Throne of the North.

Chapter 371 The Baron and the Baroness

The addition of hounds and wolves has caused many more conflicts in the Tundra Territory. This is inevitable. Both hounds and wolves are extreme in their attitudes towards life and death.

However, for now, this contradiction has not spread.

Standing high at the foot of the mountain, Ryan could see at a glance the open space in front of him surrounded by mountains on three sides. Countless stones had been piled up there, and muddy soil mixed with turbid water had settled in the depressions on the ground.

Tens of thousands of people moved through the open space, filling the many gullies with dirt and stones mixed with mud.

Building a city is something that is easy to say but difficult to do. It is indeed a building piled up from the ground, but at the same time, it is also a battlefield where people will die. In particular, Ryan also requires that the city needs to have ditches to help rainwater and snow water flow out quickly, as well as clean ground and standard houses.

"It will take at least a month to compact the land, and it will take another 20 days to start construction."

The land in the north is hard enough. In the extraordinary world, even the soil needs to be involuted before it can survive, but Rose still feels that it will take a month and a half to officially start.

"Don't worry. That world still has a long lifespan. You don't need to focus entirely on building the city."

"The hound's spirit is our goal at this stage."

After Ryan finished speaking, he looked at Rose and asked:

"Are you prepared? Our actions against a god are blasphemous."

"If we don't handle it well, we might suffer the same fate as the royal family of the Andara Kingdom."

To put it bluntly, there is a fundamental reason why so many conflicts broke out in the Andara Kingdom, and that is because the old king destroyed the royal extraordinary army and caused the royal bloodline to be cursed by the gods, losing its extraordinary abilities.

"Where I used to be, there are not many records about the gods, but buried in the shadows are countless secrets that the gods want to know."

Rose said that the group of magicians is definitely the extraordinary ones who have done the most research on gods, and this is especially true for magicians who are good at dark element magic.

"In the oldest records of the Shadow Church, there was discussion of ways to kill gods."

"There are three conditions in total. The first condition is to extinguish His origin."

"If his origin cannot be extinguished, this great being possesses infinite energy and cannot be killed."

"The second condition is to fight for His origin."

“The origin will not disappear because of the gods. On the contrary, the gods become great beings because of the origin.”

"Take the initiative to seize it, so that the gods cannot take back their power."

"The third condition is to kill Him."

"No matter what method you use, the final step is to kill Him with a knife, a sword, fire, water, or any weapon that is handy."

This is the deepest secret recorded by the Shadow Church, they hide the records of killing gods.

"The first condition does not require us to complete it."

"The Pan-Plane War of Gods is over. The Hound God has long been weakened. He must have lost his source of power. The two arenas are the reason for his existence. The soul crystals are the evidence. He is using this method to survive."

"The second condition..."

Ryan hesitated, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he spoke firmly.

"I can handle the second condition."

The spiritual panel can even intercept legendary gifts, so there is no reason why it cannot compete for the origin of divinity, especially since the probability of the hound spirit belonging to spirit is greater than that of belonging to god.

"Then there is only one last condition left."

Rose took a deep breath. She was excited and thrilled to kill the gods directly.

"I need to prepare myself, using all my life's learning and the reasons why I embarked on the path of an alchemist."

Rose turned and walked away, while Ryan returned to Rhino Horn Mountain. After learning about what had happened in recent days, he headed for the alternate dimension.

In the city of Scala, Ryan sent hundreds of scouts to the snow-covered land in the north, searching for the ancient heritage of this world. In this city, in another forest city, the speed of mining gold and silver mines was also accelerating.

The open-air arena outside the city also became Ryan's way to change the people of Gam.

They were too keen on blood and death and longed for the sublimation of the soul, which was too unfavorable for Ryan.

The cruel way of thinking also makes it difficult for Gam's people to integrate into the Tundra Territory. Even the fanatical Birki and his bear people who serve the Frost Lord are unwilling to have close contact with them.

This will be a long process that may require a new generation to become the mainstream before change can take place.

Ryan would not deny this decision because of time. At this moment, he was thinking about using the gold mine under the city of Scala to wonder if he could open the door to the southern land.

Bringing the wealth of the North to the land of the South made the North no longer just a broad description of a location, but a symbol.

Economic warfare is a very simple thing. The first step is to stop other people's military actions. The second step is to win people's hearts and minds with more affordable prices.

It’s that simple, but these two steps are also an extension of politics.

The nobles have absolute rights over their territories, and Ryan must first gain a voice in politics.

"Now, I am somewhat famous in the southern land. The war in the kingdom made them recognize my strength, but this is too far after all."

Standing on the wall of Scala, Ryan looked at the vast world and thought.

Distance is always a beautiful word.

The distance is too far, and there is a filter for many people or things.

The distance also distanced them. Even if Ryan was the most powerful noble in the North, what would it matter? For many nobles in the South, the North was a world they would never see in their lifetime.

The barons in the North were nobles they would never see in their lifetime.

This made Ryan's words not very important to them.

"We must narrow the distance between the two sides, at least when they meet, there will be topics for them to talk about."

"A little bit of communication, a little bit of closer distance, will increase my voice in the southern land, and thus have the opportunity to obtain more wealth and resources."

Can Ryan give up the land in the south and develop only in the north? This is impossible. First of all, the resources in the south are definitely better than those in the north, which needs to compete with the orcs in the snow. The most obvious one is food. Can you expect the north, which is flooded by snow, to grow food for countless people?

Just as the North has its own resources, the South's land can also produce resources unique to the South, which Ryan needs very much.

At the same time, as a noble in the North, in the Borean Province, Ryan is still in the human circle and the imperial circle. He is the lord of a piece of land and he is the ruler.

He stands on the ladder of power, so he himself is a member of politics and cannot escape or avoid it.

The nobles of the North Wind Province had little say, so during the Empire's overall support for defending against the orcs, the North Wind Province seemed to have been abandoned and received only a little help.

There was no more support because the Empire did not care about the Borean Province, which was not considered essential by the Emperor and the nobles.

The North Wind Province has the richest iron ore resources in the empire, but it must be understood that the Flor Empire relied on its military strength to expel the Holy See.

After Ryan became famous at a young age, the North Wind Province still treated him like this, which means it is not enough.

Ryan’s voice is not enough.

He can influence the North Wind, the Kingdom of Sera and the Kingdom of Andara, but that is not enough.

"I need to write a letter and go to the Melendez family."

Ryan needs to use various means to increase his status in the empire and his voice in the southern lands.

Marrying the Melendez family is the simplest and most effective way. Nobles all increase their influence in this way, and Ryan is not opposed to it.

Well, the main reason is that he is not opposed to Avril Melendez as a marriage partner.

Master Ryan still has his own values ​​and aesthetics.

...Blade Rose Territory.

This is the territory of the Earl, the most dazzling Countess in the Empire.

Speaking of which, Ryan and the Countess are relatives. Earl Clayton's first wife, Ellie Fleming, is the Countess's sister. Ryan calls her mother, so the Countess of the Blade Rose is also Ryan's elder.

Avril Meléndez is now helping the Countess improve the magic medicine garden in this earldom.

Avril walked through the huge garden with her platinum hair draped over her shoulders. The women around her couldn't help but look at her with envy. As she walked deeper into the garden, the surrounding environment became darker, and it seemed that even the light could not completely illuminate the place. The guards here were no longer servants, but warriors whose eyes were covered in armor.

They are both men and women. In the territory of Countess of Blade Rose, many women serve as guards for the Countess, which is also a feature of the empire.

However, on the battlefield of the Abyss Hell demons, the demons will not show mercy to humans because of their gender. Over the years, the number of female knights under the Countess has been decreasing.

The ground beneath her feet gradually turned dark, and with every step she took, ice crystals condensed under Avril's feet. This was how she protected her magic power from being eroded by the land of the abyss.

"Avril, you're here."

In the distance, a young girl was waving and calling out with joy. Magical patterns filled the void, and grey trees grew on the dark land in front of them.

The name of these trees is Nashiya, a plant that grows in the abyss. The mere fact that it lives in the abyss proves its rarity. Apart from this, the Nashiya tree has another name, the Silver Magic Tree.

Its food can be many things, but its favorite nutrient is silver.

The silver is buried under the Nashiya tree. Every year, when the Nashiya tree matures, the pomegranate-like fruit seeds that grow out are all crazy mithril.

Gold and silver are the magical media that magicians need. At the same time, refined gold is known as the best magic circulation substance, and mithril is known as the best magic resistance substance.

The best does not mean the best, but because this substance has standardized production and universality among substances with the same effects.

Earl Clayton's support for Ryan with three sets of mithril armor was based on his consideration that as a knight on the extraordinary path, Ryan might be limited in his means when facing a magician. Mithril could alleviate this problem and eliminate some of the power of magic.

Avril is responsible for weaving the magic circle of the Nashiya Tree. Together with her are fifteen graduated or about-to-graduate magicians from the magic academy.

If they were anywhere else, each of them would be a noble wizard master, but in such a circle, they are just students. Sometimes they have to go to other places in the earldom to ask those more powerful magicians about the problems they encounter.

"In a few days, these magic circles will be completely stable. How did you come up with the magic circle engraved on the bark of the Nashia tree, Avril?"

The girl asked curiously. She was also a magician, but she felt that her brain seemed to be unable to think straight.

Hearing this question, Avril couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually, this was not created by me. There is a book in the Magic Academy written by the legendary magician Russell. When he was traveling in the North, he saw a kind of flying snake in the void. The magical beast called the Void Feather Fish had magic patterns carved on its scales, allowing it to float in the air."

"Is there still such a monster?"

The girl next to him was surprised and said:

"Avril, why are you reading books about the North?"

Then she opened her eyes wide, narrowed them, and smiled:

"Avril, you must be missing your fiancé. I heard that he fought a legendary war in the Andara Kingdom in the north some time ago."

"You're in such a hurry, I guess you want to go?"

"Yes."

Avril's face flushed a little, but she still spoke firmly with her neck stiff.

"When these magic arrays stabilize, the Earl said he would give me ten trees to raise here, and I can get 100 kilograms of mithril every year."

"Ten?"

The girl next to them opened her eyes wide, looking a little sour. As students of a magic academy, they didn't have so many things.

"I envy you so much, you were born into a landed noble family."

The girl was a little depressed. Her family had fallen into decline, and she often had no control over what she was doing and was not valued by other nobles.

Avril didn't say anything. In fact, she understood that the reason why Lady Countess of the Blade Rose gave ten trees was because of the marriage between her family and the Earl of Clayton's family.

The Melendez family does not have such a big face, but the relationship between the Grand Duke Fleming's family and the Earl Clayton's family has always been very good.

The Countess was from the Grand Duke Fleming's family, while Ryan was from the Clayton family.

In a small sense, this marriage is a marriage between a baron from the north and a viscount family from the south. In a big sense, this marriage also represents Melendez's entry into the empire, into the political power circle headed by the family of Grand Duke Fleming and the family of Earl Clayton. In the future power class of the empire, these nobles will stand firmly on the same front.

Many people think that it doesn't make sense, because Ryan is not the heir of Earl Clayton, and if an heir marries the daughter of the Melendez family, he should not have such a close connection.

But Avril knew the reason. Behind this matter lay the nobles' long-term political vision.

With the rise of Earl Clayton in the empire, the Clayton family needed to expand, just like Grand Duke Fleming. In addition to Grand Duke Fleming's family, there are also great nobles such as the Earl of the Blade Rose family.

There are four grand dukes in the empire, but who doesn’t know that under the bloodlines of the four grand dukes, there are many nobles who have formed their own circles centered on their surnames?
If the Earl of Clayton's family wants to move forward and become the fifth Grand Duke of the Empire, such expansion is inevitable.

Baron Ryan was not important at the beginning, but after Ryan made achievements in the North, a place where all the great nobles in the empire had not yet reached, Ryan's status in the Clayton family's bloodline system rose a lot.

He went from being an heir who was paid little attention by the earl to an integral member of the Clayton family.

These are all things that happened under the political struggle of the empire. The fallen nobles cannot see them, and Avril will not tell this friend to avoid making her more troubled.

For Avril herself, she actually doesn't want to know so much, because this marriage has lost its original and purest beauty in such a political atmosphere.

But, since she was the daughter of a noble family, he was proud of it and endured it.

Just like the friend in front of me, if I asked her to replace me and become the daughter of a powerful aristocratic family, she would probably be willing to do so.

Avril just understood it, but at the same time, she had some fantasies in her heart that I wanted it all.

That is a wish that even the great gods themselves cannot fulfill.

"By the end of this year, we will be heading to the North."

Avril thought so and couldn't help but feel nervous. After completing this year's magic pattern maintenance, Avril's mission was also over.

As she left the garden, she received a family letter from the maid.

When she opened it, Avril opened her mouth in surprise.

"How could it be so fast?"

Her friend came over and said, as a fallen noble, she needed to help her family understand what the real nobles were doing.

Everything, big or small, is information that the fallen nobles need to seize.

"Nothing, you just hit the nail on the head."

Avril smiled. There was nothing she couldn't say.

"In half a month, I will go to the Frozen Territory to become my Baroness."

"My father sent a letter and he will go with him, and Lord Clayton will also attend his son's wedding."

Avril walked away, and the lonely aristocratic girl stood there in shock with her mouth wide open.

In the frozen land, Ryan also received the letter the next day.

"Earlier……"

Ryan was sure that this was not his fault. The only thing that could advance the time was that the Earl's father had received and responded to the letter he had written to the Earl's family.

He asked the other party if they had any powerful weapons to sell to his son, with only one requirement: the weapon had to be powerful enough to kill a weakened god.

(End of this chapter)