Free Web NovelFrost Halberd City, Governor of the Northern Territory's Mansion.
The fire in the hearth burned quietly, filling the room with the scent of pine resin and wine.
Duke Edmund leaned back in a high-backed chair, fiddling with a silver knife on the table. The wax seal on the envelope was the familiar sun pattern, the Red Tide Territory's seal.
He hummed softly, a smile playing on his lips: “That boy finally wrote to me. Could it be about the wedding?”
He tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper, and began to read.
The first few lines indeed mentioned the progress of the wedding preparations, such as the venue and the guest list—but soon, the handwriting became hurried.
The content then shifted to: insect swarms, parasitism, mind control, corrosive liquid, explosive propagation mechanisms, and combat puppets with purple pupils.
The letter trembled slightly in his hand. Duke Edmund’s eyebrows slowly furrowed, and the scar running diagonally across his face seemed to be pulled, trembling along with them.
This wasn't the first time he had known about this—three years ago.
That was the most bizarre battle in the Northern Territory in ten years.
In the late spring of that year, north of the Frost Scar River, an entire viscount's territory—approximately three villages, two farms, and a knight's fortress—became a hollowed-out zone in less than six days.
Initial reports only mentioned wild beast attacks, which then escalated to complete loss of contact with all villagers, garrison troops, and relay stations.
It wasn't until a reconnaissance cavalry unit narrowly escaped that the intelligence they brought back kept the Governor's Mansion awake all night.
“The dead were walking, like they were suspended by strings, with light in their eyes—there was something pulsating in their chests, not hearts, but something else.
Something squirmed like leeches under their skin, and their mouths and noses were leaking silk...
After we blew one up, its chest exploded, like an insect sac spraying out liquid that corroded armor with a sizzling sound. Then, insects crawled out of the body and burrowed into people!”
So, the Northern Territory Regular Army dispatched an entire regiment of elite troops.
Five Elite Knight teams blockaded the perimeter, and one team of Transcendent Knights, carrying a large number of Magic Bombs and cauterizers, breached the contaminated zone.
The battle lasted two days and one night. All buildings, along with the entire thirty-plus li of forest in the area, were incinerated.
Magic Bombs shattered the insect corpses, and fuel oil and phlogiston mortar completely sealed off the insects' escape routes. Some described the last ten hours of that battle as “like watching hell breathe.”
In the entire operation, ninety-four soldiers were missing, and fifty-seven were confirmed infected, resulting in a painful loss of high-end combat power for the Northern Territory.
That land was later marked as the “Silent Fire Zone,” a rare permanently sealed area on the Northern Territory's territorial map.
For the next three years, no similar incidents occurred, but the true reason for the appearance of these insects was never investigated.
Yet, the phenomena and symptoms described in Louis's letter were identical to those of that year.
Even more terrifying, Louis also wrote: there were no corpses or blood at the battle site, as if it had been precisely cleaned.
That meant the insect swarm not only survived but evolved and became more intelligent.
As for Louis mentioning that he saved a mage.
Edmund scanned this sentence without any emotional fluctuation.
He was neither surprised nor concerned.
An ordinary mage?
In his eyes, they were merely flashy spellcasters, incapable of causing much stir in real wars and political situations.
After all, he had over a dozen mages under him.
Their deaths were not regrettable; their greatest use was to live and tell Louis the details of the insect corpse attack. Duke Edmund remained silent in his office for a moment, tapping his fingers on the armrest, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) as if weighing something or searching his memory. “Summon Knight Vik Grantham to see me,” he suddenly said.
The attendant paused, then bowed and left.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and cold wind swept into the hall along with a cloak.
The arriving person was a tall, middle-aged knight with white hair tied back and a stern face. His armor was silver-black half-plate, and his dark red cloak was embroidered with gold thread along the edges.
He made no metallic clinking sounds when he walked, moving so lightly that he barely seemed like a person clad in armor.
Only his pale gray eyes were cold and sharp, as if they could pierce through mist.
Knight Vik Grantham, a high-tier Transcendent Knight, loyal to Duke Edmund.
He grew up in the military, endured many fierce battles including the Great Rebellion, and once single-handedly slew three Snowsworn of Transcendent strength.
He consistently remained silent during combat, earning him the moniker “Northern Territory Quick Blade.”
But besides his combat prowess, he also possessed a rarely known bloodline talent—Perception.
Upon activating his bloodline talent, his perception became extremely acute, allowing him to detect traces and auras that ordinary people overlooked, making him an invaluable asset, especially in search and reconnaissance.
“I need you to lead a team to the Red Tide Territory,” Duke Edmund said in a low voice.
“Traces of insect corpses have reappeared. Just a few days ago, Louis discovered residual corrosive marks on the edge of his territory. The situation is—extremely similar to three years ago.”
Vik's pupils contracted slightly, and a rare ripple appeared in his usually stone-cold expression.
He asked in a deep voice, “Are you certain?”
“It has been confirmed,” Edmund nodded, his tone icy. “He himself did not experience it firsthand, but the team he sent out brought back the intelligence. He said those traces are identical to the—cleansing operation in Boroda River Valley three years ago.”
A moment of silence.
Vik slowly lowered his head, his voice deep: “That kind of thing... should not reappear.”
“So you understand why I'm sending you,” Edmund looked at him calmly. “You participated in that battle; you know how dangerous those things are.”
“Furthermore,” he paused, his gaze growing more solemn, “your bloodline talent also makes you the best candidate for this mission. If even you can't detect any clues, then we truly have cause for fear.”
“I need you to assess whether there's a risk of a second outbreak. If the threat is confirmed, take cleansing measures directly, without waiting for further orders.”
Vik was silent for a breath, then knelt on one knee and responded in a low voice, “As you command.”
“Choose thirty high-tier Elite Knights you trust yourself,” Edmund slowly added. “We cannot gamble that their appearance this time is merely ‘accidental.’”
“Yes,” Vik rose, his expression normal, yet already like a sheathed blade.
He turned and left, immediately heading to select knights for the Red Tide Territory.
Steady footsteps echoed on the stone stairs of the Red Tide Lord's castle.
Louis looked up as a tall knight entered his office with an attendant.
“Vik Kahn,” the knight introduced himself with a slight nod, his tone crisp and decisive.
“Welcome, Knight Kahn,” Louis rose and extended his hand for a handshake. “I was expecting you.”
The two sat on opposite sides of the long table. The fireplace fire flickered, reflecting on the carved wooden map and the documents laid out.
Louis concisely recounted the sighting location of the insect swarm, the cause of the incident, the current lockdown area, and the countermeasures taken by the Red Tide Territory.
Throughout, his tone remained steady, even when mentioning the fallen, without excessive lament, merely presenting the facts to be convincing.
“I'd like to hear from those two personally,” Vik said unhurriedly, looking at Louis. “Especially that mage—you mentioned in your letter that he was the sole eyewitness.”
Louis nodded at his words, summoned an attendant, and whispered a few instructions.
“I will have them brought here,” he looked up at Vik, his voice steady. “You can judge for yourself, but I will also be listening in, as this matter isn't over yet.”
“Of course,” Vik nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes. “Honestly, you've handled this very well.”
Soon, the attendant led in two people.
First was the middle-aged search knight, tall and imbued with the dust of travel and the spirit of battle. After saluting, he stood quietly to the side.
The search knight recounted the patrol results one by one, mentioning the charred, collapsed camp ground, the bloodless clearing marks, the putrid smell, and the unsettling silence of the environment.
Vik listened to these words, his expression heavy.
Every detail was identical to three years ago.
Then came Leixier, still looking weak, who was helped inside.
He was somewhat surprised, not expecting Louis to report this matter directly to the Governor of the Northern Territory.
Although his mage's robe had been changed, his face remained pale, and his magic flow was extremely weak.
He emotionlessly recounted his encounter: the ambush by the river, his teammates being parasitized, himself being poisoned, consciousness erosion, forcibly suppressing his magic to escape, until he collapsed outside the Red Tide Territory. Of course, he also concealed some things, such as his identity and his mission—
Vik listened in silence, nodding after a long while.
His face was even grimmer than when he first arrived.
“The intelligence is sufficient,” he saluted Louis, then took a black wax-sealed scroll from his cloak. “This is from the Duke for you.”
Louis took the scroll, not opening it immediately, just nodding in response to Vik.
“We will begin our investigation from the location you provided. We will let you know if we need assistance.”
Vik finished calmly, pulled up his hood, and turned to leave, without a hint of hesitation.
A moment later, the footsteps completely faded at the end of the corridor, and the office returned to silence.
Louis silently glanced at the scroll, then gently placed it on the side of the desk, before turning to look at Leixier.
“I'm sorry—” he said in a low voice. “This matter is too serious. I couldn't handle it here, so I had to report it.”
Leixier nodded gently, without any dissatisfaction, his tone instead carrying a hint of relief: “I understand. It's already a miracle that I survived. If not for you—I would probably have been incinerated.”
He paused slightly, then added: “Now that local noble power is involved in the investigation, it's a good thing for us too.”
Having said that, he left with the attendant's assistance.
Louis sat back in his chair alone, staring at the silver-gray scroll for a long time, his thumb slowly tracing the edge of the wax seal.
Only after confirming that he was completely alone did he gently unseal the envelope and pull out the neatly folded letter.
The letter's beginning was still polite and gentle greetings, carrying the typical ducal tone and style.
But Louis merely glanced at it, skipping over the preamble, his gaze falling directly on the key content of the latter half.
The letter primarily discussed two matters.
The first matter was the reappearance of insect swarm traces.
The Duke's words carried a rare, suppressed seriousness.
He reminded Louis of the severity of this matter, far exceeding typical monster disturbances, and recounted the events from three years ago. frёeωebɳovel.com
He finally emphasized that, if necessary, the Northern Territory's wartime mechanism might even be activated.
And the Han Shan Territory, due to the initial location of their appearance and the judgment he himself displayed, would be considered one of the foremost observation points.
“When necessary, I will need your full assistance,” the letter stated.
These words, seemingly calm, actually represented an extremely heavy trust. This content did not surprise Louis.
However, what truly made Louis raise an eyebrow was the second matter.
It was a notice of reward.
To be precise, it was about the Emerald Federation spy he had “accidentally” exposed and captured in the suburbs earlier, which then led to the discovery of Joseph, that audacious traitor.
This triggered a large-scale intelligence cleanup operation across the entire southwestern province of the Empire.
Now, this storm had finally subsided, and he was written into the beginning of the cleanup report.
“Therefore, it is hereby decided that Joseph's former direct territory shall be ceded to Red Tide as a commendation for this crucial intelligence cleanup operation.”
Joseph's territory near Qingyu Ridge now rightfully belonged to Louis.
In addition, there was a whole ten thousand gold coins as “extra remuneration,” and an unspecified amount of material supplies to be arranged later.
“Well, this reward is quite reasonable.”
Louis refolded the letter, a faint smile in his tone.
After all, from the surface, he had merely “happened to pass by and caught a spy.”
And the subsequent chain reaction that rocked the Empire could certainly be attributed to “luck.”
This reward could be said to be generous.
Moreover, he had also used this incident to directly reorganize the nobles, large and small, in Snowpeak County, which was also a kind of invisible reward.
He called an attendant in and instructed: “Have Bradley come here.”
Soon, Bradley scurried through the door.
“Arrange for officials to quickly go and take over the new territory assigned to us,” Louis said calmly. “Formally name it Qingfeng Territory.”
“Qingfeng Territory? A good name,” Bradley's eyes lit up, and his pen was already quickly writing in his notepad.
“That land was originally managed by Joseph. After he was arrested, it should be unmanaged. Send someone to investigate first, how many residents are currently remaining. For those who can stay and are willing to stay, distribute relief supplies first.”
“Understood,” Bradley immediately nodded.
“Tell the storage there to allocate fifty sets of temporary farm tools, and then transfer a batch of seeds from Red Rock Warehouse. Spring plowing cannot wait,” Louis continued to instruct. “Also transfer three experienced agricultural workers there to plan with the locals, and try to complete the sowing before the end of the month. You can also send some livestock to transport seeds and tools.”
“Yes,” Bradley quickly wrote it down. “Understood, I will arrange for a resource officer and a topographer to go together.”
Louis mused for a moment, then added: “We need to do it beautifully, not just take over. It would be best if the common people see changes within a week, and spread the word that we are ‘here to govern, not to levy taxes.’”
“Good, I'll get right on it,” Bradley smiled and nodded. Seeing that Louis had no other instructions, he quickly put away his notes and hurried out.
