Listening to the footsteps in the distance, Mace sighed and began to carefully consider Enis's proposal.

Guards...... Mace likes to be alone, which makes him feel very entangled: once he has a guard in the room, he feels that he has been deprived of his own space.

While he thinks about various issues, he seeks a space of absolute tranquility. Elena has always been very cooperative with this, never knocking on the door to enter.

In fact, Mace, who inherited his father's personality, was reluctant to trouble others to help him with all kinds of chores. If it weren't for the fact that there was no grass in his room yesterday, he would have made his own tea—the old carved teapot of Mace's favorite was on top of the sealed stove in the study. (Ennis has offered to throw away the teapot and replace it with a new one on more than one occasion, arguing that it is not good for his health to use the teapot for too long.) Mace, however, thinks he's just. ）

He liked to work with old things, old things that gave him a sense of time—just like the ancient Neverwinter and the Snowcastle that stood still.

After a long struggle, Mace did feel that he should find a guard—at least for the most recent time.

He felt that his guard should be a silent, very quiet and loyal person. As long as these can be guaranteed, force is secondary. He decided to talk to Captain Eders in a moment and ask him to find one such guard for himself.

Feeling the cold, Mace wrapped the quilt tightly. The Corruptor's soul-sucking eyes kept coming to mind, and the fear of his body continued to pound through his heart. That fear doesn't just come from the threat of death...... Mace tried to keep herself from thinking about those chilling eyes.

After three regular knocks, Captain Eders walked through the door.

"Your Excellency. Edus, who looked exhausted, stood in front of Mace's bed and took off his helmet. His thorn seems to have worsened, and the hairline of his brown hair is already very high.

"Sit down. Mace felt a little uneasy, "Tell me about what I missed when I was unconscious? It must be some bad news...... Your expression never knows how to disguise. ”

"Yes, sir. With a sad face, Eddes sat down in the chair that Dr. Ennis had just sat in: "It's all bad news...... Where do you want to start?"

"First of all, what you were going to report yesterday. To put it simply. "Mace intends to come in chronological order.

"Yes, sir. Eders looked frustrated: "The entire team sent to reconnoiter the eastern outpost has gone missing, and there has been no news until now. ”

"No news?" Mace was taken aback.

"Yes, sir. At the same time, the western post also lost contact with the northern post. At present, only the three outposts located in Shenmu Forest, Beihaiwang and Ice Dragon Valley are confirmed to be safe. All away from dark glaciers. ”

"How can it be ......" Mace broke out in a cold sweat: "If the sentinels who lost contact have become corruptors like Doro......"

"Then Winterfell has been surrounded. Eders' words were filled with frustration: "And the message is completely blocked. ”

"Before he was converted, he told me that the eastern outpost had sent a letter crow. Mace said eagerly: "In the past two days, has there still been no letter to the crow?"

"Letter crow?" Eders paused for a moment, "No letter crow has been delivered, I can be sure." ”

Mace suddenly had a bad premonition: "Could it be that the crow has been intercepted......?"

"This ...... It can't be. Eders muttered to himself, "But if it's true, the enemy is too well prepared." ”

After a moment of silence, Mace asked again, "What about the news about Black Ice?"

"No, sir. As I said, all the soldiers we sent were missing. Eders shook his head, "You can't risk losing your hands anymore, my lord...... The Bachelor thinks that those we send out eventually become corruptors and grow the power of the enemy...... Although none of us know exactly what we are fighting against. ”

The atmosphere became more and more oppressive, and Mace continued: "How is Michiro?"

"I'm currently in the dungeon, and Maester Nadia is doing some ...... Study. Edston paused, then added, "He told me that ...... The main research project is to test whether the Corruptor is truly afraid of fire. ”

"You didn't send soldiers to protect him?" Mace was uneasy: "The cold of that thing...... Dangerous. ”

"Definitely. Because of this, I left three people to protect the bachelor. Eders also shrunk back: "Actually, Dr. Ennis just called me up from that cold dungeon...... Just looking into the eyes of that thing, I felt chills all over my body. ”

"Experiment...... Mace looked at the flame on the candle, "What exactly have you done?"

"I don't know much about that. The captain shook his head: "When I left, the bachelor was preparing...... Trust me, sir. You won't be interested. ”

"Yes. Mace decided not to imagine the feat that the Maester would have performed: "I believe the Maester will cause him as little pain as possible...... Whether he has corrupted or not, we have to honor the deceased who is about to be buried in the icy sarcophagus. ”

"About Michiro's mutation......" the lord frowned, "This is really unexpected. You know, he came in and behaved normally until the end of the conversation, and he didn't show any signs of corruption. The moment I turned around, he stabbed me with his sword—I was terrified, and my mind was full of wonder why he wanted to kill me...... Until I caught a glimpse of his corrupting face. ”

"I also carefully interrogated several of the guards who were standing guard outside the lord's hall at the time, and they all said that the sentry did not look like there was anything wrong with it. Eders tapped on his helmet anxiously, "Because he was wearing a sentry's clothes and showed his sentry insignia, he was not accompanied to enter." I didn't expect this to happen......"

"Don't blame them. Mace decided to confirm: "Has this matter gotten out?"

"We've blocked the news to prevent panic. Captain Eders hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But for some reason, all the bad news seems to have spread throughout the city in the past few days. ”

"Forget it, there's no need to hide this kind of thing. Mace tried to move his palm, but the pain dispelled him: "Have you investigated the soldier named Daolang?" If there is a family, we should send a pension and promise to continue to pay the soldier every month in the future. ”

"It's been investigated, my lord. He was an orphan with no living relatives. ”

"Don't even have a girlfriend?"

"That's not clear, sir. He had been stationed at the eastern outpost since he was seventeen years old, and had been stationed for ten years now. ”

Poor young man, if all the sentinels in the eastern outposts were corrupted, there would be no one to mourn him on the day of his death...... Mace lamented for Dorou when a question suddenly came to mind: "Edus, did Maester Nadia tell you what he thinks - how Dorou was infected with the Corruptor, and why did he mutate in my room?"

"Maester Nadia did say...... Think about it. Eddes touched his shiny forehead before adding, "He thinks that Dorou didn't hold the black ice, because that would corrupt him instantly." So he thinks that there are other vectors of infection, and it is the one that makes Michiro infected without him noticing...... As for why the mutation was delayed, the Bachelor thought it was because something had taken possession of your soul the moment you were infected, and it would take possession of your body when needed. ”

"Something?" Mace was a little stunned: "What do you mean...... That thing can corrupt the host at any time......?

Mace suddenly remembered the two hunters who had been escorted back, and this made him shudder: "Edus, where are those two hunters who claim to have witnessed the black ice and were escorted back?"

"In your own home...... What's wrong, lord?" said Edus.

"It is also very likely that they have been corrupted, and they are the source of the mutation of Dogro - Captain Edus, immediately lead troops to their house to control the two hunters and bring them back to Cold Snow Castle. Mace ordered eagerly.

The captain's face turned pale, and he immediately got up and put on his helmet: "I'll do it right away, Lord Mace." ”

Listening to the sound of Eders running away in a hurry, Mace, who had already left the matter of the guards behind, was very anxious. Horrific scenes came to mind: if the Corruptor were infiltrated into the city and cause more infections, the consequences would be devastating.

The corridor spreads, and the girl staggers forward.

In the corridor on the other side of the world, there is an ethereal singing.

There are still seventeen years and two hundred and eleven days left at the end of the world.