Dungeon of Niflheim

Frost and Kursch led the members of the cavalry corps' left wing towards the western mountain, chopping down the occasional night bloom viper as they passed.

Two Majors followed in their wake every ten seconds, fiercely guarding the regular soldiers in the centre of the retreating convoy.

With them reaching the edges of the enemy's flanks there were few obstacles in their way allowing them to pick up significant speed but even so the sudden retreat of nearly 8000 soldiers couldn't happen in an instant.

Colonel Casper, the leader and strongest member of the left wing defended the rear, preventing the approach of both the revitalised alliance soldiers and the rest of the night bloom adders.

With his spear he thrust in all directions, slaying monster after monster with no sign of exhaustion. Even when he was the only elite remaining in the back he still held the line.

With a determined look on his face he swung his spear horizontally, rebuffing multiple monsters.

"You shall not pass!" He roared while crashing the butt of his spear against the ground.

In response the snow and ice shook and formed a violent wave that pushed back all monsters within a 20 metre radius.

Casper was outnumbered but he wasn't outgunned. He was a Colonel of the War Ursa Battalion for a reason.

The last few cavalrymen passed through the opening and gained a fair amount of distance from the enemy and just in time because a moment later a thick deluge of arrows and magic thundered down upon their former positions.

Casper was forced to cover his body in chakra armour and strengthen his internal force with aura.

Magic and arrows pelted down upon both his armour, exposed body and spear but there was no damage. His rank was far too high to succumb to such an uncoordinated attack, but it did hold him in place for a few seconds.

When the dust eventually cleared from the deluge Casper glanced behind and prepared to make his own retreat but the moment he went to take the first step his instincts warned him of imminent danger.

"Haahhhh!" He quickly swung his spear, channelling lighting chakra through both the weapon and his body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

With the added acceleration he managed to make contact in time.

Ting!

A high pitched ting of metal meeting metal rang out followed by a loud clicking of tongues.

"Hmph quick reactions Colonel Casper."

"We were just half a beat too slow." Two voices, one a woman's and other a man's both rather old spoke out.

Casper pulled back his spear into a defensive stance while Avalon hunkered down and growled aggressively at the two interlopers.

Casper's arm felt numb and the seams between a couple of his fingers showed signs of tearing. The attack he bore was strong, strong enough to wound someone like him.

There were few of such individuals among the enemy ranks.

He narrowed his eyes as he recognised their faces. "Colonel Abagar of the Jabrak Kingdom and Apostle Celunia of the Northen nation."

Among their own forces the two individuals had the same rank as him but just like how their common soldiers paled in comparison to those of the War Ursa Battalion, one on one they were no match for Casper.

Abagar and Celunia felt a tinge of pride at being recognised by their enemy but almost instantly that pride turned into embarrassment and disdain.

Casper spoke their names and origins but followed it with a sigh of relief and a look of derision.

"Bastard!" Celunia holding a particular hatred for the War Ursa Battalion screeched and launched a vicious attack against Casper.

"Shit don't ah fuck it!" Abagar knew Casper was taunting them but was powerless to stop Celunia. After giving a brief order for the surrounding soldiers to disperse or chase after the cavalry corps' left wing he joined the assault on Casper.

"Hmph just the two of you want to take me on! In your dreams!" Casper showed off a wild expression as dense lightning chakra flowed through his body, granting him and Avalon an insane degree of speed and freedom.

Despite being stronger than the two of them he couldn't easily retreat in their presence.

In a brief moment of comfort he glanced at the Northern wall far in the distance. Though it wasn't exactly clear he could still make out General Katrina standing there with her arms crossed.

She saw him as well and responded with a curt nod which basically greenlit his battle with Celunia and Abagar.

She and Jessica were keeping a close eye on the overall situation, especially the movements of Vash and the Generals not fighting with Jared and Danielle.

"An ambush by the forces from the Demonic empire." Katrina muttered to herself, tapping her fingers against her arms as she thought.

Though they were prepared for something to go wrong this particular problem was unexpected.

"Poison, nasty stuff too."

Poison was a real problem during a war like this one. Treating the victims required resources, resources that were finite.

"Night bloom adders and Demonic trapdoor spiders, all at a decent rank….is this merely a prelude or an arranged misdirection." Too little was known about the demonic empire, she thus she couldn't be sure.

Were these two species just the equivalent of disposable Vanguard forces or true representatives of their official army.

One was bad while the other was much, much worse.

"Ahhh the suspense is killing me. How long do I have to wait?" Katrina was getting agitated, she wanted to see the true form of the alliance's leader, to know the extent of the behemoth that was supposedly marching upon their gates.

"Kat." Jessica called from the side gesturing towards the Cavalry corps right wing.

Unlike the left wing which Frost was currently a part of and who were successfully engaging in a full retreat the right wing wasn't faring too well.

Their reaction to the firework was just a tad too slow allowing several of their soldiers to be dragged underground by the demonic trapdoor spiders.

Dozens more failed to escape their spitting venom and thus succumbed to the paralytic symptoms. The remaining flank forces who were starting to revitalise thanks to the aid of their reinforcements quickly swarmed them first, tearing them apart with vicious expressions on their faces.

Numerous losses sent a wave of panic through the right wing generating more chaos and slowing down their reactions even more. 20% of them charged desperately to the eastern mountain as fast as possible and encountered the second ambush.

By the time Colonel Ridge managed summon a contingent of elites to cut open a path several dozens of their soldiers had already succumbed to the vipers attack.

Their escape was hard fought and with far more losses than the left wing but even, so they succeeded in the end.

Like Casper, Ridge was guarding the rear and was eventually assailed by two enemy Colonels.

The problem was that the two Colonels sent after Ridge were a notch stronger than the ones attacking Colonel Casper and that a certain A-rank General was in the near vicinity, occasionally glancing at Ridge as if he was juicy prey.

Katrina wasted no time dissuading such thoughts. With a loud hmph she and Jessica released their aura, harshly intimidating the enemy Generals to the point that their skin formed goosebumps, and their hearts refused to beat.

"Lucra fall back!" Through clenched teeth General Vash reluctantly ordered.

Katrina and Jessica were watching them like hawks, he even felt as though their intimidation was actually a taunt, daring them to make a move so they'd have a good excuse to engage in a wanton slaughter.

Lucra who was dangerously close to Ridge glanced at the Northern wall in fear before shuffling back to the core of the army, leaving the two Colonels to handle Ridge.

"Colonel Ridge might struggle to come out of this safely." Said Jessica clearly still worried about the situation.

"An unfortunate accident if it does come to pass but also a lesson." Katrina replied calmly.

Colonel Ridge was slightly lacking when compared to Casper, he was more arrogant, more dismissive of the enemy's strength and less skilled in training those under him.

Of course this comparison was strictly in regards to Colonel Casper and a few other Colonels of the War Ursa Battalion. Compared to the Colonels of the Jabrak Kingdom or the Northern nation of glacial sprites and ice elementals he was a prodigy.

The War Ursa Battalion and Duke Runak just had insanely high standards.

While Katrina and Jessica supervised the enemy Generals, preventing their interference. And Colonels Casper and Ridge engaged in two on one duels Frost and Kursch finally reached the western mountain with the first wave of cavalrymen.

"We're using the same paths as before, move move move!" Kursch loudly ranted as he activated a runic medallion to open up the catacombs.

"What about the enemy?" Frost asked as he took guard on the left side of the passages.

"Kill any who make it to the boundary during the retreat, afterwards we'll collapse the passageway."

"Collapse?"

'They're going to destroy three exits, such a sacrifice of labour and time.' Though he agreed that such a method was secure the loss was unimaginable to him.

Unlike him they couldn't just use DP to carve out a tunnel, no it took time and manpower, a great deal of it too.

"Don't worry about it Frost, this is war. Even if we have to sacrifice the entire catacombs to win we'll do it without hesitation….lives can't be brought back but inanimate objects and structures can be rebuilt and repaired. There is no comparison." Kursch was unwavering in his philosophy, a stance that reverberated within Frost's mind.

The heart of a soldier.