The cold wind mixed with snowflakes fell on the Black Hammer Castle. In the middle of winter, except for the continuous mining of the underground mines, all other work has basically stopped. Whether it's hunters, lumberjacks, blacksmiths, builders, etc., all return to their homes to escape the raging wind and snow.

Charcoal, along with braziers, fireplaces and coals, is a must-have in every household. No matter how poor people are, they must have these at home, otherwise, it will be difficult for them to survive the long winter. If there's one job that still takes place outside during the winter, it's the chimney cleaner.

During the cold winters of the Old World, whether it was as far away as Bretonnia or in the vast areas north of the Imperial Aldolphe, people had to burn coal to keep their homes warm during the long winters. However, a large amount of coal burning causes a large amount of smoke and dust to drift out of the chimney, and there will inevitably be some blockage problems over time. As a result, the hard outdoor job of a chimney cleaner was born.

As far as Rhodes knew, most of the people who did this work in the empire were slum children. They were small enough to move freely through the narrow chimney pipes, and after each cleaning of the chimney, the owner of the house would give them a few copper plates as a hard fee. But this work is still dangerous, and every year, because safety measures are not done well, there are many cases of cleaners falling from pipes and dying.

Since there is no insurance business, the families of these children do not receive any compensation after their deaths, and they can only cry secretly. Others are even more hateful, adopting homeless orphans in society, gathering them together, and dedicating them to some high-risk work, which can be described as a miserable world.

In Rhodes' territory, child labor is prohibited. The chimney cleaner is a job that can be done by a skinny person, as long as the broom is made longer, it can also do the same to clean up the smoke.

In the cold of winter, thick snowflakes cover the roofs of every house, and the low chimneys spew out a continuous stream of white smoke, looking down from the castle, the whole town outside Blackhammer Fort is like a fairy tale village, quiet and serene.

It's just that Rhodes felt a little uneasy. In the past, the cold winter solar term lasted for at least three months every year, which meant that during these three months, the income from fur and timber was almost equal to zero. Since the Norscans joined, fur income has been an important source of income, and it is also with this group of Norscans wandering in the forest that there is timber income, and like fur income, timber income accounts for a large part of the quarterly income, and now, these two incomes are wasted for three months, which is really a drag on the economy of Blackhammer Castle.

In his spare time, Rhodes practiced his Thunder Twin Axes on the castle grounds. This axe hasn't been studied properly since it was obtained from the dwarves of Dulong City. The rune craftsmen in Dulong City seem to have built these two weapons according to the proportions of Rod's body. Because "Thunder" is no longer a one-handed axe from the outside, at least for dwarves, it can indeed be used as a two-handed axe.

Rhodes held it in his hand, the length of the tomahawk was close to the length of his arm, the surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the blade of the axe looked extremely sharp, as if he could feel the pain of the blade tearing flesh just by looking at it. The important thing is that it is indeed light, so light that Rod can wield it freely, like wielding two daggers.

Another point, Rod vaguely remembered that when he first touched this weapon that day, with a slight wave, a blue arc of electricity rose on the battle axe. But after that, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't use that effect.

Maybe it's just an illusion, Rod said to himself in his heart...... However, it is true that the tomahawk will fly back to the user on its own after being thrown. When no one was around, Rhodes tried to use this anti-heaven skill. After all, it is extremely painful for a melee warrior to be kited, especially against someone like the Frost Witch who is good at ice spells, without any ranged ability, and is directly frozen into an ice sculpture before the battle......

Facing the target of archery in the school field, Rhodes threw the axe again and again, a cold light passed, and the spinning flying axe cut through the snowflakes and smashed straight to the position of the bull's-eye! And without any suspense, he directly penetrated the wooden target, and the sharp axe blade cut the wooden target for archery in half like cutting vegetables. When he returned again, the tomahawk nearly hit Rhodes' head, but Rhodes reacted quickly and retracted it in mid-air. The power was so great that the moment he held the handle of the axe, the Thunder Battle Ax was still trembling slightly.

It's powerful, but it's risky to use. Rhodes knows that this is the case with any powerful weapon, and while hurting the opponent, it is also possible to accidentally injure himself. Just like cavalry, while attacking the enemy, it is also possible to be shocked by the powerful recoil force. And Thunder, his familiarity with it has only just begun, just like the use of a knight's longsword takes a long process, after becoming a berserker, Rhodes knows that he still has a long way to go. At the very least, knowing how to control the anger in your heart is not an easy task.

He tried again, and this time, Rhodes aimed at the stone wall next to the schoolyard.

He controlled the force and threw the tomahawk again without speeding up. Thunder whistled through the air, whirling and smashing into the wall with a sound that tore through the air. Shockingly, the tomahawk struck the stone wall and plunged directly into the rock, and the rock wall actually cracked several cracks in the axe slash.

It is conceivable that if there was a person standing in front of him, then his body would have been separated and his flesh and blood would be splattered...... Looking at the deep cracks and dents in front of him, Rhodes knew that he would have to call someone to repair the wall tomorrow. In the future, it seems that I can only use hard things such as stones, and I can't only use targets made of wood......

Just as he was about to conduct the third test, the sound of the guards' report sounded outside the school grounds.

"Your Excellency, the Queen's messenger. ”

The guards reported, and before Rhodes could agree, the knight in elaborate armor barged in.

"Lord of Blackhammer Castle, Lord Rod, the Ice Queen's order, gather your forces by the 25th and join the large forces outside the city of Errengrad. ”

The knight of the kingdom from the capital said, and then handed the parchment scroll to Rod's hand, and his arrogance was overflowing. From the point of view of the title, the identity of the knight is still a cut behind Rhodes, no matter how bad Black Hammer Fort is, it is still a border castle, and the lord of Black Hammer Fort is also considered Baron Kislev, belonging to the status of nobility and owning his own land.

And the knights of the kingdom, to put it bluntly, are just warriors under the command of noble lords. But the knight in front of him is directly loyal to the Ice Queen Katarina...... Therefore, although he is only a knight, his actual status may be far above these border lords, and he may have his own manor and land in the capital, so it is not difficult to understand his arrogance.

"May I ask what happened to Errengrad?"

Rod took the parchment and asked the knight with a calm face. The latter glanced at Rod, impatient—

"Don't you know what's going on? The people of that city betrayed the Snow Queen, and now, the whole country, is going to see her as an enemy. Until the Ice Queen takes back the reign of Errengrad. As Lord of Blackhammer, you are obligated to take your troops to the city of Riot. Am I clear enough?"

The knight said, turning to leave.

"Why don't you spend the night here? it's getting late, and there are so many wild beasts outside, I think you should spend the night here and set off tomorrow morning." ”

Rhodes stopped. He gave the guard a look, and the guard then went down smartly to arrange for the knights of the kingdom to be fed and lodging......