It was a large-scale snowfall.
The falling snowflakes stretched from the Gloom Mountains to the north of Rock Fortress. Nearly one-third of the southern territory was dyed white by the first snow of winter. Beyond Rock Fortress to the north, in the vast land of Ansu, a few areas in the east and the entire northern territory also ushered in a massive snowfall. The snow seemed to have changed the whole world overnight. The active human society quickly became dormant in the cold winter. The Plains of the Sacred Spirit fell into silence. The armies on the eastern front turned to confrontation. The border trade in the west was suspended. The grand duke of the north had arrived at the noble's territory closest to Rock Fortress.
In the family castle of Count Pompeii, the fire in the fireplace was burning fiercely. Precious golden oak was used as firewood, emitting a calming fragrance in the fire. The bright fire in the fireplace illuminated the reception room, which was covered with a golden-red carpet, and cast flickering shadows on the gold and silver utensils and lampstands in the reception room. Amidst the flickering shadows, Count Pompeii's round, fat face was piled with a flattering and slightly nervous smile.
The great noble of the border of the plains leaned forward. "Your arrival really makes me feel much more at ease. Since the fortress in the south changed hands, I haven't had a good night's sleep. Those Cecil people have built a lot of magic devices on the fortress. I don't know when this poor castle of mine will collapse …"
Duchess Victoria Wilde was wearing a snow-white dress with light blue patterns. Her silver-white hair was tied up high at the back of her head, with two strands hanging down by her ears. The golden threads in her hair shone in the fireplace. She glanced at Count Pompeii in front of her. "As far as I know, since the change of hands in Rock Fortress, Duke Cecil has not expanded outward, nor has he attacked your territory."
"… That's true." Count Pompeii wiped his forehead. He was not sweating, but in front of Duchess Wilde, who was known as the Queen of the North, no one would not feel nervous. The duchess was the most powerful noble in the kingdom, and she had a strict and cold reputation. More importantly, she now controlled the Silver Fortress. Count Pompeii, on the other hand, had not only lost the nominal fief of Rock Fortress, but also lost a large number of family Knight and soldiers in the process of supporting Rock Fortress. This made him carefully maintain his relationship with the south while trying to get as much help as possible from the Captical. At this moment, he naturally spoke carefully. "Cecil's army has not stepped out of Rock Fortress, but they have been building 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 …" Beside Victoria, Veronica, who was wearing a white priestess robe, suddenly broke the silence and said softly, "It seems that the founding hero does not want us to 'disturb' him …"
Victoria nodded slightly and looked at Count Pompeii. "Other than building fortifications, what else are Cecil's people doing?"
The chubby Count thought for a moment and said, "They tore down the southern wall of the Monolith Fortress, or rather, they blew it up and didn't repair it. Instead, they built a 'Monolith City' south of the fortress. They forbade people from crossing the Monolith City, but the city itself is open to merchants and envoys."
"You transformed Firmrock Stronghold into a Stronghold City with a trade function …" Victoria muttered, "So, you've been to Firmrock City?"
"I … I was busy with the affairs of my fief and couldn't go in person." Count Pompeii wiped his bald forehead again, too embarrassed to say 'I didn't dare to go.' "But I have been paying attention to that place and sent messengers. Rock City is full of magical devices built by Cecil's people, and there is a huge market. They opened the gate of the Gorgon River and allowed merchant ships from the Sacred Plains to dock at the wharf next to the market area. The market attracted many merchants. You know, merchants are willing to die for money … "
Victoria did not respond. She just glanced at Count Pompeii in front of her.
He was also a descendant of the Great Knight, who once had illustrious military exploits. However, after so many generations in the peaceful Sacred Plains, the spirit of courage and bravery had long disappeared in this bloodline. But as the owner of this land, the count had at least done his duty and learned as much as possible about the situation in Rock Fortress.
The sound of wind and snow outside the castle had gradually stopped.
Duchess Victoria stood up, and Maggie, the black-haired maid standing next to her, immediately stepped forward to straighten her slightly wrinkled dress. The ruler of the north looked at Count Pompeii, who also stood up, and said casually, "Do your best to count the trade in the south with the Holy Spirit Plains in the past year, count how many merchants contacted them, count the merchants they sent, and also count the goods they mainly purchased after Rock Fortress changed owners."
Count Pompeii's round face was sweating this time. "This … Okay, I will do my best …"
It was not easy to count a few reliable figures from those piles of paper, and many merchants who took shortcuts or bribed soldiers would not appear on the tax collector's list. As the ruler of this land, Count Pompeii did not even know how many merchants came in and out of his territory every month. But since the Duchess had given the order, he had to do his best.
It seemed that tonight was going to be a sleepless night.
Looking at Count Pompeii's embarrassed expression, Victoria sighed again in her heart.
Statistics, registration of people, standardization of laws … At a meeting in the Silver Castle seven years ago, the Duke of the Eastern Region had raised these concepts. He had learned these things from Typhon and tried to let the Ansu people learn them. But now, seven years had passed, and the Eastern Region had become a rebel army. The requirements put forward by Archduke Silas Loren in the Silver Castle had not yet spread to the south of the Sacred Plains.
Silas Loren … Do you see no hope?
Veroria Werde left the inner court of the castle. After passing through the mottled ancient outer wall cloister, she came to the top terrace of Pompeii Castle.
The wind and snow had stopped, but there were still snowflakes falling from the night sky from time to time. Those were the snowflakes that had accumulated on the towers and roofs sprinkled down in the night wind. These snowflakes fluttered around the terrace, automatically avoiding Duchess Victoria more than ten meters away as if in awe.
Compared to Winter Fort Academy, which was built on the peak of the mountains and overlooked thousands of miles of snow and ice, the family castle that Count Pompeii was proud of was much smaller and shabbier. However, it still occupied the best location and had an excellent terrace. Standing on the terrace, Victoria's vision was directly in front of the rolling mountains of the Southern Pass, as well as the Rock Fortress in the middle of the mountains.
In the middle was an almost unobstructed plain.
No wonder Count Pompeii had trouble sleeping and eating.
In the deep night, the Rock Fortress was the brightest light source in the dark mountains. With the keen vision of an Extraordinary, Victoria could see that the light was formed by a large number of lights set up on the walls and towers. Those lights were directed in all directions, illuminating the various checkpoints. They could also interfere with the vision of the attackers when they tried to attack, making it difficult for them to aim at the archers or mages on the battlements and sentry towers.
In addition to those light sources, the entire Rock Fortress was shrouded in a layer of shimmering shield. The shield shrouded the details of the entire fortress under a hazy veil, making it difficult to distinguish the details of the other areas of the fortress.
"Is that the Great Shield of the Rock Fortress?" Veronica's voice came from the side. The 'Saintess Princess' had come to Duchess Wade's side at some point. She looked in the direction of the Rock Fortress, surrounded by a faint holy light as usual. "I heard that on the 58th day of the month of Fire, Cecil's people destroyed the shield with some powerful magic … I didn't expect them to repair it so quickly."
"The Great Shield is an important barrier of the Rock Fortress. Cecil's people will definitely repair it as soon as possible. And things like magic barriers, as long as there is no substantial damage to the charging and projecting structure, it's easy to repair a broken shield."
"Is that so …" Veronica said softly. She looked up and stared blankly at the south. "… I don't know much about the magical realm …"
Hearing this reply, Duchess Wade just smiled faintly. Then, she and the 'Saintess Princess' stood on the terrace of the castle in the night, quietly enjoying the peaceful winter night.
The next day, the weather was clear.
In the main hall of the castle, Count Pompeii handed a roll of parchment that still exuded the fragrance of ink to Duchess Victoria.
This roll of parchment roughly calculated the trade in the Southern Territory in the past year, as well as the merchant traffic after the change of ownership of the Rock Fortress. The content was rough and vague. Perhaps only 30% of it was reliable, and the remaining 70% was the result of guessing by Count Pompeii and a group of consultants.
With such information, even with Victoria's intelligence, she couldn't estimate much valuable information.
However, looking at Count Pompeii's red eyes and the listless appearance of several consultants, the Duchess knew that this was the best result.
At the very least, Count Pompeii was able to come up with something like that, unlike the real nobles from the countryside who asked him "what is statistics" with a blank face.
"Go back and rest, Count." Victoria's words made Count Pompeii relax. "We will bring good news."
"Your wisdom is Ansu's greatest fortune," the fat count bent down and said sincerely. "I wish you a smooth journey."
Victoria nodded and turned to leave. Veronica deliberately stayed a few steps behind. The princess said to Count Pompeii, "Don't use such a tone of farewell on the battlefield. As a noble of the kingdom, show some courage. That is our ancestor, not a man-eating beast."
Count Pompeii showed an awkward and ashamed smile and lowered his head. "As you said."
The Duchess of the North and Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Holy Light left, leaving the fat Count Pompeii in place. He could not help but say something disgraceful in his heart.
Ever since he was a child, his grandfather had beaten him the most.
His grandfather was like that. Now, an ancestor of another family, who was dozens of generations away and not related by blood, had picked up a weapon. How could he not beat him to death?
The envoy convoy from the Captical left Count Pompeii's castle. After the winter snow, which was not suitable for going out at all, the carriages drove onto the snow-covered Kingdom Avenue.
Victoria Werde, who was sitting in the gorgeous carriage, raised her hand, and an orderly wind blew around the convoy. The snow on the road was blown away, and the cold of winter was blocked outside.
The Knight guards of the convoy knocked on the shield hanging beside the saddle with their longswords and praised their mistress loudly. The soldiers in red and blue uniforms blew the horn at the front of the convoy, and the military band played music. In the inspiring rhythm and melody, the envoys from Saint Sunil took a step toward the Firmrock Fortress.
Cecil City, in the Lord's Mansion, the Firmrock Commander and Second Army Commander, Walter Perry's half-body projection appeared on the magic network communicator in front of Gwen. This respectable old Knight stood straight and said, "Your Lordship, the Captical envoys are approaching the Firmrock Fortress."
"Get ready and receive them seriously." Gwen nodded slightly. "The convoy sent to receive them has already set off."
He then paused and smiled. "Don't neglect them. They are a big business."
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