Throne of the North.

Chapter 280 Victory and Faith

The swamp never fully recovered, and Ryan rode on Winter.

Under his feet, the muddy soil stirred up by the iron hooves made the snow-white winter look dirty, but Ryan didn't care.

He did not stop Count Sauron's extraordinary army from withdrawing from the swamp, and now looked at the Count in front of him.

"My Lord Earl, you lose."

His attitude was still as respectful as a baron should be to an earl. This was noble humility, and no one could find fault with it, unless they subconsciously ignored the behavior that had never been exposed.

Count Sauron looked grim and said:
"If it weren't here, your army wouldn't be my match!"

"This is a war. Your Excellency's words are meaningless. War is not an arena where a fair competition environment will be provided."

"The result now is that you lost in front of all the nobles."

Count Sauron looked around. The group of nobles watching the war were obviously shocked by the outcome of the war, but their presence was also one of the evidences of the outcome of this war.

"Baron Ryan, you started a war, but the end of a war is never determined by this one war."

Count Sauron stared at Ryan. Although he was heartbroken by the loss of the Extraordinary Legion in this war, it was impossible for him to accept that the failure of this war led to the victory between the Count and the Baron.

He still has huge potential for war, and even if it takes a long time, he can still drag Baron Ryan to death.

Killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own was a thing no noble was willing to do, especially since there were two great nobles, Earl of Winter and Marquis of North Wind, lurking outside the North Wind Province.

"Perhaps, but does the Earl think it is a good deal to waste the war on such a meaningless purpose?"

Ryan said without giving in:
"You have already lost this war, Count!"

"If you lose, you have to pay the price."

"The magic crystal mine in the other world is mine."

"Do you know how much wealth is buried there?!"

Count Sauron questioned, anger brewing in his eyes. The magic crystal mine in the other dimension was huge and its value was unimaginable.

"Of course I know."

Ryan thought to himself, how could he not know what it was like there when he had been there himself?

He also knew that faced with a mineral vein worth at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins, the earl would definitely not give it all to him.

"Seventy percent, I need at least seventy percent!"

"There is no room for bargaining on this point. This is the price you must pay for your failure in the war and your plot to take over Lingdu County, Lord Earl!"

Ryan directly stated the political plan of Count Sauron behind this war.

Then he whispered again.

"Hurry up and divide the magic crystal mine, so that you and I can free up our hands to fight for other wealth in the alternate world, right?"

He looked at Count Sauron with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

"You killed a missionary from the Church and put the blame on me, causing the Church and the Marquis to suspect Count Winter. You thought you were making a fortune in silence, but do you know?"

"The one who really made a fortune quietly was our Lord Earl Winter."

"Do you know what he found in the alternate world?"

"You do not know?"

Ryan took out a golden coin from his arms and threw it towards Count Sauron. After all, the latter had strong knight strength and easily caught the gold coin.

"Do you feel it? I can even smell the breath of new life on this gold coin. It is the accumulation of long years and the greatness nurtured by the ancient past."

"It was born no more than a month ago."

Count Sauron's breathing became rapid and he stared at Ryan.

"You mean, he discovered a gold mine!!!"

Count Zoro almost growled while suppressing his own throat.

"You know, I have a good relationship with the natives of the alternate dimension. The intelligence that we cannot find out can be obtained by the natives in the mountains and forests."

"Otherwise, do you really think that Earl Winter, who lost so much tax revenue from North Wind City, can really hold back for so long?"

“The wealth and benefits he lost are coming back to him tenfold from another direction.”

What Ryan said was, of course, true.

In the alternate dimension world, he has discovered a gold mine. So is there only one gold mine in this world?

This seemed a bit too lonely, so I kept an eye out, and as expected, I discovered what was happening from Count Winter's side.

The other party's actions in mining gold were much more extensive than Ryan's, but they had never been exposed.

The gods of the other-dimensional world used their divinity to fight against the snowy winter in the north, leaving behind a large amount of divinity, which made the beasts there much larger. The land was also rich in wealth. The natives did not understand it, so they could not use it, but the nobles were experts in this area.

Nobles can always find many treasures in the unexplored world.

"Okay! I agree to your terms and arrange for miners to mine magic crystals."

The magic crystal mine is no longer a secret and no longer needs to be hidden. It is only a matter of time before a large number of people are deployed to enter.

There was a storm brewing in Count Sauron's eyes. He had already mined a lot of valuable magic crystal ore. Because this thing was angular and had its own shape, it was much easier to mine than other mineral veins.

The value of the gold mine must be higher than this.

Agreeing to Ryan's conditions was also to allow the two families to join forces to put pressure on Earl Winter.

For the sake of greater benefits, Earl Sauron can choose to ignore the grievances and hatred between the two families caused by the failure of the war.

This is also the way of survival among the nobles.

The relationships between the nobles are those of relatives, enemies, or allies. All criteria for judgment are based on interests.

After betraying Count Winter, the value of this information was worth it. Ryan turned and left. The soldiers were already moving the ten boxes of gold coins.

This was the excess ransom for the previous captives. Minus the gold coin Ryan had just thrown out, the total net profit was ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine gold coins.

……

Even after the armies of both sides disappeared from sight, the nobles around them still felt a sense of dreamlike unreality surrounding them.

"Count Sauron's extraordinary army actually lost."

"It's not surprising that we lost. The important thing is that we lost to Baron Ryan."

Indeed, the Extraordinary Legion is not invincible. There are many defeated and destroyed Extraordinary Legions in history. The key point is that the war here was the Earl's Extraordinary Legion lost to a Baron.

"Maybe it's because of the golem puppet."

The nobles still couldn't understand and believed that the outcome of the war was decided by the golem puppets and the dragonblood warriors. "Even if it was because of the golem puppets, it was still Baron Ryan's strength. Wasn't it the same with the Thunder Giant under Count Weiss?"

"Extraordinary soldiers are not a group of extraordinary soldiers just because they are numerous. For some extraordinary soldiers, only one is enough."

This silenced the nobles, because it was true. For example, the most widely spread story was that a dragon destroyed an entire legion countless times in history.

"Baron Ryan's cavalry is more powerful than Viscount Hogg's cavalry. Their losses are one to one with the dragonblood warriors."

Baron Enzo said at the end, he paid more attention to details than others.

"The Extraordinary Legion..."

After hearing this, the nobles had to admit that Baron Ryan actually had the resources to support an extraordinary army.

"Where did he get so much wealth?"

Some nobles were extremely jealous because Baron Ryan easily took out wealth that their families had not accumulated for decades.

Baron Enzo sneered:
"Baron Ryan has never lost a war and is the commander of the Ash War. If you can do that, you will also have countless wealth."

No one could take up this topic. In the entire history of the North Wind Province, only Baron Ryan had done it. The nobles' praise for his military talent in war was never a compliment but a fact.

On the way back to the frozen land, Ryan's mood was not as happy as others imagined.

Because of his own knights and squires, the team of knights and squires that had originally expanded from 500 to 800 people lost nearly 300 people!

Among the more than 290 attendants, more than 80 were seriously injured and could hardly stay in the army. 210 attendants died, and their bodies were found in the middle of the team.

The first dozen or so people who died were killed in a sudden massacre caused by the dragonblood warriors' increased speed due to the blessing of wind magic. The remaining one hundred and ninety died entirely in the final hand-to-hand combat, which lasted only ten minutes.

Every soldier who fell had no possibility of standing up. Even if they did not die immediately, they would not be able to get up afterwards and would be hacked to death or directly drowned in the swamp.

In the post-war battlefield cleanup, the death ratio on both sides was one to one. The defense and number of heavy armored infantry allowed the Dragon Blood Warriors to show the true strength of this extraordinary legion in that hand-to-hand combat, making up for the previous deaths.

What they fear most is not being able to encounter the enemy, but as long as they can engage in close combat, they dare to surround and kill even a giant dragon.

Normally, the best option for the servants of the Stag Legion is to ride their horses and fly kites, but at that time no one knew whether Master Luna was dead or alive, and they could not allow the three dragon blood warriors to charge at their lord.

The victory in the war could not make up for the death of these servants, and Ryan also saw the gap between his army and the Extraordinary Legion.

In terms of quantity, quality and equipment, everything is urgent.

"Population is the primary productive force for the development of a territory."

Ryan has decided that after he returns, he will instruct Etria to increase the subsidies for families giving birth to children in the territory. Even for children with good talents, Baron Ryan will be responsible for most of the resources they need for their growth.

Even for those slaves who had many children, it was not impossible for them to escape their slavery by this method.

With such a great gift, how could the people of the Frozen Territory not give birth?
What the people at the bottom lack is not enthusiasm and passion, but the motivation and channel to move upward.

The Frozen Territory has developed so fast, but it is all due to Ryan's big plans.

……

A war with Count Sauron caused a great uproar in the Borean Province, and even began to spread to the south because of the large number of contacts that had recently arisen between the nobles and the southern nobles.

There are many rising stars in the empire, and they are all the dazzling nobles of this generation. Ryan is naturally also known as the rising star of the North Wind Province and the Clayton Family.

Even within the Vatican...

Adriana, the Archbishop of the Holy See, quickly returned to the Holy Mountain in the south with the help of the Feather Dragon Legion. She said nothing when she returned to the Holy See.

Just hearing the news from the north, the archbishop praised it while praying to the morning light.

"Praise the glory of my Lord. You have a devout believer in the North. He will help you illuminate the dark land. He will exercise your will and dispel the coldness of the North. His faith is as blazing as fire and as bright as the morning light, burning the coldness of the North."

As she chanted, the huge statue above her head released a dazzling light. At that moment, all the believers on the holy mountain raised their heads and looked at the generous and bright statue.

"god!!!"

“Blessed be my Lord!”

"My Lord!!! The glory of the morning light will not end in all darkness!"

"Lord, look at your devout followers!"

"Glory of my Lord, look upon this decaying temple of faith and dispel the darkness here."

At this moment, all the believers on the Holy Mountain were enthusiastically praising the glory of the dawn, and some were trying to call on the gods to pay attention to the Holy See and bring about different changes and punishments.

The majesty and faith brought by the eternal gods made the holy mountain boil at this moment. Even outside the holy mountain, the surrounding believers’ families were surprised and reveled because of the blooming of the holy light.

"The will of our Lord is watching over His faith. All devout believers will receive the blessings of our Lord!"

On this day, the Pope climbed to the top of the Holy Mountain, and his voice echoed majestically, speaking of the glory of the Lord and confirming the inevitable victory on the northern battlefield.

Eventually, many big names from the Church showed up at the site of Adriana's church.

There are many churches on the Holy Mountain.

The archbishop turned around, her eyes were sacred and inviolable, pregnant with the majesty of the gods, and the most shocking thing was that there was a flame burning and rippling between her eyebrows.

It illuminated everything around it, illuminating every blind spot, and even behind Adriana, no shadow appeared.

"He's right..."

Adriana murmured, then looked up at the Pope and many elders in front of her.

"The Lord is eager to dispel the wind, snow and ice of the north. He will burn all the cold with fire."

"He will dispel every darkness with the morning light; He will burn the cold winter in the north with fire."

"All things that are dead will be revived under the glory of our Lord."

Hearing Adriana's voice, several high priests behind the Pope knelt down. Obviously, she had gained the recognition of these high priests and began to hold considerable power in the Holy See.

The high priest, whose status is between that of the archbishop and the cardinal, has a system different from that of the missionaries themselves, and is promoted from a special group of missionaries - priests.

They can even directly listen to the will of the gods, which is the most important link in the spread of faith in gods.

The healing skills they master are the real healing skills.

Silent changes were also taking place within the Vatican, but this was unknown to him. After the war, his life became much quieter.

Master Ryan finally had time to become a corrupt noble lord after a war in which he defeated the Earl's army.

"Well, after these pensions are distributed, the families of the soldiers will be able to raise their children in a wealthy manner."

Sitting on the animal skin sofa, Ryan nodded with satisfaction, and then looked at the female official in front of him who could only wear a thin gauze dress under his will.

"My Lord, how shall I reward you?"

(End of this chapter)