Throne of the North.

Chapter 660 A Day in the Life of a Slave

In this world full of extraordinary fantasy, the strict hierarchy is absolutely absolute.

When commoners faced aristocratic rulers, they had no room to resist, let alone slaves.

The Wall fortress in the North has many slaves, most of whom come from Nidhogg, but some also come from Llane's various wars.

The Great Wall fortresses served a simple purpose: warfare. However, many other miscellaneous tasks also occurred within them.

These tasks were obviously not something the soldiers stationed at the Great Wall fortresses could do; slaves were the best tool for them.

Winter has arrived, and the most abundant thing in the frozen land is the snow falling from the sky. Don't be fooled by the fact that they drift slowly in the sky; if you're not careful, they can turn the earth white and make the roads invisible.

This road leading to the Great Wall fortress had only been completed less than a month ago and was not yet able to withstand snow accumulation, so slaves had to be constantly cleared to keep it in its original state.

As you can see, a large amount of snow has accumulated on both the left and right sides.

The slaves knelt on the ground, trembling in the face of the tall knight.

They were bewildered and didn't know what to do. As slaves, they were born with only one instinct: to obey their master's orders and never disobey them.

Life and death are irrelevant to them; everything they possess belongs to the lord.

No... slaves have no thoughts at all; they don't even think about these messy things.

All they know is to listen.

But why didn't the knights in front of me give any orders?
The slaves knelt on the ground in fear.

Ryan looked out at the road. Under the sunlight, he could see how muddy it was. The magic carriage, no small thing, had left ruts on it.

"It shouldn't snow heavily for the next few days."

For the North, the real winter has not yet arrived; it is merely the North telling the southern lands that it is awakening.

Ryan's words made the knight nod, and he quickly ran to the front, shouting at the slaves:
"Lord Ryan has taken pity on you; you may go back to sleep now."

"Clear the snow from the road ahead; the master's carriage shouldn't be jolted by the snow."

The knight rebuked them sternly, his gaze like two sharp swords fixed on the slaves.

The slaves stood up in a panic, nodding repeatedly in agreement, then turned and ran with their tools to clean up.

Behind them, Baron Ryan's carriage moved slowly forward, while the slaves in front cleared the accumulated snow to the sides as quickly as possible to avoid blocking the road.

In the dim light, a magnificent fortress stood before us, like a giant in the world, bringing a heavy sense of oppression.

"You damned slaves, why are you so slow?!"

A rough roar rang out, and a burly, fat man strode towards them, wielding a whip. The long whip he brandished instilled even greater fear in the slaves, who shrank back, not daring to look at him.

"Because of you damned slaves, I can't even get a good night's sleep. Do you know how cold the winter nights are? I shouldn't be freezing here with you damned creatures."

The slaves, numbering one or two hundred, were so frightened by this one person that they huddled together until they realized that behind them was the even more distinguished knight lord.

The slaves were even more frightened, trembling in place. They dared not touch the noble knight's warhorse behind them, nor approach the fierce Lord Kruger.

Kruger wasn't blind either. As he got closer, he saw the brightly lit procession that slaves couldn't possibly touch. The tall warhorses were even taller than him, a fat and burly man. In an instant, his fierce and angry expression turned into one of utter fawning.

"Lord Brand, you've actually come."

“I am from Kruger, and I also went to the battlefield with you back in the day.”

Kruger's sudden change left the slaves in disbelief as they listened to his voice. Hundreds of meters away, they saw Kruger scurrying towards them, whipping the slaves to the sides of the road as he ran.

"Get out of the way, you filthy peasants! How dare you block the way of the esteemed Lord Brand?"

"Don't get in Lord Brand's way, I'll let you off the hook for today!"

After speaking fiercely, Kruger's face switched to a fawning smile again, and then he saw Ryan's carriage behind him.

He immediately knelt down.

"My esteemed Lord Ryan, your loyal servant greets you."

At that moment, he understood why Commander Brand was here; it turned out that Lord Ryan had arrived.

"Kruger, don't let my slaves freeze to death in this weather, they are very precious."

Ryan's voice came from inside the carriage, and Kruger, somewhat frightened, quickly said:

“Sir, Kruger will always follow your will and will never let them die in vain.”

"As you instructed, I give them warm clothes every time they come out."

"Your mercy is a divine blessing to these slaves."

Seeing the warhorse lift its hooves, Kruger scrambled to his feet and quickly led the way for the group.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, you damned bastards, how dare you approach the holy Lord Ryan."

As this most distinguished contingent of the Frozen Territory disappeared into the majestic Great Wall fortress, the slaves behind them slowly followed back to the fortress and their cramped quarters.

Thanks to their location within the fortress, they did not sleep in large rooms on individual beds. Each slave had a small space containing a bed, flanked by hard stone walls on both sides, with only a narrow space between the bed and the walls for a person to walk sideways.

These places are also noisy; you can always hear the sound of gears turning. Without a doubt, it's those alchemists experimenting with something again.

Occasionally, the slaves could feel slight tremors. Their dwellings were located in remote corners and were designed to support and carry those massive war machines.

The only advantage was that the stone walls were very high, so the slaves could place wooden planks and their belongings in the gaps.

Payne placed a dark stone on his bedside table. He felt that he smelled a bit bad, which explained Lord Kruger's anger. He wondered if the lord also found it offensive.

Thinking of the lord's carriage he had seen not long ago, Payne's mind was in turmoil. He started to play with the stone, which had popped out of the rut after the lord's carriage had passed by.

He was terrified when he saw it, fearing that the lord would punish them for not making the road smooth.

It seemed to be something stuck in the carriage wheel, but the master's carriage was powerful enough to crush the stone.

Payne's head was buzzing, and the snoring of other people around him was making him a little annoyed.

He began to despise these people; how could he possibly sleep in such an environment?

Thinking about those tall, imposing knights I saw today, even the fierce Lord Kruger had that kind of expression, it's truly unbelievable.

Payne couldn't sleep, so he tossed and turned, tapping the stone wall with the stone in his hand. After a long while, he suddenly sat up, stepped out of the narrow crevice, went to the side, and slapped another slave across the face.

"What are you doing?" This was the only time they could speak loudly to their fellow slaves.

"Didn't you say that day that the lord said we slaves could also participate in the selection of servants?"

"Ah? What?"

clap clap clap!
After a few slaps, the sleeping soul finally woke up.

"You mean that one? That's from Zero Crossing City. The lord said it while he was in heaven: that slaves could also participate in some kind of election and become the knight lord's squires."

"But once you become the knight's squire, you will be his bodyguard."

"I think being a slave to the lord is quite nice."

"You stupid and filthy bastard!"

Payne cursed angrily, slapping the other man a few times, and then felt his hands sticky.

"This is an opportunity given to us by the master. Becoming a servant gives us the chance to become a soldier, and becoming a soldier gives us the chance to become a commoner. Then we can have our own wealth and houses."

"I'll never have to sleep in this damn sewer again."

"what??"

the next day.

Slaves' lives are monotonous, but Lord Kruger is exceptionally kind today, only asking them to clear the snow for half a day.

“You damned bunch, Lord Ryan got up earlier than you. He’s already gone, and he’s been merciful enough to let you only have to clean for half a day.”

Kruger's eyes turned dangerous.

"So you'd better clear the snow away within half a day, or else..."

Snapped!
The whip cracked and exploded in the void. This terrifying fellow only showed a humble and fawning smile at certain times; otherwise, he was never easy to get along with.

However, Payne wasn't very scared today.

He worked even harder than yesterday, wielding his snowplow twice as fast as he had the day before.

"What is he doing?"

The other slaves were puzzled and mocked them, saying that only slow movements were the most energy-efficient. They already ate very little food, and if they sped up their movements, they would only become weaker.

Payne didn't care; he treated it as strength training. He had seen how soldiers trained; they all had to run while carrying logs.

One must possess such physical qualities to participate in the election for servants and have a chance to escape the status of a slave.

"A bunch of stupid, filthy bastards!"

Payne also began to separate himself from these people, and felt even more strongly that what Lord Kruger did was the right thing to do.

He knew that sweeping the road was an easy task, as the snow underfoot was light and easy to handle. The problem was the slaves' low work efficiency, which caused them to freeze on the road all day.

Payne didn't care. After half a day, he returned with his group. They were steaming hot and had already cleared a large part of the snow-covered road.

"You filthy bunch, you've actually put in some effort today."

Kruger sneered and said:

"A peasant is a peasant, no matter how hard he tries, he'll only ever be a slave. But for the sake of your efforts today, I'll allow you to take a bath. It'll be snow water boiled from precious alchemical coals, to wash away that damned stench from your bodies."

"If the master comes again next time, you will smell bad and affect his nose."

"As for the others..."

The fat man's gaze turned dangerous.

……

Rhinoceros Horn Mountain.

This mountain wasn't this high before; thanks to the exquisite treasures it received from the nobles of the south, Rhinoceros Horn Mountain has become majestic.

It's growing.

The original Frozen Territory was shaped like a broken bowl, with Rhinoceros Horn Mountain at its center. The northernmost part was a frozen waterfall and glacier, and steep slopes were on all sides.

However, as Rhinoceros Horn Mountain has grown, this idyllic "bowl" has become less steep.

Rhinoceros Horn Mountain is growing taller, gradually becoming the highest point at the foot of the mountain, and it is also causing the surrounding land to rise.

Ryan found it amazing; this was only possible in the extraordinary world. In ordinary times, such a change would not be possible without thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Back on Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, he looked down at his territory.

Lord Ryan, who had spent a day touring his territory, felt the loyalty of his people to him and his authority over this land.

Whether commoners, slaves, or former nobles, they have gradually adapted to this life and these changes.

Ryan is their loyal monarch, the undisputed king of this land.

Deep within his heart, the dragon's will had long since vanished, but at this moment, Ryan seemed to sense all sorts of greedy desires emanating from the dragon.

His gaze was calm, crushing all those desires and turning them into a gentle breeze.

"This is my country!"

He understood why his legendary gift was "King and Sovereign." Legendary gifts weren't given arbitrarily; they contained power that resonated with the legend itself.

Ryan stretched out his palm, and the next moment, the endless, slowly drifting snowflakes in the sky above Rhinoceros Horn Mountain accelerated, converging into an icy storm. Ryan slowly stepped into the sky, walking into the depths of this raging icy storm as if nothing was there. There, a throne forged from ice floated, and he sat on it. The next instant, the swirling storm in the sky shattered with a roar, turning into thousands upon thousands of ice shards that flew in all directions.

The sharp icicles were extremely lethal, filling the people of the Frozen Territory with fear. But just as they were about to touch their heads, all the icicles burst into flames. They were formed from snowflakes and melted into the fire.

The sky, a pale, icy storm, suddenly transformed into a magnificent and dazzling meteor shower.

The throne beneath Ryan also transformed into a throne of flames.

The legendary gift that the world of 【君与王】 bestowed upon him was because it was the power he had gained along the way. How could it be easily snatched away by the spiritual panel?
The spiritual panel may shield him from the blessings of that legendary gift, but the spiritual panel cannot negate everything Ryan has done over the years.

The path he took to get here forms the crown of his kingship!
Ryan was still at the peak of the Saint Realm, and his spiritual panel was still impressive enough, but at this moment, he had already mastered the power of the Legendary Realm.

(End of this chapter)