Forty minutes remained before the war in the Iron Gate Universe began.
Antarctica.
Deep beneath the Ice Layer.
The enormous Iron Gate suddenly shifted.
Crack. Crack. K-k-k-krack—
It was so enormous that even that slight movement sent dense webs of cracks through the surrounding Ice Layer.
Ice chips kept falling.
Suddenly.
Something forced the entire Iron Gate open, slowly but relentlessly.
An eerie aura seeped out from within.
Everything sealed in the surrounding ice began to writhe madly, as though it might break free of the ice walls at any moment.
And that wasn't all.
Cracks began spreading across the enormous Iron Gate itself.
It was about to shatter!
Suddenly.
A long-haired woman burst through the gap in the Iron Gate.
She was drenched in blood, her face twisted, and she kept spitting bloody chunks of flesh from her mouth.
More people squeezed out behind her, sprinting wildly along the passage carved through the Ice Layer.
At the same time.
The Returner Bastion.
The first few squads were already waiting for the snow vehicles to take position before setting out.
More Returners remained inside the Fortress, making their final preparations.
Half an hour remained.
Everyone was eagerly discussing the coming operation.
Xu Yuan had already met everyone from the Mystic Arts Association and managed to make himself a familiar face.
There had been too little time for anything more than that.
Everyone's thoughts were fixed on the war in the Iron Gate Alternate Universe.
Some things.
Some relationships.
Perhaps they would have to wait until after the war, when there would be enough time and preparation to develop them slowly.
"The Iron Gate Universe has its eye on your squad, so every one of you is going to make a fortune in this war... and you contributed more than