Throne of the North.

Chapter 289: Winter, Snow, and Silence
Before we knew it, the harvest day had passed, and Mage Yelena, the biggest contributor this year, also stood at the highest point of Rhino Horn Mountain.

The cold wind whistling in her ears was like an ice knife, and Mage Yelena had to wrap herself in a thick cloak to resist the chill on the mountain top.

"My lord the baron."

"Mage Yelena, this year's grain harvest is 30% more than last year. Your magic research will surely be known throughout the empire."

Mage Yelena blushed a little.

"I just used the food research results of other provinces. I am not as good as those powerful mages."

"I believe you can be on par with Master McKen."

Ryan said with a smile that in his vision, the slaves on the terraced fields had begun to use leaves and branches as greenhouses to cover the land in order to maintain the temperature of the soil.

"The Mage Path..."

Yelena was silent. She still didn't know how to go further. It was too difficult for a magician to make a breakthrough. Her talent seemed to have helped her reach the end.

If not, she would not have followed Master McKen to the icy frozen land.

“Is it not possible even if we have resources?”

It was not until Master Yelena expressed her helplessness that Ryan could not help but ask.

In his opinion, as long as there are enough resources, even a legend can be created.

“Resources are critical, but it’s not the same now as it was before.”

Mage Yelena shook her head and said:
"More than a hundred years ago, before the Pan-Dimensional War of Gods, the cultivation path of magicians was not like it is now. A magician was a magician. A magician could master water blade magic, turn flames into beasts, and master magic of multiple attributes at the same time. The areas of research were also very diverse."

"It didn't work that way later. After the Empire drove away the Church and welcomed the magicians, the magicians' training systems and methods became more detailed. It was not easy for a magician to make a breakthrough in research in just one direction."

Ryan understood a little bit after hearing this. It was just like the era of the technological explosion. Technology exploded in just a few decades, but then began to slow down a little bit, and many detailed disciplines were born.

Magicians are like researchers in laboratories.

More than a hundred years ago, research was focused on the vast universe. More than a hundred years later, even life magic alone is unlikely to achieve an epoch-making breakthrough.

"So, next year's wheat seeds won't be able to grow as strong as this year's, right?"

Ryan finally asked, he thought it would be the same next year and the year after, and the yield of each acre of land would increase by more than 20 kilograms.

“It’s good if it doesn’t decrease.”

Yelena looked helplessly at the cold wind blowing from the north.

"After this year, the quality of the terraced fields will probably decline, and the deep soil will turn into frozen ground."

"My Lord Baron, your method of using magic crystals to warm the land is good, but the price is too high."

Ryan did not deny this, but he also had no intention of stopping.

He still has a lot of magic crystals in his hands, so it would be better to use them early.

Mage Yelena left the top of the mountain and returned to the castle to wait for the evening banquet. Master Ryan stood alone on the top of the mountain. The cold wind blew his noble clothes. As the sun slowly set, the chill made his neck shrink.

"Snowing."

There was some shock in Ryan's eyes. It was snowing, and the autumn harvest had just passed. Even last year's winter with a blizzard would have come a month and a half later than now.

But this year, it was harvested a month and a half earlier. If the harvest had not been quick, wouldn’t a lot of food have been frozen in the fields?
"How could it be so fast?"

Ryan did not deny that it would be very cold this year, but he did not expect it to be so sudden.

The arrival of wind and snow made the entire Frozen Territory quiet overnight. The bustling towns and bustling taverns yesterday were now deserted. The people of Frozen Territory hurriedly walked on the streets in thick clothes, and the largest number of them became slaves who cleaned the streets.

Under the wind and snow, what is covered is not only the houses, but also the breath of life in countless people's hearts.

Because many people will die in winter.

The colder the winter, the more people will die.

The forest was no longer filled with chirping sounds, and there were no more sporadic wild animals foraging on the frozen glacier at the foot of Rhino Horn Mountain. Amid the hustle and bustle of the Baron's castle and the bright lights of the flames, the frozen ground at night was covered in silver.

This belongs to the Frozen Territory, but in other noble territories in Lingdu County, they have not yet waited for the arrival of flying snow. Only the cold wind blew through the mountains and forests in the south of the Frozen Territory, and through the swamps, the grass and trees were covered with frost, and everyone felt a layer of coldness coming.

The enthusiasm of the North Wind Province seemed to be extinguished by the wind from the north. Viscount Dragun, who had just walked out of the Marquis's mansion in anger, subconsciously shrank his neck, shivered, and then hid in the carriage without coming out.

"Why is it so cold?"

……

“It’s going to be very cold this year.”

In Longshan County, Count Sauron stood at the highest point of Longshan City. Due to the obstruction of high mountains, the cold wind could not blow directly to Longshan City where he was, but he still felt it. It was the instinct after bathing in dragon blood.

"It would be great if we could flood the frozen land."

He thought so, but suddenly remembered that Baron Ryan had been transporting firewood from another world for the past few months.

He thought about himself.

"That's too late."

Firewood cannot be used right after it is chopped; it needs to be dried and baked. Otherwise, the gases produced by the burning will make the slaves and civilians, who already have poor resistance, sick, which is even more troublesome.

He wanted to make up for his loss and ordered the people from the other world to bring back some firewood, but doing so would inevitably affect the distribution of property in the mine, so he gave up.

Anyway, Longshan County has a geographical advantage. It is not located in the northern border like the Frozen Territory, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Frozen collar.

Ryan received a letter from the Melendez family. It was not an easy task to deliver a letter from Calais Province to Borean Province, especially now that there were no caravans coming.

When his father-in-law sent the letter, he also brought some supplies, including salted fish and spirits from the west coast, which was another sign of support for Baron Ryan.

But there are no such good things in the world. Ryan guessed that the Melendez family might have taken advantage of the Clayton family and after getting some benefits, they shared the profits with Baron Ryan.

After all, the biggest bond between the Melendez family and the Clayton family today is Baron Ryan.

Most of the letter was nonsense, and only at the very end did Viscount Melendez mention arms.

"The war in the south is in full swing. The nobles' armies need a large amount of military equipment, no longer limited to armor and weapons."

The meaning between the lines is that the Melendez family wants to get a batch of arms from Baron Ryan, and then transport them to the prosperous West Coast through their fleet channels, and then send them from the West Coast to the battlefield of Thousand Lakes Province to make a fortune. The quantity is not large, and Viscount Melendez is a good businessman, but he also needs to test the market of this matter first.

Naturally, there was no need for Ryan to refuse. He had surplus production, so it would be nice to take out a portion of it for trading.

"Winter is here, and everyone is no longer busy. They start hiding in the castle and thinking about next year."

Ryan was walking on the streets of the Frozen Territory. A snowstorm came overnight, and the only place in the entire Frozen Territory that continued to make clanging sounds was the Blacksmith Street.

There was no snow here, but the streets were wet. The scorching blacksmith shops prevented the snow from accumulating and melting into water. This made Ryan wonder if there should be a water circulation system in his territory.

No one liked to go out in the snow, and the roads between the nobles were hidden among the weeds, but the Frozen Territory still welcomed a guest, Roland, the second son of Grand Duke McReynolds.

He came to find Baron Ryan, but he came more to find Brock.

"Master Brock, my brother Otto McReynolds wants your help in forging a heavy hammer."

"I have brought all the materials. When do you think we can start forging?"

Roland looked at Brock, who was lying in a chair snoring loudly, surrounded by empty wine jugs.

Roland felt helpless at this sight, and then he saw Baron Ryan walking in.

"My Lord Baron, do you think it is possible to let Master Brock start forging? After all, I have brought you a huge fortune."

Ryan laughed and said:
"Mr. Roland, I gave you a 10% discount, so you didn't lose anything."

"As for the heavy hammer Mr. Otto needs, you know that forging this thing is a waste of time, and it won't improve Brock's skills much. He still has to forge the 'Snow Dragon's Song'."

"We will give you adequate compensation."

"We are friends, so there is no need to talk about the reward, right?"

Ryan looked at Roland and asked:

"Grand Duke McReynolds, what exactly are you going to do? Are you really planning to turn against the Andara royal family?"

Roland's arrival was unusual because he arrived riding a griffin. Even though it was night, Ryan could still see the handsomeness and nobility of the griffin flying in the sky.

This showed that he came completely on behalf of the Grand Duke, and the result did not surprise Ryan. The tripling of the arms order shocked Ryan.

The nobles of the Andara Kingdom are not limited to relying on the iron ore in the North Wind Province to forge equipment, so why would they need so much?

"We are in the same boat now. If Mr. Roland doesn't have this bit of sincerity, it will be hard for us to trust each other."

Roland was silent for a long time, then sighed and said:
"Baron Ryan, to be honest with you, my father will be preparing to go to war with several noble lords in the south next spring."

"The land of the Andara Kingdom will never be handed over to outsiders. My father, Grand Duke McReynolds, is loyal to the kingdom and the royal family, and will not allow the glory of McReynolds to decline in his hands."

"The old king is old and incompetent and cannot see the world clearly, but my father will be loyal to what he is loyal to."

"We will fight for the Kingdom of Andara."

It sounded very high-sounding, but Ryan only heard one meaning from it, that is, war was about to break out in the south of the Andara Kingdom.

At the same time, Grand Duke McReynolds began to openly oppose the King of Andara.

That old king... probably died shorter because of anger, right?
"Brok will help you forge the heavy hammer, but as for the reward...how about a griffin?"

Ryan asked tentatively:

"Brock often needs to go to the northern land to look for forging materials, but it is very inconvenient for him without a flying mount. The snow mountain eagle in my territory cannot really fly either."

I thought Roland would refuse, but unexpectedly, after thinking for less than a minute, Roland agreed.

"We will present Master Brock with a griffin as a token of my brother's sincerity."

Ryan looked a little envious and said:
"Then I wonder if you can sell me two?"

Who knew that this time Roland directly refused.

"My Lord Baron, the griffin is not for sale. In the past, only those who were recognized by my father could be given a griffin. So far, I know of less than ten people who have been recognized."

The McReynolds family is not the only one in the world that has griffins, but this is the place where one can most easily see these amphibious monsters.

Ryan didn't care. If there was no one, then there was no one.

Brock has woken up and started forging a heavy hammer for the Grand Duke's heir. Ryan took a look at the blueprint and couldn't help but be amazed. This might not be something used for siege.

Thinking of siege, Ryan once again remembered the letter from Viscount Melendez. The battlefield in the south no longer needed only armor and weapons, but also some more terrifying war creations.

In other words...the scale of the war has intensified.

What was originally just small-scale fighting and hunting is gradually evolving into a large-scale legion war.

"Should I also recruit some alchemists for my territory?"

Magical creations are expensive and delicate, but alchemists are much more approachable and serve the public.

Unfortunately, there is no Alchemist Academy in the empire now, and he doesn't know where to recruit outstanding alchemists.

Ryan also left his knight's sword with Brock. He was already a golden knight, but the weapon in his hand could not keep up, especially when he released his powerful energy and blood, the dragon flame brought about. An ordinary knight's sword would turn into molten iron in his hand.

Leaving the blacksmith shop, there are no so-called thousands of lights in the town. Every household is quiet. Lighting and warmth are expensive for these ordinary people.

Back in the castle, Ryan was intoxicated by the luxury of the nobility. He felt pity when he saw his people enduring the cold, and he lived a fulfilling life without any guilt.

In another world, he was just such an ordinary person. At this moment in the wind and snow, he forgot the flattery that the nobles of the North Wind Province had given him, Baron Ryan. He was always an ordinary person, not a god who was praised to the sky.

“Perhaps this is why I have this power.”

Ryan looked at the illusory panel that appeared in front of him.

Absorbing spirituality and grasping divinity, but he would never become a part of it.

Because of his sincerity, perhaps his heart was in harmony with some mysterious power at this moment. The stars in the sky twinkled at this moment, and then Ryan felt...

new world.

"The Wild World is not dead yet, so I can open a new portal?"

Ryan was surprised. He thought that only after one world died completely could he open the door to a new dimension.

　Starting tomorrow, the daily jackpot!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)