The wind was cold and the clouds were thick.

In the middle of winter, such cold winds and dark clouds are the most obvious and common signs before rain and snow.

However, some of the terrified residents of Rankine City clearly remember that this dark cloud had been piling up over the city for three whole months. During this time, they gradually descended from the distant void, and became more and more dense and thick. Today, they could see with the naked eye that in that surging gray-black cloud, the fierce and evil power was slowly accumulating.

They even believe that when this evil cloud completely covers the city, they will usher in real destruction.

The only solace is the towering white tower in the north of the city.

The once magnificent holy city of Ranken, in such gloom and cold, also looks dimmed, only the "Holy White Tower", which still exudes the holy light day and night, light but warm.

The slender and tall white tower, like a solid pillar of light, supported the clouds in the sky like a dome, and was also the last thing the residents of Rankin City relied on for months, who had not seen a ray of sunlight for months.

Twenty miles west of the city, a gentle stone slope.

The Crusaders had built a wooden and stone watchtower at the top of the slope, and a barely visible pale gray mist rose into the clouds. Around the city, there are dozens of such watchtowers, and their constant flow of negative energy is the real reason for the formation of this dark cloud.

"Innedir......" Silves, dressed in black robes, stood quietly at the top of the watchtower, looking at the city in the distance, muttering to himself, "I want to see, how long can you hold on?"

"It's just the end of the crossbow. The voice of the Speaker of the White Bone came from the side, he seemed to appear on the watchtower in an instant, his black robes embellished with silver embroidery, and a chuckle came from under the hood, "The only surprise is that even in such an unfavorable situation. The White Tower still has such a powerful force. ”

"After all, the White Tower is known as the strongest of the Nine Supreme Towers, and even if His Excellency the Speaker lays out such an arcane magic circle, he will still be able to resist it," Silves said calmly, "Moreover, not only the White Tower, but also the Cathedral of Gothia and the ascetics will definitely assist Inedil. ”

"Oh?" said the Speaker of the White Bones, smiling, "Speaking of which, I really haven't dealt with the Gothian Maidens or the ascetics. ”

"Each generation of the Holy Lady of Gothia will serve the Lord all their lives. From the moment she was chosen, she could never leave the cathedral, and the ascetics' aim was to pursue the purest divine arts in the extreme monotony and simplicity, and it was rare to go out of Ranken, and it was normal that His Excellency the Speaker had not seen them. Of all the enemies of the Church of Light, Herseus is probably the only one who has ever seen the true face of His Excellency the Holy Maiden......

"No, no, it's actually two," Speaker Bones suddenly laughed again. "Have you neglected yourself, Your Excellency?"

"Yes......" Silves snorted softly. Shaking his head, "You're right, Your Excellency...... Since we are already the enemy, we can't give the other party any respite, and we must completely defeat Rankine before the warm spring returns. ”

"I don't like spring, so support your decision. Speaker Bones nodded, and suddenly smiled mysteriously, "However, I don't think that old dragon is very willing to leave." ”

"Really?" Silves glanced at him, "Does Your Excellency the Speaker still want to tell me?" The Demon Legion has already divided up some of its armies and is ready to attack San Setestian and plunder the territory?"

Speaker White Bone was slightly stunned.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency, I will personally visit Lord Amosic," Silves's tone was indifferent, and he floated down, and his strength also increased greatly in the midst of this dark cloud, "On the coldest day of the year, we will launch the most offensive of the year, and please be prepared." ”

The northern wilderness, the ice and snow are reckless.

Dozens of iron horses kicked and galloped, the hunting gold banner flew in the air, the king returned from winter hunting, and the military tent was jubilant.

"The next time I see Ruperdine, I'm going to brag about it. Nacini took off his helmet, his blonde hair burst out, he removed the ferret from the saddle, and turned his head and smiled. This pure white beast is extremely cunning, and it is the best medal to prove the strength of the hunters. In the past, when the capital was out hunting, Ruberdine from the Northland Ice Fields used to mock the nobles who could only hunt stupid deer, and Prince Nacini was one of the targets of ridicule at that time.

"It's too cold this winter, and I haven't seen a ferret in the Vanuna area for years," a stout general next to him laughed, "but your majesty's luck is good, this is not a common prey." ”

"Well, Albert, don't you just talk about luck, don't you recognize my strength?" Nacini teased, "Let's go, let's go in and have a few drinks together." ”

Albert is Nacchini's right-hand man and is one of the top five generals in the military ranking. During this period of time, he has been in charge of the battle on the front line of Vanuna, and the two sides have attacked and defended each other, although they have not achieved great results, but they have also consolidated their own advantages some time ago, and the battle line has officially advanced to dozens of miles south of Vanuna.

After receiving An Lan's message for help, Nacini was still a little confused, but the launch of the "Tide of Shadows" offensive finally dawned on him. The dignified King of Snowton was actually used as a spearman by Silves. By the time his mobile legions finally reached the path of the Lightseekers, everything was settled.

Half of Anlan had fallen, and the Violet Valley had been devastated, and it was hard to know what was going on in his mind. However, he did not hesitate, since the legion had been mobilized, and An Lan no longer needed assistance, he took advantage of the situation, and the army went directly to the city of Vanuna, converging the local garrison, completely overpowering the opponent's army in terms of quantity and quality.

Ebertus nodded and followed Nacini into the king's tent. With their status, eating and drinking are excellent times to talk, and His Majesty obviously wants to discuss the battle situation at the front with him.

The two sides sat down, and the bonfire burned in the copper basin of the wide-mouthed carved beast with a diameter of several meters, and the whole big tent was warm. The waiter half-knelt on a heavy blanket, added smokeless charcoal to it, skinned and bled the wild beasts of the hunt, and after a simple treatment, they were roasted on the fire, and the rich burnt smell suddenly filled the air.

"Come on. Nacini smiled, took a sip of the wine in the dried jade cup, and exhaled a breath of heat. This is a unique "snow burn" in the northern country, with the crisp taste of alpine snow water, but the bottom of the stomach is like a rolling flame.

The waiter refills the wine cup, and the nimble cook slices the roasted top meat tendons into slices and presents them on a silver platter for both the monarch and the minister to enjoy. Snowton's military and civilian ethos were already rough, and such fresh food was one of their highest pleasures.

"How's the army reorganized?" asked Nacini casually, referring to the troops transferred from the Iron Wall Pass Theater.

"After the reorganization, a lot of actual combat has been carried out, and now the combat effectiveness is in no way inferior to the other front-line legions of the Empire," Albert replied with a little pride, "After all, the garrison of Tiebi Pass is the elite of the Empire. ”

"That's good," Nacini nodded slightly, "By the way, Albert, how much do you know about the information in the Wolf Plains War Zone?"

Albert's eyes froze, and he immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the wolf was originally the weakest of the five major theaters of the empire, and the number of troops was only higher than that of the Snow Hell Ice Field War Zone. Today, the number of elites in the Benwolf Plains War Zone is only 20,000, and the rest are inexperienced recruits, and a part of them has to be divided to defend against the invading barbarians in the northwest, and the defense is weak. ”

Nacini nodded thoughtfully, held on to the wine cup and thought for a long time, and suddenly spoke, "Albert, if we sneak attack the Wolf Plain, how sure are we?"

"Is this...... More than seventy," Albert hesitated, "but I don't think it's a good idea, Your Majesty...... First of all, the Wolf Plain is located in the northwest of Vanuna, and the retreat route of our army will easily be blocked by the enemy, so as to fall into the embarrassing situation of being attacked by the enemy from the end to the end; the supply line from the hinterland of the empire to the Wolf Plain is long, and even after we succeed, the logistics line will be easily cut off or even harassed; besides, the Wolf Plain Theater is the front line against the barbarians in the northwest, and the war will continue to consume the enemy's strength, and if we capture it, we must assume this responsibility. So based on the above, I think that a sneak attack on Benwolf Plains may be very certain, but it is not advisable. ”

"It's useless to take it, it's a pity to throw it away...... That's what you mean, right?" Nacini smiled, "But have you ever thought that if we capture the Wolf Plain, we will successfully open up the passage between the Snowy Hell and the Ice Field, so as to oppress Vanuna in the south, north, and east directions at the same time?"

Ebert frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly.

"There is another point that you may have overlooked," Nacini muttered, "at that time, the army that defected to Jonas was mainly infantry, and if he wanted to attack us from behind, the main mobile force was the Knights Templar of the Holy See. And the Templars from the south will suffer greatly in such cold weather—"

And, more importantly, ...... If we go directly north through the territory of the old Duke of Draano, won't the problem of being attacked at the end or being supplied for a long time be solved?"

His tone was calm, as usual, as if Delanor was still his grandfather.

......

As the night wore on, Ebert withdrew from his tent and prepared to carry out his military plan for Nacchini.

Nacini waved his hand and withdrew the attendant, but he did not order the lamp to be lit, and only the red-hot charcoal and the blazing light of the fire were left in the tent, reflecting his face, bright and cloudy.

In a trance, the delicate voice seemed to sound in my ears again, with a little anger and expectation,

"Cousin, why is it Lin Lu again, when can you hunt a ferret for me?" (To be continued......)

PS: (1st Update)