The cold winter continues, and the north wind is howling.

From the sea, illuminated by the faint light of the stars, blue icebergs blew in, and the icebergs quickly tumbled into the icy waters in the howling cold wind.

The bitter cold wind pushed the hard ice against the shore and against the reef in the middle of the sea.

The cold wind carried the ice floe and crashed into the ferry port, and the shattered ice and snow-capped mountains were blocked by the sturdy wings.

There were only a handful of defenders in the flanked fleets of the Winged Harbor, and they were all drunk, and they did not fulfill the captain's explanation.

Most of the people in the fleets of various countries were drinking and playing cards in the warm and bright taverns on the shore at this time, and they were watching the striptease girls and making noisy shouts with wine bottles.

The cold wind, which should have been a natural disaster, was slightly blocked by the Winged Harbor and whistled over the walled city and swept across the plains behind.

In the town of Bhumesius, the colossus of the Prophet stood in the wind with his hands on the ground, and the howling wind resounded back and forth in the town, and was soon driven away by the cries of the taverns below, the cries of babies in every house, and the cries of cows, sheep, pigs, and dogs.

Farther away, fast-growing giant trees have grown in the permafrost between Southtown and Ferry Harbor.

The corpse is the condensation of time and the earth.

The corpses of pure-blood wizards that have settled down have nourished this barren land, and the wriggling earthworms below have provided an excellent soft breeding ground for trees and flowers.

The forest of giant trees forms a mountain that blocks the cold winds that can freeze crops and livestock to death.

Even so, the cold wind in the sky continued to sweep past the top of the mountain, and continued to wreak havoc in the next place.

In the cold winter, cattle, sheep and livestock will freeze to death, and even if they are not frozen to death, they will starve to death.

However, it is not the same here in Nanzhen, where cattle and sheep are more expensive than people, and they are pulled into a special big house as early as after the river is frozen.

These stone houses are strong enough to withstand the cold winds outside, and are used for work in spring, summer and autumn, and shelter for livestock in winter.

In the barn, a well-like fire well is set up, in which some of the wood left over from processing is burned.

Most of the animals like to sleep near the fire, and the place closest to the wall of the fire well is often occupied by watchdogs, several dogs resting on their stomachs around the stone wall of the fire well, either facing the fire well or with their backs against it.

There are usually men or elderly people who sleep in this house, and are responsible for guarding important livestock.

This is not anyone's home, but an important place in a small village.

No more than a hundred cattle and domes can be used in a town, while ordinary goats and sheep are kept scattered in various livestock houses, which are usually housed together with kitchen and firewood rooms.

Even in the cold winter, the cattle, sheep and livestock have not been cut off.

There is a reserve of feed in advance, what people can eat, and most animals can eat it.

As long as people have enough to eat and have leftovers, most of the family's livestock will not go hungry.

***

10th year of the new calendar, February

The eternal night was over, and the people began to walk out of their houses in heavy clothes, carrying wood and iron tools to sweep away the frozen snow and slag from the castle walls.

Lolita stood on the ground outside the ring and jumped up with joy.

"Whoa! Whoa! Wow! ”

The ice slag ice picks hanging from the eaves of the castle quickly fell from a position of twenty or thirty meters, smashed to the ground with a crisp sound, and shattered into a large amount of ice.

Clara and the others stood here watching, not letting anyone else get close to the wall.

On the roof, someone is tapping with a long wooden pole to make the ice fall early.

Lolita's witchcraft is not strong, and she usually doesn't use it casually, and the bloodline advantage on her body is more reflected in her mental state and physique, and now Lolita is lively and active, more energetic and more confident than the rest of the children.

Other girls don't dare to call their mothers and grandmothers as people.

The sunny and confident Lolita even infected Clara, who was well-behaved and obedient when she was a child, is now sunny and cheerful and confident, although she has not awakened witchcraft, but often eats and drinks spicy with Heidi Clara, and gradually becomes independent.

At this time, the little girls gathered together to work, and Tim came out of the kitchen and stood by to watch.

Lolita was very concerned about Tim, "Tim, don't you have to work in the kitchen now?" ”

Tim tilted his head and looked down at the little sister next to him, "What are you doing?" ”

Lolita raised her head and said seriously: "For example, now that it's dawn, the kitchen must be cleaned, and there are many biscuits and meat pieces that have been stored for a month to be taken out again to dry, as well as tidying up the warehouse and cleaning the stove, it must be very busy." ”

Tim smiled and said, "No, today is the same as yesterday, the kitchen I am in is for the owners to cook and eat, not for the outside people to cook in the public kitchen." ”

Clara was fascinated by the conversation between the two and asked curiously, "How many kitchens do we have here?" ”

Heidi, a tall and cold girl dressed in a thick cotton garment, said: "There are two in the castle, and there are three kitchens in the outer building, which provide for five thousand and five hundred people, including nuns, guests, students of the Holy Virgin's College, merchants, craftsmen, workers, etc. ”

Clara's eyes widened in surprise, "Really? There are so many of us here! ”

Heidi affirmed: "At present, there are only three outside, one for the merchants, craftsmen and serfs on the first and second floors, one for the guests, and the last one for the soldiers and nuns, and maybe another one this year." ”

Lolita, Tim and the other little girls nodded earnestly in convincing.

In the entire Holy Virgin Academy, Heidi's intelligence is the most accurate, and she can always know a lot of things that others don't know, just like a well-informed big sister.

Whether it is age, bloodline purity, or ability and temperament, Heidi is more like a big sister than the rest.

Clara said enviously: "Heidi is so powerful, she can often get the praise of her master. ”

Heidi clasped her hands in front of her, raised her head proudly, and looked confident.

In Heidi's dictionary, there is no word for modesty.

Aside from the caution of the first few days when she first joined here, Heidi shines brighter than others in every way.

The only regret is that the chest is a little small, and it hasn't developed much at the age of thirteen or fourteen.

This is the price of wisdom.

Ice slag was still falling above the house, but the little girls were tired of seeing it, and soon walked slowly away.

The eternal night had kept everyone in the building for too long, and now that the sky was bright, everyone breathed in the cold air under the blue sky, stepping on the hard snow and feeling the temperature of freedom.

Because the snow and ice on the road outside were too hard and the temperature was too low, everyone quickly returned to the building to escape the cold.

***

In the courtyard of Oak Castle, Lawrence looked at the large oak tree with a lot of green leaves.

Temperatures have been a bit colder in recent years than in earlier years, but this year is slightly warmer than last year.

Lawrence recalls the snow disaster that struck Transa Hoof a few years ago, and some of his past experiences, especially the contrast between weather and temperature.

These personal experiences have become blurred, especially the standard of living from year to year, and the quality of the clothes worn, which leads to many strange conclusions.

Lawrence turned around and walked towards the entrance of the castle, and asked the rest of the people for their opinions on some things, so it would be more informative.

As soon as I opened the curtain and entered, it was as if I had arrived in another world.

The entrance to the two worlds is a thick curtain that can separate most temperatures.

Lawrence saw that Sophia was sitting on a fire not far away, so he walked over and asked, "Sophia, do you think this year is colder than last year?" ”

Sophia was roasting chicken wings in front of the fireplace, and when she heard it, she quickly and seriously said, "This year is much colder than last year!" Not long after I went out today, I couldn't stand the cold, so I came back quickly. ”

Lawrence looked at Sophia's clothes, "How many layers of clothes did you wear when you went out?" ”

Sophia thought for a second and quickly replied, "Three floors!" ”

Lawrence smiled, "You feel cold because you don't wear much, you were a kid in this kind of weather, but you wore as much as a fat dog, chubby, I put layers of clothes on you, there are five or six layers of clothes." ”

It's not that children are more frost-resistant than adults, it's that children wear more, and adults don't feel comfortable when they wear too much, and they feel that their hands and feet are restricted, such as Delen and Kehalan don't like to wear too many clothes.

Sophia didn't argue with Lawrence about this issue, and said directly: "The house is the most comfortable, I feel hot in the house in summer clothes!" ”

Lawrence felt that he couldn't get any useful information from Sophia, so he went to find Kehalan again.

There are some things that go to Sophia and Sariel, and it is difficult to come up with useful answers.

"Not really." Keharan replied directly: "This year is colder than last year, and in the past, it would have been the kind of catastrophic winter that made the icy land have to go out and rob in order to survive." ”

Denying Lawrence's feelings, Khalan replied as a veteran resident: "It's getting colder and colder every few years, and then it's getting warmer for more than a decade, and the difference in temperature is just a few degrees, according to you." ”

Lawrence gave a solemn look, "Next year will be colder than this year?" ”

Khallan smiled, "So what does it matter? We don't have crops to spend the winter in the fields, and the cattle, sheep and livestock can also go to the house to spend the winter, and we can also pull them to the warm places in the south to spend the winter and come back in the spring. ”

"There was fuel and food, and there were so many sturdy houses and wine, and there was nothing to get colder."

Lawrence sighed, "That's right, but there's nothing we can do to fight the winter, this force of nature is too strong." ”

Even the technology of the future that we know will not be able to change the climate and environment, and this force of nature can only adapt, not resist and change.

Keharan was amused when he saw Lawrence's serious appearance, raised his glass and said, "Be happy, maybe it will be warmer next year, this place can survive before, it won't be too cold." ”

Lawrence was not comforted.

The Ugers live here without a pretense, but at the cost of freezing to death every year, relying on a small amount of fur that can be used for many years, and scarce fuel and burrows to escape the winter.

This situation will definitely not support a large population, and once the population grows, it is necessary to kill the excess people and sacrifice them to the big tree.

Lawrence took a few steps back and sat down in a chair in Khallan's room.

There isn't much that can be done at the moment, except to get more food and build more houses.

Lawrence couldn't think of any other way, raised his head and said: "You're right, we've done a lot so far, and now that the land of ice has been peaceful, there will be more and more wise men and warriors in this land in the future, and they will face the test of winter." ”

Kehalan looked at Lawrence with a smile, took a sip of wine and said, "What about you?" When are you going to go? ”

"Tomorrow." Lawrence's answer was very decisive.

Keharan looked surprised, "Tomorrow? I thought you'd go in the summer or fall. ”

Lawrence explained: "Yes, I think Sariel and the rest of the people think the same thing, and everyone thinks that I will definitely go back when I give up, and it was at that time last year. ”

"But I think spring is good, and I don't need to wait that long."

Keharan pondered this matter with a solemn face, and then advised: "This is a little too fast, you haven't dealt with many things well, I think it's good to go again after spring ploughing, and the road will be better when the time comes." ”

Lawrence shook his head, "No, the snow on the mountain will have melted long ago after the spring ploughing, and I will have to face waterfalls and rivers again, so it is better to step on the ice now." ”

Keharan felt that Lawrence had a point, but he persuaded him, "What about the Church and the Kingdom of Stars?" You'll leave tomorrow, have you arranged a lot of things? ”

Lawrence put his hands on the armrests of the chairs on both sides, crossed his legs and said, "It's all arranged, and I told O'Raua about Vakiri, and I also told Hela about the church." ”

"The affairs of several nobles in the territory have also been arranged a long time ago, and they will go to their respective fiefdoms to inspect the situation in a few days, and I won't go out for too long, I will come back in about two or three months."

Keharan asked, "So long?" Who are you going to take with you? In addition to Catherine and Sophia, how many people to bring this time? ”

"I'll do it myself." Lawrence said seriously: "This time it is my own business, and it is also a test that I need to face alone, if I haven't come back for more than two months, you can send someone to find me along the path I walked." ”

"I'll leave marks along the way so you can find me."

Seeing that Lawrence was ready, Kehalan stopped persuading.

"Then I wish you to get to that snowy mountain soon, although I still don't understand why you think it's a great thing to climb the mountain."

As a single woman who has lived alone on the mountain for more than ten years, Kehalan does not feel that there is any danger in climbing the mountain, and he is also very confident in Lawrence's strength and wisdom.

Even if he is in trouble, Lawrence will retreat in time, which is very reassuring to everyone. (End of chapter)