Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 172 People from the Governor's Office

Frostspear City, the Governor's Mansion of the North.

The fire burned quietly in the stove, and the room was filled with the aroma of pine resin and wine.

Duke Edmund leaned back in his high-backed chair, fiddling with the silver knife on the table. The sealing wax on the envelope bore the familiar sun pattern—the seal of the Red Tide Territory.

He gave a low hum, a smile playing on his lips: "This kid finally wrote a letter... Could it be about the wedding?"

He tore open the envelope, unfolded the pages, and began to read.

The first few lines did mention the progress of wedding preparations, such as the venue and the guest list... but soon the handwriting became hurried.

The following content became: swarms of insects, parasites, mind control, corrosive liquids, explosive propagation mechanisms, and combat golems with purplish pupils.

The letter trembled slightly in his hand, and the Duke of Edmund's eyebrows slowly furrowed, the hideous scar running diagonally across his face trembling as if being pulled.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard of this thing.

three years ago.

That was the most bizarre battle in the North in ten years.

In late spring of that year, north of the Frostmark River lay an entire viscount's territory.

In less than six days, roughly three villages, two farms, and a knight's fortress were reduced to empty shells.

The initial reports were just about wild animal attacks, but then it escalated to the point that the entire village, the garrison, and the post station were all out of contact.

Until a reconnaissance cavalry unit managed to escape, the intelligence they brought back kept the governor's mansion up all night.

“The dead are moving around as if they are suspended by strings, and their eyes are shining... There is something beating in their chests, not their hearts, but something else.”

Underneath the skin, something wriggles like a leech, and threads leak from its mouth and nose...

After we blew one up, his chest exploded, and a liquid, like that of an insect sac, sprayed out that sizzled as it corroded his armor. Then insects crawled out of the corpse and burrowed into people!

So the Northern Right Army dispatched an entire regiment of elite troops.

Five teams of elite knights sealed off the outer perimeter, while a team of extraordinary knights, carrying a large number of magic explosives and incendiary agents, broke into the contaminated area.

The battle lasted for two days and one night, and all the buildings, along with more than thirty miles of forest in the area, were burned down.

The magic bombs shattered the insect corpses, and the oil and phlogiston ash completely sealed off the swarm's escape routes. Some described the last ten hours of that battle as "like watching hell breathe."

Throughout the entire operation, 94 members of the legion went missing, and 57 were confirmed to be infected...

This resulted in devastating losses to the northern frontier's high-end combat capabilities.
That land was later marked as the "Silent Fire Belt," a rare permanently sealed-off area on the map of the Northern Territories.

No similar incidents were observed in the following three years, but the true cause of the insects' appearance was never determined.

But the phenomena and symptoms described in Louis's letters today are exactly the same as they were back then.

Even more horrifying, Louis wrote: "The scene of the battle was devoid of corpses and blood, as if it had been precisely cleaned up."

That means the swarm not only survived, but they evolved and became more intelligent.

As for Louis, he mentioned that he saved a mage.

Edmund glanced at the sentence without any emotional fluctuation.

He was neither surprised nor concerned.

An ordinary mage?

In the eyes of someone at his level, they were nothing more than flashy spellcasters who could not cause much of a stir in real wars and political situations.

After all, he had more than a dozen mages under his command.

His death was not a pity; his greatest use was that he lived to tell Louis and his companions the details of the insect-like attack.
The Duke of Edmund remained silent in his office for a moment, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, as if weighing his options or searching through his memories.

“Summon Sir Vic Granther to see me,” he suddenly said.

The attendant was taken aback, then bowed and left.

Before long, the door was pushed open, and a cold wind swept into the hall along with the cloak.

The newcomer was a tall, middle-aged knight with white hair tied back and a stern face. His armor was a silver-black half-armor, and his cloak was dark red with gold thread embroidered on the edges.

He walked without making a metallic clanging sound, his movements so light they were almost unbelievable for someone clad in armor.

Only those pale gray eyes, cold and sharp, seemed to pierce through the mist.

Knight Vic Granther, a high-ranking knight, is loyal to Duke Edmund.

He grew up in the military from a young age and experienced many fierce battles, including a major rebellion. He once single-handedly killed three Snow Oath warriors with extraordinary strength.

He always remained silent during battle, hence the nickname "The Swift Blade of the North".

But besides his combat prowess, he also possesses a bloodline talent that few people know about—perception.

After activating his bloodline talent, his senses became extremely sharp, allowing him to detect traces and auras that ordinary people overlook, making him a formidable tool, especially in search and reconnaissance.

“I need you to lead the team to Red Tide Territory,” Duke Edmund said in a low voice.

“Traces of insect corpses have reappeared. Just a few days ago, Louis discovered residual corrosion marks on the edge of the territory, and the situation is very similar to that three years ago…”

Vic's pupils contracted slightly, and a rare fluctuation appeared in his usually calm and composed expression.

He asked in a deep voice, "Is that for sure?"

“It’s confirmed.” Edmund nodded, his tone icy. “He didn’t experience it himself, but the teams he sent out brought back intelligence. He said the traces were exactly the same as those from the mopping-up operation in the Peloda Valley three years ago…”

There was silence.

Vic slowly lowered his head, his voice low: "That kind of thing... should never appear again."

“So you understand why I sent you.” Edmund looked at him calmly. “You were in that battle, you know how dangerous those things are.”

“Besides,” he paused, his gaze growing more serious, “your bloodline talent also makes you the best candidate for this mission. If even you can’t detect any clues, then we should really be afraid.”

"I need you to assess the risk of a second outbreak. If a threat is confirmed, take immediate cleanup measures without prior consultation."

Vic paused for a moment, then knelt on one knee and whispered, "Yes, sir."

“You choose thirty high-ranking elite knights you trust,” Edmund added slowly. “We can’t gamble that they’ve just ‘appeared by chance’ this time.”

"Yes." Vic stood up, his expression unchanged, yet his expression was like a blade sheathed.

He turned and left, immediately going to select knights to head to the Crimson Tide Territory.

…………

Steady footsteps echoed down the stone steps of the Red Tide Lord's Castle.

Louis looked up and saw a tall knight entering the office with a servant.

"Vic Granther." The knight nodded slightly as he introduced himself, his tone crisp and decisive.

“Welcome, Sir Granthar.” Louis rose and shook hands with him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The two men sat on either side of a long table, the flickering firelight illuminating the wood-carved map and the documents laid out on it. Louis succinctly recounted the sighting location of the swarm, the cause of the incident, the current blockade area, and the countermeasures taken by the Red Tide Territory.

Throughout the conversation, his tone remained calm, and even when mentioning the fallen soldiers, he did not offer much lamentation, but simply presented the facts in a convincing manner.

“I want to hear what those two have to say for themselves.” Vic said calmly, looking at Louis. “Especially that mage…you mentioned in your letter that he was the only eyewitness.”

Louis nodded upon hearing this and summoned a servant, whispering a few instructions to him.

“I will bring them here,” he said, looking up at Vic in a steady voice. “You can judge for yourself, but I’ll be listening in, after all, this isn’t over yet.”

“Of course.” Vic nodded slightly, his eyes showing a hint of approval. “To be honest, you handled it very well.”

Before long, the servants brought in two people.

First came the middle-aged search knight, tall and covered in dust and exuding a fighting spirit. He bowed and stood quietly to the side.

The search knight recounted the findings of his patrol, mentioning the charred and collapsed campsite, the bloodless cleanup marks, the stench of decay, and the unsettling silence.

Vic listened to these words with a grave expression.

Every detail is exactly the same as it was three years ago.

Then, Lyhill, who still looked weak, was helped inside.

He was somewhat surprised, not expecting Louis to report the matter directly to the Governor of the North.

Although his robes had been changed, his face remained pale, and his magical energy flowed very weakly.

He recounted his ordeal expressionlessly: the surprise attack by the river, his teammates being parasitized, his own poisoning, the corruption of his consciousness, forcibly suppressing his magic to escape, until he collapsed outside the Crimson Tide Territory...

Of course, he also concealed some things, such as his identity and his mission...

Vic listened in silence for a long time before nodding.

His expression was even more somber than when he first arrived.

“The intelligence is complete.” He bowed to Louis, then took out a black, wax-sealed letter tube from inside his cloak. “This is for you, Duke.”

Louis took the mailbox but didn't open it immediately; he simply nodded as a response to Vic.

"We will start the investigation from the location you provided, and we will let you know if we need any help."

After speaking calmly, Vic put on his hood, turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

A moment later, the footsteps disappeared completely at the end of the corridor, and the office returned to silence.

Louis glanced at the letter in silence, then gently placed it on the table before turning to look at Leahy.

"I'm sorry..." he said in a low voice, "This matter is too serious. I can't handle it here, I can only report it."

Leisher nodded slightly, without a trace of dissatisfaction, his tone instead carrying a hint of relief: "I understand. It's already an accident that I survived. If it weren't for you... I would probably have been burned to ashes."

He paused slightly, then added, "It's a good thing that local noble forces are now involved in the investigation."

After saying this, he left with the help of his attendants.

Louis sat back down in his chair, staring at the silver-gray mailbox for a long time, his fingertips slowly tracing the edge of the wax seal.

Only after he was completely sure that no one else was around did he gently unscrew the envelope and pull out the neatly folded letter.

The letter began with polite and gentle greetings, in a typical ducal tone and style.

But Louis only glanced at it before skipping over the preamble and focusing his attention directly on the key points in the second half.

The letter mainly covered two things.

The first thing is the reappearance of traces of the swarm.

The Duke's words carried an unusual air of suppressed seriousness.

He reminded Louis that the seriousness of the matter far exceeded that of a typical monster disturbance, and even brought up what happened three years ago.

Finally, it was emphasized that the Northern War Presence mechanism might even be activated if necessary.

Because of the location where they first appeared and the judgment they demonstrated, Hanshanling will be regarded as one of the most forward-looking observation points.

"I need your full assistance when necessary," the letter read.

These words, though seemingly calm, actually represented an extremely heavy trust, which was not unexpected for Louis.

However, what truly made Louis raise an eyebrow was the second thing.

That was a notification of a reward.

To be precise, it was the Emerald Federation spy that he had "accidentally" discovered and captured in the suburbs that led to the discovery of Joseph, this audacious traitor.

This triggered a large-scale intelligence cleanup operation throughout the southwestern province of the empire.

Now the storm has finally come to an end, and he has been written into the opening of the cleanup report.

"Therefore, it is hereby decided that the former territory directly under Joseph's control shall be transferred to Red Tide as a recognition of this key intelligence-clearing operation."

Joseph's territory near Qingyu Ridge now rightfully belongs to Louis.

In addition, there are 10,000 gold coins as "extra reward", as well as an unspecified amount of supplies to be arranged later.

"Well, this reward is not unreasonable."

Louis folded the letter back up, his tone carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

Ultimately, on the surface, he really did just "happen to pass by and catch a spy."

The subsequent chain reaction that triggered an earthquake in the empire could also be attributed to "luck".

This reward is quite generous.

Moreover, he used this incident to directly rectify the various nobles, large and small, in Xuefeng County, which can be considered a kind of hidden reward.

He summoned a servant and instructed, "Summon Bradley."

A short while later, Bradley jogged in.

“Arrange for officials to go and take over the newly allocated land as soon as possible,” Louis said calmly. “Officially name it Qingfeng Territory.”

“Qingfengling? What a nice name.” Bradley’s eyes lit up, and his pen flew across the notebook.

“That land was originally managed by Joseph, and after he was arrested, it should have been left unmanaged. Send someone to check how many residents are still remaining, and distribute relief supplies to those who can stay and are willing to stay.”

“Understood.” Bradley nodded immediately.

"Tell the warehouse to allocate fifty sets of temporary farm tools, and also transfer a batch of seeds from the Red Rock warehouse. Spring planting can't wait," Louis continued, "and send three more experienced farmers over to help the locals plan the planting, trying to complete it by the end of the month. You can also send some livestock to transport the seeds and tools."

“Yes.” Bradley quickly jotted it down. “Understood. I will arrange for a resource officer and a topography engineer to go with me.”

Louis paused for a moment, then said, "We need to do it well. Don't just take over; it's best to let the people see changes within a week and spread the word that we're here to govern, not to collect taxes."

“Okay, I’ll get on it right away.” Bradley nodded with a smile, and seeing that Louis had no further instructions, he quickly put away his notebook and hurriedly took his leave.

(End of this chapter)