This is a widespread snowfall.
The fluttering snowflakes stretched from the Dark Mountains to the north of the Rock Fortress. Nearly one-third of the land in the southern border was dyed white by the early winter snow. After crossing the Rock Fortress to the north, on the vast land of Ansu, A few areas in the east and the entire northern border also ushered in heavy snowfall. The snow seemed to change the whole world overnight. The active human society quickly hibernated in the cold winter. The Holy Spirit Plain fell into silence. Into the confrontation, the border trade in the west was suspended, and the grand duke in the north had come to the nobles closest to the rock fortress.
In the family castle of the Earl of Pompeii, the flames in the fireplace are burning fiercely. The precious golden oak is used as firewood, exuding a tranquil fragrance in the flames. The bright fire of the fireplace illuminates the golden red carpeted meeting In the living room, flickering and flickering light and shadows are cast on the gold and silver utensils and lampstands in the living room. Between the flickering light and shadows, Earl Pompey's round, fat face is filled with flattering and slightly nervous smiles .
The great nobleman on the edge of the plain leaned forward: "Your arrival really made me feel more at ease. I haven't had a good night's sleep since the fortress in the south changed hands. Those Cecilians built the fortress. A whole bunch of magic devices, my poor castle is going to collapse one night..."
The Duchess Victoria Wilde was wearing a snow-white long dress with light blue patterns, her silver-white hair was pulled up high behind her head, and two strands hung down beside her ears. The golden threads woven in her hair were The fire in the fireplace was shining brightly, and she glanced at the Earl of Pompey in front of her: "As far as I know, Duke Cecil has not expanded outwards since the Rock Fortress changed hands, nor has he attacked your territory."
"... That's true," Earl Pompey wiped his forehead. He didn't sweat, but no one would feel nervous in front of the Duchess Wilder, known as the "Queen of the North". The most powerful noble in the kingdom, and has a harsh and ruthless reputation. More importantly, she is now in control of the Silver Fort, while the Earl of Pompeii not only lost the nominal fiefdom of the Rock Fortress, but is still supporting the Rock Fortress. In the process, he lost a large number of family knights and soldiers, which made him carefully maintain relations with the southern border and at the same time try to win the assistance of the king's capital. At this moment, he was naturally cautious, "The Cecilian army has not stepped out of the Rock Fortress. One step, but they've been building on the north wall of the fort, which is disturbing."
"It seems that the founding hero doesn't want us to 'disturb' him..." Beside Victoria, wearing a white priestess robe, Veronica, who had a calm and quiet demeanor, suddenly broke the silence and said softly.
Victoria nodded slightly, and looked at Count Pompey: "Aside from building fortifications, what are the Cecilians doing?"
The chubby Earl thought for a while: "They demolished the south wall of the Rock Fortress or blew it up, and then built a 'Rock City' on the south side of the fortress. They forbid people to cross the Rock City, but the Rock City itself is open to merchants and envoys."
"Have you transformed the Rock Fortress into a fortress city with trade functions..." Victoria pondered, "So, have you been to Rock City?"
"I... my territory is busy with affairs, so I didn't go there in person," Earl Pompeii wiped his smooth forehead again, and he was embarrassed to say the words "I didn't dare to go", "But I have been paying attention there, and sent There are magic devices built by the Cecils everywhere in Rock City, and there is also a huge market. They opened the gate of the Gorgon River and allowed merchant ships from the Holy Spirit Plain to dock at the pier next to the market area. The market attracts a lot of businessmen, you know, as long as a businessman sees money, he will basically die... "
Victoria didn't respond, but just glanced at the Earl of Pompey indifferently.
This is also a descendant of a great knight with great military exploits. However, after so many generations of being pampered in the peaceful Holy Spirit Plain, the spirit of bravery and courage has long since disappeared in this bloodline. But as the owner of this land, this The Earl at least did his part to learn as much as possible about the situation of the Rock Fortress.
The sound of wind and snow outside the castle has gradually subsided.
Duchess Victoria stood up, and the black-haired maid Maggie who was standing beside her immediately stepped forward to straighten her slightly wrinkled dress. The northern ruler looked at the Earl of Pompey who also stood up, and said lightly: "Do your best to count the trade situation of the southern border with the Holy Spirit Plain in the past year, count how many merchants contacted them, count the merchants they sent, and also the main commodities they purchased after the rock fortress changed hands .”
Earl Pompey's round face really seeped a trace of sweat this time: "This... okay, I will do my best..."
It is not easy to count a few reliable figures from those piles of paper piled up in disorder, and many businessmen who take small roads or bribe soldiers will not appear on the tax collector's list at all. As the ruler of this land, Earl Pompey didn't even know how many merchants came and went in his territory every month, but since the Duchess had given the order, he had to do his best.
It seems that tonight is going to be a sleepless night.
Seeing Count Pompey's embarrassed expression, Victoria sighed again in her heart.
Statistics, registrants, regulating laws... At a Silver Castle meeting seven years ago, the Duke of the East had proposed these concepts. Learn them, but now seven years have passed, the eastern region has become a rebel army, and the demands made by Grand Duke Silas Loren in Silver Castle have not yet spread to the southern part of the Holy Spirit Plain...
Silas Lauren... Is there no hope for you
Verolia Verde left the inner court of the castle, and after passing through the mottled ancient outer wall corridor, she came to the top terrace of Pompeii Castle.
The wind and snow had stopped, but there were still snowflakes falling from time to time in the night sky. It was the snowflakes accumulated on the towers and roofs that fell in the night wind. These snowflakes fluttered around the terrace, automatically avoiding more than ten people around the Duchess Victoria. The range of meters is like awe.
Compared with the Castle of Winter, which was built on the top of the mountains overlooking thousands of miles of ice and snow, the family castle that the Earl of Pompeii is proud of is much smaller and shabby, but it still occupies the best terrain and has an excellent Terrace, standing on the terrace, the front of Victoria's vision is the continuous mountains of the southern border pass, and the rock fortress in the mountains.
In the middle is an almost unobstructed plain.
No wonder the Earl of Pompeii had trouble sleeping and eating.
In the deep night, the Rock Fortress is the brightest light source in the dark mountains. With the keen eyesight of a transcendent, Victoria can see that the light is formed by a large number of lights set on the city walls and towers. In all directions, they can illuminate various levels, and can also interfere with the attacker's line of sight when the enemy tries to attack, making it difficult for them to target the archer or mage on the wall stack and sentry tower.
In addition to those light sources, the entire Rock Fortress is covered with a layer of shimmering shield. That layer of shield makes the details of other areas of the entire fortress shrouded in a hazy tulle, making it difficult to distinguish.
"Is that the big shield of the Rock Fortress..." Veronica's voice came from the side. The "Saint Princess" had arrived at the side of the Duchess Wilde at some point, and she was looking in the direction of the Rock Fortress. , Surrounded by the same faint holy light as before, "I heard that on the day of the Fire Moon, the Cecilians used some powerful magic to destroy the shield... I didn't expect them to repair it so quickly."
"The big shield is an important barrier of the Rock Fortress, and the Cecils will definitely repair it as soon as possible, and for things like magic barriers, as long as the charging and projection structures are not substantially damaged, it is easy to repair only if the shield is penetrated of."
"Is that so..." Veronica said softly, she raised her head and looked at the south in a daze, "... I don't know much about the magic field..."
Hearing this obviously unintentional response, the Duchess of Wilder just smiled lightly, and then stood on the terrace of the castle together with the "Saint Princess" in the night when the first snow stopped, quietly admiring the on this peaceful winter night.
On the second day, the weather was fine.
In the main hall of the castle, Count Pompey handed over a roll of parchment that still smelled of ink to Duchess Victoria.
This roll of parchment roughly counts the trade situation in the southern border in the past year, as well as the merchant exchanges after the change of owner of Rock Fortress. And the results of a group of consultants guessing.
With such information, even with Victoria's ingenuity, it is impossible to estimate how much valuable information can be obtained.
However, looking at Earl Pompey's red eyes and the listless appearance of several advisers present, the Duchess knew that this was already the best result.
At least the Earl of Pompey could still come up with this, instead of asking himself "what is statistics" with a blank face like those real country nobles.
"Go back and rest, Earl," Victoria's words made Earl Pompeii relax, "We will bring good news."
"Your wisdom is Anzu's greatest fortune," the fat earl bent down and said sincerely, "I wish you a smooth trip."
Victoria nodded and turned to leave, while Veronica deliberately lagged a few steps behind. Her Royal Highness said next to the Earl of Pompeii: "Don't use this kind of tone of farewell on the battlefield. As a nobleman of the kingdom, take some Courage to come that is our ancestors, not man-eating beasts."
Count Pompeii showed an embarrassed and ashamed smile, and lowered his head: "As you said."
The Duchess of the North and Her Royal Highness the Princess favored by the Holy Light all left, while the fat Earl of Pompeii stayed where he was, but he couldn't help but say something unseemly in his heart:
From childhood to adulthood, the person who beat him the most was his grandfather...
Even if the grandfather is like this, now an ancestor of another family who has been separated by dozens of generations and has no blood relationship has picked up a weapon... so why don't you hold back and beat people to death
The convoy of envoys from the royal capital left the castle of the Earl of Pompeii. After the winter snow that was completely unsuitable for going out, the chariots and horses drove onto the snow-covered Kingdom Avenue.
Victoria Wilde, who was sitting in the gorgeous carriage, raised her hand, and an orderly wind blew out of thin air, wrapping around the convoy, blowing away the snow on the road, and keeping the winter cold out.
The knights of the escorting caravan beat their swords on the shields hanging beside the saddles, and praised their mistress loudly, while the soldiers in red and blue livery blew their horns in front of the team, and the military band played Music, in the inspiring beats and tunes, the messengers from San Sunil took steps in the direction of the Rock Fortress.
In Cecil City, in the lord's mansion, a half-body projection of Knight Valdeperic, Commander of the Rock and Commander of the Second Legion, appeared above the magic net communicator in front of Gawain. This venerable old knight stood upright: " Your Excellency, the envoys of the Royal Capital are approaching the Rock Fortress."
"Get ready and receive them earnestly," Gao Wen nodded slightly. "The convoy sent to meet him has already set off."
Then he paused, with a smile on his face: "Don't neglect them, it's a big business."