Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 186 An Extraordinary Breakfast
The soft morning light streamed through the tall windows of Red Tide City, gently illuminating the carved long table and silver-rimmed plates, like a whisper in the tranquil morning.

This was the first time Louis had breakfast with the Duke of Edmund and his family.

For the first time, he sat at the Duke's table, the most powerful place in the North, in his dual roles as "Lord of the Crimson Tide" and "son-in-law".

He was dressed in a neat black suit, with impeccable manners, neither humble nor arrogant.

The Duke sat in the main seat, his expression serene, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a snowfield.

To his left was Lady Elena, still dressed in a misty blue dress, gentle and elegant.

To Louis's right was Emily, sitting stiffly, but her eyes lingered on his profile for a long time.

The long table was laden with an exquisite breakfast: steaming tortillas and cheese on a silver platter, warm mead in a delicate porcelain pot, and thinly sliced, golden-orange, and fragrant smoked salmon.

But the strongest scent in the air wasn't the aroma of food, but rather the subtle, not yet fully unfolded family atmosphere.

“This fish is quite good,” Edmund said first, picking up a slice of smoked salmon and raising his eyebrows slightly.

“A specialty of Red Tide,” Louis replied calmly. “It’s specially smoked in the workshop. If you like, sir, I can prepare some for you to take back to Frostspear City.”

"Hmm," the Duke responded faintly, his tone unchanged.

Emily picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and glanced across the table, her gaze settling between her father and husband, her expression slightly tense.

She knew that this meal was not just breakfast, but also a test.

"How are you all getting along?" the Duke asked.

Emily blushed, seemingly lost in thought.

Louis did not evade the question, but replied calmly, "It's great. Emily is a perfect wife, and it's my good fortune to have married her."

"Hmph." Edmund nodded, but his nasal tone carried a hint of scrutiny.

Elena chuckled softly and said gently, "Emily is indeed stubborn. She has never been one to let anyone see her weakness. You'll need to be more tolerant of her."

“Mother,” Emily protested softly, her face slightly flushed.

Elena gently patted the back of her hand, but a mischievous smile played on her lips.

Edmund didn't laugh; he stared at Louis, his tone lowering slightly.

"This girl... she's tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She seems calm on the surface, but she cares more than anyone else. She's my most beloved daughter, and the person I most want to be happy in this world."

He looked directly at Louis, his tone calm, yet more forceful than any weapon.

“While I am marrying her to you with the intention of forming an alliance with the Calvin family, it is not just for the sake of forming an alliance. I want her to live a good life. So I hope you do not see this marriage as a simple political exchange.”

The air suddenly became still.

Emily's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she looked up at her husband.

Louis paused for a moment, put down his knife and fork, turned to look at Duke Edmund, and said in a steady tone, "I won't. Whatever the initial reason was, I will treat her sincerely now and in the future, and I will not let her suffer any injustice."

Emily held her breath for a moment.

He could tell it wasn't sweet talk, but a well-thought-out promise.

Just like the tender words he uttered to me last night, "I will never hurt you."

The Duke looked at Louis and remained silent for a long time.

Elena smiled slowly first: "Enough, Edmund, don't turn breakfast into a sermon. Emily can hardly sit still."

“I didn’t,” Emily retorted softly, her lips pursed, but her ears still turned red.

Edmund finally nodded, said nothing more, picked up his glass, and slowly took a sip.

The topic subtly shifted in the silence.

“Speaking of which,” the Duke put down his cup, his gaze fixed on the rising morning mist outside the window, “I had only heard that your territory was well-developed.”

He spoke calmly, as if casually discussing someone else's recent situation.

“But after going around in circles yesterday,” he paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if still recalling everything he had seen, “your territory still surprised me somewhat.”

Louis was slightly taken aback and was about to speak when the Duke took over the conversation on his own.

"The streets are clean, the people look well, there are granaries, workshops, markets... I never imagined that you could transform a war-torn border into a prosperous place in just one year."

His tone carried a faint sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or even helplessness).

“I did something similar when I was young, but you did it in less time and with more stability.”

As he said this, his gaze unconsciously avoided Louis.

He knew very well that he was indeed inferior to the young man in front of him in governing people's livelihood.

Despite his many years of dominance in military and political affairs, the people's sense of security, sustenance, and hope had never been as tangible as in Chichao Territory.

In less than two years, it has transformed from a devastated battlefield into a city with walls, streets, and order.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that a young man in his early twenties could have done it.

He's a genius, far surpassing himself in many aspects, even in terms of improving people's livelihoods.

And it only took one year
He was unwilling to admit it, but he couldn't deny it either.

Perhaps... this young man really has the potential to bring about a transformation that no one can imagine in the entire North.

Emily sat quietly, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of her teacup.

As soon as her father finished speaking, she couldn't help but straighten her back slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

It was a quiet, understated pride.

She recalled the genuine smiles of her people when they spoke of Louis, even calling him the Sun of the North.

That was something she witnessed with her own eyes, and it was just as her father had said, but at the time her father thought he was exaggerating.

And now, the father has finally seen it for himself.

Then Duke D'Amund's tone shifted, becoming slightly sarcastic: "Even this castle has impressed me."

"The structure is solid, the towers are rationally distributed, and the grain transport routes, sentry posts, and inner defenses are all well-prepared. Moreover, the exterior is magnificent, which suits my taste perfectly..."

Louis's eyes widened slightly.

He was used to other people's comments about the castle: practical and durable, with a warm and cozy interior.

However, the comments about their appearance are either "ugly" or "strange".

This is the first time someone has praised the castle's appearance to its face.

And he was the Duke of Edmund.

He glanced at Emily instinctively, only to find her looking out the window nonchalantly, with a slight upturn at the corners of her lips, as if she were trying her best to suppress something.

“I thought you would find it too unlike a noble castle,” he said in a low voice.

“But that’s the North’s style, isn’t it?” The Duke gave him a meaningful look, then picked up his glass and took a small sip of wine.

“However…” Duke Edmund turned his gaze back to the window.

Beneath the morning mist, the streets of Crimson Tide City were beginning to awaken, with the sounds of hammers and horses' hooves echoing in the distance.

"Although things seem calm on your end, the situation in the North as a whole... is not so good." Duke Edmund's tone shifted, as if he had shed his previous admiration and replaced it with the seriousness typical of a commander.

"This year, many places are suffering from disasters and shortages of supplies. There are also frequent conflicts with rebels, bandits, and supply lines. The unrest has not yet subsided, and logistics are in dire need of attention."

Although last year's purge severely weakened the Snowsworn, and the final battle was originally planned for the fall... now it seems I intend to postpone it until next spring.

He spoke calmly, without probing or negotiating, as if he were reiterating an already established order.

Louis did not respond immediately, but lowered his eyes, staring at the pale gold liquid in his glass, his eyes flickering slightly.

Postponing the decision is indeed a reasonable one for the North at present.

Be prudent, cautious, and proceed step by step.

But for him, it was not good news.

Louis's mind flashed back to that vague and oppressive warning from the daily intelligence system.

That unverifiable text, that warning from the future.

The evil nurtured by the Snowsworn is stirring, and a crisis will sweep across the North this winter, no less devastating than the great rebellion of two years ago.

He gripped the cup handle tightly, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

The Duke didn't know, at least not now.

After all, Louis still couldn't convince anyone with "intelligence from the mysterious system".

Moreover, he didn't have much information, and revealing it might mislead the Duke's judgment.

We can only wait, wait for more clues to emerge, wait for the outline of that winter crisis to truly become clear...

Louis had a hunch that perhaps... the mother nest hidden in the dark valley was the "nurturing evil spirit" mentioned in the warning.

He made a mental note of this.

But on the surface, he simply nodded slightly, his expression unchanged, as if he were just a subordinate receiving orders from his general.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the gate.

A soldier strode in, knelt on one knee, and said urgently, "Your Highness, Knight Karl of Vic's squad... has returned wounded and requests an audience."

"Injured?" Louis's expression turned grave. He slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on the distant archway, as if he were trying to control his emotions.

But he wasn't surprised by Carl's return, nor by his injury.

After all, the daily intelligence system had already informed them of Karl's return and the information he brought back.

The Duke frowned, and almost without hesitation said, "Let him in immediately."

The iron boots slammed into the stone pavement with a heavy, sticky sound, as if each step had come from a pool of blood.

Karl was covered in dried and still-wet blood, one hand tightly covering the wound on his shoulder, the other gripping the guard's arm as if clinging to the last piece of driftwood that hadn't yet sunk.

He staggered into the hall, his ankles seemingly unable to support his weight, and he practically slid into view on his knees.

Louis quickly stepped forward, half-crouched down, and helped the disheveled knight up.

Duke Edmund did not move, but slowly raised his eyes, casting a shadow in those eyes that seemed to never waver.

Without needing to ask any further questions, Edmund understood from just this appearance that Vic was likely in grave danger.

He simply gripped the armrests of the chair with his fingers, his pace slow to the point of indifference, as if he were pressing some kind of compassionate emotion into his very bones.

Karl looked up and saw the familiar figure. A faint smile appeared on his lips beneath the blood. "Duke... Your Excellency..." His voice was hoarse, as if a knife was cutting through the sand, "You... You're here..."

He broke free from the guards' support, gritted his teeth, and knelt on one knee, maintaining the dignity of a knight, even though he might faint at any moment.

“Report the situation,” Edmund said in a low voice.

Karl nodded, his chest heaving several times, finally managing to squeeze out his thoughts, broken and fragmented, from his throat.

"We...found that place, the insect's mother nest."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, seemingly unaware of it, and simply raised his trembling hand, pointing to a distant direction outside the window.

"Within 20 kilometers of the southwest entrance to the dark mountain forest, they were... no, they were in a nest built by some... living thing."

He closed his eyes, as if the horrific image was still firmly etched onto his retina.

“It…it’s breathing.” His voice was as soft as the wind. “It’s not stone, it’s flesh. Grayish-white, covered in mucus…it has holes that keep opening and closing, like…like it’s panting.”

Louis didn't say anything, but just held his shoulder, feeling the body still trembling slightly.

Carl's expression froze in the shadows as he slowly raised his other hand, gesturing a certain shape.

"Above the nest, something hung...like a person, or some kind of fetus...a mass of flesh and blood, covered with countless tentacles. We saw it—using those tentacles, slowly pulling the corpse into its body...and then..."

He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"A few dozen seconds later... a new insect corpse slid out from the nest wall... like a peeled fruit."

The chamber was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the faint flame in the fireplace.

“They’re still wearing armor…and still using weapons…I saw a bug corpse wearing a blue-gold armband, that was…one of our legions.” Karl’s voice was low, with a barely audible tremor. “They will fight, just like when they were alive.”

Edmund slowly sat back in his chair, his hands folded on his lap, his gaze calm and cold.

He said nothing, but the air seemed to grow even colder.

"And then... we were discovered."

Karl continued, as if he had used up all his willpower.

“Vic told us to retreat.” He clenched his fist.

"They caught up quickly, several hundred... maybe more."

He tried to suppress his trembling, but fear seeped into his eyes inch by inch.

“They are painless, fearless, and silent. We break their legs, and they crawl on their hands… If their hands are broken, they bite with their jaws. Their movements… are like those of wild beasts, yet they possess human fighting skills.”

Carl took a breath, as if using all his strength to squeeze out the next sentence:
"And they're contagious. I saw Benito get infected with the sacs... A few seconds later, his eyes changed, as if they'd been hollowed out. He drew his sword and, without warning, pierced Sevier's chest."

At this point, Karl paused for a moment: "They died one by one. I'm sorry, I... the only thing I could do was bring this information back."

He lowered his head, as if apologizing to all his fallen comrades, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood flowing from the wounds once more.

Throughout the explanation, Karl's lips trembled, and he looked as if he had been pulled out of ice water, his breathing becoming labored and broken.

His eyes were unfocused, and his speech became incoherent, with sentences broken and illogical, yet he still managed to say everything he needed to say.

The location of the mother nest...

Its bizarre and distorted shape...

The number and types of insect corpses, and... their fighting style.

Every word and phrase is like the last drop of blood squeezed out of one's very being.

The Duke stood before him, his face grave, his gaze visibly sharpening the moment he heard that "the insect corpses are highly contagious."

After Carl finished recounting the last detail, he seemed completely drained, staggered half a step and almost collapsed, but was caught by Louis.

The Duke remained silent for several seconds, as if a shadow was slowly spreading in his heart, but he stepped forward and gently pressed Karl's shoulder.

“You’ve done well, Carl.” His voice was gentle, yet filled with suppressed sorrow. “Go and rest. Leave the rest to us.”

After Karl stepped down, the council chamber fell into a long silence.

The air seemed frozen, and even the trails of falling dust became clearly visible.

In that suffocating silence, Emily sat to the side with her hands clenched tightly.

She maintained a proper sitting posture, but her slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Emily was not a weak girl.

She had witnessed firsthand the carnage of war and had also served as an elite knight, riding a horse and wielding a sword.

However, Karl's description was too horrifying, and the fact that only one of the many elite knights and one extraordinary knight escaped further illustrated the terror of the Mother Nest.

That thing is hidden near the Red Tide Territory, and Louis will face this terror head-on.

Duchess Elena simply sat quietly, her expression as dignified as ever.

She had seen too many things like this before, and she believed her man could handle it.

Duke Edmund slowly sat back in his high-backed chair, saying nothing, as if he had sunk into a cold abyss.

He is not a coward.

On the contrary, he was a man who fought for more than a dozen days and nights on the snowy plains of the North, a peak knight who crawled out of a pile of dead bodies in an avalanche and fought back with gritted teeth.

That's why he understood that caution was far more important than passion when facing a truly unpredictable enemy.

After a few breaths, he finally spoke, his voice low and heavy, like a blizzard pressing down.

"Frost Halberd... is too far from there. Even if I order the troops to be assembled now and set off as quickly as possible, it will take at least ten days for reinforcements to reach that valley."

"Can that thing... wait?"

No one answered.

It wasn't out of fear, but out of powerlessness.

Snow Peak County has not yet recovered its strength. Although the Red Tide Army is still present, its other territories were severely damaged in the repeated battles with the Snow Oathmen last year.

The idea of ​​hastily assembling a team capable of fighting the brood mound is practically a pipe dream.

But amidst the silence, Louis's voice suddenly rang out, remarkably firm: "We can't afford to wait."

All eyes instantly focused on the young viscount.

“Karl made it very clear. They have tactics, division of labor, and even know how to surround and ambush. That’s not an ordinary monster’s lair; it’s a kind of… evolving intelligence. Now that he’s been alerted, if we don’t act now, they might make the first move.”

Louis spoke at a very steady pace, but every word was like a nail: "In that case, it won't be us who go to fight it, but it that will come and devour us from the dense forest."

"We must destroy it before it fully expands and before it turns to an offensive."

Duke Edmund frowned deeply: "You want to lead a raid on the Mother Nest?"

“Yes.” Louis replied without hesitation. “We have elite troops who know how to coordinate, and I’m personally overseeing things. We’re not going to our deaths, we’re going to intercept and kill them. Once it spreads into the swarm, that’s when the real zombie horde will be out of control.”

Hearing these words, Emily's heart couldn't help but beat faster.

She was proud of him and admired his calm, steady, clear, and decisive judgment.

But I am also worried about his willingness to take risks himself.

“You’re too hasty, Louis,” Edmund said slowly, without anger in his voice. “It’s not that I’m underestimating you, but you heard it too… twenty elite knights were wiped out. Do you think your forces are enough to gamble?”

“I’m not going to gamble,” Louis said firmly. “I will take lightly armed troops to observe the surrounding area first and confirm whether there is any possibility of annihilation.”

If we can, we'll kill them with one blow. If not, we'll come back alive with more specific intelligence.

He paused for a moment, his gaze steady: "And you can also begin to deploy troops. We are pursuing two fronts simultaneously, not putting all our eggs in one basket."

The council chamber fell silent once again.

After a few breaths, Edmund finally nodded slowly, his voice low and deep: "Alright. Go, but only take people you trust."

He stood up, his cloak fluttering slightly, and his gaze darkened.

“I’ll go with you.”

A slight tremor ran through the council chamber.

Louis paused, then frowned slightly: "Sir, you..."

“I’m not crazy,” Edmund said calmly. “I don’t believe anyone would be willing to let their daughter become a widow right after her wedding.”

Emily blushed upon hearing this.

"With me here, even in the worst-case scenario... I can save your life."

Edmund's tone remained cold, yet tinged with a hint of appreciation.

His gaze lingered on Louis for half a second, as if assessing him or issuing a warning, before slowly shifting away.

"And I also want to see just how strong you really are."

After saying that, he turned his head slightly and instructed the adjutant and guards behind him: "The thirty elite knights I brought are also under his command."

Louis's face lit up with joy, and he said, "Thank you, sir."

The Duke ignored him and continued speaking to the guard: "Go immediately and inform Gibson to assemble a legion on the spot. If anything changes, send reinforcements immediately."

The adjutant withdrew in response, but Edmund did not look at Louis. He simply leaned back slightly in his seat, his knuckles tapping the armrest rhythmically without stopping.

He didn't really believe Louis could solve the problem.

No matter how powerful a minor lord is, it's impossible for him to easily wipe out that kind of eerie mother nest.

But he admitted that his analysis was indeed irrefutable.

However, sending people to probe and scout is a worthwhile move.

They can ascertain the situation and suppress it in a timely manner.

Louis, however, stood quietly, a series of judgments flashing through his mind:
Thirty elite knights under the Duke's command, plus thirty men that I can mobilize from my own forces... I have a total of sixty elite knights at my disposal.

In addition, eighty official knights can also operate on the periphery.

Not to mention the Duke, a top-tier knight, was also there to support them.

There's also the Crimson Soul Demon Bomb, a weapon specifically designed to kill large creatures like the Mother Nest...

Even the mother nest has a 90% chance of being destroyed.

(End of this chapter)