Eternal Winter's Reign - Book 3 - Chapter 4 - Planetary Assault (Patreon)

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Alexander North

Our ship lands without any trouble. But after we land, swarms of Frozen Ones begin flooding straight towards our ship from every direction.

No doubt being ordered by the Tier 5 Frozen Lord on the planet to do so.

From what Dad’s told me, the various planets all had different Frozen Ones and Frozen Lords assaulting them. With them all being different Tiers. And the leading Frozen Lord of this planet is the same Tier as the Vanguard who attacked Arran for example.

Which no doubt explains how this entire planet was taken over by the Frozen Ones.

Well, that and the absence of any Sun God servants interfering with the Eternal Winter.

A large part of how Arran managed to hang on for so long was because of that Sun God servant that cleared away large patches of the Eternal Winter around the planet and dealt with the Vanguard.

And even after that, if Dad hadn’t arrived when he did, the Vanguard would’ve slaughtered the lot of us there. But fortunately Dad did arrive.

After seeing the swarms of Frozen Ones attacking the ship, Dad leaves the ship and spreads a powerful aura of heat energy all throughout the surrounding area. Wiping out the Eternal Winter within several hundred meters around the ship. Along with a lot of the Frozen Ones in that range. Albeit not all of them.

Then Dad orders the various different squads to move out and scout the planet.

The squads under this fleet are separated into two different types.

There are the Solar Squads, which are squads made with one or two Symbiont Hosts who have gained the power to use heat energy, just like Dad. Letting them dispel the Eternal Winter around them and their soldiers while they’re searching.

Although none of those Symbiont Hosts are as powerful as Dad is.

That said, there are still quite a few powerful Tier 5 Symbiont Hosts amongst the military who have heat energy like Dad has. It’s just that they’re either at the capital or spread across the empire to deal with the various Frozen Lords and Vanguards.

And even those are still a little weaker than Dad.

There are also Solar Battalions who are under the control of stronger and higher Tier Symbiont Hosts with heat energy. Whose heat energy is strong enough to cover several hundred soldiers at once.

Other than the Solar Squads, there are also the Frost Squads. Who are made of people who can safely move through the Eternal Winter.

The Frost Squads are made up of Frost Infused like me and mutated ones.

People who can move through the Eternal Winter and still fight without worrying about the cold or the shards.

Of course, there are more official designations for the squads as well. With each Solar Squad having the letter S before their squad number, and each Frost Squad having the letter F before their squad number. But it’s easier to just call them Solar and Frost Squads.

Unlike the Solar Squads, there are no battalions for the Frost Squads.

There just aren’t enough Frost Infused or mutated ones.

Anyway, I find myself assigned a Frost Squad to join me on my energy crystal hunt. But none of them are particularly talkative. And they’re all very obedient.

Which works out well for me.

None of them ask any questions as I lead the squad of thirteen soldiers through the Eternal Winter in the direction I sense an energy crystal in. With us only occasionally stopping to deal with Frozen Ones attacking us before absorbing the energy in their bodies.

The scientists on the ship explained to me while they were doing some tests on me that the mutated ones and Frost Infused are both able to absorb the energy of Frozen Ones. It’s just that the Frost Infused absorb the energy and digest it throughout their entire body, while the mutated ones only absorb it into their mutations. And they need to absorb energy to expand their mutations.

It’s a completely different method of growing stronger, but also less balanced. Since it doesn’t affect the rest of their body anywhere as much as it affects the parts covered in mutations.

So my squad slowly makes our way through the Eternal Winter, slaying Frozen Ones and absorbing their energy until we finally arrive at the first nest of Frozen Ones. Where an energy crystal is waiting for me.

At first I was worried that the military would try to take some of the energy crystals I find. But as it turns out, I was worried for nothing.

Which makes sense in hindsight.

The military already has plenty of those energy crystals that they’re studying. So they don’t need to swipe the ones I collect.

And the other Frost Infused don’t seem to be able to absorb the energy of these energy crystals for some reason. Making them useless beyond studying them for the military.

Or, to be more specific, they can’t absorb all of them.

It’s almost like the other Frost Infused are limited to the specific abilities they can get. Which is weird since I’m able to absorb any energy crystal.

Maybe it has something to do with the Frozen Lords calling me part Frozen Lord before?

Probably.

The scientists are trying to figure it out too and are studying my blood right now. So hopefully I’ll learn more about my body soon.

Anyway, the first nest we find is in the form of a large fortress made out of ice. With a significant number of wraith Frozen Ones wandering around outside.

But they’re not the only ones as there are quite a few of a different type of Frozen One I’ve never seen before outside of the fortress as well.

I frown at the sight of these Frozen Ones. Which are in the form of some sort of ice golem made out of blocks of ice stacked in a humanoid form.

How to deal with these things…