Throne of the North.

Chapter 485: Intimidation, House Arrest

If we were to ask who is the best at cooking Dragon Heart, it would have to be Earl Clayton.

Getting the dragon's heart does not mean that you can use it. Those who eat the dragon's heart directly are ruthless people, such as the frost giants. Ryan does not have their rough physique and appetite. As a delicate human being, he still needs auxiliary tools.

Extraordinary potions, a set of magic potions used to help human knights devour dragon hearts, will not cost less than helping knights become sky knights from golden knights.

Because giant dragons are rare, they are in short supply.

Ryan needed extraordinary materials from the Clayton family to assist in the use of the Dragon Heart, so he wrote a letter to the south.

Of course, in addition to resources, Ryan also wanted to ask Earl Clayton about the legends about dragons.

He sent a dragon scale belonging to the terrible Isabella to his father, the Earl. He wondered if the Fire Dragon would know that there was such a person among his clan.

The dragon scales were found on the coast. Surtur's power was so terrifying that even Isabella, the powerful tidal dragon, was constantly retreating. The fire over there was reigniting the world.

Before Ryan's letter to Calais was sent, Viscount Melendez, his father-in-law, had already given his previous response regarding ocean voyages.

As Ryan's value and status increased, both Earl Clayton and Viscount Melendez saw that Ryan was qualified to be their solid ally.

In addition to his relationship, the father-in-law did not reject Ryan's request. He sent his sons and a group of craftsmen to the North.

This is inevitable. The shipbuilding technology mastered by the craftsmen is the knowledge that Melendez relies on for survival and inheritance. It is something that cannot be passed on to others, even to Ryan.

The arrival of the craftsmen will help Ryan build, but they will not be seen by the people of the Frozen Territory. The guarantee is that they are the children of Viscount Melendez, the real members of the Melendez family.

Why do we say real members? Doesn't Avril count? Indeed, Avril has become the mistress of the Ryan family, and her last name has become 'Ryan'.

"Gabriel?"

Avril said with some surprise, and her expression didn't look very happy.

“I don’t have a very good relationship with him.”

Avril said this. In fact, the relationship between the descendants of nobles was not very good. First of all, the eldest son was naturally the heir to the title.

However, the nobles would not give more love and education to other children below the eldest son. This was to make them understand that the relationship between them and the eldest son was not only the relationship between older brother and younger sister, but also the relationship between monarch and subject.

In order to ensure that hereditary power would not be stained with too much blood, it was also a form of protection for the nobles for their children.

All we can say is that behind every rule there are ancient and long historical lessons.

This is the relationship between the eldest son, but there is competition among the other children.

Especially after the arrival of the North, the nobles stayed in the southern third of the land, where there were more wolves than meat.

The other children of the nobility had to fight for more if they wanted to get more.

Do women have no value in this process? No, they do. The daughters of nobles are bargaining chips for marriage, and they also need to be won over. At the same time, the sons of nobles also need to win the help and support of their sisters.

After all, after getting married, the son may be able to get more opportunities through his married sisters who have good relationships with him.

Just like Avril, if Melendez has someone who has a good relationship with her, then he can naturally rely on Baron Ryan for a meal.

If they were even better, they could make a lot of money by connecting the resources in the north and the south.

There is no pure family affection among the nobles; similar connections based on interests are everywhere.

But it is obvious that Avril does not have a good relationship with Gabriel, and she also does not have a good relationship with Viscount Melendez's other children. As a magician, she has detached ideas.

"This is a nasty guy."

Avril said this, and a few days later, Ryan also saw this hateful Melendez bloodline.

……

"The North is really cold. Why did father allow Avril to marry a baron from such a remote place? Just because he is of Clayton's blood?"

The deep ruts left distinct marks on the frosty ground. Gabriel opened the curtain in the carriage and took a look outside, then tremblingly withdrew his hand.

"How cold! Damn it! Avril used so many of Melendez's resources. She should marry an earl's heir instead of a northern baron!"

Gabriel said this with gritted teeth, those peasants outside had no idea of ​​the responsibilities that they, who were of noble aristocratic blood, had to bear.

"Father invested at least 100,000 gold coins in Avril, which is more than all of us children combined. But she selfishly came to this shabby place in the North."

"The only answer I can think of is that my father needs to reach a political deal with Earl Clayton. Otherwise, how could he allow the family's shipbuilders to come to such a cold place."

In his eyes, only the great nobles were worthy of his attention, and only the bloodline of the Viscount family was qualified to be on equal footing with him. As for those weak barons, they were merely a trench that helped the Viscount bloodline to block the knights and civilians.

Gabriel believed that his status was above those barons, who could only earn a few gold coins a year. However, as the child of Melendez, Gabriel could help Melendez obtain at least three thousand gold coins every year.

Melendez made countless fortunes by relying on the river that leads to the west coast.

"stop!"

A loud shout stopped the convoy, and Gabriel, who was still in deep thought, suddenly shuddered and became angry.

"Damn it, can't you see this is a noble's carriage?"

He rushed out of the carriage angrily, and then saw a row of armors emitting a dark cold air in the sunlight blocking his convoy and the sunlight in the sky.

At this moment, the world made Gabriel feel the coldness of the North, on these cold armors.

"What are you doing? We are a team of southern viscount nobles!"

Gabriel shouted loudly, but the knight in front remained unmoved.

"Ahead is Lord Ryan's hunting ground. You can take a detour or wait."

The knight said indifferently, then turned around and stopped looking at this weak team in the cold wind.

"Lian? Ryan Clayton?"

"We were invited by him, and now he wants to stop us?"

The noble roared loudly, and Ryan finally arrived a moment later, looking at Gabriel with a smile.

"Mr. Gabriel, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you here for two days after receiving the letter from the Viscount. I was itching to see you before."

Looking at Ryan in front of him, Gabriel snorted unhappily. This was his first bad impression after arriving in the North.

"Now that we're here, let's hurry back to the frozen land. Avril misses you very much."

"Her? She still has some conscience."

Gabriel said this, letting his carriage go side by side with Ryan on the road, then he opened the curtain and asked Ryan who was riding on a warhorse next to him:
"You're hunting here? There are so many prey in the North? You actually came to the human territory."

He was disdainful. In the south, wild beasts and monsters could only hide in the deep mountains and forests.

"There are unique prey species in the North."

Ryan said meaningfully, then glanced behind him. Gabriel was walking fast, moving side by side with Ryan, so he naturally didn't notice that the team of shipbuilding craftsmen he brought with him were already trembling with fear.

The sides of the horses of the knights brought by Ryan were covered with bloody and hideous heads. They were very fresh and still retained their ferocity and muscle activity. The shipbuilders following the army were so pale that they didn't even dare to raise their heads.

Only Gabriel was standing in front and couldn't look back, so he couldn't see this horrifying scene.

"Your place seems pretty good. Is this city the governor's city in the North?"

Looking at Lingdu City, Gabriel nodded critically.

"I heard that your territory is in the north, and the snow and wind buried everything. How far is it from here?"

As the hospital of Melendez, Gabriel is quite capable, and it can be seen that the territories closer to here will benefit from it.

"After passing the swamp and the forest, you will see the frozen land."

"what--!!!"

Gabriel's terrified scream made Ryan frown a little. He rubbed his ears and looked at Gabriel who got off the car in the frozen land.

"Mr. Gabriel? What are you doing?"

The latter pointed in horror at the densely packed orc heads behind him, his mouth opened wide and he couldn't close it, and he couldn't even speak.

"This is prey. Didn't I say before that we have specialties unique to the North?"

"Before, I was bored waiting, so I went hunting. I told them that the reward was one gold coin for each head, and these guys were still very excited."

Ryan said with a shrug, then looked at Gabriel in surprise.

"You're not frightened, are you? Didn't you see it before?"

Ryan asked in confusion. Gabriel's legs were shaking. He wanted to move his legs and tell Ryan that this was nothing, but he couldn't lift his legs no matter what.

After a long time, the guy was finally lifted up by the servants who reacted.

“This road is indeed difficult to travel.”

The war horses were walking on a narrow mountain path that led directly to the frozen land below, and the horses were walking on it as if it were flat ground.

Ryan smiled, and Gabriel saw it because he was sharp-eyed.

"You damned fellow, you dare to scare me? Don't even think about asking me to help you build a ship!"

"And this damn place is so hard to walk in. You still need a boat?"

Gabriel didn't say these words in his mind, he shouted them out loud for everyone to hear.

Ryan frowned a little, then looked at Gabriel.

"Are you a shipbuilder?"

He responded, and then said:

"It seems not. Since you are not a craftsman, whether the ship can be built or not has nothing to do with you."

Ryan shook his head and waved his hand. The soldiers around him were forcing the servants to send Gabriel to Rhino Horn Mountain.

"Avril really wants to ask your brother, Viscount Melendez, how he's doing this year? You should go to the castle first. It's very cold outside. That's how it is in the North. I guess you can't stand the cold. How about I give you a deerskin coat as a gift?"

Gabriel had already gone far away, but there were still many soldiers around, and none of the frightened craftsmen dared to move.

"Look, can you build a ship on that glacier?"

Ryan brought these people to the north of Rhino Horn Mountain and pointed to the river that had been frozen for hundreds of years.

"This……"

The craftsmen looked at each other, and then someone gritted his teeth and said:

"Master, we cannot build any parts without Master Gabriel's order and supervision."

It seems that I haven’t been scared enough along the way...

Ryan hesitated for a moment, and the next moment a huge force descended from the sky, directly pressing the craftsman who spoke under him.

The huge wild boar, as big as a mountain, roared and ran wildly, and behind it, hundreds of dark wild boars followed behind, waving their fangs ferociously. After the storm, the only one that disappeared was the craftsman who had spoken.

"I remember Gabriel just told you to build the ship properly?"

Ryan asked with a frown, a little uncertain, and then looked at the craftsmen again.

It's funny. Coming to the frozen land, do you really think that Gabriel can stop Ryan from building a ship?

It would be fine if Gabriel cooperates, but if he doesn't, Ryan will not be polite.

It would be fine if he was more direct, but Ryan was in urgent need of a ship that could sail on the Nidhogg Ocean. He didn't have time to play deterrence games with Gabriel.

Even if the father-in-law came in person, he would have to help Ryan build the boat as quickly as possible.

"Here, here... we can't build a boat."

Finally, one of the craftsmen spoke in fear. Although they were craftsmen with exquisite and unique skills, they were still slaves and did not gain more status and respect because of their skills.

Fear is an instinct.

"why?"

"A ship needs water. Without water, we cannot tell whether the ship is intact. Only in the water can we know the balance of the ship."

These craftsmen used to build ships on water.

This made Ryan frown. These craftsmen seemed unreliable and their skills were not up to par.

Ryan waved his hand, the door to the plane opened, and then he said to Brand:
"Just keep an eye on them and finish building the boat."

On Rhino Horn Mountain.

Gabriel was still cursing, and Ryan was confused when he returned to the castle, then he found out.

"You didn't even go to see him."

Ryan said with a smile, and Avril blinked at him without explaining.

"If you don't want to go, then don't go. This guy doesn't look very intelligent. Could he be the Viscount's illegitimate son?"

"Hiss~ Come on, Viscount Melendez is so high quality? There is no such thing."

"Leave this guy alone for now. I'll have Egil take him hunting in a couple of days."

"The people in the North are simple and honest. Your brother will definitely like it."

Ryan said this at night.

(End of this chapter)