Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

Ice-mist forest, on the outskirts of the river valley.

This territory, which once belonged to the King of the White Bears, is now occupied by the Frostfang Wolf and its pack of wolves.

On the high slope, the majestic white wolf raised its head and roared.

The howls of wolves echoed through the forest, warning the distant monsters that this place already had a master and that no outsiders were welcome to set foot here.

Behind the high slope lies the location of the iron ore mine.

The workers used local materials, felled trees, built houses, and quickly constructed a simple camp.

This place will be used as an iron ore mining site in the future.

Steel scales purified by rock-breaking steel lice are collected here.

They were transported by sled to the estate, providing a continuous supply of forging materials to the blacksmiths in the production area.

Inside the camp, the craftsman Sobo and a group of dwarven blacksmiths gathered together.

They were currently gathered around a pile of steel scales, marveling at them.

"These fragile creatures are actually able to absorb the power of the Earth Bear. You call them Rock-Smashing Steel Lice, is that right? That's incredible."

Witnessing the efficiency of the rock-breaking steel lice mining, Sobo held a high-purity steel scale in his hand and sighed with admiration.

The North is vast and mysterious.

As a dwarven craftsman, he had seen countless strange monsters and was already indifferent to them.

But this was the first time he had ever encountered a human lord like the one before him who did not pursue the power of monsters, but instead transformed them into production tools.

This ingenious idea amazed Sobo.

He could clearly feel the overwhelming advantage that rock-breaking steel lice had over traditional laborers in mining.

The two should never have existed in the same era.

These steel scales can be directly used to make high-quality armor.

Once melted into molten iron, the refining process can be omitted, and it can be cast into various tools and heavy armor.

Sobo thought of the adorable squirrels on the manor, the helpful one named Ash Stove Rat.

Although there is no royal court's volcanic furnace here, the solar fire released by the Ash Furnace Rat is enough to melt steel.

This allows the dwarves to first forge the overall shape and then quickly proceed to the next step of forging and polishing.

"With the help of these rock-breaking steel lice, we can forge heavy armor for thirty soldiers within ten days. The process of fusing the white steel plate armor with the bear king's rock hide is complicated and will probably take another half a month to prepare."

Sobo confirmed the steel production of the rock-crushing steel lice in response.

"Thank you for your hard work. I will make sure Hilbert fully cooperates with your work."

Lind expressed his gratitude, noting that getting a craftsman and several dwarven blacksmiths to work so diligently was no easy task.

Despite his best efforts, Baron Falco of Blackrock City could only reach an agreement with the blacksmith Todd of Blackhammer, but he was unable to issue any orders.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be that even with money, they couldn't buy that white steel plate armor from the store.

Linde knew that although he had saved the Stormwind Clan, gratitude alone could not last.

The manor's warehouses are currently open to the dwarves, but that's not enough.

He always remembered the dwarves' contributions.

These will all become the pillars of the Stormwind Clan's future exalted position in the manor.

Sobo sensed his sincerity. The craftsman didn't care about the work; forging was the pleasure itself.

But the lord's attitude of taking it seriously was indeed very comforting.

The Frostfang Wolf remained at the camp to guard it.

Although it is not very strong, its range of detection is large enough that it can lead the camp workers to retreat in advance if a strong enemy attacks.

Lind and the dwarves prepared to leave.

Before returning to the manor, Sobo suddenly brought something up.

"My lord, the elder's injuries have healed. He seems to have something he wants to say to you and hopes you can meet with him when you return."

"That old dwarf?" Lind nodded without refusing.

The Stormwind Clan was able to successfully join the Sunflower Clan thanks to the gentle attitude of this dwarf elder during their first meeting.

We rode back to the manor.

In the lobby on the first floor, the dwarven elders of the Stormwind Clan were waiting, and even the instructor, Hibert, was by their side.

When Lind entered the hall.

The two elderly people were huddled around a thick leather book, flipping through it and discussing something, their tone intense.

"The ice storm fifty years ago was the time when the kingdom formed an alliance to wage war against the Winter Kings in the north."

"That matches up! I remember that it was the Frost Dragonborn who struck first. Those lizard heads flew down from the snowy mountains of the far north, just like a few months ago, and massacred the northern cities. They conquered the kingdoms of Winterland in the name of slaughter and finally launched a war against humanity."

"So that explains why King Raman II attacked Wind Cliff City."

The two old men flipped through the books; one recounted the situation in the human kingdoms, while the other described the chaos of the war in the North.

After sorting out the situation on both sides, the wrinkles on their faces deepened, and their expressions became increasingly serious.

"What happened?"

Linde walked over and looked at them curiously.

What could possibly make two elderly people, whose combined age exceeds two hundred, so nervous?

"My lord, war is imminent."

Hibbert's concise words left Lind speechless.

"The ice storm is probably some kind of omen. The White Frost Dragon Court of the far north appeared a few months ago. Those dragonborn are commanding the Ice Demons and are launching a massive attack on the Winter Kings, forcing them to submit."

The dwarf elder explained, "The ice storm fifty years ago was just like that. When the Winter Kings could no longer withstand the casualties, they launched an invasion against the human kingdoms in the south under the command of those dragonborn."

Hibbert and the dwarf elder presented Lind with the intelligence they had compiled over this period of time.

The story goes back fifty years.

During that year's ice storm, the White Frost Dragon Court led the Winter Kings on a southward invasion.

In order to resist, the most powerful kingdoms, the Golden Wheat Kingdom and the Rosa Kingdom, formed an alliance and, together with the ducal armies of the three eternal dukes, created a human coalition.

Through Hilbert's description, the devastating war that influenced the course of history unfolded before Lind's eyes.

On the boundless Dragonspine Icefield, endless waves of Ice Demons surged forth, while thousands of Dragonborn warriors and Wyvern riders roared through the clouds.

Frostwolf, mammoth, giant bear, eagle, totem soaring, countless winter warriors under the command of their king ravaged human soldiers.

The Sky Knights of the Kingdom of Rosa fell from the clouds, and the golden griffins, symbols of royalty, roared angrily; the war cavalry of the Kingdom of Golden Wheat spilled their blood on the battlefield, and the corpses of war priests covered the earth.

Countless long-standing noble families perished, replaced by the rise of young military leaders.

After a fierce battle, the human alliance repelled the rapid offensive from the North.

Ultimately, the internal strife among the Winter Kings declared victory for humanity.

The White Frost Dragonborn retreated to the snowy mountains and returned to the Dragon Court to lie in wait. The kings of the Frostland fought their own battles and were routed.

The Kingdom of Rosa expanded its territory through this war, and the northern province where Linde is now located is within the scope of that war's expansion.

The ancestors of the Sunflower family acquired territory through military exploits, which led to the blooming of the sunflower there.

The Kingdom of Golden Wheat accepted the submission of one of the kings of the North, bestowing upon him the title of Duke of the Northern Lions, and entrusting him with the defense of the kingdom against barbarian attacks from the north.

From then on, the continent welcomed its fourth eternal Grand Duke.

Fifty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and this once brutal war is now buried under ice and snow.

With the Northern Lion Kingdom blocking their advance, the Winter Kings could no longer launch large-scale invasions southward.

Only small groups of cavalry could occasionally breach the defenses, plunder border nobles, and quickly leave.

The two human kingdoms relaxed and stopped guarding against the north, returning to their internal power struggles among the nobles.

Now, the dwarves bring news.

As the ice storm rises, the White Frost Dragonborn return from the snowy mountains, once again baring their fangs at the long-peaceful human kingdoms!