Dragon Mountain City.
The entire Northwind Province is unique, and the county town Dragon Mountain City is the hereditary fiefdom of Count Soron. Cities built on mountains are very common in this world. After all, human beings always need this kind of sense of security to fight against most disasters in this extraordinary world.
After the death of Count Weiss and the decline of the earl's bloodline, Count Soron became the only ancient nobleman in this land who has always been passed down.
Winter Count Family doesn't count, they came from the south to the north.
Only Count Soron was already located here before Grand Duke Mayers occupied Northwind Province. It even has an even older history. It was the veteran noble of the Northgar Kingdom.
"There are many ancient bloodlines in this land, but now, it seems that only Sauron is left."
Facing Ryan's visit, Count Soron warmly entertained her, and hearing Ryan ask about Northwind's history, Count Soron couldn't help but fall into memories no matter how old-hearted Count Soron is.
"Northlands drowned everything, and the former glory of the Norris Continent was buried under the wind and snow. When we people die, no one will be able to remember the once dazzling figure."
Ryan couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.
"Surviving in the old world and the new era at the same time is also a precious life process. Maybe I can arrange some Bard to help you depict the world before the snowstorm."
"I have never thought that my story might make those Bard unable to sleep for three days and three nights."
"Bard would be extremely grateful for your generosity."
The struggle between War of the Deities Across Planes, Royal Authority and theocracy is the most painful and incomprehensible generation gap for these long-lived nobles.
Count Soron was also confused, that is, before the arrival of the Empire's Grand Duke more than thirty years ago.
Northwind Province at that time was no different than it had been for more than a hundred years, and it was precisely because of this that Count Soron felt confused.
He clearly felt that the world had changed and undergone tremendous changes, but Northwind Province was like an old snail, always staying in the same place.
He wanted to do something, but he didn't know what to do or what to do.
Later, Nightmare Legion became the nightmare of the entire Northwind. Count Soron thought for a long time and couldn't think of what he could do. He simply joined Empire, a big car that is rising in the new world.
For more than thirty years, Count Soron is still the same as before. He doesn't know what to do or what he can do. He just drifts with the flow and passively advances with the progress of the times. Count Soron, like most nobles, follows in confusion.
Over the past thirty years, Soron Count Family has not changed much, but if the timeline is drawn to the thirty-year scale, no matter how subtle the change is, it will be very noticeable to the old man Count Soron.
"In the past, let alone those mud-legged ones, even as a noble, it was very rare to see a practitioner of the extraordinary path. At that time, whether it was a knight who was practicing asceticism or a demon Mages, Alchemist, they were all very mysterious existences. The nobles often needed to send a large number of people to find them, and then meet them through invitations."
"At that time, we had to avoid Church of Dawn's priests. If it weren't for the priests who could bribe them, the nobles would be under tremendous pressure when they met the demon Mages."
"I have seen with my own eyes that more than a dozen nobles were punished by the Holy See for secretly contacting magicians and even becoming magic apprentices."
"At that time, Temple Knights was simply the nobles' worst nightmare."
"Temple Knights?"
Ryan was surprised. If he remembered correctly, Temple Knights is now one of the six most powerful Extraordinary Legions of the Florian Empire, controlled by Imperial House.
"Yes, at that time the Church had great power in the Empire. Temple Knights was used to supervise and suppress Empire and the surrounding nobles. Empire and In the Church war, they gained a great advantage in the early stage with the help of the demon Mages, because at some point, Temple Knights no longer belonged to the Church and was instigated by the Empire."
Count Soron said this, but he was not too shocked.
"The Church uses Temple Knights to supervise the nobles, but Temple Knights's knights are all nobles."
This is not surprising.
"Dragonblood Warrior Legion was established during this process. The bishops of Holy Mountain still think that Temple Knights belongs to them, but in fact, Temple Knights no longer cares about what the nobles do, and even provides cover for it."
"The Church's clergy have long been corrupted. Some of them are addicted to the desire for power. The nobles provide them with a large number of slaves, women and men for their entertainment, so that these the Church priests and pastors are not even willing to step out of the church."
"The other part died on the missionary road with the help of the nobles. In the days after War of the Deities Across Planes, civilians and slaves even grabbed soil and used leaves as food. The bread and eggs given to them by the Church were completely invisible. How could they become believers of Dawn."
War wealth is always the original first pot of gold for nobles. In the Deities Pan-Plane war, too many nobles disappeared into history, but the nobles who seized the opportunity soared into the sky, making the originally rare extraordinary people become their followers.
Even after the blasphemous turning point, he began to establish his own bloodline system, Extraordinary Legion.
"Dragonblood Warrior Legion was established together with Grand Duke Northwind. At that time, Northwind Province made a desperate move and stole Divine Essence with the help of a certain Legendary Mage."
"All Extraordinary Legion except the Church come from this."
Count Soron does not want to hide anything in this regard. After all, Ryan comes from the Clayton Family, and Ryan now also has his own Extraordinary Legion. Count Soron does not believe that Ryan did not obtain Divine Essence through some means and use it.
Spirituality Blessing... It is indeed not something that ordinary people can have.
"The nobles are going high and low, immersed in the joy of the birth of the Extraordinary Legion, but they forgot... they can't afford it."
"A Baron has a population of only one or two thousand in the territory. A viscount can rule a population of twenty to thirty thousand. The population of a Count's Domain can hardly exceed one hundred thousand."
"With a population of 100,000, there are only 1,000 people in a hundred, but their growth requires ten families and more than 50 people to support them."
"The wealth produced by ten families can support one Extraordinary Legion knight. This is just the beginning. The more powerful the family is, the more families they need to support."
"The nobles will also be unable to bear it, and the wealth of the great nobles will continue to decrease, until the wealth accumulated over generations is squandered, and Extraordinary Legion collapses."
"The nobles are back to where they started."
Count Soron said with a sigh. Ryan chatted with him Extraordinary Legion, which also made Count Soron gradually unable to do what he wanted.
His Dragonblood Warrior Legion is also heading towards this step.
Can't afford it.
"After War of the Deities Across Planes, the discovery of Other Plane was no longer a legendary thing. The population, resources, and wealth were replenished. The nobles finally recovered from the failure of the Extraordinary Legion. Some nobles gave up completely, and some nobles barely supported it."
"Because Empire is powerful enough, Extraordinary Legion is not uncommon, but besides Empire, there are not many Extraordinary Legion. It was at this time that it began to disappear."
Ryan nodded, Andara Kingdom, Sera Kingdom are like this, Extraordinary Legion from the two kingdoms combined... now only three or four are left.
They are all going downhill because they cannot maintain such a powerful Extraordinary Legion for decades or hundreds of years.
Just like Ryan, without the spiritual supplement, he cannot maintain Extraordinary Legion forever.
Extraordinary Legion is very important. Among the divine power and Royal Authority, the difference between cannon fodder and Boundary Line is Extraordinary Legion.
And Count Soron's Dragonblood Warrior Legion, after several years of high-intensity war, has been unable to get fresh blood to replenish it. The number of knights his Dragonblood Warrior Legion can replenish every year will not exceed fifty.
You must know that Dragonblood Warrior Legion had 5,000 people at its peak.
Five thousand heavy infantry. The word "heavy armor" can be explained because Northwind Province has a large number of Iron Ore, but five thousand infantry that can withstand heavy armor requires massive resources.
Only by plundering Otherworld's wealth regardless of the cost did Count Soron maintain this Extraordinary Legion.
Now Otherworld has not found many, and the threat of Northern Orcs has gone far away. The former competitor Count Winter also suffered heavy losses. Northwind Province is far away from the war. Count Soron finally feels that it is beyond its capabilities.
"The war is only a short-lived thing. One day in the future, perhaps decades later, mankind will still face threats."
"Once we have it, we can no longer give it up."
Ryan said this, Count Soron looked at Ryan and laughed.
"You are talking about me. When I was as young as you, I wanted to inherit the Northgar royal family and become King. At that time, my ambition was greater than yours."
"Of course I understand what you said, but..."
Halfway through Count Soron's words, his eyes were fixed on a crystal test tube that Ryan took out, looking at the liquid that was rippling inside, like a gemstone.
He was so familiar.
He raised his head and looked at Ryan with wide eyes.
"Dragon blood?"
Dragon's Blood, a brilliant description.
In the ancient legends passed down by mankind, brave men fight Evil Dragon. There are many stories below the story at the top of the pyramid. The wandering heirs of nobles returned to the family to take back their own Noble Title, and the daughter of King eloped with a Baron heir, and was eventually killed, and then their child King returned...
These stories are all part of the huge epic of human civilization, and among them, almost all stories are indispensable for one word.
That is bathing in dragon blood and becoming powerful.
The brave man bathed in the dragon's blood and gained great power to defeat Evil Dragon. The wandering child bathed in the dragon's blood and led the army to defeat his father. The illegitimate child bathed in the dragon's blood and became Dragon Knight and inherited the power of the kingdom.
All of these represent an integral part of dragon blood in human civilization.
Mortals can become stronger by bathing in dragon blood.
In the world before War of the Deities Across Planes, such topics were common, but even after the War of the Deities Across Planes node, that is, for more than a hundred years, dragon blood is still one of the most precious resources.
Dragons is rare, and the blood of Dragons is even more precious.
"You actually have dragon blood."
Count Soron takes it for granted that it is the help of Count Clayton. After all, Empire has only one Dragon Knight. On Northwind Province's side, there is only one Frost Dragon, and both Dragons are related to Ryan.
Flame Dragon is his father's mount. Frost Dragon once took Ryan to the Andara Kingdom, and the chamber of commerce brought this information back.
However, Count Soron was puzzled, how could Dragons give Ryan blood when he was so proud and cruel.
"I have a lot."
Ryan casually opened the crystal test tube and poured it into his mouth. I have to say that I have drunk so many delicious drinks, but none of them are as sweet and delicious as dragon blood, which makes the blood, pores, and even the soul intoxicated.
Dragon blood is not bloody, on the contrary, it is full of the purest sweetness in the world.
In this extraordinary world, there are similar descriptions.
Divine Nectar.
Of course, the power of Divine Nectar is violent, but Ryan's body is so powerful that in his mouth, the dragon's blood is just a delicious drink.
Ryan's extremely wasteful picture made Count Soron extremely jealous.
The rapid rise and fall of his chest showed the turmoil in the earl's heart.
He had talked so much with Ryan before, and said so many frustrating words, but if he had a choice, which noble would be willing to let Extraordinary Legion disappear in his own hands? If he could maintain it, he would lose everything to maintain it, and he would even have to find ways to expand and expand!
It's all nonsense that the count is old and Sauron is old. In the face of sufficient resources, he has lived from the old times to the present Count Soron, which is a good age to start a business!
After a long time, the nobleman finally calmed down his heart.
Just a little bit, just a little bit, he failed to maintain the etiquette of the nobles.
At this moment, of course he understood that Ryan was not here to chat with him.
Taking a deep breath, Count Soron's heartbeat was still a little violent.
"It seems that your ambition is similar to mine, but you may have arrived a little late."
Ryan looked at Count Soron in surprise, and the latter continued:
"Before you come, the Chrysus of Meyers has agreed with the noble Northwind Province. If appropriate, Mayers Family will marry the noble Northwind Province."
"You should know very well that the Forest Otherworld on Thundercloud Mountain has a lifespan of one or two years at most. The nobles need to consider the future after Forest Otherworld disappears. In addition, Mayers Grand Ducal Family is the best choice in all aspects. We can finally enter Noble Circle of South."
"If you take out this thing, Sauron will stand on your side and will not marry Mayers Family."
"But I can't stop the other nobles."
It's a new year, Forest Otherworld's lifespan is closer to the end, and the war is over. Northwind will no longer face all threats from Orcs.
Just like the emperor, after the war, the focus was on the confrontation with the Church in the south.
The same goes for the Northwind nobles. They have worked hard in the past few years to integrate into South and into the entire Empire Noble Circle family, thereby expanding the web they weave and increasing the glory and influence of their surname.
To be simple and direct, in order to open up new heights of territory.
Opportunities are now readily available.
Resources, interests, and politics are all particularly unfavorable to Ryan.
Chrysus pulled out all the firepower and conquered Ryan's army.
Ryan was a little surprised. He didn't expect Meyers to have such a skill, which really made him feel a little tricky.
The first of the five big nets that enveloped Ryan was the two kingdoms in the east. Now this second big net, Northwind Province, has also presented new problems.
But...
"I'm not here just for other nobles. Master Count Soron, you are more important to me than anything else."
Ryan said with a smile. Looking at his still confident face, Count Soron was also at a loss.
But looking at the dragon blood that Ryan took out again, Count Soron gradually felt at ease.
Even Count Soron felt moved by the conditions given by Chrysus, but didn't he still choose to give up the marriage now?
Maybe Ryan has a better way.
"I heard that dragon blood will emit the brilliance of gems when exposed to the sun."
Ryan raised his hand and looked at the sunlight reflected by the rippling dragon's blood, what a perfect color.
Marriage is indeed an advantage that Ryan cannot have. He is the master of the Ryan Family, not Clayton Family. Even if the bloodline of Clayton is married to the noble Northwind Province, it does not belong to him Ryan.
Ryan If you can't run on this track, you won't be able to get married even if you decide to marry her.
But he also has advantages that Meyers doesn't have either.
The advantage of the Mayers Family is South, and the advantage of Ryan is in the north.
"Northlands's vast land never lacks wealth."
"Only the most heroic adventurers can obtain precious wealth from there."
"Everything you wish for can be obtained under that wind and snow!"
"Dragons destroyed the earth. Ancient treasures are buried in the collapsed caves. We sincerely invite adventurers to join us and enter Northlands to find countless gold!"
In the new year, Zero Crossing City is so lively. Thanks to Ryan's efforts last year, the nobles have more or less reserved their spots as adventurers.