Finally, they arrived. This place was an encampment known to the eyes and ears of many.
It was almost comparable to a small town in size, meaning that this place was akin to a hidden kingdom above the plains of ice and snow.
It was comprised of hundreds of tents, with each one set up with wooden poles and tarp of excellent quality.
This was the renowned abode and camp belonging to one of the seven Commanders under serving the country and its masters, that are, the 'Golden Sun Hall'.
These seven Commanders lead the great army of the Golden Sun Hall and constantly seen preparing and sharpening their blades for battle before it even begins.
And so, this was Frostfall Peak in its entirety, also a famous landmark among these ice plains and snowy mountains.
The Polar Saber Squad entered this very encampment not too long ago, and while most of the soldiers got themselves comfy after the long trip to and fro, Chen and Gabriel were led to the Commander's abode by the captain and vice captain.
"Do you know where he's taking us?!" Gabriel asked Chen, slightly limping behind Vice Captain Harrison like a curious child.
"How would I know…?" Chen responded, speedily catching up with them.
Meanwhile, the sounds of a loud but muffled conversation grew clearer as they approached the especially large tent in the middle of the big encampment.
This specific tent was the Commander's station, and inside it, the Commander seemed to be in deep discussion with a few other voices.
However, the two highly-regarded leaders of an established squad couldn't wait even a second longer for the conversation to finish.
They stepped through the tarp, and swiftly bowed their heads in the Commander's presence.
Although, it seemed some of the other squad captains were also there, and they were the ones talking with him.
"…You two are back already, it seems..." One of the squad captains, Joshua Bach, muttered.
"Indeed. And, we have something to show to you all."
With the Commander's permission, they tossed the dead body of the demonic alpha wolf on the floor in front of them, much to the disgust of Chen and Gabriel.
"We've found evidence of a demonic lord's tampering near the Frostgrave Depths."
"…Ha. What a nuisance..." Commander Luoyang murmured, "Not just a wyvern, but now ai have to worry about a demonic lord becoming involved? Surely this couldn't be the plot of one of the demonic masters…"
A great clamour followed, as the squad captains fell into deeper surprise and confusion.
Meanwhile, Chen and Gabriel watched as this all unfolded.
As the Commander approached the body, he began to frown.
"What, what is it Commander?" Captain Evans asked with intrigue.
"…Hm... it's just that I recognise this darkness, emanating from the corpse of this poor beast."
"You recognise it, sir?" Vice Captain Harrison asked.
"I've fought against multiple demonic lords in the past, after all, so of course I should know a bit about this demonic Qi. Blood Marrow Qi, I call it, that specifically belongs to the Blood Sacrifice Sect. I reckon they gained this type of corrupted power from ritualistic practices and whatnot."
"And so, considering all that, I believe that this type of interference either belongs to Li Shijiang, the Third-in-Command under the Revenant King, or another person of the Ten Priests, a woman who hasn't been seen in recent years."
"I assume she's been plotting up a great scheme somewhere, but I'm not sure where that demonic lord is."
These words came to a great surprise to everyone in the room, including even Gabriel. It was quite insane to think that one of the ten Priests could escape the eyes of a Commander.
"But, I have to ask: did this beast have this demonic aura surrounding it when it was still alive? Or was it unleashed when it died?"
"It obtained this aura while I was in the midst of fighting it."
"Interesting. Li Shijiang is far more scrutinizing and brutal in his pursuit of suffering and anguish, so, if this is his doing, that suggests that this beast may have been planted wherever it was as a pawn of a highly-intricate plan."
"Wait… but that still doesn't explain why we're here!" Gabriel exclaimed, feeling as if he was becoming involved in something far beyond him.
"I need to get back to my village, or else all the others will think I'm missing!"
Commander Luoyang glanced at him, and then Chen.
"Ah… you two. I was wondering if you had survived the fall."
"The fall… wait, we're you the one to throw them off the cliff and into Burial Valley?" Vice Captain Harrison asked.
"Right… I did indeed do so. I spotted them while I was watching your squad from afar, since I had a gut feeling you two would find yourself in a predicament on the way back."
"Among my many duties, watching over all those under my protection or command is a duty I find rather important, after all."
"But anyway, you two are quite fortunate… or unfortunate, depending on how you look at things. A member of the Blood Sacrifice Sect, the Moonlight Drinker, is after you, and what's more is that he is still alive."
Following those words, Gabriel's heart dropped.
"The most I can do for you two now is to give you two choices."
"Either stay under my protection until the threat has passed, or I send you on your way after training you for a while, so that you two can defend yourselves more effectively."
"…Two choices…" Chen glanced at Gabriel, who looked terrified.
"…Wait… do we have to make that decision now…?!"
"Ah… you don't need to decide now. Come and see me tommorrow morning if you need more time."
Suddenly, Captain Evans stepped forward and whispered something into the Commander's ear.
"…"
Commander Luoyang glanced at Chen, and smirked.
"How very, very interesting..." Commander Luoyang, stepping forward to directly face Chen.
At that moment, a voice appeared in Chen's mind. The Commander was using a particular 'mind-whispering' technique that hid his voice from everyone around.
So, you have links to that long-lost Sect, huh? Captains Evans also told me you seem to have lost your memories, but I find it very hard to believe.
Do you know who Mara, the dragon-sized demon of chaos, is?
Chen shivered, and then shook his head. That name felt familiar, terrifyingly so, but he couldn't remember where he had heard that name from.
"…"
Commander Luoyang stared at Chen for a moment, inspecting every part of his face. And then, he turned his head.
"I announce that the meeting is now over. Head to your tents."
Commander Luoyang turned to Chen and Gabriel.
"You two… meet me here tommorrow morning. I have something to say to the two of you."
<<…>>
Around thirty minutes later, once Chen and Gabriel had left the Commander's station, they started looking for their own tent.
They dragged their feet through the thick snow that reached their shins, taking in the frosty air that filled their lungs with lingering cold and the sights that paired with it.
Somehow, the cold gales of wind that often brushed harshly against the snowy plains were calmer now.
But besides that, as he trudged through the thick snow with Gabriel, Chen placed his gaze upon him attentively, trying to figure out something about him.
As Gabriel was enjoying his time watching other people play in the snow, what Chen couldn't wrap his head around was how, for some reason, Gabriel was so nice to him, despite his gruff appearance and everything else.
And, what was even more confusing was that all that friendliness was for no apparent reason.
Well, that man did save his life, so Chen owed him quite a lot, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to trust Gabriel just yet.
"Also, I don't think that kind of smile comes from someone his age. Maybe… he's younger than I thought."
But, before Chen could dwell on that thought for any longer, they finally made it to a quite large red tent with nobody inside.
"Good! We can take this one!" Gabriel said, hastily diving through the tent's tarp.
Chen followed suit, unable to stop himself from cracking a smile at Gabriel's behaviour.
Inside the tent was two small mattresses, alongside layers of cloth that they could use to cover themselves as they slept.
Both of them were equally glad they didn't have to share a bed with each other, however, now that they were alone in an enclosed space, Chen thought it to be the perfect time to ask questions.
There was also a specific question lurking within his mind, that he was itching to ask.
"Who exactly are you?"
But, Gabriel didn't respond.
In fact, he was too pre-occupied hugging the soft cloth blankets to hear his question.
"Did he just ignore me…? Hey!"
Gabriel turned around, a perplexed look on his face.
"What is it?"
"…Who are you?"
"Me?"
"…Well… I'm your saviour, for one!" Gabriel replied, grinning with pride.
"I defended you against a dangerous demon!"
"Well, I know that…! But I want to know, who are you, truly?"
Gabriel shrugged, and Chen was taken aback.
"I don't know who I am. I guess I'm just a wanderer, who has horrible luck, by the way."
These words resonated with Chen, and he felt similar to Gabriel, somehow.
"Ahem… well anyway, without me or the Commander, you would've probably died back there! It's good that I still have some of the prowess I had by being a guardian warrior of a Sect a while ago!"
"…Right…"
Chen sighed. He still had no idea what was going on.
His memories were still very foggy, blank even, but he felt like he could remember it in due time.
"…Anyway, my name's Chen Xian. What's your name?"
"Gabriel." He replied.
Following that, Gabriel asked:
"So, are we gonna stay here, or leave?"
"Well, I think that question's obvious. We're definitely gonna have to stay here. From what I heard from the Commander before we went, those cult members are absolutely terrifying…"
"Yeah, they are. Also, I feel like he and his fellow cultists are gonna try chasing us to the end of this world if we leave..."
"Plus, don't you have the same feeling, deep in your heart?"
"…What feeling?" Chen questioned, looking down at his chest.
"Well… it's really odd… it's the feeling that, if we stay, we'll be able to write our own legends in history one day."