The Tempest of Hope
Kyou Ventos stared at the endless wave of monsters, his heart heavy with frustration.
He had found them again—the ones who kept harassing him, the ones who always instilled that unpleasant feeling.
But he could not strike them down himself.
So, go on. Tear them apart, you beasts.
He had already cleared the area and evacuated the refugees with the minimal soldiers, setting up a rear guard to hold the line against the monsters.
The monsters were mostly low-tier ones—wolves and goblins, the kind that should not even survive in the harsh north.
Yet seeing them gathered like this, the tension gripped his entire body.
“Young Master, it would be better if you left with the refugees as well.”
Dickson, the captain assigned to him by his father, had advised him, but Kyou shook his head.
If I abandon my soldiers and run like a coward, Father will kill me.
“Haha, even a count would understand that.”
They bantered lightly, but as the monsters closed in on the narrow street, tension surged among the soldiers.
Too many. Far too many.
“Hold until the reinforcements arrive! Or until all the refugees are safely evacuated! Brace yourselves!”
“Yes, sir!”
Every soldier gripped their weapons and shields tighter, ready to face the horde.
Please, let the request for aid arrive quickly.
Emilia Silvrate ran.
The target was the distant Ariandrod Fortress, the mission to deliver the news and request reinforcements.
Emilia had stepped forward without hesitation, claiming the role herself.
From childhood, Emilia had been weaker in physical strength and combat skills than her peers, but her speed was unmatched.
Above all, she wanted to help her hometown village and her territory.
“A little longer… a little more…!”
At first she had summoned her silver wolf, Vent, to ride him, but Vent lacked the mana to carry her for such a long distance and was unsummoned midway.
Still, they had reduced the distance significantly, so she continued on foot.
Luckily, no sign of pursuit from the monsters.
She had run until her breath came in gasps, but only a little farther to Ariandrod Fortress.
She would report the situation and request aid.
Kyaaah!
Suddenly, a monstrous roar echoed.
Emilia spun around in surprise, and a massive creature appeared in her vision.
A snow troll, one of the monsters native to the northern forests.
She had been relieved, thinking they had left the forest.
Unable to fight with her depleted mana, Emilia kept running.
She had already spotted Emilia, and the snow troll chased her with terrifying speed, far too quick for its huge body.
But Emilia was just a little faster.
Despite the fear, she felt a flicker of relief. If she reached the fortress like this…
But that relief was misplaced. Emilia felt her body sway.
Her balance tilted.
“Impossible… I’m almost there!!”
Feeling the cold of the snowy ground beneath her, Emilia sighed inwardly.
If she failed here, her family, the refugees, and Young Master Kyou, who was fighting alongside the soldiers, would all be in danger…
Just as she tried to rise, the thunderous footsteps of the massive creature sounded right behind her.
Caught.
Emilia braced to dodge, but the ground shook again.
“Get down!!”
At the same time, a gust of wind whistled over her.
Kyaaaah!
A monster’s scream rang out simultaneously. Emilia tumbled across the ground several times before scrambling to her feet.
Two figures stood confronting the monster.
“A snow troll… Why did it appear from the forest?”
A black-haired youth had drawn his sword and faced the creature.
“Hmph. This is my blood wind’s sacrifice.”
Behind him, a girl with greenish-silver hair struck an unusual pose.
They must be reinforcements!
Emilia cried out.
“I-I’m Emilia from the refugee village! I’m being attacked by a large-scale monster horde during evacuation and need aid…!”
As soon as she finished, both youths’ expressions changed.
The black-haired boy’s face turned grim.
“Damn it. Then we’d better finish quickly… Kino, let’s wrap this up fast.”
“Leave it to me!!”
The battle ended far too quickly.
Too brutal, but it was effective.
“Next time, let’s talk first.”
The girl with greenish-silver hair assumed an odd pose and obliterated the snow troll with a single spell.
…Had the black-haired boy not rolled aside in time, he would have been swept away by the spell’s force.
“I calculated that you could dodge it. That’s why I used it, Astar.”
“Shut up.”
Emilia called out to the two.
“Thank you… I’m so grateful!!”
“No need to thank us. It was only natural. But… you really are being attacked by monsters during evacuation?”
“Yes! Yes!! The soldiers are leading the refugees, and Young Master is holding the line with the remaining soldiers.”
“Eh…? Oppa?!”
The girl’s usual humble tone suddenly shifted to a casual one.
“Huh…? You… aren’t you…?”
“I’m Astar Ventos, the second son of the count’s house. The one with the weird posture is my sister Kino Ventos.”
“What? Oppa, are you okay? You’re fine, right?!”
Kino Ventos rushed forward eagerly, but Astar Ventos stopped her.
“Calm down, Kino. Big brother won’t die that easily.”
“…Sorry.”
“We need to organize reinforcements quickly. The soldiers left in the fortress aren’t many, but better than nothing.”
Emilia watched the noble youths quickly devise a plan.
She felt her body relax with relief.
“You two are fine! You don’t seem hurt…”
Then, another voice reached her.
Emilia’s depleted body regained its strength. That voice was familiar.
“You’re not the one being chased… Eh? Emilia?”
“Riel…”
It was Riel Ignis, her classmate from the academy who had become friends during the journey.
She had spotted Emilia and was running toward her.
Emilia felt a wave of relief, but the shocked expression on Riel’s face reminded her: she had completely forgotten to hide her wolf ears and tail.
How much time had passed while fighting entangled with the monsters?
Over an hour, yet not a single soldier had died.
An unbelievable situation, yet possible.
Why do these monsters only target me?
“Protect the Young Master!!”
The monsters ignored the soldiers and charged straight at Emilia, while the soldiers fought desperately to shield him.
She had been injured while protecting him, but the direct blows had all come to her, sparing her a fatal wound.
Kyou felt wretched.
“Hyaaaah!!”
A goblin charging from the side was impaled by a soldier’s spear and fell dead.
Far away, a forest troll roared as it charged straight at him, only to be pierced by arrows and javelins.
…He never expected to see forest trolls here when the north should have snow trolls.
“Don’t underestimate the regeneration of trolls! Finish them off completely…”
“No, Young Master. Look over there.”
At Dickson’s words, Kyou looked again at the troll’s corpse.
Nothing of its regeneration remained.
“Frozen. In this cold, its regeneration is useless.”
…That made sense. That’s why there were snow trolls.
And the same applied to other monsters.
Most monsters from the north could not adapt to the cold, becoming sluggish and dying from freezing.
Kyou and the soldiers wore fur-lined armor, yet the cold was unbearable. What about the monsters themselves?
Still, they had attacked in numbers.
Why were so many monsters converging like this?
They would die from exhaustion, not from the monsters’ hands.
Especially the shield-bearers looked gravely fatigued.
“Repel the enemy while holding the line!”
As the refugees were evacuated, they repeatedly retreated and defended.
But the movement gradually slowed.
His own stamina was running out.
Honestly, how much longer could he hold out?
Maybe not much longer before casualties appeared.
That was when…
“Damn! Why is that bastard here?!”
A massive body appeared with a thunderous crash.
An ogre.
Fortunately, it was not a variant like the prison ogre of the north, but its destructive power was beyond what a normal soldier with a shield could block.
Still, since it was not adapted to the north, its sluggish movements were even more so.
They were all exhausted.
They would suffer heavy losses. A couple of casualties would be acceptable.
Then, a mana fluctuation was felt.
“Eh…?”
It was no ordinary fluctuation.
The kind of mana movement seen when casting wide-area magic.
Some soldiers who knew about magic also noticed, their expressions changing.
But the fluctuation was shooting toward the enemy from behind them.
“Reinforcements!!”
One soldier shouted.
Thank goodness. The reinforcements had arrived.
Just as he relaxed, the mana movement grew even larger.
Wait, isn’t this…
Not a normal wide-area spell, but the mana of someone casting a high-tier magic spell.
Realizing the spell’s identity from the immense mana flow, Kyou shouted immediately.
“Evacuate! Get everyone out now!! These damn monsters… the so-called reinforcements…!”
“…Let the howling gale roar… With a rageful momentum to cut down my enemies mercilessly…”
“I knew it!”
At the same time, a long, unnecessary magical chant sounded.
Yeah, with so many monsters gathered, he must have been itching to use it.
But if you use it wrong, the soldiers will get hurt too, kid.
“Everyone evacuate!!”
The soldiers, sensing the gravity in his voice, evacuated without hesitation, forgetting their exhaustion.
Among them, the synchronized, collision-free evacuation was impressive.
He never imagined the training from his father’s soldiers would shine here.
“Tear down the enemies with the storm of judgment! Tempest!!”
The completed spell mercilessly destroyed the monsters.
The high-tier wind grand magic, Tempest.
It conjured a colossal swirling vortex of wind blades to annihilate entire enemy forces.
A wide-range storm spell with enormous power and range. Kyou had been interested, but he had given up due to the ridiculously long chant and the massive mana consumption.
Yet it was a spell with true romance, so the youth had studied it earnestly.
And thanks to the absurdly talented talent inherited from his mother, he had mastered it.
“Kinooo!! You really…!”
“Hahahahaha!!! You pathetic monsters! Soak your blood in the pure white land!!”
Her face pale from sudden mana depletion, Kino Ventos still wore a satisfied smile as she shouted from afar.