How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 716: Frost Queen.. 2

"Knights—hold the line! Don’t let them push any further!"

That order sliced through the turmoil, clear and unwavering.

"Mages, fall back and focus on disruption! You don’t need to kill them—just slow them down!"

He pivoted slightly, delivering the next command without delay.

"Guards, return to the inner districts and protect the citizens! Make sure evacuation routes stay open—no one gets left behind!"

Amid the dispersed warriors, his eyes locked onto a recognized form.

"Jacob!"

The Lapstone mercenaries' leader jerked his head his way.

"Take your men and assist the guards. Prioritize the civilians—get as many out as you can!"

A momentary lull came before Roverick appended, voice resolute—

"Don’t worry. The reward stands. That castle I promised you will be yours."

In that instant, a subtle shift occurred.

The panic lingered.

The fear endured.

Yet the disorder—

It eased.

Precisely enough.

Warriors stalled in terror stirred back to life. Ranks reassembled, frail as they were, with directives now heeded. No full remedy here.

Yet it counted.

Roverick released a measured breath, eyes rising anew to the looming titans.

His mind still churned relentlessly.

Why?

Why this behavior from the Grand Duke?

Right from the start, an odd vibe had lingered. Luther arrived without the expected haste, nor any drive to safeguard the north above all.

Subtle.

Yet evident.

As though his aims directed elsewhere.

Still—

Regardless—

This eluded Roverick's grasp.

No matter his hidden goal, would he truly allow a whole city to crumble untouched?

The man remained an imperial knight.

Or so it seemed.

Roverick gritted his teeth, shoving doubts away.

No space for such now.

No resolutions at hand.

Just the fray ahead.

Deliberately, he advanced, old frame stiffening as mana surged within, heedless of the toll. The surrounding air quivered subtly from the mounting force.

Though foes matched dragon might...

Though survival hung doubtful—

None of it signified.

He ruled this city still.

And while he endured—

It wouldn't yield lightly.

"My knights—gather to me!"

Roverick's call pierced the bedlam anew, now keener, laden with purpose. Survivors rallied swift, withdrawing from frayed clashes to cluster near him, dented gear and shaky grips revealing their exhaustion.

He allowed no second thoughts.

Sword raised, green mana coalesced along its edge, sheathing it in precise, harnessed streams. No erratic burst like sorcery; rather, a compact, honed edge—forged by decades of rigor over brute force.

Before them, a colossus shattered a ruined avenue's debris, bulk surging ahead as it targeted the assembled knights.

It lunged.

Swiftly.

Implausibly rapid for its bulk.

Roverick met it head-on.

"Haaah—!!"

The roar erupted from deep within as he thrust mana forth, form pressing on past fatigue, past age's burden.

The north's veteran predator—

Revealed its teeth again.

...

High over the clash, where battle din dwindled to faint murmurs, the Grand Duke at last stirred.

First motion since the onslaught, Luther Heavens adjusted position, stare ascending skyward as if a awaited sign had emerged.

His tone stayed soft.

But final.

No backward glance as he issued the lone directive.

"Move."

The Heaven’s Knights obeyed without hesitation.

They dissolved from sight.

Present behind him one heartbeat, absent the next, forms dispersing afar after an invisible quarry past the edge of vision.

Then—

Luther vanished too.

Amid lofty clouds, air rarefied and earth shrunken below, his shape materialized.

Endless vault encompassed him, yet something—

Felt amiss.

Crimson gaze sharpened.

Next—

He struck.

SWIIISH—!!

One stroke rent the firmament.

Blade's trail birthed white radiance, cleaving heavens neatly as if parting the ether. Clouds split at once, traced by a flawless divide—

Exposing a concealed entity beyond.

A shadowy bulk.

Beyond mere vapor.

Profounder.

Observing.

Luther's face set stern.

"...Found you."

Darkness within roused a presence.

Then—

A sound.

"...Hm."

Not boisterous.

Yet, it bore a heaviness surpassing mere noise, squeezing the space nearby in a manner that seemed... off.

[A human...?]

Silence lingered.

[No... an ascended.]

Those words arrived with soft intrigue, like the speaker was just eyeing something faintly intriguing instead of facing down a foe.

Luther's brow furrowed, his hold on the weapon clenching tighter while his eyes fixed on the shape emerging from the shadowy cloud.

A silhouette.

Masked.

Vague.

Its form wavered a bit, as though it refused to settle into one solid shape, and no amount of staring revealed what hid underneath.

But one fact stood out.

It wasn't human.

"...You," Luther declared, his tone firm yet laced with wariness. "What are you?"

His mana stirred at once.

It didn't burst out wildly—instead, it tightened.

Thickened.

Pulled inside until the area around him warped from the strain.

The air turned thicker.

Heavier.

Like the heavens themselves bowed to its force.

The force built swiftly, exceeding what any ordinary creature could bear, hitting a level where even the air buckled beneath his aura.

White energy swirled nearby—pristine, dense, and crushingly potent.

The sign of ascended being.

Still—

As that might displayed itself—

The entity in the dark cloud stayed still.

Unmoved.

It merely observed.

[My... looks like I’ve failed... she will be mad... but oh well, even elegance needs a little failure~]

The voice floated from the murky bulk, airy and somewhat playful, as though the scene barely involved it at all.

Luther's gaze sharpened.

He missed some words, but the casual vibe alone revealed this wasn't some common foe. No matter its nature, it felt no fear—not from him, not from his aura, not even from the strain he imposed on the heavens.

That realization spurred him into motion.

His sword lashed out.

Without doubt—

Pure resolve guiding it.

[Heavenly Sword Technique]

[First Form – Balance]

SWOOOOSHHH—!!

A piercing whine echoed as the blade sliced ahead, white energy coiling and stretching into a flawless curve. It didn't blast out in frenzy; rather, it sliced through the front space with flawless accuracy, wiping away all in its trail like the sky had been sliced clean along that path.

Precise.

Flawless.

Inescapable.

Or so it seemed—

When the blow hit the dark cloud—

Emptiness awaited.

The presence had faded.

Not scattered.

Not halted.

Just... absent.

"...Tsk."

After ages—

Luther's attack had whiffed.

Not from weak force.

But because the foe had evaded it completely.

His stare hung on the vacant sky a beat longer, piercing and analytical, before the aura around him gradually faded.

...

Way down below—

"Count!"

Roverick glanced back as a knight dashed up, armor dented, breathing ragged amid the ongoing giant brawl.

"What is it?" he snapped, batting aside crumbling rubble with a swift sword flick.

"The Grand Duke—he’s disappeared!"

"Disappeared where—"

Roverick halted mid-sentence with a harsh tongue-click, shaking his head.

"Tsk... forget him. Ignore that man for now. Focus on the battle!"

No moment for doubts.

No chance to lean on one who'd opted out.

"Understo—

The knight's reply cut short.

A ragged ice spear burst savagely from the earth underfoot, impaling his form in one thrust. It shot up from beneath, ripping through armor, meat, and skeleton before exploding out his skull.

For an instant—

No cry escaped.

Then—

His frame slackened.

"GAGAGA—!!"

A low, throaty cackle boomed after.

The guilty giant towered close, its huge bulk leaning in as it peered at the skewered corpse like a kid delighted by a shattered plaything.

Roverick's face twisted in fury.

"You bastard—!"

Rage boiled up inside him, fierce and instant.

His mana ignited once more, green power packing dense around him as he shot ahead, streaking over the field like a bolt.

In a flash, the gap closed.

"DIE—!!"

His sword hammered down with full might, the blow meant to split the giant's heart clean.

SWIIIISSSHHH—!!

The wind tore—

Yet—

BOOOF—!!

The slash halted.

Utterly.

A giant palm had seized it.

"Commendable human..."

What?

Before the count could respond.

Crackle!

Ice and frost had already encased his feet, his heavy metal armor freezing solid too.

"Count!"

Knights and mages cried out his name simultaneously, urgency saturating their shouts as they strained to reach him—yet they remained blocked. Every one of them was trapped in fierce struggles already, hardly keeping the encircling Frost Giants at bay.

Roverick ignored their calls.

His gaze stayed locked ahead even then, unflinching amid his perilous state.

"...So," he murmured deliberately, his breath barely visible in the frigid air, "you’re the chieftain of these beasts..."

Gallan towered before him.

He scarcely had to stir—a mere twitch of his finger sufficed. Ice had stealthily spread over Roverick’s form unnoticed, binding his arms and legs before he could respond.

By the moment awareness struck—

It was done.

In his peak condition, his reflexes might have detected it. His frame might have dodged before the frost gripped tight.

But currently—

Years, fatigue, and battlefield turmoil had overtaken him at last.

Gallan advanced nearer.

"You rule over this squalor," he stated evenly, tone relaxed amid the surrounding devastation. "Thus... I’ll bestow upon you the privilege of seeing its demise."

A subtle smirk graced his lips.

Then—

The frost complied.

It rearranged around Roverick’s figure, hoisting him smoothly skyward. His iced body twisted involuntarily, compelled to confront the city in his rear.

His city.

What survived of it.

Blazes.

Debris.

Knights smashed under superior might.

Mages crumpling as mana depleted.

Civilians scrambling in terror, paths of flight crumbling sequentially.

Wherever his view fell—

Suffering prevailed.

"Filthy monster...!" Roverick rasped the words with effort, fury piercing the rising despair. "Why are you doing this?!"

For the initial time—

Gallan’s face altered.

Not to fury.

But to deeper chill.

"Human..." he uttered softly, eyes dipping faintly like in letdown. "Your race truly forgets its ancient knowledge."

His stare locked back with Roverick’s.

"You demand a motive," he pressed on, "as though your own kind ever required one."

The atmosphere thickened.

"We share the same nature."

Roverick’s brow furrowed, brain racing to decode the implication.

Humans possessed justifications.

They pursued monsters for survival.

For safeguarding.

For growth.

That seemed—

Ordinary.

Right?

Yet Gallan offered no pause for reply.

And Roverick lacked time to ponder deeply.

For the wails—

Persisted.

Louder.

Nearer.

And all within his power—

Was observe.

Immobilized.

"...Keep beholding in anguish, human."

Gallan’s tone stayed hushed, nearly detached, as though the spectacle was mere scenery.

Roverick stayed mute.

Initially.

Yet gradually, a shift stirred in his eyes.

The determination forged in endless wars... started fracturing, eroded by the enforced vista. His city—his folk—his heritage—all he’d erected and defended over decades crumbled before him bit by bit, powerless to intervene.

He’d forfeited plenty already.

Since the northern territories first crumbled, from initial beast onslaughts, from each withdrawal, each loss—

And now this.

Forced to witness the finale.

"Count!"

"Safeguard the Count!"

The cries pierced the mayhem to him.

Still, knights and mages battled on, endured, spilled blood—aiming to approach him, to rescue him, pinning faith on a figure now unable to stir.

Roverick’s look quivered faintly.

Faith in him lingered.

That stung worst.

For he grasped his duty.

He must command withdrawal. Forsake this stronghold, preserve their lives while possible. These weren’t mere troops—numerous held talent, potential to endure by fleeing.

They might survive.

But they refused.

They held firm.

For him.

For this city.

For an ideal fading fast.

Roverick shut his eyes momentarily, the burden of choice crushing heavier than steel.

Courage—

Didn’t equate to prudence.

And duty—

Frequently bred futile ends.

If sacrifice demanded a stand... if collapse required a figure to tumble with the city—

Let it be him.

The aged simpleton.

So youth might persist.

A soft exhale slipped free.

And upon reopening his eyes—

Doubt had vanished.

Gallan observed intently, a flicker of approval briefly shadowing his features, like he’d foreseen this turn.

But then—

Crack.

The frost binding Roverick splintered.

Not completely.

But sufficiently.

From deep inside him, mana gathered, not in a frenzy, but densely packed, compressing further into his center. The surrounding air quivered slightly from the mounting pressure, his frame tensing against the power he compelled it to hold back.

Gallan’s gaze sharpened.

He grasped it right away.

"...Pointless, human."

Despite the blood trickling from his mouth, Roverick gave a soft laugh.

"...Maybe."

He offered no rebuttal.

The giant spoke truth.

Now, even pouring out all he had, even scorching his remaining reserves, wouldn’t shift the battle’s momentum.

Self-destruction would achieve nothing.

Yet that missed the purpose.

Just one instant—

One mere gap—

And it would suffice.

Suffice to dazzle their eyes.

Suffice for that last command.

Suffice to allow the rest to flee.

That much—

Would justify it all.

Unaware of his complete plan, Gallan observed calmly, sure that a human’s explosion posed no threat. He’d encase it in ice, contain it before harm struck.

Thus, he permitted it to proceed.

Precisely when Roverick hit his breaking point—

Precisely when his inner mana crested, poised to erupt—

VOOOOOSHHHH—!!!

A ferocious blast ripped the heavens apart.

Something—

Came plummeting down.

BOOOOOM—!!!

The collision rattled the whole field of combat, splintering the icy terrain as tremendous power slammed into its heart. Ice shards and rubble flew wide, a blast wave surging across giants and troops, making all close by reel.

Then—

Silence fell.

Not total.

Yet sufficient.

A presence expanded.

Heavy.

Overwhelming.

Commanding.

.... And Absolute.

It bore down on all nearby, compelling even giants to freeze, their huge forms rigid as if someth