The summit.

Snow had covered everything, yet the snowflakes were still falling in the biting wind. On the cliff, Harris and several soldiers looked down at the foot of the mountain. Their cotton hats were white with snow. They had been standing there for a long time.

The fierce battle taking place below was like a completely different world compared to the desolate and lonely peak.

The world below was no longer the one they knew.

A few days ago, most of Enzos was covered by dense forests around the Cornflower Avenue that ran through the entire mountain range, especially the area below the pass. It was not a barren place lacking water and soil; on the contrary, it was fertile and one of the most resource-rich areas in the entire country.

In the past, this area was always covered with pine and fir trees, hardy trees that never shed their leaves even in winter. The fields, riverbanks, lakesides, foothills, and roadsides were always covered with lush green moss, so that in the rainy summer, these lush plants would even appear black when viewed from above. This is the most famous Black Forest in the Nzoz Mountains.

Every year in February and March, the Cornflower Avenue, cultivated by generations, always begins to bloom with dense clusters of blue hibiscus flowers along the roadside. These small flowers, with their varied colors but each one exceptionally pure, are not rare or precious. Apart from being abundant in the Enzo Mountains, they can be found in any region of the country, on hillsides, in fields, by the water, along roadsides, and even in front of and behind ordinary people's houses.

Like the main tree species in the Black Forest, the blue hibiscus is not afraid of the cold and has a strong vitality. As long as there is soil where they can take root, they can always survive and produce bright flowers that will make anyone who sees them smile and feel better.

Thus, the blue hibiscus, which should have been just a roadside wildflower, became a symbol of the empire alongside the "Eagle of the Empire." Over the years, the portraits of the monarchs on every denomination of coins used by the common people have changed one after another, but even today, the reverse side of those coins is still reserved for the blue hibiscus.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of February, the time when blue hibiscus begin to bloom.

But at this moment, Harris looked down at the devastated wasteland ravaged by artillery fire. The piled-up trees were charred black by the flames, the ground had been completely torn apart, and the crisscrossing shell craters and shattered rocks had formed ruins. The familiar landscape had been completely changed in this battle, and what lay more than anything else were the corpses scattered everywhere.

Being high up and far from the battlefield, Harris was still able to see the battlefield through the gaps in the air, despite the fiery red clouds and billowing black smoke obscuring the sky.

The black dots leaping on the wasteland resembled swarms of ants, with bursts of fire erupting around them. One moment the ants were scurrying about, and the next they were staggering and flying in all directions, eventually collapsing to the ground and becoming dismembered corpses. The same was true behind the rows of stone fortifications; countless ants were buried beneath the collapsed ruins.

On the mountain pass, Harris had lost count of how many people had gone to the front lines of the fiercest battle, and he had never seen any of them return.

It's like a turbulent whirlpool in the middle of a river, pulling those who get close deeper and deeper until they are swallowed up and buried, becoming nothing more than skeletons in the abyss.

The intensity of the battle, the duration of the conflict, and the number of casualties were unprecedented in Harris's military career. This caused him to go from feeling tense, anxious, grief-stricken, and angry during his long observation of the battle to becoming numb.

At one point, Harris saw a fortification being bombarded by countless shells. Thick black smoke was instantly engulfed by intense flames. A few seconds later, the flames gradually subsided, and the building and people were gone, leaving only a scorched earth.

At that moment, he was even a little unsure, unsure if there was something wrong with his memory. Perhaps there had never been any fortifications there at all; it should have just been a scorched earth. Otherwise, how could it be like this? This was not a magic show, nor a nightmare he had never woken up from.

But the rolling explosions, the visible clouds of fire from the shells, and the nauseating smell of gunpowder that even reached the mountaintop and filled the nostrils all indicated that this was the most brutal and bloodiest battle the Empire had ever fought in recent years.

In the past, he had personally participated in and orchestrated battles, but today, witnessing the battle from an unprecedented vantage point of view, Harris gained a feeling he had never experienced before.

This feeling is truly disgusting.

"Cough cough cough."

Under the numb gazes, Harris began to cough violently. The soldiers around him, their faces red from the cold, were now anxiously muttering:

"The Yan Kingdom's offensive is too fierce. After fighting for so long, they are still sending reinforcements from the rear. They... they are coming in endlessly."

On the summit, the soldiers had a wider field of vision. Although the towering mountains provided cover, they could still see some Yan soldiers rushing out from their hiding places and then flowing into the battlefield like streams.

Therefore, during this period, almost everyone gradually realized that the pass might not be able to be defended.

Now, a soldier moved his lips and stammered out his thoughts: "We have to abandon the pass and retreat. If we keep fighting like this, everyone will die here..."

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