The Count was struggling … no, more than a little. He was utterly overwhelmed.

A yeti, three meters tall, with arms extending four meters, was a monster in every sense. Its entire body was densely covered in white fur, contrasting starkly with the pitch-black of its eyes and fangs. From afar, it looked like floating black holes. Up close, its sheer size was crushing.

Among the many monsters roaming the North, it rivaled even ice trolls and white ogres in strength. But what made them more formidable was not just their savagery. Unlike mindless beasts, they employed camouflage to ambush their prey and even practiced coordinated hunting tactics, showcasing their high intelligence.

“Croooong!”

“Croon! Croooong!”

The creatures bellowed, waving their long arms toward the prince. Perhaps it was the sight of the fire that had drawn them in. With arms outstretched, their roaring resembled that of worshippers before a sacred flame. It was almost laughable.

They glanced briefly at the towering wall, then,

“BOOM!” They kicked off the ground, launching upward.

The sheer force of their leap caused the snow to explode into a fine white mist.

“Crooooorong!”

Flailing arms fell just short of the wall’s edge, and the first one crashed back to the earth.One after another, they leapt toward the wall, but none succeeded in grabbing hold.

Even at its lowest point, the wall was too tall to be scaled by strength alone.             A few more minutes of jumping and roaring followed.

The Breaker’s cry echoed among them, and the yetis, frenzied by fire, screeched with madness.

“Your Highness. You should retreat for now.”

Garon, the one who introduced himself as commander of the Snow-white Knights, urged the prince to withdraw, his face etched with worry and unease.

“You’re telling me to run from monsters?”

“It’s dangerous. The yetis are showing extreme aggression.”

“So you think I don’t know how to deal with a yeti?”

“That’s not what I meant … ”

“If I retreat now, the yetis will scatter, won’t they? Am I wrong?”

“…No, you are correct.”

Unable to refute the prince’s words, Garon furrowed his brow.

Camouflaged in the blizzard with their white fur, the yetis could strike anywhere. For now, they had lost their minds and leapt blindly. But if the prince vanished, they might revert to cunning tactics. In that case, the entire wall would need defending, and troop casualties would be unavoidable.

This was the very reason Aziel had chosen to dine on the wall and ignite his flames.

First, 

“Watch carefully, all of you. This is what cold and battle in the North truly looks like.”

To jolt awake the knights and mages who had grown soft in the comforts of the central region, growing fat on bribes and luxury.

[The lower fates of knights and mages, selfishness and arrogance,have been consumed. Gratitude and humility begin to sprout within them.]
[Lower fate paths of chivalry and magical research have been stimulated!]

Second, 

[Analyzing target fate. You have consumed the fate of death and destruction lying on the Northern Wall. Large Destiny Shift Points acquired!]
[The fate of the target changes from death and destruction to battle.]
[The fate of the target has been distorted due to external interference. Someone seeks to challenge your destiny!]

To prevent the incoming damage to the wall, and to stop the one aiming for the Mystery beyond the bonfire. That was why he had drawn attention, exuded irresistible Mystery.

At first, that thing had likely intended to stay hidden.

But the moment it saw the fire, 

“Fire.” 

It had cried out without meaning to.

“This feels… unsettling.”

Perhaps due to the strange voice ringing in his head, Garon kept glancing anxiously past the blizzard, once again urging the prince to retreat.

But, 

“You heard it too, didn’t you? That voice ringing in your head.”

When he tapped his temple and asked, Garon’s face darkened.

The moment doubt turned to certainty … 

“Yes. I heard it.”

“What do the people of the North call this voice in the head?”

“We call it a Calling.”

“A calling from what?”

The knight commander’s eyes shifted nervously.

“We… call it the Calling of the Frozen Ground.”

He lowered his voice, as though even speaking it aloud might invoke a curse.         An ancient legend feared even by a northern knight commander.

Northerners, on dark, blizzard-filled nights, would sit beneath a candle’s light, listening to their mothers recite the old tales like lullabies. And in those tales, the most terrifying being of all was the “Frozen Ground”.

A euphemism for the ones who dwelled beyond the Northern Wall, the “Frozen Ones”.

Once a real enemy, now a mysterious threat. A living legend.

Ghosts said to have fought the founding emperor, Kyron, as equals. 

The issue was …

“Garon. Speak up.”

“…What?”

“Say their identity. Loudly.”

“There’s a taboo… it’s said that calling their name aloud increases their power,”

“Speak it proudly. Right now.”

“Your Highness…”

“Garon of the Snow-white Knights! Are you so frightened you cannot even speak the name of your foe? Have you lost your nerve?”

At the prince’s furious shout, those who had been keeping watch turned toward them.

Garon gulped, glancing around with trembling eyes. For a knight, and a commander no less, admitting fear was a disgrace. The northern soldiers and even the Snow-white Knights behind him looked on with understanding, but still watched closely.

“Frozen Ground? This is the Frozen Ground, is it not?”

“What’s with all this hesitation? It’s your prince’s order.”

The knights of the Bluewing Order and the 3rd Mage Corps, all from the central region, could not comprehend the northern fear. If he remained silent, he would be mocked by these southern snobs. In the end, as a knight, he crushed the fear instilled in him since childhood … 

“We call it the Calling of the Frozen Ground!”

He forced his voice to rise. He had tried to show courage … 

“So the ground calls to us, does it? What a funny idea! Are you saying the ground is scarier than those giant yetis right in front of us? Ridiculous!”

The prince immediately mocked his bravery. It was an insult, a blow to his pride.  And Garon’s face flushed crimson with rage.

“Exactly. The yetis are the issue here, aren’t they, Sir Garon?”

“Hahaha! If the earth calls to us, shouldn’t we be celebrating? Perhaps it’s the call of a spirit!”

The central-region fools joined in, unaware of the weight of the name. The faces of the northern soldiers and knights turned grim. To them, the entire North had been insulted. After all, they all believed in the same “superstition.” But the problem with such superstition …

[The fate of the Frozen Ones feeding on northern fear thickens.]

It gave strength to the very beings that hunted the North. 

The moment the eerie voice echoed in their minds, and their expressions twisted in fear, another change appeared in the threads of fate. Only then did he understand why they had waited so long before stirring again.

They had bided their time.

Waited for the fire of Emperor Kyron, the one who had defeated them and driven them into the lifeless mountains, to fade.

Waited for the fears of the North to accumulate over generations and for the stories about them to become legend… and from legend, a new Mystery.

That was why …

“To be honest, let’s just say it plainly. The Frozen Ones … no, those who dwell beyond the northern mountains … ”

He chose to strike directly at the Northerners’ greatest fear.

“I mean those Eskimos living without a scrap of fire in the freezing cold! Aren’t you all just scared of them?”

“Whoooooooosh!”

The moment he spoke the true name ‘Eskimo‘, a sharp wind slashed across the Northern Wall. The warmth conjured by the mages scattered rapidly, and the soldiers swayed violently. Only then did the central-region people understand that “Frozen Ones” referred to them, the ‘Eskimos’.

Amid the growing, biting cold, surrounded by hundreds, he alone was laughing.    The rigid, tense faces around him only made his voice louder.

“Aren’t they just raw-meat-eating savages? What’s got everyone so tense?”

At the prince’s nonchalant remark, everyone’s faces drained of color.

Then … 

“Wurururung!”

The yetis, until now wild and chaotic, suddenly clustered together. Climbing atop one another’s backs, they stretched out their arms. They had created a bridge, connecting ground and wall.

And then … 

“Bearer of flame. Is there truly no fear within you?” 

A voice rang clearly in every mind. This time, it was sharp and undeniable. Everyone heard it.

“The Eskimos had arrived”.