The Kingdom of Everwinter, Snow Reflection Castle.
"My Lord, My Lord... Graycastle's army has retreated!" When a guard rushed into the castle hall excitedly and announced the latest news, all the nobles fixed their eyes on him.
"Are you sure?" Earl Marwayne slapped the armrest of his chair and stood up abruptly.
"Yes, more than one spy said so." The guard nodded and said, "Someone saw with his own eyes that their camp was emptied overnight. They even abandoned a lot of rations!"
"These people finally … scram!" The Count couldn't help but laugh, his mood suddenly relaxed. A month ago, the people of Graycastle suddenly appeared in the four port cities of the Kingdom of Everwinter and rapidly expanded their territory. They did not compromise, neither did they accept surrenders, nor did they accept tributes. Wherever they went, they almost wiped out the population. This plague of barbarism was even more terrifying than the church. At least the church could communicate with them.
The reason given by the people of Graycastle was also extremely absurd. They said that the Bloody Moon would bring disaster and that they had to leave as soon as possible. What a joke! This land was left to him by his grandfather's grandfather. No one could take it away from him, not the church, not Graycastle!
"My Lord, you are wise," an old scholar said respectfully. "The so-called full moon, missing moon, dark moon, and crimson moon are all astronomical phenomena that will appear at regular intervals. If they want to believe that this is an ominous sign, it's their business. As long as you don't move, they can't do anything to you. "
"That's right. The cliffs around Snow Reflection Castle are your greatest asset."
"If the people of Graycastle are willing to negotiate, we can make concessions."
"The church was also aggressive at first, but in the end, they still made you a bishop."
The others echoed.
Earl Marwayne's confidence grew. He looked at the strange phenomenon outside the window. His initial fear had long since disappeared, and he even felt a trace of admiration for it. Had it not been for the change three days ago, the people of Graycastle would have pushed their frontline to the center of the Kingdom of Everwinter in about a month, and the Snow Reflection Castle would inevitably be affected.
Although the barbarians rarely attacked the cities of the nobles and would ignore them as long as they did not interfere with their actions, they could not ignore the fact that they had violated the property of the nobles by plundering the population.
If the barbarians really wiped out the cities around the cities, they would suffer during the Months of Demons.
Indeed, just as the vassals said, the city itself was his greatest asset. It was located in the north of the King's City, situated on a precipice. The surrounding area was sunken very deeply, forming a natural 'island on land'. The widest part of the fissure was several miles wide, while the narrowest part was about a hundred feet wide. Only a rope bridge could pass through. The area in the center of the crack was large enough to accommodate several cities.
The ancestors had built the castle on the "island" because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Snow Reflection Castle had never been conquered since it was built. Although the Church of Hermes had conquered the entire Kingdom of Everwinter in a very short time, they had failed to attack the Snow Reflection Castle. Instead, they sent messengers to negotiate with him, claiming that as long as he was loyal to the church, he could continue to control the place. In the earl's eyes, this was what a normal person would do.
That was why he had kept quiet and wanted to get a good price from the barbarians.
However, the conditions that Wimbledon offered were unacceptable.
Earl Marwayne was not worried that the people of Graycastle and the demons would attack the city. There was nothing more reliable than a steep cliff. However, the city also needed supplies from the surrounding towns. Even if the Snow Reflection Castle was filled with warehouses filled with resources and could last until the day the enemy gave up, once the population was completely captured, the resources that had been used up could never be recovered.
Fortunately, they were scared out of their wits by the Bloody Moon.
"Mr. Sack, what should I do next?" Marwayne looked at the old scholar.
"Hehehe, of course, take the initiative to attack," the latter said while stroking his long beard.
The Earl's face immediately stiffened. Defending the Snow Reflection Castle and going out to cause trouble were two different things. If not for this natural barrier, he would not have dared to contend against the King of Graycastle even if he had ten times the courage.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not talking about the people of Graycastle. I'm talking about the territories they've looted. Think about it, the scouts mentioned that the enemy was scattered. There were only about a hundred people in a small team. What could they take away?"
Marwayne's eyes lit up. "You mean …"
The old scholar nodded with a smile. "The people who were captured must have left behind a lot of things. If we follow the route of the people of Graycastle, we should be able to pick up some things."
For example, food that was very difficult to carry...
The more Marwayne thought about it, the more excited he became. He summoned his Chief Knight. When he was about to give the order, another guard suddenly rushed into the hall. "My, my lord... There's a demon outside the city..."
"What demon?" The earl stared at him with displeasure. "Even you believe the nonsense of the people of Graycastle?"
"Forgive, forgive me... my lord, but it..." The guard's voice was hoarse. "But it's not human!"
"Not... human?"
Everyone could not help but look at each other.
Marwayne's heart skipped a beat, but as the lord, he had to remain calm.
"In that case, take me to see it." The earl suppressed his anxiety and deliberately put on a straight face. "I want to see what the people living in hell look like."
...
Even so, when he walked up the city wall, he had already put on the best armor and the largest God's Stone of Retaliation. More than ten personal guards surrounded him, forming a "shield wall" around him with their thick and heavy shields.
However, the moment he saw the demon, Marwayne could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. This time, his men were right. The so-called "demon" was indeed only one person.
It was not standing at the narrowest part of the crack, nor was it the weakest point of the city wall. Instead, it was simply standing on a protruding rock pillar, slightly higher than the top of the city wall. A little further ahead was the bottomless ice abyss. The patrolling Knight had already ordered his squires to set up the crossbow bed and aimed the arrows at the target.
After a moment of careful observation, Marwayne found that the demon indeed did not look like a human. Although it also had hands and feet, it was much taller than ordinary people. Its skin was azure, and he could see the bulging meridians and blood vessels. The most obvious difference was the tentacles on its cheeks, jaw, and elbows. Those disgusting, earthworm-like tentacles were slowly wriggling, which made Marwayne's hair stand on end.
What puzzled him was that the demon's eyes were closed, as if it was asleep. He could not sense any threat from it at all.
"Was this demon really attracted by the Bloody Moon? No … that's just a story the people of Graycastle used to scare the ignorant villagers, the Earl thought. No matter where it came from, it had nothing to do with the rumored doomsday. On the contrary, as long as he ordered his men to pull the lever, this guy would be shot by a crossbow.
Thinking of this, Marwayne took a deep breath and shouted, "Listen up, you ugly and filthy monster! I'm the lord of Snow Reflection Castle, Marwayne Caso! You've invaded my territory. If you want to live, kneel down and surrender to me. That's your only choice. Otherwise, the ice abyss under your feet will be your burial ground! "
He did not think that the demon could understand what he was saying. His speech was not so much a warning to the demon, but rather a show of bravery and fearlessness to his men on the city wall.
Since the people of Graycastle believed that this was a demon from hell, if he could scare off or kill one, it would definitely increase his reputation.
"I don't have the patience to wait for too long. I'll give you five seconds to make your choice. Five, four!"
As he spoke, Marwayne gestured to the Knight that he was ready to shoot.
"Three..."
The demon suddenly opened its eyes and shouted, "Enough!"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
