Throne of the North.

Chapter 338 Kingdom War (X)

Baron Thomas. If there is a ranking among the barons in the kingdom, then Baron Thomas must be among the top three barons.

His territory has a population of more than 2,800 people, and an army of 300 apprentice knights ensures his authority and strength. The source of all this is a lake in Baron Thomas's territory.

A... salt lake.

The Thomas Baron family also has a fantastic development history. Initially, this land was considered worthless by the nobles because of the lack of vegetation and trees and the bare mountains surrounding the lake.

However, after this Baron Thomas extracted salt from the lake at the age of fifteen, the Thomas family rose. After the careful work of Baron Thomas, he also became one of the top three barons in the kingdom.

There are more than twenty knights in the territory, plus three hundred apprentice knights, which shows how powerful the knights are.

It was precisely with the help of such elite warriors that Baron Thomas firmly defended his territory and became the only bulge in this fan-shaped battlefield.

Of course, it was also because this place had no value in the eyes of the orcs. It was bare, and the baron’s castle was on the mountain. After the orcs attacked the castle more than a dozen times and failed, they gave up.

But in the beginning, the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain still suffered, and a large amount of wealth and population were looted.

With the arrival of support from the Legion of Light's Judgment, the Barony's situation improved significantly. It took back its villages and towns and recalled a large number of its people who were hiding in the wild.

However, also because of the pressure from the Empire's legions, the Warthog Orcs' front line was also being compressed, so more orcs appeared in this protruding territory.

"Lord Baron Thomas, I'm afraid we can't defend this orchard. We should retreat!"

On the battlefield, a knight shouted loudly. There were already many gaps on the knight's sword in his hand. They were caused by the orc warriors. At this moment, there were only more than 400 people here, and they had to defend against the attack of more than 600 orcs.

The brutal and bloody wars have turned the soil of this land black. Both sides are furious. The violent orcs and the angry knights who are not afraid of death are constantly fighting in this orchard. Perhaps fatigue is spreading among everyone.

"I can't retreat! This orchard is the most precious asset I have created in the past ten years."

Thomas' eyes were red, he was also a knight, fighting on the front line with the soldiers. It was because of this that the soldiers had been fighting the orcs anxiously for so long.

"You don't have any more support?"

Baron Thomas asked, very unwilling.

"As long as I can protect this orchard, I can pay a large amount of money to Baron Ryan behind you, and he will definitely be satisfied!"

Baron Thomas is a wise, ambitious and intelligent nobleman. This orchard represents the future plans of the Thomas family. It is not enough to rely on the salt lake alone. He must expand his wealth.

"They are all supporting other nobles in their counterattack."

The knight who spoke was helpless. He wanted to make decisions for his own army. This was Lord Ryan's order, but things always depend on local conditions. Thomas, who had a powerful army of 300 knights, would undoubtedly have more say in the war.

And he really admired this nobleman, he could see the shadow of Lord Ryan in him.

"Retreat to your castle. We can easily hold off the orcs' attack. You only need to wait until the rest of the legion's forces counterattack the orcs, and you can take back the orchard."

"Absolutely not. I can't be sure these orcs won't destroy my fruit trees."

Thomas' eyes turned red. He had lost a lot of fruit trees in the war.

"But……"

Just as the knight was about to persuade, the ground shook slightly, and then he saw a cavalry corps charging towards this side like a torrent in the distance.

"It's Lord Brand!"

The knight shouted in surprise.

"It's saved."

Baron Thomas was also shocked. With thousands of knights and cavalry, it would have cost him all his fortune to have an army of three hundred trainee knights. However, if he wanted to equip these people with war horses, even if his wealth was ten times more, it would probably not be enough.

"Is this the army that Baron Ryan is talking about?"

Baron Thomas felt very upset. He originally thought that he was good enough, but that baron was not only able to command a legion of 30,000 people, but also had his own cavalry corps.

"Captain Brand is Lord Ryan's first follower, and the Stag Legion is also Lord Ryan's first extraordinary legion."

The knight laughed.

"It seems that your orchard, Baron Thomas, has been saved."

Perhaps smiles are conserved. There was no smile on the baron's face. He saw a wider world, saw outsiders, and saw that the barons of the empire had much more strength and wealth than him.

He was a nobleman who was unwilling to be weak. At least in the circle of barons, he did not feel that he was weaker than anyone else.

The rumbling of the cavalry overwhelmed hundreds of warthog orcs. In the orcs' fear, the horses trampled flesh and blood. Hundreds of orcs were not enough for Brand's army to kill. After a charge, there were only less than a hundred wounded warthog orcs left on the ground. They were lucky.

But his luck was not good. After enduring more pain, he was killed by Baron Thomas's soldiers.

After a brief rest, this cavalry corps of a thousand people ate a lot of food from Baron Thomas and continued to leave. The war was still going on, and the mission of the cavalry led by Brand was the most important.

"Golden Knight..."

Baron Thomas sighed. He felt that he could not catch up with Baron Ryan. He did not even have a silver knight under his command, while the other party already had followers of the golden knight.

……

In the south of the kingdom, if a line is used to divide the kingdom into ten equal parts of land from north to south, then the nobles in the three southernmost parts of the land have not encountered direct invasion by orcs.

Their territory was relatively peaceful, but they were only there to support the nobles in the north who were facing the orcs. These nobles were also suffering and had to give out large amounts of wealth or manpower.

There is no other way. If the nobles in the north cannot be stopped, then they will be the front line facing the nobles. Therefore, although the nobles in the south are not as anxious as the front lines, they are also extremely nervous like ants on the hot pot.

"My army is already counterattacking the orc army in the north. Your territory is safe for the time being."

Ryan's arrival gave the nobles a reassurance, making the nobles in these three lands feel much more at ease.

"Baron Ryan, you must kill those damn orcs. They actually dared to invade the land of the Andara Kingdom!"

The nobles were outraged, but Ryan was smiling.

"Of course, this is the Queen's wish. I am here on behalf of the Empire to help the royal family regain their power and glory."

Queen Leta stood next to Ryan. The two were not much different in height. Even without a smile, she looked like a majestic queen, feared by the nobles. With her in this appearance, the nobles even felt it was easier to communicate with Baron Ryan.

"Queen Leta told me that this was a heavy disaster that had an indelible impact on the kingdom. I saw the kingdom's land shattered, and I also saw the people displaced in the invasion of the orcs."

"Even, a large number of nobles were brutally killed by orcs."

Ryan's words frightened the nobles. All the nobles were killed? This was too serious.

"Baron Ryan, you must drive out those damn orcs."

They panicked a little, and Ryan nodded solemnly.

"The Legion of Light's Judgment is here for this purpose."

This is the residence of Earl Kidman's family. The old earl also looked worried, but soon his expression became hesitant.

"What is on your mind, Lord Earl?"

Count Kidman opened his mouth and said to Ryan:

"His Highness Adams is here."

"Oh?" Ryan was surprised, and then the nobles rushed out to greet the King they had chosen.

Looking at the uneven military support, Ryan couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that Count Mercers really had no power or wealth. Was he so frustrated that he couldn't even form a suitable team?

No wonder he had such exchanges with the Emperor of the Empire. Count Moses was not content with his current state.

"Long live your Majesty."

The nobles saluted, and Ryan addressed them as Your Highness.

Adams heard this name and tried not to explode, but he still said in a cold voice:

"Baron Ryan, now that you have come to the kingdom, why don't you come to see me?"

Ryan performed the noble etiquette without blushing or beating his heart.

"Your Excellency Adams, please forgive me for my negligence. After I came to the kingdom, I saw that the nobles in the north were being invaded by orcs. I even witnessed several nobles being brutally killed by orcs."

"As a noble, I will never allow nobles to die in such a cruel way. I am here on behalf of the empire, so of course I must avenge them."

"They are so miserable... Your Highness Adams, you don't know that Viscount Hughes was stripped naked by the orcs like a cow or a sheep and hung on an iron hook. The warthog orcs cruelly tore his flesh and blood with bone knives. Even after hundreds of cuts, Viscount Hughes is still alive, but no blood can flow from his wounds."

"And that distinguished Viscountess, ah, I don't even want to recall it, such a cruel thing actually happened on the land of the kingdom."

"If it were you, the future noble king of the Andara Kingdom, who has the duty to protect the nobles, I'm afraid you would definitely not be able to hold back from revenge."

Ryan described the deaths of some nobles in vivid detail, causing the faces of other nobles around him to turn pale, and so did Adams.

If he had stayed in the royal city before, would he have been killed in the same way?
"Of course I will avenge poor Viscount Hughes, but that's not a reason for you not to come and see me and the king."

At this time, the nobles all felt that Adams had gone too far. Baron Ryan was busy avenging Viscount Hughes. Didn't he hear that Viscount Hughes died so tragically? And the Viscountess, oh.

You actually want to demonstrate the king's majesty by asking Baron Ryan to come and pay you a visit.

"Your Highness Adams, I am here on behalf of the Empire and I am your collaborator. Once the war breaks out, it will no longer be under my control."

"According to the queen's wishes, I must launch an attack on the orcs and defeat the cruel aliens with immortal light."

"she?"

Adams finally exploded, pointing angrily at Queen Leta, who was still immersed in Ryan's word-by-word description. You know, she had also been trapped in the battlefield area before and was almost caught by the orcs.

Looking up at Adams at this moment, her eyes were a little confused.

"She is a woman from the Leta family, not a real queen. How can she give you orders?"

Adams shouted angrily. What he cared about most was the king's identity and power. But Ryan dared to say that he had received orders from the queen.

"Queen Leta had a coronation ceremony witnessed by the king and all the nobles, but she is not the queen. How can she become the queen?"

Ryan had a blank look in his eyes, and seemed a little confused about the customs of the kingdom.

"Does she have to stand up and declare herself the queen, and then let the nobles recognize her?"

This sentence obviously hit Adams' pain point. He was the king of the kingdom, but he had no coronation ceremony and no allegiance from all the nobles. Everything Ryan said was what he didn't have.

"I am the king! My orders command all the nobles of the kingdom!"

Adams broke through the defense and scolded everyone in front of him.

"Why should you listen to her orders? I am the king!"

"Your Highness Adams."

Kidman, the elderly and prestigious earl, stood up and looked at Adams coldly.

"Please respect your father and your royal bloodline. Queen Leta is the twelfth king of the Andara Kingdom and the second wife of the honorable King Guy Andara. She is one of the nineteen mistresses of the Andara royal bloodline. You should salute her instead of questioning her identity."

"After the king's death, the queen has the qualifications and power to issue orders to the nobles. Her power is no less than that of your father, the late King Guy Andara."

"The Queen said that His Royal Highness Adams is the crown prince trained by the King, but it seems that you have no idea what a king should be like."

"Could it be that Hernan is the real crown prince?"

Adams' face turned pale. He had never received so much training from a crown prince and had not become a complete playboy. He was already considered superior to others.

At this time, Count Mercers stood up.

"His Majesty Adams is of course the noble king of the Andara Kingdom. He can't possibly be that Hernan."

"The Queen's power is of course noble, but it is precisely because of the Queen's witness that His Majesty Adams should naturally become the King of Andara, right?"

“This is a king chosen by the nobility and the royal family, not a puppet chosen by the church and the priests.”

Moses' words made the nobles look much better. Indeed, compared to Adams in front of them, they were more unwilling to see McPherson, who was far away, become king.

In contrast, Adams' expression seemed much more relaxed.

In Kidman's mansion, the arrival of King Adams and Queen Leta was of course the most dazzling, but soon it was Ryan who stated his intention.

"I came here this time because of the war in the north."

"I need the support of all the nobles in the kingdom, to avenge those nobles who died, to take back the land that belongs to the kingdom, and of course, for His Highness Adams to become the king of this land."

"The will of light bears witness to our glory, but if we want to win the war, I need the help of the nobles."

"The soldiers on the front line need to be equipped with weapons. What puzzles me is that the Andara Kingdom doesn't have many weapons and armor. Human skin cannot compare to the stone-hard skin of the Warthogs."

"As for the clothes, our soldiers simply cannot replace the clothes that were torn and wet during the war. Some soldiers have been infected with diseases recently. Their powerful fighting power should have been wasted on the battlefield, killing countless orcs."

"Of course, the most important thing is food. If the soldiers are not full, they will have no strength. The orcs are stronger than us. The soldiers without strength are currently suffering from the orcs' counterattack."

"Those nobles who lost their territories are eager to take back their territories, but without food, the soldiers simply cannot fight the orcs."

"We are here on behalf of the Empire to help His Highness Adams regain his own royal city and throne, but now we are inevitably a little powerless."

Adams was speechless. No matter how stupid he was, he knew that what Ryan said was true. But now he was just a figurehead king. He had no power and could not mobilize the materials belonging to the kingdom and the royal family. All of them were in the hands of McPherson in the Vatican City.

Thinking of how he was inferior in every aspect, Adams once again couldn't help but feel furious.

"The nobles will pay for all needs."

Adams said this, and then looked at the nobles. What made him extremely angry was that the nobles avoided his gaze.

"Your Majesty, we have been given food, clothing, and weapons several times this year. In the Holy See's holy war and the war with the traitor McReynolds, we have spent too much food and supplies, and we have not received any of them. There are no extra resources in the territory."

"We are still waiting for the war to end so that we can take back all the supplies we provided before."

The nobles were also in a difficult situation. At this time, Ryan looked at Queen Leta, and the queen finally spoke:
"The Empire's army is here to help us resist the orcs and the Church heading south. No matter how difficult it is, we should give them enough supplies to consume in the war. This is for our own victory."

The queen's words made the noble hesitate, but he finally nodded in agreement.

"Then we can only starve. I hope Baron Ryan can expel the orcs and the Church from the kingdom as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)