Part 1: The Unmovable Wall
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
The sound echoed off the crystal walls like a heartbeat of doom. The Yeti Phalanx marched forward, step by synchronized step. Their massive ice shields were locked together, creating a jagged white wall that spanned the width of the cavern.
"Back up!" Elian shouted, parrying a thrust from a black ice spear.
"Shield integrity at 100%," Caelum's voice echoed calmly in everyone's ears via the telepathy link. "Physical attacks are ineffective. Roger, hold fire. Your bullets are ricocheting at dangerous angles."
"Dammit!" Roger cursed, lowering his rifle. "I can't scratch them!"
"They are pushing us into the tunnel bottleneck," Valen grunted, bracing his shield against the crushing weight of the formation. "Elian, we are losing ground!"
Elian scanned the formation. It was perfect. No gaps. No flanks.
"Caelum, give me a weakness!" Elian demanded.
"The formation relies on static friction," Caelum analyzed instantly, his mana sense scanning the floor. "Their feet are rooted to the ice to generate leverage. If we remove their stability, the wall collapses."
Elian grinned, a cold, predatory smile.
"If we can't go through them," Elian yelled, "we bowl them over!"
He pointed his sword at the floor beneath the Yetis' feet.
"New Plan: Kinetic Strike. Caelum, coordinate the timing!"
Part 2: The Alchemical Trap
"Luna, prepare [Slime-Drake Oil]," Caelum ordered, his voice devoid of panic. "Target coordinates: three meters in front of the center shield. Wait for my signal."
Luna reached into her bandolier, pulling out three flasks of viscous purple liquid. She held them ready, her eyes locked on the advancing giants.
"Now," Caelum commanded.
"Heads up!" Luna screamed, hurling the flasks.
They smashed against the ice exactly where Caelum predicted. The purple liquid spread instantly under the feet of the front line.
The Yetis groaned, their massive feet slipping. The rhythmic THOOM faltered as they fought to stay upright.
Part 3: The Charge of the Titan
"Target destabilized," Caelum reported. "Lyra, switch to [The Rolling Stone]. Maximize kinetic output. Titan, prepare to engage."
Lyra strummed her lute violently, abandoning melody for raw, driving power. The air vibrated with a deep, thrumming bass.
A visible wave of momentum wrapped around Titan. His armor grew heavier, his presence expanding until he felt like a planet.
Titan looked back at the white-robed healer.
"Big Sis Sera!" Titan roared, grinning like a madman. "Cover me!"
"Shield deploying," Seraphina said, raising her staff as Caelum marked the timing. [Divine Shell].
A sphere of golden light encased Titan, making him invulnerable.
"Trajectory calculated," Caelum's voice sharpened. "Titan... Charge."
Titan didn't run away. He lowered his shoulder, aimed at the center Yeti who was struggling for balance, and sprinted.
His boots thundered against the ice. With every step, Lyra's music pushed him faster. He was a runaway train of gold and steel.
"MOVE!" Titan screamed.
Part 4: The Impact
The impact was felt before it was heard.
Titan slammed into the center shield of the Phalanx at full sprint.
CRAAAAAAAACK.
The sound was like a glacier snapping in half.
"Impact successful," Caelum narrated coolly. "Structure failing."
The center Yeti, unable to grip the oiled floor, had zero resistance against Titan's magically amplified mass. The giant was launched backward as if shot from a cannon. It smashed into the two Yetis behind it, sending them tumbling like bowling pins.
The shockwave of the collision rippled outward. The locked shields snapped apart. The Phalanx exploded. Yetis fell over each other, sliding uncontrollably on the oil, their spears clattering to the ground.
The perfect wall was now a chaotic pile of limbs and ice.
Part 5: The Slaughter
"Formation broken!" Caelum announced. "Execute clean-up pattern Alpha."
Elian dove into the gap Titan had created. He moved like a blur of black lightning.
"Elian, target right knee, exposed," Caelum guided him.
Slash. Elian cut the hamstring of a rising Yeti.
"Shadows, Sector 4 and 5," Caelum directed the rogues.
Jax and Isara materialized from the ceiling, dropping onto the confused monsters.
Isara landed on a Yeti's shoulders. "Vital point confirmed," Caelum whispered in her ear. She drove her daggers down. [Critical Hit].
Jax slid between the legs of another. "Femoral artery, left leg," Caelum directed. Jax sliced and vanished.
"Roger, clear shot, 11 o'clock," Caelum called out.
"Copy that, Commander," Roger yelled, firing.
BANG.
A bullet tore through the eye of a spear-thrower that Caelum had highlighted in his HUD.
Valen and Titan held the front, bashing the disoriented giants with their shields, keeping them pinned while the damage dealers tore them apart.
It was brutal. It was efficient. Under Caelum's guidance, they moved not as individuals, but as a single machine.
In less than two minutes, the eleven Elite Frost-Rage Yetis lay dead on the black ice.
Part 6: The King Wakes
The echo of the last gunshot faded.
The team stood amidst the carnage, chests heaving.
"Threat eliminated," Caelum stated, though his voice was tight with the strain of processing so much data.
Then, a sound cut through the victory.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow, mocking applause.
At the far end of the cavern, Glacius, The Winter King, stood up from his throne.
He was colossal—easily twenty feet tall. His armor was made of unmelting permafrost.
He reached out and grabbed the massive Greatsword of Black Ice resting against the throne. He lifted it with one hand.
"Temperature dropping rapidly," Caelum warned, his head tilting. "Mana density spiking to critical levels. Boss engaging."
The King didn't roar. He spoke, his voice sounding like grinding stones.
"An amusing trick, little insects. You broke my toys."
Glacius swung his sword—a casual, horizontal slash at the empty air fifty meters away.
WHOOSH.
A shockwave of compressed frost slashed through the room.
"Evade! Lateral movement!" Caelum screamed into the link.
The team dove left and right instantly, trusting the elf's eyes.
The shockwave hit the spot where they had been standing a split second before. The solid rock floor was cleaved in two, frozen instantly at the edges.
Glacius stepped off the dais, his blue eyes burning.
"Now... let us see if you break as easily as the ice."