Kingdom Land Lease

"He's that powerful?"

"Is this how all Dragon Knight are?"

Dawn City, in a certain corner.

Rosalind, the Demon Hunter, stared in amazement at Ryan's hand, which even his dagger couldn't sever, and at how he had resolved the Abyss Poison's effects on his health in just a few seconds—a result that exceeded her expectations.

He had tried his best to imagine the power of a Northern Baron; the poison of the Abyss could kill a Saint Realm, and even Legendary wouldn't escape unscathed, yet it failed against Ryan.

Rosalind couldn't understand how Ryan could be so powerful at such a young age. As a rising star of the Empire, could anyone else achieve what Ryan did?

He felt that this wouldn't work. Even the Elector Floyd, or Aatrox, who also had the Clayton bloodline, were definitely not as powerful as Ryan at Ryan age.

Such a person cannot be killed by a simple assassination.

This answer silenced Rosalind; she couldn't act personally, nor could she reveal the methods unique to Meyers.

The patrols within Dawn City became increasingly tight, and the knights were furiously frenzied. Rosalind waited a day, trying to find a second chance, but the Northern Baron remained wary and wouldn't even come near her bed.

Demon Hunter is not interested in the affair between Ryan and the previous Queen of Andara. He has abandoned other methods and will take matters into his own hands when the time is right.

Suddenly, however, a tremor resonated from the sky, as if it were echoing the earth. Rosalind looked at the sky above Dawn City in surprise.

"Is he capable of commanding the Legendary of the Andara Kingdom?"

Rosalind's eyes widened. It wasn't that she had no dealings with this Northern Baron before; she had cooperated with him when they faced the Orcs Silvermoon Royal Court.

Back then, Ryan had only a handful of people around him; let alone Legendary, he couldn't even be seen in the Saint Realm.

But now, why would the Legendary of the Andara Kingdom listen to him and come to Dawn City?

Or was it because Ryan was assassinated that the royal family became nervous? But isn't that King terrified of death? How could he let Legendary leave the Royal Palace?

Rosalind knew she had no chance; her actions couldn't be kept secret, and the kingdom's Legendary were still searching for any trace of the Legendary within Dawn City.

If the bloodline curse of the Andara Royal Family has truly been purified, then Rosalind must be careful; the extraordinary foundation of a kingdom is not something to be taken lightly.

"Can we find it?"

In the distance, Ryan finally felt much more relaxed and asked Daryl a question.

The latter shook his head. He stood on the ground, connecting with the land in a mysterious way. Everyone in Dawn City felt a sudden pressure in their hearts, but still could not discover the extraordinary nature within him.

"He's very mysterious."

Daryl said that he could not find the Legendary hidden in the city; perhaps it had already left, or perhaps it was someone more powerful than himself.

"Let the nobles be on high alert."

Ryan said that if it were a noble from a kingdom, he hoped the other party would lose their composure; if it were a noble from an empire, Ryan would prefer that one.

From the Andara Kingdom to the Northwind Avenue, and into the Winged Gorge, his eyes and ears are everywhere. As long as that area is still within the human realm, he cannot escape this long border unless he flies or burrows underground.

Ryan didn't need to stop him; he just wanted to find out the other person's identity and which nobleman was plotting against him.

The threat of death lurked in the shadows, and Ryan certainly couldn't forgive it easily.

The person Ryan sent to the royal city has returned, and that "Ivy" gave Ryan a result.

"It's most likely not magic. Saint Realm or Legendary Shadow Mage could do it, but it's more likely Legendary from another extraordinary path."

That was the conclusion. The Legendary elder had no time to help Ryan. He was Legendary elder of the Empire, not Ryan's follower. He was only able to reach this conclusion because of the Mute Ascetics.

"Isn't he Mages?"

Ryan ruled out the answer about the Shadow Mage, since there was a former Shadow Mage in his own territory. According to Rose, the more powerful Shadow Mage was, the more they wanted to get rid of them, and they probably didn't have time to play the Game of Nobles.

Yes, it's Game of Nobles.

When Ryan realized that the other party had many opportunities to kill him directly but did not dare to do so, he had already determined that this was a game governed by the rules of the nobility.

Whether it's Baron or Monarch, as long as it's within the rules of the nobility, Baron cannot fail to kneel before Monarch, and Monarch cannot target a Baron without reason.

Dictatorship is something that can never exist in the rules of the aristocracy.

So, is assassinating nobles also within the rules of the game?

Ryan pondered for a moment, neither stating that this matter was within the rules nor explicitly stating that it was outside the rules.

Viscount Miles killed Viscount Dragoon on the battlefield, and then died at the hands of his own son. The nobles of the Northwind Province also killed Count Weiss in the war. Marquis William died in an assassination attempt by the Church. Nyx Columbus also died in the Church of Light in the Andara Kingdom.

They were all nobles.

After the bloody internal strife and chaos of that time, the empire had an ironclad rule that prohibited nobles from killing each other in any way.

If we're talking about playing word games... it doesn't say that those who aren't nobles should kill nobles.

Of course, this is not allowed, but just like when Ryan encountered Catfolk assassins on his way to take office, as long as he is not caught, he will be fine, right?

That's why the assassin didn't dare to openly assassinate him.

"I need to know at least which of my enemies is starting to get impatient."

Ryan was so fixated on this that he didn't know where the enemy was, so he didn't even know how to launch a counterattack.

After such an incident, Ryan could no longer linger here, nor did he dare to easily return to the Frozen Earth Territory, as the journey would involve traversing too many desolate and uninhabited lands.

He went to the kingdom's capital, ostensibly as a military advisor to inspect the training results of the royal army.

"These 10,000 men, each of them of noble blood, are the King's loyal followers and will serve King to the death."

Daryl is naturally the Legion Commander of the royal army. The Andara Royal Family wants to rebuild the Hall Legion. Ryan has never seen that Extraordinary Legion, but the Old King was able to lead it to victory against various alien races, so it must not be weak.

The Andara Royal Family seems to have cleansed the Bloodline Curse. Each member of the royal family is full of enthusiasm and has brought out a lot of royal secrets. Since there are not many members in the royal family to begin with, almost every one of them has some royal secrets.

"Let this army go the North in the spring."

"It's time to resolve the issue of the Rhino Orcs. When Grand Duke Leta goes South, he can put enough pressure on the Sera Kingdom, and the war may come to an end."

"I said, then looked at the army," Ryan said.

"Whether they have noble blood or not is not important; only those who survive can become members of the Extraordinary Legion."

The formation of the Extraordinary Legion by the royal family is certainly a good thing for Ryan. As the situation on the Norris Continent becomes increasingly tense, Ryan needs to strengthen his territory. This land in the the North cannot be defended without sufficient strength.

As for why Ryan judged the situation to be tense, it was also related to this assassination attempt.

Previously, nobles would not have done such a thing. The fact that they have now shows that most of the nobles' oversight has been distracted by other matters, resulting in a less positive and absolute attitude towards the death of a noble.

Of course, the fact that the emperor's war had dragged on for a year without any results, yet he still kept troops stationed in the Thousand Lakes Province in the South, was also a signal. If he hadn't succeeded last year, Emperor Flor would probably be even more frantic this year. He needed to win a victory against the Church in order to solidify the King's confidence in standing up to divine authority.

To be honest, even Ryan, a transmigrator, wasn't very confident in facing the Church of Dawn as an enemy.

Who knows what the Church of Dawn, which has ruled Norris for countless years, might be able to pull out to set things right?

Daryl didn't have much to do; as Legendary, all he needed to do was live.

So for the next period of time, Daryl searched for Rosalind's whereabouts, which made the Legendary Demon Hunter unable to suppress his anger.

Demon Hunter are not exactly known for their good temper.

Another Legendary relentlessly searched for him, forcing him to do some very embarrassing things most of the time in order to hide, but that Legendary Knight known as "Mammoth" was no match for him.

Rosalind couldn't find any opportunities. Making a move within the royal city might even prevent him from leaving alive. After several years of development, the royal city had acquired more means to combat the extraordinary.

Moreover, there was a Legendary Mages inside that Church of Light.

He left, preparing to return to the empire and await the next opportunity.

During his time in the royal city, in addition to serving as a military advisor, Ryan was also tasked with assessing the resource situation of the Andara Kingdom.

Mr. Roth gave him a staggering figure, so he naturally couldn't help but check what resources the Andara Kingdom needed.

At first glance, it seems like everything needs a little bit of everything, but Ryan also noticed a problem.

"The Andara Kingdom has no strategic resources."

What are strategic resources? For example, the Iron Ore in the Northwind Province is one.

Iron can provide a large number of iron tools and can also be used to forge weapons and armor needed for war. This is a strategic resource. After all, even an extraordinary knight can fight multiple opponents if he has superior equipment.

For example, precious extraordinary resources like Magic Crystal Mine, or wealth like Gold Mine mines necessary for a war of attrition.

The Andara Kingdom doesn't have any.

There were no mineral veins beneath this land, but Ryan was somewhat surprised by the fertility of the soil and the prosperity of the area.

Apart from the past two years when the war forced nobles to purchase grain from the empire, the Andara Kingdom had previously experienced almost no major food crisis.

However, the food crisis will likely accompany the Andara Kingdom for a long time, because the most prosperous and fertile grain production base in the kingdom now belongs to the Sera Kingdom.

That is, the land between the former territory of Grand Duke McReynolds and Unicorn Fortress, a place where a massive amount of food can be grown.

Andara lost that land, and a food crisis ensued.

"Pioneering?"

The methods used in the Northwind Province cannot be directly applied to the Andara Kingdom, because Ryan cannot directly control the nobles there.

Therefore, even if he were to clear out the Wilds, Ryan could not give up the land to the nobles.

Two days later, Ryan made his decision.

He went to find King Adams and explained some of his intentions.

"Lease?"

The King was somewhat surprised and instinctively resisted, because Ryan was an imperial nobleman who wanted to lease land from the kingdom.

Putting aside the fact that there is no precedent for this, the land itself should not be leased out.

The others around the King were also dissatisfied, and Count Merses was especially wary. Last time Ryan had asked him to participate in the logistics of the war. Now, was the other party showing his true colors and planning to take action against the power he held over?

Seeing that the King didn't seem so foolish anymore, Ryan quickly changed his tune:

"It's not that I'm here to lease it. After all, my people are all in the Empire, and it's impossible for them to walk along the Northwind Avenue to the Kingdom every day to cultivate the land."

"This matter is still the intention of the Church of Light and Queen Leta."

"The people of the kingdom need a faith, and the light is their only choice. His Highness Nix is actively showing the nobles the immortality and greatness of the light, and Queen Leta has thus become a believer in the light."

"As the light spreads, the Church of Light needs supplies. The church needs to provide food to its believers so that they can enjoy delicious food for free every prayer day."

"This should not be the responsibility of the kingdom; the Church of Light needs to cultivate the land itself."

Ryan's words made the King nod in agreement. Indeed, all the expenses of the Church of Light were provided by the kingdom. The King and the nobles did not say anything, but they still couldn't help but sigh when faced with this matter. They had to pay too much.

Renting to an Imperial Noble like Ryan is objectionable, but renting to Light, especially with Queen Leta whose status is not much less than that of the King, seems quite normal.

"But the kingdom has no more land to rent to the Light, you damned traitor!"

The King was furious once again, for the Sera Kingdom, established by MacReynolds, had taken too much of the land from the Andara Kingdom.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ryan pointed in one direction.

Thanks to the brutality of the Warthog Orcs and the success of the war, there was a large amount of vacant land the North the royal city. The nobles there even went to the south of the kingdom, or even joined the Sera Kingdom, because they did not want to face the Orcs ' ravages anymore.

This resulted in all the population of the Andara Kingdom being concentrated in the south, making the royal city feel like it was guarding the country's gate.

"Those desolate lands, neglected by the snows of the Northlands and the harassment of the Orcs, are perfect for leasing to the Light."

"Devoted believers will not complain about the barrenness of the land; the God of Light will bestow upon them the joy of a bountiful harvest."

Such a lease was destined to be large-scale, a fact that both the King and Ryan understood, which is why they said there was no more wasteland for lease elsewhere.

"Would Bishop Nyx agree?"

The King looked at Ryan, Ryan gestured to him that the rental price was high, but also a rare source of income for the royal family, which now needed wealth to rebuild the Extraordinary Legion.

"He won't refuse, and you can rent for ten years. If things go well after ten years, you can earn more rent."

It sounded like a sustainable, long-term source of income? The King was intrigued and sent someone to the Church of Light to discuss it with Sven.

The final decision left Ryan speechless.

The King generously waived the rent for the first ten years of Brightness, and then leased the land to Brightness for a period of fifty years in one lump sum. Subsequent contracts also stipulated a term of fifteen years.

This guy really doesn't consider those lands as wealth. Ryan even felt that the King was more eager than him to rent out the lands.

It was only later that Ryan understood that the King did this because he and the rest of the kingdom felt that those desolate lands had no value. What wealth could there be in places that no nobles had explored for so many years? Moreover, they were afraid of the threat from the the North. After leasing the land to the Light, another line of defense was added to the the North of the royal city.

The reasons were fairly standard, and Ryan couldn't say whether they were right or wrong.

But it's definitely advantageous for me.

Although this has led to higher rents, who said Ryan should pay for this portion of his wealth?

His Majesty Emperor Flor and His Highness the Grand Pope of Light will never be stingy with opportunities to expand the faith of Light; the followers of Light in the Andara Kingdom are merely working for him.

(End of this chapter)