The wind and snow at the Northern Frontier Great Wall were fierce. Entering autumn was like entering winter, the cold biting to the bone.

Most of the frontier army soldiers came from Xinliu Prefecture, where the climate was not much different from the desolate north, so many of them did not feel much discomfort.

But there were also some soldiers from the south. Perhaps it was their first year in the Northern Frontier, so they were not very accustomed to it. The General's Office had specially issued them extra thick clothing.

The General's Office had also convened several meetings regarding the situation in the desolate north. At that time, all the generals present remained silent, the atmosphere tense.

It was not their first time going to war against the demon race. But this time, they all seemed to know very well, it was completely different from the past.

Most importantly, the Emperor who had once presided over the Divine Capital was no longer there.

Although His Majesty the Emperor had been gone for some time, his absence still had a profound impact on Great Liang, especially on the frontier army.

Back then, the northern expedition of the Great Liang Emperor had left an indelible mark in the hearts of the Northern Frontier Army.

This had both good and bad effects. The good was that as long as the Great Liang Emperor was present, the Northern Frontier Army had an inexhaustible source of confidence. The bad was that without the Great Liang Emperor, that same confidence suffered a heavy blow.

That council, which could be considered the highest-level meeting of the Northern Frontier General's Office, produced no conclusions in the end. The Great General Ning Ping simply waved his hand to dismiss the generals without saying anything concrete.

After those battle-hardened generals, each with great merits in the Northern Frontier, had left. A young general, Gao Xuan, who at such a young age was already qualified to enter that highest council, was happily building a snowman in the courtyard.

Not far away, a woman stood quietly beneath the eaves, watching.

She had not participated in the earlier meeting, one whose atmosphere had been terrifyingly quiet, for she was newly arrived at the Northern Frontier and did not hold high official rank. Still, she had come, simply standing silently under the eaves.

When Gao Xuan saw her, he lifted his head and smiled, "Miss Xie, come build a snowman with me?"

Xie Nandu, renowned for her talent and knowledge, and now the only female general of the Great Liang Dynasty, glanced at Gao Xuan. She said nothing, but still walked into the snow, coming to his side. She asked bluntly, "When winter comes, will there be a great battle that's not too light and not too heavy?"

Not too light, not too heavy. A great battle.

Two phrases that did not seem to fit together at all.

Even less should they be placed side by side.

Gao Xuan had been building a snowman with great interest, but when he heard Xie Nandu speak, he stopped mid-action and turned to her with a wry smile. “Why do you have to say such words that spoil the mood at a time like this?”

Xie Nandu did not answer, only looking at him silently. The emotion in her eyes was simple, not complex at all.

Gao Xuan was not in a hurry to speak. Although he had not spent much time with Xie Nandu, he had come to understand her somewhat. In her heart, she probably did not care much about other matters; after arriving at the Northern Frontier, her focus was solely on settling things with the demon race.

Recovering the thirty thousand miles of the desolate north for the human race, wiping away the humiliation of humans, even completely annihilating the demon race, these were the things she wanted to accomplish.

Apart from that, she paid little attention to anything else.

“Sometimes I think you might be a rather dull girl, and probably few men in the world could match you. But other times, I feel like you might be the most fascinating woman in the world, utterly captivating.”

Gao Xuan spoke frankly as he looked at Xie Nandu.

Xie Nandu paid no mind, only waiting for the result.

“There will probably be a probing skirmish. The Great General wants to leave the main battle to the younger generation, so they can grow through it.”

Gao Xuan knew that if he did not tell her, she would just keep watching him silently. Since that was the case, he might as well say it.

“I want to participate. The more troops assigned to me, the better.”

Xie Nandu spoke bluntly, stating her goal.

Gao Xuan looked at her and gave a bitter smile. “You should be saying this to the Great General. I cannot decide these things.”

Xie Nandu said nothing.

Gao Xuan sighed helplessly. “How did you know?”

Xie Nandu said calmly, “Among the young generals, it seems there is no one but you, Gao Xuan.”

Since Great General Ning Ping had shouldered incomparably huge pressure to let the younger generation participate in this great battle, he would naturally look for a commander among them. There were many young generals in the Northern Frontier, but few were suitable to lead. Apart from Gao Xuan, the others fell short.

“Some have talent for command, some have talent for leadership. Many have command talent, but few have leadership talent. You, Gao Xuan, have sufficient experience to earn their respect.”

Xie Nandu, a talented woman of White Deer's Xie Clan and the final disciple of the academy’s Dean, had spoken directly to the point.

Gao Xuan felt troubled. “The Great General did authorize me to lead the army, but... you are new to the Northern Frontier. I can’t give you too many troops.”

He naturally trusted Xie Nandu’s abilities, but he still felt some concern. After all, even though Xie Nandu had read many military texts and often had better insights than others, she still had no experience commanding troops.

Settling for a compromise, Xie Nandu said, “I don’t need the largest number of troops, but the most crucial ones must be assigned to me.”

Gao Xuan still said nothing. After a long silence, he changed the topic. “I heard Chen Chao has done something again in the foreign lands.”

“With him in the Divine Capital, you don’t need to worry about logistics.”

Xie Nandu glanced at Gao Xuan and frowned. “Unless he insists on coming to the Northern Frontier frontlines.”

Gao Xuan gave a wry smile. “Even His Highness the Crown Prince wouldn’t allow him to come. If anything happened to him, it would be a huge problem for Great Liang.”

In that great battle, Chen Chao needed to remain at the rear, serving the same role the Great Liang Emperor had once fulfilled.

Xie Nandu thought for a moment and said, “But with his temperament, if he really wants to come, few could stop him.”

“You can’t stop him either?”

Gao Xuan asked curiously.

Xie Nandu narrowed her eyes and said. “Many times I can, but sometimes I cannot either.”

Gao Xuan smiled. “Truly the youngest Lord Warden Commander in the history of the Great Liang Dynasty.”

......

......

Heavy snow fell across the desolate north.

The northern demons had already prepared everything. On this side, the Northern Frontier Great Wall’s garrison had not left. Instead, a young man from the south had silently crossed the Northern Frontier Great Wall and now reached the edge of the desolate north.

The young man in black glanced at the desolate north before him, his expression complicated. Since the Great Liang Emperor had come to the desolate north and fought the Demon Emperor, he had never returned here.

Before, he could not enter. But now, simply by moving forward, he stepped into the desolate north easily.