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Day eight was the beginning of a small hell. The frozen morning brought no relief. There was no gentle breeze, only a clinging cold like a curse. Monsters began attacking not just at night, but in the morning and evening. There was no longer any definite pattern. They came like a storm that gave no respite to catch one's breath. I hadn't slept more than two hours a day. Every night I spent in the tallest watchtower, staring at the lines of trees that sometimes moved... sometimes just shadows. I began to recognize unusual leaf movements, the sound of snow cracking too lightly. I lived in total alert.
Day nine, we lost eight people. Three frontline soldiers, one archer, and four scouts who never returned. One of them was Daro, the head scout who had once questioned my participation in patrols. His body was found the next day, half-frozen, eyes still open, hand clutching a clump of ice. I stared at his body for a long time. Then I said to everyone gathered in the emergency morgue: "Daro died not as an Argwager servant. He died as a protector of humanity. We are all here not to guard the family name. We are guarding the homes and children living behind our walls. Do not let his death be in vain." From that moment on, the atmosphere changed. No soldier questioned my age anymore. No one talked about me in whispers. They called me Commander.
...
Day ten to fifteen was a nightmare. Class B monsters began to appear. A Snow Warg—a giant three-eyed white wolf—breached the west side of the fortress with unexpected speed. Two layers of defense collapsed. Fifteen people were seriously wounded. Four died before healing potions could be administered. I went down directly. Unleashed three major spells at once. Wind to slow its movements, fire to guide it, and illusions to lure it away from the center. I managed to trap it in an ice trap—a simple trap we had set since day three. But this monster... was not a foolish creature. It pretended to be trapped. Then, as the troops approached, it self-destructed in a wave of ice magic that enveloped everything around it. I lost my hearing for an hour. But finally, we managed to bring it down with a combination of lightning magic from Lugen and a precise stab to the neck that I performed myself. My body trembled as I stood over its carcass. Not because of victory. But because I knew... this was not the end.
...
Day sixteen to eighteen, we began to see a change. Soldiers who were once reluctant to obey now reported without being asked. Patrol squads began to take initiative. Even the archers began to create their own fire signal system behind the towers. "You changed them," Lugen said as we stood on the ramparts one night. "I just didn't give them a choice." "That's what a leader does." I looked at him, and for the first time, he smiled.
Day nineteen was when we decided to evacuate. The wave of monsters hadn't stopped. But we knew, staying in this place meant allowing civilians to remain in danger. I gathered the village chiefs, guards, and supporting mages. "In three days, we will evacuate. The southern route will be opened. I will lead the convoy directly. Lugen and the frontline troops will remain to guard the northern side." There was no sound of refusal. Everyone was tired. But everyone also knew that if we had to survive, we had to keep moving.
Day twenty... was the quietest day. Because it was the night before evacuation. And everyone knew, when we moved, the monsters would try to finish us off. I stood outside the tent that night, staring at the overcast sky. Aurelia appeared suddenly. She came as a deliverer of potions and direct reports from the palace. But I knew she didn't come because of orders.
"You look like a fifty-year-old man," she said. I didn't answer. "Alex," she said, grasping my hand, "if you die here... I will burn down the entire valley."
I turned to her. "I won't die. I have eleven children I need to protect in the future." She chuckled softly, then hugged me. And that night, I slept for three full hours. For the first time in two weeks.
Tomorrow,we move.