The moment the final defensive formation activated beneath the Frostveil fortress, Gerald understood that they had made a mistake, but it was not the kind of mistake that could be fixed by simply breaking through the nearest wall and retreating. The entire fortress had been designed around the assumption that someone would eventually attack it, and every decision Frostveil had made throughout the match suddenly made sense. The three defenders they had seen earlier had not been protecting the fortress at all. They had been standing there to make the fortress look vulnerable, waiting for an opposing team to become confident enough to enter the courtyard before activating the formation hidden beneath it.Gerald immediately raised his spear and shouted for everyone to move, but the warning came a fraction too late. Ice erupted from the ground around them, forming thick pillars that sealed the exits while a translucent barrier spread across the entire courtyard. The air became so cold that