Chapter 35: The Tide Turns

A Losing Battle

The icy winds howled through the battlefield as the Royal Knights and High Elves struggled to hold the coastline. Defensive formations were crumbling, and human forces were advancing relentlessly.

Vice-Leader Seraphina of the Royal Knights gritted her teeth, her enchanted blade barely deflecting a burst of armor-piercing gunfire from a Grey Eagle mech. She had never faced such warfare—every strategic retreat led to another bombardment, every attempt at counterattacks met with human ingenuity.

Beside her, Commander Lysaria of the High Elves was breathing heavily, her golden armor scorched from an explosion. The once-unstoppable might of the Elven Empire had been pushed to the brink. The Lunar Priestesses' divine barriers had failed to hold against the combined bombardment of missiles, airstrikes, and railgun fire.

"Vice-Leader Seraphina!" one of her knights called out, barely parrying a strike from a Red Archer mech. "The defensive line is collapsing!"

Seraphina's silver eyes darted across the battlefield. The humans were advancing too fast. She looked towards the sea—dozens of heavy transport ships and amphibious landing crafts were approaching, loaded with tanks, armored vehicles, and even more troops.

If they landed, Antarctica was lost.

The Victorious Humans

On the bridge of the USS George Washington, Admiral Henry Lancaster watched the battle unfold with a confident smile.

“They’re breaking,” he said to his officers. “The Elves fought harder than expected, but it’s over. Once our landing forces reach the shore, their defeat will be sealed.”

On the Pacific Star, Captain Mark Reynolds exhaled in relief. Reports from the battlefield were clear—the Royal Knights and High Elves were barely holding their ground. The coordinated assault from mechs, naval artillery, and air support had finally overwhelmed the once-mighty Elven forces.

On the ground, the Blue Titans and Green Guardians were securing the last remnants of Elven resistance. Major Viktor Petrov of the Blue Titans had his forces pressing forward, while Commander Arjun Mehta of the Green Guardians provided shielding for advancing infantry.

“Green Guardians, keep up the barrier projections!” Arjun commanded. “We’re almost through!”

Suddenly, an urgent warning came through their comms.

“Radar is picking up an anomaly!”

The Summoning

Seraphina and Lysaria, despite their dire situation, felt it before it happened.

The air turned unnaturally cold. The ground trembled. A deafening roar split the sky.

A massive magic circle appeared behind the Elven forces, glowing with lunar energy. It was unlike any magic Seraphina had ever seen—divine, ancient, a gift from the Saint of the Lunar Church.

From the depths of the ice, something colossal emerged.

A 100-meter-long Ice Worm burst forth, its chitinous body glistening like frozen steel, its jagged maw filled with rows of razor-sharp fangs, exhaling a breath of pure, freezing death.

The battlefield fell silent. Even the humans stopped firing.

Then, the Ice Worm roared, and the world shattered.

The Tide Turns

The humans panicked first. Soldiers on the front lines recoiled in horror. Even experienced mech pilots hesitated.

“What the hell is that?!” Mark Reynolds shouted aboard the Pacific Star.

"Massive energy spike!" came the urgent report from the USS George Washington. "It’s… it’s moving toward the landing zone!"

Henry Lancaster’s confident smile vanished. “All units! Engage that creature now!”

The Ice Worm lunged.

In an instant, entire squads of human soldiers were crushed beneath its massive bulk. A single sweep of its spiked tail obliterated an advancing column of armored vehicles, sending burning wreckage flying into the air.

Missiles, railgun shots, and airstrikes rained down upon it, but the creature’s body was impervious—magic-enhanced, reinforced by divine energy. The weapons that had devastated the Elves now seemed useless.

On the ground, Viktor Petrov and Arjun Mehta were the first to react.

“We cannot let it reach the landing forces!” Arjun shouted. “Green Guardians, defensive formations!”

The Green Guardians deployed reinforced magic shields, forming a barrier line to protect the incoming troops. The Ice Worm crashed into the shields, causing the entire formation to tremble. Mechs were knocked backward, systems overloaded from the impact.

“Shields are holding… but not for long!” a Guardian pilot yelled.

Viktor Petrov gritted his teeth. “Blue Titans, focus fire! Aim for its eyes!”

The Blue Titans unleashed everything they had—plasma rounds, railgun blasts, and explosive charges—but the Ice Worm’s frost-armored hide absorbed most of the damage, barely showing any signs of injury.

For a moment, it seemed nothing could harm the colossal creature. Then—CRACK!

A precise shot shattered the ice shielding its eye, exposing the vulnerable flesh beneath.

"Eagle, NOW!" Colonel Zhao Wei, captain of the Red Archers, barked through comms, her rifle still glowing hot from the shot.

"No need to yell, I'm already on it."

From beneath the chaos, Captain Samuel Briggs of the Grey Eagles made his move. His mech had been advancing silently, staying low under the cover of the Blue Titans’ suppressive fire. Now, with the target exposed, he surged forward.

With a precise, devastating thrust, Briggs drove his blade deep into the Ice Worm’s exposed eye.

A piercing screech shook the battlefield.

The creature convulsed violently, sending out waves of frost and thrashing debris. Briggs barely had time to react. He yanked back, abandoning his embedded blade, and fired his thrusters at full power, narrowly escaping before the Ice Worm’s massive bulk collapsed where he had just been standing.

The creature reared back, preparing for a full charge. If it got past the Green Guardians, it would flatten the entire landing force.

Arjun’s mech was on emergency power, barely maintaining the barrier. “Viktor! We need to stop it!”

“Then we stop it together.”

Viktor’s Blue Titans repositioned, firing anchor spikes into the frozen ground, bracing for impact.

The Ice Worm lunged.

BOOM!

The collision sent a shockwave across the battlefield. The Blue Titans’ reinforced armor barely held, while the Green Guardians' shields cracked but did not shatter.

They had stopped the charge.

But only barely.

The Elves Regain Hope

On the Elven side, a stunned silence filled the air.

The Royal Knights and High Elves, who had been on the verge of collapse, now stood tall again. Seraphina looked at the Ice Worm with awe and disbelief.

Lysaria, gripping her spear, whispered, “The Saint has blessed us.”

A powerful wave of Elven morale surged.

The Royal Knights charged once more, cutting down stunned human soldiers who had frozen in terror at the Ice Worm’s arrival. The High Elves rallied, reinforcing their Lunar Priestesses, who began casting new waves of powerful magic.

For the first time in the battle, the humans were the ones retreating.

Seraphina raised her blade, her voice ringing across the battlefield.

“We fight with the blessing of the Saint! We take back the shore!”

A roar of renewed Elven fury followed.

The Battle of Antarctica, which had seemed won by humanity, was now hanging in the balance once more.

And the true terror of the Ice Worm… had only just begun.