The Yetis attacking us were clearly more numerous than our group.

Frantically, I spun the rope in my hand, surveying the area around me.

Fights were breaking out all over, and I had no idea where to begin lending aid.

“Uwaaaaagh!”

One of the merchants standing nearby was suddenly lifted off the ground, crashing into a wagon before slumping over unconscious.

The iron shield he dropped was dented deeply, the imprint of a Yeti’s fist unmistakable.

“Don’t try to block them! Dodge first, then strike back!”

Syle, the caravan leader, shouted while aiming his crossbow at a Yeti.

But the creature didn’t so much as flinch when struck by one or two arrows. On the contrary, it only grew more enraged.

“Aim for their eyes!”

“Easier said than done, rookie!”

In the chaos, several wagon lanterns were destroyed, plunging the area into deeper darkness.

In such dim light, aiming for the Yetis’ eyes was nearly impossible.

Even Syle, normally so composed, was too preoccupied fending off Yetis to issue clear orders.

Everyone else was similarly overwhelmed, flailing their weapons at whatever was in front of them.

“This isn’t working… Huff!”

Swinging my lasso, I managed to hook the neck of a nearby Yeti and bring it crashing to the ground.

Even though it was several times heavier than a ram, it toppled easily once its center of gravity was lost.

“Whack!”

The Yeti’s face slammed into the ground, and a mustachioed coachman seized the opportunity, driving his spear into the creature and finishing it off.

But before the coachman could even catch his breath, another Yeti appeared behind him and shattered his spear shaft with a single blow.

The coachman, now unarmed, screamed in desperation.

“Help me!”

“Get down!”

I quickly grabbed another rope, whipping it across the Yeti’s face. The creature let out a piercing scream and stumbled backward.

“Neighhh!”

Just then, a panicked pony came charging through, kicking the retreating Yeti squarely in the chest.

The force of the kick was immense, like the explosion of a firecracker.

The Yeti’s skull cracked audibly, and it collapsed.

But three more Yetis immediately appeared to take its place. It seemed there was no end to them.

I grabbed the coachman and pulled him toward me, but sadly, I had no way to save the horse.

“Whinny!”

The horse let out a pitiful cry as the Yetis dragged it down.

The sound was abruptly cut short as a furious Yeti ripped the pony apart.

“No! Jackson!”

The coachman screamed in anguish as I pushed him behind me.

Once again, I flung my rope, hooking the legs of another Yeti that was charging toward us.

The creature fell, slamming its head on the ice.

From atop the wagons, the merchants aimed their arrows and shot it multiple times.

“Quaaack!”

We managed to bring down another one, but at this rate, it was hopeless.

The merchants around me were being pushed back by the horde of Yetis.

At this rate, we’d be picked off one by one.

The chilling news of the Zeroth Caravan being wiped out by Yetis flashed in my mind.

Fighting alone wouldn’t save us.

We needed a plan.

As I scanned my surroundings, my eyes landed on a particularly massive Yeti.

It was devouring a thrashing pony whole, its bloodied jaws stretched wide as it roared.

That must be their leader.

Yetis are hierarchical creatures. If we can take out the leader, the rest might retreat.

But facing that monstrous beast head-on? Impossible.

Look at its thighs—they’re bigger than my torso.

If I tried to wrestle with it, I’d be crushed in an instant.

“Isn’t there… some kind of weakness?”

Harwin always said that clues from the situation could lead to a solution.

I swung my lasso absently, thinking about the Yeti’s potential weaknesses.

Yetis were beasts strong against both cold and darkness.

They had excellent night vision and thick fur for protection.

Right now, all I could think of were their strengths.

But if I flipped that logic… maybe their strengths could also be their weaknesses.

If their night vision was so sharp, perhaps bright light could hinder them.

And if their fur was so thick, it might catch fire easily.

It was a crude idea, and I wasn’t sure if it would work—but it was worth trying.

It was better than standing here, waiting for everyone to be massacred.

I swung my lasso at a nearby Yeti, striking it, then looked for Syle, the caravan leader.

He was in trouble—a Yeti was charging at him.

“W-Wait! Hold on, you monster!”

Syle was fumbling with his crossbow, trying to reload it, but he was clearly out of time.

The other merchants were too busy dodging and fighting to help him.

The Yeti bared its gums in a cruel grin and raised its fist to strike Syle.

“Not so fast!”

Leaping off a broken wagon, I threw my lasso.

The oversized loop slipped under the Yeti’s arm and caught around its wide hips with a satisfying snap.

The rope tugged hard in my hands, the force jolting through me.

Twisting my body, I wrenched the rope tightly.

“Quaaack!”

The Yeti screeched in pain as its torso twisted unnaturally.

Charging forward, I pulled the rope taut and stabbed a dagger into the back of the Yeti’s knee.

The feeling of the blade sinking deep into flesh was sickening, but hesitation wasn’t an option. I twisted the knife hard.

“Keeek!”

The Yeti let out another shrill cry, collapsing forward onto its knees.

At last, Syle, having finished reloading, fired his crossbow. The bolt embedded itself squarely between the beast’s eyes, finishing it off.

“I thought I was done for… Thank you, kid. I owe you one,” Syle said, panting.

“You can repay me now—with a firework.”

“A firework? Are you trying to signal for help? Who in their right mind would see that out here in this vast snowfield?”

Syle shook his head, dismissing the idea as pointless.

He explained that fireworks were meant to signal group members who had temporarily separated, not to call for help.

But I wasn’t planning to use it for that purpose anyway.

I didn’t have time to explain everything, so I just held out my hand.

“Just give it to me. You’re not taking it to the afterlife, are you?”

“You little brat. Watch your mouth,” Syle muttered as he pulled off my hat and smacked me on the head.

The sharp pain made my eyes water as I rubbed my head.

He thrust a sleek, elongated object into my hands.

“See the string at the bottom? Pull that, and it’ll go off. That’s the last one we have, and it’s damn expensive, so don’t waste it…”

“Thank you!”

Clutching the firework tightly, I took off running.

Around me, the battle continued to rage.

The merchants fired crossbows from atop the wagons and stabbed at charging Yetis with their spears.

There was no point trying to run. Alone, I’d only freeze to death in this snowfield.

And so, everyone clung desperately to survival.

But there was no light in their eyes.

Their morale had already been crushed, the inevitability of defeat weighing heavily on them.

As I ran, my foot snagged on a corpse, nearly sending me sprawling.

It was the mustachioed coachman I had saved earlier, now cold and rigid in death.

A surge of unexplainable emotions threatened to overwhelm me, but I had no time to mourn.

I quickly moved forward, lifting my head—only to freeze at the sight before me.

“Wooooowl!”

The leader of the Yetis was reaching for the wagon deep within our ranks.

It was the wagon where Semna  was hiding.

Panic shot through me, making my vision spin.

I wasn’t ready to face the creature yet, but—

“Look at me!”

I shouted and hurled my lasso.

The noose flew straight and true.

Even before it landed, I knew it was perfect.

“Quack!”

Just as expected, the loop caught securely around the leader Yeti’s neck.

I twisted my body with all my strength, hoping to snap its neck in one go.

“Quack! Quaaaack!”

But the leader Yeti swung its thick neck violently, stomping its feet as it roared.

The sheer force of its movements dragged me across the ground, my grip on the rope useless against its raw power.

“It’s ridiculously strong!”

Reluctantly, I let go of the rope.

Still, it wasn’t a wasted effort—I had succeeded in drawing its attention away from Semna .

The leader Yeti turned its back to the wagon and focused on me.

Its icy blue eyes radiated deadly intent.

From behind the wagon, I caught a glimpse of fiery red hair peeking out.

Semna  was hesitating, holding a double-handed axe. Surely, she wasn’t planning to use that… Please, no.

“Semna! Get back inside the wagon! No, go find Syle instead!”

“What about you? Let’s escape together!”

“Escape where? There’s nowhere to go in this snowfield. Just go already!”

I pulled out a new lasso and swung it in wide circles, keeping the leader’s focus on me.

The Yeti’s glowing blue eyes narrowed, and it pounded its massive fists together.

We locked eyes, each gauging the other’s capabilities.

For a moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of despair creeping in.

Could I really fight a creature four or five times my size? The odds were impossible.

The leader Yeti must have thought the same, as our silent standoff ended abruptly.

“Woooowl!”

It charged at me, the ground trembling beneath its massive weight.

I hurled the lasso, aiming for its ankle, but the leader Yeti deftly sidestepped the rope with surprising agility.

Desperate, I threw another lasso, but this time it was rushed and missed entirely.

“Woooowl!”

In mere moments, it closed the distance between us.

As it loomed closer, its sheer size became all the more terrifying.

Half-formed plans swirled in my head, none of them coherent.

The real problem was that I had rushed to save Semna  without grabbing oil or fire—both crucial to my plan.

I just needed a little more time. Just a moment more—

“Yaaahhh!”

From the other side of the Yeti, Semna  let out a piercing scream.

Her double-handed axe spun through the air and struck the leader Yeti’s back.

The beast flinched but wasn’t seriously injured—the handle had hit it instead of the blade. What was she thinking?!

“Hey! Look at me, not Sol!”

Semna  yelled, grabbing and throwing whatever she could find.

Among the objects hurled was a lantern, which arced high into the air before descending slowly. At least, that’s how it seemed to me.

“Hup!”

I swung the lasso above my head and snatched the lantern out of the air.

Even I had to admit it was an incredible feat.

The retrieved lantern was securely tied to my waist alongside the firework.

The leader Yeti stood between me and Semna , as if deliberating which one of us to devour first.

Its gaze briefly wandered to a horse lingering on the battlefield, slowly approaching us.

“Zero!”

At my shout, Zero finally bolted toward me at full speed.

As he neared, I ran alongside him and leapt onto his back.

“Woooowl!”

The leader Yeti turned its attention to us, seemingly alarmed by the thundering hooves.

Zero hesitated for a moment, but I trusted him.

This was the same horse that had been temperamental and difficult when we first met—there was no way he’d back down now.

“Let’s go!”

“Neighhh!”

Zero dug his hooves into the ice and charged forward.

The leader Yeti spread its arms wide, exposing its hairy chest, ready to grab us and tear us apart the moment we got close.

“Woooowl!”

“Shut up!”

I grabbed the firework from my waist and took aim.

Just as the timing lined up, Zero leapt high into the air.

Suspended in midair, I held my breath.

The leader Yeti reached out with its massive hands, aiming for me.

I clutched the firework tightly, biting down on the string attached to its end.

I yanked it with all my strength.

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap.

It was as if lightning had struck horizontally.

Twin streams of red fire shot forward, entangling and colliding before exploding right between the leader Yeti’s eyes. Sparks flew wildly in all directions.

“Woooowl!”

The leader Yeti instinctively covered its eyes with both hands.

Zero darted sideways, sidestepping the beast, and kicked out with his back legs.

Seizing the opportunity, I leaned low toward the leader Yeti and smashed the lantern against it.

The glass shattered, spilling oil onto its thick fur.

Moments later, the sparks from the firework ignited the oil, and flames roared to life across its body.

“Keaaak!”

The leader Yeti howled, thrashing and rolling in the snow, but the glossy, oil-soaked fur refused to extinguish the flames.

“Well done, kid! Everyone, focus fire! Take that one down first!”

Syle shouted urgently.

The caravan members immediately aimed their crossbows at the flailing, blazing Yeti and fired.

“Kuueeegh...!”

But the leader Yeti wasn’t going down easily.

Even with its body engulfed in flames, it staggered to its feet, charging forward with the desperate determination to take at least one of us down with it.

Damn it. It was heading for Semna .

I felt around my waist.

Both the firework and the lantern were gone, leaving only my trusty rope.

But that would be enough.

“Look at me! I am Solaire!”