Origin Player.

Chapter 674 Blackstone Harbor

In the cold wind.

The longship crossed the sea and approached Blackstone Harbor in the North.

In the current era, including wanderers and non-Viking tribes, the entire population of the Northlands is only about one million. Blackrock Harbor is a relatively large settlement, but its population is only around ten thousand. However, Vikings hone their combat skills from childhood, and their manpower and proportion of strong individuals far exceed those of the kingdoms of the Truth Continent.

Blackstone Harbor is under the rule of Earl Blackstone, who, along with his blood uncle, is a great warrior. There are four barons under his command. The port is surrounded by two mountain ranges and is almost isolated from the world. Stepping out of Blackstone Tower, which is the only passage, there is a vast plain outside, but unfortunately the land is relatively barren.

Under the cold sea breeze.

Jiang He sat at the bow of the boat, wrapping his black cloak tighter around himself. Zhuang Ya, in his arms, only had her little head sticking out, occasionally exhaling a few breaths of air. The curse of "civilization versus barbarism" made the little one feel the cold for the first time.

"I want to hibernate." Zhuang Ya nuzzled against Jiang He's chest. As a snake-like creature, hiding away was the normal survival choice in this situation.

"Eat your fill before you sleep."

Jiang He picked up the wooden bowl, which contained a mixture of dried meat and bread pieces as a staple food. To be honest, he was not very used to the climate in the north either, after all, he grew up on a southern island. Fortunately, the fur material of the black cloak was very warm.

Near the bow, Norland, Vilt, Enzo, Torresno, and Green Ghost sat in a circle. The five were all key members of the chapter and were entitled to a share of a precious live bull.

For sea voyages, the most nutritious offal was given to Jiang He, while the fresh meat from the top of the head, the cow's eye, and the tenderloin ended up in Zhuang Ya's belly. The two great warrior-level powerhouses naturally enjoyed the highest standard of living.

"Could you cook it?" Vilte asked bitterly, unable to stomach the bloody, raw meat.

"What if the ship catches fire? You're playing with people's lives," Norlund said sternly.

Violet tried a couple more times, but was forced to give up, saying tactfully, "Even Augustus had the ability to build ships..."

“But that’s no reason for you to cause him trouble. The strongest member of the band is responsible for the most dangerous battles and should have the most say. Other issues are our responsibility to resolve.”

Norlund's sense of propriety and self-control sometimes seem unlike those of a Viking. While other Vikings divided up treasure and women, he chose books, which were no different from firewood. Now he can speak fluently the language of the Land of Truth.

"Understood," Vera nodded.

The atmosphere on the longboat quieted down again.

The Green Ghost kept tiptoeing, looking somewhat agitated. Just two days ago, they encountered a winter storm, and a longship sank, carrying six warriors and thirty-odd York slaves, all of whom perished at sea. He couldn't understand why Thor was dissatisfied with them, when this voyage had been a resounding success.

"Thor, is he really... fair?"

The Green Ghost bit his nails. Augustus's single-handed destruction of a city was already a top-tier feat, and no one should be able to find fault with it.

“Look, I see land!” Enzo suddenly exclaimed.

At the edge of the horizon, the outline of Blackstone Harbor came into view.

……

Blackstone Harbor.

The cold wind from the strait, carrying a salty, fishy smell, rushed towards us.

The port is a rough anchorage naturally formed along the winding coastline, a place for fishermen and shipwrights.

The simple thatched huts and open-door workshops were right next to the waterline. Huge keel semi-finished products lay on the supports, and wood shavings, sawdust and scraps were scattered on the ground. Shipwrights swung heavy axes from time to time, chiseling, hammering, sawing wood, and shouting, their voices mingling with the waves.

Further away lies the living area, filled with a complex and pungent array of smells: the saltiness of the sea, the fishy odor of shrimp, the pine resin of wood, the acrid burnt smell of tar, and the smoky aroma of meat roasting over campfires on the shore—all mingled together.
When the six longships appeared on the coastline, Vikings came over and stopped to watch. Some warriors silently gripped the swords and axes at their waists until Norend waved from afar, at which point cheers erupted from the crowd.

Six longships.

More than twenty boxes of gold and silver jewelry.

Nearly two hundred slaves.

The refined iron weights, enough to arm seven hundred men, were mostly made from the armor and weapons of the King's army.

When Norlund led his warband out to sea, he had only one longship and went empty-handed. Now he was returning fully loaded, and the news spread quickly, attracting thousands of people to come and watch.

"My God, they could buy the entire Golden Sparrow Barony!"

"A woman from the Continent of Truth!"

"Nolund has found a route to the Thorn Kingdom!"

The camp immediately erupted in noise. Those who could plunder the spoils were all tribal heroes, and many Viking warriors had burning eyes. The Golden Oak Kingdom in the northern part of the Truth Continent had long since fortified its defenses due to the constant plundering, but the Thorn Kingdom was clearly unprepared.

From the crowd, a blonde woman and a boy stepped out. The former was Sharon, the shield-bearer and Norlund's wife, and the latter was their eldest son, Bean, who was already fourteen years old.

"Thank you, Odin, for bringing you back safely."

Sharon rushed forward and hugged her husband, overcome with emotion.

“Odin bestowed upon us, the warriors of the gods, during the storm.” Norlund turned to the crowd and introduced, “The warrior Augustus, who single-handedly slew the Great Swordsman and the top Witcher just before our return!”

Like stars surrounding the moon, the warriors escorted the young man, who was wearing a black cloak, off the ship.

No warrior refuted Norend's words.

The port erupted in unprecedented cheers.

The banquet began immediately. A young shield maiden approached Jiang He with great enthusiasm and boldness, trying to take his hand, but was stopped by the sorcerer Vilt. The group went to the open space and lit a bonfire. The warriors of the warband boasted to their fellow tribesmen about their experiences on the long voyage.

Enzo was somewhat silent in the crowd, sitting by the campfire warming himself. He glanced at the heroic and beautiful Sharon.

Norlund's eldest son, Bean, was actually his son. It wasn't unusual for two brothers to share a woman, but he couldn't be intimate with Sharon in public or without Norlund's permission, otherwise Bean would lose his father's care and upbringing.

Across from her, the Thorn Princess shivered from the cold, speaking fluent Viking language and saying fiercely, "Augustus is a devil, Enzo. Who in the chapter recognizes you now? Your brother Norrend still has leadership, but you, as a warrior, are no longer relevant."

"Then what do you think I should do?" Enzo looked up. Half a month had passed, and he had already married his wife. There was no wedding ceremony, but he was very satisfied with her status.

“Kill him, kill the devil, and you will be a saint,” Princess Thorn said with disgust.

"It can't be done."

"You don't necessarily have to use a weapon to kill someone."

The campfire gradually grew stronger.

Jiang He sipped his wine alone, a small white snake coiled around his neck in hibernation. Green Ghost was responsible for driving away some overly unrestrained young shield maidens. Some women arrived and made love to their husbands, who were warriors of the chapter, on the spot. The scene was so chaotic that it made Vilt and the others uncomfortable.

“Your Excellency, I see no hope of becoming king here.” Vilt’s face paled slightly.

Under her gaze, a soldier, like a wild beast, choked his blissfully happy wife unconscious.

“I don’t understand, but that doesn’t stop you from respecting it,” Jiang He replied casually. This kind of chaotic, large-scale revelry was actually quite common in the Holy Empire, except that the Vikings were more used to doing it outdoors at the moment, and there was no essential difference between the two.

Just as the two were talking.

Inside the port, in front of a relatively large wooden palace, Baron Goldfinch, whose hair was slightly gray, withdrew his gaze.

The young priest beside him whispered, "Baron, it's said that Augustus single-handedly annihilated the king's army in the Thorn Kingdom. His lord wants you to test its veracity." Baron Goldbird coldly replied, "If it's true, wouldn't I be in trouble? What if it's unfair, and he gains the right to duel me? Who will be the baron then?"

The Viking nobles were essentially tribal chiefs, and the success rate of bloodline succession was very low. Usually, it was ambitious and powerful young men in the tribe who challenged for the throne.

The priest said, “My lord has prepared an assistant for you, a top witcher from the Bear School. You may use the excuse of a fever to have someone else duel in your place. This witcher leader has been ostracized in the fortress and is leading his apprentices to find a new place to live.”

"Heh." Baron Goldbird sneered repeatedly. It was possible to substitute for the duel, but he would lose all his prestige. At that time, he would only be able to rely on external forces to survive in his position. The "lord" mentioned by the priest was only one in the entire Blackrock Harbor, and that was Earl Blackrock.

As for the leader of the Bear School of Witchers, he knew a little about him. The Bear School had taken in many apprentices in the past ten years or so, and was quite large. However, after these apprentices grew up, they basically revealed their lazy, greedy, and cowardly nature, which did not conform to the school's tenets. Some of the Witchers even started businesses.

The original old school, due to its overwhelming numerical disadvantage, was defeated in internal strife and lost its right to reside in the fortress, forced to live like wanderers in the wilderness.

After a long while, Baron Goldfinch remained silent.

The priest advised, "Nolund and his party brought back more than twenty chests of gold and silver jewelry. If they spend it all, they could buy the entire land of Golden Sparrow Territory. The other warriors are envious and will probably set sail in the winter as well. Your winter sea ban is just a waste of words. Without land and authority, once the warriors all defect to Nolund, that will be your death day."

“I can support him going to sea.”

"Then he is the Baron, and there can only be one leader."

Baron Goldfinch's expression was grim. For a Viking nobleman, neither death nor the loss of power was acceptable.

"I see."

……

Nighttime, at the Norland home.

The solid yet low silhouette lies sprawled on the frozen ground, the roof covered with rough turf, the longhouse built of oak and rough rock, the wooden walls blackened by smoke, the gaps filled with moss and mud to ward off the biting sea wind.

The hearth in the center of the longhouse burned day and night. Vikings, slaves and livestock lived together in one room. Beds made of hay and animal hides were arranged along the walls, separated by cloth. Smoked fish and dried herbs hung in the air and dried slowly in the smoke.

Since Jiang He wasn't a local of Blackrock Harbor, he simply moved into Norland's house. After Norland and Sharon finished their business in the first half of the night, Enzo suddenly appeared and took over the baton. Prince Alfred, as a slave, kept praying, and the primitive and barbaric nature shook his faith.

"Augustus, would you like to give it a try?"

Beside the wooden beam, Norland and Sharon suddenly appeared, both naked. Sharon extended an invitation quite naturally, and Norland gave a sincere smile, as was the custom of entertaining friends and guests.

"I'll pass," Jiang He waved his hand in refusal. Despite having once been surrounded by concubines, he was still somewhat traditional in this regard.

"You really don't like it?"

Sharon turned around and patted her lower back twice, looking surprised. In her opinion, this was a very normal thing. Augustus and her husband took care of each other on the battlefield, so of course they should give back to each other.

Jiang He calmly shook her head.

Norland reluctantly pulled Alfred away to make up the numbers.

The night was long, and Jiang He rested for a few hours. In the winter in the North, the sun didn't rise until almost noon. After waking up, he read the Ancient Book of Fortune for a while. He had almost finished reading the book, but it was only at the master level and did not involve the higher levels of alchemical mythology.

Jiang He raised her hand, and black dragon scales appeared one after another.

As he activated the dragon magic contained within his bloodline, streaks of jet-black lightning immediately danced at his fingertips.

Jiang He never thought bloodlines were anything special. He would transplant bloodlines if he liked them, and refine them if he didn't. Dragon magic activated the extraordinary lightning attribute factor that had been contained within his body in the past. His energy attribute and energy control level were the same as those of the Dragon God bloodline, both at the sub-legendary level.

"Dragon's Black Lightning".

Suddenly, the fate line on Jiang He's fingertip, which was barely visible to ordinary people, twitched.

"Someone wants to harm me."

"Is Baron Goldfinch going to make a move against the warband?"

Jiang He couldn't help but ponder. As the king of the era, his extraordinary abilities were not limited to combat power. His All-Encompassing Demon Eye and the power of destiny were top-tier divine skills in their time.

Professional assassins like Black Viper, who are even wary of fate-related abilities, are ultimately a minority.

For example, right now, Baron Goldfinch has already approached Enzo.

……

As dawn broke, it was nearly noon.

A loud clang of an axe striking a shield startled the Vikings awake.

Someone blew a horn, signaling the tribal assembly. Two thousand Vikings from the surrounding area, regardless of age or gender, all rushed to the wooden temple. Several Viking warriors were almost drunk and had to be carried to the front of the temple by the others.

At each tribal assembly, important matters are announced, and the Viking nobles prepare food to entertain everyone.

When Jiang He arrived with his men, draped in a black cloak, some people were already dancing a war dance. Green Ghost handed over a horn cup containing a relatively pure and precious barley wine.

"Augustus!"

People joined in, shouting, "Augustus!"

Sitting on a high-backed chair covered in animal hides, Baron Goldfinch's eyes gleamed. In just one night, Augustus's prestige had reached this level, which further solidified his choice.

"Just half a month ago."

Baron Goldfinch spoke, and the wooden hall fell silent.

"The Norend Chapter has defied my orders and gone to the Thorn Kingdom."

The atmosphere became solemn. Sharon looked somewhat tense, while Green Ghost and the others quietly gripped the axe handles.

"But the strength of force overcoming hard work is evident to all. They won, and not only did they win, they also plundered countless spoils of war."

Baron Goldfinch rose and laughed loudly, "Therefore, I forgive the Nornd Warband's unauthorized actions and will hold a tribal feast tonight."

Baron Goldfinch!

"He is truly a magnanimous person."

“However,” Baron Goldbird changed the subject, “as a baron, I am responsible for the tribe. The old warriors who died, the six heroes who perished at sea, and the tribesmen who did not go to sea because of the prohibition must all be compensated.”

"The spoils of the Norend Chapter belong to all its people."

A roar of cheers that nearly lifted the roof off erupted as many Viking warriors roared wildly, their initial resentment at not receiving spoils due to obeying the prohibition vanishing completely.

"If I go out to sea, I can also achieve victory."

"If Norlund can succeed, so can I. I even beat him up when I was a kid."

"Violating the ban must have consequences!"

(End of this chapter)