The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family-Chapter 184: The Calm Before

Dawn broke over the mountain shelter with a blood-red glow that painted the snow-covered landscape in crimson hues. Klaus stood at the narrow window, watching as Team 27's healer performed another treatment on their wounded comrade. Throughout the night, the frost had continued its relentless spread despite their best efforts. It now covered the soldier's entire left side, crystalline patterns branching across his chest toward his heart.

"He won't survive another day," Leone said quietly, joining Klaus at the window. The commander's face was drawn with fatigue and concern. "Not without proper treatment."

"Northwatch should have healing facilities," Klaus replied, though he couldn't keep the doubt from his voice. If the city had truly fallen silent, those facilities might not be operational—or worse, might not be safe.

"We can't delay any longer," Leone continued, his tone resigned. "Half my team will remain here with Terris." He nodded toward the injured soldier. "The rest will continue with you to Northwatch."

Klaus considered this. Splitting their forces wasn't ideal, but leaving the wounded man alone was unthinkable. "Agreed. Ten of your best, plus my fifteen. That should be sucient for reconnaissance."

Outside, the teams were preparing for departure, checking griffon harnesses and equipment with grim efficiency. The encounter with the Ice Wraiths had dispelled any remaining tension between the squads, replacing rivalry with a common purpose—survival.

Alexandra approached, her breath clouding in the frigid air. "The griffons are restless," she reported. "They sense something's wrong."

"The entire region is saturated with rift energy," Klaus replied. "It affects animals more strongly than humans."

"Not just rift energy." Alexandra's eyes narrowed as she studied the northern horizon. "There's something else. Can you feel it?"

Klaus followed her gaze. The distant silhouette of Northwatch was just visible against the dawn sky—a jagged outline of towers and walls perched at the edge of a vast, swirling distortion that marked the Eternal Rift. But there was something odd about the view. The city appeared perfectly intact from this distance, showing no signs of damage or abandonment.

The rune on his palm pulsed once, sharply, before subsiding to a dull throb.

"We should reach the city by midday," he said, deliberately not addressing her question. "Be prepared for anything."

The reduced company took to the skies within the hour, their formation tighter than before. As they approached their final destination, the landscape below grew increasingly bizarre—patches of ground where seasons seemed to overlap, snow giving way to summer grasses that then transformed into crystalline formations that resembled no natural growth. Rift corruption had reshaped the very nature of reality here.

Yet strangely, as they drew closer to Northwatch, the corruption seemed to fade. The terrain became more normal, the weather stabilized, and even the griffons grew calmer. It was as if the city existed in a pocket of normalcy amid the chaos—an island of order in a sea of distortion.

"This doesn't make sense," Juron muttered as they soared over the final ridge before the city. "The closer we get to the Eternal Rift, the more stable everything becomes."

"It's wrong," Klaus said softly, more to himself than the others. The rune on his palm had gone completely cold, the sensation so jarring after its constant warmth that he found himself rubbing it repeatedly, trying to stimulate some response.

Northwatch spread before them now, its stone walls gleaming in the midday sun. Banners of the Rikxia Empire fluttered from guard towers. Smoke rose from chimneys in orderly plumes. The great shield generators that helped contain the Eternal Rift's influence hummed with visible energy at the city's northern edge.

Everything looked perfectly normal. Perfectly peaceful.

And that was precisely what disturbed Klaus the most.

They circled the city once, observing the orderly movement of people in the streets, the regular patrols along the walls, the routine activities of a functioning outpost. There were no signs of attack, no evidence of disruption, nothing to suggest why communication had ceased.

"I don't understand," Leone said, genuine confusion in his voice. "It looks... fine."

"Let's land at the central garrison," Klaus decided. "Directly, no circling. I want to speak with Duke Calderas immediately."

They descended toward the designated landing area within the city's military district. Guards below waved them in with standard signals, nothing about their behavior suggesting alarm or irregularity. As they approached, Klaus spotted the insignia of several kingdoms and empires among the soldiers—representatives from across Runiya who had come to support the containment efforts at the Eternal Rift.

Again, everything looked normal. Too normal.

Their griffons touched down on the stone platform of the garrison courtyard. A welcoming party was already assembled—officers in the Duke's colors, flanked by representatives of the various allied forces. At their center stood a tall, distinguished man with silver-streaked dark hair and the bearing of nobility.

"Duke Calderas, I presume," Klaus said as he dismounted, offering a formal salute.

The Duke smiled warmly. "Welcome to Northwatch. We've been expecting you."

Klaus froze, his hand still raised in salute. "Expecting us?"

"Of course," Calderas replied smoothly. "We received word from the capital that reconnaissance teams would be dispatched after the communication disruption."

Alexandra and Juron exchanged glances behind Klaus. Leone stepped forward, his brow furrowed.

"Your Grace, if I may—what happened to the communication systems? Why did contact cease?"

The Duke's expression turned apologetic. "A most unfortunate series of incidents. First, the rift pulses damaged our long-range communication arrays. Then, a severe storm prevented messenger birds from making the journey. We've been working to repair the systems, but progress has been... challenging."

It was a reasonable explanation. Plausible, even. But something about the Duke's tone, about the perfect way his words fit together, sent a chill down Klaus's spine that had nothing to do with the northern climate.

"I understand completely," Klaus replied, matching the Duke's cordial tone. "We're relieved to find the city intact. Our orders are to assess the situation and report back to headquarters."

"And so you shall," Calderas said, gesturing toward a large stone building behind him. "But first, you must be exhausted from your journey. We've prepared quarters for your teams. Tonight, you'll dine at my table, and tomorrow we can discuss the details of your report."

Again, perfectly reasonable. Perfectly normal.

"Thank you, Your Grace," Klaus said with a slight bow. "We accept your hospitality."

As they were led toward their assigned quarters, Alexandra moved closer to Klaus, her voice barely above a whisper. "Is it just me, or does this feel..."

"Wrong," Klaus finished for her. "Everything feels wrong."

"But I can't put my finger on why," she continued, frustration evident in her tone.

"Because there's nothing specific to identify," Klaus replied quietly. "Everything appears exactly as it should be."

"Which is precisely the problem," Juron added, falling into step beside them. "A frontier city at the edge of the Eternal Rift shouldn't feel this... peaceful."

Leone joined their huddle, his expression troubled. "We'll separate into pairs. No one goes anywhere alone. Standard recognition signals every hour."

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"Agreed," Klaus said. "And we say nothing about Terris or the team we left behind."

They were shown to comfortable quarters in what appeared to be the officer's wing of the garrison. Clean beds, fresh water, even warm food awaiting them. The soldiers attending them were courteous and professional. Nothing seemed out of place.

Yet as night fell over Northwatch, Klaus stood at the window of his assigned room, watching the orderly changing of the guard on the walls below, and felt the cold certainty that they had walked into something far more dangerous than they had anticipated. He glanced down at the ring on his finger—still silent, still disconnected from Greed. Then at the rune on his palm—now completely dormant, showing no reaction whatsoever to their surroundings.

That, more than anything else, convinced him they were in grave danger.

A soft knock at his door broke his reverie. Alexandra entered, her expression as troubled as his own.

"The Duke's banquet begins in an hour," she said. "Everyone's preparing."

Klaus nodded. "We'll go. We'll eat. We'll smile and ask all the right questions."

"And then?"

He turned back to the window, his gaze fixed on the distant shimmer of the Eternal Rift beyond the city walls. "Then we find out what they're hiding."

In the gathering darkness, the lights of Northwatch flickered to life, each one perfectly placed, perfectly timed. A city without flaw. A performance without error.

The curtain was about to rise on whatever truth lay beneath the immaculate facade.