Night fell, and the snow neared its end, with only scattered flakes falling, leaving a thick blanket of snow on the ground.
The town was dark and silent; people had closed their doors and windows tightly, calling their children home, with only the Baron's castle ablaze with lights.
A name was carved on the stone tablet at the intersection: Sige Town.
This was a small town located on the Lakeman Family's borderland, where the surrounding land was open and fertile, making it an excellent area for cultivation.
A hundred years ago, an ancestor of the Lakeman Family led his subordinates here to reclaim the land and established Sige Town.
It was also a bustling market town with over a thousand inhabitants, providing a continuous supply of grain to the surrounding areas.
However, due to its remote location, brutal monsters such as Frost Giants, Yetis, and even White Dragons frequently visited, causing the town to undergo multiple renovations and reconstructions, leaving only over four hundred residents.
Most of them were serfs who could not leave, while the rest were small merchants, millers, stablehands, and attendants serving the nobility.
Only less favored members of the Lakeman Family would be granted this land to provide grain for Northwind Fortress.
Not long after Baron Todd Lachman was dispatched here, rumors of 'Night Demons' began to circulate in Sige Town; many young women mysteriously disappeared at night, causing the town to become restless again, with residents living in constant fear.
Inside the Baron's mansion.
Baron Todd Lachman sat solemnly at a luxurious wooden table, propping his chin with his hands, a silver goblet on the table holding a thick red liquid.
“Those damnable Ember Nest!”
His face seemed to cloud over when he mentioned that name.
All his subordinates sent to the mine last time were annihilated, and his former head butler, Hart, was reportedly captured, with only a few insignificant serfs managing to escape.
He initially thought these reports were lies fabricated by those lowly slaves, but just a few days later, the Lakeman Family's most elite Eagle Guard unit also suffered heavy losses in the place known as 'Ember Nest'.
Only then did he have to confirm the veracity of this information.
A monster lair that even the North Wind Eagle Guard couldn't conquer, rumored to be the dwelling of a Red Dragon called Flying Flame. How could he, with his small guard, possibly attack it?
There was no gold left.
And no army.
Only lowly and weak serfs, and the guards sent by the family.
Although he was not the family's eldest son, he was a genuine ducal offspring.
Could he truly be destined to remain in this remote place his entire life, providing grain for the family, forever unable to approach the center of power?
“I will return to Northwind Fortress.”
“Father will eventually acknowledge me.”
At this thought, the Baron's gaunt face grew even gloomier, a hint of hunger gleaming deep within his pupils.
It seemed he needed to replenish himself with some fresh food tonight to soothe his mood.
“Baron, outside there's...”
A guard rushed in, pushing open the door, seemingly with urgent news to report.
But when he realized he had interrupted the Baron's thoughts, and saw the hungry, ill-intentioned look in his eyes, he immediately closed his mouth in 緊張.
Seeing it was a guard, Todd forcibly suppressed the bloody impulse deep within him and looked at the guard, speaking unhurriedly:
“What is so urgent?”
“So urgent... that it must disturb my rest?”
The guard's scalp tingled under Todd's gaze.
Although this Baron had not been enfeoffed here for long, he was secretly referred to by everyone as the 'Bloody Baron'.
Previously, a maid had stained his attire while tidying up, and thereafter, that maid mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again in Sige Town.
Thinking of this, he trembled as he replied:
“My lord, it’s, it’s Hart.”
“There’s a man outside who claims to be Hart; he wishes to see you.”
Hearing this familiar name, Todd slammed his hand on the table and abruptly stood up, asking sharply:
“How is that possible!”
“Wasn't he captured?”
The guard shook his head in a panic, quickly replying, “My lord, I don't know either.”
Todd said coldly, “Bring him in.”
The guard stammered a bit, saying:
“He said… he would trouble you to come out and meet him, as he has something important to present.”
The guard's voice even had a slight tremor.
Todd thought of the gold and troops he had lost, and then of the rumor that Hart had been captured, and immediately became furious, laughing in extreme anger:
“Good, good, good!”
“Where is he? I'll go see him myself.”
“Let's see how this deserter, my dear subordinate, who has come knocking, is doing.”
Baron Todd's tone was somewhat gritted.
“Yes, my lord.”
The guard felt his heart pound with fear, but he still obeyed the order obediently, leading the Baron out of the mansion.
The Baron's residence had only recently been built and was not very large; after passing through the main hall and walking down a narrow corridor tens of meters long, the two arrived at the entrance.
The person outside was dressed in rags, with disheveled hair and a dirty face; without a closer look, one might have mistaken him for an orc, bearing no resemblance to the once spirited head butler.
But Todd smelled the familiar scent of blood on him, and instantly confirmed—this was Hart.
The Baron spoke first, his words laced with sarcasm:
“Hart, long time no see.”
“Isn't this my most trusted subordinate? The one who promised to bring me gold.”
“Why did you disappear for so long, only to return here now?”
Hart's expression was uneasy: “Baron, I have important information to report to you.”
“Oh? What information?”
Todd watched him with a half-smile, his gaze filled with hatred and hunger; his rationality was slipping away.
It had been a long time since he had consumed fresh blood, and Hart, who would be worthless after reporting his information, would become his next meal.
“Please ask your subordinates to withdraw.”
Hart's voice trembled slightly.
“Good.”
“You all may withdraw.”
The Baron agreed to the request, dismissed the surrounding guards, and accompanied Hart to a secluded, uninhabited spot in the Baron's mansion's back garden, which also aligned with his own thoughts.
In his opinion, Hart was practically offering himself up to die.
Baron Todd's pupils had already turned crimson, and he sneered, “Speak, Hart, I'm curious how you'll defend yourself.”
Hart's voice trembled even more, and the forced smile on his face was uglier than a cry.
He said, word by word:
“The… dragon… has… arrived.”
Baron Todd hadn't reacted yet, and asked in surprise:
“What?”
However, the next moment, he found himself enveloped by a colossal shadow, its wings covering more than half of the night sky before him, also blocking the pouring moonlight.
The Red Dragon looked down at the Baron from above, its monstrous head in a half-smile, its golden vertical pupils faintly glowing in the darkness.
“Do I need to repeat myself for you, my unacquainted Baron?”
“The dragon has arrived.”