A solid layer of ice was spreading across the beast's ribs. Goeh' felt dread as he observed the beast ignore the growing ice. The black metallic skin, lean body, and burning eyes made the blue ice stand out.

Goeh's movements quickened, surpassing his previous speed. He stood directly before the beast, and the two broke into a violent exchange of blows and swings. Three strikes from Goeh' found their mark on the beast's left leg. Not pushing his luck, he retreated, narrowly evading a devastating kick.

"My ice is working. I need to wait for it to finish connecting," Goeh' thought quietly. He maintained a safe distance from the beast.

Four Great Iron Tonovians teleported next to Goeh, ready to assist. The beast paid no attention to the newcomers, focusing solely on Goeh'.

Before it could take a step, the two layers of ice on its body connected, creating an explosive ice blast that froze the beast. It was imprisoned in a giant crystal of deep blue ice, which was slowly expanding.

Goeh' approached the frozen beast and placed his hand upon it. Then, he waved toward his high post, causing himself and the captive to teleport.

After Goeh' had teleported, one of the four Great Irons said. "Our Great Father said it would be an army one-tenth our size, yet with the power to annihilate us,"

Another Great Iron, the youngest of the four, added, "Something's wrong. I witnessed one of those creatures effortlessly slaughter six Great Bronze Tonovians. It's as if it wanted to be captured. "

As they discussed the strangeness of the attack. A flashing light from the seventh high post caught the attention of the four Great Irons. A swinging noise filled the air in their distraction, followed by four heads hitting the ground. The last thing the four Great Irons saw was their headless bodies collapsing to the ground.

Meanwhile, the seventh high post where Goeh' had taken the frozen beast was surrounded by charred bodies of fallen Tonovians. The survivors, their injuries and burns so, were grave; they screamed, wishing for death.

The stone monolith that served as the heart of the seventh high post was replaced by a giant crater. Pieces of the stone monolith were visible among the scattered rubble.

A short distance from the crater stood a dome-like structure made of ice, its surface marred with cracks. The dome purposefully collapsed, and Goeh' emerged, wearing a bewildered expression.

His amber eyes, once resembling his brethren's, had transformed into an icy blue. He was clutching an empty pouch. "Please, Father, grant your son Goeh' Tahleow the strength to atone for his sins," he whispered.

After dropping the empty pouch, his gaze fixed upon the beast, no longer imprisoned by ice.

The beast regarded him with scornful mockery. It began emitting an eerie sound from the rows of etched-on teeth. It sounded like someone hyperventilating.

Goeh's face became as cold as his ice. "So, you can laugh? Good, this means you can experience pain as well!"

****

(MOMENTS BEFORE)

****

After one of Goeh's subordinates teleported him and the beast back to the high post, six subordinates armed with stone spears swiftly apprehended the creature.

Although completely frozen, the beast surveyed its surroundings. It quickly focused on the stone monolith.

Suddenly, the gem embedded on the beast's forehead emitted a low, escalating pitch, followed by sparks that spread through the ice. In a flash, electric arcs enveloped the ice sculpture the beast was imprisoned in.

The ice casing shattered from the jolts of electricity.

Goeh urgently shouted, "Quickly, kill it now! No matter what, do not allow it near the Relic Stone!" his men promptly stabbed their spears into the creature's freed body. Six spears penetrated the fifteen-foot beast, but their efforts failed to slow its progress.

Everyone looked in horror as the beast approached a fear-stricken bald Tonovian. The beast extended a finger, pointing it directly at the defenseless man until its sharp fingernail made contact with his bald head.

An electric explosion sent blood and brain matter all over the ground upon contact.

The sight of their brethren's horrifying execution ignited a rage within the bald Tonovians. Without any caution, they charged at the beast. But, their assault proved futile. The beast moved with such blinding speed that all they saw was a blur.

In a flash, a mound of exploded and charred corpses filled the ground—the sickening stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

Goeh', witnessing the savage and swift slaughter of his men, whispered in despair, "Oh, Father, what have I brought?"

The beast shook off the spears that had pierced and made its way directly in front of the Relic stone, gradually raising its hand as more than ten Tononovian soldiers encircled it.

"No! Get away from the Relic Stone! Run!" Goeh' shouted desperately to the attacking Tonovians. But his warning came too late as the beast placed its hand on the stone monolith.

In a desperate act, Goeh' emptied his pouch of crystal stones into his mouth and placed his hands on the ground.

An explosion of such intensity followed that the ensuing light momentarily distracted the four Great Iron Tonovians by the mother lake.

The handful of Tonovian soldiers surrounding the beast were instantly incinerated, and even those who had heeded Goeh's plea and sought cover suffered horrific injuries.

Amidst the devastation, Goeh' stood unscathed, the sole Tonovian in the seventh high post unharmed. A colossal dome of blue ice slowly collapsed around him.

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He could see the beast charging towards him at full speed.

After swallowing the remaining blue crystal, Goeh, faster than ever, retaliated by charging at the beast.

The beast had learned from its previous encounter with Goeh and evaded direct hits, keeping an arms' distance.

Despite his fury, Goeh' remained composed as he raised his hand, causing the frosted dome behind him to condense rapidly into a magnificent azure spear.

Summoning all his strength, he hurled the spear towards the beast. The spear moved with such speed that it was a brilliant flash of blue light.

The spear struck the creature's chest with such force that fragments of its metallic-like flesh scattered across the ground. An injury of such magnitude would have instantly caused the life of most Tonovians.

Though visibly damaged, the beast appeared unfazed by the colossal ice spear impaling its chest.

Seeing the spear penetrating its chest, the beast lifted its arm to remove it. Before it could pull it out, Goeh' extended his right hand and made a fist, and in an instant, his azure spear exploded, transforming the beast into a crystal of solid ice multiple times more dense than his first attack. Every atom of the beast down to the molecule had been flash-frozen.

Goeh opened his right hand, and the ice shattered, dispersing the beast into a frosty mist that swiftly reformed into Goeh's azure spear. All that remained of the beast were remnants of flesh that had been scattered when the spear had impaled it.

Gradually, more bald Tonovian soldiers emerged from the reserves of the nearby sixth high post, their eyes reflecting a mixture of grief and an ignited passion for fighting.

Meanwhile, ten beasts like the one Great Iron Goeh' had just finished killing crawled out from the mother lake.

The beast that had nearly decimated the seventh high post was teleported there by Goeh'.

No longer trying to take any prisoners, the arriving beasts were met with a relentless barrage of beams, possessing enough power to obliterate even their near-indestructible bodies. As they took a few down, more beasts emerged from the lake.

Unlike the one Goeh's had faced, these beasts lacked the jewel on their foreheads.

The remaining eleven high posts unleashed the might of their monolith stones without relenting. Within a minute, wave after wave of beasts was eradicated, leaving behind an expanse of scattered metal flesh and causing the water to take on a silver-like hue.

Goeh' departed in an attempt to communicate with the Father of Fathers.

In the ruins of the seventh high post, an eight-foot, slender, bald Tonovian wielding a broadsword was speaking to another bald Tonovian.

"Did you see the eyes of Great Iron Goeh'? When a Tonovian's body becomes overwhelmed with ancestral essence, the first sign is a low glow in their eyes. The next stage is..." His words were abruptly cut off by a horrifying shriek that pierced the air.

Almost at the same time, another bald Tonovian collapsed to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.

A concerned friend rushed to his side, lifting his head and attempting to calm him. "Taiyou', what's happening? Just relax, focus on your breathing," his friend reassured him. To the friend's dismay, the foam from Taiyou's mouth quickly turned red, and the convulsions ceased.

Realizing that Taiyou' had passed away, his friend sorrowfully cried over Taiyou's body.

As he grieved, the friend felt a deep pain emanating from his stomach, causing his entire body to weaken and grow cold. Opening his eyes, he discovered a pale blue arm penetrating his abdomen. The hand pulled out a heap of intestines.

The hand belonged to his friend, Taiyou'. "Why?" the bald Tonovian asked before dying.

In seconds, the Tonovians near the seventh high post engaged in a harrowing battle against their deceased brethren.

"Don't touch the silver areas on the ground!" one of them shouted, only to have his head mercilessly cleaved with a broadsword.

In Goeh's absence, a young Tonovian had assumed command of the area around the seventh high post.

Unlike the other bald Tonovians of the seventh high post, he had medium-length hair and a slightly darker shade of blue.

"High Iron, Aiyal', those who have turned possess even greater strength than before their demise. Our forces are being decimated. Please grant the bronze Legions permission to use our Ancestral Essence to eliminate the infected. The situation is spiraling out of control." A bald warrior implored him.

"No! Those capable of harnessing ancestral essence must conserve it. Besides, we have an abundance of raw essence; look around." High Iron Aiyal responded firmly.

With those words, High Iron Aiyal' picked up a fragment from the base of the shattered stone monolith and consumed it, tapping into a raw form of ancestral essence. Although it didn't awaken a Will for them, it momentarily boosted their durability and strength.

The citadel of Tonovia, high in the cave, remained unscathed from its first attack in generations.

Usto' Tinneus, the Father of Fathers, had observed the relentless onslaught of beasts mercilessly slain by the citadel's most potent defenses, their mineral technology.

Beside him stood a female Tonovian with a firm yet composed voice.

She addressed him as an equal. "These Rakh-ahtan beasts are different. They lack the jewel on their foreheads and appear about a foot smaller."

With a calculating expression, she looked out the window. "Their blood has tainted our mother lake. Our enemy has meticulously planned their assault. We must gather all the children and women; our homeland is gone."

Before they could finish his conversation, a royal guard interrupted their conversation.

The royal guard bowed respectfully to the woman and Usto. "Father, Lady Geova' Murellus, the 7th high post has been obliterated. Great Iron Goeh is standing outside and requests an audience with you. You should also know that young Great Iron Goeh is experiencing ancestral flooding."

Usto' looked over to Geova', but neither said a word.

As the royal guard left the room, Great Iron Goeh entered. His pale blue skin matched the glowing light in his eyes. Usto felt a pain in his heart seeing his beloved nephew in such a state.

Usto' remembered Goeh' as a young boy with bright white hair. As kids, Asoto' and Goeh' were inseparable. Now, Goeh was a man at death's door.

Before falling to his knees, Goeh' mentioned the need to focus their defenses around the stone monoliths. Usto listened intently.

Geova' looked at Goeh' with sympathy before walking over to him. “Sadly, your uncle has failed you, poor child. If only you knew that there is no hope of winning the battle, we are fighting.” She said loud enough for Usto' to hear her.

Goeh' started drifting into unconsciousness in the hands of Usto'.

Geova' reached into her pocket, pulling out a pouch that contained a fine sand with streaks of silver. Gathering some of the fine sand, Geova' lifted Goeh’s head and poured the sand into his mouth.

“This is something I have been working on for a long time,” she said. The sand quickly went into effect, absorbing the overabundance of Ice Will in Goeh's body. The light emanating from his eyes slowly began to dissipate.

After helping Goeh, ' Geova' left Father of Father's chamber but only after reminding Usto that there was no winning the war; there was only a tiny chance of survival.

Usto' called for a royal guard to take Goeh' to the infirmary, assured he would recover.

"There is no option left. I have to awaken the sleeping warriors of Tonovia; I hope Great Diamond, Deiusus' Murellus, has gotten the sleep he needs." Usto' pondered the uncertain future of Tonovia's home. All he could do was place his hope in Loh' and Asoto,' recognizing that their only chance of saving the citadel rested in their hands.