Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 327 Remnants of the Mother Nest
The morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows and refracted onto the gauze curtains.

The moment Louis opened his eyes, he instinctively reached out and groped to his side.

His arm soon touched a familiar softness.

Those were Emily's sleeping hairs, still carrying a trace of morning warmth and the familiar scent of flowers and grass.

Now, the coldness of her youth has faded from her eyes, replaced by a reassuring maternal warmth.

On the other side, a tiny baby was curled up asleep on her chest, its little fists occasionally twitching as if it were fighting someone in its dream.

"Goodness, he's already started cultivating after only a few months?" Louis chuckled softly, then bent down and kissed the child's forehead.

He slowly sat up, put on the cloak beside the bed, and stretched in front of the French windows.

The sky outside Red Tide City was not yet fully bright, but the first wisp of white steam had already risen from the South District workshop. It seemed that the steam team was testing some new gadget all night again.

As usual, Louis gently raised his hand and made a sweeping motion in the air.

With a barely audible "hum," a semi-transparent light screen silently unfolded before my eyes.

[Daily intelligence update complete]

[1: In the Red Tide Workshop area, Hamilton successfully tested a prototype of a "steam-powered loom."]

[2: Fifth Prince Lampard has recently made several visits to the Golden Feather Flower Papacy's secret hideout in the capital for clandestine talks.]

[3: Deep within the Ancient Abyss Canyon, beneath the Snowfield Altar, lies a palace containing the remnants of the Mother Nest, currently in a semi-dormant state.]

"Oh?" Upon seeing the first intelligence report, Louis raised an eyebrow, his eyes brightening slightly. "They actually managed to do it..."

The significance of the steam loom goes far beyond just weaving quickly.

Its emergence will allow fabric production to no longer rely on manual weaving.

Once the invention was perfected, the Red Tide textile industry entered a true industrial era.

Louis seemed to envision a day when Red Tide City could mass-produce all kinds of locally produced cotton, linen, and even dyed fabrics and ship them throughout the North and even to the world.

"This kid has really created a new industry for me. I'll go to the workshop before noon today to take a look."

Louis nodded happily and then looked at the next piece of intelligence.

[2: Fifth Prince Lampard has recently been making several visits to the Golden Feather Flower Papacy's secret hideout in the capital for clandestine talks.]

"It really wasn't just a rumor," Louis murmured, the faint smile between his brows fading as his expression turned calm.

Rumors about the fifth prince, Lampard, had been circulating quietly among the nobles of the capital for two months, but no one had any evidence.

But this intelligence finally provided concrete evidence for all of this.

Louis looked at the intelligence report and thought of his third brother, Eduardo Calvin.

This elder brother, who was sent by the Duke to study at the Papacy in his early years, seems to hold a fairly high position in the Church.

Louis casually flipped through his intelligence notebook.

Most of the political intelligence recorded in the past few months points in the same direction: the political divide in the capital is accelerating.

The military, civil servants, the papacy, nobles... every crack is widening.

Louis traced the key information along several lines of annotation:

The second prince, a graduate of the Imperial Military Academy, was very close to the Military Affairs Department. His proposed noble legion alliance system was supported by some border nobles.

The fourth prince, backed by the Control Yuan and the Ministry of Finance, advocated for the centralization of civil service power and cabinet reform, intending to reconstruct imperial power.

The eight families appear to be neutral, but in reality, each has someone they support.

The shadows of the Golden Feather Flower Church and the Emerald Federation are appearing more and more frequently in the secret chambers of the imperial nobles.

These intelligence reports are mostly the deepest secrets of these powerful figures, some of which are known only to one or two people.

All of this is laid bare before the daily intelligence system.

Louis closed his notebook and muttered to himself, "So... the rift in the capital has been completely torn open."

In his eyes, the empire was now like a palace that could still hold itself together; the walls had not fallen, but the foundation was riddled with holes.

If one day it suddenly collapses, others may exclaim in surprise, but he will not be surprised at all.

Louis looked down at Emily beside the bed and the tiny baby in her arms, his eyes darkening: "I am not yet powerful enough to decide the future of the empire. But at least... I must be powerful enough to protect what I should protect."

He sighed softly and then looked down at the third piece of information.

[3: Deep within the Ancient Abyss Canyon, beneath the Snowfield Altar, lies a palace containing the remnants of the Mother Nest, currently in a semi-dormant state.]

Louis's pupils contracted instantly: "How is that possible?"

Remnant of the Mother Nest!

That familiar yet nauseating name has appeared again!
He looked down and repeatedly checked those words: "existence of the mother nest remnant core", "snowfield altar", "semi-dormant state".

The information was too brief, like a fang just peeking out from under the ice.

But Louis knew one thing: "If it really wakes up... then the entire North, or even the entire Empire, may not be able to withstand a second insect plague."

Recalling those days, the terrifying scene of the Mother Nest being ravaged.

The entire North was reduced to scorched earth, more than four-fifths of the population perished, dozens of cities vanished, and even the Dragonblood Knights were reduced to mere remnants…

Thinking about this, Louis started to get a headache, and raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose: "I have to scatter this thing along with its ashes."

Then he took out the hand-drawn detailed map of the North from the bedside table drawer.

This version, which he personally compiled several times and marked with battle lines and trade routes, can be said to be the most complete and detailed map of the North today.

The pen tip landed on a snowfield whose location had not yet been marked, which was the Ancient Abyss Canyon.

Upon seeing this place, Louis sighed: "Ancient Abyss Canyon... is near the planned route to Dawn Harbor."

It is a snow-covered cliff that never thaws, with bottomless snow and frequent appearances of monsters, and has not yet been explored.

Louis tapped his fingers lightly on the open ground a few times, his brow furrowed: "This area... is almost the last blank space on the map of the North."

But at that moment, he had already quickly formulated a preliminary plan in his mind.

"Send the White Night Knights squad on their way."

The White Night Knights Squad is a special knight squad he personally assembled, composed of the most elite members selected from several of his knightly orders, each possessing strength exceeding that of a super knight.

It was originally designed to deal with unknown anomalies, extreme environments, and special magical disasters in the North, but I didn't expect it to come in handy so quickly.

"They are in charge of the first round of exploration; if they can find an entrance, they will try to go and take a look."

If you cannot enter the core area of ​​the Snowfield Altar, you must also check whether there are any magical disturbances or monster mutations in the surrounding area.

"As long as I can prove the intelligence is safe... I'll go myself." Louis leaned back in his chair and let out a soft breath.

He is no longer the small lord with only a dilapidated village, but Earl Calvin, who commands hundreds of thousands of subjects, coordinates major towns in the North, and shoulders the responsibility for the situation in the North.

The moment he actually goes to that altar must be a moment when everything is absolutely perfect.

This time, he not only had to unravel the mystery, but also ensure that no one died in the second calamity of the Mother Nest.

"what happened to you?"

A soft whisper reached my ear; it was Emily's voice, slightly hoarse and carrying the breath of someone just waking up.

Louis quickly put away the map in his hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face as usual: "It's nothing. Just routinely checking some border reports."

Emily stared at him for two seconds, as if trying to read more from his eyes.

She propped herself up, draped a thin blanket over herself, and said with a hint of stubbornness, "You're always like this, hiding everything and bearing it all... If you're really in trouble, you might as well tell me. As your wife, I can help you share the burden."

Louis chuckled and gently stroked her hair: "It's really nothing serious, just some barbarian remnants harassing us on the northwestern border. It's not even a crisis."

Emily nodded slightly, still somewhat suspicious, but ultimately did not ask any further questions.

At that moment, the baby in swaddling clothes rolled over in the soft blanket and made soft sucking sounds.

Emily quickly picked him up and gently patted the child's back.

“Look,” she said, smiling down, “the little one can already roll over.”

Louis moved closer and gently touched the child's nose with his finger. The child sneezed groggily, hummed twice, and sneezed back into his mother's arms.

“I’m going to Dawn Harbor in two days,” Louis said softly. “The port construction is about to begin, and I need to go there in person.”

Emily didn't hesitate, she just nodded gently: "I know, this is something you have to do. Let Sif come with you too, you've been by my side all this time, she probably misses you too."

At this point, Emily couldn't help but smile, glancing down at the baby in her arms: "Bring him back a younger brother or sister?"

“Both are fine.” Louis smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.

…………

After Emily and the children fell asleep again, Louis took off his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the thick blanket by the bed, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

He exhaled slowly, his battle qi flowing smoothly through his blood vessels. With each breath, a slight surge of red battle qi appeared faintly on his body.

Now, thanks to the various resources provided by the daily intelligence system, his fighting spirit has already reached the level of a high-ranking elite knight.

In addition, there's the mysterious amplification obtained from the Scorching Vine Garden, and the magical enhancement from the Primal Heart...

His true strength is probably at the mid-level extraordinary knight level.

It can be said that Louis is now one of the strongest forces in the Red Tide Territory in the true sense.

A few breaths later, he opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and his breathing returned to normal.

Now, let's begin a new day.

After washing up, he changed into a smart crimson lord's robe and stepped out of the hall.

Breakfast was already laid out downstairs: hot wheat porridge, salty cheese, and a piece of lamb stew with beans.

During the meal, Louis didn't say much, only flipping through a draft of the Lunar New Year budget prepared by the district officials, occasionally jotting down a few suggestions for revision on the side of the paper.

After the meal, he walked out of the hall, where a carriage had been waiting for a long time in the snow at the end of the corridor.

Lambert stood in front of the car, still wearing that dark knight's cloak.

He is now the supreme commander of the Red Tide Army, in charge of the entire garrison, deployment, and handling of external military intelligence.

But unless there was an emergency, he still preferred to stay by Louis's side personally, just as he had done during his time with the Calvin family when he looked after that lonely child.

“I have a busy schedule today, Lord Louis.” Lambert bowed respectfully and opened the car door.

Louis nodded slightly, but stopped before getting into the car, turned around and said, "Let the White Night Squad set off. Their target is the canyon south of Dawn Harbor."

Lambert's gaze sharpened: "A special mission?"

“Hmm.” Louis said without changing his expression, “A knight reported that there is an ancient altar over there, and there are abnormal magical movements that may affect the subsequent construction of the port. Tell them to approach carefully and not to venture too far.”

This was a reason he made up on purpose, since the existence of the Mother Nest Remnant Core could not be easily exposed, not even to the closest knights.

Lambert didn't ask any further questions, simply punching his chest with his left fist and saying in a low voice, "Yes, sir."

Louis nodded slightly, but his gaze was fixed on the faint steam and smoke in the distance: "Let's go check out the steam engine experimental base first."

"Understood." Lambert nodded and then waved forward.

The coachman silently accepted the order, gently moved the reins, and the carriage slowly headed towards the workshop area.

…………

When the workshop door was pushed open, a strong smell of steam rushed out.

The boy, wearing an oil-stained apron, was hunched over a complex device, holding a speed control lever and a notebook, so engrossed that he forgot all about the world.

It wasn't until Lambert coughed lightly that he suddenly looked up and saw the red cloak entering the workshop.

"Lord Louis!" Hamilton almost jumped up, hurriedly taking off his goggles. "Why did you come in person!"

Louis took a few steps closer, his gaze falling on the slowly turning metal machine, and said in a gentle tone, "I heard you've come up with something new lately."

Hamilton nodded shyly, somewhat flustered: "Yes, yes... I tried to modify the crank and spring of the previous steam engine, and used a connecting rod device to drive the shuttle back and forth, so that it can move continuously."

He paused, his eyes gleaming: "Preliminary tests show that the efficiency of single-person operation is more than five times that of traditional weaving."

After saying that, he jogged a few steps and pressed the side valve. With a soft sound, the steam engine hissed, and the shuttle on the frame began to move swiftly like the wind.

The yarns on the weaving thread intertwine rapidly, and a small section of fabric is formed in just a moment.

Lambert was slightly taken aback.

Louis observed in silence for a long time before nodding slightly: "The idea is good, but it's still a bit rough and needs some tweaking."

Hamilton nodded repeatedly: "I...I understand, I'll revise it immediately..."

Louis raised his hand to stop him, saying, "We can start with a small-scale trial production. The workshop has approved a test group of thirty people for you. Don't rush things; let's identify the problems one by one."

He paused, then added, "But you did a really good job."

Hamilton's face flushed quickly, and he managed to squeeze out, "Th-thank you, sir... I will certainly not let you down!"

At that moment, he resembled a boy who had just been affirmed by his teacher.

But what he invented was the seed of the Industrial Revolution that would influence the entire world.

(End of this chapter)