Throne of the North.

Chapter 695 The Beastman Emperor (Part 1)

"Does Baron Ryan have any good suggestions?"

Seeing Ryan's appearance, Earl Gardner asked curiously.

"If it's just a matter of transportation, perhaps I can help Lord Gardner. I can transport cattle and horses from Northwind Province to Twilight Province."

Count Gardner was overjoyed, then hesitated.

"But... the journey from Northwind Province to Twilight Province is long, and I'm afraid we won't make it in time."

Ryan shook his head.

“My lord, we must learn to use extraordinary power to serve the victory of the war. I have a way to bring the cattle and horses, but... the price will be heavy.”

Ryan hesitated, but Earl Gardner simply waved his hand and said:
"Don't worry, Baron Ryan, the Empire will not treat you unfairly. This expense will be covered by the Empire."

Ryan shook his head.

"It is only right to contribute to the fight against the orcs. As a nobleman of the empire, I should contribute these efforts without the empire having to buy them."

"However, I am also a nobleman from the North. In this war, I am a nobleman supported by the Empire, and the North Wind is also facing the threat of the orcs."

"So... what I'm thinking is that the North Wind provides cattle and horses, while the North Wind needs some resources that can participate in the war."

Count Gardner nodded in understanding.

"I will speak to His Highness Volvo and say that war supplies will be used to replace the cattle and horses of the North Wind for transporting grain."

"That would be perfect."

Ryan smiled and said that he had achieved half of his goal. If Count Gardner spoke, Volvo would not refuse. As for what to do next, it would be up to Ryan and Count Gardner to discuss. Volvo would not personally manage these small matters; he only cared about the overall situation of the war.

As for the cattle and horses that Ryan mentioned, they were not transported from the Northwind Province, but from several kingdoms in the east. There was a plain among them with a large number of cattle and horses that could be used as laborers.

The opening and closing of the dimensional gates was done in the blink of an eye by Ryan, consuming only the time that a baron of legendary stature would take.

At his speed, it wouldn't even take him five hours to travel from Twilight Province to Northwind Province.

……

Twilight Fortress.

Hundreds of thousands of people stared intently ahead. Among them were slaves, and in front of the slaves were a large number of soldiers.

The soldiers felt uneasy being stared at from behind by the slaves; they had never seen such a light in the eyes of these slaves before.

However, they could understand, because they felt that their gaze at that moment was no different from that of those damned peasants.

There is light in their eyes too.

Your Highness the Elector, according to legend, the Elector is the future emperor of the empire. He personally said that as long as you kill an orc, you will receive a reward of five silver coins. The knights and noble lords have not withheld any this time. This is simply a godsend opportunity.

Moreover, His Highness the Elector said that for each day they persevered, they would receive a reward of two silver coins. If they could persevere for ten days, they would be given an additional gold coin, and for each additional day after ten, they would receive one more gold coin.

This is the Elector's promise to all soldiers: from this moment forward, all soldiers will have only one identity—soldiers of the Empire, soldiers of the Emperor of the Empire.

The soldiers' eyes were filled with fervor as they stood on the north side of Twilight Keep, with the shattered fortress behind them.

The land here is much colder, and snowflakes fall from the sky from time to time. In the previous war, the soldiers were terrified of crossing the ruins of Twilight Keep. Their fighting strength was greatly reduced in this unfamiliar land, and what they feared most was that fighting here would mean facing the endless orc army in the North.

But now, everything before them is wealth, vast wealth that moves.

"Soldiers, hold back the evil orcs beyond the borders of the Empire!"

"Let them understand that there is no place for them on this land!"

"Long live the Empire!"

Harald roared loudly in the sky, like a mighty and unparalleled lion. The battlefield was his domain, and the aura of a top legend burst forth. He was the most dazzling existence on this battlefield.

"Attack!"

"Long live the Empire!"

Normally, the soldiers were required to shout "Long live the emperor!" but since the emperor had recently died, such a phrase was considered taboo.

Like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, soldiers fought fiercely north of Twilight Fortress, their eyes bloodshot. Behind them, 100,000 slaves were doing their utmost to clean up and repair the fortress, which could only hold 100,000 slaves. The other half of the slaves were busy in various parts of Twilight Province.

One after another, magical messages traveled from Twilight Fortress back to Volvo's palace. Seeing the constant stream of good news from the front lines, Volvo roared with excitement.

"This war will surely be a perfect victory!"

Fortunately, no one witnessed the elector's loss of composure, but everyone around him could sense the prince's turbulent emotions.

This manifests in many ways.

Ryan returned three days later. He had just landed and hadn't even gone to look for Earl Gardner when he was caught off guard by a big hug from Volvo.

“Lyan, you are a genius. In just three days, the Imperial army has driven those damned orcs out of Twilight Keep. Now the soldiers are fighting in the snow, and they will achieve an unimaginable victory.”

"This belongs to me, and it will also belong to you, Ryan. Inviting you here was absolutely the right thing to do. Don't worry, after the war is over, I will definitely treat you even better."

Ryan frowned slightly after listening and said:

"Your Highness, the army should not stray too far from Twilight Fortress. Let them retreat."

Volvo's smile froze on his face, and he asked, puzzled:
"Why? Because our morale is high and victory in the war is just around the corner."

Ryan shook his head and said:
"The orcs' victory does not lie in a single war or on a single day, but in the number of orcs, and when it is reduced to a state of equilibrium."

"It's impossible to wipe out the orcs in a short period of time at Twilight Keep."

"Moreover, even if they are cleared out, orcs from other places will come to replenish them. The Empire has six northern provinces, not to mention that the Empire now needs to provide diplomatic and military support to the Kingdom of Andara and the Gerald noble territory."

"The expenditure is enormous. I suggest you use a massive amount of wealth to win this war. However, the squandering of wealth also needs to be moderate. The wealth and resources consumed every day must be a huge expense, right?"

After listening, Volvo smiled mysteriously and said:

“Ryan, you underestimate the Empire’s wealth. We hold the wealth of the entire world in our hands. I can tell you that the Empire is fully capable of supporting such a war for a long time.”

"There will be absolutely no problem until Twilight Keep is fully repaired."

“But you’re not wrong either. We should save our breath. I’ll keep the army within thirty miles of Twilight Fortress. The mountains are vast; beyond that, the army will be useless.” Volvo had also considered this, but he needed a magnificent victory to explain to the nobles in the south how right they were to choose him.

Volvo's fundamental goal has always been to become the emperor of the empire, and the wars in the North serve this purpose.

Therefore, he could squander this enormous wealth just to ensure his record of victories remained flawless.

Ryan said no more. Let Volvo do what it wants; after all, this way, Ryan himself can gain even more.

……

The Dragon Emperor's crown was placed on his head, and a storm arose in the void. The wind and snow were swallowed up by the spatial rift more than a hundred meters high, like a whirlpool in the ocean. Beneath this violent energy, one after another, large water buffaloes, trembling with fear from the dragon's might, were driven out.

"Don't worry, even though you don't have much experience, I'll give you back all the good stuff after this is over."

Ryan spoke to the herd of buffalo, who seemed to understand him, their eyes filled with expectation.

Not long ago, Ryan diluted the dragon's blood in the lake and gave them a bath.

Too much dilution has little effect, but the food lingers on as if it were a delicacy.

Besides these, there are many packhorses. In the wilderness of Ryan, not every horse is qualified to become a warhorse in the North. Those that are eliminated are naturally used as laborers to pull carts.

They are docile, mainly because they have some Northern warhorse blood, which makes them more cold-blooded.

"Lord Gardner."

Ryan looked at the Earl, who was delighted. In the past few days, he had been racking his brains to ensure the army's food supply, and had even paid a considerable price for it, inviting extraordinary mages to transport the food safely to the front line of Twilight Fortress.

Every stroke here represents the honor of the southern nobles, and cannot be compromised.

Now the pressure can finally be reduced.

"Ryan, thank you so much."

“Your Excellency, there’s no need for that. We are friends, and my father has also said that more than a hundred years ago, Earl Clayton and Earl Gardner were married. We are relatives.”

“That’s right, Ryan, we are family.”

Count Gardner laughed heartily, and the two flattered each other, quickly establishing a deep friendship.

Against the backdrop of this intimate and friendly exchange between the two nobles, countless slaves were transporting massive amounts of supplies upstream, carrying herds of cattle and horses, into the world of Nidhogg.

“These resources were originally intended to fight the orcs in the North. Sending them to Northwind Province to fight the orcs makes no difference. Besides, Ryan, you have also sent resources from Northwind Province here to fight the orcs.”

"The Empire is a whole. His Majesty the Emperor said this when he was still alive: the nobles should no longer fight individually as before. We must unite to continuously defeat the Dawn Church."

The smiles weren't just on the faces of Ryan and Earl Gardner, but on the faces of every nobleman.

The war in the North suddenly became much smoother.

The nobles of several northern provinces felt a great weight lifted from their hearts. The relieved nobles naturally praised Elector Volvo to the highest degree. The nobles in the south also received a constant stream of reports of victories from the war in the north. Their expressions of dissatisfaction due to the loss of wealth also eased with each new report.

This made them realize they were right, and most importantly, the war in the North, ten times larger than the last full-scale orcish invasion, had been thwarted.

"Volvo is the undisputed champion."

"The emperor of mankind should bravely resist the orc race and protect the glory of human civilization."

Led by Meyers, the nobles began to campaign for Volvo, and the Elector's prestige began to rise. In the capital, the common people emerged from their grief and began to look expectantly northward, hoping that the Elector would return in triumph.

There's been a recent rumor in the capital that a triumphal arch should be built in the north to welcome the prince back from his battle against the terrible orcs, and to complement the Cathedral of Light in the south.

Orcs are synonymous with evil and terror in countless legends.

Volvo received feedback from the South, which made him even more excited. He couldn't wait to return to the South to receive the coronation that everyone was looking forward to.

Despite Chrysus's constant admonitions, he still couldn't sleep.

"Ryan, when do you think the war will end?"

Volvo quietly asked Ryan why he was being quiet, because there were only the two of them at the meeting.

Volvo did not invite any nobles to participate, yet he held a formal military conference. In his view, this was to fulfill his promise to Ryan that he would not treat him unfairly, after all, it represented Volvo's great regard for Baron Ryan.

"Finish?"

Ryan looked at the elector with a puzzled expression.

Why is Your Highness in such a hurry?

"Our war with the orcs has not even truly begun yet."

Ryan never believed that the nobles and commanders on the northern border of the Empire were incompetent. After all, the border fortresses were never run by one person, but rather a collective wisdom of the majority to make decisions.

The word "dictatorship" should have been embodied in Columbus III, but unfortunately he died.

The wisdom of the nobility lies in their unity and concerted efforts, which means that their decisions may not be particularly brilliant or outstanding, but they are also unlikely to produce results that are truly astonishing.

This very noble class suffered terribly during the last full-scale orc invasion. Twilight Fortress, under the command of 'Lionheart' Harald, was shattered, and half of the Twilight Province was occupied by the orcs. It was only through a bloody battle led by Grand Duke Meyers and the Nightmare Knights that they managed to hold off the terrifying orc army.

This time, the orc invasion was ten times larger than the last one, and even included orc species that humans had never seen before in the last hundred years. Humans were completely unfamiliar with the methods of these orcs, and many soldiers suffered losses as a result.

What makes Volvo think this war will end sooner than the last?

"Your Highness, none of the six royal families of the orcs have officially appeared yet."

Ryan said this, hoping that Volvo could calm down, because if the top leadership caused trouble, the war could very well lead to a terrible abyss.

"Haven't they already appeared?"

"No, those Behemoths, ravens, werewolves and the like are just ordinary members of the six royal families, equivalent to commoners within the royal family."

"I suspect that there may not be a consensus among the orcs. They are in internal strife, which is why the orc army that invaded the empire this time has no military command at all."

Orcs may not be very intelligent, but when it comes to actual warfare, the powerful orcs of the six royal courts will still show signs of command.

Instead of the current situation where all orcs are just line-filling babies.

(End of this chapter)