The gentle, pure sound of natural noise was suddenly interrupted by chaotic , making the guards tense up at once. Each of them narrowed their eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.
Cruz immediately jumped to his feet, running a few steps to the edge of the rooftop to peer down.
Only Fron remained calm as ever, sitting there roasting his skewers like nothing had happened.
"Fron, we-"
"Prepare to move. Set up checkpoints at every key route and snipe the enemy. Be especially careful to guard the secret passage door. The other side might have obtained a section of the gate mechanism, or even keys, from other sources."
"Yes!"
At Fron's command, several squads broke off rapidly in groups of four.
"Szzzt, "
Picking up a skewer of freshly roasted meat, Fron sprinkled on a handful of seasoning, then took a bite without caring about the heat.
"Ahh, so fragrant."
It truly was a world blessed by gods. The crops cultivated by agricultural Familia were on another level entirely, even the meat of monsters tasted better alongside them.
"Boom"
The sound of battle erupted, drawing closer and closer. Clearly, the Xenos had begun a large-scale assault on the defensive zone.
Despite the defenders' natural physical prowess and decent intelligence, plus some intentional guidance and unified command from behind the scenes, the lower-ranked followers were being pushed back steadily.
Fron knew very well what the main reason was, an overwhelming advantage in communication.
With Fels' crystal eye and that "live map", in a place like the Daedalus district, a labyrinth battleground, from their command network down to the front-line soldiers, the enemy had achieved absolute dominance.
If not for the presence of Finn on their side, this battle might've already been completely one-sided.
"Report! Large numbers of Violas discovered at the entrance of the underground waterway! Requesting backup!"
Finishing the last piece of meat, Fron chewed thoughtfully, stood up, and grabbed the staff resting beside him. Through the rain, he stared toward the distant flickers of fire and trembling ground.
"I'll handle it. Hold the base. Remember our internal signal code."
"Okay."
As someone practically seeing from a unique vision, Fron wasn't about to be careless. He nodded once, then leapt lightly off the towering rooftop.
....
Landing smoothly, Fron quickly oriented himself and dashed forward, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
Following the roar of those Violas, he easily found the battlefield where both sides clashed.
"Reinforcements are here! Fron has arrived!"
Standing at the rear of the formation, the cold wind whipped his black cloak, making it flutter sharply.
He pulled back his hood, revealing short golden hair. Raindrops struck his calm face.
In the dark night, blue eyes glowed faintly, and within seconds, Fron had analyzed the entire battlefield.
"Thirty-five large Violas. That's quite a number. Seems the Evilus really went all in for this war."
With a scoffing "tch," Fron raised his arm, making a few quick hand signals toward the sky, concealed signs of command.
The temporary field commander instantly understood.
"Frontline, tighten formation! Execute Plan C!"
At once, the long defensive line began retracting around the center ranks, forming a pocket formation to lure the monsters deeper into the ruined streets below.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight."
The steady patter of rain mixed with the roars of adventurers and monsters alike, until suddenly, a rhythmic, elegant chant rose above it all.
A massive white magic circle flared to life beneath Fron's feet, illuminating the entire street.
Terrifying magical essence surged toward it, filling the air with crushing pressure.
The Violas, highly sensitive to magic, froze for a brief moment, then all turned madly toward Fron's position, charging straight at him!
No matter how the adventurers struck them, the monsters ignored all pain, focusing solely on their target.
But the Loki Familia members had seen this kind of thing before, they instantly shifted tactics.
Instead of trying to kill the monsters, they used every trick possible to hinder their movements and slow them down.
And for a Level 6 Archmage like Fron, even a few seconds of delay was all he needed to unleash death.
His expression remained steady; the blue light in his eyes flickered, his mind sharpening to its limit as his chanting quickened,
"Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf,"
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!!"
....
"Scatter!"
At his command, the frontliners immediately retreated from the street.
The next second, winter descended. Ice rain and frost surged forth!
A tidal wave of magic erupted from Fron, freezing everything within sight in an instant.
"Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, "
The ground turned white.
Buildings turned white.
The monsters turned to crystal.
The instant transformation struck everyone with visceral awe.
"Crrk, crrk, crrk, "
Rain continued to fall onto the frozen world, steaming faintly upon contact with frost.
Fron lowered his staff and slowly exhaled a plume of icy breath.
"Clear the battlefield. Shatter them."
A glint of cold light flashed in his eyes. Then, turning toward the depths of the darkness, he gave his next calm order: "Prepare for the second, larger wave of assault."
...
"What is that!?"
Amidst battles across the district, everyone turned to look in the same direction.
From within the curtain of rain, crimson lotus flames surged upward, some faces showed relief, others fear, awe, or gloom.
"Damn... a high level magic attack! A wide-range annihilation spell of that scale, that's practically a declaration of war in the middle of Orario!"
"Must be Fron. He's the only one crazy, and strong, enough to pull that off."
"Heheh, looks like he doesn't care about the Guild's warnings at all."
"Or maybe the Guild's got something on him, huh?"
The Amazoness sisters chatted cheerfully even as they fought. Clearly, the Xenos and Evilus's assault posed no real threat to them.
Elsewhere, as Fron unleashed his massive-scale annihilation spell, all the other observing factions broke into a cold sweat.
"It's the Night Weaver, isn't it? Damn, he's gone too far. Lighting up half the city with a single area spell, so much for keeping this under wraps. This'll be front-page news by morning."
"Hahaha, who cares? As long as it's entertaining!"
"Hey, keep it down. I heard this involves Lady Loki and Lady Freya both. You might not live to see tomorrow's sunrise."
"...Hss, yeah, fair point."