It was a widespread snowfall.

Fluttering snowflakes stretched from the dark mountains to the north of the Rock Fortress, nearly one-third of the southern land was dyed white by the first winter snow, and beyond the Rock Fortress to the north, in the vast land of Ansu, a few areas in the east and the entire northern border also ushered in a huge snowfall - a snow seemed to change the whole world overnight, the active human society quickly hibernate in the cold winter, the plain of the Holy Spirit fell silent, the armies of the eastern front turned into a confrontation, and the border trade in the west was suspended, And the Grand Duke of the North, who has come to the nobles closest to the Rock Fortress.

In the castle of the Count of Pompeii's family, the flames in the fireplace are blazing, the precious gold oak is used as firewood, and the flames exude a calming fragrance, and the bright light of the fireplace illuminates the gold-red carpeted living room, in which the gold and silver utensils and lamp stands cast flickering and swaying lights, between the light and shadow, the round fat face of the Count of Pompeii is piled up with flattery and a slight nervous smile.

The great nobleman on the edge of the plains leaned forward: "Your presence has made me feel so much more at ease—I haven't slept a day since the fortress to the south changed hands, and the Cecilians have built a lot of magical devices on the fortress, and my poor castle is going to collapse one night......"

Duchess Victoria Wild, dressed in a long dress with a light blue pattern in a snow-white color, her silver-white hair pulled up high at the back of her head, and two strands hanging down her ears, and the golden threads woven in her hair glittered in the fireplace fire, she glanced at the Count of Pompeii in front of her: "As far as I know, since the Rock Fortress changed hands, the Duke of Cecil has not expanded outward, nor has he attacked your territory. ”

“…… This is true," Count Pompeii wiped his forehead - he didn't sweat, but no one could not feel nervous in front of Duchess Wild, known as the "Queen of the North", the most powerful field nobleman in the kingdom, with a stern and cold reputation, and more importantly, now she also controlled the Silver Castle, and the Count of Pompeii not only lost the titular fief of the Rock Fortress, but also lost a large number of family knights and soldiers in the process of supporting the Rock Fortress, This made him cautious about maintaining relations with the south while trying to enlist the aid of the royal capital as much as possible, and he was naturally cautious at the moment, "The Cecil's army has not stepped out of the Rock Fortress, but they have been building fortifications on the northern walls of the fortress, which is very disturbing. ”

"It seems that the founding hero doesn't want us to 'bother' him......" Veronica, who was dressed in a white priestess's robes and had a calm and quiet temperament, suddenly broke the silence and whispered.

Victoria nodded slightly, and looked at the Count of Pompeii: "In addition to building fortifications, what are the Cecilians doing?" ”

The chubby Monsieur Earl thought for a moment: "They tore down the southern wall of the Rock Fortress - or blew it up, and then did not repair it - and built a 'Rock City' on the south side of the fortress, and they forbade people to cross the Rock City, but the Rock City itself was open to merchants and envoys. ”

"Have you turned Rock Fortress into a fort city that doubles as a trade...... "Victoria mused, "So, you've been to Rock City?" ”

"I ...... I am too busy with the affairs of my territory to go in person," the Count of Pompeii wiped his bare forehead again, and was embarrassed to say the words "did not dare to go," "but I have been keeping an eye on it, and have sent messengers." The Rock City was full of magical devices built by the Cecil, and there was a huge market where they opened the gates of the Gorgon River and allowed the merchant ships of the Plains of the Whitsunday to dock at the dock next to the market area, and that market attracted a lot of merchants - you know, merchants who basically don't die when they see money......"

Victoria didn't respond, just glanced faintly at the Count of Pompeii in front of her.

This is also the descendant of a great knight who once performed great battles, but after so many generations of pampering in the peaceful plains of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of bravery and courage has long since disappeared from this bloodline—but as the owner of this land, this Earl has done at least a little bit to know as much as he can about the Rock Fortress.

The sound of the wind and snow outside the castle has gradually stopped.

The Duchess of Victoria stood up, and the black-haired maid Maggie who was standing next to her immediately stepped forward to arrange her slightly wrinkled dress, and the northern ruler looked at the Count of Pompeii, who also stood up, and said lightly: "Do your best to count the trade of the South in the Holy Spirit Plains in the past year, count how many merchants have contacted them, count the merchants they sent, and the goods they mainly purchased after the Rock Fortress changed hands." ”

The round face of the Count of Pompeii really oozed a trace of sweat this time: "This ...... Okay, I'll do my best......"

It was not an easy task to count a few reliable figures from the jumble of papers, and many of the merchants who took the road or bribed the soldiers would not have appeared on the list of tax collectors, and as the ruler of the land, the Count of Pompeii could not even tell how many merchants would come and go in his domain each month—but since the duchess had given the order, he had to do as much as he could.

Looks like it's going to be a sleepless night tonight.

Looking at the embarrassed look of the Count of Pompeii, Victoria sighed again in her heart.

Statistics, registration of personnel, regulation of legal ...... Seven years ago, the Duke of the East, who had learned these things in Typhon and had tried to get them to learn them, had now become a rebel army in the East, and that Archduke Silas Loren's demands at the Silver Castle had not yet reached the southern part of the Plains of the Whitsundays......

Silas Loren...... Don't you see hope?

Verolia Wilde left the inner court of the castle and after passing through the mottled ancient cloisters of the façade, she came to the terrace on the top floor of the castle of Pompeii.

The wind and snow have stopped, but there are still snowflakes falling from time to time in the night sky, which are the snowflakes accumulated on the towers and roofs in the night wind, and these snowflakes flutter around the terrace, automatically avoiding the range of more than ten meters around the Duke of Victoria, as if in awe.

The Count of Pompeii's proud family castle is much smaller and shabby than the castle built on top of a mountain, overlooking thousands of miles of snow and ice, but it still occupies the best position, and it also has an excellent terrace from which Victoria can see the mountains of the southern pass and the rocky fortress in the mountains.

In the middle is an almost unobstructed plain.

No wonder the Count of Pompeii had trouble sleeping.

In the depths of the night, the Rock Fortress was the brightest source of light in the Dark Mountains, and with the keen eyesight of the Transcendent, Victoria could see that the light was formed by a large number of lights placed on the walls and towers - the lights were oriented in all directions, they could illuminate the levels, and they could also interfere with the attacker's view when the enemy tried to attack, making it difficult to target the archers or mages on the battlements and watchtowers.

In addition to those light sources, the entire Rock Fortress was covered with a shield that shimmered light, and that shield shrouded the details of the rest of the fortress in a hazy veil that made it difficult to discern.

"Is that the great shield of the Rock Fortress......" Veronica's voice came from the side, the "Holy Princess" had come to the Duchess of Wilde at some point, she looked in the direction of the Rock Fortress, surrounded by the same faint holy light as before, "I heard that on the 58th of the Fire Moon, the Cecil destroyed that shield with some powerful magic...... I didn't expect them to fix it so quickly. ”

"The Great Shield is an important barrier to the Rock Fortress, and the Cecil will definitely repair it as soon as possible, and the magic barrier, as long as there is no substantial damage to the charging and projection structure, it is easy to repair just the shield being penetrated."

"Is that so...... Veronica whispered, looking up at the south with some distraction...... I don't know much about things in the field of magic......"

Listening to this obviously unintentional response, the Duchess of Wilde only smiled indifferently, and then stood with the "holy princess" on the terrace of the castle in the first snowy night, quietly admiring the calm winter night.

On the second day, the weather was clear.

In the main hall of the castle, the Count of Pompeii handed over a roll of parchment, still scented with ink, to the Duke of Victoria.

This parchment contains a rough count of the trade of the South over the past year, and the dealings of merchants since the change of ownership of the Rock Fortress, and its contents are vague and vague, and I am afraid that only thirty percent are reliable, and the remaining seventy percent are probably the result of the Count of Pompeii and a group of advisers.

With such information, even with Victoria's ingenuity, it is impossible to estimate how much valuable information can be obtained.

However, looking at the red eyes of the Count of Pompeii and the listless appearance of several advisors on the scene, the Duchess knew that this was already the best result.

At least the Count of Pompeii could still come up with this thing, instead of asking himself "what is statistics" with a blank face, like the real country aristocrats.

"Go back and rest, Count," Victoria's words relaxed Count Pompeii, "and we'll have good news." ”

"Your wisdom is Ansu's greatest luck," said the chubby earl, bending down and earnestly, "I wish you all the best on your journey." ”

Victoria nodded and turned to leave, while Veronica deliberately took a few steps behind, and the princess said beside the Count of Pompeii: "Don't take this kind of battlefield farewell tone, as a nobleman of the kingdom, show some courage - that is our ancestor, not a man-eating beast." ”

The Count of Pompeii smiled a little embarrassed and ashamed, and lowered his head: "As you said. ”

The Duchess of the North and Her Royal Highness the Princess favored by the Holy Light left, and the fat Count of Pompeii remained in place, but he couldn't help but say a word that was undignified in his heart:

Growing up, it was his grandfather who beat him the hardest......

My grandfather was still like this, and now an ancestor of another family who was separated by dozens of generations and had no blood relationship took up the blade...... Then you can't hold back and beat people to death?

The convoy of envoys from the royal capital left the castle of the Count of Pompeii, and after the winter snow, which was completely inappropriate to go out, the carriage and horses drove up the snow-covered Kingdom Road.

Victoria Wilder, sitting in an ornate carriage, raised her hand, and an orderly wind blew out of thin air, enveloping the convoy around the convoy, blowing the snow off the road and blocking out the winter cold.

The knights of the convoy struck their swords against the shields hanging from the saddles and shouted praises to their mistresses, while the soldiers in red and blue trumpet robes sounded their horns at the front of the procession, and the marching bands played to the music, and to the inspiring beats and tunes, the emissaries from Saint-Sunil took steps in the direction of the Rock Fortress.

In Cecil City, in the Lord's Palace, a half-length projection of the Commander of the Rock and the commander of the Second Legion, the Knight Wald Perridge, was emerging above the magic net communicator in front of Gawain, and the venerable old knight stood straight: "Lord Duke, the envoy of the royal capital is close to the Rock Fortress. ”

"Get ready, take it seriously," Gawain nodded slightly, "The convoy sent to greet you has already departed." ”

Then he paused, and a smile appeared on his face: "Don't slack off—they're big business." ”