Chapter 205: Defeated Soldiers

The heavy steel city gate slowly opened under the winch's pull, emitting a creaking sound.

On the walltop, the elf hunters had already nocked their arrows, aiming at the icy blue specks in the distance that were pursuing the defeated soldiers.

The dwarf warriors gripped their weapons tightly, guarding behind the door, ready to respond at any moment.

That fleeing unit obviously also spotted this outpost abruptly standing on the icefield, and like a drowning person clutching the last straw, they summoned their last strength and desperately charged toward it.

By the moonlight and snowlight, one could see that most of them wore tattered clothes, bore frostbite and battle scars, and looked terrified and desperate.

Humans made up the majority of the unit, but there were also a dozen or so dwarves, their signature armor heavily damaged, their faces mixed with exhaustion and anger.

"Hurry! Come in!" the boulder engineer shouted from inside the gate with a rough voice.

The defeated soldiers stumbled through the gate, and many collapsed onto the ground as soon as they entered the relatively safe area, gasping heavily, some even sobbing softly.

The last few dwarf warriors voluntarily covered the retreat, swinging their war axes and brutally felling the two ice wraiths that had pursued them most closely, then quickly withdrew inside.

"Close the gate!" Li Qingxuan ordered.

The gate slammed shut, blocking outside the dozens of ice wraith guards that had swarmed toward it.

These mindless constructs immediately began to wildly strike and hack at the heavy gate and stone walls with their icy weapons and bodies, producing a grating "thud‑thud" sound and the brittle crack of shattering ice crystals.

"Prepare the fuel!" the boulder engineer loudly commanded the dwarves on the walltop.

Several dwarves immediately operated the walltop's makeshift device, pumping the viscous liquid mixed with animal fat and a little dwarf liquor through a specially made nozzle, spraying it onto the ice wraiths gathered at the base of the wall.

"Ignite!"

A flaming arrow shot from Xila's hand landed precisely in the area where the fuel had been sprayed.

"Boom—!"

A wall of blazing fire instantly rose, engulfing the dozen or so ice wraiths at the front!

Fire naturally counters these frigid constructs; their ice‑crystal armor quickly melts and shatters under the heat, and the eerie blue soul fire emits a silent shriek in the flames, flickering violently before dying out completely.

The ignited ice wraiths writhed like torches at the wall's base, eventually turning into pools of meltwater and charred bones.

Subsequent ice wraiths seemed to develop an instinctive fear of fire, their advance faltering; they merely prowled outside the fire wall, fixing their icy eyes (the soul fire) on the battlements.

Having temporarily repelled the first wave of ice wraith assaults, the atmosphere inside the outpost remained far from relaxed.

Everyone's gaze fell upon this sudden group of defeated soldiers.

A middle‑aged man who looked like a leader struggled to his feet, bowed deeply to Li Qingxuan and the others, his voice hoarse and weary: "Many… many thanks for saving our lives, sirs! We are survivors of the Frost Wolf Camp, and I am their chief, Blake."

"Frost Wolf Camp?" Li Qingxuan said, having no recollection of that name.

Blake's face showed a hint of bitterness: "It's a small joint human‑dwarf camp located about fifty kilometers northeast in an ice‑glacier pass. We… we're done! The camp has been overrun! Those damned ice bones, and… and that green, moving thing!"

"The green, moving thing?" Li Qingxuan's mind stirred, and he immediately pressed, "Explain it in detail!"

A flicker of fear crossed Blake's eyes as he recalled: "It's… a thing like vines, like tentacles, dark‑green, crawling out of fissures in the ice glacier! They aren't afraid of cold, they move very fast, and anyone they wrap up will soon… soon melt! They turn into a puddle of green pus, which then pools together to form new monsters! Most of our camp's defenses were destroyed by these things burrowing up from underground."

Dark‑green vine‑like tentacles?

Melt humans?

Form new monsters?

Li Qingxuan immediately thought of the Corrupted Nest Mother's abilities, but it seemed somewhat different, more bizarre and… corrosive.

Could this be another manifestation of the Corruption Root?

"Your camp isn't small—how could this happen…?" the Copperbeard Clan Chief's voice came through the communication stone, laced with doubt.

Even if a camp of over a hundred people were overrun, it shouldn't leave only this handful of fugitives.

Blake's expression grew more anguished: "We… we had a traitor inside! People in league with the Black Blade! They suddenly launched a night attack, flung open the gate, and let those monsters in!"

"Black Blade?" Li Qingxuan frowned; that was an unfamiliar name.

"It's a raider band that's only recently become active, ruthless in its deeds, and supposedly backed by some mysterious power," Blake explained. "We'd clashed with them a few times before, never expecting they'd actually ally with those monsters!"

Mysterious power backing them?

Li Qingxuan almost instantly thought of the Shadow Hall.

Are they them?

Using the raider band to sow chaos, weaken all factions, while testing the potency of derivatives of the Corruption Root?

"When you fled, did you notice anything unusual? For example, is there any special energy source beneath the ice glacier? Or have you seen this symbol?" Li Qingxuan produced the metal piece etched with the twisted eye.

Blake examined it carefully, then shook his head blankly: "Energy source… there's always a strong energy pulse beneath the ice glacier, but we dare not go deep. This symbol… I've never seen it."

Li Qingxuan put the metal piece away, his thoughts churning.

The Shadow Hall spares no means, feigning friendliness and seeking cooperation with him on one side, while secretly driving raiders and monsters to attack other survivors' strongholds on the other.

This further confirmed his suspicion; the Shadow Hall's aim is far from mere cooperation—they are selecting and also eliminating "unqualified" forces.

"Sirs," Blake pleaded, "our Frost Wolf Outpost is finished; only we ragged remnants remain. Please take us in! We'll give anything, just for a place to stay and to avenge our fallen comrades!"

Li Qingxuan looked at these scarred survivors before him, their eyes mixed with hatred and hope, and fell silent for a moment.

Taking them in would mean dividing the outpost's already meager supplies and adding internal instability factors.

But these people are veterans who have fought the ice wraiths and that green monster; their experience and knowledge of the surrounding terrain are valuable assets.

"You may be temporarily sheltered," Li Qingxuan finally said, "but you must obey all the outpost's rules and accept unified command. We'll provide basic shelter and food, but you must also contribute to the outpost's defense and operation."

Upon hearing this, Blake and the others were instantly moved, repeatedly thanking him and nearly kneeling.

Just then, another disturbance came from outside the wall.

The ice wraiths that had been loitering did not leave; instead, they began to show new changes.

Several noticeably larger ice wraiths, clad in heavy ice armor and wielding huge ice hammers, slowly approached from the canyon direction.

They exuded an even more biting chill, and their soul fire leaned toward a deep blue.

And behind them, on the ice surface, dark‑green, vein‑like threads began to spread silently; wherever they passed, the ice seemed corroded, becoming fragile and viscous.

"Ice corpse warriors! And… that green thing is here too!" an elf hunter cried out.

A new attack was imminent.

North Wind Outpost, a more severe test arrived.

(PS: Sending some free love-powered electricity; the author will be more motivated if you write; if you like this book, feel free to leave ratings, thanks everyone.)