Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 253 Slaughtering the Frost Giants
"We've arrived at the river valley basin."

When the scouts relayed the message from afar, Louis was standing on a protruding rock platform, holding binoculars, his gaze passing through the snow-covered mountain pass and looking towards the valley still shrouded in frost.

The earth remained pale, the wind carrying the scent of frozen soil and withered grass.

Even so, this basin still appears extremely wide and fertile.

The river flows slowly through the center, with broken wooden fences and remnants of cooking smoke scattered along its banks.

Those were the settlements of the frost giants, densely packed with more than thirty different locations.

"According to the scouts' reports, there are a total of ninety-eight giants, occupying an area spread out in a semi-circle, mainly concentrated in the central part of the basin and the hilly area on the southeast side." Lambert took the intelligence report, dismounted from his horse, and approached him, whispering.

Louis nodded, his gaze fixed on the giant's tracks; it seemed they had occupied this place for quite some time.

He dismounted, his cloak billowing on the ground, and unfurled the battle plan on the makeshift command platform.

This is a typical "wintering giant tribe" that, after the insect plague and the chaos in the North, crossed the Rift Pass and occupied this uncultivated basin.

They've made this place their home, which means these enormous monsters are unlikely to leave easily.

This is the first tough battle before spring planting in the North.

"...If the valley passage is not liberated, spring planting will be completely postponed. What we need is not just to defeat the Frost Giants, but a clean and swift annihilation."

Fortunately, he had already confirmed the intelligence with the advance scout knights through the daily intelligence system:

"The enemy force consists of ninety-eight individuals, including eight unique individuals: three brutal types with red stripes and raging flames, and five thick-armored defensive types with blue eyes and stone skin."

Therefore, Louis had prepared various plans and combat forces before he arrived.

He ordered the existing troops to be divided into two groups.

Rapid Hunting Group: A total of 52 elite Red Tide knights, divided into ten teams, led by Lambert, all equipped with light magic bombs;
Heavy Bombardment Team: The engineering corps transported two heavy magic explosive bombs a day in advance. They have now been set up at the high points on both sides of the canyon. The firing angle has been calibrated by calculating the wind direction to ensure a hit.

The entire operation will be personally commanded by Louis, who will stand on the high observation point on the northwest side and use command flags to coordinate the entire battlefield from a distance.

Louis looked down at the basin below, where the ground had been trampled into scorched earth, and said in a deep voice, "We will show these snow-eating, blood-drinking monsters what human warfare is all about."

For the Knights of the Crimson Tide Territory, this was not a war in the traditional sense, but a meticulously planned luxury hunt.

The prey were the ninety-eight frost giants that occupied this place.

“A decisive battle on the plains? Only a madman would do that.” Louis chuckled softly from his high ground.

"Even elite knights are not made of steel. Giants are incredibly strong, and there are ninety-eight of them. If we fight them head-on, we will suffer heavy casualties."

Therefore, from the very beginning, he did not intend to confront these monsters head-on.

What he had to do was lure them into the cage, lock them up all at once, and then chop them up little by little.

These giants, though strong, have just survived a harsh winter.

Having no food reserves and relying solely on body fat to survive for two months, they were starving and their bodies were empty.

This is precisely their most vulnerable moment.

So Louis quietly set up thirteen enormous military-grade cooking pots at three points along the valley's edge: the pothole, the slope, and under Eagle's Beak Rock, before dusk yesterday.

The pot was bubbling with a broth made from salt, fat, roasted meat, and vetiver juice, designed to stimulate the frost giant's sense of smell.

This spice, carried by the north wind, is like an invisible whip, precisely delivering its scent into the giants' camp.

Louis stood on the high ground, watching the scout report: "They've moved; they're starting to gather."

From the perspective of the Frost Giants, this might be a divinely ordained feast.

The aroma is just too strong.

Even with their dull nasal passages, they could clearly distinguish the fragrance at this moment.

The grilled tendons, mixed with bone fat and salt, and sprinkled with some warm, spicy plant juice, were so intensely flavorful that they seemed to hook into the depths of the stomach, dragging them out of the camp.

More than thirty frost giants staggered to their feet.

They were starving.

The storm had just stopped last night, and the entire tribe had been without food for two days. They couldn't gnaw on the frozen beasts under the snow, and the corpses of their own kind had long been devoured.

The fragrance is now so enchanting and irresistible that it's hard for them to resist.

A red-striped individual was the first to rush out of the camp, the scars on its shoulders gleaming blood-red in the morning light.

It recklessly shoved its fellow creatures, smashing two cedar trees along the way and knocking a weak frost giant over and tumbling into the ravine.

"Roar!!!" The roar shook the wilderness, causing the ice to crack.

The other giants followed, their centipedes rising with tremendous force, causing the entire mountainside to tremble.

The colossal statues, weighing several tons, stumbled and stomped about, their clubs flying, sending stone chips flying and snow tumbling and collapsing along their path.

This is a chaotic and brutal scene, and this is exactly the kind of loss of control that Louis was waiting for.

At the end of the canyon, a cold wind swirled, and snowflakes swirled, sweeping across the mountains with a slight popping sound.

On the two high points, the iron tripods were tightly covered by camouflage tarpaulins, and two heavy magic explosive bombs lay quietly beneath them.

They were already in position, waiting only for the final command.

On the midline of the cliff, Louis, holding a telescope, gazed down at the giants charging into the valley like mad bulls.

He knew very well that the giants were not good enough to detect such a trap—especially when they were hungry.

They didn't even realize how they had walked from the land of freedom into this encirclement.

Sure enough, most of the giants had reached the heart of the valley, where thirteen boiling "meat broth pots" were piled up.

They swung their clubs wildly, fighting and tearing at each other. One blue-eyed, thick-shelled creature was knocked over by two of its own kind near the pot, its head crushed into the stone ground.

At the very center, a red-striped giant went berserk, roared, and stomped to death a slightly thinner member of its kind in front of it.

Then he plopped down next to the soup pot, and actually reached out his paw to stuff the scalding meatball on the edge of the pot into his mouth, not caring at all that hot oil was dripping down his chin.

That's about right... almost there.

On the cliff, Louis slowly raised a right hand wearing a black glove.

The flag officer stood behind him, holding a deep red command flag that remained perfectly still.

The next moment, Louis clenched his fist.

Swah——

The red flag with gold trim was raised high, fluttering in the north wind, like a burning sword pointing straight to the bottom of the valley!

That was the "fire" signal.

On both sides of the valley, the heavy magic explosive bombs hidden under the snow finally detonated at that moment.

boom! ! ! !

It was a thunderous roar that ripped through the sky, almost instantly tearing the air at the bottom of the valley apart.

The explosion point was set in the heart of the valley, precisely targeting the largest gathering area around the three meat pots.

A fiery red light suddenly rose from the snow, like a volcanic eruption, and then transformed into a dark, mushroom cloud that devoured everything.

Giants within a 50-meter radius of the core didn't even have time to struggle before being instantly melted into charred bones.

Their flesh twisted, evaporated, and burst in the high temperature, their bones deformed, and shattered like porcelain. One red-striped individual even vaporized directly at the epicenter of the explosion, leaving only half of its charred spine embedded in the mud, resembling a burnt ghost pillar.

The shockwave from the explosion cleaved the air like a sharp axe, spreading rapidly outwards.

The outer ring of more than thirty giants were blown away and rolled on both sides of the valley.

Some had their brains splattered from hitting the rock face, while others had their legs blown off. They lay on the ground howling, trying to struggle to get up, but could only groan in the scalding hot snow.

"Guaaah—Howoo—!"

Screams rose and fell, the giants like wild beasts thrown into a hot pot.

The shockwave spread to the cliff, and a fragile layer of ice buried under the snow finally broke apart.

"Snap—rumble!"

The ice cliff collapsed with a deafening roar, and twelve frost giants that had not yet entered the valley fell into the collapse. Some of them crashed through the ice and fell dozens of meters into the valley, accompanied by sounds of bones cracking and screams.

Some were trapped under the cliff, with only their writhing limbs visible.

The entire canyon has now been transformed into a hellish cauldron filled with blood, flesh, and flames.

Immediately afterwards, smoke bombs dropped from the four mountain peaks were ignited, and thick, inky fog obscured the entire valley.

The world suddenly blurred in the giants' eyes, and the air was filled with a mixture of scorching heat and the smell of burning. They lost their sight, smell, and sense of direction.

The remaining forty-odd giants began to instinctively retreat.

They panicked and ran back, howling and trampling each other, some even crashing into the valley wall and bleeding profusely.

But at that moment, the second heavy magic explosion bomb on the southwest slope valley was also launched.

boom----! ! !
This time, the explosion was no longer a vertical projection, but a sweeping, horizontal attack.

The intense pillar of fire flared outwards in a fan shape, precisely cutting off the giants' retreat path.

The dozen or so giants charging ahead were directly burned and devoured, some even flying several meters into the air before being torn to pieces, their severed limbs and charred flesh scattered on both sides of the valley.

As a heavily armored, blue-eyed individual attempted to jump, it was struck by a shockwave that charred half of its body, cracking its helmet-like skull, and causing it to fall backward. Its eyeballs exploded into black smoke under the intense heat.

The snow instantly turned black, and the surface temperature was as high as if an iron pot were scorching.

With nowhere to escape, the giant could only howl and kneel amidst the embers and blood.

In just a quarter of an hour, two magic-explosive bombs destroyed the main force of the entire Frost Tribe.

Of the original ninety-eight frost giants, only twenty-two remain struggling, and they have nowhere to escape.

High in the sky, a fierce wind swept past, carrying with it a hot, acrid smell.

The valley was still burning, embers swirling, charred flesh and black smoke mingling, like a sacrifice from some barbaric civilization.

Just as the Frost Giants' ranks crumbled and they were in complete chaos, the main banner was raised high atop the mountain.

Louis slowly lowered his arm, and the flag officer beside him shouted loudly: "Flag—fly!"

Red flags waved and bugles sounded.

"Knight Squad, move out!"

In an instant, ten elite knight squads sped down the mountain paths on both sides like sharp blades, their coordinated advance creating an oppressive atmosphere like a giant net.

They formed a pincer movement, communicating with each other without needing to exchange words, relying solely on flag signals and whistles.

Each group consists of five people, equipped with lightweight magic explosive bombs, which are controlled by the secondary rider and accurately thrown into the most densely packed area of ​​remaining enemies at the bottom of the valley.

"Fire!" The magic bombs drew sharp arcs as they landed and exploded!
"Bang—! Boom!!"

The three frost giants, struggling to rise and attempt to regroup, were thrown into the air along with the scorching snow beneath them. Their flesh was instantly torn apart by the blazing flames, and their bones turned into charcoal and rolled at the bottom of the valley.

But at the same time as the explosion, a blue-eyed giant roared and rose up!

Its body was filled with icy energy, and its extreme cold domain expanded instantly, with snow and mist swirling wildly within a radius of tens of meters, and the temperature plummeting!

A small squad of knights approached too quickly; their warhorses stopped neighing, their armor frosted over, and their breaths condensed into ice beads!

"Use your fighting spirit to dispel the cold!" the squad leader roared. The five of them instantly ignited their fighting spirit, which evaporated and dispelled the cold air as they forcefully entered the giant's ice domain!

The blue-eyed giant roared and cleaved the mountain rocks in two with a powerful swing, sending them crashing down on the knight like an avalanche!

But the knights' formation remained intact. Two riders charged forward to lure the enemy, while three riders attacked from the flanks, instantly severing his hind knee tendon!
The giant knelt down, his roar still unabated, when a sword of battle aura pierced through his jaw and into his skull, severing his central nervous system, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud!

Another heavily armored, blue-eyed individual was also driven to desperation. It roared and leaped out of the pile of corpses, its flames still burning, and it still tried to forcefully unleash a frost storm!

"Reload!" the vice-captain shouted, and the three knights switched to explosive mode and ignited the high-heat magic explosive bombs!

"cast!"

Three streaks of fire precisely struck the giant's abdomen, chest, and visor, detonating in mid-air!

"Bang! Boom!! Boom—!"

The blue-eyed giant, with its strongest defense, collapsed from the chest, its ice crystal armor shattering like a broken shell. After its throat was burned through, it fell like charred copper from a ruined furnace, unable to move.

Meanwhile, the giant group on the other side attempted to break through.

"Stop the valley entrance!"

There, a blockade had been set up long ago, and two mobile knight squads were waiting.

"bomb!"

Three lightweight magic explosive bombs accurately hit the enemy's escape route, creating walls of fire and rolling stones.

The giants turned around in panic, only to be caught in the pursuing knight formation on the secondary flanks and instantly annihilated.

The last red-striped berserker giant roared and raised its arms, attempting to break through the blockade amidst the chaos.

But before he could take three steps, a silver figure leaped down from the cliff like a shooting star.

Lambert's spear burned with intense battle aura as it pierced through the air, precisely striking the throat of the red-striped giant!
The six-meter-tall monster seemed to have lost its life support; its eyes glazed over, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, but only splashed outside the combat boots.

The valley was silent, save for the soft crackling of coke in the melting snow.

One of the knights kicked the broken ice armor with his boot, "...Really, they can't even hit us."

Another person sighed softly, "From beginning to end, they were treated like they were being processed in batches. This isn't war, it's a hunting ground."

The entire Frost Giant tribe was wiped out; none of the ninety-eight individuals escaped.

Louis suffered zero casualties, with only twelve men sustaining minor injuries, mostly from blasts and abrasions.

This was a classic battle of extreme tactical suppression and terrain-luring.

Louis stood on the high ground, overlooking the battlefield in the valley, his gaze calm and serene.

Without drawing his sword, he relied solely on a plan, half a day of deployment, and precise commands to turn the most dangerous enemies in the valley into a pile of charred bones.

The numerous limbs of the Frost Giants remaining in the valley were systematically collected. Louis ordered them to be boiled, crushed, and fermented to make fertilizer.

Two years ago, the Red Tide Territory tested a batch of "giant bone fertilizer" with remarkable results, and now these corpses are being used as fertilizer raw materials.

With the giant gone, the valley basin was no longer a threat, and preparations for spring planting began in full swing.

(End of this chapter)