The Knight's Journey to the Empire

"Then may I ask you, Lord Earl, do you think that the offensive and defensive mutual assistance alliance between the Kingdom of Midburg and the Principality of Golia has the possibility of achieving final victory?" Soran asked with a bitter look on his face and a hint of hope in his tone.

Although in his heart he might have already guessed the final outcome of this war, deep down in his heart, he still held on to a glimmer of hope!

Maybe these two countries, which have been passed down for more than three hundred years, are secretly hiding some special power or mysterious weapons as their ultimate trump card?

And all these were things that a mere hereditary baron like him could not access, or even know!

In fact, to be honest, Sauron does not want war to happen, at least he does not want war to come at this moment!

Because the development of White Bear Territory has just started and is in the early stages of vigorous development!

Moreover, his own strength is not strong enough now, and he can't even defend against an assassin!

Therefore, if the White Bear Lord is accidentally dragged into such a huge war, he will probably end up being shattered and wiped out!

Of course, more importantly, unless it was absolutely necessary, Sauron was reluctant to give up the White Bear Territory, his initial territory!

After all, having run this business for so long, Sauron has some emotional ties to both people and things!

Faced with Soran's question, Countess Katis did not answer directly, but asked helplessly: "Baron Soran, do you believe in the existence of miracles?"

Soran was stunned, but he still answered: "Miracle? What miracle? Is there any miracle that can happen in this war?"

Countess Katis shook her head and said helplessly: "Yes! Baron Soran, unless a miracle happens, our chances of winning this war are really slim!"

Miracle?

Sauron curled his lips helplessly, feeling a little speechless!

How does the saying go: Those who believe in miracles are as remarkable as the miracles themselves!

But Sauron would not pin his hopes of survival on this illusory miracle, nor would he think that just because he is a time traveler, he can create miracles and turn the tide!

Otherwise, the grass on his grave would be three meters high by now!

Sauron is not that arrogant!

With a heart full of doubts and puzzlement, Soran continued to ask: "My Lord Earl, don't you have a way out for yourself?"

Hearing this, Countess Katis couldn't help but sigh, with a hint of sadness and helplessness in her sigh: "Baron Soran, now that things have come to this, do you think we still have a way out?"

She paused, and continued in an increasingly heavy tone, "In fact, I know that the current situation is like this. I am no different from you little nobles. We all have no way to retreat!"

"Perhaps other great nobles in the kingdom may be able to exchange some escape routes by surrendering, but for me, this path is obviously not feasible! Therefore, I have no choice but to fight to the death!"

After saying this, Countess Katis felt relaxed and refreshed!

Because she has been under a lot of pressure during this period of time, and Sauron's arrival gives her someone to talk to!

After all, as Countess Katis said, she had no choice!

……

In the Kingdom of Midburg, Countess Katis is a noblewoman of distinguished status and esteem, possessing wealth, position, beauty and other advantages!

This is really enviable!

But what if the Kingdom of Midburg is destroyed in this war?

Then Countess Katis is just a widow whose country and husband have been destroyed!

At this time, those so-called advantages will be reversed and become her weaknesses!

As for the noble countess with such a special status, which greedy invader would not be drooling over her and wish to eat her up along with all her assets?

Therefore, by then, the end of this noble and graceful Countess Katis would probably be more tragic than that of the petty nobles like Soran!

Moreover, judging from the geopolitical environment of the Kingdom of Midburg, the four parties really have no other options and no way to escape!

Therefore, the only way is to fight to the death, and perhaps you can still have a chance of survival!

But that is just the idea of ​​the "natives" of the Kingdom of Midburg!

As a time traveler, Soran doesn't think he has reached the end of his rope!

……

To the north of the Kingdom of Midburg are the majestic and endless Anatolian Mountains and the extremely cold ice fields separated by the mountains.

The climatic conditions there are as bad as those in Siberia in winter!

So if you want to leave a way to retreat, you definitely cannot run to the north!

But the situation in the east of Midburg Kingdom is different!

There is a vast, boundless and magnificent ocean!

Therefore, if the future war situation is unfavorable, fleeing to this vast sea area would be a wise choice!

After all, the sky is high for birds to fly and the sea is wide for fish to leap!

In this endless ocean, isn't there a suitable place to live?

Moreover, as a time traveler who has received modern education, Sauron is well aware of the great opportunities and broad development space contained in this ocean!

Therefore, the main purpose of Sauron's trip was to leave a way out in the ocean!

Of course, to realize these beautiful visions, you must have a firm foothold in the turbulent ocean!

Instead of being like those pirates who have no fixed place to live, wandering around, going with the flow and leaving their life and death to fate!

However, if he only relies on the power of a little baron like him to prepare this escape route, it is obviously not enough!

Therefore, he must work together with Countess Katis to increase the probability of success!

……

"My Lord Earl, I do have a way out. I wonder if you would like to hear it!" Sauron said with a smile, a cunning light flashing in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Countess Katis raised her eyebrows slightly, and her eyes immediately revealed a strong interest. She responded tentatively: "Oh? Then tell me first!"

Seeing this, Soran asked, "I wonder what special opinions the Earl has about the vast ocean east of the kingdom?"

"The sea?" Countess Katis frowned slightly, but after a moment's thought, she knew what Soran was planning, so she asked back: "So Baron Soran wants to suggest that we escape to the sea?"

Soran nodded in agreement!

Countess Katis fell into deep thought!

..............................

Soran had long been aware of the development of the Kingdom of Midburg in the maritime industry!

How do I describe this situation?

Hmm~ That’s a good way to describe it!

To call it “backward” might be an understatement!

Because this is extremely backward!

To what extent is it lagging behind?

Everyone should understand if I just say one sentence!

That is their recorded history, albeit over a period of nearly 5000 years!

However, even with the development of society, the field of navigation has not yet produced a sailing boat that can be driven by wind!

Instead, it still uses the most primitive method of manual paddling to propel the ship.

So, isn’t this “extremely backward”?

However, considering the scope of their marine activities, which are basically limited to the offshore waters of the continental shelf, this level is sufficient!

……

As for the main factors hindering the development of the Kingdom of Midburg's maritime industry, in addition to the backward ship production technology and its inability to cope with long-distance voyages!

What is more important is that deep in the hearts of the people, they always have a deep awe for this vast ocean!

For example, all kinds of natural disasters that come suddenly and violently: howling hurricanes, earth-shaking tsunamis, and torrential rains;

There are also the corpses of giant sea beasts that are washed up on the shore from the depths of the ocean, or various rumors and anecdotes about the appearance of terrifying sea monsters...

All these things make people feel awe for this mysterious sea!

Some people don’t even dare to choose to settle down by the sea, but try to migrate inland as much as possible!

……

Here is an example:

Twenty years ago, a sudden and powerful hurricane roared in from the eastern ocean without any warning and landed in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Essex.

And what comes with it are equally fierce storms and raging waves!

In the end, this hurricane not only caused devastating floods, but also triggered a devastating tsunami!

During that period of disaster, the entire eastern region of the Kingdom of Essex seemed to be punished by God and plunged into doomsday, making people despair as if they were falling into the abyss of hell!

After the disaster, the fields were flooded, houses collapsed, roads were damaged, everyone fled, and the land was filled with grief and devastation!

This natural disaster has undoubtedly brought endless pain and losses to the local people!

In this disaster, many people in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Essex were unfortunately washed away by the flood or swept away by huge waves, and their lives were lost.

According to incomplete statistics, the number of deaths and missing persons caused by this disaster exceeded 80,000, which is close to 1% of the population of the entire Kingdom of Essex.

[Note: The population of the Kingdom of Essex in the setting is about 10 million. ]

The Kingdom of Essex was directly damaged by this disaster, and its development was set back by several years!

Although more than 20 years have passed, the number of civilians who choose to continue living in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Essex is still less than half of the number before the disaster.

Even if the country enacts an immigration policy to encourage relocation, that won’t work!

Because of that terrible hurricane and the natural disasters that followed, people will forever remember the power of the ocean.

Therefore, from this we can see how strong the fear of the ocean is among ordinary people!

Even though time has passed and memories have become blurred, this fear is still deeply engraved in their hearts and is difficult to erase!

……

There is another important reason why the maritime industry of the Kingdom of Middeburg has not achieved breakthrough development: the official power of the Kingdom of Middeburg no longer attaches importance to the development of the ocean!

In the entire Kingdom of Midburg, whether it is the upper echelons of the kingdom or the local nobles, their degree of development and utilization of marine resources is quite limited!

At present, it may be limited to two aspects: obtaining sea salt and catching offshore fish.

What's worse, some narrow-minded, ignorant and superstitious local nobles, fearing the so-called "revenge" from the ocean, actually issued an absurd policy prohibiting residents of their territory from going out to sea to fish!

This conservative and self-contained approach has undoubtedly seriously hindered the development of the Midburg Kingdom's marine industry!

Of course, if the most important reason is to be said, it is that in the vast and boundless ocean, ships lack effective tools to guide their direction!

This makes it extremely easy for ships to lose their way during sailing, and eventually disappear in the vast ocean, or be directly buried in the vast ocean!

In fact, since ancient times, no matter what stage of development human society is in, there has never been a shortage of brave and fearless adventurers!

These adventurers are keen on challenging themselves, conquering nature, or exploring the unknown world.

Among them, there are definitely explorers who want to conquer the ocean!

But faced with the rough sea, these ambitious explorers all failed without exception!

In the end, they were all swallowed up by the boundless ocean, without any news or trace, and failed to cause any waves!

..............................

Since the founding of the Kingdom of Middeburg, the Earl's family of Katis has been granted the coastal city of Garnisee, and has developed the industry of sea salt production into a pillar industry on which the family relies for survival and prosperity.

So this family can be said to have lived by the sea for generations, accompanied by this vast ocean!

Therefore, although they all have a deep awe for this mysterious and magnificent sea!

But they do not have some overly distorted fear or phobia like ordinary civilians.

So when Sauron boldly proposed to find a way out on the ocean!

Although Countess Katis thought it was a bit absurd, she did not refuse out loud at the first time, but began to think hard about it.

The city of Ganise was originally a port city located on the seaside, so its development was also accompanied by various marine resource development activities!

As the actual controller of the city of Ganise, Countess Katis is naturally no stranger to navigation.

And because the Count Katis family has been in charge of the city of Ganise for so many years, they have more or less inherited some experience in aspects such as the ocean and navigation!

It’s just that due to the relatively backward shipbuilding technology, the ships built in the port of Ganise City can only sail in the coastal waters of the Kingdom of Midburg, or enter the inland waterways from the ocean!

However, the farthest distance they have ever sailed was to the Free City of Ancortina!