Thick ice can easily hold the weight of a few men, or even a small cart. But right now, there were thousands of heavily armed men running, fighting, and falling on top of it.

Worse than the weight, there was the noise. 1,460 musketeers were firing from the ridge.

The loud sound of the gunpowder created massive shockwaves that slammed into the ground, vibrating through the solid ice over and over again.

"Torstein!" Erik screamed at the top of his lungs, turning his back to the enemy and waving his mace toward the snowy ridge. "Stop firing! Cease fire! The ice is breaking!"

But the battlefield was incredibly loud. The screams of the dying, the barking of the war dogs, and the constant thunder of the guns completely drowned out Erik’s voice.

Another massive volley of lead poured down from the ridge. The heavy bullets smashed into the frozen lake, chipping away chunks of ice and sending terrifying vibrations deep into the frozen water.

It was a sound louder than the muskets. A deep, bone-chilling groan that echoed across the entire valley.

"Get back!" Erik roared, grabbing Halig by the shoulder and shoving him toward the snowy shore. "Retreat! Everyone get off the fucking ice!"

Though Erik was incredibly fast, nature was faster.

Right in the very center of the chaotic melee, the solid surface of the lake completely gave way.

A massive circle of thick ice, easily 50 paces wide, simply collapsed inward.

Hundreds of men suddenly found themselves falling into the dark abyss.

"Help! Grab my hand!" a young soldier screamed as he plunged into the freezing water, his steel mace dragging him down.

"Aaaaaah!" a rebel warrior wailed, thrashing wildly as the freezing water filled his wolf furs.

After hearing such words of panic, Torstein finally realized what was happening down below. Up on the ridge, the Lord Commander’s face turned pale.

"Stop firing! Lower your weapons!" Torstein ordered desperately, blowing a sharp note on his brass retreat horn.

The thunder of the muskets finally stopped, leaving only the horrifying sounds of splashing water, cracking ice, and screaming men.

As such, the battle instantly paused. The deep hatred between the two armies was suddenly replaced by the terror of the freezing lake.

Down on the ice, Erik threw himself onto his stomach, sliding close to the edge of the newly formed hole.

"Grab my mace!" Erik yelled.

A young warrior reached out and grabbed the mace. Erik gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as he tried to pull the boy up onto the slippery ice.

"I got you! Just hold on!" Erik grunted, his boots sliding forward.

"King Erik... it’s too cold..." the boy gasped. His wet leather armor was freezing in the cold air, turning into solid ice.

Halig dropped to his knees right next to Erik, reaching down to grab the boy’s gray coat. "Pull, Erik! Pull him up!"

But the ice beneath them gave another creak. A new crack shot directly between Erik’s knees, splitting the ice further.

On the opposite side of the massive hole, Halfdan’s men were doing the exact same thing.

The rebel warriors were lying on their stomachs, extending their spears and axes, trying to pull their own drowning brothers out of the water.

Even the vicious war dogs were whimpering, backing away from the spreading cracks. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Hold my hand..." a rebel shouted, trying to pull a drowning farmer up.

But the heavy furs were just too much weight. The rebel slipped forward, falling face-first into the freezing water with a loud splash.

"Damnit, Erik, the ice is breaking under us!" Halig yelled, looking down in panic as freezing water began to pool around his knees. "If we stay here, we all fall in!"

Erik looked into the eyes of the young soldier he was holding. The boy’s grip was failing.

"No, no, no! Don’t let go!" Erik screamed, trying to reach further down.

"I’m sorry, my King..." the boy whispered, his eyes rolling back in his head as the freezing cold finally shut down his heart.

Erik watched as the young soldier sank beneath the dark water, disappearing into the depths of the icy lake.

Dozens of other men were sinking right beside him, the heavy iron weapons of the Iron Kingdom dragging them down like stones.

"We have to leave them!" Halig roared, grabbing Erik by the back of his fur cloak and dragging him backward across the ice. "We are going to die, move!"

Thus, the hardest decision a leader can make was forced upon Erik. He had to abandon his own men to save the rest.

"Retreat!" Erik bellowed, scrambling to his feet. He waved his mace toward the snowy slope. "Get back to the solid ground! Run!"

The surviving mace men didn’t need to be told twice. They turned their backs on the drowning men and sprinted across the cracking ice, their boots slipping and sliding as they climbed back up the snowy hill toward Torstein’s line.

"Fall back to the walls! Leave the water!" Halfdan roared, his warhorse rearing up in panic as the ice cracked near its hooves.

The rebel army scrambled backward, abandoning their drowning friends in the freezing water.

They ran as fast as they could, slipping on the bloody ice, until they reached the safety of the spiked timber walls surrounding their city.

Erik and Halig crawled up the last few feet of the snowy slope, collapsing behind the line of musketeers on the ridge.

Erik was panting heavily, his chest heaving, his clothes soaked with freezing water up to his knees. He slowly stood up. He looked down at the frozen lake.

The massive hole in the center of the lake was filled with floating chunks of ice, broken wooden shields, and the frozen, lifeless bodies of both Iron Kingdom soldiers and rebel exiles.

"How many did we lose?" Erik asked, his voice rough.

Torstein stepped up beside him, his face grim. "We lost about 60 men to the water, my King. Another 40 were crushed in the forest. We have 1,400 muskets left."

"And them?" Erik pointed his mace down at the rebel city.

"The musket fire tore them apart before the ice even broke..." Halig said, rubbing his hands together. "They must have lost at least 400 men on that slope, plus whoever fell into the water. We hurt them badly, Erik."

Erik looked across the massive frozen lake. Uncle Halfdan and his surviving army were safely locked behind their massive wooden walls. The campfires of the city still burned brightly, mocking the freezing Iron Kingdom soldiers standing out in the cold.

Between Erik’s army and the rebel city lay the frozen lake, now compromised with a massive hole in the very center.

If Erik’s men stayed out here on the exposed ridge much longer, they would freeze to death just like the men in the water.

Halig stepped up next to Erik, shivering in his damp clothes. He looked at the broken ice, then looked at the heavily fortified wooden walls of the rebel city.

Hallig whispered loudly, "How the hell are we going to get through..."