Towering snow-capped peaks, mountains and goshawks streak across the sky—there is only one place to see them in the boundless northern plains of the Prince of Sackland.

Broken Mountain Fortress.

The only barrier in the north of the empire is not a lonely fortress that stands like a knight, but a large fortress group built along the entire Fault Mountain mountain range, with the most central Fault Mountain fortress as the "core" extending to the east and west, blocking the ice and snow in the north.

From the highest spiral peak of Fracture Mountain, to the Greywater Bay near the Misty Sea to the west, Fracture Mountain Fortress has a full seven forts and twenty watchtowers, which form a tight defensive system to ensure surveillance of the north.

In any era, the threat to the north has always been the most deadly enemy of the Empire - the centaurs of the East, the House of Jonah of the Duchy of Boi and their scimitar hussars, and the dwarves of the southeastern mountains, who are constantly under the watchful eye of the hoplites of the House of Turin;

The Frid family in Lothair in the northwest and the Erde family in Arles in the southwest have not been invaded by trolls and ogres for hundreds of years, and even the overseas spirits of Azul have no advantage over the ocean-going fleet of Ebolden.

Because of this, in the face of the only deadly threat, the empire will do whatever it takes, spending a lot of money and most of the manpower and material resources of the prince of Sackland, to build the impregnable "gate" of the Broken Mountain Fortress!

There is no other reason for this – if the northern part of East Sackland falls, there will be no buffer on the remaining plains, and across the Gem River is the imperial capital of Golovin. At that time, it will be under the walls of the capital city to fight a life-and-death battle to defend the empire with the demon army of the evil gods.

Even so, of course. The Broken Mountain Fortress is not a wall that seals the north, and it can still bypass the layers of fortresses and invade the northern part of the empire.

But in fact, there is much more to the "Broken Mountain Fortress" in the true sense of the word - there are not many towns in the northern plains of the Sakran Prince's Domain, but a series of fortified castles, scattered like morning stars across the northern land.

These castles were responsible for training recruits, horses, and pack beasts for the Broken Mountain Fortress in peacetime, and in the event of an invasion from the north, the villagers of the surrounding villages could take refuge in the castle and use beacons and rangers to call for help while resisting the invading monster army as much as possible.

At this time, the fortress with a total of 6,000 hoplites stationed in two legions all the year round, plus twice as many auxiliaries and 1,000 hoplites, became a sharp sword behind the invaders, ready to pierce the heart with a sword!

How it came to be is unknown, but in many legends about the "North", it was the ancient kingdom that used some special power to shape this natural dividing line between the north and the south, separating their ancient kingdom from the south, making it impossible for outsiders to easily set foot in their territory.

Of course, this is only a tavern poem, and similar to the devil's conjure, descended from the sky, built by a dragon driven by one of the ancestors of the House de Salion......

In the canonical chronology of the Empire, it was "the barrier built by the Holy Cross for the Empire of Man, separating the hell of the devil from the human world", and it was also the most convincing to the world.

Of course, as the wizards in the empire became more and more prosperous, there were more and more doubts, and many doubts made this statement more and more untenable.

"About a dozen years ago, I remember it was when I was a kid. Brandon de Salion, who was lying comfortably in the carriage, quipped with the "wizard advisor" sitting opposite him in a very nostalgic tone:

"There was a wizard from Eboton -- well, I think it was called Wegener, a crazy old man, who suddenly ran to the cathedral in the imperial capital of Golovin and told the archbishop that the Fault Mountain was not formed by external forces, but by the drift and collision of two continents. It has nothing to do with 'the divine power of the Holy Cross', this was his exact words at the time. ”

"Well, I guess this wizard didn't end well. Loren raised an eyebrow.

Hanging, beheading, or a cross?

"Archbishop Innocent is the kindest man I've ever met in my life, and even to many wizards is forgiving and rarely angry. The corners of His Royal Highness the Prince's mouth showed a playful smile:

"It was the first time he had burned a wizard at the stake for 'blasphemy' – poor old madman, quite an interesting fellow. ”

"I saw him burned alive, his clothes charred, his flesh burned, like a big candle, screaming at the top of his throat until his throat was engulfed in flames, and he couldn't scream at all. ”

“...... Then, it turned into a pile of debris. Brandon's smile became more sarcastic, and he writhed in the carriage and changed to a more comfortable position:

"Wegener had a debate with Archbishop Innocent, Wegener was burned at the stake, and Wegener was turned into a pile of black firewood - what did you discover from this story, Your Excellency Loren Turin, Wizard Advisor?"

What did I find?

Looking at Brandon, who winked at him, the black-haired wizard with the corners of his mouth twitching showed an expression that wanted to laugh but desperately suppressed it:

"People are killed...... Will you die?"

“......”

In an instant, the awkward atmosphere in the carriage reached its peak.

"Hmm... Ahem... Your theory is indeed unassailable. Brandon pursed his lips with a look of disdain:

"But I saw something else, and I saw how pale the 'Proverbs' and 'Miracles' of the Holy Cross Doctrine!"

"Even a benevolent believer like Archbishop Innocent would never accept a wizard telling him that we are alive, that we live in a world that is alive for some reason, by some coincidence, not because of the miracle of the Holy Cross, and not because of the mercy of the Holy Cross that we are able to survive in this world!"

"They were scared. Loren whispered meaningfully.

"Yes, they were scared - the Holy Cross and the Church of the Holy Cross have created a wonderful, holy and artistic dream, so that ordinary people can live in this beautiful dream without thinking or thinking, and that's why they are so angry when the wizards appear, because the wizards have punctured the dream and told them that it is not so beautiful. ”

"I have always felt that this is the real reason why the Church has always been hostile to the shamans - because only they will question and ask questions, and the believers of the Holy Cross cannot explain it all. ”

Maybe it's because they can't explain. Loren looked at His Royal Highness the prince silently: "Maybe it's because the truth is too cruel, so they don't dare to speak!"

Recalling the connection between Ebolden and the First Wizard "Rogan in the Hat", Loren became more and more suspicious of the connection between the so-called "Wizard Origin" and the Holy Cross.

and Nidhogg, the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, which Logan once visited...... Does it really exist?

If so, what will you find there?

Thinking of this, Loren couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecating in his heart - even if he knew this, what was the use. Not to mention himself, how could a wizard advisor under His Royal Highness leave the Broken Mountain Fortress and go to the north, even if it succeeded, what could it be?

He didn't know where the so-called Dragon King City was, and this Prince Brandon de Salion was also notoriously unpopular in the Broken Mountain Fortress.

I won't be implicated...... No, that's impossible, I should definitely be implicated.

At this point, Loren has absolutely unparalleled "confidence" in Brandon.

"Bang!"

Just when the two of them were enjoying a rare and comfortable quiet, a muffled sound came from outside the carriage. A knight in his forties, dressed in heavy armor and gray-haired and blue-eyed, pushed open the door.

Loren and Brandon smiled tacitly when they saw the comer.

It was the cavalry captain of the Broken Mountain Fortress who prepared that unique "welcome ceremony" for them.

"Salute to you, Your Royal Highness!" the knight didn't seem to feel unwelcome, and his burning gaze directly ignored the black-haired wizard next to him, staring at Brandon who was lying there:

"We've arrived at the Broken Mountain Fortress!"