Volume 1, Chapter 30

Snownight Empire

Northern Stronghold – Windward City,

Within the city, the 110-year-old border Marquis Xiumu Duke was inspecting the troops in the military camp. The towering blood-red light that had erupted from the eastern part of Deepwinter Forest a week ago, along with the recent death of the Hero from the Ashurmos Church, had intensified the tense atmosphere in Windward City.

Although the forest areas near the border currently appeared calm,

This tranquility, in the eyes of Windward City’s residents felt more like the calm before a storm.

The newly born demon king tier creature had likely already marked them as prey to replenish its strength.

The shadow of an Abyssal Demon attack loomed over Windward City at all times, filling its inhabitants with an indescribable sense of oppression. The soldiers stationed in the north had already begun evacuating the elderly, weak, women, and children to the rear, while those capable of fighting were arming themselves fully.

Without a doubt, the entire city had entered a state of war readiness.

As the commander of Windward City, Xiumu’s nerves had been stretched to the breaking point over the past few days, and he had worked tirelessly for a full week without rest. Looking at the newly armed troops before him, approximately thirty thousand in total…

Xiumu fell into deep thought.

At that moment, the bearded swordsman Asi beside him couldn’t help but ask, “Lord Marquis, have you come to a decision?”

“Send them to Fort Xiluobo ¹ 席罗卜要塞 (xí luó bo yào sài), 席 = seat, mat, banquet; 罗 = net, to gather, silk gauze; 卜 = to divine/fortune-tell. The name doesn’t really mean anything and isn’t a transliteration. I will keep it as is . The terrain there is too flat; it will be hard to defend without a heavy garrison.” After carefully examining the map one last time, Xiumu made his final decision.

“Understood, Lord Marquis.”

Asi replied respectfully,

Then relayed the order to the unit’s commander. Under Xiumu’s complex gaze, the troops, having received their orders, marched toward the front lines with imposing momentum and grandeur.

After watching the troops depart, Xiumu crossed his arms and silently gazed into the distance.

Although Windward City and the surrounding military bases were garrisoned with a total of three hundred thousand troops, the defensive line near Deepwinter Forest was excessively long, with thirteen key fortresses. How to allocate these forces had become a critical issue.

In the past, three hundred thousand troops would have been sufficient to handle the sporadic attacks from Abyssal Demons.

But this time was different.

A new demon king tier had been born within the forest,

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And the Abyssal Demon rampage it would incite was absolutely not to be underestimated. The scale of the attack would be at least a hundred times greater than usual. By Xiumu’s own judgment, if the Abyssal Demons truly launched an assault, these three hundred thousand troops would be far from enough.

They wouldn’t even be enough to fill the Abyssal Demons’ teeth.

Thinking of this, Xiumu felt extremely uneasy, his azure eyes filled with gravity. The old Marquis couldn’t help but look again at the bearded swordsman beside him. “Asi, where are the nearby reinforcements?”

“The nearest western corps has just passed Shanxi Pass. They’re expected to arrive in about a week.”

“A week?! That slow?!”

“Alas, it’s winter now. The roads to Windward City are already difficult to traverse, and now they’re blocked by snow. A week is actually considered fast.”

“This… damn it.”

Xiumu couldn’t help but curse.

“By the time they get here, Windward City might already be gone! Damn it!”

Seeing the old man cursing and grumbling, Asi could only offer a bitter smile.

“However, Lord Marquis, the Ashurmos Church said they would send support. Moreover, a few squads have already arrived at the front-line fortresses. Among them, it seems, is that so-called ‘Chosen Maiden’.”

“The Ashurmos Church’s?”

Xiumu’s brow unconsciously furrowed.

He held no fondness for the Ashurmos Church, nor for that so-called Chosen Maiden. He always felt she was just a puppet created by the Ashurmos Church to deceive the masses.

In the past, Xiumu would have disdained cooperating with the Ashurmos Church.

But now, he had no choice.

“Sigh, if their forces arrive, you go and receive them. As for those few squads, don’t bother with them. Grant them passage through all fortresses and see what they intend to do.”

“Yes.”

Asi also nodded slightly, somewhat displeased.

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??!

Huh?!

“Rumble~”

Just then,

Accompanied by a cloud of dust, a magnificent carriage speeding at full gallop charged into the military camp!

Then, under the stunned gazes of the soldiers on-site and the Marquis himself, a middle-aged woman in noble attire, with graying temples, kicked open the carriage door with astonishing ferocity and jumped down, radiating an imposing aura.

The moment he saw this middle-aged woman, Marquis Xiumu trembled all over. He hurriedly rushed down from the platform and anxiously approached her.

“Madam! Didn’t I have Axiu and the others escort you to the south for refuge? You… why haven’t you left yet?!”

“Leave?! Leave where?!”

The madam, Xiumu’s wife, this formidable presence named Aurora,

Upon hearing her husband’s words, suddenly flared with anger in her eyes.

“I’ve told you countless times! I will not abandon my husband and leave alone! Besides, before I find my granddaughter! I absolutely will not leave Windward City!”

“This… Madam, you…”

“You what you?! Shut up!”

“Uh, yes,”

Faced with his wife’s roar, Xiumu timidly lowered his head.

Seeing the Marquis in such a difficult position, Asi couldn’t help but step beside Aurora. “Madam, it’s very dangerous here now…”

However,

Before Asi could finish, he was met with Aurora’s fierce glare again. “Afraid of what?! I was fighting Abyssal Demons on the front lines before you were even born! Shut up!”

“Uh, yes…”

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Seeing that his wife had no intention of seeking refuge,

Marquis Xiumu could only shake his head helplessly.

“Then… then, Madam, why have you come here so suddenly?”

“What other reason could I have for coming?”

Aurora said irritably.

“It’s been a week since you returned to the mansion, and you haven’t sent any word back. Do you want to worry me to death?!”

“Ap… apologies.”

“Sigh, considering the special circumstances, I won’t say more about that. Also…”

Then, Aurora took a deep breath and looked gravely at her husband.

“Also, is there any news about Yuan’er?”

“Yuan’er,”

Faced with his wife’s question, Xiumu lowered his head with a complex mood.

“Sorry, Madam, still none.”

Xiumu’s voice carried deep remorse and guilt.

“Right now, we suspect those slave traders have already taken Yuan’er out of Windward City’s territory and into the lawless zone between Windward City and Deepwinter Forest…”

“What… how could…”

Hearing this, Aurora’s eyes unconsciously filled with intense unease, even tinged with a hint of despair.

Once they entered that desolate, sparsely populated zone, the slave traders’ tracks would be obscured by thick mist, making them even harder to find. And if they encountered Abyssal Demons lurking on the forest’s outskirts, then…

She didn’t believe those lowlife slave traders could stand against monsters like Abyssal Demons.

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Thinking of the possible fate awaiting her granddaughter, Aurora shuddered.

Long ago, she had already lost one granddaughter in Deepwinter Forest.

Now,

Her son and daughter-in-law had both been murdered.

She truly could not lose her last granddaughter! Absolutely, absolutely not! She had endured enough of these days of sending off the younger generation before her own time.

“Then… then send people to search the lawless zone immediately!”

“Sorry, Madam, I’ve already sent people to search. But now… there’s still no news…”

Xiumu’s face was also filled with bitterness.

In terms of worrying about his granddaughter, he was no less concerned than his wife.

That child was the apple of his eye!

His son and daughter-in-law were gone,

Xia’er was gone too. If anything happened to Yuan’er, he wouldn’t want to live either…

However,

Just as Xiumu and his wife were immersed in this sorrowful atmosphere, a hurriedly arriving intelligence soldier brought another piece of news that added insult to injury.

“L-Lord Marquis, in the south of Windward City, p-people from the Divine Punishment Holy Church have been spotted!”

Hearing this intelligence felt like a mountain crashing down on Xiumu’s heart, causing the old man to clench his fists tightly.

What?!

The Divine Punishment Holy Church?! Those beasts who like to sacrifice living people to Abyssal Demons?!

‘What do those bastards want to do now?!’