The meeting room in Frostwolf Castle was so cold that one could see their own breath.
Shen Luolin and Lucius sat on opposite sides of the long table, silent. The atmosphere between them was even stiffer than the blizzard howling outside the windows.
The two had been waiting in the room for over fifteen minutes, yet the person who had initiated this so-called “family meeting,” their third brother Julian, had yet to show his face.
Finally, the heavy oak door was pushed open softly, without making a single sound.
Julian walked in, wearing that same irritating, smiling expression on his face.
He completely ignored Lucius’s sour look and instead nodded toward Shen Luolin. His tone was as warm as if they were the most harmonious brothers in the world.
“Big Brother, it has been a long time. You look much better.”
He paced toward Shen Luolin’s side and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes scanned Shen Luolin from head to toe.
Then, Julian leisurely sat in the primary seat—the one that should have belonged to their father.
He didn’t look at anyone at first. Instead, he meticulously brushed away a non-existent speck of dust from his cuff.
His movements were elegant, carrying an air of immense self-importance.
Only then did he lift his eyes from behind those lenses, looking at Lucius with a smile. He held out one hand as if he were asking for candy.
“Second Brother,” he said, his voice sounding incredibly affectionate as if he were truly concerned for others. “Father is ill, and Big Brother is a medicine jar. This Frostwolf Command Sword is both heavy and made of cold iron. I wouldn’t want you two to exhaust yourselves.”
“How about you leave it with me for now?”
*Bang!*
Lucius slammed his hand onto the table and lunged to his feet, his chest heaving violently.
“Julian! Have you lost your damn mind from studying in the capital? Is military command something a bean-counter like you can touch?”
His eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at Julian’s nose and cursed, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!”
“You want to be a dog for the Emperor, lead his people into the North, and sell out the family in exchange for an official’s hat?!”
Faced with this ruthless accusation, Julian’s smile only deepened.
He slowly interlaced his fingers on the table, his tone remaining gentle.
“Second Brother, such harsh words. This is called following the trend.” He adjusted his glasses. “Father has collapsed. We both know the state of the Frostwolf Family.”
“Rather than being attacked by magic beasts and the Imperial family from both sides until every drop of blood is drained, it’s better to surrender proactively to preserve a sliver of the family’s bloodline. I am doing this to save everyone.”
“Save? Bah!” Lucius let out a sneer. “I know better than you what kind of people are in that Imperial family!”
“Let me tell you, I have already found true allies! The noble Dragonborne messengers have arrived. With their strength, magic beasts are nothing! This is the only path for our Frostwolf Family!”
“Dragonborne?”
The smile at the corner of Julian’s mouth carried a hint of pity, as if he were looking at a fool.
“Second Brother, you have stayed in the North for too long. You’re out of the loop.”
He leaned forward, his voice low but every word cutting deep.
“Do you think those old foxes in the Imperial family wouldn’t be prepared? I’ll tell you the truth: the alchemists in the capital have long since developed weapons specifically designed to suppress the Dragonborne.”
“Forget those two messengers you invited—even if the Dragon God from 200 years ago arrived in person, they likely wouldn’t fare well.”
“You’re full of it!” Lucius’s face turned the color of a beet.
Right at that moment—
*Oooooh—!*
The entire tower began to tremble slightly, as if something gargantuan was striking the foundations of Frostwolf Castle.
A long, dull horn blast pierced through the walls, humming through the room.
The whole tower shook along with it, as if some massive creature was clawing at the base.
Lucius’s expression changed instantly. Before he could speak, the meeting room door was slammed open by a great force. A soldier covered in blood stumbled inside, practically crawling:
“Magic beasts… the magic beasts are attacking the city!”
“The north wall… the north wall is about to fall!”
Lucius grabbed the Frostwolf Command Sword beside him and spat toward Julian.
“Bookworm, watch closely! See who this family really depends on!”
Before his voice had even faded, he was gone.
Julian maintained his smiling expression. He stood up slowly, straightened his robes, and then turned to Shen Luolin.
“Big Brother, shall we go take a look together?”
“After all, this is our home, too.”
Shen Luolin stood up as requested.
‘The so-called nobility… always marching toward destruction with elegance.’
***
Upon the city walls, the scene had already turned into a meat grinder.
Below the walls, only death roared.
The howls of beasts, the screams of men, and the stench of blood were enough to make one vomit.
Lucius was indeed brave.
Holding his heavy sword, he led from the front. Every swing of his blade carved through the air, sending sprays of black monster blood flying.
But the magic beasts were too numerous. They were like an endless black tide, frantically crashing against the already crumbling walls.
The battlements groaned under the repeated impacts of the giant beasts, and rubble rained down.
The martial strength Lucius was so proud of seemed pale and powerless in the face of such absolute numbers.
He was pinned down by an exceptionally large elite magic beast. His ornate armor had already been shredded in several places by sharp claws, leaving him bloodied.
He could only rely on raw strength to hold on, his breathing growing heavier and his movements slowing down, looking utterly disheveled.
Shen Luolin stood in a quiet corner of the city wall. Julian stood not far behind him. Both watched the tragic scene in silence.
Shen Luolin reached into his robe and pulled out a box carved from dragon scales.
This was the gift presented by the two Dragonborne messengers during their visit. Before she left, Shina had naturally explained how to use it.
He opened the case and activated it.
*Hum—*
A barrier invisible to the naked eye expanded instantly from the box, enveloping the entire section of the wall.
The strength of the giant beasts crashing into the wall was instantly cut by more than half, and their offensive slowed down.
Lucius, who was fighting a bloody battle, felt the pressure vanish. He took a ragged breath and looked back. Though he didn’t know what had happened, he understood that this strange barrier wouldn’t last long.
Behind him, Julian, who had remained silent, also raised his hand. Trails of soft, strengthening holy light fell precisely on Lucius and the front-line soldiers.
**[Blessing of Strength]**!
**[Prayer of Fortitude]**!
Lucius felt a wave of warmth spread through his body as his strength returned.
Knowing it was his third brother’s handiwork, he shouted a curse in Julian’s direction.
“Mind your own business!”
“Sigh, why won’t Second Brother believe that I truly have his best interests at heart?”
Julian wore an expression of total innocence, but his gaze was locked tightly onto Shen Luolin in the distance.
That sickly big brother he had always looked down upon.
The man was currently standing there quietly, as if he were merely an irrelevant spectator.
It was then.
On the wall, Shen Luolin lazily closed his eyes.
‘The wind is so strong. It makes me want to sleep.’
‘Why make such a huge fuss? It’s so exhausting.’
**[Soul Resonance]**, activate!
There were no earth-shattering magical effects, nor were there any world-destroying energy fluctuations.
A trace of nearly imperceptible mental energy slipped silently into the chaotic swarm of beasts below.
He didn’t choose to attack.
That would take too much effort and was far too troublesome.
He simply and gently attached his mental energy to the eyelid of a Drake leader, making it blink uncontrollably the moment it was about to breathe fire.
“Roar—!!”
The angle of the dragon breath shifted by a fraction. It missed the wall entirely and instead grazed the flank of another companion. The scorching flames instantly burned away a large patch of its scales.
The chaos began.
The attacked magic beast let out a pained roar and instinctively turned back to bite.
Shen Luolin didn’t stop. He controlled his mental energy, occasionally making a beast “trip” over a piece of rubble, or making another beast’s roar “accidentally” sound full of provocation.
He didn’t directly cause damage, but within the massive tide of monsters, he manufactured countless fatal coincidences and misunderstandings.
A single stone creates a thousand ripples.
The beast tide’s formation instantly fell into total disarray!
What was originally a unified forward assault gradually turned into a farce of fratricide due to the accumulated chaos.
Under the three brothers’ unintentional cooperation, the tide of magic beasts that should have been enough to level Frostwolf Castle was miraculously repelled.
The ground below the wall was littered with carcasses, and the foul-smelling black blood flowed like a stream.
Julian smiled as he cast healing spells on the wounded soldiers. Lucius was exhausted, kneeling on the ground while propping himself up with his sword, panting heavily.
Shen Luolin glanced at the temporarily safe Frostwolf Castle and turned to leave.
***
Meanwhile, outside the battlefield, deep within the snow-covered forest, Mo Yin stood atop a frozen peak.
She looked at the figure on the city wall—the one that had haunted her dreams for 200 years. Her silver eyes held nothing but unshakeable tenderness and heartache.
Several lord-level magic beasts capable of shattering the wall in a single hit had just emerged. She simply lifted her hand, and a wisp of **[Silver Flame]** silently cut through the wind and snow, gently erasing the massive creatures along with their roars.
Seeing the magic beasts fall one by one, Lilith finally lost her patience.
She rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold, her small face full of confusion.
“Your Majesty, are we really just going to watch?”
“Lord Luolin is a great benefactor to the Dragonborne, yet he’s isolated and without help. Those two brothers clearly aren’t good people! Why don’t we just protect him directly?”
“Even… even if you don’t want him to know, we could do it in secret…”
“Lilith!” Shina’s voice suddenly turned stern, interrupting Lilith’s disrespectful words. “How can you question Her Majesty’s decision?”
Lilith shrank back, looking aggrieved. She lowered her head and whispered, “I’m just… just worried about Lord Luolin…”
“It’s fine. Let her speak.”
Having received Mo Yin’s permission, Lilith’s courage returned.
She looked up at Mo Yin and blurted out, “Your Majesty, I don’t think just sending things is enough! A benefactor should be protected in person!”
“And…” Lilith wrinkled her small nose. “When I went with Master Shina to deliver… that thing, I took a peek. Lord Luolin’s room is so cold!”
“…That broken tower is like an ice cellar. The window paper is torn, and the wind just whistles right in!”
“Lord Luolin was only covered by a single thin blanket. His face was white from the cold…”
The more Lilith spoke, the angrier she became, her eyes turning red.
Cold?
Mo Yin’s body shivered almost imperceptibly.
That man in the mine, who had thrown the only blanket to her while he leaned against the cold stone wall to endure the night.
That man who complained that she was a nuisance but would secretly add wood to the fire for her in the dead of night.
She thought he was omnipotent.
But she had forgotten that he, too, could feel the cold.
It felt as though a cold hand had gripped her heart, making it difficult to breathe.
Mo Yin’s fingers tightened around the blanket she was holding.
She possessed the power to silence heaven and earth, but if that power couldn’t even dispel a bit of cold for him, what was the point of it?
Shina keenly sensed the shift in Mo Yin’s emotions and was about to offer words of comfort, but Mo Yin’s next words left her stunned.
“I am going to Frostwolf Castle.”