Northlands Authority, the Contribution of the Blast Furnace

Ryan returned to the Frozen Earth Territory at the first Dawn after the snow melted, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed. The assassins in the shadows did not attempt to kill him on the way.

But this was still a thorn in his side. After Ryan returned to the Frozen Earth Territory, news of his assassination attempt spread. Faced with this, not only the nobles of the Northwind Province, but most of the nobles of the Empire showed concern.

"Praise be to the light, the immortal light that shelters me and helps me fight against injustice and slaughter."

Ryan has targeted the Church of Dawn with the assassination attempt. He cannot accuse anyone yet, so this is the only way he can draw the attention of the nobles to the assassination attempt against him, thereby creating some political protection for them.

After that, Baron Ryan expressed further speculation about the assassination attempt.

He sincerely believed that this was a challenge to the imperial authority.

"Everyone knows that the Andara Kingdom, under the leadership of His Majesty the His Majesty the King, closely follows the steps of the Empire. They have come to a deep understanding of the corruption of the Church of Dawn. The Church is no longer the Church it once was. They are no longer pure. Only the light is immortal, and only the light provides our Lord with Eternity and devout faith."

"They were afraid, they were apprehensive, but they knew that the empire's help had brought prosperity to the kingdom."

"They want to stop the Empire from providing any aid to the Andara Kingdom, force Mr. Otis Brooks's army to withdraw to the Empire, and let the Kingdom be conquered by the Orcs as punishment."

"They want to stop the Empire from providing magical assistance to the Andara Kingdom, to prevent them from gaining land to protect themselves, to prevent them from growing food, and to prevent them from gaining wealth and dignity."

"On the South battlefield, the Church could not defeat the sword and shield of the Lion of Justice. They could only resort to intrigue and trickery, like killing Marquis of Northwind, like launching a sneak attack to threaten His Highness Nix's life."

This was the first time Ryan had spoken publicly on the land of Northwind Province. His words not only demonstrated his authority in this land, but also showed that no nobleman had stood up to oppose his various inappropriate actions.

At the same time, for the first time, Ryan truly and explicitly stood on the opposite side of the Church of Dawn, launching a full-scale challenge to the Faith of Dawn as an adversary.

The nobles believed this was the result of the Northern Baron's anger over the assassination attempt, and that he could no longer tolerate the Church of Dawn after his life was threatened.

His words made Meyers grit his teeth.

"He is binding us to the Church. In the future, whoever attempts to assassinate him will be seen as an ally of the Church once exposed, and the Empire will have nowhere to hide."

"Just like in the south, with the failure of the Path of Dawn, under the majesty of the Church, those Ignazio, those ancient bloodlines, once again submitted to the Church. They are too far from the Empire; the Empire cannot save them."

"The Church won't be able to save the nobles whom the Imperial Noble consider their allies, namely those who assassinated Ryan —us."

Ryan's preconceived notions placed all the blame on the Church, seemingly allowing the real culprit to remain hidden in the shadows. However, the risks of the day when the culprit is finally exposed will be a hundred or a thousand times greater than before.

Ryan's voice was loud, because there was no one else in the entire Northwind who could oppose him, so even the emperor could hear the shouts from the nobles in the Northlands of the empire.

He heard something different, like...

"The Andara Kingdom..."

Columbus III began to realize that he seemed to have underestimated and neglected the Andara Kingdom.

Yes, after the Path of Dawn ended in the Empire's defeat, in the South lands of the Norris Continent, among the human civilization, many nobles once again felt fear towards the Church. They dared not easily submit to the Empire's protection.

The heavy casualties suffered by nobles on the Path of Dawn terrified them.

Columbus III needed the support of these nobles to join him in resisting the Church of Dawn.

But now the empire has only one follower, and that is the Andara Kingdom.

Of the Great King, only this one, whose bloodline is cursed, stands alongside the empire against the Church.

The South lands await the empire's demise, but before that, they will witness the end of the Andara Kingdom.

On the Path of Dawn, the ancient noble bloodline, led by Ignazio, has lost the courage to resist. Their honor and dignity are being trampled on, yet they dare not pledge loyalty to the empire.

This won't do!

The emperor pondered. Yes, he needed the Andara Kingdom to survive and become a trendsetter for all the nobles.

"Evil Deities have cursed the royal bloodline, but immortal light will grant the royal family rebirth and purification; they are devout believers in the light."

The emperor issued the order, and the power of light began to pour forth. He, the Grand Pope of Light, was not just a figurehead; he could truly mobilize terrifying divine power.

"The Church of Dawn has no right to set foot on the soil of light."

While the emperor dispatched a radiant envoy carrying divine power to purify the royal bloodline, he also issued an order to Winged Gorge, which was, after all, the only fortress defense line on the eastern side of the empire, and more than ten provinces were protected by Winged Gorge.

Thus, under the emperor's order, the Wyvern Rider, which had remained motionless in Winged Gorge for decades, were mobilized.

Baronet Farrell, Commander of Winged Gorge, faithfully carried out the emperor's orders. When those strong and mighty Wyvern Rider left Winged Gorge and circled over the Northwind Avenue, and then began to patrol the kingdom's airspace, the war between the Sera Kingdom and the Andara Kingdom came to a halt.

They are terrifying. A Two-legged Wyvern is not powerful, but hundreds of Two-legged Wyvern create a suffocating sense of oppression. Hundreds or thousands of Two-legged Wyvern can destroy an entire kingdom.

As the Two-legged Wyvern, Count Pascal from the Danube Province, after so much effort and performance, finally earned the emperor and the nobles' greater trust in this Gargoyle Count.

Count Pascal was given his first opportunity: to station the Gargoyle Legion on the Northwind Avenue, so that if the Church of Dawn dared to attack the Andara Kingdom, they could inflict a devastating blow.

Everyone sensed the Empire Emperor's great importance placed on the sudden arrival of the Andara Kingdom, which made the kingdom somewhat flattered. They sent people to the Northwind Province to inquire with Ryan.

Ryan simply smiled in response, reassuring the royal bloodline of the kingdom.

"This will only make you safer. The Church is powerful in the South, but in the lands near the Northlands, the Empire is the true hegemon."

"We can fight against the entire Great King courts of the Orcs without relying on any nobles, and the Church of Dawn no longer has any troops in the north."

"The kingdom is safer now."

Upon receiving Ryan's reply, the royal family members were finally relieved. Indeed, the strength of the Church of Dawn was mostly concentrated in the South, rather than in the harsh Northlands.

Ryan's voice elicited different reactions from the Grand Duke and the Imperial Capital in the South, but in the Northlands, the nobles who knew Baron Ryan better were somewhat caught in an unknown confusion and fear.

Ryan was assassinated.

This isn't the first time.

When the lord of the Frozen Earth Territory first arrived in the Northwind, he was assassinated. It was later learned that the assassination was carried out by Count Weiss, and so Ryan became the commander of the army in that war.

Count Weiss died in the war, Baron Ryan was never a fearful nobleman; he only grew angrier.

His revenge will not disappear, but will engulf every winter like a blizzard in the Northlands.

"What will he do? Start a war against the Church in the Northlands? But there are no Dawn followers around, so he can't possibly lead an army to attack the Sera Kingdom."

The nobles expressed their doubts and speculations, as they were now deeply influenced by Ryan in three aspects: military, political, and economic.

In terms of military affairs, whether it's the army of the Frozen Earth Territory itself, the Extraordinary Legion that Count Soron rebuilt with the dragon blood he obtained with Ryan's help, or the army of the fortress in the Fragrant Mountain Plains where Viscount Landa is located, Viscount Landa will not easily allow the nobles to control his soldiers to withdraw.

For some reason, the armies of Count Winter and Viscount Hogg cannot be enemies with Ryan. In other words, Ryan can now control the most powerful army and soldiers in Northwind Province without relying on the threat of external enemies.

Moreover, no one wanted to be his opponent in military command.

In terms of political direction, Count Winter and Count Soron would almost never contradict Baron Ryan. Moreover, the politics of the Northwind Province were too simple: either face the South or face the Northlands. When facing the South, the nobles needed to unite as one, with Ryan as the leader.

When facing the Northlands, the moment Ryan personally beheaded the Orcs Silvermoon Werewolf Monarch, there were no more competitors.

The only one who is qualified to have nominal power in this regard is Marquis of Northwind, that... one-year-old child.

Besides that, there's food. Ryan has already gained control over the food supply.

Needless to say, on the economic front, the Northern Territory Merchant Guild brings benefits to all nobles. Apart from Iron Ore, the Northwind Province has no other dazzling wealth, while Zero Crossing City is now the most prosperous economic center in the Northwind Province.

Therefore, as long as Ryan doesn't break the rules and launch an attack on a kingdom, most nobles don't have the confidence to refuse Ryan's request.

The key question is, what does Ryan plan to do to retaliate against the Church of Dawn?

They did not suspect that the Church of Dawn was responsible for assassinating Ryan. After all, in the current world situation, the irreconcilable conflict between the Empire and the Church was already out in the open, and the Emperor's attitude had led everything toward war.

The nobles speculated about Ryan's methods, while Ryan dispatched an army carrying a batch of blueprints.

These blueprints were hidden in the Book of Light, those birch bark books that spread the faith of light. Every year, the Frozen Earth Territory can earn hundreds of thousands in profit from the Church of Light because of these books. This is a contract that Ryan signed with the Marquis of Northwind, and it has been maintained ever since.

As the Church of Light expands, the demand for these birch bark books is increasing, Ryan can expect to make more profits in the future.

Of course, this was not the focus of this discussion. After arranging for the transport team to go to the Imperial Capital, Ryan took the blueprints with him to meet with the nobles of the Imperial Palace.

The blueprints were finally presented to the emperor, and the enormous Smelting Blast Furnace that he was referring to caught his eye.

"This is a legacy from Otherworld. It can help blacksmiths complete a hundred times more forging work, turn Iron Ore into wrought iron faster, and forge the weapons and equipment needed by soldiers more quickly."

Ryan's description made the emperor laugh heartily and couldn't help but admire it.

"I've heard of this rising star of the empire. His talent in military warfare is unparalleled. I never imagined that he could guess the key issues of the war in the Thousand Lakes Province even in the far Northlands."

In a military war of equal scale, what is the key to victory? Is it the commander's strategy? The most crucial factor is the quality of the soldiers themselves.

However, the concept of "quality" is too general, and what the nobles see is often limited to the surface.

In other words... equipment.

Superiority in equipment can lead to victory in war.

There is no doubt that one hundred tin cans can defeat one thousand soldiers with spears.

A century has passed since the War of the Deities Across Planes. The war is no longer what it used to be, but the logistical support has not improved much.

For example, the ancient bloodlines of Ignazio on the Path of Dawn in the South possess immense wealth, yet they still have to travel to the distant Northlands to purchase weapons and equipment for war.

The blast furnace will change this condition.

The power and energy that the emperor could wield were terrifying; with a single command, a large number of blast furnaces would spring up from the ground.

"Alchemist? Then let Baron Ryan send a team of Alchemist to the South."

The emperor said this, explaining that he was stingy because the war had already consumed a huge amount of Gold Coin, so he did not intend to pay any compensation.

Of course, the emperor had other ways, such as issuing an order while also nominally incorporating the Swamp south of the Frozen Earth Territory into Baron Ryan's territory.

Ryan didn't need payment for the job; his main purpose was to demonstrate his support for the Southern War and the War of the Church of Dawn, thus proving his anger over the assassination.

At the same time, this was also the first time that Baron Ryan had used this opportunity to prove his strength to the South lands.

The Baron of the Northlands is no pushover; his anger deserves everyone's attention.

As for Alchemist, they were sent by Ryan to study in the South to train his own Alchemist Academy. It wouldn't work to work in isolation in the Frozen Earth Territory. This was evident from the fact that the Alchemist ' abilities had recently stagnated, and not a single one of them had even been able to cross the threshold of apprenticeship.

They need to witness more extraordinary things to improve themselves.

After contributing blast furnaces and smelting techniques to the emperor, Ryan stopped paying attention to the South. When spring came this year and war broke out again, Ryan's reputation would naturally spread far and wide because of the empire's sudden surge in iron weapons.

He also believed that the emperor would keep this secret tightly under wraps during this time, wanting to deal a heavy blow to the Church.

The deeper the cover is laid, the more benefits Ryan will gain when it is exposed.

Looking into the distance, that's the future; looking back at the present, spring is coming, and what people care about most is whether the land beneath their feet can produce more food.

Food is the most important thing for people. Neither the nobles nor the slaves and commoners understood this; they only knew how to stare at the land in front of them.

That concerns whether they can survive this year.

Ryan was also concerned, as he had already sent at least two thousand men to the lands of those nobles to help them reclaim wasteland.

(End of this chapter)