Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 450 - 286: Calamity in the Northern Territory
Chapter 450: Chapter 286: Calamity in the Northern Territory
The atmosphere of a sea of corpses and blood rolled through the valley, mixing flames and stench into a complete hell.
Five thousand barbarian knights lay dead in the mud and blood, with the remains of the giant magical beasts crushing the surrounding rocks, the charred sinews still smoking.
The red mist had not fully dissipated, thick like stirred old blood, glowing a sinister dark red in the light.
Yet the knights of the Red Tide Territory steadily traversed through it, their faces shielded by transparent masks framed with silver.
The edges of the masks were inlaid with patterns of pale blue sheen, distilled from Frost Leaf Vine, slowly releasing a film of mist with each knight’s breath, isolating all mental disturbances from outside.
The eyes behind the mask were cold and focused, showing not a trace of being swayed by the red mist, their movements crisp.
The remaining uncontrolled barbarian remnants were directly stabbed down, Fiery Oil poured from the bottle onto the pile of corpses, instantly igniting a piercing explosion.
Flames pounced on the flesh like a beast, devouring, charring, turning it into ashes.
Vines and blood flowers twitched and shrank back in the blaze, and just as the petals turned to ashes, the air was filled with a nauseating burnt sweet scent.
A knight bent down, the tip of his blade lifting a piece of dark red vine not yet burned and a few flower cores still emanating faint light.
They were carefully placed into a Cold Iron-wrapped potion jar, sealed and locked, handed to the knight behind.
The alchemist would dissect these items in the laboratory of Red Tide City, attempting to understand their origins and weaknesses.
The flames were still burning, their light reflecting on the knights’ silver armor, like a column of slowly advancing cold iron statues.
Louis stood upon the scorched earth, his gaze piercing through the lingering red mist, falling upon the charred corpses.
He did not consider this an easy victory.
If not for knowing in advance that this barbarian force would pass through here, and meticulously setting traps, they might have quietly reached the gates of Red Tide City.
Even so, the cost of this encounter still made his heart subtly tighten:
Four Steel Beasts were destroyed, over thirty knights died, several chariots shattered in the impact of vines and beasts, and the Magic Burst reserves were nearly consumed by a third.
And these dead barbarians were just the tip of the iceberg of the southern army, not even a tenth of their total forces.
If such scale units could repeatedly breach the defenses, then the real disaster had yet to arrive.
The barbarians’ advance south might be even more terrifying than he had previously imagined.
“Hope this land… can really endure.” he murmured quietly.
Next, he must unite with the nobles of the Southeast, first clearing out the invading barbarians around, ensuring the safety of his territory before considering supporting other fronts.
At least before Duke Edmund’s summons, or the Daily Intelligence System hinted at a turn in the war, he would not rashly mobilize the main force.
Moreover, this battle also exposed the shortcomings of their weapons.
For instance, the design of Steel Beasts pulled by Steel Bulls was indeed powerful on the battlefield, but lacking in flexibility and safety.
As long as the enemy precisely killed the pulling Steel Bull, the massive Steel Beast immediately turned into a stationary iron coffin.
If this issue wasn’t resolved, the losses next time might be even more severe, it seemed he had to accelerate the development of fuel engines.
Louis withdrew his gaze, silently turning to leave.
The flames burned behind him, dyeing the night sky a deep red, this was just one inconsequential victory amidst the long fires of war in the Northern Territory.
……
Astha arrived in the Northern Territory just a year ago.
But with the resources allocated by the Royal Family and guidance from his mentor Sai Fu, he rebuilt this long-abandoned frontier town at “Frost River Valley”.
Raising the Silver Dragon flag, setting up a camp, treating it as his jurisdiction, he once thought this would be his starting point in the Northern Territory.
Until two days ago, that barbarian army shattered it all.
They crossed the Ice Rift Gorge, considered “impassable” by the Northern People, flooding directly into the heart of Frost River Valley like a black tide.
The outposts sent no warnings back, the scout teams were entirely wiped out.
When the intelligence reached Astha, the enemy was just half a day away from the town.
He relied on the outer wooden and stone perimeter, attempting to hold.
Amidst the wind and snow, spears stood tall, crossbows drawn full, muskets spewed weak light, the line seemed like a solitary black fence amidst the white wasteland.
But soon the first monster emerged.
It was a bloated barbarian warrior, his skin bulging with dark red vine veins, the parasitic scorching vine constantly twitching in his flesh, like a living creature voraciously drinking blood.
Even pierced through the shoulder by a spear, he roared forward, smashing through the fence, tearing the defenders’ breastplates like soaked parchment, hot blood spraying a scarlet arc across the snow.
Then more figures charged in.
Arrows pierced their chests and necks, only making them more frenzied like provoked beasts, their shouts in the wind and snow painful to the ears.
In the snow mist on the horizon, colossal silhouettes gradually emerged.
These were five-meter-tall giants, skin armored with vines, holding stone axes capable of cleaving rooftops.
Each swing accompanied the sound of wood walls crumbling and bones breaking.
Further away, the cries of magical beasts pierced the wind and snow.
A Thick Armored Split Skull Rhino charged into the crowd, tossing a row of soldiers like straw.
The parasitic vines wrapped on its back flung out thorns as it ran, embedding into the rear row of defenders like raindrops.
