The Typhon's military mobilization was still ongoing. One after another, Extraordinary legions were summoned from all over the country to the Winter Fort area. This originally extremely wide and deep defense zone was now 'crowded'. The various Typhon armies had already filled all the castles, cities, and fortresses in the defense zone. They had also set up a large number of camps and temporary military stations between the lines of defense. In contrast, Cecil's army was also continuously marching to the front line.
Of course, in terms of pure numbers, the scale of Cecil's army was still far inferior to the Typhon's, who had brought out a lot of resources.
The atmosphere in the entire war zone was extremely tense and oppressive. In this special atmosphere and in the process of gathering a large number of people, the special 'aura' that permeated the entire area was becoming more and more obvious by the day.
The 'abnormal sighting reports' from ordinary people began to increase exponentially. The number of people fleeing from the border to the inland had reached a new peak in the past few days. Even those who found it difficult to leave their homeland or those who were not rich enough to migrate were now trying to find ways to leave this troubled land.
In the intelligence office of Winter Wolf Fort, Amber was sitting behind an exceptionally wide desk. Around her were piles of intelligence documents sent from various channels, including those sent from the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Agency, the frontline investigation units, the Archives Department, and so on. The staff of the Military Intelligence Agency and the assistants at all levels had done their best to simplify and deal with the documents as much as possible, but the documents sent to her were still piled up like a mountain.
Sitting behind the desk, the petite half-elf looked like she was almost drowned in the documents.
Amber shifted her position on the wide chair into a relatively relaxed position. Her legs swayed a few times, and her Amber eyes swept through the rapid analysis notes and clue maps again.
She was trying to find a critical point in time, as well as a possible 'hidden danger' of the Typhon's people.
A bald man with a scar on his face, who looked quite powerful, stood in front of her. He was putting the documents on the table and asked cautiously, "Boss, looking at your expression … Did you find something?"
"I've said it before. Call me 'Bureau Chief' or 'Bureau Chief' in formal situations. That sounds more impressive." Hu Po raised his eyes and looked at his old subordinate. Then, he shook his head slightly. "It's not a decisive discovery … It's just a summary of some obvious conclusions."
As she spoke, her finger swiped across a few of the clue maps. "Typhon's people have gathered so many troops in a narrow and long area. From the most basic of common sense, we all know that it is impossible for so many people to spread out on such a huge battlefield. So whether they want to use these people to fight the War God or to attack us, I'm afraid two-thirds of them won't be of any use. In other words, Rosetta Augustus didn't gather so many people here just to fight. Quite a number of them … their use should be in other aspects."
"Other aspects?" Scarface Anton looked a little puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"If I knew, I would have reported it a long time ago. Do you think I'm still here chatting with you?" Hu Po rolled his eyes. "Furthermore, when it comes to this kind of problem that involves military deployment, Philip and his group of advisors will definitely be more professional than I am. I only need to tell them the suspicious points that I noticed. As for how they want to analyze and investigate, that's their problem. Our most important mission now … is to find the time and place so that we can take precautions beforehand."
"The timing of Typhon's attack …" Anton pondered. Then he shook his head a little irritably. "No one knows what the Typhon Emperor is thinking. If he really wants to fight against the Gods with us, he should at least send out some signals …"
"He won't." Amber shook her head. She looked quite open-minded. "According to His Majesty, Typhon and Cecil can communicate about anything except this. Turning the war into a trick and a trap against 'war' will make all our efforts so far go to waste."
As she spoke, her attention had returned to the mountain of documents in front of her. If there were others present, they would be surprised that she could be so serious and devoted to a serious matter. But Anton knew that his "Big Sister" had been in this state for several days.
When something really terrible was about to happen, Amber, who was usually carefree, would also become serious.
Amber did not care about her subordinate's feelings. She was just thinking about the clues she had come into contact with recently, trying to analyze Typhon's plan of action. While collecting the clues, she also expanded her thinking and tried to find a breakthrough point in a direction other than the existing clues.
Most of the time, it was not the people in the fog who parted the clouds, but the forces outside the clouds.
She did not find any clues that could reveal the key timing of Typhon's action from the pile of papers on the table. But she raised her head and yawned in exhaustion. Her eyes inadvertently swept across a calendar hanging on the wall not far away.
After a moment of daze, she blinked as if she thought of something and asked casually, "A few more days … It's the New Calendar Day, right?"
Anton was a little startled. He probably did not expect his boss's thinking to be so unpredictable. But he thought about his boss's usual style and felt that it was very natural for her to pay attention to festivals. Not only could she have a holiday, she could also get an allowance and eat openly. So he nodded and said, "Yes, it's the New Calendar Day in two days. It's the first day of the year … But to be honest, at this time, you shouldn't think about having a holiday and drinking …"
Amber did not care about the latter half of Anton's sentence (in the past, she would have kicked him into the Shadow Realm). She just seemed to be in a daze as she muttered the words "New Calendar Day". Then she looked down at the shorthand prompt beside her and her eyes lit up. "I got it!"
… …
"Three days later? New Calendar Day? " In the frontline command hall, Gwen was a little surprised to see Amber running to him excitedly to report the situation. "Are you sure?"
After living in this world for so many years, he was no stranger to the "New Calendar Day". It was a day somewhat similar to the New Year. It was the first day of the Cold Month, and also the first day of the year. On this day, the Frost Sky Constellation began to fall, and the Inferno Constellation began to rise. Although the following month was called the "Cold Month", in fact, the coldest day of the year would soon pass. With the Month of Recovery approaching, people would celebrate this special festival in various ways. The "people" here included not only humans, but also the elves in the south and many races in the west of the continent.
As Gwen recalled some knowledge about the New Calendar Day in his mind, an idea suddenly flashed across his mind like lightning.
He seemed to know what Amber had found.
"On the day of the New Calendar Day, the gods need to rest and rearrange the management of the world," Amber said slowly. "For this reason, all religious activities in the world will be suspended for a day. No matter which god's followers, even those who cheat, will remain 'silent' on this day. People will not pray, not go to church, not worship at home, and even try to avoid mentioning the names of the gods because … the gods are resting on this day. "
The key to unraveling the mystery was not in any of the intelligence clues, but a traditional custom. Everything in the world was indeed wonderful.
Amber had a smile on her face. "Rosetta Augustus could not make everyone stop praying to the God of War at the same time just by his order alone. Although he relied on the army to forcibly control the activities of the churches of the God of War in various places and forbade public and formal preaching meetings, he could not stop people from praying secretly at home. He could not ensure that there would not be a few secret underground churches among the nearly 100 million people, and he could not control the churches of the God of War other than Typhon … But the power of tradition can do this, at least better than him.
"On the day of the New Calendar Day, everyone will stop praying, no matter which god they believe in, no matter whether they obey Rosetta's order or not, everyone will do this. And according to our research on the operation of the gods, in this case, the power of the gods will lose 'replenishment' …"
Gwen's expression became particularly serious. He gently rubbed his index finger joint and said in a low voice, "So, if he wants to do something to the gods, the New Calendar Day will be the most suitable day … There is not much time, but there is still time to prepare."
…
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
In a gathering place near Winter Castle, a huge brazier had been lit. Candlesticks and iron sacred artifacts were neatly set up around the altar. The smell of incense emanated from the bonfire and candles, spreading throughout the gathering place.
A large number of priests in black or gray robes were led into the gathering place in a daze. They gathered in front of the altar like a group of walking corpses. They stood there in a daze, as if they had lost the ability to think like normal humans. However, there were continuous low murmurs and ravings coming from the depths of the heavy hoods. It seemed that each of them was talking to an invisible person, and they were even … chatting happily.
The Obsidian Imperial Guards in black armor stood at the edge of the meeting hall. Under the armor made of alloy, their gazes were cold and emotionless.
An Imperial Guard commander glanced at the mechanical watch in his hand and then looked at the sky outside through the wide window not far away.
The cold wind blew into the gathering place through the open window, and the snow that had accumulated over the past few days was swept in.
A new year had begun today … with a dark and bloody day as the beginning. At this moment, no one knew whether this beginning would lead to a future with hope. The commander did not know this, either. His only task here was to carry out the orders given by his superiors.
"This may be the worst New Calendar Day I have ever experienced in my life. It is so cold …" he muttered softly and stepped toward a priest next to the altar.
As time went by, the smell of incense in the gathering place began to affect the confused priests and pastors. Some of them seemed to have begun to pray in a low voice, but it was far from a real "ritual." So the commander came before the priest and said slowly to the face hidden under the hood, "The sacred time has come. Aren't you going to offer your prayers?"
"The sacred time … the sacred time …" the priest muttered in a low voice. He sounded muddle-headed, but he seemed to maintain a trace of sanity. "But I can't pray today … today …"
"The New Calendar Day has passed yesterday, Mr. Bishop. You remember wrong," the commander whispered. "Look at the braziers and candlesticks in front of you … These are gifts to God. There is no such thing in the New Calendar Day, right?"
"Oh … oh … you are right. The New Calendar Day has passed yesterday …" The muddle-headed voice came from under the hood. In the end, it became a completely inaudible murmur. As the murmur gradually became hoarse, and there were a lot of syllables that could not be uttered by human beings, the commander had quickly retreated to the edge of the gathering place.
The muffled prayers had been heard around the braziers.
"… God of War bless me. My heart is as hard as steel. I have gone through hundreds of battles …"
An indescribable mental pressure began to spread. Even the well-trained soldiers of the Obsidian Imperial Army could not help but feel their skin tighten and their lips dry. They clenched their swords and focused their eyes on their commander. The commander stared at the center of the altar that was gradually being stained with iron-gray flame. From time to time, he quickly glanced at the priests around the altar. Slowly, his hand began to reach for the sword at his waist.
In the gathering place, the prayers were mixed together, and there seemed to be several other voices mixed in. The flame in the center of the altar was getting stronger. Outside the gathering place, in the whistling cold wind, in the vast area of Winter Castle, in dozens of gatherings of various sizes, the same thing was happening at the same time.
Abnormally dense clouds suddenly appeared in the sky. Large patches of iron-gray clouds seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. In the center of the clouds, a shimmering, door-like object had vaguely appeared. It was like the legendary door of the divine kingdom hanging high above the earth. As long as one was in the area of Winter Castle, they could clearly see it when they looked up.
The remaining residents in the area felt a great pressure. In panic, they hid in their homes, crawled into their cellars, and then closed their doors and windows. The soldiers nervously waited for the next order. Countless commanders and messengers cast their eyes in the direction of Winter Castle.
Rosetta Augustus stood in the Arcane Hall on the top floor of Winter Castle. He looked at the sky through the wide floor-to-ceiling glass window, and the projection of God was very clear in his sight.
Today was the New Calendar Day. God wanted to "rest." The prayer activities all over the world had been suspended. However, tens of thousands of the most corrupted priests of the God of War were praying here. This was a strong "positioning", enough to accurately guide the connection of the divine kingdom to the human world.
However, it seemed that this was not enough. God still had not really come. Ordinary prayers could not cause a qualitative change with quantitative change. This still needed the most critical step to push.
Rosetta withdrew his gaze and turned to a burning brazier in the center of the Arcane Hall. Everyone in the hall had already evacuated, including Palin Winter Castle. Now, only Rosetta Augustus was left in this large space. Only he could finish what he wanted to do here.
He stood in front of the brazier, and then seemed to think for a moment. Then he looked back at the direction of the Cecil Empire.
"So far away … I'm afraid I can't even make eye contact."
The Emperor of Typhon muttered to himself and made the first joke in more than a decade. Then he waved his hand and grabbed in the void.
An illusory hollow eye suddenly appeared behind him with the background of stars. In his hand, he grabbed a hazy, distorted, shadow-like figure.
It was the projection of Malcolm Dunnett's avatar.
After grabbing this avatar, Rosetta did not even look at it and directly threw it into the brazier in front of him. Then he grabbed again from the side. He grabbed the second "Malcolm Dunnett" and then threw it into the brazier again.
Then, the third … the fourth …
It was like adding firewood to the brazier.
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