Throne of the North.

Chapter 801 The Initial Establishment of the Knight Academy (Part 4)
Will the Imperial Knight Academy grant the request from the baron from the North?

Ryan didn't know either, but the Imperial Knight Academy certainly couldn't afford to ignore the nobles of the six northern provinces.

Therefore, this time he was not alone; he also invited nobles from several western provinces.

"His Majesty the Emperor has divided the army into the First Legion of the Empire, and the future officers will all come from the Knight Academy."

On the surface, that's what Ryan said; in reality, the letters he wrote to several high-ranking nobles were much more explicit.

"The Empire's army is stationed on the frontier, and the North is always full of threats. I think it is necessary for us to know what kind of fighting power this army of the Empire really has."

Ryan's invitation was accepted by several high-ranking nobles in the provinces of Hot Spring, Purple Mountain, and Twilight.

However, the specific reasons are not so simple.

The most powerful nobles in the province of Thermopylae are Earl Ferguson and Marquis Thermopylae. The First Legion of the Empire is stationed here. The authority of the Duke of Russell overshadows the entire province of Thermopylae. The land, which was already in dire need of reconstruction, means that the two nobles are subject to the Duke of Russell in many ways.

Grand Duke Russell's military and agricultural settlements in the North were primarily located in the province of Hot Springs. However, all of this required the support of land and wealth. Wealth could come from the Empire, but the land itself was provided by the nobles of that land.

Unfortunately, the rules set by Archduke Russell were impeccable.

The lands he selected were all 'wastelands,' that is, territories that did not belong to any noble family. Strictly speaking, those lands belonged to the Empire, to His Majesty Emperor Flor.

but……

Everything has its limits. Over the years, the nobles' overt and covert land-grabbing activities have already turned the land surrounding their territories into part of their own. They have reclaimed the land and turned it into their own wealth. How could they possibly say that it wasn't theirs?

Not every nobleman is a pioneering nobleman, and besides, these lands are not outside the empire's territory.

“We must obey the decrees of the Empire, but it is also wrong for the First Legion of the Empire to encroach on ‘our land’.”

The Marquis of Hot Springs and the Earl of Ferguson surprisingly joined forces, uniting the nobles of the Hot Springs province into a cohesive unit.

“But Grand Duke Russell was acting on His Majesty’s orders, and we have no reason to make them return those lands.”

Count Ferguson hesitated, hoping for a better way to reach a compromise between the emperor and them through an exchange of benefits.

At the very least, he couldn't allow his own earldom to be damaged; he didn't care about other people's lands.

"It seems that Earl Ferguson still doesn't quite understand the imperial military decrees issued by our Emperor."

Marquis Wenquan sneered and said:
"This was not His Majesty Volvo Columbus's idea, but rather a plan that came from his father, His Majesty Columbus III, when he was still alive."

"This plan has been around for almost thirty years."

The Marquis of Hot Springs was also an elector of the emperor and knew many secrets of the royal family.

"what?"

Earl Ferguson was naturally shocked by this.

"The changes to the army have already begun and have been gradually promoted by His Majesty the Emperor and several Grand Dukes. The nobles are the driving force behind this process, which is why the emergence of the Imperial First Legion did not cause a great uproar. Otherwise, do you think the nobles of the empire could have completed the reform of the Imperial First Legion in just half a month?"

"A story spanning decades was laid bare in a single day."

"So Mr. Ferguson, you don't seem to understand the emergence of the First Legion of the Empire. What I can tell you is that this legion belongs to the Empire and to His Majesty the Emperor, but at the same time, this legion is also too large because of this."

"Many small things can actually be controlled."

"For example, the task of keeping our 'territory' away from the Empire's First Legion can actually be accomplished without fighting the entire Empire."

"What harms our interests is not His Majesty the Emperor, nor the First Legion of the Empire, but rather the interests of certain 'others' within this legion."

Ferguson understood immediately, and his eyes became more profound.

"So that's how it is. Some people are expanding for their own benefit and have even come after us."

"No wonder Baron Ryan said that..."

Seeing that Count Ferguson realized this was definitely not part of the Imperial First Legion's overall plan, Marquis Hot Springs was relieved, and the two could cooperate with peace of mind.

He had no choice but to try to win over Earl Ferguson.

The province of Thermopylae suffered devastating losses in the war, and ironically, after the war, Count Ferguson gained control of a large portion of the province's livelihood and wealth production. This forced the Marquis of Thermopylae, who was enthusiastic about the superhuman army, to take the matter seriously.

However, upon hearing what followed, Marquis Wenquan's eyes filled with doubt.

"Did Baron Ryan write to you too? What did he say?"

"What else can I say? It's about this matter. His Majesty the Emperor has brought forth the First Imperial Legion, but because the First Imperial Legion does not belong to any nobleman's private army, it needs a large number of military commanders."

"The emperor's orders are issued to the marshal, and the marshal's orders are issued to the generals. Whether it is to be in charge of the main battle, the flanking maneuver, or the most important supplies and provisions, specific people are needed to carry them out."

"And since the general doesn't do everything himself, these military orders are further subdivided down to the middle-level officers below, and ultimately, they cover every soldier in the First Legion of the Empire, so that every soldier knows what he should do. If you want the legion to unleash its terrifying war potential, then military orders are the most important thing."

"Therefore, the knight officers who carried out military orders also became extremely important."

As he spoke, Count Ferguson took out the letter from the Frozen Territory, which bore only Ryan's personal seal. Upon opening it, the Marquis of Hot Springs saw a blank space where Ryan had drawn a war formation resembling a pyramid.

The marquis stared at the letter for a long time, his eyes gleaming with amazement. Ryan had never told him any of this.

“Ryan… truly deserves to be the most militarily gifted commander in our Northern Lands.”

"Yes, it took me two whole hours to figure out this picture. It shows how magnificent war can be."

Earl Ferguson exclaimed in admiration, while Marquis of Hot Springs sneered deep in his eyes, "Do you understand now? If you really understood, you would never want to put this picture here."

Marquis Hot Springs had only looked at it for a short while, but he had already understood Baron Ryan's warning to Earl Ferguson. The map, which covered the entire First Legion of the Empire and even the future scale and style of all the Empire's armies, marked all the important and crucial locations. To put it simply, Earl Ferguson only needed to follow the markings on the map to find a way to place the Ferguson family's knights in the capital. In just a few years, Earl Ferguson would be in the Imperial Army, becoming a highly prestigious nobleman with military prestige.

It wouldn't be difficult for the great nobles of the empire, especially now that the imperial army is just starting out, to do this kind of thing.

"Unfortunately, in the letter Mr. Ryan wrote to me, he invited us to travel to the Knight Academy in the Imperial Capital with the Knight Academy he established in the east."

"He also told me about this, and I have no objection. I also want to see what kind of abilities those knights who will become officers in the Imperial Legion three years from now will have, as His Majesty the Emperor said."

“I have more faith in Ryan’s skepticism about this matter than in those kids who haven’t even graduated from the academy yet.”

“That would be wonderful. I was thinking of working with you to arrange for some knights to enter the Northern Knight Academy.”

Earl Ferguson had no doubt about Ryan's military strength, and only nobles near the North could truly appreciate the significance of Ryan's ability to slay the orc king and repel orc armies twice in direct combat.

They had some understanding of what that desolate place, Beifeng Province, was like.

……

Twilight Province.

Compared to others, Earl Gardner and Baron Lane have a much closer relationship. They have many secret collaborations that are currently underway, and the two are in a honeymoon period.

However, what sets Twilight Province apart from other places is that its loyalty to Emperor Columbus IV is absolutely unwavering. The Emperor's defeat of the Tiger Orc army in Twilight Province is still fresh in everyone's memory, and the benefits he brought back can be seen everywhere.

Therefore, the nobles here were hesitant about Ryan's expressed skepticism towards the Imperial Knight Academy.

This suspicion was a suspicion of His Majesty the Emperor's orders, and the nobles of Twilight Province did not want the Emperor to turn around and doubt their loyalty.

However, the matter was resolved with the 'Lionheart King,' the commander of Twilight Keep, who approved of it.

Ryan was skeptical about the fact that knight academy students were becoming low-ranking officers in the Imperial First Legion. This was something that hadn't been concealed, and he needed to use this as a starting point to persuade the Imperial Knight Academy to agree to exchanges with the Northern Knight Academy.

Although it was somewhat surprising that Harald Columbus agreed, Ryan didn't have the energy to delve into the reasons behind it. However, he did pay some attention to the situation in the Purple Mountain Province.

He didn't know much about the nobles there, or rather, his potential ally, the vampire count, as Earl William had told him in a letter.

"After the Orc War ended, the surviving Orcs fled towards the sea for unknown reasons. Unable to actually enter the Western Sea, they piled up on the edge, and Zishan Province thus became... the only northern province of the empire that was still suffering after the end of the Orc War."

"Some nobles in the Purple Mountain Province and the Morelos Province have repeatedly requested the Imperial City to send the army from the Hot Spring Fortress to fight against the orcs, but they have all been refused. The Imperial City probably doesn't have time to deal with it."

"As long as the territories and lives of the nobles in Zishan Province are not threatened, the capital city will not react."

"Moreover, this also requires explaining to the whole world why the Empire continues to fight the orcs even after claiming that the war with the orcs is over. It's hard to guarantee that the Dawn Church won't mock the Empire for caring about the snow-covered land in the North where even crops can't be grown."

This is a diplomatic issue, and it involves a lot of complex matters. Therefore, the nobles in Zishan Province had no choice but to organize their own army to deal with the continuous harassment from the orcs.

Ryan could only shake his head, unable to offer any help.

"The Behemoth royal family has actually ventured far out to sea?"

Ryan was a little curious. Many powerful orc tribes knew that the calamity from the depths of the North would surely move south and sweep across like a storm. But even knowing this, Ryan hadn't seen the werewolves show any fear. They were also looking for a safe place. But was the Behemoth's reaction too deliberate?
"No, that's not right either, there's also the Raven royal family."

Ryan thought of the Raven of Mikragard again; that Raven King was undoubtedly unlucky, but now that he thought about it...

The Raven Kings were actually fleeing, trying to escape the continent of Norris. They were even more extreme than the Behemoth royal family, as they both planned to escape to another world.

The six royal families of the orcs are the bear, wolf, tiger, leopard, raven, and behemoth. The latter two royal families are born kings and are more ancient in many ways, especially in terms of lineage.

These two royal families should know more about the calamities deep in the North. Because they know so much, they feel that no corner of the two-thirds of the northern lands covered by ice and snow is safe.

"Is it like this?"

Ryan pondered deeply, but had no other option but to order increased training at the Wall fortress in the North.

……

In short, with their own different purposes, the nobles of the six northern provinces all supported Ryan to varying degrees. They, the northern nobles, could not remain uninvolved in the political storm in the capital.

"News has arrived from the west that, in addition to you, another legendary knight will be accompanying you to the capital."

"However, she received an order from the Emperor to become one of the deans of the Imperial Knight Academy."

Ryan laughed. The topic of knights seemed to have become interesting because of this legend's influence.

"A woman."

“Count Gardner told me that her status was very noble, no less than that of royalty. If that’s the case, it means she doesn’t come from royalty. But more important to me than that is that she once stopped the orcs’ first full-scale invasion in the Blazing Snow Province.”

"It was during the time when the Frozen Territory faced the arrival of several werewolf clans that the Xiangshan Plains Fortress was defeated and the orc army destroyed the Hanshan County City."

"The Lost Valkyrie, a legendary human knight with elven blood."

"Tsk, tsk."

Compared to the North Wind Province, the Blazing Snow Province actually has a much lower profile within the Empire.

The nobles of the south still considered the North Wind Province a poor, cold, and harsh land; at least in this description, they still regarded it as a place where normal humans could live.

However, the province of Chixue was known for many years as a remote and uncivilized mountain forest inhabited by uncivilized peasants.

The most complex mountain range in the empire is located in the Blazing Snow Province.

It's just that because of the abundance of mountains, the place is neither poor nor cold.

(End of this chapter)