Chapter 18: Three Letters and the Emerging Chaos
Hearing the sound of agreement, the door was gently pushed open a crack, then creaked open fully.
Behind the door appeared Ying, dressed in a black long gown. The young head maid walked in with light steps, carrying a tea tray. She glanced up at the center of the meeting room, then said respectfully, "Master."
"Ah, you came at just the right time."
Standing up from the conference table, Joshua hadn't felt thirsty while thinking earlier, but now, seeing that cup of steaming black tea, he realized he hadn't had a drink all morning, and his throat suddenly felt dry.
"Well done." Taking the tea, he took a sip, a warmth spreading straight into his stomach. The warrior didn't skimp on praise, and he also noticed the girl's new outfit, so he casually complimented, "Your new clothes are very pretty too. What made you suddenly think of changing today?"
"It's... it's nothing..."
Joshua didn't notice Ying's slightly unnatural blush; his gaze shifted to behind the door: "Gentlemen, don't just stand outside. I said you should all come in together. What are you doing lingering out there?"
"Pardon the intrusion."
Hearing this, the three men led by Zolgen finally entered the meeting room.
"Lord Count." The two warriors performed a knight's salute, while the white-haired mage Feng merely bowed slightly.
Zolgen, who had just recovered from serious injuries, walked in front. His face was somewhat gaunt and pale, but it seemed the knight had largely regained normal mobility. Not long ago, when he first went out, he was still limping, but now he could go up and down stairs and walk normally. It had to be said that the recovery power of a Silver-rank warrior was indeed formidable, gradually surpassing the scope of ordinary mortals.
As the garrison commander of Black Forest Fortress, this golden-haired knight held a rank half a level higher than Kili and Feng. If anyone needed to report something important to the lord, it would likely be him.
"All three of you coming together—is there something important?"
Taking a sip of tea, Joshua asked with some confusion.
Currently, Black Forest Fortress was still rebuilding and repairing that collapsed section of the wall. Apart from Zolgen, who had been seriously injured, Kili and Feng should theoretically be overseeing the construction. How could they have time to come find him? Could there really be something important?
"My lord, the communication array received several urgent letters. We believed you should be informed immediately, so we brought them. However, since we haven't examined their contents, we don't know how important they are."
"Let me see them first."
Zolgen stepped forward, pulled several envelopes from his pocket, and handed them to Joshua. The warrior didn't hesitate; as soon as he received them, he immediately opened one and took out the letter inside.
"Magical paper... this is an urgent document transmitted via communication replication!"
The moment he touched the letter, Joshua knew this was indeed very important information.
So-called communication replication was a technology similar to faxing. Through the magical resonance of the communication array, the contents of a letter at one end of the array were completely copied onto blank magical paper at the other. Although the principle wasn't very complicated, the distance involved caused a massive increase in magical energy consumption, making it costly. Unless necessary, no one would use this technology.
Sensing it roughly, Joshua was surprised to find that all three letters in his hand were made of magical paper.
"Three urgent communications arriving at once. What's going on today?"
Marveling, the warrior understood why the three had come together. But now wasn't the time to ponder such things; he just read the contents seriously, without a word.
In the meeting room, silence suddenly fell. The black-haired, red-eyed lord frowned, carefully examining the letter in his hand. The silver-haired maid stood by his side, head lowered in silence, while the three fortress officers wore serious expressions, as if contemplating something very important.
"Hmph."
After a moment, Joshua let out a breath. He smiled, placed the first letter aside, and shook his head: "The first one is good news."
"What good news?"
This time it was Kili who asked, his voice still somewhat muffled due to his helmet: "If it's good news, there shouldn't be a need to use such an urgent communication method."
This was something of an old habit for the half-elf warrior. He wasn't deliberately questioning anything, just pointing out something unreasonable.
"This is a letter from the dwarves."
Facing the half-elf warrior who had once taught him martial arts in the training ground, Joshua had always held great respect and was familiar with his speaking style. He replied seriously: "The Rune Dwarves of the Lava Lake learned about the magic tide. Their Great Forgemaster, considering years of friendship, decided to provide us with a batch of supplies, arrows, and weapons free of charge."
"Originally, they planned to send the letter along with the convoy, but later thought that would be too slow, so they used the communication array for replication. After all, the Lava Lake isn't short on magical energy."
Saying this, he picked up the letter he had set aside and scanned the dwarf's message again: "They originally intended to send a team to help us build the new city wall, but the winter weather is unsuitable for dwarven activity, so they had to settle for a batch of special construction materials instead."
"That's a pity."
Hearing this, Feng, standing nearby, murmured: "The dwarves' forging and construction skills are indeed second to none on the continent. With their help, the new wall would certainly be more solid, at least not easily smashed down by a mammoth beast in a few hits."
"That was an unavoidable force. The original wall also had the blessing of elven plant roots; ordinary siege vehicles couldn't even crack the surface. But a frenzied Gold-rank magical beast is a monster that simply can't be measured by common sense... Anyway, getting a batch of material aid is still good."
Joshua didn't dwell on it. He picked up the second letter and quickly tore it open.
"A letter from Alfonso?"
Glancing at the signature, the warrior was startled. He hadn't expected this letter to be from that merchant, Alfonso. His interest piqued, he read the letter with great curiosity.
The information in the letter was very brief.
About ten days ago, after receiving the letter of recommendation from Joshua, this merchant immediately set out and entered the dwarves' territory. By some means, he actually managed to obtain the right to use the dwarven tunnels.
Now, Alfonso and his caravan had used the tunnels to bypass the blocked checkpoints on the surface and the frenzied beasts of the Black Forest, quickly arriving at a large city in the central region of the empire. He had already begun searching for those special artifacts.
"I've already found the grimoire that closely matches your description, but since it's in the hands of a certain noble, I can't acquire it for now. I'll have to wait and see if it's put up for auction at this year's spring auction in the imperial capital."
Murmuring to himself, Joshua thought for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction: "Regardless, this efficiency is quite good. Originally, I was just trying my best, but now it seems we might actually succeed in changing the fate of Ares Fortress."
There was one last letter left.
Joshua looked up at the three serious-faced men. He felt this last letter was the most important.
Picking up the violet envelope, he saw the seal stamped with a bright red crescent moon, and the signature was Verdani·Scarlet.
"Scarlet of Moldova?"
The warrior naturally knew this family, another of the four Border Counts of the Northern Lands, the Scarlet family marked by the bright red crescent moon. In fact, just as there were enemies like the Wilson family who harbored ill intentions toward the Radcliffe family, there were also acquaintances who had maintained correspondence for centuries.
Although their intentions might not all be kind, on the surface, there was at least a bond of friendship left by their ancestors' interactions. The female count of the Scarlet family was such an existence to Joshua.
To the Lord of Moldavia, the Heir of Radcliffe, Joshua·Radcliffe, wielder of the Cold Iron Sword...
Throughout the letter, the content could be roughly summarized in a few sentences.
Accompanied by the cold winds and heavy snow from the far northern sea, the beast tide hidden behind the snow curtain this time was unusually fierce. Under the frenzied, cyclical assault, this female count of the Scarlet family, a Gold-rank mage, could no longer hold out. In crisis, she had no choice but to seek help from all sides.
Seeing this, Joshua couldn't help but frown.
Although the tone wasn't pleading, anyone could see the urgency between the lines. This was completely different from the proud Scarlet family he remembered. Had the beast tide really become so terrifying that even the Moldova Territory, guarded by a Gold-rank expert, was on the verge of collapse?
Indeed, it was possible. Joshua couldn't help but recall the recent unusual movements in the Black Forest.
Logically, even if the beast tide had scattered, there should still be some beasts left. But a few days ago, when the warrior went out on patrol, he truly didn't see a single magical beast in the forest. The black woodland was only covered with slowly falling white snow, as silent as death.
The magical beasts weren't dead; they must have gone elsewhere. They weren't in Moldavia, and there were no reports of a black tide elsewhere. Combined with the route of the Black Erosion Dragon that Joshua had inferred from the magical map, it was very likely that all the magical beasts in the nearby Black Forest had surged toward Moldova. If that were the case, it would be extraordinarily unlucky.
No, if that were really the case, it wouldn't just be unlucky—it could only be described as a misfortune.
The letter had a second page.
If it were just a simple beast tide, we could hold out. But deep within the Black Forest, some new, strange magical beasts seem to have been born. They are immune to magic and battle qi; only pure physical attacks can shatter them.
These monsters vanish into black smoke after death, as if they aren't made of flesh and blood at all. Their various strange abilities are too powerful and troublesome—this is why we can't hold on.
Although there are occasional competitions and schemes among the four Northern Territories, now is not the time to discuss such things. My friends, if Moldova is breached, where will this swarm of beasts, which cannot be sated even after devouring our flesh and blood, this hungry black tide, go next? So, even for your own sake, please extend a helping hand. In the name of the Red Crescent Moon of Fate, the Scarlet family will not treat any friend poorly.
—Your faithful, Verdani·Scarlet
Seeing this straightforward statement and the very familiar description, a vague shadow of a monster stirred in Joshua's mind.
Finally, at the bottom of the envelope, he saw a monster image sketched in ink.
This was a ferocious monster completely different from ordinary magical beasts, as if it had come from another world entirely.
Joshua's pupils contracted. He said in shock:
"Wild God!"
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