A thin veil of Red Mist dropped down from the crest of the Impassable Mountain Range. Marwayne Parker had thought that it would be as intolerable as the mine, where the air was impregnated with dust. Surprisingly, however, he felt fine.
If he took a deep breath, he could sense a hint of cool wetness in the surroundings. The demon commander had told him that the Mist contained the essence of a life form. It would not cause human beings any harm but would instead strengthen them. Only witches, their mortal enemy, would suffer a fatal power rebound.
Marwayne was not sure whether he should trust the demon commander, but from what he could see at present, the Red Mist seemed to be harmless, except that it obscured his view sometimes. After a month, he had completely got used to living in an environment permeated with the Red Mist.
“My lord, the Sky Lord sent an ambassador.” Just then, a guard entered the study and reported, “He’s waiting for you in the yard.”
Marwayne nodded silently and said, “Ask him to wait for a moment. I’ll be there right away.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Marwayne smiled after the guard closed the door.
Every time he heard others call him lord, he felt exhilarated. He had thought it would be his last when the demon had crossed the abyss and invaded the Snow Reflection Castle a month ago. However, the demon had set him free.
After abandoning his prejudice against the demons, Marwayne found the Sky Lord was quite communicative. In a way, he was easier to deal with than the Graycastle men. At least, the Sky Lord would not strip the nobles of their lands without any reason.
The demons did not require him to pay taxes, nor did they loot his lands and usurp his power. As long as he pledged fealty to them, he could retain what he had now and also have a chance to gain more rewards. The demons could be rude, but they did not really prejudice his personal interests. After the Sky Lord asked him to rule the three cities near the Snow Reflection Castle, he became even more satisfied with the status quo.
The Snow Reflection Castle was a fortified, isolated island. Nobody could easily invade his territory, but he could not expand his domain from here either.Marwayne had thought he would remain as an earl for the rest of his life. He had not expected, nevertheless, that he would elevate to dukeon the doomsday.
Now, he ruled the entire northern region of the Kingdom of Everwinter and was, veritably, the Duke of the Northern Region.
Marwayne covered his mouth and forced himself to keep up a straight face. He closed the window and walked downstairs.
The demons had indeed killed dozens of his guards and hundreds of his subjects, but no war did not have bloodshed. Nobles also competed for lands through wars. As he was currently the ruler of four cities, his army expanded a great deal. As for the loss of population, he was sure that in a few years’ time, with sufficient lands and food, there would be more people in his domain.
He should also hang those who were pointing behind his back and accusing him of submitting to the demons out of fear.
Marwayne immediately saw the ambassador sent by the Sky Lord and the giant monster lying beside him as he entered the yard. To be honest, he did not know how to distinguish these demons. Unlike Hackzord, these demons were disgusting and barbarian. Had they not been sent by the demon commander, Marwayne would not have spared a look at these savage beasts.
“What can I do for the Sky Lord?”
The ambassador produced a stone from the pocket of his mount and opened his large, crimson mouth. Then he blurted out a word, “Listen!”
It was again magic voice transmission.
Marwayne stepped a few paces back involuntarily, for he could not stand the terrible breath of the ambassador. He forced himself to suppress his revulsion and said, “I’m listening.”
The stone flickered, and then a familiar voice reached his ears.
“How do you feel like being the ruler of a region? I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise, Mr. Duke.”
“Of course not, Your Excellency,” Marwayne replied quickly. “I’m at your service.”
“Very well. I believe that your subjects have got used to our presence after a month. Now it’s time to build an army and help us build a campsite. I want the campsite to be built in the Kingdom of Wolfheart rather than the Kingdom of Everwinter, and I need at least 2,000 people. Well, the more, the better, naturally.”
Marwayne wondered if Hackzord wanted heavy labor. He estimated that it was not going to be hard to fulfill this order. Therefore, he replied, “Leave it to me, Your Excellency.”
“I did pick the right person,” the Sky Lord commented in satisfaction. “Also, what about the research on those weapons? Can you duplicate them?”
“Well…” Marwayne faltered. “We can use them, but it’ll take a few more days to replicate them. I summoned the best blacksmith in the Northern Region and asked every one of them to forge a part. It was not very successful. I believe the witches are involved in the creation of the weapons. The blacksmiths told me that these weapons are not likely made by ordinary people.”
“That’s what I thought,” Hackzord said. Luckily, he did not blame Marwayne. “Even if that’s the case, you should also use them to resist the Graycastle men. This is my second order. Send people to Graycastle to stop them taking refugees. I’ll give you the rest of the weapons we obtained.”
“But I don’t have knights anymore — ”
“Then recruit them!” Hackzord talked over him. “Don’t you men like to recruit people? You tend to grant lands to others and ask them to serve you. Don’t be too cheap. If you succeed, you may become the King of Everwinter.”
Marwayne quavered. He had been dreaming of becoming the King of Everwinter. He had never anticipated that his ambition would come true in this way. Marwayne placed his hand on his chest, trying to slow down the frantic pounding of his heart. It took him a great deal of efforts to steady his voice. “Yes, Your Excellency. I’ll do my best to carry out this mission.”
“Be fast. I want to see the result as soon as possible.”
“I won’t let you down.”
The flicker disappeared.
“I, come, a week later,” the ambassador again blurted inarticulately.
With these words, he clambered onto the winged monster, raised his arm, and rose into the air. The winged monster howled and flew toward the outer city before it quickly disappeared from Marwayne’s view.
Marwayne’s face was, however, soon, covered in the dust that the monster had kicked up.
“Sh*t!” He coughed. Had all the demons acted like the Sky Lord, men would not have viewed the demons as monsters from hell.
Marwayne summoned the old scholar at once after he returned to the castle. Although this aged scholar had wetted his pants last time at the city wall, Marwayne could not find anyone else that could help him.
After relating Hackzord’s order to the old scholar, Marwayne asked, “So, what do you think?”
“My lord, this is a perfect opportunity!” the old scholar exclaimed while holding Marwayne’s hand. “I dedicated my whole life to the Parker Family, and I remember your father always wanted to expand the Snow Reflection Castle. Now, you not only did that but also got a chance to become the King of Everwinter. You must not let this opportunity slip!”
“I think so too, but do you really think those knights can defeat the Graycastle men?” Marwayne asked. “You’ve seen how ingenius those snow powder and bolts are. It’s impossible to replicate them, and the demons might not be able to obtain many of them. What if we run out of the weapons?”
“No, my lord. We don’t have to directly confront the army from Graycastle,” the old scholar said while shaking his head. “The Sky Lord doesn’t plan to do that either. He said ‘stop them taking refugees’. As far as I know, the Graycastle troops are quite scattered. Once we have adequate weapons, we may stand in an advantageous position! If we successfully crush a few units, the Graycastle soldiers will become hesitant. In fact, I just thought of an excellent idea!”
“Really? Spit it out.”
The old scholar then whispered his thought to the duke.
Marwayne’s face lit up.
“That should work!” Marwayne said while nodding vigorously. “In that case, their strength will become their weakness. Let’s do it!”