The Noble's Retainers, the Meaning of Blasphemy

Count Clayton and Ivar were also surprised by Ryan's request.

"What do you need this for?"

Ivar asked directly, as he was the only one among Clayton's children who knew the value and function of this thing.

"The Northlands is not safe; I need a fortress to stop the Orcs."

Ryan had no choice but to tell the truth.

"This..."

The Clayton exchanged a silent glance before Ivar finally spoke.

"The Orcs invasion is over. According to the decision of the great nobles in the Imperial Capital, they will not invade the north of the empire for at least thirty years."

Otherwise, Emperor Flor would not have dared to so directly transfer the northern army to the Thousand Lakes Province and declare war on the Church.

"What about thirty years from now?"

"When the Orcs return, the Frozen Earth Territory will still stand before their fangs."

Ivar thought Ryan was being overly pessimistic. Even thirty years from now, the Orcs invasion wouldn't just be a problem for the Frozen Earth Territory alone. At that time, the Empire's army would naturally focus on defending the the North.

Ryan wouldn't explain too much; he couldn't very well say that he would definitely turn the Northlands into his territory within thirty years, could he?

"The construction of the fortress is a top secret of the empire. Even the grand dukes and the nobles of several provinces do not have complete blueprints."

Count Clayton said that even Clayton couldn't control these things.

"However, I can give you something similar."

Some...

Not to mention his campaigns in the Florian Empire, Count Clayton has also visited many Otherworld Otherworld, which are filled with countless riches and legacies, including the magnificent architecture of human civilizations in those Otherworld.

There were many fortresses used to defend against enemies.

"It's incomplete. Nobles wouldn't have kept these things when they arrived in the Northlands. If you could find a complete one among them, you could probably get a high noble Noble Title by selling it to His Majesty the Emperor."

Count Clayton said that everyone knows Emperor Flor's desire for war against the Church, but the Empire does not have a single strong fortress in the South, and even the war must be fought in its own Thousand Lakes Province.

However, due to local conditions, the fortress in the the North could not be built in the Thousand Lakes Province, which has no mountains, and the knowledge held by the emperor probably did not have a suitable one.

"Then, the contract is complete."

After Ryan finished speaking, Count Clayton nodded. Those things wouldn't be carried with him; they could only be sent to the Frozen Earth Territory afterward.

The group rode leisurely on the back of the Dragons, but the world was far from peaceful. The sea was frozen, and the resulting effects were terrifying. Various extreme celestial phenomena erupted, and even the temperature changed abruptly. Birds fell from the sky, and countless marine creatures beneath the ice perished.

But none of this affected the Blaze Dragon Knight Army; they continued their frenzied gallop, their warhorses seemingly tireless, until...

The Dragons's roar echoed through the sky.

It's Twilight.

Ryan looked up. To be honest, it was now difficult to distinguish between day and night in the sky, and the extreme environment had even caused the aurora to appear.

He could sense the Twilight because he had once grasped the essence of Twilight, and he vaguely sensed that Surtr's power was gaining the upper hand.

And indeed, this was the case before their eyes. The Twilight Dragon's remnant, covered in bone spurs, was tearing at the Storm Dragon with madness, fighting in the most primal way. It seemed to have lost the Dragons's innate control over Magic Power, but its flesh and blood physique was far superior to what it used to be.

The next moment, Ryan realized he was wrong. The Twilight Dragons spewed out a blazing fire dragon breath, piercing through the Storm Dragon's massive fleshy wings.

Before becoming Surtr's servant, the Twilight Dragon was a Tidal Dragon, but now its breath has turned into the flames of Twilight; Surtr's power has changed everything about it.

"Never mind that, keep moving forward."

Count Clayton ordered the Extraordinary Legion to continue their charge. There was a sky between them and the Dragons, and unless the Dragons attacked them, the Flame Dragon Knight Legion would have little chance of harming Dragons.

Just as Count Clayton said before, Dragons will not be too far from their Great Being, because if they are close, they are the children of the Demon Dragon.

This proximity can be on a spatial level.

As the Flame Dragon Knight Legion continued to advance, finally a Dragons roared and descended from the sky.

"Kill!"

The roar of tens of thousands of people caused even the Dragons to show a moment of fear. Before it could even unleash its dragon breath, the warhorses of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion raised their heads, spewing fire serpents from their mouths that condensed in mid-air into the center of a storm vortex before heading towards the Dragons.

A single flame is not frightening, but when thousands upon thousands of flames converge, the Dragons is forced to retreat continuously.

But the next moment, the Dragons's pride and tyrannical nature enraged it, and it charged directly at the tens of thousands of people below.

How could the pride of Dragons be broken by these human ants? It would use the simplest way to make these humans feel despair through enslavement.

"We've been waiting for you to come down."

Among the tens of thousands of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion, as the Dragons swooped down, figures leaped into the air. Could this massive army possibly lack powerful extraordinary knights? Impossible.

Even the knights flying into the sky at this very moment are all Clayton.

It's not surprising that the Count Clayton Family, having multiplied for so many years, has managed to gather this many people.

The knights wielded their Knight's Greatsword, their combat skills as dazzling as the aurora borealis in the sky.

"The life forms in this world are unaware of the Extraordinary Legion."

On the back of the Dragons, Ryan said that Nidhogg's Dragons had not yet updated their understanding of humans to the latest version, and they knew nothing about the Extraordinary Legion.

However, the Extraordinary Legion on the Norris Continent have all fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Their existence is to fight against powerful supernatural forces, to rebel against... the Deities.

Blasphemy is no joke.

"We're getting closer."

Count Clayton spoke up, saying that Ryan didn't know what method he used to be sure, and that this time, his elder Aatrox wasn't with them, so the Legendary combat power was severely lacking compared to last time.

Rumble!!!

The aurora-like brilliance faded, and the Dragons's corpse collapsed onto the frozen ocean. It was dead, but its body continued to struggle until its fresh heart was ripped out.

The warhorses were still galloping wildly, treading on the dragon's blood on the ice. Their bodies seemed to be absorbing the power of the dragon's blood. Ryan could see clearly that those Sky Knight of the Clayton bloodline who had participated in the Dragons hunt were eating the Dragons's flesh and blood raw along with their mounts.

They were completely unaffected by the raging energy of the dragon blood, and the chaotic Magic Power in the void could not interrupt their movements.

And so, before Count Clayton could even make a move, the Flame Dragon Knight Legion charged forward, cutting a crimson path without showing any signs of fatigue.

Ryan didn't know whether to call the path rendered with dragon blood a waste or something terrifying.

"The Dragons in this world are too weak."

"Their lives are so comfortable that they don't even have many Legendary."

Flame Dragon Christman said sarcastically, "Dragons are not unique to this world, but this is the homeland of Dragons, because great beings slumber here."

However, a comfortable environment cannot produce powerful Legendary. Even Dragons would be limited in such Dragons world.

Theoretically speaking, every Dragons is a future Legendary; they only need to reach adulthood to become Legendary Dragons.

But... this future is not fixed. Some Dragons can reach adulthood in a few hundred years, while some Dragons are still cubs even after a thousand years.

Their destinations are similar, but there are shortcuts in the process.

For pure Dragons like Nidhogg, there are no shortcuts.

The three keys are held by three Great Being, two of whom are asleep and one has perished and left. The Dragons has no chance of even leaving this place.

"Seventeen heads now."

Ryan didn't care about the talk of hothouse flowers. He was breathing heavily. In less than a day, the Flame Dragon Knight Legion had been running wildly without stopping for a moment, while his own Stag Legion could only follow behind.

In this process, seventeen Saint Realm Dragons have already fallen before the Flame Dragon Knight Legion.

"They will make Father's army even stronger."

Ivar was also excited, saying, "Don't be fooled by how easy it is to kill dragons here, like killing chickens. The number of Dragons that have died is climbing like crazy. But everyone understands that the value of Dragons is priceless. Every one of these Dragons that has died is an opportunity that the Clayton Family could never have imagined before."

For example, of the seventeen Dragons that were killed, one was transported to the Northwind Province. On that very day, Count Soron dared to marry all the unmarried daughters of the Soron Family to Count Clayton, thus binding himself tightly to the Clayton Family.

Essentially, it's not because there are too many Dragons in this world, but because of the power of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion.

Even after controlling the world's resources for several months, Ryan had never seen so many Dragons corpses. The spoils of the battle between the Frost Giant Raglov and the Frost Dragon Arryris were not this numerous.

"Seventeen Dragons should be enough for the Flame Dragon Knight Legion to advance one more step, right?"

Ivar looked at his father and saw Count Clayton's furrowed brow.

"I see that those warhorses have grown Dragon Scale."

Ryan, who had been listening nearby, finally came to his senses from the sheer power of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion.

He wondered to himself, if the Stag Legion also had tens of thousands of men, could they match the achievements of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion?

It seems that he is unwilling to admit it in his heart.

Thirty thousand Northern Warhorse and thirty thousand knights, all of whom were at least Apprentice Knight knights.

They are no match for this Flame Dragon Knight Legion, capable of slaying dragons.

Even... Ryan saw that the warhorses of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion, which had been running alongside Brandt and the others, were already exhaling thick white vapors on the frozen sea.

They were exhausted, and Brandt's Knight Retainer and squires stared intently at the Flame Dragon Knight Legion with bloodshot eyes, unable to believe the gap between them.

Is the difference really in quantity?

Ryan looked at Ivar, then at Count Clayton.

He was Baron Ryan, and now he saw the gap between himself and the Empire's top nobles, but he didn't know how to ask this Count Clayton.

"It cannot be transformed. This final step still requires relying on the Divine Essence."

Count Clayton shook his head. The reason he was willing to pay such a high price to start this war against the Dragons was not to help his children, but more for personal gain.

The world of Dragons, with so many Dragons, is a huge source of profit in itself, and Count Clayton needs it.

"Their souls and bloodlines have not been elevated or evolved."

Count Clayton shook his head, glanced at Ryan eyes were full of curiosity, opened his mouth, but did not explain.

Ryan understood.

This is a top secret held by the Count Clayton; in the entire empire, there are probably no more than a dozen people who possess this secret.

Even under these circumstances, Ryan was not entitled to the secret.

This also highlights the true difference between Ryan's Stag Legion and the Flame Dragon Knight Legion.

Sublimation, evolution?

Ryan looked at the knights at his feet. Was this the evolution of the Extraordinary Legion?

What other forms can they evolve into?

After thinking for a long time, Ryan could only think about what Count Clayton was asking for.

That is the position of the Fifth Grand Duke of the Empire.

What is the Count Clayton lacking?

Or rather, what do those Four Grand Dukes currently have?

Meyers ' Nightmare Knight Legion.

Legend has it that the Nightmare Knight Legion can appear from the easternmost edge of the empire to the westernmost edge in a single night. Legend has it that the Nightmare Knights are engulfed in hellfire, and their warhorses can enter the Abyss to fight Demons. Legend has it that...

There are many legends, but each one is quite different from what humans actually know.

Sublimation, evolution, is... inhuman power?

Thinking about this, Ryan looked at the Flame Dragon Knight Legion and was no longer so shocked.

It's certainly terrifying to see tens of thousands of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion slaughtering Dragons, but what if those tens of thousands of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion were replaced by tens of thousands of ferocious Magical Beast running rampant on the sea?

Are they still human, or human knights?

Ryan wasn't sure anymore, but he was at least confident that his Stag Legion's knights, in one-on-one combat against their peers, would be no less formidable, and he was confident he could outclass any noble's knight.

Because he bestowed upon his Knight Retainer a variety of Spirituality Blessing, making each Knight Retainer's base attributes greater than those of other human knights.

He had no doubt about the power of the Spirituality Panel.

Ryan thought of a word he had been familiar with for several years.

[Family Members]

The retinue of the Deities, the retinue of Surtr, are incredibly powerful. Once they become retinue members, Surtr's will can make them fearless until the very end of the war.

Ryan had experienced it firsthand, and he had also created it himself, when he used the Twilight Divinity to fight against the Werewolves of the Northlands.

Ryan never cared about the madness, power, or loyalty of his followers, because he subconsciously understood that these were things unique to Deities and there was no need to pay attention to them; he could simply treat them as the Deities ' puppet army.

But now, he has to think about this word.

The Count Clayton —no, this Earl's father hadn't finished yet.

It was those Four Grand Dukes, and the Imperial House of Flor.

They seem to have completed it; they have created their own [familiars], belonging to humanity.

This is the true meaning of blasphemy.

(End of this chapter)