The snow and wind couldn’t hide the heavy atmosphere; the war drums hadn’t sounded yet, but the air was already oppressive.
As the meeting began, Duke Edmund didn’t exchange any pleasantries.
He merely sat at the head seat, lightly raised his hand, calm as frost and snow: "Everyone, let’s skip the idle talk. You’ve all seen what’s happening outside."
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it penetrated every corner of the chamber, like ice spikes piercing into everyone’s heart.
"This isn’t just a battle, it’s an... apocalypse-level catastrophe."
No one spoke within the hall, only the rumbling from the distant Magic Fortress replied in echo.
"Therefore, today we will only discuss one thing: how to end all of this."
As he spoke, he slowly cast his gaze towards a shadow nearby: "For this reason, I have invited this individual..."
The figure slowly stepped out from the shadows, into the area illuminated by the lights.
It was a being dressed in a deep blue star-patterned magic robe, the robe gently fluttered like the night sky, its edges constantly raised star points, as if falling into the void.
He didn’t announce his name or give an introduction.
Even the Duke did not clarify his origins.
But no one doubted, for his aura alone proved he was unequivocally a powerful figure.
His entire face was shrouded in a layer of misty fog.
Even standing beside him, it was impossible to discern his features, only feeling that "fog" seemed to reject sight, and further reject understanding.
Where he walked, the air appeared slightly distorted, like an ancient aura crossing time and space quietly descended.
"Who is that person...?" a young officer from the Imperial Capital murmured quietly.
No one answered.
Aurelian paid no attention but stood firm, going straight to the point: "The original ’Nest’ was merely some low-grade magical parasitic creature.
They produce tiny insects, attempt to control hosts’ remains, and replenish the Nest through corpses, breeding the next generation.
In its primitive state, what they could control was no more than a wild rat, a decaying cat... posing no threat to the world."
He paused briefly at this point.
Within the conference hall, several officers from the Imperial Capital showed thoughtful expressions, while the brows of the old generals and knights gradually furrowed.
"And the current ’Nest’ is no longer a simple parasite. Its breeding, expansion, and magical perception have surpassed any undead structure recorded in the past. The only possibility is: it has been artificially guided, catalyzed, and imbued with ancient dark magic."
This statement caused many officers to exclaim softly, and the faces of the members of the Mage Corps changed drastically.
"It’s a demon artificially ’crafted’," Aurelian calmly added.
He slowly extended a finger, lightly tapped the table: "But even if it’s stronger, its foundation remains that ’symbiotic insect spirit structure’.
As long as the Nest is destroyed, all connected insect corpses will perish due to the collapse of the mental core. This point has already been verified in combat."
As soon as he finished, several senior commanders of the Dragon Blood Legion and Cold Iron Legion nodded.
"Indeed, when exterminating the Nest, we witnessed a nest being destroyed and the entire frontline instantly going silent," an old general recalled, "those insect corpses were like their marrow was drained, unable to move at all."
"If it were an ordinary Nest, it would be fine," Gaius said in a deep voice, "but now we are facing... the strongest and most bizarre one."
Aurelian ignored the murmured conversations among the political advisors and generals around him, instead speaking slowly, his voice deep and blurred, as if from the Abyss.
"This particular Nest... let’s tentatively call it the ’Strongest Nest’."
His tone had no fluctuations, as if recounting an insignificant fact, yet each word weighed on everyone’s heart.
"It has even evolved some... ability called ’Death Fog’."
For an instant, there was a momentary silence within the hall, followed by a burst of subtle and urgent whispers.
"Death Fog...?"
"Sounds... dangerous?"
"What exactly is it?"
Those civil servants and generals, unversed in magic, looked at each other, many unable to comprehend the meaning of the words.
They hadn’t had much contact with magic, but only from the words "Death" and "Fog", they instinctively felt danger, horror, inexplicable significance.
No explanation of spell origins, no discussion of magic principles was given, after all, they wouldn’t understand and didn’t need to.
Aurelian merely raised his hand slightly, and a dark fog shadow emerged in the air.
In the fog, a sewn face faintly appeared, one eye still opened and closed, the other side’s mouth was crying, resembling both a child and an old man... and around the image, distorted insect corpses were being reassembled.
"The essence of the Death Fog is a taboo superpower transcending spirit and flesh.
It can reorganize using any deceased remains, whether severed limbs, broken bones, shattered armor, or even a pool of blood.
As long as it’s not completely incinerated, it can potentially be reshaped.
The individual reformed will lose their original identity, becoming an extension of the Nest’s will, which is what you’ve seen, those inexplicable stitched monsters."
Faces around gradually turned pale.
"And that black fog..." Aurelian’s tone slightly intensified, "is not merely a visual barrier. It has an extremely strong ability for mental corruption, directly disrupting cognitive thought, inducing hallucinations and fear.
Furthermore, it’s a persistent corrosive gas, eroding both magic structures and physical cells. Crucially, this fog cannot be dispersed."
Some faces even showed subtle panic: "We’ve all seen this on the frontlines."