Throne of the North.

Chapter 671 The King and the Monarch

The nobles exchanged glances, and from their faces, they could tell that Ryan had never spoken to anyone about this matter.

“Ryan, nobles have absolute power over their territories. No one can deprive a noble lord of his power over his territory, not even the emperor can strip us of our titles.”

Count Sauron, as the old count, spoke earnestly to Ryan.

If Ryan had said such things earlier, he would have faced the vigilance and opposition of the nobles. But Ryan's growing reputation and authority over the years have left Count Solon with no choice but to refuse him in such a tone.

He simply felt that what Ryan was doing was too terrible.

Not long ago, they were told that the North Wind Legion was to be formed to guard the North Wind Province. The nobles did not object to this, since it seemed to make little difference.

However, the Northwind Province and several kingdoms have formed a military alliance, which is a very serious problem.

"The nobles of the empire cannot discuss war with the nobles of the kingdom at the same table, just as the nobles of the kingdom cannot discuss it together."

"His Majesty the Emperor will not agree to your idea of ​​forming a military council in the North."

Count Solon shook his head. If it were just the nobles of the Northwind Province doing something on their own, there would be no problem, and no one would even care.

However, if other kingdoms are involved, then it becomes a political problem.

It's a very simple question. Without the emperor's order and some kind of cooperation between the empire and the kingdom, these noble armies are not qualified to enter the territory of other kingdoms; that would be a provocative declaration of war.

Ryan knew all too well what obstacles his words would encounter, and he already had a plan for dealing with Count Sauron's words.

"The Northwind Legion of the Northwind Province belongs to the Northwind Province. Similarly, the Kingdom Legions of the Kingdom of Andara, the Kingdom of Sera, and the Kingdom of Coran also belong to themselves. The existence of each legion is to protect their own land."

"There is only one reason why I want to establish the Northern Military Council."

"That would be a disaster for their northern border."

"The North Wind Legion is guarding the Fragrant Hills Plains fortress, but the North Wind Legion cannot control the disaster that may come from our east. I cannot be sure whether the Kingdom of Andara and the Kingdom of Sera can withstand the same terrible disaster. When necessary, as fellow humans facing the North, mutual assistance is essential."

"We fought alone before because the Dawn Church prevented the world from providing aid to the Empire. This is not something that should have been done."

"When the orcs began to invade human lands and wantonly kill noble bloodlines, the Dawn Church, on its own, prevented the southern lands from supporting the north."

“The birth of tragedy is painful. Since the Dawn Church cannot fight against the disaster in the North for the greater good, why can't we, the people of the North, do it?”

"Is the reason for your opposition, Lord Sauron, that you believe only the Dawn Church or... the Church of Light are qualified to lead the nobles of the North to unite against the disaster from the North?"

"What I'm doing is simply what the Dawn Church should have done in the past: strengthening the cohesion of human civilization and the military strength to fight against alien races, nothing more."

“I, Ryan Clayton, am not so arrogant as to replace the Dawn Church, but I also believe that no nobleman on this land is more suitable than me to lead human civilization forward.”

“This land no longer belongs to the Dawn Church, Your Excellency.”

Not everyone can escape the glory of the Dawn. Not to mention Count Solon, even the emperor of the empire might not be able to do so. Only on the day of the Feast of Divine Grace, when the Pope of the Dawn witnesses the coronation of the Grand Pope of Light, will the empire's faith in light be able to completely break free from the faith of the Dawn Church and become independent.

Ryan's claim that he wanted to take over the responsibilities of the Dawn Church certainly frightened many people, but at least, the reason... made sense.

"The kingdom's decision is not something these nobles who have come to Zero Crossing City can make."

Earl Winter stared at Ryan and realized that his repeated overestimation of him had ultimately led him to underestimate Baron Ryan, whose ambition had swelled to such an extent.

He no longer cherished the authority of the North Wind Province and actually tried to seize the power of discourse in a land ten times larger. How did he do it? And what did he rely on to do it?
Yes, these nobles who have arrived in Zero Crossing City are not qualified to make decisions.

The nobles looked at each other, unsure whether to speak or not, fearing they might suddenly find themselves in the eye of the storm.

“Lord Winter, my father has made a decision regarding the Kingdom Legion.”

Otto McCrenoz stepped out. Many people recognized the crown prince of the Kingdom of Sera and were surprised to see him there.

"However, where my father disagrees, the Kingdom of Sera's army will maintain its devout faith in the Dawn and will not accept the command of 'Earl Ryan' or the Minister of War of the Kingdom of Sera unless absolutely necessary."

Ryan participated in the founding war of the Kingdom of Sera, and to this day, the Kingdom of Sera has not revoked Ryan's original authority as a military commander.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Sera were shocked. When did the king and Baron Ryan agree to this?

Their previous argument was that they were not yet qualified to make decisions for the entire kingdom, but now that the king has reached an agreement with Ryan before them, it is difficult for the nobles to say that they would not agree to such a thing.

That was disrespectful to the king and a classic example of being two-faced.

It can only be said that Ryan's intention in deliberately inviting them was not simple.

He divided the kingdom's nobles, sending some to Zero Crossing City and others to remain within the kingdom, where the king and nobles discussed the establishment of the kingdom's army.

Firstly, in Zero Crossing City, the nobles would use the excuse that the king was not present to delay Ryan's decision, arguing that they were not qualified to make the decision. Then Ryan would turn around and tell them that he had already reached an agreement with their king.

Just like at this very moment, the nobles of the Kingdom of Sera were dumbfounded.

Secondly, within the kingdom, the king would use his decisions, along with those of other surrounding kingdoms and noble territories, to force the remaining nobles to agree. In turn, the nobles would use their own inadequate reasons to obstruct the king.

At this time, the king would also tell the nobles that those nobles who went to Zero Crossing City were already discussing the procedures and division of power for this matter with other kingdoms and nobles.

At this very moment, within the Kingdom of Sera, King McCrenos was already gaining more power from the nobles.

Thirdly, it is to bring together the nobles of this vast land, allowing them to see the world beyond their territories. No matter how much longing they may feel, this yearning for prosperity will make them consider Ryan's words.

To put it bluntly, Ryan and the kings used many methods to ensure that these nobles would not refuse outright.

As long as things don't turn out too directly, and there's room for maneuver, Ryan's goal has already been achieved.

So why would the kings cooperate with or even actively help Ryan?
The reason is simple: this is essentially a form of centralization of power. The king's power will be greatly enhanced in the process, and his prestige will no longer be solely reflected in the loyalty between the monarch and the nobles.

Ryan's proposal is a centralization of power, stripping nobles of their absolute power over their territories, making them no longer absolute within their domains. Ryan was right before; in the past, it was the Dawn Church that prevented noble territories from having absolute power.

For countless years, the Dawn Church had oppressed the rule of the nobles. Now, Ryan has replaced the Dawn Church, but he is handing over this supreme power to the king.

Would a monarch worry about having too much power?
No, the three kings reached a tacit cooperation with Ryan simply through correspondence.

At this moment, in this political struggle of military support, Ryan was on the side of the King.

They were all the rulers and kings of various lands in this region!

Baron Hatton, with his keen political sense, had long anticipated this event because of his proximity to the Frozen Territory and the fact that his eldest son, Liam, was close to Ryan.

Therefore, throughout the banquet, the portly Baron Hatton did not interact with any of the other nobles.

Lord Hatton was not surprised by the appearance of Otto McReynolds, the crown prince. Lord Winter was still doubting whether the kings of the three kingdoms would agree, but as far as he knew, the kings of those three kingdoms needed to consolidate their power through certain means.

Baron Hatton looked at Ryan over there and felt a chill run down his spine. His neighbor, who was only in his early twenties, was terrifying.

He was like a devil, understanding everyone's heart and leaving them with no other choice.

Yes, those three kings had no choice in any case, just like the nobles standing at this banquet at this very moment.

The kings themselves were in dire straits and needed to do something to consolidate their power.

But don't ask why the kings were in such dire straits.

The Andara royal family lost its path to transcendence, and its prestige plummeted as it could no longer pursue extraordinary achievements. Moreover, the royal family did not possess a powerful army.

The Kingdom of Sera is a newly born kingdom, a kingdom of division and reorganization, and even now, the nobles on the continent of Norris question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Sera.

The Kingdom of Coran... According to Baron Hatton's own understanding, that kingdom was turned into this state by Ryan, with the king and the grand duke sharing power.

He had every reason to suspect that the three kings were forced to make such a choice because Ryan had a deeper deal and relationship with them behind the scenes.

In short, the emergence of the three kingdoms' legions is a manifestation of centralized power. Those "kings and monarchs" who stand at the highest point of the land will certainly spare no effort to cooperate with Ryan.

Among the crowd, Galic Galan was one of those who noticed this. He didn't see things as clearly as Baron Hatton, but he now understood why his father, the Grand Guild of Galan, had suddenly become wary of Baron Ryan.

The Kingdom of Coran was the first testing ground for this matter, and Grand Duke Gelan was deeply involved, so he felt it the most deeply.

The power in the hands of the nobles is slipping away, and in their place, the majesty of the monarch is becoming more profound.

……

The nobles were heavy-hearted at this moment. Ryan's words had left everyone confused and puzzled. How could this banquet, which should have been a joyful gathering, suddenly become so serious?

The Northern Military Council, the Kingdom's Legion... Is it really possible?
The nobles instinctively did not want to hand over their soldiers.

"The nobles' armies are meant to fight danger. But the danger we face comes from outside—outside our territory? Or beyond human lands?"

"The nobles facing the North probably have no other answer to this question, because we experience the threat of the orcs from the North every winter."

"Too much blood of our ancestors was shed on this cold land."

To be honest, the nobles from the Kingdom of Kolan were indifferent to this, but they did not break the atmosphere at this time.

"But... Baron Ryan, isn't this all too hasty?"

The ones who spoke were not nobles from the Northwind Province; they had already 'decided' on the appearance of the Northwind Legion while they were outside the city.

Baron Cohen from the Kingdom of Andara, to be honest, if there was any group of nobles at this banquet who most agreed with Ryan's so-called decision regarding the Kingdom Legion, it would definitely be the nobles of the Kingdom of Andara.

They had lived through an era when orcs ravaged the kingdom and even the royal city was destroyed. The appearance of the kingdom's army was the best possible way to keep the orcs out of the kingdom.

The only hesitation was that the nobles had never experienced anything like this before; their fathers and grandfathers had never had as much experience as they had in these few short years.

These nobles, who had inherited their power, found it difficult to accept Ryan's ideas.

Ryan nodded, his tone becoming serious.

"Gentlemen of noble birth, if possible, I would also like to have more time, a few years or even a decade, to complete the establishment of the BJ Military Council, and even personally help the three kingdoms train their armies."

"But time is not on our side. I also thought that human civilization, which had just experienced a full-scale invasion by orcs, would not have to face the threat of the orcs in the north for a long time. Those evil orcs also need to reproduce."

"But recently, my army has made a very bad discovery in the north."

"The orcs have not disappeared. They keep appearing in our north like the garbage that keeps appearing in this world. Many orcs that were once incredibly far away from humans are now very close at hand."

“We slaughtered many orcs in the war against them, but now even more have appeared in the icy wilderness of the North.”

“I don’t know why they suddenly appeared, but I am very clear that we probably don’t have many years to prepare.”

Will the orc threat return soon?
Upon hearing this news, the nobles were terrified. Many of them were instinctively filled with panic, and soon they began to disbelieve what Ryan had said.

“Mr. Ryan, how could the orcs have made a comeback so quickly? It would take them at least thirty years to become a threat, and it has been like this for many years.”

"Yeah, orcs aren't weeds that grow in a year. They... can't be that fast, can they?"

Despite the nobles' subconscious suspicions, Ryan wasn't angry. He pointed to the 'eight knights' who had been standing on the edge from beginning to end.

“Every brave adventurer from the North will enter the North to be tested. Perhaps you gentlemen can ask our adventurers.”

"They know it all too well."

(End of this chapter)