CHAPTER 270: CHAPTER 205: POSTWAR AFFAIRS

The flames subsided, turning the battlefield into a charred, molten purgatory, with the air filled with the stench of scorched remains and the crackling of debris.

Some embers still licked at twigs and shells on the ground. Occasionally, a few insect corpses seemed to twitch slightly, as if ready to spring up the next second.

Louis’s gaze swept across this scorched land, his expression unwavering.

"Advance by sectors, clear out the remaining enemies," he spoke with a steady tone, carrying a hint of undeniable chill, "watch for feigned death. Prioritize the flamethrowers, burn them thoroughly."

"Yes!" The knights didn’t hesitate for a moment and quickly formed ranks.

The flamethrowers at their backs hissed out hot flames, the tongues of fire danced like dragons, purging the plague from the earth.

The elite insect corpses, just as they raised their heads, were pinned down by the fire line.

The sound of burning mixed with roars as the battle line advanced coldly, almost with cold-blooded efficiency.

This was a silent cleansing.

Lambert rushed over, his face covered in soot but a faint smile at the corners of his mouth: "My lord! Except for a few with minor injuries, no one perished!"

As soon as these words landed, Eduardo almost thought he had heard wrong.

"...No one perished?"

He suddenly looked at the straight-backed figure ahead.

The firelight flickered on Louis’s pauldrons, his profile as calm as if this were just an exercise.

"Very good," Louis just nodded slightly, his voice calm yet filled with a certainty, "it wasn’t all for nothing."

Eduardo’s breath paused for a beat.

The image of the rising nest flashed through his mind, the terrifying heart sacs, the writhing nest columns devouring the earth, and the insect tide capable of crushing half an army...

These knights faced the core firepower of the nest head-on!

Launching an attack in such a place, by general battle damage standards, an estimate of at least five percent casualties would be fortunate.

Yet these knights not only fought their way in but came out unharmed.

Was it the tactics? The training? The weaponry? The magic explosive bullets? Or...was it the young lord’s presence itself?

Eduardo walked forward slowly, his gaze scanning over the regiment of knights clearing out the remaining enemies on the scorched earth.

Their movements were clean, their steps unified, and the flamethrower roaring as they burned what residual activity was left in the insect corpses, every tactical maneuvering precise, hardly needing further explanation.

"No wonder they’re your men," he spoke with a smile, tone brimming with admiration, "from reaction speed to seamless cooperation, almost flawless.

Not to mention that...that device launching the magic explosive bullets, I’d bet no one else in the entire Imperial Legion possesses it. Did you design it yourself?"

"Yes, the principle isn’t complicated. I made some adjustments to increase range and accuracy," Louis nonchalantly boasted, his tone as if discussing how to modify an old carriage.

Seeing Louis reluctant to discuss this further, Eduardo restrained his smile: "However, this particular nest is definitely different. It’s far stronger than the one we encountered last time at Cold Pine Ridge."

Louis didn’t answer immediately.

He bent down to pick up a small segment of a charred parasitic tentacle from the ground, his fingertips lightly tracing it, as if verifying a certain structure.

"They can enter a blood boiling frenzy, and they have fighting energy," Louis spoke calmly.

"Yes." Eduardo nodded, "Previously, those parasites were at most used as containers, without fighting energy...but this time, you saw, they actually burst with fighting energy skills, almost no different from living warriors."

"And their coordination is better, even possessing some tactical will...not like mere assault soldiers, but rather like ’driven soldiers,’" Louis analyzed calmly, as if examining an ordinary specimen.

The two fell into silence for a moment.

The scorched earth still had lingering warmth, with the flamethrower units in the distance thoroughly inspecting every shell, as if the flames couldn’t entirely calm the doubt in their hearts.

"One more thing," Louis spoke suddenly, his gaze slightly narrowing, "Did you notice, that nest...was moving."

Eduardo’s eye twitched slightly: "I suspected it was an illusion at first, but later when the nesting column it climbed collapsed against that stone slope, I confirmed it was indeed moving."

"Unlike the previous one that was stationary, it seemed to mimic the gait of some arthropod..." Louis murmured, his fingers sketching the limb-like nesting columns, "that isn’t a habitat. It’s a mobile hatchery."

Eduardo raised his head, looking at the distant, collapsed charred flesh wall, a sense of unease quietly spreading within.

"So, next time, what we might face is not a mother hidden underground, but rather..." he lowered his voice, "a walking nest."

Louis nodded, his expression devoid of excess emotion.

"This is no longer a defensive ’breeding nest,’ but an ’organic war platform’ for active offense.

More complete parasitism, a stronger combat consciousness, even self-propulsion capacity...this is...directed evolution."

Eduardo squinted: "If they really start moving...the situation thereafter will become very bleak."

Then he sighed: "With something like this, you can’t hold off on your own. You’ll need Duke Edmund to prepare early."

"I know." Louis’s tone was steady, without a hint of hesitation.

He turned back to the camp, picked up a pen, and wrote a composed yet pressing secret letter at the operation table, sealing it with red tide seal wax on the envelope.

Then he instructed the knights: "Go and get some slices of the nest body, living tissues, and the remaining poison sacs, process them well, and seal them in glass."

Within less than a quarter of an hour, a knight native to Frost Halberd City entered the tent briskly.

"Take these to Frost Halberd City, and deliver them to Duke Edmund, personally escort them," Louis handed over the sealed letter and box, his gaze stern.

The knight knelt on one knee: "By your command!"

......

Frost Halberd City · Governor’s Mansion.

Governor Duke Edmund sat at the bedside, gently wiping the sweat on his wife’s forehead.

Duchess Irina, her face pale but her gaze tender, had her hand resting on her slightly protruding belly, a smile on her lips.

"It moved," she said softly, "He just moved a little."

Duke Edmund’s eyes flickered briefly, and then he smiled, his hand lightly covering her hand.

The smile was rare, belonging to a father’s tenderness.

Since Emily was born twenty years ago, he hadn’t had another child.

Moreover, he was over fifty, and since his eldest son’s death in battle, he had no heir.

As a Peak Knight, having another child was truly a heaven-sent joy.

Now that Alina was pregnant, he almost tossed and turned sleeplessly every night—fearing to disturb this long-awaited hope.

At this moment, he intended not to make a big fuss, to avoid sudden changes.

Then an attendant stepped in quietly and reported, "My lord, a knight from Viscount Calvin seeks an audience, claiming to bring important letters and battlefield samples."

Edmond raised an eyebrow slightly, "Louis? Take him to the conference room, I’ll be there shortly."

Before turning around, he glanced once more at his quietly smiling wife on the bed.

Alina lay on the bed, smiled, and said, "Go ahead, that child must have urgent matters."

...

In the meeting room, flames flickered, and the brass wall lamps illuminated the old war maps of the Northern Territory on the walls.

Duke Edmund pushed the door open, his gaze falling on the gray-robed knight in the room.

He was draped in frost and snow, his whole body stiff with cold, yet stood straight, silently presenting two items: a letter and a heavy iron lockbox.

"Thank you for your hard work." The Duke said casually, sitting directly in the main seat, and opened the letter.

His eyes scanned the page, and his originally stern face quietly darkened a bit.

"In the northwest of Snow Peak County, a suspected Nest body was found and has been destroyed. This Nest showed significant signs of evolution:

Firstly, the Nest itself can actively move, and exhibit certain melee response capabilities;

Secondly, the insect corpses retained Fighting Energy residues and could actively deploy martial techniques, with combat intensity far surpassing previous records..."

He gently raised his hand, signaling to open the box.

"Yes."

The knight unlocked the latch, and the lid of the box opened with a "click."

Instantly, a cold air mixed with the stench of char and decay hit his face.

Even with a sealing film, it was hard to conceal the oppressive biological presence that made one uncomfortable.

In the box were several horrifying items displayed:

Remnants of hive pillars, like otherworldly tentacles, still showing signs of wriggling;

A mass of grayish-white, incompletely carbonized neural sac, its surface seeming to retain fine nerves;

A transparent insect nucleus the size of a bean, as if some residual will was faintly pulsing;

And several drops of viscous hive liquid in a reagent bottle, exuding a faint glow, as if "breathing."

In an instant, even the light of the burning fireplace in the meeting room seemed to dim momentarily.

It seemed Louis wasn’t exaggerating or indulging in dramatic interpretation.

This was a nightmare that had indeed materialized and wasn’t far from them.

The knight said in a low voice, "Viscount said that if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe such a thing could evolve."

Duke Edmund was silent for a long time, his fingertips slowly sweeping across the glass encasing of the hive pillar, his brow deeply furrowed.

He had, of course, seen the Nest before, and he thought it was a terrifying thing—not because of its inherent combat power, but because of its highly infectious nature.

Finding two indicated there were likely dozens hidden in the Northern Territory.

Moreover, the Nest was evolving, purposefully evolving into higher tier, more proactive combat forms.

He let out a slow breath, thinking, "This isn’t a simple mutation... it’s like... a continuation of some will."

And he had sent out an investigative delegation, yet still couldn’t elucidate the connection between the Nest and the insect swarm, whereas Louis, that young lad, had already independently destroyed a stronger Nest and conveniently brought back this thing as evidence.

It wasn’t just bravery.

That ability to handle situations, the mastery of combat power, the control over rhythm...

Made him confirm once again that he was right to let his daughter marry this young man and took a good gamble.

Edmond stood by the window of the conference room, silent for a long time, looking at the distant city wall cloaked in the night.

He slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the tired yet resilient young knight, and nodded.

"You did very well." His tone wasn’t heavy, yet carried an undeniable authority, "Convey to Louis for me, his judgment was correct, also timely, and well done."

The knight immediately knelt on one knee, "As you command, Sir."

"You’ve worked hard. Go rest, the upcoming matters don’t need your concern."

The knight rose, saluted, and withdrew from the conference room.

The heavy wooden door closed slowly behind him, returning to silence.

Edmond stood there for a few seconds, as if organizing his chaotic thoughts. Then he turned and walked to the table, pressing down the suspension bell.

Before long, several personal attendants and clerical knights arrived, and he had already reverted to the iron-fisted Governor of the North, with not a trace of wavering in his expression.

"Notify my three direct knight commanders to assemble in the war room in fifteen minutes." He said sternly.

"Yes!"

"Then, draft an official document, inform all current Lords in the Northern Territory, telling them the Nest is suspected to have multiple forms, some of which have begun to exhibit evolutionary characteristics."

He paused, his gaze deep, "Each Lord may deploy knights as per their actual situation to autonomously conduct investigations. Report any information directly to me to prevent delays."

"Compile a record of the remains samples we’ve received this time and send it to the intelligence agency at the Imperial Capital and the Imperial Academy of Sciences, under my signature."

It was as if he had long anticipated these instructions would cause quite a stir, yet his tone remained consistently calm.

"This kind of enemy comes and goes without a trace and is extremely dangerous. We can only advance one step ahead."

Duke Edmund looked out the window, the cold wind sweeping in, as the Empire’s Northern Territory quietly entered another wartime mode.