Frost Halberd City, Northern Governor's Mansion.

The hearth burned quietly, the room filled with the scent of pine resin and wine.

Duke Edmund lounged on the high-backed chair, fiddling with the silver knife on the table. The fire lacquer seal on the envelope was a familiar sun pattern, the crest of Red Tide Territory.

He hummed lowly, a smile tugging at his lips: "That boy finally wrote a letter… Could it be about the wedding?"

He tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper, and began to read.

The initial lines indeed referred to the progress of wedding preparations, such as the venue and the guest list… but soon, the writing became hurried.

The following content shifted to: insect swarm, parasitic, mind control, corrosive liquid, explosive spreading mechanism, combat puppets with purple-tinged pupils.

The letter trembled slightly in his hand, Duke Edmund's brows slowly knitted, the sinister scar slashing across his face seemed to tug and tremble as well.

This thing... it wasn't the first time he became aware of it.

Three years ago.

It was the strangest war in the Northern Territory for a decade.

That late spring, north of Frost Trace River, a whole Viscount Territory.

About three villages, two farms, a Knight's Fortress, in less than six days, transformed into hollow grounds.

The initial reports were merely of beast disturbances, then evolved into complete villages disappearing, stationed troops disconnecting, relay stations losing contact.

Until a scouting cavalry troop narrowly escaped, the intelligence they brought back kept the Governor's Mansion awake all night.

"The dead move, as if suspended by strings, with eyes that glow… There's something beating in their chests, not hearts, something else.

Underneath the skin, like leeches wriggling, and their mouths and noses leak filaments…

We bombed one to death, and his chest burst open directly, the liquid spraying out from the insect pouch corroded the armor with a sizzling sound. Then insects crawled out from the corpse, burrowing into people!"

Thus, the Northern Orthodox Army dispatched a full regiment of elite troops.

Five teams of elite knights sealed the perimeter, while a squad of extraordinary knights carrying a large number of Magic Explosion Bullets and Burning Agents charged into the polluted zone.

The battle lasted two days and nights, all buildings along with an entire area of over thirty miles of forest were incinerated.

Magic Explosion Bullets shattered insect bodies, petroleum and combustible gray paste completely sealed the insect swarm's escape routes. Someone described the last ten hours of that battle as "like watching Hell breathe."

The whole operation resulted in ninety-four troops missing, fifty-seven confirmed infected…

It became a disastrous loss to the Northern Territory's high-end combat strength,

That land later marked as the "Silent Fire Zone," a rare permanently blocked area on the Northern Territory map atlas.

For the ensuing three years, no similar incidents occurred, but the true cause of the appearance of such insects was never investigated.

Yet now, the phenomena and symptoms Louis detailed in his letter were identical to back then.

More terrifyingly, Louis also mentioned: no corpses or blood were found at the battle scene, as if meticulously cleaned.

That implies the insect swarm not only survived but evolved, more intelligent.

As for Louis mentioning he rescued a mage.

Edmund glanced over this line, showing no emotional fluctuation.

He was neither surprised nor concerned.

An ordinary mage?

In his level of perspective, merely some flashy casters, stirring no major waves in real wars and political situations.

After all, he had at least a dozen mages under his command.

They bear no regret in dying, and their largest usefulness was that the living one told Louis details of their assault by insect corpses.

Duke Edmund remained silent in the office for a moment, fingers lightly tapping the armrest, as if weighing, or rummaging through memories.

"Summon Knight Vic Glanser to see me." He suddenly spoke.

The attendant hesitated momentarily, then bowed and departed.

Not long after, the door was pushed open, cold wind swept in along with the cloak.

The arriving person was a tall, slender middle-aged knight, with white hair tied back, a stern face, armor of silver-black half-plate and a dark red cloak, its edges embroidered with golden threads.

He made no sound of metal clashing when he walked, moving so lightly it was nearly unlike someone in armor.

Only those ash-gray eyes, cold and sharp, seemed capable of piercing through mist.

Knight Vic Glanser, an extraordinary high-tier knight, loyal to Duke Edmund.

Raised in the army since childhood, experienced through the Great Rebellion and multiple vicious wars, he had once single-handedly slain three Snow Swearers of extraordinary power.

In combat, he consistently remained silent, thus was dubbed "the Northern Blade."

But besides combat strength, he had a bloodline talent known by very few—perception.

Activating the bloodline talent made his perception extraordinarily keen, capable of detecting traces and scents ignored by others, especially in searching and scouting proving unmatched.

"I need you to lead a team to Red Tide Territory." Duke Edmund's tone was low.

"Insect corpse traces have appeared once more. Just days ago, Louis discovered residual corrosive marks at the territory edge, conditions strikingly similar to three years ago…"

Vic's pupils shrank slightly, the originally stone-calm demeanor showed a rare ripple.

He asked gravely, "Certainly?"

"It's confirmed." Edmund nodded, his tone icy, "He did not witness personally, but the dispatched team brought back intelligence. He said those traces were identical to back then… during that cleansing in Boroda River Valley."

A silence settled.

Vic slowly bowed his head, voice deep: "Such a thing… should not appear again."

"So you understand why I'm sending you." Edmund gazed at him calmly, "You participated in that campaign; you know how dangerous those things are."

"Besides," his tone paused, gaze growing heavier, "your bloodline talent also makes you the best candidate for this mission. If even you fail to detect any trace, then we truly ought to fear."

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