Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 185 Wedding Night
As night deepened, the guests departed, and most of the lights were extinguished.

The heavy wooden door closed gently after the servants left, leaving only a "click," shutting out the world.

The dormitory was spacious and quiet, with curtains hanging low, and the air was filled with the faint sweet scent of roses and incense.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Emily stood in the center of the room, head bowed, her hands unconsciously clutching the hem of her wedding dress.

That was the wedding dress she was so proud of at today's wedding, the one that amazed everyone.

But at this moment, Emily looked at it and seemed... a little lost.

My ears were burning, and my heart was pounding as if I had just finished a battle.

She didn't even dare to look at Louis.

"Is this what they call the wedding night?" she asked herself silently.

Just then, a slight rustling sound of fabric came from behind.

Louis took off his robe and draped it securely over the back of the chair next to him.

He then walked toward her, his footsteps so light they were almost inaudible.

Emily felt him standing in front of her.

Then her hand was grasped.

His hands were warm, his palms dry and strong, enveloping her cold fingers.

"Are you still nervous?" Louis asked, his voice low and teasing.

Before she could answer, he suddenly became serious and said solemnly, "How about... I go and call the priest back now? We can hold the ceremony formally again."

"Pfft." Emily finally couldn't help but glare at him, but a smile had already appeared on her lips.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

“You smiled.” Louis smiled too, and gently kissed the back of her hand. “Then I’m relieved.”

Louis didn't rush to do anything; he just watched her quietly.

“Emily,” he said softly, “I won’t rush you, and I won’t scare you.”

He raised his hand and gently brushed aside a strand of her blue hair, then began to unbutton the delicate buttons on her wedding dress.

His movements were extremely gentle, and he would whisper in her ear with each button he unbuttoned.

Sometimes it's a playful joke: "This button is so hard to undo..."

Sometimes it's a gentle narration: "You look absolutely stunning today. I've never seen a more radiant bride than you."

Emily's face was already flushed, and after what he said, her neck and shoulders felt like they were on fire.

"You...you stop talking." She murmured, turning her face away, but couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, but in those gentle moments, she slowly calmed down.

That uncertainty, that self-reminder that "this is a political marriage," seemed to be quietly dissolved by some invisible emotion that night.

Emily gently closed her eyes.

He gently led her to the bedside, without any hasty movements or agitated emotions.

Gradually shortening the distance between each other is not like taking away, but more like guiding.

"Don't be nervous, I'm here," he said softly, as if to reassure you, or as if to make a promise.

Emily bit her lip, her face already buried in the pillow.

Every touch felt like breaking down that seemingly unapproachable distance.

He would occasionally whisper something in her ear, as if joking or coaxing: "Will you regret marrying a 'political tool' like me?"

"Shut up..." She lightly punched him, but didn't dare look at him, burying her face even deeper.

Then their figures slowly intertwined, the candlelight flickered gently, and within the curtained space, time seemed to stand still.

Until the night was as dark as ink and the wind had stopped, everything outside was no longer relevant to them.

Bathed in this soft light, they finally became husband and wife.

…………

The morning light streamed into the room through the sheer curtains, illuminating the carved wooden bed and the pale gold blanket.

Warm, but not glaring.

Louis woke up very early.

He's always like this, even last night... After an extraordinary night, his body was slightly tired, but his mind was surprisingly clear.

Memories of last night flooded back into my mind like a tide.

He instinctively reached out to his side and touched a soft, warm mass.

Emily curled up in his arms, breathing steadily, her eyelashes drooping quietly, like a little animal sleeping in the snow.

Perhaps I was too tired, I didn't even struggle to dream.

A slight flush remained on her face, a trace of the emotions and warmth of the previous night.

Louis stared at her blankly, remaining motionless for a long time.

Her long blue hair flowed like water in the morning light, making her skin appear even whiter.

Her features remained exquisitely beautiful: a high, straight nose, pale lips, and those closed, icy blue eyes, even without being open, exuded an innate aloofness.

She truly deserves the title of "Flower of the North".

He had heard this assessment countless times before, but he had never truly taken it to heart.

But now, he suddenly felt that those words were all too superficial.

She is not only beautiful, but her beauty is also incredibly striking.

It's not just about appearance, but the kind of presence that inspires respect and a desire to protect.

Louis gently raised his hand, his fingertips tracing the ends of her hair, his movements careful, as if afraid of waking her.

The reason was that he remembered the tears in her eyes and the way she tried to hold back her sobs when she was nestled in his arms last night.

He lowered his head and kissed her on the corner of her forehead.

Although last night was indeed wonderful, even worthy of being recorded as a precious memory in one's life.

But he still had to get up early to work, after all, the Snow Peak County of the Iron Blood Empire's Northern Province was still on his shoulders.

He slightly raised his hand and opened the daily intelligence system.

"Whoosh—" A semi-transparent light screen quietly appeared in front of Louis, with familiar characters slowly scrolling.

Louis paused slightly when his gaze fell on the daily intelligence display screen that appeared in front of him.

[Daily intelligence update complete]

[1: Vic led elite knights from the North deep into the Dark Snow Forest to track the insect swarm, discovering a giant mother nest deep within the forest. After the troops were exposed, a battle ensued, and Vic volunteered to cover the retreat, ultimately sacrificing himself heroically.]

[2: The surviving knight Karl escaped alone and arrived at Red Tide Territory this morning. He will personally report the details of the incident to Duke Louis and Duke Edmund.]

[3: The Mother Nest is the second test subject of the Despair Witch. Its weakness is a high fear of extreme high-temperature explosions. Once the central core of the Mother Nest is destroyed, it will cause a structural collapse, paralyzing and killing all the insects.]

Louis narrowed his eyes and silently watched the intelligence report finish rolling.

Today's update is more important than any other day.

All three pieces of intelligence were about the Zerg swarm, and all of them were...utterly shocking.

The discovery of the mother nest is undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.

He had long anticipated the existence of a mastermind within the swarm, but this was the first time it had transformed from a "guess" into a clearly defined "target."

But the second line of text made him frown.

Vic is dead.

The Northern Knight, whom he had only met once, was a straightforward and taciturn man with extremely calm eyes, who had now become a "victim" in the intelligence.

Louis's emotions didn't fluctuate much, but a faint sense of regret did well up deep inside him.

"It's a real shame," he sighed. "He was a good person."

He felt a pang of regret for the person he had only met once, probably because such a high-ranking knight who took the initiative to cover the rear should have lived.

Moreover, the fact that a superhuman combatant died like that also shows how dangerous that place was.

This is not a nest of small groups of insect carcasses, but rather the source that could very well spiral out of control and even contaminate the entire Snowpeak County and the North.

Moreover, its proximity to his territory made him somewhat uneasy.

The second piece of information, however, gave him a slight sense of relief.

“At least some people came back alive. As for the Duke… let him handle the explanation.”

With someone coming to report, Louis was spared a lot of trouble figuring out how to "reasonably conceal the source of the intelligence."

But what truly made him sit up straight and sharpen his eyes was the third piece of intelligence.

"...The Witch of Despair?"

Louis uttered the unfamiliar name in a low voice, his tone carrying an undisguised solemnity.

He had never heard of this name before. There were no records, no rumors, and it had never even appeared in the Imperial secret archives.

The name itself sends chills down your spine.

"The Mother Nest...was she her experiment?"

This is not ordinary monster breeding, nor is it an unconscious mutation.

Behind it lies will, design, and control.

The swarm is no longer a beast, but more like a manipulated weapon.

It expands purposefully, lays out its nest logically, and involves experimentation, iteration, and evolution.

"If that's just 'number 2'..."

What about "Number 1"? Where are Number 3, Number 4... still hiding? And what are their intentions?
Upon realizing this, he clenched his fist, his palms already slightly sweaty.

Louis was not afraid of fighting, nor was he afraid of the enemy.

What he feared was the unseen enemy, the mastermind behind the scenes, quietly plotting and manipulating human destiny.

"The swarm is just the surface. The real threat is the people who created them."

But the information below struck his mind like a bolt of lightning.

"Extreme high temperature explosion fear. Once the central nucleus is destroyed, the entire mother nest will be paralyzed."

Louis was startled for a moment, then a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"This has really helped me a lot." He sat up straight, his eyes gradually sharpening, like a wolf that had caught the scent of its prey in the snow.

Something in the warehouse immediately popped into my mind.

The Red Platinum Magic Bomb, a masterpiece of Hilko, can destroy a city wall several meters thick with just one shot.

Originally intended as a reserve for emergencies, it now seems tailor-made for this moment.

"The mother nest is afraid of this? Then I've really placed my bet in advance."

He couldn't help but chuckle softly, with a sense of exhilaration that "good fortune has finally fallen on my head."

This means they have the potential to take the initiative and destroy the mother nest, rather than passively waiting for the swarm to devour them.

"As long as we can get close... as long as we can blow up that core..."

His mind had already begun to simulate the raid route, troop deployment, and detonation conditions...

“Good news,” he whispered, but the cold outline of the battlefield already appeared in his eyes.

"Next, all that's left is figuring out how to take it down." He slowly closed the screen, his expression hardening, and took a deep breath.

Although the emergence of the mother nest cast an unprecedented shadow.

But at least now they finally have the key to fight back.

“As long as I have the intelligence… I can win,” he said softly.

Louis lifted the covers very quietly, as if afraid of waking Emily.

He rubbed his temples and looked out the window. The sky was not yet fully bright, only a very faint silvery-blue hue.

He should have had four more hours to cultivate, but today is different.

The Duke will depart for Frostspear City this morning.

Last night, during the meal, his father-in-law sincerely invited him to have breakfast together, saying that he wanted to "have a good chat".

Between the two, there were both family matters and matters concerning the greater North.

"Therefore, the training time can only be shortened..."

He sat down cross-legged, his gaze sharpening. He hesitated for a moment between martial arts and magic, ultimately choosing the latter, since he had the greater benefits of the Primal Meditation spell.

Louis exhaled slowly, his magical energy flowing gently along the circuits within him, entering a meditative state.

But his mind was already racing with tactics: How to get close to the core of the Mother Nest? How to deploy the magic bombs? Are there any teams capable of infiltration?
(End of this chapter)