Chapter 604: Obsession

…

Lightning flew into the castle office, delivering the last aerial view of the snow mountain to Roland.

“Thank you,” Roland stroked the little girl’s head. “Any new discoveries?”

“Just snow and more snow,” she closed her eyes in enjoyment. “Not to mention devils and mutated beasts, I couldn’t even see any larger animals.”

“Is that so… I guess I was overthinking it,” Roland took out the previous drawings and looked through them again—although these aerial views were only drawn in sketch form, far from being as detailed and realistic as Soraya’s "photos," they could at least show the entire snow mountain's appearance.

Its mountain body was massive, about four thousand meters high. Standing on the summit, one could clearly see the sea of clouds. The peak was not as steep and sharp as he had expected, but rather an extremely open flat ground with a slight depression in the middle, like a huge volcanic crater. The sunken part was filled with a frozen ice lake, the entire lake surface like a clean mirror. According to Lightning, through the thick ice layer, she could see flowing water underneath.

“What do you think is on the mountain peak?”

“Ruins, a Black Stone Tower, a town… anything is possible,” Roland said with a smile. “It would be more surprising if it were barren.” He pointed to the newly drawn drawings, “Is the source of the Redwater River here?”

“Yes,” Lightning tilted her head and glanced at it. “It’s in the clouds. If I hadn't heard the sound of rushing water, I wouldn't have noticed it. There are many cracks in the mountain, some of which are astonishingly large, with a width of two or three hundred meters. The sound of the water falling nearby can be compared to thunder.”

“You didn’t try to drill inside, did you?”

“Uh…”

“Tell the truth.”

“I tried, but I didn’t succeed,” the little girl pouted. “The cracks are big enough, the height can even accommodate half of the castle, but the water mist brought up by the rapids is too dense, I can’t see anything, and it’s mixed with strong winds, I was quickly pushed out.”

“Don’t do such dangerous things again in the future,” Roland glared. “Remember what you promised me?”

“Any adventure must be applied for with you,” Lightning drooped her head.

“That’s right, this time the homework punishment is waived, go play with Maisie.”

“Eh… what about the snow mountain?”

“It’s temporarily over,” he folded all the aerial views and put them in the drawer. “Further exploration will wait until Sylvie returns. Next, I have to focus my attention on the war with the Church.”

“Okay,” Lightning nodded and flew out of the window.

“What do you think?” Roland looked behind him.

“I’m here, Your Majesty,” Nightingale appeared from the desk, sitting cross-legged. “The snow mountain is freezing cold, no one would choose to set up camp in such a ghastly place, right?”

Because she took off her shoes, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at her feet wrapped in white cotton socks as he turned his head. “Cough… so you also think the mutated beast with the giant maw is hidden inside the snow mountain?”

“I just think that if they are so good at digging holes, it’s not difficult to build nests in the mountain, and…” Nightingale looked hesitant.

“And what?”

“Those holes in the Impassable Mountain Range, could they also be related to them?”

…

Until late at night, Roland was still thinking about what Nightingale said. No matter what, it was truly a chilling guess.

If they were everywhere, unconstrained by natural dangers, how could he annihilate this group of terrifying monsters?

Another thing that puzzled him was that since the mutated beast with the giant maw could reach the edge of the Aurora Plateau, there should also be traces of their activity on the Fertile Plains, so why didn’t the Union leave any records about them?

Unfortunately, the current situation did not allow him to explore further. Only by completely defeating the Church could Neverwinter have a future.

After more than a month of transportation, he had transported nearly four thousand soldiers to the Northern Lands, as well as corresponding military equipment and supplies. According to the intelligence from the front lines, the field defense line was being excavated smoothly according to plan, and all traffic lines from Coldwind Ridge to the kingdom's interior were cut off by the First Army. Soon the last batch of soldiers would set off, and he would also go to the Northern Territory with the army to command this war that he could not afford to lose.

Just then, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

Roland opened the door and found Anna standing outside.

“I’ve seen Wendy’s list of soldiers going to war, my name is not on it,” she walked into the room, her calm face showing no emotion. “I can’t accept this, Your Majesty.”

If she came to him angrily to make trouble, Roland would know what to do, but Anna’s current expression made him feel a little scared, as if she had made a decision, even life and death were no longer important—since rescuing her from the prison, he had never seen Anna show such an appearance in front of him.

Roland pulled her to sit down on the bed, and after a long silence, he finally opened his mouth and said, “I know what you’re thinking, but the military production in the Border Region cannot do without you. Whether it's heavy jijiqiang parts or grenade fuses, you need to process them… and this is crucial for victory.”

“Not because the front line is dangerous?”

“Fighting the Church certainly has some dangers, but we will definitely win, so you don’t need to worry too much… staying in Neverwinter is a more appropriate choice.”

He did not persuade Anna from the perspective of the safety of the war, because her expression had already made clear her attitude. Only by changing to a higher-level reason, such as using production related to the victory or defeat of the war to persuade her to stay, could he have an effect on her, who took everything very seriously.

“If that’s the case, I can produce in Silent Valley Town as well,” however, Anna was unmoved. “The Northern Lands also have iron and copper production, and Edith xiaojie certainly won’t be stingy with these ores. Lucia is also willing to accompany me, and there is no problem with refining. In addition, in terms of transportation, the ships originally needed to transport complete guns and artillery, but now they only need to transport some parts, which can be assembled in the Northern Lands, and the efficiency will be higher.” Her answer was methodical, and she was obviously prepared.

“This…” Roland was speechless for a moment.

“Your Majesty, I cannot accept being separated from you at this time,” she stretched out her hands, held his cheeks and said, “This is different from the temporary farewells in the past. You actually know better than anyone that the war with the Church will be the biggest challenge you face. Either Hermes Holy City will be destroyed, or the First Army will be defeated. I never avoid anything, and I never deceive myself. If you lose, you may leave me forever, and if I stay in Neverwinter, I may not even know this news until two or three months later… I don’t want to wait so long in agony, and finally get a farewell.”