Throne of the North.

Chapter 528: The Frozen Territory’s Defense Line, East of the Kingdom
His fingers gently touched the sharp thorns, which had no effect on Ryan's skin, but he still felt a tingling sensation.

Such thorns will make many enemies despair and discourage them.

But it's not enough.

Ryan stood in front of the thorn jungle, and the seven-digit spiritual balance on the spiritual panel began to flow away madly. In less than a minute, two hundred thousand spiritual powers disappeared, and instead, the thorn jungle in front of him began to expand madly.

They followed Ryan's will and moved towards the more open areas on both sides. Along the way, the stones under their feet were pierced by the roots, the trees collapsed, and then their life essence was devoured by this spiritual plant. It was visible to the naked eye that the trees on the foothills broke and disappeared one by one, becoming its food.

The thorn bush is alive. Just like life, it actively eats its competitors under the urging of the spirit, and then takes root deeply under the ground. The snow cannot stop its progress, and the barrenness and cold will not make the thorn bush afraid in the slightest.

It was born of the North, and only the most swift of feet can traverse it.

"Before the Great Wall was built, it was the strongest line of defense in the Frozen Territory. The orcs could no longer cross it and appear before us."

Ryan said happily that this spiritual plant gave him a great sense of security and could also provide him with sustainable spiritual income.

There was only one road in the thorn bush. Ryan walked through it and headed further north. The mountains gradually disappeared into the distance, and what appeared before him was an endless snowfield.

Many people live in igloos here, and this is also the site of the Great Wall in the North.

It is also the only place in the Frozen Territory that is currently vulnerable to orc attacks.

"Those orcs haven't come recently?"

Ryan asked Wolfskin Ulf, who shook his head and said:

"The weather is too cold, and they are unwilling to get close to here. The wolves we brought have already taken root in the snowfield, and they will encounter the orcs before us."

The wolf pack that Ulf mentioned are naturally the white wolves and black wolves from the world of Gam and Fenrir. After they came here, they came to the North almost instinctively. Hundreds of years of evolution have made them more adaptable to the environment here.

"But...it's a little strange."

Wolfe said:
"I have secretly visited the orc tribes. They are very close to us, and because of their huge population losses, the food pressure is not as great as we imagined. However, they will still keep trying to approach us."

Ryan asked:

"What's your guess?"

Wulf thought for a moment before speaking.

"It may be because werewolves have been killing orcs on a large scale recently. They have suffered heavy losses in the war. Perhaps they are worried that other orc tribes will threaten their position and cause great panic among other orcs. They would rather face us than confront the werewolves."

There are reasons and evidence, and I can't think of any new answers.

But this still made Ryan alert.

"I'll have Brand cooperate with you. Be on high alert."

Ryan thought of a full-scale invasion by orcs.

In the Norris continent, one-third of the land in the south belongs to humans. In the northern two-thirds of the world that is completely covered by the North, orcs occupy a vast territory, which accounts for almost the same one-third of the Norris continent.

That was once the most prosperous central area of ​​Norris.

After arriving in the North, the northernmost one-third, no, it should be less than one-third, but only one-fifth of the area, even the strongest orcs would not be able to adapt, let alone an extreme environment that humans could not afford to compromise.

There is no ordinary life there, and perhaps only extraordinary life forms like frost giants can survive.

So strictly speaking, the orc family occupies almost the most territory, but they are generally concentrated in the north, close to humans.

This should be due to the arrival of the North causing the orcs to move south, preferring the warmth from the human direction. However, the previous all-out war of the six orc kings against humans was too crude, and seemed to be carried out under the will of the great gods.

The orcs' gods have also awakened? This shouldn't be the case. Neither Dawn nor Light gave any warning, and Archbishop Adriana didn't mention it to Ryan.

It seems a bit unreasonable to order the orcs to invade humans before waking up.

The gods have nothing to do and want to reap some of their own leeks? To speed up their own awakening?

The orcs performed a series of actions without warning, which was inconsistent with the orcs' stupid and savage instincts.

"That [Undead] Brener should bring back accurate results when he returns."

Ryan thought of the legendary soul magician who went to the North and has not returned yet. Perhaps he went to the North because he sensed something.

After leaving the site of the Great Wall, Ryan returned to Rhino Horn Mountain and began to deal with various affairs of the Frozen Territory with Etria.

The slaves and civilians in this world are so easy to use that there is no such thing as hypocrisy. The instinctive obedience to the nobles is ingrained in their bones.

This made Ryan feel a lot more relaxed, but as the snow melted faster and faster and spring gradually arrived, he was no longer relaxed.

Winter goes and spring comes, and all things revive, which means that what was not completed last year will continue. Between royal power and divine power, blood and fire ignite the madness of both sides.

However, what Ryan did not expect was that the place where the dispute this year started was not in the Thousand Lakes Province in the south, but in the north.

Count Pascal arrived at Lingdu City.

His appearance forced Ryan to leave his docile frozen land and go to the frozen land to meet this great noble with ancient heritage.

The Gargoyle Legion may be the oldest group of extraordinary legions in the entire Norris continent.

They were born at the beginning of the establishment of the Church of Dawn, walked out of the eternal magic-forbidden stone, and launched the first massacre of magicians.

Count Pascal came to Lingdu City because his gargoyle army received the emperor's order to serve as the protector of the Andara Kingdom. This represented the empire's attention to the kingdom, and it was also the beginning of the empire's great nobles' true trust in Count Pascal.

The Gargoyle Legion and the Dragon Legion need to protect the Andara Kingdom, the only kingdom in the world.

"The blood of the Andara royal family has been purified. The emperor's methods are very mysterious. The bright beam of faith almost illuminated the Andara royal city for three dark nights, making it as clear as day."

"This miracle has made the people of the kingdom begin to believe in light on a large scale, and His Highness Nix has made an indelible contribution to this."

"The believers of light will naturally reject the dawn. Some chaos broke out in the Andara Kingdom, but it was quickly suppressed by the royal army. All the nobles saw the new palace army that the royal family was gradually forming."

"The royal family's majesty is rising again, and the Dawn Church is furious about this."

"The Crusades of Redemption that suppressed the disobedience of the Dawn Road did not return to the Holy Mountain, but came to the north."

"That legion is currently searching for Bishop Tariq's whereabouts. Even the elves have to pay a price, and they will head north soon."

"They may not necessarily enter the Kingdom of Sera..."

Before meeting Count Pascal, Ryan first checked the news from the two eastern kingdoms. Apparently, the ban on the ascetic monks last year and the defeat of the Kingdom of Serra made the Pope feel humiliated and dissatisfied. He needed to make the southern lands realize the power of the Dawn Church, and no one could surrender to the Empire.

Then, Ryan saw Count Pascal again, whose face remained unchanged.

"My Lord Count."

Ryan saluted, standard aristocratic etiquette engraved on his body's instinct.

"Baron Ryan."

Count Pascal nodded. Everyone in the empire knew that the barons in the north were more than just barons. "Why are you here in person?"

Ryan asked. First of all, this is his territory. Secondly, as a noble earl, there is no need for Count Pascal to come to this bitter and cold place to suffer.

"Zero Crossing City is very prosperous, and I have to come."

"The reason why the Holy See did not attack the Thousand Lakes Province, but started a war in the north, was because of me."

Count Pascal said, which shocked Ryan, not because of the Kingdom of Andara, but because of this gargoyle count?
"There are many people on the Holy Mountain who want to kill me."

When Count Pascal said this, Ryan's first reaction was disbelief.

Ryan didn't believe it, and neither did the great nobles and the emperor of the empire, but Count Pascal did not give any further explanation.

"In short, this will be a difficult war, and I have to be here."

"There is also the Flying Dragon Corps. They have already entered the Andara Kingdom. Together with the royal army, they will eliminate the Rhinoceros Orcs in the north of the kingdom within a month."

"I heard that the command of the Dragon Legion is not in the hands of Commander Farrell?"

Ryan asked, this was something he had only recently learned about, but it wasn't new.

In the Winged Canyon, Farrell is the commander-in-chief, but he only directly commands the Violent Elephant Legion and the ordinary army. The control of the Dragon Legion has always been in the hands of the royal family.

Lauren Columbus.

He is also the uncle of Nix who died in the Kingdom of Light Church.

"The royal family spent so much effort to build the Flying Dragon Army, so they naturally won't hand it over to Farrell. He's not even a nobleman."

Pascal didn't think it was strange. Before the previous commander of Winged Canyon, the legendary knight named "Rock", left, even the royal family members were not allowed to make a fuss, but Farrell couldn't do it now.

Ryan nodded. No matter what, that extraordinary army would not fall into his hands.

"What about the Crusades? What does the Earl think of them?"

"They... that's why I'm here."

The Count's expression was serious.

"The Redemption Army that was able to defeat the noble coalition and Floyd's electoral army on the Dawn Road is not weak."

Pascal looked at Ryan and said solemnly:

"The Church has decayed, its massive branches have broken, and its roots in the soil have rotted."

"In this rotten Church of Dawn, all the bottom lines and rules are being destroyed and lowered. However, in such a rotten Church of Dawn, the sinners that are still born will be more powerful than before."

Ryan could understand this truth.

In the past, the rules of the Vatican were extremely strict, and even the clergy were required to reach their limits. If they made the slightest mistake, such as praying with their voice a beat lower, they would be arrested and thrown into prison to atone for their sins.

There may be many weak ones among them.

But now, will the Church care about such things? Those priests don't have to pray in person, not to mention that the believers dedicated to the Lord of Dawn become their playthings and are openly admired.

This kind of thing isn't enough to get you sent to jail.

So who are those Crusaders?
A priest who failed in the struggle on the Holy Mountain, or a war monster who refused to die in the abyss after making a huge mistake.

They are definitely not weak, and their methods are cruel without any bottom line, far more extreme than those corrupt clergy.

"If the war in the south does not have a result, the Kingdom of Andara in the north will become a bloody battlefield. They come with a desire for destruction."

Ryan said, still unable to help but ask.

"If it weren't for the Earl, wouldn't the Holy See send the Cross Redemption Army north?"

Ryan's intention is very simple. Without Count Pascal, the Vatican's intention to destroy the Kingdom of Andara is self-evident. So what is the significance of the importance of this count?
"Between killing King Andara and killing me, those scumbags of the Holy Mountain will definitely choose the latter."

Ryan saw the extreme coldness and desire to kill in the earl's eyes.

He still didn't tell the reason.

Count Pascal has always needed to gain the trust of the emperor and the great nobles, making them firmly believe that he is on the side of the empire. All the efforts made by the count over the years have been in this direction.

But he never told his most fundamental reason.

That's why I got all these treatments.

Ryan knew he couldn't get an answer, so he changed the subject and said:

"My friends in the east told me that this army is unlikely to enter the Kingdom of Sera."

Count Pascal looked at Ryan in surprise.

"Baron Ryan has a strong grasp of power in the North. No wonder Grand Duke Mayes mentioned that you have violated the rules of the nobles many times and trespassed into the kingdom's land without permission."

"The Grand Duke actually mentioned me personally?"

Ryan laughed, he was very satisfied with the result.

"Meyers has obtained control over the tax revenue of the Northern Wind Province for the next thirty years. It is no secret that the emperor wants to abandon the Northern Wind Province. The nobles are waiting for Meyers's move. They want to know what Meyers wants to do."

"Does Baron Ryan know? In the previous orc war, in order to gain the emperor's support, Grand Duke Meyers almost destroyed the Nightmare Knights Legion."

"It is not as easy as it seems for the Empire to fight against the six orc kings alone."

Count Pascal shook his head. This was also the reason why everyone in the empire believed that the Baron of the North was not just a baron. Ryan personally cut off the head of the Silver Moon Wolf King, one of the six royal courts.

The more the nobles knew the truth about the war, the more they cared about Ryan.

"The Nightmare Knights were almost wiped out?"

Ryan's eyes widened. Is there such a thing?
"Yes, the Behemoths are stronger than we could imagine. The Nightmare Knights tried their best to stop them at the cost of their own lives, but even so, the Twilight Fortress has become a ruin."

"Half of Twilight Province was trampled to pieces."

Count Pascal continued to talk about the situation before him.

"The Crusaders will not enter the Kingdom of Sera, so they will appear to the east of the Kingdom of Andara."

"There are also some noble territories in the east of the kingdom. Those nobles fled from the north to the south. The dignity and loyalty of their bloodline made them unwilling to surrender to any kingdom or empire."

"But they cannot reject the Dawn Church. They are also the place of faith of the Dawn."

(End of this chapter)