Throne of the North.

Chapter 616 The Impregnable North Wind

The sudden, violent commotion drew everyone's attention, and the Black Swan assassin inside the house didn't even have time to dodge.

"Who are you! This is my home, these are my friends, they, they are adventurers too."

"Get out of my house right now, or I'll call the patrol!"

Old Manfred screamed loudly, but dared not push Egil, for those three magnificent white wolves were no mere decorations.

"Sir Knight, it's them! They're the ones who kidnapped our whole family!"

Young Manfred shouted and ran toward Egil. The three white wolves looked up, and the candy in the boy's hand tasted like the scent of their chase.

"Damn it, what are you doing, little Manfred?"

"Sir Knight, it's them, it's them who kidnapped our family."

“My father was also kidnapped by them.”

The boy clung tightly to his father's leg, preventing him from moving. Life had improved, and the children were eating well, so he was quite strong.

“I saw the child. Your family has been kidnapped by Vatican members, and they are trying to proselytize you.”

"Black Swan assassins are not qualified to convert believers into followers."

Egil looked at old Manfred.

"They're fake. Even the Dawn Church doesn't dare acknowledge their existence. You think they're priests?"

"Let me show you what they look like after they die; they're just as shriveled as that guy outside."

Outside, Al Zeta-Jones pursed his lips, revealing sharp teeth at the corners of his mouth.

It's impossible to expect vampires to have a normal mindset.

Egil has already rushed out. Once the Black Swan assassins are exposed, they no longer have the greatest advantage. They are assassins, killers; their job is to launch sneak attacks from the shadows, not to engage in direct combat like this.

In an instant, all the Black Swan assassins tried to flee, but around the house, vampires were already in position, completely surrounding the place.

“This is Zero Crossing City, you have no law enforcement authority here.”

Egil chuckled and said, as the three white wolves beside him began to tear at the Black Swan assassins. As for himself, he used his bare hands as weapons, tearing the Black Swan assassins to pieces in a bloody manner.

"A savage monster."

Al scoffed. As vampires, elegance was the life they pursued. Even now, surrounded by vampire warriors, they stood gracefully in various strange places, ensuring that their elegance would not be broken.

However, the intense stench of blood still stirred the vampire warriors, who quickly charged towards the black swan assassins. About ten minutes later, there were no more living black swan assassins left.

"Father, Father, oh!"

Old Manfred ran over and saw it, turned pale with fright, and turned around to vomit.

Then he started beating his son.

“I did nothing wrong. Everything we have was given to us by Lord Ryan, yet they want us to offer it to the Lord. What are we supposed to eat?”

"I want to eat candy, and my sister wants to eat candy too. We can't give them to her."

Egil turned and left, but left a message before he did.

"Someone will come to deal with these bodies later. Also, your faith will be taken by a real priest."

The Manfred family was gripped by fear when, not long after, a group of people dressed in church attire arrived at their home.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the cultists silently gathered all the corpses and put them into body bags, washing away the bloodstains as well. They possessed some kind of divine magic that could cleanse the muddy bloodstains.

“We are followers of the Imperial Church of Light, Father Sven is our leader, and Father Sven is the true follower of the Lord.”

“You have seen these corpses. They are nothing but evil heretics who steal the faith of my Lord through deception and plunder, but they will eventually be purified by my Lord.”

Old Manfred, trembling, took out the family's wealth and held it in his hands.

However, the group of people in priestly robes waved their hands in refusal.

“Father Sven said that our Lord will only mercifully give hope and courage to His believers, and will not take away any wealth from those who believe in Him.”

“Father Sven also said that the Lord does not care about or need the wealth of mortals. If anyone plunders wealth in the name of the Lord, then they are false believers.”

“This is Baron Ryan’s territory. All the necessities of our lives are provided by Baron Ryan. We do not need to obtain them from the believers.”

"Thank you very much, Mr. Manfred. You are a devout follower of my Lord."

"Whether it's dawn or daylight, your faith is not wrong. The great Lord brings us hope for life. I hope your devout faith can help you achieve a better future."

"The Lord will look after you, Mr. Manfred."

Before leaving, the believer took out a few hard-boiled eggs from his own person and gave them to the children around him for their breakfast.

"Praise the light."

The residents on both sides of the street stared in disbelief as the cultists left. Compared to them, the old Manfred family and their predecessors were utterly pathetic.

“I knew it, I knew it. Why would the gods want our things? Even Lord Miles wouldn’t want our things.”

A group of people nodded like chicks pecking at rice. Mr. Miles was very stingy; he never left the good stuff for others.

During the day, Zero Crossing City wasn't particularly bustling. However, as night fell, many arriving adventurers from the Northern Territory were surprised to find that Zero Crossing City was surprisingly lively at night.

"Is that Earl William's vampire legion? They've actually appeared in Zero Crossing City. Aren't they hunting down the Black Swan assassins from the Papacy?"

"There are black swans in Zero Crossing City."

In the darkness, battles raged in the shadows as hundreds of vampires poured into Zero City, while outside the city, Bogeld charged furiously towards them.

"Damn vampires, they attacked without telling us! This is Zero Crossing City."

Signi and a large number of Shadow Vanguard had entered Zero City from the shadows, and the sudden attack shocked the Black Swan Assassins, who did not expect to find an army similar to theirs here.

"No need to leave any survivors."

Signy seemed somewhat hesitant in Zero City. In other places, she would have turned the city into scorched earth without any scruples. However, even so, with the power of the Saint Realm, she still slaughtered everyone in her path. In the darkness, vampires are professionals, black swan assassins are professionals, but shadow vanguards are born.

The great serpent spirit granted them the power to live in the shadows, a path of extraordinary power for the rebels.

Early the next morning.

Bogeld stood in front of Al Zeta-Jones and said:

"You can leave now. Zero City doesn't need vampires. We'll take care of those Black Swan assassins ourselves."

Al was speechless. What was the point of cleaning up? Zero Crossing City had been turned upside down in one night. Even the adventurers were trembling with fear. Where was the Black Swan assassin now?

Before leaving, Al still reminded them: "Those Black Swan assassins might try to assassinate Baron Ryan, so you should be careful. After all, they can even kill the Grand Duke."

This is a taboo topic in the empire; not only them, but even the nobles cannot easily bring it up.

"Don't worry, they don't have that much ability. Besides, they're not after Boss Ryan, but the other nobles who are about to arrive in Zero Crossing City. They just want to frame Boss Ryan."

Bogeld looked at Al and said:
“We know far more about this land in the North than you do.”

Al was speechless. It was true that they used their vampire talents to find the Black Swan assassin, but these nobles did not.

Each territory was not very large, and the lord had a strong control over it.

Moreover, he had heard that Baron Ryan was able to send his own men to other noble territories to become so-called grain cultivation experts.

A day later, Baron Ryan arrived in Zero Crossing from the Frozen Territory. The city was brightly decorated and filled with laughter and joy, a far cry from the cold and bleak atmosphere of the previous two days.

"The Black Swan assassins in the North Wind Province should be wiped out soon, right?"

Ryan asked Signi, "Since this Shadow Leader arrived in the Frozen Territory, he has repeatedly dealt heavy blows to the Black Swan Assassins. Now, in Zero Crossing City, the Black Swan Assassins' plan to launch a desperate counterattack has been thwarted."

"If they reappear, they will be spotted by the avant-garde immediately."

There are quite a few Shadow Vanguards, and this is Ryan's private territory. The number of Black Swan Assassins is nothing compared to the Shadow Vanguards.

Ryan nodded and continued:

"After that, the Shadow Vanguard had to expand to the east, to the kingdoms of Andara and Sera, where there are also many Black Swan assassins that need to be dealt with."

How could the Black Swan assassins of the Dawn Church come and go as they please? In this land of the North, without Lord Ryan's consent, the Dawn Church cannot extend its claws over.

With the addition of the Shadow Vanguard to the Frozen Territory, Ryan's last weakness was resolved. Within the Frozen Territory's sphere of influence, the North should be an impregnable fortress, where no chaos could stir up any trouble, not even the Papacy.

Ryan also created a safe North so that the nobles of this land would have no right to oppose him. And now that the Black Swan assassins of Northwind Province have been wiped out, Lord Ryan can finally discuss new things with the nobles.

On that day, while inviting the nobles to watch the knights' duel, Ryan brought up the old matter again.

“We said back then that if the advisors I send can really help you increase grain production, then you must support me. Our North Wind Province can no longer rely entirely on grain transport from the south to survive.”

"I believe that none of you gentlemen will refuse my first three-year land reclamation plan."

“There are large areas of uncultivated wasteland in the North Wind Province. I think that in a few years, our territory will not lack food.”

"This requires the help of all the nobles. Of course, the cultivated land does not belong to any one noble, but to our entire collective."

Ryan would never give away reclaimed farmland to a nobleman, thus indirectly helping them expand their territory.

"The grain produced each year will be distributed uniformly."

“This is the Marquis’s duty, but I am currently acting as the Governor, so I will make the allocation for now.”

The nobles had no objection to this matter, and none of them felt there was a problem. The Marquis of Northwind was dispensable to Northwind, and the previous Marquis of Northwind had given them a very bad experience.

The nobles were unwilling to recall the history of that war.

"Baron Ryan, I've heard you made great contributions in the Southern War. I wonder if His Majesty the Emperor will reward you when the Elector returns to the capital?"

"That's beyond my knowledge. Your Majesty is wise and insightful, but if possible, I hope that the fortress materials Your Majesty promised to give me can be delivered as soon as possible, haha."

The nobles laughed too; His Majesty the Emperor was indeed very concerned about his own reputation.

"I wonder what the fortress that Baron Ryan built in the northern part of the Frozen Territory looks like. If we have the chance, we'd like to go and see it."

"Of course, it already has a basic structure. Even if the orcs invade again in the future, I will be able to keep them out of the fortress."

"It won't be long before our Northwind Province no longer faces the threat of the northern barbarians."

"Moreover, just a day ago, my army killed the Black Swan assassin. You should have felt safe all the way to Zero Crossing City, right?"

One cannot be too serious when dealing with nobles. These nobles have obtained their current privileged conditions because of their hereditary power, which is commonly known as good fortune. It is unlikely that they will be serious.

Even the few outstanding nobles would not discuss serious matters with Ryan in such a setting.

However... the nobles were concerned about their own safety.

“Yes, on behalf of my family, I thank Baron Ryan for everything he has done for the North Wind. Your army gives us a sense of security.”

"However, I heard that in the south, even the King of the Iron Eagle Kingdom was killed by assassins from the Papacy. How could this be? I just heard that the Empire and the Papacy signed the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes."

"Shouldn't the war be over by now? I was hoping my in-laws in the Volga province would sell me more grain."

"The war is only temporarily over. The Black Swan assassin killing the King of the Iron Eagle Kingdom is a reminder that the conflict between the Empire and the Papacy may not have completely disappeared."

"But that has nothing to do with us. As nobles of the North, the Papacy's wars are too far removed from us, aren't they?"

"I heard that the Papacy is also in trouble lately. The evil god of the abyss is giving them a headache, which is why they had to sign the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes. Even next year's Festival of Divine Grace will see His Holiness the Pope come to the Empire in person to witness His Majesty the Emperor's authority, hahaha."

The nobles laughed. Their loyalty to the emperor was genuine, and even hereditary. The emperor's authority was further enhanced, and the empire became more powerful, which naturally made the nobles proud as well.

This was their era, their glory.

"Your Holiness, our family hasn't seen you for many years. Will His Majesty invite all the nobles?"

"The emperor of the empire and the pope of the Holy See sitting together will surely leave a mark on history."

The nobles longed to be remembered in history, not just in the annals of their own families.

This is how they became important figures in history.

The few days in Zero Crossing City were a time of celebration for everyone. The nobles of the North Wind were finally relieved, knowing that there were no more of those damned Black Swan assassins on this land.

The nobles of the Northwind Province were happy, but the nobles of other provinces in the empire could not relax too much.

After the Black Swan assassins killed the King of the Iron Eagle Kingdom, they seemed to have lost control and began another frenzied assassination campaign against the imperial nobles.

As for the reason... there is an irrefutable one.

The Sunbird Dawn, Sunbird Ifrit, was sealed by the nobles of the Empire at the foot of the royal city of Nantes. What is this if not blasphemy against the gods? How could the Black Swan Assassins not be in an uproar?

Even His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Mountain could not completely restrict or control their behavior. The Black Swan assassins had only one thought in mind: revenge, just like the revenge of Archduke Russell. For the great beings they represented, they launched a bloodbath against the blasphemers without regard for the cost.

"Damn it! What the hell do you want?!"

The Pope roared as the Holy Mountain was born; his killing of the Cardinal had ultimately left him with a hidden danger.

The clergy on the holy mountain remained silent, but they seemed to be reminding His Holiness the Pope in this way.

The power of the Papacy does not belong to him alone.

(End of this chapter)