While the Eternal Sleepers reorganized their morale after the return of stars and restarted their plans, other groups outside the edge of human civilization, who were also affected by this incident, were each calming down the dramatic chaos.

On the frontier islands and reefs in the eastern part of the Endless Sea, several tidal barriers were urgently established. The powerful magic power formed shields on the edges of the islands and reefs to replace the coastal wave defense fortifications that were destroyed by huge waves before. Within the barrier, the Storm Sons, who had barely recovered their vitality, are busy day and night. They have to repair the magic circles on the islands, rebuild destroyed coastal buildings, and rescue food and herbs that have not been polluted and have not yet rotted. Before the next storm comes, they must restore these crucial frontier islands and reefs to a level that can be self-sustained.

In an underground nest in Ansu, the druids who died in the end finally resealed the "body of the pseudo-god", but the massive amount of biomass they consumed in this process was difficult to replenish in a short period of time. A new plan for flesh-proliferation has begun to be implemented, and the great minister who was seriously depleted in the incident has returned to the depths of the crypt and entered a dormant state that may last for a whole year.

In the deep sea, tens of thousands of siren were lying neatly on the sea bed, burping while discussing how long the core fusion tower could last.

However, the mortal kingdoms located on the continent of Loren would not know about this. As the harsh winter came, calm was covering their kingdoms and empires' surface calm.

The capital of Tifeng, Aldernan, aristocratic district.

It has been two months since the last time I met the Earl of Winter Castle. After hearing that the Northern Earl was about to leave the imperial capital, Grand Duke Peidinan Wendell visited the Earl's mansion in the imperial capital again.

One is the most powerful duke of the empire, and the other is the Count in the cold area of ​​the northern part of the empire. The two identities and titles are obviously different, but in fact everyone knows that Grand Duke Peidinan and the Earl of Winter Castle have a close relationship. These two families were close allies many years ago. The Winter Wolf Legion controlled by the Wendell family is mainly stationed on the frontier of the northwest of the empire, and it is adjacent to the hereditary fief of the Earl of Winter Castle. One-half of the warriors in the Winter Wolf Legion are from the Winter Wolf Legion. The Winter Wolf Legion not only provides young and strong for the Winter Wolf Legion, but also provides supplies for the latter for a long time. The Wendell family acts as the protector of the Winter Wolf Family in the Empire's rights network. This relationship has never changed for hundreds of years.

A mutual aid on the northern border battlefield twenty years ago laid the foundation for the private friendship between Peidinan Wendell and the current Earl of Winterburg Palin Winterburg, whose friendship continues to this day.

Compared to the last time he met, the Count of Winter Castle seemed even more haggard. This powerful spellcaster probably hadn't had a good rest for many days and nights. His face was dark, his cheeks were sunken, and even his eyes filled with magical brilliance seemed much turbid than usual. Grand Duke Pei Dinnan had to worry about the health of his old friend: "Are you okay? Palin? You seem to have not slept for three days and three nights!"

"Today is indeed the third day," the Earl of Winter Castle sat in a large high-backed chair with a frown on his face. "I really can't fall asleep... Our Emperor's Majesty is becoming more and more worrying."

"I heard that His Majesty has rejected your proposal again and ordered the Winterburg region to prepare for the war for the coming year...he..."

"Your Majesty has completely ignored any dissuasion, whether you said or I said," the Earl of Winter Fort shook his head, "Now is definitely not a good time to start a full-scale war. My Duke, no one knows Ansu's Eastern Guardian Family better than you and me. They are hard to crack. Indeed, the empire's army is strong and powerful, with brand new tactics and more sophisticated equipment, and Ansu is outdated and backward in this regard, but this does not mean that we can be at no cost...at least, it is not the time yet."

"I am like you, we have never doubted that the power of the empire is enough to defeat the enemy, but the key lies in the amount of the price," Grand Duke Pei Dinnan frowned, "But our Emperor seems to have lost his judgment in this regard. He is... too radical."

"It's not just radical, the Duke, not just radical," the Earl of Winter Castle spoke seriously, "I suspect...that crazy curse has begun to affect His Majesty the Emperor."

Grand Duke Pei Dinnan's eyebrows suddenly jumped: "What have you observed?"

He knew that the Earl of Winter Castle was a powerful spellcaster and a master of erudition in the mysterious realm. He might be far superior to the other party in force, but in the realm of magic and curses, there were not many people in the entire empire that could surpass the Earl of Winter Castle. He saw the magical light overflowing from the eyes of his old friend, and the latter's expression became heavy and solemn: "I didn't observe anything, but some doubts are that His Majesty the Emperor, who could not be noticed without magic participation, was deliberately avoiding being watched by my 'Eye of Magic'. When he met, four royal mages stood beside him. The powerful magic interference made me unable to see anything, and this was exactly the most suspicious place."

"Your Majesty knows that something is wrong..." Grand Duke Pei Dinnan's breathing became a little rapid, "but he consciously stopped you from helping him?!"

"This is the most disturbing part of His Majesty consciously indulging his madness, which is more terrible than pure madness," the Earl of Winter Fort looked into the eyes of Grand Duke Pedinan, "I have lost the trust of His Majesty. He ordered me to return to the territory and not be allowed to enter the imperial capital unless I am pardoned. So now I can do nothing. The only thing that can take action is you. You must keep a close eye on the palace and prepare for the day when His Majesty completely falls into madness. According to my estimate, His Majesty still maintains most of his sanity. His personality has changed, so he can still be a qualified king when governing the country, but this state may not last for a few years..."

"I am loyal to His Majesty the Emperor," said Grand Duke Pei Dinnan suddenly. After saying these half sentences, he was silent for a few seconds before continuing to speak slowly, "But I am more loyal to this country founded by the martyrs."

"This is what you can say," the Earl of Winter Castle smiled, and his smile quickly became weird. "When it comes to the founding martyrs... our decaying neighbor really stood up a martyr..."

Peidinan Wendell's expression became strange: "You mean...that rumor, Grand Duke Cecil? Do you believe that is true?"

"Whether it is true or not, it is already an established fact, and based on the information I have and the results of several divination, the possibility of reality is even greater," said the Count of Winter Castle seriously. "You should have also obtained the information. The revived 'travel hero' is currently in the dark mountains in southern Ansu. He established a pioneering territory and tried to re-expand human civilization near the wasteland of Gondor. He also solved several cult problems in the process. These behaviors are obviously not for pleasure. If all this is really a lie created by Ansu, they do not need to act to this extent. A resurrected founding hero was taken to the capital as a totem to enhance the orthodoxy of their illegitimate dynasty."

"I did get this information, and the action of the pioneer hero was completely in line with the historical description... but this incident is still too incredible."

"Whether it is incredible or not, we must consider this as a variable," said the Earl of Winter Fort seriously. "Now that cultists are rampant in Ansu, their nobles are in a state of trouble to solve these internal problems. This has also led to our Emperor's determination to take this opportunity to start a war. He has ordered the Winter Wolf Legion on the border to launch a new round of infiltration of Ansu, and part of the infiltration route... is very close to the Dark Mountains."

The old duke immediately knew what the Earl of Winterburg wanted to say: "Where is Andesha."

Andesha Wendell, the heir of the Wendell family, the daughter of Bud Wendell, and the youngest wolf general in history. After his father Bud Wendell disappeared on the battlefield, this young and talented girl grew up quickly. She went to the battlefield as if she wanted to cleanse the shame of the family's defeat at the border and avenge her father, standing on the border line where her father once stationed. The border line is located in the southeast corner of Ansu very close to the territory of the East to protect Silas Loren, and is also close to the Dark Mountains.

If His Majesty's infiltration order reached the front line, then Andersha would undoubtedly choose the Dark Mountains as the infiltration route. There is a dangerous polluted wasteland for most ordinary people, but it is a way to march for elite Imperial warriors, and it can also bypass the main defense line of the Eastern Ansu Defence Corps, which Peidinan Wendell believed that if he was still the commander of the Winter Wolf, he would choose this route himself.

"If you are not lucky, they will hit the Duke of Gowan Cecil head-on. In this case, we would rather believe that all the legends of that duke, including his resurrection, are true," said the Earl of Winter Castle sincerely. "Andersha is a brave and powerful warrior. I watched her grow to this day with my own eyes, but against a legendary hero seven hundred years ago..."

"She should know the measure. As a commander, she will not act in person..." The old duke frowned. Although he said this, he thought of his granddaughter's stubborn personality and the hatred she had developed for Ansu after her father disappeared, so he finally added, "I will remind her to not act impulsively. She has a powerful elf ranger, and I will remind her to send more suitable people to carry out the mission."

The two of them talked for a long time, about the situation of the empire, the situation on the border, about Ansu, and about the pioneering heroes of resurrection. Both of them understood that this was probably their last meeting in the imperial capital Aldernan.

After that, the Earl of Winter Fort was about to return to his Winter Fort, while Duke Peidinan could not leave Aldernan at will. The two old friends on the battlefield who were no longer young knew the preciousness of time, but time was limited after all.

The sun is setting.

The lights of the imperial capital gradually lit up. Looking at the city illuminated by the lights, Grand Duke Pei Dinnan, who was standing in front of the carriage, couldn't help but remember the era when the legend showed that it had fallen into darkness and the descendants of the Gondor Empire were exploring their survival on the wild wasteland.

At that time, the night was dark, but the hearts were bright.

"You say, what will the resurrected Duke Cecil feel after seeing this era?" He stopped in front of the carriage and turned his head to look at his old friend. "The cult is raging, the society is corrupt, the border is deserted, and the human kingdom that once loved as brothers... is preparing for a war."
Chapter completed!