[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence":3,"chapter-lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-263":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},152761,274,"Chapter 263 - 202: Eduardo’s Abilities (Part 2)","lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-263",263,"\u003Cp>\"And you?\" Aik asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The response came from the snow forest not far away, a sudden string of footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They turned around, and standing on the snow were familiar figures: Blo, Heim...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncles and elders who once drank and fought alongside his father were now approaching like marionette corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Father drew his sword, roaring as he charged at his former brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snow turned blood-red, the roar pierced the night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aik turned back for a final glance; that was the last time he saw his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eduardo \"witnessed\" the end at dawn...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aik staggered alone through the vast snowy forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He fell, got up, and fell again, never to stand again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those small feet were long stained with blood, yet before falling, he clung tightly to a badge and an overburdened short sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if guarding something, or waiting for someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunlight poured through the forest gaps, casting a silent farewell on the small, stiff body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eduardo slowly straightened, eyes long soaked with tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t an illusion or a mere memory being observed, but life submerged as if personally experienced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divine Grace was not a gentle gift, but a costly synesthesia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aik’s fear, despair, stubbornness, and unfulfilled yearning pierced like needles into his nerves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ha...\" He gasped, wiping tears with his hand, yet blurring them further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His knuckles whitened, gripping his sleeve to stop the trembling, yet a fatigue like a mountain almost knocked him off balance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the agony of being crushed by emotions, not his own, yet as shattering as a broken heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eduardo leaned against the cold stone wall, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The painful emotions finally subsided slightly, ebbing from his fingertips, leaving only reason slowly returning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath, exhaled a misty white breath, and began to sort through what he had seen and felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, Aik indeed made contact with the ’Nest’ before his death, or... it left traces of Spiritual Power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secondly, the pollution from the Nest is not limited to corpses; it can also erode the minds of the living—chronic, hidden, and silent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the half-closed coffin, his eyes revealing an unmasked pity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Third... the ’Snow Swearer stronghold’ where Aik and his father last escaped, was likely not an ordinary camp from the mental echoes. It might have been a Nest disguised as a stronghold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door suddenly flew open with a bang, bringing a gust of damp, cold cellar air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis, waiting outside in boredom, shrugged: \"Finally letting me in? I thought you were inside stripping and dancing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop with the jokes.\" Eduardo’s voice was low, his expression grave, \"There’s a situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis’s expression immediately tightened, the joking tone vanishing instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He entered the room and, after hearing Eduardo’s report, his expression grew even more somber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Polluting the living, hiding the stronghold, possibly even breeding right under our noses...\" Louis repeated in a low voice, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasted no words, simply raising his hand and snapping his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scout Knights, deploy. The target is a thirty-mile radius around Dongxi Territory. Find the Snow Swearer stronghold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A response rang out immediately outside, with armor clashing and knights moving, figures retreating in an orderly manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis then turned his face, his gaze falling on his silent brother, his voice almost whispering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it really is a Nest...\" He paused, a sardonic smile suddenly curling his lips, \"Then it’s just right; I’ve been wanting to see if my sword is sharp.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaves drifted down the slope, the wind stirring dry branches, the forest silent as if even the birds dared not chirp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Louis’s orders, the Red Tide Scout Knight Team began a carpet search around the \"Chosen Oath Taker stronghold\" in batches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two days and nights of reconnaissance, a team finally discovered a settlement in the depths of the Northern Forest, far on a slope, unmarked on any map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caslo lay behind a rock, his brows furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the captain of this scout team, experienced and steady. At this moment, his gaze was locked onto the unfamiliar village below the slope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A place not on the map, yet with a complete stronghold, damn rats...\" he muttered in a low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The settlement’s buildings were crude and rough, mostly skewed wooden houses with walls built of stone pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But strangely, several structurally complete watchtowers and wooden arrow towers were still operational, as if meticulously maintained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not a naturally formed village, but a well-organized military outpost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, more eerie were the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t ordinary villagers but Snow Swearers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each one’s shoulder marks, armor scars, calloused hands, and belt emblems indicated:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a complete team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adult men, strong and robust, once swore to their beliefs and fought bravely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now they stood motionless like soulless statues along the streets, under the eaves, in the watchtowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caslo stared at them intently, his throat dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched a bear-like man with tattered leather armor, holding a rusted axe stand rigidly before a wooden house, eyes fixed on a corner, not moving a muscle for half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t alertness or vigilance, but stupor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are they in a trance?\" Alan whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Leo’s voice was nearly inaudible, \"they... just don’t want to move.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caslo narrowed his eyes slowly: \"Not can’t move, but won’t move. They’ve sunk in, like... pressed under a dream, even their muscles forgot to contract.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scouts saw a Snow Swearer sitting against a wooden pillar, head stiffly tilted upward, mouth slightly open, as if reciting ancient words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the lip movements, tone, rhythm... were like distorted underwater echoes, itching at the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t you think they don’t even seem alive?\" Alan gritted his teeth, \"Yet their breath is still there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they continued to observe, they felt increasingly eerie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Snow Oath Warrior was cleaning a knife, but it was air he was wiping; there was no knife in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone was practicing archery with perfect form, yet there was nothing before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tall female warrior stood on a terrace, sunlight enveloping her, lifting her arms as if greeting something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...This is sleepwalking.\" Leo finally spoke up, \"They remember their combat moves, training habits, but for some reason, it’s like the whole village has fallen into a shared dream, endlessly repeating those long-meaningless actions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re not crazed maniacs,\" Caslo whispered, \"they’re lucid puppets.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly Alan was startled, looking into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the village entrance stood a Snow Swearer beside a wooden fence, motionless like a watchful statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person suddenly—ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, shifted their eyes, looking in their direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Threads of blood surfaced in those deathly still pupils, weaving and wending like cobwebs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did he... did he see us?\" Alan’s voice trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Caslo grabbed them, \"he’s not seeing us. He’s seen something in his dream.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can’t watch anymore.\" He made a sudden decision, his voice firm, \"If we watch any longer, we’ll fall in too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alan whispered through clenched teeth, \"Should we just... set it on fire now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caslo glanced back at him, his voice low but unequivocal: \"No. The Lord needs information, and it’s easy to mess it up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alan and Leo nodded together: \"Understood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They swiftly descended the mountain, not saying another word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind blew through the forest, fluttering the edges of their cloaks, and swept towards that eerily dormant village below the valley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No dogs barked, no smoke from chimneys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those who murmured softly, living yet sleepwalking, continued slowly to repeat those phrases whose meaning was forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>",1264,"2026-05-29T04:24:47.504Z","2026-06-01T04:29:09.187Z",1,"novelbin.me","540dc7ce100aaf855f785b70cfbe959a4f602c8f10104096ecbee49541516122","lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-264","lord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-262",766,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-winter-beginning-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]