For a few seconds... the entire battlefield fell into a heavy silence.
The cold wind was passing through the frozen plain and making the ice crystals dance on the ground.
Until a few moments ago, this place was a hellish battlefield.
But now... a massive part of the plain had turned into a frozen land.
Thousands of monsters were trapped inside thick layers of ice, in the very state they were attacking in.
Some still had angry faces, some had their mouths open, several Thunder Spine Serpents were frozen just as they were, with lightning still flowing between their metal horns.
The massive Ironhorn Marsh Drakes were also standing like giant statues on the ground.
Even a few Fallen ones, who until moments ago were commanding the monster army, were now completely buried inside ice.
The surrounding air had become so cold that even breathing was difficult, even the awakened ones on the walls just stared at the scene before them for a few moments.
No one expected a single person to be able to release such power.
It was a very terrifying skill, but fortunately it was clear that its range was limited, otherwise the entire base would have been frozen too.
A skill that could freeze Fallen ones could definitely freeze them to death too.
The first person to snap out of the shock was Commander Elizabeth.
She had not expected an 18-year-old boy to have such destructive power... from the moment he appeared in the battle, he had surprised them one after another.
And now even such a great surprise...
Who is he really?
Her sharp eyes scanned the battlefield in just a few seconds, and she immediately realized that this opportunity... was not permanent.
The Fallen ones were definitely not going to stay frozen forever, in the best case, and if they were lucky, they would probably stay frozen for a few minutes.
She shouted with all her might.
"All high-level forces! Attack right now!"
Her voice shook the entire base walls, all the commanders turned their heads at the same time.
The commander continued.
"The ice is not permanent!"
"They will only last a few minutes at most!"
"If we don’t use this opportunity now... when they break free, we will have to fight all over again!"
She pointed her sword toward the center of the field.
"The target is only the Fallen ones!"
"Leave the frozen monsters alone!"
"Kill the commanders first!"
Only a few seconds later... the massive gate of the Base opened for the first time since the siege began, and the heavy sound of metal gears echoed across the entire field.
Hundreds of high-level awakened ones poured out of the gate like a roaring flood, level 20 hunters.
Senior mages, elite swordsmen, and everyone who had been waiting for such an opportunity for more than a day, now charged into the heart of the field without the slightest hesitation.
This was an opportunity that was only going to be given to them once, an opportunity they had to use with all their being.
Commander Elizabeth was moving at the front of the line.
Her massive sword split one of the frozen Fallen ones in half with each strike.
On the other side... Kael activated dozens of magic circles at the same time, a rain of lightning fell on one of the Fallen ones and split its entire body.
Several other commanders also attacked from different directions, one of the Fallen ones did not even find a chance to break out of the ice.
Its arm, along with part of its shoulder, was severed.
Another, who had just managed to create a small crack in the ice, fell under a rain of swords.
The monster army had finally been completely destroyed, they had succeeded!
Shouts of victory rose from the walls, the defenders’ morale had been revived.
Although the biggest threat still remained...
But in the center of the field... none of these events mattered to the Abyssal River Drake.
Its massive body was calmly moving through the ice storm.
The ice that had trapped hundreds of monsters was being crushed under its weight, and its golden eyes did not look around even once.
All its attention... was only on one person.
Lian.
Or more precisely... what was inside his storage space.
The Devourer egg.
Its calm steps shook the ground, each step... was like a massive hammer blow.
The pressure of its presence was so heavy that even a few awakened ones nearby unconsciously stepped back.
At that same moment... Commander Elizabeth landed in front of Lian like a meteor.
The ground beneath her feet sank, three other commanders also appeared beside her almost at the same time.
One placed a shield as large as a gate in front of them, another created several defensive mana arrays.
Lian was lying on the ground like a half-dead man, he had no strength to move his muscles, all his mana had been drained.
All the damage he had endured with great difficulty had stopped healing due to his mana being drained, and he felt the pain with his entire being.
"Boy... you did excellently up to here." The commander said in a calm voice without even turning her head.
She stepped forward a few steps and raised her sword.
"The rest is with us."
The Drake showed no reaction, just... suddenly disappeared.
The commander only had time to raise her sword.
BOOOM!!
The sound of impact split the air.
Elizabeth was dragged dozens of meters on the ground, two other commanders hit stone pillars directly.
The massive shield of the fourth commander was shattered with just one strike of the Drake’s tail.
Deep cracks covered his entire shield, everyone was stunned.
The power of this monster... was completely different from all the Fallen ones they had seen so far.
Each strike of its tail was like a mountain hitting, each claw movement tore defensive arrays to pieces.
The commanders did not even find a chance to launch a full attack, but... at least they had managed to divert its attention away from Lian.
As soon as the pressure of the Drake’s presence was lifted from him... his entire body collapsed.
His legs could no longer bear his body weight, he tried to stand up but could not, and fell on one knee.
He placed his right hand on the ground to keep from falling, every breath was like thousands of needles piercing his chest.
His left arm was almost numb, blood was flowing down from the corner of his lips.
He truly felt his body had been pushed to the brink of destruction, even clenching his fist had become difficult for him.
"Lian!"
A familiar voice was heard from behind him, Kain rushed to him at full speed, ignoring the pain in his own body, he grabbed Lian’s arm to keep him from falling.
When he saw his friend’s condition, the color drained from his face, Lian’s armor was almost destroyed, his entire body was covered in wounds, even his breathing had become irregular.
But Lian, in that same state, gave a faint smile.
"I guess the siege is finally broken." He coughed for a moment and blood came out of his mouth.
Kain clenched his teeth in anger.
"Idiot... if you had been even a second later... you would be dead right now."
Lian did not answer, he just fixed his gaze on the battlefield, the battle of the four commanders with the Drake was becoming more violent every moment.
His main goal was to break the siege, which he had succeeded in doing, the entire monster army had been destroyed, and only their boss remained.
Right when many thought the situation might be improving... suddenly, one of the four commanders’ heads was severed and fell to the ground....
Fear was imprinted on everyone’s faces... and all the hope that had come was suddenly gone...
Maybe they had managed to destroy the monster army... but now they were facing a monster that was more powerful than the entire army.
"Damn it..." Elizabeth, level 37, who was still engaged with the Drake, whispered under her breath.
She barely deflected the monster’s claw strike and pulled herself aside.
She looked at the headless corpse of her friend lying on the ground, blood still flowing.
There was no time for mourning now... just a moment of distraction and she would be next!
At that same moment... the Abyssal River Drake raised its head toward the sky.
Its massive chest expanded and a terrifying roar shook the entire field.
A roar that even made the Base walls tremble from its intensity.
A second later... the ground began to shake again, as if it wanted to repeat the attack it had done a while ago, the attack that had caused the base’s defensive layers to collapse... again.
Elizabeth and the two remaining commanders noticed this and attacked with all their might to stop such a thing from happening.
"Wha... what is this?" We are right in the middle of this hell... suddenly, all the awakened ones felt multiple powerful presences approaching.
"Are more monsters coming?"
"My god! We are all going to die today!"
"Sob sob! More monsters? Are there still more?"
"Look! They are not monsters!"
From the distance, beyond the horizon... dozens... no... hundreds of powerful presences were approaching at high speed.
Moments later, a massive cloud of dust covered the sky in the distance.
Military flags appeared one after another from within the dust.
Massive armored caravans, tamed monsters with knights riding on their backs.
Chariots, mages, commanders, and thousands of fresh awakened ones.
Reinforcements and helps... had finally arrived.