Edgar 1

We pressed forward, piercing through the snowstorm.

Each breath I took filled my lungs with icy air.

My teeth chattered from the cold, but I clenched my jaw.

“This expedition… I must succeed.”

I tightened my fist.

The youngest knight in the knight order.

The heir to the honorable Hind family.

I could not afford to fail here.

“Not like my brother… I will not end up like him.”

Memories of that day seven years ago resurfaced.

The day my brother abandoned the path of a noble to become an adventurer.

Father was furious, and Mother wept.

And I… admired him.

“You don’t know anything!”

The last words we exchanged echoed in my ears.

“A noble is one who protects the people. Even as an adventurer, I will walk that path.”

“You’ll bring shame to our family!”

“Edgar… you’re too young to understand.”

His final words pierced my heart.

After that, we lost all contact with him.

Perhaps somewhere in this frozen ridge…

The snowfall grew heavier.

Frozen rocks and jagged ice walls loomed around us.

Navigating the Frozen Ridge was perilous. Even walking straight was a challenge without the wind at our backs.

“Could he have died here…?”

I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

Now was not the time for such distractions.

I lowered my stance and read the wind currents.

The swirling air around me.

I swung my sword lightly, and the air parted like a blade.

“This is the true swordsmanship of a knight.”

The secret technique taught by Father.

My brother never learned such refined skills.

He was stubbornly clinging to the crude swordsmanship of adventurers…

I used the wind to lift my body lightly and charge forward.

But looking back, the other knights could not keep up.

Their armor was heavy with ice and snow, their movements sluggish.

“This pace won’t do!”

“We need to rest…”

The knights’ breathing grew labored.

Three had already collapsed, and two were unable to move due to frostbite.

“Damn it.”

Then, a desperate cry rang out.

“Monster!”

I immediately gripped my sword.

Ahead, through the snowstorm, pairs of red eyes began to glow.

Enormous ice wolves were surrounding us.

Their fangs were frosted, and their claws scraped against the snow with a sharp sound.

“Frost Wolves… the guardians of the Frozen Ridge.”

Father’s teachings flashed through my mind.

Guardians of the Frozen Ridge.

Not ordinary monsters, but ancient beings protecting this place.

I took a deep breath.

This was my chance to prove myself.

“Haa!”

I swung my sword, gathering the wind around it.

A sharp blade of air shot out like lightning.

The fierce wind struck the wolves, tearing their fur.

Their agonized cries erupted.

The other knights joined late, but their swords were too slow.

Their clumsy movements could not match the wolves’ speed.

“They’re indeed on a different level.”

I quickly changed positions.

Using the wind to move lightly, I targeted the wolves’ weak points.

I thrust my sword deep into one’s neck.

Blood splattered onto the snow.

But in that moment, I noticed something strange in the wolves’ eyes.

Not fear, not anger… but something like a warning.

“These are no ordinary monsters.”

Guardians of the Frozen Ridge.

Beings testing those who dared to cross.

Their eyes seemed to say:

“Do not proceed further.”

“Sir Edgar!”

A shout made me turn.

One of the knights had been torn by a wolf’s claw and lay fallen.

Blood spread across the snow.

“Damn it.”

I used the wind to rush to his side and pulled him away from the wolf’s attack.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m sorry… my ankle…”

His leg was frozen.

Frostbite.

“This is…”

Then, one of the wolves aimed for my back.

I quickly turned, but its claw grazed my shoulder.

“Grr!”

A sharp pain pierced through me.

My armor was torn.

But what was more alarming was…

“It’s freezing!”

The wound was rapidly icing over.

This was no ordinary injury.

A cursed cold was seeping into my body.

“Damn it… what if my brother…”

In an instant, my brother’s face flashed in my mind.

No, not now!

I gritted my teeth.

I poured mana into my sword, and a faint flame ignited.

One of the secret techniques of the Hind family.

A skill to warm the body with the sword’s energy.

“Haaa!”

I swung my sword widely.

A warm gust of air enveloped me.

The frozen wound began to thaw.

“I… I won’t give up!”

Still holding my sword, I faced the wolves again.

Now, their eyes seemed different.

As if… they had deemed us worthy.

“Grrrooaaaar!”

The alpha wolf let out a loud howl.

The other wolves began to retreat.

“Are they withdrawing…?”

Someone murmured.

But I knew better.

This was not a retreat.

“They have allowed us to pass.”

The guardians of the Frozen Ridge had tested us.

And we had barely passed.

After the battle, we set up camp.

Many knights had frostbite, and several were injured.

At least there were no fatalities.

I slowly bandaged my wound by the fire.

The shoulder still throbbed in pain.

The Frost Wolf’s claw held a special magic.

The wound would not heal easily.

“Like my brother…”

I shook my head.

Why did I keep thinking about him?

In the distance, the bodies we had passed earlier were embedded in the ice walls.

Those who had failed to cross before.

Among them… perhaps my brother…

“Edgar.”

Captain Rowen’s voice brought me back.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Your skills are commendable. But…” His eyes sharpened.

“Avoid personal actions. We are knights. Fighting alone will…”

“I’m sorry.”

I bowed my head, but inwardly, I was frustrated.

The incident had occurred because the other knights could not keep up.

But now was not the time to argue.

“Shia Kalt is beyond that,”

Captain Rowen pointed into the distance.

A massive snowy mountain barely visible through the clouds.

“Our target is there. The one who transformed the saint and the hero…”

“Captain.”

One of the knights interrupted, his voice trembling.

“If we proceed like this… we’ll all…”

Captain Rowen’s gaze turned cold.

“If you wish to act like a coward, you may return. But…”

His lips curled into a sneer.

“Then you will never regain the honor of a knight.”

No one responded.

Fear and anguish were written on the knights’ faces.

But they could not turn back.

Once dismissed by Captain Rowen, they would be shunned everywhere.

“Hmph.”

I stared at the flames.

Something in the flickering fire seemed to catch my eye.

“We must endure this cold…”

Then, a chill swept over me.

The flames wavered.

The wind sounded like a whisper.

I instinctively gripped the hilt of my sword.

This place… the Frozen Ridge still held its guardians.

Beyond the Frost Wolves, greater dangers lurked.

“But we cannot retreat.”

I clenched my teeth.

This was just the beginning.

The true trial lay beyond the Frozen Ridge.

…

The next day, we pressed on through the snowstorm once more.

As we ventured deeper into the icy gorge, the winds grew stronger.

Towering ice walls rose on either side, blocking out the sky.

Even breathing became a struggle.

“Captain!”

One of the knights shouted.

The howling wind made it hard to hear, but I followed his gesture.

“That’s…”

Somethings were embedded in the wall of the gorge.

Banners, half-buried in ice.

The crest of the Genes Kingdom.

“Remnants of the previous expedition.”

The captain’s voice was cold.

He examined the area.

And soon…

“Bodies.”

The frozen corpses of knights were embedded in the ice wall.

Their armor was rusted, their frozen bodies pale and icy.

As if someone had slammed them into the wall.

“This must be last year’s expedition.”

“We must press on.”

The captain’s voice left no room for hesitation.

But the knights’ footsteps grew heavier.

Marching toward death like this…

Then, it happened.

Ku-gu-gu-gung!

The gorge began to tremble.

The ice walls shook violently.

“Everyone, to the center!”

As the captain shouted, chunks of ice began to fall.

Several knights were nearly crushed to death.

“Ahh!”

A scream erupted.

I quickly drew my sword.

This was no natural phenomenon.

Ku-ddeuk!

The sound of cracking ice.

And then, the walls of the gorge began to move.

“That’s…”

A gigantic ice golem broke free from the wall.

It looked as though the wall itself had come to life.

Golems, covered in ice, emerged from both sides of the gorge, surrounding us from above and below.

“Sentinels of the Cold…”

The captain muttered.

Beings from legend.

The true guardians of the Frozen Ridge.

“Form the ranks!”

The captain’s command rang out.

But it was too late.

In the narrow gorge, we were already surrounded.

Kwah-gwang!

A massive icy fist descended.

I used the wind to propel myself out of the way, but not everyone could do the same.

“Craaack!”

Two knights were crushed beneath the ice fist.

Their screams were drowned out by the wind.

“This is…”

Desperate.

The gorge was too narrow, with no place to escape.

We were like rats in a trap.

“Attack!”

The captain raised his sword high.

A crimson energy flared from it.

Though he was stubborn, the captain’s strength as a knight commander was not to be underestimated.

The knights launched their assault in unison.

But their swords merely scraped against the ice.

The golem’s body was impenetrable.

Clang!

Another icy fist struck.

Three more knights perished.

“This is…”

Hopeless.

We could neither escape nor win.

Would we all die here?

“No… I won’t die here!”

I poured mana into my sword.

The pinnacle of the Hind family’s secret technique.

The sword’s power surged.

Instantly, the air around me swirled with wind.

And my sword began to glow blue.

“Blade of the Wind…”

I took a deep breath.

And raised my sword high.

“Brother… was I wrong?”

My brother’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind.

“The direct path isn’t always the best, Edgar.”

Then, I realized.

Somethings caught my eye on the gorge wall.

A faint path.

Likely a detour used by adventurers of old.

“Captain! There’s a path…”

But the captain ignored my words.

His sword already blazed with determination.

“Do not retreat! We are knights!”

His fierce cry echoed.

But I knew better.

Continuing like this would mean certain death.

“Fall back!”

I shouted.

Simultaneously, I unleashed the wind I had gathered.

A massive storm erupted, shrouding the gorge.

It was enough to obscure the sentinel’s vision.

“This way! Follow the wall path!”

I moved quickly.

Leading the surviving knights toward the narrow mountain trail.

“How dare you…”

Captain Rowen’s furious voice followed.

But now was not the time to protect his pride.

We barely escaped.

We ran along the narrow mountain path for what felt like an eternity.

The roars of the sentinels faded into the distance.

Finally, we emerged from the gorge.

And there it was.

The Shia Kalt mountain range.

The massive snowy peaks visible through the clouds.

“Finally…”

But the sight filled me with an eerie unease.

The guardians of the Frozen Ridge.

What were they protecting?

Was the path we walked truly the right one?

We marched for another week.

Only forty knights remained.

But Captain Rowen’s stubbornness never wavered.

“We are the kingdom’s knights. We cannot return until our mission is complete.”

But his voice lacked its former authority.

It was just a stubborn refusal to admit defeat.

Everyone knew he had chosen the wrong path.

“My brother’s path was different.”

I thought as we climbed the mountain trail.

Clearly, my brother had found a safer route, one we had not discovered.

And because we had not…