After five days of travel, the group finally reached the city of Oburs situated downstream of Galan. By now, a blizzard had set in, with icy winds mixed with heavy snow assaulting Oburs. Although they were eager to immediately enter the army’s station, they could only take shelter in a city inn for the time being, waiting for the snowstorm to lessen before resuming their journey.
The blizzard raged on for almost a week before it finally ceased, and Oburs was briefly greeted with sunlight. By then, Oburs had turned into a snowy town, with the snow accumulating on the roads such that it could almost bury a person.
The advance team members, wearing the thick fur coats gifted to them by Princess Melia, were also draped in lightweight chainmail. After all, they had been enlisted into the frontline legion and hence, could not dress haphazardly according to their whims.
On the streets, the Count of Oburs City ordered the soldiers to start clearing the accumulated snow. He also enlisted the help of some resident mages within the city. With the aid of their fire magic, the roads of Oburs finally resurfaced, creating a passable route.
By then, the sun was high in the sky with not a cloud in sight. The sunlight, falling upon the accumulated snow, considerably increased the brightness of Oburs. The sunlight felt warm on the skin but not to the point where you would break out in a sweat.
Capitalizing on such good weather, the advance team decided to journey to the army’s base. They were carrying passage permits granted to them by Princess Melia, so not even the city gate’s guard had the jurisdiction to inspect them, but could only let them pass freely.
Baiyue was riding on a horse, a carrier pigeon cage dangling around the horse’s neck. With the gait of the horse, the cage swayed back and forth. But the carrier pigeon seemed to rather enjoy the swaying movement, staying firmly perched on a wooden rod within the cage, absolutely unperturbed by the constant swaying.
The military camp was roughly ten kilometers away from Oburs, a suitable distance to provide timely reinforcements to Oburs. As for why the legion couldn’t be stationed within Oburs itself, it was said that both the Baron of Oburs and his lord disliked the Crown Prince, hence they refused the stationed presence of the Crown Prince’s forces in Oburs and insisted on defending their city on their own accord.
Apparently, King Valen was also aware of this fact. However, the strategic importance of Oburs to Masya was paramount and could not go unprotected, hence he had to compromise by allowing the legion to station outside the city, ready to reinforce Oburs at any moment.
Prince Oliver, although designated as the next king, was not accepted by every vassal. However, Luo’er did not know whom the lord of Oburs favored as the next king. Hopefully it was not Princess Melia. If that were the case, the political landscape of Masya would certainly become interesting.
Luo’er had no idea what the laws of succession were in Masya, but they likely did not prioritize males. If that were the case, Princess Melia would have no right to partake in politics and there would be no need for such chaotic unsettling affairs, she could just peacefully marry.
The legion had cleared the snow on the roads, opening up a passable path. Therefore, when they arrived at the military base, the sun was still high in the sky.
The legion’s commander was a bald man, around 30 to 40 years old. Although he was from the Aud people, he was the ugliest of them Luo’er had ever seen. His stature was short, only half a head taller than Tangmo. Luo’er could not fathom how such a man could command such a large legion, especially on the frontline where the elite forces were stationed.
The commander introduced himself as Rodney Kaduluns. Melia had mentioned him to Luo’er - the Caduluns Family, of which he hailed, was a staunch Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories. Rodney himself was a faithful and devoted servant of the Crown Prince which earned him the important responsibility as the commander of the frontline legion.
While Rodney was introducing himself, his lewd gaze would frequently wander towards Tangmo and Baiyue. Tangmo’s doll-like face, unique in its exotic beauty, accentuated by her fur coat’s trim, pulled at his heartstrings.
Perceiving Rodney’s lecherous gaze, Tangmo moved behind Luo’er, her brows furrowed. Baiyue also swiftly hid behind Hu Daoke, whose tall frame easily concealed her entirety.
"Commander, you seem to be a bit distracted!" Luo’er looked quietly at Rodney, and asked with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
"I do apologize, you are beloved guests sent by the Princess. This place is simple and thus, I beg your pardon for the lack of hospitality. I hope that you can understand," Rodney said, offering a smile. His teeth were yellow, and he exhaled foul breath with each word, causing Luo’er to subconsciously take several steps backwards.
"There’s no need to be so courteous, Commander. We’ve already made an agreement with Princess Melia to join the legion as mercenaries. Of course, Princess Melia would be covering our commission. So, Commander, please rest assured and arrange some accommodation for us, and also allocate our duties as soon as possible," said Luo’er, noticing his gaze had once again shifted to Tangmo, and quietly moved to block her once again.
"You haven’t introduced your team members yet!" Rodney remarked, somewhat unwillingly.
"They’re just my team members, all unknown faces. I’m sure someone as busy as the commander has no need to know their names!" Luo’er knew what Rodney was trying to do and tactfully declined his suggestion.
"Of course," Rodney laughed, though there was a hint of disappointment in his smile.
After some small talk, Luo’er and the others were led to their tents arranged by Rodney. These were tents made of durable canvas with several beds placed inside. It was clear that Rodney did not plan for men and women to sleep separately. After all, this was a military camp, where there was simply no distinction between male and female.
Only those arrogant noble mages and their ladies had the privilege of being separate. They resided on the vacant ground next to the station, where more than a dozen houses had been built with a simple wooden structure, serviced by exclusive servants. Yet, even so, these young mages were in constant complaint.
"Oops, now we have to sleep together," Hu Daoke said a bit gleefully.
"In that case," Tangmo cheerfully hugged Luo’er’s arm, and asked with a big grin, "Luo’er, may I sleep next to you?"
"No, you go to the other side and sleep with Yue’er!" Luo’er pulled his arm away, turning down her ambiguous suggestion.
"Humph!" Tangmo pouted in disappointment, reaching into Baiyue’s hood to touch her fluffy bunny ears, which made Baiyue blush.
Although the thick canvas could resist part of the wind-chill, it was unable to block out the evening cold. The temperature dropped to minus 20 to thirty degrees at night, and they could feel the cold seeping into their bones even dressed in thick fur.
Frozen and unable to endure any longer, Luo’er talked to the quartermaster and finally got a charcoal basin for heating. The group huddled around the charcoal fire. Hu Daoke was shivering and cursely muttered, "Damn, given the chance, I’m certainly going to get back at these guys!"
Their mission was originally to stir up the relationship between the Masya army and the Odelanqi army. Now it was winter, and there were not many battles. It was the best time for them to stir up some trouble in the camp.
Pigeons, at least, took two days for every round of communication. Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, they should not send a message to Melia.
Cheng Ziang kept his head down in contemplation, while wrapped in a blanket, he didn’t seem very cold so he left the spot near the fire for others.
"What are you thinking?" Luo’er asked when he saw Cheng Ziang in thought.
"I’m wondering what Melia is up to," Cheng Ziang said in a thoughtful tone, "Melia knows full well that the frontline army is the Crown Prince’s troops, yet she planted us here under her own name. If the Crown Prince had any brains, how could he ignore this?"
"You mean that we are likely to be plotted against by the army here?" Luo’er asked.
"The frontline army is the Crown Prince’s troops, and now people from Princess Melia are embedded. If I were the Crown Prince, I would definitely arrange some accidents to let Princess Melia’s people die a clear death." Cheng Ziang chuckled.
After hearing his words, Luo’er fell into contemplation. After a while of silence, he finally said, "If that’s the case, we should complete our mission as soon as possible, plot against them before they plot against us."
"Of course, it’s just a guess," Cheng Ziang laughed, "People can vary greatly in terms of intelligence. If the Crown Prince is really that smart, how could Melia still covet his position?"
"Anyway, we need to complete our mission as soon as possible, at least before the Crown Prince realizes what’s happening. Then we can retreat safely," Luo’er said seriously.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the intelligence, Luo’er wouldn’t want to intervene in the succession battle of Masya royal family at all. Melia had nothing but intelligence in her hand, so her counterattack seemed more like a heroic death. However, if she wanted to die, nobody would stop her. The point was, Luo’er and his team didn’t want to die. This was just an internal power struggle of the royal family, and Luo’er didn’t want to become their cannon fodder.
Due to the cold, everyone had to sleep around the charcoal brazier. Therefore, when they woke up the next day, their heads were groggy from breathing in too much carbon monoxide.
Anyway, they needed to complete the mission early and escape from this hellhole. Luo’er didn’t care about his own suffering, but he couldn’t bear to see his team members suffer along with him.
From yesterday onward, Rodney, the legion commander, had been lasciviously eyeing Tangmo and Baiyue. Moreover, now that they were Melia’s people, Luo’er knew that the longer they stayed, the more danger they were putting themselves in.
Who knows whether Rodney would use any devious means on these two girls. Furthermore, once the Crown Prince came to his senses and ordered to intensify their extermination, they would truly become cannon fodder.