The beast tide came screaming out of the northern forest at sunrise.

Thousands of creatures poured across the frozen valley like a living avalanche of fur, claws, and bad intentions.

Wolves sprinted ahead of the main tide while massive frost boars smashed through trees behind them. Larger creatures moved deeper within the horde—dark shapes big enough to tower over the rest.

The ground shook beneath them.

One young marksman standing atop Elarion’s wall stared at the approaching tide with slightly pale skin.

"...That is significantly more beasts than I expected."

The rifleman beside him nodded seriously.

"Yes."

A pause.

"How many were you expecting?"

"...Less."

Fair answer honestly.

War bells echoed across the fortress while soldiers rushed into position along the battlements. Archers lined the rear walls, crossbowmen prepared spare ammunition, and the First Rifle Regiment took formation behind reinforced firing barricades overlooking the valley below.

Smoke drifted from cannon fuses nearby.

Workers carried powder crates through the snow while dwarves screamed at literally everyone.

"DON’T TOUCH THAT!"

"I wasn’t touching anything!"

"YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT TOUCHING IT!"

Cedric climbed the western wall stairs while fastening his sword belt.

"Status?"

One exhausted dwarf pointed proudly toward the twelve-pound cannon.

"She lives."

Lucas looked horrified.

"...Why do you speak about the cannon like it’s a person?"

"Because she has spirit."

"She has explosives!"

"Exactly."

That somehow made the administrator more nervous.

Far below the walls, the beast tide continued charging forward through the snow.

Closer.

Closer.

One wolf suddenly tripped over a frozen corpse and got flattened by the creatures behind it.

A nearby guard blinked.

"...Did that beast just die from friendly fire?"

"Nature is healing," another muttered.

Then Malen walked onto the wall.

And the joking immediately stopped.

The Peak Knight moved calmly between the rifle formations while the soldiers straightened instinctively.

Some men still looked nervous.

Others looked ready to throw up.

Reasonable reaction.

Malen stopped beside one trembling recruit.

"First battle?"

"Yes, sir."

The young rifleman swallowed hard.

"What if I panic?"

Malen looked toward the approaching beast tide.

"Then panic after reloading."

The recruit stared.

"...That’s actually helpful."

"I know."

Nearby, Lucien stood atop the central battlement watching the battlefield silently while snow drifted across his dark coat.

The entire valley looked unreal.

White snow.

Black forest.

And a tidal wave of monsters charging directly toward Elarion.

Aurethar rested atop the fortress tower above them while observing the incoming tide with growing excitement.

"At last."

Golden eyes narrowed slightly.

"Something large enough to survive longer than three seconds."

Lucas glanced upward.

"That is a deeply concerning sentence."

The dragon ignored him.

Below, the rifle regiment prepared their weapons.

Powder.

Shot.

Ramrod.

One nervous marksman fumbled his cartridge and cursed quietly as powder spilled across the stone wall.

The older rifleman beside him sighed.

"If we survive this battle, I’m teaching you how hands work."

The young recruit looked offended.

"I know how hands work."

"Evidence disagrees."

Then Lucien raised one hand.

The wall fell silent instantly.

The beast tide crossed into rifle range.

"Fire."

BOOM.

The battlements exploded into thunder.

Dozens of rifles fired simultaneously while smoke blasted across the walls hard enough to momentarily blind half the formation.

Several recruits nearly lost balance from recoil.

One actually did.

The poor man crashed backward directly into an ammunition crate.

"...I’m alive!"

Cedric looked down at him.

"That was your achievement?"

"Yes!"

Far below—

The front ranks of the beast tide collapsed violently.

Wolves tumbled through the snow with shattered skulls while rifle rounds punched cleanly through fur, flesh, and bone.

One charging beast abruptly flipped sideways mid-run after taking a round directly through the eye.

The wall stared.

Because it worked.

Actually worked.

Then a second volley thundered outward.

BOOM.

More creatures fell.

One frost wolf somehow continued running without realizing it was already dead before crashing headfirst into a rock.

The soldiers began reloading frantically.

Powder.

Ramrod.

Shot.

Again.

Again.

Smoke thickened around the battlements while thunder echoed endlessly across the valley.

Then the frost boars arrived.

Massive armored monsters burst through the collapsing wolf packs while roaring loud enough to shake snow loose from the walls themselves.

One soldier stared at them in horror.

"...Those things are enormous."

Another marksman aimed carefully.

"Maybe they’re friendly."

The boar immediately crushed a tree.

"...Never mind."

Three rifle shots slammed into the lead beast.

It barely slowed.

Cedric frowned sharply.

"Oh that’s unpleasant."

The boars smashed through the outer barricades like they didn’t exist.

Lucien looked toward the western cannon position.

"Fire."

The dwarves grinned like psychopaths.

"WITH PLEASURE!"

The cannon roared.

Not loudly.

Violently.

The entire wall shook beneath the blast while smoke exploded outward across the battlements.

One nearby soldier screamed:

"MY EARS!"

Then the cannonball hit.

The lead frost boar ceased existing spiritually, physically, and probably emotionally.

Snow, blood, and beast parts erupted across the valley while another boar got launched sideways hard enough to flatten two wolves behind it.

Silence covered the wall for exactly one second.

Then—

"AGAIN!"

The cannon crew immediately started reloading while laughing like maniacs.

Lucas looked physically distressed.

"Why are the dwarves enjoying this so much?!"

Cedric didn’t even look surprised anymore.

"Honestly this is relatively restrained for them."

The rifle regiment continued firing into the tide while cannon blasts tore massive holes through the advancing beasts.

And somehow—

Elarion held.

Then things became complicated.

A massive horned beast suddenly burst through the collapsing tide and climbed directly toward the western battlements.

Fast.

Far too fast.

Rifle shots slammed into it repeatedly.

The creature ignored all of them.

One recruit panicked completely.

"WHY IS IT STILL MOVING?!"

Another soldier answered while desperately reloading:

"I DON’T KNOW BUT I OBJECT!"

The beast vaulted onto the wall.

Chaos erupted instantly.

Soldiers stumbled backward while the monster roared loud enough to shake nearby stone.

Then Malen moved.

One second he stood beside the rifle line.

The next—

The creature’s head flew across the battlements.

The corpse collapsed heavily near the cannon crew while blood sprayed across half the wall.

Malen calmly cleaned his blade.

"Reload."

The terrified recruits stared at him.

"...Yes, sir."

Meanwhile above the battlefield—

Aurethar finally lost patience.

The golden dragon launched from the tower like a falling comet while massive wings blasted snow from the walls beneath him.

One soldier looked upward and whispered:

"...We have a dragon."

Another nodded slowly.

"That still feels illegal."

Aurethar crashed directly into the center of the beast tide.

Golden fire exploded across the valley instantly.

Entire sections of the horde vanished beneath dragonflame while burning beasts scattered screaming through the snow.

The dragon laughed.

Actually laughed.

"Oh this is FUN."

One unlucky frost wolf tried jumping toward him.

Aurethar bit it out of the air casually.

Then looked disappointed afterward.

"Crunchy."

Back atop the wall, even the soldiers paused briefly to stare.

Cedric wiped blood from his face while watching the dragon rampage below.

"You know..."

Lucas looked exhausted already.

"What now?"

"We may actually survive this."

Then another cannon blast nearly threw both of them off the battlements.

"...Never mind," Lucas muttered. "The cannon is trying to kill us too."