The county of Saron is located at the northernmost point of the entire kingdom of the Greylion. Although the Frost Guardians nominally admit themselves to being subjects of the kingdom, the terrifying unity of the northerners and their control over Dragonspine Mountain make it difficult for the royal family to feel at ease. Therefore, at the beginning of the establishment of the county of Salon, the first earl's task was to contain the power of the Frost Guardians in the north. The establishment of the entire county was prepared to be transformed into a barrier against the northerners when necessary. First and foremost of these is the capital of the county, Vale.

Valley City is located as its name suggests, on the banks of Dragon's Blood Creek, the largest waterway in the entire county. At the same time, due to the influence of the remnants of Longji Mountain, the terrain of the entire county is dominated by mountains and rugged hills, and the location of Valley City is also located at the mouth of the lowland isthmus, which is the easiest to pass. In this way, as long as the city of Valley is occupied, the entire northern border can be cut off from the south. However, this also required Vale to face attacks from the surrounding highlands and the threat of waterways during the war. Therefore, the city was not defined as a commercial or agricultural city at the beginning, but as a military fortress through and through.

The castle of the Count of Salon was like a nail, carved into the road to the south, and its towering outer walls were no worse than the main cities of other dukedoms. The only drawback is that the small geographical space limits the size of the city, which is destined to be difficult to develop into a large city. However, for a military fortress, the larger the size, the more difficult it is to mobilize supplies and troops, and those giant cities that take an hour or two to ride through the city on horseback may not be as strong as Valley City in terms of defense alone.

While the northerners have proven over time that they have no ambition to compete for land in the south, and the counts of House Salons have been happy with the Legion in recent decades, the cost of maintaining Vale is unambiguous. Therefore, it was almost impossible for even the famous Blood Lion to enter Vale City with a team of forty horsemen without the permission of the people in the city.

Leon has been circling Vale for a day. No matter how much he and his men shouted, or shot arrows with letters at the walls, there was no response from the city of Vale. Not even Leon saw a single living person on the walls. Although Leon did not know that the Salonians had all died of the plague, and that even her only remaining daughter, Gloria, had mutated into a monster due to her illness, the chief knight could conclude that the situation in the city was very bad based on his own experience. The deplorable state of the farmhouses and villages along the way, the burnt houses, and the ruined fields all show that the situation in the county is worse than expected. What was even more terrifying was that Leon did not find any corpses of the inhabitants along the way, or rather, he had not seen a corpse with flesh. Everywhere the knights went, all they could see were scattered white bones, and the black spots on the white bones made Leon dare not even let his men collect these bones. It reminded him of the rumors of monsters that had circulated among the refugees in Turbidity.

The terrifying, blood-eating monsters that came with the plague, never showing up during the day, only at night, attacking livestock, poultry and even lone humans. As the plague progressed, the monsters became even more unscrupulous, attacking homes living in remote areas, and their thirsty claws could not be stopped by thick wooden doors and sturdy walls.

At first, Leon assumed that it was the refugees who had seen the plague-infected beast. There is a precedent for this, and many plagues can cause infected creatures to go berserk, especially in wild beasts. But as he led the team into the affected area, he felt that the beasts alone could not have caused such great damage. Leon even found a completely collapsed house in a town. The destruction of that house was so unnatural, as if something had hollowed out the foundations of the whole house. The Knight Commander realized that there was probably something beyond the imagination of most people wandering around the epidemic area.

In this world, magic and curses, while not common, are not really non-existent. Not to mention the Twilight Cult, which has a terrifying belief in the eyes of outsiders, there are at least half a dozen of the various magical creatures and spellcasters that Leon has seen during his mission. And every encounter with these beings would put Leon's team in a situation of death. The Knight Commander knew very well how dangerous and terrible those things in the shadows of the world were. Therefore, he demanded that his knights must always be vigilant, which is a prerequisite for saving their lives in the face of unknown existence.

"My lord, where are we camping tonight?" asked a knight as he approached Leon.

The knight chief looked up at the setting sun. He remembered the rumors of the refugees, who only haunted at night. He thought for a moment and said.

"Set up camp by Dragon's Blood Creek tonight, and double the number of people at the vigil. Don't skimp on torches. ”

If it was a normal day, the knight would have asked Leon if it was necessary to be so careful. However, the eerie silence in the county made him think that the Knight Chief's decision was the right one. He even doubted that he could really fall asleep in such an environment.

"By the way, my lord, I heard that the Hammer has also sent a search party. "It's no secret that the King has ordered the forces of the Knights of the Kingdom and the Grand Duke of Hammer to enter the county from both directions to explore. In this way, the two teams can also take care of each other.

"Yes, it's just that they've entered the county from the West and are farther away from Vale than we are, and I think if they don't have any problems, they'll probably meet us tomorrow. Leon nodded, knowing that the presence of friendly forces could keep the soldiers' morale high.

"Could their leader be the rumored Heather Knight?" asked the young knight excitedly.

Leon could understand his agitation, in the army, no matter what kind of army, women were rare animals. Not to mention the female knight like Heather, who is known as the Hammer Rose, even Leon himself will have a surging feeling in his heart when he thinks of the memories of acting with Heather.

"I don't know, maybe it is, maybe not. We'll find out soon, won't we?" said the chief knight, chuckling.

Far from being disappointed when he got this Moro ambiguous answer, the young knight left happily. Perhaps it is time to ask His Majesty to install a few female knights in the Order?" Leon thought as he looked at the knights who cheered softly in the distance. Then he dispelled his somewhat ridiculous idea.

The sun was losing its brilliance in the shadows of Dragonspine Mountain, and the knights' camp by the Dragon's Blood Creek had been set up, and the bonfires that had risen to dispel the cold of the night. It also became a beacon for those predators in the dark. Leon felt that the night might not be peaceful. He gently wiped the saber that had followed him for many years, and said to the herald.

"Tonight I ordered all the men to be dressed in armor, and I asked them to be able to fight within three breaths. ”