Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 660 - 384: The Birth of Louis’s Daughter

Chapter 660: Chapter 384: The Birth of Louis’s Daughter

The cold of the early morning quietly seeped into the room; the fireplace still held its warmth, yet could not dispel the quiet atmosphere after the snow outside.

Sif lay on her side next to Louis, her short white hair had grown to shoulder length, spreading a few strands on the pillow, her breathing steady, yet her brows and eyes still carried that wild sharpness.

The bulge of her belly, ten months along, was pronounced, but it did not diminish her stance; instead, it made the strength in her body more evident.

Louis glanced at her gently, his fingers paused slightly beside her belly.

It should be any day now.

Suppressing a fleeting moment of tension from the depths of his heart, he quietly got out of bed, donned a thick robe, and walked over to the window.

The rooftops of Red Tide City were layered thinly with white from mist and snow, and chimneys from steam workshops in the distance were emitting fine smoke.

Louis raised his right hand, lightly flicked his fingers.

A familiar light buzzing sound arose, and a translucent blue screen spread out in the air.

[Daily Intelligence Update Complete]

[1: The Remont family continues to persuade Seventh Legion Commander Ackman Greer with offers of land revenue, trade route shares, and future rewards. According to agent reports, he has begun meeting privately with the family’s representative.]

[2: The Dawn Port caravan safely arrived at the Jade Federation Bi Chao Guild. The goods were sold smoothly, and the guild master highly praised the mineral quality, expressing a desire to strengthen long-term cooperation.]

[3: The Red Tide machinery group completed the first generation steam war chariot prototype; its performance is stable and ready for trial use.]

[4: Sif’s pregnancy is going well, today she successfully gave birth to a baby girl.]

Louis’s gaze lingered on the first line of intelligence for a few seconds. Since the Dragon Throne meeting ended, the Empire’s political situation felt like a giant stone thrown into the depths of the ocean, sinking further each day.

But Louis has the daily intelligence, a golden finger as if with divine sight, allowing him to oversee the movement of power dynamics from the Northern Territory, far from the Imperial Capital, in an almost god-like perspective.

The three Princes are now showcasing their talents, frantically wooing the Empire’s nobility and legion commanders.

The Fifth Prince, on the other hand, moves further afield, trying to gradually approach the Calvin Clan, aiming to enclose the entire Southeast Province.

However, the most conspicuous and dangerous force is not these Princes but the Duke Redet of the Remont family.

Louis exhaled slowly, his fingertips tapping lightly on the edge of the light screen.

Redet still seems to bear the banner of the Second Prince, but in reality, he has long extended his reach into the Imperial Army, probing from the Seventh Legion to the Southwest Reserve Army.

The legion commanders still outwardly support the Royal Family but secretly speculate on where to place their bets in the future.

More troublesome is that the Seventh Legion is stationed on the edge of the Northern Territory.

Nominally guarding the extreme cold frontline, it practically serves as the Empire’s dedicated eye on the Northern Territory.

Though Louis has made the entire Northern Territory stable as a solid iron plate, that eye consistently watches him, unable to threaten Red Tide but always capable of stirring up trouble.

The Empire never trusts the Northern Territory, so that eye will never be withdrawn.

Now, the Empire’s military might is like an old net pulled to its limit, a slight tug, and it will snap.

Everyone is waiting for the breaking point, perhaps the fall of the Regent King, maybe a legion’s loss of control, or perhaps a Prince suddenly revealing his true agenda.

What Louis understands clearly is that Redet does not intend to just be a subject; his actions clearly aim at establishing independent military power, hoping to seize the largest piece once the Empire fractures.

Louis’s seemingly calm demeanor hides an increasingly intense sense of crisis.

The Northern Territory seems distant from the Imperial Capital, placed outside the turmoil, but should chaos truly erupt, whether willing or not, the Northern Territory will inevitably be pulled in.

If Red Tide cannot firmly establish its foundation, when the threads of the Empire unravel, the Northern Territory will be uprooted like a tree, swept away by the storm.

Thus, he must move faster than everyone else. Granaries, mineral veins, railroads, arsenals, schools…

Each seemingly steady advancement is actually a step on the edge of time’s blade.

He must have Red Tide equipped with a full set of systems, capable of independent operation, independent armament, independent supply, before the Empire fully fractures.

“The Northern Territory must achieve complete independence before chaos erupts.”

Louis repeats this phrase in his mind, as if issuing a final command to himself.

As long as the Red Tide system stabilizes, he can position the Northern Territory outside the blizzards, no longer swept along by the rise and fall of the Imperial Capital.

This path, Louis must now accelerate without delay.

When Louis turns to the second line, his emotions are even calmer than towards the Empire’s political situation, even with a hint of hidden calculation.

The successful opening of the Federation ports by Dawn Port indicates that his year-long construction of foreign trade routes has finally begun to take shape.

Red Tide’s minerals, cold iron embryos, fur, and other goods can command good prices in the Federation, showing that the Northern Territory’s industrial system for the first time truly holds active external value, independent of anyone, parasitic of none.

“The guild master is satisfied…” Louis murmured inaudibly, meaningful.

More crucial is that this route is not just a breakthrough for Bi Chao Guild alone.

The cooperation plans with Red Glow Guild and Starfall Guild have also been completely finalized, with two caravans dispatched by Dawn Port preparing for departure.

If these three sea trade routes are concurrently successful, Red Tide’s foreign trade system can formally break away from the Calvin Commerce Association’s old network, establishing a stable cycle independent of the Empire.