Throne of the North.

Chapter 652 The Knight in the Nightmare (Part 4)

"It was Baron Ryan who did it!"

The assassin was caught and confessed directly that he was acting on the orders of Baron Ryan. The target was precisely identified, and the nobles were filled with righteous indignation, strongly condemning the baron of the North.

However, around the same time, another group of assassins were captured, still legitimate Shadow Vanguard members, and they finally confessed.

It wasn't a confession, but rather a cry of praise to the Lord of Dawn and the God of Light before death.

"Imitating a black swan."

Compared to Meyers's framing of Ryan, it's clear that blaming everything on the Black Swan is the easiest way to succeed.

Ryan strongly condemned the legendary investigation team.

"You spent so much time and energy, yet you can't compare to Meyers' small knight investigation team. You spent half a month and still couldn't find out who was behind it all, while Meyers found out in less than a day."

"Is it still a legend? Is His Majesty the Emperor's investigation team really that incompetent?"

Many eyes were fixed on the direction of the North. Did Baron Ryan really not know that he was being asked his name? How could he be so self-righteous?

Some people immediately understood Ryan's sarcastic tone, while others realized it later.

The Baron is mocking Archduke Meyers for deceiving everyone.

Grand Duke Meyers hadn't expected Ryan's thinking to be so unconventional, causing him to offend yet another legend of the empire.

The speed with which Meyers' knights uncovered that Ryan was the mastermind demonstrates just how incompetent that legendary investigative team was, unless Meyers is willing to admit they were lying.

This was impossible, so they had no choice but to continue, but this time Grand Duke Meyers changed tactics and had a baron announce that he had obtained Ryan's name from the assassin.

And then this baron... his family fell into decline.

There was not a single living person in the castle. The baron met a tragic end. As usual, everyone's heart was carved with flower-like patterns. The Meyers surname expanded once again.

"In the Northwind Province, all the Black Swan assassins have been eliminated, and we are confident that we can protect ourselves."

Ryan continued to say things that were hard to understand, but this time no nobleman responded.

Meyers began to quietly block all trade from the North, and Ryan was no exception. The nobles thought the Grand Guild had the upper hand in this regard.

That was indeed the case, but it was very limited, because with Meyers' blockade of trade in the North, the merchant guilds along the Northwind Road were suddenly frozen.

They were once the vanguard of trade between empires and kingdoms, but now they are suffering enormous losses every day.

The nobles were naturally unwilling to accept this, and they never expected that Ryan would be able to cut off all economic and trade activities of the major merchant guilds in the eastern lands.

Ryan gave the same reason as Meyers in this regard.

"Considering the recent tragic fate of the nobles..."

In short, as long as Meyers's strategy works, Ryan will fight fire with fire.

During the standoff, Meyers did provide support to the Northern Heroes Guild of Zero Crossing City and dispatched a large number of extraordinary teams to the North.

Their goal was to find evidence of what Ryan had said about the assassins coming from the depths of the North.

The search itself is not important; the key lies in the purpose.

"The group of people in Lingdu City are so hostile; they're clearly here to kill us."

"How can we let them have their way, Brand!"

The Bucks led the way, and for the first time, the gates of the Wall in the North opened outwards. A hazy blizzard raged, telling the people in the south, who had not yet put on warm clothes, that winter was coming. The northern warhorses, their hooves treading on frost, moved as if on flat ground in the face of this natural disaster, relying on the flying snow to conceal their silhouettes.

They weren't worried about the troubles in the snowstorm, waiting for the fried rice followers of Meyers to enter this doomsday land.

"This is the North? Damn it, no one can survive in a world like this."

"The assassins who killed Viscount Keton and Earl Ferguson could never have come from a place like this!"

The superhumans were horrified. The raging blizzard was too wild, completely suppressing their vision. Forget about survival, they didn't even know how to move forward.

"what is that?!"

Someone cried out in alarm and looked ahead. In the midst of the raging wind and snow, large shadows appeared, standing coldly in the depths of the snowstorm, making it impossible to see their true appearance.

Until a certain moment, everyone felt the ground shake, the earth trembled, and the sky and earth were torn apart by the raging wind and snow. When the cold armor and lances appeared in front of them, it was too late.

"Escape!"

The Holy Domain was also retreating, but the next moment, a terrifying roar of a hundred-meter-long dragon echoed through the snowstorm behind them, making the Holy Domain pale and afraid to continue running.

The thunderous hooves engulfed everything, turning all the corpses into ice sculptures. Their ferocious and terrifying expressions were frozen in the ice. This was the North, where all living things were submerged in the desolate, icy wilderness.

This is a natural disaster, an apocalypse. No one has ever truly experienced the cruelty and horror of the North. The fate of these people is enough to deter many from even trying.

They serve as a cautionary tale; it remains to be seen whether others will follow suit.

The indifferent Bucks army returned calmly and silently, their blood frozen. The gates of the Wall in the North remained tightly shut, and outside, the wind and snow were endless. As long as the gates of this fortress remained closed, no one would ever return.

"Evil dragons have recently been rampaging in the North; adventurers should proceed with caution."

Zero City issued an announcement and increased the bounty for the pinned quest, 'Find the Black Swan Assassin in the North'.

At first, no one paid any attention, until the dragon descended upon the skies of the Northwind Province.

The frost dragon Areris hovered above the vast sky, angrily surveying and wreaking havoc before descending upon the frozen territories.

"I sensed the presence of Isabella."

Areris has awakened. After so long, it has fully digested the wealth it gained from the Nidhogg world, and its legendary majesty has reached a new level.

"Lord Areris, you are too late."

Ryan invited the dragon to dinner, feeding it a large amount of black pork. The dragon, having slept for a long time, was very hungry and readily accepted the food.

"tasty!"

Areris immediately set her sights on the giant wild boar of the Frozen Territory, but Ryan stopped it.

"The Northern Merchant Guild will send people to deliver food to you on time, so why are you looking for Isabella?"

"I want to eat her. The Dragon Emperor has fallen, Isabella's essence has collapsed, and she is pitifully weak."

Ryan blinked, his chest heaving.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

If Areris had woken up sooner and told him this, he wouldn't have needed to make a deal with Isabella in the first place; he could have simply called for reinforcements to deal with the demigod dragon girl.

"She won't recover so easily."

"I'm sorry, Lord Areris, but I think Princess Isabella has now reverted to a state you would not have wanted." Ryan pointed to a mural nearby, in which a naked woman floated lightly to the ground and transformed into Isabella's likeness. The dragon's eyes widened, then it realized that this was just an empty shell.

"How could this be? The Dragon Emperor has already fallen, how did she recover?"

"I helped."

Ryan said with some regret, while Areris glared at Ryan with displeasure as frost spewed from her two huge nostrils.

Then the dragon fell silent, devoured all the food, and spread its wings to fly north.

"Where are you going?"

Ryan asked, "This dragon has terrifying talent; even after becoming a legend, it hasn't stopped growing."

"Go back to sleep."

Areris said dejectedly, "It's no match for Isabella right now."

This dragon is so free.

Frozen soil collar.

Master Brok's blacksmith shop is never quiet. On this day, countless people eagerly await the day when Master Brok, who has forged the embryo of a legendary weapon, will produce a terrifying knight's longsword.

They all knew that, because half a month ago, strange phenomena would occasionally erupt in the sky over the Frozen Territory. At first, no one knew why, but later they discovered that the blacksmith shop was eerily quiet, and all the blacksmiths had stopped working.

They awaited the birth of a weapon.

"This is undoubtedly a legendary longsword."

Brock walked out of the blacksmith's shop with a snow-white longsword in his hand. At that moment, clear snowflakes began to fall in the Frozen Territory. When someone reached out to touch them, the snowflakes were scalding hot, as if they were metal fragments just turned out of a furnace.

The snowflakes vanished in an instant, and Master Brock, wielding this terrifying weapon, soared into the sky. He swung his sword, and a massive wave appeared in the void.

"This weapon has been forged for a long time, and it was finally completed a few days ago due to the avalanche in the North."

"It is the ultimate in this series, and as I promised, it shares the same name as all those who wield that sword."

“I am its forger, but only legends are qualified to be its true masters.”

A legendary knight's longsword can drive almost anyone mad. A legendary knight with a legendary weapon is a completely different person from a legendary knight without one.

Legendary weapons, like those that grant legendary status, have extremely stringent requirements, no less stringent than the bestowal of a legendary blessing.

However, the latter is man-made and can be passed down forever. It can be said that this is an aristocratic family heritage at the highest level.

"I'm very grateful for that avalanche, but it's also a pity that it happened. The members of Meyers were buried in the blizzard. They were not very lucky; they encountered an avalanche as soon as they entered the North."

Ryan expressed his regret and issued a voucher, a voucher worth five gold coins, to Meyers, promising that any member of the Meyers family who used the voucher could offset five gold coins when purchasing a legendary longsword.

Yes, Ryan is going to auction off that newly forged legendary weapon, whose name is already widely known.

"Snow Dragon's Roar, we once said that every Snow Dragon's Roar has the potential to become a legend, and now it has done it."

"Just like the swords of many of our knights, it is also called this. Witnessing the power of the world in an avalanche, the knight who possesses it must be as powerful and invincible as a natural disaster."

“It was born from an avalanche, and every snowflake is part of its power. Brock calls the power inherent in this weapon the Legendary Force Field.”

The 'Snow Dragon's Roar' series of knightly longswords was the first series of weapons in the Frozen Territory. After the legendary longsword was given this name, all knights who wore 'Snow Dragon's Roar' felt honored.

"You know, I originally intended to forge this 'Snow Dragon's Roar' into a legendary weapon, but it clearly failed."

The owner of the failed attempt proudly raised his head, for being a stepping stone and a lesson learned in the forging of a legendary weapon was itself a kind of honor.

"Back then, I led the Snow Dragon's Roar deep into the forest to hunt that Earth War Bear. We initially failed; none of our weapons could penetrate its defenses. But at the crucial moment, I mastered the Avalanche technique from this sword, slaying the Earth War Bear and becoming the powerful person I am today."

Every sword's owner has their own story to boast about, and these stories, gathered from all corners of the world, have propelled that legendary knight's longsword to even greater heights.

That's how weapons are; their intrinsic value is the same, but their added value can greatly increase their value.

Knights are willing to pair their swords with that legendary longsword to ride its coattails, and in turn, the legendary 'Snow Dragon's Roar' can also gain more added value.

Zero Crossing City began auctioning legendary weapons, naturally in order to break Meyers' blockade of trade with the North. If they wouldn't let me go south, then they would let others go north.

Like other nobles, Ryan was unwilling to see his merchant guild decline day by day.

Brock presented an excellent opportunity, and with a large number of extraordinary knights arriving in Zero Crossing, Frozen Territory launched its second weapon series.

"'Dragon Elephant Armor' is the first armor in the Frozen Territory series. It is forged from frozen metal soaked in dragon blood. At its core, there is a dragon scale inlaid, which can give the knight's blood and energy a berserk and amplified at critical moments."

"At the same time, it also possesses a robust defense like that of a colossus, mixed with mithril..."

"We have reason to believe that in the future, the Dragon Elephant Armor will also have its own legend."

The silver, tin-can-like armor exuded majesty and power, captivating everyone's attention.

Moreover, learning from the experience of Snow Dragon's Roar, the purchase of Dragon Elephant Armor continued unabated. They all believed that one day in the future, Master Block would forge a legendary knight's armor called Dragon Elephant.

So, this armor is not only powerful, it can also appreciate in value.

And so, the economy of Zero Crossing City prospered once again.

Meyers can no longer stop trade with the North, at least in terms of weapons and armor. The world is so dangerous now, and nobles all want to strengthen their own power. Knights need time to train, but weapons and armor can be bought and used immediately.

"The barons of the North are powerful; they can forge legendary weapons, so it is true that they can train legendary knights."

People remembered Ryan's previous recruitment efforts. It was legendary; going to the Frozen Territory offered hope. How many people wouldn't be tempted?
Ryan's actions didn't end there. While a large number of extraordinary knights arrived in Zero City, he began to flex his muscles.

"Warhorses, warhorses capable of galloping across the North, come from the Frozen Territory, from Ryan. The Baron has a large herd to sustain the production of warhorses!"

The knight's three-piece set—weapon, armor, and warhorse—is provided with the finest supplies in the Frozen Territory. Knights eagerly await their warhorses, which never tire even in the freezing snow, while nobles are filled with dread that the barons of the North now have their own source of warhorses.

Currently, within the Flor Empire, the largest source of warhorses is the Highlands; apart from that, nobles only have a small number of warhorse training bases.

How could he have a warhorse?

"It was Archmage McCann. That archmage followed the Baron of the North. That was several years ago. At that time, many people in the magic academy ridiculed Archmage McCann for being old-fashioned and clinging to a few pieces of paper left by his teacher."

"He actually succeeded."

The nobles were incredulous, and so were the mages. The appearance of the Northern Warhorse not only proved that Baron Ryan's strength was absolutely no less than that of the great nobles, but also proved that Archmage McKen was right.

No, the story may trace back to another legendary figure, known as the "Blood God," a daring and legendary life mage who was the founder of the Highland Mage Order and the Highland Warhorse.

After showing off his muscles, Ryan went on to invite Meyers to support the Northern Heroes Guild.

"If we join forces, we can definitely catch those damned Black Swan assassins hiding in the North!"

(End of this chapter)