.
The sixteenth lost his head—I couldn’t even tell who it was anymore.
I just saw a headless guard’s corpse suddenly lunge at the carriage, blocking a fireball aimed at it with his body.
Then it exploded into pieces, blood mist and embers mixing together, scattering across the snowy air.
Now only I remained alive—or rather, barely clinging to existence.
On the snow, sixteen pairs of fox ears were covered in frost.
I knelt on the ground, my blade propped up, its tip buried deep in the frozen earth.
Blood trickled down the blade, forming dark red beads of ice on the snow.
A half-shattered arrow was still lodged in my left shoulder bone.
Blood gushed from seven wounds on my body.
My vision was fading, and the only sounds in my ears were the wind and my own slowing heartbeat.
The Black Scale Guards sheathed their swords and slowly closed in.
The leader nudged my drooping blade tip with his boot, looking down at me.
“Stop struggling. I acknowledge your loyalty, but if the little lord were to meet with an ‘accident,’ the Frost Snow Wasteland would only be more peaceful. What do you think?”
My body was gradually losing feeling.
Freezing snowflakes mixed with warm, bloody water blurred my eyes.
The world was fading.
Just then—
Thirty paces away, a silver light fell like moonlight.
“In the name of Moon Feather!”
A cold female voice cut through the frigid night.
“Domain·Moon Court!”
I barely managed to see.
Three figures broke through the snow, and the lead girl’s silver hair cascaded like a waterfall, reaching her waist.
A faint, cold glow flickered between her strands, illuminating this bloodstained snowy plain.