That Mecha dashed forward like a black arrow tearing through the thick curtain of snow.

Its speed was extremely fast, so fast that on the security camera, all that remained was a blurry streak of light trailing across the ice-covered ground.

The gun in its hand was raised. The barrel flashed and fired continuous volleys of dazzling blue energy projectiles.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Explosions rang out continuously. Each ice Goblin on the outer ring had the upper half of its body blasted apart, their ice-made bodies shattering into countless pure-white fragments.

But that Mecha didn’t stop.

It was like a true war machine, moving and firing at the same time, pressing straight into the Ice Tribe’s formation.

Morie stared intently at the screen, her fingers lightly tapping on the armrest of her chair. Her jade-green eyes didn’t blink even once.

Elith stood beside her, unconsciously holding her breath.

On the screen, besides that Mecha, countless defense towers of other Survivors were also firing frantically.

Red-hot fireballs ripped through the wind as they shot forth.

Arrows as black as shadows pierced through the curtain of snow.

Purple energy orbs exploded in mid-air, leaving behind distorted rings of shockwaves.

Even on some higher floors, several lightning-type defense towers began to discharge. Each blue-white bolt of lightning whipped down to the ground, striking the group of ice Goblins and causing them to let out ear-piercing shrieks.

The entire area in front of the apartment complex had transformed into a true battlefield.

But no matter how dense the firepower was, it was all being blocked at the outer line.

The massive ice Golems standing at the front line were like mobile fortress walls, their hands gripping ice shields of unbelievable thickness.

Each time defense tower projectiles or energy rounds from the Mecha collided with those shields, they only created small cracks that were quickly frozen solid again by the surrounding cold air.

"It can’t penetrate through." Elith softly said, her tone carrying a hint of astonishment: "Their defensive power is higher than what I thought."

"It’s not just defense." Morie softly replied: "It’s discipline."

Elith turned her head to look at her.

Morie still stared at the screen, continuing: "Those ice Golems aren’t just standing there blocking blows. They’re constantly adjusting their positions, taking turns absorbing damage, protecting the catapults and the rear line as well."

"That isn’t instinctive reaction."

"That’s an army."

Hearing this, Elith’s spine grew slightly cold.

Outside, that Mecha seemed to have also realized this.

It suddenly folded up the gun and threw it onto its back, then drew the massive greatsword that was fastened at its waist.

As soon as that sword left its sheath, the blade ignited with a layer of dark red light, like metal heated to its extreme limit.

WHOOSH!

The Mecha accelerated once more. Its heavy body charged forward with an extremely agile posture, then leaped high into the air.

The greatsword slashed down.

BANG!!!

An ice Golem in the front row was struck on the shoulder. Its entire shield-wielding arm was severed, exploding into countless shards of ice.

But almost at that very moment, three other ice Golems had already charged forward.

One struck horizontally with its shield.

One swung an ice mace down from above.

Another directly used its mountain-like body to slam straight forward.

The Mecha twisted its body in mid-air. The greatsword swept horizontally, knocking aside the incoming ice shield, then lowered its center of gravity, using its shoulder to meet the third Golem’s charge head-on.

BAM!

The ground cracked.

Pieces of ice beneath its feet burst apart, shooting up into the air like a white sea wave.

The Mecha slid over ten meters before barely managing to stand steady, its two legs plowing two deep black trenches into the ground.

"So strong..." Elith couldn’t help but murmur.

"Mm." Morie nodded lightly: "But not enough."

Sure enough, at the rear line, the Ice Tribe’s catapults hadn’t stopped at all.

They were being continuously loaded by small ice Goblins.

The ice projectiles, half the size of a room, their surfaces covered with blue runes, were continuously hauled up, fastened onto the launch platforms, then the aiming angle was adjusted toward the apartment complex.

The Mecha had clearly seen them as well.

It suddenly let out a low, deep roar. From within its chest, the sound of an engine howling rang out ear-piercingly, after which it desperately charged forward once again.

One slash.

Two slashes.

Three slashes!

Three ice Golems were struck back by it in succession. One even had the upper half of its body severed, crashing down to the ground.

But each time it advanced a few steps, more ice Golems would move in to fill the empty positions.

They were like machines that knew no fear, nor felt any pain, silently using their massive bodies to form an absolute ice wall.

The Mecha could kill, could slash, could destroy, but it couldn’t break through.

The distance between it and the catapults was still over thirty meters.

And at this moment, those thirty meters were like an insurmountable chasm.

"It’s reached its limit." Morie softly said.

Elith clenched her fists: "It could still push a little longer."

Morie shook her head: "No, it’s already been drawn into the enemy’s combat rhythm."

As soon as she finished speaking, on the screen, the ice surface on both sides of the ice Golem formation suddenly burst apart.

From beneath the thick layer of snow, six ice Wolves leaped out.

Their bodies were twice the size of ordinary wolves, their entire bodies covered in a layer of fur white as cold steel. Their four clawed paws left long trails of frost on the ground as they stepped.

They didn’t charge in head-on.

They spread out to both sides, then circled behind the Mecha with a terrifying speed.

"How filthy." Elith gritted her teeth.

Morie instead wore a faint smile: "No, it’s reasonable."

Right at this moment, an ice Golem in front raised its ice mace high, smashing it straight down.

The Mecha raised its sword to meet the blow.

KLANG!!!

An ear-piercing sound rang out. Sparks and ice fragments scattered in all directions.

But at that very same moment, an ice Wolf had already leaped up from behind, biting hard into the joint of its right calf.

Crack!

A sound that made listeners’ teeth ache rang out.

The Mecha staggered.

Two other ice Wolves also charged in. One bit into its left arm, while another directly rammed its head into its waist, causing its massive body to lose balance.

"AGH!!! Help! Save that Mecha!"

Sunako’s cries once again rang out piercingly from outside the door.

"Shut up!" Elith frowned and shouted.

But Sunako still continued to scream, as if the louder the sound, the less afraid she would feel.

Outside, the Mecha had been dragged down onto one knee.

Right after, the ice Golems charged in simultaneously.

Ice maces.

Ice shields.

Fists made of hardened ice.

All of it rained down onto its body like a storm.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The chest armor of the Mecha cracked.

Its left shoulder section caved in.

The arm holding the sword was knocked askew, almost flying out of its socket.

The remaining ice Wolves took advantage of that opportunity to bite and tear furiously. Pieces of metal were ripped out of its body by them like a pack of wild beasts tearing apart its prey.

Sparks flew in all directions.

Black oil and shattered components scattered all over the ice surface.

"Agh..." Elith couldn’t help but shudder.

Even Morie’s eyes narrowed slightly.

But that Mecha still wasn’t dead.

In the moment of being pressed to the extreme limit, the energy core in its chest suddenly emitted a dazzling light.

BZZZT!!!

A ring of electric light exploded around its body, blasting the two nearest ice Wolves away.

Then, it didn’t continue trying to charge forward. Instead, it suddenly spun around, using its nearly destroyed body to ram straight into a gap between two ice Golems.

BAM!!!

An ice Golem was pushed back.

That Mecha used its still-intact right arm to swing the greatsword, slashing off half the head of an ice Wolf that had just lunged toward it, then turned tail and fled toward the apartment complex.

The ice Golems at the rear roared, intending to pursue, but their speed couldn’t keep up.

The ice Wolves were different. They pursued very closely.

On the screen, as the Mecha ran, an ice Wolf latched onto its back, biting through nearly all of the armor on its shoulder.

Another one sunk its fangs into the already cracked calf, ripping out a large chunk of metal.

Its appearance at this moment was extremely miserable, like an iron beast that had just escaped from a pack of monsters.

But in the end, it still managed to escape.

Just as it approached the foot of the apartment complex, several short-range defense towers from other Survivors simultaneously opened fire.

Fire shells, explosive rounds, and magical arrows rained down, forcing the ice Wolves to retreat.

The Mecha staggered into the interior of the apartment complex, then disappeared from the camera’s angle.

Elith let out a long breath: "Luckily, it’s still alive."

Morie shook her head again: "Alive, but useless for the short term."

"The Ice Tribe’s formation is still intact."

Sure enough, on the screen, after driving back the Mecha, the Ice Tribe’s formation showed almost no disorder.

The ice Goblins resumed loading ammunition.

The ice Golems raised their shields, returning to their original positions.

The ice Wolves spread out to both sides, silently crouching low like assassins awaiting orders.

A feeling of heavy pressure immediately enveloped the space.

"They’re even more frightening than that army of Skeletons from before." Elith said in a low voice.

"Of course." Morie picked up her coffee cup, taking a small sip, her tone leisurely to an annoying degree: "Skeletons are an army of the dead. The Ice Tribe are living warriors."

"They know pain, they know how to calculate, they know how to learn from experience, and they also know how to use terrain, weather, and even psychology to kill their enemies."

"Even if it’s just a small branch, they’re more dangerous than most ordinary races."

BOOM!!!

Another ice projectile was launched.

Then a second.

A third.

The massive ice blocks, trailing ear-piercing howls of wind, streaked across the gloomy sky and then slammed toward the apartment complex.

Low, muffled explosions rang out everywhere.

The exterior of the building was quickly covered by layer upon layer of white ice.

In several positions, defense towers that were just about to fire were enveloped by ice, falling completely silent.

The cries on the general chat channel increased again.

But in this room, Morie remained composed to an infuriating degree.

She set the coffee cup down, tilted her head to look at the screen, then said to Elith: "Do you know what the most annoying thing about the Ice Tribe is?"

Before Elith could respond, Sunako’s voice rang out from outside: "Agh! I’m freezing to death! You bastards! Let me in, quickly!"

Morie frowned, but paid no attention to her, only continuing: "It’s that they are very patient."

"They won’t rush in immediately."

"They’ll use the cold to weaken you first. When your limbs stiffen, when your building is frozen, when you start to lose patience or panic..."

"That’s when they’ll make their move."

Hearing this, Elith felt a sudden chill in her heart.

"Then... are we still waiting?"

Morie looked toward the screen, the corners of her mouth slowly curling up.

"Of course."

"I’m waiting for the best moment."

As if to respond to her words, the Ice Tribe’s formation outside finally had some movement.

The ice Goblins began to leave the catapults.

They held short ice spears, dividing into small squads.

The ice Wolves on the two flanks also slowly lowered their bodies, their muscles taut as if about to burst.

In the center of the formation, the ice Golems stepped aside, leaving narrow paths for the infantry to pour through.

Elith’s eyes widened: "They... are starting to move."

Outside, Sunako seemed to have gone mad, continuing to scream: "Goddamn it! I told you already! That’s the vanguard force of the Ice Tribe. They’re about to charge in here!"

"Are you all fools?! Hurry up and shoot!"

Only now did Morie gently set down her coffee cup.

The smile on her lips vanished.

Her previously calm gaze also gradually grew cold.

"Alright..." She softly said.

"It’s our turn."

Morie’s pale, slender fingers twitched slightly.

On the camera, Thunder Dragon, which had been sitting beside the door with its two wings still covering its ears due to Sunako’s noise, suddenly raised its head.

Its purple-black eyes locked onto the Ice Tribe’s formation in the distance.

The magic circle beneath its feet lit up.

Small bolts of electricity began to crawl along its body, from its scales, wings, all the way to the tips of its horns.

Krit... Krit... Krit...

The immature cry from before disappeared.

In its place came the sound of an electric current so powerful that the air itself began to distort.

Elith swallowed dryly.

Even Sunako outside fell silent for a brief moment, as if she had sensed something extremely terrifying.

Thunder Dragon opened its mouth.

A blue-white halo of light suddenly converged in front of its mouth, growing from small to large, from the size of a fist to the size of a human head, then continued to expand, glowing so brightly that even the security camera flickered from overload.

Morie softly said: "Disappear."

BOOM!!!!

A massive bolt of lightning shot out.

No, that was no longer an ordinary bolt of lightning. It was more like a frenzied river of light tearing through the curtain of snow, trailing countless furious electric serpents, sweeping straight across the battlefield.

Wherever it passed, the ground exploded.

Ice and snow evaporated.

The air itself was scorched, forming distorted waves of heat.

The ice Goblins, which had just charged forward, didn’t even get to let out a single cry before turning to ash amid the flash.

The ice Wolves on the two flanks were struck by the electric current. Their entire bodies cracked open, then exploded into countless fragments of ice and pale blue blood.

Even the massive ice Golems couldn’t hold up against it.

Their ice shields shattered like thin paper.

Their mountainous bodies were torn open, exploding from within, transforming into a rain of ice that covered the entire battlefield.

A wide area in front of the apartment complex was leveled in the blink of an eye.

No more formation.

No more front line or rear line.

No more ice Goblins, ice Wolves, or ice Golems.

All that remained was the scorched black ground, rising wisps of steam, and countless pieces of ice melting into streams of cold water mixed with ash and dust.

The entire world seemed to be plunged into silence.

The ice monsters were silent.

The general chat channel was silent.

Even Sunako opened her mouth, unable to speak a single word.

Elith stood frozen in place, her eyes wide as she looked at the screen, her throat dry.

A long while later, she finally managed to turn her head with difficulty to look at Morie.

Morie still just sat there, looking elegant like a young lady who had just finished dealing with some minor matter, gently picking up her coffee cup.

She took a sip, then said in an extremely calm tone:

"Mm... this time, it’s just the right sweetness."