Northgar Castle

Northgar Castle

"Reporting to my lord, everything has been packed up."

Brandt led thirty Apprentice Knights before Ryan and spoke loudly.

Ryan looked at the bundles made of animal hides but did not investigate them too closely. As long as there was nothing larger than the spatial gate, it was fine.

Then, with a casual wave of his hand, the spatial gate appeared before them as if by divine miracle.

Rosen and Old Beard exchanged a glance and immediately understood. They stepped inside first; they needed to make sure Deren, who was guarding Frozen Earth Territory, would not be too shocked.

"Let's go. It isn't warm on the other side either, but it's much better than here."

Brandt led thirty soldiers in guarding Ryan's side, while the more than four hundred villagers gradually passed through the spatial gate into Frozen Earth Territory.

Before long, only an empty expanse remained before Ryan.

His gaze fell on the few wooden huts still lit by torchlight. This winter, those elderly people would be buried here along with this place.

I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to come back here.

With that thought, Ryan stepped into the spatial gate as well.

His body became much warmer in an instant. Looking at the dismantled wooden huts, Ryan felt that this place was incredibly warm despite being exposed to the cold air.

The weather where they had been before had truly been too harsh. Perhaps only by continuing north from Frozen Earth Territory into the depths of the Northern Lands could one experience such bitter cold.

"Thinking about it that way makes it feel much better."

Everything depended on comparison. The Empire sneered at Northwind Province, yet the people of the Axeniel Continent would have been overjoyed by it.

In contrast, the original dozens of villagers of Frozen Earth Territory and Deren's seven Apprentice Knights were left staring in disbelief.

They racked their brains but could not understand where their lord had brought so many people from.

But everything in Frozen Earth Territory belonged to the baron lord. No one dared question it or pry into it.

Frozen Earth Territory had no slaves yet, but that did not mean it could not have them.

In this world of strict rules, silence and numbness were the most noble qualities a commoner could possess.

Rhino Horn Mountain.

With the physique of a Formal Knight, Ryan could finally withstand the freezing wind at the mountaintop. He had previously been thinking of moving into the Baron's Castle, yet he had achieved that small goal in less than two days.

"I wrongly blamed that architectural mage. The scenery here really is wonderful."

Before him stretched an incomparably open world. He could even imagine that, when there was no ice or snow, a broad river should run beneath his feet. Towering foothills would line both banks, while the winding river flowed through the mountains toward a low, flat region. The water would be clear, the foothills thick with trees, and wild rabbits or elk would hide amid the lush green shrubs, along with cunning, hungry wolves stalking their prey.

Upstream of the river visible from Rhino Horn Mountain lay a lake, a vast body of water formed by waterfalls plunging from higher mountain ranges. Countless lively fish and birds fed within it.

From here, one could see the lake's beauty at a glance. Because of the distance, the roaring waterfalls became a pleasant harp, echoing across Rhino Horn Mountain day after day.

But now, everything was gone. The majestic foothills were covered in white snow, and he had heard that they could only be seen green for two or three months when summer came next year.

The winding river had also frozen into an icy waterway, forming a smooth expanse of ice at the foot of Rhino Horn Mountain.

Everything in sight was blanketed in vast white snow. The lake had become an ice lake, and the raging waterfalls crashing downward had turned into sharp, pointed icicles.

Viewed from above, Frozen Earth Territory resembled a huge, uneven bowl.

Even so, the view from Rhino Horn Mountain was still excellent.

Clad in silver, it possessed another kind of beauty.

"Does that lake have a name?" Ryan asked, pointing at the frozen lake.

Old Beard promptly replied, "It's called Northgar Lake."

"A beautiful name."

Ryan turned to look at his Baron's Castle. To be honest, it was merely a cluster of fewer than ten buildings and could not really be called a castle.

He looked at his residence. "From now on, this place will be called Northgar Castle. Frozen Earth Castle sounds terrible."

"As you wish."

There were only the master and servant on Rhino Horn Mountain. Even Brandt, who should have been following behind Ryan, had been sent to help the villagers build houses. A Formal Knight's strength was quite valuable in such work.

Turning back to look at the territory under construction, Ryan boldly declared:

"I will build a city here. It will be called Northgar City. Its name will surely resound throughout the Empire—no, throughout the entire South!"

The broad plains at the foot of the mountain were more than enough to raise a great city.

Within the Empire, only a Viscount's territory would usually have a small city, and even those held merely eight or ten thousand people.

Ryan's ambitions were far greater than theirs.

"Young Master Ryan has grown up." Old Beard smiled with gratification.

He believed even more firmly than Ryan that the future would certainly unfold that way.

But before that imagined future could arrive, Frozen Earth Territory faced an immediate problem that was already placed before Ryan.

Brandt brought Hamiti before Ryan. The village chief, who could barely manage his own hundred or so people, was nearly in tears.

"My lord, we truly don't have enough food."

The population of Frozen Earth Territory had now exceeded six hundred. The more than four hundred people from Deer Spirit Village made up the majority. Though they had brought dry rations with their families, those would not last long.

In the Northern Lands, during Fierce Winter, food was a subject that could never be exhausted.

Moreover, it was currently winter. Even after spring arrived, Frozen Earth Territory would plant wheat and other crops more than two months later than the South, and a month and a half later than the other territories of Northwind Province.

Farming was not realistic for the moment. Hunting? Where would they find so much prey in the dead of winter? Did they really think the beasts of a world with extraordinary powers were so fragile?

Hunting could not sustain them for long, and eating too much meat was not good either.

"Then we can only buy food." Ryan looked helplessly at Old Beard.

"How much money do we have left?"

The Old Steward was even more helpless than Ryan. "All our money was confiscated along the way. Now we only have..."

His aged palm was covered in cracks, yet the single glittering Gold Punk resting upon it still shone brightly.

"One Gold Punk, fifteen silver coins, and thirty-five copper coins."

Gold, silver, and copper had an exchange ratio of one to twenty to one hundred.

A family of five Freemen in Northwind Province earned only around ten silver coins a year. One gold coin could let them eat and drink without worry for an entire year, with the occasional bit of wine and meat.

As for serfs... if they did not end up owing their lord money, they could be considered to be living well.

Those who could not even become serfs could not be assured of surviving for more than a few years.

So, Ryan had no food when he needed food, and no money when he needed money.