Chapter 48
Two hours earlier, west of the Frostlands.
Dense woodland blanketed the region, fed by no shortage of streams and lakes, and it marked more than the border between two landscapes — it also divided the Stormcrown Empire from the Wildmarch.
The Empire was humanity's stronghold. The Wildmarch was lawless country, home to countless races, the Werewolves and Vampires that had recently entered the Frostlands among them.
The climate here ran mild, and most of the inhabitants belonged to smaller native races: numerous, varied, and rarely grown into anything that could be called a major power.
Most high-ranking Alliances shared one trait: they recruited Lords with compatible Talents and Units.
The Three Blades Alliance had been built that way — Thorne picking allies whose combat styles closely mirrored his own — and the Beastkin Alliance operated on the same principle, with one unusual house rule on top.
Its members addressed one another only by codename.
Their leader was a curvy middle-aged woman known as Hydra. She sat at the head of the Alliance Hall, chin resting on one hand, stocking-clad legs crossed, the heel of one dangling shoe tapping the floor in a slow rhythm. Eight other members waited around the hall. The final seat sat empty.
At last, a short, unpleasant-looking man pushed open the doors, and every head turned toward him.
Hydra's lips curled with interest. "Well, look who finally came back. Our dear Hyena."
White Hart, one of the Alliance's vice leaders, had less patience for theater. "Did you find anything?"
Hyena thumped his chest. "Relax. I found a lead."
Several members rose at once, and even Hydra's lazy expression sharpened into something predatory.
"We already combed the entire area around the Emerald Woodlands," another scout said.
"There wasn't a trace of another Alliance.
How did you find one so fast?" His codename was Wild Dog.
He'd handled reconnaissance before, and after he botched an assignment, Hydra had handed the duty to Hyena — a replacement he clearly hadn't forgiven.
"We only need one more Alliance Crystal to hit Lv.
3. Don't think that gives you license to stroll in here and invent stories. "
Hyena sneered. "Scouting takes more than sharp senses. It takes a brain." He looked Wild Dog up and down. "Unfortunately, yours seems to match your name."
"What did you say?"
"Enough," White Hart snapped, and motioned for Hyena to continue.
Whether he wanted to humiliate Wild Dog or simply nail down his report's credibility, Hyena laid the whole thing out. "You all remember the two powerful native factions that moved east a few days ago, right?"
The Beastkin Alliance was based in the Emerald Woodlands, but the Frostlands rose high enough in the east that everyone in the region knew of them.
"Their movements looked suspicious to me.
So I went into the Frostlands to investigate — figured I might find a shot at some Kill Points.
" He grinned. "Instead, I found another Alliance. "
The room went quiet.
"They were probably hiding from the two native factions that passed through. Their Territories have been buried underground — through the power of a Wonder, most likely." He raised three fingers. "But I detected only three Lord auras."
Excitement rippled through the hall. An Alliance with only three members — and a Wonder in their possession.
"Perfect," one member said. "Destroy them, and we advance to Lv.3. The extra Kill Points might even push us into the top five."
Wild Dog stayed skeptical. "What about their strength? What if those three are powerful?" He looked around the room. "And fighting in the Frostlands carries other risks. We have to account for the native races there too."
"Powerful enough to beat us?" someone asked.
Wild Dog hesitated. "No. Probably not."
That settled it, really. There were no other Alliances left near the Emerald Woodlands, the Beastkin Alliance needed exactly one more Alliance Crystal to advance, and a target had just appeared within reach. Nobody in the hall intended to let it slip away.
Hydra finally spoke. "Once we reach Lv.3, we can absorb my sister's subordinate Alliance. The extra Kill Points will be useful as well." She smiled faintly. "Don't forget our goal."
The strongest Alliance in the entire channel — that was the goal, and her word ended the debate.
A three-member Alliance didn't justify mobilizing everyone. She looked to White Hart. "You'll lead the operation." The tapping heel went still. "The Frostlands are dangerous, so you may select four additional members."
Five Lords — half the Beastkin Alliance's total strength. Whatever else could be said of Hydra, she was underestimating neither the region nor the target.
White Hart accepted and picked her team on the spot. "Hyena handles reconnaissance." She turned to the others. "Bat, your flying Units give us an edge. Elderwood and Muskox, you're coming as well."
The five left the Alliance Hall. Attacking another Alliance took more than personal strength, so they still needed time to gather their elite Units — and once the forces were assembled, Hyena led them east toward the Frostlands.
They had not yet reached the Three Blades Alliance when the entire region began to shake, and the marching army dissolved into confusion.
"What's happening?"
Bat, flying overhead, suddenly shouted down at them. "Look over there!"
The others followed his gaze. A pillar of white light had erupted from deep within the Frostlands, piercing the sky.
The third omen had begun — and the Beastkin Alliance had walked into the region less than twenty minutes before it activated. The worst possible moment, timed almost perfectly.
The sky warped. Their senses cut out. The world spun beyond anyone's control as the entire army was swallowed by pale light.
...
The three members of the Three Blades Alliance lay hidden underground nearby, and they were not spared. Unable to see the sky, they got no warning at all — only the earth convulsing around them as though the whole underground complex were coming down.
Thorne knew enough about the Frostlands to guess. "Another omen?" He fought to keep his feet. "Why is this one so much stronger?"
He opened the System interface, invoked the Wonder's authority, and transported himself to the surface to see for himself. Light flashed; Thorne appeared aboveground — and the first thing he saw was the Beastkin Alliance's army in the distance, already engulfed in white radiance.
"What the—"
Then he saw the omen in the sky, and the same light swallowed him before the sentence could finish. His consciousness winked out. Bianca and Brom vanished from the underground Territory in the same instant.
This time, the omen seemed determined to claim every living creature in the Frostlands.