The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

In some areas, snowfall may even occur.

The local residents are already used to this.

Thick cloaks and heavy, long coats made of animal fur, which are extremely warm, are the daily clothing of the residents here.

Due to the cold weather and short daylight hours, the people here generally have fair skin.

There will also be some healthy freckles on the cheeks.

In a corner of the valley, several middle-aged men, each wielding a dagger and wearing matching white cloaks, squatted on the ground. They were chewing on sunflower seeds, which had been stir-fried with salt and were now crunchy and delicious. At their feet lay some strong liquor.

The leftover seed husks were spat directly onto the ground. If they found it too salty, they would pick up the bottle and gulp down a large mouthful of liquor.

Such scenes were common throughout the Auguston Empire.

"Boss, are you sure the grain wagons from the Duchy of Ferrante will pass through here?"

One of the underlings wiped the drink from his mouth with the back of his hand and asked a question.

The burly man leading the group wiped the dagger in his hand with alcohol, his eyes gleaming with malice.

"Of course!"

“This was told to me personally by Young Master Alvin, so there’s absolutely no way it could be false.”

"During the autumn harvest, a large amount of grain is transported from the Duchy of Ferrante to the Empire. The largest portion of this grain is sent to Irkutsk."

"All that grain was sent to Miss Tracy's territory."

"And our goal is... to intercept that grain!"

The group of underlings were clearly surprised.

At first, they only knew that they were coming to intercept the grain carts, but they never expected that the owner of the grain carts would be Tracy from the Thiers family!

That's one of the members of the royal selection.

I just feel... uncertain!

Seeing his underlings' worry, the leader licked the dagger with his tongue, and even smacked his lips, savoring the taste of alcohol on it.

"Don't worry."

"Young Master Alvin promised me."

"With this order, we can take at least 10% of the grain. The remaining 90% will be sent to Young Master Alvin's Magadan City."

Ever since the turmoil in the Duchy of Ferrante, the price of grain in the Auguston Empire has remained stubbornly high. Even a month's hard work by a family of three might not be enough to buy them half a month's worth of food.

Half a month of being well-fed, and half a month of going hungry—this has become the daily routine for most residents of the Auguston Empire.

Grain has clearly replaced alcohol as the empire's hard currency.

Both Alvin and Tracy made the right bet.

The Auguston Empire was indeed facing a food crisis.

The only cities that escaped unscathed were probably Tracy's Irkutsk and Alvin's Magadan.

The one who made the biggest profits from this food crisis was the Gruda Merchant Guild, the largest merchant alliance among the four countries.

However, this crisis of this scale is only the prelude.

The real climax and disaster are yet to come.

Upon hearing that they could receive 10% of the grain, the underlings, who had been wavering, became determined.

After all, food is gold.

If this deal goes through, they will not only be able to eat their fill every day, but also have a surplus to exchange for money.

Just then, amidst the wind and snow, a pair of carriages emerged from the white world and were slowly making their way towards the Snowwind Valley.

The eldest brother quickly made a shushing gesture.

"Shh!"

"Keep your voices down, all of you!"

"The grain wagons from the Duchy of Ferrante...have arrived!"

"Get ready, guys!"

Chapter 217 The Person Who Shouldn't Have Appeared

Despite having made ample preparations for the cold, the grain transport team still underestimated the empire's frigid winds.

After all, they usually lived in the plains with a suitable temperature, and their understanding of the empire's coldness was limited to the descriptions of bards and their own imagination.

Wearing a fur cloak with plenty of animal hair on the collar and cuffs, Maggie is the leader of the group.

The iconic short skirt and long boots have been replaced by tight-fitting leather trousers that are both warm and stylish, and the magical artifact [Flame Boots].

Throughout the journey, Maggie continuously activated the fire-attribute magic within her body, which slightly dispelled some of the chill.

Even so, she kept rubbing her hands together and drinking the hot water that had just been boiled in the water bag.

Under Rundorf's guidance, Maggie has broken through to the third circuit in the past period. Coupled with the magical artifact [Flame Boots] and her excellent wartime command ability, Maggie can now be considered an outstanding battlefield commander within the Duchy.

Of course, there is still a considerable gap between them and General Linton of Rubeck Fortress.

At that moment, a cavalryman approached.

"Lady Maggie."

"Further ahead lies the Snowwind Valley."

"According to intelligence from previous years, this is the location of the Black Knife Gang, the notorious bandit organization of the Empire."

"This is a group of people who are obsessed with money and have fighting power comparable to a regular army. Every year at this time, many trade caravans are intercepted and killed by the Black Knife Gang. In some serious cases, the entire caravan is brutally slaughtered."

"Should we...should we send a pair of sentries to scout ahead first?"

Maggie pulled a monocular telescope from the lining of her cloak, glanced at the distant, layered mountains, and squinted her eyes.

It's definitely a good place to ambush.

The shipment of grain she was escorting was the first transaction between the Duchy and Tracy, and it concerned the Duchy's credibility as well as Speaker Claire's subsequent plans; it had to be delivered safely.

"Take ten light cavalrymen and go check the situation."

"Yes!"

Maggie waved her hand and shouted, "Everyone on high alert! Rest where you are! Cavalrymen are not allowed to dismount, and infantrymen must keep one hand on their sword hilts!"

"Respond immediately if any situation arises!"

"Yes!"

Ten light cavalry sentries galloped towards Snowwind Valley, and returned about an hour later.

"Lady Maggie, the reconnaissance is complete, there are no ambushes."

Maggie observed the terrain of the valley again, pondered for a long time, and finally chose a relatively safe but slightly roundabout route.

At a command, the carriage drove into the Snow Wind Valley.

The Snow Wind Valley on the map is only the size of a small pebble.

However, once she entered the valley, Maggie discovered that the terrain and environment were more complex than she had imagined.

The mountains are intertwined and the paths are complex; one can easily get lost if one is not careful.

As we ventured deeper into the area, the surrounding scenery gradually changed.

The wind and snow intensified, and thick layers of snow gradually covered the mountain peaks. Walking on it produced a crunching sound.

The whole world looks like it's been erased of its colors by an eraser.

The ten scouts were right; there were indeed no ambushes here...

Or rather, no ambush was found.

The members of the Black Knife Gang were all lying prone in the snow, their white cloaks blending perfectly with the surrounding white landscape.

Even if you get close to the Black Knife Gang, you still won't notice anything unless you look closely.

The cavalry of the Duchy of Ferrante, who were used to fighting on plains year-round, clearly lacked experience in fighting in unfamiliar terrain.

Even Maggie is the same.

After the grain cart convoy arrived at the Black Knife Gang's ambush location, the leader gave his underlings a few hand signals.

Then, the Black Knife Gang members stood up from the snow, took out their crossbows, and unleashed a barrage of arrows at the cavalry from their elevated position!

The sound of an arrow piercing the air immediately caught Maggie's attention.

He looked up, but it was too late.

A rain of arrows poured down on the convoy!

Oops!

"Raise your shields!!!"

However, there was still a few seconds of reaction time between the team noticing the rain of arrows and finally raising their shields.

Those precious few seconds caused them to miss the best opportunity to defend themselves.

The first volley of arrows crippled nearly half of the infantry!

The initiative has been lost!

Maggie is, after all, a mage with three circuits; dealing with these bandits is more than enough for her!

His fiery boots spewed furious flames as he flew into the air, relentlessly intercepting the following arrows.

The surging heat even altered the surrounding temperature.

In the shadows, the leader of the Black Knife Gang watched Maggie running around and sneered coldly.

"What a stupid guy."

"The Auguston Empire is not your kind of plains where flowers and birds grow everywhere."

"This is a land of snow and wind."