Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 445 - 284: Infernal Hellfire
Chapter 445: Chapter 284: Infernal Hellfire
Carlos the Axe Breaker, originally from the Axe Breaker Tribe, was the direct son of the chieftain.
However, that fateful day Titus’ war axe cleaved open his father’s helmet, blood splattering three meters away.
Carlos charged forward in fury, only to have the whispers of the Burning Pain Vine Court pierce his ears the next moment.
It directly altered the anger in his heart, turning the hatred of his father’s death into a stagnant pool of water.
When he looked up again, the enemy had become his master, the foe had turned into faith.
Thereafter, he followed Titus with renewed loyalty, being personally recognized as his new elite.
But when this military order dispatched him to the southeast, his heart was full of disdain.
The main force is fiercely battling the tough bones of the Northern Empire, and he is sent to conquer a desolate land?
The southeast defense line? To him, it was nothing more than some remote mountains and valleys guarded by the Empire’s most marginal forces.
Even if there were a few knights, they couldn’t withstand the sharpness of his five thousand elites.
This was not a battle of honor, but a waste of his opportunity to achieve merit on the main battlefield.
In the days traveling south from Ice Sea County, his disdain was confirmed.
His army crushed the small scattered Empire garrisons along the way as easily as wolves tearing apart snow rabbits.
Those soldiers didn’t even have time to blow the horn before being drowned in snow by axes and spears.
The victory was so simple it made him feel bored.
As he stood at the mouth of Qingyu Ridge and looked at the towering snowy cliffs on both sides, the contempt in his heart deepened.
This was a narrow valley wedged between two mountains, the mouth shrouded in morning mist as white as a mass of lifeless beast fur.
Carlos reined in his mount and looked up to assess.
The mountain walls on both sides were silent, there were no beacons, no sentry riders.
He snickered, his judgment firmer: what a foolish prey, leaving such a good ambush site unguarded.
Once he led his army through, the entire southeast of the Northern Territory would be under his feet.
Yet he was completely unaware that behind the mountain fog, a pair of cold eyes had been waiting for days.
……
The cold wind of Qingyu Ridge carried snow flurries that lashed at faces like invisible blades.
Louis stood at a strategic high point in the canyon, obscured by rock faces and snow drifts, with rows of knights poised and awaiting orders behind him.
The sound of hooves approached from afar, a knight racing up to the mouth of the valley, his armor stained with still-damp snow mist.
He leapt off his horse, dropping to one knee and said, “Lord Louis, the enemy vanguard has entered the northern ravine!”
Louis’ eyes sharpened, and he took the telescope handed by his adjutant, raising it slowly.
The distant snow mist was pushed aside by a heavy presence, as the enemy vanguard finally appeared.
The first thing to break into view was a group of heavily-armored magical beasts shrouded in vines.
They were massive in size, their backs covered with plant scale armor interwoven with gray-green and iron colors, moist red mist seeping from the gaps in the scales, gently pulsing like breaths.
These giant beasts walked on multiple feet, each step leaving knee-deep depressions in the snow.
The red mist they exhaled carried a pungent smell, and wherever the mist passed, the air emitted a low, unnatural thud.
On the other side of the curtain of mist, the figures of Northern Barbarian Knights emerged.
They rode various grotesquely shaped mutated mounts, each knight bearing the emblem of the Flower Crown on their shoulder armor, their rough and heavy battle armor flickering in the red mist, their eyes burning with fervor.
Then a thunderous rumble echoed from deep within the snow mist!
Dozens of Frost Giants descended from the northern slope, each step causing the snowy cliffs to tremble slightly.
They wielded giant hammers capable of shattering city gates, or dragged chains covered in hooks.
Their exhaled cold breath instantly crystallized in the air, turning into fine ice fragments that fell softly.
The heavy beast hooves, the scrape of iron chains, the low growls of exotic beasts all intertwined, like some flood about to surge from the depths of the earth.
For anyone else, just this momentum would be enough to shake their spirits.
But Louis merely put down the telescope, squinting slightly, and said calmly, “They’re here, stand ready, act as soon as the signal is given.”
On top of the snow cliffs, the ambush of ballistae, oil reservoirs, and sliding stone mechanisms were already primed and ready.
The cold wind swept by, the line so quiet it was only the faint sound of snow and ice rubbing against each other, the entire Qingyu Ridge holding its breath, waiting for the signal.
……
No one believed that the Barbarian Race’s vanguard would cross this snow-blocked mountain path today.
Even less did anyone think that Louis would set an ambush here, especially since aside from himself, no one knew of the Daily Intelligence System’s existence.
The red mist rolled forward, covering the cliffs on both sides, yet when it reached the midpoint of the gorge, the snow suddenly appeared different.
In certain areas, the snow was thin and hard, exuding an unusual luster underfoot, as if doused with hot water and frozen into a brittle ice crust again.
The hollow “dong—dong—” sound occasionally came from beneath the hooves, as if treading on a concealed cavity.
But within the red mist, resonating with the sound of war drums and beast roars, those sounds were buried in the cacophony, almost unnoticed.
The nostrils of the front-row giant beasts twitched slightly, catching a trace of fine oil scent.
Yet enveloped by the wrath and red mist instilled before battle, the warning from their sense of smell was quickly buried, turning into a subtle illusion ignored by all.
Snow mist, red mist, sound of war drums.
To Carlos, this was nothing but an overwhelming advance.
……
When the Barbarian Race’s troops partially entered the canyon, Louis stood concealed atop a high point at the mouth of Qingyu Ridge, his fingers flicking lightly; the crisp snap of his fingers was quickly swallowed by the snow mist, yet it was precisely conveyed.
A waiting knight brought the war horn to his lips, the horn’s sound hoarse and deep, piercing through the red mist and snowstorm, echoing like a call from the Abyss.
