Chapter 135 On Thin Ice
“Aahh… a-ahaha…”
“Keep going…”
“There’s no other way—we have to cross…”
Goka and Moto finally reached the far western side of the island. Snow was falling fast now—thick, heavy flakes—and the cold was creeping deep into everyone’s bones.
“The frontier must be close…” Goka muttered, breath sharp and white. “If we can reach elven territory… maybe they’ll give us asylum.”
They turned back.
The strongest were carrying the weakest and the small children, trying to shield them from the wind.
Before them stretched the half-frozen lake, a thin, fragile sheet of ice forming over its surface.
Moto crouched and touched the ice. Then he eased a foot onto it… then another… step by careful step. “It’s holding,” he said. “We need to move quickly.”
Above them, Orn hovered in the air, keeping silent watch over the group.
One of the freed demihumans—still trembling from years of slavery—spoke up, voice shaking.
“Sir… w-will it hold all of us?”
The others looked around anxiously, shivering as the freezing wind cut through them.
“It doesn’t matter,” Moto said firmly. “It’s this… or the demon. We move now. Spread out—don’t bunch together. Follow .” He stepped forward again, slow and steady, walking out onto the frozen lake.
The rest followed.
Goka ca right behind him, carrying Katherine in her arms.
The elephant-man, Elr, trudged after them—Christina slumped against his back, several children clinging to his hands and to each other, trying to spread their weight across the ice.
Beside him walked Pak, the boar-man, guiding even more children, keeping them close as he carefully pulled them across the frozen surface.
“Everything’s gonna be okay, kids… keep going,” he rumbled, his hoarse voice steady despite the fear shaking all of them.
The children clung to their rescuers, trembling as the cold wind swept across the ice.
One of the freed demihumans spoke up, voice shaking.
“What if the great Tatook cos from the lake…? Y-you know he attacks anything that enters the water…”
The thin cat-man’s tail puffed as he shuffled behind the group.
“Keep going,” Goka said. “It’s now or never, buddy.”
The group advanced slowly but surely, through the coldest night any of them had ever felt.
They could barely see—the moon suddenly hid behind a wall of clouds, plunging the lake into darkness.
Suddenly, a trembling vibration ran under their feet.
A sharp crack echoed across the lake.
“Shit,” Moto cursed. “Advance! Move, move!”
If it were just us, we’d be off this lake already…
He pushed forward, guiding everyone as the ice scread beneath them.
Crack… crack…
Thick fractures crawled across the surface, splitting outward like hungry veins.
“I can see the shore!” soone shouted. “We’re close!”
Moto felt the imminent break beneath him—no more ti.
He lunged, slipped behind Goka, and shoved her hard toward the shore.
He did the sa to Elr and Pak, the closest ones he could reach.
Then the lake finally gave way.
Orn dove into the water with a sharp screech, grabbing a couple of the falling people and lifting them into the air as the ice split apart.
The frozen surface collapsed with a deafening roar, and everyone still on it plunged into the freezing water.
Splash.
The ones Moto had thrown slid across the remaining ice and tumbled onto the shore just as the lake swallowed the rest.
Goka spun back.
“MOTO!” she shouted.
A flash of white cut through the darkness—followed a heartbeat later by a sharp whip-crack that split the air.
A long, flowing white line shot across the lake, stretching impossibly far toward the sinking group, bending and winding like a living thing.
A man in black landed in front of them, boots sliding across the ice. Goka’s eyes went wide.
“Didn’t ya say you were super strong with your weapons and armor, buff girl?”
Iryoku grinned, bracing himself as he tightened his grip on the white rope. His energy flared to life—and with a violent pull, the line snapped backward, dragging every drowning person toward shore.
Goka rushed over, gently lowering Katherine to the ground so she could help.
Elr and Pak grabbed onto Iryoku from behind, adding their strength so he wouldn’t be yanked into the lake.
“Ahhhhhh—!”
Orn swooped down too, dropping the last rescued people onto solid ground.
Finally, the entire group slid across the ice and collapsed onto the shore.
Moto staggered upright, soaked and shaking, and stared at Iryoku.
Iryoku stepped forward, helping people to their feet.
“Keep going—this isn’t over.”
A deep crack and distant roar echoed from far to the east, making everyone freeze and turn toward the sound.
“What, you think I killed that demon?” Iryoku snorted. “Keep dreaming. Go, go!”
They pushed onward toward the forest line—
when a chorus of growls rose from between the trees.
“Fucking hell…” Iryoku readied himself to fight—
—but Moto grabbed his arm. “Wait! It’s our people!”
Lights burst from the forest as the sounds of wolves and beasts echoed out.
Hundreds of riders erged—humans mounted on massive wolves, and demihumans charging beside them on huge rams and towering deer. Their armor was battered, weapons stained; they had clearly been fighting before reaching this place.
A thin man with long, curved horns dismounted from a ram.
“Ligero!” Moto and Goka shouted at the sa ti.
Their friend—the gazelle-man—ran toward them, relief and exhaustion written all over his face.
Behind him, Iryoku recognized several warriors arriving on their mounts: a lion-man, a horse-man, a pair of elves, a couple of dwarves, a massive bear-man, and even that tall, skinny, shady-looking guy.
They were just about to speak—
—but Iryoku cut them all off, waving his arms sharply. “Great reunion, yeah, but MOVE! Take everyone and RUN—there’s still a demon lurking nearby!”
Moto didn’t waste a second.
“Let’s go! Escape!”
The freed slaves began climbing onto the mounts, pulled up by the riders as quickly as possible.
Then—
CRASH!
Another explosion shook the ground.
Iryoku turned just in ti to see sothing massive hurtling out of the lake.
A gigantic crocodile-like monster head slamd into the shore—
decapitated, jaw shattered, skull crushed and spilling blood across the ice.
THUD!
A second explosion followed as sothing else heavy hit the ground.
Raksha’latrex burst from beneath the lake monts later, landing behind the corpse. She was breathing hard, her towering body still radiating terrifying strength.
She had no visible injuries—but she looked tired.
“This bitch is persistent,” Iryoku growled.
He leaped in to strike—
but froze mid-attack as Orn flashed past him, soaring upward before unleashing a piercing, wind-shredding screech straight at the demon.
Raksha’latrex staggered back, enraged.
“Stupid creature!”
Suddenly, a fire-infused arrow slamd into her scaled armor—
and exploded.
It barely scratched her.
She even looked like it energized her for a mont.
Iryoku shouted, “She’s weak to frost magic! Nothing else—only frost!”
Only the archers and mages trained in frost answered the call—Ligero at the front, his arrow already glowing with icy light.
They reacted instantly.
Cold-blue magic surged across the battlefield, swirling like miniature storms in the dark.
They fired in unison—
CRAAASH!
The frozen blasts slamd into Raksha’latrex, forcing a guttural growl out of her as real pain surged through her chest.
“GRRWWWL!”
She roared—
a violent surge of magic burst from her, sending a shockwave ripping in all directions, a chilling wave that stabbed into every living being around her.
Warriors scrambled to finish loading the freed slaves, fleeing into the forest as fast as they could.
Only a few remained—
Goka still held unconscious Katherine, pushing her onto a ram ridden by Bolo—the sa bear-man who had fought alongside Iryoku in the tournant.
“Now go, Bolo! Take the boss sowhere safe!” Goka barked.
“Wait—don’t go, Miss Goka! It’s dangerous!” Bolo protested, worry twisting his round face.
But Goka was already sprinting back toward the battlefield, her entire body flaring with power.
Bolo turned to his skinny, shady-looking friend, Cray—who was mounting another ram.
“Take the boss with you. I’ll stay with her.”
Cray nodded, grabbed Katherine, and rode off to escape with the others.
Iryoku was already inside the demon’s range, circling to the side.
Where are my girls? I thought they’d be with Katherine’s people… damn it, now I’m getting worried.
“Hey, Queen Bitch! You really are persistent! I’m still right here—healthy as ever! Co take a piece of !”
Raksha’latrex flared all four arms, each coated in crackling black energy, even as more spells and arrows rained down on her.
Her demonic magic erupted outward—
BOOOOOM!
Iryoku leapt back as a massive crater tore the ground apart in every direction.
He glanced toward the evacuees and saw a group of warriors still firing from the edge of the forest.
Goka and Moto were already dashing back toward him.
Behind them, Bolo charged with his giant axe raised high—
all of them joining the assault.
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