Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3041: Coalition of Frost

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Dark Realm, Gelid Alps, Snow Elven Region, High Snow District, Snow Capital

“What the heck?”

“What’s going on?”

“When did the enemy get inside the capital?”

The coalition’s leaders exclaimed almost in unison, their armies erupting into confusion as the Snow Capital’s grand Array Formation suddenly activated and attacked the city itself. More accurately, it had targeted the Heathen Stone Prison, causing the situation to descend into complete chaos.

The Snow Elven Crown Prince had been truthful about the threat they were facing, but he had withheld every detail surrounding it. Who was the enemy? What did they want? Why had the Snow Elves gone to such desperate lengths?

The coalition knew none of it. From the moment they had arrived, all they had been told was that the masked Curse Master before them posed an extraordinary threat to the Snow Elves.

Beyond that, they knew nothing. They didn’t know whether he had accomplices. They didn’t know his objective. They certainly hadn’t imagined that someone could infiltrate not only the Snow Capital, it’s the heavily fortified Heathen Stone Prison, but also hijack their city’s protective array formation.

Lacking both information and context, they could do little more than serve as the Crown Prince’s hired muscle. The instant the Array Formation attacked the prison, the coalition instinctively made their move.

If the enemy had infiltrated the city, then the masked Curse Master standing before them had to be captured immediately. Several Ruler-class beings lunged toward me without hesitation. Only, their attacks struck nothing. The body of the Curse Master suddenly crumbled into ash before their eyes. The gray ashes scattered into the wind, leaving nothing behind.

“Nooo!”

The Snow Elven Crown Prince’s clone let out a sorrowful roar, instantly realizing what had truly transpired within the Snow Capital. He had been outplayed. While every eye had remained fixed on the masked Curse Master, the real operation had unfolded beneath their feet.

The coalition’s leaders followed the clone’s gaze toward the distant ruins of the Heathen Stone Prison. Then they looked back at the place where the masked Curse Master had stood moments earlier.

There was nothing. Only drifting ashes remained. The realization struck them almost simultaneously. The invaders had already accomplished their objective. And they had escaped. A wave of fury swept through the coalition. Ironically, it wasn’t directed at the mysterious invaders. It was directed at the Snow Elves.

The Snow Elven race had summoned them for aid, yet had kept them completely in the dark about everything that truly mattered. They hadn’t explained the enemy’s objective. They hadn’t revealed their enemy was hidden in the Snow Capital. Nor had they disclosed that protecting the capital, specifically the Heathen Stone Prison, was important.

Had the Snow Elves been forthcoming from the very beginning, the coalition might have formulated an appropriate strategy instead of stumbling blindly through a crisis they barely understood.

Now, they had all been dragged into an embarrassing failure. A coalition composed of some of the strongest Semi-Ruler-class forces in the Gelid Alps had gathered in overwhelming strength. Only to watch the enemy achieve their objective and escape right under their noses. The humiliation wasn’t the Snow Elves’ alone. It belonged to every race present.

Once news spread across the Dark Realm, their rivals would have a field day ridiculing them. Their enemies would question their competence. Their trades partners would question their reliability. And every ambitious race seeking an opportunity would seize upon this failure to undermine both the coalition and the prestige of its member races. Their reputations would suffer a crushing decline.

This incident was more than a failed operation. It was a public declaration of the coalition’s incompetence to the entire Dark Realm.

The Coalition of Frost wasn’t formed merely to protect the interests of its member races or maintain friendly relations with neighboring powers. It was also an economic alliance. A symbol of collective strength.

By presenting a united and dominant front, the coalition had secured nearly forty-three percent of the Dark Realm’s winter- and frost-related market. It was an enormous share of the market, one coveted even by the ancient Ruler-class families.

That dominance hadn’t been built on strength alone. It had been built on reputation. Customers, merchants, and business partners trusted the Coalition of Frost because its name carried weight. Its prestige reassured others that its territories were stable, its trade routes secure, and its member races capable of protecting their interests.

Today’s failure struck at the very foundation of that reputation. Once word spread that a coalition of so many powerful races had been manipulated, outwitted, and ultimately failed to stop a single enemy from achieving his objective, confidence in the Coalition of Frost would inevitably erode.

Their rivals would seize the opportunity to poach customers, challenge their influence, and undermine their authority. Even the ancient Ruler-class families that had long coveted their market share would move to exploit the coalition’s moment of weakness.

By the time the Coalition of Frost recovered its reputation. It would almost certainly have lost a substantial portion of the market it had spent countless generations building.

None of them knew how this disaster could be salvaged. But they all knew who was responsible for it. The Snow Elves. And above all, their Crown Prince. Their collective resentment simmered beneath the surface, yet not a single leader voiced it aloud.

Looking at the Snow Elves’ current predicament, none of them wished to pour fuel onto the fire. They all understood the temperament of the Snow Elven Crown Prince.

He was one of the principal architects behind the Coalition of Frost’s rise to prominence and one of the main reasons it commanded such a dominant position in the market.

The last thing they wanted was to become the target of his displaced fury while emotions were still running high. So, for now, they remained silent. They stepped aside and allowed the Snow Elves space to deal with the immediate aftermath.

Silence, however, wasn’t forgiveness. It was merely restraint. By tomorrow, once tempers had cooled and the dust had settled, the Snow Elves would have to provide the coalition with a satisfactory explanation for everything that had transpired. If they failed, the Coalition of Frost might not remain the same coalition it was today.

After all, alliances founded on mutual benefit endured only as long as that benefit outweighed the cost. Today’s humiliation had shifted that balance.