The Balant Fortress.
A wall of stone and steel, stretching across the border where the northern territories meet the demon tribes' land—the Drazroth Empire. For centuries it had stood like a clenched fist against the tide, an impregnable bulwark that turned back invasion after invasion.
And now, that was where I was headed.
"Do you understand?" Alice's voice rang beside me, bright with a pride only a northerner could carry. "The place we're going to isn't just a fortress—it's the pride of the North itself."
Perhaps it was because the march was long and monotonous, but she seemed unusually talkative. Step by step, wrapped in her words, I began to picture the fortress through her eyes.
"Having your first real battle there… it's truly an honor, don't you think?"
I swallowed the truth before it could escape my lips.
'Honor, sure. But freezing my bones off in this damned cold doesn't feel like much of one.'
