For two consecutive nights, the Hector Workshop's latest creation—the "rocket"—had streaked across the night sky, raining destruction and fire into the Sauron camp. It kept the enemy awake night after night, leaving their camp shrouded in panic and smoke from dawn to dusk.
Just as Carnford's officers and staff officers were rubbing their hands together, war-gaming the perfect scenario of the Sauron forces collapsing into retreat and their own troops pursuing to expand the victory, the Northern Territory's harsh winter revealed its most capricious and savage side.
The sky had turned frighteningly overcast before dawn, lead-gray clouds hanging low over the wilderness as though they could be touched.
The frigid wind had stopped at some point, and within that deathly stillness, an even greater storm was brewing.
Then, shortly before noon, goose-feather snowflakes came crashing down without warning, blanketing heaven and earth! In no time at all, the dense snowfall formed a heavy white curtain. Visibility plummeted sharply, soon falling below ten meters.
The wind began howling again, whipping the snow into mad spirals. Heaven and earth dissolved into chaos, and the temperature plunged with them.
The sudden blizzard instantly tore Carnford's carefully laid pursuit plan to pieces.
Karl stood atop the reclaimed outer earthen wall. Even wrapped in a thick fur cloak, biting cold and whirling snow continued to worm their way through his collar and sleeves.
He raised his Monocular Telescope, trying to observe the activity in the Sauron camp opposite them, but moisture quickly fogged the lens. All he could see was a vast, churning whiteness of snow mist. Occasionally, he caught a glimpse of the twisted shadow of nearby earthen-wall ruins; everything farther away had been utterly swallowed by white.
"Damn it!" Karl cursed inwardly as he slowly lowered the telescope.
He could feel the same