Steel and Mana

Chapter 126 – Early Winter

I stood on the castle walls while Merlin stood to my right on a box, and Elliot was leaning forward, standing to my left. We watched silently as the tractor moved around in the Pass, overturning the earth. It wasn't doing it alone as soldiers followed behind it, planting not seeds but mines, preparing for the coming winter.

"How many can you manufacture by next year?"

"I don't know how hard the winter will be, but my estimation is that by spring, I can transfer ten or even more to you. If the winter is harsher than usual, maybe six. I can't give you an exact number."

"Fine. However many you got, I'm taking them!"

"Haaah... Sure. But only because you are my Uncle!" I shrugged, making him chuckle, patting my back.

"What is it, Merlin? You have been awfully quiet this whole time."

"Hm?" He flinched, looking at my Uncle, "Ah. Yes, it functions well and manages to withstand everything we throw at it. It will work well on your fields!"

"It was not what he asked." I chuckled, making Merlin blush and look away while I leaned closer to Elliot. "He has been like that since he returned from his previous trip. I think he fell in love."

"I did not!" Merlin protested after hearing me, stomping on his box out of frustration, almost falling off it in the process.

"Sure." We answered him in tandem, grinning the same way.

I noticed it the moment he returned. He became clumsy, failed to pay attention, and even missed one of our meetings. I wasn't angry when it happened, instead I was curious. Still, the most I could get out of him was that it was not because of Elena but because of what she said. Pion and Polo reported that he had spent a whole night alone with Elena in the castle. It wasn't just them who were worried but also Elena's own entourage. Both groups tried to go in and check up on them, but the doors were locked, and when they attempted to force it open, they berated the two groups like they were naughty children, trying to take a peek at their parents.

"Do you think he is no longer a boy?" Elliot asked, but I did not have a genuine answer for him this time.

"Hmmm... Maybe they did not go that far."

At first, I thought the same thing, but currently I was unsure. Even if it is Merlin we are talking about, it wouldn't affect him this much, so I am more inclined to believe he was indeed having a deep discussion about different theories with her. It was not about sex. If I am right, it was the first time that, besides Sasha and I, anyone could keep up with him. Oh, my dear Duke Kustov, you sent me a bigger gift than you could have imagined. Now, I was eager to meet Elena the moment spring came, but before that, we had to get through the winter ahead of us.

And it turned out to be a winter that would be recorded in the history books, but I did not know that then.

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Snow. Down south, at the edges of the continent where the endless ocean encounters the immovable landmass, the term snow was a foreign concept. Generations grew up and died without ever seeing it fall from the sky, right until the very end of AE 3094. It came out of nowhere, in the last part of the year, and although it didn't cover everything in a white blanket, it was still shocking for the people living down there. The cold air that brought it forward caused much more chaos amongst the kingdoms, who were used to the warmer climate than anyone had imagined at first. The snow or cold was not a problem, but the time, the months it persisted through.

While some of the world's superpowers could weather through it, not every one of them was as lucky. East of the Ishillian Empire, the Atuvian League experienced the biggest famine and crisis since their establishment, suffering greatly under the harsh weather. Their caravans were stuck, unable to continue to trade, using up their surplus at an alarming rate. So much so that they even sent envoys to Ishillia, hoping to ask them for help...

But they were not the Empire that was hit the most severely. That title went to the Kingdom of Markoth, an empire ravaged by a 60-year-long civil war. It was another force on the continent, just like Ishillia, who guarded a passage through the vast mountain range leading into the beasts' territory. Maybe it was because of the generation-long dispute within the kingdom that even broke them up into two, making the events that happened possible in AE 3094.

Whatever the cause, ultimately, their passageway was broken through, not by just a horde of beasts but by a gigantic, 20-meter-tall monstrosity walking on two tower-thick legs, marching through everything standing in its path. What was even worse was that the world learned about this intrusion only multiple years later. Yet, they never knew that it was not the only place where a monster tried to enter the continent.

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"You jinxed it!" Sasha grumbled at me, and I had nothing to defend myself with as we sat in our bedroom. It was already the end of the day, and we were getting ready to go to bed.

She was somewhat right because winter knocked on our doors way too early, at least a month before it usually used to. Snow began falling, and the temperature was dropping rapidly, making me feel like I was now living in Siberia.

"Sorry... but I am no God to change the weather! At least we have heating! I have already warned the ministers to organize constant vigil and send out workers to check on the pipes every day. This is just the beginning, I'm afraid."

"I don't dare to imagine how it would be if we didn't have all our current, improved lives!" She sighed softly, holding our kids in her arms, both of them wrapped up tight as they slept. "I don't think even my fire would have helped if I am still living in the forest..."

"But you are not!" Yuri answered her as she entered the room, wearing clothes for a change, followed by Luna.

"Brrr! Coooold! Just coming out of the bath made me feel like I was turning into an icicle!" She moaned, complaining, hurrying towards the bed and climbing under the thick blanket at once. "Let's cuddle and chase the cold away!"

"Don't squish the little ones!" Yuri warned her, making me chuckle as we were all going to sleep together as a big family, with Arthur and Leyla in the middle of our group.

"Don't worry; I am the smallest amongst us!" Luna answered with a grin as we all climbed in, curling up like a group of cats. These are the moments why I love winter...

Still, if you asked me to repeat the previous statement the next day, I would have refused to do. We were having problems simply getting out of the palace with the heavy snow blocking the doors and windows. The soldiers were constantly shoveling it away. So, driven by a sudden thought, I made Kraus and the rest create giant metal bulldozer blades. The idea was simple: we attached it to the newly built tractors and sent them out to clear the roads as best as possible. Their priority was to focus on keeping the highway from Avalon to the castle open so that if we had to, we could march forward without delays.

To none of my surprise, that first warning came a month after the early winter had begun. When I arrived, I was greeted by the valley, still smoking from the blasts from the Dragonfire cannons' fires, and I could see the chunks of beasts littering the ground everywhere.

"When did it happen?" I asked my father, pulling the thick clothes on me closer. Just the simple fact of speaking and breathing the cold air in was stinging my lungs.

"Right before sunrise." He explained grimly, "These beasts were as big as your tractor, and they were fast. Some managed to dodge the first salvo. If not for us doing a more extensive sweep with multiple groups of cannon volleys, they would have gotten through the minefield."

"Damn it. I am going to bring over more CC. I don't like this!"

"Me neither, son... I never heard of an early winter or one that is this cold!"

"I did..." I answered, crossing my arms, looking towards remains that were being collected by a group of soldiers, working on bringing them back. "Elyzien Morningstar mentioned it to me. It happened eight hundred years ago, the Bestial Wars. It was the other time when they broke through... I looked it up, and sure enough, there were records of it in the Empress's library. It also describes a harsh winter and the beasts smashing through the Pass, flooding the country."

"Well... this time, we won't go down easy!" He snorted, patting the cannon right next to us, attached to the wall. "My son made sure of that, hah!"

"Let's hope so..." I whispered, feeling my heartbeat climbing.

The record does not say what kind of monsters came through back then, but it took the Empire multiple years to clean up the mess and plug the Pass before they decided to lead a conquest into their territory, which, of course, failed. Whatever was happening now, I had a city behind these walls where my wives and my children were living. This castle can't fall—no matter what!

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"It is our chance to attack."

"No."

Pascal's refusal was swift, and his voice carried such authority that Kathrien was enraged, her breathing increasing and veins appearing around her neck.

"You are just saying it because it is my idea. We can circle around the city unnoticed with the heavy snow and cut their supply lines! We can besiege them and starve them to death!"

"It will be our side that gets starved." Pascal continued as the two stood in the underground library, where it was still warm enough to wear only two layers of clothes. "Our soldiers would be stuck outside, in the open, buried under the snow. We failed to do it in the past; now, it is too late for that, and we would only sacrifice our experienced troops. I am more concerned about the Frontier, anyway."

"Why?"

"The last time something like this happened, beasts came through the Pass. We must send a ship up there."

"No," Answered Kathrien, even forming a small smile as, finally, it was her time to be in control. "They are already tied down with their missions. They are the fastest vehicles right now and must patrol the borders. The only one that could be spared is now heading towards the League."

"Why?" he asked, his voice as cold as the winter. Looking into her eyes, he tried to force her to take a step back, but Kathrien wasn't backing down.

"Because they asked for help. And... I will help them. I will do so and push them into debt—so much so that by the time spring comes, they will be our puppets. That's why. You are just paranoid, old man! You read the ancient legends and are now spooked by the winter, too? Do you think this is also a sign of a bad omen? Maybe your spell is failing, and your brain began rotting?"

"Careful with your tongue, girl..." Pascal sneered, flashing his yellowing teeth at her.

"I am careful. When I saw the red-haired boy, I sent him down; you cleared him. What? You made a wrong decision? Is that the case?"

"I did not!"

"Then what is it?" She pressed on because she felt as if she was finally having the upper hand over him.

"Tell the ship when it is traveling back and forth; do it over the Frontier. If they see beasts roaming around, we will know if the Pass has been breached or not. Otherwise, we will scale everything back and focus on hibernating. We must preserve our armies because if they freeze to death, we will only prolong the war and weaken ourselves."

"Hmph. So be it..." She snorted, not wanting to argue anymore, but still, she was feeling vindicated and satisfied deep within. So what if monsters break through? When spring comes, they will retreat, and if all fails, she will have to send a different, low-born noble family to replace them. Was that even a loss? It was like changing underwear...