The dazzling sun rose from the horizon. After half a month of continuous, heavy snowfall across the Wilderness, it had finally stopped.

The Goat-man Auxiliary Soldiers and Warriors all walked into sunny spots to feel the hard-won warmth. They started chatting about interesting current topics, but ninety-nine percent of their conversations were about a certain Lord who didn’t seem quite human.

With his hands in his pockets, Levi leaned against a wooden post, carefully sizing up the reinforcements from Bailiu City.

These three thousand men included a Heavy Armored Infantry unit and a Cavalry Team. The cavalry was the largest contingent, numbering around two thousand, and the entire camp was filled with the NEIGHING of horses.

Levi wasn’t paying much attention to any of that, however. His gaze kept drifting to a group of people wearing azure robes and hoods, each with a diamond-shaped ice crystal ornament on their chest.

The small team wasn’t large; all told, there were only seven of them.

But Fujero was clearly paying far more attention to this group; even the Panda Warriors had to take a backseat.

"It’s Mages!" Sam, wearing a Felt Hat, excitedly pushed his way through a crowd of Barbarians with crossed arms, pointing to a tall, white-bearded old man who had taken off his hood and was holding a Wooden Staff.

He felt a sense of belonging, of finding his own kind. After all, Casters in the Wilderness were rarer than a Goblin not obsessed with lust.

As for that Kobold, Old Neil... he had already been automatically excluded.

Ever since that damn Kobold learned the Soil Fertility Technique, his status had skyrocketed, and he’d stopped showing Sam any respect.

Watching the white-bearded old man being received with such reverence by the Legion Commander of the Thorn Corps, Sam’s face was filled with envy.

’This is the kind of treatment a Caster should get!’ he thought. It was nothing like his own situation, where his status in High Cliff Castle was barely higher than a commoner’s.

"Those are Ice and Snow Priests from the Ice and Snow Goddess Church. They are also Mages who control the Frost Element."

Si Kai had appeared beside him at some point and corrected Sam’s terminology.

"Over seventy percent of the people in the Northern Territory believe in the Ice and Snow Goddess. They have a church built in Bailiu City. They are close with the Duke, so he probably arranged for them to come and support us."

He took the time to explain some common knowledge about Magic to the uncultured lot from High Cliff Castle.

"I thought you all believed in the Holy Light Goddess."

Levi rubbed his stubble, lost in thought.

"How could that be? The people of Debei primarily believe in the Three Gods of Justice. These three goddesses are the Goddess of Life, the Holy Light Goddess, and the Ice and Snow Goddess."

"The Northern Territory is up north and cold year-round. Its geography dictates that many commoners believe in the Ice and Snow Goddess. Generally speaking, more people believe in the Holy Light Goddess over by her Royal Court."

When it came to matters of faith, Si Kai felt he had to educate his Lord on the subject.

"Oh? So you believe in the Ice and Snow Goddess?" Levi asked.

"Me? I’m an unbeliever."

Si Kai blinked, a smile on his face.

This time it was Levi’s turn to be shocked. In a world where Gods clearly manifested themselves, there were other unbelievers besides him?

The key difference was that he didn’t worship the Gods, not that he didn’t believe in their existence. It was just that they had nothing to do with him, so why the hell should he worship them?

If they could actually bring him some benefits, he wouldn’t have a problem believing.

Si Kai didn’t linger on the topic. Although unbelievers were rare, you could still find about a thousand of them in all of Debei. He just happened to be one of them.

"With the arrival of these Priests, we’ll be able to crush the Wilderness Alliance Army with ease."

"Right now, amidst the ice and snow, the power of these Priests’ Ice and Snow Divine Technique will be boosted by at least forty or fifty percent."

Si Kai said with absolute certainty.

They had previously suffered for their lack of Casters, which allowed the Wilderness Alliance Army to successfully deploy Minotaurs in their rear, nearly causing irreparable casualties.

At this thought, Si Kai gave his Lord a deep look.

If Lord Li hadn’t turned the tide back then, it was uncertain whether the Thorn Corps would have been preserved as well as it was now.

"That’s not a given. Maybe this Wilderness Alliance Army is just the appetizer," the Lord said, his words holding a deeper meaning.

Si Kai didn’t dare to respond to that. He quickly excused himself and left.

His attempt to cover things up only made the Lord more suspicious.

’Something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong.’

’If it were just the Wilderness Alliance Army, there would be no need for such a massive mobilization.’

Setting aside Fulina’s vanished Thousand-man Cavalry Corps.

The Lord roughly estimated that the Thorn Corps, not counting its losses, still had over four thousand soldiers. Add to that the fresh reinforcements, and their numbers were now well over seven thousand.

Including the auxiliary soldiers and cooks in the logistics train, they could easily march out under the banner of a fifteen-thousand-strong grand army.

Using them to deal with a group of Wilderness Natives whose main force was estimated at just over six thousand was truly like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito.

Especially now that seven Casters and a hundred-man team of Panda Warriors had been called in as well.

Never mind dealing with these backwater natives from the Wilderness; this force was more than enough to march south and conquer cities.

Although the Wilderness Alliance Army had certainly surprised him in the previous battle, in the end, that’s all it was.

Their equipment was indeed much better than that of previous natives, already on par with the gear of Debei’s ragtag legions.

But once a fight broke out, they still had no formation, charging forward in a chaotic swarm to fight as individuals, just like always.

You could only say that a makeshift crew is a makeshift crew. Perhaps there was someone behind the scenes with a basic understanding of military matters directing them.

But even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice. That person could only use crude schemes to compensate for this deficiency.

They might know more advanced strategies, but expecting a disorganized, undisciplined, makeshift crew to execute them would be like asking farmers to perform a perfect goose step.

"Zat, come here. Your big boss has a mission for you."

Levi called Zat, who was excitedly watching the Panda Warriors, over to a corner to give him his instructions.

The two whispered to each other for a long time.

"Basically, use whatever supplies you need. I want you to get on the good side of these Panda Warriors." Levi patted the shoulder of the bowing Zat, his tone heavy. "Little Zat, the mission is difficult, but I have high hopes for you."

"Boss, I promise I’ll complete the mission," Zat said, hastily slapping his chest.

After making his promise, Zat asked curiously, "Boss, what about you?"

’Logically, this kind of thing should be handled by the boss, since he’s the best at sweet-talking people. Why would he give a job like this to me?’

’Still, these Panda People look like honest folk, just like me. It probably won’t be too hard to win them over.’

"Me?" Levi looked toward the squad of Priests from the Ice and Snow Church, his voice filled with wistfulness. "My task as a Lord is also fraught with difficulty."