Free Web NovelOctober 9th, Red Tide Territory.
The morning mist had yet to fully dissipate, yet the Red Tide Territory was quieter than usual.
There was no bustling market noise, no children's laughter, nor the rumble of carriages.
Only one family after another, dragging luggage and carrying children in their arms, silently walked into the several earth buildings.
“Go in,” a gray-haired old woman whispered, as if reciting a divine oracle, “The great Lord Louis will not harm us.”
No one refused, nor did anyone complain.
Even though the earth buildings were small and crowded, they still queued in an orderly fashion to enter.
Because it was Louis’s command.
They clearly remembered that just over a year ago, they were still huddled in ice and mud, sleeping in cracked tents, and eating gruel mixed with grass roots and bone fragments.
Back then, children froze to death every night, and adults silently dug graves in the morning. It was Louis who lit the hearth in the wind and snow, brought medicine during epidemics, and personally built °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° granaries during wartime.
Because of him, they could eat their fill, had firewood to burn, and clothes to wear.
Tents turned into brick houses, cold nights had hot springs, wheat fields appeared at the foot of the mountain, and new irrigation channels opened on the mountain.
Roads were repaired, warehouses were sealed, and medical clinics were staffed.
These were not miracles brought by prayer.
He gave them.
It was the reality brought by Louis Calvin.
So today, when he personally ordered, “Enter the earth buildings, do not go out, and cooperate fully,” everyone listened as if they had heard the whisper of a god.
They did not hesitate or question, only spoke words of trust in Louis.
“Our great Lord will not harm us.”
“We are his people.” freewebnovёl.ƈom
“His command is a divine oracle.”
Food, water, and necessities were already prepared in the earth buildings, distributed according to the number of people, in perfect order.
In the corner, several boxes of firewood and simple lamps were stacked, as if long-term confinement had been anticipated early on.
“It’s just for a while, it’ll be over soon,” a young boy told his sister with a smile.
But no one knew how long “soon” would be.
Outside, in Red Tide City, on the open ground near the city walls, simple but sturdy camps had already been set up.
The main tent was in the center, surrounded by sentry posts and torches, and Red Tide Knights were neatly arrayed, their armor gleaming, their banners silently fluttering.
No horns were blown, no motivational vows were uttered.
Because they didn't even know who the enemy was.
But they knew who gave the order—Louis Calvin.
He did not explain much, nor did he reveal the reasons.
Through Louis’s repeated actions, they had been instilled with a fundamental belief: “Even if you cannot see the full picture, you must choose to obey Lord Louis.”
So when the order was given, they did not waver, only gripped their sword hilts with determination.
The entire Red Tide seemed to have entered a silent ritual.
Everyone believed that a heavy rain was about to fall.
But their faith was ready to face anything.
Soon, it was the morning of October 10th.
The morning light had not yet broken through, and the area outside the camp was silent, with only a thin mist hanging low and a bone-chilling cold.
The moment Louis opened his eyes, his intuition was already blaring alarm bells in his mind.
Today, the prophecy was that day.
Without a moment’s delay, he sat up almost reflexively, raising his hand to summon the interface that belonged only to him—the “Daily Intelligence System.”
A translucent blue-and-white interface, gently humming in the air, with lines of text rapidly loading and freezing:
【Daily Intelligence Update Complete】
【1: The Despair Witch has awakened the Doomsday Mother Nest. The Worm-Eaten Household mist released by the Mother Nest completely covered the main formation of the Snowsworn army last night.
Over six thousand Snowsworn have been transformed into unconscious Worm-Eaten Household Corps. They will begin by destroying Frost Halberd City and advance comprehensively northward, attempting to drag the Northern Territory and even the entire world into chaos.】
【2: The Despair Witch has activated the Mother Nest in Green Rock Rift. The Mother Nest is expected to reach the outer perimeter of Red Tide Territory within three hours. If the defense line falls, the Worm-Eaten Household Corps will affect all local residents and knights.】
【3: The Mother Nest in Frost Ice Mountain Valley has also been awakened. The Worm-Eaten Household will attack Red Cloud Territory, White Fox Territory, and Wuya Territory.】
【4: The Despair Witch has spread a total of 23 Mother Nest embryos in the Northern Territory; 12 locations are currently activated. There is a mysterious psychic connection between the Mother Nests.】
Louis read through each item, his gaze fixed on the first line of the light screen.
The Despair Witch has awakened the Doomsday Mother Nest. The Worm-Eaten Household mist released by the Mother Nest completely covered the main formation of the Snowsworn army last night. A chilling sensation, difficult to suppress, rose from the depths of his heart.
Six thousand.
Not sixty, not six hundred.
It was a full six thousand Snowsworn, who were already dangerous enemies in the Northern Territory.
And now, they had become Worm-Eaten Household Corps.
Undead bodies, still retaining their battle aura and skills, that instinctive killing intent honed in blood and snow. Plus, their contagiousness and swarm behavior—
This was simply an invincible version of a zombie army.
Louis’s mind instantly conjured images:
Worm-Eaten Household mist surging, the Mother Nest presiding, Worm-Eaten Household Corps moving swiftly through the mist, their skin decayed but their movements like wind, a single punch shattering a stone wall, a single sword strike sending a shield flying, even when cut in half, still squirming forward. What was worse, the source of all this—the “Doomsday Mother Nest.”
From the name alone, no further explanation was needed.
It was definitely not just an enlarged version of a common Mother Nest, but the ultimate form, the extreme construct of the entire system.
He suddenly recalled the vague prophecy in the Daily Intelligence System:
【The evil nurtured by the Snowsworn is stirring, and this crisis will sweep across the entire Northern Territory this winter.】
So, this was that “evil.”
That evil had long taken root and sprouted in the blood and faith of the Snowsworn; it didn’t even require any “sacrifice”—they themselves were the offerings.
Now, only Duke Edmund’s response remained to be seen.
Louis exhaled softly, his eyes regaining their calm.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to contribute, but he clearly understood that the military force he had spent two years building would instantly shatter if it directly encountered the Worm-Eaten Household Corps.
And Red Tide Territory was his foundation, painstakingly secured with all his means, and it could not be lost.
Let alone expanding support, merely being able to defend this corner of Snowpeak County in a chaotic world and protect tens of thousands of people was a victory.
He could stabilize Snowpeak County; at least this land would not fall into chaos first.
Perhaps he couldn't confront the Doomsday Mother Nest directly, but if the Daily Intelligence System could provide useful intelligence that could decide the battlefield, he would still seize it.
Help where he could.
Not just for the Empire, but also for himself.
If the Northern Territory fell, his territory would certainly not be spared.
Then his gaze fell on the second piece of intelligence.
The Despair Witch has activated the Mother Nest in Green Rock Rift. The Mother Nest is expected to reach the outer perimeter of Red Tide Territory within three hours. This instantly caused his pupils to contract slightly.
This time, it was no longer the distant Frost Halberd City, nor the Frost Ice Mountain Valley, but the land beneath his feet.
Red Tide Territory, his base.
Green Rock Rift, that geological fault near the eastern edge of Red Tide, he had sent people to investigate it, but there was nothing unusual.
Yet, he never expected that such a thing as a Mother Nest would be hidden in that quiet, uninhabited area, and moreover, it was a combat unit that would reach the outer edge of Red Tide within three hours.
“...It’s much closer than I expected,” Louis’s brows finally furrowed.
This was not fear, but extreme vigilance.
He wasn’t unprepared; he had already implemented various defensive measures around Red Tide Territory.
And with his knightly strength, dealing with one Mother Nest was not a problem at all.
If 'it' came along the predetermined path, it should be possible to intercept it beforehand.
He was prepared, but he absolutely could not let his guard down.
The Worm-Eaten Household Corps were not ordinary enemies; they felt no pain and had no possibility of retreating.
He knew that if they couldn't be eliminated in one go, the situation would instantly reverse.
Louis continued to scroll down, looking at the third piece of intelligence.
The Mother Nest in Frost Ice Mountain Valley has also been awakened and will sweep through Red Cloud Territory, White Fox Territory, and Wuya Territory. These three territories near Frost Ice Mountain Valley were all within his jurisdiction in Snowpeak County.
And among them, Red Cloud Territory was the fiefdom of his half-brother, Willis.
“Truly, one after another,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead.
He couldn't ignore the situation there, not out of kinship, but out of responsibility and order.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave right now.
Red Tide had to be stabilized first; the movements of the Green Rock Mother Nest had to be suppressed immediately.
As for Red Cloud, White Fox, and Wuya, Louis could only hope they could hold out for a few more hours, until he resolved the crisis here and then rushed over with his forces.
He gently slid his finger, and the interface continued to expand downwards.
As of now, a total of twenty-three awakened Mother Nests have been confirmed. Even with Louis’s composure, his brows furrowed at this moment.
One Mother Nest, without any warning, was enough to swallow a county.
But now, the intelligence stated: “twenty-three.”
Even setting aside the “Doomsday Mother Nest,” this number alone was enough to grind the entire Northern Territory into a dead land.
This was not a local crisis, but a systemic collapse.
“I hope Duke Edmund’s warning can truly make those lords a bit more vigilant,” his voice was low.
His voice was low.
Months ago, when Duke Edmund eliminated the first Mother Nest, he had already sensed that something was wrong and ordered the various lords to prepare in advance.
Unfortunately, not everyone was willing to follow “prophecy” guidance.
If they were not prepared, their territories would fall into irretrievable ruin in a very short time, even dragging down the entire Northern Territory.
The intelligence system was still updating, and Louis read through it, but compared to the first three pieces of intelligence, it wasn’t very important to him.
Not useless, but irrelevant for now.
He silently recorded this information in his notebook; it might be useful in the future, but not now.
The most important thing right now was only one: three hours later, the eastern part of Red Tide Territory would face its first truly significant Worm-Eaten Household Corps attack.
