Throne of the North.

Chapter 658 A Noble's Day

Winter is always the most important season in the North; food and warmth are the only melodies under the snowstorm.

The falling snow is beautiful, but not for the North.

That was the whisper of death.

Frozen soil, on Rhinoceros Horn Mountain.

Ryan and the envoy from the capital city were arguing incessantly.

"I said I don't know why the Grand Duke is targeting me, but that absolutely cannot be a reason for His Majesty the Emperor to break his promise."

Across from Ryan, Lord Hines was also under immense pressure, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Lord Ryan, His Majesty also wants to know about the conflicts between the nobles so that he can mediate them.”

"Is that right?"

"Yes."

Hines lowered his voice and said:

“Lord Ryan, to be honest, His Majesty had no choice but to do this.”

"Your fortress in the North is almost finished. This batch of materials is the last one. The Empire needs materials for repairs in many places, and we simply don't have any more to send to the North."

The topic of their argument was the supplies that Emperor Flor had promised Ryan to support in building the Wall fortress in the North.

Lord Hines oversaw the delivery and then told Lane that this was the last batch.

Ryan angrily questioned why, and that's how this scene came about.

"Winter is here, and transportation is really inconvenient."

Ryan strongly suspected that His Majesty the Emperor of Flor had seen his formidable strength as Baron Ryan, and thus changed his attitude and approach towards him.

"His Majesty plans to build a City of Light outside the capital."

Hines said helplessly, "I shouldn't have taken this job."

so?

"Could it be for next year's Festival of Grace?"

Ryan immediately asked, "How arrogant must the emperor be to undertake such a large-scale construction project in winter?"

The Pope of Dawn will personally come to the Flor Empire to witness the moment when His Majesty the Emperor of Flor is crowned the Great Pope of Light. That day will surely be a day of great historical significance.

Ryan finally understood why he had no choice but to agree to Lord Hines's request and end the deal with the Emperor.

The remaining work on the Wall in the North is indeed not something that can be accomplished with ordinary materials, so it's fine if we can't get the materials we need.

Ryan is now concerned with something else: why his legendary gift hasn't healed yet.

Let Lord Hines rest well, and Ryan returned to his study, looking at the area on the spiritual panel that was constantly shrouded in mist.

Isn't what you've done legendary enough? What else could you possibly be dissatisfied with?
In fact, Ryan did sense the change.

Although the spiritual panel still hadn't bestowed the legendary gift upon him, Ryan's strength was constantly increasing. He was now at the peak of the Saint Realm, but he felt that he was at least twice as strong as he was yesterday.

Since returning from Redwing Plains, Ryan's body has been undergoing extraordinary evolution, and he has a desire to challenge Areris.

There is a special power in this world that is giving back to Ryan, especially when he was in the Frozen Territory, this feeling was particularly strong.

With nowhere to find answers, Ryan could only bury his questions in his heart and enjoy the arrival of winter.

The heavy snow blanketed the castle on Rhinoceros Horn Mountain in white, while special fuel from the Alchemist Academy kept the entire castle warm.

"This winter might be a bit boring."

After experiencing his own strength, Ryan had nothing more to do. With the completion of several major projects and things calming down on Meyers' side, he was quite relaxed.

Most importantly, the world of the Serpent Spirit, Svafnir, has been destroyed, but no new otherworldly plane has been sensed. According to the pattern of the past few years, the spiritual panel should connect him to a new otherworldly plane so that he can pass the time during the winter.

The fact that it hasn't appeared yet is because the Spirit Panel is busy forging a legendary blessing for him, which is why it's delayed.

The new alternate world will probably be delayed until next year, so Ryan doesn't know what to do this winter.

"Perhaps I should live a peaceful life for a few years and let things settle down."

Ryan stepped out of his study. His castle was now very large, filled with splendor and containing wealth from another world. Many places were unique, containing the time and history of a world.

The castle was filled with both coldness and seriousness, as well as laughter and joy. Ryan saw a little girl running around, with a maid chasing after her.

"Uncle Ryan!"

Ryan grabbed the little girl and said with a smile:

"Dina, I bet you're skipping class again."

The little girl's name was Diana Yage, the Viscountess's daughter, and the only child in the castle at the moment. She was shaking her head and crying.

“Those numbers are terrifying. They’re like demons swirling around in my head. My soul is all muddled. They still don’t believe me. I’m going to ask a pastor to cleanse me.”

"Perhaps we should hire a better teacher for you, someone even better than the pastor."

Ryan said with a smile, and put Diana down. She quickly hid behind him.

Ryan waved his hand, and the maids stood respectfully in place, subconsciously arching their bodies.

"Let's give Diana a day off today."

"As for math homework... let's leave it for tomorrow."

The little girl's surprised look froze halfway through, and she stared at Ryan in shock, her eyes filled with despair.

Most of the innocence and liveliness of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain comes from this. After taking a tour, Lord Ryan felt it was necessary to inspect his territory.

"It's rare to have a quiet winter. I wonder if the frozen tundra will become lively."

Ryan stood on Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, looking down at the frozen tundra below. All he could see was a city without walls, where pedestrians walked, clearing snow and playing with snowballs.

As he descended Rhinoceros Horn Mountain and stood in the area of ​​the two-story stone houses closest to him, all he could see were numerous houses and crisscrossing roads.

The roads here were very clean, and people were polite to each other. It was a noble living area in the Frozen Territory. When they saw Ryan, everyone was shocked and stood still, then knelt down in front of him.

They hadn't expected the lord of the Frozen Territory to appear here alone. Although this was at the foot of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, they usually only saw Lord Ryan's carriage or his warhorse disappear into the distance. Ryan raised his hand, signaling them to stand, and then called Brand over.

There were very few people in the Frozen Territory who didn't recognize what Ryan looked like, so there was no question of him traveling incognito. Ryan sat openly in the carriage and traveled through his territory.

The territory at the foot of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain is always clean. Everyone knows that Lord Ryan dislikes dirty and chaotic environments, so no one dares to slack off, which has led to all those engaged in this field becoming wealthy.

With knights leading the way, Ryan's carriage traveled along the road, with pairs of astonished and fervent eyes watching from both sides, and Ryan could always hear the cheers of his people.

This land, which should have been quiet this winter, showed its passionate side from the very beginning.

"I heard that Lord Ryan has won another war. He is a legend in war, with an undefeated record!"

"Yes, it's because of Lord Ryan that we are so wealthy, and we don't even have to worry about freezing to death in the winter."

"Long live Lord Ryan!"

Ryan was captivated by the cheers and was completely absorbed in the feeling. It was wonderful. If he hadn't matured so much, he would have definitely lost his composure. At least for now, he could only suppress the corners of his mouth.

"These are all my people."

Ryan said softly, leaning back in the carriage with his eyes half-closed, taking a short rest.

As the cheers outside gradually faded, the magnificent baron's carriage slowly drove out of the foot of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain and headed towards more distant lands.

Outside the carriage, trees gradually replaced houses, and the freshness of nature rushed in. The primitive land was full of wildness, but a winding, solid road suppressed all its unruliness.

As a powerful extraordinary knight, Ryan has keen senses; he can hear wild beasts fleeing in panic in the forest.

"This road was completed less than six months ago, right?"

Ryan asked, and a waiter outside the carriage replied:

"Yes, sir. This main road from Rhinoceros Horn Mountain to the Thorn Jungle was completed in March. In the first few months, many wild animals from the mountains would come onto the road, but later, under your authority, they dared not approach your road."

“In the last month or two, many ordinary people have also dared to walk on this road and head to Winter City.”

Ryan glanced outside and saw many trees that were thick, tall, and ancient.

"These trees are very old. They are a precious asset of the tundra. Don't damage them carelessly."

"Follow your will."

In the Frozen Territory, Ryan's will is supreme.

He saved the people of the frozen lands, allowing all those trapped in the apocalypse to live in peace and prosperity, free from despair over death and destruction.

The previous major projects caused great damage to this mountain world. Now that the construction is over, it is natural to start protecting the environment.

Along the way, Ryan saw many houses that were located not far from him on both sides of the road, kneeling before him until they were out of sight before standing up.

Along the way, there were many farmers who formed new villages. The slaves from Nidhogg were responsible for managing a large area of ​​forest, providing delicious game to Rhinoceros Horn Mountain.

Slowly, at the end of the road, Winterfell came into view. This city had once fought against werewolves and was later rebuilt, but the surface of Winterfell still showed ferocious claw marks, traces of war and the glory of this city.

Winterhold was built to house the people of Gam. Although Winterhold is no longer solely inhabited by Gam civilization, it remains the place with the strongest religious faith in the Frozen Territory.

They worship Ryan as a god!

The people of Gam who wish to gain extraordinary power either need to join the army and follow the path of knights, or they need to become followers of Ryan and fanatically regard Ryan as a god.

Ryan bestows upon his fervent followers the spiritual blessing of the hyena, elevating their souls and granting them a transcendent essence.

After that, they were able to hunt wild beasts or magical creatures, wear their pelts on themselves, and possess extraordinary powers of transformation.

This is an extremely unique city. No noble in the entire empire knows that there is such a city in the Frozen Territory, a city full of faith, but which does not serve any gods.

Upon entering Winterfell, Ryan was greeted by a deafening roar of shouts, chanting that the great Ryan had bestowed upon them glory.

This is also a characteristic of Winterhold; there are many arenas of all sizes here, and people have long been accustomed to living amidst the frenzied roars all day long.

Faced with these believers, Ryan also stepped out of the carriage.

Thousands of people tried to approach him and touch the ground beneath his feet, but with strict rules in place, only the most devout servants were allowed to come within three meters of Ryan.

Ryan bestowed upon them a spiritual blessing, elevating their souls to a higher level, and then took a fine fur from the carriage and gave it to one of the strong men.

"We look forward to you becoming the new Chosen One of the Apocalypse, the number one berserker in the arena this year."

The man trembled with excitement and shouted wildly:

"I will dedicate my life and everything to you as a berserker, my great master."

Ryan entered the arena called Gam, a magnificent arena that could accommodate 30,000 spectators. It was clearly the work of alchemists, or even Dean Rose herself, who used alchemical powers to activate the metal and forge such a grand arena.

Ryan was the only one seated, while everyone around him stood excitedly, with Ulf and Brunanakis introducing him on either side.

"This winter, the arena will select ten berserkers, but in accordance with your wishes, only one berserker can be selected this year, starting today."

A year has four seasons. Winter is busy, for the sake of the year's vitality. Summer is arduous, for most of the year's wealth comes from summer. Autumn is bountiful, and everyone smiles during the harvest season, even if they are drenched in sweat.

Winter is a time of leisure, and it's the season when women are most likely to be pregnant. This also means that winter is one of the few seasons that people can enjoy.

Many holiday activities take place in the cold winter.

Winterhold is just like that; every winter is a carnival for gladiators. They enjoy the most lavish adoration during the winter, and many gladiators can even drink in taverns all winter without paying for it themselves.

With a wolf howl from Ulf, the eight iron gates of the arena opened, and a hundred gladiators, armed with weapons, rushed out, beginning a chaotic melee in the sand and wooden stakes of the arena.

The most primal clash of blood and flesh, the pure struggle, ignites the passion of countless people, making them yearn to rush down and fight themselves.
Several hours later, only one person remained standing in the arena. He was bathed in blood, roared like a wild beast, and then took out the fur that Ryan had given him and solemnly draped it over his head.

Roar--

A majestic lion stood in the center of the arena, unleashing the roar of a beast king that shook the hearts of countless people.

"This is a complete lion skin sent from the Kingdom of Kolan. It looks quite nice."

Ryan left Winter City satisfied. The city was still full of passion, with a completely different style and environment from the territory at the foot of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain.

Ryan's carriage continued northward. The roads in the Frozen Territory were winding, but this also allowed Ryan to see the entire Frozen Territory.

The fact that the mountain range that blocks the northern snowstorms proves that even the ruggedest land already has an owner when the wheels of the carriage pass over it with ease.

(End of this chapter)