Chapter 3: Iron Horses and Ice Rivers

"Who?" The little boy instinctively asked, then suddenly realized how impossible it was for that person to be with the snow wolves. He was so scared that he clutched his grandfather tightly and nearly screamed.

Heike Village had never seen a Hamai person; even when taxes were collected, Hamai people sent others from different races to do it. So in this area, there were wolves but no people, and where there were people, there were no wolves—wolves and humans could not coexist.

"Um, is this the Huber family? I'm a friend of Lake Huber," a pleasant male voice floated down from above.

"Dad, Dad, he's Dad's friend." Hearing her father's name, Amy almost forgot everything else and reached out to unfasten the iron door lock, but the old man pulled her back.

"From your speech, you are not Hamai. You must be from the Amy Empire, right?" the old man asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, that's right. You must be Uncle Huber. Both Lake and I serve in the border guard of the Amy Empire," the man replied.

"How did you come to be with the snow wolves? They will eat anyone except Hamai people. You..." The old man spoke with suspicion.

"Oh, it's fine; I let them go. Haha, Uncle Huber, I have some special circumstances, so I'm one of the few from the Amy Empire who won't be eaten by snow wolves." After saying this, the young man seemed to be addressing the wolves inside, "Hey, brothers, let's go; I have things to do. Little White, let your brothers leave this village."

"Uoo..." 

After a low howl from the wolves, the sounds of the snow wolves quickly vanished.

The old man hesitated and opened the iron door a crack. After confirming there were indeed no snow wolves outside, he fully opened the iron door.

A young man in a simplified military uniform of the Amy Empire sat on the edge of the bed. Upon seeing the old man come out, he immediately stood up and politely nodded in respect.

"Hello, Uncle Huber. I'm a friend of Lake Huber from the military. My name is Chi Hanfeng, or you can call me Hanfeng Chi; it might be easier that way." Seeing this person's surname, he seemed to be a descendant of an ancient Eastern race.

"Uncle, where's my dad?" Amy jumped out of the pit and anxiously asked the young man, the same question reflected in the old man's eyes.

"Um, you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you..." The young man said seriously, "I don't know either, which is why I came here."

"The rough situation is as follows..." With Uncle Huber's gesture, the young man sat on the edge of the bed and began to explain the reason for his visit to Heike Village.

This story started with Amy's father leaving the village—most of the villagers in Heike Village, like those along the Warm Water River, had migrated from the Amy Empire or the Holy See. This area was surrounded by a snow forest spanning 1,000 kilometers long and 200 kilometers wide to the north, while the east featured the only broadleaf forest on the frozen continent—the Warm Water River Forest, which was also vast, approximately 300 kilometers wide. The south and west were bordered by the sea.

The Amy Empire lacked the power to build ports here, and due to the climate, the Hamai Kingdom also would not construct ports in this area. Thus, most residents, once they moved here, seldom left, especially first-generation immigrants like Grandpa Huber.

The young man was different; Lake Huber's childhood was spent in the northern federation of the Empire. After growing up in Heike Village, he had an adventurous spirit and was unwilling to stay in one place for long. He insisted on going out to explore the world. Grandpa Huber was very clear in his opinion: young people need to venture out, as life is short, and they should do what young people are meant to do.

Thus, ten years ago, during the most recent invasion by the Amy Empire, 20-year-old Lake Huber joined the imperial army as a guide.

In the year 187 of the Red Moon Calendar, five years ago, Lake Huber, who had gained military merits in the army, returned to Heike Village on leave with his two-year-old son, Amy.

Lake Huber's wife had become weak after giving birth to Amy and could not withstand the cold of the frozen continent, passing away just a year later. Meanwhile, Lake Huber's busy military life made it impossible for him to care for his son, so he had no choice but to leave the energetic little burden with his old father.

Amy already knew the above details well, even better than Chi Hanfeng did. The subsequent events were the main reason for Chi Hanfeng's arrival.

Also in the year 187 of the Red Moon Calendar, Chi Hanfeng was ordered to transfer from the imperial capital to the northern federation's border guard, serving as the cavalry captain of the Snow Moon Legion. When Lake Huber returned to the army to visit, he discovered that the original cavalry captain had been reassigned to the border forest war zone. In a very formal visit, he met Chi Hanfeng.

According to this man named Chi Hanfeng, during a series of missions together, Lake Huber, then the captain of the Glacier Infantry, saved his life several times: In the year 188 of the Red Moon Calendar, newly appointed Captain Chi Hanfeng led his team to chase snow beastmen emerging from the snow forest, but due to unfamiliarity with the terrain, he was led deep into the Cold Ice Valley by the snow beastmen. Originally aiming to annihilate these snow beastmen, he charged down, only to find that the beastmen had escaped using the icy slopes on both sides of the valley, and the cavalry team, looking back at the steep slope, felt abandoned by heaven—a 20-kilometer-long slope took half a day to descend, but how could they return? The horses simply lacked the strength to climb while overcoming the smooth ice surface.

Once Lake Huber learned of Chi Hanfeng's troop's situation, he quickly concluded the worst-case scenario. He led the Glacier Infantry on a night journey by sled, reaching the Cold Ice Valley. Using the blankets brought on the sled, they managed to create a non-slip path, saving the cavalry from total annihilation.

Of course, there were a few similar situations, but most were personal acts of help or saving each other, which Chi Hanfeng spoke of simply.

At the end of the year 191 of the Red Moon Calendar, Captain Chi Hanfeng and Captain Lake Huber simultaneously received a command from the governor of the northern federation of the Empire—to return to the governor's residence in the northern federation and escort the imperial archmage to the Ice Wish Tower located in the northern Hamai Kingdom for trial.

One of the squads only needed to escort the imperial archmage out of the Amy Empire's border snow forest, while the other squad's task was to escort the archmage into the Wish Tower.

In the Empire's history, there have been 342 archmages, among which 134 voluntarily entered the Wish Tower for trials. Records show that only 15 archmages chose the Ice Wish Tower, but only three succeeded in passing the trial. One of them ended their trial after five years, while the other two concluded their trials over a decade later. These three mages (those who passed the trial received the title of mage from the Magic Guild) described in their magical diaries that entering the Wish Tower was essentially being thrown into an ice and snow barrier, where they trained and improved their magical levels within the illusions of the barrier.

The escort mission aimed to submit a national letter to the Hamai Kingdom and the Northern Hamai Kingdom on behalf of the state. This journey had three most dangerous areas: the trial cave, Dragon Tooth Mountain, and the snow forest. These were also the three most perilous regions on the frozen continent.

The danger of the snow forest lay in the presence of snow wolves and snow beasts, making it easy to get lost and impossible to obtain supplies.

Near Dragon Tooth Mountain, it was rumored that an ice-type green dragon roamed, attacking merchants and even armies on the mainland highways.

As for the recorded details of the trial cave, the closest account was from 56 years ago when a team escorted an archmage to the trial. They described that they had to traverse a 150-kilometer-long cave before reaching the Ice Wish Tower. The journey through the cave would take at least ten days, with many monsters within, most of which naturally possessed some basic ice magic. That time, a 750-person escort team lost 60% of its soldiers going in and out of the trial cave.

Such escort missions are akin to dancing with death for any elite army; no one should expect to return unscathed. In the past four years, Lake Huber and Chi Hanfeng had completed many missions together, but this was the first time they had quarreled during a task.

Chi Hanfeng's voice slightly changed, making Amy and her grandfather's hearts tense—only those living on the frozen continent knew its dangers.

It was common for a hundred miles to be devoid of human presence; a blizzard could last for ten days, with snow accumulating over three meters, burying hundreds of residents within a radius alive and suffocating them. The beasts that survived in this world possessed tremendous strength and destructive capabilities. Naturally, humans capable of surviving in this world were far more rugged and courageous compared to those from other continents.

"According to our expected itinerary, we've exited the snow forest..." The man named Chi Hanfeng began to drift into his memories.

For the Snow Moon Legion of the northern federation of the Amy Empire, the snow forest had ceased to

 pose a significant danger. Just like this time, after repelling several attacks from snow beasts, both squads of the Empire's army safely arrived at the territory of the Hamai Kingdom.

However, the dispute arose over which squad should return to the Empire and which squad should continue the escort mission. Both Lake Huber and Chi Hanfeng wanted to go, acknowledging the immense risks of the journey.

Lake Huber attempted to persuade Chi Hanfeng to return using two reasons:

1. He had no heirs.

2. In snowy conditions, cavalry would only become a hindrance.

In Chi Hanfeng's view, these were exactly the reasons Lake Huber couldn't continue:

1. If something happened to Lake, his son would become an orphan.

2. In snowy conditions, the horses could still move somewhat faster, and if something went wrong, they could even be eaten—dismounted knights would naturally become infantry; how could they be worse than the Glacier Infantry?

Ultimately, the two friends with five years of camaraderie came to blows—if that were the case, let the stronger one go; the chances of survival were higher for the strong.

Chi Hanfeng was extremely confident; he had entered the Empire's junior knight school at five years old and had been outstanding in martial skills throughout his schooling. By nineteen, he had completed the trials and become a knight.

At this point, Chi Hanfeng's voice suddenly became unclear, and the grandfather and grandson, focused on Lake Huber's life and death, didn't notice the nuances in his words.

The duel took place privately.

The result of the battle was beyond Chi Hanfeng's imagination; Huber actually held an overwhelming advantage, and Chi Hanfeng lost with one hit.

In previous cooperative tasks, the cavalry team often executed assault missions, while the Glacier Infantry typically performed flanking or dragging tasks. Chi Hanfeng had rarely seen Lake Huber fight directly and had never understood his martial skills, fearing he might demoralize this good friend who had risen from a humble background.

During this contest, Chi Hanfeng charged at Lake Huber on horseback with a lance, lacking any techniques. In the wind and snow, Lake Huber met him head-on, his two-handed sword striking directly against the lance. Chi Hanfeng felt his hand warm; the lance was jolted away from the shield's defensive area. Lake Huber immediately retreated—when the lance wielder allowed such a gap to appear between his lance and shield, it meant death was imminent.

Chi Hanfeng regretted not using a two-handed spear; otherwise, this situation wouldn't have occurred.

"Forget it, brother, let's not argue anymore; this is our destiny." Lake Huber patted Chi Hanfeng's shoulder. "My son is seven this year; I originally wanted to bring him to the Ice Fortress for training after some time. Now this task is up to you. Take care of him for me. If I don't come back…"

"This happened 11 months ago." The former captain of the imperial cavalry had slightly wet eyes.

"My dad... is he dead?" The seven-year-old Amy spoke anxiously and incoherently.

"I don't know. A month ago, soldiers returning from the Wish Tower said that when the archmage entered, a barrier storm occurred. Not only was the archmage caught in the barrier, but soldiers near the barrier were also attacked by the storm. Your father rushed to the entrance of the Wish Tower to push the door closed to prevent the storm from escaping. Just when he used his two-handed sword as a bolt to secure the door, he was sucked in." Chi Hanfeng seemed to regain his composure.

"Will he be able to come back? What is a barrier storm?" little Amy asked worriedly.

"He should be able to, but it's uncertain how many years it will take. You're still young; when you grow up a bit, you'll naturally understand." The man, later referred to by Amy as Uncle, answered simply, "Perhaps you still need to save your father."

In the year 192 of the Red Moon Calendar, a stranger named Chi Hanfeng, under the title of Amy's distant uncle, became a part of Heike Village. Oddly enough, since the day he arrived in Heike Village, the snow wolves no longer came to collect taxes.

In the eyes of later generations, "The King of Mercenaries," Amy, indeed had many opportunities that led to his later achievements.

However, in fact, among the many famous sayings attributed to Amy, one phrase he often repeated but almost all future generations deliberately forgot was: "To gain a hundredfold, one must give a thousandfold. A single contribution may yield no return, but continuous effort will inevitably lead to reward."

Few knew how much Amy hated this phrase in his youth. 

— Notes of Elder Elf Lei Jun