Winter snow was flying.
The first snowfall in the Southern Territory came later than usual, but it came with great momentum. Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, smearing the lead-gray sky into a hazy haze. The hazy sky seemed to be reflecting the future of the two countries. It was so chaotic that people could not see the direction clearly.
A thick layer of ice had formed over the pool in the college area. Snow was piled up on the ice and in the nearby nursery. A cold wind blew from the direction of the bell tower, blowing the snow off the roofs of the nearby buildings. Large curtains of snow covered the corridors and open-air courtyards. In such a snowy scene, there were hardly any students or teachers walking outside.
The winter holidays of the Imperial College had arrived. At present, except for the students of the Sergeants College who had to wait a few days before leaving, most of the students in the college had already left.
A petite and thin figure in a black college uniform, with light gray hair draped behind her back, hurried through the corridor on the first floor of the dormitory building. The whistling wind outside the corridor echoed in the building from time to time through the windows. Occasionally, she would raise her head to look outside, but through the crystal glass window, all she could see was the never-ending snow and the increasingly deserted college scenery.
This winter... was so cold.
The petite figure did not linger in the corridor. She quickly passed through a door and went deeper into the dormitory area. At this point, there was finally a trace of human breath in the deserted building. There were faint voices from a few rooms in the distance, and there were occasional short bursts of bagpipes or zithers. These sounds made her slightly relaxed. She stepped forward, and the nearest door happened to be pushed open. A young woman with neat short hair poked her head out.
"Dana?" The young woman with short hair looked at the petite figure walking in the corridor, a little surprised in her voice. "I was wondering why I didn't see you... Where did you go after leaving the dormitory?"
"I went to the library..." The short girl called Dana said a little softly. She showed the things in her arms, which were a few books that she had just borrowed. "Mister Miers lent me a few books."
"The library... As expected of you." The short-haired woman put her hands on her hips and said in an imposing manner. "Look at the water on your shoulders. You walked all the way here in the snow? Have you forgotten that you're a mage? "
"There was a section of snow outside that was not very heavy. I removed the shield to touch the snowflakes, but then I forgot about it," Danna said a little awkwardly. "Fortunately, it was not too wet..."
"Come in and get warm." The short-haired woman sighed helplessly. "It'll be troublesome if you catch a cold, especially in this situation."
Danna nodded and followed her roommate into the house. As a dormitory, there was plenty of space inside. There were even two rooms inside and outside. Everything within sight was tidy and tidy. The magic-powered heating system was operating silently, maintaining the temperature in the house at a comfortable range.
Dana put the few books she borrowed on the desk at the side, then looked around and asked curiously, "Is Marianne not here?"
"She went upstairs, saying that she wanted to check the 'patrol point'... She and the second son of the Weber family always seem very nervous, as if Cecil's people will attack the dormitory at any time," the short-haired woman said and sighed again. "Although I am also worried about this, to be honest, if Cecil's people really come here... can we, the Typhon students, still turn the dormitory into a fortress?"
"I don't think so," Danna whispered. "Didn't the teacher say that the emperor has personally ordered that the safety of the students will be guaranteed during the war... We will not be involved in this war."
"That's just a saying. In fact, who is not involved?" The short-haired woman snorted. "Marianne counts the number of patrolling soldiers around the walls and the gate of the School of Magic Engineering every day on the rooftop. Those soldiers may be protecting us, but they are not just here to protect us."
Danna opened her mouth as if she had something to say, but she swallowed it back into her stomach.
She knew that Carrie was right. She knew that when this sudden war broke out, no one could really stay out of it — even a group of seemingly harmless "students".
The winter holidays for the Cecil Imperial Academy had arrived, but the plans that everyone had made for this holiday had been silently dashed.
In this independent dormitory building, there were students from Typhon who were trapped in this building by the war. After the teachers and students left the academy, the small dormitory building became an isolated island in the sea. Danna and her fellow townsfolk stayed on this isolated island, and no one knew where they would go in the future. Although each of them was the best of the best from their respective families, and they were all outstanding youths in Typhon, and even deeply trusted by the Augustus family, in the end … most of them were just a group of young people who had not experienced too much wind and waves.
The heirs who could really bear the burden would not be sent here to study. Those heirs had to take care of the family business in the country and prepare for greater responsibilities.
Another gust of cold wind passed through the buildings, and the sound of the wind passed through the double-glazed windows and came into the ears of Dana and Carrie. The sound sounded like the low roar of some wild beast in the distance. Dana subconsciously glanced at the window not far away and saw large pieces of snowflakes dancing in the background of the hazy sky.
In this foreign winter, even the fluttering snow seemed to have become a tangible wall and cage. It required courage as if crossing the abyss to go to the outside world through the wind and snow.
In fact, the administrators of the college did not prohibit the students from Typhon who stayed here to move freely. In principle, except for the strict restrictions on cross-border activities with Typhon, the students who came here through the normal procedures and did not make any mistakes were not subject to any restrictions or difficulties. The emperor had signed an order to treat students well, and the government office had publicly promoted the policy of "not letting legal students get involved in the war". In theory, Danna could even complete the vacation plans she had considered before, such as visiting the historic mill hills and the inner city wharf in Tanzania City …
But all this was in theory. In fact, no student from Typhon left here. Whether it was out of caution for safety reasons or out of the conflict with Cecil at the moment, Danna and her fellow countrymen finally chose to stay in the college and the dormitory area. This huge college, the vertically and horizontally distributed corridors, walls, courtyards, and buildings in the college had become the shelter of these foreign refugees in this winter, and even their entire world.
"Fortunately, the supply of materials has always been adequate. There is no water or magic network cut off. The canteen in the central area will be open as usual during the holidays, and the shops in the general hospital area are not closed." Carrie's voice woke Danna from her thoughts. The viscount's daughter from Enkidhock said with a trace of optimism, "On the bright side, our life in this winter will become an unforgettable memory of a lifetime. In our original life, we didn't have much opportunity to experience this. Being trapped in the enemy's college during the war, the seemingly never-ending wind and snow, the discussion about the future, the students who set up roadblocks in the corridor … Ah, and the books you borrowed from the library …"
Danna thought for a moment and could not help but smile. "Anyway, setting up roadblocks in the corridor is still too much … Marianne and the second son of the Weber family are indeed from the Knight family. They actually thought of this kind of thing …"
"Maybe next spring, they will have to compensate the dean for the wood and iron plates. Maybe they will also have to face the angry roar of Mr. Magnum." Carrie shrugged. "I guess the dean and the teachers probably know what we have done in the dormitory building now. Yesterday, Ruslan mentioned that when he passed by the corridor at night, he saw Mr. Magnum's spirit floating past the corridor, as if he was patrolling the last dormitory building that we still have people living in."
Danna subconsciously shrank her neck, perhaps because she thought of the terrible scene of Mr. Magnum's angry roar, but soon she laughed again. The scene described by Carrie finally made her feel a sense of relief on this cold and tense winter day. She laughed and gradually laughed out loud. Then suddenly the sound of a bagpipe came into the room through the corridor outside, making both her and Carrie stop subconsciously.
The intermittent, non-standard tune finally became clear and coherent, and there were a few people singing in the middle. Danna subconsciously focused and listened carefully to the melody coming from a few rooms away, while Carrie suddenly whispered a few seconds later, "It's the melody of Enkidhock … Is the second son of the Yulea family playing …"
"Yulea …" Danna listened to the sound of the bagpipe coming from the corridor, as if she had thought of something. "I heard that his brother died in Palamel Heights …"
Carrie did not answer, but nodded gently. She leaned against the desk, her fingers slowly tapping on the table, her lips moving silently, as if she was humming softly with the faint sound of the bagpipe in the air. Danna slowly raised her head, her eyes looking through the crystal glass window of the dormitory. The snow outside the window still showed no signs of stopping. The falling snowflakes formed a hazy curtain in the wind, and the whole world seemed to be disappearing into the depths of the curtain little by little.
… …
The wind and snow were howling outside the window. This bad weather was obviously not suitable for any outdoor activities, but for people who did not like to run outside, such weather might be better.
Merry Baizhi, who was as petite as a child, sat behind the desk. She raised her head and glanced at the snowy scene outside the window. Her pointed ears trembled, and then she lowered her head again. The pen in her hand danced quickly on the letter paper. There was already a thick stack of letters on the table next to her, but it was obvious that she still had a lot to write.
"… Mother, I actually miss the mossy forest … Although the winter in the mossy forest is very cold, at least there is not such a strong wind, and there will not be such a heavy snow. Of course, the snow here is still very beautiful. Some friends invited me to play outside when the snow stopped a little, but I was worried that I would accidentally fall into a deep snow pit … You can't imagine how heavy the snow is …
"… Cecil and Typhon are at war. You must have been paying attention to this news, right? You don't have to worry about this. It is very safe here, as if the war at the border did not affect the inland … Of course, if you want to talk about the impact, there are some. There are news about the war on the newspapers and radio every day, and many people are talking about this matter …
"These two days, the price of food in the city has risen a little, but it quickly fell back down. According to my friends, the price of cloth has also risen a little, but the highest government office gathered the merchants for a meeting, and then all the prices returned to normal. You don't have to worry about my life here at all. In fact, I don't want to rely on the convenience brought by the identity of the chief's daughter … My friend is the daughter of the Admiral of the Navy, and she still has to work during the holidays …
"Ah, of course, I don't only have one friend, I have several …"
The pen in Merry's hand suddenly stopped moving. She furrowed her brows, and her childlike features were about to scrunch together. A few seconds later, the gray elf lifted her finger and lightly brushed it across the letter. Thus, the last sentence that seemed to expose herself was silently erased.
She temporarily put down the pen in her hand and stretched her body. Her eyes casually swept across the table. A newspaper that had just been delivered today was lying quietly on the table. On the front page of the newspaper, she could see the clear and sharp letters — — — — — -
"More troops — the brave imperial soldiers have completely gained a foothold in Winterwolf Fort."
"Firm faith, ready to face a higher level of war and a wider range of conflicts at any time!"
In this large-scale report on the war, there were clear pictures of the frontline, and the magic network terminal recorded the scene of the battlefield — war machines, soldiers in formation, artillery plowing the ground, spoils of war, and body bags …
Although there was no confidentiality level and 'marginal information' that could be disclosed to the public, the content presented was still a scene that ordinary people at the rear could not come into contact with and imagine on a daily basis. And for Merry, the act of spreading the true scene of the war in such a rapid and widespread manner was an incredible thing in itself.
What was the name of the person who sent back these images? War … war correspondent?
In short, it seemed like a very impressive person.
Merry shook her head. She knew that these newspapers were not only for Cecil's people to read. With the pulse of commerce, the information carried in these newspapers would spread far and wide at an unimaginable speed in the past, to the moss forest, to the dwarven kingdom, and even to the southern part of the continent … The scope of the war between Typhon and Cecil would probably be unimaginable.
Was this something that Emperor Gawain Cecil had intentionally pushed for? Did he intend to 'show' this war to the entire civilized world?
Merry could not help but be curious about this.
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