A major event was happening in Iron Armor City, the capital of Cromwell Province known as the Capital of the North.
As the indisputable center of the north, Iron Armor City was every bit as imposing as Noah, the Imperial Capital.
Looking from afar, one could see that Iron Armor City was surrounded by pitch-black city walls. It was said that these black walls were had strong, heavy steel mixed into them. The sheer size of the city walls alone and the imposing feeling it gave off already made the city worthy of its tough name.
At the gate of Iron Armor City, a team of officials led by provincial governor Roland consisting of hundreds of people was waiting for the arrival of someone important.
A convoy appeared in the distant snowy horizon under the faint green light. A loud voice shouted from the city gate watchtower.
"I see it! The Chief Consul has arrived!"
Hearing this, Governor Roland immediately took on a solemn air. The officials and nobles behind him also braced themselves.
Rennes' reputation was widespread. From the war of extermination against the Raytheon Empire to the elimination of the Lucas family to the construction of the national port, all of them had to do with Rennes.
Therefore, even in the faraway northern province, a lot of people knew Rennes' name.
And they respected the Chief Consul from the bottom of their hearts.
The welcoming team led by Roland at the gate of Iron Armor City had long been standing at the ready to welcome Rennes.
Everyone wanted to see what the legendary Chief Consul looked like.
The convoy moved closer and closer and finally reached the city. Following a drawn-out shout from the coachman, the leading horses raised their hooves at the same time and let out a series of neighs. The hooves inlaid with heavy horseshoes fell heavily on the ground, stirring up innumerable snowflakes.
The green light produced by magic energy that reflected off the snow quickly disappeared.
Under the expectant gazes of the officials, a beautiful girl wearing a snow-white robe climbed out of a carriage. Her movements were light, and her long hair fluttered in the wind.
The beautiful girl jumped down from the carriage. Her laughter chimed like a silver bell, pleasant to the ear, and her every move was cheerful and lively.
"So this is Iron Armor City, my lord! It's so beautiful! At first, I thought it was a giant crocodile lying on the ground!"
Trish laughed merrily and danced in the snow.
"Oh, I love snow so much. Back in my hometown, you can see heavy snow like this very often, heavier than this even. But we don't have such a magnificent city!"
Trish remarked in surprise.
"Slow down. What if you fall into the snow?"
Under everyone's gaze, a handsome man with a gentle smile that gave off an outstanding temperament walked out of the carriage.
From his eyes, one could see that he doted on the young girl but was feeling helpless over the girl's behavior at the same time.
"So this is Iron Armor City?"
After Trish had obediently returned behind him, Rennes felt a little emotional looking at the tall, pitch-black city walls.
He then led his entourage towards the city.
He met Governor Roland's gaze. The two naturally shook hands.
"You're finally here, Chief Consul. Her Majesty the Queen has already informed us in advance so that we can make preparations to receive you!"
Roland was full of smiles as he led Rennes into Iron Armor City.
The officials consciously made way for the two of them. They lowered their heads to show respect to Rennes.
"I've prepared a sumptuous banquet for you at the provincial governor's office. The journey must have been hard on you. Please take a good rest, Chief Consul," Roland said with a smile while they walked into the city.
"Thank you!" Rennes nodded.
He looked around the city and saw an endless amount of people.
There were people everywhere on the streets, the windows, and even the alleys. There were men, women, old people, and children. In order to get a better view of him, some children were riding on their father's shoulders.
Rennes did not know whether to laugh or cry. He was even a little flattered by all the attention.
Was he that popular?
The residents of Iron Armor City were very excited.
"Is that Lord Rennes? Oh my god, he's so handsome. I want to marry him!"
"Forget it. Get your buck teeth fixed first! But I don't think Lord Rennes will like you even if you get them fixed!"
"Hey, watch your mouth."
"I'm just telling the truth, alright?"
"Stop bickering, you two. But it's really surprising how young Lord Rennes is. No one probably expected him to be this young. I've always thought Lord Rennes is an old man in his fifties."
"Mom, I want to be a hero like big brother when I grow up."
"Shh, don't speak such nonsense. Don't call him big brother, that's the Chief Consul!"
...
Hearing the voices in the crowd, a smile unconsciously spread on Rennes' face.
He must say, this feeling of being respected, loved, and worshipped was actually not that bad.
Due to the crowd's welcome, Rennes and his entourage took half an hour to arrive at the provincial governor's office.
Inside the provincial governor's office, he was brought to a room that the maids had prepared for him.
He could sense the noise outside gradually dispersing after he went into the provincial governor's office.
The banquet in the evening would start at seven o'clock. There were still a few hours before then.
Roland tactfully left and did not bother Rennes with too much unnecessary pleasantries.
Roland returned to the provincial governor's meeting hall, where the main authority figures of the province were gathered. Since the interaction with Rennes had not officially begun, they had to make their preparations. At the very least, they needed to discuss what Rennes' purpose for coming here was.
The message Her Majesty the Queen previously sent them only stated that the Chief Consul, Lord Rennes, was coming, but it did not say why.
Roland went straight to his seat with the question in mind. Facing his familiar subordinates, Roland asked bluntly, "What do you think the Chief Consul's purpose is for coming to our bitter cold region?
"Although the war between the Noah Kingdom and the Raytheon Empire has been very costly, we fortunately still have a large amount of surplus food left. Some time ago, the south has also sent a batch of wheat over, so we basically have no food problem at the moment.
"And it's currently the winter season. We have a natural barrier in the north, so an enemy invasion in this time of the year is unlikely. That makes the purpose of the Chief Consul's visit even more puzzling."
The few provincial authority figures exchanged glances and shook their heads. Evidently, they had no idea why Rennes had come to the north either.