SSS Frost Sovereign: Rewinding The Apocalypse!-Chapter 79: At the Chieftain’s fort entrance!

The impact was instantaneous and violent.

Albert’s fist, encased in a roiling vortex of compressed energy, collided with the obsidian wooden blade.

The resulting shockwave was a thunderclap that echoed through the ancient grove, sending a ripple of displaced air through the hanging vines.

The force of the detonation blasted both Albert and the Grove Sentinel backward in opposite directions.

Albert skidded across the mossy earth, his boots digging deep furrows into the loam as he fought to stabilize his center.

He barely managed to stay upright, his arm tingling from the sheer kinetic feedback of the blow.

The sudden explosion startled the surrounding incarnations, who instinctively recoiled, widening the circle and giving the combatants distance.

"Sir!" one of his men called out, stepping forward with a weapon raised in a panic.

Albert raised a sharp hand, signaling him to halt.

"Remain calm," he said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through his veins.

He stood tall, adjusting his stance and shaking out the tension in his hand.

’That was certainly a strong blow. And that speed...’ He narrowed his eyes.

It reminded him vividly of the Chieftain from the Yellow Gate. The same oppressive weight of power.

But this creature wasn’t the Chieftain.

It was merely a high guard, a subordinate gatekeeper to the true terror waiting at the center.

Albert exhaled quietly, his focus sharpening.

’If I fight this, I should be able to win, but I might not come out unscathed. And I can’t afford to be wounded before the main event.’

Just then, Luna stepped forward, as if reading his mind.

Her long, black hair shimmered even in the dim green light, and her movements were a study in sharp, cold elegance.

She didn’t look back as she positioned herself between Albert and the spawn.

"I’ll handle it, sir," she said, her voice a calm melody that seemed to pierce right through Albert’s internal debate.

"You should go ahead and find the Chieftain."

Albert’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face before it vanished.

’Damn it. I also need Luna with me. I need that level of guarantee for the final fight.’

He glanced back at the raid party standing behind him.

One group of six, their faces etched with a mix of grim determination and lingering fear.

’Can they really handle this alone? Seeing what this thing just did, can they even follow its speed?’

He contemplated the best course of action, his gaze darting between the Sentinel and his subordinates.

With Luna, victory over the guard was a certainty; in fact, just one raid party backing her would be enough to finish it quickly.

He estimated her strength to be at that level now.

He was just about to concede and let her take the lead when a voice reached him from the rear.

"We’ll handle it, Albert." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The Erwald belonging to Estin’s group of six spoke up.

He was a small, lithe creature with fur the color of autumn leaves and eyes that sparkled with a cunning intelligence.

This was Grefen.

"Huh?" Albert turned, a mix of seriousness and slight surprise on his face.

Gremit walked forward from where he had been observing.

"I’ve talked with Grefen, and he has agreed to handle the situation with his raid party."

Just as the words left his mouth, the Sentinel moved again, brandishing its jagged sword in a slow, threatening sweep that cut through the air with a low hum.

The threat was imminent and deadly.

Albert looked back at the raid party.

"Are you sure? It’s incredibly strong!"

"You wanted to save your strength for the Chieftain, right?" Grefen continued, his voice mocking yet firm.

"You and the girl can leave it to us. An Upper D-grade might be a challenge, but don’t underestimate my incarnations."

Estin, the raid party leader, breathed in slowly.

He had been somewhat rowdy and boisterous before, but now, with his eyes fixed on the wooden predator, he looked cool and focused.

He nodded toward Albert.

"Yeah. We’ll take care of it... I guess."

"Are you sure?" Luna asked, her voice tinged with concern as she looked back at the man.

"Just get out of here!" Estin barked, his focus never wavering.

Albert nodded, making a swift executive decision.

"Alright. Luna, let’s leave!" He signaled the two remaining men from his personal detail to stay behind as well.

"Stay and assist them. Make sure it dies!"

As Albert and Luna made to move, the Sentinel lunged, attempting to intercept the leader.

But before it could bridge the gap, a sudden, fiery explosion erupted at its feet.

It wasn’t a projectile; the air itself simply detonated in a bloom of heat and pressure.

The blast forced the spawn back, its wooden feet skidding as it sought purchase.

The Sentinel hissed, its green eyes tracing the source of the attack.

Estin stood with one arm outstretched, a tense, predatory smile on his face. He had the monster’s full attention now.

"Heh. You’re dealing with us now, you... wooden thing," Estin muttered.

Behind him, his five teammates fanned out, their bodies glowing with the activation of their various abilities.

"Good luck, Estin," Albert said. "We’ll take this path!"

He and Luna sprinted sideways, arcing around the massive girth of a nearby tree to put a solid barrier between themselves and the Sentinel.

The spawn tried to pivot and follow, but another barrage of energy, a pulsing bolt of blue light followed by a secondary explosion, drove it back into the clearing.

Estin was clearly capable.

Luna glanced back one last time as they vanished into the shadows.

"I hope he manages," she whispered.

The duo, along with Gremit, sprinted through the gloom.

The further they went, the brighter the ambient light became.

The emerald haze was being replaced by a stark, brilliant glow that looked almost like natural daylight.

Luna peered ahead through the gaps in the titanic trunks.

Beyond one final, massive tree, the dense grove seemed to end.

A bright clearing lay ahead, a stark circle of light where the gargantuan trees finally gave way.

"We’re almost there!" Albert called out.

And there, suddenly, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps and shifting gear from another direction.

Luna immediately whirled around, taking the rear guard as Albert skidded to a halt, ready to intercept a new threat.

But it wasn’t a spawn. Emerging from the shadows were two raid parties led by a very familiar face.

"Icard..." Luna mumbled.

Two raid parties in total had finally arrived at the rendezvous point.

Albert felt a surge of relief, but it was quickly tempered by frustration.

"Is it just you lot?" Albert asked immediately, his eyes scanning the groups.

"Damn it, where are the rest? What is the delay?"

Icard stopped, his breathing heavy but controlled.

"I don’t think most of the raid parties managed to group together. They likely dispersed too far in the chaos."

"There are others around," Gremit added, sniffing the air, "but they’re probably being kept busy by the other guards."

"I see," Albert muttered. It was a frustrating reality; they couldn’t organize a full-scale assault in the end, as he had originally planned.

"Of course, they wouldn’t be able to coordinate on their own in this kind of mess."

"Uhm... is that where it is?" Alia spoke up, her voice small but sharp.

She was looking past them into the brilliant light of the clearing.

The view was eerie; a vast, open space where the air seemed to shimmer with a heavy, unnatural pressure.

"Something’s there," Alia said, her eyes wide.

"And I think it knows we’re here."

Icard narrowed his eyes at her.

He could sense the presence too, but he realized Alia felt it with a much higher sensitivity.

’Is she already reaching that level of synchronization with her keeper’s space?’

The atmosphere changed.

A heavy, suffocating presence began to radiate from the clearing, a weight that pressed down on their chests.

They could all feel it now.

A cold, ancient malice.

Lamar clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. This was it. The Chieftain’s domain.

"I didn’t teach you to fear, you idiots," Katar spoke up casually from the side.

The snow-cat sat apart from the group, grooming a paw with feigned indifference.

"My raid party alone is capable of handling a C-grade well enough. But since you all are here as well, the matter is as good as settled."

The words were thick with Katar’s usual arrogance, yet they acted as a strange sort of encouragement.

The incarnations pulled themselves together, checking their weapons and tightening their formations.

"I hope the snow-cat is right," Albert said softly.

"We cannot afford to fail." He knew from Ixie that C-grades were an entirely different species of threat compared to what they been facing so far since the apocalypse.

He was still lost in thought when a low, rumbling sound echoed from the light ahead.

It sounded like a thousand dry leaves skittering across stone.

From the brilliant opening between the final trees, a dark tide began to pour out.

It was a horde of lower-grade spawns; F and E-grades, rushing out of the daylight to intercept them.

"Damn it! It’s begun moving!"