Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 740 - 412: Duke Calvin’s Stroke of Genius (Part 2)

He was silent for a moment, then held the letter to the candlelight.

The parchment slowly curled up, and the burnt smell made the room even more suffocating.

After the flames went out, he spread out a new piece of paper again.

The first line written with the pen tip: "Well done, keep fighting, but don’t forget your roots are in the Southeast."

This was a request for peace, a probe, and a belated gesture of goodwill.

......

Outside the window, the rain whipped like a lash, beating against the tower’s glass with a crackling sound.

In the side tower of Grey Rock Castle, Kael Remont clad in black half-armor, was processing the accounts of supplies sent to the Imperial Capital by the flickering candlelight.

He was always calm and steady, the main commander left behind in the territory by the Remont Clan, placed with high hopes by his father.

He had just written a line: "The third batch of grain carts departs tomorrow..."

"Boom."

The dull and abrupt sound of impact shattered the tranquility of the tower.

Kael suddenly raised his head.

A Gale Bird was tilted outside the window sill, its feathers plastered to its skin by the rain, wings trembling, as if struck down by some immense force from the sky.

A red tube symbolizing the highest emergency information was tied to its leg, and a broken crossbow bolt, made of fine steel and barbed, certainly not a weapon ordinary people could afford, was lodged in its chest.

Kael’s heart tightened suddenly, and he pushed open the window.

The cold wind blew the rain into the room, nearly extinguishing the candle flame.

He reached out to catch the bird, already barely alive, and untied the message tube.

The parchment was unfolded with difficulty, covered in rain and bloodstains, the writing blurred into indistinguishable dark smudges.

But it could still be seen that it was written in haste and fear with trembling fingers...

"Attack! Unknown army! Weapons... can collapse city walls... loud noises..."

The signature was slanted as if it fell midway: Count Doron.

Kael froze for a moment, his throat tightening as if strangled by a rope.

Doron’s domain was no more than half a day’s ride from Grey Rock Castle, one of his father’s most loyal and stern vassals.

The towns under his rule had a population of tens of thousands, considered impregnable, and were known for their brutality, as none dared provoke the Remont Duke’s minions.

But now such a desperate call for help was sent.

"Impossible..." Kael murmured, "Who can take down Doron’s domain overnight? Who dares? Who has such... a weapon that can collapse city walls?"

The candle flame cast a deep shadow on his face.

"Someone!" Kael’s voice suddenly rose, laden with uncontrollable panic.

The door swung open, and the messenger officer rushed in: "Young Master?"

"Set the Gale Birds free!" Kael spoke rapidly, "Send messages to Black Iron Town, Fertile Plain, and the three Baron’s Domains on the Northern Line! Immediately! Ask about their status, enemy banners seen, numbers, all types of weapons!"

"Yes!"

The messenger officer and attendants ran down the tower, cages opened one by one, and the Gale Birds flapped into the storm.

...

The next five hours were the longest darkness Kael had ever experienced.

Inside the tower, only the sound of the storm, the flickering of candle flames, and his own heavy breathing remained. Twelve Gale Birds flew out of sight, disappearing into the distant storm.

Kael stood by the window, eyes fixed on the black rift in the sky, as if concentrating hard enough would bring one bird back.

Yet.

Five hours passed, none returned.

It was as if those birds flew into an invisible giant mouth, their air swallowed along with them.

Kael’s hand gripping the window frame grew cold. He finally realized what this meant.

All surrounding territories, completely fallen...

The Lords hadn’t received the messages; they simply couldn’t reply.

"Who... who are they..." his voice was so low it was almost inaudible, torn apart by the wind and rain.

The storm lashed against the tower’s outer wall, like battle drums from afar.

......

Kael had already dispatched several Knights overnight to investigate neighboring territories, but even Elite Knights at their fastest would take at least six days to return with news.

On the third day, urgent and chaotic hoofbeats sounded outside the castle gates, akin to a pack of beasts hunted to desperation crashing into their final refuge.

The guards nervously opened the gate as a disorganized group of fleeing troops from the north stumbled into the courtyard.

Kael quickly descended the spiral stone steps, his black half-armor dragging a heavy shadow in the torchlight.

Upon stepping into the hall, he saw a Knight Captain from Gray Stone Fortress huddled by the fireplace, drenched.

His armor was a mix of muddy black and grey, as if clawed from a mountain of corpses and blood.

Kael approached, grabbed the Knight Captain by the collar, and lifted him from the ground, "What happened?"

The Knight Captain’s pupils were muddied and hollow, as if his soul had been devoured by something at night.

His lips trembled, he only snapped back to reality upon hearing Kael’s voice, crying suddenly: "Gone... all gone..."

Kael clenched his jaw: "What’s gone?"

"Gray Stone Fortress!" The Knight Captain’s voice shattered like a snapped bowstring, "That fortress we were to hold for three months... gone in just two hours!"

Kael froze, almost unable to grasp the entire meaning of that sentence.

Gray Stone Fortress was not merely an ordinary defensive structure.

It spanned across the throat of the Northern Empire and Gray Rock Province, a mighty impregnable gate that split the northern territory into the north and south.

In the Empire, it was revered as the God Shield; as long as it stood firm, the Gray Rock Province would never be invaded by the Northern Knights.

Yet now, this Knight was declaring, two hours? That was Gray Stone Fortress! Triple-layered walls! Can you tell me... two hours?"

The Knight Captain clutched his head, as if resisting the remaining shadow of a nightmare: "Thunder everywhere... wave after wave... No siege ladders, no battering rams... They pushed some steel monster billowing black smoke from kilometers away... then the wall... the wall shattered..."

His voice became increasingly fragmented, as if his mind had been torn open.

Kael took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm: "Their banner. Tell me, what banner did they fly?"

The Knight Captain shuddered, as if pierced by the vision again: "Red... red sun emblem... the whole sky was dyed red... pressing down like a tide of blood..."

The air solidified.

Kael’s hand released, and the Knight Captain collapsed to the ground.

But Kael stood there as if struck by lightning, his throat undulating.

Northern Red Tide, Louis Calvin.

All clues converged at this moment into a dagger, piercing mercilessly into Kael’s chest.

Broken communication from the north, thunderous weapons, silent advancement... it all formed a clear and desperate truth.

"It’s him..." Kael squeezed out a voice, like gravel grinding, "that wolf of the Northern Territory."

He had always thought Louis was merely a local Lord who rose through marriage and luck, a role to be utilized.

Now, this role was advancing with war machines, incomprehensible to even Knights, from the edge of the world, knocking on the doors of the Remont Clan.

Kael’s voice was nearly shattered: "Why precisely at this time? Father... the main force was moved to the Imperial Capital..."

He almost staggered to the massive military map on the wall, tracing the route from the Northern Territory to Gray Rock Province with his finger.

"Three thousand kilometers... a full three thousand kilometers." His voice echoed in the empty hall, mingling absurdity with terror.

"Across natural barriers, fortresses, countless watchtowers and checkpoints.

The Northern Army couldn’t suddenly appear here... couldn’t defeat three legions in three days... couldn’t bypass all surveillance..."

These incoherent words squeezed out, seemed to be spoken for himself.

The more Kael repeated, the more he realized he fundamentally couldn’t comprehend what was happening before him.

All military knowledge shattered at this moment.

Such a massive, well-equipped army suddenly stepping into the Gray Rock heartland, with no beacon fires, no urgent reports, no sound at all...

As if born from the air.

"Impossible..." Kael’s chest heaved violently, "The Northern Territory shouldn’t have such speed... and there’s no way to elude everyone’s sight... Why now, of all times?"

He couldn’t even describe what he was afraid of.

Kael raised his head, bloodshot eyes: "Quick! Send an urgent report to the Imperial Capital! Tell Father the family is doomed!"