```
The cold wind was biting.
The surface of the ground at Star Dragon Ridge outpost was coated with a layer of white frost, and the ground was slightly cracked from the freeze.
Lind wrapped himself tightly in a fur coat and squinted as he braved the cold wind.
"My lord!"
At the entrance to the vegetable garden, Soldier Leo's nose was bright red.
"Mm-hmm," Lind nodded, crouched down to the ground and scratched at the soil. After checking it, he said, "It's getting colder by the day. Find more dry grass and weeds to cover this up. If we don't find any more signs of jackals..."
"Yes!"
When Lind first arrived, there was scarcely any food in the entire domain. He found a dozen or so sprouting potatoes, so he sliced them up, chose a spot, and planted them.
Now, the potatoes had withstood the cold. Although this did not mean Lind could rely on them to get through the winter, it did mean an increase in provisions.
After giving a few more instructions, Lind left the vegetable garden.
Lind continued to inspect his domain, a garrison town with five houses and a large open space, surrounded by towering walls. Before the Ring of Magic shattered, this was the frontier of the Kingdom, mainly responsible for defending against thieves and fierce wolves from beyond the border.
After the breakup of the Ring of Magic, as the national power structure collapsed, this place truly became a forgotten land. The only ones who remembered Star Dragon Ridge outpost were the wandering scavengers and fierce wolves.
He came to the western wall of the outpost.
A big hole had been busted in the city wall last night, and four soldiers were now picking up stones and wood to crudely plug the gap.
It was too cold, their hands and feet numb with frost, and the soldiers' efforts to fill the hole were slow.
"My lord!"
The four turned their heads at the sound of footsteps, looking at Lind as he approached.
"I had Old Pete make some soup. You'll get some to warm up after a bit," he said, standing at the gap and looking outside.
The dense forest of unfamiliar memories had vanished, leaving nothing but boundless desolation. The shattering of the Ring of Magic not only robbed the powerful of their flying and fleeing abilities but also stripped the land of its vitality.
But Lind had no time to worry about the end of the world or the fracture of the Ring of Magic; rather, it was the sudden collapse of the western wall in Star Dragon Ridge outpost last night that had everyone inside panicking.
Without sturdy walls, there would be no more peaceful dreams.
After making his rounds, Lind returned to the cabin, closing the door behind him and shutting out the cold wind with a "bang."
A pot hung over the campfire, its contents rolling in the boiling broth.
Old Pete immediately served a bowl of hot soup to Lind: "My lord, have some hot soup to drive the cold away."
Lind took off his gloves to accept the bowl, warming his hands on it before sipping the hot soup around the edges. A few gulps of steam warmed his body.
After a while, Leo, who had been covering the potatoes with grass, and the four men who had been repairing the wall's breach arrived. The remaining people were on lookout duty. Including Lind, there were only ten people at Star Dragon Ridge outpost.
But no one dared to relax. Times had changed. A moment's carelessness could allow the monsters lurking outside the outpost to breach their defenses, and they would truly have nowhere to call home.
"Come on, Pete, soup! Brr! I'm freezing!" the newcomers removed their gloves, rubbed their hands vigorously together, then moved closer to the fire to warm up.
Old Pete swiftly served soup to the men and refilled Lind's bowl.
Everyone cradled their bowls and slurped the soup quietly.
No one spoke, focusing on their meal.
Lind was thinking about survival plans for the future. Getting through the harsh winter was only the first step. He needed to ascertain the current state of the Kingdom; if he could make contact with the family of his current body, he might not claim an inheritance, but surely exchanging his good name for a couple of bags of wheat should be feasible. He could hopefully get some charcoal and cured meat as well.
```
The most important thing now was to track the nearby pack of jackals, best if he could catch one that was alone.
Jackals were a true treasure; every part of them was valuable.
Their meat could be eaten; their fat could be used to fry food, or be stored to make torches, oil lamps, and other weapons; simply using it to make soup was also delicious.
Their pelts could be sold in the nearby small town, and especially in this weather, furs were in high demand, so exchanging them for food would not be a problem.
But he believed that just as he was desperate to eat the jackals out of hunger, they were equally eyeing him.
"If it really comes down to it, we'll just have to take people out to search. Waiting won't get us anywhere," he said.
"My lord!"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a head wearing the kingdom's infantry helmet stuck in, bringing with it a gust of cold wind.
The temperature in the room plunged, and the flame under the pot abruptly faltered, shrinking into a tight ball.
"What's the matter?" Lind stood up.
The others also set down their bowls and nervously reached for the hilts of their swords at their waists.
"We caught someone sneaking in... should be a person, or maybe a scavenger, you'll have to see for yourself."
Lind frowned; his greatest fear had still come to pass—the creatures would sooner or later set their sights on Star Dragon Ridge; it was just his bad luck that a big hole had been blasted through the city wall last night.
"Let's go take a look!" he walked out quickly, the others also stood up without hesitation, abandoning their warm soup to follow.
From a distance, Lind saw the so-called scavenger the soldier had spoken of. Despite the frigid weather, the person had only a piece of torn cloth tied around his loins, shivering into a ball.
His body was thin and gaunt like a pole.
He had glaring green hair, and his face was also very twisted, with features that seemed to have their own ideas, growing out haphazardly.
"My lord!" The soldier guarding the suspected "scavenger" kept his longsword raised, ensuring he could chop off the intruder's head at a moment's notice, and said to Lind, "I just found him crawling through a hole in the wall; I didn't expect him to talk."
"If he can speak, he isn't a scavenger. We all know that if you pry open those monsters' skulls, there's nothing inside!"
Lind looked at the "scavenger" who was squatting obediently with his head in his hands—this face was even uglier than a scavenger's, but undoubtedly, the person was alive.
The swatch of green hair was of great concern to Lind. From what he knew, only the descendants of some ancient families would have various weird physical features. Perhaps this person before him was a descendant of trolls.
"I am the Lord of Star Dragon Ridge, Lind," he looked down at the other party and asked, "Who are you?"
His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it instantly should the other make any sudden moves.
As a lord, he had to prioritize his own life first and foremost.
Unexpectedly, the other party didn't answer but lifted that strange face to look at Lind, "Holy crap! This NPC is kind of handsome."
"Hm?" Lind was taken aback; he seemed to have heard something astounding.
The other party had already begun his self-introduction, "Well, my lord, good day. I am a knight guided by the gods, ready to pass on the flame to save the world. My name is 'Loves White Silk,' and because it was too cold outside, I sneaked in through the hole in the wall. I am really not any scavenger, I'm just... naturally quite distinctive-looking. Where I come from, this is the mark of the Sun Knight."
As the other party spoke, an interface that had been spinning circles in Lind's mind since he'd crossed over suddenly sprang to life.
[Doomsday Magic Ring Official Website]
[Forum Home][Discussion Area][Announcements]
And The Officials announcement section currently had only one notice, which read: [Doomsday Magic Ring closed beta 1.01, 3000 slots distributed, beta starts today]
The whole official website was bare, but Lind's spirits lifted.