Patrolling the Territory, the Plan to Find Coal

The Archbishop sent by the Church to the Sera Kingdom died, right on the outskirts of the Sera Kingdom.

This news threw the nobles of the Sera Kingdom into a panic, and they anxiously gathered in the royal city.

They rarely had a direct encounter with the King; the Legendary Mages always had a reason called meditation. As the first Monarch of the nation, no matter how capricious the King was, the nobles dared not reprimand him.

Therefore, they could only turn to the prince, whom they could not avoid.

Alto and Roland are watching the competition in the arena with Ryan.

"Haha, this Rogers is a promising talent I discovered. He fought in the war at Unicorn Fortress and was later recruited into the royal city's garrison. I found him, gave him a Knight Potion, and he became Apprentice Knight. No one can beat him!"

Otto laughed loudly as he watched the battle below. He was itching to join in, but he also knew his own strength; if he went down to fight, he could tear down the arena.

This belongs to Ryan.

"These Northlands adventurers don't venture into the Northlands; instead, they're keen on fighting in the arena."

Roland shook his head at this. As a Mages, he hoped that these people could gain glory and wealth in the unknown Northlands.

Ryan looked at the two without saying a word. He turned his head to look at the other side of the stands, where many nobles were gathered, seemingly wanting to come closer.

Ryan beckoned the nobles over, and unsurprisingly, the first thing they did upon meeting was to bombard them with questions about what to do about the death of the Archbishop of the Church.

"Your Highness, the priest in my territory has gone mad. He's surrounded my castle with his followers and is demanding an explanation from me!"

"Isn't that ridiculous? How would I know how that Archbishop died?"

"But that damned guy stole a whole chest of Gold Coin from me, and he also stole my two favorite maids! Damn it, how dare he!"

The nobleman complained that the priest had blocked his castle, but he dared not make a move, fearing that the matter would implicate him.

"The wealth within this territory belongs to you; are you just going to let him steal it from you like that?"

Ryan looked at the Baron and sneered.

"Baron Gak, he's not just robbing you of your Gold Coin and servants, he's stomping on your face with his filthy feet. Next time, maybe even your son and your wife will be dragged to church to repent."

Otto also coldly observed this weak fellow; he had always preferred the Empire's approach to the Church.

"Won't you fight back?"

"In your territory, your people rebel against you; what are your armies doing?"

"The army, the army has all gone the North..."

The Baron said in a low voice that he was a practical man, sending all his troops to the the North, mainly because he thought that the Andara Kingdom was an easy place to make a lot of military achievements.

This is not surprising, after all, the Andara Kingdom has gone further and further down the path of defeat in recent years, and no one has ever seen them win anything.

As neighbors who had observed everything from beginning to end, it was understandable that the nobles felt they could take advantage of the situation.

"Baron, I don't think a priest who would even steal a maid could possibly be your match."

Ryan looked at the Baron, shook his head, and said nothing more.

The Baron blushed; he was worried that the priest would exaggerate the Archbishop's death and implicate him.

"Your Highness, Lord Count Ryan, we are here to inquire about the death of the Archbishop."

He reminded him, which made Otto laugh again.

"Then go back and organize your army. The next time those damned priests come looking for you, rob them of everything!"

"I don't want to see the nobles of the Sera Kingdom being robbed again."

This was the story they had prepared on their way back. Otto was worried that the clergy of the Church would start a war, since in his mind the Church was a hypothetical enemy, not an ally.

Ryan's idea was much simpler: after this incident, the nobles would feel uneasy and would send the army to protect them.

In this way, the number and quality of the army that the Sera Kingdom has gathered in the north will decrease.

The war with the Andara Kingdom will remain at a stalemate and will not yield a result in the short term.

Once things return to normal, it will be most advantageous for Ryan. He can even raise the price of metals in the Northwind Province and gain more benefits from the two kingdoms.

Ryan spent five days in the capital of the Sera Kingdom, mainly meeting with the new nobles who had become his subjects. He did not visit the Sera King before embarking on his journey home.

It's not that I'm in a hurry, but I'm worried that the Church might resort to desperate measures.

After all, in the series of events triggered by the Path of Dawn, Baron Ryan also played a role in fanning the flames, personally selling those Dawn Believers to the Church at a high price.

What if they send some powerful clergy to deal with him? In the Frozen Earth Territory, Ryan is not afraid.

Heading north and then onto the Northwind Avenue, the speed increased. Lord Ryan, who had left Rhino Horn Mountain to wander Northlands, returned once again to his loyal Frozen Earth Territory.

"I still remember when Lord Ryan and I first came to the Frozen Earth Territory."

"Back then, there was nothing in the Frozen Earth Territory would sink in. Even the castle on the mountain was dilapidated and no one cleaned it."

"Thinking back to that time, it all feels so unreal. The Frozen Earth Territory has turned out like this. All those messy trees are gone, and what you're walking on isn't muddy soil and snow, but warm stones."

Rosen remarked with a sigh that as the highest-ranking officer in the Frozen Earth Territory's police department, he now wielded terrifying power while having virtually nothing that required his personal attention.

He's so free and easy that he can't help but show off.

He kept saying how bitter the past was, but he couldn't help but smile.

If I hadn't seized the opportunity back then, I wouldn't have this kind of life now.

"Master Rosen, Bilder Beard is looking for you."

Rosen stood up, his expression turning serious. Ignoring the people around him, he quickly walked out of the tavern.

"What's up?"

Rosen still needed to be extremely careful with Rhino Horn Mountain, especially since he was well aware that his position within the Frozen Earth Territory was not low, and there were many others with higher positions than him; they were all core members of Rhino Horn Mountain.

Bilder Beard was no exception. As Lord Ryan's butler and most loyal servant, he was in charge of many things in the Frozen Earth Territory.

"I don't know, but there are many more knights on Rhino Horn Mountain, perhaps as a precaution."

The servant said this; he was a servant of the castle on Rhino Horn Mountain, and was also bribed by Rosen.

After Rosen saw the butler, Bilder, the latter gave Rosen the answer.

"Master and Madam are going to inspect the development of the Frozen Earth Territory in a couple of days. You need to arrange patrol guards properly and not let those damned peasants upset Master and Madam. They are filthy."

"Don't worry, I'll cancel everyone's vacation and send more people."

Rosen stood ramrod straight, possessing the physique of Formal Knight. He had gained considerable weight over the years, but was still quite robust.

Two days later, Baron Ryan and his Baroness began their inspection of the development of the Frozen Earth Territory, accompanied by five hundred Knight Retainer in a grand procession.

From Rhino Horn Mountain to Winter City, then turn back at the Fortress Defense Line, that's the whole route.

It can only be said that the more intense the war was in the South, the more peaceful and tranquil the the North became.

The Frozen Earth Territory has finally entered a period of mild and undisturbed development.

The Frozen Earth Territory currently has a population of 220,000, and its production capacity is terrifying. Even during the time Ryan was away, a road appeared between Rhino Horn Mountain and Winter City.

"The housing problem has been solved, but clothing and food remain the areas of great anxiety for the slaves and commoners."

Wherever Ryan went, flowers bloomed in abundance, Avril smiled more often, but Ryan didn't seem to notice the apparent splendor.

The only thing he could see was how, by reducing these things tenfold or a hundredfold, he could finally see the true state of his territory.

The exploitation of the ruled by the rulers is inevitable, not only for the sake of power, but also because development requires sacrifice and toil.

The one who suffers the most is not the ruler, nor is the ruler more tired; therefore, it is the ruled.

The beauty of power lies in its ability to decide who is to sacrifice within a group.

"They don't look like they're without food."

Avril looked at Ryan and said that she didn't really understand the education of nobles. Putting aside whether they would teach women these things, it was questionable whether they even had such knowledge.

"Because the food they're eating now is all provided by me."

Currently, the only food sources in the Frozen Earth Territory are the people around the foot of Rhino Horn Mountain, who have their own means of obtaining food, and the villages in the Mountain Forest. When they migrated, Ryan built many villages, and the people in them were able to barely have enough to eat.

The Frozen Earth Territory still operate under a planned economy, where every household has to work a lot in order to obtain food.

Even so, these people are already very grateful to Ryan, which has led to the rapid development of the Frozen Earth Territory. However, this cannot continue indefinitely.

We can't keep going like this.

These people already owe Lord Ryan a great deal; we can't let them develop any thoughts of giving up.

Avril was aware of this, and she also knew that Ryan spent an astronomical amount of money on food in various places every quarter. The butler, Bilder, often had to avoid her, worried that she would be unhappy about why so much money was being spent.

The millions of Gold Coin in the castle were visibly decreasing almost every day.

"Nidhogg has plenty of food; why not send people to farm Nidhogg?"

Avril tried her best to help Ryan think of a solution. After all, when it comes to managing territory, besides buying and planting, what else could they do but rob?

Ryan held Avril's hand, smiled, and shook his head.

"That world has a finite lifespan; the great beings have fallen, but it will one day disappear."

"The vast majority of the people of the Frozen Earth Territory have witnessed the destruction of a world, and their souls could not withstand such a blow if they were to see it a second time."

"Moreover, opening Planar Gate comes at a price."

Even though Ryan currently has a million spiritual points, activating 100 spiritual points a day won't last more than a few years if he consumes them at any cost.

"Nidhogg still has two million inhabitants, and there isn't enough land for them to cultivate. The two worlds still need to be separated."

The thought of Nidhogg gave Ryan a headache.

That world had indeed brought him far too much benefit and wealth. Even now, some of the nobles behind those dozens of Space Mage were writing to Ryan, wanting to obtain the qualification to explore the Nidhogg World.

Ryan refused; although wealthy, Lord Ryan was unwilling to share with others.

But behind the enormous profits and wealth comes a price.

The population of two million, or more accurately, around two million two hundred thousand, put him under immense pressure.

On the Norris Continent, the nobles prospered in the Otherworld Plane after the War of the Deities Across Planes, and the population also increased significantly. The Norris Continent didn't have so many people before; the entire empire was at most limited to eight million people.

Were all those nobles troubled by population issues?

Ryan thought that was not the case. Those nobles would probably be overjoyed after discovering so many ready-made slaves. Moreover, the Otherworld Plane that those nobles discovered would not be like the ones Ryan encountered, where they were always on the verge of death.

They don't live long.

The world of the Count Clayton Family Count Clayton Family been under their control for over a century, and for over a hundred years, it has been providing Clayton Family with a continuous stream of resources.

They don't have population pressure, but Ryan can't avoid it. Gam's 100,000 citizens were a headache before, and now it's twenty times that number...

Ryan still doesn't have a suitable solution.

He only hoped that Nidhogg would fall to the end of his life a little later, giving him enough time.

Ryan's inspection of his territory this time was aimed at finding more places to build towns.

But to show two million...

Whew~

Ryan took a deep breath and looked toward the Northlands.

Summer has arrived, and most of the trees on the Mountain Forest surface have no more snow.

"Do you think people can live in the Northlands?"

Avril was puzzled, but as Mages, she shook her head and said:

"Ordinary people would freeze to death, and they wouldn't have any food; they would become food for the beasts of the Northlands."

The beasts living in the Northlands would probably be laughing in their sleep if they saw a large number of humans entering their territory.

"Beasts fear fire, and even weak Magical Beast are afraid of it, but in the Northlands, it is very difficult for humans to possess fire."

"It's easy to freeze to death or starve to death."

Avril had read many books from the Magic Academy. A hundred years ago, when humans from the the North migrated south, countless people died on the way. Only nobles had the chance to escape to the South lands that were not covered by the Northlands.

"What if we could solve the fire problem?"

Ryan said that Ryan had been thinking about this ever since he saw Adriana's village.

There's no reason why Adriana can do something that Ryan can't. Is it just because she has Deities help?

Ryan was not afraid of the Deities.

"I'm looking for something that, if I can find it, will solve the fire problem."

Ryan looked around and said:

"Whether it's the Frozen Earth Territory or Nidhogg, relying on firewood for warmth is too costly."

When Ryan arrived in the Frozen Earth Territory, there were many trees everywhere, not to mention other places, even around Rhino Horn Mountain.

But now all those trees have disappeared.

"Nidhogg is an incredibly ancient world. A world with such a long lifespan should have coal deposits."

Ryan thought that with the increase in population, there would be huge problems with using firewood for heating, and new energy sources would be needed to replace it.

Coal was the only thing he could think of. As for electricity, let alone that he didn't understand it at all, even if he did, could it really be used?

It has nothing to do with the world, but with those great beings.

The shackles of knowledge seem to exist not only between nobles and commoners/slaves, but also between the wisdom of Deities and humans.

Thinking too far ahead, those things require a massive industrial infrastructure, and Ryan can't build that many of those things.

Coal is still the most practical choice.

"There should be peat moss in the Swamp area, but I don't know if it'll be usable."

Time is on Ryan's side. As long as there are no major developments in the war in the South, Ryan won't need to be too busy for the next few years.

(End of this chapter)