I, Lord of the End

2022-03-05

Chapter 62, Cogne Castle Survey

Cogne Castle is a built in a very secluded location in the Grey Rock mountain range The fortress, whose roads are intentionally hidden from discovery, serves as the Holy Empire’s secret stronghold in the Grey Rock mountain range, with its tough intricate lines and fantastical appearance set against the lush surrounding landscape.

Usually, this fortress is only garrisoned by about 30-50 people to ensure that it can be invisible in the Greyyan mountain range with the lowest supply consumption and maximum concealment, so that it can be activated during special periods.

Looking at Cogne Castle from a distance, Celeste introduced to Sid: “This is a castle designed to withstand a long siege, with a thick city wall, a moat and a drawbridge, and an outer city wall. , The horn-like structure of the Vice Castle Lord Fort, as well as an independent water well, the city has large-scale magic ballistas, trebuchets, a small number of imported dwarves cannons and hot oil crucibles, even if there are only more than 30 people, they can defend the attack of 500 people .”

Sid looked around and saw the castle of Cogne towering over the mountains, clinging to the peaks of the Grey Rock mountain range in the alpine forest, towering high in the clouds.

And below are misty valleys where several small streams converge into the lake.

The view is deserted, and all you can see are birds flying in the woods and grizzly bears and wolves wandering in the mountains.

“30 people can defend the attack of 500 people, and there were 1,000 people in the castle at that time.” Sid shook his head and sneered: “Although these 1,000 people are not a field army, it is estimated that they are also in the local army. They are not elites, but they are all gone without even a single message, is it really unreasonable?”

“Not only that, but also some of the military salaries prepared for this war totaling more than 253,000 gold. More than 3,200 tons of ecubit, barley, wheat, rye and countless military supplies have all disappeared.” The Imperial Princess stretched her swan-like neck and looked at the mountain road: “It’s really strange.”

The Imperial Princess team gradually approached the castle of Cogne. The gate of the castle was closed and the drawbridge was closed. The flag of the Principality of the Wolf was hanging on the tower.

The defenders found the approaching team, and a guard officer flashed on the city wall: “Central Army? Which part are you from?”

“Holy Empire Black Eagle Guard , open the door immediately! The Imperial Princess is here!” The Black Eagle guards came under the castle and scolded loudly: “Don’t open the door yet!”

“Ah? Obey.” The chief guard heard Black Eagle Guard’s name With a drastic change in his face, he hurriedly stretched out his hand to signal: “open the gate!”

“open the gate!”

The heavy PA sounded, and the drawbridge of the castle was smashed by the rotation of the winch. Putting it down, the heavy gate needs the combined efforts of several people to be pulled up.

Watching the city gate open like this, Sid and Celeste looked thoughtful at each other.

The carriage door opened, and Sid, in full chain mail and a hood, first jumped out of the carriage, and then the Imperial Princess’ valet immediately pulled the steps from under the carriage and bowed to greet Her Royal Highness the Imperial Princess. car.

A pair of black vibranium military boots stepped on the steps, the skin was sebum, the eyebrows were like a crescent moon, he was wearing the Black Eagle Imperial Family full-body vibranium enchanted plate armor, and a large golden one-handed axe hung around his waist. Noble and elegant, beautiful and alluring Imperial Princess walked down the steps slowly, her brows were heroic, the iceberg-like face exudes a cold air that no one is close to, a perfect waistline and a slender body The shape is covered by the armor skirt and the black red Imperial Family burqa under the cloth and armor, the cloak floating behind with the mountain wind, and Celeste’s purple pupils full of scrutiny, forming a pair of pictures depicting the frozen glaciers in the mountains. ‘s Iron and Blood Scroll.

“I do not know that Her Royal Highness the Imperial Princess arrived and did not open the door to welcome her. Please forgive me!”

Celeste was nodded indifferently, she didn’t even look at the chief guard, facing Sid’s outstretched hand, she pushed it away with her little golden-shocked hand, indicating that she didn’t need his help: “Get up. Right.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The guards got up from the ground and stood in three rows in front of the Imperial Princess.

“Who are you under?” The Imperial Princess shook her cloak lightly. She glanced around at the surrounding environment. There were obvious signs of damage to the city wall and tower of Cogne Castle, and it seemed that there were giant objects. The claws left hideous marks on the surface of the city wall.

“We are soldiers under Charles Zellingen’s count.” The chief of guard bowed first, and then saluted: “My name is Horn, and after the defeat, I came to the branch by order of General Charlie. Investigating the Castle of Nirvana and taking over the guard duties.”

Celeste frowned subconsciously when she heard that it was from Charlie’s party, then immediately relaxed and pretended not to care: “Did you find out anything?”

“When we came here, the whole castle was like soaking in blood. The corpses were crowded everywhere we could see. Even the moat was blocked by corpses. Outside the castle, the city wall, The inner courtyard, as well as the secondary fort and the main fort were full of corpses, some of which were frozen hard. General Charlie couldn’t bear to watch Paoze’s corpse smash into the wild like this, so he found a place in the vicinity to cremate them collectively. It’s gone.” Horn said of which the chief guard couldn’t bear it: “Even so, the castle is still a mess, and it took us three weeks to clean up the interior.”

” Did you clean up the whole place?” Sid asked immediately, and he scolded directly: “Who asked you to do this? You are directly destroying the scene!”

“I… nobody Let’s do this, sir.” Horn said cautiously: “But, we’ll be on duty here later, if we don’t deal with corpses, and if we don’t clean up the scene, how can we live in? This will spread the plague.”

“Take us in and see.” Celeste’s frozen face showed no expression.

“Yes, Your Highness, this way please.” Horn watched the Imperial Princess’s state cautiously, seeing that she never made any statement but could only accompany them with a smiling face, when Celeste’s eyes turned around He quickly averted his eyes and gestured.

Obviously, because there has been no war for a long time and the financial problems of the wolves, the inhabitants do not pay attention to the maintenance and repair of the castle. Trees grow inside the castle.

Go through the city gate and step into the inner courtyard protected by the outer city wall. There are stables, armouries, prayer rooms, grain depots, training grounds and other configurations that should be in the castle, but most of them are destroyed. Very powerful, the crucibles, barrels, boxes and gravel piles on the ground were left unorganized and left to be thrown on the ground. The bed crossbows used to guard foreign enemies have been destroyed.

Celeste tried her best to find any clues in the empty courtyard, but she found nothing until the patio in the castle appeared in front of her, and the Imperial Princess immediately motioned to Horne: “This well?”

“Oh, this is the water well of the castle. Your Highness, the defenders usually store water here.” Horn immediately introduced: “Is there any problem?”

” Since water is usually stored here, why seal it up?” Celeste pointed to the well that was held down by planks and stones.

“Your Highness, this is the case, because when we came here, we found that the well was full of corpses, and the water originally stored in it had become Corpse Water, smelling a rotten smell and The smell of blood is really unbearable, so I closed this place.”

“That’s it.” Celeste nodded slightly: “Take us to the main castle.”

“Yes.”

The secondary fort has completely collapsed, and the only thing left to see is the main fort.

The first floor of the main fort has the hall, dining room, and kitchen, while the second floor houses the prayer room, library, soldier’s quarters, and a small armory.

The third floor is the guard’s room and the infirmary, and the fourth floor is the observation deck.

Sid followed Celeste as he walked up, and he found that many of the walls in the castle had frescoes, but the mildew, smoke and humidity made the frescoes difficult to preserve, and there was a rotten smell in the air, There is also a faint bloody smell.

Even after opening Falcon’s Eye, Sid didn’t find much, and there seems to be not much traces of battle in the main castle. Although many furniture have visible damage with naked eyes, they still remain after cleaning. of rubble and household items, but the Falcon Eye keeps telling Sid that there has been no very fierce resistance.

“That’s all?” Celeste then asked, “Where’s the basement?”

“Here, Your Majesty, the basement is damp and cold, and there are a dozen or so hapless people working there. After the last resistance, people still tell me that they heard strange noises at night.”

“Lead the way.”

“Your Highness?”

“Lead the way.” ~ Road!”

“Yes.”

Walking down the spiral staircase to the basement, a very strong rotten smell assaults the senses, like stinky milk that has been put for many days Like rotten eggs, disgusting, the basement of the main fort is a storage warehouse, it is very dark here, and the guards set the torch on fire.

“Squeak~zhi zhi zhi zhi~” The appearance of someone disturbed the aborigines here, and a few mice stared at the big round eyes and ran about on the ground.

“!” Celeste’s face suddenly turned pale when she saw these fluffy and dirty little things. Purple’s noble eyes were full of panic. She covered her mouth with her hands and stepped back subconsciously. Sid’s feet.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness?” Sid quickly supported the Imperial Princess.

“No…nothing, it’s a little dark in front, you go ahead.” Celeste took a step behind Sid, unnaturally tidied up his collar, and then reached out and pinched the back hem of his burqa:” Be careful.”

“Okay… wow, what a cute mouse.” Sid saw a gray mouse bigger than his fist, his eyes lit up: “yes~yes, mouse. , Mouse, come to my hands.”

“Squeak ~zhi zhi ~zhi zhi.” Sid stretched out his hand, and the fat mouse was frightened, and it kept barking all over the floor. Running around, under its drive, the basement continuously made small sounds from the box, from the bag, and from the garbage heap. Song of the Rat Mouse.

“Ah!” Sid only felt the burqa tighten, and he turned back quickly.

I saw Celeste’s legs trembling under her armor skirt, complexion pale’s eyes were flustered, Sakura red’s lips were shaking, and the cold and arrogant Imperial Princess was curled up like a kitten with frizzy hair. When I got up, my eyes were filled with tears, and I managed to maintain my composure: “Qi…the smell is so bad…”

Sid, think of a way! The Imperial Princess looked for help, and she simply put her hands on Sid’s back and leaned against him.

Why is this Imperial Princess afraid of mice? Sid slandered in his heart, the mouse is so cute, you can kill a piece with an axe, what’s there to be afraid of?

I don’t care, hurry up, I can’t move! Celeste “eye shows the ominous light”, also pleading.

“There are a lot of mice here.” The Imperial Princess’ valet still relieved her, motioning for Horn and the Black Eagle guards to drive away the mice: “Don’t you clean it up?”

“No way. The old castle is in disrepair and lacks budget. It is often used to store food, so there are naturally a lot of mice.” Horn explained with a few awkward smiles, and the guards used torches to drive the mice away.

The basement is not very big, but there are many traces of battles here. In the dim light, Sid opened his falcon eyes and continued to observe. It seems that the original defenders of Cogne Castle used this place as the last stronghold of resistance. , blocked an inner room with debris, wine barrels and grain bags, and wanted to hold on.

However, there is something terrifying that uses its mighty force to not only break down barriers, but even walls made of thick boulders.

“This is the innermost room, and the basement is that big.” Horn Captain pointed to the badly damaged inner room: “This is often used as a temporary cell, because it is very It’s dark and cold, and usually no one lives there.”

“Well, I see.” Although Sid could see through the eyes of a falcon that a fierce battle had taken place in the inner room, the place was also cleaned up. , without leaving too many traces… eh?

Is something flashing in the room?

Sid stepped forward quickly, moved towards the pile of garbage in the corner of the room, and under everyone’s puzzled eyes, Sid suddenly reached into the garbage.

A shimmering pendant was taken out by Sid.

This is a pendant made of unknown material, neither gold nor iron, neither stone nor wood, the surface of the pendant is engraved with the name “Wolf Bruvik-? ???-??” is followed by a “∞” symbol that symbolizes infinity.

“This is it?!” The Imperial Princess stepped forward immediately, she took the pendant from Sid’s hand, and the complexion changed slightly after looking at it a little.

“What is this? Your Highness?” The Guard Captain asked subconsciously when he saw the pendant’s expression changed drastically.

“This is the mark of the Void Realm, and it is the identity symbol of the senior leaders of the Xuxu Religion.” Sid reached out and pinched his chin and muttered to himself: “Every member of the inner circle of the Xuxu Cult will be caught in the inner circle. Accepting a mark of his own, which represents who he is.”

“Yes, I heard that from my mentor in Holy White City.” Celeste, she said to Sid : “The teacher said that this mark symbolized the person’s ‘Void Realm’, damn, his name was wiped out, otherwise we can find the wizard to use magic backtracking through his real name to find out what happened.”

“If you say that, Your Highness, the massacre here was done by Phantom Cult? Serapis is on top, curse these goddamn Vulture Cult demons!” Captain Horn looked very angry in the dim torch light : “They must take full responsibility for this bloody case!”

“Where else is there any trace of battle?” Celeste did not respond, and Imperial Princess took the opportunity to put the pendant away.

“There is no place, Your Highness, you have inspected all the places except the collapsed Vice Fort.”

“So it’s getting late, Your Highness, we Go back.” Sid suggested: “It’s not safe here.”

“Okay.”

The entire group returned to the castle gate, Sid waited on Celeste to board the carriage, Before leaving, moved towards Guard Captain and said politely: “Then we won’t bother, thank you for your cooperation.”

“No, we are excuse me for not going out to meet you, please Imperial Princess Your Highness, forgive me.” The Guard Captain hurriedly saluted.

Sid said no more, he followed the carriage, and the Imperial Princess entire group slowly left along the way.

Guard Captain Horn watched the Imperial Princess entire group disappear from sight.

“Quick, go and inform General Charlie that the Imperial Princess has come to Cogne Castle, and there are still discoveries!”

“Yes!”

The messenger mounted and galloped along the other road.

“Be careful, the next patrol can’t tell when it will come, hurry up and pack up, we’ll leave now!”

“Relax, Captain, everything is ready. ”

Updated, ask for tickets!

(end of this chapter)