Whoosh—
A thin layer of snow swirled across the Ice Sheet, sending white ripples spreading outward.
Along the frozen coastline, a few scattered lines of black dots crept forward.
They were bedraggled, gaunt figures, bundled in so many layers that they looked like vagrants who had put on everything they could find for a Northern Frontier winter.
No one would have connected them with the Empire's finest Elite Soldiers.
The relief of leaving the mountains lasted less than half a day before the surviving cavalrymen realized the coastline was another frozen hell. It had no resources or firewood either, but at least it was better than the ceaseless blizzards in the Snow Mountains.
After only a brief rest, the soldiers obeyed Albeck's orders and pressed south by any means necessary.
Either they died on the road, or they found rescue.
These were all who had emerged from the Blizzard, strung out in a ragged line several li long.
That formation made them harder to spot and, if it came to it, easier to escape by abandoning the "tail."
When they found whales or schools of fish washed ashore and frozen solid, they descended like vultures, smashed through the ice, and struggled to eat the rotting flesh studded with ice chips. Even superhumans could not travel for long in temperatures dozens of degrees below zero without rest or food.
People kept falling. They had survived the Blizzard, only to succumb to the biting wind along the endless coastline.
Gary was lucky. Among the survivors of the Blizzard, he spotted a familiar face: Holder from the neighboring squad.
Seeing someone he knew amid such misery was something to be glad about. He guessed Holder felt the same.
The two traveled together, supporting each other as they went.
"Down!"
A sudden roar came