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So, my White Dragon became a crucial safeguard for the fleet's safety. Winter Night could provide early warnings in the sky, spotting the movements of the orcs first. His combat prowess underwater was no less impressive than in the air; his swimming speed far exceeded that of the penguin warriors, and his dragon scales were impenetrable to blades and bullets. Combined with the lethal power of ice breath and dragon language magic, he held an absolute advantage even against tens of thousands of penguin warriors. This is why the Temple placed such high value on my strength.

However, contrary to the well-prepared expectations of the Temple fleet, we did not encounter any orc fleet attacks throughout the long voyage, arriving smoothly at Xuefulong Port in the Northern Ice Plain. Of course, this peaceful journey was also due to my subtle actions. Although the North Sea Fleet's penguin army was formidable, there were few Shamans among them, and their resistance to magic relied solely on seawater. Given my need to verify the Temple's battle plan, it was impossible for me to turn against them at the last minute. Without considering my presence, the North Sea Fleet would have to be prepared to lose eighty percent of its strength to take down this elite Temple force, especially one composed of magic and divine power specialists. The Temple could not afford such losses, nor could the North Sea Fleet, which still needed to play a significant role in the future plans of the Orc Alliance. Therefore, after I secretly informed them of the fleet's combat composition, the alliance naturally canceled the attack plan, allowing us to reach the ice plain safely.

Xuefulong Port is one of the only three deep-water ports on the ice plain, and the closest to Crystal Canyon and Hurricane Fortress, the only port currently controlled by the barbarians. This port is located in a bay, with two small forts on the sea cliffs guarding the entrance, successfully repelling several attacks by the "North Sea Fleet," ensuring the smooth landing of the Temple's reinforcements.

The initial three fleets brought a total of 200,000 people's worth of food for six months, 100,000 sets of specialized barbarian armor, a large number of war machines, and 30,000 troops belonging to the Temple, including our elite mages, priests, and paladins. The Radiant Temple not only replenished the forces lost in last year's "Thunder Swamp Battle" but also increased its combat strength several times over, clearly determined to help the barbarians hold onto Hurricane Fortress.

However, the more the Temple did this, the more worried I became. By now, the situation in the Northern Campaign had become clear: the barbarians had lost half their population and seventy percent of their combat strength. Even relying on Hurricane Fortress, they would struggle to resist the orc offensive. Based on my understanding of the Temple's strength, unless the Pope was willing to spare no effort, dispatching the four High Priests, the seven knight orders, and all the elites, and risking the loss of half of these elites, it would be difficult to turn the tide. It would be more practical to wait for the Orc Alliance to invade the human world and use sheer numbers to fight. Yet, the Temple insisted on adding troops to the north where victory was unlikely. This seemed less foolish and more like a cover-up for something else.

Although I still couldn't get any information from Knight Apu or Mr. Pang, my intuition told me that the so-called final contingency plan might not just be a trump card against the orcs but a scheme to destroy the orcs, barbarians, and human reinforcements alike. Otherwise, why would they keep it hidden from us and the barbarians? If my guess is correct, the true purpose of those 30,000 troops might not be to help the barbarians but to ensure that the orcs and barbarians wouldn't suspect the Temple's scorched earth strategy. While the Temple would be reluctant to sacrifice elite units like the Holy Sword Knights and the Holy Grail Knights, ordinary soldiers could serve as decoys.

The strict secrecy likely stems from the Temple's full-scale investigation into traitors after the "Doomsday Horn" incident, where I had switched it out. Unfortunately, only four people were truly involved: the orc mage Dajiaxi, who met his fate bravely; the android Li Jia, who remained hidden; the Golden Eagle Sword Emperor Bisate, who had long vanished; and myself, who was far removed from suspicion. At least until the Temple completes its investigation of the hundreds of guards stationed in the "Seven Lock Dungeons," they won't investigate me.

After the troops were reorganized at the dock, they immediately joined a waiting barbarian force and set off for Hurricane Fortress. The barbarian force numbered around 5,000, with a mixed composition including elderly, women, and children, all armed with spears and shields, demonstrating the robust physique of a race that has fought the orcs for millennia and where everyone is a soldier. Naturally, I rode my White Dragon Winter Night, leading a group of griffin knights and pegasus knights, flying above the formation to provide vigilance.

However, while ordinary flying creatures or illusions require significant energy to carry humans, even a level-nine creature like Ice Wind can only fly for a few hours. Only super creatures like dragons can maintain prolonged flight without rest, thanks to their endless magical power sustaining permanent levitation spells. Thus, although the entire flying knight squadron was responsible for vigilance, I was the only one who could remain high in the sky, monitoring a range of over a hundred kilometers, one of the reasons why dragon knights are crucial in warfare.

The journey from Xuefulong Port to Hurricane Fortress took only three days. I initially thought we would arrive uneventfully, as it was already May, and the Orc Alliance had focused on clearing the central forest regions of the ice plain, primarily monitoring the areas near Hurricane Fortress. However, on the second day, we encountered a battle between orcs and barbarians, and it was my Fountainebleau forces.

The battlefield was about seven to eight kilometers from our route. Due to the scale of the conflict, it was spotted by a griffin knight from afar. Both sides had committed nearly 50,000 warriors, with the orcs fielding about 30,000 and the barbarians around 20,000. Among the barbarians, 10,000 were adult male warriors, and the other 10,000 were women and children. On the orc side, there were 4,000 Minos warriors, 6,000 mixed wolf riders, and 20,000 half-orc warriors.

"How could this be? The entire Orc Alliance should only have Minos warriors and half-orc legions in my Fountainebleau. My territory is in the southern part of the alliance; how did they end up in the Northern Country? Has the alliance started conscripting private armies of lords?" I began to doubt as soon as I saw the orc army's formation. The green skin of the half-orcs and the bull heads and reverse-jointed hooves of the Minos warriors were unmistakable. When the Minos warriors gathered to form the "Minos Great Labyrinth Formation," I was certain of the origin of this orc force.