Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Three Fernan-level battleships crushed over the remnants on the sea surface and continued to advance forward.

The main island was already in sight.

The entire island was enveloped in a layer of translucent golden light cocoon.

The light was not glaring, yet carried an oppressive aura that instinctively made one hold their breath.

Runes slowly flowed on the surface of the light curtain, the protection personally descended by God, at least it should be in the eyes of ordinary people.

Inside the bridge, Alwyn issued a probing order: "Fire a high-explosive shell."

The turret adjusted its angle, loading completed.

"Boom——!"

The shell exploded the instant it touched the light curtain.

Yet the flames spread along the barrier surface, the Shock Wave was completely absorbed, forming only a ripple on the golden light layer, like a pebble falling into the center of a lake.

The light curtain wasn’t damaged; instead, it absorbed energy and became more radiant.

Louis stood by the side window and picked up the high-powered binoculars.

The sight pierced through the light curtain, revealing the island’s true coastline.

Tens of thousands of white-robed believers densely knelt on the shore, from rock to tide line, layer upon layer.

Their lower bodies had already merged into the land, below the knee transformed into tree root-like golden veins, deeply embedded in the sand.

Hands raised high, heads leaned back, lips silently moving.

Each time the rhythm of the prayer fell, a faint golden light briefly brightened on the surface veins.

Life Force was drained away, along the roots into the earth, drawn by some force and ultimately infused into the light curtain above.

They were emaciated and hollow, yet maintained in a state of abnormal excitement by Golden Feather Flower, like kindling that wouldn’t extinguish until exhausted.

Sacco, standing beside Louis, subconsciously gripped his handguard, his voice carrying a distinct anger: "What do they take people for? Worse than livestock."

Alwyn spoke softly: "This is a faith shield, as long as these believers live, the barrier won’t fail, if we attack head-on, we need to spend half our ammo reserves, at least continuously bombard for three days."

Louis put down the binoculars, gently shaking his head: "Don’t be fooled. They’re not believers, nor soldiers. They’re single-use fuel."

Someone in the bridge subconsciously swallowed.

Louis turned around: "Load Deep Blue Type Four, air burst."

The order was quickly transmitted, side turrets adjusted elevation.

"Poof——poof——poof——"

Shells traced arcs, exploding one after another in the high air outside the light curtain, but without fire.

Deep blue mist spread in the air, slowly descending with the sea breeze.

It carried no momentum, flowing silently with the air, seeping into the golden light curtain’s interior.

Cold aura quickly covered the entire coast.

A believer loudly praying on the shore inhaled the first breath of blue mist.

His body slightly stilled, pupils dilated, then quickly lost focus.

The resonance maintaining the fervent state was forcibly severed, nerve signals suddenly cooled.

His raised hands dropped, the prayer turned into broken murmurs, and then he fell forward.

Then came the second, the third...

The figures began losing their support en masse.

From the bridge’s view, the crowd originally like nails on the beach, tidily pressed downward the instant the blue mist swept over.

Just like a mature wheat field, swept across by an invisible scythe from end to end.

Tens of thousands of people simultaneously fell into a deep sleep within seconds.

Golden vein light quickly dimmed, shrinking along the roots, finally extinguishing completely.

The light curtain in the sky started to flicker.

"Ping——" A crisp and short breaking sound rang.

That layer of golden shield that had once repelled the salvo of cannons shattered like a broken eggshell, turning into specks of light scattering in the wind.

The island lay bare before the steel fleet.

Louis put down the binoculars: "Prepare to land."

......

Steam landing craft rushed the shore, the hull emitted a dull thud in the shallow water.

The heavy iron ramp dropped, clashing onto the beach, sounding hollow and crisp.

Knights of the Red Tide held Demon Marrow rifles equipped with bayonets, stepped onto the beach one after another, quickly spreading apart, forming a fan-shaped line.

The Frost Leaf Gas Bombs left mist not yet dispersed, blending the air with a dry dust smell, like flipping through years-old ash in an old warehouse.

Reynold, Vanguard Knight Captain, was first off the boat, taking two steps out, slipping underfoot, sharply pitching forward, nearly falling.

What tripped him wasn’t stone, but a human figure.

The white-robed believer held a kneeling posture, side fallen on the sand.

Below the knee no longer existed, only a bundle of coarse roots extended from the broken leg, deeply planted in the ground.

The Frost Leaf mist plunged him into a deep coma, green tinted saliva oozed from the corner of his mouth, chest faintly rising, proving he lived, but actually, not for long.

Reynold stepped around him, continued forward.

Across the entire beach as far as the eye could see were these half-human, half-tree entities lying full.

Varied in posture, yet excessively quiet, like eerie crops uprooted by a storm.

Walking on white sand, underfoot sensation made him stop.

No soft sinking, instead a series of crisp sounds, clearly transmitted beneath his boots.

Reynold frowned, hairs on his back slowly rising, shouted: "Aik, come here."

The accompanying alchemy apprentice quickly ran over, gaze tense behind the goggles.

He didn’t touch the ground with his hand, but drew a folding shovel, scooping up a shovelful of white powder.

The powder excessively fine, barely taking shape on the shovel.