"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Fito saw the tension spike and stepped quickly between the knight and civilian, shouting: "Put that dagger away! Are we going to turn on each other at a time like this?"

The guard knew full well that these brothers of the Frostwall Legion, though called warriors, were just roughnecks beneath their armor. Trading insults, brawling, even dueling to the death were everyday occurrences. If not for the desperate situation, he'd never bother stepping in to keep the peace.

Ding Rui glared fiercely at the knight, his chest heaving, but he said nothing more and slid his dagger back into its sheath.

"Don't you get it? This 'seer has lost his powers' nonsense is a werewolf rumor to break our morale! I was already punished for repeating it! White, do you want to be next?" Fito's eyes blazed like cold blades, locking onto the silver knight.

The silver knight's arrogance deflated. He turned his head away, avoiding the guard's sharp gaze.

You may be Silver, but I'm Gold after all.

As the silver knight looked aside, Fito caught sight of Basru, the "Big Guy," sitting behind him, his longsword propped on the ground, head bowed in silence.

Normally, you'd be the one causing trouble.

Basru's silence surprised Fito, but he understood the restlessness and odd behavior of his brothers.

The Frostwall, an unbreakable line standing for a thousand years in the snow, had been destroyed by werewolves—a devastating blow to the defenders. This was the darkest, most shameful moment in the Legion's history. Under the shadow of such defeat, it was only natural for many to lose their heads, to blame and shift responsibility.

I've been through these blame games more times than I can count.

This scene was all too familiar. Fito sighed softly, the sharpness fading from his eyes.

"The more critical the moment, the calmer we need to be," he said firmly to the crowd—a phrase often used by the Silence Elder of Silver Hour Village. "The werewolves could break into the dungeon at any minute. We won't hold out long here. Do you want to die faster by fighting among yourselves?"

The Oval Chamber fell silent. The Gold Guard continued: "Lord Orek is still our Commander-in-Chief, holder of the Night Watch Badge, the only true seer here. We must rally around him to get through this…" He glanced at Orek, who was leaning against a stone pillar, eyes downcast, showing no sign of wanting to speak.

The boss took this harder than I thought…

Fito sighed: "A seer's value isn't just in his divination ability. His experience is a priceless treasure. I once knew a seer who lost his powers to injury, but still used his experience to make blind identifications and took down four werewolves in the end."

As soon as he finished, he felt a poke in his back. Shana leaned in and whispered: "Hey! Saying that is like admitting the seer has lost his powers! You're such a dummy!"

Oh right…

Fito froze, then coughed awkwardly: "What I mean is, right now, we should all trust Lord Orek, follow his orders, and not lose our heads."

At that moment, Witch Yun spoke softly: "We're all in this together now—we must unite. So Lord Orek, what do we do next?"

"What do we do…" Orek lifted his head. His eyes were unfocused, his spirit broken, as if he'd aged ten years overnight.

You will be my other pair of eyes…

Fito remembered the boss's words to him. He refused to believe Orek's heart was this fragile. He was a tough seer, one who'd faced eleven enemies alone before. He wouldn't break so easily.

"Lord Orek, this isn't the time to give up. No matter what, you're the only seer here. You must take up your responsibility and guide us forward," Witch Yun said loudly.

"Guide… only the Archbishop can guide…" Orek mumbled.

"Did the Archbishop give any instructions?" Yun asked.

"The Archbishop… he… follows the will of the gods… to save everyone…"

Fito saw the seer was rambling. It seemed he had to step forward again.

He turned to the scholar: "Old Ray, what do we do now? Do you have any ideas?"

Scholar Ray stroked his white beard and said slowly: "I think holding the Shield Fort is no longer viable. Our best option is to retreat to Awakening City. Though the wolves have broken through the Frostwall, we still hold the overall advantage in strength. Once we reach Awakening City, we can issue a call to all warriors and mages of the United Kingdom, urging them to march north and repel the wolf invasion. The Blood Moon will pass soon, and the werewolves' strength will fade. We'll have a good chance of defeating them at Awakening City and driving them back! So the fight isn't over—don't lose hope."

The old scholar's voice was quiet, but his words lit a spark of hope in the crowd. Several people immediately voiced their agreement.

"There's a secret tunnel from the dungeon to the Snowwood Forest, and its entrance is right here in the Oval Chamber. We'll go through—" Before the scholar could finish, a thunderous boom echoed from above.

"Oh no! The werewolves blew open the dungeon's iron gate!" someone shouted.

That fast!

Fito had never doubted the werewolves could break through the dungeon—if they could destroy a god-forged wall, a hexagonal iron gate was nothing—but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

They're not even giving us a chance to catch our breath!

"Everyone retreat into the tunnel!" Fito shouted. He ran to the wall and twisted one of the candle grooves in the stone.

Click-click-click-click—

A soft sound came from between two stone pillars, and a hidden door in the shadow slowly creaked open.

Everyone's eyes turned to the hidden door, their expressions mixed, each with their own thoughts. Many knew the tunnel existed, but few had ever walked it.

After activating the mechanism, Fito called: "Retreat in order! Seer and scholar first! Witches next! Hurry—move fast!"

He took up position at the Oval Chamber's entrance while the others rushed toward the hidden door.

Shana came to his side: "I'll go with you!"

"No! I have a special mission—I must hold the rear! You escort the boss first!" Fito said firmly. When he saw her about to argue, he gave her a gentle push on the back: "Sis Shana, listen to me. I'll meet you in the Snowwood Forest! I promise!"

Shana's eyes flickered. Then she suddenly stood on her tiptoes.

A sweet scent washed over him, and then he felt a soft brush against his lips—the witch had kissed him.

Ah!

Caught off guard by the woman he loved, Fito's body felt like it had been jolted by lightning. He froze in place.

"Promise me! I'll wait for you in the Snowwood Forest!"

After the kiss, Shana released him, turned without hesitation, and walked toward the hidden door.

Fito stood there, his eyes fixed on her retreating figure, savoring the soft warmth still lingering on his lips. An unfamiliar, tender feeling welled up in his chest.

For a moment, the whole world seemed to stand still.