Throne of the North.

Chapter 278 Three Stages of War Potential

Frozen collar.

A large number of captives did not require too many houses. Before the ransom arrived, Ryan arranged these captives to support the expansion of the Frozen Territory.

It was not necessary for them to open up the wasteland as the terrain at the foothills was complicated, but these captives were good at paving roads and building houses.

"Just use all your strength."

Ryan said this to Butler Beard and Chief Archon Etria.

Then on the next day, Ryan learned that Count Sauron was coming to the Frozen Territory with a large army.

"Only the Dragonblood Warrior Legion? That's normal."

Ryan was a little surprised, but not too surprised.

There is naturally no shortage of population in Count Sauron's territory, but after losing 1,500 soldiers in succession in the other world, Count Sauron has few troops under his command.

Instead of bringing some crappy things here, it’s better to go directly to the Extraordinary Legion.

This is considered to be the few assets left in Count Sauron's hands.

Even though the two earls had mobilized tens of millions of troops at any time in previous wars, in fact, they were mobilizing the entire territory's war potential and productivity for the next few decades.

How could there be so many soldiers unless it was an extreme situation? The count could not afford the daily consumption of soldiers.

Just like Ryan's previous war in the mine, there were one thousand soldiers from the Earldom, eight or nine hundred of them were part-time, and they only trained for a few days a month. It was just that because of the frequent wars in recent years, the nobles had put in some effort and these people had become veterans, so they were more elite.

If there are no major wars for three to five years, these part-time troops will not be considered to have much combat effectiveness.

Under normal circumstances, it would be very impressive for Count Sauron to be able to mobilize an army of 5,000 regular men.

As the situation became more tense, the Earl began to mobilize other people in the territory, including most of the young and strong men and a considerable number of old men, to form a force of tens of thousands of people.

Earl Sauron, strictly speaking, the basic number of soldiers is still a little over 5,000. Of course, war causes consumption. After several years of war, the number has been decreasing, and every time it is necessary to recruit serfs to supplement the army.

In this situation, even the Earl would feel a lot of pressure. It is impossible for all the people left in the territory to be the elderly, the weak, women and children, right?
In most situations, the great nobles are not alone. They are surrounded by many nobles, big and small. When a war is led by a great noble, other nobles will also participate.

This formed a coalition force of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

It belongs to everyone, not just one family.

In short, in the current situation, sending out the Extraordinary Legion is a last resort and the best option.

Besides, isn’t it for times like these that the Extraordinary Legion’s huge economy is used to support it?
"If you get rid of me, you can use the various compensations and conditions after the war to command Lingdu County and influence Tieshan County, and change the situation in the original North Wind Province to favor Earl Sauron."

"There won't be any major changes in the next 10 or 20 years."

Ryan had to admit that Count Sauron's decision was correct.

After calculating Count Sauron's war potential, Ryan realized that this extraordinary army was the last trump card, and began to think about himself.

The current population of the Frozen Territory is approximately 26,000.

But as for the war potential, according to the recently compiled roster, Ryan can at most assemble an army of around 3,000 to 5,500.

No, they should be called soldiers, not even the army.
If we encounter a war against orcs, which requires the entire nation to fight, it will be difficult for the number of people to exceed 7,000.

Faced with the military pressure from Count Sauron, it was impossible for Ryan to send 7,000 people, that is, everyone in the Frozen Territory except those who could not carry weapons or could not carry weapons, to the battlefield.

There is not enough time and it is impossible. This is just a war of interests among the nobles.

He couldn't even gather three or four thousand overloaded troops, because if he did, there would be few young and strong people in the territory.

That's right. Ryan used the conventional method, which is the current number of knights, squires and militiamen; the second level, overload, which is the young and strong people with intact limbs over fourteen and forty years old in the territory; and the last third extreme of survival, that is, national war, to explain the war potential in his territory.

If we lose a conventional war, we may lose our voice within three to five years.

In an overloaded war, most of the territory's production and development capabilities will have to give way to the war, and if they lose, they will most likely have to keep their tails down for more than ten or twenty years.

Extreme War, if we lose, there will be no fun. If we are lucky enough to be alive, we can go back to the Clayton family and act cute and spoiled.

As for men over forty? You don't really think that slaves and civilians generally have such a long life span and are still in good health after the age of forty.

This can only be a conventional war.

Otherwise, if the war escalates, it will turn into an epic battle in which Lion and his own interest groups start a war. However, correspondingly, there are also a large number of nobles around Count Sauron, and it will easily become the second full-scale war in the North Wind Province.

Ryan was even unwilling to start a large-scale conventional war.

Are you still going to plant the fields?

The army led by Count Sauron is an extraordinary army that has been tempered by blood and fire, and its combat effectiveness is definitely not weak.

The war potential describes the reality, not Ryan's ambition, and he is not afraid of this war.

"Just do whatever needs to be done!"

The Frozen Territory is very busy. Master Ryan has taken on a lot of business, and he is a model of aristocratic business. Ordinary people don't have time to chat.

Everyone is thriving.

So, only a thousand soldiers came to the south, outside the mountains and forests, to the wide swamp.

It was getting late this year, and the swamp ground had become much harder, so he waited for Earl Thoron.

Somewhat surprisingly, Count Sauron actually brought the ransom.

The double-winged flags representing Count Sauron and the legion of dragon-blooded warriors that looked extremely heavy from a distance forced the noble teams watching the excitement around them to retreat hundreds of meters.

However, what shocked them even more was Ryan's side.

Eight hundred cavalrymen!
Yes, the nobles almost rubbed their eyes and saw it correctly, eight hundred cavalrymen, war horses, armor, spears, everything they needed.

"Where did he get so many war horses?"

In the Borean Province, armor and weapons are of little importance; only war horses are of paramount importance.

So even Earl Sauron couldn't help but wonder when he saw this scene whether Viscount Hogg had given his warhorse to Baron Ryan.

"Not a Highlander, nor as tall as a Highlander."

This result made Earl Sauron feel much better. If it were really 800 standard Highland warhorses, he would have wanted to reconcile with Baron Ryan in some way.

But even so, the eight hundred war horses before us represent far more than just the concept of eight hundred war horses.

War horses need to be selected. How to select? Select from a large number of uneven numbers.

Unless you buy it.

For example, Viscount Hogg relied on royal channels.

Where's Ryan?
Did the Clayton family discover an alien dimension where war horses were bred, or does Baron Ryan himself own a huge horse farm that produces war horses?

Countless speculations converged into the same answer.

Baron Ryan is more than just a baron.

It's not a question of the title, but of strength.

Regardless of the outcome of this war, Baron Ryan's reputation and prestige will at least start at the level of a viscount. Many viscounts and nobles will lower their noble heads when they see Baron Ryan.

The eight hundred knights and attendants behind Ryan are more than just that.

In a place far away that no one else could see, in addition to armor and spears, they were also carrying animal bows on their backs, and the war horses under them were covered in horse armor with magical secret patterns painted on them. The war horses, although not very big in size, were not lacking in strong physique, and they were even still growing.

Compared with the eight hundred knights and squires, the remaining two hundred militiamen were much more shabby. Their wrists were sore. Being able to hold a weapon and being able to hold a weapon and stand on the battlefield were two different things.

Further back were the six hundred prisoners.

"Lord Baron Ryan, I have brought the ransom of the Sauron family. Should you release the soldiers of the Sauron family?"

Feder came riding a warhorse. Of course, this kind of thing would not be asked by Count Sauron himself. He, the successor, is very suitable. Ryan was indeed a little surprised. It was similar to what Count Sauron thought. Ryan wanted to use a high ransom to keep these captives. At that time, he would kill two birds with one stone, so that these soldiers would not turn around and take up arms against him, and seize some initiative in the subsequent negotiations.

I didn't expect Count Sauron to be so straightforward and give me 100,000 gold coins as soon as he said so.

"A nobleman never breaks his word. Where are the gold coins?"

Ryan asked loudly. The wind was a little chilly today, and the mithril armor could not block the breeze from the north.

But the passion of war can dispel all this.

Behind Feder, soldiers were carrying iron and wooden boxes out, and ten large boxes were placed between the two sides. As the long sword in the hand of the heir to the title made a harsh sound again and again, the golden punk shone in everyone's eyes.

Ryan waved his hand, and the tired and dusty soldiers in the rear were released and walked towards Earl Sauron.

"Leave the gold coins here for now, Baron Ryan. Maybe you only have the qualifications to take a look at them, and you can't afford the price."

Count Sauron said in a calm tone, and Ryan did not move, with a smile on his face. He finally understood why nobles liked to start a war with trash talk.

"I thought so too, so that I don't have to make another trip after today."

"It's two trips, it's very tiring."

There are six hundred captives, including three gold knights, nine silver knights and thirty bronze knights. Don't underestimate this number, because this is the number of knights under Count Sauron's command excluding the Dragonblood Warrior Legion.

There are already quite a few.

They had reached Lord Sauron and knelt before him to ask for forgiveness, but the latter said nothing. Soon, the six hundred prisoners stood beside the supplies and began to put on armor and weapons.

This is what Count Sauron thought. These soldiers could turn around and become the fighting force to attack Baron Ryan.

It wouldn't be so sad if he died, unlike the three thousand dragonblood warriors behind him.

Yes, three thousand.

At its peak, the Sauron family had 5,000 dragonblood warriors, but the wars over the years, especially the assassination by Count Weiss, caused a sharp drop in their numbers, and the outside world used this to evaluate the weakness of Count Sauron.

However, compared with Baron Ryan, the advantage is still huge.

Wearing armor is a very troublesome thing. The speed of the six hundred soldiers is not fast, but while they are putting on the armor, the eight hundred cavalrymen behind Ryan have already moved.

The iron hooves trampled and charged into the swamp that had not yet solidified for ten thousand years, bringing up countless mud.

"How dare you launch the attack first?"

Count Sauron was somewhat angry and commanded his own extraordinary army.

"Form a formation! Make sure they never return!"

The Dragonblood Warrior Legion, which is composed entirely of heavily armored infantry, is least afraid of cavalry attacks. Their defense and tremendous strength are enough to be compared with the charging cavalry. Once the cavalry is trapped by them, they will only be slaughtered.

However, the Northern Warhorses were extremely fast. When they were about to touch the Dragon Blood Warrior Legion, they suddenly swept to both sides like a river and gathered behind the Dragon Blood Warrior Legion, where were the 600 prisoners who had not yet put on their weapons and equipment.

"Kill them!"

Brand roared, his blood boiling, and he turned into a bloody stag, roaring forward. The warhorse under him seemed to have become the stag's hooves, trampling forward with a wild torrent of energy.

The six hundred soldiers had not slept well during this period and had consumed a huge amount of physical energy. At this moment, they were putting on heavy weapons and armor. They could not avoid the cavalry charge at all. When the two sides collided, even the extraordinary knights among them could not put up any reasonable resistance.

The eight hundred cavalrymen passed by the six hundred extremely exhausted soldiers as if they were trampling on a wheat field. Wherever they passed, all the soldiers fell down. If they were less lucky, they would be trampled by the iron hooves of the following war horses, and there was no possibility of survival at all.

The Dragonblood Warrior Legion, as an extraordinary legion of heavy armored infantry, their speed is their most deadly point. This speed causes them to react but not have time to rescue the 600 soldiers in the rear.

Boom! ! !
The horses stomped their iron hooves and turned their heads a hundred meters away, then split into two groups again, and continued to charge around the dragon blood warrior legion in the middle.

Brand took out the beast bow behind him. For the first time in such a long time, the power of this bow was shown to the eyes of the northern nobles.

The bloody energy of the stag gathered on the arrow, and the energy and blood gathered into a fighting skill. The moment the arrow left the string, it was like a sharp spear across the sky.

The Spear of Heroic Spirits, this sanctuary-level knight's combat skill, seems a bit dry and simple compared to many combat skills, but it has an advantage that many combat skills cannot match.

That is, it can act on any offensive means in the form of qi and blood.

The sharp arrow flew across the sky for dozens of meters in an instant, pierced through the chest of a dragon blood warrior, came out from the back, bringing up a column of blood, and then pierced the chest of the second dragon blood warrior behind him.

A faint dragon might came from within the chest, and the dragon blood warrior's eyes became as violent as a giant dragon. One man affected the entire army. All the soldiers in the entire dragon blood warrior legion became heavier at this moment, and the armor covering their entire bodies actually began to sink little by little in the swamp.

They became stronger and heavier, which also caused them to slow down.

Faced with arrows from all directions, they could certainly make an effective defense, but they could not contact the 800 cavalrymen around them, so they could only passively take the beating. In a short period of time, more than a dozen dragon blood warriors fell under the archery of several powerful knights.

"Humph!"

Count Sauron snorted coldly, and Feder beside him understood and took out a scroll.

Count Sauron, don't you know the weaknesses of your own extraordinary army?

This is an extraordinary world, and many weaknesses can be changed.

"Forbidden Spell: Breath of the Wind Dragon!"

The scroll was torn open, and a strong wind suddenly rose above the earth, gathering on all the dragonblood warriors. They, who were wearing hundreds of pounds of burdensome clothes, suddenly became extremely light, and they ran wildly on the swamp and killed the surrounding cavalry.

No matter how fast the cavalry was, it could not change direction 90 degrees in an instant. A dragon blood warrior directly threw the greatsword in his hand. Under the tremendous force, the Northern Warhorse was torn into a bloody mouth. There was an even more powerful knight in front, and the warhorse was split into two. The frozen earth knight on it also vomited blood and flew out, and could not get up after struggling for several times.

"Baron Ryan, you still underestimate the existence of the Extraordinary Legion."

"The reason why they are extraordinary is that they have long since departed from the fighting style of ordinary people!"

Count Thoron was watching Lion from a distance, waiting for Baron Lion to admit defeat, or to admit defeat after most of his cavalry had died.

"is it?"

“I really got to see it today.”

Ryan nodded. Fortunately, he never thought that the current Bucks Legion could defeat the Dragon Blood Warrior Legion which was several times larger than them.

There is still a gap between the quasi-supernatural legion and the supernatural legion.

"Mage Luna, from now on, we will have delicious food and spicy drinks. It all depends on whether you can do it."

Ryan spoke, and behind him, between the two hundred militiamen, smooth stones began to move, and under the influence of the golem emblem, they condensed into the shape of stone men.

Golem Puppet Luna Mage, strictly speaking, this is Ryan's biggest trump card.

It is not just a golem puppet, but also a life with wisdom. It is the lifelong learning of Master Luna, and it is the power to fight against the dead winter in the north.

The golem puppet is not tall, only three to five meters at most. This is the change after Master Luna came to the Frozen Territory. The cavalrymen riding on war horses can almost reach her shoulders.

"I'm not good at fighting."

The voice of Mage Luna echoed, which was totally incompatible with the extraordinary life of the golem puppet, but the next moment, the power that truly matched the mage descended.

She stood on the earth, with endless earth power and magic factors gathering towards her under her feet. She punched the ground in front of her, and in an instant, circles of ripples visible to everyone's naked eye spread across the swamp.

Afterwards, the swamp that had been solid due to the cold weather suddenly softened completely, and the ground under everyone's feet turned into a real swamp.

That’s not all. In this swamp with a radius of several hundred meters, there are protruding conical stone pillars. If it were just that, it would be fine. But what if the speed of these protruding stone pillars reaches a hundred meters per second?

Bang bang bang bang! ! !

The hard armors of the dragonblood warriors were smashed into pieces, and they flew into the air, then fell into the swamp and were swallowed and drowned by it.

The suffocating feeling of being unable to breathe threw the Dragon Blood Warrior Legion into chaos at this moment.

"I'm good at magic."

Mage Luna said this, then stood up. The two gems at the position of her eyes sparkled. From all directions, huge stones floated beside her and smashed towards the two sky knights who were rushing towards her.

Stones came in an endless stream. This was a combination of the simplest pumice spell and some kind of life magic. They were poured out by Master Luna and were in no way inferior to those powerful magics.

(End of this chapter)