Meanwhile, Evangeline’s message reached Caden Albright’s ears.

He was looking after Faye Albright and Genesis while Thorne and Rask were out hunting and Loras was patrolling the territory. When he suddenly heard that Evangeline had gone deep into the ocean with Danton, Caden’s red lips pursed tightly. As his lashes lowered, he used all his strength to suppress the churning anxiety in his heart.

A female giving birth was already fraught with danger. With only Danton by her side to protect her, it was truly hard to feel at ease.

"Father! Is this snow? It’s so pretty!" Faye Albright, bundled up in a thick cotton coat, took advantage of Caden’s distraction to dart out onto the bamboo building’s veranda. She tilted up her little, flushed face, letting the falling snow dust her head as she spun around excitedly in the snow.

She was overjoyed, blinking her eyelashes as they were dusted by the rustling snowflakes, her white breath puffing in the air.

Genesis sat on the warm bamboo bed, still clutching a milk bottle. Hearing his older sister’s joyful laughter, he blinked his seven-colored eyes in confusion and looked out the window. When he saw the flurrying snowflakes, he froze.

Clearly, to this little one who had just been born, the falling snow was unfamiliar, yet beautiful.

Caden Albright lifted his gaze to look outside the bamboo building, his ethereally beautiful face growing heavy.

It was snowing. This was a sign that the Cold Season was upon them.

His fingertips clenched together, his amber eyes filled with a grim darkness. He hadn’t forgotten what Danton had said: when it snowed, the seawater would turn frigid. It would be difficult for a newborn to survive such temperatures, and it would make the female’s birth even more perilous.

The snow outside fell harder and harder, blanketing the entire ground in an instant.

Just then, from outside the rustling snows of Blackwater Swamp, a tremendous, earth-shaking roar suddenly erupted.

Faye Albright, who was playing in the snow, jumped in fright. The snowball she was holding fell to the ground with a SPLAT. She scrambled behind Caden, her small hand tightly gripping the hem of his robe, her voice trembling with unease. "Father?"

Caden’s eyes darkened, and the dark gold circlet on his forehead glinted with a cold light.

He strode out of the bamboo house and stood on the veranda, gazing toward the source of the sound as the swirling snow immediately dusted his long eyelashes.

That was the area Loras was patrolling.

The heavy snow blocked his line of sight, but mixed in with the rumbling were the roars of many beasts. A powerful enemy must have come to attack.

Caden’s stunningly handsome features tensed, and as the cold wind swept past the hem of his robes, it carried with it a surge of killing intent.

’I can’t leave.’

’Since a powerful enemy is attacking, Blackwater Swamp is no longer safe. Bunny and Genesis can’t be left alone in the bamboo house.’

’All I can do now is hope Thorne senses the disturbance and hurries back.’

’The only fortunate thing is that Danton took Eva away for the birth. Otherwise, it would be even harder to find any peace of mind.’

’Last time, at the Grymdale Tribe, Eva endured the excruciating pain of labor, stepping through a curtain of rain and reeking of blood to shield me from all overt and hidden attacks. I’ll never forget that scene. This time, thankfully, she isn’t here.’

"Father..." Faye Albright’s small, cold hand suddenly grasped his fingertips.

Caden Albright abruptly lowered his gaze. The snowflakes melted into his amber eyes, dissolving the blood-red malevolence within them.

「At the edge of Blackwater Swamp.」

Loras stared at the dense crowd of Beastmen before him, his purple pupils constricting as the hand at his side silently clenched into a fist.

Warriors from over a dozen tribes had gathered here. There were Winged Beastmen circling the sky, Terrestrial Beastmen running on the ground, and aquatic Beastmen whose heads poked out from the streams. Their numbers were even more astonishing than at the tribal trading assembly.

The very earth seemed to tremble as they moved.

As Loras sized them up, the Beastmen locked their gazes on him.

"Isn’t that the male who crushed his own heart at the tribal trading assembly? How can he still be alive?"

"Tch, what good can come from someone who hangs around with Fallen Beastmen? He was probably possessed by an Evil Spirit long ago!"

"This time, all the tribes of Norfell have come! We won’t turn back until every last Fallen Beastman is exterminated! Let’s just capture that cursed female and her males and sacrifice them to the Beast God, so the Beast God will stop bringing disaster upon Norfell."

"..."

The Beastmen erupted in a wave of shocked cries and angry accusations.

The one leading the tribes was a Tyrannosaur Beastman.

His body was enormous. As he walked out from the crowd, the sound of snapping shrubbery was enough to set one’s teeth on edge.

The Tyrannosaur Beastman was powerful; even his panting breath was strong enough to press the surrounding blades of grass flat against the ground. He stared fixedly at Loras, his eyes never leaving the brilliant Nine-star pattern on his forehead. He squinted, his gaze filled with wariness.

He raised a forelimb covered in Scale Armor, signaling the Beastmen to fall silent, then spoke. "A Nine-star Extreme Realm Beastman is a peak warrior, a rarity in Norfell. You shouldn’t be associating with Fallen Beastmen. Hand over that filth, and we will leave immediately."

The stench from his mouth washed over Loras’s feet as he let out a cold, cackling laugh. "If you refuse, then even a Nine-star Extreme Realm like you will be buried in this filthy Blackwater Swamp today!"

As soon as the Tyrannosaur Beastman finished speaking, the horde of beasts behind him bared their fangs and claws in unison.

Loras stood silently in the heavy snow, his purple eyes calm. He didn’t offer a single word in response.

His slender frame took a step forward, landing firmly on the muddy ground. Amidst the swirling snow, thick, gnarled vines shot up from the earth, weaving together like giant pythons to form towering walls of thorns that blocked the front of Blackwater Swamp, preventing the invaders from advancing even a single step.

The Tyrannosaur Beastman’s pupils constricted, and he immediately let out a cold laugh. "Good. Very good!"

His furious roar made the very air stagnate. "Since you want to die with the Fallen Beastmen, I won’t stop you!"

With that, his thick, massive tail snapped a tree that would take three people to encircle, and the scales on his body flared out.

It was like a horn signaling the start of the battle. In an instant, the Beastmen charged.

They swarmed toward the vines like a tidal wave.

The Beastman Warriors with thick hides, like rhinos, crocodiles, and oxen, were the first to transform. Their Scale Armor-covered hooves trampled the ground, splashing snow and mud everywhere. Winged Beastmen tore through the snowstorm with their claws, while smaller Beastmen threw themselves at the vine walls and began to gnaw on them.

The vines suddenly erupted with fangs, their bowl-thick branches strangling Beastmen as sharp thorns pierced their blood vessels.

Loras stood behind the vines, his face pale, but his nine-star pattern shone as brilliantly as the stars.

The vines he controlled were like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, each strangulation perfectly precise. Blood sprayed out, staining the snow-covered ground red and sending up wisps of steam. In an instant, the whole of Blackwater Swamp had turned into a churning meat grinder.

But the Beast Tide was simply too massive, and the speed at which the severed vines regenerated slowed considerably.

The Tyrannosaur Beastman also saw how difficult the Nine-star Extreme Realm Beastman was to deal with and let out a roar at a specific frequency.

Instantly, the Pangolin Beastmen all began to dig where they stood, carving out tunnels, while the aquatic Beastmen tried to break through the less-dense vines in the streams. Once they breached Loras’s line of defense, everything would become exceedingly easy.

Far away in the forest, Thorne leaped onto a giant tree, watching the constantly thundering edge of Blackwater Swamp.

His eyes, so dark they held a hint of jade green, seemed to pierce through the blizzard, his gaze fixed on the bamboo house. A cold, vicious aura rose between his handsome brows. He leaped down from the treetops, the white tips of his hair tracing a frigid arc of light.

Rask had also heard the commotion, and his expression was grim. "The Beastmen from the Norfell Tribe are all here."

Thorne acted as if he hadn’t heard, rushing quickly toward Blackwater Swamp.

Rask’s pupils shrank. "Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "Even a Nine-star Extreme Realm will be crushed to dust by a Beast Tide!"

Not only did Thorne not stop, but his speed actually increased.