[Vol. 9] Chapter 27: The Strange Soldier and the Fortress Lord
“Mm, I think this person’s identity is not that simple.”
Seeing the blue dragon girl suddenly make a confused “eh?” face, the Dragon God, who had already completed her “IQ evolution,” seemed to discover the joy of teasing a fool. She coughed lightly, raised a finger in a serious way, and explained.
“First, when he talked with us earlier, he not only casually explained why the Fortress Lord sealed Nofenburg, but he also guessed, just from clothing, that master could use holy magic. But the North isn’t the territory of the Goddess Church. Priests are not common here. So how could he know this so clearly?”
“He said it’s because the [Eternal Winter Temple] also has holy spellcasters. But that statement itself has a problem. He’s just a small soldier who’s probably never been to the South, maybe even lived his whole life in this tiny place. So how could he know what’s on the other side of the Extreme Cold Zone?”
“Of course, he also mentioned that lately, many people from the South have been showing up near Nofenburg. So maybe he just heard it from them. That’s only a little strange by itself, not enough to prove anything.”
She glanced at the priestess, as if testing her judgment. The latter only nodded with approval. Seeing this, Xiao Guang’s beautiful eyebrows curved up with confidence, and she continued.
“The second strange thing is about the ‘opportunity’ he gave us. He said the Fortress Lord is recruiting strong people to fight against the monster wave, and so he allowed us to enter the fortress. But if that’s really true, then on the way we should have seen some notices posted, and the process shouldn’t be so strange.”
“Think about it, it’s obvious. Even though this Nofenburg isn’t a big city, it should still have tens of thousands of people. If just any roadside soldier could take some outsiders straight to meet the Fortress Lord whenever they wanted to ‘sign up,’ wouldn’t the Fortress Lord be annoyed to death every single day?”
“Uh…”
The young blue dragon girl, only five hundred years old, rubbed her head in confusion. It seemed to her that Xiao Guang made sense, but she didn’t quite understand why. After all, she had no idea how human cities worked. The dragon race as a whole only numbered a little over a thousand, and each clan even fewer. Their rules and systems couldn’t be compared to this at all.
“That… does make sense… so what does it mean?”
Seeing that Alexia still didn’t get it, Violet sighed helplessly and explained.
“It means this man’s identity is definitely not just a simple gate guard or squad leader. His vision is much broader than ordinary locals, and he has some connection to the Fortress Lord of Nofenburg. At the very least, he has the right to see him whenever he wants.”
“In fact, when he said the Fortress Lord is recruiting talents, that might only be an excuse. It could be his own way of recommending us to the Fortress Lord. If he can bring outsiders in and out of Nofenburg freely during such times, then his authority is not low.”
As she spoke, she pointed at the two girls’ tails behind them that they hadn’t bothered to hide.
“As for why he did this, it’s very simple. Nofenburg probably is facing the threat of a monster tide and needs outside help. You two clearly show dragon traits, and in this world, any creature connected to dragons is rarely weak. Add to that the fact that I was generous earlier and used holy coins from the Holy Empire, this is more than enough for him to form an impression of us.”
“Nofenburg is a border city of the North. Anyone who crosses the Extreme Cold Zone from the South to this region has to come here first to resupply or rest. Since there’s no other choice, the chance that we just got separated from a bigger group is very small. That means the three of us crossed the Extreme Cold Zone alone without harm. To do that, we must have relied on top-level power.”
“Now tell me, if Nofenburg really is facing a monster tide, would the leaders easily let go of a chance to recruit people like us?”
“That’s why he kept asking if we were willing to fight, and why he personally decided to bring us here.”
“W-wow…”
Alexia blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that so much hidden calculation and testing could be packed into such a simple conversation. But soon she tilted her head curiously again.
“If that human just wanted to use us, then Lady Violet, why did you say earlier that he was kind-hearted?”
Even Xiao Guang, who had just shown off her “IQ boost,” seemed puzzled by this question. Hearing it, she also turned a curious look toward Violet.
Being stared at with those two dragon girls’ bright puppy-like eyes made the priestess’s scalp tingle. She quickly waved her hand to explain.
“Ahem… the reason I said that is because, even though he hid a lot of things, he made everything clear from the start and also left us room to change our minds later. So, calling him kind-hearted isn’t too much.”
“What do you mean, Master…?”
Violet glanced at the castle gate, where only two guards stood and nothing had happened for quite a while. She gave a calm smile.
“Xiao Guang, tell me, if we decided to secretly leave right now, what do you think would happen?”
“?”
Both dragon girls froze at the same time. Then the Dragon God was the first to react.
“Oh…”
She hadn’t thought about this before, mostly because of her personality, she never considered escaping. But with her master pointing it out, she suddenly understood.
“Nothing would happen.”
“Smart~ That’s right. And that’s exactly the chance he gave us.”
The deal Violet made with that “soldier-looking man” was to help Nofenburg fight the monster tide in exchange for permission to enter the fortress. No matter how you looked at it, this deal was a little unfair, which was why the man looked surprised when she agreed so quickly earlier.
Now that they had already entered the fortress, and the only one who knew their purpose had gone off to report to the Fortress Lord, no one would stop the three of them from leaving.
Nofenburg was facing both internal troubles and external dangers. From the bleak look of the city, it was clear that the officials had put all their energy into preparing for the monster tide. Even if they did secretly run away, the Fortress Lord wouldn’t waste time sending soldiers to hunt down three outsiders who weren’t that important, doing so would only make things worse.
By taking on this risk himself, that man had given them extra compensation, and at the same time tested them, to see whether they could become true friends who could be trusted.
This guy… his mind is really deep.
His actions showed balance, his thoughts were thorough. He was likely someone skilled at leading others. The fact that he was stationed at Nofenburg’s south gate might mean he was there to quickly get information about the monster tide.
But the strange thing was that his power didn’t seem strong. Even though he had magic, his aura was only slightly stronger than a normal person. How could such a high-ranking officer, more like a civil official, dare to stay at the front line of the battlefield?
There wasn’t enough information. Thinking too much was useless. Violet decided not to bother herself further. She casually chatted with the other two, patiently explaining the ways of the world to the innocent young blue dragon, while quietly waiting for the next move.
It was only after more than ten minutes that two figures finally walked out slowly from the castle gate.
The one in front wore luxurious robes. He looked young, but his presence was powerful. Wasn’t this the same “young soldier” who had just gone to report to the Fortress Lord?
Even if you were slow-witted, just looking at his current clothes would be enough to understand everything.
It was a robe woven with special silk unique to the North, embroidered with an eight-petal snowflake pattern on the chest. Thick, fine fur decorated the collar and cuffs. The robe reached down to his feet, and a silver chain with an ice-crystal holy emblem hung at his waist—
The signature outfit of a high-ranking priest of the [Eternal Winter Temple]. It was almost exactly the same as what Violet and the others had seen from that group in the Extreme Cold Zone, with only minor differences.
When he saw the three girls still waiting by the castle wall, he froze for a moment. A faint but clear sense of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, and his smile instantly became more genuine. He stepped quickly toward them.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies. The Fortress Lord was handling some matters just now, so it took a little more time. I have already explained your situation, and she takes it very seriously. So she has decided to personally come out to welcome you.”
As he spoke, the young man, now dressed in his true robes, stepped aside at just the right moment, revealing the figure following him out of the castle.
It was a young woman, almost still a girl.
Her long hair was unusual, divided into two colors in a gradient. The upper part was the normal pale ice-blue of the snow people, but as it reached downward, the color gradually lightened until the tips were pure white like snow. Her eyes were pale, looking as if they could see through everything, like clear ice crystals. At first glance they seemed a little empty, but on closer look, one could see a faint, shining light reflecting inside them, an unforgettable sight.
Not only that, around the young girl’s body floated six glowing ribbons, moving on their own without any wind. They looked half-real, half-illusion, yet extremely clear. If one looked carefully, they would notice that her delicate feet, partly hidden under her fancy dress, were not touching the ground at all. She was floating several inches in the air!
With so many unique traits, her identity was obvious.
“Oh? A Snow Girl… and with six floating ribbons. I didn’t expect the Fortress Lord of such a small place like Nofenburg to have such pure blood of the royal family of the Snow Empire~?”
Even though Violet recognized her identity at once, the beautiful Snow Girl’s face stayed calm. With graceful manners, she gave the three girls a strange but formal greeting, nodding slightly.
“I am Moraya, daughter of Duke Eroslaire of the Ice Sea. Three honored guests from the South, welcome to Nofenburg.”
“So it’s the duke’s daughter. My apologies for being impolite.”
Although she said that politely, the priestess couldn’t help but frown a little inside.
The so-called Duke of the Ice Sea was none other than the ruler of the Ice-Sea Principality. Many small northern countries had once been granted lands from the Snow Empire. This hereditary duke’s title must also be connected to the imperial royal family. Otherwise, such a weak country could not have lasted hundreds of years. But…
Even though a duke had high status, but still... So why did his daughter have blood as pure as the snow royal family? And why would they send such a young daughter to rule this distant fortress?
Nofenburg was on the edge of the Ice Sea, near the Extreme Cold Zone. Even in the duchy, it was one of the harshest borderlands. While a border Fortress Lord might have some real authority, life here was certainly far less comfortable than in the capital.
Even though Violet didn’t understand everything yet, since this was their first meeting, she couldn’t directly ask such questions. So she only returned the greeting with a slight bow.
“My name is Violet. I came to the North to travel and learn more about the lands. These two are my attendants and protectors.”
“Crossing the Extreme Cold Zone is not easy. Now we are exhausted. If possible, we would like to stay in Nofenburg for some days, to rest and recover before continuing our journey. Would that be alright?”
“Of course, that is no problem.”
Moraya nodded, her expression calm, without showing joy or anger.
“Guests from afar are always welcome. The Ice-Sea Principality welcomes every outsider who comes with goodwill. If not for the threat of the beast tide, I would never have closed Nofenburg. Please stay here as long as you wish. As for what Lord Lian said earlier about you needing to go to the battlefield, that was only a joke. Please don’t take it seriously.”
Oh…
Hearing the Snow Girl’s soft, slow, and calm voice, Violet kept her face expressionless, but inside she was surprised.
This duke’s daughter was interesting. She looked young and a little innocent, but spoke with great confidence and steadiness. Violet had thought the position of Fortress Lord was just for show. Now it seemed this girl had more real authority in Nofenburg than Lian did.
But were those words truly honest, or just a clever way of testing them?
The priestess instinctively turned to glance at the young man, who was now dressed as a priest. Earlier, he had clearly been pretending to be just a soldier. Feeling her gaze, the man, knowing his identity had been exposed, coughed lightly in embarrassment and was about to explain.
“Sorry, actually—”
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!
Suddenly, the sound of harsh drums exploded into the sky. Everyone in Nofenburg who heard it, including Fortress Lord Moraya and Lian, instantly changed expression!
The few townsfolk still on the streets panicked as if facing disaster. They rushed home, shops shut down at once, and doors and windows were tightly closed. The two people who seemed to be the main leaders of the fortress looked at each other, clearly realizing what had happened.
“The alarm drums… Could it be the beast tide already? But why so soon? According to the reports, there should still be a few days left!”
Compared to Lian, who looked surprised and even a bit panicked, Moraya, who looked even younger, was completely calm. She shook her head without expression.
“Beasts cannot be judged by common logic. No matter what they do, it is not strange. Instead of doubting, what we must do now is organize our defense quickly. We must not let them break into the fortress.”
“The drums are coming from the north, the Ice Sea side. Could it be…?”
“I will go right now!”