Late at night, especially a few hours before dawn, is the darkest and coldest time of the day.

The wind and snow are howling in the far north ice field, and the garrison soldiers of the frozen fortress are patrolling the city wall in thick winter clothes as usual.

Some of these patrol soldiers are meticulous in character. Even if the commanders at all levels have already fallen asleep and there is no one to supervise the troops late at night, they still stand at their posts like flagpoles, motionless, letting the thick snow fall on their shoulders.

Of course, there are also some people who are naughty in nature, or have served in the ice fortress for a long time, and have figured out the "little tricks" of garrison early on, and they can fish as much as possible.

No, there were two soldiers like this at a post in the middle of the city wall. Among them, the new soldier stood upright next to the stone pier and looked into the distance. The other veteran put down his weapon early and sat under the snow shelter to take a nap.

After falling asleep, maybe because it was too cold, the veteran wrapped up his clothes and woke up in a daze. When he saw the recruit standing in the wind and snow, he couldn't help but chuckle, yawned, and joked slowly: "

newcomer?"

The recruit didn't move and just said yes.

The veteran waved his hand: "I've seen you standing there in the middle of the night. You haven't moved since you stood there. Come over here and get some sleep, otherwise you'll be sleepy during the day tomorrow."

The recruit was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting to receive such an invitation. He quickly shook his head: "I have a garrison duty, so I can't slack off."

The veteran couldn't help but chuckle, stood up and patted the snow on his pants, walked to the recruits, pointed to the rich night outside the city wall and asked: "What do you see?"

The recruit observed for a moment and asked bluntly: "What do you mean?"

The veteran said slowly: "How many trees did you see? Is there anyone in the woods?"

The recruit was stunned: "It's so dark, how can you see?"

"That's right!" The veteran patted the recruit on the back of the head and cursed with a smile, "The night is so dark, we can only see things one or two meters in front of us, what can you see standing here? Since what?

If you can't even see, what's the use of standing like a piece of wood? Why don't you catch up on your sleep quickly, and you can just wake up and deal with it if something happens."

The recruit was speechless for a moment, but he still said silently: "The task is the task, we can't slack off."

"I'm sick." The veteran didn't want to persuade anyone who couldn't be persuaded. He hid in the snow-covered bunker and looked back and forth at the recruits, "How long have you been in the Frozen Fortress?"

Recruit: "I've only been here for a month."

"No wonder, the new recruits are like this." The veteran yawned and asked with interest, "You are still quite young, why don't you stay in the interior and come to serve in the Ice Fortress?"

The recruit thought for a while, seeming to be considering whether to answer truthfully, and finally felt that there was nothing to hide, so he said it: "Because according to the kingdom's military order, those who have served in the Ice Fortress for 10 years or more can receive an exceptional promotion. I think

Be an officer."

The veteran smiled slightly: "Everyone's reasons seem to be the same. You should also be from a commoner family, right? Children like us who come from a noble family cannot be promoted through normal channels. If you want to have a chance to get ahead, you have to grit your teeth and come here.

"

"But having said that, I have seen too many people come here for this reason, but very few can persist. Most of them apply to return to the mainland after one or two years. Those who can persist for three or four years are considered very good.

Already."

The recruit asked in confusion: "Why? Is it because it's cold here?"

The veteran shook his head: "Because of loneliness."

"Lonely" the recruit murmured.

The veteran's eyes became deeper and he said slowly: "The most terrifying thing about the Frozen Fortress is not the cold, nor the barbarians outside the wall, but the loneliness. It is isolated from the world, and there are only a few people who come and go every day.

People, there were many topics to talk about at the beginning, but later on when we met, we didn’t even know what to talk about.”

"Every time at this time, loneliness will slowly seep into my heart, and I will begin to miss my friends, parents, and relatives in the interior. When a person is swallowed up by loneliness and the homesickness burns, nothing can take it away.

It’s suppressed.”

The recruit thought for a while and whispered: "But if I remember correctly, we can bring our families to the Ice Fortress, and the legion will be responsible for providing them with free accommodation and food, so that they can live with us."

The veteran smiled helplessly: "There is such a rule, but how many people are willing to do it? Not to mention how cold the climate here is, the Frozen Fortress is the front line of the war. Faced with the barbarian invasion, how many people will put themselves at risk?

Your family was sent to such a dangerous place?"

When the veteran said this, he gave the recruit a thoughtful look, "Speaking of which, are you married?"

The recruit nodded slightly.

Veteran: "Did your wife come to the Frozen Fortress with you?"

The recruit continued to nod.

The veteran showed emotion and sighed: "She is willing to abandon the comfortable life in the interior, the prosperity and excitement, just to accompany you in this ice and snow. You must cherish such a good woman."

The recruit pursed his lips and smiled a little sheepishly: "Actually, we are not married yet and we are privately committed for life. Her father is an army officer and looks down on me without any meritorious service. I want to prove myself and not be looked down upon by him.

, so I applied to be transferred to the Frozen Fortress.”

The veteran pouted, patted his chest and said, "Ask this contemptuous father-in-law to wait. When you finish serving here for 10 years, let General Larson write a wedding letter for you. I would like to

We want to see how the guy reacts when he sees the signature at the end of the letter."

The recruit quickly shook his head and said cautiously: "General Lassen is so busy, how could he care about such a trivial matter."

The veteran laughed and said: "You don't understand the general. He likes to stand up for his subordinates and slap those who think they are noble. To tell you the truth, my father-in-law is also a noble and looks down on me very much. I

The reason why my beloved girl can successfully become my wife is because General Larson came forward to help me win it."

The recruit asked tentatively: "She is also in the Frozen Fortress."

"Yes, all the children were born here." The veteran seemed to recall some sweet memories and said with a smile, "When she said she was willing to stay here with me for 10 years, I knew it was her for the rest of my life."

The recruit couldn't help but smile: "We are all lucky and have met someone worthy of our deep love."

The veteran sighed with emotion: "Yes, in a few months, my 10-year service period will be over, and then I can return to the mainland in glory. By God, I swear, I will give her a replacement

The biggest wedding ever!”

As the two chatted, they gradually became familiar with each other and had more and more topics to talk about.
Chapter completed!