The annual inspection is a major event at the Ice Peak Fortress, second only to the two traditional religious festivals of "Goddess Advent" and "Harvest Prayer". After all, the Ice Peak Fortress hangs alone, and no one pays attention to it in normal times, even the knights and priests of the church only regard it as a foothold on the patrol road. Only during the big inspection, the name that originally appeared in the letter document will come alive and appear in front of everyone as a real person. If you don't take advantage of this time to get closer and connect with feelings, then when can it be?

Therefore, the Ice Peak Fortress must take out all its reserves to prepare for it. This includes taking out what you would normally reluctant to eat, preparing the bed with the best furs, taking out the wine from the cellar, and cutting the precious cheese. Of course, the best thing is fresh hot food, and Ramsden can't do it alone, and Wu Mama can't do it, so Tron has to go to Collingwood to buy groceries and hire villagers who can cook to help.

Every year, Icepeak Fortress spends a lot of money on this matter, even more than the annual cost of maintaining weapons. However, not a penny will be wasted, because all the food will not be left and will end up in the belly of the person, and whether it will become muscle or fat is another matter.

"It's quite poor, but it's still a New Year. Feige sighed.

Ramsden on the side looked up, his face covered with soot from the fire, and he was wiped by the back of his hand: "What? I didn't hear what you said. ”

"Nothing, just looking at so much food, hungry. Fortunately, I can eat all of them tonight, and this feeling is not bad. "Feige uses the telekinetic mantra SUA to arrange the dishes, so he doesn't have to do it himself, and he looks unique among all the busy people. At least he'd caught the attention of the young cook who had come from Collingwood to help, and he had gained a few winks.

"Ten of them, seven of ours, right?" Feige asked, busy.

"Well, Giles and Calie went to meet them, and they should be there in a moment. Why do you ask this?"

"I moved the dish I wanted to eat to the front of me. Ramsden, your seat should be here, do you have anything you want to eat?"

"Don't worry about me. Wu Mama and I also have to serve food and pour wine, and we can walk around flexibly and eat whatever we want. Ramsden added firewood, stood up and stretched hard to relax. "Thanks to Lord Earl, this year's meal is much better than usual, and it is prepared for twenty-five people, so that everyone can take advantage of the opportunity to have a good meal. ”

The grateful Lord Earl was naturally Feige's father, the Royal Earl of the Kanter Hall Templars. "Feiqi" had never seen him in his life, and all his impressions had to be found in Young Master Hall's memory. He didn't want to talk about topics that he was not familiar with, so he asked, "Ramsden, I almost forgot to ask: What nicknames did you change after you got the seal?"

"Oh, I chose the Eagle's Nest, Ramsden Eagle's Nest, Icepeak, and I wanted to stay at Icepeak, it's safe, it's warm, and everyone is nice. Tron chose Snow Wing, and I think he'll be able to fly one day. Wu Mama chose a terrifying name, called the Ice Demon. Have you ever heard of the legend of the Ice Demon?"

Feige nodded, he had read a lot. "The Ice Demon is a snowflake-made elemental spirit that often disguises itself as a lost villager or a wounded maiden, tricking sympathy into blending in with travelers and killing them one by one during the night. ”

"yes, that's it. I really don't know what Wu Mama thinks. ”

"You still call it a bird's nest, don't talk about anyone else. Feige pricked up his ears: "I heard the sound of horses' hooves, I guess they are back." Would you like to check it out?"

"Of course. Ramsden glanced left and right, and when he saw that no one was paying attention, he took a thick sausage. What is it to steal from his own house? He doesn't eat it himself, but brings it to goblin friends who are learning the lingua franca. For the sake of this, Feige decided to pretend that he didn't know anything.

A group of knights rushed in and stopped at the training ground in the small courtyard. The horse also knew that he had reached a place where he could rest, so he shook his head and spewed white heat from his nostrils. The first two knights were, of course, Giles and Kyrie, and their faces looked very grim and obviously in a bad mood. And the handsome guy with high spirits next to them is none other than Gresham Gary, the new inspector general, who is going to greet (deal with) this time.

The arrival of eight paladins from the Saddle Forest Fortress in full gear rather than on an improvised march seemed to foreshadow some kind of bad sign. They were travelling with a clerk-like man who caught a cold, and was sitting on horseback coughing. It was exactly ten men, but the sound of horses' hooves didn't stop, and Feige heard the wheels pressing against the drawbridge.

An ornate carriage, which appeared to be made of gold and silver, was followed by six knights. These six knights were the vassals of the nobility, not the paladins of the Church, as evidenced by the insignia on their shields, armor, or cloaks. There was at least one person sitting in the carriage, and the coachman was also one, so there were suddenly at least eight more mouths to eat. Feige glanced at Ramsden, and both of them understood why Giles and Kylie had bad faces.

"Are you ready for a feast?" Gresham straightened up on horseback, like a champion who had won a jousting tournament, "The Marquise of Brooke Mana, an important benefactor and devout devotee of the Church of Truth and Thunder, make sure she feels at home!"

Feige clearly saw Giles roll his eyes as he dismounted.

"Sorry to bother, we'll give the money. A knight said with a smile on his horse. He squinted at the men in the courtyard who had come to greet him, then untied a money bag from his belt and threw it at Ramsden's face with a flick of his hand.

"SUA!" Fitch flicked his fingers, teleporting the purse for control, then reached out to stop it. He opened the money bag in front of everyone and poured out the gold coins inside. "There are only thirteen gold coins, no wonder they are so light, and they are suddenly caught by spells. Thirteen gold coins, according to the share of one gold coin per person, cook first, four gold coins as accommodation, and the rest will be talked about tomorrow. ”

"Feige, entertain the guests, don't say strange things. Gresham sat on horseback and grinned, "Congratulations on completing the augmentation ceremony and becoming an official monster hunter." It was really unexpected and I had to come and check it out. Still, congratulations. ”

"Congratulations on becoming the Inspector General. Feiqi smiled vigorously, "But your promotion didn't surprise me at all. Yes...... By the way, this time I'm going to patrol for a few days, and they will watch it together?"

"Of course, as in previous years, it only took two or three days. As for the Marquise, she came here to relax and see the scenery, not to visit the patrol activities. ”

With that, Gresham dismounted and threw the reins at Fitch. This time, Ramsden grabbed the reins first, just as Feige grabbed the money bag first.

"Oh, I've got to go and meet Lord Snowy Owl, I've learned a lot from him last time!" Gresham walked past Feige with his toes haughty as he wafted over the scent of flowers, tickling Feige's nose.

"Please take care of our horses, they're hard. The paladins who followed were decent, and one of them smiled slightly apologetically. And the secular knights who followed the carriage unscrupulously looked at every piece of masonry and every new grass in the Ice Peak Fortress with disdain.

How is the name so familiar? Feige wondered when the carriage door opened, revealing the beautiful Marquise who could kill men between the ages of eight and eighty. Unlike her own retinue, she didn't care about the castle, but focused her eyes on Feige first. Those beautiful eyes were observing the exiled second son of Earl Hall's family, and she had a question that needed to be answered: was Feige Hall's exile to Icepeak Fortress related to the affairs of the model leader?

Similarly, Feige was looking at the Marquise of Pohimana. At first sight, he felt that she was very kind. It is not a feeling between a younger and an elder, nor is it a mutual attraction between men and women, but the affection of the creditor to the debtor, or the feeling that the hound has found its prey.

With just one glance, he recognized the Marquise of Pohimana, corresponding to the name on the soul contract found in the hell. The woman who asked for eternal charm, signed the contract that lost her charm after death, but not the soul, a "smart" woman who had made a deal with the fork in the road. Feige saw two debtors at once, is this the New Year?

"Welcome to Icepeak Fortress, Marquise. Feige made a gesture of please, "I'm Feige, the confessor of atonement here." If you need anything, you can come to me. ”

"Thank you, then, Mr. Feich. The Marquise smiled, pleased with Fitch's courtesy, which was the result of her charm.

At night, the halls of Icepeak Fortress are steaming, with bright fires burning in all three fireplaces and good firewood piled up next to them, enough to keep the atmosphere warm and warm all night long. On either side of a long table, knights from Saddle Castle raised their glasses to congratulate Old Man Kipling on his long life. They've finished singing their praises to the Goddess of Truth Thunder and thanked the Icepeak Fortress Monster Hunters for the delicacies, and now it's time to enjoy them.

The food prepared for the inspection team was quite generous, and many of it was specially prepared by the cooks from Collingwood Town. Roasted pig's trotters with leeks, chicken pie stuffed with apple and pear sauce, and a belly stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and shiitake mushrooms and then grilled pheasant...... Even the cut bread is lined with golden, crispy, fragrant baked beans. Sandwiched in the bread and bitten, the aromas of plants and animals mix together and are unforgettable. It's definitely a big rally of protein.

Feige contributed a dish of pork skin jelly, which did not have soy sauce to cause a worse taste, but its jelly-like appearance was still very classy at this feast. He salivated over the variety of meats in front of him, but the huge pot of trout that Feige valued the most: the steamed silvery-white fish was flipped open and poured with piping hot oil, and the faint aroma of green onion and ginger was rare. He felt like he was back on Earth in a trance, after all, in the Principality of Aria on the Yongli Continent, he had never eaten fish cooked like this.

It's just that the fish wasn't in front of him, but on the side of that pesky Gresham Gary—all because of the sudden increase in visitors and the rearrangement of seats. The young inspector held the clay cup and touched Giles, who was sitting beside him but had a blank face. He should have known Giles's temperament, so he didn't wait for a response, and drank it with his head up.

"Ice Peak Fortress is bitterly cold, but it's a great place to store drinks. If you do well this year, I'll send you more, how about I?"

"Yes. Giles said perfunctorily.

"He doesn't eat fish. "Food, Fege has decided to put aside things related to patrols, exams, and the pesky Gresham for a while. Reinforcements were finally found. Now it's important to get your hands on the fish before the gang. He glanced left and right for reinforcements, and saw midnight lying on the beams of the house. The cat's two big, shiny eyes were also staring at the same target. It seems that not only the owner and pet have the same thoughts, but also the emotions of the mage and the pet.

Well, Feige saw Peng Peng too, and that's not a good thing! The goblin hid in the doorframe of the next room, half of his eyes peeking at the banquet above his neck. It thought it was hiding well, but it didn't notice that most of its body and entire ass were actually exposed. Feige sighed, the fish should be let go, it is better to take the friends away from this dangerous place first. But Ramsden, who was busy serving food and licking wine, didn't notice his eyes, and Wu Mama was walking outside with her head down, and she couldn't help. He was on his own. So Feige stood up and hid a roast chicken thigh in his sleeve.

"Hey, Feige, where are you going, are you full?" Gresham's voice crossed the long table and reached Feige's ears. He put down his glass and pointed to the people beside him: "There are also ladies present, isn't it rude for you to leave without saying a word? We're not barbarians after all, are we?"