"There are too few expeditionary forces, and we must continue to suppress the demons and nezumi in the north......"

"To the lords of the North......"

"Boom Boom ......"

Annan tried to recall the deliberations of the Divine Temple Council at the time.

Is the Betrayer still in the Holy Council? Annan didn't pay attention. Go to the temple again, he'll try to find the betrayer.

And the initiator is...... The King of Black Iron. The King of Bones was silent, the King of Gold was opposed, and the rest of the kings seemed noncommittal...... In any case, the fact that there are more people in favor than against is the reason for the adoption of the proposal.

Most of the High Thirteen Kings were unaware, and even if they knew, as long as the Kingdom of Rikanr repelled the Demon Tide and the Rat Tide, they would be able to forgive the Kingdom for its previous atrocities.

After all, dead people can't speak.

What should have been opposed at the time...... Annan thought, but then he thought that he was just a "spectator" sitting in the back row of the sacred temple, unable to do anything.

There was no longer any need for the old kings to linger. Annan asked the expeditionary force to work with Evelyn to take some more footage, open the portal, and ask Dean Brahim to send the falcon to the Winter Realm.

The old royal capital was a little far away from the winter realm, and after about three hours, Annan opened the portal back to the border of the Dumon Kingdom.

The expeditionary forces withdrew one after another, and only Princess Sails was still looking at the dilapidated old royal capital.

"I grew up here, then left for twenty years, and returned here on the eve of destruction......"

This is not Princess Sayles' life, but her childhood and shadows - the months of captivity in the dungeon.

"I want to thank you...... Annan. Your New Year's gift kept me going, and you came to save me, obviously I didn't do anything......"

"You've done a lot, and you just don't know it. When I first came to the royal capital, I was just a king of the north who had no power, no power and no one cared, and it was you who protected me. ”

Annan felt that Princess Sayles's mood was not right, and deliberately distracted her: "Actually, you are not alone. Remember Lady Winter? She's in the Winterland of the North, and we're going to go there next, do you want to come with me?" ”

Speaking of which, Princess Sayles is also the younger sister of Lady Winter.

"Winter...... Sister? Princess Sayles's tone became a little angry.

Annan glanced back and saw that the expeditionary force had withdrawn into the portal.

"Let's go."

Although, according to the Holy Council's resolution, the old kings were already the territory of Annam, as the lords who had recovered it.

But there was nothing to be gained in recovering the old king. This is the hinterland of the nezumi, the demons are eyeing the enemy, and the 6,000 men of the expeditionary force will not make a splash in the city defenses of the old royal capital, and will face the betrayers next.

Even if you want to be an enclave, it shouldn't be a place like the old royal capital.

……

The speed of the Freedom Expeditionary Force depends on the speed of the falcon.

While the falcons are on their way, the expeditionary force stays in abandoned border towns, hunting the occasional nezumi and demons.

Here they rest until the evening, and then jump north again.

In the early morning of a new day, Annan finally came to the winter collar.

"Who's there!"

The soldiers on the city wall noticed that the unusually hovering falcon had landed in several silhouettes that had suddenly appeared.

"It's me."

The chief of the guard, who had arrived with them, stepped out.

Annan was observing the Winter Collar: It's as bitter cold as its name suggests.

Perched high in a barren hilly terrain, the Winter Collar is surrounded by a long low wall enclosing vast expanses of houses, farmland, and castles.

They have a hard time keeping the nezumi at bay, so both houses and farmland appear to be damaged.

In particular, the growing wheat is almost invisible in the farmland...... Winter begins in the north in October, and nothing grows in these wheat fields.

Lady Winter is one of the few, if not the only, members of the Montreal family who are still fending off the invasion of rat people and demons. As Annan followed the chief of the guard to the castle, Annan passed through the town, where emaciated old men and children stared numbly at them, and air-dried black jerky stood in front of the windows of the houses......

Nezumi meat is just unpalatable, but it doesn't die.

"Can I summon the expeditionary force first?" Annan asked the chief of the guard.

"I don't think Madame will refuse."

Annan opened the portal and told them: "Take out your food, half of it for the civilians and half for the soldiers." ”

The chief of the female guard did not stop Annan from wasting food...... She knew that the boy had magical portals.

His arrival will give Winter Collar a new lease of life.

Annan helped Princess Sayles to the castle, and saw Lady Winter, who was taller than many of the guards around them, standing outside the city gates.

Lady Winter's Princess Bills is much better, dressed in a white snow bear skin, and her makeup is no longer exquisite, but she is still the flower of the snowfield.

"When we first met, you still had to live on my wings." Mrs. Winter sighed.

"Now the little one has grown up and come back to shelter you."

Annan seems to have returned to his time in Beta......

"You rescued Sayles?" Lady Winter looked at the princess, who was supported by Annan. If you weren't familiar with it, no one would recognize Princess Sayles, who had lost 50 pounds and looked like a withered tree.

"Long time no see." The princess said softly.

"We all thought you were dead......"

"The nezumi imprisoned me in the dungeon and stole my blood...... The betrayer thinks he's taking advantage of the nezumi, but they don't know that they've set their sights on the curse of the Montreal family. ”

Lady Winter frowned, "Betrayer? Exploit? Curse? ”

The Winter Collar is closed, and its tentacles can only extend around the territory.

"Can I walk around?" Annan asked at this time.

"Erin, you're with Annan." Lady Winter said.

The chief of the guards responded, and Annan stopped disturbing the sisters' reunion and followed Erin back to the town of Winterland.

Many houses have been destroyed, but many remain vacant. The expeditionary force was arranged by Lady Winter's butler to live in an empty house. There was no opposition from the inhabitants, because the expeditionary force brought a sense of security.

But they put away all the food that was distributed.

"Eat." Annan opened a portal, "I'll send more food next." ”

The chief of the female guards pressed her excitement and asked the soldiers to distribute the food in an orderly manner.

Next, Annan inquired about the situation of the winter collar.

The soldiers knew that Annan was the leader of the expeditionary force and the honored guest of Madame Winter.

The Winter Collar initially numbered close to 7,000 people...... Half a year later, there are still more than 2,000 people left. Except for the elderly and children, who are really unable to fight, everyone must take up arms to defend against the rat tide.

They used the terrain to guard the Winter Collar - the cobblestone that Annan saw by the low wall. The nezumi came, they pushed the cobblestone down, and the nezumi retreated and pushed the cobblestone up again.

The Winter Collar experienced several dangers, when everyone took refuge in the castle, and the houses and castle facades were destroyed and destroyed at that time.

And it happened in the last two months.

(End of chapter)