The first snow ...... in 1228 Well, it's actually the Nth snow, but it's still much colder than ever.

At four o'clock in the morning on 27 November, Field Marshal Kyle Mencius, chairman of the National Defence Commission, who (theoretically) holds the national military power, was awakened by a sudden chill.

As a legendary spellcaster who has crossed the gate of the Dao and reached the side of truth, the so-called cold and summer are really just literal words for him. Of course, he could feel the slightest change in temperature, but this transcendent perception did not have any negative impact on him, let alone the uncomfortable feeling he felt now.

Is this because he has been overconsumed by opening a strengthened version of the fortress in the clouds, or is it because he knows that everything he does is a death struggle, and he is finally dying?

Marshal Kyle Mencius smiled bitterly, he knew that the essence of casting spells was to interfere with reality with spirit, which sounded quite extraordinary, but to put it bluntly, it was a group of hypocritical "subjective idealists". Of course, their mental state is also reflected in the body. Now my mentality is very negative, and of course my body will be affected in the same way.

However, it is not possible to be negative! How did you say that a sorcerer of the Confederacy, a follower of the arcane truth, and a follower of the goddess of the sky, came to use the things of the plague king? As a result, the group of old men had to say that the organization had been studied and decided, and it was up to you to open the fortress in the clouds and reach the rebels' march route.

Hmph, who are the rebels?

In comparison, the joy of being recognized by the ancient lord's battle banner has long since vanished.

Marshal Mencius had just pushed open the curtain of the tent when he felt a cold air go straight into his heart, and then looked outside, a goose-feather pouring snow fell from the sky, and the ground was already covered with a paleness that made people palpitate.

The marshal's chief aide-de-camp, Colonel Giessen Yumir, stepped forward with a worried look.

"Headmaster, you've only had less than two hours of rest......"

"Enough. This kind of place is also not available for rest. Marshal Mencius looked at the heavy snow around him: "The winter clothes of the soldiers have already been distributed, right?" ”

"I sent it all out last night. I personally stared at it, the Praetorian Guards and the Guards were all in their hands, and the Valiant Army was a little ......."

Why not? The marshal, who was already in a bad mood, wanted to roar, but as soon as the anger reached his throat, it turned into a heavy sigh.

At present, the sources of the army sent by the gate lords are very mixed, and in order to ensure a minimum degree of organization, Marshal Mencius has not done nothing in the past few months, and has put considerable effort into the organization of the army.

The 1st and 2nd Army Corps, which had surrendered, were originally the so-called "Praetorian Guards" of the Federation, although it was doubtful that the officers had changed more than half of their combat effectiveness and fighting spirit at once, but they were also the most capable troops under the Gate Lords faction, and there was no need for major surgery in terms of organization. As for the guards and private soldiers of the major nobles, they disrupted the original organization and reorganized into a full army of 10,000 people, known as the "guard army"; Although this group of goods is also a rabble, they can be regarded as professional fighters, and their combat effectiveness is not bad when they fight alone, and now they have the most basic organization, so they should still be worthy of a battle. As for the larger number, almost all the strong men who were coaxed and deceived by the nobles of the gate lords from their own territory to coercion and lure over also formed a separate army, known as the "heroic army".

At a glance, you can know who is raised by the stepmother. Anyway, no one at the top ever expected them to be "heroic", and of course the treatment was the worst. Elichar is short of food, this is no longer news, in fact, they are also short of iron, charcoal, cloth and all strategic and living materials, winter clothes are naturally among them. The Emergency Committee finally threw away all food and began to collect emergency supplies from ordinary citizens. They dug up the fat (meow) times of the people's grandmothers and sold them, and finally got a batch of cold materials. But even this is definitely not enough for everyone, so the "heroic army" that grandma doesn't love and uncle doesn't love can naturally only be the ones who "work hard to overcome".

Seeing that the marshal's face was quite ugly, Colonel Ymir hurriedly said, "But the rations have already been distributed." At your request, all are subject to a late-night snack and an extra meal. Well, even the soldiers of the Valiant Army have a bowl of broth and a glass of ale, which I also watched with my own eyes. ”

Marshal Mencius nodded slightly. He tightened the cloak handed by the orderly and walked towards the small hill behind the camp. The adjutant and the guards hurried over.

The marshal's tent was about two or three hundred meters away from the hill behind him, and the camp tents were also set up along the way. However, the tents looked quite elegant, with all sorts of flags flying outside, and the guards standing guard outside were all dressed in bright armor, and they were strong and powerful. Obviously, this is the residence of various noble officers. This is also understandable, the sons and daughters of the big family went to the battlefield, and if they didn't stay in the safest place (in their imagination), where else could they stay?

It's just that in such a short distance of three or five hundred meters, ten minutes away, Marshal Mencius saw more than a dozen unextinguished bonfires and a mess of cold rice around him. The stench of wine and the smell of cold meat, accompanied by a small amount of fat powder, converged into a cowardly and depressed atmosphere, which lingered here.

Marshal Mencius stood up and said expressionlessly, "Let Sunos run over to meet me!" ”

Lieutenant General Desen Sunos is a cousin of the Keringers family and the chief military judge of the whole army. Colonel Ymir shook his spirit, quickly straightened up and took the order, and ran away.

The marshal then moved on. He stepped on the already covered layer of snow, accompanied by an endless stream of "crunching" sounds, and finally came to the foot of the mountain.

Compared with the noble children in the camp who couldn't support the wall in the mud and their group of peacock-like bodyguards, the garrison at the foot of the mountain looked much more powerful. Facing the goose feathers and heavy snow, they were still in armor, and they stood in front of the mountain road with spears in hand, and at first glance they were elite soldiers who were determined and fearless of death.

However, can such a soldier find a thousand people in this army of 70,000 people?

Mencius thought as he began to climb the mountain. In his vision, the halo of magic grew brighter, and the agitation of the elements almost formed a heat wave in the air. When he reached the top of the mountain, he was greeted by a huge circular magic array, covering almost the entire flat mountain.

Each of the sixteen stars on the periphery of the magic circle sat a spellcaster, and in the central star point where the magic was directed was a wooden staff with a simple form and even an inconspicuous appearance. Directly above the staff, something like a celestial globe floated in mid-air, a shiny black track wrapping a shadow inside, spinning and spinning.

Mencius observed for a moment and made sure that there was nothing wrong with the rotation of the circle, so he walked over to one of the most ornate and delicate mages in his robes, and the oldest mage.

"Don't be so careful, I'll keep an eye on them all night, and nothing will be a problem." The old mage slowly raised the gem-encrusted gin to Mencius, and poured the full glass of liquor into it in one gulp.

The marshal twitched his nose, and from the subtle smell he could tell that it was a furious liquor, one of the most advanced spirits. The rum favored by the pirate seafarers and the rock wine favored by the dwarven miners were the younger brother in front of it, and it was usually used by the daredevils who put their heads on the waistbands of their pants to brainwash themselves.

You can't rest assured that you're drinking! Marshal Mencius thought to himself, if I hadn't known that you were now with all kinds of virtues, the more you drank, the clearer your mind would be, and I didn't find anything when I checked the circle just now, I would have exploded your dog's head with a fireball.

Of course, the mage was already in his twilight years, his blue eyes were approaching the decadent gray, and his wrinkled old face was very thin, and his cheekbones were quite protruding. His complexion was an unnaturally sallow yellow, with obvious black-brown age spots, and a long, disheveled gray beard, which made him a skewer of late alcoholism.

In this way, such an old man with the word "mourning" in his demeanor, even if he is paired with a gorgeous and elegant robe, he does not have the slightest mysterious and cold caster temperament, but is more like an old beggar who has stolen a costume and shrunk in the alley for the winter. However, even such an old drunkard, who seemed to be able to get drunk at any time and never get up again, could not ignore the silver heather coat of arms on his placket, and the magical halo flowing on the silver robe.

These two points alone are enough to explain his identity - the silver robe he wears is the heirloom of the famous Ovant family, and the silver robe has been passed down in their family for more than a thousand years. As for himself, he could only be the patriarch of the Ofant family, and the master of Vanon Ovant, who had the great name of "Painter Array" on the road.

The Ovant family was originally quite good at drawing formations. In its heyday, you wouldn't be embarrassed to tell people that you were an elite if the caster of the Learned Alliance didn't have a handmade scroll made by a member of the Ovant family. To put it bluntly, in the world's magic item market, Aprest represents mass consumption, and the Ovant family almost monopolizes the elite market.

And Master Vanon himself is the best in the family. The so-called title of "Painter of the Array" is the greatest praise for his attainments in the circle - doesn't it mean that there are only wrong names in this world, but there must be no wrong nicknames?

However, this prestige was only more than forty years ago, and the public had not heard from him for quite a long time, and even the famous Ovant family seemed to have disappeared from the world stage for a long time.

Of course, Marshal Mencius is not a "public", and he is very aware of the strength of this old man in front of him, who may hang up at any time. However, after he confirmed the operation of the circle again, he was finally relieved.

Of course, Master Warong knew what the other party was doing, but he didn't say anything, just laughed lukewarmly and poured himself another glass of wine.

Marshal Mencius said, "I need at least another month to hold out for the fortress in the clouds, so, thank you." ”

"It's not hard, the Battle Banner responds to your call, and it's you who successfully fuse the power of the Brilliant Artifact and the Dark Canopy. I'm just in charge of drawing this circle, and then sitting here to deliver some mana and keep it there. It's you, while confronting that genius boy from the Orucello family on the front line, and at the same time having to be distracted by the operation of the circle, and having to discipline our waste-like offspring, that is the real hard work. ”

At this point, the old mage looked at Mensius with sympathy on his face, and poured himself another glass of wine.

This time, he didn't drink it all, and after tasting it a few times, he said: "It's just that you have to know that even if you fight for my old life and maintain it for two or three months, it won't hurt the genius boy outside, let alone change our current situation of almost despair." ”

"I understand." Marshal Mencius nodded.

"Of course, the citizens of Elichar are starving right now, but if it drags on for another month or two, the citizens of Elichar will probably starve to death and freeze to death, are you sure what that means?"

"Of course I'm sure, Master."

"Well, hehe, your father-in-law, Lucar, is a fool, and we guys are a bunch of fools, and Gold seems to be quite smart, but he's the most foolish. I always thought you, Kyle, were going to be a rare smart person, but why are you so confused? Just to repay Lucar? ”

"My biological father was a soldier and died in battle when I was very young. Although I have my biological father's pension and the care of the elders in the family, if it were not for my father's help, I would not have been able to enter the Central Academy of Magic and the Dugubao Military Academy, and my career would have been smooth. I do not deny that my father was indeed the first person to make me feel fatherly love. In addition, I am also a soldier anyway, and since I have decided who I will be loyal to, I must carry out their orders. ”

"Their erroneous orders have lost a hundred thousand troops...... Of course, the most important thing is that Drake Ollentian idiot. Hehe, the army of 100,000 collapsed in less than a day. It's 100,000 pigs, and that kid can't catch them all in a day! ”

Marshal Mencius felt that the other party was clearly scolding himself, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I agreed to his plan." I am also responsible for the fiasco. ”

"Besides, Ovilia's grandson is still out with more than 10,000 people, right? You've urged them to come back and make peace with you many times, but they've all been lost, what's the ......?"

"Without the 15,000 men of Dunbolay and Rudolph, the formation is indeed a bit rushed, but it can still be overcome." Mencius suddenly interrupted the other party: "It's you, Master, who have been in seclusion for more than forty years, and I thought it was impossible for you to let worldly things disturb you anymore. It's impossible, and it's for revenge, right? ”

The old mage raised his wine glass, glanced at the other party with a dim gaze, and grinned: "Hehehe...... You're such a bad-eyed boy, Kyle. I'm also the head of the Ovant family, and I'm always better in style than Kadon's shit. Two thousand years ago, Wilanbart, Dandy Lane and Keringles didn't exist, but Ovant did. It's just that, by now, apart from me, there are only a few juniors left in the Aofan family who have no talent for spellcasting. ”

Kyle Mencius slowly looked away, as if he didn't want to meet the other man's expression at this time.

"My two brothers and one sister died at the hands of Oluseiro Berencaster, and my brother was crippled by Drence Talos and died a miserable death for several years. The dignified cartographer's family has been in ruin since then, and you think I should take revenge? Hehehe, whether it is the law or the universal morality, my brother and sister, don't they deserve it? Varnon Ovant's mouth grew wider and wider, revealing a wild and sickly smile, so bright that it was terrifying.

"Kyle, it's not because I'm noble, it's because I'm so timid that I didn't participate in the 'game' of my brothers and sisters, so Orucello saved his life. But because of that, I still remember the scene. So, I had already stepped through that door fifteen years ago, but the thought of confronting Orucello made me lose my soul. Revenge...... Hehe, I don't even dare to imagine the situation of fighting him, so what qualifications do I have to talk about this word? ”

So, this is also the reason why you have already achieved legend, but you did not notify the Academic Alliance, and you did not apply for the title of "Great Magus".

"I have already let the few remaining juniors in my family sell all their possessions and go to Neosfia to live in seclusion. The Ovant family may still exist in the future, but as the cartographer family of the Alpha family, it is doomed to extinction, and all the Alpha families cannot escape this fate. Kyle, admit it. But since we have existed vigorously, how can we be willing if we do not perish vigorously? Whether it's you, your father-in-law, or the gold and Ovilia who don't know what kind of conspiracy they're doing, it's all because of this unwillingness! We want to perish with a bang, that's all. ”

With these words, Vanon Ovant put away his hideous ghostly smile, and his feverish flush and evil aura disappeared, and he once again became the old beggar who would die of alcohol poisoning at any moment. He slowly poured himself another glass of wine and whispered, "Go about your business." Kyle, Orucello's little guy won't be foolish, you'll have to take your rabble to face the iron army that has conquered Orgrimmar under his command. As for me...... Until I become a corpse, there will be no slip-up in the Fortress in the Clouds. ”

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