Throne of the North.

Chapter 678 The Emperor of the Empire (Part Two)
On the very day Columbus learned of the reappearance of orcs in the North, he issued orders to the six border provinces of the Empire, and many nobles, including Ryan, received the Emperor's will.

They were tasked with taking the initiative, thwarting the orcs' invasion, and killing the orc king.

No one would refuse an order from the emperor at this time. Even in the Fragrant Hills Plains, Viscount Landa dispatched an army of two thousand men to the North to hunt orcs.

However, no one was doing their utmost to carry out the emperor's will. Only the nobles near the northern border knew that taking the initiative was an impossible task. All they could do was symbolically send orc prisoners to the capital to please His Majesty the emperor.

The emperor will not come to the North; only they themselves know how cruel the North is in winter.

Before even encountering the orcs, large numbers of soldiers were already in serious disarray and disease. When the orcs appeared before them in the icy wilderness, it was a war from which there was no escape.

The North is unsuitable for human habitation. The warm lands of the South may belong to the orcs, but the icy cold of the North offers no warmth whatsoever to humans.

But none of this mattered to His Majesty Emperor Columbus III, who was in the capital city.

As large numbers of orc slaves were sent to the capital, the heart of the empire was filled with fervor. Countless citizens walked the streets, celebrating the emperor's name. This was the capital; its atmosphere was a reflection of the empire's political climate. It could be lively or solemn, and everything changed because of the empire's politics.

The emperor was not entirely satisfied; he desired the head of the orc king to serve as a vessel to hold the flame of faith, but the nobles of the North claimed they could not find the orc royal court.

But it didn't matter, as Columbus III summoned members of the royal family.

"Your Majesty."

“Pai Lai, go and forge the head of the Silver Moon King into the Holy Grail of Light.”

The emperor looked at the kneeling royal family members and spoke with authority. Fortunately, he still had the remains of the Silver Moon werewolf king in his collection, which could finally be used. This greatly improved Columbus III's goodwill towards the baron of the North.

"Follow your wishes."

The spoils of war like the Silver Moon Werewolf King are very valuable, but no one can refute the Emperor's will. In the present empire, anyone who faces the voice of Columbus III can only agree.

He brought the empire's highest authority and glory, and His Majesty the Emperor also enjoys such power.

……

In the North, at dusk.

Standing atop the majestic Wall fortress in the North, Ryan gazed at the darkening horizon, where swarms of orcs were charging toward the human border fortress, following the dim sky.

"Are you still here?"

Before the densely packed orcs even approached the fortress, Ryan waved his hand. The next moment, on either side of him, massive ballistae atop towering watchtowers were revealed, their gears turning. Crimson alchemical liquid flowed from the surface of the thick crossbow bolts—creations extracted from the alchemical remains left behind by Surtur in Nidhogg, containing…

A terrifying power.

Boom boom boom boom! ! ! ! !
In the dim twilight sky, crimson meteors streaked across the northern wall fortress, landing thousands of meters away on the northern snowfields. They burned, scorching the cold void, evaporating countless snowflakes. In the hazy, hot mist, thousands of orcs howled and screamed in agony. Their flesh was scalding hot, and the burning pain made them writhe on the snow and ice, but they still could not stop the power of the alchemical crossbow bolts from spreading.

On the vast snow-covered plains, the steam from the hot springs rose, and hordes of orcs fell with cries of agony, while the remaining orcs charged forward with even greater ferocity.

They finally entered the attack range of the fortress defenders.

"Fire arrows!"

Arrows rained down on the front, not from the drawing of a bow by muscles, but from various arrow carriages forged by alchemists. Each time, hundreds of arrows could be fired, and apart from their slow reload speed, they had no drawbacks on the battlefield.

The dense black raindrops engulfed the orc army, which continued to charge, but fell even faster.

A crossbow bolt whizzed overhead, and sharp orc claws emerged from beneath the snow. It struggled, rising from the snow, and glanced back to see a dense mass of orc corpses. It was the first orc to charge here, but behind it, there was no other force capable of following it in its assault on the human fortress.

After the orc died, its bloodthirsty eyes slammed angrily onto the Great Wall fortress. The smooth, hard texture made it despair, and it was about to raise its head to glare at the humans above.

With a whoosh, a long spear descended from the sky, piercing through the ferocious orc's body and pinning him to the spot.

It became the only orc on this battlefield that was dead but still standing.

Ryan withdrew his hand, and beneath him, a thick iron chain, as thick as a bucket, rose with gears, opening a gate to the Northern Wall fortress. The swarming stag army knights charged across the snowfield, rushing into the distance, wielding the sharpest weapons of human civilization, and reaping the remaining orcs one by one.

The arrival of night could not stop the knights' slaughter. They were not afraid of the darkness, and besides, the firelight had already set the sky ablaze, illuminating this battlefield that would not be recorded in history.

On the second day, the slaves inside the Northern Wall fortress began to leave one after another to clean up the battlefield, mainly to salvage the weapons on the battlefield. Materials could also be taken from the orcs.

As for the corpse...

The frigid North will not allow any plague to grow; the plague will freeze and die in this land until one day an even more terrifying force tramples and crushes their corpses.

"Your Majesty Emperor Flor, the threat from the North is growing ever more terrifying. To this day, we still do not know why those orcs migrated to the South. But there is no doubt that the people of the North need the help and support of their great Emperor. War is imminent. For the glory of the Flor Empire, for the glory of Your Majesty the Emperor, the people of the North will fight to the death. The faith of this land has always prayed for your coronation. May your divine grace be eternally glorious."

Ryan sent the letter to the capital. The threat from the North was growing, and he could not fight alone; it was a problem for the entire Empire and even for all of humanity.

Not only that, Ryan was also giving gifts to his neighbors next door.

To the west, in the western part of the Northwind Province, there are five other provinces located on the northern border, which, like us, are aware of the impending threat from the north.

They must work together to put pressure on the empire and on all of human civilization; otherwise, they will be the ones who suffer.

Imperial capital city.

The emperor began to receive a constant stream of letters from the north. As he read their contents, he began to realize that the scale of this orcish invasion was not simple.

However, that's not his focus right now.

There are only twenty days left until Grace Day.

So His Majesty the Emperor summoned Archduke Russell once again.

"Gallen, I need you to lead the noble army north."

Archduke Fleming had already led his army south, leaving Columbus III with no choice but to call on Archduke Russell to lead the way. Archduke Russell lamented that he should have made the same choice as Archduke Fleming and gone south.

However, everyone now tacitly agrees not to bring up the issue of war prevention between the Empire and the Papacy, which makes it impossible for Archduke Russell to refuse the Emperor on such a basis.

"Follow your will."

Grand Duke Russell took a deep breath. Good, this is an opportunity to restore the Russell family's glory.

However, before that, Archduke Russell had one more thing to discuss with the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, I recently heard that His Highness the Viking has returned to the Empire.”

?

"Humph!"

The emperor snorted coldly, his expression instantly turning sour.

This was also one of the reasons why Archduke Russell readily agreed to the Emperor's request to travel to the Twilight Province.

Archduke Meyers chose Volvo, Archduke Rodrigo chose Freud, and the Russell family had no choice, but he could choose not to. No one could force the archduke to do anything.

To save face for both sides, Archduke Russell chose to withdraw from the vortex of the Imperial Capital.

"The will of the empire is beyond question, so why would he come back?"

After Archduke Russell left, the Emperor angrily summoned the other members of the royal family.

“Drive the Viking out of the Empire’s lands. He is already an exiled elector and has no right to return to the Flor Empire!”

"Yes."

The nobles remained silent, but His Highness the Elector of Viking Columbus, who lived in an ancient mansion, did not continue to hide after learning that he had been exposed. He walked out openly and generously. He was gentle and refined, possessing all the good qualities that humans have. He attracted the attention of countless citizens of the capital city simply by standing on the street.

Rough men became polite in his presence, shy women lowered their heads, and even numb slaves scrubbed the ground cleaner and brighter in front of the Viking.

"I return to honor my revered father. As the Elector, I congratulate him on his imminent coronation as the High Pope of Light, receiving the approval of the great God of Light."

The people were in an uproar, but the nobles remained silent, knowing full well the vision this perfect elector held for the empire and for all of human civilization.

Some of the older nobles still remember how the young Elector Viking, before countless people, declared that he would abolish the class distinction between nobles and slaves, that food and wealth would be equally distributed among all people, that human civilization would become peaceful and free from conflict, that he would lead all of humanity to a more glorious world, that he would establish laws and regulations governing nobles and commoners, and so on…

In short, his vision instilled fear in the nobles, whose heads seemed to fall off at that moment.

The Viking Columbus was exiled because there was no longer a place for him in this land.

Therefore, when the Vikings returned, not a single nobleman stepped forward to approach the Elector.

He was the least likely and incapable elector to become emperor in the history of the empire.

"Foolish bastard, get out of my empire!"

Columbus III was furious, and the once bustling capital city became deserted. His subjects, who used to come and go, avoided the area where the Vikings were. Wherever he went, no one dared to look at the elector with a second glance.

At that moment, Viking realized the authority and status his father held in the empire.

The Viking knelt before the palace, remaining kneeling for a long time. The emperor showed no intention of receiving him. Anger was one reason, but another was that the emperor was also worried about the nobles' opinion of him. What would the nobles think if he received the Viking elector?
This empire, from top to bottom, was opposed to the Vikings.

A large number of extraordinary beings from the royal family emerged. They sealed away the Chosen One, Viking, and banished him once again. However, in the face of these people, Viking unleashed an incredibly terrifying power.

Legendary, extraordinary legend, but so what? No one can run rampant in the capital city. No matter how powerful a legend is, he is no match for the Flor Empire.

With the emperor's indifference, an invisible force suppressed and sealed the Viking in place. He was carried away from the capital city by ordinary soldiers like an ordinary person and put on a carriage. The carriage would take the Viking to the west coast and exile him to an extremely remote island.

"Perhaps His Highness the Viking can wait until after the Festival of Grace before leaving."

Grand Duke Fleming still held considerable authority; he believed that the Viking electors were not qualified to enter the empire, but they were qualified to witness His Majesty the Emperor's glory.

Despite his will, the Viking was not sent out to sea and was instead placed under house arrest in a magnificent palace on the west coast, where he was not allowed to leave without the emperor's order.

Furthermore, he harbored deep resentment towards the old Archduke Fleming.

The nobles who had originally stood by the side of the old Grand Duke Fleming suddenly didn't know what to do. They began to gradually distance themselves from the old Grand Duke Fleming, fearing that it would attract the emperor's attention.

“Tell Grand Duke Freming that he will remain there without my orders.”

He gave Grand Duke Fleming face because these old grand dukes held far too much authority in the empire, but at this moment, the emperor was constantly reducing their power.

"The Orcs are threatening the North, and the Freming family needs to send 100,000 soldiers to Twilight Province to form part of the Twilight Legion."

Centralized power is not a new phenomenon under Ryan's leadership.

The Flor Empire began a century ago, and this process is now intensifying with the rise of Columbus III and the growing power of the emperor.

The emperor of the Flor Empire began to consolidate power in the hands of the nobles.

Unlike Ryan, there are no alliances or compromises here; everything is based on the emperor's authority.

No nobleman dared to oppose the current Columbus III, so after the Grand Duke of Fleming's family was forced to provide 100,000 men, his followers, who depended on him, also began to gather soldiers of all sizes in the northern frontier provinces.

His Majesty the Emperor was once again pleased by the orcish invasion, which gave him an excellent reason and entry point.

“I am the Emperor of Flor, and also the Pope of Light of the Empire.”

(End of this chapter)