Chapter 1 The Northern Territory of the Dragon Empire

The Northern Territory of the Dragon Empire—this was where the ancient empire first rose to prominence.

In that era known as the Spark's First Flame, the Dragon Soul Emperor led the valiant northern cavalry and the Black Sword Knights out of this frozen land. Carrying the biting snow and wind from Coldwind Ridge, they swept south like a storm, conquering kingdom after kingdom along the way. They eventually established a glorious reign over half the planet. From that day on, the martial prowess of the Northern warriors, like the Black Sword Knights, became one of the country's most distinctive characteristics.

Even today, "fights like a Northerner" is still a common phrase used to praise warriors on this side of the planet.

Although, as time passed, the Dragon Empire's political center and the Black Sword Knights' "Sacred Armory" had shifted southward to meet the practical needs of the empire's development. The six northern provinces, unsuitable for farming and habitation, had also become places where most Imperial citizens were unwilling to live. Nevertheless, the Northern Territory remained a vital area where the country poured massive manpower, material resources, and financial resources. The most important reason for this was the Gorgon Abyss passage floating near the World Scar—

This never-disappearing spatial rift, like the northern wind and snow, was a survival pressure that the people of the Northern Territory had to face. Like the northern wind and snow, it tempered the local people's valor. As the ruler of the western hemisphere of Lahrian, the Dragon Empire had the inescapable responsibility of fighting the Gorgon demons. Therefore, since the capital was moved three thousand years ago, the six northern provinces had been built into a military stronghold. Today, military industry and related facilities have become the most important things in this land, and on the irregular border near the Gorgon Abyss, a series of huge fortresses stand like the Great Wall.

These fortresses were not only defensive facilities, but also large settlements due to the large number of soldiers stationed there. In order to maintain the daily operation of the fortresses, a large number of non-combatants and various civil facilities were gathered within their shelter. All kinds of supporting things were built under the protection of the fortresses, forming a unique landscape in the Northern Territory: fortress cities.

These cities sheltered by walls were not as prosperous as the southern cities, and their scale was far smaller than the latter. However, they were where most of the Northern Territory's population gathered. After all, in this frozen land haunted by Gorgon demons, the unprotected wilderness was truly terrifying. If people wanted to survive, living in fortress cities or similar defensive facilities was the only option.

The Gorgon Abyss passage extended from the direction of the World Scar, going all the way south. The fortress cluster below this spatial rift also extended southward along the way. The northernmost fortress city was the largest in the Northern Territory, called Frostwind City, and it was also the political, economic, and military center of the six northern provinces.

This fortress city, built of frost crystal stone, was located on a mountain range. In fact, it was a city formed after the entire mountain was transformed and built upon. The entire fortress was roughly conical in shape, with layers of walls and哨塔 (shàotǎ, watchtowers) spiraling along the original mountain terrain all the way to the summit, forming a unique tower-like structure. All the buildings that could be seen from the outside were actually the "shell" of this city. Inside that shell, covered with countless towers, ramparts, and magic arrays, was an internal space formed after half of the mountain was hollowed out, where the common people of Frostwind City lived.

The lord of Frostwind City naturally resided on the summit. The mages had flattened the mountaintop and built a magnificent castle on it, which was the fortress of Haywood Owen, the Grand Duke of the North and the supreme guardian of the six northern provinces. This castle, which also served as a fortress, was the highest building in the Northern Territory. Its spire pointed high into the sky, and when standing on it, the Gorgon Abyss passage could almost be touched. The most legendary experience of the current Grand Duke of the North, Haywood Owen, was that one day when he climbed to the top of the castle to breathe fresh air, a Warrior-level Gorgon demon suddenly ran out of the spatial rift and fell straight in front of the Grand Duke, and then was torn apart on the spot by the other party.

Of course, the modest Grand Duke explained that he was not without weapons at the time, but was carrying a bottle of Fire Tongue Wine, and the infinite fighting spirit that erupted when protecting the bottle of wine was his magic weapon for defeating the enemy. It was not until the next morning that the seriously alcoholic Grand Duke realized that what he had torn to pieces was a Gorgon demon, not a seriously obese Frost Ridge crow.

After spending a lot of effort dragging Lily, who had fallen into a snowfield ecstasy syndrome, back, Hao Ren and his party took out the three covered wagons that they had previously stored in their personal space and drove through the vast snowfield to the foot of Frostwind City. Along the way, Kaim was popularizing knowledge about the Northern Territory to Hao Ren and his party, who were "members of a reclusive organization who were ignorant of the world." From his tone, Hao Ren could tell that Kaim quite admired the Grand Duke, who was not a Broken Sword Knight but had monster-level combat power.

"Respecting the strong is the creed of the people of the Northern Territory, and the Grand Duke is not only a powerful warrior, but also possesses integrity and loyalty. He is a role model worthy of respect from every knight," Kaim said with a smile while sitting in the carriage. "I am not a Northerner. In fact, I was born in a desert tribe in the far south, but I have lived in the Northern Territory for twenty years. My childhood memories of the hot sand oasis have turned into the wind and snow of the Northern Territory."

The carriages of the three covered wagons had been raised again and turned into closed structures. With the dual protection of the carriage and the vehicle-mounted shield, the northern wind and snow were well blocked out, and the carriage was as warm as spring.

Hao Ren looked through the window at the towering city walls of Frostwind City, which were close at hand, and casually said, "I didn't expect you to be quite poetic."

"Literature is also a compulsory course for knights," Kaim smiled slightly. "We have to learn twice as much as those Black Sword Knights."

"Princess Constance raised her banner, and the entire Northern Territory responded. The Northern Grand Duke, known for his loyalty and courage, is actually a staunch supporter of Her Royal Highness. This is simply unbelievable to us," Charlemagne said, expressing his long-standing confusion. "Could it be that this so-called rebellion..."

"Isuan, some things are not suitable for a knight like me to say casually," Kaim interrupted Charlemagne. "Of course, with your identity, you can ask Her Royal Highness in person after you see her, as for whether you can get an answer... it depends on the princess's willingness."

"I have overstepped," Charlemagne said frankly. "Then we will look forward to the moment when we meet Her Highness Constance."

Just as Charlemagne finished speaking, a rough voice came from outside: "Stop—unidentified convoy, stop for inspection!"

The three covered wagons stopped in front of the gate of Frostwind City.

In this northern land full of fortresses, every city would carry out security checks according to military-level standards, and now that it was wartime, it was even more so to pass through the checkpoints. The intensity of Frostwind City's inspection was by no means more relaxed than that of Greenway.

However, now Hao Ren and his party were coming in broad daylight, and there was also a Broken Sword Knight acting as an introducer in the team, so everyone's mentality was naturally different from when they were in Greenway. Everyone even simply walked out of the carriage, waiting for Kaim to negotiate with the gate guards while curiously admiring this fortress city that was integrated with the mountains and full of legendary colors.

The cold air outside the carriage made Hao Ren sober up a lot. He looked up at the layers of walls of Frostwind City that stretched upwards, and his eyes moved all the way up until he stopped at the top of the mountain. There, the spire of the lord's castle pointed straight to the sky, and a curved and ugly crack floated in the background of the spire. In the depths of that crack, rolling fire clouds and looming broken land were vaguely visible.

His hand shook slightly, and a stealth probe silently left his personal space and flew straight towards the Gorgon Abyss.

This was the third probe he had released along the way. They entered that other space from different coordinates in order to collect the "mapping parameters" of the Gorgon Abyss as an independent space. Now the first probe had begun to send back data, and the second probe had also completed its deployment. When he had some peace and quiet, he could explore the secrets of the Gorgon Abyss through the eyes of the probes.

On the other side, Kaim, dressed in the attire of a Broken Sword Knight, had come to the checkpoint.

Several soldiers of the Northern Legion were inspecting passing vehicles and travelers here. The tall stature of the Northerners, coupled with the winter wolf armor of the Northern Legion, made these soldiers appear full of power. However, after seeing Kaim, who was wearing light armor and was not particularly tall, these northern soldiers instantly stirred.

Two of the soldiers exchanged a few words with their partners in a low voice, and then ran to Kaim with the rustling sound of armor friction: "You are... from the Broken Sword Knights..."

"Broken Sword Knight, Kaim Gravos, from the Southern Division," Kaim replied in a deep voice. "Responding to the call of Her Royal Highness Princess Constance, I have come from the south to participate in the war. In addition, I have brought important information and special visitors from the ancient kingdom of Isu."

Finally, he added, "I need to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Northern Grand Duke as soon as possible."

The two northern soldiers were stunned for a moment, then exchanged strange glances with each other.

"Is there a problem?" Kaim asked with a frown.

"You... don't know the latest news?" one of the soldiers said. "There should be contact between the Broken Sword Knights, right?"

"My comrades and I were attacked while crossing the Black Pine Forest," Kaim explained, and temporarily concealed the news that the Black Pine Forest was connected to the Gorgon Abyss and that demons had entered the Black Pine Forest. "My comrades are dead, and our communicators were also destroyed. I was seriously injured myself. Although I have recovered, the mental connection between me and other Broken Sword Knights has never been restored for some reason."

"Then you really escaped death," another northern soldier looked at Kaim with admiration. In his opinion, warriors like Kaim, who had gone through countless hardships to cross the entire empire to serve their lord, were worthy of respect. "You're a step late. Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Grand Duke have already set out with their army to the southern front line. The battlefield is hundreds of kilometers away from here. But you came from the south, don't you know about this?"

There was some doubt in the city guard's tone. Kaim, in addition to being shocked, explained: "...I don't know about this. We didn't come from the normal route, but from a secret route, avoiding the eyes and ears of the Imperial Corps before arriving in the Northern Territory."

The city guard did not doubt this statement, but sighed regretfully: "I see. In any case, you should enter the city first. A blizzard is coming, and it's not a good idea for you to travel in the wilderness in this situation."