The Qin Kingdom's Heavenly Ascension Prison Warden of Dao Calendar 733, the Winter Emperor's body that had attained the Dao anew, was crushed in a single grasp by the Snow Kingdom's Grand Ancestor. The snowfields fell stiller for it.
Eternal Sacred Winter Peak, the Immortal Palace, pavilions, five cities and five coffins hanging in the air... Setting aside such marvels, what was truly majestic across these ten thousand miles of snowy domain was the ever-growing number of awakening "armored soldiers."
They wore Snow Kingdom battle armor from the era when the Dao Calendar had newly begun—somewhat outdated, of course. It was cumbersome, offered insufficient defense, and unlike the most advanced armor, could not even resonate with military formations to reduce the depletion of a soldier's vital energy.
Almost by instinct, they sought out the positions they remembered—positions representing military formations that perhaps had long been buried in the old papers of history.
Beneath their helmets, their eyes surveyed the world in confusion. This world was both familiar and strange to them. The snow was familiar; everything beyond the snow was strange.
But that did not matter.
The Snow Kingdom had always lagged behind its age.
Their physiques could still be called robust, and their awakening wills were no weaker than those of contemporary soldiers.
Countless "returned" warriors across the boundless snowfields formed ranks in perfect order, as tiny as ants amid the vast heaven and earth, yet gathered together like ants as well.
War was their life. The snowy domain was their homeland.
Generals such as Lü Kuiwu, who had slumbered alongside the ancestral emperor, were constantly fine-tuning the military formations through simple commands. Like giants long asleep, they began by moving their fingers.
Blood pumped, breaths revived, and clarity gradually returned to the warriors' eyes.
The ancient empire in