Chapter 93 - Chapter 93: The Garrison Embargo

The territorial foreclosure of the northern blast furnaces did not result in an immediate retreat of the Northern Hegemony's border legions. Instead, it produced a cold, stagnant gridlock along the high ridge of the fourth junction. By three o'clock that afternoon, the sleet had turned into a thick, blinding mountain frost that coated the iron switching towers in a heavy layer of opaque ice. The long supply trains—loaded with salt-pork, winter coats, and medical crates meant for the Northern Guard's frontier garrisons—sat perfectly motionless on the upper sidings, their steam valves leaking thin, rhythmic plumes of white vapor into the freezing grey air.