Black Ice, Its Name Was Black Ice

Noisy voices buzzed by his ears. Alpha frowned in displeasure. His head already hurt enough—why did people have to keep buzzing in his ear?

"His eyelids moved. He's waking up. Quick, call the doctor! He's waking up."

"Oh, praise the Holy Light, you're finally awake. What do you need? I can't hear you." Adona pressed his ear to Alpha's mouth.

"It's too noisy. My head hurts a little," Alpha said weakly.

After hearing this, Adona stood and said to his subordinates, "All of you, get out. Since he's awake, there's nothing wrong. Leave only the doctor here." Then he mercilessly drove all his men out.

After closing the door and turning around, he discovered that Alpha had actually sat up. The doctor beside him was staring at Alpha in stunned disbelief.

After calling the doctor over and asking about the situation, Adona drove the doctor out as well.

Alpha rubbed his throbbing temples and waited for Adona's explanation.

After closing the door, Adona said, "You can't blame me for this. You know, when we found you, you were covered in blood and completely unconscious. You've really got some nerve. Do you not care about your life at all? You actually dared to get so close to the bomb's source. Do you know that, to save you, the priests and doctors worked together and spent an entire night stabilizing your condition?"

Adona looked at Alpha's indifferent expression and asked, "What the hell were you thinking at the time?"

Alpha examined his body. It truly had been shattered. The bandages outside concealed how severe it was, but internally, all five viscera had been damaged. His lungs in particular had inhaled a great deal of gunpowder during the explosion and were already riddled with holes. As he sensed this, Alpha could not help coughing. Intense pain immediately shot through his lungs. Furrowing his brow, he asked, "How long will it take for me to fully recover?"

Adona now understood that after saying so much, this guy had not heard a single word. Struggling to suppress the urge to hit him, he gritted his teeth and said, "The doctor said at least a month. But I know you can't wait that long, so I'll have the priests come again."

"Thank you," Alpha said to Adona upon hearing that.

Adona froze for a moment, then said, "Actually, it's not too bad. You're much better now than when you first arrived. When we found you, we noticed that your most severely damaged wounds already showed signs of healing. Your self-recovery ability is truly powerful. Do you know why that doctor was so shocked just now?"

"It wasn't just your lungs. The rest of your body was even more seriously injured. Yet when you woke up, you were almost completely healed."

Seeing Alpha's bewildered expression, Adona suddenly said, "There's one more thing. Before we found you, all the Webweavers around you were dead. Their wounds looked as if they'd been torn apart, but I could tell that you didn't do it."

Alpha looked at Adona. "I understand."

Adona asked, "Do you need my help?"

Alpha shook his head. "Since he saved me, that means he poses no threat to me. As for who he is, I'll find out eventually. He'll come looking for me again."

Adona understood Alpha's thoughts. "Then get some rest. I'll be leaving first to handle some matters." When he reached the door, he seemed to make up his mind. Facing Alpha, he said, "No matter what, thank you for everything you've done for Dauntless Fortress." He gave him a deep bow, then opened the door, closed it, and left in one fluid motion.

Seeing Adona's actions, Alpha smiled faintly. He set down the cup in his hand and lay back down. Who was it? Who had saved me?

At the foot of the mountain stood the same town, the same house.

"Boss, didn't you say you were going out for a walk? Why did you come back covered in blood? What did you do?"

"Cough, cough. I just went for a walk and enjoyed the scenery. Then I ran into an old acquaintance."

"An old acquaintance? Boss, you're not the kind of person who meddles in other people's business. What kind of old acquaintance was he?"

"An interesting old acquaintance who wanted to kill me. Uh, Little Two, could you be gentler? It's bleeding."

"Boss, was it the person who left that scar on your face? I'll kill him."

"Little Two, don't be rash. It should be that guy. He's become different from before. If you kill him, I'll have no fun left."

The wind and snow rose again, burying every sound.

Because of his injuries, Alpha enjoyed a rare period of rest, and the wounds on his body had almost fully healed. At that moment, Adona appeared before him with some news.

"I sent a small cavalry squad to the northwestern mountains under the pretext of patrol. The locals said that mountain range is called Dragon-Shocking Mountain. It's indeed strange there, covered in wind and snow all year round. But there's a town there, and quite a few residents live in it. What's strange is that there are surprisingly few Scourge soldiers there. Unlike other regions, it's rarely harassed by the Scourge Legion."

Alpha thought for a moment and said, "So you think there might be dragons there?"

Adona said uncertainly, "I don't know whether there are dragons, but there are traces of werewolves there. My cavalrymen said they saw werewolves active in that area. What do you think?"

Alpha closed his eyes. "Whether there are or not, my instincts tell me I should go there. The answers will be there."

Adona said, "Oh, right. Yesterday, the owner of the blacksmith shop delivered the weapon you commissioned. I brought it for you. What do you need this for?" As he spoke, he handed over a weapon covered with gray cloth.

Alpha accepted it and felt its weight. Lifting one corner of the cloth, streaks of dim light flashed through the room, revealing a spearhead that seemed ordinary yet extraordinary. It resembled a great cleaver, yet had the shape of a spear. Blood grooves ran along both sides. Feeling the sharpness of the spearhead, Alpha revealed a satisfied expression. He replied to Adona, "Thank that blacksmith for me. I'm very satisfied with this weapon. Does it have a name?"

"No. The old man said you should name it yourself, since you designed it," Adona said, unable to understand why Alpha wanted such a design.

Alpha thought for a moment. Looking at the black spear shaft and feeling the chill it gave off, he said, "Black Ice. This weapon will be called Black Ice—my first weapon."

Watching Alpha immerse himself in it, Adona said, "I've prepared the horses and everything else for you. You can leave whenever you wish. Do you really not need any attendants? Your injuries haven't fully healed yet."

After wrapping Black Ice again, Alpha said to Adona in a good mood, "Don't worry. My recovery ability is very strong. I've rested long enough. It's time for me to set out."

After being refused, Adona did not insist. He merely said, "I'll send cavalry there to patrol every so often. If you need help, show this token." On the ground lay an ordinary iron token. Ancient words were inscribed on the front, while a lion was engraved on the back.

After accepting the token, Alpha and Adona embraced.

"Take care on the road."

"You too."

Early the next morning, when the sky had only just begun to brighten and the people of Dauntless Fortress had yet to awaken, just as the guards changed shifts, Alpha rode a black warhorse through the city gate after displaying the token and galloped toward the northwest. The wind lifted his cloak, revealing the still tightly wrapped Black Ice, a black custom-made handgun from Soth, and a small pack filled with incendiary bombs. His pale blue eyes looked firmly ahead, fixed on the place he was about to reach.

The sun gradually rose, its light spilling across the road ahead. The warhorse trampled its own shadow as it began to race at full speed.

Ahead lay an unknown land.