The red beacon bloomed soundlessly in the dark night sky, casting the snow-covered ground in a vivid red hue. Suddenly, a commotion arose in the birch forests that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was the sound of thundering horse hooves, kicking up snowflakes as they galloped across the snow.
...
Anastasia Galois' soft ears trembled violently in the cold wind. The palms of her hands, which were tightly gripping the hilt of her sword, were sweating, but the sweat quickly froze into ice crystals in the extreme cold. The night in the Lutski Mountains was as black as ink, and the star clusters scattered on the steep cliff faces like broken diamonds.
Twenty Losi[1] warriors from the assault battalion inserted their barbed iron claws into the ice crevices and silently climbed up the vertical black rock cliffs. Their fluffy tails were stretched taut like steel whips to maintain balance.
Lilith's tail suddenly wrapped around Anastasia's ankle. Amidst the static of the magic communication device, she heard her friend softly humming "The Frostwolf Lullaby" in a breathy voice. The fragmented syllables emerged and disappeared amidst the scraping sound of steel claws against the ice layer. This was a habit they had developed in the military academy. In the tense moments before a battle, Lilith would unconsciously hum this folk song with a Northern accent.
"Archers in position," came the low voice of the archer captain from the magic telecommunication device.
"Assault in position," Anastasia replied.
The warriors of the assault battalion quietly climbed to the edge of the cliff. The fires in the tents of the dragonkin army on the slope beside the cliff were clearly visible, flickering and dancing in the night.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of streaks of dark blue light tore through the thick night sky, screaming through the air and emitting ear-piercing explosions. The ice-elemental energy, accompanied by flying ice cones, burst forth violently. The watchtower collapsed under the attack like butter. The awakened dragonkins let out ear-splitting roars, and the rubbing of their scales produced a metallic scraping sound.
The enemy would probably find it hard to believe that while the Losi Empire was fending off a million-strong army on the Western Front, it still had the strength to set up defence and resist on the Eastern Front.
In an instant, a thick fog filled the area beneath the cliff, enveloping the land like a thin layer of gauze. From within the fog, the neighing of warhorses could be faintly heard, as if thousands of troops were surging forward in an overwhelming manner. The sound echoed through the valley, deafening and spine-chilling.
Upon hearing this sound, panic rippled the dragonkin soldiers.
Nevertheless, their abilities and courage as a war people were truly admirable. While charging, they quickly adjusted their formation and let out a powerful battle cry in unison.
Such courage and calm reaction was already a remarkable feat. However, they could never have imagined that the real danger did not lie ahead, but rather in the rear.
"The feints are all set up. We're retreating. It's up to you now! Take down the commander!" came an intermittent voice through the heavy static from the communication device, with a hint of anxiety and tension in the voice.
"Charge!"
Anastasia kicked away the protruding ice cone, and her iron claws carved out fiery sparks on the cliff face. Twenty black shadows, like arrows released from a bowstring, pounced towards the dragonkin camp at the top of the cliff. They crossed the half-empty barracks and rushed straight towards the tall tent of the commander-in-chief at the centre of the military camp. The blue-gray scales glinted with a cold iron sheen in the moonlight. The guards, who were in a hurry to fight back, swung their serrated battle axes expecting to cut through flesh, but were met with tiny silver sparks when they clashed with the fine steel scimitars.
The dragonkins' attacks were chaotic but extremely powerful, and each strike sent ice shards flying through the air. Anastasia spun around, and her scimitar traced a sharp crescent arc, precisely slicing off the dragonkin's arm holding the battle axe. Thick black blood splattered onto the snow, hissing as it made contact.
Lilith's figure flashed across the battlefield like a ghost, as light and agile as an arctic fox. The twin daggers in her hands, glinting under the moonlight, were brandished at a dizzying speed, weaving out an impenetrable silver net. In the blink of an eye, the dagger blades flashed past several assembled guards. Before they could even react, their heads had already fallen to the ground.
Suddenly, a sound of ice cracking came from inside the tent, as if a giant beast from the depths of the ice plain was roaring. The commander-in-chief, Carl Gauss, draped in a black scale cloak, rushed out of the tent like a bolt of black lightning. His tall and burly figure cast down a thick shadow, and his crimson eyes were filled with rage.
"Orc filth!"
In an instant, crimson flames, like surging magma, erupted from around the dragon slave mage Carl. The billowing heat waves distorted the surrounding air.
"Attack! Now!" Lilith cried, and the twin daggers in her hands glinted as they stabbed straight towards Carl's face like two beams of cold light. At the same time, Anastasia pelted from behind, taking the opportunity to rush forward. Her scimitar aiming for Carl's thick skull. Just as the scimitar was about to touch Carl's skin, a dull rumble like thunder suddenly came from the distant mountain.
"Avalanche!" someone in the assault battalion shouted.
Before they could react, a huge wave of snow, carrying ice blocks, came crashing down with overwhelming force, like a river bursting its banks.
"Damn it!"
Anastasia instinctively turned around, but was tightly held still by Lilith from behind. Their tails nervously wrapped around each other's waists, and the two of them tumbled in the cascade of snow. Anastasia felt as if her chest was about to explode from the pressure. The moment snow grains filled her mouth and nose, she saw Lilith's silver hair fluttering in the snowstorm, and those amber eyes looking at her.
A violent impact came from the front, and everything went black before her eyes.
...
"Cough, cough."
Anastasia coughed up blood-tinged snow water. Lilith's soft body was protecting her. The scale armor on Lilith's back had been shattered, and the seeping blood snaked across the snow like a river.
"Li... Lilith..." Anastasia reached out trembling, and touched her friend's cold face buried in the snow.
Lilith barely opened her eyes. Her amber pupils reflected the gradually darkening sky, but it was as if she didn't see Anastasia.
"Long live...the Empire..."
Her head drooped weakly, and her soft cat ears lost their vitality.
Anastasia hugged Lilith's gradually cooling body tightly. Her tears froze into ice crystals in the extreme cold and landed on her friend's pale face. The sudden avalanche had washed away all the noise. At this moment, the only thing left in her world was the warmth gradually fading away in her arms.
The air seemed to have solidified. Breathing became difficult and heavy. Every inhalation felt like swallowing ice and snow, and the chill pierced straight to the bottom of her heart. She wanted to roar and shout, but the sound caught in her throat, turning into a silent sob. Tears welled up continuously and instantly froze on her cheeks.
Anastasia curled up beside Lilith, hugging her gradually cooling body, stroking her cheeks and fluffy ears, gently kissing her forehead, and drawing the last bit of warmth from her friend.
"May your soul ascend to Carlando. The Goddess Cardian grants you salvation, and bestows upon you eternal happiness..."
The north wind wailed. When the first ray of aurora swept across the ice plain, Anastasia gently laid down her friend's body, struggled to stand up, untied her own tail ring, and tied it to the tail that no longer swayed. The leather cord swayed slightly in the wind and snow, like a silent vow.
On the other side where cloudberries bloomed, Lilith's tail would still sway for her, as gentle and firm as it was when they first met.
[Victor's Notes]
[1]Losi empire The northern empire is a nation-state established by the Losi people. The Losi people have very distinctive sensitive cat ears and tails. Though the Losi people claim that these are the wolf traits bestowed upon them by the Ice Plain Wolf Goddess Cardian.
[2]Carlando is the land of repose. In legend, there is no war or bloodshed in Carlando. Beautiful music plays in the air at all times, and mellow wine flows in the streams.
[3]Cardian is a character from arknights(cross out). She is the goddess worshipped by all the Losi. Legend has it that Cardian is the ancestor of the human race with animal ears, the creator of the laws of natural elemental magic, and one of the prime gods.