Chapter 168: Kasa Eternal Frost

  "Wooo—"

  The long horn sound echoed.

  Sunlight pierced through thin clouds, cold winds howled, and the gciers bnketed in white frost shimmered with a piercing brilliance.

  This was the Waha Gcier, known as the "Frozen Forbidden Land" by the world, the region where the frost giants had survived for millennia.

  Within the crevices of the gcier y beds of solid ice, scattered fur garments, bone spears, and crudely crafted stone bdes—the gathering pce of the Eternal Frost tribe.

  The gcier's fissure where the frost giants resided received almost no sunlight during winter. With no crops to grow, they relied on livestock brought back from raids, which they kept for food. They also hunted across the tundra and snow-covered mountains. Outside the ice caves, woolly mammoths and even a few tundra drakes were kept in enclosures.

  "Is that... a horn sound?"

  "By Solrim, that's the Eternal Frost Horn!"

  A frost giant wearing a horned helmet raised his double-edged axe, feeling the resonance in his bloodline, and roared with excitement.

  He was tall and powerfully built, over eight meters high, with gcier-blue skin scarred all over. His pale white beard was like a patch of frost, and his body was wreathed in frost and icicles.

  He was the current chieftain of the Eternal Frost tribe, Kasa the Bonebreaker Eternal Frost.

  Kasa was the tribe’s fiercest and mightiest warrior, in his prime at just over eighty years old. He had once snapped the neck of an adult white dragon with his bare hands, earning the moniker "Bonebreaker," and commanding the admiration of all frost giant warriors.

  Yet, Kasa was troubled—he had not recovered the tribe’s sacred relic, the Eternal Frost Horn.

  The horn had been lost over six hundred years ago, stolen by a shameful traitor known as "the Renegade Dead." Using the relic’s power, the traitor fled to the south and ultimately sided with humans.

  It was worth noting that frost giants, in their natural state, had an average lifespan of just over two hundred thirty years.

  Over these six centuries, nine chieftains had come and gone. Despite constant small-scale raids and thirteen major invasions—so-called "Frost Disasters"—the Eternal Frost tribe had failed to recover the sacred relic, a symbol of their ancestors’ glory.

  The Eternal Frost tribe now numbered 532 adult frost giants. Over the years, they had nearly exhausted the resources of the great gcier. Kasa had pnned to mobilize the entire tribe for an invasion ten years ter, but the Eternal Frost Horn had unexpectedly been blown.

  "This is too important."

  "I need to consult Elder Noor."

  Kasa ventured to the deepest part of the ice cave, to its most secluded and frigid area, where a special frost giant resided.

  Even the usually brash Kasa restrained his excitement, cautiously asking:

  "Elder Noor, is it time?"

  "Yes."

  "We shall recim the relic and restore our ancestor’s glory."

  The voice was hoarse and deep but carried conviction.

  The frost giant known as Elder Noor was hunched and ancient, his gcier-blue skin etched with strange runes that closely resembled those on the Eternal Frost Horn.

  Noor was the tribe’s shaman—Noor Woodenstaff Eternal Frost. Rumored to be 374 years old, he had lived through the reign of five chieftains and personally participated in six southern invasions. He was the most revered frost giant in the tribe, said to communicate with Solrim, the long-silent frost giant god.

  Leaning on his wooden staff, Noor shakily stood, his eyes closed, and extended a hand as if sensing the chill in the air.

  "I can feel it."

  "The power of the Eternal Frost Horn is calling to me."

  "It is the call of our ancestors. The great Kobal Eternal Frost is summoning us."

  Kasa was ecstatic, his hands trembling as he gripped his double-edged axe. The tribe’s centuries-old dream was about to be realized. He would become the most accomplished chieftain in a millennium.

  "This is wonderful, Elder Noor!"

  "I will rally the tribe and wage war against the southern humans to recim our relic! This time, I will erase our disgrace and restore the glory of our ancestor Kobal!"

  Noor softly echoed:

  "Yes, the tribe has waited far too long..."

  "But..."

  The aged frost giant, weathered by countless years, closed his eyes again. He trembled slightly as if witnessing a horrifying vision.

  "I see... a camity. A fated camity."

  "A camity?"

  Kasa was puzzled.

  Noor frowned deeply, pondering for a moment before replying slowly:

  "Yes, a camity. I do not know what this omen signifies. It may be humans, a dragon, or something else entirely."

  Kasa ughed heartily, casually slinging his double-edged axe over his shoulder, exuding confidence as he said:

  "Elder Noor, you worry too much."

  "For us, there is no camity. We frost giants are the 'Frost Disaster' that the southerners fear. Even a dragon would have its neck snapped by my hands."

  His eyes gleamed with unwavering confidence.

  "We bring disaster to others. No one dares to bring disaster to us!"

  "Let’s hope so."

  Noor offered no further comment, allowing his frost giant attendants to assist him as he shakily made his way out.

  "Kasa, since you’ve decided, inform the tribe. The southern humans have enjoyed peace for far too long. Another holy conquest is about to begin, and this will be your first as chieftain."

  "Yes, Elder Noor."

  Unlike the seasoned Noor’s composed demeanor, Kasa was exuberant, barely containing his excitement.

  A successful rge-scale raid by frost giants often yielded spoils that sted decades. For a tribe surviving in the barren gcier, such opportunities were precious and symbolic of a chieftain’s achievements.

  "Recim the Eternal Frost Horn!"

  "Kill and plunder all the southern humans!"

  Standing atop the gcier, Kasa raised his double-edged axe with one arm and shouted loudly.

  Below, hundreds of frost giants lifted their assorted weapons, roaring and howling with fervor.

  While the frost giants desired to restore their ancestor’s glory, they seemed more eager to kill and loot the wealthy southern humans.

  Pilging was etched into the bones of the frost giants. Unlike their kind-hearted cloud and storm giant kin, the frost giants, born in ice and snow, viewed strength as everything.

  "I will lead the tribe to recim the Eternal Frost Horn and take back all that was once ours."

  "Everything in our way will be crushed!"

  Kasa the Bonebreaker Eternal Frost looked down at his frenzied tribe, gripping his double-edged axe tightly, silently vowing to himself.

  FALCON-N