As Louis rode his warhorse across the southern section of Snow Ridge and saw the Red Tide banner fluttering in the cold wind ahead, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Seventeen days...
He led the Flathrower Team and Knight Order, traveling through the snowstorm for a full seventeen days.
Starting from Chi Yun Territory, he rescued Willis;
Then to the northwest border of Snow Peak County to block the Nest Ravine;
Along the way, they cut off seven Insect Tide pathways and established nine temporary firepower outposts;
They adjusted Magic Explosion Bullets overnight and reinforced the mountain pass manually;
He personally led charges five tis and orchestrated more than ten strategic rescues.
Now they finally managed to ’keep them at the gate.’
Despite the insect corpses still moving day and night, a firepower blockade from West Ridge to the Frozen Tundra had been established, with flathrower troops and knights stationed at various fortresses and natural terrains by Louis.
Out of the chaos, he initially sketched a border fireline that could be ’defended, retreated, and mobilized.’
The iron-cast passes bore the Red Tide banner flapping in the wind. The Flathrower Knight Team and knights patrolled in shifts, with outposts established every few hundred ters, equipped with oil jars, Magic Explosion Bullets, and vibration sensors.
’The northwest canyon is sealed.’
’The fourth fire dam on Snow Crack Hill is completed.’
’The insect corpses haven’t broken through the main line in the past three days.’
The adjutant reported each line, and Louis just nodded.
’Finally, it looks like a real defense line.’ He murmured softly, the wind nearly carrying away his voice.
These days, a faint darkness had appeared under his eyes.
Yet he still maintained a calm, composed deanor.
With a cloak draped over him, his armor was already full of mottled scorch marks, and his hair was wet with snow, sticking to his cheeks, making him look more like a seasoned general than a once-criticized young nobleman.
’We’ve only temporarily held off the first wave. The real disaster... hasn’t begun.’
And precisely because of this, he must go back to take a look.
Red Tide Territory is now the only hub within the Snow Peak Army that can still manage grain, supplies, and combat preparations—if they couldn’t seize this opportunity to deploy, organize, and strengthen defenses...
Then the next Insect Tide breakthrough will not just an the downfall of a single clan, but the collapse of the entire defensive line.
’Return to Red Tide Territory.’ When he said this, the horse team began to change their marching direction.
......
On the highlands of the southern territory of Red Tide, the sprawling temporary dwellings undulated like waves in the cold wind, stretching beyond the eye could see.
These were the people and nobles who escaped with their lives when their hos were torn apart by the Nest.
They wore tattered clothes, had pale faces, so holding children, others assisting the elderly, so supporting sick family mbers, others carrying warm urns of ashes, kneeling at the temporary passage entrance set by the Red Tide Army, waiting for a list to register.
When they heard ’he’s here,’ the crowd erupted into a stir of whispers.
Not the rumored general, not the high-ranking noble, but their rescuer, Louis Calvin, who rode slowly through the central avenue between the tents.
He wore no finery, his armor still stained with blood, and he had no ceremonial entourage, only accompanied by the Flathrower Team and logistics soldiers.
Yet it was this very figure that brought tears to countless eyes.
’It’s him, it’s truly him... who saved us.’
’He’s the one who pulled out of the ruins... If only my brother had been three days earlier, maybe...’
’Lord Louis... Red Tide Lord...’
A child broke free from his mother’s embrace, running to approach him.
An elderly noblewoman cried out loud, kneeling in the snow, sobbing incessantly.
Louis guided his horse slowly among the tents, looking at those weary yet hopeful eyes.
’Thank you... truly, thank you...’ A woman, trembling, held her child by the roadside with her head low, her voice hoarse, ’If not for you, my little daughter would have... would have...’
She didn’t finish, just wiped away her tears.
Louis dismounted slowly, squatted down, and gently touched the little girl’s head, a warm smile on his lips.
’This is not your place of exile,’ Louis smiled, ’but a new beginning.’
His words were as calm as water, yet they comforted everyone’s hearts like a fla.
At that mont, soone among the tent forest shouted loudly: ’Long live Red Tide! Long live Lord Louis!’
Soon, the cries were echoed by many, tears and shouts mingling in the wind and snow, as if the entire refugee camp had co to life.
The temporary aristocrat camp was personally ordered by him before he set out, implenting a variety of policies.
Tent areas were numbered and registered by origin;
Each person was allocated military porridge and charcoal, with warm shelters and simple wooden houses set up;
Orphans were watched over collectively, soldiers guided patrols, and the nobility area was equipped with military officers serving as ’guardians.’
What was thought to be a period of mud, hunger, and strife turned out differently. When the porridge was boiled, the simple shelters were erected, and the Red Tide campfires soared, many refugees finally realized
This place was even better than their forr fiefs.
’He actually prepared food supplies in advance...’
’He even set aside a small room for my elderly mother to rest, my God, we never dread of this.’
And behind this miraculous orderliness was the bountiful harvest of Red Tide Territory this year, the supplies he ordered through the Calvin Clan’s rchants upon learning of the impending disaster this year...
It was that ’post-war migration plan’ he had personally drafted in advance.
......
Leaving these refugees, Louis entered inside the Red Tide Main Castle.
After more than ten days of campaigning abroad, on battlefields built of blood and fire that never let him bow down, but at this mont, as the corridors of Red Tide Castle ca into view, fatigue finally surged over him like a tide.
Just stepping into the main hall, before he could remove his cloak, he heard the sound of bell-like footsteps rushing towards him.
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