FL - Chapter 46: Exterminating the Snowsworn

Louis woke and, out of habit, opened the Daily Intelligence System.

The past few days' intelligence had been of little direct use. *Come on, great intelligence system, give me something useful today.*

**[Daily Intelligence Updated]**

**[1: Due to the Snowsworn organization's growing madness, Duke Edmund has decided to summon his vassals and eradicate the Snowsworn in one decisive campaign.]**

**[2: Knight cadet Weir has awakened his bloodline and officially become an Apprentice Knight.]**

**[3: A group of Ice-Armored Bears will pass through the northern region of Crimson Tide Territory tomorrow afternoon.]**

Louis scanned the intelligence panel. Today's updates all looked useful.

The first entry caught his attention immediately. Duke Edmund had decided to wipe out the Snowsworn.

The news lifted Louis's spirits, but unease followed close behind.

The Snowsworn were the largest and most dangerous insurgent organization in the Northlands. They were growing more brazen by the day.

Recently, they hadn't just attacked small territories. They'd abducted nobles and knights to carry out horrific, profane sacrificial rituals.

These atrocities were still some distance from Crimson Tide Territory. But if their tendrils ever reached this far, what then?

The sheer scale of the Snowsworn and the fanaticism of their methods filled Louis with genuine concern.

His forces were nowhere near sufficient to deal with an insurgency of this magnitude.

But Duke Edmund was now moving to crush them in a single decisive strike. Whatever else it meant, this was a blessing for the Northlands.

Louis's expression darkened again.

Under the Northlands Colonization Edict, he was, in name, one of Duke Edmund's vassals. As was every lord in the Northlands, technically speaking.

"I'll have to answer the call," Louis murmured to himself.

The Northlands were a cauldron of instability. As a vassal, he had to join the campaign under the Duke's banner.

Yet Crimson Tide Territory had only just achieved a measure of stability, and the forces at his disposal were still thin.

If he marched out to suppress the rebellion, losses were inevitable.

But a thought struck Louis. He had the Daily Intelligence System.

That powerful tool had already guided him safely through more than one crisis.

With the system, Louis could foresee threats on the battlefield and avoid direct clashes he couldn't win.

He might even be able to leverage the chaos to secure more resources for Crimson Tide Territory and strengthen his position.

*Face soldiers with soldiers; stem water with earth.* The thought eased his mind.

Louis read on. His eyes paused on the second update.

"Weir has officially become an Apprentice Knight. His bloodline has awakened."

He paused for a moment, then a flicker of approval crossed his eyes.

He'd long foreseen this moment with the help of the Daily Intelligence System.

And Weir's future wasn't limited to being a mere Apprentice Knight. He would one day be among the most powerful forces in all of Crimson Tide Territory.

"Truly worthy of a future Peak Knight," Louis murmured, nodding with satisfaction.

He turned to the third entry. "Ice-Armored Bears have emerged from hibernation. They are expected to pass through the northern region of Crimson Tide Territory tomorrow afternoon."

A fully grown Ice-Armored Bear was an extraordinarily dangerous magical beast.

It stood nearly twenty-four feet tall, its hide sheathed in a natural layer of ice-crystal armor that could repel almost any attack.

Its forepaws had evolved twenty-inch Frost-Iron Claws that released a low-temperature pulse when it struck prey, freezing its victim's blood in an instant.

Louis showed no concern. A faint smile touched his lips instead.

"This is good news for me, actually," he murmured.

The Ice-Armored Bear was powerful and fierce, but against his current combat strength, it didn't amount to much of a threat.

And its meat was extraordinarily precious. It could fortify a knight's flesh and blood and strengthen their Battle Aura.

This would be the perfect reward for his knights and the eight knight cadets.

Besides, his knights hadn't seen real combat in far too long. The Ice-Armored Bears would also stoke their fighting spirit and their hunger for training.

He summoned Lambert at once. "Lambert, assemble all knights and archers. We march north for a hunt."

Lambert asked no questions. He acknowledged the order and withdrew, moving swiftly to make the arrangements.

...

An urgent report flew into Duke Edmund's study.

"Report, Your Grace. A territory in the Northlands has been struck by a Snowsworn raid. The commoners were slaughtered to the last. The nobles and knights were taken captive."

Those few lines struck the Duke like a bomb.

This was the sixth such incident in the past two months.

The Snowsworn's atrocities were escalating, and every inch of Northlands soil now trembled with fear.

"Damn the Snowsworn!"

Duke Edmund shot to his feet. Papers swept from his desk and scattered across the floor.

The Snowsworn had once been the surviving remnants of the Snow Kingdom. After the Empire's conquest, they had steadily transformed into a force of desperate outlaws.

Now, this hatred-soaked organization was spreading the flames of its vengeance across the Northlands.

"These are no longer mere bandits. We must strike with overwhelming force!"

Fury burned through the Duke's heart. This threat had to be rooted out completely if the Northlands were ever to know peace again.

Even if total annihilation proved impossible, they at least had to cut off the Snowsworn's hands. Make sure they never dared to plunder territories within the province at will again.

That very evening, the Duke summoned the senior members of his house, his strategists, his advisors, his key commanders, for an emergency council of war.

"We cannot wait any longer. Summon all vassals. Assemble the army. We'll split our forces and encircle the Snowsworn strongholds. We wipe them out in a single stroke!"

Under the Duke's direction, the discussions began in earnest on how to meet this coming storm.

The council plunged into a heated strategic debate, and the military advisors began drafting concrete battle plans.

"We'll divide the army and surround the Snowsworn positions, ensuring not a single one escapes our reach. Simultaneously, we'll station heavy forces along the border to prevent the northern tribes from exploiting the opening..."

The Duke issued his command: "Notify all vassals to assemble their forces and prepare for the offensive. They are to march on schedule without fail."

As the council drew toward its conclusion, one of the strategists asked, "Your Grace, shall we also call upon those new colonization lords from the south for this campaign?"

Duke Edmund let out a cold laugh, undisguised contempt in his eyes. "All of them! The southern colonization lords?

Those men are nothing but the waste products of noble houses. If they die, the southern magnates won't shed a single tear. We might as well throw them into the meat grinder!"

The scorn in his tone left his opinion of the southern colonization lords brutally clear.

The Emperor had issued the Northlands Colonization Edict for the southern nobles to dispatch their scions to develop the Northlands, leveraging their strength to shore up the frontier.

And what had happened? Those Imperial parasites had sent nothing but their dregs, just enough to pay lip service to the Emperor's decree.

Since that was the case, they might as well take advantage of this campaign to clean out those useless annoyances along the way.

With the council adjourned, the Duke wasted no time putting his plan into motion.

Knights sprang into action, galloping orders to every vassal to ensure all forces assembled on schedule.

Across the Northlands, a slumbering beast seemed to be stirring awake, preparing for the coming bloodshed.

Duke Edmund stood atop the high tower of Frostspear City, eyes cold as he gazed down upon the land soon to burn.