https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-309-Invitation-and-Collaboration/13676626/
Chapter 310: An Unexpected Collision
Cold wind howled, whipping up swirling snowflakes.
The vast, endless wasteland was gradually blanketed in white, the distant mountain peaks fading into hazy silhouettes beneath the storm’s veil.
The Anzeta Great Wasteland—known as “The Frozen Wastes”—had finally entered its long, merciless winter. At such times, every living creature upon this barren land fought tooth and nail for survival.
The climate of the Northern Regions was always unpredictable. Soon, the blizzard passed, leaving behind only a glittering expanse of frost.
And there, beneath the deep snowdrifts, thousands of soldiers trudged forward through the white wilderness. Clad in thin cotton coats, they moved like a black river winding across the pristine snow, leaving a long, winding trail behind them.
“Move it! Fall in behind!”
“Push forward while the weather holds!”
Viscount Faruok Edson rode atop his horse, lashing his whip through the air, shouting at his men.
A noble of the Home family, he served under the Bosk Duchy. At Duke Leo’s command, he had brought his personal army—mostly conscripted peasants—to the battlefield. But he had brought no knights. Knights were the foundation of his family’s power, and he would not squander them so lightly.
Glancing down at the thick snow beneath his boots, Viscount Edson spat bitterly.
“Damned weather.”
“I still don’t know what Duke Leo’s thinking—starting a war in winter?”
Yet this decision had been the result of long deliberation among the Northern nobles of the “Anti-Red Dragon Alliance.” The armies of the Kingdom of Ashen were filled with bloodlines tainted by the fiery Red Dragon—blood that weakened under Anzeta’s frigid climate, sapping their strength and risking heavy casualties. Meanwhile, the hardy Scandians endured winter with grim resolve. Thus, Duke Leo called it the “Winter Offensive.”
Noble armies across the North began mobilizing, gathering at the borders of the Bosk Duchy, the Duchy of Phano, and the Kingdom of Ashen, preparing to fight to the death against the evil Red Dragon’s domain. Though they claimed to be “Going All Out,” how much effort they truly gave remained uncertain.
The Edson family, for instance, had sent their least valuable son—a second son of little consequence—along with a ragtag army of untrained conscripts.
“What’s that?”
Edson looked up. In the sky, several faint black specks drifted in the distance.
His personal knight, standing beside him, froze in alarm. A grim memory flashed across his face.
“Sir… it might be… the Crimson Scale Conquerors.”
“Impossible!”
Edson’s voice cracked with fear. His entire body trembled.
He’d only wanted to earn a bit of battlefield merit—just get these cannon fodder troops to the front lines and call it a success. He never expected to face such a nightmare!
The name “Crimson Scale Conquerors” had spread like wildfire across the Northern Regions. Legends claimed they were monstrous riders atop two-headed dragons, arriving with terrifying dragon roars, bringing fire and death in their wake.
The knight urged, “Sir, they seem to be only scouts.”
“Of course,” Edson stammered, forcing a nervous laugh. “They wouldn’t target us. Their real prey lies further ahead.”
The dark specks in the sky passed overhead, hovering briefly before vanishing into the distance. Relief washed over him.
“Phew… thank the gods.”
“As long as I deliver these troops to the front, my mission’s done.”
“We’re almost there.”
He muttered softly, barely audible, praying silently to the heavens.
Once they passed the mountain pass, he’d be safe—inside the command tent, far from danger, finally able to rest.
But fate rarely grants such easy escapes.
“Wrrrrrr—”
A shrill, spine-chilling whine tore through the air above.
Edson flinched, raising his eyes in terror. He saw countless metal spheres descending from the sky.
“What in the name of the gods is that?”
“It’s falling!”
“Get out of the way! Don’t block me!”
“Do you want to die?!”
His “army” erupted into chaos. The timid, fearful peasants scrambled in panic, trampling one another in a mad stampede. Screams filled the air, and bodies were crushed beneath the frenzy. How many lives were lost in the chaos, no one knew.
“Boom!”
A thunderous explosion split the sky as the metal spheres detonated mid-air.
Flames rained from above—like divine wrath descending from the heavens, a torrent of fire punishing the earth.
Edson’s pupils dilated, reflecting the inferno. He whispered, “Gods…”
As the burning metal spheres settled, fire consumed everything.
Wails and screams echoed through the snow. Soldiers’ cotton coats ignited instantly. Even those who escaped the blast were left broken, their will to fight utterly extinguished.
This was the newest weapon from the Armory of the Kingdom of Ashen—Incendiary Bombs, capable of devastating enemy forces. But such merciless tactics had drawn criticism from scholars within the kingdom.
After the barrage, the soldiers fled in disarray.
Edson was lucky—he’d thrown off his burning coat in time and escaped the rain of fire. Now, riding a panicked stallion, he fled toward the front lines.
“Damn it all… such an enemy…”
“I have to get out of here!”
But as he reached the mountain pass, a wave of chaos surged before him—dozens of muddy, bloodshot eyes, a sea of grotesque, snarling faces. A cacophony of barking roars filled the air—Goblinoid forces.
“Awooo!”
The largest, most monstrous of them roared, his body twisted by Dragonization magic. He was the thirty-third son of Jinya—but given Jinya’s many dalliances, his actual rank might have been even lower. Still, he was of little value to his kin, so he’d been assigned as a chieftain in this cannon fodder army.
“Just… just a bunch of goblins,” Edson muttered, trying to calm himself. “They can’t catch me.”
Driven by sheer survival instinct, Edson yanked hard on the reins. In a moment of unexpected skill, he turned his horse sharply—something he’d never managed before.
But the goblins didn’t retreat. Instead, they grinned fiercely. With crude, rusted bird rifles, they tore open oil-soaked ammunition packets and stuffed the powder into their weapons.
“Bang!”
“Bang! Bang!”
The chaotic rifle fire erupted—smoke curled from the barrels. The goblins had little training, and their weapons were poorly made, so most shots went wild. But there were dozens of them.
At a distance of a hundred meters, a dozen rifles fired in unison. Three or four bullets struck Edson’s back, tearing through him like a sieve. He was thrown from his horse, tumbling across the snow, rolling several times before lying still.
Even in death, he never understood how he’d been killed by a group of goblins from over a hundred meters away.
“He was mine!”
One goblin squealed with euphoria.
“Get lost! I hit him in the heart!”
Another shoved him aside, snarling.
They began fighting—clawing, biting, barking like rabid dogs.
Finally, the towering goblin chieftain stepped forward. With one hand, he lifted both of them off the ground, his grin wide and terrifying.
“Now… do you know who killed this human noble?”
“Of course, sir!”
The two goblins cowered, whimpering.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
