252: Chapter 252 Alchemist Skill Point Allocation! Frozen Fortress Military Council!

In the room, Rowan fell into deep thought.

First, adding Breathing Technique proficiency was ruled out.

Before the Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique was promoted to a Legendary Breathing Technique, the greatest use of Breathing Technique proficiency was merely for Embrace and cultivating blood descendants.

Then, what remained was the choice between the Succubus class skills and the Alchemist class skills.

He also ruled out the Succubus class skills.

For him now, upgrading the Charm skill was merely icing on the cake; he could slowly accumulate proficiency on his own.

As for the Drain skill, it was still about 78,000 proficiency points away from reaching Lv5, which was too far off.

Then, it had to be the Alchemist class skills.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated.

He began to allocate points.

Insight Spell Lv1 -> Lv2

Deduction Spell Lv1 -> Lv2

[ Free Attribute Points - 1974 ]

[ Remaining Free Attribute Points: 1890 ]

Insight Spell Lv2 (0/5000)

Deduction Spell Lv2 (0/5000)

After allocating the points, he sat quietly on the bed for a moment, feeling the brand-new clarity in his mind, then got out of bed, got dressed, and prepared to find Mira and Sophia to test the upgraded skills.

... Meanwhile.

The Northern Border, Frozen Fortress.

The cold wind, like a blade, cut ceaselessly throughout the year at this military fortress standing amidst the ice and snow.

The flagpole on the city wall was covered in a thin layer of frost, and the Imperial military flag snapped loudly in the wind.

Deep within the fortress, in a top-secret meeting hall, a small military council was being held.

The furnishings of the meeting hall were simple and solemn. A map of the Northern Border defense line hung on the wall, marked with various flags representing different factions.

In the center was an obsidian long table.

In the main seat sat Duke Carter, Marshal of the Northern Border Army, who was responsible for commanding the entire Northern Border defense line and was in charge of the most core central front of the Northern Border.

To his left sat Duke Dalton, who was mainly responsible for the war in the western part of the Northern Border.

To his right sat Duke Witton, who was mainly responsible for the war in the eastern part of the Northern Border.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the meeting hall was somewhat heavy.

The silence lasted for a moment before Duke Carter spoke first. His voice was low:

"The Church's forces have all withdrawn. That Paladin officially left the Northern Border last night."

"Now, there are no longer any Legendary powerhouses guarding the Northern Border."

Duke Dalton and Duke Witton's expressions became subtle after hearing this.

A moment later, Duke Dalton spoke:

"Who has confirmed they will leave the Northern Border with the Church?"

Duke Witton was silent for a moment, then listed a series of names.

"Of the twelve seats in The Senate of the five northern provinces, six have confirmed they are leaving."

"The Campbell family, the Lorraine family, the Sterling family, the Frost family, the Graham family, and... the Carter family."

When he finished reading the last name, the meeting hall fell into silence once again.

After a long time, Duke Carter spoke again:

"This morning, the military department sent the final classified report."

"In one week, the Golan Fortress in the west will be abandoned."

"From now on, the northern part of the Imperial defense line will be bounded by the Rhine River, and the western part will be shielded by the Silver Glow City line."

Duke Dalton and Duke Witton looked at each other, but there was no surprise in their eyes.

As the top commanders of the Northern Border defense line, those daily military movements could not be hidden from them at all.

But Duke Dalton still said in a somewhat bitter voice: "It seems that the fall of the Northern Border is a foregone conclusion."

Duke Carter did not answer the question, but instead said: "I know that you each have your own plans for choosing to stay."

"I will not ask what you are specifically planning, nor will I stop you."

"However, hurry up. The Northern Border defense line can only hold out for a little while longer. If the Northern Border does not produce its own Legendary powerhouse by the end..."

Duke Carter did not continue, just looked at the two colleagues he had worked with for decades. Seeing they were not prepared to say anything more, he sighed:

"Then, the meeting is adjourned!"

Duke Dalton and Duke Witton were silent for a moment, then stood up, preparing to leave.

Duke Carter sat in his original seat, not getting up.

He watched their backs, and the moment they were about to step over the threshold, he suddenly spoke:

"I hope... we will have a day to meet again."

The two men's footsteps paused simultaneously.

But they did not look back, nor did they answer.

After a brief pause, they continued walking and disappeared into the shadows outside the door.

They both knew that after today, Duke Carter would head south... and leave the Northern Border.

After Duke Witton left the meeting hall, he did not immediately return to his station.

He followed the fortress passageway and climbed to the observation platform at the highest point of the Frozen Fortress.

The biting cold wind blew his heavy black cloak, snapping loudly.

He stood there, looking out—

The continuous Great Wall of the Northern Border was like a gray dragon, winding and undulating over the vast snowy plains, extending all the way to the end of the skyline.

There was a beacon tower on the city wall every certain distance, and at this moment, they were emitting curling smoke, which was the garrison troops making fires to cook.

These sections of the city wall, these beacon towers, every inch was soaked with the hard work of generations of the Witton family.

He would not give up.

Even if the Church left, even if the Empire retreated.

He would not give up either.

Even if...

Duke Witton slowly clenched his fists.

His knuckles made a cracking sound from the force.

He took one last look at the continuous Great Wall of the Northern Border, then turned around, no longer lingering.

He took a deep breath, and the Battle Qi in his body suddenly erupted.

The next moment, his figure shot into the sky like a black meteor, cutting through the gray-white sky of the Northern Border, heading towards his Aksai City.

Twilight gradually closed in behind him, swallowing his figure into the gray skyline.