Free Web NovelThe heavy atmosphere could not be concealed by the wind and snow; though the war drums had not yet sounded, the air was already thick with oppression. From the very beginning of the conference, Duke Edmund wasted no time on pleasantries.
He merely sat at the head of the table, lightly raising a hand, his voice as calm as frost and snow: "Gentlemen, no need for superfluous talk. You've all seen the situation outside."
His voice was not loud, yet it penetrated every corner of the conference hall, like an ice pick piercing everyone's hearts.
"This is not a battle; it is a world-ending catastrophe."
No one in the hall spoke, only the distant rumble of the magic fortress echoed in response.
"So today, we will only discuss one thing: how to end all of this."
As he spoke, he slowly turned his gaze to a shadowy spot beside him: "For this purpose, I have invited this person—"
That figure slowly emerged from the shadows, stepping into the light. It was a being in a deep blue, star-patterned magic robe. The robe shimmered like the night sky, with stars constantly rising from its edges, only to seemingly fall back into the void.
He did not announce his name, nor was he introduced.
Even the Duke did not reveal his origins.
But no one questioned it, for his aura alone indicated he was an undeniable powerhouse.
His entire face was shrouded in a layer of hazy mist.
Even standing next to him, one could not discern his features, feeling only that the "mist" seemed to reject sight, and even more so, understanding.
Where he walked, the air seemed to slightly warp, as if an ancient aura, spanning time and space, had quietly descended. freewebnoveℓ.com
"Who is that person—?" a young officer from the Imperial Capital murmured.
No one answered.
Aurelian paid them no mind. He simply stood still and got straight to the point: "The original 'Mother Nest' was merely a low-level magical parasitic organism.
They produced tiny insects that would attempt to control the remains of their hosts, using the corpses to supply the Mother Nest and breed the next generation.
In their primitive state, they could only control a wild rat, a decaying cat—posing no threat to the world."
He paused slightly at this point.
In the conference hall, several officers from the Imperial Capital showed thoughtful expressions, while the brows of the old generals and knights gradually furrowed.
"But the current 'Mother Nest' is no longer a simple parasite. Its reproduction, expansion, and magical sensitivity have long surpassed any necromantic construct recorded in history. The only possibility is that it was artificially guided, catalyzed, and imbued with ancient dark magic."
This statement caused many officers to gasp softly, and the faces of the Archmage Corps members changed dramatically.
"This is a monster artificially 'shaped' into being," Aurelian calmly added.
He slowly extended a finger and lightly tapped the table: "Of course, no matter how strong it is, its foundation remains that 'symbiotic insect spirit structure.'
As long as the Mother Nest is destroyed, all the Worm-Eaten Household connected to it will die due to the collapse of their spiritual core. This has been proven in actual combat."
As soon as he finished speaking, several high-ranking commanders from the Dragon Blood Legion and the Cold Iron Legion nodded.
"Indeed, during the eradication of a Mother Nest, our side witnessed an entire front instantly freeze after a nest was destroyed," an old general recalled. "Those Worm-Eaten Household were like having their marrow drained; they couldn't even move."
"If it were an ordinary Mother Nest, it would be fine," Gaius Calvin said in a deep voice. "But what we face now is the strongest and most bizarre one."
Aurelian ignored the whispering Councilors and generals around him. He simply spoke slowly, his voice low and indistinct, as if emanating from an abyss.
"Let's call this Mother Nest the 'Strongest Mother Nest.'"
His tone was without fluctuation, as if stating an irrelevant fact, yet every word weighed heavily on everyone's hearts: "It has even evolved a certain ability—called 'Mist of Death.'"
For a moment, there was a brief silence in the hall, followed by a faint, hurried murmur.
"Mist of Death—?"
"Sounds very dangerous?"
"What exactly is it?"
The civil officials and generals, who were not skilled in magic, looked at each other, many of them not even understanding the meaning of the phrase. They had not encountered much magic, and simply based on the words "death" and "mist," they instinctively felt danger, terror, and an unknown sense of power.
There was no explanation of the spell's origin, no discussion of its magical structure, as they wouldn't understand, nor did they need to.
Aurelian merely raised a hand, and a mass of dark, shadowy mist appeared in the air.
Within the mist, a stitched face vaguely emerged, one eye still opening and closing, the other side's mouth crying, like a child, like an elder—and around the image, twisted Worm-Eaten Household were reassembling.
"The Mist of Death, in essence, is a forbidden ability that transcends spirit and flesh.
It can reassemble any remains of the dead, whether it be severed limbs, broken bones, shattered armor plates, or even a pool of blood.
As long as it is not completely incinerated, it can be reshaped.
Individuals reassembled will lose their original identity and become extensions of the Mother Nest's will, which is what you see: the kind of spliced monsters that cannot be explained by common sense."
The faces of those around gradually turned pale.
"And that black mist," Aurelian's tone slightly deepened, "is not merely a visual obstruction. It possesses extremely strong mental contamination capabilities, directly disrupting cognitive thought, inducing hallucinations and fear.
At the same time, it is also a continuous corrosive gas that erodes magical structures and physical cells. More critically, this mist cannot be dispelled."
Some people even had subtle looks of horror on their faces: "We've seen all of this on the front lines—"
Gaius Calvin's voice broke the silence: "One charge alone cost us over ten Dragon Blood Legion knights, all high-tier powerhouses, but those monsters simply won't 'die.' We cut off their necks, and they grow new ones.
Chop off their limbs, and the shattered bones can reassemble. Smash their heads, and another Worm-Eaten Household's brain will fill in. You kill one, it breaks into three pieces, and you might have three new ones."
A young commander asked hoarsely, "Then what do we do—keep fighting them to the death? It seems utterly useless, doesn't it?"
Aurelian looked at him quietly, his face still indistinct under the mist: "So only by destroying the Mother Nest is the only solution."
"To stop it, the only way is to kill the strongest Mother Nest."
A deadly silence fell, but no one raised an objection.
Based on their experience, and the Archmage's persuasiveness, they all knew this was the only solution.
Duke Edmund nodded, his tone steady yet authoritative: "Thank you for the information, Your Excellency."
He did not address him as "Supreme Mage" or by name, as it was the other party's own request for a simple address.
He waved his hand lightly, signaling the next general to speak: "General Rudolf, please report on the specific situation at the front line."
That was the deputy commander of the Cold Iron Legion, an old ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ general clad in ice-patterned heavy armor.
He stood up, his eyes as deep as frost peaks, and his opening statement was like a hammer blow: "The Strongest Mother Nest has been confirmed to be located deep within the Frost Halberd Mountain's interior."
And according to battlefield reports, the Mother Nest's main body cannot move quickly; it primarily relies on insect tunnels to extend outwards for expansion. We have detected that it seems to be slowly advancing, but its main body is hidden extremely deep, possessing extremely strong structural concealment and magical barriers.
A decapitation squad composed of extraordinary knights attempted to approach—"
The general paused, his eye twitching,
"...But before they could even contact the core of the main body, they were completely wiped out. No one survived."
"Their attacks couldn't even leave a scratch on the Mother Nest's outer shell."
The entire conference hall instantly became terrifyingly quiet.
A younger Councilor's Adam's apple bobbed, and he unconsciously swallowed.
"Those were extraordinary knights?"
"Yes," Rudolf nodded, his expression as grim as ice. "But they were counter-killed without even breaking a tentacle. This indicates that even a Peak Knight may not be able to penetrate the Mother Nest's outer shell."
After introducing some basic information about the Mother Nest, he returned to his seat, and another low voice sounded.
A quartermaster, with white hair and a faded cloak, slowly rose: "We are—running out."
One sentence tightened everyone's hearts.
"Supplies are critical," he said, opening the scroll in his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly. "One-third of the cold crystal ammunition stock has been depleted. The remaining reserves are insufficient to support three full-scale strikes. The magic crystal furnace can only maintain the main array's protection for seven days; after that, we can only rely on emergency soul stones to maintain partial defensive zones."
He looked at the Duke and Arthur, his tone as clear as an iron nail.
"Physical resources are almost exhausted. Arrowheads, armor repair materials, combat aura potions, purification runes—almost every item has dropped below the alert line. Energy resources are also plummeting. Two of the seventeen magic regulation fortresses have already shut down, and the remaining fifteen can only operate in rotation."
"And food," he paused, his gaze sweeping over the Imperial Capital officials dressed in luxurious uniforms, "with the current distribution plan, Frost Halberd City cannot last more than fifteen days."
The air solidified instantly.
No more whispering, no more rustling of paper and pens, only silence.
At this moment, no more data or charts were needed, no lengthy battle reports. Everyone saw it, and everyone understood.
If Frost Halberd City were breached...
A hell, slowly writhing and incubating destruction and madness, would certainly not stop there.
Millions of dead would become its tongues and claws, and the Worm-Eaten Household would surge like a wave across the entire Northern Territory, heading straight for the heart of the Empire.
Not merely a defeat, but a complete collapse of civilization.
And Frost Halberd City was the last gate standing at the entrance to hell.
Every person sitting at the table, whether noble, officer, mage, or Councilor, felt a chill rise from their bones at that moment.
In the silence, it was Duke Edmund's voice that broke the frozen air.
He stood up, like a wall of cold iron, before the table.
"Therefore," his voice was stern, but his words conveyed a resolute determination, "we must resolve that Mother Nest as quickly as possible—this thing cannot be allowed to remain."
As the supreme commander of the Northern Territory, Duke Edmund made a decisive move and quickly began issuing orders:
"Phase one: The Frost Halberd City magic-guided defense line will unleash a full-power cold crystal storm, coordinating with catapults and continuous explosive magic crystals, to continuously weaken the outer Worm-Eaten Household. The goal is to clear an attack channel and create a breakthrough window."
"Yes!" The Frost Halberd City's defense officer immediately stood up, responding with a resounding affirmation.
"Phase two: The Dragon Blood Legion and the Cold Iron Legion will initiate the 'Core Breaker Squad' plan."
This time, Arthur himself nodded.
"Ten decapitation squads, ten men per squad, all composed of high-tier extraordinary knights, led personally by myself, Gaius Calvin, and Your Excellency the Duke. We will forcefully penetrate the Mother Nest's core, destroying its consciousness core and regeneration core—we are staking everything."
A small gasp rippled through the conference hall.
Three Peak Knights personally leading the charge represented one of the Empire's strongest available forces.
But Gaius Calvin stood up, his brows tightly furrowed, his voice deep: "Theoretically feasible, but we haven't tried it before."
He looked around, a rare hesitation in his tone: "The Mother Nest's defensive power far exceeds common sense. Three extraordinary knights once launched a coordinated assault, expending all their combat aura, yet they couldn't even tear its outer shell by half. That's not a carapace; it's a living fortress.
Moreover, it can continuously spew black mist, reassemble corpses, regenerate itself, and even corrode combat aura itself."
He concluded in a deep voice, his eyes heavy: "To put it bluntly, even a Peak Knight would probably struggle to cause any substantial damage to it. We can't even penetrate its carapace."
The air once again fell into a suffocating stagnation.
Around the conference table, faces were mottled with shadows cast by the lamplight.
No one spoke, as if even breathing was compressed within this heavy stone hall.
Finally, someone spoke: "Given the current resource situation, we can try a three-stage catapult strike—first, throw cold crystal bombs to freeze the outer Worm-Eaten Household, then use shock-blast stones to tear open gaps, and finally, hurl sharpened heavy hammers to concentrate fire on the Mother Nest's weak points in its carapace."
The speaker was a staff officer, his tone cautious, pointing to the attack path drawn on a scroll. His plan was comprehensive, tactically sound, and incorporated Frost Halberd City's existing firepower resources.
But soon, another tactical officer from the Dragon Blood Legion shook his head:
"Effective, but useless."
He tapped the stone table with his calloused finger and said in a deep voice: "Those reassembled Worm-Eaten Household are not afraid of impact at all, and the Mother Nest doesn't move. You're only blowing off the outermost layer of its shell, and it just grows another one."
Another tactical officer from the Imperial Capital rose: "Can we lure it to move? Induce it to expose its central structure?"
"Lure?" Gaius Calvin sneered. "What do you plan to lure it with?"
The tactical officer's voice immediately choked.
The next ten minutes were chaotic.
Someone suggested constructing deep-level mining explosive arrays to penetrate the underground insect nest with riveted blasting pipes.
Someone suggested fusing all remaining cold crystals to create a 'piercing cone,' attempting a one-hit core penetration.
Someone even proposed dismantling Frost Halberd City's main magic core furnace and reverse-detonating it to create a magic energy collapse.
These proposals were put forward one by one, and rejected one by one.
All were impractical; either there weren't enough supplies, or the execution conditions were too stringent, or it was simply impossible to get close to the target core. "If the carapace can't be penetrated, everything is just talk on paper."
"Not enough manpower, not enough windows, and even usable tactical equipment is scarce."
"Unless—we pile up lives."
The voice came from an elder staff officer of Frost Halberd City.
His hair was white, but his voice did not tremble; it was as calm as a dry, ancient well.
"We have only one choice. Let the ten strongest squads attract attention and clear a path. All remaining knights, carrying explosives, will launch an all-out assault, exchanging their lives for the Mother Nest's death."
This was not a suggestion; it was a suicidal calculation.
The hall suddenly fell silent. Even the high-ranking Imperial Capital Councilors no longer spoke. They either frowned, or lowered their heads, or murmured and swallowed the words they wanted to say.
Those were words even they did not wish to touch.
"Piling up lives—"
These words were a crime in peacetime; but when the Mother Nest was about to birth hell, it was the last card.
Then, in the silence, a young voice sounded from the corner.
"How about we try my method?"
