Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 223 Intelligence that Ends the War

The morning light in the North is always late, and outside the window, the snow scene remains silent.

But Louis, the lord of the Red Tide Territory, had already woken up.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a head of blue hair, like the reflection of an ice lake, flowing smoothly down the blanket, lying quietly in his arms, breathing evenly, with a slight upturn at the corners of her lips.

He turned his head slightly, and there was another patch of white. A girl with short silver hair was curled up on his other side, still holding his arm, sleeping soundly, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she felt the chill.

“Ah, the mornings of the Northern Lords are so simple and unadorned,” Louis sighed.

Without disturbing his two wives beside him, he quietly turned over and sat up.

The snow continued to fall, the geothermal heat rolled under his feet, and warmth enveloped the bedroom. He put on a thick cloak and walked barefoot to the desk.

Xuefeng County has indeed become much more stable recently.

With most of the Mother Nests drawn to Frostspear, the focus of the entire North is now on that city.

Louis, this "remote mountain," became the only safe haven where one could still catch one's breath.

As the number of insect corpses gradually decreased and the defensive line stabilized, he, the lord, finally had some rare leisure time.

Of course, this "leisure" only applies to not having to run around.

Louis rubbed his temples, his mind filled with the urgent letters from nobles in the surrounding counties, pleading for support and seeking refuge.

But he didn't have the resources to expand, nor the interest to be the savior of the North.

"Expansion? Rescue? I'm not a member of the Imperial Knights. Defending my own little corner of the world is the right thing to do."

Louis knew very well that his greatest victory at present was being able to hold onto his territory in Snowpeak County.

Meanwhile, during the lull in their own "defense system" being fully operational.

Louis was finally able to leave the front lines and return to Red Tide Territory to fulfill his duties as a husband.

To save his precious time, he also worked two jobs every night.

Emily quickly accepted it, and Sif was initially a little embarrassed, but joined in after being persuaded by Emily.

Of course, besides the great undertaking of creating people, Louis had an even more important daily task: to record the daily intelligence and then deduce the overall situation of the war.

Rather than calling it a habit, it's more accurate to describe it as his ultimate weapon in his struggle against this world.

Louis raised his finger and tapped the air lightly.

With a slight buzzing sound, a blue-white, semi-transparent interface appeared in the air.

[Daily intelligence update complete]

[1: The Dragonblood Legion will arrive in Frostspear City in seven days.]

[2: The Sorcerer Supreme will personally lead the Archmage Corps to Frostspear and will assist Duke Edmund in dealing with the Mother of the End.]

[3: Fifteen days later, the End Nest was destroyed by a combined attack from multiple parties, but at a terrible cost.]

“Hmm.” Louis wasn’t surprised by the first point. “They’ve been gone from the capital for twenty-seven days… If they can arrive in seven days, that’s considered full speed ahead.”

Louis muttered to himself, quickly jotting down the information in his notebook.

The second piece of information surprised Louis slightly.

He knew, of course, that Archmage Flora had contacted Mage Lin a few days ago for help, and according to her words, a support team composed of high-ranking mages would indeed come to reinforce Frostspear City.

But what he didn't expect was...

"Supreme...Master?"

This name has appeared in the intelligence system before, but this time it has a completely different meaning.

Louis repeated it in a low voice, his eyes gradually hardening.

This name represents the true pinnacle of the mage world. It is not the domain of an empire, nor the guest of a grand duke, but the "supreme being" spoken of by the many mages in that mysterious forest.

He is said to be both the gatekeeper of the Mage Forest and the judge of all magical principles, possessing the oldest and most powerful spells that humans can access.

"One of the world's strongest mages has actually come out of seclusion in person..." He leaned back in his chair and tapped the table with his fingertips.

"Has the threat from the End Mother Nest reached this level?"

However, Louis recalled what he had seen with his own eyes on the front lines: the destroyed noble castles, the entire knightly order that had been devoured, the surging insect corpses like a tide, and the mother nests that emitted mental attacks.

If he hadn't relied on the system's early warning to put the Duke and Frostspear City into a state of readiness, this disaster would probably have spiraled out of control long ago, and might even have affected the entire world.

"At that time, it wouldn't be a regional war, but a 'world-class magical catastrophe.'" Thinking of this, he couldn't help but exhale a chill.

"Having such a powerful ally isn't necessarily a bad thing." With this thought, Louis couldn't help but smile. "At least he's not on the side of the Mother Nest."

He marked this intelligence as "high-level" and wrote it down in his notebook.

Then his gaze fell on the third one...

That seemingly calm line of information was like a sharp blade, instantly severing his thoughts:

Fifteen days later, through a joint effort, the End's Nest was destroyed, albeit at a heavy cost.

He paused for a moment, then suddenly stood up.

The chair slid back with a creak, and he stared at the message, his expression becoming more complex than ever before.

"The End Nest... has been destroyed?"

"Fifteen days later?"

He read it softly, as if to confirm that it wasn't some kind of illusion.

Then, he slowly smiled and said, "We...won."

The northern lands that once drove countless people to despair, the cities and villages that groaned in the night, will finally see the end of this war.

The red tide defense line he built with his own hands held! He held!

This nightmare, which seems to be devouring everything in the North, will eventually be overcome.

Louis pressed one hand on the table, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, as if exhaling the gloom that had been weighing on his heart for months.

But his brows did not relax.

“A heavy price to pay…” He slowly sat down and repeated the last word of the message once more.

These four words are more unsettling than any bad news.

Who perished? Which legion? Which lord? Is the Duke still alive? Does Frostspear City still exist? Has Crimson Tide Territory also...?

The final nest will eventually be destroyed; this is good news.

But the question is, who brought it down?

What price did you pay?
More importantly, if victory is possible in the future, does he have a way to achieve it now?

After much deliberation, Louis finally decided to set off for Frostspear City himself.

"The End Nest... how could it be destroyed so easily?"

He stared at the brief text that appeared on the daily intelligence system, his eyes as cold as a knife.

The more understated a victory may seem, the more likely it is to come with a chilling price to pay.

Logically speaking, that vague future intelligence likely doesn't refer to the instantaneous destruction of the mother hive.

It is highly likely that after being besieged by the Dragonblood Legion and the Supreme Mage, it was severely damaged, and then the Frostspear Defense Line delivered the final blow.

At that crucial juncture, the fruits of victory will emerge from the pool of blood.

In such times, if someone can arrive at the battlefield at the right time, make the right effort, and then survive at the right time...

From both the imperial military merit system and the noble reputation mechanism, it was a sure-fire way to make money.

To put it bluntly... he did indeed intend to "earn merit in battle".

If the chaos in the North is to be quelled, the soldiers who participated in the campaign against the Mother Nest of the End will be remembered in history.

If he could be given the title of "hero of the war," it would be of great significance to his and the Red Tide Territory's future influence in the empire.

But that's not all.

On a grander scale... this is his chance to do his last bit of effort in this war.

Could he help his father-in-law, the Duke Edmond, who was... rather difficult to get along with but truly reliable?
Could we save some of the remaining Northern troops who were on the verge of being swallowed up?

More importantly, he holds the most unfair trump card on the entire battlefield:

Daily intelligence system.

This system has allowed him to escape countless disasters and avoid fatal fates time and time again.

He believed that as long as this blue and white interface remained, he could survive.

What's the worst-case scenario?

"Just running away." He smiled without any hesitation, even going over the retreat route in his mind.

Of course, Louis couldn't just set off like that, completely clueless.

Relying solely on daily intelligence gathering to "earn military merit" on the front lines? That would be a gross underestimation of oneself.

He never believed in fate, much less entrusted his life and death to vague prophecies of the future.

Since we're going, we need to prepare.

The first step, naturally, is the Fire Scale Demon Bomb.

Frostspear City faces the End's Nest, and ordinary fire weapons probably can't even burn through its outer layer.

It has to be something that's "fierce, hot, and big enough".

So he went into Hillco's laboratory.

The room was filled with various pungent smells, and there was a dangerous atmosphere as if "one more drop of kerosene would send this place to heaven".

On the lab bench, the crucible was bubbling away, and a reagent bottle with a silver tube inserted was emitting purple bubbles.

Hilcone was intently mixing some mysterious liquid, muttering incantations like a madman.

"Silco, how much material do we have left to make magic bombs?" Louis asked directly.

Hearing the familiar voice, Hilko turned around: "Uh, there are still some materials left. If we use them up, we can probably make five or six more large magic bombs."

Louis hesitated for a moment, then said with surprising calmness, "Don't make five or six."

"……what?"

“Concentrate the materials,” he said, holding up one finger, “and make only one.”

"Use every means at your disposal to make this one... the biggest, strongest, hottest. I want an ultimate magic explosive bomb that can blast through the entire valley."

After he finished speaking, the air was silent for half a second.

The next second, Hilko was jolted, as if he saw the Goddess of Bombs reaching out to him from the flames.

"...Your request is truly inhumane, my lord."

Then he slammed his hand on the table, making the bottles and jars jump high in the air, as excited as a child who had just received a torch: "Alright! I, Hilko, guarantee to complete the mission! If this thing doesn't produce a miracle—I'll change my name!"

"Go get to work."

"Yes, my lord! Let's wait and see the fireworks!!!"

(End of this chapter)