It wasn't a victory reliant on the raid of a single strong person, but rather the synchronized slaughter of the entire legion like gears working in unison.

The color of fighting energy intertwined on the battlefield, like a flowing rainbow bridge, showcasing the elite fighting energy characteristics of each family from the Empire, all highly disciplined and unified in mobilization.

This gathering of strengths from a hundred schools is precisely the terrifying aspect of the Empire's strongest legion.

......

The wind and snow still blew, and the charred ruins of the nest smoked white, reflected in the blood-red eyes of the flesh tower.

The Desperate Witch stood high, her figure graceful, like a noble maiden dressed for a banquet.

Yet from his lips spilled a deep, soft male voice, carrying the contempt of a divine being looking down on the mortal world.

"Truly dull..."

In his inner perception, over a dozen nests had turned to ash, symbolizing total disconnection.

These were painstakingly arranged nodes, theoretically meant to quickly spread and reproduce in the Northern Territory, eventually turning this cold land into a breeding ground connected to the Abyss.

"Four-fifths of the Northern Territory is completely ruined... The population, army, nobility, resources, all churned into insect mud. But compared to expectations... it's still too little." His voice was hoarse yet gentle, carrying a discomforting contradiction.

If not for that old Duke decisively blocking Frost Halberd City, dragging several nests under the city... the plan could have progressed further southward.

Frost Halberd City, which should have fallen, has now become the cemetery where the nests couldn't breach.

"According to the plan, in just ten days, I could have turned the entire Northern Territory into an egg-laying ground."

"Now, trapped in this tedious offensive and defensive... Tch."

He let out a light sigh, his gaze turning towards the distant battle line.

There, the Dragon Blood Legion was uprooting the nests with terrifying efficiency, causing even his perception network to feel a pain akin to being "cut alive."

"The dogs of the Empire... truly detestable."

However, he remained unflustered.

The Desperate Witch slowly turned and walked into the depths of the underground cave woven from insect flesh and blood bones, where a huge heart-like existence was slowly throbbing, oozing black bubbles that made the whole space tremble.

"The end... isn't won by numbers." He said softly, with a tenderness like a lover's whisper, "As long as it exists... everything is just a prelude."

Another side, Frost Halberd City, north wall main tower, the wind and snow howled.

Atop the thick iron cast merlon, Duke Edmund stood with his hands behind his back, his silver-white cloak fluttering in the wind behind him, his full head of gray hair resembling frost and snow, making him appear ten years older than a month ago.

He squinted at the burning valley in the distance on the battle line, the wailing of insect corpses consumed by flames echoed, and the black armor battle flag of the Dragon Blood Legion fluttered fiercely in the wind.

"... The Dragon Blood Legion, truly lives up to its name." The Duke's voice was not high, yet it carried a reassurance that was hard to conceal.

Two people stood beside him.

One was the middle-aged knight renowned as the "Blade of the Royal Court"—Arthur Gareen.

Wearing a scarlet cloak and wielding a dragon-patterned longsword, he had a slim build, his handsome face exuding sharpness, with eyes holding a suppressed edge over the years.

He appeared surprisingly young for his age, unexpected to many, yet standing there, he lent a sense of security.

"The situation in the Northern Territory... is worse than we imagined before taking over." Arthur's tone was cold, his gaze fixed on a marked spot on the map, "But it's just 'worse,' nothing more."

"Our main force has already begun the cleanup, and the Cold Iron Legion is resting and ready. As long as the plan remains unchanged, the rest is all harvesting."

His tone was as calm as water, yet the certainty in it was unquestionable.

The other was even more notable—Oriolan Sol, the Supreme Mage, and the highest authority in the Mage Forest.

He wore a dark blue robe adorned with star patterns, his face obscured by a hood, blending with the night sky.

During these days, the Mage Corps under Oriolan's command played a significant role.

They were responsible for detecting weaknesses in the nests, setting up amplification magic arrays, casting shields, and providing battlefield healing, with multiple spells falling like starlight on the battlefield, providing stable and precise support for the Dragon Blood Legion.

Though the mages were few in number, they were the critical lever moving the entire battlefield situation.

Without them, the Dragon Blood Legion's progression would not have been so rapid.

He did not look at the map; instead, he gazed up at the distant horizon: "Do you think the nests are spreading on their own?"

"The entire system... has design, coordination, and sacrificial strategies. Such things cannot be achieved by simple insect swarms alone."

He extended a finger, lightly tapping the air, as faint magic power fluctuations transformed into a phantom of the insect nest network, wriggling like a living creature.

"I can confirm that behind these nests... there is 'a consciousness,' a presence better at guiding chaos and evolution than even myself."

Arthur frowned: "You're saying it's 'human-controlled'?"

Oriolan nodded.

"If we could cut off their main brain, the entire nest system would immediately collapse."

"But..." he shifted his tone, "But the Doomsday Nest is different, it seems to conceal something more terrifying, which I cannot yet see..."

Duke Edmund gazed at the distant flames of battle, speaking slowly: "You mean... the Doomsday Nest is the key, with a backup plan still in place."

"Precisely." Oriolan replied indifferently, "But to attack that point rashly, without knowing the full picture, is to court disaster."

Arthur smiled lightly, gripping his sword hilt: "Then we'll first clear all the nests on the periphery, and then focus our main force on one point."

"In tactics, encircling and killing step by step is the most stable." He said, "No matter where that manipulator is hiding, we will eventually find him."

Edmund nodded, his voice firm: "Let's do it this way."

Just as the three agreed on the strategy and prepared to issue orders.

A staff officer quickly ascended the city tower, raising a telescope with a complex expression, pointing towards a corner of the battlefield.

"My Lord Duke, please… look over there." He said softly in the Duke's ear.

Edmund frowned, took the telescope, and squinted in the direction the staff officer pointed.

The wind and snow couldn't obscure that strange scene.

On the southwestern slope, a knight team of less than a hundred was advancing rapidly.

Unlike the heavy black iron armor of the Dragon Blood Legion, these individuals wore armor that appeared somewhat peculiar, with many suits of armor hung with strange bottles and cans, and metal tubular devices at their waists clinking and whirring, as if ready to explode at any moment.

More bizarre was their method of attack.

One suddenly stopped while running, drew a metal spray tube from his back, and twisted it hard, immediately spewing out several meters of crimson flame, burning the oncoming insect carcasses from the root, their wails echoing through the valley.

The flames roared in the ice and snow, searing the earth with char and eerie red, while those knights, like burners from Purgatory, moved with unerring steps, advancing cruelly.

"At such a time, on such a battlefield... there's an unidentified knight squad daring to appear here? Which unit is that?" Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly, showing the first signs of doubt.

But Edmund was already frozen.

He suddenly widened his eyes, staring fixedly at a banner held high at the forefront of that peculiar knight squad.

A crimson base pattern, a golden sunrise slowly rising, like flames dancing fiercely.

It was the flag of the Red Tide Territory!

In his mind flashed a name, someone who should still be far away in Snow Peak County consolidating the situation, someone who should absolutely not be here:

Louis Calvin.

"What is he doing here?"

In an instant, Duke Edmund almost blurted out, his tone carrying a rare shock, and even... a trace of unease.

He had thought that he had already set the stage for this war, besieging the Doomsday Nest, waiting for a steady approach, peeling away the layers.

But now his rather clever and wise son-in-law, leading a strangely outfitted knight squad, quietly barges into this battlefield?

Right on the cusp of the Dragon Blood Legion and the Doomsday Nest's impending fierce clash?

Flames surged again, charring insect corpses en masse, and that "flame knight squad" seemed like a task force specifically for hunting down insect nests.

In the secondary battle line, they swiftly opened up a local advantage, step by step closing in on a small nest outpost that hadn't been noticed by the main force.

"Lino!" Edmund called softly.

An old knight stepped forward, bowing steadily.

"Immediately take three scouts, close in on that Red Tide knight squad. Tell them this is a direct order from the Frost Halberd City garrison, urging them to come to Frost Halberd City to see me at once."

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