Winter...... That's right...... A truly harsh winter......

The present month, to be exact, is just the eighth month of the year, also known as the month of Phobos (the sun god in Roman mythology).

According to the previous time, it should be the hottest time.

However, due to the winter that began last year and has continued until now, even though this month is supposed to be the hottest month of the year, people can only feel cold......

And this cold, the more north it is, the more severe it is.

The twenty-seven northern provinces of the Roman Empire, also inevitably fell into fear of famine because of this endless winter.

Because, spring has not come......

The ground was frozen as hard as stones......

It was hard to plow the ground and sow the seeds, but they failed again due to the extremely low temperature and the problem of not being able to water it......

As the old Roman scholar put it, it seems that he has abandoned Rome for life.

And the reason is precisely the atrocities of Emperor Caligula.

In any case, when Richard returned to his own territory in the north, he found that he had underestimated the catastrophe that the winter had brought to humanity.

Moreover, what Cohen's letter describes is still too optimistic.

The vast territory of Ivy Province is an endless grassland. This means that the cold winds from the north and south will cause near-devastating damage to the province of Ivy that belongs to Richard with minimal attrition.

Richard was the mastermind behind it all, and he knew he was the real master behind it. Therefore, when he and Cohen were first discussing how to build the territory, Richard emphasized that it was important to ensure that every Holy Family who came to settle in Ivy Province could live in a house thick enough to protect them from the cold.

However......

A month later, having crossed most of the Roman Empire, Richard and Will returned to their homeland, the province of Ivey, with the Holy warriors who had followed them south.

With the size of the team reduced by more than ten times, and with the many supplies that Anne had given them, and the horses they had obtained from the Imperial Station, they finally made it back to Ivey before the real winter arrived.

The wind was very strong, and on the way to the cities and villages that he passed by, Richard ordered Ink Shadow to take people to exchange Orley for some fur coats used to protect him from the cold, and that, it was only barely enough to make his body not so cold, and when he arrived at Deya Freshwater Lake, the violent wind was almost untenable!

There were more than 5,000 Holy Clan warriors following Richard when he set out, however, by the time he returned, there were less than 300......

When they returned home, despite Richard's news of victory, more of the Holy Clans were saddened than joyed when they heard that their descendants, elders, or lovers had lost their lives during the six months they had traveled south.

On the shores of Deya Freshwater Lake, there is now the outline of a city compared to seven years ago. The city is not big, and it can only accommodate about 50,000 or 60,000 people. And its name is also very simple - Deya City.

The saints who stayed in their homeland had to retreat into the city. Because the city has walls half as high as Rome, it resists most of the howling winds.

Upon entering the city, Richard's heart sank when he saw the empty, dilapidated streets and the houses with closed doors and windows on the side of the streets...... Hopefully, it's not too late for him to return!

......

Ten minutes later, in the tallest stone building in the center of the city, Richard couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Cohen, who had become obviously a little vicissitudes compared to the last time they met.

"You're getting old......"

“...... It's not you!"

The flame burning on the fire in the house was small, probably because the firewood was not completely dry, and there was always a disgusting smell in the air. Because the doors and windows of the whole house were blocked, and rags were stuffed in the room, between the cracks, so the place was still quite warm......

Instead of seeing the brothers, who had been in love and killed for half their lives, Will took off his heavy fur coat, sat down on a chair in the corner of the house with a disgruntled and somewhat tired face—he and his father had no less arguments on the way back.

Ink Shadow has been sent to settle those Holy Clan warriors, and gather his subordinates to distribute supplies for the winter, I hope that the clansmen in the territory have not been frozen to death too much.

As for Hattori Chiyo......

"Chiyo, you can sit down too. ”

"Hmm. ”

Chiyo Hattori nodded, took off his fur fur from his body as well, and by the way, took his fur from Will's side, and carefully patted the snow on it.

"Chiyo...... Am I really doing something wrong?"

“...... You did nothing wrong, Will...... It was Lord Richard who was wrong...... Master Richard was indeed too gentle with those people...... If this kind of thing were in our family, they would have their limbs cut off and thrown away in the wilderness!"

“...... That's right, my father's original intention was good. However, he neglected the ...... of the human heart."

Here, Chiyo Hattori is comforting Will with gentle words, and on the other side, Richard and Cohen are also discussing everything that has happened in the past six months.

"So...... Now the situation is that Caesar has become a god, so you are not the one who was in charge of the Roman army as originally planned...... So, what do you mean on the Imperial side? Do they want us to face the Kingdom League alone?"

"Not exactly, both Caesar and Caligula have succeeded in being deceived by me. Before leaving, Caesar asked His Majesty Caligula to give us the power to open up territory for the Empire, which means that the far north is already in our pockets...... At the same time, he also wants to hand over the next few provinces to me to govern, but you know, once I touch it, something will happen...... Moreover, in the short term, due to this winter, which will last for half a year, even if the Kingdom Alliance wants to trouble us, it will have to consider whether its army can march in the harsh winter! Overall, our situation is not bad. ”

"Well, I see, forget it, now our first goal is to survive this winter...... By the way, where is Limon and I can't wait to see how tall that little guy is!"

“......”

Richard was silent for a moment, a forced smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, Cohen, my brother...... I couldn't bring him back!"

"What?!"

Cohen looked at Richard in amazement, and Richard sighed, and then told Cohen in detail what had happened in Morkawi's territory......

Including the dealings and warnings of the gods, including Miss Anne's generosity, including ...... Limon is missing half of his soul, and the other half of his soul will also be taken by Loki......

"I'm sorry ......"

“...... Forget it, it's not your fault. You've done enough in this time. ”

For a long time, Cohen shook his head, he didn't choose to argue with Richard about this...... Because he knew how hard Richard had been during this time.

The atmosphere was once again dull.

Richard didn't know what to say, and Cohen didn't want to ask.

When his sister entrusted Li Meng to him on her deathbed, Cohen vowed not to let him be hurt in the slightest, but ...... But he ......

While Cohen was sad, Richard was dull for a moment, but suddenly spoke.

Cohen...... I have something to ask you...... Do you think there's something wrong with the way I usually treat my people?"

"Well, why do you ask that? Richard, did you lose confidence because of this brief failure? Believe me, you have always been a good leader!"

“...... This, how to say. ”

Richard paused, and then, looking at Cohen's eyes as dark and serious as his own, he said, "It's Will, Will has made me doubt myself...... Do you remember that guy named Alder? ”

Alder?

Cohen carefully recalled it in his mind, and soon remembered the strong man of the Holy Clan, who was usually cheerful, but had a habitual flattering attitude towards the superiors, and then spoke a little strangely.

"Of course I remember him. He was one of the few people in the territory who was quite reasonable, and I remember that he had always been a good person, but he was usually a bit of a camper...... What's wrong with him?"

"He's dead, Cohen...... Killed by Will!"

"What?!"

Cohen opened his mouth wide in surprise at first, but when he noticed that Will was on the side, he immediately stopped his voice and glanced quietly to the side, and found that Will was still talking about something with Hattori Chiyo, so he lowered his voice and continued to cast his puzzled eyes on Richard.

Cohen...... Will: Why? I remember Cohen's guy...... He respects you and Will, doesn......'t he? Was it manslaughter?"

"It's not manslaughter...... It's Will...... Alas, what shall I say......"

"If there's something to do, just say it, Richard!"

“...... The situation was like this......"

Immediately, Richard told Cohen what had happened in Blackthorn...... and the reason why he didn't bring Li Meng back.

"I tried, but on reflection, I decided I had to leave Limon there...... It should be safer there than here...... As for Alder...... That's what it is. ”

“...... Brother, this time, I still understand you very well, but unfortunately, I can't be on your side...... Will was right, even if he was carried away by anger at the time! He shouldn't have had that opinion of Leemond, let alone say it! At that moment, he lost his respect for you and Will, so it's not a pity for him to die!"

Then, Cohen looked at Richard seriously and said, "Don't let your idea of being selfless to the extreme, even sacrificing your own life, be implemented in Will...... Otherwise, I won't spare you!"