Chapter 331 - 01: Green Dragon
The Fifth Era of Elf History, Silver Moon Year 1, early December. This was when Jones had just returned home. At this time, Gray had not yet issued his final ultimatum, but everyone knew he was preparing to march north. All the nations had already begun actively preparing for war.
...
Within the northern Barbarian Empire, in Lunbak, located on the Keltos Continent.
After a heavy snowfall, the entire world was a vast expanse of white. Trees, houses—they were all buried under the blankets of snow.
Crows perched on branches, bobbing their heads as they gazed around. Occasionally, they took flight, shaking off cascades of snowflakes.
A gust of wind passed through, carrying with it shards of ice crystals.
A secluded frontier town.
At the center of the town stood a tall fortress, silent and still, also draped in snow. Unlike the southern regions or the Gustav Empire’s architectural style, this fortress looked extremely rough—crooked, uneven, and far from aesthetically pleasing or traditional.
Surrounding the fortress were clusters of low houses, their outlines almost indistinguishable under the snow.
The sky had yet to clear completely; snowflakes were still intermittently falling.
The streets were utterly empty, as though the entire world had frozen solid—there wasn’t a single soul in sight. And not just people, but even footprints were absent. This suggested that no one had ventured outside for at least several hours. If not for the wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, one might have mistaken this for an abandoned town.
The weather was terribly cold, so cold that sneezing might cause an icicle to drop, so cold that people didn’t even want to move.