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Chapter 15 - Wings of Fire in the Storm

The storm was getting worse by the second.

Snow didn't fall anymore—it slammed down, so hard it felt like knives hitting the ground. The wind screamed across the mountain, making it hard to even stand straight. Everything around was covered in white, and the sky above had completely disappeared behind thick grey clouds.

The cold crawled under clothes, biting at skin, sinking into bones like poison. Breathing was painful now—every time air entered the lungs, it felt like swallowing sharp glass.

But even inside that storm, a shadow was moving.

The bird monster cut through the snow like it wasn't even there. Every time its wings flapped, a small wave of heat pushed the snow back for a second, but then the storm covered everything again. Its feathers were still dark red, burned so deep they almost looked black, with faint cracks of glowing light running across them, like something inside was still burning.

The storm howled louder, but the monster didn't care. It flew higher, its sharp eyes scanning below.

The world looked like an endless sea of white now—but it knew they were here somewhere. The two monsters Damiond made before…

The bird monster let out a low, rough screech, its voice getting swallowed by the storm.

At the same time, Damiond was looking through its eyes, while also observing the surroundings of the ant monster. The surroundings were still the same. They were hiding inside a small cave, snow slowly blocking its entrance.

Having two perspectives of the world felt like a weird experience, but surprisingly, it wasn't hard. In fact, it almost felt natural.

Through the bird monster's vision, Damiond recognized the place. It was the same spot where both of his monsters were hiding. But there were also soldiers down there. Their numbers were great—almost two hundred. But nearly half of them were already frozen to death, and the rest were buried under snow.

Damiond couldn't differentiate between aura masters and normal humans. But this looked like a scouting team that failed to make it back to the main camp in time to avoid the snowstorm. Such things were common, so there usually weren't any aura masters among them. And even if there were, they'd be low-ranked aura masters.

After all, normal human lives were expendable. Their deaths didn't mean much to the higher-ups, but every single aura master life counted.

At this point, he ordered the bird monster to attack. He didn't even have to open his mouth—it was as if their minds were connected.

The target was the man in the middle of the group, the one ordering the others around. Looking at his expensive, warm clothes and heavy armor, it was pretty obvious he was the commander… and an aura master.

The monster lunged downward, flames emitting from its body. It was as if a ball of fire was falling from the sky—a salvation for the soldiers freezing to death.

As it landed on the commander, a thick fog covered the area.

The fog cleared, and the soldiers saw the monster sitting on their dead commander.

Some of the soldiers, who had lost their minds from the harsh weather, lunged toward the monster, seeking heat to warm their bodies. But in return, as the monster let out an angry howl, a burst of fire exploded from both its body and mouth, burning all the soldiers to ash in a single moment.

A few more soldiers moved forward, this time more cautious, surrounding the monster.

Looking at them, it was obvious to Damiond that they were aura masters—the only ones left in this group.

As they lunged forward, the monster emitted another wave of fire. It didn't kill them, but it was enough to slow them down for a few moments.

At the same time, a man jumped upward, trying to attack the monster from above.

The monster flipped its wings, releasing a burst of fire as it shot upward, grabbing the soldier with its feet. Flames poured from its body, burning the man to ash in a matter of seconds.

Looking at that, one of the men let out a scream,"Vice Commander…!" he shouted, tightening his fist around his sword.

But he didn't even have time for another thought as fire rushed toward him. All the normal soldiers nearby died in a single breath, turned to ash.

Luckily, he had his shield, protecting him from the flames.

He moved forward, using the smoke produced by the fire as cover. And there he saw it—the monster in front of him.

Seeing it this close, his body shivered, but he didn't let fear control him. He lunged forward, swinging his sword. A small scar opened on the monster's body.

A small smirk appeared on his face as he thought, It's not so unkillable after all.

But his smirk quickly disappeared as he noticed steam rising from the monster's body—the wound sealing itself shut, like it was never there.

His eyes stayed wide with shock. He didn't even realize—the monster had already bitten into his neck.

Watching the best three soldiers of their group die in such a short time, the remaining soldiers—including a few aura masters—retreated.

Damiond could have followed them, but there was some benefit in letting them go. After all, if they came back with backup, it would only help him. His cave was nowhere near this place anyway.

Not to mention, if any of them made it back to their base camp in this condition, their morale would completely collapse.

After all, no soldier truly wanted to die for some arrogant noble.

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