Chapter 101: The Second Winter War (5)

The plan was simple: while Natascha’s undead army held off the Wendigos, the Vendetta forces would infiltrate the castle and eliminate the Winter Queen.

On paper, it seemed straightforward, but that didn’t make it easy, especially when the Wendigos took to the sky…

No matter how well the undead army was positioned against the Wendigos, they couldn’t reach the skies, and thus, Black had to stay behind, inevitable as it was.

Losing one member from the start—what a terrible situation—but Wolfgang didn’t let it show.

It was never a good idea to display negativity in front of the team.

“Alright, we can do this on our own. Trust me.”

“I’ve believed in you from the start.”

“I like the captain too!”

“Good, good. Jackal, can you track the enemy?”

“Of course.”

There were only three of them heading into the castle: Wolfgang, Galina, and Jackal.

They were confident that this was enough, and Wolfgang led the way into the castle.

She melted the frozen castle walls with flames and entered, only to be greeted by a familiar yet eerie figure.

Wolfgang clicked her tongue and looked around.

This space was familiar—similar to what she’d seen during a past hearing.

Though it made sense; after all, this was just a space-frozen solid.

“You break through the door? You guests are more rude than I imagined.”

“Winter Queen.”

“Call me Mel. That is the name I have chosen.”

“You still can’t escape the shadow of the goddess, even until the end?”

The name of the goddess who once ruled the kingdom resembled hers, and Wolfgang smirked.

But she didn’t laugh any further and assumed her stance. There was no need for more words.

“Today, I’ll kill you here.”

“Try if you can. But aren’t there too many guests?”

“What nonsense…!!”

[Frozen solid]

“…!!”

Galina, unable to hold back, stepped forward to confront the Winter Queen, but before she could react, a word from the Queen caused her body to freeze entirely.

It happened in less than a second.

Who would have thought that, with a single word from her, not only Galina but even Jackal beside her would freeze?

It seemed the goddess, even in her decay, still wielded her power.

However, Wolfgang didn’t miss the momentary disturbance.

Unlike Galina and Jackal, who had frozen in place, she remained unfazed—not even a twitch.

“Why? Surprised because I didn’t freeze?”

“I’ll admit that, but it changes nothing.”

“…This bastard.”

The Winter Queen smiled beautifully and flicked her finger.

Just that simple motion allowed Wolfgang to easily read her intentions. It was inevitable.

The ice shards surrounding her clearly targeted Wolfgang and her companions.

Wolfgang quickly raised a fiery barrier to melt the shards in an instant.

The fire wall she conjured quickly melted the ice shards, and without missing a beat, Wolfgang used the fire barrier to launch an attack.

But perhaps she attacked too hastily; her flame didn’t have as much force as she expected, and it was easily blocked by the Winter Queen.

She smiled mockingly.

“I thought you were heartless, but it seems you care for your companions after all?”

“Unlike you.”

“Shouldn’t you be careful with your words?”

“Tch.”

Wolfgang clicked her tongue and blocked the Queen’s next attack.

Given Galina and Jackal’s regeneration abilities, she could afford a risky play, but the Queen was no ordinary opponent.

Despite the resilience of the Vendetta forces, the Winter Queen was equally formidable.

She couldn’t afford to take chances.

‘But to freeze them with just a word… I never thought that would be possible.’

Even the Winter King, who once brought eternal winter to the empire, couldn’t suppress the Vendetta forces with words alone.

Of course, they could have been subdued with brute strength, but…

Even so, the Winter Queen’s power was unlike anything Wolfgang had expected.

Was the frozen castle empowering her?

It seemed she had been waiting, setting a trap.

But it didn’t matter.

At this point, she would push forward with force.

The frozen castle was the optimal fortress created to face her.

It was constructed from the bones and flesh of the Winter King, and that power resided in its very structure.

Thus, just by existing, it had the strength to suppress the flames of the Sun God.

When combined with the Queen’s own powers, it could truly be called the end.

Ordinary flames wouldn’t even be able to spark here, much less burn.

But still, her Sun Fire burned brightly.

‘Damn it, am I really going to have to release the seal?’

Wolfgang knew the situation wasn’t ideal.

She could see the flames weakening.

At this rate, they would soon be extinguished.

If that happened, there was only one answer: break the seal.

Normally, she would have released it without hesitation, but this time, she hesitated.

The reason?

It was intuition.

She couldn’t quite explain it, but something told her that if she broke the seal now, she might never be able to return.

‘Is it because of the side effects when I broke the seal before? Or perhaps my power has grown stronger? I’ve heard whispers from other gods… I can still hear them sometimes. But if I ignite the flames now…’

Could she really come back after this?

She couldn’t say for sure.

But there was no time to leisurely think about it now.

The flames were weakening more and more.

The frozen castle was siphoning away the heat of her flames.

The frozen castle, which had been designed to suppress the flames of her Sun Fire, was doing exactly that—draining the strength from it.

Even the Winter Queen’s attacks, which initially only involved throwing ice shards, had escalated to a completely different level.

Now, she was not only creating spears from carved ice, but even soldiers had appeared.

“How long do you think you can withstand the Winter Army?”

“Dammit.”

There were infantry, archers, and even cavalry.

All moved like living soldiers, attacking Wolfgang and her frozen companions from all sides.

She barely managed to fend them off, but it was clear that their firepower was weakening.

Frustration was evident as Wolfgang sighed and reached for her eye patch.

There were no other options left.

Well, surely she wouldn’t die, right?

Then, her golden flames, now burning fiercely, began to sweep over everything around her, including herself.

At the same time, the ice touched by the golden flames began to melt away.

“What… What is happening here?”

“I can’t put any strength into my body.”

“Rest for a bit behind me.”

“Captain!!”

Galina, finally freed from the ice, called out desperately to Wolfgang.

She knew as her lieutenant that her condition wasn’t good, but there was another problem to deal with now.

It felt like she was about to leave forever.

Like she would never return.

Yes, that was the feeling.

There was no real reason for it.

But this instinct, this nagging feeling, wouldn’t leave her mind.

Wolfgang gave a bitter smile.

Did Galina sense it with her animal instincts too?

And yet, Wolfgang silently drew her sword of flames.

The end of winter was approaching.