Floating Islands: SSS Gacha Lord

"I smell some beasts..."

The voice came low and sure, from Feral, the Lord commanding the group. He paused, lifting his head into the frigid wind, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the icy air like a bloodhound tracking prey.

Without warning, he leapt from the back of the towering bear beneath him, landing soundlessly in the snow. A few of his men dismounted and followed, trudging through the thick drifts before forming a loose line at their Lord's side.

"Has anyone passed through here recently?" one of them asked, scanning the barren white landscape.

"They're close," Feral said, inhaling deeply once more. "The scent is still fresh."

"I bet it's some rookie squad panicking the moment they heard we were coming," one of his men sneered.

"In weather like this, they wouldn't get far anyway. We'll catch up and cut them down with ease."

"Maybe they ran... or found somewhere to hide," another offered, eyes flicking across the snow-laced terrain.

"Hide where?" someone scoffed. "How the hell would anyone hide in a place like this?"

"Could they be using stealth skills?"

Feral stayed silent for a beat, considering the idea before finally speaking. "If they've got stealth, they'd already be long gone. But if they're still nearby... that means they've got numbers."

A slow, wicked grin curved his lips.

"That would make them a very... entertaining target."

[Atlas]: "Beast scent?"

[Kurogasa]: "This Lord is a Beast Master, My Lord. He's accustomed to monsters, including beastkin. His sense of smell is sharper than normal."

[Edrik]: "As long as they don't move closer to us, our position won't be compromised."

[Baldric]: "There are only twenty of them, fewer than us."

[Edrik]: "True, but our troops aren't used to an environment this cold. We need time to adjust. If we fight them now, we might win, but the chances of losing some of our own are high."

[Atlas]: "No, it's fine. We stick to the original plan. Scouting and assessing both the battlefield and the enemy come first. Once we have a full understanding, then we'll decide our next steps."

[Edrik]: "Defeating an opposing Lord would certainly give us a big boost in Dominion Points, but yeah, I agree. Let's wait for now and take no action."

After several tense moments, the sheer stress of hiding in plain sight began to wear on Atlas and his troops. The cold crept into their bodies, numbing fingers and toes, as if they were freezing from the inside out.

Despite the growing discomfort, they knew they had to stay perfectly still until the opposing Lord and his group lost interest and left.

"Let's move… we can't waste time here. Don't stay in one place too long. This land's freezing as hell!"

Feral, the Lord, finally gave the order. He sprang back onto his massive bear without looking back, and the rest of the group followed, climbing onto their mounts in swift, practiced motions.

All but one.

"What are you doing?" someone called out.

"Give me a second… I heard something," the man replied.

He stayed behind, gaze sweeping the frozen terrain. Something wasn't right, and his instincts refused to let it go. His posture stiffened, caught between suspicion and silent warning.

Then, he began to walk. Slowly, carefully… Toward where Atlas and his team lay hidden.

Closer. Closer.

Until he stood directly in front of Atlas.

"If you freeze to death, we're not saving your sorry ass," one of his companions called back as they continued onward.

But the man didn't move.

He just stood there. Frozen in place.

The tension was unbearable. One more step and he would walk straight into the stealth barrier, colliding with Atlas himself.

The man's eyes narrowed, scanning the empty-looking area as if he sensed something was off. His gaze flickered left, then right, as the wind howled around them.

Atlas remained motionless, his grip tightening on his spear, his breath slow and steady.

Then, with a slight shake of his head, the opposing lord's man turned around and walked back toward his mount.

Moments later, the group resumed their journey, the massive beasts trudging heavily through the snow and ice, their large, muscular bodies struggling to move across the harsh terrain. Even for creatures of their size and power, the environment seemed to weigh them down.

As the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, the freezing air grew eerily quiet again.

Atlas deactivated the stealth mode, and the shimmering veil that had concealed them faded away. As the cover lifted, several of the troops could be seen sitting in the snow, their bodies trembling as they clung to the thin line between giving up and pushing through.

"Let's go, you lazy bastards!" Baldric's booming voice broke through the silence. "Either you die in the snow, or you die while fighting the enemies! Ha ha!"

The harshness of his words sparked defiance in the troops. They began to rise to their feet, shaking off the snow that clung to their clothes. Their eyes burned with determination, each of them silently fighting off the temptation to give in to the deadly cold that sought to sap their life away.

"My Lord," Kurogasa stepped forward and gave a respectful bow toward Atlas. "I will scout the area to find our direction."

Atlas nodded. The Mountain Leaper Band and the Mana Glider Cloak, two items he had entrusted to Kurogasa, gave him the ability to leap across difficult terrain and hover briefly in the air. These tools were perfect for navigating an environment where mobility was essential for survival.

Atlas's system map only covered the immediate area surrounding their current location. The rest of the map remained fogged over, and it would only expand once someone physically explored the unknown regions. There was no need for Atlas to do this himself. It was Kurogasa's job to scout ahead.

"Thank you. I'll leave this task to you," Atlas said firmly.

Kurogasa gave a final nod before his body became cloaked in shadow.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished, not disappearing into thin air, but leaping high into the storm, piercing through the howling blizzard. His silhouette was swallowed by the swirling snow, and soon, he was gone from sight.

Atlas watched the map in his system as it slowly began to uncover more of the area, revealing the terrain that Kurogasa was scouting ahead.

"My Lord," Edrik called out, stepping closer.

"Yes?" Atlas responded.

"We move in the direction Kurogasa is heading."

"Understood."

Without hesitation, Atlas raised his spear into the air, the blue and gold aura around it crackling faintly in the frigid air.

"We came here to fight. We came here to give everything we've got!" Atlas shouted. "This isn't the first time we've faced harsh conditions, and we've overcome them before. We'll do it again!"

"FIRE!" the troops roared back, their voices echoing through the blizzard.

Despite the biting cold, they shouted from deep within their chests, fighting off the creeping numbness that sought to freeze their bodies.

"Keep moving!" Atlas commanded. "Walking will keep our bodies warm. We move forward, no matter what."

The group began marching through the snow, each step a battle against the whipping winds and blinding white landscape. The snow was deep and heavy, almost threatening to swallow them whole, but they pressed on.

The storm tried to push them back, but their will to survive and conquer was stronger. They moved forward.