At night, countless pieces of charcoal were piled up together to form an incomparably huge pile of firewood, the flames burned, sparks splashed everywhere, and clouds of smoke rose into the sky. The soldiers prayed in front of the fire, and the high priest Yeskovich knelt there, carrying out the ritual in earnest, praying for the blessing of the bear god, so that they would no longer feel cold in this icy night, and the warmth would finally come, but it was hoped that this warmth would come sooner, not until the summer months later.

Rhodes sat at the fire and pondered, these days, he always felt something strange, his eyes no longer turned freely, and when he looked at the flames, he always felt that there was an unseen power in the flames staring at him, and he had to avoid this burning gaze. As long as you avoid the flames, your eyes don't burn, but if you stare at the flames again, the strange feeling comes back to you. He couldn't extricate himself.

In front of the flames, Rhodes couldn't stare at it for more than five seconds. If he continued to stare at the flames with this burning sensation, the power would drive him crazy...... The terrifying and tremendous power even surpassed the power bestowed by the bear god Ursun. Rod didn't know why this was happening...... Just, try your best to avoid it. Although often have to face it. In the civilized world, it is almost impossible not to see fire.

"Lord Rhodes!"

A sharp shout broke Rod's musings. The Rangers returned from the front. With a letter dripping with a wax seal, it was handed to the king of the north.

"What's in the letter?"

Everyone gathered, and it was a letter from Caroline, the Frost Witch, Lord of Heidelberg, and Rhodes's wife. If it weren't for the urgency, Caroline wouldn't have written it herself.

"Caterina says we're traitors. ”

"Nonsense! She's a vampire who doesn't care about the lives of civilians, what right does she have to accuse others?"

Edmund shouted.

"You listen to Rod finish speaking. ”

Lord Bernat interrupted Edmund in a low voice.

"Knights of the Black Roses, Caterina accuses the Knights of the Black Roses of being secretly manipulated by the Empire to break into Kislev's power. She accuses us of betraying the interests of Kislev and using the Imperial Army to attack the people of Kislev. ”

"And to say that she is the orthodox tsar of Kislev, that we have no right to peep into the throne. ”

Rod said, frowning.

"Fuck it, put a vampire on the throne, that's the rightful king, I don't even admit it, let alone her immortal monster!"

Bernat cursed incessantly.

"It's not what we say, brother. "Rhodes looked up at the crowd," Caroline made clear in her letter, and some of the people listened, and Kislev had always disrespected Moorishism, as you know. ”

"We have to fight back!"

Edmund shouted.

"Let the Imperial knights explain for themselves!"

Bettner roared.

"No, I can't. Rod's face was unusually calm, what kind of wind and waves had not been experienced for so many years. "The people didn't trust them in the first place, they were indeed 'guests' from afar from the Empire, and they did kill the soldiers of the Snow Eagle Legion. In order for the population to accept Mooreism, there must be a process. ”

"We can't wait for this process! Damn, will it be five years or ten years? By then, the Civil War will be over...... "Let's play."

"No, it won't take that long. ”

Rod interrupted—

"They're proving themselves now. In Fractured Stone, the vanguard of the Black Rose Knights is already slaying down the vampire and undead armies. The people will know who is defending their lives. Who is eradicating the undead monsters of this world? ”

"But what about now? We can't do nothing, can we?"

Edmund asked rhetorically.

"Moment......" Rod frowned again, "Moment, fight back with all your might." The fact that Katerina is a vampire is revealed. ”

"They already knew. ”

Edmund chimed in.

"Of course they do, but there's no evidence. Moreover, everyone dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. What we have to do is make it public and publicize it. In this way, we can become famous. Whether it's the support of the empire or the support of the people, in short, we need support, the more the better. Wait until Katerina is removed from the throne, and everything will be considered in the long run. ”

Rhodes said.

"Do we have proof?"

Burtner couldn't help but sneer.

"Yes, Lan Dao is proof of that. We have held it for so long that you have forgotten its value. ”

"He's worth more than just a duke's captive, he's the only general under the queen we've captured. Moreover, the status of Randolph in Kislev can be said to be above 10,000 people under one person. He's a vampire, wouldn't that so-called queen know? This is the key to breaking down Caterina's public opinion defense! I wasn't going to take it out so quickly, but now, I have to. The Vampire Queen forced us to do it. ”

Rod replied with a solemn expression.

......

Kislev, the Winter Palace of Ice and Snow.

Dennis's blue-black eyes looked out into the endless darkness of the window, in the sky, thin clouds were sparse, and the moon was shuttling through the clouds. The moon in my hometown must be so round and bright, right?, Dennis asked himself. It was late at night, but she was still not sleepy. There have been so many things that have happened lately, the Civil War has begun, Prince Pavel has broken into the Winter Palace, killed the Krem guards, and the Ice Queen imprisoned Prince Kislev...... More has happened in one year than in the last ten years.

Dennis wanted someone to talk to, she wasn't that strong a person, and she wanted to tell that person that she was just a little girl. Why did she have to endure so much? In her teens, she lived like a middle-aged man in her thirties. She had to play dumb in front of the queen and mature in front of Prince Pavel...... She is a prisoner of the Ice Queen, a lover in the eyes of Prince Pavel, and at the same time, a genius witch...... Every day, you have to transform between three identities.

Dennis felt so tired, but where was the person who could listen to her? Father? Father was so busy in the North that maybe he had forgotten about himself? Maybe he had forgotten that he had a daughter...... No, Father wasn't that kind of person...... Dennis is conflicted, she proposes a hypothesis and disproves it herself...... The contradictions of repeated struggles almost tore her apart......

Bang......

The door was opened again, and surprisingly, this time, it was not the maid who delivered the meal, but Pavel who came in......

"Your Royal Highness, aren't you?"

Dennis asked, surprised. Then, she saw the captain of the guard who had followed Pavel closely. I instantly understood what was going on.