CHAPTER 40……………………..
Preparing for the Subjugation
At the foot of the snowy mountains, where the Ice Rock garrison fortress stood.
The wall on the entrance side still stood firm, but the wall on the opposite side had collapsed miserably.
Every soldier of the garrison had been thrown into repairing the broken wall.
“Damn this…!”
“We’re doing the same shit we did all year again, fuck.”
“They say to pile it even higher this time…”
“Tell them to fuck off!”
“Go ahead and say that. I’ll count how many seconds you last before you’re dead.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Just the other day, someone got killed again.”
“If you’ve got time to chatter, carry those rocks instead.”
Grievances were piling up among the soldiers, but none dared to openly rebel.
Even after being humiliated—defeated and dragged by the hair—Cedric remained the strongest of the garrison.
And as if he had anticipated it, he killed a few who showed even the slightest sign of defiance, making an example of them.
There was no mercy.
Their chests were torn open, their heads severed and hung along the walls.
A warning to crush any thought of desertion.
So the garrison soldiers had no choice but to swallow their resentment and continue repairing the wall.
Just as the soldiers were pressed down by fear—
“…Yes.”
Cedric too was pressed down by fear.
“Are the supplies ready?”
“Yes! Everything’s loaded onto the wagons!”
The driver standing before Cedric, Dyke, answered in a loud, stiff voice, like a soldier under strict discipline.
Cedric sighed, nodding.
“Dyke.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Don’t forget your role.”
His role.
Cedric had deliberately chosen Dyke among the drivers, judging him to have some backbone.
Delivering supplies was not the end of it.
Cedric planned to use him to gather intelligence on the Guardians and on Esric.
“If you do well, the Ice Maker family will guarantee the rest of your life.”
On that basis, he intended to wipe out the Guardians before word reached his father.
“Do your best.”
“Yes, sir!”
Answering resolutely, Dyke left Cedric’s office, mounted the supply wagon, and took the reins.
“Hyah!”
Driving through the rubble of the broken wall, he headed deeper into the snowy mountains, where the Guardians’ fortress lay.
“They’ll guarantee me, huh?”
Only after traveling far enough away—
“What a joke.”
Dyke sneered.
The Ice Maker.
Once, they were the royal house that had built a kingdom.
Though later absorbed into the Empire, they still reigned as rulers of the North.
In the North, the Ice Maker’s power had never once been shaken.
As a Northerner, Dyke knew this better than anyone.
And now, he could sense it.
That the Ice Maker’s iron grip, unshaken for centuries, was beginning to falter.
Anyone who had witnessed such overwhelming magic with their own eyes would realize it.
The growing discontent among the garrison soldiers wasn’t for nothing.
They too knew it—
That even the Ice Maker’s eternal ice might one day melt.
“Hyah!”
With that thought, Dyke drove the wagon eagerly toward the Guardians’ fortress.
After breaking down the wall, the first week of the new month arrived.
“A wagon’s coming!”
As promised (so to speak), Cedric sent supplies.
There was no inspector—just a single driver with the wagon.
But that driver was…
“It’s been a while!”
“…Why are you the one coming again?”
“Cedric, that bastard, has the drivers locked up. Not just them—no one can leave the garrison fortress. And of course, no one can enter either. All food and supplies are received at the fortress gate and hauled inside from there.”
It made sense.
He wouldn’t want the fact that he’d been defeated leaking outside.
Whether to allies or enemies.
Since there was supposedly no force in the North capable of opposing the Ice Maker, they must be allies.
Perhaps his father? Or another sibling?
“Does Cedric have any siblings?”
“He has one younger sister. Rumor says she’s a concubine’s child, not of the main wife… but unlike Cedric, she’s not well known.”
“I see. But…”
What was strange was this side.
“Why are you acting so friendly?”
Dyke was being overly cooperative.
“No way Cedric just told you to drop the supplies and leave, right?”
“Exactly! That’s it! He keeps hounding me, over and over, to find out the Guardians’ situation!”
Shaking his head as if disgusted, he continued.
“So I was thinking… what if I became a double agent?”
“And why should I trust you?”
“Aw, come on. Don’t we have at least that much trust between us…?”
I gave a wry laugh, seeing him watch my reaction carefully.
Now I understood.
He believed I was stronger than the Ice Makers.
And really, hadn’t he seen it with his own eyes?
In this warped world of magic, I’d shattered the wall with a single spell.
“Fine.”
At my reply, Dyke’s face lit up with a grin.
“How are things over there?”
“They’re obsessed with repairing the wall. Piling it higher than before. The soldiers’ complaints are through the roof.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Strictly controlled—no one goes out, and no one comes in. They haven’t even requested aid from the Ice Makers’ own territory.”
That figured.
He sealed the fortress to hide it—no way he’d expose it himself.
“We’ve bought plenty of time then.”
“Uh… but I’ll need to report back. What should I say?”
“Make something up. It’s better if Cedric feels suspicious of you. Feed him the truth, but just barely enough to seem risky.”
“The truth? Are you sure?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Even if the garrison marched on us now, fighting behind the wall, we’d have no trouble.
And since they knew I was here, they wouldn’t attack hastily anyway.
“Understood… huh?!”
His words were cut off by a booming explosion behind us.
Dyke blinked rapidly in shock.
“What was that…?”
“Training. Don’t mind it. Ah—could you slip in some herbs with the next supply?”
“Herbs?”
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Nothing expensive, but I can disguise cheap ones as food ingredients.”
“Try it. If not, that’s fine too.”
“Got it.”
With that, Dyke drove the empty wagon back to the garrison.
“…Are you really okay with this?”
Watching the wagon disappear, Ronan asked.
“Trusting that driver?”
“He’ll be fine. And if not, it doesn’t matter.”
“You’re awfully confident for someone who can’t use magic.”
“Of course.”
I lightly tapped Ronan’s chest with my fist.
The seal still showed clearly on my wrist.
“You’ll cover me, won’t you?”
At that, both Ronan and Hog, who stood beside him, laughed.
BOOM—!
Another explosion sounded behind us.
Turning my head, I saw black smoke rising into the sky in the distance.
“They’ve gone quite far out.”
“Captain Gardner led today’s squad.”
“Hagen went too!”
“Ahh.”
At their words, I nodded in understanding.
“A solid team to send far.”
The Guardians’ objective had changed.
From merely holding back the Flood, to subjugating the Calamity.
So there was no reason to stay cooped up inside the walls anymore.
Instead, we had to go out, gain combat experience.
Every day, squads were formed to hunt Snow Worms.
To adapt to their new engravings, hone combat instincts, and reduce the worm population to prevent another Flood.
It was killing three birds with one stone.
“!”
As Hagen chanted, a blazing orb shot forward.
Screeeech—!
The Fireball struck the Snow Worm’s head dead on.
With a boom, sparks flew.
The worm staggered, and then—
Shhhhk.
A flash of silver-grey blade light.
Grrk—?
The staggering worm’s body split clean in two and slid to the ground.
“That the last one?”
Gardner lowered his sword, scanning the area.
The ground was littered with a dozen Snow Worm corpses—some charred, others sliced apart.
“Seems so.”
“No sign of swarming.”
At the squad’s report, Gardner nodded.
“Any casualties?”
“None.”
“Thanks to you, Captain.”
Fighting daily meant injuries weren’t uncommon.
Even this time, there had been several moments where, without Gardner, someone might have been hurt.
Seeing the squad unharmed, Gardner glanced at Hagen, who was panting angrily.
“Looks like we won, Hagen?”
“Ugh, this isn’t fair!”
At Gardner’s teasing, Hagen snapped.
“If I’d known you were coming, I wouldn’t have bet!”
“Didn’t the magic squad win every time until now? One loss won’t kill you.”
“I don’t care if the squad loses, but why me? I’m the vice-captain, for crying out loud…!”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you’d be on the team. Bad luck.”
“Arghh!”
Hagen stomped the ground in frustration.
Each squad going out numbered 10–15, with only one mage among them.
Yet whenever they bet on Snow Worm kills, the magic squad always won—until today.
With their new engravings, their firepower was overwhelming.
“But Captain, you’ve got a quad chain! That’s… that’s cheating!”
“And isn’t the Vice-Captain a quad chain too? Or not?”
“I only used !”
“Then you should’ve used another spell.”
“I can’t use those right now, damn it!”
Hagen groaned, exasperated by Gardner’s unbudging tone.
He was the only one who had managed to inscribe two new spells at once, thanks to his superior understanding of magic.
But now was not the right time to use them.
Gardner seemed to know that perfectly well.
“Too bad, Vice-Captain.”
He grinned at Hagen’s sulking expression.
“Today’s laundry duty is yours.”
“NOOO!”
A wail more tragic than the Snow Worms’ echoed through the snowy mountains.
Time passed, and preparations for the subjugation advanced steadily.
By summer, every member had adapted to their engravings.
By autumn, they hunted Snow Worms without a single injury.
No matter how squads were formed, they moved in perfect sync, reacting swiftly to unexpected situations.
Not only did they cut down the worm population, they also mapped out the deeper terrain of the mountains.
Meanwhile, Dyke continued to deliver supplies.
He secured as many herbs as possible, per my request, and reported unfailingly on Cedric and the garrison’s movements.
“Next month, I won’t be coming alone.”
Dyke whispered secretly.
“Cedric plans to send new recruits.”
