In the Norris Continent, the remains of Dragons would be a priceless treasure that would arouse the greed of countless people and even start a war. But here, it seems exceptionally cheap.
Ryan collected some of the dragon blood and gave the rest to the Frost Giant, whose life growth required a lot of energy, Dragons could provide.
"Dragon blood needs to be sealed with magic, and it can fetch a very high price."
Raglov and Ragrus remained in Nidhogg. Ragrus, Saint Realm, would help Ryan defend against the Dragons invasion, while Raglov would attempt to hunt Legendary Dragons and find out who the Frost Giant were sacrificed to.
According to this Frost Giant leader, he will start a war between Frost Giant and Dragons.
Ryan was happy with this arrangement; the arrival of the Frost Giant could at least effectively prevent the Dragons from destroying human civilization.
"It is unrealistic to rely on Frost Giant to conquer Nidhogg."
Back in the Frozen Earth Territory, Ryan thought to himself, he didn't know how many Frost Giant Raglov could summon, but their numbers were definitely not comparable to the Dragons. Most importantly, the Frost Giant did not have the power to fight against the two Great Being, Nidhogg, which meant that Ryan could not use the Frost Giant to achieve his ultimate goal.
While the Frost Giant fight the Dragons, Ryan needs to come up with a better solution.
Over the next few days, Ryan didn't hear any bad news from the Otherworld, and gradually he felt relieved. After all, Dragons don't live in groups, which reduced Ryan's stress considerably.
"The next goal is to harvest spiritual energy. Once the spiritual energy is replenished, we can simply abandon Nidhogg and move the entire population to Northwind Province."
Ryan thought to himself that he hadn't forgotten what he really needed: the spirituality that people bring, not an Otherworld.
[Spirituality: 123645]
[ Spirituality Blessing: Deer Spirit Blessing...]
[Divinity: Eternity, Giant Mammoth ]
With over 120,000 units of spiritual energy, Ryan could have spent it lavishly for a long time, and the balance was still growing. This was the fundamental reason why he could directly improve the strength of his subordinates.
News has arrived from the South.
Spring has arrived, and merchant guilds have already begun operating in the Northlands. In the South lands, the nobles will only move even faster.
The Viscount Melendez Family has begun the new year's waterway trade, bringing Ryan a lot of information from the South.
The most crucial point is that the Miracle of Light has been transported to the Imperial Capital Province. Emperor Flor's daily work seems quite simple: simply manifesting himself before the people and demonstrating the grace of light and faith is enough.
To Ryan's surprise, Emperor Flor actually accepted the Divine Blessing from the God of Light.
He was formally crowned as the Grand Pope of Light, and on this day, Emperor Flor combined Royal Authority and divine power in one.
In a single day, the weather in Norris changed, and no one knew what the kingdoms and nobles, loyal to the Church of Dawn, were thinking.
However, some people, driven by their devout faith and self-interest, will undoubtedly choose to secretly pledge allegiance to Emperor Flor.
The only barrier that once prevented nobles from pledging allegiance to the empire is now gone, and everyone can feel Emperor Flor's joy these past few days.
Because he allocated funds.
" The Northwind Province has received 100,000 Gold Coin to repair the farmland and fortresses destroyed in the Orc War. His Majesty His Majesty Emperor Flor, in the name of the Emperor and the High Pope, praises Baron Ryan for his outstanding contributions to human civilization in the war with the Orcs."
" His Majesty Emperor Flor will bestow upon Baron Ryan Baron Ryan three precious Sanctuary Potion as a reward."
A belated reward: the Templar Knight Potion. This is not Magic Potion, but an ancient alchemical potion. However, no matter how smoothly magic develops in the Empire, the Templar Knight Potion will always be the potion that knights desire most.
Because it is the best, bar none, Knight Potion for breaking through to the Saint Realm in the entire world.
When the Sky Knight reaches his peak and everything is ready, the Sanctuary Potion can increase the Knight's success rate in breaking through to the Saint Realm by 30%.
Since the only qualification to enter Legendary legendary path is through the Legendary Boon, the Templar Knight Potion is also known as the best extraordinary potion in the extraordinary path of cultivation.
It's very valuable, but it's clearly not as valuable as Ryan's achievement in killing the Werewolf Monarch.
Ryan was used to it.
That's how things are in the Empire. Back then, Grand Duke Mayers used a whole bunch of Pioneer Order for his achievements, Noble Title Count Clayton was awarded a Baron title for his merits, and Baron Ryan felt that it was even better than the former two.
However, it's also possible that even the emperor couldn't reward those two high-ranking nobles, but for a minor noble like Ryan, even a few treasures the emperor casually reveals would be incredibly precious.
After administering the three potions, Emperor Flor also conveniently included the Swamp within the territory of the Ryan Frozen Earth Territory.
Although it has been officially recognized, it's practically as if nothing has been said, since the Swamp had already been incorporated into Ryan's territory of the Frozen Earth Territory.
"At least he's willing to offer benefits, isn't he?"
What more could the nobles ask of His Majesty the His Majesty the Emperor? Ryan remained calm. What the nobles wanted was not something they could obtain through rewards from others, but something they had to create themselves.
Emperor Flor was even willing to allocate funds to the Northwind Province, so it seems he has gained even more during this period.
For example, the loyalty of some South nobles to His Majesty the Emperor.
Otherwise, there is no other reason to explain why he is so happy.
If Ryan could think of it, the Church of Dawn could certainly think of it too.
" The Holy Kingdom Knights will follow the will of the Lord of Dawn and retrace the Path of Dawn!"
The Pope's cold voice echoed atop the Holy Mountain, instilling fear in many nobles from the depths of their hearts.
The Path of Dawn is not a beautiful phrase.
The doctrine of the Church of Dawn is to serve the great Lord of Dawn, believing that the Lord's glory can illuminate all the darkness in the world and let the world be shrouded in the great Holy Light of Dawn.
The name "Path of Dawn " originated from this doctrine, from the process of the Church preaching the gospel, and from the process of the first Dawn gradually lengthening and illuminating the world.
Dawn pierced the darkness of Eternal Night, clergy followed this ray of light to slaughter countless heretics who refused to become Dawn Believers Dawn. The blood-soaked road forged the glory of the Church of Dawn.
In short, the Church of Dawn's rise to power, their process of becoming the world's dominant power and expelling all Otherworldly God faiths, is the Path of Dawn.
This path was destined to be arduous, but the Church of Dawn's success meant that countless enemies had died before them.
The Church must purge all heresy and annihilate those who disrespect the Dawn.
The Pope's anger was understandable; the fact that the South nobles had sided with the empire was something he absolutely could not accept.
The Pope tolerated the faith in the empire's lands because the empire had grown powerful. Pope also had his reasons for acknowledging the faith in the Andara Kingdom's lands: the Andara Royal Family had blasphemed against Deities Deities and been cursed. As believers serving Great Being, they could not help the Andara Royal Family purify the curse in their bloodline, so they simply abandoned the Andara Royal Family.
The Pope did not relinquish the lands outside the Andara Royal Family, but with that reason in mind, he could accept the current outcome.
Once or twice is acceptable, but not a third time. The Pope will absolutely not allow more nobles to become allies of the empire.
All traitors will be punished by the Sacred Fire.
The Holy Kingdom Knights, the Church knightly order led by the Legendary Knight Damon, are not responsible for killing. For the Holy Kingdom Knights forever represent the finest virtues. Their knights can use their own bodies to shield believers from death, can burn their life force to fight for humanity, and can also...
In short, they possessed every conceivable aspect of justice in human civilization.
They are the most beautiful part of the Dawn in the world.
An army of ten thousand Holy Kingdom Knight of God began, literally, to follow the first rays of Dawn Dawn, setting off from the Holy Mountain and heading toward the far reaches of the world.
Their purpose was simply to make a walk, to let everyone see the Holy Kingdom Knights Legion, representing justice. They would help countless people, whether commoners, slaves, or nobles, and all difficulties they encountered would be trampled to the ground by the Holy Kingdom Knights Legion.
Where they went, the Church's bloody butcher's knife was laid.
Do not underestimate the clergy of the Church; they have many ways to find out whether the nobles are still loyal to the Dawn.
The simplest way is through priests, those devout priests who receive Divine Art blessings from the Dawn. They can tell whether a nobleman's faith is steadfast and devout simply by asking or even looking at him.
If they remain on the side of the Church of Dawn, then there's nothing to worry about. The priests will willingly sacrifice their own life force and help the nobles heal their injuries. Whatever scars or disabilities, the priests have the ability to restore them to their original state.
However, if the nobles' faith is no longer devout enough, then I'm sorry, the priest will pray for every human being, praying that their souls may find peace.
The executioner's knife is not in the hands of these pastors.
The real nightmare for the nobles came after the priests left and the third group of the Church officials arrived.
An institution of absolute violence, the Church possesses a vast amount of power to punish heresy.
Emperor Flor's ostentatious display triggered a massive purge of the Church over the lands it controlled.
One hundred thousand Gold Coin were of no help to the Northwind Province. In fact, by the time they arrived in the Northwind Province, only half of the one hundred thousand Gold Coin remained. Fifty thousand Gold Coin ended up in the hands of the Marquis of Northwind, and the woman on Thundercloud Mountain disappeared without a trace.
"The emperor was still unwilling to let the Northwind Province become the only flaw in his political achievements."
Shaya laughed coldly; she had little goodwill towards Columbus III.
"It's normal for him to want to be a perfect emperor. Aren't we just helping His Your Majesty solve the troubles in the Northwind Province?"
Beside him, Chrysus Meyers said, looking at the Marquis of Northwind, whose swaddled baby frowned slightly.
"Has His Prince Freud still not replied to your letter?"
"Uncle, it's impolite of you to mention him again."
Shaya looked at Chrysus with murderous intent in her eyes. The Elector the Mayers Family originally wanted to choose as their partner was not Volvo, but another one, namely Marquis of Northwind's father, Shaya's first man.
"Although we have chosen His Prince Volvo, our relationship with the Imperial House will not become one of enmity. Shaya, you must understand that."
"You'd better go and tell the Grand Duke that."
Shaya snorted coldly and ignored Chrysus.
This granddaughter, who gave the Grand Duke a headache, was surprisingly uncontrollable by anyone in the Mayers Family.
Chrysus could only change the subject.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Empire and the Church will start a new war. There is no longer a threat from the Orcs in the the North. This time, His Majesty the Emperor will take big action. Moreover, he will protect the nobles who have sided with the Empire and prevent them from being killed by the fanatical followers of the Church."
"Otherwise, His Majesty the Emperor's authority would become a joke."
"To accomplish this, His Majesty the Emperor will need the power of the nobles. I must return to the South to stop Count Clayton from becoming the Fifth Grand Duke of the Empire."
"What does this have to do with Count Clayton?"
Shaya asked in confusion:
"If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty the Emperor will release Aatrox. The eldest son of the Count Clayton was imprisoned in the dungeon for killing the last Holy Son of the Church. Now His Majesty the Emperor holds the dual titles of Emperor and Grand Pope, and his power is nominally greater than that of the Pope."
"He is qualified to release that man in exchange for Count Clayton's support on this matter."
"The political struggles in the South are far more complex than those in the Northwind Province."
Shaya still didn't understand. The Count Clayton Family wasn't that powerful, and even if it was, it wasn't the entire Earl's family that was powerful.
"What makes Count Clayton worthy of becoming the Fifth Grand Duke? Even if he were Demigod, he wouldn't be qualified."
"You've overlooked the most crucial thing."
Chrysus shook his head and said:
" The Count Clayton's potential to become the Fifth Grand Duke is not due to his power, but because of his Count Clayton, which is prolific."
The ability to reproduce—a topic completely unrelated to the extraordinary—is Count Clayton's biggest bargaining chip.
"But don't worry, he won't succeed. The emergence of the Fifth Grand Duke of the Empire is not something His Majesty the Emperor can decide alone."
"If we just stay vigilant, Count Clayton won't have a chance."
"But after I left... I worried about this land."
Chrysus said that as the heir to the Mayers Family, he would inevitably need to return to the South and get involved in the terrible political vortex there, but his departure would leave a power vacuum in the land.
" Baron Ryan, I am very worried about him. Once I leave, the nobles of Northwind Province will quickly turn against me."
"Is he really that good?"
Shaya frowned, somewhat incredulous.
" Shaya, don't forget that you were the one who first told us about Baron Ryan's abilities in the Northwind Province. Don't underestimate him."
The heir to the Grand Duke always has the best path to advancement among the nobles; even a pig has a wiser and more discerning eye than many nobles.
"Speaking of which, it's been almost four months since we've seen this Baron of the Frozen Earth. We wonder what he's been up to."
" The Frozen Earth Territory is covered in snow for six to eight months of the year, so what can he do?"
Shaya said that after arriving in the Northwind Province, she had gained some understanding of the territories of the local nobles, so that she could help her son gain power in the future.
"Whatever he wants to do, I want to win over the nobles of the Northwind Province and consolidate Meyers ' power here."
Chrysus said that Shaya did not refute this, because the purpose was in her interest.
"There have been quite a few new nobles in the Northwind Province recently, and I plan to arrange a marriage between Meyers and one of these nobles."
"I've thought about this for two days, and this is an advantage that Baron Ryan absolutely cannot have. He doesn't have any children yet, so he can't compete for these marriage alliances at all."
As a grand ducal family, the Mayers Family has thousands of descendants.
"The nobles of the Northwind Province need to form marriage alliances with the nobles of the South. Meyers is giving them this opportunity. As long as they form a marriage alliance once, Meyers will not lose control of the Northwind Province for the next few decades."
" Baron Ryan can't win."
"That's what Chrysus said, his eyes deep. He did indeed pull a fast one before leaving," he said.
Noble marriages have always been the most direct, swift, and stable way to form alliances of interest.
After making his decision, Chrysus left the Northwind Province the next day. The actions of the Emperor and the Pope forced the Grand Duke heir to return to the South as soon as possible.
On the day he left, Lord Ryan, who had not left the Frozen Earth Territory and entered the Northwind Province for several months, also went to Zero Crossing City for the first time in the spring of the new year.
"Silin Dragon, you need to know the responsibility you bear."
"And now, you have another rule you can't escape."
Ryan spoke to the young man, who was the eldest son of Viscount Dragoon.
That is, the future Viscount Dragoon's successor.
Xilin knelt down on one knee before Ryan and accepted Frostmourne.
" Baron Ryan, you may not know this, but because of my father, my younger brother, the second son of the Viscount, also harbors a greedy ambition to become a Viscount."
Xilin said calmly, seemingly without any anger.
"He is very talented. If he can do it, I can allow him to be Viscount Dragoon for a period of time. But if he cannot bear the responsibilities of being a viscount, then I will take back everything that belongs to me."
"I will pursue great power, and I believe I can do it, and with your support, I am 100% certain."
" The Dragoon Family will not betray you."
"I believe in you, Sirin. I think we'll fight side by side someday in the future."
Ryan patted the young man, who was about the same age as him, and watched him enter the Northlands alone.
Ryan left the Frozen Earth Territory and began visiting nobles in the new year, starting from Zero Crossing City.
Baron Hatton has been somewhat melancholy lately, because Lynn is always thinking about leading his adventure party to achieve something great, Viscount Miles has become much more plump in the new year, and Ryan even saw a barely clothed Catfolk in his mansion, while Baron Enzo has left to serve in Winged Gorge as Farrell's right-hand Commander, learning valuable knowledge...
The nobles of Iron Mountain County have finally caught their breath and recovered from the disasters brought by the war. They have finally overcome the disasters brought by the war and have not been completely defeated.
"It's time to pay a visit to Count Soron."