Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: The Wave
The arrival of winter in Stahl was marked and intensified by a bone-chilling gust of wind coming from the deepest parts of the Frozen Forest, akin to the frigid breath of an Ice Dragon, capable of freezing an entire mountain with a single exhale. The biting winds were as sharp as blades, slicing through the flesh of all mortals dwelling on these lands and forcing the chimneys to work nonstop.

In the Western Forest of Stahl, icy winds carried the sounds of a thousand soldiers’ haggard breaths, echoing throughout the entire forest and causing the snow piled on the trees to fall. Some of them carried heavy and sharp logs on their backs, causing their feet to sink deeper into the snow beneath them as the muscles hidden by their clothes strained with the weight, while others were looking around for dangers.

Zuna led the way, carrying only a simple small sword at her waist as the wind assaulted her face, compelling her to raise the furred white mantle on her back to her neck to shield herself from the cold. The surroundings before her eyes and the freezing sensations spreading from her toes to her entire body made her understand why some people claimed that these lands were cursed by their ancestors, condemned to endure eternal cold.

The four captains walked alongside her, their eyes fixed on the mountain looming ahead, their expressions filled with anger. They had been hunting down bandits in Luak’s lands ever since they joined the army and considered them as low as pests, not wishing to dirt their hands with their blood. However, what truly infuriated them was Zuna’s order to set up an ambush and wait for the bandits to get out of the mountain. It was a great disrespect to their honor to utilize bandits’ tactic to deal with them. It seemed far more efficient to storm the mountain and eliminate all enemies within, the same old strategy that worked in their homelands.

“Stop!” – Zuna screamed and raised her right hand in a clenched fist, her sharp eyes swiftly assessing their current location, before turning back towards the soldiers.

They were in a long corridor, wide enough to accommodate two carriages side by side, carved through the forest by the miners to transport the Cold Iron extracted from the mountains to Langten Village and then export it through the White Merchant Road. Both sides of the corridor were lined with towering trees, reaching towards the heavens, and the constant snow ensured that weeds didn’t occupy the trail.

“Set up those spikes here, here and there” – Zuna commanded, her finger pointing to some designated positions, where she thought it was the best place for the traps – “Once that’s done, take cover behind the trees and stay out of sight. You will only come out of there once I command.”

Upon hearing the command, the army sprang into action. Some soldiers, working in pairs, drove the sharp spikes into the snow until they were firmly stuck in the hard soil, before finally concealing them under the snow. These traps were designed to be triggered when the enemies approached, causing the spikes to pierce through them and kill at least a dozen of them. Other soldiers were rapidly digging through the hard soil to create additional traps, setting up dangerous spikes deep within the pit, before covering it, making sure that the enemies would fall into it.

The soldiers worked together in perfect coordination, performing their tasks without interrupting each other. It was all thanks to their experience hunting animals or firsthand experience against bandits, which allowed them to move as a single entity. However, when it came to coordinated attacks against other armies, they struggled due to their lack of official training. They had no idea how to utilize their numbers to their advantage against other humans.

Most of them were ordinary citizens who had to toil hard for their survival, either hunting in the forest or tending to their crops when summer began and the cold slightly receded. Furthermore, the fact that Luak, Aritreia and Stahl had never engaged in an all-out war before meant that they had no reason to develop and invest into a large army, so most of these soldiers had been enlisted at the last minute for this conflict.

“Great…” – Zuna muttered, her eyes travelling back towards the mountain – “We are going to use their tactics against themselves. We-”

*Boom*

Suddenly, before Zuna could finish her words, a thunderous sound echoed through the forest, so loud that some soldiers dropped their logs and fell to their knees, protecting their ears. The entire world was trembling beneath their feet, leading them to lose their balance. Those who were nearer the trees had no other option but to tightly hug them, afraid to fall head first on some traps. Zuna and the captains almost lost their balance, but they quickly managed to regain their footing. They utilized their Mana and training to swiftly plant their feet in the soil.

“What is happening?” – Zuna and the captains asked themselves, their tones filled with confusion. Soon, the thunderous noise was followed by a strange sound, one they had never heard in their entire lives.

Their eyes turned toward the towering white mountain before them, and at that moment, sheer terror gripped their hearts. The mountain appeared to be collapsing, with the snow that had accumulated for hundreds, if not thousands, of years seeming to rush downward, aiming at them. It was as if a wave of pure whiteness desired to engulf and destroy everything in its path, a scene straight out of a nightmare. The wave was becoming bigger and bigger.

“Run!” Zuna desperately screamed before quickly turning in the opposite direction of the mountain and pushing everyone out of her way. She used all the Mana in her body to propel herself forward, followed by the captains.

Under that apocalyptic scene that seemed as if the world was ending, chaos ensued. In a frenzy, the soldiers scattered in all directions, leaving behind their equipment and even the few provisions. Some tripped and stumbled over the snow, but the fear of being swallowed by the approaching wave of snow drove them to their feet. A few of the soldiers sought refuge behind the trees while clinging desperately to the trunks, their knuckles turning white from the tension as their hearts accelerated, preparing for the inevitable.

Zuna and the captains’ hearts raced furiously as the chaos unfolded behind them. The ground continued to shake beneath their feet, and the deafening roar of the mountain’s collapse grew louder. They dared not to look back, their instincts driving them onwards. They were running and hoping to get away from this place, forgetting about their soldiers and only thinking about survival.

In a matter of a few seconds, the massive wall of snow thundered down from the mountain, consuming everything in its path. Trees cracked and snapped like twigs, and the ground trembled as if the earth itself were in agony. The frigid wave devoured the forest and the miners’ corridor, which had just been filled by Luak’s soldiers, leaving no trace of their efforts.