Throne of the North.

Chapter 647 Grand Duke Meyers and the Province of Northwind

During the autumn harvest season, anything superfluous must give way to the bountiful harvest. In other provinces of the empire, the panic brought by the Black Swan assassins has not disappeared, but in the Northwind Province, they can enjoy the joy of a bountiful harvest.

This year's grain harvest is exceptionally abundant.

"Move all the grain into the silos!"

Within the nobles' territories, silos of all sizes were erected. These were warehouses for storing food, which did not exist before. After Baron Ryan dispatched a large number of professional food advisors to the nobles' territories, these silos came into being.

Ultimately, it was the increase in grain production that allowed the nobles of the North Wind to finally experience the satisfaction of self-sufficiency.

"Master Seren, we will leave after the autumn harvest is over."

The professional advisors located in the Baron's territory resigned from their posts; they came from the Frozen Territory.

"Huh? You're leaving already?"

The baron, who had enjoyed various benefits, was not so willing, and simply asked:

When will you be coming next year?

"As Lord Ryan instructed, we will be heading east and will not be coming to Baron Seren's territory again."

"what?"

The Baron was filled with regret and reluctance.

"But my slaves haven't learned your techniques yet."

"They have already learned that clearing land and planting crops is a very simple thing, as long as you, Baron, want your land to produce crops."

With the Frozen Soil Territory badge, these people moved freely throughout the Northwind Province. After more than two years of guidance, the grain output of the Northwind Province increased by at least 70% to 80%.

This was because the North Wind Province used to produce far too little grain.

During the autumn harvest season, the hottest place is undoubtedly the swamp. Many nobles come here in person, and everyone is awestruck when they see the dense, golden 'waves' of water.

What was once a barren, icy swamp has now become the leading grain-producing region in the North Wind Province.

The most excited of all was, of course, Baron Hatton. His territory was so close to the swamp that, as Ryan's 'neighbor,' he witnessed the birth of the golden world day by day.

The satisfaction that food brings is irreplaceable. As the swamp changed more and more, Baron Hatton rarely lingered on those catwomen anymore.

"This amount of food is enough to sustain 500,000 people."

The farmland in the swamp has stabilized, and the surrounding area is still being reclaimed. This golden sea will eventually become wider and wider.

Ryan's former ambition has now become a reality. A large number of food samples have been sent to Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, and Ryan has set his sights on the mage Yelena.

He doesn't understand.

“The grains are plump and they are growing very well. You are right, the swamp has a lot of nutrients that are rich in food.”

"Its cold resistance is not yet sufficient, but this is only the third generation. When the fourth and fifth generation seeds are planted next year, the seeds will evolve to have higher cold resistance and eventually become winter wheat grown in the North."

"As it stands, the initial batch of farmland developed will not have any problems within the next ten or twenty years; it will continue to produce food."

"The farmland developed in the past year still needs to be stabilized, and it would be best to transport more soil to fill it in."

Ryan nodded; the development of the swamp area was proceeding in an orderly manner.

After listening, Aetria said:
"Currently, the construction of mountain roads within the permafrost region is nearing completion, and the excess earth has been piled up to create flat sites that can be transported to the swamps for filling."

"It also helps to solidify the road surface."

"A total of sixty-one roads were built. One of them is the main road, which connects to the swamp in the south, goes straight to Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, leads to Winter City, and finally to the Thorn Fortress defense line. The remaining sixty roads mostly connect to villages, ensuring that the roads can reach every corner of the Frozen Territory."

The good thing about the frozen tundra at the foot of the mountains is that the geographical environment here is not entirely rugged, so the roads are not so difficult to build that they are called the 'Shu Road'.

Even so, after announcing the good news, Aetria still gave a somber figure.

"One hundred thousand people fell on the roads that were built, and almost all of them came from Nidhogg."

"To avoid panic, I arranged for rotations. The slaves don't know how many have died or been injured. Every time a batch is lost, they are redeployed from another world."

After hesitating, Aetria looked at Ryan.

"Besides the main road, the remaining sixty paths are not complete. Should we continue?"

"Of course continue."

Ryan's eyes were calm and still. He used to be sentimental over the slightest death, but now he was indifferent. He had committed too much killing. If there really was a hell in this world, he could thrive in it.

"Some things always need to be done. If I do them today, fewer people will die in the future."

Everyone around looked at Ryan with admiration. Under this lord's leadership, the Frozen Territory had gradually transformed from a village where even clearing the snow was difficult, into a territory that the entire Northwind Province longed to enter and learn from.

Every noble who came to the Frozen Territory was shocked by the changes. The time had been too short, leaving them stuck in their preconceived notions and unable to understand how Ryan had accomplished it.

"The roads still need to be repaired, but for now, these roads are barely enough. We should take it slow and not risk losing more people in the rush to save time."

"The road I want to build is in the Northwind Province."

"It was too troublesome for nobles to travel between their territories, which severely restricted the movement of commoners and slaves."

"Clean up the roads, clear out the wild beasts, and ensure that the Northwind Province can...be more active."

"One Zero Crossing City is not enough. We will soon welcome more and more diverse adventurers who will gather in the Northwind Province and bring more vibrant wealth to this land."

“The nobles will be disgusted and reject them.”

Aitria said that xenophobia is inevitable, and as more and more outsiders come, many of the natives will be affected. Their wealth and status will no longer be secure, so they will actively reject outsiders.

This will create a contradiction.

"Time will tell, and when contradictions arise, let them see how much grain they harvested this autumn."

“If they resist new changes, then I will make them go back to where they were five years ago.”

Ryan said seriously that he had the ability, but what was it like five years ago? No one would want to go back to those days of frequent wars, crop failures, and constant plundering.

"Finally, there's the Great Wall in the Northern Snowfields. The first phase of its construction is complete, and the Alchemist Academy is currently filling it with liquid metal. They're trying to turn the Great Wall into a living fortress."

"Dean Rose said that he once again felt the opportunity for a legendary status, but shadow magic was still eroding his legendary gift, and he could not be sure whether the legendary gift that was coming belonged to a mage or an alchemist."

"So he could only keep refusing. In this matter, Dean Rose hoped to obtain more dragon blood assistance, as he needed to improve his knight rank."

"Currently, Dean Rose has become a Gold Knight."

This is terrifying. The most talented person Ryan has ever seen has already reached a high level in the third extraordinary system.

It's truly a case of some suffering from drought while others are drowning in floods.

"When will the first phase of the Great Wall be completed?"

"According to Dean Rose's prediction, it should be completed before winter arrives at the latest. After that, we can repair more snow-resistant houses, improve the fortress's surface and internal structure, and install the giant crossbows that Master Brok has forged during this time." "These should be completed within half a winter, and you will have a complete fortress before the Festival of Grace."

"You should probably contact the Mage's Guild. The Great Wall Fortress needs many mages to work with the alchemists to perform extraordinary enhancements."

"The duration of this time can be—permanent."

Every year, new magic runes can be inscribed, constantly updating and repairing the fortress; it is not something that can be done once and for all.

"Can it stop a legend?"

Ryan doesn't currently have such high requirements for Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, but as a fortress, the Wall of the North absolutely needs such strength.

Ryan still remembers Count Pascal's castle, where a legendary Black Swan assassin broke in and was easily suppressed.

Even the Great Wall fortress must possess the power to confront legends.

"Dean Rose said it's difficult. He needs to advance to the Legendary level to integrate Legendary Alchemy into the fortress. Moreover, to completely counter a Legendary enemy, it would be best if there were already Legendaries within the fortress itself."

Only other legendaries can deal with legendaries... and mages too.

Dean Rose didn't want magicians to interfere too much with her work, and she believed that alchemy could do what magic could do.

"A legend indeed..."

Ryan has already felt the world's favor upon him, and his legendary blessings should arrive soon. It just needs an opportunity, an opportunity for him to become illustrious.

He will be qualified to decide whether he needs it or not.

Lord Ryan can't possibly stay at the Wall in the North, so he needs more legends.

Brand, the First Guardian Knight, is also growing rapidly. The Serpent's Blessing has accelerated the growth of his followers, but he is still clearly slower than Ryan.

Then the only option is to use divine blessings to create legends, but currently, Ryan doesn't have a second knight like Daryl from the Kingdom of Andara.

Grand Duke Gelan of the Kingdom of Kolan is a potential candidate, but the knight beside him is not at the peak of the Saint Realm. He is currently using resources to try to push him to the peak of the Saint Realm, which will take some time.

"Perhaps you could try recruiting them."

Aetria reminded her:

"Just like that Master Xisu back then, you can also recruit suitable sanctuaries to become your followers."

Aetria's words made Ryan's eyes light up. That's right, the mage Xisu was recruited by his father, Earl Clayton. At that time, Ryan was still very weak and could not afford to support a Saint-level mage.

But things are different now. He doesn't dare to dream of the demigoddess Isabella, but reaching the peak of the Saint Realm is more than enough for him.

He was an aristocrat, and aristocrats are certainly entitled to attract extraordinary followers.

"However, the peak of the Saint Realm..."

This is no easy feat; even Ryan isn't sure if a lone Saint-level peak cultivator exists in this world.

"Let's get the message out first, that I can offer a legendary opportunity."

……

The three major projects in the Frozen Territory—the swamps, the roads, and the Northern Wall—are all in their final stages. As the autumn harvest gradually comes to an end, the joy of the harvest has brought Baron Ryan's prestige to its peak.

All the nobles knew that they would not need to buy so much grain from the south this year. If they could maintain the same level of purchases for two or three more years, they would be able to become independent.

This significantly improved the status of the nobles, since they always felt inferior for having to beg others to sell them grain every year.

Ryan's prestige was unshakeable, and his authority had become terrifying without anyone noticing.

What's most unacceptable is the Marquis's Castle on Thundercloud Mountain.

Shaya represents the Grand Duke Meyers' family. There is an agreement between the Grand Duke Meyers and His Majesty the Emperor for some ulterior motive.

They thought their biggest rivals were the numerous nobles of the Northwind Province, only to later discover that their greatest adversary was actually the Baron of the North.

However, Ryan's prestige continued to rise, while the Meyers family was constantly unable to concentrate on their work due to various other matters.

"Isn't it too late to realize this now?"

Shaya stood before Krysus, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Beside her, Marquis Northwind was already captivated by the birds outside and struggled to run after them.

"In this land, the title of Marquis of Northwind is no longer useful; Baron Ryan's letters are what are necessary."

Shaya looked at Chrysus, her tone remaining unpleasant.

“We are family, Shaya, you shouldn’t be so hostile towards me.”

Kryseth also frowned at the current problems in the Northwind Province, but he also disliked Shaya's attitude.

“We’re not a family. You support Volvo Elite, while I have to support Floyd.”

"He is the father of the Marquis of Northwind."

"Speaking of which, I'm also very curious about this. What exactly happened between you two? It seems that the Elector Freud also went to the depths of the ocean. You seem to have the same purpose."

Shaya looked coldly at Chrysus.

"I'm also very curious about what you and Grandpa are planning to do to the Northwind Province. You almost caused the Nightmare Knights to be wiped out because of this."

"Such a huge price to pay."

This time, Chrysus did not evade the question and spoke up:

"We want to sacrifice the province of Northwind."

Shaya hadn't expected Chrysus to say it so directly, and she certainly hadn't expected that the matter would be so...horrifying.

"A sacrifice? A sacrifice for the North Wind Province? Are you all insane?"

"The nobles of this land will not agree, no one will agree to your madness."

Saya screamed, her breathing rapid. She never imagined that this matter would be so serious.

“Ryan is right, you really do have ulterior motives toward the Northwind Province.”

“I came here for this reason. The power and prestige of the Baron of the North are too great. The Kingdom of Andara and the Gerald noble territory in the east, and even the Kingdom of Coran not long ago, all have deep ties with him.”

"We thought thirty years would be a long time, enough for us to acquire this land, but now it seems that without dealing with Baron Ryan, it will be difficult for us to succeed."

“You should help us, Shaya.”

“Absolutely not! My child is the esteemed Marquis of Northwind. If this land is sacrificed by you, the Marquis of Northwind will never be able to hold his head high again!”

Shaya roared, for she and her son, along with their titles, had become one with this land; their honor and dignity resided on this land.

(End of this chapter)