Man on the ark, forced to become king

Chapter Twenty: The Wind Rises on the Ice Plains

crackle~

The burning fire scattered bits of debris, illuminating the dimly lit ruins beneath the dark clouds. The pieces of meat placed above the flames rotated slowly, occasionally dripping a little grease.

Dark clouds pressed down on the earth, and the blowing cold wind swirled up layers of snow.

The weather wasn't great, but that's how it is for most of the year on the cold ice plains.

Sunny weather is so far away from here.

Originally built by the Ursus border guards to defend against Kazdel's Blackrock Fortress, it was violently destroyed. Everywhere you looked, there were broken walls and tumbling debris. The top floor was almost completely leveled and used as a fire pit.

Skadi, Greta, and Laurentia snuggled together, while Saria and Christen sat opposite them, slowly turning the pieces of meat on the grill to prevent them from burning.

Lin Qingyan wasn't very familiar with either of the small groups on either side, so he sat alone, curled up his knees, propped his chin up with his arms, and dozed off with his eyelids drooping.

The troops stationed in the fortress and the outposts scattered around it had already been eliminated by them, swiftly and decisively, leaving no survivors.

Thousands of soldiers may sound like a lot, but for these strong individuals whose individual strength subtly surpasses that of the group, wiping them all out is merely a matter of time. It may be difficult, but it's not that great.

After all, at their level of strength, ordinary weapons are hardly effective, while the destructive power they can unleash can easily tear apart the soldiers' equipment.

Generally speaking, it is not common for a small team of elite warriors to slaughter ordinary troops, because on most battlefields, the rule of king against king and general against general is followed. Regular troops expand each other, while elite warriors will block the enemy's elite forces.

In a sense, this is also a kind of balance.

Sending strong individuals to slaughter ordinary people would not only be inefficient, but also risk encountering enemy traps and ambushes.

However, these forgotten Ursus border troops clearly lacked any elite forces to their name. At the very least, their so-called elite forces were no match for the Golden Tree's squad; the two sides were simply not on the same level.

So they fell.

The fortress that stood firm in the wind and snow was destroyed by Skadi's brute force, and the soldiers who had not experienced battle for a long time were all cut to pieces by Laurentina's circular saw.

The remaining outposts that had been dispersed were also checked one by one by Lin Qingyan and Saria, and none of them were left behind.

Once this step is completed, the team's mission is considered finished.

All that remains is to wait for Kazdel's army to arrive.

However, mobilizing a large number of troops is not something that can be done overnight; it's not something that can be accomplished with just words. It would take at least ten days to arrange routes and logistics.

Before Theresa's arrival, the border guard squad that had been eliminated would remain here to ensure no further changes occurred.

In fact, this is the most dangerous phase of the mission.

It will take some time for Kazdel's army to assemble and arrive, during which Ursus will have ample time to react.

Even if the Reunion Movement stationed in the southern ice fields can stop the frontal army, it is hard to say whether there will be covert forces like the Internal Security Forces that can bypass the interception and appear here.

In that case, they might have to face Ursus's elite warriors head-on, and whether they can win on the enemy's home turf is still unknown.

The persistent dark clouds over the ice field made the atmosphere even more oppressive, and no one could relax until the dust settled.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the makeshift camp was unusually heavy. Apart from necessary communication, everyone remained silent, on high alert, ready to fight at any time.

The only exception is probably Skadi.

Her gaze remained fixed on the rotating grilled meat, and she secretly swallowed her saliva.

With Glacetia around, she couldn't be bothered to expend any mental energy on deep thinking.

Enemy? If the enemy attacks, just wipe them all out. Do we need to think about it?

No need!

Those brain-taxing things are nothing compared to the piece of roasted meat in front of her that can fill her stomach.

"According to the news from over there, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kazdel's army will arrive at noon tomorrow. At that time, we can leave and head to Colombia to carry out our next mission. This period will be the most dangerous."

Sparks crackled as Saria suddenly spoke, breaking the long silence that had enveloped the group.

Based on experience, the final stage of every mission is when unexpected events are most likely to occur, so she felt it was necessary to remind her teammates, whether they had already thought of it or not.

"There's no news from the Reunion Movement. The nobles have carved out their own territories and are all guarding their own lands, waiting for an opportunity. Nobody has noticed the changes on the border."

Goredia took over the conversation, poking at the burning fire with a small wooden stick in her hand, and began to analyze the problem.

"But the Emperor of Ursus will definitely know, because he controls the Imperial Guard, whose members travel throughout Ursus year-round, responsible for delivering all valuable intelligence to the palace."

"Moreover, the commotion in Kazdel is so great that it can't be hidden from the intelligence agencies of various countries. Now, everyone knows that they have declared war on Colombia, and there are only two routes to get the troops to the Colombian border. The emperor can't possibly be unprepared."

"Whatever his plans are, he will not allow foreign troops to penetrate deep into his territory; at the very least, he will send people to investigate."

"So, those guys hiding in the shadows could come after us at any time. It's possible they've already been here, but we just didn't notice, since none of us are good at perception-type spells after us."

"This is very likely. If they have discovered that the border guards have been wiped out but have not shown up, then they must be making preparations in secret, gathering manpower, and then launching an attack."

"This time must be before Kazdel's army arrives; I think it should be today."

"Of course, these are just my personal guesses."

"A very reasonable analysis."

Seria didn't speak, but Christen took the initiative to speak.

"If I were that emperor, I would definitely send people to investigate Kazdel's situation, analyze intelligence such as their army's movement routes, deduce the approximate time, then secretly observe and analyze our actions over the past few days, launch an attack at the last moment, annihilate us in one fell swoop, and turn this place into a trap, waiting for Kazdel's army to jump in on their own according to the predetermined route."

"It's not a clever plan, but often the simplest is the best. Just like now, even if we can deduce what they want to do, we can't stop them. We can only follow the predetermined path."

"Of course, there is another possibility, that is, the emperor of Ursus is really a fool. He is indeed overwhelmed by his noble ministers and has no time to pay attention to anything else."

Is the emperor of Ursus a fool?

Obviously not. Even if he were, there would be smart people among the nobles of the new royal faction who would stand up and prevent him from dying a stupid death.

Therefore, the chances of Christensen's conjecture becoming a reality are very high.

"However, Talulah's Reunion Movement is still stationed on the Ice Plains, with tens of thousands of troops, enough to cut off all paths from inside Ursus to here. They simply cannot send an army group over, so how can they set up a trap?"

"It's possible for a small elite force to cross the defenses, but it's completely unrealistic for them to ambush Kazdel's army. The traps they prepare for the enemy could become their own graves. It's extremely risky for them to do this. Is it really possible?"

Lin Qingyan offered a different opinion. She was young but already held a high position in the political system of Yan Kingdom. How could she be completely ignorant of these matters? She just didn't need to use them in daily life and was too lazy to think about them.

In her opinion, Christensen's conjecture was indeed possible, but to actually do it would be extremely risky. The emperor wasn't stupid; why would he do such a thing?

"No, don't forget, this is Ursus. Although those nobles no longer hide their ambitions, they are still Ursus people. I remember there is a saying in Yan Kingdom: 'Brothers stand together against external threats.' Kazdel has openly invaded Ursus territory, and they are unlikely to stand idly by."

"The situation in Ursus is indeed very tense right now, and civil war could break out at any time, but in the end, it hasn't really broken out, has it?"

“At this time, if the emperor is willing to cede some of his interests, then those nobles will not refuse to send troops. The Unity Movement can cut off the passage to the southern ice plains, but it cannot stop enemies from other directions.”

Saria explained softly, her expression grave.

Speculation is just speculation and may not necessarily become reality. But if we broaden our perspective to the national level, Ursus is still Ursus, and Kazdel is still Kazdel.

Openly sending troops to invade a country's borders is tantamount to declaring war. Even if the civil war in Ursus hadn't truly begun yet, or even if it had already escalated into a full-blown conflict, the nobles would tacitly cease hostilities and direct their anger at the invaders.

Based on this, we can deduce the truth and see through the whole story. No matter what the process is, the result is relatively fixed.

This place will surely become a battlefield.

They will also inevitably be attacked by the Ursus forces.

Perhaps someone is already watching this place secretly, just waiting for the order to act.

"Have you noticed how quiet it is around here?"

Goredia put down the stick she was poking at the fire, then touched the long spear lying on the ground and suddenly spoke.

After she said that, everyone's expression subtly changed.

Many people had died in this fortress before, and many of their bodies were carelessly buried in the snow, attracting a lot of scavengers.

However, at some point, those carrion birds disappeared, and only the faint sound of the wind remained, an unnatural silence.

What does this mean?

Apart from Christensen and Lin Qingyan, the people present were all powerful and experienced warriors, so they couldn't have been unaware of this.

"Should I expand my domain?"

Saria's lips trembled slightly, but without any obvious change in mouth shape, her subtle yet clear voice reached everyone's ears.

"Don't rush, let them make the first move."

The first to notice the anomaly, Gretia, responded with the same technique: she removed her hand from her weapon, stood up, and bent down to examine the roasting meat on the fire, her whole demeanor relaxed and seemingly without any guard.

call out!

The moment she bent down, a slight sound rang out in the air, and a crossbow bolt covered in a faint black aura pierced through the air, heading straight for her neck.

Ding!

The crossbow bolt was incredibly fast, covering hundreds of meters in an instant, but it was struck at the tip by a bullet that came from an unknown source and was intercepted in mid-air.

call!

A sudden gust of wind arose!

A black overcoat shrouded in black mist appeared out of thin air from the ruins of the dilapidated fortress. Intense magical fluctuations spread outwards, and an even denser mist enveloped his entire body, extending outwards as if it were about to encompass the entire top floor.

However, the moment he appeared, a crimson streak of light flashed through the air, flying from a great distance and piercing straight into his chest, whereupon intense flames erupted!

This scene startled the people in the camp, who exchanged bewildered glances.

No one knew exactly when, but that there were other people lying in ambush around them.