Meanwhile, Ryan.

Dark blue flags hung down like tassels on the city gates, each embroidered with a different coat of arms. If a scholar of heraldry had been here, he would have seen that these banners meant that most of Livingston's nobles had gathered in Ryan City. In addition to the Dragon Banner in the center, representing the Alexis family, the Ice Cliff Banner representing the Aldemar family, the Harp Banner representing the Alaric family, and the Raven Banner representing the Gregory family, there are several smaller flags that hang relatively low. Only those who are above the rank of Earl are eligible to hang their family's banner embroidered on the city gates. There was one exception, and that was the Eagle Banner of Viscount Ivanles. It hung alone in a corner, as if perched on a remote cliff, the height of the Duke or even the King's flag, but deliberately kept at a distance.

Outside the city, troops were stationed.

Gelbold stepped on the solid snow, carefully avoiding the not-so-obvious snow until the noise of people behind him faded away, leaving only the sound of the wind and the sound of military shoes crushing into the snow.

Like his father, Viscount Ivanles, Gelbold was isolated from Livingston's younger generation. There was no place for him by the campfire they had raised to pass the time for their father's meetings in the city. But Galbold didn't care about this, he just looked worriedly in the direction of the city gates, and remembered the gloomy look on his father's way when he came, and felt a little uneasy in his heart.

Omenwolf wolf. The name was relatively unfamiliar to Gelbod, and indeed to most of the young people under the age of thirty in the North, and the previous generation of the Omenwolf was born in 346, at the end of the Second Battle of the Dragon and Lion. It's been eight years since then. The Omenwolf of that generation didn't make much of a storm, and under the stubborn sniping of Duke Aldemar, he didn't even succeed in reaching the head of Poynbru before he was taken out of the heart by Lista, the chief captain of the Dragon Knights. However, only those who actually experienced and survived that battle know how bloody and tragic the seemingly prosaic narrative in the history books actually was, soaked in the blood of the victims. Most of those people are now very senior officers, and when they mention the battle, they shake their heads and sigh: "Those natives are really crazy." We can crush them, drive them back to the Misty Mountains like cattle; But they can't really knock them down, and every few years they come back. ”

Brochette once described the war between the North and the Misty Mountains: "It was like a never-ending, cyclical chess game." Livingston can win, but he can't destroy the board. ”

And now, another chess player has come on the scene. His birth must have been accompanied by a wave of looting on an unprecedented scale, bringing the final chill of the winter that was coming to an end. Galbord gazed at the black walls that stood in the snow and sighed at a thick white mist.

Duke's Palace.

Men in military uniforms swirled in, seated at large round tables, keeping an arm's length from each other. This was the rule set by Gregory IV, and there was no distinction between the seats of the military council, and everyone could speak freely. But it's one thing to speak your mind, it's another thing to put the final word on it. That's why Duke Alexis was always the last to speak—because as soon as he spoke, everyone else's thoughts would be insignificant.

Lista closed the door and stood behind Duke Alexis. Duke Alexis's gaze slowly swept over the round table, it stands to reason that all the ten lords of Raventer's castle should be here, but he only saw eight of them. Alexis' brow raised slightly: "What about Ivanles?" ”

"I've stopped you out of the city, Lord Duke." Count Bogdan of Hornfort stood up and said respectfully that he was a model of the young Zhuang who rose to the position with military merits during the First Battle of the Dragon and Lion, but in the Second Battle of the Dragon and Lion, because of the ineffective battle, he almost lost the territory of the Western Front, and his status plummeted, and he had to attach himself to Duke Alexis. However, as Frost became the undisputed military backbone of the North, his arrogance became more arrogant than ever. "Ivan Leus is no more than a viscount, and he is not qualified to participate in this meeting."

Duke Aldema and Duke Alaric both frowned slightly, and the former Ranger Regiment instructor, Count Stephen of the Silverblade Fortress, Huo Ran got up: "I'll go and ask Lord Viscount." ”

"Stop." Duke Alexis called out to him with a blank face, "It takes nearly an hour to go back and forth from the Duke's Mansion to the outer city, are you going to delay our already tight time for a viscount?" ”

Count Bogdan had a smug look on his face, and he glanced triumphantly at Count Stephen beside him. The latter sat down heavily, indifferently looking away.

"Let's get started, then." Gregory IV coughed softly, "How credible is Frost's scout saying that the Omenwolf has appeared in Ismolola?" ”

According to the scout, their patrol was confronted by a raiding squad near Ismorola, and what was supposed to be a foolproof battle was nearly wiped out. All his comrades were killed, and he was the only one who barely escaped under the cover of the rangers. "And the one who slaughtered the patrol was only one man, characteristic: dressed in white wolf skins and holding two-handed battle axes." According to records from previous years, the white wolf skin and two-handed axe are the symbols of the honorary guardian of the Omenwolf wolf. ”

"What honorary guard? It's just a bunch of barbarians. Marquis Otto said contemptuously, "Eight years ago, we were able to defeat the Omenwolf and his army of the Misty Mountains once, and we were able to defeat it a second time!" It's also time for young people to get moving. ”

"Do you want to send troops to evacuate the inhabitants of the Highlander villages near the Misty Mountains?" This is the opinion of Count Stephen, "A big war can happen at any time." ”

"Just the one-acre and three-third of the Silver Blade Fortress, can it accept hundreds of people?" Count Bogdan sarcastically said, "And what is necessary? Despite the Covenant, the Highlanders have never given us protectors a good face, and it is better for them to taste the hardships. ”

"What about the Western Front? We're still at war with Fieldsway. Although Viscount Ivanles held the Dragonguard Castle unbelievably, it was difficult to guarantee that the Fieldswie would not launch the next wave of attacks again anytime soon. We must solve the problems in the northern part of the country quickly. Duke Alaric had a sad look on his face, "The Wolf of Omens is not easy to follow, and although his troops are a rabble, they are a rabble that is not afraid of death. Putting aside all strategic and tactical superiority, it is actually difficult for our relatively weak infantry to take advantage of the frontal battlefield. ”

"Grimore has a point, the North is our home ground with the tribes of the Misty Mountains, and the Guardian Legion has the geographical advantage that the natives of the Misty Mountains also have. We have been trying to fight their large forces for weeks and even months until they are overwhelmed, and finally we have gathered a heavy army to annihilate them in one fell swoop. Duke Aldermar nodded, "But if Fields Miles attack during this period, I am afraid that the weak Western Front will fall in an instant, and Raven City will be exposed to the blade of the Valkyrie Knights." We have to do it quickly. ”

"Indeed, it must be done quickly!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

"Wait!" A discordant voice rang out at the round table, it was the Marquis of Clovis, who had been silent until then. He looked at Lista thoughtfully, "So far, is there any specific whereabouts of the Omenwolf Wolf?" The Guard of Honor may have just happened to be dressed in that outfit - perhaps he had inherited it from his father; It may also be the remnant of the last battle, and he alone can't explain anything. ”