I can evolve everything

When Raine returned to the stone house, it was already late at night, but it was destined to be a sleepless night.

Renn didn't light a lamp. He sat in the darkness, silently polishing his two-handed greatsword.

Although most of the knights and soldiers who were unaware of the truth believed it was just an accidental overload, Karen had already told him that the underground magic circle had been compromised.

Baron's warning, the appearance of the Warg King, and the mysterious intrusion into the [Eternal Hearth] magic circle—all these things seem to be subtly proclaiming that something even worse is about to happen.

"Something big is about to happen."

Raine stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes, and slowly began to meditate, letting his consciousness sink into the misty corridor once again.

In the misty corridor, on the wall engraved with the attributes of Rein, the "Black Rock Breathing Technique: Torso Chapter" is almost complete in its evolution.

[Remaining time: 2 days]

"Two days."

Raine opened his eyes again and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

In just two days, his [Torso] form will be fully evolved. Although Rein can feel his strength steadily improving, is his current rate of progress fast enough to handle the constant stream of unexpected situations?

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 sound of horns echoed continuously from the Blackrock Tower.

The open space in front of the Black Rock Tower was now filled with people.

The soldiers gathered here are not ordinary soldiers from the northern fortress.

Standing at the very front were two hundred fully armored, fully armed knights. The life energy emanating from each of them, when combined, was enough to make any monster flee in terror.

On the flanks of the knights' formation were dozens of people holding staffs or holy symbols.

Those were the battle mage and war priests under the Northern Knights.

In this world, spellcasters are extremely rare. Even high-level spellcasters, who are rarely seen on ordinary days, have all appeared here today with solemn expressions.

Rein and Ella stood in the line. Because they arrived late and were still apprentice knights, their positions were relatively far back.

"This is quite a sight..." Ella stood on tiptoe, glanced at the group of formal knights in front of her, and couldn't help but swallow hard. "Looks like a big battle is about to begin."

Raine remained silent, his gaze fixed on the gate of Blackrock Tower.

A few minutes later, the gates of Blackrock Tower slowly opened.

Roderick Stark, the Grand Master of the Knights in the North, and most likely one of the strongest fighters in the entire Northern Fortress, strode out of Blackrock Tower.

He wasn't wearing a helmet, and his black hair looked somewhat disheveled in the cold wind.

But the moment he stood on the high platform, the few remaining whispers below vanished instantly.

"Knights, brothers."

Roderick's voice echoed across the square.

"I won't waste words. You all felt the tremors yesterday."

"Although the Knights are still investigating the specific cause, the preliminary assessment is that the core of the underground [Eternal Furnace] magic circle experienced an unexpected overload. In order to protect the core from being burned out, the defense mechanism automatically diverted the energy to the outer beacon towers."

A commotion broke out in the crowd, but it quickly subsided under Roderick's stern gaze.

The bad news is—

Roderick paused, his tone becoming more somber:

"Due to this overload, [Eternal Furnace] seems to have entered a low-power self-repair mode. This means that for some time to come, apart from the main city wall of the Northern Fortress and the core area within a five-kilometer radius, the rest of the long defensive line will still have heating capabilities, but the anti-magic barrier will be ineffective."

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the square instantly turned icy.

The barrier has been removed. This means that low-level monsters that would have been blocked by the barrier can now attempt to climb those remote outposts.

"We haven't received any reports of attacks on specific outposts. That means, for now, all beacon tower locations are considered safe."

"But once the monsters on the wasteland attack, they will soon find that the barrier that was once effective has now become nothing more than a cold city wall."

Roderick drew his sword from his waist, the tip pointing straight to the sky.

"If we don't do something, the soldiers stationed at the beacon tower will definitely not last more than a few days if they encounter a beast tide."

"Therefore, I command—"

"From this moment forward, the Northern Knights are on high alert! We must disperse our forces to guard various beacon towers!"

"All official knights, in squads, leading auxiliary troops and supplies, shall immediately proceed to their respective defense zones to garrison."

"For the North!"

"For the North!!"

Two hundred knights drew their swords and roared in unison.

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.

After the assembly dispersed, the knights and soldiers in the fortress quickly got to work.

Before Raine and Ella could return to the barracks, they were stopped by a knight.

"Rain Wilder, Ella Moonshadow. The captain and Lady Karen are waiting for you at the top of the tower."

The two exchanged a glance, and they roughly guessed that they would probably be assigned tasks as well.

When I returned to the room on the top floor of Blackrock Tower, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than yesterday.

A map of the entire BJ border area was spread out on the table, covered with flags representing dozens of beacon towers, which were presumably the specific locations of each beacon tower.

Roderick and Karen were standing in front of the map, arguing quietly. When they saw the two of them enter, their argument stopped abruptly.

"They're here."

The situation was urgent, so Karen didn't greet Ryan and the others, but pointed to a flag on the map.

"Raine, the situation is worse than Roderick described in the square. We're short-handed."

Roderick turned around and rubbed his temples. "The front line we have to defend is too long. Although most of our main forces have been deployed, there are still some key points where our forces are weak."

His finger pressed heavily on a gap on the west side of the map.

【Shattered Tooth Canyon】.

"That's a windy spot, and also the easiest natural passage for monsters to break through. Hank's squad only has fifty people; they're simply not enough."

Roderick looked at Renn. "The original plan was to assign patrol teams to support and guard each beacon tower's location, but last time it was the two of you patrolling here..."

"I'll go."

Raine instantly understood Roderick's meaning. Without waiting for him to finish speaking, she stepped forward and agreed.

Roderick and Karen exchanged a glance.

"Alright." Roderick nodded. "Besides the 22nd Patrol, I'll assign you another fifty men. Also, Hank's squad will be under your full command for now. Your only task is to guard the Northern Fortress until news arrives. Additionally, if you receive a distress signal from a nearby beacon tower, you must go and assist."

"clear."

Ryan received the new transfer order, but he did not leave immediately.

He stood still, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the two big shots before finally settling on Karen.

"Teacher, Commander."

Raine's voice was calm, yet tinged with stubbornness, "Before I set off, I want to know the truth."

"What does Barron's message to me have to do with what happened yesterday?"

"Sir Karen told me yesterday that someone had hacked into the [Eternal Fire] magic circle. But isn't the location of the [Eternal Fire] magic circle known only to a few people?"

There was silence in the room.

Karen sighed and looked at Roderick: "Tell him. This kid is smarter than you think."

Roderick remained silent for a moment, then slowly sat back down in his chair.

You're right.

Roderick crossed his arms and rested his chin on them: "The design of the [Eternal Furnace] magic circle is extremely precise. Even if it runs continuously for a thousand years, it will not naturally overload."

"The one who destroyed it is called Hughes Bloodhoof."

Upon hearing the name, Renn did not react, but Ella, who was standing next to him, seemed to recognize the name and covered her mouth.

"That... one of the legendary first twelve knights of the Northern Knights? That was hundreds of years ago. Didn't history say he died in battle?" Ella exclaimed.

"Died in battle?" Roderick sneered. "That was to save face for the Knights of the North. The truth is, he betrayed them."

"Three hundred years ago, the Northern Fortress had just been built. Hughes Bloodhoof, as one of the knights who participated in its construction, personally participated in the design and construction of the [Eternal Hearth], and naturally knew the location and specific structure of the magic circle. He was the most talented swordsman of that era."

Roderick's gaze deepened.

"He yearned for immortality. In order to break the limits of human lifespan, he sacrificed his soul and knightly honor to an ancient being deep in the wasteland."

"The first captain discovered his plot, severely injured him, and banished him to the far north. We all thought he had died long ago in that dead land where even dragons could not survive."

"But he came back."

Roderick's voice was terrifyingly low.

"Yesterday, he infiltrated the underground core area. Using a hidden door left from back then, he attempted to detonate the entire magic circle directly, turning the Northern Fortress into ruins. Fortunately, the core's defensive runes have been improved in later generations, preventing him from directly detonating the entire magic circle."

"But he did succeed in part. He seems to have triggered some mechanism in the [Eternal Furnace], causing energy to leak out and paralyzing the outer defenses."

As Ryan listened to this secret, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"His goal wasn't just to destroy the barrier," Karen added from the side.

"With the defensive line paralyzed, we are forced to disperse our forces to defend the northern fortress. This will weaken the defenses inside the fortress."

"This is probably exactly what he was thinking."

Roderick stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the bustling interior of the fortress.

"He wants to breach the entire Northern Fortress. Because that ancient being has coveted the prosperity and flesh of the human world for far too long. Hughes is probably here on orders."

"And I suspect..." Roderick turned to look at Renn:

"The dire wolf king that recently appeared in the wasteland is also his pawn. He is driving away the monsters in the wasteland, preparing to launch a large-scale beast tide to distract us and give him the opportunity to launch a second attack, or let the beast tide break through the defense line directly."

After hearing this, Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.

Only then did he roughly understand what Baron's words meant.

The putrid smell probably refers to Hughes Bloodhoof, an undead from hundreds of years ago.

The situation is quite serious right now.

Hughes has achieved his goal of first destroying the barrier and forcing the Knights to split their forces.

It is estimated that his next step will be to drive away the beast tide, exhaust his manpower, and at the same time try to break through other defenses of the Northern Fortress.

Finally, while the Northern Fortress is preoccupied with dealing with the beast tide, the old monster will strike again and completely detonate the [Eternal Furnace] magic circle.

If we don't stop him, the Northern Fortress will lose the [Eternal Hearth] magic circle and definitely won't survive this winter.

"So, Ryan."

Roderick walked up to Rennes.

"We are severely undermanned right now, so it's up to you to hold Shattered Tooth Canyon."