The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Amidst stability and expansion, the empire also ushered in its first new year in the imperial calendar.

It was still dark, but all the major cities of the empire were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, preparing to welcome the new era.

A group of retired kings and nobles from the continent of Solon went out into the streets and gave away money, fully immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere.

Instead of staying home writing books, Lucanus formed a theater troupe with the remaining bards and personally performed on the streets during the New Year.

However, according to the dream of the lantern, this would actually make Lucanus's mental state more stable, so Linde let Lucanus play around as he pleased.

News came from Isa in the North that both the Northern Church and the Grey and White Collars had spontaneously organized commemorative events for the Empire to celebrate the first New Year of the new era. The Grey and White Collars, in particular, had reportedly even created floating light boards. The magic show, which was once reserved for the nobility, was now a common sight in the major cities of the North.

Linde had just seen off Lilith, who had come to freeload on the New Year's Eve dinner, and then he and Lena went to the observation deck specially built for the palace. The couple sat together, looking up at the sky for the new year.

Lena held little Lindrick in her arms, and the two snuggled together.

Lena has now fulfilled all her original wishes, and even she probably never imagined that the girl who was once disliked by the royal family would become the empress of the empire. Not to mention Lena, even the members of the Lars family probably never expected that their eldest daughter, who was ill-mannered since childhood, would be remembered for her kindness and wisdom in later generations.

The first New Year of the Imperial Era was not peaceful. Although people were very enthusiastic about holding activities, all government departments were on high alert. Even Emperor Linde only had time to have a meal and rest with his sisters and wives after finishing his work.

At the same time, there was a report about the dragons that Linde needed to review. The dragons' abilities were far too extraordinary, not even like magic, nor like the power system of this continent. If one had to put it in a nutshell, it was more like a spatial spell, and spatial issues were related to interstellar travel.

Researching a completely new power system from scratch is a huge undertaking, but since it's the New Year, Linde decided to give himself a short break.

As Lena said to Lind, "Let's take a break and let everyone wait."

Smelling the familiar scent of soapberry around him, Linde temporarily forgot his troubles, forgot the other areas separated by the mist, forgot the eerie waves from the depths of the universe, and forgot the 550C still hanging in the sky.

As the sun slowly sets in the distance, a gentle breeze blows, and the moon and stars gradually appear.

Linde recalled the time when Lena was just his fiancée, and the two of them would squat together at the entrance of the military tent, gnawing on a roast duck that Lena had hunted. Lena had even handed him the meatiest duck leg, and her hands were covered in oil, showing none of the dignified air one might expect of an empress. Of course, she had become a little more dignified now, but not much.

Lena seemed to remember something as well, and she seemed to have returned to her former self. Leaning against Linde, the Empress, who represented the wisdom of the Empire, said to the Emperor who held all power in the gentlest tone, "Would you like some roast duck?"

"all!"

After all, two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. Linde seemed to have forgotten his own identity and wanted to reminisce with Lena.

And so, after handing Lin Derek over to the nun, the couple rather uncouthly squatted on the viewing platform and started roasting duck.

The roast duck didn't taste very good to the two of them now, especially since Lena's cooking method was still the same as before, just piling on the ingredients. But Lena still broke off a whole duck leg and handed it to Lind with her hands covered in oil, just like before.

"Is it tasty?"

"Unappetizing."

As soon as he said it, Lind and Lena both burst out laughing.

Just then, night had completely fallen, and the sounds of fireworks echoed throughout the capital.

The dazzling fireworks, enhanced by magic, bloomed even more beautifully and spectacularly, with countless fireworks resembling stars fallen from the sky, radiating dazzling light and illuminating everything on earth.

This was the first time in this world that gunpowder was not used in weapons. Amidst the dazzling sparks, the two nestled together once more.

......

Time flies, and Daniel has lost count of how many years he has spent in a corner of the Soren continent. After all, the long life on the run has made him increasingly weak and his memory has also become problematic.

Especially recently, Daniel has been seeing nuns in red robes and masks suddenly appearing around him, but thankfully it's always just a hallucination.

There weren't many demons who originally fled with Daniel, because most of them thought the empire wouldn't expand that quickly, and they wanted to continue to lord it over some of Sauron's kingdoms.

After all, no demon wanted to return to the life they once had in the eternal frozen land. Even though the remote countries on the continent of Soren were far less prosperous than the former rich regions of Cape, it was enough for the demons to start enjoying themselves.

However, as time went on, more and more demons followed Daniel in his escape, and some of them even ran faster than Daniel himself.

Because these demons never learn their lesson, after occupying those remote kingdoms with their money and bloodline magic, they began to exploit them inhumanely and sustainably, leaving the people not only full of resentment, but also wishing they could eat their flesh and sleep on their skin.

As Sean's New Castile continued to expand, the Empire gave its people opportunities. People who had been exploited by the demons, and even some knights, actively joined the ranks of those hunting demons.

Those demons who run even faster than Daniel have made a blood feud with certain people on the continent of Solon, and thus had no choice but to become running men.

The only lesson humanity has learned from history is that it doesn't learn from its mistakes. The same applies to the demons. At least humans remember their history, but the demons fabricate their own. The loosely organized demons are even more difficult to control public opinion, to the point that this race, known for betrayal and exploitation, is universally disliked even on the continent of Solon.

Fortunately, a few years ago Daniel finally found a secluded place on the edge of the Solon continent.

Besides the demons, this place is also home to many other races that are now very rare. These marginal races are very weak, and some are even still tribal. After fighting a few battles with the demons, they were cruelly trampled underfoot by them.

The demons finally gained a foothold in this isolated place. Even the most pessimistic demons felt that they were finally safe and had finally escaped the terrifying human empire.

On this day, a member of a marginal race ruled by demons went to gather resources for the demons as usual. His ears were very sensitive, which helped him avoid many dangers. But today, he heard a whisper from a human: "Why are barbarians always spawning on the borders of the empire?"