The expeditionary force advanced cautiously through the frozen wilderness.
Under Hask's guidance, the army followed an ancient beast trail barely visible beneath the thin snow. Jagged, wind-eroded stone formations rose around them like the skeletons of dead giants, their surfaces polished smooth by centuries of blizzards.
Then—
The world ahead suddenly broke apart.
A colossal Ice-Rift Canyon tore across the land without warning.
It looked less like a natural formation and more like a hideous scar ripped into the earth by some ancient god-beast. The canyon stretched over a hundred meters wide, its depths vanishing into endless darkness below.
The cliff walls on both sides were sealed beneath layers of crystal-blue ice that reflected ghostly light beneath the pale sky.
Far below, the frozen remains of an ancient river slumbered in silence.
Dark blue.
Bottomless.
Like the pupil of an abyss waiting patiently to devour all life.
"Halt."
Hask's low growl spread instantly through the formation.
The entire expeditionary force stopped at once.
No confusion.
No panic.
Nearly a thousand warriors froze in place with terrifying discipline, becoming one with the snowy wilderness like silent statues carved from ice.
Because everyone felt it.
That aura.
A suffocating pressure surged from the opposite side of the canyon like black smoke rising from hell itself.
Wild.
Savage.
Territorial.
Filled with undisguised hostility.
It was the scent of a predator pack.
And far stronger than anything they had encountered before.
The warriors' instincts screamed warnings inside their minds.
Hunters.
Kings of the snowfield.
Something dangerous was watching them.
"Mo."
Colin's eyes sharpened instantly.
The Wolf King beneath him understood immediately. Without hesitation, Mo burst forward soundlessly like an arrow released from a divine bow, carrying Colin directly to the edge of the canyon.
He did not look downward.
Instead—
His gaze locked onto the opposite side.
And there, upon the snow-covered hillside beyond the rift…
Death revealed itself.
Over eighty Snow Giant Wolves stood silently upon the slope.
No one had seen them arrive.
No footsteps.
No movement.
No warning whatsoever.
It was as if they had materialized directly from the snow itself.
Their pure white fur blended flawlessly into the environment, making them nearly invisible until the exact moment they chose to reveal themselves.
Perfect camouflage.
Perfect predators.
Only their eyes betrayed them.
Dozens upon dozens of cold blue eyes flickered in the storm like ghostly flames, instantly locking onto Colin and the expeditionary force behind him.
Even battle-hardened veterans like Hask and Barton felt their hearts tighten violently.
"Prepare for battle!"
Hask's roar shattered the silence.
SHING!
His massive barbed battle axe came free from his back with a metallic growl.
At the same moment, Barton's Boar-folk warriors moved like a steel fortress coming alive.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Heavy tower shields slammed into the snow one after another, rapidly forming a defensive wall along the canyon's edge.
Behind them, six hundred werewolf warriors lowered their spears simultaneously.
The forest of spearheads tilted forward at a deadly angle, glimmering coldly beneath the gray sky.
Muscles tightened.
Breathing slowed.
Killing intent boiled.
The army waited only for Colin's command to unleash slaughter.
Meanwhile, the Snow Giant Wolves opposite them began moving with terrifying intelligence.
They did not charge recklessly.
They spread outward.
Fast.
Precise.
Methodical.
In moments, they formed a massive semicircular formation around the opposite side of the canyon, trapping the expeditionary force psychologically at the cliff edge.
There were only eighty wolves.
Yet the pressure they radiated felt heavier than an army of thousands.
Low growls rolled continuously from deep within their throats.
The sound echoed through the canyon like ancient war chants.
Tiny ice crystals rained from the frozen cliffs.
And then—
The true king appeared.
At the center of the wolf pack stood an enormous Snow Giant Wolf atop a towering ice-covered rock.
Larger.
Stronger.
Far more imposing than the others.
Its fur was so white it almost vanished completely against the snowy landscape. Its massive body radiated sleek, terrifying strength, every movement filled with the confidence of an apex predator that had ruled this wilderness for years.
Its eyes burned like frozen blue stars.
Majestic.
Cold.
Indifferent.
It looked down upon the expeditionary force the way a god might look upon insects trespassing inside sacred territory.
A true Alpha Wolf.
A ruler of the Snow Kingdom.
Although slightly smaller than Mo, the aura it radiated was terrifying in its own right—a savage dominance accumulated through countless battles and years of survival.
It did not roar.
Did not threaten.
It simply stared.
And when its gaze finally met Mo's—
The world itself seemed to freeze.
Invisible pressure exploded between the two Wolf Kings.
This was not merely eye contact.
It was war.
A confrontation between rulers.
Between instincts.
Between absolute wills.
The air trembled.
The wind weakened.
Even the falling snow seemed hesitant to move.
Every warrior.
Every wolf.
Every living creature present fixed their eyes upon the two kings standing beneath the pale heavens.
The outcome of this encounter would determine the fate of both sides.
Then—
Colin moved.
And once again, he did something no one expected.
He did not draw his weapon.
Did not issue an attack order.
Instead—
He slowly raised one hand.
Stop.
The entire expeditionary force immediately suppressed its killing intent.
Spears remained lowered.
Shields remained raised.
But no one advanced.
The warriors stared in disbelief.
The wolf pack growled threateningly.
Yet Colin ignored everything around him.
Then he stepped calmly down from Mo's back.
The giant Wolf King walked forward alone.
One step at a time.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Each footfall echoed across the canyon like the beating of a war drum.
Colin radiated no killing intent.
No hostility.
He walked toward the wolf pack with the relaxed calmness of someone approaching domesticated animals rather than eighty apex predators.
Yet the moment Mo advanced—
The atmosphere changed completely.
Through the invisible spiritual connection between master and beast, Colin allowed Mo's true aura to spread freely.
Not intimidation.
Not deliberate coercion.
Something far more terrifying.
An absolute suppression born from the level of existence itself.
A superior lifeform.
A true king.
The Slaughter System had transformed Mo beyond the natural limits of its species.
What radiated outward now was not merely strength—
It was dominion.
An invisible pressure swept across the snowfield like a tidal wave.
The Alpha Wolf's aura collided against it for only an instant.
Then shattered completely.
Like a tiny ripple crashing against an endless frozen ocean.
The Snow Giant Wolves grew restless immediately.
Growls became uneasy.
Paws shifted nervously.
Fear spread rapidly through the pack.
Because instinct never lied.
And their instincts were screaming.
The creature before them…
Was something beyond comprehension.
Mo's molten-gold eyes remained calm.
Steady.
Absolute.
The Alpha Wolf, however, began trembling slightly.
It could feel the overwhelming difference.
The monstrous life force hidden beneath that silver-white fur.
A power beyond anything it had ever encountered.
But pride would not allow retreat.
It was a king.
And kings did not kneel easily.
"Awoooooo—!"
The Alpha Wolf suddenly unleashed a furious roar.
A challenge.
A declaration.
A final desperate rebellion against overwhelming dominance.
Then it moved.
BOOM!
The massive wolf exploded forward like white lightning, leaping from the icy rock with terrifying speed.
Its claws sliced through the air.
Its jaws opened wide enough to crush bone instantly.
Everything aimed directly for Mo's throat.
A fatal strike.
Fast enough to kill almost any creature alive.
But unfortunately—
Its opponent was Mo.
The Wolf King moved.
Not wildly.
Not dramatically.
Only slightly.
With terrifying precision, Mo tilted his massive head aside by a fraction.
The Alpha Wolf's killing bite brushed harmlessly past silver fur.
Missed.
And in that single instant—
Mo counterattacked.
BANG!
His enormous shoulder slammed directly into the Alpha Wolf's body.
The impact sounded like a battering ram smashing into fortress gates.
The force was overwhelming.
Absolute.
The Alpha Wolf's massive body flew backward instantly like a stone launched from a siege weapon.
RUMBLE—!
It crashed violently across the snow, rolling uncontrollably while explosions of white powder erupted around it.
When it finally stopped moving, the once-proud Alpha Wolf struggled desperately to rise.
But it could not.
Pain flooded its body.
Fear flooded its instincts.
Its resistance shattered completely beneath the overwhelming gap in power.
In the end—
It could only release a low, pitiful whimper.
The battle had begun in an instant.
And ended in an instant.
One collision.
One strike.
One overwhelming display of absolute dominance.
The Snow Giant Wolf King's pride, resistance, and authority had been crushed utterly beneath Mo's terrifying power.
Silence consumed the canyon once more.
Only the wind remained.
And the weak, unwilling whimpers of the defeated king echoed softly through the frozen abyss.