After the extremely cold winter nights, this land has not ushered in the promised warm spring and summer. Biting wind and snow are still blowing in the mountains and forests. Although it is already July, most of the territory is still only over ten degrees.
Far from being called warm.
The center of the Cold Leaf Territory, Ice Needle City.
This is the coldest and most remote city in the empire. It is located in the north, close to the Sighing Mountains. Beyond the ridges and forests in the northern part of the Cold Leaf Territory, there is an ocean filled with ice chips.
In the lord's castle, thick candles lit by pine wax were placed on the table, illuminating the figures in the room filled with wind and snow.
Lord Tucson sat at the head of the long table, wearing thick armor. Under the bright silver armor was a solid black cotton layer. Although it seemed inconvenient, it still gave people a feeling of heaviness like a mountain.
"This snowstorm is expected to last for a long time, not just this month, next month, this year, and even the next year." There were still a few ice shards on his thick beard, which slowly melted away in the candlelight.
After hearing this, the dozen or so thick-armored knights present also fell into silence. Only the hot air coming out from under their noses from time to time showed that everyone was not so stable in their hearts.
"Winter is coming..."
In this extraordinary world with Mana, cold and heat will be more obvious and changeable than on the earth in the past. Cold waves are not just short-term cooling, but large-scale cooling that lasts for months or even years. And
This is not just the first time that something like this has happened in the North.
"This time we have to go south to purchase food again. Fortunately, the population in our territory is not large and the food we need is less." Tussen put his arm-armored wrist on the table and tapped it lightly.
"The southern part of the empire is not very stable now. Who is willing to purchase food?" He asked the knights in his territory.
The job of purchasing grain is not easy to do, not to mention how to cross the thousands of miles of rugged mountain roads and pass through the fiefdoms of many other nobles. Even the money for purchasing grain is often not sufficient, which further tests the methods of the executor.
.
Hanye Ling is not a wealthy country, and it does not produce many things, so it cannot provide sufficient funds.
Although in normal times, everyone can live a smooth and orderly life, once this happens, it becomes tense and critical.
After Tucson finished speaking, the knights below fell into thinking, and each one continued to analyze the impact of this incident.
They are all vassals of the Viscount of Tucson. They have villages, small manors or small castles in their names. They are the lowest nobles in the empire.
If you accept this task, after completion, the lord will generally not assign other tasks to him and his family within ten years, and will also take care of the younger generations.
However, such a task is by no means easy. If it is not completed well, not only will you have to face the dissatisfaction of the lords, but you will also have to face the complaints and anger of the people. The north is no better than the south of the empire. In the harsh environment, people's lives can be at risk at any time.
Pass away, and they will not tolerate their anger. Maybe one night, a group of people will rush into your small castle and manor, set a fire and attack you with swords.
In local history, this kind of thing happened several times, and in order to appease the lord afterwards, it was difficult for the lord to deal with these troubled people, because this land was really short of people and could not withstand the killing.
A dozen knights in thick armor remained silent. After thinking for a few minutes, many of them believed that this mission was extremely difficult and that taking it on hastily would only bring disaster.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Lord Tucson slowly tapped his fingers, and his dark blue eyes slowly scanned the faces present. Most of these people were 40-50 years old, with brown and black beards, and wore different styles of armor.
At this moment, some were looking at the table, some at the candlelight on the table, and some at the rough palms of their hands, lost in thought, and no one spoke to answer.
Toussaint was also well aware of this. The situation this time was different from the past. The situation in the empire was now unclear. Several uprisings had broken out in the south. The major nobles had begun to protect themselves wisely. The prestige of the royal family had dropped significantly, and even the internal situation was unclear.
Stable news came. For a while, people were panicked. Even he, a lord who stayed in a remote corner, received a lot of messy and unclear news from his relatives.
Some people say that the Duke of Raven has begun to mobilize his troops and build weapons and armor. Others say that the Griffin family in the west has begun to plan to restore the country and prepare to break away from the empire. There are also folk rumors that the former Crown Prince Ansel is still there.
Only those whose descendants are alive should ascend the throne. People who were loyal to the crown prince in the past are secretly active again, spreading rumors that are not beneficial to the Aikman brothers.
"In order to survive this cold winter, I plan to sell some of my past treasures and collect 1,800 extraordinary gold coins. I don't know if there are any loyal knights who are willing to go." Tucson spoke again, telling the conditions for his preparation this time.
After hearing these words, these knights finally changed. Their eyes were no longer focused on the table and the pine wax candles. Some of them turned their heads and looked at Lord Tucson who was looking up.
They began to fall into a new analysis and hesitation.
Finally, three knights raised their hands.
"I am willing to serve Lord Tucson." They then pushed away the heavy wooden chairs and stood up. Amidst the sound of armor scraping, the three of them pressed their arms to their chests and bent down to salute.
"Then I'll help you." Looking at the three of them, Tucson nodded slowly, then called for the clerk to start preparing the contract, documents and other necessary things.
The pine wax candles in the room were still burning, emitting a little black smoke and rosin, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed at this time, and some knights began to communicate with each other in low voices, feeling relieved.
Looking at the appearance of these people, the Lord of Tucson shook his head slightly and stopped talking. Instead, he turned his gaze to the window of the gray rock. The coniferous trees on the mountain were covered by white snow. Only some of them could be vaguely seen under the piles of snow on the branches of the trees.
black.
The pure white snow-covered world does not mean beauty in the eyes of the locals. They will not be surprised by such a huge amount of snow like the people in the southern part of the empire. Instead, they will feel bored and depressed.
There is snow on the tree branches, snow on the road, snow on the grass piles, snow on the roof, snow in the fields, cold snow that freezes hands, ice that does not melt on the ground, blurry frost on the windows, and condensation in the water vat.
of hard surface.
The cold penetrates every nook and cranny of your life, cutting through your body like a knife, making you painful and sober, with a clear awareness of your own insignificance and powerlessness, the despair and suffocation that gradually submerges you.
Facing this slowly approaching winter solstice giant, local residents can only hold on to the remaining warmth at hand, struggling to meet the test of the cold winter with prayers and extreme frugality.