When the Werewolves broke through the Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and entered the Northwind Province, the scene was more horrific than ever before, because the Werewolves would kill the nobles.
Just like when a new wolf king appears, the old wolf king must either be driven out or killed in battle.
This is what Werewolves do: they need food, but they don't need human nobles.
If Werewolves aren't particularly interested in killing ordinary people, then why is the killing even more brutal?
As Ryan watched the messages coming from afar, he came to a profound realization of the inseparable connection between nobles and knights, commoners and slaves.
Under the orders of the nobles, countless commoners and slaves followed the knights to resist the Werewolves, but once the war broke out, the Werewolves would have no scruples whatsoever.
The nobles resisted fiercely because of the threat of death, and the Werewolves' bloodthirsty desire to attack turned the Northwind Province into a bloody mess.
More and more people fled to Zero Crossing Prefecture, Iron Mountain County, and Silver Stream County, but Werewolves followed them. The nobles in these areas defended their castles and did not care whether the Werewolves passed through their territory to other places. In fact, they hoped that there would be fewer Werewolves and that they would go further away.
This is why Werewolves keep appearing in Zero Crossing Prefecture, putting increasing pressure on the local nobles.
"How can we deal with such a huge number of Werewolves?"
On Rhino Horn Mountain, Ryan pondered for two whole days, but still couldn't come up with a good solution.
They either fight for survival against all odds, using humanity's fear of death to wage war against the Werewolves in every corner, or they use what Rosalind said to employ absolutely extraordinary methods to burn the Werewolves with the flames of life.
Regardless of the outcome, the price will be terrible.
Ryan wanted to get a middle ground, because many people had already died in Northwind Province.
"The army... is very difficult to assemble."
"After the Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress was breached, apart from the army that retreated to Cold Mountain City and did not leave due to pressure from Viscount Landa, the remaining fighting force was firmly held in the hands of the nobles. They were unwilling to give up their troops to protect their own lives."
Nobles whose lives have been threatened by Werewolves will never allow their armies to leave their side for any reason, not even if the emperor comes.
In this situation, when Ryan assembles his army to attack the Werewolves, there will only be one type of people who become his soldiers: slaves.
There were no commoners, because when commoners left the territory, especially when they left the lord who needed them as soldiers, they were already marked as slaves.
Add to that the fleeing, displacement, and illness...
Ryan thought for a long time, and it seemed that there was no better way than Rosalind's method of exchanging one's life for it.
"The success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand."
Ryan lamented that he could already see that once he succeeded, everyone would praise him, completely forgetting that this fame was built from the bones of hundreds of thousands of humans.
After thinking it through, Ryan's eyes hardened. He wasn't a saint; when there was no other way, so be it.
Zero Crossing City.
Baron Ryan's army once again left the Frozen Earth Territory and appeared outside Zero Crossing City, where a force of 50,000 men had been assembled. Zero Crossing Prefecture and Iron Mountain County contributed half of the troops, while the other half came from refugees from the surrounding counties. Just as Ryan had expected, the nobles would not let their people out and leave their castles empty.
The 50,000 emaciated slaves, their hands and feet cracked from the cold, were the army assembled by the Marquis of Northwind. Ryan even suspected that sending these 50,000 men into a Mountain Forest to chase a wild boar would only result in the boar escaping.
They were too weak. Fifty thousand was not an accurate number, because when Ryan arrived, he saw more than a dozen people who had died of hunger and cold in the stinking military camp.
In the end, he still ended up with 50,000 people.
The exact number is probably unknown even to the knight in charge of this matter.
"Is this the army that's going to reclaim the lost lands of Northwind Province?"
Ryan smiled, and Rosalind appeared suddenly beside him like a ghost; he seemed to possess some kind of ability to slip into the shadows.
"They aren't yet, but they will be soon."
Rosalind took out a crystal containing a drop of black liquid.
"What's this?"
"A potion made with the blood of Demons lord."
Rosalind's face was somewhat pale. She took out more crystals, each containing a drop of black potion.
"I prepared 30,000 copies; you have no idea what a price I paid."
Rosalind gritted her teeth, only she knew how much of her savings and resources, besides wealth, she would use to achieve these things.
"Not enough."
Ryan shook his head and pointed to the chaotic military camp in front of him.
"Thirty thousand servings are far from enough."
"I know."
Rosalind did not refute him; she knew the power of his things and had witnessed the Werewolves ' fighting prowess.
"I will continue to prepare, but it's too late now. The nobles in those counties have gone mad. If this continues, His Majesty the Emperor will not be able to withstand the pressure from the nobles and will declare me an enemy of the Empire."
"You can do that?"
Ryan was somewhat curious, while Rosalind was also quite helpless.
"You have no idea how many nobles have died in the face of Werewolves. If this drags on any longer, even a grand duke cannot bear it."
Reputation and prestige are things that nobles covet. In the current Northwind Province, with the mass deaths of nobles, no one will investigate the reasons; the nobles will only look at the results.
What was the result? Under the decisions of the Emperor and Grand Duke Mayers, the nobles of the Northwind Province suffered heavy casualties.
In any case, the nobles of the Northwind Province are all nobles of the Empire. In terms of status and character, they are the same as all other nobles, loyal to the Emperor, and loyalty is mutual.
Ryan watched as Rosalind made a slave swallow a two-finger-wide crystal, then watched as the slave before him transformed into a cruel Demon Kin.
After a long while, as Rosalind killed him, Ryan finally came to his senses and asked:
"Do they want to eat?"
Rosalind was puzzled. Eating? Then she shook her head.
"The power of Demons is to fight by burning their life force and soul; when they eat, they consume their own soul and life to sustain themselves."
Ryan disagreed, saying:
"With such drastic changes, how can we not eat even more?"
After saying that, Ryan turned and left. Not long after, the Marquis of Northwind issued a new order from Zero Crossing City, which required the nobles to use the grain and food stored in the ice warehouse of the Frozen Earth Territory as rations for the army fighting against the Werewolves.
This move provoked discontent among many nobles, but to no avail.
It was a consensus that the army needed food. The Marquis of Northwind, who was still an infant, had long since become a renowned Marquis had issued many orders as governor.
The nobles were not stupid; they knew that the order did not originate from the Marquis of Northwind. However, they still needed Baron Ryan and his army, so they did not consider anything further.
A massive army of 50,000 set off, though in reality there were more than 50,000, because the Marquis of Northwind's orders were genuine. Food supplies had been transported to the military camps, and everyone knew that by following the army, they would be able to get food.
This single reason alone has made the army bloated.
"What we need to do is force the Werewolves into a decisive battle with us in one place."
Rosalind's methods are clearly not so easy to control. If there are too many battlefields, the humans who become Demon Kin will not care whether Orcs or humans. In fact, humans will be even more hostile towards them.
Therefore, at this point, a complete battlefield is needed to engage in a decisive battle with the Werewolves using no superfluous methods.
Otherwise, once the Werewolves realizes what's happening and starts scattering in all directions, using cunning to prolong the duration of the Demon Potion, there will be no way to counter it.
With the intelligence of Werewolves, Ryan felt that if this were true, most of the Werewolves would leave.
"Then... we need a battlefield, a battlefield that can bring together all Werewolves and humans."
"To gather the Werewolves together, we need another bait."
As the army marched forward, Ryan continuously used the process of elimination.
Humanity has only one chance in this war, so the battlefield cannot be dispersed. To prevent this, either the Werewolves will launch a desperate attack on a single location, or a suitable bait will be needed. These two conditions can be met simultaneously. As for the choice of bait, we can start by considering the counties. We can exclude the three counties of Lingdu, Tieshan, and Yinchuan, which have not yet engaged in a fierce war with the Werewolves, because most Werewolves are not in these areas, and it is impossible for all of Werewolves to cross the nobles' territories to attack these three border counties.
The remaining options are Longshan, Leiyun, Northwind, Cold Mountain County, and Golden Ear City.
Of these, the last two were eliminated by Ryan first, not because they were not close to Werewolves, but because of their value.
These two cities, currently under the control of Viscount Landa, are not worth the Werewolves' attention, and in fact, taking them over wouldn't be too difficult for Werewolves.
However, just like the fortresses of the Fragrant Mountain Plains, these cities, strictly speaking, were also fortresses of the nobles.
If it's just about plundering, then these places are good choices. Just like when the Orcs went south before, they didn't attack the easily defensible noble castles that required a huge cost to break into, but instead chose villages and towns.
However, based on the information gathered so far, Ryan simply couldn't believe that the Werewolves only wanted to plunder and reduce the number of Orcs.
After all, if that's the case, why have only Werewolves entered the Northwind Province so far, and not any other orc Orcs?
Wouldn't reducing the number of Orcs be the most reasonable course of action?
The Orcs have grand ambitions; they want not only the wealth created by humans, but also humanity itself.
While considering the Werewolves of the Northwind Province, one must also see that the entire northern part of the empire is facing a full-scale invasion by Orcs.
This was not a decision made solely by the Silvermoon Royal Court, but rather a consensus reached by the entire Orcs family. Therefore, raiding could not be the answer.
Therefore, as bait, it must be present in sufficient quantity.
Dragon Mountain County, Thundercloud County, and Northwind County are all significant, containing the territories of a Marquis governor and two earls, and even Northwind City, the most populous city in the province.
Of these three, Dragon Mountain County is the first to be ruled out.
Because what Count Soron possesses... Count Winter also possesses, and even more.
Under the same conditions, the Count Winter is superior to the Count Soron, so the value of Dragon Mountain County is less than that of Northwind County.
Now, only two counties remain.
Between Thundercloud County and Northwind County, which is more suitable to become a battlefield and a decoy?
Ryan wondered what the Imperial House Marquis and provincial governors of the human empire meant to Werewolves.
" Brandt, what do you think the Werewolves civilization is like?"
Beside him, Brandt thought for a moment and replied:
"The law of nature, which preys on the weak, created the civilization of Werewolves. If you are strong enough, you can become the wolf king. The royal family of the Silvermoon Royal Court is only so because they are strong enough."
Ryan nodded.
"That's right, strength is what the Werewolves civilization values."
He took a deep breath; the answer seemed to require little further consideration.
Of the counties currently at war with the Werewolves, Thundercloud County is in the worst shape. This is because Marquis of Northwind cannot leave that mountain. Thundercloud County is so weak that it can't even muster a large army. The war between the nobles and Count Weiss had exhausted all of Thundercloud County's resources.
The Marquis of Northwind, who came from afar, brought extraordinary individuals with him. His army was hastily assembled and could not be compared with the local strongmen of Northwind Province.
The only thing that could rival the nobles in Thundercloud County was the Noble Title Marquis of Northwind, a high-ranking noble title, and the status of the Imperial House governor.
But the Marquis was still a nursing infant.
Northwind County, Ryan has made his choice. Northwind County is the battlefield he needs, and it is also the bait to lure all the Werewolves there.
Next, the second question is how to get the Werewolves to take the bait. How can this bait be made to succeed?
He looked at Rosalind and asked:
"I wonder how the Duke is handling the matter in Northwind City?"
The army halted, Ryan wanted to wait for the outcome between himself and Northwind City, which infuriated Rosalind. She had promised to give Northwind City the spoils later, but Baron Ryan had gone back on his word and wanted it to be given to them now.
However, Ryan wouldn't explain too much. It was better to break his promise to Rosalind and Meyers than to have this matter exposed behind his back and give Meyers something to use against him.
If Ryan uses Northwind County as bait, it means that many people will die there, the population, nobles, and land will become barren, and the Count Winter's territory will suffer heavy losses, and even the Winter Count Family will be wiped out.
If afterwards the Mayers Family told the nobles that this happened because Baron Ryan wanted to turn the place into a battlefield...
The nobles would resent him, Ryan, and this matter would determine whether Ryan chose to tell the Mayers Family his decision and plans at this very moment.
If we don't tell them, Baron Ryan broke his promise; if we do tell them, the Mayers Family will have leverage over Ryan, making it easy for them to collude with the nobles of Northwind County to target Ryan.
If both sides are at odds, then it's better to offend Meyers. After all, in the current political circles of the Empire, Ryan is naturally on the side of Count Clayton Grand Duke Fleming Family.
The impact will not be too great.
Rosalind left somewhat angrily. She needed to contact Shaya and have Shaya reach out to Grand Duke Mayers, otherwise Ryan wouldn't lead the army that was reclaiming the Northwind Province to continue their advance.
However, he couldn't bypass Ryan to control the army.
Because of the food, the army provides food for free every day, and they don't have to do anything. Life couldn't be better. If they could, the soldiers would rather stay here for the rest of their lives.
In this situation, the soldiers would only choose the former order over the Baron Ryan Baron Ryan Rosalind his army.
Well, whether it was voluntary or involuntary had nothing to do with the will of these slave soldiers.
However, Ryan did not expect that this matter would be so troublesome.
On the first day, there was no movement. On the second day, Rosalind still did not return.
The matter of handing over Northwind City to Ryan is more troublesome than expected, and the emperor's palace in the Imperial Capital is in an uproar.
"Your Excellency Grand Duke Mayers, every city in the empire, every human being, and even you, Grand Duke Mayers, are my subjects."
"The noble Columbus granted you land and made you nobles, but that does not mean that nobles can dabble in the power that belongs to the emperor. Moreover, I have not abandoned the Northwind Province. Even thirty years from now, I will relocate the people of the Northwind Province to the South lands, where their emperor will provide them with a comfortable living environment!"
Columbus III roared, but the elderly Grand Duke Mayers remained unmoved, even showing a hint of mockery in his eyes.
But with his head bowed, Grand Duke Mayers respectfully said:
"As you said, every noble and commoner in the empire is your subject, but Northwind City now needs a ruler. There are hundreds of thousands of subjects there, but right now, the Marquis of Northwind is unable to manage that city."
The emperor's eyes were cold as he mocked:
"That was your choice, my Grand Duke."
"It was my oversight."
The emperor was pleased with Grand Duke Mayers ' words. This was the first time he had heard the emperor admit his mistake in front of this Empire Grand Duke, and the emperor's majesty seemed to be on full display at this moment.
"But why Baron Ryan? A child of the Clayton Family."
The emperor was naturally familiar with all the nobles within his empire, including their bloodlines, lineages, history, and present state.
The emperor had already woven a list of the five ranks of nobles into his mind.
" Northwind City used to be under the control of Marquis of Northwind, so he should be the one most familiar with it."
"Because Baron Ryan has excellent military talent, he needs people to build an army to clear out the Orcs."
"Four of the northern fortresses have already been breached. Your Majesty, you need nobles who are truly skilled in warfare to drive out the Orcs for you."
Grand Duke Mayers ' words made the emperor's eyes darken.