Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 448 I really saw the dead.

“After all, it is the most precious treasure of our Frost Giant race, so each of us can vaguely sense the location of the Ring of Ice and Water. This is a talent left to me by the Titan Fathers.” Lagras said slowly, “And I can sense that the Titan Diamond is in one of your human cities in the south, not far from here, about ten days’ journey.”

After speaking, Lagras looked up to the south. His ancient, large eyes, weathered by time and countless changes of the world, seemed to pierce through the wind and snow and cross the mountains.

Frost giants move much faster than humans, covering more than ten meters in a single stride. Therefore, what would take them more than ten days to cover would take at least a month, according to human calculations.

"It's Gundar."

Flina glanced at Li Wei.

Knowing the direction and the distance, it's not difficult to deduce which city it is in.

“It just so happens that something has happened in the royal palace, so we can take care of both things at the same time.” Li Wei nodded.

Gondar, as the capital of Debe, is a place where you could easily throw a stone and find several barons. It is Debe's political center, commercial capital, and home to countless wealthy merchants.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that the Titanite is hidden in the collection of a nobleman or the home of a merchant.

What if the other party refuses to give it to you when you find it?
Let them go and talk to those nine hundred menacing frost giants themselves.

Even the most foolish person should know that discretion is the better part of valor.

“My lord, how about I go with you alone to search for the Ring of Ice and Water?” Lagras said calmly, “Your human cities may be small to us, but they are vast to you. If you just search aimlessly on your own, who knows how long it will take.”

The lord didn't speak, but looked at it as if it were an idiot.

Lagras wisely kept quiet.

Anyway, it's just a test. It would be best if it agreed, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't.

Since the two have already signed a contract, this ring of ice and water will eventually come into its hands.

What Lagrass said makes a lot of sense, but how could the lord possibly bring a giant more than ten meters tall to a city where ordinary people live? If that causes unrest, it will be difficult to handle.

It might even lead to the emergence of cult members who worship giants, since giants are considered gods by ordinary people.

"Li Wei, what about these giants? Are we just going to let them wait here forever?" Frena frowned.

Although a contract had been signed, how could she possibly feel at ease leaving so many frost giants around?

"So, are you going to wait here, or go back to my world of Tiridates?" Li Wei looked at the frost giants.

Even though Lagrass considered himself to be thick-skinned enough, compared to this human, he was like a giant meeting a Titan.

“Since this lady is worried about us, let’s head back to Tiridates first,” Ragnaros said, forcing a smile and speaking in a friendly manner.

Just as the lord was about to ask if the other party had any other methods besides relying on their own talents to detect the location of the Titan Diamond, an unexpected event occurred.

"My lord!" Gus trotted up to the lord, bent down and whispered in his ear, "Something has happened to King Debe! Lady Tina has come to the Laru defense line in person and is waiting for you at the camp."

Lagras turned his head away as if he didn't want to listen, but in reality, his ears were already perked up.

Li Wei glanced at it suspiciously, but didn't have time to pay attention, turning his gaze to Gus: "What happened?"

"Gonda has fallen!" the centaur commander said succinctly.

But those five words were enough to make the lord's body tremble.

Gondar is home to the nation's most elite guards, boasts a number of court mages that far surpasses those of High Cliff Fortress, and has impregnable walls hundreds of meters high. It's practically an ironclad fortress, so how could it have fallen so easily?!
Even Ragras, the leader of the frost giants who had been trying to pretend he didn't care, paused almost imperceptibly.

Although it still maintained the posture of turning its head, its ancient and giant eyes narrowed slightly, and its large ears were turned imperceptibly toward Li Wei and Gus.

The human capital, the Titan Diamond, is right there, and now it has fallen?

This change happened too quickly.

Countless thoughts flashed through its mind in an instant—what if the jewel was taken by someone else? What if it was lost again in the chaos? Would this affect its deal with this human?

"My lord, if there is anything we can help you with, please let us know. We frost giants will certainly do our utmost to assist you," Ragras said with a slight smile.

"You all wait here." Li Wei glanced at Lagras, then calmly led the group back to the camp.

Lagras watched the humans disappear from sight, then leisurely gathered all the frost giants to begin their discussion.

"My lord, Lady Tina just arrived at the Laru defense line with Miss Sophia. They are travel-worn and look haggard."

As they walked and talked, they quickly returned to the camp at Gaoyabao.

The atmosphere in the camp was heavy. Unlike the frigid, snow-covered area outside the frost giant camp, there was a sense of oppressive anxiety permeating the air.

The fire crackled and popped inside the tent, but it couldn't dispel the chill in my heart.

White Stella was wrapped in a thick travel cloak, her hair disheveled and covered in dust and frost, her face as pale as the snow outside the tent.

She sat on a simple wooden chair, her hands tightly clasped together, her knuckles white, and her once bright and sparkling eyes were now filled with helplessness.

Li Wei and Flint walked in quickly, their armor and clothes still carrying the chill of the outside world.

Gus followed closely behind, faithfully guarding the door.

“Tina.” Levi’s voice was low and steady, like a stone thrown into an icy lake, trying to break the suffocating silence: “What happened to Gonda?”

Tina jerked her head up, and the instant she saw Levi, a flicker of hope, like a drowning person grasping at a piece of driftwood, flashed in her eyes, only to be overwhelmed by immense fear. She took a deep breath, trying to compose her voice, but her words remained broken and fragmented:

“Darling, Gonda has fallen. Just today, Mir’s letter reached High Cliff Fortress.” “Mir?” Levi was taken aback. Wasn’t he still studying alchemy in the Holy Sith Kingdom?

"What exactly happened?" Li Wei pressed, his eyes sharp as knives.

He recalled the previous upheavals at the royal palace.

“It’s the undead!” Tina’s voice was filled with disbelief and terror. “They attacked Gonda, and now the whole city is a dead city. Mir is trapped inside.”

Tina's words were like a boulder thrown into an icy lake, instantly creating ripples throughout the tent.

"Undead?!" Frena exclaimed in shock, her usually cold face now showing disbelief and disbelief for the first time: "How is this possible? The undead have been gone for thousands of years."

The conditions for the birth of the undead are extremely harsh. Ever since the last necromancer was wiped out by the Holy Light Church thousands of years ago, these guys have long been used in undead stories to scare people.

Even if someone does die and is lucky enough to become an undead, the knights don't even need to lift a finger; a farmer with a pitchfork can easily deal with these low-level undead.

"Even frost giants have appeared, so it's not hard to accept that some damn undead will appear as well." The lord chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I always say I've seen undead, and I never thought I'd actually see them."

“Although I also learned about this from the letter, I can’t mistake Mir’s handwriting. It’s hard to believe, but the facts speak for themselves.” Tina looked at the lord with her beautiful eyes, like a weak and helpless little white rabbit: “Darling, Mir is my only family. I can’t lose him again.”

The plea for help and vulnerability in Tina's eyes at that moment made Li Wei's heart clench.

“Tina.” Levi’s voice was deep and firm, carrying an undeniable power that dispelled her panic. “Mir was able to send a message under those circumstances, which proves he’s safe for now. I will bring him back safely!”

Tina raised her tear-filled face and looked into Levi's deep and calm eyes, as if drawing strength from them. Her clenched fingers loosened slightly: "But darling, those are the undead. The whole city could become undead, and Gonda has a permanent population of over a million. I can't lose both you and Mir at the same time."

“I know.” Li Wei interrupted her, his tone resolute. “Tina, I will bring Mir and myself back, not a single hair will be missing.”

He gently rubbed her head, his voice carrying an undeniable promise.

The girl was unusually flustered by the sudden news.

"Li Wei, are you really going to go alone?" Frena took a deep breath. Although the news was so shocking that she couldn't accept it for a moment, she had seen a lot before and quickly came to her senses.

"If it's really as the letter says, and Gunda has been overrun by the undead, then given the characteristics of the undead, the 1.2 million residents of Gunda have most likely all turned into these things."

"Moreover, with such a huge number, it's unimaginable how many undead knights and various high-level undead will be born from them. And to be able to turn Gonda into this state under the noses of the Holy Light Church and so many powerful figures, there must be unimaginably powerful individuals among these undead."

The more Frena thought about it, the more her scalp tingled.

The undead is a well-worn topic, documented in various books, so it wasn't entirely unfamiliar to Frena.

But it is precisely because it is familiar that we know just how terrifying it is.

The fire crackled inside the tent, but it couldn't dispel the sudden chill, as if the deathly aura of Gonda had seeped in with the wind and snow.

Flint's analysis was like an icicle, piercing through the initial shock and laying the reality bare before everyone.

All 1.2 million residents turned into ghosts
The sheer terror contained in those words made the air freeze.

Frena's voice was slightly hoarse, a trait she herself was unaware of, as she continued, "There must be a ruler among them. Is it a lich? A death knight? Or some kind of undead creator we've never heard of? The power to bring down a mighty city like Gonda so silently is unfathomable."

She looked at Li Wei: "Li Wei, this is not the time for personal bravery. Any army that gets caught up in this could be drowned by that endless sea of ​​the dead."

“I know you are strong, but these undead must also know your reputation. If we rush over rashly, we might fall into a trap.”

“The undead are not mindless creatures. They can’t possibly be unaware that Debe has a dragon knight, nor can they be unaware of your past achievements. Yet they still appear now, which is something to think about.”

Nobody's a fool, and neither is Freya. After all, she's been navigating the treacherous waters of life for over a decade. Once she accepts this fact, she'll naturally notice something deeper.

To be honest, she had initially thought that Gonda was ignoring the frost giants because of a power struggle for the throne.

But what I didn't expect was something even more terrifying.

She suddenly felt that all her previous scheming seemed ridiculous.

Tina's composure, which Levi had just managed to steady, wavered violently once more. She gripped Levi's arm tightly: "Darling, Duke Frena is right! You can't go! We...we'll think of another way..."

“It’s too late, Tina.” Levi gently patted Tina’s cold hand. “Mir is there. Every minute we delay increases the danger, and besides…”

He paused, his face turning cold: "First, demons appeared in the Persian Gulf Empire, then frost giants appeared, and now Gonda is being attacked by undead. The timing of these events is too coincidental. I don't believe it's just a coincidence."

"There must be a bunch of scoundrels pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

This wasn't just a wild guess; it was based on real-world evidence, coupled with the vague sense of a legendary powerhouse within him, that led him to this conjecture.

"My lord!" Gus stepped forward, his horse's hooves slamming heavily on the floor, his rugged face filled with determination: "The warriors of High Cliff Fortress are sharpening their swords, and our hooves can crush any enemy!"

“My lord, say whatever you want.” Hogg had entered at some point. “But whatever you say, we’ll go wherever you go, and we’ll fight whoever you choose. Our corpses will only lie before you!”

“We are your followers.” The old orc shaman, Alak, smiled slightly. “Let alone the undead, even if you asked us to go to the abyss and fight endless demons, we would not hesitate for a moment.”

Click...

With a loud crash, one side of the tent suddenly collapsed. A group of barbarians from Gaoyabao who had been eavesdropping awkwardly got up from the ground, but quickly said in unison, "Boss, the same goes for us!"

The leaders' speeches drew cheers from the animals, and in a moment of carelessness, they accidentally knocked down one side of the tent.

"You're making it sound like I'm about to die," Li Wei said, feeling both touched and disgusted.

(End of this chapter)