"Duke, Frostwind Town is ahead."

A knight reported.

Marvin. Pike raised his spyglass, observing the town's movements—it was located at the southwestern border of Eternal Winter and Wolfheart, surrounded by hills. From any high point, one could clearly see the town's situation. Due to its vulnerable position, Frostwind Town had not been expanded into a castle for centuries.

There were many such small towns along the border between the two kingdoms, with nothing particularly special about them. Normally, Marvin wouldn't have given it a second glance, but now, it held unique significance.

"Any news from the scouts who went to gather information?"

"We got it. It only cost a few silver wolves, and the townsfolk told us everything," the knight said triumphantly. "There is indeed a Graycastle squad operating here, not many, about forty or fifty people, appearing roughly every other time."

"Why aren't they stationed here?"

"After crossing the border, it's all mountain roads, and it's said that wolves often appear. Without escort, those refugees probably wouldn't be able to make it through."

Marvin felt confident.

The spread of the red mist wasn't based on the border but more like an expanding semicircle, which meant that the farthest red mist had already crossed the Wolfheart royal city area, while the nearest was still within Eternal Winter. Rather than going to a neighboring country, fighting within the kingdom was clearly more reassuring to him.

Frostwind Town not only met this requirement but also, due to its remote location, the fools misled by Graycastle rarely entered Wolfheart from here. Compared to several large cities with convenient transportation, Frostwind Town was as inconspicuous as a mosquito leg.

What Marvin wanted was precisely few people.

Few people meant that Graycastle wouldn't pay too much attention to this place, and the information the scouts had gathered undoubtedly confirmed this.

As the old scholar said, the difficult bones would be dealt with by the devil. What he had to do was take a bite at the opponent's weak spot. Once this spread, regardless of the size of the victory, it would make the opponent think twice.

Of course, the old scholar's plan wasn't just this. There were even more ruthless tricks waiting for the Graycastle people. If he could succeed a couple of times, he believed that the opponent's looting actions would be greatly frustrated, and His Lordship, the Lord of the Celestial Dome, might also rely on him more.

"Let's go back. It's time to have a good talk with everyone."

……

After spending half a day's journey returning to the nearest town, Marvin walked into the former lord's mansion with high spirits. This place originally belonged to an unknown baron, but he had been scared away by the approaching red mist and rumors of devils, saving him a lot of negotiation effort.

This land certainly didn't belong to him yet, after all, his actual power was temporarily limited to the four cities in the Northern Region, but Marvin believed that the Pike family's expansion would never stop there.

Soon, a group of nobles he had gathered were all together, waiting for him to speak.

The Duke looked around, silently noting the face and expression of each person. There were forty-five respondents in the room, most of whom were knights, and also a few barons, and the one with the highest status was Viscount Nornos, the former lord of North Port. These people either were forced to lose their territories, or had all their people robbed by the Graycastle people. Under the promise of land rewards, they did not hesitate to join his command. If you also count the guards, confidants and retainers they brought with them, the number of combatants available in this team has reached more than three hundred.

Being prepared and having the advantage in numbers was clearly an excellent opportunity. More importantly, for the first time, they had no weapon gap with their opponents. In the past, the nobles of Eternal Winter were beaten with no resistance because Graycastle's firearms were so fierce. Their firing speed and distance were far beyond what their imitated snow powder weapons could do. Without the support of this batch of spoils seized by the Lord of the Celestial Dome, let alone three hundred people, even if it doubled, no noble would be willing to help him fight the Graycastle people.

"I wonder how everyone is prepared?" Marvin cleared his throat. "I think your people should be familiar with those firearms, right?"

"Isn't it just loading a bullet into the chamber, then aiming and pulling the trigger?" Viscount Nornos said with a dissatisfied expression. "Those farmers in the mountains can use it, there is no reason we can't. Those few captured guys only confessed after severe torture, and they still stammered, reluctant, I thought it was something great!"

"That's right, it is true that its production is exquisite and difficult for us to achieve, but it is much easier to use swords and knives," a knight echoed. "I also interrogated the Graycastle people. They have only joined the army for two years, and they can generally learn firearms shooting in a month, and I spent five years just practicing swords."

"A month is because these lowly people are too stupid. If it were me, three days would be enough." Another person's speech caused a burst of laughter.

"I want them to know that without firearms they are nothing!"

"Aren't firearms given by witches? I think the King of Graycastle just took advantage of the Church's sweeping of Eternal Winter and Wolfheart."

Hearts are available! Marvin realized that these nobles had a belly full of fire, and were already eager to retaliate against the Graycastle people. Although this mixed team was only put together a week ago, some people inside didn't even know each other's names, but at least everyone had the same goal, and everyone was full of energy.

"However, the number of crossbow bolts called bullets is limited, and there are even fewer allocated to each person," the knight who had followed him before spread his hands and said, "If possible, I hope everyone can save a little bit and fire when the distance is close."

Marvin glanced at the other party with appreciation. This man was named Fleuler, a local from the Western Region, and he had brought him before because of his wit. From these words, it can be seen that Fleuler has grasped the key to victory or defeat. If he could find an opportunity, it would be good to recruit him.

"Don't worry," the Duke said confidently, "The Graycastle people also don't have many bullets. Wolfheart's northwest is mostly mountainous, which limits their weight. Also... they will let us get close. Isn't escorting refugees away from danger exactly the slogan they promote?"

Everyone also sneered.

That's right, as long as the other party is here to plunder the population, they will definitely not give up this wave of readily available "lambs". But little did they know that wolves sometimes lurk in it. In this world, turning from hunter to prey is often just a matter of moments. By the time they realize there is fraud, they are probably already trapped.

After that, as long as they disguise themselves as the other party and turn around to loot the towns along the way, the Graycastle's propaganda will inevitably be self-defeating. After doing this a few times, they don't want to pull another person from here.

"I have released the news, I believe that Graycastle will soon take action. Then you can all play to your heart's content, and all the spoils will belong to you!" Marvin got up and summarized, "This is both a good opportunity for your revenge, and an opportunity to seize territory and wealth! As long as the goal is achieved, I will definitely not break my promise! Everyone, the time has come for the Graycastle people to pay their blood debts!"