Ice Blade Squad

One hundred miles outside the Ice Prison Royal City, the garrison of the Heavenly River Legion stretched out in a sprawling expanse. The grey-brown fortifications carved a structured boundary into the desolate, withered wasteland of Gobada, appearing far more vibrant than the deathly silence found deeper in the barrens.

Barn, Declan, and Gideon huddled within their assigned private courtyard, peeking through the wooden windows to curiously observe the scene outside.

Fukaloss had headed into the Ice Prison Royal City alone early that morning, claiming she was off to recruit new members. The Sanctuary was not permitted to enter the Royal City lightly; even with her influence, the best she could manage was to have the three of them temporarily reside in this outer military camp as reserve members of the Ice Blade Squad, only to be officially registered once the team was complete.

Barn had long since learned from Fukaloss that the Ice Prison Royal City commanded three god-level legions: Dotō, Heavenly River, and Ice Thorn, each boasting over a thousand god-level warriors.

The Ice River Legion guarded the Royal City itself, while private god-level units like the Ice Blade Squad were all under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly River Legion.

This outer garrison served as their base and the landing point for all Ice Blade Squads.

The Ice Blade Squads were originally established for those god-level individuals who disliked the constraints of the main legions. Their strength varied, and their missions were mostly menial tasks the legions deemed beneath them—infiltrating enemy rear lines to sabotage resource points, plundering supplies from hostile Sanctuaries, or providing mobile support to flanks during wartime. The Ice Prison Royal City never expected these scattered troops to hold the front lines; they merely allowed them to fight under the city's protection, taking a cut of their spoils in return.

"This courtyard is way too big." Declan gripped the windowsill, his dark golden eyes sweeping over the empty street as he couldn't help but exclaim. The private courtyard included a main house, side rooms, and a small open space, enough for the three of them to practice individually—far more spacious than the caves they had occupied deep in the wasteland.

Gideon squatted in the corner, his heavy bear-like paws raking the stone floor as he grunted in reply: "This isn't within the Royal City proper. The one thing Gobada has in abundance is wasteland; land is worthless here, so naturally, they can afford to let us live more comfortably." He lifted his eyes toward the direction of the Royal City, his bell-sized eyes filled with a hint of longing, though it quickly dimmed—that ice-blue wall was a barrier the Sanctuary could never cross.

Barn also looked into the distance. The walls of the Ice Prison Royal City formed a pale blue phantom on the horizon; separated by a hundred miles, he could feel absolutely nothing of the pure elemental energy behind those walls.

He understood clearly that the core of the Ice Prison Royal City resided within those walls—the powerful god-level beings and their kin. Even if those kin were only of the Sanctuary realm, they could rely on the protection of powerful gods to enjoy abundant elemental energy within the walls, never having to fight for their lives for food like the Sanctuary beings in the wasteland.

As for the three major legions and these Ice Blade Squads, they were merely the outer forces of the Royal City. Those gods were either weak Lowgods or solitary wanderers with no kin, forced to trade their lives for the city's resources and protection.

Barn leaned against the window frame, his fingertips tapping lightly on the wood as he calculated silently. According to the plane rules in the original work, the ratio of god-level beings in the Higher Planes was Highgods to Midgods to Lowgods at 1:1000:100000. Since Gobada's elemental energy was thin and cultivation was far more difficult than in the Higher Planes, this ratio would only be more extreme—it was likely that out of a thousand Lowgods, it was hard to find even one Midgod, and out of ten thousand Midgods, perhaps not one could break through to become a Highgod.

(In the original work, after the god-level beings of the Gobada plane surged out, the vast majority of gods and Sanctuary beings had already headed to the Higher Planes; the book described them as "dense." It is estimated that only those with significant strength, such as Adkins and his ilk, chose to wait for the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods. The rest, feeling they had no hope of competing, simply left.)

He even suspected that the gods in the three major legions and the Ice Blade Squads were all exclusively Lowgods. Only Midgods were qualified to bring their kin to live inside the Royal City, guarding the sealed passage.

After all, that was the only chance to escape Gobada. Barn imagined that if he were an ordinary Midgod, he would certainly bring his loved ones to guard the passage, and even if he had to wait for a hundred million years, he would never take a single step away.

As for Lowgods, while they didn't struggle as much in Gobada as they might in the Infernal Realm, they were fundamentally unqualified to compete with Midgods. The resources of the Royal City and the proximity to the passage were never meant for them.

The three of them kept watch in the courtyard for ten days. Declan was going stir-crazy, practicing his Darkness Laws in the yard daily, while Gideon huddled in the corner cultivating Earth Pulse. Only Barn spent most of his time in meditation; he had yet to find the opportunity to fuse his profound mysteries.

On the evening of the tenth day, a pale blue streak of light tore across the sky and landed directly at the courtyard gate. Fukaloss's voice drifted in from outside: "I'm back, open the gate!"

Barn and the others hurriedly rose to open the gate, only to see Fukaloss still in her blue court dress, white hair and golden eyes, her face showing a hint of fatigue that couldn't mask her excitement. Behind her followed two figures: one cold and stern, the other eerie.

"You three haven't starved to death in these ten days, have you?" Fukaloss stepped in first, glancing at the three in the yard as she asked casually.

Gideon immediately stepped forward, his massive head lowered slightly, his face full of flattery: "No, no, we still have rations; we just missed you terribly, Miss!"

Barn and Declan quickly nodded in agreement, their faces wearing perfectly measured smiles.

Such blatant sycophancy caused the two figures behind Fukaloss to frown in unison, a trace of disdain flashing in their eyes, though they said nothing, merely standing quietly at Fukaloss's side.

Fukaloss was clearly pleased by the flattery. She waved her hand, then stepped aside to reveal the two behind her, gesturing as she introduced them: "Let me tell you, these are our new Ice Blade Squad members. With five of us, we are now an official Ice Blade Squad! This is Julia, a Dragonman, specializing in the Lightning element and archery. And this is Blair, a Beholder, most skilled in soul attacks."

Barn's gaze fell first on Julia, the Dragonman, a race that existed widely across many planes.

She was a tall woman who, despite maintaining a human form, revealed draconic features everywhere—her body was covered in fine, dense purple dragon scales that shimmered coldly in the setting sun. A pair of purple-gold dragon horns curved atop her head, and her limbs ended in sharp dragon claws. Only her face remained human, with cold, hard lines and a hint of arrogance between her brows. Her slit pupils were a pure electric blue, sweeping over the three of them with a faint, scrutinizing gaze.

Dragonmen really do look like Dragonblood Warriors, Barn thought to himself.

But his gaze quickly shifted to Blair, and his heart tightened slightly.

This Beholder had also taken human form; he was thin, his entire body condensed from pale blue ice, his skin shimmering with the cold light of frost. The most eerie part was his face—no nose, no mouth, not even ears. A single, massive grey vertical eye occupied most of his face, its pupil a bottomless blue-black. As his gaze swept over, Barn felt his soul go slightly numb, as if he were being probed by something.

This appearance instantly reminded him of the Evil Eye King in the Necropolis of the Gods from the original work. It was the same single eye, the same proficiency in soul attacks, though this Beholder Blair's aura was still weak.

Declan was also startled by Blair's appearance and subconsciously leaned toward Barn; he was very weak against soul attacks. Gideon, however, remained unmoved; the Earth element's defense accounted for both the physical body and the soul, so he had nothing to fear.

Fukaloss then said, "Although these three fellows are a bit slick, they are quite strong. They are Gideon, Barn, and Declan."

The five of them introduced themselves, and then Fukaloss said excitedly, "Well then, our Ice Blade 123 Squad is officially established! Let's have some barbecue!"

Barn looked at Fukaloss: "Miss, what does that number mean?"

"That's the designation; we are the 123rd Ice Blade Squad!" Fukaloss beamed with joy.