Throne of the North.

Chapter 669 Northern Power (Part 7)

"You come from the Western Sea?"

Amai, a knight at the peak of the Holy Realm, was already standing beside Ryan. At his waist, amidst his tattered equipment, was a magnificent longsword, which seemed completely out of place with his demeanor.

"Yes, Lord Ryan."

“I once had a ship in the Western Sea, but it was destroyed by a sea monster.”

"I already know this."

Ryan was very curious about the legendary west coast that had brought prosperity to human civilization, especially the western sea on which it depended.

"I once heard the legendary figure from the Western Sea say that the Western Sea is alive."

"But I can't feel it."

"All I know is that once you leave the near sea and enter the open ocean, sailors will always be accompanied by raging waves."

"That's all."

"That's it."

Ryan remembered that Master Lyman had said that the East Sea was a dead ocean. No matter how far you went from the east coast, the seawater you saw was as still as death, with no waves.

Unexpectedly, the West Sea was quite the opposite; there was no peace there.

"Starting tomorrow, you will be heading to the Wall in the North. I wonder if you will be able to adapt?"

Amai shook his head generously.

"If this is the price, then I have merely moved from one taboo to another."

"Compared to the raging West Sea, the cold of the North doesn't seem so terrible. I am a knight, and my life force can keep me warm."

"That couldn't be better."

Ryan said with a smile, "I didn't expect this auction to have such an unexpected surprise, bringing a peak Saint Realm expert to the Northern Wall. When the time is right, Ama will naturally become a legend."

……

The legendary weapon's dust settled, causing many who had come for it to prepare to leave. However, Ryan had timed things perfectly, and those who were about to leave were soon drawn to the flower-filled scene within Zero Crossing City.

Every street in Zero Crossing City was covered with flowers, a vibrant and colorful world that was hard to look away from. The smiles on the faces of the commoners and slaves who went to great lengths to chase after adventurers were hard to understand.

"Those Eight Knights, are they really that popular?"

"They're just a bunch of low-ranking knights, what's so exciting about that?"

Some people didn't understand, and some people were dismissive.

The natives of Lingdu City nearby quickly refuted their claims.

"The Eight Knights are only of low rank when they become Eight Knights, but they will soon become powerful knights."

"Last year, when Sir Anderson became one of the Eight Knights, he was just a trainee knight. But after receiving patronage from Baron Ryan, Sir Anderson has now become a distinguished Silver Knight."

Many people nodded, feeling honored. This surprised many others, as Silver Knights were not just any ordinary knights. In the territories of many barons and nobles, the most powerful knights were only Silver Knights.

Their status, treatment, and power have all changed, and the impact extends far beyond these aspects, affecting not only their families and descendants.

Fame and fortune—the title of Eight Knights brings immense fame and fortune, naturally attracting countless admirers. In the extraordinary world, the number of knights at the lowest level is still the largest.

Ryan gave them a channel, and these lower-ranking knights naturally supported Ryan.

“Every one of the Eight Knights can receive patronage from Baron Ryan. Even a useless person can become powerful as long as they receive Baron Ryan’s patronage.”

The natives offered their reasons, all at once: they idolized the future strongman, and even if that strongman wasn't themselves, witnessing the growth of a strongman would be an honor and a source of great excitement.

It was as if the eight knights were empowering and liberating them.

Many people stayed in Zero Crossing City because of this, thinking that it would only be a few days anyway, and were curious about what these Eight Knights were.

The wait was not long, for the slave squires had already fought to the very end.

Unlike the first day, no one mocked the slaves anymore. They witnessed firsthand how, within a month, these slaves had transformed from running around aimlessly in their rooms, trying to escape the orcs' pursuit, to now being organized into orderly, large-scale battles, and even turning the tables on the tough-skinned orcs.

Many adventurers in the arena are no match for the slaves in the arena.

More and more knights, who were trying to vie for the title of Eight Knights, also appeared here. They wanted to select their favorite slaves in advance. At first, they were dismissive, but now they felt that these slave squires could become their loyal helpers.

"Today, the last 160 slaves have appeared!"

The bard's loud shouts brought the arena's excitement to a fever pitch, and then the conversation shifted to the adventurers.

"Starting tomorrow, we will compete to select the eight bravest adventurers. Who will become the masters of these slave servants?!"

The bard shouted loudly, and shouts rose and fell inside and outside the arena as people chanted the names of the knights and adventurers they supported.

……

"How lively it is!"

Ryan stood on the windowsill of the tall building, listening to the bustling noise and shouts within Zero Crossing City. To his left and right, there were many other windowsills extending outwards. One by one, the nobles of the North Wind had quietly arrived here and were now standing beside Ryan, looking at the appearance of Zero Crossing City, all seemingly lost in thought.

"Ryan, you've gone too far with this. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Viscount Hogg was at the second window on the left, looking curiously at Ryan. All the nobles were watching him. No noble was willing to admit it, but no noble could deny that Ryan was the leader of the Northwind Province, just like Earl Pascal of the Danube Province and Earl Clayton of the Calais Province.

His authority is growing with age, and all of this is the power of his voice that he has painstakingly built up over the years since Ryan came to the North.

Excellent nobles cannot lack political acumen, and none of the nobles present were fools.

Baron Hatton stood at a distance, silent. He knew something, after all, he was too close to the Frozen Territory.

"Viscount Hogg, you are truly an excellent war general," Ryan praised without reservation. Viscount Hogg was even more confused. He wasn't so easily swayed by Ryan's words; he was curious about what Ryan wanted to do by inviting so many nobles.

Ryan spoke calmly and unhurriedly:

"You'll find out, Viscount Hogg, once the eight knights have been chosen."

The original eight knights emerged from a long struggle a few years ago when the orcs were still invading the Northwind Province. However, now that the orcs are no longer rampant, the emergence of the eight knights has become clearer and simpler.

Recently, something has happened in the North, and large numbers of orcs have been forced to move south. Even orcs like the Frost Lizard Orcs, which humans have never seen before, have appeared.

This resulted in the army of the Frozen Territory capturing many savage orcs.

They have been sent to Zero Crossing City, where adventurers eagerly await the knights' battle against the orcs.

Sunset brings twilight, and the rising of dawn dispels the darkness. A new day arrives, and the people of Zero Crossing City wake up excitedly early and rush out of the city. As soon as they step outside, they see Frozen Territory knights and squires, fully armed to the teeth, riding on tall warhorses. They silently rein in their horses and stand on the streets of Zero Crossing City.

The warhorse walked slowly, its iron hooves clattering silently on the stone pavement.

"The Bucks".

Only those with the eyes of nobles could sense the terror of this extraordinary legion. Legend has it that they repelled Grand Duke Meyers' Nightmare Knight Legion on the battlefield of Redwing Plains and turned that vast plain into ruins.

The people followed behind the knights of the Stag Legion and left Zero City together. The city was too small to accommodate the war between the eight knights and the orcs, so they had to fight outside the city in the vast wilderness.

Thousands of stag servants lined up five meters apart, enclosing a huge square space on the ground. The people of Zero Crossing City stood outside this square open space and looked inside through the five-meter gap between their warhorses. They could see that in this open space surrounded by stag servants, there were many orcs with ferocious faces.

They still carried a savage aura and emanated a chill, as if they had just been escorted here from the North.

In the distance, the nobles' carriages slowly drove up a high slope, from where they could see the clearing enclosed by the Buck Legion below most clearly.

Faced with an increasing number of humans, the beastmen became uneasy and irritable. They had little reason to begin with, and upon hearing the surrounding commotion, they couldn't help but roar loudly, howling like wild beasts, as they charged towards the civilians of Zero Crossing City.

"Go away!"

The five-meter-long lance thrust out, its terrifying force piercing through the towering warthog orc. The stag servant lifted him high with one hand, then his arm trembled, and the burly warthog orc was torn to pieces, blood, flesh, and filth splattering on the ground, terrifying the orcs behind him who retreated in fear.

In their limited memories, the orcs still retained images of these terrifying humanoid monsters chasing them in the North. Even blizzards could not conceal the pursuit of these human knights. Whenever the blood-red eagles in the sky cried out, the orcs knew that they were about to face annihilation.

They have vivid memories of those images and are filled with immense fear because of them.

The stag servants, reining in their horses and standing still, crushed all the orcs who tried to charge out.

“Each year’s eight knights have only just reached the threshold of becoming Lord Ryan’s knight squire.”

Many people murmur that Baron Ryan's power can only be clearly manifested at times like this.

In other words, all the stag squires present, riding their tall Northern warhorses, possess the power to defeat the Eight Horsemen.

"The orc threat will never disappear in the North, but we firmly believe that the heroes of humanity will lead the people of the North to victory over the evil orcs!"

"Like a hero from the North, possessing the courage to face a dragon!"

The bard sang loudly, shouting the hymn of courage that mankind possesses. As the bard's voice soared into the sky, the sea of ​​clouds overhead rolled in the dawn. Winter had arrived, and the sky was already thick with clouds, but at this moment, it seemed as if some force was dispersing them to reveal the clear sky.

Everyone looked up in fear, where a huge shadow loomed in the sea of ​​clouds. It was descending. Then one day, the clouds in the sky were swallowed up and dissipated, and a massive, ferocious, and perfectly formed terrifying dragon appeared in everyone's sight.

The giant dragon roared and circled in the sky above this land. Countless people were terrified, and many even abandoned all dignity and fled frantically towards Zero Crossing City.

"The greatest strength of a hero is always the courage to face the dragon. Adventurers who want to become one of the Eight Knights, knights who want to earn the praise of Lord Ryan, do you have the courage to face the dragon without fear?"

The bard stood on the ground and roared loudly, facing a group of over four figures of knights and adventurers from all over the world.

In the vast lands of Northwind Province, the Kingdom of Sera, the Kingdom of Andara, the Kingdom of Coran, and the noble territory of Gerald, so many knights and adventurers had gathered, and at this moment, their faces were also pale.

The pressure emanating from the giant dragon overhead was terrifying. Its dragon might covered the sky, and its massive claws could tear apart the formation of thousands of knights. Not to mention that dragons, as kings of magical elements and natural darlings of magic, possess pure dragon breath energy that can tear apart any ant that tries to challenge them from hundreds of meters away.

"Courage is the path to becoming one of the Eight Knights. Only by overcoming the power of the dragon can you be qualified to become one of the Eight Knights."

The stag servants blocking the way for these adventurers parted to create a gap of a hundred meters. In that instant, an even more terrifying dragon's might descended, and many knights and adventurers retreated.

"I wonder how many people will be able to enter the battlefield under the dragon's might."

Ryan stood among the nobles and asked curiously, then saw the first knight who was about to back down.

"That badge must belong to the Dickinson family, right?"

Ryan looked at a baron from the Kingdom of Coran, whose face turned red and he became furious.

"Damn Kyle, he's dead meat when we get back!"

To have the nobleman humiliated in front of everyone like this, the Baron felt that the honor in his bloodline had been tarnished.

"What if there's no one here?"

Viscount Hogg asked curiously, but was denied by Earl Sauron, who had just arrived, along with another Earl Winter, who looked displeased.

His aged face showed envy as he looked at the dragon. Compared to Baron Ryan, who possessed a dragon, he, the Earl of Dragon Mountain, seemed somewhat inferior.

“Any knight who thinks about it will realize that the dragon’s aura is a test that Ryan uses to kill them.”

"Just grit your teeth and charge through."

"If you can't even do this... you can only say you were lucky to become a knight."

"Someone will realize it eventually."

As soon as Count Sauron finished speaking, a commotion indeed occurred. A knight gritted his teeth, held a longsword in both hands, and charged forward. His dragon-like might was terrifying, and every step he took was like trudging through a muddy swamp.

He roared to bolster his spirits, and finally, at a certain moment, the oppressive aura around him dissipated, and he felt completely relaxed.

Before he could even catch his breath, his eyes were already fixed on the ferocious-looking orcs not far ahead...

(End of this chapter)