Throne of the North.

Chapter 407: Looking at the plum to quench thirst, the right time, right place and right people
Faith is born because of the existence of gods in human beings, or it is because of the existence of faith that gods appear before human beings.

There is no answer to the question of whether the chicken or the egg came first, but it is an indisputable fact that the devout belief in the birth of human souls makes even the gods bow their heads.

Walking barefoot on the cold ground, the chilling coldness spread from the soles of his feet, but Ryan remained unmoved. He walked calmly among the countless people.

At first, the noisy land was always bustling. How could these slaves stare at the noble masters? They had no idea that Ryan had appeared beside them.

They were arguing and thinking about how fast they should run to get the hottest bite when dinner starts.

Just a glance from the corner of their eyes scared these people so much that they didn't even care about tomorrow's meal. They knelt on the ground in fear, not daring to make a sound anymore, watching those clean feet stepping on the soil without making any sound.

These slaves were so terrified that they even forgot how to address the nobles in front of them. In short, the originally noisy voices stopped abruptly at this moment.

At first, not many people cared, because they could not see that when the noble lord was no longer high and mighty, he was just like ordinary people. They needed to look past many people to see the noble lord's appearance and react accordingly.

Later, the others who were blocking the view knelt down.

At this time, the slaves in the distance gradually reacted. They looked at the people kneeling on the ground and Ryan walking on the land, and quickly knelt down.

The noisy world gradually became quiet, until one day, no sound could be heard anymore.

Ryan passed through heads one by one, yes, heads. The slaves pressed their foreheads against the mud on the ground, not caring about the dirt, or rather, they themselves were dirtier than the mud under their feet.

Naturally, they did not dare to move. Holding their heads up was the power of the knights, while lowering their heads was the pride that belonged exclusively to the common people. Slaves did not exist in any rules. They were part of the living population, nothing more.

"Why are you fighting?"

Ryan asked calmly. His voice was gentle and not loud, but it could be heard from far away and in the ears of every slave.

This was said to them, but among the countless people present, no one could understand it.

They can't hear, and don't want to hear; they can't understand, and don't want to understand.

Until Ryan placed a broken wooden bowl filled with a mixture of sand and wheat in front of the head of a slave on the ground.

The delicious smell made the slave's stomach growl. He slowly moved his head so that he could see the food, but ended up knocking over the wooden bowl. It didn't matter. The moment he saw it was food, the slave swallowed it in big mouthfuls, not caring what went into his mouth.

Halfway through his meal, he suddenly noticed Ryan standing in front of him. The noble master was watching him eat, which made the slave panic. He wanted to kowtow and beg for mercy, but he couldn't bear the cooling of the food.

"Do you know who I am?"

Ryan stood in front of the slave and asked this. The slave shook his head and then quickly nodded.

"You are a distinguished noble lord."

"and then?"

"Nothing."

The world of the nobility was too far away for the slaves. Even the knights they might see on a daily basis were noble lords whose faces the slaves could not remember, because it was difficult for them to look up and see what these people looked like.

They lowered their heads and looked at the land in front of them. The world before their eyes was everything to them. The vastness of the world belonged to the nobles and the knights, but not to these slaves who could never leave the land in front of them.

Ryan's reputation spread far and wide, but it was difficult for him to fall from the sky and let these slaves know what he looked like.

Ryan was not angry. Flames spread across his fingers as he looked at the slave in front of him.

"Keep your head up."

"Look at me carefully. My name is Ryan."

The slave nodded blankly. To him, a clean noble family would always be out of reach. At this moment, he was no longer able to think.

"My name is Nino."

"Very good, Nino, I remember your name. Now tell me what you fight for."

Ryan's voice made the slave in front of him tremble with excitement. He also wanted to say that he also remembered Master Ryan's name, but his brain cooled down like the oatmeal in front of him. He continued to tremble because of fear and panic.

"I, I, I..."

He hesitated and couldn't come up with an answer.

"You want to eat enough and not go hungry."

Ryan answered the question for him, and then Ryan said:
"What do you dream about when you dream?"

For the life in front of the North, dreams are too far away. The dreams brought by the Moon Lady at night can never get rid of two topics.

"You will not be hungry or cold in your dreams."

Having enough food and clothing is the biggest problem and the most impeccable dream in the North. Nino thought about it for a long time, then nodded blankly.

"Yes, I don't want to starve, nor do I want to freeze to death, but I always wake up from the cold."

“This is my dream, too.”

Ryan's words shocked countless slaves. They couldn't understand why the noble master had the same dream as themselves.

"I have the same dream as you, but the difference between me and you is that I know who to pray to."

"Are you cold now?"

"Are you scared at night?"

"But are you scared now?"

"why?"

"Because of the sun in the sky."

"The sunlight he cast down made you feel warm. You did not want to hide in the dark tent, but walked out and exposed your whole body to the sunlight, wishing that the sunlight could shine on the front and back of your body."

"That way you won't be cold."

"But you wouldn't dare do that at night because the sun has gone out."

"He gives us light and keeps us from being cold, but Nino, do you know how the food you eat comes from?"

"It is... a gift from the gods."

Nino spoke blankly. He had forgotten to think. Everything that happened today was more than what he had encountered in his entire life.

"It is the blessing of light, the sun shines on the land, and food grows out of the soil, and then, we won't be hungry."

"The great light has made us no longer hungry or cold."

"Praise the light."

“The sun in the sky can help you realize your dreams. It can prevent you from being woken up by the cold in the middle of a dream. The most pious people will never be hungry or cold.”

The slaves didn't understand Ryan's previous words, but they understood the last sentence.

"Sunshine..." Nino took out half of a thick book from under his tattered clothes. Ryan was not surprised, as he had noticed before that this slave had the teachings of light on him. He didn't know where he had picked it up from, but most of the bark papers had been torn off, as if they were used as firewood for heating on some nights. The birch bark tanned paper could still release a lot of heat.

"Oh, praise the light."

Nino held up the book in his hand. He vaguely knew what this thing was, as he had heard someone talk about it before.

"The great sun gives us food and drives away the cold that freezes us to death, but soon the sun's rays will not be able to shine here, and will not be able to shine on you."

Ryan turned and pointed to the outline of a mountain in the distance.

"Can you see that mountain? The warm sunshine will stay there. It will never appear here again."

"The food you have now will also disappear in time, because the bright sunlight will not be able to shine here. He will take away the food given to you. At the same time, you will not be able to warm up in the sun like you do now. You will be even colder, and many people will freeze to death every night."

"But once you reach the other side of that mountain, you can enjoy the ever-warm sunshine and endless food."

"This is what the gods have given us. Once you get there, you will no longer suffer from hunger and cold."

"The Illuminati will warm the people who show up there."

Ryan's voice made countless people look forward to it. They looked at the vague outline of the mountain in the distance, revealing their desire and impatience.

That night, Ryan heard countless voices praying for the light to remain, and begging the sunlight of the great God of Light not to leave here and disappear.

But when the next day came, a gust of wind woke everyone up.

"It's so cold."

Rose, who was following behind Ryan, couldn't help but wrap her cloak tightly around her. Although she had now embarked on the third and most cold-resistant Knight's Extraordinary Path, she was still not used to such cold.

Moreover, when this wind blew, no snow fell. The pure cold wind could take away the temperature in anyone's body.

"How did you know this wind would come? And it would be so cold, just like what you told those slaves yesterday. The light would leave and would no longer warm them or give them food."

"Didn't Mr. Rose notice that the sunshine these past few days was too warm and bright?"

Ryan couldn't say that this was some common sense in his memory. There was always calm before the storm, and a few days before the cold wind blew, there would always be a period of sunny, quiet and peaceful time.

"And do you think I'm deceiving them?"

Ryan said with a smile and Rose nodded.

"If the sun really disappears, all worlds will die. How can He leave?"

Rose didn't understand the story of quenching thirst by looking at plums, and Ryan didn't think of explaining anything. He just said calmly:

"I deceived them, but I also saved them."

"Mr. Rose, how many of these people do you think would have died last night if I hadn't been there?"

Slaves have no sense of advance warning and will only react when danger actually comes.

But a very serious problem is that for slaves, they often do not have much cost of trial and error.

When the cold wind blows, these slaves will react and think of ways to deal with it, but at this time, how many people will be able to react in time? And how many people will die in the sudden cold wind?
The beliefs that Ryan instilled in them during the day gave these people who were about to freeze to death hope. They struggled, using their consciousness to drag themselves away from the cold wind. They struggled, looking at the outline of the mountain in the distance. It was very close, very close.

As long as they reached the other side of the mountain, they would be free from the cold and hunger forever, and they would have endless food and warmer sunshine.

Ryan gave them hope to survive, allowing countless people to stand firm in the wind last night.

"This gust of wind will come either today or tomorrow. It will always come. I can't predict its appearance, but it is obvious that the sky and the earth are on my side."

Ryan rode his warhorse on the land, and many people around him looked at him differently.

As for the slaves, they firmly believed what Ryan said yesterday, but there were many other soldiers in this army who knew more than the slaves and vaguely understood that what Ryan said was not quite right.

But the perfect east wind that night made many skeptics waver. In their eyes, Lord Ryan was a noble blessed by God, and his words yesterday might have been a warning that the gods were coveting him.

So today, these people looked at Ryan with even more awe.

After an exceptional breakfast, the army moved forward again.

This is Leiyun County, and there is only one tall mountain in Leiyun County, and the rest is just some slightly complex terrain like hills and slopes.

The mountain Ryan pointed out yesterday was obviously Thundercloud Mountain, the mountain that seemed to be right in front of us, but in fact, it was still very far away.

Why this mountain? Because the werewolves are attacking there. There are many werewolves in Leiyun County, and the largest number of them is on the north side of Leiyun Mountain.

If the army showed up there but didn't find what Ryan said... Ryan didn't care about that. How many people in this army could actually get there?

"Monster, monster!!!"

There were terrified roars coming from the front, but soon the knights' mounts rushed forward with the knights, knocking away the slave soldiers in front.

"Why are you panicking? You are soldiers and the army. These damn werewolves are your enemies. Pick up your weapons and kill them!"

The knight roared angrily. They had only been in Thundercloud County for a short time and they began to encounter werewolves. And not just in this direction, but traces of werewolves appeared in all directions of the army.

These hideous and bloodthirsty werewolves were a scourge to the slaves. When they encountered them, they would roar and scream loudly, and a few dozen of them could disrupt the formation of thousands of people.

Ryan was right in the center of the army. There was some chaos in front of him, but it was very quiet behind him.

This was due to the intimidation of the thousands of fully armed soldiers behind him, but more importantly, Ryan's prediction yesterday had come true today, causing the slave soldiers of this army to not dare to challenge his majesty. Since he did not move, the slave soldiers naturally did not dare to make any big moves.

In just one day, Ryan had become famous among the slaves.

"The warm sunshine is just to the north of that mountain. Should we retreat and freeze to death, or go over and enjoy the sunshine where we are no longer hungry and cold?"

Ryan rode his warhorse to the front of the army. The cavalry of the Buck Legion cleared the way for him, but Ryan walked in the front. In front of him, the slave soldiers finally could not retreat anymore, otherwise they would collide with Ryan's warhorse.

The soldiers gritted their teeth, finally picked up the spears that fell on the ground, shouted and charged towards the werewolves.

Behind him, a knight from the Stag Legion took out a beast bow, and within a few breaths of the arrow leaving the string, it had already pierced the thigh of the leading werewolf. Then the arrow from another knight's squire pierced the angry werewolf's raised claw. When the third arrow arrived, blood was also flowing from the werewolf's shoulder.

The arrows were fast and thin. The surrounding slave army could only see those terrible monsters being pierced through the bodies by spears, falling down unwillingly, and letting out their final roars like wild beasts.

"They are not scary. These werewolves are just evil monsters that prevent us from getting food."

No one could refute Ryan's words. The invasion of werewolves and the coming of war had indeed raised the food crisis in the North Wind Province to its highest point. Even starvation and cold were caused by the invasion of werewolves.

They destroyed the land and houses, looted food and bedding. Many people were either killed by the orcs or starved to death or froze to death on the way to escape.

It can be said that those slaves in this slave army who did not belong to Lingdu County and Tieshan County, but those who fled from places like Hanshancheng County, were all lucky. More people, like them, died halfway.

It is not surprising that they were afraid, because they were lucky enough to escape to Lingdu County, and they did not encounter werewolves during the process. Not many people have seen werewolves, otherwise they would not be one of the lucky group of people.

The fear gradually dissipated, and the soldiers began to realize that the journey to the other side of the mountain would not be smooth.

(End of this chapter)