The northern border of the Dragon Empire was the place where the ancient empire first rose.
In that era known as the Spark of Fire, the Dragon Soul Emperor led the valiant northern cavalry and the Knights of the Ebon Blade out of this world of ice and snow. They marched south in the wind and snow from Coldwind Ridge and conquered the kingdoms along the way, and finally achieved the great feat of ruling half of the planet. From that day on, the bravery of the warriors of the north became one of the most distinctive features of the country, just like the Knights of the Ebon Blade.
To this day, "fight like a northerner" was still the most commonly used phrase by people on this side of the planet to praise the warriors.
Over time, the political center of the Dragon Empire and the "Sacred Armory" of the Knights of the Ebon Blade had been moved to the south for the practical needs of the empire's development. The six northern provinces, which were not suitable for farming and habitation, became a place where most people of the empire did not want to live. But the northern region was still an important place for the empire to pour a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources into, and the passage to Gorgon's Abyss floating near the World Scar was the most important reason.
The never-disappearing spatial rift was like the snowstorm in the north, a survival pressure that the people of the north had to face, and like the snowstorm in the north, it sharpened the bravery of the locals. As the ruler of the western hemisphere of L 'Haronne, the Dragon Empire was duty-bound to bear the responsibility of fighting against the Gorgonian demons. So since the capital was moved three thousand years ago, the six northern provinces had been built in the direction of a military center. Today, military and related facilities had become the most important things in the land, and on the irregular border near Gorgon's Abyss stood a series of huge fortresses like the Great Wall.
These fortresses were not only defensive facilities, but also large settlements because of the large number of soldiers stationed there. In order to maintain the daily operation of the fortresses, a large number of non-combatants and a variety of livelihood facilities were also gathered within the protection of the fortresses. All kinds of supporting things were built under the protection of the fortresses, forming a unique landscape of the north: fortress cities.
These cities protected by the walls were not as prosperous as the cities in the south, and were far smaller in size, but they were where most of the northern population gathered. After all, in this world of ice and snow where the Gorgonian Demons roamed, the unobstructed wilderness was terrifying, and if people wanted to survive, living in a fortress city or other similar defensive facilities was the only choice.
The passageway of Gorgon's Abyss extended from the direction of the World Scar all the way to the south, and the fortress group below the rift also extended all the way to the south. Closest to the south was the largest fortress city in the north, called Snowfrost City, which was also the political, economic, and military center of the six northern provinces.
This Fortress city built with frosty crystal stones was located on a mountain ridge. In fact, it was a city formed after the entire mountain was transformed and constructed. The whole fortress was roughly conical in shape, with layers of walls and sentry towers spiraling along the original mountain to the top, forming a unique tower-like structure. All the buildings that could be seen from the outside were actually the "shell" of the city. Inside the shell, which was covered by countless towers, walls, and magic circles, was an inner space formed after half of the mountain was hollowed out, where the civilians of Snowfrost City lived.
The Lord of Snowfrost City naturally had to live on the top of the mountain. The mages flattened the top of the mountain and built a magnificent castle on it. That was the fortress of Haywood Owen, the chief guardian of the six northern provinces and the Grand Duke of the North. The castle was the highest building in the north. Its spire pointed high into the sky, and when standing on it, one could even touch the passageway of Gorgon's Abyss. The most legendary experience of the current Grand Duke of the North, Haywood Owen, was that one day when he climbed to the top of the castle for a breath of fresh air, a Warrior-level Gorgonian Demon suddenly ran out of the spatial rift and landed straight in front of the Grand Duke. Then it was torn apart by the Grand Duke.
Of course, the modest Grand Duke had an explanation for this: he was not unarmed at the time, but he was carrying a bottle of Flame Tongue Wine, and the infinite fighting spirit that burst out while protecting the bottle was his magic weapon. It was not until the next morning that the Grand Duke realized that he had torn apart a Gorgonian Demon and not a seriously obese Frost Ridge Jackdaw.
After spending a lot of effort to drag Lily back from the Snowfield Ecstasy Syndrome, Hao Ren and the others took out the three caravans that they had kept in their dimensional pocket and drove across the snowfield to the foot of Snowfrost City. Along the way, Graeme was teaching Hao Ren and the other members of the hidden organization about the north, and from his tone, Hao Ren could tell that Graeme admired the Grand Duke who was not a Knight of the Broken Blade but had monster-level combat power.
"Respecting the strong is the creed of the northerners, and the Grand Duke is not only a powerful warrior, but also a man of integrity and loyalty. He is a role model worthy of every knight's respect," Graeme said with a smile in the carriage. "I am not a northerner. In fact, I was born in a desert tribe in the extreme south, but I have lived in the north for 20 years, and those childhood memories of the Hot Sand Oasis have become the wind and snow of the north."
The carriages of the three caravans had been raised again and became a closed structure. With the dual effect of the carriages and the shields on the carriages, the wind and snow of the north were well blocked, and the carriages were as warm as spring.
Hao Ren looked through the window at the towering walls of Snowfrost City in front of him and said casually, "I didn't expect you to be so poetic."
"Literature is also a compulsory course for knights," Graeme said with a smile. "We have to learn twice as much as the Knights of the Ebon Blade."
"When Princess Constance raised the flag, the whole north responded. The Grand Duke of the north, who is famous for his loyalty and courage, is a hardcore supporter of the princess. This is simply unbelievable to us," Charlemagne said, expressing his confusion. "Is this so-called rebellion —"
"People of Izzo, there are some things that a knight like me can't say casually," Graeme interrupted Charlemagne. "Of course, with your status, you can ask Her Highness in person after you see her. As for whether you can get an answer or not, it depends on the princess."
"I have overstepped my bounds," Charlemagne said simply. "Then let us look forward to the moment when we meet Princess Constance."
Just as Charlemagne's voice trailed off, a rough voice came from outside. "Stop! Unidentified convoy, stop for inspection!"
Three caravans stopped in front of the gates of Snowfrost City.
In the north of the fortress, every city would carry out security checks according to military-level standards. Now that it was wartime, it was even more stringent to pass through the checkpoints. Snowfrost City's security was no less stringent than Greenway's.
But now that Hao Ren and his party had come openly, and there was a Knight of the Broken Blade in the team as an introducer, everyone's mentality was naturally different from when they were in Greenway. Everyone even got out of the carriage, waiting for Graeme to negotiate with the guards while admiring the legendary fortress city, which was integrated with the mountains.
The cold air outside the carriage made Hao Ren sober up. He looked up at the layers of walls of Snowfrost City, and his eyes moved all the way up to the top of the mountain. There, the spire of the lord's castle pointed straight to the sky, and a crooked, ugly crack floated in the background of the spire. In the depths of the crack, rolling clouds of fire and the shadow of broken land were faintly visible.
With a gentle shake of his hand, a hidden probe quietly left the Dimensional Pocket and flew straight in the direction of Gorgon's Abyss.
This was the third probe he had released along the way. They had entered the alternate dimension from different coordinates to collect the "mapping parameters" of Gorgon's Abyss as an independent dimension. Now that the first probe had begun to send back data, and the second probe had been deployed, he would be able to explore the secrets of Gorgon's Abyss through the eyes of the probe.
On the other side, Graeme, dressed as a Knight of the Broken Blade, had arrived at the checkpoint.
Several soldiers of the Northern Legion were inspecting passing vehicles and travelers. The tall physique of the northerners, coupled with the Winter Wolf armor of the Northern Legion, made these soldiers look bold. But when they saw Graeme, who was not particularly tall and was in light armor, there was an instant commotion among the northern soldiers.
Two of the soldiers whispered a few words to their comrades, and ran up to Graeme with the clatter of their armour. "You're … from the Broken Blade …"
"Knight of the Broken Blade, Graeme Glavos, from the southern division," Graeme replied in a deep voice. "In response to the edict of Princess Constance, I have come from the south to join the war. I have also brought important information and special visitors from the ancient kingdom of Izzo."
Finally, he added, "I need to meet Her Highness and the Grand Duke of the North as soon as possible."
The two northern soldiers froze for a moment, then exchanged a strange look with each other.
"What's the problem?" Graeme asked with a frown.
"You … don't know the latest news?" one of the soldiers asked. "The Knights of the Broken Blade should be in contact with each other, right?"
"My comrades and I were attacked while crossing the Black Forest," Graeme explained, temporarily hiding the fact that the Black Forest was connected to Gorgon's Abyss and that the demons had entered the Black Forest. "My comrades were dead, and our communicators were destroyed. I was seriously injured, and although I've recovered, I don't know why the spiritual connection with the other Knights of the Broken Blade has not been restored."
"Then you really escaped death," the other northern soldier looked at Graeme with admiration. In his opinion, a warrior like Graeme, who had crossed the entire empire to serve his lord, was worthy of respect. "You are a step too late. Her Highness and the Grand Duke have already set off for the southern frontline. The battlefield is hundreds of kilometers away from here. But you came from the south, don't you know about this? "
There was some doubt in the tone of the guard's voice, and Graeme explained in shock, "… I don't know about this. We did not come by the normal route, but by a secret route, avoiding the eyes and ears of the imperial corps to come to the north."
The guard did not doubt this statement, but sighed regretfully. "I see. Anyway, you should go into the city first. The snowstorm is coming, and it is not a good idea for you to go into the wilderness in this situation. "
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