Infrastructure Throne

In the northern part of the Dawn Continent, the orc army poured out of the Grand Canyon due to famine, stepped on the tail of severe winter, and swept all the human cities along the Grand Canyon like locusts.

No one expected before that the scale of this animal horde was unprecedentedly strong, and tribes big and small would come out in full force.

If it weren't for the fact that they came and went quickly, the powerful countries behind the mainland almost thought that the orcs were about to declare war on the human race.

When they were all preparing for battle, the beast horde had quietly receded, disappearing into the depths of the Grand Canyon without a trace.

For the people of the human race who barely survived the beast tide, this hellish winter will forever be engraved in their hearts like a branding iron.

The nobles of Nanji City fled en masse, and were easily broken by the enemy. The granaries in the city were looted, and the orc army swept away food supplies and a large number of slaves.

Fortunately, Beiji City did not meet the orc witches. Relying on the steep terrain, they provided a large amount of food to the orcs, abandoned all the poor people as food and slaves to the orcs, barely fed the appetite of the enemy, and delayed until the tide of beasts receded.

Even so, the city wall was still attacked and leaked from all sides, and the army and civilians suffered heavy casualties.

Other cities along the Grand Canyon saw similar tragedies. Countless people whose homes were destroyed and food was taken away were displaced.

The stream of people who died was looking for all the food that could satisfy their hunger, and the nobles who used to be proud and arrogant could not protect themselves under such gloomy clouds.

The experienced big nobles fled to Pearl City long ago, and the remaining little nobles could only hoard water and food and hide in the damp and cold basement, cursing the ferocious orcs and the damned refugees while shivering, letting the refugees break through. The mansion, searched away the last bit of residue, and left disappointed.

In the face of such a catastrophe, the status gap between people has been shortened to the extreme, but the survival rate of the rich nobles is still much higher than that of the common people.

The severe winter has not yet passed, and more and more people are fleeing, but looking at the whole Northland, where can they escape?

※※※

As the star of hope in the Northland, Pearl City, this winter, still stands firm in the disaster of the beast horde.

Mingzhu City faces water on one side and is surrounded by mountains on two sides. The tall and strong city walls tightly defend the inner and outer cities. Even if the outer city is breached by the beast tide, the inner city wall twice as high is enough to protect the safety of the city lord's mansion and the nobles.

When the beast tide first leaked, there was a steady stream of nobles who brought their families to Pearl City, offering a lot of wealth and seeking asylum.

The outer city was almost occupied by these outsiders, but some ordinary people living in the city were squeezed out.

Countless refugees gathered at the foot of the city outside Mingzhu City, hoping to rely on the reputation of Mingzhu City to escape disaster.

Seeing that more and more fleeing people frantically flocked, the City Lord's Mansion of Mingzhu City immediately ordered the city gates to be sealed.

Refugees unable to enter the city had to spontaneously set up shacks, forming scattered gathering points one after another, clinging to the outside of the city like ants.

On the same day that Abyssal City was hit by a beast horde, knowing that Pearl City was a tough nut to crack, this pearl of the north still attracted a large number of orc tribes to attack.

This menacing torrent, like a hungry wolf breaking into a flock of sheep, smashed into the ants-infested refugee gathering point, killing blood like a river. In less than half a day, the outside of the city became a blood-soaked hell on earth. .

Many refugees were forced to throw themselves into the Chiyuan River, or hide in deep mountains and old forests to fend for themselves.

People in the outer city are fluctuating and the atmosphere is depressing. Only the high-ranking nobles in the inner city, who are used to living a comfortable and luxurious life, rely on the fortification of the city and their strong soldiers, do not take this beastman seriously.

The sentinels sent out to investigate the enemy's situation came back and reported that there were no large orc tribes attacking collectively, but mostly scattered small and medium tribes gathered, looking for opportunities to take advantage.

The executives of Mingzhu City immediately put the remaining half of Xuanxin back into their stomachs.

The Second Young Master, Lott, even took the initiative to lead troops out of the city to drive out these lifeless orcs, and then capture a large number of orc slaves to contribute to the pillar industry - the thriving slave trade.

The old city lord was very satisfied with Lott's heroic performance, but Tia still looked sickly, and even opposed the proposal to go out of the city for a field battle.

Seeing the eldest son's strong opposition, the old city lord hesitated. The other nobles who supported Lott persuaded him with one voice, as if it would be a great loss to miss this opportunity.

Just when the two sides were arguing, an astonishing news came from the intelligence office—Yuanliu City had resisted the beast tide, the city was intact, and even killed the orc army back home!

In the disaster-stricken Northland, Yuanliu City is like a wonderful flower, standing stubbornly along the line of the Grand Canyon full of mourners.It became the only city other than Pearl City that was not ravaged by the orc army.

This news spread wildly among the fleeing orcs, one spread to ten, ten to hundreds, and through various channels, it flew into the major cities of the Northland.

Compared with the orcs, the human race is even more unbelievable!

Rather than saying this is a miracle, it is better to say it is a nasty and funny rumor!

Where is Yuanliu City?The small Tucheng in the countryside, which is notoriously poor and backward, with barbaric folk customs, has nothing to offer except the quality of the ore.

Oh... You mean the stainless steel sword that was sold at the auction last time?It's just a mere one or two hundred, not even enough to plug the teeth.

The own workshops in the city can still be imitated as long as enough manpower and time are invested. Although they may not all have the same quality, the nobles still have confidence in the imitation of [-] to [-]%.

Can the orc army be prevented by that short city wall?Not to mention, the intelligence also mentioned that there were suspected orcs who worshiped witches and were buried in Yuanliu City.

Hearing this, all the nobles in the entire conference hall couldn't help laughing.

Even Tia fell silent, and the black eagle behind him frowned tightly, as if he was thinking hard about some misunderstanding, and such absurd rumors came out.

Lott took the opportunity to challenge again. If even a small city like Yuanliu City can kill the orc army, how can the number one city in the Northland not be able to do so?

The old city lord was old and soft-hearted, so he finally let go and agreed with Lott to lead the troops out of the city to meet the enemy, but he was not allowed to pursue them. If he captured a group of slaves, he had to withdraw to the city.

Lott agreed on the surface, but disagreed in his heart.He personally selected [-] elite soldiers, fully armed, and marched out of the city to fight the orcs.

The orcs, who were plundering the refugees outside the city, were taken aback by Lott's unexpected army. After a short period of confusion, the orcs retreated temporarily.

Lott's confidence swelled to the extreme in an instant, and he forgot the old city lord's order not to pursue them, and took advantage of the victory to chase after the retreating orcs.

Unexpectedly, there was a shaman hidden among the orcs wandering outside the city. Under the command of the shaman, the orcs were reorganized, and finally they gave full play to their physical advantages and fought back against the army led by Lott.

The situation of the battle suddenly took a turn for the worse. Lott's army suffered heavy casualties. After leaving behind many dead soldiers, they fled back to Mingzhu City.

5000 people left the city, and less than 3000 people came back, and the loss was nearly half!

Not long ago, the high-level executives of Mingzhu City who were mocking Yuanliu City were collectively speechless in the face of this tragic situation.

Lott clutched his injured arm, flustered and annoyed:

"I admit that I underestimated the enemy, but how did Abyss City do it? The orcs are so powerful that even our 5000 elites have lost nearly half. The total guards in Abyss City do not have [-] people. Ghosts can defeat orcs? Are you kidding me!"

Tia said slowly: "Perhaps, it is relying on the city to fight, not necessarily going out of the city to pursue."

Lot choked and sneered: "I think there is only one possibility!"

Everyone's eyes were focused on him, Lott looked around, and loudly said firmly: "They must have obtained some treasure secretly, or mastered some kind of extraordinary power that can threaten the orcs, so that they can survive the beast tide intact. survive!"

"Besides this, I can't think of a second reasonable explanation. How could a mere Yuanliu City be stronger than our Pearl City!"

"At the auction back then, I thought this Abyssal City was a bit strange." A noble said sourly, "But the amount of swords they sold was not large, and they signed a contract with the Lord Tiya, so I didn't care. "

"Who knows, just before the New Year, they held a fair with great fanfare. It is said that a lot of treasures were exhibited at the fair."

"In addition to swords, there is glass, paper, and even porcelain. It is said to be more crystal clear and gorgeous than the most expensive luxury goods on the shelves of the Bikong Business Alliance semicolon.

"I didn't really believe it at the time, but now that I think about it..." The nobleman stroked his short beard, and sneered a few times, "Young Lord Luote's words may not be unreasonable."

The meeting hall was quiet, and the high-level nobles of Pearl City looked at each other. After being surprised, they all fell into deep thought.

※※※

Yuanliu City.

The north wind at the end of winter has not slowed down and is still raging everywhere in the city.

In front of Yan Zui's bedroom door, the old military doctor was taken aback by Shen Qingze's sudden appearance, he even forgot to close the door, and ran away in a hurry, as if afraid of being caught and questioned by the officiant.

Shen Qingze pressed the door that was about to close with one hand, pushed the door open and entered.

He pressed his index finger on his lips, and made a silent gesture to the attendants who were carrying a water basin to exchange hot towels. The attendants nodded obediently, put down the medicine bowl and water basin, and left one after another.

There was a very faint smell of blood floating in the room, he frowned, closed the door again, to block the invading cold wind, Shen Qingze drove straight in brightly.

The furnishings in the bedroom are still the same, old but neat carpets, closed curtains, children's toys, big and small, except for the desk, which is made even more messy by piles of paperwork.

Shen Qingze's footsteps stepped across the carpet silently, Yan Zui lay on his side on the bed, only the back of his jet-black head was exposed from under the quilt.

His eyes glanced at the water basin on the bedside table. Inside was the freshly replaced bandage, which dyed the water dark red.

The cicada chrysalis in the quilt squirmed, and a strong nasal sound sounded: "Take out this pot too."

Shen Qingze's footsteps paused slightly, and according to the orders of the city lord, in exchange for new hot water and towels, he stood silently at the head of the bed, and he wrung the towel full of water, making the sound of water splashing.

Yan Zui lazily ordered: "Put it down, you can go out now."

He didn't wait for the footsteps of the servants leaving, but felt that the edge of the bed had collapsed a little, Yan Zui frowned impatiently, and reluctantly poked his head out of the quilt, turned to see which servant was so disobedient——

Then, he suddenly bumped into Shen Qingze's deep black eyes, staring down at him from above.

The moment the four eyes met, Yan Zui's heart skipped a beat, he grasped the quilt with both hands, and subconsciously leaned back into the bed with his neck raised.

The corners of his mouth twitched unnaturally: "Master Priest is so busy, how come you have time to visit me? Could it be that something happened in the city?"

Shen Qingze raised an eyebrow: "Everything is fine in the city, Lord City Master can rest assured—"

Holding the hot towel in his hand, he said slowly, "Heal your wounds with peace of mind."

With that tone, Yan Zui felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, and he covered the quilt a little tighter, like a fish about to be lifted onto the chopping board, wrapping its scales tightly around its body to deceive itself, as if it could escape without a knife It's like a catastrophe.

Yan Zui glanced down, but didn't look at him: "Are you talking about the curse of the orc sacrificing witches? There has been no sign of it happening so far, so don't worry about it, Lord Priest."

Shen Qingze wiped his forehead gently with a hot towel, and said calmly: "Why is the Lord City Master sweating? Is it too hot? Or is the quilt wrapped too tightly?"

Although it feels good to be taken care of by Shen Qingze himself, but Yan Zui is like being roasted on a fire at this time, and there is no time to enjoy his "considerateness" at all.

"Hey, the city is mainly changing clothes. If the officiant has nothing to do, why don't you avoid it for a while and wait for me to change clothes before discussing the affairs of the city lord's mansion?"

Shen Qingze let out a breath, and said neither salty nor light:

"I still remember that day when I accidentally broke into the bathroom of the city lord. You didn't avoid me at all. You and I are both men. Since the attendant is not here, for the sake of the city lord's hard work, I won't do it for you. ,it is also fine."

For a moment, Yan Zui was stunned speechless, his eyes widened in surprise, it was the first time that he couldn't take advantage of Shen Qingze's words.

It can be seen that the Lord City Lord, who is used to big scenes, can capsize in the gutter?

He blinked, twitched his eyebrows, smiled slowly again, bent one leg, and pushed him with his knee across the quilt:

"Oh, I didn't expect the master priest to be so enthusiastic. It's fine to sneak into the bedroom of the city lord while no one is there. He even intends to do something wrong. I can't wait to see the body of the city lord, huh?"

Oh, pretend, I let you pretend!

The corner of Shen Qingze's mouth twitched into a cold smile, and he slowly bent down, the shadow covering Yan Zui's exposed head.

He slowly opened each other's fingers one by one, and said: "If the Lord City Master is not obedient, don't blame me for being ruthless and calling the old military doctor over."

Yan Zui: "..."

Why has his officiant changed? It was obviously not like this before. If he was molested by himself, he would definitely turn around and run away!

Immediately afterwards, Yan Zui's chest felt cold, and the quilt was lifted——

The corners of Shen Qingze's eyes twitched, and he was forced to close them again. After a long silence, he said: "Why do you like to sleep naked?"

"...Is it not possible?" Yan Zui smashed the jar, and lay dead on the bed without love, completely becoming fish on the chopping board.

Shen Qingze glared at him angrily, and slowly opened a corner of the waist and abdomen, and sure enough, she saw that the right waist was wrapped with a bandage, which was faintly scorched, and the wound could be felt through the gauze.

Shen Qingze frowned: "What's the matter with this waist injury?"

Yan Zui covered the quilt with both hands: "Don't look at it. It's just a flesh wound. After drinking the medicine you gave, it doesn't hurt much. The military doctor said that if you take good care of it, you can recover."

"Those who promised not to be injured, the Lord City Master broke his promise." Shen Qingze narrowed his eyes: "It's fine to be injured, why did you hide it from me?"

Yan Zui turned his face away, moved his lips, and hesitantly uttered a word: "Ugly..."

Shen Qingze didn't hear clearly: "What?"

Yan Zui beeped aggrievedly: "I'm so ugly, how can I be seen by you!"

Shen Qingze laughed back angrily: "I've seen the disfigured appearance of the city lord, what's the matter?"

Yan Zui pursed his lips, and insisted emphatically: "How can we compare then and now?"

Shen Qingze was helpless: "What's the difference? And..."

He paused for a moment, then continued slowly: "Sir, the City Lord shouldn't be very happy that I worry about you?"

After a moment of silence, Yan Zui quietly met his gaze, blinking her eyelashes lightly: "I want you to worry about me, but I don't want to see you really worried."