Arknightcraft Modpack

Just before Steven descended into the mines for the third time, preparing for his next adventure, things on the surface of the mine were already becoming chaotic.

The guards were the first to detect something unusual outside the perimeter.

Mines like these were a crucial economic resource for Ursus. While the guards might not have been the most honorable individuals, their combat skills were undeniable—they were all elite soldiers.

As soon as they noticed the disturbance, they wasted no time. While fortifying their positions, they immediately sent out a request for reinforcements from the nearest mobile city garrison.

However, the ones lurking outside the mine weren’t about to give them that chance.

The moment the enemy sensed the guards preparing for battle, they struck without hesitation.

The forests surrounding the mine stirred.

The already freezing temperatures seemed to plummet even further, the biting cold now seeping into every exposed bit of flesh. It was as if the very oxygen in the air had frozen, making each breath feel like a struggle.

“It’s the Yeti Squadron!”

The guard captain shouted in alarm.

Never, in all his years of service, did he expect that the mine under his watch would come under attack from the Guerrilla Fighters.

And of all the enemies they could’ve faced—it had to be them.

The worst ones.

His expression darkened.

He knew what kind of people the Yeti Squadron was.

He also knew that they, the guards—who took pleasure in oppressing the miners—would never be forgiven.

To the infected and the oppressed, the Guerrilla Fighters were heroes.

But to the guards?

They were demons.

“Hold your ground!” The captain barked out the order, though even he was struggling to keep his composure. “The garrison from the nearest town will be here soon. We just have to hold the line until reinforcements arrive!”

His mind raced, desperately searching for a way to counter the incoming assault.

Then, suddenly, an idea struck him.

He whipped around to face his second-in-command.

“Go. Bring up those miners from the tunnels and use them as hostages. The Guerrilla Fighters came here to rescue them, didn’t they?” A twisted smirk formed on his lips. “If we use them as meat shields, even the Yeti Squadron will have to think twice before acting.”

His chilling words made it clear—he didn’t see the miners as people, but as disposable bargaining chips.

The miners were worthless in his eyes.

The only reason they were even given food was because they could still extract ore. Otherwise, the guards wouldn’t have bothered feeding them at all.

But now?

They could serve one last purpose.

They just needed to buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive.

As the captain glared at the approaching guerrillas—who used the trees and snow for cover—his jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth nearly cracked.

They couldn’t stop the Guerrilla Fighters directly.

But those defenseless miners?

Those, they could handle.

With no effort at all, they dragged dozens of miners up to the fortified walls.

One of the guards grabbed a particularly frail miner—a man so thin he barely had any strength to resist.

Ignoring his desperate screams, the guard lifted him by the throat and—without a shred of hesitation—hurled him over the wall.

The miner slammed into the frozen ground with a sickening crack.

A spray of crimson stained the snow.

And then, he stopped moving.

He didn’t even struggle.

The captain had no intention of negotiating.

His actions spoke for themselves.

If the Guerrilla Fighters took one more step forward—

—he would throw down another.

They wanted to save these people?

Then let’s see how many they could actually rescue.

The effect of the captain’s brutal display was immediate.

Rather than dissipating, the biting chill in the air only intensified—piercing through flesh and bone like an unforgiving blade. Even with their thick armor, the guards could feel their bodies stiffening, as if the cold itself was trying to freeze them solid.

Then, from the treeline in front of the mine, movement stirred the snow-covered landscape.

A bone-chilling frost seemed to seep into the very fabric of reality, as if the air itself was turning to ice.

And then, she appeared.

A white-haired, rabbit-eared girl emerged from the trees, stepping forward with slow, deliberate grace. She wore a primarily white coat accented with streaks of orange-red, and in her hand, she held a small dagger.

Her delicate features were as cold and unyielding as a slab of ice. She might have looked like an ordinary girl, but the sheer pressure radiating from her presence was suffocating.

She wasn’t just anyone.

And the guards felt it.

“Release them. And I’ll make your deaths quick.”

Her voice rang out—calm, chilling, and absolute.

At that moment, the guards on the wall felt the very air around them constrict.

The frost wasn’t just a trick of the mind. It was real.

Their lungs strained against the crushing cold, their every breath becoming an agonizing effort.

But fear alone was never enough to stop a desperate man.

“Like hell we will! Damn guerrilla scum!”

The captain shouted back, his voice laced with defiance—but also fear.

As if to prove his resolve, he grabbed another miner from the group, hauling the struggling man up before hurling him toward the girl below.

Or at least, that was his intention.

His hand never moved.

No matter how hard he tried to throw the miner, his arm simply refused to respond.

In fact… nothing did.

His entire body was numb.

And when he looked down, he understood why.

A layer of ice had completely engulfed his limbs—his torso—his entire being.

The other guards noticed it as well.

But before they could even react, the overwhelming cold had already stolen control of their bodies.

Like statues carved from pure ice, they stood frozen in place—unable to move, unable to scream.

The girl’s gaze swept over them, her expression unreadable.

Then, with a simple lift of her hand—

—a path of solid ice formed beneath her feet, stretching seamlessly from the ground all the way to the fortified wall.

And she was not alone.

A group of similarly dressed, white-clad figures swiftly followed her lead, ascending the ice path and storming the defenses.

The battle was over in an instant.

Compared to the frozen guards—who had been reduced to nothing more than lifeless statues—the miners, though trembling from the cold, were still very much alive.

The white-clad fighters wasted no time in evacuating them.

Though there were still a few scattered guards left, with their leadership gone and their defensive line shattered, they were swiftly dealt with.

Only after the last traces of resistance had been crushed did the suffocating cold begin to fade.

The rabbit-eared girl leaned against the wall, a faint trace of fatigue flickering across her face.

“Cough—”

A quiet, frail-sounding cough escaped her lips.

Even as she tried to steady herself, her body swayed slightly, her exhaustion evident.

“Big Sis! Are you alright? You didn’t have to push yourself this hard—we could have taken the mine without you overexerting yourself!”

One of the white-clad warriors rushed to her side, concern clear in his voice.

The others quickly followed, their expressions filled with worry.

“If we did it your way, it would’ve cost us more lives,” she murmured. “I’ll be fine… Just focus on helping the miners.”

Her gaze flickered downward—toward the lifeless body of the miner who had been thrown from the wall.

Her eyes darkened.

Anger and regret flashed within them.

She had underestimated the guards.

She hadn’t expected them to be so ruthless—to kill their own hostages just to prove a point.

Her frustration simmered beneath her exhaustion, her grip tightening slightly.

Then, she turned her gaze toward the frozen guards.

Her expression hardened.

And without a word—

—the ice surrounding their bodies shattered.

One by one, they crumbled—not into mere shards of ice, but into bloodstained fragments.

It was over.

Or at least, that’s what they thought.

Because just as they began to catch their breath—

—a deep, earth-shaking tremor erupted from beneath their feet.

The ground rumbled, as if something massive was stirring from within.

A pulse of originium energy surged through the air, so intense that it was visible to the naked eye.

The girl’s expression immediately shifted.

“Get the miners out of here—NOW!”

There was no hesitation.

Whatever was coming…

…it was something they weren’t prepared to face.