Throne of the North.

Chapter 545: The Grand Duke's Vision, Pressure on the Mage
The Imperial City gave Ryan an unreal feeling. The people here were full of longing for the future and never seemed to worry whether tomorrow would be dark.

But it seems understandable that people in the imperial capital don't worry about hunger, and those bitter, cold and disaster-stricken lands are too far away from the imperial capital. This is where the emperor is and the center of the empire. All bad things stay away from them.

This also made it impossible for Ryan to look at the imperial capital with a critical eye, and he felt out of place on the streets.

On the contrary, facing those nobles who were hypocritical, full of acting and interests, Ryan felt a sense of security.

The two carriages blocked each other's way in front of a luxurious mansion. Seeing the earl's emblem on the other carriage, Beard subconsciously gave way.

Ryan opened the curtains and looked at the carriage slowly driving into the residence of Grand Duke Fleming opposite, feeling a little surprised.

"Is this the countess?"

The empire has a Countess of the Blade Rose. Thanks to her own excellence and the fact that Grand Duke Fleming chose the right elector, who is now Columbus III, the Rose Family and Grand Duke Fleming's family has another earl, and a countess at that.

Garona Fleming, Countess of the Blade Rose.

Ryan's wife Avril worked in the territory for a period of time after finishing her training at the magic academy, using the power of magic to help maintain a group of trees, including some that were transplanted in the frozen land territory.

The butler handed over the visiting card, and Ryan's carriage followed the carriage in front into Grand Duke Fleming's mansion in the imperial capital.

Unlike several other grand dukes, Grand Duke Fleming has been living in the imperial capital due to his advanced age. He needs to help His Majesty the Emperor with many matters in the empire. After all, his relationship with the emperor is better than that of other grand dukes.

Ryan Clayton, his last name determined that he stood behind Grand Duke Fleming in the empire's political stance, and he could not change it even if he wanted to.

Ryan originally thought that he would have to wait a while before being received by the Grand Duke, but he was unexpectedly called over shortly after entering the mansion.

Ryan met Grand Duke Fleming, a man with gray hair that was difficult to manage. His eyes were a little cloudy, making people wonder whether he could still handle affairs. He lay in a chair and was unwilling to move too much.

On the other side was the Countess, with rose-like petals blooming in her golden eyes, proving her noble bloodline. Although she was said to be quite old, this Countess who was 80% similar to the first wife of Earl Clayton still looked delicate and youthful.

However, Ryan did not linger on her gaze for too long, because the Countess stood there like a sharp sword, and he felt hurt even by the contact of his eyes.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke."

"Ryan."

Grand Duke Fleming was not arrogant about Ryan's arrival. He casually asked Ryan to sit down and looked at him as if he was a junior.

"I've heard of your name for some time. A few years ago, I was still able to run around on the ground, but unfortunately I didn't have the chance to see you then."

"You are as good as your father. A lot has changed in the past hundred years, and outstanding nobles like you have been born. This is because the empire is favored by the bitch, the goddess of luck. I wonder if our majesty is having an affair with her, which has allowed the empire to grow stronger."

Ryan was ashamed of the way Grand Duke Fleming said whatever he thought, so he didn't dare to do it.

No wonder the emperor was not very willing to see the four grand dukes. Each of them had a status not much different from that of the emperor, and age and seniority made up for this gap.

The empire is the empire of the emperor and four grand dukes, and the value of this sentence is still increasing.

"Are you here to ask about the war in the South?"

Grand Duke Fleming said, and Ryan nodded. As a politically ally noble, Ryan did want to ask the Grand Duke about the various disputes within the empire.

He had been in the imperial capital these days, but had not come across any disputes among the nobles.

Is this because there is no such thing? How is this possible? Even the small Beifeng Province has a lot of troubles, let alone the Imperial City, the center of the empire.

The fact that he couldn't see the whirlpool here only proved that the whirlpool was so huge and turbulent beyond imagination that even the waves could not be seen.

The Grand Duke in front of him could undoubtedly feel and touch it clearly.

"The war of the empire..."

Grand Duke Fleming seemed to be falling asleep in the sun, and spoke only after a long time, but what he said had nothing to do with the South.

"Go west from the Imperial City and pass through two provinces to reach Neiqiu Province. It is adjacent to the highlands. The east and south of Neiqiu Province are the highlands, and the west is the west coast."

"There is a kind of flower and a kind of fruit growing in abundance there. What are they called?"

"Oh yeah... the flower of life, the blood rage fruit."

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly. These two things are the basis and necessities of life potions.

A knight can become a full knight from an apprentice knight by igniting the spark of life himself, but often life potions can take a shortcut and allow the knight to awaken the spark of life directly without experiencing the great terror between life and death.

There is a possibility of failure, but it is countless times better than primitive means.

There are many kinds of life potions used by knights, but the most basic life potion that ignites fire is called a life potion.

Within the empire, there are the largest cultivations of Flower of Life and Blood Rage Fruit on the Norris continent. The Flower of Life provides the original pure energy for the life potion, while the Blood Rage Fruit violently helps the knights break through the shackles and become extraordinary.

Archduke Fleming continued:
"One hundred years ago, the legendary magician [Book of Records] Vegasted, that immortal old thing, pulled down the remains of the gods from the sky, causing the Flower of Life Field and the Blood Rage Fruit Forest to expand a thousand times."

"Countless life potions were created."

"But now the remains of the dead god are almost completely eaten, and the Flower of Life and Blood Rage Fruit have also withered countless times. Now they are only ten times the size of a hundred years ago."

The gap from thousands of times to only ten times now is quite large. The most important thing is, what does this represent?
"The production of life potions is decreasing?"

"Lower? Yes."

Grand Duke Fleming shook his head and continued.

"Where were we talking about? Oh, right, the West Coast."

"The west coast fleet has been rebuilt? Hundreds of warships have been built? It's only been a year, how is that possible? The Chosen Emperor won the war against the Sirens, and it definitely wasn't won by the sea fleet."

"The West Sea Fleet was once very powerful. Even though Rice took away a large number of warships, the Empire's maritime fleet was still powerful. But it was completely wiped out at sea."

"Is it that the Empire's naval forces are too weak, or are those damned sirens becoming more evil and powerful in the process of absorbing the remains of the gods?"

"After the Pan-Plane War of Gods ended, the demons of the abyss devoured dead worlds like a feast. They have coveted Norris for many years, but those dead worlds filled them up so much that they did not launch an attack on this world for a hundred years."

"The emperor forgot, and the pope forgot, but the sirens on the sea must have the power of the devil, which is why they were able to defeat the empire's naval fleet."

Grand Duke Fleming spoke intermittently, then looked at Ryan.

"What do you ask? The war in the south?"

"Oh, my great Lord of the Dawn, the Empire cannot win. I have long advised him not to start a war easily. The Empire cannot sustain a long war, and the Empire's land cannot bear the consumption of hundreds of thousands of knights."

"The Emperor will definitely lose the war in the South. Damn it, Emperor Columbus actually doesn't want to see me because of this. Who does he think he is? He can defeat the Vatican with just anger."

"He has gone mad."

The Grand Duke fell asleep quietly. The servant beside him covered him with a blanket. His weak breathing proved that he was still alive. Ryan looked at the Countess beside him.

"The Grand Duke is saying that the Empire cannot maintain such a large number of knights, so if the war in the south continues, the Empire will face failure?"

Indeed, without the life potion, the birth of a knight would need to rely on the life-and-death training of those apprentice knights. Even Ryan had never thought that there would be so much pressure in the extraordinary world.

There are many extraordinary legions in the empire now, but just like the Dragonblood Warrior Legion of Count Sauron in the Borean Province, once there are heavy casualties, the Dragonblood Warrior Legion will gradually fade into the dust of history, and this extraordinary legion will disappear completely.

This shows the importance of dragon blood to Count Sauron, and it directly allows Llane to win over this ally.

The Countess also frowned. She looked at Ryan. She had also heard of the baron who cut off the head of the werewolf king. "Your Majesty asked you to come here for the war in the south?"

She naturally guessed that this Northern Baron had no other abilities worth paying attention to besides his ability in war.

The Countess's attitude was like a sword, and the rose with thorns was worthy of its reputation. Before Ryan could react, he felt as if a sharp blade was blocking his eyes.

"No, there was a war against the Dawn Church in the north, and I won. His Majesty the Emperor obviously wanted the war in the north to boost the war in the south."

After saying this, Ryan looked at the countess.

It is rumored that the title of the Countess was born in the abyss, and this Countess has always been fighting monsters in the abyss and rarely interferes in the internal affairs of the empire.

In fact, it was because it was difficult for her to participate. After all, as a countess, it was difficult for the nobles to play with her.

As for the affairs of the abyss, this once again involves the chaotic era of the empire a hundred years ago. The great nobles of the empire have all participated in it to varying degrees, and some influences have not disappeared even now, such as the countess in front of him who is fighting against the followers of the abyss demons, and the [Demon Hunter] beside Grand Duke Meyers.

This has nothing to do with Ryan. He is more concerned about the various complicated troubles within the empire.

"Is the Earl here to join the war?"

Ryan asked curiously, this countess was a rare visitor in the imperial capital.

"Your Majesty hopes that I can lead the Mountain Rock Legion to participate in the war in the south, but I need to know what the war in the south is like. I don't want my extraordinary legion to be wiped out on the battlefield in the south."

Yes, now the emperor is sending additional troops to the south like crazy, and he also wants the nobles to send troops continuously. The nobles are obedient, but the only thing they care about is that the great nobles are unwilling to send their extraordinary legions over.

The Extraordinary Legion is the lifeblood of the nobles. They do not want the Extraordinary Legion that they have armed with great difficulty to become cannon fodder in the war between the Empire and the Church.

Any nobleman must be extremely cautious in dealing with this matter.

"The emperor promised to recruit magicians. Those magicians seem to have made great contributions on the battlefield in the south. Perhaps they can lead the war to victory."

The Countess's words clearly showed that she was moved, not because of the emperor's order, but because she wanted to participate in the war in the south for her own purposes and interests.

Just like Earl Clayton, when Ryan stayed in Calais Province before, he already knew that his father had gone to the battlefield in the south.

So that the Clayton family could become the fifth Grand Duke of the Empire.

This was the purpose of the Clayton family. The Countess in front of them was obviously also interested. In addition, they wanted Archduke Rodrigo of the Magician Association...

It seems that this emperor was quite successful, and his crazy plan for war actually had the support of many people.

Not only Ryan thought of these, but also Grand Duke Meyers, he must need it, because even if he doesn't need it, Elector Volvo needs it. From the affairs of the West Sea Fleet, it can be seen that Elector Volvo obviously wants to gain the support and prestige of the nobles through the war against the Holy See, which means that the Meyers family must follow up and place a bet.

Two of the four grand dukes must participate, and if the emperor is included, more than three-fifths of the nobles in the empire will be their supporters.

Is this the reason why the nobles are increasing their troops despite being unwilling to do so?
Got swept up.

Sure enough, once a war begins, it can no longer be stopped or continued by the will of any individual.

The emperor is pushing forward, but now if he wants to continue, the nobles will stop him; if he wants to stop, the nobles will also stop him.

How to do?
Then please ask the noble wizard to come out!

Oh no, get out of the tower.

In the Imperial City, there was a wave of craze for magicians again and again. Every day, the outside of the Magic Academy was crowded with people. They looked at the clean, tidy and white Magic Academy with excitement. It was a world that they could not even dream of.

Then he excitedly pushed his child to the magic academy.

"From now on, our family is the home of the Master Wizard. The distinguished noble master said that as long as a wizard is born, our taxes will be exempted. Little Hagrid must become a distinguished wizard."

"Even the nobles will respect you then."

The children were ignorant, but looking at the stunning magic academy in front of them, they couldn't help but feel longing. They had heard that the wizards' tower was the highest place in the world and that they could see the whole world.

The common people were discussing, and the nobles were also deliberating.

"We don't have an answer to whether magicians can do it or not. The war in the south won a short-term victory because of magic, but we all know that the most common people in this world are not magicians, but priests and missionaries of the Church!"

"Your Majesty, you should stop the war immediately. Our territory cannot sustain a fourth year of war. The destruction brought by the orcs in the north has not disappeared yet! Go to Twilight Province and see how devastated it is. Even the nobles' territories cannot be repaired."

"We can't continue the war."

"You said you don't want to continue, so why don't you continue? What about those dead knights and nobles? And why do you refuse to declare war on the Church? We have never lost. Since the Emperor declared war, we have won every time. We can even win the war against the Church in the north. Why can't we win in the south?"

"We can't even invade the Kingdom of Carlos because you guys are holding us back. I now strongly suspect that you are colluding with the Holy See to say that you want to stop the war."

"We must win. The God of Light is watching us and bears witness to our victory."

"We need to gain more empire land from the south."

The nobles all have their own interests. Under the general environment of the Empire and the Church, the direction they are heading towards to the end of their interests is the same as the chariot of the Empire.

"We can't train so many magicians. We might as well increase the number of knight academies and allow more knights to enter the battlefield."

"Magicians need talent, but knights don't."

"How can we defeat the Church by relying on knights? Those Holy Light Knights cannot die after being blessed. Only magicians can deal with them."

"Just like a hundred years ago, the magician can win."

The discussion of the common people did not affect the mood of the wizards, but the pressure from the nobles made the tall towers of the magic academy frown.

The nobles united and demanded that the magicians come up with some results to counter the magic of the priests and missionaries of the Church.

"We don't need life magic, as it can't fight against the Blessing Magic of the Church. We also have enough magic potions to strengthen the soldiers. What the war needs now is direct power."

"Magicians can unleash destructive magic, but there are too few qualified magicians."

The ecological structure of the mages is more pyramid-like than a pyramid. The top few people hold destructive power that is more terrifying than all the rest combined.

The problem is that the Church can have many priests who can release high-intensity divine spells, but for magicians who are talented to achieve this, it will take a hundred years, and for those with poor talent, it will be impossible.

This is exactly what the nobles are worried about. This is all they know about magicians. If the nobles were not confident now, they would have to be humble when facing magicians.

In the tall towers of the Magic Academy, the great wizards were also disturbed and had difficulty in peace, and the key point was that they could not deafen.

After all, there are not many magicians, and a large number of these magicians are from the nobility.

The more powerful the magician, the harder it is to find an ordinary person other than a noble.

At the same time, the nobles were still discussing whether to increase or reduce investment in the magic academy next year.

This time, we have hit the vital point.

Having enjoyed the help to magical paths brought by the empire's wealth, magicians are unwilling to return to their previous miserable days.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

(End of this chapter)