The Unending March

The frigid wind howled through the barren landscape of the great mountain, whipping up a blinding flurry of snow that obscured the path ahead. A group of warriors clad in armor moved steadily through the icy wasteland as danger could come at any moment.

Their breath formed frozen clouds in the air. These were the warriors of the Holy Church, on a sacred mission to eradicate the Devil who was hiding in an ancient monastery hidden deep within the heart of the frozen land.

Leading the group was Captain Gemma, a formidable ascended being with eyes that gleamed like an eternal flame. Her armor radiated an emerald light that cut through the darkness, guiding the warriors through the harsh conditions. Behind her there were Master Geralt and Master Luciel.

The ascended beings moved with otherworldly grace, their every step firm and strong, leaving an imprint on the snow for others to follow. With Luciel being in the middle and Geralt watching the rear.

Among the warriors trudging through the blizzard, there was Raian, the weakest of the group. If you told him that he wouldn't even respond to it.

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As he struggled to keep up with the seasoned warriors, his breath was visibly unstable from the cold clouds he was creating. It had been a dozen hours since the beginning of their march.

in short breath he tried to preserve what power he had left in his bod taking short steps, he fought against the biting cold and marched on. Raian's determination burned like a small flame within him, overshadowed by the towering strengths of his companions but alas every flame eventually ends when the fuel runs out. He was getting tired from walking in knee-deep snow for hours end.

As the group ventured deeper into the frozen expanse, the blizzard intensified. The winds howled louder, and the visibility dropped too almost nothing. Gemma raised her hand, signaling the warriors to halt. 

She turned back to the warriors of her cohort, her eyes assessing them with a stern gaze. "Wildlife is coming. We cannot afford to slow down. The monastery lies ahead, and the demons will get alerted if we take too long. So, be precise and lethal, got it?" 

Gemma's voice resonated with authority. The warriors nodded, and Raian summoned his sword and shield, which were the best weapons he had - Tier 4 Dormant weapons. 

Gemma gave a nod of approval, and the group prepared for the arrival of the wildlife.

 Suddenly, a distant howl echoed through the icy landscape. A pack of frost wolves had found their prey, their fur blending with the snow, emerging from the swirling tempest one by one. The only difference from normal wolves was their sheer size and snow-like fur. 

The warriors readied their weapons as the wolves approached them slowly, hungry eyes fixed on their prey. They looked ready to jump at them, but they didn't move as if they were waiting for something. 

While the two sides were in a standoff, Gerald raised his hand, and a burst of green flame emanated from his right hand, trying to repel the wolves. Engaging them was pointless from their end. From Raian's perspective, some of the wolves moved back instinctively, but most of them were fearless in front of Geralt's intimidation. "Well, that didn't work," Geralt said while shaking his hand to extinguish the green flame. Turning to Raian with a smile, he said, "Guess we are fighting, after all. Don't die, boy." 

Raian could only nod and answer, "I won't." He wasn't sure of his ability. Yes, he had fought many times in the slums, but none of those times he had a sword and a shield. You could say Raian was a beginner at wielding weapons.

But that didn't stop him from being ready to decimate the wolves and live. The sword was a simple piece of tool edges on both sides. He could just replicate the moves he read on Webtoons, and a shield was self-explanatory. As the warriors finished their reformation with the supporting ones in the back and vanguards in the front, they assembled no longer than their usual time in this cold. 

Before the battle could start, another howl echoed behind Raian. As he was standing in the middle, Raian's eyes widened from the unexpected howl. Cursing the wolves for their intelligence, Raian turned around and headed to the back, the place that was the most vulnerable. They were being pinched 1by a pack of wolves.

Behind the snowstorm, an even bigger majestic wolf appeared behind the initial pack. Even though it was standing in the back, its sheer size was towering over the other wolves. It was the leader.

Seeing the pack leader make its appearance, Geralt had a bad feeling from the entrance. The pack leader's aura felt like at least Corrupted Monster to him. 

A few warriors in the front tried to follow onto the back to support Raian, but Geralt stopped them, signaling them to hold as he dashed towards Raian. Knowing that they couldn't focus on the incoming pincer too much as the real threat was in front of them, Geralt decided to take care of it himself as fast as possible. Even though they were elites of the church, losing any kind of manpower was unacceptable right now. They couldn't afford to lose anyone. 

Raian observed over ten wolves charging towards their vulnerable backline. Geralt dashed past Raian and said, "Kill them all; the battle in the front won't end fast," and ran towards the incoming charge. 

Geralt charged against the wolves without summoning any weapon or amor, knocking past the two wolves in the front and charging deeper into their center, drawing most of their attention to him. However, instead of attacking them, he grabbed as many wolves as he could. The wolves opened their mouths and took a bite out of Geralt's body, their teeth digging into Geralt's flesh deep. Raian was puzzled by Geralt's choice of combat. "Is he trying to stall for time by using his body directly?" he wondered. 

Raian was confused by Geralt's actions. While he was trying to make sense of it, the two wolves that were knocked away earlier, found him. Feeling their intense bloodlust, Raian positioned his shield in front and his sword on his backside, trying to keep both wolves in his eyesight. 

Before entering the nightmare, he read many things about the awakened and ascended. He knew that every ascended was strong, no matter the aspect. Being ascended meant that they were powerful. Therefore, he didn't worry about Geralt and focused on his current situation.

Looking towards the two wolves, Raian tried to think of the most logical path that would lead him to victory. Typically, in the slums, if he was against two opponents, he would charge at one of them and disable them before the second one could attack, thus easily eliminating one of the threats.

However, the sudden sound of leaping followed by an animalistic roar interrupted Raian's thought. One of the wolves had charged at him. Seeing the incoming row and rows of disgusting teeth inside the wolf's mouth, he had no choice but to charge against it aiming for the wolf's teeth. If he played defense, it was only a matter of time until the two wolves attacked him at the same time, and he would be overpowered shortly.

Encouraging himself, Raian charged forward, ready to clash with the wolf. He believed in his newfound strength in his new body and charged with no fear. Being afraid was simply illogical in his current situation, as it would only dampen his combat prowess. Running head-on against the wolf and clashing with it, Raian realized one thing. 

He was wrong.