Imperial Crown.

Chapter 580 Dad, I desperately want to make something of myself...

Nord Province, Snow Maple County, Snow Maple Territory.

clank--

From within a cramped hut built of grayish-brown stone, a series of teeth-grinding, sour sounds echoed. The stone hut was unremarkable; its only redeeming feature was that it was constructed from brownstone, a local material unique to Snowmaple County. In a way, it resembled Bloodstone Fortress, built by Raven in the Orc Empire using Bloodstone. This place had originally been a church of the Church of Light, now long since dilapidated and abandoned.

A cheap candle burned in the room, its dim yellow light flickering and emitting wisps of black smoke, casting distorted and indistinct shadows of the people inside. They resembled terrifying monsters ready to devour their prey. One of them sat by a small, square windowsill, holding a gleaming sword and rhythmically sharpening it with a whetstone. The clanging sound of the sword being ground came from it. The others were also fully armed and armored, their eyes sharp, their expressions resolute, exuding a dense aura of murderous intent!
Bang!
The wooden door was kicked open, and everyone inside was startled. They all drew their swords and nervously looked towards the doorway.

A thin, frail-looking person entered, followed by another person completely shrouded in a black robe. Despite the loose-fitting robe, her graceful and exquisite figure betrayed her womanhood.

"Captain?" "You, what brings you here?"

Grand asked stiffly.

Hoyaz's gaze swept across the stone house, taking in each of them. He saw Cuman's son, Henchton; Junason's son, Pip; Count Jonah's youngest son, Moas; the late Baron Kate's son, Beta; Grand, with his obsessive-compulsive disorder and a broken right eyebrow; and Freckles, his face covered in fly droppings, sharpening a sword. All the second-generation members of his lineage, from out of town, were crammed into this small stone house. Not one was absent.

"Why can't I come?" Heyaz closed the wooden door, his expression indifferent. "Do you really think only Thor dares to be crazy? Don't I, Heyaz, dare to?" He exhaled, then pointed to the woman beside him, "Your sister-in-law, Ernada." Heyaz then took out armor from his ring and placed it on the table, letting Ernada help him put it on. "As for you, this journey... is fraught with peril. Have you all thought it through?"

"If we go and don't return," the crowd exchanged glances and shouted in unison, "then we will go and not return!"

"This time," Beta gritted his teeth, hissing like a beast, "we must kill that traitor, Vesdon!" "The Marquis has made us endure and retreat again and again!" "I really don't know what he's thinking?" "Back then he was so brave and crazy, but now, facing Habsburg, he's so hesitant and timid!"

Heaz sighed softly, his brows furrowing slightly. "Beta." "Father has his reasons."

"What utter nonsense about your reasons!"

Beta hissed, "In the end, it's all because they can't bear to part with their titles! They can't bear to part with all that wealth and glory!" "Habs and the Church of Light are practically shitting on our heads!" "What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for Habs and the Church of Light to reach an agreement and send troops to attack us together?!" "Speed ​​is of the essence in war; I don't need to explain that to you." At this point, Beta gave a cold laugh, his mouth filled with unspeakable bitterness, and said dejectedly, "When has he ever cared about the sacrifices of our brothers?" "Hoyaz," "Do you dare say that your presence here tonight is unrelated to the deaths of Banks and Lennon?"

Hoyaz fell silent.

Beta was right, and he had no words to refute him. According to past practice, and given his usual character, he would have definitely tried to dissuade everyone. But tonight, he didn't. Lennon had over a dozen spears from the Church of Light embedded in his body; Banks, his eyes gouged out, bit off his tongue and committed suicide before his eyes. His father seemed oblivious to these blood feuds, not uttering a single word about revenge against the Church of Light. He couldn't understand, he simply couldn't understand! What was his father waiting for?! So tonight he came, and joined this action without hesitation.

Henchon then stepped forward. "This is none of your business, Captain. You should go back."

Heyaz understood that Henchton didn't want him to go to his death, so he patted Henchton on the shoulder without saying anything.

it is more than words.

……

Snow Maple Territory, New Eagle Fortress.

Thor silently approached the stables. There was a newly built shed for the young dragons.

Thor pushed open the door and went inside, where he saw a young yellow dragon curled up asleep. Over the past four years, these young dragons had been well cared for, never lacking food, and had already more than doubled in size. The yellow spots on their bodies had almost completely disappeared. Now, these young dragons could breathe dragon breath.

Thor was clad in heavy armor, which clanked and clattered as he moved. The young dragon immediately became alert, opening its eyes to see Thor before lowering its guard. Thor approached the young dragon, knelt on one knee, cradled its chin in his hands, and rested his head against its forehead. "Smaug, please help me."

"What is it?" Smaug was the name Thor had given to the young dragons. They were too small for Zolzaen to name them at the time. Smaug patted Thor's helmet and looked up to ask.

“My brothers were plotting to kill the enemy.” “But they kept me in the dark.” “Fortunately, I sensed something was wrong with them a long time ago,” Thor said truthfully.

Smaug suddenly looked at Thor's hand, which was thickly wrapped in white cloth: "What happened to your hand?"

Thor shook his head. "It's nothing."

Smaug shook his head and stood up. "Come on up, my knight."

Thor got up, climbed onto Smaug's neck, and the two of them walked out of the greenhouse, flew into the sky, and disappeared into the night.

……

Bang.

The wooden door of the stone house opened again. The first to enter was a massive boar-man, with a dwarf riding on his head—it was Pind. "Hey brothers, Turo and the others succeeded..." Pind's words trailed off, surprised, "Hoyaz?" "What are you doing here?"

Heyaz chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" "We acted on our own this time." "Even if we win, we won't get any merit points." "If we lose, we'll lose our lives."

“Haha,” “Merit points are nothing.” “I sold all my merit points to that idiot Thor a long time ago to buy wine.” Pind laughed heartily.

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but chuckle softly.

“Let’s go, Hervey and the others are waiting.” With that, Pindt waved his hand.

The group filed out of the stone house, where many armored figures stood. These included Turo, Baido, Hevi, Lamb, Magd, Severin, and Donkey Face. They still reeked of alcohol, the smell emanating from them even from a distance. Beside them lay rows of bound livestock—pigs, sheep, cattle…all their hooves and mouths were tied, leaving them only able to writhe on the ground.

"Are you all alright?" Heyaz asked worriedly.

"Don't worry!" Turo patted his chest. "When we were drinking, we secretly used our fighting spirit to neutralize the effects. We're just a little dizzy."

The group then lifted the livestock and headed towards the hilltop not far from New Eagle's Keep. Zolsahn was so vast that they usually resided on the hilltop not far from New Eagle's Keep. That hilltop was covered in dense forest, the former hideout of the Earth Bear. The group quickly reached the foot of the hill. The accumulated snow and wind over the past few months had made the path up the hill extremely muddy and slippery, which was why they had not chosen to ride horses.

It took almost two hours for the group to reach the mountaintop. Hervi told everyone to wait outside while he and Lamb went in first to communicate. Although they had stolen the gem token from Eric, they weren't sure if it would work on Zolzahn. The two cautiously approached the cave entrance, and before they could even enter, a gigantic dragon head emerged from within. Its golden, vertical pupils, like flowing lava, stared at them with utter hostility. Hervi, clad in armor, realized that he wasn't even as big as one of the dragon's eyeballs.

"What are you doing here?" Zolsaen's deep voice rang out.

“Your Highness Zorsaen,” Hervé hurriedly took out his gem token and said, “We are under orders from the Marquis to have you take us to the capital city of Menegar.”

Zolzahn glanced down at the gem token; it was indeed hers. Raven stipulated that if Zolzahn wanted to exchange for Angel's Tears or cultivation resources, she could only do so with merit points. Otherwise, she would have to leave. However, she greatly admired Angel's Tears, which was why she chose to stay. Zolzahn had no intention of getting involved in the conflict between Raven and Habs. What did it have to do with her? And every time she cooperated with Eric, her merit points were clearly recorded.

"Where's Eric? Tell Eric to come find me." Zolzain glanced at everyone, quickly realizing something was wrong, and said in a deep voice.

"Your Highness Zolzahn!" Lamb called out quickly, "Mr. Eric is drunk and unconscious, so the Marquis sent us to find you. And this mission will reward you with 2000 merit points!"

Zolsaen, who was about to tell everyone to "get lost," immediately stopped retracting his dragon head and poked it out of the cave again after hearing that there were 2000 merit points: "Really?"

“Absolutely true.” The others quickly echoed.

Everyone present knew how stingy Raven was. Zolzahn had flown with Eric to the Orcish Empire and back, only earning a mere 300 merit points. This time, he was actually willing to give 2000. That was quite a lot! Enough to exchange for a Castle Knight title. If he were to exchange for gold coins with the humans, he could get at least tens of thousands of gold coins!

"Oh, oh," the donkey-faced man said obsequiously as he approached, pointing to the five struggling animals on the ground.

Zolsaen crawled out of the cave, stretched out her dragon claws, and stuffed five live animals into her mouth as if catching fleas. Blood and intestines spurted from between her teeth, making the onlookers both nauseous and horrified.

"Let's go." Zolsaen lowered his wings.

Overjoyed, everyone climbed up Zolzaen's broad back along its wings.

With a flap of its wings, Zolzaen vanished into the night.

However, no one noticed that under the cover of night, a much smaller young dragon was following far behind.

……

“Oh!”

Eric, still half-asleep, groaned incessantly. The torment of his bladder forced his body awake, but his lingering consciousness led him into a state of blissful ecstasy.

"Old man, do you need to pee?" Romy was woken up and got up to turn on the magic lamp, the only one in the house. Romy found the chamber pot under the bed and went to Eric's side. "Wake up, Eric! Get up and pee."

"Ok?"

Eric was still half asleep and had no idea what had happened.

"What 'hmm'?! I told you not to drink so much!" Romy used all her strength to forcibly pull Eric up, then helped him take off his pants, pinching his dark, old penis and aiming it at the chamber pot: "Go ahead and pee!"

“This liquor is too strong…” Eric shook his head. “I can’t pee like this. Forget it, I’ll go to the restroom.”

Eric pulled up his trousers and stumbled towards the bathroom. After relieving himself, he washed his face, finally feeling a bit more awake. Looking out the window, he saw it was already past midnight; dawn would break soon. He'd had a really good time last night. It had been so long... so long since he'd forgotten all his worries and drifted off to sleep like this. When had he started feeling so tired? Was it when the patriarch killed Ramsay Bolton? Or when the patriarch killed Antony? Or when the patriarch became a count? Or after his son Thor grew up? Eric couldn't figure it out. Gazing at his weathered face clearly reflected in the Angel's Light, Eric suddenly realized that his temples were beginning to turn uncontrollably white. Just like his life, irreversible.

Shaking his head, Eric suppressed these sentimental emotions. He wasn't usually one to wallow in melancholy, but lately, for some reason, his mind had been wandering more and more. His mind kept flashing back to his past life and deceased acquaintances—Nancy, old Gordon, Goyle, Mosingan, Vlav, the Humphrey brothers (Humphrey and Humphrey), Bent, White, Wade, Otto, Boris… "Do people get nostalgic when they get old?" Eric thought with a slightly self-deprecating smile. Recalling last night's banquet, Eric found himself, almost unconsciously, in his son Thor's room, which had been empty for a long time.

Eric opened the door and entered the room, scanning the unfurnished house. He immediately noticed a huge banner that read – “The Future Baron.”

Eric couldn't help but smile. A ray of morning light shone in, scattering many rays on the table. Curious, Eric stepped forward and discovered it was a stack of gold coins. Beneath the coins lay a white cloth. Eric's heart skipped a beat; he quickly pushed the coins aside and took the white cloth in his hand.

"Father Eric: "
This parting may be the last. I leave this letter here.

Although I am 30, I have yet to achieve any merit or attain any rank. Every night, I often recall how you taught me military training methods when I was young, and how you tirelessly honed my combat skills after I became extraordinary. However, I am dull-witted and do not understand my father's good intentions. I secretly curse you for being stern and harsh with me.

Until his son faced the Pale Lord head-on, slaying a third-tier undead with just his mirror shield, he realized that his father's love was as vast as a mountain and as deep as the ocean. In the battle against Jing Ge, his son recklessly charged and was unfortunately struck by a stray arrow. When the arrow pierced his left shoulder, he felt no pain. He snapped the arrow in two, gritted his teeth, and used the amulet his mother had sewn to bandage his wound, still able to fight on!
The boy was fearless in the face of death, but the collapse of the left wing ultimately led to failure. At that time, the boy and Jing Ge were only 200 meters apart. This became a lifelong regret and obsession. He also understood what the patriarch meant when he said, "Individual bravery is not the mark of a leader." Later, after analyzing the four crossings of the Talin River and combining it with the trap tactics taught by the patriarch, he understood this principle even more.

The territory is now in crisis, and the patriarch is in dire straits. Externally, Tyrone and Habs are sharpening their knives; internally, Vesdon and the Church of Light have betrayed their faith. The situation is growing increasingly critical. I have also learned that the Dragon Gold Shops in other provinces have been robbed and looted. If the stars fall, where will the brilliance remain?

I often heard the patriarch recount his rags-to-riches story. It was so tiresome, I was sick of it. Only now did I truly understand the hardships he endured, how terrifying they were. I felt an even greater admiration for my father's suffering alongside the patriarch in his campaigns. My family was poor in my childhood; my sister starved to death. It wasn't until the patriarch inherited the barony that our lives were transformed.

Please forgive your child—Thor—for leaving without saying goodbye.

Mother Romi is in poor health and pleads with Father to take good care of her.

At the end of the white cloth, there was a line of words written in blood—

Dad, I really want to make something of myself...

Beside the words, a dagger was stuck in the ground. The crimson blood on the dagger had not yet congealed.

After reading the letter, Eric was already in tears, repeatedly murmuring, "My son is so filial... my son is so filial..."

……

(End of this chapter)