Throne of the North.

Chapter 777 Another Great Being of Mikragard?
As the sun sets, the raven ships of the Blue Sea Islands return to the islands. Only by going out to sea can one truly feel how lonely the pirates in the world of Mikragard are, like lone boats.

“Quack~”

The crows perched on the branches. On this island, nothing could be hidden from the wizards, including everything that happened on the crow's ship.

"This stranger has already taken a lot of treasure from Liv, and that woman has actually lost."

"A legend indeed. Even in our time, such a thing was rare."

Kledal looked at the raven beside him.

"I remember you barely made it into the Hall of Legends six hundred years after me."

"Still a legend without the blessing of legend."

"There's a legend on board; even if Liv were to summon a storm, she couldn't handle it."

"It's good that he didn't kill Liv, but what puzzles me is why this stranger appeared in Mikragard. Why hasn't the lost part of the gods' authority appeared yet?"

"Could it really be because of Liv?"

"Is a new divine authority being conceived within her, preventing the old part from returning?"

“That doesn’t make sense. What we should be waiting for is an outsider from another world who returns with authority, not a nobleman from another land.”

"Why don't we ask?"

“We are wise men; asking him would only tell him that we don’t know everything.”

"What should I do?"

"Let's wait a little longer. The authority of the gods will not disappear; it will surely return to Mikragard. As for this stranger, his actions are none of our concern."

The ravens have been waiting for Mikragard's brief revival so that the divine authority that has been scattered abroad can return to this world and allow it to fully escape the northern winter.

The appearance of Liv and the stranger Ryan both prove that Mikragard is experiencing a brief resurgence in its frozen state, and the ice on the surface of a frozen leaf on the World Tree has melted briefly.

For these wizards, the sight of an old tree sprouting new buds was the best possible outcome. Having lived for countless years, they paid no attention to the commotion that Ryan and Liv were causing on the sea.

……

Once dressed, chests of treasure were unloaded. Ryan did not send them back to Rhinoceros Horn Mountain, fearing that this wealth, which could float on the sea, carried some kind of curse originating from the destruction of the world.

The massive raven ship did not sink below the surface of the sea. Ryan spent some gold coins and food from the Frozen Territory to choose a decent house in the village to stay in.

The next day, Ryan went up the mountain of the ravens again.

The villagers didn't usually interact with these witch crows very often, naturally because of the difference between them. But Ryan didn't care about that; he wanted to know the knowledge in the minds of these witch crows.

"Lord Kledal."

The crows opened their eyes; they also need to sleep, and often they sleep for years at a time.

"You've come again, stranger."

Krödl's voice was weathered, as if he had seen all the splendor of the world.

"I saw the pirate captain, a woman with purple hair and blue eyes. She could move freely in the ocean and probably would never drown."

Kledal looked at Ryan, and for the first time couldn't figure out what the stranger wanted to say, so he waited.

For him, Ryan's appearances these past two days have been a bit too frequent. Didn't he notice that the other ravens only appeared later each time the two sides communicated?

"I discovered some of her secrets."

Ryan looked at Kledal, wondering what kind of answer this wise man could give him.

The raven remained silent.

"She is able to get help from this world, I mean, the world of Mikragard is actively helping her."

"The world's proactive assistance allows her to stir up trouble, to appear in any sea, and to know any treasure hidden beneath the ocean, anywhere."

"This is unreasonable."

Ryan looked at Kledal and asked:

"According to what you told me before, Lord Kledal, the gods of Mikragard were among the first to fall into the northern winter. More than a hundred years ago, during the interdimensional war of the gods, you also confirmed that the gods of this world had died. Only half of their bodies remained, which became your physical bodies, and the other half of their original authority was left outside the world."

"In other words, the world of Mikragard itself has long been in a state of death, and the wizards are barely maintaining its vitality by using their extraordinary powers."

"But even so, the world should not be allowed to have its own will."

"The world is alive, and only a great will exists that can actively help, care for, and bless the individual in this world. I understand this. In my world, the clergy who serve the gods are all like this."

"I've come today to ask, in the world of Mikragard, to whom does that great will that mysteriously helps Liv belong?"

Kledal looked at Ryan, his gaze no longer filled with the same deep scrutiny and unimaginable suspicion as before. It was so intense that Ryan could feel the surging magic gathering in the void.

The Blue Sea Islands were set up with an incredibly terrifying wizard's array.

"What does this have to do with you, stranger? That will is perhaps just the generalized consciousness of us raven-like beings, while Liv is the child of God, she is cared for by instinct."

Does this have anything to do with Ryan?

Of course they are related.

If Ryan wants to open up the next alternate dimension, he must first conquer the alternate dimensions that have already been connected.

This refers to the current world of Mikragard.

He wanted to completely conquer and control this place, but just like Nidhogg, if there was some great being in this world, Ryan's troubles would directly escalate to the level of gods.

Let him fight the gods again and drive them out of Mikragard?
Forget about experience, Ryan was a hundred times unwilling. Facing a great being, all his trump cards and extraordinary strength were useless.

In that case, let alone expelling the gods, he might instead be found by the gods as a medium and forcibly transformed into their servant. He might even become their gateway into the Norris continent.

It's like the abyssal aura emanating from the noble territory south of the Kingdom of Kolan today.

Mikragard, who knows how long it can exist? Just look at how many years these ravens have lived. If it hasn't made a move for thousands of years, does that mean I'll be unable to open the next otherworld plane for thousands of years?
This is extremely important to Ryan; it directly relates to the very foundation of his livelihood.

Without the other world, how could Lord Ryan have vigorously developed the Frozen Territory and gained a stronger voice in the Empire and the world?

However, he couldn't understand where the sudden hostility from Kledar, the witch raven, came from.

"Lord Kledal, you may know all the knowledge in this world, but when it comes to gods, you probably don't know more than I do." The number of gods that Ryan has come into contact with, and even the great beings he has directly understood, far exceeds that of the other party.

Because of the spiritual panel, Ryan can even face great beings without having his soul and flesh twisted.

"This world is dead, so no new great will will ever be born."

Ryan's statement was half true and half false; the Dragon Spirit in the Spirit Panel is an exceptionally special case.

This is only partially true.

The semi-true one is the dragon spirit that now follows Ryan. In fact, because the Dragon Emperor did not die completely, he left behind a tiny trace of authority. In Isabella's body, it can be said that a new dragon spirit was born by borrowing that trace of authority and Nidhogg's unknown special characteristics.

Even so, the Dragon Spirit is definitely not a great being.

Because it lost its faith and its vibrant world.

Therefore, Mikragard is also a possibility. After all, this great being of the world split himself in two, with one half dying on the battlefield and the other half waiting to rise from the ashes.

But... Ryan didn't believe that the raven could understand all this. He was a wise man, a librarian, but in Ryan's eyes, he was also a member of the great being's retinue.

In terms of status, the difference between a person and a deity is greater than the difference between a mortal and a deity, because a mortal can be a believer of a deity and be His people, while a person's family is merely a servant.

The former provides power to the gods, while the latter exists because of the power of the gods.

There is an absolute separation between family members and deities.

Moreover, Kledal never had the chance to witness everything that Ryan had gone through, so that they could mutually verify matters related to the gods.

This goes beyond the scope of 'knowledge'.

"Stranger."

Kledal looked at Ryan, his voice tinged with a hint of surprise amidst its weariness.

"I need to reconsider your appearance. Perhaps your appearance is not unrelated to us."

"Perhaps you also bear the mark of a great being, and your appearance has drawn His attention to Mikragard."

Gray mist began to rise in the air, and illusory crows materialized, standing in the sky, on the ground, and on the coastline. Then they let out a soul-piercing shriek at Ryan.

"Ah-"

Like the howl of a demon, the incessant shrieking of countless crows echoed deep within Ryan's soul.

“I think, Your Excellency Kledal, you have made a mistake.”

Ryan raised his head, and a raging flame appeared deep in his pupils. The flame transformed into a roaring dragon, which burst out of his body in an instant. Ryan stood on the top of the dragon's head, and a longsword made of condensed flame appeared in his hand. He slammed it down towards the wizard tower behind Kledal.

"You are not qualified to turn your back on me."

"Below the legends, all are but ants. No matter what power you possessed in the past, you and the other crows are now merely at the peak of the Saint Realm."

"A dead world cannot contain the existence of legends, because as a dead existence, it is destined that there will be no such thing as 'historical process'; its history was cut off in the winter of its death."

Ryan strode towards Kledal on the flames, and the crows in the sky and on the ground turned to ashes and fell as the flames burned them.

In the surrounding void, five more raven appeared. Without any hesitation, they joined forces, causing the Blue Sea Islands to tremble and the mountains and forests to shake violently. But Brand had also arrived.

The ethereal, legendary physique within the crystalline light tore through all the wizard's array patterns, its cold gaze fixed on the raven before it.

Two legends and six ravens—no one knows who will win, but the legends will definitely survive, and the ravens will certainly be severely injured. As for how much will be destroyed in the battle, that depends on the methods employed by both sides.

After a long standoff, Kledal was the first to withdraw his wizarding array, unable to bear the consequences of fighting two legends.

This is different from what they are pursuing.

"Can we talk properly now?"

The legendary aura that had surrounded Ryan vanished, and his face once again wore the hypocritical smile of a nobleman, gentle and approachable.

"You guys are very concerned about this?"

It was Ryan who should ask the question first, letting these wise men speak first, otherwise everything might be led astray.

However, Krödl gave a completely illogical response.

"Your soldiers don't seem to be good swimmers."

He still remembered that when he crossed the dimensional gate, the knight squire fell into the sea and could only barely float on the surface by relying on his strong blood energy. Even so, he would continue to sink into the deep sea.

If I hadn't created the land of tree roots, those guys wouldn't even be able to stand up.

"His followers cannot be unfamiliar with the ocean."

Kledal spoke these words to the other five ravens. Upon hearing this, the gray fog that had been shrouding the Blue Sea Islands gradually dissipated, and the sky returned to its clear state. Only the villagers in the village looked up at the mountain with lingering fear, wondering what the wizards' gates were up to this time.

Could it be that they're angry that they looted some treasure from the sea?

On the mountain, Kledal felt he could understand this stranger who had crossed space to come to Mikragard even less.

Indeed, there are still secrets in this world that they haven't told us.

It concerns a great existence.

"This seems to have nothing to do with you, stranger."

Kledal reiterated this, unwilling to elaborate, regarding Ryan merely as a visitor from another world.

“This is related to me. If there really is a great god in this world, then I am very likely to confront Him.”

Ryan could sense from the crows' words that they and the gods didn't seem to be getting along very well.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, Kredahl's gaze no longer turned unfamiliar and hostile.

"So, you also want to deal with Him?"

Ryan was astonished. Mikragard, could there really be a great being that was not native to it?
"Indeed, the will of other gods exists in this world, but it is not His true form, but a projection, the shadow of His intrusion into Mikragard."

Kledal finally spoke up: if Ryan was His follower, he wouldn't be unaware of this; if Ryan wasn't, then he could be an ally of the ravens.

The power of legends is still very valuable.

(End of this chapter)