I can evolve everything

Ryan gestured for the twenty soldiers behind him to rest, while he, along with Ella and Hank, sat down at the table.

After a few cups of hot wine, my body finally warmed up.

While eating, Ryan patiently listened to Hank recount the recent situation in the canyon.

"...Overall, things have been relatively peaceful lately."

Hank wiped the grease from his mouth, but his expression wasn't completely relaxed:

"The beacon tower's magic crystal is functioning normally, and there are no problems with the magic circuits. We've also had people monitoring the main roads deep in the canyon every day, and we haven't detected any signs of monster migration."

He paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he was hesitating whether to report a small matter to the esteemed knight.

"However?" Ryan keenly noticed his pause and put down his wine glass.

"However... there are some strange little things."

"Just yesterday, the soldiers who were in charge of clearing the outer traps returned and reported that they found several frozen marks near the Weeping Rock on the west side."

"Frozen?" Ella interjected. "There's ice and snow everywhere here, what's so strange about it being frozen?"

"It's different, miss."

Hank shook his head and took a broken stone out of his pouch and placed it on the table.

The stone was mostly bluish-white in color, and its surface was covered with a layer that was clearly not naturally formed frost, but rather some kind of viscous substance that had solidified and covered the stone.

"Based on our experience, this should be the saliva of a white frost spider."

Hank pointed to the crystal and said:

"These monsters usually prefer to stay in dark, damp underground caves, or even deeper beneath ice crevasses. They hate the wind and rarely come to the surface on their own."

Ryan reached out a finger and touched the stone.

"How far is Weeping Rock from here?" Renn asked.

"About three kilometers. The terrain there is quite complicated," Hank replied. "While a few spiders aren't much of a threat—we can scare them away with torches—the question is, why did they even come out in the first place?"

Hank lowered his voice, and his tone became somewhat uneasy as he spoke.

"Like I said before, these things prefer darkness. Unless something happens in their original nests and they're forced out."

Something even more terrifying.

Raine and Ella exchanged a glance. They immediately thought of the gnolls from before, and the dire wolf king who had driven them to the vicinity of the fortress.

Could these also be other monsters driven away by the Dire Wolf King?

This coincides with Valen's previous predictions.

The food chain in this wasteland is undergoing a subtle change, and these seemingly insignificant things are often the prelude to disaster.

"This is no small matter, Hank."

Upon hearing this, Hank immediately continued his report: "If these Frost Spiders are nesting in Weeping Rock, their silk threads will cut off our patrol routes once they cover that area. And..."

He didn't say the second half of the sentence.

But that was enough for Raine; he needed to find out what exactly had driven these subterranean creatures to the surface.

Renn turned his head and looked at the veteran Gru, who was sitting not far away and quietly eating barbecue.

"Gru," Renn called out.

The one-eyed veteran immediately put down the roasted meat he was holding and walked over.

"grown ups."

"How much do you know about the White Frost Spider?" Renn asked.

Gru glanced at the stone on the table.

"A troublesome little thing. It doesn't have thick skin, but it moves quickly and spews out poisonous ice threads. Once you get entangled in them, your blood flow slows down, and you'll freeze very quickly."

As he spoke, Gru drew a dagger from his waist and brandished it on the table. "Crossbows aren't very effective against them unless you're accurate. The best way is to use oil, or those quick-reacting light infantry."

As he said this, his gaze swept over Ryan and Ella almost imperceptibly.

Ryan understood what he meant.

This kind of combat, with its complex terrain and agile monsters, is not suitable for phalanxes composed of large numbers of infantry. On the contrary, it is quite adept at fighting like him and Ella, knights with high individual combat skills.

Renn pondered for a moment.

He quickly thought through the general situation in his mind.

Weeping Rock, three kilometers away, has complex terrain and many bunkers. The enemy is the White Frost Spider, and their numbers are small.

If what the leader said is true, the patrol team's mission does indeed include assisting in clearing out small monsters in the vicinity.

With that in mind, Renn made a decision.

"Sergeant Hank." Ryan stood up.

"grown ups?"

"Give me a detailed topographical map of Weeping Rock."

Hank paused for a moment, then understood Ryan's intention.

"You're going to do it yourself?" He was somewhat surprised. "This kind of work, we could just go and do the burning..."

"That's the patrol team's duty."

Ryan interrupted him: "And I want to see what exactly drove them out."

Then, Raine turned to look at the twenty soldiers of the 22nd Patrol.

The soldiers noticed Ryan's actions and stopped eating, clearly awaiting his command.

Although these soldiers still appeared to be sitting upright, they would certainly obey orders if Raine were to lead them to exterminate monsters now.

However, after three consecutive days of marching through wind and snow, most of the soldiers were nearing their physical limits.

Renn withdrew his gaze and pondered carefully.

"The snowstorm outside is too intense, and night vision is extremely poor. It would be highly inappropriate to enter the area under such low visibility conditions."

He looked at Hank and made a decision: "Let the soldiers rest. We'll set off again first thing tomorrow morning."

"As you wish, sir." Hank grinned. "I'll have someone arrange the berths right away."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Late at night.

Inside the stone house at the encampment, snores rose and fell.

Renn was not asleep.

He sat cross-legged in the corner against the wall.

"What are you worried about?"

A rustling sound came from beside me.

Ella, clutching her longsword, walked like a cat to Renn and then curled up next to him.

"White Frost Spider".

Ryan said in a low voice:

"Although those things are low-level monsters, they live in groups. If they were squeezed out of their nests simply because of overcrowding, it means that something that terrifies the entire group has appeared in their original territory."

"Maybe there are other reasons? Like this winter is just too cold." Ella yawned and adjusted her posture.

"I hope so."

Renn opened his eyes and looked out at the darkness: "But as a knight, we must assume the worst."

"Tch, so stubborn," Ella muttered, then buried her head in her arms. "Going to sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next morning.

The snowstorm was less severe than yesterday.

The troops had already assembled in the forecourt of the encampment.

Renn did not bring his entire force.

Besides him and Ella, he only brought half of the patrol's soldiers, and—

"Sergeant Hank, you know this area best, so I'll have to trouble you to lead the way."

As Ryan inspected the equipment, he said to Hank, "Also, pick two more soldiers who are familiar with that area. We need a guide."

"It would be my pleasure, sir."

Hank turned and shouted, "Old Pete! And Jack! Grab your stuff and get on board!"

Two thin, small soldiers emerged from the ranks.

"Set off."

Without further ado, Renn waved his hand, and the squad left their encampment, heading west.