"Unfortunately I don’t have time right now to be out of commission for a full day, but I’ll let you know how it goes the moment I do." Frost had to take Wilsander at his word, hoping that in the end his months of research would be successful.

"Please document everything you experience, good observation is the backbone of good research." Added Wilsander all serious.

"Fine, I’ll have Maya or Daki witness the whole thing." He may feel like an experimental specimen but if that’s what Wilsander wanted then that’s what he’ll get....why was he soft to his younger siblings.

"Till next time Frost."

"Till next time Wilsander." The two siblings waved goodbye before ending the call.

Frost then eyed the three vials in his hands, fearing them a little. "What first started as a golden idea now fills me with no small amount of dread." He could handle pain at least certain types of pain. Whenever he trained the majority of his body would be broken, cut or shattered but the day he suffered from the wyvern’s venom he was literally paralysed by the pain. Everywhere hurt and there was no braving through it or tensing of muscles to mitigate what he felt, he simply had to endure until it ran its course with nothing to show for it but a lingering trauma.

He decided to store the fear invoking vials away, shunning them until he had the time to ingest them. He went back to doing Dungeon core stuff, winding down and relaxing before the next responsibility cropped up which unfortunately didn’t take long.

Ring Ring....Ring Ring

This time it was his communication crystal rather than the Dungeon menu.

"You picked up good; we need to talk Frost." A loud, noble voice permeated through the crystal.

"Douglas you’re looking healthier and....younger?" The healthy part was to be expected given his revival from a near dead state last year but younger. Did a reenergised sex life with his wife imbue him with energy rather than steal from it?

"I’m a military man at heart, the stampede and this civil war have ironically strengthened my body, bringing me closer to my prime." His strength that had dwindled to entry B-rank had risen the mid-levels, equivalent to the current Frost. "Bastion’s the same, his beard has even regained much of its lost colour." His long-time friend and leader of Furano’s adventurer’s guild could barely summon even entry level B-rank strength back when they assaulted Adam’s compound but now he was giving much younger men a run for their money.

"What about Ryuu?"

"As old as ever in fact he may have even gained the years we lost hahahaha." Douglas laughed from his belly, remembering an earlier comparison his wife made.

"That’s because I’m always left with the fucking paperwork!" Ryuu’s angry voice bellowed from behind along with a book launched directly at the back of Douglas’ head.

"Ow!" He chose not to dodge since there was little strength behind his throw, a blow that was perhaps earned given the level of work Ryuu had accomplished over the past few weeks.

"Alright enough playing around, Frost how’s the Princess? Did you deliver her to the Duke safely and how’s the situation at Icethorne truly?" These were things he needed to know.

"Last time I checked she was making arrangements with the Duke to enlist allies from the external regions, healthy and with nary a scar."

"She made it safe and sound good, good Cassandra and I will sleep better tonight and I’m sure Franz and Amira will rejoice in the heavens at the fact their baby girl is under Oscar’s protection." Douglas had a close personal friendship with the former Emperor as well as Duke Runak, he was one of the few people in the Empire allowed to call them informally by their first name.

"Uhmmm safe might not be the most appropriate term, sure she got there in one piece but there isn’t exactly free of danger." Icethorne was currently beset by an army dozens of times larger their own with even greater numbers to follow.

"Impossible Oscar’s the Empire’s strongest General and he leads our most experienced and strongest soldiers." While Douglas could understand that the Duke was under siege and in dire need of reinforcements he refused to believe that there was truly any real danger, just the threat of a pyrrhic victory over a close one. Confident that given enough time Northrend’s most vaunted warrior would once again deliver them victory. This belief didn’t stem from blind faith or from the many rumours about Oscar’s strength but from personal experience. He had fought alongside the man and seen his exploits through his own eyes.

"I don’t disagree with his reputation; the man is but half a step away from entering S-rank and the soldiers under his command are some of the fiercest I’ve ever seen but he can’t win this fight. He knows it , I know it and even his Generals know it." None of the upper hierarchy in the War Ursa Battalion held much hope for victory, instead aiming to delay and carve up as much flesh from their enemy as possible before their end.

For Douglas and Ryuu who was listening in such news shook their very souls, turning their blood stone cold. The situation was far more serious than they realised.

"Three months that’s as long as he said he could hold out." Frost held up three fingers, three fragile looking fingers.

"Three months...Shit! Ryuu!"

"I’m on it." Ryuu quickly left the room to retrieve a bunch of documents as well as call over Bastion.

"We need to start arranging reinforcements immediately." Panicked Douglas stared running the numbers through his head. The amount of adventurers available for hire, mercenaries, favours he could cash in and of course those amongst his own military that he could enlist knowing full well that if Duke Runak and his War Ursa Battalion fell then there’d be no stopping Randolph and Sedrick. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Wouldn’t that go against the wishes of the Crown Prince. He may not have complete control of the Empire but I’m pretty sure he’ll mark you as a traitor the moment you start openly defying him." Sometimes all one needed was a halfway decent justification to reign down hell.

"Fuck him, we’re going to have to make a stand at some point anyway so why not now." Douglas refused to serve that bastard, he would follow the will of his friend and support Avira to the throne regardless of the danger.

"Wise, dangerous but wise." Better to start the war on their terms over being caught by surprise.

By this point Douglas was only half paying attention to Frost, his mind fully drifting towards immediate war time preparations.

"I know my words have thrown a spanner in the works but was there a specific reason other than you wanting to know the fate of the Princess that you called me?"

"Haaaaa yes I wanted to discuss using Niflheim as a smuggling route for troops, supplies and even refugees. When Randolph makes his move I’ll have to make the hard decision of abandoning certain parts of my territory, defending the whole area is illogical and downright impossible given its scale and the level of military I have to work with." Within his old war room that he had his most loyal guards dust off Douglas had a highly detailed map of the Northrend empire, Over 75% of it was temporarily dyed red to represent enemy forces while the remaining 25 consisted of nobles that shared his mindset and those who were considered neutral in the political scheme.

Models represented military assets, forts as well as cities and towns that needed to be defended at all costs. Everything else could be abandoned for the sake of the bigger picture. Alas that still left the people, structures could be remade but life could not return.

"I’ve received extensive reports about the size and strength of your walls as well as the rapidly growing interest in your territory amongst the populace. I’m requesting that you give those looking to escape this war safe harbour and work together with me to stop Randolph’s advance north. I’d also like for you to help conceal our activities in sending aid to Duke Runak." This was a big ask. Frost and Niflheim at large could be considered friends with the Furano Viscounty but by accepting this they’d enter a full blown military alliance, standing diametrically opposed to Randolph and Sedrick. A fate that he knew would come to pass eventually, eventually being the operative word.

’My defences are still far from complete, and my military is only in its gestation stage.’ An assault by an armed force right now would see all he had built turned to dust.

Frost thought silently, weighing the options for a good while before giving Douglas his answer.

"I agree but I do have conditions."

"Lay it out son." Douglas didn’t have time to play tug of war, if Frost’s requests were achievable then he’d give the go ahead immediately.

"Niflheim will at all times remain under my command and my command alone. My aid will primarily be defensive in nature i.e. defending my lands, sheltering people, serving as a reservoir for goods and providing safe and hidden passage into the Glacial Mountains. This is a civil war of Northrend not a war between Northrend and Niflheim so there will be no open declaration on my part, our aid will be discreet and in terms of our aggressive military efforts it will consist of individuals rather than a whole." I.e. Frost as a person not the Lord of Niflheim would be lending his glaive, akin to that of a hired mercenary.