Throne of the North.

Chapter 594 The Arrival of the Vampire Legion, Ancient William
"The people of the frozen tundra will never yield to any enemy that attempts to destroy this prosperity."

“Ryan Clayton will never forget the Dawn Church’s malicious assassination attempt on him.”

The nobles of the Northwind Province were shocked by Baron Ryan's direct confrontation, and unsurprisingly, as the Baron's words became more intense, a large number of Black Swan assassins, who should have been elsewhere, appeared on the border of this empire.

They came with the intention of killing the Baron of the North, and then a dark battle ensued on this land.

Even a vast empire cannot avoid the fate of being a makeshift regime. Ryan is helpless against the fact that the nobles under this system fight each other. In order to protect his own reputation and the lives of the nobles in the northern lands, he has no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: drawing hatred towards them.

“We have already set up magic arrays around the mountains and forests, so it will be impossible for a black swan to enter silently.”

Luna and the other mages spoke with great conviction, and then that very night, Ryan encountered a terrifying assassination attempt. He watched as swords flashed on the castle walls, and amidst the intertwining shadows, the corpses of cat-man assassins and black swan assassins emerged from the darkness.

"They have no soul."

The next day, the mage Luna solemnly told Ryan these words.

How can one live without a soul?

Ryan was also shocked. What did this mean?
"Faith—they sacrificed their souls to the sun in the sky, and in return, they gained the dark power within their faith. You can understand it as..."

"Their souls pray fervently somewhere on that sacred mountain in the south, from the moment of their birth until eternity, always in one place."

"And their bodies grow in this process, becoming swans of the dark world, heading towards the direction of the dawn."

The one who answered Ryan's question was not the mage Luna, but Dean Rose, the alchemist and former shadow mage, who said she was very familiar with such methods.

"The Dawn Church probably possesses a very powerful legacy of shadow magic, and has transformed this extraordinary power into their own Black Swan assassins."

When he said that, Ryan wasn't surprised.

"The Dawn Church has relentlessly hunted down mages for countless years, and I doubt any mage tower can surpass them in magical heritage."

The Vatican's official structure is quite simple: monks and nuns, priests and missionaries, bishops and archbishops, cardinals and the pope.

It seems simple, but beneath the surface lies a complex web of intricacies. The more bloated the Papacy is, the greater its other powers become.

For example, there's the Black Swan Assassin, the Silenced Ascetic, or the Holy Knight and the soldiers of the Ten Extraordinary Legions.

Hearing Ryan's words, many mages became eager. Ryan did not discourage them, but he also knew one thing in his heart.

Everyone knows this, but no magician has ever come out of the Holy Mountain alive.

The ten legendary mages of the empire are already powerful enough. Joining the empire as imperial retainers may well be driven by the desire to venture into the sacred mountain in search of ancient traditions.

Only when interests align and strength is equal will mages lower their noble heads and become offerings to nobles.

Mages of insufficient skill level cannot stop the appearance of the Black Swan assassin, but the most powerful in the Frozen Territory is not a mage but an alchemist.

"Alchemy is also a supernatural power; alchemical creations can also sense fluctuations of supernatural energy."

Rose said confidently that Ryan had previously only used this group of people as scientists.

For several days in a row, the battlefield in the shadows no longer appeared frequently in the castle of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, but instead appeared everywhere in the mountains and forests, and many villages saw people killed by black swans.

However, killing those villagers from the otherworldly mountain forests is useless. Once the Black Swan assassin can no longer hide completely, he will be found quickly and either killed or forced to flee outside the Frozen Territory.

"This isn't a solution."

Ryan was also thinking about whether there was a better way. He had almost wiped out the Dawn Church in the Kingdom of Sera, and the threat from that land was no longer a real deterrent to the Dawn Church.

"If I don't deal with these guys, I won't be able to explore the new other world."

Ryan sighed helplessly. Indeed, the new dimensional gate could have been opened long ago, shortly after Griff entered the Frozen Territory with his eagle. However, Ryan had already gone south at that time and did not have time to open up the otherworldly dimension, so it was delayed until now.

The presence of the Black Swan assassin has further delayed this exploration.

However, to Ryan's surprise, the Black Swan assassins were contained a few days later.

Not just the Northwind Province, but the entire empire.

“The Earl of Stonecastle has dispatched his vampire army. They have experience fighting black swans and are sure to win in the darkness.”

To be precise, it was Earl William's vampire legion that was used to hunt down the Black Swan assassins hiding within the Empire, and the results were remarkable, far more elegant and efficient than those of the other extraordinary legions.

They could even do it without disturbing the commoners and slaves who were sleeping soundly in the dark.

The Northwind Province also successfully welcomed a vampire army. This was the result of Earl Winter's efforts in the capital city and Baron Ryan's increased influence in the south, forcing the capital city to reluctantly provide support to the Northwind Province.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor has not yet expressed much gratitude for Baron Ryan's victory on the southern battlefield.

The vampire legion, which was supposed to be 500 people, actually numbered 2,000. The extra 1,500 were the vampires' blood slaves, who all looked ruddy-faced and plump, while the vampires themselves appeared thin and pale.

“We need fresh blood, but the blood of slaves from other places is disgusting.”

The general of the vampire army is a high-ranking vampire. Compared to the Sky Knights, due to the characteristics of vampires, he is likely to be stronger than an ordinary Sky Knight.

However, the moment he appeared in the North Wind Province, he was brutally beaten by the Corps Commander of the Bogeld Legion, who happened to be patrolling Yinchuan County. Even though this Al Zeta Jones had transformed into a figure over three meters tall with bat wings, a ferocious face, sharp teeth, and a speed that left afterimages, with a speed of 100 meters that no one could match.

He was still punched into a crevice in the rocks by Bogeld and didn't climb out for a long time.

"What sandbag?"

Bogurd rode proudly atop his nearly four-meter-long armored bear, watching the restless vampire army. The next moment, he angrily charged in, and the two of them began to brutally beat the vampires.

"It's all because of you guys, all because of you guys, those damn black swans have disappeared."

The girl was angry and wanted to fight, but the result was always the opposite.

The stag army, numbering several hundred, began a one-sided beating of the vampire army that had come from afar. The knights and squires who remained with Bogeld were all at least bronze knights, leaving Viscount Hogg of Silver River County dumbfounded. Fortunately, he eventually managed to persuade them to stop.

"Al Zeta Jones?" Ryan asked, somewhat surprised, looking at the now docile vampire before him.
"You are not of Earl William's blood?"

“Every high-ranking vampire is William’s bloodline.”

“We are all the sons of the Earl’s father.”

Al Zeta-Jones said:

“The ancient William had many children, and with the calamities in the North, the Earl bore the responsibility of passing on a portion of his noble lineage.”

"So he bestowed the thirteen noble surnames of William's ancient bloodline upon the vampire legion to perpetuate the lineage of William's descendants who had lost their families."

“Zeta Jones is one of them. This surname can be traced back to the royal family of a kingdom, and it has an extremely prestigious reputation before the North.”

“I am the young patriarch of the Zeta Jones clan. Lord Ryan can be considered the vice-general. As for the patriarch, he is the heir to the Zeta Jones surname and the general of the thousand-strong Zeta Jones vampire legion.”

Ryan nodded. He understood. The vampire army ruled by bloodlines, and the highest authority was, of course, Earl William, the ancestor of these surnames. He bestowed surnames upon the generals of the vampire army, making them the patriarchs of one ancient name after another.

"So, Earl William has thirteen thousand vampires?"

Ryan was surprised; the number was still enormous. After all, not every earl could be compared to Earl Clayton, who was qualified to become the fifth Grand Duke.

Zeta-Jones shook her head and said:

"The vampire legion consists of 22,000 vampire soldiers, 300 of whom are high-ranking vampires who have inherited the surname."

"The title of William that the Earl inherited belongs to one of the descendants of the surname 'William'. As for the oldest William bloodline ancestor, he no longer exists."

"The Earl himself bestowed upon him the Embrace, granting him command of ten thousand vampire warriors."

Viscount Hogg of Yinchuan County, Northwind Province, has the surname William in his bloodline, which is why he was able to marry a royal woman.

There were at least three hundred high-ranking vampires at the Sky Knight level, and the total number reached twenty-two thousand. These were vampires, a special type of soldier. This result made Ryan's teeth ache.

So strong.

"The Black Swan assassins of Northwind Province are now in your hands. My army will patrol the province. If you encounter any danger, you can call for help."

"You can live in Zero Crossing City, but you absolutely cannot cause trouble for the people of Zero Crossing City. Your blood-sucking instinct can be controlled, right?"

Al Zeta Jones showed no reaction to Ryan's plea for help, mainly because he had already seen it before; the baron's army was frighteningly powerful, far surpassing the knights he had seen before.

As for the matter of drinking blood, he didn't hesitate at all, saying:
"We are not actually pure vampires. We were transformed from humans. Due to our divine origins, we do not have an extreme craving for blood. We only have a need to maintain life and for extraordinary evolution."

Al Zeta-Jones stated that he was once a member of Earl William's large family and could even address the Earl as his great-uncle, with William as his surname.

Years later, after becoming a Golden Knight, he saw no hope of advancing further, so he told the Count that he was willing to become a vampire and evolve through blood.

He was of noble blood.

As for the name, whether it's William now or Zeta-Jones, both are noble and are descendants of the same bloodline as William. Before, when William was just a marginal figure, he has now become a core member of a certain surname, so there's nothing wrong with that.

Listening to the words of the young patriarch Zeta Jones, whose speech was eloquent and whose every move exuded aristocratic elegance, Ryan could only sense the presence of Earl William and his territory…

ancient.

And listen to the meaning behind those words.

Earl William not only commands a superhuman legion of vampires, but also many knights who refuse to become vampires.

The number of extraordinary warriors is greater than what has been shown.

No wonder they were able to suppress the Black Swan assassin who was trying to kill the nobles in such a short time.

This is the foundation of an ancient lineage. In comparison, the Earl of Clayton, whose rise to power was too short, could not achieve this level.

Of course, the Earl of Clayton's bloodline wasn't exactly a new power; it was just that Ryan's father had been so outstanding that Clayton's ancestors couldn't hold their heads high and claim to be the ancient glory and noble honor of the Clayton bloodline.

Clayton's bloodline can also be traced back to the era of the Flor Empire's elders. If his first ancestor hadn't also been a dragon knight, Earl Clayton's emblem would have featured a flower.

After arranging the vampire army, Ryan couldn't help but reflect on another matter.

Once the nobles of the empire felt their lives were truly threatened, they acted with alarming speed. Only a few days after the Black Swan assassins appeared, Earl William's vampire legion had to be mobilized.

Ryan even suspected that the Dawn Church regretted their decision, because their order to launch the Black Swan attack had created an even more terrifying threat to the Empire.

Those nobles who lost their fathers would take vengeful revenge against the Dawn Church, becoming the most eager nobles for war in the empire. At the same time, the remaining nobles would feel insecure and would try to suppress the Church. They believed that this was a war, and only the losing side would retreat.

In short, let's hope these vampires can really stop the Black Swan assassins from killing the nobles.

After observing for two days, Ryan concluded that the vampires' power was undeniable. Their speed in the dark was such that only the Blood Eagle could accurately detect and pursue them. Apart from that, only Egil, the hero unit with the three-headed, spirit-like giant wolf, could follow them step by step.

Their speed, strength, and awareness of life are all top-notch. Apart from being inferior to the Bucks' knights and squires in direct combat, they have almost no weaknesses.

The divine origin erased all the flaws that the vampire army should have, such as wild instincts and bloodlust. Apart from disliking heat and sunlight, the vampire army has no other bad traits.

There are even greater advantages; their lifespan is longer than that of ordinary people. Even lower-ranking vampires can easily live for 120 years.

In the extraordinary world, there are actually quite a few ways to extend lifespan, but few are more efficient and widespread than vampires.

The arrival of the vampires did indeed help Ryan contain the Black Swan assassins of the Northwind Province. Those 'guests' from the Church had no place to stand in this land. They couldn't even find followers of the Lord of Dawn to help them hide, since this was the birthplace of the faith of light.

Now even their living space at night is suppressed; the vampires' pursuit leaves Black Swan with no time to assassinate nobles.

Ryan finally had time to consider things about the other world.

(End of this chapter)