Chapter 189: Chapter 189 - The Frozen Volcano
The gold-armored lord burst into laughter. "You surely are the most foolish lord I’ve ever met, Atlas. Truly."
He shook his head, still chuckling. "I have no idea where that ridiculous confidence of yours comes from. But let’s be real, you marched your army straight into their own grave."
Then, his expression hardened, his voice laced with condescension.
"Tell me. How exactly do you plan to get out of this? Do you think your little tricks will win you this war? You’re naïve. Far too naïve. You’re premature, boy. You don’t belong here."
As he spoke, his army sprang into action, their movements swift and precise. Rows of soldiers advanced in perfect formation, moving with well-practiced discipline as they rushed forward, maintaining their ranks.
In mere moments, they spread out, surrounding Atlas’s forces from every direction, boxing them in, ready to crush them.
The gold-armored lord scoffed, shaking his head as he casually stepped forward.
"Honestly? This is just... boring."
His voice was filled with disappointment, as if the battle had already ended in his mind.
"I prefer fighting opponents who are actually worth my time." He smirked. "But this? This is just pathetic."
He turned his gaze back to Atlas, his smirk deepening with disdain.
"I gain nothing from this victory. You’re just too weak. Sure, at the very least, I get to wipe out the rat who dared disturb my peace. But that’s hardly satisfying."
His cold grin widened.
"After you die, after everyone in your pathetic army dies, I return home empty-handed. And that? That’s just not fun for me."
The gold-armored lord continued forward, slowly closing the distance between them.
"Oh, but wait. I just realized something." His voice turned mockingly thoughtful. "I don’t have to kill all of your troops, do I?"
His eyes shifted behind Atlas, scanning the frontline of Atlas’s army. Then, his grin turned wicked.
"I see you have a few... alluring subordinates there." His voice was laced with something vile. "Maybe I’ll take a few with me. To warm my bed on this freezing island."
At those words, Atlas finally lifted his gaze, his expression unreadable. Yet a sharp glint flickered in his eyes.
Then, with a dry chuckle, he spoke. "Not only are you stupid, but you’ve got a real knack for running your mouth, huh? You’re trying so hard to provoke me, but none of it lands. And now you’re resorting to this cheap attempt?"
"Ha!" the man barked out a laugh. Without hesitation, he drew his weapon. A massive sword, larger than a standard blade yet not quite a greatsword. Its size only looked natural because of his enormous frame.
"No more wasting time. Let’s finish this quickly. So I can get back to my bed... and enjoy the spoils of this war."
Atlas’s smirk never faltered. He tilted his head slightly. "Have fun..."
A beat passed. Then his tone dropped.
"In hell."
Without sparing the enemy lord another glance, Atlas simply turned away, striding back toward his army as if their exchange had already ended. He rejoined his ranks, moving seamlessly among them.
And yet... not a single one of his soldiers looked tense.
Instead, they stood calm. Almost as if they had already accepted death in a war they could not possibly win.
That eerie stillness carried across the battlefield, and it made the opposing army falter. Their movements slowed, hesitation flickering in their eyes, the edge of their aggression blunted by doubt.
"Don’t waste time. Slaughter them all!" Godfrey bellowed, his roar snapping his troops back into motion.
But then—
Something changed.
Everyone felt it.
The bitter cold in the air. The biting wind. The endless snowfall that had blanketed this frozen island since the very moment they arrived... Stopped.
The flakes vanished. The silence deepened.
Enemy soldiers instinctively tilted their heads skyward, confusion rippling through their formation.
Why?
Why had the snow stopped falling?
And then... they felt it.
A shift.
The air was no longer freezing. The temperature was climbing fast.
Something was coming. Something very, very wrong.
Had the environment truly changed? Was the Frozen Island itself shifting into another phase?
Everyone felt it, that same unshakable question gnawing at the back of their minds.
And then, a chilling awareness dawned.
They weren’t standing on ordinary ground.
Beneath their feet lay the frozen lava pool. An immense expanse of solidified magma, once the burning lifeblood of the island’s greatest volcano before it had been locked in ice.
And if that lava were no longer frozen... This battlefield would not simply be dangerous. It would become a death trap.
This battlefield would become the last place anyone should dare to stand.
Before the doubt could spread further, the gold-armored lord raised his voice, his roar booming across the field.
"Silence your doubts! Crush these lowly rats! And leave the women. I want them for myself tonight!"
The command snapped his soldiers back into line. Hands clenched around weapons, their fear shoved down beneath forced obedience.
Yet still, the air grew hotter. The snow no longer fell.
And Atlas... Atlas had not even begun.
Then, suddenly, a violent jolt rippled beneath everyone’s feet.
It started subtle, almost like a whisper, but quickly grew undeniable. Every enemy soldier felt it crawling up their legs, rattling through their bones, leaving no room for doubt.
The ground itself was alive.
It was the deep, thunderous growl of the earth. An earthquake.
The gold-armored lord snapped his head toward his troops. "Kill them all! NOW!"
The hesitation broke. His soldiers tightened their grips, weapons raised, eyes locking onto Atlas’s calm and unflinching army.
But then. The tremors deepened. What had been a faint vibration now surged into violent shaking. The earth groaned, splitting apart as cracks jagged across the battlefield.
And that was when true fear set in. This was no simple earthquake. The air, once frozen and biting, had shifted far too drastically. It was hot now.
Then it happened.
Crack. Crack. CRACK.
Fractures split wide beneath their boots, racing like veins of destruction across the battlefield.
The frozen lava pool beneath them was breaking.
They had to run. Now.
Amidst the chaos, Atlas stood motionless. Calm. His gaze fixed solely on the enemy lord.
And then. BOOM!
A massive explosion tore through the battlefield’s edge, the blast painting the night sky in fire and fury.
Enemy soldiers were hurled off their feet, their once-solid formation shattering as they tumbled across the cracking ice.
Then. A roar. A monstrous, earth-splitting roar.
The sound ripped across the battlefield like a shockwave, vibrating through bone and soul alike.
Every soldier froze. Every pair of eyes snapped toward the source.
And what they saw was a nightmare made flesh.
Out from the choking smoke it came, towering, colossal. A body half-serpentine, coiling upward like a leviathan pulled from the abyss.
Its head alone dwarfed the men before it, jaws wide enough to swallow soldiers whole in a single bite.
A monster. No. A true horror.
The creature bellowed again, its voice thunder rolling through the battlefield. And with it, terror ignited.
Soldiers screamed, their perfect lines unraveling as panic devoured them.
The order was gone. Fear reigned.
And Atlas... He had just sprung the real trap.