The discovery of the Ice Devourer shook Frostwind.
Scouts were doubled.
Watchtowers reinforced.
Villages relocated closer to forts.
Arin treated the situation as a wartime emergency.
"This isn't random," he told his council. "It's a chain reaction."
Kael nodded. "Old imperial archives mention something called the Frostbound Prison."
Selene leaned forward. "A monster containment zone."
"Created three hundred years ago," Kael continued. "Sealed by Grand Archmages and Grandmasters."
Lyra's expression grew serious. "Those seals need constant maintenance."
"And no one's maintained them for decades," Rynor added.
Silence followed.
Arin clenched his fist.
"So Frostwind was abandoned… with a ticking bomb."
He issued immediate orders.
All settlements within fifty kilometers of the northern mountains were evacuated.
Supply depots were fortified.
Messenger routes established.
Emergency training accelerated.
Meanwhile, Arin personally studied sealing techniques with Lyra.
Mana arrays.
Runic anchors.
Energy circulation.
Days passed without rest.
One night, the ground trembled violently.
Sirens echoed.
A seal collapsed.
Dozens of ice beasts poured out.
Wolf-like creatures.
Towering golems.
Winged frost serpents.
The alarm rang.
"Monster wave!" Rynor roared.
Arin rushed to the walls.
Hundreds of soldiers took position.
Mages lined the towers.
"Hold formation!" Arin commanded.
Fireballs.
Lightning.
Arrow volleys.
The battlefield became chaos.
A massive Ice Golem smashed through the outer gate.
Arin activated his mana circulation fully.
He leapt forward.
Sword glowing faintly.
He slashed.
Crack!
The golem's arm shattered.
Rynor followed with a devastating strike.
They fought side by side.
For hours.
Finally, the wave retreated.
Thousands of corpses littered the snow.
Victory.
But costly.
Medical tents overflowed.
Supplies were drained.
Arin stood among the wounded.
Guilt pressed on him.
"I brought them into this," he thought.
The system responded.
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Large-Scale Defense Completed]
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Wartime Leadership +12%]
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Territory Bond Strengthened]
Later, Lyra approached him.
"There's a main seal," she said quietly. "Deep underground."
"If it breaks…"
She didn't finish.
Arin nodded.
"Then we go fix it."
Rynor grinned. "Finally, something worthy."
Selene sighed. "You're all insane."
But she prepared anyway.
Tomorrow, they would descend.
Into the heart of Frostwind's prison.