Luke and his group pressed forward through the battlefield, always aiming for the next general. Piles of corpses littered the snow, but an even greater problem loomed ahead. The storm was getting worse, visibility was collapsing, and the cold had turned deadly. This wasn't natural cold. It was something else, something enchanted.

He noticed it first in the corner of his interface. Every minute, his HP ticked down by one point. Slowly, steadily, the blizzard itself was killing them.

[Estimated Time Until End: 04 hours : 15 minutes : 18 seconds]

Another general fell, its body collapsing in a heap of armor and ash. They were getting faster, each fight shorter than the last. It was astonishing how quickly a level 80 monster could die in their hands, but then again, this wasn't just any group. This was the tutorial's elite.

A roar echoed ahead, deep enough to rattle his bones. Another Warden General burst from the mist, charging straight toward them, halberd raised.

Luke loosed a flurry of arrows in rapid succession. By now, everyone moved as one, no wasted motion, no stray spells. They didn't even bother with high-cost magic anymore.

The creature barreled forward. Charlie stepped into its path, her shield absorbing the hit with a metallic crack that sent shockwaves through the snow. At the same time, Erza's wires lashed out from behind, wrapping around the monster's limbs. Evangeline exhaled a cloud of black smoke that curled around the creature's form like living shadow. Mason sprinted in and slammed his shoulder into its back, using his weight to topple it.

As it stumbled, Charlie's flaming fist came down like a hammer, shattering the creature's helmet with a sharp, ringing crunch. Allison followed up in a flash, her katana slicing downward in one clean motion. The general's head rolled across the snow, leaving a dark smear behind. Another one down.

"Where's the Midnight Lord?" Mason asked as Evangeline's raven swooped low, its wings beating erratically.

Her face tensed. "Jerry can't stay up anymore. The white mist, it's freezing him."

They all looked skyward. The midnight sky had vanished, swallowed by a spreading white fog. It was rolling downward fast, thick and hungry, devouring the world one breath at a time.

"No choice," Erza said, her voice steady. "We keep moving."

Their gazes turned to the timer. The numbers kept slipping away, cold and merciless. They still had to kill three bosses, the Midnight Lord, the Witch, and the King, and nearly two hours had already vanished. They hadn't even seen the first.

"Cold," Franky muttered, trembling beneath Luke's clothes. He hated the cold more than anything.

"So, Luke," Artemis's voice echoed in his head, dry and unimpressed, "is this when we hit the 'we're screwed' button?"

Now that I'm this close to going home? he thought. No. The only one screwed is whoever stands in my way.

They pushed forward, running alongside squads of surviving soldiers. Together, they moved like the tip of a spear, piercing through enemy lines. This unit, Luke's unit, was responsible for cutting down the generals and forcing open a path to the castle.

"He's close," Allison called out. "The Midnight Lord has to be near the castle."

They sprinted, boots crunching against pure white snow. Ahead, other units were already clashing with the undead ranks, forming a wedge formation to keep the advance open. A wall of Midnight Wardens blocked their path. A squad of soldiers charged ahead, shields raised, slamming into the undead and scattering them to carve a way through. They were close now. The castle loomed beyond the blizzard, its massive bridge rising like a dark spine over the abyss.

"The Midnight Lord must be in the castle!" Mason shouted.

Luke glanced around. Ronan was fighting Wardens on the front line; to the left, more soldiers were cutting through; and to the right, a group of mages from the Haven unleashed devastating spells. They were forcing a corridor open, breaking through piece by piece.

"Generals!" someone yelled.

Five of the towering creatures emerged from the storm, roaring in unison as they charged. One swung its halberd, striking Ronan and sending him flying. The others crashed into the formation, tearing through it like beasts unleashed.

The battlefield shook again. This time, the fight wasn't about holding the line. It was about surviving the next minute. The group picked up speed, already splitting into formation. One enemy alone was manageable—they could take it down fast—but with several closing in, things got messy. Without the use of powerful spells, a single hit from those creatures could leave a serious wound.

They moved as they always did, falling into rhythm without words. Luke fired a volley of arrows, drawing one monster's attention. It charged, halberd raised high. Princess Charlie ignited her Flame Aura and rushed forward. Allison slid across the frozen ground straight toward it.

Luke dropped his bow the moment the clash began. Channeling energy through his legs, he launched forward with a Basic Dark Dash and leapt. Midair, his body dissolved into mist, blinding the general for a heartbeat before solidifying behind it. His kukri sliced deep into the back of its leg. Charlie followed up with a fiery punch that sent the creature crashing to one knee.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

[Mark of Doom activated]

Luke reached for his dimensional storage. The Jormungandr arrows were there. For a moment he considered using one, but changed his mind. He pulled back, giving space. Charlie pounded the creature's back, each strike cracking through the air. Luke hurled his kukri again, pouring stamina into the throw. The blade sank into the monster's leg, and as it roared in pain, Allison closed in. She twisted midair, her katana flashing as it struck the general's helmet with explosive force.

Luke jumped again, summoning his dark mimic. The two figures mirrored each other in motion, blades in hand, descending like shadows.

[Skill Activated: Demon Blade Dance]

The twin kukris shimmered as he infused them with mana and stamina, slashing in a blur as he fell. Metal met flesh, armor split, and the first thing to go was the monster's hand—still gripping its halberd.

Charlie drove her sword straight through its chest. Allison followed up instantly, her katana slicing through its neck.

The head hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

"We did it," she said, catching her breath.

"Yeah. Didn't even need to waste the Ultra-Rares."

Charlie pulled her sword free from the corpse, and the three pressed on toward the others. Every fighter now had to conserve mana; there was still too much ground to cover, too many enemies left. More soldiers arrived, forming a defensive circle around them, keeping the other Wardens at bay. Luke spotted Ronan sitting on the ground, bloodied but alive, as a healer helped him stand, green light closing his wounds.

Allison and Charlie rejoined the frontline, moving to assist against the remaining generals. Luke reached into his storage again, pulling out his black bow. From the rear line, he loosed arrow after arrow, covering them from afar as the battle raged on.

***

Eleanor saw all the generals move at once. Each one broke into a sprint, heading in a different direction with flawless precision—no hesitation, no confusion, no wasted motion. It wasn't instinct. It was coordination. They'd decided together. And they weren't coming for the soldiers. They were heading straight for the archer towers.

"Fall back!" someone shouted as one of the monsters slammed its halberd into the ground. The impact sent a shockwave through the snow, throwing men backward like rag dolls.

One of the nearby cannons was hastily turned toward the creature. The crew barely had time to aim before firing.

The cannonball hit square in the general's chest, shattering a chunk of armor and knocking it a few steps back—but only for a heartbeat. The armor rippled, then began knitting itself together, the cracks sealing as if nothing had happened.

"Activate your skills!" Eleanor yelled, drawing and firing arrow after arrow. Each shot struck true, the shafts burying into the creature's armor until it looked like a walking pincushion of steel and fletching.

She didn't wait to see the result. The moment she felt the shift in the air, she jumped from the tower—seconds before the halberd's next swing ripped through it.

"Professor!" Thomas appeared behind the creature, bow already raised. He loosed a volley into its back, the arrows striking deep. The general staggered, twisting in fury, then turned to retaliate.

"Get out of there!" Gilbert's voice cut through the chaos.

Thomas tried to dive aside, but the monster's arm moved faster. The blow sent him flying across the snow, crashing into a burning brazier.

"Damn it!" Eleanor hit the ground running, sprinting toward him.

Thomas's light armor was crumpled from the impact, his cloak ablaze from the embers. Blood darkened his chest, and his body was limp. She dropped to her knees, fingers trembling as she pressed against his throat. A pulse. Faint, but there. He was alive.

Lifting her head, she saw the other towers—one after another—going dark. The flames of their torches snuffed out, their tops collapsing into the storm. The generals hadn't attacked at random. This was calculated. They were dismantling the archer line on purpose, with brutal, strategic precision.

The Warden General turned toward her. Eleanor's eyes darted from Thomas's unconscious body to the monster's towering frame. Her grip tightened on her bow. She hesitated—drag him to safety, or stand her ground?

The creature roared, halberd lowering as it charged, snow exploding beneath each step.

Eleanor yanked an arrow from her quiver, her hair flaring with faint magical light. She raised the bow, breath steadying, and began chaining her skills: [Impact Arrow], [Explosive Arrow], [Razor Arrow], [Piercing Arrow], [Force Infusion], [Archer's Blessing], [Armorer's Touch], [Armorer's Tenacity], [Reinforced Wood], [Enhanced Arrowhead], [Archer's Stamina Surge]

And finally—her Epic Class Skill.

The air around her began to shimmer as the wind itself bent toward her string, trembling with power.

[Storm of Arrows (Epic)]: The Bounty Hunter focuses energy into the arrow until the space around it begins to warp, compressing strength, intent, and power into a single point. When released, the air ruptures in a flash, and the arrow splits into eight ethereal copies, each carrying half the power and skills of the original. The projections tear through the air like fragments of living light, shredding everything in their path. The impact is followed by a sharp, resonant crack, and for a moment, the trails of the arrows linger like rifts of pure energy burning through the air.

The arrow flew, and eight spectral copies materialized around it, all streaking through the air together. Nine arrows struck the monster in unison, the sound like a shotgun blast—but the impact hit with the weight of a rifle. The creature was slammed backward as if hit by a truck. One arm tore free, its halberd spinning away into the snow, and the beast stumbled before collapsing with a crash that shook the ground.

[You have slain a Midnight Warden General - Lvl 80]

Pain shot up her arm, sharp and immediate. The bone in her wrist throbbed, her fingers aching as if something had splintered inside. The recoil from channeling that much power into a single shot was brutal—like firing a shotgun without bracing. She cursed under her breath, pulled a potion from her storage, and drank it—not to restore HP, but to mend the fracture crawling through her hand.

"Everyone okay?" she asked, scanning the others around her.

"There's more of them coming!" a voice called out.

Another general was already approaching. Eleanor's blood ran cold. She wasn't sure she could fire another shot like that—not again, not so soon.

"We can't lose this position or we lose the cannon!" Gilbert's voice cut through the chaos.

Eleanor nocked another arrow and began firing from her quiver. If they lost this ground, it would start a chain reaction—forcing the survivors to retreat and abandon their siege weapons. Every step back would push them further from completing the event.

[Estimated Time Until End: 03 hours : 52 minutes : 42 seconds]

"I've got you," came a voice behind her.

She turned and saw Dustin.

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