This is a widespread snowfall.
The fluttering snowflakes stretch from the Dark Mountains to the north of the Rock Fortress. Nearly one-third of the southern land is dyed white by this first winter snow, and across the Rock Fortress to the north, in On the vast land of Ansu, a few areas in the east and the entire northern region also received heavy snowfall - a snowfall seemed to change the entire world overnight, and the active human society quickly went into hibernation in the cold winter. The Holy Spirit Plain Falling into silence, the armies on the eastern front turned into a confrontation. Border trade in the west was suspended, and the archduke of the north had already arrived at the noble territory closest to the Rock Fortress.
In the family castle of the Count of Pompeii, the flame is burning in the fireplace. The precious golden oak is used as firewood. The flame exudes a calming fragrance, and the bright firelight of the fireplace illuminates The living room is paved with gold and red carpets, casting flickering and swaying light and shadow on the gold and silver utensils and lamp stands in the living room. Between the swaying light and shadow, Count Pompeii's round and fat face is filled with flattery and kindness. With a slightly nervous smile.
The great nobleman on the border of the plains leaned forward: "Your arrival really makes me feel more at ease - I haven't slept peacefully for a day since the fortress in the south changed hands. Those Cecilians built a lot of magic devices on the fortress. I really don’t know which night my poor castle will collapse..."
Duke Victoria Wilder is wearing a She wore a snow-white dress with light blue patterns, and her silver-white hair was pulled up high behind her head, with two strands hanging down by her ears. The golden threads woven in her hair shone in the firelight of the fireplace. She glanced at Count Pompeii in front of her: "As far as I know, Duke Cecil has not expanded outwards or attacked your territory since the Rock Fortress changed hands."
" ...This is indeed the case," Count Pompeii wiped his forehead - he was not sweating, but no one would not feel nervous in front of the Duchess of Wilde, known as the "Queen of the North". The Duke is the most powerful on-the-ground noble in the kingdom, and has a harsh and cold reputation. More importantly, she now controls Silver Castle, while Count Pompeii not only lost the nominal fiefdom of Rock Fortress, but is also supporting He lost a large number of family knights and soldiers during the process of building the Rock Fortress, which made him carefully maintain the relationship with the southern border and at the same time seek assistance from the royal capital as much as possible. At this moment, he naturally spoke cautiously, "The Cecil army has not stepped out. The Rock Fortress is one step ahead, but they have been building more fortifications on the north wall of the fortress, which is very disturbing."
"It seems that the founding hero does not want us to 'disturb' him..." Next to Victoria, Veronica, who was wearing a white female priest's robe and had a calm and quiet temperament, suddenly broke the silence and spoke softly.
Victoria nodded slightly and looked at Count Pompeii: "Besides building fortifications, what else are the Cecil people doing?"
The chubby Earl thought for a while: "They demolished the southern wall of Rock Fortress- Or rather they blew it up and then didn't repair it - they built a 'Rock City' south of the fortress. They prohibited people from crossing the Rock City, but the Rock City itself was open to merchants and envoys. "
" Transform the Rock Fortress into a fortress city with trade functions..." Victoria pondered, "So, you have been to Rock City? "
"I... I am busy with affairs in my territory, so I couldn't go in person," Count Pompeii wiped his smooth forehead again, and was too embarrassed to say the words "I didn't dare to go", "But I have been keeping an eye on it and sent messengers. Rock City is full of magical devices built by the Cecil people, and there is also a huge market. They opened the gates of the Gorgon River and allowed merchant ships from the Holy Spirit Plain to dock at the dock next to the market area. The market attracted There are a lot of businessmen - you know, as long as businessmen see money, they are basically willing to risk their lives..."
Victoria did not respond, but just glanced at Count Pompeii in front of her.
This is also a descendant of a great knight who once had great military exploits. However, after being pampered and pampered in the peaceful Holy Spirit Plains for so many generations, the spirit of bravery and courage has long disappeared in this bloodline - but as this land The owner, the earl, at least did his part and learned as much as possible about the situation of the Rock Fortress.
The sound of wind and snow outside the castle has gradually stopped.
< p>Duke Victoria stood up, and the black-haired maid Maggie who was standing next to her immediately stepped forward to straighten her slightly wrinkled dress. The northern ruler looked at Count Pompeii who also stood up and said lightly Said: "Do your best to make statistics on the southern border's trade with the Holy Spirit Plains in the past year. Count how many merchants have contacted them. Count the merchants they sent. In addition, after the Rock Fortress changed hands, they mainly purchased goods. of goods. "A trace of sweat really broke out on Count Pompeii's round face this time: "This... okay, I will do my best..."
It is not an easy task to calculate a few reliable figures from those messy piles of paper, and many businessmen who take small routes or bribe soldiers will not appear on the tax collector's list at all. As the ruler of this land, Count Pompeii couldn't even tell how many merchants came in and out of his territory every month - but since the duchess had given the order, he must try his best to fulfill it.
It seems that tonight is going to be a sleepless night.
Looking at Count Pompeii’s troubled expression, Victoria sighed in her heart again.
Statistics, registration staff, Standardizing laws... At a meeting in Silver Castle seven years ago, the Duke of Eastland had proposed these concepts. He learned these things from the Typhons, and had tried hard to get the Ansu people to learn them, but now Seven years have passed, and the Eastern Territory has become a rebel force. The demands made by Archduke Silas Loren at Silver Castle have not yet spread to the southern part of the Holy Spirit Plain...
Silas Lauren...don't you see hope?
Viloria Wilder left the inner court of the castle, passed through the mottled ancient outer wall corridor, and came to the top terrace of Pompeii Castle.
The wind and snow have stopped, but there are still snowflakes falling from time to time in the night sky. They are the snowflakes accumulated on the towers and roofs that are scattered in the night wind. These snowflakes flutter around the terrace and automatically avoid it. He stood within ten meters of Duke Victoria, as if in awe.
Compared with the Winter Castle built on the top of the mountains, overlooking thousands of miles of ice and snow, the family castle that Count Pompeii is proud of is much smaller and shabby, but it still occupies the best place. The terrain also has an excellent terrace. Standing on the terrace, Victoria's view is directly in front of the mountains of the Southern Pass and the rock fortress in the mountains.
In the middle is an almost unobstructed plain area.
No wonder Count Pompeii had trouble sleeping and eating.
In the deep night, the Rock Fortress is the brightest light source in the dark mountains. With the keen eyesight of an extraordinary person, Victoria can see that the light is made up of a large number of lights set on the city walls and towers. Formed by lights - those lights face in all directions, they can illuminate various levels, and can also interfere with the attacker's sight when the enemy is trying to attack, making it difficult for them to target the shooters or mages on the walls and towers.
In addition to those light sources, the entire Rock Fortress is also covered with a shimmering shield. That shield makes the details of other areas of the entire fortress shrouded in a hazy veil. Hard to tell.
"Is that the big shield of Rock Fortress..." Veronica's voice came from the side, and this "Saint Princess" had already arrived beside Duchess Wilder at some point. , she looked in the direction of the Rock Fortress, surrounded by the faint holy light as before, "I heard that on the 58th of the Fire Moon, the Cecil people used some powerful magic to destroy the shield... No To think that they repaired it so quickly."
"The large shield is an important barrier for the Rock Fortress. The Cecil people will definitely repair it as soon as possible, and the magic barrier can only be charged and used. There is no real damage to the projection structure, and it is easy to repair just the shield being penetrated."
"Is that so..." Veronica said softly, she raised her head and looked to the south in a daze. , "...I don't know much about things in the magic field..."
Listening to this obviously careless response, Duchess Wilder just smiled indifferently, and then talked to this "Saint Princess" Together, we stood on the terrace of the castle in the night when the first snow had stopped, quietly admiring this peaceful winter night.
The weather was sunny on the second day.
In the main hall of the castle, Count Pompeii handed a roll of parchment still exuding the fragrance of ink into the hands of Duchess Victoria.
This scroll of parchment contains rough statistics on the trade situation in the Southern Territory in the past year, as well as the changes in the Rock Fortress.The content of the business dealings between the Lord and Queen is superficial and vague. I am afraid that only 30% of it is reliable, and the remaining 70% is probably the result of guesswork by Count Pompeii and a group of consultants.
With such information, even with Victoria's intelligence, it is estimated that there is not much valuable information.
However, looking at Count Pompeii's red eyes and the listless looks of several consultants present, the duchess knew that this was the best outcome.
At least Count Pompeii can come up with this thing, instead of asking himself "what is statistics" with a blank face like those real country nobles.
"Go back and rest, Count," Victoria's words made Count Pompeii relax, "We will bring good news."
"Your wisdom is Ansu's greatest Lucky," the fat earl bent down and said sincerely, "I hope your trip goes well."
Victoria nodded and turned to leave, while Veronica deliberately lagged a few steps behind. Her Royal Highness the Princess said next to Count Pompeii: "Don't use this tone of farewell on the battlefield. As a noble of the kingdom, show some courage - those are our ancestors, not man-eating beasts."
The Earl of Pompeii showed a somewhat embarrassed and ashamed smile and lowered his head: "Just as you said."
The Duchess of the North and Her Royal Highness the Princess Blessed by the Holy Light both left. The fat Count Pompeii stayed where he was, but he couldn't help but say something degrading in his heart:
Growing up, the one who beat him the hardest was his grandfather...
My grandfather is like this, but now an ancestor from another family who is dozens of generations away and not related by blood has picked up a weapon... Why don't you hold back and beat people to death?
The convoy of envoys from the royal capital left Count Pompeii’s castle. After the winter snow, which was completely unsuitable for going out, the carriages and horses drove onto the snow-covered Kingdom Avenue.
Victoria Wilder, who was sitting in a gorgeous carriage, raised her hand, and an orderly wind blew out of thin air, wrapping around the convoy. The snow on the road was blown away, and the coldness of winter was also blown away. Block out.
The knights escorting the convoy struck the shields hanging next to their saddles with their long swords, praising their mistress loudly, while soldiers wearing red and blue uniforms blew the horns at the front of the team. , the military band played music accordingly, and with the inspiring beats and tunes, the messengers from Saint Sunil took steps towards the Rock Fortress.
In Cecil City, in the Lord's Mansion, the half-length projection of Knight Walder Perici, Commander of the Rock and Commander of the Second Legion, is appearing over the magic network communicator in front of Gawain. The respectable old knight stood upright: "Your Majesty the Duke, the envoys from the royal capital have approached the Rock Fortress."
"Be prepared and receive them seriously." Gawain nodded slightly, "The convoy sent to greet them has already arrived." Let's go."
Then he paused and smiled: "Don't neglect it - they are a big deal."